#I knew the show was queerbait but I did not expect it to be THIS gay

[leaffsheep]

watching Sherlock for the first time ever and im currently on S2 Ep1 and let me tell you… the amount of jealousy radiating off John is insane… I actually can’t believe it

[anxietycheesecake]

I'd like to ask you a very fair question: now that they no-homoed nandermo, now that we know for certain we aren't getting any gay relationship, what makes wwdits so high quality rep over other shows that have gay sex jokes and throw a coming out in an episode? Is it because they're actually having gay sex? Because it's still just played for laughs and treated as less than the canonical straight relationships (also "haha they're pervs who'll fuck anyone" isn't peak bi representation, that said as a bisexual who is a perv who will fuck anyone). What did wwdits do that other similar shows haven't done decades ago to earn that queer media™ recognition and be packed with OFMD and good omens, two actual extremely queer shows with gays having feelings beyond horny?

Not to say I didn't enjoy the episode because I absolutely did (queerbaiting aside), and it's amazing if you find this resolution satisfying. I do too, to some extent (as a start rather than an ending, tbh). But after so many years calling out how they teased a queer relationship they never intended to portray and then hit us with homophobic "let guys be friends" rethoric (you don't have to be homophobic to say homophobic shit) and getting absolutely dragged for it... was it all worth it? Don't you feel a little TJLC? Aren't you kind of mad that nothing has really changed since the days of Sherlock and Supernatural? Or, even worse, that now showrunners can point at characters, go "haha these bitches be gay af" and get awards for queer representation?

I love wwdits, even when I hate it. Nobody forced them at gunpoint to write season 3 and 4 like that, or be purposefully vague about what they were going for, or teasing the possibility of nandermo all over the marketing. If things have continued to go like in season 1 and 2, I'd be more than cool with this ending. If they had gone "holy shit, we didn't want to make it seem like it'd actually happen, we just thought it was funny that they acted so gay" and course-corrected after season 3 instead of doubling down, I wouldn't even call it queerbait. Sometimes people making media don't know how it's going to be received and that's okay. It becomes bait when you refuse to clarify and after pulling all that shit you act like fans are insane for noticing.

So by all means, continue to enjoy wwdits. This show means so much to me and if it had remained a plotless sitcom without character development that is just meant to make me laugh, I'd call it one of the best comedies I've ever watched. It's just that, in retrospective, they took the show in a direction that made no sense for them, ran with it for far too long and then asked why people expected so much from a show that wasn't meant to have any depth, despite all the times they tried to make it look like they knew where they were going.

[nodameshield]

i can't look away from this car crash.

the inconsistencies with the story we read for 400+ chapters, the hopelessness around Izuku's entire character, deeming bkdk's dynamic entirely useless after all the effort to set them up as the 'wonder duo', 'the ultimate rivals' -- and then? What is this? was it all to waste?

where is Izuku defending his dream? where is his ambition to become the #1 hero? if what he wants to do now is teach, you have to show me that!! you should've shown me that sooner! Show me an Izuku who is admired by his teachers (AM, Aizawa, GT...) not because they're heroes, but because he admires how they teach and now he longs to become a mentor as well. Then, maybe, this whole shift in his perspective would make more sense. But the thing is:

Izuku loved his mentors because they were heroes. Not because they were teachers.

(teaching is the noblest profession do not come for me -- all I'm saying is: this is not consistent with his character!)

If he loves being a teacher now, I'm not seeing that, either! I'm not seeing a deep desire to help kids (like Tenko) to make better decisions or have better opportunities.

All I see is a depressed twenty-something boy with dead-eyes and office-shoes. If I wanted to see that, I'd read literally anything else!

Where is Izuku? Where did his character go? what happened to his personality? Where is my shōnen manga MC? the kid who cleaned a beach with his bare hands and no quick, fueled by the ambition to become a hero? if that drive was there before the quick, it surely should be there long after the embers burned out...

it pains me, because it feels as though everything else that happened in this story was for nothing. it collapses on itself and becomes pointless. If the message was that once you grow up you should give up on your dreams--well, then call me Katsuki 'cause I don't even know what to say to that! What kind of shit message is that?

If the message is that you should do the best with your circumstances, Izuku is still not doing that! He could be a hero again now. He has the suit, he had an opening, an offer, even. But he still didn't want it. He's settling. It's mediocre. I hate it. I hate this for him. And I hate it if this is what he's become.

Also, I was not about to be queerbaited by a shōnen manga. I've been around the block and I knew what to expect. But maybe even so I was too naïve, because what they did to bkdk's relationship goes beyond the ship, it fundamentally kills their bond.

How am I supposed to interpret Katsuki not only working for nearly a decade in order to get Izuku his suit, then waiting for Izuku to be a hero again and then WAITING AGAIN to invite Izuku to join his agency, rejecting all other prospects because it was always Izuku, always Deku, the one he wanted by his side as a partner -- and I'm supposed to be okay with Izuku never acknowledging this? Rejecting Katsuki's proposal without a thought? That is not Izuku. And it's a disservice to the friendship they spent 400+ chapters rebuilding, the rivalry I was shown from day one.

There were so many better ways to address their dynamic, even if there was a shift in it due to Izuku becoming a teacher or whatever. If Katsuki was to be rejected and disappointed in the end, you might as well have left him dead, for there was no purpose to his character after that without their rivalry. (by this I mean, you set up their dynamic to be a duality. One can't exist without the other. If you are going to change your mind, tell the audience! Show the audience! there was no buildup for this. is sloppy. is mediocre again.

anyways i obviously care about this. I wanna look away but i can't. I can't. I've spent years of my life loving these characters, learning from them, following their story. I thought they'd have a better send-off. I thought their creator understood the characters (he gave us every sign that he did).

I thought the ending would be consistent and good, like most of the story was, and it hurts to be proven wrong, especially when it's not only bad, but painfully, regrettably mediocre, which is the worst fate a beloved piece of media can get.

[tootalltech]

I JUST FUCKING FINISHED LAB RATS: ELITE FORCE AND. IT ENDS? LIKE THAT?????? I KNEW IT WAS ONLY ONE SEASON bc lets be real you cant beat lab rats and god knows wth theyre doing with the writing in elite force BUT THE CLIFFHANGER???? like i knew i was coming up on the last episode. i was perfectly aware of that. I THOUGHT THE THING WITH ROMAN AND RIKER WAS GOING TO BE RESOLVED. LIKE. HELLO. amazing to me that the writers of that show were so confident theyd get renewed for a second season that they just let the finale end like that.

i also just couldnt look at roman properly the entire show bc thats just jay from descendants. thats just booboo stewart. disney has like 5 actors and its okay <3 but thats just him.

i also desperately need someone to explain what the thing with chase and kaz is to me. dont get me wrong, i dont dislike either of them or the ship itself. i love chase. and i dont know mighty med very well but kaz is silly. i understand they could have a dynamic going on. but like. where. did it come from. what evidence is there. in the show. i was expecting so much more based off what ive seen on here. like i was ready to be at least A Little queerbaited. i think there might be more evidence for chase and sebastian guys im SO sorry but if anyone wants to try and tell me something i missed then feel free!

[hannibalvampires]

What We Do In The Shadows Finale Thoughts

I’ve seen a lot of different opinions on the finale and I thought why not post my own since I seem to agree with different things from those who disliked it and those who liked it.

So first off I was not disappointed by the finale, but the reason is because I already accepted that the show I loved in the first 3 seasons had taken a different direction.

I was disappointed when the show took a turn in season 4 and 5 and dropped or stopped focusing on a lot of my favourite arcs: Guillermo standing up for himself and becoming more confident, Nandor and Guillermo’s evolving relationship (which was clearly heading in a romantic direction), Laszlo and Colin’s friendship, etc.

I did not expect the finale to wrap up all these character arcs because I’ve seen for the past few seasons that they did not care about those arcs anymore. Instead they seemed to focus almost exclusively on the comedy aspect of the show and decided that the character building and development did not matter anymore.

There were occasional episodes where they would focus more on character development and relationships but the next episode would often act like they never happened and the characters learned nothing.

It was frustrating for a bit but I accepted it. The show was still funny and I enjoyed it a lot of the time. It felt like watching a different show that I enjoyed but not nearly as much as the show in the first 3 seasons.

The episode before the finale was one of those occasional episodes where they focused on character development and relationships. I loved it. However, having seen the pattern of the show the past few seasons I knew that it did not have much bearing on the finale.

I went into the finale with low expectations, partially because of the pattern I’d been seeing in the show the past few seasons, and also because I have experienced many awful finales of shows in the past. I was 99% sure that Nandermo was not going to happen. I didn’t think that Colin would learn the truth about Laszlo raising him. The characters would probably continue seeing Guillermo as below them and Guillermo would keep taking it.

The finale made me feel a bit better about how I’d been feeling actually. They addressed a lot of the issues I had with the last few seasons of the show like the characters never growing or changing, showing that it was deliberate. I personally didn’t like their decision to do that but at least I knew I wasn’t crazy. There were also funny moments and I liked that they put focus on Guillermo and his feelings.

They addressed more about Nandor and Guillermo’s relationship than I thought they would to be honest. I loved the Nandermo ‘ending’ in the third version, and their last scene together was definitely hinting at things, however I could see how someone could see that as baiting. And maybe it was, I don’t know.

I’m used to being queerbaited by ships where either neither of the characters were queer or only one of them was but they were killed or something, so baiting between two queer characters is confusing. Is calling it shipbaiting more accurate? I know there were no long-term same-sex romantic relationships on the show despite all the characters being queer other than Guillermo and Freddie (which did not last long and ended in a horrible joke), but does that make it queer baiting or just not great representation?

Overall I can honestly understand the people who loved the finale and the people who hated it. I think it all comes down to expectations and preferences, as well as how invested in the show people were.

I’m thinking of doing a rewatch of the show now and taking notes to better gather my thoughts and opinions. Who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind on some things.

Anyway that’s just my personal thoughts and opinions. Please be kind to each other.

[lover-of-mine]

On the question of the new viewers. Let me preface with after getting burned bad I made a promise I would never ship Canon straight characters as queer ships ever again. It just comes into play to understand the readers digest version of this. Yes I was always aware of the Buddie ship and the actors but that was it

I accidentally started season 6. It just came on, and I just didnt look away. Here's how it went.

I actually saw the lasagna dinner scene and thought wait they went Canon? That's them right? Then quickly realized. Nope 2 straight besties. Bucks a cool uncle (didn't know about will scene forgive me). And proceeded to not get attached.

Actually easy because they separated them a bit. But then there was the lightening strike and poker date and I was like oh somethings happening. I was wrong they had the dopey ass ending and I was like bless me for not getting invested.

Then.... It was a year wait!!!!!! So it was a boredom tune back in. I was pleased to see Bucks bi story. I thought the first kiss was charming. Then he was just there. I left the season thinking Eddie was tragically in love with his dead wife and Buck was experimenting.

If I didn't go back to binge I would have gone into 8 with these expectations. Eddie either excepting he was a tragic single father forever. Buck, yes probably seeing Tommy, but no I was not a shipper. Firstly because of appearance. I have no problem with age difference but with them I just don't like it. Tommy seems older and rougher. On the flip side personality. That Tommy wasn't what I pictured Bucks end game as like at all. I wanted someone like Spencer Reid if it wasn't Eddie.

But... . I did go back and binge. S1 was a trip. Got to S2. Saw the opening. Went duh I get why they ship them, but you ain't getting me. Until the elf scene. I really was good. But right after the elf scene I remembered hearing how Tim wrote it as a nod and double checked.. Remember, it would be weird to see the scene and know Tim knows after knowing full well yes Buck would come out queer. So it really was a no brainer after that. No way Tim created this in S2 if they weren't end game if there was ever a chance.

Then came the well, tsunami, shooting, will reveal, break ups, co dependant idiots and finally caught back to the lasagna and lightening. Also seeing how much Eddie isn't a reliable narrator about his relationship with Shannon. The version I got at the end of 7 is not what was happening on my screen in 2. I would almost label it a red herring depending on how this plays out in 8. Also after watching the begin episodes I understood anyone's frustration that Tommy was just white washed.

Final conclusion. Not even trying to sound condescending but I don't know why the other side even thinks this is a "ship war". I was late and I never hated Tommy but I would have never shipped them as end game. I couldn't even tell if Tommy actually liked Buck. I was left with the ick of Buck was a consolation prize or second choice and Buck was trying way to hard. Taking scraps and being grateful. Maybe because I binged it was more fresh but it was more of how little self respect Buck had for himself in trying to be in a relationship.

And if anyone finished reading that you deserve an award.

This is an interesting view of things, I think if you only have the s7 context, you will see them differently because the whole Kim thing really messes with the perception of Eddie and love, thank you for coming and telling me this, really.

But this kinda made me talk about my experience with buddie, so I'm gonna do that, because I think it's funny. I didn't know much about the show, but I knew of buddie, I started watching during the hiatus between 5a and 5b and during that time there was some big talk about queerbaiting going around and I know of them next to ships like destiel and stucky and destiel, I had just read an article on queerbaiting that had a section talking about them, so I kinda assumed buddie would be the same as they had enough context to create a ship but not enough for it to have a real chance of going canon, so I was set on not shipping them. Like, I was legit ready to roll my eyes and see that Buck and Eddie with their respective female love interests and be like "okay they are never going anywhere" but then an elf pretty much calls them gay as Eddie justifies sleeping with his wife 10 episodes in and I was like "oh oh" because they have a compelling friendship and I'm a sucker for best friends to lovers, but I was fighting it, until the tsunami, because seriously, I watched Eddie go "there's nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you" after a situation where no one would blame Eddie if he needed time and I was done for. Then they just kept getting more insane about each other. I remember watching the will reveal and being like "wait, fuck me, are they gonna go there?" because they follow all the basic procedural slowburn tropes, and I started s5 being like 👀 about everything that was happening to them. Now that Buck is bi, I'm seriously 95% sure buddie is happening because all the elements are there. There is something very compelling about Buck and Eddie together when you look at the whole show and s7 really added to that. Settling for Buck in a relationship with someone who's clearly not that into him just because it's a queer relationship doesn't feel right when Eddie is right there.

[tessarionbestgirl]

I honestly don’t think Condal and Hess expected the backlash 2x08 brought, sure they knew some people will be pissed but I can totally see them believing Driftmark was going to be their Red Wedding. A shocking twist that had the audience at the edge of their seat, sealing HotD’s place in the HBO hall of fame alongside greats such as The Sopranos and The Wire.

In the lead up to Season 2 they kept talking about how there’s “still hope” for Rhaenicent, Emma was doing photoshoots with Olivia instead of Matt, Sara declared HotD was all about Rhaenyra and Alicent finding their way back to each other, Ryan insisted the sept scene in 2x03 was written because it’s what the fans wanted etc.

They really thought they ate with 2x08, instead it blew up in their face. It’s the show’s worst rated episode, George didn’t hold back with his full on rant against them, Olivia even went off script by saying she was portraying Alicent to be disgusted with Rhaenyra’s demands rather.

I don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors but HBO isn’t stupid, they can’t let idiot writers destroy their launchpad for the asoiaf universe after D&D already ruined Game of Thrones. I can buy the rumour higher ups told C&H to either fix this mess or they’re fired.

Thus comes Emma’s interview where they categorically deny the existence of canon!Rhaenicent on behalf of the show itself. Emma has never outright rejected Rhaenicent so the fact they did tells me this has less to do with their own personal opinion and more HBO cleaning house.

The idea of making two women the center of conspiracy political medieval show isn't bad at all in concept. And there were several cases in reality that was so. Like for I think, a century the succession where plots drawn up by the sultanas who wanted their children in power or reigned through them. I have so many problems with Magnificent century, but, at least sort understand and execute this better than House of the Dragon.

They promoted like a lot this a conflict between Rhaenyra Vs Alicent. They made that stupid queerbaiting photoshoot as well and that real-size, chess game, implying those women are against each other . The problem is they also want to make they victims of patriarch, and only that.

You can make them victims of the patriarchy as well become perpetuators and use this system to their advantage. The best example of this is the movie Blink twice, I will not go in details about the plot, but in it core, at end, it shows a dark reality when you are victim of organization that you can't fight against. So what you should do?

But Sara neither Ryan wanted to go to that because they are stupid.

So in reality what we got is Alicent that does nothing to the greens and betrayal them for nothing or Rhaenyra that acts stupidity for half of the season and then goes Machiavelli for the the last half of the season but she never was directly in conflict with Alicent.

If at least Alicent was the one pulling Aegon's strings, this narrative could some what work. But it was not so. So at end her turn is neither compelling plot twist or make sense. You have to ignore a lot of who Alicent is, and the story that have been told, and what she gone though and so abandoned logic all around to say Rhaenyra is the most important person to Alicent, the story is about them.

And you right they didn't saw that coming because they so sure the twitter Rh@enicest echo chamber represents the majority and they would only be frustrated by the lack of action and not Alicent character assassination.

What this season should have been it was green Vs black. The chess game promotion should have been everyone on the cast. They should have showed Otto dealing in with conflict in the Reach, they should have show more of actual deaths in Riverlands. Jace should have stayed in the North half of season.

But they stupidly thought that Rh@icest is enough. As if S1 was carried by then and not Matt and Paddy.

Like even if they are the center or the main matter of the story, it should never be the only focus of the story. Sure asoaif is about Dany and her dragons / the threat beyond the wall with the other. But it never the only thing going on for it. Sure the Starks are the heart of Game of Thrones, but it was never the only characters being show development.

House of the Dragon because of rhaenicest is called a fanfic, and S2 is mostly praised because of Aegon, Aemond, Jace and Daemon ( this one of more half-half). And the biggest complain this on what they done to Alicent and Rhaenyra this season. So yeah I don't know how much true is to the rumours going on BTS, even though, I would say that Martin post and the general bad reaction may got some investors insecure what may or may not made some of high ups put thejr feet down with Hess and Ryan.

Only time will tell. But there is a certain attempt to control the fans' nerves. That definitely exists.

[bluemagi]

Re. Jumping ship and multishipping

I've been thinking a lot about this these past few weeks, since a certain hot pilot swooped in and stole my heart. I've seen people giving other people shit for "giving up" and jumping ship, for multishipping or even just for liking and enjoying a character. And it's just weird to me how people are so obsessed with controlling other people's behaviors. Just the other day I saw a TikTok where the creator was saying that people who "jumped ship" to Bucktommy were just fetishising because they want to see two guys kissing. Which is just... a terrible take on so many levels.

I was a Buddie shipper too. I enjoyed their on-screen relationship, I saw the signs that there might be more than friendship, and I hoped that something might happen. But I have also been in fandoms for at least 20 years by now. I've been through queerbaiting, I have been through shipbaiting, I have been through relationships I previously loved being destroyed by what happens on screen. I know that nothing is promised and that we have to have realistic expectations. Our interpretations of things are usually not what the writers/actors/directors/editors intend, and so we can always hope, but we have to know that we probably won't get what we want.

I think I grew a bit bored with the Buddie ship around season 5. I was watching queer representation in other shows, like Tarlos in Lone Star, and I couldn't see 911 ever go there, especially as time went on and nothing happened, there were no obvious signs. I didn't think they would ever make Buck or Eddie queer. I still enjoyed the show for what it was and would watch when I had the time, but I wasn't obsessing over it anymore. I would watch the show and hope that either one of them would get an interesting love interest (I actually sort of liked Natalia at the end of season 6), and until that happened, I would just enjoy Buddie outside of that, in fan fictions and Tumblr discourse.

So imagine my surprise when they finally did it, when they actually made Bi Buck canon. Since Tommy had been on the show before, we already knew a lot about him, and we could also read into the difference between s2 Tommy and s7 Tommy and see that there had been a lot of development there. So yeah, I was immediately interested. The more I saw, the more interested I became. So while I can still love and appreciate Buddie, it is far more interesting to me to have actual substance with an on-screen relationship, rather than having to try to interpret and read into every interaction to see if it can relate to Buddie.

But, back to jumping ship and multishipping. I've been thinking back through my fandom history, and I realized that this is something I have gone through several times before, in one way or another. I started out with soap operas, and in those, everyone cheats and nobody is ever happy for long, so jumping ship back and forth happens. Suddenly a character is killed, only to come back to life several years later. They completely change personalities, they change faces (new actors), so things change a lot. I suppose that might be why multishipping and jumping ship is not really an issue for me. It just make sense that you can change your mind about something when more content comes out. It's sort of like a relationship. You can be happy and in love for a while, or for a long time, but things change, people grow, and suddenly that relationship is not right for you anymore.

So I was thinking back on my previous experiences with jumping ship and multishipping, and I just scribbled down some thoughts on them. Starting with....

As The World Turns - Nuke vs. LuRe

I think one of the first times I jumped ship, was from Noah/Luke to Luke/Reid in As The World Turns. An American soap that ended in like 2011. Nuke were one of the first gay male couples on American day time TV, and if you have the time, please go read about them on Wikipedia, because their story is absolutely ridiculous and overdramatic, as most soap couples are. And since this was in the 00s / early 10s, they barely shared any kisses or intimacy. At certain points we were counting the days between their on-screen kisses, and I think we went 200 days without an on-screen kiss while they were in a romantic relationship on the show, and the first time they had sex, I think they just kissed and fucking jumped on the bed or something. It was just ridiculous. But it was representation, which there was not a lot of back in those days.

Then, my beloved Reid Oliver came into the picture. He was out and proud, he was confident, successful, unapologetic, he was just very interesting. Luke/Noah was young love, riddled with insecurity and drama. Luke/Reid was more confident, more adult. And also, it was an option! Back in those days, there were barely any queer characters on TV, and now there were three guys in one show. At the point when Reid came on to the show, I was already finding myself growing tired and annoyed with Nuke, and Noah specifically. So when he showed an interest in Luke and they began their relationship, I happily jumped over.

I was then punished by the show's cancellation and that fucking train, but that's beside the point.... Moving on!

Days of Our Lives - Will, Sonny and Paul

Now this was a fun one! I remember watching Days back when I was in elementary school. My friend and I would go home together from school and watch it before doing home work. I was better in English and in reading than her, so I would be reading the subtitles out loud to her so she could keep up with what was happening. I think Days actually helped me to learn English much better. So I remembered all the drama with Sami, Carrie, Lucas and Austin, and with baby Will. And it was a bit shocking to me when suddenly baby Will was an adult (or I guess in his late teens) and was coming out of the closet. This was around the same time as ATWT, I believe, around 2010, so again, there wasn't a lot of representation on TV.

Also, side note, this was before streaming was a thing, and I lived in Norway, so we didn't even have access to everything. I had to buy DVDs to watch stuff like Queer as Folk and The L Word.

Anyways, Will and Sonny became a couple, and with that, the first male same sex couple on the show. It was the only real option, so of course I shipped it. I am again reading the Wikipedia page for this couple, and their story is quite insane. They recast the role of Will at one point, and I didn't love how the character changed after the actor was changed. So when Paul came on the show, I was immediately drawn to him. His back story was interesting and the actor had amazing chemistry with everyone. So I shipped him with both Will and Sonny (and both versions of Will, tbh). And again, you simply must read the Wikipedia article about this. It was just pure insanity.

Supernatural – Dean, Cas, Benny

We cannot talk about shipping without talking about Destiel. It is simply not possible. I'm not even going to explain anything, because we're on Tumblr, everyone knows Destiel. So unsurprisingly, I am a Destiel shipper. I can't remember when I first started shipping them, but it must have been quite early. Probably not in season 4 when Cas first arrived, but probably in season 5.

So Destiel is an example where I haven't jumped ship, but instead, I have multishipped. Cas has unfortunately not really had any real love interest outside of Dean. I honestly can't even think of any, apart from that random woman he married when he had amnesia, which... just no, dude. But Dean however, he has had some options, and I haven't hated them.

Lisa, I loved her back in the early seasons. And when he went to live with her after season 5, I didn't hate it. I knew the chances of Destiel ever happening were slim to none, so I could enjoy Dean and Lisa together on screen while enjoying Dean and Cas in fan fictions.

Later, we met Benny. And I immediately loved him. He was so interesting, he had such an interesting relationship with Dean, and I was so mad when he died. Again, Dean was never shown to be anything but straight, so again, chances of anything happening here was also slim to none. But I could happily enjoy fan fictions and content on them, alongside with Destiel.

Other honorable mentions:

I was considering writing a whole section about Robron from Emmerdale, but I realized that I am still so pissed off about that whole thing, so I don't think I'd be able to articulate anything good from that. So instead I will just use this as an example of an on-screen couple that I absolutely loved, but that I ended up hating and abandoning due to what happened on screen. I jumped that ship straight into the ocean, and swam far far far away.

Klaine! The couple that got me into Tumblr in the first place! I loved Kurt from the first season, and I was so intrigued when Blaine came into the show (I was also a huge AVPM fan, so that just made it all the better). And I really enjoyed them together for the first couple of seasons. But thinking back, I think I fell out of love with them quite early on. Their stories didn't hit the same, it got boring. I was actually more interested in Karofsky by the time I stopped watching the show, which was probably part of the reason why I stopped watching. It was quite the unpopular opinion back then. Maybe still? I have no idea.

Gallavich! I loved Shameless back in the day, and Mickey and Ian were among my favorites. But at a certain point, I got fed up with it all and stopped watching. The on-and-off stuff got boring, important things got swept under the rug, and I didn't like the treatment of Mickey. Anyway, I gave up and stopped watching. It was only years later when the show was ending that I caught up and found out they actually ended up together. Which was amazing, but still left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

Anyways, my point is that there seems to be this opinion now that if you ship a couple, you are stuck with them for life. Jumping ship, or even multishipping, is seen as a betrayal, as something horrible. Shipping Buck and Tommy apparantly means that we hate Eddie, and that we don't care about the beautiful friendship and relationship Buck and Eddie have. But that is simply not the truth. At least not for me, or for most people I have seen discussing this.

At this point in time, I am going to enjoy the beautiful on-screen relationship that is Buck and Tommy, and I am excited to see where it goes. If that relationship ends, and somewhere down the line, Buck and Eddie finally end up together, I will probably be happy (as long as it is done right, like Oliver Stark himself has said).

[adorablenerdcat]

Crossroads 8/CR8

So we knew, as soon as Creepy Uncle Misha was announced as "headliner" (I use that term loosely obviously) that we were in for a Heller con. It's a shame that Creepy Uncle Misha running his lying, inappropriate, queerbaiting, crowdpleasing, showboating mouth has overshadowed the whole con but here we are. I paid for a pic and an auto from him, and I honestly wish I hadn't. The auto was a scribble and thank you, no interaction, no eye contact, no smile. Pretty much the same with the pic. He was the only celeb that was like this. It's like he only switches on when he's the centre of attention. Who knew?! (Oh, us. We did)

So I'm not getting into the crap he spouted, and I'm just going to give you my favourite bits from all the panels I went to and the celebs I met. I haven't laughed as much as I did this weekend in an age!

*Firstly, Mark Shepperd is an amazing human being. He's as gruff, rude, bossy, dry, funny and adorable as you'd expect. He told me off twice. I loved it! And I love him ❤️

*Same with Rob Benedict. Had a lovely chat with him about the podcasts and his and Ruth's baby. He sang Fare Thee Well and Creep in the final panel, it was goosepimply hauntingly beautiful. Utterly magical.

*Am now a little bit in love with Tomer Capone. He was humble, gorgeous, funny and an all round lovely guy. Gives amazing hugs too!

*Karen Fukahama was tiny and gorgeous. She's really funny and I adored her. Such fun on her and tomers panels. Cannot wait till Season 4 of the Boys. No spoilers, but it sounds EPIC!!!!

*AlCal was also a lovely hugger! I asked for a Jack wave but he decided we were hugging instead so that was a bit special. Also felt quite sorry for him in one of his panels as there was some kind of weirdo who asked him if he'd found a black feather...very strange and stalkery.

*Jim Beaver was exactly how you'd expect him to be. He called me darlin' on multiple occasions. Life made lol. His panels with Steven Williams were one of the highlights of the weekend. Those two need a podcast together. So so funny.

*Cindy Sampson was my biggest surprise. Wasn't overly keen on Lisa at all in the show, like many people. Cindy is a bloody joy. She has no filter, just like me! She was brilliant, loved meeting her.

*Special mention for hilarity goes to the start of the Alcal, Rob and Creepy Uncle Misha panel. In passing, someone said "oh no, he didnt". If you know anything about the British, you'll probably know what happened next. (If you don't, Google British pantomime!) It descended quickly into a traditional panto back and forth, but our US friends had no clue at all what was happening. Bless Ruth for educating Rob in our cultural heritage, he was able to explain it to the others. Left most of the audience cry laughing.

Anyway, I'm knee deep in conflu so I'm about to go to bed, but any questions at all about the con, please ask! Even if you just want a chat, I'm around x

[ok-sims]

Good Omens 2 and playing with expectations

so I watched good omens for the first time in like 2020, had a blast but didnt really think about it again until s2 came out.

and now i realize that one of the things that caused me this obssession brain rot this time around is just how the whole season, but specially the ending, completely subverted my expectations, yet everything that happened is extremely coherent with season 1.

crowley has been asking aziraphale to run away with him for quite some time now. and aziraphale has been "choosing" heaven over him.

smaller things are very coherent too. crowley and taking part in nebula/planet/starmaking. aziraphale and forgiveness. crowley being "unforgivable". alpha centauri.

how can such a coherent finale surprise and smite me so much?

I guess part of it is the queerbait that many fandoms have been subjected to, historically (I was very much into sherlock back in 2014-2017, so you can see where I am coming from...)

but another part is how the final fifteen have a very different tone to the rest of the series. of course, there are some heavy moments in both seasons (the Golgotha being the main one), but those were taken from the biblical lore and not directed to aziraphale and crowley. while there is some drama between them in s1, it is never really serious .crowley was devastated when he thought aziraphale was dead, but we (the audience) knew he was fine. soon, they reunited and faced the end of the world together. there was the fight over holy water in the flashbacks, but we see then make up in the very next scene. so our expectations were set to having crowley and aziraphale have their conflits to be: silly and/or quickly resolved.

I guess that, along the fact that their feelings now have an undeniable romantic nuance confirmed to them, was my fall down the rabbit hole.

I did not expect the series to acknowledge so clearly, very much on screen, the romantic connection between them. before that, this was really heavy subtext, but the leap to text is still pretty uncommom in similar works. even more rare is having the characters kiss, because it leaves no room for subtext anymore. it changes the dinamic between the characters, as well as the perspective of the audience. tv often runs from this sort of change, because it is a risk, but I'm very glad the show took that risk and went with it without looking back.

the risk of changing the tone (even if just for the final fifteen) is also often avoided. "is this show not a comedy?" "isnt everything fine at the end?" so we were left with our expectations completly subverted in both aspects. and yet it all makes sense with everything good omens has showed us before. we were blindsided by the expectations that were firmly constructed for us, the audience, but the ending played out in consonance with the narrative built all through seasons 1 and 2. aziraphale creates situations just to have an excuse to see crowley. crowley is always coming to aziraphale's rescue, no matter what trouble this may give him in hell. btw, crowley could not care less for hell or heaven. "we can go off together, angel". "listen to yourself".

s1 and s2 are so very much in line. I'm glad good omens had the courage to take the leap and subvert everything we were expecting: be it subtext to remain subtext, or a comedy to have its conflit being easily resolved in time for the credits to roll in. and it did it all while making perfect sense for the narrative, with no last minute ill-planned plot twists. it's no wonder we haven't been normal about it since july: when was the last time you watched something like this?

[kajaono]

Re:the recent Sherlock/OFMD controversy

The point is: I was so excited for season 4. I never expected to see Sherlock and John lock lips, I was not dumb. I knew we weren’t there yet. I mean we still aren’t there yet *sigh*

But I honestly always thought we would get a textual love confession of some kind and them moving in together again. That season 4 would mean leaving the heteronormativity and ambiguity behind

And then I watched season 4 and I was just shocked. Yeah there were a lot of shipping wars but eventually we all were excited for season 4. for different reasons, but still. But then season 4 just contradicted everything we loved about the characters.

It was like Mofftiss saw all of our theories and said: „we are more clever“ and hence they went more extrem with literally everything, so in the end they managed to make most fans mad

And from a queer POV, it is so frustrating. BBC Sherlock was such a huge chance for canon Johnlock, a world wide beloved show with a more or less textual queer ending? Like Korrasami. Especially back then it would have been such a huge chance and instead we got… this!

This still leaves me bitter

Why couldn’t they out Mary as Moran?

Why couldn’t Molly get the independence she deserved?

Why couldn’t John and Sherlock move back in together and raise a daughter together?

Why couldn’t Moriarty be back?

Why couldn’t season 4 not be entirely placed in Victorian England?

Why did John had to beat up Sherlock in the mourge?

Why kill off the Three Garrdiebs?

Why Redbeard?!

If I am being so annoying about OFMD and GO it is because I knew that not long ago we had to face to most horrible queerbaiting and see yet another gay character being killed off (Cas and Eve). I know how easily writers get annoyed by their fans and own characters.

This why i think we have to be loud and annoying and keep on showing that you can not just toy with queer people like you want to.

[vole-mon-amour]

3x11, part 2, RJK edition.

oh my god, just make out already, you two. Jamie is so fucking sad, who fucking hurt him, I wanna hurt them back.

Jamie is on the verge of tears, can't Roy fucking see it??? LOOK INTO HIS EYES AND SEE IT.

That is probably the most mature and concerned reaction I've ever seen from Roy towards Jamie. Like when he hugged him in s2, it was great. But here he's actually trying to TALK about it. He's genuinely concerned and interested in what's going on.

EMMY WINNER PHIL DUNSTER WHEN?????? Jfc. Just hug the boy, Roy.

;_____; Sharing trauma aka I've been thrown into Sunflowers and Amsterdam again. BEST FRIENDS.

Ok. This is ok. I'm okay. There was a glimpse where the kiss could've happened and Jamie could've continued wailing and it would WORK. Roy wouldn't even say a thing bc Jamie is a mess and it might now mean anything, and if it did, they can talk about it later.

Anyway. Jamie going in for a hug FIRST bc he trust Roy and he feels safe around him and he feels okay about physical intimacy and being vulnerable with him now. I wanted my hug & I guess this is the closest I can get to that one in 2x06. And with Jamie crying again. Ohhh my god.

The poor boy needs a vacation with both Roy and Keeley (and a lot of sex and love from them). I'd say RoyJamie only, but it's more likely at this point that ot3 happens instead of otp.

Well, it's close to Will walking in on Roy and Jamie kissing. Almost.

I'm fucking staying here. I don't need anyone else. I'm staying here and going down with this ship. Jamie full on can do whatever he wants at this moment & Roy would probably allow him. The hands interlinked on Roy's back, Jamie's head going from Roy's shoulder into the crook of Roy's neck. They really are best friends. Jamie feels so comfortable and safe with him. Putty in his hands, huh?

And I can't fucking keep quiet about Phil pulling this off. Like... MY GOODNESS, GIVE HIM ALL THE FUCKING AWARDS. It makes me sad but at the same time I can't stop laughing, and I'm sure this was the intention. Bc this dramatic wailing is truly something.

At the same time, "I can't sleep, and I can't eat" is a serious sign of depression or at least a serious burnout. Get Jamie a therapist and some quality time break from all the stress.

"Jamie is a mess & I gotta help him."

Keeley is so excited she gets to help Roy with Jamie. This is very ot3 of you. I gotta say though, Roy has to learn how to talk and communicate. It's all fun and all, the idea of when there's a miscommunication or Roy unable to go to emotional depths, but it's really important. In the previous ep he watched Jamie and came up with the right words for Keeley. In here he went to Keeley so she could help him with Jamie. I see a pattern, but I'd love Roy to act on it. Saw Keeley maybe, came up with the right words, knew how to act with Jamie, went back to help.

But then I expect both of them to go back to Jamie and help, so also very ot3 of them.

Jamie and his rings. Jamie being so many fans fav player. Jesus, I love this kid so. fucking. much. Get him into therapy again, please.

"How's he doing?" "Fucking hell." "I'll talk to him."

For a show that gives so many queer references, it would be weird if they were queerbaiting us tbh. It's possible, but it's still weird, especially with so many queer characters.

For the reference.

IF NOT OT3, THEN WHY THIS. They're gonna drive me insane.

[jeekyl]

it's 2024, and i don't get it.

okay it's 2024. The fact that i've seen someone imply that there are people that doesn't know the the various lgbtqia+ flag ? i can agree with that. People who doesn't care about LGBTQIA+ flags wouldn't know because they don't care. But I repeat it's 2024. Many shows use queerbaiting. And the logic is that they don't care. But jesus fucking christ would you put someone on the literal lesbian color just because you don't know ? Or you know ? dress someone with clothes that reflect someone else ? showing their connection ? These idiot are in hollywood. Someone IS monitoring, tracking, and basically stalking twitter or any social media and they wouldn't know ?

excuse the fuck out of me for not believing any of these bullshit.

My first introduction for fandom and fanfic was "Once upon a time", and they played hard to make shipper believe. Goes on the wrong road and choose unhealthy relationship instead, in my opinion, but meh. The point is ok it was 2011 and all that but still. They knew what they were doing. They have social media.

Now tell me, what was the reason ?

What was the reason of them choosing these color. What was the reason of all of it ? You want me to believe that ? It's queerbaiting.

And Wednesday is queerbaiting. Tim burton is not an idiot. Jenna Ortega is not an idiot. gwendoline christie Have work long enough to not be an idiot, Christina Ricci is not an idiot. Neither are the producer and the writer , there's at the very least one of them who should've, could've, must've said "hey wait a minute"

It's 2024, and i don't get how producer or writer just do movies,/show, get on social media see things and are just like.. " Uhh?". Are you dumb ? " It's a story about friendship" oh yeah, you mean girls are supposed to have just friendship ? Or just like two people incompatible could have friendship ? when you forced two idiot (boys because it's just like that) on a girl, one calling her toxic just because she rejected him. Nice guy would like to have a talk by the way, and the other using her therapist to get close to her and kill her ? If you're point is "boys or men are disgusting" thanks, you made you're point. But you're point is so far from what you showed us that your point is in the trash.

And i say that because i hate with a passion anything outside the show. I made the mistakes with once upon a time, and again with wednesday. Both showed clearly the point in the shows. But contradicted itself with the cast on panel and all of that. They say one things and then backtrack and say the contrary. If some enjoy it, good things. For my part i hate when people play me. Hollywod did and do that. They play us. We're good target, we don't care as long as it's what's can fit our fanfic and us hyping it up in season 1, got wrecked in season 2. Warrrior Nun didn't get a second season just because, people hyped it up, it would have been renewed otherwise. It didn't because the writer had a precised idea, and it didn't fit with the queerbaiting. Wynonna Earp got hype up for 4 season, but guess what ? h not enough viewer. How the fuck ? It wasn't even queerbaiting at this point it was just.. " meh nah". And don't get me start with The Owl House or Steven Universe, just don't. Dana Terrace and Alex Hirsch made their point and prove that once it clear as day that it won't be queerbaiting or you know.. abusive, at this point i don't have any other word, it won't work.

A good queerbaiting is the one where the queer (LGBTIA+) will keep expecting. And thrive for more. Spending their day and night watching and rewatching. Just for a bit of a hint of something that will never come.

[billpottsismygf]

Good Omens Spoilers

Okay, wow. It's going to take me a while to fully process that, and I definitely won't until I've rewatched it at least once. It has a very different feel to series 1. There are fewer disparate characters, especially human characters, like Shadwell, Anathema, etc., which I did rather miss; the lack of a narrator weirdly changes the tone quite a lot in itself; and, perhaps most significantly, there’s a real mystery that the audience are not let in on, in contrast to us in series 1 watching Aziraphale and Crowley search for a boy we already know the identity of.

Maggie and Nina are nice, and I really enjoyed the obvious parallels to Aziraphale and Crowley (the line about sheltering under a downpour especially felt very relevant), but I’m also not sure they merited as much screentime as they got. I am really glad that their story didn’t end with them dramatically falling in love with each other, as I found the idea that Maggie was really in love with Nina a bit suspect - they’ve clearly barely talked before we meet them. The open ended question of their relationship obviously mirrors Aziraphale and Crowley too.

And now the elephant in the room: that ending was devastating. The end of series 1 is so effective and moving because we finally see Aziraphale and Crowley get to be together on their own terms. Here, it’s completely undone. I love the little subtleties of the Metatron’s look at Crowley as he leaves the bookshop with Aziraphale - he knew Crowley would never accept an offer to be an angel again.

On the one hand, I believe that Aziraphale would accept the offer, and that he would think Crowley would want to come with him, as he’s always been the one most hesitant to distance himself from the Heaven/Hell dichotomy, and to commit to his partnership with Crowley.

On the other hand, has he learnt nothing? I thought he understood by this point that Heaven did not always have the best of intentions. And he’s just seen what happened to Gabriel when he refused to toe the line, a punishment that the Metatron himself was involved with doling out. Does Aziraphale somehow think he’ll have more control? What will he do when he’s inevitably asked to do something that contradicts his own morals? He can’t think that won’t be a problem.

Like I say above, it’s not that it’s out of character for Aziraphale to accept the offer. It’s more that it’s a step backwards in character, and feels perhaps a little artificial. It’s the hand of the writer, putting in the equivalent of that beat in a romcom when the characters have a falling out. Our other mirrors for them, Gabriel and Beelzebub, get to run off happily together, so we can probably expect the stereotypical reunion too.

And we now of course have our context for The Spoiler. It’s a lot more devastating than I think anyone was expecting. I know there’s been a lot of Discourse around queerbaiting, and I have read perspectives on that that I can understand, but it’s never been queerbaiting in my opinion. I sometimes wish that things could be allowed (and I mean by the fandom crowd, not by the mainstream) to be subtle and achingly unspoken, to be queer in theme and context, and also perhaps to allow for non-normative manifestations of queer love (asexual/queerplatonic/etc.). 

However, the kiss changes none of that. I am glad that Aziraphale and Crowley are now queer in a way in which mainstream audiences can’t miss. I sort of wish it didn’t have to be that way but, after all, a kiss is not an inherent barrier to other queer readings, and it works so well in the context of the scene. It’s Crowley’s last-ditch attempt to demonstrate what they could be, without words, and it fails. It’s heart-breaking.

As to the future of the show and their relationship, we’ll have to wait and see. There’s a possibility that we won’t get a series 3 at all, in which case this is a dreadful place to end, and I really do hope that doesn’t happen. Ultimately, this series was a little unsatisfying, but Neil Gaiman always said that it was an intermediary, the lead up to the real next part of the story, and we’re just going to have to cope with that. Here’s hoping we don’t have to cope for too long!

Misc smaller things

I wasn’t sure about re-casting characters, but I actually loved the new actor for Beelzebub. Much as I adore Anna Maxwell Martin, I think she was perhaps slightly mis-cast originally. The visual effects and costuming around them were also much improved.

Miranda Richardson is amazing. Again, I wasn’t sure about her playing a totally different character, but she completely sells it. I love the clipped way she speaks, her mannerisms, all of it. She completely embodies Shax and not for a moment did she make me think of Madam Tracy.

I loved Muriel. Just very sweet and adorable and funny. No notes.

I also loved all the little references to things. The appearance of several Terry Pratchett books (The Colour of Magic and Good Omens specifically) and nods to his worlds - in particular, I got really excited about the seamstresses’ guild getting a wink. 

There were many, many Doctor Who references as well. I know they all had outrageous fun having Crowley referred to as “Doctor”, and that he got to use a Scottish accent (though a bit posher than David Tennant’s actual accent).

On that note, the extended flashbacks were wonderful. The Elspeth stuff was maybe a little on the nose, but I loved seeing them run around Georgian Edinburgh (which was so surreal, because it looks identical to modern Edinburgh). The stuff with Job was especially enjoyable, and I still can’t quite believe we got to see the aftermath of the church bombing.

[happyfeetfuryroad]

You know what's weird?

The last minutes of Good Omens 2 episode 6 should have made me feel sad and frustrated, like the ending of season 1 of OFMD did a year ago. And yet, something is different this time.

Now, I would love to be able to tell that I remember the euphoria of being surprised to see Edward and Stede's kiss, but unfortunately I started watching the show after having all the important plot points spoiled, so while I was still absolutely delighted by it, I wasn't caught off guard like many other people were.

With Good Omens 2, I was only mildly spoiled, and I didn't know any details on what was going to happen in the final episode. The possibility of a kiss was kinda hanging out in the back of my mind, but I wasn't convinced that it would actually happen - and I knew that the ending was going to be angsty, so I was keeping my expectations relatively low.

But. Goddamn. When it actually happened, it was fucking electrifying.

It's weird because, I was never that deep into the ineffable husbands fandom to begin with. I'd read the book and watched season 1 and enjoyed them both, and it was pretty obvious to me that Aziraphale and Crowley were queer (Neil Gaiman never denied this, so it was an unusually drama-free situation too). I never really thought their relationship would escalate any further, because they were already self-evidently together and I didn't think they needed to "prove" it (and I still stand by this btw, I think in a healthy media ecosystem there is a place for subtle queerness that doesn't require any grand romantic gestures to prove its existence). So I kinda left it at that.

Then I started watching season 2, and I started feeling a specific kind of déjà vu. They (and by "they" I mean mostly Crowley) were doing the whole "side character calls them a couple and they adamantly deny it" act that was a signature of 2010s era queerbaiting (Sherlock being a particularly egregious example). However, I knew for a fact that Neil Gaiman wasn't queerbaiting - again, he had never denied the fact that Good Omens is, among other things, a love story, and there hadn't been a single no homo joke that you would expect from a queerbaiting writer - so I just kind of waved it off as a throwaway joke and forgot about it.

And then episode 6 came about. And Crowley began to tear up as he tried to let Aziraphale know how he felt about him.

Oh.

And then he and Aziraphale started arguing with each other about their future, and the tension started to build.

Oh.

And then Crowley said "you idiot. We could have been us."

OH-

And then the music swelled into an epic dramatic choir as Crowley angrily stepped closWAY TOO CLOSE AND-

And I... can't describe the rush of pure dopamine and adrenaline that I felt watching this scene unfold. It was unreal. My heart was pounding out of my goddamn chest. It felt fake. It had to be fake. This is the kind of shit that only ever happens in fanfiction. It was too good to be true.

Then the rest of the finale happened and it was awful but that's besides the point

And even though in a way it was the same feeling of "holy shit, they actually made the main characters kiss" I had with Edward and Stede, this was also very different.

See, Edward and Stede kissed in the same season they got introduced in, and there was no original material that the show was based on (I'm not counting the real life pirates because OFMD is a very loose interpretation anyway). You couldn't really know what you were getting into, so the protagonists completely skipped the queercoded part and jumped straight into "literal protagonists of a romcom" territory.

Aziraphale and Crowley, on the other hand, were already existing characters, in a book and a TV show where their relationship was already established as "queer enough for anyone who pays attention, but subtle enough for a casual viewer to be able to ignore it". Their kiss in season 2 wasn't there to confirm that they love each other, but to make it clear that there is passion in their love. There's that raw, visceral attraction that queer people are so often discouraged from displaying in public because it's seen as uniquely dirty or inappropriate (or predatory, when it's two people perceived as male).

And it's happening late enough into the story that a lot viewers who may be like "I'm fine with gays so long as it's not in my face" will be forced to digest it - but also early enough into the story that we have an opportunity to see how Crowley and Aziraphale's love story unfolds now that the chips are truly down. Which is why, personally, I was happy to see season two end on a cliffhanger.

So yeah. I think I'll go watch that scene for the twentieth time today.

[texasbama]

just to be real for a min, how would you feel if they did officially pair Eddie up with Marisol and Buck with Natalia at the end of the season? to me that would be a sure sign that they were always just kinda throwing out the hidden buddie crumbs just for our small section of the fandom where the color stuff etc would fly over the GAs heads but keep us interested enough to tune in forever, despite them never really planning on a follow through. Don’t want to be negative but my heart is saying they’re gonna het things up the final two episodes for the GA and maybe throw a final buddie crumb somewhere there since the backlash from fandom is going to be intense and they’ve got to know it. Queerbait etc thrown right and left even though I never really thought they were telling a slow burn since they never even confirmed one of them being anything but straight the entire show.

Baby idk what to tell you. You are gonna feel how you feel regardless of what I have to say lol

I know what my expectations are in regards to these final two episodes(Buddie wise). I expect nothing lol I never do tbh I also know that TPTB probably knew there was a chance this could be the end of the show so the finale will reflect that.

Once we see the final product, feel however you want to feel. Don’t let people acting like condescending pricks cause they think this season was perfect, make you feel invalid. If you like it, great! If its not your favorite season, thats cool too.

Im honestly looking forward to the finale for everyone but the boys tbh. madney proposal, chim whump? The Lees are back? All of it has me very 👀👀👀