#it’s also homophobic to pretend like people who notice things that are queer about her are making it up

[half-moonshine-full-eclipse]

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[nymphadora7]

yuri and kitty make sense. it did not come out of nowhere. the rom com meet cute? all of the tension while yuri was “dating” dae and how easily that tension transfers to romantic tension after kitty’s dream? that doesn’t come out of nowhere. kitty and yuri in the beginning of the show are two people who are at odds but don’t really want to be at odds. once the dae situation is mostly resolved, they become fast friends, which it’s foreshadowed they can be in episode 1. moreover, kitty has been with dae since she was 12. she clearly has been focused on him and not herself, and her interest in yuri is allowed to flourish because she is not with dae when it begins. she does not think she will be with dae. and she is in fact actively looking for someone to kiss. moreover, even if it was out of nowhere (which it isn’t) kitty is 17 (16?). at that age, crushes appear out of nowhere all. the. time. and while it might not have been the best idea to tell yuri about her feelings, kitty thought she would never see her again. sometimes the right thing for you, the thing that will let you keep going, is going to hurt someone else. doesn’t make it okay, just is. and on top of that, she didn’t fully confess anyway. and kitty’s not known for making good decisions, since literally the first tatbilb movie. it’s up to yuri now to decide what to do with this information. she clearly has wanted juliana to come back, and it is unlikely she will drop juliana because of kitty’s aborted confession. additionally, the few times we’ve seen juliana have been 1) the flashback, 2) the kiss in the janitor’s closet (neither of which reveal much about her), 3) the phone call in the tent, 4) the phone call in kitty/yuri/q’s room, and 5) the scene at the airport. in 2 and 3, juliana seems to have resigned herself to a life without yuri, and seems honestly shocked that yuri cared enough to go to such lengths to find her. what does that say about what juliana thinks of the relationship that yuri is so invested in? in 4 and 5, 4 explicitly, juliana is worried about yuri’s friendship with kitty, and jealous of it, and pushes the fact that she doesn’t quite trust yuri’s telling her the truth about the platonic nature of their friendship. to be clear, i have absolutely nothing against juliana. i am interested and curious to see her as a full character in season 2, and i do, in fact, desperately hope that they do not villainize a black queer female character. on the other hand, black queer women can be toxic partners. limiting othered people to only heroic, savior-like, positive roles, is also not great. and exhibiting jealous and mistrusting behavior already when we have so few, brief scenes of her is to me an orange flag. i’m not worried about it yet, but i have noticed it. and often, people who imply that they don’t trust their partner not to cheat, have already cheated themselves. once again, i hope this is untrue, i hope i’m wrong. finally, kitty was not in the right to almost confess to yuri, but it is not the cardinal sin some people are pretending it is. yuri and juliana may continue, they may not. whatever happens, it won’t be kitty’s fault. it is not inherently homophobic if you don’t ship kittyuri, or if you ship minty. it is homophobic to perpetuate this idea that the ship came out of nowhere simply because you don’t ship it and have refused to see what the show is explicitly showing.

in this same vein, min ho and kitty make sense. it did not come out of nowhere. and while min ho might not have had the best timing with telling kitty his feelings, he did in fact wait until he had confirmation that she was no longer with dae. he might have said something further had the PA not interrupted, but he did not appear to expect anything from her in return after he told her (just as kitty did not appear to expect anything in return from yuri when she almost confessed). kitty is shocked, but very clearly not upset about the information. to us, it is clear that min ho has liked kitty for a while, probably longer than he knew or let on. sometimes so called “hatred” for someone is genuinely that, but as demonstrated in xo kitty, it is often the exact opposite. (i am of course talking about disliking someone interpersonally for muddled reasons, not disliking someone for genuine reasons, i.e. they’re a harmful person.) dislike for someone is often based on someone protecting themselves for whatever reason. based on all that we know about min ho, he has a lot of family related issues, and a lot of reason to put up walls in order to protect himself. he is initially “anti-kitty” because he thinks dae should explore his options with someone he is in the same country with and then because he thinks yuri is a better option. a lot of this quite clearly stems from the way he was raised, the fact that his father is on wife #3, and the classism that very much exists in korea (as it does in many places) and honestly probably because kitty is half-white (i am not saying there is racism against white people, there isn’t. i’m saying that there is often unfortunate biases against mixed kids from both/all of their communities). in the chuseok episode, he says “my parents thought they were true love, and then had the messiest divorce ever” (or something to that effect). that line is so telling: min ho doesn’t believe in true love, or maybe even love at all. he looks at it as transactional, what can i get from them and what can they get from me? it’s evident in his failed (i think?) tryst with the k pop star whose name is escaping me, and in his situationship with madison. but spending so much time around kitty specifically changes his mind about these things. slowly, at first, and then much more rapidly. he’s still cocky, arrogant min ho, but he chills out a lot over those first few episodes. i think he appreciates that kitty actually responds to his teasing and one ups him oftentimes. and when he calls her his saesang, it’s so funny bc he is so clearly the one obsessed with her at all times throughout season 1. also, the dream happens after the chuseok episode, where they noticeably get closer. there is buildup! he thinks she’s beautiful when she enters his party, and is actively trying to resist his crush on her (because he thinks he shouldn’t have a crush on his friend’s girlfriend) when he reacts to it being her. he respects that he thinks she and dae are still into each other and moves his attention to madison. he knows her order in the detention episode. he is upset for her when he finds out yuri and dae lied. he saves her from the fireworks. he does not fight back against dae after dae attacks him because he thinks dae has the right to. he looks visibly shattered when kitty says min ho isn’t the one she was talking about. also, min ho would not have made the effort to sweet talk some flight attendant to find kitty’s seat and sit in coach because of nothing. 

with both kittyuri, and with minty, they are one sided crushes (at least at the moment) with potential to be reciprocated, and i think people are misinterpreting them because of that. neither of them came out of nowhere, neither of them are toxic, and neither of the two ships involving teenagers include characters who are morally bad.

in conclusion, let people ship things. ship things yourself! and most of all, do not take things that seriously. shipping should never be a war. even if you personally don’t like a ship, it is shitty to go and actively hate the ship, especially if the ship is not doing you any harm, especially if you go into the positive spaces for that ship to spread your hate. if you don’t ship something, do not interact with content for that ship. it is not that hard. it is 2023, not 2013. ship whatever the hell you want.

[afy2018]

Revised* Second Night Stand

“She just seems a bit off,” Kara immediately stated to her colleague.

“Who?” Lena pushed the box of sweets closer with her boot.

“Alex.”

“What do you mean she’s been off?”

Kara dramatically sprawled across the nice couch and took a large bite out of a donut. “I can’t describe it, but I just know. I feel it in my bones.” She suddenly sat up straight, “You know, it started when I came out to her.”

“She’s not, like, a homophobe, right?”

“No,” she vehemently denied, “that’s the thing. It was when she found out it was Mags. That’s when it began.”

Lena sat on the coffee table as she nibbled on her sweet. “How’s her love life been?”

“What love life?”

She perked an eyebrow at the statement, “Mhm, well when was the last time she dated or even had sex?”

“Ugh, I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that last little bit there.”

“Don’t you ever wonder, like, for her health?”

“Stop!” she protested covering her ears. “Do you think about your brother like that?”

“I don’t need to. That incel hasn’t been laid since college, that’s why he’s such a prick. So, boy or girl?”

“Last person she showed off to the family was when she was twenty-three? A boy, fuckboy by today’s standards. He had a diamond ring, bleached tips,” she laughed during her recollection, “and a gold necklace. I don’t think she even liked him. Wait, did you say girl?”

“What if she doesn’t like men? Maybe she’s worried that she’s gay? Maybe she still thinks she’s straight and thinks she’s, well, broken?” Lena suggested. “What if she envies you and Maggie?”

“I don’t know. I also wouldn’t want to put her in a weird position if she wasn’t queer.”

“Then wait until something happens, I don’t know. What made you think about that?”

“Nothing, really. Or everything. It doesn’t matter. What about your night?”

“Other than the usual press release about my brother’s whereabouts, not too bad. I even got an hour in my lab.”

“Careful, people might think you’re shady.”

“Oh, that, yeah. You saw it?”

“It was released by Catco, of course, I saw it.”

“I know I can’t ask, but I really want to know who the dog whistler is. I swear I’m not doing anything weird down there. I haven’t bought any Kryptonite, I still have my hair,” she poorly joked.

Kara rolled her eyes, “I’m not worried about that. In my opinion, even though you didn’t ask, I would stay out of the lab for a while, maybe work on your stuff up here and go there after hours.”

“And that’s not shady?”

“Once you’re off the clock, it’s your personal time and- oh, no, I see now.”

“No way to win in this situation. I’ll just stay out of my not-so-secret lair.”

Kara chuckled at the dramatic line and cheered her donut with her friend’s. “I will not break code, but it wasn’t someone who works here.”

“What?”

“That’s all I know. It wasn’t a very reputable source, but they were vetted by the journalist.’

“Why did you tell me? Now I want to dig into it.”

Kara’s pager went off, so she shoved another donut in her mouth on her way out. “Sorry, I have to go.”

“Maggie?”

“Yup,” she confirmed through a mouthful.

“I hope you get luckier than me,” Lena called after her.

Once out of the line of sight of the public, Kara blasted off to DEO, still munching her treat as she walked into the building. She spotted her sister on the bridge, speaking with her superior. Once she noticed Kara, she wiped her thumb across the corner of her mouth. Kara copied her as she approached the situation.

“What’s going on?”

“Just an update, Director Henshaw,” she segued to him.

As he gave the long-winded update, Alex watched her sister closely. She couldn’t help but worry about how much time she was spending with Lena. She’d seen what happened when lark became an investigative reporter. He had already been such a target as his alter-ego, he had to be selective with who he contacted for his stories. Clark would rarely meet people in public and never took on large stories for fear of being outed. It made her worry about what Lena knew, then again if Kara trusted her, maybe she should let her go. Maggie turned out to be better than she initially thought, however, the time spent between Luthor and her sister was inappropriate for someone so high-profile. After a moment to gather herself, Alex chose to confront her sister about Lena rather than let it fester.

Once Henshaw left, she pulled her sister to the side. “I saw you were at Luthor Corp again.”

“You know that’s not the name anymore, Alex.”

“You’re spending too much time with Lena.”

“Well Cat assigned me to her, so I have to spend a little time getting some juicy stories?”

“Does she know about you?”

“No, no,” she tried to assure her. “Only that you’re DEO and Sawyer of course. Although, if she’s smart like her brother… but if so, she hasn’t mentioned it. I trust her Alex, so don’t intervene, like you like to do.”

“I don’t intervene.”

Kara only shot her an astonished smirk, “Look, if you’re so worried, we can all meet up at a cafe this weekend. Wear something kick ass.”

“I know how to dress.”

“Okay, well I have someone waiting for me, so if I’m not needed, I’m off.”

“I’ll see you around.”

“Loosen up, Danvers,” she mockingly called to her sister on her way to the elevator.

Alex sucked her teeth as the doors closed, prying eyes searching to read her well-hidden emotions. She went back to her office to gather the last of her belongings before she could get saddled with any more paperwork. Once everything was filed and locked away, she went out to her bike and slipped through the commute traffic until she arrived at Al’s trusted E.T.-friendly bar. The quaint establishment housed highly-trusted and low-threat aliens. Alex sat at the bar, soon served by M’gann.

“What should I start you off with?”

“You can read, right?”

“Yes,” she curtly began, “I just hoped to hear your beautiful outside voice.”

“Outside voice?”

“Yes, your internal soundtrack is so monotone.”

Alex shrugged off the slight. “How’ve you been?”

“Good, lazy crowd as usual and the others,” she stated as she set down her Jack & Coke.

“What do I owe you?”

“Only one drink?”

“I’m not staying long.”

“$9, then.”

Alex placed down a sawbuck, “Keep the change.”

“You seem stressed, deeper than your conscious brain.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well on top of this being your fourth time here in the week, not that I’m complaining, you’re internal voice isn’t really finishing its sentences.”

“I just- I’m having some trouble. I feel like I’m being childish, though,” she explained in frustration.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, I just want to drink here and start the next day. Thank you, though, M’gann.”

She politely smiled and went to attend to a new customer. Alex finished her drink and headed for the door, doubling back for her jacket before accidentally getting body checked by another patron.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot my jacket,” Alex quickly apologized.

“It’s okay, my fault,” she returned.

She regarded her a little, “Luth- Lena?”

“Yes, you don’t need to be weird about it. The others aren’t,” she casually stated.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you feel weird.”

“What’s your name?”

“Alex.”

Lena studied her carefully until she caught her badge glint off a blinking light. “Danvers, would you happen to know or be related to Kara Danvers from Catco?”

“Yes, she’s my sister.”

“She’s very nice, she’s actually one of my closest friends out here.”

“She’s mentioned you before.”

“By your tone, I can tell you’re a little suspicious. I understand.”

“It’s not you-”

“It’s Lex, yeah.”

“But, I’m sure you’re nice enough.”

Lena couldn’t help but have fun at Alex’s expense.

“You know, Kara wanted us to meet over coffee this weekend-”

“Do you want to meet over a drink now?”

Alex was held aback slightly by her forward question, “Sure, why not?”

“Okay,” Lena smiled. “Why don’t you find a spot for us while I get drinks? What’s your poison?”

“I’ll just take a domestic.”

She returned with their drinks to one of the standing tables in the center of the room. “You really want to be this seen with a Luthor,” she jested.

“I just don’t mind standing is all,” she blundered through.

Lena continued to assess the older Danvers sister before her making her next statement. “You know, Kara says great things about you. She talks about the amazing work you do, taking out gangs to protect the world.”

“She does more important things than me,” she honestly stated.

“So, how did you find out about this place?”

“Maggie told me about it. She’s human, but was kind of adopted by the community.”

“And so were you.”

“I could ask the same about you. You said you can be yourself, what did you mean by that?”

“Well, Lex is a xenophobe, but I see this place as a spot for outcasts. People don’t judge me here.”

“I understand. I’m also human, but being here lets me gain their trust.”

“I can see why Kara looks up to you.”

Alex scoffed at her statement, “I doubt that’s true.”

“No, really,” Lena assured her before finishing her drink. “I’m glad I had a chance to meet you before the coffee date.”

Alex blushed as she furrowed her brows at the phrase, but returned the statement, “Yeah, me, too. I should probably get going as well, workday tomorrow, as you know.”

“Goodbye, Alex,” she chuckled, watching on as she left the bar. With a giddy shake of her head, she whipped out her phone and shot Kara a quick text, “I was right.” She triumphantly grinned on her way out of the establishment, catching the older Danvers sibling mount her ride and disappear into the night.

~

Alex looked in the mirror in defeat. How did she let Kara talk her into drinking coffee with a Luthor? Years of being warned about the family and now she was playing nice with one. She pulled on her thin blue long-sleeved shirt and grabbed her keys. Alex found her wallet in the cushions and took a final glance sound her flat before heading to the bus stop. Her phone buzzed during the commute.

“L said you 2 talked, trust her now?” her sister texted.

“She’s very polite.”

“U there yet?”

“No, just got on bus, you?”

“W/ Mags @ front.”

“Kk, see you there.”

Once at her stop, Alex walked two blocks to the cafe and immediately spotted her sister outside of the storefront.

“Hey, how are you?” Kara greeted her with a hug.

“Great,” she followed her sister to the table where Maggie and Lena were already seated. “How are you, three?”

“Mags was offered a promotion as lead detective.”

“Oh, wow, congrats!” she enthusiastically said. “What about you, Kara?”

“The usual. I was assigned an ‘important’ story and finished it, but it’s not good enough, so I’m going to meet up with Lena to check out some toys she’s planning to release.”

“What are they?”

Lena explained, “Well, to combat my brother’s technology, I’ve been tinkering with an anti-kryptonite box. It’s like a black hole. I’m still trying to expand it because it only works at a fifteen-meter radius. I’m also working on a kinetic car battery that should extend the life by about 25%, I just have to find a way to make it out of more abundant resources.”

“You’ll have to show me the Supergirl plans.”

“Of course.”

“So, what are we gonna to get?” Alex addressed the table.

“I’m starving, so I’m getting a sandwich,” Maggie started off.

“I’ll just get coffee,” her partner declared.

“I’m feeling like hot cider,” Luthor decided. “What about you, Alex?”

“I might get the mocha, I love coffee-hot cocoa blends.”

Maggie offered, “I’ll get the order in, you guys can pay me back later.”

“No, let me get it,” Lena offered. “My treat.”

“No, you stay there.” She stood up to approach the counter.

“So Kara says you work with Supergirl?”

“You could say that,” she responded, shooting a glare at her sister.

“What’s it like?”

“Well, she’s just as nice as she seems, but cannot keep a secret despite how dangerous the truth would be for her.”

Kara only guffawed at her statement and excused herself. “I’m gonna help Mags with the drinks.”

While they were busy getting the orders, Lena leaned over the table, “I have to say, I’m very glad I met you.” She pulled away as their orders arrived and carefully gauged Alex’s reaction.

They silently sipped away as the couple beside them briefly discussed their living situation.

“Oh,” Maggie suddenly segued, “Kara told me you two already met?”

Alex awkwardly confirmed, “Yeah, we- uh- yeah, at Al’s after work Thursday night.”

“Danvers in Al’s Bar with the domestic beer.” Lena joked. “I’m glad we got to feel each other out without the fear of losing face.”

“What’d you guys talk about?” Sawyer inquired.

“Work and Al’s, mostly.” Alex clarified.

Lena excused herself near the restrooms when her phone started buzzing. Once she left, Maggie stated, “So, we and I were walking about possibly refurbishing the apartment.”

“Nice, what theme?”

“Eclectic style?” her sister suggested.

“Oh, so what you have now but a bit more adult.”

“Yeah,” she mockingly agreed. “So, thoughts on Lena?”

“She’s funny, I can see why you like hanging out with her.”

“Good because I’m inviting her to game nights now.”

“Am I really the last of your friends to meet her?”

“Yes, you are really good at avoiding people when you want to. Speaking of which, what do you have going on in your personal life?”

“Normally when you say that it relates to whatever you previously said.”

“It does, though. You’re so invested in work and that’s really all we talk about, so what’s going on in your personal life?”

“I don’t really have time for that, Kara, you know that. I mean, it’s why you’re with Mags, you see each other all the time.”

“And no one at work gives you any feelings?’

“No, all the guys who work there are either childish or I don’t trust them with all of this,” she grandly gestured. “Why are you so interested anyway? We never talk about my personal life.”

“Well, now we are.”

“You know I don’t really have much going on ever, so sorry to burst your bubble,” she finished with a defiant sip of her scalding drink.

Kara slumped in her chair a little and kissed the back of Maggie’s hand. “So, you’re fine with Lena joining game night?”

“Of course, she’s chill enough, I just worry when she meets Supergirl irl, you know?”

“I know. I’ve only been in contact with her once and it was very dark. Look, I trust her. She’s nothing like her brother,” she finished in a hushed tone.

Alex slid her cup around a little before placing her hands flat on the table, “I’ll be back.”

“Okay,” her sister nonchalantly scoffed.

She meandered to the restroom, hoping that maybe her sister would forget about the conversation quickly. On her way, she spotted Lena in the distance having an intense conversation on the phone. As she approached her, Lena ended the call.

“Hey, sorry. Did Kara send you?”

“No, I just had to escape her questions. What happened?”

Lena shoved her phone into her pocket. “Lex wants me to defend him on the stand.”

“What’d you say?”

“Fuck no. He’s tainted any shot I had at being a normal person. But I’ll be back soon, just need to decompress. What’d she ask you to make you leave, if I may ask?”

“Just super personal stuff.”

“Too personal to share with me just yet?”

“Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.”

Alex took a moment to organize her thoughts. “I feel like I can tell you, but I don’t think I should.”

“Is it the Luthor thing,” Lena inquired, her tone turning sour.

She denied the notion with a quick shake of her head. ‘I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, well, I’m going back to join your sister before they get concerned.” She passed Alex and went back to her spot.

Kara asked, “Hey, what happened?”

“Family affairs as usual.”

“Oh, sorry about that.”

“Pfft, not your fault, I blame Lex. So, what’d I miss?”

“We were just talking about redesigning our place.”

“I love the style you currently have, what are you going to do?”

Alex returned to her seat, “Less teenage dream, more adult.”

“Hey, you helped me decorate it,”

“Maybe we’ll host a game night and redecorate?” Maggie offered.

“Sounds like a good idea. What sort of games do you have?” Lena inquired.

“Cards, scrabble, we have this one we’ve been meaning to play called Rivals. It’s like Monopoly on steroids according to some reviews.”

“Sounds interesting, I’m game,” she jibed.

“Alex?” Kara directed to her sister.

“Sure.”

“I hate to cut this short, but since I got a fun call from the boy, I need to get in contact with some of my people. Thank you so much for lunch, just text me the time and place and I’ll be there,” Lena promised her friend.

“So, soon?”

“Yeah, if I don’t get on this soon, he’s going to try to implode the company.”

“Literally?” Alex guessed.

“No, worse. Socially,” she clarified.

“I’ll make a group chat for game night,” Kara promised, pulling out her phone and getting to work. Soon after, their phones buzzed with the first message.

Alex pulled her jacket on, “I should go, too.”

“What do you have?”

“I was going to the gym and possibly the rage depending on how much more time I have.”

“Oh, I’ll join you. The one in the precinct pails in comparison to you guys,” Maggie noted.

When Alex went to grab her phone, she felt an odd folded piece of paper grace her fingertips. Unraveling it revealed curly flowing script which read: “Just in case ~372-555-4610”. Unfamiliar calligraphy led Alex to believe it must have been Lena’s handwriting. She shoved it back into her pocket, declaring it to be an old note.

“Are you going right now?” the detective asked.

“Yeah, I have a spare set in my locker.”

“Can you wait up for me?”

“Sure, but you’d better be quick,” she teased.

Once they parted ways, Alex took the bus to her work and after flashing her badge went to the changing room. She sat in front of her locker and reached into her jacket pocket, mulling over whether or not to call Lena. Ultimately, she unfolded the paper again and called the number. At first, it went straight to voice mail, to Alex’s relief, but within a minute, her phone rang. She debated answering, but since she made the first call, it was only polite to return the favor.

“Hello,” she heard Lena greet.

“Hey, it’s Alex, this is Lena, right?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, her voice immediately relaxing.

“You gave me your number, just in case,” she referenced. “Can you elaborate?”

“I was talking about our conversation Saturday.”

“Yeah, yes. Sorry if I came off a little abrasive.”

“No, it’s okay, Alex,” Lena tried to reassure her. “While I have you, I want your input on something.”

“If it’s with your inventions, I doubt I can help.”

“No, humor me, please,” she chuckled.

“Fine.”

Lena looked at the broken box in her hand and put Alex on speaker while she paced around the object. “Let’s say you wanted to fit something that just didn’t into a box. It was important to you, but not the project.”

“I feel like I need a bit more context, Luthor.”

“Okay, I have the Anti-Kryptonite box here and it’s ready to go, but I want to give Supergirl the ability to use it almost as a weapon to destroy whatever’s being targetted at her.”

“Okay, well, I would say for your current prototype, as is would be perfect for her since we don’t have the technology to protect her. If you want to improve upon it, we can always get some of our technicians to help you?”

“Okay, sounds like a plan, so how does three sound?”

“Excuse me?”

“Meet up around 3 tomorrow so I can give you the box and schematics?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Do you want to meet at my place or the bar?”

“The bar works for me.”

“Perfect, thanks, Alex.”

In slight shock, the call ended and Alex placed her phone in her locker. She nodded slightly and continued waiting until Maggie joined her ten minutes later.

“So, what are we hittin’ today? Legs, pump some iron,” Maggie joked by flexing her biceps. “You good?”

“Yeah, just going to meet up with Lena tomorrow for that box.”

“Ah, I wasn’t tuned in for that convo, so tell me more.”

“Oh, anti-kryptonite,” she briefly explained as they went to work out. “We can do full body. What’s your experience with gyms?”

“I usually go three to four times a week. So, I’ll follow your lead.”

[luckycheesefoodie321]

I’m sorry did you say Luca, the kids movie?? (SPOILERS +LONG POST)

I think you meant a beautiful coming of age story about two boys being forced to conform to a hostile society and hide their true selves for fear of persecution; disguised as a nearly two hour long Vespa ad involving a romp in an Italian coastal town that hates sea monsters

I think you meant a expertly animated tale that discusses ideas like phantom limb syndrome and a character that was born without part of his arm but is no less capable in his daily life, and another character that is the child of divorce who appears quite well-adjusted and the parents are in a seemingly amicable co-parenting situation, but still hints at potentially deeper issues

I think you meant a story that on the surface ends with the two main characters being accepted and being happy and even inspires others to “come out” and be their true selves, and indeed a person who has been touted as someone who actively hunts/persecutes/discriminates against sea monsters is the second person after his daughter to accept and defend them… but they also ground it in reality by demonstrating there are still people who aren’t as willing to accept or are outright hostile, but ignoring those individuals in favour of finding the “good ones” who do accept you and seeking out your own happiness is the important thing…

I THINK YOU MEANT A STORY ABOUT TWO BOYS ENTERING THE UNKNOWN TOGETHER, FINDING COMPANIONSHIP IN EACH OTHER, AND LEARNING TO RELY ON EACH OTHER, DISCOVER THE WORLD TOGETHER, BUT REALISE THEY CAN STILL HAVE THEIR OWN LIVES AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF EACH OTHER, BUT LOVE EACH OTHER NONETHELESS

and just in case you couldn’t tell from my flowery language, this story can be considered a clear allegory for the queer experience, particularly queer youth experiencing the world for the first time on their own, and while not immediately noticing it, come to recognise the indoctrinated behaviours that permeate society (note: Luca and Alberto were dazzled by the town until they started noticing all the naturally embedded sea monster hunting/hating structures and behaviour)…

And there’s a point where, in a very shallow take, you might think they’re forcing a love/friendship triangle situation with Luca getting closer with Giulia and Alberto getting jealous as a result… but it’s really just Alberto’s deeper rooted abandonment issues, and Luca is the first friend he’s ever had or at least the first person who has stepped into his world and has been so much like him! And that fear that this very special person might be taken away or may reject or abandon you is a very real thing… and it’s important that at no point did they make Giulia seem like she was intentionally doing anything wrong because she just enjoyed her newfound friendship in a town where she also felt alone and an outsider…

and sometimes when you find yourself fitting in you can take some missteps (when Alberto was “outed” as a sea monster and Luca pretended he wasn’t one)…

and how a man that is well known for being a sea monster hunter (homophobe) has seen the heart and true character of the two boys that have lightened up his and his daughter’s lives and accepted them for who they are, and came to their defence when the other hunters came for them!

And the two old women, in solidarity with the two boys, decide to reveal themselves to be sea monsters in disguise for clearly a very long time…

AND THE MOM (or grandma? I can’t remember now I’m on an adrenaline rush to write this) SAYS SOMETHING LIKE “not everyone will accept him, but he’s got an eye for the good ones that will”

I’M LOSING MY FUCKING MIND

HAS IT BEEN MADE ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THAT I LOVE THIS MOVIE?!?!?!!

[beepboop358]

How I think the characters will react to Byler when it is officially officially confirmed in the show:

El: once El realizes she doesn't romantically love Mike, she will become an avid byler protector.

El is a badass independent woman with a pure heart of gold. She cares deeply for Mike because he was the first person to show her any sort of compassion, so she will want him to be happy, and after she grows closer to Will, she will want Will to be happy too. El won't understand the societal stigmas around Mike and Will liking each other, since she was raised in a lab away from society and then lived isolated in Hopper's cabin, she has no knowledge of what society deems right from wrong surrounding sexuality and love. She will think other people thinking Mike and Will's relationship is 'wrong' or 'unnatural' is utter bullshit and completely stupid, as she should!

Jonathan: he will be 100% supportive. He knows how Lonnie tormented Will and made homophobic remarks about Will being gay when he was younger. He has always encouraged Will to be himself and ignore what others say, especially what Lonnie says. Jonathan will also be a byler protector.

Jonathan knows Will isn't "normal", he even said Will was "good at hiding" in s1 which has several meanings, and he probably already knows Will likes Mike because of how he immediately turns to look at Will after Mike blurts out he loves El in s3 in Hopper's cabin.

s1 ep. 2: "He's trying to force you to like normal things, and you shouldn't like things because people tell you you're supposed too."

s2 ep. 1: "No I'm serious. You're a freak. But what? Do you want to be normal? Do you wanna be just like everybody else? Being a freak is the best. I'm a freak. Who would you rather be friends with? Bowie or Kenny Rogers? Exactly. It's no contest. The thing is, nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. You got it?"

------(Some subtle queer coding there with the Bowie reference; David Bowie was a bisexual musician, and he also sings the original version of the song "Heroes" that plays after Will's fake body is found in s1, and the lines that play while Mike cries and hugs his Mom are extremely queer coded: "And we kiss as though nothing could fall. And the shame.")

Nancy: It's implied Nancy and Mike are pretty close, and honestly I think she has always suspected that Mike has a little thing for Will. From the look on Nancy’s face when he blurts out he loves El, it kind of reads as like she doesn’t believe him, because she knows something.

s1 ep.7: "I knew you were acting weird, I just, I thought it was beause of Will"

Joyce: will be 100% supportive, and a protective mama bear of Will as always, but also for Mike. Joyce will join the club of avid byler protectors along with Jonathan and El.

Dustin: avid byler supporter. I think he's picked up on how much Mike cares for Will, how Will cares for Mike, and has probably suspected at least something this whole time. Dustin doesn't care about being considered cool he cares about doing what he likes and being true to himself, and that belief for sure translates into how he views his friends as well. He will absolutely support Mike and Will and treat them normally.

s3 ep.3: "Instead of dating somebody because you think it's gonna make you cooler, why not date somebody you actually enjoy being around?" s1 ep.6: "Sometimes your total obliviousness just blows my mind"

Max: She seems pretty perceptive, so she's probably picked up on Mike and Will's 'special dynamics' by now, and we know she's definitely sick of how Mike treated El. She will be supportive of Will and Mike, but mostly she will just be glad Mike isn't with El anymore LOL.

Lucas: I think he definitely notices Mike seems to reallllyyyy care for Will, and that Mike doesn't act the same about El, although he claims too. I think Lucas sees through Mike's bullshit. Look at his smirking face and crossed arms when Mike frantically asks where Will is in s2:

and how he reacts the same way to Mike blurting out he loves El and "can't lose her again" in s3:

Hopper: he will probably want to kill Mike again.

"wait what?! so.. let me get this straight...all that time you were making out with my daughter, you were just...pretending to love her? You lied to her the whole time you two 'dated' yeah? And now you're dating your best friend. Oh god wait, I watched you tell him that asking him to be your friend was the best thing you ever did that night in the shed... Oh you little asshole!"

I can't imagine Hopper being homophobic towards Will and Mike, but I don't see him jumping up and down for them either. He will mainly be upset that Mike dated El when he was actually in love with Will, and not care so much that Mike is in love with another boy, just another person. But once he processes that El is actually okay, he will be fine with it.

Lonnie: is the literal scum of the earth! Obviously Lonnie will hate that Will is gay and dating another man. He will probably make some comments about how he "always knew it" and call Will and Mike homophobic slurs, probably at Will's birthday.

s1 ep.1: "He used to say he was queer, called him a f*g"

Steve: "Oh you two little shits are dating now? But I thought he was into the psionic chick? No? Okay, alright cool. Uh hey have you guys met Robin yet? I think you would get along, you know what I'll introduce you." Steve was so accepting of Robin coming out to him, there's no way he won't have the same kind of reaction for Mike and Will.

Robin: once she gets to actually know them and spend time with them, she will adopt Mike and Will as her gay sons and inspire them to be themselves and help them out whenever they need it. She will also pick up on the fact that they like each other immediately. If we don't get this pairing in s4 because of location logistics, I really hope we get it in s5!!!

Erica: she won't be homophobic, but she just won't care too much.

Karen: will encourage Mike to follow his heart, and like whoever he likes, because a relationship needs real love to survive, and she knows all too well what it is like to be stuck in a relationship with no love, and she doesn't want that for her kids, she wants better for them. She wants Mike to be truly happy no matter what, and she doesn't want to see him repeat her mistakes. Karen will be very supportive of Mike, and probably defend him to Ted.

s1 ep.2: "All this that’s been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. I just…I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. I’m here for you okay?”

Ted: he won't be as much of an asshole as Lonnie will be about it, but he will probably make some snarky comments.

s1 ep.7: “our son with a girl? *scoffing*”

[dekusheroacademia]

Bakugou-hate is often weird

There is some kind of vaguely sexist vitriol in the hate Katsuki Bakugou gets.

I have noticed that all characters get hate but Katsuki hate gets the loudest vitriol.

Uraraka hate is usually over-analyses of her character, or women who do not feel represented by the only main female character Hori has (that is why female fans seem to prefer Momo, as a female character).

Deku's hate is usually weird edgy memes and how Mirio was supposed to be better.

But I never get Uraraka hate or Deku hate on my Uraraka and Deku posts.

Bakugou's hate? This gets some weird incel vibes and morality vibes.

This is the kind of things you get if you are a Bakugou fan. There is this dislike for what girls and women like in general, and the fact that Bakugou is mainly preferred by women, girls, gender non comforming people, nb people and queer people is mixed it all up with it.

It becames sometimes quite explicit.

This was about ships in BNHA, this idea that we should pretend certain ships are not popular because women like them.

Bakugou is the same. There is this desire to discredit his popularity because "it is just a bunch of fangirls" as if things that girls and women support is automatically bad.

This accusation that there are tons of "fangirls" inflating Bakugou's numbers as he is not that popular... when multiple voting is pretty common for all characters.

Ex: multiple voting for Uraraka (it is a screenshot but this was a video with at least 30 SJ to vote for Uraraka, from one person, as you can see it is 12 seconds and it is just filming the big pile of Shounen Jumps)

I suspect it is also the reason why MHA gets such a bad rep for being a "mid" anime, being a shounen that had more than half of its supporters as non male.

And yes, these are the kind of people that come out when you write about how much you like Bakugou:

(the one above refers to Japan, and the Japanese poll where Bakugou got first place again)

And this was posted during the Supreme Court decision on women's reproductive health:

So yeah, all characters have haters but the kind of weird sexist homophobic comments I see associated with Bakugou-hate? That is peculiar.

Manga spoilers: Just check here what kind of ridiculous vitriol was happening after chapter 362. This is not normal.

And the reason I can tell there is a difference is that I have met some Bakugou-haters who are perfectly normal people. They dislike the character and act like the usual common "dislikers". For example, you can see essays written on how and why someone dislike Deku and Uraraka or Mirio or whoever, and you might disagree but they are usually perfectly normal in fandoms. This behaviour here, in this post - this stuff is abnormal.

[ladybirdwithoutdots]

do you really need to bring shipper wars in the Austen fandom too?

Full offense but people who deny Emma is in love with Mr Knightley and hate on him because they ship her with Harriet, and pretend she should’ve ended up with her, are bullshit.  I’m tired of these posts (including the Harriet stans whom I saw bashing even in some emma/knightley posts when fans of the latter are the first to make cute posts about Harriet too), and honestly, you all just make me feel very negative about Harriet and unable to truly appreciate her scenes with Emma.

Maybe I just don’t care about being a bitch but here’s what an Emma fan who is just tired of the anti Emma/Knightley crap honestly thinks about your nonsense:

Hating on the last Emma adaptation because Emma is in love with Mr Knightley and marries him in the end is as disingenuos and idiotic as hating a Pride and Prejudice adaptation because Darcy and Elizabeth are in love. Le duh!  You can ship him with Bingley and her with Charlotte (or Wickham, if that’s your mood I’m not judging shipping choices here) but if you watch a movie based on an Austen’s book you know what you are getting yourself into, especially when her canon romances tend to be very important plot elements for the protagonists and their character growth. 

I get it’s 2021 and hating all het romance makes some people feel woke and edgy, and I totally get alternative readings and things like that, but out of ALL Austen ships and all her female heroines, Emma is the one female character who doesn’t even need, neither want,  to get married and truly only does that in the end because she is in love.  Emma is the LEAST Austen heroine whose romance you should even question because she honestly only married the guy because of love and no other reason.   Furthermore, unlike most of romances from that time, the guy Emma marries isn’t just some random guy she has met two seconds ago, it actually is her best friend, someone she knows since years and the one person who knows her best and loves her in spite of her flaws. Austen was very forward for her time with their romance, especially given the fact her male love interest actually decides to live with Emma and her father in the end instead of doing what every married man had the right to do at the time (take his wife to his own home where she’d have little to no power). Knightley and Emma are the (original) best friends to lovers relationship. He’s the best friend Emma had loved from the beginning without realizing it. It’s one of the main points of her story and the great irony of the novel that she thinks love isn’t for her, and she had never been in love, but she already is in love with him without realizing it because of their friendship. I’m sorry bro but that had never been Harriet, and it seems hypocritical tbh for some of you to want to give Harriet the story that Mr Knightley has with Emma, all the while hating on him and the romance. Even with the last movie, you have people take quotes de Wilde said about Knightley and Emma (e.g., the one about the movie making you think about ‘the best friend you maybe should have kissed’) out of context to manipulate others into thinking she was talking about Harriet instead (and queer baiting, which would be homophobic)

On one hand, we really do need more stories that put an emphasis on female friendships too and on other relationships that aren’t just the romance. On the other hand, it’s completely useless for writers to try to give us that  (e.g. de Wilde in the last Emma) if everytime two characters care about each other and share screentime together, people claim that relationship (and all scenes that make perfect sense with a normal platonic relationship) must be romance and romance only. It’s almost as if some of you never had a friend and therefore believe that everytime a character cares about another character they must be romantically in love with them. It also makes me believe, more than anything, that romance is the only kind of love that exists or is important for many of you. And if that is the truth, why even bother with fictional friendships then? Why even complain when writers don’t give us that if we are unable to appreciate those relationships as something of equal importance with romance?

I really can’t take people serioustly when they overinflate Harriet and her relationship with Emma all the while they minimize Emma/Knightley’s mutual feelings.  I read people who apparently find it harder to erase Harriet’s baseless crushes on every guy who gives her attention, than erase the actual love story and feelings of the protagonist! Tbh, even if you wanted a gay adaptation of Emma (and not one that is that just for the sake of), it would make much more sense to simply turn Mr Knightley into a female character, therefore still respecting the canon couple and Emma’s character arc, than ship her with Harriet. The latter is a weak alternative and frankly baseless for me because the only things she and Emma have in common is the fact they are both girls and they have an ‘e’ in their name. Full stop. Intellectually, Harriet is no match for Emma and their ranks in society are so apart that their relationship could never ever be equal (and it never was). I don’t want to be harsh but tbh I was never convinced they are actually friends in the novel, and the last movie made it even worse for they emphasized Harriet’s blindness about Emma’s feelings, and how one sided that dynamic is for it’s just Emma who makes an effort to be a friend in the end. Let’s be real here, Harriet doesn’t even know Emma and never really acts as a friend to her, unless your definition of friendship is ‘someone who worships you, and pretends you are the best and right even when you aren’t, as long as they perceive you as a savior who can help them'.  That’s not what being a friend means to me. It speaks volumes to me that the one and only time movie-Harriet actually notices that Emma is a human being with flaws and feelings too is when she gets angry because Emma wants the same guy she wants. I don’t know if Austen’s ‘naive and completely clueless Harriet’ is worse or better than de Wilde’s version but the latter really emphasizes one of the biggest issues of Emma/Harriet even more, to me. As a book Emma fan, before an adaptations fan, I read all kinds of comments about this novel and character but honestly, I never read any real convincing argument why Harriet and Emma should be a couple instead of her and Knightley. Most of what I read boils down to people taking things out of context and/or claims that Harriet is ‘better’ for Emma just because she’s a woman and she agrees with her all the time, while Mr Knightley is the bad guy because he’s older than her (he’s only 37, btw) and criticizes her ( as if Emma doesn’t need someone to criticize her, and her character growth isn’t dependent on precisely that). I get some people wouldn’t like to have someone who is criticizing them but worshiping someone is =/= being their friend or appreciating their real qualities. I also read people point up how much Emma praises Harriet in the book as proof that she’s in love with her, but the same ignore the many instances, especially after Harriet tells her that she loves Mr Knightley, that truly show Emma’s real colors and how much she still considers Harriet her, and especially Mr Knightley’s, inferior to the extent she regrets their friendship and thinks Harriet is ‘uppity’ for thinking Mr Knightley would ruin his reputation to marry someone like her. When I read those arguments it seems, if anything, that people want to have the cake and eat it by saying that Austen’s own story doesn’t matter (and she doesn’t understand her characters’ real feelings) when it comes to the things those people don’t like (eg the fact Knightley is the one Emma is in love with and all the explicit hints about that ), all the while still selectively using some of her writing to support their alternative version of the story. Now with the last movie adaptation, it’s even worse for me. It’s telling that the two scenes people romanticize as pro Emma/Harriet are two phrases/moments that actually emphasize the bad side of their relationship, and why their friendship isn’t good for either of them. The first is the scene when Emma says she ‘wants to keep Harriet for herself’: not only there is nothing romantic about that ( that line is in the book too as well as Knightley’s ‘your infatuation is blinding you’. You are reading a book written in 1800 with modern goggles though, and that alone doesn’t really work) but that phrase should actually make you cringe for it emphasizes how selfish and manipulative Emma is by treating Harriet like her new pet project just because she’s lonely. She doesn’t care about the girl’s feelings for Robert Martin, and what is truly the best for her due to her rank (and how dangerous it actually is for Harriet to not marry and find someone who can offer her protection), even if it’s what she tells herself, she only cares about her own desire to have a new female friend because she lost Mrs Weston and she feels lonely and bored. It’s also true, though, that she is still lying to Mr Knightley too because she does actually want to match Harriet with Mr Elton, that which is obvious in the other scenes, but even that is an expression of Emma’s selfishness and not really a hint of her caring, let alone loving, Harriet as a human at this point. If you read the book, it’s particularly obvious given the fact that Emma isn’t blind about Harriet’s feelings for Robert Martin for she knows that her behavior is bad and the girl actually cares about the guy, but she manipulates her into thinking Mr Elton is better because it’s her choice and she prefers him (until he proposes to her, of course. Then she thinks Mr Elton is trash for being so arrogant to believe someone of his rank could marry her) The second phrase people romanticize is only in the last movie and it’s that annoying ‘I refused Robert Martin because of you’ phrase by Harriet later in the movie. I hate that because, once again, that phrase has nothing ‘romantic’ about it unless you obviously ignore the context and what is actually happening there. Harriet is being passive aggressive with Emma there, gaslighting her and blaming her for the loss of her first suitor BECAUSE HARRIET WANTS MR KNIGHTLEY for herself. Harriet is angry with Emma there because she realizes she loves Mr Knightley TOO and Emma has more chances than her. The most likely sentiment behind that flippant phrase for me is something along the lines of Harriet impulsively telling Emma to move aside and let her have Mr Knightley because she made her lose Robert Martin already. She is trying to make Emma feel guilty, subconsciously or deliberately, but this surely is how Emma herself perceives Harriet’s words too for the poor girl really thinks it makes her a bad person to accept Knightley’s proposal in spite of loving him back. Harriet made her believe she was stealing her man and yet, AND YET, had Harriet been a real friend, to begin with, she should’ve realized Emma’s feelings for him way before she deluded herself into thinking the guy wanted her. But Harriet never cares about Emma’s feelings and even their reconciliation in the end is all, still, about what Emma needs to do for her. Not a word from Harriet about being happy for her friend too. Nothing.

Listen, I really appreciate de Wilde’s attempt to make the Harriet/Emma dynamic better than it is in either the novel or other adaptations, even if it personally doesn’t convince me it’s friendship. But I get it. Like I said at the beginning, it’s important that movies display different kinds of love too beside romance and if you can’t do that with characters like Emma who are the protagonist then when you can even do that? I think it was valid for her and Catton to want to emphasize the fact that Emma, at her core, is truly young and lonely and she doesn’t have friends in the truest sense of the word (Mr Knightley is one, of course, but their point is more about her having a female companion too whom Emma could do more ‘girl’ things she can’t do with her husband or father) but, honestly, I maintain no adaptation ever truly got their relationship right. No one.  Overrating them and pretending that they are best friends forever when there is no substance for that is as incorrect as an interpretation of Austen’s writing as it is treating Harriet as a silly girl Emma barely tolerates. I appreciate the movie shows Emma’s conflict about Harriet when Knightley proposes to her because most of adaptations don’t do that: in the book she really, for a moment, feels so bad for Harriet and feels simultanously happy Mr Knightley loves her but also bad for taking the guy Harriet wants. She is no hero who wants to give up about him to let Harriet have the guy instead, though, but it isn’t like she doesn’t care either. She does and it’s a source of anguish for Emma and part of her character growth that she actually cares and feels empathy for Harriet.

However, if you want Emma to have a real female friend that’s not Harriet and that’s not really the story Austen wrote and the role she gave to Harriet. Like many academics pointed up, like many of Emma’s ‘mirrors’ in the story, Harriet is put there by Austen to emphasize Emma’s immaturity at the beginning and the fact she deliberately doesn’t choose her equals as friends and picks Harriet, instead, as her new pet project because her inferiority makes her easier to manipulate and, like Mr Knightley very eloquently points up, she makes Emma feel superior and more accomplished than she is. Emma doesn’t want to be friends with Jane, for example, because not only she could be more her equal but she actually does see her as superior in the aspects that make Emma the most vulnerable and insecure.

It’s great the movie gave more space to Emma’s relationship with Harriet, and I get that if you want to put the spotlight on female friendship too it’s either Harriet or Mrs Weston but also, let’s not pretend the movie wasn’t focused very much on her romance with Mr Knightley too, perhaps more than other adaptations did. People commend this adaptation for showing his feelings for her more and it’s true, but I will also argue that this movie does emphasize her feelings for him more than adaptations usually do for you really see Emma’s feelings and jealousy towards him before she even realizes her feelings. It’s obvious since their first scene when she’s waiting for him and runs to her piano because she wants to get noticed by him. Her breath constantly hitches when he’s close to her or because of her feelings for him, and she definitely reacts to dancing with him. She may not know her feelings from the start, she might be in her own ‘work in progress’ to figure everything out, but the movie makes it obvious to me that she loves him. If there is any adaptation where you want to be disingenuos about their chemistry and deny their romance, this really isn’t the one tbh. Look, if you want to headcanon Emma as bisexual you’ll find me agreeing with you, but pro LGBT readings and actual representation doesn’t mean, for me, shipping two characters together just because they are the same gender and the writers make them care about each other a bit, or give them screentime. Like I said at the beginning, if I wanted a gay adaptation of Emma I’d rather make Mr Knightley a woman than ship Emma with Harriet or Mrs Weston or Jane. Because regardless their genders, it’s the Knightley character the one Emma loves and wants to be with, and it’s this character who truly represents her best friend and the person who knows her best. It’s Knightley the only one who cares about her well being so much that when she is being the worst version of herself and no one cares, he is the one willing to tell her even if he hates doing that and he feels he’s destroying every chance he has to make her love him back. It’s the Knightley character who ultimately inspires her to be a better person and loves her in spite of her flaws.

[imaginedigimon]

u got any lgbtq+ hcs for any of the main 12 adventure and 02 kids?

🤔 Hmm...

Now Anon, I’m warning you: I’m probably not going to give you what you want for this. But I’m going to try.

I REALLY HOPE I DON’T FUCK THIS UP, FRIENDS *stressing out a bit I will not lie*

LGBTQ+ Headcanons for 01 + 02 Gang

Tai [Taichi]

Doesn’t know the meaning of the word “straight” except in terms of line segments in math (but even then, he’s a little lost)

He probably saw the pride flag for the first time when he was 14 and because it reminded him of the Crests thought, “I CAN GET BEHIND THAT”

When he learned the real meaning of pride and the LGBTQ+ community, he was even more ecstatic

Has definitely beaten up some homophobes before

And transphobes

He’s beaten up a lot of people in general

Realized after a while that he’s pansexual himself and started painting his face with the pan flag everyday

Will not deny that he has a thing for Matt and Sora at the same time and is happy if they’re happy but would really like to kiss them both pls

Matt [Yamato]

He most certainly questioned his own gender for a while, though he can’t pinpoint when it started

Gabumon told him it didn’t matter what he identified as, they’d always be partners anyway, so that really helped him a lot

It also helped that Tai was willing to beat people’s asses for him

Has also beaten up some homophobes and transphobes (Tai has been the one to drag him away from some fights)

Wears pins of all the pride flags at all times because fuck you haters

Also would like to kiss Tai, just like once or twice or a million times

Identifies as bisexual most likely

Sora

Doesn’t mention it a lot, but Mimi was probably her first kiss (by accident...OR WAS IT?)

She was the type of person who, because she grew up in a very hetero-normative world, wasn’t sure what it meant to like a girl

Probably asked Tai when she was 15 and still thinking about Mimi’s hair and lips when he explained to her that it was perfectly normal

She never forgot that conversation

Has continuously questioned her identity and orientation throughout the years, though only Biyomon has been privy to this struggle

Finally settled on saying she’s queer because she’s not much for labels (especially when she’s in a constant state of questioning)

Definitely asked Mimi to kiss her again just so it wouldn’t be an accident

Izzy [Koshiro]

Always a kid before his time, knew how to explain all aspects of pride to everyone else before they even knew what the LGBTQ+ community was

Has PowerPoints to make things clearer

Around age 17 or 18, he started asking that everyone use he/him or they/them pronouns, and this hasn’t changed since

Everyone said “a’ight” because they love him no matter what

Has always had some kind of romantic feelings for just about everyone in the group, but nothing beyond that

This poor sweetie pie cried the night he realized he was asexual and called Joe, who said in the most intense voice he’d ever heard, “You think that matters to us? We love you, Izzy, and don’t you ever forget that”

Has decided Joe is the coolest guy ever

Started some social media account where it’s nothing but pictures of Tai with various pride symbols painted on his face and it’s blown up

Mimi

Unlike Sora, she didn’t think much about the kiss

She had already accepted that she liked girls by that point

Definitely had a crush on Yolei too, though she played it cool

YOU CANNOT TELL ME SHE DIDN’T CONSIDER MEIKO HER TRUE LOVE

Teases Izzy a lot because she has a bit of a crush on him too, though this confused her because she thought she liked girls

The day she learned the term homoflexible she thought she was dreaming

But she wasn’t

Still, Sora and Yolei and Meiko are her girls and she loves them very dearly

Has the same enthusiasm as Tai and paints the various flags on her face as well (became part of that social media account Izzy started)

You can catch her and Tai at a pride parade screaming at the top of their lungs

Joe [Jou/Jyou]

I’ll admit, he’s probably the token straight? But he’s also one of those guys who’s not afraid to tell Matt he looks handsome today

Has needed to ask Izzy a lot of questions because he’s like me and wants to know and not offend anyone because he’s ignorant or doesn’t know something

Had a moment similar to me where he wondered if he really was straight

Decided he still was, but would support anyone and everyone because that’s just the guy he is

You know how he becomes a doctor? He most CERTAINLY helps with transitioning whenever he can because he’s a GOOD. DOCTOR.

Doesn’t beat up haters, but gives them a death glare that’s just as effective

Wore around a rainbow doctor’s coat because he COULD and no one tried to stop him because they knew he’d quit on the spot

Takeru [T.K.]

Been the guy to say “respect LGBTQ+ rights or die by my sword” or something like that

Lowkey had a crush on Angemon and Angewomon simulanteously and could NOT for the life of him explain why that was

Never told either of them this though

Or Kari

Definitely didn’t tell Kari

Okay yes, Tai is his big brother, but he definitely had a crush on the guy for about 2 weeks before he met Kari and everything changed

Hasn’t told either of them this

Like Sora, has only said he identifies as queer - he’d like to figure it out/delve deeper but is too busy flirting with everyone to care

Brings 5 different dates to his brother’s concerts at the same time and they all have to vie for his attention - it’s usually whoever says the most positive things about his brother

Has done at least 6 drag shows so far and let me tell you - KILLS IT every time

Kari is his forever girl but keeps winking at Ken just to make him blush

Kari [Hikari]

Also had a crush on Angewomon like how could she NOT

Also had crushes on Matt, Izzy, Mimi, and Sora (but not Joe for some reason)

When she realized her feelings for T.K. she got really really nervous (because of all his dates, you see)

Was also confused because she was pretty confused about her range of crushes over the years

Tai came out as pan to her first and she realized that sounded a lot like her

She’s a pan baby and she’s proud of it (and thanks her brother for supporting her)

Gave a rainbow pin to T.K. for his birthday and in return he kissed her

They go to ALL the pride events and nothing can stop them

Occasionally uses they/them pronouns on days she’s questioning

Davis [Daisuke]

Tai was his first love and you cannot change my mind about this

Meeting Kari was like meeting a Tai Who Would Notice Him and that was pretty rad

But he also likes her because of her, too

The world kinda stopped when he met Ken, though

Like damn, look at those soccer skills

I’m gonna be real, I think Davis is soccersexual (or footballsexual for non-Muricans)

Them soccer players be really hot though

Always has questions about the community, but never retains the answers

The PowerPoints, unfortunately, do not help

Eventually gave up and said, “I’M A DUMBASS BUT I SUPPORT YOU ALL”

They tried to tell him he should at least know what he’s talking about

(We’re still working on that)

Wears rainbow shirts with rainbow pants and it’s very atrocious but very appreciated

He is gay. He sometimes does crimes. We accept him anyway.

[T.K. asked him if he wanted to go to a drag show, he said “okay?” and really really loved it now he goes all the time]

Yolei [Miyako]

Mimi is hot, Ken is hot, Kari is hot, Matt’s kinda hot, everyone’s hot

She’s never been able to fully accept this because how is everyone so hot

Mimi was her first love, and Ken was her first boyfriend

She never forgot the firsts

Attracted to any and everyone it seems

She likes to call herself a frying pan and it makes everyone facepalm a little bit

Constantly dresses in the colors on the pan flag because she looks GOOD in them and it’s a way to remind everyone not to mess with her or her community

Tries to pretend she doesn’t know Mimi and Tai when she’s at a pride event and they’re out here acting like fools

But she also loves how unerringly supportive they are

Cody [Iori]

He was the first one everyone came out to, like for some reason he’s that guy

Literally the first person to offer you support

One day he told everyone he was transgender, and while they were surprised, they also didn’t react the way he was expecting

They actually hugged him immediately and said, “But don’t worry we love love love you” and Tai started painting the trans flag on Cody’s face until Cody said, “Guys please fuck off for a sec”

When he becomes a lawyer, he becomes the type of lawyer to defend anyone who was arrested on basis of race/identity/orientation/gender like the boss he is

Suspects he might be ace but hasn’t really delved into it much

He’s too busy scolding Davis for doing dumb things

Ken

Can everyone stop being hot for a sec? -direct quote from Ken himself

He’s in love with all the 02 kids and he’s accepted this

Yolei somehow stole his heart, but T.K.’s winks send it aflutter

He wants them both to stop (but they won’t)

Was completely unaware that Davis also liked him (even though it was really obvious?)

He identifies as bi and, like Izzy, uses they/them pronouns interchangeably with he/him

One of the good detectives on the force. Will bust your ass if you say any offensive slurs about anyone. [Has gotten suspended a few times for doing this BUT IT WAS FUCKING WORTH IT.]

Always the one on duty when Davis gets arrested for his crimes and it’s hecka exhausting

---------

Uhm... did I do good? I’ll admit, I was a little nervous since I myself am straight and cisgender (or cishet, as I’ve learned is the term)  😥  😥

Anon, I really do hope I did a good job!

And if I didn’t you can roast me in the flames of Meramon Hell

[kaypeace21]

something i noticed, during the s3 byler argument, Mike says “El’s not stupid, it’s not MY fault you don’t like girls.” Mike’s “it’s not my fault” doesn’t fit as a retort, the theme of his retort should be defending El. He should have said “it’s not HER fault you don’t like girls”. Knowing there were other versions of that line the writers must have consciously chosen to leave this one in, knowing how it could be interpreted. anyway, do you have any idea why mike even said that line?

Yes, I have talked about it -here (in my long ‘why Mike is gay post’). But since so many people misinterpret the meaning of Mike’s words- might as well do a shorter/more brief version .And do a post focusing on it. HE’S SAYING THIS TO HIMSELF!

First some background

Mike DOES NOT think Will is gay. Dustin foreshadows their fight in s1 saying “Dustin: “He’s just jealous.”  Mike: “What?” Dustin: “Sometimes your total obliviousness just blows my mind?”  Dustin: “ What matters is, he’s your best friend. And then this girl shows up… and all you ever want to do is spend time with her!” Mike: “that’s not true!”

Dustin:  “Yes it is! And you know it. And he knows it. But no one ever says anything until you’re both start… yelling at each other like goblins with intelligence scores of 0. And now everything is weird”

Mike: “He’s not my best friend! … I mean he is. But so are you.”

 He won’t let himself consider that Will could be gay because then it would be harder to pretend he isn’t gay himself . That it isn’t just a weird phase that he’ll grow out of. We see that throughout the show Mike is projecting his feelings for Will on to El . Who in s1 was described by 5 characters as looking like a boy (and specifically like Will, by 3 characters ). There’s just way too many examples of him projecting to list here. But s3 we see Mike is trying to mimic romantic moments between him and Will (from s2) to El (in s3). In order to transfer his romantic feelings for Will on to El. The “blank makes you crazy” vs “crazy together”, the shed scenes of “most important thing” vs “the best thing I’ve ever done”,etc.

The difference between past seasons though, is that Mike is now conscious that he’s doing this. The more feminine El gets- the harder for him it is to pretend. Especially now that they’re going through puberty- and the physical differences between boys and girls is becoming more prominent. We see this in the first ep of s3.  I talked about it more here, but the Duffers use music with all the characters to convey plot points or the emotions of the characters. One example is when Mike forces Will to dance with a girl so he ‘fakes a smile’. 

So yes, the fact that the very first lyrics that play when we see mileven kiss for the first time  is “Just a little uncertainty can bring you down”-  reflects Mike’s true feelings.And we know this is how Mike (not El) feels about their relationship because he begins to sing the song right after this lyric.The song is even from the album titled “boy in the box”. AKA: Mike is in the closet

“And nobody wants to know you now. And nobody wants to show you how.So if you’re lost and on your own. You can never surrender.” He fears that if he isn’t straight everyone he cares about will abandon him, and that he’d be lost and the only one ‘like this’ -all alone.But he can’t ‘surrender’ the false-idea of being in love with El (out of fear). This is the rural Indiana in the 80s- at the height of the aids epidemic. People on the news said gay people were being rightfully punished with the ‘gay cancer’ (aids). They equated being gay with being a perv, p*d*phile, murderer, or mentally ill. Churches said you’d ‘burn in hell’. In rural areas people would form gangs and murder people they thought were gay. Of course Mike is terrified and wants to be straight! His parents in s2 were Reagan supporters. And Reagan was notoriously homophobic. He’s probably afraid his parents will hate him, kick him out, or that someone will kill him or he’ll die from aids by simply kissing a boy.

  We see Mike is doing his own f-ed up form of conversion therapy. He kisses El but he puts on the wall a drawing of Will so he can look at it while he kisses her. Probably hoping to transfer his romantic feeling for Will on to her.

Like that’s Will! He has light brown hair (not black) and Will is the only one associated with fire and has drawn himself with fire in the past. And Will even overlaps with the rainbow drawing that reads “mike”  before we see the mileven kiss. It was intentional.

So when Will Says “you’re ruining everything (their relationship) .And for what?! So you can swap spit with some stupid girl.”

This infuriates Mike because he thinks swapping spit with El is the best way to save their relationship! And he’s been trying to ‘fix himself’ so Will doesn’t hate him- and it hasn’t been working, to Mike’s frustration. So he screams “El’s not stupid, it’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” because he’s projecting. And although, he loves Will… a part of him probably is a bit angry that he’s making him feel this way. 

Mike never actually says to El’s face that he loves her- he even says during his fake-confession  “[old people] say it”.And later Mike apologizes to El and says “sorry, I sound like a [7 year old].” Aka the number Will rolled in s1. Right after he discusses d&d with Will and talks about seeing both of them for the Hollidays. So it’s telling that after he says “El’s not stupid . it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” (to himself). He immediately regrets yelling at Will. He even closes his eyes and takes a breath before continuing.  And apologizes,  by giving a heteronormative answer of:  

“I’m not trying to be a jerk, but [we’re not kids anymore]. What did you think, really?! that we’d never get girlfriends. That we’d just sit in my basement and play games for the rest our lives?” 

Mike is yelling this at himself to keep his feelings for Will under control.El is an idea to Mike about what adulthood is- which is why he doesn’t really defend el (and his ‘love’ for her) but just talks about “girlfriends” in an abstract way.  This was essentially Mike telling  himself-  he’s NOT allowed to just be with Will and never have a gf. He has to grow out of his ‘childish feelings’ for Will- before it’s too late, because being a gay man is dangerous.  That’s why when the camera is on Mike (when he looks back a the byers house -and they only show Will and Mike). The dialogue is  “But I know you’re getting older, growing, changing. I guess, if I’m being really honest, that’s what scares me. I don’t want things to change.”He doesn’t want things to change (and his feelings for Will to evolve into love, because that means Mike has to admit he’s gay and accept his future as a gay man-which at the time, didn’t seem very bright). They both are afraid of the future because of this. Mike tries to act like a ‘straight-adult’ and Will tries to revert back into his childhood because of this. 

Mike also mentions “games’ because d&d is a symbol of byler’s romantic relationship. He’s just pretending to not enjoy the d&d game. Mike says they have to get girlfriends and they can’t play games for the rest of their lives. But that’s what Mike wants- he just wants to be with Will for the rest of his life (playing games) without either of them having girlfriends. Because, we see Mike never took any of Will’s d&d art off his walls.Even though he changed his poster (from the same wall  that had will’s drawings on it) Mike couldn’t remove any of Will’s d&d art.  It was an act - which is why he was upset (in the last episode) when Will was donating the game, and why during the Hopper speech,  it pans to Mike as Hopper says “I miss playing board games every night.”

Mike even has a binder filled with every d&d drawing Will has ever given him.

In the pilot, they even say Will uses d&d to “escape” his insecurities about his sexuality “like mike” & Mike uses d&d to “escape” his insecurities about not having a gf.  * And no, dustin & Lucas didn’t use d&d to “escape” anything- in the pilot script.

And right before Mike says the famous “crazy together”line it zooms in on Mike’s d&d set.

The  “crazy together” scene is romantic since both Mike & Flo both equate love making you ‘crazy’. Mike saying “it makes you crazy” and Flo saying saying in s1 “ only love makes you crazy and that damn stupid”). 

(x)(x)

Mike is lying about his feelings for El- and El is just confused about her feelings for Mike.  The only one’s with mutual feelings for Mike is Will! Will even has a breakdown and goes ‘crazy’ after seeing a pic of them the night they promised to go crazy together - and then Will repeatedly calls himself ‘stupid’ . Because this is when he realizes and admits to himself he’s in love with Mike. And so he grabs a bat (that his dad- who called him a ‘queer’ taught him to use) and destroys castle Byers in a fit of anger and self-hate. That fight was what caused Will to realize his feelings for Mike and the jealousy he had been feeling were because he was in love with Mike. When Mike asks “what did you think, really? That we’d never get girlfriends… play games for the rest of our lives?” 

Will is 100% honest a says brokenly “yeah. I guess I did” And then says angrily “I really did!” . Even if both don’t understand the gravity of their words in that moment Will was honest- he doesn’t want to ever have a girlfriend he just wants to be with Mike for the rest of his life. And Mike, who assumes Will is straight, is shocked that this conversation upset Will. Or that he would disagree with his words.

And again their last conversation (about d&d is very telling and is foreshadowing). What Will meant when he said ,  “I’ll just use yours when I come back- I mean… if WE still wanna play”. Is essentially foreshadowing that the ball is in Mike’s court. If he wants to be with Will for the rest of his life he has to initiate it and prove he loves Will after pretending for so long to love El, instead.

gif credit:  first 2 gifs ampwn98 , 3th gif by janebycrs, 5th gif Cath-avery , 4 & 6th gifs mine

[grizztheexplorer]

Ep 10!!!!! Love Victor live reaction:

-finally!!!! Never thought i would be rooting for the dad but here i am. I hateeee he doesn’t trust Isabel nor that he wants to tell her to not do things. But i ain’t with Isabel equating what she did to him beating up Roger. Girl fuck Roger.

- I don’t need to watch further to KNOW someone heard Benji talk to Victor in the bathroom and I bet my ass it was Andrew bc drama

- I KNEW TAKE THIS HOMOPHOBIC ASS OUT OF HERE

-“whatever happens between us” are they gonna separate??? I thought before i started the show i saw a spoiler of divorce (hadn’t read why or anything) but i feel like if the separate for a while they could actually find their way back to each other??? I hope they try living apart and all for a while bc i do wanna root for them. Also i reallyyyyyy fucking hope she doesn’t get with Roger again s2. Like i said, FUCK that guy.

-okay is still fuck Andrew hours but AT LEAST him not even thinking of outing Victor gets him out my blacklist.

- TOO GOOD A GUY TO WALK AWAY FROM IM JUST GONNA GO CHOKE IM STRESSED

-LISTEN IK MIA IS STILL AN ISSUE HERE BUT VICTOR HAS BEEN SO REPRESSED AND SAD AND BENJI HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH DEREK BC THATS THE GAY GUY HE GOT AND LIKE G O D DEREK IS SUCH AN ASS DID U SEE BENJI’S FACE WHEN VICTOR WAS LISTING GOOD THINGS?? THEY BOTH DESERVE A CHANCE AT HAPPINESS IM CRYING

-also uh don’t think I didn’t hear Derek say “i feel weird at a high school dance” sir Benji ain’t a senior he’s a sophomore. Is Derek out of high school?? A college kid dating a sophomore in HS is🤢🤢AND he treats him badly??? Jail

-im crying🥺🥺🥺listening to Benji and Victor talk has also lowkey made me realize like even if they haven’t interacted as much Victor has allowed himself to be jusy a teen with Benji even if they have talked about heavy stuff. With Mia unknowingly he did the same with his parents. Showed her the version of him she wanted to see bc of guilt, fear, and in order to make her feel better. Victor has only been him with Benji (and with Felix) and wow. Didn’t notice until their talk and me starting to think back on the show. Perfect writing.

- is heartbreaking how Mia found out. I’m wondering if maybe she’ll be hurt but understand??? She’s a 15-16 year old smart girl. At that age i def saw cases like this and it always ends with the straight partners supporting the gay ones. Hell, a case EXACTLY like this happened my freshman year of HS. These really popular girl started dating this new kid and she was obsessed with him lowkey?? They broke up bc he came out and she was the most supportive. I understand she’s hurt bc he cheated, but i hope she listens to him and tries to understand like how hard it is for queer kids and how confused he was? Is heartbreaking bc he truly cares for her and im sure right she thinks he doesn’t and just used her. But i hope she’s willing to listen. As a queer person, I honestly understand all the shit Victor has done. Is not the best way to do it. But I don’t feel angry at him. I get it.

- ugh the song for that kiss was perfect tho🥺🥺

-omg I totally thought him talking to Mia would be a cliffhanger are they gonna have a confrontation now??? She’s still so raw😭😭 i want them to be besties noooo

-LAKE OMG GO OFF. Poor Wendy tho she was hyping herself up to ask Felix🥺

-THAT WAS SO CUTE FELIX AND LAKE ARE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME BC 🥺❤️

-lowkey Andrew didn’t try to intervene and instead got with Mia to take the opportunity but also im 1000% not surprised of the straight person not wanting to hear his side and instead taking the girl where they can be alone together 💀💀may I say though with their history i do not think Andrew and Mia should be alone together. She has feelings for him yes, but she already regrets having sex with him bc she was feeling vulnerable. He didn’t know it the first time but this time he know how she felt and how she is feeling now. So this time it is kinda taking advantage if he ends up having sex with her.

-Pilar girl i get it but also the queer romance life of ur brother is literally.... none of ur business and does NOT affect u the way ur parents’ relationships affect u. So please kindly stfu.

-thank Pilar hugged him back

-hell yeah Andrew said no. U still out the blacklist buddy good for u

-SIMON SAYING YOU’LL ALWAYS HAVE ME IS THE TIP THATS MAKING ME CRY AGAIN BC YES THAT GAY COLLEGE SQUAD IS ALWAYS THERE FOR U AND I HOPE WE SEE IT AGAIN S2

- :)))))))) that ending :))))))))

S2 thoughts:

- okay well a lot of truth bombs. I truly think separating was the right choice to get them back together in a healthy manner. That is if they don’t date other people. Roger will most likely make a comeback. She will most likely date him. Maybe she’ll realize what a shit bag he is when he does/says something dumb and realize Armando is it for her??? I hope at least i do wanna root for them

- im so proud of Victor🥺🥺 he told everything to Benji, and came to out Felix + his family. Ik things will be hard with Mia at first, and Andrew is still no saint so he might be a dick to him on the team once he is out (or might defend him) but at least they know too. I saw the writers saying s2 will be now about Benji and Victor learning to be in a relationship and Victor’s environment changing. Benji and him will def struggle in the department that Victor is still learning how to openly be himself and let himself be seen versus Benji already having dealt with that before. So it will prob be hard for Benji too. It’s exciting tho and i hope despite everything s2 is kind to them.

- backetball will be hard for Victor without a doubt. I really hope Bram and Simon come for holidays or something and we get to see them again. Maybe even meet Benji or Felix too that would be so🥺🥺🥺

- can’t tell how the parents will react. Ik he won’t be kicked out and certain things will he hard bc s2 is gonna be about them working it out for sure, but I can’t tell if at first they’ll go in complete denial or will just quietly ignore it or fully pretend to be supportive while they aren’t. I hope s2 shows us the end of that scene and how the reactions went and not just a time jump. We will most likely start with a time jump but i hope the first ep of s2 shows us the reaction through a flashback.

Overall: amazing actors. Really good writing. These were realistic characters who make dumb realistic choices and are heartfelt and down to earth. All the actors are amazing and bring so much to the table. The writing is great dropping small hints for things to come without it being screamed at your face so you aren’t surprised 100% by certain choices but also not completely expected. And it’s honest about teens’ journeys at that age with appropriate age actors (except for Andrew I haven’t looked at his age but motherfucker looks older then ME lmao). I can’t WAIT for s2 and again, leaving it to existence so it happens: LET SIMON AND BRAM HAVE A LIL EP WITH VICTOR AGAIN IN S2!!!!!!

[bicommunitynews]

Each year we publish a roundup of bi events at the end of December. Naturally this one will be a little less packed than usual. Nonetheless wishing you a very different and better year ahead! At the start of the year very few of us realised what might be ahead as the COVID-19 virus was still thought to be far away and most likely confined to a corner of China. So for those first ten weeks or so of 2020 things were happening as normal. So it was at the start of January when Layla Moran became the first UK MP to come out as pansexual. Courts compensated a worker who had been told to pretend to be gay rather than bi in the workplace and returned confiscated medals to an ex serviceman. Northern Ireland started to consult on same-sex marriage while we learned women are more likely to divorce one another than men. There was good news on HIV figures and from the European Court declaring that government inaction on LGBTphobic hate was no longer acceptable. And the Welsh Government declared it would go a step further than merely repealing Section 28 with active work to ensure children are making informed choices on sex and relationships. In February Bi Pride got a mention in the House, while LGBT History Month saw many more bi-related talks than usual. Overseas Switzerland voted to recognise LGBT hate crimes. There were bis on TV in Doctors and I Am Not OK With This as well as a new season of Atypical to look forward to. And new research showed peculiar findings about bi people and skin cancer.

With the pandemic seeing the start of lockdown in the UK during March events started to be cancelled like Birmingham BiFest and BiFest Wales. As Prides started to fall like dominoes, Eurovision announced its first ever rollover winner. In the USA a St Patrick’s Day parade barred a beauty pageant winner from marching on account of her bisexuality. We had more bi representation on TV in Love Is Blind’s demonstration of double-standards over bisexuality, BBC polyamory drama Trigonometry, and Batwoman. The House of Commons held its first ever debate on LBT women’s health while Canada declared its intention to outlaw so-called “gay cure” so-called “therapy”. And new figures showed more people identifying as bi in the UK than ever.

In April many of us were starting to get used to life indoors and wondering how much a loo roll could fetch on eBay there were sobering thoughts about how the lockdown meant a lot of bi and LGBT people were now trapped in unsafe situations. The USA responded by relaxing its limitations on bi and gay men donating blood with Australia contemplating the same shift. The first LGBT club closure of the pandemic was announced in Brighton. On TV we had a raft of fresh bi viewing with the return of Flack, Killing Eve and Harley Quinn. But the big bi drama of the month was away from TV as BiNetUSA abruptly tried to claim copyright over the public domain bisexual flag.

Most LGBT magazines stopped publishing for the time being due to the pandemic but we took the decision to keep BCN coming out as one little strand of bi life we could keep fairly normal, so our April edition was the second of six in 2020.

Staying indoors gave people some time to organise and so in May there were online campaigns about the blood donation ban and conversion therapy. Being indoors also meant people could virtually visit museums worldwide. New research showed bi men were the most closeted group across Europe.

As the Black Lives Matter movement drew headlines worldwide in June dating app Grindr dropped its race filter. One of those “how did that take so long?” moments. There was a big victory in the US Supreme Court, while over here a new faux LGB equality campaign group came out against same-sex marriage, for anyone who hadn’t already realised they weren’t on the side of any queer folks. The BBC nonetheless carried on quoting them as if they were a serious human rights campaign. The annual Bi Book Awards winners were announced, though without (for now) the usual glamorous awards event. The Grammys got their tongue tied online. In good news, Gabon decriminalised sex between women and between men and Scotland opened up civil partnerships to any couple regardless of gender. BiCon had a bumpy month with two organising teams quitting in the space of a week.

In July we had more happy news from abroad as Montenegro recognised same-sex civil partnerships and South Africa changed its rules on how marriage ceremonies are conducted. It was less good elsewhere as the budget for PrEP was cut in the UK and in Poland the presidential election came down to a knife-edge before going the wrong way. We learned bis have worse experiences of crime than other people and the GLAAD annual review of film releases noted cinema was getting Whiter and gayer, with no bi male representation in major film releases.

We are used to a host of Prides in August so it was a hot summer with so much less to do every Saturday! However some ran online and BiCon happened in a very slimmed-down online form. The run-up to Bi Visibility Day began with more Town Halls deciding to fly the bi flag. New US research showed bi youth experience of bullying.

It’s Bi Visibility Day, Bi Week and Bi Month in September and among the delights was improvements in dictionary definitions. Northern Ireland inched further forward on equality while the UK courts rules that the Equality Act includes nonbinary people. Coming-out guide Getting Bi came out for the Kindle. In the USA we saw the first research on how the COVID-19 pandemic was hitting the LGBT communities while here Stonewall had research on how many bis are out to their families – not many.

In October we learned there would be a biopic of former US Congresswoman Katie Hill. Netflix dropped GLOW. In good news for millions the Pope made a small shift toward a better attitude to LGBT lives on the part of the Catholic Church. And in bad news here, a BBC which was veering increasingly far from balanced and responsible reporting of LGBT issues warned staff they should not attend Pride events even in their own time and private lives.

All eyes were on the USA in November as Donald Trump lost by a huge margin in the election there – albeit not as wide a margin as many opinion polls had predicted. Biden won with over 80 million votes in the end – more than any previous candidate. Biden’s speech missed out the “B”. Europe considered its next five year plan on LGBT work without the UK, and in Poland there were symbolic protests against the hateful “LGBT free zone” populists. We all realised we had been too distracted by COVID to notice that the LGBT inclusion work in schools that had started under the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition had been quietly dropped by the new minister for Women and Equalities.

Most important, COVID vaccines started to be approved. After a very hard year, change was at last in sight.

In December the three month ban on blood donation for bi and gay men and their partners was completely rewritten – for better and for worse – though the new rules don’t come in until a few months into 2021. Kyrsten Sinema rocked a great wig and coat in Washington. There was divine justice as a homophobic MEP got caught breaking COVID rules at a gay party. And Switzerland – whose good news on hate crime kicked the year off – decided to let same-sex couples marry. And so ILGA’s annual world map of LGBT rights showed a ripple of changes. And our fifth edition of the pandemic landed on subscriber doormats, more or less in time for Christmas.

That was 2020. To our most sincere delight, it is in the past. Here’s to a very different year ahead.

[bearsfakedthemoonlanding]

Work Safety

It is very neat to feel safe at work.

[Content warning: mild transphobia, misunderstanding, and internalized transphobia. Mentions of the Supreme Court.]

Context: A little over a month ago, I moved from my hometown in the midwest to New Orleans, LA.  I knew I loved the city from past visits, but I didn’t actually know what I was getting into.  Two days into being here, I walked into a small grocery store and applied for a job.  I’ve been there now for three weeks.

There is a lesson here in allyship, and in living your truth loudly enough that other people grab your wavelength.  On my second day of training, I’d spent enough time with my coworker to figure he was safe.  He’s well over six feet tall, built like a mountain, hands big enough to grab whole sealed meats from the deli case one-handed without dropping them.  He’s also incredibly friendly, very outgoing, and he has the voice. 

When I told him my pronouns, he jumped right on it and asked if it was okay to spread the word around.  I agreed.  I was excited by his support and help here (I’d gotten that sort of support from my college roommates, but never from anyone else, and I figured they were sort of a fluke in that regard.  The kind of perks you get from found family, not from strangers). 

But the next day I notice other people making the effort, stumbling occasionally, but correcting themselves.  Which has never happened before.

And a few days later, when someone messes up and doesn’t notice, I somehow find the guts to speak up.  They say something along the lines of “SHE’ll help you out--”  and I go to help, of course, but also chime in an audible, “THEY. But yes.” 

Anytime I corrected pronouns in front of my parents, my mother would roll her eyes and go off about how I was her little girl, and I can’t expect my family to just change their view of me like that, I can’t expect them to change their language, just let it go, they’re family.  I have an otherwise good relationship with my mother, so I never pushed too hard.  Besides brief rants from my father about “the way God made us” and “there’s only two genders” and “taking it out of God’s hands” I never heard much from him, but I knew his opinions.  My grandmother would claim support, but would also corner me to whisper about how “nobody ACTUALLY wants to be a woman, you just have to pretend,” and would go off on screaming homophobic rants when she was drunk.  Never told her I was a lesbian, or bisexual, or anything.  She’ll find out I’m trans when there’s no more hiding it.

So those were the responses I was used to.  At my last job, as a nurse’s aide in an old folks home, any mention of pronouns or corrections at all were met with a chuckled, “Oh right, my bad, of course,” but my coworkers were far too busy with other things to remember beyond the conversation.  The few who did would persistently get my pronouns wrong, saying things like, “Don’t call [Name] a girl, she’s a THEY.”  As if they were a noun all to itself, a new way of being a person.  Like how they used to say “she’s a he-she” “she’s a queer” “she’s a butch” turning something into a descriptor where it doesn’t belong, making you feel a bit... odd.  Even if queer or butch or they are ways you describe yourself, when someone takes your word and frames it that way around you, you still feel off. 

But that doesn’t happen here.  Coworkers here, even supervisors, say, “Right, I’m sorry,” and correct it.  Every time.  

I wasn’t expecting the chef I worked for to give two singular fucks about my pronouns, let alone about me.  I expected a chef to be like a nurse-- busy, superior, a bit callous and with a hundred more important things to care about than what I had to say.  I just wipe the butts/chop the vegetables/scrub the dishes.  Who cares what kind of gender-freak I am while I do it, so long as I get my job done.  Who cares what they call me.  They don’t owe me anything, right? 

But he’s gone out of his way to be careful about it.  Correcting pronouns, every time, and he’s told me twice now that he’s “really trying to pay attention to it, and to let other people know too” and he “doesn’t want to slip up.”  This is a mid-forties rocker dude who wears bandanas and cargo shorts and signs along badly to the Beasty Boys.  Past experience has taught me not to trust these men.  He’s changing his mind. 

And maybe I’m feeling a little burgeoned by the Supreme Court’s decision, even though I know it’s rather arbitrary.  A friend of mine has been working in the factories back home since he finished high school, and any time words gotten out that He’s not just a butch woman, he’s been out the door by the end of the week.  If they can’t fire you for being trans, they’ll come up with another excuse. 

Regardless, I’ve been feeling brave.  Maybe it’s the testosterone.  Maybe it’s the camaraderie.  Maybe it’s my girlfriend’s support, or the Supreme Court, or the uprisings, or nine hundred miles between me and my parents--

But yesterday, when a coworker slipped up with the “he/she/they” situation for at least the fifth time that day, I laughed loudly and yelled, “She?  Just you wait till I grow a beard, then you’ll stop with this SHE business!” 

And they laughed.  And the chef added, “Yeah, or the voice drop,” because I’ve mentioned it several times before.  I’m just so excited for these new changes, excited to be put together correctly, excited for less people to fuck up about me.  And I don’t want to drive my girlfriend crazy talking about it, so I gush at my coworkers, explaining the voice drop, the facial hair (maybe), the masculinization, the fact that a lot of things will be underway at the five month mark, which is conveniently right in time for Christmas (God help us). 

What I’m saying here is that things are good, and this city is good.  I didn’t think it would make such a difference.  I spent so much time around people who thought I was some sort of defect or odd-ball or attention seeker that I started to believe them, and to be treated like a normal person?  To say something and have people listen?  To be given respect? 

I almost can’t believe it’s possible.

[likeadisgruntledpelican]

I’m pretty sure we will get to see malex happy that’s why I said that lmao

That wasn’t really what you said though, but I’m not trying to fight about it.  I just noticed a thing and commented on it.  It doesn’t change whether or not the couple is “endgame.” 

I honestly don’t even get this obsession with the concept of “endgame.”  Why is the idea that this couple is “endgame” more important than whether or not the journey they go on is unsatisfying all the way through?  I’m not even saying anything bad here regarding the ship itself.  So it’s not like I’m bashing Malex.  I mean I have my issues with Michael (yes, just Michael), but it’s not like I don’t ship it. 

I have issues with the way queer story lines are written for nearly every show I’ve ever watched.  Schitt’s Creek is probably the only show that I trust completely.  With Malec, they could have improved a lot of things, but overall, I loved Malec.  With Malex, I don’t like how they push the majority of the blame of the relationship onto Alex.  (I’m not talking fandom here, which is a diff story.  I’m talking the narrative itself). 

Alex leaves an abusive situation to protect himself and the boy he loved from his homophobic father.  That’s the extent of the grudge that the narrative can have against Alex.  But Alex is treated like he’s the toxic one, and that being involved with him could only result in bad things happening.  To paraphrase Alexis Rose, I’m allowed to not like that journey for him. 

I don’t want to watch him being traumatized or reliving trauma for a full five seasons just so they can finally decide he’s been redeemed enough to be with Michael.  (I also don’t want to see Michael constantly retraumatized either)

I want to watch the two of them grow together.  Sure, they can be apart, and they can date other people, but the narrative needs to stop pretending like Alex is the worst part of Michael’s life.  It needs to stop telling us that Michael can only be happy if he chooses someone other than Alex because Alex is a victim to those incidents too.  I also want the narrative to stop acting like Alex has to go through more redemption than Kyle or Jesse Manes (or any of the other Manes).  (And no, I’m not trying to lump Kyle in with them.  I love Kyle.  But they wrote a good redemption arc for him regarding how he treated Alex). 

Why does Kyle get to be redeemed for what he’s done, when Alex can’t even be redeemed for stuff he didn’t do?  That’s the part I don’t like.  The narrative has Alex fear that he is just like his father, and then the narrative also treats him like it too. 

If that’s what she’s after (Carina) - a story arc where Alex just suffers and suffers and sticks by Michael’s side through everything, but we don’t see Michael do the same for him - I have to look at that and think “what’s the point in ME watching?”  I’m not at all telling others not to watch.  But I’m not here for that.  I’m never here for a story line that punishes queer characters and never gives them a break from it (I’m including Michael here).  I don’t care if the show runner swears on a Bible that her queer characters are safe from the burying your gays trope.  If they’re only there for her to shame and torment and to reinforce horrible stereotypes around them and through them, then what you have is exactly what I said. 

A canon ship that’s put through hell for no other reason than for the sake of trauma.  On a show where the show runner has shown multiple times that she doesn’t care about the ship (I said shown, not told).  She wants Miluca for now, and if she does, that’s fine.  But I will never be here for a narrative that tells a queer character that your history with a same gender relationship is toxic and unhealthy but that if you will just choose the opposite gender person, everything will be fine. 

I will never be here for a narrative that’s trying to tell bisexual people that you will only ever see pain if you choose a same gender relationship but you’ll be happy and free and whole if you choose the opposite gender relationship.  That’s a crappy message to send to bisexuals (and it’s why the accusations of biphobia in the fandom piss me off - there are biphobic people but they aren’t the real problem - the narrative that’s doing this is).

I’m not here for a narrative that constantly has a gay character who was abused for being gay dismissed as being no better than his homophobic family.  That’s literally what we see either onscreen or behind the scenes from her.  I’m not here for that.

TL DR or whatever.  I’m not trying to yell at you, I’m just tired.  I’m tired of the choices always being “this same gender platonic relationship is coded as queer but it will never see the light of day on screen” OR “this canon same gender relationship will never be happy as long as I’m alive, but we’ll throw them a bone in the last 15 minutes of the last season.” 

Dan Levy is tired of it too.  So until show runners copy his POV, I will never understand why it’s more important that a couple be endgame rather than happy.

[talktomeintiptoes]

Anyway so here's my bullet point essay that no one asked for on last night’s Big Fandom Mess™️. Don’t @ me until you’ve read to the end:

Homophobia isn't cute!

Biphobia isn't cute!

Obviously not everyone involved in this discussion is homophobic or biphobic, and people probably have good intentions, but I just wanted to make the above clear from the get-go.

If someone is currently in a heterosexual relationship, it doesn't mean it is impossible for them to still be bisexual, even if they haven't (yet) said that they are.

If someone is bisexual, it doesn't mean that their heterosexual relationships were automatically a lie. You know, that’s where the whole bisexual thing comes in.

Not everyone who believes that Taylor could be bisexual automatically believes that she's been in some hidden five year relationship.

On that same note, it is entirely possible to believe that at some point in time there was something going on with her and Karlie without subscribing to any current conspiracy theories about said hidden five year relationship.

Actually, believing she could be bisexual doesn't even have to hinge on the potential connection between her and Karlie, like, at all! Imagine that!

It is entirely possible to be friends with people and not share the exact same beliefs.

It is never okay to actually out someone, obviously! If you know for a fact that someone is not straight, and they are actively trying to hide it, and you feel the urge to tell the world about it, you need to suppress that urge!

I don't really think it's okay to pretend you know anything for a FACT because none of us do (unless you’re actually Taylor, or a close friend that she actually talks to): not people who believe she's fully heterosexual, not people who suspect she's bi, not people who think she’s a closet lesbian and claim to have "sources" and make masterposts about bearding and contracts.

Let me repeat that: It's okay to feel like you know something in your heart but it's not okay to present that feeling as undeniable fact.

Actually, let me also clarify that I do not think it's okay to make masterposts about bearding and contracts.

One of the reasons why I think that is not okay is because it directly contradicts what Taylor has said about her life, in interviews, in her music, to fans, etc. (I don’t care if you think it’s true! I don’t even care if you think that you know it’s true! Especially if you think you know that it’s true, because then you actually are veering into outing territory and we have already established that that is not okay.)

Wondering about something someone hasn’t said is not the same as outright dismissing something they have said. (If you’re coming my way telling me that speculating that she might not be straight is also dismissive of what she’s said, just... don’t. 🎶 Unless you’ve got receipts for her saying she’s 100% straight, then go on, I’ll wait.)

That being said, neither is it okay to speculate on Taylor's heterosexual sex life and write about her boyfriend's dick and where he puts it. Just don't. It's gross. (This goes for any kind of sex life speculation, not just heterosexual.)

It is okay to speculate on public actions, especially when Taylor has literally just made a seven minute video (!) on how she hides easter eggs in everything including clothing and jewelry, and some of those public actions were connected to the very magazine article that the video was a companion piece to.

It is okay to take notice of the fact that she wore a pride pin, did not explain said pride pin in the article while explaining almost every other pin on her jacket, and made a point to like not one but two posts stating that it was indeed a pride pin. Like these are actual things that happened, no one made them up. They're out there for everyone to see.

It is okay to take notice of the fact that in that list of nine inspirations, three of them were explicitly queer (King Princess, Killing Eve and Conversations With Friends) and some of the others were... interesting. Again, public information available in a widely circulated magazine. No one made this up.

It is okay to take notice of the fact that some of the wording in the EW article when she was talking about being brave enough to be vulnerable was very similar to the pride speech. Because it was similar?

It is okay to take notice of the fact that she's been using a lot of rainbow and bisexual color schemes. Because she literally has been doing that?

It is okay to take notice of the fact that the speculation has gotten a lot louder this era, and that no steps have been taken to tone any of it down. None of the opportunities to clarify any of it in a heterosexual way have been taken, hell, one of her best friends posted about how his favorite parts of the video were the "gayest" parts and her publicist retweeted an article about the "queer undertones" in the video. Again, none of this was made up.

We can of course have different opinions about what all of the above means, and if you think it doesn’t mean anything beyond her being a great ally that’s completely valid, but to say that just picking up on these things at all, and considering the possibility that it could mean she’s more than an ally is somehow wrong and invasive is laughable. No one in this whole discussion is like, staking out her house and looking through her windows trying to catch her in a compromising position, no one is sharing rumors they heard about things she may have done behind closed doors, people are discussing the things that she chose to put out there, in a specific magazine, at a specific point in time, in a specific order (per her own words in her easter egg video). I don't understand why it's wrong and invasive when the clues are interpreted as gay but it's perfectly fine when they're interpreted as literally anything other than gay. (Actually yeah, I do understand, We Live In A Society™️. Heteronormativity is powerful and so is homophobia.)

Taylor does not need you to protect her from the horrible, terrible, evil people who think she may be anything other than heterosexual. It is literally impossible to “decide” someone’s sexuality. People saying: “this person may not be heterosexual” is not going to make them go: “oh you’re right! Better listen to this person and be gay now!” If she’s just a great ally, I’m sure she anticipated people interpreting her actions differently, and she’s not offended, because great allies don’t get offended by the very idea of gayness. If she’s not just a great ally, you should trust her to be smart enough to have planted all these clues deliberately and to want people to pick up on them. I repeat: we are literally talking about a woman who made a seven minute video about how she puts easter eggs into everything she does. Chill. She’ll be fine. At the end of the day, we all love and support her no matter what. (At least I hope we do.)

Anyway, if in doubt, just don’t post it! Keep it to yourself / your DMs / your group chats. (This goes for everyone on both sides.) Like the great poet Kacey Musgraves once said, if you ain’t got nothing nice to say, don’t say nothing at all.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

[maeve-of-winter]

Instead of tearing down lgbt characters (yes, that includes lesbians) why aren't we focusing on the fact that straight characters are still treated with the most reverence on the show. The "core four" is comprised of four straight characters. It took an episode called Bizzarodale to give Kevin a real storyline. We still don't know anything about Toni's parents. I'm not understanding what Cheryl has to do with the writers unwillingness to pry 5 or 10 minutes of screentime away from the core four

Anon, here’s the thing: commenting on the canon behavior of characters that is demonstrably wrong (such as stalking someone while pretending to be their friend and then framing someone else for it) or remarking that the writers give them great priority than other characters isn’t “tearing them down.” By your logic, you’re “tearing down” the Core Four by commenting that they receive more screentime than Toni and Kevin.

Since you said you don’t understand my points about Cheryl, I will try to outline them the best I can. Your choice if you want to listen or ignore it all.

1. I can be upset about more than one issue at one time regarding Riverdale’s writing.

This one is pretty simple and pretty much exactly as it says, but one that your above attempt to push aside the issues that I outlined earlier and have multiple times seems to brush aside. I can be upset that the Core Four have so much screentime in comparison to characters like Kevin and Toni while also being upset at how the writing treats Toni in comparison to Cheryl and doesn’t give the spotlight to any queer characters beyond Cheryl.

I do not have to trade one for the other. This is not a zero sum game. I have stated multiple times in the past that I’m upset about Kevin not getting focus or development. Seriously, it’s probably 2/3s of my blog’s content. I just did a post talking about how I dislike that he joins the cult mostly so Betty can angst about it.

But I can also dislike how the show’s writing positions Toni in comparison to and in her relationship with Cheryl.

Also, let’s not pretend for a moment here that Cheryl’s character is neglected in the same way that Toni and Kevin’s characters are or that she doesn’t receive just as much attention from the writers as the Core Four. She absolutely does. Yes, there were a few episodes toward the beginning of the season where she wasn’t receiving quite as much focus, but that was far from the status quo. Cheryl has very consistently been featured just as much as the Core Four since then, and was also a major part of Seasons 1 & 2. She’s not desperately in need of screentime or development like others are.

2. My issue with Cheryl as the writers’ LGBT character of choice

This one is fairly standard, and I feel like we might be frustrated by similar things. My issue here is not with Cheryl’s character in itself. My issue here is that the writers seemed to pick her as the one character to represent all queer characters, give her plot focus, development, and attention no queer character had seen before or has seen since, and gave her a girlfriend seemingly not to have an actual relationship of equals between them but so Cheryl could both prove her queerness and have a constant supportive sidekick. 

The writers seem to think she is the only queer character worth developing, and that is extremely frustrating to me, when a character like Kevin, who were always queer since Season One, are still regulated to the background. Or like Joaquin, who was unceremoniously killed off. 

It bothers me because the writers have various queer characters, and instead of taking time to develop them, even the ones who are supposed to be main characters, instead shrug go, “Well, we have Cheryl, and that’s enough.”

If you think I’m exaggerating, let me remind you of something you said:

We still don't know anything about Toni's parents.

You’re right. We don’t. We don’t even know their names.

And yet, we know the names of Cheryl’s brother, mother, father, uncle, grandmother, ones of her ancestors, aunt, and another uncle. And with the exception of the last two, all of them have played a role in the plot.

Which means that the writers think that Cheryl’s family is worth introducing and developing. And yet we still don’t have an explanation of what happened to Toni’s parents. Not even a mention. Which means the writing staff doesn’t think at all about developing Toni’s background or past. Cheryl gets a detailed history of her family and their exploits, but there’s none of that for Toni.

And if you think that it’s just because Toni’s newer to the show and has only been a main character since the beginning of this season, let’s talk about a character who’s been on the show since the very beginning of Season 1 and a main since Season 2: Kevin.

We still don’t know his mom’s name. The show just never gave her one. We know the name of Cheryl’s ancestor, but the writers never bothered to give his mom a name. Which is kind of noticeable when one of Kevin’s only plots last season revolved around him being upset that his dad was cheating on his mom. And also when one of his only plots this season revolved around him getting a new mother in the form of Sierra as his stepmother.

It just goes to show you how shallow and one-note the few plots Kevin gets are: we don’t ever get to see him talking about anyone about the remarriage and how he feels and how it’s affected his relationship with his biological mother. It’s never mentioned, because the writers think Kevin’s feelings are that negligible. 

So my issue here isn’t with Cheryl at all, but the writing staff and their refusal to develop queer characters beyond Cheryl. The discrepancy is both disappointing and frustrating.

3. The Choni relationship is mostly all about Cheryl. Almost always.

What the title says.

The moment that has unfortunately defined the Choni relationship from the very beginning was the circumstances under which they got together. It was in the later half of Season 2, shortly after the Southside merged with Riverdale High. If you recall, Cheryl very purposefully set out to be snide and nasty to the Southside students for no reason whatsoever, leading other students to have them expelled and maliciously taunting them because she was upset herself and wanted to make other people miserable. (Her reasoning is actually discussed in the brief conversation she had with Midge following Mr. Weatherbee’s announcement of the merge.)   

Then, without Cheryl ever apologizing to Toni for mistreating her and preemptively judging her, in the episode where they get together, the writers suddenly have Toni desperately reaching to help Cheryl for whatever reason. Keep in mind that Cheryl has never been nice to her. Ever. And true to form, Cheryl throws a homophobic insult Toni’s way for her trouble. But Toni continues to reach out to her, and, in scene that is all about Cheryl and Cheryl’s great pain and suffering, they get together, Toni lavishing Cheryl with praise and Cheryl most definitely not returning the favor.

And that’s pretty much the dynamic their relationship has stuck with 95% of the time. For the vast majority of the show, the Choni relationship is about Cheryl’s pain, Cheryl’s ideas, Cheryl’s emotions, Cheryl’s wants, Cheryl’s. And that is my prime issue with it. It is all about a Cheryl. In this interracial relationship between a mixed race black-Native woman and a white woman, it is the white woman character who gets all of the writers’ focus and development. It is the white woman whose character is the one treated as relevant.

I could point to numerous examples, but I feel that the moment that best demonstrates how Cheryl’s feelings are prioritized over Toni’s is when Jughead throws them both out of the Serpents.

Toni has been established by the show as Native American. The Serpents are established to be the last remnants of the Uktena tribe, which Toni is descended from, and Toni’s grandfather is a Serpent as well. The Serpents are not only her friends, but her tribe and her family.

So when Jughead, a white man, throws her out of the Serpents, Toni is essentially losing her heritage. She is having her individuality as a Native American stripped away from her, as white people have historically done to Native peoples for centuries. She is losing her people. She is losing her culture. This is probably a devastating event for her.

But who does the writing focus on?

Cheryl. The girl who’s ancestor slaughtered Toni’s ancestors. The white girl who only just became a Serpent a few months ago. The girl who has no cultural ties to the Serpents, no history with them, no family with them, and actually set out once to drive various members of it away from her high school simply because she didn’t want them there.

That moment, for me, is the epitome of the writers being unwilling to pay attention to Toni’s character in her relationship with Cheryl. When she doesn’t even have a voice when her heritage is being removed. Sure, Toni’s in the scene, and she has far more reason to be upset than Cheryl, but Cheryl’s the one in the relationship the writers want to give lines to, so it’s Cheryl who takes the spotlight while Toni is treated just like she’s some tagalong to Cheryl who barely has an opinion. 

Again.  

All said and done, anon, my issue is far less with Cheryl than with the writing. I don’t like that her white woman pain is treated as more worthwhile in comparison to the various POC characters whose lives she actively set out to destroy. I don’t like that the writers have continually kept the spotlight on her in the Choni relationship and refuse to flesh out Toni’s background at all. And I really don’t like that she’s treated by the writers like the only queer character on the show worth developing.

Yes, the writers could take away screentime from the Core Four and give it to the other queer characters, and I wish they would. But they aren’t doing that, and while they continue not to do that, I’m going to continue to talk about the weird racial implications that surround Cheryl, particularly in her relationship with Toni, and why the writers evidently don’t don’t think Toni is worth the same exploration and development that Cheryl gets week after week.

[edeneben]

My Coming Out Story

⚠️//TRIGGER WARNINGS: Homophobia, Sexual Assault, rape, depression, self hatred, and suicide//⚠️

If you know me, you know I’m pretty flamboyant and pretty open about how the fact I’m pretty flipping queer. But I haven’t always been very happy being like this, as most other queer people also aren’t and this is basically the story of how I accepted that.

Second grade; the point and time in most people’s lives that is mainly a blur of silly bands, crayons, and story books. For me personally, it was the start of absolute hell.

So I was raised in a pretty religious family. I would end up praying before every meal, before I go to sleep, and at least three times a week at church functions. So really early on I heard a lot of really gross and disgusting things. (Not to say all religious people are bad, it’s just I was raised in a conservative republican town were Friday nights are spent at youth group by most high schoolers) so by the age of seven or eight I heard the words “faggot” and “queers” thrown around a lot and the whole “All homos deserve to burn in Hell and be stoned.” Though, I did’t really understand the concept of being gay, or love in general.

So you could sarcastically say I was off to a great start.

In elementary school we would read these short stories in these obnoxiously massive books, and one of these stories was about a hedgehog or something baking a yellow cake. As a fun activity my teacher Mrs.Blair has us bake a cake in groups of four. We didn’t pick our groups, she just kind of shoved our desks together and said “have fun.”

In my group it was two boys, a girl, and me. The two boys were kind of annoying and I basically ignored them the whole time, but the girl was a different story. I noticed that she had short, messy light brown hair, very pretty greenish eyes, and a very cute smile. I took a liking to her pretty quickly and I started sitting with her at lunch instead of with my friends. I knew I really enjoyed being around her and that I thought she was the actual prettiest person I had ever seen. Though, I didn’t get why.

Then my friends started talking about boys and crushes. I couldn’t relate to anything they were saying before but after I met the girl, I did start to relate. But I related in a different way. Everything they said about the boys they liked were how I thought about her. Wanting to hold her hand and play house with her and crap. (We all know playing house together was the way to flirt back then)

So inevitably I was like, “Oh. Why am I the only one thinking about girls? Am I weird?” And then I kind of understood I was the bad thing they talked about in church all the time. I was the evil horrid thing that didn’t have a place in being there. Which, was a horrible thing to think about.

This was when self hatred really set in. Not only did I deal with that crushing reality, but my teenage brother also started arguing with my parents a lot and hearing the fights really hurt me mentally and I started crying myself to sleep.

I was eight. None of that stuff should have been a problem, though of course it was. *** Then in third grade I started praying a lot more and I joined an after school church club thing ran by my church.

Every time we would meet, Father Michael would ask those of us who haven’t been saved to go to the back of the room and pray with him to get saved. He kind of knew something was up when I went back there every single meeting, but he never asked. Probably for the best in all honesty.

Then I was like, “Yeah okay all of the praying has to be working by now and I’m totally not a homosexual now lmao.” Which, obviously not but I pretended to like guys anyways. (Ey Tyler waddup bud, yeah that was you. Jokes on both of us were both gay now love youuuu)

The day I told everybody I totally definitely liked him was the day before he moved away so I wouldn't have to deal with it. So. Yeah. *** Fourth grade was more of the same, just sadder tbh. Oh and I got another crush on a girl named Kayla I dated twice. Almost three but let’s not get into that. ( @kayla-le-queen ) *** Fifth grade was the first time I ever said I liked girls out loud. Though I kind of lied to myself and said “ha ha I like both.” Which I didn’t, but I had convinced myself that I was slightly ‘normal.’

It’s kind of a weird story as I had just been swimming with my other religious friend in their pool and I was like “oh by the way-“ Which, describes how awkward I am perfectly.

This is also the year I started making internet friends who had the same interests and experiences as me and I was sort of getting my footing with myself. *** Nothing prepared me for the absolute shit storm that was sixth grade.

Not only did I deal with hitting puberty, drama, a new school, and the surfacing of panic attacks, I had to deal with getting outed. Yep. Let’s get into it shall we?

Sixth grade. I came out as bi to a couple of my friends and stopped going to church. Only low key though. I wasn’t looking for my entire life to be flipped upside down. My parents were casually homophobic and my peers were actively expressing that.

Still, I decided to start dating someone.

Remember my friend who I came out to in the pool? Yeah, them. I dated them.

BIG MISTAKE.

As soon as we started dating, they told everyone. I told them “no one needs to know, we should keep it private you know? For safety.” They refused to listen.

By the end of the day everyone in my grade and even some upperclassmen knew that I was bi. Though the message got messed up and everyone thought I was a lesbian. (Which made me uncomfortable because I was still mfnsjsjjd about gender and stuff) (that’s a whole other coming out that I don’t want to get into in this as the whole thing is not anywhere near over)

Then the bullying for it started happening.

I was the first “out” kid in my grade so of course I was met with a bunch of crap.

Girls in locker rooms would yell at me for looking up at all, and there was one incident were a girl decided to come up to me, grope my chest and laugh about it with her friends because, “I was just a dirty lesbo pervert who probably enjoyed it.”

Guys would say repeatedly they could make me straight and also would do similar things to what that girl is.

Did I tell my parents? No of course I didn’t. I wasn’t out and I needed it to stay that way. My dad had anger issues and he had once hit my brother out of anger. So, I didn’t really feel completely safe to be quite honest. (It’s kind of better now. He still gets angry easy but he only had one more incident and that was years ago.)

I ended up breaking up with that person because I clearly couldn’t trust them and I was very upset with them. I still blame them. *** Then seventh grade happened. As per usual things got worse.

My parents found out about my internet friends and read all of our messages and I got outed to them.

Then my parents never trusted me again and took away the one good thing I had in my life that was consistently there for me and genuinely made me happy and feel safe.

Their homophobia also worsened. They also outed me to all of their friends and family. (Thanks mom)

I also attempted suicide for the first time. My parents and friends still don’t know about that. *** Eight grade was the worst year of my life. In eighth grade I kind of realized I was ace and came out to my friends and the girl I liked at the time.

I kind of blocked out homophobia at that point. Yes it was still happening to me and it had gotten worse, but eighth grade was a blur for me.

I can’t really remember much of it.

My English teacher who was a mother figure, Mrs.Freeze, who was the first adult to accept me, died during the last two weeks of school.

As well as an extremely traumatic event happened.

I might delete this part when I upload it but if I don’t I want you all to know that this is where I’m warning that sexual assault victims might want to click away at.

I decided to go on the Washington DC trip with my school and the girl I liked went with me.

By the time we got back to the hotel, I hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours so I was asleep rather quickly.

It was four girls to a room, two to a bed. The two other girls left to hang out with their friends and it was just me left alone with the girl I liked and was out as ace to.

She took it upon herself to try to “fix” me.

I woke up while she was doing it and I eventually got her off me and escaped to the bathroom and cried.

I didn’t tell any adult on the trip and I just told a girl that I wasn’t comfortable around that girl anymore and thankfully she didn’t ask why and just switched seats on the bus with me and beds.

I still deal with trauma relating to this everyday, and I still have extreme panic attacks because of it. I lost physical trust with people for a while and I couldn’t be touched by anyone until recently.

This event also drove me to another suicide attempt.

That’s all I can say about that. Acephobia does exist and it can be extremely violent and damaging to people, so please just kindly shut up about ace discourse. *** During freshman year I was finally starting to be accepted by my parents, I came out as queer and ace officially, joined the GSA, met some more gays and life has been a bit better since then. *** My life isn’t perfect and homophobia is still a huge part of it and a lot of trauma surrounding my experience is still yet to be dealt with but I’m getting there. *** So my labels?

Queer and Ace-spec. That’s as specific as I can get I don’t know what you want from me lmao. *** Conclusion? Life does get better and eventually you will find acceptance and peace within yourself. I know you might be an extremely dark place with what looks like no chance of happiness or safety, but I promise you will get it eventually.

I love all of you and I wish you all the best in your own journeys.

Happy pride month.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💙💚💛🧡❤️