#heckuva gay

[bookishcatcafe]

Sorry I can’t stop thinking about the fact that Huskerdust is slowly but surely reality.

[queersitcomenthusiast]

a bunch of dudebro types have just started following me on Instagram. They've been adding me over the past few days. They look innocent, like brand new accounts, but I don't know what sort of algorithm lead to my account being suggested.

Should I be concerned?

[grahoriasfancave]

Just finished Chapter 1 of The Quarry, here's my thoughts on the characters so far

Prologue

Laura: the reckless one who goes "let's go into the creepy abandoned house, don't be a wimp" and then gets killed, methinks. But I don't think she's dead yet?? Max: the malewife to Laura's gaslight gatekeep girlboss. Feels like the kinda guy to unashamedly watch sappy movies while crying and eating tubs of chocolate ice cream when sad. He's the Hannah Washington of the game. Cop Dude: creeeepyyyy. Either the motel's a trap or he knew exactly what was going on when Laura "tricked" him.

Chapter 1

Jacob: himbo with fratboy energy, has definitely won a game of gay chicken despite being straight. He needs to learn that no means no, but in a big-dog-that-thinks-he's-still-a-puppy kind of way. Kaitlyn: QUEEN. Takes no shit, will still be the designated driver of the group and provide emotional support on a bad day. Not mom material, but would make one heckuva cool aunt. Dylan: the token ADHD-coded snarker. Smells fruity, and I'm not talking about his little sister's shampoo that he uses bc he refuses to admit he packed it by mistake. Lowkey craves validation and uses humour to both acquire it and play it off as a joke. Nick: awkward softboi. Probably gonna fulfil the Final Girl/Main Character trope. I can see him fending off beasties with a hatchet or crowbar or something. But will he get the girl? (absolutely not) Abigail: sweetheart who needs protecting. A closeted lesbian who panicked and told Emma she had a crush on Nick when pressed, because he was the first guy that came to mind. She carries around one of those travel hand sanitizers that smells like cookies. Emma: sassy wine aunt vibes. Took both ballet and martial arts from an early age and half wants some creep to catcall her so she can kick his butt. Feels like she could go from bestie to poisoned dagger at the drop of a hat, but in a "I will roast you to your face and it will hurt" way, not a backstabbing way. Ryan: everyone thinks he's a brooding loner, but it's really the autism. 100% had to grow up too fast and is habitually the responsible one. His love language is quality time. Mr. Hackett: needs to CHILL. Explain your involvement with the local creature attacks a little please, sir. Other than that, the dadliest of dads.

[theliterateape]

Pro-Life: A Call to Action!

By David Himmel 

Now that it’s done—that great stain on the American Experiment that was a guaranteed right to safe parental planning through a woman’s—a family’s—ability to choose—it’s time for the Pro-Life Movement to take action and really lean into that Pro-Life Lifestyle.

Getting Roe v. Wade overturned has been the Pro-Life Movement’s main mission for half a century, and, finally, thanks to demented reasoning using, cherry-picked and distorted bits of history, six selfish Christian judges gave the Movement the victory generations have been praying for. Striking down rights to privacy, autonomy, and personal freedom? Let’s celebrate! But then let’s get to work. Because now the real work begins.

Overturning Roe was easy. A few marches, some trips to D.C., a phone call or email to a representative, voting for packaged Christian values. But mostly, it was an exercise in patience. The waiting game. The long game. Waiting long enough for the right kind of assholes to nominate the other right kind of assholes to be confirmed by another group of the right kind of assholes so the second group of assholes could find shoddy legal arguments to take American rights away. And all just shy of fifty years! Good job!

Now, with the Right to Life/Forced Birth established, we’re sure to see the Pro-Life Movement get on to the next order of business: Marching, protesting, campaigning, and fighting for the needs of so many American families trying to eek out a living. Here’s a short list to help get you good Christians started:

Affordable and effective healthcare

Affordable childcare

Quality, unbiased public education. That is, keeping all religious teachings and influences out of the classroom. (If you’d hate to hear a Jewish prayer before math class, best not to push for a Christian one—all things being equal.) Private schools can indoctrinate at will, of course.

Paid parental leave for all parents (men, women, gay, lesbian, non-binary, etc.)

Common sense gun control. You know, because guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens

Income equality

Fair housing and reasonable living wage minimums that evolve with the market

These are all things central to the Pro-Life Lifestyle. Without them, life is harder, sicker, shorter. History and science have shown us that prayer does not help an overworked single mother. Daycare does. Prayer doesn’t help a sick dad recover from cancer. Healthcare does. Prayer doesn’t keep AR-15s from being pointed at children’s heads before ejecting a bullet to vaporize the skull. Making weapons of war unavailable for sale does. Prayer doesn’t lift a family up by the bootstraps. Generational wealth does. So, too, does income equality.

Pro-lifers, you’ve done a heckuva job making it known how much you love to see women being pregnant and give birth. But you’ve been pretty quiet on all the stuff that comes after that. And, well, actually, pretty quiet on the stuff that comes with being pregnant like access to quality healthcare, but I digress. Point is, I understand why you haven’t made a fuss about these other pro-life issues. You had to get the elephant in the womb out of the proverbial cervix first. So, now’s that time! I can’t wait to see which of the aforementioned pro-life touchstones you champion at next year’s March for Life in D.C.

Sheesh, I might even join you there.

[wellhalesbells]

✨✨ TOP FIVES FOR 2020 ✨✨

2020 was, i think we can all agree, a massively chaotic year but i have never consumed as much media before in my life, so i thought others might benefit from my slothery uh, connoisseur.... ship?  yes, that.  below are the books, comics, shows, and movies that got me through!

B O O K S .

the starless sea, by erin morgenstern - i loooove this book because it loves me back.  it says: ‘oh, you’re a reader, well i have just the thing for you.’  it luxuriates in language and story and riddles and fairy tales and it feels like an entire library in a single tome.

they never learn, by layne fargo - oh fuuuuuck, this was satisfying.  i thought it might feel a little exploitative as it is very aware of the zeitgeist and likely would not exist without the #metoo movement but it never ever did.  this was a fucking ROMP, period.  reading about a woman getting away with murdering skeezy guy after rapey guy after shitty human just made me happier and happier.

moonflower murders, by anthony horowitz - this is the second in the susan ryeland series (and the first was hardcore good fun too) and really feels very classic mystery with the artful twist of catering to the literary community.  mainly because: susan isn’t a detective, she’s an editor and she gets drafted in this time because the clue to what happened to a missing woman is in a book she edited, if she can find it.  both of the books in this series have such an excellent coming together moment that is rare af to find.

the invisible life of addie larue, by v.e. schwab - the writing in this is just so good.  it has that feel to me where i just want to drop the book and open up my own page and let my fingers fly.  it’s that inspiring kind of writing that reminds you of all the things language can do.

crown of feathers/heart of flames, by nicki pau preto - aaahhh, this series is SO FREAKING GOOD!  why is there not more of a fandom for it, why???? it is so many of my favorite tropes all resting perfectly together to the point where you almost forget they’re tropes because they just so naturally evolved there.  ugh, it’s just.... it’s so heart-bursty good.

.... number 5, part 2?  raybearer, by jordan ifueko - this was just so original and i was invested af.  like, what a brilliant idea though and an even better execution??  i loved every character and am so looking forward to the next in the series so i can get to know them even better!!

honorable mentions (sh*t i still liked a whole heckuva lot): you/hidden bodies, by caroline kepnes // writers & lovers, by lily king // i’ll be gone in the dark, by michelle mcnamara // the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, by joseph fink & jeffrey cranor // girl, serpent, thorn, by melissa bashardoust // a little life, by hanya yanagihara // the guinevere deception, by kiersten white // obsidio (and the entire illuminae series), by amie kaufman & jay kristoff // the bone houses, by emily lloyd-jones // house of salt and sorrows, by erin a. craig // we hunt the flame, by hafsah faizal // savage legion, by matt wallace // blacktop wasteland, by s.a. cosby // crier’s war, by nina varela // the empress of salt and fortune/when the tiger came down the mountain, by nghi vo // upright women wanted, by sarah gailey // the monster of elendhaven, by jennifer giesbrecht // a deadly education, by naomi novik // you let me in, by camilla bruce // when you ask me where i’m going, by jasmin kaur // the lights go out in lychford/last stand in lychford (and the entire lychford series), by paul cornell // the devil and the dark water, by stuart turton // serpent & dove, by shelby mahurin // one by one, by ruth ware // ruthless gods (this was SUCH an upshot from the first book - it’s worth sticking with if you’re on the fence), by emily a. duncan // cemetery boys, by aiden thomas // the inheritance games, by jennifer lynn barnes // the fortunate ones (2021 release), by ed tarkington

C O M I C S .

cosmoknights, by hannah templer - the art was gorgeous, the gayness was glorious, and just.... hot HOOOOOOOOT lady knights in space?!  a princess winning her own hand?  find something not to love in there, i dare you.

don’t go without me, by rosemary valero-o’connell - wow. wow wow wow wow wow.  the writing was stunning, so lyrical and atmospheric and deep, and rosemary has to be one of my favorite artists but even that managed to come as a beautiful surprise because it was just so freaking bold.

through the woods, by emily carroll - i loooove emily carroll, the convergence of spine-tingling horror and art that feeds into it, that is both visually and aesthetically pleasing, is hard to beat!  p.s. i also read beneath the dead oak tree from her this year and it was also a BANGER.

the impending blindness of billie scott, by zoe thorogood - zoe is someone that i just want to follow.  she’s just starting and i want to be there for every single step.  i love her art style and her ability to tell a story with it.

above the clouds, by melissa pagluica - this was so unique, and such a baller concept, as nearly half the entire book is conveyed only through the art and yet you’re never once lost, never once confused as to what any character is thinking or feeling.  it’s a story within a story and only one of those gets words though they both are chock full of emotion!

um.... number 5, part 2? crowded, by christopher sebela - everything about this series is fun af.  crowd-funded assassination and a hirable bodyguard who’s rated like an uber driver???  and the chemistry between the two mains is so great and gay!!

honorable mentions: monster and the beast, by renji // long exposure, by kam ‘mars’ heyward // fence, by c.s. pacat // invisible kingdom, by g. willow wilson // ms. marvel, by g. willow wilson // heathen, by natasha alterici // not drunk enough, by tess stone // giant days, by john allison // die, by kieron gillen // be prepared, by vera brosgol // ascender (sequel to descender, which is also great), by jeff lemire // the unbeatable squirrel girl, by ryan north // bang! bang! boom!, by melanie schoen // gideon falls, by jeff lemire // life of melody, by mari costa // cry wolf girl, by ariel slamet ries // the tea dragon society, by katie o’neill // ptsd, by guillaume singelin // heartstopper, by alice oseman // solutions and other problems, by allie brosh // finding home, by hari conner // the magic fish, by trung le nguyen // something is killing the children, by james tynion iv // the weight of them, by noelle stevenson // spill zone, by scott westerfeld // skyward, by joe henderson // miles morales, by saladin ahmed

F I L M S.

parasite, dir. bong joon ho - oh it was satisfying, oh it was suspenseful, oh i had to watch some of it through my fingers but i loooooooved it.  such a good story and so well made.

knives out, dir. rian johnson - okay, everything about this movie was amazing.  every single character was fun as hell and i could’ve watched an entire movie about each of them.  what a great fucking mystery!

blindspotting, dir. carlos lopez estrada -  this made my heart hurt so damn much.  what glorious writing, acting, and story!

portrait of a lady on fire, dir. celine sciamma - gooooorgeous cinematography, amazing chemistry, and such a soft, atmospheric film.

the farewell, dir. lulu wang - i cried and my heart felt so full and i love it so so much.

um.... number 5, part 2? someone great, dir. jennifer kaytin robinson - no part of me expected to love a netflix movie this much but it’s a love story that doesn’t get told that often??  the end of a relationship and the true love of friendship and i love these girls and i love jenny and nate’s broken relationship.

honorable mentions: eighth grade, dir. bo burnham // booksmart, dir. olivia wilde // midsommar, dir. ari aster // the curse of la llorona, dir. michael chaves // the secret life of pets 2, dirs. chris renaud & jonathan del val // jojo rabbit, dir. taika waititi // the invisible man, dir. leigh whannell // the favourite, dir. yorgos lanthimos // can you ever forgive me?, dir. marielle heller // troop zero, dirs. bert & bertie // ready or not, dirs. matt bettinelli-olpin & tyler gillett // brave, dirs. mark andrews & brenda chapman & steve purcell // the half of it, dir. alice wu // palm springs, dir. max barbakow // doctor sleep, dir. mike flanaghan // uncut gems, dirs. benny sadfie & josh sadfie // birds of prey, dir. cathy van // bloodshot, dir. dave wilson // the old guard, dir. gina prince-bythewood // enola holmes, dir. harry bradbeer // hocus pocus, dir. kenny ortega // always be my maybe, dir. nahnatchka khan // finding dory, dirs. andrew stanton & angus maclane // die hard, dir. john mctiernan

S H O W S .

black sails (2014) - this show, this shooooooooow.  i cannot, it just makes me want to cry with how good it is.  the characters, the EMOTIONS, the story, the plaaaaaan.  like, the creators clearly had a plan for every single step of this show and it was a gOOD, GOOD PLAN.

the untamed (2019) - truly, cheesy good fun with one of the best gay romances ever.  i love these characters and their relationships to each other and the way it glories in its own ridiculousness.

the righteous gemstones (2019) - one of the things that bothered me about my next choice (the ratio of female to male nudity) was so much more realistic in this one (i mean, we’ve all gotten five thousand dick pics and i know like three people?  so the fact that there is so rarely male nudity in shows when there are tits everywhere..... no, how does that even make a tiny bit of sense?).  this show was such great, wonderful, awful fun.  they’re not great people and the show is under no delusion about that and it’s GLORIOUS!

the witcher (2019) - this was just hella fun, i loved the characters and the fantasy elements.  i’m excited for the next season, it’s just entertaining swashbuckling through and through!

fargo (2014) - all of this was really very enjoyable with the through line being somebody fucks shit up and gets involved in something they really shouldn’t be involved in that’s going to swallow them whole.  season one and season three were my stand-out favorites but they were all so violent, clever, and vicious!

um.... number 5, part 2? central park (2020) - um..... so many of the hamilton actors in a muscial cartoon drawn and written by the bob’s burgers team? WHAT ABOUT THAT DOESN’T SOUND AMAZING?!  it was such a joy to hear daveed diggs and leslie odom jr.’s voices again!!

honorable mentions: schitt’s creek // the mandalorian // mr. robot // broadchurch // mindhunter // jack ryan // the good place // the end of the f***ing world // big little lies // elite // kidding // servant // letterkenny // curb your enthusiasm // i am not okay with this // ozark // buzzfeed unsolved: true crime/supernatural // you // runaways // dear white people // dickinson // brooklyn nine-nine // will & grace // 9-1-1 // dead to me // solar opposites // never have i ever // killing eve // what we do in the shadows // grace and frankie // avenue 5 // roswell, new mexico // the bold type // evil // tuca & bertie // impulse // the umbrella academy // watchmen // infinity train // corporate // search party // on becoming a god in central florida // a.p. bio // criminal: uk // the morning show // mythic quest // last week tonight // prodigal son // the great

[loz-the-noob]

Me literally every time I check your reblogs: oh no I'm gay. help. HELP ME.

what can I say? I reblog one heckuva lotta gay stuff. Sorry bout that ;)

[midzelink]

Well, this is certainly something that happened.  

In response to a post I made stating the various reasons I don’t like the Twilight Princess manga (which was in and of itself a response to some replies I got on this other post), I got a barrage of replies from a user (who will go unnamed, they’ve already been blocked) in defense of the thing - which, ordinarily, wouldn’t be a big deal!  People are allowed to have different opinions and I never once stated anyone who liked it should feel bad!  I started writing up a reply to them in the middle of this barrage, but their replies just kept coming and got subsequently worse, yet it was all...so bizarre to the point that it would feel weird to not address that it happened.  I’m putting all of this under a read more, because wow this is a wall of text, but also this is the kind of nonsense I want people to avoid having to read if it can be helped.  At any rate, this is what they had to say:

I don’t know, this really honestly feels like reaching. It feels like criticism for the sake of criticism without actual narrative flaws being shown, but your anger seems to stem from “This interpretation is different from what I thought even though I admit all official art shows the charachter this way” and “Link HAD to be raised in ordon because of one quote from the enclosed instruction book”. Twilight Princess was literally made to be “the edgy zelda” in reponse to fan overreaction to wind waker. This is undeniable. All official art depicts link this way. He turned into a freaking wolf in the middle of the twilight craze! but no, he *can’t* be like that because of random expressions he makes when holding pets or items? First of all, even in the manga he isn’t an edgeboy all the time.

Secondly, it feels like you're merely glossing over all that was added in terms of charachterization! In the original game, I felt nothing for Ilia. She showed up, yelled at link for maybe getting epona slightly hurt, and then got kidnapped. Maybe a bit of tsundere stuff, but seriously, Midna is literally the best tsundere ever. You can't out midna-minda in her own damn game. XD In the manga, Ilia and Link actually have a warm and very close relationship, you can see them through all the slice of life in the first volume. I really grew to like her and truly felt sorry for her when bad things happened to her. She actually gets far, FAR more respect as a person and charachter in the manga than merely a trophy for link to get back. But no, you're far too focused on subtle expressions and insinuations because that is literally all anyone had to go on for the longest time. In reality, Link, as has been said many times, is an avatar as much as he is a charachter. You can't gloss over his official art depicitons any more than I can random expressions he makes when finding a heart piece.

Not to mention, you call the blog midzelink yet you make zero mention of the super obvious wlw-as-fuck zelda flashback in volume 5? It's a sad thing that Shad being straight is something I have seen people complain about, yet Zelda and Midna's relationship getting such a huge focus passes without a peep. It's a disturbing trend I see in my fellow Fujoshi. And on the subject of Shad, his relationship with Ilia is far more likely something included to give her a happy ending, rather than just seeing link off into the sunset to try to find midna and live forever alone in ordon. On that note as well, Link not being from Ordon fits PERFECTLY with the ending, Link being the only hylian, link being from there, all of this is SCREAMING that that is the place he never truly belonged, the manga simply takes it one step further and in this version says he was never from there any way, cementing that. It gives the concept that Link was using Ordon as a place to avoid being who he was extra weight. And Honestly, it makes him less of a jerk in the end for leaving ordon, as he never truly belonged.  

And It's actually a narrative flaw in the original for Lanaryu to make mention of misusing the power of the master sword and then having nothing come of that warning later. If you're going to set chekov's gun down on the table, you better use it by the end of the play. It's simply capitalzing on something that the story actually set up, and playing into the tone of the story nintendo marketed it. But really, most of my annoyance dosen't come from the fact that you don't like the manga. People can dislike what they want. It's that all your grievances seem to come from stuff at the very beginning, and you liked it for so long, when they were there just as much as they are now. This kinda reeks of someone else slowly influencing you over time, rather than your own thoughts.

Phew.  

Okay.  

First of all, what the f**k, dude.  Who leaves this kind of essay in the replies of someone else’s post?

Secondly,

(Note: a “fujoshi” is a woman who likes yaoi, usually used in a derogatory manner, but it seems to be self-proclaimed in this case.  That is to say, this person proudly announced they fetishized MLM relationships, and then proceeded to tell me my opinion was Bad and Wrong because I didn’t praise Himekawa for a scene that ultimately wasn’t WLW at all, even though I and a lot of other people liked to interpret it that way.  Do not give Himekawa credit for gay rep, ever.)

Again, I was going to reply to this person civilly...up until I read the Midzel/Fujoshi reply, which decimated me on impact. There’s a heckuva lot I could say in response to, well...everything else, but in the interest of making this post shorter, I’ll break it down into a bulleted list:

Link being raised in Ordon is not based on “one quote from the enclosed instruction book” - Ilia specifically states when she gets her memory back, “When we were young, you and I... You were always there... You were always beside me... Link.” (I already mentioned this in my original post, which they evidently neglected to read properly.) And this is to speak nothing of the familial bond between Link and all of the Ordonians that is fairly evident within the context of the game, i.e. Rusl trusting him to deliver a very important gift to the Royal Family, or all the children looking up to him as much as they do.

Saying “all official art depicts Link this way” in defense of his characterization in the manga being edgy (when his in-game persona is far-flung from that) is pretty shaky when you realize that the same can be said for Skyward Sword, which arguably has the most emotive and happy Link of any game. In all of SS Link’s official art, he is angry, mid-yell, or stone-faced.  That’s how character art works.  That’s how marketing works.  They wanted to market TP especially as a darker game, yes, in response to the critiques of The Wind Waker, but this is literally a man who smiles softly every time he picks up a dog or a cat. You can pet the goats.  You get excited about fishing.  If TP Link should be “edgy” because of his official art and no other reason, then SS Link should be, too.

it’s your own damn fault you felt nothing for Ilia, Ilia owns, suck it

MIDNA IS NOT A TSUNDERE, HOLY SHIT.  SHE’S NOT.  I WILL NEVER CONCEDE THIS. She doesn’t mistreat Link because she likes him, she mistreats him because he is nothing to her when they first meet, and this is a stance that slowly changes as they get to know each other!  She stops treating him like garbage when she stops seeing him as such, and her behavior throughout the game post-Zelda is a mixed bag of shame over how she treated him previously and a longing to make up for it.  How anyone can construe that as tsundere I will never, ever understand.

the Midzel comment is so wack I really can’t believe I had to read that shit with my own two eyes

no, Link likely isn’t from Ordon (again, already addressed in my original post, but again, I guess this person can’t read), but he was certainly raised there, see: the first bullet point

Lanayru never once mentions ANYTHING about misusing the power of the Master Sword, so that entire point is completely invalid.  I literally have no idea what they’re talking about here. Lanayru does have the famous line, “Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it,” but that’s in reference to the Fused Shadows, not the Master Sword.  Which, you know, you would know if you actually knew the source material as well as you claim to, dude.

Lastly, yes, I did like the manga when I first read it, but as I already stated, that was because I blasted through all four (available at the time) volumes in one sitting, and it was immediately after my hyperfixation for this game resurfaced (about a week or so before I made this blog!).  I was Starved For Content, and the manga was Content.  Now I’m not Starved, and two more volumes have released since, and guess what!  People’s opinions can change!  And my opinion is that the manga isn’t for me, and this entire, extremely accusatory essay of yours in the replies of a post I made stating my own opinion was entirely uncalled for and rather intrusive.  So, yeah.  Blocked.

This has certainly been a trip.

[justlookfrightened]

Coach Bittle looks at himself

Based on OMGCP episode 4-13, “Coach IV”

Rick set his beer down on the desk with a thunk and settled into the chair.

He’d intended on sitting down at the hotel bar, but they had SportsCenter on, and he found his eyes turning toward the TV and his mind turning away from his son.

That boy. 

What did he want? A parade?

He and Suzanne hadn’t said a word to Junior about kissing a man on TV -- with no warning whatsoever, mind you -- and expecting them just to be okay with it. Suzanne had sent Rick up here with instructions to invite Junior and Jack down for Christmas, for chrissake.

And he had come all the way up here to watch Junior play. That had to count for something.

So Junior wanted him to say Jack was his boyfriend? Fine, but after that display in June it hardly seemed necessary.

Rick took a gulp of the beer and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked nothing like Junior, or Junior looked nothing like him. Took after his mother in that department, too, just like with the baking and all.

Normally, Rick would have joked that Junior was lucky to get Suzanne’s looks. She was a beautiful woman. Had been way back when, all those years ago, and she still was.

And Junior had those same good looks -- the blond hair, the big brown eyes, even the trim, compact frame -- even if he was smaller than most boys his age. And he dressed snappy, too, always looked put-together. That was a skill Rick never had. Lucky Rick could wear school polos and sweaters with khakis most every day.

But when Rick dropped Junior off tonight, he was drooping. His face was cast down, and Rick thought they were angry with each other. Maybe he was wrong about that, though. Maybe Junior was hurt. Maybe he thought Rick wanted him to be like Rick was.

Well, Rick knew that ship had sailed years ago -- when Junior refused to get up after being tackled on the football field, or even earlier, when he spent hours learning how to make a pie crust in his MooMaw’s kitchen.

The attempt at football, well, that had maybe been Rick trying to find some point of contact, something they had in common. Something besides a last name and a conviction that Suzanne was the best woman on God’s green earth.

Of course it hadn’t worked, and Rick had backed off. Left the boy to his Mama and MooMaw, for the most part. When he wanted to sign up for skating, Rick had agreed, and when he started to get good, Rick signed the checks.

No, he didn’t make it to many of the competitions, but that was because they mostly happened during football season. On weekends. When Rick had to do his actual job, which paid for Junior’s ice time and coaching fees.

The ones he did go to, well, what Junior did was mighty impressive, even if Rick couldn’t tell a toe loop from an axel.

Then Junior’d had all that trouble with the boys in middle school, and Lord, Rick had never wanted to do violence to children more. Suzanne had gone to pick Junior up when Roberto called after finding him in the janitor’s closet, and when she got home and Rick had seen Junior running up to his room with his eye blacked, his jeans torn, his face filthy … it was all Rick could do to not go find the boys responsible and tan their hides himself.

He did talk to the principal, and to the ringleader’s parents, but it hadn’t done any good. Boys will be boys, he was told. And why don’t you make your kid act more like one?

It was enough to set Rick to looking for a job in another town, enough to move the family a couple of years later. Rick hoped things would be easier for Junior; he knew Junior’s decision to stop figure skating made things easier for the family, budget-wise and time-wise.

Rick thought that things were, if not really better, at least not so bad in Madison. Junior wasn’t the kind of kid who would ever be named homecoming king, but he held his head high nonetheless. And things did get better when he started playing hockey. Made some friends, too.

Then Junior said he wanted to go to school a thousand miles away, and about broke his mother’s heart. Not that she didn’t want him to go. Suzanne told Rick Junior had to go, it would be better for him. And she told him he was never coming back, not to live.

Turned out she had been right. She was right about most things.

It was Suze who insisted Rick make this trip by himself.

“Dicky needs to know you’re proud of him,” she said. “That you love him.”

“‘Course I love him,” Rick said. “He knows that.”

“Doesn’t hurt to say it,” Suzanne said.

“Doesn’t mean I wasn’t a bit put out at what he pulled,” Rick said. “On TV. After Jack was here the summer before. He coulda said something. And he told you they were together then.”

Suzanne shrugged.

“He could’ve,” she said. “But he didn’t. I’m not sure who he thought he was protecting.”

“Him or Jack?”

“Maybe us,” Suzanne said. “So we wouldn’t wonder what we did wrong to have him turn out gay.”

“Suze, you know that ain’t how it works,” Rick said. “You know it, and I know it, and I’m pretty sure Junior knows it.”

“But he probably didn’t know we knew,” Suzanne said. “Not like we ever talked about it with him.”

“What was there to say?” Rick asked.

But he booked the ticket to come up here anyway, and now he’d made things worse. Junior thought Rick thought there was something wrong with him, that he was messed up.

Junior could be a bit of an idiot, Coach wouldn’t argue with that, but no more than most 21-year-old boys who thought they knew how the world worked. Maybe he did know more about the way it worked now. In his day, there were boys who liked boys, but it wasn’t something you talked about. Probably it was better this way.

Otherwise, Junior was a good boy, a good man, he should say. Smart and kind and honorable in his dealings with the world, and a heckuva athlete. When his hockey coach bragged on him, Rick was fit to burst his buttons.

This thing with Jack -- well, Rick would like to get to know Jack more if this was going to be serious. He knew most kids Junior’s age didn’t stay with their college sweethearts, but it could happen. It had for him and Suzanne.

Who wanted him to deliver the invitation for Jack to come for Christmas. Seemed like he’d failed in that mission as well. Junior never let him get the words out.

His flight wasn’t until the afternoon tomorrow. He could go to bed now and try again in the morning. Try telling Junior he loved him, and not just because he was supposed to. And make sure Junior knew Jack was welcome in their home. Yes. He could do that.

[noussommeslessquelettes]

sir--cumference replied to your post “today when talking with our (homophobic) family friends, my dad...”

oh my GOD that must have been a trip and a half dood

maltedmilkchocolate replied to your post “today when talking with our (homophobic) family friends, my dad...”

oof O A O That's one heckuva heart attack. God speed my dude.

thamk u both hahah, honest the whole night I was just

but I’ve done worse. Once I was visiting their daughter (my friend) and I thought her parents weren’t gonna be home so I didn’t change out of my sweater that said “young dumb & gay” and when I heard the front door open deadass I think I set the world record for fastest quick change taking that sweater off. I didn’t even know what they thought about lgbtq+ stuff at that point but I Knew u know?

[bookishcatcafe]

god this is too cute not to share Art by thegaymer

[ao3feed-elu]

by stmoritz

As everyone started applauding again, Eliott stood up shyly. He gave everyone little waves as he made his way to the front of the makeshift outdoor theater. He took the microphone and cleared his throat. He seemed to freeze for a moment, his eyes panicked as they scanned the crowd. He smiled, then spoke.

"I'm sorry if I seem nervous. Anyway, my film is called Polaris. It's about two star-crossed lovers who cannot truly love each other until both of them face their fears. It's about how love conquers all, and how love can come in any possible form. It's more of a rough draft, but I hope you enjoy it."

Words: 4381, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: SKAM (France)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Elliot Demaury, Lucas Lallemant, Basile (SKAM France), Arthur (SKAM France), Yann Cazas, Manon Demissy, Imane Bakhellal, Emma Borges, Lucille (SKAM France), Daphne (Skam France), Mika (Skam France)

Relationships: Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant

Additional Tags: lucas sees polaris at the school film festival, and eliott enlists lucas's help with rewriting the script, lucas is head over heels almost immediately, lots and lots of gay panic tbh, lucas and manon's friendship is underrated, lucille is the worst, the entire girl squad are angels, and the boy squad is loving and supporting as always (eventually), Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Kinda, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, a fairly good amount later in the story, Angst, also a substantial amount, internalized homophobia is a heckuva drug kids

[theothersarshi]

I’m a-gonna point out that he had trans and gay characters in “The Sandman” which was published as a comic from 1989-1996. He also had Zelda, a woman dying of HIV which she got through a transplant. Rose Walker says something along the lines of Zelda getting the disease ‘innocently’ and another character tells her there is no guilty, and there is no innocent, only dead.

This was… wow. Did you know grandfather-of-sci-fi Isaac Asimov died in 1992 from HIV contacted through surgery, and it was hushed until recently because of the stigma? Neil Gaiman was there not long after, saying out loud that people die and it doesn’t matter if they had sex and were ‘guilty’ or if they got it ‘innocently’, because their lives still matter.

He had a trans character who wanted to have surgery, and who eventually decided *not to*, but still consider herself a woman, and that was fine.

Neil Gaiman also named one of his daughters “Holly” after the character in Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”. 

He also wrote “American Gods”, which contains two men blowing each other (errr… I think, my memory is a bit hazy as to which sort of explicit sexual act it was) and switching places.

To be honest, I don’t think he’s writing all this for representation or inclusiveness - I think he’s writing it because he’s met a lot of people, gathered a heckuva lot of experience, liked too many of the people he met (who was it who told him he likes people too much? Harlan Ellison? Stephen King? I can’t recall, it was someone famous), and all of it shows.

It shows even more when it comes to “not quite humanness”. They act differently from humans, too. They don’t really get the point of a lot of human things. They play at evil nanny/wise gardener and look like characters instead of people. It makes sense they’re not quite gendered, so they’re not quite gay.

Honestly, if they ever try sex, they’ll probably try it m/m, m/f and f/f, miracle-ing bits around to see how it all goes. If they were queer, they’d be super-queer. But do male bits and female bits actually count for anything when you’re sort of corporeal, but can probably modify your body as easily as humans can change clothes?

i really don't wanna start shit but the whole "neil gaiman is being homophobic thing" has less about "the show isn't queer enough" and more about the fact that he's over on twitter going "it's a love story but they aren't GAY, they're an angel and a demon they can't have sexualities" the point is he won't say that they're gay/queer/lgbt which comes across as pretty sketchy from a cishet white man. the content of the show itself and how queer it was or wasn't is a whole different argument, tbh.

1. He’s Jewish.

2. He wrote a story in mainstream media that boiled down to “transphobia destroys lives” in 1991. Based on the experiences of his trans friends. He’s been steeped in the community longer than his critics have been alive. He gets reasonable benefit of the doubt from me.

3. From what I saw, his argument is that it’s not gay because they aren’t men - they are, in fact, agender celestial beings.

Agender.

His argument is “it’s not gay, it’s another kind of queer,” and people are calling for blood because that’s not good enough.

At best, this is callous disregard for trans and a-spec people. At worst, it’s active bigotry. They’re literally arguing that a-spec folks aren’t queer enough.

4. People have literally said, in the very argument you’re talking about, that it doesn’t count because it isn’t unambiguous and direct enough for the Straights. If you’re gonna say “that’s not actually the problem,” please check and see if it is, in fact, the problem.

Six years before Ellen, Neil Gaiman publicly said trans rights. And now people are trying to paint him as a homophobe for maintaining that position.

Fuck that noise.

[rolandfontana]

Eight+ Things to Read About China and Other Things, Part 1

Okay, so on May 3 I wrote about how we would be starting a new series on here listing out eight things to read about China and a lot more. In that May 3 post I talked about how we constantly get emails from readers asking what to read on China and all sorts of things related and even barely related to China and the plan of this series would be to constantly and consistently answer this very question.

But then we got hit with President Trump’s tariff tweet two days later and along with our international lawyers having to put in long hours dealing with the client dislocations that tweet has caused, we also pretty much every day since then have felt compelled to address the pressing trade issues at hand.

Anyway, we’re back to trying this again.

Like I said in our initial post on this, our plan is to list out eight (or so) articles we benefitted from reading and think you our readers would also benefit from reading, along with a very brief explanation why the particular article was included. More specifically:

The articles will likely include many on China and on Asia and a few on international trade, international politics, Spain and Latin America, economics and really just anything else we believe might benefit our readers or even that we just want people to read. We do not plan to choose articles that push our or any other political agenda or any other agenda for that matter, but having said that, we are not objective and our views may creep through. Our goal though is to focus on articles that are important or helpful or — most importantly — that make you think. Our posting of an article will NOT mean we agree with all of it or even any of it. Most of the articles will be from the week preceding the post but we will also sometimes throw in older articles (classics if you will) as well.

And though I said this in the initial post on this, it is important enough that I must state it again: Please do not hesitate to comment at the end of this or any other post. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your comments, good, bad and indifferent.

Here we go, in absolutely no particular order.

Chinese firms are not all serial intellectual-property thieves. The Economist. Because it’s true and because we (most of us who deal with China) sometimes forget this.

China’s population could peak in 2023, here’s why that matters. CNBC. Because demography is destiny.

How to Assess Security Risks While Traveling. The New York Times. Traveling can be dangerous. I’ve experienced a military coup (Istanbul) a typhoon (Korea), three car accidents (Sakhalin Island, Yantai, and Qingdao — never hurt much at all), an anti-American protest with hundreds of thousands of protestors (Korea), catching two spies in my hotel room (Tokyo, yes Tokyo), threatened with death (Vladivostok), held by the police for 7 hours (Vladivostok) been stranded for days because of terrorism (Anchorage, Alaska because of 9-11), been stranded for days (with no heat) because of weather (Magadan) and these are just what I remember. I’m quite sure many (most?) of you-all can recite similar stories. This article should help you prepare for these sorts of events.

How a Chinese venture in Venezuela made millions while locals grew hungry. Reuters Special Report. China’s Belt and Road gone wild in Venezuela. Because this sort of thing simply should not happen and you should know why it just keeps happening. Hint: There is a lot of money to be made from corruption.

The Center-Left Finds Life in Spain. New Yorker. There has been a lot of talk about Trumpian rightists sweeping Europe and doing well in Spain but so far that is not to be and this bodes well for the rest of Europe as well. And because my law firm has offices in Madrid and Barcelona and because our law firm does a ton of work with Spain.

Taiwan becomes first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The Guardian. Because this is BREAKING NEWS and a big deal and because gay rights are human rights and because this is what democracy looks like.

The Dirty Truth About White Liberal Racism. Pacific Standard. Because it’s controversial, true and super important. I spent most of 2018 in Spain and I returned to a United States far more racist than when I left. And until this point I believed that racism had been in a straight line decline since I was a kid. And yet we really don’t talk about it all that much.

Syria bombings: UN says ‘worst fears are coming true’ in Idlib. Al Jazeera. Because three million people are at risk and because hospitals and schools are being bombed and because this isn’t anyone’s lead story.

The Best Way to Load Your Dishwasher, According to an Expert. Cooking Light. Because science is important and because according to my own experiences and my own completely made up statistics, arguments would decline by approximately 40% worldwide if people would just agree on this one really important thing.

My Way or the Huawei. Zeihan on Geopolitics. Because this whole “Huawei thing” could end up being THE key to an upcoming rapid decline in US-China relations and because this piece makes a heckuva lot of sense.

China’s currency is sending a warning signal about the trade war. Because it says the RMB has declined 2.7 percent against the dollar just since President Trump’s May 5 tariff tweet and because it fits in so well with what I said in Who Pays the Tariffs on China Imports? President Trump vs. CNN and What YOU Can do NOW to Reduce Your China Prices about how RMB devaluation will — among other things — give buyers of China prducts a great tool for negotiating prices lower.

Your thoughts?

  Eight+ Things to Read About China and Other Things, Part 1 syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

[bookishcatcafe]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[bookishcatcafe]

I found em on Pinterest

But they’re not mine

They’re just adorable

Second image by TheGaymer

First and third image by Chii209

[bookishcatcafe]

<3 my poor baby