#lgbtq win I guess

[sweetie-peaches]

I still can’t believe Tommy and tubbo are going to /court/ over the marriage. Like..how did this happen? Where in our timeline was this a possibility.

Who gets what in the divorce

[matiasthecamilion]

I just came out of the closet with my dad and was so funny

First of all when I was telling him I'm trans he only open FACEBOOK and scrolling at it

Then, when I told him I'm going to change my name he looked me dead in the eye and ask me "But you're going to study, right? "

I guess is a win for me

[chrysalismandtea]

there’s only one true modern equivalent of breakfast in bed while reading the paper and it is drinking an iced latte while doing the nyt games

[thebeautifulfantastic]

the queer urge to wear rings on every finger vs. the neurodivergent urge to take them all off because of sensory issues

[rejector-of-mortal-flesh]

Diversity win! The 5 & 7 year olds you were hanging out with used the correct pronouns!

Despite me having to insist that I'm a girl because I'm still in the closet, they continued to call me a he.

[gender-euphowrya]

i'm getting a good grade in transgender

[abstractpenny]

Okay, real fast (maybe). So. Cole. He's super gay, I think we can all agree. But why? Why did they make Cole gay?

We always talk about the 'proof' that he's gay, like his true potential episode back in season 1 (about 12 years ago), his lack of true interest in women romantically, and his super homo ass relationship with Geo, but we never talk about the reason he is written as queer.

One argument I see repeated on the 'save my boy cole' side of the internet is the idea that the writers should have written a whole new character to be gay.

And guess what.

They did.

Who? Geo. He's the newly written gay character. He's the new representation.

The problem, though, with making only one new character (or even making a couple or a few) is that we don't have a connection with said character(s). They're reduced to 'the gay character'.

This harms the queer community more than helping sometimes because it reduces queer people to a single type of person. It makes queerness their entire identity when it's only part of it.

So, what's the solution? Write this new queer character into a romance with an old character that could totally be queer.

Cole has kind of always had queer undertones. That's seen most prominently in his season 1 true potential episode. (I won't get too into it here, if you need more information, you can find the episode free on multiple platforms or you can watch/read someone else analyze it.) He's always been able to be queer.

I don't know if Cole was initially written with the intention of being gay or queer. I don't know if he's always been written through that lense or how long he's been written with that idea in mind. But it's there and it's always had potential. It makes sense for his character and doesn't really introduce many plot holes, if any at all.

Him being written with Geo romantically and gay makes their relationship more human and appealing to a lot of people, including queer people.

We're familiar with a whole half of the couple. Many if us have known him for over a decade. He's a lovable character with good morals. He's a hero. Making Cole gay is honestly a wonderful choice for queer representation, especially for queer kids.

Making Cole and Geo a romantic couple makes sense. It would be such a big win for the LGBTQ+ community if they become a thing.

[goodenoughformeee]

I told my mom I'm aroace but she unknowingly pulled an uno reverse card on me ( - v -)

Since it's still pride month, I thought I should share the moment I came out to my mom

I came out and told my mom I'm aroace, two year ago and thought I should talk about it's cuz it's kinda funny to me.

(Side note: my mom is a down to earth kinda person and sometimes can be a clueless or an airhead but she does have a resting bitch face and has a harshly type of voice)

So I told my mom I'm aroace when we were just walking in the balcony at night after we had dinner.It was summer so the cool breeze at night help us cool down. And then, we just started talking about stuff.

It was pretty random and somehow we (mostly I started) to talk about the LGBTQ+ community.(I've told my mom about the LGBT community before too when I was in 8th grade too,to see if she's homophobic of not which not to my surprise she was not?(She even told me if I liked a girl she's ok with it as long as I'm happy but I didn't tell her I'm aroace that time)

So then I just straight up told her I'm aroace. She obviously didn't know what aroace was. So I told her that aroace was the lack of feeling or not feeling romantic and sexual attraction and there is a spectrum to it.And that I don't feel romantic and sexual attraction towards other people. She kinda understood this but I tried to explain further.

(The conversation went like this)

Me: ok mom, so like you know how in when people talk about their feelings for their crushes? Ya I don't so that.

Mom:... people actually have crushes.

Me who is speechless :um ya mom people have crushes.

Mom: wanna know something funny? I didn't know people actually had crushes untill I went to Russia to get my degree.

Me: so, you mean to tell me your friends didn't talk about crushes?

Mom: they did tell me they like some celebrity, always thought they liked the celebrity cuz he/she was nice to look at.

Me: you mean like the celebrity was eye candy?

Mom: ya, like they are eye candy.

Me: so you mean to tell me that you never had the want to be in a relationship?

Mom: nope not at all.

Me: wait wait wait I need to make sure. So you mean to tell me that you've always thought that crushes or those lovely dovey thing bf gf do was like a joke or they they were acting like they were in a movie?

Mom: ya, doesn't everyone think that?

Me: mom... you're aroace like me.

Mom: oh ok...

Me:MOM WHAT KIND OF REACTION IS THAT!?

And like that is how my mom knew she was aroace.

Funny thing about all this is that I got the vibes that my mom was aroace for the longest time and my guess was correct lol.

So this was a win-win situation for me and my mom, I told her I was aroace and she now knew she was aroace.

Funny interaction between mother and daughter if you think about it loI.

I still laugh about it when I think about it.

[snosassassin]

SCOTUS, the next four months, and the next four years

The SCOTUS, in their incredibly finite wisdom, voted 6-3 that Presidents have full immunity for constitutional powers. In short, a president cannot face criminal prosecution for any actions taken while in office. In other words, the POTUS will be untouchable for any actions taken while in office. You can probably guess why this happened.

This has set an incredibly dangerous precedent, not to mention a massive shift in the system of checks and balances. All of this is to set the stage in the event that Trump wins 2024, with Project 2025 taking place shortly thereafter, acting as the death certificate for anything resembling personal freedoms in the United States.

The key phrase here is, "in the event."

Our other option is the re-election of Biden, someone who has not performed perfectly, or perhaps even well at times. But he is still trying. Remember the student debt relief, the lead pipe replacement plan, the restoration of Net Neutrality, all the efforts that have been taken to fight climate change, improved protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, everything else that the administration has done for the average person that has flown under the radar. Is he handling everything well? No. But it's leagues better than anything any Republican administration could do. Biden is trying to help as many as possible, Trump and the Republicans are focused on helping their inner circle, leaving everyone else out in the cold.

If we can keep Biden in office, that's another four years of progress, not to mention another four years of legal action against Trump, hopefully enough to bury him and nail the coffin shut. Everything is going to hinge on the election this November, and the only way it will happen is by voting.

If you're mad, then vote. If you're scared, then vote. If you want to see Trump come screeching to a halt, then vote. Make sure everyone you know is voting, that they know what's at stake, what we stand to gain and keep safe with Biden, and what we will lose with Trump. This election isn't about choosing the candidate who will create a utopia, it's about a far lesser evil keeping us safe from a massive one. And not voting is only going to help Trump. The boomer whose psyche has been worn down to the id from lead poisoning is voting, so if nothing else, vote to cancel theirs out.

November 5, 2024 will be America's day of reckoning, deciding the future for the next four years, and a long time after that. I know I'll be voting, and I implore you to do the same.

See you at the polls.

[odinsblog]

Look closely enough and you’ll find that Eric Johnson was always a Republican, or at least very susceptible to becoming one. Conservative “Democrats” are one bribe or one hurt feeling away from switching parties.

This highlights the significance of how much more important primaries are, because after the primaries are over, then it becomes an endless chorus of, “vote for the lesser evil” and “vote blue no matter who,” and we have more than enough bad examples of where that can lead to, right??

Honestly, always vote for the most leftist, progressive candidate you can in the primary elections, before it comes down to voting for a Republican vs. Republican-lite in the general election.

I don’t think there are primary elections for mayoral races, but I still love the idea that if a candidate switches political parties (any time after the primaries, I’d suggest), then they should A) not be allowed to hold the office they ran for until they run + win as a member of their new party, B) pay heavy fines from their personal funds, C) they should be forced to resign, and D) the election should be re-done.

The Democratic Party needs to tighten up and make some rules regarding who can and cannot run as a Democrat.

Literally months before SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, Nancy Pelosi was backing a homophobic, anti-abortion, “Democratic” 🙄 candidate named Henry Cuellar, saying that a candidate’s stance on abortion wasn’t important. And Cuellar’s opponent was a young pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ immigration attorney named Jessica Cisneros! And it was a relatively safe blue district, meaning that whichever Democrat the DNC backed, they were likely to win and a Republican hadn’t won that district in forever. AND before that, Pelosi and the DCCC threw their weight behind another openly homophobic “Democrat” named Dan Lipinski.

Could you even imagine Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy openly throwing their support behind a pro-abortion candidate who wanted gun control? No? So why tf does Democratic leadership constantly foist GOP-lite candidates onto the Democratic Party when other viable options exist?

Just a guess on my part, but if you want fewer anti-abortion laws getting passed, then you should probably back fewer anti-abortion candidates. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“Vote blue no matter who” has bitten Democrats in the ass wayyy more than any converse slogan has bitten Republicans. Because Republicans actually vet their candidates and make sure that those candidates want the same deplorable things that their deplorable base wants.

And just for clarity, because I know how the internet works and how sycophants love twisting words: I am NOT saying don’t vote for Biden in 2024. I’m not even saying to support a third party candidate. I want Trump and all Republicans gone in the next few election cycles. What I am saying is, once the election is over and hopefully Trump/DeSantis have been vanquished, we need to seriously rework how the Democratic Party has been run. Losing Roe v. Wade is indicative of how poorly it’s been mismanaged.

Anyway, new laws can be made, so especially after the Supreme Court has ignored and undone so many standing legal precedents, I don’t wanna hear jack shit about “pie-in-the-sky” or “be realistic.”

This centrism bullshit ain’t working, yo.

[bea-l-zebul]

Pride Month is almost upon us once again folks, and I’ve been reflecting on that. I have some thoughts.

We’re not safe in the USA anymore

Not a huge revelation I know, most of us have been paying attention because we don’t have the choice to opt out.

If you didn’t know though, The ACLU just released a travel advisory for Florida. If you are a POC, a woman, or LGBTQ+ (especially Trans/Non-binary) it is not safe or advisable for you to travel to Florida.

Florida has already made it clear that they will kidnap Trans Children from their supportive parents and place them into abusive foster situations.

Apparently a trans person has already died from DeSatans newest law which allows doctors to discriminate and deny care to people based on “ethical or moral” grounds.

Florida has fully embraced the genocide of Trans and Non-Binary people. Full Stop. They have started eradication efforts through denial of medical care.

Pride can’t be about celebration this year. Not with this going on. We don’t have equality or equity, we shouldn’t be celebrating a “win” that doesn’t exist.

Pride needs to go back to its roots, it’s gotta go back to being a protest for our right to live life as we see fit, without fear of dying. Not some corporate block party tying to appeal to the cishets fragile heteronormative sensibilities.

If it causes “ally’s” to leave, fine, that means they were performative and were most likely causing division within the community anyway.

Pride should be a protest.

Im also suggesting we start boycotting products from Florida.

In the 1970’s when Anita Bryant started her “think of the children” shtick, the LGBTQ+ community boycotted Florida Orange. Gay Bars started serving “Anita Bryant’s” instead of screwdrivers, which used apple juice in place of orange juice.

Guess who inevitably lost her contract?

We need to bring the boycotts back, not because of a bigoted spokesperson, but because of where the tax dollars from purchasing these things goes.

Boycott Florida Orange, do not buy anything that contains orange juice, do not buy oranges.

Boycott Airlines that use parts in their planes from Florida, better yet don’t fly at all if you can avoid it

Same thing with smartphones, do not upgrade your smartphone “just because”, most smartphone parts manufactured in the USA are made in Florida.

Do not buy anything that is made in and/or shipped from Florida.

Do not go to Florida for Disney World, Sea World, or Universal Studios, in fact don’t vacation in Florida at all, do not let your money fund their tourist industry, which is (obviously) paying taxes to the state.

Protest This Pride and Hit Florida Where it Hurts for however long this takes.

[arttsuka]

I'm seeing so many people being homophobic (or non binary phobic I guess) towards Nemo like, leave them alone. Your favorite song not winning a stupid competition isn't an excuse to be a horrible human being (or target the lgbtq community).

[askthe-ppgs-rrbs]

Just curious based off that one blossom and brick post, do you have any lgbtq headcanons for them?

Yes !!! Kinda long post but here we go

Blossom

She’s a Lesbian, figured it took her little bit but she slowly started to have feeling for their friend Robin Synder. Afterwards she was pretty open about but still took her a long time to confess to Robin in the end. Now they are happy girlfriends and future wives 👍

Bubbles

I never gave bubbles one. She’s not unlabeled either; It’s not that I never intended to giver her one but her not having one at all just kinda makes sense to me. She’s just hanging out

Buttercup

I love buttercup the projection from me wants to say that’s they’re gender-fluid so I’m going with that. Gender-fluid Buttercup because love him!!!!!!!! Idk personally Buttercup sorta strikes me as someone who’s gender would fluctuate. (Especially given many gender interpretations I’ve seen of them, so I guess I choose them all)

Brick

Definition of gay and homophobic. That 5 year old misogyny was projection at its finest, “Girls are gross, kissing girls are gross” and then you ask him about boys and it’s total radio silence or he’s like “it’s not the same”.

I can see him right up till his late teens he’s in denial before he finally comes out and his brothers are like “Yeah…we already know.” Butch and Boomer probably had an ongoing bet about how long would it take him. (Boomer wins)

Boomer

I feel like boomer would be unlabeled. He’s kinda just doing whatever he feels like in the moment, plus doesn’t feel the need to rush or anything (too busy talking about his model rocket-ships). Best you’ll get from him is “I dunno. Maybe!” Or his answer changes every time someone asks him. He don’t know, he’s just living his best life ❤️ or worst given he’s just in constant state of suffering. worlds biggest boy failure, can’t even decide what he wants.

Butch

Bisexual. nothing more to it than that.

Hope this answers you question too samy!

[glitterytorturedpoet]

the saltburn review

saltburn hit pretty close to home. largely because i lived it. at times it was personal and surreal, shocking and true. but in the end it was just another misguided attempt at understanding the misunderstood.

and whom are the misunderstood? the middle class and the one percent? or the soul searching queer? according to emerald fennell, it’s the latter.

for the most part i felt that oliver was created and portrayed accurately, though i was ultimately disappointed by his character arc. while the idea of him m*dering Felix and his family is darkly humorous and seems like an appropriate conclusion, i think it actually misrepresented his character entirely. simultaneously, it absolutely destroyed any sense of romanticism the film spent close to three acts persuading the audience on. instead of the psycho-erotic masterpiece you think just might serve as the male counterpart for killing eve, you get just another fuck you to the LGBTQ community and the one-percent economy. which i might add is grotesquely overdone in media, and the audience knows it by the time they reach the film’s stale ending.

and it is stale. every scene plays like a fever dream of conversations one has already heard before. with the most cliché monologues coming from Farleigh and Venetia. every word seems so painstakingly familiar one can’t help but draw the similarities to F. Scott’s Jay Gatsby. Though where Fitzgerald cuts his dreamy romance and imagination short before any nightmare can begin, Fennell embraces the demons of the night, dragging her Gatsby through the mud and the blood until he’s so unrecognizable she has to provide an alternate origin story to make up for Oliver’s unnatural behavior.

and it is unnatural. so unnatrual that by the credit roll, you’re not quite sure who Oliver is, or what his motives are. on the pretense of reality, it seems pretty rigid for a guy who grew up in a decent neighborhood to go from erotically obsessed with his classmate to a murderous usurper. a conclusion so categorically absurd, it’s impossible to believe- largely because anyone on Oliver’s spectrum would never be able to sustain the public image it takes to uphold Saltburn let alone the ghost of Felix. His nude dance around the estate might as well be his seven seconds of heaven before the vultures descend at Farleigh’s call. And who would Farleigh find? Venetia claims her family believes Oliver to be a spider while she herself is partial to the idea that he’s a moth. [though ultimately she decides he’s a freaky nobody.] i personally concluded he was a werewolf. Normal when the prodigal *son is out, but absolutely possessed at night. Oliver himself professes that he is in fact a vampire. but much to every viewers dismay, we’re not entirely sure why.

3/5 stars: guess it’s just an oliver Quick Horror movie for the rich and famous.

bonus:

which saltburn plague are you?

let me know in the comments

the vampire: dead. cold hearted. bloodsucking. manipulative. stealing the life out of everyone and everything after they invite you in. guaranteed to love you forever or your money back.

the spider: the silent observer, hiding in corners, working in the shadows, whispering half-truths to make your bed of lies. and once you’ve captured your lovely guest, up up and away they go. down your throat for dinner.

the moth: addicted to the light, and the money, and the scene, and the shiny diamond irresistible things. you do nothing but eat holes into everything and everyone until the light is yours alone.

the freaky nobody: you have an erotic obsession with the guy you met in chem class, or the 60 year old lead actress on an emmy award winning tv show. you spend your days, weeks, months admiring from afar and planning how you’ll end up being together. you like to spy on them while they masturbate and after they’re dead you wear their aromas and old underwear.

the werewolf: an absolute darling pet during the day. someone's best friend and best mate. you wait by their side and do everything they ask in complete and utter obedience and loyalty. but as soon as the full moon comes out you can't be trusted. the demon inside comes out, no one is safe, and everything is considered dinner.

would you / did you / never ever

let me know in the comments

1. lend your bike to your secret crush

I WOULD ABSOLUTELY. wouldn’t go so far as pre-sabotaging the bicycle, but if she needed a ride, i’d give her mine.

2. watch your crush sleep with another person

never ever. i don’t think i could. it’s one of those things that i think i never would want to see. I think i would black out. I think I would get jealous in a way that i’ve never been jealous before. and i think it would haunt me in a way that nothing’s ever haunted me before. i can’t see it being healthy.

3. make out with your crushes love interest

there’s a duplicity to this. maybe even a triplicity given the nature of the game. would I? yes. if the circumstances were right. have i? I have - sort of. not really. there was a guy that i knew who had worked with her previously. and they weren’t romantically linked at all. but i remember thinking when we made out, this guy has been near her. they've touched. because of my circumstances, it felt mystical and urgent, but i never allowed it to happen again. mainly because deep down i knew i was using him. and all i would ever do was use him for precisely that reason. and that wasn’t fair. so i never talked to him again. never ever? she’s married. her husband is this guy. i don’t think i could kiss him. i don’t think i would. but if i did i would imagine it being for the sole reason of missing her because she was no longer with us.

4. tell your crush you suffered a traumatic event to get them to befriend you even more

no. not to the extent that Ollie lied. that was pretty big even for me. i’d tell a white lie. I have told a white lie to get my crush to befriend me even more, but to lie about trauma is diabolical. [the lie i told, was about not having a twitter account in my crushes honorum. in truth, i really did. and i didn’t want her to know about it because it was my place to be transparent. and curious, and sexually fluid. it was my place to be absolutely mental. but i never lied about traumas. [that’s gnarly.]

5. spend the night over your super rich friend’s house

never ever. for precisely the reasons detailed in this film, however parody the script may have been, there’s a lot of truth to the scenario. to the reactions. I always did my best to avoid putting myself into those situations. when you’re in social settings like that i think it’s important to realize and establish your role early on. if they’re fire, you’ve got to position yourself as water, or earth, or wind and be realistic about that. if you’re not, you’re just setting yourself up for failure. you just seem delusional. you've got to be strong. be your own character. set your boundaries and don’t apologize for them. if you don't you''ll only ever be a play thing. you want to make an impression? you want to be memorable? my advice is to keep networking. don't limit yourself to one person just because they're so and so and they have connections. keep networking. make your own connections. and make connections that are outside of their circle. that way if things do go south, the most you lose is an understanding, but never your newly earned position. when you limit yourself you become dependent on others for your happiness and growth. you don't just come off as a moth, but a leech. [that's your que pamela!] it's just not attractive.

6. slurp your crushes masturbation bathwater

abso-fucking-lutely - on second thought it might be a bit too soapy for my tasting. but i’d definitely do a finger dip.

7. perform oral sex during someone’s menstrual cycle

like a full session? probably not. some people try and justify it and make it acceptable but the fact is it’s unsanitary, unhealthy, and unclean. there’s even risk of giving your partner a bacterial infection. so no. not exactly. but i know it’s possible for some women to become aroused. i’d be open to fingering long term, but nothing oral. i have nothing to prove in doing that.

8. play psychological mind games with your competition

i did. don’t recommend it at all. it’s enough to make a person go insane. and there are so many other wonderful things you could be doing. like being kind and being genuine. that’s not to say that being that way will inherently make you exempt from offensive behaviors- and by offensive behaviors i am referring to the unmentionable hazing experience wealthy young adults play on middle class young adults. that's the ugly side of ambition. the part that you’re unprepared for because no one really expects it. you're so focused on socially advancing that once you've gotten your foot in the door the only thing you can process is the success of it. the next steps of it. it's a lot. one minute you think you've just secured generational wealth for your family and the next you're standing in an arena with a sword while all the advanced gather for entertainment. it can just be impossible and manipulative, and jealous for no reason. they’ll hurt you just because they can, just because they’re not having a good day. and it can cost you everything. so don't go in it with the expectation you're going to win. the game is rigged. go in with the intention to survive. you never know, you might get lucky.

9. kill your crush after they found out about your deception and decided they no longer wanted to be in a relationship with you

nooooo!!!! never ever! if anything, i’d kill myself before i had the nerve to kill my crush. to ruin those eyes? and that hair? and those legs? and that ass? and those lips?! PLEASE. the last thing i’d want to do is kill someone i’m in love with! it's just unfathomable. i can't even imagine it. life just wouldn't have meaning without my crush. even if she is married. i don't care. i still want her alive and breathing. if anything i want her to live forever.

10. masturbate on your crushes grave.

this one made me laugh. in hindsight no. maybe you know, i’d think about us being together when i go to lay some flowers, but full on, naked and thrashing against the dirt? i can’t say that’s for me. I can’t speak for what happens in the car though- especially if the grave just happens to be by the beach...

[sekhithefops]

Anyone who tells a queer person "Just Move to a Better State" doesn't get it.

So, as some of you know I've got an account on Bluesky, one of the social media websites that arose from the ashes after Elon Musk completely fucked up Twitter beyond how fucked it was even on it's worst day.

Recently I shared this article, hoping to spread some good news to my fellow members of the LGBTQA+ community:

And some smarmy jackass replied with this:

Yeah... anyone who says this is an asshole who doesn't get the realities of these situations.

I grew up in Kentucky. Yes, the state where Mitch "the Lich" McConnell was spawned (we're trying to get rid of him but that asshole hid his phylactery really good okay?) As some of you might guess, my own home state has issues with people who try to push these sorts of laws.

I've been told by others, in the past, to just move to a better state.

I tried it once infact, I moved from the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area (I lived right on the border between Ohio and Kentucky at the time) to another city where I was going to live with a gay couple I met online who were friends with my, at the time, partner.

... you probably see where this is going already, but I'll continue.

The city definitely had a good LGBTQA+ presence, but here's the thing. I stayed there only six months before all but fleeing back to Kentucky.

Why?

Several reasons.

NOBODY wanted to hire "the new kid in town." I had a horrible time finding a job that would satisfy my roommate. They knew I had only worked retail in the past and, at the time, had no college under my belt at all. I tried getting jobs in multiple places. I tried getting hired on as a 911 operator, at several higher end stores, and such. You know where I wound up working? A shitty little Circle K station. It was the ONLY place that would hire me and paid a pittance. I could barely help with bills at all.

My roommate was a judgemental asshole. To quote Sir Terry Pratchett, "Just because someone is part of a minority doesn't mean they can't also be a small minded prick." One of my roommates judged me for EVERYTHING. Nothing I did was good enough, and if he found out something he didn't like he would hang it over my head and never stop giving me shit for it. I hated it. I hated it within weeks of arriving but I didn't want to leave because that would be 'admitting defeat' or some bullshit (it was ten years ago, I forget exactly how I justified it.)

I had to give up all the friends and family I had in the move. The part of the country I moved to was a place that I had never been before. I had no friends there, I had no family there. All I had to rely on was my two roommates. One of them clearly didn't want an extra roommate but went along with it because his boyfriend wanted it (I feel bad for him these days,) the other one... see item 2. This also leads into item four...

Because I had no friends and family there, I had no safety net. Asshole roommate constantly reminded me if I didn't get a 'better job' (and good luck to me on that given the circumstances) I'd be out on my ass, in a totally unfamiliar city. I had no help there besides them and he knew it, and he held that over me every chance he got.

Finally, after six months, I managed to move back in with my mother in Kentucky. This story does have a happy ending though. I wound up splitting up with my at the time partner (who in hindsight really wasn't a good match for me, though I hear they're doing much better these days,) and it was the wake up call I needed to get some college education. That didn't go great, but having even partial college on a resume helped me get a job that was far FAR better than retail work which I've held for over five years now.

I realized too that while Kentucky isn't great on progressiveness as a whole... the part of the state I'm from actually is. We're part of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Area (which basically means "if it wasn't for state lines we'd just be part of Cincinnati") and there's actually a really big LGBTQA+ community around here. These days I see Pride bumper stickers everywhere, and there's several houses nearby with Pride flags as well.

In Kentucky. Yes, that Kentucky.

But my point is... even assuming a person CAN move, it doesn't mean that it'll fix everything. In my case those six months were absolutely hellish despite living with a queer couple in a major city. My life only improved AFTER I moved back to Deep-in-the-Red-State Kentucky. Because the part I'm in has a good community, I have friends and family who support me, I have a good job here, and I have a good life here in spite of what some idiot in the state capitol is up to.

In closing, I have this to say: If you hear someone talking about queer issues in their home state and your first instinct is to tell them to just move to California or New York or some other state... just shut the hell up.

[haveyoureadthispoll]

D’Vaughn and Kris have six weeks to plan their dream wedding. Their whole relationship is fake. Instant I Do could be Kris Zavala’s big break. She’s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn’t hurt, either. D’Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She’s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy fake wedding is just the excuse she needs. All they have to do is convince their friends and family they’re getting married in six weeks. If anyone guesses they’re not for real, they’re out. Selling their chemistry on camera is surprisingly easy, and it’s still there when no one else is watching, which is an unexpected bonus. Winning this competition is going to be a piece of wedding cake.    But each week of the competition brings new challenges, and soon the prize money’s not the only thing at stake. A reality show isn’t the best place to create a solid foundation, and their fake wedding might just derail their relationship before it even starts. Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters. Discover a new Carina Adores book every month!