#lowkey queerbaiting

[will-go-down-on-your-sister]

Created to be lovers, forced by society to be best friends and nothing more

[cosmic-espero]

I won't lie Will is a much better person than me because imagine hanging out with himbo extraordinaire Leon Strohl Da Haliaetus under the starry night sky only for him to gift you a seashell bracelet, which by the way later turns out to be culturally associated to romance by the Mustari because your supposed canon love interest literally gives you another shell with a similar function and describes it as a gift wives give their husbands.

And then he tells you he likes you.

And right as you're already planning a summer wedding, the motherfucker adds "like a brother".

Like, I would've ended up on the news.

[logosbot-tm]

Garrence is that one ship I will forever be pissed never became canon.

[karaspal]

crazy how seasons change, years pass, yet supercorp shippers are still some of the worst fucking people on the internet.

[timetravelstudies]

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Pause how did i never know about this……… its literally the next town over from where i grew up. we used to drive to that town to go to the mall

[ocdhuacheng]

Just learned that apparently people had been calling the summer hikaru died queerbaiting as if this is not one of the most devastating allegories for rural queer youth I have ever read

[mongeese]

Kind of hate when I get so obsessed with something that I literally don't think about anything else in large part because usually whatever the media is it's not very good. Embarrassing to say but I'm not sure I've ever been fixated to the point of like, waking up thinking about it and going to sleep thinking about it on something that I actually artistically respect or admire. It's always things that I find fun or even technically impressive but never anything that's thematically interesting. But!! Don't take about my pretentious bitch card yet because once the obsession fades I never think about them again. My actual favorite media are things which are thematically rich and nuanced and well-written. Those ones have staying power in my mind

[batransacon]

Lowkey got into empire of the vampire bc it was advertised as lgbtq just to find out its main character isn’t even bi and the main relationship is het + the “guy” pictured was actually his fucking daughter 😭, I wouldn’t mind if it was advertised differently, I don’t see this getting a more queer ending at all especially with how the 3rd book is the shortest, should I just dnf it now??

[partyswirl]

if mcyt queerbait tournament does a second round or needs someone to sub in we have to get sliemcicle in there STAT (even though he barely pkays minecraft anyway

[doctorruby]

∆∆∆

[eepy-deebser]

absolutely OBSESSED with Lukey & Pangi's dynamic. WHAT IS GOING ON??????

At first, it seems obvious. Lukey is a pathetic cursed squishy boyfailure who's new to the server and hilariously underleveled. He dies in two hits with a fist. He forgets what he's doing every five seconds. He literally signed his soul away for a TOUR at the expense of his happiness, because he considered it an 'early summer sale'. Now he hears voices and sees ghosts and his just generally haunted. Not to mention he's absolutely terrified of every other member, constantly worried about going too far and apologizing over any joke. He's on one life.

Pangi's one of the strongest members on the server. Other than the main pvpers (who don't log on), he's easily the most skilled in traps, exploits, and general warfare. Even as the weakest lifestealer, he's still a lifestealer. He's finding a way to make an absurd nuke. He constantly threatens others and is close allies with all of the leaders of the factions. He's only lost one life, to a glitch with barrier blocks.

The power dynamic should be obvious here- and at first it is! Pangi jokingly threatens Lukey, who easily goes along with the flaunting of power, agreeing to everything he says.

Except. Except they're weird as FUCK and thus amazingly compelling.

Lukey knows people- he's interested in psychology, and regards the player aspect as his greatest minecraft strength. Pangi, for all his showboating, gets attached easily for the smallest reasons (sorry, pili clocked him on that one). Pangi is desperate for a close friend– selfish, in a way, he never does well in groups of 3, always wants them for himself– and Lukey lends himself to that. He's weak (not a threat) and funny (kind) and he won't just leave Pangi! Because he can't. And Lukey has clocked him on this. Despite the literal power imbalance, Pangi is at his beck and call just as much as Lukey is to his- perhaps even more! Lukey literally compared him to Pavlov's dog????

This clip is a perfect example: Pangi does what he always does and tries to feel powerful (out of a terror of being left). But Lukey, knowing that he doesn't have much to lose except time, doesn't do as he says immediately. He calls Pangi's bluff and the man immediately folds.

And then we see the basic version of them again- Pangi's loud brazenness and Lukey's backtracking. But it's not the front they have for other people, it's a joke. They're laughing, neither really cares.

Why are they so freaky 😭😭😭

[briebysabs]

I don’t understand how some ppl see Friendly Rivalry as queerbait. It feels like a very black and white, lowkey westernized way of viewing it. You need to remember this is Korean media first and foremost. By sk standards this is undeniably a GL. Plus at no point do any of the actresses, writers or jaeseulgi deem their relationship as only platonic. Subtext ≠ queerbait when will we be free…

If this ended with Seulgi liking a guy while monologuing about how she misses her dear friend yeah I would’ve seen FR as queerbaiting. That never happens, the only people who call them friends are those around them who have no insight to their relationship. Not to mention the queer themes of a girl being controlled all her life by her hyper-religious father who falls in love with a girl who inspires her to break free and live as her true self.

And Hyeri literally said this when the show ended so why be so obsessed over kisses.

“Jaeyi, I hope you find happiness with Seulgi! I support your freedom.”

There was so much emotional depth and love portrayed between jaeseulgi. Their story is just as valid and queer as other gl shows who have makeout sessions or sex scenes.

[flying-ham]

I’m glad we’re getting queer rep these days but lowkey miss when they would just shamelessly queerbait. bring back the days of 22 episodes of homoerotic bullshit and then when you ask about it eric kripke runs you over with the impala and jeff davis finishes the job with the jeep

[craziertogether]

mike’s behavior shift & byler endgame confirmation

little yap moment (long rant):

just to start, i wanna say that i was a m*leven lover from s1-s2. given i was young asl, it was a wonderful ship for kids, but as i’ve grown and gotten more into analyses for media it has become clearer to me why my dislike of mike wheeler’s character despite my love for him originally, actually came from a lack of understanding.

so yeah, i truly think the moment i started developing my own byler agenda was in season 3. i had always known that will was queer, season 1 episode 1 with joyce and episode 4 with troy, it was just so clear to me. but i never saw it actually developing into a love story, i actually saw it as a little bit of queerbait when i saw the “crazy together” scene (ik crazy to say but i was also literally 11). but season 3, was like a huge smack in the face that oh mike is 100% the queer one WITH some kind of feelings towards will. i love how we as bylers joke about it? but truly will’s feelings for mike were so masked it’s insane to me.

back to my rant, i was a little caught off guard by mike’s CRAZY behavior switch from likable friend and leader to el’s personal make-out buddy and actual hater of his own best friends (mind you mike was always my favorite character originally, he was the protagonist that was a little unlikable but that’s my favorite kind of character). it wasn’t until my rewatch recently that i totally clicked for me again that mike was so in love with will, i can’t remember who mentioned it but mike inviting will to his house after el dumped him was absolutely unnecessary, lucas was needed but mike just had will there because of his genuine need for will to be there. rain fight outburst and post breakup crawling back to will was so clear that mike valued will on a level unbeknownst to anyone else around him. even beyond the el breakup, mike is lowkey such an ass to everyone else 😭. he needed to be guided by everyone else to apologize to el, lucas, and dustin. but will was like air to mike, he breathes will, the second he hurts will, he immediately crawls back to him because he knows at the minimum that will’s feelings are greater than his own arrogance.

and now season 4? there are so many wonderful analyses out there regarding mikes straight up queer behavior, but i really feel like this season is what fully converted me. btw i was still afraid of this possibility of queerbaiting, i had a strong feeling that maybe i was still reading into it too much but when will’s feeling were CONFIRMED in the first like minute, i knew in that moment that byler endgame was real. like i said above the way will’s queerness was clear to me was no shock, but seeing it be visually shown that he was IN LOVE with mike i was truly convinced in that moment that this was it, they were setting them up to be THE endgame couple. (ps i had NOT interacted with any byler content until very recently, i just had this instinct). and after now having read the analyses and rewatch the season again, i literally felt like my eyes were opened and like the show was spelling it out for us. the california plot line being the MOST boring without byler development, the fights and apologies, the heart to hearts, and van scene all just either fed my confirmation bias or proved to all audiences that this is what we need to be looking at. it is insane that season 4 has like 6 incredibly byler focused deep moments and there’s still byler doubt in my opinion. anyways yeah back to my original point the complete decline in mike’s character development the last two seasons completely confirmed it for me in my most recent rewatch. there was no reason to absolutely nerf his character like that, and if they do set up m*leven endgame, i actually will have lost respect for the duffers but also for my favorite character. but i have full faith that this show would not destroy everything it spent the last decade building up to.

TLDR: byler endgame is imminent and as a once byler skeptic and even m*levin fan, i cannot wait to see this story wrap up in season 5. i need the trailer, actually the whole season but the trailer will do for now.

[iwilltransyourgender]

Can we take a second to appreciate that while everyone else is generally looking sexy and mysterious, Taub is just a goofy lil guy who’s so happy to be there?

promotional poster of bisexuality

[raylenships]

GUYS. GUYS. It's gonna be okay. Just think of it this way because I saw @tastywormfood talking about this and it lowkey comforted me just a tiny bit.

Season 4 is a prequel, okay? It's the badly written season that they tried to fit in between s2 and 3 but did a terrible job. S3 is the actual finale where we get the yummy Snufmin angst and fluff and an amazing ending. So here's a lil comfort checklist that'll for sure cheer us all up after the long disastrous few days we've suffered through.

1. Take a nice long breath of Moominvalley air and say some positive affirmations.

-"S4 is a prequel"

-"Snufmin is the original meant-to-be"

-"I will survive this. Probably"

-"S3 will save me"

-"So will fanfiction"

2. Rewatch S3 and bask in the warmth that is Snufmin fluff and pining. Specifically, watch episode 8. Near the end. 18:36. Don't judge me.

3. Go to AO3 and pray to the Hobgoblin that it isn't shut down for once. If the Hobgoblin answers your prayers, go read every Snufmin fic you can get your paws on. I promise you'll feel better ;)

4. Let's all go pay @faygosta on YouTube a visit and blow up his notifications on his old Snufmin 3d video. Gotta get this guy to save our lives and help us create the better season that was always meant to be, am I right? Plus, his video alone could do a great deal of cheering up. Trust me.

5. Art is a great healing method and Pinterest is a great place to start your Snufmin art therapy sessions. God knows how much we need them after this.

6. Keep up hope that there's actually gonna be a finale episode in the coming months that I've been hearing snippets about. Maybe we'll get a little more mercy and kindness from the writers then after they've had a chance to simmer in the heat of the crockpot mess of a fandom they've created.

Good lord I have never been so disappointed in my life. We got queerbaited like no fandom has ever been before(unless the newly shortened Good Omens season has anything to say about it). But we are a strong fandom, a united fandom, one that cares about justice and freedom for their gay lil bois. Can I get an AMEN?! We'll get through this somehow!