I could answer this, but also I feel like there is a deeper issue to why you are asking me specifically. Because clearly, if you're sending me an ask, you are aware of who I am. If you don't know, I am not any BL Authority, I am a working full time student who draws RPF of medieval monarchs inspired by the real history (terrible) and 1960s-70s Western plays/movies with Very Problematic Gay Representation.

I'm guessing that you are at an impasse in your life. You like BL, you are drawn to it for whatever reason, like many before you. And yet, despite this strong draw, you feel this guilt. You feel like there are two options before you--to either give up your Unhealthy Vice, of this BL that is apparently So Harmful. Or, you come to my inbox (or that of my mutuals possibly) to find some sort of moral loophole so you can assuage your own guilt and find a moral reason for consumption.

To which I say: I cannot give you that answer! You are the only one who can decide for yourself what you want to read and interpret in your life.

What, exactly, are you scared of, is what I need you to dig into. I'm guessing from your message that is a well intention about being respectful and supporting real life human rights. Which is good–that is something everyone should aspire to. However from your asks it seems like you are afraid that consuming BL is immoral and a betrayal of The Real Queers, since Japan has a conservative, homophobic society and it is fraught that something like BL exists under that. In my opinion, I think the depth of importance and influence people give to weird indulgent erotic media is always overinflated, since it is something that reflects and responds to the conditions of the world, and not the main power in shaping it. It is something that can be frustrating and harmful, it can also be transformatory and liberating. And I am just as cautious to put it on a Progressive Pedestal as to make it into the Origin of Evils. Queers in the west often complain about weird porn and weird stories here all the time, and many have gone on to be both reviled and loved in different ways, sometimes even changing over the years as contexts and attitudes shift.

One thing I can say, is that repressing your own desires and tastes when it comes to fiction will always be a losing battle, and giving it more importance and power than it really has is ultimately silly and Not That Deep, and causes more anguish than its worth. If it really causes you so much distress and guilt, then go on...test it out and commit to the bit. Give up the sinful BL and go on a cleanse by Reading "Real Queer Fiction" classics, or support the Pure geicomi...I'm not even being facetious–if that makes you feel better about yourself, there are always creators that could use that support

I never grew up with MLP so idk the different ponies much. But in middle school I used to follow a webcomic that was basically made up of posed photographs of my little ponies to tell a slice of life comic strip about college roommates with contrasting personalities, it was called "Kimono's Townhouse" and I kept up with it RELIGIOUSLY for a good long while! Sadly it seems like the original website is no longer functioning, since the author stopped uploading to pursue her archaeology career (???) but the old live journal it was on still is up. I always love the love and care people give their toys and in toy photos, and it was def a little bit of an inspiration to me and my comic strips early on too

I like a lot of things though I've only really gone "in depth" with this 12th century fixation of mine...I also really like classical/biblical eras, like the first century Jesus era stuff because I was really into that for a while, with the Greco-Roman influence on the early church and second temple Judaism. Since it's something that is incredibly important both to traditions and incredibly politicized and thus has affected a lot of culture to this day while also being on its own, a very specific snapshot of a time and place and cultural mix of language and ideals that often is mentioned a lot by both Christian pundits and people trying to find progressive spins on ancient texts. It's still something important to me, but studying religious stuff sometimes makes me a little sad and also annoying pedantic personally fjdj so I've distanced a bit over the years. There are some sexy scenarios I'd like to explore in that context but mostly they're less based on history and more parodic porn stuff inspired by the fetishization of that era by Christian martyr and saint narratives (you can only have so many stories about virginal pure concerts being bound and tortured and whipped or whatever out of devotion by eeeevil sexy Romans lying on couches with slaves fanning them with palms without it becoming kinda....)

I think a lot of early American and Colonial history is really fascinating to me (if also very depressing), I was really into stuff about the Jamestown and New England settlements for a while, (very APUSH, I know, but also I had a really good professor in college who introduced me to some fun stuff) I think the early history is interesting because it's also kind of a place of national myths, especially regarding interactions and relationships with the various native political fronts of the time. I think on YouTube, it was Premodernist who said something like it is customary for people to think of US history as something relatively recent, and it is as a nation, but also the context and history of it is something that ties into longer traditions and cultural stuff that is fascinating to look at from an international context as well. I haven't been as Into It as I used to because I'm not longer in school for that and also North American history tends to be grim in a way that hits closer to home than other subjects do due to proximity of time and geography. But it's very fascinating, even aesthetically...I think in a lot of ways, maybe this is a US thing or others, that 1600s period feels like it's the oldest period people think they can remember when they visualize what "history" is (that isn't literal Romans or cave men), which is often how u get ppl seeing a 1600s dresses and clothing items and going "wow.....so medieval..."

I've seen the first season!! I liked it a lot, I still need to watch the second one. I love how dramatic and literary it is (the playwrights coming in clutch) while still being very fun. So I haven't seen s2 Claudia yet but she looks stunning in performance from what I've seen on here, I really liked her in s1 too, it's cool how they incorporate if the recast into the whole unreliable narrator aspect.

Funny enough, usually I wouldn't really consider myself a Vampire Enjoyer since I didn't really grow up with the media and don't have any particular attachments or nostalgia about it, same with horror stuff, but I always love some good juicy character dynamics and neat style, which usually comes with the territory. I really like how adapting the story to explore Louis as a Black man with a complicated relationship to his identity and his exploitation added lots of interesting layers to explore in the story, I always love when characters are very contextualized in their time by who they are and where they are, and esp for characters of color when they can be messy and problematic weirdos in their relationships without it either ignoring racism existence or the subject being treated with kid gloves, so to speak.

It doesn't currently spark fannish production for me because it feels like a very complete story being told that I can appreciate on its own, but I love the fanart I do see! Maybe I will doodle some claudias sometime bc I love anguished loli (and later loliyuri...) .

"Yaoi for the sake of Yaoi" I'm guessing is referring to something being "just" porn, or meant to titillate, and thus a lesser form of expression. This is originally where the term comes from, a term used for self-indulgent doujinshi featuring guy x guy couples. Nowadays of course everything is "BL" not yaoi officially (now yaoi is more outdated slang, but one that sticks around in the anglosphere I think bc it's just a nice and distinctive word to roll around in ur mouth). I get what the OP is trying to say but it do agree with what you say, that the idea that the icky ~straight~ women make indulgent, shallow work while the Men are the ones who make Queer Art(tm). This is dismissive since it draws a binary where there really isn't one, and also is dismissive towards works that have very different audiences and intentions.

I think this attitude arises because of course, there are different types of stories that have different levels of depth. Something made just for porn straightforwardly usually isn't going to have the most fleshed out story and is usually just to fulfill or express sexual desires and fantasies. On the other hand a story that is about various characters and other themes may explore various subjects in depth, not just the sexuality aspect. There are also stories that are intending to portray representation in realistic or serious ways, which will of course end up having a different style and approach than stories that want to explore drama.

I feel like people often get confused about how to express themselves when they encounter a story that i, because they often jump to talking down about other stories that have different goals and aims and it sounds like this is the case. I wrote about how this has affected the way people talk about the manga "Nii-Chan" here earlier (link).

I've mentioned it before but it was neat to see this play out while reading the Gengoroh Tagame anthology, since he is usually the example of A Gay Man Making the True Queer Art(tm) in some people's minds but he is also definitely making porn for porn's sake a lot too--it was neat to see his range (and also note that for his more emotional-based stories, the ones ppl might he noted that they were done with a female audience in mind or influenced by "women's manga magazines," Shoujo and such. And you can see that influence even in his hardcore stories. Similarly for BL, when it comes to exploring queer themes there are works I think approach it in kind of stupid/insensitive ways and also works that really grapple with The Deep Important Abstract Queer Themes as well even when they are All About Sex and fantasy.

In general, I've realized what I get drawn to a lot in BL, GL, queer stories and art in general even if I don't share the exact same identity or romantic goals myself, is I like the themes of how people deal with making the decisions to forge their own paths by necessity due to inherent or societal difference. There are tragic and triumphant approaches to this, but it's an eternally interesting theme, and I think one that always ends up being addressed in some way, whether shallowly or more in depth.

In the end I think it comes to this sort of discourse is that the approaches are very diverse and some will resonate more than others, but I really think it's often more a stylistic and intention and skill/experience/taste thing than an element of inherent identity.

I like birds, bird anthro people…tho i think theyre less inherently sexy to me and just more i identify with them more haha. Any type of animal can be girlified, i think it’s less about the animal and often more about the symbolism though, and if ears can be turned into a cute Accessory. for example i think kitty ears and doggy tails are cute lil additions that add anthro character even if im not fond of cats or dogs in real life. For yuriburgers I like bunny girl Marie Denise bc its cute but her actual fursona is probably lamb or fox, but they dont have the same iconic look to it, im still working it out. Animalisms are more “costume” to me, im not really an animal deep appreciator like other furry types

Since you are asking for “survival” advice I am going to give my honest advice to u, Loyal Vassal…When you are into a hobby or like something popular there will always be other people in the hobby or subculture who you absolutely cant stand and disagree with. There will always be chuds, and you can’t will them out of existence or worry about them. Instead of worrying about “how it makes you look” or whatever focus on building and sticking to your own principles and ethics, and seek out other people who share those principles. Create something, share ideas. If you are not an artist, then be someone who supports artists and works you love. Never stop talking about what you like and want to see in the world. Be thoughtful, not reactive to the discourse. Snark is inevitable and i indulge too but if u must, do it on your own account and not in peoples replies or qrts. By acting like this and sharing, you define yourself by what you like and attract other people with similar values and personality, and can build friendships and connections. You can then use those friendships to complain when you DO see something batshit online, and u can laugh it off together

Personally in my own head I LOVE exception stuff!!! ...heterosexuals doing mind games or forced into situations r my fetish (joking but also not..) people LOL...there's something very sexy to me about there being a Binary and straightforward "simple" view of the world that gets messed around with. I think "straightness" is interesting as an identity/social category, and the kind of homosocial-homosexuality that is "acceptable" to a straight male community in specific circumstances (either as Brotherly Bonding or violence and enforcement of hierarchy) is very interesting and sexy to play with. Also, I love repressed or drama bisexuals too -- theres something fun when a man's attraction to women IS real and is actually treated as real by the story while they're also having yaoidramaz. Sometimes men say I'm Straight and they're right and sometimes they are Lying and sometimes they aren't, and both can be true ...it's a fun complexity!

however on a serious note I do think it depends on how it's framed. It is annoying I think if in a story as a WHOLE, it comes across like the author doesn't see gayness, queerness, bisexuality etc as A Real Thing, that feels hurtful and reflection of ignorance. And like most stories that reflect ignorance, it makes the world feel smaller and less complex, and ultimately less satisfying as a story. Its fine to me when characters are repressed and in denial and goofy but when it's the creators sincerely being dumb about it just feels bad. Also I feel like u can have very stylized stories with characters who are clearly attracted to each other/gay/etc and still dealing with all those repressive issues and doing romance etc so I feel like it's mostly unnecessary and clunky to claim straightness unless ur doing something sexy with it. It doesn't need to be "realistic" or reflective of "Real Experiences" but also sometimes it's like, let's be honest with our own desires and what we r writing haha. I feel this is less of an issue these days tho I could be wrong