#this is queerbaiting at this point

[demonicseries]

why did nandor go to space to impress Guillermo, wish for marwa to like everything that he likes just for marwa to start kissing Guillermo, say that he wants Guillermo in his wedding (the bride is not important), feel jealous of Guillermo with Freddy (we know damn well it wasn’t Freddy he wanted), meet Guillermo’s mom, want to turn Guillermo on his ancestral soil (they could then share a coffin???), want to fuck someone while looking at Guillermo naked,

[yuri-luver69]

NO breakup hits as hard as it does in a queer tv show about two middle aged men who go through a horrifically tragic divorce when they were never dating in the first place

[martenpounce]

"If anything had been different, I might not have had my life with Barley. I have been happier than I could ever have imagined a cat could be."

why bother with endless border conflicts and the risk of starving when you can have a peaceful life with a roof over your head?

[hypertechnica]

star trek as a concept is completely sexless. it is utterly devoid of sex. not one drop of convincing sexual tension has ever graced the screen on any star trek show. the weird unintentionally homoerotic psychosexual mind game shit on the other hand,

[sixteenthtry]

I know bro wrote this while pushing his glasses up with his index finger and a hand on his hip☝🏻🤓

[itsabouttimex2]

When Lego Monkie Kid ends and Shadowpeach/Spicynoodles inevitably aren’t made canon how many people do you think are going to retroactively accuse the crew of “queerbaiting” + which writer/animator/voice actor do you think is gonna get accused the hardest

[windwenn]

Stuff i've been thinking about a lot recently (not unrelated to my feelings about star trek)

[p4nishers]

ok im gonna regret saying this but wouldn't it be a LITTLE funny if we actually got queerbaited by marvel in the year of our lord 2023??? like queerbaiting is not funny whatsoever but at the same time when we've been fed so well this past year w queer content i would actually just find it hilarious if they were scrambling to hold back the gay w lokius and still keep pushing self-cest bc at the end of the day they're literally sooo gay that the writers have to intentionally go out of their way to make them less gay and as a concept i just find that the funniest shit i've ever heard

[ringostarrbignaturals]

so that's the ending?? that's it?? that's how moominvalley ends??

[thesaintofnevergettingitright]

ok no wait I'm so sorry I'm gonna be a party pooper, but this??? Kinda pissed me off??

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a firm bi!Jamie truther. 100% no doubt about it.

BUT

Jamie is not canonically bi. There was absolutely no indication of him being any flavor of queer on the show. But you know who is?? You know who ACTUALLY deserved a shoutout from Apple TV as the ~Ted Lasso Bisexual~

FUCKING KEELEY!

Like the *wink wink nudge nudge* about Jamie is cute in a Queer-baity way, but why the hell are they not making some noise for the actual bisexual on bisexual visibility day???

Give Keeley her flowers!! Now!!!

Maybe I'm being unreasonable, but I just feel like this is annoying at best, and erasure at worst.

[giantkillerjack]

Me: I don't like when shows queerbait me.

Other Fans: Well then just watch other shows, dummy!!!!

Me: 👍👍👍 wow what a tidy way to dismiss and invalidate a legitimate reaction to homophobic story tropes! 👍👍👍

The "just leave then" response to people wanting more inclusivity from the stories they love is not just emotionally invalidating - it is also one of the things that keeps storytellers from feeling that they need to improve in the future by making fans feel stupid for demanding better representation in the first place.

This kind of response doesn't just make you sound like a conservative (since this is a VERY popular response that conservatives have when confronted with leftist media criticism), it also fundamentally ignores the fact that there may not BE an equivalent story with good rep to go to after leaving the queerbait-y one behind.

Delicious in Dungeon is special and unique; that's why I genuinely love it. It is that love that makes me want it to do better.

When I see that Shuro is allowed to openly express romantic love for Falin, but Marcille/Falin is relegated to mere implication, it makes me really sad. It may not be a romance manga, but there ARE straight couples, and hetero desire IS on display - which makes the lack of open queerness all the more noticeable.

So when people say "just go watch something else" in response to my genuine sadness and irritation that a beloved story is excluding people like me..... Are you telling me there's a nearly identical queer show - with a similarly active fandom - all about found family learning to cook beautiful foods in a dungeon? Is my favorite-guy-ever Senshi going to be there? Is there actually a place for me to go to??

OR is there only one Delicious in Dungeon, and that's what makes it great?

I think actually folks who respond this way just want me to leave, and they don't really care where I go, so long as their favorite thing doesn't have to stand up to criticism.

Because I don't want lesbian media elsewhere. I want it here, with my friend Marcille. Here, where the seeds of queer romance were purposely planted to hook my attention. What's so wrong with being disappointed if those seeds never grow to bear fruit??

We can like good art and still demand it does better. And we can validate people who are sad it isn't doing better without getting defensive. Critical analysis is healthy and important. It's how good and bad stories are fully understood, and it's how better stories get made.

And while I will try to enjoy the plentiful delicious crumbs I am being served (since it is more than most shows give me), just because I CAN squish a bunch of crumbs together into the approximate shape of a muffin, that doesn't mean I've been served a meal.

More on this topic because I love a good analogy

My original post about queerbaiting in Dungeon Meshi (that inspired this one with the replies I got from it)

[malduga]

GET OUT!!!!

[wereboned]

“you think lokius will be canon by the end of season two?” hundred percent. “…and what gave you the confidence?” uhm…. delusion.

[graciepoetsociety]

i was fighting for my life the first time i watched the c word and i witnessed gregory ‘displays genuine affection about twice throughout the entire show’ house lovingly and earnestly run his hand through james ‘the only person he’s ever truly loved’ wilson’s hair and i to this day have still not recovered it haunts me in my sleep it is imprinted onto my eyelids

[sunforgrace]

you guys please understand they were going to say “CASTIEL’S PERSONAL HEAVEN” and paper the walls like a teen girls room with pictures of dean pictures of dean’s face PLASTERED onto the bodies of beefcakes all while cheek to cheek blares out. as brought to you by fucking metatron

[bumblingbabooshka]

Picture Genderbent Janeway still having that 'I prefer captain but ma'am in acceptable in a crunch' moment with Harry in episode 1 and it's never addressed again. Thank you.