A mark on your forehead identifies the god you must worship to stay alive, usually by joining its local church or temple. Your mark is unknown, meaning an old, forgotten god sponsored you. To survive, you must either find an old temple to worship at, or do the arduous task of building a new one

Nobody in your small coastal village has ever seen the Godmark that you were born with. It’s a dark russet sequence of criss-crossing lines, with a vertical arrowhead on the left and a circle on the right, just over where your brow meets your temple. Some of the traders who come down from the mountain say it looks like one of the scripts used in the hinterlands, but not a language that any of them recognize.

“If she’s got the temperament for it, she should try her luck inland,” they advise. “No point her starting a temple here if she’d find her people elsewhere, with a little searching.”

At first, your parents are reluctant to send you away. Though you’re well-behaved and diligent in your chores, you’re a sickly child with no God to worship. And besides, you’ve always been the dreamy type–inclined to lose track of time watching the path of rain droplets chasing down the window, or the fronds of an anemone as it sways in a rock pool.

Instead, they send you to the temple of the Storm to learn all you’ll need for your own God. You are happy there, for a time: making up beds and serving food to the castaways who pass through, keeping vigil at the lighthouse, burning incense and praying with the loyal widows and orphans of the drowned.

One such widow, an old, old lady, touches the mark on your forehead. “I recognise those letters. We wrote this way in the town where I grew up, way off past the mountains.”

Your heartbeat quickens. “What does it say!?”

She squints, eyes engulfed by wrinkles and hidden behind smudged glass. “A… Ar… Oh, I can’t remember how to speak it. I left before I learnt my letters properly. There was a war, you know. But I remember,” she says, mistily, “the most beautiful pink and white flowers used to grow, on the borders of the wheat fields…”

You try to ask more questions, but remembering the war distresses her, and so you speak of other things. When she’s drifted off to sleep, you get to your feet, go home and tell your parents: you are leaving in search of your God.

With the hero chained up, the villain unveils their masterpiece: a weapon that tracks everyone who loves the hero before obliterating them. The map powers on. “Wait. There’s just one dot.” The Villain says. “…Someone loves me?” The hero replies with hope.

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The villain frowns deeply, staring at the enormous globe onto which the digital map is projected. “There must be some mistake,” they mutter, swiveling away and pulling up the programming for the map function. They had gone through four rounds of troubleshooting before unveiling this–ugh, what a time for a random glitch!

The hero shifts their weight as an awkward silence fills the room. “Is… isn’t that where we are right now?” They lean forward against their unbreakable restraints, peering at the map.

“I must have flipped the select() statement around,” the villain grumbles under their breath, scrolling through color-coded syntax on a black background. “I swear, this worked every time I tested it…” They sigh. “Hold on. Once I fix this, then you’ll see–”

“No, it’s… it’s probably working,” the hero murmurs sheepishly, relaxing back into their bonds. “I’m pretty much the only person who, er, likes me.”

“That’s stupid,” the villain snaps. “You’re a hero. You’re popular and beloved among the populace, not to mention your own friends and family.” They don’t look up from their scrolling. There must be an error in here… did they miss a semi-colon?

The hero makes a noise of disagreement. “A-actually, I’m really… not… um.” They clear their throat unconvincingly. “I mean, um, of course, you got it wrong. People are probably searching for me even as we speak.”

This time, the villain glances up, one brow arched. “You forgot to modulate your tonal inflection to make that a believable statement,” they point out.

The hero wrinkles their nose. “Yeah, I’m really bad at lying.” They shrug, the movement stifled by their bonds. “Really, though, the map is great. Putting it over a globe is a nice touch.”

“Thank–wait.” The villain frowns again and moves closer to the hero, eyes narrowing. “This is a ploy, isn’t it? A double feint to distract me from the truth that people are searching for you, and it’s only a matter of time before–”

“Y-yep, you got me.” The hero laughs half-heartedly. “I’m just that good at playing you.”

The villain rolls their eyes. “You ought to be, after six years of consistently getting in my way.” They turn back to the screen full of programming syntax, straightening their villainous mantle as they do. “As soon as I find this bug and fix it, I’ll be able to see exactly where your little search party is, and my minions can deal with them.”

The hero doesn’t argue, their attention returning to the digital map with its single, glowing dot. A wistfulness washes through them, a longing for friendship far more acute than their longing for freedom from the clutches of their long-time nemesis. The villain had adjusted the fit of these manacles years ago to be perfectly-sized to the hero’s frame, resulting in a weirdly comfortable experience despite the accompanying mortal danger.

“Are you going to kill me?” the hero asks after the silence has gone on for a minor eternity.

“Of course,” the villain replies distractedly, their face inches from their screen. Colored code flashes by as they scroll rapidly, faintly reflected on their skin.

The hero decides they don’t believe an answer that rote. “No, I mean. Really.”

The scrolling slows. The villain half-turns, brow raised again. “Why do you sound hopeful?”

The hero blanches. “I, uh, I’m hopeful that you wouldn’t– I mean, you’re not really the murdering type… right?”

The villain scoffs. “I do what I want.” They glance towards their screen, but focus again on the hero. “I’m afraid this display will have to be fixed later–I know I never get to keep you for long.” They pause, blink at the strangeness of their own phrasing, and then continue. “But I know where your parents live. I’ll make sure to properly test this map before we meet again.”

The hero’s eyes widen. “You what? Are you serious?”

“Of course I am,” the villain mutters, drawing themself up to their full, unimpressive height. “And before you doubt…” They move closer to the globe, study it for a moment, and then tap one fingertip in a crowded neighborhood just north of downtown. “Your mother lives here, with your grandmother and your aunt.”

The hero deflates. “O-oh,” they murmur weakly. “That’s… that’s good to know.”

The villain stops, turns, furrows their brow. “What do you mean by that? It’s not good to know that I know where they–”

The hero laughs wanly. “No, I meant– I didn’t know– they moved last year but didn’t tell me where…” They trail off, then clear their throat. “Um, I mean… this is all still an act to stall you until my rescuers can come to my… rescue…”

The villain fairly stomps up to the hero, jabbing them in the collarbone with a pointed finger. “Alright, what’s your deal? I’ve managed to catch you a dozen times before now, but you’ve never acted like this. You’re–you’re sad.”

Reflexively, the hero leans back, eyes darting to the side before returning to the villain’s face. “You forgot your contacts today,” they murmur lamely.

“It’s so you can see how often I roll my eyes at you,” the villain snaps, doing just that. “I doubt I had you fooled that my eyes are always full black.”

“Well, no, but I didn’t realize your real eyes are such a warm brown.” The hero shrugs against their restraints. “Not as intimidating.”

The villain scowls. “You’re deflecting–which is more like you, but does not answer my question. You’re not even pretending to struggle against your chains. You’re not scared at all.”

“I–look, you caught me off-guard with your stupid map, okay?” The hero feels a flicker of their usual defiance return, and their cheeks flush. “You found my one weakness–my… my loved ones. All one of them.” Just as quickly, that spark gutters, and they sag against their bonds. “All none of them, more like.”

The villain studies the hero’s face, brows knit and eyes narrowed. “Hmm. I should have capitalized on this bug to make you feel unloved, then?”

The hero shrugs one shoulder. “You didn’t really need to. I did that all on my own. I really didn’t need proof that–oh, it doesn’t matter. Let’s get on with–with whatever else you have planned.”

The villain’s expression doesn’t change, a mixture of suspicion and intense alertness. “You should know, then, that I haven’t found a bug in the code. Maybe it is right. Maybe the only person who loves you is in this room.”

The hero chuckles sadly. “Don’t say it like that. It makes it sounds like you love me.”

“I– what? I– that’s ridicu– no.” The villain recoils, then spins with a flare of their brooding cloak and hastily returns to their screen full of code.

Startled, the hero watches the villain as their shoulders hunch over the screen. “Wait. Do… you…?”

“What a stupid question,” the villain snaps heatedly, not glancing over. Their head ducks lower towards the screen, but the code isn’t scrolling. Another awkward silence settles over the room, punctuated by the background whirring of machines and computer fans.

“Um…” The hero clears their throat yet again. “Are you okay?”

The villain facepalms loudly and still does not look over. “What are you on today?”

“Hey, it’s not my fault that you made a thing to prove that no one loves me except for either me or you, and I’ve never been particularly good at that whole self-love thing.” The hero grimaced at the villain’s back. “So apparently, this nemesis thing we’ve got is my best relationship in the world.”

To the hero’s surprise, the villain sighs and lets their shoulders slump. “Mine, too,” they begrudgingly admit.

Being gay is natural? Okay.

You have three islands. Divide them into groups of one. The straight island, the gay island, and the lesbian island. The straight island is going to reproduce and keep going strong for millions of generations to come. The gay and lesbian islands will both wipe out in not even one century. This isn’t just about religion or morals, it’s just simple common sense. Being gay is unnatural, and not just because God said so, but because you yourself wouldn’t even be born without a REAL natural man and woman. And no, there is no such thing as a lesbian bone marrow “thing” to have children. That’s a biased fact that came from a lesbian scientist who has false opinions. If it’s not a real penis or vagina, then it’s fucking false and you’re just opinionated by dumb facts. I’m done here. Read over what I said and if you still think that being gay is normal and natural, then I hope you achieve some common sense one day. Bye

Where is this gay island located.. asking for a friend

I just have SO MANY questions. Why were we all separated onto different islands? Did the government sanction this? If so, why? Why didn’t we revolt against this tyrannical government? Where are these islands? How were they chosen? Are the continents of the world abandoned? What kind of resources are on each island? Are they the same or different? Does each island have a right to form its own government or does the government that segregated us still rule? If so, what island do they rule from and how do they communicate with the other two islands? If they can communicate with the other two islands, can all three islands communicate with each other? If the straight people keep reproducing, won’t their island become overpopulated and their resources depleted? Islands only have so much space right? Do straight people stop having gay kids? Isn’t it a fact that, to date, straight people are the largest manufacturers of gay kids? If a gay kid is born on straight island, do they get sent to their appropriate island? Wouldn’t that aid in the re-population of gay and lesbian island? What about people who are attracted to more than one gender? Are they just lost at sea, floating aimlessly? Is the ocean full of listless pansexuals, floating nowhere? Or are they trapped in some sort of purgatory because they don’t fit on any one island? Are there trees on lesbian island? Is it conceivable that if there were, a large group of lesbians could build a boat? Have you ever seen lesbians around timber? If they built a boat, could they travel to gay island? How far apart are the islands? If they could travel to gay island, would they be able to collect semen, return to lesbian island, and repopulate the island? Would they be able to send some of those children to gay island? Do trans people exist in this world? If so, wouldn’t they be able to aid in repopulation? If the lesbians decided to declare war on the heterosexuals, would they be able to reach their island? On the way to heterosexual island, could the lesbians pick up the gays and scoop the floating bisexuals from the sea? If so, would they all be able to go and attack heterosexual island together, wiping out its people’s, stealing its children and taking all its resources? Does this fantasy world get you off at night? Please write back soon!

Speaking up from the pansexual archipelago: I too have these questions

Checking in from bisexual bay: The boats are nearly complete and are equipped with a special invisibility function. We attack at dawn

Fuck the questions, lemme on that boat, I’m coming with you

*random ace just floating away into the sky like a balloon*

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I am so here for an asexual sky nation. We live in floating cities and master the wind currents. Newly minted ace youths are sent up to us in baskets suspended under hot air balloons. We breed giant birds to bear us through the skies, or else build ourselves wings and gliders to fly in their midst. The only land we know are the tallest mountain peaks and the world is a bright blue gem spreading out beneath us.

(And we will of course be providing air support for the impending attack on Straight Island)

OP’s nasty-ass post got turned into a goddamn sci-fi dystopian adventure and I’m so here for it.

oh my god Bisexual Buccaneers from Both-Ways Bay is both a porn tile and my new life goals

i’m an asexual homoromantic does this make me our young heroine torn between worlds

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You spend part of your time on lesbian island, learning the stories, and traditions, and part of your time in the vast floating asexual cities, training with your eagle so that you can one day become one of the chosen few: the messengers, who carry letters and passengers between islands, jumping the heterosexual blockades. When you enter this select group, you’re assigned the job of collecting reports from spies pretending to heterosexual on straight island, flying in at the dead of night, risking discovery to collect vital intelligence. You fall in love with a pansexual girl who’s chosen to hide her orientation so she can aid the Resistance. At the climax of the novel, you swoop down from above on your giant eagle to rescue your lady love from a frenzied mob. As straight island burns in the background, you share a chaste kiss and cuddle while discussing the possibility of a mountain-top pansexual outpost.

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IT CAME BACK AROUND AND IT GOT BETTER!

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Long ago all the sexuality lived in peace, but everything changed when the bisexuals attacked in their invisible boats…

There’s like. A ton of personifications. Including but not limited to the above:

Quarantine Man

The Taiwan CDC with a Disinfectant Gun

Hepatitis but a Boy Band

Syphilis with Gender (女) and other Bio Information

Varicella (chicken pox) and Herpes Zoster (shingles) as Children

The Plague, but Hot Lady (also with bio information)

Fuckboy Influenza

Measles, but Hot Guy

Lyme Disease with a Mech????

And, of course, COVID-19 in all their gender neutral glory.

There’s more but I hit the image limit. I’ve got a couple articles about them, too:

Let’s make this post even longer because I have even more images saved. Next up, we got:

Tsutsumagushi Disease

Chikungunya Fever!

MERS

Pertussis (whooping cough) with a horrifying (almost body horror) headpiece and flute

Dengue Fever, the image of which literally made me stop breathing for a moment when I first saw it

Japanese Encephalitis (as... idols, maybe?)

And Zika Virus (so pretty! and for what???)

And some higher res images of the ones from the video (Legionnaires’ Disease, Viral Gastroenteritis, and Rubella). Unfortunately, I could not fit Rabies because of the image limit.

The lime disease mech is definitely supposed to be a tick

Also Rabies

if disease bad, why sexy

@captaincurnow​

have ya’ll heard about “Kinou Nani Tabeta?”

based on Yoshinaga Fumi’s manga by the same name, it’s a slice-of-life food-focused JDrama about a couple in their 40s who live together, a hairdresser by the name of Kenji Yabuki and his boyfriend Shiro Kakei who is a lawyer but also loves to cook.

it has been praised for its healthy and realistic depiction of gay domestic life, as well as what the various issues and nuances of being gay. Including:

Heteros™ that mean well

Gay Fear™

supportive straight women listening to the gays rant

well-meaning “when are you gonna get married?” parents

supportive parents!

misconceptions

especially about heteronormativity 

gay civil issues (also gay elders!!!!!!)

being out (or not) at work

trying to live your truth

and most importantly…

GAY PEOPLE BEING HAPPY

thank you for coming to my ted talk

@kinounaniresource has kindly subbed and made this lovely drama available to everyone here! :)