#i can have a little toxic bi representation... as a treat

[nitewrighter]

I have GOT to stop coming up with villains whose dynamic with the leading couple is "I want to be your third and that is a threat."

...but I don't want to.

[darkcrowprincess]

*Don't like don't read. Post hate and I'll block you*

Female characters I can't stand(both books, movies, anime/cartoons, and TV shows). Reminder I am a female and this is my personal opinion.

Annabeth Chase from the books Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series.

She is toxic, mean, abusive(both physically and emotionally), jealous and automatically is rude to anyone romantically liking Percy even before she's even in a relationship with him. She is a know it all but not in a good way. Prideful, and looks down on people especially when their mortals or monsters. The monster part I get. But still. Yes she has a tragic background, but I still don't like her. Especially since the books treat her flaws as female empowerment and not actually flaws that she needs to work on.

2. Amity Blight from the Owl House

I just find her boring honestly. Especially in the later half of the series when lumity gets together. I love Luz's character, she's my favorite. I just don't like her. Plus she never had a proper redemption arc for being a bully(and yes she was one, she was honestly more interesting when she was a bully). I'm glad teens have their lgbtq representation. I'm bi myself. I just really don't like her or the ship Lumity.

3. Katniss Everdeen from the hunger games

Both books and the movie. I just don't like her very much. I love Lucy Gray Baird from The ballad of songbirds and snakes book and movie. But her, just no. She's part of the reason why I never fully read all the books except the prequel and the first one.

4. Mcu's version of Wanda Maximoff

I never read the comics. But the movie version of her. Oh boy I can not stand her. Especially since I'm team Iron man. She willingly joined Hydra. She helped make Ultron, she took a town hostage against their will and never faced consequences for it. She set the Hulk on innocent civilians. She messed with Tony's mind! She brought Vision back to life against his will and gaslight him when he got close to the truth. She tried to kill a child so she can play pretend with someone else's kids. She killed tons of people for very selfish reasons. Yet she acts like the victim all the time.

5. Amy March for Little Women 1994

Mostly because I'm petty and I wanted Jo and Laurie to get together. Plus she's so annoying.

6. Bella Swan Twilight Saga

Both books and Movies(no hate to actress Kristen Stewart though, I love her in the movie Spencer) she is such a boring character while also being incredibly selfish character at the same time. More so in the books(though I'm team Jacob and a Jacob Black defense squad member).

And those are all the female characters at the moment that I can't stand. There's probably more but I can't remember right now. Sorry if you like these characters. This is just my opinion so let's agree to disagree.

[wontbyers]

petty and possibly problematic opinion: anti-byler mi!even shippers are not allowed to have bisexual mike. they only headcanon him that way not bc they actually believe it or care about representation but just to spite us (or will, or byler as a ship.)

(mlvn/byler multishippers this is not about you, u can have bi mike as a treat.)

but i just saw this blog who’d posted an anti-byler post and then immediately after, a post about bi mike and how he loves lucas along with el and max. literally just shipping him with anyone BESIDES will despite byler’s romantic potential literally being canon—and it’s NOT because they care about mike being bi, it’s because they hate byler and want to rub it in.

i am gatekeeping bisexual mike from toxic mi!even shippers. you can’t have him just to spit on us and say “you know what mike is bi but he’ll still never love will cause fuck you” that’s actually sick and twisted.

if you hate so much the idea of byler being canon (despite how deep and notably different-from-their-other-friendships the love is between them) and you still wanna deny them, then no way is your mike bisexual. you are shipping straight mike. you don’t get brownie points for pretending to care about lgbt representation when you actively hate on a gay ship or its shippers who are excited that it has a potential to become canon.

and i knoooow that if bisexual mike was confirmed canon, you would be shaking crying screaming pissing in ur boots because the MOMENT mike is revealed to have romantic interest in boys you KNOW byler is gonna be endgame. you know there would be no narrative reason they’d bother to write him as bisexual just to have him end up with el* without ever exploring his male options, and obviously the only boy he would realistically end up with is will, not lucas. straight mike is mi!even’s only saving grace at this point. so, no, you get to enjoy to your straight mike and stay the fuck away from our bisexual mike.

disclaimer: i’m a little bi-furious. *and i’m not saying bisexual characters need to end up with the same sex to be worth confirming them as bisexual, but being realistic with this specific situation/storyline, they did NOT need to write will as in love with mike, and then if they made mike bi but not return his feelings it would literally be such a pointless, poorly written and also just…cruel plotline? and these anti-bylers WANT that and think it would be a good thing or good representation for either of the characters involved??

[yourwolfmuzzle]

Blake being bi IS recognized. Though with how they recognized it in the show and through the fans, they only think her toxic relationship with Adam is the only valid relationship with a guy she had while Sun, the one guy who genuinely gave a shit about her and pushed her to not run away is often either ignored or have his positive traits be pushed to Yang as a headcanon. It felt like as long as Blake's endgame is with Yang and her only relationship with a man before that is a negative, Blake's being bi is considered valid.

ALL THIS yes.

Like i get it, sometime some bi-pan people will date with "all teams" and just happens that they never find good partners in one side. (i personally didnt find in all sides, but its more about me choosing shitty people or me be shitty partner at that time and not about "all people from this one side is bad" shit :"D). But this whole representation of her as a bi person in the show\series (the only canon example of her dating with male character is abuser and the only first female example is "perfect for her"\the Official Companion calling Blake "straight friend" for Ilia and im not sure if this was done in "joke way" or not, but....you know?) or how fandom sometime treat her bisexuality as "she bi but we will never speak about possibility\just fun ship with her with some male character" (and i talking about before and after bees confession scene.) its tooooo close to be bi stereotype and biphobia. I do not like just dropping big words like this, but its toooo close to be like this.

With Sun its funny one for me personally. Okay, lets say that its never was about Sun/Blake AT ALL and that Sun never had interest in her ("It was never about that, brainiac!"), he just that good friend of her and was trying to honestly help her in hard time, no matter how she treat him. But...Blake can have some feelings toward him and its can be "one side" thing that just never end up into pairing? And again, its fine? Sometime you can have feeling for person, that you never end up dating, just move on? Like...nobody take bmblb, its canon now? (unless if we going to get vol10 and writers will not do something extra shitty with them) You can have her dating Yang, this is canon already, but its fine to tell that she was into Sun a little bit? She is no less into Yang or girls for that?

But this whole thing with fandom having problem even imagine bi-pan female character (not even matter if this is just potential\headcanon\canon bi character, like Blake) dating with male character is...uh im not sure that i like it?

[zeroar]

So I watched this video...

And the essayist suggests a major part of it is due to the fairly positive representation of a queer couple in Sailor Moon in the form of Sailors Uranus and Neptune. (That's only part of it, very good video, I just want to write out my thoughts in a word-vomit style while drinking some coffee so here we are)...

I think it's a little more than that though. Now, I'm fond of being overly reductive sometimes and saying something like "Sailor Moon made me gay" (and I'm using "gay" in its umbrella queer sense here).

But, whether someone can be turned gay aside (which, for the record, I come down somewhere around they basically can't unless they're bisexual), it wasn't the positive representation of Uranus and Neptune that did it. It was Season 1 of Sailor Moon.

It wasn't just a positive queer relationship in whatever season Uranus and Neptune came in (they were portrayed as cousins so until I went to the Internet to learn the truth there was nothing there for me even ignoring it was a later season), and it wasn't even the bisexual wonder girl that is Usagi/Serena who freely adored and went lovestruck over competent and beautiful women. With Mamoru/Darien kidnapped/brainwashed for half the first season anyway (and also inexplicably much older than he was in the manga), the relationship between her and Rei was so much more interesting and one where the characters could actually speak to each other, but it wasn't even thinking that Serena should be with Raye...

Aside: if you don't think Usagi is bi then I don't know what to tell you. Yes, Mamoru is her true love or whatever, but the girl's main characteristic is how freely and deeply she loves. She was interested in Sailor V way before she was interested in Tuxedo Kamen / Tuxedo Mask. (I'm half-joking because there's no explicit canonization of Usagi being bi—AFAIK—but I really cannot imagine her being any other way. I just see her as a bi girl in a heterosexual relationship).

Even beyond all that, the series Sailor Moon was possibly the first series I saw which treated women/girls as people and portrayed women favorably, let alone portrayed queer relationships and queer characters favorably (which was not done in the original American edit of the first season).

The women of Sailor Moon could be boy-crazy and ditzy, but they could also be heroic and self-sacrificing, studious, strong, smart, cool, collected... and yes, they were all beautiful. Even Zoisite—who I only later found out was a man—was gorgeous.

Sailor Moon loves women, and there's not much gayer than loving women.

Specifically, in the society of toxic masculinity / hegemonic masculinity / "the patriarchy", valuing women as people goes directly against how women get portrayed. It's not that valuing women is inherently anti-cishet, it's that the concept of being cis and heterosexual itself has gotten wrapped up in the toxicity so anything that rejects that norm is gay.

I'm not saying anything new here, though academic sources tend to default to "queer" instead of "gay", so I'll switch to that umbrella term now.

Valuing women as people is queer in the same way that the Addams Family is queer. Morticia and Gomez's relationship is a queer relationship in that it is a rejection of the patriarchy and a rejection of the cishet norms of hating your spouse and treating them as a burden you're saddled with.

There's a common sentiment in analyzing cishet men's relationships with women of saying something along the lines of, "do straight guys even like women? You guys can be gay. You don't have to pursue women romantically if you don't like them" and beyond what individual cis and heterosexual men may think about women, it is 100% true that the patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity don't like women.

At least part of the fear of "AI" is that hegemonic masculinity would lead to a conclusion of rejecting women in favor of love-bots. This only makes sense if the people doing the rejecting don't actually like women and just see them as objects, but that's what hegemonic masculinity teaches.

So yes, whether you're a cis man or something else entirely, loving women is queer. And Sailor Moon loves women.

It probably doesn't stand up to modern sensibilities, but my pre-teen mind only ever saw how incredible it was to be a bishoujo senshi when I was watching. The "camera" definitely highlighted how beautiful the women were (especially in their transformation scenes) but it only ever felt glorifying and exultant, and it did not feel exploitative or creepy.

With the exception of comic characters (Melvin/Umino, Chad/Yuichiro, Rei's grandfather, etc.), ALL of the characters were slender and long-limbed. That came off as simply the style of the show and not something about sexualizing the characters. Loads of issues with the lack of body diversity, but it was always so firmly celebrating these characters (who were all women/girls).

And, loving women is queer.

I honestly don't know how I would have turned out without having Sailor Moon in my life. Especially, so many incredible fanfiction stories that were even better than the series (though loads of exploitative and misogynistic ones too, which was always such a shock to stumble across).

Growing up in the 1990s, I was in social settings where the default was to be openly derisive and misogynistic towards women. (It's probably still broadly that way, I just am able to curate who I'm around now in a way you can't growing up). But having the example of positive women character representations (and also seeing how pretty people can be, both inside and out) was such a solace to child-Me. I'm grateful for having that representation even if it wasn't the queer representation I needed, it was the positive women representation I was desperate for back then.

Anyway, as much as I love the idea of Rei/Usagi, my favorite stories kept Usagi with Mamoru and had Rei with Minako. I get that Minako gets characterized as a Usagi clone/replacement (which is ironic), so it may seem that I'm just filling in, but in-text, Usagi and Mamoru are basically always together / in love with each other romantically and I never really questioned that so seeing so many incredible Reinako stories made that couple pretty solid in my head. I'm honestly not opposed to Usagi being in a poly relationship, but those fanfiction stories tended to be more lemons than character exploration.

TL;DR: Why are magical girls so gay? Because they portray women positively and that's extremely, extremely gay (in the sense that it is aligned against hegemonic masculinity and the patriarchy).

[thebisexualdogdad]

No but let's discuss the ways in which mlm fetishists endorse this harmful narrative that mlm are inherently misogynistic by treating every female love interest like an obstacle at best and a threat at worst, trashing every female character, claiming to want bi rep but only if the yt guy is with another guy which disrespects bi m/f relationships which are inherently LGBT, etc. B*ddie shippers hate Taylor and Ana for no reason save for they're women, especially Ana who is a woman of color. They ignore all the relationships with women Eddie and Buck have had, like Buck was introduced stealing the fire truck (let's talk about that if we're gonna talk "work ethics") to hook up with a woman. They make the actors, like Oliver, SOOOOOOO uncomfortable by taking everything he says or does out of context to be about Buddie.

Just look at how mlm fetishists attacked the Heartstopper actors for not being ~attractive~ enough for them and for not being a real couple in real life who exist solely to entertain them. Like THIS is what we're talking about when we say mlm fetishization is harmful and disgusting and affects real people and shows their entitlement to mlm dynamics as nothing more than entertainment

People who are bisexual are still apart of the community even if they are with someone of the opposite sex!!!

Remember when shipping was actually fun? When people respected each other's ships even if they didn't personally ship it themselves cause shippers could actually coexist with each other before "ship wars". I truly can not fathom being so obsessed over a ship that you dedicate your time to spreading negativity and hatred about anything not involving your ship and even going as far to sending disgusting comments and death threats to the actors portraying a character "getting in the way of your ship" or writers "for being homophobic" by not making your ship canon. Get a fucking life.

I've seen more than one post saying that Ana is a terrible teacher and shouldn't be allowed around children like what the actual fuck??? Saying that Ana is the cause of Eddies panic attacks like he doesn't have ptsd from his military service or his very dangerous job??? These people are really out here treating Ana and Taylor like they are N*te fucking J*cobs when they are just women purely existing. And yeah Buck was a hot mess season 1 with plenty of flaws but to them "Buck is a precious baby who's never done anything wrong in his life".

And so many actual mlm's are pushed out of these mlm fan bases and made to feel unwelcome because these white fangirls fetishists feel these ships belong to them and them only. Like yeah i thought buddie was a cute ship at first, I enjoyed the little jokes in the show where people assumed they were a couple but the stans as always ruin everything and made it not fun anymore.

I know very little about heartstopper but aren't those actors like actual teenagers?? Maybe these grown adults shouldn't be basing thier opinions about them purely on if they can get themselves off to them or not. That reminds me of the eternals when people were saying Phastos and his husband weren't "real" lgbt representation because they weren't attractive enough.

People who go beyond shipping fictional characters and bring thier delusions to the real people playing these characters need help. The Wynonna Earp fandom was the first good and non toxic fandom I found in a long time but once the s*percorps and the cl*xas migrated to the fandom took it over they starting shipping Dom and Kat in real life and went as far as sending hate to Kats husband it all went to utter shit like every other fandom.

[wolfhowlingdragonflyingsirensong]

spoilers

Since I recently played Life is Strange, which whoah, is totally an experience that I recommend to everyone, I’ve come to appreciate how well the game handles choices. It’s interesting how choices can seem meaningless good acts, like helping Alyssa avoid being hit, translates to her trusting Max enough for Max to save her. But, the game also points out how we can’t control consequences, since good deeds are done with nothing but good intentions can have fatal consequences, such as warning Victoria (and her believing you) leads to her murder, or the biggest good deed of them all, saving Chloe, leads to a storm that (can) kill lots of people. And ultimately, what’s cool is that every choice is canon, since Max it’s not a blank slate, meaning every choice the player makes is something Max considered. What do I mean with Max not being a blank slate? I mean regardless of your choices, Max likes waffles AND bacon and eggs. This is a minor example, but it serves for many things. Max can comfort Victoria or not, and later when they talk at the party regardless of your choice, Max at first is pretty angry, so she’s completely capable of standing up for herself and others. Max loves Chloe regardless of the player's feelings towards her. Max can be pretty uncaring or a literal angel, by Kate. And all of this is canon because even nice people contemplate not being nice all the time, even if it’s only a thought. This brings me to the ships topics. First of all, I’m glad that this game has non-ambiguous, non-sexualized, soft wlw romance (actually two counting BTS!) without the canon protagonist being turned evil or something, and I think that’s incredibly important. If the game had only Chloe as a love interest, I would totally get it and have no problem,  because the game is pretty much focused on their bond. Not that it matters to those who do, I personally don't ship it because I self-project (and I totally recognize it) on friendships I had in my youth that were a bit like Chloe and Max's friendship in the first episodes, and they were toxic. Don't get me wrong, I loved my friends and they were (are) good people. I like Chloe a lot, and there's no denying that there are strong feelings on Max's part for Chloe that are romantic, and it's up to the player to determine if Max is going to pursue Chloe. Denying it means that is both not reading Max's diary and erasing her sexuality. I write this because I don't want to seem like I don't ship them because I like Grahamfield, it's not that, I could very well be into both, and I think Chloe develops so much at the end of episode 5 that, while before I thought she was only in love with Rachel, at that point is totally understandable for me. If you ship Pricefield then that's awesome! You have all the canon content to back you up and a beautiful story of love with the childhood friends-to-lovers trope, can't get much better. Plus, the whole game is about their bond. It's incredibly well developed at the end mostly when you see Chloe growing out of her initial angry phase, and maturing in a beautiful way. So, shipping Grahamfield in this fandom sometimes feels like hey, you are a giant dick. I don't like hate on any ship or character (especially dunking on Chloe, because she's a representation of how trauma is not nice while actually being cool and kind, as well as being one of the few wlw canon protagonists), because both choices are completely canon, it's entirely up to the player. Again, if Chloe was the only canon love interest then that would be totally cool. Buuuut Max can choose to go on a date with Warren, write on his slate that he is cute, raise his grade (which can be done as a friendship thing only), help him in his experiment, kiss him, and if she does, she writes in his diary "I wanted one kiss from a boy I cared about", that to me, reads as having a canon interest in him too. And since Max is bisexual from what I understand, erasing that part doesn't sit well with me. Both Chloe and Warren have flaws, which hey is what happens with characters. Can you imagine having perfect characters? That would be so boring. He is a realistic 16-year-old boy to Max's 18 and Chloe's 19 years. He is extremely awkward, dorky, a little cringy, a boy with a harmless boy with a crush and that's normal at that age. He's helpful almost to a fault, and while some argue that's because he feels entitled, let me tell you, no niceGuy I've ever met has been so helpful if you don't give in, they don't back out after someone lets them down nicely, and he states his interest in Max clearly, and niceGuys don't tend to do that because they like to pine away and be angry that a girl didn't read his mind and magically fell in love with him. He believes Max from the get-go and helps her all the time, regardless of his feelings, which is like, basic decency, so if you want to call him a piece of shit I think that's going a little too far. If you want to take the words of others, Kate says he's a smart and silly cutie-pie with a good heart, suggests they take him with them to their tea-shop tour of Portland after everything and supports their date (besides them being friends, he brings her homework and is shown worried about her). I don't remember that part well, but I think Alyssa and Dana also support Grahamfield (and Brooke is very jealous!) so I think if he was an asshole they wouldn't be so supportive and Brooke wouldn't be into him, or Stella in another reality. My only point is that hey if you don't like him that's fine, but to call him a pervert or entitled or assholery is kinda uncalled for, to be honest, and using the nightmare sequence, in which EVERYONE is out of character (except Jeffershit) and shown being assholes, as a canon that he is bad seems to me like going out of your way. It's a nightmare for a reason, do you really think Kate would have said those things to Max if you save her? She's incredibly grateful. Or do you think Chloe would have done those things??? She would NEVER. Then why is Warren being treated as someone who would do those things for a nightmare? I don't get it. There are two myths regarding him: that he spies on Max and that he photoshopped a photo with them. First one, you can verify with mods that he can't see SHIT, he is merely waiting for her outside. Second, the photo is developed, not photoshopped, Max doesn't say hey we never took that photo, she merely is surprised he kept it. Now, he's a bit pushy when it comes to the drive-in (he acknowledges he's a pain in the booty), says like a stupid joke (a 16-year-old making stupid jokes, what a crime), and has that photo, which for some is crossing boundaries, and hey, that's fine. I, personally, just think a 16-year-old having a photo with his friend and crush is not creepy or bad. So, now that I'm over the ship discourse, which I hate but had to write to explain, I'm so glad this game brought so many interesting characters. My only complaint is that it felt a little too short when it came to other characters, I guess it's because the literal theme of the game is about abandoning youth and growing up as well, so that's because it's very focused on Chloe and Max's relationship, besides the romance. I adore Kate! I’m so happy we were able to save her, it was seriously one of the best moments I’ve ever seen in a game, I would have liked to see her future children’s book with Max’s photos, their tea sessions, and her coming back to school. I would love to have seen more of Stella, (a POC I think) that according to her words, faced an abusive home and poverty to end up studying in a prestigious school like Blackwell, busting her ass to work and yet being super cool and kind! I would have loved to see more of Daniel, how he faced bullying, how his home life is, his budding romance with Brooke, his future drawings. I would have loved to see more of Dana! How she dealt with abortion, a heavy topic, and yet she's super happy, nice, and in a loving relationship apparently. I would have liked to see more of Juliet's reporting skills, I feel like she could have been more important to the plot, or at least more exposés on bullying and the Prescotts. I would have loved to see more of Alyssa, what she likes, her relationships, etc. I would have loved to see more of Taylor! How her mom was doing, what steps was she going to take in not falling with the Vortex Club bullshit, her love for fashion, like Courtney. We didn't get to know Courtney at all I feel and I would have liked to! I would have liked to see more of Victoria, her insecurities, her relationship with her parents, her inner thoughts (she's totally bi too I bet), even her friendship with Nathan seemed deeper. I would have liked to see more of cool hipster Evan, or good skater boy Luke. In short, I would have LOVED to have them all hanging more with Max. The ending, oh man, what an ending. It's incredibly hard, and I hate that saving Arcadia Bay seems to go into "bury your gays" trope, because if there was a way to save them both I would. The writing is very powerful, ending the way it began. This leads me to my initial topic, choices. I love that the game gives us choices, and considering there are other alternative realities, maybe both choices are canon in different universes. If I was in Chloe's shoes I couldn't choose to sacrifice my mom, and Joyce dies if Chloe is saved, as well as many other innocents, so I can't choose that ending, I just can't (and I understand that's totally personal for everyone). A really tough choice, at least for me, and hey, if it wasn't specified that practically everyone died, I would have saved Chloe no questions asked. I do love, however, how Chloe matures so much in the course of 5 days and her bond with Max. She sacrifices for Arcadia Bay, and a lot of it is because of Max, because she doesn't want her to make that choice. So now if you excuse me, I'm still playing the funeral scene in my mind and the bathroom scene (totally broken) and had to write this as cathartic, so feel free to disagree with me or whatever you prefer, each one of us experiences a different game because of our different experiences in life. Next step: BTS and LIS2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9uy4V8SvPk

[upthehillask]

Hello! I just wanted to share my thoughts on fan on ships and the problems surrounding them :)

I haven't been in the hp fandom for very long (just a little over a year) but I think this would go for any fandom with ships that could be seen as problematic if you applied them to the real world rather than the fictional one.

I think a lot of people need to learn to separate fiction and reality and also fanon and canon. Most fictional works were made for us to escape reality. They were made for us to be able to take a break from dealing with real world issues. So why are people pushing these real world issues onto it, yk?(im talking about the pansmione thing here. But my view on that may be a bit botched because I am white.)

And with the fanon vs canon thing. Many people don't understand that when we ship characters or when we make them a bit (sometimes a lot) different than the actual character, we aren't going off of canon. For example, many get mad when we make a straight character gay or vice versa. But the thing is, no matter how much we twist this character into how we view them, it's not going to affect the canon story in any way. (which is why, as an lgbtq person, I see no issue with putting a gay character in a hetero relationship so long as they aren't doing it solely because they're against gays and there wasn't some sort of message about their identity tied to the character. Because that person is just having fun with a character that was made for their entertainment. And no matter how much hate you send to them because they switched it, their view of that character will not change the representation that is in the canon story- and also the fact that unless the author or artist explicitly stated that they made the character straight, then the character could still be bi or any term under that umbrella.)

Those two things sort of contradict themselves. Because on one hand we have the fact that we want to let it be shown that fanon is different from canon and that if we wanna pretend a character isn't racist then we should because who would actually want them to be. But also on the other hand, we have the fact that even if we change the problem that made the character problematic, it won't change the fact that they were in the canon story.

The world of fandom is all kind of strange and in a lot of ways toxic, but in my opinion, we should do whatever the hell we want with characters and ships (obv with some exceptions) because they exist for us to have fun with them. And if we wanna pretend this character had some character growth then we should

Sorry if any of this was confusing, I have trouble putting thoughts into words.

Hi! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!! :)

I hear you and definitely understand what you mean and definitely agree, at least to some extent. To be honest, I have just recently replied to another ask, the most recent one before this one (link), and there I voiced the exact thoughts that I had in response to reading your message as well, so as not to be redundant, I'd say you can give it a read if you are interested in my thoughts! :) And if you feel like you have more to share, my askbox is open!!

But yes, I know exactly what you mean and I see the appeal of - as well as value in - separating reality and fiction, at least some of the time. Sometimes it takes putting our reality aside completely to be able to look at things in a fresh, new light and come up with the most unique ideas as well. It's fair to use fiction as a sort of an escape mechanism when it's something that we really need, sometimes it can provide more rest, growth, liberation and rejuvenation than anything else, when that's needed. It can be healthy! But too much escapism also has a harmful side too, one that ignored the fact that fiction DOES have the power to influence and affect our reality and real people. So it seems like the answer to the question of should fiction and reality be treated as separate or not, is not "yes" or "no." It's both. There's a lot of value in that division AND there's a lot of value in having fiction and reality in a dialogue. It only gets problematic when we start looking at things as black and white.

At the end of the day, just like I said in that previous ask I linked, the most important thing is not deny the canon as it is (and I see you agree). You want to imagine Pansy as different than she was in canon? Great, kinda same! lol BUT if you start denying and invalidating the meaning behind the things that Pansy's said in the books, that's when we're hitting a wall. Same goes for those who can't separate fanon and canon - it's okay if you prefer to just stick to canon with your interests, but if you start treating all fan content as if it was meant to be based on canon (when a lot of the time it isn't), then we're hitting a wall again because unproductive judgment and unnecessary conflict comes to the surface.

[eternalpassions]

Or you could maybe understand that this was a story written in the 90s/early 2000s and give her a little grace? Haru is clearly bi. Ayame is… whatever he is. I think this implication that Takaya is homophobic is a wrong one.

I do not get people who apply the values of today to how life was 20 years ago. Things have changed

Hey anon,

There’s a lot to unpack here. First, I’d like to start off by saying “it’s for the times” isn’t a valid reason to absolve someone of their biases or prejudice. Because whether it was then or now, those prejudices are still in the writing

Would you really absolve someone of their prejudice just because it was “okay back then”? Let me list of examples. Back then people wouldn’t get punished for being sexist or racist. Does that make it okay? Hell no!

Because they weren’t punished for holding such prejudices, does that make them any less racist, mysoginistic etc.. No!

It’s not about applying the values of today. I’m going to call someone out on their prejudiced views whether it was back then, or now lol

It was “okay” to be racist then, does that mean it was right? It was “okay” to be sexist then, does that mean it was right? So why would homophobia be any different. Just because being homophobic was “okay” then doesn’t mean it was right!

Furthermore, I would argue that their isn’t any valid representation and if there is, you can still see her prejudice in her writing

For example, you mention Haru being bi. As a bi person myself, I don’t see this as legit representation and I would even go as to say I find it insulting. It’s insulting because his “feelings” for yuki are treated as a joke within the narrative. So I find that mocking as a queer person.

Ritsu started off as a character who liked to dress in feminine clothing, so perhaps you could argue they were trans. But again, her prejudice shows in her writing. By the end of the story, Ritsu ends up male presenting and was made to have “grown out” of how he used to present himself. And it’s hinted he ends up in a heterosexual relationship

Ayame’s supposed attraction to men is treated as a joke. Him and Shigure flirt but it’s treated as a joke. And I know he can be bi, but it’s a bit suspicious he was another character that ended up in a heterosexual relationship (which I found forced but that’s my opinion)

Yuuki’s non traditional masculinity is treated as a joke. He’s made the butt of a bunch of jokes throughout the story for being a more feminine looking male.

Kyo (I know you guys love him but fuck him tbh) even called yuuki a “sissy” which is an offensive term that can be a homophobic slur. Yet nobody cares, nobody bats an eye. But I do. I don’t forget lol

See so even in Natsuki’s questionable representation, her prejudices still show through.

And ofc the biggest homophobic prejudices that shows through (which I already mentioned) in how she depicts a relationship between a middle school 14 year old and a teacher’s assistant in his 20’s and calls it romantic. And she still stands by that relationship to this day showing how she made an art with Katsuya’s face and is allowing a spin off about the gross relationship

.. she does this yet did not try to include some legit represention within the story. No once did she include a same sex relationship, yet she made a pedophiliac toxic relationship canon. See how her prejudice seems to be im favor of heterosexual relationships?

And no, this story being from the 90’s doesn’t absolve her of her prejudice. It wasn’t okay then, and it’s not okay now. Especially how she continues to endorse and support the pedophiliac toxic relationship she wrote.

Especially coming from today’s context, I am not going to stop calling out that prejudice! I know you guys love this story. I personally only find some characters interesting, and I think it’s highly overrated lol. But loving something doesn’t mean you can’t criticize it. Especially for me since I do NOT love fruits basket lol

The story almost “queer baits” but by the end of the story everyone is in heterosexual relationships.All to make the story digestible to a heterosexual audience by the end. It’s in the writing and I don’t think it should be barred from criticism because “life was different back then” Does that make prejudice okay because it was back then? Something to think about

Nobody’s perfect. I’m sure she had no bad intents (I hope) and she probably did the best she could for the time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t criticize the media you consume. That doesn’t mean the biases aren’t in the writing or that they are absolved. They are worth acknowledging and discussing

Thanks for your question ;)

[favberrys]

No one asked this and no one cares, but here’s my personal opinions about every glee ship:

Finchel: they had their cute moments, but in general I really dislike them as couple. They brought the worst out of each other when they were together, Finn made Rachel insecure and was also incredibly possessive of her (not in a cute way) and Rachel pressured Finn too much. She wanted to control him and often tried change him, they’re too different and not compatible. I think Rachel needs someone more simalar to her or someone who can understand her, because Finn really didn’t get Rachel.

Klaine: I’m neutral about klaine, I don’t hate them, but simply I’m not invested into this ship. They aren’t toxic, but I think their relationship has many issues and is a little unhealthy sometimes.They had a good start, but as the show went on they got worse. I love Blaine, he’s my gay son, but he was too jealous and controlling about Kurt. Kudos for the gay representation, i acknowledge their huge impact on the lgbt community

Brittana: wow what can I say about them ? They’re everything, best friends to lovers excellence. Brittana had a rough start, but their dynamic became a beautiful and mature relationship in which they always supported and loved each other. Even when they dated other people, Santana and Brittany respected each other. It had and still has a huge importance for the sapphic community, it is good representation and one of the first big teen wlw couples. Brittana are the definition of soulmates

Quick: absolute trash, Puck got Quinn drunk on wine coolers and then had sex with her while she was still drunk. There was nothing consensual about that. The fact that rib never acknowledged this is disgusting. They had very little interactions, their relationship was not developed. Puck and Quinn have literally nothing in common, they’re not compatible in any way and them getting together at the end always irked me because in s3 Quinn said she didn’t care about all the boys she dated in the past. If you ship them idc it’s fine, but I hate this pairing. It’s a huge no from me, I think Puck liked Quinn only because she was hot.

Faberry: THEY’RE MY RIDE OR DIE YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO ME. Enemies to lovers excellence, I know faberry was queerbaiting, but I still ship them after all these years. They have chemistry, lots of yearning and sexual tension, impossibly high angst level. This is the only pairing in which I will accept the trope “homophobic jock falls in love with the person they bully”. At first they were terrible to each other, but they managed to built a nice relationship and I seriously think Rachel was the only one for Quinn because she was the only person who always showed Quinn love and support even when they were enemies. I also think that Rachel felt something more than platonic for Quinn at some point (always ranting about how beautiful Quinn is ? That’s gay)

St berry: I like them, I know they had little screen time and they weren’t even supposed to be a thing according to rib (bc they planned on making finchel endgame), but I think they’re compatible, Jesse is probably the only person who could keep up with Rachel. They have many things in common and even though he was shitty to her at first, he redeemed himself. Rachel and Jesse have good romantic chemistry and excellent musical chemistry, their duets are amazing. I’m happy they got together in the end.

Pezberry: oh boy they’re so hot together, lots of sexual chemistry, they could have been enemies to friends to lovers excellence or at least friends with benefits, but ryan murphy is a coward. I enjoy their scenes, they’re hilarious together and always make me laugh. I think they’re a pretty explosive duo, pezberry has great musical chemistry, all their duets are iconic and there’s a lot of sexual tension between them, they’re definitely compatible in bed but idk if they would last in a long term relationship.

Quinntana: this pairing was very random in my opinion because Quinn and Santana lowkey hated each other and always wanted to destroy each other, BUT they are very hot together, they’re probably the most gorgeous couple on glee because both dianna and naya are insanely attractive. Quinntana gave me my sapphic!quinn rights and I’ll be forever thankful about that, they’re compatible in bed, but I like them only as friends with benefits. I don’t see any romantic chemistry between them, mostly because they were always competing about who was the hbic of the school. I don’t think they would last as a stable couple. I wanted to see more of quinntana though.

Fabrevans: if Quinn had to end up with a man, the only heterosexual Quinn ship I tolerate is fabrevans because Sam was really kind, sweet and good to her. Sadly she wasn’t very interested in him, he was just the hot new guy soon to become quarterback and I think she dated him for popularity. I don’t think they would have lasted in a long term relationship, they were cute together romantically speaking but I don’t ship them.

Samcedes: should have been endgame, definition of wasted potential

Tike: should have been endgame, even though I don’t care about Mike and Tina they were really good together, the love was genuine. Tike is one of the few heterosexual couple I don’t mind

Artittany: is a huge no from me, they had zero chemistry and he treated her like trash, artie deserved to be cheated on lol (I’m joking no one deserves that but I really don’t like artie because he’s sexist, misogynistic and he also treated all his gfs like crap)

Seblaine: I honestly don’t see it, Sebastian was definitely interested in Blaine, but Blaine always only had eyes for Kurt. Still I think they should have dated in s6, it would have been fun to see Kurt jealous about his nemesis dating his ex bf. I like the idea of Seblaine having a one night stand, but I don’t ship them as a couple. I also don’t like Sebastian very much, sorry.

Fuinn: A HUGE NO, they were aesthetically pleasing together, but that’s it. They didn’t have sexual tension, they just had tension. Fuinn is a little dysfunctional in my opinion, they get together, they break up and then start dating again just like finchel. I honestly don’t think they were in love, but they cared about each other in a platonic way. Finn wasn’t a good boyfriend to Quinn and Quinn constantly manipulated him. I don’t like them as a couple, they’re too messy.

Blam: best friends to lovers excellence, lots of wasted potential. I’m not saying they should have been endgame, but Sam and Blaine should have dated. I like the idea of Sam discovering he’s bi or pan and exploring his sexuality with someone who cares about him. They have chemistry and I like their dynamic. I also fancy their duets and I think they could have fallen in love with each other.

Hevans: ok if I squint I can see it, they had potential, Kurt was definitely attracted to Sam and Sam was kind of curious about him, I’m sure he admires Kurt and cares about him, but I don’t ship them together

Sebtana, Finntana, Pucktana: ABSOLUTE TRASH DON’T SHIP CANON LESBIAN CHARACTERS WITH MEN, IT’S INCREDIBLY HARMFUL AND INVALIDATING. There are so many heterosexual ships, why do you have to take away from the gays the few lgbt characters we have ?

Quinncedes: i don’t ship them romantically, but I ship them as best friends. I wished their friendship was more developed, Quinn and Mercedes were so good to each other.

Quinntina: have they even interacted with each other ? (Lmao I’m joking again don’t get pressed, you can ship what you what). I don’t ship it, they’re cute and I lowkey like Tina, but it’s not my cup of tea. Still it’s a wlw ship, so I don’t have anything against it.

Wemma: no

Artie x Tina: I don’t even know their ship name, imagine how much irrelevant they are to me. Again I don’t like how artie treats women, I don’t ship them and Tina deserves better than him.

Samchel: underrated af, i’m not saying they should have been endgame because they wouldn’t have lasted in a long term relationship, BUT they were cute together. Sam was really good for Rachel, he made her more humble and helped her to heal after Finn died. They deserved more development and had a lot of potential. I don’t remember what happened in s6, but I liked samchel dating, I don’t mind them as a romantic couple, even though they’re not very compatible.

Brochel: it was not as bad as rib tried to make us believe. I don’t ship them but they have sexual/romantic chemistry and also musical chemistry. I’m neutral about Brody and Rachel, he was hot, but he was also incredibly boring and one dimensional

Julyberry: the sexual tension between them is so high, i loved it when they did all that jazz, I think they should have been fuck buddies or had a one night stand. Lots of sexual and musical chemistry, i lowkey ship them bc milf!kate hudson rights. Maybe after Rachel graduates at nyda, they could date

[davidmann95]

So... Crossover #1: any thoughts?

Anonymous said: You seemed not to think much of Crossover #1 on Twitter. Your full thoughts?

wcwit said: So Cates' Crossover #1, best bad comic of the year or just regular pretentious trash?

An incidental note upfront: What you’re seeing there is the apparently SUPER-RARE SECRET VARIANT COVER I unwittingly picked up at the store - at first glance indistinguishable from the standard cover, the kid getting four-color-fucked by mysterious comic book rays is in fact themselves reading a variant cover of the book, rather than the main cover again in an infinite painting-within-a-painting sort of deal that’s the standard.

So I wasn’t gonna get this: my initial post on the comic and what an obviously awful idea it was back when we only knew half the premise and it was known as Pray The Capes Away actually got some out-of-nowhere traction recently, and I’ve grown rapidly tired of Cates’ Marvel work. Even learning that it was going to be Image’s biggest debut in decades - Jesus fuck, how and why - mostly just made me wish it was Commanders in Crisis getting those kinds of numbers. But Sean Dillon/@deathchrist2000 and Ritesh Babu both got early looks at it and assured me that I, specifically, needed to see the last page, so in I dove. I’ll be posting my reaction to the last page below because I recorded it for their amusement, and below that I’ll talk about said last page. It may surprise you, however, that that wasn’t my main takeaway from the issue.

Let’s accentuate the positive first! This book is gorgeous. Geoff Shaw was terrific back with Thanos Wins, but this is an incredible stylistic level-up aided and abetted by Dee Cunniffe’s colors: it’s rote as hell to say “They mix the elevated and the mundane so well!”, but even beyond the obvious ben-day dots stuff there’s such a tangible sense that the comic book beings don’t belong here, that they’re of higher, misty, platonic stuff and we squishy non-paper-people inevitably crumble and break and bleed in their wake, communicating that big idea so much more powerfully than the actual loads of text on the subject. And if we’re talking good things, I’ll concede it’s possible that there could be subtleties that play out in more interesting ways as it goes on, and that not everything is meant to be taken at face value: a smart friend who actually did like it mentioned being interested in it as clumsy but potentially effective exploration of ‘what if the fun hobby you had inadvertently became contaminated and stigmatized by forces beyond your control?’ In a post-Comicsgate world where we recently ended up inches away from the Superman logo almost certainly becoming a fascist propaganda symbol ala the Punisher skull for at least a generation, that’s a defensible lens to view this book through.

For all Donny Cates’ legitimate talents however, I don’t think an expectation of subtlety is gonna work out with this one.

Okay first off getting into the rest of it the main characters’ name is Ellipsis because “Those three little dots...they can become anything”, so there’s that. More importantly, in the world of this story where comic fans face social oppression after superpeople materialize and fuck up Colorado, they face EVERY KIND OF OPPRESSION: there are clear parallels drawn in here to the violence and harassment faced by people persecuted for their religion, people seeking abortions, queer people, and people of color; this motherfucker even drops a “hates and fears” to let us know comic collecting basically makes you one of the goddamn X-Men. Which in theory could be a purely misjudged allegory rather than stemming from actual, obscenely inflated to the point of disgusting fears of ‘nerd oppression’, except that the book literally opens with a quote from Wertham. If Cates didn’t want to make the message “Hating comics? That’s bad. Like, racism bad”, he utterly, grotesquely failed by inextricably intermingling imagery of real-world bigotry with systemic, deluded fanboy paranoia, at least as of this first issue that’s supposed to meaningfully convey the premise. As a queer dude I think I’m somewhat in my lane to say it’s too blunt and broad and dopey to be particularly offensive, but the co-opting of oppression is what this is rooted in.

The idea of ‘comics good no matter what people think, ain’t it?’ extends to the last traditional local comic store standing in this world: much as superheroes are the primary cause of suffering in this world but the point of the story is still supposed to reveal the beauty in them, part of this is that the comics community isn’t perfect but it sure is great. Which is expressed here via Ellie’s boss Otto, a loveable asshole who yells at people coming in trying to sell the wrong kind of comics to fuck off, but at heart is we’re supposed to understand a good enough dude that the shop he runs is “the only home a lot of (the benighted nerds) have left” (because I guess in this alternate universe the physical stores are still the main hub through which comics fans talk with one another?).

So here’s a story of my very own! That’s me in 2013, it must’ve been some kind of special day because I’m wearing a shirt with a button. I’d at that point only frequented one of what would be my thus far four regular comic shops. The first was a great place, and while to say I had a sense of community there would be overstating it a bit, I was on really good terms with the owner and we regularly chatted when we had the time. When I left for college my store there wasn’t as well-stocked, and for some damn reason all variant covers were double-price, but I got along really well with the owner there too. The third I wasn’t so lucky; the guy regularly behind the desk was never overtly hostile, but clearly wanted to wring my neck every time I asked when a missing comic might get in or if I could update my pull list, and given I’m in the ‘ideal’ demographic for being a comic book store regular and was dropping a solid lump of money there every week, I wonder how others were treated there (the store nearly went under, was saved on the last day of operation by another store that wanted to incorporate it as part of its franchise, then shortly afterwards DID go under and is now I believe a beef jerky place). My current store is fine, I didn’t chat much with the folks behind the counter even before we all had medical incentive to get in and out of places fairly quickly but it almost always has what I’m looking for.

Just because those were my regular stores of course doesn’t mean those are the only ones I’ve ever gone to. About a year before that picture was taken - it’s the closest I could find - when I was 17 my store didn’t have something or another I was looking for, so I head across town to see if another place I had looked up had it. This other place didn’t have what I was looking for either, though I distinctly remember picking up a few issues of Hickman’s FF while I was there since I had foolishly fallen off, hence my remembering the year. I bought a couple issues, but hung around for a bit looking to see if I might grab something else out of a dollar box, setting my comics down. Without realizing it, I’d set my books down on top of another issue, and when I decided I wasn’t getting anything else, I just picked that up along with the rest of the pile and was about to walk out before the owner stopped me. He explained what I had done though assumed it had been deliberate, and because I was a good-hearted little geek I even recall thinking “Well, he’s gonna chew me out, but I guess I deserve it. I’ll try and take this to heart as a learning experience.”

Then he pulled up his shirt a little to show me the gun on his belt. He pointed at the security camera monitors at his desk, and explained to me that if I ever did something like that again, he would have it on tape, and he would pull that gun on me and hold me there while he called the cops.

As it turned out, the comic was free.

The whole thing was so sudden and bizarre and unexpected I didn’t actually freak out until the drive home. It wasn’t until weeks or maybe months later that I managed to tell my dad about the experience, because I *had* nearly stolen a (free) comic and my guilt was mixed in with my nerves and I guess I was somehow too close to register just how disproportionate his response was. It wasn’t until now, nearly a decade later and thinking about it for the first time in a long time as I write this, that I wondered if that might have gone differently - especially living in the midwest - if I hadn’t been a white, squeaky-voiced 17-year-old.

So, minor spoiler, when our cantankerous but well-meaning LCS owner yells to call the cops and grabs and yells at a small kid for pocketing a comic (and later displays fantasy racism towards said kid), I am not filled with nostalgic love for the brotherly safe space that is comic book stores, where this guy while not meant to be seen as perfect is still framed in part as a charming, witty representation of Why We Love These Places, And This Community, And This Genre, And This Medium. Cates is clearly drawing on real time at his local stores, but he equally clearly has a very different takeaway from those experiences than me. And I am, again, in a demographic - white, cis-male, abled, bi but more interested in women, disposable income, a lifelong collector - that the industry and a lot of the guys who sell it to us contort themselves around catering to, even if I had a single very negative experience and later an ongoing low-key uncomfortable one to help disabuse me of any notions of the purity of the dork community. In the world of Crossover as of #1, toxicity is intertwined, deliberately or not on the part of the creators, with what we love on the cosmic and small business scales alike, but at least in the latter case it’s the whole picture that’s beautiful, not any single kernel that needs to be worked on to be dug up.

So underneath is my video reaction to the last page of Crossover #1. Very minor spoilers because I mutter the last two words of the comic to myself, but under the video I discuss said final page and some other scattered thoughts. Whether you read that or not, my takeaway is this: I’m fascinated with wherever the hell this thing is going, I’m glad my dad liked it well enough to want to keep getting it because now I’ll get to see where it heads, but my first impression is that this is at heart meant as cheapass Oscar-bait for people who only read Batman. It’s big and high-concept but also small and intimate! It’s meta and about how great you, the reader are for your consumption, especially the consumption of this! It’s going to be in large part about a forbidden love between a couple divided across impermeable social lines (a couple where they’re a seemingly straight white man and woman, but one likes comics)! Maybe it’ll become Not That, and I’m sure it’ll do at least something interesting along the way because Cates has done good stuff before and there are some inherently interesting big ideas for him to play with here, but for the love of god if you’re thinking about getting this buy Commanders in Crisis too or instead, it’s another new book out of Image about superheroes dealing with the collapse of the multiverse but that one is really fucking good.

So the final page splash reveal is that when the comic book child discovered in here got out of Colorado, which has had an impenetrable energy shield erected around it by one of the heroes for years, she and others were ferried out of there...by Superman, as the narration declares that “This is a story...about hope.” They don’t say the word, but she sketches her savior, Ellie and Otto freak out and go “Is that---” when they see it, and on that last page we see that while a crude drawing it isn’t a rough analogue character, it’s a guy with a cape and trunks with an S on his chest. Surprisingly, I don’t have much to say: it’s just another blunt signifier that superheroes rule and are the best, paired with the most utterly devalued notion as of late of what makes Superman special in ‘hope’. I mean, I’m perversely excited to see whether this is building the entire series on a hook it can never deliver on, or if Cates actually has talked DC into an intercompany crossover; believable given they’ve done a bunch of those over the last several years, and why else would Mark Waid be supervising as ‘story editor’ on this? I guess it’ll shake out one way or another with #6 given Cates has said it “has one of the more epic and — I would argue historic — sequences in comic book history in it.” But I’m far less convinced this is gonna truly go into the meaty question of “What does Superman mean and what makes him unique in this world where superheroes in general are indisputably either failures or monstrous bastards given the scale of destruction their presence has brought about, and he himself failed to stop that?” than as some kind of holy grail of how great superheroes are despite how dang violent they’ve gotten these days for the crew to chase after, whatever additional twist will surely be placed upon it. At least he’s kinda helping an immigrant kid get over a wall, if that’s deliberate?

Random final thoughts:

* If I wrote the opening essay and turned it in in a college course, I would be expelled for plagiarizing Grant Morrison. This is not a joke.

* If mainstream American superhero comics ended January 2017 in this universe, its own last ‘crossover’ was Civil War II, which is hilarious.

* God, please tell me if it takes the dive after all that this isn’t somehow tied into whatever Waid’s Superman project is.

* I wouldn’t normally crap on issues with the finer details of worldbuilding, but A. This is rooted in a nominally ‘real’ world playing by recognizable rules, B. I’m ragging on this anyway so what’s the harm, and C. It’s really obvious. So: Why is one of the racists against the superheroes the guy who loves superheroes so much he’s the last holdout in the entire world still selling comic books about them? How does this modestly-sized shop exist long-term with apparently a significant regular customer base if there are no new comics or even reprints to restock with, ever? Who’s buying the serialized cop/cowboy comics that the U.S. government apparently created pretty much overnight (nobody, it’s just another Wertham dig)?

* The solicit for issue #3 proclaims “Don't miss this one, folks. If you do, it just might drive you...mad.”, so now I fear some kind of Ultra Comics riff.

* “Kids love chains” is the most metal-ass quote of all time and I hate that it’s being wasted as an arc title on this book.

[evangeline-of-montfort]

DIVERSITY IN RED QUEEN

everyone I just need a moment to like. sit down and appreciate the world we got with Red Queen because it’s pretty fucking amazing.

BLACK CHARACTERS

- cameron cole, fifteen years old and terrified, but stands up for her own beliefs and doesn’t shut up no matter who tells her to. liberates her people! has a great relationship with her brother! has a happy ending and a complete character arc!

- prince bracken, silver king, secondary villain, but NUANCED, cares about his children like a good father should

- carmadon. fucking gay. sense of humor is amazing. sense of style is amazing. excellent gardener and chef and does not hesitate to call evangeline on her bullshit. 

- wren skonos. can literally regrow hands. probably has saved everyone’s ass at one point or another. joined the montfort medics and is the breadwinner for her family (ptolemus, you lazy bum). awesome, i love her. 

LATINX CHARACTERS

- mare. fucking. barrow. is CANONICALLY latina or brown. ladies and gentlethem we have FINALLY gotten a popular book series about overthrowing oppressive systems and the main character isn’t white i adore this. 

- rafe!! electricon badass that sticks by his friends and is a really good fighter! god i adore him

- ada wallace has golden skin in canon so i think she’s latina, personally. (evidence: gisa barrow is also described as having golden skin and she’s latina.) and ada is also canonically one of THE kindest characters, and in glass sword she was integral to mare’s cause. incredibly intelligent and later goes on to represent the ENTIRE nortan states in government and at international coalition meetings. go her. 

- actually i’ve blanked please reblog with more i’m sure there were more

ASIAN CHARACTERS

- evangeline samos what a fucking queen. i can’t believe we got an asian character who wasn’t defined by introversion and math skills in ya lit. can’t BELIEVE it. the strict parents are still there, but that’s a universal experience if i’m completely honest. but evangeline gets a happy ending with a loving support group! cut off all the toxicity from her life we stan one (1) queen.

- ptolemus!! i actually love that he and evangeline are characterized as warriors. honestly ptolemus might even classify as a Brute (temper control 0, able-to-kill-you 100, shoulder width 500, has a soft spot). i never NEVER see this for east asian male characters, so this is incredibly important. 

on top of that, tolly is also a stay at home husband, which is something you hardly ever see either. especially with a character that’s been introduced as a warrior-type and was literally the king of an entire nation. 

- all of house viper, by extension. an entire noble house of east asian descent!! i adore it. 

- DANE FUCKING DAVIDSON IS CANONICALLY EAST ASIAN. VAVEYARD CONFIRMED IT. the LEADER of an ENTIRE COUNTRY who is INCREDIBLE and basically spearheaded a movement for red equality across the ENTIRE CONTINENT and is in a loving relationship with his unproblematic husband. 

BROWN/FIRST NATION CHARACTERS

- iris cygnet. orrec cygnet. cenra and tiora. we have canadian FIRST NATION PEOPLE as rulers of an INCREDIBLY powerful country. iris can hold her own against maven. she and her mother basically reversed the flow of the entire archeon river. she practically flooded an entire city until it was nothing but rubble. 

and even though they’re villains, they’re shown to care for one another deeply. again, more nuance in poc characters. fuck yeah. 

- house iral. another royal house of poc! and they’re a POWERFUL house, too. the best spies in all of norta are iral. tiberias v’s prince consort was an iral. the head of their house was literally nicknamed the fucking PANTHER that’s how good they were.

- lyrisa from broken throne (skin like cold copper). badass strongarm piedmont princess. unapologetic about her past, willing to do what it takes to save herself, but she still cares for other people. again, i LOVE that we have poc characters in positions of power. also, lyri is a great example of what to do with a stalker ex: physically rip his head off his shoulders. 

LGBTQ+ CHARACTERS

- gisa barrow. her relationship with a montfort shopgirl is brought up totally casually, with complete acceptance. that is SO important to me, that in red queen some of our gay characters can just... exist. gisa doesn’t have to fight for acceptance or love, and that’s such an important example of how the lgbt community should be treated in real life.

- davidson and carmadon. fuck. tell me they literally aren’t parent gays to evangeline and elane. that scene where davidson introduces them all to his husband, and evangeline practically cries because she realizes she can love openly?? i can’t even articulate how important that is to me.  

- evangeline and elane. let’s get one thing straight right here. if evangeline wasn’t willing to go to such huge lengths for her girlfriend, i don’t know what state norta would be in. eve shoved marecal back together to be with elane, and we owe her big for that one. also, if she’d married cal, a union of norta and the rift might’ve been too big for red revolution to take hold in. thank god, evangeline. 

(however it would have been nice if elane had more of a personality in war storm. that was a flaw that struck me.)

- how could I forget about maven calore? this one is a little more in the gray zone. first, i do appreciate that maven is bi/pan. second, while it would be problematic if maven were the ONLY gay character and his relationship with thomas was the Tragic Backstory, that is not the case. we have an entire cast of lgbt protagonists in healthy relationships. I personally think that maven shows that lgbtq representation can have nuance and villains and still be done well. 

- gay royalty: tiberias v took a prince consort. leonora calore took a queen consort, mariane nolle (broken throne). thank you victoria for giving us a HISTORY of lgbt figures in this universe.

long post, but how else could I properly appreciate well-written diversity in YA lit?? god bless victoria aveyard for existing. i would die for her, no cap. reblog with more if you can think of them! 

[lesdoublesll]

Hello!! Just wanted to ask, what do you think about Finkeldorf?? Danke ✌️❤️

Such a small question, but such a complicated one ! I have so much things to say about them I love them so much ♥️

First of all, they are much more than a ship, they are their own persons and boi, I love both. So I think I'll answer what I think of the characters, and of the pairing.

The pairing is AMAZING. They've known each other for so long, they trust each other so much : you can just feel Finkel would do anything to please K, but in an absolutely non toxic way despite K being his superior. He is just super supportive and admirative all the time ! K on the other hand looks very protective with his Finkie ahah which is understandable. He is so adorable, just imagining someone like Freddy being hurt must be unbearable (for me it is 😭). And let's be real : having such a supportive, cute, young boyfriend, I wouldn't want to share him and I would protect him at all costs too ! And I think Taika Waititi did a great job convey all of it in the film, without making it too obvious (because at the time you had to hide it) but on the contrary: making it subtle but beautiful. It's the only long term relationship exposed in it, and it's not even pointed out. Its just there because that is how it is. And that's great lgbt representation : that's just life : they aren't treated any different from hetero characters. Being gay isn't their main trait, it's not only there to serve comic purposes, but it is also there for the plot (for captain K's character and for his relationship with Jojo; I will talk about it later ;) )

So yeah I love them, and the film just reminded me of how it was, being bullied for years for being "a lesbian" (which I am not but you know for some ppl bisexuality is hard to understand) "the bisexual slut who wants to have sex with everyone" and all the slut shaming that came with it. It reminded me of how unfair the whole situation was, of how vulnerable I was, it reminded me of why I've been an active lgbt suppoter for years. And you know, I tend to actually forget how cruel can ppl be sometimes, because it's been two years since I am in humanities in prepschool, half of my friends are bi, the other half are gay and lesbian, I am accepted by my family and my friends, and I have a gf. It's almost like everything is perfect and nothing bad happens to us. But it's not true, and as much as it is crucial we enjoy all the good things that happen to us in life, we must remember some lgbt ppl didn't have that chance and some still don't have it. Some lgbt ppl are still harrassed/arrested/killed everywhere in the world in every country. And Finkeldorf just reminded me that I needed not to forget about it. That I should still fight for my rights, for the rights of every single lgbt person.

Oh and a ww2 gay pairing: my historian brain just loved it xD

Ok. Wow that escalated I am sorry x)

As for the characters.

Freddy Finkel. I absolutely love him with all my heart and that's not even because he is portrayed by the best actor alive. (And the most handsome by the way. ) He is so precious. Maybe he is a little dumb (mostly for comic effects x) ) but he wants to do thing good so bad, almost like he is searching for approval. And surely K gives him all the approval he needs and that's awesome (cause K makes him feel like he isn't that stupid). You can also tell how he is always so enthusiastic and cheerful all the time : he is young and he wants to enjoy life ! And that makes perfect sense that he ends up with someone as desillusioned and sarcastic as K. I think K needs that a lot actually x). Must be refreshing and comforting. Finkel is adorable. Just as Alfie said : he ends up in this situation because of wrong circumstances. He surely does not want to be a soldier, and obviously does not want to be any part of the nazi system: he surely is in the army because it was mandatory, or even before it was mandatory because he wanted to be with K. Just as Alfie said : he is just in love. That's all. Just like a lot of regular soldiers, he must go on and do as he is told, so he can survive with the love of his life. Great life eh ?... :( I don't know if he is part of any group of resistance and I would say no for two reasons. 1) Finkel is loud, dumb and awkward. Not a great idea. 2) I am sure K would not want him to be. He would like to handle things on his own and be sure Finkel is safe. And I am sure Finkel would feel bad for it but would agree with him.

I would never call him a bad person.

Ok Klenzendorf now. There are so many things to say. Sam Rockwell first shall we ? Sam Rockwell is amazing in this role. He just fits perfectly. I have watched a lot of movies with him before and I always loved his part the best in those movies. But in Jojo Rabbit. Omg I was like Pikachu on that meme : :O !! I was gagging !!! (Just ask my gf). He was awesome and the character is PERFECT. Far more complex than Finkel of course, because he is a crucial character of the film. (And a fan favorite of course). He isn't black or white. He isn't a nazi, in the sense that he doesn't believe in this ideology at ALL. That's why he doesn't take his job seriously : that's a fucking rebel and you can't tell me I am wrong. He surely is in the army since WW1. So again : it wasn't his direct choice to be in the german army. But we can tell he likes his job : he likes being a soldier, that was a choice he made before Hitler. But he was let down by this system : all the clubs he used to go to were destroyed, he suddenly could go to KZ because he was gay, his boyfriend could go to KZ because of something he would say or do, his eye lost he couldn't even be seen as valuable by this same system...just imagine seeing the Germany you fought for crumble and fall around you. Being someone and then BOOM being nothing to your country. worst : being someone your country doesn't want at all! Yes that's fucking horrible. And in the film there are evidences that he fights against this system that let him down: the fact that he knows Rosie (who is in a group of resistants) and she HITS him and he says nothing ! That's just like the biggest clue : they are in the same group. X) Rosie's bikes and the gestapo scene when he helps Elsa and Jojo and how he saves Jojo at the end. So yeah surely a resistant. And... he can't to anything else. He can't refuse a mission as a soldier : it would make him in danger, and what he does could make FINKEL in danger too. And if you had to obey to save yourself and your lover I know a lot of ppl out there would do the same. He even tries to convince Jojo to stop thinking about jews, he tries to change his mind ! So he is a complex character and he shouldn't even be a controversial character in the first place. Any sane ppl who watch the film and knows its history should think that way. He isn't the best person, but he is a good person, even if he surely loathes himself for the things he has done. I love him so much!!

There :D thx for the ask.

[templarhalo]

Templarhalo reviews Birds of Prey. (It’s pretty fantabulous)

HERE BE SPOILERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Ok without this movie, I would have not been a Cassandra Cain fan.  I would have not four, yes four ongoing fics with her as the main character.  I would not be emotionally and financially invested in the DC cinematic universe or the comics side of things. 

Which baffles me because this movie is perfect in almost every aspect,...   Except how they treated Cassandra Cain.   Which  is a fucking shame because her actress is perfect, her chemistry and relationship with Harley is perfect, and the idea of Cass growing up as this pickpocket foster kid, taken in by Harley is unconventional, but I fucking love it. 

Here’s a brief summary. After breaking up with the Joker  Harley Quinn has to make her own way as the strong, badass, indepent woman we all know she is, while dealing with the fact that without Mistah J’s  fell reputation as his significant other to shield her, a lot of people want her raped, tortured, killed and left for the crows…  Not necessarily in that order.    

To get these people off her back and save her own skin, from one of them, the infamous Black Mask. Harley agrees to recover the Bertinelli Diamond, a diamond encoded with the info for a source of 30 million dollars, Black Mask needs to fiance his take over of Gotham. Which was pickpocketed from one of his associates by our Lady and savior Cass.   

The problem is, Cass kind of ate it( (I shit you not) and Black Mask’s guys would rather cut it out of her than wait for the poor kid to take a dump �� Not to mention Detective tReene Montoya (played by her Gotham Actress, which would have been a nice bit of world building if Gotham was actually in the movie continuity) building a case against Black Mask, with the aid of Black Canary   Plus Huntress is indirectly gunning for him and Harley in her own quest for revenge.   All these plot points converge into  a very satisfying climax and fight scene with a somewhat  emotionally satisfying ending. 

From  a technical standpoint this film is a spectacle.   Gotham in the day is colorful but rundown, with markets, suave evil bad guy clubs, dilapidated Chinese restaurants and abandoned amusement parks.   The fight scenes are AMAZING  with a wonderful tension and energy that makes them incredibly visualising satisfying.  Everything flows, the ladies move with an enthralling  grace that makes them breaking bones, crushing legs,and tearing through people visceral and heartstopping.  (And arousing. Like goddamn Jurnee Smollett-Bell could kill me with her legs and I’d thank her)

The problem, is none of this applies to  Cass, and this is the films major flaw besides how short it is. (One hour and forty five minutes).  If you had problems with how Harley was handled in Suicide Squad, the movie fixes it.  Black Canary gets a short but satisfying emotional arc that feels natural. She goes from a cynical, lethargic woman, content to be Black Masks “Little Bird”; A singer at his club, driver and symbol of his power/dominance over other women until her own conscience kicks in at Harley and Cass’ predicament.  Huntress also has a short but satisfying arc in which she gets her vengeance on the people who murdered her family and clearly finds a new one to fill the hole in her life, in the form of the Birds.  Reene and her portrayal is a love letter to the 80s cop/hard boiled detectives, a pure, simultaneously complicated/uncomplicated woman seeking to do good for Gotham.       

But Cass… Doesn’t feel like Cass and is criminally underutilized except as a walking mcguffin by dint of eating the Mcguffin.   She’s introduced to us a snarky tween, stuck in a cycle of shitty foster homes and a pickpocket to get by.  And that’s it.  T

here are moments where you think she'll get a cool fight scene.  Moments where you think she’ll have an emotional heart to heart with Harley,   moments where you think…she’ll do something besides run from the bad guys and get saved by the Birds of Prey/Her four moms. 

 In the end she drives into the sunset with Harley and Bruce the Hyena, but it doesn’t feel earned, satisfying as the scene is.  There is nothing implying or hinting she’s the daughter of two of the deadliest assassins in the DC universe, nothing about her running away from David Cain, nothing on her learning disabilities/selective mutism  and NOTHING, setting her up to be adopted by Batman and become Batgirl 

And this is a fucking shame, because Ella Jay Basco has a real chemistry with Margert and the rest of the cast.  She’s adorable, funny, snarky and wonderful as Cass. She brings energy and spunk and I would cut off my left hand, to see her act as Cassandra Cain, not this  generic punk kid with the name.

And I feel like this is  a HUGE problem because the movie sets up this Mother/daughter relationship, with Cass being Harley’s motivation to be a better person.  She goes from willing to hand her over to Black Mask to taking the kid under her wing.   Cass is the glue that bands the Birds of Prey together.   These lovely, dangerous, women coming together to keep a little girl safe,  doesn’t feel as emotionally satisfying as it should because Cass isn’t Cass.

While I will praise the movie for Harley’s arc of seeking her own emancipation and agency outside her abusive relationships and life of crime,  I feel like Harley’s arc should have been a question of redemption.    Cassandra’s motivation to become Batgirl was her refusal to kill again.  (Hey WB remember how in Batman Begins Bruce refused to kill a man because “I will not be an executioner.”)  

Here Cass is fine with killing. She chucks a bomb at some goons chasing her and  she kills Black Mask with a grenade in the end.

Yeah… Cass “I refuse to kill because my dad made me kill an innocent man at eight years old and killing is wrong” kills people.  

*head meet desk*

Sucide Squad, set up Harley and the squad, for an unconventional redemption arc, spite motivated it may be, yet Harley despite her line to Cass “You make me want to  be a less terrible person”  isn’t seeking to make amends for what she did as the Joker’s henchman.  (Like being an accomplice to Jason Todd’s murder).   

.Cass pickpots and steals to survive, because she’s a kid with no family passed from foster home to foster home, Harley steals because she can, steal a truck to blow up a chemical plant because she can.  Kills because she can.   (granted she does use an M79 grenade launcher with bean bag shells for one scene but besides that.) 

I like the idea of Harley taking Cass under her wing, its an unconventional but fresh idea, but it doesn’t feel entirely satisfying, and Cass not being Cass, not having an arc beyond “Go along with Harley as her apprentice” really undermines the excellent themes and message the movie is trying to convey.

Now maybe in the Suicide Squad reboot with James Gunn or a future DC film , Cass is going to leave Harley because that life of crime and killing doesn’t suit her and she realizes she’s trying to be something she’s not and I’m just being overly critical, but I still feel like “Harley and Cass seeking redemption and moving past their abusers together”  should have been where this movie left off, and it baffles me that it doesn’t from a narrative perspective.

Anway the overall themes and message of Birds of Prey are represented in Evan Mcregor’s Black Mask, a walking talking example of repressive toxic masculinity and misogyny.   A flamboyant, all but stated to  be a repressed Bi, crime lord seeking to take control of Gotham, Black Mask moves with confidence in his loud suits, and charming quirkiness,   He’s cruel, sadistic and repulsive  His mannerisms ooz terror,and insanity. He moves like a love child between Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix’s take on the Joker, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and Joffery Baratheon from Game of Thrones.   He’s a control freak, trying to  be a badass. 

 One minute he’s the Godfather, the next he’s a brat.  He views Harley as nothing without the Joker, telling her that she needs him to protect her.   He enjoys asserting his dominance over Harley during her brief capture by having his men beat her while he eats popcorn.  He objectifies Black Canary for her singing voice and beauty..   

Black Mask asserts his power and authority over the underworld by  his control over women.  In one  frightening scene, he believes one of the women at his club is laughing at him for his failure to capture Cass, so he orders her  to stand on a table, then for her boyfriend to rip open her dress with a knife because he finds it ugly.

In summary he represents the patriarchy.  He represents sexist, abusive men.   He’s a representation of social norms and ideals that are repressive and disgusting, and rob women of their agency, and self-worth. He represents the use of violence, not for noble reasons, but as a means to control women and lash out at those that defy him and supposedly wronged him .

Furthering this line of thought are  the costumes. Black Canary’s costumes represent the amount of control, Black Mask has in her life.  When we first see her, Dinah is wearing a long black netted evening gown that accents her legs as she sings “It’s a Man’s Man’s World”. Later she wears  a blue tank top and gold, tightfitting pants clearly meant to draw our gaze to her ass and thighs. When she’s Black Mask’s driver, she’s wearing a Bra/crop top that bares her midriff under a short blue blaze, but when she decides she’s going to defy him, she wears a yellow tank top and jeans with  a gold belt.

Harley’s costumes are as eclectic as she is, with her DIY caution tape shawl, stamped tops and cut up shorts.  Huntress’s outfits are all black leather and punkish athletic wear, utilitarian and elegant in their simplicity while Reene wears  a  “I shave my balls for this” t-shirt reflecting her uncouth, blunt demeanor, as well as button down  dress shirts and slacks for the climactic asskicking montage .  

Cass is a kid,who clearly doesn’t have the funds for super nice clothes. She;s running around in ratty shorts and a worn out hoody with  a red windbreaker, with an orange bandanna askew on her head.  At the end, when she rides off with Harley, she copying Harley’s style.

Speaking of costumes, one thing I appreciate is that instead of the male gaze and sexualisation, we get what I like to call “passive fan service”  What I mean is that instead of tracking shots on Harley’s ass or boob shoots, like in Suicide Squad  the camera just lets these women’s beauty do the talking. 

 Huntress is wearing a sports bra and tactical pants for the climax, but the camera doesn’t linger on her boobs.  A primary example of this is a lot of Padme’s scenes in Episodes II and III of Star Wars.  Lucas knows Natalie Portman is a gorgeous woman and he doesn’t need to remind us by deliberate camera shots.  He lets Natalie herself and Trisha Biggar’s excellent costumes do it for us. 

Also one thing I really… really liked was how in the big penultimate fight, Harley actually passes Dinah a hair tie so she can get her hair out of the way. So for like a minute, she’s beating the ever loving fuck out of goons with her legs as she ties up her hair.  A very nice case of reality ensures.

In conclusion Birds of Prey is another notch in the belt for the DC cinematic universe, a solid, fun film with  an excellent cast with clear chemistry, hampered by character derailment that undermines its sorely needed themes and message it's trying to convey.   The plot is  fast paced, but doesn't feel rushed even though it’s only a little over an hour long.  It’s uncompromisingly  bold, bloody and hilarious. The lack of a proper post credits scene is somewhat annoying and I'm very disappointed how Cass was handled , but this is by no means a terrible film. 

Overall I give it a 8.9 out of 10.  Highly recommend you go see it. Drag your friends, smuggle in as much candy and drinks as you can.  Buy it when it comes out on DVD.   If you’re a Cass fan, reread the Puckett run or pick up her new graphic novel Shadow of the Batgirl to wash out the bittersweet taste this will give you.  Speaking of Kelley Puckett, he was actually listed in the “Special thanks to…”  in the credits, which i’m sure many will appreciate.

These following posts and thoughts on the film I recommend.

https://dcwomenofcolor.tumblr.com/post/190693985900/how-would-you-fix-bop-cass

https://wits-writing.tumblr.com/post/190718974642/birds-of-prey-movie-review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YeFJjoQoec

[butimacommander]

A very long thank you post

It’s been a week since the last episode of skam españa s2 came out and i just can’t get over this show and i felt the need to thank everyone, so here we go:

Thank you moviestar+ for deciding to remake skam and to do the evak storyline with a wlw couple. Thank you for hiring two bi teenagers to play two bi teenagers and for giving them a storyline that fits them. Thank you for getting educated on MIs and BDPs, hiring psychologists, and talking with teens with BDP to get things as accurate as possible. Thank you for using your platform to spread awareness. Thank you writers, the director(s), the producers, makeup team, costume team and every single person who has worked on this amazing show. And thank you for putting the clips up on youtube for us and for not geoblocking them.

Thank you translators for doing the most important and selfless job. This show could only have had the international reach that it has because of you. People who translate the youtube clips, you are amazing. You work so fast and so well, and we don’t even know who you are. You are appreciated. Thank you to everyone who translate the texts/instagrams/cast tweets/etc, you’ve saved us a lot of google translating and misunderstandings. Also, thank you to everyone who use their local knowledge to give us cultural context, which is absolutely necessary to fully understand the show.

Thank you gif makers, edit makers, crack makers and all you amazing artists, you guys are the people who keep the fandom alive and who gave birth to it in the first place. As someone who cannot do any of the things mentioned above, i’m amazed daily by your talent, creativity and vision. I hope that all of you (if you haven’t already) get jobs as graphic designers and what not, since you all have such talent. Please keep doing your amazing work even though we are on hiatus, we appreciate it so much and all of your edits are honestly what’s getting me through my crisana withdrawals. 

Thank you irene and tamara for joining this project. Sadly since wlw’s have had such bad representation in the past, and so little of it, any actually good wlw reps are met with some ridiculously high expectations to meet all of our 1000 wishes and demands. Add all of our wlw tv trauma to that and i think it’s safe to say that we are one chaotic fandom (mostly good chaotic, but sadly not always). Thank you for dealing with us and for delivering some of the most amazing wlw performances. We couldn’t analyse every frame of every clip if the acting wouldn’t be as amazing as it has been. Also, thank you for being open about your sexualities, it’s taken the effect of this show to a whole new level and is making wlw tv history.

And thank you to the fandom. This fandom has been (and still is and will be) such a pleasure to be a part of. I’ve learned so much about Spanish culture and the importance of wlw representation, and i’ve learned a lot about BPD, something i hadn’t though of much before. A massive massive thank you to those people in the fandom that have BDP and have educated all of us about it. You guys are the real heroes. Also, I’ve made some of my first online friends from this fandom and i’ve learned to recognise so many of your urls and icons and seeing people interact here makes me so happy! Ah! Lets keep it up! And on a personal note, thank you for liking the stuff that i post, i appreciate it so much.

So, now that we’ve gone through the thank yous, i’d like to say some things for the future. Because sadly (as for example the 100 fandom is currently showing), fandoms can turn toxic really fast. Lets try our absolute best to keep our tags as wholesome as Cris and Joana on a thursday morning. So please, lets not unnecessarily compare the remakes and casts and lets let everyone have their favourites, lets not encourage canceling culture which doesn’t help anyone or any cause, and lets not respond to negativity with more negativity. Usually the best way is just not to give the negativity the attention it wants. 

And lastly, lets treat the cast and crew and the people close to them with absolute respect and just use our common sense on social media. Sending negative comments to people is never justified, nor is bombarding them with questions about their private lives. We’ve been blessed with the most amazing group of teenagers and lets let them live their lives as ones. And then, i’ve seen fandoms destroy friendships between actors, so lets just imagine what damage we could do to irene and tamara. Lets use our common sense, be respectful, and in the words of Noora, be kind, always. 

Can’t wait for season 3, and i’ll keep on analysing every frame of s2 until we get there <3 

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

i love the friendships between terry and charles and jake and i feel like their interactions highlight the fact that jake legit crushes on dudes because how he responds to them is different

this

is different

than this:

the second to last gif is Jake looking at Amy. there is a lot of softness and awe when Jake is looking at someone he Like likes

With his male friends, Jake is affectionate and emotional and doesn’t shy away from physical contact. I love how them men on this show deconstruct toxic masculinity. 

But this isn’t how Jake responds to all his male friends. He doesn’t have crushes on Charles and Terry. (maybe a little bit on Terry, but it’s small enough it doesn’t interfere with anything. Terry is just so STRONG). It’s in the small stuff, it’s how he looks at guys and responds to guys. One of my favorite scenes is when Pimento is describing the guy who is following him as “classically good looking...is that a weird thing to notice about a guy?”. The expressions on Terry and Charles’ faces clearly says “yeah, a little,” but Jake is all in with “no, I don’t think so? Nah. That’s normal.” (which, incidentally, is the internal monologue of some people who don’t realize they’re bi--sometimes you just assume that’s how everyone feels about their gender! and then later you realize that isn’t how straight people feel at all. )

anyway. what I’m getting at is the show, in giving us healthy, loving, nontoxic male friendships, also inadvertently showed us what the difference is in male friendships vs. male attraction/crushes looks like, particularly on screen, and you can show both and you can have such great bi guy representation and i just

i know that Jake isn’t canonically bi (yet) but I just really appreciate this show for showing us such great queer characters that have so much depth and warmth and goodness and it doesn’t hypersexualize them or make them a joke. (Jake’s attraction to men is never treated as a punch line; or if it is, I think the humor comes more from the fact that he just thinks everyone is like that, and his friends are kind of sitting there going “wait what”) and this isn’t coherent but i just. wanted to point out the differences there