#schwuler thorsten

[bibastibootz]

Hello! First of all, I love your blog so much, you give off such warm, positive vibes :)

I wanted to ask if you would explain your head canons regarding Basti and Thorsten's sexualities a bit more? I've seen you refer to them as gay/bi respectively quite often and I would love to hear your reasonings and explanations behind that. (Not at all because I disagree, I'm just obsessed with the two of them and I think you'll have some very interesting takes on the topc!)

If you don't want to just ignore me :)

Hi! and thank you for this lovely ask, it put a really big smile on my face!! you're so kind! 😌 and OOHHHH do I have headcanons about Thorsten’s and Sebastian’s sexuality, I hope you’re ready!! 🔥 (I prefer making lists rather than writing articles, so I hope this still reads well enough)

schwuler Thorsten <3 It would be so easy to say that Thorsten is straight because he had a wife and a daughter back in Hamburg, but people who claim that aren't watching the show right. Here's why I think that a reading of him as a gay man is so so so so valid:

Susanne and Lilli: There are many ways to fit his late wife and daughter into this headcanon, so take your pick: He genuinely didn't know he was gay and started a family. He was in denial and started a family anyway. He was well aware of his homosexuality and maybe this was a mutual arrangement between him and Susanne. It was purely superficial.

(lack of) interest in women: Once Thorsten is in Stuttgart, he literally never shows any interest in any woman whatsoever (much to the dismay of his neighbour) and I do not remember him flirting with any woman ever. Also when asked about women, he literally answers, "Keine Ahnung, ich bin da kein Spezialist." A fortuneteller read his hand once and said: "Sie sind ein lebenslang Suchender. Besonders Frauen sind Ihnen ein ewiges Rätsel." and Thorsten replies, "Jetzt wird es vielleicht doch etwas zu persönlich." Hm. . . So Thorsten is sb who still hasn't found himself? And women are a mystery to him? Hm, gay. Also: Another relationship with a woman, much less so marriage, is so far off his radar that he proposed to Sebastian to start a "Alters WG".

often presumed gay: It is almost a running gag that people assume Thorsten is gay (except that the possibility of a gay Thorsten should not be the punchline). Julian Siebert in "Grabenkämpfe" assumes that Thorsten is gay. His boss while undercover in "Freigang" assumes that he's gay: "Bist du schwul oder warum sind hier keine Weiber?" Thorsten replies, "Schwul.", which the boss plays off as a joke.

casual, yet serious about queerness and other queer people: This is particularly striking in comparison to Sebastian because Thorsten seems so #woke about everything. He understands subtle and not so subtle nods and hints from other queer people but does not make a fuss about them and immediately recognizes queerness (as opposed to Sebastian): Once again "Grabenkämpfe," where Thorsten never jokes about Julian Siebert's obvious interest in him. Also in "Hart an der Grenze" Basti treats them playing a gay couple as a fun joke while Thorsten is very much not amused - and there is just sth in the way he treats the topic so seriously that makes it seem as if it real to him. In "Anne und der Tod" they interrogate clients and stand in front of an old man who has pictures of him and another man on his shelf and wall, and while Sebastian very innocently asks whether that's his brother or son, Thorsten's behavior suggests that he caught on instantly that the old man is in fact gay and that those are photos of him and his late partner.

actively against homophobia: When an old man makes a homophobic remark at him and Sebastian, he immediately grabs Sebastians hand to make that man uncomfortable and as a big fuck you and a way of saying, "Yeah people are queer, get over it, old man!!"

never denying, never clarifying: As much as men flirt with him or people assume he's gay, Thorsten never denies it and never clarifies that he is, in fact, heterosexual. Never! Best example is (once again) "Grabenkämpfe" when his neighbour spots Thorsten at a gay bar with another man and says that at least now she knows why he didn't have time for her - and Thorsten does not get defensive and screams sth like, "I'm not gay, I'm here for a case!", he just lets it slide. And remember when the Freigang boss derogatorily asked Thorsten whether he's gay but then later it seems that Thorsten had sex with a woman, to which the boss replies "Na egal, bin ja froh, dass du nicht schwul bist."? Thorsten once again does not outright say, "Genau, bin ich nicht." but instead replies, "Ich wei��." and looks sad and angry at this blatant portrayal of homophobia.

love confession: In "Die Nacht der Kommissare" Thorsten confesses his love to Sebastian while on drugs with a loud and clear "Sebastian? Ich liebe dich." He continues to confess his love to other men in that episode, but this "Ich liebe dich" feels very different, very sincere and from the heart. I like to read this scene as both a platonic and a romantic love confession.

There is probably so much more, but this is just from the top of my head. Moving on!

bi Basti <3 Sebastian is bi because it Just. Makes. Sense.!!!!!

the rise and fall of the Bootz family: I need to start with Julia and the kids because Sebastian is introduced as a happy, young family man who has basically achieved everything, both in his private life and career. His life as a husband and father is basically too perfect when we meet him, and of course it does crumble more and more into pieces with every new episode. We soon see tension in his and Julia's marriage, ultimately leading to their divorce and Sebastian's never-talked-about problem with alcohol and his separation anxiety. I encourage everyone to watch all the eps until "Spiel auf Zeit" as if Sebastian is falling out of love with Julia and in love with Thorsten (. . .is it possible to love two people at once? Good question, Sebastian).

Felix Klare supremacy: Even Felix Klare himself thought that Tatort was lacking diversity in terms of presentation of women and gay people back in 2013 and he advocated for becoming the first gay Tatort duo. Aber Richy wollte nicht. Tja.

bi in another universe: In "Tödliche Tarnung" we learn that Sebastian and Julia were once close to breaking up and Basti wonders how different his life could have been: "Julia, hast du dir schon mal überlegt, wie unser Leben verlaufen wäre, wenn, naja, wenn wir uns damals getrennt hätten?" Cue "Scherbenhaufen": When he is about to go undercover, he has to come up with a backstory for his character. And what does he do? Completely remove a wife and kids out of the picture and then says, "Ehrlich gesagt, ich hab sie dann mit meinem besten Freund betrogen." Kinda bi to make up a scenario in which he gets to be with Thorsten instead of Julia, if you ask me. And he looks so happy about it, too.

weird about queerness: Sebastian has always been weird about political correctness, and to me this reads as a defense mechanism, as a way to distance himself from queerness and treat it as sth "not concerning me". And yes, I do headcanon Basti as having serious internalized homophobia, why do you ask? I have yet to form proper thoughts about Basti's uncharacteristic compassion towards the gay man who has just lost his lover in "Vergebung", it feels so personally affected. What we can nevertheless witness, though, is some personal growth in that Sebastian is more comfortable with and knowledgable about queerness.

heteronormative worldview / hetcomp: Sebastian literally doesn't know that bisexuality exists. When he hears of married men (yes, there have been three such storylines. . . THREE!!!!) who had a secret lover on the side, he always assumes they were gay and never once considers bisexuality. Looping back to the Bootz marriage&divorce as well as the countless "secretly gay married men" trope, Basti is literally describing his life in "Vergebung" without acknowledging the parallels.

flirting with Thorsten: Of course, any straight man can flirt with his friends, but the way Sebastian does it is so "haha just joking!!! . . . unless 👀"-coded. First the pretend gay couple at the adoption agency, then another pretend gay couple in the waiting room, then the queer undercover persona plot twist. And look how flustered he gets when he gets flirted with.

honorable mentions: bi lighting, bi sitting, bi bi bi music.

Again, there is most definitely more and everyone is free to add on to my thoughts! 😌✌️

bonus: Are Thorsten and Sebastian in love? 👀 Yes, and as of February 2024 there are 32 episodes to prove it. Thank you for reading! 🫶

[janwilhelms]

So, die zweite Total-Sperre für mich in einem Blog innerhalb weniger Wochen, nach der Knuds Vornamens-Schuppen. :-) Das gibt aber mindesten einen Stern auf den Schulterstücken mehr, wa?

Dann eben hier:

Das stimmt in der Form einfach nicht. Es gibt natürlich ein rechtes oder konservatives Geschlechter- und Familienbild (ich hange ihm an), aber die Sache ist viel komplexer.

Schon in der Epoche des klassischen Faschismus hat es sooo viele schwule faschistische Aktivisten und Künstler gegeben. Um nur einige Namen aus Deutschland zu nennen: Ernst Röhm, Friedrich Gundolf, Stefan George – der ganze George-Kreis. Oft wurde das mit der geradezu staatstragenden Funktion der Päderastie im alten Sparta in Zusammenhang gebracht, also dem „rechtesten“ Staatswesen der griechischen Antike. Und Julius Cäsar war nun auch nicht gerade ein „Linker“.

Während nachweislich im Nazifaschismus keine einzige (!) Lesbierin verfolgt wurde – und männliche Homosexuelle eigentlich auch nur, wenn sie gleichzeitig Linke oder Juden waren.

Während Maxim Gorki – Staatsdichter der UdSSR – die Homosexualität als eine aus dem Ausland eingeschleppte Krankheit betrachtet hat.

Schon vor ca. fünfzehn Jahren gab es in der Neuen Rechten den Witz, daß in der Redaktion der Jungen Freiheit mehr Schwule säßen als in der der taz. Keine Ahnung, wer das nachgezählt haben soll, aber der wichtigste Leitartikler der JF hat in den 1990ern unter dem Pseudonym Doris Neujahr geschrieben. Klarname: Thorsten Hinz, ein Schwuler. Auch nicht so ganz un-queer, wa? (Übrigens ein äußerst liebenswerter Mann. Ich hatte vor einigen Jahren die Ehre, ihn kennenzulernen.)

Auch unter frommen Katholiken wimmelt es von Schwulen. Die Anziehungskraft, die gerade die Alte Messe auf Schwule ausübt, ist auch bekannt. Übrigens wird von den Priestern und Ordenleuten der hl. Römisch-Katholischen Kirche ein asexueller Lebenstil erwartet: Keuschheit und Enthaltsamkeit. Ich weiß, daß Euch diese Gleichsetzung partout nicht in den Kram paßt. Aber eben auch nur, weil Ihr einen Alleinvertetungsanspruch für Asexualtität reklamiert und weil Ihr die RKK für „rechts“ haltet – was auch wiederum in der Schlichtheit nicht (mehr) stimmt. Umgekehrt beklagen gerade viele Rechte (ich nicht) seit Jahr und Tag die „Sexualisierung“ der Gesellschaft.

Und von wegen der „alten Tage“: Die wichtigste Richtung der Modernen Kunst, die der italienische Faschismus hervorgebracht hat, war bekanntlich der Futurismus. Zumindest keine bewußte Anknüpfung an die alten Tage, wa?

Und nicht zuletzt gibt es auch ungezählte „nicht-queere“, „spießige“ und langweilige Schwule, die niemals auf einen CSD gehen würden.

Ihr macht Euch die Welt einfacher, als sie ist. „Ich mach mit die Welt, widde, widde, wie sie mir gefällt!“ Eine Gefahr, der jeder unterliegt (und ich bzw. wir Rechten natürlich auch), aber man sollte ihr zu trotzen versuchen.

Und Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand: Wer ist das schönste und klügste MdB im ganzen Land?

Exakt, eine Lesbe von der AfD. Da halten die Weiber keine Klappe mehr! Es stimmt einfach nicht. Lille Weidel hat ja öffentlich gesagt: „Ich bin nicht in der AfD, obwohl ich homosexuell bin, sondern weil ich homosexuell bin.“ (Zitat aus dem Gedächtnis.) Und die AfD versucht schon seit Jahren, homosexuelle Wähler anzusprechen: Natürlich mit dem Appell an die teils (!) berechtigte Angst vor islamischer Homophobie.

Die wichtigste französische rechte Musikgruppe sind Les Brigandes – eine Girlgroup. Diese ultrakonservativen jungen Frauen (sie haben fast alle Kinder) stilisieren sich als kriegerische rechte Frauen in der Tradition Jeanne d’Arcs, Charlotte Cordays (der Mörderin Jean Paul Marats) und eben ihrer rebellischen, royalistischen Vorfahren in der Bretagne und der Vendée in den 1790er Jahre.

Übrigens: https://youtu.be/MYLFfE1HKsw?t=539 Was Antoine Duvidier (der Webmaster der Brigandes) da zum Verhältnis „online vs. offline“ sagt, ist praktisch das gleiche, was Du sagst – nur eben von rechts gesehen. Unser Ziel ist eben nicht das Internet – das Netz ist nur ein Mittel zur physischen Versammlung von Leuten, eine Vorbereitung auf die und ein Mittel zur Gewinnung von Einfluß auf allen Gebieten: Presse, Kultur, Politik etc.

Die Chefin (Marine Le Pen) und die „Kronprinzessin“ (Marion Maréchal) des FN (heute „Rassemblement nationale“) sind Frauen. In Deutschland hat die Kölner Silvesterparty 15/16 die Frauen scharenweise nach rechts getrieben. Gerade für uns deutsche Rechte ist es enorm wichtig, daß Frauen wieder rechts werden – Frauen waren immer schon die klassischen Wähler rechter Parteien und werden es jetzt auch in der BRD nach langen Jahrzehten wieder.

Die Beispiele ließen sich endlos vermehren, aber das hier wird eh schon zu lang.

Na, „das Recht, öffentlich Party zu machen“ ist natürlich lebenswichtig und mußte von „RiesInnen“ erkämpft werden… Zur sexuellen Freiheit gehört eben auch das Recht, seine Sexualität nicht öffentlich zu plakatieren. Das ist auch eine Frage des guten Geschmacks. Und vielleicht ist es für eine junge Frau eine noch riesenhaftere Aufgabe drei oder vier Kinder zu kriegen und großzuziehen, als ein paarmal pro Jahr „öffentlich Party zu machen“.

A noi! :-)

Nochmals und ganz wichtig: Die Bloggerin ist nicht mit der hier gelegentlich als Capella angesprochenen Person identisch. Die Nick-Ähnlichkeit ist reiner Zufall.

[bibastibootz]

so reagieren übrigens zwei heterosexuelle Männer auf eine homophobe Bemerkung, die sie ja aber gar nicht persönlich betrifft . . . oder? 🤨

[bibastibootz]

Tatort Stuttgart Szenen, bei denen ich jedes Mal den Verstand verliere (1/∞)

[bibastibootz]

TAKE A HINT, LONA!!!!!! 🌈✨💅

[bibastibootz]

Tatort Stuttgart + sexual identity generator #2

[bibastibootz]

Tatort Stuttgart + sexual identity generator #1

[bibastibootz]

[bibastibootz]

interessant 🌈

[bibastibootz]

hmm… HHMMMM!!!! schwuler Thorsten!!!! 😌🏳️‍🌈

[bibastibootz]

Um's mit Bastis Worten zu sagen: Ja wie heißt das denn jetzt politisch korrekt??!?!

[bibastibootz]

amazing thoughts, 10/10!!!!!

I love what you wrote about Basti and his internalised homophobia!! it's so devastating, yet so fitting to his character. How he maybe recognises that he's attracted to men (after all, he does have a conventionally attractive "Jugendfreund", which is basically like saying, "btw they were each other's first love" (other interpretations would be boring and therefore invalid 😌)), but how he also likes women and thus thinks, "hmm I can't be gay because I like women, so I won't acknowledge how some men make my heart flutter because I am definitely 100% straight", like.... Basti, please let your kids explain the concept of bisexuality to you, I am begging!!!! your tag "its like my friend always choosing to play the male character in a game before realising they're trans" is so true for "Scherbenhaufen" (and I do feel called out). And like you said, he would be totally fine with kissing Thorsten when they're all alone, but holding hands in public with another man? He'd rather die, honestly. That is why I was so struck by him comforting Mathias Döbele's lover Yusuf Arslan in "Vergebung", because I cannot recall Basti comforting any other relatives of victims before, at least not this intimately. Why does he all of a sudden run his hand across the back of a man crying about losing his lover who he could only be with in secret? Does he mourn the loss of a life that could have been his?

This is also where the finale of "Die Nacht der Kommissare" comes in. Thorsten and Sebastian have extensively talked about their general feelings before (sometimes by screaming), but not their feelings for each other. That topic is taboo. But suddenly Thorsten confesses, "Sebastian? Ich liebe dich." and they BOTH avert their eyes and are silent for a moment - because it's not a joke, so they can't just laugh it off like, "haha, I love you too, man!", no! That confession was real, the first proper show of affection by using their words (on that note, where 👏 is 👏 the 👏 Thorsten/Basti 👏 hug?? 👏👏👏). And they are both uncomfortable and don't know what to say in that moment. What do they end up doing? They never talk about it, they avoid it completely. That is until the end of the episode when they're sitting on that bench and Sebastian says, "Ich liebe dich. Hab ich dir das heute schon gesagt?" By saying that, Sebastian desperately tries to make the love confession between Thorsten and him sound like all the other confessions Thorsten said to other men that night, which he clearly didn't mean seriously. Hence, this "Ich liebe dich." is played off as a joke because they are both not ready to accept that they love each other for real, unconditionally, mostly silently, and have done so for a long long time.

And concerning Thorsten, I think he has accepted that there might never be romance in his life again. Which is why he proposed the Alters WG with Sebastian, which, frankly, is a way of saying "I want to spend the rest of my life with you.", without requiring a ring on their finger. They can live together if they want to, on their own terms, however they want to define their relationship. History might then say they were roommates (oh my god they were roommates), and we all know what that means. 😌

Hello! First of all, I love your blog so much, you give off such warm, positive vibes :)

I wanted to ask if you would explain your head canons regarding Basti and Thorsten's sexualities a bit more? I've seen you refer to them as gay/bi respectively quite often and I would love to hear your reasonings and explanations behind that. (Not at all because I disagree, I'm just obsessed with the two of them and I think you'll have some very interesting takes on the topc!)

If you don't want to just ignore me :)

Hi! and thank you for this lovely ask, it put a really big smile on my face!! you're so kind! 😌 and OOHHHH do I have headcanons about Thorsten’s and Sebastian’s sexuality, I hope you’re ready!! 🔥 (I prefer making lists rather than writing articles, so I hope this still reads well enough)

schwuler Thorsten <3 It would be so easy to say that Thorsten is straight because he had a wife and a daughter back in Hamburg, but people who claim that aren't watching the show right. Here's why I think that a reading of him as a gay man is so so so so valid:

Susanne and Lilli: There are many ways to fit his late wife and daughter into this headcanon, so take your pick: He genuinely didn't know he was gay and started a family. He was in denial and started a family anyway. He was well aware of his homosexuality and maybe this was a mutual arrangement between him and Susanne. It was purely superficial.

(lack of) interest in women: Once Thorsten is in Stuttgart, he literally never shows any interest in any woman whatsoever (much to the dismay of his neighbour) and I do not remember him flirting with any woman ever. Also when asked about women, he literally answers, "Keine Ahnung, ich bin da kein Spezialist." A fortuneteller read his hand once and said: "Sie sind ein lebenslang Suchender. Besonders Frauen sind Ihnen ein ewiges Rätsel." and Thorsten replies, "Jetzt wird es vielleicht doch etwas zu persönlich." Hm. . . So Thorsten is sb who still hasn't found himself? And women are a mystery to him? Hm, gay. Also: Another relationship with a woman, much less so marriage, is so far off his radar that he proposed to Sebastian to start a "Alters WG".

often presumed gay: It is almost a running gag that people assume Thorsten is gay (except that the possibility of a gay Thorsten should not be the punchline). Julian Siebert in "Grabenkämpfe" assumes that Thorsten is gay. His boss while undercover in "Freigang" assumes that he's gay: "Bist du schwul oder warum sind hier keine Weiber?" Thorsten replies, "Schwul.", which the boss plays off as a joke.

casual, yet serious about queerness and other queer people: This is particularly striking in comparison to Sebastian because Thorsten seems so #woke about everything. He understands subtle and not so subtle nods and hints from other queer people but does not make a fuss about them and immediately recognizes queerness (as opposed to Sebastian): Once again "Grabenkämpfe," where Thorsten never jokes about Julian Siebert's obvious interest in him. Also in "Hart an der Grenze" Basti treats them playing a gay couple as a fun joke while Thorsten is very much not amused - and there is just sth in the way he treats the topic so seriously that makes it seem as if it real to him. In "Anne und der Tod" they interrogate clients and stand in front of an old man who has pictures of him and another man on his shelf and wall, and while Sebastian very innocently asks whether that's his brother or son, Thorsten's behavior suggests that he caught on instantly that the old man is in fact gay and that those are photos of him and his late partner.

actively against homophobia: When an old man makes a homophobic remark at him and Sebastian, he immediately grabs Sebastians hand to make that man uncomfortable and as a big fuck you and a way of saying, "Yeah people are queer, get over it, old man!!"

never denying, never clarifying: As much as men flirt with him or people assume he's gay, Thorsten never denies it and never clarifies that he is, in fact, heterosexual. Never! Best example is (once again) "Grabenkämpfe" when his neighbour spots Thorsten at a gay bar with another man and says that at least now she knows why he didn't have time for her - and Thorsten does not get defensive and screams sth like, "I'm not gay, I'm here for a case!", he just lets it slide. And remember when the Freigang boss derogatorily asked Thorsten whether he's gay but then later it seems that Thorsten had sex with a woman, to which the boss replies "Na egal, bin ja froh, dass du nicht schwul bist."? Thorsten once again does not outright say, "Genau, bin ich nicht." but instead replies, "Ich weiß." and looks sad and angry at this blatant portrayal of homophobia.

love confession: In "Die Nacht der Kommissare" Thorsten confesses his love to Sebastian while on drugs with a loud and clear "Sebastian? Ich liebe dich." He continues to confess his love to other men in that episode, but this "Ich liebe dich" feels very different, very sincere and from the heart. I like to read this scene as both a platonic and a romantic love confession.

There is probably so much more, but this is just from the top of my head. Moving on!

bi Basti <3 Sebastian is bi because it Just. Makes. Sense.!!!!!

the rise and fall of the Bootz family: I need to start with Julia and the kids because Sebastian is introduced as a happy, young family man who has basically achieved everything, both in his private life and career. His life as a husband and father is basically too perfect when we meet him, and of course it does crumble more and more into pieces with every new episode. We soon see tension in his and Julia's marriage, ultimately leading to their divorce and Sebastian's never-talked-about problem with alcohol and his separation anxiety. I encourage everyone to watch all the eps until "Spiel auf Zeit" as if Sebastian is falling out of love with Julia and in love with Thorsten (. . .is it possible to love two people at once? Good question, Sebastian).

Felix Klare supremacy: Even Felix Klare himself thought that Tatort was lacking diversity in terms of presentation of women and gay people back in 2013 and he advocated for becoming the first gay Tatort duo. Aber Richy wollte nicht. Tja.

bi in another universe: In "Tödliche Tarnung" we learn that Sebastian and Julia were once close to breaking up and Basti wonders how different his life could have been: "Julia, hast du dir schon mal überlegt, wie unser Leben verlaufen wäre, wenn, naja, wenn wir uns damals getrennt hätten?" Cue "Scherbenhaufen": When he is about to go undercover, he has to come up with a backstory for his character. And what does he do? Completely remove a wife and kids out of the picture and then says, "Ehrlich gesagt, ich hab sie dann mit meinem besten Freund betrogen." Kinda bi to make up a scenario in which he gets to be with Thorsten instead of Julia, if you ask me. And he looks so happy about it, too.

weird about queerness: Sebastian has always been weird about political correctness, and to me this reads as a defense mechanism, as a way to distance himself from queerness and treat it as sth "not concerning me". And yes, I do headcanon Basti as having serious internalized homophobia, why do you ask? I have yet to form proper thoughts about Basti's uncharacteristic compassion towards the gay man who has just lost his lover in "Vergebung", it feels so personally affected. What we can nevertheless witness, though, is some personal growth in that Sebastian is more comfortable with and knowledgable about queerness.

heteronormative worldview / hetcomp: Sebastian literally doesn't know that bisexuality exists. When he hears of married men (yes, there have been three such storylines. . . THREE!!!!) who had a secret lover on the side, he always assumes they were gay and never once considers bisexuality. Looping back to the Bootz marriage&divorce as well as the countless "secretly gay married men" trope, Basti is literally describing his life in "Vergebung" without acknowledging the parallels.

flirting with Thorsten: Of course, any straight man can flirt with his friends, but the way Sebastian does it is so "haha just joking!!! . . . unless 👀"-coded. First the pretend gay couple at the adoption agency, then another pretend gay couple in the waiting room, then the queer undercover persona plot twist. And look how flustered he gets when he gets flirted with.

honorable mentions: bi lighting, bi sitting, bi bi bi music.

Again, there is most definitely more and everyone is free to add on to my thoughts! 😌✌️

bonus: Are Thorsten and Sebastian in love? 👀 Yes, and as of February 2024 there are 32 episodes to prove it. Thank you for reading! 🫶

[bibastibootz]

@wallpaper-inside-my-heart how dare you leave this in the tags???? 👀🔥

"#sometimes it drives me lil bit insane just how easily certain scenes can be read this way! #especially when it comes to thorsten being gay #like to a casual viewer (so like 98.5% of germany besides us weirdos over here) the stuff with his neigbhbor may simply come across as a man #who is hesitant about actually engaging in another relationship after losing his wife & child #and that is ofc a completely valid and prob even the intended reading #but him being gay and maybe having even more guilt attached to losing his family bc of that is such an interesting lense to look through! #(like maybe he felt as tho he had failed them bc he couldn't love his wife in the way he was supposed to) #(and maybe he also took his undercover job back then bc of those feelings! Like he was already pretending to be somebody different in his #own life... why not take this job that actively allows and requires him to build a new persona while rewarding him for it this time around #like ofc now he is feeling guilty for leaving his family to go undercover but that guilt is far less complicated than the one he harbored but #also easier to talk about..like everyone would understand the guilt of neglecting your family bc of work but how many would understand #the fear of not loving them the right way; without blaming him for it?!) #(side note: it's also certainly a choice to go on such a big undercover mission almost right after his daughter was born like I doubt anyone #would have forced him into that position (or maybe I'm missing some bg detail rn) so what are you running from; my guy?)" 🤯😭🫡🥺

Hello! First of all, I love your blog so much, you give off such warm, positive vibes :)

I wanted to ask if you would explain your head canons regarding Basti and Thorsten's sexualities a bit more? I've seen you refer to them as gay/bi respectively quite often and I would love to hear your reasonings and explanations behind that. (Not at all because I disagree, I'm just obsessed with the two of them and I think you'll have some very interesting takes on the topc!)

If you don't want to just ignore me :)

Hi! and thank you for this lovely ask, it put a really big smile on my face!! you're so kind! 😌 and OOHHHH do I have headcanons about Thorsten’s and Sebastian’s sexuality, I hope you’re ready!! 🔥 (I prefer making lists rather than writing articles, so I hope this still reads well enough)

schwuler Thorsten <3 It would be so easy to say that Thorsten is straight because he had a wife and a daughter back in Hamburg, but people who claim that aren't watching the show right. Here's why I think that a reading of him as a gay man is so so so so valid:

Susanne and Lilli: There are many ways to fit his late wife and daughter into this headcanon, so take your pick: He genuinely didn't know he was gay and started a family. He was in denial and started a family anyway. He was well aware of his homosexuality and maybe this was a mutual arrangement between him and Susanne. It was purely superficial.

(lack of) interest in women: Once Thorsten is in Stuttgart, he literally never shows any interest in any woman whatsoever (much to the dismay of his neighbour) and I do not remember him flirting with any woman ever. Also when asked about women, he literally answers, "Keine Ahnung, ich bin da kein Spezialist." A fortuneteller read his hand once and said: "Sie sind ein lebenslang Suchender. Besonders Frauen sind Ihnen ein ewiges Rätsel." and Thorsten replies, "Jetzt wird es vielleicht doch etwas zu persönlich." Hm. . . So Thorsten is sb who still hasn't found himself? And women are a mystery to him? Hm, gay. Also: Another relationship with a woman, much less so marriage, is so far off his radar that he proposed to Sebastian to start a "Alters WG".

often presumed gay: It is almost a running gag that people assume Thorsten is gay (except that the possibility of a gay Thorsten should not be the punchline). Julian Siebert in "Grabenkämpfe" assumes that Thorsten is gay. His boss while undercover in "Freigang" assumes that he's gay: "Bist du schwul oder warum sind hier keine Weiber?" Thorsten replies, "Schwul.", which the boss plays off as a joke.

casual, yet serious about queerness and other queer people: This is particularly striking in comparison to Sebastian because Thorsten seems so #woke about everything. He understands subtle and not so subtle nods and hints from other queer people but does not make a fuss about them and immediately recognizes queerness (as opposed to Sebastian): Once again "Grabenkämpfe," where Thorsten never jokes about Julian Siebert's obvious interest in him. Also in "Hart an der Grenze" Basti treats them playing a gay couple as a fun joke while Thorsten is very much not amused - and there is just sth in the way he treats the topic so seriously that makes it seem as if it real to him. In "Anne und der Tod" they interrogate clients and stand in front of an old man who has pictures of him and another man on his shelf and wall, and while Sebastian very innocently asks whether that's his brother or son, Thorsten's behavior suggests that he caught on instantly that the old man is in fact gay and that those are photos of him and his late partner.

actively against homophobia: When an old man makes a homophobic remark at him and Sebastian, he immediately grabs Sebastians hand to make that man uncomfortable and as a big fuck you and a way of saying, "Yeah people are queer, get over it, old man!!"

never denying, never clarifying: As much as men flirt with him or people assume he's gay, Thorsten never denies it and never clarifies that he is, in fact, heterosexual. Never! Best example is (once again) "Grabenkämpfe" when his neighbour spots Thorsten at a gay bar with another man and says that at least now she knows why he didn't have time for her - and Thorsten does not get defensive and screams sth like, "I'm not gay, I'm here for a case!", he just lets it slide. And remember when the Freigang boss derogatorily asked Thorsten whether he's gay but then later it seems that Thorsten had sex with a woman, to which the boss replies "Na egal, bin ja froh, dass du nicht schwul bist."? Thorsten once again does not outright say, "Genau, bin ich nicht." but instead replies, "Ich weiß." and looks sad and angry at this blatant portrayal of homophobia.

love confession: In "Die Nacht der Kommissare" Thorsten confesses his love to Sebastian while on drugs with a loud and clear "Sebastian? Ich liebe dich." He continues to confess his love to other men in that episode, but this "Ich liebe dich" feels very different, very sincere and from the heart. I like to read this scene as both a platonic and a romantic love confession.

There is probably so much more, but this is just from the top of my head. Moving on!

bi Basti <3 Sebastian is bi because it Just. Makes. Sense.!!!!!

the rise and fall of the Bootz family: I need to start with Julia and the kids because Sebastian is introduced as a happy, young family man who has basically achieved everything, both in his private life and career. His life as a husband and father is basically too perfect when we meet him, and of course it does crumble more and more into pieces with every new episode. We soon see tension in his and Julia's marriage, ultimately leading to their divorce and Sebastian's never-talked-about problem with alcohol and his separation anxiety. I encourage everyone to watch all the eps until "Spiel auf Zeit" as if Sebastian is falling out of love with Julia and in love with Thorsten (. . .is it possible to love two people at once? Good question, Sebastian).

Felix Klare supremacy: Even Felix Klare himself thought that Tatort was lacking diversity in terms of presentation of women and gay people back in 2013 and he advocated for becoming the first gay Tatort duo. Aber Richy wollte nicht. Tja.

bi in another universe: In "Tödliche Tarnung" we learn that Sebastian and Julia were once close to breaking up and Basti wonders how different his life could have been: "Julia, hast du dir schon mal überlegt, wie unser Leben verlaufen wäre, wenn, naja, wenn wir uns damals getrennt hätten?" Cue "Scherbenhaufen": When he is about to go undercover, he has to come up with a backstory for his character. And what does he do? Completely remove a wife and kids out of the picture and then says, "Ehrlich gesagt, ich hab sie dann mit meinem besten Freund betrogen." Kinda bi to make up a scenario in which he gets to be with Thorsten instead of Julia, if you ask me. And he looks so happy about it, too.

weird about queerness: Sebastian has always been weird about political correctness, and to me this reads as a defense mechanism, as a way to distance himself from queerness and treat it as sth "not concerning me". And yes, I do headcanon Basti as having serious internalized homophobia, why do you ask? I have yet to form proper thoughts about Basti's uncharacteristic compassion towards the gay man who has just lost his lover in "Vergebung", it feels so personally affected. What we can nevertheless witness, though, is some personal growth in that Sebastian is more comfortable with and knowledgable about queerness.

heteronormative worldview / hetcomp: Sebastian literally doesn't know that bisexuality exists. When he hears of married men (yes, there have been three such storylines. . . THREE!!!!) who had a secret lover on the side, he always assumes they were gay and never once considers bisexuality. Looping back to the Bootz marriage&divorce as well as the countless "secretly gay married men" trope, Basti is literally describing his life in "Vergebung" without acknowledging the parallels.

flirting with Thorsten: Of course, any straight man can flirt with his friends, but the way Sebastian does it is so "haha just joking!!! . . . unless 👀"-coded. First the pretend gay couple at the adoption agency, then another pretend gay couple in the waiting room, then the queer undercover persona plot twist. And look how flustered he gets when he gets flirted with.

honorable mentions: bi lighting, bi sitting, bi bi bi music.

Again, there is most definitely more and everyone is free to add on to my thoughts! 😌✌️

bonus: Are Thorsten and Sebastian in love? 👀 Yes, and as of February 2024 there are 32 episodes to prove it. Thank you for reading! 🫶