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amageish · 9 months

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Thinking way too hard about the queer possibilities of X-Men ‘97

When X-Men ‘97 was first announced, I’ll admit I was kind of ambivelent to the entire project... It felt very nostalgia-focused and was just less interesting to me then an all-new X-Men cartoon that could do its own thing without being burdened with established canon...

...and then I listened to the X-Men 60 Uncanny Years event earlier this year and hearing the executive producer of the series discuss what the X-Men meant to him as a kid as a gay black man in Florida basically changed my mind about the entire project. Now I’m excited for it!

The X-Men are so fucking queer. Even ignoring the ways that the mutant metaphor have been used to discuss queer issues before queer issues could be discussed textually, Marvel’s merry mutants just have... so many queer members and even more when you expand the list to include sub-textual and intended queerness.

So, with all that in mind, I did a little thinking and decided to take some guesses about who could make for queer representation in '97... Let’s dive in!

Part One: The Comic Canon Gays

Let’s start with the characters who are explicitly no-subtext-required queer in the comic books themselves. These are a few of the characters Marvel uses in Pride events and generally parades around every June.

Northstar

Jean-Paul Beaubier may seem like the vanilla ice cream of this rainbow sundae, but there’s far more going on with this character then the “Marvel’s first explicitly gay superhero” title that he is so often boiled down to. A French-Canadian superstar athlete, he’s lived never being entirely sure if his skiing career success was a result of his talent or his mutant abilities.

While his depiction in X-Men The Animated Series just had him be painfully French-Canadian with an on-the-nose accent and French exclamations, there’s a mean catty gay under the surface that is just waiting to be unleashed. They could also adapt his famous wedding arc, wherein he married his husband Kyle Jinadu...

Also he hates cops, so y’know... Maybe Marvel did nail the queer experience on their first try?

Iceman

Bobby Drake is arguably the most famous queer character at Marvel. A member of the original five X-Men, he was famously confirmed as gay when his teenage self was transported to the present and, with some unsolicited help from a teenage Jean Grey, questioned why his older self remaining closeted, even in a world that was (comparatively at least) accepting of queer desire.

In the original show, he showed unrequited interest in Polaris, as he had in the comics before his coming-out. This reboot could potentially give a more grounded and less fantastical take on coming-out then what he had in the comics... or maybe time travel will be involved again - who knows really!

Prodigy

David Allyene, aka Prodigy, is one of the most notable bi men at Marvel with one of the most distinctive coming-out stories. His mutant powers cause him to instantly learn things that other people know, hence the name Prodigy, and, through his powers, he also learned his own sexuality. How’s that for a crazy journey of self-discovery.

Prodigy is a newer character who did not appear in the original animated series at all, so there’s no continuity concerns there...

Mystique and Destiny

Destiny, also known as Irene Adler, met her lover Mystique when he was presenting as male and operating as a consulting detective in Victorian London.

Yeah uh. This is implying what you think it is.

The two of them have been lovers for centuries now, though both took other partners at different points during their relationship. Their love is something special though and together they raised Rogue as a child - as well as maybe sired Nightcrawler together? That was once intended to be Nightcrawler’s origin, but it was famously scrapped due to Marvel editorial not wanting to depict a child that is a product of a queer relationship at the time... but now this November a new comic will explore the “true” origin of Nightcrawler, so maybe Mystique/Destiny having a biological child is back on the table!

Mystique was, of course, in the original series. I’m not sure the actual odds of her relationship with Irene being acknowledged in ‘97 - partially just because I imagine Marvel would be concerned about backlash to queer villains... but also they’re adorable and good to me so I’d like them!

Captain Britain and Askani

Betsy Braddock and Rachel Summers are two incredibly complicated characters to summarize. Rachel is the time-displaced daughter of Scott and Jean from a hypothetical alternate feature, while Betsy Braddock spent like 30 years of her publication history trapped in the body of Kwannon, a Japanese assassin. While these two characters are some of Marvel’s most actively in-your-face unquestionably queer characters - the last Betsy story had a surprising amount of implied sex for only five issues - they’ve never really had a chance to shine in a multimedia way (well, at least not with Betsy in her own body and not being merged with Kwannon).

In the original show, Rachel cameoed briefly as a prisoner of Apocalypse while Pyslocke appeared without being named - assumedly they didn’t want to bother explaining the body-swap storyline. Personally, if they were to be in the show, I’d suggest that Betsy should be introduced as having inherited her brother’s title of Captain Britain, with Pyslocke of the original show being revealed to have been Kwannon in her own body all along...

Part Two: The New Mutants

There’s so many queer New Mutants that I’m just giving them their own category here... plus, with Sunspot being in the main cast, I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the time got (Sun)spotlighted as well!

Note that the sapphics of the first generation of New Mutants can also be mixed and matched when it comes to shipping. I present them based on the pairings that are currently canon/teased in the present comics, but Dani/Xuan, Xuan/Kitty, Kitty/Rahcel, etc. are all valid too and could be within the cards for the show.

Karma & Galura

The first explicit lesbian of the X-Men line, Xuân Cao Mạnh is a refugee of the Vietnam Boat Crisis, a thing which makes no sense when you consider that she is still canonically like 20-something years old in 2023. Her coming-out was a much lower-key affair then Jean-Paul’s, with her friends just casually running into her at the Exploding Person festival (i.e., Burning Man) with a shaved pink haircut and already travelling with her two “girlfriends”.

After the musical festival, she proceeded to fall in love with her roommate Kitty Pryde and then her co-worker Dani Moonstar, both of which were never (textually) requited. Recently, she’s started dating the winged mutant Galura and finally gotten to do stuff like “kiss a woman on-panel regularly” after two decades of being a lesbian denied a girlfriend...

She has cameoed in X-Men ‘92-related media with a design that is truly terrible IMO, but I think she could be rebooted and appear in this series in her full glory... especially after the New Mutants movie left her out entirely!

Mirage and Wolfsbane

Introduced in the original New Mutants run, Dani Moonstar and Rahne Sinclair share a unique telepathic connection, helpfully described as them being “soul-mates.” The Comic Book Code prohibited depictions of queer people, but uh. This first run is incredibly not subtle, even as Rahne nominally has interest her male teammate Cannonball.

Unfortunately, post-Claremont, their relationship was more or less abandoned for a few decades (coinciding with a massive downward spiral in Rahne content in general) climaxing with Rahne being killed off entirely in an allegory for transphobic violence... Thankfully, she recovered from her death and has recently been written by a non-binary author and now a trans author, both of whom have leaned back into the idea that these “soul-mates” may, in fact, have romantic feelings for each other.

Oh, also they were explicitly gay in the movie. So. Good for them for that!

Magik and Shadowkat

Another classic pair of X-Men “roommates,” Illyana Rasputina and Kate Pryde are another Claremont-created “soul-mate” duo - albeit without the telepathic bond. After decades of queer-coding, both were able to do queer-adjacent things explicitly for the first time in the Krakoa era, with Illyana asking a group of people of various gender presentations to make out with her and Kate kissing a tattoo artist who looks suspiciously like her bestie on-panel.

Pryde famously lost the spot of “Teen X-Men PoV character” to Jubilee in the show, but maybe X-Men ‘97 could give her a second chance... plus Illyana is one of the most popular X-Men characters not given a full spotlight in the original show, in spite of her more or less being an A-list X-Men in 2023. I don’t know if Marvel is brave enough to make this one canon, but I do think these two are two of the most obviously missing characters from the ‘97 line-up.

Escapade

Shela Sexton, aka Escapade, is a transgender sapphic who debuted in Marvel Pride last year and has since then had a starring role in the most recent New Mutants series. She has the incredibly unique power of the ability to “steal” things from people - including everything from stealing physical objects like their wallet to stealing abstract concepts like their emotional or physical state. Her character also generally has embodied the intersectional approach to mutant identity which has become more and more prevalent in the modern era - her mutant identity and trans identity are both important to her character, but neither are allegories for the other.

I think she’s probably too new to be added to the X-Men ‘97 cast pragmatically, but maybe they could have snuck in a cameo at the last minute? Idk. I figured I’d include her on the list.

Part Three: Let’s Get Wild!

Okay. Fuck it. Let’s talk about some comic book justifications that could be used to queer up the actual main cast from the original classic X-Men The Animated Series.

Jubilee

Jubilation Lee, the teen PoV lead of the X-Men, has been written as queer a handful of times, but never explicitly in 616. Most notably, she was gay in an AU Runaways story (written by N.D. Stevenson), where she dated a bisexual version of Pixie as well as an ice-powered sapphic named Frostbite. Monet also had a crush on her in the X-Men ‘92 animation-inspired comic book series. In terms of 616 content, her relationship with Laura Kinney has often been read in a sapphic way, especially in Liu’s X-23 series where Laura notably breaks up with her boyfriend only for Jubilee to be waiting back at her apartment to go out with her.

Storm

Ororo Munroe, aka Storm, famously has had a subtextual Sapphic fling with the bundle of chaos that is Yukio. They two met for the first time when Ororo went to Japan and their time together was almost immediately followed by her famous punk Storm era, which is very queer when you consider that context. Yukio was also later made explicitly queer in Fox’s Deadpool 2 movie, though the movie character doesn’t share much of the personality and thrill-seeking antics of her comic book counterpart...

Storm is the central protagonist of the original Claremont Uncanny X-Men and will be central to the ‘97 series as well. It’d be really bold to confirm her as queer, but I’d say this is the kind of move that would be worth it if they want this to stand out among X-Men adaptations.

Wolverine, Phoenix, and Cyclops

Finally, Jean Grey, Scott Summers, and Logan were implied to have been in a poly relationship throughout most of the Krakoa era - though they have fallen on hard times recently in the run-up to Fall of X.

I’ll be blunt: I don’t think there’s a chance in hell that Marvel corporate would approve this being textual... but I’m willing to be proven wrong, I guess!

WHEW. Okay. That’s my list. This is nowhere near definitive of course - I didn’t discuss Shatterstar’s bisexuality, Deadpool’s pansexuality, Gwenpool’s aroace identity, et al - but also basically every X-Men character is either textually queer or could be justified as being queer based on comic book lore. This entire brand has a queer poly energy that even the straightest writers weren’t able to fully shake off of it... so, while this is my list, they could really do anything they wanted (and that Mickey Mouse lets them do, at least)... We’ll see what happens!

[PS: In light of the strike and the general shitty way that megacorporations in entertainment have been treating their workers for years now, I’d be remissed if I made this post and didn’t encourage people to consider donating to the Entertainment Community Fund as well!]

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starstruckwillows · 1 year

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vitamins — will byers ♡

requested by 🐍<3

nancy wheeler x fem!reader, platonic!will byers, talk of homophobia, this is more will centric

you as will’s queer mentor

you’d lived next door to the byers family for a long time. before will disappeared, and your whole life became affected by the dead remains of the upside down.

despite being closer in age to johnathan, the youngest boy was the one you’d bonded with the most. you’d spent many nights watching films with him while his family were all working. when he was rescued, you were one of the only people he still knew how to talk to.

and maybe, he’d go on to admit to you later, he felt comfortable with you because of the rumours.

the girlfriend, gay, queer, rumours that flocked around an unbothered you. will just hoped they were true as he sat on your bed, waiting for joyce or johnathan to pick him up. he decided it was time to tell someone, and at least you couldn’t disown him.

while he flicked through a comic, you grew bored of your chemistry homework. you concluded you’d ask nancy for help later.

“talk to me, will,” you sighed dramatically, “my brain’s gone numb.”

he laughed half-heartedly, “yeah. so... i’m in love with mike.”

you choked on the water you’d only just reached for, banging your chest as tears spilt down your cheeks. will stood up in concern but you waved him off, “no, i’m fine. that was sudden.”

he shrugged, not meeting your eye and sheepishly apologizing, “well, i didn’t mean to kill you.”

“just, say that again for me.”

“i’m in love with mike.”

you leaned against the back of your chair, “huh. you want to know what i honestly think about that, will?”

he felt his stomach drop. here came the bad news, “yeah?”

“you could do better.”

“than boys?”

“what? no, than mike.”

will folded his arms, “why’d you say that?”

“no reason. are you alright?”

he only realised then that he was trembling rather violently. he shook his head and sat back down, pressing an elbow to his bouncing knee as he answered you, “i’m good. yeah. i just... you seem better with this than i am.”

you nodded sympathetically, “well, i’ve had more practice. i’m also, y’know, gay.”

it was will’s turn to choke now. metaphorically, because he wasn’t drinking anything, and he had also suspected. the way you said it so bravely... it instilled confidence in him.

“you and nancy, right? i knew it.”

you smiled, “it’s not really a secret. we’re just private. and slightly wary, considering the world we live in.”

will scoffed, “is steve, like, collecting lesbians? that’s three now.”

you laughed, “maybe he has a radar for them.”

“like... a gaydar?”

“something like that. anyway, i promise, everyone in our circle will be alright.”

he took that on board, but he didn’t tell anyone else for a while. that was okay. of course.

you made a conscious effort to give your relationship with nancy more clarity within your group. an arm at her shoulder every known and then, honey and babe worked into your sentences, wearing her jacket, and, most importantly to will, referring to her as your girlfriend. that was something you had, were allowed to have.

all within your group of course, this was indiana in the eighties.

“does it scare you?” will whispered one day, as another news headline of lgbt riots appeared.

“sometimes.” you whispered back, with an arm around him. sometimes it seemed you needed will as much as he needed you.

the young boy looked defeated, “i feel ostracized as it is. what’s worse than zombie boy? gay zombie boy.”

“i get it, man. i mean, i don’t, because i wasn’t kidnapped by a sentient alternate reality,” he laughed at that, thankfully, “but i’m here for you. you aren’t alone.”

he asked you what he should do, then. you joked, “drink milk and take your vitamins? i don’t know.”

will sighed, “i have a boyfriend, now. would you want to meet him.”

“of course i would.”

🏷️ — @lil-quinnie @echoloidsblog @sw34terw34ther @river13254

#starstruckwillows #nancy wheeler #will byers #nancy wheeler x fem!reader #fluff #nancy wheeler fluff #platonic!will byers

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harrumphingtons · 1 year

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Ted's Denver Broncos metaphor for being gay was absolutely comparing a much larger struggle to a much, much smaller one, and I'm glad Ted himself even acknowledged that when Colin pointed it out, but I do still think it's a fairly accurate metaphor -- and this is coming from a bi person, just by the way. Even if there's no harm intended in saying it, Ted's right, saying that they "don't care" that Colin's gay isn't the right thing to say, and it's not the right thing to say to any person whoever comes out. It's like Ted says towards the end of his speech — they care that Colin's been through a lot, that a lot of things have been harder for him then they were for others, and they care that he felt comfortable telling them. Yes, the Denver Broncos metaphor perhaps isn't the best way to put it, but the message is one that definitely needs to get out there. Instead of "I don't care that you're gay," try, "Your being gay doesn't change how I feel about you." It's a small difference, but I promise, as someone who's gotten both responses, it's a difference that means a lot.

Although I think my original point here is that even though the Denver Broncos thing is a lot more mild than, y’know, being queer, I still feel like it’s an accurate metaphor. I mean, I happen to be a fan of a certain sports team while living smack dab in the middle of the territory of a different team, and I’m bi, so maybe I just like Ted’s metaphor because it made sense to me all around. Plus I also just found it pretty funny.

#ted lasso apple tv #ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso s3 spoilers #ted lasso s3 #ted lasso season three spoilers #colin hughes #ted lasso #gay #bisexual #queer

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theswifterhood · 1 year

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whenever i’m having a bad day i remember that i’m getting to witness live the best slow-burn childhood friends to lovers gay ship to ever exist on television AND in my favorite genre AND the show literally revolves around this ship and allyship and queer people all together AND so much of the show is a metaphor/allegory for queerness and homophobia. like what the fuck i am so lucky to have such incredible, thought out representation right now. like i would love ST regardless of it having queer characters or not, that’s not why i started watching the show (i started bc of jancy) but having my favorite show (again, in my favorite genre) provide me with queer characters and stories is so validating. usually i have to watch shows that i would never watch otherwise just bc i know there are queer characters (and then they get cancelled) and i almost always like it regardless because of those characters, but sometimes i just don’t (first kill) and it sucks bc i feel guilty when it gets cancelled bc i should be supporting queer stories regardless of quality or genre. but i also shouldn’t feel that i have to support any show just because it’s the only place i can get adequate representation, y’know what i mean? so yeah, it’s really special that the show that i’ve loved since 2017 (before i even knew i was bi) has not only followed me into impending adulthood, but has grown with me and my identity. it feels so gratifying, and i am so grateful for this show and these characters. thank you duffer brothers for providing me with characters that truly make me feel safe and seen, and allowing them to grow with me. it means a lot.

#stranger things #i love this silly little science fiction coming of age show #will byers #byler #mike wheeler #robin buckley

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duckvenger · 11 months

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Had a random introspective on how I view Jekyll and Hyde. There’s a lotta retellings of their story, and it occurred to me that I enjoy almost all takes on Jekyll and Hyde. And that seems to be kinda... odd? Uncommon? So let’s talk about it!

[TLDR at the end.]

I adore the original novella, but also love stories that stray wildly from the source (like Glass Scientists). I like stories that make Jekyll and Hyde’s relationship a metaphor for drug abuse, or being a closeted queer person, or a battle against your intrusive thoughts, or a struggle with self identity, etc...

Have Hyde be unabashedly evil? Sure, cool, go for it. Make him sympathetic and redeemable? Nice, that works for me too.

Have Jekyll be conflicted, but ultimately good intentioned? Alrighty, go ahead. Make Jekyll just as sinful as Hyde, perhaps even more so? Sounds neat, have fun.

I’ve read many blogs about how folks view Jekyll and Hyde in a distinct way, that they have this solid idea of who these characters are and what they would like them to be. That’s totally valid of them - I think it’s neat to see how much they love the characters! But it made me think... who do I think Jekyll and Hyde are? Do I actually have some clear cut vision for these characters? Surely I should if I write stories about them and have dedicated so much of my time to them... right?

Then it occurred to me. Maybe I view Jekyll and Hyde less as specifically defined characters and more as, well... narrative devices? Their story has existed for so long and been absorbed so thoroughly into the public conscious that really, anyone can make Jekyll and Hyde anything they want. And y’know what? I think that’s kinda beautiful.

At it’s very base level, Jekyll and Hyde is a story of a scientist crafting a chemical that allows him to transform into another person, another identity. That’s a concept that you can do so many things with, and what’s fun for me is to see how everyone else interprets this concept. Does it inspire you to write about a spiralling substance abuser? To explore how some people wear masks to hide (Hyde, ha) their true selves? Do you project the struggles of fitting into society onto these characters? Do you read their tale as something tied with the queer experience?

TLDR: You can tell the story of Jekyll and Hyde any way you want, because the idea of a person choosing to hide behind a mask is one that’s pretty universal. And I think that’s beautiful, the way that we’re all telling the same story, but with our own unique voices.

If you want to, reblog this with your own take on Jekyll and Hyde. How do you like to interpret these characters? Is the idea solid, or fluid? Would love to read about all the different perspectives! :D

#quack-v #rambles #jekyll and hyde #got a little bit cringe at the end there #but my gosh do i love jekyll and hyde so much #another thing with me and J&H #is that i see a lot of myself in these men #and often when i write about them #i am subconsciously projecting without realising it #i think maybe that lends to why i don't have a concrete concept of these characters #as i have grown and changed so has my take on Jekyll and Hyde #which i think is very interesting #but i had already gone on long enough and didn't want to add that to the tangent

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greenreticule · 1 year

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I fucking love Legion (2010). it’s so goofy and over the top and accidentally trans. I watched it for the first time in 2021, but I’ve been obsessed with it since i saw the trailer in 2009.

look, I had to go through a decade of deconstruction before I was like “oh shit, let me watch this heretical film as I recover from my heretical top surgery. oh shit this movie starts with Michael giving himself top surgery. Wait this is actually a really fucking queer take on Christianity, helloooo.”

I love this movie. So much.

but also Michael took hope from the wrong fucking person

this basic ass white guy caring about a woman he's attracted to?

THAT'S what gives you hope for humanity, Michael?

not the Black men who START THE MOVIE going out of their way to protect and help strangers, and continue to do so throughout the film, DESPITE the racist expectations leveled their way?

y’know, the embodiment of the Good Samaritan parable???? characters that would actually tie into the ACAB metaphor you opened the movie with???

but nooooo. the white guy doesn’t leave a woman because she’s pregnant with someone else’s kid, and therefore that’s the height of humanity. and yeah I get that it’s supposed to be a Jesus metaphor, but the optics still suck because this white Joseph does literally nothing else.

is it because like the movie sees it as a white guy’s basic nature to see women only in the context of what the women can give to them, and therefore baseline human decency is like truly Heavensent?

whereas it sees Black people as people who ought to be in a position of service, and therefore them risking life and limb to help others is just seen as... natural and therefore not worth celebrating????

I don’t think that was the intended message or intent of Legion (2010), but it does feel like a display of racist, implicit bias.

#legion 2010 #a completely unrelated post gave me Thoughts about this darling of mine

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tailsrevane · 2 years

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[movie review] hocus pocus 2 (2022) mostly recaptures the magic

"i’m a witch, i know things."

(cw: terf)

alright i’m going to start by trying to talk about the elephant that was conjured in the middle of the room with some degree of nuance so we can move on to talking about the really terrific movie i just saw that i’m pretty fucking excited about. but yeah i expect i’m not going to be the one breaking this particular news to you, and if i am i’m sorry, but yes bette midler tweeted something kinda terfy and when our community understandably expressed hurt & frustration she issued a non-apology apology. my take on the whole thing is that we’re not so much dealing with a venomous politically savvy terf like j.k. rowling but more just like a clueless, somewhat out of touch old lady who’s doing her best, so i’m somewhat willing to give her a “forgive her, mother, for she knows not what she does” on this one. ymmv, there may be stuff i’m missing, etc etc.

regardless, i mean, i love a movie franchise that stars fucking tom crusie. i can’t give that a pass and then refuse to enjoy this because its star gave me reason for pause. i mean. i can, i can do whatever the fuck i want and so can you, but it just wouldn’t sit well with me. it’s fundamentally different than me deciding “fuck off” to the star wars franchise when they cast two high profile terfs (who were terfs in newsworthy ways long before they were cast) basically within a few months of each other when my star wars fandom was already on a downswing. also, like, fuck, man. this stuff is hella subjective. i can’t really predict or set general rules for what will be enough to stop me from enjoying something. i just kind of know it when i see it, you know?

i would say that i wish my witchy media could stop having even comparatively milder brushes with the poison that terfs peddle, but the fact is there’s an unsettling amount of terf ideology pervading actual communities of witches, so it’s no real surprise that some of it leaks out into associated media franchises. it’s pretty damn ironic given that neopaganism is so interested in challenging assumptions and accepting the truths that an infinite universe confronts us with, but in terms of cognitive dissonance about a religion’s core values let’s just say i don’t think neopaganism is exactly riding the largest market share. or the second largest. or the third largest. or (yeah i’d have to keep going for a while).

like, okay, i’m not going to say actual trends in neopaganism are by any means the biggest contributing factor to some of my problems with this movie, they probably have a lot more to do with this being an intellectual property owned by the single largest entertainment monopoly in the history of the world, but there is still quite a bit of synchronicity.

i just. i think it’s really fucking cool that we got a good coven of forgiving, compassionate witches as a counterpoint to winnie’s coven. but the way this is done is… confusing, at best? like, yeah it fucking rules that becca is a witch, but… why is she… surprised by that? she literally had a coven with her two best friends? they literally do spellwork? and like… something about the way it’s presented really makes it sound like “being a witch” is something, idk, exclusionary & inherent rather than something worked at & learned? and although there isn’t any overt examples of that, let’s just say that seeing any kind of metaphorical essentialism in a movie about witchcraft whose top billed star may or may not be a terf is just… well, it’s damn uncomfortable, i’m sorry.

and on top of that there’s the gay tokenizing. i mean, yeah, this isn’t exactly new ground with disney, but i’m still going to keep bringing it up every time. you guys. the audience for this kind of movie is so gay. halloween is our fucking holiday. and having been to salem specifically, so many people i saw there were visibly queer. which, y’know, there are plenty of background characters in this that for sure matched that vibe. but just…

there should be way more queer representation in this than a gay couple watching something on tv that can easily be edited out. there just should. i know representation is more of a macro problem than a micro problem, i know that it’s the larger trend that matters… but this movie’s audience is so gay, so even if this wasn’t something i consistently call out (which, you know, it is), it would warrant calling out.

on the other hand, representation isn’t limited to a single continuum, and it really fucking matters that this movie isn’t as aggressively white as its predecessor. heck, its protagonist is a black girl! and she kicks all the ass! so it’s not all bad news here. i don’t want to lose sight of that.

anyway i’m about to pivot to my argument that this is actually even better than the first movie, so i should probably talk about the things the first movie did better in the interest of fairness. the most obvious thing that jumps out to me is that the original movie felt a bit more halloweeny. yeah, there are plenty of decorations, and i thought that halloween festival was hella cool & all, but max being dragged out trick or treating with his little sister and seeing all the other kids running around in costumes was a big part of why the original felt so halloweeny. i’m not saying hocus pocus 2 failed completely on this score, but it does feel like a bit less effort was put into this aspect and that does matter to me because i’m a weirdo.

the other huge thing missing here is, obviously, KITTY!!! thackery the talking cat was such a huge part of the original movie’s appeal, and i know you can’t just totally retread that exact same ground but idk man! you have witches doing magic that’s much more visible & dramatic than magic is in real life, i feel like you could’ve easily figured something out here. have a talking cat as someone’s familiar or something! or if you’re worried a talking cat would be too shoehorned in, at least just have… MORE KITTIES! or have the one kitty you did have be more prominent. maybe have the protagonist have a cat she cuddles with a bunch before the action of the movie really gets started. idk, man! figure it out!

anyway, this movie does a lot right.

it’s kind of ironic that significant portions of the first movie were actually filmed in salem, while the second film was filmed mostly in rhode island, but the second film actually feels way more like it took place in salem? maybe it’s because a lot of the first movie was filmed on sound stages in california and the sequel was filmed entirely in new england, even if it was a different part of new england. i’m not sure. but yeah, anyway, the sequel felt a lot more authentically salemy than the original.

this is gonna sound like it belongs in the previous category, but it actually belongs in this one, so… another thing that i noticed the absence of because i’m a huge weirdo and whatever is the bullies. and like, yeah the bullies in the first movie are pretty dumb & very much not my taste, but when i was a little kid i think they worked a bit better for me idk, and regardless i was looking forward to seeing an updated version of them here! but also like, this is very much not a core part of the first movie’s appeal, and also it would’ve felt weird & not great given that the protagonists this time are women, so idk it’s probably best we didn’t have this? just, y’know, it would probably be weird if i didn’t mention this at all given my whole, uh, everything.

what moves this squarely into the “things the movie did right” column is that this movie does deal with bullying, but it isn’t with super obvious stock character bullies being very obvious. instead, cassie’s adorable pet himbo had no idea that he was making fun of becca & izzy and he gets this horrified look on his face & says, “i have so many people to apologize to” and just, omfg, he is such a cinnamon roll i love him so much.

finally, i especially appreciate that winnie’s coven is sympathized with without being excused or “yas girlboss”ed. they’re people. they’re hurt people who have hurt other people. and the reality of both the hurt they’ve suffered & the hurt they’ve inflicted are both honored.

i had quite a lot of trepidation when the intro was sympathetic towards them because i knew they were gonna have to be the bad guys, like the movie was going to be pretty awful if it tried to clumsily pivot away from their, y’know, literal child murders. meanwhile my boyfriend mentioned he was worried about a completely different, separate trap he thought the movie was about to fall into. during the flashback scenes, he was worried that the movie was going to try to sympathize with the fucking puritans, which like yeah that’s for sure one of the quickest ways the movie could’ve lost me if it had gone that direction. so i’m left feeling like the movie is kind of like a rogue in d&d, just deftly dodging all these traps.

there are things i like about this better than the first movie, but upon reflection on the whole i definitely prefer the first movie. it's like... between the iconic "i put a spell on you" song/dance number in the first movie and the pretty good "one way or another" one in this one, i drastically prefer "one way or another" as a song, but the "i put a spell on you" scene is clearly the better scene.

b-rank

#hocus pocus #hocus pocus 2 #witches #witchy #halloween #disney #cw: transphobia

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humanwheatleyslefttoenail · 3 years

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why do you ship chell and glados if glados is basically her mom

Okay this is actually a pretty common misconception in the fandom that unfortunately a lot of people have taken as canon, but I’m feeling nice so I’ll answer your question.

Basically, anon is referencing a theory from around 2012 that Caroline is Chell’s mom. The evidence for the theory is as follows:

- The turret opera calls Chell “bambina”, which means “little girl” in Italian

- Chell’s name can be found on a Bring Your Daughter To Work Day science project

- GLaDOS references the possibility of Chell being adopted multiple times

- GLaDOS is significantly nicer to Chell after discovering she’s Caroline

And, anon, you’re right, it does sound like a pretty good argument at first glance. The problem is that a lot of these points don’t actually hold up to scrutiny.

For example, although “bambina” literally translates to “little girl,” it’s often used in the same way “baby girl” is used in English - it can mean child, but contextually it’s usually a flirtatious term. (Source: Cambridge Dictionary)

For Chell’s science project, it doesn’t work as evidence for the theory because GLaDOS killed the scientists around 1998-ish, when Caroline had presumably been uploaded several years earlier and Cave was already dead. Also, Chell’s in her 20′s, and since we know from Lab Rat/Portal 2 that people don’t age in stasis, and that Doug put Chell at the top of the test subject list only weeks after the takeover, Chell was 28 at the time of the takeover. The science project is really only an Easter egg and doesn’t actually fit into the canon timeline let alone prove anything about Caroline and Cave.

GLaDOS talking about Chell being adopted is a pretty strong point, I’ll admit, but also it’s important to remember that maybe half of what GLaDOS says is true. And even if we take what she says at face value, she also says there’s a man and a woman in stasis with Chell’s last name, which could not have been Cave and Caroline because they were already dead at that point. And the official book Final Hours Of Portal 2 confirms Cave and Caroline were not married and could not have shared the same name anyway. It was also the 50′s, an an unmarried couple of two likely famous people having a child would’ve been scandalous, and yet we see no hint of something like this affecting their company.

Also, although GLaDOS is nicer to Chell after the Caroline reveal, that’s not necessarily indicative of a mother-daughter relationship, and neither is any of their interactions. It’s just. GLaDOS being friendlier.

Finally, when this theory was made (and let’s be honest - it still is happening) Chell was constantly whitewashed to hell and back.

Chell is Japanese-Brazilian, and Cave and Caroline are white, so it would be a near impossibility for her to be their biological child (and insisting otherwise is kinda. just. whitewashing). And although people will cry “adoption!”, based on what I’ve previously proven, that’s pretty much impossible. This theory that somehow she’s Cave and Caroline’s daughter erases an important part of her identity. [Disclaimer, I am white, but this is what I’ve heard from around the fandom]

With all that said, the idea that she’s the daughter of Cave and Caroline really doesn’t hold weight when you really analyze the canon. It’s surface level analysis that doesn’t hold up. And honestly? The idea kinda cheapens the story. It’s much more powerful that GLaDOS learns to care about Chell and becomes kinder than just. Oh, she remembered she’s related to Chell.

But to actually answer your ask.

Why do I ship them?

Well, they aren’t mother and daughter, I think that’s pretty obvious now. But if you actually look at a lot of subtext in Portal 2, without the lens of the mother theory, it’s actually pretty romantic!

I know that sounds ridiculous, but bear with me!

Now - it’s totally okay if you don’t ship them. I get it. Their interactions in Portal 1 and the first half of Portal 2 are toxic if not outright well. Y’know. Murderous. I completely understand why that turns people off from shipping them, and ultimately, shipping is a personal thing. To each his own.

But before you judge me, let me present my case.

Exhibit A: Portal

Portal is kinda gay. No, really. Chell and GLaDOS are enemies in this game, but the entire focus is on their relationship (good or not) and the power struggle between them. They are opposites, two sides of the same coin, different representations of opposite ideologies. People have analyzed Portal as a relationship metaphor, or as a metaphor about women’s role in society - either way, the heart of Portal is the complicated dynamic between Chell and GLaDOS.

That’s not necessarily enough to code a romance, but a lot of popular (and especially popular queer ones) ships begin with opposite ideologies, symbolic powers colliding. Portal cements their relationship as a toxic one, something on the verge of falling apart and hurting both parties in the end. The ending image, of Chell and GLaDOS side by side after the battle, reinforces the symbolic parallels between the two.

The companion cube is also pretty symbolically important to this interpretation. It’s literally a representation of someone’s heart, and you are told to protect it and preserve it under GLaDOS’ orders, and then you have to destroy it regardless of how you actually feel about doing that. You are destroying GLaDOS’ heart, so to speak.

There’s also the ending song, Still Alive. The lyrics speak for themselves.

They hint that GLaDOS’ feelings about Chell are more complicated than they may appear (if she’s not being sarcastic...) and she literally talks about Chell breaking her heart (also, think back to the companion cube. Yeah.). The entire song is structurally similar to many a breakup number, with the laments of “I’m glad it happened, but also leave.”

At the end, we also see that the long promised cake GLaDOS was supposedly lying about was real the whole time. Before Portal 2 came out, it was mostly interpreted as a stinger ending (along with the nicer lyrics of Still Alive) to make you question GLaDOS’ true motives and intentions.

She actually did have a real cake waiting for you. (Side note - not really evidence, but in Argentina, “torta” means cake in Spanish. It’s also a slang term for lesbians. So. Do with that what you will). The cake is what GLaDOS offers you to lull you into the sense that she cares about you, so discovering that “the cake is a lie” wakes you up to the realization that she doesn’t. Except then the idea is subverted one last time, at the very end, showing that the cake is real and at least some of what she said she meant.

You also see the companion cube. You know, GLaDOS’ symbolic heart?

Now, okay, you might be thinking I’m extrapolating a bit too much. And you might be right. But Portal is not the only game in the series, and if you’re asking me about Cave and Caroline you obviously know about Portal 2.

Exhibit B: Portal 2

If you thought Portal was gay, Portal 2 turns that up to 11.

Even before GLaDOS wakes up, you’re treated to some visual subtext. A few of Rattmann’s drawings representing the events of Portal 2 focus a lot on the relationship between GLaDOS and Chell, with more of the cake symbolism.

In this, you can see a face layered on top of GLaDOS. This could be foreshadowing about Caroline, and likely is, but also resembles his other drawing of Chell. It insists that Chell is a part of GLaDOS, or reinforces parallels between Chell and Caroline, hinting at something either way.

In this picture, we also see Chell standing on top of GLaDOS, in the same position where the overlay of the feminine face was, again referencing the parallel. It also presents them as opposites, fundamental parts of the same thing and both connected to the same basis, but on opposing sides.

When GLaDOS wakes up, she returns to her antagonistic role, but there are more hints to something deeper just like in Portal.

Here, in her awakening lines, she references Chell not unlike an estranged ex. Also worth noting that GLaDOS is pretty much the personification of testing (in a sense, she is testing since she can control all of Aperture like an extension of her body), and insinuates that Chell loves to test. And that she reciprocates that feeling.

In test chamber 10, she says this:

It’s supposed to be threatening, but it does read as almost... sentimental.

There’s also another chamber with companion cubes in Portal 2. I already talked about their symbolism in Portal, and the same pretty much applies to them here. However, GLaDOS says something interesting about them during this level:

Once again, meant to be intimidating, ends up coming off as “well, GLaDOS, why were you going to give Chell a heart shaped representation of yourself that says ‘I love you?’” And you might think I’m stretching the GLaDOS’ heart metaphor thing a little far here, and I might agree, if the companion cubes didn’t literally sing Cara Mia for you.

Cara Mia is the turret opera from the end of the game, which is all about how much GLaDOS cares about Chell. More on that later. But the companion cubes play a song called Love as A Construct, and when you get close to them, they sing a specific part of the song that has the tune of Cara Mia. These things literally exist to sing about GLaDOS’ feelings.

Which makes this line a lot more. For lack of a better term. Tsundere-ish.

Then, right before the escape, she starts talking about the confetti from her fake surprise.

I really don’t have to explain this one. What else does GLaDOS consider an inconvenience but might miss anyway? Or, more aptly, who else?

Then, during the escape, she teases a (fake) final test chamber in front of you, and forms the panels in the shape of a heart. No, really.

Up to this point, a lot of the points I’ve presented are interspersed with a fair amount of antagonization on GLaDOS’ behalf, more Foe Yay than anything actually hinting at something deeper than GLaDOS being conflicted about whether she loves or hates Chell. But things really ramp up after Wheatley’s betrayal, when the two of them are forced to team up. (I should also note here that “enemies to lovers” is a pretty classic queer romance trope.)

Here, GLaDOS is put on an equal level with Chell and they have to rely on each other if they want to survive. For the rest of the singleplayer campaign, GLaDOS becomes a lot nicer and even friendly to Chell. There comes a point where she starts referring to Chell as a teammate, calling them “we.” She begins to consider them one unit, two opposites unified. Here’s what she says after the lemon rant:

You can not only see her using we, but actively talking about how her and Chell are going to fight Wheatley together. There’s also that last line - “let’s explode with some dignity.” GLaDOS has fully accepted the very likely possibility that she and Chell might die together. That she might die on the same level, and the same team as Chell. And she seems... surprisingly okay with that, as long as she and Chell go together.

It’s during the Old Aperture levels that Chell and GLaDOS also discover that they have a lot in common. This is the part of the game where GLaDOS figures out she’s Caroline, that she’s human. Or, that she’s like Chell. And Chell discovers (from what we can tell anyway) that Caroline is kind, that she’s funny and smart and so many of these things she never noticed about GLaDOS before. Now also with the knowledge she is fighting alongside another human being.

You can also draw parallels between Chell and Caroline, both intelligent women ultimately betrayed by their seemingly innocuous male friends before being trapped in Aperture and forced to team up with one another in a way that will free both of them. We see that really, GLaDOS isn’t that different from Chell - she too has been imprisoned in this place against her will, but in a completely different way. Once again, the idea of two sides of the same coin applies here.

I’ve written another meta about this before, but I also think the whole idea of repressing a part of your identity and hating it, before bonding with another woman and then realizing that it’s okay to be like her and to be on her side. It’s okay to be yourself and meeting her is what helps you discover this new part of yourself. Is kinda inherently gay. GLaDOS’ discovery of her own humanity just fits so well into a queer realization narrative, to me at least.

Then, Chell and GLaDOS escape Old Aperture and have to get through Wheatley’s tests.

Here, GLaDOS isn’t just begrudgingly on Chell’s team. She’s actively helpful. She wants to help Chell solve tests, defends her from Wheatley’s insults, and makes jokes to lighten the mood. Things that can really only be explained by her caring about Chell, especially the part about the insults. See below.

After the two escape Wheatley’s testing track, right before the boss fight GLaDOS has a few other things to say.

GLaDOS is not going to betray Chell, because of some kind of conscience. But she could easily ignore that back in her body, and yet? Here she’s deciding not to, and for no good reason. She didn’t have to say that to Chell, but she did, because she cares and she wants Chell to live.

And then, moments before the fight:

The final lines imply that GLaDOS does not think of Chell as an enemy anymore, and that it doesn’t matter what Chell thinks because they are in this together and they are getting revenge together. It’s pretty heartwarming to be honest, to know that even in a fight that will almost certainly kill you, she is there rooting for you and caring about you, even if you don’t feel the same way about her. It no longer matters to GLaDOS whether you even reciprocate - you staying alive, you making it through is enough for her.

So Chell fights Wheatley and sends him into space, all well and good, and at this point, GLaDOS has the option to kill Chell. But not only does she not, she actively saves Chell, and holds her hand in the process. If you don’t believe me:

And not only that, but when Chell goes unconscious from her injuries, GLaDOS sits and waits for her to wake up. It’s also implied that GLaDOS carries her to the elevator, since it’s where she wakes up but not where she passed out. In the scene where Chell blacks out, you can also hear the part of Love As A Construct that sounds like Cara Mia. Yeah. Yeah.

If you think that this cannot possibly get any gayer, you are wrong again, because then GLaDOS makes her final speech. Which is really just a love confession, let’s be honest.

The “surge of emotion?” Do you mean love, GLaDOS? And the idea of GLaDOS considering Chell her best friend, despite everything these two have done to each other? The idea that GLaDOS, out of all people, forgives someone?

Except this isn’t even Chell’s final send-off. GLaDOS writes her an entire opera of turrets, that sing a literal love song. (Note what I said earlier about the use of the word “bambina”).

It really can’t get any more obvious than that. “My (affectionate romantic term here), my dear, I adore you.” How. Is. That. Heterosexual. In. Any. Way.

So Chell goes to the surface, set free by GLaDOS (think of the saying “if you love something, set it free), and you think that’s the end. Until GLaDOS gives you a companion cube so you aren’t alone on the journey, and from the burn marks, you know it’s your first companion cube. Her original heart, her first gift to you, a piece of her that she wants you to carry with you to remind you that she does care about you after everything. It also gives the lyrics to Still Alive a much more genuine meaning.

Portal 2 ends, and then the ending song, another GLaDOS number plays. Just like Still Alive, Want You Gone is structurally a break up song and very obviously about GLaDOS missing Chell and “counting on” (read: caring about/loving) Chell’s tendencies and quirks.

She’s accepted Chell completely, and yet also given Chell the one thing she wants most. Only wanting Chell gone can mean GLaDOS not wanting Chell in her life anymore, but can also mean she wants to give Chell the freedom she’s wanted for so, so long. It’s the best thing she can give.

In the co-op campaign, GLaDOS also references still caring about Chell.

And that’s the end of the Portal series. Except. Brace yourself. Despite the games being over, there is STILL more subtext somehow. It gets. Even gayer.

Exhibit C: Supplemental Evidence

Valve has made a lot of extra/cut content for the Portal series, and I’ll be looking at some of it below.

This official valentine from Valve shows GLaDOS offering a romantic partner cake, which as we’ve established before, is very symbolic of GLaDOS’ feelings about and/or relationship with Chell.

There’s a lot of other concept art and official art that emphasizes their relationship too. See below.

There’s also some cut GLaDOS lines that are even gayer than the source material and again, sound like confessions or references to a breakup:

The idea of “discovering things about someone”... how much more obvious can it get?

The developers have even confirmed a lot of my commentary on Chell and GLaDOS’ relationship in The Final Hours Of Portal 2. See these quotes from the book/this post:

The devs literally describe it as a romance. They use terms like “cheating,” they wanted to write a romantic duet, JoCo purposefully wrote the endings like love songs. It is literally, blatantly said by the creators of the game that their relationship is interpreted romantically. By the creators of the game.

And if Word of God confirmation isn’t enough for you, have a song written for a cut alternate ending by GLaDOS’ voice actress, Ellen McClain. The song is literally nothing but GLaDOS talking about caring about Chell, about not wanting her to die/leave GLaDOS alone, about wanting to bake a cake with Chell, about waiting for Chell to wake her up. It’s so genuinely sweet and sad, and really, really romantic in the most heartwrenching way possible.

JoCo also came back for the Portal levels in Lego Dimensions, writing one final breakup song for GLaDOS to sing about Chell. It comes off as GLaDOS not wanting to admit she misses Chell even though she obviously does, trying to replace their relationship but failing, and even explicitly forgiving Chell/wanting her to come back.

Also, the “finally I understand,” as if only now GLaDOS understands just how deep her feelings for Chell are... What else can I say?

In Lego Dimensions, GLaDOS also outright rejects anyone who isn’t Chell.

In Conclusion:

Why do I ship Chell and GLaDOS?

Well, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether I ship them.

Because I think it’s glaringly obvious Portal does.

#chelldos #chell #glados #portal #portal 2 #tw fatphobia #whitewashing #fandom racism #long post

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scienceandstorytelling · 3 years

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What does WOS stand for in your tags?

Hello! WOS stands for Wolves of Suburbia, which is a book of short stories I plan to write. It looks at the suburban tendency to tame and manicure nature simultaneously with/as a metaphor for being queer and neurodivergent in modern American society. The intended vibe is inspired by @dappermouth artwork - sort of magical realism/surrealism - and I’m using my knowledge of science and ecosystems to work with the fantasy narratives. For example, I’m looking at wolves as a symbol of wilderness but also of Otherness, something feared and vilified and romanticized, while also just being an animal fulfilling its niche and losing habitat and resources to human interference. Story plots include “wolf wears a little girl mask,” “talking snake follows kid home from school assembly,“ and “weird girl at school becomes the mothman.” Sorry, that was long winded. My hope is that posting about it on tumblr will help motivate me to actually write it! Cause, y’know, adhd and stuff.

#WOS #wolves of suburbia #Ask answered #writeblr #writing

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thebreakfastgod · 3 years

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Hi. I’m very ignorant but I’m trying my best not to be. Could you explain some of Lena’s ‘overtly fascist tendencies’ to me? (I hope this doesn’t come across as asking in an ‘I think you’re wrong’ way because I promise I just mean it in a ‘please help me understand why you’re right’ way) Thank you in advance if you answer and I hope you have a good day.

Hey anon no worries! @servicetopkaradanvers might be able to articulate this better than I can but something that I immediately think of is the alien detection device in s2.

Being an alien in the show is obviously a metaphor for being an immigrant and can easily be read as a metaphor for being queer as well. If Lena put forward an “Immigrant Detection Device” or a “Gay Person Detection Device” it would be horrible cause that information could easily be used to discriminate against those groups or commit physical violence against them. I think the Alien Detection Device says bye bye after s2 but like, if the bad white supremacist metaphor in s4 had alien detection devices it would make their anti-alien violence a lot easier.

Also because the device is something that you literally have to stick your finger on it is definitely something that would be used by a person in a position of power, which makes it the perfect Discrimination Device. If your boss, landlord, event organizer, whatever makes you out yourself as an alien (immigrant, queer) they could easily turn you away because of that. I can’t imagine that anyone but humans (who know they won’t have violence committed against them) would willingly put their finger on that little thing.

The detection device is also a big fuckin problem because nobody else is entitled to that information. Your boss or landlord or the person whos gonna let you be a part of an event or group isn’t entitled to whether you’re an immigrant or gay. So the device is basically the “Should I Give Rights To This Person Reader”.

Besides that, I think it’s an episode in s3 where James says “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who thinks that having a gun makes everybody safer” and Lena just says “Let’s agree to disagree” which basically confirms that yes, Lena believes that. And it’s just dropped in dialogue and never touched again so the CW can weasel out of actually having a message about guns, while still having Lena use guns.

Also just the fact that she’s a billionaire. Like some of that wealth probably carried over from when Lex was CEO but in universe its been multiple years and she still is one. Billionaires aren’t like that because they Work Really Hard and find success. She’s probably exploiting her workers and has millions in off shore bank accounts.

ALSO also this doesn’t even touch on the whole “brainwash the entire planet” plotline, which, y’know.

edit: this post is not anti Lena, please don’t reblog it as such

#sorry about this essay #analysis #i dont know if this is fucking incoherent or what #I didnt really wanna include this because its more of a critique of the CW but the episode with the Alien Detection Device #doesnt actually say 'this is wrong and bad'#Kara comes in and says 'well i guess ur right lol sometimes there are bad aliens' and Lena says 'glad u could see it from my perspective'#which textually just fucking says 'you can out immigrants/gay people when they are deemed Bad'#which makes me want to knock the writers teeth in #okay yeehaw im done #ask me #long post

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rotationalsymmetry · 3 years

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Re: “there is nothing wrong with setting boundaries! if someone is doing something that makes you uncomfortable you have every right to ask them not to”

This is not exactly how boundaries work. (Taken literally.) if somebody is doing something to you, like touching you or making fun of you, asking them to stop (or insisting they stop) is a boundary thing. But if someone is just doing a thing — talking loudly, smoking, making out in public, whatever — that doesn’t have anything to do with you.

There’s some wiggly zone in that “I need you to not do that around me” is a boundary thing, but it’s also not a thing that creates an obligation in someone else, and if someone’s like “nah, I’m going to keep swearing actually” the way you respect your own boundaries is by getting some distance between you and them.

This is the power of the concept of boundaries! You don’t need anyone else’s permission or cooperation to have them or to act on them. They are yours.

Like…today I realized I really need my dental appointments to not be in the 11 am - 1 pm zone. “I can’t schedule a medical appointment that early” is a boundary! I’m going to call up my dentist tomorrow. But that boundary doesn’t obligate them to give me a later appointment. (They’ve been open half days during the pandemic.) So I might have to get dental care somewhere else. And that’s not a violation of my boundaries, that’s just me needing something they might not be able to give me. The “boundaries” concept tends to work best when people can just … not associate with each other, if working around one person’s boundaries just really doesn’t work for another person. Which happens sometimes. Like maybe one person is “I’m allergic to dogs and I can’t be around them” and another is “I need my service dog” — sometimes there’s just no way for people to happily coexist in the same space, literally or metaphorically.

Or, y’know, “I need monogamy”/“I can’t be in a monogamous relationship” — some people can’t be in relationships with each other and that’s ok.

If you personally can’t tolerate the word “queer”, I’m sorry, and there’s nothing wrong with you, but some blogs, mine included, aren’t going to be a good place for you. Sometimes “we shouldn’t be following each other” isn’t a moral judgment, it’s just incompatibility.

Granted, it’s generally ok to request things of people, whether it’s a boundaries thing or not. It’s just, sometimes people say “ask” when they actually mean “demand, but politely, using the word please and everything.” There’s actually a really big difference between “I’d like you to not take the Lord’s name in vain around me” (that really should be a request) and “don’t touch my hair”, which doesn’t have to be a request thing that the other person can, y’know, just say no to no harm no foul.

#commenting on without reblogging #boundaries #interpersonal skills #requests

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meso-mijali · 4 years

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Queer Reading Challenge for Pride

My GF sent me a Queer Book Challenge that was supposed to be updated daily with a list of queer books you’d read, but I’m not about things that require daily maintenance so I’m posting them all at once in a spiffy (and a crime against graphic design) grid with more info about each under the cut.

The first queer book I’d ever read was a book called Ash, by Malinda Lo; it’s a retelling of Cinderella, but, y’know, queer. I don’t remember much about the book, as I’d read it nearly a decade ago now, but I do remember sitting, curled up in the Aisle at the Borders Books my mom worked at, hiding it between the pages of a graphic novel while devouring it between glancing around to check for people noticing what I’m reading and drinking the Chai Latte I’d get from the cafe. It was the first queer novel I’d ever read (though I’d read some manga before that, which I’ll cover later) and I hadn’t realized you could…. Just write stuff that was gay. And have it exist in the world, and have it be available for people to buy. It was revolutionary! It took almost a decade for me to get to reading queer lit with any regularity (thanks eBooks!) but I’ll never forget that moment of panic and exhilaration as I picked up that book and inhaled it.

A book that feels like home is The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern- This book is so beautifully written, the prose is just absolutely gorgeous and it really captures the feelings of nostalgia and restlessness and yearning (both for love and change) that so many people struggle with. When I opened the book, I was sucked in from the very first page,

“Once, very long ago…

There is a pirate in the basement.

(The pirate is a metaphor but also still a person.)

(The basement could rightly be considered a dungeon.)

The pirate was placed here for numerous acts of a piratey nature considered criminal enough for punishment by those non-pirates who decide such things.

Someone said to throw away the key, but the key rests on a tarnished ring on a hook that hangs on the wall nearby.

(Close enough to see from behind the bars. Freedom kept in sight but out of reach, left as a reminder to the prisoner. No one remembers that now on the key side of the bars. The careful psychological design forgotten, distilled into habit and convenience.)

(The pirate realizes this but withholds comment.)

The guard sits in a chair by the door and reads crime serials on faded paper, wishing he were an idealized, fictional version of himself. Wondering if the difference between pirates and thieves is a matter of boats and hats.”

Please read this book, it’s got a Black, queer, male lead and it’s so beautifully written, I was up until nearly 2 in the morning to finish it, because I couldn’t sleep until I Knew What Happened.

A book on my TBR for too long is The Song Of Achilles by Madeline Miller- I don’t have anything to say about this book, because I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard good things and I KNOW I’ll cry, which isn’t particularly hard to do, but STILL. MAYBE THIS TIME ACHILLES WILL BE OKAY

A book with a name or number in the title is Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell. This book was cute, a well written and illustrated graphic novel about growing up and apart and finding yourself. It handles toxic relationships, both romantically and platonically, and I’d highly recommend giving it a go.

A book where the protag has a fun job was difficult because I don’t read a lot of books where people have “”jobs”” per se (and the ones I do aren’t usually fun) but Mask Of Shadows by Linsey Miller comes the closest. Sal sure is having a bit too much fun with the whole ‘murder’ thing, and honestly? They’re so valid. NB protag, female love interest, genuinely a good read.

My favorite queer graphic novel would hands down be Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. It’s extremely cute, about two queer boys in the UK. Handles depression and other mental health topics, and it’s just a really soft, cute story. It’s available online as a webcomic, and the first two volumes are out in print!

A queer book I’ve often reread is Daughter of the Sun by Effie Calvin- I’ve mentioned this one (and The Starless Sea) before, but I still really enjoyed this and have read it a few times now. This is technically book 2 in a series, but it can be a standalone if you’re interested in jumping right in. The world building in book 1 sets a few things up for you, but not overly needed.

A queer book with a happy ending is absolutely Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. This is book two in the Six Of Crows series, and god it was so good. I need to reread these books For Sure. Can’t recommend this series enough!

A queer book over 100pgs is Perfect Rhythm by Jae. It was alright- not my favorite book, but it’s about an allosexual popstar who falls in love with an asexual nurse, and it was the first time I’d found a mass market quality book with an ace character so I was Thrilled. It was candy to read, and I’m glad I did. If you’re interested in some fluff, go for it :D

My Favorite Queer Genre Novel is Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Listen. L i s t e n . This book. This fucking book. I’ve read it twice now, and. I’m going insane over this book. I think about this book constantly. I’m basically in the default state of ‘cry to my gf about Gideon’. I’ve coerced her into drawing for it, and she’s never read the book. This book got ‘favorite genre novel’ because it has Literally All The Genres. Is it scifi? Fantasy? Horror? Comedy? Yes. The answer is yes. Book two comes out soon and I’m going to be a wreck. Read this book, I’m Begging.

Queer book you love in a genre you don’t read is The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake. This book was outstanding- I didn’t have high hopes, because I don’t normally read books that take place in modern day, but this was very well done. Mental health issues between two siblings, and how each crash and burn in their own, unique way, and how they slowly pull themselves, their relationship and their family back together. It also handles how sometimes, people fuck up without meaning to really well, and I loved this book a lot.

A queer book with a strong sense of place would absolutely be Criers War by Nina Varela. This book knows exactly where it takes place, and it did a LOT of world building and lore to set it up. It was a nice read, and I desperately wanted the second book when I got to the last page.

A queer book that made me think was Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan, but it was a really close call between that and Marrow Thieves (but Marrow Thieves ended up getting a different slot). This book handles subjugation, prejudice, bigotry and imperialism. It discusses how people of a lower caste are kept down, and it inspires you to act, to rise up and fight back. It was well written, but violent with a lot of sex (they are forced into prostituion for the Emperor). If you want a piece of dark, well written, inspiring fiction, I’d recommend picking it up.

A queer book that made me cry was The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline because OH MY GOD. Oh my god. This book should be required reading. This book was so good that everyone in the world should have to read it. This book was fantastic. This book made me cry like an actual child. This book ripped my heart out, then put it back together at the very end. This book. Read this book. Just read it.

A queer book that made me LOL was My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame. This is a queer manga that’s about a Japanese man and his daughter meeting his deceased twin brother’s Canadian husband. It was extremely well written, very heartwarming and had some really funny moments.

A queer book that’s personal to me would be The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky, by Mackenzi Lee. This book (novella) handles Monty’s struggles after the first book (The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue). This book hit some things I’ve personally struggled with (Though less so now, thanks to some very patient people) but the lines

I look down at his hand and laugh without quite knowing why. “You deserve some sort of reward for putting up with me.”

“You’re my reward.”

“Shit reward I am.”

“Why do you think everyone needs some sort of recompense for being around you?” he says, his voice so gentle I almost start to cry

Fucking KILLED me. Monty. Monty, please. You can’t read this one without reading the first, but that’s no hardship as it’s Fantastic.

A Favorite Queer Spin Off or Sequel would be Fire by Kristen Cashore. This is t e c h n i c a l l y a prequel to Graceling, but was written second and if you read this first you ruin a surprise for that so it counts. This is one of my go-to rereads. I’ve read this book probably close to a dozen times. Actually, the whole series is great (but Fire is my favorite of the three).

Favorite Queer Book by a Queer Author is Ruin of Stars by Linsey Miller. It’s the sequel to Mask of Shadows, which is also on this list, so go read that then go read this! What’re you waiting for??? Chop chop!

A queer book that changed my life would be Maria-sama Ga Miteru, a manga I’d read in high school that was the first time I’d ever read anything queer in my entire life, usually read at school in the computer lab so it wouldn’t go on the history at home. I was unreasonably attached to this series, and I won’t reread or watch it now because I’m sure it hasn’t aged well and I want to remember it how it was. Finding any media about people like me was so startling, it really helped solidify my identity in my head.

Favorite queer book series oh look it’s book 2 out of 2.5 books in the Gentleman’s Guide series. An excuse for more from this series! This one is The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, which I consumed in one single four-hour sitting. This book is wonderful, and while you really should read the first book, you could theoretically read this as a stand alone, though you will be missing some critical backstory and character growth. I love Felicity and, really, all the characters in this book(series). Felicity is Aro/Ace, and her QPP is Bi and a WOC. I don’t remember if it’s explicitly stated (I kind of doubt it though, because we are dealing with the 1700’s) but Felicity is also heavily implied to be Autistic. Extremely good characters, with wonderful writing and plot. Please read this.

Queer book I recommend a lot would hands down be Belle Revolte. Revolution! Fantasy! Magic! Science! Multiple shades of queer! Also by Linsey Miller because everything she writes is fantastic.

A queer book that made me take action was Define Normal by Julie Ann Peters, though I’m taking liberties with this one. She tends to write a lot of queer stuff, but this book wasn’t explictitly stated to be so (I certainly read it as such, back in like 9th grade). This book is about a model student who lives in an extremely abusive home while taking care of her siblings, and the rich punk girl she befriends. It’s great, and cathartic and I loved it a lot.

A queer book by a dead author would be Monsterous Regiment by Terry Prachett, though I’ve taken some liberties here as well. Sort of. Lots of genderfluidity going on here. Also just a fantastic read, I’d recommend it to anyone.

A queer book I wish I’d read when I was younger is The Prince and the Dressmaker- This book absolutely didn’t exist when I was young, but I wish it had. If there had been more books like this when I was a kid, maybe I’d have been less agonized about not feeling properly “female”. It’s very cute, drawn very well and is HIGHLY recommended by basically everyone who reads it (and I heard it may be getting a movie????!)

A Queer book in a historical setting is Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce- Word of God is that she’s Ace which is [chefs kiss]. Also, rough and tumble tomboy knight who fights with Honor and for those weaker than her??? Yes please???? The whole series is great (this is the fourth book) so have at it!

Queer Superhero Book/Comic DC Bombshells! Please read this, it’s an alt-history of WWII where all the male heroes went to/died in the war and the female heroes kick nazi ass at home and abroad. It’s Fantastic and SO queer.

Favorite Queer Children’s Picture Book it’s not a picture book, but Hazel’s Theory of Evolution is a fantastic read- it’s roughly middle school level and follows Hazel and her two moms and older brother as she navigates starting a new school without her friends and how she grows into a new group and routine while her moms attempt to have another baby. Hazel is written very well, and very realistically. She, like Felicity, it also coded as Autistic and possibly aro/ace (it’s touched on, but because she’s young still it was left open to interpretation).

Queer book that made me feel uncomfortable this was a tough one- the closest I could come was with Once and Future- the book didn’t have any unsettling subject matter, but it wasn’t my personal cup of tea (though YMMV). It read a bit…. Disjointed and chaotic. The plot jumped a bit too much for me- and I went in really wanting to like it! It’s about a genderbend King Arthur and a Reverse Aging Merlin and there’s spaceships and Excalibur and Morgana and…. Look, it’s WILD, if you think you’d like it give it a go!

Queer book that made you want to fall in love I am (and was already) very much in love with my girlfriend, but this book made me feel very strongly about a lot of things- I’ve already touched on the fact that I feel I share a lot of traits (though certainly not all!) with Monty, and this book gave me a… really good sense of hope, I guess is the best way to describe it. Because despite everything he thinks, Monty is still deserving of love, y’know? He still deserves good, soft, kind things. I sometimes still struggle with that, so it was affirming, is all I’m getting at ^^; it made me Hope.

Book with your favorite ending this was a TOUGH one- Starless Sea had a FANTASTIC ending, but this book… god. The world building, the characters, the Long Distance Relationship (me? Being Indulgent? In my reading list? More likely than you’d think). I cried, from like. Happiness, which is rare for me (I cry like a baby when I’m sad, sorry everyone I know IRL) It’s a LONG book, and it starts SLOW but I recommend it highly.

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oswinpond · 4 years

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Even after the new film, which certainly popularized Amy/Laurie in a way I’ve never seen before, I keep hearing a lot of the same old arguments: “Laurie never stopped loving Jo”, “Laurie didn’t really love Amy”, “Amy was a second choice/consolation prize”, “Jo should’ve been with Laurie” etc. And a lot of these people claim this is book canon. As I’ve just reread the book, I’ve got a lot of thoughts on all of this...

(Note: This is all purely based on book canon.)

In the book, after Amy harshly scolds Laurie, he decides to go back to London and work for his grandfather to better himself. At first, he thinks he’s doing it for two reasons: Amy despises him and that hurts him, but also the idea that if he does something “splendid” Jo may love him (or at least respect him, as Amy put it).

So Laurie decides to write a requiem for Jo “which should harrow up Jo’s soul and melt the heart of every hearer”. But he can’t come up with anything because he keeps humming the dance music reminiscent of the Christmas ball in Nice which he spent devoting himself to Amy all evening. So then he tries to compose an opera with Jo as his heroine, but it doesn’t work. “He wanted Jo for his heroine, and called upon his memory to supply him with tender recollections and romantic visions of his love. But memory turned traitor; and, as if possessed by the perverse spirit of the girl, would only recall Jo’s oddities, faults, and freaks, would only show her in the most unsentimental aspects.”

Jo no longer fits as his heroine, no matter how hard he tries. So he gives up on that, and his imagination promptly comes up with another heroine for him without even trying:

“This phantom wore many faces, but it always had golden hair, was enveloped in a diaphanous cloud, and floated airily before his mind’s eye in a pleasing chaos of roses, peacocks, white ponies, and blue ribbons. He did not give the complacent wraith any name, but he took her for his heroine and grew quite fond of her, as well he might, for he gifted her with every gift and grace under the sun, and escorted her, unscathed, through trials which would have annihilated any mortal woman.”

While Laurie doesn’t realize it, the woman he’s imagining is Amy. Amy with the blue ribbons in her golden hair, who put roses in his buttonhole, who he watched feed the peacocks in Paris, and who he first saw again in a carriage drawn by ponies. It’s also a little prophetic, as he does escort the real Amy through future trials. (Bonus: at the same time, Amy spends her time sketching some faceless man who clearly resembles Laurie, but she doesn’t realize it either.)

Contrary to what some in the fandom would claim, Laurie isn’t at all forcing himself to love Amy just so that he can be part of the March family. He doesn’t even realize that she’s become the “heroine” in his story, that she’s the woman he’s fantasizing about. He thinks he’s doing this to improve himself for Jo, but it’s Amy that’s inspiring him.

And then Laurie realizes that his feelings for Jo are disappearing:

“Laurie thought that the task of forgetting his love for Jo would absorb all his powers for years, but to his great surprise he discovered it grew easier every day. He refused to believe it at first, got angry with himself, and couldn’t understand it [...] Laurie’s heart wouldn’t ache; the wound persisted in healing with a rapidity that astonished him, and instead of trying to forget, he found himself trying to remember. He had not foreseen this turn of affairs, and was not prepared for it. He was disgusted with himself, surprised at his own fickleness, and full of a queer mixture of disappointment and relief that he could recover from such a tremendous blow so soon. He carefully stirred up the embers of his lost love, but they refused to burn into a blaze: there was only a comfortable glow that warmed and did him good without putting him into a fever, and he was reluctantly obliged to confess that the boyish passion was slowly subsiding into a more tranquil sentiment, very tender, a little sad and resentful still, but that was sure to pass away in time, leaving a brotherly affection which would last unbroken to the end.”

This passage alone pretty much puts to rest the idea that Laurie never got over Jo. He actually got over her so easily and quickly that he felt disgusted with himself, thinking this made him fickle. His romantic feelings are gone, and soon will leave only a “brotherly affection” when the last of the hurt is gone as well. Maybe he got over her so easily because he simply mistook his strong bond with her for romance, or maybe it was just a rash and immature first love that was never going to last long anyways, or whatever else... point being, he got over her.

And Laurie was actually trying, and failing, to rekindle any love for Jo (unlike his unconscious growing feelings for Amy, which he wasn’t pushing for at all). As a last ditch attempt to revive that love, he writes to Jo asking if she was sure about her refusal, and when she responds that she absolutely could never love him that way, he accepts it without sadness or complaint this time. He’s already over her, so there’s nothing to be heartbroken over. That was his closure. He takes off the ring she gave him and locks it away with her letters, and that’s that.

And that’s when he’s ready to open his heart to Amy. He starts corresponding with her so often their letters are flying back and forth constantly. He wants to go back to her, but he doesn’t want to until she asks; she finally does after she hears about Beth’s passing, and Laurie immediately drops everything to go to her “with a heart full of joy and sorrow, hope and suspense” (and this is after he knows she’s turned down Fred, so we know what he’s hoping for now). Amy is his first priority after Beth dies, even though Beth was dearest to Jo. Laurie meets Amy in Switzerland and, without saying anything, they both know their relationship has changed.

They spend weeks doing everything together and spend all their time out at the lake. Despite the sad tidings, they wind up being their happiest together in Vevey. They both know that they’re in love with each other without even having to say it (they really seem to develop an unspoken communication at this point). And while Laurie knows that she’ll say “yes” to his proposal, he’s still nervous so he puts it off to enjoy his time with Amy in Switzerland. He imagines proposing to her in the chateau garden at moonlight, but instead blurts it out while they’re on a lake in the middle of the day:

Feeling that she had not mended matters much, Amy took the offered third of a seat, shook her hair over her face, and accepted an oar. She rowed as well as she did many other things; and, though she used both hands, and Laurie but one, the oars kept time, and the boat went smoothly through the water. “How well we pull together, don’t we?” said Amy, who objected to silence just then. “So well that I wish we might always pull in the same boat. Will you, Amy?” very tenderly. “Yes, Laurie,” very low. Then they both stopped rowing, and unconsciously added a pretty little tableau of human love and happiness to the dissolving views reflected in the lake.

And there’s so much to say about this little scene. While he had to beg and argue with Jo just to finally accept her firm “no”, he just has to ask a simple question with Amy and he gets his simple answer because they’re on the same page. The rather blunt metaphor of rowing well together, even when he uses one hand and she uses two, is all about how despite their differences they work. They keep time. And it calls back to Jo’s talk with Marmee where they both agree that Jo and Laurie never would’ve worked, in part because their similarities would clash horribly in a romantic relationship (but mainly because , y’know, Jo never once felt a single shred of romantic love for Laurie).

Now, I can understand where people come from thinking Laurie was “replacing” Jo with Amy with lines like "Laurie decided that Amy was the only woman in the world who could fill Jo’s place and make him happy”. I get how this can be interpreted as Amy filling in for what was meant to be Jo’s place in his heart. But it makes a lot more sense in the context of Laurie’s speech to Jo towards the end when he explains his feelings:

“I never shall stop loving you; but the love is altered, and I have learned to see that it is better as it is. Amy and you changed places in my heart, that’s all. I think it was meant to be so, and would have come about naturally, if I had waited, as you tried to make me; but I never could be patient, and so I got a heartache. I was a boy then, headstrong and violent; and it took a hard lesson to show me my mistake. For it was one, Jo, as you said, and I found it out, after making a fool of myself. Upon my word, I was so tumbled up in my mind, at one time, that I didn’t know which I loved best, you or Amy, and tried to love you both alike; but I couldn’t. And when I saw her in Switzerland, everything seemed to clear up all at once. You both got into your right places.”

Laurie didn’t settle for Amy. Amy took Jo’s place in the sense that they swapped places in how he saw them, from romantic to platonic for Jo and vice versa for Amy. And those wound up being their “right” places. He believes he was always meant to fall in love with Amy and see Jo as his sister, and that he would’ve gotten to this point naturally even if things had played out differently.

I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of how the 2019 film portrayed Jo in this situation, because in the book she was absolutely thrilled for Laurie and Amy, and is happily surprised when Marmee tells her she’d been hoping for them to fall in love. But in the film, they take her sadness over her loneliness too far IMO, and make it seem like she was actually bitter over Amy and Laurie being together, which unfortunately fuelled the “Amy stole Laurie from Jo” crowd a bit. And after her conversation with Marmee where she admits that she only wants Laurie because she longs to be loved, and Marmee points that “that isn’t the same as loving”, this makes movie!Jo seem “silly and selfish” as book!Jo puts it (because in the book, that was only a “what if” she entertained and never wrote any letter).

Anyways, to conclude on all of this, when Amy and Laurie are married at and home, we get the thoughts of other characters on their relationship, and the unanimous opinion is that they’re completely in love and happy with each other. Jo herself insists that their happiness will for sure last, and notes how proud Laurie seems to be to call Amy his wife. Laurie, meanwhile, can’t stop talking about Amy through to the end (and Amy is clearly just as smitten). I dare you to read the last half of Part 2 and not find Amy and Laurie adorable together.

And to hammer that last nail in the coffin on Jo/Laurie as a romance, we get Laurie meeting Professor Bhaer. It’s specifically noted that while Laurie is suspicious of Bhaer and notices his interest in Jo, it was “not of jealousy” but a “brotherly circumspection”. Amy even asks him if he’s at all jealous and Laurie tells her “I assure you I can dance at Jo’s wedding with a heart as light as my heels. Do you doubt it, my darling?” and it says that Amy’s “last little jealous fear vanished forever”. Laurie actually winds up happily supporting Bhaer once he sees he’s a great guy for his sister Jo, and suggests to Amy that they should try to help them out as a couple.

So no, Jo never loved Laurie romantically, Laurie absolutely did get over Jo, Laurie and Amy are so happy together it’s almost obnoxious, Jo is pro-Amy/Laurie and Laurie is pro-Jo/Bhaer, and Amy wasn’t a second choice, she was Laurie’s “meant to be” by his own words.

#amy x laurie #laurie x amy #amy march #laurie laurence #little women #this wound up way longer than i intended #oops #so i added a read more #anyways all this to say that laurie and amy are OTP and laurie and jo are brotp #and jo and amy are my favourite sisters and their relationship is amazing

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adamarks · 5 years

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If one more person says simon snow should lose his wings i’m gonna lose my goddamn mind: a meta

Alright you guys, I’ve had ENOUGH. Simon cannot lose his wings unless you want him to break up with Baz, and this is why.

Let’s start with Baz.

This analysis is obviously Simon-based, and yes i’ll get there, but first we need to look at the biggest key we’ve been given to what Simon’s wings could possibly mean subtextually and metaphorically for the story at large. That key is: Baz’s vampirism.

Baz being a vampire is constantly compared to/mentioned in tandem with his queerness in Carry On. In his first chapters, what are the three most important traits that we learn about him?

he’s a drama queen

he’s a vampire

he’s hopelessly in love with simon snow

If you boil his character down until he’s basically just a stick figure, that’s what he is: an over dramatic vampire in love with Simon Snow.

We’ve all read the books, we all know this, and we all know he’s much more than that. What of it?

What’s important is that Baz’s vampirism is treated almost the exact same as his homosexuality.

Hiding it from everyone, being ashamed of it, knowing what you are but being terrified of it. His dad being “definitely more disappointed in my queerness than my undeadness.”

I mean, holy shit, let’s look at this bit in Carry on from Chapter 51:

“I think if I got married, to a girl from a good family, my father wouldn’t even care that I’m queer. “

This scene really hits, because how many times have you wondered “What if I was straight? Maybe this thing wouldn’t be as bad?” “What if i was just a straight poc?” “What if I was only gay and not trans?” “What if I was only disabled and not gay on top of it?” What if, what if, what if. Would my life be easier? you wonder. Would I get hurt less? Would people treat me better?

If Carry On is about self-realization, then Wayward Son is about the struggle of self-acceptance.

Baz going to Las Vegas and meeting Lamb probably seemed familiar for some of you people that are LGBT+. It’s how you feel when you’re from a small town and you go to a big city like New York or Orlando or LA for the first time and you see gay people all around you. Flamboyantly gay! Gay people holding hands! Gay people kissing! Trans people that don’t fit the gender norms! Older trans ladies just walking down the street!

It’s exciting, it’s exhilarating. Your baby-gay brain is so confused because no one’s giving them dirty looks. They don’t look nervous or ashamed. Is this allowed?

The party in the penthouse is glamorous and beautiful and alluring and none of the humans there are scared or look like they’re in real danger. It’s because they aren’t. None of those vampires are there to kill people.

This is where Baz’s fear of his own nature comes in. Let’s hear it for all you homosexuals in the crowd that are/have been terrified of being predatory. Of turning the gender you’ve been told all of your life you’re not supposed to want into pieces of meat. You feel ashamed for wanting physical intimacy. You feel wrong for wanting emotional intimacy.

Lamb is the older gay that you meet/learn about/watch on youtube or whatever that makes you learn that no, you’re not inherently evil. Lamb is the queer history, the queer movies, the queer people that you discover that make you learn that “no, i’m not bad. I’m not broken. I’m beautiful. I’m beautiful.”

Baz thinking the sight of Lamb drinking that guy’s blood being alluring and beautiful is crucial to his arc. Baz needs to see that all of him is beautiful.

So homosexuality = Baz being a vampire? How in the flying fuck does this have anything to do with Simon?

Remember, Baz is our key. His struggles have been happening since book one. Simon just gained his “creature” status at the end of Carry On. He’s new to this. Which means we’re new to the subtext. Which means: let’s dive on into the next big point.

Our Big Bisexual Boy

Whatever label you choose to use for Simon is up to you. As long as we all agree he likes more than one gender then it’s whatevs. I’m going to be using the word bisexual for this meta, though.

We’re all well aware that Simon is Struggling with his bisexuality in this book.

“I still haven’t sorted out whether I’m still attracted to women or whether I ever was, or whether I’m some kind of Baz-only-sexual. But the cleavage at this place is abundant, and I’m not mad about it.”

(taken from chapter 21)

Like....... y’know. We know. It’s... we get it.

The important part of that quote is that it’s at the Ren Faire. The Ren Faire is the first time Simon’s had his wings out in public since god-knows-when, if ever. This is also the first time he really considers kissing Baz in the book. Kissing Baz in Public.

Any of you that have been to Pride probably got a little bit of the warm fuzzies during this scene. The faire brought back such deep memories of my first pride it was a little bit emotional. I talked to random people, people ran around in rainbow outfits. There was body paint! Stupid hats! Weird dye jobs! The classic pride-flag-as-a-cape look! I talked to so many people and

“Everyone here is so friendly.”

(also taken from chapter 21)

Everyone was so nice to me.

Baz feels right at home; Simon is all smiles. The only one not having a blast is Penny and she’s (I’m sorry, Penny) the token straight friend in these books.

I don’t know how Rainbow did it, but she made me relive my first pride through Simon, and I’ll never not be grateful for that.

“Today I’m someone else entirely. Today I’m just a bloke with fake red wings.”

The Pride/Ren Faire parallels were pretty obvious, but I wanna get a little further into the whole “wings = being bisexual” thing.

We’ve established with Baz that being a magical creature or whatnot is Gay, but while Baz is fully magical, Simon’s “half-normal.” Kind of. It’s a weird situation there but half-normal works for the argument.

“’Smells like dragon... but also smells like iron. Another abomination!’”

(chapter 35)

Now the word “abomination” is really fucking unfortunate in this context, but biphobia exists so idk man. I’m gonna start talking in gay/straight terms and I absolutely know bisexuality isn’t half-gay half-straight but we’re talking in metaphors and i’ll tie it together at the end so just stick with me, okay?

He’s part dragon, part Normal (kind of). Simon’s not like Baz where he’s absolutely, 100% a vampire. He has traits of dragons and humans. This is why it’s so bad that he hates his wings half the time. They are part of him. They may not be “normal” and he may have to hide them, but he can’t just cut off the gay part. Our queerness doesn’t define us, but it’s a defining feature.

Penny says she wouldn’t be her if she wasn’t a mage. Simon wouldn’t be Simon if he wasn’t bi.

The mistake Simon and almost everyone else makes during this book is that they think of his wings as these separate entities. There is no gay part and straight part of Simon Snow. All of him is Simon. From the tips of his toes to the tops of his wings, all of him is Simon. He might’ve discovered this part of himself during a tragic point in his life, but that doesn’t mean it has to be something bad. It doesn’t have to be something tainted.

Sometimes you discover things about yourself during the hardest moments of your life. When you’re already down in the dirt, beaten and bruised, sometimes a mirror is put in front of you and you realize something. You realize you’re trans. You realize you’re gay. And sometimes you resent those realizations because they came to you at the worst possible time. “This is just one more thing on my plate,” you think.

This series is about reclaiming the things that where taken from you by the ones that hurt you.

Simon’s going to have to learn to love his wings, because even though they remind him of something that hurts-- hurts more than anything-- they’re part of him. They are him, as much as the rest of his body is. Simon’s going to have to forgive himself, and learn to love himself for all that he is.

Because all that he is is beautiful.

We all know it; it’s time for him to understand that.

All right, bitches. Let’s get to the bit we all REALLY care about. this is the one that really fucks me up my dudes. Because it’s Brutal. But anyways here we go.

His wings are the Big Baz Love

What are the two things that Simon’s considering cutting off in this book?

“That’s what I’m going to say when I break up with Baz.”

“Dr. Wellbelove said he could remove the wings. And the tail. Whenever I’m ready.”

(Chapter 2, Epilogue)

Yikes!

My guys..... Simon and Baz don’t kiss unless Simon’s wings are out.

I truly do not understand how some of you are out here saying Simon’s gonna lose his wings I really don’t. It’s stressful. I’m stressed. Ms. Rainbow Rowell, you have me stressed.

His Wings! Are! His Love!

On Love’s Light Wings!

Goatman dances his nasty little fingers all over the bridge that is Baz’s ass? Wings out, uses his tail to help kill the guy. Lamb is hitting on Baz too much?

“’Spell my wings off.’”

(Chapter 45)

In the airport, when a lady is giving them the “don’t be gay” stink eye he immediately checks to make sure his tail is hidden.

Baz can’t spell his wings off, guys.

Baz can’t spell his wings away.

“’Snow needs you to cast your angel spell on him. I hid his wings for breakfast, but they’re still there.’“

(Chapter 19)

In Chapter 41, the biggest kiss scene we get, Simon wraps his wings around Baz to hold him. He’s embracing him in his love guys. Guys.

Have you people noticed how i’m suddenly less articulate? It’s because i’m in crisis. Set me on fire I wouldn’t notice. I’ve been living with this terrible knowledge.

The first scene we finally see them kiss is after the scene at the Ren Faire when Simon’s wings are finally out and he finally got to fly.

“Simon catches up with me and traps me against the car. He’s kissing me before I see it coming.”

Simon is so dtf in this scene Penny throws a water bottle at them, and it hits him in the wing.

“’So hot,’ Simon Says. ‘Got to see you fight without picking a fight with you myself.’

Bunce throws a plastic bottle over my shoulder, and it smacks Simon in the wing.”

(Chapter 22)

She had to smack him right in the love for him to calm down, my dudes, my guys. Do you realize how hard it was for me to annotate this goddamn book with this knowledge? Every. Single. Time. Simon stretches a wing or flaps them around it’s about Baz. It gets to the point where you have to put the book down or you’re gonna explode.

Simon’s wings are always out around Lamb. He’s jealous as hell and he hates that motherfucker’s guts. The only real injuries Simon sustains in this book are to his wings and they’re almost always when Baz gets hurt too.

When did Simon get his wings? Only a day after he first kissed Baz.

Simon’s love for Baz is so big and so obnoxious he can’t hide it. His wings and tail have spikes, because that’s all Simon knows. He’s rough around the edges, he’s been hurt, he’s been used.

He’s never been in love before.

His love is spiky; it’s loud. It’s hotrod red and you can’t miss it when it’s out. Baz can’t see it, because Simon’s tucked it away. He hasn’t flown with it. He hasn’t wrapped it around Baz in so long. He doesn’t know how to handle a love this big, where to put it, when to unfurl it.

Simon gets jealous. He gets scared. He’s insecure. He wants so dearly to finally give to someone instead of feeling like he’s just giving in. Like he’s still just taking from Baz.

What do you do with wings?

How do you find somewhere safe to fly?

The Resolution.

I said earlier that if Carry On is a story of self-discovery, Wayward Son is a story of self-acceptance.

Simon has to love himself, and learn that his love for Baz is a good thing. As he accepts himself (and his dragon powers evolve go read my dragon simon meta it’s good.) he’s going to start to shine.

This is a story being told to us with nothing but love. This is a story about a boy that’s his own worst enemy-- as all of us often are. It’s so scary to accept our wings. It’s so scary to accept our fangs. Especially when they’ve come out of such a hideous occurrence.

We need to accept these dark times and acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, we were made more beautiful because of them. Maybe the light we give after we’ve been in darkness is more vibrant, because we know how scary the dark is. The things that happened to us were horrible, and hideous, and terrifying, but we aren’t. We’re different from how we were before, but we’re still beautiful.

Simon Snow is going to accept himself.

Simon Snow is going to accept his past.

Simon Snow is going to finally, finally tell Baz he loves him.

And for the first time, Simon Snow is going to see that he’s beautiful.

If you’ve liked this meta you should also check out this one where i explain how they’re finally gonna get their relationship together. Also the one about the scarf

Special thank you to @singerofsimplesongs for listening to me howl and screech about this damn thing.

Tagging some people that might be interested!

@neck-mole @watfordwallflower @carrybits @theflyingpeach @fight-surrender @shitty-posty-times @wisest-girl @slaying-fictional-dragons @gucciglitzy

#carry on #wayward son #any way the wind blows #rainbow rowell #simon snow #snowbaz #baz pitch #Penelope Bunce #tyrannus basilton grimm pitch #tyrannus basilton pitch #wayward son spoilers #meta #wayward son meta #carry on meta #this will end in flames #agatha wellbelove

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