#although a few do. idk. merits exploration

[safflowerseason]

Idk if this is weird but where do you think Amy and Dan are on the sexuality spectrum?

It’s absolutely not a weird question at all! Although I’m not sure I can give an answer as thoughtful as my usual Dan/Amy posts….I’m obviously a major Dan/Amy shipper, lol, but of course I am very aware there are plenty of fans who ship Amy/Selina and Dan/Jonah. And I think it’s especially significant that for the most part, the textual foundations for those ships are actually found in the Iannucci era of the show (and, as usual, my answer to this question is mostly about Iannucci-Dan and Iannucci-Amy). You have Dan, obsessed with the physical/aesthetic trappings of masculinity, who seems to primarily view sex with women as a conduit to professional gain while there is little textual indication he enjoys it on its own merits (except with Amy). And Amy is a ball of ambitious anxiety who can’t unclench long enough to be in a sexually satisfying relationship with a man. Both characters also have fairly intense relationships with other members of the same sex, in addition to one another—Dan with Jonah, although mostly in S2 and S3, and Amy with Selina throughout the course of the show.

If I had to bet money, based on what we see in the show, whether it was Dan or Amy who had a consensual sexual encounter with another member of the same sex, it would probably be Dan, for a few reasons. On a very superficial note, Dan’s absolutely the type of guy who would be in a fraternity, and fraternities are some of the most deeply homoerotic institutions in the United States (there is extensive academic research about this. See also Dan pushing Jonah up against a wall, smashing a burrito in his face, and calling him “handsome.”). For another, his relationship with Jonah in the early years of the show is partly bound up in their competing performances of masculinity, and it’s not a stretch that their sexual hostility toward one another (or Dan’s with another man at some other point in his life) could actually turn, well, sexual. I do not think the show ever means to seriously imply that Dan and Jonah are interested in fucking one another, but the reading of their relationship works that way, if you want to take it there. Reid Scott and Tim Simons do have a particular spiky kind of chemistry that the early seasons of the show very much leans into—I believe that the S1 episode where Dan uses Jonah for intel was originally called “Dan Dates Jonah” or something like that. By late S3, the Dan/Jonah dynamic has faded into the background, and then Mandel takes their energy into this kind of less charged, bro-y territory in later seasons.

As for Amy…it’s harder to evaluate her because Veep is such a male-dominated show. She is presented as more sexually repressed (I find this concept problematic, but the show is pretty explicit about the framing) and also a lot more emotionally guarded…and considering her suburban/slightly blue-collar middle class socialization, I’m not sure she would have ever explored her sexuality enought to really consider sex with a woman. She’s vaguely propositioned by Melissa from Clovis, but the sexual implications seem to go right over her head. Amy’s primary female relationship in the show is with Selina, and while they are deeply drawn to one another for various reasons, personally none of it feels sexual to me as a viewer. As for whether or not Amy would be interested in exploring a relationship with another woman, I think she’d have to go through a lot of intense self-reflection and discovery first, and I’m not sure Amy is primed to ever do that for herself. Of the two of them, I think Dan on the whole would have a more fluid sexuality, whether or not he feels the need to identify as something other than straight.

Does that answer your question enough? I’m not sure I can give you, like, a number on the Kinsey scale, lol, but that’s my inital take on where things might stand. I don’t think Veep isn’t especially interested in exploring the sexuality of its characters insofar as they might differ from privileged heterosexual, cisgendered norms…it's a pretty small-c conservative show in that sense. Most mentions of same-sex relationships/sexual encounters are played for laughs, unfortunately…the way Gary’s sexual orientation is called into question by the other characters in the show is basically a bunch of off-color jokes about how gay men like “feminine” things. And the lack of attention paid to the sexual harassment of women in the workplace is another example of this curious distinterest in using gender and sexuality to criticize the political institutions at the heart of the show. But this absolutely does not and should not preclude a deeper examination from fans. What else is critical analysis and fanfiction for?

As a final sidenote, it has been interesting watching Succession as a Veep fan, knowing the two shows share the same creative DNA. Succession is also fairly small-c conservative, but the writers seem to be more consciously exploring performative masculinity in the workplace (not to mention the intersection of family and power, a intersection that is primarily defined by sex). The Boar on the Floor sequence, just off the top of my head. But even in a broader character sense—the way Tom acts when he’s in the office versus around the Roy family, the contrast between Roman and the other men in the office, Roman and Gerri’s connection, etc. The Succession writers also seem more interested in constructing complicated relationships between male characters that are purposefully sexually ambiguous, like Kendall and Stewey.

[xoxojustbreathe]

Religion

Completely random thoughts at 3:57am.

DISCLAIMER: If you are of any faith, please if you’re going to read this have an open mind and don’t get offended because I have no intention in offending anyone. These are just my personal thoughts and beliefs. Thank you.

Religion. There are so, so many types of religions. When I googled “how many typed of religion are there”  this is what I got

“As of 2014, there are an estimated 4,200 different religions in the world, and these can be categorized into several main religions. These include Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism, although Roman Catholicism is often categorized under Christianity.”

SO many. And how is one supposed to choose? The probability of people choosing their religion based on their personal beliefs is probably slim to be honest. (maybe the numbers gone up in the past few years, but it still doesn’t seem as much)

Then theres being born into religion.

When you’re born into religion, you’re being raised on what your parents beliefs are. When you’re young and all church is to you is that place you go to every Sunday and or Wednesday (or both) and you get told bible stories in Sunday school. When you’re older and more apt to actually soak things up and understand church and religion, whose to say that’s what you personally truly believe in? It’s just something you were brought up with, so it’s normal for you. It’s what your family believes in. So it’s what you should believe in, right? And when you’re brought up in a religion, they don’t give you much chance to explore other things, find what you believe in. It’s just Here. Believe in this and only this and follow these rules and you won’t go to hell.

And that just doesn’t seem right to me really.

I think that when you’re old enough, you should be able to decide for yourself. Which technically, you can I suppose.

But there still isn’t that opening.

Sometimes it’s a situation where if you were to left that faith, your family wouldn’t be happy with you. 

But it shouldn’t be that way.

Everyone is different. Each soul is unique and everyone feels and thinks differently.

I don’t know. I feel like this is just nonsense that will end up offending someone which is not what I intended at all. 

I was just watching videos of Brendon Urie on YouTube and there was a vine he made where the radio was playing some christian thing and then his next vine he was like “I may have offended some christians in my last vine, all I can say is... forgive me?” and he laughed. 

And then I went over to his Wiki page to see what his decent was because he’s absolutely beautiful and it was Hawaiian on his moms side.

ANYWAYS to my point that sparked this thought.

In the write up of his early life it said that he was raised in a mormon family but “left the faith when he was around 17″

anyway, that’s what sparked the thought for this...assortment of words. idk what to describe this as lol.

BUT yeah anyways.

I live in an area that’s known as a “bible belt” where everyone is very very religious and if you aren’t you’re seen as a bad person.

I have a friend that’s Christian and she goes to church and everything and she preaches about stuff online but then in person she's completely different. But that has nothing to do with this. idk.

My sister’s best friend grew up in a very strict christian family where they couldn’t wear certain clothes because they were “provocative” so they had to wear long skirts and whatever and they couldn’t watch certain things or listen to certain music or do this or do that and yeah

idk.

"The concept of doing good, as opposed to being good, the idea that a lot of us have been taught, many and you see it a lot, where people push to get you to do certain things. Give you a check list 'Do this, do this, DON'T Do that, and don't do that, don't do that, but DO this and this' and everything's cool. And they miss the whole heart of the issue. If the bible teaches anything, it teaches that god is much more interested on what's on the inside, then what's on the outside. And I grew up in a place where it's a Sin to go to movies, it's a Sin to have short hair, or long hair, you gotta have short hair, it's a Sin for woman to wear dresses that are too short, it's a Sin to dance, it's a Sin. All of these 'dos and don'ts. And while there may be some merit in that, and I'm sure there is, but I'm not saying any of those things are bad or good, my point is, it misses the heart. There are millions of people, and churches and institutions  who've built an entire religion out of dos and don'ts. And there empty inside because at the end of the day, following the rules and regulations has nothing to do with grace and mercy. Because, you know what, I am as foolish and frail as everyone here, we are all, simple human beings, right? We all do stupid things from time to time, We all say things we wish we wouldn't have said, we all mess up from time to time, but here's the cool part I want you guys to know: God is not some taskmaster  whose just waiting for you to mess up and that he's gonna go whaoom! He's not he wants the best for all of us, and if we get  past the idea of 'I gotta do this, and i gotta do that, and I can't do that, and I CAN'T do that!' And you walk around in fear all the time, and you try your best to keep this list of dos and don'ts and rules and regulations, and there's no joy in that! And, Our creators greatest desire for us, is to have joy, not just fun! There's a deference, not fun, but joy." -Vic Mingogna, Sunday Reflections 2008 (video below)

I just think...idk.

I think that religion is too forced in some ways. 

And it’s such a big thing that people forget what it’s actually really about.

Since theres so many types of religions and so many different stories and gods and beliefs it’s hard to fathom sometimes.

I’ve had a few really deep conversations about religion with my best friend because neither of us really have one. I don’t remember about her parents, if they had a religion or not but growing up, I didn’t. 

Before I was born my parents had my older sister and when she was growing up they were very christian, they went to church every wednesday and sunday and read the bible regularly and all that jazz and by the time I came along they didn’t really do that anymore. I forget why, but I’m glad they did stop because I like how I am.

I don’t have a religion and that’s perfectly okay.

I do believe in some god. I believe there’s someone that unconditionally loves you and believes in you.

"Embrace God's love for you and God's desire for you, because it's good, he wants the best for all of us, he wants you to be the best person you can be. And when I say God, I don't know what image comes into your mind, everybody has a different image, right? When I say that word, maybe you think of a guy in a black outfit with a little white square around the neck. When I say God, maybe you think of a church in your neighborhood with a certain steaple and a cross on top, When I say God maybe you think of a man in a white robe with a beard, right? Every body has a different concept , when I say god maybe you think of some kind of a silver haired, big bearded guy sitting on a big throne somewhere up on a cloud, So I'm not trying to get everybody to have a single review of god, that is not my desire, my desire is just to let you know, you are an extream value to god he spared no expnece and making you, and making you unique and special in your own way, and as we go through our lives we can either make choices that make us more like he wants us to be, or less like he intended for us to be, So my desire for all of you and for myself as well is not to follow a list of rules and regulations, but to invite every day, to invite god into your life." -Vic Mingogna, Sunday Reflections 2008

If you’re still reading.... 

Watch that. If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, just skim through it, but it’s so important and so life changing. Go to 25:50 in that video and it’s basically exactly what I’m trying to say about religion. <3 

In the link I posted below I basically typed up a lot of what he said in that video or some other one and here is one of those. This always hits me right in the feels honestly.

"I gave an example once at an event, but I don't think it was this one, but I love this example: How many dad's in the room? One? Fathers, anybody? Two, three, okay. Let me ask you guys a question. When your baby was small and was learning to walk, do you remember like, going across the and going, *he gets on his knees and holds one arm out* 'Come on, walk to me, come onnnn, come onnnnn little walker, look at your legs walking!' and your baby's going *and he stand up and wobbles around, like a  baby trying to walk* Right, Right? When your little boy or little girl fell did you go "AH COME ON! CAN'T YOU GET THIS RIGHT?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! LOOK I CAN DO IT!" Did you do that? No. What did you do? "Come on, get back up, you can do it! Come on, I believe in you" God is referred to as our heavenly father, that is a beautiful image, of god. He's not standing up in heaven going "Ah come on! Can't you get this life thing right?! It's so easy!" No, no, he is reaching out going "It's okay, it's alright, you fell down, so what? Get back up, I believe in you, you can do it." If you can hold on to that image, and I'm talking to myself this morning, If I can hold on to that image, if we can hold on to that image of God, not the 'waboom' god, but the God whose like *gets down on his knees and holds out his hand* 'Come on, Come on, oh it's okay, so what you stumbled, you lost your balance, it's alright, come on, I believe in you' If we can hold on to that image of god it will revolutionize your life and my life, it will change the way we do business in our lives, the way we relate to others. We're gonna find ourselves wanting to share that with others because it was shared with us, and we're gonna find this huge burden lifted off our shoulders, "ahh! I don't have to follow the list anymore? I don't have to go down the checklist of the dos and don'ts and the better not and the better have?" No, no. But we're all just human and we can't do everything by ourselves, the longer you live the more you'll know that's true, some of you that are thirteen or fourteen or fifteen you'll find that out and those of us that are older  we've learned that you can only do so much in your own strength, but there is an infinite amount of power available to you from your creator, just ask him. You don't have to jump through any hoops, you don't have to wear any particular clothes, you don't have to cut your hair a certain way, just ask him." - Vic Mingogna, Sunday Reflections 2008

I don’t remember if he says it in that one or not but one year he said this (He did. It’s at 27:00)

“God is madly in love with you and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

and that is so important to remember. Regardless of anything.

My religion is that video. It’s every year that he did Sunday Reflections at that convention and I got up early to go sit and listen to him. 

I really don’t know what else to say http://tamakisgirl.deviantart.com/journal/Religion-221930193

There’s a link that little 2011 fifteen year old me wrote about this same matter. 

At the end of the day, EVERYONE is allowed to believe what they want to believe.