Giddy in the Pants

The undeniably incredible blog of the most amazing party in the pants ever!

[whatis2plus2]

Since joining Tumblr, I’ve met a lot of young queer people. Look, I’m a bisexual man in a gay relationship, and I’m approaching 30. I was still a kid when Matthew Shepard’s story was being covered on the news. I remember thinking, “I better keep my mouth shut about these feelings I’m having.”

And then I met Dominic when I was 12, and people could see how in love we were. And we got the shit beat out of us. The year I met him, some kids in the grade above me held me down against the bleachers in our gym and stomped on my hand until my fingers broke. Instead of sending me to the nurse, the teacher sent me to the assistant principal to explain the situation. She asked why the kids had beat me up. I said, “They were calling me gay.”

Her response was, “Well, are you?”

My, “I don’t know,” earned a call to my parents, and I was outed. Efforts were made to keep me from seeing Dom. Throughout high school, Dom’s stepmother intensified these efforts. He slept in the basement of the house. Although he was an incredibly talented student, he was prohibited from participating in any extracurriculars. He suffered a lot of physical abuse during those years.

The day he turned 18, he packed up everything he had and walked to my house, and we’ve lived together ever since. Things are better, but they’re not perfect. I’ve had trucks pull up next to me at stoplights and, seeing the pride sticker on my car, through old drinks and garbage into my window. I no longer speak to my dad’s side of the family. I haven’t been to see them for Christmas or Thanksgiving in years. One of my uncles had cornered me at Thanksgiving when I was 17 and said, “I’m not going to judge you, but I’d be happy to break your neck so God can do the judging a little sooner.”

I joined a support group for trans and intersex people. When I joined, 40 people attended regularly. Within the year, the group was half the size it had been. Some couldn’t make it anymore, because they were staying at the shelter, where their stay hinged on them agreeing to instead to attend homophobic sermons. Some were put in correctional therapy. Five of them died. Three of those, I didn’t know, but I knew Alex, the 19 year old who was fag-dragged in Kentucky and died a day later in the hospital, and I knew Stephanie, who went home to Alabama to care for her mom in hospice and was beaten to death with a baseball bat by her mom’s boyfriend.

Tumblr is not reality. The dynamic here does not reflect the dynamic out there. Here’s the part where I finally make a point, and it might be extremely unpopular - but guys, value your allies. Value each other. We are met with enough hate in our daily lives to enter an online safe-space and meet more hate from our own, over petty things. Don’t go after one another over every little thing you find problematic.

Learn to see nuance. Maybe the word “queer” bothers you, and you see a gay man using it as an umbrella term. Maybe someone called a trans man a trans woman because they’re confused about terminology, but the post where they did it was voicing support for the trans community. Maybe someone is just asking a question, wanting to learn more. Stop. Attacking. These. People.

Allies are being driven away. Members of our own community are being ostracized. Others are feeling nervous and estranged, and it’s largely because of places like Tumblr, where the social justice movement is quickly becoming violent and radical. I am begging you, stop nitpicking “problematic” things and start directing your efforts to create real change. When it comes to comes to your allies, forget the “social justice warrior” mentality and put down your torch. Educate calmly. Be respectful. Be understanding. Be forgiving. And I’m certainly not saying that your anger doesn’t have a good place - when you are met with bigots on the street, congress members who want to pass hateful laws, violent protesters, abusive parents, prejudiced teachers, that is when you need to be a warrior. That’s when it counts. In the real world. When you have the opportunity to protect people from real harm. Attacking your would-be allies via anonymous asks is just going to lose us ground in the long run. And we don’t have time for that, not when trans women of color are being murdered every day, not when states are still fighting against marriage equality, not when there are politicians in office who believe that trans people are possessed by demons, not when we’ve just lost 50 brothers and sisters to one gunman, not when the media won’t even admit that the attack was homophobic.

Please step back. Look at the big picture. Look at where we are, globally. Don’t just log on to your safe space and attack your allies over small missteps. That’s like washing the dishes in a house that’s on fire, kids. Let’s fight on the battlefield, and when we come home to each other, let’s just focus on bandaging up our wounds so we can go out and win the war.

[stephrc79]

Signal boost to this unbelievably important message.

[needsmoreexplosions]

FIND YOUR EDGY 90S ANTIHERO NAME

EVER WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU WERE CREATED BY ROB LIEFELD? NOW YOU CAN KNOW

Part 1: Find the First Letter of Your First Name

Part 2: Find the First Letter of Your Last Name

ENJOY

[silenthill]

why did i have to get blood blood

[giddyinthepants]

Gore Fist. I approve.

[giddyinthepants]

Reading fics in which Stiles is stupid:

[giddyinthepants]

George Shelley, My Gay Senses Are Tingling

In this post, I explained that I have a pretty good ‘gaydar’. Now, it can be argued that the very idea of a gaydar is problematic in that it relies on the conscious or unconscious ability for pattern recognition in stereotypes. In short, the brain associates certain things as “not heterosexual” and if enough of those things are connected to an individual, the ‘gaydar’ goes off. Stereotypes, though, as the world is coming to learn, aren’t always true. The following is an excerpt from the post:

For example, I have a pretty good ‘gaydar’ (though even that’s not a proper tool to use on people as it is open to error and it’s basically unconscious or conscious stereotyping via pattern recognition.) My ‘gaydar’ is rarely wrong, and it’s went off for three members of One Direction from the very beginning in which I started paying attention to them. However, I can’t prove these members are anything but straight without as much hard evidence to combat the straightness which they have presented, whether that be true or not. I battle in hard evidence, much like a judiciary. My gaydar tells me that Harry isn’t straight, but until I see him sucking face with another guy, I can’t state it as a fact. It’s just a ‘sense’ I get. My gaydar swears up and down Louis is gay, despite all evidence to the contrary, but until I see combating evidence just as strong (or, I don’t know, any of them happens to come out), then I can’t make any claims as fact. I do believe people shouldn’t be assumed straight until proven otherwise, but that goes for non-straightness as well. Just as I did with Ellen Page, Kristen Stewart, Andreja Pejic, Shane Dawson, Charlie Carver, Colton Haynes (though he’s trying to go glass closet, so, meh), I will wait until they come out as whatever they are (or not) and my ‘sense’ for them is either proven right or wrong.

Now, last year in mid December, I watched my first and only Union J interview. Jaymi, the openly gay member, was telling his bandmates about the “beards” rumor going around about certain One Direction members. I was pleasantly surprised, at the time, to see that there was an openly gay member of a boyband. However, I couldn’t help but look at George Shelley because my gaydar went off for him. I thought, “Wait, what about this guy?” I did a cursory Google search and the only non-straight member of Union J to come up was Jaymi. Interesting. I let it go, though. I didn’t (and still don’t) know much about Union J and never listened to their music, so I shrugged and went on investigating those Harry Styles beard rumors. I wake up today, check Tumblr, and see that news has broke that Union J member George Shelley has come out as bisexual (though prefers not to use labels.)

At this point, I’m ready to bet money. I want to make enough to afford a life.

[giddyinthepants]

The Rational Fandom

I’ve observed a fandom (I shall call them the Cardinals) who claim rationality as a fandom trait. They observe and analyze things down to the smallest detail and can find meaning in a grain of sand if they saw it to be significant. To be honest, I find this skill of theirs to be useful in certain fields, like molecular science and anything that involves studying minor details. However, that’s not what this skill of theirs is being used for. They’re using this skill for an obsession that had initially gave them a surge of happiness, euphoria, and pleasure. So, it’s for something they’ve connected with emotionally in which drives their obsession.

What that means is instead of being rational, the Cardinals instead rationalize their beliefs to suit their obsession. They like to find connections that fit their premise (like an OTP.) They don’t like to consider the possibilities first, and if they do, it’s only to shut them down because disproving any theories that isn’t theirs makes their own theory look more credible. They assume the air of logic and reason, but they are blind to the fact that they are being lead by their emotions.

Take, for example, when they become so sure of their theory that when something happens contrary to what they believe, they react emotionally. They become angry, paranoid, combative, sad, anxious, and even physically ill. Others shut down completely and choose to ignore contrary evidence, rationalizing that it’s a ploy or a trick to discredit them.

What they fail to do, in light of contrary evidence, is consider the evidence before attempting to disprove it (if it’s disprovable by hard logic.) They will swear that they know the truth, but their conclusions and beliefs are so narrow that it’s obvious they don’t see the big picture at all. They only see and believe what they want to see and believe, which is whatever ideal they’ve concluded and hold fast to.

People who rationalize their beliefs tend to sound repetitive, because they have no other perspective but their own. So, when contrary evidence is presented, they will stick with their chosen argument no matter what. They tend to make the same mistakes because they don’t learn from new evidence or disproving theories. They don’t want to be wrong because they truly believe they are right and the world is just out to get them. Their approach to reason is inductive (probable) in character but deductive (absolute) in practice. A Generic Example of Inductive Reasoning: 1. Population A has Attribute Y and Population B has Attribute Z. 2. Individual L is a member of Population A. 3. Therefore, Individual L probably has Attribute Y. Since it has been observed and documented that the majority of individuals in Population A have Attribute Y, it is very probable that Individual L also has Attribute Y. What follows is a test for confirmation. An Example of Inductive Reasoning in Fandom: 1. Fond gazing is an attribute of love and affection. 2. X gazes fondly at Y. 3. X is probably in love with Y. Since fond gazing is labeled as an attribute of love and affection, it’s probable that X is fond of Y. The problem is, love has many attributes, so what would follow next are more observations of what equates to ‘love’ and a confirmation that X is in love with Y. The only way to confirm love, however, is an honest testament: “X says they love Y,” paired with all of the evidence that support the attributes that imply ‘love’.  A Generic Example of Deductive Reasoning: 1. All men are mortal. 2. Socrates is a man. 3. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. Since humans (men) have always been observed and documented to die, the logic is sound. An Example of Deductive Reasoning in Fandom: 1. Couples gaze fondly at each other. 2. X and Y gazed fondly at each other. 3. Therefore, X and Y are a couple. In the above argument, it’s assumed that the premise (1) is absolute. Everything that follows confirms the premise as an absolute. The only problem with deductive reasoning, especially in fandom, is when the logic isn’t sound. Parents gaze fondly at their children. Friends gaze fondly at their friends. People gaze fondly at their pets. By the above logic, parents and their children are couples, friends are couples, and people and pets are couples. Instead of deductive reasoning, the Cardinals would do better with inductive reasoning. It allows testing for confirmation instead of going by absolute beliefs. There is a reason why they believe their OTP to be genuine, but since said OTP isn’t an official fact, they are dealing in possibilities, not absolutes. They have to confirm it as fact before the logic becomes deductive. So, are the Cardinals rational or are they rationalizing? Based on the evidence, I think it’s most probably the latter.

[giddyinthepants]

Boyband Drama

I’ve been thinking about Louis Tomlinson’s baby drama, particularly about its media presence. Even hardcore Louis stans admit that Louis isn’t that famous. He’s barely B-list. The only reason why there would be so much media attention is because of the particular brand of drama (scandal) this is paired with the timing (during a lack of band activity.) To understand how this works, one must understand the big picture. The really big picture (not too big, but big enough to really see how this works.) I made a crap graphic of how the media machine works on a large basis and I’ll break it down accordingly. THE MEDIA MACHINE This is the basic Media Machine:

Black Arrows = Standard connections Green Arrows = Paid connections Red Arrows = Shady connections The Star is the center of attention. Their connection is to their Fans (purple people.) However, that connection is largely filtered through many different parties due to image, civility, safety, and contractual obligation. So, the Star has a PR and Management team (the pencil.) These are the Star’s “People.” They make sure content about the Star is given to media outlets (the pink ‘News’ mag) in a way that coincides with the image the Star wants or has to have (it all depends on contracts and agreements as well as what the star does, and how much money and power they have.) The Star can connect directly with their Fans via Social Media (the blue bird), however that, too, can be managed by their PR and Management teams, usually for the same sake as they do when mediating information between the Star and the Media. Via Social Media and ‘news’ media, the Fans are given content about their Star. This is a product of the Entertainment Age mixing with the Information Age. More information can be accessed faster and easier than it was for bands like Backstreet Boys and NSYNC in their prime. Paps and insiders get paid by media outlets for information, pictures, video, and audio. Sometimes, if the Star is in need of a boost of publicity to be more present in the public eye, the Star or their “People” reach out to paps and insiders in order to give or produce new content to give to media outlets to present to Fans. But there is a reason for all of that: money. Money for all.

CONSUME THE PRODUCT I won’t get into my universal theory of consumption, because that would be going too big (and I’d be here for days explaining why that affects the success and destruction of whole civilizations, not just the careers of celebrities.) However, it’s consumption and the media machine that drives Louis’ drama. And even if someone else built the drama, it’s the consumers who fuel it. One Direction are a product. One need only separate themselves from their feelings and biases for a moment to really conceive that One Direction is a thing to be consumed. That’s true of all entertainers. They, themselves, become the product. That’s the difference between entertainers and creators. Creators make the thing to be consumed and it’s taken from them by consumers in exchange for money. Entertainers become the product and exchange themselves to consumers via time, attention, presence, and demand. Demand is the key word here. Without a demand for the entertainer, the Star, they no longer become a product worth selling. For singers, that means they loose airtime, their records are marked down, they drop in sales, and their name and presence aren’t enough to break even with media sources and their consumer goals. In short, if the Star is ‘hot’, they’re of worth. If they’re ‘not’, then they drop out of the media machine and aren’t seen or heard from until they garner public interest again. In the case of Louis Tomlinson, the announcement of his first born-to-be stirred the One Direction fandom into a frenzy. Directioners of all form have proven how dedicated they are and at what lengths they’re willing to go for the sake of the boys. Directioners have surpassed the zeal, obsession, and dedication of previous boybands and similar acts, which is what makes them so unique and valuable. So, a baby announcement is big news and it’s a lengthy process (incubation and all that), so media outlets can use that to meet (and surpass) their consumer goals. Anything written and published about the boys draws Directioners like bees to honey. It doesn’t matter what it is: Report it and they will come. Understanding the product and consumer nature of this whole thing, one must think about everything from a business perspective. Being One Direction is their job. That basically entails: recording music, doing interviews, performing at shows, and customer service (interacting with fans at signings, taking pictures, etc.) One Direction has made it very clear that they, as a unit, wouldn’t be a success without their fans. Which is true. From the very beginning, their fans made them successful. Most people who enjoy an artist are also very critical of said artist in which the collective opinion of the artist’s work shows in record sales and media outlets (aka “Do people even want to hear about this person?”) Directioners, though, again, are dedicated. Despite any faults, Directioners foresee themselves supporting the product they’re consuming for a very long time. It begs the question as to how long, though. With fans ranging from 9-42, will they be crooning What Makes You Beautiful into their 30s? 40s? 50s? Madonna is 57 and still touring, but with music that has always had a certain level of maturity to last through the ages. If a person brings their 9-year-old to a Madonna show, that’s to their own discretion knowing that there will be adult themes at the show as Madonna and her fans are mostly adults. Then again, Madonna and One Direction (while both pop) are vastly different in other ways. Maybe Live While We’re Young still works for mid-life? If that’s the case, One Direction will never be out of work and they’ll always be part of the media machine primarily as they have been. It’s going around that they’re getting new management as a band, but the formula won’t change much because it’s worked for them thus far. Do Directioners expect them to really write and record music that the boys themselves are interested in and want to make (see ex-member Zayn’s Pillowtalk and Liams ‘song for fun’, which got a mix response from fans)? How different can their sound become before fans become uncomfortable? After all, they are a product and most consumers don’t like when their favorite product changes too much (if at all.) Yes, Made in the AM is more mature than Up All Night, but it’s still within the boundaries of the sound and image they are contracted to make: a fun group of young lads who sing about the girls they like. It’s full of youth and energy, much like their consumers, which isn’t bad, but it isn’t forever. They are extremely aware of their fans, so they are careful with how they present themselves. They want to do their jobs and give the people what they want. Even, at times, at the expense of their own privacy. I’ve posted about Louis’ baby situation and how he is being presented. There are many theories as to why it’s happening, but the bottom line is that it’s happening. To the world, Louis Tomlinson is a father to an infant boy named Freddie Tomlinson. I’ve talked about how there not being a baby after the narrative pointing to the existence of a baby would be ridiculous. Drama isn’t dispelled with more drama. Worse drama, even. That doesn’t fix anything, thus it doesn’t make sense for there not to be a baby (otherwise there would have been an abortion.) Not long after did pictures of the infant finally break out on the net. The delay in the ultimate introduction of the baby still implies that something is being hidden. Louis is a product after all (yes, he’s a person, but again, from a business perspective...) So, like any other celebrity, he would share this experience with the fans. He announced it to them when Briana got pregnant, so they’ve been waiting to hear about it for months. A delay denotes hesitancy, so there most likely has been (or will be) a paternity test. As far as what ‘sources’ are saying about what Briana and Louis think and feel about the situation, it would indeed be more solid to hear from them directly, but again...he’s part of the media machine. If fans want to learn intimate details about their favs, it seems like it has to go through a series of channels first so that everyone profits. It’s a job, after all. If One Direction were to not garner such public attention, they’d drop from the media machine (at least actively) and media sources would stop reporting on everything they do. However, that’s bad news for the product. They lose value and the road to ruin paved by many a-boyband before them lay ahead.

FANDOM I’ve only taken a keen notice of One Direction since mid December 2015. I brought in the new year gorging on content of all forms from their X-Factor days up until now. I’ve explored the casual and encountered the Darkest Lands of the Larries there are (”What is the rainbow bear?” Must I break my neck like Niall to prove that point?) However, I’m not as emotionally invested as many are in this fandom, like those who have been here for years. I’m an Occam’s Razor kind of person, so I don’t sit well with loads of theories that are presented with evidence one can only squint and speculate about. I like hard facts and the only hard fact that I know is that One Direction is and will always be a product to be consumed. It’s a job that must be done. Yes, there are loads of experiences and good times as a result, but that’s part of the product, that’s why people pay money, pay attention, promote, and obsess. One Direction are fun and entertaining. However, I draw the line at coming to conclusive beliefs about their personal “non-work” lives without hard proof and facts.  For example, I have a pretty good ‘gaydar’ (though even that’s not a proper tool to use on people as it is open to error and it’s basically unconscious or conscious stereotyping via pattern recognition.) My ‘gaydar’ is rarely wrong, and it’s went off for three members of One Direction from the very beginning in which I started paying attention to them. However, I can’t prove these members are anything but straight without as much hard evidence to combat the straightness which they have presented, whether that be true or not. I battle in hard evidence, much like a judiciary. My gaydar tells me that Harry isn’t straight, but until I see him sucking face with another guy, I can’t state it as a fact. It’s just a ‘sense’ I get. My gaydar swears up and down Louis is gay, despite all evidence to the contrary, but until I see combating evidence just as strong (or, I don’t know, any of them happens to come out), then I can’t make any claims as fact. I do believe people shouldn’t be assumed straight until proven otherwise, but that goes for non-straightness as well. Just as I did with Ellen Page, Kristen Stewart, Andreja Pejic, Shane Dawson, Charlie Carver, Colton Haynes (though he’s trying to go glass closet, so, meh), I will wait until they come out as whatever they are (or not) and my ‘sense’ for them is either proven right or wrong. I am seeing many people in the fandom get so emotionally invested in the personal lives of these boys (even more than their music) that they begin to suffer from health and mental issues, and that’s not good. People get so invested that they begin to expect very specific things from these boys on a timeline or at specific dates and are crushed when it doesn’t happen. Speculation and skepticism isn’t bad, but hard expectation of another person who is out of one’s control is always setting oneself up for failure; thus primed for disappointment time and time again. Despite everything observed, one really can’t know the full picture, because only each individual member of One Direction knows what they themselves are thinking and where it is they see themselves in ten years time because those things aren’t shared with the media machine. Those things are private (mostly because they’re still developing.) To claim that anyone outside of even their management team does is to only take what little a fan knows and what little they’ve been shown and to form hard facts on that alone. It’s not the complete picture, so the conjectures and beliefs will be off or completely wrong because they are based on a skewed perspective. Even the most outlandish ideas in scientific history had to be proven by hard evidence before they became a fact. Like the First Law of Gravity, which Isaac Newton first stated the idea of, and then he went about proving it with irrefutable evidence. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. No one could prove him wrong or claim his evidence was anything but hard, observable, testable fact. As a person in the LGBTQIA+ community and a person who does enjoy these boys, I would appreciate it if one (or all three of the members who my gaydar went off for) were revealed to also be part of the community, bringing representation to a field that still marginalizes and oppressed people like me. However, I’ll wait until I have the hard proof to claim it’s legit. None of the drama, at this point, is worth my consumption. The articles and the rumors...nah. They’re all adults. They can handle their own lives without my input. I’ll listen to MITAM, wish them a happy hiatus, and see them whenever and if ever they do anything solo during the time being. 

[giddyinthepants]

My Thoughts on Babygate

I’m going to be as clear and direct with this diatribe as I possibly can amidst the maelstrom of misinformation and terrible PR surrounding this situation. Here goes. The Burden of Proof Louis’ baby has been a rumor cooking up for 9 months or so now. For a good bit of that time, the public has been barred from visible evidence of said fetus. Only recently had there been any pictures of Briana’s bun-in-the-oven. Some photos are speculated to belong to women who aren’t Briana. This doesn’t do well for the rumor that the baby isn’t Louis’ or the rumor that the baby doesn’t exist.

From the moment the fetus’ existence was announced, the burden of proof was with Briana. No one else. Not Louis, not his PR team, not Briana’s mom, grandma, step-dad, best friend, dog, etc. Briana. So far, she’s done quite a brilliant job of proving to the world and to the father of her child that it exists. We’ve gotten so many photos and many words from her about how she feels, what she thinks, and what she expects.

What Are You Hiding? As stated before, the two reigning rumors surrounding this ordeal are as follows:

1. Louis is not the father of Briana’s baby 2. There is no baby Aside from Briana’s amazing declarations of motherhood, there are very simple and direct ways to dispel the rumors once and for all. Option A: Louis and Briana take a photo of their newborn in the hospital, introducing him to the world. Most new parents can’t snap a photo fast enough. They’re ready to gush about their kid like it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to humanity. Unfortunately, that opportunity has come and gone as it is now 5 days after the child has been born. Any photo now would beg the question, “Why the wait? Why the caution?” Option B: The baby photos are late, so now there needs to be hard proof: a birth certificate. It’s invasive to have to show the world a newborn’s birth certificate just to validate it’s existence, but that could have been avoided with Option A, which is no longer an option that sticks. So, either they reveal the document personally, or it’s revealed in an exclusive with the press. Either way, it’s messy. There are no other options. This has been handled so monstrously that no one can believe Briana’s family, Louis’ PR team, the paps, or the press. Everyone has bungled the information on this. If a new born appears now without documentation, no one will believe the child belongs to Louis or Briana. It could be the next Gerber Baby, for all anyone knows. It’s California, after all. Some stars start young. Being the stunt baby to pop sensation Louis Tomlinson gets a tiny foot into the door. Briana had every opportunity to prove the existence of this child. Instead, her silence (being afraid of the fans isn’t a good excuse to let this go on) only fueled the rumors. Louis’ silence could be explained by the simple fact of him not being sure if the child is his or not, which means there will be a paternity test. Regardless of how fans feel, what they think, or the rumors at large, there is nothing stopping Briana from posting photos. This is supposedly a big event in her life and she’s been the most silent Californian girl in all of the internet age. Silence means there is a secret. There is something to hide. Either it’s the first rumor or the second. There’s no other reason behind how this has been handled. That and a paycheck.

So, What Happens Next? The only thing they can do now is finally dispel the rumors. The baby can’t be invisible forever and his paternity has to be determined. Considering Louis’ cooperation, things are made to assume that there is in fact a baby. To stage like there is one and then to reveal that the baby has been imaginary the whole time is ridiculous and vastly unnecessary. Everyone involved would be a colossal joke. Absolutely no one would take One Direction, Simon Cowell, and everyone else involved seriously if that were to happen. So, assuming there is a baby, whether or not it’s Louis’ is yet to be determined. In fact, based on Briana’s resounding motherly excitement, whether or not the baby is her’s is yet to be determined. That means there will either be a confirmation of parentage or confirmation that Louis isn’t the father. Assuming Louis is the father, documentation will have to be shown in order to dispel the rumors. Anything less and his child will continue to be a joke. Assuming Louis isn’t the father, Briana and her family become notorious in their attempt to be the next Kardashian/Jenner clan. In Hollywood, infamy is just as good as fame. On average, it takes 2 business days from when the lab gets the samples for paternity to be determined. Considering Louis’ celebrity status, the results will be prepared and revealed through PR and media. If Briana and her family are truly after a paycheck and the baby thing falls through, I wouldn’t put it past them to attempt bribery. That is, assuming they had any damaging information about Louis to trade their silence for. Considering the time it takes for paternity results and PR to be organized and arranged (though they’ve been doing such a splendid job thus far), it will be a week or two at most for the rumors to be dispelled completely. Ultimately, this can’t go on any longer without Louis, Briana, and everyone involved going down as the biggest laughing stock of 2016. To avoid that, this whole situation has to look legit in the end. Even if it is a stunt. Even if none of it is real. The most irresponsible thing would be to let things go on without tying up loose ends.

[giddyinthepants]

Harry, Niall, Liam, and Zayn have all had moments where they’ve cried like a bitch, but not Louis. Louis’ eyes stay dry af.

[giddyinthepants]

Harry Styles, waving from afar...at your dad.

[giddyinthepants]

Harry accidentally seducing everyone he comes into contact with because he’s a natural flirt. He doesn’t mean to charm and arouse the people around him. It’s not Maybelline. He was born with it. Call Professor Xavier for another mutant youth has been found.

[giddyinthepants]

Fly Free, Lads

They’re twenty-somethings with a largely tween-teen fanbase (yes, they have older fans, but they aren’t One Direction’s demographic.)

Considering the fact that they are so aware of their fans and how influential the fans have been to their success and careers, they will cater to them as a result. 

Now, while One Direction’s music has slightly matured, the only member who is able to truly make the kind of music they want to make (regardless of the pubescent age of listeners) is Zayn Malik, and that’s because he left. He’s free to do  as he wishes without a heavy-handed management team pointing at figures and telling him what he has to do in order to make sales.

One Direction’s contract with Syco is coming to an end, but if they were to continue as a group, what liberties would they truly have? Would they finally be free to really put their entire individual tastes, preferences, and ideas into their music? As twenty-somethings that have already begun pushing the envelope in their current confinement (No Control, anyone?) I can only imagine they truly have mature content that they want to put out that clashes with the tween-teen fanbase they’ve cultivated.

How “different” can One Direction’s sound become before fans become uncomfortable?

Harry writes abstract love and life songs that seem to be a mixture of The Beatles, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and Mika (just to name a few.) Liam really wants to go for pop-R&B. Louis’s voice is suited for pop-punk, and if he’s not doing music, he’ll happily live his life being a philanthropist.

Niall’s suitable for country music. And Zayn’s already cut his strings and flown free (though it would have been nice to see him stick it out to the end because History would have been great with him in it.)

To be honest, before I found out about the hiatus and before I came to learn everything I have about One Direction, I knew this ship was seeing its final voyage. It’s not a bad thing. They auditioned on X-Factor as individuals for individual careers, got grouped together, became best friends, and had an amazing career for five years together. It’s a part of their lives they will always look back on it fondly, but it’s a part of their lives that should be over so that they can continue on to grow into the amazing individuals they’ve begun showing themselves to be.

That doesn’t mean One Direction won’t have reunion specials, nor does it mean they won’t have chances to collaborate with each other. All good things come to an end because all things end. That’s just the nature of existence.

I’m glad for the lads and I wish them continued success. More than anything, I hope they can finally be free to do whatever their hearts desire.

[giddyinthepants]

The Bi-Pattern

This is just something I’ve noticed, but many bisexuals seem to settle with a member of the opposite sex when it comes to marriage and building a family. It’s a pattern I’ve picked up on among well-known bisexuals.

I wonder how common it is. Are there any bisexuals on Tumblr in long-term committed relationships? Opposite sex or same sex?

[giddyinthepants]

It Was James Corden

If it wasn’t for seeing random gifs of 1D during Carpool Karaoke, I might never have looked into One Direction and found out that, despite all of the pre-conceptions about them, they (all 5 of them) are wonderful people who all had a dream to one day become big singers.  I wouldn’t have heard just how good they can actually sing. I wouldn’t have watched them perform at their own shows where they have the most fun and everyone present enjoys themselves. I wouldn’t have watched their Extra Factor days where they were just lads who wanted to sing, nearly lost their chance, and were brought together for a shot that took them farther than they ever believed.

They are hard working, they love their fans, they love what they do, and they won’t stop, even during this hiatus. Together, they took the world by storm. Separately, they’re gonna fuck shit up in the most amazing ways possible, and I knew they would before I learned they were going on hiatus or before I learned everything I know about them now.

It started with James Corden and Carpool Karaoke, and I’ve crammed five years of 1D experience since then (Dec 15, 2015.) I’m going to miss seeing them together as a unit, but that doesn’t deter my excitement to finally get to see their individual styles flourish during this hiatus (18 months or however long it lasts.)

Harry is going to make sappy, artistic love and life songs.

Liam is going to do pop-R&B.

Niall is so suited to something country-esque (and I’ll listen to him, even if I don’t care for country.)

Zayn is already doing things in R&B.

And if Louis doesn’t start a pop-punk project of sorts, I will be disappointed.

Otherwise, they can just enjoy a nice rest. It’s been five years of hard work. They deserve it. Good luck to them all and may they see success in 2016 and beyond.

[giddyinthepants]

College guy realizes his best friend might be his boyfriend in the cutest way imaginable

ProbablyGay1″ details his relationship with his pal Ian, presenting evidence that their bond might be stronger than either one is letting on.

This sounds strikingly similar to a couple of boybanders I know...Hmm...

[mindwanderingsofanintj]

Illuminati

“If it’s real, I’d like to be a part of it” –Me and every INTJ ever

[giddyinthepants]

The Harry and Kendall Fandoms

Harry Stans: *sniff* Do you smell that? Kendall Stans: *sniff* ...Yeah. Smells like... Harry Stans: Bullshit. Kendall Stans: Know that smell anywhere.

[giddyinthepants]

No.

I used to pride myself on not caring about celebrity lives. I used to be happy about focusing on my own life. And suddenly, when I’m having a bad day, I see that an English boybander has gone shopping at Tesco and I’ve been smiling all day ever since.

My life is over. Kill me, please. I don’t want to live on this planet anymore. I’m Harry trash.