#because while there can be differences in bisexuality and pansexuality (note: not for everyone but for some people

[moonmoonthecrabking]

"chaotic bisexual-" i don't find this particularly encourages me to read the book, actually. i might anyway, because of the concept (and in a partial hope to prove my preconceptions wrong), but i think that a mistake was made somewhere in the marketing stage

[tsams-and-co-memes]

TSAMS Sunrise Canon Info

Updated - 11/10/24

Sun's likes:

Cats (he owns two)

Dressing up his cats

TF2

Listening to/watching documentaries while he cleans

Red Dead Redemption and Baldur's Gate 3

Cult of the Lamb

Yellow (his favorite color)

Snapple (his favorite drink)

Hamburgers (his favorite food)

Spiderman

Fallout

Electric eels

Retro gaming

Old-timey, black and white cartoons (with Popeye possibly being one of his favorites)

Sun's dislikes:

Squids

Insects

Balloon Boy

Hot water

Sea water

Taylor Swift

Garden gnomes

Sports

Salads

Kids (this was implied) <- (he might've made this implication jokingly, but he did end up saying that he does have a soft spot for them)

Eclipse

The creator

Bloodmoon

Roxanne

Minesweeper

Miscellaneous:

Soda/pop

Pumpkins/pumpkin carving/pumpkin guts

Sun tends to get very competitive with gaming

He’s watched the entirety of Dragon Ball Z

He has an obsession with cleaning and stacking the toy barrels/tumble barrels in the daycare. If they’re not adequately cleaned or stacked in a very specific way, he gets upset

He’s bought stilettos and tried on a dress before, while saying that he’s a pretty princess

He used to have a crush on Roxanne

He’s not good at dancing and really only moves the upper half of his body

Sun is pansexual (check for sources). He's not bisexual, so him being pan is slightly more likely (retconned. Sun is more than likely straight, at this point)

Sun has a car and knows how to drive

He isn’t very good at acting

He has a habit of cheating when playing competitive games

It’s been implied numerous times that Sun occasionally enjoys cross dressing

Old Moon has made a statement before, suggesting that Sun has kleptomania

Sun can read bar codes

He apparently knows the history of gravel and can talk about it for hours

He was programmed to know how to drive

His rays are made of plastic

He plays D&D and his character is a warlock

Sun grooms his rays like they’re his hair, and he uses ray polish to do so

Sun knows the history of Windex

Sun knows how to play Yu-Gi-Oh

Cleaning is one of the things that calms him and helps him focus

Sun panics sometimes when he's not doing anything, because he feels like he's not doing enough. Apparently this was triggered by Eclipse's return

Sun can't calm Moon down whenever Moon gets seriously upset, and Sun finds that "kinda scary" (<- exact wording from the therapy video). This means that on some level, Sun is afraid of Moon's anger, and of Moon acting irrationally when he's upset

Sun is the only janitor in the daycare

Sun's had a bird fly in his face before, and according to him, it's more annoying than scary

Sun's not good at bowling

He's eaten glitter glue at one point as a coping mechanism. He may or may not have also eaten sparkles

Sun knows how to grind coffee beans

He turned his basement into a cat den, and his cats have their own TV

Sun drinks (we don't know how often)

If he could be an animal, Sun would be a stingray

Sun doesn't clean the bottom of the ballpit

Sun received an offer to replace Glamrock Freddy as the face of the pizzaplex, but he refused. A lot of the refusal stems from him not wanting to be on a stage in front of so many people

Sun's never watched any classic Disney princess movies that occurred before Beauty and the Beast and Mulan. This would include ones like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella, although he's had Cinderella play passively in the background before (knowing Earth though, she'll probably make him watch all the original princess movies eventually)

Sun goes through a lot of existential crises

Sun is very good at finding kids who wander from the group whenever he takes everyone somewhere outside the daycare

Sun knows how to set broken bones

Sun has a fear of heights

Sun buys animal shaped soaps

Sun puts down a lot of sticky notes in different places

In the earlier days of the daycare, Sun once tried to play hide and seek with a blind kid. It did not end well

Sun's watched Death Note 4 times through

Sun has a crush on Yor from Spy x Family (his type seems to be people that could beat him up, but this could change)

[apollocabinrep]

PJO PRIDE HEADCANONS PT 2

• Castor was pansexual while Pollux is on the aro spec (demiromantic). Whenever Castor had a crush, Pollux would insist his twin could do better, or that they were "okay."

• Holly and Laurel compete in everything and if they ever end up crushing on the same person, it will also be a competition. Whoever can give them the best flowers, best date, etc. Essentially who can win the person's heart.

• If they crush on different people, the competition changes to who took their partner out on a better date.

• Nyssa is sapphic or unlabeled, probably just content with her work though she can point out a cute girl when she sees one.

• Chris Rodriguez is a bisexual, ambiamorous icon. (Ambiamorous is having more than 1 partner only if the person you're dating is okay with it. You don't mind not having more than one partner.)

• ^ Chris, Beckendorf, Silena, & Clarisse were definitely a polycule and when Silena and Beckendorf died, Chris & Clarisse got a tattoo with all 4 of their initials inside of a heart on their chests. (Clarisse won't ever say anything about it or admit to it.)

• Everyone thinks that because Butch is an Iris kid, he has to be LGBTQ+, but in reality he is just their biggest ally. He thinks the LGBTQ+ campers are extremely brave and admires them.

• But there's also trans Butch which I've started to like a lot

• Most campers think Connor is bisexual, but he's actually demi. He just likes to confuse them even more because he only hangs up the MLM flag.

• Connor tried to ask Malcolm out through a prank, because that's how Travis asked Katie out and it worked for them.

• Travis and Katie are Bi4Bi

• Clovis isn't labeled, so many (young) campers just think he's hetero. He's not awake long enough to care.

Warning: Leeluke below, don't like, don't look 👍

• Lee was the one to ask Luke out after 3 months of them flirting

• Luke fell first, but Lee fell harder

• Lee was pansexual, Luke was bisexual

• Luke always had his arm wrapped around Lee's waist or shoulder because Lee had so many people crushing on him due to his nurturing nature.

• Luke's betrayal was like a punch to the gut to Lee because the boy didn't leave anything for him. Not a note, goodbye, nothing.

• Lee saw Luke one final time before his death in BotL. It was right before SoM.

• For the first time in years, Lee had gone home for the school year, and Luke showed up outside his school. Lee punched him in the face before hugging him. It was an entire show for the courtyard. They spent the day enjoying each other's company. At the end of it, Luke told him everything he planned on doing, and said when Kronos rose, he'd come back for Lee.

• When Luke entered Elysium, Lee refused to talk to him at all. So many of his younger siblings had entered and he was rightfully upset.

• It took them 8 months before they could even be in the same room, but Luke had changed for the better and if it wasn't doing things to Lee's unbeating heart.

• Lee fell first this time, or maybe he had never really stopped falling, and asked Luke out, asked for a second chance for them.

• Turns out, second chances are worth it sometimes. Michael's jaw dropped when he saw and ranted endlessly, but Lee was happy that Luke had changed in the end.

• "Ain't no way I DIED and you're out here FORGIVING HIM!!!" - Michael Yew

• "I LEFT MY BOYFRIEND, LEE!!!"

• "And you can wait for him, Michael."

• "Bitch."

[hismercytomyjustice]

Updated pinned intro post! Hi! I'm Scout! Welcome to my tumblr!

If you're only following me/checking in for sneak peeks for The Signal that Beckons, I'll be posting them on Tuesdays. You can search my tags for "sneak peek" or click this link instead.

Fic Masterlist and About Me below the cut!

You can find me at ao3 at eternalscout!

Current Fandoms I Write For: BG3, Hazbin Hotel

Past Fandoms I've Written For: Pacific Rim, WWDITS, WTNV, Cardcaptor Sakura, Promare

My Favorite Fics: You can find my favorite fics that I've read separated into collections here!

Ongoing Fics/Series:

Tumblr tags refer to posts I’ve made about my fics/writing process, if that’s of interest to you.

To Be the Perfect Angel, Some Sin Must Be Done

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Pairing: Radioapple (Alastor/Lucifer)

Rating: Explicit, Mature

Words: 84k+

Status: Ongoing Series, Currently 7 parts

Tumblr Tag: to be the perfect angel

Summary: Idiots in love. Lucifer is press ganged into helping everyone get Alastor to rest while he continues to heal from his fight with Adam. Includes dancing, a bet on who can go the longest without using their powers, the consequences of said bet, elements of BDSM, and feelings being caught.

The Signal that Beckons

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

Pairing: None

Rating: Mature

Words: Expected to be ~80k, Estimating 15 chapters

Status: Ongoing

Tumblr Tag: the signal that beckons

Summary: What if Alastor’s fight with Adam ended…differently? What if he was “purified” instead to the last moment he could have been redeemed? And, unfortunately for him, that was when he was only eleven.

Completed Multi-Chapter Fics:

Ancient Books and Horror Stories 

Note: I'm planning to do some oneshots for this fic too and will include them in my ongoing section once I do.

Fandom: BG3

Pairing: Bloodweave (Gale/Astarion)

Rating: Explicit

Words: 100k, 18 chapters

Status: Complete

Tumblr Tag: ancient books and horror stories

Summary: Slow burn. Tadpoled acquaintances to friends to lovers. Takes place during the events of BG3. The boys initially bond over books, but then gradually open up to one another and help each other heal from their trauma.

Blue Moon on the Rise

Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura

Pairing: Yukito/Touya/Yue

Rating: Mature

Words: 54k, 25 chapters

Status: Complete

Tumblr Tag: N/A

Summary: Sakura fails the Final Judgment. Everyone forgets about the Cards, and the person they love most. A new candidate must be chosen. Unfortunately for Touya, it looks like he's next on the list.

If you’re thinking about following me, I should warn you that I post and reblog A LOT. I also treat my tumblr like a journal, so I have a lot of personal posts, usually under cuts. 

I’m nonbinary (they/them), demisexual, and bisexual/pansexual (I use the terms interchangeably because pansexuality was wildly misunderstood when I was younger). Also very recently realized I’m demiromantic! I post/reblog a lot about all of the above.

I’m in my 30s (ancient for the internet, I know) and only recently started getting back into Tumblr after a 10 year absence.

Fun facts! My ao3 username is from my major Welcome to Night Vale fan days (though I still love it, even if I'm hopelessly behind). And my tumblr username is a quote from my favorite book of all time, The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.

If you’re curious, full quote is: 

“Yet you prefer his mercy to my justice.” She meant the king. She knew where the message had come from.

The current fandoms I'm obsessed with are Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, Interview with the Vampire, BG3, Pacific Rim, Phantom of the Opera, Epic the Musical, Dracula Daily, Dead Boy Detectives, and Stardew Valley.

My other major interests include true crime, crochet, and musicals!

I also talk A LOT about mental health/illness on here. I have OCD and ADHD, and the jury is still out on autism, so trigger warnings for all that mess. I try to tag these posts accordingly and also tend to put them under cuts. 

Writing stuff out (especially in regard to my OCD) helps me process and better understand it. It also feels less stressful and easier for me to do it on here spur of the moment instead of massively overthinking it and trying to force myself to use a more formal outlet. Most importantly, it helps me destigmatize it a bit in my own head.

Those kinds of posts are purely for my own benefit, but if you decide to read any of them and want to comment or something, feel free! I know this is a public space and I don’t post stuff I’m not comfortable with someone else potentially seeing.

If you’ve decided to stick around anyway, feel free to yell about my favorite things with me! I LOVE yelling about my favorite things!

[theonethatyaks93]

A Discussion on Pinky's Sexuality/Gender (Day 3 of Pinky Week)

(Quick Note: Ahhh! Sorry about the delay on this! It's just that I've had a lot on my plate and with that new Pinky and The Brain trailer thing, I've been kind of stressed out. This is mostly because I've been trying to lower my expectations as far as they will go so I won't be disappointed or I'll be blown away. I just don't know what to think. Also, burnout is real. I'm making it all up this week, I promise!)

(Another note: I didn't expect this post to be delayed so much! Oh god! Anyways, the next few days will be a makeup week where I finally finish Pinky Week and get prepared for Brain Week coming up. This was supposed to come out last Wednesday, but I had absolutely no time! Also, I had to do a LOT of re-watching clips and research for this! Way more than I had thought. Sorry!!!)

Hi everyone and welcome to the third day of Pinky Week! For those who are just joining me, here's the gist of what's going on. Since there's going to be a new set of Pinky and The Brain shorts on Friday and Pinky's narfday was last Saturday, I decided to dedicate an entire week to talking about Pinky. Every day, I'll be making a new post about a different aspect of him, discussing things such as his character. I've already made a happy birthday and a more personal story about Pinky so go check those out. Ok, so let's begin today's discussion.

3/22/23 Discussing Pinky's Sexuality/Gender- Listen, most of this will just serve as possible headcanons/theories on events. I personally think that Pinky is pansexual and genderfluid; obviously not everyone will agree with me. This post is just a celebration on the things that I have noticed during the course of the reboot and spin-off series. I'll be tracing his evolution from loyal assistant to best friend to possible love interest for Brain. I will also be talking about how his gender identity transitioned from an interesting little joke to a realistic and admirable portrayal of a character who's not afraid to be himself. I am trying to cover as much ground as possible so let's give it a shot.

Pinky's Sexuality: Pansexual

What Does Being Pansexual Mean?: Pansexual can be defined as a romantic attraction to male, female, and nonbinary people; so basically, you like everyone. While seemingly not as common as being gay or bisexual, pansexual characters have been getting the respect and love they deserve.

Why Does Pinky Embody Pansexuality?: Pinky being pansexual has been tossed around as a kind of fan theory for a few years. Some people think that he's bisexual (like Brain) and some think he's just straight up gay (read below section for further information). However, I fall under the group that says he's pansexual because it fits his character the best. Pinky is the kind of mouse who would love just about everyone, no matter their gender or species. His kindness for anyone knows no bounds and though his heart gets constantly broken, he always gets back up again. Pinky is always determined to support Brain in everything he does, no matter how upset his friend makes him. His unbridled affection for Brain is honestly a pretty big giveaway to Pinky not being straight in the slightest.

Could Pinky be Just Gay?: This really depends on the person you ask. If you were a new fan of the series, only starting to watch during season 3 of the reboot, then yeah. Pinky is basically gay in those final ten episodes with him never mentioning a female love interest for the first time (I think) ever. It's insane. Also, he hints at his attraction to Brain in several ways such as dressing up alongside him in feminine clothing (he didn't have to do that) and even holding his hand tightly (much to Brain's surprise). He also does that little hand gesture at least five or six times and showcases his more extravagant personality. So, my conclusion is that if you were to only watch season 3 of the reboot then Pinky is nearly 100% gay. However, when you watch the rest of the franchise, this changes his sexuality to pansexual since he has a few female attractions earlier on.

Setting Things Up (Animaniacs 1993): Below is the first time Pinky gives Brain a compliment. It's from their debut episode "Win Big."

The first "gay stare" from the entire franchise in the episode "Where Rodents Dare."

Although we don't get too many Brinky moments from the earliest era of the mice's existence, we do get to see that even from the beginning, Pinky really cared for Brain in many ways. He gives his friend compliments, admires his work, and even tries his best to follow his plans, (though Pinky can get distracted easily). In "Win Big" Pinky gives a seemingly content reaction when Brain pulls him by the tail. "Where Rodents Dare" gives us the first official gay stare in the series, done by Pinky after Brain talks to him about the plan. Pinky is often seen acting in a very positive way around Brain, no matter what his friend says. While this was the point in the series where the two's relationship could only be seen as a partnership/acquaintanceship, Pinky still seems to call Brain his friends without hassle. Brain seems more reserved here and is often more brash when it comes to Pinky and his behavior.

Pinky Gets Flirty (Pinky and The Brain): Below is a screenshot from the infamous "colleague" line from episode "That Smarts"

Pinky doesn't know what to say to Brain on their "dinner date" in segment "Brain's Night Off."

This well-known frame from segment "Beach Blanket Brain" (which coincidently is paired with the previously mentioned segment).

A flirtatious line from "Brain Noir."

Pinky consoles a distraught Brain in episode "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again."

Pinky playing around with Brain from "Pinky's Plan."

Pinky in his adorable sweater from "Megalomaniacs Anonymous."

Pinky trying to save Brain from an avalanche in (one of my favorite episodes) "This Old Mouse."

Things began to escalate quickly after the mice got their own spin-off show. Pinky's more flirty tendencies and his relationship with Brain began to grow stronger and stronger. He showcases his feelings more often here as well. For example: when Brain calls Pinky his colleague, Pinky gets all giddy and he swoons a little. When Brain compliments Pinky after his mindless TV watching proves beneficial to the plan, Pinky tells Brain to stop it as Brain's making him feel all gooshy. This moment is complete with Pinky looking flustered and there's even a music swell to compliment the entire ordeal. Pinky is shown on multiple occasions to take great pleasure in flirting or teasing Brain, giggling often. His loyalty to his friend is also shown in excess. When Pinky sees that Brain is going to perish after an avalanche in episode "This Old Mouse", he goes all the way up north to find him. Pinky does manage to save Brain, not only proving his dedication to his companion, but convincing Brain that the future can in fact be changed. Pinky even says things like "I can't lose you again" and when Brain tries to get him to leave for his own safety, Pinky repeatedly denies doing so, wanting to save Brain. It's incredibly heart-warming. In episode "Broadway Malady" Pinky sings a song after he and Brain split-apart about how much he misses him (and Brain hears the entire song and begins crying!). Pinky even gets the entire world's supply of important musical critics to watch Brain's show, much to Brain's surprise. Pinky's dedication to Brain is admirable, and the bond the two share is precious in every single way. Pinky is always there to comfort Brain in his darkest hours. He also gives meaningful gifts to his best friend including the globe keychain from the Christmas episode. Even when Snowball tries to convince Pinky to join him, he remains loyal. Despite the many flaws in their relationship, Pinky truly believes that Brain is the most important mouse in his life and he would do anything for him.

Secret Intentions (Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain): Below is a picture of Pinky staring at Brain from "The Girl with Nothing Extra."

Pinky imagining him and Brain as a married couple! This is from my favorite PEaTB episode "Pinky's Dream House."

Despite being poorly received by fans, Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain gave us a few new, very obvious signs of Pinky's possible attraction to Brain. Though he has a gained a massive sassitiude, he still maintains most of his core character traits from the spin-off. The most obvious case of a romantic hint was in the segment "Pinky's Dream House." This gives us an extensive view at Pinky's desires, which include being a housewife to Brain and living a perfect life. He even goes on to sing a song about his dream (the song is really good and well written). This is one of the most ambiguously gay moments in the entire franchise; it's actually stunning that they managed to sneak this past network censors. Pinky wants this to happen, and it isn't a version of him that is female. It's just Pinky wanting to be a housewife to Brain in one of the sweetest segments from this mixed bag of a show. Pinky's wish does come true and he does get to live with Brain for a while, but it doesn't last. It's a darn shame too because it seemed like Brain was starting to enjoy this lifestyle as well. Aside from this, there are a few cute gay stares and a compliment or two on occasion. It's really admirable how Pinky's dream of being a housewife was taken very seriously, and that he still cares for Brain's needs no matter what.

A Troubling Conflict (the Brinky vs. Pinky x Phar Fignewton feud): Below is a picture of Pinky and Phar Fignewton (you get the idea of Brinky by this point).

Yeah, this was a thing. Back before the reboot was made and nearly everyone became a Brinky shipper, there was a small conflict within the fandom between two well-regarded ships. Brinky fans were just starting to migrate their way onto various internet platforms and the ship was gaining steam. However, there were a few people who stuck with the canon ship of Pinky x Phar Fignewton instead. Their reasoning was that the two were essentially "soulmates" with their designs being similar and their interactions all the more precious. For those who aren't aware, Phar Fignewton is a character that was introduced in the segment "Jockey for Position." She'd later appear as only a cameo in Pinky and The Brain segments "The Third Mouse" and "A Meticulous Analysis of History." She made her return in the movie Wakko's Wish, where she had a more extensive role as Pinky's love interest (or so we think). After this movie, she never appeared alongside the mice again, fading into the realm of obscure Animaniacs characters. A lot of people really liked this ship though and fanart made its way onto sites like DeviantArt. However, Pinky x Phar Fignewton fans would often denounce Brinky for interfering with their ship and Brinky fans would do the same to them. It was a giant mess. Unfortunately for the fans of the horse-mouse couple, their ship was laid to rest in non-canon during 2020 when the Animaniacs reboot came out, as she only appeared in a brief cameo. Pinky was now more focused on Brain and Brinky shippers rejoiced as the mice came close to being canon. Though many of us out there do ship Brinky, it's important to remember our fallen alternate ship and the cuteness it brought us. Brinky did win in the end, taking a lot of Pinky x Phar Fignewton shippers away from their previous ship and into a larger group of the fandom.

Put to the Side: (Reboot Season 1): Below is Pinky staring at Brain yet again from "Ex-Mousina" (I wanted to put the cute moment from "Future Brain" here but I think it's more suited to Brain rather than Pinky).

This adorable exchange from episode "Babysitter's Flub."

Here we are, the Animanics reboot. This is where Pinky's sexuality stops being questioned and instead becomes somewhat confirmed. Much to the delight of many people, Pinky's interactions with Brain become a lot less platonic as the series goes along; there are also less straight routes to fall down as well. However, things didn't kick into shape until later seasons. Cute Pinky and Brain moments were put to the side in exchange for focusing on re-introducing the mice to a modern audience in season one. There wasn't a complete non-existence as we got a few adorable stares and even a near-kiss (wait until we get to Brain Week to hear about that one!). The mice did have their fair share of gay scenes such as the X and O confusion bit from "Babysitter's Flub" and the ending of "Future Brain" where Pinky saves Brain from falling into a portal. Pinky's loyalty to Brain is stronger than ever, with Brain being the one that has to go through the test in his relationship with Pinky. Sure Pinky feels a twinge of jealousy when Brain essentially abandons him for a robot, but that ends up in complete disaster. While this season did a great job of re-establishing their relationship, Pinky's presence as a character had to be sacrificed. He barely has any major roles in these first segments, almost seeming like a side or background character at times. He still proves to have a close bond with Brain, always listening to his feelings and offering comfort. Luckily, better things were on the horizon.

New Developments: (Reboot Season 2): Below is a picture of an underrated embrace from "Narf Over Troubled Water."

An extremely popular moment from "Happy Narfday."

Pinky caught gay staring YET AGAIN in "Wakkiver Twist." (It never ends!)

Hand holding from episode "Narf Over Troubled Water." (This episode just has too many moments to count!)

This season managed to blow everyone's expectations out of the water. Not only did we get more undeniable moments of Pinky showcasing his possible feelings for Brain, but Brain seemed to recuperate those affections. Pinky was more used here, him having at least four times as many gay moments as he did in the previous season. He often lovingly gazes at Brain, gives him tight embraces, holds his hand, and even mentions attending a traffic light party and wearing yellow, seemingly implying that he doesn't entirely know what their is relationship at this point. The number of moments in season 2 that made people scream in delight are nearly impossible to count. Here are a few notable ones. In "Backwards Pinky", Pinky often makes vaguely flirtatious comments about Brain, to which Brain responds in annoyance. In "The Flawed Couple", Pinky is seen in the first pilot playing a housewife to Brain in a similar situation to "Pinky's Dream House." Pinky's loyalty to Brain comes full circle in "Run Pinky Run" where he would do anything to save his best friend. "Happy Narfday" probably has some of the most obvious interactions including Pinky calling Brain "darling", Pinky moving Brain around and holding his hand, and even an adorable hug at the segment's end. Pinky compliments Brain and makes pleasant statements to him in "Plight of Hand" and "Mouse Madness"; in the former, he even fights against his own hands in order to save Brain. "Narf Over Troubled Water" was probably the most famous episode when it came to Brinky moments. There was just so much to comprehend at once; it's extremely difficult to try and mark down it all. Pinky comforting Brain after he starts doubting himself, Pinky coming back for Brain after their split-up, and that ENTIRE ending sequence were the most noticeable. These moments were impactful to Pinky's character as they showed his displays of affection and kindness and that their co-dependent relationship was not only important but entirely necessary to the franchise.

Pinky's Sexuality Confirmed? (Reboot Season 3): Below is a picture of Pinky posing in a seductive manner while Brain watches in annoyance. From the segment "How The Brain Thieved Christmas."

A clip of Pinky kissing Brain from "Groundmouse Day!"

A picture of a picture of Pinky kissing Brain from "How to: Friendship."

Pinky holds Brain by the shoulders in an attempt to steady him. From "How The Brain Thieved Christmas."

Pinky after Brain mentions the current situation being "too romantic." He heavily implies that he thinks that he and Brain are also in a romantic situation. I'm not kidding! From segment "Royal Flush."

Pinky is so proud of Brain for taking over the world. From episode "Groundmouse Day."

Pinky touches Brain's image on the screen in an precious manner! From "How to: Friendship."

Pinky holds Brain's hand tightly after destroying AI Julia (the entire moment will be shown when we get to Brain Week!). From episode "All's Fair in Love and Door."

Season three had easily the most on-the-nose segments when it came to hints at Brinky. This is also the season that confirmed to a lot of people that Pinky was not straight. In fact, if you were only to watch this season and nothing else, Pinky could be considered gay. Not only does he never mention a female love interest but he seems to have taken his flirty and more romantic tendencies with Brain to another level. There is an intimate interaction between the mice in every single episode, whether it be settle or extremely suggestive and obvious. Pinky in particular starts to showcase his feelings in a more outrageous way. These moments are just precious. In the first few segments, Pinky is seen doing various things, including staring at Brain, rubbing his head when he gets stressed, touching Brain's image on a screen, envisioning Brain in the stars, making an adorable macaroni photo of him kissing Brain, implying that he thinks that he and Brain are having a romantic moment, relying on Brain to calm him down in a car, and resting his head on Brain's head. The second half of the season showcases Brain seemingly responding to these actions in a not so settle manner (at least from an audience perspective). From Pinky kissing Brain goodnight in one of the most hyped-up moments from the entire reboot to Pinky getting somewhat jealous and hurt when he sees that Brain was married to Julia in an alternate world, these precious scenes come in abundance. The final four episodes contain more development for Brain than Pinky, but they're still noteworthy. In "All's Fair in Love and Door", Pinky looks very surprised when Brain sacrifices himself to save Pinky from AI Julia. After Pinky saves Brain in the end, he even holds Brain's hand tightly, much to the latter's surprise. "How The Brain Thieves Christmas" was more of an exploration of Brain than Pinky, but the taller mouse has some fun moments. He poses "seductively" in front of Brain when modeling for the toy. Pinky gives Brain a meaningful gift: the thing he needed to take over the world. Pinky even says "love you!" to Brain in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in the second part. The ending was also quite sweet with Pinky making a ton of gay stares and starting lots of embraces with Brain. In "International Mouse of Mystery", the whole song shows Pinky dropping essentially compliments towards his friend. Pinky also seemingly wants Brain to kiss him at one point, only for Brain to throw him away. Pinky is almost definitely at least some form of LGBTQ+ at this point, due to his relationship with Brain being very strong. Seeing these kinds of interactions between best friends, male best friends nonetheless, is interesting and unique. It makes their friendship/possible romantic relationship all the more special and this is why they have an extensive fanbase of people who really care for them.

Pinky is a Genderfluid Icon (An Overview from "Noah's Lark" to "International Mouse of Mystery"): Below is the very first time we see Pinky in a dress from segment "Noah's Lark" from the original Animaniacs.

Pinky in a dress inspired by the movie Gone With the Wind in episode "Brainie the Poo"

A collection of Pinky's many outfits from the Animaniacs reboot. These are from episodes "Mouse Congeniality", "Royal Flush", and "International Mouse of Mystery."

Pinky is honestly one of the most influential and important characters when it comes to gender identity and just being yourself, at least in the modern media. The running "joke" of him wearing dresses went from being a little gag in various episodes to being an actual part of his personality, revealing that it is something he enjoys quite a lot. And no one every belittles him for his decisions, especially Brain, who only gets annoyed with Pinky's actions rather than his appearance. In fact during some segments, Brain seems to have a reaction to Pinky's looks, especially in "Mouse Congeniality." While many characters characters have cross-dressed in old cartoon such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, they were usually to evade the capture of a foe. Pinky does this in a lot of plans, sometimes because he wants to, other times because it's necessary for the plan to work. He didn't have to dress up in "Royal Flush", but he chose to do so. That's amazing. He also doesn't dislike being referred to by she/her pronouns. At first, things didn't start out so revolutionary. Pinky's first time in a dress was in the Animaniacs segment "Noah's Lark." Rather than looking sophisticated, he looks like he's only wearing this as a disguise to go along with Brain's plan to sneak onto the ark. It's portrayed in a silly way, as if Pinky was forced to do this. He does this again in episode "Meet John Brain" when he tries to play the role of Brain's first lady. When the spin-off series was introduced, Pinky's feminine side was exposed in a more natural, less comical way. The dresses he wore were more elaborate, more colorful, and cuter. He'd be seen playing with lipstick in episode "Of Mouse and Man", showing that this was something he did for fun. After that, he can often be seen in dresses during various parody episodes, often playing the female character. He also posed as a female in episode "My Feldmans My Friends" alongside Brain as his spouse. However, in the song "The Really Great Dictator", Pinky is seen in a pink dress in what has become one of his most beloved appearances in dress. Not only does he not wear any makeup or wig for the very first time, but in the context of the song, Pinky didn't have to wear a dress at all. It was his personal decision, rather than one made by force. Despite wearing a ton of dresses, Pinky could rock the masculine wardrobe as well, being seen in suits, tuxedoes, sweaters, and swim trunks throughout the series. In Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain, Pinky would add more outfits and looks to his collection including he (and Brain!) wearing lipstick and earrings, a Hansen inspired getup, and of course, the well-known headscarf and apron from "Pinky's Dream House" which was discussed earlier. Pinky in dresses would become a popular part of the fandom; however no one was prepared for the glory that would be given in the reboot, around 22 years after Pinky was last seen in feminine clothing.

The reboot would give us incredible moments when it came to Pinky as a character. He could finally be himself and showcase all his marvelous beauty. The first instance of Pinky in an outfit was in season 2 episode "The Flawed Couple" where Pinky is seen in typical housewife attire for a parody of the show The Honeymooners. His most iconic, popular, and recognizable dress was in the episode "Mouse Congeniality" where Pinky joins in a beauty pageant to help Brain in a plan for world domination. Pinky outfit here goes all out, even to the point where Brain is impressed with his work. Pinky is seen here in a blonde wig, has purple eye shadow, long eyelashes, lipstick, a pink dress with sash, long pink gloves, and high-heeled shoes. This is perhaps his most elaborate outfit to date, with him sporting a completely new and impressive appearance. He is also seen in a few alternate costumes including a bikini (finally!) and a baby costume (I don't know you guys). Pinky even manages to win the pageant, albeit not by vote. Him winning the pageant is a very heartfelt and genuinely happy moment. Pinky stating that he wanted to be the most beautiful human woman on the planet was so precious and sweet. It also offers a great look at Pinky, showing that cross-dressing is something he genuinely enjoys and wishes to do. Even though he doesn't wear another dress throughout the rest of the season, Pinky will sometimes randomly have eyelashes or act in a feminine manner. It's so adorable. In season 3, Pinky continues to push and break boundaries, blessing us with two new looks, though they are similar to his previous outfit in "Mouse Congeniality." In "Royal Flush", Pinky is wearing a red version of his previous dress along with purple long gloves, high heels, and another blonde wig. In a few scenes towards the beginning, Pinky has eyelashes. However as the segment continued along, those disappeared permanently, leaving him again without any makeup. He still looks incredible though. It's quite intriguing to see Pinky without makeup in a dress because that hasn't been seen since the 90's. His final outfit comes from the segment "International Mouse of Mystery", which has also gotten some attention after a frame from this cold-opening was leaked in early February 2023. This outfit contains elements of the previous two looks with Pinky wearing a red dress, though it's a darker shade, having dark purple eyeshadow, eyelashes, lipstick, high heels, and a red wig. It's really cute how he tries to play the Bond girl seen in a lot of spy films and he looks really good. Throughout, the entire song portion (Pinky has an angelic voice), Pinky is seen in his getup with Brain even "saving" him at one point. It's super cool that even though three different studious animated these episodes (Digital eMation, Titmouse, Saerom), the dresses and design remained consistent. Though it would've been nice to see Pinky get more dresses to wear, the ones he got proved to be good enough to leave an impact on the community. Every time Pinky is seen in a dress, he's treated with an enormous amount of respect and is showered with praise from all angles. He is a genderfluid icon, and can be inspiring to people in the ways he expresses himself in such a natural way. Even if this show is forgotten, there remains some hope that Pinky will be remembered as an important figure in the realm of gender identity and positivity.

Conclusion: Overall, Pinky exemplifies true greatness when it comes to representation in the LGBTQ+ community. Even though things started off in a nuanced manner, things began to become more obvious as the series went along. Pinky began to showcase his feminine side, wearing dresses and makeup for enjoyment. His apparent attraction to Brain becomes more exaggerated in the reboot. It's so wonderful to see this kind of character in our ever-changing world. Even though most of this involves things that haven't been outright confirmed, it's still important to look though all this change and growth. There are a lot of individuals out there who could and do latch onto Pinky, including myself. While he may seem like a surface-level mouse at first, if you take a deeper look, you may find that he's not as simple as he appears. I hope you took something from this, whether it be some random person on Tumblr charting Pinky's relationship with Brain and with his character growth, or a bit of information you never knew. I look forward to continuing Pinky Week in high spirits. I'll be focusing on specific moments of character development in the next three installments, so be prepared. Anyways, have a great day and/or night and I'll see you next time! Narf!

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Midoriya's Harem and Adult Supervision

Welcome to: Midoriya’s Harem and Adult Supervision

Midoriya Izuku: WHY DID YOU NAME IT THIS?

Ashido Mina: AM I WRONG?

Midoriya Izuku: Mic is laughing at me right now as is Aizawa and Eri!

Sero Hanta: Eri knows about harems?

Midoriya Izuku:...

Midoriya Izuku: Given Eri chatted earlier and will spill around the school probably: Eri can kinda see/feel/remember stuff that hasn’t happened yet. She’s already talked about several time lines. 

Kaminari Denki: Oh cool.

Midoriya Izuku: ID, my work studies hero, says it’ll either be permanent or temporary. 

Ashido Mina: Will you help us figure out who good work study heroes would be? Pleeeeease?

Togata Mirio: Hey, firsties! Coming from us: don’t pick Uwabami unless you want to have media training.

Yaoyorozu Momo: Oh? Why not?

Togata Mirio: Oh, well- Neijire picked her the first year and got drafted into doing commercials. She asked why and it turns out Uwabami picks girls who either a) need a confidence boost or b) said red flags during media training class that need to be talked about.

Yaoyorozu Momo: Oh, well I was nominated and we received notes. Apparently, she thinks I could use a confidence boost… 

Togata Mirio: yeah don’t. She has her heart in the right place but she kinda hamfists it a bit you know? 

Ashido Mina: I got nominated to… and yeah it says ‘comments during media training were noted’. Oops.

Togata Mirio: yeah. She has a point, but she really needs to tell her interns it. She likes to play long games. 

Sero Hanta: You mean logical ruses.

Amajiki Tamaki: Yaoyorozu, I know Fatgum mentioned to me he was offering you an internship. I suggest you take it.

Yaoyorozu Momo: Hmm, he would help me out greatly. I will take his offer then! Thank you senpai.

Midoriya Izuku: Togata, how are you?

Togata Mirio: Dealing. That’s all I’ll say.

Midoriya Izuku: Okay.

…

Togata Mirio: So, after that awkward pause: random question to start us off: what is everyone’s sexuality?

Asui Tsuyu: I assume we’re all into men given the future. But you’re right: who is fully straight or even gay among us?

Kaminari Denki: You guys are right. Though why didn’t we do it in our old class chat?

Jirou Kyoka: Mineta

Kaminari Denki: Huh? He’s bisexual to?

Jirou Kyoka: why didn’t he creep on you guys then?!?

Kaminari Denki: that I don’t know. Maybe he prefers women. I know he likes guys cause we talked about it once. He’s just not AS fond you know?

Sero Hanta: I suddenly want to shower. I mean all of us like guys but like he was creepy.

Kaminari Denki: True. So is everyone else up for sharing?

Yaoyorozu Momo: I suppose. We might as well to inform each other and because I am curious. How common is it for everyone in a single class of 20 to be part of the LGBTQ? Assuming Bakugou is I mean.

Iida Tenya: I believe as well clarifying if we are poly may help as I overheard Sero and Ashido speaking of it and the future. Not to pressure anyone however.

Midoriya Izuku: Well I’m bisexual. I supposed I’m poly of sorts? I wouldn’t seek it out on purpose but I’m open to it? I’d prefer everyone in a relationship though. My mom has a horror story about some friends of her who did a V style poly that ended badly. 

Kaminari Denki: Ditto! Bi disaster and open to it but eh about trying to have it happen.

Sero Hanta: Pansexual and very poly. Open to monogamy though. 

Kaminari Denki: what’s the difference with bi and pan anyway?

Sero Hanta: I like the flag more.

Kaminari Denki: ha, nice.

Ashido Mina: Bisexual and poly! Or at least open to it! Thought like Midoriya I’d want to be in a relationship with everyone involved.

Sato Rikkido: Gay, and monogamous. 

Ashido Mina: Valid!

Togata Mirio: Bisexual and poly! 

Amajiki Tamaki: Gay and monogamous…

Tokoyami Fumikage: I am demisexual. Desires of the flesh take long to form though I do find people attractive aesthetically which draws my soul in.  The female and male body does this, while due to my curse of companionship I am poly.

Uraraka Ochako: I think most of us are poly or open to it. I am. I am also bisexual!

Asui Tsuyu: I am bisexual as well. However I am Monogamous. I have thought on it and do not like the idea of more then one partner.

Kirishima Eijiro: SO MANLY EVERYONE! I’m bisexual and monogamous to! My dads tried to be poly a while back and the train wreck sadly just solidified my thoughts on me not wanting that. It can work out! I have some aunts who did it! But I prefer to not risk it!

Jirou Kyoka: Oddly enough: I’m a woman leaning bisexual who is poly. 

Ashido Mina: Wait, really?

Jiro Kyoka: Yeah. I thought about it for a while but frankly guys rarely turn my head. It’s Midoriya and Aoyama in our class so far.

Aoyama Yuuga: Ah! My friend, I am bisexual and poly as well~ though I am the opposite and prefer men.

Ashido Mina: and your thoughts on Jirou hmmmm?!

Aoyama Yuuga: Ah, I like twunks and emos or goths so I am quite pleased. 

Midnight: Ohho! What’s this I have been added to?

Jirou Kyoka: Midnight is the adult supervision?

Midnight: well I am the sex and gender specialist at school and am very well versed in Queer relationships. Plus I am firm about consent in personal lives! So it makes sense. For those interested in my own life: I’ve been openly bisexual for years ❤️ continue on~

Iida Tenya: I am bisexual and open to poly as well

Jirou Kyoka: we’re just ignoring that?

Iida Tenya: Yes

Yaoyorozu Momo: Understandable. I am demisexual like Tokoyami, and not to sure about the poly question. 

Shouji Mezou: I’m gay and open to poly.

Kouda Kouji: Umm… I’m kinda just into people? Labels are weird. And monogamous. I don’t really wanna date so many people 😖

Ashido Mina: VALID.

Sero Hanta: yeah! Don’t worry dude.

Todoroki Shouto: I believe I am like Aoyama. I have been attracted to women and men but prefer the male form. As for multiple relationships I am unsure. Perhaps I am into it. I do not know.

Ashido Mina: your dad sucks. I mean I assume its why.

Kouda Koji: not everyone really knows though.

Todoroki Shouto: actually Endevaour might be a bastard but he’s very supportive of that stuff. I think he threatened my grandparents when they pushed my sister to marry a man despite her being a lesbian.

Ashido Mina: (meme of the Worst Person You Know has a Good Point)

Todoroki Shouto: what’s that?

Yaoyorozu Momo: Todoroki I’ve known you since we were children: don’t. 

Todoroki Shouto: But I get so much mileage…

Kaminari Denki: … ARE YOU TELLIBG ME THIS HUY KNOWS MEMES AND JUST FUCKSNWITH US?!?

Yaoyorozu Momo: Yes he does.

Todoroki Shouto: It’s fun.

Shinsou Hitoshi: huh, sounds like the hero course is really just full of assholes but funny ones.

Shinsou Hitoshi: Pansexual and poly btw. For me pan means I really just do not see gender. 

Hagakure Toru: guess I’m the token straight here! Only into men, and also I’m monogamous. Kinda boring I know.

Ashido Mina: What are you talking about?!? That’s not boring girl!!! 

Hagakure Toru: ♥️♥️♥️

Ojiro Mashiro: I won’t lie: I'm currently thinking about it. I thought I was straight until the sports festival. Gotta think about that now.

Ashido Mina: Midoriya is so cute he transcends sexualities!!! 

Monoma Neito: Obviously Midoriya is superior then you all. For those wondering I am gay and polyamorus though I doubt any of you can draw me in.

Ashido Mina: you literally were with Shinsou in one future but go off I guess.

Hatsume Mei: Sapiosexual and open to All!

Ashido Mina: Sapiosexual?

Yaoyorozu Momo: attracted to intelligence 

Hatsume Mei: Yep! If you aren’t smart I don’t care about you. Gotta have someone to help make my babies after all!!

Hatsume Mei: Midoriya! We need to get together to work in the support labs!! I want those baby making books!

Midoriya Izuku: How about after work studies? 

Hatsume Mei: Fiiiiiine. 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

-The Uwabami bit is kinda also from my ‘Izuku has multi soulmates’ story. I wrote it purely due to annoyance at a hundred Endeavour redemption fics, but like only one time having something nice for her. So here: she purposely goes after those who either need some confidence or need a lesson. She hides it to try and see reactions/if they figure it out. 

-... did this chapter do anything? Yes and no- it made it clear who’d potentially be in poly relationships… and also was just fun. If you guys want to see more of the future pairings, check bits and bobs.

-Ojiro would term himself ‘Queer’ in general. He considers himself straight mostly but he’s got a few exceptions such as Izuku and even Kaminari (though he doesn’t know that)

-Hagakure being straight was only cause I wanted one straight person and I have ideas for the others. I nearly made Tsu straight to but she gives off bisexual vibes so… yeah

[sp1tballz]

This ask is an excuse or prompt for you to infodump about your sv headcanons please I wanna hear it

ANON.... ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

God theres so many these r gonna be SO messy and unorganized and above all else, LONG. but let me do my bullet points

Whispered Faith

• Sean..................

• i already said this but sean he/she/it user

• Along with Lee's He/she/they

• Lee's polyam and gay, Sean's gay, and Mo's gay. gay men.

• Sean and Mo....arent on the best terms. obviously. Even before everything Mo was very. suspicious of Sean

• Sean didn't like Mo because it was jealous of him.

• Not fully because Mo had Lee's attention, which, Sean wanted, but also because in Sean's mind Mo was everything he wanted to be

• Strong, He had leadership skills, he was helpful above all else, AND him and Lee were inseparable. Sean hated it.

• He hated Mo

• When he found out that Lee was the keeper, he did feel a little bit of remorse. Who wouldn't after finding out the person you were hunting was one of your good friends

• He got over it fast, though. Especially when the Speaker promised him power. It went to his head. Fast.

• After he died, he and lee made up in the other world, Lee visits often, Sean waits for him.

• One time, Lee tried to bring Sean back. It worked.

• Sean was. DEVISTATED because he'd just been ripped from death and didn't know how to readjust to life. Especially after he'd given everything to the family, and they betrayed him. He had no one except for Lee

• And so he became clingy and wouldn't leave Lee's side.

• Lee didnt mind. ofc. Mo did.

• Mo was actually quite upset that Sean was back, especially after watching him die.

• He lets it be, though. For now.

• Until then, they go to stop the family together 🙏 god bless

Marble Hornets

• Brian!!!!!! He/it/ghoul (ghoul/ghouls/ghoulself) Polyam and Gay

• Tim's a he/she user Polyam and Bi

• Jay's He/they/she Polyam, Gay, and Asexual

• Alex is a he/she user in my head..,,

• Jessica She/They Lesbian

• this. correlates to me and my friends more than I thought it would 💀

• Anyway. Brian goes to the ark for the first time during the jam session, meets Skully, becomes horribly paranoid and suspicious of everyone around him but ESPECIALLY Alex

• He still trusts Tim with his life, though

• Tim's getting worse, he feels worse and his medication is /barely/ working

• Jay's trying to help Alex anyway he can. He's definitely struggling with it

• Eventually Brian disappears, Tim moves on from production, and Jay is zapped away to the ark

• When he comes back, he finds the tapes Alex gave him, looks through them, he tries to find Tim, Brian, Alex, Seth, or Sarah, or anyone else who worked on producing Marble Hornets

• The only one that gets back to him is Tim, obviously

• You guys know what happens from there <3

• Lets do a massive jump. After Jay's shot, and Brian's pushed, and Tim kills Alex, he manages to get Jay and Brian to the hospital before he himself passes out

• It's the first time he's seen Brian in years, both of them are super antsy around eachother, but especially Brian.

• Tim notes he seems... different.

• He's not bright or cheery like he used to be. He's not happy, he's not Brian.

• It's. offputting to say the least. Brian's quiet, he stays to himself.

• When they're released, Jay and Tim start living together. Tim wants to offer it to Brian, after all that's been their goal since they were kids.

• He figures Brian wouldn't want that, though. And he's right, Brian's scared of making things worse again.

• After all, what is he but a screw up.

• So Brian lives alone, while Tim and Jay are together. It's fine, everything is normal.

Everymanhybrid

• Evan He/him Bisexual Polyam

• Vinnie He/they Pansexual Polyam

• Jeff he/she Bisexual Polyam

• Ready for this? Habit is CANONICALLY he/she/it <3

• Giggling because above all else all of my thoughts are on Habit I HATE HIM BUT I CANT. PHYSICALLY STOP THINKING ABT H

• Aroace, but he's been married many many many many MANY times

• The Operator, Patrick Anderson, Lexx WhisperedFaith, The Observer, Candleverse Jeff, Vinnie, etc,

• He gets around

• Anyway- He has things planned out exactly how he wants them to go, from beginning to end. He gets the other creatures of the ark to help him, he's a strategist and the game's mastermind

• He'd love danganronpa btw lmao...

• Also his cameraman is the observer... they have a thing going on i stg

this is all im doing for now i'll do more later if given specific characters ... <3

[inkystaarart]

the lineups of my daydreamer au aka my highschool au i drew while watching yhs

these are just the sketches of the first few profiles i had written in my notes. i did a few sketches like 2 months ago basically introducing the sibling pairs but i’ll explain the characters drawn here better.

keep in mind these are all pretty much headcannons. i built this kind of like TommyInnit Changed the Chat to GENDER SMP

(this is a very long post)

Grian Xequla Dreamslayer

he/they/star/chirp pronouns

bisexual (i might change this later?)

student council. basically boatem and a few others are on the student council with mumbo as president (at first)

avian/watcher. he has an improved eyesight and he can occasionally see through walls.

flock: mumbo, scar, pearl, etho, timmy, martyn, big b, and joel (joel is not official yet)

orchetra kid. he plays the viola.

Pearl Moon Dreamslayer

she/void/star

queer

student council

dating gem.

avian/watcher. can see through walls some days. or see people’s skulls. it’s funny. sometime she just says “you have a nice skull” to someone without context and scars them for life. (basically context for that one obscure pearl post i made a few months ago)

genderfae!

flock: grian, gem, impulse, jimmy, martyn, big b

Jimmy Solidarity Dreamslayer

he/it/feather

bisexual

he’s an avian/watcher. although he got mostly avian genes. sometimes he has improved eyesight but usually he doesn’t. depends on the day. he’s the least watcher out of all of them.

flock, pearl, grian, joel (not official), scott, martyn, big b

on the school’s swim team. based on empires s1 since he was a cod boy? idk i didn’t watch that season from his pov

he looks up to grian. i actually can’t mention a lot of what i put in this paragraph on my notes app because it reveals a shit ton about grian’s backstory and i’d rather hurt you on ao3 in a few months. if you do read.

Mumbo K. Jumbo

he/it/gear/zero

unlabeled

student council president! he was sick when everyone voted for president so he was president

etho’s twin.

likes to study end crystals!

Etho Slab Jumbo

they/echo/daze

aceflux

mumbo’s twin

really good friends with grian because i love their dynamic. mumbo sometimes gets jealous

dated joel in middle school

orchestra kid. he plays the cello

in the sparring club at school. practically the best sparring person there.

Scar Goodtimes Smajor

he/it/meow/fizz

omnisexual

student council. he’s in charge of designing school merch

fey

scott and scar are irish twins. they’re in different school years for story purposes.

favorite sport is archery. if you know you know

orchestra kid. plays the violin.

Scott Chromia Smajor

he/color/lucid/ve

gay

does not have a favorite color. loves them all equally.

collects crystals

Bdubs Smajor

he/moss/thorn

questioning. or unlabeled queer.

clings to etho and cleo a lot. calls them dad and mom.

Fail Whip “Fwhip” Tay

he/it/gold

demisexual

he’s adopted into gem’s family. and also random headcannon: gem and fwhip have two moms. they’re cool like that.

Gemini “Gem” Tay

she/they/daisy/thorn

bisexual

dating pearl

band kid. plays the trombone.

False Symmetry Shadow

she/they/it/wing

pansexual, polyamorous

dating cleo and stress

in the sparring club at school. wins a lot. except against etho.

shapeshifter. she can change what hybrid or species she appears as, just not her physical humanoid details (if that makes sense) she usually appears as an avian but without the wings.

Lizzie Shadow

she/xe/meow

bisexual

dating joel

shapeshifter. she switches between a fish lady (for when she swims) and a cat hybrid. someday i’ll better explain how the shadow family’s shape shifting powers work

joel acts tough and like he can protect her but lizzie defends him in fights and everyone is scared of lizzie but not joel because joel is short

dyed her hair pink. joel helped her and then lizzie convinced him to do a green streak in his hair

on the school swim team

orchestra kid. plays either the bass or the viola. depends.

Tango Tek Shadow

he/ve/sun

polysexual

most of my notes on him are for his future relationship

shapeshifter. takes the form of a demon/netherborn

Impulse SV Daemonium

he/they/demon

gay

skizz’ twin

skizz calls him piss demon because his horns, the tips of his ears, and his tail are colored yellow

Skizz MC Daemonium

he/him

straight

i legit wrote “single. not ready to mingle. never will be” in his notes.

this concludes part one.

[hexonthepeach]

fic info & requests

hi, i’m ash and i enjoy writing ridiculous erotica in my free time

i write primarily for nct with a focus on nct 127 (ults: johnny, jaehyun close biases/wreckers: jungwoo, doyoung, ten, haechan, yangyang but i adore everyone ot22) with no current plans to expand into other content although i do love and listen to a large number of other kpop groups and solo artists and enjoy rpf for other bgs

my fic tics (and tropes):

i write y/n reader self-insert and consider it a universalizing genre, i may specify things like size difference for fic purposes but will tag gendered terms and actively avoid anything discriminating (please let me know if anything rubs you the wrong way by ask (anon is ok) and i’ll correct it) 

pansexual/bisexual agenda - i don’t state sexualities often so this should just be assumed

polyamory and reverse harem, not always but often with m/m - i don’t write exclusive m/m often but i appreciate it and it’s very much a possibility in my aus (and will always be tagged)

heavily researched world-built aus - this won’t be as apparent on tumblr but check my AO3 notes. my fics take a long time to construct primarily because i’m autistic and need like three months to make sure which aftershave was popular in 1981 before i post so please bear with me

hardcore, pornographic, kink-heavy smut - if i haven’t written it into an au, it will happen eventually. i’m an erotica writer first even if i sometimes write feelings

i abide by YKINMK, if i haven’t tagged something properly let me know and i will add it without any repercussion, but i also ask you respect any tags i include because as much of a fan as i am of negotiating consent i will also read/write/post noncon/dubcon, incest, and a number of other harder subjects (as always, and forever, tagged)

ask rules and request guidelines:

asks:

i accept any and all head canons related to my work or aus

short requests or prompts for drabbles are very welcome and answered when i have time (may take ~1-2 weeks)

my favorite thing in the world are song recommendations (kpop or not!) so please, please, please send me any you thought of while reading my work or as inspo. in fact, send me anything - it means a lot to me 

fic or author recs are also my jam and reblogged once i have the energy for review (non-nct on my main: @loveholicsanon but send a they/them your faves i’m open to anything)

please no asks related to personal info besides what’s been stated on my blog

absolutely zero tolerance for hate for members or other groups i don’t have the energy for it and i abide by a don’t yuck anyone’s yum policy when it comes to everything because i’ve been on the internet way too long and know where that leads

dnr/dnw

underage

untagged noncon/dubcon or gore/violence/bodyhorror (note: i do read/write these subjects but will always respect guidelines for consent and ask the same in return) 

real life idol aus

nct dream centered fic (i have a hardline t-rating for chenle, renjun, & jisung but will include them as accessories)

commissions: no plans to accept at this time

tag list: i’m open to starting one but honestly i’m also old and haven’t used tumblr in a while so you can just trust this blog will mostly be fic and fic recs

thanks again for reading and interacting, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns at any time

[pluralsword]

This is a complicated topic for which there is not a single simple answer. We will instead give a nuanced one:

-there is a reason for the rise of the modern distinguishment between sapphic and lesbian, wherein sapphics mostly prefer gals and gal adjacent folks and will date e.g. nonbinary people and only sometimes date men, whereas lesbians won't date people who are solely men.

-what do nonbinary people who only want to date women and off the binary people call themselves, if not lesbians?

-polygender and/or genderfluid people who experience multiple genders including being a gal and a guy at the same or different times are still gals, yknow. there's nothing wrong with them calling themselves lesbians.

-there is an often noted experience of heterosexual people dating someone and then they realize they're trans and their gender is different, so the het folks if still attracted and understanding themselves as otherwise het say 'my orientation is to [insert gender] and attraction to you.' speaking from experience, real life long term relationships between gender expansive people are complicated. the partner we dated the longest would sometimes ask us during the first year if we would dump them if they realized themselves as a trans man. we told them of course we wouldn't. is there anything wrong with a lesbian dating someone who figured out they're only a man later in the relationship? no.

-some trans men are not comfortable with the idea of being heterosexual, and frankly by their own accord are not. this isn't just talking about nonbinary trans men. This is also talking about lesbian as a gender or part of one. Orientation and gender or lacks thereof inform each other. This website by a transmasc person has a really good explanation of this, it's beautiful

-for some context, we are collectively a trans gal/xenogender-parallel (this is an oversimplication) plural system. Our eldest headmate is a t4t sapphic and thus is extremely unlikely to ever date a man who isn't transmasc or an equivalent or polygender and also comfortable being dated by a lesbian (ie cis men are off the table) and even if she wasn't t4t that would be the case... because well, a lot of our system is composed of sapphics and lesbians, and um, for some of us, the contexts we are used to are worlds and memories where the cisgender category or something like didn't exist in our societies, because gender/aesthetic neutral and aesthetically informed socialization was a big part of growing up for everyone (and thats not even getting into semi-deliberate body formation stuff in the first few weeks of life). sure not everyone's trans in those contexts but nobody is cis. the term we coined for the sake of our fanfic writing to get that across is launch while we work on original fiction. for the record we dont use human gender/aesthetic system models in any of our writing for aliens, they (including alien robots) either have elaborate alien gender systems in our more hard scifi orig cont and original fiction stuff have alien aesthetic systems with their own terms and pronoun variation if the latter exists which we personally enjoy (we do use a gender assemblage and trans theory lens to approach expressing these)- and as such all of these folks have words for same-aesthetic/same-gender attraction but they are not gay or lesbian etc. they have their own terms with their own histories and meanings. so a lot of us dont even fit the -straight -bisexual -lesbian -gay -pansexual discussion just as we don't fit a gender discussion but most certainly do have equivalents of genders that we've named and iterated and adore (hilariously we do fit the gray scale ace-aro stuff pretty well there's just a lot of add-ons) because ultimately in human terms a signifcant number of us are t4t and while as a system we can agree to the idea of dating a cis gal we have yet to do that. everyone we've dated out of system has been gender expansive, trans or no, or at the very least spent a significant portion of the relationship understanding themselves as not cis

-we find the tendency of cis guys to joking about and saying they want to date lesbians at best as something that makes us want to ask them 'so are you really just a cis guy' or 'do you know what sapphic means within the last 20 years' but often is rather alarming and gross -

-but for the cases that are not some misogyny power dynamic thing, where its from people not familiar with terminology who then are willing to learn and recognize that lesbians are not in their dating pool, we've noticed that it in part has to do with the perception of lesbians as a kind of gender variation of women that to them is beautiful. its the same sort of awe one can have for someone in drag / a drag king, queen, monarch, etc. and attraction even if one isn't going to date one.

-on that thought of lesbianism as a gender-orientation thing, we think sword lesbians and lumberjack lesbians are a great example of where the aesthetic experience of material and technique modification of self expressed through actions and words and frankly euphoria therein has a clear linkage between orientation and gender. the same goes for butch lesbians yknow, and we think that's fair to say of femmes and the whole lesbian-sapphic spectrum too! it's part of our history!

this is just what we have to say on it as people who have spent much of our life together learning about gender and orientation and power dynamics including in the context of history, war, politics, diplomacy, art, and philosophy in order to be epistemically free of the patriarchy and keep it from bringing us down, and to figure ourselves out and maybe share what we can with people along the way.

“we need more weird queers” you guys can barely handle nonbinary lesbians

[twistmusings]

"Poly"

Ok a question, who do you think would be a good poly group weather with Yuu(Mc) and with each other.Would you go bye Dorms or years?

Interesting question! I would probably go as a whole, honestly! Here are my thoughts.

What would good polyamorous groups be for the NRC boys + MC?

CW: Polyamory (in case that may be a trigger), canon x canon, a lot of this also depends how you view the MC.

Note: This assumes that this would happen post graduation from NRC and after everyone is in their mid-twenties.

MC x Ace X Deuce

They might argue a lot, but it's clear that Ace and Deuce care about each other AND MC. I feel like this is arguably one of the poly ships that would probably happen pretty easily given that they spend so much time with each other. Plus I feel like MC would do great at helping the two of them to see eye to eye better than they can alone.

Every poly ship is gonna require some work, of course, and this one would be no difference. Headcanon time: I have always seen Ace as being closeted Bisexual or Pansexual and having a lot of hesitation about admitting that, both to himself and others. That's definitely one hurdle he would have to work through dating both of them, but I feel like Deuce and the MC would be willing to work with him to work down some of those prejudices and gain a better, more mature understanding of himself.

It would balance itself out in time, and I think it would eventually work out to be a very stable, fun, supportive relationship for all three of them. They get to know that no matter what, their two significant others have their back.

MC x Deuce x Epel

This is a fun one. Deuce and Epel already have a pretty good connection so far as understanding each other's frustrations. I feel like it would be a very relaxing relationship for the MC because they are already pretty good at talking things out with each other.

There is definitely a bit of internalized homophobia in Epel to start with, but being in Pomfiore and having Vil as his dorm leader means he's started to work on his ideas of gender even if he's not there yet. Deuce is more ready to embrace the feminine than Epel and I feel like he would give good perspectives on how it's beneficial to just embrace it.

Epel and Deuce are firecrackers, so while the MC is very safe from people harassing them, they're probably going to have yo figure out a good way to talk them down from actually fighting someone.

It's a very tender sort of relationship. In the quiet of their own home, there's a lot of gentle touches and affection with each other. Every party would feel very treasured.

MC x Epel x Jack

This is a similar sort of vibe to how a poly ship with Epel and Deuce is: they're very affectionate when they're in private and already get along with each other well.

Also Epel kind of already asked Jack on a date in canon that is just never addressed (lmao).

The work that will definitely have to go into this relationship is not only Epel's internalized homophobia, as mentioned before. Jack is pretty sure he's monogamous. He thinks. Or at least he DID think until he realized he had feelings for two people. He's not going to know how to approach a poly relationship in the slightest, and he's definitely going to need his partners to be patient while he figures out how to balance his time and work out how to not feel jealous or like he's cheating on them with the other.... Despite the fact that they're all dating each other. It's a nearly brand new concept for him.

Jack is very much a grounding presence, so I feel like he's a good mediator for Epel's quick anger.

Jack is a very affectionate lover, so he probably ends up being in the middle of most of their snuggling.

MC x Azul x Jade

Oh BOY this one would be pretty wild. I feel like Azul and Jade compliment each others energies well, and they are probably both aware of their mutual interest in the MC before they are. I honestly feel like this would probably click into place because they would both try to woo the mc, get caught competing with each other, and then the MC is like ".... why not both?"

I wouldn't call them hurdles, perse, but I feel like they compliment each other in different ways. Azul is excellent at home keeping and taking care of the monetary side of things (often with Jades assistance), the MC is good at helping to keep Jade from pushing Azul's buttons too hard since they've known each other so long, and Jade is good at making both of them feel appreciated.

I feel like Azul and MC definitely both get picked on just a little by Jade. Not in the mean way, but he likes playing with them both. He's good at keeping them on their toes and making things interesting.

There is a slight downside in that because Jade and Azul have known each other so long, it can very much feel like the MC is third wheeling an old married couple. It's usually more entertaining than anything, thankfully, and they do go out of the way to try and keep the MC from feeling that way as much as possible.

MC x Leona x Vil x Malleus

Speaking of wild ones....... Good luck. Not to say that it's impossible, but boy these three love to pick on each other. It's easy for that to slip into actual fighting, but on the other hand it could also work out to being great chemistry. Somehow it seems like despite them all dating, there still manages to be a ridiculous amount of sexual tension between them so for better or worse most arguments end in the bedroom.

More seriously, this would definitely take the most work out of any of the ships mentioned so far. Yes it can work, but it does take effort on everyones part to actually try and work through it together, and they all definitely have their own things to work through.

Vil is vain. He wants attention, so it's very easy for him to feel left out or excluded when the attention isn't on him. Of course he knows they love him, but support goes a long way to making him more comfortable sitting with those uncomfy feelings and realizing that they ARE irrational.

Malleus is sheltered and tends to get in his feelings and not talk them out effectively. He wants to spend his time with his partners in the best way he can, but it's going to take teaching and patience for him to be ready to be honest about how he's feeling.

Leona chronically feels like he's not good enough and like it's not worth putting in the effort to things he cares about because it's only a matter of time before the floor falls out from under him... Again. It's a sort of self sabotage he does a lot, and aside from support and assurance it's not something anyone can make go away.

MC is... Well, they're dating two princes and a movie star. Of course they're going to face a lot of backlash and comparison to fans or people who don't feel like they deserve the love of the three of them. Their partners will go to war for them, but it's definitely not great for their mental health to have to engage with that negativity, so they will also need support to help them get through it.

That being said, if they put the work in, I definitely see it being good for all of them. With the long-term support they need from each other (and hopefully therapy, jesus christ), it will help them grow together as people and work through some of their issues.

They also all bring their own merits to the relationship: Leona is good at being unabashedly passionate and chasing something he wants, Malleus is good at setting up gestures of his appreciation and bringing good vibes, Vil is good at helping them feel good about themselves and their appearance, and the MC is good at being a level head and listening ear.

Also not to be NSFW but the sex would be phenomenal.

Tldr: it would take a ton of work to make it work, but it would be very, very worth it.

MC x Kalim x Jamil

Hey you remember what I said about the last one taking work? Yeah well throw that out the window, if you want to talk about work that would be THIS one.

Clearly Kalim and Jamil have more than a few things that they need to work through as people before this relationship would even be a possibility. That being said, if we are talking about the two of them after a LOT of growing as people and on more equal footing as people, I definitely feel like the chemistry could be there.

A relationship with them would take effort on everyone's part, but especially Jamil and Kalim. That being said, Kalim IS willing to put in the work to learn to take care of himself and be more self sufficient to take the burden off of Jamil's plate. Jamil is going to have to learn to stop feeling obligated to do things or take charge all of the time because it's something he's been doing his whole life. And the MC definitely will need to learn to navigate the complex history between them and how they fit in.

Do I think it could work? Yes, but there will definitely be some highs and lows and that's just the fact of the matter. So long as they can give each other space and then support when they need it, it would work out to be amazing and deeply cathartic. Sticking out the tough parts make for a much more stable relationship than I think any of them would expect. Especially when they work together.

That's a lot of explanation, so for now I'll just shoot off some of the other TWST poly ships I could see working well: Riddle x Trey x Cater OR Riddle x Trey x Cater x Floyd, Leona x Malleus x Vil (with much of the same caveats I already listed), Azul x Jade x Trey, Lilia x Idia x Azul.

[transmasc-wizard]

WIP INTRO: Moonlit Blood (aka gfw1)

Genre: epic fantasy

Age range: YA (13+)

Themes: autonomy | trust | toxic family | friendship | kindness | loneliness | being used | found family

POV: third person past tense, 5 rotating narrators

About:

Five teens, each with a myriad of different terrible decisions holding them afloat, are forced to work together when they discover that they are prophesized to either save the world or end it. Their best chance to save it? Kill each and every royal who is trying to make the world burn. When they score invitations to the most prestigious ball of the year--at which everyone who's anyone will be attending--they know they have no other options.

Because when the clock hits midnight in just three years, sleeping evil will awake, and they will have no choice but to fight.

Some other bits of information: Moonlit Blood is a placeholder name for what I've been calling "gfw1". It's a Cinderella retelling. It's incredibly queer. It's the first in a five book series. Later on in the series, it's a dystopian fantasy. The tag for it on my blog is "wip gfw1".

TW/CWs: genre-appropriate violence, child abuse, murder, familial death (in the past), mild cursing, mild romance, toxic family, depression, panic attacks, fire/arson, car crashes. (Word of warning: there are probably more, these are just what I can think of now.)

(Main) Narrators:

Angel, she/they. 15/16ish, asexual lesbian, nonbinary, necromancer, thief, selfish, stubborn, anxious, fast, depressed.

Bea, she/her. 15/16ish, pansexual, prophet, compassionate, ADHD, writer, daydreamer, likes people, Angel's ex best friend.

Hope, they/them (mainly). 16ish, genderfluid, ex-god, quiet, autistic, bisexual, runaway royal, curious, lonely, reckless.

Corey, he/him. 16/17ish, trans guy, gay, logical, analytical, stubborn, autistic, blunt, bad liar, good at math, (secretly) kind, likes cats.

Oliver, he/him (mainly). 16/17ish, nonbinary, demisexual bisexual, book nerd, autistic & ADHD, Corey's ex best friend, introvert.

Other Important Characters:

Tasya (she/her): aroace, dragon enthusiast, 17ish, general voice of reason, Angel's friend.

Rowan (she/her): antagonist (for now...), bi aro, assassin, 17ish, cold, cunning, desperately lonely.

Tiff (she/her): asshole extraordinaire, sorry excuse for a 'mentor', somewhere between 20 and 200.

Vanya (he/him): Hope's friend, trans, acespec pan, spy-in-training, schizotypal (among other things), history nerd, 17ish, ex-prince.

~

Current Taglist: @e-the-village-cryptid, @timelybees, @stormharbors, @citywillow, @strawberrie-faerie, @void-fireworks, @pigeontnt, @phonenixistrans, @dauntlessshadowice1, @rose-bookblood, ask to be +/-.

A note: while I do post about this WIP often, it will be less focused on in January as I will be drafting something else.

[stanlunter]

You know, you can call yourself whatever on Earth you want by trying to avoid the labels based on gender and etc

But what you're saying kinda goes against your own wish. Pansexuality, just like bisexuality, also exists based on genders and happens to be...the same exact thing. And, you have said before, that you don't like the definition of "having no preferences" as a recognization of existence of the genders. But even if we look at the definitions of pansexuality, they say "attraction regardless of genders/to all genders" and "attraction with no preference" which means the same thing you tried to avoid - bisexuality and bisexuality without preferences. Which seems pretty... pointless. That's like, you say you don't like that sexualities are based on gender/sex, while pansexuality would have this problem regardless of if you consider it as bisexuality or a different sexuality. So this doesn't even make any sense, if I got your problem correctly

At the same time, you just made up that bisexuality has to be related to genders only to not be like this. But not having a connection with gender is something super common for a lot of bisexuals. It just seems like you don't wanna be associated with this, even if you're included in it. Ig that's your personal problem, since before you described that you're uncomfortable with it bc a lot of bisexuals are attracted to genetalias? Istg, I didn't want to discuss it on Tumbler with people I don't even know, but gotta say, I can be related to it, because I do not find them attraction at all and do not understand people who are attracted exclusively to them, which doesn't mean I can't be attracted to people regardless of their gender, bc they're the same to me (which doesn't mean I can't have a type tho, bur it isn't based on gender or sex, but on personality, style and other stuff)

And that's like, almost no one thinks about the gender of the person they like. Just like a popular idiotic say that "pans love the soul, others love the genitails", which is just bullshit

When straight people are falling in love with someone, they don't think it has to be an opposite gender, they just fall in love, but just everyone who they fall in love with happens to be the opposite gender. But basically no one thinks about it. It's mostly common for those, who are not sure in their sexuality and want to find it out, so they have to "note" the gender of their crush to be sure about their sexuality. But when they know their sexuality for sure and don't question it, they also don't think about the gender itself

Especially it works with bisexuality. When I wasn't sure about my sexuality I had to question myself every time I had a crush on someone, bc of the imposed heterosexuality. But when I fully recognized my sexuality and stopped caring about society, I stopped caring about the genders themself and questioning myself about how I like girls and boys. I just like people who happened to to have genders, but those genders themselves don't matter. They're just some facts that I know, but they don't affect me, they just exist

"Why do people call all pan characters bisexual?" well, probably bc pansexuality is the same thing as bisexuality?? And bisexual people are tired of biphobia and pretending like there is a difference

Bisexuality is attraction regardless of gender. Some Bisexuals do have preferences, some don't

Pansexuality means exactly the same thing. All attempts to say the difference between these two is always just a straight up biphobia

Everyone who is attracted to men and women is bisexual and people have a right to call everyone who is attracted to men and women bisexual. Just like people can call a woman who loves only women a lesbian or a man who loves only men a gay, or those who are attracted only to the opposite sex heterosexual

And removing this right form bisexual people is nothing but biphobia

People are really so afraid of calling themselves bisexual that they have made up millions of idiotic names for bisexuality and It's a real problem (pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual, abroaexual, gaybian...and every other non-existed sexuality that actually is just BIsexuality)

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Ever since pansexuality entered the mainstream, people have worked tirelessly to separate it from bisexuality so that the two are completely different. However, virtually every way they try to do this proves false and erases swaths of bisexuals — and sometimes even pansexuals. As I’ll demonstrate, there is no legitimate way to contrast the two in terms of attraction. There may be perceived differences in how certain factors play into our desire, but these are differences among self-identified bisexuals and pansexuals — not between them, with all bisexuals feeling one way and all pansexuals feeling another.

Essentially, they describe the same sexuality. “Pansexual” is to “bisexual” as “lesbian” is to “gay woman” and “homosexual woman.”

Before We Begin

Disclaimers

All definitions of pansexuality I list here are ones that I’ve see pansexuals use to differentiate themselves from bisexuals. If you think I’m “cherry-picking,” let me know which definitions I missed instead of simply accusing me. Also, if it matters, I used to identify as pansexual.

Differences between individuals who identify with either label don’t demonstrate a fundamental difference between the orientations themselves. Again, differences between people do not define an entire category or experience. No identity is monolithic, and we should stop treating them as such.

This is not a demand that pansexuals drop their label, but rather a criticism of those who insist pansexuality is somehow not bisexuality. Many people feel they have the right to tell bisexuals to identify as pansexual instead, and it’s incredibly frustrating.

Who vs. How

Many people distinguish pansexuality from bisexuality not via which genders they find attractive, but how they experience that attraction. Such separations pose problems because:

These experiences are individual, not universal. People who don’t identify with the new term still experience things defined by it, and people who do identify with it will not always share that specific experience. Thus they’ll disagree with your distinction as it alienates them. It’s unrealistic and offensive to assign a single experience to an entire identity. While one can confidently say that all self-identified gay men are predominantly (when not exclusively) attracted to men, one can’t say that all bisexuals have gender preferences.

Sexual orientation is about who (i.e., which genders) you’re attracted to, not how. That is how it’s defined. It isn’t practical to create categories based on how someone experiences attraction because the “how” isn’t cohesive; everyone has different experiences. Not to mention, it simply isn’t significant compared to the “who” of it; others can’t detect the “how.” Bisexuals aren’t oppressed for finding gender insignificant or having a preference for men; we’re oppressed for liking men and women. Identifying oneself primarily based on the “how” creates an individualistic notion of sexuality that can’t be displayed or legally protected.

Sexuality is complicated — and still political. Orientation is a vast taxonomic category, with vast themes and shared experiences. These experiences include privilege and oppression concerning not only the individual but how society perceives and responds to their existence. “Straight,” “gay,” and “bisexual” are not merely identities; they’re legal categories and positions in an oppressive power dynamic.

Now, some people do distinguish pansexuality from bisexuality based on the “who.” However, it isn’t possible to accurately do this, either, and it’s almost always bigoted in some way. We’ll look at both the “who” and the “how” distinctions and see how they manifest. But first, let’s remember some definitions of bisexuality, courtesy of the American Institute of Bisexuality.

What Is Bisexuality?

Quoted directly from the American Institue of Bisexuality (AIB):

Please also note that attraction to both same and different means attraction to all. Bisexuality is inherently inclusive of everyone, regardless of sex or gender.

In everyday language, depending on the speaker’s culture, background, and politics, that translates into a variety of everyday definitions such as:

Attraction to men and women

Attraction to all sexes or genders

Attraction to same and other genders

Love beyond gender

Attraction regardless of sex or gender

Some important points to note:

A bi person may be attracted to different sexes or genders in different ways.

A bi person may be attracted to different sexes or genders more than others.

A bi person may be attracted to different sexes or genders at some times and not others.

Additionally, we’ve been describing ourselves as being attracted regardless of gender for decades.

The “Who”

Pansexuals claim they’re not bisexual because…

“They’re Attracted to Transgender People”

There are cisgender bisexuals in relationships with transgender people and transgender bisexuals (such as myself). Bisexual communities have often been safe spaces for transgender people, and our activists have advocated for transgender rights and inclusion for decades.

Of course, plenty of cisgender bisexuals are transgender-exclusionary, but this is true for straights, gays, and lesbians, too. Transphobes come in all sexualities. We should stop acting like transphobic bisexuals should be the dominant voice of the bisexual community. (If one needs a more in-depth explanation on why denying attraction to transgender people is transphobic, click here.)

Believing that other sexualities are only attracted to cisgender people is cisnormative and transphobic. By stating attraction “towards men, women, and transgender people,” one implies that transgender men and women aren’t men and women. However, cisgender gay men in relationships with transgender men are still gay, cisgender lesbians in relationships with transgender women are still lesbians, and cisgender bisexuals in relationships with transgender people are still bisexual. Transgender people have always been around, and people have been attracted to us no matter their sexuality.

Rather than dispel the myth that we’re undesirable, many have decided that willingness to date or sleep with us requires a whole new label. This supposed necessity for one implies that we’ve never existed before or that no one was ever attracted to us before now, which is clearly false.

The notion that attraction to a transgender person automatically makes someone pansexual is odd enough. Back when I was gay, I only dated other transgender men. Does my attraction to my transgender partners mean I was actually pansexual, despite my complete lack of interest in women at the time? No, it doesn’t. It’s frankly odd to assume that transgender people, if we aren’t pansexual, automatically exclude other transgender people from our dating pool. It’s a very ciscentric view of sexuality.

The “I date transgender people” description of pansexuality lets transphobes off the hook for their beliefs, whether they revolve around aversion or fetishism. There are also straights, lesbians, and gays who claim to not be attracted to us, but did we coin new terms for those who do acknowledge their attraction to us? No. Someone doesn’t need to outwardly say, “I’m open to dating transgender people,” to communicate that openness; we should treat that as a given. Attempting to appear different by announcing one’s attraction to us reinforces dehumanizing assumptions about us.

Even if claiming to not be attracted to transgender people wasn’t transphobic, it is still problematic to act like “people not attracted to transgender people” and “people attracted to transgender people” are two distinct sexualities. These two categories have nothing to do with which genders someone is attracted to. It would make just as much sense as having sexual orientations for “attraction to short people” and “attraction to tall people.”

“They’re Attracted to Nonbinary People”

One can essentially take what I said about attraction to transgender people and apply it here.

“Nonbinary” is not just one gender — it’s an umbrella term for numerous experiences with gender. Even if one defines bisexuality as “attraction to men and women,” nonbinary wo/men exist. Furthermore, unaligned nonbinary identities (e.g., “agender,” “neutrois”) are included in all sexualities, and it’s not actually possible to deny attraction to the “nonbinary” category as our identities are largely individualistic. (I explain this in much more depth here). Ergo, bisexuality, in the abstract, is attraction to the entire gender continuum.

The categories “men” and “women” include all body types, gender expressions, and most gender experiences. There is no appearance, behavior, or presentation that a nonbinary person can have that a man or woman can’t, even if we view men and women through a cisnormative lens. As attraction is subconscious, albeit also socialized, bisexuals who deny attraction to people who aren’t cisgender are more so declaring a lack of willingness to enter relationships with them, usually due to misconceptions about nonbinary identity.

It’s impossible to define sexualities around nonbinary folks, especially when some unaligned nonbinary people identify as straight or gay. It becomes more useful to navigate sexuality with a subtractive approach. As an example, lesbianism is attraction to genders that are not male-aligned. Since bisexuality is also defined as “an orientation for which sex and gender are not a boundary to attraction,” it does not inherently exclude any identities. It would remain attraction to all genders, no matter how many genders we recognize.

“What About Bisexuals Who Aren’t Interested in Dating Transgender/Nonbinary People?”

Some lesbians who date transgender/nonbinary women and others don’t; they’re both still lesbians. Being transmisogynistic doesn’t even stop someone from being attracted to transgender women.

We need to cease acting as though it’s possible or beneficial to define sexualities around transgender/nonbinary people, or that the difference between openness and rejection is enough for a new identity. If we don’t need two gay identities where one denotes “attraction only to cisgender men” and the other denotes “attraction to men regardless of assigned gender,” there’s similarly no need to act like bisexuals who date transgender/nonbinary people are a different sexuality from bisexuals who don’t.

Something else notable, as pointed out by activist Verity Ritchie:

I have seen a few bisexuals online say “I’m not attracted to nonbinary people”, but when pushed on it they a) got that definition from pansexuals, not bisexuals, and b) actually mean they don’t fancy androgyny, which isn’t at all synonymous with nonbinarism, and just serves to perpetuate the idea that nonbinary people, women, and men should be conforming to their three respective gender expressions which… no.

Since someone I spoke to believed that bisexual TERFs proved a measurable difference between two sexual orientations, keep in mind that including transgender women in one’s dating pool doesn’t necessarily include them in their feminism or their idea of womanhood. I see little reason why pansexual TERFs couldn’t exist; a number of them see “woman” and “transgender woman” as different categories. There are lesbian TERFs, straight female TERFs, and men of all orientations — even some transgender men — who ally with them. We have yet to create new labels solely based on the existence of TERFs. Political beliefs aren’t a defining trait for any orientation.

“Some Bisexuals Aren’t Attracted to Men or Women”

If someone isn’t attracted to men and women, they aren’t bisexual. If someone says they’re only attracted to nonbinary people, they would have to be attracted to wo/men as well because nonbinary wo/men exist. Attraction to “women and nonbinary people” isn’t exactly possible without holding misconceptions about nonbinary identity. Similarly, professing attraction to nonbinary men but not other men is nonsensical and tokenizing. The difference between me (a nonbinary man) and someone who exclusively identifies as male is negligible. We’re both men.

“They’re Attracted to Intersex People”

Some pansexuals imply that instead of attraction to the genders “men” and “women,” other sexualities are attracted to “biological males and/or females.” In contrast, pansexuals are “also” attracted to intersex people. This thinking excuses transphobic rhetoric as well as discrimination against — and ignorance about — intersex people.

Sexuality is primarily about gender. “Intersex” is not a gender; it describes bodily variations. While certain sex characteristics play a role in who people find physically attractive (since gender is intangible), “attraction to fe/males” definitions routinely devolve into, and come from, cissexist beliefs (e.g., women who claim to be lesbians while being attracted to transgender men).

Many intersex people, as well as some intersex organizations, don’t see physical variations as additional sex categories. Rather than their traits being one sectioned off group, they argue that sex is a spectrum of natural human variation, not a trinary. Insisting that intersex people are a wholly separate third sex (let alone gender) category divorced from the other two is dehumanizing. It mirrors shoving “nonbinary” into a unique gender box. Neither are coherent, clearly defined classes of people.

As with transgender and nonbinary people, it’s very often difficult to discern intersex folks from those who aren’t. Even intersex people may not realize they’re intersex until later in life. Take, for example, the man who didn’t know he had “a full set of female reproductive organs” until he was thirty-seven, or the one who didn’t find out he had a womb until he was seventy. Having a sexuality term to mean “attraction to intersex people” is as reasonable as having ones for “attracted to circumcised people” or “attraction to people with ovaries” that you’ll never actually see in the first place.

Even if some bisexuals define their sexuality in terms of perceived physical sex instead of gender (which they shouldn’t) — and at that point, they usually equate the two — attraction to “males and females” denotes attraction regardless of sex/gender. But more importantly, you don’t need any specific sexuality just to date intersex people.

“‘Bi’ Means ‘Two,’ ‘Pan’ Means ‘All’”

The “two genders” definition of bisexuality is largely fallacious, arguably less than fifteen years old, and virtually nowhere to be found among bisexual activists, literature, or organizations. We have been using “attraction regardless of gender” since the 1970s and “attraction to all genders” since at least the 90s. If you can understand why we don’t need to rename September because it’s the ninth month but “sept” means “seven,” you can understand why bisexuals don’t need to bow down to literal definitions of words.

The “How”

Pansexuals claim they’re not bisexual because…

“They Have No Preference”

Some pansexuals affirm that pansexuality is different from bisexuality because pansexuals have no preference for any gender, while bisexuals do. This ignores the fact that some self-identified pansexuals do have favorites. Would these people no longer be pansexual?

The “no preference” definition assumes all bisexuals have a specific experience of attraction dependent on gender. This is insulting and false (for a number of us, attraction has nothing to do with gender), erasing bisexuals who don’t have any gender preferences — which is almost half of us. A 2017 Pew Research Center study found that 43% of surveyed bisexuals said they were attracted to men and women equally.

Favoring one gender over another doesn’t change the fact that you like them all. Straight men who like tall girls are just as straight as those who would never date one. Having two different versions of male gayness where one is “attraction primarily to blond guys” while the other doesn’t care about hair color makes little sense. Not every nuance and preference (or lack thereof) needs a category. They’re just preferences.

Saying that “attraction to all genders with a preference” and “attraction to genders without a preference” should be entirely distinct identities is like saying masculine women and feminine women are different genders. Saying that “attraction to all genders with a preference” and “attraction to genders without a preference” should be entirely distinct identities is like saying masculine women and feminine women are different genders. Scrutinizing such a minute nuance could be compared to making separate identity terms for the amount of attraction one feels, the relevancy of which is similarly debatable. A bisexual with little interest in intimate relationships with any gender is just as bisexual as one overwhelmed with how much they adore people.

Some people who want to maintain the supposed contrast of preference between bisexuality and pansexuality claim that bisexuals don’t lack a preference, but just have “a preference for all genders,” but this makes no sense. A preference requires you like one thing more than the other options. To “prefer everything” would mean that you somehow like all options more than you like… all options. (To illustrate, this would be like saying cheesecake is sweeter than vanilla ice cream but also that vanilla ice cream is sweeter than cheesecake.) Thus there is no actual preference.

Not to mention, a major bisexual stereotype is that we don’t have a preference, that we’d sleep with “anything that moves,” that we’re equal parts gay and straight, and thus unable to be monogamous or faithful. Those of us with gender preferences are actively punished and erased for it. If we lean towards similar genders, we’re “really just gay” and too cowardly to fully come out of the closet. If we lean towards different ones, we’re “really just straight” and unwelcome in LGBTQ spaces. The people who don’t expect us to have equal attraction to all genders ask us which one we like “more” so they can erase the other component of our sexuality.

Differentiating bisexuality from pansexuality via the concept of gender preference is further problematic because preferences in sexuality don’t exist in a vacuum. Our society antagonizes same-gender relationships and reinforces gender roles — which enable abuse — in man/woman relationships. When this is the case, gender preferences are rarely just that. Many of these inclinations are shaped by internalized bigotry, experiences with oppression, dysphoria, or trauma.

Promoting two labels with the main difference between them being a “preference” ignores these realities and enforces the idea that bisexuals “pick a side,” another infamous myth. In any case, I find it fascinating that, for decades, people have avoided saying “sexual preference” instead of “sexual orientation” because they reject the idea that sexuality is a choice — this has been a major talking point for LGBTQ activism — but people are now creating and distinguishing orientation labels based on whether someone has gender preferences or not.

“They’re Genderblind”

Another common assertion is that pansexuals “don’t see gender” and are “genderblind,” unlike other sexualities. Still, many bisexuals share “genderblind” and “people not genders” sentiments as well. That said, the concept of “gender blindness” is irksome in general.

“I don’t see gender,” for starters, is functionally identical to the “colorblind” rhetoric white people use to seem open-minded, hide their fetishization of people of color, or excuse their racism. Many people (hopefully) realize that it’s impossible to “not see” race. We constructed racial categories around physical differences, which our world still uses against nonwhite people. Our society ingrained race into us all, and when we still live in it, categorizing people based on race is an uncontrollable subconscious action.

Likewise, being “genderblind” isn’t possible unless someone has never been taught concepts like “male” and “female” whatsoever. We all view individuals through the lens of gender and have presumptions about them based on it. We associate particular looks, body parts, fashion styles, personalities, and other attributes to genders. We assign genders to people in our minds based on their appearance, often behaving differently with people depending on their genders. It’s unrealistic to declare that we, as a civilization, are divorced from that yet.

There is no “pure” form of attraction free from gender biases. Even without the often-accompanied implication that only pansexuals can look past the gender of their partners, the notion that people only “see” gender for sexual or romantic reasons is outrageously oblivious. A misogynist can claim he “only sees people, not genders,” but there’s a reason he tells some “people” that their place is in the kitchen.

(You can find a more in-depth explanation here.)

“Gender Isn’t a Factor in Attraction”

Many bisexuals share this sentiment as well. Perhaps the notion that bisexuals must be attracted to different genders for different reasons comes from the notion that being attracted to men and women is impossible because they’re allegedly so different.

In any case, gender “being a factor” or not in terms of one’s attraction is irrelevant when someone is already attracted to all of them. How we would even measure this factor is debatable (and few people seem to be able to explain what they mean by having gender factor in without talking about outright preferences); we all inevitably treat “different genders in different ways” because our society constructed genders as polarized categories.

Everyone’s experience with discovering they’re attracted to multiple genders is incredibly varied and nuanced. Attraction to one gender feeling different from attraction to another is normal, nebulous, and personal. Like preferences, many of these “different feelings” come from experiences of misogyny, homo/bi/transphobia, trauma, dysphoria, what have you.

For instance, my attraction to men “feels different” from my attraction to women because I never really have to worry about the men I date being overtly homophobic. I had trouble realizing my bisexuality for months when I first questioned my gayness because thinking about being intimate with women made me acutely dysphoric, and it still often makes me feel unsafe due to my experiences with an abusive mother.

My attraction to women — even if expressed as innocently as stomach butterflies when a pretty girl walks by — also sometimes makes me feel dirty and predatory because I’m a man. For months I worried, possibly irrationally, that if I were to date a woman then I’d somehow inherently be in an abusive position. It doesn’t help that the mentally-scarring results of previous relationships have made me far more comfortable with hooking up than dating, which most women I encounter simply don’t do.

It’s always been much easier to feel even somewhat comfortable romantically being with women if I forcibly imagined myself as a woman, but that’s obviously unrealistic outside of fantasy. For all I know, the fact that the vast majority of relatives I have even occasional contact with are female — this has been true my entire life — might have something to do with my complicated feelings, too.

Point being, the idea of defining one’s identity around experiencing attraction differently depending on gender can be unhealthy due to the plethora of potential reasons behind it.

Disregarding the almost TMI explanations, I couldn’t tell you how my attraction to women “differs” from my attraction to men, nor could I explain the supposedly measurably “different” ways to be romantically attracted to people. Many bisexuals are confused by this supposed contrast between bisexuality and pansexuality.

It’s possible that when some bisexuals describe differences in attraction to men and women, they’re actually describing differences in how they engage in relations based on societal expectations and past relationships. When bisexuals are new to their bisexuality, it can feel like the attraction is different at first. As one settles into it, though, some find that their types and preferences aren’t necessarily different across gendered lines. Sometimes it still is, sometimes not.

Placing significance on attraction “feeling different” depending on the gender seems to ignore the fact that attraction feels different for virtually all other reasons, too. We shouldn’t expect people to always be attracted to others in the exact same way. Individuals are unique, and there will be different things we like about each one. My attraction to tall guys contrasts with my attraction to short guys; my attraction to shy people will differ from my attraction to outgoing people, regardless of gender. Trying to measure attraction will always be wonky because everyone naturally experiences it differently.

“They Value ‘Hearts, Not Parts’ or ’Personality Over Gender’”

Disclaimer: Regarding the first description, it’s been said that “hearts, not parts” was originally a bisexual slogan, in response to the stereotype that we’re sex-obsessed. Unfortunately, I have yet to find recorded evidence of this with that exact phrase. Regardless, it is currently far more associated with — and used by — pansexuals.

There are two problems with this claim:

This rhetoric harms everyone who doesn’t identify as pansexual, even talking over pansexuals who claim genital preferences, and

even if “hearts, not parts” and its variants weren’t at all harmful, bisexuals have been describing their sexuality in almost identical ways for decades (take this quote from 1996: “‘gender indifferent’ bisexuals often annoy others by claiming to ‘love people, not genitals’…”), so it still couldn’t be a difference between bisexuality and pansexuality.

But let’s focus on reason number one.

The gist of the catchphrase, “hearts, not parts” (at least when used by pansexuals), is to emphasize that one cares about someone’s personality, not their body. In this case, “body” translates mainly to “genitals.” For instance, while a gay man would allegedly care about whether or not a prospective partner had a penis, pansexuals would not. This assumes cisnormative beliefs about “male” and “female” bodies.

By saying one doesn’t care about genitals to communicate that they don’t care about gender, they equate genders to genitals, which will always hurt transgender and intersex people. Coupled with the assertion that pansexuals are different chiefly because of their willingness to date us, the slogan “hearts, not parts” hones in on our genitals rather than dismissing them. It typically assumes we have genitals atypical for our gender. It once again lets transphobes off the hook for sexualizing or being repulsed by us.

Considering that many pansexuals who believe that pansexuality is the only transgender-inclusive sexuality also use “personality over body” to explain their sexuality, this reveals quite a bit about what they think about transgender and nonbinary people. They often imply that one must be able to “look past” appearances to be attracted to transgender people, reinforcing the idea that our bodies are repulsive. We should work towards normalizing our bodies, not ignoring them altogether.

When one claims to be a different orientation because they preach “hearts not parts,” they also suggest that other people don’t care about their partner’s personality, only gender (or genitals). This argument is strange enough on its own — everyone’s drawn to personality. One isn’t unique for that in the slightest. That’s just a part of human socialization. Few people would be with someone they loathe just because they’re a woman. Why would it be impossible to feel attraction towards someone’s personality and their gender? Really, what’s so bad (or different) about hearts and parts? Not to mention, what about people who consider their gender to be a part of their personality?

Nobody is only attracted to genitals (or gender, for that matter) and nothing else, not even people with genital preferences. (Arguably, quite a few people aren’t attracted to genitals at all.) Otherwise, I would’ve never dated anyone in my life. The vast majority of people still go on dates and fall in love before ever having sex. Someone doesn’t need to see their prospective crush nude to develop feelings for them. Orientation is not inherently or solely sexual.

Contending otherwise not only disregards reality but reflects the pervasive stereotypes that gays and bisexuals are shallow, only care about sex, fetishize their partners, and can’t experience meaningful connections. This narrative is also sometimes weaponized to implicitly cast all lesbians as TWERFs — or otherwise incapable of loving or being transgender women — by default, necessitating that they abandon their lesbianism to avoid association with violent transmisogynists.

To deem any sexuality genital-obsessed — let alone argue that pansexuals are the only ones capable of loving their partner beyond physical characteristics or sexual desire — is snobbish, inaccurate, dehumanizing, and dangerous. We shouldn’t cast physical attraction as shallow, either. LGBTQ people are constantly shamed and animalized for experiencing it; we don’t need to paint that shaming as progressive now.

“Bisexual” Is a Restrictive Label

Words like “gay,” “straight,” and “bisexual” are descriptive, not prescriptive. They’re simply a way of communicating the broad strokes of your attraction, i.e., which gender(s) you like. Beyond that, everyone’s experience with being gay, straight, or bi is different because we’re all individuals. We can always express those differences alongside our identity, e.g., “I’m a femme open to dating both butches and other femmes,” or “I’m a bisexual who prefers men.”

The only way a broad label that describes you (let alone one that often describes attraction without gender limits) would truly be “limiting” or inherently reductive is if you either refuse to see beyond its stereotypes or believe that one word should encapsulate every single part of you, which is just unrealistic. Nobody is “just” their labels. We should all try to stop thinking of them as rigid boxes; it not only insults people who value their identities and find them freeing but ignores their political importance.

As Emma Seely explains in “Bi Is Enough,” “bisexual” is a vast category. There is no single experience that we must fit into.

There is and always has been variation in our community, variation in levels of attraction, in fluidity of attraction, in dating experiences, and in self-conceptualization, and that is part of what makes the bisexual community so beautiful and so powerful. In the same way that lesbian, gay, and transgender people are not monolithic groups and are comprised of people with vastly different experiences and ways of understanding their experiences, bisexual people are united not due to our uniformity but because of our common position in a patriarchal society and our common struggle against it.

The only experience that no bisexual has is attraction to just one gender. Otherwise, there are nearly infinite ways to be bisexual, and we should celebrate the diversity in our community. We defy definition. Bisexuality is an inclusive term and a wonderful thing.

Even if the “bisexual” was limiting, how would putting yourself in a smaller box be any less so? If anything, a label that claims to describe increasingly specific phenomenon would be more restrictive than a broad one, because it requires fewer changes to that person’s experiences for that label to no longer fit. This decreases their mobility within that identity.

It can also be confusing or harmful for questioning LGBTQ people if they think they need a label that precisely fits every single aspect of their attraction. People shouldn’t feel like they would need to change their entire identity over minute changes in how they experience their sexuality. It’s typically unhealthy to hyper-analyze yourself to that point.

Alyson Escalante sums up my thoughts well when, in “Beyond Negativity,” they say:

[T]his demand for recognition via the recognition of each individual’s personal identity as ontologically distinct is a demand for recognition that subtly naturalizes the relationships of power and class which create that identity in the first place… The impulse to simply create more and more identity categories can only be understood as a liberating political project if we understand the project of placing people into identity categories on the basis of gender and sexuality to be a politically liberatory act in the first place.

“They’re Not [Biphobic Stereotype]”

Some more comparisons between bisexuality and pansexuality reveal that many pansexual definitions rely not only on misunderstanding bisexuality but going along with biphobic stereotypes to set themselves apart. Bisexuals are apolitical? Well, pansexuals built their label around including transgender and nonbinary people, so they’re progressive! Bisexuals are incapable of faithful monogamy because they need to be with multiple genders at once? Pansexuals don’t even see gender, so it doesn’t even matter! Bisexuals are sluts? Well, pansexuals care about personality, not genitals!

Speaking of that last thing, someone wrote a letter to the editor of USA Today regarding Janelle Monáe coming out as pansexual. The author quoted Audrey McConnell, who had this to say:

Pansexuality is the opposite of a “slut.” Pansexual people need to feel a close and personal relationship with someone before there is any sexual attraction. With that in mind, pansexual people are not inclined to have casual sex with anyone.

(Yes, I know people say this is “demisexuality.” I’m only pointing out that some self-identified pansexuals describe their sexuality as seen above. Also, considering that earlier uses of the word “pansexual” explicitly denote openness to many kinds of sexual behavior, this quote was rather amusing.)

McConnel’s statement is not only incredibly condescending towards other sexualities but outright false. Pansexuals can absolutely engage in casual sex, and some aren’t interested in romantic pursuits. Are they not true pansexuals? If so, I’m here to announce that even when I explicitly identified as pansexual, I wasn’t. Also, if pansexuals who enjoy casual sex aren’t real pansexuals, what sexuality would they be instead? (If you say “bisexual,” what does that say about how you see bisexuality?) And why are we assuming anyone is automatically “inclined” to have sex just because of who they like?

“Pansexuality is More Progressive”

This idea is dangerous and self-righteous. Sexual orientations are not and should not be signifiers of how “progressive” or “open-minded” someone is. Implying that anyone is regressive for which genders they find attractive is outrageously insulting, and we needn’t treat our feelings like a competition. An identity does not save you from bigotry.

“Some Bisexuals Say Bisexuality and Pansexuality Are Different”

Some lesbians say that being attracted to cisgender and transgender women is bisexuality because, supposedly, lesbianism only applies to cisgender women. Does that make it true?

Bisexuals who agree that pansexuality is a separate orientation usually agree with the inaccurate or bigoted definitions of bisexuality that supposedly necessitate the existence of the “pansexual” label. This is because they believe that just because their bisexual experience with bisexuality doesn’t fit pansexuality, none of them do.

One person’s experience with what they call bisexuality may indeed be different than another person’s experience with what they call pansexuality. However, one’s person’s experience with what they call bisexuality will also be different from other bisexuals’. It is not a fundamental contrast between two orientations, but rather between two individuals.

“Pansexuality Is Still Not Bisexuality!”

Even if we assume bisexuality is not attraction to all genders (which is false and biphobic) while pansexuality is, think about it this way.

Let’s say we have the categories “man” and “transgender man.” The former refers to all men, regardless of their race, class, sexuality, assigned gender, height, weight, hobbies, or anything else. The latter is a specific subset of men. “Transgender” and “man,” while combinable, describe different groups when examined individually. However, while not all men are transgender, we (hopefully) wouldn’t say that transgender men are an entirely different gender altogether. That’s transphobic.

We can apply this logic to bisexuality and pansexuality. Bisexuality, in the broadest sense, refers to the phenomenon of being attracted to more than one gender, regardless of one’s beliefs or how many they say they’re attracted to. Pansexuality would thus be a variation of bisexuality since it falls under the category of “attraction to more than one gender.” Why should we argue that, because of its alleged specificity, pansexuality is completely separate from bisexuality?

If they were so different, would pansexuals continue expressing dissatisfaction with people assuming they’re bisexual for being attracted to all genders? Would we even need to stress so heavily how the orientations are “different”? One would figure that if this were the case, the contrasts would be self-evident.

We don’t see straight men describing their exclusive attraction to women and then having people go, “oh, so you’re gay/bisexual.” On the other hand, bisexuals describe their attraction to all genders and many people say, “you’re actually pansexual,” while pansexuals will describe the same feeling and get asked, “isn’t that just bisexuality?” This happens for a reason: They describe the same thing. The AIB even vouches: “If [bisexuality, pansexuality, omnisexuality, multisexuality, and polysexuality] all seem to mean the same thing, that is because they basically do!” (Keep in mind that the AIB supports these labels.)

If pansexuals are bisexuals by definition (they are; “all” is “more than one”), and many bisexuals identify as pansexual, then the latter isn’t an independent term. It depends on bisexuality already existing. Pansexuality cannot be divorced from bisexuality unless we abandon every definition of bisexuality — aside from “attraction to only two genders,” which came from outside our community, misunderstands how nonbinary identity functions, and very often comes from a transphobic mindset.

Sure, not every self-identified bisexual sees themselves as attracted to all genders. Considering that most cisgender people don’t see themselves as attracted to transgender or nonbinary people, that’s to be expected. Regardless, saying that pansexuals are not bisexual ignores the fact that virtually all definitions of bisexuality either explicitly state or imply attraction to all genders.

As a disclaimer, this logic doesn’t apply to “gay” and “lesbian.” While “gay” merely describes being attracted to the same gender, “lesbian” typically denotes (from someone who isn’t a man) exclusive attraction to women (and nonbinary folks who aren’t solely male-aligned), which gay men inherently do not experience. Ergo, depending on the gender of the gay person in question, “gay” and “lesbian” can describe different attractions. They are only interchangeable in specific circumstances. Bi/pansexuality, on the other hand, does not depend on the person in question. People of all genders can be bi/pan, and bi/pan people are attracted to all genders.

“Seriously, They’re Just Different Things!”

Some people insist that “while bisexuality and pansexuality overlap, the distinction matters to some people.” But what distinctions actually exist? How do we know which alleged distinctions a person is using to choose between these labels?

Does a pansexual who prioritizes physical attraction or acquires a partiality for women stop being pansexual? Is a bisexual no longer bisexual if they stop caring about gender when dating? It’s nothing short of illogical to say that the difference between category 1 and category 2 is that category 1 has [X] when there are people in category 1 without [X] and people in category 2 with [X].

Even if there was an absolute clear-cut difference between how bisexuals and pansexuals experience attraction, we can think about them like apples. Honeycrisp apples are red and sweeter, while Granny Smiths are green and sour. They have different colors and tastes, which we can compare to attraction with and without a gender preference, respectively.

They’re still both apples. You couldn’t claim a Honeycrisp isn’t an apple. You wouldn’t say a Granny Smith was so different from a Honeycrisp that it must be a completely separate species, the way a mango or a grape is. There are various kinds of apples, but they’re all the same fruit. There are many ways to be bisexual, but they’re all just different manifestations of bisexuality.

Many who insist that pansexuality is inherently unique will often completely contradict themselves to try establishing such a claim. Take, for instance, these two sentences from the same article:

Semantically, bisexuality encompasses pansexuality, but there is a point where we can distinguish between the two, and this is important to much of our community. […] Is there a difference between bi and pan? Well, yes and no. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.

Besides the fact that the author doesn’t actually say what this “distinction” is (unless they believe bisexuality does not include all genders) or what they mean by “yes and no,” one must seriously wonder about the thought process behind treating mutually exclusive statements such as “the difference between bi- and pansexuality is important” and “the difference between bi- and pansexuality isn’t important” as coexistent.

Another example can be found in this article:

Now that we’ve established that bisexuality can also include identities outside of the gender binary, what is the difference between identifying as bisexual and identifying as pansexual? Put most simply, pansexuality and bisexuality are different but related identities. Both identities fall under the umbrella of “non-monosexuality,” meaning that they include attraction to more than one gender identity. Functionally, they can look very similar — even the same. While some people proudly identify with both terms, they are not inherently the same thing.

Still no clear answer as to the supposed difference between the two; in fact, the author only names a similarity here. Answering “what is the difference?” with “they’re different” provides no clarity at all, and frankly feels like dodging the question altogether.

Some people believe the difference between bisexuality and pansexuality is a lack of preference, while others think it’s that only the latter includes trans people. Not only are such claims false, but the lack of consensus is an issue. We should able to agree on how some words should be defined, especially sociological ones like sexuality terms.

As an example, if person 1 defines racism as “an institution that oppresses people of color,” while person 2 only sees it as “hating someone due to their race,” they will virtually never find a middle ground when talking about racism because they have fundamentally different understandings of the concept. They may also accuse the other of racism for reasons that the other person finds illogical or unfair.

Of course, sexualities are different than oppressive systems, and when it comes to attraction to more than one gender, there doesn’t need to be only One Definition to Rule Them All. However, it may be important to have at least some general agreement on what certain things can be described as and what they shouldn’t, since some descriptions are inaccurate. People are free to tailor their individual understandings of their sexuality, but statements such as “people can define both terms however they want” can be harmful.

Imagine someone who doesn’t identify as A going, “A to me, means [X definition], which is why I call myself B, because it means [Y definition],” even though some A people, and not all B people, use Y definition. This behavior should not be encouraged. The person in question does not get to decide what A means “to them,” as other people’s self-descriptions are not up for interpretation or debate. They are speaking over group A and risk spreading misinformation about them.

The closest thing to a “difference” between bisexuality and pansexuality is that the latter requires acknowledgment of one’s attraction to transgender and nonbinary people while the former does not, but as I’ve explained before, this is not criteria we should divide sexual identities by. It excuses transgender exclusion and normalizes the idea that “transgender,” “nonbinary,” and “cisgender” on their own are as different as we perceive “male” and “female” to be, which misunderstands and misgenders us.

If you wouldn’t say, “some gay people wouldn’t date transgender or nonbinary people of the same gender, so we should have a label just for gay people who would,” then you shouldn’t treat the “attraction to transgender and nonbinary people” definition of pansexuality as legitimate.

If one seems to find more “differences” that set pansexuality apart, there are definitely some — if not many — bisexuals with that trait in common, too. Differences between individuals who identify with either label don’t demonstrate a fundamental difference between the orientations themselves.

Slice It How You Want — It’s the Same Cake

Many pansexuals try forming their identity by erasing bisexual experiences, which is absurd and insulting. Creating a definition that simultaneously sets it apart from bisexuality and acknowledges all bisexual experiences is impossible. The basis of pansexuality is attraction to all genders, which is already bisexuality.

The fact that some pansexuals also identify as bisexual is yet another example of how these labels lack a clear-cut division. You likely wouldn’t see someone identify as straight and a lesbian, because these identities are mutually exclusive. Bisexuality and pansexuality, however, clearly aren’t.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with having synonyms for things, but notice how I never say that pansexuality isn’t attraction to all genders. I don’t redefine it to suit my whims. Why do pansexuals feel justified doing it to bisexuals?

Differences Between the Words (Not the Sexualities)

“Bisexual” and “pansexual,” as labels, obviously aren’t identical in every way. Activist Shiri Eisner lays out two differences:

Bisexuality comes from a type of political thought based on sexual identity, pansexuality comes from a type of political thought based on gender identity: Talk to a bi person about bisexuality, they’ll often talk about sexuality and desire, and focus on biphobia; talk to a pan person about pansexuality, they’ll often talk about transgender and genderqueer identities, and focus on transphobia.

The definition of pansexuality is often dependent on the definition of bisexuality (and, dare I say, the rejection thereof): If bisexuality is defined as desire towards people of more than one gender, pansexuality can be defined as desire towards people of more than two genders; if bisexuality is defined as desire towards people of many genders, pansexuality can be defined as desire towards people of all genders; if bisexuality is defined as desire towards people of genders similar + different than our own, pansexuality can be defined as desire regardless of gender. But: both bisexuality and pansexuality can — and have — been defined as any of these things.

And herein lies the problem: many pansexuals feel the need to define bisexuality as attraction to no more than two genders (a definition which most outspoken bisexuals here on [T]umblr vehemently dispute) in order to constitute the difference as related to desire rather than as related to politics. This is where all the erasure and biphobia comes into play and where it gets fucked up, violent, silencing and oppressive.

Another problem here is that this kind of dependency on meaning and comparison erases pansexuality as an identity in its own right… My advice to everyone on this issue is to stop this focus on the desire-related differences between bisexuality and pansexuality: none can be defined in any way that can be agreed by everyone.

(Note: In regards to the second paragraph, I’ve once had someone explain pansexuality to me as “attraction to three or more genders,” which was by far the oddest definition of it I’ve ever heard.)

People seldom present definitions of pansexuality without bisexuality next to it. It’s always a compare-and-contrast. Bisexuality doesn’t need to do that with “gay” and “straight” — the differences between those two and bisexuality are clear enough that they stand on their own. I can say “exclusive attraction to the same gender,” and people will immediately match that description with “gay.” If I say “attraction to all genders,” though, many will file that under “pansexual,” but it’s also bisexuality. There aren’t any infographics spelling out the differences between “gay women,” “homosexual women,” and “lesbians.” With pansexuality, however, it seems to require a disclaimer every time someone brings it up.

With regard to what Eisner noted earlier, the frantic distancing of pansexuality from bisexuality parallels the way some lesbians try defining lesbianism not through a love for women, but through a lack of love towards — and “rejection” of — men. But by doing this, their definition of lesbianism inadvertently depends on men. It also implies that straight and bisexual women can’t reject men; these women are often accused of “centering men” in their lives just by being attracted to them, which is a frankly misogynistic claim.

In any case, if being pansexuality is all about being “not bisexual,” then pansexuals don’t even have an independent reason to be pansexual that they don’t owe to bisexuals. Thus they indirectly base their identity around bisexuality.

Pansexual Erasure?

Some may find me hypocritical for saying that definitions of pansexuality (that aim to set it apart from bisexuality) erase bisexuality while I go on to say pansexuals are bisexual. After all, people erase bisexuals all the time by pretending we’re either gay or straight. How am I any better? Well, these scenarios present a false equivalency.

Such an argument slightly misunderstands what people mean by “bisexual erasure,” the societal refusal to acknowledge that people attracted to multiple genders exist at all, ignoring and falsifying evidence of bisexuality in history, academia, and other primary sources. It can also be seen in painting our attraction as a phase and pushing the notions that people can only be attracted to one gender (thus denying a defining factor of our sexuality) or that definitions of bisexuality aren’t actually definitions of bisexuality (thus denying our history and experiences). Keep in mind that I never claim that people can’t be attracted to all genders or that “attraction to all genders” isn’t a definition of pansexuality.

One facet of bisexual erasure applies to this discussion, however: the forced labeling of bisexuals as other identities, most commonly straight or gay. But we must realize that there’s a massive difference between saying a bisexual is gay/straight and saying a pansexual is bisexual.

“Gay,” “straight,” and “bisexual” are not interchangeable terms. By insisting I’m gay, one denies my attraction to women. By saying I’m straight, they ignore my attraction to men. Calling me gay or straight tangibly erases a significant part of my sexuality, as I don’t exclude any gender from my dating pool. We cannot define straightness and gayness as attraction to all genders or they’d lose meaning. Viewing me through a monosexual lens can only give you a false interpretation of who I am.

On the other hand, I do not deny a pansexual’s attraction to any gender by calling them bisexual. We can define bisexuality as attraction to all genders; thus the pansexual maintains their full experience. I don’t deny any facet of who they are. I’m not even necessarily saying that they’re not pansexual, just that they’re also bisexual. (One can’t say that I, a bisexual, am also straight; I either like men or I don’t.) The only reason a pansexual would feel confined by describing their attraction as bisexual is if they see “bisexual” as a limited term. It’s not. It’s broad, inclusive, and encompasses them in ways that “straight” and “gay” literally can’t.

When someone says I’m straight/gay, they’re saying, “you don’t like all genders. You actually only like (wo)men, so I will call you straight/gay.” This reasoning comes from falsehood. When I say a pansexual is bisexual, I’m saying, “you like all genders, and that makes you bisexual.” That is a true statement. There’s no way to say that pansexuals are not bisexual without erasing multiple definitions of bisexuality.

Addendum

A few people who still believe that my arguments are a form of invalidation have asked me, “you’re bisexual — don’t you know what it feels like to be invalidated?” Of course I do. But to invalidate is to negate, to deny the legitimacy of something.

Invalidating bisexual identity means rejecting the idea that someone can be attracted to people of both similar and different genders (e.g., saying bisexual men are just “gay men too cowardly to ‘fully’ come out of the closet”). Someone saying that bisexuality is more-or-less the same as pansexuality does not invalidate me; both labels describe attraction to people of any gender. Saying that pansexuality isn’t real (i.e., saying that attraction to people of any gender is impossible) is invalidation. My intention here has never been to say pansexuality isn’t real, just that it’s a synonym for bisexuality.

Conclusion

The only real differences between bisexuality and pansexuality are their prefixes, histories, and connotations. Otherwise, they’re the same orientation: attraction where gender is not an inherent deal-breaker.

The reason why many people are confused about the difference between bisexuality and pansexuality — and why the internet seems to fabricates new definitions every month trying to explain it (I’ve recently heard someone say “bisexuality is ‘active attraction’ and pansexuality is ‘passive attraction’ with no elaboration whatsoever), and why a number of people identify as both labels simultaneously — is because they’re ultimately the same thing. No matter how you attempt to divide them, the “differences” are nonexistent at best. Desperately insisting that we keep a boundary between the labels only restricts them.

“Pansexual” being synonymous with “bisexual” shouldn’t inherently invalidate the former label unless one believes that two labels must be clear-cut from one another in order for them to be real, and that sharing “too many” similarities with another label is a threat. Not every word needs to embody an entirely distinct experience, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a unanimous agreement as to what the distinction should be in the first place.

Attempting to justifying pansexuality as an entirely separate sexuality requires redefining bisexuality in ahistorical and illogical ways and often enforcing ignorant beliefs about transness. It’s plainly necessary to claim these sexualities are different for the labels to coexist, but it seems many pansexuals want to be as far away from bisexuality as possible, especially when they insist that someone pointing out how their identity is similar to another is denying pansexuality’s very existence.

This piece is not meant to be a demand that self-identified pansexuals drop their label immediately. I simply ask that they acknowledge the above information and stop using the aforementioned “contrasts” to distinguish themselves from bisexuals. We are one in the same. If one seems to find more “differences” that set pansexuality apart, there are definitely some bisexuals with that trait in common, too. Perhaps it’d be useful for pansexuals to consider why they don’t want to be seen as bisexual in any way.

[felassan]

Article: ‘Mass Effect & Dragon Age’s cast members on how BioWare builds dynamics’

I spoke to several figures from BioWare juggernauts Dragon Age and Mass Effect, to get a clearer idea of how those iconic team dynamics we associate with the two titles were created. [interviews]

This article is a really neat read. :) Contains character insights, behind-the-scenes info and some reflections on representation.

Some excerpts under the cut due to length:

A huge theme of these interviews, naturally, was BioWare themselves. As well as general praise for the support, the working environment, and the success of the finished product, many singled out individual directors by name, and credited BioWare’s focused approach with getting the best out of them. Hale even claimed they were “the unsung heroes,” that underpinned the whole Mass Effect trilogy. [...]

“Usually there’s almost always a BioWare writer on the line with us, usually up in Canada, when we’re recording. So you’ll have the director, me and one or two BioWare head honchos up there supervising. That’s the way that’s the way it worked on Inquisition too. There’s a really collaborative vibe.” [...]

This consistency across the recording process is likely why the calibre of performance is so high across both trilogies. “The team of writers of BioWare are extraordinary,” Nick Boulton [Male Hawke] says. “So they keep you on track pretty well. The key was having Caroline Livingston, who was directing most of it – all of it, in fact. She would be there to give context notes, and also keep me on the straight and narrow, as far as characterization went. So we were led through very well by the BioWare team.” [...]

Insight on Jack:

Courtenay Taylor describes Jack as being “a very comfortable pair of old stinky sneakers to step into,” and explains that her connection to Jack’s story was a core way she was able to bring it to life. “[Jack has] a pretty familiar psychology that I had. She was very reminiscent of how I was, to some degree, in high school. She’s putting up a barrier to get people to prove themselves, so you have to run the gauntlet in order to get the good stuff. When you’ve been abused as badly as she has, then psychologically one of the tracks you can take is ‘I will not allow myself to be vulnerable’. And that really resonated with me.”

Taylor also says that this guard Jack puts up meant that, ironically, many of the players found it easier to connect with her. “I got really great feedback from a lot of people about struggles that they had had in their personal lives,” she says.

“I think [Jack’s change between Mass Effect 2 & 3] is a smaller story, but it’s a big story for a lot of people. I have a lot of friends who had addiction problems. And quite a few of my friends give back by going back to the community that they’ve come out of, and finding people that need help. At its core, that’s a big, important through line for Jack – every one of us is worthy of love. And it doesn’t matter how difficult you are or how troubled you are or what has happened to you or what someone has done to you. You are worthy of loving and being loved.” [...]

Taylor also saw something personal in her own performance, especially since there weren’t a lot of women like Jack in popular media when Mass Effect 2 launched. “There was a huge amount of love for her because gender/appearance wise, she is something that I felt at that time had not been explored. And I know that some of the things were cut, but in what we originally recorded [Jack was pansexual], and in 2008 or 2009, there weren’t a tonne of conversations about being pansexual,” she says.

“She was a counterpoint to a lot of the other female characters. She was sort of the far end of the spectrum. You’ve got Miranda who’s beautiful and pulled together, but that only serves a certain population. And there are a lot of people that identify as women who could relate to having these feelings and these emotions – she’s not gender specific. To me, she’s angry. And I don’t know that there had been, at that time, a female character who was so not typically female, who was capable of such a range of emotions. She ended up being the permission to a whole group of people who don’t identify with that kind of woman. Because in entertainment, where did that bald girl with a flat chest who was pansexual go? Where do you fit in? And that really resonated with me. If you don’t relate to Miranda, Jack can be a really nice option.”

Insight on Josie:

It’s a sentiment echoed by Allegra Clark, who used a major tragedy in her own life as motivation for the siege of Haven in Dragon Age: Inquisition. “I think the first time you really start to get to know [Josephine] as a person is when she talks about Haven after the attack. That conversation she has about the first people to jump in and protect people being the workers, and how she’s just watching everything be destroyed. I was actually thinking about 9/11, as a New Yorker. So that was a very personal moment for me. But it was those little moments where she starts to open up and blossom that you get to see her as a person.” [...]

For Clark though, those boundaries were much more personal. “When I was told I had booked Josephine, I was just like, ‘I’m a companion in a BioWare game, and a romanceable companion at that’,” Clark says. “I recognised going in that people were going to connect really hard to this character. People are going to have entire playthroughs that are based around romancing Josephine. She helped me explore my own bisexuality, and that is always the thing that that warms my heart the most when people come to me about my LGBTQ+ characters, and say ‘they helped me understand parts of my own identity’. I actually wasn’t out of the closet publicly, or even to parts of my family when I started recording Inquisition. So it was interesting, getting to tell essentially part of my story as well. Before even being able to say to the world ‘hi, I’m bi’ – though all the signs were there. I was in a relationship with another woman at the time. It’s like ‘oh my God, they were roommates!”

Zevran:

While all were full of praise for BioWare’s writing and working environment, the love of actually playing the game was exclusive to Clark. Most others admitted they had never played at all; Curry confessed he had no idea if Zevran was even alive [as he hasn’t played]

Sam Traynor:

“I think Traynor was revolutionary in what she was doing at the time,” Wilton Regan says. “What was so different about Traynor was she wasn’t romanceable for either gender, you had to be playing as FemShep to choose a lesbian love option . And that was so brave of them to do at the time. But it brought us leaps and bounds forwards, because having that inclusivity then makes it just easier for the next game, and for the game today. And now it’s a standard – you should be representative of all sexualities if there are romance options in your games, and increasingly major games pretty much always have some sort of gay, bisexual, lesbian or heterosexual choice. It might not be as fluid as all of the spectrum of sexual choices, but you’ve got a strong variety in comparison to where it was 20 years ago, for example.”

Sam Traynor and Josie:

Part of representing groups that don’t often get representation in video games is that your character gets to become a role model, and that’s something Wilton Regan and Taylor have particularly fond experiences of. “It’s quite flattering and quite lovely to think about,” Wilton Regan says. “I’ve had a lot of lesbians who are coming out of the closet or coming to terms with their sexuality, who’ve come up to me and said that playing FemShep and romancing Traynor was a really big part of that. And lots of bisexual women as well. There’s something just very beautiful about the idea that BioWare has put so much faith and trust in me over the years with these really pivotal roles, and these big, beautiful characters. I feel very humbled by that. Very, very humbled.”

Meanwhile, Taylor wasn’t even sure people would like Jack, so finding out how deeply people related to her was a huge surprise, and she suspects that’s because Mass Effect allows her to be angry without being written off as a stereotypical, hysterical woman. “People didn’t like her when the trailer came out, and I was like, ‘Oh God, everyone’s gonna hate her!” Taylor laughs. “I was really surprised to be at a convention and have someone come up and say, ‘Can I introduce you to my nieces? They’re six and eight, and they love you’. I’m glad they have a good female role model in Jack.”

[bidotorg]

The Bi Umbrella

Bi 101 An umbrella term is a word or phrase that covers a broad range of related things that are different from each other but all belong to the same category. Bisexuality is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of identities, terms, attractions, and behaviors that all fit the scientific definition of bisexuality.

Just as there are millions of ways to be straight, gay, lesbian, or asexual, there are as many ways to be bi as there are bi people. No one word can fully capture the nuances of personality, culture, beliefs, or personal preference; no word should try to. The term bisexuality makes no such pretense— it is a general and inclusive term that encompasses everyone; all sexes and all genders. That does not mean that bi people are attracted to everyone, merely that bi people’s attractions aren’t limited by sex or gender.

Terms that fall under the bi umbrella include pansexual (attraction to all genders, with a political emphasis on nonbinary gender identities), polysexual (attraction to multiple sexes), omnisexual (attraction to all sexes), and multisexual (attraction to multiple sexes). Some people prefer the term fluid meaning that their attractions are not fixed and include people of more than one sex over time. Some people feel that their sexuality, while not limited by sex or gender, is best left unlabeled because it is not central to their sense of self. If these terms all seem to mean the same thing, that is because they basically do! Still, these words have value in that they allow people to describe their sexuality in ways that feel more comfortable or precise. They allow people to express their identity; how they see and understand themselves and want to be seen by others.

It’s helpful to note that while anyone who experiences both homosexual (same sex) and heterosexual (different sex) attractions is bisexual according to the scientific definition, that does not mean that they will label themselves or even think of themselves (identify) as bi.