#so if it's another lgbt person doing it. being expected to top seems more common than the other way around based on ppls tags

[cruelsister-moved2]

all the trans women in my notes talking abt their experiences being expected/pressured to top it's actually so frustrating that even other lgbt ppl act this way when it comes down to it im going to scream what are we doing to our beautiful queens-_-

[rosiewitchescottage]

My generation were taught that we shouldn't be treating anyone differently because of a difference in our race, sexuality, religion etc.

And there's never been anything that's convinced me that this wasn't beginning to show signs of some top notch fruit. And therefore I shouldn't continue with that mindset.

Looking at the list on this website. I'm seeing that I'm expected to be firmly fixated on what's different about another person.

Not on the fact that this is a fellow human being, in one of our species many, many wonderful varieties.

Worse still. It seems to demand a bizarre combination of 'saviour' this person is so fragile that he/she can't get through the difficulties of life unaided by 'people like me', and 'servant'. This person is apparently a superior and I must always assume that his/her needs are more important than mine.

Err, NO. To my mind this is the last thing we need to be doing.

People should help one another, oh yes. But we should be doing this in a spirit of 'equal value'. You have your problems, and if I can help you with them, then great. But I have my problems too, and you can help me. Neither of us should matter more than the other.

We've seen the consequences of people thinking themselves superior to others and therefore entitled to treat 'the others' badly.

It's foul and ugly.

We shouldn't be simply turning it round. That's just going to bring more of the same.

And let's face. Who's going to decide that it's time to stop this and aim for everyone being treated as equally valuable?

I refuse to use the term 'Ally' for all these reasons. But that doesn't mean that I don't care.

" Seek out marginalized voices and perspectives to gain a better cultural competence"

No. If I want to learn things about people who are different to me, then it's because we're Equals. I'm not looking at them as 'poor little souls' who need me to speak up for them. I'm just interested, quite frankly, nosy, about my fellow humans.

If there are genuine ways in which they're being mistreated because of this particular part of who you are, then yes. I care about that.

In 1980s and 90s Britain, when I was learning how not to be racist and homophobic. Racism and homophobia were major issues.

No. They haven't gone away. Human Nature means that we're capable of looking down on people who are 'different' to ourselves. It's not pretty.

But we were taught that we could fight this by NOT treating people differently, because of the ways in which they differ from us.

And it was beginning to take things in the right direction!

I've no intention of stopping doing it.

"Confront racism/bigotry and do it with a high-level of intolerance".

'Confront Bigotry'. That I'm in favour of, all the way. But I'm not going to do it on behalf of a 'selected' few.

Either we're anti bigotry against everyone, or we're not. Because our Common Humanity is what grants us Equal Value.

Racism - Anyone can be racist against anyone else. You'll not convince me otherwise.

And why? Quite simply Human Nature. Yes, we've all got a tendency to prefer people 'like ourselves'.

But it becomes a massive problem when we get it into our heads that We are superior to Them.

White Supremacy has been a huge problem, and we can't let it become so again.

But we hear people pf other races/cultures talking about themselves as superior, and I'm going to treat that just as seriously.

Don't bother me with the 'Power + Priviledge' spiel. It's just an excuse, and I know it is.

The same is true of LGBT. Homophobia is bad, yes, hating people for being trans is bad too. I'm not going to tolerate it.

But nor am I going to tolerate hate going the other way. You don't fight hate with more hate.

You're Gay/Lesbian/Bi - OK, fine. You have intimate relationships with people of your own sex, instead of/besides people of the opposite sex.

That should entitle you to be treated the same way as heterosexual people, not worse and not better.

You don't get to trash 'straights' without being challenged for it.

And there should be a line between people simply disagreeing with your lifestyle and people who will verbally or physically attack you and want to stop you from being to live with your same sex partners openly and safely.

People don't have to agree with you, for you to have your rights.

You shouldn't be killed, you shouldn't be imprisoned, you shouldn't have slurs thrown at you, you shouldn't be 'gay bashed', and you shouldn't be ostracized.

But people simply stating that they believe that marriage is between one man and one woman (so long as the law of the land allows your to marry your same sex partner.) That shouldn't be an issue.

Radical Trans Activists (consciously or unconsciously spouting the poison of Queer Theory) have taken the simple matter of adults, who after copious therapy, have found that the only relief from Gender Dysphoria comes from living as and blending in with members of the opposite sex. And it's become an unholy mess!

Yes. I respect the right of a female who needs to live as a man to do so. I respect the right of a male who needs to live as a woman to do so.

There absolutely are trans people, who one can see are much better off living as the opposite sex.

But, up to the past few years, we've respected the fact that there need to be rules around this, to keep everything on a sane level, and to sort out the wolves from the goats.

Biology matters. People CAN be trans and know the basic reality that we've all known throughout human history.

Man = Male - A female living as a man needs to look and sound as close to male as possible.

Woman = Female. A male living as a woman needs to look and sound as close to female as possible.

There's also the question of mutual respect. Males in women's spaces need to know that not every woman will be happy to have them there, and they should have the courtesy to show that their presence is no threat, especially when it comes to young girls.

If you're a trans woman that does all this, and some people don't respect your right to live as you do. Well I'm on your side.

But the Trans Radicals who screech abuse and threats at women for wanting to feel safe in women's spaces. I'm not tolerating that either.

[theflannelwizard]

Miss Simian teaches the Special Accommodations class

First off, I would like to say that I am neurodivergent, and most of these headcanons are based off my own experiences. If I do accidentally phrase something in a way that offends you, please let me know so I can fix it! Thanks to @onceuponymous to chatting with me about this before I posted it! I will also say that TAWOG is my current hyper fixation, so this might end up being a rather long post! I’ll try to use bold and italics so my fellow neurodivergent fans have an easier time reading it if they want to :)

I think Miss Simian’s class is full of the neurodivergent kids in Elmore Jr. High. This would explain why Darwin and Gumball are in the same class, despite being two years apart in age, and why they are so blind to the rest of the school. They have their routine and their class, and they are purposefully on a separate schedule than the other students. This would also explain why Gumball and Darwin are so frequently sent to the guidance counselor for their outbursts instead of to the principal.

Almost all if not all of the students in her class exhibit common symptoms of neurodivergence, including (but not limited to) having trouble communicating, hyper fixating or having special interests, masking or feeling like the world won't like, understand, or accept them if they don’t put on a persona, fidgeting or stimming, having trouble with focus, expressing emotion intensely or in unique ways, and either adhering to a strict schedule or behaving impulsively.

Let’s start with trouble communicating. This is an obvious and easy one- almost none of Gumball’s classmates communicate in a neurotypical fashion. Juke and William have extreme trouble communicating verbally, and although Juke realizes this, he keeps trying but is unable to “switch” himself to an easily understood language. William doesn’t even realize he is unheard until Gumball declares he is silent.  Banana Joe, Bobert, Sussie, and Jamie all speak in special dialects or patterns that are understandable but set them apart from what would be considered “normal.” Jamie’s is the least obvious, but I would argue that her reliance on threats, often delivered using the same formula, is a unique speech pattern that could have developed in part due to her parentage/home life and in part due to trouble communicating. Gumball has no problem with speaking in an understandable way, but he does have trouble expressing his emotions- he either locks them down or goes over the top with grand declarations and gestures. Likewise, Darwin is able to express himself rather clearly, but he canonically has trouble “learning facial expressions” and is often blind to sarcasm and manipulation, as are many of his classmates. Some students are on the end of the spectrum where they may not have trouble speaking, but they do have trouble reading social cues. For example, Molly is eager to talk to her friends, but can’t always tell whether they are engaged with her stories and doesn’t know when to stop talking. Sarah doesn’t have a clear understanding of boundaries, and neither do Tobias, Sussie, Banana Joe, Teri, Tina, Clayton, Ocho, Gumball, or Alan (despite having good intentions, he often fails to set boundaries for himself, and that’s just as important to notice as those who intrude or don’t understand boundaries for others). In fact, I would argue the entire class has, at some point, shown that they have trouble setting or anticipating healthy boundaries. Once boundaries have been clearly set, they usually are able and willing to respect them, but they can’t always tell on their own what another person is okay with.

Now for hyper fixations and special interests. I would say Teri is one of the most obvious here, with her extensive knowledge of germs and cleanliness. She’s more than just a germaphobe, she has studied hygiene and is obsessive to a point of rarely talking about anything else. Alan could likely be fixated on activism or the general concept of goodness, working overtime to make himself into the most helpful and positive person he can be. Sarah’s fangirl persona goes hand in hand with a fixation on comics, anime, and/or manga. I would even say Carrie’s intense dedication to goth/emo culture could be considered a special interest, and Leslie has a similar relationship to fashion, beauty, and the (heavily coded) LGBT community. Tobias’ obsession with video games has canonically gotten so intense that he neglected basic needs such as sleep- a classic example of hyper fixation. 

As far as masking and persona goes, many of the points I’m about to make could be seen as simple stereotyping to make the characters distinct. I choose to interpret it differently. Gumball, Penny, Tobias, Carrie, Masami, Tina, Clayton, and Ocho have all had arcs or significant moments where they were either revealed to have interests or personality traits that were in direct contrast with their outward persona or revealed to think people wouldn’t like “the real them” as much as the act they put on. For example, Penny was terrified to come out of her shell, Tina doesn’t intend to be a bully but comes off as one due to her menacing mask (for self protection, perhaps, so she doesn’t get bullied herself?), and Ocho admits he has trust issues due to being used for his uncles and not respected unless he puts on an intense and aggressive front. Other students build their identities around a single aspect of themself, either something that they find important or something that they expect will be liked or respected. Tobias, Leslie, Carrie, Alan, Jamie, Tina, Idaho, Sarah, Bobert, Banana Joe, and Masami fall easily into stereotypes and seem to be glad to do so. Clayton goes so far as to commit identity theft simply so no one will see his true self and dislike him. Clayton’s compulsive lying is also a symptom of ADHD.

I’m not going to write a whole paragraph on fidgeting/stimming and focus, because I don’t think there’s too much to analyze or dissect there, but if you go back and watch any episode, you’ll likely notice that many of the characters are easily distracted and/or have unique body movements, postures, or phrases that they tend to repeat. I also think impulsivity and routine is so important to the plot that it doesn’t need to be discussed, but was worth a brief mention.

Let’s talk about emotions! Gumball has the classic neurodivergent experience of either bottling up his emotions with no idea how to express them or going over the top with grand declarations and gestures. He feels things very intensely, as shown by his often dramatic reactions, but isn’t always sure how to process or express them. Darwin is always on one extreme of that scale, with no filter as to how he expresses and feels things. He is unafraid to cry in public, declare that something makes him feel good or bad, or say very bluntly what needs to be done to make him feel better (eg declaring he responds well to positive reinforcement- that sounds like therapist or guidance counselor language to me! Good job, Darwin! I wish I was as clear as you!). Likewise, Penny is prone to meltdowns after she breaks out of her shell, and she is so intensely emotional that she messes up her (likely well-rehearsed) cheer tryout due to being rejected by Gumball, and her physical form changes based on emotion. Banana Joe, Carrie, Masami, Sarah, arguably Anton, Carmen, Teri, Tina, Hector, and Sussie also express their intense emotions in big and obvious ways. Some examples include Masami’s meltdown in The Storm, Teri’s tendency to faint or cry, Carmen’s outburst (possibly a meltdown or breakdown) at her old school, and Tina’s tendency to use violence and anger as a first response when upset, even in “small” ways. (Note- I put small in quotes because something like being told it’s a waste of time to get piano lessons might not feel small to her, and could indeed warrant chasing and attacking Gumball.) On the other side of the scale, we have characters like Alan, Idaho, Bobert, Molly, Leslie, and Hector (again, as he behaves differently with or without his music box), who are capable of being dramatic or expressing emotion, but won’t acknowledge their feelings directly and might even be perceived as not having (many) emotions. For instance, Bobert is often referred to as not having emotions or not being a real person, a harmful stereotype against autistic folks, which is increased by the fact that he is a robot, which autistic folks are sometimes unfairly compared to. Alan is seemingly incapable of feeling negative emotions, to the point where his loss of hope wrecks Elmore, implying that he has a mental or emotional block from feeling and expressing these emotions. Molly references her “special dark place,” implying that she does get emotionally or sensorially overwhelmed, but has no way to express her needs (or lacks the confidence to do so) and would rather remove herself from a situation. Leslie is the most dramatic of the characters with emotional blocks or low emotional expression, but I would argue that since he never openly owns or discusses his emotions, (verbally or otherwise,) and instead turns to petty drama or denial, he also belongs in this category.

TL;DR: Most if not all of Miss Simian’s students exhibit classic symptoms of neurodivergence, be it autism, adhd, or both. Hopefully the many (x character) has (x diagnosis) posts I’ve seen floating around can supplement this theory! And of course, if you don’t buy this interpretation or just don’t like it, you don’t have to agree with me! But I think the idea of TAWOG having a majority neurodivergent cast is comforting, fun, and canon-compliant. :)

[longinglook]

I may or may not have spent my entire Sunday binge watching all of I told sunset about you and Gaya sa pelikula and now I have so many thoughts and feelings that I need to write about them so here we go! Under a read more (if tumblr allows me to) because it’s 2k words hehe

First of all, I knew next to nothing about both shows before starting them. I had seen a couple of gifs here and there, but really had no idea what I was in for.

I started with I told sunset about you, which has 3 episodes out of 5 out. All I knew is that it was going to be beautiful and possibly sad, and it was. Everything about this show is so high quality, from the audio to the dialogue to the locations to the acting, just wow. The production is better than a lot of movies I’ve seen, and every technical aspect is perfect. I am really loving the plot so far as well, I find the childhood friendship to stubborn rivalry to grown up friendship again very relatable. I think it’s a very common experience for a lot of non straight folks to develop an extremely close bond with a same sex friend when you’re too young to realize what you’re actually feeling for them until you’re a lot older and suddely the jealousy and possessivenes all make sense.

I love the recurring themes sprinkled throughout the episodes, starting from the chinese vocabulary that expresses the core thoughts of the two main characters: rival, intimacy, secret, male protagonist, as promised. They could easily be the episode titles, or the names of imaginary sections the show could be divided into. It’s a great way to integrate metaphors and deeper meaning into the plot.

That’s how most of the communication goes in this show, deep emotions are never conveyed through words because words are scary and loud and they can’t be taken back once they’re out there. The plot advances though stares and gestures and touch and gorgeous shots of the landscape. The pace is slow with hour-long episodes that could each be a movie of their own. This worried me a bit before starting, and I have to admit that at times I struggled to stay focused, especially during scenes that set the mood but don’t do much plot-wise. This is just a personal preference, though, and in no way I see it as a flaw. 

The dancing around each other the main characters do, sometimes literal, is frustrating but it determines an emotional build up that’s just starting to reach its peak. This is one of those shows that has me screaming if only they talked to each other, but the silences and unspoken words are so well directed and acted that it works. I struggle a lot with keeping in mind that they’re still in high school, they’re very young and I can’t expect them to act rationally just yet. 

I was really worried about Teh possibly going the insufferable Theory-of-love-khai way, and I am still not 100% sold on him. When he started helping Oh-aew again it felt like he was just doing it to make himself feel better about the whole thing. It was frustrating to see him so possessive and jealous while also so deeply in denial about his own feelings, to the point where he had me rooting for Bas instead. He was getting better, but then he fled at the end of episode 3 and now I have no clue what’s going to happen next. About this, I really have no idea if they’re going for a happy ending or a sad one. I’m really hoping it will be good, because so far there has been barely any emotional payoff for all the repressed longing and misunderstanding the show has put us through.

I do like their dynamic a lot though, I have a weak spot for childhood friends reconnecting and an ever weaker spot for informal mentor/mentee relationships. Oh-aew asking Teh to tutor him until he passes the admission exam was an almost exact mirror of Yuri on ice Yuri begging Victor to be his coach until he retires and I loved that a lot.

Now on to the one issue I have with this show: it feels too much like an art film. It reminds me of Moonlight and Call me by your name, in the way that I wasn’t able to connect with those movies because they are too perfect. They are so beautiful and carefully crafted that I can’t fully immerse myself in them. There’s a filter that stops me from relating to the characters and constantly reminds me that this is not reality. It’s pretty, it’s extremely well done, but it feels like art. It has some quirks, some scenes that feel too artificial. One scene in particular, the one where Teh buries his head in the paper Oh-aew wrote with his coconut scented pen to sniff it, which is a direct parallel to Call me by your name, bothered me in particular. Just as it felt over-the-top and purposefully weird in the movie, so it feels in the show. It’s a way of showcasing how a confused teen deals with attraction he barely understands, it’s raw and animalistic in a way, but it’s so quirky that all it accomplishes is to remind me that I’m watching an lgbt show. It makes me wonder if a scene like this would make sense in a straight relationship because here it seems to highlight how different and primal his attraction is. If I had to pinpoint it, I’d say that I have a problem with media showcasing queerness though peculiar, purposefully awkward scenes like these instead of normal kissing and cuddling.

Overall, I can’t wait to see how this show ends and I still think it’s one of the best bls to air in 2020, if not ever. It’s refreshing to see something with a big budget used well! So far my rating is 8/10, which I know is a lot lower than what everyone else seems to think but it’s still very much subject to change! Just hoping they won’t pull a Make our days count, but I doubt they’ll go there.

And now Gaya sa pelikula. Wow. Again, I knew next to nothing about this show before watching, and I was coming from a 3 hour I told sunset about you binge watch, so the bar was pretty high.

And boy, did this show deliver. I was blown away by the depth and the humor of it. It feels like the writers had fun taking all sorts of common tropes and stereotypes just to show everyone how well they can be evolved and made complex. Two strangers who somehow find themselves sharing an apartment sounds like the start of so many fanfictions out there, but it’s so well executed and interesting that you don’t even stop to think about how weak the premises for their meeting are. It doesn’t matter and it’s not even that far-fetched, either. The sister and the neighbor are also two characters that start off as extra stereotyped, but in just a few scenes they unveil an incredible depth and backstory. It blew me away.

Each character is so realistic. Everything they do and say makes sense, they all have their reasons and their past and they react accordingly, it’s so coherent. It’s impressive how everything takes place inside the house and you barely realize it because things happen and the plot moves anyways, and the way information about external events and people is conveyed is so seamless that you don’t even notice it. In only 7 episodes (so far) they have managed to give everyone a complex background and personality through the use of objects and small details and wow don’t get me started on the music.

The soundtrack is SO GOOD. I never really pay attention to music in shows but it plays a very important role here in my opinion and, well, it’s exactly the kind of music I like listening to and ahhh I just spent 4 hours playing the first kiss song on loop so I might be biased. Right from the start in episode 1, when Karl gives in to Vlad’s music and starts dancing to it, it’s established that it’s an important element to the mood of each scene. I love how the dancing I talked about for I told sunset about you comes back here, but while I saw it as a hesitant dancing around each other there, here it’s the opposite, it’s freeing and it’s about accepting yourself. And the end of episode 6 highlights this, with the beautiful quote “You are entitled to a love that lets you dance without fear and shame.” It made me cry a looooot.

I think the development of their relationship is masterfully done. It doesn’t happen too quickly nor too slowly. Karl goes through some needed shocks that act as his wake up call. When I’m watching bl shows I care the most about them feeling real and relatable. I don’t want to feel like they were written by a straight person trying to guess what it’s like to be gay. Now I didn’t look anything up about the Gaya sa pelikula writers, but I’d be very surprised if they were straight. I can relate to both Karl and Vlad for different aspects of their stories and their worries and thoughts. There was one part in particular that hit so close that I had to take a few breaks because it hurt too much. I am a lesbian, I’ve had relationship with a girl that lasted over a year, I am out to some friends but not all. I never came out to my parents, who are both very open minded and friends with a lot of gay people and would love me just as much if I told them, and yet I can’t. It’s not just that, I am terrified by the idea of them already knowing or being able to guess. When Karl freaked out over his uncle guessing, it hit me so hard because I’ve felt the same way so many times.

Episode 7 was amazing. I hate badly written drama the most, and 99% of shows can’t come up with any good reason for drama but they have to put it in there anyways and it sucks. This was the complete opposite, I adored it and I say this as a lover of fluff. It feels right, I think it’s an issue that would come up between two people like them. They are both right and the only thing that could happen there is what actually went down. I definitely think things will be fixed by the end and I am looking forward to it, but I am very glad this issue was included because it’s so important and so true to many lgbt people’s lives.

Another aspect I absolutely adored are the multiple references to lgbt theory and language, and Vlad has some of the best lines I’ve ever heard coming from a bl. When he tells Karl not to be afraid of the word, when he explains that “you don’t look gay” isn’t a compliment, when he scolds his sister for not acknowledging the things she used to say to him by covering them up with her ally act, those are all such important and educative moments that I hope everyone listens to. I love that Vlad is not correcting some ignorant bad guy, but it’s his accepting and loving friends and family that make the mistakes, because sometimes being supportive your own way isn’t enough if you’re not actively learning from the ones you want to support.

This is a 10/10 for me right now. I can’t find anything I don’t like about it. It never feels boring, it never feels overdone, it never feels cheap or unoriginal. It went straight to the top of my favorite bls.

And now I can’t help but compare the two a bit, because yes they are two different shows but right now the relationships they portray have reached the same point: there has been a climax and now the one who is more confused about his sexuality is panicking and taking a step back. It’s a coincidence that I watched both shows on the same day when their last aired episodes end in such a similar way, but it really leads me to compare the two. I don’t want to put them one against each other or say which one did it better because that’s not the point of this, they are both two amazing and important shows who are excelling in what they’re doing. 

Gaya sa pelikula is down to earth, it’s explicit and it’s straight to the point in explaining what’s going on inside each character’s head. It feels like watching real people deal with real struggles. I told sunset about you is a lot more subtle and quiet, and since we don’t really have a clear insight in the characters’ heads sometimes it’s hard to completely understand what’s going on with them. It’s a completely different way of narrating, and while Gaya sa pelikula makes me feel like I’m a part of the events, I told sunset about you feels like I’m just spectating from an outside perspective. They are different choices, but one of them ends up feeling a lot more emotional to me than the other.

To wrap it up, I highly recommend both shows and I can’t wait to see how they’ll end! They are both among the best shows of the year, both free of all those annoyingly stereotyped characters and plot points that most bls tend to overuse.

[mariaaxescallop]

how black lightning is treating its wlw romance

(just for context's sake, i'm currently watching 3x04 of black lightning)

(SPOILERS FROM SEASON 2)

i love black lightning. it is a series about a black family of superheroes and that is the main reason why i started to watch it. the black representation is amazing, just like the way they address the struggles of black people in the usa. i also love seeing black girls (with dark skin!) on screen with different hairstyles. one of the things i love the most about black lightning is the main family. i'm so here for the family issues, not only metahuman related, but also the day to day stuff. the series addresses parental control, coming of age, leadership, the subversion of gender roles (lynn stewart? yes ma'am), dialogue, responsibility, respect, boundaries and, on top of that, the love the pierces have for each other.

besides, i can see myself on anissa and jennifer, not only because of their relationship with their parents but also in the way they interact with each other. every time they get to talk about anything, like school, race, gender, periods (!!!!), sex, clothes, their parents and, sure, even superpowers, i can't help but smile because it's so goddamn beautiful. their sisterhood is definitely one of the things that attached me to black lightning from the start. but i'm getting distracted here.

that said, i have to share one thing i do not like about the series. the way it handles its lgbt characters aka anissa and grace (mostly grace) (and i'm not even mentioning the other 3). just to point out, i didn't start watching the show because of them, if i did i probably would have already abandoned it by now. yeah, i'm mad about grace's almost nonexistent screen time. sis shows up one episode for one scene and a half and then vanishes for another three episodes. the majority of the interactions between her and anissa happen off-screen. how do i know that? i had to ASSUME that in order to make sense of their relationship. the first few times we get to see grace it seems like she and anissa are good friends. next season, when she comes back after a very long time, it looks like anissa ghosted her and is cheating on her???? and i didn't even know they were together or something??? every time i see them on screen it feels like they are on a completely different page comparing with how they were last time i saw them. at first, i thought i was missing something... until i realized it was the show that was LACKING content.

just to make it clear, i never expected the show to be about them. it is supposed to be focused on, well, black lightning. i was ok with that. i even ignored this feeling that something was wrong... and then i noticed how much screen time khalil has. i can't help but compare him with grace because both of them are romantically involved with our pierce girls and both of them have powers. even though they have those characteristics in common, it is pretty obvious that grace doesn't get as much attention as khalil does. and it pisses me off. there's also the fact that i'm not very fond of teen romance, but that's just a personal taste and i'm not going to elaborate on that while it seems like the writers keep forgetting about grace's existence, they do not forget about khalil. even after his death.

i like khalil. he is a well written, charismatic character. i find his interactions with jennifer very tender and it is very cute to see how much they care about each other. we get to know khalil's dreams, his pain, his confusion, his anger, his guilt and, finally, his redemption. his arc was so carefully done. i don't like the resurrection thing, though, but that's another story...

and then we have grace, whose life we barely know until she disappears without telling anissa a thing. while she is missing, the audience receives a lot of important information like: she was a foster kid, she was kidnapped by a prostitution ring at the age of 16 (???), grace choi is an alias and she is, in fact, a metahuman. a shapeshifter, to be more specific. and all that during her absence! i mean, she wasn’t given the opportunity to tell it by herself!!!! meanwhile, khalil manages to come back from dead before grace's return!!! and he has a lot of very long, graphic scenes!!! i mean, c'mon. i couldn't care less about the 23 martial arts he knows, and i definitely don't give a f*ck about his punch-on-the-heart thing.

not only grace is belittled as a character, her relationship with anissa has been almost insignificant to the story. jennifer and khalil had it all: cute scenes on the roof, khalil asking jennifer to be his girlfriend, sex talk, supportive moments, the drama, reconciliation, they run away together and then jen has a lot of scenes showing her coping with his loss. all we have from thunder grace is a few cute dialogues and other few kinda-arguments (which sound out of place if you watch them isolated because you have no clue regarding what happened off-screen), then we’re shown grace is hiding something, she leaves, anissa talks to gambi and jennifer about her and that’s it. WHERE IS MY DRAMA???? i don’t wanna see khalil’s muscles for the 8464th time, i just want anissa and grace to talk properly!

i love the representation in black lightning. i love watching a black family full of strong women being cute with each other and at the same time changing their community for the better. but then we have this asian bisexual woman who doesn't even have room to grow as a character, being constantly put aside. and this is not me saying that she should appear more just because she is a queer woman of color. my point is that she is a very interesting character, with a troubled past and a possibly nice personality. AND SHE IS A METAHUMAN, AN EFFING LEOPARD, what could be more related to the plot than that??? the way i see it, the story that is being told in the show would make more sense if she had more space, if she was actually part of it and not only an afterthought. she could add so much more to the plot. but it takes the writers being interested enough to put some effort on it, which they clearly don't have. by the time grace didn't even show up on season 2's finale, i felt disrespected by this lack of interest, as a bisexual woc myself and as a huge shipper of thundergrace. jennifer and khalil's teen heterosexual romance was at the center of the last episodes, meanwhile grace was mentioned a couple of times and that was it. why can't she get the same attention the other side characters do? some of them are so useless to the plot and yet there they are. am i talking about lala? idk.

grace could be so much more, she deserved more dialogues, an entire arc, actually being part of the plot. she deserved more complexity. i know grace has the potential. it is a shame that the show slept on her like that. i don’t want lgbt representation for representation’s sake, i want it for real.

[thecorteztwins]

Something I’ve noticed in fiction and RP backstories is that when a character is LGBT, the parents/family react only one or two ways: Total acceptance with no issues, or rejecting/disowning/beating/attempting to kill their kid/etc And both these things do happen in real life. But what’s also very common, and which I rarely see represented or discussed, is a lot of places between the two extremes. For instance, many families are homophobic, but don’t want to lose their child, and the child wants to be themselves but not cut contact with their family. So you get scenarios like having bachelor Uncle Ted and his also-bachelor roommate Rob, who has been his roommate for 20 years, and may even get invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone refers to him as Uncle Ted’s roommate or his friend, and Uncle Ted introduces him that way too, and it’s not until you’re 25 years old that you realize “oh, fuck, Uncle Ted is gay and Rob is his partner!”  As bizarre as that scenario seems, it’s a VERY common story. Again, a great many families will, for the sake of keeping the peace, just reach an unspoken agreement that they won’t acknowledge it or bring it up, and that will do the trick. Another common scenario is that Uncle Rob and Ted have been together for 20 years, but you never knew because in this version Ted was never introduced to you, let alone invited to Thanksgiving and Christmas. In this version, the family will still accept Uncle Rob, but he has to do more than just say Ted is his roommate, Ted can’t be in the picture at all and Rob can’t mention him to anyone, especially not his parents or to you kids. You don’t find out about Ted till you’re an adult and between homes and need a place to stay and shack up at their place. It’s totally surreal but it happens. It happens a lot.  There are also many parents who will be fine with their kid being gay in theory, but upset at the idea of the kid bringing home a partner. Or they’re fine with that, they just can’t let the partner meet the grandparents or extended family, who aren’t as accepting as the parents are, that’s very often the case. They may also “accept” when their teen or twenty-something comes out, but that’s because they expect it to just be a phase, and become concerned when it proves NOT to be. Or, if the kid is bisexual, they may assume they were proven correct when the kid brings home an opposite-sex partner. There are also parents who have nothing against homosexuality or bisexuality or being trans in themselves, but who have concerns related to what risks their child will be exposed to because of it. I once read an interview with a black lesbian who came out to her mother, and her mother’s reaction wasn’t to condemn being gay itself, but it wasn’t positive either---her mother said “You’re already black and a woman, why do you want to add being gay on top of that?” Her mother’s concern was the oppression her daughter would face. Likewise, a family might love their gay son no matter what, but be worried when he comes out as gay because they believe that this means he’s very likely to get AIDS, and they don’t want that to happen to him. My mother’s very accepting of ALL people on the LGBT rainbow, but she has said to me that she is less worried about me as a lesbian in this regard than a gay man, because STDs are harder to spread between cis lesbians. Speaking of my parents, they’re about the most accepting pair I could ask for. My sexuality is a non-issue to them, and they support all forms of gay and trans rights. But they’re also in their 60s, and not part of the LGBT community itself, and certainly not actively following how rapidly terminology and ideas are evolving now in the age of the Internet; the accepted view and words used around trans people, for instance, have changed really radically just in the past 10 years. So, my folks do hold some ideas that modern Tumblr would deem “problematic” such as my mom feeling that gay men are inherently more artistic and nurturing, because that’s what the gay men she’s known were like. Also, while she does NOT believe this anymore, she used to believe that men became gay because their fathers were bad or absent, because that’s what was the common view when she was a young woman in the 80s, and matched the situation of the gay men she met. She likewise asked me if I was a lesbian because sex with women was more gentle. Again, she knows you’re born gay NOW but in the past, those were common ideas, and the ideas that she therefore was exposed to. It didn’t make her hateful or bigoted, she was accepting of gay people even before I was born, let alone before I came out, but it did make her incorrect and going off stereotypes that corresponded to her own experiences and perceptions. So maybe your character’s mom didn’t have a fit and throw them out, but maybe she did also think that now her son would want to go shopping with her or that her daughter would want to take up golf. Also, while both my parents are very accepting of sexuality, they do get a bit more problematic in terms of how they judge gender expression. My mom is uneasy with butch women, and my dad kind of scoffs/is amused by femme men (yet oddly, has no issue with trans women, nor does my mom have an issue with trans men) This is another VERY common viewpoint I encounter---people not having an issue with the idea of same-sex activity and relationships in themselves, but in how “flamboyant” the person is. With many people, they disapprove of flamboyant gay men and butch women, but oddly in some cases it can go the other way around too; there are people who are just fine with the idea of flamboyantly gay makeup artists, drag queens, talk show hosts, fashion gurus, and hairdressers, but are more uneasy at the idea of perfectly “normal” businessmen or soccer moms who just also happen to be queer. There’s entire articles (probably essays) out there about how gay men in particular are marketed by shows like Queer Eye as basically being cute happy helpers to straight people, the cliche Sassy Gay Friend who just exists for the sake of supporting his female friends, etc. I’ve often wondered if lesbians don’t get the same media presence because we’re not seen as “useful” to heterosexual people in the same way (not that it’s any fun for real gay men to be pigeonholed that way either) So your character’s family may accept them but also start expecting stereotypical behavior from them, like giving their girly-girl daughter a tool kit after she comes our, or they may not BELIEVE them when they do because they’re NOT stereotypical, and that’s the only exposure to gay people that they have from media. You’ll notice I’ve thus far given examples only for a kid being gay or bi. That’s because I’m going off things I’ve personally encountered or heard of. I don’t have a lot of stories on how people react to their kid coming out as trans, but I imagine there’s just as much variation; I would check places like AskReddit for coming stories if you’re looking to find examples of reactions that are likewise somewhere in between total acceptance vs total rejection. For people who are asexual or non-binary, I reckon the biggest issue is just that the parents don’t know what the heck that even is, or don’t believe it exists, but I may be wrong, since I also don’t have much experience with this nor heard much secondhand either. Again, I’d seek out real stories from people and see what ideas you can get from those. Everyone’s coming out story or story of a family member’s coming out (or how said family member never came out, etc) is a little different. I hope this was helpful!

[penzyroamin]

Hi I know it’s been a bit but I’m the confused bi anon. I really really appreciated your response and it wasn’t too long. You made me feel a lot better. I was wondering if you could maybe suggest some books, tv, movies with bi female characters. Thanks soo much for the entire last response . You are absolutely incredible and so sweet. This means more to me than you could ever know❤️

of course!! i’m glad that my first response helped <3

disclaimer of course: i’m not bi! so i’m not an Authoritative Source on bi rep and what people want to see more of. i do actively seek out stuff about lgbtq+ characters, specifically girls and women, so i have some recs! however, i’ll also be adding some things that some bi folks i know have recommended because while lesbians and bi women have a lot in common, these are at the end of the day representing them, not me :)

extra-super favorites will be bolded! i’m putting this under a read more because... i read a lot of books. and recommended a lot of them.

books:

her royal highness by rachel hawkins-- this book is a pretty easy read-- don’t expect any massive revelations about life from it, and you’ll have a good time!!! essentially, a bi texan girl named millie, after having her heart broken by her friend-turned-sort-of-gf, goes to boarding school in scotland and ends up rooming with the princess, flora. if this sounds outrageous and sappy, that’s because it is! and i love it! sexuality isn’t a BIG part of this book, but it’s discussed, and it’s just a generally fun enemies-to-lovers story about a bi aspiring geologist and a no-fucks-to-give lesbian princess and them falling in love!

fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe by fannie flagg-- hello this is actually my favorite book! unlike hrh it is... a LOT to read. it essentially follows 2 stories-- one about a housewife named evelyn and her friendship with an old woman named ninny threadgoode who she meets at the old folks home her mother-in-law stays at, and the other about the stories ninny tells her about her sister-in-law idgie and her partner, ruth. the book was published in 1987, and ruth and idgie’s story is set during the great depression, so they aren’t actively labeled as lesbian or bi, but it’s made obvious enough through coding and the fact that ruth has relationships with men prior to idgie while idgie spends her entire childhood pining after ruth. both storylines are fantastic-- they have a lot to say about the lives of southern women in the 30s and 80s, and about race relations at both periods. i’ll warn you that there are depictions of extreme racism and of abuse, but it handles both delicately. it’s a critical piece of southern literature, and a landmark for lgbtq+ storytelling. as a bonus, my copy has a bunch of great recipes in the back, so if you read it you might chance upon an edition with those in it. if you like poignant period pieces about wlw relationships, women losing their damn minds, and abusive men getting what they deserve, this is the book for you! you will sob. this is a fair warning.

you should see me in a crown by leah johnson-- i haven’t personally read this one, but i’ve heard great things about it from everyone i know who has! an anxious black bi girl in indiana has to win prom queen at her mostly-white school in order to get enough scholarship money to go to the college of her dreams, but ends up falling for mack, another girl running for queen. 

@landlessbud wanted me to shout out red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquinston-- you’ve almost definitely heard about it before (first son and prince of wales, enemies-to-lovers with a side dish of political drama), and it is primarily about a mlm romance, but nora is a fabulously fun bi girl side character and there’s a lot of great stuff about figuring out your sexuality in it.

leah on the offbeat by becky albertalli-- i’ve read a lot of complex thoughts on this book, and mine are... i like it! it’s flawed, sure, and i wish it had handled a few things a little better, but you know what? it’s cute as fuck! leah is a fat bi drummer, and she’s super cool! abby is a great love interest, and she goes through a whole bi realization throughout the book. all in all, it’s just a fun wlw high school romcom with a couple solid dramatic beats and a lot of goofball shenanigans. also, if you were an american girl kid??? one scene in this book will make the entire experience worth it for you.

harley quinn: breaking glass by mariko tamaki and steve pugh-- hey, we’re in graphic novel territory now! this book is RAD. a really neat look at gentrification, community solidarity, giving people what they deserve, and fantastic lgbtq+ found families. teenage harleen quinzel is taken in by a group of drag queens, and is caught between two sort-of love interests-- mysterious vigilante the joker and classmate and community activist ivy-- and the different forms of protest and resistance they represent. the art here is STUNNING, and it’s a great read!

laura dean keeps breaking up with me, by the great mariko tamaki with art by rosemary valero-o’connell-- the vast majority of the characters are lgbt, with a lesbian main character, and the supporting cast including a bi nonbinary character, a bi girl character, and two mlm characters! this is mostly a piece about modern lgbtq+ teenagers and the way toxic relationships take over our lives. it’s one of the most cathartic things i’ve read in a LONG time, and especially if you’re at a point where your sexuality feels kind of vague, this is a great read because it embraces that vagueness by not needing to clearly label the characters and celebrates whatever point of clarity the characters are at. probably some of the most gorgeous art i’ve ever seen in a book, with a beautiful black-white-and-pink color scheme and a really neat approach to visual storytelling.

movies:

i don’t watch many movies, because i get bored really quickly hskdhskhds. but the movies i DO watch are usually gay!

wowie zowie its fried green tomatoes again!-- fannie flagg came back to adapt this into a film and HOT DAMN is it just as good. the plot is primarily the same, with some stuff obviously cut or trimmed to make it a two hour movie instead of a 450 page books fhsjdhsjhds. mary-louise parker plays ruth!!! it got a GLAAD award and an oscar nomination, and god it’s good. there are a couple scenes in here that i think are going to be in my mind until the day i die. the level of pure butch energy that idgie radiates in this film is a one-hit k.o. and it KILLS me.

birds of prey-- listen. this is not a profound movie. harley’s bisexuality isn’t emphasized, and romance is basically nonexistent in this movie. there is some... quite graphic violence. that said, this movie is so fucking fun. it’s mostly just a bunch of women fucking up everyone who crosses them while margot robbie gives a gleeful performance that you can just TELL she enjoyed the fuck out of. the last 20-30 minutes of this movie are the absolute best part, with a long sequence that kind of reinvented what an action/superhero movie could be for me. again, bisexuality isn’t a massive part of this-- it’s mentioned, and then harley just continues on in her gloriously campy outfits and breaks peoples’ knees. again, i CANNOT overemphasize just how fucking good the last 20-30 minutes are. this movie knows what it is and it embraces it. also, women beating people up in costumes that don’t horrifyingly objectify them is always a plus!

imagine me & you-- i’d be remiss if i didn’t mention this one, considering it’s probably one of the most iconic wlw romcoms. a woman named rachel, while at her own wedding, meets a florist named luce, and they fall in love. it’s a very sweet look at questioning your sexuality when you were already secure in it, and rachel’s husband wins “most genuinely understanding guy in a wlw movie” award. it has a lovely happy ending, and articles have been written about the importance of rachel being a bi character who a) gets a happy ending and b) isn’t shamed for figuring out her sexuality later on or slutshamed. this is just... a sweet movie. it’s the romcom a lot of us need in our lives. also, a LOT of floral imagery.

tv shows:

ok, i’ve got a confession. i reaaaaaaally don’t watch much tv. seriously, the only shows i’ve watched a substantial amount of recently have been parks and rec, schitt’s creek, the good place, and gilmore girls. i have a really REALLY short attention span.

that said, eleanor from the good place is bisexual!! the good place is a really wild ride, it’s half afterlife comedy half philosophical musing, and it will almost certainly make you gasp, laugh, think, and also probably cry. also, eleanor is just buckets of fun and she, like many of us, is often blown away by tahani (jameela jamil) and her beauty.

ummm shows i haven’t watched entirely or at all but that have bi women in them and seem pretty good: black lightning, sex education, jane the virgin, arrow. 

if you haven’t already watched it, do not believe what people are going to tell you about watching glee. it will drag you into a pit of despair and white men rapping, and it’s quite biphobic to top it all off.

i hope you enjoy at least some of these!! i tried to include some of my own favs and some that were pointed out to me, so i hope that at least a couple connect with you and make you feel better. again, the bolded ones are my 100% favorites. i love you and i’m glad you reached out again!!! feel free to send some more asks later on <3

[kurtty-drabbles]

I feel what you feel au (part 2)

N/A: I had this idea for this sequel. Let´s see if I can make justice to my own imagination.

@djinmer4 @dannybagpipesarecalling @bamfoftheundead @everykurt

The sunlight hits the windows of a smaller yet neat room where one girl with a bob hairstyle is already waken-ignoring the tweeting of the birds' singing indicating the sun is rising a long time ago- and is staring at herself on the mirror (a big piece of furniture in the room) in search of something very important if we can judge by how her eyes are analysing thoroughly.

Not yet...again. She thought gloomy. And with a disappointing sign, she puts her clothes softly and hears a knock on her door. She knows who it is and is no need to use her powers to know who is on the other side. "Is ok, I´m dressed, not morally speaking, but, I´m dressed" she jokes and the door opens to reveal Rhane Sinclair and Dr Moira MacTagger Pryde.

Rhane sits on the empty chair of the smaller room as Dr Moira looks ready to explain something. Dr Moira is one of the people who Karma and by extension, the New Mutants respect- Magneto, their once professor and forever mystery in regards of his own morality would never say something positive about Dr Moira, yet, never said anything negative either-and is the one responsible for their new places to stay.

"Hi, Karma, how are you?" she asked kindly and Karma can see how Rhane looks up to her as a mother figure. Karma answers honestly-how the school blowing up and the New Mutants being dispatched is not exactly nice, but, they didn´t have much choice-and Dr Moira nods. "I know. Is hard. And the Avengers are being kind here" the sarcasm is clear and Rhane is not above to say how she thinks the Avengers suck, her own words "but we need to have some co-operation. What if in the future we need help? Is better have allies than enemies" she concludes.

Karma nods knowing this too well. "Still don´t like them. But Sunspot and Cannobal must have a good time" and then as she put her ribbon she adds "well, now they´re soulmates. Even the Avengers towers can be a fun place" and she can´t help to gaze at Rhane.

The Scottish girl once said some homophobic things due to her own ignorance. She was forgiven once she apologised but still Karma can´t help to linger to see her reaction. Rhane seems to get it and still has a lot to learn on LGBT and what to never to say.

"Yeah...Sam and Berto are so in love...they make the soulmate thing be easier" Rhane complains sighing dejectedly. Dr Moira is now speaking again.

"I want to talk about Excalibur and our original trip. We´re meant to go next week, however, ...I have a niece who is facing problems with soulmate...would you two mind go earlier to Excalibur?" she asked as if expecting them to deny or complain.

Rhane looks at Karma waiting for her reply. They´re in this city thanks to a bad guy who is furious with the X-men and Rhane and Karma, along with Dr Moira, managed to defeat and the town is more than happy with their heroic act.

Karma shurgs. "We might as well go now and if your niece is having problems nothing better than go helping her" Karma remembers her family and now misses them terribly.

Dr Moira is more than thankful for their acceptance. Rhane, wanting to change the subject, makes a curious question. "Dr Moira. Will we meet your soulmate?" and asked with all the cheer 14 years old can have.

Moira chuckles and ruffles her hair and answers, yet, only Karma notices how her answer was vague and is cunning enough to redirect the question to Rhane. Karma remembers how her mother-before she joins the X-men-once told her how not all the soulmates have good starts or good endings. ("I mean, your father and I used to be rivals...and look at us now!")

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Kitty has 18 years old and yet she feels as if she has 50 and is not a flattering notion to have. Meggan is being kind and offering some advices-once Kitty ask for. She knows by experience how is annoying to have people barging in her relationship to Brian- as now Brian and Meggan are talking and finally, after so many times left in the dark, Meggan can understand Brian better and vice versa.

Kitty holds nothing against Meggan. "You´re lovely and innocent of all this" Kitty promised as Meggan now feels a strange sense of guilt. As if she´s the homewrecker of a perfect relationship. And Kitty promises how this is not the case.

Rachel is going to the violence. "Say the word and the elf will have a bad day with pranks" and she winks gaining a chuckle from Kitty who knows by first hand how the Baby Pheonix (is how everyone calls her even Scott) can be vicious in her pranks.

"Tempting. Oh so tempting. But for now...let´s leave for another day" Kitty promised and then looks down bitting her lips.

"Feeling what he´s feeling?" is a question but not really and Kitty nods as she almost asks Rachel to do something with her mind, but, she has too many bad encounters with telepaths (Emma Frost and Prof X´s shady business in the past) to ask for this.

"He´s feeling guilt and going all martyr and is not cool..." and adds "when my aunt arrives?" she sits down doing some meditation exercises that Faiza suggested. It works...a little.

"In a minute...want me to ask him to cool down?" and Kitty flashes a smile. Trying to be convincing here(she recall a time where Kurt flashed a smile and people really took him seriously. Kurt has a way to convince people that Kitty has yet to understand) and wants to say no, but, Rachel seems to take no for an answer.

Now, Kurt Wagner is feeling a bit of fear of Rachel Grey Summers. And it would be almost funny if it wasn´t the fact that now Kitty is feeling a bit of fear of her dear friend too.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Dr Moira arrives way earlier than Cap Britain was expecting and greet Moira-who was not happy with the incident of the broken femur for obvious reasons- who was a bit cold with Brian, but, polite. She introduced the two girls.

"This is Xi´an Coy Manh aka Karma" she points at Karma who waves at them friendly. She recalls who Yana was a bit nervous -even if she will never admit the fact-and Karma is trying to be the extrovert one. So far so good. She noticed the one that is Dr Moira´s niece (the resemble among them is a bit uncanny. If they had the same age...could pass as twins)

"Hello, I´m Karma. I can read minds and have telekinesis, astral projection" for a moment she forget her own set of powers. She does not think. Just feel in regards to her powers. "And to be clear since day one, I´m not interested in boys. Just saying this so there´s no misunderstanding" and Excalibur nods. She ever so happy no one asks details about this.

"And this is Rhane Sinclair aka Wolfsbane" Dr Moira gesture to Rhane to introduce herself. Everyone in Excalibur is really good looking and this is making the teen a bit nervous, so, her eyes land on Kitty-18 years old and is not a Top Model nor ugly- and speaks about herself.

"Hi, I´m Rhane Sinclair. I´m a shapeshifter of sorts" she´s doing a lame and simplest version of her power, but, she prefers this version then saying she is a werewolf. "I like candies, music and ...uhm " she looks at Karma for a moment. "I´m still learning about many things and I hope I´ll not say anything dumb ...again" she bites her lips and Excalibur may have got the big picture or not. Either way, Karma is giving a kind gaze to Rhane who seems relieved.

Kitty is looking at her aunt and now, as Dr Moira is flicking her keys a gesture Terry Pryde does too when she´s nervous...when Kitty is nervous she caught herself flipping her key, and only now she looks at Kurt and takes a step back as the man is looking at her.

"Kitty, come. We need to go to the pharmacy" Dr Moira states now and only now looking at Kurt Wagner. It was cold politeness but Kurt has the feeling she would fight him if he says the wrong thing(in a way, it does make him envious of Kitty. She has a family that would fight a demon for her....Kurt has a family that put skeletons in his closet, metaphorically speaking...or not)

Kitty knows and is now looking at him again. "You´re not a demon!" she speaks looking at his eyes. Gold is now so enigmatic for her. And since this is the first time since the fiasco that Kitty has spoken with him...Kurt tries to make his case or try to soothe the situation.

"I can teleport you and Dr Moira" he´s quick to add as Moira is really ready to fight him and Nightcrawler can face Magneto any day, now, Moira? He doesn´t think so. "to the pharmacy. If you want"

And Kitty bites her lips. Quivering a little as her indecision and his intentions are fighting her common sense. Kitty rushes to her aunt and hugs her and then speaks some ancient words and in a poof, they are gone.

"Oh, a teleportation spell" Karma speaks wanting to break the ice. Rhane can pretend to be clueless here and speak about the time Yana used a spell like that.

"Pretty rare...Yana said the person needs to be focused on...Is Kitty a person really focused?" and now is Kurt who is answering this question now showing his irritation, frustration and disappointment.

"Yes, Kitty is one of the best" and he bamf away.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

She arrives back at the Lighting house with her aunt-who chew her for the teleportation spell surprise "Lass, I had the car...do you know how I almost die of a heart attack when you did that?" and now she has the pills to block what her soulmate is feeling.

She´s on the kitchen waiting as she knows he knows she´s here. And once Moira leaves -using a faux excuse to leave so Kitty could make this confrontation smoothly- Kurt bamf away and sits on the table facing Kitty Pryde who has the jar with the white pills.

"It has..." he said looking at the pills for a moment in concern. "any side effect?" Kurt remembers hearing how those pills could make the person feel empty. Kitty shakes her head.

"No, those are just rumours. The pills don´t make you feel empty or anything like that...just, you know, does what it must be done" she begins and Kurt nods still fixated on her.

"Are you going to run away from me now? No, good. Let´s have a talk about this. Look, I had no idea you are my soulmate all this time" Kurt begins and Kitty blinks.

"It was very uncomfortable to see you go after Meggan ..." she states calmly. Her anger had time to simmer and to cool down.

"Well..." Kurt can feel what she feels. "if I knew...I wouldn´t be like that...but, the problem is that...you´re too young for a relationship right now"

"You were chasing Meggan who is in a relationship with Brian...I have 18 years old and I can´t help by thinking if I was a bit like her...maybe you would be ok in dating me"

"No, of course not. You´re too young. I swear this is the problem" and tries again. "I feel what you feel. I know you´re hurt, but, you could have told me...we could have this talk ...I can feel your pain and I want to take it away. Look, I was wrong in going after Meggan, I was being a horny dog or a slut as people seem to love to call me here. Yes, but you´re too young..."

"Too young? Yes, I agree and we´re soulmate. I still hurt to see you go after Meggan, not because is Meggan, but because of you going gaga for any pretty woman that comes into your way...Anjulie, comes to mind" and she continues "but you know, you´re right...I´m too young and my only relationship was with a boy in the summer camp and it lasts what? 2 weeks...I´m hurt and I´m Kitty Pryde...I refuse to be your second best, so, let´s really talk about this when I´m no longer 18"

"You want to date other people?"

Kitty takes a white pill and nods. "Like I said. I´m young, yes...you were thinking about the warwolves and I can be impulsive, judgmental and all that, still...I would never accept be the second choice" and adds "we´re soulmates Kurt...but for now, let´s pretend we´re not and try to rekindle our friendship."

"I´m so sorry...if I made feel bad. I´m sorry for being a horny dog"

"Don´t be a horny dog. Don´t be a slut. Do better. Because we deserve a healthy relationship. We"

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Rachel Grey is more than ready to drink a second mug of coffee as her father told the latest gossip in the X-men-still rebuilding the school and now it seems Emma wants to help in her own way much to her mother dismay- and sees Kurt Wagner on the kitchen site watching something outside the window as a gargoyle would.

"Kurt...if you are perving on Meggan" she threats and Kurt snaps at the red hair with a peeved expression.

"I´m looking at Kitty...she´s playing with Karma, and for the record, I´m already as far away as humanly possible from Gloriana" Rachel almost forget Kurt is Kitty´s soulmate and goes to see what Kitty is doing.

She is being friendly to Karma in a very flirty way.

Isn´t it ironic? Rachel wanted to say...but his expression was enough.

"Stop being a gargoyle ...stop being a slut, Kurt and do better" is all she can say.

[a-polite-melody]

Truscum are always “honestly asking in good faith” why someone would transition without dysphoria.

Why the scare quotes?

Because while that’s what they say they’re doing, and what they’re portraying that they’re doing on the surface, what they’re actually doing is more insidious than that.

First of all, on any other posts made by truscum, where they’re trying to “educate” people, they say that their stance can be summarized just by, “you need dysphoria to be trans.” Anything else they say is built upon that assumption. And yes. That’s true.

And so, while asking why someone would want to transition if they aren’t dysphoric may seem like a harmless question and an opportunity to educate, it’s actually a trap.

Usually, as seen by how they move forward on those posts, they’re asking this question in lieu of asking how someone can be trans without dysphoria. They’re associating transness with transition, which is assimilationist bullshit that trans people have fought against for ages.

They’re perpetuating the societally held cisnormative believe that being cisgender is the default and trans people suffer because they’re “born with the wrong body” or “have a different brain sex than their body’s sex” or whatever the hell else nonesense cis people try to explain transness with (while coincidentally ignoring the extreme amounts of variation within even just cis people who share agabs’ primary sex characteristics, secondary sex characteristics, gonad structure, hormone levels, chromosomal make-up, etc. that demonstrate that the binary sexes aren’t two distinct categories, but a spectrum of different traits, and so “male brains and female brains” being in the wrong “female bodies and male bodies” is a gross oversimplification, as all sex-essentialist views are).

Basically, it’s a very reductionist stance that truscum/transmeds have taken by way of equating transness with transition with dysphoria (ie. clinicially significant levels of distress).

So, to answer their actual question of: “How can someone be trans without having dysphoria?” while also going over the answer to their ““good faith”” question’s answer as well.

Being trans is defined as “a person whose sex/gender assigned to them at birth differs from their actual gender.” If someone, when they were born, had a doctor exclaim about them, “it’s a girl!!” and then the person themself later, once they’ve started learning more about themself as a growing, developing person, says, “actually I think I’m a [insert-other-gender-descriptor-here],” then they’re trans.

No part of that requires dysphoria. And you aren’t entitled to know if they experienced it or not in realizing they’re trans.

That isn’t to say that dysphoria isn’t a very common way trans people realize that they’re trans, and that it’s not a common thing many trans people deal with. It just isn’t (and doesn’t have to be) a universal experience for every trans person. Every person is different. Every trans person is different. Your experience of having dysphoria may not accurately describe other trans people’s experiences, just like my experience of having had only euphoria may not accurately describe other trans people’s experiences.

I, personally, have fluctuating dysphoria. It took me multiple months after realizing that I’m trans to actually identify that feeling as dysphoria because it did fluctuate so much (and still does), while my gender euphoria stayed constant and very strong. And no, I’m not saying that to say, “take it from a real dysphoric trans,” I’m saying that for a long while, even after I’d realized I was trans, I didn’t actually have dysphoria. I still go through long spells of not having dysphoria.

I knew I wasn’t a woman. It never felt wrong to be called a woman, but saying that I’m not a woman feels more right. Which is why I want to socially transition to being nonbinary, and have in online spaces and offline safe spaces. Even before I experienced dysphoria, even when I haven’t experienced dysphoria in a long while, I still am nonbinary and want to be referred to as such. Same deal can happen with body parts. While I’ve basically resigned myself to not have gender affirming surgeries because I don’t need even more surgeries on top of the likely many I’ll have in the future because of chronic illness and disability... I should have a penis. I was born without one. I’m not dysphoric about what I have. I even kinda like what I’ve got going on down there when it’s not throwing a tantrum at me about one thing or another. But I also have. Basically a phantom penis. It’s there, even if it’s not physically there. I’m not dysphoric, but if it were viable for me to have that kind of intensive surgery paying out of pocket (because for me it’s not necessary, even though I want it), I totally would. There’s physical transition without dysphoria, and notice how it doesn’t steal resources considering even with universal healthcare where I live, non-necessary procedures usually can’t be covered, and also get pushed down to the very bottom of waiting lists in favour of people who have serious need of those surgeries within a shorter timeline so that the resource of time actually ends up getting taken from those of us who might get an improved quality of life, but don’t technically need the surgeries because we’re not dysphoric and often will end up with our lives on pause for years so that people who need it sooner can only have their lives paused for a few months. Just saying. (Resource stealing arguments have never made sense to me, especially now that I’m in the medical system for other non-“necessary” crap related to the disability/chronic conditions and keep getting sidelined and nothing is moving forward because I’m not imminently dying, so it’s fine, I guess. But I digress...)

My experience of transness has had so little dysphoria that the majority of what I’d consider to be that transness has nothing to do with dysphoria. Dysphoria has almost no role in my identity or my being trans.

It’s at about this point that I’m expecting comments like, “But you are dysphoric. It doesn’t matter that it’s rare, all that matters is that you’re dysphoric!”

And that misses the point entirely. I’m not looking for validation for myself. I’m not looking for edgy teens who think bullying people is fun and cool if you’re an oppressed person doing it to tell me that actually, I’m a “twue vawid twans uwuwuwu!!!”

I’m saying that propping dysphoria up as the one single thing that makes a person trans is reductionist and has assimilationist roots. It’s intrusive and a violation to require knowledge of someone’s medical conditions (which dysphoria is, transness is not).

Take trans people at our words. We know us best. And you being trans doesn’t make you the expert on each and every one of us. Instead of trying to prove if someone’s a cishet faker, take them at face value.

And, you know... just. Use their behaviour to gage if they should be asked to leave or not. I’ve been hurt waaaay more often and way more seriously by gatekeepers in LGBT+ spaces than people in queer spaces who are “““transtrending”””. I’d rather outsiders see people having harmless fun exploring their identities and thinking trans people are a joke than them seeing people infighting and making what is meant to be a safe and welcoming space for people figuring out gender stuff into a place of bullying and harassment and think trans people are a joke.

Because, in the end, people saying they’re stargender will never hurt trans people as much as someone probing into their medical history, assuming things about them based on parts of their appearance which they can’t hide about themself (like big hips, breasts that can’t be made flat or can’t be bound at all, etc.) that make them “present female” (whatever the hell that means), especially if that trans person has been trying to love all of their body anyway as part of self care, and as such triggering dysphoria in a whole bunch of trans people in doing so.

[funnymemes-and-kinkydreams]

My Coming Out Stories

I started realizing I liked girls when I was nine. This was also around the time my older sister had been going through a questioning period like a lot of people do and had said she liked girls and even dated a few. I remember we spent a lot of that summer rocking out to I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry and talking about Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato who were her celebrity crushes at the time. 

I was pretty sheltered at that age and my older sister was my first introduction to anything gay. But it made a lot of things make sense for me. I was also super obsessed with those 2 celebrities and it always felt... different but I couldn’t explain why. I was nine and didn’t know much about gay. Then there were the little crushes I would get on my female friends. I didn’t channel those well cause I didn’t actually know what was going on for a while so honestly, it ended with a lot of tense friendship endings cause I didn’t actually understand what I was feeling and well kids don’t exactly deal with new feelings very well. 

But anyways spending time with my sister and learning about what gay is and seeing her with her girlfriends and such. It started to make sense to me who I was. At least part of who I was. I would always admire the pretty strong women (especially the gothy villains) in the shows and movies I watched. I didn’t agree with a lot of the things my straight friends said or the way they saw boys, it just never made sense. 

I spent a couple years just in my head going yeah I like girls. My sister had moved past her questioning period after about a year and a half and realized no girls weren’t for her. I half expected maybe that would happen for me. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to go and then I will be like all my friends again. A very silly thought. But no, it did not go away. 

Eventually, in middle school, I was finally ready to tell my parents. I was a teen now, about to enter high school, and starting to feel much bigger crushes. I wanted to stop hiding. It was hard honestly. My parents were okay but honestly not great with handling having a gay daughter the first time around. They were “supportive” but would also talk shit and say vaguely bleh not nice things when she wasn’t around. I think they were just... trying to understand. But I really. I don’t know. 

Anyways around this time, my cousin was living with us and she just had to beat me at everything, including coming out. And they handled that just as well as they did with my sister. So I retreated and kept it to myself. 

Then in high school, I ended up going to what is probably the gayest nerdiest fucking school. it was beautiful. The GSA (gender sexuality alliance) ran things not the ASB not really. There were no sports instead there were gamer groups and robotics teams. The biggest dance every year wasn’t a homecoming it was queer prom. Here I was able to be my self. Everyone could be themselves. People were coming out all the time just comfortably, easy. As trans, gay, queer, whatever, and it was just excepted. By students, by teachers, it was wonderful.

This made it hard sometimes to keep hidden from my family though. I was crushing hard on a girl for a while and eventually, I came out just for the slight chance maybe that I could date this girl. That was a silly reason and honestly, I knew that wasn’t going to happen, but I needed to give my self extra motivation to come out or that was never going to happen either. 

I told my older sister first because of course. She was supportive, and I cried cause man was it a relief to just say to someone. Then the plan was to tell my mom and dad, but I panicked. 

So instead, I did a silly thing. I tried to just. Push it down. Make it go away. There was a nice boy and he looked like the kind of boy the hetero girls seem to go for. He liked debate which was a nice thing to have in common. So I tried to make myself ignore my feelings for the girl I liked, ignore the need to admire the very attractive exchange student in our class, and just try to enjoy this boy. To really encourage my self and attempt to be closer to my mother I even talked to her about this boy. Besides, it couldn’t be that bad right? Well here’s the funny thing that happened with that. 

We had a debate in class. It was on gay marriage. I, of course, was on the side that supported it, as was the boy. The other side got to go first. I was the closer for my team so I was going very last. The other team kept going on and on about all the things “wrong” with gay marriage. It was hard to hear but what was worse was it felt like my team was barely defending our side. They were doing the bare minimum. Sure this was just for some class credit, but this was an important issue, why weren’t they trying harder? By this time I felt all this rage and anger inside of me. I started crying silently, and don’t even realize I’m crying at first. I was lost in this world hearing all their negative words, thinking of my own sexuality, thinking of every counter-argument, thinking about how unless I give a heck of a closing argument my team was certainly going to lose. Suddenly the boy's hand tapped my shoulder. I looked at him kinda startled back into reality. He asked if I was okay. I just nodded slowly. He put his hand at the top of my back and asked if that was okay and I said yes, appreciating that he asked, and he rubbed it while I sat and listened and cried. Holy shit I was crying. Now I knew I was crying. Nobody really seemed to notice. Which was good. Until it was my turn. Everyone looked at me and I swear it was like time stopped. Now everyone knew I was crying, now everyone knew this was personal, now everyone probably knew I was gay. All I could think was if I don’t counter well and remove my personal emotions and just layout solid arguments and facts now, we were going to fail. I refused to fail. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and replayed every word the opposing team said and who on the team said it, and I had a counter for everything, I replayed what my team attempted to say and get at, and I sharpened it, improved it. By the end everyone was speechless. Then both sides were clapping. We won. I was able to breathe again. The boy looked over at me and was like... “So... you’re gay?” That’s cool! Then he smiled and said he’d see me tomorrow. Fuck. I was super fucking gay.  So then I told my para. (I’m a little person and in a wheelchair. So at school, I needed what is called a para, basically a helper. She carried stuff and reached things for me and was there in case I injured my self.) She became like a second mom to me. She is actually related to Ryan Lewis. She told me about this new song Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. She said she supported me and encouraged me to talk to my parents. Eventually, she sent M&RL a video of me singing and they gave me tickets and backstage passes to go see them in concert when they came to town but that’s another story. 

And that was it, no more stalling, time to tell the parents. I texted the girl I was in to. Told her it’s finally happening. I’m doing it. I’m coming out. She too was supportive and waiting for me to text after I did the do. 

So I called my parents into my room, said we need to talk. Already I see the panic on their faces wondering what the fuck I need to have a serious talk about. Fair. I start crying before I even start speaking. Then finally I say. “I like girls.” 

My mom says “And boys?” and I said “No, just girls.” and my dad says “Dude great you’re gay. Why are you getting all serious? You could’ve sent this in a text. Not a big deal. Congratulations.” and walked off. He did not understand the struggle of trying to come out and the worry of being accepted or not but at least he didn’t care I was gay. My mom was a bit more confused (probably cause I had spent like a month talking about a boy trying to be not gay) I tried to explain that to her. Explain that even he was like bruh you gay. She was a bit confused (again fair) but said alright. 

Things were... weird. Dad thought this was an opening to make all the gay jokes which it wasn’t and it wasn’t okay. He recently, 7 years later, stopped so that’s nice. They, for a similarly long while, didn’t want me to tell my younger sister or the family but eventually, that changed as well. Though I still haven’t told much of the fam. My parents still are not the greatest with the slowly growing amount of LGBT+ representation on TV but they’re slowly, through a lot of me putting my foot down and talking about why it’s important, getting better. They support and have supported my relationships. 

I have a mixed group of friends across the LGBT+ spectrum and also straight cis allies. I am more myself and can openly love women because women are amazing and I know that the people in my life are okay with that. I am happier even with the bumps in the road, the occasional homophobia I witness or experience or hear, I am happier since I came out. Because I get to be me. Unapologetically me. I am proud to love women. I am proud of my community. 

And that’s it. That’s my first coming out story

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Common writing mistakes and how to avoid them

Here are some of the writing mistakes I’ve noticed most often and tips on how to avoid making them:

1. Beginning/ending disjointed from the rest

A nugget of writing advice that is thrown around left and right is the notion that your first line/page has to stand out and grip your reader. Or that your last line has to pack a massive punch.

There is some truth in this. Your beginning should be strong and deal with a situation that will intrigue your reader. And your ending should have a purpose.

BUT you have to keep in mind that your readers will probably have an attention span longer than a paragraph.

This advice is often taken too far and can lead to a first page/line that is written in a completely different style to the rest of your novel. That line is often over-the-top/pretentious/overtly controversial and shocking. The same can be said for the last line. The reader has read the entire book and then suddenly the ending is written in a completely different way with the intention of standing out.

Instead of focusing too much on the wow factor of that first line, make sure that your beginning introduces the reader to what they can expect from the rest of the book. Show the reader what type of writing/story you’re going to give them. Introduce the tension/problem. Give them a character to root for etc. This is a much better approach to writing a good opening.

The same goes for the ending. Make sure that it’s in line with the tone and theme of the rest of the novel. It can be shocking, but it shouldn’t look like something from a different novel.

For more detail on this, I would recommend Ross Raisin’s Read This If You Want to Be a Great Writer.

2. A “diverse/representative” character for the sake of it

Yes, I know one character cannot be “diverse” but just bear with me. (Words are hard)

This boils my blood every time. In my opinion (which is likely different from a lot of other people’s), token representation is worse than no representation.

Don’t throw in a LGBT+ character if that is their only trait/role in the story and you’re going to kill them three scenes later anyway. Don’t give us a minor character of colour who’s a walking stereotype and will have no active role to play in the narrative. A disabled character whose only defining characteristic is their disability.

Rather than throwing in representation for pc points, make those characters round/well-developed. It might be difficult to comprehend, but LBGT+ people and POCs have diverse/unique personalities, appearances and interests. And they can play crucial roles in your narrative.

Maybe you feel uncomfortable writing major characters from a different group than you. That’s okay. Just don’t try to fix this by slapping a token onto the page and patting yourself on the back for being progressive.

3. Deus ex machina

Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and seemingly unlikely occurrence, typically so much as to seem contrived. (Wikipedia - yes, I’m not a walking dictionary.)

Your characters have been working their butts off to thwart the plans of the villain. Despite all their efforts, they have been captured and thrown into a dungeon. There is no chance of escape. Enter a roguish hero with the exact powers to break them out and they fly away to fight another day.

Please don’t.

You should up the stakes throughout your novel, making situations more difficult to get out of as the story progresses. But you need to have a plan for how your characters will overcome that situation. Every win should be fought for.

A deus ex machina will make your story appear amateurish and will make the reader feel cheated and foolish for being worried. We want to see the struggle!

4. Not planning the logistics 

Even if your’re writing high fantasy, the events in your story should seem realistic (at least in that world). This means that practical things should make sense.

Travel time should be consistent and realistic. If your characters are travelling by existing means e.g. walking/horseback/car, this should correspond to the time it would take people in the real world to travel that distance. Google is your friend. And if you’re using fantastical means of travel e.g. a flying train/dragon/genetically modified horse, your travel time should still be consistent. If a dragon takes three days to fly across the country, then it can’t do so in two hours when the shit hits the fan. Plan out your setting and the distances between places. Figure it out and then write it down so you can stick to it.

Same goes for physical afflictions. If your character is trudging through a frozen wasteland/a vast desert, you need to know how they’re going to feel. Which symptoms will they display? Which bodily functions will start to give out first? How long can they survive in these circumstances? RESEARCH FOR HOW LONG PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY HOLD THEIR BREATH UNDERWATER. If your character gets wounded, know how long they can go on without passing out/going into shock/dying. Research how many drinks typically gets which size of person drunk etc. I know this seems like a lot to research, but it’s necessary. If you have some superhuman characters, you get to decide what they can take. Just make sure that it’s consistent. Your werewolf protagonist can’t nearly die from a stab wound to the chest at one point and then keep fighting for an hour with their guts spilling out at another. It has to make sense.

This applies to all practical occurrences in your narrative.

P.S. This may be easier said than done, but don’t go down the rabbit hole. Research what you need to know and move on to writing. Otherwise, you’re going to spend your whole life online looking at pictures of dehydrated people and googling major arteries.

5. Exposition dump

You’ve spent days crafting a history for your world, creating long-lost magical creatures and developing a cult-like religion. So, now you feel compelled to share all this awesomeness at every turn.

Don’t.

I’m not as strictly into the idea that ONLY things relevant to the plot should be included. Interesting tidbits make a novel intriguing and the world captivating.

But don’t introduce it all at the same time in pages of exposition. Sprinkle it into observations/conversations/events throughout your novel. Don’t tell the reader all the things you’ve created - show it to them through your characters where it feels organic to do so.

Make sure that it makes sense where you’ve chosen to put it. If you have to bend your narrative to include it in that specific scene, don’t. Otherwise it’ll come across as an exposition dump, which is quite boring to read.

These are some mistakes I’ve noticed. Maybe other people don’t think of these as errors, but this is my take on it. If you’d like more detail/clarity please ask :)

If you have any other questions/comments on creative writing, don’t hesitate to ask/request a post.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with the common writing mistakes you’ve noticed. Follow me for similar content.

[lgbtqiahistoricalromance]

*LGBTQIA+ Historical Romance Novels w/Cowboys, Ranchers, and People of the Frontier and Old West (Includes Fantasy, Steampunk, and Horror offerings this time.)

A River of Time by Dale Chase

- It's 1895 when Luke Straily returns to Gunnison, Colorado, after a twelve-year absence and reluctantly heads to the cattle ranch owned by Jack Hinch, the only man he’s ever loved. Looking to make amends for an intolerable act, Luke hires on at the ranch, but Jack makes it perfectly clear he's unable to forgive or forget just yet. It'll take everything in Luke's power to set things right with the man he wronged and placed in jeopardy before he ran away, but he aims to earn back Jack's trust no matter the personal cost.  Complicating matters, though, is ranch foreman Tim Dutcher, who’s been enjoying a sexual relationship with the handsome rancher during the intervening years and thoroughly resents Luke's intrusion. As Luke and Jack gradually rebuild their severed friendship and renew their former passion,  jealousy flares, leading to a volatile confrontation. Can the men settle matters without any shots being fired?

Devil’s Paw by Dale Chase

- Lloyd Lasky is a seasoned operative for the Whitlock Detective Agency in Denver that often infiltrates outlaw gangs in order to thwart stagecoach robberies. When he’s assigned to infiltrate the Bonner Gang based in Devil’s Paw, Arizona Territory, he’s unprepared for the personal ambush his heart suffers over gang member Frank Metty. Taking up sex with Frank, Lloyd convinces himself that doing so is part of his job in solidifying his place in the gang and learning of their plans. But as time passes, Lloyd not only starts to care for the younger man, but jealousy also rears its ugly head when it becomes clear the gang leader, Merle Bonner, also has a sexual claim on Frank. When the line between self-indulgence and detective work blurs to the point where Lloyd considers not only breaking agency rules but breaking the law, will he be able to ignore his ever-growing sexual desires and successfully complete his dangerous mission?

Untamed by Anna Cowen (Gender queer MC!)

- Outspoken and opinionated, Katherine Sutherland is ill at ease amongst the fine ladies of Regency London. She is more familiar with farmers and her blunt opinions and rough manners offend polite society. Yet when she hears the scandalous rumours involving her sister and the   seductive Duke of Darlington, the fiercely loyal Katherine vows to save her sister's marriage - whatever the cost.

Intrigued by  Katherine's interference in his affairs, the manipulative Duke is soon fascinated. He engages in a daring deception and follows her back to her country home. Here, their intense connection shocks them both. But the Duke's games have dangerous consequences, and the potential to throw both their lives into chaos...

Stealing West by Jamie Craig (Stealing series #2)

- Leon Stroud is wanted for robbery and a murder he didn’t commit. On the run to California with his partner-in-crime, Kenneth, he spots the relentless bounty hunter, Thomas Grady, on the train. The only way to protect Kenneth is to create a distraction, and that’s what Leon does when he flees the train at the top of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He forces Thomas to chase him, but nothing can prepare him for what it means to be caught. Thomas Grady always gets his man, and Leon Stroud is no exception to that rule. But almost from the moment Thomas touches Leon, he wants the outlaw for something besides his bounty. Driven by desire he doesn’t understand, Thomas repeatedly claims Leon’s body on the long journey from Soda Springs to San Francisco—and Leon only begs for more. An even bigger threat, with a larger bounty, could be the very thing they need to drive them together...or tear them apart.

Robby Riverton: Mail Order Bride by Eli Easton (Longer review on this site, but suffice to say the cover and description don’t do this novel justice. Robby is as smart as a whip, Trace is a cinnamon roll, and this novel has a lot of tender moments surrounding the MCs as well as the Crabtree family.)

- Being a fugitive in the old west shouldn’t be this much fun. The year is 1860. Robby Riverton is a rising star on the New York stage. But he witnesses a murder by a famous crime boss and is forced to go on the run--all the way to Santa Fe. When he still hasn't ditched his pursuers, he disguises himself as a mail order bride he meets on the wagon train. Caught between gangsters that want to kill him, and the crazy, uncouth family of his "intended", Robby's only ally is a lazy sheriff who sees exactly who Robby is -- and can't resist him. Trace Crabtree took the job as sheriff of Flat Bottom because there was never a thing going on. And then Robby Riverton showed up. Disguised as a woman. And betrothed to Trace’s brother. If that wasn’t complication enough, Trace had to find the man as appealing as blueberry pie. He urges Robby to stay undercover until the danger has passed. But a few weeks of having Robby-Rowena at the ranch, and the Crabtree family will never be the same again. Damn, what a kerfuffle. If only Trace can get rid of the fugitive while hanging on to his own stupid heart. 

The Bibliophile by Drew Marvin Fraye (This was a pleasant surprise of a novel, with multiple examples of healthy LGBT relationships. The author did some good research surrounding the treatment of native tribes and health practices of the time. The May/December relationships are sweet, and not one-sided.)

- Nathanial Goldsmith is the only son of the richest man in the Idaho territory, Jessum Goldsmith, the Silver Baron of the Western Lands, as he is called in all the newspapers. But life in the late nineteenth-century American West weaves no magic spell for Nathanial, who longs for the academic worlds his father has forced him to leave behind. To toughen him up, Nathanial’s father has indentured him to a ranchman, Cayuse Jem, a large, raw-boned, taciturn man Nathanial’s father believes will help teach his son to “become a man.” Cut off from his books and the life he has always known, Nathanial is not only forced to co-exist with Cayuse Jem, but to truly get to know him. In doing so, Nathanial discovers there is more to this silent horseman than meets the eye. And, in the process, Nathanial also learns a few things about life, about human nature, and about the differences in being a man and a boy…  

A Place to Call Their Own by Dean Frech

- Frank Greerson and Gregory Young have been discharged from the Army and are headed to their childhood homes. They both defied their parents in 1861 when they joined the Army. After battling southern rebels and preserving the Union of the United States of America, the two men set out to battle the Kansas Prairie and build a life together. Once they find their claim, they encounter common obstacles to life on the Kansas Prairie in 1866:  Native Americans, tornadoes, wild animals, and weather. When a prairie fire destroys their crops and takes their neighbor’s lives, Frank and Gregory are instructed to find their young son’s aunt. Faced with leaving a destroyed claim, the railroad coming through their land, and dwindling funds, Frank and Gregory must decide whether to leave the place they have worked hard to make their own or fulfill their friends' dying wishes.

Looking for Trouble by Misha Horne

- A trip across the country just might lead to a trip over a cowboy’s knee… Trouble seems to follow Jesse Morgan. No matter how many times he tries to clean up his act, drinking and fighting and picking pockets are about the only things that make him feel good. All he wants when he boards a train headed for Nevada is a fresh start. He might not even know where it is on a map, but nobody knows him there. He just needs a little change, a little adventure, a chance to shake off the dark cloud he seems to be stuck under. What he doesn’t expect is to meet Will Kaplan. A tall, handsome cowboy with a chiseled jaw who pulls him out of a jam five minutes after he steps off the train. He’s ever met anyone like the no nonsense stranger who offers him a temporary place to stay. Will might be stern and have a lot of strict rules, but he’s patient and fair, and he makes Jesse crave things he’s never thought about. Makes him want to cause trouble, just to see what might happen. Will makes him want to do all kinds of things that are definitely a bad idea. Will Kaplan couldn’t care less about people. Everyone he was ever close to is long gone, and he’s perfectly happy on his farm with his animals and just enough to get by— alone. He only heads into town when he has to, and sure never expected to come back home with a mouthy stranger who seems dead set on driving him crazy. Will doesn’t need a farmhand. He definitely doesn’t need one who’s stubborn and reckless and has an ugly temper, even if he’s sexy as hell. Just because Jesse is good company when he isn’t being irritating doesn’t mean Will is interested in having another person in his life for more than a week or two. Excitement and disruption are not things he’s fond of. Just like he’s not fond of this sassy, sullen city boy who seems determined to cause trouble, almost like he’s begging for a firm hand…

Gunslinger’s Lullaby by Jovana (MMF, Bisexual MC!)

- Easy McClure is a hot-headed little spitfire named after her father’s favorite saloon girl. When her father is killed in a range war, she inherits his ranch. Alone now, and facing the responsibility of taking care of a large spread, she packs away her bloomers and corsets and wears tight jeans with a six-gun strapped to her hip. One day, a bleeding cowboy rides up to her house with a bullet in his shoulder. By the time she learns he’s a notorious gunslinger, his whole gang arrives. She has never seen such hot, sexy cowboys in her life, and has a problem resisting their advances. As time passes, she is slowly drawn to them and puts her better judgment aside, surrendering to their steamy seduction. Then the day comes for them to leave. That’s when she must admit she’s in love with each one and faces a painful dilemma -- can her love tame all four men, or will they forever be a group of hard-riding gunslingers dodging bullets and running from the law?

Finding Forgiveness by Ari McKay

- Boston in 1888 is quite urbane, but unfortunately for Gil Porter, that isn’t the same thing as being understanding. When his sexuality is exposed by the scandalous suicide of his lover, Gil is exiled to the small town of Mercy, Texas, by his domineering father, George, who believes life on Vernon Porter's ranch will cure Gil of his “unnatural” desires. Grieving and ashamed, Gil is determined to keep his distance from everyone until he can return home. To his surprise, he finds acceptance at Bent Oak Ranch, especially from Matt Grayson, the handsome son of the ranch foreman. Knowing he must fight his attraction to Matt, Gil courts a local girl, but an unexpected encounter with Matt leads to his discovery of Matt’s feelings for him. Torn between Matt and his desire to be “normal," between returning to his old life and building a new one in Texas, Gil is faced with a choice—appeasing his father or becoming the man Matt knows he can be.

Heart of Stone by Ari McKay

- Stone Harrison never knew he had an aunt; he certainly never expected her to bequeath him one of the largest spreads in central Nevada. But something about Copper Lake Ranch and its foreman, Luke Reynolds, speaks to him, offering a chance for the home he’s never really had.Luke wants Stone to succeed as a rancher and put the legacy of his shiftless father behind him, but he’d also like Stone to share his bed. Unfortunately, Stone is convinced that the world is a harsh place that will never accept two men sharing their lives. Much to Luke’s dismay, he refuses to risk Luke’s life despite the intense attraction they share.The tension between them escalates when a series of calamities strikes Copper Lake. An unexpected and unwelcome visit from Stone’s dandified cousin, James, only makes things worse. Stone’s ability to run the ranch comes into question, but the threat of losing it means less to Stone than the threat to Luke’s life. Stone will do anything it takes to protect the man he loves—even if it makes him a murderer.

Carnival Cowboy by Dale Madison (Trans MC!)

- At the end of a bloody trail, Johnny Redd finds an incredible secret. While struggling with a bullet in his chest, he crawls along the ground until he finds himself surrounded by a maze of quaint carnival tarps. Inside is a world of color, costumes, false hair, nails, eyelashes -- and a man who dresses like a woman. It’s a world of trickery, deception, and lies. Johnny makes it just inside the tent when his strength fails and he faints dead away. When he awakes, he’s reminded of the bizarre reality that surrounds him. It’s that he learns he has been taken care of by a man – er. woman -- by the name of Frenchy Starr. The name rolls from the tongue of this fallen angel, this princess of darkness, this twilight queen. She’s a mystery, a dangerously beautiful mystery, and Johnny slowly becomes ensnared in the trap which she sets. After one night of incredible love, a jealous fan shoots Frenchy. Thinking her dead, Johnny’s heart is broken and he leaves in search of something to fill the hole she left in his heart. Enter Kit Dalton.

The Redemption of Nathaniel Bane by RL Merrill (Novella from The Banes of Lake’s Crossing series, but can be read as standalone.) (Native American MC!)

- In 1860, Nathaniel Bane and his brothers dug deep into the earth on a mission from God, searching for a cache of silver to help fund their new religious civilization. What they found altered them forever and set off a chain of events that changed the course of Nevada's history. Nearly twenty years later, the constant hunger and restlessness has made Nathaniel desperate for relief. A chance encounter in the desert and a meeting with an incredibly powerful holy man will set Nathaniel on a path to redemption—a journey filled with love, blood, and revenge. Will Nathaniel find peace with his soul’s mate, or is he destined to walk the earth alone?

Cowboy Dreams by Terry O’Reilly

- Store clerk Chadwick Algood dreams of leaving his small New England town and becoming Chad Armstrong, a cowboy living a life of adventure in the Wild West. However, Chad is the sole support of his widowed mother and younger sister, so knows his cowboy dreams may never be realized. Chad’s life is turned upside down when Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show comes to town and Chad meets Bo Miller, a roustabout with hopes and dreams of his own. A relationship quickly develops which deepens the young store clerk’s longing for his dream for a new life. Eventually, news from England sends Chad’s mother and sister across the Atlantic. Chad decides to stay in the US. Traveling from town to town in search of Bo and the Wild West show, Chad meets ranch owner Leon Scruggs in a bathhouse and feels an instant connection with the hot cowboy. Which cowboy dream will Chad choose? Or will fate choose for him?

Grow Wild by KM Penemue (f/f!)

- Josie has been drifting from town to town for years, surviving on whatever work she can find. When she rolls into Rio Plato, however, it's not work she's hunting, but an old enemy. Dahlia Wheeler owns the Sentimental Lady saloon and brothel, where Josie stays. But though Josie feels the pull between her and Dahlia, she refuses to get involved and risk dragging Dahlia into her plans for revenge and the aimless life she leads—assuming she doesn't wind up with a noose around her neck.

A Cowboy’s Heart by JM Synder

- Ranch hand Tommy Prout thinks he's in love ... with his boss, Hal Bolstrum. Problem is, Hal's engaged to be married to the ranch owner's daughter and, though he knows of Tommy's crush, he sees it as nothing more than harmless affection. When payday rolls around and the other cowboys want to ride into town to check out the girls at the Wildhorse saloon, Tommy tags along to throw off any suspicion anyone might have about his feelings for his boss. He sure as hell doesn't want to spend his money on any of the soiled doves the town has to offer. At the bar he meets Lila, an enterprising young working girl who takes a liking to him. When Tommy says he wants to be left alone, Lila suggests he rest in her room -- with the promise they don't have to actually do anything. But Lila isn't like the others, and when she discovers Tommy is more scared of her than attracted to her feminine charms, she lets him in on a little secret. Lila's real name is Stephen Marsh. He lives as a woman, moving from saloon to saloon, pleasing men for money. He loves men and enjoys his work, and what others don't know about what's under his skirt doesn't bother him. In all his years on the prairie, he's never met someone quite like Tommy. When he discovers Tommy is sweet on Hal, he suggests teaching the cowboy just how to please a man. He doesn't mean to lose his heart to Tommy in the process. With "Lila" in his life, Tommy begins to dream of someone softer than Hal, someone pretty when dolled up but still man enough where it counts. Someone like Lila. As his feelings deepen, can he use Lila's own teachings to win the heart he really loves?

On the Trail to Moonlight Gulch by Shelter Somerset

- It’s 1886, and Chicago is booming, but for nineteen-year-old Torsten Pilkvist, American-born son of Swedish immigrants, it’s not big enough. After tragically losing a rare love, Tory immerses himself in the pages of a Wild West mail-order bride magazine, where he stumbles on the advertisement of frontiersman and Civil War veteran Franklin Ausmus. Torsten and Franklin begin an innocent correspondence—or as innocent as it can be, considering Torsten keeps his true gender hidden. But when his parents discover the letters, Tory is forced out on his own. With nowhere else to go, he boards a train for the Black Hills and Franklin’s homestead, Moonlight Gulch.Franklin figures Tory for a drifter, but he’s lonely after ten years of living in the backcountry alone, and his “girl” in Chicago has mysteriously stopped writing, so he hires Tory on as his ranch hand. Franklin and Tory grow closer while defending the land from outlaws who want the untapped gold in Franklin’s creek, but then Franklin learns Tory’s true identity and banishes Tory from his sight. Will their lives be forever tattered, or will Torsten—overhearing a desperate last-ditch scheme to snatch Franklin’s gold—be able to save Moonlight Gulch and his final shot at love?

Eden Springs by Ada Marie Soto

- In the boomtown of Eden Springs, someone is spilling the blood of children. Desperate, the sheriff calls in ex-Union scout Aaron Byrne to stop them. For the lawman for hire, it's just another job-until he meets Jonah Mann, the town's Oxford-trained astronomer-cum-schoolteacher. Aaron never stays in one place for long, but a few stolen glances from the eccentric professor begin to test his resolve to move along once the job is done. Now a telescope, a whorehouse bathtub, and a cup of Chinese tea could change Aaron's own stars forever. A Timeless Dreams title: While reaction to same-sex relationships throughout time and across cultures has not always been positive, these stories celebrate M/M love in a manner that may address, minimize, or ignore historical stigma.

Bitter Springs by Laura Stone (POC MC!)

- In 1870s Texas, Renaldo Valle Santos, the youngest son of a large and traditional family, has been sent to train with Henry “Hank” Burnett, a freed slave and talented mesteñero—or horse-catcher—so he may continue the family horse trade. Bitter Springs is a sweeping epic that takes themes from traditional Mexican literature and Old Westerns to tell the story of a man coming into his own and realizing his destiny lies in the wild open spaces with the man who loves him, far from expectations of society.

The Dino Rancher’s Winter Bride by Eloise Sumner (f/f!)

- Eleanor Fields is from a well-to-do big-city family that’s looking to expand its industry out West. Looking to make connections, her father arranges her to be married to Jacob Hammond of Vanwell Ranches.After years of work, Jesse Vanwell has just won back her family home, the Vanwell estate, from the vile Jacob Hammond. But taking his assets comes with a surprise – a city bride.Jesse’s got no need for a wife, but Eleanor doesn’t want to be sent back to her family. A storm is brewing on the horizon, as is the threat of Jacob Hammond returning to reclaim what he lost.

To Hell You Ride by Julia Talbot

- Big Roy is a hard-rock miner with a not-so-secret love for the theater, so when he hears a new troupe of actors are coming to the Telluride Opera House to put on a Shakespeare play, he saddles his mule and makes the trek into town to see it. The play doesn’t disappoint, but the beautiful lead actor, Edward Clancy, certainly does. Clancy is rude and arrogant, and Roy figures he’d never have a chance with such a man. He’s wrong, because Clancy needs some entertainment himself, being stuck in a hellish mining town for the long, snowy winter. Come spring, though, Clancy knows he’s going to want to move on, and he thinks Roy will be easy to forget. Then tragedy hits, and Clancy has to rethink his entire life. Can these two strike gold?

Home Before Sundown by Tinnean

- George Pettigrew and his papa must leave the California rancho they'd lived on since his birth. They end up in New York City, where Papa marries and George gets a new beloved mama. George also meets Frank and Bart who become fast friends, and in Bart's case, even more.The start of the Civil War leaves George the man of the family, but although he’s found a job, it’s difficult to pay the ever-increasing rent. Then Papa dies at Appomattox and Mama falls ill.After Mama dies, her father takes George’s siblings. When George learns his younger sister is being abused, he rescues the three children. But will dressing his sisters as boys and himself as a woman be enough of a disguise to keep them safe until they can reach the valley he’s dreamed of? Will Bart leave behind his own family and go with the man he loves?

A Hard Ride Home by Emory Vargas

- It’s hard enough returning to his birthplace to replace a dead man as sheriff. The last thing Emmett needs is to find himself smitten with Jesse, the whore he arrests almost immediately upon arrival. Especially since Jesse works for his half-sister and at her thoroughly disreputable saloon. But being smitten with a whore is only the beginning of Emmett’s troubles. Silver Creek is a town full of secrets and people too terrified to talk. Why does Emmett’s father, the mayor of Silver Creek, have such a strong hold on the town—and on Jesse?

A Little Sin by Sionnach Wintergreen (Just finished this one the other day, and it’s such an intelligent read. Having lived in the area where this takes place, I can say Wintergreen was totally accurate with her details involving the treatment of “racism, homophobia, and sexism“. The mystery portion is solid, and a WOC is shown as bright and appreciated by Garland and Avery.)

- Sheriff Avery O’Rourke has tried to obey his strict Christian faith and lead a “normal” life. In 1923 in a rural East Texas town, “normal” means heterosexual. A cholera outbreak has made Avery a young widower, so he is married to his job. When a murder investigation forces him to confront his truth, will he finally be able to accept being gay?

Veterinarian Garland Sands has returned from Europe to take over his father’s practice. Struggling with shellshock (PTSD) and heartbroken by the suicide of his French lover, he resigns himself to a quiet, solitary life as a country vet. But the murder of the town doctor brings the sheriff to Garland’s doorstep looking for help with the investigation. Seeing Avery awakens dormant feelings. Can he love a man who hates what he is?

This isn’t the lavish 1920s of The Great Gatsby. This is the flip side of that coin—rural East Texas. No electricity. No indoor plumbing. No flappers. In 1923, the timber barons have left and racism, homophobia, and sexism thrive.

A Little Sin is a realistic mystery with unlikely heroes and a timeless romance between lovers caught in a world where their love is forbidden. This book contains steamy sex scenes and is intended for adults only.

Interested in some Fantasy, Steampunk Western or Horror with your Western by some of your favorite historical romance writers? Try these reads below the cut...

The Devil’s Land collection from @lessthanthreepress includes more traditional historical novels, fantasy, and steampunk offerings in frontier areas that are real (US, Australia, etc) and fictional.

Bushrangers series by Jack Byrne

- Having long ago lost his wife and children, cattleman Jim Kelly works the family farm in the harsh 1800s Australian outback, most days wondering why he bothers. That question is foremost in his mind when a venomous snake takes him by surprise. Another surprise comes when a skilled doctor is in the vicinity to save his life. But the third, and biggest, surprise for Jim is falling hard and fast for that man. Life on the lam is tough, and bushranger Mark Turner simply wants to maintain his freedom as long as he's able. Unfortunately, being a doctor, his conscience won't let him leave a snakebite victim to die. Before he thinks about the consequences of his humanitarian actions, he's both saved Jim and become smitten with him. But considering how Mark's past could negatively impact any possibility of a future, maybe falling in love wasn't such a great idea after all.  

Venom Valley series (Cowboys & Vampires, Stakes & Spurs, Blood & Stone) by Hank Edwards

- In the frontier town of Belkin’s Pass, as a vampire quietly feeds on the local saloon girls and their customers, a tragedy teaches resident Josh Stanton he has the ability to raise the dead. Knowing he is now a wanted man, Josh flees into the arid plains of Venom Valley.

Dex Wells, the town deputy and Josh’s best friend, catches up with Josh. During the confrontation, both men realize their friendship is truly something deeper, and Dex has to decide if he’s a man of the law, or a man in love.As Josh and Dex ponder a viable course of action, the vampire circles ever closer, drawn by Josh’s power and gathering his forces against them.

Once Upon a Time in the Weird West by Jamie Fessenden, Andrew Q. Gordon, Jana Denardo, Kim Fielding, Shira Anthony, Tali Spencer, Venona Keyes, Lex Chase, C.S. Poe, Nicole Kimberling, Ginn Hale, Astrid Amara, Langley Hyde                           

- This isn’t the same old Wild West. The usual suspects are all present: cowboys, outlaws, and sheriffs. There’s plenty of dust, tumbleweeds, horses, and cattle on the range, but there are also magical gems, automatons, elementals, airships… even dinosaurs and genetically modified insects. Roaming among the buffalo and coyotes, you’ll encounter skinwalkers, mad engineers, mythical beings cloaked in darkness, and lovers who stay true to their oaths… even beyond the grave. On this frontier are those at the mercy of their own elaborate devices as well as men whose control of time and space provides a present-day vision of the West. There might even be a dragon hidden amongst the ghost towns and wagon trains.If you like your Westerns with a splash of magic, a touch of steampunk, and plenty of passionate romance between men, these genre-bending tales will exceed expectations. Hold on to your hats, cowboys and cowgirls. The West is about to get weird, and you’re in for a hell of a ride.

Brought Forth by Josie Finch (I know MPREG isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but this was an engaging novel with lessons on family and acceptance.)

- Henry Merrill escaped the abusive family from his childhood and has built a life as the kindhearted handyman for the small town of Ashford in the 1880’s. Henry has every intention of living his life alone, serving the town he considers home. But an angel named Cory-Elle has other plans for Henry. With a soul that needs to be brought to earth, Cory-Elle gives Henry the opportunity to raise the family he never imagined he would have. Dr. Lawrence Turner has a bad reputation in Ashford for attending to poor patients who cannot pay him and for being the only physician the town has ever seen make house calls to the local brothel. So when a young man claiming an angel has made him pregnant arrives in his office, Dr. Turner is not surprised. Despite his disbelief, Lawrence has few things to lose in tending to Henry—though Lawrence never counted on his heart being one of those things. With the help of the doctor’s assistant Ben Lockhart and a saloon woman named Lily Mae Pepperidge, Henry and Lawrence must challenge everything they thought they knew about faith and family. Together they encounter pain, joy, sorrow, and pleasure. But among it all, they discover love. Standalone. HEA. Mpreg (Male Pregnancy) is a primary theme.

The Serpent and the Angel by MD Grimm (The Shifters Book #8)

- In the year 1866, Sheriff Tobias Goldstein guards a small mining town in the Colorado territory with a cold and merciless hand. A rare rattlesnake shifter, he lives by a code and expecting others to do the same has kept the peace—until a nameless stranger wanders into town. Intrigued by the lone man, Tobias names him Angel Smith, and sensing he’s trustworthy, he deputizes Angel.

A guardian at heart, golden eagle shifter Angel protects the townspeople, but his dedication is to an ancient scroll capable of great destruction. For generations, Angel’s family protected the artifact with their lives. Now something has returned to hunt down the scroll. Forced to leave his tribe, Angel enjoys the quiet he’s found with Tobias, who hides a warm heart under his aloof exterior. Angel knows the quiet will not last and fears the battle on the horizon. But with Tobias at his back, Angel might stand a chance against his enemies.

Wild Wild Hex by Jordan L Hawk (Hexworld 3.5)

- After weeks spent tracking down the gentleman bandit Rafael, Hexas Ranger Enoch Bright finally has the outlaw in his sights. He doesn’t expect to find out Rafael is his familiar.

When Enoch runs afoul of the murderous Bone Gang, he and Rafael strike a deal to take down the gang together. As lawman and outlaw work together, Enoch soon realizes the next thing the gentleman bandit steals will be his heart.

The Mechanical Chrysanthemums by Felicitas Ivey (POC MC!)

- Hachisuka Narihiro is a pilot in the Shogun’s elite unit of musha-ki, robotic armor automated by steam and magic for the defense of Nippon in a slowly modernizing 19th Century, when he’s requested to help with political negotiations. Compromises are difficult, with American Admiral Perry determined to open Japan to the West but only on his terms. Like most Western leaders, the admiral is unaware of the advances the Japanese have made with steam and thinks Nippon is an isolated and backward nation. Narihiro’s uncle, the twelfth Tokugawa Shogun, believes Narihiro is the best man for the duty. Despite his extensive training, plans might not go as well as expected.With the American delegation comes closeted former Pennsylvania Dutch farmer, Maarten Zook, a shy translator who catches Narihiro’s interest. As negotiations stall, the Japanese are left with few options to convince America that Nippon is its equal. Japan is ready to open its borders, but a show of force may be needed, and that force may destroy the budding relationship between Narihiro and Maarten.

Heartaches & Hoofbeats by Maz Maddox

- Like all centaur shifters, Sheriff Calhoun is the epitome of honor. He protects his small town of Stallion Ridge and its people from any threat large or small.When word comes in that the notorious Iron Bandits are making a play for a train in his territory he’s both livid and invigorated. If anyone can bring these thieves to justice it’s him and his crew.What he did not expect was having a charming, whiskey-eyed outlaw dumped in his lap that challenged everything he thought he knew.

Honey From the Lion by Jackie North

- Soulmates across time. A love that was meant to be.In present day, Laurie, tired of corporate life, takes a much-needed vacation at Farthingdale Dude Ranch.The very first night a freak blizzard combined with a powerful meteor shower takes Laurie back to the year 1891. When he wakes up in a snowbank, his only refuge is an isolated cabin inhabited by the gruff, grouchy John Henton, who only wants to be left alone. His sense of duty prevails, however, and he takes Laurie under his care, teaching him how to survive on the wild frontier. As winter approaches, Laurie's normal fun-loving manner make it difficult for him to connect with John, but in spite of John's old-fashioned ways, the chemistry between them grows. Sparks fly as the blizzard rages outside the cabin. Can two men from different worlds and different times find happiness together?

Song of Oestend series by Marie Sexton

- Symbols have power…Aren Montrell has heard tales of the Oestend wraiths – mysterious creatures which come in the night and kill anyone who’s not indoors. Aren’s never had reason to believe the stories, but when he takes a job as a bookkeeper on the BarChi, a dusty cattle ranch on the remote Oestend prairie, he soon learns that the wraiths are real. Aren suddenly finds himself living in a supposedly haunted house and depending on wards and generators to protect him from unseen things in the night. As if that’s not enough, he has to deal with a crotchety old blind woman, face “cows” that look like nothing he’s ever seen before, and try to ignore the fact that he’s apparently the most eligible bachelor around.Aren also finds himself the one and only confidante of Deacon, the BarChi’s burly foreman. Deacon runs the BarChi with an iron fist and is obviously relieved to finally have somebody he can talk to. As their relationship grows, Aren learns there’s more to Deacon and the BarChi than he’d anticipated. Deacon seems determined to deny both his Oestend heritage and any claim he may have to the BarChi ranch, but if Aren is to survive the perils of Oestend, he’ll have to convince Deacon to stop running from the past and finally claim everything that’s his.

Brothers of the Zodiac: Earth by Maxwell Thomas

- Stories of the three Earth signs, Virgo, Capricorn, and Taurus

Virgo: Needles has just lost his brother, and goes to the florist that pays the Outfit for protection. But when he goes to collect money from him for the Outfit, he realizes that the florist is not as gentle as he seems.

Capricorn Jack Casement has two months to find his heir because the Lady Ishtar finds him wanting. Will the man he chooses be his lover or his heir?

Taurus For the third time Isaiah has been kicked in the ribs and realizes he needs a ranch-hand. What he gets is something much more.

Cast From the Earth by Leandra Vane (Frontier zombies, but mainly a wonderful metaphor for social acceptance for LGBT persons and persons with disabilities as well as important concepts on what a family truly is. MMF poly relationship and FF relationship.)

- An epidemic that turns men into monsters has seized the nation. At first the disease only spreads in cities but soon cannibals are roaming the prairie, threatening the quiet little towns of the late 19th Century heartland. At an isolated poor farm in rural America, Sara Warren has survived a tumultuous life of loss and an accident that leaves her with one leg – but she is hopeless of any other future until a woman named Cordelia arrives at the farm and changes Sara's life forever. Along with Dan, a man who can't hear and Grace, a young woman who is more concerned with her sewing needles than people, they face the oncoming apocalypse with their wits and their bare hands. When it seems like all is lost, a man from Sara's past named Jack returns to her life and they all realize the only way to survive is together. A story of romance, violence, sex, and the wild prairie that proves broken bodies still feel pleasure and broken souls can find love – even at the end of the world.

Jack Wolfe by Kay Walker

- Henry Dalton is sent across the country by train to the western town of Woolridge in order to investigate the werewolf problem they’re having during the monthly moon cycle. The townsfolk are not forthcoming with information, making it difficult for Henry to solve the case. Even more distracting is Jack, a handsome older lycanthrope. Known for his rebellious youth, Jack has settled down into life and routine in Woolridge, working as the local blacksmith. He assures Henry he’s no longer trying to stir up trouble, that those days are long gone. Henry must attempt to ignore the spark between them, the indication of their potential to become mates, which is rare because Henry is human. Henry remains professional and focuses on his job, but each meeting with Jack adds to the draw, and Henry isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be able to resist. A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2015 Daily Dose package "Never Too Late."

*“Homos on the Range” How gay was the West?

NOVEMBER 1, 2005 by JANA BOMMERSBACH

[kakusu-shipping]

I’ve been self indulging in rewriting my old Ouran Highschool Host Club Self-Insert for two days now and I’ve decided to write it down cause it’s another one of those Self-Inserts that has a descent story with it.

So, he’s trans, 1. As a child his name was Nanami, and “she” was to be Kyoya’s arranged bride. The two knew each other from Kindergarten and got along decently, as much as you can with cold stone Kyoya. “She” also knew Mitskuni and Takashi at a young age, because “her” parents ran a candy and baked goods company, very large time.

In Early Middle School, 1st year, before Tamaki, Nanami’s family moved to America to widen the business. “She” and Kyoya kept in touch because that’s the kind of guy Kyoya is, and “she” was, at the time, the person he was closest too. The bickered like typical siblings.

In America “She” became He and even adopted an American boy name, Emile! He loved his knew title and, even if his parents weren’t all for it, got top surgery and delved more and more in Sexuality and Gender identity.

With his new identity, he returned to Japan, without his parents, and lived with Kyoya.

(This is where I’m gonna switch to I/we pronouns because it’s a self-insert)

Living with Kyoya was the same, we still bicker like siblings and I call him a perverted old man constantly.

First day back to school everyone’s a buzz about “someone” returning from America. Tamaki is curious and when he’s told it’s a girl, he’s addement about being the first to welcome “her” back to the school.

Kyoya, as the Vice President, and the Class President (who’s a manga only character and I can’t find her name), start the class of welcoming the new student. The Class President is tripped up when she looks at her paper and sees an English name. Unsure how to say it, she pauses, in which Kyoya is instead the one to say my name.

Everyone is, of course, surprised when a boy walks into class and introduces himself as Emile, previously Nanami. 

The girls in the class on in an uproar, as we were all previously in the same elementary school, asking if I’m cross dressing. After a brief explanation of what Transgender is, everyone’s cool with it. Tamaki makes a slip here and there for the first day, and continued to get death glares from Kyoya and eventually gets his pencil snapped in half over it.

Tamaki expects to be able to talk over how Kyoya’s acting weird at the club meeting today but, SURPRISE! I’m there too. In fact, Kyoya has a job for me. But first! Presents!

The Twins, who I don’t know and they don’t know me, demand their gifts first. Luckily, Kyoya told me about everyone already, so I have gifts for them and the others I haven’t met.

For the twins, they both get a ball on a string catching game thing, because Kyoya said they like games and commoner toys. They same it’s lame but start playing anyway. (And have it mastered by the next day)

For Hunny next, cause he came asking next, a stuffed bunny with a bag of chocolates!

For Mori (whom I have had the biggest crush on for years), a Woodlen animals of Northern America encyclopedia. Inside the first page is taped a small keychain of a Tanooki.

For Haruhi, based on Kyoya’s recommendation, coupons! Most of them are for food stores that are in both America and Japan. “Kyoya said you like food and saving money!” is the only explanation. Haruhi blames Kyoya.

And finally, for Tamaki, a collection of “Blind Bags” from Walmart. Little Commoner toys where you don’t know what you’ll get till you open them.

Kyoya already got his present, which was a DVD collection of some of the worst American Movies I could find. Bad as in bad jokes. This is Kyoya’s sense of humor.

Now, for my job. I’m not a host. Not good at it, too socially anxious and clumsy and dumb. Instead, Kyoya puts me in charge of serving. In case a host runs out of cakes or tea/coffee, it’s my job to deliver more. I also make the sweets because, you know, bakery family. This, of course, saves money. As Kyoya says.

I wear roller scates and deliver wherever needed, along with check the list to make sure everyone’s at the right tables and on time.

I’m very bad at the “Which one is Hikaru Game”, even without the hats, in a 50/50 chance, I get it wrong 90% of the time. Th boys don’t pick on me too hard though because I’ll almost always beat them to the punch on calling myself stupid. The first time they called me dumb and I agreed with them, Mori got up from his table, took the hat Hikaru wears for the game, hit them both with it, then lightly smacked me over the head, “Don’t call yourself stupid. The game’s rigged.” And left.

Also, I wanna say right now, Hunny and Kyoya are the same level of intelligence, and have the same sense of humor when it comes to messing with people. So, as they know Mori and I like eachother, they’re getting in the way of that. Just enough to make it fun.

One time, after being mistaken for a girl a lot in one day, I was doing the dishes in the kitchen area of the club room, and Mori came in to try and cheer me up. As he was doing this, outside the room, Kyoya and Hunny were playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who gets to go in and break it up.

Haruhi’s class went to Kyoto to see Temples because, you know, the class likes to do commoner things. And OBVIOUSLY Tamaki drags the rest of us along because Haruhi cannot go anywhere without him.

We rented three rooms, becuase Tamaki thought it’s a part of the trip to share rooms with friends. Kyoya suggested I take the third room alone, but I don’t like sleeping by myself. Mori presents sticks in his hand, whoever gets sticks of matching numbers share rooms.

Mori... Isn’t a very smart man, but still tried to rig it. He placed the 2 stick in front of himself and Me so we’d pick the same room, and the 1 stick in front of Hunny and Tamaki so they’d share a room. Seemed simple. But OH NO. After I picked the 2 stick Mori planned for me, Kyoya went next and immediately reached for the stick in front of Mori. You could see the immediate panic on Mori’s face, and while it would be funny to ruin Mori’s carefully thought out plan, Hunny shook his head to tell him no. So he took Tamaki’s instead.

We ended up swapping rooms the second night anyway because Hunny and Kyoya thought that’d be more fun, and Tamaki kept complaining about being in a room alone.

Also on this trip we went to The Kiyomizu-Dera temple and learned about the old “leap of faith” myth. The tour guide asked us what our wish would be, and we both wished to cure all illness. We immedetly started talking how sense we have the same wish, only one of us as to jump to get it, but Kyoya came over to tell us if we BOTH jump, it raises our chances of getting a wish by 50%. We did the math and that’s like!!! 100% chance of getting our wish granted!!!

They twins had to physically restraint Tamaki from jumping, while Mori simply picked me up. Kyoya thought it was funny. Haruhi was very tired.

Also while we were there I followed a bird halfway across town while no one was looking like a toddler and called Kyoya crying because I was lost and couldn’t see the temple. Luckily he puts GPS tracking on everyone’s phones and was able to find me.

Haruhi asked me once to explain LGBT+ to her, because her father is a Trans woman and she doesn’t fully understand that. He still goes by he/him pronouns and Father because he doesn’t want to try and replace Haruhi’s mom, obviously.

So one day after school I got to her house with all my reference books to talk to her about it while her dad’s out. And, of course, we can’t have a meeting on our own, the rest of the club tags along.

After talking about Gender, we also talk about Sexuality. I use my own Asexual as an example, then the fact Kyoya’s Bi and Tamaki is Pan. Except. Tamaki doesn’t know what Pansexual means, so I have to explain and he agrees. 

After also proclaiming Karou as Bi, Hikaru is immediately confused because not even he knew this?? Karou came out to me because he also didn’t know much about LGBT and wanted to explore himself more. Hikaru asks me if he’s Bi too and I tell him I can’t speak for other people. “But you spoke for Tamaki!!” “Kyoya gave me permission to speak for Tamaki because he would have never figured it out on his own.”

We figure out in this meeting Hunny is the only Straight in the entire group. He’s also the only one currently dating anyone.

Haruhi reflects on the Non-Binary parts of the conversation and asks to barrow a couple of books.

At the end of this long self insert story thing, I’ll put that, like other Self-Inserts, I latched onto ships that are canon in this universe, unless I meet other Self-Shippers of this Fandom.

Me - Mori.

Hunny - Reiko

Kyoya - Tamaki

Haruhi - Ritsu

I know Haruhi and Tamaki are the canon ending of the manga, which is my favorite manga btw, but I love Kasanoda too much. He’s very cute and while he DOES get a happy ending in the manga as well I just... I just want him and Haruhi to be happy.

[mypralaya]

“Gender Roles”

(Note: This ficlet deals with transgender experience and identity, and from the POV of a trans man. It also concerns gender identity and expression in Chinese and Indian culture. The writer, me, is a cis woman who is white and American. I have every intention of respect, but if I get something wrong, please tell me!) “So you're telling me,” said Lee, “That drag queens are STRAIGHT in China?” “Well, they're not exactly drag queens, any more than girls who play Peter Pan are...drag kings, if that exists?” said Haven. After Lee assured her that they indeed very much did, she continued, “And while I am sure not all are straight, any more so than in every other profession, the majority of them seem to be. They have wives, families, all of that. It's simply a job and is not considered an unmanly act in this context, from what I understand. Of course, that may change now that women are allowed to perform female roles, and are starting to do so. Once it becomes the norm for it to be a female job, perhaps it will become seen as feminine.” “So it's not feminine to get dressed up on stage as a woman, so long as that's considered a man's job,” summarized Lee, “Wild.”

Haven had not been sure she should come to Pride. She was not exactly clear on the unspoken social rules regarding a heterosexual woman's presence there, even as a supporter. There was Pride in Mumbai, of course, but what applied there might not apply here. Which was part of why she wanted to see New York's version, to see the differences and commonalities between the cultures, but not if it would be considering threatening, intruding, or voyeuristic for her to do so. She'd asked around though and no one she had spoken had thought there would be an issue, so long as she was respectful. Which...it was Haven, no one expected her to be anything but. Indeed, if anything, it was one of the people who “belonged” there that had been rude to her, not vice versa. A young man named had Lee come up and made quick conversation with her, and then, apologetically but curiously, asked if she was a hijra. That is, one of India's third-gender, a group most analogous in Western terms to transgender women, but their own distinct category. It was not the first time someone had thought this of Haven. With her grandiose height that put her head and shoulders above most other females in Mumbai, and a clothing style that concealed the extremes of her outrageously feminine figure, it had happened a few times, often much more negatively than this. But only in India. Never anywhere else. She'd never even met someone in America who knew what a hijra was, and was instantly intrigued by why Lee did. She was also not offended---hijra were some of the most beautiful and glamorous people there were! Lee, it turned out, was a transgender man. He was also a trans-national adoptee, given up by his Chinese parents to American ones for not being a son. It had taken him until he was fourteen to realize they were wrong, he was a son all along, but it was not until he was twenty-three that he started truly expressing that through his dress, his hair-cut, the binder that flattened his chest smoothly beneath his striped tank top, and his chosen name. He'd picked the name Lee simply BECAUSE it was so generic and stereotypical for a boy of a Chinese heritage that he felt it sold the idea easily that he was born with it. In the course of researching for answers on his own gender identity as a teen, he had explained to Haven, he'd run across articles on hijira and other such culture-specific gender categories. But he hadn't heard of nandan, a practice of necessity in the all-male Peking Opera, which she'd brought up when they started discussing the topic. This was because nandan, or dan for short, was not actually a gender category, or even a part of LGBT culture at all, as she'd just explained. It was simply men playing women's roles in the Peking opera, offered by her as an example of how such things were seen differently depending on time and place. Lee was intrigued, and had wanted to know more. Even if it wasn’t regarded that way in Chinese culture, anything that could be classed as cross-gender intrigued him, and the fact it came from his birth heritage was first thing about it that had ever made him interested in it. He’d never wanted to reconnect with a culture he never had, but this was something he did feel connected to. Haven told him about nandan, and about their all-female counterparts, the nuxiaosheng of Shaoxing opera, in which it was reversed and women played both male and female roles, no men. “It’s not common anymore, of course, and hasn’t been for decades,” she explained, “You see, during the time of the Cultural Revolution, traditional Chinese theatre was deemed as bourgeoisie and thus wiped out. It’s come back since, but it’s never regained its popularity. And as I said, it’s not required anymore than casts only consist of one gender, because it is no longer considered improper for both sexes to be on-stage together as in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Still, I did meet a dan once---we were very good friends, in fact. He actually, well...he considered himself to be courting me. At least that was what he claimed. In truth, I don’t think he was in love with me at all. Certainly not as a man loves a woman. I think he was simply in love with me as a muse---which is really much more flattering, so much so I feel rather vain for claiming it. But he told me himself!” Lee nodded, thoughtful, “So...was he gay?” “Well...” Haven pondered, “He presented himself to me as a suitor, so I would assume he did not wish to be thought of as attracted to men. But...well, I cannot speak to what his truth is; only he knows. I...I never really thought about it, since I was not reciprocal either way, so it did not matter. But I suppose, without realizing it, I did think that he must lack desire, either for women specifically or altogether. Otherwise I don’t think I would ever have entertained the “courtship” at all, let alone been alone with him, chatting in his dressing room where he sometimes had his shirt removed as he showed me his new ways of moving his arms most gracefully in a manner he swore was meant to imitate me. Despite the fact I have never handled a fan so elaborately in all my life.” Lee laughed, then said, “That is super common for drag queens though. I know you said they’re NOT, but I mean the part about getting inspired by real women. I’ve seen about a dozen Dolly Partons and Diana Rosses.” “I am in good company then.” “Yeah---the big difference there is, they go for really flamboyant women? Like Lady Gaga and Madonna. And you’re uh...you’re not.” Haven laughed a little, “I doubt I could have been his muse if I were. You see, there are different dan roles for different types of female characters. He played a dan role called the Guimen Dan, also known as Qingyi, verdant-sleeve, or Zheng-dan, straight role---straight meaning here like the “straight man” in comedy. They’re meant to represent mature women, sometimes married, not flamboyant at all like the vivacious young Hua Dan or the warrior girl Daoma Dan roles. I’m very much not either of those.” Indeed, she was not. Lee admittedly had thought that she would be more flamboyant, before he had talked to her. Her elaborately embroidered gorgeous clothing and abundance of jewelry and hair he’d thought just HAD to be a wig because LOOK at it how could all that be real? But she was...very subdued. Not the kind of big loud bombastic personality associated with a drag act at all. But probably in line with what that type of nandan she’d described was looking to imitate. The kind of woman that, perhaps, in another time and life, he’d have been expected to be, as though just being expected to be a woman period wasn’t bad enough. He’d spent a lot of time hating that ideal, hating every girly-girl in his class when he was a child all through elementary school, scowling and sneering at them simply because they embodied what had been forced on him, and he had hated them for that. It was mis-aimed, and he knew that now. But something about someone like Haven, a woman so clearly and comfortably aligned with the expectations of her sex, still sent a subtle shiver up his spine, that old childish repulsion pushing back against what had been pushed on him. He felt ashamed for that. It wasn’t the fault of women like Haven that he’d been expected to be one---and indeed, he hadn’t even been expected to be halfway like her by his parents. They’d been PROUD that their “little girl” was a “tomboy” and they’d never held young Lee back from anything “she” had wanted to do just because it was “for boys” or any of the usual cliches. They had, in fact, encouraged him with all the “girl power“ media they could get. Which, as it happened, included more than one cross-gender tale of a girl going undercover as a boy. But he’d never empathized with stories like Mulan, of girls pretending to be men. He related far more to the notion of men performing as women, because that’s what he had felt like for his whole life til very recently---he just hadn’t signed up for the role willingly. Instead, saw himself in movies and books where a man had to pretend to be a woman—-especially with the inevitable humiliation and reluctance with which the man faced it, since this was always framed as a debasing comedy at the man’s expanse,  which was how it felt for Lee too.  But it surely didn’t feel that way for nandan, did it, if they did so by choice like their more flamboyant drag queen counterparts in the West? Perhaps, he wondered, for some of them, they were not men dressing up like women. Perhaps they were women who had to dress like men in the rest of their lives, and only when in costume were they their real selves. Maybe that was why this Haven woman had never felt discomfort at being alone with her shirtless “suitor” when by her own admission she should have balked at such impropriety. Maybe she sensed subconsciously that “he” was really a sister under the skin. She’d said she’d never know his truth, but maybe she did. Maybe she’d recognized her dan for who “he” truly was without realizing it, the way Lee had always yearned to be recognized as a boy by other boys, even before he knew he was one. Or maybe Lee was projecting like hell, he did that a lot. Speaking of that... “I’m sorry I asked if you were a hijra,” he said, “Seriously that was...that was not cool. And I should know that, of all people.” “Oh, it’s quite alright,” she said, “I take it as a compliment.” “Okay, but---I just don’t want you to think it’s like, okay. You never ever ask someone their gender or if they’re trans, it’s...it’s a big no-no, I don’t know why I did it.” Because when he’d seen this tall, brightly-colored creature with her raven Rapunzel hair and flowing fuchsia clothes and shoulders wider than his own, all his years of proper LGBT-etiquette were forgotten because he was fourteen again and looking at pictures of “Indian eunochs” again and realizing, for the first time, there are people like me! And he’d called out to that, literally. A false flag, it turned out. She was not only no eunoch, no hijra, she was as stereotypically and traditionally heterosexual and cisgender and gender-normative and all of that as they came. And as apologetically as he’d asked about her identity, she had asked if it was alright that she was here. “Well, there’s a lot of debate about that,” he said,“But uh...I’m glad you were.” It was then that he received a text from his friends saying they were here and ready to meet up by the leather booth with the weird animal masks. He dashed off with a goodbye and as Haven watched him disappear into the crowd at a hearty job in the New York heat, she thought she saw, just for a moment against the myriad made-up faces of the colorful crowd, there like a coyly smiling ghost whose gaze was directed right at her in the perfect imitation of her own, the familiar white and red mask-like feminine visage of a painted Chinese opera dan.  

[coffeerebagels]

Tbh I'm legit disappointed Klance isn't canon

After reading the tittle many people will come to me complaining and shouting "VOLTRON ISN'T ABOUT SHIPS, GO DIE", I guess. But you know what? I have the fucking right to be disappointed by something and express my opinion, so if you don't like it, scroll away.

LONG POST WARNING!

Now onto the post. I'm really sad Klance isn't canon guys, and I mean, really disappointed.

When I was watching S7, I stopped right after the scene Allura blushes to Lance and I couldn't finish the season. I still haven't finished and probably never will. That scene just made me so sick, I couldn't understand why at that moment but now I see it.

It's because, it's such a harmful trope. Allura is liking Lance just because he was nice to her, not because they share interests or characteristics, neither because they make a great team. It's only due to Lance being a nice guy to her, and that's it. And, even if Allurance was executed better, I still wouldn't like it and you guys know why?

Because they're nothing alike each other. They're not compatible, these two are so different in terms of goals, ways of thinking and even what they enjoy doing that, seeing these two get together felt so wrong to me, and I felt so sick. I still feel sick about it. I think it's mainly because A//urance reminded me a lot of my first relationship and, as someone who dated a guy just because he was my friend and was nice to me, I can assure you guys these kind of relationships don't work. There's just so much more about romance, and constructing romantic subplots in stories, that building only a good friendship just isn't enough. So, I can only imagine Lance and Allura's relationship falling apart.

But I guess they won't do that, right? They'll still make this unrealistic couple happily ever after. Such a weird move for a show that claims to be realistic and dark and, how do they say, "about war" or stuff.

Now, moving on and onto the real discussion, Klance. Klance was my first LGBT ship, and I can say it changed my entire view about LGBT in general. I simply started liking them without knowing how to stop XD I guess many Klance shippers feel the same. But, it was mainly because they worked so well together. I saw those fanarts and those metas and those theories, and Keith and Lance as a romantic couple grew so naturally on me. I could see their potential and how each other could benefit from a romance, disregarding gender. But why I liked them so much in detriment of other canon couples you guys ask?

The answer is simple, they build one of the most compatible relationships of the entire show. Both share similar interests (becoming pilots), both are right hand mans, revealing their common characteristics (besides them constantly mirroring each other, showing their similarity), and their opposite differences complement each other, specially in team work, as this is shown by the show itself, and even with a clear statement by loverboy Lance himself, "we are a good team"

To make a good romantic relationship is to go beyond making a good friendship. Friendships don't exaclty mean relationships. Both Allura and Lance and Keith and Lance had great friendships, but the aspects I mentioned above are what make a friendship go beyond that into building a romantic chemistry. And Allura and Lance simply don't have that. They don't complement each other.

But I guess boy and girl friendships automatically means love... *sigh* And the showrunners made that very clear by developing Allura and Lance's friendship exactly the same way Keith and Lance's friendship was developed, but for some reason the first one is considered romantic progress... *shrugs*

So, I legit thought Klance would be canon. I legit thought they would be a surprise.

Because, aside from them making the most sense out in the show, the producers and voice actors kept teasing about it. Remember the drawing from LM, where they made Lance holds the LGBT sign with a nervous expression alongside Shiro? (Now that we know he's straight it feels so wrong...) Remember that interview where she straight up recongnises how compatible Keith and Lance are? (Meaning they saw the potential, but decided to go towards A//urance regardless) And how about that recent interview entirely about Klance where JDS said they are a natural progression? And right after that, telling about a similar dinamic in another series where the characters that parallel Klance eventually get together? And let's not talk about the fanarts they liked.

To sum it up, I legit thought they were teasing Klance like it would really be canon. And fans can't be blamed for it. The producers never acknowledged it, sure, but AL wasn't acknowledged but them either. It's funny cause, I trusted the EPs so much and A//urance seemed so out of the blue to me that I completely disregarded the possibility of them being canon. And to top it all they made all that teasing I mentioned above, allowing a second interpretation that KL would really be the path.

*sigh* I'm very disappointed. Not only did they fuck up with the romance subplots (with the exception of Hunay, but it was barely touched upon until S7) and LGBT rep, but only now I noticed how flawed and shallow was their story and how much character potential we lost. So I'm legitimately upset. They could've handled the whole shipping thing so much better. They could have at least clarified it wasn't going to be canon, but nope, they teased it instead.

But guys, these people are smart. Or do you think they wanted to lose over half their fanbase and popularity? They knew Klance was very very very popular.

So they used us as bait for their show instead.

So yeah, that's it. I'm just really disappointed by the show. I've become such a fan of it because of its characters, and Klance changed my view of things so much, but guess what? The characters weren't properly explored and developed, this including the relationships between them, and Keith and Lance's friendship wasn't fleshed out the way I personally thought it should have been. They composed one of the best team dinamics within the show, so even if they haven't made then love each other, I at least expected a proper development of their friendship.

That is all. I just wanted to vent my entire view about Voltron's romance subplots. In general, I think they suck. And the overall plot doesn't make it better either, since now it's mostly composed of emotionless fights, lack of character interaction, and use of flat drama for shock value.

And yes, I really think Klance had the potential to be one of the most amazing romances in cartoons, regardless of being gay or not.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

[knotty-hottie]

@alycat919 So, we haven’t talked before, but your post in the Ouran High School Host Club tag reminded me of my final paper for my Gender/Women Studies and I thought I’d share it. I promise I’m not tagging for drama, but just because I wanted to thank you for reminding me. It was a lot of fun to write a research paper about my first anime, and, despite the negativity I talk about in the paper, it’s still a personal fave of mine. You’re free to scroll past this if you aren’t interested, or to engage if you are. I just want to share the work I’ve done with the fandom I’ve explored. 😁

Ouran High School Host Club: Rich in Benevolent Sexism and Rape Culture

He pinned her against the bed, looming above her like a wild beast. Her chocolate brown eyes were wide, her nightgown bunched, her breath caught in her chest. The two stared at each other, like predator and prey, for a split second that felt like an eternity. He opened his mouth, and spoke, surely, calmly.

“You should fix that, ‘being a guy or girl doesn’t matter’ naivety of yours. It’s your fault for being too defenceless.”

It may sound like something from a badly written smut piece, or the rape fantasy of a young person, but in Ouran High School Host Club, this is the reality of our heroine, Haruhi Fujioka. She is a ‘commoner’ (lower middle class) student at a school for Japan’s most elite, having gotten in on a scholarship. After an incident involving her stumbling into an occupied music room in search of a study place, a vase worth ¥8,000,000 (equal to approximately $73,000 in today’s United States dollars), and some classic anime tropes, she ends up as a member of the school’s host club. The series itself describes the host club as “[The place] where the school’s handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as Ouran’s elegant playground for the super rich and beautiful.” The series is one of the most famous of all time in the anime community, coming in at spot 20 out of the top 50 most popular anime of all time on the Anime News Network. On SBS, Ouran came in at spot 40 on a fan-voted poll for best anime of all time. On Funimation (the anime’s publisher site) and Crunchyroll (one of the most popular anime streaming sites of today’s day and age) Ouran comes in at 5 stars. It’s a well known, well liked piece of media, that has earned itself an anime adaptation from its manga origin, a dating simulator from its anime adaptation, and a live action reboot based on all three of the previous iterations. Yet, somehow, underneath all of the things to like, there’s a dark underbelly that many willfully ignore or are just plain unaware of. The series perpetuates gender roles, rape culture, and some not-so-subtle homophobia. The way that it gets away with these things is by portraying them through the lens of benevolent sexism, which catches readers, watchers, and players alike off-guard.

Benevolent sexism falls under the larger umbrella of ambivalent sexism, which is divided into two main categories. The first category is hostile sexism, which is what most people think of when they try and imagine sexism. It is described by Dictionary.com as, “[sexism] reflecting negative views of women who challenge traditional gender roles.” It is the toxic, hypermasculinized form of sexism that many are taught to look for. It is the comments of, “You aren’t a real woman if your hair is short like that,” and, “Women are dumber than men.” On the other end of the spectrum, there’s the idea of benevolent sexism. Rather than comments of, “Women are weaker than men, making them inferior,” we hear the benevolent sexist say, “Men should protect women, as it’s the right thing to do.” It’s those moments where women are told they look better when they smile, or are in dresses, or have children in arm. The words are complementary and polite, but they hold the same message as those negative comments of the hostile sexist. Ouran works carefully to craft its message so that it doesn’t insult its main fan base (young women), while still getting its message across. For example, there’s the character of Renge Houshakuji.

Renge first appears in the manga in ‘Episode 3’ and in episode 4 of the anime adaptation. She is what is known as an otaku, which, in modern culture, refers to someone obsessed with some aspect of pop culture (whether that be video games, anime, movies, etc.) to the point that their social life suffers. In Japan, the word has become a word similar to our ‘nerd’ or ‘geek’. In American culture, the word is considered derogatory, and usually falls in line with words like ‘weeaboo’ and ‘wapanese’. Renge wholeheartedly accepts her otaku status, locking herself in her room to do what she enjoys most; playing dating sims. After a turn of events, she ends up at the Host Club, believing that she is in love with Kyouya Ootori, a host who looks identical to one of her favorite characters. After she reveals that this is why she likes Kyouya, she is bashed for her hobbies and considered crazy. The moment her hobbies come to light, they are painted as wrong and she is vilified, even though her male counterparts are considered just and right in there own hobbies. When Hani, one of the hosts, is depicted as morally correct for acknowledging that he is allowed to like the color pink and cute things rather than martial arts. Renge is one of the few female characters in the show that is depicted as having personality traits outside of, “infatuated with handsome boys” and “ultra feminine”, yet she is considered “crazy” for expressing those outside traits. It isn’t that she isn’t traditionally feminine, but that she has more to her character than that, much to the dismay of her male counterparts. She has her own hobbies and ideas. She knows exactly what she wants and goes for it. Even if her methods are questionable and a bit on the stereotypically crazy side, she still goes after her aspirations.

When Tamaki, one of the main characters of the show, greets and flirtily welcomes Renge to the club, she flinches away at his nonconsensual touch. She seems shell-shocked, blushing in what seems like embarrassment. After she comes to terms with him touching her face without permission, she slaps him, calling him a phony (among other insults), and leaving him emotionally beaten before going to Kyouya, the one she really wants. She decides to reinvent the Host Club’s characters in order to help Kyouya make more money, which should, she believes, make him fall in love with her the way she loves him. She is shown to get her ‘comeuppance,’ in a sense, when everything she goes for backfires. Kyouya reveals that he does not like her, she nearly ends up hurt, and she is told that she must take her time and learn about others in order to have a good relationship of any kind. When you come into relationships expecting someone to act a certain way, you are harming your chances of a healthy relationship. The message is good, but Renge’s fate is not quite as nice. She becomes a frequent background character, used for exposition, cheap plot device, and/or the voice of the fawning fan girls. The closest we get to her personal hobbies is the fact that she sometimes cosplays and, if we’re lucky, hear her talk about them for five or so seconds.

Another example of women in the show comes in the form of Benio Amakusa and the rest of the Zuka Club. In the third book of the series, specifically in ‘Episode 10’, we are introduced to Benio. She is dressed in the men’s uniform, has short hair, and is openly flirtatious with Haruhi, acknowledging Haruhi’s sex publicly to the Host Club’s dismay. Once Benio and company reveal to the hosts that they are, in fact, women, Tamaki labels them all as lesbians. All three do end up showing attraction of some sort to women, but the fact that he labels them all as such simply because one is shown to enjoy dressing in the men’s uniform and having short hair is a disturbing thought in and of itself. Tamaki sees that one is a lesbian, and begins making assumptions about their collective character based on that assumption. He goes so far as to pass out in shock at the presence of lesbians, and, once he awakens, says the following to the three Lobelia Woman’s Academy members; “You girls are all wrong!! What can come from a woman loving a woman!? Why did God create Adam and Eve, if not--!” He’s cut off before he can finish the thought, much to the LGBT+ community’s pleasure. Much to the community’s displeasure, however, is the imagery used in the anime to depict lesbians as nazis, having them do the nazi salute to a flag labeled “women”. Back to the plot, once he believes that he might lose Haruhi to this all-girl’s academy, he has some of his fellow hosts dress in exaggerated womanly clothing and wigs so that she can have ‘the best of both worlds,’ so to speak. The hosts think that, if they act ‘womanly’ enough, they will be a satisfactory replacement. Haruhi proceeds to explain that she had never even considered going with the girls, as her home was with the hosts. The Lobelia girls promise their revenge in a seemingly silly and typical manner.

In the only other episode that the Lobelia girls show themselves in, we get to see them kidnap Haruhi and, under the guise of needing Haruhi to perform, trick her into a situation that would lead to a non-consensual kiss in front of a large crowd, if not do more to her. When you watch the show, there doesn’t seem to be much going on aside from a silly and ridiculous plan that some rich lesbians are pulling to get revenge on the ‘noble and correct’ Host Club. When you really think about what’s happening though, it’s scary. They kidnap someone. They nearly sexually assault someone. What does it say that there only true gay representation resorts to these tactics when they are previously thwarted? The girls are basically degraded to recurring villains with silly beliefs, antics, and existences. Why is that?

In volume 5 of the manga, ‘Episode 17,’ we get exposed to Ayame Jonouchi, who is entirely skipped over in the anime. She makes a return in the live action series, however, holding her own arc in the third episode of the series. She’s incredibly intelligent, notably attractive, and, according to the hosts, a monotone speaker. They even go so far as to call her, “Miss Morse” and “Morse Code Lady” at one point. She is described as scholarly looking and strait-laced, and holds a major grades complex. The last of those points explains why she has always been in the top two of her classes grading system, holding the second place position hostage directly under the Host Club’s Kyouya Ootori. Once Tamaki transfers to Ouran, however, she gets knocked down to third, much to her displeasure. She becomes a foil for Tamaki in a sense, showing that her struggle and constant practice to gain knowledge will never be enough to beat the natural tendencies of her male counterparts. After checking the traditional genders of all of the names listed on the sheet for her class, I discovered that there was only one other girl on the page. Her position? Seventh place.

Ayame’s tale’s conclusion is a little bit painful to watch, as it is near a cliche at this point. It turns out that she actually loved Tamaki for a certain comment he made about her straight hair during their first meeting. Her hair is naturally wavy, leading to her having self-image issues in the face of her crush that lead her grades to drop just enough for Tamaki to take her spot. Her wavy hair being exposed by the rain, a breakdown of frustration, and a few compliments from Tamaki later, she discovers that she is beautiful no matter how she looks on the outside, and becomes a regular customer of Tamaki’s. She is petite, cisgender, heterosexual, and pale. The only reason we know that she continues attending the Host Club is because it is literally written into the final panels of the chapter. We never actually see her again in either rendition of the story.

The most famous ‘woman’ in all renditions of Ouran High School Host Club is Haruhi Fujioka. She is a first semester high school student. She is of the lower middle class. She lives with her father that, in every rendition of the story, is called a ‘tranny’ who works at the local ‘tranny bar’ (rather than addressing him as a drag queen at a drag bar). Her mother was a lawyer before her passing. She is attending Ouran Academy on a scholarship. Her hair is short, she needs glasses, and she can’t afford a uniform. She wears her father’s hand-me-down clothes and her grandfather’s hand-me-down glasses to save money. She’s blunt, book smart, and open minded. She’s a lot of things, but, somehow, she gets some of the worst treatment of the series. She is the reader’s insight into the author’s world; the character being exposed for expositional purposes, so to speak. For the sake of brevity, let’s walk through some key episodes of the anime (which is the story’s most well-known adaptation) and talk about what goes wrong in each one.

In the first episode of the series, “Starting Today, You Are a Host!”, we are introduced to Haruhi Fujioka, the protagonist of the story, who is simply looking for a quiet place to study, and, by mistake, stumbles across a club room in use by Ouran Academy’s Host Club. The members (specifically Tamaki, the series’ largest offender) proceed to insult Haruhi on monetary grounds, insert themselves into her personal space, and assume her gender identity and sexuality. After Haruhi drops an 8 million yen vase, the hosts (again, primarily Tamaki) begin to call Haruhi a dog and basically use her as a servant/errand runner. At one point, Tamaki calls Haruhi a ‘piglet’ in reference to her poor ‘servant’ status putting her beneath him. Later in the episode, Haruhi is revealed to be conventionally attractive, her wants are ignored as the hosts makeover her. Her hair is cut, a uniform is bought, and contacts are put in to make her fit the traditionally beauty standards of manhood (as, for the moment, some of the hosts are under the ruse that she is, in fact, biologically male and cisgender). Once this happens, all who attend the host club seem to treat Haruhi better. She is talked to by girls (which, many argue, is understandable, as she is now a host. My counter-argument is that the girls had to request Haruhi in the first place, something they likely would not have done before Haruhi’s involuntary makeover) and the hosts begin paying her real attention. Tamaki begins claiming Haruhi as ‘his own’ to other people, signalling that, to him, attractiveness is the primary trait that is needed to be on the same level as him, personality be damned. He also proceeds to invade her personal space without consent, which leads to her calling on Mori (another host) for assistance.

Once we hit the final moments of the episode, we find that Haruhi has gone to a changing room as her uniform has been soaked in the events of the episode’s climax. Tamaki, yet again invading personal space without consent, walks in with little to no warning on Haruhi changing, discovering her sex is female. He is shocked and embarrassed, reacting in a seemingly cute way to the discovery. Kyouya eventually comments on the predicament, laying out on the table the true message of the episode. “Could this possibly be the beginnings of love?” he asks the viewer, turning to the camera. He wipes over all of the harassment Tamaki has done to Haruhi, ignores what she really wants in the moment, and waters her character down to ‘love interest’. She is the pretty, feminine foil to Tamaki’s handsome, ‘persistent’ (read as; incessant harassment) personality. They are clearly ‘meant to be together,’ and the show makes it clear in that moment that they will be together whether she wants to be or not as the men in her life see it that way.

In the eighth episode, “The Sun, The Sea, and The Host Club!”, we find the most controversial scene of the series. Before we can get to that, however, we need to walk through the circumstances that lead us to it. The Host Club is on a trip to the beach (after all the men in Haruhi’s life argue about which swimsuit she should wear, of course), and the male hosts decide to figure out what Haruhi is afraid of via a game. The game is that whoever finds out what Haruhi is most afraid of gets pictures (taken and supplied by Haruhi’s father) of Haruhi in middle school (the more I rewatch these episodes, the more creepy things I realize are in them). After a long day with no results, Haruhi gets called up upon an overlook by some of the Host Club’s guests. As she makes her way up to spend time with them, some drunk men beat her there and begin harassing the guests. They grab the girls, asking them if it’s dull without any boys around and ignoring the girls’ pleas to stop. Haruhi, arriving upon the scene, throws a bucket of shells at one of the offenders, calmly asking them to go away. She stands her ground when one of them attacks back, allowing for one of the girls they were harassing to get away at her own expense. After some verbal abuse, Haruhi is thrown off the overlook into the water below, where Tamaki immediately goes in after her. The other hosts handle the assaulters, and, once Haruhi is proven to be safe, the berating begins. “Are you one of those?” asks Tamaki. “Actually a martial arts master, like Honey-senpai?” He grabs her, and goes on. “How could you think that you, a girl, by yourself, could do anything about those boys?!” After Haruhi explains that her actions were a split second decision and she didn’t have time to think, he yells at her, “Well, think about it, you idiot! You are a girl!”

Tamaki and the rest of the male hosts seem to be on the same page, insisting that Haruhi needs to apologize for her actions. Haruhi, on the other hand, does not see any wrong in what she did, which leads to some friction between herself and Tamaki. The two refuse to speak to each other until one apologizes to the other. At dinner, to avoid talking, Haruhi overeats to the point of making herself sick, which she notices only after being chastised again by the hosts sans Tamaki and Kyouya for her actions. After they request an apology from her, she finds that she needs to empty her stomach’s contents and runs to the nearest bedroom. She finds out that the room is, in fact, Kyouya’s, and that the two of them are now alone, prompting the series’s most controversial scene. Fans sometimes call it, “The Scene in the Dark.”

Haruhi apologizes to Kyouya on multiple grounds as he takes the time to lay out all the hassle she has caused him. When Haruhi offers to pay him back, he points out that he has far more money than her and that she is already in debt. He turns down the lights as he lays out her dilemma and brings up a new solution as he leers at her; why doesn’t she pay him back using her body? While she stands there, attempting to process what he’s said, Kyouya takes action. He grabs her arm. He throws her upon the bed. He straddles her, pins her to the bed, and tells her, bluntly, “You should rethink your own gullibility, that things have nothing to do with a person being a guy or a girl. You’ve made a mistake in leaving yourself so open.” He looks her in the eye and, in simple terms, lays out that he could take her. He has more money, more power, and, most prominently, a penis. Haruhi says that he is bluffing, and, luckily, he was. He gets off of her, and she comments that he is “nicer than she thought” for the experience he’s provided. Bisco Hatori, the creator of Ouran, drives home her message bluntly. Women are weak and should be protected by the men in their lives. They should be passive and, if they fail to be such, should immediately apologize. If a man decides to not sexually assault or rape you, he is nice. You should be thankful that he has the courtesy to not sexually abuse you. It’s legitimately terrifying that this is the message that is being sent out.

As salt in the wound, the very next scene is with Tamaki and Haruhi, with the latter cast as a scared little girl in the damsel in distress trope. She hides herself in the closet, curled in a ball, as the audience and Tamaki discover that Haruhi is scared of thunderstorms! She explains that she has always had to rely on herself as her mother is dead and her dad is constantly working. In response, Tamaki promises to take care of her from now on, she seems to come to a silent agreement to lean on the men in her life more, and the two have an emotional make up moment. Haruhi gets love and support from her friends again once she begins to lean on the men in her life and accept the help. I’ve seen other people argue that the message of the episode is that everyone needs to rely on others sometimes, which is a fair argument, but I can’t bring myself to agree the more I look at it. If it’s just about relying on others, why is there the scared little girl imagery? Why do they even emphasize Haruhi’s sex at all in this scenario if it’s not about that? Hatori knew what she was writing, and the message she sent out. She had a plethora of other ways to explore this theme, and she wouldn’t have written it this way unless she meant for it to be taken in a gender-biased manner.

I could go on, but I feel that I’ve explained my stance on the matter. Ouran High School Host Club is a classic anime in the anime community. A lot of people I know and that I’ve heard from in my life grew up with the show, and some still seek a romantic partner like one of the hosts. In all of the series’s adaptations, we find that certain themes remain prevalent. Women are meant to be pretty, submissive things that are interested in their male counterparts at all times. If you have your own interests, you are obsessive and crazy. If you like the same sex, you are against men. If you take a leadership position, you’re a nag. If you stand for what you think is right, you are a bother to the men around you. It’s scarily similar to what I’ve seen on social media. If you talk about sex too much, you’re a slut. If you talk about sex too little, you’re a prude. If you are too skinny, you’re on drugs, too fat, you have no impulse control. It seems that there is no ‘right’ woman to possibly be, in the fantasy that is Ouran or in the reality we face daily. We can only hope that, someday in the future, we can look back at Ouran and unanimously see it for what it is; a romanticized sexist daydream disguised as a teenage anime romantic comedy.

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