#the world is cruel and homophobic and mean for not letting me have this all all at once

[wabblebees]

homophobic how science has yet to invent a haircut for me that lets me wear it long+pretty+femme in a fag way sometimes but Also short+easy+masc in a dyke way other times

[m1ssunderstanding]

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 3.1

I thank my lucky stars every night that Yoko eventually got sick of playing secret-keeper.

Paul: I didn't leave the Beatles. The Beatles have left the Beatles . . . John said he wanted a divorce. Alright, so do I. See how they say “Beatles” and they mean each other sometimes?

Derek Taylor on John's position on the break-up: if Paul were to approach him and say “let's do it together again” he probably would; with no more words, he would probably do it. Which is an insane claim to make to a world full of people grieving the greatest band to ever exist unless you are very very sure of that probability. But if it's true that that's all it would have taken, and Paul didn't do it? That hurts my head a little. Do we think he was just hurt too bad to want it back? Do we think he didn't know he had that kind of power? Do we think he was glad to be free of the group?

Ugh my heart can't take it. I'd cry too, John, watching that. I mean look at how they are looking at each other. Look at everything they've lost in a year. I'd bawl like a baby too.

Paul sends John a long, thorough letter, begging for them to legally end their partnership outside of a court. John's run out of cards at this point, but he still doesn't want to lose Paul, so he's just going to play dumb.

This is how bad he doesn't want to lose him, actually: he goes along with Klein in tricking Paul this time. Calls him up and asks him to come to the studio for a jam session, because it'll hurt his case in court. But for multiple reasons – the Eastmans were knowledgeable lawyers, and Paul might not have even wanted to be in a room with John at the time anyway – Paul doesn't come. Which John would've been hurt and angry over, no matter his motives.

"They tell you to stop crying at about age twelve. Be a man. What the hell's that?" I'm so proud of John for his (albeit long and backsliding) journey out of his toxic masculinity and violence. Something I honestly don't see him achieving without Yoko.

And from that quote it transitions to Paul in Scotland, looking like the embodiment of depression, as the opening of “Isolation” plays. It's perfect.

“And don't try to come over here. Or you might get in some trouble.” The way he just froze when he saw them filming him and then the next thing we see is him threatening them? Get ‘em, babe!

John sounds so giddy about this one-upping competition with Paul. I'll scare him and then he'll scare me!

The whole Lennon Remembers era is such a terrible case of diarrhea of the mouth in general, but the amount of homophobic language is quite striking compared to how John talked before and after.

John, talking about George in Rolling Stone: "he was working with two fucking brilliant songwriters and he learned a lot from us." People read that quote and just parrot it like they do with everything John said in this period and act like George had nothing to be angry over. He had every right to be much angrier and hold a much bigger grudge than he did.

And about George's new record, which was phenomenal and brilliant, John is transparently jealous and so cruel. If he'd said that about me and then asked me to play on his new record I'd tell him to go to hell. Why did George do it?

See and everyone who knows John knows how much he loved Brian and to hear him speaking so crassly and cruelly about Brian must've been a sure indication to them to just take the entire interview through that lense of “oh he's just saying shit”. But that's only the people who knew him. Everyone else for the rest of time took this shit as constitutional. And it pisses me off. It should be locked away in a vault somewhere and no one is allowed to listen to it until they've passed some kind of Beatles and emotional intelligence tests.

This crushes my soul. How warped must his definition of love have been by that point that he genuinely believed Phil Spector and Allen Klein loved him more than Paul and George did? It's bonkers.

John in 1967: all you need is love! John in 1971: the point of life is to manipulate people. . . . What the hell happened to you, buddy?

I go back and forth as to who's the smarter PR person: John or Yoko? Because maybe she's right. Maybe they shouldn't divulge that they're master manipulators. But is this one of those times when it's good to be all “look how honest we are about this! We're not hiding anything! We're saying bad things about ourselves too! So you should believe us about everything else!”

Really this documentarian should be hired to make all the music videos for all the Beatles and solo songs. This one for “Too Many People” is perfect. Paul walking into court with a full beard and a confident stride, John and Yoko in bed, Paul horse riding overlayed on Linda's gorgeous face like she's some goddess, designing his fate. All of it is just pure brilliance.

I'm forever laughing at just the title of the song, too. Because to John and Yoko it was so important that they were Weird and Off-putting. Different. Revolutionary. And to say “no. You're not special. There's actually an excess of people like you.” Is so funny to me.

“When she wants an A side, that's when we start fighting.” Oh gosh. Remember how I said he backslides a lot in his feminism journey? Yeah…

Insanity quote Hall of Fame. Yeah, I know he meant to say it's weird to be best friends with a woman. But it sounds like he's saying it's weird to fuck a woman. Which maybe he subconsciously means both idk.

Paul: we need to legally dissolve the partnership because it's the only way we're attached anymore. Ouch. Okay it's true. It's deserved. But that must've stung for the guy who was terrified of losing people. Must've sent him into fight or flight.

I think the point of this framing is to say that if they'd had facetime back then, instead of just crackly phone lines, HDYS would not have been written. Not with those puppy eyes staring him down like that.

Interviewer: the song wasn't even funny though. John: well I think it's hilarious. Interviewer: hmm. Lol I love hearing interviewers talk to John about his lyrics like he's a real guy doing a real job, though. Imagine a music critic now saying John Lennon wasn't clever in his lyrics. You can't, yeah. Me either.

What a slap in the face to Cynthia. Guess she wasn't Cool Girl enough. Should've gone girled him. That would be an excellent fic. Cyn and Jane gone girl their idiot bfs and John and Paul realize they're in love on death row. But anyway, yeah. If Paul would've just pet John's head . . .

Another absolutely bonkers thing to say. That's something the Rockstar��s ex wife says in a documentary ten years after he's dead, not something a songwriting partner says, completely unprompted, in an exiting the band interview.

And then he goes off on what I see as a self-soothing diatribe on Paul the family man. You can see the hoops he jumped through to get himself there. What did Paul want that I couldn't give him? A family. And is that justified? Absolutely not, only pussies and conservatives want families.

Allan Klein: were you and Paul ever really close, then? John: no. John: not that I didn't love him. I did. It's just that every time I let my guard down, he hurt me. Holy shit. At this point, after getting hit in the face with so much of John's Paul-made pain with nothing from the other side but pictures of the happy McCartney family, I'm genuinely feeling quite angry at Paul. Me. An extremely biased Paul girl who knows it's far more complicated and multi-dimensional than this. No wonder the uninformed public fucking hated his guts.

And as they're showing this quote, “I didn't want to hurt you,” plays mournfully in the background. They really are so twisted up in each other there's no separating individual identities.

Okay so he's a psychopath. So what? He's the sexiest man that ever was or ever will be. He's allowed to be a horrible person. No, but really. He's Get Back Paul but healthier. He's done with his depression drinking and he's been spending a lot of time proving he's still useful enough to exist by building fences and shearing sheep.

And this is how Paul talks about George to interviews. John said Klein made ATMP a success but Paul disagrees. "George recorded it all, wrote it all, did it all, wasn't anything to do with [Klein]. It was George's victory, wasn't it?" Compare that to how John does it and tell me again why the hell George is Team John?

What is Paul's obsession with daddies? Actually I know exactly what the obsession with daddies comes from, but we won't get into that here. I do find it interesting that in ‘69 he's saying “we do need a sort of central daddy figure.” And in ‘71 he's deriding John needing one and won't let John's daddy of choice touch him with a hundred foot pole.

I tend to think Paul chafes against authority in general, but that's actually not right. He never had a problem with George Martin. I think it's just abusive authority or authority he doesn't trust yet.

[therainscene]

It’s funny that Bylers are so often accused of being delusional, because I was at my most delusional when I was anti-Byler.

I spent most of S4 refusing to acknowledge that Will had romantic feelings for Mike, despite knowing damn well what all that love triangle imagery and sad gay pining was implying. I convinced myself it was just bros before hoes drama; that perhaps Will wanted to come out to his best friend but felt nervous after six months of radio silence following “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls!”

The van scene forced me to accept that he really was in love, and it pissed me off because what was even the point of making him fall for a straight boy?

Mike’s bizarre “no homo” behaviour was clearly a symptom of growing up in a conservative 80s household, and witnessing Will’s sacrificial act of love in the van was the shitty lesson he needed to get over his homophobia.

I saw a typical straight male protagonist in an 80s coming-of-age film getting to coast his way to self-actualization on the back of queer suffering; a cruel and homophobic trope I thought we’d moved past by the year 2022.

But then the NINA reunion scene rolled around--

--and I immediately picked up on the heavy parallels between Mike and Will in how they greeted El. The realization hit me like a tonne of bricks: Mike feels the same way about her as Will does.

I thought, “wait, does this mean I was wrong about...? Oh my god. No way.

No fucking way.

Will was in love with El this whole time?? What the fuck, he’s been gay since S1 and she’s his sister this is BULLSHIT I will personally strangle the Duffers--”

Heteronormativity is a hell of a drug, kids.

Let this be a lesson to those of you who think media illiteracy is to blame for Byler denial -- how well someone understands the mechanics of storytelling is irrelevant if they insist on treating Mike’s supposed heterosexuality as an axiom instead of an evidence-based conclusion. The issue lies with bias, not literacy.

I was stubbornly anti-Byler because I knew I’d immediately fall in love with this ship if I allowed myself to have hope it could be canon, and the general state of queer rep in mainstream media meant I was all but guaranteed to get hurt if I was so stupid as to have hope. But in my desperation to cling to the “safe” heteronormative outcome, I only ended up hurting myself with my own silly assumptions.

We’ve seen both canonically gay characters in the show make exactly this mistake, needlessly hurting themselves with their silly but self-defensive assumptions about their love interests.

Stranger Things absolutely nails its depiction of the subtler ways internalized homophobia can manifest -- Will may feel like a mistake and be prone to beating himself up, but he isn’t some pitiful self-loathing queer who wishes he was straight, either. He’s just so crushed by heteronormativity that he accepts it as an inescapable fact of life and lets it guide his beliefs and actions.

Don’t get me wrong: Will, like Robin, is very sensible for being cautious in such a horrifically bigoted environment -- trying to openly defy that level of homophobia by yourself, especially when you’re young, is a bad idea.

But unlike Robin, he clearly struggles to accept that he has the right to chase his same-sex love interest. He's no longer simply exercising caution, but conforming to homophobic standards -- much in the same way I thought I was sensibly refusing to be queerbaited, when really I was just agreeing with the heteronormative status quo.

I realize now that this is the real reason Will was written into a homophobic 80s trope: not to teach Mike an outdated lesson in acceptance, but to maneuver Will into position for the lesson he’s going to learn in S5 about resisting conformity.

Will needs to learn that castrating himself to make straight people comfortable is a bad idea too. Not only is that a miserable way to live his life, but what sort of world is he leaving for the next generation of queer kids if he never questions these homophobic standards?

It’s just the cycle of abuse scaled up to the societal level.

This is what gives me confidence in Byler endgame. Queerness isn’t just an incidental element of Will’s personal arc, but suffuses the show to its very core -- it’s in its themes, its allegory, its characters.

So Will getting the boy isn’t just nice fan-service for Byler shippers, but a necessary ending if the show’s most important lesson is to land:

That it’s rewarding to make the difficult choice of standing up to bigotry in the face of forced conformity. Of choosing love.

Could it be the case that I was right the first time, and Stranger Things is going to turn out to be yet another heteronormative mainstream show that doesn’t commit to its own themes? Sure, maybe. But that wouldn’t invalidate the valuable lessons this show has already -- and apparently accidentally lol -- taught me.

Anyone who calls us deluded for hoping a mainstream show is going to have a gay pairing as its main couple just doesn’t realize -- or doesn’t care -- that they’re contributing to the very problem they’re describing.

[rayclubs]

Which tf2 merc do you think gets mischaracterized the least?

Good question! Let's do a rating.

In my opinion, there are three aspects to characterizing someone.

Facts - you have to get basic character backstory right. This includes all objective canon truths, events, and, well, facts about said character.

Behavior - you need to understand how the character acts, how their interpersonal relationships function, what they're like in their day-to-day life. This is the nitty-gritty of fanfic and fanart, this is dialogue, line-to-line characterization.

Integrity - you need to understand the character's core beliefs and principles, what their values are and how they view the world around them. This isn't something you can easily quote or point to as a mistake in fanfic, it's more of an overall idea of a character.

Each of these is going to be worth up to three points, with zero for terrible characterization that gets everything wrong. This would ideally total to nine points. I'll be awarding an additional bonus point for character interpretation that doesn't make me scream "he would not fucking say that". Let's go.

Scout:

His backstory is fairly simple. He has an absent father, half a dozen siblings, and a crush on his boss who doesn't reciprocate. People mostly get this right, except they also call him a virgin despite the fact he canonically lands the fried chicken queen, and seems to do it with ease. 2/3.

His behavior is also mostly portrayed accurately, in that he's loud, obnoxious, self-absorbed, and can be kind of a dick, though not completely without endearing qualities. The fandom is, admittedly, guilty of making him more insecure and self-conscious than he actually is, to amp up the drama. 2/3.

His core values, however, are completely off. The main interpretations I see of him are "depressed Scout", "homophobic Scout", and "baby Scout", neither of which is true to his character. This is a grown man with a force-a-nature complex. The homophobia is just projection and internalized prejudice, but that phenomena is too complicated for me to dissect here. I talked about it before and might make another post later. Anyway, 0/3.

Scout does not get a bonus point. He would not fucking say "poggers" but he would say "daddy-o".

Overall characterization score: 4/10

Soldier:

Very little is known about Soldier's backstory so there isn't really any room to be wrong about it. What we do know is also vague and unreliable, so it's open to interpretation. Given how little room for error there is, I'll give him a 3/3.

His behavior is completely off in most cases, often shown to either be overly aggressive or so dumb you start to question how this man functions in his day-to-day life. Canon Soldier has plenty of endearingly stupid moments but a lot of them can be read as deadpan jokes on the character's part, and many turn out to be secretly clever moments, such as him infiltrating the robot base with a goofy cardboard disguise. Likewise, canon Soldier has plenty of aggressive and mean moments, but he's not cruel and very clearly not a threat to his teammates, which isn't captured at all in fanworks that decide to go that way. 0/3.

Soldier's core ideals are mostly captured well, as in - yeah, he calls people communist as an insult in fanfics. I feel like he should mention God more often than he does in fanon, it's, like, one of the two ideologically meaningful things he ever talks about. The importance of "America" as a concept to him is mostly preserved but left unexplored. 2/3.

Soldier does not get a bonus point, he would not fucking say [homophobic slur] yet here we fucking are.

Overall characterization score: 5/10

Pyro:

His backstory is nonexistent yet people still fuck it up. His technical knowledge is clearly extensive and impressive, as shown by the complexity of his weaponry - which, mind you, looks HAND MADE - but people treat him as if he's altogether incompetent and maniacally stupid all the time always. He also ran an engineering company for hell knows how long and people just forget about it because they're allergic to adults or something. God this pisses me off so much. I mean for fuck's sake, people act like his full job description is "Pyromaniac" and not "Pyrotechnician". I'm so tired. 0/3.

His day-to-day characterization and dialogue is also completely off. People treat him as if he's INCAPABLE of communication, make him obsess over childish things he's only shown a moderate liking to in a manner that's borderline creepy and insulting, and take away his whole entire agency in everything he ever does. I will literally not give y'all a single point, you do my man Pyro so dirty. 0/3.

His ideology is complex and vague in canon, and I don't blame people for getting confused by such things as Pyrovision, but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. In my time on Ao3 I've seen animal Pyro, cryptid Pyro, monster Pyro, alien Pyro, evil mindless maniac Pyro, incompetent baby Pyro, nonbinary Pyro (HENCE MY PROBLEM WITH THE HEADCANON, do you see how it looks next to all these other interpretations?) but I've rarely, if ever, seen competent adult Pyro with actual hopes and dreams and agency. 0/3.

Pyro does not get a bonus point because he would not fucking say "uwu" but he would say "fuck", let Pyro say fuck.

Overall characterization score: 0/10 are you fucking surprised

Demoman:

Oh poor lad what have they done to you. So, Demo's backstory is arguably the most detailed and fleshed-out in the entire canon. Too bad nobody fucking read it. Admittedly, in the recent years I've seen people mostly manage to remember he has several jobs and is overall a competent and successful man, but it's rarely - if ever - explored, I've seen exactly one fic where the author bothered to explore what one of his other jobs might be (and it was not a good fic for many other reasons, don't ask me for a link), and it honestly feels like people don't want to dwell on it? Like, they mostly mention it to fill a quota, y'know? Here, I'm not racist, I've acknowledged one of this character's achievements, leave me alone. Also the subject of him being fucking adopted as a kid never comes up. 0/3.

His day-to-day characterization suffers a lot because people think alcoholism is the most morally repugnant thing that can ever happen to a human being. This man honestly barely even has a presence in the fics he's in. Are you wondering where Demo is? Well, he wasn't there! He was BUSY! He couldn't come! There is a handful of writers who bother to write his actual inner monologue and point of view, and this point goes out to them only. Also there was a pretty good Boots and Bombs fic in which Demo was a dick to Soldier but then got better, and it stuck with me. 1/3.

His core character is fucked up by fandom because he's either all flaws or not allowed to have any flaws, and there's no in-between. Ever since I joined the fandom I've seen a lot of critique floating around, and people mostly seem to listen and realize they've been mistreating the man for long enough, but it created a whole separate problem of Perfect Demoman which is bland and boring. People don't want to write an offensive caricature but don't feel like fleshing him out either, so they just make him great at everything and never let him fail and grown in ways that are meaningful. Except that one fic I mentioned earlier, but I've already awarded a point for that. 0/3.

Demo does not get a bonus point. I couldn't find a meaningful example of bad dialogue because, like I said, he has no presence in any of the fics he's in. He would fucking say something.

Overall characterization score: 1/10 and honestly it's too generous on my part.

Heavy:

Okay so Heavy's backstory really confuses people. I've got like a dozen asks in my inbox when I called his father a revolutionary AND a counter-revolutionary. Wait till I call him a royalist, it'll blow your tits clean off. I don't feel like explaining the history of the communist regime in the USSR on this post, let's just say people are mostly faithful to canon but don't really "get" Heavy. 2/3.

His day-to-day characterization is plain bad. He's treated like a mother hen to the mercs when he's more of a stoic friend with a mean streak and a crude sense of humor. I think the main problem is the dialogue, people just can't give him the dignity of speaking in an intelligent manner. It's honestly also pretty bad in the comics. 1/3.

His core ideals are fine, if oversimplified. He's not a complicated man, he loves his family, his guns and his doctor. People rarely give him any more depth than that but it's not offensive to his character or anything. I feel like he should have more political opinions than people give him. I also feel like people make him way more protective of Zhanna's romantic pursuits, to a creepy degree. I mean, yes, he's annoyed by her marrying Soldier, and seems horrified for a brief second, but it's not like he's against it or anything, he's just kinda surprised? Anyway, 2/3.

Heavy does not get a bonus point because he would not fucking say "da". Pizda.

Overall characterization score: 5/10

Engineer:

Yeah people mostly get him. He's got 11 Ph. Ds. Some treat him like he grew up as an actual cowboy or something but most remember he's a nerd. I'd actually give all the points here because Engie's backstory is NOT complicated. 3/3.

His dialogue and day-to-day characterization is also okay, though people really mellow him down a lot. I had a bit in one of my fics where he said something like "let's teach those sumbitches how the real killin' is done" and like three different people commented on it saying they liked or were surprised by his mean energy. It's not even that mean, I think it kinda shows my problem with his interpretation. 2/3.

I asked about mischaracterization once and a lot of people replied "Engie is the most mischaracterized because people treat him like he's good but he's actually evil" which I think pretty much covers it? It's hard to write someone who is not implicitly strictly good or strictly evil. Engie treads this balance really well, I'm actually convinced his demeanor is not a facade, he is nice at times and mean when he wants to be. Fanon Engie can only be one of two things and neither is right. 0/3.

Engie gets a bonus point as an exception. I actually can't tell why, people just have his voice on-point. Is his accent and manner of speaking really that easy for you? I struggle to write him a lot. I think he should say "bitch" more.

Overall characterization score: 6/10

Medic:

People focus on the fact he lost his medical license more than on the fact he HAD a medical license in the first place. Other than that he really doesn't have a backstory. I dislike that people try to give him a sad one, I think he grew up loved and maybe even a little spoiled, but I can't fault others for not following my headcanons, so. 2/3.

His dialogue is the WORST because it's written phonetically. His goofy yet self-confident energy isn't captured well at all. The best I can put this is "people wife him" but it sounds kinda mysogynistic so really I'm at a loss. Submissivepilled breedablemaxxer. 0/3.

His core values are also all over the place. The complicated thing about writing Medic is that he actually doesn't come with pre-packaged drama. His backstory is vague, his demeanor is optimistic, his vibes are fun, and the worst thing that happened to him in canon was working with the classics for a bit - people amp it up to squeeze hurt out of it, which is fine, but not many people actually like going there. Thing is, fanfic writers aren't that good at writing drama when it hasn't been established before. They have to warp his character, make him edgy, self-conscious, or plain mad evil without redeeming qualities. I remember really struggling with my big Medic fic because I wanted it to be dramatic but had to put a lot of work into actually building up the emotion, because Medic is fine. He's fine. He's alright. He's fine. He's doing well. 0/3.

Medic does NOT get a bonus point, he would not fucking say "babygirl" and I'm not even sure if he would say "yass queen slay" I'm SORRY

Overall characterization score: 2/10

Sniper:

People mostly get his backstory right, probably because it's the most well-explained in the comics and it gets the most "screentime". It's also literally a Superman parody which is funny and memorable in concept. 3/3.

People can't find a good balance between stoic professionalism and social anxiety. I think Sniper is actually pretty simple, in that he's a little self-conscious which pushes him to actively better himself as a professional, but also makes him a little awkward so he comes across as standoffish and a little mean. He's a solid bloke that's balanced and feels real. Fandom has to go for the extreme every goddamn time with him. It sucks. 0/3.

People kind of get his drama, his relationship with his family and whatnot - mostly because a lot of us losers can relate, I bet - but, again, go for the extreme in making him anxious, whiny, and sad as a wet kitten. Unless it's a porn fic in which case he's an absolute freak that growls at people. I don't know what it is about Sniper that makes him so difficult to characterize. Manic pixie dream boy. Dark and moody lover love me like no other. 0/3.

Sniper does NOT get a bonus point because he doesn't say "cunt" nearly as often as he should. Also send me asks about my Sniper takes I want to stir up some shit.

Overall characterization score: 3/10.

Spy:

The only piece of his backstory we actually know is that he fathered the blight of the earth that is Scout TF2. 3/3.

His obnoxious and insufferable demeanor is mostly captured well. A lot of his portrayals aren't nearly as classy as people think they are, but that's because most authors are themselves proletarian, myself included, which is fine. Not many make the effort to pepper his speech with French words it would actually be natural for him to say, and blame it on the nonsensical complexity of the French language, but I'm not buying it as an excuse. 2/3.

His core values are off in regards to Scout - he's often portrayed as soft, mellow, overbearing, and critical of Scout's love life to either a comical or an uncomfortable degree. His fandom portrayal often also lacks the self-confidence he's demonstrated in the comics. Spy is not above strangling a man with a chain that holds the shackles around his ankles, he wouldn't consider it a blow to his dignity to fuck any of his coworkers either, come on. He's also funny and goofy but the fandom tends to neglect that. 1/3.

Spy does not get a bonus point because he would not say "perchance" but he would say "your mother".

Overall characterization score: 6/10

The final scores are:

Spy - 6/10

Engineer - 6/10

Heavy - 5/10

Soldier - 5/10

Scout - 4/10

Sniper - 3/10

Medic - 2/10

Demoman - 1/10

Pyro - 0/10

There we go! Pyro is the most mischaracterized, Demoman is a close second, and nobody is characterized well. Cheers!

[emptymasks]

so there's an interview with david jenkins up on gizmodo about izzy's death and i have feelings. again.

the interviewer is a big fan of izzy. and jenkins is upset that they are upset about izzy's death. i know he probably doesn't want to make people really upset with izzy's death. but how could he not have known how beloved izzy was. perhaps he didn't realise how many more people would come to love him over this season.

trying to console the interviewer by saying "ghosts exist in this world" since when? buttons turning into a bird might not even be canon, it's left as this maybe, so don't make up and give false hope that he could come back as a ghost. that feels cruel. i know he's trying to make the interviewer feel better but man. don't make promises you can't keep.

of course he took it hard.

izzy didn't get much time to belong though. i love that speech he gave. but for him to get punished for it. to kill of the character with the most growth because it doesn't matter because he's not as important as ed. izzy deserved better than to a plot device for ed to grow.

'to see their friend go' uh.. i don't think we got to the point where stede and izzy were friends yet. sadly. because he died too soon for that to happen. i think being buried near them, and without his ring that they took of his corpse, is selfish on ed's part.

i don't know how this is kind. i don't know how you can describe this as kind.

i... am almost laughing since i feel so delirious reading that. you wanted to avoid killing your gays by.. killing one of your gays. right. an.. upbeat note.. i.. how.. did you really think no one liked izzy that much? maybe he didn't expect so many new izzy hands during season 2 but...

again the interviewer gets upset about izzy's death. jenkins tries to console and comfort them but couldn't. i can't believe he didn't see this coming. i'm sorry he's sad too. though surely he wanted people to be sad? to feel sad about izzy's death? maybe he didn't think anyone would take it this hard. but i'm sure con could have told them different given the stories i know people have told him about how much izzy means to them. i think it's wrong to call the show homophobic, i think the show is still a great piece of lgbt+ representation. and i also think the ending was rushed and izzy's death wasn't fair (and not enough people accept that ed abused him and was his abuser and no one should have to give their abuser closure) but i think if he had to die it could have been defending the crew, and not being stupid enough to let ricky have a gun, because that didn't feel very in character. i just. i'm with the interviewer. i'm not mad at jenkins i'm just disappointed and upset. and i know he didn't mean any of this maliciously, and yes i know it's all fictional, but people are still allowed to complain and be hurt. no matter how stupid you think that might seem. there's no need to get angry at people who are upset about izzy's death. these are just my thoughts and feelings and there's no ill will too anyone who disagrees with me.

i'm sad at you.

[retributory]

i honestly kind of find it blatantly offensive that people act like it's weird for xie lian to be submissive because he's also a strong character, especially because this is often posited as if it's somehow more morally correct for him to be dominant. the fact that this is parroted so often on the other hellsites is mind-blowing to me because not only is it just homophobic nonsense, it's obvious that he's submissive BECAUSE he is strong.

let's put aside the fact that xie lian was raised in a religion and culture that strictly punishes sexual thought and action and that he barely even knows how to process his sexual feelings let alone act on them. have you ever stopped to think about the actual soul-crushing horror of being unable to die no matter what?? in the coffin by itself he was there for 100 years, staked in the chest, in complete silence and darkness, in stagnant, unmoving air. alone. he's so used to being starving, poisoned and in pain that he straight doesn't even notice it sometimes. he has been drowned, stabbed, set on fire, poisoned, trampled, suffocated - and he never ever puts aside time to process that or talk about it. he puts other before himself 100% of the time. he time and time again destroys himself willingly. he IS strong, because he HAS to be strong. he has never been allowed to be anything but strong.

so it is, i think, objectively a good thing that hua cheng makes him sit down and be selfish sometimes. i think it is good that hua cheng makes it so that xie lian doesn't HAVE to be the strong one all the time. i think it is good that when xie lian feels comfortable ignoring pain and hunger, hua cheng bosses him around, gets stern and mean, makes him eat, makes him wear something comfortable, makes him enjoy himself. hua cheng knows what xie lian wants - he also knows that xie lian struggles with wanting. domination is not something selfish and cruel, and it's absurd and homophobic to view it as such. he enjoys dominating xie lian, of course, but he also enjoys being able to fulfill the needs and wants of his wife, even when xie lian struggles to realize or articulate them. nevermind that xie lian's pov makes it clear that he delights when hua cheng is "wicked and tender" to him . . .

xie lian does not know how to be kind to himself. he spent 800 years calmly accepting whatever terrible thing would happen to him, spending most of it alone, shrugging off all misfortunes because otherwise it would be completely maddening to actually fully bear the weight of the suffering he goes through. why wouldn't it be comforting for him to let his husband that he loves more than anything else in the world take the reins for him . . . ? why wouldn't he like to be treated like something soft and precious to be tenderly taken care of instead of shouldering the weight of everything by himself all the time? xie lian is barely able to conceptualize the idea of intimate wanting at first because he has had it so hammered into his brain that wanting is something to be ignored and pushed down. he likes being dominated by hua cheng because hua cheng forces him to be selfish and indulge in pleasure that he is simply not able to allow himself to feel alone.

you have to ignore so much of the text to believe that it's out-of-character somehow for him to submit to hua cheng, and yet i see it all the time so SOMEHOW people are interpreting it this way. i fail to even begin to comprehend why this is so widespread. mind-boggling

[crazysodomite]

older lgbt art and writing is so refreshing because it's just. honest, fun, filled with love for other people in the community... some of this art was made during the toughest times for lgbt people and they still found love and support for each other.

people on social media are so needlessly cruel and mean spirited. its like the only thing people care about is how to let everyone know what they hate and what annoys them about other people and everyone just wants to find the meanest cruelest thing to say so they look like the Coolest Radicalest person in the room unlike those Cringe Lamers :/// its so fucking exhausting. as a person who has no community irl and lives in a place where lgbt people have no rights its so fucking exhausting to see how people in western countries do nothing all day other than talk about how much they hate other people who frankly did nothing wrong other than be mildly annoying (in their own subjective opinion).

people online get off to making others feel bad about themselves.

in my country being lgbt can end up with you being slammed face first into the floor by cops in full riot gear and going to prison afterwards. but full grown adults should talk more how obnoxious they find trans furries or whatever the fuck the "cool thing to shit on and find annoying of the week" is. i dont feel safe talking about anything online. and i don't. there's no community online or offline. just. constant immature bullshit.

i dont really want to tie this into something specific. just the general pattern. people follow 'trends' because they want to interact and be in community with other people. not everyone is trying to be Cool and Not Cringy by being irony poisoned and nihilistic or cruel 😐not everyone is pursuing the goal of being cool and better than everybody else. the constant fucking neverending stream of "xyz is so annoying" "omg finally someone said it i hate them too 😂" "theyre so embarrassing and make me feel homophobic/transphobic😂" (real funny joke btw) is so exhausting.

i really am just tapped out of social media. people (especially in western countries) act like lgbt oppression is basically no longer a thing because in Some countries there are Some lgbt rights. even though even in most 'progressive' countries those rights are constantly under attack. even though lgbt people still are being killed all around the world. people talk about being radical and yet they will not step up when someone experiences oppression because they were 'annoying'. lol. because they are constrained by their own embarrassment and cruelty.

whatever. i consider it quite pointless for me to say anything about this so i usually don't. because nothing i say will change anyones mind or behavior so im just speaking into the void.

i am happy when lgbt people are expressing themselves and idgaf if it's annoying or uncool. because im a fucking adult person living in a place where you cant even go outside as an lgbt person. 😐 social media is not safe and no one is to be trusted.

[inventedfangirling]

Hello this is basically a long post about me sorting through my feelings about bad buddy and why it means so much to me.

So over the past few weeks ( i first watched the show 7 weeks ago) ive been trying to figure out what exactly about bad buddy and patpran in particular have got me so inexplicably fond and devoted to them and apart from the usual answers of great writing, directing, performances and the best most electric chemistry and banter known to humankind, i did arrive at couple of other answers too.

First of all pat and (especially) pran are deep and well rounded characters.

Their worlds feel lived in and real.

Their feelings and thoughts and motivations are of course excellently portrayed by both ohm and nanon. and they gave representation to queer people everywhere. pat being the pan/ bi king he is and pran being the gayest babyboy warrior poet ever. pran especially given his repressed nature and emotional closed-off-ness is somebody a lot of people surely saw themselves in, including myself. seeing myself represented like that starting off the way he is and then taking small steps one by one over the course of the whole show (and over years in the show's universe) to arrive at the more assured, more open, more ready to be vulnerable (but still very much the pran we all loved in the first episode itself) was so wonderful to see.

The fact that the show happens in a non homophobic universe doesnt take away from just how special it was seeing queer characters fall, be and stay in love. and most importantly that they got their happy ending (i wont be hearing anything against this cos the ending was happy, despite the slightly bittersweet tinge of it, it was happy and there shall be no counter arguments begone i cant with that)

That episode 12 gave a glimpse of their future.

A world where pat will one day be able to sit with pran in his house eating food made by dissaya. that pran and pat's mom work on a common hobby together cos why not. a world where they no longer have to hide, a world were they could well and truly thrive.

Its so so important as queer people that we get representation and that in a world that is often cruel to the likes of us especially here in asia, that we see happy adult queer lives, where they can be in love in the most mundane of ways.

Patpran and bad buddy gave us that and i will forever be thankful for it.

That still doesn't capture exactly why i rate them as a couple so so highly in my head.

So i thought of patpran in the context of all the other love stories i could possibly remember watching. i thought of some of my top favourite couples - mondler, phil & claire, schmidt & cece, peraltiago, leslie & ben, jack & rebecca, randall & beth, simon & wilhelm, jaeyong & sangwoo, ji hyun & jaewon, bai lang & xun an, tara & darcy, sumi & rimjhim and so so many more and what stood out for me when it came to patpran was that they were the one couple out of all these couples i adore who didnt let anything get between them once they got together.

Every other couple among the ones ive listed have had jobs or other relationships or distance or parents or workplace rules /etiquette or circumstances or the royalty standing in between their love and as a result causing the couple to break apart ( a couple of episodes for mondler to seasons of confusion for peraltiago and schmidt & cece etc) even if briefly.

Except for phil & claire (who btw wasnt even sure about marrying phil when she did) almost none of these couples got together and stayed together throughout their relationship. and yes i agree that a lot of these obstacles and circumstances are very real and taxing and no wonder people chose their own peace at least for a while to deal with everything BUT i just cant help feel more appreciative of pat pran even more cos these two 19 year olds figured this whole thing out faster than any of those full grown adults did.

And yes its fictional and maybe even unrealistic (given the kind of relationships i see irl) yet patpran really do deserve all the love they get. they do deserve a lot of props.

Its not like they didn't have adverse obstacles standing in their way, they had to fight against their families years and years of lies and all the intergenerational trauma and their faculty rivalry and a shitty friend who outed them and any single one of these should have caused at least 12 episodes worth of conflict and miscommunication in any other couple.

And yes i do recognise that bbs didnt have the luxury of time or multiple seasons but they could have kept them apart for a whole episode at least, i was convinced we were in for that at the end of episode 8 as the aftermath of wai outing them. like there is no way the relationship comes out of it unscathed ( i thought! ). and while im sure they personally were rattled and betrayed (pran more so), instead of blaming anybody else or each other they actually chose to handle it together, they worked together and chose to move forward together.

The fact that such a terrible experience instead of breaking them apart actually reaffirmed to both pat and pran just how much their relationship means to the both of them, that they come out of it actually stronger??

i was friggin shook to my core.

And then came the gunshots and the family finding out and the running away and the coming back and the fake breakup and the pressures of all of this should have been enough to drive a serious wedge between any two characters, especially at their age and lack of experience. and yet??? and yet at each obstacle they get up, they draw the other closer and they get down to working on it together again.

Over and over and over and over again.

So for me what separates patpran from everybody else is the fact that ever since they got together, they have chosen eo, intentionally, that has made the difference.

Pat and pran's story may have been destined ( i personally don't know if i believe in destiny). they may have been born neighbours and felt unexplainable intense feelings (that later turned to love) for the other but when it came down to it, at its core, bad buddy soars when the two come together and they choose to keep being together, despite everything that stands in their way.

Love is a choice. love is a sacrifice. but its also a sacrifice and a choice they made for themselves and for each other and above all for their relationship.

Almost all the couples mentioned above arrive at similar destinations but they arrive at it with years of experience and years of struggle. i just cant help marvel at our teenagers who did love better than whole ass adults double their age could.

And more importantly above the awe i feel inspired and hopeful because they showed me that there's always a choice. thats there's always another option. you dont need to get out of your comfort zone. but you also dont need to be in the comfort zone always. you dont need to keep lying to yourself. you dont need to hide every single part of you. there are always other options. there is always a choice.

That hope is not just a noun its also very much a verb. That you and i and each one of us can make that choice.

That if ever i choose to partner up with someone and if we do proper healthy communication (patpran invented healthy communication and consent btw, they deserve EVERYTHING for just that but thats a whole other post) prioritizing the relationship where it mattered, i too could have something ( even remotely) like their love.

For the first time in my life probably i felt like that kind of love was attainable for me if i wanted to pursue it. They gave me hope. and they gave me joy. and i will never not be unbelievably grateful for it.

[not-goldy]

Not to ruin the mood, I love Jimin so so so so much. But it just hurts my soul to see him with Taemin a known colorist 😭 I would like to know how others are feeling

That's alright you already killed the mood sis💀

But let's tak about it.

When my sister first moved to Seoul all she did was complain about the people over there. They were mean and rude and racist, colorist, texturists, homophobic you name it.

A few years later, she'd be the one to lecture you about cultural relativism and how some things have been so normalized in those parts of the world that she can't tell anymore if they do all those things to be mean or their just being Koreans.

I had a Nigerian friend too (not trying to come for my Omo Niaja people😩) who'd bleached her skin so much she was near passing as white- save for her under eyes knees, elbow, and knuckles. She was giving real life kunfu panda.

I thought it was strange she'd do that and I complained to my other friend about it and he said, well what's wrong with being light skinned? I am light skinned. Do you think being darker makes you better than I am?

Imagine my shock and surprise😲

It occurred to me then how light skinned blacks also experience discrimination from the black community as well as nonblacks because they are perceived as not "black enough"

Colorism is insidious and prevalent even in media as light skinned black brothers are often overlooked for most roles and when they have to be casted at all they are cast in limited roles. Think Duke of Hastings and Bridgerton and all the roles dark skinned black actors fill as opposed to the light skinned poc actors on TV.

You can be black but will still not be black enough because you speak or sound a certain way, you'd hear you're "pretending to be black" you're pretending to be white, you're "an oreo" as if there's a proper and standard way of being black.

Black people are not monoliths. We come in all shades of black and from various cultures.

But Colorism is the cousin of racism and like racism it can be perpetuated by our own people- sneezing at Chris Brown. Goofy fella that one.

I am not going to defend Taemin.

I know his culture puts him at a disadvantage and exposes him to so many normalized behaviors that outside his culture is and would be construed as perpetuating oppression.

Kpop idols do undergo training and are educated on issues of racism and misogyny and other harmful practices indulged in innocuously. A little bit of self awareness will go a long way.

As long as he acknowledges this challenge, practices mindfulness and is ready to apologize for his actions and most importantly take steps not to repeate them I think he can be forgiven and shouldn't necessarily be "cancelled" for minor infractions.

The internet elves can be so sensitive at times💀

There's this concept in law called the principle of proportionality which is just common sense for the punishment must fit the crime.

You don't cut off people, or deplatform them for harms they've caused negligently unintentionally. Thats toxic and unlawful and extreme, cruel and unusual punishment- hate the crime and not the person as they say.

Saying all this to say, I, Jimin and others can love Taemin, be his friend and still condemn oppression in its various forms.

Expecting Jimin to cut off his closet friend, alienate him and ostracize him for his media blunders that aren't a true reflection of who he is at his core is toxic. True friends don't act like that. Let's be real.

[stephofromcabin12]

🫵 this is gonna get personal for a sec, I'm bisexual and demisexual, and my family keeps making homophobic comment. I haven't come out to them because of the comments, I just need something honestly.

[I have not edited this and I wrote it p soon after waking up so apologies for any typos or tangents — I hope the point shines through — in case someone hasn’t told you today: You’re valued, You’re worthy, You bring something to the table no one else can bring; Yourself. And I’m glad you’re here🩷]

Hey lovely anon,

Let me start by saying: You owe no one the priviledge of knowing that side of you. That’s a gift you choose when and where and to whom you give. Just because they’re family does not automatically give them an all access-pass to all of you. It’s a privilege earned through mutual respect and kindness. Don’t feel that you must come out to them, especially if you worry it’s not going to be received well.

I understand the wish to share it, because it is a part of who you are but you must remember that there is no arguing with ignorance, especially not if it’s stubborn and self-inflicted.

A therapist once told me that everything people say to you is a reflection of themselves. Meaning, if people feel the need to joke about you, point fingers and criticize you unwarranted, it’s usually a marker that they see how evolved you are, how smart and accepting and glowing you are. They see how easily you rest in yourself and allow others to do the same; and they’re uncomfortable with that because they lack those skills, and so they must try to knock you down to their level, so they can feel better. Let them try. The key in doing that is to Observe their behavior but don’t Absorb it. Know that it’s not you they’re talking about when they say those things; it’s them. And that’s got absolutely zero to do with you.

Don’t sink to their level, that’s exactly what they want, anon. Rise above it, floating over their lowly, narrow-mindedness really puts just how small their world is into perspective. Becoming bitter only festers into something worse, and you shouldn’t allow that kind of rot into your garden, it you can avoid it. Cut it out at the root and let something better and healthier grow instead.

Next, I want you to remember that there are people out there who will celebrate you, who will love you and accept you as you are and as you grow, regardless of what labels you pick up or put down or replace or find again (because labels are just a marker of here and now, not a definitive statement, because people aren’t definite—I’m not trying to sound like those people who say sexuality is just a phase but rather that you should focus on what feels like you right now rather than search for a label to put on it; sometimes there isn’t one, and that’s okay too. Which I’m probably only feeling called to say because I wish someone had told me that when I was younger and obsessing over what word to introduce myself to the world with, instead of just introducing me as myself)

And maybe your family can learn how to be those people, in time, if they’re willing to learn; oftentimes people are cruel towards things they don’t understand—and it’s not your job to force someone them to understand, anon.

You can present the opportunity to them, but you can’t make them learn. They have to want that for themselves. Give them time, sometimes they need that. But if they refuse then that’s their loss. You don’t have to make a big fuss about this. You just don’t grant them access to that part of you indefinitely until they earn it back. Simple as that.

A piece of advice from someone who had to learn to bite their tongue instead of engaging with idiocracy: Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is learn to shrug it off. No, it’s not fair and you want to educate, you want to share your truth and teach them some empathy. But you can’t. It’s not up to you.

And it’s an endless cycle. They won’t learn until they want to. So unclench your jaw, and drop your shoulders and learn the beautiful words: “Sure, whatever you say!” Before promptly moving on so you don’t feed their need for discussing things they dont understand or have a say in, in the first place.

They expect a fight. They expect to be proven right in their belief that they’re the rational one by making you lash out. And if you simply dismiss them in a levelheaded way, then you strip them of both of those things. You signal that “I heard what you said, but that’s an immature and uneducated thing to say, so I’m going to give you the grace of letting it slide and moving on” - akin to not entertaining a petulant child; they don’t know better, or feign not to anyway. So you’ll treat them as such. They say kill them with kindness, I prefer gentle redirection. You’re not hardening to match them, you can be firm and gentle at the same time. That’s real power. That’s maturity. Take a deep breath and tell yourself that your journal and or your therapist will hear all about this.

But move on. Save yourself the added irritation.

Next ask yourself: Do you love yourself? Do you accept yourself? Have you made a home for yourself in your body and soul and stand by it, no matter what? Do you show up for yourself and trust yourself?

That’s all you need at the end of the day, anon. The opinions of others who don’t understand you—and sometimes don’t wish to understand you— don’t matter. The right people will not always understand you at first; but they’re curious about you, and want to learn about you because they love you.

I can’t say if your family falls into that category, and the experience of hearing harmful, ignorant comments from the people who are supposed to be in your corner is all too familiar in the community. But my old 7th grade teacher once sat in our class, which consisted of 20 young girls—all of whom struggled with our identities in one way or another— and told us a story about her son, who was maybe 5 or 6 at the time. She told us how he came home crying after being called names by the other kids in his class. Before messaging the school, she sat with him, hugged him and asked him to repeat everything they’d said. Every little thing.

He did. He listed it all— admittedly very juvenile insults but to a five year old they’d been detrimental— and when he finished, she looked him in the eyes and asked:

“Well, are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Are you all those things?”

“No! That’s why I’m so upset! It’s not true!”

“Okay, then that’s all that matters. Who cares if they *think* you are something. If you know you’re not, you’ll prove them wrong eventually by simply not becoming their assumptions.”

I’m sure she phrased it more in a way that a young child would understand but to us, who were older: 13 and having to decide who we were, it was a golden. Once you know yourself, anon, it takes a lot for people to get to you. Because anything they throw at you, you simply hold up to the truth of you, and if it doesn’t fit; throw it away. It’s not yours to keep then.

Regardless of the outcome, if you choose to come out— because it is your choice, and you don’t have to be out to be in the community, and you don’t have to be out to everyone you know— Know who you are. Rest in it.

When people question it or try to tear it down; don’t crumble. You can’t be a twig here, anon. You have to grow to a point where it takes more than a miss-step to break you.

You have to rest in your own self like an old oak tree with roots reaching miles down into the earth and branches stretching tall to the sky; unafraid to be seen— because there’s nothing about a tree that doesn’t belong here. You’ve grown that tall on your own; you’ve earned this spot in the sun just by staying true to yourself.

All that noise, wind and earthquakes doesn’t matter. You’re rooted in the earth’s core. It’s taken too much strength to grow to be knocked over by a gust of wind or stone thrown. Tree’s aren’t bitter either. Or vengeful. Its so easy to become that but don’t. It’s not worth it. Be as a tree: observing, sometimes seemingly still but always growing quietly. Be everything you wish to have: you want safety and security; become a shelter for yourself. You want friendship and love? Become your own biggest adorer, and your own most trusted friend. You want power and respect? Learn to be powerful without being cruel, and to respect yourself even on your bad days, and bad years. When you do that, others who have done the same healing will recognize it in you, and vice versa, and you’ll find what you’re looking for when it’s meant for you; because you already have it all in yourself. No one can take it from you, or give it to you if you’ve already given it to yourself. And why shouldn’t you? You deserve all those things and more.

Stand tall, anon, and know yourself. You know who you are, and you know there’s people out there who love you, and support you, even if you haven’t met them yet.

I’m with you. You’re not the first to walk this path and you won’t be the last, in that sense you’re never alone. We’re all cheering you on☀️

[enchantra35]

Reflections on V4 & V5 of RWBY by a first time watcher

(Lengthy post ahead)

Hi, it's be again, back on my bullshit. First of all, I'd like to say that I didn’t expect my first post to get that much attention LOL. I'd like to clarify (again) two points:

First, I agree with most people's explanations. I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing fans for not thinking that bumbleby would become canon. My intention was to point out to some earlier hints, and I realize now that I could have used some better phrasing. As I explained elsewhere, when rwby aired, I was too young to know anything about the state of queer representation in media at the time. Now of course I know better, although I never got to experience that kind of anxiety - at least, not to that extent. My second point is that I was mostly referring towards homophobes and incels who were trying to persuade shippers that bumbleby wasn't happening, and not to fans who couldn't be certain due to the overall circumstances.

With that said, the aim of this post is mainly to discuss some things I've noticed while watching volumes 4 & 5. There wasn't much I wished to comment on after finishing v4 as I found it very transitional, so I decided to do one unified post for both volumes, especially since someone suggested to watch these volumes as one. Let me now get to the main points I'd like to mention.

-Edit: I forgot one of the most important motifs imo; the moon. I noticed how each volume it looks bit by bit more ruined, showing how the world below is also falling it chaos and society as it is known is destroyed. Also, it's eventual (potential) complete destruction will make the nights darker, symbolizing the triumph of evil. I love subtle details like that.

- Ozpin's and Crow's dynamic really reminds me of Dumbledore and Snape. Ozpin in particular reminds me very much of Dumbledore - and I definitely don't mean that as a good thing. Although he clearly has good intentions and he's a "good guy" per se, sometimes it feels like he's using his students as sacrificial lamps for the greater good. Personally, I'm not exactly font of the idea of pushing the fate of the world onto the shoulders of a bunch of teenagers. Oscar is still a KID and all he's ever known is how to be a farmer and suddenly he's sharing a body with one of the smartest and most powerful people to ever walk the earth and their fates are suddenly intertwined. That's so insane. And on top of everything, Ozpin isn't 100% honest with him. I'm glad that Yang confronts him about keeping secrets. I will give it to him however that he's honest enough to admit his mistakes.

-Raven is probably one of the most fascinating characters. Can't say whether I like her or hate her, but there are so many layers to touch upon. It's interesting how she's constantly trying to prove to others - and essentially to the viewers as well - that she's cruel, smart and calculating (and she definitely is all those things) and that she doesn't care about trifle things, but ultimately she fails, as it is evident by the end of volume 5. She does care about Yang (although she has a very strange way of showing it) and her tribe most of all. She's also smart enough to see Ozpin's shortcomings.

- I liked how they explored Yang's trauma from loosing her arm and how she copes with the loss. "A part of me is lost" is such a powerful statement and it points to how everything has changed, but Yang accepts it.

-At the same time, that girl has no chill with that prosthetic arm. She straight up dismantles it off her shoulder just to win the wrestling against Nora (and later on to elude Mercury. I bet that if anyone asked her to give them a hand, she would just toss it on their feet then laugh her ass out. She's so silly, I love her.

-With that said, I wish they could have explored a little bit more of Jaune's trauma, but still I think we see well enough how Pyrrha's death has affected him. But why the FUCK did they have to give him more trauma in order to unlock his semblance? Another of his friends almost dies before his eyes, give that boy a break, good Lord.

- Ren and Nora 👀. I love me some good childhood bestdriends to potential lovers. Their background is so tragic but there's something about then growing up together that makes me feel things. I love their dynamic and I think it's pretty hilarious (collected, quiet guy and loud, silly, powerful girl). It was nice how they gained some catharsis when they finally killed that monster. And the symbolism when they hid under similar building where Nora tried to calm Ren down? Literal tears.

-"I was struck by a lighting and I lived. What a Wednesday" GIRL WHAT, LMAO

- I really enjoyed Blake's and Sun's dynamic, whether someone sees them romantically or platonically (for me personally it's the latter, but that's besides the point). Sun has always been a great friend, and although he can be really annoying sometimes, he is there for Blake and he's able to make her see things clearly and persuade her that isolating herself isn't a good thing. I feel like without him around, things for the Belladonnas would have been very different. He's a bit of a himbo, but I love him.

-The angsty Bees got me really well this season. Yang's anger is definitely justifiable and she has every right to be upset.

-"What if I wanted her to be here for me?" BITCH-

-Weiss pulling the "what's that supposed to mean?" every time the Bees are being angsty will forever be funny to me. The OG Beekeeper.

-That said, I think that she explains Blake's point of view really well and I liked how she reached out to Yang although "they aren't that close" (her words, not mine) and seeks to comfort her.

-Did I say that I hate Weiss's family? (Except maybe Winter, but the rest can go burn in hell). I'm GLAD Weiss realizes that ream RWBY is her true family. You love to see a good found family trope.

-Genuinely CANNOT stand the Bees this season /j. Blake seeing her team again and the only person she calls out for is Yang? And Yang's puppy eyes when she sees Blake again? WHY ARE YOU GAY?

-One of the funniest lines was when Crow was like "How can six children make so many noise while having dinner?", like BUDDY, you just answered your question. Tired uncle Crow for the win.

[acefaun]

I'm here after seeing you sad over your quiz results and I came to say😤❤️💖:

You're talented, really welcoming, kind and so cultured with multiple interests that make you happy! So you're not "unclear", you're dear to us and we all adore you and look up to you! I bet anything you want, you'd be the most liked character. The character were everyone puts them in the "This... Is a work of art." tiktok sound.

So keep your head high and walk forward as if you're the ruler of this land, or you simply don't care who the ruler is!!!

(⁠┛⁠✧⁠Д⁠✧⁠)⁠)⁠┛⁠彡❤️✨❤️✨❤️✨❤️

I DUNNO 😭 Y'ALL SO NICE TO ME ALL THE TIME. 9 times out of 10 I will cry when someone likes my stuff. It's just that I was sad before I took the quiz because of a mean Christian woman and so I was like "Let's cheer up by taking a fun quiz!" Only for the quiz to stab me in the back with grey phrases that people may or may not like me. It didn't hold back. As if I wasn't confused enough and full of self-doubt. 💀 It's not the ides of march anymore, it didn't have to come at me like this.

But bro, even gods cry. 😩 I just had to get that through my head first. I went through this whole narrative in the shower as if I were having a god-to-god talk with the creator of the universe.

"Why would a god make such cruel people in their world?"

"Character development for the main characters."

And that answer made so much sense. Because when I put it in my perspective, I literally did the SAME thing to my characters.

Why did I create homophobic and racist characters to hurt the main characters' feelings? TO MAKE THEM GROW AND BLOSSOM INTO THE GODS THAT THEY ARE!!

Me: Wanting to make a eutopia world where there's no troubles and everyone gets along because everyone understands a little thing called sympathy

Also me: ANGST

So yeah, I don't care who rules this world, I'm the god of my own. 😙 I like you guys. We're gonna take over the universe together some day.

And that's why I'm here. And so, YES, I SAY! I, your benevolent queer faun god, as I've just been royally dubbed, shall bless you with plentiful love in return! 💖💓💙🧡💓💝💘🖤💖💛💙❤️💚🤍💕🖤💘💛💜💜💗💝🖤💚💘🧡💓💛💔💜💞💙💖🤍💞🖤🧡❣️💓💕💞💛💓💞💝💕🖤💝🖤💙💝🧡💘💓💜💘🖤💙❣️🧡🖤💖💚💞💙💓💘🧡💖

[sleepywyrldbuilder]

I was talking to a friend of mine that has pretty serious anxiety, and a terrible relationship with their parents, in large part because they don’t understand their anxiety. They tell my friend to just “not be a downer” or “try and think more positively” and it hurts my friend every time.

And it got me thinking about other cruelties, other bad things people do to each other. Because their parents aren’t being evil, they aren’t sitting down, cackling about how to best bully their child into having another mental health spiral. They’re just pre-occupied with their ideas of how to deal with a bad day, or pre-occupied with the idea that you shouldn’t show negative emotion, or pre-occupied with their work and not putting their full attention on their child and working out exactly what they actually need.

And I think that’s true a lot of the time, when cruelty happens. When bad things happen. The person who did it isn’t malicious, they’re just pre-occupied. Pre-occupied with a certain way of looking at the world, or another thing they think needs more attention, or their own personal troubles. If they stepped back and did a full, no holds barred analysis of what it was they were doing and what they wanted and what they want to be standing for in the world, they’d probably recognise things they do which they don’t like.

It started as a thought about homophobic parents, parents so pre-occupied with the fear of their child being seen as gay, or the demand that they strip away all sense of joy and self-expression that deviates from the norm, that they will go so far as to hurt and berate and bully their children. Because those parents sometimes do change, if they decouple from those pre-occupations. It’s not always an epiphany for them, just a gradual shift of focus.

Then it moved onto more political thoughts. Fascism, Genocide, Imperialism among other things. How a citizen of any nation can support their government doing those things- because they don’t. They don’t like it, they’re just pre-occupied with something else. Pre-occupied with getting to work on time, or feeding their children, or making sure they don’t look odd or break with the status quo or their local community, and it’s not that those things matter more than genocide to them, or that they don’t care about the big picture and other peoples suffering, it’s just that they aren’t focused on it.

People don’t focus on things just because they’re important, they focus on things because it’s what they normally focus on, or it’s what they were already focusing on. If someone supports something awful or does something wrong or participates in something cruel, it doesn’t always mean they don’t believe in the evidence that it’s wrong, or truly believe what they’re doing is right on the scale of principles and morality. It just means they’re focusing on a single aspect of it that they can justify. “For my community”, “For my safety”, “Happiness is Good”.

I’m partly writing this as a guide to dealing with people like that. Work out what they’re pre-occupied with, find out what one thing they’re hung up on, acknowledge it, but note that it’s not the most important part of the conversation.

But also it’s partly a reminder for myself. I’m pre- occupied with a lot. Doing exams, having fun, trying to analyse everything about what’s going on- sometimes to the point where I forget to be kind. I’ve gone through that with the friend I talked about in the beginning. Sometimes I spend so much effort trying to analyse what they’re anxious about that I forget my job in that instant is to just hear them out and let them have someone to talk to. The same goes with political things- I don’t pay attention to what’s going on in the world as much as I should, and I have instincts about political situations that jump out before I actually learn about what’s going on.

I don’t really have a conclusion here. Just thinking about it in general. Reminded of that one quote “never attribute to malice what can be explained with ignorance.” Basically just another take on that, really.

[tuiyla]

"The male Santana": the unholy trinity of gay bullies (no, not that one)

[This was originally a post on r/glee but posting on here as well]

So we pretty much all know that Ryan Murphy famously described Sebastian as "the male Santana", right? I can't cite this because Glee Wiki almost never cites sources but if you can provide a link, please do. For now, let's just work with this quote without that definitive proof of its existence. Now, I have a bone to pick with this, not just because it's further proof to me that Mr. Murphy didn't, fundamentally, understand his own characters but because I sometimes see fans draw this same conclusion. Sebastian is basically a male Santana. Look, they're both sassy and gay and love to insult or outright bully people! And it's like, whatever, it's a surface-level read but not invalid, as such. What does bother me a bit is that Glee does actually have a "male Santana" who appeared way before Sebastian did and had an actual arc that thematically paralleled Santana's so perfectly in so many ways.

Sebastian Smythe isn't the male Santana; Dave Karofsky is. Here's why.

Karofsky's and Santana's stories run parallel throughout season 2 and they even reach the same crossroads as they become each other's beards. Consider Dave's journey: he begins as your typical jock and bully, his insults feeling very homophobic and targeted from the getgo. He spends all his screentime in season 1 bullying Finn with Azimio for being in Glee and we see a glimpse of how the two treat Kurt in "Theatricality". Karofsky is deliberate and cruel in his treatment of anything he perceives to be different from the norm. In season 2, this becomes even more targeted as he now focuses much if not all of his energy on Kurt, even as Azimio has chilled out a little bit. But not Karofsky; it seems as if Kurt's mere existence as an out gay guy is enough to set him off and escalate his already horrid behaviour. What we find out when Kurt stands up to him is that Karofsky himself is gay, and from there come all the implications. From there, we can clearly see where all that anger towards the non-conforming, the queer was coming from.

Let's switch to Santana for a second, to catch her up to mid-season 2 and also to establish something. To be clear, I'm not saying Dave and Santana both being bullies hold equal weight or both should be condemned, or even forgiven equally. You see, while Santana is very much also a bully, it's a different category altogether and I don't see much value in comparing the two. Except for establishing that while it comes from the same basic place for both of them, Dave's behaviour has always been targeted and specific, and notably extreme, while Santana's bullying tendencies aren't specifically homophobic or even against the non-conforming, and she certainly isn't picky about her targets. Like I said, different behaviours, both because of their differing personalities and importantly because of their gender and circumstances. All that said I do want to make a distinction between Santana's mean, at times even cruel comments and petty actions, and Karofsky's particular brand of abuse of Kurt which included a threat on Kurt's life. Pretending that even at her worst Santana was Dave in early season 2 levels bad would be pretty disingenuous.

So that out of the way, Santana. Santana's journey in the first two seasons is about navigating the high school social hierarchy while negotiating her own identity as a lesbian within that. At first, it's all about hooking up with boys and only being with Brittany for the male gaze, or as something that doesn't mean anything. (More on Santana and her comphet another day.) As the series goes on and she's not only confronted with what her relationship with Brittany really means but also her facade of being with men crumbling, she grows desperate and even more angry than she's been so far. Because she has been angry, she's been so at odds with herself ever since she first appeared.

Both Dave and Santana are so angry to have grown up in a world where being gay is not okay. Where their true feelings have been repressed from early on and where they learned how to conform. Dave put up this super macho front and lashed out at anyone who dared to strain from that, reaffirming his own standing as a straight guy both to the outside world and himself. Santana started getting with guys to reaffirm the same, while also earning herself a high social status in the process as the hot cheerleader who "never says no" and makes out with another hot cheerleader. And her anger about not being her true self, like with Karofsky, was externalized in a way that hurt anyone and everyone, especially those who dared to question this illusion she created - for example, her lashing out at Brittany when Britt wants to talk about what they have going on.

All of this takes them to late season 2, where Santana is doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out a way to be with Brittany without having to be vulnerable and open about her identity, and where Dave has been so taken aback by Kurt's bravery and his new relationship with Blaine. The Santofsky ~relationship~ is obviously fake and comes about in a really messed up way, with Santana blackmailing Dave, but it's still a narrative crossroads where these two finally meet and enable each other to hide themselves. One could argue that they at least stop their cruel treatment of others, with Santana getting Dave to apologize to Kurt and they even form the Bully Whips - ironic, of course, what with the two of them being a major part of McKinley's bullying problem.

But still, the fake relationship stops both of them from having to confront reality. Santana has the opportunity to be with Brittany, openly, but she can't. Even though the whole Karofsky beard thing was a convoluted plan supposedly about getting with Brittany, here Santana is continuing the lie instead. And it's not like it isn't a comfortable lie for Dave, that is until he's elected as the Prom King to Kurt's Prom Queen and runs away out of the same fear that made Santana run earlier.

One could argue their similarities extend beyond season 2. In season 3, both are outed under different circumstances and both their lives change drastically because of that. Neither were ready; neither deserved what happened to them. It's one of the many Glee things I'm forever sad about that we never got to see Santana react to the Karofsky situation in season 3. But regardless of the fact that their paths never again cross, we do eventually see both grow into their own identities and lead much happier, calmer lives.

After all that it almost feels redundant to point out that Sebastian has none of that. He's a cocky, very openly (homo)sexual guy who's flirting with Blaine so unabashedly. Meanwhile, Santana is melting into puddles when pretty girls stare at her for too long and stutters with underboob sweat when she's being flirted with. Yes, they're both confident in their insults and stand their ground against each other, "one bitch to another", but their clever quips and willingness to be dramatic is where the similarities begin and end. Sebastian never struggles with his identity nor does he go through meaningful change. Thematically he doesn't even begin to compare to Dave.

And look, there's nothing wrong with liking Sebastian and Santana's dynamic and thinking their scenes are good, or that Sebastian has a similar energy to Santana in his confidence during verbal takedowns. But is he the male Santana? Or is he the more conventionally attractive guy who had a charged duet with her during a brief rivalry, while Dave Karofsky's journey actually paralleled and crossed hers?

(Obligatory disclaimer that just because I think Santana's and Dave's struggles are understandable given the internalized homophobia they struggle with, their actions aren't justified or excused because of this. Their stories are compelling because we can empathize with them while also acknowledging their actions as wrong and harmful, and root for them to get better and get to a point where they don't take their anger out on others but can instead find happiness, comfortable in their identities.)

[harusaki-hugo]

Hiii! I would like to request a Emma sano x female or gender neutral reader where the reader is 16 and Emma went all out with the help of Hina and her brother Mikey and some other people, like rose petals, flowers and stuff like that and confessed to the reader and the reader feels the same way but turns down her because she’s too old for her since Emma is 13 in the past and it gets all angsty in the beginning but when they get older they meet and and date then get married and the ending gets really fluffy maybe they can have children as well. I hope you understand and take as much time as you need there’s no rush!

Warning: Grammatical error

Character: Sano Emma

Anime: Tokyo revengers

AU/Original: Au

Genre: Angst to fluff

Extra: Female x female

Note: My first Tokyo revengers request. I still catching up with the manga so sorry if I didn't get Emma's personality correctly. I might have overdone this...

Waiting.

Sano Emma x Female! Reader.

" Don't you think this too much?" Takemichi sweat drop, early this morning he got a message from his girlfriend that she want to meet him at a park when he arrives he sees something unexpected.

Rose flower petals covered the ground, a balloon with the word "I love you" and even an unlit candle being placed in half circle. He then sees his girlfriend Hina along with his other friends.

Mikey is trying to wolf down a box of chocolate while Draken tries to stop him. Mitsuya is smiling happily, in front of the silver-lilac boy is Emma, she is wearing a beautiful dress, blushing slightly at what Hina said.

" What do you mean too much? Confession to [ name ] must be perfect!!" Emma glared at the boy making him raise his hands in defensive. " [ Name ] - senpai?" Takemichi remembers who that is, the first-year student of Shinjuku Academy. A gentle girl who has always been seen together with Emma and Hina.

He will not judge someone but on his mind, he did think that ' Aren't she too old for Emma ?' Yet the look on the younger girl makes him zip his mouth shut.

Night coming fast, you who just got a message from Draken ask you to come to the park quickly rush there. The boy did say it is important for you to come there fast. Panting slightly, you enter the park, looking around for the tall male.

Your eyes widen a bit when you see not Drake but Emma wearing a dress with your favorite color, hairstyle neatly, and on her hands are a bouquet of rose flowers. " Emma?" You are a bit confused by this, walking towards the girl you see her smile widen.

She then gives you the bouquet which you take with a bit of hesitance, "What the meaning of all this?" You ask awkwardly, Emma's face turning pink, she plays with a strand of her hair, gathering the courage.

Emma takes your free hand startling you a bit, looking at her you see she is serious, " [ Name ], I know this is weird for a girl to like a girl but I don't care. You are a beautiful, kind, gentle, and the most amazing girl I ever know. I don't want anyone to take you away from me that why, will you be my girlfriend?" She confessed.

You lick your dry lips, looking anywhere except for the girl, " E-Emma..that speech is beautiful.." Your word makes her beam at you but soon it falls when she sees your apologetic face.

"But I can't... I'm sixteen..you thirteen... You are too young for me. I don't think this relationship will work." With a heavy heart, you let her hand go, " I only see you as my...." You bit your lips, swallowing down the regret, "My sister... I'm sorry.." You smile bitterly at her before you walk away.

Emma stares at your fading figure disappear completely, one by one her tears slide down her cheeks. "Emma.." Mikey approaches his sister, he gently places his hand on the girl's shoulder and that is the last straw, Emma falls on her knee crying out her pain.

Hina quickly wraps the girl in her embrace, comforting the girl. Takemichi knows this will happen but he knows something else, looking towards the way you disappear he knows you feel the same pain.

You too like the younger Sano but it is the age that prevents you guy's love. Emma is still young and you are too old for her, if you two get together what will society say? What will the other say? It's okay if they talk about you buy you don't want anyone to talk bad about Emma.

Love is beautiful yet it is cruel .

Twelve years have passed, you now are [ dream job ]. It's been a long time since you see any of your friends especially the Sano family. There is no way you can meet any of them after rejecting Emma. To this day, you regret your decision but that is what for the best. " [ Name ]- senpai?!" You hear a familiar voice turning around you see a beautiful blond woman looking at you with wide eyes.

You stare at her trying to remember who she is, your eyes widen when you recognize the female, "Emma?!" She smiles happily when you remember her, approaches you, she gives you a smile that you miss. " How are you? Isn't been twelve years." You nod your head rubbing the back of your neck.

"Yes, I'm doing great." Looking away, you try to hide the heat rising to your cheeks, " You grown-up beautiful..." Emma blink a few times before her face turn red, " Y-you too! You look really beautiful.." This is getting awkward, bitting your lips, you let out a heavy sigh.

"Emma ... About what happens that day.." She stops you before you can continue smiling a bit forcefully, "No, it's okay!! I understand, I understand why you reject me." She tries to put on a cheerful face, looking around, " Are you with your partner?"

You shake your head frowning, " No...I don't have a partner..how bout you?" She too shake her head, you let out a small 'ooh'. Seeing Emma for the first time in twelve years, she has grown into a beautiful woman, this makes your heart beating faster. If she still hasn't had any boyfriend or girlfriend, maybe just maybe, you can finally make a move? After all, you two have already grown into adults, if you two get into a relationship, no one will judge you two, except for homophobic but screw them.

Gathering your courage, you take Emma's hands, she looks shocked by this, shyly looking at your eyes, " Emma, d-do you want to go on a date with me?" You shut your eyes tightly, waiting for any rejection but you feel her squeezing your hands.

"I-i love too.." You two smile brightly, face turning pink .

One date turning to a hundred. All of your friends supporting your relationship, though Mikey kinda threatening you earning a slap of the head by his sister. Two years you guys having a relationship, you two decide to take a further step.

Wearing a dress wedding make by Mitsuya, both of you hold back the tear threatening to fall. You smile at the woman of your life, she looks absolutely beautiful, Emma stares at you in the eyes, she too thinks you look beautiful in that dress.

"Welcome! We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the marriage of [ last name] [ name ] and Sano Emma. This is not the beginning, but a celebration of the next chapter in their lives together. Today, they will affirm this bond formally and publicly. This affirmation is made even more meaningful because it’s shared with all of you, their most cherished friends and family.[ Name ] and Emma, today you not only marry the right person, but you also commit to being the right partner—the one with whom the other can stand and face the world. It’s time to joyfully seal this chapter with the declarations that will unite you in marriage."

"Do you [ last name ] [ name ] take Sano Emma to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and not-so-good times, for richer or poorer, committing yourself unto them for as long as you both shall live?"

You nod your head, " I do." You say with a voice full of love, eyes not taking off from Emma, the priest then looks at Emma.

"Do you Sano Emma take [ last name ] [ name ] to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and not so good times, for richer or poorer, committing yourself unto them for as long as you both shall live?"

She nods her head, " I do." She answers confidently.

" You may now kiss the bride." You softly kiss the female, pouring all of your love into the kiss as you hear all of the former tomans and your friends cheer for you two.

That what happens three years ago, you look at the pictures of your guy's wedding with loving eyes, "Mama looks so beautiful, right?" You look at your adopted son, to see him already sleeping. You giggle and kiss the top of his head, "Sleep well shin.." You muttered.

Emma wraps her arms around you looking at the boy "Oh, he already asleep?" She then presses a kiss on your cheek. " Hey there darling, how's dinner with Hina?" You ask her, she nuzzles against your neck sighing tiredly, "Eh, it's was great until Takemichi decide to crash our dinner with Chifuyu." You laugh, caressing her cheek, you softly say, " I love you.." Emma's face turns red, hiding her face at the crock of your neck she too with a loving voice says, " I love you too.."

[captnjacksparrow]

Hi.

How is it possible that the studio let ops and eds of Naruto feature in the anime? I mean c'mon, even a child can see how romantic they are. The lyrics, the visuals, the story/feel and meaning, all of it!!

Kiss me kiss me all night?? Really? How else are people supposed to interpret it? Even if some other studio was commissioned to make them, it's not possible that they just brought the ideas for ops and eds out of thin air. They must have submitted the concept/storyboard/song/lyrics beforehand to Studio Pierrot. No way studio Pierrot was not aware of how romantic they were. Not possible. It wouldn't have happened without their tacit approval and permission. Studios just don't work that way.

I am sure the studio was very aware of Sasuke and Naruto's romantic love, the producers aren't stupid or inexperienced. So they deliberately let the eds and ops be.

So what, it was just queerbaiting knowing SNS would never actually happen? Fanservice? What else could it be?

Also, how cruel and fuck those fuckers. 😤

I cannot predict the exact reason, anon.

But I am pretty sure, it was not for Queerbaiting. Definitely not!!!

As you and I both know that the world we currently live in is majorly Homophobic. I am just speaking generally. The fact that we cannot even google 'Who was Naruto's first kiss?' and expect an honest answer that it was Sasuke. Please don't Google this question unless you want some extreme bleeding from your eyes, ears and nostrils. Same with Youtube, Twitter, Reddit... Like you cannot even talk about SNS in a general discussion.

So, what we can infer from this is that such Homophobic creeps does exists in majority.

If I really want to bait people to watch this Anime, why should I target people whose numbers are very less as compared to the people who constitutes the majority??? What do I even gain???

What I would do is to make some steamy scenes between SS and NH in all my ops and eds, and it would definitely catch everyone's eyes!!!

I've said this countless times and I will say it again, I don't ship SNS in a sexual way but as Soulmates. But if someone ships them sexually, I don't get bothered at all or rather I enjoy their content all the same. 

Having said that,

Just ignore those ops and eds for a moment... Let's talk about posters, most of which were drawn by Kishimoto himself.

Click on the picture for better resolution. Because there are lot of details in the following poster.

Now, what do you understand from this picture??? 

The above poster screams 'Sexual Innuendo' on many levels. Even to my unromantic eyes, I could see the hidden stuffs blatantly.

Naruto was seen eating watermelons and watching a battle between two beetles which was marked with Blue and Red... which indicates Sasuke and Naruto. And for every 4 wins, he strikes the name on the notepad that’s next to him, (you could see the words SA, NA written on the paper, meaning SAsuke and NAruto). It seems Red Beetle won the first round. LOL.

Sasuke was seen doing 'something questionable' while looking at Naruto. If anyone who claims that Sasuke's actions were normal, then they must be really naive. It’s just not!!!! No matter how you look at it....

Pinky was seen wetting over her beloved 'Sasuke-Kun'.... I mean she was literally wetting so bad... Look at the water getting sprayed from the water hose. Also look at the placement of her hands. ROFL.

Am just going to leave it at that!!!

What was Kishimoto trying to convey from this??? 

Pinky wets over Sasuke... Ok, we all know that. 

Sasuke, ummmm.... Also likes Naruto in THAT way??? That's a news to me!!!

Logically speaking, Sasuke is the popular character especially among girl fans. Everyone wants to self-insert with him in some way. If I am an author who created a character like Sasuke, why would I make him look at Naruto ‘like that’???... Instead I would get more money if Sasuke looked at Sakura in a teasing manner. Just look at the popularity of that hot garbage ‘Sasuke Retsuden’..... I could easily make a Sasuke’s version of 50 Shades of Grey and sleep on a Golden Bed. I don’t have to design a poster in this way!!!

And then there's this,

This is another handiwork of Kishimoto where Naruto and Sasuke were seen tilting their heads in the opposite direction and looking at each other like they were ready to kiss each other!!! I will forcefully make my sibling to get treated from the Hospital if she looks at me like that!!! 

And finally this...

Sasuke is looking at Naruto with some seductive sensual look. I think this is the movie poster of ‘The Bonds’. It’s not Kishimoto’s work but SP’s. Imagine if Sasuke looked at Pinky like this!!!! 

All these posters were drawn with some ‘Sexual Innuendo’... blatantly or subtly. What is the need for that??? Queerbaiting??? Well, if that’s the case, Kishimoto could’ve stopped with that famous Chapter 3, ‘Accidental Kiss’ and be done with it. There’s no need for VoTE1 and VoTE2 confessions. And all those repressed feelings and stuffs. 

Because the pattern of Queerbaiting is that you already know it in your heart that it’s a Joke. I repeat you will know it’s a Joke.

For example, Naruto and Sai. 

2 Chapters in, we saw Sai was making 10 Dick Jokes about Naruto 

and he was also seen interested in Naruto’s well-being like wanting to feed Ramen, protecting him from Sasuke and Karui’s attacks. 

This is called Queerbaiting. Making one of the secondary male character to be 'seemingly' interested in the Main Male Character and usually it won't go anywhere. And we know it.

As for Fanservice, I've seen one and SNS don't even qualify under that.

Yes, In Japan, KakaIru was the popular ship.... More popular than SNS. Hence, Kishi made a cute scene where Kakashi saves Iruka from Pain.

This is called Fan Service!!! It means you do something for the fans which doesn’t change the plot in anyway. 

What I call as an extreme fanservice was pairing up Naruto with Pinata and Sasuke with Pinky. Just imagine if Naruto married Pinky and Sasuke married Karin.... Do you see any change in the storyline of Boruto???? Absolutely Nothing. Still, Sasuke would have preferred to be around Naruto and his Son.... Naruto would have adopted a new kid called Kawaki. This is the laughable fact of Narutoverse. No matter whichever girl they marry...... Their bond would have remained intact. 

So Queerbaiting, Fanservice...... You guys can go out and eat popcorn!!!!!

All those Openings and Endings with romantic subtext, I see them as an extension of  What Kishimoto was trying to convey through his subtext in his Manga. And we should be happy that the Studio didn’t try to censor it.

Let’s take this one!!!! 

We saw Naruto’s important people in this same ending.... He had Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura (I seriously don’t know why this Biashhh was there.... probably to evade extreme homosexual vibe and since Naruto is the titular character) and then Sasuke!!!!

However when it comes to Sasuke’s side it was crystal clear.... It was just Naruto and Naruto alone. And that’s the truth. Otherwise why did he leave Naruto in VoTE1 with such a painful expression? Whereas with Sakura he looked like ‘Why is this girl coming in my way?’ especially he was showing his back to her the whole time???

So, the Studio knew it. They definitely are not some dunce who just want to spout some meaningless stuffs out to the public. They really did their utmost best to convey their relationship through these ops and endings. 

Especially this.... LOL!!!!

The sexual tension that was emitting throughout this ending was easily noticeable, even without the song ‘Please Kiss Me’!!! And this is the only ending that featured just Naruto and Sasuke. And with that Song placement, the tension becomes almost palpable.

Do I think this ending was accidental???

No freaking way!!!!! 

These are all carefully planned and produced with thorough inspection. So, just like you said, anon, the producers of this studio know what their relationship was. They did their utmost best to bring out Kishimoto’s drawings into Anime reality. Despite all of these, still people couldn’t see the story beyond the surface level probably because of Homophobia or Lack of Understanding a media and it’s subtexts. They conveyed what they wanted to say without receiving any strong criticism and at the same time people still believe they are brothers/friends. So, it’s a win-win situation on many levels for both Kishimoto and the Producers.

The Day when someone starts to question themself that ‘Why Naruto and Sasuke were hiding their feelings if they were just friends/brothers?’.... Then that day, they will surely come to understand the real relationship between Naruto and Sasuke!!!!