#(there is gay meta you could do here with his reaction to that being to just stick it out and his only other real relationship at that point

[lesbiansforeddiediaz]

Where my Eddie meta differs from the popular fanon is I don't think all his problems are because he's gay and I don't think kissing a man would heal him or really benefit him much at all. (He is gay but that's not important right now)

[onwhatcaptain]

I still have tons to say about the Garashir Goes Canon™ moment in Lower Decks so here is my big meta post about it! Below the cut is a meta discussion about the penultimate Lower Decks episode, contextualizing what it means for something to become canon.

To be clear, this is a mostly positive post with analysis included. You’ll see lots of love for Garashir and Lower Decks and also oodles of fandom meta below the cut, since we have a complicated relationship with Paramount. My analysis and graphic is based on a recent lecture about Star Trek canon I gave at KiScon!

First, I have to say that both Unification and this Lower Decks episode following mere weeks after of my lecture panel at KiScon titled Fuck Paramount, about what Star Trek canon really is and what its place is in relation to us as slash fans, is absolutely mind-blowing timing. I wish everyone in both the K/S and Garashir fandoms had been able to attend it because it was absolutely designed to serve as a framework for both of these major fandom moments. And also it was just funny as hell. But most importantly, it was relevant, and existed to give us a sense of understanding when navigating Paramount hell, particularly when they play Gay Chicken (will they, won’t they — most of the time, they won’t).

Since not every single Star Trek fan on this website was at KiScon last month, I want to expand on that a little more here, this time in Garashir context, since last time it was centered on K/S, though Garashir came up several times! When I was giving my lecture, I asked the audience what it would look like if K/S were made canon tomorrow. Everyone had different ideas—but the most common theme that came up was sheer distrust of Paramount doing it justice.

For those of you that are reading this, the thesis of Fuck Paramount was that you as a fan and a viewer have more control over what is and isn’t canon than you think, and that our role as fans is to take ownership of our stories back from corporate interests. I also developed a four-sided framework to describe how we interact with canon to take power back and make sense of canon. Both Unification and the very, very fresh Lower Decks episode have already been controversial for a number of reasons, the primary one they share being: “Wait… does this make this canon?”

So far it looks like the main reactions for this Lower Decks episode (especially considering how sudden and late in its run it is) are mostly “HOLY SHIT THEY REALLY DID IT” and “I AM DISAPPOINTED BY THE MERE SCRAPS.”

And my position on it is that both of them are completely reasonable reactions that don’t contradict one another! I’m going to make the case for both sides as I try to explore the implications of this episode with respect to the episode’s subtext, corporate storytelling, and so forth. I’m not going to go too much into the academic aspects, but I am happy to make the original slides available for anyone who is curious about my canon analysis framework.

Why It’s Enough

On one hand, this episode is done well. Undeniably. It’s a lot of fun. I have also said many times before that the only way I’d want K/S or G/B to become canon is if they suddenly randomly drop the info that they were married and don’t bring it up again, because otherwise they might do more harm than good! This was an example of it done incredibly well, in my opinion.

This episode serves as all the confirmation you could possibly really need of Garashir. Yes, there are quite a few gimmicks involved—it’s all AU, all the way. Garak is now a surgeon from another dimension, and Bashir is from an entirely different dimension, and also not really himself, but a hologram. Here’s how they’re introduced:

WILLIAM BOIMLER: “Elim Garak, a brilliant Cardassian Surgeon—and his husband, an emergency medical hologram based on Dr. Julian Bashir.”

What I really love about this moment is that it actually does more than it looks like it does, at face value. For most of us, our first instinct is to go, whatever, he’s based on Bashir, he’s not even the real one! But what they did here was brilliant—it serves as implicit confirmation that our man Bashir is also bisexual, and loves Garak. He is indeed not a corporeal human being, but as the DS9 episode where the LMH is designed based on Bashir tells us, the hologram is designed and based on who he is. It has his personality traits. Interviews are conducted to make sure that the hologram is as authentic and true to the real thing as possible:

O'BRIEN: “You mean this programme is going to have all of his personal likes and dislikes?” ZIMMERMAN: “That is why we bother to choose a human template in the first place.”

William Boimler, from the prime Star Trek universe, doesn’t say the EMH is based on some Bashir, he says this one is based on Dr. Julian Bashir. Again, this serves as clear confirmation that he is modeled on recognizably the same character from DS9. They’re not that different in essence from their prime universe counterparts, or it wouldn’t be fun for the writers or the audience. We learn that Garak is still former Obsidian Order. They are still the same people, in essence. They may be AU characters but the point is for them to be similar to the originals, or they may as well just have been some guys!

The important thing, for me, is that it’s a clear, unambiguous acknowledgement. It’s played straight. Well, not straight—but not as some elaborate joke or filled with contempt. It doesn’t tease and doesn’t dance around the issue and wink and nudge, begging the viewer to question whether or not they’re together. That much is made immediately very clear. In the episode, AU Garak and AU EMH Bashir are a married couple, and they kiss. Every moment of their relationship is sincere, the comedic moments being not about the fact that their relationship exists, but about the dynamics it brings to the story. It also tells us very clearly that they’re not even from the same universe, and that their compatibility remains nonetheless:

HARRY KIM: “Are they from the same reality?” CURZON: “No, but they love to brag about how statistically unlikely their marriage is.”

Again, I tend to see this as a positive nod to the compatibility of these characters rather than a brush-off that says the prime universe Garashir couldn’t be together. And then Garak tells us his universe’s Bashir is like the original: still a racquetball player and competes with Chief O’Brien—again, revealing quite a bit.

And the B-plot is about them squabbling, acknowledging very clearly to us that Cardassians really do just love flirting via argument, which serves as a brilliant nod to everyone who complained for three decades that the DS9 writers never really admitted that Bashir and Garak were just flirting. Finally! The writers seem to understand quite well what’s important to us, even if this isn’t the ‘Real Garashir.’

What satisfies me ultimately is that this doesn’t in any way look like a rejection of the possibility of Garashir in the prime universe. It looks to me like it supports the text, not a mean-spirited denial that it could only happen under bizarre AU circumstances. To sum it up with another Boimler quote:

BOIMLER: “The multiverse is just a rehash of stuff I already know.”

Hm… :)

And as I pointed out in a prior post, the whole point of the episode is to show that even in different circumstances and worlds, the love characters have for one another remains a constant and is utterly transcendent. The episode straight up tells us that some relationships are so powerful that they span dimensions and realities, and then Garak and Bashir say they would follow one another to any reality!

In my panel-lecture, I said, “[Paramount’s control over the text] suggests that certain readings require their endorsement or confirmation to be true.” But this doesn’t feel like that to me, and so I accept this. It leaves room for possibilities of all kinds, and opens more doors rather than closing them. I can appreciate that.

I also spoke about how canon isn’t one thing—not a binary yes or a no, and that there is no singular meaning. I call this multiplicity:

“Multiplicity is about the continuous proliferation of ideas and the rejection of the text as having a single meaning. It rejects mere viewing or the consumption of media in favor of dialogue and participation rather than a one-way communication.”

This episode served to defy singular interpretations of the text. It tells us that there are infinite possibilities and it took a route that challenges the single-story interpretation of Garashir = Not Canon. It made room for new perspectives and affirmed what “the stuff we already know.”

Why It’s Not Enough

Now for the other side of the coin: why it’s not enough. As exciting as it is to have this kind of confirmation from the current writers for Star Trek in a frankly increasingly conservative storytelling environment, it’s still disappointing for many people that even in the most progressive Star Trek that exists, they cannot or will not openly state that the prime universe Garashir got the ending and acknowledgment they deserved. 

It feels like begging Paramount as a corporation for scraps and thanking them for what really doesn’t feel like enough—it stops short of full, sincere, complete validation of Garashir’s queerness. As I said in my panel, it’s normal for us to want confirmation from the writers and creators that what we’re seeing is real and not just imagined, even when the role of fanfiction is for us to transform canon and reject it ourselves.

It’s absolutely exhausting for us to say we see something that is continuously denied by those who ‘own’ the story in favor of mass appeal, and to me, that is a legitimate perspective that can coexist with the idea that fandom is designed reshape the canon to fits its own needs, and that we don’t need confirmation from the creators for something to be true. Fandom exists to defy corporate ownership of stories, but to have to fight for mere moments where marginalized perspectives are foregrounded causes anger for good reason. We may not need confirmation from them, but saying that we should never expect anything from Paramount releases the corporation of accountability and obligation to respect the audience and their own characters. We should be able to expect and trust that these characters and their relationships can be done justice by those who have the privilege of steering that ship.

It’s one thing for me to say that this episode affirms the reality of Garashir, but it’s also true that prime Garashir probably could not be given complete canonization because this is the best way they knew how to ‘get away with it’ all while maintaining its mainstream and popular appeal with heteronormative audiences that would have a problem or reject it if it happened to ‘real Garashir.’

Slash fans, for decades, have existed in the lane of compromise—firmly between having our truth validated and entirely rejected in favor of a Star Trek that is designed to be sold as a product to as many people as possible. Rarely do we receive more than a bone tossed to us by the powers that be, and when we do receive it, it’s on their incomplete terms, often with massive concessions made to make it happen. For Garashir to receive their blessing, they had to twist it into an AU. The reason they could do this episode is because it gave them the neat plausible deniability to also say this has nothing at all to do with prime Garashir, so that it didn’t entirely alienate audiences who wouldn’t support a queer narrative.

This is their way of having their cake and eating it too. In some ways, it looks like they’re just trying to make everyone happy, but the story shouldn’t have to make everyone happy, and a compromise can really just feel like everyone loses, or like prioritizing the status quo again. For decades, the status quo has always left those with marginalized readings of the text unhappy, sidelined by a narrative that is supposed to be progressive and supposed to look to a future where queerness is natural and not taboo. And if this is the best they can do, it’s only reasonable that it should still sadden us, disappoint us, anger us. It’s hard not to resent that reality.

What Now?

I urge folks to continue negotiating the text, as I did above in the first section. I made sense of it in a way that fits my understanding of Garashir! You do not have to assume that there’s no more to it than that because it was all that was said on screen. We don’t have to look at canonization as the final say on the text. My perspective is that we should take it as a wonderful and deserved affirmation, and continue to transform the canon as we see fit. This is your time to decide what it means for these characters. Personally, I see it as a massively positive step forward. Just remember that where canon is concerned, you are in control of what it means.

Canon is still transformable, multiplicative, negotiated, and timely. Holders of the ‘IP’ are only one piece of the puzzle where the truth of a story is concerned. So take this as a beginning to more, not an end! As I like to say, “canon is a means to an end, not the end itself.”

Also, please don’t hesitate to add your thoughts, questions, comments, or anything else. I hope you enjoyed this meta post, if you read this far.

[mxtxfanatic]

I have noticed people rarely acknowledge that from early in the story Jin Ling stries to spend as much time away as possible from both set of uncles. He spends more than half of the novel away from Koi Tower, he goes to night hunts with JC but always runs away from him with fairy the first chance he gets. It would not be that off putting if JL was 16-19, age he would clearly want more independence and to be seen as a young adult, but JL can't be older than 15 (might actually be just 13). It's not normal to have children of that age running away from home/family.

It becomes more evident the chapter LWJ get's drunk for the first time, as the audience is told that that Ouyang Zizhen has already gone back home, implying JL could do that too, but JL is still staying with the Lans when he has no reason to. He doesn't go back to Koi Tower nor to Lotus Pier, doesn't go back to JGY nor JC until he ultimately has no choice. If that is not a signal of anything from toxic to abusive family, idk what it is.

Eh, I only partially agree. Jin Ling spending time away from Koi Tower and Lotus Pier isn’t by itself indicative of his tenuous relationship with his uncles because he’s at the age where he should be nighthunting without adult supervision, which is exactly what his peers are doing. The Lan juniors are also outside of The Cloud Recesses most of the time that we run into them in the narrative. The times shown where everyone is present in their homes is few and far in between. Just because they aren’t home a lot doesn’t mean they’re running away. The actual red flag in how Jin Ling nighthunts is that he’s either being led around by an adult or wandering around on his own because he has no friends amongst his peers to nightunt with like everyone else.

Now, I said he should be nighthunting “without adult supervision,” so this is a section I agree with you with: he’s constantly trying to get away from Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng is the abusive helicopter parent who shows up to your school to threaten a child they heard maybe doesn’t like you (as long as that child doesn’t have a powerful family or backer, of course) but who also removes the door of your bedroom and installs trackers on each of your electronic devices. Jiang Cheng micromanages Jin Ling, to the point where despite all of his other peers being allowed to nighthunt alone at their ages, he is still being accompanied by his uncle and the disciples his uncle sets to tail him. However, Jin Ling obviously doesn’t appreciate this, especially given how often he and Jiang Cheng argue, so he’s become very adept at giving his uncle and his tails the slip (he also has no regard for the life or safety of the Jiang disciples as shown by the Dafan Mountain nighthunt and when he tricks them in order to slip Wei Wuxian out of the inn he was being held captive in).

However, this behavior only applies to Jiang Cheng. Jin Ling actually likes Jin Guangyao and goes to him when he feels like he’s in trouble (mostly with Jiang Cheng). In fact, the fanon relationship that jc stans claim Jin Ling has with Jiang Cheng is actually the canon relationship Jin Ling has with Jin Guangyao: Jin Ling is very protective of this uncle of his. Perfect example: despite thinking that Mo Xuanyu is a gay man shameless enough to sexually harass fellow cultivators regardless of status or relation, when “Mo Xuanyu” is with Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling’s priority is protecting “Mo Xuanyu,” but when “Mo Xuanyu” steps into Koi Tower, Jin Ling immediately turns to aggressively protecting Jin Guangyao. Now, there’s a lesson in here about parents and guardians who turn their children into attack dogs for their benefit, but that’s a meta for another time. From what we see of Jin Ling’s reactions to his Jin family, it’s clear that he has no problem with Jin Guangyao so, if any problem kept him away from Koi Tower, it would be his bully cousins who he wants to avoid.

[thecoolerliauditore]

TOXIC JIZZIE????????? PLEASE SPEAK KING FOR I AM BOUND TO HEAR

aye sire if you ask I am obligated to indulge.

To start off I do think "toxic" is not really the word I'd use, but their relationship certainly isn't ideal either. To get meta for a second I think it's the impact of this being a ship dictated by the CCs (as in, we are married irl so our characters should be too) rather than by the fandom (where ships form from interactions and stuff we actually see in-game) so, in the insane world of "interpretation", weird things happen with Jizzie in-universe where it essentially feels like the characters are together ot of some default obligation rather than as a choice they both actively make.

I'm going to be using the word "performative" a lot during this which I think makes enough sense when you look at how most of Jizzie interactions are very literally purposefully performed through youtube videos and such.

I'm also someone who very much does not have the highest opinion overall of romance as a concept so a lot of what I read is going to be based off of that. I'm a biased human being or whatever.

Essentially, I believe a lot of Jizzie's interactions feel like they're out of some sort of obligation or to fit into predetermined roles, comedic or otherwise, instead of coming off as genuine.

Examples off the top of my head are Lizzie trying to "seduce" Joel in Last Life to secure an ally, their shotgun wedding in esmp1 and the sort of sitcom-esque humour structure they sometimes follow in streams and such (the one I remember most clearly is Lizzie hitting Joel during the Decked Out guests stream, which is treated as a haha wife hitting husband moment) (there was also the time when Joel indirectly implied he was calling his wife a "ball and chain" in the Life: The Game stream, although we're getting very dubiously canon here - I personally see it as applicable but. shrugs)

This isn't to say that there is no genuine connection there, they certainly do care about eachother and, for the most part, aren't actively making eachother worse -- some of their cutest moments, to me, are their panicked "I love you" exchange after they encased the Scottage in lava in Last Life and Joel being the only one who remembered Lizzie's party in Secret Life.

Lizzie and Joel also rarely talk about eachother in an admiring or personal way, Joel specifically usually only mentions his "wife" when disputing accusations of him being in love with any of the various men he's "obsessed" with.

This becomes weirder in series like esmp1, where the first time Lizzie mentions Joel at all is her declaration that she has decided to marry him (not because she is "in love" or anything like that, she simply states that she wants to marry him) so you just kind of have to fill in the gaps between videos with your imagination or accept that the characters are just. Insane. I think comparing the way esmp1 Joel talks about Lizzie vs talks about Jimmy would be an interesting experiment to conduct in regard to this.

To top it off in terms of dubious sourcing for in-character headcanons, I think the performative aspects of Jizzie are most apparent when you look at how Joel often jokes about how Lizzie will get mad at him for flirting with Jimmy and other men, whilst Lizzie has shown time and time again she really could not physically care less. It's always kind of confused me when people depict Lizzie as ready to beat the shit out of Joel when he acts affectionate with other men, when her reactions in the traffic series usually just boil down to this:

TO ME: What Jizzie is, to me, is a pair of platonic best friends who have gotten married because. You're a boy, I'm a girl, that's what we should do. Their marriage isn't hurting them but it also isn't what they think it is.

Joel specifically I've always headcanoned as gay and essentially using Lizzie as a beard but not hiding it very well.

The romance may be purely obligatory and performative, but that doesn't mean they don't love eachother.

[prettysymbiosis]

I’ve been trying to get these thoughts out for days but basically I feel like the unifying theory of s16 (as I see it) is a conscious exploration of the dichotomy between sunny as a classically bold and brash pee pee poo poo comedy and sunny as a thoughtful, nuanced and subtle show about flawed people and also about itself, at times (by that I mean the meta isn’t always about macdennis or the other characters but about sunny itself - win an award, clip show, big mo, etc). the trailer actually captures this dichotomy well through the dialogue clips and animations, as well as the pinned comment which said “get ready for a whole lot of subtlety.” it’s still so baffling to me that sunny can simultaneously read as one of the most loud, obnoxious, unsubtle shows ever on television, OR it can be so subtle and allegorical in the writing of later seasons that most viewers would think people like us are crazy for reading so much into it even though we’re really not. this kind of self-reflective flavor is another product of the rewatch/podcast project which has been almost universally agreed to have had a very positive effect on the writing.

anyway having said that, I want to just share my notes on the first two episodes without trying to edit them too much. I’m bolding the points that I personally haven’t seen anyone else mention yet and putting a 😎 next to ones that evoke a Classic Sunny VibeTM because that’s important to the experiment of this season.

the gang inflates

macden fun/domestic/DUMB again 😎

something something never committing to the couch when it was absurd not to and it ended up costing them so much macdennis blah blah

dennis hanging up on dee was so funny to me oops 😎

and the WHOLE dee (as a character and specifically the female character) thing about being minimized to an absurd degree. I like to think the bog was a turning point for dee and the show is gonna do better by her now hopefully by recognizing her plight in a more serious way, like the way the guys have been doing?

are mac and dennis…… you know…… like for real??? as many have said, it could totally be revealed kind of retroactively to undercut the shock and be like “honestly we’re surprised you didn’t notice sooner” I feel like that is something rcg would do. suggestive clues:

“I don’t wanna talk to you about–” “a TON”

or is dennis like well that’s news to me jealous vibes??

“I figured you were man” ??

“I’m getting a little concerned about our nut”

“you truly have no reason to be sleeping with frank”

they specifically put a lil reaction shot of dennis after mac says “that’s a lotta blowin” a la the lil grin in gets romantic and, well, I just think that’s a choice that was made

“it’s not homophobic” is that so?????

when mac is like “you think we got rid of our furniture too soon/that the business plan won’t work” it’s kinda like no it’s not the committing to what they have, it’s that mac still has big denial problems and dennis can’t work with that… maybe? but so does dennis tbh

in a show-meta sense it’s like, we should be less worried about whether the gay gay-ass love story will alienate people and more worried about how these characters are too ridiculous to even let the love story play out effectively. they need mental health days if we are ever to have nice things

it’s possible mac denying his reaction to the allergy has to do with his body dysmorphia?

also it occurred to me that maybe part of why rob is clean-shaven this season is so they could do those prosthetics more easily?

those handprints though…. I hate everything

oh also just the bed scene. its existence

the zoomed in neck touch of course

“I’m not going to do it!” “..okay” dennis keepin his cool :)

mac’s shirt! COOLER HEADS PREVAIL

just the sheer silliness of inflatable furniture - is there some metaphor here lol?

in a general sense could inflates be taken to mean flanderizes? also maybe it’s just implied but I noticed I hadn’t actually seen anyone mention inflation as a sexual kink and like, that was part of the intention right? if so, 😎

charlie “uhhhhhhhh… yep.” poor charlie :( he doesn’t want to live in a maze (like a rat)

“well then you’re just like being a predator” :( so here for charlie calling out bullshit with frank and mrs. mac and even his own mom so far in these first two eps

charlie just giving up and yelling in frustration which is kinda what bonnie does in ep2 (and ep3 based on trailer)

the gross horny male objectifying thing 😎

rob put his whole pussy into this episode

charlie saying “I don’t get why he doesn’t take me seriously” and dee saying “that’s gotta be maddening” 🙃

cats in the alley my loves 😎

gluing dee a pillow on the wall <3

“consider it an offering” “of war??” this says so much. must everything be a conflict?

charlie’s hair looks so crazy and good in the sleepover scene and also he’s so smart

charlie asks frank to “return everything to the status quo” by the end of the episode, sitcom style. full reset, no progression. except charlie is asking that frank not endlessly take advantage of the fact that mac and den can’t figure their shit out, not totally push dee out just because it’s easy, not make light of the trauma charlie has from what happened to him. all that stuff IS the status quo! so what is he really asking for? this is one of the bits of writing that I think is also about the show as a show, and how they’ve approached these dynamics forever. 

it’s funny that people are saying this season is such a return to form because it is, but it’s also so much more self-aware of what that form is/was and how deeper elements can coexist within it. they’re really walking with a foot in both worlds here and they’re doing it well. love this for them and for us, the people who know what it’s always sunny in philadelphia is REALLY about

“we’ll take you to the hospital, and they’ll have nuts. and you can– you can die there.” hahahah

[buckevantommy]

alright i finally managed to get a copy of the ep and i'm watching it on my smallass iphone screen which isn't ideal but i can't wait 3 days to get access to a bigger screen so here we go:

i need to know if that rainbow flare on buck was intentional

i might be looking too hard but that hand grabbing buck's throat and then eddie's junk could be foreshadowing for you know what, i mean who's to say?

oliver deserves a fucking oscar for his nervous smitten buck performance

tommy shaved for their date which is so old school i love it but i also miss the scruff and need to see its return asap

hints of Tommy Backstory, my beloved

the convo about renting out a home with marisol and eddie but including buck is making me think of how buck is possibly being 'rented out' to tommy in the narrative for now but later eddie will be the one to buy

i understand tommy ending their date early but WHAT HAPPENED to him picking up buck from his loft?? and don't tell me he ubered for a first date when we know he drives. although i get not wanting to drink and drive ig

also: tommy was meant to pick up buck at 8pm and now they've finished dinner so wtf is eddie and marisol doing starting their dinner at like 930pm is that an LA thing bc that's insane

'oldest italian restaurant' sign just makes me think of tommy and buck's age gap and i giggle and gasp

buck's reaction to being rejected is breaking my hearrrrt. tommy opened him up to his sexuality and buck was So Excited and now this guy is just dumping him?? who is he supposed to bounce his restless bisexual energy off now??

we're not even 10mins in so i have no idea what the bulk of this ep is gonna be about

oH YEAH THE GAY MOMS pls let them be happy

BUCK COMES OUT TO MADDIE ACCIDENTALLY like a true bisexual disaster

The Guy Thing is very much The Point buck, you sweet thick cinnamom scroll

buck is doubly an ally. he's a bially.

keep talking buck i am cackling you adorable baby bi

insane thing to have eddie post-sex with his nun gf after buck was gushing about tommy

it's okay buck, false starts with difficult convos happen, you'll get there

something something buck intending to come out to eddie and eddie explaining his sex problems all while eddie gets sweaty and swole

LIKE SEAMONKEYS! buck i adore you

buck wishes he could lend eddie a hand but he can't bc he's no homewrecker and bc eddie is quote unquote straight. not bc he himself is taken, bc the hot pilot dumped him and oh now i'm sad again :(

there's some buck+guilt [re:self worth] meta glanced over here that makes me wanna delve into some introspective reads

buck giving good advice is something that can be so personal

hen saving a rescue dog after it attacked the firefighter trying to save it as a parallel to their current foster child situation. it's just good storytelling. the dark stuff is getting hopeful

HANG OUT WITH THE BOYS eddie you don't know how perfect your words are

i really love the way they chose for buck to come out to eddie. trying to do it at a certain time didn't work for him, it was too daunting. but as soon as eddie mistook buck's date with tommy for something platonic? buck doesn't want to hide anymore. it really speaks to the human and especially the queer experience - that need to correct someone's misinterpretation (someone important to buck) of who you are.

GAY TOMMY CONFIRMED

supportive eddie and 'this doesn't change a thing between us'

buck finally getting to talk to his friend about getting dumped by a guy he was really hoping for more with

eddie's turn to give good advice to buck re:his dating life and we come full circle

buck's relief at eddie knowing and accepting him. the double-back for the hug. the comfort is all there.

i want to shower the wardrobe department in love for putting buck in that slutty blue 70s polo for his date within tommy and then the sky blue sweater and now this tight stripey number i am digging the vibes

buck hearing that he didn't screw things up with tommy, tommy just didn't want to pressure him bc the feels are mutual! and buck taking responsibility for his behaviour bc he's mature like that he's a good dude

i love lou but oliver literally glows - and i don't mean from the sunshine - he lights up every scene

the way buck gushed about tommy's confidence to maddie and now he's the confident one reassuring tommy that he wants this and that it won't be weird for tommy i am so proud of him

HOUSTON WE HAVE HAND HOLDING

sad my buddy chim was barely in this ep :(

WEDDING TEASER and we've got a Hangover situation and a missing groom omg

the writers are working their magic and we are reaping the rewards.

[bosesmikas]

My current feelings on the T9S ships

I made a list like a year ago but I can’t find it haha. And my opinions have changed a lot so I'm going to be doing an update. If I missed any ships, please let me know!

Jay/Leia - My favorite canon ship out of the newbies. Granted I’m not AS emotionally invested in them as Gwen/Nikki, like to the point of constantly thinking about them and writing for them (which is weird since they might be the ship I make the most edits for haha). I've written so many fucking metas on them it’s not even funny haha (check my #jl meta tag & also my #jled tag). They’re just so pure and cute together and super overhated imo. Love seeing these two young teens in love.

Gwen/Nikki - Otp of otps. They’re my Jackie/Hyde in this show. So much chemistry, enemies (well frenemies) to lovers. Even though I don’t like that the scenes with them lessened post-Step By Step, I still see signs that they’re endgame. I just hope the writers don’t queerbait me and have them be endgame haha. Also check out my #jhgn tag for parallels :)

Gwen/Leia - Even though Gwikki is my heart and soul, I love Geia too and their parallels to Formciotti (check out my #gled tag). Gwen is legit the girl next door and not to mention, besties to lovers! There’s clearly something between them. Imo, I think they’re the most queer coded dynamic on T9S. The idea of them being platonic hurts my soul.

Nikki/Leia - Even though are only a few fans, I couldn’t help but put them. They’re just very cute and I love their scenes in Summer Storm. I think they could been a really cute college romance sort of thing. Also the love triangle trope where both girls ditch the guy for each other is A+.

Jay/Ozzie - I'm putting them here because of Ozzie's reaction to Jay's flirting in the pilot 😂. Same as Nikkeia, I see them as a cute college romance but also lowkey endgame in a universe with Neia & Gwikki/Geia & Niknate as the endgames. Their energy gives me Fez/Kelso (Hannah has a post talking about it and I see tbh). Plus they were GIVING old married couple energy in Summer Storm.

Ozzie/Etienne - Perfect bbs no notes. If someone can make Ozzie smile the way he did in LS, then they’re a keeper. I hope we get to see Etienne in s2.

Jay/Nate - Also my personal Fez/Kelso. To me, they’re just as gay as Gwen/Leia and I wish that was acknowledged more. They’re just so funny and cute. Even though I ship Nate/Leia now, I wish that the triangle was Leia/Jay/Nate instead since Nate is basically in love with Jay. I mean it’s canon that Nate always lets Jay ride shotgun. Plus Nate literally ditched his girlfriend to go with Jay to see a used hot tub. Now you can see that as Nate being a good friend, I see that Nate wanting to hang out with bf and do something fun.

Nate/Leia - Talked about it here. While I still have the same issues with them (giving off plot device, screwing over Nikki, very few scenes of them alone), I realized that that’s moreso on the writing and the way it was executed. But I really love them and want to see more of them in s2.

Nate/Nikki - Had potential early on and some cute moments later, but they ended up being a mini J*lso. 1 & 2

[thedragonchilde]

G Gundam meta/notes, episodes 17-20:

"Challenge! Mysterious Masked Fighter"

-there's nothing like Domon's relationship to Master to really highlight that he's naive and wants to believe the best of people at heart. Or at least that he's lost everyone else in his life and cannot handle the thought of this being another thing that's wrong. Either way he needs a damn hug.

-so there seems to be a real setup here of Chibodee and George crushing on Rain - they were both chivalrous enough to her before, but the thank-yous are something else! Chibs drops his voice like he's trying to sound sexy, and George, oh man! "Show your gratitude" like he needs coached? The single red rose? And leaving it there for her forlornly? Either he's stunningly bad with women and Raymond pushed him to thank her so he did it in the overblown way he's learned from example, or he's got it bad. (Or a combination.) Either way, these feel like a spin on the classic 'you were nice to me'/hero crush.

-Nastasha is so fucking interesting!! She's so professional and logical, but her relationship with authority (both her own and that above her) chafes in such a neat way that you just know there's some good conflict ahead

-this is quite jaunty music for an "evil Master plotting" scene

-"I'll smash you and the whole forest into tiny pieces" okay Domon that's a hilarious threat

-it only just occurs to me that only one of Domon's sleeves is slashed. So that's just as likely to be a slapshot mending job as a fashion statement! (Did Domon mend it? Or Rain? Either way it's kind of a shitty job)

-kind of a sexy way to finally lose a match, with his arms tied up like that

-Domon calls Guyana his "homeland". That has some REALLY interesting implications.

"Steal the Secret! Scheme of the Beautiful Warriors"

-"Sparks fly between Shining and Maxter" ehehe

-"his destined rival" will never get old

-Schwarz hooking them up specifically is hilarious, and his affectionate referrals to their youth ("the cubs sharpen their claws" and all that)

-drunk Chibodee is funnier when you realize that timeline-wise he may have just turned 21, and sad when you realize he was probably trying to drink the flashbacks away

-"I have no chance against Master if I can't overcome a simple waterfall" what is that logic?

-"the first time anyone ever treated us like real people" oh my god, poor girls, I love you

-"I can feel great energy from him, but what's he actually doing??"

-between Chibodee awing at the scenery and Bunny freaking out at the snake, I'm just reminded that they're city slickers

-uh, Chibodee, how long have you been watching Domon train exactly? I don't think the weather changed that quickly

-oh, I so love that they're on the same wavelength, just immediately both "yeah this fight is great, he's so good at this :)"

-Shirley just like "ughhh FML"

-Domon enjoying the fight so much that he doesn't notice the SOS - is that the gay or the autism?

-"I have to beat this thing" what, nature??

-Domon is so excited about Chibodee's power level

-oh my god, Shirley thinks Chibodee's gonna throw them aside for a minute, doesn't she

-Bunny just openly weeping though

"Fierce Battle! Dragon Gundam vs. Bolt Gundam"

-Sai is a little shithead and I love it. I know it's played for laughs and is actually pretty disturbing when you think about it, but this could also tell us some neat stuff about how he was raised (presumably away from women) and what happens is exactly what the fuck you expect to happen when you loose a hormonal teenage boy on women for the first time.

-Domon throwing himself into the water rather than answering Rain, like,,, yeah, me too, dude

-do we get an explanation for Sai and Argo being there? Were they compelled by the crests and didn't realize it?

-it says something that Nastasha's first reaction is to shoot

-"where's the intruder?" and Argo just looks up at the sky like "he fucking died probably"

-Seriously, Nastasha arguing with the higher-ups!! Good, good stuff ahead

-Sai, you chose the one person whose ego isn't bruised by being called a coward

-"you can't get away no matter where you go" why do I feel like there's some projection going on here, Nastasha?

-man, Sai keeps getting into situations where others pose as him

"George, Beat the Nightmare!"

-Raymond has been with the family for 45 years, which presumably puts him in his mid sixties

-I want Raymond Bishop to be my grandpa

-George is actively fighting being helped, even moreso than the others. That's interesting.

-interesting that Neo France has a tournament to decide their Gundam Fighter, meaning several Gundams are built for this

-"more coffee"

-We appear to be ambiguous on whether George has living family. Presumably if they were around we'd know, but they're not explicitly dead either. The bond with Raymond seems to suggest he raised George more than his parents did; very interesting canon fodder

-Rain "envies" Domon's friendships... that he doesn't seem to be aware he has

-I feel some kind of way about the undertones, esp in Chib and George's eps, that, like,,, trauma is weakness/cowardice? And it's especially interesting with who it's coming from, and who it isn't. Schwarz seems to be the main mouthpiece for this, and I guess he's using denigration as a motivating tactic, but idk. Meanwhile Domon seems more compassionate (and contrasts with the narrative "having traumatic flashbacks is the same thing as choosing to be a cowardly piece of shit actually" in a way I can't quite articulate).

-Mirabeau can join Michelo in the "fashionable asshole" club

-oh yeah, George is fighting this all the way down

-oh, now all of a sudden Shuffles can heal DG infections without sacrifice

[asoiafzambi]

"Spoilers" Spoilers! Spoilers?

Like always, this could all be totally fake yadda-yadda ... and if the leakers make this all up, they should definitely go into fanfiction writing, because some of that shit is hilarious.

I just like to elaborate on my thoughts about it, fake or not.

Daemyra at odds:

I don't like it. What can we daemyra stans say except we don't like it (that early in the timeline)? But the showmakers seem to be dead set on it. Not sure if there will/can be a short reconciliation at some point (maybe when they take King's Landing together?) but I wont hold my breath.

Daemon at Harrenhal:

If you wanted to make the already insanely split online fandom rip each others throats out and set everything and themselves on fire, having Daemon get roofie-raped by Alys Rivers is definitely a way to go about it, and I will be there like:

I'm not squeamish about SA in media/fiction. In GOT the Sansa stuff was just absolutely nonsensical, because she is not Jeyne Poole and what the fuck is Littlefinger doing? If they really needed Sansa raped (que?), then do something with Harry the Heir, you lazy fucks. Dany/Drogo and Jaime/Cersei at the Sept is definitely very iffy in the books too.

Back to HOTD, I will be rather disappointed though, if Daemon doesn't get what happens and thinks it was just a dream, because I really want to see his reaction to getting raped by a 150 year old red-zombie-witch.

Making Alys a 150 year old red-zombie-witch is a bit fanservicy already, together with the desperate tie-in to Aegon's I conquest (got a new show to sell, I guess).

Jace/Sara vs. Jace/Cregan:

Here I will make myself very popular by saying I actually greatly prefer Jace/Sara over Jace/Cregan.

I don't mind Jace being gay/bi, but I just think it makes absolutely no sense for Cregan. It's probably because I'm an ole Stark 'hater'. Since fandom is dead set on the bromance, they might do it, and I will roll my eyes a bit and just write Sara/Jace/Cregan thruple fic to piss everybody off.

I would much rather have a steamy Daemon/Laenor or Daemon/Hugh (if he is Viserys' son omg*) scene, but with that I'm probably just showing my age.

But nevermind with whom Jace fucks around up north, for the love of gods don't let Baela be crushed or whiny about Jace' betrayal. She should spit/laugh in his face tbh. Screw the angry black woman cliche, she has every right to be angry with prince dumbass. Immediately moving on with Alyn is obligatory anyways.

* I mean, visiting him in his smithy and complimenting his hammer ... seriously?

Blood and Cheese:

They seem to have backpedalled on the 'accident' ideas a bit (because nobody likes it that much), but I think it will still be a misunderstanding.

If Daemon instructs Blood (and Cheese) to beat the crap out of Helaena until she says a name, what he means is until she names one of her brothers for the one on one revenge. But poor Hel will have no idea what's going on with these thugs jumping her and in the end just say the name of one of her kids to make them stop.

Blood: Instructions unclear, cut the head off of a pre-schooler.

Cue everybodies shocked face vs. Daemon's stupid face: Wait? Helaena has kids? I kinda forgot (could be pretty meta).

There is also a leak version now where Daemon has absolutely nothing to do with B&C and it's all Rhaenyra's idea, which also would probably make fandom explode and seems a bit far fetched.

Corlys and Rhaenys and Marilda and her bastard boys:

I really hope the cheating plot wont be that prominent. I'm not a fan of the modern-romance spin on 'medival' marriage. This might be my personal damage though, because my narcisstic demi-romantic, poly ass will never be able to warp her mind around the concept of monogamy. I will just find it weird that Rhaenys would actually believe Corlys kept it in his pants during his years-long adventures and be baffled that he didn't.

I would also like it, if Rhaenys wasn't just mad on her own behalf, but maybe also a bit on Marilda's behalf. Like: Dude, you get this side-chick for your voyages/campains, impregnate her twice, and then what ... show up every five years with a package of milk? Talk about being a nasty deadbeat bitch, my man.

Rook's Rest:

I actually really liked how one of the leaks described Rhaenys' death, with her ashes falling from the sky after being grilled by Vhagar and onto Corlys and Aegon on the ground. What a wonderful nasty picture. I'm also fine with Aegon finding this hilarious and getting the show'sTM facebeating from Corlys for it.

I think that's all. Now I have to actually go back to writing my brazillion AU WIPs ... damn writers block.

[icharchivist]

I feel (hope?) like gaybaiting is less prevalent nowadays because back then it was a bit of a tongue in cheek joke to imply that two men were gay, because that somehow made them less manly

So if a guy displays stereotypically female tendencies, like caring about his appearance, or caring about other men, he's gay, so he's a cissy and then we laugh because haha, only women care about their appearance and men

Then came the slightly more "woke" queerbaiting where it was less hated but being queer was still not taken super seriously and networks weren't comfortable just showing off gay people just for the sake of being gay, so there still had to be a joke in there

So we often got the straight man being mistaken for gay, so he can say "we're not boyfriends". Hilarious

Also, bi people don't exist, obviously /s

I feel like the 2010's moved from the obvious gay jokes to more subtle gay jokes, but also adding some gaybaiting, either because the showrunners couldn't get away with more, or, and that was probably more frequent, to drive engagement. Get the rabid yaoi fangirls and keep them shipping and voílà

Idk that just popped into my head

Anyway, Grimnir good

Idk

mhmmmm

so like, i lived through the 00s and 10s as a LGBT person and there's a few things here and there about the whole queerbaiting thing that is just... difficult truly to explain. I think you're right in some points but i might end up sounding contradictory.

(also i really hate the term rabid yaoi fangirls to represent a group of people who are mostly looking for representation of validation yaknow).

the 00s were extremely homophobic. Like, extremely. It was the time where more men were playing with their gender, being more effeminate, and homosexuality was becoming more and more of a threat to casual masculinity. Gay was readily thrown around as an insult to anyone who wouldn't fit through gender norms.

while various shows or movies (esp on the western front) has been trying to involve some gay rep, it was not the majority and all, but, idk, the memory i had of the 00s was this viciousness, this desire to refute homosexuality anywhere you were seeing it.

Enters a lot of 00s show and you get into a point where being gay is a joke. It's a punchline. Men being thought as gay was emasculating and it was funny.

Eventually there was backlash against that. with the rise of the internet LGBT+ community could organize a bit more and actually discuss this type of problems directly where the showrunners could read them.

There was also a time where queer fans were so starved for queer content that they would take the joke for the desperate need to be validated. Like. Sorry i was a fan of supernatural since it first aired and i have this vivid memories that the reactions to the first gay jokes in it, which were meant to emasculate them, was welcomed by fans as "it's nice to be seen though".

But well. With the internet came the realization that people who look for queer content is a non negligeable part of the fanbase. you want to cater to them, because they keep your show rolling and you know they do from engagement online. But the society is still homophobic, and held back, and your directors are still telling you to play it safe and to keep what they believe to be the center fanbase: straight men.

Supernatural has a long history in queer baiting which i could talk about a lot more esp in the fact they were always opened about making meta episodes about the fandom which gives you a good view on how the show interreacted with the queer fans through the decades. But imo it's esp important to note that they mentioned that everytime they would want to do something else, the CW would remind them that their "core audience" were straight men who would be uncomfortable with gay content. Something anyone who has been online would argue otherwise. how do you do then to throw a bone to the people who actually keep your show running while the executives don't see it? you queerbait.

Not all shows are created equal on this though. Merlin was a major queerbaity show, with the last knife in the wound being how the director commentary was that he wrote them as a love story, and yet. But where does it fall when you learn the showrunner was a gay man? at what point is it intention, at what point is it studio interferrance, at what point is it you holding yourself back because the culture feels unsafe to you yet?

(the exact same argument can be made about queercoding in 90s Disney movies, which was the time where a LOT of the creative teams were actually made of queer people who were or weren't out at the time. Is it playing with the audience expectation or demonizing gay people when you queercode villains as gay, when it's done by people who are trying to sneak their identity in contents that are otherwise hostile to them, and therefore demonizing themselves is one way for the casual audience to accept them as long as they're bad, but it means also that they're here?)

I don't go to House MD, but just the extract i saw showed the executive producer is an infamous gay man in the industry (and a rapist but that's a whole other conversation). in the early 00s. Can you normalize gayness in a society that is still hostile to it, can you make jokes and plotlines to showcase this gayness, but also being sure to not commit as to not alienate the community you're meant to write for?

and it's not actually like a showrunner being gay actually makes things better or whatever. Sherlock was infamous for all of those "oh we're not gay" jokes, despite being co written by a gayman, but i don't think anyone can watch the first episode of season 3 and feel like the showrunners don't absolutely hate their queer fans. They literally say to their face that people actually reading queer subtext in this show are insane people no one wants to have as fans. They like the attention, but not the expectations.

Some shows did use it purely as a marketting ploy. the more fanbases were getting loud about queer content, the more some companies actually thought to take advantage of it. I think of Teen Wolf that used to literally show edits of two fanfavorites characters who were heavily shipped together in promo material, only to learn watching the episode that the promo was misleading on every single one of those scenes. This is the type of period where they realized they could weaponize their queer audience without actually committing enough to alienate their core audience.

fans grew tired of queerbaiting and would call out the companies for that -- so eventualy they had to change tactic... while sitll not wanting to alienate their core audience. It still comes from the fact companies genuinely believe the straight audience is actually the only one that matters.

after the queerbaiting era we had a tons of stories about Bury your Gays. The 100 was one of the most notorious exemple, where they canonized a wlw relationship only to kill the lesbian the next episode so the bi protag would move on to better (straight) future. It's another form of queerbaiting but it came from a society more accepting of queer stuff, and trying to bank on the queer fans, while actually still considering them a minority that isn't worth actually alienating the bigots for.

I think queerbaiting is really just indicative of the changing society and perception about gay rights, while also evolving on a culture/system/personal belief that they should not be the core demographic and you have to do everything to not alienate the core -phobic audience. It's the illusion of progress while not ruffling too many feathers, but throwing a bone to a community you know is so starving they can substain you just by giving them subtext.

I don't particularly think it changed. I don't think companies are seeing LGBT+ communities as profitable enough to alienate the LGBT-phobic audience. Mocking things is a bad look, but committing proper stories is not exactly in their best interest either. So eventually we either get stories that still function on subtext to keep fans engaged, or we get gay couple with very little focus and/or development just for decorantum in the background enough so it doesn't ruffle some feathers by being TOO important for the people who just want to ignore them.

It was a different time. Looking back with nostalgia feels a bit like a fever dream and it's why i can't help laughing at it, but i remember those things used too make me sad when i was a queer teen. (esp since i was actually reading BLs personally on my free time way before American shows started to even think about TEASING gay ships. Say what you will about problematic BLs can be but it always gave me a major whiplash seeing how little mainstream seemed to care about committing when they were teasing things.)

idk. it's complicated. i'm not an expert i'm just someone who lived through it and had confused feelings about it.

They don't do it like that anymore because society has changed and it's a bad look to just make fun of it. 't's not like it's been replaced by real acceptance either tho.

but yeah personally i think the rise of the internet is the one thing to not neglect here. Once it was easier for LGBT+ communities to organize, discuss, make themselves heard to the showrunners, they couldn't be ignored anymore as a possible customer group. And the past two decades have pretty much been about how to actually take advantage of this group without losing the bigot demography either.

You can make jokes: gay fans will laugh and will wonder if there is maybe a bit of truth, and bigots will laugh because yeah isn't being gay so funny? until gay fans grow tired of being the butt of the joke and bigot get tired of still having to acknowledge "the way to humiliate men" that gay jokes always bring. you can make subtext: gay fans will feed on it and overread it, and bigots will ignore it. Until gay fans get tired of having to fight for their interpretation and for crumbs, and bigots will get annoyed by fans talking about that gay shit online. you can make some token characters: gay fans will be happy to be seen, and bigot will tolerate it as long as it's not too in focus. until gay fans get tired that their experience is so superficial, like just putting a still picture on the screen, and bigot will get angry of the woke shit being thrown at their throat.

And that's just the systemic analysis - it doesn't account for how some showrunners' own desire in the way to approach a story.

idk man.

aayway yes Grimnir nice indeed.

[5-7-9]

Okay here’s another meta explanation for my reclamation AU, not as fun. Yeah, i actually included the pedophilic homophobia biphobia rumors in my narrative. Y’know why? Y’know what I think? I think Bruce’s entire in narrative life being monitored and reported on by newspapers and celebrity gossip, is a nightmare. There’s something to be said about how media (like books) can affect you, and I’m not letting it slide.

There’s a characterized version of Wertham that actually exists in my story, and instead of criticizing fictional stories about jewish coded heroes, he’s in-narrative criticizing the heroes directly (well still book form but y’know). Slight issue is only Batman and Bruce would have to have separate rumors, so the Bruce rumor comes slightly differently, but that’s okay because then i can just use the toxicity of the wealthiest class to explain it. Anyways, I’m referencing this real event for a story idea as a critique on media, same as this guy but i reversed it back at him. Counter argument i guess.

When Bruce becomes acquainted with the queer friend group (based after some tumblr peeps and culture), they hesitantly accept him. The media on the other hand? Well Bruce is covering up for the most part, but its not long before the reporters and gazette starts assuming he’s gay again, also wonder if he’s taking advantage of his lack of privacy to spread that rumor in the first place to hide something. Of course, when Bruce kisses Jack on camera, the media went wild. Even the citizens that don’t care for celebrities heard about it. So the homophobic biphobic stuff starts happening, but there was a surprisingly big positive reaction where many queers acknowledged the homophobic backlash and the lack of privacy Bruce has, so they said the media should shut the fuck up and leave him alone. So Gotham suddenly became very queer accepting, while also highlighting the homophobia, and Bruce’s reputation while still criticized and suspicious for being the richest guy in town, was pretty good. The Gazette got canceled so they tried saving face by not talking about it anymore. Lots of media outlets got canceled.

The good thing wasn’t Bruce being publicized, it actually sucks lots: Jack constantly get insulted for being “boring” and being questioned for being used as a media stunt to hide something (fun parts is Jack proving the media wrong and using the spotlight to openly criticize shit and to prop up his activist group).

For the toxic masculinity and internalized homophobia and being closeted interpretation, I actually disagree? Idk how wealth works but I think he’d get away with it as an open secret. I mean he’s rich, what could a homophobe do to the richest guy possibly ever??? So Bruce doesn’t technically get outed, don’t worry about that. He just preferred keeping his partners secret for privacy, becuz again, the media sucks. He allows Alfred to know, and anyone else in private like friends or family. I had Selina teach him the term bisexual but he already knew, just not the word or how it’s not as normal as he assumed.

[knowlesian]

Hey! I really enjoy your meta and was wondering if you could share your thoughts on why Ed says "never left" in episode 8. Because that infuriated me! He did leave and wasn't planning on coming back before the English reveal. But I also am aware that I relate deeply to Stede in episode 8 (the way they had him wear the same outfit as when he was bullied as a child killed me) so I'm sure my view is skewed. But it read to me like let's just pretend that didn't happen which I understand could be a call back to the bathtub scene but it just rubs me wrong.

So can I have your thoughts about why Ed/the writers went with the iconic "never left" + wink reply?

i CAN, and buckle up because this one is something i have so many thoughts about but somehow have only briefly tackled.

so: ed is a really socially aware guy. he's good with reading people, he can do sarcasm just fine, but he doesn't know the rules of the social road in stede's world which means when stede does the 'my body language and whole vibe SCREAMS i don't like this, my words say yeah cool do it more, even! i'm fine with this' thing because he's used to that as a way to make life "easier" for everybody by just entirely avoiding open confrontation ever, ed is like ...okay, i am either supposed to call you a liar here or carry on? because in my world, when you want something to fuckin stop you say FUCKIN STOP and when you're being a real jerk on purpose, you want people to know it's because you hope they have a shitty day.

(i know ed the adult man not knowing the terms retirement and passive aggressive exist or what they mean has led to some real world logic application all, ed is dumb/doesn't know basic words and the like, but those are Theme Moments because this is a big gay play running on rule of cool. the text is saying: ed wants to stop but doesn't even know it's an option unless you die, and ed says what he means/expects everyone else to do the same.)

so in ed's world, what stede does as a mode of politeness/defense is just called lying. ed's not grounded in the world of books and social games; he's not looking for hidden purposeful meanings in the corners of everybody's words, which contributes to how he misses jack. (sidenote: i think stede is extra snippy because his spidey-sense for passive aggressive fuckery is going off endlessly and telling him something is not RIGHT here, and he needs to be on alert by the same token, but that's not super related. just wanted to say it!!! etc)

also, ed’s been introduced to the idea of passive aggression as a weapon; he hasn't been introduced to the niceties side. so when he leaves, it's with this funky vibe in the air where he feels like jack just came out to have a good time, stede's giving off the kind of mixed signals that are potentially scary, and it culminates in stede unfortunately framing his (very legit) annoyances as an issue with ed/his behavior vs issues with jack, and that only drives the wedge in deeper.

so when ed leaves, it's not because he wants to: it's this rolling avalanche of shitty things that all culminate in ed being like, if jack who represents my past and is just here to have a good time pisses stede off this much and makes him say he doesn't like me around jack, what happens when he decides i'm too much like jack to be borne a second longer and kicks me out, too?

theeeeen he finds out jack was there to fuck shit up on PURPOSE, and what stede had an issue with gets internally reframed. suddenly, stede is not judging ed by proxy, he's judging jack who is a lying dick and trying to cause trouble and drive them apart on purpose. this means even if stede's own issues were a large part of his reaction, stede actually read the room far better than ed. (just like he did at the party.)

the spin now emotionally is: stede tried to protect me. if i had listened and not trusted jack over stede's instincts, maybe none of this is happening. i have to go back and protect him.

which leads me into the actual line!!! stede's face is super key here, to set the stage. he's so, so fucking happy. like: incandescent. when he says 'you came back', he's so fucking relieved. they're about to get boarded by the fucking royal navy and stede looks happier than ever.

which tells ed: you never actually wanted me to leave. you are unconditionally glad to see me back, even though i fucked up and i should have listened to you. you're just glad i'm here, no matter what's going on.

and ed... ed so much wants anybody at all to see him for who he actually is, as he wants to be seen, and then be happy he's in the room.

so 'never left' is the moment he speaks stede's language for the first time, i think. the language of: what i am saying here is a cover for the deeper truth of what i mean. ed says never left, but he doesn't mean it like literally i was never gone or never intended to stay that way.

he means: i didn't want to go. and maybe, even better— emotionally, i was always still with you. my body left, the legend of blackbeard left, but ed was always right here. right where he wants to be.

and they're so thrilled to be together again, yes, but i think that's the crux of this scene and why their gazes stay tender and locked even as everything goes shit around them. why ed needs to reach out, and stede needs to lean back into that touch.

ed knows stede is just glad he's around; stede knows ed didn't ever want to leave him.

(and, after an episode of talking past each other, they are finally starting to work out the language to meet each other on even ground, where ed will give some and stede will give some and they will meet in the middle, neither of them having to exist entirely in the other's world or use the other's words to communicate.)

[bojangos]

hello i would like to hear about your “jaster never adopted jango” analysis

(LOVE your jaster art. im also inhaling crumbs)

(thank you for the compliment!!! I want to draw more of him sometime.  perhaps from one of the many ‘jaster lives’ aus i’ve seen lmao)

Alright here we go gamers. strap in i'll try to organize my thoughts coherently.

It all comes back to "The Mandalorian: Season 2, Chapter 14", where Boba gets his armor back and shows Din his chain code to prove it belongs to him. Din's immediate reaction is "your father was a foundling", which seems to raise Din's opinion of Boba (but that's. another thing altogether lmao).

So this establishes that, not only was Jango a Mandalorian, but that he was specifically a foundling. Okay, what does this mean?

Foundlings, as portrayed in The Mandalorian, were kids from outside of the clans who were rescued and brought into the fold. They were raised by the clan until they could be 'reunited with their own kind' or came of age, where they could choose to swear the creed, or leave. Jango could not be returned to his family, since they were all killed, so Jaster raised him as a foundling, and we can guess based on the fact Jango's still running around in beskar'gam twenty years later, he swore in. HOWEVER.

Being raised as a foundling is different than being adopted! Foundlings raised in Din's covert were not part of the Clans, but if they swore the creed, they could go on to form their own (re: din and grogu forming Clan Mudhorn).

Okay, what does this have to do with Jango and Jaster? Once again, we wheel back to the scene where Boba shows Din his chain code. Remember, Din takes one look at this, and knows automatically that Jango was a foundling:

(source, a translation of Boba's chain code).

The most notable part here is that it lists Jango as Boba's father, but Jaster as Jango's mentor. The "Mentor/Father" distinction is key to my theory here lmao.

We know that Mandalorian's have a proclivity for adoption, but it seems to be limited to children of other Mandalorians, and that 'new blood' like foundlings are less likely to be adopted and typically form their own clans instead. Another source for this theory actually comes straight from the OG "Open Seasons" comic that goes over Jango's backstory and formally introduces Jaster.

(pictured; Frames from Jango Fett: Open Seasons, Volume 2. Montross is essentially harrassing Jango for “not really being Jaster’s son”.  Also of note: normally I hesitate to source Open Seasons because so much of it is outdated lore, or downright racist or misogynistic, but. We’re going back to the beginning here)

This comic was published before a lot of the existing lore on Mandalorians was established (re: the “Republic Commando” Novels by Karen Traviss), but if we take it in that context, Montross saying Jango isn’t “really” Jaster’s son implies that Jango hasn’t been adopted, that the gai bal manda (mandalorian adoption vow) hasn’t been said.  Adopted children ordinarily have no difference in standing, and typically no distinction is made between adopted and biological children, so Montross saying Jango isn’t Jaster’s son - I’m inclined to believe Montross.

(though Montross does later get Jaster killed in this issue so lmao.  He’s trying to needle Jango here - and I’m sure Jango himself might’ve questioned why Jaster hadn’t adopted him).

If Jaster never adopted Jango, this could be why in The Clone Wars, Season 2, Episode 12: The Mandalore Plot, Prime Minister Almec states: “Jango Fett was a common Bounty Hunter -- How he got that armor is beyond me”.   (This was apparently very controversial when this episode came out - saying Jango wasn’t a Mandalorian after all? In Meta, the reasoning was that the Mandalorians should be more than a mercenary company).  

If Jaster never adopted Jango, this could be reason why Jango was not part of Mandalore’s records.  Then again, Din’s name was apparently listed in a registry on Mandalore proper, so another question is: why isn’t Jango listed there? I have a few options:

1: Jango’s presumed death upon starting the Kamino Contract meant he was removed from any registries.

2: Jango’s earlier presumed death after Galidraan (and his subsequent time in slavery) meant he was removed from the registries.

3: Jaster’s Death on Korda IV meant Jango was removed from the records, since his Mentor died (kind of a stretch, since Jango seems to have already sworn the Resol’nare at this point).

4: Concord Dawn kept it’s own registries (possible, but unlikely, given Din was registered on Mandalore after being in the ass end of the galaxy (sorry, Aq Ventina)).

Anyway, Jango’s mandalorian status nonwithstanding, this doesn’t entirely explain why Jaster wouldn’t have just adopted Jango, since Jaster is well aware there is no one for Jango to go back to. So why didn’t he? I have another couple thoughts!

1: The funnier, albeit less likely (in my opinion) is that Jaster couldn’t legally adopt Jango because he is technically a convicted murderer (re: the republic commando novels, Jaster was exiled from Concord Dawn after murdering a fellow Journeyman Protector for corruption - likely Jaster caught him in the act of some Nasty Things and he was compelled by his own moral code to kill him).  Even mandalorian’s i’m sure have legal statues against letting ‘violent criminals’ formally adopt children (though the Foundling loophole clearly still stands lmao.  Also, as Mand’alor, i’m sure Jaster could just.  Adopt anyway aklsdjflkasdj)

2: More likely in my opinion, is that Jaster didn’t adopt Jango out of respect for Jango’s old family.  If an old friend died suddenly and you took in their kid, you wouldn’t want to replace them as the kid’s parent, right?

Jango was about ten years old when his parent’s were killed by Death Watch - plenty old to remember them fondly, recognize them as his ‘only parents’, and certainly old enough to get hostile with anyone who tries to replace them.  I’m sure this isn’t uncommon among mandalorians or foundlings, so Jaster may have recognized the potential hostility and was extremely clear on not replacing his parents.

(pictured: clip from Jango Fett: Open Seasons, Volume 1 showing Jango’s father leaving food out for a ‘beggar’. Someone  somewhere once used the name Cassius for Jango’s father, and it’s what I use - gotta inject a KOTOR reference somwhere, right?).

Jango’s father was covering for Jaster when Death Watch came knocking - He trusted Jaster enough to leave out food and put his family at risk for Jaster’s sake.  It’s entirely possible they grew up together on Concord Dawn, or, barring that, were close friends as they were both Journeymen Protectors.  He’s still covering for Jaster even as he’s beaten within an inch of his life in front of his family. 

(Pictured: Poor Dad Fett getting beat up while Death Watch threatens to kill him in front of Jango.  Dad says he Hasn’t seen Jaster since he was exiled.)

This is all to say, beyond the ordinary treatment of foundling’s it’s entirely possible Jaster didn’t want to adopt Jango, as doing so would remove one of Jango’s only remaining connections to family - Jango is a Fett first and foremost, and adopting him into Clan Mereel would remove him from that. (the Fett clan is old as hell, predating the Vizsla’s, but that’s another sidebar lmao).

Also super minor, but.  What kind of kid calls their parent by their first name? lmao.

In summary: Din’s reaction to Boba’s Chain code implies that Jango wasn’t adopted, and ye olde Open Season’s Comics support this in various ways - from Montross’ dialogue to Jaster’s relationship with Jango’s family.  Even if he wasn’t fomally adopted, Jaster and Jango recognized each other as family and the respect that came with it.

I’ll leave you with my favorite frame from Open Seasons, lmao.  baby jango you are so cute 

[absolutebl]

ohhh the ask game is so fun, i couldn't pick just one question 👀 here are my favs qs i would love to hear your answer to

4 9 20 21 24

thanks for the game, meta, analyses, reactions, screenshots and so on, i have a lot of fun reading you. have a nuce and calm weekend.

4. most ridiculous plot

I picked twice before but since I got this again I’m picking a third one! This is where being a BL completest helps. 

TharnType 2. Like WHAT was going on? Here is the trash watch with me slowing going mad trying to follow the plot. 

9. name a BL and I’ll pick my fav character

You didn't name one *pouts* 

20. drama I thought I’d never watch but did (and liked it?)

I already picked for this, Great Men Academy. But that was kinda a cheat because I didn’t think I had to watch it because maybe not really BL. I try to watch ALL BL so I guess this is more, BL I thought I’d DNF but didn’t.

My Esports Genius Brother - China (2021) Gaga  

A strangely cute somewhat incomprehensible censored magical realism BL micro series about fated mates who balance each other out and must find the courage to stay together. Way more gay than I thought they could get these days. 

21. if I could pick one thing to fix about BL dramas, what and which country

HOW SHORT KOREAN BLS ARE.

I was hoping to get this question! 

I was okay with their shorter runs to start, but I also love regular Kdramas, and I'd really like to start seeing some proper 16 ep KBL! 

24. I’ll tell you some dumb fact or stat I know about BL that surprises me when people don’t know it

As much as I slag off H3:MODC it’s an open secret that Wayne Song (at least) also hated the ending. Or maybe he hated how many fans whined at him about it (and he’s apparently dragged Huang Chun Chih into his madness). He, or both of them, have to date cameo appeared (as their characters or an alt reality version) in 

Be Loved in House I Do 

Life Love On The Line (form Japan - ironic) 

Plus & Minus (Taiwan) 

There’s an informal pool going amongst BL super fans as to which BL he (or they) will show up in next. 

The BL Drama Ask game is here, but I'm shut to to anonymous asks once more, until I feel brave again. 

[yeetlegay]

Oh I'm definitely looking forward to that meta!

Regarding the wound tending scene, I feel like I may have gotten it completely wrong. Like many others on the TL, I thought I noticed a difference in Porsche's overall attitude towards Kinn once he saw Kinn's male friend in Episode 3. So I read the wound tending scene as Porsche flirting with Kinn but then it was revealed in Episode 4 that he hadn't even registered that Kinn may have been gay. I mean it could have still been Porsche subconsciously flirting with Kinn without him even realising. I have no idea.

Honestly, I really do find Porsche hard to read. I mean I can genuinely pause an episode at any time and tell you exactly what Kinn is thinking based on the look on his face (Mile is an EXCEPTIONAL actor. His MICROEXPRESSIONS! I feel like every single decision he makes as Kinn is the BEST one).

However, with Porsche, it's very different for me. I think it may be intentional because Apo is definitely an incredible actor as well. On one hand, it could be that Porsche is confused/unaware of his attraction to Kinn. On the other, it could just be that he is very good at hiding his feelings. Both Kinn and Porsche are great at that. But when it comes to attraction and sexuality, that's not something Kinn really has to hide. I mean he's KINN THEERAPANYAKUL. He can do whatever he wants. He can look at anyone however he wants. What can they do about it?! Nothing!

But with Porsche, he stands to lose a lot if he makes his attraction to Kinn apparent and Kinn reacts negatively to it. I mean that's his BOSS! (Gotta love those power dynamics, LOL) I think this was illustrated in the "To me all our people are the same" scene in Episode 4. Porsche has remembered this kiss by this time and based on the reaction we saw, he didn't seem to mind it at all. I think him asking Kinn if he would have asked for him back was a very loaded and layered question. Yes, he wants to know whether Kinn thinks he's a competent enough bodyguard to be on his team but he also now knows that Kinn wanted to discuss the kiss (based on all his prodding earlier) and now wants Kinn to once again initiate that conversation because he's not the one in the position to do so.

So in conclusion, my point is that I'm confused about Porsche and where he stands. I REALLY want him to just be good at hiding his feelings but like I said, he could also just be confused about his feelings for Kinn. Sigh. I can't wait for Episode 5. I'm HOPING Porsche doesn't initially forget the events of the night before but I think he might.

Ack I’m just now seeing this! Well the meta is here now 😂

Yeah I don’t think Porsche really twigged to what that guy was doing in Kinn’s room in episode 3. We’re all still susceptible to heteronormativity/compulsory heterosexuality/etc. so it just might not have occurred to him that someone like Kinn would be gay. Idk Porsche just might need to have that gay shit directly in his face lol. Sort of like my many embarrassing experiences of finding out girls were flirting with me and I just thought they were being nice. Obliviousness is queer culture at this point.

I definitely think Porsche just, like, gives vibes constantly without meaning to around Kinn. He was definitely eyeing him up very subtly and radiating a certain energy, even though I’m sure he had no idea that’s what he was doing.

Porsche can be hard for me to read too, but tbh I think it’s hard for him too. I think he’s not very good at understanding himself sometimes; from one oldest sibling to another, I can recognize how he’s sort of closed off parts of himself because of how quickly he had to grow up and how much of his youth he lost in grieving for his parents and taking care of Chay. And for the same reason, when he is aware of his feelings, I think he’s very good at masking them when he wants to. He can actually be pretty calculating in how much of himself he reveals.

So yeah, I think it’s both! I think Porsche is confused about his feelings and doing a good job of hiding them. And I still do think he’s not in quite as deep as Kinn yet (I posted earlier that I’m getting some real demiromantic vibes from him, but we’ll see lol). I feel like Kinn may have fallen first, but Porsche will fall harder.

[backofthebookshelf]

Horror Recs for Magnus Fans, Part the Second

Last time I did this I was assuming that anyone who was listening to a horror podcast already knew some horror, but I have since learned that this is not the case, so there are a few more classics in here, as well as some more of my faves.

For anyone and everyone who listens to TMA: Sarah Monette's Kyle Murchison Booth stories, many (though not all) of which are collected in The Bone Key. Queer information professional would very much like for ghosts and monsters to leave him alone, does not get what he wants; can't resist the impulse to help out people who are more fucked over than him anyway. I love Booth so much, he deserves much better things than he gets.

For Web stans: Blindsight by Peter Watts, a sci-fi horror novel about free will and consciousness. Lydia Nicholas named this as one of her favorite books in the first Assistant's Round Table; I respect her for it, but I read this once and it gave me an existential crisis. Highly recommended, but make sure you've got a palate cleanser.

For jonelias fans and/or fans of the Corruption: Candyman (1992). With bonus folklore & urban legend meta! Kissing bees into your (potential) lover's mouth in order to convince them to become a murderous spirit of vengeance just like you! "All you have left is my desire for you"!!! It's extremely sexy, is what I'm saying, in all the best ways. (Trigger warnings for violence against children and a fair amount of gore, in addition to the aforementioned bees.)

If you love the no-holds-barred social commentary of season five: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. No, I will not shut up about this book until absolutely everyone in the world has read it. It's short! You could read it in an afternoon! This is Lovecraft's "The Horror at Red Hook" from the point of view of a black musician and hustler who's hired to help out with the ritual, and it's incredible. (If you're enjoying Lovecraft Country, absolutely do not miss this.)

If you miss the standalone statements of season one and two: the works of the early 20th century cosmic horror and ghost story writers: M.R. James, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen. Machen has a tendency to get pretty eugenics-y, and they're all either misogynistic or don't have women in their stories at all, but goddamn do they do atmosphere. ("The Magnus Archives" is named after James's "Count Magnus," Jonny's favorite M.R. James story.)

For Stranger fans and those who love unexplained mysteries: The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher, a Southern horror (not a Gothic) about a woman who goes to clean out her abusive grandmother's house to sell it only to find that there are things other than his wife that her grandfather was afraid of, and for good reason. Features hot competent neighbors, extremely practical reactions to terrible monsters, and a Very Good Dog (the dog does not die).

For Lonely bitches: "The Horla" by Guy de Maupassant, the story I use to describe my depression to people. That's a pretty good content warning, honestly.

If you loved the "Am I still human?" plotline: The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht, a grotesque little novella about monsters in (dysfunctional) love. I'm a bit iffy on the ending, but honestly landing the ending of horror is so tricky that I'll almost never discount something just because I'm iffy on the ending. The body horror and emotional repression throughout make up for it.

If you crave the supernatural adventure series starring Gerry Keay: The Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey - modern noir, so gritty you can feel it in your teeth, featuring all kinds of monsters, demons, curses, and narrowly-averted apocalypses. Not as misogynistic as noir can get, but it is noir so there's definitely a bit of that (but definitely not as misogynistic as Jim Butcher). Trigger warnings all over the place; this is B-movie horror in book form.

For Distortion fans: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Bears almost no resemblance to the Netflix series of the same name, or any of the movies based on it; this is a twisty psychological novel with a profoundly unreliable narrator and a lot of repressed queerness. Michael/Helen would be right at home in Hill House. (Content warning for suicidality.)

If you want your horror to make you cry: El Orfanado, directed by Guillermo del Toro; a family moves into a house that used to be an orphanage, that is, of course, haunted. This is a tremendous distillation of the way that horror movies are so often centered around women not being believed, so content warning for gaslighting (and for harm to children); I saw this movie once and entire scenes are embedded in my brain in full color. (Honestly you can't go wrong with any Guillermo del Toro movies; he's fantastic.)

If you want your horror to make you cry, but make it gay: In the Flesh, two seasons of a zombie TV show tragically cut short (yes, it ends on a cliffhanger, I’m sorry). Uses zombies as a metaphor for homophobia, but also includes actual queer people. Content warning for small-town-typical homophobia and tragic gays. Please come yell with me about Simon Monroe, I love him so much.

For Slaughter fans: The Shining by Stephen King - look, look, I know. He's not great. He needs an editor. The movie is all kinds of fucked up. But this book is one of the most raw, personal horror stories I've ever read, and it's got an excellent combination of supernatural influence and real-life mundane fear of addiction and personal weakness that really grabs you by the intestines. Again, an iffy ending, but it's worth it for the slow descent into paranoia and madness.

If you just want to try to find some authors to read: The Borderlands anthology series, paperbacks from the height of the 80s horror boom; there are so many different kinds of stories in here that I can pretty much guarantee you that you won't like some of them but you might well find something new to fall in love with. A lot of these writers are out of print but readily available at used bookstores or for pennies on Amazon.

As always, let me know if you liked any of these or if you have a specific need: it is no longer my job to recommend books and media to people but it is still my very favorite thing to do and I will be obnoxious about it forever