#all you're characters are gay and or trans now cause i say so

[aurlieanbeloved]

Some more info on other characters in the moddern Psych ward au:

Sirius and bellatrix fucking hate each other but have mutually bounded over the prison trauma and they only tolerate each other when people they care about are at risk. Bellatrix also is the only one out of the 2 of them that has a magical government assigned ankle bracelet that she wears as a statement accessory (proudly)

James and Lilly still died but it was Peters falt and I'm killing him off too while we're at it

Remus: gay, gay as fuck he loves his husband (he went to pick him up from prison when he got out) had been trying to get magical custody of Harry for years

Draco: slowly getting muggel culture and other such things pushed onto him by Tom for Harry's benefit

Bellatrix is basically going to be like Tom's shady wine aunt with dubious morals and values who is a very single lesbian

[gb-patch]

I don't mean to be rude about it because maybe I'm misunderstanding, but maybe I can understand better.

You're saying that as long as someone is a POC or LGBT it's okay to change how a character looks and sexual identity/gender identity, but if they're white and straight it's bad?

I'm from a family of immigrants, but we are widely considered white. It would feel wrong if someone changed a character from my ethnic background because there are experiences that are unique to us...Or like I'm bisexual. If there were a character that were changed from that to gay and/or trans that feels wrong. If a character is made a certain way, I believe that they should stay true to that... Idk if I'm misunderstanding, but on the surface this feels hypocritical?

Well, I’m glad you’re not trying to be rude. But I’m afraid one of the most frustrating things to deal with is people not wanting to consider reality. Here is why I don’t believe it is hypocritical- majority groups who oppress minorities fucking exist. They make people’s lives so much harder than they should have to be. If you don’t wanna use your mind to figure out who they are and instead try to use concepts like “what about my culture, huh” or “what about potential representation issues among minority groups, hmm” as a way to believe it's all a wash, that’s your choice. But I don’t agree and feel like I shouldn’t have to explain again. I’ll do it anyway, though.

I live in the US, my game is set in the US, most of our players are in the US. That’s the culture and situation I’m talking about. And if you live in a place where some people have 90% and have only given up 10% while kicking and screaming about it, don’t say being fair is tell those with 10% to respect the 90% ‘cause whatever people create now, in today’s world, is what should be defended without consideration because I guess everything is perfect as it is. Nuance existing in some situations doesn’t actually change this point for me.

I won’t be answering other asks about this. I’m not going to tackle whatever mental gymnastics people come up with to try to make this matter Even Stevens across the board. You will not change my mind and I won't make excuses for this belief.

[crimsonxe]

Because I'm particularly annoyed: To everyone within the LGBT+ and ships involving them circles, get this through your goddamn head. RWBY the "little" anime-inspired web show that:

subverts sexist and homophobic tropes from that inspiration

has a deep & mature story

respects its femme characters

that has had morons saying it was baiting for years

has a married wlw couple w/ child; 2 confirmed lesbian characters; 2 mlm characters in the novels; a bi MC (VA'd by a bi femme)/a sapphic MC (VA'd by an "on the spectrum" femme)/ and together a wlw MC pair; a trans character that isn't a joke

THAT show DELIVERED one of the most normalized via being treated no different to its hetero sibling ships, being within a non-world of gay, and not being spotlighted; well-developed; well-earned; 10 year steady slowburned; and mature CANON wlw romances around. That including having a bi character that feels bi not a lesbian character w/ a bi sticker slapped on cause not only does she have guys w/ feelings towards her as well as a former male romantic partner, but also has a femme w/ feelings towards her as well as a current femme partner in a non-world of gay. The fucking cherry on top: it has Beauty and the Beast at its core mixed with yin-yang.

Get the fuck over this notion of "oh that's just RWBY" in a head-up-ones-own-ass obnoxious manner. Before it was the goddamn "well BB isn't confirmed, its just been hinted/teased" even with the show making it fucking blatantly clear it was happening, including soft-canonizing it via a character directly bringing up the mutual romantic feelings going on between the two tying it to her own ones towards the other part of the sibling hetero pair of the show. Now after its been given one of the best most beautifully done scenes in the entire show w/ a goddamn song written by an LGBT+ artist and sung by both them & another LGBT+ femme to canonize them; its STILL being treated/view like its both bait/non-canon and/or lesser than other pairs. Its especially fucking rich when I know some people who'd sing the praises of Warrior Nun and Avatrice, which is in the same goddamn vein as RWBY and BB with both being great ships and shows. If anyone tried to pull this shit with that show & that pairing, you'd get your damn ass torn apart and you know it; but RWBY isn't given that same respect. Caitvi/Violyn (Arcane) gets more damn respect and technically speaking its not even fucking canon yet, its still in the phase that either v4-7 BB was at. Where its been heavily implied & teased to the point of me going with it as soft-canon, yet not a damn soul would scoff at it being mentioned within LGBT+ ships. But once again RWBY is different.

Those that pull this shit are:

the shit-for-brains know-nothings that either want to shit on the show because of their own hoity-toity its too below us bullshit or haven't bothered to actually watch the damn show

the bigoted incel pieces of shit that just don't support LGBT+ yet infest our spaces;

the antis that don't care what was built up, they're salty bitches that just can't stand their pair didn't happen

the entitled ass LGBT+ that think all LGBT+ should be rushed, spotlighted at the center of the story, and aimed at an LGBT+ audience instead of normalized for a general audience.

So if you're going to thumb your nose at the show and its rep, then fuck you and go fuck your damn self. You're no damn better than the incels and chuds. And don't even think to reach for any LGBT+ cards cause I've got my own one. They're canon and they're great get that through your fucking heads, that little web show fucking delivered. Don't like it? Fine, I don't really care. But don't you fucking dare thumb your damn nose at it and not expect to get dragged over the damn coals by me.

[fernlessbastard]

Opinions on transfem/Trans woman c!Wilbur? If you havent already, since its a slightly popular Hc w c!W

honestly I'm mostly indifferent ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

it's not for me, but like I've got no particularly strong feelings either way. I can absolutely see a lot of reasons for that reading - it all does fit, so it's not a matter of there being no justification, but more so just personally I just don't hold that headcanon

the thing with either of them being trans is that like, I am for some reason oddly attached to Quackity being specifically and strictly a man who's into men, or at the very least masc individuals - maybe it's cause I just started off with that "hc" (I mean it is kinda pretty heavily canon - I don't recall him ever flirting with a woman). Wil being mtf would obviously make all of that very complicated - each time I start to think about it I can't help but think if 1. is there any way for Q to still be into Wil without that invalidating Wil's gender identity 2. is there any way for Q - a gay man - to have feelings for a woman that doesn't invalidate his sexual identity Like, exceptions happen, but mm idk It's obvioulsy completely different if you hc Q as pan/bi/homoflexible/whatever else, but yeah personally I'm just really attached to the idea of Q being strictly homosexual

When it comes to the nonbinary umbrella it's kinda similar (with both being amab) - with Wil it works i'd say, there isn't as much of a conflict with Quackity's sexuality, but again, I'm mostly indifferent and you do you; with Q it just kinda doesn't quite fit for me - idk he just has relatively binary man vibes imo

in regards to other combinations of one/both of them being trans: > Wil's ftm - yeah sure I'm down with that, good for him, I don't actively hc that but like yeah no conflict there, plus I guess it'd explain how he had Fundy - though fantasy mpreg makes it so much funnier > Q's mtf - idk personally i just don't feel it in the slightest. He doesn't really give me any of those vibes. Especially considering things like the fact that he's short, has longer hair, is/used to be a sex worker (with presumably male clients), is heavily (and at the very least primarily, if not exclusively) into men, canonically has a big ass, etc, so it just really doesn't sit right with me to then have him be mtf - I just want some more representation of those characteristics in men for once, y'know? It's just feels like it's perpetuating stereotypes. Of course there is no wrong way to be trans - if you're trans, you're trans, and that is valid and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. But we're talking about a fictional character, so if we have a character that's amab, likes men, is a sex worker, is short, has long hair, isn't trying to be this stereotypical "perfect big strong alpha male", is emotionally invested in their romantic life (which additionally is messy), then turning around and saying "woman" just feels like we're just going off stereotypes, and ignoring an example of a great, rare, pretty subversive representation of a man who might come off as feminine at times, but is still fully a man, and all those things that are stereotypically assigned to women and a fem gender identity don't make him any less of a man. Especially the fact that he's into men - it does personally just immediately remind me of all the "a gay man is just a woman" talk (and maybe it's cause I'm from Poland and in my 20s now so i really did grow up hearing those sentiments quite a lot). And obviously i'm not saying that that's what you're doing when you hc Q as mtf, but i am explaining my personal headcanons and reasonings for them, as well as reasoning for why I don't headcanon other things. > Q's ftm - ok so, it fits. And I really really hate that it fits. It would make so much sense but holy fuck guys I cannot handle that ok - I'm ftm, and if he's cis then I can like at least partially remove myself from all of that... but if he's ftm then holy fucking shit everything just hits so much harder like guys I'm not strong enough to handle the pain of seeing this much of myself in him ok I will simply collapse, like him being seen as an object and sexualised and put down and belittled and pressured to be all submissive and shit just hits so completely different if you see it through the lenses of him being ftm and let me fucking tell you I am NOT ready for the breakdown thinking about it and how similar and in some cases identical to my own experiences it all is would cause m > ANYWAY with them both being trans it's just a combination of my previous thoughts as they apply ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

hope that answers your question UwU anyway ha ha bye--/lh

[mueritos]

Hi, Matteo! So, I have just about the stupidest question to you as a fellow transmasc artist/creator: whenever I find myself trying to create a female character, I end up struggling with forming the idea of her personality and motivations etc in my mind, and then when I try to sort look at the character from different angles to 'get' them, boom! My hand slips and they're genderfluid now, or nonbinary, or transmasc, or transfem. The point is, they're never a cis woman in the end. No issues with male characters, cis or trans. Is this a common experience for other trans/nb creators? Or is it a 'default misogyny instilled in us all by society' thing? I just want to be able to create female characters too! and I kinda feel like an asshole for not being able to. So, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that!

this isn't stupid at all! first of all, it's entirely fine if you only want to draw and create trans characters. It's also okay that you have preferences toward certain characters. I hilariously fall into this same problem of struggling to make female characters, because my attraction toward men makes me want to always create gay/MLM centered stories. My brain is giving very much "no women no girls this is...The World of the Gays" image. But here's the thing, what you draw and what you choose to invest your creative energy into doesn't say anything moral about you. I would say things start becoming more complicated depending on the intentions behind art, how characters are depicted, and the harm it may cause to others (example, racist depictions of characters, colorism within art, etc).

However, it sounds like you do want to make female characters, specifically cis female characters. I struggle making cis female characters too, and i don't know if you relate, but after many years of being forced to be a Girl and to be Feminine, I now avoid situations or things that make me feel like I'm going back to GirlMode. But, it's important to remind ourselves that this avoidance can become maladaptive and prevent us from opening ourselves to new experiences. You're not an asshole, and clearly you care enough about making diverse art because you're trying to seek different perspectives.

my thought process when making female characters is essentially the same with all characters, but there are many characters I have intentionally chosen aspects of themselves that i do not relate to to push myself. It sounds like you need to make a decision to keep a cis female character and protect her from your transgender mind beam haha. Give her something you relate to, like a hobby or a lived experience or an outfit you like, and perhaps it can help alleviate any feelings of wanting to push your connection to her through shared transness. Another thing you can do is base her loosely off a cis woman in your life! I've done this before and it prevents me from changing her gender, mostly because I feel like it would be disrespectful to make them trans if they're based off someone I know haha. Or, if you still want a trans character in proximity to her, give her a trans friend, sister, cousin, partner, or enemy! That way the dynamic is not just based on their relationship, but also their different genders :)

also, don't worry if you're being misogynistic or not. every character you make may have some form of a stereotype or some "problematic" aspect. I have a cis female character who falls into the "wants to get married and only things about men stereotype", but she is brave and often far more driven than the men and women in her life because she cares about the man she loves (enough to break from her social status and become a fighter to save him). I ALSO have all kinds of trans characters I created just to lewd them up, and I know for sure there's probably someone out there wagging their finger at me and saying i'm "fetishizing" trans people. I also like to draw the occassional cute girl because I think women are beautiful and I admire the ways I see the women in my life carry themselves. My point is, characters are flawed because WE are flawed and we internalize a lot of messaging from the world. as long as you are seeking our ways to re-learn messaging and incorporate that into your work, you're doing enough. There exists no perfect squeaky clean un-problematic non-stereotypy character ever, because we all aren't squeaky clean un-problematic non-stereotypy people.

hope that helped ^-^

[blackgirlsuperherorants]

Light spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine below:

Here's the thing. Deadpool was really queer in this movie, in my opinion. Like, queer enough that it just felt like his regular, real personality, to me, rather than shoved in for laughs. But it does still play it for laughs, sometimes, and that does feel... like, you know, it's a shame. Because Marvel has a real chance, here, to just have an LGBTQ+ lead character and just let that be, but it feels like they're a little scared to actually lean in. I don't even get the impression that it's Ryan. I think Ryan would let Deadpool be fully queer, if either studio would have let him.

I think because I fall under the bi/pan umbrella and the way Deadpool is about his sexual orientation is kinda how I am, too (except I don't, like, openly hit on everything with legs because it can border on harassment), I didn't immediately clock how some in the community are finding this movie to be homophobic/biphobic. But I get it. A lot of the gay stuff is played for laughs and sometimes seems to be about the gay panic he's causing in the other men.

But also... in my opinion, Wade feels earnest in his flirtation. Like, when he thinks the TVA guys are strippers and talks about kissing them, and says "I'm not a natural bottom"... like, how is that just quipping? I think he's talking about his actual sex life, and is being for real. Like, he wants to have sex with them... he's not used to bottoming.

I think some stuff is a little disappointing. Like, the joke about being molested as a child by the scout master. I don't like jokes about rape/molestation, and I don't like the implications that his pansexuality is because he is an unhealed sexual assault survivor. There's a dangerous narrative that queer people are predators, right now, and that we want to "turn kids gay/trans", and stuff like that feeds into that narrative.

But also, people are angry that Wade is in love with Vanessa and only flirts with guys. But... he's pansexual. Not gay. And he's been in a relationship with Vanessa the whole time, until this movie. Bi and pan people can be in hetero-presenting relationships and still be actually bi/pan. Finding Wolverine attractive doesn't mean his feelings for Vanessa just disappear.

I'd also say that Wade literally reads a lot more queer in this movie. Like, even the way he talks and moves and stuff. There's nothing about him that reads "hetero guy who flirts with men because it's funny". He's so queer. His friend group is so queer. Like, he is a queer man, to me. And, for what it's worth, he makes stupid quips about everything in his life, everything around him, everything he loves, everything he hates... why would that be the case, but he not make any stupid queer quips? Who under the bi/pan umbrella doesn't? (I'm not speaking for all of us, sorry. Sorry, guys! If you feel differently, you're also correct and valid. This is just one queer girl's opinion.)

Anyway, I felt like he was the queerest in this movie out of the 3. I just hope that if/ when he appears again, Marvel allows him to actually do something queer on camera. A kiss or something.

[pleasantspark]

My partner literally defends this show a lot and in VC he tries to "dispute it" so here's the full list of issues wrong with this show, you ALL have the fucking excuse as "no creative control", "endgame and slowburn", "You watch spliced up clips.", "It's Hell!"

No Creative Control: ViziePops characters would have IMMEDIATELY been changed COMPLETELY if that were the case.

Endgame and Slowburn: A ship being fucking depicted as going through a crisis every fucking minute and taking over an episode that was meant for two other characters? While also ruining a Parent Child bond? "Endgame" my ass, also lets not forget a character sexually harassed another character and was not depicted as calling that character out, "Couple Goals" my ass too. Slowburn is non-existent in this world.

You watched spliced up clips: HONEY the only clips I watch are those that ACTUALLY are relevant to my fucking point, Are we even watching the same damn thing? Also edits are beyond that.

It's Hell: Ah yes, so it's hell, no it's fucking downtown Los Angelos thats DISGUISED as Hell, Hell would be more "chaotic" and more "consequencal" most of the demons there are LIVING IT UP, and continiuing their lives much as they were alive. There's nothing different from when they are alive. It seems like Hell is LITERALLY Heaven. The only consequence is that demons seemed to get harassed or at the minimal killed, so next time I stab someone in Jail, I can go and say "IT'S JAIL!"

I feel as though people who compare ViziePops Harassment to Rebecca Sugar's harassment is completely stupid af.

Rebecca was harassed because someone decided to make a 1 hour long video trashing her show and indirectly called her a neo-nazi which caused other people to parrot the accusations as well, Rebecca was harassed by her fans just for standing up for a fan who was getting sent death threats over a FUCKING art style.

Afaik, Viv's harassments is just criticism of how she handled the pilot actors (And apparently Cherri Bomb's pilot VA had lost her Husband due to a medical ailment and she was trying to raise money to help fund the expenses that were left behind and fucking Viv said, Nuh uh, and shut that shit down. KNOWING PEOPLE PAID FOR THAT SHIT, I mean can Viv LEGALLY take down VA who impersonate her characters? Sure it's her IP but it doesn't mean that the VA for the original CB is her.), how she drew something I am not about to get into because quite frankly it's not my business (And I mean MOST of the creators, Rebecca included, had drawn some fucked up shit in the past.). She also apparently mistreats her workers. And afaik Sugar never did any of that.

You can scream "Oh but Viv has a LOT of struggles and [Rebecca Sugar] is just like her!!" all you want, but THERE'S nothing similar to her and Rebecca and the only thing similar is they make tv shows with diversity and are both females.

Don't get me wrong, I love HelluvaHazbin but people needlessly finding excuses for poorly written shows and bad pacing/decisions while also holding Viv on a pedestal infuriates me, and the worse part is, allegedly she never received criticism in her college years.

I ain't gonna sugar coat it, the LGBTQ+ Rep in this show is completely for the fujoshi and as a Trans Male whose Gay, I am HIGHLY disturbed about how most of the Gay characters are depicted as "Uwu Soft boys who could do no wrong"

Like for FUCKS sake, we're NORMAL PEOPLE, we don't get treated any differently by a standard hetrosexual, the only time we get treated differently is by angry Facebook Prudes and edgy fuckers who think being scared of homes is the new norm.

I am surprised most of the fandom (On tumblr) don't call out the problematic shit, when THE LGBTQ+ is prominent here! The more you continue to agree and like these "rep ships" the more you're giving these people the okay to continue to drive the show WHICH WAS BASED OFF OF "Assassinations" now turned into "Arguements between a same sex couple that has one victim and one gaslighter"

A little tidbit for those who stand with Stolas.

An Abuse Victim can be a Abuser.

It's not that difficult. Jfc. Anyways, this is my reason why I made Biblically Inaccurate to begin with.

[ianthe-is-a-bitch-and-i-love-her]

Building on your response to my transfem WLW ask, you mentioned having gripes about queernorm fiction. Would you be willing to elaborate on those? I have my own, but am curious about your takes.

In the time since I started writing my response, I also received a version of this ask from @st-just, @causticgin, @theoldgodsaredisappointed, and @procyon-potor. Glad you're all interested in my ramblings.

The thing about my experience of queerness is that it is defined by not being normal. Whether people or institutions are accepting of my queerness or not, there is the awareness that it is a way of being that does not conform to societal expectations. The awareness of that, and the specific ways in which my queerness brings me into conflict with societal norms, define the queer experience for me. Queer norm fiction erases that. Oh, you kissed a girl instead of a boy? How do you feel about that? Normal? How does everyone else feel about that? Normal? Then what exactly do we have in common? What part of that experience is meaningfully queer? It's great for validation, don't get me wrong - I would've loved a bit of queer norm fiction when I was 14. But I don't read queer fiction for validation anymore; I read it to see characters and situations that are resonant, and the closest queernorm ever gets to that is "I also kiss girls", which is worth nothing if you strip away all the social and personal implications that come with that statement.

This becomes really, really obvious if you try to include trans characters in a queer norm story. I noted The Final Strife as being unusual for having a trans character, and the reason for that feels self-evident: How do you include an explicitly trans character in a setting where that is apparently so normal and unremarkable that no one would even note it? There are workarounds, but I'm trying not to get too into the weeds here. Suffice to say that in the best case scenario you get a character who textually used to identify with one gender and now identifies with another, and whose lived experience of that has basically nothing in common with my own, or any other trans person I've met.

A lot of queer norm settings are also held together by some very convenient handwaving that the inclusion of trans people stretches. In most queer norm stories I've read, no one ever gets hit on by someone of a gender they're not interested in, and no one ever gets misgendered because their preferred pronouns are apparently immediately obvious even to people who they've never met. And I get the impulse, I really do! Those things are aggravating in real life! But they also aren't always malicious - at one of my old jobs, my presentation was so respectable and normative that everyone assumed unprompted that I had a husband! And I know so many trans people of so many different stripes whose presentation just doesn't cause most people to use the right pronouns without being prompted. So what about those people? Do trans people with indeterminate or quote-unquote "mismatched" presentation not exist in these so-called queer norm settings? Doesn't feel very queer to me.

I feel like a lot of this arises from authors who don't want to sit down and do the worldbuilding for a setting where queerness as we understand it is genuinely normalized. What a lot of these authors want to do - and I don't hold this against them - is take a straight story they've seen a thousand times and drop someone like them into it instead. And they don't want any queerphobia in the story because the straight stories don't have it, and they just want a version of that with queer characters instead. I understand this impulse. I have no gripe with these stories. But they will never appeal to or represent me, because I don't think someone like me could exist in a queer norm world.

I think it's fine that people take the queer norm approach to books that are just "I want a story like this but gay", but I do take issue when people apply queer norm to a book that's meant to have teeth. In CL Clark's The Unbroken, a very well-written book exploring the way imperialist countries destroy other cultures and strip them for parts, I thought the queer norm setting was a missed opportunity. In its sequel The Faithless, a much less well-written book about... Well, let's just say the cracks caused by that decision showed through a lot more. If you want me to believe that, in a hereditary monarchy, it is completely irrelevant that one claimant is unmarried with multiple rotating partners and no children or any apparent interest in having them, while the other is settled and has a child, then I'm going to need some worldbuilding to back that up.

But again, I understand that plenty of queer people don't want to write about queer oppression. We all certainly deal with it enough in our real lives; I understand wanting a break from it in your fiction. The solution, I think, is not queer norm fiction, but speculative fiction. You want trans characters with a recognizably trans experience but no prejudice? Well, what would a society like that look like? How would their values be different from ours, what kind of governance and social structures and priorities would arise from those values, and maybe most importantly, what kind of people would be considered transgressive by that society?

That's the step that I feel like a lot of speculative fiction skips, unfortunately. Every society has an idea of what a normal life within it can look like, and that idea is never going to be all inclusive. I love the Oriati in Baru Cormorant, I love the way that their trinary, self-deterministic gender schema challenges Falcrest's very limiting and repressive expectations of gender, but what about Oriati who don't fully identify with any of the three genders? How do the Oriati view reproduction? For any society to continue, it needs to have new people to carry it on, typically people born into it. When gender and reproductive capabilities are completely decoupled, what effect does that have on birthrate, and societal feelings about children? Is there any societal preference for parings that produce children, or stigma against those that don't?

One series that I think handles this kind of worldbuilding very well is Ninefox Gambit. In many ways the society is post gender; gender is seen as something you can put on and take off as it suits you. Surgical alterations are easily accessible and reversible, with few lasting consequences. However, characters whose professed gender differs from their biological sex, who adopt a gender without going through the accepted process - in other words, people who experience gender outside of the parameters that society has decided are normal - are looked down on. In this way, authors can explore literal representations of queer experiences without writing about real world prejudice, and they can explore the experience of dealing with an equivalent societal prejudice that captures some of the feelings of the queer experience without facing identical struggles. It's something I would like to see more of.

All this to say, as much as I understand the impulse behind queer norm fiction, I find that it makes the characters feel less queer, and all but erases non-cis experiences of queerness. I don't think every queer author is obligated to include real world queerphobia in their stories, but for me to find anything to relate to, they need to explore the queer experience holistically in some way, not just emulate the trappings. If your society treats two girls kissing as completely indistinguishable from a boy and a girl kissing, then in what way are they even meaningfully queer?

[bohemian-nights]

Fuck Rhaenyra, fuck the writers with this sapphic plotline they invented, it's simply pathetic, and fuck Emma D'Arcy who is the cause of that. Im sorry but why trans/LGBTQ agenda should be included, but then they don't care about racism? Cause Laena has bee treated awfully, next is Nettles, reduced to Daemon's new distraction/whim to cheat on Nyra and shows how bad husband he is, or even cut out to redeem him (?) This Show sucks. Fuck white privilegies. Fuck HBO and all the people who's supporting this trash. To all the people who kiss Emma D'Arcy's ugly ass, am i transphobic cause i hate what they did to Rhaenyra and to the story? Ok, and you're racist for using Laena as an excuse of made up ship (Laenyra) to shit on Daemon X Laena in order to praise your incest ship and for not wanting Nettles in the series cause could ruin it. Whatever happens it seems is always the black characters who gets sacrificed for the sake of white characters. I said what i said.

Um, this has the energy of this:

Oh God you really let it all out there. Minus calling Emma ugly(again guys can we please not call the actors/actresses ugly), I don’t think you are wrong and I get your frustrations.

It’s pretty clear this show has an agenda, is biased towards one character in particular at the expense of basically everyone else, and has a misogynoir problem.

Now to be clear, even though Emma is going along with what is being pushed, I think it’s inaccurate to blame any of the actors or actresses on this show for what is happening. Because at the end of the day it’s the show runners and the execs at HBO who are calling the shots. Emma is just a mascot for their agenda(take that as you will).

They more than likely purposely picked Emma because they wanted to make Rhaenyra into some feminist warrior queen who has a rainbow coalition of supporters against the conservative greens.

It’s corny, but with another character like say Rhaena the Black Bride(who’s already a lesbian) or even Visenya(who’s a warrior queen) it could work.

However the problem with choosing to make Rhaenyra into a revolutionary type figure/girl boss/feminist is that she’s the complete opposite of that.

Rhaenyra in canon is a racist to the point where she’s willing to use it to explain away murder, she mocks Laenor for being gay(says her half-brothers who are children are his type), looks down on and underestimates the small folk, and doesn’t even bother to help advance other women(Stokeworth and Rosby) in her class much less women like Nettles.

Her and Alicent have a completely different relationship dynamic in the books than in the show.

She’s selfish and self-focused. She’s malicious bordering on sadistic. She even puts her own children in danger for her own wants.

And before her followers go moaning she’s done too many things to claim that she’s been wrongly framed by the narrative. No sane person is chopping off heads and feeding it to dragons or trying to murder innocent women in their sleep. That’s not maester propaganda. She’s objectively awful.

She may be a woman, but she’s no better than her brother. Women can be just as awful as men(for Christ’s sakes look at real life not everyone is wrongly accused because of sexism). Rhaenyra shows that. Even at the last moments of her life she pretty much has zero remorse IMO.

For those reasons, I absolutely hate that the show is trying to redeem her. I hate how they cast Black actors to use them as human shields to make her look progressive, to lessen her atrocities, and even to make her something like her death look less atrocious.

Fans see Black people(the characters) supporting her vs. the mostly white greens they go that’s the progressive team(that ideology is so f*cked up). They even have Black fans supporting Rhaenyra because of all the Black secondary characters.

Never mind that these characters(who are race-bent) are being screwed over by the narrative, haven’t been presented in the best light, and have had their stories be rewritten to better serve Rhaenyra and make her look sympathetic/noble/just. The best who are treated way worse than their white book counterparts.

They added Ser Vaemond calling Rhaenyra a whore to justify Daemon killing him when in the books he rightfully calls her out and gets unjustly beheaded and feed to a dragon as a result on Rhaenyra’s orders. Then his sons and cousins get reprimanded by with some getting their tongues cut out, but that’s all been cut out.

Instead of showing that was loved or at least cared for by Daemon like in the books show Laena has been regulated to sorta second best(third best if you factor in the Viserys situation). She’s unloved and unwanted. Her suicide is made into a girlboss/empowering moment instead of being criticized for what it is away to make Rhaenyra’s death look better. Laena’s character is a walking stereotype(disposable Black girlfriend, look it up).

The audience eats it up of course and instead of calling out making her into a stereotype they are upset that the show did not make the non-canon throuple situation happen so they could get more brownie points for their I love Black people, I'm not a racist, I just don't want that Black person who isn't a plot device on the show act.

(I’m calling it non-canon cause you can’t only use the word fond to support a relationship, especially when you claim that word means nothing when it comes to Dettles which has more evidence than a single word).

Even Laenor has been made into a deadbeat dad. Corlys looks stupid. The girls have been given nothing to do. Addam’s whole purpose is to scarifice himself for Rhaenyra which is why they are highlighting him so much.

It’s absolutely disgusting.

I have no idea what they are going to do with Nettles, a character who doesn’t need to be race-bent cause she’s already Black, but based on their track record it could be terrible(I’m holding out hope though). She shouldn’t be treated like she’s just some whore or Daemon's mistress. She has her own plot, she’s loved by, and she’s one of the few survivors of the dance(and one of two dragonriders).

If the show was decent at all they’d do the right thing and show her as the multifaceted character she is and not regulate her into another stereotype(I guess they’d go the Jezebel route).

I totally get where you are coming from on the racism aspect. This is obviously lost by most though. Hell, most in the fandom are racist themselves, but skirt by because they like this show using the Black characters as human shields. It's a circus.

And no one is going to take this rant seriously since you went a little too far. All they are going to focus on is you calling Emma ugly, which again was uncalled for, but I get the essence of it.

[makomafu]

Everyone thinks will is Trans but let's be honest here; Frankie I'd trand while will's genderfluid. I don't make the rules

OIGHHGE you just reminded me to post my Queer HCs i fucking forgor

Creeps HCs (Queer edition oooo)

Laughing Jack

I honestly can see him being aroace and non binary. The idea of gender is one that isn't like deeply pushed upon his kind, he's a children's toy and that's what he sees himself as. Boy? Sure, Isaac's a boy, he can call himself that too

Girl? Why not

he sees himself as a toy, a children's toy. Made for entertainment, and friendship.

William Grossman

The reason i see him as a trans guy is cause 1) i am trans myself, 2) i can see him wearing clothes like Jessie Pinkman from Breaking Bad or Marshall Lee, he got the top surgery and his scars look pretty sick 🔥

TbH this headcanons is also heavily tied with Isaac because i like making SO many connections between those two. He's very proud of his gender and how he looks like, and he loves how he has Jack to make him company! Jack helps him get shots lol

Oh and he's also a bisexual disaster but doesn't get many bitches

Isaac: get a girlfriend Will!

Laughing Jack: or a boyfriend, he's bi!

Isaac: Damn nobody want u fr 😭

Laughing Jack: That's what i'm saying like 😭😭😭

Will: ;-;

Frankie The Undead

Ok it first started as a silly headcanon inspired by other people's but now i can actually see it

I see this man as a trans man, and a gay man. This man has been kissing dudes since the 40s. He used to have this lover back in the 40s he always wrote letters to, they've all been burned but he sometimes remembers those times. (Also this is the willfrank shipper in me talking but his past lover looked awfully similar to William)

He's also trans because i love transmasc characters that are old i love it. He doesn't bind because he doesn't feel like it, being fat also helps lmao. He loves his body, he just fucking hates the stitches <33

Isaac Grossman

I can't decide if this guy is aro, gay, or bisexual, he's too queer for me. YES, the guy people see as queerphobic is ironically the most queer in my eyes. Imagine the repression he went through from his teenage years to adulthood, the loneliness. He only had one person that could understand him, and it was Jack. With time he forgot he was ever accepted, as he forgot Jack.

He never found any "true love", but there was a man that sticked with him even after death.

Also, yeah, i think the biggest change i gave to his original story is that he's AFAB. How does Will exist? Well, only children weren't exactly common for poor families in the 1800s England. The isolation he felt most of his life, the constant struggle of thinking, knowing, that out of everyone around you, you're alone on this one.

Jack, again, was the only place he could've feel safe, if they just didn't kill that cat. What could've been.

This man is TRAUMATIZED and my angsty teen ass is the culprit

[just-antithings]

Not really an anti thing per se, but something I feel the need to vent about:

One of the reasons I feel so conflicted on the Harry Potter thing is not only my concerns about continuing to give Rowling a platform, but also just, unpopular opinion, I… kinda think the fandom can be almost as performative as the haters?

I KNOW HOW THAT SOUNDS BUT HEAR ME OUT!

First off: they’re always going on about how "oh, we’re making ALL the hp characters trans to piss off the TERF!" and then you look at the fics and art and stuff and it’s like, at least 80-90% is just the same cookie cutter "Draco and Harry are gay trans men who make out 24/7 and there's some trans gay WolfStar in the background too, I guess, and also maybe black trans Hermione can have a cameo at some point as a treat, but who cares because it’s Drarryin' Time! *proceeds to Drarry all over AO3*" fics.

Like… why is it that after Rowling announced her status as a card-carrying fascist, "all the hp characters" suddenly became just Harry, Draco, Remus, Sirius and maybe Hermione if you're lucky? ESPECIALLY considering the fact that I know from experience that the fandom used to have way more diversity headcanons than this?

What about Ron "angsty because his mom wanted a daughter" Weasley? Or Neville and Hannah, who never had children (clearly, one of them is trans! Or maybe both are trans AND ace! Two groups Rowling hates for the price of one!)? Where are the Trans Dean/Seamus and Trans Lavender/Parvati fics? Trans Luna??? One of Bill and Fleur's kids being the first known male Veela hybrid in the series (literally a fuckin' goldmine of gender possibilities)???? What about fuckin' Nymphadora "gender nonconforming shapeshifter who hates her traditionally feminine name" Tonks (if ANY character would’ve been made trans or enby to spite Rowling, I’d have thought Tonks and her son Teddy would be the FIRST choices)???? EBONY DEMENTIA DARKNESS RAVEN WAY (objectively the BEST Harry Potter character)??!!!????

Part of me suspects that this is at least partly because these characters aren’t "popular" and therefore won't get the same attention as the Drarry "rivals to lovers" vibe and the All The Young Dudes spin-offs, but I can’t be fully sure of that.

And like… a lot of times it looks like their activism just, begins and ends with fandom activity? A lot of the same questions levied at HP haters ("are you supporting and/or donating to pro-trans causes?" "Are you making an effort to understand WHY TERF ideology is bad?" etc., all 100% valid questions) can also be levied against fans who make their headcanons and shipping the main source of their activism.

I’m not saying that NO hp fans are doing actual activism, I’ve seen a few examples, but it feels to me at least like the majority are not. It just seems they think shipping Harry and Draco whilst transing them to pretend it makes the TERF seethe (when really she probably doesn’t even know your fanfic exists) is a substitute for activism, just as HP haters think hating the series and patting themselves on the back for not reading it when they were twelve is a substitute for activism.

I guess the bright side is that at least the Drarry shippers aren’t harassing people? There are testimonies from trans people about hp fans harassing them, but the majority of those fans obviously wouldn’t also be writing trans Drarry fics so ehh?

Idk, like I said I’m conflicted and I need to vent. I’ve been holding this vent in for a while now.

I guess my thesis statement here is: HP fandom, if y'all really want to "diversify Harry Potter to spite the TERF", then please for the love of Glaux ADD MORE CHARACTERS AND IDENTITIES TO YOUR HEADCANON ROSTER.

.

[quinnhills]

Good to know you're feeling welcome! :D this is our little place in the internet, and we've decided to make it trans and gay as hell (n i gotta say, i did think "they-them gang! :o" when i found out you started using they/them too a while ago X3 ) n if you received this ask more than once, my tumblr bugged out before i could finish, sorry (。_。)

anyways, and sorry if this is long, but Woe- More Tumblr Things Be Upon Ye:

there used to not be an image limit before, causing a few- interesting posts… tho that changed a few years ago and recently, at first the limit being 10 images per post to now 30 images per post (you can also move the images around a bit)

if you plan on staying long term on tumblr and use desktop the most, i recommend getting the browser extensions Xkit &/or New Xkit cuz… yeah, tumblr is pretty nice, but it sometimes gets hard to use. it also adds extra useful things to the tumblr experience, which is nice to have. i'd say tumblr is like living in a cheap apartment in a calm area of the city. the place's great for what it is, just gotta be sure to leave rat traps near holes and dont worry about the Beast down the hall,

speaking of rats, we got an infestation. you may or may not have heard of it with the voter fraudage going with the polls a bit ago; since tumblr has little to No email verification, people outside tumblr buy bots to get in here and start posting malicious links. tho the bots are surprisingly easy to identify (often times blank blogs with very weird descriptions + stolen picture of lady or ai generated. you'll know it when you see it), and the protocol here is block and report spam so staff can deal with it

and btw if you want to keep a post for as long as your blog stands, i recommend rebloggin! thanks to how tumblr is build as, even if the original post or that blog is gone, the reblog will stay with you (+ tags on reblogs dont really make a post expand outside of your own blog, so many use this to create Very intricate personal tag systems to make easier finding posts, bc once a blog gets 1k+ post in it, it gets hard finding anything on it... <- knows this from experience u.u)

oh and last thing before i go again (and something i found out recently), another browser extension ive been loving: Stylus! with it you can customize a ton of sites to your liking And with a specific style found in the archive of this extension, you can change how the dashboard looks! even changing the background to any image you might want :D

so yeah, thats it, for now. i got more info if you want it, just lmk 👉👈

and you probably already noticed this, but there isnt really any word limit for posts or asks around these lands. tho on tags, the character limit on a single tag is 139. but you can put a Lot of tags, so there! be free mx quinn, no character limit holds you down no more ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

Thank you so much for the knowledge!

Some Quinn Facts:

Mx., Ms. and Miss are all acceptable :)

I use “gay as hell” as a sort of tongue-in-cheek shorthand, but I also identify as trans as hell, queer as hell, non-binary as hell, lesbian as hell, and anxious/depressive as hell

I’m a vegetarian

My favorite food is pineapple pizza (controversial, I know)

For a few years in the early 2000s, I was a licensed auctioneer

The most times I’ve ever cried during a movie is 5 times during Happiest Season

I like the idea of books, but I’m bad at reading them

Overalls give me gender euphoria, and I don’t know why

I hope to release a solo album within the next year

I hope to direct a feature-length film by the time I’m 40

Coming out was the best thing I ever did

[methaim]

This was originally going to be a post about literary criticism but bc the OG post was about Nimona, this is now a Nimona post lol

So let me start off by saying that I love literary criticism, and the reason I love it is because when done right, there's obviously so much passion behind the criticism and analysis. When done right, the spirit of "there are no right or wrong answers" you hear in English class lives on. But it's all dependent on perspective and the lens you view a piece of media through. That's why you can disagree with someone's literary criticism without them being entirely wrong.

I bring this up bc I was looking through the Nimona tag and saw someone's analysis of the film. As I was reading it, I disagreed with their analysis, but they weren't entirely wrong considering the evidence they used. I won't be linking to the post bc I don't want to start any beef with OP, I'm merely observing a phenomenon when it comes to literary analysis and criticism and why perspective matters.

Spoilers for Nimona under the read more.

So OP claimed that Nimona was misogynistic, and based on their evidence their analysis wasn't entirely wrong. They stated that one of the main characters was a man (Ballister), a gay romance between two men was prominent (Ballister and Ambrosius), and that the main antagonists of the story were women (The Director, who was nameless throughout the film save for her title, and Gloreth). They also implicitly claimed that the movie didn't pass the Bechdel test (which save for the backstory scene with Nimona and Gloreth, isn't entirely untrue, but it doesn't mean it wasn't a good movie). Given this evidence and only this evidence, then their argument isn't necessarily incorrect: in Nimona, women are antagonistic and the story primarily revolves around the story of a man trying to reclaim himself after being wronged by a woman. At first glance, this doesn't scream "feminist media."

However, this analysis would be what I would consider from a feminist lens perspective. In terms of analysis, OP did a great job providing evidence and explaining how that evidence supported their claim.

But I still disagreed with their analysis. And that's because I viewed the movie and analyzed it from two different lenses: a queer lens and a racial lens. Now, again, when doing literary criticism and analysis, it is important to choose which lens you're looking at the film from. Choose too many and you contradict yourself if you aren't trained to write a review (OP wasn't writing a review, they were writing a critical analysis).

The thing about Nimona is that, in my opinion, it isn't a feminist movie; it's a movie that deeply criticizes institutional violence while also being an allegory for transness. A feminist message isn't at its core, but that doesn't mean the movie can't be viewed from a feminist lens, especially if viewed from an intersectional feminist lens.

A lot of people have already pointed out that The Director is supposed to be representative of White women, i.e. the violence inflicted due to White women's fear of those they deem "dangerous"(i.e. non-White non-cisheteronormative individuals, sometimes even extending to All Men including White men but especially men of color). Not only does her fear wrongly villify a man of color (Ballister), but it also directly causes the death of a Black woman (The Queen). This could be seen as a criticism of the current radical feminist movement in which anyone who isn't a White women is immediately a target of White women's fear.

While this movie does explore racism and the role of race when it comes to intersectionality, I've seen most people describe the primary internal conflict as representative of the divide between cis queer people and trans people. This is the queer lens perspective I mentioned when it comes to critical analysis; while the role of race is a theme that is explored in this movie (and I'll try to get into it as much as I can in a Tumblr post), there is a focus on the queer—specifically trans—allegory. Ballister is a gay man and this is explicitly showed rather than implied; his romance with his love interest (Ambrosius) is an important plot point in the movie. He is implied to be cis (narratively speaking) given his initial treatment of Nimona and his inability to understand her and his initial rejection of who and what she is. Although he grows to accept her for who she is by the end of the movie, it's a learning process that ebbs throughout, and his progress reverts at the climax of the movie (when he calls Nimona a monster and reflexively grabs his sword when she shows anger). This is reflective of how even cis queer people can be insensitive to trans peoples' experiences and have much to learn. There's another great Tumblr post out there about how Ballister, although vilified, still has a chance at redemption if he chooses to reject Nimona (the bar/restaurant scene), but Nimona has been demonized and has no chance at redemption bc she has only ever been viewed as a monster. This reflects the divide between cis queer people and trans people in terms of societal treatment; while non-heternormative monogamous couples are being more widely accepted (in the United States at least), trans people are being further demonized as evident from the current political climate.

OKAY so this started as a commentary on the nature of critical analysis but now this is just my Nimona analysis and honestly I'm excited to talk about the racial implications in this movie bc they were apparently. Obviously Ballister is a Brown man (voiced by Riz Ahmed, most likely modeled after him as well) but I have been wanting to speak about Ambrosius for so long bc I have seen very little about his racial implications given that he is explicitly Asian (revealed in behind-the-scenes/making-of) and also modeled after Eugene Lee Yang, an openly queer Asian man (love him <3). Obviously we know the racist implications of Ballister being vilified for 1. being poor/a commoner (explicit reason in the movie and 2. a Brown man (implied). He's up against a White woman in power who is driven by fear (which is why I didn't agree with the feminist analysis of the movie). BUT AMBROSIUS. He's an Asian man, and I personally have not seen many explorations of racism faced by Asian Americans in popular media (not that it's not out there, I just don't think it's very common). There was something about Ambrosius being placed on this pedestal that he didn't ask to be placed on and also leading the search for Ballister. Obviously he did this so that he could bring Ballister in safely since someone else might try to hurt or kill him. But the fact that 1. Ambrosius was seen as an ideal knight and 2. he was being manipulated by a White woman made me think of the stereotypes placed on Asian Americans (there's a reason we're known as the silent and invisible minority). Ambrosius' race played as much of a role in the story's implications as Ballister's race did and as an Asian American person I was so drawn to it. I don't know if it was intended by those who worked on the movie but it just. I'm losing the words for it but it really did mean a lot to me as someone who constantly feels like I'm not allowed to talk about my experiences in any circles when it comes to regards to my race/ethnicity. It all boils down to "Asian person being set up as a model for others (i.e. other races) to aspire to by White society who only wish to use their Asian-ness as a tool." NOT TO MENTION the scene in the car with Ambrosius' meltdown, things he wanted to say but couldn't because The Director had certain expectations from him... THAT hit me hard as well. Someone else please do a deeper analysis about this because all I can do is scream about it without being completely coherent.

Anyway, if you read this far, thank you! Again, this started as an observation on the nature of critical analysis as a whole but spiraled into my own analysis about Nimona. I'm sorry if it seemed messy and rushed, this wasn't well thought-out, it was more of a stream-of-consciousness ramble. I would love to hear your own thoughts, or see other analyses of Nimona. Also if you know the OG post I was talking about PLEASE don't harass OP, from what I could see I don't think think they were a TERF or radfem I think they were just analyzing from a strictly feminist perspective.

[rainbowcolored7]

I posted 7,268 times in 2022

That's 6,285 more posts than 2021!

432 posts created (6%)

6,836 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@omarandjohnny

@nattaphum

@smittenskitten

@maleficent-cannoli

@negrowhat

I tagged 6,763 of my posts in 2022

Only 7% of my posts had no tags

#kinnporsche - 2,099 posts

#kinnporsche the series - 1,241 posts

#vegaspete - 521 posts

#beyond evil - 328 posts

#mile phakphum - 297 posts

#😂😂😂 - 288 posts

#apo nattawin - 267 posts

#kinnporsche art - 249 posts

#kinnporsche cast - 237 posts

#jeff satur - 210 posts

Longest Tag: 121 characters

#baby chay comes out to porsche and then years(?) later porsche gets to come out to chay and that's soooo💗😭😭🌼🌸🌈❤🌸💕

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Kim is the most terrifying brother and nobody can convince me otherwise. The way Jeff's eyes emote such violence and vicious danger??? I'm obsessed.

297 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

#4

Okay, now that I've had some time to rewatch and mull over all the information we have so far, I'm going to try and lay out my thoughts. It's gonna get long, I'd meant to do a strictly novel analysis of the scene before it aired, but life got in the way as usual. But I'm kind of glad, 'cause now I can compare the two.

There will be discussion of both the show and the novel below the cut, so if you're not interested in the novel or spoilers please pass this post by.

I'm going to start this off by saying that I am truly happy with the changes they've made in the show when it comes to the consensual aspect of the story between Kinn and Porsche. Also, as a warning, I'm going to be pulling personal experiences out to try and get my thoughts across properly. And, I don't do posts like this, like ever, so sorry if I make zero sense or talk way too much. I just have a lot of thoughts, and on the rare occasion my brain allows me to comprehensively share those thoughts, I need to take advantage.

Let's start this off from the beginning of episode 4. Porsche wakes up in Pete's bed, knows he kissed someone, can't remember, and spends the rest of the first half of the episode trying to piece things together. I know we like to joke about Porsche having a single braincell (and honestly sometimes boy... lol) but he's not an idiot and he does know how to read people. You can't be a good bartender or survive taking care of your family, young and alone, without having a decent grasp on human nature.

I think when Kinn called him up to the balcony and started asking him questions he left that conversation with a flickering of oh, I remember something happened and now Kinn is acting strangely (a theme he vocalizes later in the sauna). I think he's thinking, what did I do this time to make Kinn act so strangely (soft and flirtatious and joking around) towards me?

After he sees Kinn with his escort, realizes Kinn is gay, remembers what happened on the pier, and that what happened wasn't something he did but Kinn kissing him, he asks Pete if you should kiss someone you don't like (and the subtitles changed so don't at me...) , or aren't in a relationship with (or perhaps intentionally pursuing because you like them). Now, obviously, you can kiss people you don't like, but perhaps are just physically attracted to, and I'm sure something is lost in the translation. That or I'm just reading too much into it and Pete saying you only kiss people you like, 'cause baby boy, that ain't true. Side note, I have a feeling Pete might come to realize it isn't true when we get to the point of him with Vegas, but that's an entirely different egg to crack open. (I have also not read that far.)

Now, here, is where I want to point out just how differently Porsche reacts to what happened and how fucking ecstatic I am that they changed it completely. In the novel, Porsche struggles with a lot of internalized homophobia, though he's okay with Yok, who is trans, he mentions it took him some time to be okay with her, but he still recoils at people he thinks might be gay or someone of the same gender expressing interest in him. He frequently compliments men's looks, not just in a friendly way, and thinks about how attractive some men are, Kinn especially. In the novel, once he really realizes he's physically and sexually attracted to Kinn, Porsche has a fucking meltdown of an internal crisis over it. He even goes as far as hitting on all his guy friends trying to reason out why Kinn would be behaving the way he is towards him, and why he kind of likes it (but doesn't, but does, but doesn't etc.). The boy is a mess and in complete denial.

I'm assuming a lot here, and reading between the lines, but how I interpreted it was, Porsche had, at some point in his youth, like a lot of queer youth, gotten a lot of negative feedback about same sex attraction that really dug into his bones, and so whenever he feels anything more than friendship towards another man he freaks out and tries to bury it, all the while wanting it so badly he can't stop himself. i.e. kissing Kinn back and allowing Kinn to essentially do whatever he pleases while being vocally grumpy about it. In the novel, he doesn't know who he is when it comes to his sexuality, he's deep in denial about being bi, and actively fights against it.

The show ripped that all away and gave us the true chaotic bi king we love and adore, and who he should have been in the novel imo. Show Porsche is open, honest to a fault, accepting, understanding. Now, we haven't gotten verbal confirmation that Porsche is bi in the show, but from everything I've witnessed so far I feel safe in saying he's bi, pan, or just plainly doesn't give a fuck as long as he's getting pleasure from his encounters. He seems open to Kinn's attraction as well as his own, though to say for certain we will have to wait until episode 5, where I'm hoping they touch on this subject some more, and I hope it's on the good side in line with the changes from novel Porsche we've gotten so far. (I'm down for some turmoil about him having sex with his boss, but please keep the biphobia out please please).

As much as I'd like to get more into the lead up to the real juicy stuff, I just don't have the energy. So, let's get into the gritty of it, shall we? The drugging scene. We finally made it here. A lot faster than I was expecting? Absolutely. Does it still feel organic after the previous three episodes? If Kinn hadn't said Porsche had been at the compound for a month, yes, but since he did, no.

Porsche has been with Kinn, Khun, the other bodyguards, for a whole month. He's been learning, adjusting, actively trying to become a better bodyguard. The reasons behind his change of heart seem to be him finally coming to the realization of what a serious situation he's landed himself in. It's life or death, his life isn't the only one on the line here, it's everyone around him as well. He's clearly beginning to really care about the well-being of his fellow bodyguards (mainly Pete, Arm, Pol) and Khun and Kinn.

Also, after episode 3, it was clear to me that Porsche finds Kinn physically attractive, and I do believe wanting some kind of approval from Kinn was another motivator. He's curious about Kinn, he's attracted to him, he's leaning into it.

Kinn, poor baby, is having a beautiful emotional crisis, and a lot of that I think is thanks to Mile really pouring his entire being into fleshing Kinn out and turning him into a "well" rounded person rather than the power hungry, totally domineering, bastard asshole, very surface, no depth, Kinn we have in the novel. The changes they've made to Kinn are fucking delightful, and I'm adoring the added depth and emotional vulnerability they've given him.

In the novel, Vegas sexually assaults Porsche. Without penetration, but Kinn does find him in his underwear with marks all over his body. This was one of the parts I was most worried about them adapting in the show. (I will note here, I have not read past the official translation of 1/4 of the novel--which ends with my favorite spicy scene so far and god I hope they give it to us!--the rest I have sought out from fans so it's not a complete picture). The change they made was nice (as nice as beginning to assault someone can be...), and I'm glad we didn't have to go that far. They've clearly changed Vegas a bit, though how much is yet to be seen. I'm holding my judgment for now.

Kinn's internal monologue during the drugging scene is, well, rough to say the least. But that can be said for the novel as a whole. Reading it felt like reading a fic written by a teenager from the early 00's, and not in the good way. Kinn seems like a consent King, but after telling Porsche he'd stop if Porsche told him to, he doesn't. He fucks Porsche all night long, to the point of needing to take him to the hospital the next day because he's bleeding heavily and in a lot of pain. It has its hot moments, but it's rough and gross, and I'm so glad it's been changed in the show.

What the show gave us is stunning in comparison. What the show gave us is fucking beautiful imo. Porsche, after remembering Kinn kissed him, after witnessing him with his escort, after listening to Pete, Porsche takes all of that information and once again, leans into it. He goads Kinn, he flirts with him, he asks him questions not any normal bodyguard would ask. "If your brother didn't give me up, would you even think to take me back?" Any other guard wouldn't give a shit, but Porsche needs to know. There are so many reasons this could be, but I think the main factors are a need for approval, his newfound desire to protect this family, his attraction and curiosity for Kinn, and a need to prove himself as a competent man, which he is in all rights when he puts his mind to something.

There's also something to be said about an unspoken and underlying desire to be cared for, something Porsche has never really had for most of his life. He's always been the caretaker, for Che, for his uncle even. I know y'all noticed how good he is at taking care of Tankhun? It's because he's in a familiar roll, he knows how to do this with ease. Kinn on the other hand? Someone who doesn't need coddling and caring for? He doesn't know how to handle that, but after his initial rebellion, after seeing some different sides of Kinn, he wants back in. I think, subconsciously at this point, he sees how Kinn would take care of him and he wants it.

Yes, Porsche is drugged. Yes, being under the influence makes consent iffy, but it does not mean Porsche did not give his consent or wasn't able to. Porsche may not have given verbal consent, what he did do is give consent in every other possible way, and that is what Kinn responded to. Porsche joked with Kinn about wanting to see him naked, playfully slapped his hands away, and each time Kinn respectfully pulled back. Those examples are a clear lack of consent, and Kinn responded appropriately to them. But as soon as Porsche changed gears so did Kinn, still yet with reluctance because of Porsche's state and also his brewing feelings. It wasn't one-sided, it was a push and pull on both ends.

I know there will be some who disagree with me, and that's fine. I'm pulling from my own experiences here, and what I saw in episode 4 was consensual and not rape in the slightest. I've done a lot of things in my 30+ years that I'm not proud of, certainly, but even fall-over drunk, even sky-high on drugs, I was able to give and deny consent. Was it a good idea? Of course not. Do I have regrets? Some. But being young and reckless, well, me and Porsche seem to have that in common. I mean, Porsche is in his early twenties, and my early twenties were quite literally a blur of alcohol, drugs, parties, and bad (but fun) decisions.

Porsche was high as a kite, but he was also coherent. Porsche was the one pulling Kinn in. Porsche was the one verbally and non-verbally saying yes, please, I know you want this, I want it too can't you see? Let me show you. Not to mention, no sugarcoating, having sex when you're high is fucking awesome and, frankly, I don't think this is a first for Porsche. Also, I want to mention, and this is really important, if you throw up while you're high it does sober you up a bit. It dampens the experience and brings you back into your mind. I can say this with absolute certainty, I've done it several times.

Another thing I want to point out in regard to consent is Porsche never once told Kinn no. Never once did he tell him to stop. Porsche was smiling constantly, he was taking initiative, he was undressing Kinn himself, he wanted all of what happened. Will he regret it the next day? Probably. We will have to wait and see. But bottom line, the show changed this scene for the better, a lot better.

Anyway, this was less of an analysis and more of a thought word vomit 'cause I've been wanting to talk about this scene for weeks now, and I'm also sick and tired of people saying it was rape in the tags. Kinn did not rape Porsche. Porsche gave non-verbal consent, and yes it is possible to give consent when under the influence, even if it's not a good idea. This is not the hill we need to be dying on. Let's wait for VegasPete for that, shall we?

Please, do not fucking come for me. I'm down to discuss, but I will not respond to bullshit. Thanks. ❤️

305 notes - Posted May 2, 2022

#3

So, how long was Pete in Vegas' torture dungeon before they moved to the safehouse? How long was Pete tied to that pillar? When was the last time Pete took a shower? Mans has been sweating profusely for a day or two at least and Vegas just... licks him? Sir, ya nasty. Good for you.

346 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

#2

I have watched this an unhealthy amount I 🥵🥵🥵

366 notes - Posted April 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I just can't get this particular moment out of my head. It just keeps replaying again and again, and I lose my mind a little bit more each time because Pete is taller than Vegas but that moment after he first kisses him and Vegas kisses him back he drops down like his knees gave out on him. He kissed Vegas and it made him weak in the knees. He kissed Vegas and his knees gave out. He kissed Vegas and his knees gave out. He kissed he he knees he kissed Vegas and knees he gave out he

1,031 notes - Posted June 27, 2022

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[pleckthaniel]

Wait but I want to hear more about Orsino being fay and how the adaptations erase that though 👀 If you don’t mind of course!

I will take any opportunity to talk about gay shakespeare! Thank you for asking!

Note: I usually refer to Viola/Cesario with they/them pronouns. Although they are most likely meant to be interpreted as a cis woman, part of the beauty of the character is that they can also easily be interpreted as nearly any stripe of trans*, so I choose to refer to them this way to emphasize that ambiguity.

So for a bit of background: Twelfth Night is probably Shakespeare's queerest play. The title itself refers to a long-standing tradition of anything-goes revelry at the end of the Christmas season. The play itself never mentions this tradition, so we can assume it is so titled because of its thematic concern with chaos and ambiguity. Beyond Orsino, the play is rich with queer coding (and I do feel comfortable calling it coding, given that Shakespeare was very likely bisexual himself), which is frequently get erased or played down in adaptations. Orsino is just one fragment of the larger story of this play and how society has interpreted it.

Now my research is limited and a few years old, but to my knowledge, scholars still debate whether Orsino was ever actually "in love" with Olivia. I'd like to point to his "hart" speech in Act 1, Scene 1. The play literally opens with Orsino saying:

"If music be the food of love, play on. / Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting / the appetite may sicken and so die."

So he's trying to so overwhelm himself with romantic imagery that he gets sick of it and moves on from Olivia. That's a pretty unusual way to talk about a woman you're saying you want to marry! Throughout the speech, there's this weirdly dark undertone. Every word or phrase that seems loving is immediately followed and contrasted by imagery that evokes not just death, but violence. Notice also how he talks about his first meeting with Olivia:

"That instant was I turned into a hart / and my desires, like fell and cruel hounds, / e'er since pursue me."

"Hart" is obviously a pun on the word "heart," but the more important thing here is that it's an old-fashioned term for a stag. He's talking about his pursuit of Olivia as a hunt, but positioning himself as the one being hunted. This use of metaphor suggests, also, that if Orsino allows the pursuit to end - i.e., actually marries Olivia - he will die.

The headline is that, IMO, this speech makes much more sense to me from the perspective of Orsino being gay than him being straight. If he's straight, we have to question why he's talking about this in such melodramatic terms, and why he seems to be having to convince himself to want Olivia. If he's gay, though - especially if even he doesn't realize it yet - then it makes sense for him to both be invested in creating a heterosexual relationship, while also seeming to resent the idea, and worrying that marriage will cause him to lose some important facet of his identity.

That being said, all we can really glean directly from this speech is that Orsino intends to marry Olivia, but doesn't really love her. The opening image of the play is that of a man struggling to process his complex feelings about the institution of heterosexual marriage. There's an ambiguous queerness to that which I believe is intended to set the tone and focus the audience's attention.

Now, I could talk pretty extensively about Orsino's interactions with Viola/Cesario throughout the play. Thing is, whether or not Orsino knew about V/C's crossdressing is very ambiguous, and it's commonly argued that he was aware of the whole situation from the start - which would mean that his flirting with V/C would be evidence of heterosexuality. I don't agree with this interpretation personally, but it is a valid one based on the textual evidence.

The really important thing when it comes to Orsino's sexuality & attraction to Viola/Cesario comes in his final speech, which also happens to be the ending speech of the play. Basically as soon as V/C reveals themselves as a secret crossdresser, Orsino proposes to them. The scene moves on to wrap up subplots, and then, in the final words of the entire play, Orsino tells V/C:

"We will not part from hence. Cesario, come - / for so you shall be while you are a man / But when in other habits you are seen, / Orsino's mistress, and his fancy's queen."

In short, he's declaring that, so long as Cesario continues to present as Cesario, he will refer to them as Cesario - and when they present as a woman, he'll refer to them as Viola. Basically, Orsino has stumbled into a winning play - he can continue to view his spouse as a man, while also reaping the political benefits of having a wife.

It's also important that V/C themselves has no say in this and never gets the chance to respond, since the play ends shortly after. Many readers - rightly - interpret V/C as genderqueer in part because the play ends with an affirmation of their identity as Cesario. But it's Orsino who affirms this, and feminist scholars have sometimes interpreted that affirmation as a method by which he speaks for and controls V/C. These scholars rarely question why a heterosexual man would wish his wife to dress and present as a man. Maybe Orsino is talking over V/C here, but if so, that doesn't erase the fact he'd clearly rather be attracted to Cesario than Viola.

Another small thing I want to mention about the ending is that we don't see the wedding. That might not seem significant, unless you're very familiar with Renaissance plays. At that time, comedies were expected to end with marriage. You see this in a lot of other Shakespeare comedies, like Much Ado or As You Like It. No matter how tangled - or queer - the situations get, a marriage symbolized the end of that chaos. Sorta like the Hays Code about how gay people can't get happy endings, this trope could be used as a tool of both portrayal and erasure.

Twelfth Night, though, ends with the promise of marriage, technically fulfilling the trope; but in direct defiance of genre convention, we don't see the wedding and as a result, the chaos doesn't actually end. Viola/Cesario ends the play as Cesario - compare that to As You Like It, where the crossdressing female lead, Rosalind, ends the play in a wedding dress. Symbolically, the lack of wedding is a rejection of heteronormativity and further emphasizes how queer V/C and Orsino's relationship is.

Generally, adaptations don't focus much on Orsino. That's fair, because all of the other leads hold up as characters much better than him in the 21st century. But the result is that the ambiguities of his sexuality are usually ignored (in full-text adaptations, like the 1996 film with Helena Bonham-Carter) or taken out of the story entirely (in rewritten adaptations, like She's the Man).

Adaptations also usually ignore that crucial lack of a wedding at the end of the play. In the 1996 film, the wedding is explicitly portrayed, and Viola/Cesario ends the story as Viola. She's the Man does something very similar: Viola finally gives in to her mother's demands to become a debutante, and the film literally ends with a parade of heterosexual pairings in gender-conforming dress. I'm not criticizing these films, because these are logical conclusions to their stories. But these endings are a pretty direct pair of middle fingers to the ambiguity and queerness the original play so cherished.

All in all, it's a gayass play, and Orsino is really just the tip of the iceberg. There's Antonio and Sebastian's thing, the possibility of Olivia's queerness, Viola/Cesario's gender... Viola/Cesario's sexuality... the fact that the villain of the play is literally a sexually repressed Puritan... and probably more. If you're interested, I strongly recommend you check out some published queer scholarship on the subject.

Quotes are from the Folger Shakespeare: https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/twelfth-night/read/

[salstray]

For the price oc asks

2 for Ronin, 8 for Cobalt, and 21 for you 🥰

:D!!!! Thank you bestie!!

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For Ronin! - 2. What's your oc's orientation? (Romantic/sexual/platonic alterous ect) Do they have opinions about it?

Ronin isn't the kind to stick labels to his romantic or sexual orientation tbh. He likes who he likes and will fuck whoever he wants, as long as they want him too!

If he DID, he'd probably be pansexual/panromantic, but he really, truly, could not give any less of a damn what you decide to stick him with. He has no limits. If he likes you, he likes you, and you're stuck with him <3

For Cobalt! - 8. Have they had struggles with their identity, be it due to internal or external reasons?

Oh bestie. Cobalt is my one OC who is so sure of himself. Such a cocky and confident little shit.

It... kinda depends on which world he's in, because I have a few different Universes for all my boys. But unless its specific to his backstory, no. He was one of the lucky ones that got to live in a totally accepting and loving community that was completely open and free about who you are and who you love and how you love.

He's defo been with people in the past that TRY and make him self conscious about who he is and who he loves, but he just laughs at them and removes them from his life. Man has only ever been sure of himself and sometimes he's So Annoying About It, but we love him anyway.

For ME >:D!! - 21. Free ramble card wee

Listen if you let me ramble about my boys I'd be here for a thousand years. This would be the new "Do YOu LovE The ColOR OF ThE SkY" post because I'd never shut the fuck up.

I will say, because I've just realized this, while my lads are pretty chill about their gender and confident in their sexuality, I don't actually have any OC's that are just outright trans. I have non-biney characters, but no solid gender to gender people. And while, I understand that gender is whatever the absolute FUCK you want it to be, I feel like I need to fix that. Cause I got enby's, I got gender wahtever the fuck, I got your cis, but no ftm or mtf trans folk.

I think Garret would be a good fit for that, actually.

he's one of those characters that I've had for a THOUSAND years. He's every where and apart of almost everything I do. My sweet darling freak ass gay grim reaper type man <3

hmmmmmmmmmmm yeah.

Its decided.

I know you know nothing about Garret. Fucking no one does here or... anywhere, really. He's just kinda There all the time, but now it is decided~

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thank you for the ask, bestie!! This was hella fun! And now we have trans garret!!

A win is a win <3

Hope you have a great day!