#specgus

spectragus and shundan are both twink m/m ships that have annoying shippers who largely mischaracterize them in their portrayals. the difference is that while i dislike danshun i absolutely ADORE spectragus.

i love their canon master/servant dynamic, where spectra really could give only two fucks about gus AT MOST while gus is absolutely obsessed with spectra and would kill and die (has died?) for him. gus revering spectra as his savior and subtextually, his religion, is so fucking sexy to me. and spectra hardly gives a fuck about him! i love it! it's all about devotion and putting your lover on a pedestal and making them your religion when you shouldn't be!

i also love how they're very obvious narrative foils of mira and ace. i dislike how a lot of new vestroia turned out (i dislike a lot of new vestroia in general lbr) but i loved spectra and gus being foils to mira and ace. wish new vestroia was written better.

however, i hate the way majority of the shippers ship it as if it's some cute evil boyfriends and removing the power dynamic between them so they're equal and care for each other the same amount. they are not equal and spectra does not care about gus the same way gus does him. it completely strips away the most interesting parts of the ship and twists both gus and spectra to fit whatever narrative they like best. which is fine, have fun, but i've seen some people actually get mad at others for pointing out how unhealthy specgus is in canon so the shippers have annoyed me. please stop being a pussy and just admit that canon specgus is "problematic" and live with that fact, lol.

"The King's dead; long live the King."

Mylene's words hardly register to Gus as he looks upon Zenoheld IV's body. What felt like a lifetime ago he imagined that he would be the one uttering those words with Spectra standing triumphant on the Vestal King's corpse. But the circumstances have changed; Spectra's no longer the one Gus would've walked into hell for. He's Keith now, an ally of the Resistance, and Gus is left with only the memory of Spectra and his vision.

But it doesn't matter anymore, because now Gus is King and he will do what Keith cannot.

oh, i definitely think they're queer coded. bakugan might not be as obvious about their queer coded villains trope compared to metal fight beyblade but a lot of the bakugan villains/antagonists still manage to fall under that category.

for gus and spectra, they have the classic master/servant dynamic, with an added bonus being the unmistakable homoromantic subtext and framing. gus' loyalty towards spectra goes above and beyond what's expected from a subordinate, to the point of canonical worship. spectra phantom is everything to gus; his reason for fighting, his light of hope, and his idol of worship. it's his spectra, not mira's or anyone else's. he is the one who'll be by spectra's side once he rules over the world.

as for spectra, his outfit and mannerism are very flamboyant and over the top. out of the entire vexos group, he's probably the closest to resembling the stereotypical queer coded villain. his relationship with gus only adds to this, what with gus being his only ally and the closest thing he had to a friend before joining the brawlers. the show also acknowledges this through the title of episode 39 where spectra says the title name, almost as if he is speaking to gus.

in the same episode gus also apologizes to spectra for not being able to be by his side anymore.

gus' "last words" are spoken in spectra's honor while he presses a hand to his heart. i think that's what the youngsters these days call