#like it's queerbaiting (affectionate)

[naughtylilotter]

i wanna be so clear that i think taskhusbands is queerbaiting in the way that i think explicit gay couples are often more boring than implied ones. like sure theyve kissed but it's still queerbaiting bc it's for the Comedy and that's their Job and im sucking it up like a vaccuum and coughing up yaoiful interpretations bc that's how i have fun

[pinkbluehoney]

.

[teambyler]

My video "A LAWYER'S EVIDENCE that Mike and Will become a romantic pair in Stranger Things" is out!

Many of you have followed me ( @teambyler ) or read my essays analyzing Byler (I've linked some of the most-shared ones below). I am actually also a LAWYER who has a YouTube channel called RONALD OFF THE RECORD, and I just released my big video on Byler! (I also have another YouTube channel with 45K subscribers that I mention in the video)

I'm prepared to put my professional reputation as a lawyer on the line to comment on a piece of science fiction, because goddammit this is important to me! It is not "delusional" to think Will and Mike will become a couple, and there is nothing wrong with you if want it to happen! This is a video essay I've been planning for at least SIX MONTHS, and I put a lot of work into it. Please share, and please leave comments. Enjoy! =D

0:00 Why this video 1:38 Hate for Byler on the internet 10:16 Case for Mileven 15:21 Case for Byler: Starting premises 17:56 If Will were a girl… 25:30 The evidence! 29:05 EXHIBIT A: The Snow Ball 31:34 B: Mike's reactions to El and Will being upset 34:21 C: Season 3 ending montage 39:16 D: Airport reunion 47:51 E: Rink-O-Mania argument 51:28 F: Heteronormativity, audience expectations 58:25 G: Throwing away the letter 59:55 H: 2nd heart-to-heart scene 1:05:43 I: Mike can't say he loves El 1:13:27 J: Platonic reunion 1:15:12 K: Will's role convincing Mike to say "I love you" 1:20:08 L: Effect of the "love confession" on El 1:39:54 M: The Painting Lie 1:43:22 Honorable mentions 1:45:27 Non-diegetic evidence 2:01:23 Actor statements 2:10:34 NOT how you write an unrequited love story 2:16:07 Why Byler SHOULD happen (queerbaiting, etc.) 2:28:21 A more powerful story 2:35:45 A personal note

I'm now making this my new pinned post, so I'll list a few of my posts here for people to check out.

ADDITIONS: -28:00 On "We should normalize same-sex friends being affectionate, they don't have to be gay," I should have been clearer. HOMOPHOBIA is the reason for that stigma. Straight friends feeling like they can be affectionate in our society HAS to include normalizing LGBT+ people. -1:16:55 I should've said this more clearly: Will reminded Mike that who HE is, HIS unique qualities, make him worthy of love and make El love him, not dumb luck. And Will of course could convey that because Will loves the actual nerd MIke and everything he is. -1:17:06 Mike making El "not feel like a mistake" doesn't fit El, because she says that Mike looks at her "like I'm a monster, too". Nor did she "push you away because she was afraid of losing you". That's Will, not El. Mike felt love because Will was describing himself. -1:52:36 I forgot to mention that, in the original Nina opera, Nina's lover is ALIVE and DOES return. The Duffers changed the story so that Nina's lover does NOT return, to further suggest Mike won't return! -2:35:22 I'm kicking myself for not being more specific about Mike and Will being heroes in more than one way: I think the theme of bullying from s1 will return, with Will (and also Mike) having to face bullying for being boyfriends in Hawkins.

EDIT: I hit 1000 subs, only to discover THIS VIDEO CANNOT BE MONETIZED. ='( I think I put over 100 hours of work in this video, and this isn't sustainable for me unless I get support. This also means I can't make public videos with the same quality -- using show clips and music makes a stronger impact. I've considered deleting and reposting an edit, but that would losing all the wonderful comments and CUTTING OUT THE LAST SCENE. ='( ='( ='( NO. FUCKING. WAY.

So this is what'll happen: future videos NOT use clips and music to the same extent, except versions I post on my Patreon. And I need Patrons because I don't make money as a social-justice lawyer, and rely on that plus YouTube ads. Here's the Patreon link! (Any future video will be clipped, with the full version on Patreon) https://www.patreon.com/c/theruleslawyer

Some other @teambyler posts:

Mike was saying "I love you" to Will

Questions to ask if ever you have Byler doubt

How the Duffers have set Will up to have a happy ending in Season 5

The most heartbreaking way Byler can culminate (and how I predict it will) (I know this is less likely than an "escape from Camazotz" possession scenario, but I still want this to happen =D )

How the Duffers likely will make the general audience AWARE of Byler and CHEER for Byler

-teambyler

[gardenschedule]

Quote compilations

+ a reblog with more compilations here

Because I cope with my Beatles feelings by collecting and organizing quotes in a big ass spreadsheet and I may as well post them here divided up by topic:

The breakup

Quotes from each member divided by year, showing it was never so cut and dry that Paul always wanted to stay in the Beatles and John/George always wanted out

John Lennon’s sexuality

Internalized homophobia, intentionally spreading rumours about being gay + people thinking he was joking (John Lennon invented queerbaiting in 1963 did you know?), revealing comments from John and others about his sexuality, replacing Paul with Yoko, jealousy over Paul, flirting with Paul

Quotes about the Lennon-Mccartney rivalry & John's insecurity

The ramifications of Yesterday, a fear of abandonment, ego death, and having a relentlessly productive, competitive soulmate + further analysis

John not meaning what he says

"Yeah, I was lying" [laughs]

Paul hurting John

The extent to and ways in which John claimed Paul hurt him and Paul's struggle to understand wtf happened

Paul wrangling John

Paul understands the importance of public relations and affectionately straightening ties

Beatles defending each other

Only Beatles can talk shit about Beatles

Paul trying and sometimes failing to be chill about Yoko

WHO KNOWS, YOKO? + thoughts on Yoko's presence

Just insane mclennon things

Shit where you're like "I can't believe that actually happened??" Often not in a good way

[damnfandomproblems]

Fandom Problem #6325:

Honestly, as a queer person I am starting to hate this trend of where any character that is slightly, just barely, not playing into hetero stereotypes and gender roles they MUST be queer even if no sexuality or gender identity is made canon, or even if they are confirmed cishet. I use to love it, seeing all these queer fanworks, but it just feels so heteronormative now? And not only that, it feels like it just feeds into gay stereotypes too.

Like, oh this man wears a pink shirt and hugs his friends, he must be gay!! Or this tomboy likes to get her hands dirty and doesn't wear skirts or dresses, she must actually be a trans man or a lesbian!!! Like, no...? Sure, many queer men like pink and are affectionate, and many tomboys are lesbians, but many also aren't?

Like, affection gay men aren't gay because they're affectionate, or affection because they're gay, they're just gay because their gay and affection because they're affectionate. Tomboy lesbians aren't tomboys because they're lesbians, or lesbians because they're tomboys, they're lesbians because they're lesbians and tomboys because they're tomboys.

Headcanons are fine, but using stereotypes to base them on just feels so insulting. And don't get me wrong all you "you pissed on the poor!?" people of this site, this isn't me saying people can't headcanon affection men or tomboys as queers, I just want people to stop headcanoning them as queer because they're not performing classic gender roles and just head them as queer for the sake of being queer. Just headcanon a tomboy as a lesbian because they want her to be a lesbian, not because she dares to not act like what they think a cishet must act like.

Like, so many people preach about breaking gender roles and letting people be who they are until it's cishet characters and/or people breaking gender roles and being who they are. So many of my fellow queers act like straight people are this hivemind of bugs that are happy to be forced to act, express, and live under strict gender roles.

Like, let them break free, let them be happy, let women be tomboys and men be affectionate without whispering how they must be queer like us and how's it queerphobic for a creator if they, or they have, confirmed their gender role breaking characters to be cishet, or how it's queerbaiting for a cishet person to break their gender roles and stereotypes.

It's toxic, it's gross, it's feeding into the queerphobic belief that only queer people break their gender roles, and frankly, boring. It's okay to headcanon any character as queer, but it's also okay to just let them be cishet too.

[five-wow]

when i think about steve's first date with brooke in 10x01 i always think about "that was danny, who i love, very much" and "it's kind of like we're married, me and him" and, of course, the basic premise of steve actively being on a date that was very clearly set up for him by danny only to be constantly interrupted by danny's texts and calls, which danny demands he answers, seemingly not with the intention to be a little affectionately annoying to a friend (that's not the vibe) but instead, well, for literally no justifiable reason whatsoever. however. there's also SO much to be said about when brooke goes "you know what they say about marriage, right? just a friendship recognized by the police", and particularly about the fact that it happens in this context, and that someone wrote this line in a script for this show, because, c'mon. obviously those words further validate the "joke" (in quotation marks. we're on the shipping side of tumblr, you get why) that what steve and danny have is (like) a marriage - they ARE police, they recognize their friendship, that's all the requirements met - but then there's also the layers of, like. steve is on a date with this woman, who he is meeting to see if there's a potential romantic future for them. the kind that leads to love and sex and even marriage, and then he goes oh i love danny so much, and then she goes well marriage is just like friendship! same thing essentially! which is lovely (you should be good friends with the people you choose to spend your life with, that's a healthy basis for any type of relationship) but i do think that maybe, crucially, there are a few generally expected elements to our social concept of marriage that don't pop up in most people's basic definition of friendship, like. romance. or sex. and so here we are, once again, equating steve and danny's friendship (which is the same thing as marriage) to a marriage (in steve's words), now with the added spice of the explicitly romantic context of a date between steve and a woman (heterosexual, so that's allowed to be romance) which danny keeps interrupting, like he's a part of that somehow (?? uh oh, what does it all mean?). and steve picks up the phone. he could have turned it off, but he picks up the phone, and then he goes back to the table, and he doesn't make up some excuse but he says "that was danny, who i love, very much. but sometimes he's a little intense" and then brooke nods and goes "sounds like my ex", which i hadn't even touched on yet because there's just so much going on that somehow "sounds like my ex (who i was married to, because we were in a romantic relationship, and we have kids together)" completely gets drowned out.

and then a few episodes later danny moves into steve's home, which does not have enough beds to accomodate three grown men (junior was there first) unless someone is sharing, and he never moves back out again. "he's a little intense". well yeah, that's one way of saying "sorry brooke, you showed up right in the middle of the last season of one of the wildest tv queerbaits of the current century".

[echotunes]

hey! What is Tatort Saarbrücken and is there English subtitles for it? (Also where can I watch it?)

hi anon! so. bear with me here,

First you must understand that Tatort ("Crime Scene") (Wikipedia) is the German cop show. A lot of German television is cop shows, but this is the one - it's been running every Sunday since 1970 (making it the longest-running German TV drama), in the prime time slot at 8:15pm on public-service broadcast organisation ARD's TV channel Das Erste, right after the evening news program Tagesschau. Murder-of-the-week style, every episode deals with a homicide case that the characters then investigate and eventually solve (and it's all very dramatic, as crime shows tend to be). So you understand Tatort is very mainstream. The mainstream. Your parents watch Tatort. Your grandparents watch Tatort. It's a Thing. (it's also obviously all copaganda we're aware of this)

(This makes the fact that it trends on Tumblr every year very funny to everyone involved. Because it's, y'know. Tatort. Half the reason people (including me) get into it is because they go "why is Tatort of all things trending on Tumblr what is all this about")

There's different versions of Tatort, set in different cities and all produced by the public-service broadcast services of that region - each focusing on different characters (but all of whom are cops because that's what the show is about). Each location only gets one to three episodes a year, so it switches through every week. There's Cologne, Münster, Berlin, whatever; and then there's Saarbrücken. Saarbrücken is the capital of Saarland, the smallest German state after Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin (all of which are city-states). It's... unremarkable. You never usually hear anything about Saarbrücken. Or Saarland in general really (sorry Saarland). So you wouldn't expect its Tatort to be remarkable either.

Except! This particular set-in-Saarbrücken Tatort has been running since 2020, and people on Tumblr got interested in it because the two main guys have a Dynamic(tm) going on. After episode 3 they also officially added the two women to the main team because they forgot about them the first time around or something (thank you mainstream tv). but anyway our four characters are Leo Hölzer (the buff guy in the holster, kind of the glue of the team), Adam Schürk (dishevelled blond man who is really bad at his job and Angsty(tm)), Pia Heinrich (workaholic in the sports jacket), and Esther Baumann (big football fan, seemingly the only person on this team who actually takes her job seriously).

Tatort Saarbrücken is also affectionately known as "Spatort" (Spaten (spade) + Tatort), because a lot of Leo and Adam's Dynamic is about the fact that they knew each other as kids when Adam was being physically abused by his dad, and Leo eventually hit the dad over the head with a shovel, putting him in a coma (which, spoilers, he wakes up from at the end of the first episode). And then Adam went missing (left the city) for like 15 years but now he's returned to Saarbrücken for mysterious reasons (it was Leo. Leo was the reason). and now he and Leo are work colleagues and they have queer-flavoured tension going on and this backstory is still very much relevant in between the usual crime-solving. they are honestly not very good at their jobs but well that's part of the appeal. and people enjoy gay shipping them because of course they do. (is this queerbaiting? maybe! but again the fact that this is all in Tatort is very ???-inducing to many)

Pia and Esther were only officially added to the "main team" in episode 3 because I guess the writers forgot about women for the first two. which is unfortunately not surprising but well they're here too now! until last episode they felt like they might have had some sort of queer thing going on too but then in the 2025 episode Pia had a suspiciously-het-romance-teasing scene with Adam (they do not have romantic chemistry this was a weird choice we all agree on this) and Esther was flirting with a previously-unseen French colleague (who was a woman though so win for queer Esther enjoyers) so who knows. but we like them too! even though there's less dramatic backstory for them both, there's still things hinted at (like Pia's sister having gone missing years ago. knowing this show this will be relevant at some point)

Also as you may have already gathered there is only one episode of Tatort Saarbrücken released every year. So basically every January we all come together and tune in to watch our annual 90 minutes of cop show episode, liveblog together, make gifsets about it, trend on Tumblr, and then go back into hibernation until the next year. It's a beautiful event for the German tumblr community

As for watching it: It's public television, so it's available for free online in the ARD Mediathek. The six episodes there have been so far are, in order:

Das fleißige Lieschen (named after the codename for the V-3 cannon (Wikipedia) - 2020)

Der Herr des Waldes (The lord of the forest - 2021)

Das Herz der Schlange (The heart of the snake - 2022)

Die Kälte der Erde (The cold of the earth - 2023)

Der Fluch des Geldes (The money curse - 2024)

Das Ende der Nacht (The end of the night - 2025)

As for English subtitles - there's no official ones, but you can check out this post for info on fanmade ones!

[blakbonnet]

AUTHOR OF THE WEEK: @soupbtch

Ever read a fic and go "they're so 😭" - that's every single Danny fic to me, aka today's second aotw feature, and god, what an amazingly talented author they are.

I'm so glad you decided to write and grace us with your lovely and bonkers fics, because I cannot imagine the OFMD fic world without your incredible Every Part of You series. I cannot imagine logging into this website without another incredible post from you. Every single thing you write (and do) leaves me in stitches and then, more often than not, you straight up chair your friends with your ultra soft way of writing how much they love each other - in between the much needed elbow fucking. You are such an amazingly kind person - hilarious, supportive, and the best cheerleader 💕 Thank you for answering my questions:

What's your writing process like? Do you start with the beginning or the end? Do you write in order or as the scenes come to you?

I start with a pretty detailed outline because if I don’t go in with a plan, I’ll drop threads and/or write myself in circles. Then I have my outline open on half of my screen while I have a separate doc open on the other half where I’m actually writing. I write in order from beginning to end.

Favourite trope or headcanon you like to explore while writing? (Things like Ed's sweet tooth, Stede's ability to bury his feelings etc)

I have a lot of fun writing angst, so I think any facet of that I can explore is a good time. Weigh them down with insecurities and see how far I can bend them with external factors like plot points, each other, or other characters before they snap. So things like Stede believing he ruins everything he touches, Ed believing he doesn’t deserve fine things, and how they both stand in the way of their own happiness because of these feelings. I also love exploring like, the horrible communication skills Ed and Stede have with each other when it comes to their emotions, and setting up story beats where that intercommunication can break down. Because they’re idiots (affectionate).

Whose voice is easier to write - Ed or Stede? Why?

Ed for sure. I find him very easy to connect with, emotionally. All my favorite characters think they’re unlovable monsters and no, this says NOTHING about me personally, etc etc etc.

Your personal favourite thing you've written that you'd like more people to read

Red Skies at Night! It's modern au, but they're still on a boat! If you like slow burn, bitchy Stede, Ed with a tongue piercing, fun costumes, and a big dash of pining, I def recommend checking it out!! ❤️

What is the one word that you think you use a lot?

The one that comes to mind is ‘blink.’ Kind of a funny one, but to me, it’s such a juicy way to imply so much while saying so little, so I know I use it frequently. Stede asks, “Do you trust me?” and Ed blinks back at him as he tries to work out why that question hits him like a truck (because the answer is a very easy yes). Ed says, “You make me happy,” and Stede blinks back at him in awe (because Stede? Making someone happy? That can’t be true). You get it.

Do you have a beta reader? Have they made you a better writer?

Yes, Beedle (@sleepystede) and Connie (@spirker) have both beta read for me! They’ve helped me tremendously with flow and rewording awkward sentences, and I’ve improved a lot from their feedback. Connie has also been invaluable to bounce ideas off of for new fics and just generally pushing me to be more creative through her never-ending support and big beautiful brain.

Why OFMD 🥹

I loved season 1 when I first watched it, but as soon as I saw the season 2 trailer, something clicked in my brain. Where season 1 was slow burn, will-they-won’t-they, is this real or are they queerbaiting, season 2 was posing itself as very, very clearly queer. Stede is going to get his man. That’s it, that’s the show. Undisguised, unabashed, unapologetic gay yearning and gay romance. There are a million other things I can say, but I think it really all comes down to that. What a gift. No one does it like our show. 💖

Please head over to @ofmdlovelyletters (who also made the header) and send your love to all your favourite authors (and authors of the week 😈 watch that blog for some special letters coming your way)

[dykephan]

everyone saying real people can't queerbait.... i hear you, i agree with the core sentiment that we shouldn't expect queer people to come out before they're ready/ever and that doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to explore their identity publicly in a way that feels affirming to them etc etc. but.. real people absolutely can queerbait. does no one remember what youtube was actually like in 2013. does no one remember all the gay youtubers who said it was scary to come out because they couldn't tell who actually supported them vs. who was being disingenuous for attention. does no one remember this genre of video. or the fake coming out videos (most of which have been taken down now, but i hold a grudge)

there's a reason why dan and phil were never able to play up their relationship on camera or lean into the shipping in a grossly exaggerated way like straight youtubers could. because it was real for them. sure, they used clickbait titles like the chopstick challenge (iconic), or spin the bottle with the fantastic foursome. but you would never see dan and phil fake kissing or initiating purposeful affectionate contact on camera, even if, for example, pj and chris were doing it as a joke in the same video.

they did try it once, with that gay chicken dare, which i've talked about more [here] and [here]. these moments stand out because of how uncomfortable they felt. it was clearly stemming from internalized homophobia, not an attempt to play into youtuber shipping culture for financial gain. but like. many many youtubers were, in fact, queerbaiting on purpose (before any of us even knew what queerbaiting was)

[crowdrinkingcoffee]

i feel like im queerbaiting for wanting two boys who act like they’re madly in love and are so affectionate and caring towards each other and are actually not in love but they’re not straight they’re both aroace as the main characters of every story i make

[veryintricaterituals]

I understand people love Baby Colin Robinson and why it's so important to them. But with the conversation about queerbaiting going on I can't help feeling a bit baited about Laszlo and Colin. I remember binging seasons 1-3. In especially season 3 I could tell there was some kind of thing developing between them. It felt so jarring to see Colin getting turned into a baby like that after all that set up. I think there could have been a million different ways they could deal with Collins regeneration without doing that. And now I see some people feel uncomfortable at the idea of Colin and Laszlo because of that. It feels so unfair that laszlin already existed and seemed so possible just for that to get thrown out. Like I'm happy with how Colin is written in season 5 and 6 but that season 4 crap just keeps coming back to ruin things. I don't understand why they couldn't have a side romance in the background. It feels like this show it just allergic against letting a same gender couple be romantically affectionate on screen. It's such a tiny thing and I hate complaining about it, but I hate that Colin and Laszlo didn't kiss in the elevator. It felt uncomfortable that the idea of them kissing was being used as a joke

Season three really got us all, didn't it? I don't really go here, as in, I've never even considered Laszlo/Colin, but I'm very much a person who says ship and let ship. And now that you've mentioned it, they did have their moments in season three and onwards. I guess it just turned into parental bonding in my eyes, but again, I can see it, I can see the vision.

I don't think it was baited in the same way that nandermo was, and by that I only mean: the marketing, the interviews, the articles that focused on the ship and that were clearly designed to bring LGBT audiences and viewers to the show. And that is one of my main problems with the ending and with this season as a whole. That doesn't mean that I think nandermo is better than any other ship, it is mine, so I like it, but please don't take it the wrong way.

You're absolutely right when you point out that this show is allergic to showing affection or love to anything except for the straight appearing relationships. It's a huge problem. For a show that calls itself queer and welcoming I sure haven't seen any same sex couples besides some jokes and allusions. Say if we had Baron/Sire explicitly confirmed (a comment about them even, a hug, anything) I wouldn't talk. If Guillermo had been able to have a boyfriend for more than one episode, if Nandor's search for love had involved men in more than a comedic way, if... If.. if.. if... Then I wouldn't be angry at all, but the thing is that none of that happened, and our "queer rep" ended up being just jokes (mostly at our expense: as in the only reason this joke is funny is because "haha gay". The only reason Nandor and Laszlo hook up is because it's clearly a joke to the writers, it never goes beyond that, it never explores that dynamic between them, same with Laszlo and the Baron).

I think you get to feel whatever you're feeling and it's absolutely valid. I'm mad and disappointed at the whole season, at the time and potential wasted. I'm waiting for next week's episode so that I can put canon firmly behind me and turn to what I have always turned to when canon fails me: fic and art.

I'm probably going to get really mad for a while beforehand though and I feel that as a lesbian, a queer person, who looked for a queer tv show and ended up being queerbaited I get to do that, I get to feel betrayed and upset. And so do you.

[quietwingsinthesky]

🔥🔥🔥

Any unpopular Doctor Who opinions?

while the frustration is understandable, i really don’t think it’s honest to call thasmin “queerbaiting”. Or more accurately, I get that it would have been nice to have the Doctor does unavoidably romantic lesbian shit on screen, I also hope the Doctor does that in some future incarnation, but Thirteen was never going to be that Doctor. And I swear to god, this isn’t just my aro!thirteen goggles I have on, I mean genuinely there is no version of Thirteen that settles into a (semi-)healthy romantic relationship of any kind, let alone one where she’s like openly physically affectionate with kisses and such for her partner.

I think a lot of people wish that that could have been the ship to do that, but they’re missing that Thirteen just. wouldn’t. with anyone, really, I think. But definitely not with Yaz, not as she is. You can complain about whatever you want about the other bits of how Thirteen is written, but that remained pretty consistent for her whole run: she’s not emotionally open for that kind of connection. or most kinds of connections. really. she has a lot of issues. one of her closest honest and open emotional connections was with a frog that was also a universe, and like it did not get better from that point for her.

(and, you know, okay, now i am putting the aro!thirteen goggles on, but holy shit she would hate it so much, she would hate hate hate being romantically entangled with anyone. and i do mean with anyone. i love shipping thirteen, i’ll do it unabashedly, but like my understanding of who she is in canon is as someone who would start clawing at the walls of a romantic relationship Immediately to get out.)

[joyswonderland1108]

Fanservice?

In the lights of uhm.. everyday's events because at this point there's nothing occasional about this, i wanted to talk about this one subject :

✨Fanservice✨

Or as they call it in Korean 팬서비스 . Quite honestly i'm not making this post for you know who because as much as i want to educate them they're hard headed so this is more of a general knowledge for everyone and whoever wants to add it to their Kpopictionnary.

Fanservice is literally the act of servicing the fans aka doing things that would please the fans. I know that a lot of people think that fanservice = gay activities or queerbaiting well.. It's not entirely true, maybe it's a form we are more used to seeing nowadays but fan service can pretty much be a very straight activity as long as it keeps the fans entertained.

As a kpop oldie (i'm no expert just speaking from experience) i used to listen to 2NE1 and a bit of Bigbang and these two groups engaged in fanservice mainly because both of their fans liked the chemistry between them, i remember noticing this about CL and G-dragon, yes they were friends but that didn't mean that to please their fans they wouldn't do a lil something to make it look a tad bit romantic

In more recent kpop groups, despite me not knowing them all too much BUT i know OOO (OnlyOneOf) have this one "Libido" choreography that is very.. HUM and personally i know choreographies are a form of art but i also think that it has a bit of an act of service. But then one should be able to not mix up everything cause one of the members, Rie, has a song called "because" but because of the nature of the song, what it is talking about, the MV cannot be considered as fanservice.

In other words, just because something looks "gay" to you it does not mean that it is automatically an act of service.

In general the fanservice culture is pretty well known in Kpop but contrary to the past where it somehow was a bit of a "mandatory" thing, now as an idol you either chose to do it or you don't, and many times within the same group some chose to do it some don't, as long as the one who choses to do it respects the boundaries of the person who just isn't interested in it, then they're just having their fun.

Now moving on from generalities to specifications, BTS, which i've seen a lot of confusions and misinformation going on about them and fanservice. Will i be one of those who will say that they NEVER did that? No of course not i'm not that stupid and blind, but will i just lie and say that up until this day they are still engaging in it? Also no.

Listen, kpop idols in general have a tougher starts, and BTS just like other groups had to engage in some form of fanservice which is why you'd find videos like this on YT

And yes this whole thing was an act of service, remember their lil games too? Aka when Hobi stole tae's first kiss lol well yes that was an act of service. But you know what else is an act of service? Fan meets, because whether people are ready to accept that this also falls into the fanservice category or not, it IS a fanservice, an idol basically offers the fan the service of getting to see them up close, hold their hand, talk to them, give them gifts, etc..

Now just like i mentioned above, it is a bit less tough in the recent years as idols now have a choice, which was the case for our boys. Things change, the same way personalities do, the same way our boys in the past had a certain view about what masculinity is and what their view now is of masculinity, our boys are just no longer interested in that type of fanservice since within the years they've been together they grew closer and it's easier for them to naturally tend to be affectionate.

In what i like to call their "lil skit" on PTD in Seoul Jimin made it very clear that they're not into "fake stuff", why do i think that maybe it's a skit to get the message across, it's simply because our boys do go online and they do see what people say about them and in a way or in another they always tells us what's up, so of fucking course they must've known about how some "fans" seem to downgrade their bond into just an act of service.

While some smaller groups are still a bit "forced" into that extra bond with the members, i remember seeing somewhere that some idol confessed they weren't even that close but they were forced to act like it, bigger groups like BTS don't need that anymore to push them further and yet "some people" like to still call their bond a fanservice simply because they have narratives that get humbled everytime and they're not ready to accept it.

Whatever activitiy a member choses to do with the other, this has nothing to do with fanservice whether you like it or not. Jimin attending Tae's music bank show is because he wants to support his friend, Namjikook attending and participating in Yoongi's concert is because they wanted to be there and wanted to do a surprise, any member chosing to hang out with another member or a member of a different group is not an act of service, they are human, and they have relationships with other humans which so happen to be their friends.

People need to stop putting the boys into a bubble they've created for them and anything that goes beyond that bubble is deemed unacceptable for them and titled as fanservice or "forced to do". BTS will ALL be in their 30's very soon, they are adults and very responsible for their own action, they are very big, very popular and don't need anyone to tell them what type of relationship they should be having with others.

I feel like countries need to invest in more green spaces because clearly some "fans" need to go outside and touch some grass they've been a bit too invested into the online community that they forgot that idols have lives and they can actually chose to be friends with members of their own group too.

With that being said, let's please keep supporting our boys, we shouldn't let haters ruin our mood or try to pick fights with us, the best thing to do is ignore what we can and report what is harmful. Have a nice day y'aaaall and STREAM MUSE!!!!

[alice1505]

I made the mistake of rewatching Sherlock because I never did finish it back in the day (I was -clenches fist- seething over the queerbaiting and rage quit after not fully watching episode 1 of s4) and I'm here to make my side hyperfixation (what year is this??? Who am I???) Tumblr's problem. The more I sit with s4, the less I like it 😂 There were pieces and elements I liked, but overall, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Forgive me if any or all if these points have been talked to death, I missed all the discourse and I'm hella late, but I need to flail and send my thoughts into the void because what even WAS that season? I can't believe I avoided it for years, got drawn in by a couple of tiktoks making fun (affectionately) of superwholock Era and That Scene about the fucking phone charger port, binged all of it, only to be left with..... that. Not nearly as disappointing or rage inducing as spn's ending but by God, did it leave a hole in me. So please ignore my rambling thoughts as I slap them down here for my own sanity.

• First and foremost, what - and I can't stress this enough - the fuck was UP with the assassination of John's entire character???? What was that??? Why????

• Related to that point - I can appreciate the angst point and potential it provides, as I'm reading many, many fics, but AYO WHY didn't anyone rip John an entire new one for that beat down he did on Sherlock????? Hello???? 911?????

• Tell me why everything felt so stilted and borderline icy. Like I get the high emotions and shit, but after a certain point... 😭 was there a falling out between Benedict and Martin that I'm not aware of? Did they just try to ungay everything so hard and were so pissed at the audience picking up everything THAT THEY PUT???? into this show and their interactions that they just hit the brakes hard enough to make everything feel weird???

• A lot of it felt weird. Off kilter a little. Forced in some places, toned down in others (and toned down where it shouldn't have been), a nod to ships but weirdly/hatefully??? Idk if that makes sense. Like the whole Sherlock and Molly phone call (I do not mean any hate to this ship, I really hope it doesn't come off this way. Not my cup of tea but you are valid). Why was Molly so upset BEFORE the call? Did I miss something? Also I don't personally think or feel she'd still have those feelings for him??? I??? I am bamboozled.

• to that whole point, Eurus was.... Hmm. Mmmm. She was. Something. (Confused derogatory)

• I like Mary as a character. I also hated her. (Definitely biased by my shipper trash ass self for johnlock, I'm sorry). Wtf were those messages, please. Edit: AND ANOTHER THING. John's reaction to Sherlock's death - awful, gut wrenching, beautiful, my heart breaks with and for him, utterly devasting. John's reaction to Mary's death - had me sitting there like🧍‍♀️(it was weird. so weird. awkward. w h y. (we know why, but also the acting choices were Something TM, in both cases! for different reasons!) i'm sorry i just can't get past my anger and put off-ness with mary, fun as she could be)

• why did mycroft and John switch roles 😭 pls. The last episode was just. So Much. The lackluster responses from John, to John, to Sherlock, between them, like.... hello???? Who are these people?? Help me. Moriarty saved me for a brief shining moment tho, God bless.

There's more I could spew, but that's what's sitting right at the top of my head. I guess all this just to say, if a show runner/writer really just fucking hates the audience they got (instead of the one they wanted), they probably shouldn't have fucking become a show runner/writer in the first place. Either hand it to someone who can actually handle it and listens, or fuck off. I will never understand when shows and plots and characters gets kamikaze'd because of a show runner being pissy and egotistical. Like ????? Grow up. Learn from Bryan Fuller and Hannibal or something.

Sorry for all the rambling, bless anyone who reads this and makes sense of it 😂

[couldlesbiansavethem]

Sakura Kasugano from Street Fighter

Reasoning: "okay okay okay i've been in the street fighter fandom for nearly ten or eleven years. sakura kasugano is one of my FAVORITE characters, and i've always, ALWAYS interpreted her as a baby butch lesbian. whether it's the street fighter 4 aftermath short where someone asks sakura if she has a boyfriend and she LITERALLY goes "no comment! no comment!" and she appears to be jealous of kei because she's moving on and leaving her (and kei is one of her CLOSEST friends besides karin that i've shipped her with ESPECIALLY ever since the street fighter comic sakura ganbaru aka one of the BEST sakura comics where karin's FAITHFUL alfred-like butler shibasaki says "sakura admires feminine girls, like kei chitose" AND KARIN, WHO I ALSO SHIP HER WITH, IS A VERY HYPERFEMININE PRESENTING GIRL), which is a BIG lesbian experience (feeling like all your straight friends are leaving you behind). IN ADDITION: the lesbian context with sakura and karin. now, i could link SOOOOOOO many pictures that just amount to queerbaiting the sakukarin ship, but if there's any picture that represents it, it's this. it's in the character story where sakura believes that giving up on her dreams of being a fighter and instead getting married to a man and raising a family (which i BELIEVE street fighter 6 is changing into "being a fighter all on her own as a student of ryu" as a goal instead thankfully instead of shoving her with one of the FEW male characters she's bonded with, ryu or dan, who met her when she was a teenager and THEY WERE GROWN MEN) and i believe that the tension between implied open lesbian karin who clearly has feelings for sakura (WHY WOULD KARIN NEEEEEEED TO KNOW THAT SAKURA "ADMIRES" FEMININE GIRLS GAY ASS WOMAN) vs sakura who is ABSORBED by that comphet, and sakura slowly developing and admitting her feelings for karin would be *chef's kiss* fantastique. sorry for the long ramble, but like. even disregarding her closest relationships (besides with dan and blanka, who i personally read both dan and blanka as genderfluid + omnigender + genderfree for dan + unaligned quoigender/xenogender bigender for blanka respectively) are with women (SHE EVEN NAMED CAMMY, AND CAMMY IS CANONICALLY CLOSE IN AGE WITH SAKURA), sakura SHOULD be a lesbian and the fact she isn't canonically is so disappointing." (@sunkern-plus)

[bbgianstan]

omg your reply about how ian and anthony were one of the only duos that never really much into the whole "queerbaiting thing" like other youtubers, it's so true. Like a lot of people say that now they do but honestly is still very like not that much compared to how it was in the 2010s with other youtubers. I also always saw that tension with ian and anthony and anthony has admitted that he wasn't that affectionate because they knew each other since hey were 12 so he was always reluctant to be affectionate with Ian because he had learned to keep his distance because of how middle school was for them. What I do think it's interesting is that Ian actually seemed a bit taken back by that answer, he said that he just felt weird holding hands with anyone wether it was boy/girl he didn't care, it wasn't about gender it was just that Ian felt that, holding hands wasn't platonic at all. Idk it's interesting, I guess a lot of that weird tension but also just them having personal issues.

Right? They were always more the "no homo" type of friends, like you say, Anthony saying it always felt weird to do something as innocent as holding Ian's hand, in particular, is really telling to me. And let's not say they don't play into the gay act. They do. But with other people. Iancorn anyone? Ian/any other man that isn't Anthony? Anthony/Joven? And that tension between them only got more evident as time passed, affecting even the relationships with the other's gfs at one point. So whenever they do something considered gay now, I go a bit crazier, because it doesn't feel like an act. It feels like they are slowly feeling more and more comfortable to show each other an affection that they always sort of held back from, but secretly always wanted to give each other. Like Anthony baby talking Ian, for example. It comes out so naturally now that it gives me impression that he always wanted to do it. I feel like they always wanted to treat each other more affectionately, but again, that weird tension, which is the real reason I ship them, held them back.