a baffling amount of the our flag fandom on all platforms need to have their accounts put down like lame horses like this is so truly beyond the scope at this point. these people need to repent. i would say something crueller but they're not worth thinking about for more than two seconds if i want to keep the amount of white blood cells i have

GMMTV 2024 PART 2 Unhinged Tangent Thoughts (Only The Queers Though)

Ossan’s Love Thailand รักนี้ให้ "นาย": oh here we go again for the third times. i'm still skeptical about it and Chakrit Yamnam definitely is not an ossan yet but... damnnnnn my inner slut for older men sense is tingling, i know gmmtv just gonna keep doing this boring BL idol pairs nonsense, but like can we get more older gays/age gap BLs? i haven't seen Chakrit in ages and that man still so damn fine! he and our honorary uncle earth could've been something that thai BL is currently lacking, a sloppy hotmess Daddies. but alas that will remain a dream for now.

The ​Heart Killers เขาจ้างให้ผมจีบนักฆ่า: i haven't watch the Eclipse yet and really didn't liked both Star In My Mind and Hidden Agenda and definitely never gonna watch Only Friend (seen all the sex scenes though.) i loved the chaotic energy the trailer giving and i'm always a sucker for black comedy (don't know if this show gonna be that but fingercrossed) when it done correctly. also this show better serve us so many leather bad boy looks. i may have not be completely sold on this show yet, but i'm horny for it.

สายรหัสเทวดา Perfect10 Liners: "Too Many Cooks repeated for several minutes" i'm going to be there for forcebook and juniormark but like wtf in frash glee hell is this, most of these mofos are pushing 30. let them be adults god danm it, i know that the target demographic for gmmtv is young adults and teenagers and that they really love/good at??? school settings. but come on let's our peter pans and wendies fly free. they're probably bored out of their fucking minds by now.

Us รักของเรา | GMMTV 2024 PART 2: i'm gonna be a good little homo and let's all the great wlws do all the talking for this show. i'm not keen on the sibling's lover stealing trope but hey as the great Lucille Bluth one said, good for her.

Thame - Po (เธม-โป้): HEART THAT SKIPS A BEAT: hehehe, Est is so pretty, ok i'm sold i'm easy like that. i was never into any boy bands as a teen, but there like a lot of former thai boy bands members that came out as gay in recent years so maybe i shouda had. anywhoo i probably not gonna mind the singing and dancing in this show since most of them going to be done by singers/dancers and not actors turned idols.

REVAMP THE UNDEAD STORY: i'm really not into serious vempires so this show is kinda meh for me. the goofy ones though those i'd have eat up. this one probably a pass for me.

แฟนที่ทันตแพทย์ส่วนใหญ่แนะนำ Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist: all my blorbos are here we get mark, baby ohm, poon, and หมอjim. ahhhhhhh!! i need it now. i also don't mind dentists like most people especially when they're good looking guys, those handsome doctors can put anything in my mouth😉

เพราะแฟนเก่าเปลี่ยนแปลงบ่อย The Ex-Morning: is this going to be our second coming BL? idk i never there for first one 😝this show either going to be a good meta commentary about the whole business that gone down or its head going be so up it own ass that will take several bottles of lube to get the head out to see the sunlight. we'll see.

Tangent number #3: aradia leaving sollux behind at the end of the candy epilogues was a terrible idea; consider this a part 2 to that arasol tangent I made about a month ago.

Basically, aradia left sollux on earth C when going with Alternate Calliope and Davebot to pursue Dirk. This completely threw out the perfect opportunity for them to interact more and develop their chemistry, but no. Apparently, Aradia suddenly doesn’t care about her closet friend! Later, when she talks with davebot about him, she doesn’t show any concern for him, thinking “oH hE’s PrObAbLy Ok” and “he found my wiles charming and irresistible” you left him stranded on a tall structure! is that okay to you? I just don’t understand why Aradia would suddenly not care about her (maybe) boyfriend. And since homestuck^2 probably won’t be finished in another 413 million years, we may never know what will happen between them!

In conclusion, Aradia leaving sollux behind was not cash money of her to do, and turned her into an ignorant and uncaring woman.

Thank you all for coming to my 2nd arasol ted talk

Yeah, Aradia in Homestuck^2 was awful. I can try to get that after the events of original Homestuck, she wants nothing to do with the cast and enjoy her life as a revived god tier to watch the sidelines (only briefly taking on Lord English for Tavros' sake because she cares about him too). But to leave the only guy that cares about you, who had MOURNED for you, had felt GUILTY for killing you even if he was brainwashed, who stood by your side to the point he also ignores his other friend KARKAT during events on the meteor both pre and post retcon, it is a kick in the balls for him. If this is WhatPumpkin's subtle way to say she is now 'ghosting' Sollux, like she may had in Act 5 when being Equius' smoochbot, then it is just done in poor taste after all the shit she had set up to make sure her friends could continue the timeline. If it's suppose to parallel her and Davebot/Dave being awful people to leave their loved ones behind as they are both Time Players, then WhatPumpkin just admitted that Dave Strider, who should have been Karkat after Obama told him it was okay to be gay, is just an awful person as Aradia. Why should Karkat care about that asshole that left him? All in all, Homestuck Epilogues and Homestuck^2 are shit. Andrew Hussie and WhatPumpkin suck for ruining these characters. Aradia and Sollux should not be subjected to this bullshit. Nobody in general should have to deal with this bullshit.

My Stream of Consciousness Rant About the Redeemabilty of Karen Wheeler (and Jonathan Byers)

I want to like Karen Wheeler so bad because after rewatching season one, I genuinely believe she is a good mother. I never thought she was a bad mother, but a lot of fanfics portray her as emotionally distant, but she's really not? She's a good mom to Mike and Nancy, she's there for them, she listens. And I would defend her to the ends of the earth, if it weren't for the B*lly thing...

I could forgive her cheating on Ted, obviously not good but forgivable. Ted sucks. But the fact that she was going to hook up with a high schooler... not good. And then my brain goes well he initiated it, and all the other moms were thirsting over him too, and he's a peice of shit, and he used a bunch of girls for sex, and she didn't even do it anyway. But like... does any of that really absolve her of wanting to sleep with a high schooler? I don't think it does.

At first I kind of liked the storyline, because I thought it added insight into her being unhappy in her marriage and showed how the perfect happy housewife facade truly is just a facade. Plus just some juicy drama. So an almost-adultery storyline I am all for. It's the doing it with a high schooler part that gets me.

But also... During season one I thought I would never forgive Jonathan for taking those pictures of Nancy, and I definitely have. He's one of my favorite characters. But honestly I still have some cognitive dissonance with that. He's just such a genuinely good person in every other aspect, but he still did that.

I wish they would have at least had Nancy make a bigger deal about it. Rather than having her coyly ask, "What was I saying? When you took my picture?" And give Jonathan the opportunity for an actual apology rather than a, "I shouldn't have done that." Yeah, no shit. You shouldn't have.

And not only does Nancy forgive him almost immediately, but Steve forgives him pretty damn quickly too! That seems so unrealistic to me. Honestly if someone did that to my girlfriend they'd be dead to me. And though Steve doesn’t like Jonathan, at the end of the season and at the beginning of season 2, he's civil to him and he's more or less okay with Nancy being his friend.

I just don't understand how we just push that whole thing under the rug so easily. Not saying it's irredeemable, but it feels like he doesn't even get a redemption arc because he's framed as the underdog hero through the whole thing anyway, completely ignoring just how fucked up his actions were. And the fact that the Duffers went back and edited the scene makes me think they see it as a problem too. Except editing that scene doesn't do shit because you still see the photos of her changing in the scene where Steve breaks the camera.

But also, characters are meant to have flaws just like real people and it's up to the viewer where they draw the line on which actions are irredeemable and which they can move past. I guess I just am struggling with where that line is for me. As I said, I've more or less forgiven Jonathan. I'm struggling with Karen right now.

I feel like it's easy to forgive characters who get redemption that is directly related to whatever their previous wrongdoing was.

For example: Steve calls Jonathan a queer during their fight showing that he is probably homophobic, but then we get Robin's coming out scene where he is immediately accepting.

Another example: Mike tells Will "It's not my fault you don't like girls" (Because he was projecting but I won't get into that) but he immediately bikes over to apologize, and Will later says that Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake and he's better for being different. (Read: gay)

So as I said I guess I'm just reflecting on whether Karen is a redeemable character for me personally. Which led to a tangent about how I'm pissed at the Duffers for how the Jonathan thing was handled. I would love to hear any thoughts anyone has. This was very stream of consciousness and I didn't do any research or anything just thoughts from my silly silly mind.

15x18

Jack’s explosion leading directly into the title card is a nice touch: it’s a fun forth wall break, intertwining Jack’s explosion in the fiction story into the real-world title card, and fitting in terms of how Jack goes onto become God and the fictional creator/shaper of SPN’s world.

Jack becoming God also fits with the standard superhero trope of the “reluctant hero.” In contrast to Billie, in contrast to Chuck, Jack doesn’t desire the power of godhood for himself, but takes it on to save the world. It shows up multiple times in the MCU and almost entirely uncritically in each case. (Of course “God” as a role isn’t something to get rid of; it’s about taking the “Bad Guy” in Chuck out of the role and putting the “Good Guy” in Jack in that role instead! Problem solved.)  I’m entirely disconnected from Marvel now so I hadn’t realized how much the end of this season drew on the MCU. Chuck even does a Thanos snap to kill the whole world at the end of the ep lmao.

In contrast to the last ep, Dean jumps to protect Jack when Billie tries to kidnap him, and so ends up the first one to maim Death (even if Cas technically takes her down in the end). Then again, it’s also Dean who chooses ‘wrong’ in going after Billie to kill her (wanting revenge / leaving family & friends) and unintentionally gets Cas killed, just as Billie is in the wrong to go after Dean in revenge and gets her desserts when Cas drags her to the Empty with him.

SAM Hey, I got a job for you. JACK Me? SAM Yeah. I need you to drive. JACK But I only drove once. SAM I've got work to do. You know, I gotta dig through the archives and work on finding spells. I can't do that with one eye on the road, so. SAM gestures for JACK to move over. JACK slides into the driver's seat. JACK Okay. Okay. I'll... Drive. JACK starts the engine, and they pull away from the gas-n-sip.

Sweet little scene between Sam & Jack. Of course Jack wants to feel like he’s doing something, so Sam gives him the rein in driving the car. Also some very obvious symbolism for Jack “taking the wheel.”

CASTIEL I know. I know how you see yourself, Dean. You see yourself the same way our enemies see you. You're destructive, and you're angry, and you're broken. You're "daddy's blunt instrument." And you think that hate and anger, that's... That's what drives you, that's who you are. It's not. And everyone who knows you see it. Everything you have ever done, the good and the bad, you have done for love. You raised your little brother for love. You fought for this whole world for love. That is who you are. You're the most caring man on Earth. You are the most selfless, loving human being I will ever know. You know, ever since we met, ever since I pulled you out of Hell... Knowing you has changed me. Because you cared, I cared. I cared about you. I cared about Sam, I cared about Jack... I cared about the whole world because of you. You changed me, Dean. ... I love you.

It’s confession time! And it’s... fine? It concludes an arc for Cas that was a long time coming--the writers were clearly aware of Bibro/Wincest vs. Destiel within fandom, and wrote the story to draw in both sides of the fandom, even if the bro bond is overall more emphasized--and Berens being gay himself gives the scene a certain legitimacy it wouldn’t have had otherwise. It’s fully within the show’s framework that “love” is the highest virtue, that caring about people means you’ll do good, which is a very bog standard idea (and one I disagree with, but that’s a tangent). Also repeating S15′s idea of sacrificing for what or who you love, and those sacrifices being worth the cost.

I don’t see Dean as being written, nor Jackles playing him, as reciprocating Cas’s feelings, altho I can understand why someone would want to read it that way. (There’s a funny meta abt how the show ends up being kind of like a YA love triangle between Sam > Dean < Cas, particularly in Dabb’s seasons.) Also recently watched a vid arguing the confession is queerbaiting, by putting it up alongside the latest season of Doctor Who (which in its penultimate ep had the Doctor and her companion Yasmin confess their feelings for each other, and then ignore that confession almost entirely in the finale and they go their separate ways) to talk about how sometimes, queerbaiting = queer representation = queerbaiting. I don’t agree with everything in how he frames Destiel before 15x18, but do think his discussion of 15x18 is fairly good.

Concerning that 3x10 reference... imo Berens doesn’t at all understand the nuances of that ep, esp the Dean - Dream!Dean scenes, so the call back rings unfortunately hollow. Because the way Berens frames “daddy’s blunt little instrument” neatly skips over Dean’s internalized anger at John for treating him like a soldier, even a tool, instead of a child, and how that particular dynamic warped his identity and sense of self.

My first post received a pretty good response so I'm here with part two. Link to part one is below:

I'm screwing around with formatting so it looks better (hopefully)

These take place in the same universe as the others.

Anyways, to the head canons!

Ok so first of all, I want to add that Keith has anxiety and a touch of ADHD. Like specifically the kind that makes you fidget.

Keith's ADHD causes him to fidget with his fingers and bounces his leg a bit. Sometimes he can be heard snapping his fingers (a way he fidgets, he does it without thinking) while walking down the halls. Everyone has mainly gotten used to it but Lance starts snapping as well and this can cause a chain reaction that leaves everyone in the castle snapping their fingers.

Keith's anxiety makes it so he has a hard time around the whole crew and often isolates himself from conversation during meal times and such. This is why he has the reputation of the lone wolf. Allura is trying to make a habit of asking Keith questions as a way to include him in the conversation and the paladins learn something new about Keith.

Keith usually doesn't have anything to do at meal times but eat so he's started making mental note of things the others say in hopes he can use it to get closer to them at some point. Things like how Hunk is really proud when he learns a new recipe or some of Coran's old stories. He especially likes hearing the crew talk about the things dearest to them.

The crew are suprised when Keith approaches them (individually) to talk about things that they like. Keith has sat through many a demonstration of Pidge's programs and quite a few mechanical explanations from Hunk. Coran is always eager to talk about old Altea or some weird space animal. Keith has even tried to use this on Lance but it doesn't work as well. Keith can't seem to find something Lance will talk about with him.

Keith treats Allura like a sister and is really close to her. He would sooner die than see Allura hurt and knows things about her that not even Coran knows. When she was kidnapped, he advised that they don't rescue her right away because he knew she could handle herself and wanted to be more prepared against the Galra so further damage didn't come to their team. He'd rather Allura not come back to a shattered crew.

Keith had a crush on Lance back at Garrison but could never get close enough to Lance to get to know him better. Lance was always abrasive but Keith couldn't understand why. All his offers to "hang out" were met with rejection or competition. Keith tried to forget Lance but nothing could dull his feelings. Lance's cheery disposition, beautiful smile, and bad comedy that left everyone laughing made Keith admire him from afar.

Keith ended up trying to bury his feelings on the ship as well but they only grew stronger as Keith got closer to him. Lance was daring and flirtatious and not afraid to be stupid. He openly showed emotional weakness regardless of how vulnerable it made him to the crew.

Allura is the only one on the ship that knows how deep Keith's crush for Lance goes. Shiro only knows of the crush. Keith never would've told Allura but one night she kept asking about Keith's love life because he knew so much about her and she wanted to learn something about him. Keith ended up going on a tangent about Lance and his feelings until he realized that he had been talking for an Earth hour. Allura has now made it her side mission to see if she can get Keith and Lance together.

Lance's feelings for Keith get triggered every time Keith does anything really. Keith smiles and Lance is out. He zones out at the dinner table and stares into nothingness? Oh dear god Lance adores that. Every little thing that Keith does deepens Lance's feelings for him. It's like Lance's personal corner of hell. He's slowly falling in love with the boy that he's designated to be his rival. It doesn't help that Keith keeps approaching Lance and trying to befriend him.

Keith has a collection of string that he uses to make bracelets. They're usually pride themed and he has one that he usually wears (Masc gay pride flag). He's afraid of how feminine the bracelet thing makes him seem so he hides it from others. He even wears the bracelet in a way that isn't visible with the outfit he's wearing with it. He views it as a weakness.

The truth is revealed about Keith's craftiness after he makes a bracelet for Allura with the lesbian pride flag on it. Lance goes up to Allura thinking she made it but is understandably surprised to learn that Keith made it. You better believe that Keith was surprised to see Lance come up to him later to ask if Keith could make one for him. Funnily enough, Lance asked if he could make a pride flag themed one (specifically bi), not realizing that Allura's was a pride flag (Cut him a break, he hasn't seen it in months).

Lance asking for Keith to make something for him was the highlight of the week. He got to work on it, making sure it was perfect. He even put seed beads on the ends of the string to make tiny pride flags. He wanted to make it the best for Lance even if he wouldn't notice or appreciate the smaller details. Lance totally noticed and appreciated the small details.

Lance: "So Allura told me that you made the bracelet for her"

Keith: "Oh uhhhh"

Lance: "The fact that you can do that is really cool and I was wondering if you could make one for me."

Keith: "You want me... to make something... for you?"

Lance: (Now worried he overstepped a boundary) "Yes?"

Keith: (With stars in his eyes) "I'll do it."

This shit is fake bby!!!

Here she is.. My masterpost of all the dumb, illogical bits of info contained within these s15 “leaks” that make me fairly confident they are complete bullshit. It also includes my little tinhat theories that have absolutely no evidence.

I will be putting it all under a Readmore in case you don't want to risk it or if you simply Do Not Care

First up, I'd like to point out that these call sheets repeatedly give very detailed backstories to characters that have few lines which conveniently paints a picture of each episode's plot. And I'm not an expert so correct me if I'm wrong, but after looking at other similar casting calls, they only ever include the demographic and necessary skills.

Basically who in their right mind would write up casting calls that give away so many spoilers? Seems like that could cause and issue if they were leaked lol. But anyway that's my 1st point. But onto the actual content

So the conceit of this episode as a whole is that during the pandemic, the gang "gamed the system" and received three (3!) Loans to start businesses that went bankrupt. One of these businesses is implied to be the one started by dee and charlie who end up selling to Qanon shaman. Already this is so impossible baby.

1. We've already seen the gang try to get a loan and it didn't work. They don't have good ideas. Ur telling me, they managed to finagle 3 separate loans for 3 separate business ideas from an actual bank?

2. Maybe I just have bad reading comprehension but how does one have a business that is both fictitious and bankrupt?

3. If the customer is supposed to be Qanon shaman, an actual real life guy, why are the only descriptors white and male? They say he's shirtless so are they going to paint on all of the tattoos he has? And if so, doesn't that kind of ruin the dramatic reveal when charlie "throws in" the viking helmet? Why would he do that anyways? Sus.

Moving on

Alright this episode would fucking blow for obvious reasons but im going to refrain from looking at this through my gay dennis thruther lens because im biased.

Purely from a narrative standpoint, a woman hasn't been shown to be interested in dennis in nearly 5 years during the wade boggs episode. Ever since, every single woman he approaches has been actively creeped out by him. And now I'm supposed to believe that 3 "smart, passionate woman" (In Their Twenties!!!!!!) agreed to go on a date with him? And Anna even slept with him! Just because he what? Agreed with her? I'm not buyin it.

Plus the concept of this scenario lacks any potential for comedy. When iasip gets political, they always discuss a very specific topic using hyperbolic situations and flawed metaphors. If this is supposed to be a political episode, what ultimately lukewarm point would rob be trying to make here? So far we know they're ranting about

The patriarchy

Privilege

Socialism

No more personal responsibility(?)

The... nature of power in society(??)

How on earth would an episode like get approved? This shit sounds like a Ted talk. It sounds like it was written specifically to sound like a political episode so boring and pointless it would generate outrage and mile long essay posts from Tumblr users and reddit users alike. Almost like this one lol.

On a completely unrelated note, do not try and convince me that Frank "casual cock ring wearer" Reynolds is unable to perform.

Jeez this is getting out of hand fast. Let's move on

Ok now we're starting to getting into the Ireland of it all. Let me go on a bit of a tangent here about all this.. Now I thinq there are just 3 possibilities. Either this is all a publicity stunt and there is some truth to the Ireland rumors, the entire thing could be bogus from some weirdo fan (ps, if a fan did write this I want you to know I fucking hate you. You did this to me), or it is a publicity stunt but Ireland is just more bullshit.

I am going to assume it was a publicity stunt, otherwise I just wasted my entire evening and I can't have that kind of mentality rn. Additionally, I'm Going to tinhat here for a second and say that the Ireland rumors are true, but the details are different.

I say this because if they were going to do filming in Ireland, they probably figured that that information would be impossible to hide. In essence, my completely unfounded hypothesis is that this leak was their fucked up little way of controlling the situation while simultaneously messing with us.

Ok tangent is over, returning to the casting calls. From the looks of it, dee starts a "scam" acting class and has some very devoted students (Note that Tony was also the name of the porn shop owner. Seems weird!) Presumably after the gang replaces her with a monkey as the title suggests.

Honestly, there isn't too much here that's a red flag to me... seems like a nice little dee-centric episode that is the link to the Dublin angle. Assuming I am At All right, this could be a genuine plotline for Dee. However, the monkey could be a red herring and there could be a whole different side plot with the guys. who's to say. Next one!

Ah yes this is the dennis we all know and despise.. no red flags for me here really, I'm also running out of steam because idk if it shows, but I am majorly sleep deprived atm. Anyway I'm going to the next one

Okay this is where things start getting weird again ough a migraine just hit, anyway back to my earlier point about how casting calls would never contains major spoilers bc the people who see these wont be under any kind of NDA..

These ones reveal that bonnie dies. Again, that info wouldn't be in a casting call.

But also they suggest charlie has a irish penpal named Shelley who is his biological father. First off charlie is illiterate, although as pointed out by @undeadbreeze shelley could also be communicating in symbols. However, this scenario is still unbelievable to me for a couple reasons:

1. Bonnie's last name is Kelly obviously, and we know it's her maiden name because Jack's last name is also Kelly. But Shelley's last name is... also Kelly? In the context of this big ol hoax, it feels like it was written to show that look! his last name is the same as charlie's! That's how you know that's his dad! But It would be way too big of a coincidence if charlie's dad happened to have the same last name bonnie.

And 2. There's the whole mystery of charlie's long-lost sister from 'charlie got molested' but never any mention of a brother which according to this, shelley has been pretending to be his brother for years. And we all know how much rcg loves their continuity, it seems uncharacteristically lazy to just tack this on without any prior buildup.

And finally let me talk about mac for a second and specifically the line in gus's summary "both are gay men who are attracted to the priesthood for all the wrong reasons"

Iasip has commented on pedophilia in the priesthood many times in the past which leads me to believe that they are implying that mac is a pedophile? Please let me know if I completely misread the implications of that statement, but if not, then that is completely insane and one of the biggest indictators that this is fake. Mac is awful, just like everyone in the gang but he is definitely not a pedophile.

However even if i did completely misread that, it's still proof this is fake.. For all his faults, Rob put a surprising amount of care and effort into mac's coming-out. It hasn't been perfect, but Mfhp in particular firmly established that mac's faith is integral to his identity so Its unlikely that rob would throw all of that away for a cheap shot at priests.

Ok my brain is irradiated sludge at this point, but in conclusion. I hope that 1. I'm right, at least about it being fake (Otherwise damb that'll be so humiliating for me) And 2. This eases ur fears a bit. I don't want to lose all faith in future seasons bc I love iasip and miss the gang. If you read this far youre insane but I literally love you so goddamn much because I spent so so long tapping this out on my silly little phone

Please feel free to add on or message me your thoughts and opinions I need to know I'm not the only one who uhhh went a bit insane. And finally: whoever made these is a cunt. Mwah.

it might be problematic but am i the only one who doesn't like to queercode canonically straight characters? i just feel like when people made that movie they actively decided to show them as straight over and over again. like we shouldn't give them the satisfaction of having characters w actual queer habits, when they actively ignored our community while making the movie. it just shows how we're constantly ignored and sidelined even when there are characters who could've been easily made queer and actually show the community in a positive light.

movie makers probably didn't even think of including us in well-written mainstream characters and us relating to some of those written by cishet men makes me so mad. we deserve proper characters written keeping us in mind. i simply don't enjoy the fact that we have to constantly look for clues and shit for implicit homoeroticism in cishet movies.

sorry if it's offending, just wanted to share my views!

I figured I was going to have an ask on similar veins sooner or later. But I must assume, yours went on different tangent. I was expecting 'OMG stop making everything gay, these are STRAIGHT characters' but I'm glad yours was different in spirit.

It's perfectly okay if you don't want to look at the cishet movies through queer lens. It's perfectly okay if you'd rather watch actual queer representation than queerbaited or queercoded characters. 'doesn't like to queercode canonically straight characters' is not problematic.

But understand we can only queercode straight character right? If the characters are canonically queer, we don't need to add subtext or coding.

But we ARE talking about bollywood here. India decriminalised same sex relations ONLY two years ago while Indian film industry existed for more than 100 years. It is not possible that you're gonna get canonically queer characters that aren't vilified or very vaguely mentioned or used as comic relief.

Gay people were shown predatory. Cross dressing was a fun comedy song. Eunuchs and butch women were a source of laughter. Censor board didn't allow heterosexual kissing for a long time, you think they would've allowed healthy same sex relations? Would the society? And is that the representation a queer person should suffice with?

There was quite a revolution in 80s in India when lgbtq activism was taking off, (I'll make a post about India's first openly out person one day). The movies afterwards began slowly to explore the possibility of showing queer characters. There were a lot of misses and very few hits.

But it was also a time a lot of very strong male friendship movies came out. Gay people found something for themselves in those movies about two men moving heaven and earth for each other, female love interest the secondary character. You can read the touching essay I shared a few days back. When you have no or bad representation, you're gonna look at the straight media and make it represent for you in your own mind.

Your point is valid. You shouldn't have to look for queerness in movies written explicitly straight. You should get to watch movies made with keeping queer community in mind. And it seems there are quite a few steps are being taken with ek ladki ko, smzs, these anthologies on netflix.

But I hope you understand why others do so. I hope you don't mind that we see something in these straight characters and find relatable to our queer experience when for so long we didn't have anything else.

headcanon idea: a modern song that you think the ghosts would love or one you would be sure to show them if you were there that you think they'd love

I LOVE THIS!!

Also, would anyone be interested if I made full playlists for each of the ghosts?? Cause I’d really like to but idk if anyone would care?? I have some of them on my personal Spotify but obvs I can’t share those with y’all so it would involve making a different account so I can make them public. But yeah?? Let me know if you’re interested at all??? (Or maybe song recs for any of them??

(Answer under the cut)

Robin - Concert epics!! Like The Killers or Kings of Leon anything loud that he could shout along to. I think Spaceman would be a really great call for him cause he could jump along at the chorus and obvs space boy. He would also love to watch concerts as well or like festivals and would wish to be there so badly like in the crowd.

Humphrey - Body - Mother Mother…. Oh don’t look at me like that it’s a cheap shot but I had to take it XD But serious answer Sign of the Times. I feel like Humphrey probably has the most reasonable understanding of the passage of time of all the ghosts. He’s very down to earth compared to the rest of them. I know Robin has been there longer but I think he’s probably accepted the change of time without really considering it philosophically, whereas with Humphrey getting lost all the time he’s probably had more time to contemplate and I think he’d appreciate the song to listen to while he’s stuck various places. Also he’d like he piano, Humphrey’s a kinda piano man you can’t tell me otherwise (no Billy Joel fuck off)

Mary - The Moss - Cosmo Sheldrake. The combination of the mystical sounds and the weird and wonderful lyrics about like all the animals and mythical beings and the fairytales would just be *mwah*.

Kitty - Rex Orange County or something?? I’m not really sure, Kitty is kinda tricky cause I have no idea what she might like. But I feel like that’s a solid call,, like Best Friend??

Thomas - We all know Thomas love a lovey pop song so like old Taylor Swift. You Belogn With Me, he would dance to that over and over on repeat. He’d also appreciate the beauty of a modern love story like he does in Friends. Like the holding up the cards through the window in the music video would also remind him of Love Actually which he also loves XD

Fanny - WAP. Wet Ass Pussy. She’d hate it but it’d be fucking funny!! Nah but seriously something sad. Fanny really needs to cry like just for a bit, cause like her uptightness and whatever is like partially to do with her time period but also like her life was sadddddd and if she just let go and cried for a bit the world would be a better place for her. So yeah, fuck it Iris - Goo Goo Dolls. Just put it on repeat and lie down, cry just please.

Captain - This has been said before but I’ll say it again: Achilles Come Down. Like it might actually kill his gay little soul but by good it would be worth it!! I’m gonna go off on a bit of a philosophy tangent but what were ya expecting from me honestly: the sample used in Achilles Come Down is an extract from a 1942 essay by Albert Camus who, alongside Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and the like, wrote about the concept of ‘the absurd’ which is a tricky concept but a reallyyyyyy simplified version of it is basically the idea that humans constantly search for a meaning and purpose for life and the universe but the universe does not provide answers to that which causes human distress. Basically, what I mean to say like isn’t that concept just so Captain?? Like he searches for meaning in war and can’t see life beyond the war because that provides him purpose, you know?? But yeah, it’s a banging song and I’m sorry about the tension.

Pat - You Make Me Feel from Jimmy Somerville or Dance With Me by Alphaville or Together in Electric Dreams, basically just any song he would’ve only just missed later in the decade. Man died just as his music taste was peakinggggg which is so sad - he would’ve loved the rest of the 80s so much. So yeah I would just sit him down and play him my 80s Anthems CD, boy would lose his mind.

Julian - Montero. He’d claim to hate it but he’d actually be obsessed XD But seriously like Arctic Monkeys or something. I think he’d like Arabella a lot, strikes me as the type you know. But he likes it in a straight boy football beer way rather than indie kid record player way, they give of drastically different vibes you know??

Anywhere, there we go!! Thanks so much for the question: it's a great one!!

Boo’s clown thoughts about Dan

I just re-watched the Heartthrob video from 2018. I have listened to Dan and Phil playing Heartthrob in 2021. I have watched compilations of Dan and Phil’s liveshows and ✨ gay moments ✨ throughout the years. I am officially qualified to make reaching assumptions about Dan’s psyche, and his taste in men 💅. (I am a clown.)

Dan hides many of his feelings under sarcasm. This essay is predicated on a combination of assuming many of his jokes are actually his real feelings, and also taking into account things he has said with sincerity.

First, he wants to fix people. His whole perspective of Bobby changes when the card “never been kissed” is added — Dan gets all soft and literally says “that’s a game changer”. Phil thinks the same, suggests that everything else of Bobby is bravado, to which Dan heartily agrees. Dan loves himself some 💪 meaty men 💪, but gravitates more to the men that seem soft or personable. “Never been kissed” is a big deal for a cool sexy rich guy in high school, and Dan just knows that he could take care of him. It brings Bobby back down to earth, makes him feel real, makes him someone that Dan could relate to. Dan is obsessed with cleaning, takes forever to plan things, gets worked up when things aren’t perfect, must be in control. But he’s drawn to the imperfect, knows that he can do something with it. Someone that’s already perfect isn’t interesting to Dan. But Bobby, who’s rich and sexy but never been kissed? That’s interesting to Dan, that’s someone he can work with.

Dan is a gold-digger 💷💰 (let me explain). Even before the kissing detail is learned about Bobby, Dan chose him to go to the party with just because he’s rich, because his house would be cool, and Dan could pretend to like him for a night of luxury. Dan is a minimalist, he enjoys things to be simple in his life (as stated in the pizza mukbang video), but he loves opulence .... but not for himself. This is fascinating — Dan doesn’t parade his current wealth around, actively works against it. But. He wants to go to a party at a fancy house with a pool, hang off the arm of some cool guy. He wants to have a “team of stylists” for red carpet events to choose his outfits and dress him up all pretty for the world to see. He loves his fancy trips to beautiful places. He gives his Sims elegant and gaudy accessories and furnishings, splurging in a way he never would in real life. This boy loves him some extravagance and attention, wants to parade around looking like a snack, even though most of the time he prefers being low-key.

Dan loves cultivating a specific image for himself. He spent much of his teenage and young adult life trying to fit in, making sure his hair is perfect, making sure his photos are from the perfect MySpace angle, not being “gay”. His Instagram is a wall of black, broken up by only a few things. This is partially because he doesn’t like choice, can’t commit to things when it’s his decision. He can’t choose something “wrong”. See the mukbang video where Phil suggests just picking different clothes from along the line in his closet, and Dan says “that’s how you get ensembles that look like this” indicating Phil’s absurd get-up. Dan can’t imagine just throwing things on willy-nilly, he must present a completely unified vision of himself to the world. In the Attitude shoot, he was devastated that he couldn’t wear the cool boots, that his hair was too long. He secretly wished that it was a nude or horny photoshoot, joking about this during their first Stereo, because he wants to be noticed in that way. He wants to be seen as sexy and cool, he loves it. He wants positive attention. His mid-2020 thirst post on Instagram is a perfect example of this, playing it off as silly when he clearly was really into it. He does this with most of his photos, needing to look a certain way so that the world sees him as cool and sexy even when he’s masking it behind sarcasm. He knows he’s cute, and flaunts it, even though “flaunting it” means he has to be in control of everything all the time.

Let’s go back to the 2018 Heartthrob. One of the boys’ personality traits is revealed to be “can’t wait to have kids”, and Dan is not having it. 🙅‍♂️ Now, Dan would describe that as his fear of commitment. But let’s look closer. Earlier that year, Dan and Phil met Louise’s newborn baby. Both boys go completely gooey the entire time, entranced by her. Dan gets this look in his eye when he hands Pearl to Phil. He watches Phil closely to make sure he’s holding her correctly, hovers and touches her, needing to protect and feel the inherent trust of a baby. He and Phil keep smiling, and then Dan — out of the blue — gets a far away look and comments that there will be phanfiction of him and Phil adopting a baby. Dan was thinking about having a baby with Phil. But he’s scared, because even though Dan would take care of his baby so well, he’d probably worry his ass off making sure the baby has everything. It’s not just the fear of commitment, it’s that he can’t trust himself to do it “correctly”. Even though he’s been with Phil for years, I think Dan second-guesses himself constantly. A baby, or even a dog, for that matter, would send his anxiety into overdrive, because he can’t be in complete control (even though he’d be the best dad and partner ever).

Time to think about thot Dan. In the end, Dan is horny. He visibly reacts to each of the Heartthrob boys that have their “guns out”, and doesn’t easily deny that he’s interested in Bobby for his arms. And Phil knows that. When Dan asks Phil why he thinks Dan chose Bobby ... Phil stalls. Phil does his best to justify his guess that Dan likes Bobby because of his random personality traits, because Dan would like being driven around in a nice car and to ask Bobby about his dream of being a secret agent, but Phil clearly thought Dan would choose Bobby because he knows Dan loves the meaty lads. Phil knows Dan well enough to know that this boy loves him some skin and some muscle showing. (Hmm, interesting that Dan likes his boys meaty 👀, and frequently refers to Phil as such, even at the beginning of this very Heartthrob video …. hmmmm ... says he’d like to receive a lapdance 💋 from Phil “for the spectacle” .... hmmmmmmmmm.)

Back to “commitment” 💍 issues. During a liveshow from the early danisnotonfire days, Dan is asked for relationship advice. Here, he is surprisingly honest and serious. He says to not stay in a relationship where you’re not happy. It seems simple, but Dan really digs deep here. Dan says that if you’re not going to marry a person, don’t stay with them for even a day longer. Dan said that. Dan is scared of trusting others, he is constantly sarcastic and talks about himself disparagingly, but he is self-aware enough to know that he wants commitment. He wants someone to love him forever, to be by his side. That’s why he says there’s no point in remaining in a relationship if you and the other person can’t see yourself together in 50 years. And Dan had been with Phil (in whatever way that means for them) for a few years at that point, completely comfortable with each other. They were already making huge decisions together, like living together and moving to London and starting a radio show and considering moving to New York together. Dan had committed to Phil at this point, knew that he could see himself still with Phil in 50 years. And Phil had committed to Dan, regardless of if Dan felt sure of that or not.

Even earlier than that, Dan had told a fan on formspring that he loves sleeping in the same bed as other people, not even in a sexual way. He loves human contact, sharing space 😌. We know this because he’s so open to hugs with his fans, wants people around to make him feel safe (by people I mean Phil), and is so exasperated by quarantine because he needs more touch and contact. (Tangent — Phil also loves physical touch, as stated in an old liveshow when he said he prefers cuddles to kisses, and is very handsy 👐 with Dan.)

This doesn’t end in physical touch though. He needs other people around. He wants a companion through life. He misses Phil when he’s gone because he’s scared of the house being empty, because Phil makes him feel safe. He wants another person in his bed because it feels nice to be with someone, knowing they’re there. He wants to have someone to work with, to connect with, to make music with, to share moments with. And now this boy has all of that. He has for the last ten-odd years. But this is scary. Dan isolated himself growing up, built barriers between himself and everybody else. He needs to be control of the situation at all times, embarrassed when he’s not. Dan uses self-deprecating language constantly, complains about his inability to connect with people. But he has Phil. Every day they’re together, I think Dan accepts just a little more that he can deserve happiness, that he won’t lose Phil, that Phil is not temporary. Phil shows him that he is worthy of affection, physical and otherwise, that Dan is allowed to reach out and it’s safe to do so. Dan doesn’t have to be alone anymore, he can reach out and Phil is there.

These nonsense ramblings are just to say that Dan has the perfect life partner in Phil. Phil balances him out, lets Dan be himself loudly and quietly, jokes when Dan is too serious. Phil will never leave him, proving that every day, making plans with Dan in mind. Phil is confident and self-assured where Dan is not. They ease each other’s anxieties, approach their fame in similar ways. They genuinely enjoy being together, not just in their personal life, but professionally as well. They are a perfect match, soulmates. 💕

Rusty Quill Official: My thoughts

First I’d like to point out that I’m literally a nobody. I’m not a mod, I’m not a crew member of Rusty Quill, I am literally just someone who hangs out in the Rusty Quill Official discord (I AM a patron though, so I do have access to the Patron only channels). 

I’ve been seeing the people that are in this ‘group of 10 or 11 people’ stir things up in the server for a while now, and I thought I’d just give my own experiences and thoughts on the subject.  Firstly, the fact that I even have to ‘give my credentials’ about this is ridiculous, but these are the type of people who if you aren’t ‘xyz’ and you disagree with anything they say, you are automatically deemed racist, homophobic, ableist, sexist, etc etc, so I’d just like to point out I am a queer woman with both mental and physical health disorders and disabilities. I’m also white, cis and allo, so I do admit there are only so many things I feel comfortable commenting on without getting piled on for ‘not being allowed’ or ‘not understanding’ (because thats 100% what the folks who are responsible for that doc do in the discord) First of all, I’d like to discuss the fact that the RQO server has grown RAPIDLY in the last few months. I don’t have access to the statistics but I’ve seen them in the past, and the server went from less than 2000 people to over 8000 in a matter of like two or three months. The mods of this server are all volunteer, besides a select few(Anil(Community Manager), Bryn(who is a voice actor/talent for Rusty Quill Gaming) and now Autumn, who literally was just announced as Anil’s new assistant community manager YESTERDAY. Before yesterday, April, the production manager, was also a Mod. Besides those people NO ONE works for rusty quill. Everyone is a volunteer and a fan. Rusty quill is a SMALL PODCAST COMPANY that has seen a rapid growth of their fanbase over the last 9 or so months. They have stated many many times that they are working behind the scenes to plan a server overhaul, and have given us a suggestion form. They all work very hard to try and make RQO a place where people feel safe. There are topics of conversation that NEED a more intense style of modding to be handled correctly, and at the current moment they don’t have the ability to do that so that things can be discussed safely for everyone involved. They have stated multiple times that is being worked on as something for the server revamp, and it just seems to not click. There are conversations that happen in this server that they have a problem with getting ‘sideswept’ that I KNOW make MANY people uncomfortable, and that is mainly the policing of headcanons. Saying ‘it makes me uncomfortable when Elias/Jonah is portrayed as trans or gay’ is one thing. Its completely another to call someone who HC’s Elias/Jonah as trans or gay as transphobic or homophobic, use vomit emojis and basically sit there and completely bash someone for having that headcanon, which is what tends to happen and makes people SUPER uncomfortable, causing the mods to come in and go ‘okay enough of this’ (but they didnt screenshot themselves being nasty because why would they?) They also straight up bash you if you like certain characters, Daisy and Gertrude being two main ones I’ve seen. I understand the discourse surrounding Daisy, I really do, but to be treated like the scum of the earth for daring to like Daisy as a character, for automatically being labeled as racist or pro-cop just because you enjoy a FICTIONAL CHARACTER is...absolutely ridiculous. Its THIS that the mods are reacting to, NOT calling the characters themselves out. Its them blatantly being rude and making people uncomfortable about liking a fictional character.  Another thing I’d like to address is the server being ‘ableist’  towards people with ADHD by being strict about going off topic. This is something I’ve been EXTREMELY vocal about myself, as someone with ADHD, I DO feel frustrated with the fact that if things veer off topic we get told to take it to another channel. Its jarring, as someone who tends to go on tangents and it doesn’t feel great but I understand the need for it. There are specific channels for a reason. Just because something inconveniences you doesn’t mean its automatically ableist. if every conversation was allowed to run rampant in every channel it would be chaos. AS IT IS so many of the channels are far too busy for my liking and I don’t feel comfortable in them with the amount of people (something that has zero to do with the way RQO runs the server and everything to do with the fact that its just a very large server with a lot of people) I tend to like to stay in the Patreon section because its much smaller and calmer. Also the Gen channels for me(General, Court of Nobles) are great because unless its something super specific(a long discussion about food, a specific character discussion, etc etc) there isn’t a topic to follow, therefor my ADHD can run free. Thats just...how things have to be sometimes. Once again its something thats been told is being worked on for the server revamp, possibly adding more gen channels or such things because the server is getting so large. I’m sure there are other things I could address here, but Honestly I am tired. I’ve been in a LOT of Discords only to nope out of them within a few weeks because I don’t feel safe or welcome. Rusty Quill Official is the first server I’ve been in where I don’t feel like I am just a number, just a nameless fan, despite how large the server is. Its the first large server where I feel like I have a sense of belonging. Its a place I hold very dear to my heart. It might not be for everyone. It might not be everyones cup of tea, I certainly don’t blame the servers I’ve left for not being something I vibe with, but to hear it be ‘called out’ and bashed like this is really sad, especially when SO MANY of the screenshots were taken out of context/not shown the whole story/had bits cut out that would importantly show another side to everything.  To call the RQO server an unsafe space would be extremely unjust. If its not something you enjoy, then thats unfortunate. There are opportunities for you to maybe meet people in the discord that you vibe with and break off to your own smaller server. Thats perfectly valid, and in now way us telling you to ‘leave if you dont like it’. Do what makes YOU comfortable, but to continuously cause issues and drama on purpose when things have been addressed and you simply dont like the answer... Its not fair to everyone else on the discord who IS having a good time. Allow Rusty Quill time to grow with its fanbase. There are going to be hiccups. There are going to be snags. People are HUMAN and to expect things to be Absolutely Completely Unproblematic Or Else is unrealistic. Things ARE being addressed. things ARE being worked on.  Thats all I’ve got to say. 

Geomagnetic Reversal: The relationship between God, Satan, and Lil Nas X

(Spoilers for the Montero music video by Lil Nas X if you haven’t seen it yet.)

Every 450,000 years (approximately), the Earth’s magnetic poles switch places. The last switch, the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal, occurred about 780,000 years ago, so the Earth is ‘due’ for another one (except, averages don’t quite work like that.... but that’s a tangent we won’t explore at this time). But another reversal is happening, this one in society. A recent Gallup pole shows that for the first time in American history, the number of church-goers has dropped under 50% of the population. 

While this is certainly frightening for the religious community, it appears more of them are frightened by Lil Nas X’s recent music video for his song Montero (Call Me By Your Name) in which the singer descends to Hell and seduces the Devil. Now, for the American Conservative Christian, anything dealing with the Devil, demons, or Hell is pretty disturbing. Many of these families don’t celebrate Halloween (as it’s the Devil’s day) and will even avoid books, movies, and tv shows if it involves anything deemed Satanic. This includes magical powers as they are “of the Devil” and anything “of the Devil” will corrupt the person who engages in the story. 

And yet, in modern American society, media portrayals of the Devil appears to be at an all-time high. Not only does the Devil (or his various demons) appear in a variety of shows and movies, but he’s also played sympathetically. Or at the very least, far more nuanced than the earliest iterations of him. In the 1980s, 1990s, and even into the early 2000s, the Devil was portrayed as genuinely evil. Films like the Devil’s Advocate, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Angel Heart cast the Devil quite firmly into the role of villain. And not just villain, but creepy, manipulative, psychologically-disturbing villain. We begin to see a more complex take of the Devil in the 00′s and on, and it’s sort of culminated in the TV series Lucifer in which the Devil is sort of a good guy. (Not going to lie, I like the show - and yes, it’s based on a DC comic character).

But if the media has given the Devil a character redemption arc, God has suffered from the opposite. In fact, He’s begun a descent in villainy. Or, at the very least, He’s become the ‘absent parent’ who neglects His creation. 

However, I would argue that this character devolvement has not been due to the media, rather it has been due to the institution of the Church and the harm that the Church has done to recent generations, specifically millennials. 

Most millennials were raised in some form of church, and there were widespread issues across the different denominations. The Catholic Church was covering up its child sexual abuse scandal. Mega churches were preaching the lie of the ‘prosperity gospel’, all while taking money from their parishioners to buy private jets. And independent, fundamental churches were bashing gays, denigrating women, and promoting toxic purity culture. Oh, and denying science. This was understandably harmful to the kids being raised in these churches.

(And shout-out to all the Gen-Z’s out there who are going through/went through similar experiences. It didn’t stop with millennials. However, if the Gallup poll is right, a lot of the flight from Church is due to millennials noping out of there). 

So with all of these problems, is it any wonder that the image of God took a hit? Gandhi (as problematic as he was) said it best when he said, “I like your Christ, but not your Christianity.” And as most evangelicals will tell you, the word Christian literally means ‘Christ-like’. So... yeah. How Christians behave really does influence a person’s opinion of who God is. 

What’s interesting about God and the Devil is that they are literary foils for each other. One is good; one is bad. One is kind; one is cruel. One will save you; one will destroy you. But if one of them changes sides, it forces the other to change sides as well. 

For a lot of LGBTQIA+ folks, and minorities, and poor people, and people struggling with mental illness or substance abuse, the Church was not a good place to be. Or a kind place to be. Or even a place of refuge and safety. It became... well... sort of like Hell. And therefore, God became the Devil. (Not literally, obviously). And if God is bad... well, the Devil becomes good by default. After all, someone that rebels against cruelty and evil, can’t be purely evil themselves.  

Now, after watching the music video for Montero, I don’t think Lil Nas is saying that the Devil is good (do correct me if I’m wrong though). And I do think a lot of the outcry about the video from American Conservative Christians was because the video features a gay man expressing his sexuality. BUT, I think it is yet another sign that the societal poles are starting to reverse. If the Christian Church continues to harm the people it is supposed to serve, and if it continues to stand in the way of progress, more and more people will consider God to be the evil one. And they might find themselves with some... how best to put it.... well, Sympathy for the Devil. 

(Yes, that was a stupid attempt at a pun. I’ll see myself out.)

This is a gift for @striderhell from the Homestuck Secret Santa 2020 (@homestuckss). I was aiming for 3000 words but uh, Dirk as a muse didn’t want to continue exploring the concept of gender given his rigid but philosophical nature.

I hope this was good, and if not just gimme a shout and I’ll try and come up with something better. 

Word Count: 1521 Fandom: Homestuck Characters: Dirk Strider, Roxy Lalonde Relationships: Dirk Strider & Roxy Lalonde (Platonic/Friends)

Additional Notes: Roxy uses He/Him and They/Them, I’ve never finished the epilogues but I love NB Rox. Dirk uses no pronouns in this, as I wanted to try that out. 

Please enjoy Dirk exploring his gender. 

Sometimes in an effort to define ourselves, we feel trapped to conform to some rigid aspect or label in hopes to reach an understanding of who we are. At times this process can be frustrating and dissatisfying. Other people take weeks or days, and some of them take years or never figure it out. 

Perhaps gender, as a construct, can’t be fully understood, but we can understand ourselves as people without it. The tale before you, is only a short of someone who wishes to take a journey many end up doing, and most have never encountered.

Dirk was sitting in a cafe on Earth-C, sipping on a coffee in between tinkering with another pair of shades. The goal was updating and adding a better set of graphics, hoping to add some additional features to make things easier.

It had been a while since the Prince of Heart had seen the rest of the gods. Jake would visit once in a while, and they would have a friendly spar or talk. Roxy would message once in a while, letting Dirk know any spicy news about the rest.

Dave would randomly show up, they would stare each other down before both Striders would give a thumbs up and go their separate ways.

Rose would often come by, trading witty banter and wisdom. Both of them struggled with the massive impact of their god tiers and would often talk about it to one another.

Today though, Dirk decided a change of area would suit this project best, specifically needing to leave the workshop and enjoy some caffeine. Recently a problem developed that would continue to nag at the Prince even through the night. Lack of sleep was the reason why Dirk had picked a coffee shop. It made the most sense.

Gender did not.

Dirk had been going through a lot lately, and when Roxy had come out as trans, it had been taken pretty well by most of them. Not that it would be different if Dirk came out either, but rather that would take knowing what was going on.

This was a laughable moment, since they all had beaten the game, made it out and enjoyed their own little home in the midst of nothing. Creating entire worlds and civilizations with the help of their space and time players, but Dirk was sitting there, in a cafe, trying to figure out what gender even was and how it related to the god’s own identity.

Pronouns were hard, but so was even figuring this shit out. Making a copy of your brain at thirteen was much easier than figuring out if you’re cis or not, and Dirk didn’t know.

The more it was thought about, the more the thought cropped up, what if it turned out the being Cis wasn’t the result. Dirk was absolutely sure about not being a chick, nothing really appealed about that, but then again there was a very similar feeling over the current gender.

Man, agender or woman. Those were the categories that presented themselves currently. Working harder to connect the shades to the newly built chip, Dirk jolted when suddenly Roxy sat down across the table.

“I called out to you, but you didn’t answer.” He said leaning over and looking over the project. “I was wondering what made you change location, you’re pretty adamant to work in your workshop Dirkie.”

“I needed to think, which I was doing when you were calling out to me. Thinking so hard about creating a new line of orange pop with more caffeine than this cup of coffee that the world died out and I was left to only the one set of thoughts for once.”

He raised an eyebrow at that, and crossed his arms. “Really now? You think that I can’t tell something bigger is going on in that Strider head of yours? You’ve come up with projects while having a philosophical discussion with Rose and texting Dave a rap battle. You’re the king of multi-tasking, which also means your attention is usually divided more, and you’re attempting to put a wire on the wrong side of that.”

Dirk frowned and sighed, putting the project down. “Well, I can’t get nothing past you I suppose. I guess one thing that’s on my mind is how much I miss AR, since he was a good source of introspection, then again I have no idea if that would have helped in the first place.” Tapping fingers filled the space between them as the Prince looked outside at the billions of humans and trolls walking over the streets.

“I’ve been contemplating what gender is and how I relate to it since you came out as nonbinary. It’s been making me think about what is my gender, and I’ve come to the conclusion none of them really fit, but that’s also something to worry about since that means I don’t relate to any of the options-“

“Before you go on a long tangent, I want to ask, what are the options?” He interrupted Dirk while cocking his head.

“Agender, man and woman.” Dirk said bluntly, staring at Roxy. The laughter that resulted made the god tip the iconic shades down to stare at Roxy with deadpan orange eyes.

“I get greeted by your eye colour, score! But no, you got it all wrong, gender isn’t rigid categories, it’s a spectrum. You can’t define it by strict labels and there’s too many to count. So you don’t fit in three, there’s millions of genders. Some might not have a word for it right now. I’m nonbinary, but that’s because I’m not a man or a woman completely, I’m somewhere in the middle, closer to a man if I were to describe it as like, a sliding scale. So don’t be in a hurry, and don’t worry if you don’t figure it out.”

“I need to. Not knowing makes things difficult. I know it might be unhealthy to obsess over, but ever since I made Auto Responder, I had the need to understand myself fully and everything about myself.” With an elbow on the table, Dirk took a hand and raked it through the mess of hair. Having done so more than a hundred times earlier, the Prince was sure it was a complete and utter mess at this point, and would need to be taken care of at home.

“Well, I have a list of some of the other more known ones, maybe one of them check out for you?” He offered a tablet.

Dirk took it, and looked over the list of options and each description of it, mumbling under breath before placing the tablet back down with a definite, “I’m going to use Genderless for now and see what happens.” It looked interesting, the excerpt specifically outlined not having a gender at all due to neurodivergence, rather than lacking a gender or having no gender, different from agender. It didn’t feel much different from everything else, but nothing did. Having several of the entries be defined by one’s neurodivergence was weird, but the more thought placed into the concept, the more it felt real to Dirk. Rather it meant that the Prince would have to take Rose up on her offer to get a fully evaluation soon, even if both of them came to the conclusion Dirk was probably neurodivergent and that it wasn’t impactful with how the god had lived life before the game. 

“Are there any pronouns I should use for you?”

Pursing lips, Dirk gave a shake of the head. “None preferably. I think I need more time to actually think everything over. I have no positive or negative feelings for anything on there, and so I’m debating on if I’m everything or not. I can figure out how to make an exact replica of my own brain as a teenager, create robots, plot out the exact way I can kiss Jake and even save everyone's lives getting into the game. I’ve designed complex interactions to lead to the outcome I desire, and I can’t even pick a gender. This is quite frankly, ridiculous.”

“You don’t gotta. Dirk, it’s not about just picking a gender, it’s about figuring out a big part of yourself, and something most people don’t do for yours. You figured out you’re gay, now you’re figuring out what else you could be.” He placed a hand on Dirk’s and gave him a smile. “Whatever your result, I’m here for you. Even if you later think you’re a Cis man I’ll still be here for you. We might be siblings but we were friends first and that matters the most to me.”

Dirk gave a snort. “This is so fucking corny, but thanks Rox. I appreciate the love and support. Maybe I can treat you to another coffee since I feel like if I don’t buy one soon I’m going to be kicked out for making a mess of a window table.” Motioning towards the table, and standing up, the god stretched out. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Caramel Macchiato please.”

“Gotcha.”

sexism in the fire nation?? I want more examples!!

Okay, I’m not sure exactly to which post you’re referring, but you should know I have made a post expounding on this topic in the past. I do wish to speak on it further, though, because there seems to be this widespread belief among the fandom that the Fire Nation is the least sexist of all four nations during Aang’s time—and this bothers me for a number of reasons…

7 more paragraphs under the cut because it seems I have no self control???

The Fire Nation is an imperialist state that profits off of its colonialism, to the detriments of the territories it colonizes (obviously). Therefore, it makes sense that the FN seems more modernized than the rest of the world. But do not mistake their technological advancement for social progress. It is common propaganda that social progress moves with technological progress, in the same direction, and at the same pace. (For one thing, define “social progress.”) Colonialist states such as Israel will try to justify their occupation of Palestinian territory and oppression of Palestinians with, “Okay, yeah, maybe we’re doing those things, but we’re also the only country in the Middle East with LGBT rights!” And um, sure, Tel Aviv has a pride parade, but the Israeli gov’t also directly oppresses LGBT Palestinians. Or how when India decriminalized homosexuality and a lot of dumb liberals were like, “Good for India for finally catching up to the West!” when it was Western (British) influence that fucked India up in the first place. 

And even so, these are not the best examples I could give, because the FN can’t even boast gay rights. Now, you all know I tend to see the comics as a buffet of canon; I pick and choose what feels right, and if I doubt its plausibility, I have no problem ignoring it. At first, I was dubious to the claim that Firelord Sozin criminalized homosexuality. Apparently, being gay was all fine and dandy in the Fire Nation before Sozin (which I highly doubt, but still) and then all of a sudden he’s rounding up his subjects and sending them off to… well, it never exactly specifies, but you can guess. Again, not many specifics are given. But, it would make sense for an autocrat boasting the glory of his nation to need a scapegoat, and “the homosexuals” seem a pretty decent target. I mean, it’s not like this doesn’t have historical precedent. So while I initially marked it as kind of immature writing, just the idea that Bad Man is Homophobe because Bad, the more I examined the Fire Nation royal family of ATLA, the more it made sense that the Fire Nation has a history of egregious homophobia. 

Instead of looking to Sozin, who we truly know nothing about other than the fact that he liked to throw grass in people’s faces as a kid (which, uh, same—okay tangent, but why is ripping grass out of the ground and then throwing it like confetti so satisfying? Anyway), we need to look at the interplay among Ozai, Zuko, Iroh, Azula, and Ursa. Now, it’s really not hard to apply a queer reading to Zuko’s arc. I mean, the fact that it plays out like a 1:1 of a coming-out narrative wasn’t intentional on the part of the head writers is, frankly, staggering. And saying this isn’t to diminish the importance of his moral growth—one of understanding his own complicity in the war, and taking on the responsibility to mitigate his family’s legacy of violence and terror—but it is actually impossible to ignore the role Gender plays in all of this. If the Fire Nation was truly free of sexism, which, by the way, is impossible because its culture is too steeped in real-world influences to be able to separate imperialist values from upholding patriarchy, Zuko’s story would have played out much differently. For the record, you could switch out the word “Honor” for masculinity in not just ATLA, but a lot of other texts as well (especially those involving duels) and I bet we’d all come to understand just how silly and deluded the entire concept is. Of course, honor does not necessarily equate to masculinity. Acting honorably is whatever the culture defines it to be. For the Fire Nation, their culturally is militaristically-inclined, and so Zuko tries desperately to be a good soldier. Of course, Zuko is terrible at War, and thus is considered a failure. Being nurturing, compassionate, sensitive, or gentle is seen as weakness, and thus Zuko is forced to suppress these inherent traits if he does not want to be deemed weak. To be clear, Zuko does not learn how to be good; he learns that he is good. That he’s okay as he is, and that he should trust to act on his instincts, because they were right all along. 

Concurrently, while Azula’s arc is certainly less Gender than Zuko’s is (Toph proves the closest parallel to Zuko in that regard), misogyny is a pervasive element in understanding why she is the way she is. Unlike Zuko, who is, frankly, encouraged to yell (as it is pretty much the only form of emotional expression men are permitted to display) Azula must remain poised at all times if she wants to stay in her parents’ good graces. She clearly had better discipline than Zuko did as a child—and that is partially due to raw talent, but talent can only get you so far. Her flames weren’t always blue. While, yes, Azula is valued for typically masculine traits, such as her physical prowess, cunning, and “stoicism,” she is the Crown Princess. It is expected of her to follow in her father’s footsteps and promote military dominance during her inevitable reign. And surely you must be saying, “Well, if there are female Firelords, case closed, right? If a woman can be supreme ruler, then clearly the country cannot be sexist.” Riiiiiiight. Because Ancient Egypt wasn’t sexist. Because Britain. Etc.

I also see people saying that there were female guards at the Boiling Rock. Other than the fact that the Boiling Rock seems like it’s a bit short on guards and will take what they can get at the moment (Sokka and Zuko are both children who do not fit into those uniforms and no one questions it. No one even says, “Hey, aren’t you a little too young to work here?” …which is a shame, because the response, “I’m an intern..?” would’ve floored me) working-class women have always participated in labor. The Boiling Rock is not a gender-segregated prison. The only thing they care about is whether or not you’re a threat to the Fire Nation. They don’t even care if you’re an actual child (see: Suki). Seeing as the Fire Nation is deeply concerned with the containment of rebel forces, and the prison is fucking huge, it makes sense that they would hire a handful of women along with the male guards. It doesn’t seem like a job many would want (although with the Fire Nation’s brainwashing it’s hard to say), and they could use all hands on deck. But do we see any female high-ranking military officials? Any female soldiers in their military at all? The worst jobs cannot afford not to hire women. The Firelord cannot afford not to turn his daughter into a weapon simply because she is female. (His dumb gay son is clearly inept and a lost cause.) Azula’s greatest advantage is that people underestimate her. She enlists the help of Mai and Ty Lee, two teenage girl non-benders, because she knows that agility is key. She would rather blend in, be able to move through crowds unnoticed, than to show off (not to say she doesn’t like showing off, but she is distinctly subtler than Zuko, not to mention Ozai). In this way, her cunning and prowess are feminine qualities. Her swallowing of her emotional outbursts is a distinctly female trait. Under patriarchy, men are, in fact, encouraged to display their emotions more than women are, because at least men get to be angry. Azula is hyperaware of how misogyny operates in society, and she uses that as yet another tool in her arsenal. 

Now, I cannot go without mentioning Iroh’s treatment of Azula. We’re clearly all thinking it. Pre-Lu Ten’s-Death-Inspired-Epiphany-Iroh sends his niece and nephew some gifts from the Earth Kingdom: a doll and a knife, respectively. He sends the wrong toy to the wrong kid. First of all, he sends a ten-year-old Zuko a knife, which is decidedly not a toy (though he still manages to use it like one), and he sends a doll to Azula, which she immediately burns out of spite. Azula rejects gender roles in the same way Zuko does, but there is another layer to it, because femininity and women are so devalued; masculinity and association to it is a way of gaining power. Thus, Azula must perform femininity (physical perfection, “One hair out of place”) to gain approval and can never be caught slipping if she wants to be taken seriously. Unlike Zuko, who never once acts dignified, and is never taken seriously, Azula has learned to utilize these roles to her advantage in every possible way. And yet, Iroh does not care about how well she presents herself. She is a woman, and she wields too much power. Of course, the latter part is true. She is far too powerful considering her agenda, and she does need to be stopped (and helped). But when Iroh says, “No, she is crazy and needs to go down,” there are some heavily gendered implications at play here. To put it outright: Iroh is a sexist. He may have critically reexamined his views on war and peace after the death of his son, but that clearly did not extend to gender. Even a subtle thing, like constantly trying to set Zuko up with random girls in Ba Sing Se (it’s implied it’s not a one-off occurrence) (also, why would he be so rude to those poor girls as to force them to go on a date with Zuko, the actual worst person you could ever go on a date with except for perhaps a serial killer) seems a bit…. presumptuous. Not that I’m necessarily faulting him for his heteronormativity. Suki never had the chance to introduce him to Judith Butler after all, seeing as they had a war to win under intense time pressure and all that when they met. Maybe afterward, though. It’s the least he could do to better connect with his #Wells4Boys nephew (and #MyLittleStepchildren niece—though they truly have their work cut out for them). 

So yeah, assuming that sexism does not exist in the Fire Nation ignores the real-world implication of those claims. The Fire Nation is largely modeled after imperialist Japan, among other cultural influences. To then claim that an imperialist, militaristic society can exist without patriarchy in a cultural landscape so similar to our own is heavily reductive and downright ignorant. Not to mention, there’s pretty clear evidence throughout the entire show that the Fire Nation is sexist, among every class, and on a systemic, structural level.

So when people say, “Sexism is bad for men, as they are taught to repress their emotions, and they hurt themselves and others in the process,” they are, in fact, talking about Zuko. QED.

Tfw you make the mistake of talking about gay af Hallow’s End stuff with @/holyforged and then you gotta write it :^(

Fair warning this is, uh, long. Also pretty gay and self gratuitous yikes I’m sorry.

---

Soft thud of wings near soundless as he carried them through Exodar, an endeavour he found frivolous when the walk was not truly a long one-- admittedly it was perhaps a confusing one, the twisting passages of the Exodar a baffling thing even though he had ventured here on occasion. Anduin, however, had asked so very sweetly with a flutter of eyes Wrathion knows to be deliberate yet had fallen for anyway. His king’s amusement to that fact was not lost on Wrathion either, though he would be more inclined to say his reasonings were elsewise.

Autumn was well on its way to claiming the land, a fact even bastion of molten earth was aware of as chilly caress bit at thick scales as metal and crystal finally gave way to inky dark above. With autumn came cold, the bone aching sort which crept in and made its nest quietly, painfully, in places of old hurts. The High King hid it well. Wrathion does not think another mortal might even notice barring the worst of days where stiffness rages through Anduin terribly, but Wrathion is not mortal, is instead top of all food chains within these lands. Any predator knows weakness where they find it; can see the lameness of a sickly deer, the way weight is not carried properly even as they try to hide it.

Anduin was no deer of course, is no meek prey, but Wrathion sees none the less and so he had agreed and allowed elder upon his back. Bore still unfamiliar weight onto himself as gloved hands slide against onyx neck, a wandering caress Wrathion thinks nothing of until he feels tap for his attention.

“There,” Anduin says, voice whipped away from him by winds but heard nonetheless as crimson eyes find illuminated settlement in questions, wings folding into a graceful dip until taloned feet met earth once more with ripple of muscle a ways from the settlement.

Wordlessly he felt Anduin shift upon him as if to dismount, a goal quickly dashed as Wrathion eased into long strides which closed meager distance between they and Azure Watch. It earns him a laugh, one that has wings shuffling where they rest tucked against him.

“Are you looking to replace Reverence?” Words come with light amusement, breath curling in puff of condensation like smoke before the king’s face. A sham of an illusion, but a charming one Wrathion thinks regardless as Anduin prattles on with his nonsense. “He enjoys our morning rides when I have the time! He’ll be really quite upset if you try and take that from him, and he’s already not entirely fond of you~”

For all draconian features did not easily wear emotions flatness still prevailed on his features. “Your human stories that talk of dragons whisking away princesses. They’re very inaccurate. You humans talk far too much to be worth kidnapping.” 

“Are you calling me a princess? Really? Now, that is rich from you. My, what was it you were complaining about just this morning? Other than everything, obviously, as you seem to have a never ending list of complaints--” It was a tangent cut short by deliberate bounce of step, jarring a soft ‘oof’ from Anduin before the fires of Azure Watch cast them in their glow.

On most days there would be shrieks of upset at a black dragon making an appearance, weapons raised in fear, in contempt. Usually Wrathion would scarcely dare allow himself to be caught by so many mortals in true form, and yet tonight such was apparently… acceptable. Hallow’s End was, in his opinion, a rather baffling affair. One that could turn fear into a childish awe as they perhaps simply did not deem him real, did not think it was anything other than a clever illusion. It was a farce, he thought, but as he looked about at garishly costumed children fleeting about with unabashed glee he didn't suppose it mattered. If happiness could still be found even in the midst of such a pointless war then who was he to begrudge it?

Soft gasps rang out as children pointed to Anduin, High King an unexpected sight for seldom did he have time to leave Stormwind say for battle these days, a fact Wrathion thought must weigh heavy upon that soft heart of his. That they were here now, seemingly without cause, without dire urgency spurring Anduin into action, was evidently fascinating to young draenei and visiting humans alike. Even adults murmured as Wrathion finally drew to a stop beside roaring fire, front end dipping until chest hit ground and rear followed, limbs tucking beneath himself much like an overgrown feline which had taken to soaking up warmth.

Feeling tell tale shifting once more Wrathion cranes head around, lifting wing for elder to brace hand upon and steady self as he slid down shoulder to ground. “You’re causing quite the stir! Though, I suppose that should hardly be considered a shock, hm? With how rarely your guard dog lets you--”

“Wrathion,” comes an exasperated sigh from Anduin, cutting Wrathion off from an old argument they have had on several occasions. They would have it on many more if Wrathion were to get his way, though it seemed Anduin was ill inclined to allow today to be such an occasion as he swatted at Wrathion’s snouth earning indignant huff of coiling smoke.

“Very well.” Concession came from the drake as he shifted once more, scaled body heaving to free a foreleg from beneath himself, talons curling into soft dirt as Anduin pulled a well worn leather pack from his back. 

Bold children wander toward king, curiosity dancing in their young eyes as they whisper conspiratorially to one another, emboldened by the soft smile which graced Anduin’s face. The heat of raging fire at Wrathion’s opposing side was, suddenly, almost chilly against the radiant warmth of such an expression, chest constricting sharply, painfully, as Wrathion deftly ignored such a notion as Anduin sat upon extended leg and tucked himself into comfortable crook between neck, shoulder, and once more folded wing.

“You all look very fierce! I do wonder what I might have to appease such scary monsters.” Children drew closer as Anduin dug fingers into pack, withdrawing with a handful of colourful candies which drew delighted squeals of excitement from the gathered children; even a few adults, the elder draenei especially, seemed somehow equal parts amused and baffled by the odd turn of events. The affair earnt yet another gossamer laugh from Anduin, offering the sweets to all-- regardless of age-- who came.

Wrathion had little interest in such things, less so even as Anduin began to regale a story Wrathion thinks he might have heard thrice this week already within Stormwind itself, but one the king tells with just as much enthusiasm as he had every time before. Soon children and adults alike are seated before him, enthralled by the tale Anduin offers to them as yet more confectionary is handed out liberally as Anduin’s voice became a soft drone to Wrathion, a gently lulling thing of sounds more than words.

It was a revere eventually broken by the sound of shuffling, a nervous little cough that finally drew Wrathion’s attention from Anduin and crowd alike to find a young draenei girl dressed as what seemed to be a shaggy owlbear, though one free of mask as she clutched it in little hands to gaze up. A look he met, lazy blinks as third eyelid swept across glowing ruby and gold, her own stare never faltering. 

“People tell lots of scary stories on these cold nights,” she says, shuffling closer ever so in a display that had him arching head back and away in equal measure to recoil ever so and hold her in his gaze. “They tell bad ones about black dragons, sometimes. You don’t seem scary though, not if King Anduin likes you.”

It is a statement that earns a throaty laugh, one that covers the sickly feeling child’s words inspire. “Well, of course I am not trying to be scary! But if I were to then you would certainly be terrified.”

Words seemed to give her pause for beat, eyes dipping as fingers shifted on her mask. The draenei were a terribly thoughtful race Wrathion pondered, philosophical and not as prone to the harsh judgments of other races. Even so, he does not quite expect what she says next.

“You have pretty horns. I’ve never seen a dragon before, though there are many stories written about them.” And he can hear it, that childish curiosity barely hidden at all with a wonder in her eyes he does not think he has ever been confronted with before. It is not the fear he is used to, the distrust that is brandished at him day in, day out. Perhaps that is why he barely reacts as she continues on with a soft, daring; “I thought dragons would be bigger.”

On another day, to another person, such bold insult might have earnt ire from him, but today he merely eyes her silently for a moment before finally, finally dipping head once more until tip of snout is nosing gently into her soft hair, brushing her own little nubs of horns. “Much like yours mine are still growing, but in several years more perhaps we should meet once more so that you might show me how much more magnificent your own become.”

Shallow huff ruffled her hair as she giggled, reaching to touch at scales before he took to nudging her toward rest of crowd. “But for now enjoy the stories. His are far better than tales about dragons, though I’d be very glad if you were to keep that between us. We wouldn’t want our king to get an oversized head from an abundance of compliments, hm? Our secret.” One that was no secret at all really, spoken both too publically and far too loudly to be as much, a fact proven by the amused titters that sound as she joins the other children as one story closes and another begins.

Such sagas span on throughout the rest of the eve as Wrathion settled head upon ground, content to doze as Anduin talked on, drawing to a close only when sweets are exhausted and children begin sagging as sleep sought to claim them, adults retrieving them one by one to tuck them into warm beds for the night. 

Then, and only then, did Anduin dare brush fingers against neck once more to rouse his companion, drawing a clicking huff as breath caught in great chest before Wrathion turned to greet him with a yawn full of vicious teeth.

“Charming,” was Anduin’s amused retort. “Though between the two of us I don’t think my ego is the one we should be worried about, Wrathion.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, my dear king! My ego is perfectly suited to my capabilities.” A terrible unkingly snort was his only reply, Wrathion meeting it with a lazy puff of smoke in his face before Anduin reached, curling fingers against scaled cheek as ever tumultuous blue eyes sought out draconian red.

The expression he wears is not one Wrathion thinks he has seen before, not entirely. Those vivid eyes were filled with something he does not recognise; thoughtful as fingers scratched idly against him, brows furrowed ever so though not quite in consternance. There is an ever present warmth to it of course, kindly as ever as corners of mouth cling yet to a smile that has not left Anduin’s face since their arrival. Anduin is considering, but entirely what Wrathion cannot say. It is a frustrating position to he who prided himself on the knowledge he could hoard, though thankfully he was saved the embarrassment of attempting to needle it from Anduin by an armour clad vindicar. 

“Your majesty,” the hulking figure began, respectful dip offered before continuing on. “We have prepared drinks and food at the Exodar in your honour. The Prophet Velen has requested your presences.”

It sounded terribly tedious to Wrathion, though if nothing else it would be a learning experience, one he likely could not avoid as Anduin moved to stand as Wrathion followed suit.

“Of course, we’d be glad to. Please, tell him we shall attend imminently.” Dipping his head the draenei returned the gesture, turning back toward Exodar and making to send word. It is then they are cast into a brief reprieve as others about them attend their business, adults gathering with children now gone to begin what Wrathion assumed to be their own merriment.

Forelimbs extended as chest dipped once more as Wrathion stretched, wings shuffling before he righted self with a shake of his head and click of jaws. “Please, tell him we shall attend imminently.” Came his childish imitation, one that earnt him a firm shove to his shoulder and sudden bright laugh that cut through the darkness.

“Oh, shut up.”

"Truth and the Plan" actually has nice nuggets here and there. I took interest in it since I could feel the spirit restraining Elder Oaks from saying everything he wanted to say when I heard it at General Conference. My points will mostly be feminist points because there is doctrine backing those up instead of just faith and revelations of LGBT members, which can be extrapolated to show that might hold true to points about LGBT topics. 1/?

The first point that really stood out to me was the one telling us to oppose abortion with no qualifiers. Opposing abortion without discussing when abortion is needed is against previous doctrine and if someone blindly followed that without researching the actual stance of the Church, they would be supporting maternal death, which the Church is against. The True to the Faith reference book discusses this. 2/?            

Confusing gender, distorting marriage, and teachings that discourage bearing and nurturing children are much more from toxic masculinity and an oppressive patriarchal society than anything else. Women don’t want children if they have to do it alone and if men view themselves as the higher authority in marriage when they do nothing, marriages are unappealing. These are clearly points confusing gender in a way to discourage family life, more than the LGBT community. 3/?             

I think societies view on gender is what is messed up and the Church would do well to fight it (but they might not realize it because I see a lot less toxic masculinity now that I live in Utah), but I guess we have to leave that up to non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals to fight it. I’m rather salty about the fathers abiding toxic masculinity to neglect their children because that was my father. This might be why I was sick when my ward was to discuss the talk. 4/?             

I would’ve been un-Christlike as I pointed out that the with the change in curriculum the Church has been pointing fingers at the mothers to pick up the slack instead of reprimanding fathers for not doing their part. President Hinckley would not have let this fly. He would’ve called out the brethren, but maybe they are waiting until Priesthood session to do it. I could go on about this for a long time, but I will call this tangent done.  5/?             

You reblogged some good points to bring up with the family proclamation quotes pointing to doctrine instead of culture. The talk discusses opposition and how it is always present and show that being gay has opposition from Satan (hate is only ever from Satan if someone argues otherwise). You can also testify that you know that you have a part in the plan and I would argue that part of that is being a great source of help for LGBT members. 6/?             

It also talks about how we have to learn things with faith and not just secular knowledge, this might be where you can talk about taking steps of faith and how you have spiritual knowledge that you are right in trying to find love. It also warns about sources you turn to for truth and you can discuss that you have truth about yourself and what you are to do with your life through spiritual methods and not by listening to popular opinion. 7/?             

The default in Church culture is anti-gay, you clearly have to have strong conviction and faith to stick around when everyone says go away. True conversion instead of living the standard because that was how you were raised. Along with saying don’t take popular opinion as truth, beware of anonymous sources. Beware of me and seek nuggets of truth in the talk yourself. Your ward will be lucky to discuss the talk with you in the congregation. You will not be afraid to speak the truth. 8/8            

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WOW!

Thank you so much for sending this.

Here’s some other good nuggets from that talk:

God is a loving father to ALL of us

We all came to earth to have to make choices (LGBTQ people in the church have some high-stakes choices to make)

Christ is our Savior and already paid for our mistakes & sins

Our earthly relationships can be eternal

We honor individual agency

Children should be treasured and seek for best conditions for their development & happiness (

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I’m interested in what you mean in your first paragraph. That Elder Oaks wanted to go more hardcore but the Spirit kept him from doing so?

You brought up a number of important points, thank you for that. I’m going to comment on each of them.

1st Point - You’re correct, the Church’s standard allows abortion in certain circumstances. We don’t judge the baby’s life to be of greater value than the mother’s.

2nd Point - Confusing gender roles - It seems to me that what we know about Heavenly Father has Him primarily doing things we’d associate with a woman as outlined in FamProc. Unfortunately FamProc doesn’t say men should help nurture their children, which is sad to me. 

3rd Point - Opposition by Satan includes the hate aimed at LGBTQ people. Another part of this is us being excluded from God’s great plan of happiness, surely that would not be what a loving Heavenly Father would want.

4th Point - Personal revelation is an important part of spiritual knowledge. So many LGBT people have shared with me about the moment that God made it clear to them that they are loved as they are, that this is how they’re meant to be.

5th Point - The church has an anti-gay culture and many people use talks like this one from Elder Oaks to justify saying homophobic things. Why just this week I was in the stake offices processing temple recommends and someone made a joke about getting out of jury duty by saying they could never find a gay man innocent due to the Church’s teachings - how is that acceptable?

6th Point - We need to be careful about the sources of information and that includes what we were taught at home. That is an excellent point. Too often people look for sources to confirm what they already believe. Where the church leaders can speak about the spiritual meanings of things, we can’t dismiss that science says cishet is not the only standard, variations of gender beyond the binary exists, more than one sexual orientation exists.

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Thank you for the vote of confidence!

The EQ instructor contacted me and asked me to share some thoughts with him about this lesson. That’s a good sign. Your anon messages have helped me think thru how I might reply to him.