#there are lots of explanations of why there’s a majority gay people here

[spicyicymeloncat]

They don’t prepare u for when ur posts breach containment and you have to deal with 20 people taking it more seriously than you were and saying the same surface level counter argument over and over again even tho you’ve responded to it they just can’t find your response and you have a bunch of people who all feel like they’re the first one to tell you what you missed.

[v0idund3rth3v3il]

https://www.reddit.com/r/progressive_islam/s/1401QvzC6v

These are not my words, please use the link if you want to see the author.

Explanation to verse 7:81 or the "Anti-gay" verse.

People often bring up verse 7:81 with out any context to show why the Quran forbids gay people and thinks that gay sex is haram, I'm here to give the full context and show why their wrong.

For those who don't know, verse 7:81 say's something like "Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people." Which sounds bad alone until you actually take into full context what it means.

The verse is talking about the village of Lot who were actively RAPING men, not just having sex with them (a major problem in the world back then as both the Romans and Greeks were known to rape other males). As in their lust had become so overwhelming that women weren't enough anymore, they had to attack visitors (a big no no in Islamic culture) and rape them even though they where guys. The people of Lot where so depraved that they literally tried to rape angels before being wiped out so it's a warning against the depravity of rape instead of homosexuality in general as no where in the Quran, unlike the bible, does it say anything against gay sex.

The verse literally right before it say's something like (plenty of translations but roughly) "How do you commit such a horrible that NO ONE/THING BEFORE YOU HAVE COMMITTED". This can't mean homosexuality as we know homosexuality in animals does exist and homosexuality was very well known to just about every person on the planet as shocker, gay people have always existed. Historically speaking, the Code of Hammurabi , which ordered society in most of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley for more than a thousand years, has nothing to say about homosexuality. The laws of Eshunna and Egypt are also silent on the subject with us knowing that there were ancient Egyptian gay couples including a Pharaoh who was more then likely bi. The Hittites forbade father-son relations, but that was part of a general rule against incest. The Assyrians thought it shameful for a man to repeatedly offer himself to other men, and also prohibited men from raping males of the same social class, but all other male-male sexual relations were ignored. These are all states that were around centuries before Sodom and Gomorrah were apparently destroyed destroyed. The much more rational explanation would be they made an entire society based on rape of men and other "abominations" to a point where they would kick people out for wanting to stay "pure" (line 7:82), something that no group of people before them have done.

Now people will often say "if it's bad raping man then it's ok if we rape woman right?" well no. This is because when you take it with the previous verse and the verse after it, it's clear that these people wanted the pleasure of doing something that no other group of people had ever done which was the mass rape/normalization of rape of men. It's absolutely horrible but the rape of women was a lot more normalized back than and so wouldn't fit with the previous line of them doing something that no group of people/creatures had ever done before. That also explains why they didn't except Lot's daughter (which could be interpreted as him trying to save them because the angels didn't take to kindly to wanting to be raped) as they got their rocks off by doing what no other people had ever done which was to mass rape men, not women which again, is also disgusting but a lot more normal back then.

To go more into Islamic history courtesy of u/cold-blue, The grand mufti of the Abbasid caliphate in the mid-9th century, Yahya ibn Aktham, was a known homosexual, and viewed a few verses through the gender/sexuality lens.

One of them was the verse where Allah says He prepares males for some, females for others, and mixes the males and females. I’ve read that ibn Aktham once said that this verse confused people because it alludes to sexual preferences. He also said that the heavenly cupbearers mentioned in the Quran are sexual rewards like the houris. (Whether or not homosexuality is allowed in Jannah was debated, and some came to the conclusion that it is, and the only reason it isn’t in this life is because the rectum is dirty.)

The Ottoman empire, the last caliphate of the Muslim world, not only didn't care about gay people (unlike the Europeans) but actually had art depicting it.

Another is al-Razi. While he didn’t outright say that homosexuality is allowed, he allowed gay couples to be together sexually so long as they didn’t have anal sex. He was concerned with homosexual men committing suicide over their innate feelings and said that if there is risk of that, and the man cannot change himself from homosexual to heterosexual/survive in an opposite-sex marriage, he may be with his beloved (a man) so long as he does not transgress the limits (in his opinion, anal sex).

One of the transmitters of the Quranic variants we have today (of which Warsh and Hafs are two) was a man named al-Kisa’i, who was also a known homosexual. So one of the seven qira’ats came from a gay man.

There was another man ALSO named al-Kisa’i, who was a historian in 1100 CE, and he said in his Stories of the Prophets (Qiṣaṣ al-'Anbiyā') that the people of Lut were specifically MEN WITH WIVES who raped other men, not homosexual men, lining up with what we know historically.

And speaking even more so on the physical element, the male "gspot" is actual in the anus which even if you find gross, is a design of Allah and not a flaw. Why would he do that if homosexuality is a sin?

The reason homosexuality is so hated in the Islamic world is none other then the heretical Salafi and Wahhabi movements (actually considered heretics for most of the time they were around including their top scholars, not my opinion, and the only reason their not now is because of British) and because of Europeans as homosexual relationships were generally tolerated in pre-modern Islamic societies, and historical records suggest that these laws were invoked infrequently, mainly in cases of rape or other "exceptionally blatant infringement on public morals". Public attitudes toward homosexuality in the Muslim world underwent a marked negative change starting from the 19th century through the gradual spread of Islamic fundamentalist movements such as Salafism and Wahhabism, and the influence of the sexual notions and restrictive norms prevalent in Europe at the time: a number of Muslim-majority countries have retained criminal penalties for homosexual acts enacted under European colonial rule.

People often only bring up verse 7:81 and don't bring the verses directly previous or after it nor does it take into consideration the histography of their actions and the verse. It would be like me saying a book said "...kill all black people." but not elaborating and saying that the line previous to is says "These people were so horrible that they would regularly chant..." and the line after it is "I can't believe they would say/do something so disgusting." with the entire context of the book being that they would kick out anyone who didn't want to kill all black people. They only say's that the book said to kill all black people. It's very disingenuous to say the least.

To further prove my point, the word "sodomite" is often used to mean the rape of another person through the ass, not consensual sex between the two. If you google "sodomized" than you'll see rapists, not a loving consensual couple. Even the Arabic words for "sodomite" and a gay person is different as sodomite is literally translated into "lut" well a gay person is translated into "shakhs mithliu aljins".

To get more philosophical about it, sex is not some fetish which just develops in people, it is the most primal human desire that a person can have. So why would Allah make a group (there's homosexual animals as well) a certain way and then say not to follow the most basic desire they'll ever have right after wanting food and water but then say the rest of that group can follow that desire after they get married? People can control their desires until marriage as the Quran makes clear, they don't just never have sex. So why would it be any different for a gay couple? This is like saying that sex with it self is haram.

Finally, people often forget the fact that Allah is an all loving and all knowing being so why would he make certain people that he hates or want's other people to hate aka be "phobic" of when in the Quran it's made clear that we should be loving and affectionate? Now even if after all of this people still believe homosexuality is haram, Allah is said multiple time to be all loving, all understanding and all forgiving so as long they are good people and don't commit a truly horrible sin (shirk aka worship of other false gods, rape, murder, hurting others, you know, the classics) Allah will inevitably forgive them for giving into their most basic human desire especially if it's with a loving partner with in a marriage so why would anyone else have a problem with them?

I'm not gonna add a tl;dr because I worked waaay to hard on this for it be condensed into a few sentences and I really want people to read it and fully understand where it's coming from.

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

There are times I think about playing Arknights just to see if it's as gay as your posting makes it seem.

Actually it's probably better just to ask it here. How gay is Arknights?

Well. The answer depends on how willing you are to read into subtext. If you’re the type who only cares about extremely explicit gayness to the degree of them literally saying it out loud or to have their relationship with another woman described in text as a relationship, then I guess the answer would be not that gay. There’s Tomimi who professes her love to Gavial in The Great Chief Returns event, and there’s Scavenger whose operator file describes how she was in love with a woman but they got separated, and by the time she was able to return to her her partner was dead. I think that might actually be it from the “turn to the camera and say ‘I’m gay’” level of gayness.

The reality of Arknights is that, despite all the things it does well (and there are seriously a lot of those, that’s why I’ve become kind of obsessed with it for better or worse), it is still a gacha game. And when the profitability of a game is tied directly to how much you can convince your audience to spend money to get the characters they want, it unfortunately makes them make so frustrating decisions to avoid any potential loss of profits. Specifically I’m referring to how characters are not allowed to be in relationships in text, as self-shippers are a potential revenue source (despite the fact that a character having a girlfriend vs a character being single is a much smaller roadblock to dating then the fact that they’re not real). Also it suffers from the very common problem of lack of body diversity and skin colors, fanart that you see that seems otherwise is likely fanon.

But if you like queer subtext, there’s quite a lot to work with. Especially since so many characters and their relationships with each other lend really well to lesbian readings with fascinating dynamics. Women will straight up flirt with each other in text somewhat frequently depending on the characters. Some women have relationships that are really really hard to read as anything other than lesbian (but people will always find a way, usually by not reading in the first place). It very often turns into a “there is no heterosexual explanation for this” situation. And the important thing to know is that ~80% of the characters are women, a lot of whom are very real characters with stories and everything that is well written and respecting of them (with a few exceptions). The majority of their interactions are with other female characters. If you’re picky about it any only want heavy subtext with minimal reading into it, you’ll have a number of good options of characters and relationships to enjoy, like Margaret Nearl and her two very obviously girlfriends/wives (depending on your interpretation), or Skadi and Specter, or Franka and Liskarm who got an official manhua dedicated to their relationship as mercenary partners that was so gay that the scanlators who put it on mangadex tagged it “Girls’ Love” only for the official translation to make it gayer.

It really is a your mileage may vary situation. If you’re like me and can read into the potential yuri in even the slightest interaction, it’s an unending feast. But if you’re only in it for the explicit canon then you might want to look for something else. Regardless, it is a gacha game but also it is a game with a majority female cast of usually well written characters in stories where they are the focus. Seriously, the first like 6 chapters of the main story only have a few men, most of whom are nameless npcs or antagonists, and even the main antagonists get to be fascinating women a large portion of the time. I know it might sound like I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel here but misogyny is an extremely present force in storytelling and the bar is really low. I can elaborate more if you want me to, but as you can probably tell I’m not good at being succinct, and any further elaboration would be as long and rambly as this

[v-h-lupin]

Maurauders Era Characters if they were Demigods (with explanations) pt.2

find part 1 (the main 4, Lily, Mary, Marlene) here and then pt 3 here

Christopher (ATYD):

I'm not sure but its giving... minor god with interests in education. not athena. someone other than athena. Honestly? I wanna say Iris. Iris is a minor goddess, but important in symbolism. Chris has a lot of feelings of.. insecurity, and while its not necessarily a trait Iris has, a lot of "minor" demigods sometimes have that issue. Also rainbow... insert gay joke here

Severus Snape:

ok i know this may just be my thirst for symbolism but if he was a son of poseidon it would be so cool especially since I had Lily as a daughter of Athena (and Athena and Poseidon are constantly at odds). Poseidon was known for his intense jealousy-- "better than Zeus!" but not by much. And he can really wreck your ships if he's unhappy with you.

Regulus Black:

Okay I know I said Sirius was a son of Aphrodite. And I know this is going to sound... odd. But. given that this is headcannon and they only need to share 1 parent, I'm actually going to say Athena. This kid is a child of thought. He was a major turning point in the war. This would also explain some of the times he and Sirius butt heads, because of the difference in the way they think. Regulus lays low and changes the course of the war with one move.

Arthur Weasley:

... something something, im honestly. not sure. Athena, perhaps, because of his absolute thirst for knowledge about his special interest (that being muggles) so much so that he hoards the objects and stays in a job that does not pay him nearly enough because he gets to mess with them all day

Gilderoy Lockhart:

oh. this one is tough. I consulted people and they said Hermes. I think we can see why but its so odd to say that when I also said James and Peter were Hermes kids. Hermes just has HELLA range. Lockhart is clever enough to act dumb. That sounds like a Hermes thing to do.

Pandora Lovegood:

I wanna say Iris, goddess of the rainbow, for the aesthetic. But something in my heart says Hephaestus. She was so curious and dedicated to her experiments. I feel like it's "unexpected" but she doesn't really listen to other's judgements and kinda does her own thing. Like making magical experiments. It's great.

Grant Chapman:

this man is the sun, his father is apollo. theres no discussion about it hes just like that. If I wanted to give reasons, he's got this motivation (eventually) to make the world a less s**tty place, he loves music, also in the future he fosters children with his life partner and that seems like an extremely Apollo thing to do (considering he's the protector of young boys and men)

[twig-tea]

PHEW, ok, now that I've compiled and read all the meta (everyone is amazing, I love all of you, thanks for the love back!) and slept on it, I feel like I have processed enough to gather some thoughts and make a prediction on ep12 [clown checkpoint at the end of this long post].

Pre-Prediction Groundwork i.e. what the heck are you thinking and why did this take you two days

First, I want to say, I still think the montage over the years was not off. The depiction of a happy couple that annoys one another, accommodates one another, is sometimes just happy to be in one another's presence and sometimes happy because of one another's presence, is a perfect summary of a long-term relationship to me. Some folks mentioned that it seemed like they were unfulfilled but as an introvert and a homebody I can tell you when I look back on time spent in relationships these are the moments I think about. Yes, I've gone and done fun things with significant others, but those moments aren't the ones that necessarily feel like they're about us. It's the moments doing nothing that feel like they really capture a relationship, to me. And @rebel0777 hinted at this in a post: sharing food has been the love language for this couple all along, so for it to have mostly focused on them sharing meals doesn't feel strange at all. Anyway I'm fully ready for the show to have a different message but reading everyone's thoughts didn't change my mind on this.

That being said, the thing that other people have said that has swayed me most is the idea that Pisaeng does have some things he left unsaid, and going back in time gives him a chance to say them (whether or not Kawi is fine in future). As mentioned in the roundup, @bengiyo and @incandescentflower get credit for their thoughts on this theory.

In a conversation with @pandasmagorica the potential for a time loop was raised; I laid out why I don't think the show will go that route here--writing this also helped me frame my thoughts around what the show is trying to say and where I expect it to go as a result.

One thing that I think Pisaeng hasn't really been called out for in this series yet is how dedicated he is to Kawi--maybe that's just romance tropes doing their thing, but this man really has been through it in the various timelines. He fought hard for that plushie, celebrated his confession-aversary for at least 8 years, continued to follow and support Kawi's career even when he removed himself from his presence to save him from gay rumours...Pisaeng may need to learn to not sacrifice for Kawi's sake.

The other thing that I've been thinking a lot about is why Kawi seems to have a sense that the amusement park date has already happened [based on the ep12 trailer], when in the other timelines nobody had that same feeling of deja vu, and the reason I came up with is: in all of the previous timelines, Kawi made significant changes to his behavior that rewrote the timeline so profoundly nothing in it was the same. He spent time with his dad; he befriended Pisaeng; he went on the departmental trip and confessed to Pear; he tried out for student council and joined a band; he convinced his dad to get surgery; he confessed to Pisaeng. Because of these major changes every time he goes back, we don't see Kawi relive any days from his original timeline (or any of the other timelines) except kind of the first one (and even that one has major differences).

However, to my mind Pisaeng must be terrified of doing anything differently, other than maybe put some things into words (as mentioned above) and/or staying away from Kawi entirely [and I highly doubt that could work since Kawi knows Pisaeng's tricks from the other timeline as per @zzh3], so if he tries to relive their date from the latest timeline, the events would be similar enough that there could be multi-verse/timeline bleed-over. [There are other potential explanations, and of course this is fully blown out of the water if I'm wrong and Pisaeng does decide to make major changes to the timeline, but this is the one that my brain kept chewing on].

This also made me realize that if I'm right and only Pisaeng's consciousness travels to the past, and if Pisaeng does not decide to make any major changes to the timeline, if Pisaeng stays in the past, it will not make Pisaeng and Kawi equal, but will instead give Pisaeng a huge knowledge advantage, because Pisaeng will have lived all of this once before; in the last timeline, in contrast, Kawi did not jump ahead to peek at his future before sticking with the timeline after making significant changes, so he didn't know what was going to happen (he just had the imbalance of knowing what could happen, which he did share with Pisaeng though it's not the same to live it as to hear about it). The only real way in which they would be equals is if Pisaeng jumps back to the future [so they will be equal in their time travel experience and opportunities to make change], or makes a significant enough change in the past that their lives will be completely different [so that both of them will be equal in their uncertainty]. This is not quite counter to, but is a wrinkle to the points made by @bengiyo, @grapejuicegay and @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle about relationship equality being achieved with Pisaeng time travelling, which at first really resonated with me and I think still hold true if they go one of the two routes I mentioned above. [And yes, I do think leaving things as they are would still put them on equal footing because choosing not to make a change is still a choice, and is still exerting power over their future that the other doesn't have.]

Speaking of this, thanks to a great conversation with @pandasmagorica and @thegalwhorants I went back and dug into the timeline of the series here, but TL;DR I think we could in theory have reached a few months before Kawi time travelled in the first timeline. That doesn't massively affect my prediction but I wanted to capture it because I do think it's relevant re: the balance between Kawi and Pisaeng; if Pisaeng goes to the future and I'm correct that this lines up closely to the point at which Kawi first travelled backwards in the original timeline, then in the current timeline both Kawi and Pisaeng will be at a truly equal point where neither has seen anything past where they are.

Shifting focus slightly, @grapejuicegay's thoughts about consciousness and the mechanism of time travel also made me wonder, if Pisaeng jumps back to the future [going to keep saying this because it continues to be funny to me], does the consciousness of the version of him who he took over from in the past go back to being the one in control? Is that why the Kawi of the past always seemed to stagnate whenever he jumped into the future, because the person left in Kawi's body had not had the character growth and life experiences that allowed him to make the changes in his life, so he was his former self living a slightly better life but without the personal growth to really take advantage of it? Essentially what I'm getting at here is, if Pisaeng doesn't make a change and does go back to the future, maybe the version of their relationship captured in the montage isn't lost after all, because they would make the same choices? [shout-out to the mourning of the montage by @ellaspore that got me thinking about whether it could be salvaged]

One last point I want to make: As much as it would be deeply satisfying to see Pisaeng and Kawi fight for their rights like @rocketturtle4 theorized, or going abroad so that they could get married like @marbles290 posited, or even working out a lavender wedding arrangement like @grapejuicegay suggested, I think the show already made points on these possibilities with Max and the changes to his choices, and so it would be repetitive to make it with Pisaeng and Kawi [I would not mind if the show did this, I just think this show has so much to say that it will take the opportunity to make a new point]. I think instead it's going to help Pisaeng learn the same lesson Kawi had to about time travel not being able to solve everything [hat tip @waitmyturtles], and needing to be brave and resilient enough to face the future without knowing what the future will bring, and reinforcing appreciating the time you have by being present in the present and not sacrificing your own happiness.

This show has set up so much that could happen, and this isn't the only ending I would be satisfied with by any stretch, but what I think would be most satisfying (at least for me, as I write this) would be if Pisaeng learns to accept that he can't fix everything and goes back to his future to live in the present, not knowing what the outcome will be. Also can I just say, it is really exciting to have multiple endings that I could be satisifed with?! I feel like that doesn't happen that often, at least for me.

Theory time!

So, all that being laid out, here's my Official Clown Theory about what happens in ep12 (adding lots of details so that there are a lots of opportunities to be wrong):

Pisaeng goes to the past and tries to play it cool; they re-live their first date and when Kawi notices something off, Pisaeng tells Kawi that he time travelled [this is based on the trailer so I'm not numbering it as a guess, though this show has done such a good job recontextualizing what we saw in the preview before so this could still be clowned]

Pisaeng is able to put into words what Kawi means to him

Kawi helps him come to terms with not being able to change everything the way Kawi had to come to terms with it too

[More because I want it than because I think it will happen but I'm writing it to manifest it] Pisaeng also talks to his mom while in the past to say hey, if you care about my future, help change the politics in Thailand rather than sending me abroad--giving his mom a chance to change with her kid like how Pear's dad said she should

Pisaeng jumps back to the future

We get the montage again and it looks almost exactly the same maybe just sped up, also maybe [because I've been good and deserve a treat] added bits about marriage equality moving forward?

Kawi recovers, and Kawi and Pisaeng are the ones married May 2027, at the beach [because almost all BL weddings are beach weddings, I don't make the rules]

Kawi tries to give Pisaeng the same speech Pisaeng gave him about if how he does die in future, Pisaeng should try to move on [credit to @tinycowboybro for thinking about the importance of this speech]

Pisaeng responds by reprising Unable [Gawin's OST which I have become recently obsessed with] or one of them performs a new OST we haven't heard yet? [GMMTV seems determined to milk having two protagonists who can sing]

Kawi and Pisaeng confirm neither knows what will happen from here but they'll face it together in the present [YAY]

Post-credit cut scene is Not being given the chance to go back in time by Time Travel Guy [this is still the funniest possible ending to me and I'm not going to stop speaking it into being until it's proven wrong]

Alright we'll see how many of these 10 guesses I get right on Friday. [You may have noticed I ditched the his-death-was-inevitable theorizing I did initially, even though my timeline deep dive does potentially support it, and it could still work with a lot of the above, but I just decided to go with what would make me happiest. I would still be satisfied if they do go that route or leave it ambiguous, as long as they lead up to it well.]

No matter how this goes, it has been an honour and a privilege digging into this show with all of you!

[That being said I realized I will be travelling on Friday and Saturday so depending on the train wi-fi, I may end up being late to the final episode].

cc. the other folks whose writing I was thinking about and have linked in the round-up post but didn't reference directly here: @telomeke; @benkaaoi; @jjsanguine; @stuffnonsenseandotherthings; @shortpplfedup; @williamrikers; @heretherebedork; @visualtaehyun; @knighthacker; @minorista; @neonsbian; @nemesis-21; @snidgetwrites no pressure to interact I just want to give you all credit becuase reading what everyone wrote has informed my thinking [though of course if you disagree with my conclusions, I am the only one to blame (and also I'd love to hear about it)!]

[prettyoddfever]

Tumblr glitched while I was trying to answer this, but thankfully I took a screenshot of everything before refreshing because I legit cannot find that draft or question anywhere now, sorry. So here we go again...

I'll link to the post here. (btw any annoyance that might seep into my tone in my recent answers is NOT directed at the actual people asking... y'all are lovely). So that post is done in a very similar tone to the Ryden primers that the pre-split fandom posted, but I'm getting the sense that this is very very different... like that person seems to actually believe the content that they're posting is straight up facts (and even if they don't, the fact that you're referring to it as "infamous" probably implies that other people are at least treating it as real facts, so I'm still going to address it like the tone is serious). Here's an explanation of how the majority of the fandom used to view Ryden.

A lot of their pictures no longer show up, so I'm going to leave a wayback screen recording here for reference:

I'll just comment as I go through it if I have something to add:

I suppose that the tone of someone's comments is open to interpretation, so idc as much about whether those are misread or not.

That supposed AIM convo was shared as a myspace bulletin by Brent's brother Blake during the summer 2006 season when he was trying to stir up shit and was busy posting other inaccurate info too. I'm just saying to take it with a grain of salt. 

Ryan’s lj post on 9/27/05 was about the release of AFYCSO that day. He talked a lot in interviews that season about how it was weird for him to see so many fans singing his lyrics back to him.

uhh most of the pictures that this person lists "from this era" of 2004/2005 are actually from 2006. so they definitely know what they're talking about here lol.

they list one of Ryan's livejournal posts and then say "I'm not sure of the exact date, but I know it was some time in 06." It was from June 24, 2006. 

lol Audrey.

re: the Myrtle Beach theory

why is the part where Ryan called Brendon a golden god in late 2006 any different than when Brendon said this about Spencer that same season?

re: the 2006 mic-sharing & stage gay

fans would positively scream when Ryan & Brendon approached each other, especially in the last half of 2006. this moment in Munich in October 2006 seemed no different... the guys absolutely knew what they were doing.

the VMA performance just seemed like Ryan was still using Brendon as a safe space to look at so he wouldn't stare at his feet or guitar, but that is still very much something you could turn into a Ryden thing so carry on haha.

about the Rolling Stone interview

I'm laughing at the "squint a little harder" comment about finding Ryden content in 2008. That is so accurate. 

re: Dylan's myspace (yes, Keltie ran a myspace for Hobo that anyone could grab pics from).

Ryan absolutely sounds like he's saying dude... also that would be normal.

the picture of the bracelet is normal

I'm just going to link to this post since it addresses many similar inaccurate points about early 2009.

I was about to side eye them so hard for posting the Lana Jade letter as real, but at least they added that she made multiple posts explaining that it wasn't her. And yes, obviously Brendon's best friend was Shane (not Ryan).

omg Ryan's tattoos are not about Brendon. Those are Tom Waits lyrics. Ryan was good friends with Thomas Dutton. About a year before getting the tattoos, Ryan was hanging out with him on tour in the UK and later told Kerrang that “a friend of mine in Forgive Durden turned me on to Tom Waits when we were in the UK… I’ve been listening to him ever since. His voice is so rough and dark. I’d never really heard anything like that.”

the sharing beds idea was misunderstood in the Billboard interview... all 4 guys slept on bunkbeds in the same room when they were recording AFYCSO. That's what Brendon's referring to.

re: the Bishop Gorman tshirt… Ryan was hardly that size in high school. But Brent went to Bishop Gorman too (and so did Paulina, who was also friends with Brendon). Brendon did borrow some of Brent’s stuff in 2004/2005 (like money for food while they were first touring). Just saying… it's def interesting, but it’s not an automatic Ryden connection.

I didn't read Spencer's tone in that out.com interview the same way... there's some relevant bits in this post.

about the red shirt

here's my general tag for Ryden stuff

[ask-pimling]

//HI ADMIN HERE‼️‼️ I’ll be talking throughout this whole post!

For starters! When admin is talking I’ll be using // to signify! They’ll be located at the start of a paragraph!

- This blog is 18+! While I won’t be posting NSFW Pim may respond to suggestive questions or situations!

- This takes place an my au!! There will be a lot of things that may not work in the show or make no sense with the canon of it! If you’re curious just ask!

- Admin is 18 years old and uses ze/it pronouns

-Pim is 36 and uses all pronouns with a general preference of he/him! He is genderfluid, poly, and gay

- Admin has the right to block whoever for whatever reason! If you make me uncomfortable I will block you, especially if you’re a stranger to me I do not owe an explanation!

- I’m not comfortable adding any other blogs to my canon at this time! Any interactions are non canon but I don’t mind if you do interact or talk! Just don’t expect any canon or real memories to stay between the characters!

- *Anything* relating to trains will result in a block. I will not explain why but it’s a major trigger for me. Anything at all will be blocked.

-Admin is in college so I won’t be able to respond to everything! But I will do my best to<33

Finally!!!

This is all for fun! I’m just here to make people smile and maybe frown if we get into Pim’s angst :333

Ta-ta!!!

[meraki-yao]

That question was super serious im trying to figure out what's going on, love that taylor got all that exposure but it was a bit surprising, Im from a super homophobic country (illegal/death penalty type homophobic) and china is probably more progressive from where i stand but by western standards its still a lot conservative. So it was odd that an actor who's only popular in certain groups for playing a queer character is getting hyped up there.

Heads up, I went on a rant lmao

I agree. And I was really freaking anxious the whole time he was there because of it.

Okay, for those who don't know, here's the thing about LGBT+ in China. And I'm only gonna talk about the sexuality aspect because the gender aspect is a whole other topic and a lot less progressive than the sexuality side (that being said trans lives matter)

The official stance promoted by the government, ergo the public, is condemning it. Thankfully not in an illegal/death penalty type, but more in a "if we ignore it and don't talk about it, it will go away" type.

There were a couple of years I think in the mid-2010s where significant progress was being made in terms of both representation (see shows like Guardian, the Untamed, Word of Honor) and pride organizations and support (see Shanghai Pride)

But starting in mid-2021 the government suddenly cracked down on queer representation. "Effeminate" men were publicly condemned and called "sissy" BY THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT NOTICE (I was fucking fuming when I read it). Dangai (BL, or simply, adapted from gay novels) shows were banned. Multiple LGBT+ organizations were shut down without explanation. And just this year, when a singer with a famous song about being an LGBT ally supporting the community held a concert in Beijing, anyone with anything remotely resembling a rainbow was banned from entry and had to hand in the rainbow object, even if it was their clothing. And those stuff were never returned. The older generation, such as my parents' generation, condemn it. It's not an optimistic sight.

But here's the fucking truth: queer people, have always existed, and always will. So actually, younger people, I'd say 30 years old and younger, the vast majority accept queerness. Gay couples are sharing their lives on Bilibili. Danmei (explicitly gay) radio dramas, novels, and comics are still being produced and consumed. There are so many people watching Western gay shows and movies such as RWRB as well as producing gay fan content. And honestly, part of it is due to the shipping culture here (which is a whole other topic I can write a dissertation on).

Either way, what I'm trying to say is regardless of whatever the "official stance" is, the demographic that's active on social media is accepting of it. Which is why RWRB could gain such popularity in China.

As per my last ask, I think the main reason for inviting Taylor is his willingness to try things the local way. A lot of times Chinese capitalists/executives don't really care where the star got their fame from, they just care that they are famous.

The difference with Taylor is that actors in China of a similar level of status locally to Taylor and who have been in queer productions don't talk about it after the promo period is over. If anything, gaining fame from being in a Dangai is kind of considered shameful. In fact, they actively avoid it. Taylor is of course, more than willing to talk about RWRB. In fact, during the videos, live streams and stuff, I was actively observing if RWRB would be brought up by the Chinese side/host. It wasn't. During the Little Red Book livestream, despite basically everyone in the live chat spamming RWRB comments, Taylor was the one who said "Oh I see talk about RWRB, what do you want to know?" And I understand that there are several potential reasons why RWRB wasn't brought up by the host, including time constraints, pre-set questions, pre-set agendas etc, but latent homophobia is also a potential reason.

Either way, yeah. I don't really know what the conclusion of this ramble is but here you go 😅

[redheadbigshoes]

Some asks here got me wondering. Can I ask, why do you think a lot of people in this community, which I guess are mostly white people making shit up, are much more adamant about including men in the lesbian sexuality than the other way around?

I don't understand why they can't grasp the idea of being attracted to women exclusively, going so far to exclude masculine non-binary people and trans women for it, but when I see the other side they don't seem to have the same problems of gay men including women in their sexuality? (Though I think the gay community might be prone to excluding feminine trans men or non-binary people if that was the case, but that's besides the point.)

Sorry for the long ask. I have not gone deep into either of the communities so I apologize in advance for thinking things wrongly. It just feels like they're using terfs and radfems as insults towards lesbianism because their view on women seem more shallow.

I think first we need to understand most of those people supporting terms like “bi lesbian” are not only white but also American, which is important to remember. And I feel like when you’re both white and American and your life is basically online you end up being protected of suffering a lot of prejudice that happens in real life. Not only that but minorities tend to be less prejudiced, so that could also be an explanation of why the majority of people wanting to include cis and trans men in lesbianism are white and American.

[terraliensvent]

Definitely agree with you about the lore plot holes and what their focusing on,, like sure the new stuff is cool but there’s so much already existing species stuff that have been here since it’s inception without an explanation…

Synthetic and edible terras are apparently man made so does that mean humans live on Terrah?

What even is a terralien and why are they the way they are?

There’s so many great opportunities for world building that would be many talented world building writers dream to work with but we don’t really get anything..

Also a lot of places in my explanation I was intentionally vague because there IS nothing to specify

Why did Lydia’s attempts to contact her parents not work? I dunno.

How did the planetary terras get separated from the rest of the species? Who the hell knows.

I get the lore is incomplete but like I feel like these may or may not have a good chance of being explored because it seems they aren’t willing to back track and work on the lore of things said previously..

And definitely the worst part is how the lore is found out. I 100% agree with your point about saving the silly codes and puzzles for less important lore like… I get they’re trying to do the whole web ARG thing but it just doesn’t work when everything is so vague… like imagine if the gravity falls ARG was like this😭

Like the show just info dumps a bunch of seemingly random shit and the ARG has all the important shit you actually need to know… but since gravity falls is actually competent you don’t even need to know they HAVE an ARG site to understand the show

All in all this just goes to show like how many people have been saying, how half-baked the lore is rn..

Also noticed people in the terra uprising server found my synopsis of the lore very informative and accurate so uh thanks and glad I could help! :]

post related

youre right, the plot holes here really distract from the "narrative," and again they really should have focused on GENERAL species lore first because now theres the chance things will need to be retconned once they actually do come up with the species lore

the web arg aspect of it can be done well, but not for major parts of lore. tell me about your world and species UPFRONT, dont make me dig around in the files just to find out what the hell a terra even is. save the puzzles and games for minor lore, like personality info about the NPCs. thats a fun way to engage the community while also not taking away from the experience of members who dont know/cant figure out the puzzles. the gravity falls comparison is also really good here, since you can watch the show without engaging with any of the ARG aspects and still have a fully formed narrative, a 10 year old watching the show for the first time can understand the world and events perfectly fine without digging through reddit to read backwards codes. this just reminds me of those people who will give important story details OUTSIDE of the story, like jk rowling tweeting dumbledore is gay, or vivziepop giving important details to the hierarchy of her world in podcasts.

its just another example of how terra staff's priorities are really out of whack, you release yet ANOTHER new subtype when your design approvals are still a mess, you make lore for the new subtype BEFORE the lore of the actual species, and you dont fully deliver on either front because theres next to no actual info on the design guidelines of the planetary subtype and there are really weird restrictions (like only being able to have circular planets) attributed to "lore," then we find this lore out and its got major plotholes and still doesnt explain why the planetary subspecies is only allowed to have planets in the visor and not other celestial bodies

in my ideal world, i think the planetary subspecies could operate the same as the fossil subspecies, where theres a "sub-subspecies" for planets, one for stars, one for galaxies, etc. etc. and then you can have your cake and eat it too. you can make your lore around the "planet" sub-subspecies while also not imposing weird and illogical design restrictions. and of course, this would all be done AFTER the general species lore is completed (and given in an EASILY ACCESSIBLE page on the website none of this ARG bs) because really that should have been done a year ago.

[castlebyersafterdark]

i think youre right about the bi/gay debate (sorry to bring it to you... im not bringing it in a Im New Here way, but rather an I've been here a while and youre someone i feel safe asking about this, sort of like sitting down at a kindly hot gay wizard's knee and asking for wisdom way hehe.)

HOLY HECK i did not even see the slideshow length, 300?! i know we celebrate the boys here, but when youre compiling like that it starts to feel like compensating for something. and you're right - so far (im about halfway through) ive been asking myself things like 'but why does that make mike bi?' on every other slide. theyre detailing the plot of s4 from mike's pov; things that all bylers agree on, gay and bi truther alike. none of it so far is evidence for bi mike. at one point they say 'theyre not compatible in a romantic relationship, but mike likes kissing her as we can see here...' and this is what has me respectfully yelling HOW CAN WE SEE THIS PLEASE because so much of these discourses is about opinion and subjective interpretation. im about to sound like a nerd: it really makes me miss school. and uni. and debate club. and seminars. with actual discussion and evidence. hell, i even miss english class and writing essays. make a point. provide evidence. follow up with explanation. the teachers actually called it P.E.E.

PEE. amazing.

but youre right, because its ok for everyone to have their interpretations, especially as the show is unfinished! maybe im just endlessly confused by people's need to justify and be right. what is gained? i think i expected too much from the fandom lol, i expected academia. i feel like i get that open-mindedness from some places though, and from you (plus many other treats heh heh). i think i would love to have had you in my uni classes, vinny! youre so interesting and kind.

and im endlessly interested in the sexual attraction vs. love thing, because ive definitely seen people say that sexual attraction isnt needed. aromantic gay folk, etc... i must be honest and say it gets beyond my understanding and i cant form an opinion on that

footnote 1: im gonna finish the slideshow because today i was reading about the Sunk Cost Fallacy and want to be masochistic (only 150 slides left! its ok though, the vast majority are screenshots of the show itself that illustrate... nothing lol)

Hope you two anons don't mind a little three-way action combining this conversation 🤭 just so my blog isn't dominated by this topic with redundant points! I totally don't mind the topic if it's open and friendly and analytical rather than fighty. All good here. Under a cut since this is long and if people want to skip this topic:

"sitting down at a kindly hot gay wizard's knee and asking for wisdom" - Firstly, love that, obsessed with you. And YEAH the number of slides made me irl do that slow blink meme gif, we know the one. I wasn't very compelled. Am I too staunch and biased? It's not that "oh this character must be gay because I'm gay and like Byler" - no? A lot of people like Byler and aren't gay at all. I've been in fandom culture a long time and don't need to project. I just see what I see. I've shipped many things where I knew the characters weren't queer but I liked the idea. This is the first time in a long time that I feel the shipping and analysis collide and can actually be one in the same, a fandom rarity in my opinion and taste in media.

Anyway. A lot of the points for bi Mike overall from many sources of discussion never strike me as evidence he's bi. They could so often go both ways (HA SORRY) to bi vs gay points. And then the gay points tip the scales. So much of the argument is subjective, for sure. But there is coding and hints and arcs that lend solid evidence. His LACK of attraction to women just feels so clear to me when we have soooo much of that with the other male characters? He just acts differently, abrasive to certain concepts. And his relationship with El is a mess. I will feel so odd if we've all analyzed that wrong. All the points about Mike's weird expressions, his awkward physicality with her as opposed to Will, never really seeming all too enthused. It's almost looks like panic sometimes. A lot of what he says that's read as romantic feels like a performance for other people around - MIKE is the one overcompensating here, truly. His defeated facial expression before he says he loved El in the monologue is such a giveaway to me. He's about to lie for his life and hers.

This is what I mean by life and death. Guilt over his new friend dying for them season 1. Anger at Hopper hiding her while he missed her and felt guilt over what happened. Season three conformity and puberty confusion arc, getting mixed up from growing up and trying to be normal. The excitement that yes, I can be normal, this girl likes me. Changing his personality to fit, and overcompensating for not knowing the difference between platonic and romantic feelings for this girl - he struggled with the platonic because he feels he can't have that so his relationship is messy and too physical, not emotional. His mind and body and heart are all at odds. He and El aren't really friends because they haven't had the time or allowed their relationship to be anything but this need to have it be romantic - El's issue, too, with not really engaging with society in a meaningful way. Rambling now. But it's not hard to see if we're paying attention. Haven't even touched on anything to do with his behavior in regards to men or Will - this is already too long.

I think a lot of people will continue to ship what they want regardless of the outcome and honestly - that's fine? What if the worst happens and Mike ends up with El? I will still be a hardcore Byler fanboy until Stranger Things is not a fandom I'm interested in engaging with. I don't really care. I'll forge my own reality through fanfic. I believe those who still want to engage with Mlvn will do so. I can understand why people choose to see Mike as bi. His sexuality isn't canon yet (as opposed to Robin and Will). It's what they're into and HC since we do not know 100%. I'm not so blinded and delusional to not admit that.

Creativity and analysis overall - to anon #1's point. Yes!!! Glad to be enrolled with you at Stranger Things university. I got my little notebook out, overly caffeinated but I'm there for class. I'm the annoying guy interjecting. But I feel like you'd be sitting next to me in lecture backing me up.

and im endlessly interested in the sexual attraction vs. love thing, because ive definitely seen people say that sexual attraction isnt needed. aromantic gay folk, etc… i must be honest and say it gets beyond my understanding and i cant form an opinion on that

I find it fascinating, too! Which is why I try to learn more and more and always try to consider different viewpoints. It's a broken record, but these orientations are totally valid and props to anyone finding what works, figuring themselves out. I don't think everyone is ever going to completely understand every aspect of human sexuality. I don't. I'm always learning. I'm gay and both a hopeless romantic and a guy with a high sex drive so maybe certain realities and lifestyles I don't fully understand the intricacies of - but that's ok. We don't have to walk an authentic mile in each other's shoes, but we do need to respect each other and leave room on the path!! 😁

And a secret 3rd anon appears!! You said please don't post so I won't. But thank you for filling me in on fandom lore. I didn't know all that!!! Yikes babes. I don't like those vibes!!! 🙃 But, that is not my energy, we're all chill and into fun and discussion here. We don't personally have to give weight to every character interpretation but we also don't have to get at each other and blatantly fight. I'm just vibing 😌❤️

[entityforged]

i've had back for more on repeat for several days so uhhhh here is my official plotting call for all my txt fcs! under the cut is basic info for all of them, as well as a few plot/ship ideas. i’m open to other plots too; please just have someone or something in mind!

benny (they/them, gay, beomgyu fc): sweet shy autistic ooak doll maker, i mostly use their witch verse but they have a non-magic verse i don’t mind using! they’re very soft and don’t go out much but they have a lot of online friends and when they do get close to someone, they’re so adoring. i would love more supernatural/magical connections, friends to lovers, and/or someone who’ll flirt with them a ton to make them super flustered.

seunhwa (he/they, bi, soobin fc, tw for death and abuse): indie foley artist preparing to take over the family bookstore because none of their siblings want to. he’s very colorful and outgoing but has a lot of trauma he hides. very flirtatious and very self sacrificial. i would love something messy and unhealthy, since he’s so much of a people pleaser he can get mixed up in toxic dynamics if it makes the other person happy, but i’d love to see him happy just as much ajshsjsh.

porter (he/him, gay, taehyun fc): surfer boy and environmental science major who recently got out of a very toxic relationship and is trying very hard to recover from the trauma and be a good person again. looks like a fuckboy jock until he's citing academic sources during an argument. i would love to see him try to reconnect to a friend he pushed away during his relationship, or anyone who’s patient and kind enough to work with him through all his trauma and fear of being in a relationship again.

yiseok (they/he, queer, yeonjun fc, tw for general gross zombie stuff): died and uhhhhhh came back very wrong. they’re basically a zombie, trying very hard to pretend everything’s normal. even more shy now than he was when he was alive, hungry all the time. i would love any supernatural/magical connections for them, especially because they don’t understand what happened to them; something soft and tender where they can realize that they’re still worthy of love and affection; or something unhinged and dangerous where they don’t have to hide what they are from their partner.

max (he/him/any pronouns, pan, yeonjun fc): bookworm who got in a surprising amount of fights as a kid. very scrappy and hardworking, and is helping jinsun open their salon. flirts by shamelessly reading smut in front of his crush. i would love a childhood friends to lovers dynamic; or some kind of rivals/nuisances to lovers; or a casual fwb thing that gets messy and needy but both of them deny there’s anything real.

lincoln (he/him, bi, heuning kai fc, tw for homophobia): the extremely spoiled baby of his disgustingly rich family, experiencing consequences for his actions for the first time. is an animation major specializing in video game character design. i would love to see him with someone who does not take his bullshit and argues with him at every opportunity; or the boy who his parents have forbidden him from seeing at the threat of losing all their financial support (bonus points for this one if they were pretty casual so they have to hunt him down to get an explanation for why he ghosted them); or the shy person tutoring him in a subject he failed because we love cliches in this house.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

hi yeah i have a little more i want to add on to the Duel Links AI Characters thing. This kinda blurs the line between Headcanon and Theory tho

A really weird thing that is either brilliant subtext or me just reading in to things too hard is the progression of the AI Duelists. Not like, the release of duel worlds and stuff, or powercreep, or anything like that. I mean theres two real, defined types of AIs in Duel Links.

If you look at a lot of the DM characters... theyre fairly flat. Like yeah I know thats also true of Téa/Anzu and Mai and stuff in the show, but it applies to pretty much the entire starting roster. The most odd yet obvious example of this is, oddly enough, Yami Yugi. My mans got Nothing. Hardly shows up in events, any place he would its usually Yugi(DM) instead, and he had very few gate interactions.

Now, think about that from a lore perspective. Yami Yugi is the whole fuckin' point of this. This is the AI Kaiba set out and tried to make, wanted to fill the gay ass void in his heart see again, and he's so... bland. Uninteresting. Why?

Turns out, its because of that very reason. He was the First, of course hes gonna be worse than the others. As time went on, Kaiba got better at making the AIs. And at first, it really was him making the AIs. Let me explain.

Again, looking at the earlier characters again, something becomes obvious. These characters are bland because theyre almost... missing something. If you look at everything they say, everything they do, something clicks. Its all stuff Kaiba either heard about secondhand, or was physically present for. He made the best approximation he could, on his own, but theyre just that: approximations. Easy best example is the first ever event character, Yami Bakura. A fascinating character in Duel Links lore, simply because he's the first Self Aware AI. A big question that comes out of this is Why, and the answer I believe is rlly cool: hes not Yami Bakura. Not even close. Like yeah obviously hes an AI clone, but thats not even what I mean. Kaiba knows so little about Bakura that he couldnt even make a complete personality. He just put a kinda mischevious personality in a Bakura Costume, gave it an interest in occult and Tabletop RPG games, and told it to do its best.

But this is Seto Fucking Kaiba. He doesnt settle for that. So, he got to work on a new, better system. A System that lets him use [insert bullshit explanation here, I like "uses the collective memories of players"] to truly copy people down to their very souls. And the first few times, it goes well. It really is an exact replica... and maybe, maybe thats an issue.

Pegasus J. Crawford has been dead for years at that point, but his impact on the game and large presence make it almost obvious in hindsight. If it were anyone but Seto Kaiba, this might have been the cue to say "hey maybe this is a little fucked up and I need more control over who gets added."

However, Seto 'As the owner of a major corporation I have to do that everyday' Kaiba dont roll like that, so he just leaves the Soul Printer on to do whatever the fuck it wants, and... yeah. After that point, every other AI, along with the duel worlds, is a result of the soul printer. Maybe he should have at least limited the scope to this dimension and the egyptian afterlife tho.

Theres also an argument that its not that the soul printer wasnt ready, its that he needed a playerbase to steal the brain power off of to run said soul printer, so he whipped up the first few to get started.

...sorry i forgot just how much brain rot this game caused me and ur earlier posts got me going again ;-;

OOOHOHOHOHOO THIS IS SUPERRR SUPER GOOD STUFF and I definitely think this is picking at what's really under the hood here. Transcend Game was all about Kaiba using people's (many of which being CHILDREN'S) brainwaves to create images and experiences, so it really would not be out of his ballpark to get the system running and just leave it to do its thing while he goes off and obsesses over shit like Why Isn't The Atem AI Right. It's Not Perfect. Why Isn't It Perfect.

and now you've got the AIs themselves producing 'brainwaves' and feeding memories into the system, and that's popping More AIs into the world in turn (i.e. Yuto's and Yuya's memories being the catalyst for Shay showing up, etc.) and they're...uh. starting to get self aware!!!! SO THAT'S FUN. It's like an ouroboros feedback loop of fake memories creating fake memories creating copies of what was once someone's memories.

All cuz SOMEBODY wanted to be king of a virtual reality even though he has more money than god and better things he could be doing 🙄

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Andrew Doyle: 'We’re seeing this new form of homophobia become more prevalent'

Homophobia is back. Well it never really went away of course, but now it's emerging in the guise of progressivism.

The rise of gender identity ideology has brought with it many of the old anti-gay tropes, which are now rapidly circulating on social media.

So over the past year, I've seen two particularly sinister developments coming from activists online. I'm talking about explicit misogyny and explicit homophobia, the kind of which I haven't seen since I was a child. Now, I've discussed the misogyny aspect many, many times before in this show, often in relation to the extreme reaction to JK Rowling's views on the importance of women's only spaces for victims of domestic abuse.

But today I want to talk a bit about the homophobia that comes from the same kind of activists. Here are some examples of tweets that I've read. A warning of strong and offensive language coming up.

"If you're a cis gay man and your sexuality revolves around you not liking female genitalia I hope you die and I will spit on your grave." "I hope gay men who won't date trans men know that they're f***ing disgusting." "Cis gay men are a disease." "Cis gay men are truly some of the most grotesque creatures to burden this earth." "I hate cis gay people with a burning passion." "Cis gays don't deserve rights. I'm sorry y'all. I really am, but they don't." "It's time to normalize homophobia."

Now I've said before I don't trust news reports to take a couple of examples of something from Twitter to imply that there's a trend when there isn't. Because you can find anything on Twitter.

But I started seeing tweets like this last year, and to be honest I just wrote them off as aberrations. I thought these are just the usual lunatics you come across on social media from time to time.

And then then I looked into it. Now the examples I've quoted are very much the tip of a colossal iceberg. There are thousands and thousands of these kinds of tweets, and if you're interested or if you don't believe me, you can check out a website called "Woke Homophobia: Anti-Gay Hatred and Boxer Ceiling Abuse." Caution is advised, because some of the content is genuinely hateful and odious. But it will give you a sense of the extent of this problem that very few people are talking about. And it's not just a few tweets here and there, and that's why we need to address it.

So we've all heard of the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is a phrase used by feminists to describe the career limitations that women face in a patriarchal system. Now there is what's become known as the cotton ceiling, and the cotton ceiling refers to the barriers that trans people might face in attempting to have sex with women. Cotton here is a reference to underwear, which is why the male equivalent is called the boxer ceiling.

If all this sounds confusing, don't worry you're not alone. By way of explanation, here's a poster that was spotted last year at the University of Liverpool. "Genital Preferences are Transphobic."

Now it really is worth emphasizing this is not the opinion of the vast majority of trans people. This is a small contingent of activists who genuinely believe that if you won't sleep with them, you must hate trans people, rather than you know, having a particular sexual orientation. It really does make about as much sense as accusing gay men of being misogynist because they tend not to have sex with women.

And like I say, this wouldn't matter if it was just a few people online making a lot of noise about nothing. But it's not that. The examples are endless. Here's another one. This is someone who thinks that lesbians who don't want to have sex with male bodied people are bigots.

So according to this activist, you're not homosexual, you're just suffering from trauma. Where have we heard that before? Well, homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organization's list of psychiatric disorders in 1993. But now we're expected to believe that was a mistake.

Remember back in the 1980s when anti-gay ideas were openly expressed, often even on prime time television. You would hear statements like "oh he just hasn't found the right girl yet" or "that lesbian just needs a good bloke." It would appear that all of these homophobic tropes are now being rehabilitated. We still hear them occasionally from the far right of course, but now we're also hearing them from woke activists.

But why? Why would those who claim to be fighting for tolerance and inclusivity be berating gay men and lesbians for being attracted to their own sex? Well the answer lies in the recent proliferation of gender identity ideology, which posits a kind of religious belief in a sort of “sexed soul,” one that is unrelated to our anatomy.

Of course anyone is free to claim a gender identity, that's their business. It's just that the vast majority of people don't. I don't identify as male. I'm simply biologically male, it's a fact. And this notion of gender identity is not to be confused with gender dysphoria, which is when someone feels so uncomfortable with their body that they need to present as the opposite sex or undergo surgery.

Gender identity ideology is a very different thing, and it's based on the complete repudiation of the significance of biology. And this is the problem. There is a general confusion now about what it is that trans activists are proposing. Virtually all of us support equal rights for trans people, I certainly do. But that's because we understand and we care about people with gender dysphoria, and moreover we value individual liberty.

But this new ideology is something else, and the distinction is often overlooked. Again, I must emphasize this: the vast majority of trans people do not deny biological sex differences. Why would they? As the trans writer Blaire White has pointed out, if there's no such thing as biological sex, there's no such thing as being trans.

So if it's only a minority of activists who are claiming that biology doesn't matter, or verbally abusing and threatening gay people for being attracted to their own sex, why should we worry? Well, we need to worry because this belief system, although not popular, now underpins major policy changes and new initiatives in education, in politics, and the corporate world.

Stonewall, a charity that used to fight for gay rights, has led the way towards this kind of thinking. Stonewall redefined "homosexual" on its website and resource materials as "same gender attracted." But that's not what homosexual means at all. It means same-sex attracted. Lesbians aren't attracted to people who identify as women, they're attracted to women.

It isn't transphobic for a lesbian not to want to have sex with someone with a penis, even if that person identifies as female. A person's sexual orientation is their own business, and nobody has a right to be in someone else's dating pool.

And as we've seen from the recent exodus of organizations from Stonewall's Diversity Champions scheme, many people are waking up to the problem. Some of Stonewall's founders such as Matthew Paris and Simon Fanshawe have criticized Stonewall for its intolerance of anyone who disagrees with this new ideology. The actor Simon Callow, who himself campaigned for gay rights, has described Stonewall's views as tyrannical. This is because Stonewall and its supporters have now got into the mindset where anyone who has a contrary view must be a hateful transphobe.

And yet this reaction is completely divorced from reality. These gay campaigners who have known and loved trans people all their lives, haven't just turned into bigots overnight. And it's because all criticism is being misrepresented as hate that no progress can possibly be made on this issue. It's also why we're seeing this new form of homophobia become more prevalent, one that dismisses same-sex attraction as bigoted and even a sign of mental illness.

And if we want to put a stop to it we have to be able to have difficult conversations with people who disagree with us. But that can't happen when one side of the argument insists on demonizing the other.

--

Link: Woke Homophobia: Anti-Gay Hatred & Boxer Ceiling Abuse from Trans Activists & Gender-Identity Ideologues (Album archive, original deleted by Google)

Link: Cotton Ceiling (Thread)

==

If you scroll through the Cotton Ceiling or Boxer Ceiling threads, you’ll often notice that the dismissive “genital preference” is even further framed as “genital fetish.” The irony is that these people don’t want a trans partner either.

It also takes all of about two minutes to notice that most of the profiles on the Boxer Ceiling thread raging about “cis” gay men - at least, the ones that don’t have a profile photo of someone who is unambiguously female, usually with piercings and dyed hair streaks - have anime profile icons, strongly suggesting that these are really just mentally unwell women looking to force gay men into acting out their anime yaoi fetishes.

[thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls]

Me explaining why all the songs on my oc playlist are there- Very Long Post apologies!!

Tagging @locke-n-k3y since they were interested :] I also repeat myself a lot here and if you have any questions pls send them my way!! This is a very mixed explanation of my story in no timeline order so understandable if you have questions!

Also now tagging @guess-how-i-stole-this-body since i think this is the one you meant? sorry if it isn’t!

The playlist in question:

Kiss Me, Son Of God by They Might Be Giants: Janette and her relationship with her cult status (She’s the leader) and her journey to get there

Gnaw by Alex G: The first half is about Adele and Josh in highschool AKA when they met and the second is Josh talking to his son Ryan

Sarah by Alex G: About Claire, Ryan’s older sister who dies later in the storyLike Real People Do by Hozier: All the romantic relationships in the story basically but mainly Karma (Ryan and Carmela)

Twin Size Mattress by The Front Bottoms: Josh and Adele’s relationship in a way

Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers: Dana talking about her ex

Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz: The cryptid trio!! (Dana, Carmela and Ryan the main three) mainly just a song they’d sing too

Funkytown by Lipps Inc.: I imagine the cryptid trio dancing to this hehe :]]

Lone Star by The Front Bottoms: Maria and Daniel (Carmela’s parents)

Beachboy by McCafferty: RYAN!! I don’t know how to explain it tbh but yeah

I Hate My Mom by GRLwood: Claire and Adele’s (her mum) relationship

Freaks by Surf Cruse: The cryptid trio in the middle of the story

Shut Me Up by Mindless Self Indulgence: Again a song mainly just vibes but its also Jadele (Janette and Adele)

Numbers by TEMPOREX: Another ryan song!! Again idk how to explain it

The Villain I Appear To Be by Connor Spiotto and Molly Pease: Janette!! And her trying to convince herself that she isn’t a bad person

Tears Over Beers by Modern Baseball: Josh talking about Adele 

bad idea right? by Olivia rodrigo: So this is a bit of an inside joke with me and my friend but its basically the song that’d play for one of the scenes with Carmela and Ryan (but downplayed to just kissing lmao) 

bad idea! by girl in red: JADELE!! Janette and Adele. If you listen to the song its kind of self explanatory?

Why Am I Like This? by Orla Gartland: Dana! A dana song for the ages. She is not doing welll

This Is Love by Air Traffic Controller: Janette and Adele in the midway point of their relation/situationship

Gilded Lily by Cults: Janette and the cult she runs thanks to her mum

First Love/Late Spring: Claire. also one of dana’s dads, Noah

Me and My Husband by Mitski: Maria and Daniel’s relationship

Nobody by Mitski: Carmela!! Also if adele threw a pity party she doesn’t deserve :D

Be Gay, Do Drugs, Hail Satan by Super Cassette: Adele and Josh when they were younger in the 90’s

Dead Girls by Penelope Scott: Claire again!! This explains her death D:

I Bet On Losing Dogs by Mitski: Janette and her son/nephew Oliver (she adopted her nephew after her sister died)

Brutus by The Buttress: Janette and her time in the cult and the way she killed her friend Huan Lin when she was younger

Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus: Josh talking about Adele in the 90’s/early early 200’s 

Ma Belle Evangeline from Princess And The Frog: Noah talking about his late wife Laura

Dream Sweet In Sea Major by Miracle Musical: Claire except she didn’t die at sea

Don’t Try Suicide by Queen: Claire’s death. but in a goofy sense :]]

Thermodynamic Lawyer Esq, G.F.D by Will Wood and The Tapeworms: Janette again!! Basically her feeling sillyyy/hj

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John: Ryan :[

Need 2 by Pinegrove: What I imagine plays when the cult building burns down (also this scene is where Janette dies for the first time in the story) 

Buddy Holly by Weezer: Josh- he is a big fan of Weezer

Trees by McCafferty: Josh talking about his childhood

She Wolf by Shakira: The cryptid trio would sing this :D

The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives: Mainly just vibes I think it suits the story

Murders by Miracle Musical: Again just vibes but it could also be when Janette killed Huan

Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash: What would play while the cult building is burning down if this was a show

DO YOU REMEMBER ME??? by emily jeffri: Janette talking to Adele when she comes back to life

The Bug Collector by Haley Heynderickx: Maria when she left for another city and her grief and regret about leaving Carmela behind

Tongues and Teeth by The Crane Wives: Janette talking about her and Adele’s relationship (In a way since Janette is aro and its also her trying to come up with ways to convince Adele to not date her since Adele does not take no for an answer akdhdkhdj)

Everybody Loves Somebody by Dean Martin: Noah and his husband Jose

Nice 2 Know Ya- Instrumental by Sylendanna: Again just the cryptid trio vibing 

Bleed Magic by I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME: Adele talking about her and janette’s relationship

Bicycle Race by Queen: Just vibes :]]

Chinatown by Shakey Graves: Josh talking about Adele while she’s cheating on him

Two Birds by Regina Spektor: Claire and Ryan (the siblings ever augh)

I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE by Måneskin: Jadele (janette and adele)

Closer by Nine Inch Nails: Also Jadele do not question meeee/lh

Wet by Dazey and the Scouts: Maria and her feelings about being in a relationship

SOLUS by emily jeffri: V I B E S

Washing Machine Heart by Mitski: Maria again :[[

Murder Song (5,4,3,2,1) by Aurora: Adele and Josh

Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes: Adele and Josh in primary school

The King by Sarah Kinsley: I think this would play over Ryan and Carmela’s kiss if this was a showwww

Memento Momori: the most important thing in the world by Will Wood and The Tapeworms: Janette talking to Carmela

Night Shift by Lucy Dacus: JANETTE AND HER MANY COMPLEX FEELINGS ABOUT ADELE it’s such a janette song guyssss

Sober To Death by Car Seat Headrest: Josh talking about Adele

Babooshka by Kate Bush: VIBES AGAIN

Uptown Girl by Billy Joel: Noah talking about Jose just swap girl to guy

Digital Silence by Peter McPoland: The story as a whole

Time/Space by Alex G: Oliver, Janette’s son/nephew

Non, je ne regrette rien by Èdith Piaf: A song that’d be playing while Ryan’s arm gets chopped off by Carmela

Barracuda by Heart: This just gives off Carmela vibes to me

Highway to Hell by AC/DC: Janette when she dies the first time/hj

(Don’t Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult: I think it also fits the story as a whole

We Didn’t Start The Fire by Billy Joel: The cryptid trio

So You Wanna Marry Daisy by Spence Hood: Adele. nothing else lmao

Duvet by bôa: Maria again!!

Be Nice To Me by The Front Bottoms: Ryan talking to Carmela after she cut off his arm

You’re Not Special Babe by Orla Gartland: Josh talking to Adele

The Chicken by Bo Burnham: Literally this song explains Maria and Daniel and a bit of Carmela’s story as well

Habits by Genevieve Stokes: Dana song :]]

Where The Streets Have No Name by U2: What I imagine plays on the last epsiode as the end credits

It’s Been So Long by The Living Tombstone: Janette talking about Oliver (FNAF SONG LETS GOOO) 

Never Been Better by half•alive and Orla Gartland: Basically just Noah and Maria (they are best friends!!) 

Poison Oak by Bright Eyes: Josh :] love him sooo much

Dullahan by Worthikids: Dana song again!! She also listens to music like this

West Coast by FIDLAR: The cryptid trio

Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart by Mitski: Maria since she is one of my saddest characters D:

Mad IQ’s by I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME: JADELE BELOVEDS TOXIC YURIIII!! 

Runs in the Family by Amanda Palmer: Janette and her family- also Maria

Kiss Ur Face Forever by Orla Gartland: Karma! (Carmela and Ryan)

Missus Piano by Rio Romeo: Adele talking to Janette

Slipping Through My Fingers by ABBA: Ryan at Claire’s death scene and Oliver at Janette’s death

Hermit The Frog by MARINA: Janette in highschool

Step On Me by The Cardigans: Janette talking to Adele

This Hurts by Mindless Self Indulgence: Janette, Adele and Josh (they’d make the best polycule if they were all good people and nothing bad happened akdhkdhd)

Molly by Mindless Self Indulgence: Janette in highschool againnnn

Witness by Mindless Self Indulgence: V I B E S 

Lights Out by Mindless Self Indulgence: Dana’s taste in music

Personal Jesus by Mindless Self Indulgence: Some aspects of Janette and Adele’s relationship

Join Us (And Die) from TGWDLM: Janette when she comes back from the dead

Inevitable from TGWDLM: Adele if she was in TGWDLM

Lifeboat from Heathers: Claire if she had a musical song

Bed of Roses by Mindless Self Indulgence: Basically janette’s final death since she also does in a bed of roses in a sense!!

Baby Hotline by Jack Stauber’s Micropop: Josh and Adele (if Josh hadn’t transitioned)

Agape by Nicholas Britell: What would play in one of the episodes :DD

Kilby Girl by The Backseat Lovers: Karma!! Ryan and carmela beloveds <33

suffering by Amélie Farren: Carmela <333

Black Friday from Black Friday: Vibess also carmela talking to Janette

Ghost of Chicago by Noah Floersch: Ryan talking about Carmela i love them so much guys kshdjdhd

Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hellos: Janette when she’s dying (for the last time in the story so for context she dies twice) 

If you read this far I am giving you a hug, a high five for finger guns!!! Thank you for reading my oc rambles

[thebigbidea]

Songs/Lyrics that remind me of Welcome Home!!

Tally Hall – The Whole World and You

"Please don't just laugh and clap right now, this is serious, I'm not delirious"

This makes me think of Wally for, i think, obvious reasons.

They Might Be Giants - Kiss Me, Son Of God

"I built a little empire out of some crazy garbage"

Makes me think of how their neighbor is really just a puppet show set.

"I look like Jesus, so they say But Mr. Jesus is very far away Now you're the only one here who can tell me if it's true"

People have made some connections between WH and the bible b4 (mostly with The Garden of Eden). Also the last bit makes me think of how Wally is talking to us, (both in show, and the website) hence "you're".

Elvis Presley - (You're The) Devil In Disguised

I think it's obvious why

Miracle Musical - Dream Sweet in Sea Major

"Believe me, darling The stars were made for falling"

Wally Darling. Sally Starlet.. the fallen star!!

"It feels like flying But maybe we're dying"

A lot of WH OCs/Fanfic MCs are like.. dead people that end up as puppets (more-or-less including my OC as well)

"She knows you heard her Staging music murder In line before the show began To be where I am"

"The show" reminds my of, ya know, the puppet show. And "where I am" as in Wally's popularity as host.

"You look quite divine tonight Here among these vibrant lights Pure delights surround us as we sail Signed, yours truly, the whale"

Quote, Wally the Rizzler. Or maybe Eddie said that to Frank. Idk but it's gay.

Topline Addicts – Dance with me

Can't really quote a specific lyric, cuz the songs kind of a story. Basically, a girl ask a guy (the one singing) to dance with her. He kind of denied her request, since he was a bad dancer, causing him to "walk home by [himself]".

The type of dancing i imagine while listening to this song is both tap and ballroom dancing, in which i feel like Wally would most definitely be an expert of. There's also an "Alive AU" by the user aerkame here on Tumblr for Welcome Home. In one chapter Wally and Barnaby teachers y/n to dance. This song reminds me of that.

DEVO - Puppet Boy

No explanation needed.

Frank Sinatra – That's Life

"I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet A pawn and a king"

Again, no explanation needed.

The Cardigans - Step On Me

"Oh, I think you're standing on my left foot It's hurting, but that's okay 'Cause I'm in your way You'll break that foot that you're standing on I'll walk with the other one"

"Oh, I think you're holding the heart of mine Squeeze it apart, that's fine"

"Do what you want to do what you want to"

If i wanted to summarize Wally simps who read oneshots with a song, I'd just sing this.