#he's straight but there will be gay men

[smeckledorfed-by-association]

Love, Liars, and the Hearts They Break

Synopsis: Cole is a writer. He ends up becoming the center of a huge problem, for him that is. He's about to make it a bigger problem for many people. Btw, there's eventually gay stuff. Like, seriously. So, enjoy that. I definitely will.

Chapter 1: Behind a Smile

The sun shines through the blinds of a room filled with paper and stories. Cole Mercer sits at his desk typing away at his computer, trying but failing to produce something great. Every word gnaws on his mind like a parasite. He can’t focus but can’t bear to drag himself away from the computer. Each thought snags on his fingertips, just out of reach. The room’s door opening is what forces him to sit up and turn around.

“Darling, you can’t spend your entire day hunched over your computer. We have an interview with Erin Taylors! She wants to publish this book you're working on. You have to get ready.” Angela D’Malow-Mercer, his wife, exclaims as she rushes to pull him from his chair.

Cole laughs, casually following Angela. “Angie, love, if I don’t continue writing, there won’t be a book to publish.”

Angela ignores his retort and pushes him into the bathroom. “Get ready! Your clothes are already in there and you better comb your hair. Not a single hair should be out of place since this is very important.” Cole smirks, leaning against the door, “Yes, your majesty…” He bows and quickly shuts the door before she says anything. He can hear her complaining behind the door and starts to get ready.

~~~

When Cole and Angela arrive at the building in which Erin Taylors operates, they are greeted by a small crowd of fans ranging from teens who know Angela from when she was a model to people of all ages who enjoy Cole's novels. Angela was unfazed by the number of people but Cole was slightly flustered, having been used to avoiding social events hadn't helped.

Eventually, after a few autographs and photos, they make it inside the building. Cole sighs, relieved to be away from various shouts and questions. This relief, however, is short lived when he is escorted to a room obviously designed for makeup. He gets "prepared for the camera" and is sent out to wait for his que, which wasn't discussed until that very moment.

Erin Taylors appears and begins speaking about the latest book she has taken interest in. With a few puns and audience laughter, she calls for him. "And now, readers alike, we have with us today the latest rising author. He's written one novel yet has many short stories. May I welcome…. Cole Mercer!"

After she shouts his name, he walks out, the audience applauding him. He awkwardly waves as he goes and takes his spot on the love seat beside her desk.

"It is wonderful to have you on my show today, Cole," Erin exclaims as she turns to him, "I'm glad I am the one to interview you about your new novel which is still in the works. What took you so long to come on my show?" She asks, the smile on her face turning into a questioning one.

Cole clears his throat nervously before saying the first thing on his mind. "'The pen is the tongue of the mind.' Miguel de Cervantes said that. If my pen won't work, my tongue doesn't either. Therefore, it's hard to get me to do interviews." Cole anxiously waits for everyone's reactions and is happy and very relieved when they applaud.

Erin laughs also. "Well, that's definitely a reason. But, I wonder how your wife feels if your tongue doesn't work…" Cole looked at her, unsure of why she would say that. He decides to trip her up. "Well, Erin, my tongue may not always work but my hands are very capable of keeping her happy…" Cole chuckles when people gasp and laugh, "... because I bring home money from my stories. What inappropriate minds you all have…"

Everyone enjoys this and soon, Erin decides it's time to know about Cole's novel. "Now, Cole, we know that your new novel is a secret and all but could you spill a bit about it? Just to keep us anticipating?"

Cole, finally getting a feel of what to do, complies. "It's about a man who races against an uncertain amount of time to save his life from people who are plotting his death. He has to secretly stop them while they keep an eye on him."

Erin gasps, seemingly interested. "That sounds amazing! So intriguing… What is it called? If I may ask…"

"It's called "Behind Closed Doors."

------------------

A/n: I haven't written anything in a while. I actually wrote this a while back and I decided to post it here. I'll just use this account to post my original stuff. Please like and reblog if you enjoy it.

[angry-kid-with-no-money]

"Nora doesn't know anything about the things she writes about" "aftg is terrible queer rep" "the queer characters in aftg are so problematic"

Idk guys maybe the book series abt problematic ppl set in 2006 and written in the mid 2010s shouldn't be expected to hold up against scrutiny of what we consider to be moral and correct now, in 2024

Idk tho, idk

[keineahnung-ichhalt]

a world where being gay is the norm and straight is a minority

[lazer-meme]

love love love steddie + supportive wanye

thinking about wayne and eddie going on an annual fishing trip (like thee Munson Men Annual Fishing Trip™️) just like a little weekend away. and the first one is coming up after eddie and steve starts dating. over breakfast eddie jokingly complains about having to go and tries to get out of it. but wayne is used to his dramatics so he just gives hmms when appropriate because eddie’s whole spiel never got him out of it before and he tells eddie that.

steve watches the whole exchange with amusement when wayne asks if he’s looking forward to it. and he’s like ??? because he assumed it was just a wayne and eddie thing. and wayne is like i just told eddie all munsons must go can’t get out of it kid.

steve gets flustered and is internally is like oh??? all munsons,,,

or like after the trip a neighbor asks wayne if they caught anything and he pulls out his wallet to show a picture they took on the trip. wayne passes it with ‘here’s a picture of my boys’ and to steve’s surprise it’s a picture of both him and eddie with their biggest catch.

and just idk wayne casually accepting steve into their family and throwing steve off guard with it.

[inkskinned]

you're grabbing lunch with a nice man and he gives you that strange grimace-smile that's popular right now; an almost sardonic "twist" of his mouth while he looks literally down on you. it looks like he practiced the move as he leans back, arms folded. he just finished reciting the details of NFTs to you and explaining Oppenheimer even though he only watched a youtube about it and hasn't actually seen it. you are at the bottom of your wine glass.

you ask the man across from you if he has siblings, desperately looking for a topic. literally anything else.

he says i don't like small talk. and then he smiles again, watching you.

a few years ago, you probably would have said you're above celebrity gossip, but honestly, you've been kind of enjoying the dumb shit of it these days. with the rest of the earth burning, there's something familiar and banal about dragging ariana grande through the mud. you think about jeanette mccurdy, who has often times gently warned the world she's not as nice as she appears. you liked i'm glad my mom died but it made you cry a lot.

he doesn't like small talk, figure out something to say.

you want to talk about responsibility, and how ariana grande is only like 6 days older than you are - which means she just turned 30 and still dresses and acts like a 13 year old, but like sexy. there's something in there about the whole thing - about insecurity, and never growing up, and being sexualized from a young age.

people have been saying that gay people are groomers. like, that's something that's come back into the public. you have even said yourself that it's just ... easier to date men sometimes. you would identify as whatever the opposite of "heteroflexible" is, but here you are again, across from a man. you like every woman, and 3 people on tv. and not this guy. but you're trying. your mother is worried about you. she thinks it's not okay you're single. and honestly this guy was better before you met, back when you were just texting.

wait, shit. are you doing the same thing as ariana grande? are you looking for male validation in order to appease some internalized promise of heteronormativity? do you conform to the idea that your happiness must result in heterosexuality? do you believe that you can resolve your internal loneliness by being accepted into the patriarchy? is there a reason dating men is easier? why are you so scared of fucking it up with women? why don't you reach out to more of them? you have a good sense of humor and a big ol' brain, you could have done a better job at online dating.

also. jesus christ. why can't you just get a drink with somebody without your internal feminism meter pinging. although - in your favor (and judgement aside) in the case of your ariana grande deposition: you have been in enough therapy you probably wouldn't date anyone who had just broken up with their wife of many years (and who has a young child). you'd be like - maybe take some personal time before you begin this journey. like, grande has been on broadway, you'd think she would have heard of the plot of hamlet.

he leans forward and taps two fingers to the table. "i'm not, like an andrew tate guy," he's saying, "but i do think partnership is about two people knowing their place. i like order."

you knew it was going to be hard. being non-straight in any particular way is like, always hard. these days you kind of like answering the question what's your sexuality? with a shrug and a smile - it's fine - is your most common response. like they asked you how your life is going and not to reveal your identity. you like not being straight. you like kissing girls. some days you know you're into men, and sometimes you're sitting across from a man, and you're thinking about the power of compulsory heterosexuality. are you into men, or are you just into the safety that comes from being seen with them? after all, everyone knows you're failing in life unless you have a husband. it almost feels like a gradebook - people see "straight married" as being "all A's", and anything else even vaguely noncompliant as being ... like you dropped out of the school system. you cannot just ignore years of that kind of conditioning, of course you like attention from men.

"so let's talk boundaries." he orders more wine for you, gesturing with one hand like he's rousing an orchestra. sir, this is a fucking chain restaurant. "I am not gonna date someone who still has male friends. also, i don't care about your little friends, i care about me. whatever stupid girls night things - those are lower priority. if i want you there, you're there."

he wasn't like this over text, right? you wouldn't have been even in the building if he was like this. you squint at him. in another version of yourself, you'd be running. you'd just get up and go. that's what happens on the internet - people get annoyed, and they just leave. you are locked in place, almost frozen. you need to go to the bathroom and text someone to call you so you have an excuse, like it's rude to just-leave. like he already kind of owns you. rudeness implies a power paradigm, though. see, even your social anxiety allows the patriarchy to get to you.

you take a sip of the new glass of wine. maybe this will be a funny story. maybe you can write about it on your blog. maybe you can meet ariana grande and ask her if she just maybe needs to take some time to sit and think about her happiness and how she measures her own success.

is this settling down? is this all that's left in your dating pool? just accepting that someone will eventually love you, and you have to stop being picky about who "makes" you a wife?

you look down to your hand, clutching the knife.

[savvage-arts]

I think Darryl was more excited about Grants first pride than Grant was

[rouge-the-bat]

people tend to be like "lol this guy is sooo in denial" if a straight person has sex with someone of the same gender, but actually. they really might not be.

people can have sex with others without being attracted to them, and they just want to have fun having sex.

or hell, they could just have the occasional exception of gay attraction, but its rare enough that theyd find it inaccurate/misleading to tell others theyre bi (and dont have interests in microlabels). them going on a dating site and saying theyre bi would expand the dating pool to a lot more people they would just have no interest in.

or, they may be bisexual but heteromantic, and when looking for relationships, they want to persue both romance and sex, so theyll just use straight to make it easier.

sexuality labels are used different from person to person, some use it to describe action, others use it to describe attraction, or a mix, or otherwise, or even use it just as a "close enough" to get whatever they want about themselves across to others simply.

i know "straight man who has sex with a man" and "straight woman who has sex with a woman" may initially come across as contradictory, or that theyre bi or gay in denial, but identities and their applications/uses are more complex than just a few set labels.

and i think we should trust what a stranger decides to identify themselves as, they know themselves better than others would. you can talk it over with them if you suspect they truly ARE in denial, but if they dont want to or still end up saying theyre straight, just accept it and move on.

and of course, this also applies to gay men who have sex with a woman or lesbians who have sex with a man. its not just "internalized biphobia" as the answer every time, and saying that its always that is very assumptive of people you dont even know.

other peoples lives and experiences can always be different than youd expect, and may even not make sense to you, but its THEIR life and identity to define. you can give them advice, but you cant force it on them, and certainly cant say what their identity TRULY is. only the person themselves can have a say in that.

[supercalime]

Just thought about sharing this frame right here

Do with it what you will

[thenevarranaccord]

I’ve decided to bully people who are still in denial about Dumbledore being gay. It’s the only way.

“There is absolutely no textual evidence that Dumbledore was gay, except for his extremely flamboyant behavior and style of dress, his many feminine hobbies, his complete lack of attraction to women, the love letters he wrote to another man, the sexual tension he had with another man, the scandal about his relationship with another man, the time Harry talks to him about his previous relationship with another man and, of course, the multiple times in the latest movie where he says he was in love with another man.”

I think most of you are just dumb.

[torchickentacos]

i will always shout praises of bi4bi but given recent discourse I feel the need to say that I love bi4het too! I just love bisexuality in general in its many forms, and anyone who only likes it when it's 'queer enough' for them is biphobic. Bisexuals should be able to bring their LaMe CiShEt BoYfRiEnD to pride without being made to feel like spectators and outsiders to their own event.

[digitalcarcrash]

"go watch the passenger it's the closest thing at the moment" daughter or "i do think benson is probably fluid" son

[kairithemang0]

Man, Curt's got internalized homophobia so bad that for the first 3 months of their relationship he was convinced Owen was straight before Owen had to scream it in his face that he was gay and then Curt spent another 3 months still calling himself straight to Owen's face and Owen's so sick of it like Curt you 2 are actively fucking EVERY TIME YOU SEE EACH OTHER. AND YOU ARE VERY CLEARLY INTO IT. YOU ARE NOT STRAIGHT SIR STOP LYING TO YOURSELF

internalized homophobia agent curt mega ily

[medilies]

GIF by mikewheeler

My brain every time I see this ^ shot:

"Get the goddamn pinky down!"

[vitamin-zeeth]

Still infinitely funny to me that idkhow split in half and then their next album was literally three times better than anything else they've made. Literally the equivalent of a post-breakup glowup Dallon Weekes is so iconic for that

[chaoticas-hell]

Sometimes I wonder why everyone assumed Andrew 'I wear all black and black arm bands' Minyard was straight but then I remember that AFTG takes place in the early 2000s and the emos were everywhere

[ozzieinspacetime]

"Oh don't change the gender of Benedict's love interest! Sophie should be a girl!!!" Just because you are Annoying I hope Shonda makes him a man and I hope they get suuuuuper lovey dovey and gay with ZERO side plots. I hope Benedict gets a husband. I hope his queerness changes the entire narrative and they have to rewrite the start of Hyacinth's (?) love story because of it. Fuck you.