Former Member

TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) presents many fine LGBTQ movies and documentaries every year too. I have seen many documentaries about LGBTQ history at Frameline focused on the US, UK, and even Australia, but I can’t recall any about Canada. At Gay Games Celebration 90 in Vancouver, BC, I spoke to the first Openly Gay Canadian MP, Svend Robinson, NDP Burnaby (1979-2004). I get the feeling that Canadian LGBTQ history quietly and politely gets drowned out by the louder and ruder voices in the US and UK – and even Australia! ;–)

I hope so! Sam, especially, has a more interesting journey no matter where it leads. If he is an Ally, he will learn about things he never had to consider on his own. As a cis-male, talking to Transwomen and watching documentaries about their struggles has made me slightly less unaware than I was. There are many interesting stories and lessons to be learned when we engage with people who are not like us. The world is a much more fascinating and exciting place because of all the variations! Sam will be a better person no matter which path he ends up on. ;–)

That’s the logical response to China’s One Child effort that ended up with a massive surplus of eligible young men with an extreme shortage of eligible young women! Of course, China being China, opposes same-sex coupling. Eligible young women are being lured or kidnapped from nearby Southeast Asian countries to satisfy the demand. The historic situation where only female infants were allowed to be adopted to foreigners didn’t help either. But what would it take to encourage rabidly heterosexual young men to couple up sexually, short of imprisoning them all? Mandatory homosex education classes with homework and in-class testing (several of my friends would pay to be instructors/test monitors)? Tax breaks and other financial incentives? A government lottery to assign sex partners? An app? ;–)

Okay. first thing. I was laughing at how the listing for the second chapter almost made sense as a sentence: For Some Reason I Like Blonds to Be The Father Of This Baby Boy! And then I noticed who the author was, so I had to start reading! When Jett stepped in something ‘cold and icky,’ I immediately thought it was one of those ‘anti-baby’ devices, used, of course. But it was not to be… ;–) I hate manbuns and I’m not a big fan of long hair on men in general. Scissors work well to begin the cleansing of the world! Only genuine Samurai should wear manbuns. As long as a hippie bathes daily and launders his clothes, I don’t have a problem with them – they remind me of my youth with all those skinny guys running around in cutoff 501s or even streaking! (I just wish manscaping had been a thing back then, but they probably would have rejected it just like hippie women rejected shaving their pits and legs.) I used to run around wearing tight, faded shrink-to-fit 501s and a home-dyed tie-dyed t-shirt! My mom didn’t like cutoffs with their raggedy edges, so she’d hem them neatly for us even though she broke a lot of needles on her sewing machine doing it. And those cutoffs had an inseam of only a few inches! ;–) I’m surprised that Jay didn’t come accompanied by a diaper bag filled with formula, clothes, and other baby supplies. Jett and April better stop to pick some up on the way back to Jet’s place. Is Jett intending to move April into his place already? ;–)

But it fit so well this time! His height, his facial hair, his unexpected reaction. Someday I’ll guess right and everyone else will be shocked! ;–) If this were like Guarded, you might have gotten halfway through writing the story and asked yourself if you could change your initial profile of this character then decide that you could be that devious again! ;–)

I’m hoping that Jeremy is only mad at himself for violating a self-imposed restriction against having a relationship with one of the kids he works with – or someone who may as well be, since Mason is around their age! I hope Jeremy hasn’t been diagnosed with a life-ending disease. But this all emphasizes just how little we know about Jeremy. And since it’s a tradition, I’ll speculate that Jeremy is a Transman (which accounts for his short stature). ;–)

Hmmm. “They all say that, duckie,” sounds like it might be more true than usual with Sam. Sam might turn out to be an ally, or he might be up for some tentative exploration of his boundaries. I don’t think Sam would appreciate a direct approach, but he might respond to some subtle flirting from an androgynous-looking or a straight-appearing young man. But some straight-ish men are attracted to Transwomen too. Sam would need to feel like he was the aggressor so his masculinity remained unchallenged. Especially since he wasn’t expecting to go to a Gay club, he probably has never thought about what to say if approached. The fact that he ‘always made an effort around [Drew]’ as well as being willing to go to the club at all indicates he’s more accepting than the stereotypical rugby player (although there have been one or two professional rugby players who have Come Out in recent years). The real test is whether Sam accompanies Drew to the club a second time or not! ;–)

Pastels? I’m seeing brilliant bursts of psychedelic Gay flashes! So much joy, it’s almost overwhelming! ;–)

So we’re back to blaming the mother again? ;–)

To someone my age, that’s a recent discovery! ;–)

Yes, but you’re curious and do research on topics of interest. There are lots of young people who are so consumed by their smartphones, they’re oblivious to what’s actually going on around them IRL. There are fools who walk onto tracks and get hit by trains because they’ve got their earbuds/headphones in/on and they're concentrating on their screen! There are others who are overwhelmed by life and their circumstances. You might have been one of them except you read. Reading was an escape that helped you get to where you are now! And I am so glad I get to read what your brilliant mind comes up with! ;–)

I was just thinking that too, @Philippe! I guess I’m not doing my job right if I’m keeping the world ‘straight!’ ;–)

So the second part of the story will feature Shade running off to rescue the orphans and battle menaces while Stravor & Keter settle into their quiet HEA? I never would have guessed! I hope Shade has several offspring to assist him with his quests – all of whom have unusual blue eyes… ;–) Did Keter whisper any special silver words into Shade’s ears? ;–)

With the eighth and final chapter posted, Tim has concluded a masterpiece. It’s difficult to believe that so much occurred within its eight chapters and just over 45,000 words. Just glancing at the number of comments for each of the chapters indicates how involved we readers were throughout the story. As I mentioned in my Story Comment shortly after the first chapter dropped, don’t let the ‘Magic’ Tag scare you away from this wonderful tale. It is magical in the very best way. Tim transcends the genre and makes us believe we know these people. I’m not at all an animal-type person, but Tim has managed to add another pony to my list of his best non-human characters! ;–)

My only problem with this story was that it was too short! Eight is not enough. I am ready for the sequel where Stravor & Keter turn the inn over to Aeri and seek out the orphans or battle a new menace – if not Stravor & Keter, then who? ;–)

Robbie is a more typical teenager than he thinks he is. He’s just as oblivious to his true circumstances as I was back when I was his age. He’s lucky to have siblings who obviously care about him. He has peers who support him. He even has several adults outside his family who he can count on! He’s luckier than he believes with his situation – there are many other LGBTQ+ teens who are kicked out of their homes just because of who they are. And very, very few of them have the resources available to them that he has. ;–)

That along with the myth that sexual orientation is a choice. A poor choice. A failing of the person who ‘chose’ to become a hated minority that has long struggled against societal and legal challenges.

I believe there is at least one town in that area that ran all its Chinese residents out with the threat of killing anyone who remained. Chinese did not return to the town until the 1950s. California has a long history of anti-Asian laws and sentiment. Laws restricted the rights of Hispanic, Asian, and Native American residents, with laws prohibiting them from testifying against whites in court. Things have changed dramatically over the years, but population distribution is not even throughout the state as a result of history.

So Fran was Mafia strong? Nathan was sexually strong? And Conner is… ? ;–)

Peter is still next in line and should be considering how he and Eric will provide the necessary ‘heir and a spare’ so essential to royals around the world. Japan is struggling to figure out how they’re going to deal with the extremely shallow pool in their royal families (which reflects the country’s very low birthrate in general). Even though Japan has historically had ruling Empresses, they don’t currently allow females to become Empress – several European countries have changed their laws to allow the first-born of either gender to rule). Of course, being Japan, they also reject non-Japanese marrying into the Imperial family. Japan is one of the least diverse industrialized country in the world. (Where we might say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, they’d say that the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.)

…and then the Grad school years! ;–)

This is why it’s so important to teach all young people LGBTQ+ history, why it’s important to teach them the stories of all minorities! There are so many painful and shameful stories in our history that the majority want to ignore or forget. As well as things that are happening today like the high number of Transwomen of Color being murdered, the disproportionate punishment of Black and Brown males beginning in elementary school (both in percentages and in severity), the high unemployment rates for all Transpeople, the roughly 30% of homeless youth who are LGBTQ+, and even the fact that a same-sex couple can get married one day and legally be fired or evicted for being LGBTQ+ the next day in many US states. When we learn our history, we can avoid repeating mistakes that have been made in the past. There are so many horrible things happening today that happened in the past and could easily have been prevented, if we paid attention to the lessons of the past. The fact that our histories are being intentionally buried should be alarming to everybody! And many of the things that we’ve stopped doing in the US are still being done in other countries around the world…

A technically well-written story with few, if any, grammatical errors or misspellings. But based on my own personal experience as an old Gay man, I feel Mark and Mickey rushed into a nearly instant relationship. But this seems to be rather common among young people today with their short attention spans – even though these guys didn’t meet using an app. Mickey’s mother also seems to be way too involved in her son’s life. Anyone who becomes involved in Mickey’s life will be dealing with his mother very frequently. She will likely be a nightmare in-law even though she initially appears to be a very pleasant, concerned parent. Younger people will probably view my comments as the curmudgeonly mutterings of an extreme pessimist and really enjoy the story… ;–)