#the „gay” part is intentional

[thatisratbehavior]

i am FERAL i am GAY i occasionally get fixated on literary classics(?) but thats OKAY

[cthulhum]

does anyone realize how crazy it is to have the actor of a mostly headcanoned queer ship say the fans were never crazy and they were right all along after 10+ years of everyone just absolutely going nuts over the said queerbaited ship

[liorlenn]

(Spoilers for KCD2 romance)

One thing that really surprised me about Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (particularly the Hansry romance) was the direct reference to Galehaut and Lancelot (let me tell you I CHEERED), so I wanted to start talking about some other queer medieval Arthurian texts and Arthuriana adjacent texts.

I’m by no means an expert (I focus more on Welsh poetry and prose) but medieval Welsh literature includes some Arthurian literature, so I know a little about Arthurian Literature in general. Most of these stories are either Old French or German and about 13th century. SGATGK is 14th century.

For one, I want to say that the tale being referenced in the game is the Vulgate Cycle or the Lancelot-Grail Cycle (the Vulgate Cycle itself is multiple parts, with Lancelot’s (The Story of Lancelot/Prose Lancelot) being the largest). It’s a big ol’ mash up and retelling of a huge part of the early tradition + new stuff. There’s also the Post-Vulgate which is itself a retelling of the Vulgate Cycle. This is NOT the one you want if you’re looking for Lancelot and Galehaut.

Another thing of note about the Vulgate is that Galehaut and Lancelot are not the only ones I would give the old side eye. Gawain says (about Lancelot even!), “If God were to grant me my health… I’d immediately wish to be the most beautiful maiden in the world, happy and healthy, on condition that he would love me above all others…” Come on man.

Now, for other queer texts!

First up, I have to plug my best friend and my silly rabbit: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Thanks to the movie (which was good but fairly different) this one is a bit more well-known. I could talk endlessly about the moral of the original story and I think the Gawain Poet is incredibly talented at weaving together imagery. I also appreciate Gawain’s willingness to kiss women AND men. Some argue that it’s not queer because of differing social norms but personally I think Gawain wanted it. And by it, haha well let’s jusrt say—

Next we have Parzival/Percival (referencing the German “version” by Wolfram von Eschenbach here. Each iteration of a “Percival”, including Chrétien de Troyes’ earlier (and unfinished) Story of the Grail, all have their own differences). This one is even more up to interpretation than SGATGK. There’s a very explicitly performative aspect to Parzival’s presentation (his gender is “knight”), focusing distinctly on clothing and the role clothing plays in others’ reactions to him that I think is very relatable. I don’t have much else to say about this one unfortunately. I read parts of it once years ago but it was super interesting and there has been scholarship done on Parzival and gender so…. take what you will from it.

The next stories are Arthurian adjacent (as in, medieval stories about knights). First off: Le Roman de Silence is either about a woman knight or a trans knight who is… sighs. Forcibly outed. Interesting read but definitely a bit of a downer if you interpret Silence as a trans man.

Yde et Olive, however is very explicitly about a trans man! Happy ending too! I was incredibly surprised to read a 13th century story about a trans man getting magical/miraculous top and bottom surgery (yes, forreal).

And to cap off this small list, here is some medieval Welsh literature. This one is just me being a little wistful, but let me tell you about Blodeuedd/Blodeuwedd and the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi (Math fab Mathonwy). This one is…sad. It’s not a good ending for Blodeuedd, but I could wax poetic about her: how she was fashioned from flowers to fulfill a gendered role. How she failed to do so and was punished.

There are plenty of other stories with queer interpretations in Arthuriana and other medieval literature (do not get me started on Guinevere and Morgan le Fay’s whole… thing. Also Luned and her Lady…) and there are plenty of modern/early modern retellings that are explicitly queer. I just wanted to stick to medieval texts for this and also limit myself to a select few among that even.

[bannock-freak]

not to be a raging queer but i love how

Okay.

Mean Girls 2004.

Cady's POV.

We're shown Cady's crush on Aaron Samuels in a few ways. Lingering close ups, like she's memorizing his features. The camera follows him throughout his day to day life, as though she's watching him closely and appreciating the little moments where he's simply doing his thing and being himself. I really appreciate how we're shown the romantic attraction there, and that it's not just taken for granted.

I appreciate even more that the same thing goes for Regina George but dialed up to eleven.

In addition, Cady talks even more about how she wants to appeal to Regina more than she wants to appeal to Aaron. She has a crush on Aaron, Cady does, absofreakinglutely, but he's almost there as a by-product of Regina.

I'll never get over how we're shown Cady watching Regina George and the camera goes into slow motion and captures every little moment and refuses to falter even when Regina blows a kiss. Yes it's a good way to demonstrate Regina's superiority in the school and single her out - iirc she might actually be the only one who gets a slow-mo shot from Cady's POV - but because it's singling Regina out from Cady's POV, it effectively romanticizes her IN Cady's POV as well.

I'll never get over this shot/reverse shot. Get you a girl who looks at you the way Cady Heron looks at Regina George.

It's the same face with which she checks out Aaron for the first time too btw. The only difference is the softer indoor light.

Mean Girls was a milestone moment for 00s era queers just with Damian's existence and how he was portrayed alone. He has a big personality, he's at the forefront for all of it and has amazing lines, his gayness is brought up several times both textually ("too gay to function") and metatextually (him singing Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, him owning a pink shirt - in 2004 him having that was a declaration in and of itself). He is not anywhere NEAR the closet except for his clothes. And he's also accepted. He goofs off with his fellow art geeks at the art geek table - it's not just Janis who's laughing at his class clown antics. Hell, Janis is the one who rags on him the most FOR being gay, and we're meant to understand that she gets a pass and her openly stating it is effectively an act of solidarity and acceptance even if she is kinda a dick about it.

But for me, the ability to read sapphism into it so freaking easily also qualifies it as that. It's not textual. It was 2004. Damian is the only 'framed as a good person battling the evils of highschool dictatorships' protagonist who isn't shown smooching a love interest by the end of the movie. Hell, he kisses Janis instead as they get caught up in the atmosphere, even though they both immediately curdle in disgust and "No, no, nope" it. So Cady and Regina can't be TOLD to have that kind of tension.

But we're SHOWN it. Oh BOY are we shown it. It even practically ends on it. In the final 'the class barriers have been broken down' scene, we're not shown Cady giving a long look at Aaron as he walks by with his team mates and smiles at her, giving her a nod in camaraderie to show that they've both made it into this new beginning and they can put the fights of the past behind them. He's literally not even there.

Who's in that scenario instead? Cady, yes.

And Regina Motherfucking George.

also please note that the final breaking point for Regina, the one that sent her flying home in a screaming and flushed rage, the one who made her voice tremble, was CADY. It was Cady's betrayal. Cady singular. Not The Plastics as a unit, no, it was Cady and her Kalteen bars. It's not The Plastics as a unit whose picture she butchers for the Burn Book. Just a picture of her and Cady, arm in arm, smiling for the camera.

One of the most common 'couple breaks up' tropes btw, next to eating ice cream, is cutting up pictures to literally cut the ex out of the POV character's life. Just saying.

Further, Regina won't hesitate to weaponize herself and throw herself under the bus (lol) to get her way. It's part of what makes her such a formidable opponent and villain. It can also tie into this inextricably if you think about it.

Mean Girls, above all, is about 'girl politics' and the way girls, especially teenage girls, flounder and struggle and assert themselves in a patriarchal society. It's about how girls are and aren't allowed to act, behave, think, even what they're allowed to look like and who they're allowed to hang out with. About what they are and aren't allowed to BE. And so it isn't only the platonic feminine bonds that suffer in this. It's everything else, too. After all, it was accusations of lesbianism, the notion that Janis was in love with Regina, that excommunicated Janis from Regina's kingdom.

But it was also Regina who brought it up, and who demanded the performance of compulsive heterosexuality in the first place.

[rockeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

get off that dirty ass floor💔

[markantonys]

hi! have you seen gewoon vrienden? is it just me or does the other guy have a tiny hint of a mat vibe 👀

i haven't seen it but i've been meaning to watch it for like 2 years now haha so maybe i will finally get around to it one of these days! and i know exactly what you mean, i remember i once saw a gifset from this movie that instantly made me shout MODERN AU CAUTHOR, right down to the fact that josha's character was wearing some emo black jacket and was being very serious and the other guy had on like a wild floral shirt and was kissing him to make him laugh, but for the life of me i can't find that gifset again and i'm very sad!

but i did find a picture of i think the same outfits from the gifset, at least, so instead, may i present:

[martinskiseyes]

.

[transannabeth]

hi. for people who saw gatsby: an american myth. do you remember mckee asking nick for lunch. and then gatsby in like the next scene inviting nick for lunch. because i remember.

[embraceyourdestiny]

Reading Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall and immediately this quote on page 2-3 got me

“Feminism as defined by the priorities of white women hinged on the availability of cheap layer in the home from women of color. Going into a white woman’s kitchen did nothing to help other women. Those jobs had always been available, always paid poorly, always been dangerous. Freedom was not to be found in doing the same labor with a thin veneer of access to opportunities that would most likely never come. A better deal for white women could not be, would not be, the road to freedom for Black women.”

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Everyone’s mad because His Man 3 popped the BL bubble

[unproduciblesmackdown]

omgg lol [guy who won't stop going "more like scapeGOATED" voice] now hold! on!! lmao [same guy just saw encanto voice] Hold on!!!

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

As a girl who very often falls in love with straight girls and gay guys your gojo and nobara unrequited love post is giving me feelings(tm)

YOU AND ME BOTH ANON 😭😭😭😭 we’re holding hands rn….. sorry/you’re welcome for the Feelings 😔😔 i’m very happy i can feed those of us who exclusively fall for the unattainable <33333

[eddiediazenjoyer]

just thought of a world where eddies canon queer arc is just him realizing he’s gay and then finding joy or whatever . and that’s it. started snoring just thinking about it

[smiegrin]

GOSH I can't help but become obsessed with a piece of art when it features a character that says/believes something that I just KNOW is absolutely wrongheaded and yet they articulate it in an incredibly poetic fashion.

[theninaproject]

genuinely the byl*rs would be happier if they actually understood writing as well as they claim to lmao

[plan-3-tmars]

obviously vote however you want and I respect kazui guilty voter's opinions but if I see one more person say that kazui used hinako i will riot