#if this post is incoherent blame covid brain

[likeabxrdinflight]

...can we discuss the obviously unintended but nevertheless possible queer reading of anzu, given her being in love with an extremely queer-coded man, hanging out mainly with guys, and her immediate and (mostly) unwarranted dislike of the stereotypically straight presenting, conventionally attractive mai

I mean she had a point in disliking mai at first, mai wasn't a great person at the start, but anzu really latches onto these frankly misogynistic reasons for disliking her- anzu didn't mistrust mai because she was cheating, she mistrusted her because she was hot and distinctly feminine. obviously anzu comes around with mai eventually and ends up regarding her as a friend, but it sure didn't start that way. anzu's initial attitude honestly has big "I'm not like other girls" energy- and a lot of girls I personally knew back in the early 2000s who carried around that attitude (myself included) have since come out as some kind of queer.

and again maybe this is just a me projecting thing, but back when I thought I was straight (lol) the men I would "choose" to have crushes on had a tendency to be a bit..................femme-y. and atem? he's a little effeminate sometimes. there's a reason so much of the yugioh fandom reads him as queer himself- many of his mannerisms have a feminine flare to them, especially when you compare him to some of the more stereotypically "masculine" characters like jounouchi and honda.

I'm not saying anzu's feelings for atem aren't real, I think they are- but I do think you can interpret some queerness into the fact that that's the guy she falls for. it's not uncommon for us to be drawn to our own, even unconsciously.

she's also portrayed as a little tomboyish, especially in early season 0, but that's pretty subtle and does change a bit by season one of duel monsters. but it's not uncommon for queer women to bond with guys or to disown some degree of femininity, feeling like they don't have a lot in common with girls their age. this wasn't my personal experience but I've known lesbians and non-binary AFAB people who felt this way.

I'm painting in somewhat broad strokes here, obviously none of these things mean someone definitely is queer, nor are they inherent to female queer identity. Nevertheless, you could interpret it that way.

.............but what does make her queer is her love of broadway musicals and dreams of being a dancer in new york okay good NIGHT