I should have shared my main blog here many moons ago but I'm finally doing it. I post a lot of memes, art very rarely, and uh whatever else tickles my pickles

@moophinz

I see my post on the protagonists and rivals still gets a lot of attention. Which is also still surprising to me since I made that post with the idea that not many people would be into it since I don't see a whole lot of discussion regarding the similarities/apparent formulas used with those characters. It's really been encouraging me to perhaps make a more detailed and serious post regarding the designs of each group of characters. It's something I brought up in a more summarized way in the other post, but I want to do something that includes images and more examples.

A Growing List of Banned Tags

This is my second go at making this blog. The first time, I got shadowbanned immediately for writing a post with these words on it, so I’m going to have to link to a google doc instead.

You can find my current list HERE

If something is not on the list that does NOT mean it isn’t blocked. It just means I haven’t checked/added it if it is.

If you’d like to contribute tags you’ve found, please send it via an ask or submission so I can double check and add it to the list.

EDIT: Right now many of these are only banned on IOS, but that really doesn’t make it better

I have Apple for Android but if Tumblr still does anything to either of my accounts over the rapidly worsening banned tag situation, I have a Twitter account under the name @/artmuffin1 (no slash of course)

I had numerous YGO posts in mind months ago and even posted about them. Then, after putting them off for my own mental health reasons, I was hit by that category 5 hurricane which put me through a lot of distress for weeks straight. Especially when I had no electricity for two of those weeks. I had a medical emergency and was rushed to the hospital at the end of the first week. I was having nonstop dreams about being in a much better place in life than where I was at that time. As strange as it may sound, I forgot a lot of things from the stuff that I'm into. I've been in a phase of trying to refresh my memory, but it's much easier to remember stuff from a series I recently got into compared to a franchise I've known for a lot longer. Which again sounds really weird, but there's been a lot less to remember with one compared to the other. I'll still be posting YGO stuff. It just won't be as long as I originally wanted it to be which is disappointing for me. I apologize for anyone else disappointed by this.

RGG: Majima and Toxic Masculinity

It's really not like the writers themselves try desperately hard to force the audience to see Majima Goro as a totally heterosexual and completely straight acting man. However, some circles of the audience haven't gotten the memo and will harshly defend the honor of a man who's not real. As much as I've easily come across those that are accepting and fans that are queer themselves, I've also crossed paths with loud bi/homophobes who try to attack or pester those that don't see him the same way they do. In truth, I've never seen such a large concentration of people who are starkly against the notion that a fictional character could be bisexual or gay. (With a concerning amount of people who seem to outright refuse to believe bisexuality is even a viable orientation. He must be one or the other). And as I stated at the beginning, the writers aren't giving him a new girl every game. He's had less romantic interests of the opposite sex than Kiryu- a very un-horny man who's had at least four(or five) if you want to include his place in spinoff games Kenzan and Ishin.

It's nothing new to any fandom (and it's nothing new for me to bring it up), but it can still be upsetting and frustrating to watch bigoted people parade around a specific character in a series you enjoy. All while claiming they know them better than anyone else. I go through this with Sora from Kingdom Hearts who's another character that isn't exactly the poster child for traditional masculinity, and other characters of that specific variety.

Majima has only had two female love interests across the series so far, and we only see him interact with one of them while we're left up to the word of other characters outside his POV for the second interest. While he clearly cared a lot for Makoto, the Majima Saga of Kiwami 2 reveals she's started a family and will soon be living in another country. She's got her own life; a much better and happier one. Yet, she's still used by some as a prop for the sake of Majima being viewed as hetero, and some still want him to be hung up on a woman he loved over two decades ago. I can't deny that it starts to feel desperate and creepy. Him meeting her again just gave him a chance to see how well she's doing for herself and move on from that. I also can't deny it's frustrating to watch people treat Makoto in a way that completely denies her her own character in order to do what they think will make Majima happy.

As depicted by Goromi, and his pink dump trucks that debuted in Y3, Majima must be a fan of the flashiest shades of pink. Having a drag persona alone is something I think would turn certain fans away from him. It does to some small degree. Spinoffs like Dead Souls feature Majima being even more openly queer or disinterested in women than he is for the most part in the main games. While not canon, he's still depicted as being really into Daigo crossdressing and asking him if he's "ever thought of switchin sides." He gets genuinely disgruntled over not being able to kiss him, too. In Kenzan, he doesn't gain any feelings toward a woman he's lived with for a while, choosing to instead view her as a sister. (His treatment of the cabaret girls in 0 is similar. No attraction, just slightly younger women he views as if they're his daughters). Kiryu is the one who ends up with her for a year. This isn't even scratching the surface of multiple actions from Majima and things he's said during the main games. Viewing Majima as queer is nothing invalid, but at the same time, no one should be treated as if they have to pull out a novel to defend themselves from attackers.

The homophobia rears its ugly head in a format that I haven't seen jumped on a lot for other characters. "Majima isn't gay or bi. He's just crazy." It's the most absurd thing I've seen someone say on this topic to be honest about it. Shrugging away the perception of him not being straight by claiming any non-heteronormative behavior is the product of him just being a zany guy who seeks to strike fear and intimidate other men? Is he only stable minded when it involves women? That's sadly not all this mindset involves. There tends to be a push from those who aren't comfortable with their own orientations to not apply labels to characters. Claiming that queer people attaching queer labels to characters is wrong, but it's totally okay to call these same characters straight is hypocritical. Heterosexuality is also a label. Ironically, those with their own discomforts tend to praise and refer to Majima as a man who's just really comfortable with himself. Nothing more, nothing less.

All in all, people should be allowed to see this fictional character how they want. I have my grievances and disagreements with some fans, but the important thing is that I never go out of my way to start fights. Or start a random argument as if someone was waiting with baited breath to know my unasked for opinion.

Forgot to come here to say Ida came, no more city.

Electricity will be out for who knows how long and the city I've been in for my whole life is nearly wiped out. Going through a bit of a traumatic experience right now.

Please a delve into Jack x Yusei relationship. I love your analyses!

Thank you so much!

I do plan on getting to them after talking about Kaiba and Atem, and then Judai and Manjoume since I’ve been wanting to take a closer look into each of the rival-protagonist duos. I also need to refresh my memory on some things here and there. Rest assured, I’ll definitely be getting to them sooner or later.

Jack and Yusei have a relationship that I find a bit astounding. Have recently read another analysis on them that opened my eyes to new things with them, too. So, I’ll be talking about these two motorcyclists.

Your analysis post is really interesting! Re: the Vrains VDay cover with the heart shaped box, iirc that was recently discovered to be fanart submitted by a reader of the magazine. Choosing it as the cover is definitely A Choice, and idk if the publisher is linked to Shuiesha/YGO, but it's not official art or an intentional hint unfortunately (hence why the artstyle is so wildly different from the typical ygo artstyle too). 1/

Thank you for enjoying the analysis!

Mhmm. I’m aware of it not really being something official like that, but I almost still felt like it was worth mentioning in some regard. Maybe to do with the amount of people who had to look at it and okay it. Nothing big or truly hinting at something. Just an interesting choice to me like you said with it definitely being “A Choice.”

I apologize if anyone has been annoyed by how much I’ve been talking this morning hsissjsjsjsj

I’m working on various posts:

The romantic relationships in 5Ds and GX— meaning characters who like one another regardless of whether it’s returned and are consistently reoccurring. I have a few hang ups with most of them, and I’ve always wanted to talk about them. Hoping that it’s not misunderstood as me taking shots at anyone. I just wanna air my grievances with a lot of the writing as I analyze them all.

Kaiba’s strange relationship with Kisara and the BEWD. Again, I have some problems with the writing and really want to discuss these.

Writing decisions made when crafting Kaiba and Atem’s relationship that lend to different takes on their dynamic.

Possibly, a post on the writing of different female leads in the franchise and how Kotori is the most disappointing one thanks to Yoshida while the lead Sevens girl (I’ve forgotten her name already lord help me) has my least favorite design. (Can’t comment on writing as I haven’t watched Sevens). Also, definitely stuff about how often people bash Anzu or use her for terrible NSFW.

Maybe more Kingdom Hearts posts since this blog isn’t just for YGO.

And a post about various Kaiba fans who vary in toxicity, including homophobes who project onto him and abuse Kisara’s character.

Aw geez. I forgot about the duck comparison. My memory is a tad bit shot up with 5Ds. I also didn’t know if it was worth mentioning how Jack almost comes off as jealous about Bruno during the beginning stages of the completed group’s relationship.

DSOD could have a whole post on its own about potential romantic readings. I could poke at it one day. Also, I received an ask about the VRAINS moment.

There were some other moments I was uncertain of adding that came from VRAINS. There was a magazine cover for Valentine’s Day that featured Playmaker holding a heart shaped box with Revolver’s bullet earring as a pattern on it. And a few other things pertaining to those two.

YGO Analysis: The Misunderstood and Ignored Queerness of A Whole Franchise

It’s no surprise that in media— and even in real life— settings that bring several members of the same sex together result in certain situations eventually feeling homoerotic/romantic. Whether or not the people doing the actions that come across that way are actually gay is a totally different story. Hundreds to thousands of creatives have unintentionally written this behavior into various works, making some of their audiences raise an eyebrow as they discuss if there’s more under the surface. On the other side of that equation exist people who seek to purposely pepper in strongly coded moments and characterizations that lure an audience they have no plans on providing for. It’s a dirty move that brings in more viewership but can ultimately taint the views and expectations of the ones who’ve been cheated.

Amongst the vague ideas to gesture at and falsehoods, there is a third side where the viewer may feel either or both of the above about a product that has genuine forms of representation. This phenomenon particularly happens within certain genres where it’s very surprising and unusual for there to be solid LGBT+ characters and/or themes. Even when made explicitly canon, it can still cause doubt and uncertainty due to how often these things are there to drag the audience along. Sometimes, this information can be met with extreme denial and rejection from those who aren’t comfortable with LGBT+, or it can be strangely misinterpreted in favor of something else that fits the viewer’s desires. With others, however, it can feel like a pleasant surprise to know that the least expected media gave them genuine representation.

Yu-Gi-Oh fits into the last category. The mixed reception combined with the vast majority of people not knowing about it all results in a lot of overall confusion. Despite a major franchise having had canon, openly queer characters since around 2004, hardly any popular talks of it are had. There’s also the flip side of that where someone does discuss it but sheds light on the wrong parts or in a very basic way. Plus, once again, the lack of knowledge pertaining to this issue which in some instances is due to having only seen the dub. The dub cuts anything vaguely resembling potential LGBT+ content along with violence, alcohol, and sexual themes (the three more popular censorship works to talk about regarding this franchise).

Besides discussing the topics at hand, this analysis will also delve into the homophobia that runs rampant in the YGO fandom.

Keep reading

Do you ever just hnnhh wanna add things to a post you made? Considering Duel Links already had the sharkbaity scene with Shark acting like it’s a crime for Yuma to smile and be happy, I wonder what else Duel Links will have that’s pretty gay. It could really live up to the Zexal anime in that degree.

On a different note, Shark is pretty much written as a tsundere. Male tsunderes are rare, and Shark basically fits the notes to be one.

While he isn’t cartoonishly mean to Yuma purely from liking him, he does treat him a particular way in his rudeness. He wants to be his friend, but pushes him away quite a bit (as he believes he’s too dangerous for Yuma’s safety).

When presented with others gushing over or simply praising Yuma (like the teacher does when comparing him to the sun), Shark maintains his cool and seemingly careless facade. Only to then in private, show a soft side and fondly think or speak of Yuma. Rio has said he talks about the other boy all the time. He also doesn’t express this fondness so directly until the near end of the series where he gushes to Yuma in the middle of a duel.

In said duel, he uses a line like “worming your(read:Yuma’s) way into everyone’s hearts.”

When Yuma expresses joy and wants to be affectionate towards him for his overt moments of kindness, Shark gets aggressive, denies it, will even curse at him, and even blushes (like in Duel Links).

He constantly turns away from Yuma when deep down, he deeply desires to protect the boy as clearly evidenced multiple times in the show.

More than once, Shark can be seen not-so-subtly staring at Yuma from a distance. One time it’s focused on by the camera. The next, he’s sat in the background, watching the other very closely. It almost feels like a different display of his literal watchfulness.

He puts up a huge tough guy act that’s not even how he’s always been. Underneath it, he’s got a certain softness and need to protect anyone he truly cares about.

I wish I could have added this to the post, but alas. All jokes about confirmation aside, it was a very direct choice to have Shark blush when telling Yuma to stop smiling. I was so stunned when I first saw this lololol

Sharkbaitshipping confirmed xD

i dont know if you've watched VRAINS but the final duel has a straight up gay love confession too

Oh, I’m aware of that scene. I’m not sure why I didn’t include it in the post, but I must have not been thinking about it. The scene certainly has some criteria met to be brought up.

Oh? What’s that about the Kaiba thing?

YGO Analysis: The Misunderstood and Ignored Queerness of A Whole Franchise

It’s no surprise that in media— and even in real life— settings that bring several members of the same sex together result in certain situations eventually feeling homoerotic/romantic. Whether or not the people doing the actions that come across that way are actually gay is a totally different story. Hundreds to thousands of creatives have unintentionally written this behavior into various works, making some of their audiences raise an eyebrow as they discuss if there’s more under the surface. On the other side of that equation exist people who seek to purposely pepper in strongly coded moments and characterizations that lure an audience they have no plans on providing for. It’s a dirty move that brings in more viewership but can ultimately taint the views and expectations of the ones who’ve been cheated.

Amongst the vague ideas to gesture at and falsehoods, there is a third side where the viewer may feel either or both of the above about a product that has genuine forms of representation. This phenomenon particularly happens within certain genres where it’s very surprising and unusual for there to be solid LGBT+ characters and/or themes. Even when made explicitly canon, it can still cause doubt and uncertainty due to how often these things are there to drag the audience along. Sometimes, this information can be met with extreme denial and rejection from those who aren’t comfortable with LGBT+, or it can be strangely misinterpreted in favor of something else that fits the viewer’s desires. With others, however, it can feel like a pleasant surprise to know that the least expected media gave them genuine representation.

Yu-Gi-Oh fits into the last category. The mixed reception combined with the vast majority of people not knowing about it all results in a lot of overall confusion. Despite a major franchise having had canon, openly queer characters since around 2004, hardly any popular talks of it are had. There’s also the flip side of that where someone does discuss it but sheds light on the wrong parts or in a very basic way. Plus, once again, the lack of knowledge pertaining to this issue which in some instances is due to having only seen the dub. The dub cuts anything vaguely resembling potential LGBT+ content along with violence, alcohol, and sexual themes (the three more popular censorship works to talk about regarding this franchise).

Besides discussing the topics at hand, this analysis will also delve into the homophobia that runs rampant in the YGO fandom.

Keep reading

It’s both amazing (in a non-positive way) and pretty sad what the Kingdom Hearts and YGO fandoms have in common with each other.

There’s one side of both fandoms teeming with homophobes ready to leave hateful comments on gay content of any sort.

This was on an image of a gay pairing. I included the first one since I view it as an unnecessary statement to make, especially when the pairing they bring up hasn’t actually been canonized. The second one does the same thing. The bottom two are not only disgusting for the first portion of what they said, but also because they dare to tack on a compliment. It’s incredibly backhanded. “I find the content horrific, but it’s so pretty lol.” Don’t do things like this. Another common comment is “This ruined my childhood.”

In the KH fandom, where antis commonly lead targeted attacks on LGBT+ shippers, this is an unsurprising sight for some people. Again, people pull out straight pairings that aren’t actually canonized to use against queer content. There’s just an automatic assumption based on little details or writing that isn’t very fleshed out.

These are two examples, but things can be far worse and tiring for individuals with how frequently they happen. It may go without saying that this behavior isn’t exclusive to these two communities.

YGO DM is long since finished, but several viewers have a very skewered version of events in their heads. This comes from stuff like the dub and possibly influence from other people who’ve given their own distorted understandings of the story. The actual story paints an unusual friendship between Kaiba and Atem that’s sadly often considered nothing more than a cold rivalry where Kaiba despises Atem. Despite evidence from canon that shows the exact opposite (such as a scene in DSOD where Yugi demands to duel Aigami for sending a friend- Bakura- to another dimension to which Kaiba allows the duel because he relates to Yugi’s struggle). It’s also been consistently stated that their relationship is hard to define for each character, but there is a bond with genuine care. Speaking of DSOD, it’s gotten and still gets some amount of hate by fans who consider it a waste since the story isn’t exactly what they wanted/expected. It’s fine to not like the movie, but claiming stuff like it’s bad writing just because it’s not what you believed of the story is being childish.

Seeing as how KH is far from over, and Nomura has so many interesting writing methods, the franchise has its own enormous crowd of those snubbing Nomura around every corner. The games carry a staggering amount of plot implications, foreshadowing, and details one has to pay attention across every entry. Countless players despise the complex narrative- which, again, isn’t an inherent problem- and scream that Nomura is incompetent. He’s said himself that he enjoys theories, but many of these same detractors become angry with others who look into the seemingly normal details and tell them they’re wasting their time. It’s not enough to be angry with a frame franchise they’re still closely following, but they have to try to stop others from it. This isn’t even getting into how several higher ups in the franchise’s development team have made it clear time and time again that Riku and Sora are the most important characters. Much to the anguish of some of the detractors who also coincidentally despise Riku.

This may be a minor note depending on how you look at it, but... both fandoms have a number of male fans who project their desires onto the leads and openly fantasize about Sora and Atem going around and sleeping with almost every female character. The number of times I’ve seen this happen with them is just gross to put it plainly.

(Side note: I’ve discussed some of the homophobia and a bit of the plot misunderstandings in this post).