Plethora Of Different Things

Gay:

Used to mean carefree

Then sexually deviant

Then prostitute

Then slut

Then sodomite

And THEN as we know it today but only as a slur

Reclaimed in the seventies

LGBT:

Invented in the nineties

Has faced constant backlash (from both straight, queer, and LGBT folks from being not inclusive enough or too inclusive)

Every year there are pushes to change to acronym

LGBTQ

LGBTQ+

LGBTQ*

LGBTQIA

Mogai

Alphabet soup

Queer:

Used to mean “other”

Became a slang term for “not straight” in the 1400s

Became a slur in the early 1900s

Reclaimed in the 80s.

Sudden push back from within the queer community to have it seen only as a slur in the 2010s, a push that can be traced back to terf ideology.

Is the only term that includes all non cishet people

Homosexual

A medical diagnosis

Used for decades to make queerness into a mental illness

Used as a slur for the latter half of the 20th century

Rejected by the queer community as an acceptable term for a brief period of time in the early 2000s before coming back into fashion.

Only describes the experience of cis gay men and cis lesbians

Also yes, queer is more inclusive! Especially coming at it from an academic standpoint, people didn’t always use or identify with the terms we use now and you can’t always try to cram them into our modern perceptions of sexuality. We can argue for years about whether a famous historical figure was gay or bisexual or straight and trans or whatever, but if we can all agree that they were somehow queer then using that term allows us to move past the debate and into productive discussion. And not everybody everywhere shares the same terms for sexual and gender identity, or even the same concepts of those things, so queer really is a more inclusive term in a lot of cases.

Your words are slurs, too. Why do you get your words, but I don’t get mine? What makes you so special?

[[ heya babes; here’s that thing you wanted- they’re a little short but all accounted for ~]]

ASRA: is probably holding a cup of tea or some magical artifact in the shop when you declare proudly to Julian and Nadia that if you were to run at him right now- he would certainly catch you. There is no protest from Asra whatsoever once he notices you running at him. Half expect him to throw whatever’s in his hands at Julian as he easily catches you. Expect him to steal a smoochor two. He’ll ultimately find it kinda cute and funny while Julian bemoans that he’s going to have to try and launder tea stains from his shirt while Asra’s spinning you around like a newlywed bride.

JULIAN: probably has a cup of coffee in his hand. Very much like Sargent Terry, Julian will probably try to dissuade you as you’re running at him but will ultimately YEET his coffee or bottle of leeches to the side without a second thought even if it makes a mess on the floor- just to catch you in hisarms. His face is probably the shade of a tomato with everyone looking at the mess while you look so smug and proud of yourself that “See? I TOLD you he would catch me.” Julian will carefully set you down and fret over you as if any of the glass or ceramic had a chance to nick you when they’re shattered on the opposite side of the room .

NADIA: she’s completely caught off guard by you proclaiming that she’ll catch you in her arms- and of course she does though if there’s something in her hands she will roughly shove it at a nearby servant. Her gaze will turn to you, swooning in the arms of the countess, as she questions why exactly you felt the need to run at her and leap- you did startle her and that’s hard to do. When you tell her you were just trying to make a point, Nadia will sigh- maybe give a roll of her eyes, but she’ll smile all the same. She thinks it’s a little ridiculous that you feel the need to prove such but she’s always happy to have you within her arms so any reason is alright.

PORTIA: depends if she’s at work and has her arms so full she can’t see you or you really catch her off guard- you’re probs gonna eat shit. Otherwise if you bolt at Portia when she’s simply making rounds or bringing Mercedes and Malchior their food, she’s got no problem tossing it aside to catch you- the dogs will still eat it all the same. But in the event she doesn’t catch you, Portia will feel super guilty and tend to your bruises after and pepper you with apologetic kisses. Work is work after all, you don’t take it personally but you do get a little bit of a scolding and Portia will probably assume that you got the idea from her brother.

MURIEL: if you aren’t together- you’re gonna perish. You’re gonna biff it so hard and Muriel won’t bat an eye. Don’t take it too personally-until he’s really invested in you, the only person he would catch would be Asra. When you finally romance the mountain man and try again, Muriel doesn’t need to drop anything he’ll just catch you with his free hand since big boi can probably lift you one handed like nothing (unnnnffffff). Muriel won’t say anything,he won’t need to- the satisfied look on your face says it all and he’ll just sigh- carefully placing you back on your feet with a pat on the head or a kiss to your forehead if you’ve caught him in a good mood.