#how was the gayest show in the world made in the 80s

[zarophod]

red dwarf is honestly the most brilliant show ever because it first aired in 1988 yet the most recent fanfiction was updated today. people have been shipping rimmer/lister for 35 years

[blueiight]

I rmbr bootlegging some cn interviews where he was like. rein & kir’s split on ideological differences was inevitable. n kir woulda died for that regardless bc rein wouldve done something even worse. n it is a major turning pt in kir’s chara arc : his first assertion of a true ‘boundary’ is opposing rein’s most objectionable act, a war crime of untold proportions. its why the westerland incident must be indubitably reinhard’s decision & not an act of oberstein’s ~trickery~ as the ova made it. one oberstein wouldnt even follow reinhard if he was that easily deceived. anyways its the moral breaking point for kircheis, where kircheis cant lie to himself about what his friend has become, and where reinhard shows his true capacity for brutal imperialist power. its interesting 2 me how early on reinhard stopped being a boy aspiring to free his sister & became the transition from feudal space empire on its last legs to a colonialist expansionist space empire, but the end of book2/s1 rly hammers tht in. his childhood friend dies, his sister leaves him, and he does some of his most evil acts. when overthrowing the feudalists creates an even worse system. he embraces being the Great Man. no love. only puppet show generals who have a homoerotic f*scist adjacent obsession w him (while rein is like. i believe in Meritocracy™️) & the gayest woman ever being strongarmed into marriage w her gay overlord boss cuz shes the only woman in proximity to him. which makes reinhard’s slow demise from a degenerative autoimmune disease such a strong narrative decision. the other half in his tale dead, dynasty in the dirt/transitioning to another mode of governance. the great man must confront his humanity. wish it actually went anywhere. whereas yang who is a vaguely ~left~ historian& aware of meta perception/how a Legend is created yet is a reluctant member of the system becomes a Great Man inthe eyes of others. yang’s passivity in the face of blatant encroachment on his authority he never wanted in the first place.. it makes him an amazing character dont get me wrong im not hating lol. but its several key moments where yang’s merits end up holding him back from actually being able to act in the moment or hes forced to act and by then, his actions serve very little purpose bc the government has effectively exiled him. bc he was too busy thinking of the implications& underplaying his own role to where he is ultimately killed haplessly roaming in the face of an enemy invasion. when the general on a peace missive shouldve been protected. his willful ignorance in fear of the power he holds in a failing democracy is to the wider detriment of his camp bc of reinhard’s willful awareness of what he can+will force u to do with his own power. heinessen is kinda silly too tbh cuz its america or some analogue to a 80s first world country w/ very little of the actual failings entailed in the neoliberal model of that era in mind that yang has to face, outside of yang becoming a martyr for revolutionary foppery& whim. v lil true ideological differentation outside of be my dictator (or dick taker? lolz) schonkopf is offered to most of yang’s inner network the way reinhard’s network of admiralty has. ig both rein+ yang’s in universe camps enable the worst traits of their respective hero. n ig bc the audience would be 80s first worlders tanaka felt like that had to go unsaid, or b completely flanderized in the alliance to the point of near parody but um sir. we need some food in alliance town. some complexity. also the ova & dnt goin tf to hell for how they drew sitole & machungo. i think its interesting both of these name indicate some south/ern african space analogue’s lineage n it could b on how south africa was also ingratiated into neoliberalism esp in the case of gen. sitole but alas. the story ends w the whole the legend ends. history began [but history was always in motion my dear author]

Tanaka’s politics in Talking White Boys: The Novel [that inspired the anime] is rly fascinating [not in a good or bad way just a lot 2 unpack dere] and. one day i will take a reread of the novels lol

[bonesbuckleup]

any atla headcanons to share?

My dude, I always have headcanons to share. Worth saying these are mostly post-show, and I haven’t read the comics or watched much of Korra so I assume there’s contradictory stuff here. So it goes.

Zuko loves kids, but he’s also petrified of them. Whenever he’s doing Fire Lord hosting things and there are kids present, he spends the whole time trying to figure out how to approach them without scaring them. Luckily, kids also love Zuko? Because he talks to them like they’re small adults (because all the children Zuko knew when he was a child literally were small adults) and they love that shit. Most events end with the Fire Lord surrounded by the kids, silently nodding and listening while they talk and talk and talk, because he’s worried if he says anything they’re gonna get scared and run off.

Sokka hates the Northern Water Tribe. Not the individual people, but the place/entity as a concept. He doesn’t realize it until later, probably after the war, but he does. He hates them. They closed themselves off from the world and decided they were okay with sacrificing the Southern Tribe for their own preservation. More than that, though, they bring up Yue every time they talk to him. It gets to the point where he will literally leave town if he hears there are dignitaries from the north around. Meanwhile, the Northern Tribe fuckin’ loves Sokka. He’s functionally a folk hero to them, and they spend a lot of time trying to get him to come back to the North Pole. As Sokka’s actively avoiding them, this has resulted in a globally scaled, very problematic game of hide-and-seek.

The north is less into Katara as a general rule. Even though Pakku came around on training women to fight with their bending, the rest of the tribe changes much more slowly. This gets better as time goes on, but the north tolerates Katara more than it embraces her due to her insistence they change their ways (yet another reason Sokka has decided he hates them). As a result, there’s a huge pilgrimage of lady benders who end up moving south. The waterbenders who rebuild the southern settlement are made up of at least 80% women. All southern waterbenders are taught to fight and heal in equal measure, regardless of gender.

As a younger man, Piandao was atla’s Batman. The White Lotus found him because he was vigilanteing it up all over the world before settling down in his mansion to systematically adopt a bunch of young fighters with confidence problems and authority issues.

The cabbage man was a Fire Nation spy. No, I will not be taking questions on this, thanks.

As part of building inter-nation unity, Zuko encourages the Ember Island Players to perform work from the Earth Kingdom or Water Tribe. This ends with Toph bankrolling a play about her life. Yes, the same actor from the episode plays her. Yes, she publicly endorses the myth that she sees through echo-location. Yes, she’s in the front row every night.

Roku and Sozin were literally the gayest. This isn’t even a headcanon. This is just, like, a fact. But. While Aang knows Zuko knows that Aang is technically his grandfather, Aang doesn’t know if Zuko knows that Aang is technically his grandfather who was in an open relationship with Zuko’s grandmother and Zuko's other grandfather and other grandmother. Aang can’t stop thinking about how to find out if Zuko knows. It haunts him. He wakes in the night and tries to figure out a way to ask Zuko or tell him without making it weird but there’s! not! any! way! to! casually! bring! that! up!

[coronation-eyes]

not necessarily magicians related but what other shows would you personally recommend?

::cracks knuckles:: Ho boy have you come to the right place, anon. Here’s a smattering of faves across many genres.

(You can click on all of these to get plot info if you need it.)

Westworld - Honestly one of the most well-crafted pieces of storytelling I have ever encountered. Everyone who creates a show always says they want to make the best show ever, but these guys fucking mean it.  

Stranger Things - Worth the hype, frankly. Blends a lot of genres, but it’s ultimately a love letter to 80s Stephen King and Steven Spielberg.

Doctor Who - I’m talking about New Who (from 2005 onwards) but Classic Who deserves a look as well, obviously. Pick whichever Doctor you think you’ll like and give it a shot. If you fall in love with it, you can always go on a spree and watch the rest. 

Supernatural - Seasons 1-5 captures the original concepts, scope, and storyline the creator intended, but season six is a really good coda. Only watch after that if the show has imprinted on your soul (like it did mine). 

The West Wing - If our current political clusterfuck is driving you crazy, for the love of god watch one of the greatest shows ever written about good people working in the White House, doing their best as flawed humans in a hard world. I personally stop at 5x01 because that’s when then the writer and showrunner left, but your first time through needs to include all seven seasons.

Torchwood - Underrated, underrated, underrated spinoff of Doctor Who that has been largely forgotten. Gay as hell. It starts shaky, but culminates in a season three that I would put up against any season of television you can throw at me. (For the love of god, do not watch season four.)

Star Trek: The Original Series - If you ever wanted to know where 80% of modern sci fi tropes came from. Also if you ever wanted to know what gave birth to modern slash fandom. (Next Generation and Discovery are also fab.)

You Me Her - A polyamorous romantic comedy that’s well written, character driven, and doesn’t use polyamory as a gimmick. Yes, really. 

Revolution - Eric Kripke (Supernatural’s creator) started this show after he left SPN, and it grew into its own much like he first show did. But then it got canceled because it was on a major network, which was by definition too impatient to let things grow in the first place. I loved it to pieces, and they released a comic after season two to kind of wrap things up. 

BBC Merlin - It’s a family show, but definitely grows up as the seasons progress. A great take on the Arthurian legend even though “Arthur, but young” should have been a terrible idea.

BBC Sherlock - Seasons one and two are meticulous and clever as hell. Season three is a little wonky but still good. Season four is so widely reported as an embarrassing disaster that I haven’t even seen it yet. But those first two seasons are worth the hype.

Moonlighting - Forget Bones. Forget Castle. This is the OG will-they-or-wont-they crime solving couple, and they did it better. There are a lot of different aspects to the show (it has that in common with The Magicians). It has unique mysteries, purposefully silly and absurd chase scenes, some genuinely touching drama, and a lot of fun with the fourth wall, but what made this show golden was the romantic tension between David and Maddie. Their fights are legendary, both for how they’re written and how much sexual energy they can shoot across the room. It’s a master class in tension.

Starsky and Hutch - The gayest crime solving police detectives the 1970s ever saw. Season four is skippable.

House - One of two medical shows I ever gave a crap about, and one of the only “difficult asshole tolerated by others” tropes I can get behind (simply because they really dive deep into his psyche, flaws, and whether or not he’s ultimately redeemable). Seasons one through four are iconic. Do not watch past that. 

Daredevil - If you’re still into superheroes, season one of this show alone warrants a rec. Darker, a more realistic feel, and how the fuck did they get a cast that talented.

Voltron - This is one corner of the “kid’s show with enough worldbuilding and complexity to snag the adults.” The science fiction corner, as it were. Ignore the fandom about season eight, it’s a great end to the series.

Gravity Falls - This is the supernatural/fantasy/cosmic weirdness corner of the triad.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - This is the apex. 

The Night Manager - If you dig espionage, this is an adaptation of a hugely influential spy novel and also stars Tom Hiddleston, whom I am in rapturously in love with. 

Hannibal - I once saw this series described as “a psychopath falls in love with an empath and it goes about as well as you’d expect,” and frankly there’s no better way to describe it. Bonus points for giving Kacey Rohl a push into the next phase of her career. 

The Leftovers - A kind of shockingly realistic look at what would happen if a small percentage of the world’s population vanished into thin air. 

[signalwave]

another long one whoops

tagged by: @kleiio​ and @gothicauntie

tagging: @krugekaz @sensuell @lazyteea @rosy-tea @elliewilliams @mountaindave @luvkiddo @spectrism @qvaithe @roseloves

rules: you must answer these 85 statements and tag others!

the last

1. drink: whiskey lol i just got home from a friend and he and i went on a bender  2. phone call: nick (moi friend) 3. text message: uhhh i think it was some salty message to my ex that i sent this afternoon?? idk though 4. song you listened to: i was made for lovin you by KISS 5. time you cried: on monday ): 6. dated someone twice: lol nope i dont do leftovers 7. kissed someone and regretted it: ugh some dude when i was 16 was the last time i ever regretted it  8. been cheated on: last year how ugly 9. lost someone special: on monday 10. been depressed: since 2010 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: my birthday last year (i have a strong tolerance for alcohol my dudes it takes a lot to get me drunk)

3 favourite colours

12. seafoam 13. lavender 14. mint green

in the last year have you

15. made new friends: yep 16. fallen out of love: yes n it was Hard  17. laughed until you cried: ha ha ha yes 18. found out someone was talking about you: yes becos i know a lot of uglee ppl 19. met someone who changed you: no i havent changed in many years 20. found out who your friends are: yeah and im not very happy with the results 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: god probably i dont use facebook that much anymore too many ragrets

general

22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: like 90% 23. do you have any pets: aye three guinea pigs 24. do you want to change your name: nah i think im good with jade

25. what did you do for your last birthday: someone threw a surprise party for me 26. what time did you wake up: 4pm lmao 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: playing dead island on xbox 28. name something you can’t wait for: saturday i might be going to rALLYCROSS 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: like an hour ago 31. what are you listening to right now: passing afternoon by iron and wine 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: i knew like two or three of them 33. something that is getting on your nerves: my mothers boyfriend 34. most visited website: tumblr and youtube and ultimateguitar 35. hair colour: its like lilac with purple and a rosy pink 36. long or short hair: goes down past my shoulders so longish?? 37. do you have a crush on someone: um no but i wanna have one i miss crushing on ppl 38. what do you like about yourself: yo i have a great sense of style and music and shit so thats pretty cool. also tattoos and musical talent 39. piercings: nope 40. blood type: 0+ 41. nickname: people call me sammy or jadey  42. relationship status: single 43. zodiac: libra 44. pronouns: she/her 45. favourite tv show: game of thrones, supernatural, family guy, tosh.0 46. tattoos: three- a tree on my calf, the jackass logo on my forearm and the green day heart grenade from the american idiot album just above it 47. right or left handed: right 48. surgery: aye to have my appendix removed 50. sport: used to play softball and hockey. the gayest 51. vacation: various small coastal towns here in south africa 52. pair of trainers: ive got a pair of olympic international sneakers that i wear like all the time

MORE GENERAL

53. eating: i had fries earlier 54. drinking: soda 55. I’m about to: idk scroll through tumblr and watch some family guy and hope i can fall asleep tonight 56. waiting for: the world to change 57. want: the people that hired me to get their asses into gear so i can finish my job, also to start a band 58. get married: lol idk i gotta find someone willing to put up with me first 59. career: im a pro freelance photographer currently doing a gig for a major food franchise here in s.a

WHICH IS BETTER

60. hugs or kisses: kisses 61. lips or eyes: lips 62. shorter or taller: height doesnt matter?? 63. older or younger: as long as its legal lol 64. nice arms or nice stomach: arms 65. hook up or relationship: relationship 66. troublemaker or hesitant: erm both have their pros and cons idk

HAVE YOU EVER:

67. kissed a stranger: aye 68. drank hard liquor: aye 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: YES 70. turned someone down: yes tons 71. sex on the first date: coughs not a chance 72. broken someone’s heart: i hope not 73. had your heart broken: ff yes 74. been arrested: HAHA nearly 75. cried when someone died: aye  76. fallen for a friend: unfortunately yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

77. yourself:  ha no 78. miracles: nah 79. love at first sight: aye 80. santa claus: santa claus is terrifying 81. kiss on the first date: aye if it feels right 82. angels: erm unigjfknb

OTHER:

84. eye colour: hazel green 85. favourite movie: all of wes andersons’ films, though bottle rocket was slightly offkey