#a big part of his arc is accepting his queerness

[conanssummerchild]

WHY IS THE GAY OR BI MIKE DISCOURSE COMING BACK I THOUGHT WE LEFT THIS IN 2023

#i have my opinion and im clear on it but idgaf what anyone else thinks #let them think what they want !! #ive seen so many posts about it pls stop with the biphobia !! #and also can we concentrate on the OTHER parts of mikes arc #hes more than a love interest #hes also my son and the specialest boy i the world #a big part of his arc is accepting his queerness #lets leave it at that #i know by making this post im technically contributing but #idk #i just wanted to say smth #i wanna be active in the byler fandom 😔 #cant lose myself completely to community before s5 #alex says shit #mike wheeler #byler

[somehowmags]

i’ve seen a lot of posts talking about nimona’s queer messages which is great! but ive not seen as many posts talking analyzing how both ballister and ambrosius were changed to be asian, which is a shame because i genuinely think its one of the most important parts of the film! a huge part of it is a deconstruction of the model minority myth and respectability politics, both of which are big issues in the asian american community. both of them represent each side of the spectrum, with ambrosius expected to be superhuman with very little support and ballister being seen as less than human, no matter how hard he tries- a monster.

ambrosius (who is now east asian, like his voice actor eugene lee yang, who is korean with chinese and japanese ancestry), despite being in a seemingly powerful position as head of the knights and a descendant of gloreth, he isn’t really given the kind of support that this position needs- he’s constantly undermined and belittled by todd, the face of the other knights, and when asked about his emotional state by the director, represses his emotions rather than talk to her about his true feelings. this is very similar to how asian american students in schools aren’t given the support they need academically by teachers and administration, as the model minority myth leads to them being perceived as more intelligent and competent than their fellow students and therefore not needing support. he’s also held to a higher standard than any of the other knights, being immediately placed into a position of power despite just being knighted, again a reflection of the model minority myth, since asian americans are held to higher standards unfairly. despite being technically better off than ballister, he has no support, no friends, no way to seek help for his problems, and, just like ballister, is immediately thrown away the moment the director thinks he’s served his use.

ballister is now pakistani, like his voice actor riz ahmed (no, not like pedro pascal. where did this come from lol), and i’d go as far as to say that he is also, if not explicitly muslim, heavily muslim coded as well. he’s framed as a terrorist by the white, christian institution, and from then on, it doesn’t matter how good he tries to be- everyone else sees him as a monster. he’s also from a lower socioeconomic class than ambrosius and the rest of the knights- while this is initially used to frame him as a success story, after he’s framed, it’s used to cast suspicion on him. almost immediately he’s othered, with posters casting him as a foreign invader sent to destabilize the city, much in the same way that muslim immigrants are seen in real life. even when he tries to be peaceful and good, it’s always twisted so that he’s the monster of the story. while ambrosius is held to too high of a standard, ballister will never be enough for the institution to accept.

which is why both of their arcs culminate in them breaking out of the system, learning to accept what they’d been taught was monstrous, and leaving behind respectability. it’s a genuinely great commentary, and i can definitely see why riz ahmed and eugene lee yang were chosen for this, as they’ve both done activist work for their communities.

#nimona #chatters #another analysis post i made at two am and then put in my drafts and forgot about LMAO #anyways i forgot to actually write a conclusion but shut up this isn't school i don't have to conclude SHIT #ballister boldheart #ambrosius goldenloin

[jaskierx]

one of the main criticisms i've seen is from people saying that they shouldn't have killed izzy off at the end of his big s2 arc because this show is about how people can change and people can do better and he'd been fully redeemed

and yes it is about change - and they did show that. they spent a significant portion of s2 showing him changing and accepting himself and becoming closer to the crew. they showed him allowing himself to be vulnerable and allowing himself to accept kindness

but the show is also about other things

it's about acknowledging that the people you hurt don't magically become unhurt just because you changed. stede choosing to go and find ed didn't undo the hurt he caused him by leaving him at the dock. ed apologising to the crew didn't undo the hurt he caused lucius by throwing him overboard. and izzy being comfortable enough to wear drag and sing in front of the crew did not undo the hurt he caused ed by imprisoning him in the blackbeard persona

it's about how you're only able to move forward when you've been able to put things to bed with the ghosts of your past. stede was haunted by the badmintons. jim was haunted by the siete gallos. ed was haunted by izzy

it's about making something good out of something bad. turning poison into positivity. izzy's leg loss became the catalyst for him bonding with the crew, which then became the catalyst for him feeling able to express himself and his queerness in front of others. izzy's death was the catalyst for him apologising to ed and getting that closure for both of them. his grave is part of the land that is ed and stede's fresh start

narratively, it served a very very important purpose as one of the transitioning points between s2 and s3, and dismissing it as relying on 'tired tropes' or 'being unkind' is doing the show a disservice

#this is messy but my brain is tired and also too full of thoughts #ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands #ofmd meta #lyse.jpg

[dragonlands]

There's so much negativity around Izzy's death so I wanted to address some of the points I keep seeing thrown around.

"Izzy's death was pointless"

No, he just had his big speech about how basically they can kill him but they cannot kill the movement. That is a clear paraller to a lot of real life protestors of unjustice. He died protecting the community, he died so the community could go on.

"Izzy's death made his healing pointless"

No it didn't. Healing is always good, feeling happiness and belonging are ALWAYS worth it. We never know how long we've got, doesn't mean we gotta stop trying to be better or happier. His healing was still real. It still mattered.

"Izzy's character arc was left unfinished, it's bad writing"

Oh my god. If you open any writing guide about how to write impactful deaths, and the first thing that comes up is to leave some part of their arc unfinished. And his arc did go through quite a beautiful line, sure there could've been more but his story didn't end like, mid arc. As a writer, of course you want to make the audience sad when a character dies. It's good storytelling. Good stories are supposed to make us feel.

"Izzy died on the arms of his abuser"

Where the hell did this idea come from? Ed and Izzy have been in a toxic codependent relationship way before this show started. You could argue that Izzy was Ed's abuser, but that is not the argument I want to make here. Yes, we saw Ed driven to madness shoot Izzy on screen, but we know Izzy's the one that forced him to be Blackbeart when he didn't want it anymore. There's turmoil all around them. But the final moment is them finally meeting as people, not as components of Blackbeard.

"Izzy's death was unnecessarily awful"

His death was sad, yes, but it was quite beautiful as far as deaths go. He was surrounded by family who cared for him. He was loved, and accepted as he is. He knew his legacy will be carried on.

"They killed off the only character that showed us healing is never too late"

Did we watch the same show? That begins with then unhappy 40+ year old Stede deciding it's finally time to reach for his dreams? Where we see Blackbeard slowly gaining back his humanity? Where Black Pete starts off as toxically masculine dude but ends up in a soft gay marriage? Where most of the crew wanted to mutiny but then they realized being soft is good, actually. Jim's whole purpose in life being revenge but them learning to let that go and instead concentrate on love and fun and family. And so on. Izzy's arc is beautiful, but he's not the only person healing who thought it was too late already.

"Izzy's death was bury your gays trope"

No, what, no. In a pirate show where everyobody is queer some queer people will die. Bury your gays is about only having one or few queer characters and killing them off while the straights get their happily ever afters. This is so far from that.

Also, I want people to be aware of the phenomenon, where creators of diverse shows are subjected to more critism than those of non diverse shows. If this intrests you, Sarah Z on Youtube made a great video on it called Double standards and diverse media. Our flag means death has given us so much, queer love story with a happily ever after, finding community, nonbinary character. And the creators have always been so kind to fans, so let's show them tht kindness back. Because critizicing this one aspect can easily turn to seeming like the whole story is just unwanted. That stories like Ed and Stede's aren't worth telling. And I'm so aftraid that will happen, when just now for the first time in years we are finally getting queer stories.

Also, I understand people are sad. I am sad too - Izzy was an amazing character and his death was sad but that's just. Good writing. You can grieve, but trying to turn it into a moral or dramaturgy issue is just not a good look. And attacking the creators of this wonderful show is just horrible.

Remember - this fandom is a safe space ship 🏴‍☠️🏳️‍🌈

#ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd #ofmd spoilers #izzy hands #our flag means death #ofmd meta #ofmd izzy #blackbonnet #gentlebeard

[urproblematicfav-arsonk]

I have a new essay for everyone its called "OFMD S2 is an insult to Con O'Neill both as a person and his legacy in his acting career as a queer man"

Like, this man did not spend his ENTIRE FUCKING CAREER playing almost exclusively openly queer or heavily, heavily coded queer characters to be treated like this??? In fucking 2023??????? He got better, more queer happy endings in the 80s and 2000s, the fuck?

I think it's incredibly telling that David felt like he had to hide what he was doing with Iz' character arc from Con till it was too late in filming. Hey, hey David? What did you think he was gonna do if he knew beforehand what was happening?? David? David do you think he would've walked? Do you think he would've used his leverage both as the fan favorite and integral part of the story to demand BETTER from you and everyone else writing the show?

Con has been making queer art since the fucking 80s when he was in his 20s. He has openly talked about trans rights and the fight against homophobia that we have been fighting for years and decades. I can't imagine what kind of push back he had to deal with to get all the gay shit he was doing to come to fruition. I can guarantee that at least part of the reason he doesn't have as big of a career as he absolutely deserves is because of how openly queer he has been since the start. I think if Con had been allowed to have some input in the direction of Izzy's character that something like this wouldn't have happened, at least not this messily and uncompassionate.

I legit can't imagine how fucked he must've felt after being given the genuinely very beautiful Unicorn scene and then be casually taken aside and told "lolol anyway Izzy is gonna die now, without love and without the acceptance he had already been given". But at least he was given a cuddle????

Anyway watch Dancin' Thru The Dark. Its on YouTube and it's about an openly genderqueer/bi man who goes on a sad but fun music adventure and it's actually really really good. Con sings and its a fucking bop AND he doesn't die at the end or watch Bedrooms And Hallways, it's a fun romcom about a found family of all queer people doing stupid gay shit. Also you can see Hugo Weaving's entire dick and balls in one scene and if that's not better gay rep then ofmd s2 then idk what is

#i did not fall in love with a gay man who lives in another country from me and is 10 years older then my dad to be treated this way David #how dare #i think we should do what s4 of castlevania did which is act as if s3 just didn't happen in the first place #ofmd s2 isn't canon #idk what ur talking about isnt ofmd s2 just izzy gets wrecked on ao3?? #poor Con #he was in a lot of pain dealing with that prosthetic and this is the end result of all that work? #i hope my husband is doing good now and gets better queer roles #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #izzy hands #con o'neill

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Izzy doesn't even have a coming to terms with his sexuality arc in season 2 it's much closer to gender, and I've seen a similar gender expression journey to Izzy in season 2 on the middle aged straight dads of queer children. I'm gonna gear my description of what happens towards a father and son example because Izzy's hang ups are very much about toxic masculinity, but I'm a transgender man and I'm on the journey I'm about to describe with my formerly borderline terf mom, so it can apply to other genders.

Anyway: At first the dad who I'm positing is like Izzy punishes his son for putting on a skirt or holding hands with a boy, then he realizes how badly trying to suppress his kid's sexuality is hurting his kid, who he loves in spite of the way he's treating him, so he does his best to change his mind and learn about the queer community and then eventually he goes to a pride event in an I love my gay son shirt and then the son feels like he can finally bring his boyfriend over for dinner and maybe someday the dad apologizes even though its awkward or maybe they let it go unspoken. I've even had a friend who put his reformed homophobic dad in drag makeup for TikTok content.

I'm not saying that's exactly what happened to Izzy, I suppose if we mapped this onto Izzy's journey Ed would be the son but a big part of Izzy getting better was him having a bunch of gay coworkers do something nice for him in a way that had nothing to do with Ed, which doesnt usually happen with the reformed parents, or maybe it does idk I've only experienced it as the queer child or as friend of the queer child so I wouldn't know. Also they usually don't perform in drag shows. But I would also say that they aren't usually pirates on boats where every single other person is queer in some way. The places where Izzy diverges off this path have nothing to do with Izzy coming to terms with any lust for men he may or may not have and everything to do with the setting he's in.

Also to be clear I'm not saying Izzy is straight, I'm just saying the jury is still out. He could have been out the whole time or he could have come out in 2.02 when he said "I have love for you" or he could have meant that platonically and died in the closet or he could have meant that completely platonically and been straight or aro/ace, but whatever way you slice that his season 2 arc is way less about coming out and coming to terms with his own sexuality and way more about learning to accept Ed for who he is and every other queer person around him by proxy.

#straight Izzy discourse round four lets fucking GOOOOOOO #daddy izzy #iggy toes #ofmd meta #izzy hands #our flag means death #ed teach #david jenkins youre so real for saying Izzy is daddy it allows me to have brain waves you wouldnt fucking believe

[thefirstflowers]

I really don’t understand why people are suddenly giving up on buddie. Especially with everything we got in the last episode.

I mean Eddie’s CATHOLIC GUILT finally being canon?? We used to dream about times like these. And yea, obviously, it wasn’t used the way we thought it would be. But I think it makes sense to introduce it in a comical way now, and then be able to reference it in his coming out journey later on. We all know how the homophobes would react if the first time they mentioned it was when Eddie was having his own realisation.

And don’t even get me started on the coming out scene. The way Eddie was more suprised that Tommy, a man he has known for less than a month, is gay, than the fact that his best friend of five years is suddenly into guys. Because, even though he’s not homophobic, he still has some preconceived notions of what a gay man should be like and a macho ex-military dude who’s into basketball and muay thai isn’t it.

And I know that we joked about how all these comparisons between Eddie and Tommy were being made to show us that Eddie is Buck’s type. But I think it’s also gonna play a big part in Eddie’s journey of self-acceptance.

And thanks to Lou (bless him) we even know that the writers are talking about making Eddie canonically queer.

And just because that arc fell through, that doesn’t mean it won’t still happen in a different way. It definitely makes more sense to have Eddie come to his realisation when he’s forced to confront all the toxic masculinity and catholic guilt he grew up with.

There’s also some people who are worried that either Buck/Tommy or Eddie/Marisol are gonna stay together for a long time, but I don’t think that’s the case for either of them.

Not that Lou couldn’t come back later on, but as of right now it seems like ep 6 is his last. Which honestly makes me kind of sad because, even though buddie will always be endgame for me, he seems kind of fun.

Edy, on the other hand, annoyes the hell out of me and I hope her transphobic/homophobic ass won’t stay for much longer.

#9-1-1 #911 abc #buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #tommy kinard #also the fact that the leaked script of the coming out scene turned out to be real #and they took out the word ’brother’ #thank GOD #that would’ve actually killed me #anyway #we’re still going strong

[deconstructthesoup]

Okay, so---

In Freshman Year, we got Kristen having an incredibly heartfelt coming-out as she comes to terms with herself, and her sexuality is a big part of her arc. Meanwhile, while Fig doesn't get her hot wizard girlfriend until Sophomore Year, we can assume that she's always known she was bi, given that she low-key flirts with pretty much everyone, and in Sophomore Year, not once does she trip over the fact that she's crushing on a girl.

In Sophomore Year, we got Riz feeling incredibly insecure and isolated due to being aroace, to the point where it becomes the thing that the spooky fear creatures use to affect him, and he has a very cool arc where he accepts himself and listens to everyone who tells him that it's okay if it never happens. Meanwhile, Adaine has previously (in a liveshow) considered the possibility that she might also be on the ace spectrum, but she's much more concerned with reconciling with her sister and killing her dad than figuring her sexuality.

Now, I'm really hoping that for Junior Year, we have Fabian experiencing a queer awakening and not being quite sure how to take it despite his newfound rejection of toxic masculinity, while Gorgug is just over there being canonically bi and chilling.

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #lgbtqia #fantasy high junior year

[canonizzyhours]

New Year New Vent, and this one's coming in hot.

I genuinely do not understand the obsession behind Izzy, or why he amassed such a cult following out of all the characters in the show. There, I said it.

I am aware that this opinion is somewhat rhetorical. Because, the reason lies in the troublesome fandom trajectory of "let's form a cocoon around the shitty white man and make him the saddest, wettest, poorest little baby boy and turn a blind eye to characters of color and women," so I know there's explanation to be had there, but even still. So much of what people argue makes him so special can be found in so many other characters, and then some.

Wanting prosthetic or physical disability representation? Lucius is right there with his prosthetic finger. Jackie is right there with her fierce prosthetic hand. Ed is right there with his knee brace.

Older queer representation? Broadly gestures to basically every single character, most of which have much more solid and visible representation anyway.

An older man coming into himself and accepting parts of himself he had long been fighting with? Aggressively gestures to our two leads.

A character having to deal with their past and with subsequent trauma? Once again aggressively gesturing to our two leads, but also many other characters, too. Jim had an entire subplot dedicated to them and their trauma in Season One for crying out loud.

A pirate stepping away from the harsher and more violent nature of piracy? Ed is right there, and with a solid character arc at that.

A man dressing in drag? Wee John is right there (and I feel like his performance and look really got eclipsed for the song but that's a whole different rant).

Gender non-conformity, or trans representation? Jim is right there, and I believe one of the writers pointed out how many of Ed's arcs have trans/gnc symbolic ties (Don't even know where the aggressive insistence that Izzy is canonically trans even came from either, but again, whole different rant).

There is just so much goodness and representation to be found in so many characters. They are all so rich and developed and wonderful. In my opinion, that makes it so easy to feel seen and heard, as there are pieces of comfort and visibility to be found in such a wide scope. The show wants us to feel seen in that regard.

Yet, the focus lands on the angsty masc white man once more. I mean, really? Is fandom racism and prejudice really so rife? Again, rhetorical, but it just boggles my mind.

Also, all of this isn't to say that people can't make Izzy their favorite character. Just the "he's the main character" and "he's a victim and no one else" and equivalent behavior is just unfathomable to me. The bullying and the toxic insistence when there are so many other wonderful characters with wonderful arcs is absolutely unfathomable.

It would just be so fun and nice to appreciate him for the character he is, ie an antagonistic presence who is later shaped and swayed by his environment. Putting him in a jar and shaking him around makes sense (big thank you for this space), not whatever we've been left with.

#228.

#ofmd #izzy hands #fandom critical #canonizzyhours #❤️ thanks for sending this in anon

[aroaceleovaldez]

It’s so disappointing that TSATS had to completely reinvent Nico and Will’s characters in the worst ways possible to shoehorn them into a plot and character arcs that don’t fit them at all, when there are perfectly reasonable alternatives sitting right in front of them.

Like, I’ve been mentioning a lot in the discord that one of the big things in TSATS that’s absolutely grinding my gears is trying to give Nico an identity crisis arc when he’s one of the characters who is actually the most assured in his identity throughout the entire series. In fact, a lot of his most iconic lines are exactly him declaring who he is and how well he knows himself and embraces his identity - Son of Hades, Ghost King. The darkness is his birthright. There’s absolutely no excuse for him to ever be in this arc. And then Will is a medic. He of all people should be plenty familiar with death, especially after having dated Nico for a whole year, apparently. How does he still struggle with his concept of who Nico is, like he didn’t know exactly what he was signing up for when they started dating?

And the book keeps trying to push this idea that Nico represents change, when Nico is one of the most consistent characters throughout all the series - which I’d argue is actually why he’s also one of the most popular characters in the series. His consistency lends to him tending to be better-written than other characters who keep getting caught in loops of changing dramatically and then reverting to previous states. Nico has literally never represented change and it’s ridiculous to try and tack that onto him thematically - and why is change the theme we’re going for here, in a book focusing so heavily on queer identity but seemingly pushing this notion of giving up an aspect of your identity if people don’t accept that part of you? Why does that seem to be the metaphor we’re pushing with Nico’s whole “darkness” identity crisis thing?

If you’re going to give Nico a theme that represents him, why not unity? Nico has always been a character that brings people together, or connects two places. Reyna hugging him at the end of BoO is literally a very direct metaphor for the camps joining. Nico was the first to bridge the gap between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. He bridges the gap between the living and the dead. Mortals and the gods. Past and present. Here and there. And everyone is unified in death, so Nico doesn’t have to give up his symbolism of the Underworld either to keep the theme. Heck, Hades and Persephone even have mythological themes of somewhat keeping the peace or breaking up conflicts, which Nico does as well. And what a lovely theme unity is for a book focusing on queer identity? And you could lean into Will having elements of that too - healing indiscriminately on the battlefield, the sun shining down on everyone, etc etc.  The arc and symbolism they’re trying to give Nico and Will just feels so forced and unrelated to their characters. It’s dragging the entire book.

#pjo #riordanverse #tsats #the sun and the star #the sun and the star spoilers #tsats spoilers #AALV TSATS liveblogging #long post // #analysis

[westofessos]

So I just finished Gilmore Girls for the first time and boy, do I have some thoughts:

First of all, I love this show so much. More than I ever thought I would. It’s just so comforting. I totally get it now.

Now, for specifics.

Lorelai:

I love Lorelai. She does make some dumb choices, but in the end, she’s just so loveable and fun, I can’t help but adore her.

Rory:

I do not get the hate I’ve seen for Rory! Yes, like her mom, she makes stupid decisions, but she’s so wonderful. Maybe it’s just because I relate to her so closely, but I love Rory so much.

Luke:

Ughhhh I love love love Luke. He’s so unexpectedly hilarious sometimes?? I did not foresee that when I started. Scott Patterson is also strangely one of the best actors on the show, which I also did not expect. Luke is a gem, we love him.

Luke & Lorelai:

How could you not love these two together? They’re absolutely perfect for each other and the pining, especially on Luke’s part, makes for incredible television. I do think their dynamic kind of lost the really special ‘will they, won’t they’ tension after season 1/2, but I still ship them. So glad they ended up together. When she was still with Christopher near the end of season 7, I got a little worried.

Paris:

PARIS IS GAY. I will accept nothing less. She is queer in some way, whether she’s a lesbian or bi. She had absolutely no chemistry with any of her love interests but so much with Rory. Also she’s just amazing all around. I fucking love Paris. Make her queer, cowards.

Lane:

How could you not love Lane? She’s the absolute shit. Cool, supportive, loyal, and a fucking rockstar. I didn’t mind her with Zach to begin with (even though I thought it was a bit strange how they all of a sudden liked each other), but when they got married and had kids, that was a big nope for me. Lane Kim deserved to be a famous rockstar.

Emily & Richard:

I went back and forth on these two. On one hand, they’re very entertaining characters and I do believe they’re trying to do what they think is best, but on the other, I think in the end they do more harm than good. The way they dismiss Lorelai’s trauma, and completely disregard everyone else’s opinion because they assume they automatically know what’s best, just rubs me the wrong way. Not to mention the manipulation and the going behind people’s backs. I think there should’ve been an arc at the end where they finally listened to Lorelai and acknowledged what they’d done and tried to change for the better.

Sookie:

Melissa McCarthy is great in everything, and this is no exception. She’s so sweet and lovable, and such a good friend to Lorelai. I love her. Plus her relationship with Jackson is just lovely.

Michel:

He’s such a sarcastic bitch and I love him. I think that’s all there is to say.

The Townies and Side Characters:

Kirk - Kirk is maybe the funniest part of the show and such a little sweetheart, I love him so much.

Babette - aka the best neighbour ever. We deserved even more of her and Morey than we got.

Miss Patty - same goes for Patty! We need more Patty!

Taylor - annoying and obnoxious but the show wouldn’t be the same without him. Irreplaceable.

Gypsy - again, we needed more!! Gypsy was so funny and I just wanted more!

April - I love April! She’s so sweet. I don’t, however, like what her arrival did to Luke and Lorelai’s relationship, and I fucking hate Anna.

Christopher - I don’t hate him, but he’s definitely not one of my favourites. I think it would’ve been a lot better if he and Lorelai had just been really close friends, or if he had just been fully out of the picture.

And finally, the boys:

Dean:

FUCK. DEAN. Do I need to say more? He’s a toxic, possessive, asshole and I hate him. He was okay in the beginning, but the ‘50s episode really clinched my hatred for him. Huge nope from me. What a dick.

Logan:

Man, do I hate Logan. Obviously not as bad as Dean, but he’s such a douchebag!! I genuinely cannot stand him or put up with any of his bullshit. I thought he would grow on me as the show went on but no, I only hated him more.

Jess:

Best for last. My love for this man knows no bounds. Obviously the best fit for Rory, I love them together, but also his relationship with Luke is so great. Also, justice for his and Rory’s relationship while they were dating!! Why did we only get to see it when shit hit the fan? They kept mentioning how they were going to hang out, that they were meeting up later on, so why didn’t we get to see any of it? Why did we only get to see them when Jess fucked up? I hate that. I also hate that they didn’t end up together, even when Jess grew and changed and bettered himself. Anyway, I just love him. I could talk about him forever.

A Year in the Life:

They tried to fit 22 episodes worth of Gilmore Girls into 4 episodes, and it didn’t work. The first episode did an okay job, and I did kind of love the last episode (the wedding!), but the middle two were. . . yikes. No theme song/opening titles? No transitions? NO SOOKIE EXCEPT FOR ONE SCENE AT THE END? Michel thinking about leaving the inn and Lorelai being abandoned by both of her friends? No Jackson? Rory being with an engaged Logan? Basically no Jess except for a few scenes, one of which broke my heart? I could go on forever.

That being said, they should make more after the cliffhanger they left us on. I’ll take whatever I can get, even if it’s subpar.

Anyway those are just a few of my many thoughts about this show. I can’t believe I waited until now to watch it. I need someone to talk about this show with so if you see this and want to talk, DM me.

#gilmore girls #lorelai gilmore #rory gilmore #luke danes #emily gilmore #richard gilmore #paris geller #lane kim #jess mariano #literati #logan huntzberger #lauren graham #alexis bledel #scott patterson #milo ventimiglia #liza weil #keiko agena #sookie st james #melissa mccarthy

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

What personality traits do you think make someone Stede coded or Ed coded(??

Well, the act of self-recognition through the other is so deeply personal that I think everyone you ask would give a different answer! I can tell you what I think but there's no guarantee it's what you (or anyone else) would find compelling!

For me, I deeply sympathize with both Ed and Stede and find a lot to relate to in both their arcs! But I think I'm more Stede-coded because:

His arc has a lot to do with how self-loathing can make you selfish. I think it's something anyone with self-esteem issues could easily relate to and find important.

He's a bitchy cunty queen! I'm a feminine gay man who talks and acts quite a bit like Stede and I love it! On the other hand, some people might relate more to his deep repression at the start of the show and his journey of queer self-discovery.

He really tries to choose kindness in a world that hasn't shown him a lot of it.

He can't be anyone other than himself, even though he's really tried.

Lots of fake-it-till-you-make-it confidence.

Soft, and he doesn't see that as a bad thing!

So fucking weird, in large part because he doesn't give a shit about other people are doing things, he wants to do it his way! Literally inspired me to start hanging up my stupid wall art

This is trivial but my man loves the ocean and the aesthetic of sailing ships and big same. Literally you all should see the amount of model ships in my house. I have a teeny-tiny Queen Anne's Revenge that can fit in the palm of your hand, it's metal and I got SO many cuts on my fingers building it but I think Stede would get a kick out of it

And for Ed:

Similar to Stede being unable to be anyone but himself, but in the opposite direction: he's been putting on a performance so long he's not sure who he is underneath

My man is so afraid all the time, so many of his actions are motivated by fear. He's afraid of himself especially.

Struggle with accepting he deserves nice things

Way more charismatic than Stede but just as goofy and just as much of a cringefail guy underneath

Relies a lot on an image of hypercompetence and sees any failure as The End

Really thrives on the simple things in life; warmth, good food, orgasms, little knick-knacks, soap that smells good

Dunno how popular an interpretation this is but he is so painfully trans man-coded; painting a beard on just screams beard dysphoria and all his reliance on the performance of hyper-masculinity reminds me so much of when I first started transitioning in high school and couldn't ever admit how much I liked, like, floral patterns and shit. Some trans guys swing so hard into masculinity we cover up what we really enjoy. Both Ed and I are feminine in a masculine way and I love that for us.

I relate deeply to both of them but I think I'm more Stede-coded!

Like I said, it's all super personal what you think makes a person Stede or Ed-coded, so I'm curious to see what others think!

#ofmd #our flag means death

[strangerthanyou011]

to me a big byler proof is the fact that in order to ship milkvan u have to almost willfully misunderstand so many aspects of the plot😭 like the characters’ feelings and arcs have to be misconstrued so much in order to justify mike and el being together and believe there’s any kind of hope for a healthy relationship between them. if you actually look at the arcs of the characters, byler is what makes sense!

el has always been somebody’s lab rat, pet, superhero, etc. she has never been given the space to live for herself by anyone other than max, which is why their friendship is so special despite how brief it was. el needs to be single so she can properly learn who she is in the real world, and what she wants and needs. el’s arc will end with her not dating mike, or anyone else. her story is about freedom and independence.

will knows he’s capable of love, knows what he wants and how wonderful it would be to have it, but he doesn’t believe he’ll ever be able to have it. growing up gay in a conservative place without any other queer people to relate to is so isolating, and so naturally will has accepted he will never be able to be loved back. i think robin will be an important part of his arc in season 5, helping him to see that he’s not alone and there is hope for him. it’s possible that robin and vickie getting together will actually be a catalyst for will and mike doing the same once they see that the people in their life would be completely accepting and they don’t have to hide who they are anymore. of course, will could learn that he can have what he wants by dating another boy, but that wouldn’t be a very satisfying conclusion to his story. who could understand what he’s gone through the way mike does? who’s stood by his side through all of his trauma, made him feel safe, cared for, and better for being different? will and mike’s devotion for and compatibility with each other have been built up since season 1, it would be horrible writing to throw that out for will to date some rando. i think it’s possible another guy could come into the picture to further show will that he’s not alone and he has options, which would also make mike jealous and force him to face his feelings head on, but whatever would go on between will and this other guy (my bet’s on mikhail) wouldn’t last long, because being gay doesn’t mean you’ll just date any guy. he wants mike, he loves mike. will’s story is about learning you can have happiness in a world that wants to oppress you, and mike is that happiness will wants.

all of their stories are about rising above your conditioning, what you’ve been told about yourself and your life and your worth, and taking your life into your own hands and living for yourself. the lead female character ending up alone, and the two male leads ending up together? crazy, but stranger things have happened!

#stranger things #byler #stranger things 4 #will byers #mike wheeler #mike wheeler is gay #eden talks #byler analysis #byler tumblr #byler brainrot #mike wheeler analysis #mike wheeler i know what you are #will byers analysis #el hopper byers #el hopper analysis #anti mileven

[jaskierx]

sorry i've thought about it more and i know this is boring and will get screenshotted on twitter by people wanting to gloat about how 'iZzY aNtIs aRe SeEtHiNg' and there's still 3 eps left and yada yada but the way that izzy's wrongs have been completely glossed over while ed's have been condemned is making me feel like there's been a u turn and the show is not just handwaving what izzy did in e10 but is actually suggesting he was justified in acting like that

specifically, the scene with izzy and lucius where izzy talks about the shark and moving on - it really felt like the show is now placing ed throwing lucius overboard on an equal level as ed causing izzy to lose his leg, and as if they didn't really know what level of severity they wanted to treat these incidents as. because previously, it felt like they were saying that ed's harm to izzy was separate to ed's harm to the rest of the crew (in the sense that it's more severe, but more justified, and also unique to ed and izzy because of whatever psychosexual thing izzy has going on there). and this made sense with last week's episodes bc stede's crew are shown to be view getting marooned as if it wasn't such a big deal, and lucius's anger was directed more towards stede than towards ed

but this week it feels much more like the narrative's main takeaway from ed's response to izzy's threats in e10 and ed's subsequent depression and suicide attempt is 'ed harmed the crew and he shouldn't have done that and now he needs to earn everybody's forgiveness'. and that's it. nothing further

there's been no real acknowledgement of izzy's role in causing that, or izzy's role in the crew being caught by the navy in s1e8, or any of the other shit that izzy did to the crew in s1, and from what we've seen so far i doubt there will be. he's had an off screen redemption arc and the crew love him now and that would feel way less bad if:

ed's actions weren't under such scrutiny

there wasn't such a dramatic difference between s1 izzy and s2 izzy and their respective roles in the story

there weren't racist undertones in terms of how izzy faces absolutely no consequences for threatening ed bc he wants him to fulfil a stereotyped role, or for comparing ed to a 'wild dog' who needs to be put down, but ed does face consequences for responding to these

like. izzy got mutinied immediately after selling the crew out to the british. and in terms of fights it's currently 2-0 to stede. part of stede's ultimate fantasy reunion dream included stabbing izzy to death. stede appeared to be fully tired of izzy's bullshit last week bc he'd just tried to kill the guy stede loves. so why the fuck is he going to izzy for training? why is he looking to izzy for advice and approval about being a good captain? why is he trying to bond with him about ed? why are we now being told that ed owes his success as blackbeard to izzy?

and this isn't even a liking izzy vs hating izzy issue - i never hated izzy in the first place, his canon characterisation in s1 was really good, i thought he was a shitty little man but he was the antagonist so that means they did a good job. but even if i loved izzy and i was really pleased that he'd been accepted into the crew etc i'd be scratching my head about why it's just happened with no narrative explanation

yes it's the queer joy show. yes it's the 'everyone can change and get better and reflect on how they've hurt people' show. so how come ed's the only one who's having to work for it? how come izzy's entire redemption arc has been told and not shown?

and the rest of the show is so fucking good which is why it's so disappointing and why it'll really fucking hurt if we get like. s8 game of thrones levels of bad ending

#oh to be a fan favourite white guy whose writers have decided he's done no wrong #anyway. enjoy i guess #ofmd #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd meta #izzy critical #lyse.jpg #izzy hands #edward teach

[cottoncandysprite]

Ok but like I think the reason the queer rep in WWDITS is so good is bc I don't think I've seen an entirely explicitly queer cast with this much diversity of experience in a show that isn't entirely ABOUT being queer. It's fucking revolutionary! Like, for most shows with rep we either get the kind of show don't tell, queer relationships without directly depicting bigotry or ostracization outside of metaphor/subtext like TOH and even OFMD (which is what's usually done in fantasy/genre shows like WWDITS), or the queer people in the show have arcs that mainly consist of how they navigate identity and society. And while both have their places and are incredibly important in their own rights, it's refreshing seeing a show that isn't even about queer experience directly have BOTH EXPERIENCES with a cast that's ENTIRELY QUEER in a GENRE COMEDY.

We do have the vampires, who have no shame about their queerness and probably wouldn't even label themselves. They come from a culture where it's completely normalized and even encouraged. But we also have Guillermo, who does have that struggle for identity and big coming out scene. And both are handled with so much care and respect for both experiences! Neither are dismissed or invalidated, they're just! Different experiences! And are just one part of all of their other intersecting and diverging arcs! The show is able to prove that we can casually normalize queer sexuality and identity without ignoring the real struggles that many in the community still face, in fact we can show both in the same breath!

I think that's why Guillermo's coming out meant so much- since we already had the casual, subtle rep, we were expecting them to use the vampire metaphor and not touch on the real world possibility of his family not accepting him for being gay, for him to just never say it out loud. But he did!!! He's Gay!!! And they still use the vampire analogy, but in a diverging way that continues his arc of self acceptance and conflicting goals! It's so utterly genius.

I just. I can't stress enough how much this show means to me. "Who isn't gay?" Will live rent free in my mind forever.

#god i promised one essay and wrote a different one instead #the found family one is still coming tho i swear #wwdits #wwdits spoilers #wwdits meta #queer representation #lgbtq representation #lgbtq #queer

[gildeddlily]

side characters ONly can be gay!!11!1! yep

I could write an essay about the way Marvel is just the reflection of how mass media deals with the queer representation "problem" nowadays

(I should study for my exam but fuck it I have time)

first of all, how many queer characters actually are part of mcu's big ass cast?

Searching on the internet they'll tell you about twenty- but it's enough to read who is queer to understand that they only care about seeming all woke and you know, kind and allies and all that good shit, but the truth is that if you're queer you'll get no more than five minutes of screen time

Loki is a bisexual genderfluid god, it's canon in the comics and in the shows/film, but does he actually acts on it? like, does he ever talk about the men he had a thing with? does he talk about his gender identity? no. and you know what, I don't want a long speech about feeling accepted and finding your place in the world and understanding yourself, I'd be ok with him being like "yk what, i feel like cunt today" and poof tom hiddleston is no more man.

we have a two second shot were he's labeled as genderfluid. that's it. he has a love story arc with his female alternative version.

like saying the bar can't get lower- all the time there's a man at his side, and they're so queer coded guys. they are so fucking queer coded. they'd have all the potential to be a good couple, and they prob could since Loki is canonically attracted to males too! but no.

let's choose the female you over the dilf grabbing your waist and telling you that you're more, that you matter and have a chance to be good.

can Loki count as representation? maybe.

it's shitty representation, tho.

then there's America.

America's a lesbian, daughter of two lesbian women, and they were proud of it probably- if it weren't for the fact that America's there, she live the adventure, and she has a lgbtqia pin. a pin. all her identity is expressed in a pin.

one could say, but the film is not ab America and her non-male partner, is about the story yk?

then why does every fucking marvel film features a man and a woman being in a relationship?

i guess that when it's about man Tony Stark and woman Pepper Potts everything's ok, you can give all the minutes you want to their sweet relationship- but if they're queer I'm sorry, the best thing you'll have is a pin.

then a few gays out there.

random man in endgame missing his bf. random girl in hawkeye mentioning her wife (slay). that one sexy dora milaje who has a sexier gf. slay you too ig. that Eternals guy who kissed his bf on screen (first time ever, and they feel revolutionary. fucking 2021).

the only thing that can be saved is Thor 3/4 because of Taika Waititi. the queerness is something Taika did because he wanted to.

Ragnarok's about this dude, his bi brother, this guy who flirts with both of them and has orgies with all kind of beings, a lesbian valkyrie and a gay rock. Love and Thunder is about this guy, his bamf ill girlfriend, a lesbian valkyrie who's trying to find some girl to eat out, a gay rock that ends up having strange sex with his bf, and greek people fainting after seeing said guy's naked body. (and that weird moment between Thor and Peter? that was made to be gay guys)

while it's not perfect, it's one step above everything else.

Taika Waititi's film's queerness is not there for looking more inclusive, it's there because gay people are there, we actually exist dude, and they deserve their space, and they should have it.

and like Taika Waititi's said, the world will be healed when people will stop saying "oh you know that new marvel series? yes, there's a gay gal in there", when people will treat queer people like the people they actually are.

it's like walking around in a forest and being like "oh look, a tree!". we aren't a different species ffs

representation is good, and of course gay characters sometimes are gonna be just there on the side cheering on the main character- because that's how life goes. I'm the cheering-from-the-side girl queer friend to my straight friend, and mcu stories are told by straight people, so it's kinda natural that we're kinda useless.

the thing that really, really makes me want to cry our is how they're able to destroy any queer "lead" they put here for us, for me, and I'm starting to believe behind those scripts there are some seriously repressed gay dude who can only express themselves by writing those things.

like Steve and Bucky? the classic we're best friends and we totally didn't have sex?

or Bucky and Sam?

why was the chair scene necessary? If i see something like that happening to a woman and a man my first thought is "they're a thing", and it was the first thing I thought with Sam and Bucky too- but ofc people will tell us "y are you making everyone gay?" it's not my fault princess it's the writers'

or, again, Loki and Mobius?

"you can be good, just in case no one ever told you" WHAT THE HELL DUDE

and you know, those things can be said between two friends too, but people gets disperate. I get disperate, after watching hours upon hours of two guys eye-fucking each other and ending up being all "yeah bro i love you this is my girlfriend amy". so I wrote, I draw, I think about them being "hey dude, d'you want to be the amy to my myself?" because the alternity is writing a fic about a random man who says he misses his husband on a three second scene.

(in a fandom like good omens I don't have to worry about it. I have my queer besties, my fav lesbian couple, and a lot of representation.)

so.

mcu's representation is bad representation.

every time they write a queer characters they're all "you see that? we did that!" like they did something special- but they didn't.

they write gays for the straight, in order to feel better about themselves and make straight racist sexist homophobic ppl (the "I'm inclusive guys!!!" kind of person) watching it feel better ab themselves.

(I'm not gonna start talking about the fact that this entire post talks more than anything else about the way the mcu treats women, bc it's a rabbit hole I'm not ready to talk ab cause I've been jumping in it for too many years.)

(sorry anon ily)

10/20 edit: valkyrie is bi my bad🧎‍♀️

#lgbtqia representation #lgbtq community #queer #marvel #i hate marvel #mcu #mcu loki #loki season 2 #america chavez #bucky barnes #mobius #lokius #sam wilson #bad representation #they make me so mad