#i think that its takes on queerness and sex are strange as well

[vivisect-six]

I agree with you about hazbin hotel, but I'm just curious, what about the show makes you not like it/fans?

I feel like a lot of vivziepop's media runs off of shock value "edgy" humor. I really frankly just. Don't like it if i'm being honest! I think that it markets itself to redditor edglord assholes. To be fair to it, i've only seen the pilot for hazbin hotel and that was Years ago. I've seen more of helluva boss, and i just don't enjoy it! Vivziepop herself has done some.. questionable things that i don't feel like bringing up right now because i currently don't have the sources to back them up if im being honest. When it comes down to it, it's mostly personal preference based off of experiences online and in person.

[i-write-sin-not-tragedy]

Do you have any headcanons for radiohuskerdust dynamic?

Im so sorry this took so long to reply to i literally let out a screech of joy when i got it and wanted to wait till i was home for the day so i could properly reply LOL

GOD YES I HAVE SOME♡ I HAVE MANY EEE

Overall i view Alastors role here as some flavor of queer platonic— he has the potential to be a caring partner but doesn't care much for romance specifically (yes my aromantic ass is projecting a lil shhhh)

My personal favorite take for them in canon is that eventually over the course of Alastors redemption he does eventually let Husk go— i have. Many feelings on that whole situation too but this is gonna be long already so SJDKEKDK just know i see them eventually getting to a point where they accept that neither of them are perfect and can let things go. Alastor considers Husk a very dear friend, and does in fact hold a high amount of respect for him, and Husk feels the same (although hes a little more Tsundere about it sksksksk)

Angel is very much so the glue that holds this ot3 together LOL

Like i think both Husk and Alastor fall for him first and through Angel find a way to actually communicate over the strange mix of feelings they've had with each other. Angels good at reading other people, he can tell they have *something* going on and isn't afraid to point it out.

I constantly see people making Angel hate Alastor but sorry no i do not agree at all.

Despite the initial impressions of each other, Alastor and Angel would be FANTASTIC friends. Once Alastor understands that Angels humor is just that, humor, hes not actually expecting anything from Al, he starts meeting Angel halfway on his jokes, adding onto them. Once they start to realize they can bounce off each other and actually bond oh god its OVER.

Alastor finds Angel actually very charming to be around, and Angel realizes Alastor isn't a prude or anything he just has some firm walls up.

God they'd be INSUFFERABLE together

You know that post thats like "i ship this ship but like specifically as a comedy duo" yeah thats radiodust in my heart LOL

They'd be the bane of Husks existence together.

Also Alastor is capable of being a huge gentleman and i can see him treating Angel to fancy dinners and "Dates". Alastor has no care for romance but he knows how to treat someone well and Angel basks in the attention.

They'd just VIBE so well!! Maybe its bc i spent years watching the hunniecast streams but god i think Radiodust make such a fun duo. If they put their heads together they can be a menace to society.

Alastor also gives off cheek/hand kiss vibes. He would do that shit and Angel is a sucker for it (both Husk and Alastor would treat him so well okay spider boy deserves it)

Husk and Angel have the most "Romantic" dynamic of the three ofc, and Alastor is happy to spend their date nights off doing his own thing. Huskerdusts dynamic is pretty much exactly as canon— i don't have many notes to add to it i Genuinely love how canon is handling them so far.

I won't dive off into nsfw here kwkfkwkd but i DO have thoughts on how that would work in this lineup.

I will say overall i see Angel as hypersexual, Husk as Demi, and Alastor as a sex neutral-Ace.

Like he just doesn't GET it but he can find some compromises if one of his partners askes.

[wrens-versus-the-world]

hear me out (again)

I may or may not have finished hazbin hotel over the weekend :D.

and i got to thinking (which is never a good sign)

What if exorcist reader! goes down to hell to settle some unfinished business (hiding the fact that they are in fact very much alive) and bumps into charlie!

Charlie, who drags them back to the hotel, and lets them stay there (not knowing who they are).

I think it would go something like this:

Alastor: Charlie, who is this *eyes narrowing*

Charlie: This is one of our newest patrons, Y/n

Y/n, vaggie, charlie, alastor, angel: What?!

y/n: Listen, i didnt agree to this! I have someone who I'm looking for and then I'm leaving

Charlie: Then you can stay here while you look for them!

Y/n, and co: ...

Charlie: and we can help you to reform so that you can go to heaven!

Y/n: *snorts* yea no.

------------------------------------------------------------

And eventually they get convinced, but are hell bent on finding this demon who theyre looking for.

Which gets everyone's attention (ie. Alastor, Angel, husk, etc.), but they don't really notice anything too strange about it, after all they are in hell and people wanting revenge isnt too strange.

The thing that gets everyone's attention is when Lucifer comes to visit, and while he's there y/n comes back from searching, and the two of them have a stare down.

y/n's thoughts: oh shit, does he recognize me?????

lucifer: theyre pretty!

And when lucifer begins to visit more (another love interest :D), y/n begins to avoid them more the truth comes out, and everyone is in shock.

But surprisingly its taken pretty well, and everyone acts mostly the same (just more gentle).

and the end can go one of two ways:

They die and go to hell (being damned there for killing so many demons), OR they just stay there and the ending is left ambiguous!

Also:

I personally see alastor as someone who doesnt really understand the appeal of sex (as we've seen with his reactions to angel).

I will probably have a bit of romance with him (more as companionship though, as to not take away from his identity).

the bit of romance would likely be jokingly flirting or something (or just alastor being nicer than normal and people taking it out of proportion)

As someone who is somewhere on the acespec. I dont want to take away from the little bit of representation we get, but I do want to show that acespec people can have companionship (I believe the official term is: Queer platonic relationship)

I'm not sure if I'll do this, but I just had to get it off of my chest :D

[calpalsworld]

I just realized Im over 6 months on T...!!!

My genuine review of T for others who may be considering or just interested in the topic.

Keep in mind that everyone will have different results on T. For me I am on a small dose because my T levels were already high to begin with.

Reasons why I went on T:

Was living out publicly as non binary but I would still feel upset when strangers would misgender me.

Had been wishing that I was more masc body wise and voice wise since at least high school.

Didn't have intense dysphoria but I felt very neutral about my body. It felt strange and like it wasn't progressing how I imagined it would. I had certain features that pissed me off, which I knew T would change.

Dysphoria was triggered in public interactions and when I had to acknowledge my body by myself. I felt like strangers weren't seeing me as me, and felt that I wasn't experiencing my body in the way I wanted to.

Pros:

Everything!!!

Voice that surprises me with how deep it is sometimes. When I lean back against a chair and speak I can feel my diaphragm rumble.

Menstruation stopped almost immediately.

(May be TMI but this is a major thing yet the only thing that I did not know was going to happen before starting). Rapid and significant genital changes. Psychologically helpful for me.

Hairier arms, stomach, and thighs.

Stomach fat and face fat increase. (potentially boob and thigh fat decrease but it may be placebo or just in contrast).

More facial fuzz.

Slightly veinier hands.

Slightly thicker/more muscular arms.

Looking at myself and seeing someone who looks good and confident and masc/butch and feeling great about it. Sometimes I look at myself in the reflections of building windows and get excited.

Being able to discuss T with other friends who are on T.

People misgender me as he/him and a man (Im non binary and go by they/them) more often than misgendering me as she/her and a woman now. This is still not ideal but it bugs me less.

Random queer strangers asking "are you on T!?" and being excited.

Knowing I dont have to live my life as a lie.

Cons:

My pre existing erotophobia (I'm triggered and obsessive over certain things relating to sex) has been activated as I experience new things.

My pre existing paranoia being rebranded into a trans related experience (I worry sometimes people are stalking me and planning to kill me for the slightest things I do wrong, now I worry that its because Im trans). This will go away once I work through my mental illness and internalized bigotry.

Voice hurt when the changes started (like a sore throat for a few weeks as if I was sick).

I cant do a lot of funny voices that I liked doing anymore, but I can do new voices.

New and strange sensations in genital area, during the first few weeks it was very painful (I have Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and Vaginismus so this may not be a universal experience).

Became slightly stinkier and oilier when I started, but it seems to have gone away.

I'm non binary and I still feel connected to women and I get anxious that people won't be able to comprehend that. (examples: others might not like me calling myself "butch" or sharing my experiences with womanhood). But this is internal rather than reflective of anything I've experienced. This may be entirely in my head.

Family awkwardness. Family members assuming crazy stories about how I feel. (generic things like: thinking i hate myself and am scared of men so i want to turn myself into a man?!?!😭😭😭). But friends and others do not assume these things.

(TMI but true) Thick buttcrack hair is annoying.

Future thoughts:

I feel very fortunate that my experience with T is going very well.

I know the best parts of T takes time and patience to become apparent so I am excited that I started at 21.

I am proud of achieving what I thought might only be a fantasy, and I hope I can have access to T for the rest of my life.

[fiddleturnips]

At this point I should seriously just drop the pretense of writing fanfiction and make this whole thing an original narrative. Anyway, here's Stan and Ford and the Lesbians:

Note: this story is playing fast and loose with pronouns and queer culture. This is to reflect the fact that these are two cishet men in a lesbian space in the 1980s. It's intentionally written to come off as ignorant, but well-meaning. The narrator is unreliable.

Stan has been getting used to the new routine with Emma-Mae and Fiddleford. They love him, he loves them, and he never knew that you could love family life so much.

But: he is still very much a heterosexual man being thrown into a homoromantic relationship for the first time. Some things are going over his head, and he's struggling to really understand them. He talks to Ford about this; since Ford isn't in the same bedroom situation, all of the others tend to vent their frustrations to him. In this particular instance, Stan is struggling to really know how to take care of a partner who does not like to be touched sexually, but loves to touch others. It feels unfair and imbalanced. It feels like Fiddleford might not really be a part of the sexual experience in the same way, like he might feel left out or used if things continue this way.

Ford, as we have established, has a rather extensive book knowledge of queer culture -- despite having very little sexual, romantic, or gender experience himself. Ford does not fully understand how Fiddleford feels, but he has an idea of who might be able to help.

The problem is... he also fears that to ask for help would be an intrusion. He knows that this is not their community.

He knows it's a risk.

But, science demands risk, so one day, he and Stan tell the other two that they're taking a day out together as brothers, and then they drive into the city.

When they walk into the bookshop, they can feel the tension. This is not their place. They are not wanted here. They are clearly men, clearly straight, and clearly uncomfortable in this aggressively women-only environment. This is the nineteen eighties; queer subcultures can be reclusive and secretive, guarding themselves ferociously against anyone who might be on the side of the law. The fine grains of sex and gender that the 2000s developed, with its free availability of information and universal decriminalization of homosexuality, do not yet exist. Everything about these two big, scruffy, normal-looking men who are clearly not from around here clashes with the intended demographic of the store.

Ford walks up to the counter, awkward as anything. Stan tries to make himself inconspicuous by reading the shelves. The titles are strange, but no stranger than he'd seen on other shelves. They speak of a world that he is not only not part of, but has been intentionally shut out of since birth.

"Excuse me," says Ford, to the red-lipped dyke behind the counter. "I know that we aren't your usual customers, but we're looking for some information that I don't think I can get anywhere else."

She stares at him like he's speaking a different language. There is a second woman, a high femme in heals and perfect hair, who watches with the sort of open, disdainful curiosity you'd see at a zoo. Ford feels small and out of place, but he continues, lowering his voice like they're in a library.

"M-my brother, he has recently entered a, um, a relationship, and h-his partner is - well, his partner does not like to be touched. And I know m-men must experience this sort of thing often enough, but, ah, I have only heard of the phenomenon among women."

The moment, the very moment Ford genders Stan's partner - the moment the ladies realize that these two brothers are not intruders in their space, but pilgrims seeking help - everything changes. The femme woman's eyebrows raise in curiosity, the red-lipped cashier's face becomes animated and attentive.

"Hey, Jay, these guys might be up your alley!"

To Ford's shock, the person who emerges is a man. No, wait - she's... ? Ford does not know if the person who emerged is a man or a woman. He reminds himself yet again that this is not a place where you assume, and that the person very well might not be considered either. This individual, presumably a butch lesbian but perhaps something else, radiates steadiness like the captain of a ship. Ford is suddenly certain that this is the one in charge here.

"How can I help you?" the person asks. The voice is a low alto, or perhaps a high tenor. It does not help.

"My name is Stanford Pines," Ford says, hoping that the use of a real name will be seen as a peace offering - you know me and I am not asking to know you. "This is my brother."

"They're looking for some stone materials," the Femme says to the newcomer. "They seem cool."

The newcomer regards him for a moment, then nods. "You familiar with this kind of stuff?"

"I am, somewhat," Ford says. He feels his shoulders sink with relief. "Only from what I've read, obviously. I do my best to be educated on sexual matters. This is new territory for my brother and his-" - Ford stumbles over the right word - "-lover."

"Yeah, gimme a sec. What's your budget?"

Ford feels even more relief. Money is much easier to exchange than good will. "Fairly high. Probably higher than Stan's patience."

Stan cringes. Ford realizes his mistake, thata first name might a private detail.

Ford swallows, though, and goes on: "But the man he's involved with is an avid reader, and likely needs the encouragement much more than either of us."

"Yeah, I'm not a big reader," Stan mumbles, blushing and hiding his head in his collar.

Their guide explores the shelves, picking out books from the stack with practiced agility. She or he or whatever the gender is brings a sizeable stack to the counter, divided into sections.

"These three are required reading. They should help you get an idea of what you're getting into," the guide says over Ford's shoulder, looking straight at Stanley - who is still avoiding the counter. "The green one is a pretty easy read. I usually give it to younger girls. This is one I've recommended to guys with dicks before. These two are just general use, good to have in the house."

"Ah, I recognize a couple of these," Ford says, beginning to feel more comfortable as the talk gets academic. The femme raises an eyebrow at him, and he shrinks back again.

He's an outsider, he reminds himself again. Don't get too haughty.

They check out. Ford pays in cash. He leaves a sizeable tip, not really caring if it was wanted or expected but knowing that money leaves a mark.

As he rejoins Stan and they begin to walk out, Stan says:

"Do you think he'll go for it?"

And Ford replies:

"Stanley, you know he'll do anything as long as you're the one to ask it of him."

And then, from behind him, a high tenor (or low alto) voice says:

"Wait."

They stop in the doorway and turn back.

The captain of the shop is leaning against the counter. She stares intensely at Stan. She points at him.

"Come here," she says.

Stan swallows. He's never been this intimidated in his life. He walks back toward the counter. This weird lesbian bookmonger commands more respect from him than his own father ever did at his scariest.

Ford, in a moment of cowardice, hangs back.

"Tell me about him."

Stan pushes his hands deep in his pockets. His eyes shift away. He swallows again; his throat is dry.

"He's, uh, he's cute. And real nice. Not like anyone I've had before."

"Is it your first time with a man?"

Stan nods.

"What your brother just said - what was he talking about?"

"Well." Stan looks at the shelves. He looks at the ceiling. He's suddenly protective of his lover, doesn't want to speak badly of him. "He's amazing. Nobody better make fun of him, alright? Don't care if you're a lady or not, sorry I really can't tell, but I'll clock you hard if you make fun of him."

She laughs hard at that low in her chest. The lipstick cashier grins wide.

"Let's say not a lady," she - he? - says. "But on my honor, I won't speak bad about your boy."

"He-" Stan takes his hands from his pockets and begins to play with his sleeves. "He's been through some shit. And he needs someone to take care of him. And he loves it so much, it makes him real happy when I'm there."

Beginning like that, baring his heart to this total stranger, does something to Stan. It does something more than alcohol, more than long sleepless nights on the road. And suddenly, all at once, it's pouring out of his heart, out of his mouth, stinging his eyes, the words are swallowing up the entire rest of the world:

"And he deserves the whole fucking world, you know? He likes it when I order him around a bit, but not, like, all dirty and mean about it, he just likes knowing he's safe, and that I got him, he can let go for a while. He, he trusts me so much, like nothing else, he's like a little baby bird or something or, or a puppy, just needs someone to remind him it's okay. And I'd do anything to take care of him, nobody ever gets to hurt him again if I'm around. But he's kinda, he, he needs it, y'know?"

Stan suddenly looks up, because he needs to see it in this bookstore butch's face, needs to know that he understands, that there's sympathy, and what Stan finds there is the rapt attention of someone who one hundred percent knows exactly what Stan is saying.

"He never knows when to quit! He forgets to take care of himself, and he gets caught up in his head or the nightmares when they get bad, and sometimes I just gotta - I just gotta tell him, y'know? Tell him to sit down and eat something, or go sleep and I've got him while he does, and he, well, he listens to me, y'know? He does what I say. Even when I'm dumb sometimes, way dumber than he is, he, he looks up to me like I'm a fucking rabbi or something, and then he does anything I tell him, and that's, that's, that's terrifying. Dumb idiot like me, and I have the most amazing guy in the whole world and I just, I'm scared of breaking him. Scared I'll screw up, like I screwed up everything else. But I can't, I ain't gonna screw this up. I'll do anything not to screw it up."

Stan runs out of steam. The lipstick cashier is tearing up and pressing her own cheek with one hand. The femme has an arm around her.

"Oh, honey," the femme says, the first words from her mouth this whole time. It's high and bright and as pretty as the rest of her.

Stan drops his head, embarrassed, sure he looks like a stupid sap, the uggliest guy in this damn bookshop, pressing back the tears so hard his cheeks hurt.

The bookmonger puts a strong, heavy hand on Stan's shoulder. Then he lifts it and cuffs Stan's head.

"Hey," he says. "We're all scared. It's worth being scared. It's totally, one hundred percent worth it. And you? I can tell you're gonna be great. Even if you screw it up, remember how you feel right now, and remember that you have something right now that most people never have in their lives. Even if you lose him someday, you remember that."

Stan squeezes his hands into fists. "I don't want to lose him."

The bookmonger shrugs. He doesn't argue.

"Well, anyway," he says.

He grabs a pencil and paper, scribbles an address and the name of a shop on it, tears it off and hands it to Stan. "You head to these guys, you tell them some of what you just told me, about how this guy relies on you to order him around some and how you don't wanna screw it up. They'll help you out."

Stan reads the paper, puzzled. It is embarrassingly obvious from the name that this is a sex shop.

"Uh, okay," he says.

"Now get out," the bookmonger says, although there is little force in the words.

Stan leaves with Ford. As they go, the femme's voice carries: "Oh, they're adorable."

The bookmonger replies: "Eh. Give it time."

Outside on the sidewalk, Ford holds the books in one arm, and they look down at the address. It's a few blocks away, easy enough to reach on foot.

"Well," says Stan, "can't be any more embarrassing than this was."

-

Part Two shall come whenever I have the time and motivation

[gayhenrycreel]

amatonormativity can only be defeated if society learns that people can have different needs.

most people need sex. i need sex to stay mentally healthy, but not everyone is the same. i also need gluten, but some people get really sick from it. a lot of people need romantic love for emotional fulfillment, which i will never understand and find very strange, but thats okay, because people are different.

ableism is also tied into this. i need things to be explained very clearly, often multiple times, otherwise i dont understand. sometimes im literally unable to process sound enough to understand what people are saying. most people dont need basic sentences explained multiple times to understand, so i have a need that others dont have.

a lot of amatonormativity is similar to ableism. i theorize this is because society views both lack of attraction and disability as biological inferiorities that need "curing". this is why historical queerphobia is extremely ableist. electro conversion therapy is exactly the same thing one of my dead relatives suffered for being mentally ill (note that this form of... well, torture, literally cooks brain cells, eventually having similar effects as a lobotomy).

intersex people are often forced on hrt that makes them sick, because perisex society believes that "normalcy" is what people need.

ive heard of asexuals being forced on libido meds because asexuality is assumed to be a medical condition.

all of these are forms of conversion therapy (if your country has not banned igm, conversion therapy is still legal, sorry).

again with the inherent ableism, i used to have problems with anxiety induced meltdowns, and my psychiatrist assumed it was because of my already treated adhd. he forced me on ritalin, which i already had a record of it not working for me. my adhd meds that work were taken from me and i had to take whats basically mild meth. for 3 days straight, i had a panic attack. singular. it continued for days without stopping. as soon as this started happening my mum took me off ritaln, against that doctors orders. for a week i had no adhd meds, so i microdosed magic mushrooms and my anxiety (and adhd) caused no problems for that whole week.

all of these are medical assumptions, assumptions that a non existent problem needs curing. my adhd was fine. i was treated with a med that had worked since i was 5.

theres a huge similarity between gay men being forced on testosterone to try to make them more masculine, and me being forced on ritalin to treat a medical issue that didn't exist in an attempt to make me normal. (the problem i had was much more about my autism not being accommodated btw).

queerphobia and ableism have been intertwined since western society came up with eugenics.

i dont need to be fixed, i need to be loved instead of treated like a problem. people always think my autism is "worse" when they abuse me, and its just because i cant mask when im scared. it becomes a cycle of me being abused for not masking, and not masking because im scared. in the same way, things like psychosis are made infinitely worse by psych wards. can you imagine having a delusion that the government is hunting you and then actual cops throw you in a cell and drug you? thats reality for many psychotics! it happened to me, and everytime i became more convinced that i was being tracked.

queerness is treated how disabilities are treated, because to the medical system they are the same: disorders, and disorders are inferior.

in both cases people just need to be cared for. we may be totally different, but we have so many similarities in our experiences.

a society that sees us as the same will treat us the same.

[fortpeat]

hi there, i really truly don't want this to sound like i am speaking only to you specifically, but you seem to have a lot of anons approach you about this topic, so please bare that in mind with what i'm about to say. i think people in general need to stop talking about fort and peat's supposed sex lives like they know them personally and are speaking on their behalfs. it feels a bit disrespectful to me. by all means, speculate away about their characters, i'll be the first in line to talk about that, but to talk about fort and peat in that way is wrong. they're real people with real lives. and the fact that i've seen discussions where people speculate about their sexualities and whether they're having sex with each other in real life isn't fair to them. yes, we see a lot of them in our daily life, yes, they indulge us and flirt with each other, but that's a big part of them just doing their jobs. it's called fanservice for a reason. does that mean they don't genuinely love and care about each other? no. but in reality, we don't actually know these boys. and to sit in front of our computers and speculate whether these two very real boys are having sex with each other is a little strange to me. and i do not use this phrase lightly when i say that it does sometimes feed into the fetishizing fandom culture that can be so toxic amongst the queer community. and it needs to be called out and stopped when it borders on that kind of territory. and i'm hoping by sending this message you and your followers might take a step back and see where i'm coming from. i'm not being cruel or trying to police anyone, just merely pointing out that we should all maybe try and set boundaries for the parasocial relationships we have with these boys.

Well hello there.

Clearly you are trying to police me and the people who have come to my blog. If there is something that's clearly making you uncomfortable then there is a button called BLOCK which you have every right to use. But you do not get to come to my blog and blame me for something that I didn't do. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN RESPECTFUL WITH FORTPEAT AND THEIR LIVES.

If you think that its all fanservice then that's your opinion, you don't see me coming to you and shoving down my thoughts down your throat. And I can't control what the anons send me and even if they have then I have always answered them in a way that never crosses the line.

For the record just coz we love Fortpeat and the love they have for each other doesn't mean that we are fetishizing them. Again if what you see on your timeline feels disrespectful for YOU then please block me for all I care. Curate your TL which is suitable for you. These boys have made some of my worst days into the brightest and if you can't understand where I am coming from and the love I have for them then that's your problem.

My blog is my safe space and I am sure that it's the same for atleast one person out there as well and that's more than enough for me.

And for the record my asks barely get one like or sometimes it's none. And anon I am not shouting about this in a public space like twt and tagging them. This is as private as one can be and you know what it's people like you who make it weird and wrong to talk about two humans who are affectionate with each other.

Again please feel free to use the block button. 🙏🙏 It saves us both the headache of ever having to interact.

(P.S. I can totally be nice to people who are nice to me but if someone comes into my blog and accuses me of something that I clearly haven't done so, then the "nice" is out the door)

[iliadette]

What are some reasons to actually like Spirk + Star Trek?

I'm an ORV fan but I used to watch Voyager as a kid and I've seen a one or two of the newer movies a few years back (dark something something?) I stayed away from the Star Trek fandom as an adult because I mainly associated it with racism and misogynistic nerd guys.

Hi, anon. Sorry if this ask will take a long time to appear, English is not my first language an I am bad with words on a good day.

You're probably thinking of Into Darkness. It's the second reboot movie. There's a lot of different opinions about those lmao. Personally, I love them even though they do have bad bad points, but then again, I love everything about Star Trek, even at its worst.

There's no denying that there was a bit of period-typical misogyny in the original Star Trek, and it got worse in the long run after Rick Berman was selected for production. Latent misogyny, hetero and amatonormativity, as any 60-to-90s show does. To deny that would be stupid. But.

Star Trek was one of, if not the first, tv programs to depict people of different races working together, as equal as they could get in a military-like setting, in a time when segregation and Cold War were still a thing. A Black woman, an Asian man, a Russian one, a Scottish one, all holding a major position in a government vessel, all iconic characters to this day. Censorship never let him, but Gene Roddenberry, the original creator, always intended to include queer people in ST, as I will explain better later. ‌The original series had episodes which very clearly condemned nazism, racism, the Vietnam war, genocide. The Ferengi race of the Next Generation were created to be a satire of western capitalists but were wrongly pegged as an antisemitic stereotype. If a major character is disabled, they have accomodations made for them, they don't have their disability erased, though I hear that Strange New World kind of fucked that up. An episode of TNG was in protest of conversion therapy though people didn't like how it ended. A major theme of Deep Space Nine revolves around colonialism. It had the first black protagonist (commander and later captain); the first female first officer in the franchise to have a major role, who formerly fought in a resistance movement against a the occupation of her planet by a fascist imperialist race; the first trans woman in all but designation, who btw very much kissed another woman in an absolutely iconic scene; a canonically very neurodivergent doctor. Voyager had the first female captain to star in a series. Seven of Nine's character is particularly dear to me because while it's obvious that she was added mainly to boost and entice the male audience with her sex appeal (and well, I am sapphic and far from immune), it's also obvious how much the writers and Jeri Ryan cared for her storyline and growth. She's such a complex character, I really love her. Seven-centric episodes are always a treat for me. I can't remember anything else off the top of my head, sorry abt that (I also haven't watched Enterprise and the newest series yet so I can't talk about that).

Does ST have bad moments? Misogynistic, racist, homophobic, ableist, amatonormative moments? Hell yes. Some episodes are really cringy and have very bad writing. But there are more good ones than not, and those are the ones I live for, the ones that can give you a message that stays with you, where there was somebody in the crew/cast who read the script, saw something terrible, and went "this will not pass on my watch" and worked together to fix whatever they could. I'm sorry if your experience with Star Trek was with dudebros who think "the woke of the latest series ruined the franchise".

Now, about K/S. I believe with all my heart that nobody needs a reason to ship any two or more characters together. That said, I think Spirk is one of those ships where you have to wear anti-ship goggles not to see the potential (but no big deal if you don't). They touch each other all the time, they risk their life and career multiple times to save the other. This is not inherently a sign of non platonic feelings, and they sure aren't canon as we usually mean it, but.

Writers sure had a field day sprinkling suggestive bits (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) all throughout the franchise, especially queer writers (Theodore Sturgeon, writer of Amok Time and Shore Leave, may his soul be blessed for all eternity).

Bonus for how they look at each other. (1) (2) (3) (4)

Roddenberry himself described their relationship as one of love. It's not mentioned in the series, but in the books it's revealed that they share a telepathic bond that connects their souls, which in Vulcan culture is called t'hy'la which can mean "friend, brother, lover". This definition was created specifically for the two of them, so this is a very obvious wink/nudge, if not an outright acknowledgement that "yes they're in love, but homophobia exists so this is all we can do."

In The Motion Picture when Kirk looks at Spock like a lovesick puppy after a long separation, and the simple feeling not much later.

And can anyone dare to say that those death scenes from The Wrath of Khan and Into Darkness are supposed to be platonic, or what Kirk says about Spock at the beginning of The Search for Spock, that his death feels like he lost "the noblest part of his soul"? And what about "Not in front of the Klingons"??

The books, too, have some very interesting nuance.

Sooooo yeah I absolutely think that Spirk is and will always be the one ship that best comes to mind when it comes to ST. In my eyes and in those of a lot of people they're canon in every way that matters, and if either of them had been female there would have 100% been a marriage in one of the movies, à la Riker/Troi. They'll forever be my ST otp, though I'll occasionally indulge a little bit of Spones and McSpirk. I could even like and reblog other ships like McKirk or Spuhura but only in fanart and only in moderation. I personally wouldn't be interested in reading fanfiction about those. But every ship is valid and equal in fandom, and none is superior just because it's canon and/or had a major role in the birth of shipping culture. Which is the very point all this behemoth of a post originated from, I guess.

This.... Has turned into way more than I thought. Sorry about thay. I hope my answer was satisfactory, anon. Also that I didn't bore you. Hope you have a great day, and thank you for reaching out. ❤️🖖

[zmediaoutlet]

So um reading your latest and that throwaway line about Dean insisting it not be ~Cas~ but what really stuck with me was Sam being abs certain that Cas would do it and loves Dean. Made me really curious about where *your* canon (in the vein of wincest/gencest ofc) Cas is? I actually liked him in early seasons. Side note but it is so funny that Sam is always kind to Cas but abs resents anybody else like Benny, Crowley etc like all of these love your brother Sam what even?

happy wincest wednesday! (I'm counting this, lol.)

My canon Cas is pretty much the Cas I see in the show -- devoted to Sam and Dean, but let's be real, mostly to Dean, and who loves Dean in the way he knows best. But that doesn't mean that Dean reciprocates, at least not in the way Cas might forlornly hope.

I also really liked early seasons!Cas -- strange creature! actually alien in its feelings and thoughts! -- but I don't dislike him in the later seasons. Some of his plotlines... could use some work, and it was very obvious that he was being kept around for meta reasons as opposed to reasons that made more sense for the story. But! Characters can't help what their writers do. Setting all meta stuff and fandom wars and real world cringe aside, I was really fascinated by how Cas's characterization kept getting more human as a kind of... "liquid takes the shape of its container" story. And Cas was clearly fascinated by/devoted to/fond of Dean, and what do humans feel, when that's how their relationship with another person works? It makes total sense to me, really.

That said, and to repeat -- that doesn't mean Dean reciprocates. In this particular wincest world, and many others that are of the type that I write, I think Dean's intensely aware of masculine interest in him (much as he is with female interest), but with men there's an overlay of awareness of power dynamics and danger. There are a few moments in s4 and s5 where Dean's genuinely scared of Cas -- Cas is an angel! that's scary! -- but then when Cas transforms into their... kinda lame little friend, there's a switch that happens in how Dean treats him. It's not the respect of power -- it's not even really friendship, even though it takes the shape of camaraderie. Their relationship is really odd. It has its best chance, in s6 or so, but then of course Cas goes and ruins it -- and in a wincest world, and particular a world where Dean's ~queer, and particularly in a world where Dean's done sex work and knows what a certain kind of man wants from him: Cas has exactly zero chance. (If he even knew how to ask, in s6.)

As far as Sam: I think Sam also knows, more or less, that Cas has zero chance. Crisis of confidence in s8 aside (which was more about his own guilt than actual envy/jealousy), Sam knows that he is #1 in Dean Winchester's heart and always will be. Whether he'd put a physical element to Cas's feelings or not, I think he also sees that Cas is focused on Dean (I mean, the 'more profound bond' thing is true, even if it's been driven into the ground), and he knows that Dean finds that primarily weird, and with all that... he can afford to be kind. No sense treating someone badly when they're absolutely not a rival. Plus, he's actually better friends with Cas than Dean is, most of the time. With Benny or Crowley (or John, ahem), there's no friendship there, and Sam's still pretty sure that Dean won't pick them over him, but -- he doesn't do well when he thinks Dean's devotion might be split. Devotion to Cas... doesn't really enter into it. Sorry, Cas.

[denimbex1986]

'Perhaps no film in recent memory will leave you emotionally exploded into splinters like All of Us Strangers (now streaming on Hulu, as well as VOD services like Amazon Prime Video) does. Director/writer Andrew Haigh (45 Days) adapted Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers into this strange-but-beautiful drama, starring Andrew Scott as a writer who somehow jaunts through memory or space-time or something less explicable to visit his long-dead parents. Paul Mescal co-stars, appearing in his second gutpunch of the last year or so, after netting an Oscar nom for 2022’s Aftersun, and before he changes course to anchor the upcoming Gladiator 2. Get your hankies ready for this one, though, because the tears will come, and every damn last one of them will be painfully sincere.

ALL OF US STRANGERS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE 1987. Adam (Scott) finally types this after an undetermined length of time. It comes after – no, amidst, definitely amidst a bout of depression-fueled writer’s block. What it comes after is a day of hovering over the keyboard while staring hopelessly at a blank screen, an evening of sedentary snacking on the couch and an irritating fire alarm that drives him down to the street, where he looks up to see only one other apartment occupied in his entire building. (Why so empty? It’s just the first of many mysteries about Adam’s reality.) He returns to his flat and a moment later, Harry (Mescal) knocks on the door. He’s drunk. He chats up Adam a bit, asks to come in. But Adam gently says sorry, no, and they retreat to their respective residences.

Adam rifles through a box of artifacts, and comes across a photo of the home he lived in as a child. He takes the train out of London. Walks into a neighborhood. Holds up the photo to match the house. A boy looks out the window and their eyes meet and neither acknowledges the other with a wave or a nod or a smile, nothing. Adam knocks on the door and is greeted by his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy). They haven’t seen Adam in a long time. So long, they don’t know he’s a writer – TV and movie scripts. Oddly, they appear to be the same age as Adam. No, he’s older. By a few years or so, maybe. They catch up a little and Adam goes home.

The writer’s block seems to have loosened its grip on Adam now. He types some. He looks out the window with binoculars and spots Harry, who waves, comes up the flat, and comes in for a drink. No, not a drink, but a bit of weed in the vape pen. They talk, and determine they’re both queer. Well, “queer” was a pejorative for Adam for a long time. He prefers “gay.” That’s a generational thing. They kiss, have sex, share a little about themselves. Adam says his parents died in a car accident when he was 11, but he doesn’t say anything about visiting their ghosts, who appear to be trapped in a metaphysical conundrum. “I’m sorry,” Harry says empathetically. “It was a long time ago,” Adam replies. “I don’t think that matters,” Harry says.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: All of Us Strangers and David Lowery’s A Ghost Story are like sibling films of a sort. They’ll also bankrupt the Kleenex factory.

Performance Worth Watching: Scott – perhaps best known as The Hot Priest on Fleabag – is extraordinary in a role requiring close-up contemplation and emotional vulnerability. Given the power, I’d nudge a couple best actor Oscar nominees out of contention so he could get deserving recognition.

Memorable Dialogue: Harry breaks our goddamn hearts: “I know how easy it can be to stop caring for yourself,” he tells Adam during a devastatingly tender moment.

Sex and Skin: A couple of fairly intense, graphic sex scenes.

Our Take: The “rules” of reality in All of Us Strangers seem governed by intuition. I suspect it’s Occam’s Razor simple, but pondering the hows and whys of Adam’s esoteric excursions is a fool’s errand, like trying to fit a feeling into a Tupperware container. And although it’s easy to be distracted by an all-too-human need to intellectually define what’s happening here, it’s also wholly beside the point. A psychologist might dig up a cleaner interpretation of Adam’s experiences, but the rest of us should be content with being immersed in a womblike narrative that reflects the emotional isolation of a man who will never get over the sudden and brutal loss of his parents (note: no one would; closure is a myth), and also must wrestle with the outsiderism that gay people experience in a society that, in the words of the screenplay, has at least “gotten better” since the very 1987 viewpoints expressed by Adam’s parents, but still renders challenging some components of queer existence.

So there are layers to this story, all psychological and ethereal, and Haigh carefully sidesteps the maudlin in lieu of the mysterious. Watching the film is akin to submerging yourself in a bath with only your eyes and nose breaking the surface, so you can block out the noise of being tragically human and imagine a reality where deep, unquenchable yearnings can be fulfilled. The film veers from chilly and harsh to psychedelic and surreal, reflections of Adam’s depression. When he finds moments of connection with Harry – they’re two souls who perhaps need it more than most – warmth emerges like the heat kicking on after a lengthy power outage.

The less said about All of Us Strangers the better, it seems, although it’s not about its modest revelations. Haigh uses a fascinating narrative mechanism to cut through the fog of self-examination and loneliness to make a deceptively simple statement about the eternal nature of love. The idea is best illustrated in a pair of scenes in which Adam meets with one parent, and then the other, to discuss his sexuality: One is challenging and the other plaintive, and both are heartbreaking. They address regret, curiosity, judgment; the difficulties of being a parent and being a child; the ways in which the world around us has changed and stayed the same. I walked away thinking about how catharsis in any form is a powerful force, and how creativity – one senses the film is a deliberation on Haigh’s own experiences, to a degree; he filmed some of it in his family home – can be the fuel for breaking out of debilitating stasis. It’s about holding on, and it’s about letting go.

Our Call: All of Us Strangers is a remarkably profound film, and one that’ll cling to you tightly for days. STREAM IT.'

[mysweetlittlemuffin]

Before I get into this I was listening to Noel's cover of There is a light again and it fascinates me why out of all the smiths songs he could have chosen he chose that one. I personally think it's Noel's queer origin story in song form so I've decided to analyze the lyrics with Noel in mind enjoy. Also these are my opinions take them with a grain of salt thank you.

Take me out tonight Where there's music and there's people And their young and alive

Perhaps Noel wants to be around like minded individuals or in the context of this song and when it came out in 1986 other queer people.

Driving in your car I never, never want to go home Because I haven't got one anymore

Maybe he was afraid to tell his mother about his sexuality because he was afraid she'd kick him out.

Take me out tonight Because I want to see people And I want to see life

Again a nineteen year old Noel wanted to meet new people that were different from him.

Driving in your car, oh, please don't drop me home Because it's not my home, it's their home And I'm welcome no more

It's a fact Noel is a mama's boy so I'm sure the prospect of being unwelcome in her home because of something he had no choice in was to much for him.

And if a double-decker bus crashes into us To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die And if a ten-tonne truck kills the both of us To die by your side, well, the pleasure, the privilege is mine

Here comes my hot take its quite possibly an unpopular opinion but I think a teenaged Noel considered suicide more than once especially before he met Clint who brought a ton of joy into Noel's life. I'm sure even before the age of fifteen the hopelessness of Tommy's abuse made Noel consider it more than once. I think because of his internalized homophobia due to Tommy and Catholic guilt from being LGBT made Noel's mental state not the greatest despite Noel's words to the contrary.

Take me out tonight Take me anywhere, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care

Noel just wants to see what's out in the world outside of Manchester.

And in the darkened underpass I thought "oh god, my chance has come at last" But then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask

This is the part of the song that's the most interesting to me besides the chorus and how it relates to Noel. Because I have a few theories as to what these three lines mean in relation to him. The first would be the first time he approached a young man around his age presumably for sex i'd assume like age sixteen. But again that internalized homophobia made him panic and he couldn't do it.

Take me out tonight Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care, I don't care, I don't care

I'm sure seeing the world outside of Manchester was a breath of fresh air because of the amount of different cultures and languages and foods he got to experience as well as new people.

Driving in your car I never, never want to go home Because I haven't got one, la-di-dum, oh, I haven't got one Oh oh

If you really think about it it's heartbreaking that Noel thought Peggy wouldn't love him anymore or that he'd be unwelcome in her home because he's into men but unfortunately that was the late 80s and the norm.

And if a double -decker bus crashes into us To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die And if a ten-tonne truck kills the both of us To die by your side, well the pleasure, the privilege is mine

Noel totally didn't think and say these exact words to Clint definitely not.

Oh, there is a light and it never goes out Repeat seven times

Yeah I'm lazy I'm not typing it seven more times but I think for Noel the light that never goes out is either his love of music or the love of men either work.

For those of you that haven't heard it

[spiritintheteapot]

Yuletide Letter 2022

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thank you for offering a story in one of these awesome rare fandoms!

Some things I like (Gen):

Self-sufficiency and logistical planning. A character having a problem and taking initiative to solve it.

Stories that examine small, overlooked aspects of a world or a character. I like reading about strange ideas that don’t necessarily have top-selling tropes.

The mortifying ordeal of having to be in community (work, family, or elsewhere) with someone you just can’t stand. Petty drama and gossip!

Women chafing against the confines of their lives, and discovering healing friendships within and across gender lines, with people who also want women to be free.

Some things I like (shippy):

Established relationships, and the interpersonal dynamics that take time to arise between partners.

Partners supporting each other against outside conflicts.

Sex where partners switch between giving and receiving roles.

Sex with external vibrator use.

Verbal instructions during sex.

Stories that subvert stereotypes of butch women being dominant/aggressive/selfless in bed. (Bonus points when a butch woman puts on feminine clothing or underwear for an erotic context, when she won’t wear it for other occasions)

Global DNW:

Treats are welcome!

Any maturity level is A-okay for f/f ships.

DNW: content rated above G for other ships (e.g. m/f, m/m, poly ships)

DNW: sex scenes that feature anything phallic (e.g. a dildo), or any anal contact

DNW: non-con

DNW: significant torture, gore, body horror; I prefer you keep the work at a lighter level than the source material

DNW: “gross-out” humor

DNW: stories that don’t match a character’s canonical gender.

Elemental Logic - Laurie J. Marks 

I nominated this series because it is criminally underrated, while being among the best queer fiction in print. I can’t say enough about the delicacy and originality of the magic system. I love the complexity of our heroines, and the practical, steadfast way they work for a long-awaited peace. I love these books so much that I have been hosting a year-long fandom event for them (shaftal.tumblr.com is where to find that)

I’d like a story about Zanja and Karis helping each other with a difficult problem, which could be set any time after the end of Fire Logic. I didn’t request any other characters, but I also nominated Clement and Seth--if you have read Earth Logic and like them as much as I do, you are welcome to give them large supporting roles. I’m also happy to see Zanja and Karis’s whole family in small supporting roles. Maybe Zanja must represent the interests of some Border People to Shaftal, but their needs are very different from the Ashawala’i? Maybe Karis must resolve the situation with the Basdown cow dogs? Maybe Ocean’s successor makes herself known?

A League Of Their Own

Such a thoughtful show about women trying to realize their ambitions in a world full of closed doors. And all these queer heartbreakers, with so much shipping possibility! 

I’d like a story where Max and Lupe meet, and Carson is a catcher trying to mediate between two pitchers. There’s a ton of tension to explore in how she relates to each of them, and I’m interested in how they would see each other as well. I would be happy to see that tension turn intimate in any combination you’d enjoy writing (I ship all three pairings of these three), but deep platonic feelings are also great! If you want to write about all three of them in one relationship, I prefer that stories about poly triads emphasize the individual connections that make up the polycule, rather than reducing the triad to its macro view.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

What a movie! The immigration themes and the complex parent-child relationship are my favorite parts. For this fandom, I think the stranger and more abstract the fic, the better. Feel free to try out unusual writing styles and disjointed plots, go wild! I’m interested in seeing even more possibilities for what the relationships (of all kinds) in Evelyn’s life could be like, especially who Joy and Dierdre might be to her in other universes.

Suggested prompts: What if Evelyn and Dierdre’s divorces happen at the same time, and that is how they meet? What if Joy moves to a different country to pursue academic success? What if Evelyn worked for the IRS?

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Somehow Lower Decks managed to be the perfect Star Trek series, consistently funny and interesting and deep.

Suggested prompt: T’Lyn is transferred to the Cerritos. How does it go? Will Mariner recognize her for the elite Bad Girl she is?

Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo 

I nominated this book for its beautiful depiction of first love and erotic awakening, the loneliness of being multiply marginalized, and the power of collecting images and stories that reflect your queerness back at you in some way.

I’d find a post-canon story interesting--do Lily and Kath stay in love? Will they have a chance to build a home together like Tommy and Lana? Where are they when Kath gets her pilot’s license? Where are they during the moon landing? If they remain a couple, does Kath actually grow up to be butch, and does Lily like the femme role or is it uncomfortable for her? Does Lily try out a nonconforming gender expression of her own?

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon 

I nominated this book for its beautiful writing and empowered women. Ead’s outlook on life is just so good!

Suggested prompts: During their time apart, what do Ead and Sabran write to each other about? Leading up to the final battle, how does Ead approach training Tané, who is presumably her first student of magic? (Does Sabran help her plan lessons?) When Ead comes home to take up the mantle of Prioress, how is she received? (Does she need Sabran to comfort her when someone doesn’t accept her authority?)

[myaimistrue]

del myaimistrue’s underrated destiel fic recs! (part 1)

these are all fics i’ve read and realllllllly enjoyed, and they’re all ones that i don't often see people discussing on here. bc of that they all either have less than 10k hits OR were published pre-2015 OR both. i hope you all like them, and if you do, please consider giving the authors some love and leaving a comment saying so. we fic writers live off that kinda stuff :)

list under the cut, organized by word count!

I Know! Straight Out of a Telenovela, Right? by @credentiast

quick 800ish word meta joke about y yo a ti. so sweet and domestic and lovely. i read this right after it was uploaded and have gone back to read it multiple times since then. always makes me smile!

strap the wing to me by a_good_soldier (aka @s11e17)

as i’m sure we all know, basically everything a_good_soldier writes is wonderful. this little 1.9k bit of sweetness is one of my personal favorites of theirs, and is sorely underrated. a bit of conversation between dean and cas about how much cas loves him. nothing like holy devotion to a human man!

The First Thing There Is by bendingsignposts

cas seals off dean's memories as part of the effort to stop michael, and amnesiac dean immediately realizes that cas loves him. 5k of really sweet, in-character moments and a healthy dose of humor.

Eyes Like the Texas Sky by RogueTranslator

do you hate john winchester? do you want to read about dean’s queer awakening and how that relates to his love of cowboys? do you love sweet stories about finding love and acceptance in places you didn’t expect? this 5.6k fic is for you! dean tells cas the story of the first guy he ever had feelings for, and boy is it sweet and heart-wrenching and wonderful.

Nothing Equals the Splendor by RurouniHime

7.8k fic in which 15x20 was all part of a djinn dream. perhaps my all-time favorite finale fix-it (which is why it’s on this list despite having like 12k hits shhh) featuring full-powered angelic cas blowing out all the lights in the bunker when he and dean have sex. beautifully written and so sweet. and the sequel is also great--highly recommended as well

Telemetry by scifive

DEAN STUDIES FIC!!! 9k set during the first seven episodes of season 4 that actually addresses and deals with dean’s ptsd and trauma from hell. dean’s voice is absolutely perfectly in-character. also it’s pre-relationship destiel but the moment with them at the very end is so tender and lovely.

the pie isn’t a metaphor (it’s just pie) by noviembre

9.3k post-canon fic in which dean and cas get comfortable with their relationship and bake some pies together. it’s a very soft little story that features dean being head over heels and cas being beautifully sarcastic.

Talk Therapy by shara

9.3k of dean figuring out what he wants from cas and how to be in a relationship with him. sex-focused, but intentional about what details are shared so it feels very natural and sweet. cas is so steadfast as dean tries to unlearn what he’s been taught his whole life.

it’s such a mystery (the way you know me) by fleeceframe

another memory loss fic, except it’s cas this time! 10k words about cas getting hit with a temporary memory loss spell and his rediscovery of love and friendship. straight up this one made me cry happy tears. fleeceframe writes beautiful stuff, and this one is no different--the language is just gorgeous.

killing time by orestespdf

11.2k post-canon fic. it’s kind of a day in the life of dean and cas in the lake house they’ve made their home that doubles as a cas character study. very cathartic and romantic.

Kingdom Come by ahurston

17.3k cas comes back from the empty fic featuring a road trip and lots of cas introspection. dean and cas’s interactions are so so so in-character the entire time, and the final moments of the story are absolutely perfect. one of my personal favorite fix-its.

a certain light by flightagain

24.3k au in which cas works at a gas-n-sip and dean’s a customer that comes in a lot, with a supernatural twist! this story is so gorgeous and gentle, and dean and cas’s relationship is portrayed beautifully. if you’re a cas fan, this story is his from pov and nails it in a way that i think is really hard to do in an au. 

Peace And Good Luck to All Men by KismetJeska

31.3k human au in which dean is anna’s boyfriend she brings home for christmas, and he and cas immediately click. i am not a big au person, especially when it comes to angel characters, but this fic is so genuinely in character and still hilarious. also a long time fandom classic.

Everybody Needs the Light by opal_bullets

46.5k words of another banger by opal_bullets of poet dean fic fame! actually i might like this one just a little better which should tell how great this one is. it takes place pre-series. dean stops at an old motel in minnesota that cas is running, and something strange is going on… this fic has one of the most interesting conclusions i’ve read in a spn fic and there is such a cool atmosphere to the whole piece. highly recommended if you’re a fan of mysteries and/or supernatural’s angelic dynamics and/or pre-series dean.

Smells Like Roses by orphan_account :(

53.8k words. an absolute classic. seriously, if you haven’t read this, ESPECIALLY if you’re a dean girl, it’s a must-read. set in season 5, dean has a vivid djinn dream of an entire life he spends married in domestic bliss with cas. when he gets pulled out of it, he struggles to readjust and focus on the coming apocalypse. dean is so in-character and so heart-breaking. def a dean thesis fic with a healthy side of destiel sweetness.

The Hanged Man by ellispark

87.6k words. PARK RANGER CAS. literally need i say more?? if that alone hasn’t sold you, the story is that he finds dean out in the woods after someone has tried to kill him, and the mystery unfolds from there as the two of them grow closer. the plot is really interesting and in-character despite being an au. also, if non-verbal dean is something you like/find interesting, you will really love this fic. absolutely worth the read and frankly deserves more hits!

[fatalism-and-villainy]

This is also more personal preference than actual critique of the writing, even though it does tie in with the kind of thing I'm talking about in that last post, but - I just don't like it when a character who (from what I can tell) always thought of himself as straight has this realization that he's not, but that realization isn't really dwelt on or given a lot of focus. Like, even if you don't have a problem with gay people, it's still a weird thing to realize about yourself, ime. There might not be much fear or self-loathing to the realization, but it can still be surprising and disorienting, and constitute a pretty significant paradigm shift. And in a romance, I think that should come through in the sex as well - because it's something new and exciting, and a bit strange, but thrilling because of how right it feels despite the strangeness.

And yet, again, that's all glossed over here. You've got this guy who's never been with a guy before, but who acclimatizes to it with seemingly no problem and just starts sucking dick and taking it up the ass like it's nothing. It's not psychologically realistic, imo, but - perhaps more importantly - it's soooo not hot.

(And that's not even getting into the wholehearted acceptance they get from literally everyone else around them. Like, the violent criminal world is still super queer positive somehow, in its wackily rendered romcom form?)

The whole approach sort of reminds me of fandom's approach to trans headcanons - they're both just sort of defanged and boring representations. They're often pretty wish fulfillment, but completely lacking in the kind of complicatedness or epistemic negotiation that actually makes me feel fulfillment or joy about any of this stuff. I guess it appeals to others, but it's like flat ginger ale to me.

[baya-ni]

Renga Shouldn’t Be Canon (clickbait)

No but seriously, I hope that Renga doesn’t become canon, at least not in the way that I think a lot of people are hoping that it will. Personally, I’m not expecting anything close to a kiss and confession and that’s fine by me.

Queerbaiting is a problem in mainstream media, there’s no doubt about it, and many people both within and outside the queer community are right to feel wary about hoping for that kind of representation. Personally, I’m still caught by surprise every time a queer person or couple is depicted in a normalized and healthy way onscreen. And that just speaks to the appallingly poor representation queer people are so used to seeing.

But I think that fandom likes to throw the word “queerbaiting” around a bit haphazardly, much in the same way faux woke people throw around words like “gaslighting” and “cancel culture”. They’ve become buzz words to evoke immediate feelings of self-righteousness and to prey on person’s fear of appearing ignorant or bigoted.

Unfortunately, I worry that when the season inevitably ends without Renga’s “canonization”, people will unfairly label Sk8 as Queerbait. And I have many Feelings about this- mostly frustration.

But we’re only mid-season. I can only guess where the show is going to go and only make assumptions about fandom behavior based on personal experience, and there’s a high possibility I’ll be proven totally wrong so... take whatever I say with a grain of salt. But anyway, let’s get on with it.

Fundamentally, Sk8 isn’t shoujo, it’s not BL- it’s a sports anime. And while that doesn’t preclude a total absence of romance between its characters, ultimately those aren’t the kinds of relationships that sports anime concerns itself with. The most prominent relationships you’ll see will be more along the lines of Teammates and Rivals (there's also a third dynamic I'm calling Opponents which is Not the same as Rivals but the Opponents dynamic is less relevant to my point so I'll focus on just the first two).

However, it's not hard to see why romantic interpretations are so common among fans of sports anime. At their core, the basis of Teammate and Rival dynamics bear many similarities to that of a compelling romance. Both Teammate and Rival relationships are built upon two characters' mutual admiration and respect for one another, they involve characters learning from one another and being inspired to push themselves to be their best. There's a great deal of trust involved, as is vulnerability, communication, and empathy. In other words, all the essentials of any healthy relationship.

But context and genre are important. I think that a good romance is one that is unique to its characters specific personalities and needs, as well as is believable within the context of the setting and story. For an anime like Sk8, I would find an on-screen kiss strange and out of place (unless it was done for comedic effect which would be... bad).

I'm reminded of this quote from Portrait of a Lady on Fire, which is one of my all time favorite films:

"Do all lovers feel as though they are inventing something? I know the gestures. I imagined them all waiting for you."

And that basically sums up what I've described, albeit more poetically. Love is invention. Romantic gestures form a unique language between lovers. And if I may add, genre and narrative establish the basis for the emotional significance of these gestures.

In a genre like action/thriller, one of the most meaningful things a character can do is risk their safety or straight up sacrifice themselves for another, because bodily harm and physical risks drive the tension in these kinds of narratives. In the romance genre, confessions, physical intimacy, and grand romantic displays serve the same purpose. In something like sports anime, I argue that its gestures like physically accommodating for your teammate, supporting them when they feel dejected, and being motivated to train harder and be better for the sake of being allowed to stand beside them, that hold equivalent significance.

But this is all broadly speaking, and genre is just one element. Characters’ personalities, habits, insecurities, and trauma, as well as a story’s themes, further specify the kinds of gestures that hold the most meaning in a narrative.

Let’s look again at Portrait of a Lady on Fire, on my favorite scenes:

Portrait is interested in subverting the power imbalance inherent between the Artist and the Muse, the Voyeur and the Subject, the Looker and she who is Looked At. Heloise’s observations of Marianne hold great significance because of this theme; she disrupts the power imbalance by taking back agency as the Subject, demonstrating that she is just as capable of Looking at the Artist just as the Artist does at her. This is visually represented by the framing of the final shot. With the camera pulled back, we now see Marianne as Heloise has been seeing her, and she is now subject to being visually scrutinized in the same way that Heloise has been up to this point in the film.

This scene is so poignant because the romantic gesture it depicts ties heavily to the story’s themes, its characters’ personalities, and its existence is believable within its genre.

Now, let’s bring this all back to Sk8. In this show, what sort of gestures are given the most significance?

Skateboarding. Duh.

Basically, this line establishes that “basis for emotional significance” that I mentioned earlier, such that skating is the means by which characters and relationships are developed and the plot is driven forward, that any and everything related to skating potentially holds symbolic meaning.

And specifically, equating the act of skating to love then allows for more romantic interpretations of all kinds of scenes. Take for example, these parallel sets of shots from ep 1:

(I mean cmon look at his tiny blush, it’s fucking adorable) And:

In a show that equates skating to a “ritual of love”, these scenes can be realistically be interpreted as Langa and Reki falling in love with one another. Skating acts as both the catalyst for their relationship as well as later on being the means by which they express their feelings and develop their relationship.

Skating is their love language.

Ok, I’ll try to wrap this up since this post has gotten wayyy too long. But basically my point is that Renga is about as canon as this show could possibly make it within the confines of its genre and narrative. Romance in sports anime is different from romance in shoujo, but it’s romance all the same, in the same way that different people express love in different ways.

A kiss and confession is not the only means by which a ship can become canon. And I personally would much rather have this kind of carefully crafted symbolism than a kiss just randomly shoehorned in.

But I understand that in the face of centuries of censorship, cop-outs, and barely believable and forced heteronormativity, people want same-sex intimacy onscreen, unapologetic and normalized. I get that.

But in my opinion, Sk8 isn’t queerbait, and it shouldn’t be accused as such just because its characters won’t kiss onscreen. I think this show depicts a wonderful and loving relationship between two boys, that isn’t any less loving just because it doesn’t fit into conventional romantic tropes.

Edit: I did a followup post about Sk8 and its queer representation here, where I go more in depth into the ways that Sk8 represents queerness through beyond its implied homo-romantic relationships.

So yeah, I’d love to hear yalls thoughts :)

[vanquishedvaliant]

So there’s this trend I’m seeing on social media about people boycotting / encouraging people not to buy the upcoming Mass Effect remasters.

The reasonings being somewhat varied, some valid, others not, but mostly centering around one thing in specific; cut content relating to same sex relationships that didn’t make it into the games.

Now, I understand not being interested in the product being offered; I’m probably not going to buy it myself for a lack of specific features like multiplayer and... just not needing the buy the game for my fifth or sixth time. It’s completely valid to think the remasters are just not doing enough for you to justify a purchase, or that their faith in the company doing it properly in their current state isn’t there. I get that.

But the mood that’s come up lately isn’t just disinterest; it’s downright outrage. Violent, ideologically charged opposition to even the concept of the remasters because of a perceived failure to meet their extremely specific and often high standards and notions of progressiveness.

Now it’s not exactly news that Bioware has had a rocky relationship with inclusivity over the years, with queer characters flitting in and out of recognition and prominence, appropriation of queer archetypes, and less than stellar execution of what characters they do include. I’ve had my complaints with these myself from time to time, though it’s still always struck me historically as a generally positive, if clumsy attempt at progress that I appreciated despite the flaws; remember that the original Mass Effect 1 came out in 2007, and was the focus of a major media scandal about even including romantic relationships at all in the game, nevermind same sex ones. That’s 14 years ago! The most recent game in the series is 9 years old!

We can talk about the social standards of the times and the progress we’ve made, and we can also talk about the merits of restoring and improving media as it was, or recreating it to more closely reflect the values of today and which or both of them is a worthwhile pursuit, but I don’t think that’s what’s being sincerely argued here.

What we see instead is some protestation that failure to make the exacting changes that they see fit according to their personal ideology is some kind of radically regressive statement, as if it’s a conscious, malicious decision and not either one made in good faith or not at all. This movement has collectively decided that the remaster needs to contain exactly the changes that fit their fleeting whims or the entire thing’s at best a wash and a wasted effort, and in some cases a ‘homophobic’ statement of hatred, or cynically callous laziness. 

Let’s remember; the focus of this argument is the presence of available simulated dating options in a 14 year old game. The arguments posits that some of these alternative options are ones that were cut from the release of the games, notably the first one, and have some or numerous assets that exist in various forms within the game files that with some work can be accessed in the game with user-made modifications. Some of this is true; though much of it is exaggerated or misconstrued in terms of its scope or viability.

Many of these people just assume that this cut content that someone else has restored in a mod somewhere is just some sort of simple toggle done in moments without effort, ignoring the work those modders did on their own time and money to introduce those features. 

Even if we just hand wave any standards of quality or continuity or polish and integration these mods have, you have to consider the dozens to hundreds of volunteer man hours of labor these fans put into many of those mods to make them viable that a company paying it’s employees a fair wage and time to do without overworking has to budget. Which I should mind to you is something also incredibly topically relevant in game dev these days. Adding new content costs money. Restoring old content, still costs money.

Even then, the viability of many of those original assets is at question in itself; the 'ingredients’ used to create the content are not equivalent to the ‘cooked’ content found in the game files, so some of them are difficult to work with or lacking in features or quality. Hell, we know for a fact that half of the god damn development data for ME1 is just fucking gone, which is why the DLC isn’t making an appearance in the remaster at all; it just doesn’t exist anymore and would need to be remade from utter scratch.

Now there’s a dozen reasons undertakings like these would or wouldn’t make their list of priorities for remaster given the other work they are doing re; texture and model uprezzing, gameplay updates, etc. It’s not exactly strange for them to recreate the game largely as it was with a more limited scope of changes. Perhaps the decision was made to preserve some parts of the game largely as it was; with mostly minor cosmetic changes to things like Miranda’s camera angles; things that don’t have much overhead or ripple effect. Perhaps restoring the content was considered, but didn’t make the cut- maybe for the same reasons it didn’t make it into the game in 2007. Maybe for different ones.

Only the people involved know.

Now, would I like to see some of that content restored and improved? Sure! I think it’d have been a great thing if they’d promoted the series as having new or restored content; if they’d promised us such things. But they haven’t, and while it’s one thing to praise taking an initiative like that if they had, I think it’s completely unreasonable to be outraged that they didn’t.

We can celebrate that kind of outstanding and excellent steps forward in inclusivity, but we have to understand that while someone not being ahead of the curve may not be exciting or even disappointing; it is not in itself an act of directed aggression. And treating it like one is a waste of time and energy that we can direct to protesting actual aggression, or celebrating those outstanding steps.

But here’s the major thing that kills me; all those mods they love and praise aren’t going anywhere.

The remaster will come out and unless Bioware is so completely tone deaf and media blind from the past year they pull a WC3, the old versions of the game will all still be available. All those user made mods they cite in these arguments about “how easy” it is to add content to the game will still be there, ready to play as they always were. Some of them might even work or be easily made to work with the new versions!

All of that will still be there! And we’ll have access to a new version of the trilogy that is far more accessible to new players who haven’t yet been exposed to so much of the games content that they are desperate for more of it.

Just look at Mass Effect 1; that game has not aged well, and it was kind of a sloppy mess even when it came out! How many new players can we get to enjoy all the good things the series has to offer with an easily accessed, more enjoyable package to play through the entire series without issue? I’ve done numerous replays of the trilogy through the years, and Mass Effect 1 is always a huge stumbling block. It’s just a pain in the ass, straight out. Don’t you want at least the option to fix that?

And if not, you don’t have to buy it and no harm is done to you! Enjoy your existing version with your mods and familiar features and flaws.

And if you truly, genuinely care so passionately about Bioware improving their record of inclusivity; look instead to the new game that’s coming out and look forward to that instead. Every game in the franchise has been better than the last at this; ME1 cut the same sex relationships, but ME2 had some. ME3 had even more, and then Andromeda had yet even further than that after patching!

How many will the new game have?

Look forward to that and make it clear to bioware you’re looking for that in their games; just.... ease off this ridiculous vitriol in trying to get people to avoid the remaster because it’s not good enough for you. No one needs to have this bullying done to either the developers themselves or the players looking to buy the game for themselves or others. It’s simply not productive.

Especially with this franchise’s sordid history with excessive media outrage and entitlement that’s been absolutely exhausted.

Just... relax. And have some perspective.