#i am queer and i identify with him

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

Based on the way the story has been written, especially following season 4, I do believe mike is likely gay atp. But “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” still makes sense as projection if Mike is bi because lots of closeted bi teens are confused about their feelings, especially in the 80s where terms like “bisexual” wouldn’t have been as readily accessible to kids from Hawkins, Indiana.

Simply the fact that Mike likes boys/Will could make him worried that he’s gay and cause him to hyperfixate on the concept of not liking girls more often, especially if his feelings for El were waning, or if his feelings for Will were overwhelming, even if he did in fact have a crush on El at the start of the show. Nothing says being a closeted bi teen like bouncing back and forth between “I can’t be gay, I like girls” and “Oh no, I like boys, am I gay?”

I think there’s a common misconception that the bi Mike view necessitates oversimplifying the story as “Mike used to be into El, and now he’s into Will.” That isn’t necessarily the case. A bi Mike reading can still involve internalized homophobia, projection, the heteronormative pressure to conform and date girls, repression, and most of the things we talk about here.

(I didn’t really wanna get involved in this, but I feel like this is important to add).

[your-greatest-queen]

My mother yelling at me that "your friends are they slash them, and yet you're pretty judgemental of mine!" simply because I, a grown adult, said I didn't want to refer to her friend, who I have met twice, as my uncle. Not judging him, ma. Just setting boundaries. But ok

[gillyeowalters]

Because it is the anniversary of his death, I wanted to share a small story about my grandfather.

Before I knew that I was intersex, I identified as a trans man. And I went the way any trans man has to go if he wants to transition in my country. My parents thankfully were supportive but I was afraid to tell my grandparents. My grandparents were German and lived/were raised during the third reich. While both of them never said or acted in a way that suggested that they had fascist views (my grandfather was until he died part of a leftwing political party), but there still was this fear in me. "They are old, they grew up surrounded by abhorrent beliefs...". And then there was my aunt. Who would constantly claim that my grandfather was homophobic.

The problem was, back then, there were no openly out gay people in our area, so I never got the chance to see my grandfather interact with someone who was queer. So I just believed her. Because she was so insistent on it. And because it confirmed my fears and my brain loves to be constantly afraid.

But I knew I wanted to come out. I had to, eventually, because I had stopped my estrogen treatment (back then, I did not know that I got that because I was intersex) and went on testosterone instead and first physical changes began to show. We all lived in one big house, so my grandparents would eventually notice.

I was so afraid that my father at some point offered to talk to his parents. I waited outside in the hallway that led to their kitchen and listened.

My father explained, easy to understand, that I was going to transition from female to male because I felt terrible in my body. My grandfather asked, "Is that why the child* is so depressed all this time?" I had been in and out of multiple clinics for manic depression at that point. My father gave a yes. And my grandmother made the incredibly selfish comment, "Can't that wait until I am dead?"

Before I even got time to be upset, my grandfather slammed his fist down on the table. I had never seen or heard him do anything like that before. He was a very calm and collected man who preferred to leave the room before he got too angry. "No, it can't wait. The child gets to get well now. And if that is what is going to help, then it needs to be done."

From that day on, he never used my deadname again or used the wrong pronouns for me. Sometimes, he would stop in a sentence to think and remind himself, but he did always address me correctly.

He celebrated with me when my name was legally changed. He built the bed frame for me and my boyfriend's bed when we moved in together, just like he had built the first adult sized bedframe for me when I outgrew my small bed. He drove my boyfriend to his chemo sessions because my grandfather also had cancer and knew how terrifying it was to go alone.

Did he fully understand what it means to be intersex? To transition? No. But he understood that one of his loved ones was suffering and that he could help to alleviate that pain. And so he did.

He taught me calligraphy. He taught me how to sew. He taught me bookbinding. He gave me many gifts.

But the biggest gift he gave me was, that when someone hated me for what I am, I could stomach it. Because this man was willing to unlearn the bigotry he had been taught for decades so he could love me for who I am.

*in my grandpa's dialect it was normal to refer to children as just 'the child' (genderless)

EDIT

I was blown away by how many people have reblogged this post. I believe my grandfather would be very happy to see that he can give some hope and love to others even now.

I do not want him to stay faceless; so here is a piece of art I made for his obituary, with a slightly altered quote added now.

Dahlias were his favorite flowers. Orange ones especially. They reminded him of the home he had to flee from as a child.

EDIT 28/03/25

Happy birthday.

[mankillercalledbunny]

From 4 years ago. And I stand by it. Now more than ever. I live in the UK and I wear my pronoun badge in my workplace BECAUSE I am safe enough to be visible, and I know for a fact it makes a difference because I've had multiple interactions with customers and coworkers proving it. If it means the 55 y/o centre-conservative military brat I work with and the 70+ y/o ladies who come in see me as an out and proud trans person just existing and being kind and friendly and just A Person, that will do as much to change hearts and minds and ease communication in my small community as it did when I was loud and unapologetic in high school. Being visible doesn't have to be revolutionary but it DOES make a difference. It is IMPORTANT. This song encompasses exactly why.

Happy TDOV, YES we still need visibility and I need young trans people to know that. I have seen too many baby trans folks saying "we don't need visibility, we need liberation" and fundamentally misunderstanding the purpose of trans visibility day.

Also, please remember that if you cannot be visible, bc you're stealth or you're closeted of you don't want to or it's simply not safe to be visibly trans, you are so incredibly valid. Trans people who are in a position to be visible, for whom it is safe to be visible, need to be so, specifically to build acceptance and understanding for our siblings who cannot be visible yet.

[skys-archive]

I think in honor of pride month and also in general forever we should stop trying fit queer people into the identities we think they should call themselves.

And I know no one is going to see this because no one ever does but I'm going to talk about it anyway because this is important.

Bisexual doesn't mean you don't date trans people, it doesn't mean you like men and women, it doesn't mean you can't have a preference. Someone can identify as polysexual or bisexual or omnisexual and have no preference and you don't get to say that that means they're pansexual. Because no, if they don't identify as pansexual then they're not pansexual.

Transmasc doesn't mean you use he/him pronouns. It doesn't mean you identify as a man. Transfem doesn't mean you use she/her pronouns. It doesn't mean you identify as a woman. You can be nonbinary or genderqueer or agender or any gender that isn't binary and not use they/them pronouns. You can use any of those labels and still identify as a man or a woman. You can use different pronouns than is typically used for your birth sex and not consider yourself transgender. People can be gender non conforming and not he trans. People can be trans and not gender non conforming.

A trans man can be fem. A trans woman can be masc. Nonbinary people don't owe you androgyny. Intersex people don't owe you androgyny. Intersex people are people, they deserve way more attention than a way to one up transphobes. Intersex people face discrimination and body altering surgeries without their consent and then are only ever talked about to say "some cis women have penises" or "some people have an extra x chromosome" and then we never talk about the struggle they face as part of the queer community.

Asexuality and aromanticism is a spectrum. Some aces like sex, some aces are repulsed, some aces only experience sexual attraction to one person or once in their life, some aces need a deep emotional bond, some aces their attraction changes. Some aros change identities. Some aros are repulsed by romance unless it's a fictional character. Some aros have romantic feelings until they get to know someone. Some aros crave a romantic relationship but never have romantic feelings. You don't get to say someone isn't asexual or aromantic enough.

Asexuality and aromanticism is having a unique relationship with romance or sexual feelings and impulses. Someone who is transgender has a unique experience with gender. You don't get to decide that they don't have a unique experience. But guess what? You don't get to decide if they do either. Someone can have a unique experience and still not identify as asexual aromantic or transgender. You can cross dress and still fully feel like a man. You can use he/him pronouns as a cis women. You can have trauma around sex and not identify as asexual. You can never have a romantic relationship and not identify as aromantic.

You can have "contradicting" labels. I don't know as many of these because I don't personally identify as any but please fell welcome to add in reblogs. There are trans men lesbians and gay women. There are sex loving asexuals. I know there are others I just genuinely am not educated enough.

YOU DONT GET TO CHOOSE SOMEONES LABELS

ANYONE CAN EITHER IDENTIFY OR NOT IDENTIFY AS QUEER

Please feel welcome to add anything in reblogs. I'm sure there's things I've missed. I haven't talked about neopronouns I haven't talked enough about "contradicting" labels. I haven't talked about queer platonic relationships or kink or polyamory or enough about intersex people or pronouns vs gender. There's so much important things but at the end of the day it's just so important to not choose other people's labels.

[cipheramnesia]

What Your Horror Franchise Crush Says About You:

Jason Voorhees: Unabashed thick boy appreciator, you like em curvy and savor the finer himbos in life. Your man did nothing wrong and you can fix him (positive). Disabilities advocate.

Michael Meyers: Someone has to appreciate a generic white boy and that's you. No shame in being indecisive, but everyone thinks you have terrible taste in men, except for like three close friends who your guy helped out in a pinch, no questions asked.

Freddy Krueger: Fan of the bad boys, but red / green flag colorblind. You use the phrase "sad wet rat of a man" often and as a high compliment. You man did everything wrong and you can fix him (wrong).

Chucky (aka Charles Lee Ray): Found family maniac above and beyond anyone else you know, specializing in daddy issues. You have trouble parsing sarcasm and are some kind of flavor of alphabet soup rainbow colored queer.

Ghostface (Scream): Catboy aficionado who always bets on the loser. Your man did everything wrong and you can make him worse. Your struggles are endless but you stay silly.

Xenomorph (Alien/Aliens): Transgender monsterfucker identified.

Yautja (Predator/Predator 2/Prey): Cisgender monsterfucker identified.

Maniac Cop: You've watched way too many horror movies, or you're a devoted Bruce Campbell completionist. You can't explain to anyone what you like anymore, you used to but you're afraid you've forgotten how. Take a break.

Angela Baker (Sleepaway Camp 2/3): You did it, you found the sole, consistent girl slasher in the horror franchise lineup. I guess someone just has to be different and special all the time. Now learn to stop trying to be a white knight and let a girl live her best life.

Art the Clown: You are the edgiest motherfucking clownfucker and will tell anyone about it unprompted, but cannot tell "I do not know why you told me this" from "I am upset about this." Calm down but don't lose that weirdness. Ride or die friend for life.

Pinhead (Hellraiser 1/2/2022): Searching for the elusive big titty goth boy friend. You are either the person who has trust fund money and uses it to wear expensive goth clothes and get all the tattoos but listens to Taylor Swift and has vanilla cis straight sex only, or you have no money and the hardest kinks on the books that you never talk about. No in between.

[isaacthedruid]

(spoilers for the Barbie movie)

As a trans-masc non-binary person, I saw myself in Allan. I’m a boy but not a Ken, I'm Ken-like but not quite.

Allan’s role of being awkward, unsure and a little out of his element but still trying to help the Barbies through the chaos and events caused by the Kens, is how I feel as a trans-masc person who is still trying to advocate for women and discuss the issues they face.

I don't identify as a woman anymore but I still grew up as a girl, I lived as a young woman for 14 years, and people continue to be misogynistic towards me when they think I am one-- customers will talk to my male coworkers instead of me, when I’m the person with the answers

I wasn’t expecting to see myself, in terms of gender, in the character often described as Ken’s boyfriend, though it is said in a more playful, joking way rather than any attempt at representation. I’m gay and this version of Allan is definitely queer as well. Yet, that’s a separate story which has already been written, here’s an excellent article about that. [LINK]

Allan isn’t Ken, and he isn’t Barbie either. Allan is simply Allan, an idea with both masc and femme traits. He doesn’t fit into anything specific, he just is. Allan can wear Ken’s clothes but also Barbie’s pink jumpsuit-- but when he's not doing that undercover mission with the Barbies, we only ever see him wearing his own clothes. A set of clothes worn only by him, that iconic striped outfit that is signature to the real Allan doll.

Additionally, notice the horse patch on the front of his shirt, he never changed his clothes unlike the rest of the Kens when they discovered the patriarchy and a new version of masculinity, a toxic and destructive one. Allan only added something to his clothes to “fit in” or act as if he did, but he hated what the Kens did to Barbieland. He also wasn't brainwashed and never acted upon those destructive abilities that were laid out for him. He could've just joined the Kens and broke stuff and drank copious amounts of "brewskis" but he didn't.

Allan is different and it's constantly stated, "there's only one Allan" in this world of Kens (and Barbies).

I will never be Ken nor will I ever be a Barbie again, I’m not happy in either. I’ve tried both, neither is my style (or title). I wear Ken’s clothes as well as Barbie’s, and sometimes I wear Allan’s.

But, I like Allan’s clothes best, they fit me well.

[cinna-wanroll]

The Twinkification of Obi-Wan Kenobi

Hi everyone! I have emerged from the abyss to posit an opinion and analysis about something that has been ongoing in my corner of the fandom for some time now and I just wanted to share my thoughts. Please note that this is not meant to be a call-out post. If you have made references to Obi-Wan being a twink, we are cool, we simply have a difference of opinion! As always this blog is an open space where people from across the fandom are welcomed and loved.

With that being said:

The Co-Opting of "Twink"

It isn't uncommon to come across the term "twink" nowadays while scrolling the social medias. In fact, there are several videos referencing men, both real and fictional, using "twink" as a kind of affectionate endearment.

Is there a big, beefy man who shows his emotions in your favorite TV show? Chances are he has been called a twink.

Looking at a cute post of a straight couple? There is a chance the woman has captioned her post with: I love my twink boyfriend! :)

Is there a trans man on your for you page? Peer in the comments: chances are he, too, has people teeming in his comments to call him a twink.

Let us be clear: this is not what the word "twink" means.

The term "twink" is a queer term that has become so mangled and co-opted by cis, straight people (especially women) that it has become misused across the internet. So what is it, exactly? "Twink" is a queer identifier. Traditionally, the term refers to gay men who are:

Thin

Not very muscular

Not hairy

Young

Of course, there is always room for nuance. Also, there are so many layers to this conversation I have not and will not address fully. However, the main purpose of this conversation is to discuss its relation to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

So You Want to Woobify a Warrior

Most of the time when I see someone refer to Obi-Wan as a twink, it is in reference to mid-thirties, mid or post-war Obi-Wan. I am not going to address sexuality here because I am a firm believer in allowing people their interpretations of characters' sexualities. Instead, here are some photos of Obi-Wan Kenobi during and a bit after the era previously mentioned, and of his actor, Ewan McGregor:

Here are some things of note: Ewan and Obi-Wan are not especially petite. They are muscular, hairy, and visibly middle-aged. Or at least, visibly older than 20s.

In Karen Miller's Wild Space, Bail Organa throws up in his hands out of fear when Obi-Wan is having hallucinations and moves to attack him.

In Christie Golden's Dark Disciple, he punches a droid in the face and it stumbles back.

My point here is that Obi-Wan is intimidating. He underwent years of rigorous training, fought in battle after battle, and is an expert in martial arts. The chances of him escaping that with the appearance of being boyish, early 20s, skinny, and not muscular seem... slim. War does not typically have anti-aging effects.

I once saw someone on this app make a point that because Obi-Wan is portrayed as the more intuitive and emotionally regulated character in contrast to Anakin's brash violence, he is perceived as more feminine. Therefore, he is more "coddleable." And, furthermore, the "feminine" narrative lends itself to the stereotypical parts of the label of twink. (Again, there is a deeper conversation to be had there. I am generalizing).

Unless Obi-Wan has been extensively malnourished, shaved, and de-aged, I don't see sense in seeing him as a twink.

The part of all this with even more implications associated is that I see a lot of this mentioned in relationship to Obi-Wan being in a relationship with Cody. There is a lot of comparison there, usually positioning Cody as the strong, indestructible warrior of whom Obi-Wan is either envious of or saved by. The racist undertones there are infinite and have been addressed and readdressed, especially by POC in the fandom.

Anyways gorgeous people, this concludes my thoughts, as it is very late. I am hoping to be able to participate in Codywan First Kiss Bingo, but I was hit with the flu and have been working diligently to catch up in my uni classes. I love you all and wish you nothing but the best!

[alwaysless]

I've been thinking for a while about what unites all Nevermore students, except age and english speaking (and queerness lol), and I have a theory that maybe the circumstances surrounding their death has not been fully clarified?

Lenore could have died as Leo. The situation is more complicated with Annabel, but if Lenore's identity was revealed during the wedding, I bet Ira would like to hush up the scandal involving his daughter.

Duke's death was a murder that looked like an accident.

Eulalie died in a fire, presumably in deliberate arson, and her body could not be identified.

I am more than sure that Berenice has been slandered. The guy she was running from? He was definitely harassing her, and it was more convenient for the police to expose Bee as guilty, given that she was hit by a police car.

In the Montresor`s death flashback, no one calls him by his name. I may read too much into it, but it's easy to imagine that this guy had a couple of fake documents and names in reserve. It's not too convenient to mess around under same name.

Prospero. We don't know much about him, but in his hallucinations he says "No, there’s been a horrible mistake! You`ve got the wrong–". What the hell does that mean? My theory is that he was misdiagnosed and treated for an illness he didn't have. This is also indicated by his fear that Annabel will consider him neurotic.

Ada's murder definitely didn't want her to be found. I've seen the theory that he dismembered her, and most likely buried her in various places. The poor girl was probably considered missing.

That leaves Will, Morella, and Pluto. In the case of Will-oh, come on, it's Will, there must have been a lot of muddle with his death. He might not have been identified, he might not have been found, he might have died under a false name, pretending to be someone else. This theory fits him perfectly, even if we don't know anything about him.

As for Pluto, the two most popular versions are that either his father killed him or he committed suicide. Maybe both. In any case, in the original story, the narrator bricked his black cat into the wall alive, and Poe loves this literary device very much, so it would be a waste if none of the characters died buried alive.

And Morella. I have no idea how to relate this theory to her. Mostly because, again, we hardly know anything about her. She probably died protecting someone, but that's it. Maybe in the future the authors will give us something that I can work with.

[dionysianfreak]

Hey there, this might be a bit of a heavy question (not sure?), and it's just about Dionysus and gender dysphoria. I'm trans (identifying as non-binary, but I think I'd be happier as ftm; just can't in the current living situation). I've been struggling a lot with feeling ok in my body and with my identity. I've been thinking of reaching out to Lord Dionysus about this issue (I do already worship him), but I feel scared for some reason. I think it's because I'm really used to adverse reactions when I've asked for help with these things, since I don't have any close trans friends who understand. I'm sorry if this question is a bother or if you wouldn't really know, but do you have any experience asking Dionysus for help with this stuff? This is gonna sound silly, but is he kind about it? Is this maybe something I shouldn't ask for help with? Thank you, and I apologize if this was a bit serious. I understand if you don't choose to answer, obviously, and I hope you're doing well.

hello love. I'm trans as well and I completely understand how hard it is to hide your identity. I'm not out to my family, nor my professional life. especially with how trans people continue to be attacked, I am so genuinely sorry that we live in a world where you feel afraid to live your life comfortably. Dionysos is my trans safe haven, so is Aphrodite/Aphroditos, because I struggle to find a place that's comfortable in the outside world.

I want to say first that Dionysos is certainly a favorite among fellow trans worshippers. there is a historical reason for this. you may hear some say that Dionysos is a God of queer people, or a transgender Deity, or that He was raised transgender. these truths have been heavily modernized (there was no unified idea of being "transgender" in antiquity) but nevertheless, Dionysos is historically a gender-challenging, effeminate Deity that fostered a non-judgemental environment for His followers. here are some examples:

Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 28 (trans. Aldrich) :

"Hermes took him [the newborn infant Dionysos] to Ino and Athamas [the nymphai], and persuaded them to bring him up as a girl."

In some accounts, Dionysos is raised as a girl-child in order to hide Him from the wrath of Hera. below is an expert from Oedipus hinting that Dionysos's female childhood made Him partial to feminine clothing and presentation.

Seneca, Oedipus 418 ff (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) :

"Fearing thy stepdame's [Hera's] wrath, thou [Dionysos] didst grow to manhood with false-seeming limbs, a pretended maiden with golden ringlets, with saffron girdle binding thy garments. So thereafter this soft vesture has pleased thee, folds loose hanging and the long-trailing mantle."

another gender-bending aspect of Dionysos is that He is noted as taking on the "female" role within homosexual relationships. in antiquity, men who were penetrated were seen as more naive, young, and feminine than the men who enacted penetration during intercourse. this is where we get the epithet Androgynos, the God who has sex both in the male form and female form. this was sometimes seen derogatorily unfortunately, especially with later writers.

Suidas s.v. Androgynos (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek lexicon C10th A.D.) :

"Androgynos: [A word applied to] Dionysos, as one doing both active, male things and passive, female ones [in sexual intercourse]. Alternatively ‘effeminate’ (anandros), and hermaphroditic (hermaphroditos) [also men who have lost their virility including eunuchs]. Also [in the genitive plural, meaning those who are] weak and have the hearts of women."

**context: this quote is from a 10th century Byzantine author, so take this with some salt

I think it's important to note too about one of Dionysos's birth stories. this interpretation is modern, but I see His birth from Zeus as another way Dionysos has challenged sexual and gender binary.

Euripides, Bacchae: "Daughter of Akheloios, venerable Dirke [spring on Mt Kithairon], happy virgin, you once received the child of Zeus [Dionysos] in your streams, when Zeus his father snatched him up from the immortal fire and saved him in his thigh, crying out : ‘Go, Dithyrambos, enter this my male womb. I will make you illustrious, Bakkhos, in Thebes, so that they will call you by this name.’"

like I said before, there wasn't really a concept of "transgender" in antiquity. there were cross-dressers and events that encouraged the practice, especially in Dionysian imagery (like Pentheus, Dionysos's childhood, and Euripides's descriptions of Him). He was a phallic God of women and a protector of the vulnerable.

now comes the fun part. In Modern Times, i absolutely consider Dionysos the God of transgender people and the protector of queer individuals. I say this because of my own experience and because a large chunk of Dionysos's mythology and theology is a great allegory for trans-ness.

Dionysos is born in secrecy and raised as a woman in hiding. Dionysos is born from a male womb. Dionysos is torn to shreds by titans and then His heart reforms His body. Dionysos is ritually torn apart by worshippers (sparagamos) and sometimes His flesh (in the form of a bull or animal) is consumed raw (omophagia). Dionysos is a shape-shifting God in The Bacchae and other times is personified as a bull or goat. Dionysos is effeminate; Dionysos is an elder, bearded man. you see my point. MANY aspects of Dionysian culture can be viewed as allegories for the modern transgender experience. these themes were prominent enough to follow writers all the way into Rome and to appear in later writings like Nonnus's.

everything above is my long, winded way of saying "YES, Dionysos understands". He understands deeper than many see and I worship Him as a transgender Deity. Dionysos is the reason I explored my identity in the first place and He is my safe space for expressing myself unapologetically. my depictions of Him are always gender-nonconforming and I generally view Him as a God of Transitions. Gender transitions yes, but also life transitions: moving home, finding new opportunities, social changes, etc. He is a God that helps us through these massive life events and eases the pain that comes with it. I find Him similar to Hekate in these aspects (upg), a Deity of the liminal in-between stages and the celebrator of the end-goal.

I sympathize with your unease. I have felt scared to approach the Gods with hard topics because it would feel devastating to be rejected by our own Gods. However, I have never once experienced berating for the act of asking nor for sharing my fears and pain. the Gods are here to build us up, not knock us down. you won't know if incorporating your trans identity into your religion works for you unless you try it. I'll bet that Dionysos would be happy to hear your voice and see your face regardless of what you're asking of Him.

I wouldn't be where I am today without Dionysos. I would probably still be a messed up, insecure mess. I had no idea my lack of confidence and hatred of my body was my dysphoria weighing me down. not until Dionysos pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to dress how I want to. the first step is the hardest in my opinion, but it's so so so worth it. Dionysos supports all of our intricacies and changes. even if I decide to detransition or change my identity once more, I know He will always be in my corner.

I sincerely wish you the best anon. the confidence it takes to speak about topics like this is massive and I'm proud of you for taking this step of inquiring about it ! whatever you decide, the Theoi will be by your side. also, thank you for giving me the opportunity to rant about Dionysos's trans aspects and my upg 🫶💕🍇 cheers !

[ptej1980]

A little debrief and reset..

Just for those who need it

Theories, theories of the party and JD and Nicola’s “Launch” (lol🤭cringe)

Ok so there have been some chatter going around that it may have been her agency CAA pushing for his attendance, to redirect the focus away from her and JKR heat in the media. It Is plausible and could explain the last minute attendance. But to me it may have still been a combination of the ongoing NDA with Newts and A.

What we know by the receipts that have been sourced by @fiamat12 is that Nic was unwell, and JD was upset at the event. It was not the happy time that the media wants it to be portrayed as.

In has now come to our attention that after the event Jack Rooke close friend of Nic posted an IG story saying he left the party early but could not decide between a “gay bar” or “Italian Restaurant”. Now as a fandom we know Italian restaurants are synonymous with Luke so is Jack trying to say something or is it purely coincidental.

The day after the party Miller Mode, JDs stylist changed his bio. It originally said “stylist to the queers, weirds and beards”. And he was often known to referring to Jake as she and a princess. So why remove it? We all know why right? 😉🏳️‍🌈

Even Jake’s mates including Nic refer to him as diva and one of the girls. So yeah…..

Some people have left the ship I think not because they don’t believe in Lukola, but because of the subfandom insistence, trolling, and they feel a little betrayed because it feels in their faces.

Personally I have had time to breathe, reflect and think. Nic is kind, she cares about others and has a giant heart. If she had a choice I don’t think she would intentionally go out to offend anyone, but she is very strong in her beliefs for charities she supports. The party, a distraction, a tool. No where has she ever said or JD ever identified a relationship. The media and the subfandom has done this for them. And while it would be advantageous to correct the narrative it may be the stubborn nature of Nic being unwilling to do so or she is unable. When the truth comes out she can say that it was the media who labeled Jake as her boyfriend.

I have been a ring Truther from the beginning and nothing will ever make me believe that the Claudagh is worn for anyone else but Luke. It was designed while they were together acting loved up on the WT. And was picked up in Galway on the WT where Luke met her family.

What we saw between Nic and Luke at the WT and again at the SAGs is unmatched to what we have seen we their supposed “partners “. The adjacent narrative that neither has claimed publicly. If they were with adjacents they would not have been that unhinged. 🤭 and you know I am glad they were together because the WT was brilliant.

No matter what tomorrow brings or the next day I know Lukola will be ok. I am anticipating drama at Cannes but a repeat of SAGs for the BAFTAs.

Firmly Sat, forever sailing and Ring Truthers Unite!!

[ocelotlesbian]

i've been thinking over this aspect of his character for a while now and i think i have enough material to make a post about it, so...

> genderqueer mitsuba!!

an analysis on mitsuba's peculiar gender expression and queercoding! ( ´∀ ` )

full post under the cut!!

before i begin, a disclaimer: mitsuba is canonically a boy, and i'm not trying to say he isn't!! he can be a boy and also genderqueer. genderqueer folks can still identify with the "binary" labels of girl or boy, since being genderqueer doesn't require anything aside from having a queer experience with gender. and as i'll explain in this post, his gender is pretty damn queer!!!

also for the record i myself am genderqueer. lesbian flavor

now, to start off: the immediately obvious.

it's pretty obvious that mitsuba is the most gender non-conforming character in the entire manga. from his medium length pink hair neatly tied up in a little ponytail, to more subtle details like his hands being drawn similarly to that of the female characters & his occasionally drawn bottom lashes, which no other male characters seem to have.

along with his general "you should not ask me to lift heavy objects" demeanor, all these more feminine details serve to make him distinct from all the other male characters in the manga, putting him in a kind of seperate category consisting solely of him.

and this idea of him being in his own seperate category ties in with other important aspects of his character as well!

for sousuke, it ties into how he was ostracized from his peers for standing out too much, and for no.3tsuba, it ties into how he feels alienated from humans & other supernaturals and feels as though he doesn't belong anywhere. if you think about it, it's all pretty analogous with the queer experience!

and going further with sousuke specifically, the turning point of his character arc was his conversation with kou on the stairs, where kou essentially tells him that he didn't have to try and fit into a polite box to make himself more likeable, and he can just express himself the way he wants to. ...i don't think i need to explain how this sentiment could easily be tied in with his queerness and gender expression lol

now i could go even deeper into how queercoded mitsuba's character arc is, but i think i'll leave it here for now.

another thing i wanna go over is the genderswap episode of the after school hanako-kun anime. now, the events of this episode including him didn't actually happen in the manga, so the canonicity is rather dubious. but i still think it's worth going over!!

this episode deviates from the manga by having mitsuba join hanako & sakura in the genderswap shenanigans. in the episode, mitsuba gets hit with the gender reassignment surgery beam and... well, basically nothing happens.

the joke here is obviously the fact he already looks like a girl, so you wouldn't really have to change anything in a genderswap, but the part i find the most interesting is how he himself didn't notice a change whatsoever.

i'm not sure how the specifics of the genderswap robot work, but i'd imagine he'd notice something was up, right? so to me, this scene just hammers in the fact that he's just kind of unnaffected by / outside of most things relating to gender. he's in his own gay little corner, he's immune to this shit!!

so in conclusion, mitsuba's gender is in fact very queered!! his queerness & gender expression is extremely interlinked with his character arc and motivations of feeling othered from the rest of the world, and i just felt like this needed to be discussed. and also i love him lots. <3

end of post!!! thank you for reading my autistic ramblings ^_^

[bengiyo]

Heesu in Class 2 is the Show of the Spring for Me

I’m so relieved to have a show to look forward to again. I was in such despair after Gelboys ended that I haven’t been able to even write my BL Blurb about it; I just haven’t wanted to talk about how many other shows I’ve dropped or been uninterested in starting. However, Heesu in Class 2 has quickly taken over my top slot, and it’s given me a lot of ideas about the ways BL can explore queerness without saying “I am a homosexual,” while also exploring first romance.

It's Easy to Follow

The main source of my initial excitement about this show stems from how clear its narrative goals are from the jump. We have Hee Su, who’s known for giving lots of romantic advice without having much experience, and who is also known for being in the shadow of his popular friend Chan Young. Chan Young is often confessed to by girls, but they often grow tired of his aloof nature and break up. Hee Su is holding a secret crush on Chan Young, and worries he’ll miss his chance.

Meanwhile, the class president, Seung Won, is struggling to confess his own crush to Hee Su; Chan Young is developing a crush on Ji Yu after having a nice interaction in their cram school; and Ji Yu is also developing a crush on Chan Young. Hee Su sees this mutual crush forming, misunderstands Seung Won’s behavior, and decides that the best way for him to keep Chan Young available to him is to meddle in Seung Won’s affairs and pair him with Ji Yu.

Beyond that, Hee Su and Chan Young have another friend in Ho Sik who’s pursuing a relationship with one girl in the knitting club, while another girl leaves his secret admirer gifts. Hee Su also has three older sisters, who seem to be his primary caregivers (it doesn’t seem like their parents are in the picture). His dynamic with Ho Sik feels familiar, and Ahn Ji Ho plays off all three sister-playing actresses with surprising ease. Each sister feels distinct, and the rapport between all of them feels lived-in.

What stands out so far is that each dynamic in this show has been accessible and identifiable immediately. Each interaction in this show feels intentional and contributes to the ongoing development of the narrative or the characters.

Queer Angst Without Identity Declarations

One of the ongoing struggles I’ve had for years with BL is how alien it can feel for people who aren’t naturally drawn to romance stories, especially for many of my queer friends and colleagues. BL feels so alien to them, and many of my people have complained that BL characters don’t feel real to them. Like Our Dating Sim (ODS), Heesu in Class 2 (HIC2) is the kind of BL I enjoy because there aren’t many great heterosexual explanations for what’s happening in this show. In ODS, Lee Wan’s behavior regarding Shin Ki Tae only makes sense if he lives in a world with recognizable homophobia, and I’m feeling a similar pull in HIC2. ODS never had to say the words gay, and I don’t think HIC2 needs to right now.

Hee Su could choose to hide his feelings from Chan Young for valid platonic reasons, but the inherent fear for closeted folks is the rejection of your entire being when your friend can’t reciprocate your feelings. When heterosexuals reject each other, it isn’t inherently laced with the rejection of queerness itself. More than just navigate awkward friendship boundaries when a romance isn’t possible, queer people must navigate whether they can even be friends with a straight person anymore.

Hee Su could have treated the lesbian classmate like her crush on a girl was unremarkable. Instead, he brought up her situation with his sisters in a way that felt a lot like testing the waters on whether his sisters could accept a similar truth from him. His sisters’ serious regard for the issue, and Hee Jin’s response that the confirmation that the crush could like another girl insinuated that the pining lesbian still had a chance, further confirms that this is not a world where everyone is bisexual by default without anyone having to look directly into the camera to declare themselves gay.

Hee Su panicked when Chan Young’s latest suitor (though she might have a crush on Hee Su) asked him if he liked Chan Young. He’s also currently receiving threatening messages from an anonymous sender about what they presume to know about him. I absolutely loved episode 4 ending without resolving that, or confirming the identity of the sender, so the audience can experience a miniscule fraction of what being closeted feels like.

Then there’s Seung Won. Beyond his own crush on Hee Su and admiration for their home life, he had the opportunity to hide a truth about himself from Ji Yu when she brought up how he looks at Hee Su. I like that their friendship is one that’s strong enough that she can laugh at the absurd situation he’s in without him feeling embarrassed about his truth.

All of this gives us a useful framework to use hets.

The Hets

What we gain for placing this story outside of the BL Bubble is the ability to reckon with the presumptions and consequences of expected queer responses to angst. I love that Hee Su has a crush on his straight friend as Seung Won has a crush on Hee Su. In any sort of romantic story, the audience generally sides with the protagonist, and tends to side with their baseline perspective on things.

Hee Su has a nonproductive crush on his best friend. I might grow frustrated with the unspoken impasse in this story if I didn’t have Seung Won’s crush, or the budding romance between Chan Young and Ji Yu as additional complications in this story. Chan Young not noticing what’s going on with Hee Su would prove frustrating if Hee Su wasn’t also actively working against his best friend’s goals.

Moreover, it’s hard to support the inherent validity of Hee Su’s feelings, with the additional demand that Chan Young must pick up on them (or even reciprocate them) without disrespecting Seung Won’s feelings as well. This love rhombus works because Hee Su is not the only sympathetic character in this situation. If Chan Young must respond and reciprocate Hee Su’s gay feelings as our protagonist, where does that leave Seung Won? We must instead focus on what the characters do in pursuit of their goals and the resulting consequences.

Chan Young clearly loves Hee Su, and listens to him closely; but the boy is straight, and he won’t likely reciprocate Hee Su’s feelings. He’s not teasing Hee Su just because they have a physically affectionate friendship, which he also seems to have with Ho Sik. Hee Su himself noted that Chan Young’s response to Ji Yu is new and unlike anything he’s ever seen from him.

As for Ji Yu, I love that she’s been given a full personality. She’s another character being misunderstood by her peers as a snotty rich girl, when we’re shown that she’s a poor girl working a part time job on top of cram school while building a music career. This girl is busy! We see her pick up on Chan Young’s interest, and she responded in kind. That the feelings between them are so easy for them to feel and express serves as a frank comparison to Hee Su’s gay angst (though Hee Su and Seung Won could learn from the Episode 1 Lesbian and confess!)

Ji Yu also didn’t recoil at the possibility that her longtime friend Seung Won might have a crush on her. She was surprised, and respected Seung Won’s avoidance about it for a while before trying to approach him properly about it. Her eventually laughing at him over his situation with Hee Su works for me because she treated him seriously.

I also can’t hate Chan Young for being straight. He clearly values his friends, and he’s got an active sports storyline for me to follow! He’s clearly going to hurt himself over his newfound determination to succeed in tennis now that he’s motivated by his crush on Ji Yu.

In this show, I genuinely like the control Chan Young and Ji Yu offer, along with Ho Sik and Hee Su’s sisters, as a baseline for what heterosexuality looks like in this show’s world.

Wrapping Up

Honestly, I’m having so much fun with this show. It’s been so refreshing to have a show to look forward to on Fridays and Saturdays with the current drought I’m in. Ahn Ji Ho is so great at the physicality of his character, and he’s got excellent control over his facial expressions (I was cackling at his emoji-esque glare at Seung Won). He has consistent scene chemistry with every performer in this show. More than that, it’s just really nice to watch a show that told us exactly what it was about in the first episode before delivering on that experience every single episode. This show is really good, and it’s so rare that I’ve been able to say that lately.

[derpygirl-draws]

You know what? I will not be be quiet.

^(just an example of what I am talking about) I wish I could live everyday not having to worry and not having to listen to the people I love panicking or just saying “Welp guess we are fucked”. But because so many people believed in this asshole and voted for him, I have to fear for the lives of people, REAL PEOPLE, some of whom not so long ago did not have any rights or freedoms as much as the average American. THIS IS NOT NEGOTIABLE, PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE AT STAKE. Not just their mortality but their basic right to happiness. THEIR RIGHT AS PEOPLE TO LIVE HOW THEY PLEASE IN THE PUBLIC EYE AND TO FEEL PROUD OF WHO THEY ARE.

I’ve heard people call other’s dramatic.

Those who think the reaction of minorities is dramatic do not know the fear of being deemed less important to the world. I don’t even fully know what that’s like and I don’t want to know. I don’t want anyone to know what it’s like for the world to turn their back on them. It’s a very real feeling that I wouldn’t wish on anyone! I WANT TO SEE THE PEOPLE I LOVE BEING HAPPY. I WANT TO SEE THE WORLD HAPPY. But that’s too much to ask, isn’t it?

I may not fully understand the struggles of every minority. I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived a childhood where discrimination against any part of me has been minimal.

I am a person who was born as female and identifies as female. I am a person of color. I am queer. I am neurodivergent. The majority of my peers and friends are minorities. And I care very deeply about all of them. I don’t hate many things in the world. I believe hate only fosters bitterness. But I will not hide the fact that I HATE seeing the people I care about, no matter how little I know them or how distant the relationship, hurting. I HATE knowing that I can’t immediately take their pain away and tell them not to worry.

Cause who am I to say you or the people around you shouldn’t worry? Who am I to promise it’ll be okay? Who am I to wish for a better world when it feels like the cards are constantly stacked against us.

Who is anyone to call someone else dramatic for fearing the future? When this is the world we live in.

I want to say my peace on the matter cause I feel it would be doing my loved ones a disservice to keep my voice left unheard. To bottle up your thoughts is the give in to the fear.

TELL THE WORLD HOW YOU FEEL. TELL THE WORLD AND SOMEONE WILL COME TO LISTEN. You are not dramatic for being scared. But do not suffer alone. There is always someone who will listen. Always someone who feels the same. Always someone who will appreciate knowing they aren’t alone and that you are with them.

And for those who don’t care or don’t believe this is a big deal, I will not beg. I will not ask. I will tell you to educate yourself and learn about reality we’ve been thrusted into. And if anything, how this affects you too. Cause otherwise there is nothing I can do for you and nothing I will do because there are others I know who appreciate and acknowledge what I have to say. There are others who will stand with me. There are people I want to stand with because they are people that believe and care about me and the millions of people who will be affected by the choices and ignorance of others.

I stand with open arms to those who need it. Who needs support. I will not say please stand with me. I will say I am here and I will stay here and be here no matter what and if you choose to stand with me, that’s your choice.

I will not beg for the freedom to exist and neither should you.

[brighteyedbushybrowed]

When considering Perpetua as trans, I think it's interesting to consider Copia also being trans (bc it's not unheard of for twins to be trans or generally queer).

And I think that then adds extra layers to who they are, especially when thinking about how much freedom they'd have had to explore their identities within their upbringing.

Copia being raised by his adoptive parents, who shape him into becoming Papa from an early age once he comes out as trans as a kid. They support him and are happy for him to discover who he is, but it also comes with the cost of molding and shaping him into the man they need him to be if he is to become Papa. And of course he knows who he is away from Papa, but there is still that underlying thing of "this is what will be expected of you as Papa, this is how you meed to be" and he wonders how much of him is truly him and how much of it is what he needed to become in order to he Papa.

And then you have Perpetua. Either raised by Sister or in a convent (I personally like to headcanon that Sister kept him as her own child so that it would draw suspicion away from her being Copia's mother too). And he has a lot more freedom to discover and learn who he is without the expectation that he will one day be Papa. I also think that perhaps he didn't figure out he was trans until he was older, maybe late teens or early 20s. Perhaps something always felt different or out of place within him, but because he has a different upbringing to Copia and different parents raising him he doesn't find the words to describe who he is until he's older and does his own research.

This possibility also adds layers to Copia's hatred for Perpetua. While his identity as a man is shaped by his destiny to one day become Papa and he struggles to identify what is him at his core and what is Papa, Perpetua doesn't have that struggle bc he's been allowed to grow and shape himself as his own man without the expectation of becoming Papa. He doesn't have that question inside him of "am I doing this bc it's me or am I doing this bc it's expected of me?" and for Copia that's something he's jealous of and resents Perpetua for.

Copia was so bitter and hardened when we first met him, remember? We joke that he's always been a hater, but it's more fascinating imo to consider that he's always been resentful of the Papas who haven't had their gender identities influenced or shaped by what they are supposed to become as adults. And that resentment has bubbled and festered into hate and spite. Meanwhile, Perpetua is softer, lighter. He doesn't have to question who he is as a man because Papa wasn't an option for him until he was older and already knew more of who he was before the shaping and the molding began. And now Copia has time to figure out and unpack who he actually is away from Papacy and the upbringing he had where all that mattered was becoming Papa.

[penguinsfly]

I unfortunately saw something I didn't want to see and that was my last straw. I'm fucking doing this.

Let's establish this first. Alastor is stated in the show to be asexual that is not up to discussion. He is also very heavily implied in the same conversation to be aromatic. 'An Ace in the hole' being used in context of him being with Charlie is also implying his aromanticism.

VIDEO

If that's not enough then here is Viv speaking about his romantic orientation. It's pretty clear despite the fact that afterwards she said it's okay to headcanon whatever (it's not but I will get o that later) that he is written purely as an aro ace character.

On top of that going by Alastor's interaction with Angel from the pilot and the first episode it is clear that he is sex repulsed. Not only that but on the fandom website he is stated to be touch averse with two sources which you can check out on the website.

Hazbin hotel wiki, Alastor page

Now we established that Alastor is canonically Asexual, Aromantic, Sex Repulsed and Touch Averse

As I also am all of the above I'll try to explain everything to the best of my ability as simply as I can.

Aromanticism and Asexuality.

I'm probably targeting the audience that knows those terms but regardless I will explain it anyway.

Aromantic - people that experience little to no romantic attraction towards any gender

Asexual - people that experience little to no sexual attraction towards any gender.

Little to no

Asexuality and aromanticism are spectrums in which people can feel certain attractions towards people but those attractions are less occurring or are defined by personal connection.

Diagram from AVEN website

However some people are at the end of the spectrum, they never felt attraction and that's valid. Alastor was stated to be aroace he wasn't written as demi or as gray he was written as aroace as in the end of the spectrum. His repulsion and not giving shit about romance or sex speaks for itself.

Representation

I do understand that everyone wants to be represented but it's so important to understand that aroace people are one of the most underrepresented queer groups in the media.

And I'm not here to scream about how I want my fav character to be just like me I don't care for it I'm way too confident in my orientation to rely on that however I'm tired of explaining to people what asexuality and aromanticism is just to receive 'are you sure' or 'you'll change your mind' or 'its not real' or the community favourite 'you'll find the right person' no I won't I'm not looking thank you very much (I just smile and nod to be polite and I'm sick of it).

'Harmless' buts like: 'He might be on the spectrum', 'AroAce people can still feel attraction' hurt the final outcome for all the people on the spectrum not only strictly aroaces because it allows people to write one shots with 'Demi Alastor' that falls in love in 2000 words because he is 'demi' (spoiler alert: they don't understand what that label means). It's just a cover, an opening, sneaky way to disregard his orientation, feel good about themselves and move on. Newsflash there is no moving on for aroace people it's our life.

Shipping

Shipping is just harmless fun right? Usually yes but not in this case. In the same way its not okay to ship gay characters with genders they are not attracted to.

It's erasure and since there is much less people identifying on aro/ace spectrums then there is gay or bi people our voices are being silenced. Not to mention that gay people received support from entire LGBTQIA+ community over the years in contrast to aro/ace specs who to this day are told that we are 'not queer enough' or 'not oppressed enough' often by other queer people.

And finally... FINALLY we get cannon Aro/Ace character that is clearly not interested in romance and sex. Character that beats stereotypes of boring and timid aro/ace people and what's the first people do? They ship him. Alastor's storyline provides so many points to be explored like 'what is his backstory', ' what's about his deal', ' how does he fit in in the found family trope' , 'does he care about hotel guests' yet people choose to write about the only thing that he is not interested in. As a heavily repulsed person that used to be horrified about the fact that I'll have to fall in love with somebody at some point before I found out what aro/ace is I find it repulsive and trust me he would too.

But Viv said it's okay!

Its the same point once again. What if Viv said that it's okay to ship gay Angel with woman. She doesn't have authority to say shit like that.

Queerplatonic relationships

I can't tell you not to do it I don't think he would be necessary interested in it but for fuck sake do your research and try to understand what queerplatonic means before you use it as a cover to shamelessly ship him. Respect the fact that he is sex repulsed and touch averse and you're fine.

Why can't you just avoid it?

First of all I shouldn't have to. Alastor's orientation should be respected in the fandom like any other orientation is. Second of all I've tried. I tried to only look up AroAce Alastor tag I've blocked over 80 people on tumblr alone (I just counted) to avoid to see anything that could trigger me and I'm not talking about slightly shippy posts or fanarts I'm talking about full blown disregard towards his orientation. Guess what it didn't work!

Archive of our own where do I start. I've used this website for over a decade and I could probably count days I didn't go there on my fingers. I'm fluent in AO3 I know which tags I should block. I know how to skim thorough the summary and tags to see if I'm interested. I've seen shit I'm a shipper I've been on ao3 for ten years but never had to mentally prepare myself to face queerphobia as I click on the tab.

Just use aro/ace Alastor tag.

I do and let me tell you people can't tag for shit or they just pretend to be clueless at this point. Besides see this?

there is more ff with Alastor/reader (disgusting) than there is Alastor with his canon orientation and to play the devils advocate for arophobic people there is more Angel/Alastor then his stated in the show sexuality. I understand that fandom goes back before the show was aired but Viv confirmed his orientation back then too.

Summary

I could go on and on bout different issues and maybe I will in the future but I'm not wasting anymore of this weekend on it. I'm ready to answer any questions as long as they are respectful.

I'm aware that he is a fictional character, it doesn't affect him in any way whatsoever but it does affect aromantic and asexual people keep it in mind.

If there are any mistakes grammar related I'm not sorry I'm fluent in English (not my first language) but I took 3h nap in between and I'm sleep deprived.

Have a nice day.