#and not even in like a subtext kind of way
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
THE BEST EPISODE OF MERLIN!!!
This is such simple story telling, a proper ghost story, lots of jump scares - and, like many horror genre stories, a strong queer subtext.
So, I'm currently getting to the end of Merlin and oh my god is it the gayest thing in the world, where was it when I needed it? Why didn't I watch it? It was literally on telly when I was being homophobically rejected by my family? I've always been an idiot, this is clear. Series 5, Episode 3, The Death Song of Uther Pendragon
“I will not allow you to destroy all that I have built! Camelot must come before all else. Even you.” — Uther to Arthur
This is what homophobic family rejection feels like. To your family, you are a destructive force. Your feelings are a demolition ball. Your peace and happiness means nothing. It is the family image, and the hopes and expectations of the parents that matters more then anything else. You must suffer in the dark. You cannot hope to see the light. It doesn't matter if you're still breathing.
The relationship between Arthur and Merlin in this episode felt like the closest we've seen yet - and this is just after they have fallen asleep in a net trap, with their faces squished together, so that's pretty darn close. (Let's not forget, they are 'more than friends, more than brothers'.) And as they demonstrate closeness, they are assailed by the ghost of Arthur's father. (It's homophobia, guys.) Arthur says repeatedly he has so many things he wanted to say to Uther, that he didn't get to say to him when he was alive. What are these unsaid things? These secrets? What does Arthur wish that Uther had known - and accepted? That he's a beautiful gay boy in love with Merlin? In the land of the dead, Uther does not allow Arthur to speak, but instead details his shame. He is talking about Gwen, but he says: "There are certain things that are more important than love." All of Arthur's actions have been made out of love - his decision to knight the unnoble, to marry 'beneath him' rather then make a strategic alliance. Uther says "How can I be proud of a son who ignores everything I taught him? Who is destroying my legacy?" Uther, over the course of the episode, makes it clear he would rather see Arthur dead before he allowed him the freedom and grace to follow his true will. (HOMOPHOBIA!!!)
Merlin's 'magic' (*wink*) is revealed to Uther - he is, true to form, appalled and repulsed by it. Uther Pendragon: You have magic? Merlin: [quivering with anger] I was born with it! Uther Pendragon: I made you Arthur's servant. You are a sorcerer? Merlin: Even while you were king, there was magic at the heart of Camelot! Uther Pendragon: I will not allow you and your kind to poison… Merlin: You're wrong. Uther Pendragon: …my kingdom! Uther remembers that it was he himself that gave Merlin access to Arthur in close quarters. I think the reading that to 'have magic' is to 'be gay' - a motif anchoring the show, resounds so strongly in this episode. And here, Uther continues in death to rage against allowing magical people to 'poison' the kingdom - in the way that homophobic rhetoric implies homosexuality can be inborn or acquired, but it always corrupts, seduces, pollutes and recruits. Uther is appalled that he positioned Merlin by Arthur's side, and opened him to this poison. Uther, like all ghosts, is vengeful. He has deep shame for the choices Arthur has made, and is making... Uther's attempts to hurt, maim or kill anything that is outside of his conservative approval... if that's not an allegory for homophobic parental rejection, I don't know what is.
Do you have magic? ARE YOU GAY!?
But this episode is bright! And funny! Merlin and Arthur are in each others pockets in this episode. They are always engaging in 'horseplay' but there is so much of it here. There is this act of boundary crossing that causes them both to pause.
ARTHUR: When do I hit you?
MERLIN: All the time.
ARTHUR: That's not hitting, Merlin, that's merely friendly slaps. It's horseplay.
MERLIN: So can I give you a 'friendly slap'?
ARTHUR: You can certainly try.
MERLIN grabs one of Arthur's leather gloves and thwacks him on the back of the head with it. His face is one of immediate regret.
ARTHUR: (Amused) What the hell was that?
MERLIN: It was, um, horseplay.
ARTHUR: No, Merlin, you're doing it all wrong. Why don't I show you? "WHY DON'T I SHOW YOU?"!!!!!!!!!! There is no heterosexual explanation for this one, boys:
There's rough horseplay. There's also tenderness. Arthur can't get enough of Merlin 'teaching him poetry'.
Sir Leon: I'll leave you to your poetry, then, my Lord. Arthur: Poetry? That's the best you could come up with? Merlin: What did you want me to say? Arthur: I don't know. Something that didn't make me sound like a love struck girl. Merlin, could you disguise our behaviour and our surprise, in a way that doesn't position me as 'love struck' and in a reversed gender role? Not today! Subtle as a brick.
And I am LIVING for the moment Uther, positioned between Arthur and Merlin, is forcibly sent back to the land of the dead. In true Merlin style, it is both comedic and devastating. Uther shouts 'MERLIN HAS...!!' before disappearing in a gasp. It's like he's pathetically shouting 'GAYLORD!' as Arthur blows his (own) trumpet and in doing so, drowns him out, and removes him as an obstacle in the way of Merlin. And then Arthur and Merlin are panting and in tears together. I think it is impossible to go through homophobic parental rejection and not be moved by this moment. I was in tears with them ... and laughing! This is a great show.
10 out of 10. I don't know how this thing ends (well, I've read the Thomas Malory...) but this episode alone is one of the best TV things I've seen.
#the death song of uther pendragon#merthur#bbc merlin#queer subtext#queer reading#anthony head#colin morgan#bradley james#arthur pendragon#merlin emrys
46 notes
·
View notes
Note
☕ ~ trans woman whirl?
I love trans Whirl headcanons but I think I love them for totally different reasons than I usually see, tbh? That is- I think a lot of the time the fandom just goes 'oh! Girl Holoform Spotted! now this character is girl, and we can say character is trans girl because in the comic they are called he/him' and tbh I find that attitude as fandom often implements it annoying for a couple reasons; one, it often feels like a kind of 'if character Looks Like Girl, well, character Is Girl' deal which tbh feels kinda shallow to me ngl, and two, it (and similar under-expanded upon headcanons) not infrequently seems to be a way for the fandom as a whole to justify the general lack of content for the very explicitly canon trans characters by instead being like 'all the material we make for these characters not treated as such in canon proves that we definitely love trans characters. don't think about how lug or anode or arcee don't get that same attention, or that this content only offhandedly actually deals with transness 90% of the time', you know? Bit mean, but I can't help but feel that's a repeated tendency in the fandom, tbh. I would feel less like this if the fanon trans headcanons did not just vaguely go 'oh. also ig they are trans, how nice' with no follow up and instead actually treated these characters as having opinions about being trans, but in too many cases they unfortunately... don't. (And no, them being robots is not an excuse. Anode has opinions on this. Arcee has opinions on this, a lot of them!) But we're here to talk about Whirl, and I want to talk about why I do love trans Whirl, so.
I love trans Whirl for reasons far outside of that, and I think taking that approach to the idea does it a disservice tbqh. Specifically I like trans Whirl for the same reason I like reading Verity as trans, because it adds to Whirl's character arc about being denied agency over identity and clawing it back on purpose in a way where the trans reading feels especially resonant and like it genuinely adds to the overall subtext of her arc. Whirl's entire character is one where the violent removal of agency in her life is so much a focus it changes the course of history; Whirl refusing to let the functionists that ruined her life win is why Elegant Chaos plays out as it does. Whirl is a character whose entire sense of self as a person with the ability to make any choices at all was viciously ripped away from her, and in turn a character whose response to that is to make her ability to choose exactly what she does so utterly undeniable that even if you hate her, even if you think she's repulsive, even if you want to throttle her, you cannot pretend she is not in control. In that specific context, adding in the idea that she would choose her own gender, in defiance of a Cybertronian culture that implicitly treats gender as an alien unwelcome influence, so she can have what she wants- that rules. There's also such a line to be drawn there between Arcee's arc and Whirl, I think, that is so great. That's where I see why it is so good. Being seen as just a gun to be aimed that everyone professes distaste for but still wants to stick around and do dirty work, but you insist upon your interiority being seen as just that; your interiority. And all the things the people who want to do to you which you hate being what you embrace. It's fantastic. I simply prefer that as an angle through which to view the ideas than like... haha well Whirl's holoform is Girl With Guns how funny. You know?
And one of her most "humanising" moments is when she extends that to someone else. I'm thinking of when she tells Tailgate that Cyclonus was lying about his injuries; that part where Cyclonus is trying to protect Tailgate in a way that is ultimately toxic for them both. Sure, everyone else agrees that the best way to handle this is to lie for your own good so you don't make a decision people don't want you to. But that's not fucking fair, and who gets to decide what's "your own good"? Viewing that in light of a Whirl who is not just vaguely a woman but specifically linking that to the way Whirl's rigidly defined role under a functionist heel ruined her sense of identity, because they know what's best for you whether you like it or not- damn, that is COMPELLING. And I find that just. So much more compelling than what fandom so often does with the idea. Whirl, above all else, knows how important demanding agency is. I think that makes Whirl a character ripe for a reading as trans, and I love that for her so much. she'll grab you by the throat and make you acknowledge her. and she's right every step of the way, no matter how much you want to look away. i love her.
tl;dr WHIRL TRANS WOMAN GOOD. LOVE IT. no really i just, it's so good.
#ask meme#WOW THIS IS ONE I HAVE A LOT OF OPINIONS ON TURNS OUT#tldr. i love. trans whirl. because i love whirl so so so much#(also yeah i use canon pronouns usually but. we are talking about whirl as trans here so we're on that delicious she/her whirl content)
25 notes
·
View notes
Text
Insane to me that there are genuinely people out there saying wwdits is queerbaiting because the gay couple hasn't kissed yet. The canon married straight couple hasn't even kissed onscreen. What show are you watching
#i just saw someone compare it to the SPN FINALE like what#not to be That Person but nandermo has been canonically romantic in nature since at least season 2#and not even in like a subtext kind of way#more like if youve been even remotely paying attention to the show you know its a will-they-wont-they slowburn#like its not subtle#jackieshauna 🤝 nandermo >>> ppl thinking its noncanon bc the 2 characters whose entire lives/arcs revolve around each other havent kissed#also i know 'straight married couple' doesnt even begin to cover what laszlo and nadja have going on but i digress#wwdits
91 notes
·
View notes
Text
i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you
#im reading that post that says artists are directors of audience reaction and not its dictator:#'you cannot guarantee that everyone viewing your work will react as you are trying t make them react. a good artist knows that this is what#allows work to breath. by definition you cannot have art where the viewer brings nothing to the table ... this is why you have to let go of#the urge to plainly state in text exactly how you think the work should be interpreted ... its better to be misinterpreted sometimes than#to talk down to your audience. you wont even gain any control that way; people will still develop their opinions no matter what you do#im thinking abt this again cuz i was thinking maybe the thing that lets adventure time work so well the way it does is cuz it doesnt#take itself too seriously that it gives the audience enough room to fuck with subtext and then fuck with them back yknow. i think it was#mentioned somewhere that they werent even planning to run with the postapocalyptic elements that are hinted in the show but changed their#mind after the one off with the frozen businessmen and dominoed into marcy and simons backstory. on the other side there are stories that#explain too much to let the story speak for itself and i think it ends up having to do more with the crew trying to lead ppl in a certain#direction than expand on what they have and i see a lot of this with miraculous. like when interviews and tweets are used as word of god in#arguments and it becomes a little stifling to play around with it knowing the creator can just interject. u can say its the crews effort to#engage with its audience but it feels more like micromanaging. and none of this is to say there ISNT room for stories that spell things out#theyre just suited for different things. if sesame street tried abstract approaches to themes and nuance itd be counterproductive#a lot of things fly over my head so i need help picking things apart to get it- but it doesnt have to be from the story itself. ive picked#picked up or built on my own interpretations listening to other ppl share their thoughts which creates conversation around the same thing#sometimes stories will spell things out for you without being so obvious abt it that it feels like its woven into the text. my fav example#for this might be ATLA using younger characters as its main cast but instead of feeling like its dumbed down for kids to understand why war#is bad its framed from a childs point of view so younger audiences can pick up on it by relating to the characters. maybe an 8 year old#wont get how geopolitics works but at least they get 'hey the world is a little more complicated than everyone vs. fire nation'. same for#steven universe bc its like theyre trying to describe and put feelings into words that kids might not have so they have smth to start with#especially with the metaphors around relationships bc even if it looks unfamiliar as a kid now maybe the hope is for it to be smth you can#look back to. thats why it feels like these shows grew up with me.. instead of saving difficult topics for 'when im ready for it'#as if its preparing me for high school it gave me smth to turn in my hands and revisit again and again as i grow. stories that never#treated u as dumb all along. just someone who could learn and come back to it as many times as u need to. i loved SU for the longest time#but i felt guilty for enjoying it hearing the way ppl bash it. bc i was a kid and thought other ppl understood it better than me and made#feel bad for leaning into the message of paying forward kindness and not questioning why steven didnt punish the diamonds or hold them#accountable. but im rewatching it now and going oh. i still love this show and what it was trying to teach me#yapping#diary
98 notes
·
View notes
Text
I find it fascinating to witness the straight audience of any media not being able to pick up what the makers of the movie/show puts down.
It’s like when people reacted to the “You wear fine things well” scene in Our Flag Means Death with “aw, they’re such good friends” whereas the queer audience went “omg, this is happening”. We all had access to the same scene, we’d all watched the build up to that scene but the straight audience wrongly read it as friends/straight whereas the queer audience had suspected they were building up to a romance but this was the confirmation. Even the creator of the show was baffled that people were surprised that Ed and Stede fell in love. Because he thought they had made it obvious.
And as I said, we, the queer audience picked up on it. And I feel like the same thing is happening with Ted Lasso. Do I know that Ted and Trent will get together? No, I am unfortunately not a writer on Ted Lasso. But you can’t deny that there are clues pointing to it. But the straight audience barely pick up the fact that Ted and Trent like each other, be that in a platonic way or romantic way. I’ve seen several reactions to the last episode of season 2 and ONE of them included the scene where Ted reacts to Trent not being in the press room. All of them severely cut down the scene in the parking lot. One of the scenes most of us Ted/Trent truthers point to as a huge piece of evidence for it going canon. The parallel of them meeting in an empty parking lot, just like Ted and his ex-wife and Roy and Keeley. But because Ted and Trent are both men it couldn’t possibly mean anything. And Ted has an ex-wife and a kid so he can’t possibly be into men, as if there is no such thing as being bisexual. “But I’m pretty sure Trent has a family, he has a kid right?” So? He could be divorced, we also have no idea if his daughter has another dad or a mum. And the same thing applies to him, it doesn’t mean he can’t be into men (take also into account all of James Lance’s interviews, and his choice of shirt in one of them, friend of Dorothy anyone? He's the captain of this ship, we're just along for the ride tbh.)
Then we have the wonderful “I’m so not homophobic, in fact, you are homophobic because you think Ted is gay just because he likes musicals and has ‘feminine’ traits” um no… it’s the fact that he kind of acts in a way that an ally wouldn't. Yeah, he called himself an ally in that one episode. But every single person who is now out as queer who at one point considered themselves an ally because "I’m not one of them but I sure think they're neat" raise a hand 🖐️ (been there, done that. Was very into queer things before I realised I myself am one of them). What it always comes down to is "it's pandering", "it's tokenism" (having the main character on the show be queer wouldn't be fucking tokenism), "not everything has to be gay", "why can't men just be friends, there is a severe lack of male friendships on tv". And like the last one makes me go??? There are a MILLION friendships between men on TV. There are even multiple friendships between men in Ted Lasso. Beard and Ted, Ted and Higgins, Ted and Roy, the himbos and so on. Having Ted and Trent become a couple wouldn't really change anything because there are still friendships between men. They also claim that Ted is needed as the "straight without toxic masculinity" representation. As if Beard isn't right there. The man who has no problem going to an immersive show about the menstrual cycle. Has no problem with shrieking when he's surprised and so on.
I also like that if we'd get Ted and Trent together, we'd get two middle aged queer dads. Which isn't that common. It's not even super common to see people realising they're queer late in life on TV, and yet it happens every day. Because let's face it, most queer men on TV kind of look like Colin, and I don't mean that as a bad thing. And I'm looking forward to his storyline. But it's also nice seeing middle aged or old people finding themselves and being allowed to be who they are (see Ed and Stede from OFMD). Also would enjoy seeing people lose their minds when they realise they've been fooled this entire time. It'll be like Black Sails all over again.
I do not have any doubts about the fact that, had Trent or Ted been a woman and they saw Trent give up his career because of Ted's influence, they sure as hell wouldn't protest people thinking they'd become a couple. But because it's two men it's just delusional for some reason (homophobia).
What I'm saying is, it's clear that the straight audience has a hard time picking up subtext and clues that the makers are planting. Because they've never had to do that. Because they are always clearly represented. They don't have to look for minor side characters and hope that they might be queer. Because the main character is straight and most of the supporting cast too. When you've grown up with a lack of representation or with representation that is meant to be subtext, you'll learn to pick up on it. And you do look at media differently. I just wish that the straight audience could listen to us for once, without getting defensive and dancing around the fact that they are uncomfortable relating to a character that turned out to be queer.
#tedependent#ted lasso#trent crimm#there are so many times where I'm watching something and I go... hold on that is... is that a queer character... yes it must be#and then they do something small that confirms it and I'm like I fucking knew it!#I have 0 gaydar in real life but when it comes to media I tend to pick up on it#I wish that all straight people would learn about the way queer people have been represented throughout history#so that they might be able to understand why we have to look for subtext even today#hell we got ''representation'' in star wars and beauty and the beast and it was blink and you'll miss it#and they wonder why we have to make everything gay??#because we want to be represented in a show that isn't strictly about being queer#yes it's nice with a ''everyone is queer'' kind of show#but it's also nice to be seen in a mainstream show that is loved by not just a queer audience but also a straight audience#nicole watches stuff
366 notes
·
View notes
Text
seriously doubt adam or lawrence had any close/trusted friends which just makes their relationship in the bathroom that much more weirdly emotionally charged. codependency bait to the max
#like it seems like scott was kind of the last person adam really talked to when he bounced on his parents and he sticks around him#but subtext (and by that i mean text) makes it so obvious hes just kinda his punching bag. but hey he sticks around#hes got that highschool dropout who bounces between acquaintance friend groups and never got super close to anyone#kind of vibe.#everyone knows him but nobody hangs w him or whatever#but like lawrence is so in the same boat. that is a guy that goes to colleague dinner parties to keep up appearances and thats bout it#like i bet even diana’s friends parents barely know much about him and think hes just stuffy or whatever#his lawyer calls himself his friend but i really think thats just in a ‘i know you and im looking out for your best interet’ way.#i dont think they hang#and like. he doesnt even talk to his wife anymore#i think they r both lonely and miserable in different ways and kind of have what the other thinks they need#despite being so drastically different#it drives me insane#bathroom boyfriends#chainshipping#click
201 notes
·
View notes
Text
I want to get to the good part of this blastvoid thing I'm writing but i do NOT want to write the part before it and I'm procrastinating so fucking hard
Like i know what i want and it'll be satisfying but it's like the reverse of eating beef jerky, where this is the tough gross part you just need to swallow before getting to the fucking SPPIUCCE
#I'm writing their early days when blast first realizes a) fucking void is an option and b) he REALLY wants to#but it's in the middle of a one night stand with a woman#and I'm just......so uninterested in most straight stuff......like unless its genderfuckery with the characters cause that's cool#also hard because i really believe background characters should have their own lives so trying to write these OCs as likable and believable#without them taking to too much time#or at least if they do have them be fun enough that it's fine#and also having it be believable that they'll go about their business even after the story moves on from them#hard too to get into the head of a frat bro/fuckboy which is kinda how i see Blast#or rather it's hard to write him without making him either too soft or too gross#like the way i like and see women isn't necessarily the way a guy like that would and it's tough to figure out where the crossover is#so i can use it to make this whole thing more believable#i REALLY want it to be clear that blast and void do not have the kind of relationship that would be good for anyone else#and probably really isn't even good for them#but that requires a fair amount of build up to get it across the way I'd like#like blast is fixated on void and so hyper aware of everything he does that he's almost#but not quite#scared of him#and void knows what he's doing because blast is the Goldie Locks of candidates for someone to help him with the GOD stuff#and he D O E S N O T want him going anywhere so he's gonna keep him close using every trick in the book#but blast IS charismatic and he IS fun and he DOES make daily life a lot more pleasant#so he's uncomfortably attached too#but blast has zero fucking for clue about any of that other than he's aware of just **how little** he knows about void#IT'S A FUCKING LOT OF SUBTEXT TO GET ACROSS WITH A CHARACTER I'M STRUGGLING WITH#I'm going to do it but MAN#blastvoid
21 notes
·
View notes
Text
"I didn't say it." "You didn't have to."
Day Six of @bylerweek2023 (part i) - Pre-Volume II a few of the vol i moments that floored me last june (aka Byler + "caught in 4K" romantic subtext)
#byler#bylerweek2023#mike wheeler#will byers#I couldn't even believe vol i wasn't a fever dream after it dropped#like. from that airport scene onward it was just shot after shot of subtext so blatant I couldn't even believe my eyes LMAO#so...this was an exercise in seeing how hd I could get my gifs#since I've been trying all kinds of things in my gif process this week#I have like. an actual concept set too#but making this reminded me how much hype vol I gave me#so I shared them! and hope to find a way to export HD af gifs without maxing out the tumblr size limit lmfao#stranger things#my gifs#byleredit
197 notes
·
View notes
Text
*scrolling through tumblr and sees immaculate, mouth-watering art*
"Wow!"
*it's of a toxic couple back when they were together/them being bitter exes in present time*
"Oh, these two aren't healthy in any way, shape, or form"
...
*likes it anyway*
(Read tags)
#im specifically talking about billford#like....bill is more toxic than xenomorph drool#and a crazy motherfucker#and i agree with mabel in that one page of tbob#bill needs to move tf on and leave that poor old geezer alone#dude manipulated ford so much its not even cute or funny#but the art i keep seeing of these 2....jesus christ#yall are too talented#i hate the idea of canon ford and bill getting back together but i love the bill au ideas and seeing memes of bill being clingy#and the art#oml the art#the way some of y'all be drawing ford is giving me gender envy ffs#i dont particularly ship billford for obvious reasons#but bill acting like a petty and clingy ex is so funny to me + the “fell first/fell harder” trope (ford did NAWT fall harder 😭)#im all for one sided billford#and the art is so yummy for these two#so...#oh and btw fiddauthor is a tad strange#like the idea of ford and fidd reconnecting & maybe being lovers in old age after the events of weirdmaggedon is fine#but i highly doubt that fidd would've cheated on his wife or abandoned his kid for ford#sure he fucked up in other ways when it came to his family and the subtext and implications of feelings may be there#but still...he was married#and even if he loved ford more#fidd doesnt come off like the kind of person to do that#and bro is NAWT pulling 💀#he is the equivalent of a sopping wet dog /pos#anyways#theres my 2 cents on the shipping stuff in gravity falls currently#yeah.#gravity falls
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
i always think i'm normal. and then BOOM. mini series eddie
#mhac.txt#it (1990)#he is STILL one of those characters that fills me with overwhelming feeling.#including the overwhelming urge to bite him and shake him around.#i think it's because he's so cute physically and in personality. but i don't mean that in an infantalizing way.#especially because there's so much more nuance to him. like. the amount of times he's trying to be brave and stand on his feet#despite being scared or cowardly and vulnerable. a vulnerability particularly fed AND taken advantage of by the manipulation of his mom.#which if you cross compare that against bev and her dad it's. explosions.#i think also there's a sort of Softness in dennis christopher as 1990 era eddie. because he's just a soft cutie guy.#but also the way that eddie himself is kind. still easy to frighten and not always willing to take the reigns. but can be pushed to#and is compassionate with the guys of his company and all. still has a particular compassion for the losers as well. even richie.#which is. its own can of worms. as much as i love the idea of them i won't try to find and implant queer subtext where there might be none.#but. pennywise calling young eddie girlboy. and also the way in which both eddie actors. they deal out teases and agitation with richie.#that's inevitable when it comes to richie. but there's. TO ME. more of a fondness for him by these actors than the hard line irritation#in 2017/2019. which i'm not faulting jack dylan grazer or james ransone for. especially not when it's just part of the stylistic choices.#but. miniseries eddie holds so much more power to me than 2017/2019 eddie.#i didn't mean to write a whole essay in the tags but here we are
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
I will also add. That the type of relationship that genshin writers are best at writing is familial and that literally every relationship that was genuinely compelling and well written was familial in nature. Do with that what you will
#sorry. i know they have gaybait couples too but even the ones with substance don't hold a candle to familial relationships in terms of like.#how interesting they are and how much actual substance they get#🗨️#like sorry I'm way more invested in like... ragbros or klee and kaeya or wanderer and nahida etc etc than I'll ever give a fuck about like.#haikaveh or eimiko or any of the like genshin couples that hsve some kind of subtext going on#the only mildly interesting romances they wrote were the random gay dudes who invented tcg#and guiping#yes I'm still vagueing 💙#like those were side characters.
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
My sister was saying "You should write that idea for a novel about [REDACTED] that you had a while ago for NaNo. I think that could be really fun" and I was like oh yeah! I remember we got a kick out of that one. And then, after a pause, had be like... could you remind me what the plot was again? Because litearlly all I could remember was that it had been funny At The Time and involved [REDACTED].
It was like when my mum reads a book and strongly recommends it to me the day after she finishes it, but can't remember any of the characters names or what happened, but it was definitely very good and I should read it so we can talk about it!
Except this was a story I made up myself and devoted not an insignificant amount of thought to, and then never committed any of what I came up with to the page because it was still early stages and I would "remember" what my initial ideas were 🙄
#fortunately my sister did remember enough that it kickstarted my brain and I remembered#but jesus christ...#how many perfectly good ideas have I squandered because I didn't think I would forget about them?#it's one thing not ever writing stuff I had ideas for because of y'know *gestures towards my general inability to follow through on things*#but actually forgetting ideas entirely feels much worse#I miss having an eidetic memory :(#but also I kind of wish I'd never had it because I never developed the habit of writing things down to remember them#until WELL into adulthood#because I'd ever needed to for most of my life#I just remembered every single word I had ever read or heard and almost every idea I'd given more than passing thought to in perfect detail#as a child I'd get so angry about people getting single words of quotations wrong or misremembering minute details of conversations we'd ha#because I *did not understand* that they weren't just being sloppy and inexact#and that they really couldn't remember things the same way I could#I really did not understand that other people experienced the world differently to me at that age#when they contradicted what I believed to be universal truths I thought they were trying to upset me or make me feel bad about myself#like when my friend agreed with my parents that apple juice was nicer than orange juice (when no one could *really* believe that)#I fully felt that as a betrayal#and thought she was implicitly co-signing my parents to hurt me#and that the subtext of the criticism was that I was evil and self indulgent for not resisting the wicked temptations of orange juice#and never even trying to be virtuous and subject myself to apple juice#which was obviously not as nice but was the more moral and 'healthy' (which was the same things as moral) choice#oh christ this has gotten away from me...#I hate being triggered by dumb bullshit that brings me back to weird esoteric traumas from my youth#can I please stop being triggered by such embarrassingly trivial bullshit for five minutes???
7 notes
·
View notes
Text
I don’t have the words to articulate this more fully without getting way too into the contextual plot and subsequently giving away so many spoilers, but I think José Tyler in The Rift by Peter David just saw their future post-transition self as an out and proud trans woman?! good for her honestly ♡
source: this convo José has with Pike on pages 36-37 (in this edition at least) (convo begins w/ “there was a chime at his door..” ends w/ “come on. let’s greet our guests”)
#like even though the words on the page say one thing. the inherent subtext due to what we know of onscreen canon and this convo added 2 that#actually indicates the opposite of the straight text on the page and seems to imply this IS in fact the case!!!#trans josé tyler ily#star trek#book quotes#sorta#the rift#peter david#and this book was published in 1991 btw!! how cool is that#I do have to mention it has had some sexism in the first 40 odd pages already but I get the feeling based on how it’s written that it’s like#actually being written in a self-aware. critiquing the sexism. head-nod about the cage sexism. we are aware this isn’t great kind of way#which is a totally vastly wildly different tone than just actual sexist writing yknow?#again like the words on the page say one thing but HOW it’s written makes me think Peter David is like critiquing it#idk I’m not always great at subtext but to ME this is how it’s reading and doing so very well I might add#so I’m gonna go with that 🥰#enjoying this book a lot so far! for many reasons! but HAD to share about the implied trans character ♡
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Ariel and Prospero's relationship is something that can be so
#i saw a production tonight#''do you love me master? ....no?'' and prospero touches ariel's cheek ''dearly my delicate ariel''#last time i saw it ariel made all her scenes so *sensual*#like i swear there was some kind of innuendo in ''to thy strong bidding task ariel and all her quality!''#like just the way she said it#and when she said the ''do you love me master?'' line there was such a long and tense pause before ''....................no?''#and prospero saying ''dearly my delicate ariel'' like it's a deep confession#listen#LISTEN#are you even really playing the tempest if ariel and prospero do not have some kind of subtextual homoerotic relationship#(in tonight's performance btw ariel was played by a they/them nonbinary actor but changed the line to ''ariel and all her quality'' and#listen they came onstage and i was like oh ariel is gay sweet. and like#LISTEN THEY WERE SO PERFECT OKAY#they were pouty and petty at the start and practically floated around the stage and just#listen to me there is SO MUCH SUBTEXT here#there is literally no way#that this play is cishet#ariel is#look#i've seen it 3 times and twice ariel was called her and i don't remember about the other time#and i#prospero your spirit servant has a CRUSH okay#ON YOU#ariel is literalyl i can't even my brain is just going in a loop of ariel adoration rn#ariel and puck and mercutio and viola and beatrice are the best shakespeare characters i am taking no criticism
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hm I'm not putting this in yhe main tags bc. Yeah but I'm blocking ppl who call the step mother hot
#Like ok she kills people and is rebelling or whatever. She abused 2 children. One if whom we saw be abused physically and mentally in CANON#BEFORE NOW! YOU STUPID FUCKS. And I don't want to overstep bc I am not Black but both of her main victims are Black and I feel#Very very uncomfortable with people being able to. Ignore that? Like I don't know if she has a Canon/coded race so I can't speak to#In story dynamics and I can't say if it's intended as a pattern but it's genuinely something I think we should like. Acknowledge.#I dont CARE about you enjoying her killing people. That's like fine who gives a shit. I do care about the fact people seem to have assumed#That her being given nuance means it's like. Fine to gloss over the fact she is Canonically an abuser? Like look me in the fucking eyes.#She has abused Cinderella Pinocchio and her stepdaughters! I don't CARE if you want to say the first parts are because of the authors.#It. Happened. Oh wow she was written this way she didn't chose CINDERELLA DIDNT CHOSE TO BE ABUSED! AND OH HOW TERRIBLE THAT YOU WERE#ABUSIVE SO WE COULD LOVE THE PROTAG. HOW DO YOU THINK SHE'D FEEL IF SHE KNEW HER ABUSE WAS A CHOICE MADE TO MAKE HER ''BETTER'' AND#''MORE LIKEABLE''. LIKE SHE HAS TO HAVE THIS KIND OF PAIN JUST SO PEOPLE LIKE HER. DO YOU THINK THATS BETTER? THAT ITS LESS SOUL CRUSHING??#AND THENP PINOCCHIO. She. CHOSE. That. Pinocchio chose to lie to save his father. She chose to hurt his father to control him. Also more#Lore based but it's implied she did her story again. She has Cinderella's father in an etching. So. It's likely after she got this power#She STILL chose to hurt Cinderella. She chose to be the villain. She CHOSE this. She chose to hurt her again. She chose to be abusive again#Again. Implied. But I don't know what else it would imply. She broke off Pinocchio's nose. She saw him Vulnerable literally told in#By his father (even untrue as it was) that he shouldn't have been made. And she used that. She lovebombed him with promises of a mother and#Reassurance and GIFTS TO FUCKING MANIPULATE HIM. And I believe in adventuring party it was said that Pinocchio literally could not#Recognize what she did to him as abuse/manipulation because of the fact he had been taught that if something hurt him he like. Deserved it.#Or that it was in some way Correct. And that getting what he WANTED was wrong. She took advantage of that to use him literally use him#To the point he was willing to use his strings (something he saw as a trap for him literally representing CONTROL OVER HIM just to escape#Her he was literally GIVING SIGNIFICANT PARTS OF HIS AUTONOMY UP TO ESCAPE HER I DONT THIMK THIS IS FUCKING SUBTEXT GUYS)#Ppl say they want evil women and then act like the women who aren't evil aren't that bad actually because that would COMPLICATE THINGS HUH?#I'm so FUCKING MAD. Like use your brain you stupid cunts
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
@rt-nique
@rt-nique
Ran into an "everything was better in my day" old guy today who was genuinely shocked to learn that he was in his teen years before his mother was allowed a bank account without a man's permission
#this#this is the thing that eats me up all the time#the way society influences the way people are#those stupid chinese historical novels like#'hmm my mother in law is such a stingy penny pinching bitch i wonder why that is it must be because shes inherently a bad person'#no NO you idiot she hasnt had a day of financial freedom in her life there was never a day where she wasnt living under a mans thumb the#only money she could call hers was her dowry and if times were tight her husband could just take it from her to 'help out the family' and if#you were poor you wouldnt have shit for a dowry at alllll#and if your husband fell out of love wifh you youd have nothing left#do you#do you understand#and it still STILL echos and reverberates into today#why else would the novels be written like that#the way the constant thread across all these wish fulfillment transmigration novels is 'i want a man who trusts me with the finances'#'i want my family to support me' 'i want to be acknowledged for my achievements' 'when my idiot brother fucks up i want my parents to be#just and not blindly side with him' 'i want to be seen' 'i want to be loved' 'I WANT TO BE LOVED'#im crying bc THESE SHOULD BE BASIC THINGS you should have these without even asking or YEARNING#i will never get over the way the one child policy and parents preferring sons over daughters created a whole entire generation of shittymen#and dealing with This Kind of men as coworkers brothers partners shaped chinese women to be the way they Are#its so shit ITS SO SHIT i know we literally just had a conversation about this but this just got me thinking about it again and if i have to#stew over this alone i will SCREAM#hiding this in the tags like how chinese romance authors unknowingly hide the most hard hitting heartbreaking realities of navigating#society as a women in the subtext#ITS SUPPOSED TO BE BRAINLESS FLUFF WHY AM I CRYING MY HEART OUT FUCK YOU
10K notes
·
View notes