#but holy shit why are you assuming peoples genders and sexualities in spaces FOR LGBTQ PEOPLE

[chaos-in-one]

Exclusionist weirdos when trans, mspec, and aspec people also exist in lgbtq spaces:

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: Blue Flag

Author: KAITO

Genre: Comics | Friendship | Romance | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Homophobia | Sexism | Mentioned Sexual Assault

Overall Rating: 9.8/10

Personal Opinion: One of my favorite stories ever. It’s a bittersweet journey as we follow Taichi Ichinose, Toma Mita, and Futaba Kuze navigate their last year of high school together. Along the way, they struggle against gender norms and the curse of falling for someone you can never have. I love these characters with my whole heart. They actually inspired one of my novel ideas, the only one I ever finished so this manga has a special place in my heart.

Do I Own These Books? Yes! The photos I used for this post actually are of my own copies.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- That ending! Holy fucking shit! Taichi is presented as the main protagonist in this series so when we reach the epilogue, we naturally assume that we’re in Taichi’s POV. We’re led to believe that since one of the first things that character does is write the name “Ichinose” at Futaba’s wedding. But then post-wedding, we see Taichi! By process of elimination, the only possible character that could be the POV is Toma! Meaning Taichi and Toma got married! And we know they are married because they live together, they hold hands in the epilogue, and they’re both wearing rings. I squealed. It was such a twist but it also didn’t come out of left field. Toward the end of the series, there were hints that Taichi had reciprocated Toma’s feelings, he just never knew loving men could be an option for him until Toma confessed! Ugh, that epilogue was just so good.

- Anyway, let’s talk about some of the other stuff. I adore the art style. It’s cute and wholesome and each of the characters have their own flavor. Toma exudes big dog energy. Taichi is indeed a tiny gremlin with a good heart. And Futaba is a hamster through and through. The way their drawn matches their personalities so well. And specifically, I love the way the artist drew Toma’s smile. It’s just so radiant and beautiful, I had a crush on him by the end of the series.

- Mami speaks to me on a spiritual level. Why can’t men and women be just friends? Why can’t a girl just hang out with the bros? Why can’t guys wear makeup and why can’t girls play video games? Why should she be cut out from friend groups just because she interacts with a guy? It’s ridiculous and the unfortunate part is, I’ve seen girls treated the way Mami has and it disgusts me. So to see her find a friend in Taichi and Toma and Futaba after everything she went through in middle school, I just wanted her to be happy. And honestly, she had such a badass moment when she said, “Screw everyone else, I’m doing what I want when I want.”

- Mad respect for Shingo for always being there for Mami even when his girlfriends would tell him they were jealous of her. Like fuck you, he was friends with Mami first, why should he stop hanging out with her just because you’re insecure? He also only fought Toma to protect Mami and I love that. But he has no ulterior motives, no romantic interest in Mami, he sees her as a woman but more importantly, as his best friend.

- The deep conversations where Masumi would allude to her sexuality were always so gripping. Like, I really felt for her whenever she was lamenting being in love with a girl and being unable to find happiness with a guy. But Mami was also right that Masumi needed to meet people halfway. Seeing them cry together really tugged at my heartstrings.

- The board game that Taichi and Toma came up with together is such a cute ass detail. Landing on a space where everyone gets friendship power? Ingenious. But the part that really got me was Toma putting their character pieces inside of the charm he gave Taichi, that got me so emotional. “Friendship Power” fuck you, I’m in tears.

- One of my favorite moments was the festival. Toma in a yukata and the girls in kimonos was so great, they looked amazing! But also, that was when Toma gave Taichi his birthday present and I just about bawled my eyes out over it.

Dislikes:

- Kensuke. The source of all the homophobia and vulgar sexism in this series. I hate him. I do understand where some of his homophobia comes from considering his past but the girls were right when they said that has nothing to do with Toma. Anyway, Kensuke isn’t even who I have a big problem with. No, it’s actually Shingo. Yo, he said to the girls that they were just like Kensuke for not tolerating his intolerance. BITCH! And the story framed it like he was right. Ugh, that’s fucked up.

- I wanted more of Taichi and Toma. I want to know how they got together. What happened in between the main story and the epilogue, please tell me KAITO! I need to know how they found each other and fell in love!

[euphoricfilter]

“And I think people forget that our sweet boys are at the very least ally’s with the lgbtqia+, they work with many people in the community, and we have no idea their sexuality, pronouns, or gender so who knows maybe a few of them could also be part of the community”

Please don’t let your insane projecting weird white queer followers gas you up. We know their pronouns and gender holy shit. No western celebrities have to deal with this insane behavior. Leave korean idols alone if you’re gonna treat them like your toys and dolls to project on instead of like a normal human being. What sane person would say “we don’t know drake’s pronouns or gender or sexuality” when he is so obviously a cishet man. You and your followers can see asian men and therefore the tannies as non men because you’re subconsciously racist to asian men but your not right. None of them have every gone by she/her or they/them. You know their gender and pronouns, you just don’t like seeing asian men as men. Simple as. If being ally’s means being signed up to being misgendered in the most racist way I hope k idols stop being allies to you freakish teenaged westerners. Go project genderfluidity on Lil baby. We both know why you and every other racist kpop fan wouldn’t though. Even though you “don’t know his pronouns gender or sexuality either”. Jungkook out of all of bts. is the most obviously cishet. Changing gendered pronouns when he sings latto’s verse. Only going by him. Having a female lead in his sexuality solo debut. So to do that to him is so especially sinister. Don’t let tumblr queers hype you up. You are being very disgustingly racist like most other kpop fans who are queer and friendless and see allyship as a door to dehumanize and objectify real people.

no one’s gassing me up 🚶‍♀️ i somewhat feel like you missed the major point of the conversation and every thing i’ve tried to say so idk what else you want me to do.

personally i never assume anyone’s sexuality, be a white, black, asian, etc artist, unless they come out make it a point to say what their sexuality is. it has nothing to do with bts being asian.

i’m not saying jungkook doesn’t use he/him pronouns, and as i’ve said, nothing i write is me saying that is what i perceive jungkook to be in real life. all i’m saying is, in a hypothetical reality, say jungkook was non binary, or gay or whatever he wants to be, that’s okay, it’s not my business, he doesn’t owe me anything. and what i’ve written, is not me projecting some insane agenda onto the poor guy who is just minding his business

not once have i ever seen bts as “non men” and if that’s how i’ve come across then i’m sorry about that, but it’s not true.

again, i’ve never claimed that any of the members of bts have exclusively gone by she/her or they/them pronouns. just to not assume, because who know, not me, not you, because we have to remember that south korea is a very conservative country. and let’s take your issue with pronouns away for a second, the topic of sexuality is always going to be iffy if we’re talking about them being bi, or gay or pan sexual. and none of them have, and likely won’t unless put in a safer space because of the limitations of where they live. which isn’t me saying they are, just that if they were there’s political obstacles behind the tidbits of lgbtq+ involvement with their work

again, no one’s hyping me up. i’m not prancing around my room giggling because a few people asked me if i’m okay or are sharing their own thoughts on the issue. nor do i feel like i’ve dehumanised any of the members of bts. i’m not stupid, i’m aware of my standing as a fan