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lagomoz · 5 months

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Proseka headcanons

-as rui’s childhood friend, nene has extensive fire safety knowledge

-shizuku is adopted, hence why she looks so different from shiho. she was adopted shortly before the moon rabbit event and it contributed to her clinginess

-shiho forgets this fact sometimes. she’ll casually mention something like shizuku got all mom’s good genes so unfair and ichika has to be. um. shiho

-kanade is mildly nearsighted/myopic but spends so much time at her computer she hasn’t noticed

-emu is buff. she climbs multiple stories without breaking a sweat and is canonically part of the swimming, handball and rhythmic gymnastic clubs, you can’t tell me she doesn’t have some muscle

-saki helps out as a human notepad for tsukasa, reminding of him things he would otherwise forget within 5 minutes

-the vocaloids also help. at first it was unnerving to have hatsune miku be an extension of his psyche that knows his darkest secret (stole saki’s candy when he was 6) but now his phone has a more reliable catgirl themed reminder system

-you know that classic nightmare of leaving the house without pants? tsukasa has legitimately done that as a kid. he forgor. (saki will never let him live it down)

-in the kamiyama student council/hall monitor room, an has put up at sign saying “_ days since last kamishiro incident”

-the shinonome siblings both figured out the other one was gay before they figured it out about themselves

-airi’s great at trivia from her time as a variety show star. she still can’t beat minori at idol trivia, though

-ena keeps a diary with fort knox level security. try to read it and you’ll lose a finger

-saki learned to crochet from the old ladies in the hospital

-shiho’s most treasured phenny is a somewhat lumpy crocheted phenny holding a very lumpy crocheted bass guitar

-tsukasa snores. he falls asleep in 10 seconds and sounds like a dying lawnmower

-mizuki has learned a small bit of french from their sister and uses it exclusively to teach rui and an how to swear in french

-emu still celebrates her grandfather’s birthday, even if he’s not there to celebrate with her

-ena is allergic to dogs, the middle point to airi’s cat allergy and akito’s dog phobia

-rui has various small scars from his experiments over the years, but nobody ever believes the real causes (rocket launcher, robot bite, exploding balloon animal, etc.) so he just makes up a new cause every time someone asks

-mmj! has had repeated incidents of minori and airi’s little siblings walking into frame when streaming at their houses. shiho understands the concept of a livestream but has still been caught failing at creeping past like that one new broadcast of the guy crawling along the floor

-kanade has pots & eds, this one I have a reason for look at her symptoms. chronic exhaustion, heat and cold intolerance, comorbid sleep issues and depression, dizziness when standing up, fainting after standing up, very pale skin, family history of medical issues, pain at normal physical activities, exercise intolerance, vertigo at mild exertion, she just fucking dies during the entire baseball event, I could go on. she canonically gets pain in her hands from opening a jar girl that is not just being out of shape that is physical disability. this one I will go conspiracy board on listen to me I’m right

-kohane ate bugs as a kid. an is horrified, toya is confused, akito is impressed

-ena and airi got in trouble in middle school because they’d keep starting fist fights in defense of the others honor. if they saw the other in a fight they’d jump in guns blazing no hesitation no questions ask ready to throw the fuck down

-vbs!rin and len were given a skateboard by an and then promptly had the skateboard confiscated by meiko for property destruction

-haruka is horrible with slang. she asks the stream chat what poggers means and immediately uses it completely wrong, killing all viewers on impact

-minori is torn between thinking it’s cute and wanting to die

-toya has been banned from arcades before because he made them lose too much money/they suspected he was cheating

-ena brought kanade over for girls night and nearly scared akito half to death because he went down to get a late night snack and there was some Ghastly Creature looming in his kitchen

-kohane's parents stick out like a sore thumb when going to her live shows. it mortifies her that everyone on vivid street can recognize them as the only milquetoast middle aged couple dressed in normal clothes loudly going YOU'RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE that don't know the first thing about music

-minori knows basic programming. she mostly uses it for forums, blogs, html, other web design things usually related to idols as a hobby, but she's become the groups designated anti-shizuku tech support

-mafuyu has always been able to see ghosts but after adults figured she was just playing pretend as a kid so she shrugged and figured it was normal and not worth bringing up again

-honami has one of those massive extended families and somehow keeps track of them all. at any given time cousin #57 can crawl out of the woodwork and she remembers their new job, favorite food, past three romantic relationships and list of allergic reactions

-mizuki does doll customizing as a hobby. they prefer making human sized clothes, but it's fun to make them miniature too. they've introduced shizuku to it and she loves it, but doesn't have the heart to do anything that would hurt the doll (sawing limbs off, dunking them in boiling water, shoving wires in them, etc.)

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explodo-smash · 4 months

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Are you one of the people expecting bkdk to be canon? I just learned that there are people that sincerely believe Hori would have Deku and Bkg have an explicit confession of love. That he's going to be the first popular mangaka to have a endgame gay ship. I am in so many mlm ships of shounen but I've never had the delusion that the author would make them canon despite the evidences otherwise. Like I thought it's fine to ship mlm as long as we stayed in our lane and never harassed the author.

After speaking together, we do believe based on the evidence in the series that BakuDeku being canon is not an even vaguely unreasonable conclusion to reach. We think the story is written in a way you can reach that conclusion easily, so much that even casual viewers who aren’t shippers are questioning the nature/potential conclusion of their relationship.

One of the most consistent and convincing lines of evidence for us has been Katsuki taking on roles/positions traditionally reserved for female heroines/love interests (if you’ve seen anyone call him “narratively androgynous,” this is what they’re referring to). In the context of Jump magazine, we have a number of shonen heroines and love interests to compare Katsuki to. The similarities are so striking that many notable people (including the VAs for the anime) have taken to calling him the heroine of the series.

However, we do think things like homophobia (whether it’s the writer or the audience/consumerbase at large– in this case we’re primarily referring to the audience), the safety of everyone involved, and timing are all unpredictable factors people have to take into consideration when writing/reading a story of this magnitude. Needless to say, if Horikoshi is indeed planning an endgame for bakudeku, he’d also have to take these factors into consideration.

Horikoshi has a record of being pretty in-tune with his fanbase. He definitely keeps some eye on bnha’s reception–for example, he mentioned a while back that both the people who love Katsuki and the people who hate him will have something to look forward to in this finale (we can now see what he meant lol). He’s very likely aware of the people who love bakudeku and the people who loathe it.

Taking into account that he tends to be very intentional with his writing choices, he’s written this story in a way that not only centered bakudeku’s relationship over others (notably Izuku + Ochako’s, the character he’d presumably end up with if things were going predictably?), but also went the extra mile to distinguish their relationship as unique, closer than all their other relationships, the “biggest pillar of the story” (x, x). He didn’t have to do all of this. This extra push is what’s giving bakudeku that undeniable chance at an endgame right now, because it’s come to a point where no one can ignore the implications of scenes like this:

On the flip side, we don’t think people’s hesitation is unreasonable. It’s scary! If bakudeku were to fall flat of all this buildup/our expectations, it wouldn’t be the first time the romantic implications between a pair of boys in a story like this was ignored. Hell it wouldn’t be the first time a popular pair in general, (gay or not) got ignored in favor of what the author just felt like doing, regardless of what any previous developments in the story or interviews or official artwork would have us believe. There’s enough written evidence that canon bakudeku wouldn’t be surprising, but there’s also (at the time of writing this response) still room for things to go another direction, for all of this to be recontextualized and passed as something else.

As per social norms/patterns of behavior, this would be disappointing as hell but not surprising. Especially for people who have been let down before, we completely understand the need/impulse to distance oneself from the idea/hope that bakudeku may become canon.

In all honesty, if it turns out bakudeku isn’t canon or left open-ended (say, an ending where they’re partners of some kind/the closest to one another without that explicit romantic confirmation), we would be frustrated/heartbroken. Not because we feel like Horikoshi shouldn’t do what he wants, he should. But because there’s been a clear effort to bring LGBTQ+ readers into the fold, and tell and portray our experiences in MHA. Horikoshi has done a beautiful, incredible job of writing various LGBTQ+ and marginalized experiences as a metaphor in his stories. Toga is a prime example. This is something that readers around the world have noticed, and it’s something MHA is special for (see this data x, and the further context/commentary on it given here x).

We think it’s intentional. This story and the relationships in it have invoked experiences close and personal to many of us. Things are in a state right now where we wouldn’t just feel baited, we feel like readers would have a right to feel unsatisfied.

That being said, feeling unsatisfied doesn’t equate to feeling empowered to harass or bother others. Especially not Horikoshi himself, and also including other readers who had differing expectations. This is really the case across the board. We should all be able to control our anticipation/expectations without becoming assholes.

It’s not just the shippers, by the way. People who work on the series or work closely with Horikoshi have rooted for bakudeku to go beyond. Izuku and Katsuki have already done what a good chunk of the readerbase thought impossible and became friends. People see their writing, their potential, and they want more. The voice actors (x, x sorry for the crunchy pic it's all i've got atm), academics (x), musicians (x, x) , editors (x) and more have all kind of rallied around Bakugou and Deku’s bond, with a particular sensitivity towards the deeply and uniquely intimate nature of it + how it evokes romance.

We’d like to see MHA exist free of the burdens previous popular shounen series have had placed on them. But that’s a conversation for the ending. As far as the fanbase goes, I think it’s super important people practice humility and caution when speaking to others. We have NO way of knowing what will happen. People who have been traumatized by situations like this in the past have a right to be anxious, people in general are allowed to withhold judgment until we have all the information we need. However, we don’t think having hope or confidence that this narrative might lead us to a canon bakudeku is unwarranted or delusional.

At the end of the day one thing is true, and this was something we had to fight to “prove” much longer than we had to prove Bakudeku had romantic potential - it’s that Kacchan and Izuku’s lives are going to be forever intertwined in this new era of their world that births from the finale.

They’re forever intertwined in a way that’s not replicable for any other character in the series, and that’s amazing all on its own. We’ll just have to wait and see how far they take it! Thanks for reading if you got this far, and Happy Holidays!

#Anonymous #ask #bakudeku #dekubaku #katsudeku

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dancermk · 5 months

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HELLO MY FELLOW TRAVELERS!

I, like many viewers, have been completely entranced by Hawk and Tim’s love story in Fellow Travelers. As a mature queer person, this show has been very emotional, and I am deeply invested. (I WILL riot if Tim doesn’t get to die in Hawk’s arms, and know that he is, and has always been, loved by Hawk.) But I digress.

Something that I have been fascinated by are the differing opinions that have surfaced about the characters, especially Hawk. I’m not looking for any arguments here, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and this is simply mine. To me, Hawk falls hard and fast for Tim. He breaks all his own rules for Tim - they topple over like a house of cards.

When we are introduced to Hawk, he’s cold and heartless with the men he hooks up with - they are nothing more than a body to fulfil his sexual needs and desires. He doesn’t do repeats and he doesn’t bring them home. But Tim, he instantly begins returning to, gets him a job, then allows him into his own apartment, etc. When Tim pushes back, Hawk relents further, letting him in emotionally, sharing parts of his past, crossing lines by introducing him to others in his circle, and so on.

Hawk is a traumatised man, carrying guilt and anger and shame, and a bucket load of fear! Yes, he has some internalised homophobia, but interestingly, he’s also extremely righteous about his homosexuality -and I don’t believe he thinks being gay is wrong in any way. (His response to his father is indicative of this).

I can personally say that I’ve never thought it was wrong to be queer, yet I spent much of my life hiding who I was and feeling shame. It’s an odd thing! Perhaps it is that the shame forms purely from what is outside of us, while what is inside of us can love another person of the same sex, knowing it is right and pure. Perhaps these contradictions between self and society are what causes so much pain and conflict?

But back to Hawk. Hawk is undoubtedly most affected by his teenage first love experience. A love that he fucked up through his own fears (fear for many men is unacceptable and a sign of weakness), and now carries the burden of believing he is responsible for their death. Hawk doesn’t allow himself to love again, until Tim. And we see many times throughout the show how much Hawk fears losing Tim. And in the end he’ll have to face that fear. I think that, in part, not attempting to have a life with Tim, is also fuelled by his fear of fucking it up and losing Tim - so it’s easier to just not attempt it! In episode 7, when he loses his son, part of that spiral is Hawk recognising that he can’t really prevent loss, and he wasted his life trying to be something he’s not - still losing his child and Tim along with it.

But Hawk is a survivor! And no one has the right to hate or judge him for it. I don’t think some young people truly understand what it feels like to live in a world where who you love can put you in jail, and destroy your life. I grew up in the 70s/80s and my experiences were bad enough, but I try so very hard to think about what it was like before that! When being queer was a crime and a mental illness! That’s pure terror! And for Hawk, he chose to survive the best way he knew how, and he wasn’t able to change because that’s fucking hard when all you’ve known is living in constant ‘fight or flight,’ and when have chronic trauma and experience collective trauma.

I think in episode 8 we’ll finally get to see Hawk grow - I certainly hope so - because he deserves to be free. Our beautiful Skippy has been free for some time, and while we mourn for the cruelty of a world that would take such a truly decent man, I am glad he got to live freely. Being closeted is the worst kind of suffering- a compartmentalised and fragmented existence where you are never truly whole, and therefore can never be the best version of yourself.

Before I go, I just wanted to also talk about being in a closeted relationship-which I experienced in my youth. I think that Hawk and Tim’s intense and toxic and exquisitely beautiful relationship, in part, arises from this. Because two closeted people in love live their relationship in secret, in a bubble, only in certain rooms, with none of the outside world reflected back at them. It becomes the two of you against the world. It’s so insular. Hawk and Tim literally live their 1950s relationship within two rooms - their apartments. All their memories are held within those walls. And it only belongs to them. They know each in ways that no other living soul does. It’s all-consuming and often unhealthy, but also stupidly romantic.

Anyway, sorry for this long winded post that no one will read and is likely full of grammatical errors because I’m tired! This atheist is praying we get everything we need from episode 8! Acceptance, forgiveness, understanding resolution, healing and a whole lot of love! ❤️

Cheers queers! 🏳️‍🌈

PS Matt and Johnny are exquisite on and off screen and I am so thankful to them for bringing these characters and this story into our lives!

#fellow travelers #hawk and tim #hawkins fuller #tim laughlin #hawk and skippy #matt bomer #jonathan bailey #lgbtqia #queer media

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i-dont-talk-for-days-on-end · 1 month

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important subtext: Jeremy Brett smoked 60 cigarettes a day and went out of his way to break nonsmoking area rules to do it

Mr Brett what do you think you're confirming here

(I think this was about this post - sorry, my notifications don't work.)

Oh yes, absolutely! Another piece of important context is that Jeremy Brett left his first wife for a man, and was in a relationship with actor Gary Bond from 1969 to 1976.

Now, I do not think that you can necessarily say that because Jeremy was a queer man, he had to play a queer Holmes. But I am sure that -when he thought about whether or not he thought that Holmes was queer for himself - he came up with a better explanation than 'He and Watson couldn't kiss because of the smoking'. I mean, this man made up an elaborate headcanon about Holmes's childhood to understand how to play him. Personally, I think that he probably saw Holmes as too isolated and emotionally repressed to act on any feelings he might have had for anyone. He has this wonderful friendship with Watson who by some miracle (and lots of patience, I'm sure) just understands him, and who doesn't even marry in the Granada adaption. It is perfectly clear the are 'exclusive', in every way the viewer choses to interpret their relationship. They are together and they always will be. (Oh no, now I'm thinking of the Lost Beekeeping Footage again ...)

I also think that Jeremy often was uncomfortable because he felt Holmes and he were very different and he struggled to get him 'right', and at the same time that Holmes was coming too 'close' and took over too much of Jeremy. I think there is a possibility that Jeremy deliberately tried to separate his own experiences and feelings from what he believed Holmes to have experienced and felt.

When he made that reply about the pipe, I think it is relatively certain he came up with that on the spot. It is clear that he could not have said 'Yes, I think Holmes and Watson are gay' without causing a massive scandal which would not only have meant trouble for Granada, but also journalists digging through his private life. In that light, it was possibly even brave to say "I think it's unlikely" and "If it cheers the gays up I'm thrilled". I think it was possibly necessary to frame it as a joke, first by citing David's "Well, we're not" and then by coming up with that stuff about smoking.

But it does look a bit suspicious from a man who has been chainsmoking throughout the whole interview, I agree. ;)

#uhm sorry that was a long reply to a lighthearted ask #yes I have been thinking about this #jeremy brett #sherlock holmes #granada holmes #queer sherlock holmes #gay sherlock holmes #st. louis interview #unnecessarily handsome #asexual falling hard for actors from an 80s show #dr watson #holmes/watson

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brightowldarkpigeon · 2 months

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James Somerton Apology 2.0

Someone on Reddit asked what a genuine apology from Somerton would look like, and I outlined it there. I thought I'd share my post here in case it helps any others who are trying to understand what a sincere apology looks like!

(To be clear, I think that in general matters that are not as severe as James's, hoping to recover your career or asking for forgiveness are perfectly fine. For James, his betrayal was strong and defrauded so many people financially, that there is no way to make restitution without a years-long break from making content).

If he wanted to make a genuine apology, it would have to be done without any expectation of the recovery of his career. It would have to be very much the last thing he'd say on the matter, the only video on his channel, and demonetized. He would need to make the apology, then leave for at least a year, if not longer.

Then he would need to follow the standard five steps of apology:

1. Expression of regret

He'd have to say, "I am genuinely sorry for plagiarizing the work of others and taking great pains to obfuscate that fact." He would say, "I'm sorry that I told lies in my videos and did the bare minimum to create as much content and wealth as possible in as short a time as possible." He would also say, "I am sorry for the misogyny and anti-trans bias that I perpetuated both with my words on this channel and my actions toward other creators."

2. Acknowledgment of responsibility

This is essentially to say how it hurt the other person. "I am aware of the enormous harm that I caused to both the queer creators that I stole from and the viewers I deceived. My misogyny and transphobia have harmed not only the women and nonbinary people I offended, but also all other white cis gay men who do not want to carry on this legacy of upholding patriarchal sexism." I'd like him to make this the longest portion of the video, showing how plagiarism, deception, and misogyny cause real, tangible harm, and how his actions were wrong.

(It would be extra nice if he could take real responsibility and say, "I did all these things because I was greedy and lazy, and because I have not done the work to dismantle my own biases against women and trans people.)

3. Making Restitution

Here's where he says he's going to

a) PAY BACK HIS PATRONS. Seriously. That would be such a start. I understand that he needs money to survive, and it might take a long time to get back to that level of income, but he deceived both his patreon patrons and the backers of his Talos project.

b) Publish the names and works of every author he stole from.

c) Create a queer youtuber fund or something like that.

4. Genuinely promising change

He will need to GET. OFF. YOUTUBE. STOP. MAKING. CONTENT. It's time for him to find a new job, even with his fucking epilepsy, he's a decent video editor with a large portfolio and he absolutely could get work doing video editing from the bazillion people who have never heard of him. (They do exist!)

Or get literally any other WFH job. Do customer service if you have to. Take a break from being a star.

And of course say, "I do not think I will ever make original content again since I've lost the trust of this community, but if in a few years, I do try again, I will devote my time to properly crediting and uplifting other queer creators.

5. Requesting forgiveness

No. Don't do this. It's beyond forgiveness right now. Once james has SHOWN he's changed by educating himself and taking some time away from youtube, and DOING ALL THE RESTITUTION HE PROMISED, then he can ask for forgiveness.

Hope that helps.

#james somerton #hbomberguy #plagiarism

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jbaileyfansite · 5 months

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Interview with People (2023)

Jonathan Bailey could have gone in any direction after his runaway success as the male romantic lead in Bridgerton'ssecond season.

But choosing to play a gay man opposite Matt Bomer in Showtime's Fellow Travelers, another romantic period drama — this one spanning the 1950s Joseph McCarthy communist trials to the 1980s AIDS crisis — was a "no-brainer" for the British actor.

"I had looked for these gay stories, a sweeping gay love story, and I hadn't really seen them," Bailey, 35, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "This ticked every single box, and it's something I know I'll be proud of for the rest of my career."

Bailey first grabbed the attention of TV viewers with his breakthrough performance as Anthony Bridgerton, the proud, surly viscount on Shonda Rhimes's sudsy Regency-era drama Bridgerton.

Starring in one of Netflix's most popular shows has been transformative for Bailey, who previously had mostly divided his time between British TV and theater roles.

"Having always waited for auditions and projects to come, I just have that footing now to have choices, which is incredible and so special, because it's not a very common thing," he says. "I have a responsibility therefore not to waste that."

Raised in Benson, England by his father Stuart, a managing director at a honey supplier, and his mother Carole, who worked several jobs to help make ends meet and pay for dance and music lessons for her son and his three older sisters, Bailey found school intimidating.

The actor was 11 when he realized he might be gay, and he sought refuge in his family, the theater and his best friend.

"It's a pretty common story that school is terrifying, especially in a world where people don't understand or the teachers and children don't understand LGBTQ+ identities and experiences," he shares. "But the superpower of being on the outside looking in means that when you're older, you are drawn to storytelling and creatives who are singular and exciting. And I think queer people have a real strength to them, which could be celebrated."

Fellow Travelers certainly celebrates the LGBTQ+ community through its ambitious, decades-long narrative and queer stars. The biggest, most exciting draw for Bailey was his character Tim Laughlin's "expansive arc," evolving from a closeted political staffer in the 1950s to an out-and-proud activist in the 1980s.

"It's explored more, his journey and the expanse of it, more than any other character," Bailey says. "But I think, with Tim, he's constantly searching within himself. He's constantly torn between his identity, the truth about his identity and the stories that he's been told, whether it be by religion, by the government, by his parents or society. So it's thrilling to be able to constantly be torn between two places."

Working alongside Bomer, 46, helped Bailey bring Fellow Travelers to life.

Bomer, who also served as an executive producer on Fellow Travelers, was "a total joy" to work with, recalls Bailey, who meshed well with the White Collar actor right from the start — from their Zoom screen test to their "pregame coffee" five days before they began shooting.

"We both had quite a lot of experience in our careers of intimacy and portraying intimacy, but there's also just so much we've experienced as gay men, as well. So naturally, we had a lot to explore," he says, adding, "To honor the canon of gay storytelling is totally what I set out to do. So if it [Fellow Travelers] is 'up there,' then I'm really happy."

Source

#jonathan bailey #jonny bailey #interviews #interviews:2023 #people interview 2023 #fellow travelers #NEW!

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neolxzr · 8 months

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you do see my point though, I was saying that yes a piece of media can have a character imply they are queer, but it’s frustrating when they won’t explicitly confirm such, because of (in the case of… checks app store purchase statistics…. A multi million dollar game franchise!) the need to market to as many people as possible. Shumika will never be “canon” because some people just don’t like shumika and won’t spend money on the game if shu and mika are in a relationship, whether or not that’s because they like the ship or the characters or are genuinely homophobic or whatnot. If the writing team cared about telling a love story, they would tell a love story, not go “well maybe they’re in love, it’s up to viewer interpretation!” like this works, sometimes it adds to the meaning of the work, but enstars really doesn’t have an excuse for their constant “this character might have feelings for this other character, but we’ll never have them say it out loud!” except the fact it makes them a lot of money, since they can market to people who like a character being the way they want that character to be, whether that’s with that character being in love with another in game character or self-shipping or whatever else. Outside of shipping, this is why some characters like Shinobu haven’t changed despite wanting to change (he continuously talks about how he wants to be more mature and taken seriously but his cards continue to make him look small and cute because his fans like that about him and god forbid we change anything!) I just think enstars should not be your first thought when someone asks you about a good piece of queer media because they’re doing just about the same job as large cast games with characters of the same gender (minus Arashi) who continue to have characters go “we’ll do all these things to imply we could be in love, but we’ll never have our characters actually date! teehee!”

i can understand being frustrated about your ships not being "confirmed", but the obsession with what is "canon" and "not canon" is just straight up not a very interesting discussion to have. what happyele's or the writers' agenda is is not of particular importance to me. one of the first things they teach you in classes about media analysis is that once a work is out there, the intentions of the creator no longer matter. the only thing that matters in your analysis is your own thoughts and the way you interpret a text.

if we were having a conversation about how much the creator of something sucks, then sure, talk about that all you want, but i am specifically referring to discussions about the piece of media and these characters and their relationships and their growth and the themes of the work etc. those things are removed from whether or not the company writes the way they do because of profit motives or whatever. companies make money, that's just what to expect. if you want art that is free of profit motives, read something by an independent creator.

even so, it feels strange to place enstars into the bucket of "stuff that should be gayer but the bad company that makes it wont let it be" because the characters ARE so very openly queer. there are so many instances in it where characters pour their heart out to each other or offer themselves to another character in beautiful and poetic ways, and i think it's wrong to claim it doesn't count because they didn't confirm their relationship status at the end of it. if you ask me, there is absolutely no way to interpret enstars in a way completely free of queerness. there is so much explicitly queer text that ignoring it is just plain incorrect. but, if homophobic people like this game and choose to look the other way at all of the gay shit, again, that is not my problem.

why is canonization the only thing that matters? is a shitty BL with awful writing better and more worthwhile than enstars as a queer narrative because the characters had explicit gay sex on screen? are poorly written gay characters in the background of other media with nothing going on more worth talking about than shumika or wataei or rinniki or whoever else just because they say the words 'i'm gay' out loud?

queerness is so much more than all of that. it is so much more than labels and it is so much more than relationships that are easy to understand. it is so much more than the extremely narrow view of it that the internet has concocted about it over the last few years, where you’re only allowed to talk about queerness if you yourself are openly queer and out of the closet, and even then you’re only allowed to make art that makes for “good representation.” that is just so incredibly limiting. i would rather tons of companies who are trying to profit off fujoshis make vaguely gay media with unconfirmed romances and relationships that aren't easily defined by labels than have less queer art in the world.

more queer art means more queer people who will find something to really connect to. more queer art means telling more queer stories. why should who is allowed to write lgbtq media be limited? why should the kind of media people are allowed to make be limited?

its fine to criticize happyelements if youre unsatisfied with the way they do things, im not always 100% in love with everything they do either. i wouldn't even consider enstars to be the worlds' best example of a queer piece of media. but no one is forcing you to like or engage with it or give the company money if you're unhappy with how they write and market their game. they don't owe anyone explicit confirmation that any of their characters are dating, and it doesn't even matter if they do provide that confirmation or not.

regardless of who made it or for what reason, queer stories are worth talking about, "canon" or not.

#cryn answers #anon #enstars #listen i dont want to be mean to you anon but this is very much just an extended version of the first ask you sent me #i will leave anon on but im not going to make another post like this ive more than said my piece already #also sorry i guess for not getting into the shinobu character growth part of this ask?#it was just. so far off from the topic of conversation #this isnt even getting into the cultural differences between the west and japan and how that affects the way companies make things #but again thats a different conversation #anyway #fun fact me and my girlfriend started talking more partially because of shumika #so if that doesnt make them a good queer narrative idk what does man!!#they certainly resonate with lesbians somehow!!!#if anyone actually read this far hi!! you are so strong #media analysis

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booksandpaperss · 2 years

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“I’m just a little worried that Mike has to have a whole gay realization arc all in the last season”- YALL. PAY ATTENTION THATS WHAT HES BEEN DOING THIS WHOLE TIME:

Season 2: Mike is unaware of what his feelings mean but knows how much he cares about Will, legit spends the whole season being in love with him. By the end at the showball he realizes that somethings up, he doesn’t rlly understand what but he can tell something feels different and he doesn’t like it. Cue part 1 of his realization arc; subconscious denial

Season 3: Subconscious denial is rapidly turning to conscious denial, and at the start of the season we see Mike is in part 2 of his realization arc; a severe case of internalized homophobia. He cycles through it all the way to his absolute lowest point in part 2 (rain fight) and then he slowly comes back from it just a little bit. Then, at the end of the season, we see Mike shift onscreen from part 2 to part 2.5; conscious realization and fear. At this point Mike is halfway through his internalized homophobia arc. He KNOWS how he feels, but it still terrifies him. He grapples with this in the time period between s3 and 4.

Season 4: Ah yes, the penultimate season. The season that sets up endgame. The season that has an *entire gay road-trip plot line dedicated to byler*. This season is part 3 for Mike; acceptance. At first glance you miss it if you’re not looking, since s4 byler was almost entirely from Will’s lovely but very biased POV as he was also going through his own gayangstTM arc at the same time, but all it takes is a second glance to see that it’s there. At the start of the season Mike is on the very last, very flimsy legs of denial, and reuniting with Will again after not speaking for months is what catapults him into the acceptance chunk of his arc. In almost every cali crew scene, we see Mike slowly get closer and closer to total acceptance. We see him accept that he doesn’t love El the way he’d originally thought, he accepts that he loves Will the way he thought he was supposed to love El, and by the van scene, Mike is soso close to accepting that both of these things are okay.

Close being the key word here. Will accidentally throws him off again in volume 2, so Mike’s realization arc isn’t fully concluded yet, things are still very messy and season 5 has a lottt to address. But that’s the THING; season 5, as far as byler goes, actually only needs (for the most part ofc) to address development and realizations that have already happened. A lot of the fandom is really underestimating how much Mike suspects and has realized, at least about himself, and that’s where I think most of the remaining byler doubt is coming from (not including Twitter, we don’t count byler Twitter they do not know shit abt what’s going on 💀).

But that worry is unnecessary! Some of you guys don’t realize how perfect of a plot device Vecna is. I’m saying this as a writer: He’s like a writers dream bc you can basically tell viewers what’s happening in a character’s psyche while still maintaining “show don’t tell.” Bc now? All the writers rlly have to do to start canonifying Mike’s gay realization that has, once again, already happened, is have vecna target him! And they’ve clearly been planning that if that several billion hints in s4 and 3 and EVEN 2 AND 1 are anything to go by 👀👀

Guys, Mike’s *realization* arc is practically FINISHED. The duffers and writers have just been hiding it this whole time by not giving us any Mike POV in s3 or 4 bc they couldn’t confirm Mike before confirming Will, that would make byler endgame wayy too obvious they had to sneak it in there.

But it’s there, and it’s happened. The only thing WE have to worry about now is preparing ourselves for the sheer level of angst that is going to be Mike’s internalized homophobia plot line getting confirmed… I rlly don’t think we’re ready for that. I know IM not 😭

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dreamcaught · 4 months

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I saw a post earlier where the OP went on at length about how TenDonna is the true ship, how they 'won', how they are the proper love story, and not platonic. And lots of people agreed! I was dumbfounded. Don't get me wrong I get that she was his best friend but love interest? Nah GTFO. Going on about how they were keeping their relationship quiet to protect her.. clearly never heard of show don't tell.

I also can't help but feel there's a bit of retconning going on as well by RTD. Fourteen saying losing Donna killed him, over and over again. Erm, did it? Yes it clearly made him very sad there's no disputing that. But Ten going mad after JE was a result of losing everyone - Donna AND Rose yet again. I just.. don't get some people

I agree! While I don't think that RTD did us too wrong, I understand that he was trying to wrap up a story from his last era in a way that made sense to his viewers, if you know what I mean? He couldn't do much with the intervening showrunners' work without stepping on their toes, so going back to Donna - a person who was literally out of action for the past 15 years - makes perfect sense.

RTD loves his ending with Tentoo/Rose because it was the Doctor's romantic arc. Donna has always been more like the Doctor's sister, from start to finish. There is - in my opinion - less than zero romantic chemistry between them, and it's blatantly shown and told within canon. If you look back, he almost denied her traveling with him because he was worried she fancied him (like Martha did). He only wanted to travel with Donna because she could be his friend! Why people change that to mean "that he's keeping their relationship a secret" is the same kind of delusional crack-ship thinking as people believing Ten and Martha were a thing. It's just silly and so not intended.

In some ways, though, the 60th specials were absolutely DoctorDonna fanservice, and that's not so bad if it's interpreted correctly. I would have lost my mind if it had been Tentoo fanservice instead, so I can't begrudge them their happiness. It's the misinterpretation of their very obviously platonic relationship that feels icky and kinda disrespectful. I mean, Donna's actually married? Fourteen is (likely) gay? It's all lined up to express their relationship as familial and still people think they've got some secret romance going on.

"It killed me, it killed me, it killed me" is a beautiful line that expresses how vulnerable Fourteen is in this body, but it doesn't actually mean it killed him three times. It's an exaggeration, like how Fourteen seems to express lots of things. If people want to think that it somehow means that the Doctor regenerated three times thinking of Donna every time, well, they can go right on ahead with that little fantasy headcanon because there's very little we can do to change their minds at this point.

#thanks for talking to me!#doctor who #dw spoilers #fourteenth doctor #tentoo x rose #donna noble #rtd #rtd2

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blatterpussbunnyfromhell · 6 months

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Did Silver kill Flint?

I keep seeing cold ass takes in the Black Sails side of tumblr that make my blood boil.

Look, I got into Black Sails in 2017, three weeks after the finale aired. Back then, there seemed to be an understanding that the "Silver killed Flint" interpretation was just a fringe theory from straight people made uncomfortable by the queer lead getting a happy ending. Personally, it was my first encounter with the phrase "unbury your gays" (having learnt "bury your gays" a year earlier with The 100). It seemed to be generally accepted that Flint lived, and that this was the whole point.

Now, it would appear that a shift has happened in the fandom, where the idea of Silver killing Flint is no longer treated as a theory by straight weirdos but as a canon, onscreen event, and these posts come from queer fans. It seems to come from younger fans who were about 12 or 13 in 2017. It's so mindboggling to me.

The arguments for this Silver-Killed-Flint thing is usually the same two: birds flying away and Silver's men turning around in the forest, as in reaction to a noise, which is interpreted as a gunshot.

Like, I'm just elaborating on a rant I sent to my friends earlier today here but, if Silver killed Flint, then :

Why would we be shown an entire sequence with one of Silver's henchmen looking for Thomas where he is?

If Thomas and Flint are dead, why aren't we shown their deaths? It's an actual rule in cinema that a character whose death isn't shown on screen isn't dead, a rule that the show does follow (we see Billy's funeral but not his corpse). Besides, Black Sails doesn't shy away from showing death on screen, even for main characters. Then, why not show how Thomas died instead of telling us? Why not show us Silver shooting Flint? The writers trust their viewers to understand the pattern, and understand that the reason we do not see their deaths is because they aren't dead.

Why would Silver bring up Thomas to Flint if he'd planned on killing him? Or if, as I've also seen it said, it was just a lie he made on the spot for Madi ?

And talking about Madi, I've seen A LOT of people saying she would never forgive Silver. And to that I genuinely have to ask, have you seen their last appearence in the show? I dont mean their argument in the cabin, I mean the scene where Silver sits on top of a hill and turns around to find Madi waiting for him on the path. I mean the scene where he walks towards her and she waits for him. So, my question here, if she wasn't gonna forgive Silver, why is she waiting for him on that hill? Nevermind the fact that Treasure Island's Long John Silver is in a relationship with a Black woman (I've seen posts saying that could be Max, and really wtf??), what is the point of showing us this scene if she's not gonna forgive him? Why not stop their arc at the cabin where she sends him away?

At the time when Black Sails' finale aired, Supernatural was still queerbaiting its audience, and Sherlock ended in a fucking shitshow. People were throwing fits over Bill Potts, Doctor Who's first ever onscreen lesbian companion because she was a lesbian with a masculine name. A year before that, The 100, a very popular tv show at the time, had just killed it's only lesbian character and faced so much uproar and backlash for it. (That was my entry into the LGBT+ community, by the way : the first character to make me think I might actually like women getting killed on screen two scenes after having had sex with the female lead). Sense8's two-hour long finale and Love, Simon wouldn't air for another year.

So yeah, if you weren't into queer media back in 2017 (and omg I sound like such an old twat), I don't think you can understand just how important that ending, with Flint being reunited with the love of his life after so much pain and loss, was.

If your interpretation of Black Sails is that the events of Treasure Island happened the way the book tells you, then I'm sorry to tell you this but you completely missed the point of the show.

#black sails #black sails meta #long post #silverflint #long john silver #james flint #thomas hamilton #james mcgraw #captain flint #ok to rb

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dwreader · 9 months

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What movies would you recommend for good examples of period costumes?

Ok since I could talk for literally hours about this I’m going to stick to periods that are show adjacent or relevant otherwise I’ll be here all day.

18th century (Lestat’s time):

Barry Lyndon (1975) - takes place in the 1760s throughout Europe so a little before Lestat’s time but honestly fashion changed very slowly back then so it’s pretty much the vibe we’re gonna see in s3 I believe. I think this is essential to understanding the period’s masculinity as it features mostly men and is also not about romance. You also get to see class differences in men’s dress as the character starts off in a very different social position from where he ends up. I also think Sam in his Lestat get up from set leaks looks sooo much like Ryan O’Neal in this movie I think it will be a major inspiration.

Dangerous Liaisons (1988) - this is pretty much smack dab in the middle of Lestat’s human life (pre-revolutionary) and it’s one of the few romantic dramas that actually allows its leading men to look period accurate cause somehow Hollywood decided calves and stockings were too gay for their leading men who usually show up to dinner parties in riding gear which would NEVER happen. Anyways I also think the character of Valmont is probably another big Lestat influence.

I also think movies like Amadeus (1984) and The Favourite (2018) are helpful in establishing to viewers that men did look ridiculous back then with big ass wigs and face caked full of makeup and it was not considered gay or unmanly!!

Gilded Age / Edwardian and beyond (Louis’s time):

The Age of Innocence (1993) - takes place in the 1870s so again a bit before Louis but I think now it’s important to establish that fashion trends are moving a bit faster as you’ll see a few decades later the big ass bustle look is no longer on trend but this is just a beautiful film to look at if you want a good intro to film costuming.

The trio of Merchant-Ivory’s EM Forster adaptations: A Room with a View, Maurice and Howard’s End are nice examples of early 20th century wear and again you finally get to see more class differences in dress. Also great references for men’s wear.

Daughters of the Dust (1991) - this takes place in Georgia around 1902 so getting quite close to the start of the show and it has absolutely gorgeous design like it’s the women’s silhouette so spot on. Good reference for the costumes on black women in the show. Also I think this is one case where the flowy down do’s hair in a period film isn’t anachronistic cause of the specific story they’re telling otherwise I’m usually like why are you an adult woman walking around outside with your hair down.

Passing (2021) - takes place in 1920s New York and features really lovely b&w cinematography and costuming wise it’s a really beautiful representation of upper middle class black families of the time and also has very interesting contrasts with the white upper class. Amazing book too, I highly recommend both.

For periods beyond 1930 I actually recommend just watching films from that era cause they give a more accurate representation of what was fashionable then not filtered through today’s beauty standards. For example the thin penciled eyebrow is almost never seen in modern period films cause no actress wants to shave off their eyebrows 💀 and their hair is almost always too long cause they don’t wanna chop off their hair.

Here are some good fashion recs of 30s-40s:

Trouble in Paradise (1932), It Happened One Night (1934), The Awful Truth (1937), Imitation of Life (1934), Notorious (1946), Mildred Pierce (1945), Gilda (1946), Orphee (1949), and a bunch others you can ask me for recs based on more specific criteria and I’d be happy to provide!

Also a film that’s a bit past the show’s timeline is Paris Blues (1961) starring Sidney Poitier and Paul Newman that’s also about American expats in Paris and it’s very good, everyone watch it.

#I’m sorry this is so long alsjsjakdjajajaja #but i have like 12 more I refrained from talking about cause I don’t have time I gotta run #iwtv #asks

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itsclydebitches · 1 year

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I'm just adding my voice to the growing choir but yeah, I don't think Trent is going to out Collin:

It would be an extreme moment of regression. I mean, this guy gave up decades of high-profile journalism due to his distaste for how the job was making him compromise his ethics. He's not gonna just turn around and out a player after that.

(Headcanon-y side-note, but Trent is HEAVILY queer coded and based on my personal readings of his character he's someone who would not just respect Collin, but understand him.)

I've been noticing that each episode has a small "Don't print that" moment where Trent seems legitimately open to keeping the club's personal secrets. The ones that, frankly, have no bearing on football and thus the public has no right to them (changing manicurists, diarrhea, etc.) None of these scenes have implied that he's merely humoring his worried friends and planning to air all the dirty laundry when they're least expecting it. A player kissing another man in an alley on their night off absolutely counts as 'Personal and none of the book's business.'

Outside of the book, how would Trent publish this? He doesn't seem to be doing freelance. It's possible he could pass the tip off to someone else, but we haven't seen any journalist buddies he's friendly with and giving that to a stranger (from the audience's perspective) would feel like even more of a betrayal. You're not just outing him, but using someone who we can't trust to spin the story in an empathetic light, as Trent did with Ted's panic attacks?

Trent doesn't snap a photo of them, despite having the time to get one (they're oblivious). He doesn't write anything in his notebook. He doesn't interrupt and hound them for a quote like he might have in season 1-2. He just walks off, looking contemplative/a bit worried.

So I don't think Trent is going to out Collin, but I do think he might try and do something about it. Meaning, this episode has shown that Collin is, well... pretty bad at keeping his sexuality a secret. He's sneaking out of his boyfriend's house, trying not to draw attention to himself, but then he hits a whole bunch of trash cans while leaving. I got a huge spike of anxiety when he looked at his phone with the other guys standing right there, given that a selfie, kissy emoji, and "thirst" are all pretty damning texts. He's obviously kissing right next to the main road, just a street or so down from where half the club is eating dinner, in a remarkably lit area. And though he tries to deflect a lot - fine he's gay for Zava too, this is my wingman, story about trying to seduce women - it comes across as trying too hard to anyone who's paying attention. Because, you know, Collin is trying very hard, despite his missteps.

The point is that Collin is constantly on the cusp of being outed. If the story doesn't have that happen next episode (that would put a damper on Richmond's win streak) I think Trent is going to step in somehow in an effort to provide damage control - or at least try to, even if he winds up being too late. The use of "Everybody Knows," while obviously a pertinent title, is also a list of how all these awful things have already come to pass - "That's how it goes" - and contains such gems as,

"Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes Everybody knows"

(The context here is cheating, but for a background snippet of a song I think the general vibe of bad things + lovers + not being discreet wins out.)

So Trent may try to step in, even if it comes to naught. After all, if he spotted them it's only a matter of time until someone else does too. Collin is lucky it was Trent who saw them and not someone else.

Cue the emphasis on how much he's changed as a journalist (Collin wouldn't have been lucky a year ago), viewers get a cool new relationship between characters who haven't interacted yet, as well as the canonizing of Trent as a queer man without giving him a coming out story because frankly a 50ish character doesn't (necessarily) need that. He's already got the "vibe" 🌈😎

#Ted Lasso #Ted Lasso spoilers #Trent Crimm #long post #for the record I have complete faith in this show not to fuck this up #WITH THE CAVEAT #that the Sam/Rebecca situation has always made me go '?????'#like that's the one time Ted Lasso has induced a 'Hey wtf' response #and I remain hopeful that it was a one time thing

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tubbytarchia · 6 months

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My very not so condensed overview as to why Mizakai is such a nuanced #deep Yugioh pairing (AKA Mizakai propaganda)

Mizakai is really fucking good and I need everyone to understand this

If anyone out there is on the fence about Mizakai please allow me to convince you to the best of my ability

Right off the bat, Mizael is supposed to be fighting for the Barian World yet he focuses on his rivalry with Kaito instead from their first encounter, and why was Kaito there anyway? An average viewer might say it was because they're both Galaxy-Eyes users but WRONG it was Mizael's homosexual pull. Shark was literally rearing up to duel Mizael when Yuma no longer could but then Kaito flew in like "no, me". And let me remind you how Zexal I ended: Kaito proclaimed that he had no reason to duel once Haruto was safe - he only ever dueled for him - to fight, while Yuma taught him how to duel for fun. And Kaito's first proper appearance in Zexal II where he duels is the episode he turns up to face some gay sassy blond when he didn't need to. So a bunch of homosexual banter, bla bla, and at the very end before their duel can conclude, as the last thing, Mizael gives Kaito his name

What happens the next time they meet? Kaito calls out his name <3

Anyway Sargasso time!!! All the Barians put into effect a card that causes damage to every player, but they also each have a card to protect themselves from said damage. Mizael however doesn't use it, because he wants an even fighting ground with Kaito. Later, when they observe Yuma having an epic 13yo breakdown for awhile, at some point Kaito decides 'that's enough of that' and instead asks Mizael "where are you looking?" (ep 98) like ok sir. Don't forget that Kaito and Yuma are literally friends too but this ain't about Yuma!! He can deal with this extremely traumatizing event on his own, Kaito's given him enough encouragement already

So Mizael is just soooo down bad and so desperate to just finish ONE singular duel with Kaito and is doing everything he can to make that happen. So naturally after killing 2 children, an autism creature and Kaito's ex, he goes to the Moon to duel Kaito because this matter simply can't wait. But he had the right idea because this is just the right place to duel anyway, and tension is significantly stronger in space than it is on Earth!

Que Kaito telling Mizael of his past as Mizael struggles to come to terms with it. As he is conflicted though, Kaito sees right through him and understands him better than he himself could. All this time Mizael was seeking to duel Kaito to prove that he's the real dragon tamer, when in this duel, as Kaito is dying, he without hesitation declares Mizael the true dragon tamer without Mizael having to beat him, or before the duel even concludes (which Mizael simply cannot fathom). And as practically a dying wish, Kaito asks "Mizael, if we were to meet again, wouldn't you tell me, what happened to you?" before he makes the finishing blow and yet, kind of reverses the odds as he ends up dying instead of Mizael despite every other duel ending in the death of the person that lost. Kaito in his dying moments breathed so much wind into Mizael's wings for him to "keep fighting for what you believe in".

But what does Mizael believe in? Well, Kaito was teaching him to believe in people just as he had been taught to. Mizael might have been the true dragon tamer, but in his pursuit trusted no one but dragons. He was raised by a dragon before his people failed him, and seeing as they had, Tachyon then protected Mizael from any further evil of mankind. As Tachyon can seal up into a weird bento box, seemingly shielding itself in the process, it shielded Mizael. How could Mizael ever accept that Tachyon was his curse? But Tachyon had been cursed by Don, just as Mizael had. No matter what they fought for then as a result, they stuck together of their own beliefs. But what made Tachyon Mizael's curse was that it stopped Mizael from moving on from the past. Even as time passed (and even if Barians don't age), Mizael's mindset never changed until Kaito came in to reap him of this shield that Mizael had put up. With Tachyon's effect of rewinding time, Mizael hoped to change the past, but Kaito showed him a future, thus removing his curse

Kaito taught Mizael that he was (or even is) human, a fact that Mizael does not want to accept one bit, literally shown visually as Mizael is forced into his human form, in rage then transforms back into his Barian form, only to be reduced back to his human form by the end anyway. And note that he STAYS in this form, he doesn't change back again!! Which is especially driven home when you see Nasch literally right there, Mizael's last surviving comrade, and yet he stays in his human form, as if to show that he is paving his own path now. And he is, because he's free of his curse. He's technically still a Barian but in a metaphorical sense, his curse has been lifted thanks to Kaito. Mizael was still fighting for the Barian World even if his focus shifted to some blondie, but in his final duel, he isn't dueling for the Barians, he's only dueling for himself. He gives it his very best shot to defeat Don on his own terms and, you know, despite the bullshit that Don pulls, Mizael doesn't look all that upset to die. I think that even as he was dying, he had found some fulfilment and was content to leave the rest to Nasch and Yuma

And speaking of Yuma - in his dying breaths, Kaito bestows Numeron Dragon onto Mizael (And don't forget that character A giving character B their card is basically a marriage proposal in Yugioh. Even within Zexal, think Yuma/Trey and Yuma/Shark among other instances). What does Mizael then do? He bestows the card on Yuma - The person who had taught Kaito to believe in people, just as Kaito had now taught Mizael. Sometimes Zexal is so beautiful in how it comes full circle, it makes me want to cry, and Mizakai comes in SUCH a circle it is INSANE.

When Kaito had nothing to defend anymore, he lost his reason to duel - but he refused to let Mizael lose his reason, even as Mizael had lost everyone except for Nasch, and so Mizael found a reason to duel (by virtue of finding what he really believed in)

I couldn't find a better place to put this but also just how visually beautifully tragic it is that Mizael, who can't for the love of him stop yapping, in his endless stubbornness, cannot bring himself to say anything as Kaito dies right before him with a smile on his face. All Mizael can do then is cry

So of course Mizakai would be a goldmine in a post-zexal scenario too. I'm gonna yap about more headcanons rather than canon stuff but bear with me

Two characters mending together is always such good hurt/comfort shit but ohhh my god Mizakai... Compare Mizael's and Kaito's traumas and imagine how they would handle them in one another's presence. Mizael would probably project an immense amount of his frustration onto Kaito subconsciously or otherwise, but with how understanding Kaito was, his patience to deal with it must be limitless. Mizael seeks the Kaito that would challenge him - just as Kaito would challenge him to duels in Zexal II, he wants Kaito to challenge what he says, and it would take time for him to adjust to the fact that Kaito isn't some miracle noble being - he's human just like Mizael, as selfless and self-sacrificing as he is, and what he did or does for Mizael is from this tangible human care - something Mizael needs time to come to grips with, as he's still new to this whole "being human (again)" thing. Another wonderful place to bring up the Galaxy-Eyes', as Mizael is just as "noble" as Kaito. He always fought for what he believed in but he got lost along the way with the cursed Tachyon, whereas Kaito chose Photon (who was always pure and never cursed) to fight alongside him (even if he acted somewhat selfishly in taking people's souls etc, he was doing it for someone he loved) (harkening back to the idea of Kaito freeing Mizael from his curse (and the idea that Mizael's curse was his own personal dilemma, not the fact that he was a Barian, even if that was the case literally speaking)). In the end they both had their Galaxy-Eyes' to ensure that they were never truly fighting alone, even with Don's curse in Mizael's case. Just as they valued an even fighting ground in duels, Kaito wants to even it now too to stop Mizael from putting him up on a pedestal to such a degree that it frustrates him, because they're really not so different

Anyway Kaito is a sickly little victorian man, seeing how bad of a state he was in all throughout Zexal and especially by the Moon duel. You could argue that the Numeron Code is perfect and would bring everyone back in a perfect state, but I say there is no perfection, nothing is ever "perfect", as everything is always in motion and changing (but that's getting too semantic and philosophical (but then, what is Yugioh if not that?)). If the Numeron Code really did bring everything back "perfectly", wouldn't it erase the character's traumas and stuff too, instead of just bringing them back to good physical health? So my point is, Kaito is still a sickly little victorian man, but fighting is all he knows. This plays into why he went out to duel Mizael as well - it's... all he knows!! He needs to fight and if there's nothing to fight then he works. Just as he was denied rest or nourishment in his training and number hunting, he is hardwired to deny those things to himself. But now imagine how it makes Mizael feel, when he sees Kaito tired or even fainted. He absolutely cannot allow Kaito to die again (even if Kaito is sure that this photon illness aint gonna get the best of him), because he already struggles to forgive himself for what he did.

Kaito doesn't know all of his past, yet it damn near feels like he knows everything about Mizael, and did everything for him, even arguably dying in Mizael's stead. What else would Mizael want to do but to return the favor? To want to learn about Kaito and to be able to understand his troubles, and not only help care for him physically but also help him deal with past trauma once he begins to get over his own. Mizael, who is so deeply emotional and vocal practically forces his troubles upon Kaito, but as he starts to figure himself out, he convinces Kaito to talk to him, and shows him that it's okay for him to be emotional. Because Kaito very much suppresses his emotions and would rather bury his troubles at the back of his mind rather than deal with them healthily. He's much more prone to making quick easy decisions and adjustments for the sake of others, like for example forgiving his father because it's easier than not, even though he has a lot of complicated feelings that he just refuses to dwell on

Basically they switch roles lol and there's just something really beautiful and poetic about that. Even if that way, Mizael ends up adopting this selfless patience that so greatly frustrated him about Kaito in the beginning

Kaito had never once stopped fighting for the people he loved, until Mizael came around and Kaito made the choice of his own volition to face him. But when did anyone really dedicate themselves to Kaito that same way? Well, Mizael sure would!! And Kaito likes how tangible Mizael makes him feel through affirmation and touch - grounded in the reality that he himself seems to be at a disconnect with, the same reality that he brought Mizael to. He reaped Mizael of his shield and basically forced him into this new ironically alien world, but he was here for Mizael to land safely, and Mizael wants to be there to help him stay grounded. If Kaito needed a friendly face in Heartland Tower to make it bearable to even still be there, or if he needed someone to give him a reality check mid breakdown, or if he needed someone to bring him coffee and carry him to bed, then Mizael would be that someone

In conclusion:

#zexal writers accidentally popped off so hard with mizakai #mizakai #zexal #mizael #kaito tenjo #galaxymastershipping #Im a liker of most ships btw like stuff like chris x kaito is so good and valid too. but #the more I think about mizakai the more insane I become #mizakai in particular for some reason is just so insanely. what the fuck. what?what the fuck how did they do this #insane #Im so ill #my brain is actively being gnawed away at #I had like no good screenshots at hand to visualize this post so you get memes only

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maytheleiabewyou · 7 months

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Analysis of the German gay film #freierfall / #freefall PART 3

For the 10th anniversary (omg! 10 years already!) of one of my favorite movies I decided to make an analysis of the film and especially of the scenes between these two great actors. Max Riemelt and Hanno Koffler. Kay and Marc. Marc and Kay.

HERE IT IS PART 3:

I'm back bitches! Now we are closer to the best scenes of the movie. (yay!)

When we like someone there is always that moment when we already have a slight idea of our feelings for the other person and we kind of avoid them a bit or play hard to get (what's the point? If in the end we're going to fall for them anyway) That's what happens when Marc tells Kay he doesn't want to go running and ignores him at the gym (Marc honey, who do you think you can fool?) This scene actually has a lot to do with the title of the movie #FreeFall. When Marc decides not to go running in the woods he is deciding not free falling with Kay (what he doesn't realize yet is that there is little he can fight against that).

Now we enter into THE scene in the film that justly appears on the poster advertising it. There is so much to comment on here that I don't know where to start. Let's start with the soundtrack. BTW, here is the Spotify playlist of the soundtrack. (Look the names of the songs!)

We see Marc running alone through the forest and the music manages to coordinate with the rhythm of the apprentice policeman. The chords of this song provoke restlessness, intrigue and above all expectation for what is going to happen next. As the shot moves away from Marc's face and encompasses the entire forest path, a deeper note announces Kay's arrival.

When Kay reaches him he greets him with the phrase that unites them, "Breathe evenly" and always with a sympa attitude. Kay, not receiving an answer, repeats those two words again and Marc responds angrily, pushing Kay's hand away to give Marc a little slap on the back of the head and exhorts him to stop.

When they stop running, they stop in an area where the number of trees prevents the light from entering clearly. It is no coincidence that almost all the moments, especially the first ones, take place in the forest. It is their comfort zone, their safe place, where they do not have to hide because it is a place that by its very nature is a remote and intimate place. In the forest they can be themselves. Apart from their gestures and attitudes, it is very important to extract the maximum of the symbolism provided by the different elements for the understanding of the film.

Kay approaches slowly and Marc, without taking his eyes off Kay, moves backwards. A clear sign of avoiding what is coming, of fighting what is going to happen. Until Marc stands still. Kay's hand goes like lightning to Marc's face and Marc insists on fighting the irresistible. Marc is acting quite aggressively. This happens again and again until…

Kay grabs him tightly and manages to embrace him so that Marc cannot escape successfully. Although Marc is almost at the end of the cliff that leads to the free fall, he continues to shake his head, trying to push Kay away in a very subtle way and without putting up much resistance. They are very close to each other. They are able to inhale the air the other exhales. Until there is no distance that can separate them anymore because Kay is kissing Marc hard.

Although it is a forced kiss, Kay opens his eyes from time to time to check on Marc. And Marc's lips follows Kay's. It is something aggressive where the sexual tension between the two is undeniable. Even the viewer here is breathless. Kay has launched into kissing him, but they are short, soft kisses.

Consent comes more clearly when Kay pulls down Marc's hood very slowly leaving him time and space to escape, but Marc decides to stay. (I adore this moment!) He decides to stay with Kay. Kay kisses him grabbing his cheek gently and tenderly. And I say Marc's consent comes here because the time it takes to remove his hood Kay is announcing to Marc that he is going to continue kissing him. Now they both have their eyes closed and Marc is very horny (well actually both of them) when Kay's hand is already touching his cock. Kay continues to kiss him passionately like there is no tomorrow.

They have already free fallen, not into the abyss but into the pleasure and passion they find in each other. Their skins call each other, claim each other, need each other.

All rational thinking is dead and there is only the fieriness and the desire to each other. We know this from the clumsy and rapid movements between them, where touch and smell have been enhanced and they are eager to smell and touch each other. And especially when Kay can't stop masturbating Marc. When Marc catches his breath and seems to be satisfied thanks to Kay, Kay can't stop giving him little kisses on the cheek like a little boy. Kay is so cute.

Buuuuuut, Marc has come to his senses and his body begins to reject Kay when he denies him those kisses. Rational thinking has come back to life and all he wants to do is run out of there. They both look at each other but they have completely different messages. Kay is looking for a reaction, for Marc's feedback of what just happened when he grabs his arm again, and Marc, even though he looks at Kay, has a blank stare and can only think of running away. Run away from there, run away from Kay.

(This is the first time we really see Marc running fast hahaha).

*Controversy of this scene* When I saw the movie for the first time, I loved this scene. It is the first scene where there is a real physical and sensual contact between them, it is the first time since the movie starts that there is no doubt that they are attracted to each other, that there is something more between them than a joint training to be a cop.

When I watch it, I see a scene with a lot of realism, I see a couple of men who desire each other and that very likely could happen in real life. The speed, the aggressiveness, the clumsiness, the tenderness that they both exude. If it is true that after watching the film many times this is not (at all) my favorite scene between them. I'm not saying I do not like it, but now with a more feminist perspective I can come to understand why this scene has been controversial. I can see what many people has pointed out and is that Marc's willing is not much taken into account and only reigns Kay's insistence. The scene does contain violence. I understand the voices that demand a more consensual, slow and conscious first kiss, but we are talking about characters that embody the stereotypical rough, aggressive and police male. And I think if Marc had felt violated he would have seriously stopped Kay and not kissing him back.

Thanks for all the feedback from the previous publications and to the owners of the gifs I used (I loved them! @everythingmaxriemelt & @jaketwistandjakegyllo ), here you have the 1st & 2nd parts in case you missed them <3

#free fall #gay cinema #gay movies #hanno koffler #lgtbq characters #gay story #freier fall #marc x kay #max riemelt #i hope you like it #thanks for the interest #thanks for reading #passion

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thranduel · 2 years

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This may be a hot take but i think the way the Duffers and some actors talked about Mike's monologue was a bit insensitive. They know that Will, a traumatized gay child, had to push this confession and watched it with tears in his eyes, and yet nobody seemed to acknowledge this fact. I know that they probably do not want to spoil anything, but this is something that bothers me a bit. Any thoughts on that?

OH YES i completely agree!!

like i obviously i understand they can’t say anything major because of spoilers, and i get that they have to go along with the mike being in love with el storyline because that’s what the characters think and what the viewers are supposed to think at this point as well, but it’s very weird to me that no one mentions will AT ALL when talking about mike’s monologue when he is literally the reason it happened in the first place? like not even a “thank you will for making this happen”? not even acknowledging how strong mike and will’s relationship is (regardless of whether people see it as platonic or romantic), and how mike felt comfortable enough to talk to will about his insecurities and will instantly made him feel strong and loved by confessing his own love for him and giving him the painting that he made for him?? like no one even wants to acknowledge their relationship at all and how will is the person that inspired mike to say “i love you” and it’s so weird to me.

and seriously, if they wanted to make the monologue a big moment for mike and el and no one else, fine. but they never should’ve involved will and messed with his feelings. they never should’ve used him as a plot device to force another couple back together. they never should’ve confirmed he’s been in love with mike since the beginning if it was going to be unrequited. people have every right to be angry because it’s messed up, cruel and unnecessary. they could’ve easily avoided including will in this storyline but they didn’t. they could’ve given him another love interest and allowed him to be happy for once in his life, but they didn’t. and worse, they made him sit there and listen to the confession knowing how hard it would’ve been for him? and obviously in that moment he was worried for el’s safety too, i am not ignoring that at all. but he was also breaking inside while listening to the boy he’s loved for most of his life confess to someone else, and there’s no doubt about that. there was a specific shot where mike copies what will told him in the car (about being scared to lose someone and how bad it would hurt) and it shows will turning to look directly at mike with tears in his eyes right as he says this, emphasising how much it hurt to hear him say that. they knew exactly what they were doing here and it was intentional.

and maybe i’m just very defensive when it comes to will because he’s my comfort character and this whole storyline and his suffering hits hard but a little bit of gratitude would be nice after everything he’s sacrificed?? like he’s literally the reason why this relationship still exists. they were on the verge of a break up and pretty much realised it wasn’t working because they don’t communicate properly and can’t be themselves with each other, but then will lied in the van and mike thought he was talking about el.

will is the one that inspired mike, gave him strength and made him feel loved. it was his OWN feelings and his OWN painting that changed everything, but he used el’s name to disguise it. that’s the only reason why mike felt ready to confess to el, because he thought it was her feelings and that the painting was her idea when it WASN’T. it was all will.

even when el was on the table choking, will had to push mike to say it. mike wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without will. and that’s not a spoiler, so i don’t understand why the cast, writers and other viewers can’t acknowledge it and show appreciation for will when talking about the monologue? and yeah, i know some people might say “it was mike and el’s moment”, but that’s the thing… the moment they decided to involve will in this storyline and confirm he’s been in love with mike since the beginning, it stopped being just about mike and el. they chose to put will in EVERY single mike and el scene (except their fight). they chose to make WILL be the reason that mike says “i love you”. el couldn’t even make him say it when she was crying and begging him to say it. she couldn’t make him say it when she was showing him affection and kissing him and sending him letters. he couldn’t even write the words “love, mike” on PAPER. but will’s OWN feelings and painting is what made mike finally able to say it. the writers are the ones that literally chose that. people aren’t mentioning will for no reason or ignoring mike and el’s moments or trying to invalidate them, but will has literally been shoved in this storyline and in all their scenes for a reason.

that’s why it feels really insulting when people ignore will and don’t appreciate him for this when he’s suffering so much and feels like he’ll never be loved back and that he’s a mistake for being gay. he was literally having a breakdown in that car because he sacrificed his own feelings just to help their relationship. THAT is how kind and selfless he is. after everything he’s suffered, he still puts people before him, and people still don’t want to acknowledge him or thank him? they say things like “mike’s love for el saved the day” (which is… kinda awkward because they didn’t win) and that the monologue was so “beautiful and genuine” (even though he was pressured into saying it and lied during most of it) and act like mike is such an amazing boyfriend for FINALLY saying it after years when will is the one that motivated him to say it in the first place?? and did people forget el literally had a breakdown because he couldn’t say it to her a face a few episodes earlier when she was practically begging him to? he made her cry and she felt like a monster and he didn’t do anything until that scene in the van with will.

if they wanted to make the monologue about mike and el, fine. if they wanted them to have a big forced love confession, fine. but they never should’ve involved will. it’s so simple. they could’ve easily avoided using him as a plot device because it’s so cruel and unnecessary. that’s why it really hurts when people compliment the monologue scene without mentioning will, even just a tiny bit of acknowledgment, because he’s the person who made it happen in the first place. it’s like he’s being ignored AGAIN, as always, while everyone else gets credit and gets to be happy in their relationship and hear what they’ve wanted to hear for so long, while will gets left with absolutely nothing. not even a “thank you”. he has been abused, bullied traumatised and suffered since he was a child and he still has nothing. it’s heartbreaking.

#byler #will byers #sorry this got long it just makes me so mad #it feels so insulting and invalidating when they ignore will when he’s literally the reason that relationship exists #stranger things #byler analysis #kinda

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