#Ritual Sodomy

[toskarin]

anyway if you're gonna ask why I was reading about the templar trials again, I usually read through those confessions like once every two years when a game with tragic knights comes out and makes me go on another weird death-by-chivalry fetish kick

[chirpsythismorning]

Watching bullshit media propaganda, aka that episode of 60 minutes on Dungeons and Dragons and…

[lavendarsarepretty]

we get to do a powerpoint presentation on whatever we want at college this week and i finished the first one so im making a second on the history of metal, because i read a book about it and it was cool as fuck, except the supervisor guy started talking to me about it and i froze and was like ‘oh nah i don’t get genres very well haha i don’t know much!!’ because i didn’t want to get into that conversation. metal isn’t known for its suitability for a school setting and i fear that conversation was a ticking time bomb

[sink-me-in-your-ocean]

Careful What You Wish For

Sodo/Dewdrop Ghoul x fem!Reader Smut

W/C: 3560

A/N: Never been more mesmerized in my life then when I went to my first ritual... Unashamedly staring at this fucking ghoul all night. Thank you @endhisbloodlineinmyesophagus for reading this first 💕

Content warnings: sodomy (obviously, which ghoul do you think this is?) m!receiving (oral), fingering, P in V sex, shame/embarrassment, voyeurism. Minors DNI.

“Straight through there, sister, you can’t miss it.” You received an unceremonious shove from Sister Adelaide. After catching yourself on the railing you continued down the curving stone stairwell alone. Your footsteps scuffed along the ice cold, ancient grey stone. 

It was freezing in the basement of the ministry, and you wished silently that the good Sister had allowed you to dress properly before she dragged you out of your shared bedroom. All you wore was a black night slip, and though it easily reached to your knees, its lace and satin offered no solace from the nipping, stale air. With no relief from the cold, all you prayed for was that you wouldn’t run into anyone down here. 

Finally, you reached the base of the stairs. A single black candle glowed from its head-level position on the wall. You squinted at it, considering it an omen, telling you not to go further. You peered out into the distance, feeling lost already. You can’t miss it my ass. You made a mental note to “thank” the Sister later for her astute direction. 

Suddenly, the first long corridor was lit instantaneously by a long trail of wall-mounted candelabras. It provided the only light source as you tiptoed along. The soft, yellow light carried you forth to meet a wooden door. You pushed it open with ease and were met with black darker than night. 

You stumble blindly forward through a series of black velvet curtains. Once you step through the first one, your heart kicks up in rhythm, the light seemingly sucked out of the hallway behind you and the door falling closed on its hinges with a creak. 

You take three more less-than-graceful steps and shove through one final curtain to find yourself in a dark room, lit by dim blue ambient light. It takes a minute for your eyes to adjust, and you take a quick stock of your surroundings: a dark chaise lounge, in what color you couldn’t identify, a dark multi-patterned rug on the floor, and in the corner at an angle facing you, a large armchair. You sucked in a breath quickly. The armchair had an occupant. 

Is that…

Your thought was interrupted swiftly as the ghoul in the chair adjusted his posture, spreading his legs in a wide, almost lazy, “v” shape. The only sounds in the room were the distant hymnal voices in practice above ground, and the thrumming beat of your own heart. Your pulse pounded in your ears. You felt your hands become clammy. 

You studied the ghoul as your eyes continued to adjust to the dark room. But you were torn: adrenaline begging through your veins for you to flee, and curiosity ever edging your instincts out of the picture. 

As if sensing your thoughts, he moved again to stir your attention. His left elbow came to rest on the tuft of the chair, and he tilted his head as he rested it on his pale hand. 

His hands. 

You didn’t notice how his right hand had been sitting on his covered thigh, but now you couldn’t look away. His thumb was rubbing back and forth slowly, and even in the low light you recognized his tendons and veins as he flexed. You’d know those hands that belong to your favorite ghoul anywhere. His hands were imprinted on your mind like an unholy relic.

“Sodo.” Your voice was hardly audible, a mere breath coasting over your realization.

The fire ghoul said nothing, instead shifting from the disinterested position he was in to a commanding one, sitting straight backed against the chair. Your eyes found themselves watching his right hand again, as he slowly moved it from his thigh to be outstretched. He made a come here motion using two long fingers. Slowly, sensually beckoning you forth.

Your mouth went dry as the dirty thoughts regarding his fingers snaked their way up from your loins to leech into your brain. You obeyed. It wasn’t like you to disobey any member of the clergy. Especially not a member of the clergy who you’ve got it so bad for.

You timidly close the gap between you two. No words are needed in the exchange, but you size him up anyway. Sodo wears his mask, and he is covered from head to toe in his black uniform, the only exception of exposure being his perfect hands.

He pointed to the cushion at his feet and you kneel in submission. A perfectly obedient daughter of the ministry following the clergy.

“Wha -”

Where your question was going, you forgot immediately, as an old television screen turned on to the right of you. You jumped at the sudden addition of light and crackling sound, shrinking back in temporary trepidation. 

How strange.

It was a video monitoring of what looked to be the inside of the dark wooden confession box. 

Wait. Something’s -

The metal and heavy cloth sounds of the curtain moving made your stomach drop. You watched in horror as you, well, past you, entered the confession booth and sat down. 

You heard the unmistakable words of Papa Emeritus IV. “My child, what makes you appear at such an hour? Have you come to confess what plagues your mind and body?”

“I have. It has been one week since my last confession.”

You knew what was coming next.

“Come, my child, speak what unsettles you, let it weigh on your heart no longer.”

Utterly embarrassed, you tilted your head down to hide your shame at the impending admission coming from your past self. But then, you felt a strong, cold hand grip your jaw, forcing your face up to watch in horror, reliving the moment in confession you had after having one too many glasses of wine at dinner. 

“Last night I pleasured myself with the sinful thoughts of a brother…”

“Dio miserabile young sister!”

You bit your lip, both in the camera footage and presently. You had forgotten how Papa Emeritus IV had reacted so outwardly to your admission of guilt. After a pause, he spoke again. “Sister?”

“Yes, Papa?”

“Tell me which one of our pious brothers has turned your thoughts in such a devious way.”

“Uh…” You trailed off, your voice in the recording was meek, you sounded so utterly pathetic.

“Sister? I could just guess if that would make it easier for you.”

You winced at how pitiful it was that he had to coax it out of you. You watched, willing your past self to keep her stupid mouth closed, but of course she didn’t.

“It was… brother Dewdrop.”

“I see.”

In the room you thought you heard Dewdrop make a noise deep in the back of his throat, like a groan. Your attention quickly went back to the video, eyes never leaving the screen as made possible by the ghouls grasp on your face. There was a long-lasting pause, one that made your stomach tighten with the knowledge of what you were about to admit in that wooden box.

“Describe it, my child, you’ll feel better once you get it out.”

In the video you sighed deeply before continuing, “In my thoughts he was fingering me, using two, then three fingers inside me to make me come. Then I got down on my knees for him and serviced his cock, taking it in my hands and mouth.”

You stopped breathing. The sound of your blood rushing in the pulse near your ears drowning out the words coming through the screen.

“Continue.” Came the deep, accented voice of the Papa.

“Then I imagined I was in his lap, and he let me use his cock for my own pleasure. I fucked myself on top of him. Forgive me, please forgive me, I beg of you.” The video cut then, leaving you reeling. 

Speaking such depraved filth in confession was mortifying enough, but knowing the ghoul you were speaking about heard it too was devastating. You were frozen in place in embarrassment. At least, you would have stayed that way had you not noticed Sodo’s breathing changed. 

He had gotten so close to your face while gripping your chin that you could hear his labored breathing. His breaths came in heavy pants from inside his mask, like a predatory animal behind a muzzle.

Part of you wanted to take off his mask, see his devilish eyes, sharp teeth, and his horns for yourself. To let him bite you, mark you, ravage your body with his tongue and teeth. But you knew he’d want to keep it on, and oh how you aimed to please him. 

“Sodo?” Your voice was uncharacteristically quiet as you faced him. His grip did not loosen from your chin while allowing you to move, instead his index finger tapped your cheek in what seemed to be contemplation. What did he want to do with you now? Especially after seeing such a horrific display of lust on your part. You had sounded so desperate, so pitiful in confession. But if he gave you the chance, you’d show him how truly desperate you could be. 

He released your jaw from his hard grasp, placing his hands on each of his tightly clothed thighs. You exhaled soundlessly through your parted lips as he cocked his head to the left side. He sat there silently waiting.

Your voice came out timid at first, “It’s true, all of it. Every second of that tape is the truth.” You then cocked your head to the right, mirroring him while still from your position sitting on the floor. You gained more confidence as you continued, “Though I’m guessing you know that. And you knew I’d come here.” Does that mean that he too - that he could possibly -

Your eyes widened as he tilted his head down towards his lap, then back up to you. Asking you to, what, sit on his lap? 

Fuck waiting to decipher what he meant, you read deeply enough into his vague expression, and you would do anything to get what you wanted. You stood up quickly, his masked head snapping up to follow you intently. However, before you could crawl into his lap, he reached forward and grabbed your hips, spinning you in a half circle so your ass was facing him. He pulled you back to sit down.

You didn’t have time to react, let alone think before he hooked his ankles around the inside of yours, catching your legs with his respectively. Then, he spread your legs wide, earning a sharp inhale of surprise from you as the slip you wore parted salaciously. 

He put his fingers over your mouth and you licked them without thinking. You could swear he made a low, dark sound from behind you. Then he took those fingers and dragged them down the front of your body, tracing down your black garb in identical fashion to his movements during a ritual. He paused right at the hem of your night dress, as it had ridden up. His middle finger hooked under it and pulled it upward, exposing your most upper thighs and your lace black panties.

As his hand moved to cup you through your panties, you shifted your hips back to be more comfortable. You felt his hardness against your rear and felt yourself involuntarily clench around nothing. Fuck. 

You couldn’t help but grind your ass back against him, feeling his hardening cock against you was something you thought you would only ever get to dream of. You just hoped he was enjoying your body as much as you were enjoying his.

He hooked a finger in your panties, pulling and then snapping them back to get your full attention back on what he was doing to you. You gasped at the momentary sharp sting. Satisfied by startling you, he traced the seam of your underwear once more, before dipping a callused finger inside and brushing along your slit. 

You watched him pull his finger away, coated in your arousal, before going back to your heat and ripping your panties off of you, tossing them to the floor. He put his index and middle finger together and repeated the action of touching you. Sodo dragged his rough fingers through your folds and up to your clit. A whine escaped your lips, and his left hand grabbed your chest and pulled you back so you were resting completely against him. It led you to feel his arousal even better under your ass, and you swirl your hips twice to help spur him on.

Without warning, his two fingers plunged into your heat all the way to the third knuckle. You opened your mouth and nothing came out, only silence as you felt his fingers deep within your aching center. His thumb pressed down on your clit, providing the perfect addition of pressure.

His fingers felt as good as you dreamed they would be, so long, and hitting all the places inside you that were drawing you close to the edge already. He worked you in a steady rhythmic pattern, drawing his fingers in and out of you while circling your clit with his thumb. Just from this you knew your own fingers wouldn’t be enough to satisfy you again. 

His left hand moved to your breast, cupping and then pressing his thumb to your already hardened nipple. You knew it was a combination of both the chill from the room and the heat of the moment that caused your nipples to ache against the fabric of your night dress. Sodo used his thumb to circle your nipple through your slip, a mirrored action to his right thumb on your most sensitive bundle of nerves between your legs. Fuck. 

Suddenly, you had a feeling of being watched. If there is a camera in the confession box then… maybe… You couldn’t finish the thought, if anything, it spurred you on further. Your head lolled back, resting on the ghouls' hard shoulder as you felt yourself reaching the peak. You had never come so fast before, and you tried to fight it off, but his fingers were like magic on you. He had changed his movements so that his long fingers curled perfectly within you. Each curl of his fingers had your breath hitching and your legs starting to shake. Sodo was a drug you didn’t know you needed and yet could never get enough of.

All the tension that had been building snapped and you came with a broken moan. His fingers never ceased their ministrations, only slowing to help you come down from your high. Soon you were squirming in his lap, the pressure of his calloused thumb on your clit almost painful now. 

Your breath came in heavy shudders, your head still resting on his shoulder, “May I?” You circled your hips against his hardness again to punctuate the question. He made a low sound, moving his legs so they no longer held yours apart. You scooted down to the floor quickly, kneeling on the cushion before the ghoul. He wasted no time pulling his cock out for his black pants, stroking it roughly with his right hand twice before looking at you in expectation. 

Your hands dragged up each of his thighs as you shifted forward. You made a silent vow as you rose up on your knees and lowered your mouth to taste him. If this is the penance that I will pay after confessing my lust, then I’ll be on my knees confessing every night.

You started at the hot tip, swirling your tongue around twice before placing your lips around him and sucking. It wasn’t enough, not for you, and certainly not for him. You grabbed him in your right hand and licked, your tongue wide and flat against the base of his shaft, all the way back up to the tip again before devouring him. Your mouth salivated profusely as you dipped your head down over and over and over again, massaging with your tongue and sucking expertly.

If your cunt wasn’t already wet from fucking his fingers, it would have been soaked just from this. Him allowing you to touch him, to pleasure him, was your salvation. You couldn’t get enough, high off his reactions to you as you changed pace. The way his breath shuddered, the sounds of his nails scratching on the armrests of the chair, it was all incentive for you to keep going and please him better than you had anyone before.

You dipped your head down again, going as deep as you could to take him all the way back in your throat. You breathed through your nose, ignoring your gag reflex, wanting only to pleasure Sodo.

You felt his bony fingers slide through your hair and you kept up your movements until he made a fist and yanked hard. Your lips fell from his cock with a soft pop. As your face moved back a strand of saliva connected your mouth to his erection. You looked up at his expressionless mask again. 

His silence filled the room. And as he patted his thigh in indication for you to get on top of him, it felt like all of the air had been sucked from your chest. You trembled in your kneeling position on the floor, heart fluttering, and rose, not wanting to vex him by wasting precious time. 

You climbed up into his lap like an obedient little pet. The aching within you came to a crescendo as you straddled him, holding onto his shoulders as you centered yourself. You looked into the eyes of the mask, seeing the empty void where his eyes would be. He nodded at you, giving you permission to do exactly as you fantasized about. 

You gripped his cock, still wet with your saliva, and lined him up with your center. You dragged the tip of him through your sensitive folds, wanting to draw the moment out just a little more, before sinking down. Only the tip of his thick cock was inside you and already you felt yourself shivering. You steadied yourself again, grabbing his shoulders as you lowered yourself down agonizingly slow. Taking him for this first time had your cunt burning from the stretch to fit him inside you. 

His cock was long and thick, but you were determined. Inch after inch you sunk down, and once you finally bottomed out, you didn’t miss how his nails scratched the arms of the chair. His head rolled back slightly, and just that provided the evidence that you needed to know he was relishing this moment too. You wondered how it felt for him, imagining that the ghoul was trying not to come just from the feeling of being inside your tight, wet, pussy.

You rose up on your knees, leaving just the head of his cock inside you before pushing back down in a full thrust. Repeating the motion had you lightheaded already, and you could feel the ridges and veins of his throbbing dick rubbing up against your g-spot with every move. One thing was absolutely certain, you were not going to last like this. 

Up and down, up and down, you bucked your hips rhythmically to do exactly what you wanted and fucked yourself on him. You were certain that you held your breath each time you impaled yourself on him, believing that his cock would punch the air from your very lungs if not. The pressure was building again, this time deeper within your core. All the tension was pulling, pulling so tight. Fuck. You wanted to last longer but it was impossible. The feeling of him inside you made that impossible. You gasped, “I’m - I’m going to - Ah!”

A primal sound tore its way out of your throat as you reached your climax. Dewdrops hands grasped possessively at your hips, forcing you to continue to fuck yourself on him through your orgasm. His hands kept you moving steadily on his cock and had you feeling completely overstimulated in seconds. You cried out a series of unintelligible words, the feeling so foreign to you but familiar at the same time. After several more deep, hard thrusts, his cock twitched inside you and you knew he would come soon too. The thought of him coming inside you became your undoing. You came again, screaming his name in praise and adoration and he pulled you down hard one final time before he jerked inside you and you felt his hot load coat your walls. Your pussy still spasmed from your own orgasm, milking him dry.

The two of you sat in silence while you caught your breath. You slid off his lap, wincing slightly as you felt his cock leave your cunt. You stooped to the floor, picking up your torn panties and then fixing your night dress. Straightening up you noticed he had zipped his pants back up and was sprawled lazily in the chair again. His chest rose and fell rhythmically. Is he sleeping?

Before you left the room, a red light amongst the blue caught your eye and confirmed your suspicion from earlier. You were being watched again, just as you had in the confession. You averted your eyes away quickly, not wanting whoever was on the other end to know you had discovered them. Hoping that by doing so, you could have another encounter with Sodo soon if he so wished.

-

... hope that ticked your taints *with love and adoration* (～￣▽￣)～

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Obessed with Ryan’s referencing Mayan culture in his interview in connection with Catholicism and Latino culture.

Because Mayan culture and much of pre colonisation South American culture had a much more open and accepting view on homosexuality (that is not to say homophobia didn’t exist).

Indeed homosexual acts often formed part of Mayan religious rituals and public sexual ceremonies were commonplace which included queer eroticism and sexual display. And Mayan Shaman often performed homosexual acts as part of their communing with the spirit world and the healing treatments they provided people.

It isn’t until the Spanish conquest and the imposing of catholic values that we see things change - sodomy was used as justification for the enslaving, subjugation and slaughter of indigenous peoples.

So yeah - Ryan choosing to bring up the Mayan culture (specifically as other SA cultures such as the Mexica were less tolerant) and the as a part of discovering one’s roots and who you are is so very interesting! It’s just adding another layer to the likelyhood of Eddie’s unrepression and gay awakening being a big part of his arc in season 8.

[im-just-a-boy-guys]

PRIEST X DEMON SHAPESHIFTING OF DEATH (GAY / MASC CHARACTERS) AMAB MASC READER! PART 1!

HAPPY 1K EVERYONE! TYSM😊 3,300 words

(Sacrilege / Tongue / creature / drugs / violence / blood / gore/ sodomy ) Purple text is info or side notes

green is where the fun starts

and red is still more or less important back story or context but feel free to skip down to the fun!

(Most of the pictures are just what I find inspiration from. :3)

You stand at an altar, blood on your hands as you stare out into a chapel full of gloom and despair. Your people are suffering.

Various people are caring for the sick and wounded, while others are clinging to the corpses or clothing of their deceased loved ones.

Groans and wails of sobbing bounce off the walls, and the sound seeps into your head as you try to find a reasonable solution.

You turn and decide to consult your library. It was your last hope. Your cassock blew behind you as you walked through the vast hallways and corridors.

You could hear screaming outside and the ripping of flesh from bone through the high windows as you passed them, but tried to pay no mind.

You spent hours examining and scanning through books, each one seeming to get deeper and deeper into acult magic. You found a page that depicted a ritual, It was in a language you couldn't quite make out.

Thankfully there were very well-illustrated pictures. The title of the ritual looked like something close to either " Savior demon" or "savage demon" but you weren't quite sure and ready to take the risk. The pictures depicted a few black candles, a dear skull, a heart of some kind, and a hand holding a blade to its wrist/arm area. By the shape of the organ, you could guess that it was a lamb's heart.

You sent one of the hunters out to look for a lamb and to bring it back or if it could not be salvaged, it's heart.

You gathered the rest of the things, and within about 3 hours, your hunger had returned with a dead lamb over his shoulder. You took it gently, thanked the man, and hung the lamb upside down to drain its blood as you carved its heart out.

You gently placed the heart on a platter to the side and once there was a decent amount of blood in the bucket, you dipped your hand in.

It was a very unpleasant sensation, the blood was cold, and the thickness was enough to make you queasy.

You checked the book page and carefully painted the large symbol onto the brick of the back room you'd snuck off to and began laying out the items in accordance with where they should be.

You washed your hands and prepped your arm for the cut you'd have to make. Trying your best to replicate the length of the cut, you allowed the blood to drip down your arm onto the lamb's heart and then the symbol you'd drawn.

You read from the bottom portion of the page, trying to decipher what you could and pronounce it correctly, it took a few tries but after a while, you were finally able to recite the text exactly.

As you spoke you could feel the words start to pour out naturally as if the letters were pulling themselves from your very throat, the power sourced through your veins as you chanted and the flames candles you had set up blew out in a sweeping motion around the symbol you'd drawn.

You held a cloth you'd carried with you to your bleeding arm and did your best to tie it tightly. Though the cut wasn't deep, it was long and painful and had an extremely annoying sting.

You heard ghostly whispers erupt from the darkness around you. Black smoke spun across every inch of the bricks, collecting in a mass directly in front of you.

You felt paralyzed and clutched the cross around your neck, praying for the best. Your heart sounded in your chest as your breath caught in your throat.

As the figure materialized, a dark closed skeletal figure with large fangs stood, staring down at you with empty sockets. It must've towered over you by almost two feet.

It stared at you curiously before speaking, it sounded like another language that you couldn't gauge.

You spoke softly, "I apologize but I can't understand you-"

It reached forward and pressed its skeletal palm to your forehead. The sharp cold of the bone causes you to recoil slightly. You heard a booming voice, now in your language.

"Hello. Is this better?"

The voice seemed just as cold as the bones that had come into contact with your skin. It was low but about a medium pitch. There was a slight grain to the back of the voice as if to be a scratchy noise in the non-existent throat.

You tried to steal your resolve, barely avoiding stuttering, "Yes. I can understand you now."

"Why have you summoned me? What deal do you intend to make?" The entity leaned forward and down toward you as if to make the size difference clear; to remind you of your place.

"I need help."

"That's why most summon me. Please be more specific-",

You could almost feel an eyebrow raise in the voice it used as if this creature was challenging your intelligence.

"Yes, my people are dying. There are these creatures raining corruption upon my village. I fear that everyone in this church is still in danger. I'm not sure what you can offer. Therefore, I'm not entirely sure what to ask for.",

You looked at the being with pleading eyes.

You looked over the creature, and as your eyes adjusted to the darkness, you noticed a thin layer of skin holding the bones together and a tiny shimmer of light in its eyes.

The being studied you. "Do you want safety for your people, defense from the creatures, or safety for yourself? The list goes on."

"I would like all of those things, I suppose, if that's possible. I assume that the defense from the creatures would be helpful, but the stipulations don't guarantee our safety. I would like safety for everyone who's alive and human in my village, me included and possible defense from the creatures."

The entity circled you slowly, floating with its arms behind its back.

" I believe it is within my capabilities. But, what do you have to give?"

"I do not have much. If you have anything to ask of me, I could answer you with a yes or a no."

You felt panicked. You'd assumed this was a deal, but you didn't think you had anything to give that was worthy of all that you'd asked.

"I know you do not intend to fool me. For, I am no fool. I know of your intentions, and they are not of malice, this can change things. I would like your power."

"My power?"

"Yes, dear priest. Your power. You have a say in what the people do. You are the leader and almost the king of this small village. I want your power."

"How-"

"Leave that to me. I will grant you your small wish. By the end of tonight, every living human will be here, safe. Those creatures outside, reaking havock will be dealt with. Tomorrow at sunrise, you will meet me in the graveyard, and we will discuss the terms of our deal properly. Until then, tend to your wounded."

"I'm not sure we have the supplies- but we'll definitely try."

You smiled at the entity,

"What do I call you?"

"Abatu is fitting."

(Ah-bah-tu with a slight 'silent behind T)

"I am Jareth."

Abatu nodded once and disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

As you came to your senses, the candles relit themselves, and you stood. You turned around and there, behind you. There was a pile of medical supplies, not an obnoxious amount, but it was helpful.

Over the passing night, the sounds of the creatures outside subsided and the nuns were able to help bandage and medicate the wounded. Your nurse also helped clean and wrap your arm tightly.

"Thank you, Maridith." You smiled at her gently and bowed your head lightly.

Her cheeks flushed red as you smiled at her, and she looked down at your arm to distract herself.

The night came and went, and you found yourself unable to sleep. You kept thinking about the creature you'd met. It wasn't as scary as you thought it would be.

Abatu was very intriguing, and you wondered about -his?- origins? Abatu sounded masculine, at least.

You found yourself unable to sleep and crept carefully into the sanctuary, deciding to go to the cemetery early.

You weaved between the tired and wounded who lie on pallets on the floor, making your way to the door.

You slipped out into the cold night and looked around, making sure no more creatures were wandering around.

Alas there were none to be seen so you made your way along the bloodied mud path, trying not to dwell on the death that surrounded you. There were no boddies like there were when you had left.

This made you nervous, but your feet carried you absentmindedly to the cemetery as you melted into your own mind.

Once you made it to the dark gated and slipped in, you found a concrete bench and sat to drown in your thoughts, expectations to have to wait a while until sunrise.

A dark figure materialized in front of you as a thick fog rolled across the hallowed ground.

"You are early, Jereth."

You nodded softly. "I couldn't sleep."

"We shall discuss early then. I'm going to need permission to change my features and mannerisms to be exactly like yours. This will help me accomplish something I have planned in the future. However, I will not do anything that will sully or ruin your name."

You thought about this for a moment, with abatu laying out the rules for himself against ruining your reputation; it would make sense to allow this. Especially with what he'd done for you.

"Alright. Anything else?"

"Yes. I'll also need permission to study your anatomy and mannerisms. This will help avoid any slightly off-putting differences that cause people to believe I am not you and cause any uproar."

"Study my anatomy? Meaning-?"

"I'll need to see all of your body to be able to correctly replicate it. Studying your mannerisms, I believe, speaks for itself."

"How would you go about studying my mannerisms? You'd have to follow me around, and people could see you."

"Only you can see me if I wish, dear priest."

You took a breath and pondered. Your cheeks flushed red as you realized he would have to see you naked, but you figured with his tone and the way he failed it out with little to no malicious sounding intent that it wouldn't matter much, but you hadn't been undressed infront of anyone for a long time.

"I suppose I agree to this. Anything else?"

"No, that will be all for now. If I need anything else I shall inform you. I will be taking my leave until tomorrow. Do try to get some rest, Jareth"

You nodded, and Abatu vanished into the darkness. The sun started rising, and a soft blue appeared over the horizon.

You walked absentmindedly to the church, entering the sanctuary and entering your sleeping quarters. you flopped on the bed and undressed down to your undershirt, folding your clothes on the chair.

You climbed into the bed and snuggled under your heavy covers, the day running through your head.

___

You had fallen asleep without really noticing and woke to a slightly uneasy feeling. You pealed your eyes open and looked around the room, finding Abatu at the foot of your bed.

"Good morning, dear priest."

You sat up straight and fumbled for the covers to cover you below the waist. "Hello- I didn't realize you would be here when I awoke. Could you let me get dressed?" "Today is the day I study your body, Jareth. So there is no need to cover yourself for now." Your cheeks burned red hot, and you hesitantly slipped out of bed. Your soft cock hung beneath your undershirt, and the creature studied you curiously. He walked over to you and gently held the fabric of your undershirt. "This too, if you please." You nodded. You slightly regretted agreeing to this, but you couldn't help but fantasize about Abatu now that he was standing so close to you. You felt a pain tugging at your chest. You would be sure to pray after this interaction, for you could feel the lust building. You slipped out of the thin shirt and tossed it to the side. Abatu walked around you slowly. He seemed to be carefully taking in every single ounce of your appearance. You felt his downy fingers slipping across your skin as he traced your muscular outlines and along your spine and shoulder blades. This sent shivers through your body that drew a sharp-toothed smile from the entity. "Your skin is very sensitive, Jareth." "Your hands are cold-" you muttered shakily."Hold your arms out." You did as you were told, your face still burning. His touch was such an odd and new sensation that you could feel the blood running to your once soft cock, now growing in length. You felt increasingly embarrassed, doing your best to avoid covering your face. The creature traced along your lower back with both hands on both sides, then up your sides to your arms, feeling along the muscles in your arms. He felt your hands, lingering along and between your fingers. You couldn't help but grow harder, your length fully erect, your dip aching softly as Abatu gently made his way back around to your front, sliding his cold hands back to your chest and down your midriff. His eyes lingered on your election. "Hm. That has changed since I last looked." You nodded and didn't allow him any explanation. "Why?" "It's just a bodily reaction-" you stammered. "What is it a reaction to?" He seemed genuinely curious. However, you couldn't help but feel that he was teasing you. As you tried to distract your mind you felt your cock twitch, the red on your face stretching to your ears. Abatu took your length into his hand, and it took everything in you not to groan in desperation. Although, you couldn't silence the soft gasp that left your lips. "This part of you is even more sensitive than the rest. Is there a reason?" "It's how humans procreate and reproduce.im not sure if that answers your question." "Possibly, it feels strange." The entity traced his fingers along the veins that ran up and down your length, then up to your tip, and rubbed it softly. You almost collapsed, gasping again and letting out a soft moan. Your tip leaked precum that gently coated Abatu's bony fingers. The mixture of his skin's cold and his touch's softness drove you crazy. "There's something wet coming out. What is it?" "It's- nh~ meant to be- lubrication."

As he touched you, you couldn't help but pause in between every few words, your brain softly churning itself into mush. "Hm. Interesting."

His body gently began to change, first his skin color to match yours. Then, he carefully worked on matching the features of your face. His body worked itself from head to toe to transform itself into you. You looked him over and were astounded. You reached forward to touch him, very gently. You needed to make sure it was real. The creature looked confused but didn't stop you as your hands connected with his skin, and strangled enough, it was still cold. You supposed it wouldn't be easy to change his body heat to match yours but regardless of this, you were in awe. He was still covered in his black closet, which he took off and sat to the side to analyze himself compared to you. You noticed that his or rather, how he saw your cock was hard on him as well. You quietly corrected. "Usually, it looks as you saw before, but this happens when it is touched-" you remembered that it had hardened by itself due to your sinful thoughts and repeated. "Usually." He thought hard and focused, transforming that part of himself to match you when soft. He turned around in a small circle in front of your full body-length mirror in your room. "I think I have managed to match you perfectly." You nodded in agreement. It was so strange to see yourself standing in front of you.

"Alright, Now that I have your form, I'm going to go to my realm and practice the fast-changing process You are free to do as you wish. Once I master your form, I will return to learn of your mannerisms. thank you, and I shall see you another time." With that, Abatu vanished into a cloud of smoke as usual and you let out a sigh of relief, collapsing onto your bed, your cock still throbbing desperately. You were unable to refuse the urge to wrap your hand around your length, spreading the precum along yourself. Groaning lewdly and running a hand through your hair.

you Imagined the creature's hand wrapped around your cock once more, stroking you with purpose as he teased you.

'Why are you so sensitive, My Priest?'

'you're so warm..'

anything you could use to fuel the raging lust erupting from you. you couldn't understand why you felt so attracted to Abatu, his dark mysteriousness, something about him. He was forbidden to you, this was sodomy. you wanted him inside of you, though you hadn't figured out how that would work.

from there your mind worked itself into imagining his shapeshifting abilities. shapeshifting into other horrible demonic creatures, just allowing himself as is to grow something close to a cock with enough length to absolutely destroy you from the inside out.

Abatu watched you from the end of your bed, invisible to your eyes,. He watched you quietly, trying to figure out what exactly you were doing, you had begun to moan, then eventually moaned out his name. You grasped desperately at your neck, squeezing it tightly.

"Abatu!- fuck- Please destroy me- I am yours to use and control!-", everything you called out incoherent to yourself, spewing out of you uncontrollably.

"God forgive me! i Cannot stop! forgive me-", You muttered softly as you felt the orgasm building.

Abatu cocked his head to the side and carefully crept closer to you as he watched your body jerk slightly, now increasingly more curious as to what was about to occur.

"God! I beg- Forgive me! I cannot contain my lust any longer-", your tip ached as your cock throbbed and spewed your warm cum over your chest and stomach, your brain drowning in euphoria for what felt like many minutes at least. your breath caught in your throat as you laid on your bed, trying to grasp for some sense of reality.

The entity's eyes widened slightly as he saw your cum erupt from you, finding himself deeply intrigued. By the dazed smile on your face, it seemed to be something you enjoyed, and you were calling out his name as if to summon him. This must have been something you wanted from him and were too careful to ask for. Abatu had decided that he would try to indulge this for you the next time he was able. He disappeared fully now, back to his realm.

You stood and faltered slightly, almost unable to keep yourself upright. Wobbling into the bathroom area, you gently braced yourself on many objects to hold yourself up. You cleaned yourself off and got dressed, laying your cross over your neck. Making your way into the Sanctuary, you greeted many people, hearing that they were getting better by the day. you shook many hands and gave many blessings before heading over to your bench behind the podium and whispering an apologetic prayer. 'Forgive me father, for I have sinned. Sodomy has overtaken my mind, my thoughts, and even my dreams. Please allow me to redeam myself and send me the strength to repair my faultering loyalty. I have pledged myself unto you and will continue to do your work. In your name, thank you god, and Amen.'

[carnivore-voyeur]

Where does “Sodo” come from? An Informational Post

Since there’s still some confusion about this, I’m going to go into a little bit more detail about “Sodo” (the man) so you can understand and respect the difference between him and Dewdrop (the ghoul).

Unfortunately, these names have become conflated in a problematic way such that people treat “Sodo” as intrinsically linked to Ghost fandom rather than an independent aspect of Per Eriksson’s identity. So, let’s talk about some misconceptions about that, what “Sodo” really means, where the name came from, Per Eriksson’s links to Ghost and Ghouls, and why this name should be treated differently from Dewdrop. This will include discussion of Satanism and its connection to “Sodomizer.”

First of all, “Sodo” is short for “Sodomizer.” I know some people are uncomfortable with or grossed out by the name as it may bring to mind graphic or even violent imagery depending on how the word is used. In biblical terms, “Sodomizer” comes from “Sodom,” a city which was destroyed by God for their wickedness. “Sodomizer” also calls to mind someone who participates in anal sex and/or anal penetration. Sodomy laws are called as such to punish people for this very act.

Second, there’s some things you need to know about Per Eriksson. He’s been in the death metal and progressive metal scene since he was very young. Per is also a Satanist, whereas Ghost frontman Tobias Forge is more of an atheist utilizing Satanic imagery in his art. You can almost always identify Per by his Baphomet Sigil necklace or “inverted pentagram.” He recently got a major back tattoo of Baphomet, and he can be seen doing the As Above So Below hand gesture as Dewdrop during Ghost rituals. See below for reference.

This is a Per Eriksson thing. His connection to Baphomet predates his relationship with Ghost. However, some of these symbols and gestures have also been adopted by his fellow Ghouls. Per, Jutty, and Cosmo have matching elbow tattoos of the hands which you can see on Per’s right arm in the image of the back tattoo above. While Ghost may utilize some of this Satanic imagery, this has been an integral part of Per’s lifestyle and philosophy before Ghost existed.

Note that Baphomet is also positioned with the As Above So Below hand gesture. Baphomet is often viewed as symbolic of a balance between opposites on a spectrum. Baphomet is viewed by some as a deity and by others as a demon, but is really neither. Baphomet is shown to be both human and inhuman, with goat parts. Baphomet is shown with both male and female traits. Etc.

You may be asking, what does Baphomet have to do with “Sodomizer?” I promise it’s (most likely) related. Per’s bandmates in Katatonia revealed that “Sodomizer” actually came from “Goat Sodomizer.” Before you flip out about the implication of bestiality in the name, this likely connects back to Baphomet - the goat headed figure adorning Per’s back.

(Source)

There's also the very strong possibility that Goat Sodomizer comes from the Swedish metal band of the same name, which includes former Ghost Bass player Gustaf Lindström. In fact, Per Eriksson is probably the "Lill Per" referenced in the "thanks to" portion of their mixtape.

(Source)

My evidence being that it says "Lill Per n' Genocrush Ferox." Per was in the band Genocrush Ferox before Katatonia, and he was in fact... just a little guy at the time. The demo tape is from ~2002 according to the Metal Archives and Per was just twenty years old at the time.

Ghost did not give Per Eriksson the nickname “Sodomizer” or “Sodo.”

Per has happily referred to himself as such for years, even before joining Katatonia. In a funny way, his nickname has a loose connection to Ghost but this just goes to show how Per has existed in the same circles as Tobias and the earlier Ghouls way before joining the band.

It's also why you may hear Copia shout "Sodomizer!" on stage from time to time. He's known him as Sodo for a long time! Whether the name originates with a metal band or connects Per to his religious beliefs or both or neither, it's become a part of his personality.

It's not tattooed on his belly for nothing!

Love it or hate it, it is a part of him. If you prefer Sodo in reference to the real person, that's fine. But. Sodo is not The Ghoul. You can make up your own mind on what to call The Ghoul in fan works, but as I've said before it's important to differentiate.

Regardless, Per "Sodo" Eriksson is the real person behind the Ghoul and his nickname links him to the Death Metal scene and all of the blasphemy and grotesque imagery that comes with it. Though Ghost is Your Friendly Neighborhood Satanic Band, it's more tongue in cheek about Satanism and less extreme than say... Bloodbath, a Death Metal band Per was in that features really disturbing horrifying content.

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

My wife has been getting into Assassin's Creed, and brought up a decent question: Are the Templars a Religious Order?

My answer: it's complicated. There are clearly atheistic Templars (Vidic & Borgia being the first to come to mind). While they hold great respect for the Isu, they don't worship them, like the Instruments of the First Will

In real world history, the Templars were a religious order originally dedicated to protecting Pilgrims in Jerusalem. During the Crusades, they had a situationship with the Hospitallers (on again, off again, as they Hospitallers were dedicated to healing, but the Templars were a military force). They also invented modern banking, so people can get their loot totally legit treasures without risking roadside robbery. They were wiped out when King Philip IV of France charged them with Blasphemy (spitting on the Cross, worshipping Baphomet, the first reference of his existence, and so on) & Sodomy ("indecent kissing" between brothers, and homosexual acts as an initiation ritual). The Order was disbanded by Pope Clement V, after pardoning the surviving members

In Assassin's Creed, their lore goes back farther. The Order began (in its current form) with Pharaoh Smenkhkare, the successor of Akhenaten. I say in its modern form, because there appears to be a form of it in the Isu Era. Adam & Eve are real people in Assassin's Creed lore, and we happen to have a piece of Templar Mythology: the Book of Moses. AC: 2 point blank says that Joseph Smith did translate documents, Templar Documents. According to the Book of Moses, Cain made a covenant with the Devil to kill Able & get his flocks (according to Mormonism, the Devil is a being who was exiled because he believed the way to get to peace was through taking away their Freedom to Choose. Which is the Templar Belief). It's also interesting to note that the Book of Abraham was an Egyptian Text. The Book of Mormon seems more like an Assassin Text however

The Order of the Ancients spread with the Center of Civilization. Starting in Egypt, they spread to Babylon, and eventually formed the Persian Empire. They had a hold over Greece with the Cult of Kosmos, which is a blatantly religious organization. When they spread to Rome, they had a veneration for Caesar, calling him the Father of Understanding (who is a Divine Figure)

In England, we see the Order is religious. Specifically, they believe in a Trinity, known as the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom, and the Sacred Voice. King Alfred was strict Christian, and denounced the "Pagan" practice. This limited it to just the Father of Understanding

Then, they formed the Knights Templar, and we get all of Real History (except King Philip was influenced by the Assassins)

The Templars continued after this of course, despite the extermination of the French Chapter. Eventually, a Templar (Rodrigo Borgia) became Pope Alexander VI. They continued on as they were, seeking the Pieces of Eden, but not really understanding what they were, just that they were powerful, and furthered their cause

The first appearance of Institutional Atheism appears to have its roots with French Grand Master François-Thomas Germain. He believed the Templars needed to shift from Religious to Secular control. This appears not to have taken root immediately, as the American Chapter appears to still be religious 30-40 years after the French Revolution

It appears the Order took a turn under Crawford Starrick. He had control over all of London, from the Government, to the Medicine, and even the Criminal Underworld. He took full advantage of the Industrial Revolution, not only to further his own causes, but to hinder any opposition. Crawford Starrick influenced other Templars such as Edison & Ford. Abstergo Industries, and the Global Monopoly over Entertainment, Medicine, and practically everything, began with Ford. They used Hitler & Stalin as puppets, using the chaos of WWII to buy out businesses in the Wartime & Postwar Eras. They continued their usual antics in the background, but their public face was shiny. They used Anti-Communist Sentiments in countries such as the United States to further expand. Although they caused the Russian Revolution, they were also instrumental in the Fall of the Soviet Union, putting in Putin as a Puppet

In 2000, Subject 4 (Daniel Cross) killed the Mentor, leading to William becoming the new Head of the Order. However, Cross gave them the location of Assassin Cells. This led to the Near Extinction of the Assassins. Without their interference, their control became even more embedded. The few remaining Assassins were able to halt their attempts to launch the Eye (their Satellite, which would have an Apple of Eden, and amplify its effects worldwide), gain access to Atlantis & the Staff of Hermes, and Project Phoenix (recreating the Isu Genome, which was hijacked by the Instruments of the First Will to resurrect Juno & presumably Aita)

TL;DR- The Modern Templars are Secular. I'm sure they'd have no problems initiating a religious person, but we don't see any indication either way. The Templars were religious at least until King Alfred's Era. I'm going to say they probably were through the Crusades & during the Renaissance as well (although it probably wasn't a requirement during the latter, it was still overwhelmingly religious). The French Revolution appears to be the Turning Point from it being Religious to Secular (although the American Branch was still religious, as seen with Joseph Smith translating Templar Documents. But this was during the Second Great Awakening, so I'd be surprised if they weren't)

I am religious myself. When I've studied all I can, but still feel like I need help, I pray "May the Father of Understanding guide me." And I feel like it's a meaningful phrase, and want it to be used more in daily life (same with "Safety & Peace" for the Assassins)

𐐣𐐩 𐑄 𐐙𐐪𐑃𐑉 𐐲𐑂 𐐊𐑌𐐼𐑉𐑅𐐻𐐰𐑌𐐼𐐮𐑍 𐑀𐐴𐐼 𐐲𐑅 𐐰𐑊 (May the Father of Understanding guide us all)

𐐝𐐩𐑁𐐻𐐨 𐐰𐑌𐐼 𐐑𐐨𐑅 𐐲𐐹𐐪𐑌 𐐷𐐭 (Safety and Peace upon you)

[albertserra]

At the sodomy cult meeting with Hugh jackman doing ancient sodomy rituals

[kaurwreck]

I have so many thoughts about trans Chuuya and like his whole humanity struggle as a dysphoria / dysmorphia adjacent

I would love to hear your thoughts!

I worry my thoughts here will be disappointing— while I love that and think it's a really powerful narrative, the climax of Stormbringer and Chuuya's decisiveness re: letting go of the need to confirm his humanity prior to embracing it through his passion for living for and in service of those he loves are, in part, why I don't headcanon him as struggling with his myriad identities, including his gender. As Rimbaud told him at the end of Fifteen, humans are but beautiful patterns on flesh. I think Chuuya tends to agree and is remarkably firm in his sense of self, and that while he experiences anxiety around his potential non-humanity at the outset of Stormbringer, he largely reconciled his uncertainty by the end. Even how he frames Arahabaki in Fifteen reflects a profound awareness on his part that there is a difference between the phenomenon he harbors and who he is and wants to be— and that he and the storm inside him exist in proximity, constrained by but not necessarily in conflict with each other. Far more than his humanity, I think Chuuya is anxious about and struggles to trust himself as a leader.

So, although I write Chuuya as taking hormones and sometimes as having gotten top surgery sometime after Dazai left the Port Mafia, the choices he makes regarding his gender affirming care are expressions of his agency, personal taste, desire for convenience, and self-curation— more akin to how he wears suits after meeting Verlaine, but with his punkish, delinquent personal style laced throughout (ex: his loose suspender, buckled choker, and chest harness). His gender isn't something he consciously thinks of often in my conception of him— at the risk of being too irreverent, and in reference to irl!Chuuya's relationship with Catholicism, I joke that, if anything, he thinks it's a little weird that cisgender men often only have the sodomy holes.

That said, I think Verlaine is trans too and has a more frictitious relationship with his gender, albeit not directly relating to, but certainly mirroring his humanity dysphoria + that he curates himself as a ritual of gender affirmation as much as stylistic expression.

So, although I may not have anything particularly satisfying to offer this conversation related to my Chuuya headcanons, my Verlaine headcanons are very aligned with the narrative you've raised. And their contrasting relationships with gender very much parallel their contrasting relationships with their senses of humanity.

[horizon-verizon]

You should ABSOLUTELY read Ursula K. Le Guin’s essay on anti-fantasy, “Why are Americans afraid of dragons ?”. It is such a brilliant and insightful piece.

https://w3.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/temp/waaaod.pdf

“They are afraid of dragons because they are afraid of freedom.”

I remember reading this some time ago, maybe in a college class? Reread it, and yeah in the U.S., with capitalism but not only here, people (mostly & often men) derive their sense of being from their ability to make a profit from something and deny the fantastical, and it doesn't have to even be an activity to be worth something that will give you identity. Houses, stocks, other properties, anything you can objectify and sell, or make an object and sell. Let me say patriarchal capitalism, in fact.

And yeah, it has its roots in Puritanism, which while that religious group developed as an offshoot response to the Catholic Church's spiritual hegemony--and got their idea of "pleasure=sin" because it does not have a purpose (any sex that wasn't performed for reproduction was "sodomy")--did not even try to reincorporate pre-Catholic English rituals or fairytale creatures for fear of oneself showing that you were not part of the pre-birth assignments of salvation or damnation. The fear of showing that you were damned and for the Devil instead of losing oneself to being aware of their connection to God even in the moments of prayer themselves. Thus the perpetual searching for signs of God's favor or anger.

The Following is a Long Diatribe about American Masculinity (But Honestly, A Lot will cover Men of Various Patriarchies) So if You don't Care or Want to See This, OK

(And Before it's "Not All Men!", this is about the Nature of the Practicing Man and his Masculinity; if none of this has ever determined a man's psyche and sense of self, it should be no bother)

Even though this essay was written in 1974, much of it rings true, especially after thinking/watching others talk about that recent Twitter post about men resenting their girlfriends for not breaking up with them after they purposely try to get them to break up with them with emotionally abusive behavior AND discussing mental load in domestic labor. Basically, men do that to their partners because they:

do not want to be accountable for "ruining" a relationship and being the "bad" guy (feels very fundamentalist Christian and no-fault divorcy...Joe Jonas?)

and if they could "allow" a woman to lead forward & dictate their domestic actions they themselves would not have to engage in that labor while profiting off of that labor -> low effort, high reward

To be a man is to make money, or to control money, yes?

All the while, they will never be okay with actually being alone with their own thoughts because they cannot bash their partners or anyone who offers them affection and care to assuage the pain they are not able to nor willing to try to express to those around them...even other men for fear of being humiliated for showing "useless" and "girly" emotions because they cannot "control" and "use" said emotions or compulsions to propel them into an ideal state of "focus" (NoNut November) and stability that never lasts long and is thus frustrating. There is a compulsion to get into a vague mind-state of "stability", almost as if putting a halt to the busy-busy of necessary life, but simultaneously holding life by the reins and directing it to their own desires...which they ignore once they seem too "much", or complicated.

Instead of developing better critical thinking skills or how to empathize with others and communicate apart from how to dictate and dominate for the sake of "taking" rewards for little-as-possible labor, they may fantasize about mimicking some male celeb or embodying the image of this hypermasculine "winner" at capitalism, signaled through wealth. When together, they either ignore or scoff at thoughts that were not told to them (from childhood) on "how to be a man", which they take as the official moral and phenomenological guidebook on how to perform or think of certain tasks and how to perceive certain things. And in those same get-togethers, many just go along with what their male peers say about the world around them and parrot it more often than the reverse so they can reaffirm those things and that they are performing stoic masculinity well.

Add in family trauma from fathers themselves experiencing this and alienating themselves from families (abuse and neglect as in domestic violence or never coming around to see them and pick them up for visitation) and you have a very resentful man-child who wants to be an ideal and to finally justify his own reckless pursuit of being an ideal/ideal man. The recipe for that, to them, is also, to have a penis, and then bring others "in" sexually.

This goes into another reason why men get very resentful of their partners and women in general: in lieu of what they think is "doing a lot" of mental and physical labor, they believe all a woman needs to do to be financially or emotionally set is to get someone, i.e. a man, to take care of them financially. So to see women they call "golddiggers" receive gifts and money and things they actually want to have without having a job or having that as their main source of income (impossible for most of the population) is indicative of the monolithic Woman--all women. AND because men race to reserve women or their domestic, reproductive, and sexual activities for themselves so they can prove their superiority and successful masculinity, women are more in--excuse my French--"high demand" within the patriarchal sexual dynamics. It does not matter to them that women experience a lot of sexual violence and reject or try to divert them because of the fear and/or true threat of violence and they do not link that violence to the man's need to own women. Because to deny is to justify objectifying the woman/target. So men, by default, have very low standards for a potential female "partner's" personality, as her role is economic and male-group validating above everything else.

If women could have this and I can't, all women must be "luckier" than me, so I hate her. And why should I have to provide for a woman to have sexual control over her or get her interested in me when any other guy could do better than me?

Meanwhile, they don't even get how:

anger is an emotion, and it just builds until it lashes out at the right conceived inconvenience

their preoccupancy with work-work-rewardness "proving" their masculinity directly contradicts its own purpose when they wax remorse over "all" women having the ability to gain rewards without "work" (which is it, you want eternal "rest" or eternal work? AND it is men with accumulated generational wealth or men who have no business willingly spending money they do not have)

And finally, because they perceive that they are close to that stoic-everyman-topman-ideal, that their manhood grants them proximity to it--and thus superiority over women to it--they can always replace their current partner once they do not "love" them anymore OR they look to the "upgraded" trophy woman who makes them look better to other men...until they get intimidated or resentful of that woman's success, wealth which he covets.

Man is inherently self-sabotaging and justifying it.

[chirpsythismorning]

The Hellflire Club Foreshadows Mike's Monologue (and More Than You Think...)

Several fans have noticed already that there are direct parallels between Mike's monologue in The Piggyback, with Eddie's monologue in The Hellfire Club.

While we've been grappling with all sorts of supernatural creatures over the course of Stranger Things' entire run, here Eddie is warning us about forced conformity and how that is the real monster.

This has also led fans to joke painfully about the fact that Max 'died' because forced conforming; that's what's killing the kids, aka Mike's whole speech to El wouldn't have happened the way it did in the first place, had him, Will and El not been trying so hard to be who they think they're supposed to be, instead of who they truly want to be.

However, what I want to add to this discourse, because I haven't seen anyone else acknowledge it (correct me if i'm wrong!?), is that this scene at lunch has two extras with whom Mike sits between, which are very likely meant to represent Will and El.

We've seen a lot of (love) triangle blocking used with these three before, often with Mike between the two. This screen-cap below has gotta be one of the most iconic and so I feel the need to mention it briefly:

What also makes this shot relevant as an example for this post, is the costume choice for Will and El here: the same shade of dark blue (hints of gray), and the fact that this doesn’t align with the colors/style they usually wear as individual characters. However, this was presumably one of the few times Will and El have genuinely interacted beyond supernatural happenings. And so now, with both of them standing on either side of Mike, after two seasons of him having only one of them beside him, and while the other was out of reach, what we're seeing is that these two are more or less two sides of the same coin. Whether Will and El are actually blood related (I'm like 75% sure they could be) remains to be seen. However Mike's bond between both of them individually is causing him to sort of be at war with himself (and his identity).

Now bear with me, because I know so many of you see theories/analysis involving set design/blocking/costumes and you just instantly check out and stop taking it seriously. But I can assure you, this is the real deal.

What follows, is so outrageously easy to overlook. And yet upon thinking about what it actually requires to film a scene, especially a scene like this with dozens of background extras, along with how this scene actually turned out, I'm going to explain why there are several factors which make me feel fairly confident about what these two specific extras represent.

To start things off, we know how this scene begins, with Eddie dramatically reading a Newsweek magazine:

"The Devil has come to America. Dungeons and Dragons, at first regarded as a harmless game of make-believe, now has both parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even... Murder."

After they give us a short introduction to some of the faces of the Hellfire Club (notably Eddie), they cut to this point of view shot from Mike:

Here we are instantly introduced to the two extras that are going to dominate a majority of this scene outside of the main characters themselves, aka Willel...

note: interesting they don't include Mike in the shot for that specific sound bite below... almost as if he considers himself a freak for a different reason...

Yes, on the surface this scene is establishing that Mike and Dustin are finding a place in High School, as the freaks and geeks, but a place nonetheless.

Though, is that really all there is to it?

You'll see what I mean.

note: there's no meaning behind the circles touching here. i just wanted to acknowledge here that the El extra is visible at first, only for her to become hidden the moment that the Will extra becomes visible.

Now, this shot right here below is kind of iconic, because it's what made me realize that this girl extra here in the scarf represents El.

To provide a little more context, the Will extra next to Mike has already been picked up on by a decent amount of fans. I've even posted about it at least once. This guy definitely resembles Will at certain angles, to the point where he could arguably be a stand in/stunt double for scenes that don't require a close-up of him.

Also keeping in mind, this is a scene of the party in high school, in a D&D club. Assuming Will could have stayed in Hawkins and went to high school with the party, he would've more than likely been right here beside them. So that's what I initially got out of this scene and still partially do get out of it, regardless of these other observations I'm discussing here.

What's so fascinating about the Will extra though specifically, is that they avoid showing his face as much as possible, which is a unique choice that we're just not seeing be applied to the other extras in the frame. They even let us see the face of the guy across from the Will extra (blue/yellow striped shirt guy) multiple times, but apparently they really wanted to avoid showing this guys face (there are a few notable, but fleeting side profiles from an outside POV), almost to keep up this guise that we could imagine this is Will and hell, it could be him, bc it's pretty damn close.

However, upon recently rewatching this scene, I remember looking for other points when this Will extra might have been prominent, to see if I could find anything else.

And that's when I realized this girl in the scarf, directly blocks the Will extra at the most convenient time.

And that's when it hit me...

FORCED CONFORMING!!!!!!!

The following images below is when it really starts to get obvious that there was an intended direction going on here with the blocking of these two extras, in accordance with Mike's placement in the frame.

What sealed the deal for me, was noticing how the other extras surrounding them (excluding Willel), do not seem to be granted much importance in the continuity of this scene.

Continuity between shots is pretty essential to filmmaking. It's gotta be the main thing about film that just bugs me, which is that you can tell very visibly when a shot is followed by another shot, but from a separate take (has the capacity to ruin the illusion that this is real and not all fabricated).

For example, what I gather from the beginning of this following conversation, is that there were at the very least 2-3 takes done for these reaction shots of Dustin and Mike, and it's because the extras in the background give it away. Sometimes they're in the frame, sometimes they're not.

The Will and El extras provide a contrast to all the other extras, in that the continuity for their blocking in the frame is fairly spot on each time, equal to the standards of the main cast arguably. Meaning they had a mark and they had to stick with it.

Check this out:

side note: star wars reference (luke & leia??)

The most obvious thing that gives away the importance of these two extras, besides the blocking, is them both sporting an almost identical color in their costume. While the Will extra wears a maroon shirt, the El extra wears a scarf in that same color.

This is so simple yet sort of genius, because again, from what I understand, no one has noticed this, and so it's pretty epic once you finally do pick up on it.

The Will extra is almost always in the frame on Mike's right? The El extra is facing the the opposite direction as them (not on the same page), and wearing a scarf, which is there to represent the tentacle choking her during Mike's monologue...

This theory does take a turn for the hilarious, when at a later point Eddie starts monologuing again, while Dustin and Mike look at him fondly (w/ Mike in focus), the Willel extras are now nowhere to be found...

I think this choice was made to indicate that Mike's attraction to Eddie is based on the most basic type of attraction, while what he shares for Will and El is so much more complicated (and deep). When you're just experiencing everyday attraction, you're not thinking about your significant other or your hearts desire in that moment, because this moment is just a blip encounter that isn't going anywhere, it's attraction and that's all there is to it. Whereas what he feels truly for Will is true love, while what he feels truly for El is familial love. This tiny moment isn't about his conflict over his romantic feelings, it's about the fact that Mike is attracted to men.

And then what follows directly after this, is that little snippet of Eddie's monologue, which echoes Mike's monologue to El at the end of the season...

Oh and look who it is?! The El extra has made a reappearance, just in time!

This is one of the few times they made a point to have the El extra in the frame while the Will extra wasn't, which I also think is intentional because it could be a hint to how Mike's speech about falling in love with El the moment he saw her is a fabrication (copyright to be exact), and it also doesn't resemble the love that Mike has for Will, hence why he was almost entirely left out of those shots. (Also similar to Mike's monologue at the end of the season, where Will was in certain shots but not others, because the words did/didn't match Mike's feelings for Will at those points).

Lastly, we get a Gap (gay and proud) reference for Mike. And low and behold, the Will extra is making a reappearance, just in time!

I think what makes this scene easier to understand on a basic level, without making it too complicated for yourself, is comparing the implications that come with it, to the implications that came with Mike's monologue.

The choice to put Will in most of the shots, directly behind Mike as he professes his love to El, who is lying before him unable to look in his eyes or even respond, leads those truly paying attention, to the conclusion that this is not how you shoot a satisfying love confession. Therefore it can't be a genuine love confession.

Instead what this scene more so depicts is a character having a confession practically wrenched out of him. And because of all the other details happening over the course of this season and just the series overall, we can gather that Mike feels pressured to go through with this because he thinks he has no other choice.

They didn't beat the big bad this time, instead they lost. Because forced conforming, that's the real monster.

With only one season left, they're going to have to face the truth if they want to make it out alive this time (and happy!).

[rammtwo]

☕ Wholesome OC Fav C Ask Meme 🍂

Wrap up your OC blorbo in a blanket burrito and let’s answer some questions!

What is their go-to comfort food? EDIBLE AUTOPSY

Give them a warm drink of your choice, what would it be? Would their choice differ from yours? FROM SKIN TO LIQUID

What is something they really like about themselves and what is something you really like about them? DEATH WALKING TERROR

What is the thing they like the most about their friends and what is the thing their friends like the most about them? THEY DESERVE TO DIE

What is the song you most associate to them? DEMENTED AGGRESSION

What is their favorite music genre? If they don’t have one, what’s their favorite song? RELENTLESS BEATING

What is their favorite movie, or a movie they would really enjoy? UNNATURAL

What is a smell that makes them feel at home? THE CRYPTIC STENCH

How would they react if a person they love (friends and family included) gave them a flower bouquet unexpectedly? HEADS SHOVELLED OFF

What is their favorite thing in the world? RITUAL ANNIHILATION

What is an item of clothing/an accessory that completes them/makes them feel safe? A SKULL FULL OF MAGGOTS

What is their safe place? And what does “safe place” mean to them? FESTERING IN THE CRYPT

Quickly, let them give us some life advice!  SHATTER THEIR BONES

Now you give them some life advice. EVIDENCE IN THE FURNACE

What was the happiest moment of their life? ORGASM THROUGH TORTURE

What positives did they extrapolate from the worst moment(s) of their life? PURIFICATION THROUGH FIRE

What is their favorite hobby? FRANTIC DISEMBOWELMENT

What is something they excel at? MAKE THEM SUFFER

What is their hidden talent? MEAT HOOK SODOMY

Which new skills they would really like to learn? ICEPICK LOBOTOMY

If they had to pick up an instrument, what would they choose?  PITCHFORK IMPALEMENT

How do they relax? THE STRANGULATION CHAIR

If they had to prepare a conference, what would be the topic of discussion? KILL OR BECOME

What would be their ideal romance? STRIPPED, RAPED AND STRANGLED

What is their romance’s theme song? FUCKED WITH A KNIFE

What would they do if their favourite pet suddenly fell asleep on their lap? BARBARIC BLUGEONINGS

They have a chance to get a tattoo: what would it be?  GROTESQUE

What is their love language? BLUNT FORCE CASTRATION

What is their favourite color? And which colors do they like to wear the most? RED BEFORE BLACK

Do they have any guilty pleasures? ADDICTED TO VAGINAL SKIN

What is something they’re ashamed of but others find extremely cute?  POST MORTAL EJACULATION

What would they gift to their partner or their best friends to show their affection? ENTRAILS RIPPED FROM A VIRGIN’S CUNT

Give them your credit card for five minutes; what would they buy? A CAULDRON OF HATE

If they could go back in time, how would they reassure their child-self about the future? THE UNDEAD WILL FEAST

What is their celebrity crush? How would they react if noticed by said crush? FOLLOWED HOME THEN KILLED

If they were a bath bomb, what scents and colors would you use to describe their personality? HIGH VELOCITY IMPACT SPLATTER

Let them vent for a second, without the fear of being judged. What would they like to say? I CUM BLOOD

And what would you say to comfort them? DIVIDE, CONQUER, BURN AND DESTROY*

(*Okay, that last one was a Serpentine Dominion song but it's all Corpsegrinder)

I feel that this was a valuable and productive use of my time!!!

[queermuslimarchives]

Hijra (ہیجڑا)

Hijra is a pejorative term, mostly used in South Asia for transgender woman, eunuch, transvestite, androgynous, non-binary & intersex individuals. They lives in well-organized households and communities, led by a guru. Hijra community have a distinct subculture, secret language, cults and traditions. Hijra individuals maintain non-binary & matrilineal kinship within their community. Not all south asian trans femme, non-binary, queer folks are part of Hijra subculture.

Traditionally, the hijra are known as individual of “separate gender” in South Asian society. Most hijras are born as male and very few are born as intersex. Most Hijras present themselves in feminine attire, while other may present themselves in masculine or androgynous attire. The hijra use feminine name & pronoun for themselves. While other may use masculine & gender-neutral name & pronoun. The hijra are officially recognized as ''Third gender'' in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India & Nepal.

The word “Hijra” came from the Arabic word Hijr. While others argue that the word came from the Farsi word Hīj. In Arabic, Hijra literally means migration, leaving own tribe/clan. In broadest definition it means spiritual transformation, transcending boundaries. Despite having a sacred meaning, the word hijra has become a slurr in most parts of South Asia.

In India, many transgender folks like to avoid hijra for themselves. Instead they prefer Kinnar/Kinner, Shiv-shakti, Aravani, Mangala-mukhi, Moonaam Lingam, Kothi, Thritiya Linga, Tirunangais, Thirunangai, Tirunaṅkai, Thirunambi, Khwaja sira, Trans man, Trans Woman, Non-binary, Brihannala, Shikandi, etc for themselves. In Pakistan, hijra term is mostly used in a derogatory manner. This is why, non-hijra transgender & hijra transgender folks preferred Khawaja sara/Khwajasira, Mukhannath, Mutajannas, Moorat for themselves.

History

The existence of hijras or eunuchs first documented in the royal harems of Delhi Sultanate.In the 7th century, Hijras became trusted servants in the Mughal courts. (Please note:The term eunuch in reference to hijras or transgender in southeast asia is now considered pejorative; however, historical research finds the terms eunuch and hijra used interchangeably).

In those days, Hijras or transgenders were allowed to travel freely between men’s quarter and women's quarter, administrate the royal harem, & take care of the harem's children. Different travelogues documented that Hijras were also “intimate servants” and “beloved” of kings, princes, queens & princesses. During the mughal era, Hijra community played important roles in royal court,in royal households,in diplomatic and military affairs.

During the colonialism:

Mass Persecution of hijras/gender variants & gays in Indian subcontinent started during the British colonialism. In early 1850s, British colonial authorities deployed various strategies to eradicate India's gender & sexual minorities, whom they saw as "a breach of public decency." Further Britishers viewed hijras as incapable of moral transformation & assimilation. Therefore, they were subjected to eliminatory policies. In 1860, hijras became subjected to anti-sodomy law Section 377 which allowed British authorities to prosecute hijras (for their existence).

In 1861, authorities of the North-Western Provinces (NWP) sought to enact a 'Special law' against hijras/gender variants. By 1870, no high-ranking British officials argued against the implementation of special legislation to address the 'hijra problem; thus solidifying a violent anti-hijra campaign all across the Indian subcontinent. Anti-hijra laws were enacted; whereas a law outlawing castration, a central part of the hijra community (although not required for community membership), crossdressing, community gathering, ritual practices. The hijra were included in the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 and labelled a "criminal tribe", now subjected to compulsory registration,strict monitoring, and stigmatization. Because of economic costs, which were the main impetus behind British colonialism, Hijras and other so-called "criminal tribes" were unable to be collectively sequestered from colonial society. This act forced the hijra community to go underground. British authorities considered “eunuchs” responsible for sodomy, kidnapping, and castrating male children (Hinchy 2019). Although the Criminal Tribe Act was rescinded in 1952, a collective memory still paints hijras as historical gender deviants with a criminalized sexual variance. After independence, hijras survived these barbaric colonial extermination attempts.However, the centuries-old stigma & shame continues as transphobic legacy in Southeast Asia.

Culture & Lifestyle

Transgender, MTF transvestite, effeminate/kothi, non-binary, and intersex individuals who live in Hijra community must undergo an initiation rite. Through this initiation rite, one can be a part of hijra community. Many hijras practice castration & emasculation, for attaining a high level of spirituality & sacredness. Not all hijras do castration.

The hijra gharanas are symbolic units of lineage, called a house, guiding the overall schematic outlining of the social organization of the hijra community in Indian Subcontinent. Hijras community follow a guru-chela kinship system, in which guru leads her chelas, provide them money, foods,shelter & other resources. This kinship originally developed on the basis of sufi discipleship of Pir-Mureed. In hijra community guru called their chelas daughters or son & chelas called their guru mother. Guru's guru are called nani guru (sometimes grandma). Nani gurus has the highest rank within hijra community.

They usually earn their money by collecting donations, ritual blessings (badhai), begging in streets, singing & dancing in social occasions, sex work. Collecting donations or alms, ritual blessing, sex work are common sources for their income. But now they are quitting such professions & doing various works for living.

[hugopegler]

Hi. Could you provide the sources for your statement? I'd like to read them.

Yeah, I can do that.

Basically, the first known instance of the name Baphomet was in 1098, in a letter written by a French Crusader named Anselm of Ribemont detailing the siege of Antioch, Turkey (nowadays known as Antakya).

The relevant section (page 475 if the link doesn't work properly) reads "Sequenti die aurora apparente, altis vocibus Baphometh invocaverunt; et nos Deum nostrum in cordibus nostris deprecantes, impetum facientes in eos, de muris civitatis omnes expulimus." ("As the next day dawned, they [i.e. the inhabitants of Antioch] called loudly upon Baphometh; and we prayed silently in our hearts to God, then we attacked and forced all of them outside the city walls.")

Raymond of Aguilers, a man who chronicled the First Crusade, claims that troubadours (Medieval French lyrical poets) used the term "Bafomet" to refer to the Islamic prophet Muhammad (footnote of page 497 if the link doesn't work properly). This is corroborated by the early 12th-Century lyrical poem Senhors, per los nostres peccatz (Gentlemen, it is because of our sins) by the troubadour Gavaudan, which repeatedly localizes "Muhammad" as "Bafometz", the most obvious being the closing stanza:

"Profeta sera.n Gavaudas qu.el dig er faitz, e mortz als cas! e Dieus er honratz e servitz on Bafometz era grazitz." ("Gavaudan shall be a prophet for his words shall become a fact. Death to those dogs! God shall be honoured and worshipped where Muhammad is now served.") (It's worth noting that Medieval Christians thought Muslims were idolatrous, and worshipped Muhammad as a god, which is obviously not true.)

As for the latter claim, a lot of Templars were arrested under the rule of King Phillip IV of France, who suppressed the order via charges of heresy, spitting on crosses, idolatry, and sodomy, among other things (page 71 if the link doesn't work properly). Many Templars were tortured into confessing, claiming that they worshipped a deity named Baphomet, who they described as resembling either a three-faced head or a cat (note the lack of goats). Of course, these charges are of dubious validity, especially considering the forced confessions, but that's not important.

Fast forward to to the mid-1850s, and Éliphas Lévi publishes a two-volume occult treatise known as Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie(Dogma and Ritual of High Magic). The second volume's frontispiece (and even the cover of various republished versions) depicts an androgynous goat-headed entity that Lévi identifies as Baphomet (also known as the Sabbatic Goat). This depiction of Baphomet is clearly inspired by (or at least, uncannily resembles) The Devil, the fifteenth Major Arcana card found in tarot decks (which in turn is based on various depictions of Satan in Medieval artwork).

So yeah, to quote the meme, that word isn't in the Bible (though it is technically in the Quran).

Hope this helps ^_^

[rybonucleic-ket]

queer coding: eddie munson - analysis (2.0)

---

Eddie's gay as fuck.

get comfy, we'll be here a while

hoping somebody actually reads because I spent a concerning amount of time on this :') I may be mentally unwell

PARALLEL

4x01 - Eddie and Chrissy's drug deal scene

now this scene is like, all of the material Edissy shippers use. but.

if you actually look at it

it parallels s3 Steve and Robin on the floor of the Russian base so fucking hard that you cannot tell me it wasn't intentional

like

~~~ 'how in the holy living fuck am I here with the King/Queen' ~~~

"I feel like I'm losing my mind right now, doing a drug deal with Chrissy Cunningham, the Queen of Hawkins High."

"I can't believe I'm gonna die in a secret Russian base with Steve 'the Hair' Harrington. It's just too trippy, man." [...] "The King of Hawkins High himself."

~~~ 'course you don't remember' ~~~

"Y'know, this isn't the first time we've, uh, hung out." [...] "I wouldn't remember me either, Chrissy!"

"Do you even remember me from that class?" [...] "Of course you don't."

~~~ 'but I do.' ~~~

"Middle school talent show. you were doing that thing, the thing you do. it was pretty cool."

Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you were always late."

LIKE

I'm so mad, Chrissy and Eddie could've been fruity besties like Rob n Steve

why the Suffer brothers gotta be like that

NON-CONFORMITY AND FRUITYNESS

4x01 - reasons for outcast

we're introduced to Eddie with him mocking the satanic panic surrounding D&D. the crack ass article reads:

"Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even murder."

if you weren't aware, sodomy is a term used for various "crimes against nature", technically applying to any non reproductive sex, but largely referring to gay sex (I don't think anyone called straight people using condoms sodomy, like, ever) that stems from blatant religious homophobia. it comes from the story of Sodom, in the Bible, which actually was not about gay people at all. the term itself associates queerness with a lot of really bad shit with a high potential of triggering people, so you can look up the story of Sodom if you want to see the horrific extent to which religion has been twisted and weaponized.

now, D&D was primarily stigmatized in the eighties on the account of baseless, delusional satanic panic and the nerdiness of it, generally less about the game turning people gay.

but the fact that the article put "sodomy" in a "violent behavior" category next to human sacrifice and suicide, is an unfortunately accurate depiction of 80s homophobia. even so, considering that D&D making people gay was a less common delusion, it genuinely could've been left out by the Duffers. like, it's accurate, but not necessary to mention to catch the drift of the stigma around D&D. if it was one of the primary conspiracies, sure, but it wasn't. it was a conspiracy, but the fact that they included "sodomy" rather than any of the other less common conspiracies....hm.

anyway, anyway, back to Eddie. now, along with D&D, metal also had satanic panic delusions associated with it (and still does!). Eddie sits at a table full of D&D nerd metalheads, yet... he's Eddie 'the Freak' Munson. the freakiest of freaks. the most alienated of his friend group. which, I mean, makes it seem like there's another factor that makes him more of a freak in the eyes of Hawkins, Indiana. whatever could that be?

PARALLEL

Will Byers and Eddie Munson. if you look at it, they're bullied in very similar ways. s1 and s2, we're told and shown that the Party is seen as a group of outcasts, but Will is the capital F, most alienated, Freak. Will has been seen as different and condemned for being gay since he was a little kid. this observed queerness in Will is what makes him more outcast.

similarly, while in a group with the same interests he's condemned for, Eddie is THE Freak. the capital F, freakiest of freaks. as said before, looking at his friend group, there's not really an explanation unless Eddie has another factor people observe and condemn him for. considering he's got parallels with the only two confirmed gay characters in the series within the first episode he's introduced, it's very likely that factor is Eddie being gay.

RUNNING AWAY - QUEER SYMBOLISM AND WAYNE MUNSON

"There is no shame in running. Not today."

"When I see danger, I just turn heel and run. at least, that's what I've learned about myself."

"I didn't run away this time, right?"

Eddie talks a lot about running away from things that scare him. which, like, yeah love, who doesn't. but Eddie is so conscious of his tendency to run. mind you, almost every single character ran (or tried to) the first time they saw the upside down shit. honest to god, Eddie saw something incredibly horrifying, he didn't run away significantly more than anyone else, all things considered. he had to keep running or Jason was literally going to kill him. he was not exceptionally cowardly. why the hell is he so hung up on running away?

we know like, jack shit about Eddie's family. his dad might be in jail. his mom is never mentioned. all we know is his dad was a douche and he lives with his uncle. enter Wayne Munson!

4x02 - Wayne to Nancy, on Eddie

"My nephew, he may look dangerous," [...] "No matter what anyone says, and they will say things, believe you me. This wasn't Eddie." [...] "It's just...not in his nature."

4x05 - Wayne to Dustin, on Eddie

"I can't imagine we got anything to talk about. My nephew is innocent. He's still missing. I'll put up as many posters as I need until he's found."

Wayne is very well aware of the shit people talk about Eddie, and very adamant that he is a good person no matter what social expectations say of him. so, this is what we know about Eddie's family: his dad is a douche and Eddie no longer lives with him, and Wayne is cool and loves Eddie beyond what anyone else thinks of him, which is who Eddie lived with up until the witch hunt.

we obviously know very little about his family, and this is based on what very little we know, but. Eddie is insistent that he's cowardly for running. his father was an ass and he doesn't live with him anymore. Eddie lived with Wayne, who loves Eddie and gives zero fucks what society says about his nephew. it seems like Eddie lived with wayne for a while, but the amount of time he stayed with his uncle is unspecified. Wayne is persistently defensive of Eddie against those who think poorly of him.

so. this leads me to a few theories. a) Eddie's dad went to prison (Eddie discussed his dad being renowned for getting in trouble w Steve) and Eddie went to live with Wayne b) Eddie's old man said some nasty shit about him and Eddie ran away, living with the unanimously supportive Wayne.

both seem plausible, Eddie saying his dad taught him to steal cars as a kid, and Eddie being weirdly fixated on shame in running away, considering the vast majority of people would also run if they saw the shit he did, so running was genuinely not abnormal or cowardly.

if we take the second into account, I'd say whatever shit his dad did to make him run was probably homophobic. that's just a theory, though.

EDDIE AND NONCONFORMITY

as previously mentioned, Eddie is the capital F Freak of Hawkins high. while that treatment parallels Will, Eddie's response to it definitely doesn't. Will shrinks into himself in response to alienation, Eddie embraces his otherness like nobody else. Eddie is the most adamant supporter of rejecting the norm and bullshit social expectations.

4x01 - Eddie on conformity

"It's forced conformity. That's the real monster. That's what's KILLING THE KIDS!!"

what, pray tell, would cause such incredibly differing responses?

here's what I think. Will has like, a lot, a lot of fear of rejection. he tells Mike this explicitly. Will starts sobbing when Jonathan tells him he'll be there no matter what, which was absolutely Jonathan telling him he knew Will was gay and was supportive, I'm not gonna analyze the whole scene, but that was exactly what Will needed.

I am not, in any way, shape, or form, hating on Joyce or Jonathan, as a disclaimer. I would never. I do think that they didn't talk about Will being gay when they probably needed to. or say like, that's chill, we'd still love you if you were gay. some kind of explicit acceptance. understandably, that was for sure a difficult conversation to have in the eighties.

To contrast, Wayne, in 2/3 of his scenes, says Eddie is a good person regardless of any norms or opinions of others. such contrast between Will and Eddie's responses is because Eddie isn't really scared of rejection, and I think that stems from the extent to which Wayne voiced support.

FUN PART!!

drumroll...hanky code! hanky code is a signaling system used primarily by gay men that indicates sexual roles/preferences/kinks and so on. I think it's still in use today? but it was significantly more common in the 70s-90s. throughout season four, Eddie wore a black hanky in his back left pocket, which indicates domming in S&M. sure, it's possible it was a coincidence, but I doubt it. his hanky is consistently in his left pocket; so consistently, in fact, that in Max's trailer, he asks her for a bandana instead of using the one in his pocket. hmmm. but yeah I guess they could've accidentally made him gay and kinky. a freak of other sorts, if you will.

EDDIE AND STEVE

as much as I love steddie, this is not me saying they're canon. this is me showing you why Eddie was not demonstrating straight boy behavior.

so, the 80s had a much different culture around male friendship than we do today. platonically flirting with other guys was not a thing straight boys did. like sure, today all the jocks smack each other's asses and moan at each other, but that didn't happen in the 80s. not with straight guys. that was very strictly interpreted as gay. and homophobia was so potent then, straight guys would worry about seeming gay (fig. a: Jason's response to Erica implying he and Lucas were a thing) hence, a straight guy from the eighties would not voluntarily put his face inches away from that of a male friend while calling him "big boy".