#- it’s *jason*. golden boy valedictorian with girls in love with him 24/7

[a-wins-a-win]

BAPO discussion question of the day - how clockable is Peter Simmonds?

I’m aware that’s a wild way to start this post but it drives me mad thinking about it - is he externally identifiable as a gay man, even to people who are not, or is it only his anxiety & paranoia making it seem like a bigger thing than it is?

‘Epiphany’ is, of course, an exposition-heavy plot-convenient daytime nightmare sequence, but breaking down the content of the song, it sometimes makes me wonder how key these Queer Flags* are to Peter’s personality as a whole and the way he presents himself to the world.

[actual discussion under the cut for the sake of saving space]

* loves his female singers / loves to cook / looks around in gym / strong as Peter’s attraction to my makeup table / + the Top Gun/Tom Cruise lines in earlier versions of the song

it is also imo worth noting that all of these things (save for loves his female singers - “Fuck me Matt, it’s Diana Ross!” lives in my head rent-free) are basically brought up in ‘Epiphany’ and then not referenced again for the rest of the show

And in considering BAPO as a whole, we know that as a general rule we’re watching the story through Peter’s eyes/from Peter’s POV - so of course his experiences are going to inform the way he views and interacts with the world, and I’m turn how the world reacts to his interactions with it.

That said - Claire obviously had some idea or inkling, whether she liked to admit it or not. There are reasonable counter-points to be made that as his mother, Claire obviously saw a lot of Peter figuring himself out as a small child, back when he maybe didn’t think to hide himself and his interests - and so really if one wanted one could parlay the fact that Claire does have some idea into a point that Peter would be significantly less clockable than he fears himself to be, if his mother had a vested interest in discouraging any perceived Odd or Queer behaviours. So in a sense, individual interpretations of Claire Simmonds, as a mother and as a character, could affect individual opinions.

I personally lean more into the idea that he’s only so hyperaware of these expressions of his queerness because he lives it internally every day, and on the outside no one thinks too much of it - but it is also interesting to consider that had he & his classmates not been raised in such a sheltered (for lack of a better word) environment, no one would have been surprised. But I’m genuinely curious to hear other people’s thoughts on the matter -