#for killing the subtextually gay internalized homophobia character

[o-wild-west-wind]

tumblr algorithm stop feeding me takes that this show is just a silly goofy comedy that shouldn’t include death or that Izzy is the token disabled elder queer on the show where an actual disabled elder queer is literally the romantic lead or that Lucius and Pete being called “mateys” is diluting their gayness because it’s not “husbands” or that it’s sexist that Zheng lost her fleet and later prioritized her love for a man or that Ed is Izzy’s abuser because we conveniently forgot all of season 1 or that trauma is never followed through with because sometimes actions are used instead of words or that Ed learned nothing because the inn was apparently a whim as if he hasn’t been obsessing over retirement from day 1 I swear did we even watch the same show?? I literally feel like I’m in backwards land?

I have a really novel concept for y’all complaining about character’s arcs not being fully resolved or healed and that’s called there is supposed to be another season of this show

I also have another really novel concept as to why every single character did not have a one on one trauma apology session and so much time was spent on Ed and Stede and that is because this is literally the Ed and Stede show and also sometimes parallels are meant to be inferred and extrapolated because that is what efficient storytelling does instead of spoonfeeding you

And my most novel concept of all as to why some beloved characters had less screen time is because Max is a massive jerk and cut the budget

Y’all this wasn’t personal and maybe this show was never about Izzy maybe the show called our flag means death is actually about death maybe sad does not equal homophobic letdown maybe the brown gay character introduced as the love interest from day 1 gets to outlive the angry white guy that had a redemption arc after actively bullying and trying to break up every gay couple for a season I don’t know what to tell you just can you please let non-white people have this arc for once without assuming it’s an attack on you I’m BEGGING y’all

#I’m sorry for overusing y’all I grew up country lmao #anyway. critical thinking when #I didn’t want to make more posts about this I’m just tired and seeing people denounce the show as homophobic #for killing the subtextually gay internalized homophobia character #in favor of the canonically gay brown protagonist #makes me feel more and more uncomfortable the more I see it #WHY do you defend him over the actual gay people esp. poc gay people like make it make sense #be sad he died I have a million posts about that but this strawmanning is getting concerning #bc what does this mean of your ability to recognize real homophobia #it’s not about you!!! and if you think his death means something about you PLEASE unpack that #I had a lovely night with friends and am not sober lol so if I seem salty that’s why I’m sorry for being a broken record #this is not anti-Izzy this is anti-baffling takes on Izzy #I’m sorry we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled kiss gif programming soon I don’t like these posts either #I just can’t resist a good hill #ofmd #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #fandom crit #our flag means death

[mcmactictac]

is reddie canon

Welcome back to should your favourite ships be canon if a coward was not writing them today we will be discussing the hot topic of Reddie. Let’s start by breaking it down.

I’m starting with Richie because he is objectively easier. That is a gay man right there and the script virtually comes out and says it. That arcade scene where he gets called the f slur, the “I know your secret” song directly after, the R+E, the fact he was one of the only losers (besides Ben) who was not in a long term relationship. I would be more interested to see how someone argues him as straight since he is so clearly gay. Now with that in mind, would he ever be out about it enough to be in a relationship with Eddie? That depends more on Eddie.

Boy oh boy is there a lot to unpack with Eddie. We can clearly establish he does not romantically love his wife, he literally married his mother because that’s the female support he’s used to. Im aware most of Eddie’s health stuff is related to his mother but we are looking for potential subtext here so. Now this might be a reach but I want you to bear with me here because I think it’s interesting anyways.

So IT takes place between 1984 and 1985. The first case of AIDS was reported in the US in 1981. As a disease known for the devastating impact it had on gay men, it was something that rightfully scared many people. This is also a time where homophobia is rampant and being gay is dangerous. Now If we want to look at Eddie’s health concerns from a subtextual level, we could draw a conclusion between his fear of getting sick and the disease that is killing so many people being something Eddie is terrified. of. And if we break it down more, being scared of getting AIDS could also easily be compared to being scared of being gay. So he’s constantly taking medication to try and protect himself, make sure he doesn’t get sick. He’s terrified of what would happen if he did and has lots of anxiety surrounding it. This is projected on to him by his mother and makes him extremely cautious of every area of his life. If we draw this comparison Eddie has some DEEPLY internalized homophobia. And when we see him stand up to his mother and realize the drugs are not going to protect him or change who he is, we can see him start to accept himself. Now if I was writing Eddie’s character and I was not a coward, I would establish that there is a clear parallel here because the timeline fits perfectly and works well for his story. If you were not a coward after Eddie stands up to his mother I would also make sure he grew closer with Richie and was more explicitly queer coded after that. He’s realizing that although his fears are understandable and valid they shouldn’t consume him and stop him from enjoying his life. There’s always that threat of getting sick, or facing violence because of your sexuality but you can’t constantly live in fear because of it. As Eddie let’s go of that health anxiety a bit, he should grow closer with Richie as he’s growing less aftraid of the idea he might be gay.

Now if we wanted to be really fun, we throw that all out the window once he leaves Derry. We see him again 27 years later and his anxiety is worse, im full swing and is only being increased by the people around him. Like his mother, his wife makes things worse and draws more attention to the idea and scares him more. And as he comes back to Derry and he starts to remember and he spends more time with Richie we watch him let go of some of that anxiety again. Similar to how Bills stutter leaves and then comes back, it’s the opposite with Eddie. He’s finally back around someone who makes him feel safe enough to drop some of that anxiety. As Eddie accepts himself more, his anxiety drops lower.

Going back to the first movie for a second here, think of the blood pact at the end. Normally something Eddie would absolutley refuse to do right? (I actually had to whip out research for this one folks) so AIDS can be transferred through infected blood. It’s why they tell you to be cautious sharing needles because they don’t know if it has an infected persons blood on it. Now at this point in the story it’s clear to the viewer Richie knows and somewhat accepts hes gay. We see him carve the R+E on the bridge, an admission of his feelings for Eddie. And I’m sure Eddie knows this too.

Now let’s talk about this specific shot because it’s everything to me

Richie and Eddie are holding hands, during a blood pact where your blood will mix together with someone else’s. It’s important to notice the emphasis on the cast here. It’s in the center of the shot and the V stands out in red, taking a negative thing and choosing to make it positive. Eddie knows Damn well what the risks are. But he chooses to hold Richies hand anyways, to risk that “infected blood” becoming part of him. He’s choosing to let go of that anxiety and choose his love for Richie instead. You could also argue the red used to make the V could be symbolic of this scene, using that love between two people to take all the negative shit people say and turn it into something beautiful. The emphasis on lover here as he holds Richies hand is so important. This is Eddie accepting himself, accepting the risks because he values the reward higher than the risk. He’s no longer going to let that fear control him.

Now do I know if any of this was done on purpose? No, of course not it’s Stephen King. But if I was not a coward, it absolutely would have been.

You thought we were done? Not yet folks we still have to examine if this would work. So because we really don’t see Eddie accept himself until the end of the first movie, we really have to guess at what happens next. We don’t see Eddie again until decades later when he’s lost most of his memories so we can’t take that Eddie into account. So we have to further break down their younger selves and keep in mind the time frame they would have had before leaving Derry.

So the kids are 11-12 within that first section. That’s really not even a point where anyone has a successful relationship ever. So you have about 6-7 years before they leave Derry. Now Eddie has just come to terms with his sexuality, it would probably still take him a while to be comfortable dating/being out to his friends. Richie will admit his feelings but he doesn’t necessarily accept them. I give them at least 3-4 more years of growth and self development before I would consider a relationship. But by that point? Yeah I’d say fair game. I think it’s very likely they dated on the down low within high school as soon as they were comfy with themselves and aware of the others sexuality. I think what you would be waiting on is for one of them to come out, before the other one admits their feelings. But given their growth and feelings already shown at 11-12 I think it’s incredibly likely that happened before they left. Obviously then they leave Derry and lose their memories and then Eddie dies so they really don’t have a chance to re explore that as adults.

If we want to make it extra angsty, Richie remembers all of it after Eddie dies. He remembers how they were in high school and he is finally aware of all he lost too late to have it back. He never got to say the things he wouldn’t as a child now that he remembers. Ouch.

In summary!

-Richie is a gay man and it’s clearly intentional and obvious

-I think Eddie’s fear of getting sick is a parallel to fear of getting aids which would represent a fear of being gay. As his health anxiety drops, he accepts himself more

-they likely need a few more years to grow more comfortable with themselves but given their chemistry and history it’s incredibly likely they dated before leaving Derry.

-By the time they regain their memories and confidence, Eddie is dead so they can never explore this as adults

Conclusion? Yes Reddie is canon. They’re both gay men who’s stories can very easily be seen as queercoded. Although they never got the chance to re explore as adults, something totally went on between them after that summer and between leaving Derry.

If you like this it’s in a series under #deathoftheauthorbirthofthemcmac and if you send in asks I’ll happily analyze any ship I’ve watched/read! I’ve got a list I’m working through but I’ll always take more :)

#oops I kinda went overboard here #deathoftheauthorbirthofthemcmac #Eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #reddie #it #it chapter one #it chapter two #reddie analysis #Richie tozier analysis #Eddie kaspbrak analysis #is reddie real #mlm ships #fav ships #it ships #it chapter one analysis #it chapter two analysis #long post

[pollaidh]

“This kiss is for all the world.” (From Mrs Hudson’s car chase theme, Ode to Joy.)

Meta on The Lying Detective with reference to Johnlock. There’s a lot of new stuff in this meta.

The Lying Detective was about 3 things: - Confession of a feelings hiding in plain sight - The depths to which Sherlock loves John (going to hell to save him and absolutely trusting that John will arrive on time) and John loves Sherlock (he will save him despite everything), - The fact we might all just be human (I.e. The common humanity in all of us, where it doesn’t matter if we are male, female or other, gay, straight or bi, or any other perceived difference. Underneath we are all the same.)

The case itself The case itself was not important in the wider arc: - Sherlock admits that the recordings from the hospital room will be inadmissible in court, hence his whole convoluted plan was about John, not about CS. - In his therapy session, John says: “Of course it’s about Sherlock. Everything’s about Sherlock.” John’s grief, and the plot of the story are about Sherlock, and him.

The episode After we get a look into Sherlock’s psyche during The Abominable Bride, this time we see inside John’s head, thanks to his personality being at war with itself, manifesting itself with arguments with an almost corporal Mary.

We see Sherlock almost kill himself to save a suicidal John, and we see John begin to see the light and save Sherlock. The scene in 221B leading up to the hug is the rawest, most genuine we’ve ever seen Sherlock, as well as John, with looks and open countenances we have not seen since the brief second after Mary’s pregnancy was announced in TSoT when all seemed lost. They are truly getting to the heart of the matter.

Confession

More specifically the theme was about making confessions that change the way people think about you, and the fact once you confess you can not turn time back, your bridges are burned. You will always be seen differently. This may sound familiar to around 10% of the population.

Confession was mentioned at least 10 times in the episode, which is significant signposting. Culverton Smith was the most obvious - he wanted to confess  in fact he can’t stop confessing at the end. He is confessing in plain sight, over and over again, on billboard, on adverts, without people realising that they should take his words literally - he’s a killer, a cereal killer.

So whatever confession we are to expect from Sherlock, who was the only one prevented from confessing, delayed presumably until Final Problem, or whatever the show and creators are about to confess, it’s been hiding in plain sight for a long long time. “The safest place to hide is in plain sight.”

Phrases, mainly used by Culverton who has a pathological need to confess to what he has done (slight paraphrasing possible due to note-taking): ‘You can’t tell a friend a secret and take it back again.’ ‘Once you’ve opened your heart, you can’t close it again.’ ‘Share something personal and if it’s important… need to confess.’ ‘Must be careful not to burn our bridges.’ CS likes to confess to the dead. ‘Confession is so very enjoyable, I should have done it sooner.’

Confessions of love, not murder

Many of these confession references, while apparently regarding murder, actually involve hearts and personal matters, which indicates the confession theme is wider than simply CS’s need to confess to murders. Sherlock makes references to burning up (fire = heart as per Moriarty), and there’s a fire in the final scene in 221B, he also references, again, falling, harking back to both Reichenbach and the fall in TAB. He’s still terrified of falling (in love).

This is an incredibly strong foreshadowing of a confession of Moftiss’ conspiracy (TJLC - which was also referenced in TST - all good conspiracies have an acronym). Whatever confession John and Sherlock make, it’s going to be personal, about the heart/love and they are going to feel a hell of a lot better once it’s out, so to speak.

Confessions of identity

John does make a ‘confession’ just before he and Sherlock hug. He confesses that he’s not what everyone thought he was. He’s different and he’s never been the man we/Mary/Sherlock thought he was. In other words he was ‘born this way’. John appears to be tangling good man/bad man, and possibly straight/queer in his head, pointing to internalised homophobia that has stopped him from being or confessing his true self. Finally Mary, in his head, gives him permission to be what he really is, and the two sides of John’s (at this point) split personality reintegrate, leaving him whole again.

We also come full circle from ASiP where Sherlock misses the fact that John’s Harry is his lesbian sister - and this time John assumes Sherlock’s sibling is his brother. Identity is important in this show. We also discover that John fancied Sherlock’s sister/twin, Eurus, and ‘wanted more’.

The confession is also going to make them ‘so famous’, as CS points out in his police interview, and when Lestrade points out that CS (the show) is already famous, he’s says it will make him so famous he breaks into America. This is one big confession coming up. It will be on everyone’s lips.

Hiding in plain sight

There’s also suggestion that, hiding in plain sight, this secret and its confession can be predicted, by analysing data across the world, every little detail, to predict what comes, just as Sherlock does. A reference to the fans and TJLC meta writers digging deep into every clue this show provides?

We also see two women, who appear to already know the truth: - Sherlock and John accept that Molly can see through Sherlock, to the truth, where John cannot, letting the ‘bullshit’ get the in the way. We’ve seen Molly read Sherlock accurately before Reichenbach, in the lab, and probably also in TSoT when she saw the Vetruvian Man with John’s head on it in Sherlock’s drinking file. - Mrs Hudson points out to Mycroft and John (who is starting to realise) that Sherlock actually is an emotional creature, perhaps referring to the ‘urges’ conversation in TAB greenhouse. Throughout Mrs H seems to be pointing out the obvious about how Sherlock needs John and John needs Sherlock.

Opening doors Sherlock admits that when under the influence of an awful lot (near fatal) amount of drugs, they ‘open certain doors in his mind’. On the surface he’s referring to the fact he seems to have come up with facts he couldn’t know (but which in reality were provided by Eurus), but subtextually he may be referring to the last time he was on a near fatal dose of drugs - in TAB - where he seemed to have some internal revelations that have not yet been fully explored in the show. One might even say, the drugs opened certain closet doors in his mind.

It is what it is It is what is is… This is repeated by John, Sherlock and Eurus (how did she know?) It is what it is can be read as a sign of acceptance that nothing can be done, and this seems to be how John and Sherlock take it, however Erich Freid’s poem from which it is translated is all about love. ‘It is what it is, says love’ is the refrain. It is what it is sounds uncommonly close to ‘I am what I am’, and common humanity.

It is nonsense says reason (Sherlock/Mycroft) It is what it is says love

It is calamity says calculation (Mycroft) It is nothing but pain says fear (Sherlock) It is hopeless says insight (Sherlock/John) It is what it is says love

It is ludicrous says pride It is foolish says caution It is impossible says experience It is what it is says love

Conspiracy?

Two conspiracies may be relevant - TJLC, as covered above, and a plot arc conspiracy.

Mycroft was linked to the yet Queen again (office portrait behind him at the end) which may refer to a seemingly inconsequential discussion about the Queen being untouchable when Sherlock is entertaining the kids at the hospital. Of course, Mycroft has been linked to the Queen once before - at Buckingham Palace, when Sherlock and John have a shared joke about him being a queen (also code for gay). Perhaps Lady Smallwood is not in luck. Or does this point to a conspiracy…

And if so, are the named representatives at Culverton Smith’s meeting table relevant? It doesn’t seem necessary to the plot that they are named, but they are: - A high ranking police officer - A member of the judiciary - Sits on the board of a prominent broadcaster (BBC?) - 2 members of CS’s team - 1 family member It could be a nod to the influence and connections of Jimmy Savile, who had friends in high places, but ‘the universe is rarely so coincidental’. I suspect this is either (1) an in-joke about those in the know of TJLC, because they must have kept it incredibly quiet or (2) related to a conspiracy arc within the series, perhaps the overarching conspiracy. People who know about Eurus? Or something even worse?

The Third (and fourth?) Holmes Sibling

Euros, Mycroft and Sherlock are siblings, and yet we are told by Sherlock how strange it is that people stop at three, finding it comforting (it’s actually a well known literary device - mention something three times). Given that Eurus is one of four sibling winds, two of which seem to relate closely to Mycroft and Sherlock’s characters (including one of them being in love with a man) it seems likely there is (or was) a fourth Holmes sibling. If so why? Some suggestions from Greek and Roman mythology that the fourth brother was a friend of thieves and highly dangerous… Moriarty after all? And it’s never twins (mentioned twice now across the series, so third time lucky in Final Problem?), but perhaps Sherlock and Eurus are twins, or Eurus and Moriarty, or Sherlock and Moriarty though the latter seems less likely.

Worrying is the clear modelling of Culverton Smith’s character on paedophile Jimmy Saville. Was CS actually erect in the murder scene? It looked like the camera caught something. The whole Jimmy Savile parallel drew uneasy laughs, but was there a deeper reason, does this link into the Holmes family secret? And why was Sherlock so vehement in his dislike and antipathy. Normally he likes clever criminals, but this one seems to make his skin crawl, even more so than blackmailer Magnusson, generally thought to be (in Canon) one of Sherlock’s most despised criminals. Is there a history of abuse in the Holmes background? Sherlock and Mycroft seem on reasonable terms with their parents, but what if some of the siblings had a different parent? Sherlock’s mother as a genius mathematician (mirroring Moriarty in Conan Doyle) seems suspicious. On the other hand I’d expect Mark Gatiss to be wary of anything that suggested homosexuality is related to sexual abuse in any way (either the abuse causes gayness idea, or the gay people are paedophiles fallacy), because this is hardly the kind of LGBT+ friendly message the BBC and Gatiss want to spread. There’s also CS’s comment that some people have urges not to, not to forget (I.e. To remember).

Saving the best until last - You millions I embrace you, this kiss is for all the world.

What is the relevance of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ in Mrs Hudson’s car chase? Sherlock rarely uses pre-existing music, the only other time as far as I’m aware are in TSoT where the music/lyrics on the stag night and wedding party is incredibly relevant. Ode to Joy is the European national anthem, so may indicate the proximity to Euros (the god for which Europe is named) or Mrs Hudson’s connection to Euros. Euros was obviously in the scene, as she was disguised as John’s therapist, but is this reference deeper than it looks?

The lyrics of Ode to Joy certainly seem to have unbelievable relevance as bolded below: References to brother, a beautiful daughter (Rosie, as John has just mentioned), references to fire. “Your magics join again what custom strictly divided” (history has divided two men in love), “all people become lovers”, friends, and most of all: “You millions I embrace you (millions of LGBT+ people), this kiss is for all the world.”

"Ode to Joy"

Joy, beautiful spark of divinity, Daughter from Elysium, We enter, drunk with fire, Heavenly One, thy sanctuary! Your magics join again What custom strictly divided;* All people become brothers,* Where your gentle wing abides.

Who has succeeded in the great attempt, To be a friend's friend, Whoever has won a lovely woman, Add his to the jubilation! Indeed, who calls at least one soul Theirs upon this world! And whoever never managed, shall steal himself Weeping away from this union.

All creatures drink of joy At nature's breast. Just and unjust Alike taste of her gift; She gave us kisses and the fruit of the vine, A tried friend to the end. [Even] the worm has been granted sensuality, And the cherub stands before God!

Gladly, as His heavenly bodies fly On their courses through the heavens, Thus, brothers, you should run your race, As a hero going to conquest.

You millions, I embrace you. This kiss is for all the world! Brothers, above the starry canopy There must dwell a loving Father. Do you fall in worship, you millions? World, do you know your creator? Seek him in the heavens; Above the stars must He dwell.

Johnlock - QED.

Other questions I’d like someone to answer… Why does Sherlock collapse on the bridge with Faith? Does the height trigger something to do with The Reichenbach Fall? Why does he flashback to his childhood? Does something Faith says or does trigger the flashback.

What is the wider relevance of HH Holmes, with his special serial killer hotel. Is he family? Are Eurus and the other descendents and this is where their madness has come from? Evidence seems to indicate that Sherlock at least has not seen (or possibly even been aware) of his sister, since early childhood.

What’s this about stabbing things to understand them, yes Sherlock has an unfortunate tendency to skewer anything he finds interesting. What about his dog? Was Redbeard sacrificed to childhood science?

Why is Mrs Hudson not a civilian?

Did Irene really send the text alert, or was this part of Sherlock’s complex plan, if he really can predict actions. Or was he expecting it (from Irene, or having sent it himself, using the same tone, which he admits doesn’t necessarily mean it’s from Irene) and his desperate attempts to make John stay were to get John to hear that text tone and show jealousy. On balance Sherlock looks way too raw and genuine in this scene, it may just be coincidence, though it’s not clear why he tried to bluster his way out of it (unless he was rapidly re-analysing his data to discover why Irene’s text would make John return).

Relevance of case mentioned, Murder at the Zoo, which may link to an old film of the same name, which was about revenge against a cheating husband, also seems to involve snakes so possibly a reference to The Speckled Band.

#tjlc #johnlock #meta #sherlock #the lying detective #john watson #bbc sherlock