#more like bi-gay conflict

[rysko]

saw the picture @the-wise-old-elf posted and couldn't not think about this tweet

#peaky blinders #tommy shelby #luca changretta #bi-gay solidarity? #more like bi-gay conflict

[designernishiki]

hot take but. oda is honestly one of the most interesting prominent side characters in y0 to me. like. don’t get me wrong obviously i don’t condone his actions, but speaking as a character design guy, i think he’s got a whole lot of complexity to think about in his story and identity that people tend to ignore/overlook because he’s not a black and white “good” person. like no shit he’s morally fucked, that doesn’t mean his intense pining and crazed level of dedication to tachibana and the lengths all his guilt and repressed love for the man he saw as the best thing to ever grace his life drove him to aren’t interesting to think about– if anything it makes him more interesting. he was. really something

#people like to joke about wanting problematic queer rep instead of just good upstanding citizens all the time but then you get someone like #oda and suddenly all nuance dissappears and liking him as a character (for being a well-made character I mean) is equated to #condoning sex trafficking. like. no that’s not how that works #though I do think- regardless of him being a shitty dude- he does count as a victim of burying your gays #but that’s less about his death being narratively a bad choice and more that there could’ve been more queer rep amongst prominent characters #to balance it out (who don’t die) #though idk I’m always a little put off by the all too common Gay Chracter Dies For Their Tragic Love Interest trope #because it’s. too common. and depressing. but again I think it could’ve been balanced out if someone else was prominent and #canonically queer (also thinking like. nishitani seemed pretty close to canonically bi but. he. also died. so) #anyway. yeah on the other hand im glad they didn’t sugarcoat or morally sanitize him as a character for the sake of his queerness though #I would’ve really liked to have seen more on tachibana’s side about what he thought of oda and their relationship in general- cause they #knew each other for quite a while and were undeniably close. even lived together and whatnot. and all tachibana really got to say when he #found out oda was probably dead was just. well just that. that he’s probably dead. I feel like he should’ve gotten to be more shook by that #and/or more deeply conflicted and pained by the combination of his potential death for makotos safety and his responsibility for #trafficking her in the first place. that’s. such a deep well of complicated emotions to sort out and they really did absolutely nothing #with it. like. it makes me wanna write something that’s how much is There that was unused. so much with that relationship in general really. #hhhh….. anyway I should shut up now #jun oda #oda #yakuza #yakuza 0 #rgg #rgg0 #rambling #oh yeah also. hating him is understandable but you have to then apply the same judgement to all characters who have done some real shitty #stuff in their pasts to get by- which is quite a few characters- including lee who’s far more liked and was a literal hitman #(saying that as someone who also likes him as a character quite a bit and Likes that he’s in a moral grey zone) so. yeah. #yakuza 0 spoilers

[angelsdean]

oh I love being a lover of multitudes of headcanons !! different and conflicting headcanons co-existing. Like i want to entertain ALLL the scenarios !!! they can be compelling in different situations, different narratives !!!

#like I can entertain and appreciate bi Cas gay Cas bi dean gay dean trans headcanons nonbinary #angel cas endgame human cas endgame somewhere in between #dean with different traumas dean with neurodivergencies #outright abusive homophobic John and also subtle and more nuanced abuses #these are just things off the top of my head but like !! i want to rotate allll the scenarios in my mind. esp in fics #i could never subscribe to just one definitive set of headcanons #like there are ones that are MY canon for like when I’m watching the show like bi dean is just what he IS to me #buuut i can also see gay dean interpretations esp w like comphet and stuff and it’s interesting to explore in fics #like ​spirit of the west gay dean my beloved<333 #anyways that post abt 2021 spn drama got me thinking abt all this lmao don’t come for me #i love multitudes ok !!! i love entertaining different and conflicting scenarios and not getting serious abt them it’s fun<333 #vic.txt

[wheelercurse]

mmm I’m still leaning to bi Mike, and I still think he’s conforming. And actually I don’t think he had accepted his feelings for Will yet 😳, and it’s not like he has no idea about them, but he’s repressing them.

#yes I believe Mike is bi and he’s also struggling with his sexuality #he likes El but doesn’t love El #and sometimes I see the gay Mike vision tbh #and sawrry but it’s kind of boring the idea that he just haven’t realized his feelings yet but he isn’t struggling with his sexuality #and that doesn’t add up with the rain fight tbh #and it’s really not complicated to explore more about his inner conflict when Vecna exist #like this bitch feed from guilt and shame and hate people who try to be normal and conform

[moki-dokie]

been seeing some stuff on blue eye samurai and big yikes to nearly everyone pushing extremely western ideals onto these characters.

this is early edo period. 1600s. the japan you know now did not exist yet.

yall. please. there was NO concept of sexuality in pre-modern japan. that came with both the influx of christianity and western influence very very late in history. like, mid-1800s. (yes, there was christianity pre-1800s but it was not a widespread idea yet and wouldn't be until about the 1800s since, y'know, missionaries were routinely murdered before then)

"so and so is either bi and hasn't figured it out yet or..." no. that isn't how it worked then. nobody gave a shit what was between your legs. anyone could be attracted to anyone else. it was a little more common for male homosexual relationships to be between an adult and younger male - like many other places around the world - but two adult men could bang and love each other just as easily. relationships between women were quite common - especially since so many men were often away at war. there's tons of pornographic prints from the time depicting all manner of fun queer relationships. sex itself had absolutely no moral assignment to it. good sex was good health. it didn't matter who with. (well, social class/caste mattered more than anything else tbh but that didn't stop upper and lower class from fucking.) that isn't to say people didn't have preferences. of course they did. that is human nature. preferences arose more from physical appearance, caste, and circumstances with gender being about the last thing one would look for in a partner - romantic, casual, or otherwise. the only role in sex where gender actually mattered was for procreation.

there would be no queer awakening moment, no sudden switch flipped, no stigma to have internal conflicts about because it simply did not exist as a concept whatsoever. you were either attracted to a person or you weren't, it was that simple. gender played no role when it came to sex and sexual attraction. the japanese were lightyears ahead of western cultures in this particular area - like most cultures were before christianity came in and ruined everything with its backwards morals and strict good/evil dichotomy.

yall have got to realize queer rep will not and should not always adhere by modern western standards. there was no straight, gay, bi, or anything else of the sort. the closest they ever got was referring to roles during sex - as in who is giving and who is receiving.

i know this is mostly a made up story but it is still set within a very specific time period and culture, which should be honored and respected by not making it fit into our box. tons of research went into making this show historically accurate (albeit with some discrepancies but tbh they aren't really that huge) right down to the calligraphy writing. please please please don't whitewash the culture from these characters.

i say this mainly because without this knowledge, so many of you are going to build these characters up on a foundation they aren't meant to be on and then you'll rage about queerbaiting and bad queer rep if it isn't somehow super explicitly stated, if it doesn't match your very modern, very western ideal of what queer looks like. don't try to force this plot and narrative and characters into something they canonically and historically aren't. headcanons are a thing, AUs are a thing, fanfiction is a thing - leave your western thinking for those and let these characters simply exist as they should otherwise. this is one of those times where the queerness really does not need to be examined at all beyond what we get.

i know it can be hard to wrap your head around - sexuality is such a huge part of our identity in the western world and has slowly started to spread amongst other parts of the world in importance. but just keep in mind with these particular characters, that concept would be so very alien to them.

#blue eye samurai #i'm gonna bite people if i see complaints about queer anything in this show

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Deborah Kerr (Bonjour Tristesse, An Affair to Remember, The King and I)— For several decades she held the record for most Oscar nominations without a win (6 in total), and she was a prolific leading lady throughout the 40s and 50s. She's best known today for the romance An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant, and as the governess in The King and I. Many people have this erroneous perception of her as extremely prim, proper, and virginal, but this could not be further from the truth. When she first came to Hollywood under MGM she was typecast into boring decorative roles, but broke sexual boundaries for herself and Hollywood generally in From Here to Eternity, when she made out (horizontally!) with Burt Lancaster (on top of him!) in the famous Beach Scene. She went on to play many sexually conflicted women, a character type that would define most of her post- Eternity work. She continued to break Hays Code boundaries with Tea and Sympathy, which addresses homosexuality/homophobia head-on, and even did a topless scene in The Gypsy Moths 1969!! One of the only classic stars to do so. She deserves a more nuanced and frankly a hotter legacy than she currently has!!!

Ethel Merman (Anything Goes, Call Me Madam)— Possessed of a bold, brash voice, and an even bolder and brasher presence, Ethel Merman might be more well known for her stage roles, but she made several movies, and was bold and brash in them as well. Also I think if I don't submit her, she's going to come back and haunt me.

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Ethel Merman:

You've gotta love any woman who got typecast as lead-MILF

Deborah Kerr:

I think she was one of my first crushes before I realised I was bi in The King and I when I watched it as a kid honestly. The kissing scene in From Here to Eternity is iconic for a reason. Actually tried to learn the accents for the characters she was playing if they weren't English which is more than pretty much anyone else was doing then. Played very restrained characters who frequently seemed to be desperate not to be so restrained. Did horror movies without venturing into hagsploitation tropes. Gave Marni Nixon the credit she deserved for her share of the singing in The King and I.

Anne Larsen is a peak late 1950s bisexual with big MILF energy. Have you seen the behind the scenes pics of her wearing a suit?? Have you????? Vote Deb as Anne Larsen.

Nominated for an Oscar six (6) times and never won, but besides her having actual talent (hot), and besides her looking Like That (very hot, also beautiful), she was always playing women who are, like, crazy repressed. Which makes it fun and easy for me to read these characters as queer. Icon!!!! You know what's hot? Playing ambiguously gay in vintage Hollywood.

Her face and talent and body, yes, ofc, duh. But also!!! Her HANDS!!!! I may be but a simple lesbian, but she is the best hactor (hand actor) that ever lived and that's HOT! For propriety's sake I feel I must redact a large portion of my commentary on this subject. Anyway. She's hot in her most famous roles (mentioned above), and also some of her sexiest hacting is on display in An Affair to Remember (her hand on the bannister when Cary Grant kisses her off-screen??? HELLO???), Tea and Sympathy (when she's trying to persuade Tom not to go out and she keeps flexing her hands like she wants to reach out to him but can't??? ALLY BEHAVIOR! WE STAN!), and The Innocents (which opens and closes with extended shots of her hands bc director Jack Clayton was also an ally and he did that for ME). Much of her appeal also lies in the fact that she often played deeply repressed characters and you know what's hot? When those uptight characters finally unravel. It's sexy. It's cathartic. It's erotic. Plus, she's beautiful to look at in both black & white and technicolor, and the more of her films you see, the more you can't help but fall in love!

Literally is in thee most famously sexy scene of all time (or maybe just during the hays code era which is what we're talking about HELLO), which is the beach scene with Burt Lancaster in from here to eternity. To quote a tumblr post of a screen capture of a tweet of a video of joy behar on the view: "y'know, there used to be movies where they were kissing on the beach... From Here to Eternity. They're kissing-- Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr are Kissing on the Beach and then the WAVES crash!! You know exactly what they did!"

She might have a reputation of being chaste and virginal or whatever, but we all know it's the quiet ones who are certifiable FREAKS

#ethel merman #deborah kerr #hotvintagepoll #ladies 1 #fuck that old woman

[officialspec]

What do you think gay men are attracted to in men that they can’t be attracted to in women?

It can’t be anything about femininity or masculinity obviously. That’s both sexist, and cultural so can’t be what drives men-only attraction.

It can’t be anything about stated identity because someone could lie just as easily as they could tell the truth in such a statement, and it makes no sense because homosexuality and heterosexuality exists in other species with no stated identities. It’s not like other animals without gender are all pan.

Saying idk it’s the vibes or some indescribable trait men have that women can’t but “I can’t explain” is a nonanswer.

Soooooooo what is it? Or do you think any sexuality but bi/pan is just cultural performance or an identity rather than an inborn orientation?

- [ ]

first off i hate this ask and i think youre a freak. in any other world i wouldve blocked you for this but unfortunately for both of us i actually like this type of philosophy. dont send this shit to anyone else though

i dont think its right to compare human sexuality to the same thing in animals, to get that out of the way. im sure until a certain point it comes from the same biological impulses, but human beings have way more complicated social structures and reasons for coupling that just do not exist in other animals. our social behaviours are what make us unique in the animal kingdom and that definitely extends to gender and sexuality. so theres that

people love to tout 'gender is a social construct' around like its a criticism in and of itself, which i think betrays a misunderstanding about social constructs in general. theyre the foundations we build language on to better understand each other, and affected by a whole host of cultural and historical factors. just because theyre subjective and complicated doesnt mean they arent real. in terms of the effect they have on peoples lives they may be the most real thing that exists

for example, 'kindness' is a social construct. the definition and ways it is enacted differ greatly across personal and cultural lines. but no one would ever suggest a world where kindness doesnt exist or loses meaning, because its an essential part of the way we interact with each other (in the same way i dont really see a world where gender entirely ceases to exist, mainly just one where people have more fun with it. im not a psychic though so who knows)

similarly, sexuality in humans is another social construct. i think the driving biological forces behind it are very real, but the labels people attach to those impulses are subjective attempts to express their inner world to the people around them if that makes sense. and those same biological impulses are ALSO subject to social ideas of gender, because those ideas are established at birth and reinforced over a persons entire lifetime

to use myself as an example, im a gay trans man. ive identified as other things in the past, because i was trying to pick apart feelings i had and express them to others in an attempt to find community. my identity might change as i get older and experience new things, or it might not. i identify as gay because im not attracted to the social concept of women, and someone i would otherwise be attracted to might lose all appeal after i find out they fall under that concept (this has happened before w transfems pre and post coming out lol)

of course, the real REAL answer to this is that trying to give queer identities rigid and objective definitions is a fools errand, and also lame as fuck. someone might identify as gay and be more attracted to general masculinity than men as a social category, maybe they fool around with a couple of butch women without considering themself any less gay. two otherwise identical people might be a butch lesbian and a gay trans man without either of those identities coming into conflict. they might even be the same person at different times of the week

the labels people choose to use are communication tools, not objective signifiers. if you dont understand them, they probably arent talking to you

social constructs are everything. we as humans have the unique ability to interpret our own messy desires and impulses into words that other people can use to form an idea of someone else in their mind. its how we build connections, and of course it isnt perfect because trying to squeeze someones entire personal history and the centuries of context that defined it into a handful of syllables is going to leave some room for error. but its all we have, yknow? so we keep trying. and i think thats much more human than any imposed objective 'truth' could ever be

tldr we live in a society dipshit. get with it

#ask #long post #i feel like i should tag for the ask bc it sucks but idk what so like. lmk #gender #trans stuff #i love you language philosophy i love you messy human relationships i love you contradictory identities

[gatheringbones]

[“Why not identify as bi? That’s a complicated question. For a while, I thought I was simply being biphobic. There’s a lot of that going around in the gay community. Most of us had to struggle so hard to be exclusively homosexual that we resent people who don’t make a similar commitment. A self-identified bisexual is saying, ‘Men and women are of equal impor- tance to me.’ That’s simply not true of me. I’m a Kinsey Five, and when I turn on to a man it’s because he shares some aspect of my sexuality (like S/M or fisting) that turns me on despite his biological sex.

There’s yet another twist. I have eroticized queerness, gayness, homo- sexuality – in men and women. The leatherman and the drag queen are sexy to me, along with the diesel dyke with greased-back hair, and the femme stalking across the bar in her miniskirt and high-heeled shoes. I’m a fag hag.

The gay community’s attitude toward fag hags and dyke daddies has been pretty nasty and unkind. Fag hags are supposed to be frustrated, traditionally feminine, heterosexual women who never have sex with their handsome, slightly effeminate escorts – but desperately want to. Consequently, their nails tend to be long and sharp, and their lipstick runs to the bloodier shades of carmine. And They Drink. Dyke daddies are supposed to be beer-bellied rednecks who hang out at lesbian bars to sexually harass the female patrons. The nicer ones are suckers who get taken for drinks or loans that will never be repaid.

These stereotypes don’t do justice to the complete range of modern faghaggotry and dyke daddydom. Today fag hags and dyke daddies are as likely to be gay themselves as the objects of their admiration.

I call myself a fag hag because sex with men outside the context of the gay community doesn’t interest me at all. In a funny way, when two gay people of opposite sexes make it, it’s still gay sex. No heterosexual couple brings the same experiences and attitudes to bed that we do. These generalizations aren’t perfectly true, but more often than straight sex, gay sex assumes that the use of hands or the mouth is as important as genital-to-genital contact. Penetration is not assumed to be the only goal of a sexual encounter. When penetration does happen, dildos and fingers are as acceptable as (maybe even preferable to) cocks. During gay sex, more often than during straight sex, people think about things like lubrication and ‘fit’. There’s no such thing as ‘foreplay’. There’s good sex, which includes lots of touching, and there’s bad sex, which is nonsensual. Sex roles are more flexible, so nobody is automatically on the top or the bottom. There’s no stigma attached to masturbation, and gay people are much more accepting of porn, fantasies, and fetishes.

And, most importantly, there is no intention to ‘cure’ anybody. I know that a gay man who has sex with me is making an exception and that he’s still gay after we come and clean up. In return I can make an exception for him because I know he isn’t trying to convert me to heterosexuality.

I have no way of knowing how many lesbians and gay men are less than exclusively homosexual. But I do know I’m not the only one. Our actual behaviour (as opposed to the ideology that says homosexuality means being sexual only with members of the same sex) leads me to ask questions about the nature of sexual orientation, how people (especially gay people) define it, and how they choose to let those definitions control and limit their lives.

During one of our interminable discussions in Samois about whether or not to keep the group open to bi women, Gayle Rubin pointed out that a new, movement-oriented definition of lesbianism was in conflict with an older, bar-oriented definition. Membership in the old gay culture consisted of managing to locate a gay bar and making a place for yourself in bar society. Even today, nobody in a bar asks you how long you’ve been celibate with half the human race before they will check your coat and take your order for a drink. But in the movement, people insist on a kind of purity that has little to do with affection, lust, or even political commitment. Gayness becomes a state of sexual grace, like virginity. A fanatical insistence on one hundred percent exclusive, same-sex behaviour often sounds to me like superstitious fear of contamination or pollution. Gayness that has more to do with abhorrence for the other sex than with an appreciation of your own sex degenerates into a rabid and destructive separatism.”]

pat califa, public sex: the culture of radical sex, 1994, 2000

#pat califa #lesbian literature #history stuff #gender stuff #terra preta

[hatsue-exe]

Hi, may I request for a law and kidd (separate) on how they'd react to their s/o (fem) that she's bi and admits to having a girlfriend in the past? If so, do they accept her or...? Sorry if a bit... Detailed.

Kid and Law reacting to their partners being bi

cw: she/her!reader; bisexual reader; mentions of sexy times, but nothing explicit.

wc: 1.1k

Law:

Law always knew. He's seen you… interact with women and men before you two got together, and never had a problem with it.

However, he does feel a little hurt that you have more romantic experience than him, and it might be read the wrong way.

"How… How do you feel about our future? Together, I mean." He asked a bit awkwardly one night, lips against your forehead as you lay in each other's arms.

"I don't know. I would like to be with you for as long as we can."

"As long as we can?"

You closed your eyes. "We're pirates, Traf. If one day it's not safe or smart for us to be together, then I wouldn't want to stand in your way." Law sat up in the bed, looking at you with concern in his golden eyes. Where was all of this coming from? "I had a girlfriend a long time ago." You explained. "She wanted to join a crew and I thought I'd go with her, but she didn't want me there. Thought I'd slow her down, hold her back. She wasn't wrong, I mean, I know I get so worried when we're fighting. If you ever felt the same, I wouldn't blame you, ya'know?"

Law's face was contorted with something you didn't quite understand. It worried you for a bit. Was he distraught by the revelation you weren't straight? Was he angry you didn't tell him before?

"You had a girlfriend." He states, and the way the word seems heavy on his tongue puts you at unease.

"Yes. Does that bother you?"

"I thought I was your first partner too." His eyes avoid yours, embarrassed. You knew Law wasn't the most emotionally open person, but the realisation that you're his first ever relationship is still a bit shocking. "But I'm not upset. I'd never be upset over something like this. I'm just…"

"Just a bit conflicted?"

"Something of the sort." He pondered a bit more, lips a thin line. "To be clear, you'd never hold me back. If anything, knowing you worry makes me want to be stronger, so you don't have to. So I can protect you. And if we ever cross this ex of yours, I'll make sure to rip her heart out for hurting you."

You giggled, knowing that if your boyfriend's crude sense of humour was back, you were good.

"Don't be jealous now."

"'Got no reason to be." He whispered, nuzzling his face in your neck, kissing the little marks he left there a while ago. "She lost. They all lost. You're mine now."

"Yours. For as long as you have me."

"Forever then."

Kid:

Kid threw hands because someone called him a "lil' fag" at a bar once, but you never fully understood if it was because they implied he's gay or if it was just the disrespect — or if it was just Kid being Kid, he will throw hands anytime for any reason.

It still made you kind of sceptical of coming out to him.

Until you bumped into your ex.

Kid had dragged you out of the ship to look for metal scraps in a shady market, and you were waiting a bit behind him when you heard a voice calling your name. A few feet to your left stood your ex girlfriend, waving happily. You had parted ways amicably, the relationship just wasn't working and you both wanted very different things, besides, you had grown to be much more like friends, rather than romantic partners. You walked up to her and she immediately hugged you tight. 

"Oh gosh! I missed you so much! It's been so long!"

You laughed at her excitement, hugging her back. "Hey. Missed you too. How have you been, why are you so away from the island?"

"Oh, I got married! She's in the marine, so we're switching places constantly."

"Wow, congrats! So… the Marine is here now?" You tensed up and she noticed, so she took your hands in hers, a soothing habit from when you were together.

"No, don't worry. I know you're with a pirate crew now. 'Ve seen your wanted poster and all. We're with a small ship to make urgent repairs. Sea kings." She shrugged. "We're actually heading to Sabaody."

"That's great! I was there a while ago. Go to Shakky's bar, she's amazing. Best bourbon in the area."

"You still remember it, hun? Cute."

She lifted her hand to pinch your cheek when you felt a presence behind your back, her wrist being grabbed by a metal hand, a flesh one curling around your waist to pull you away from her.

"Hands off."

"Sorry." Your ex smiled. "Didn't know you were with someone too."

"She doesn't have to tell you shit, now get off her personal space."

"Relax, Eustass. We were just talking, she's… an old friend of mine."

Kid looked at you weirdly, sensing your hesitation, but he let go of her wrist and stepped back. "We gotta head back before they notice all the shit I stole, come on."

"I'm sorry." You whisper.

"It's okay, babes." She gave you a quick hug. "Good luck out there."

You follow Kid's steps quietly while he takes a turn to an empty road so no one will see the huge bag of pillage on his shoulder.

"I'm not stupid, ya' know? That was no friend." He turns to look at you. "I fucked people before. I know you fucked other people before as well. You could've just said."

"It's different, Kid."

"How?"

"She's not 'people', she's another woman."

"And?! If anything, that's hot." You rolled your eyes at him. Of course, that'd be his reaction. "But I don't care, honestly. I know I come off all macho sometimes, but I thought you'd know me better to trust me with it. Not that you have to tell me shit about your sexuality, like…" 

He mumbled away before you interrupted him: "I get it, Kid. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"I'm sorry for being an ass. She seemed decent." You just side hugged him as you walked back to the ship. "And if ya ever miss girls, I won't mind partaking in something different for once."

"Sure, Eustass. We just gotta do it with another guy first, what do you think?"

"Like Killer?"

Well, that made you stop in your tracks. "That was a fast answer."

He blushed a bit, but before you could ask more the noise of men running in your direction made you both have to race.But oh, you were going back to that one later, definitely.

a/n: kid is also bi, there's no straight punk people. i hope you liked this and sorry for the long wait <3

#original.exe #eustass kid x reader #kidd x reader #kid x reader #trafalgar law x reader #law x reader #one piece x reader #one piece smut #one piece headcanons #one piece imagine #one piece imagines #op smut #op x reader #op headcanons

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Some notes to myself for writing gay Roman dudes, based on details from Roman Homosexuality by Craig Williams. Not intended as authoritative, but I thought it might be useful for other writers:

Class matters. Are they both freeborn? Slaves? Is one a slave or freedman? This will play a big role not just in the power dynamics between them, but also in what their peers would consider socially acceptable.

Age matters. The Romans judged adult men more harshly for acting "effeminate" than they did for adolescent boys.

Yes, adult/teen relationships were a thing in ancient Rome. Not specifically a male/male thing; girls were usually married off as teens, too. But if (like me) you'd rather not write that, there's plenty of evidence for relationships between adult men (or between two teens), too. There were at least a few triads and other non-monogamous living arrangements, too.

Roman men wouldn't think of themselves as gay, bi or straight. They could certainly have preferences for one gender or another, but that wouldn't have any social consequences. There was no need to "come out" as being attracted to men; everybody knew that sometimes dudes were just hot.

On the other hand, performing masculinity was a big deal. There was a lot of pressure for men to act assertive, sexually dominant, self-controlled, and to get married and have kids. This could be compatible with also having sex with men - as long as you were the "man" in the relationship (excuse the heteronormative phrase). But more "effeminate" partner(s) would be looked down upon.

The Romans cared a lot about who topped or bottomed. This had consequences for a man's reputation. It could be interesting to explore how your characters react to these pressures, how they view themselves, and how they talk to their partners about it.

Sometimes falling in love was seen as unmanly. Roman masculinity demanded that men exercise control of their desires, and a man who seemed too emotional might get mocked or seen as weak. This might make for a neat internal conflict if a character cares way more than he's "supposed to" about his partner.

For consenting adult men, the "dangers" of a romantic/sexual relationship were low. This was not 1960s America; there were no cops busting down gay bars. A man who was seen as effeminate could get mocked, slandered, or passed over for promotion, and he might not be allowed to work as a lawyer. But he wouldn't have been ostracized, and almost certainly wouldn't face criminal charges. Numerous men were called "effeminate" but had successful careers. Wealth, family connections, or a strong military record could also shield a man from stigma to some extent. (Cf. Caesar getting called the "Queen of Bithynia" throughout his career.)

The concept of male/male marriage was understood and talked about. We have some limited (and maybe false?) stories of it happening, and it was never legally recognized. But our Roman sources claimed it happened sometimes, so Roman characters could theoretically consider doing it, too.

The strongest sexual stigmas appear to have been reserved for cunnilingus, fellators and female adulterers, not for effeminate men, and not for male/male couples.

Not all Romans had the same attitudes. Rome was super diverse in the 200 BCE-200 CE period. There were many ethnicities, languages, and religions in Rome itself, and people traveled a lot. Opinions also varied from more conservative to more open-minded Romans, between social classes and professions, and different schools of philosophy. Individuals developed their own opinions, too. So you have a lot of flexibility as a writer for what Roman characters might believe, and what their social circles and daily life might look like.

There was a general shift in the 300s CE toward prudishness. Laws got stricter, both toward homosexuality and toward non-married heterosexual affairs.

There's a difference between having prejudiced characters, and a prejudiced narrative. You might also choose not to talk about prejudice in your story if you don't want to. It's your story, after all.

(Please correct me if I got something really wrong. Not all scholars agree with Williams' conclusions, but I haven't had time to read others yet.)

#jlrrt speaks #writing #craig williams #roman homosexuality #the romans would have been SO bad about top/bottom discourse... #actually. is that where we got it from? is it their fault?? #jlrrt essays

[ystrike1]

Third Ending - By Cho Bom (9/10)

A good and realistic modern yandere. Now that's a dangerous combination. The only weak point in this story was how pointless the "conflicts" at the end felt. This couple is well established and mutually in love. The yandere part stems from being repressed, which is a realistic source for abnormal behavior. Being openly gay can be hard, but of course true love is worth it!

Suh Yoonseul doesn't think anything is wrong. He's hot. He's got a great job. He's got money. People admire him. He's dated around five women seriously. He's no cheater. The relationships just fizzled out after a couple years, because he's not passionate enough. Suh Yoonseul is a kind, chill guy. The kind of guy that lets the girl go when her eyes start drifting. The kind of guy that goes with the flow, because life is good. He's got lots of friends. He's a green flag.

Life is...

Sometimes he has bad dreams about a guy who confessed to him back in high school. These dreams ruin his day. When he has them his perfect life is marred by tripping, bumbling, stumbling and no sleep.

His occasional nightmares about Kang Jun don't let him sleep a wink.

Kang Jun was an aspiring young baker who just so happened to be gay. Kang Jun was quiet. Suh Yoonseul did not know him. They weren't friends. Kang Jun decided to confess because high school was about to end. He had to tell Suh Yoonseul. Why?

Well.

His crush on Suh Yoonseul lasted from middle school ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL.

Kang Jun recognized that his pining was unhealthy, and he decided to confess so he could let Suh Yoonseul go.

He chose the wrong day. His confession happened right when Suh Yoonseul was having a bad day, so he ruined Kang Jun's sweet crush.

I'm going to paraphrase, because it's crushing:

"I don't know you. This is weird. You made me special lemon cookies but whatever. I'm not eating them because they could be laced with something. You’re a creep."

His harsh rejection almost destroyed Kang Jun. He almost gave up on his pastry chef dream because of it.

They meet. Kang Jun works at his sisters bakery. Suh Yoonseul feels sorry and he feels....funny? He wants Kang Jun to forgive him. His feelings are oddly complicated. He's such a chill guy.....until he remembers Kang Jun.

Kang Jun was never, ever a creep. He's a very pure guy who isn't very sexual. His crush on Suh Yoonseul often feels very Demisexual. Sure, he likes Suh Yoonseul's face BUT he never tried to date afterwards. He seems to have little interest in sex and relationships. Suh Yoonseul was the exception.

Suh Yoonseul is most likely closet bi with a preference for women. Kang Jun just wins out because well...he's a great guy!

Suh Yoonseul gets jealous for the first time because of Kang Jun. He doesn't even notice that he's turning into a bit of a monster. He thinks he wants to be friends with Kang Jun. He starts going to the bakery literally every day. Even if it's a waste of money or he doesn't want bread. When he remembers Kang Jun he can't focus.

It grows slowly.

He starts using his looks.

He goes to a fancy hairdresser to impress the baker he rejected before.

At this point he still thinks he just wants friendship....but his friends begin to suspect he's gay.

It grows a little more.

Suh Yoonseul starts being more selfish.

Kang Jun starts to hope for love...because Suh Yoonseul is being so persistent....so weirdly persistent its almost crazy.

Kang Jun thinks it's normal love.

The question comes up, and Suh Yoonseul REJECTS HIM AGAIN BECAUSE HE DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE KANG JUN.

They quickly became best friends and Kang Jun makes him super happy. He's not sure if he wants to give love a chance.

Kang Jun decides to cut him off.

Suh Yoonseul is too weird. Too affectionate. Too cold. Unwilling to commit and yet always stalking him at the same time. Kang Jun attempts to cut him off for the sake of his own mental health.

There's a drunken kiss. Kang Jun realizes he just can't be friends with his crush. It's too painful.

Kang Jun is a really soft guy, but at this point Suh Yoonseul has rejected him painfully twice.

The bakery is moving. His sister bought a bigger building.

Kang Jun doesn't tell Suh Yoonseul about the move.

Kang Jun also lies and says he will hang out with Suh Yoonseul on his birthday. Suh Yoonseul cancels all of his other plans, and he plans a big date. A big expensive one. He even gets his car washed, and Kang Jun stands him up.

He stands in front of the abandoned bakery for hours, until he hears someone screaming his name.

Kang Jun is just too nice.

They start dating right when Suh Yoonseul becomes noticeably obsessed.

....

Season two is mostly pointless fluff. Kind of a boring read. Season 1 is an absolute banger though, and you have to read part two if you want to see them happy.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #webtoon #yaoi #Third Ending

[trek-tracks]

This is a Trek blog, but my first, formative TV love was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, specifically the sweetly nerdy Willow Rosenberg. I saw a lot of myself in her, both the positive (smart, loyal, funny, kind, proudly Jewish) and negative (conflict-averse, approval-hungry), and her arc really helped me come to terms with myself in my teenage years. We even had the same SAT score, and both eventually figured out we were kinda gay (or bi, as the case may be). The passage of time is a heck of a thing (the two Vampire Willow shots are from grad school and 2022), and after finally being able to visit “Sunnydale” High last week on a trip to LA, it hit me like a brick to realize that Willow Rosenberg, or at least the lovely woman who plays her, Alyson Hannigan, turns 50 today (March 24, 2024). So, happy birthday to the creator of an indelible character, who let me be a little more me.

(This is Willow the cat. She doesn’t seem to care who she’s named for.)

#buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #willow rosenberg #alyson hannigan #buffy #willow #sunnydale high #sunnydale #my life #my face #not trek

[teambyler]

“Byler Endgame, One Episode at a Time” Part 0 - The issues it needs to address

I plan to post plot beats and scenes leading to a Byler endgame, one episode at a time, for Season 5 of Stranger Things. (This is just for fun! I have no insider knowledge!)

Before I do so, I just want to share what the showrunners would need to think about to make Byler happen:

Make the audience want Will to have a happy ending – CHECK. The world already wants that! Will likely go through hell again, as in past seasons. He loves Mike so much and it's hard to see him "moving on" from Mike as part of an ending that's satisfying given all the hell he's been through.

El makes a choice. Mike dumping her for Will would be unpopular. It would feel like a betrayal for Mike to date her stepbrother. The audience will accept the breakup more if she initiates it and it’s part of her personal journey.

Resolve El’s relationships with Mike and Will. El and Mike have a loving platonic friendship, and El is okay with Will and Mike being together.

The audience needs to be made to accept “the twist” that Mike is gay or bi. There need to be flashbacks to past seasons (Byler fans know them all!) and/or some conversations where his internal conflict is made clear. Specifically, how he was was once close to Will but then grew so distant out of fear that he was gay. s5 can't ignore the reality of homophobia in the 80s. Will might be targeted by school bullies for being gay. Will being in greater danger, putting others before himself, and being hotter this season (lol) make it impossible for Mike to avoid his feelings.

The audience needs to feel Will is the best person for Mike. Mike has been bullied and put down his whole life, including for being a nerd. Will is a fellow nerd and loves Mike for who he is. Make viewers understand that the relationship Mike is looking for is actually with Will. The painting miscommunication lays a roadmap. Will's love makes Mike feel "better because he's different." Mike felt romantic love for the first time because of what WILL said and did. (I have a post on my blog about this, "Mike was saying 'I love you' to Will"!)

What all this in mind, I have planned plot beats for each episode leading to a Byler endgame! FOLLOW ME to follow my “the essential Byler plot beats of season 5”!

Link to Episode 1

(And read my blog! I say a lot about Byler!)

#byler #stranger things #st5 #speculation #byler speculation #byler theory

[earlofbats]

Okay so because this post about Harry being a bottom I'm going to give a genuine dissertation on the thematic relevance of sub Harry and maybe a little bit about dom Kim.

First I wanna establish the "Harry is definitely a subby little bottom boy" and is also definitely Bi and probably has some sorta fucking complex about it.

Evidence A. Contact Mike, Guillaume Le Million, Measurehead (when fascist).

Harry tends to idolize and gravitate towards extremely masculine figures.

This is probably due to a reflexive need to feel masculine and have masculine role models in the face of elements of identity that are seen as unmasculine by society and have become exacerbated by the breakup which had to be pretty emasculating for Harry.

Also :

Imma start a Harry's Kink counter here +1 light bondage.

+1 auto-erotic asphyxiation.

Uhm +1 uhh,Spanking? Additional +1 for being what I think is most possibly the horniest thought you have in the game also:

+1 Kim is a Dom.

I think Harry has kept his attraction to men or his desires about men fairly low key for his entire life. The way he conceptualizes Homosexuality in general as an "underground" society filled with whispering rooms and forbidden secrets is likely more of a reflection of how Harry views his own sexuality than how Queer culture is manifest in Revachol. (In reference to the way both Kim and The Smoker kinda laugh Harry about it)

The organizational element of the idea being likely reflective of the way internalization is akin to paranoia.

Harry is also extremely intimacy starved and I think part of that is due to an unmet need for affection and the desire to be taken care of. That masculinity and status as both a survivor and an oppressor was sorta thrust onto Harry, he was born the last year of the war on a hospital floor, given a name associated with war time and survival, grew up probably in a little street urchin gang, got into *Disco* (man I'm sure Harry brushed elbows with the underground then.) Was a gym teacher a good balance between masculinity and caretaker and guardian something that harry clearly excels at and enjoys. Then Dora encouraged him to be a cop for unknown reasons perhaps prestige, money, because Harry has a bleeding heart.

Engage Heterosexual Cop hell for 12 years then an additional 6 single Cop hell years.

And now you're like :

Another element is Harry's tendency to worship and diefy his partners which like man that's gotta be the subbiest fucking thing you can do. I honestly can't articulate all of the reasons why that's just extreme bottom behavior.

Harry is an empathic jelly creature who is forced to handle a job with dead people in it all day and has created this reflexive hyper masculine obsession to compensate for his perceived inadequacy in not living up to the patriarchal capitalist ideal of what's supposed to be his birthright as a well off, able bodied, 'straight', occidental, man.

Except the actual issue is that Harry is mostly perceived or perceiving himself as that, when in reality he's in clear conflict with his actual identity as a Poor, mentally Ill, bisexual, occidental, man.

And it's those last two that end up kind of making this smoke screen to Harrys deficiency in privilege. He can mask or hide behind being an Occidental Man.

Can buddy buddy with patriarchy and take up the idea of a Big Strong Manly Cop.

Something that Kim also seems to be doing by seeking out positions of authority he can compensate for the disrespect he gets as a Poor, blind, gay, seolite, man.

Last of which probably won't get him far because of how "juvenile" his body type is.

Kim can't really coast on patriarchy much the way Harry can. He has to work twice as hard cuz there's not a lot he can hide behind.

Pursuit for control in the face of denial

Vs

Shielding ones self behind control as a means of denial.

Dom/Sub dichotomy.

#disco elysium #kim kitsuragi #harry du bois #kimharry #harrykim #harrier du bois #harryxkim #its a sexuality dissertation bby

[ginnymoonbeam]

Be My Favorite is digging into concepts of masculinity to a degree I haven't seen in Thai BL before. Since episode 2 we've been seeing the contrast between the kind of man Kawi is and the kind he thinks he should be, and 3 and 4 have drawn a big highlighted circle around what, for simplicity, I'm going to call bro culture: the whole complex of male social behavior that includes competition, ritual humiliation, stark othering of women (both "chivalrous" and not), and a rugged, deflective response to pain.

I'm saying bro culture rather than toxic masculinity because only some elements of it are toxic, although they're so intermingled that it's hard to sift the toxic from the non. You have to work to create a bro culture without misogyny and homophobia - although a lot of BLs (Bad Buddy, for example) do exactly this. Be My Favorite isn't interested in doing that though: it is presenting bro culture unsanitized, and looking at how our two leads interact with it.

On the one hand we have Kawi, who has very clearly always failed to meet bro culture standards, and who still sees success in that sphere as something to aim for. And it's not that the bros reject him outright. Someone like Kawi is great to have around, because for everyone else it means never being at the bottom of the pack. It's not that Not and his group dislike Kawi or want to hurt him. If you asked them, they'd say in all sincerity that they're just trying to help him out. What they're actually doing is using him to affirm their own superior bro-ness: whether they're helping him or mocking him, he lets them feel that they're succeeding where he fails.

Pisaeng sees this much more clearly than Kawi does, hence his facepalm when Kawi tells the other guys he's a virgin. Pisaeng could succeed in bro culture: he could be top dog in that group if he wanted to. It's because he could succeed that he's able to see so clearly that he doesn't want to. When a prize looks hopelessly out of your reach, it's hard to see that it might be worthless.

Pisaeng is frustrated because he's seeing Kawi try so hard to achieve something Pisaeng has already rejected. Kawi is confused because he sees how easily Pisaeng succeeds by bro standards, and yet he's still lonely and discontent. He's always been attracted to Pisaeng (just look at how Pisaeng's introduction, in Kawi's pov, is framed) but he has chosen to interpret that through the bro lens of admiration and envy.

I think we're going to have to see Kawi make a conscious rejection of bro culture. Whether that comes about through his deepening friendships with Max and Pear, or through realizing his feelings for Pisaeng, at some point he's going to have to decide that that prize is not worth winning. I hope we see this, because it's rare for BLs to deal so directly with conflicting views of masculinity, and what being gay or bi means for a young man's sense of self.

#be my favorite

[hotvintagepoll]

This is a three-way poll. Only one of these women will continue to the next round of the bracket.

Propaganda

Deborah Kerr (Bonjour Tristesse, An Affair to Remember, The King and I)— For several decades she held the record for most Oscar nominations without a win (6 in total), and she was a prolific leading lady throughout the 40s and 50s. She's best known today for the romance An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant, and as the governess in The King and I. Many people have this erroneous perception of her as extremely prim, proper, and virginal, but this could not be further from the truth. When she first came to Hollywood under MGM she was typecast into boring decorative roles, but broke sexual boundaries for herself and Hollywood generally in From Here to Eternity, when she made out (horizontally!) with Burt Lancaster (on top of him!) in the famous Beach Scene. She went on to play many sexually conflicted women, a character type that would define most of her post- Eternity work. She continued to break Hays Code boundaries with Tea and Sympathy, which addresses homosexuality/homophobia head-on, and even did a topless scene in The Gypsy Moths 1969!! One of the only classic stars to do so. She deserves a more nuanced and frankly a hotter legacy than she currently has!!!

Keiko Awaji (Stray Dog, A Japanese Tragedy, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs)— Her role as Harumi— a dancer who lives with her mom and will go to incredible lengths for one nice dress— is so fucking killer. she more than holds her own against Toshiro Mifune, the incredible sense of dread and foreboding in their scenes has really stuck with me

Hazel Scott (Broadway Rhythm, Rhapsody in Blue)—ok ok let me tell you about Hazel Scott. She was a Trinidadian piano genius. By the age of 3 she could play the piano by ear. She would play jazzed-up versions of classics in nightclubs and could sing too! She appeared in five movies, and used her influence as a piano prodigy to improve Black representation in film—she turned down offensive parts, demanded equal pay, and always wore her own costumes to ensure she was portrayed as glamorous and beautiful. She was the first African-American woman to host her own television show, The Hazel Scott Show. She stood up for civil rights and was an overall icon! If you want to watch her being a genius, here she is playing two pianos at once. And here's this one that shows off her consummate glamor! [videos beneath the cut]

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Deborah Kerr:

I think she was one of my first crushes before I realised I was bi in The King and I when I watched it as a kid honestly. The kissing scene in From Here to Eternity is iconic for a reason. Actually tried to learn the accents for the characters she was playing if they weren't English which is more than pretty much anyone else was doing then. Played very restrained characters who frequently seemed to be desperate not to be so restrained. Did horror movies without venturing into hagsploitation tropes. Gave Marni Nixon the credit she deserved for her share of the singing in The King and I.

Anne Larsen is a peak late 1950s bisexual with big MILF energy. Have you seen the behind the scenes pics of her wearing a suit?? Have you????? Vote Deb as Anne Larsen.

Nominated for an Oscar six (6) times and never won, but besides her having actual talent (hot), and besides her looking Like That (very hot, also beautiful), she was always playing women who are, like, crazy repressed. Which makes it fun and easy for me to read these characters as queer. Icon!!!! You know what's hot? Playing ambiguously gay in vintage Hollywood.

Her face and talent and body, yes, ofc, duh. But also!!! Her HANDS!!!! I may be but a simple lesbian, but she is the best hactor (hand actor) that ever lived and that's HOT! For propriety's sake I feel I must redact a large portion of my commentary on this subject. Anyway. She's hot in her most famous roles (mentioned above), and also some of her sexiest hacting is on display in An Affair to Remember (her hand on the bannister when Cary Grant kisses her off-screen??? HELLO???), Tea and Sympathy (when she's trying to persuade Tom not to go out and she keeps flexing her hands like she wants to reach out to him but can't??? ALLY BEHAVIOR! WE STAN!), and The Innocents (which opens and closes with extended shots of her hands bc director Jack Clayton was also an ally and he did that for ME). Much of her appeal also lies in the fact that she often played deeply repressed characters and you know what's hot? When those uptight characters finally unravel. It's sexy. It's cathartic. It's erotic. Plus, she's beautiful to look at in both black & white and technicolor, and the more of her films you see, the more you can't help but fall in love!

Literally is in thee most famously sexy scene of all time (or maybe just during the hays code era which is what we're talking about HELLO), which is the beach scene with Burt Lancaster in from here to eternity. To quote a tumblr post of a screen capture of a tweet of a video of joy behar on the view: "y'know, there used to be movies where they were kissing on the beach... From Here to Eternity. They're kissing-- Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr are Kissing on the Beach and then the WAVES crash!! You know exactly what they did!"

She might have a reputation of being chaste and virginal or whatever, but we all know it's the quiet ones who are certifiable FREAKS

Keiko Awaji:

Hazel Scott:

#hazel scott #keiko awaji #deborah kerr #hotvintagepoll #fuck that old woman #ladies 4