#waylon is also gay

[jackandthevoidstriders]

I feel like Rick has more chemistry with Mei than he does Waylon… just saying

“Now how the hell would you know? Y’all don’t ever talk to me or Waylon.”

[vvellerr]

DO *NOT* ATTEMPT THE MOUNT MASSIVE 3:AM CHALLENGE ‼‼ (TOTALLY REAL) (NOT FAKE) (I DIED????)

[the-witchhunter]

Jack Fenton x Killer Croc

so a bit back I was struck with madness, but a madness as the ancient Greeks saw it: Divinely inspired. Which resulted in this 

Anyway I now unironically ship Jack Fenton with Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc. Why does this somehow work?

Gay, always a bonus

Grumpy boyfriend x Golden retriever boyfriend

interesting and fresh dynamic

Waylon is the product of a skin condition, childhood abuse, and the vicious cycle of career criminals trying to go legit. This isn’t a ship where Jack “fixes” Waylon’s problems, Waylon is already trying to, Jack is just willing to give Waylon a Chance at all. Waylon has a heart of gold under there and Jack who sees the best in everyone is the perfect person to give Waylon a space and family to just be a person

Danny giving the shovel talk to a giant gator man is just really funny

Now am I just posting this to avoid actually writing a fic of these two? No... okay well partly. 

BUT also just wanted to infect DP x DC fandom with this wild ship, parlty because I thinks it’s surprisingly cute, partly because i kind of just want to see fan art of it

[paranormaltheatrekid]

Use this as an excuse to dump a bunch of Hatchetfield headcanons, go wild.

Wow ok here we go:

-Ted Spankoffski is a pineapple pizza enjoyer.

-While we’re on the topic of Ted, Tinky definitely keeps clumps of his hair in a bag somewhere.

-Like Richie, Steph used to have dyed hair at some point.

-Becky Barnes is very much an animal person. She definitely got multiple pets once Stanley was gone.

-I didn’t create this headcanon, but I just adore it: Duke named his cat after Miss Holloway.

-Paul likes ice Carmel frappes. He just orders black coffee because it’s easy for Emma.

-Alice Woodward listens to Chappell Roan religiously.

-Webby’s favorite brother was Wiggly. They used to be really close.

-Miss Holloway definitely had the gift even before she made the deal. She saw Webby and stuff.

-Ruth is a Hamilton fanatic.

-Despite the fact that he didn’t make it, Pokey loves the phantom of the opera. He tries to make Paul be Cristine. He hates it, obviously.

-Xander Lee is John’s husband.

-Max and Stephanie were childhood friends.

-Lex and Ethan are bi4bi

-The nerds cosplay together. Ted takes them to conventions and teases them about it, but he secretly loves going.

-Miss Holloway runs karaoke nights at the diner. Her and Duke do duets together.

-Richie’s favorite food is the Miku ramen.

-Hannah Foster likes the Percy Jackson books.

-Also, Hannah didn’t speak until she was like 10 or 11.

-Charles Coven had involvement with Peip. He knew John and Wilbur.

-Nibbly is either the best cook ever or burns everything he touches. No in between.

-Shelia Young and Linda Monroe are both heavy red wine drinkers. Also, Shelia knows the Murrays through the church so she definitely knows Linda.

-I’m not really sure about this one, but I think it would be cool if Miss Holloway was related to the Waylon family.

-Max is secretly a musical theatre enjoyer.

-Kyle isn’t in the best of you scene because Grace killed him before Jason.

-Grace learned how to bury bodies from watching the Jerries. Or perhaps she learned from her mother.

-Benji, the kid who was said to have been able to talk to dogs in yellow jacket, was Scrags from the solve it squad.

-Blinky is an avid smut reader.

-Hannah made Ethan a bracelet. It’s his prized possession.

-Grace used to have a crush on Alice.

-Wilbur Cross has green eyes, like bright green. Idk that he doesn’t. I think he should.

-Charlotte makes her own sweaters. She gave the CCRP gang ones for their birthdays. Bill and Melissa love theirs. Paul hates his. Ted pretends to dislike his, but he’s glad that she made him one.

-Melissa and Woman are gay and in love.

-The reason that Webby taught Hannah how to play the ukulele was because her brother Pokey taught her how to play instruments.

-Linda’s mom was definitely a honey queen.

-Pete is really interested in space. I think it suits him, but also know he can be the space bastard to Ted’s time bastard.

-Forever and Always!Paulkins adopt a dog and multiple kids.

-Nibbly’s human forms are inspired by past honey queens.

-Zoey and Zach used to be very close as kids.

-Steph is very good at makeup. She practices her skills on Pete.

-Some movies Miss Holloway likes are labyrinth and the princess bride. She will not watch a movie made past the 90s. Brenda calls her old.

-Paul doesn’t hate Moana. He is the only one who knows all the lyrics.

[crazybiaatch]

I feel the need to talk abt my transmasc Max headcanon so!! spoilers for nerdy prudes must die :P

So this whole idea literally came to me in a dream, I was reading a transmasc Richie fic before bed and then went to sleep as u do and just as I was dozing off I was like "t4t michie" and i thought abt it more over morning tea

pretty much, Max is very masculine right? He plays football, he's tall and buff, he's trying to impress people, and bullying people not as masculine as him. I think he's doing all this to prove to his dad that he is a 'real boy'.

What he said at the Waylon Place? That's him worrying his dad will see him as not man enough to be a real man.

He's so buff bc he's trying to hide his boobs w muscle definition.

Everyone at school is obviously accepting, but he's still facing his dads transphobia so he takes out his insecurities on the nerds.

That moment at Pasqualli's? When Pete said he was losing his power? Max thought he was saying he was losing his masculinity.

it also adds another layer to Dirty Girl. Grace is already slightly homophobic ("She's bisexual and dead, where else would she be?") so it's not a far leap for her to be that Christian type of transphobic ("Keep the body gave you" kinda thing) which adds to Dirty Girl by having her being worrier she was having gay sexual fantasies on top of general sexual fantasies. It also explains her reaction to him being violent - masculine.

idk this is just a headcanon but as soon as I thought it it was like a geniune lightbulb moment

[piqtescue]

Compiled list + yt links of some early Thomas Gibson movies

It is literally a crime not to share these with you guys. These are also some of the films that I get most of my edit content from when it comes to younger Thomas. All are full youtube links, no parts. Fav one on the list is definitely where he plays a gay Canadian actor👀

✨More of Thomas's Early Works + Youtube Links can be found here.✨

~The List~

Raising Waylon (2004) Thomas plays Reg, a guy who along with his ex, become guardians to his friend's kid.

Love & Human Remains (1993) Thomas plays David, a failed Canadian actor who is staying with his ex Candy, whom he dated before coming out as homosexual.

The Lost Empire/Monkey King (2001) Thomas plays Nicolas Orton, an American businessman that has lived in China for several years.

The Devil's Child (1997) Thomas plays... um.. Lucifer. Peak "niche movie thomas once starred in"

/ignore bulletin

Nightmare Street (1998) Thomas plays Dr. Matt Westbrook, and helps guide a confused woman to the truth around her situation. This was a total fever dream but Thomas was adORABLE in it.

hopefully I can find more full movies featuring Thomas up on youtube- enjoy the finds so far!

[herbariumua]

So, I have recently read Simpsons Comics Issue 30, where Burns made about a hundred clones of Smithers and replaced every worker on the powerplant with him.

I liked it so much, that I want to make a post about it, there would be no deep analysis, just things that I especially adore in this story.

And, of course, spoilers?..

So, the short plot is: workers of the powerplant are demanding to add 5 cents to their salary - and Mr Burns wouldn't be himself if he just agreed to it. So he created a really complicated scheme to make a hundred clones of Smithers to replace every worker with him. And it was working well...

..until it blows up right in his face.

But at the end of the day, Smithers actually saved the whole situation and Mr Burns's life (of course he did).

Also, look how adorkable Waylon looks in his cute Hawaiian shirt that matches Monty's costume by colors.

So, yes, the story plot about clones going crazy and trying to murder everyone was pretty predictable, but no one even tried to hide it. The best part of the comics - how totally gay is it.

Really, I feel like it is one of the gayest burnsmithers story I have read so far, and, surprisely, it comes from the Burns's side.

Like, look at this man here, he said himself that he's "never been happier" while literally surrounded by Smithers's caring and affection towards him.

Or how he is walking among Smithers's clones, because he is like the way they are so happy and excited to see him. In this story I feel like he knows very well about Waylon's feelings toward him - and he not only enjoys it, but also encourages it in every way.

(Original Smithers being kinda jealous (?) and suspicious toward his own clones is hilarious. This man knows himself too well).

I mean, he gave them a "reward" to serve him 24/7. This old fox definitely knows that Smithers would actually die to have the opportunity to be around him 24/7. It might sound like a funny joke to the reader, but inside the story, it IS an actual reward.

("there can't be enough of me to go around" - oh my god, Monty, we all know what you are)

Also how he started to miss Smitherses the moment they ran away (even if they were trying to cut him into pieces).

Just admit you are in love with him and get married already!

Also a cute moment that I noticed - while he is surrounded by absolutely identical clones, he still wants to the actual Smithers to take care of his needs. How sweet.

But of course, there are also a ton of gay moments from Smithers's side. I mean, where Smithers' clones went a little bit crazy about Burns...

...and I like how the original one is literally his guard dog.

The ending is very sweet and satisfying too. And I adore the last picture, where Waylon's joke made Monty laugh. These two is an excellent couple for sure.

And who else headcanon that all of these Waylon's clones will find their happiness with Monty's clones, who escaped during "The Princess Guide"? Let my boys be happy, please, they totally deserve it.

PS Also I am so happy to see that Burns actually enjoys Smithers's company so much, he is totally ok with surrounding himself only with his clones and keeping them around to serve him 24/7.

In the newest episodes of the show we barely see them interacting this friendly as they used to be, it almost feels like Burns is constantly annoyed with his presence, which is so uncanon for him.

[ask-stede-bonnet]

You'd know a thing or two about wrists, wouldn't ya? Bet yours gets tired from whipping it all the time.

do you think stede is a marshmallow matey?

And a fruitcake.

[milesfingers]

More Outlast protagonists headcanons because I need a way to cope my anxiety

part 1

Miles Upshur

Used to be a a troublemaker when he was young, but as he grew up he calmed down

I know many of y'all thinks that he's a gay lord, but I personally hc him as aroace. Although I said in the first part Miles had many girlfriends, I think that at a certain point he realized that he wasn't actually interested in anyone, either romantically or sexually, and that until then he had been struggling to find a partner

He LOVES Stephen King's novels, his favorites are Salem's Lot and The Stand

Smile is not acceptable option

Miles stopped watching tv news because every time he shouted at the television when he saw people he hated

He grew up with a single apprehensive mother, and when he became a journalist started to not talk to her that much because he was scared that she would be in danger due to his work

He have dark brown hair (which look almost black) and grey eyes, and he's about 187 cm (6'1 ft) tall

Waylon Park

Spend hours doing impossible puzzles, Lisa is questioning his sanity

In normal situations he's more patient than he seems

Despite being a model student and earning high grades, Waylon was not obsessed with his school career. Even though it came naturally to him to excel, he remained humble and even if he got a grade that he wasn't satisfied with, he wasn't discouraged.

Waylon NEVER swears. Always try to stay calm and not freak out

As a boy he was very submissive and involuntarily ended up being a doormat to people who wanted to take advantage of him. Lisa opened his eyes and although Waylon is still very friendly, he doesn't let anyone push him around

Really good at comforting and relaxing, he’s basically the therapist friend

Waylon have dirty blonde (dyed because he hates his natural color but refuses to admin it) hair and light green eyes and he’s 173 cm (5’8 ft) tall

Blake Langermann

Can do almost everything. Lynn often jokes about that he’s more multitasking than her

Even after his traumatic childhood he still believes in God, even thought he became a bit cinical

Picky eater

Blake and Lynn often go on vacation in Scandinavian countries. They both fell in love with that part of Europe while doing research in elementary school, and when they had the chance as adults they spent a week in Denmark

Actually listen to rock music and when the others find out they are surprised because he doesn't seem like the type

The reason why Blake and Lynn didn't have sex in months is because they were too stressed and tired with their work. Before the Anna Lee case they had documented the murder of another young girl and it was too much for them

Blake has black crew cut hair and black eyes, also he's 177 cm (5'9/6'0 ft) tall

[never-seen-again]

Apologies but I'm being very gay right now. I've read like, half the michie fanfic on AO3 (it's like, eleven of the forty seven, so closer to a fifth [not accounting for background Michie in other fics though, so who knows]).

I'm going to talk about some of those fics, so if you either don't care or don't want to be spoiled for them I'm going to put in a break thingy. Never done that before so sorry if I fuck it up.

So, most of these are what I'd consider to be fix-it fics, like, max doesn't die in the Waylon place. Typically because Richie instinctively grabs max. Some have Richie have an instance of hysterical strength ("See it Fall, Child of War" by jayren404) or blame it on adrenaline ("Nerdy Prudes Are Cool" by InPrisonForSparkling), another has Richie buy precious few seconds enough for the other nerdy prudes to help pull max up ("Won't you pray for me?" By Whowillprayforyou).

All three are great, love 'em. However another work by Whowillprayforyou grabbed me and shook me like a ragdoll: "The Consequence of what you've done"

Here Richie gets bathroom murdered by max, rises as a ghost just like max, and gets a bit mindfucked about the whole 'none of my friends noticed or really cared I died for longer than the conversation they learned about it. And it sorta implies that Richie helps kill Ruth. The drama. The action. The bloodshed.

Anyway, got me thinking about ghost Michie. And like, the absolute clusterfuck of Richie trying to save max, but getting dragged down with him. High stress for the living as now there's two deaths to deal with, but also now max isn't dealing with undeath alone.

I like the dynamics this brings about too. You get Richie who still is wondering why he tried to save max, but now with the guilt of failing to, and also burdening his friends with his death. Max might not even flip on the nerdy prudes in death, since one of them died right along with him, grieving right along side Max for the two weeks leading up to where he hit his breaking point originally. Max might end up struggling with no longer holding power over Richie, since as ghosts they've been somewhat equalized, even if he was going to lessen his hold on the nerds anyway. (Richie totally gets a hang of the ghostly powers first, max learns how to effect the living world first though). Max might finally open up about things alluded to in the musical.

Anyway to get back on track. I think I'm going to write Michie fanfiction. Have I written fanfiction before? no. Am I good at writing dialogue? also no. Is it going to be so very gay? yes.

(also, honorable fanfic mention to "Nerdy Prudes...Can Thrive?" By CloakedApprentice, peter grabs max in this one, having been right next to him, and it's just really cute)

[ghostinacardboardbox]

Hatchetfield Femslash Fortnight Day Three

Written for @femslashfortnight and the prompt "Gay Awakening"

I'm a Coward Scared of Living Outside (4151 words) by GhostInACardboardBox Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Hatchetfield Series - Team StarKid Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Grace Chasity/Max Jägerman, Grace Chasity & Ruth Fleming & Stephanie Lauter & Richie Lipschitz & Peter Spankoffski Characters: Grace Chasity, Max Jägerman, Stephanie Lauter, Peter Spankoffski, Ruth Fleming, Richie Lipschitz Additional Tags: implied Steph/Pete in the background but not enough to tag, Religious Guilt, Internalized Homophobia, First Kiss, The Waylon House (Hatchetfield), Musical: Nerdy Prudes Must Die, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, it's just Max and there's no graphic description, Lesbian Grace Chasity, Bisexual Max Jägerman, Angst, Sad Ending, This is NOT a fun time for anyone involved, Canon Compliant, mostly. there's a lot of sad lesbian kissing here, otherwise canon compliant, Hatchetfield Femslash Fortnight, HFFF, She/Her Pronouns for Max Jägerman Series: Part 3 of Hatchetfield Femslash Fortnight 2024 The way Grace feels about Maxine Jagerman is a problem. And she knows how she's going to deal with it. Wanting something doesn't mean you can have it.

I had such a hard time writing this. It ended up being so much longer than I wanted. Also the process of writing this had made it pretty much impossible for me to think of holyghost as anything but sapphic.

[b0d1ly-st3w]

I fucking hate people that portray Eddie Gluskin as a soft uwu shy boy who loves Waylon. He's a traumatized, deranged, misogynistic murder that mutilates people because all he wants is a family. I feel like people only portray Eddie that way because of his trauma, because the second a character that has been sexually assaulted in their life gets popular they instantly get woobafied to all hell. Eddie Gluskin isn't a cute baby, he's a psychopath, he doesn't love Waylon in any way, he just wants a family and has decided that Waylon will be his wife as he has done with many others. I also don't think Eddie is gay, he was sexually abused by two men growing up, I think he would be disgusted at the thought of sleeping with a man. If he does decide that a man is going to be his wife he doesn't refer to them as a man, he refers to them as a woman and mutilates them, he refers to penises as 'vulgar', which shows that he doesn't like them, he thinks they're disgusting. Also Waylon/Eddie is extremely problematic, it wouldn't be love at all it would be abuse, Eddie wouldn't keep Waylon alive, he'd kill him just like he did with every other victim.

[brybryby]

I completely agree that Miles Upshore is queer, and Waylon is on the spectrum as well! If you have your friends analysis still plzzzzz link! I crave the content!!!

HI HI THANK YOU FOR THE ASK! 💜

I wish I had his analysis still!!! aarrrrgh it's been so long ;-; But I can try to relay some of the points he made (and add some of my own)!

This gets pretty lengthy so be prepared :')

I also added external links but they’re only there if you want to read more about the point I’m making! Feel free to skip them!

also // TW for mentions of SA

Miles

Story-wise, my friend found it interesting that Miles was the perfect host for the Walrider. Wernicke and Alan Turing were friends/lovers who worked on the technology that culminated into Project Walrider, so there's already a sense that the Walrider was founded on Wernicke and Turing's love for each other.

So, before I move on, I'll talk a bit about Alan Turing. In college, I had professors praise him for being the “Founder of Modern Computing”, cracking Nazi code, and also for being an advocate for gay rights.

More details here:

Out of every prominent scientist during the Cold War Era, Alan Turing was selected to play a role in Outlast's stories. And he didn't just happen to be openly gay—JT Petty purposefully made this significant to Wernicke's character. Not to mention, Wernicke made allusions to Frankenstein, allowing us to inspect the parallels between Wernicke & the Walrider with Frankenstein & Frankenstein's monster. When it comes to gothic & queer literature, Frankenstein is on the forefront of it, and I'm confident that JT Petty would be familiar with that (since he's a writer who's well-versed in horror/gothic art).

With Frankenstein, there's this idea to create life without heterosexual means (under the impression of cis-heteronormativity). Frankenstein's monster was also a sexualized creature—supposedly a representation of the “ideal man”—described as “beautiful”. Additionally, the novel was a critique of patriarchal norms through elements of sexualities. These aren't too different from Wernicke & the Walrider. The Walrider is arguably created through homosexual means in its abstract (Wernicke & Turing). This particular version of the Walrider that possesses Billy & Miles is stated to be the “masterpiece” by Simon Peacock—its appearance is also fairly sexual. And similarly, Outlast critiques patriarchal norms through its grotesque visuals of “masculinity”.

Frankenstein queer analysis:

Frankenstein sexual suppression analysis:

With all these story elements, there's certainly a queerness about the Walrider AND Outlast, which the devs openly embrace.

There's also many parallels between Frankenstein's monster and Miles. In the United States (and westernized countries in general), there are societal standards that function around cis-heteronormativity. Think of the traditional American nuclear family: A husband/father who's the breadwinner and patriarch, a loving wife/mother who cooks and stays at home to take care of the kids—they're mostly white, Christian, and American citizens. [WARNING: TRIALS SPOILERS AHEAD] The ideal American man is further illustrated in Officer Coyle's dialogue: “If only they were upstanding citizens like myself. Pay your taxes, do your job, fuck your wife, put a little something in the plate at service. America don't ask much.” Miles is arguably the antithesis of this, which is likely the reason he doesn't have any close friends/family—he was likely rejected by society. Frankenstein's monster follows a similar arc: he is also rejected by society and seeks refuge in seclusion. (The concept of “rejection by society” is inherent in queerness.)

With these parallels, it makes sense for Miles to be the ideal host for the Walrider. Additionally, Miles embodies queerness that isn't strictly homosexual—I mean his whole background/lifestyle is already, by definition, “queer”—but questions regarding his sexuality arise when inspecting other details of his character.

My friend pointed out the whole “Manhandler Hairspray for the Active Man” detail in Miles' apartment. There are a lot of homosexual undertones in the label, and it's hard not to think otherwise. “Manhandler” and “Active” are terms which indicate the “top” role in gay culture. I mean, it's possible that Miles is just embodying the “metrosexual” identity (basically straight men who embody characteristics associated with homosexuality) but metrosexuality is rooted in consumerism, which doesn't exactly align with Miles' character since he is openly critical of capitalism. I think the hairspray hints at queerness (or at least gender non-conformity).

Article on “metrosexuality”:

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/style/metrosexuals-come-out.html

The most revolutionary detail that my friend pointed out was the fact that Miles went out of his way to roast the ever-living shit out of everyone he came across at Mount Massive, begging the question: why is he so fixated on the appearances of other men? This could stem from his own insecurities of being rejected by society or insecurities of his own vanity (considering the hairspray he uses and the fact that he goes jogging…and if he's just trying to be healthy through exercise then he needs to explain his self-destructive alcoholism…idk…jogging for mental health? It’s open to interpretation…WAIT I mean he could just be keep up his physical fitness also with all the investigating he has to do anyways fjshshkdhd). It was just interesting that Miles was so fixated on physical appearances that it makes me wonder if he'd make similar comments about women—I don't believe he would and I'll explain below.

I know that we need to take Red Barrels' tweets with a grain of salt—they're known for deleting tweets that detail misinformation about the protagonists—but I find this tweet particularly interesting. I may be looking too much into it, especially since it's just a tweet and not presented in the games/comics, but it certainly is reflective of Red Barrels' values of respecting women and not viewing women as sexual objects, along with the notion of dismantling cis-heteropatriarchy/chivalry. It certainly doesn't mean he's not straight, but he doesn't particularly view women as sexual objects either (and I know that straight men are capable of not viewing women as sexual objects). Food for thought.

Some extra stuff:

Anti-conservatism and punk ideology (which Miles explicitly embodies) are pillars of queer culture in the political sphere.

The Germanic folklore, which the Walrider is based off of, exhibits notions of sexuality (though, probably not in the best light).

[TRIALS SPOILER] Wernicke’s dream therapy is associated with Dr. Easterman’s queerness—Easterman would be distracted by Wernicke’s handsomeness (and they both explicitly critique heterosexual relationships). Again, this supports the Walrider’s themes of sexuality.

Waylon

As for WAYLON, even though there isn't concrete evidence in the games to intentionally indicate queerness, that isn't to say he is entirely heterosexual (because assuming he's heterosexual is yet another product of the “ideal American man” image in a cis-heteronormative society, and Outlast's narratives are about dismantling this notion). In fact, now that you bring it up, I agree that Waylon can be considered on the queer spectrum/under the queer umbrella.

Regarding the “dismantling the ideal American man in a cis-heteronormative society” concept…the devs, artists, writer(s), actors, and contributors to the games' development are not only open/accepting of things outside of society's norms/expectations, but many are social activists. Chimwemwe Miller (VA for Chris Walker) is outspoken about being Black, Black history, and racism—he also narrated an audiobook which discussed racism, colonialism, & imperialism. Erika Rosenbaum (VA for Lynn Langermann) organized provisions for refugees and is active in environmental causes and feminism—she also spoke out during the #MeToo movement. Shawn Baichoo (VA for Miles, Waylon, & Blake) is also vocal about feminism/racism and was a huge advocate for his character Wrench's bisexuality from Watch Dogs 2, which became confirmed in a later installment of the Watch Dogs franchise.

I bring this up because Red Barrels actually entertains the idea of Waylon x Eddie (in the hypothetical that Eddie wasn't an antagonist like he was in the game…so like, erasing his problematic features baha…this deserves an analysis of its own) without mentioning sexuality or anything like that. Obviously, this can be seen as a way to entertain the fanbase, but I think it's worth mentioning that Waylon isn't opposed to homosexuality. After all, Waylon never makes homophobic remarks in his notes nor comments on male sexuality—he's just fearful of being assaulted (as anyone would be, regardless of gender/sexuality). He would, in fact, engage in a homosexual relationship according to this hypothetical.

(Note: the term “insane” is a harmful descriptor in this context, which is why I wrote “wasn’t an antagonist like he was in the game”)

So yea! I definitely think there's queerness with Waylon's character. And I don't exactly mean this to be “representation” because there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that, but ultimately I think it adds to what the franchise and the devs are trying to do—normalize queerness and dismantle the notion of the “ideal American man in a cis-heteronormative society” (and if you've studied socioeconomics/social theory, you know that this notion is a product of capitalism, which is another important theme in the franchise).

Here are some resources about the intersectionalities of cis-heteropatriarchy, capitalism, & queerness if you'd like to read more about it :)

(this one below is quite lengthy, but goes VERY DEEP)

All in all, my interpretation is that the franchise operates on the idea that “queerness” is normal or innate, but social structures are what label it otherwise. I've seen a lot of discussion surrounding Outlast characters' queerness, and it's interesting to me that the antagonists' sexualities get more attention amongst casual players than the protagonists' sexualities (and I think I can understand why, it's just a lot to unpack).

Just as many of the antagonists can be read as queer, the protagonists should arguably be read through the same lens. I truly do think Miles and Waylon (and even Lynn and Blake!) deserve to be inspected under queer lens. Doing so aligns with the franchise's philosophy/narratives. Also the idea of “queer characters taking down capitalism” is super empowering (and actually very identifiable hehe).

(Sorry, I think I projected a lot of my own personal values and biases into this post LOL hhhjdsfh feel free to critique anything I've written!)

This is my first time inspecting Waylon through a queer lens, so thank you for the ask!! I had a lot of fun writing this up :D

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC: Dan

So I have a lot of thoughts about Dan, and just so we're clear I haven't read the new comic yet so not sure how the new material affects his character

Dan is a character that in DPxDC is see being just casually there... which is wild in context of his character because he was like suuuuper evil. Like i get liking his character and wanting to include him, but it rarely makes sense, sometimes it does, but man we love to do a handwavy "after his redemption arc" thing without actually talking about his redemption arc

So, let's give him a redemption arc, and lets make it get pretty gay

So stages of grief, I'm going to outright misuse it intentionally so don't tell me I'm using it wrong, I am well aware it is about coming to terms with your own death. Let's say in ultimate enemy, he was in the stage of Anger. He was angry. Angry at himself, at the world, at the stupid ghosts that messed up his life, he was angry and he took that out on everyone. Now here he is, his family is alive, his friends are alive, and he still is angry, but at himself. He can't go back to them, he's literally a whole other person than the Danny they know

So self destructive spiral. He's hard partying, hard drinking, waking up in a random gutter in Gotham, and doing it all again. He might also be dabbling in other illicit substances. The point is, if he wasn't already dead his behavior would lead to a quick grave

So we have this miserable, sad sack of a man who has done terrible things regularly abusing alcohol(and maybe more)

Now there's another character that had a similar issue. One Red Arrow turned Arsenal and his heroin addiction...

So who better to find Dan than the same man that got Roy sober and sponsored him?

That's right, Waylon Jones aka Killer Croc

To large, beefy, grumpy men with goodness hidden inside them bonding, maybe falling in love? all while Waylon helps Dan work through his emotional baggage and get clean

it has everything:

angst, emotions, bonding, gay, and potentially a happy ending for two former villains

[clawsextended]

selina has so many male and masc adjacent buddies. she’s usually much closer with them. (her difficulty with women goes two ways. 1) she’s gay and awkward. 2) she suffers from a self-loathing so crippling she often feels like she’s not good enough for the kind of company that could be reciprocated and valued. (yes, she thinks men are superficial (bruce is not a man)) her views on men are complicated. she’s innately terrified of men who are built large and yet all her nearest and dearest, her kids, are enormous hulking boytitans (see: jason, dick, tim isn’t exactly tiny even if he’s not bulky), her best friend and soulmate of her life looks like a giant man (bruce), her brother is an enormous alligator ‘man’ (waylon), i could go on. stark when he presents masculinely doesn’t garner any fear from selina. in fact, he’s such a guy to her she gets why he’s attractive but feels none of it personally, on terms of discussing how she perceives stark’s gender.

she tends to perceive men as dangerous because of their socialization, but selina also doesn’t speak a number of languages she’s almost fluent in aloud because she’s paranoid someone will clock it. no one should trust selina’s beliefs on what is and isn’t dangerous — she, herself, admits very openly she’s an unreliable narrator that way.

she can, however, be extremely open because her perceptions are often informed by her mood. if she’s in a good place, she’s very receptive to courtesy and very courteous herself. she’s downright whimsical. it’s a little delirious, she will later apologize for feeling like a fucking ditz. she’ll call herself out on it. (she’s always apologizing for her behavior. she does it habitually because she tends to be insensitive often enough she just assumes everything she says has to be apologized for.)

she will learn later in therapy that this is a the tendency of an abused child, sitting across from alana bloom with a patient, quiet, steady stream of words as easily as the tears she cannot feel streaming down her cheeks. she doesn’t know how to identify a lot of what she does, no one ever taught her or helped her understand.

selina is quite literally just doing whatever she can to just feel okay. sometimes the only thing she can express is feeling, feeling, feeling. it exhausts her, but she’s always so grateful for the patience she’s shown.

[24-guy]

I started writing but then I couldn't process my own words so have the idea.

Cliche beach au but michie.

Hatchetfield is an island, abstinence camp has access to lake Michigan. I hazard a guess they've got at least one beach.

It's after they've graduated. The prank at Waylon goes wrong. Redemption arc happens off screen.

Max is friends with the nerds at best, neutral and okay with them at worst.

Richie reads on the beach. A lot. I'm talking he arrives early in the morning so there's less people, and ends up staying all day because he gets absorbed in the manga he's reading until everyone has come and left the beach.

He gets up to eat and whatever. But mostly, he stays where he's sat. Probably with a camping chair and backpack with lunch in it.

Ruth and Pete don't usually join him for the time. Either because he's out there for too long or they get nauseous in the heat or something. But they occasionally stop by and say hello.

Anyway.

It just so happens that the summer after graduation, the football team also enjoy the beach. Probably throwing a football around and being a general nuisance without actually doing anything wrong.

And I warned this is cliche but through whatever means, they're forced to acknowledge each other's presence. Probably thanks to a stray football that got thrown too hard or something.

Either way. It happens and they're forced to talk to each other even briefly. But it's enough to push both of them.

Richie finds he's looking around more when he notices people arriving at the beach - when did he even start noticing people arriving, he never did that before. And Max starts pushing to go to the beach more, calling it a better place to mess around than the field or a park or something, only to spend half of it looking around.

I think the other jocks 100% know what's going on with Max but it's more amusing if they watch from the sidelines.

Eventually, Max turns up by himself and they end up talking. And they keep talking. And talking. And before Richie knows it, the sun is starting to shine over the water and silhouette of Michigan on the other side of the lake and he's not gotten very far in his manga.

That's all I have because I got distracted but plot happens. This happens more. They kiss. It's gay. Sex on the beach (/j)