#meenadhawan

[blackwallywest]

the runaways activating their powers (so far)

[candicespatton]

[augustheart]

As all of you probably know since it’s so close to airing, this year’s major DCTV crossover, Crisis on Earth-X, centers around a world (the titular Earth-X) where the nazis won World War II and characters from that world like Overgirl coming to Earth-1 and crashing Barry and Iris’s wedding in what is presumably an attempt to colonize Earth-1 like they took over on Earth-X (which is typically Earth-10 but for utterly inexplicable reasons was renamed Earth-53 for the DCTV crossover, despite the DC multiverse canonically only having 52 earths).

This is literally disgusting in every single way, since these characters (especially the superfamily) were created by Jewish people and are undeniably jewish, Barry Allen was recently confirmed to be Jewish by Ezra Miller in the DCEU both in his casting and in an addition to the script to ensure that Barry is stated to be Jewish, since Victor Garber is leaving Legends of Tomorrow to be in Hello, Dolly! meaning that his character, Martin Stein, who is a Jewish man, will most likely be killed off during the final chunk of the crossover, and considering that nazis are a very real threat to Jewish and Romani people right now, they perhaps could not have picked a worse time to try to clumsily shove in a message about how nazis are evil while making sure to show plenty of nazi imagery, images of their conventionally attractive white goyishe actors in nazi garb and wearing things like the SS instead of their typical outfits-a big warning for nazi imagery in the link as well as use of branding like the pink triangle-and while ensuring that the message gets incredibly muddled by using the heroes of the show instead of using faceless villains that are easy to kill.

Add this to other things like Grant Gustin saying that The Flash aspect of the crossover sticks with the comedy, despite the fact that in this scenario my people are completely gone, my Romani brothers and sisters are also gone, and every other minority is most likely entirely confined to concentration camps, and Melissa Benoist not only having a history of racism but also talking about how excited she is for the fans to see the ‘new Supergirl suit’-meaning the one bearing the symbol of the people who tried to exterminate my family, and you get an absolute shitshow.

So while this crossover is airing, we’re going to try to spread the hashtag #NazisArentAFantasy on Twitter in an attempt to show people, critics and fans alike, how truly crushingly damaging scenarios like this can be for Jews and Romani people who have to see their attempted exterimation acted out over and over again onscreen for the entertainment of people who will never know the true extent of what we went through.

The ideal times to use this tag are at 7pm EST/6 pm Central on both Monday, November 27th and Tuesday, November 28th. (For time zone purposes, this is 10pm-Brazil, 12am-UK, 3am-Kenya, 5:30am-India, and 9am-Japan.) Of course, those aren’t the only times you can use this tag, and it’s strongly encouraged for you to use the tag throughout the week.

Remember-nazis aren’t a fantasy villain, they’re people that have killed millions and ripped families apart and would do so again at any opportunity. It’s something that threatens every minority on the planet, but especially Romani and Jewish people. Our genocide is not something for TV networks to continuously make a profit off of. The question of “what would it be like if the nazis had won?” carries more weight than you will ever know. It’s real for us. What we went through is not your fantasy setting or your tragedy porn. We’re real people and so were the families that we lost.

Nazis aren’t a fantasy.

[shaloved30]

lmfaoo the funny thing is i explained myself in the tags and even censored the ship name so it didn’t show up in the tags. but i guess whites are looking for a fight

Apparently. I’d been just keeping my feelings about this to myself until a private convo last night cause I figured I was done with the show after this and I know how this fandom type thing rolls, but i am glad to see others calling this out cause it’s so ugly

[urbancuntemporary]

sunrise fairy tea!

sunrise: favorite musical artists?

-It changes, but rn I’m listening to Phox, Beyoncé, NAO, and SZA. 

fairy: what type of museum is your favorite?

-Planetariums I think?

tea: favorite films?

-The Mummy(s) (1&2), MIB, Wild Wild West, Legally Blonde. I know there are more but I can’t think of them rn. 

[farmlesbian]

🎁 🎄 :O!!!

saimi!!!! i followed u cause of the gc but stayed cause ur so fun to talk with/snapchat :) u understand my senior yr suffering n ily!! 

[treacheuryouswhore]

10-14 for the end of the year meme!

What song sums up this year for you

good life by keiynan lonsdale. I started this year in a very different place than i’m ending it and i’m really happy about that. i was struggling with a lot of shit in the beginning of the year and hit a low point but now i really do feel like i’ve started on a path to healing and loving myself more and i have goals for the future that i know i can achieve if i stay on the track i’m on now

What album came out and has been on heavy rotation since then

ctrl by sza and melodrama by lorde. i was so hype for new music from them especially sza bc i fell in love with her a few years ago when i heard the song sobriety

What was your favorite movie of the year

probably spider-man homecoming

Did an actor/actress catch your attention for the first time this year

jessica camacho for sure. she could [REDACTED]

Favorite new tv show

still star-crossed and i’m still bitter-as-fuck that it got cancelled

[coldtomyflash]

@meenadhawan, I’m actually really glad you brought that up! (Though for the record, Wentworth Miller is biracial, but I recognize the complaint that he’s still light-skinned and the way colorism functions in this instance).

I actually struggled on whether to include Cisco or not in my “Barry is bi in canon” post not for reasons related to race, but because of Barry and Cisco’s dynamic being a lot less “I’m distracted by this dude’s arms and can’t stop flirting with him or getting all up in his space” and more “he’s my best friend and we’ll find each other in any universe.” 

One thing I mentioned at the outset of that post was that Barry often doesn’t fall into the traps of toxic masculinity - he shows his feelings, he cries, he cultivates close and intimate friendships with men and women that deal in emotional authenticity. And I wanted to make sure that I didn’t end up implying “man who shows his feelings and connects with males” is automatically “man is queer” (because I think that promotes those toxic mindsets such that men are only “allowed” to be emotional if they’re queer).

With the way Barry responds to Cisco, most of the examples are that more emotional connection-based type. He’s close and intimate with Cisco, deeply caring. And in the space of that post, I didn’t know how to address that without it coming off as “if two men close and intimate, it must be because they’re in love and not because they have a healthy friendship because straight men don’t have feelings.” That’s a failure on my behalf to articulate things well. Basically, I can write about Barry being in love with Cisco more easily than I can write about him having a passing attraction to Cisco?

The other reason was because most of the examples I could find that didn’t fall into that category (because there are a few) ended up looking more like attraction from Cisco to Barry and not vice versa (because I’d say Cisco is the one presented as most bi in canon, which I think I briefly touched on in the post).

All this being said, being white and raised in a white and racist society means there’s always potential that implicit racism affected my actions. I fully acknowledge it happens and that I’m far from immune to it, even as I work hard to unlearn and push back against racism. So I’ll keep working at it and try to do better in the future. 

Beyond that, and getting closer to what I most want to accomplish in this post, I actually ship flashvibe but don’t ship olivarry, thallen (outside of westhallen anyway), or Barry x Hartley (which was mostly an aside) and think there’s more canon evidence of Barry having a deep emotional connection with Cisco than there is between him and any other (non-father-figure) man on the show by a mile, but I do think it looks a little bit different than the examples in the other post, for reasons I stated above.

SO! 

With that in mind, and since we’re here (and what I just took like 500 words to get to), why don’t we actually take a look at how Barry and Cisco interact in canon through a deliberately queer lens? 

One thing we see between them, a lot, is body contact. We’ve got them close in each other’s space for photos that they take extra time to take.

And then holding on to each other as a first reaction to shock and fright.

(Cisco also holds on to E2 Barry the same way but more protectively, and Barry-2 rolls with it)

(There’s also, somewhere out there, a gif I can’t find with Barry standing in front of Caitlin and Cisco with, I think, him holding on to Cisco’s hand or arm protectively).

Not all examples are mutual. There actually is an example (probably more than one, but one I can easily find) of Barry getting up and cozy into Cisco’s space in a way that’s arguably unnecessary.

(Gets right close to his face too, look at their smiles).

One thing I said I tried not to do in the other post was imply that men can’t be close and physical with one another without being queer (hence why I didn’t include any hugging gifs even between Barry and Oliver), but if we relax that rule for a sec, these two do take their excuses to hug when they get them:

Both in joy and in grief.

(That scene actually kills me, if it’s the one I think it is, from 1x16 where Cisco had to reveal Barry’s identity, and Barry just hugs him after and blames himself for Cisco being in that position. There’s a lot of love between these two).

And there’s this little arm touch:

They’re both very physical people, I think, and connect a lot through little touches and connection.

(Though it doesn’t always work out...)

(Barry going in for the hug, or at least some type of contact - denied).

Then there’s the way they get each other, of course.

I love their mutually knowing glances.

(There’s enough times where they share a glance or a joke in the background that if you just watch them you’ll end up grinning a lot, they’re often teasing one another or mutually judging someone else together...)

And although I found this scene manipulative, I do appreciate that Barry has staunch faith in Cisco’s goodness and he’s saying how he’ll support Cisco through learning about his powers:

Because every now and then, Barry also looks at Cisco like he’s in awe of him:

And one of their first and genuinely more flirtatious scenes (to me) was Cisco telling Barry that he makes the toys, and the way they both ended up grinning about it. Barry when he’s confident and smirking or grinning is a Barry who feels like he’s flirting.

(The moment Barry fell in love with Cisco? Maybe, maybe not. But definitely the moment *I* fell in love with Cisco).

And no flashvibe post is gonna be complete without discussing the obvious signs of how much they mean to each other.

Barry would never let Cisco die, not even to get rid of Thawne once and for all.

(As if there was a question of that, honestly, Barry loves Cisco, however you perceive that love).

And Cisco finding Barry in the speedforce is evidence of their incredibly deep connection.

But the scene that’s always killed me (and I think it was the deleted scene, or am I remembering wrong?) is when Cisco’s telling Barry that he doesn’t want to lose their friendship or their current life.

And Barry reassures him on that, about how he sees their friendship, and more or less how he can’t imagine his life without Cisco now.

(Which, ultimately, ends up sounding more romantic than not. It’s hard to imagine Barry saying that to someone else, really. I know it’s got a family spin on it, but it was the moment where I was kind of like: oh, that could be love.)

And you’ve got their cute goodbye right after, Cisco a little grieved but supportive, holding Barry’s arms.

  And there’s there’s little moments. I love this one because it does have more of Barry’s confident, glowing side, and is one of the moments I thought of that remind of him flirting.

(Look at these dorks and their smiles and the way Cisco adjusts his hair after. I’m telling you, Cisco’s crush on Barry is real, at least in S1).

And there’s other random examples, like when Barry runs back in time in 2x17 and we get both versions of Barry proving their friendship to Cisco with details of their friendship history.

And then Barry running to the future too, and us seeing that despite future!Barry being, uh, Not In A Good Place, Barry and Cisco’s connection is eternal:

You’ve got moments where Cisco keeps Barry focused.

And ones where he teases him, like when Barry is temporarily somewhat blind and Cisco’s in his ear (because he trusts Cisco enough to guide him on dates, and literally to just guide him around).

(Smooth, Barry, I think Cisco was impressed by your skills).

And I think, somewhere out there, is a line from S1 or early S2 about how on many days, Cisco would love to have Barry’s life? I can’t remember the episode, but it spoke to me a bit of that admiration/crush stuff (though again, was more evidence for Cisco being bi than Barry being bi).

So in sum, I think we can read Barry’s connection with Cisco through a queer lens, and if we do, we do end up seeing a lot of examples that could be evidence of either or both of them having feelings for one another. With these two, it still feels more to me like genuine feelings and depth than it does a passing attraction or the flirting wanna-check-him-out-gotta-be-subtle thing that I was alluding to in my other post where Barry gets distracted by Oliver’s arms or Eddie’s body (but if you can think of any examples where we see this between Barry and Cisco, please send those examples my way!).

And I think we can read Barry and Cisco as being really good friends with a healthy intimate connection, and I never want to take away from that by saying that men who hug or have inside jokes or who trust and build one another up are necessarily “more than friends” because I genuinely think that’s a dangerous statement to make.

But if Barry is bi, he’s definitely got lots of romantic potential with Cisco.

[crayonboxhearts]

HAPPY BDAY FELLOW SCORPIO LEGEND

YAASSSS

[blackwallywest]

[candicespatton]

Molly + her cute hats

[augustheart]

"what's wrong with earths where the heroes are evil?" nothing! absolutely nothing! dc has two of them, in fact: earth-3, which has the crime syndicate, and earth-50, where the justice lords are.

you'll notice that they decided to go with the incredibly obscure earth-x instead. the one with the nazis. the only one of those three with the nazis. it's almost like they're not trying to make an earth where heroes are evil-they just wanna jack off to nazi "superheroes."

[shaloved30]

meenadhawan replied to your post: lmfaoo the funny thing is i explained myself in...

i don’t blame you for not wanting to watch bc i already see how awful fandom is gonna be. i don’t follow any runaways centric accounts on purpose and frankly i’m only here for the nonwhite characters + chase (sometimes). i’ll make sure to call out behavior when i see it tho

I just don’t like where I see this going and this has taken the enjoyment out of watching a show I came to for just that away so prob no s2 for me

[urbancuntemporary]

omg u changed ur url I LOVE IT

thank! It Was Time

[anissagraces]

wallylinda or wally west i + blue pls! :O !!

url: /10 or not my fandom

icon: 7/10 or not my fandom

theme: 7/10

updatestab: /10

posts: 7/10

overall: 7/10

following: yes / no(t) yet / now

I made 2 icons bc I wasn’t sure if you wanted wally with or without suit :d

want one?

[bipeterparker]

literally, i don't fuckin understand-