Missy and Elijah enter, and it's LOLA! I wasn't gonna add her originally, but much like the woman herself, she muscled her way into it.
My sanity at this point was thin. XD
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably witnessed the backlash to Pride. There have been mass boycotts of Bud Light after the beer company partnered with trans woman and TikTok influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, sending her a custom can to celebrate her first year of “girlhood.” Target was next to come under fire for its Pride display targeting children and their “tuck-friendly” bathing suits for women.
This set the stage for the most divisive Pride month in some time. First, the boycotts. Then videos of angry parents at school boards went viral. Conservative radio hosts and commentators vowed to make Pride “toxic” to brands. But it’s not just conservatives who are pushing back; according to a recent Gallup poll, even Democrats have seen a drop in the acceptance of same-sex relations.
Which begs the question: what happened to Pride? After decades of progress for gay rights, growing acceptance of gay marriage and the normalization of same-sex relationships, Pride is unexpectedly political again. Why?
In search of an answer, I spoke to prominent LGBT thinkers and writers, many of them dissenting voices when judged against the views of many LGBT advocacy groups. Their answers surprised me. Across the board they all said some version of “this was inevitable.”
“When it comes to gay issues, conservatives largely lost the culture war,” Katie Herzog observes. “But something about recent trends has reignited that passion — and issues that seemed resolved are up for debate again. I guess the Nineties really are back.”
“The core reason for the backlash is pretty simple: children,” Andrew Sullivan explains. “The attempt to indoctrinate children in gender ideology and to trans them on the verge of puberty has changed the debate. Start indoctrinating and transing children… and you will re-energize one of the oldest homophobic tropes there is: ‘gays are child molesters.’”
Glenn Greenwald largely agrees: “What destroyed the culture war consensus was their cynical and self-interested decision to transform the LGBT cause into one that no longer focused on the autonomy of adult Americans to live freely — which most people support — but instead to demand the right to influence and indoctrinate other people’s children.”
“They are calling them ‘trans kids’ and medicalizing them at an early age. Lying about puberty blockers. Lying about young girls getting irreversible surgery and so on,” says trans man Buck Angel.
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriages, and with bipartisan support it seemed there was a consensus on this one culture war issue, as well as broad support for the legal rights of trans adults to be free from discrimination. The war was largely won. But rather than shutting up shop or refocusing their efforts on parts of the world where gay and lesbian people faced serious discrimination, activists and NGOs moved onto the transgender issue.
“There are countries in the world where you can be executed for being gay,” says James Kirchick, author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. “That’s what the Human Rights Campaign [America’s foremost LGBT campaign group] should be saving its ire for.”
An average person will likely refer to this shift as “woke” and wonder how “the trans stuff” is suddenly everywhere, all at once. Parents are baffled when three out of four of their twelve-year-old daughter’s friend group “identify” as boys or, even more confusingly, nonbinary. People started putting pronouns in their social media bios, on their work résumés and in their email signatures. Biological men are competing in women’s sports and being placed in women’s prisons. In medical magazines and birthing classes, women are suddenly referred to by dehumanizing terms such as “birthing persons” and “uterus havers.”
“It’s like a new enforced public holiday thing and people smell a rat,” says Douglas Murray. “The wiser people realize that something weird is being smuggled in. This isn’t just like, ‘don’t beat up your gay neighbor.’ It’s like ‘there is no such thing as gender.’ ‘There is no such thing as sex.’”
We’ve arrived here thanks to a confluence of forces. Perpetual victimhood pushed by activist groups that need a reason to exist and continue collecting money. The corporatization of Pride. The hijacking of the movement by gender ideology.
“You can’t dress toddlers up in extreme political propaganda while lecturing the parents on committing child abuse for not transitioning their kids and expect everyone to keep quiet,” trans writer Chad Felix Greene tells me.
To a normal, not especially political person going about their life, it can seem like gay culture is everywhere. Pride was once just a day to have fun, go to a parade, and “for those who have just come out as a way to cement their self-confidence in public” as Sullivan says. Now every June it becomes “the Holy Month of Pride” as Murray dubs it. Corporations change their social media logos to rainbows (unless, of course, it’s their Saudi account). Pride™️ has become so accepted it’s inescapable.
On the surface this might look like capitalism at work. These companies just want the gay dollar! Though there’s some truth to that, there’s also an undertow dragging these huge corporations down. They aren’t making decisions that are in the best interest of their shareholders; they are acting out of concern for their social credit score.
“These corporations aren’t getting any gay dollars from these fiascos. Gays hate corporations at Pride,” said publicist Mitchell Jackson. “Worst of all, these corporate campaigns just backfire on LGBTQ people. Gay rights are now being threatened again because big-box stores needed to sell tucking underwear.”
Jackson is exasperated that corporations listen to the advocacy groups in an attempt to do the right thing: “Corporations go to these groups for advice, hoping to avoid a woke controversy, and they get led into a hornet’s nest — and then these non-profits can fundraise off of the Bud Light controversy of the week.”
“What changed is that LGBT activist groups could not afford to obtain victory,” Greenwald says. “When activist groups win, their reason for existing, and their large budgets and salaries, dry up. They always have to push debates into whatever places Americans resist. They also have to be losing, have a claim to victimhood, a reason to assert that they are righting the bigotry of Americans.”
“It’s so tragic because we’ve reached this moment when gay people have finally won mainstream acceptance for the first time in, like, 2,000 years of history,” Kirchick said. “It’s OK to be gay pretty much everywhere in America — and there are obviously pockets where it’s still a problem, I’m not gonna deny that — but majorities of Republicans support gay marriage. I’ve seen it in my own life as a thirty-nine-year-old gay man: it’s a lot easier to be gay now than it was six years ago. And just when we’ve reached this moment, these activists have decided, in our name as gay people, to just piss off America and to make them think that we are a threat to their children.”
“I am so upset that my community has been co-opted and has been used for some other agenda,” Angel told me. “The work we have done to get here is profound and should never be forgotten. All we want is to live our lives just like you, but of course that’s not what you see now with the people driving the LGBTQIA+++++ bus.”
The real slippery slope hasn’t been the gay rights movement, as right-wing pundits often say. “When I see some of them going after Pride, they appear to blame gay people for the nonsense peddled in the name of Pride today — when in truth gay people are the victims of it,” comedian Andrew Doyle said.
At the heart of the problem is the fact that LGBT was never the package deal that most people consider it to be. “LGBT people don’t exist,” says Sullivan. “We’re very different from each other.”
Generally speaking, it’s “the Ts and the Qs” that insist it’s all or nothing. Trans activists demand acquiescence to all their demands no matter how insane and pseudo-scientific, push to allow men in women’s shelters and allow kids to be put on puberty hormones or you’re committing genocide. People are are increasingly saying, “OK — it’s nothing then.”
“I think gays and women in general are bearing the brunt of the gender ideology nonsense,” Murray said. “And it has itself piggybacked like some kind of parasitic entity onto gay rights.”
“Gender identity ideology is essentially anti-gay,” said Doyle. “Gay rights were secured through the recognition that a minority of people are instinctively orientated towards members of their own sex. Gender identity ideology seeks to break down the very notion of biological sex and claim that it is unimportant.”
Underneath the rainbow facade are illiberal forces such as “queer theory” that have been eroding the classically liberal foundation of the original civil rights movement that won gay and trans folks the rights they have now. We’ve gone from “love is love” to trans women insisting if a lesbian doesn’t want to suck their lady dick, they’re a fascist.
If you’re confused, that’s the point; confusion and contradiction are features, not bugs. In order to understand how this happened, and why, you need specialized knowledge. The average person can’t explain exactly what’s going on, because it’s nonsensical, you can only intuit it; but call it out and you’re dubbed a bigot — and so you retreat, keeping your head down while the gender borg marches on.
The temperature has been raised further by the Biden adminstration’s unambiguous embrace of this ideology. The White House is quick to paint anyone doubting the wisdom of what they euphemistically call “gender-affirming care” for minors as a knuckle-dragger, even though the overwhelming majority of Americans support a ban on such care and many liberal, tolerant European countries have banned it or scaled it back.
No wonder dyed-in-the-wool Democrats who disagree with the idea of biological men in women’s spaces — or are confused about the pseudo-religious idea that you were born in the wrong body, and wonder whether or not pausing puberty is even possible — are terrified to speak out.
“It was once ‘live-and-let-live’ said Sullivan, “Now it’s ‘embrace the ideology — or else.’”
Herein lies the problem with Pride. You can no longer opt out of the ideology. The trans activism changed everything. It is coercive. It is everywhere. Big Tech acts as an enforcer, in conjunction with the state, policing language, pronouns, exacting punishments for refusing to repeat the mantras “trans women are women” and “gender-affirming care is reproductive freedom.”
“I know many gay activists from yesteryear who are coming out of retirement to address this new anti-gay movement which has usurped Pride,” said Doyle. “It doesn’t help that all criticism of Pride is interpreted as homophobic or transphobic. These are important conversations. Like most culture-war issues, we need to stop thinking of this in terms of ‘left’ and ‘right’. These things are irrelevant. There are left-wing gay people and right-wing gay people — and all of them are harmed by Pride in its current form.”
The backlash is veering into a full-blown moral panic. “I’m seeing a lot more people online talking about gay people as though we are all pedophiles who want to groom children into becoming cross-dressing strippers, and a lot of what’s going on feels like good old-fashioned bigotry rearing its ugly head once again,” said Herzog.
Might the public backlash to Pride push moderates and independents to the left the way the overturning of Roe v. Wade did? From an optics perspective, attacking Pride can often look like attacking the whole LGBT community; just from what I’ve witnessed online, an unsettling amount of homophobia is rearing its head, using boycotts as cover for bigotry. Last week a video went viral that showed Muslim children stomping on the rainbow flag while their parents cheered them on.
“I don’t want to name names but there are certain conservative commentators who are using the backlash against LGBTQIA plus to include a backlash against gays,” says Murray. “But I think it’s inevitable because not enough gays try to do the decoupling that I’ve tried to do myself in recent years and say, ‘Sorry, not my party.’”
Yet the decoupling has begun and it seems to be the only way to navigate our way out of this moment without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. #LGBwithouttheTQ and the #LGB have been trending on Twitter almost every day in June. Even if people don’t understand the forces at work, I think most Americans are smart enough to make the distinction between their gay loved ones and friends and some of the more insane gender stuff.
Like most things, this requires nuance. “You have to say, ‘we respect the rights of adults to undergo a gender transition,’” says Kirchick. “And ‘we want full equality and non-discrimination for transgender people in society, but there are real live debates about at what age it’s appropriate to administer these sorts of medical treatment to kids.’”
“Keep biological sex as a central characteristic in the law and culture,” Sullivan says. “Gender can be added, but can’t replace.”
“I think many LGBT people see this mess but are scared to lose friends and community if they speak up,” said Angel. “But it’s our duty as LGBT members to call this out. To show the world that these people are not a representation of us.”
Liberal watchdog Media Matters fired at least a dozen staffers Thursday — and management and some of the laid-off journalists blamed X owner Elon Musk for the cuts.
The billionaire mogul sued the Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization for defamation last November, accusing the company of manufacturing images showing advertisements from major companies alongside posts made by white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
The lawsuit led to federal probes by Republican Attorneys General Ken Paxton of Texas and Andrew Bailey of Missouri into the outlet for possible fraudulent activity by allegedly manipulating data on the site formerly known as Twitter.
Media Matters did not immediately return requests for comment but its president Angelo Carusone released a statement on Thursday regarding the layoffs.
“We’re confronting a legal assault on multiple fronts and given how rapidly the media landscape is shifting, we need to be extremely intentional about how we allocate resources in order to stay effective,” Carusone said.
“Nobody does what Media Matters does. So, we’re taking this action now to ensure that we are sustainable, sturdy and successful for whatever lies ahead.”
Ousted staffers took to social media Thursday to announce their sudden dismissal, with one having particularly harsh words for Musk.
“Bad News: I’ve been laid off from @mmfa, along with a dozen colleagues. There’s a reason far-right billionaires attack Media Matters with armies of lawyers: They know how effective our work is, and it terrifies them (him),” Kat Abughazaleh wrote.
The Post reached out to Musk for comment.
Other longtime Media Matters journalists lamented the layoffs.
“After nearly four years of working at media matters, I got laid off,” wrote a staffer named Beatrice. “So if anyone is looking for researchers with video experience, drop a line.”
“Journalism milestone achieved (got laid off),” now-former Media Matters writer Bobby Lewis added.
“Layoffs at Media Matters today. Lots of smart people available for jobs now,” said Jared Holt, a senior researcher at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue.
At the time of the Musk lawsuit, Carusone called it “meritless” and pointed out that “major brands” are “rightly skittish of partnering” with the social media platform.
The suit — which was filed in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas — is still winding through the judicial system.
Media Matters’ purge is the latest in a slew of layoffs in the industry — and notably at liberal outlets.
NowThis laid off half of its editorial team in February as part of a “broader initiative to realign our resources and structure to ensure a long-term sustainable business in the evolving media landscape,” The Daily Caller first reported.
The Intercept also laid off 15 staffers, including its editor in chief Roger Hodge, on the same day. Last month, The New York Times reported that the news site co-founded by Glenn Greenwald is running low on cash and that it is in danger of closing next year.
Look, i don't even know if I'll read 24 book this year but let's pretend i will, this is a combination of my actual TBR wishes for the year, the books I tried to start last year and some that are already in my currently reading
Gwen and Art are not in Love - Lex Croucher
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me - Mariko Tamaki
D'Vaughn and Chris Plan a Wedding - Chencia C. Higgins
Cementery Boys - Aiden Thomas
Maurice - E.M Foster
Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson
Little Women- Louisa May Alcott
La Rebelión de los Ángeles- Anatole France
Hell Followed with Us - Andrew Joseph White
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Something to Talk About - Meryl Wilsner
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea - Rebecca Thorne
Bajo las Sombras: El misterio de la escritora - Stef Leon
The Fragile Threads of Power - V.E Schwab
Captive Prince - C.S Pacat
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo
Pedro & Daniel - Federico Erebia
Babel - R.F Kuang
Vista desde una acera - Fernando Molano Vargas
Eminent Maricones: Arenas, Lorca, Puig, and Me - Jaime Manrique
In the Lives of Puppets - TJ Klune
Sizzle Reel - Carlyn Greenwald
Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki
Tags under the cut!
Alright time to tag a bunch of people because this hasn't made rounds in rwrb fandom so, no pressure because I know most of y'all are only reading fic skdjhd @littlemisskittentoes @affectionatelyrs @inexplicablymine @happiness-of-the-pursuit @gayrootvegetable @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @rockyroadkylers @matherines @anincompletelist @heartitinthesilence @bidoofenergy @14carrotghoul @ssmtskw @sherryvalli @everwitch-magiks @raysletters @heybuddy-drabbles @suseagull04 and that's a lot of people so the rest is an open tag hehe
Aaron Bay-Schuck
Aaron Sorkin
Adam & Jackie Sandler
Adam Goodman
Adam Levine
Alan Grubman
Alex Aja
Alex Edelman
Alexandra Shiva
Ali Wentworth
Alison Statter
Allan Loeb
Alona Tal
Amy Chozick
Amy Pascal
Amy Schumer
Amy Sherman Palladino
Andrew Singer
Andy Cohen
Angela Robinson
Anthony Russo
Antonio Campos
Ari Dayan
Ari Greenburg
Arik Kneller
Aron Coleite
Ashley Levinson
Asif Satchu
Aubrey Plaza
Barbara Hershey
Barry Diller
Barry Levinson
Barry Rosenstein
Beau Flynn
Behati Prinsloo
Bella Thorne
Ben Stiller
Ben Turner
Ben Winston
Ben Younger
Billy Crystal
Blair Kohan
Bob Odenkirk
Bobbi Brown
Bobby Kotick
Brad Falchuk
Brad Slater
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Fischer
Brett Gelman
Brian Grazer
Bridget Everett
Brooke Shields
Bruna Papandrea
Cameron Curtis
Casey Neistat
Cazzie David
Charles Roven
Chelsea Handler
Chloe Fineman
Chris Fischer
Chris Jericho
Chris Rock
Christian Carino
Cindi Berger
Claire Coffee
Colleen Camp
Constance Wu
Courteney Cox
Craig Silverstein
Dame Maureen Lipman
Dan Aloni
Dan Rosenweig
Dana Goldberg
Dana Klein
Daniel Palladino
Danielle Bernstein
Danny Cohen
Danny Strong
Daphne Kastner
David Alan Grier
David Baddiel
David Bernad
David Chang
David Ellison
David Geffen
David Gilmour &
David Goodman
David Joseph
David Kohan
David Lowery
David Oyelowo
David Schwimmer
Dawn Porter
Dean Cain
Deborah Lee Furness
Deborah Snyder
Debra Messing
Diane Von Furstenberg
Donny Deutsch
Doug Liman
Douglas Chabbott
Eddy Kitsis
Edgar Ramirez
Eli Roth
Elisabeth Shue
Elizabeth Himelstein
Embeth Davidtz
Emma Seligman
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Eric Andre
Erik Feig
Erin Foster
Eugene Levy
Evan Jonigkeit
Evan Winiker
Ewan McGregor
Francis Benhamou
Francis Lawrence
Fred Raskin
Gabe Turner
Gail Berman
Gal Gadot
Gary Barber
Gene Stupinski
Genevieve Angelson
Gideon Raff
Gina Gershon
Grant Singer
Greg Berlanti
Guy Nattiv
Guy Oseary
Gwyneth Paltrow
Hannah Fidell
Hannah Graf
Harlan Coben
Harold Brown
Harvey Keitel
Henrietta Conrad
Henry Winkler
Holland Taylor
Howard Gordon
Iain Morris
Imran Ahmed
Inbar Lavi
Isla Fisher
Jack Black
Jackie Sandler
Jake Graf
Jake Kasdan
James Brolin
James Corden
Jamie Ray Newman
Jaron Varsano
Jason Biggs & Jenny Mollen Biggs
Jason Blum
Jason Fuchs
Jason Reitman
Jason Segel
Jason Sudeikis
JD Lifshitz
Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Rake
Jen Joel
Jeremy Piven
Jerry Seinfeld
Jesse Itzler
Jesse Plemons
Jesse Sisgold
Jessica Biel
Jessica Elbaum
Jessica Seinfeld
Jill Littman
Jimmy Carr
Jody Gerson
Joe Hipps
Joe Quinn
Joe Russo
Joe Tippett
Joel Fields
Joey King
John Landgraf
John Slattery
Jon Bernthal
Jon Glickman
Jon Hamm
Jon Liebman
Jonathan Baruch
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Marc Sherman
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Steinberg
Jonathan Tisch
Jonathan Tropper
Jordan Peele
Josh Brolin
Josh Charles
Josh Goldstine
Josh Greenstein
Josh Grode
Judd Apatow
Judge Judy Sheindlin
Julia Garner
Julia Lester
Julianna Margulies
Julie Greenwald
Julie Rudd
Juliette Lewis
Justin Theroux
Justin Timberlake
Karen Pollock
Karlie Kloss
Katy Perry
Kelley Lynch
Kevin Kane
Kevin Zegers
Kirsten Dunst
Kitao Sakurai
KJ Steinberg
Kristen Schaal
Kristin Chenoweth
Lana Del Rey
Laura Dern
Laura Pradelska
Lauren Schuker Blum
Laurence Mark
Laurie David
Lea Michele
Lee Eisenberg
Leo Pearlman
Leslie Siebert
Liev Schreiber
Limor Gott
Lina Esco
Liz Garbus
Lizanne Rosenstein
Lizzie Tisch
Lorraine Schwartz
Lynn Harris
Lyor Cohen
Madonna
Mandana Dayani
Mara Buxbaum
Marc Webb
Marco Perego
Maria Dizzia
Mark Feuerstein
Mark Foster
Mark Scheinberg
Mark Shedletsky
Martin Short
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Mathew Rosengart
Matt Lucas
Matt Miller
Matthew Bronfman
Matthew Hiltzik
Matthew Weiner
Matti Leshem
Max Mutchnik
Maya Lasry
Meaghan Oppenheimer
Melissa Zukerman
Michael Aloni
Michael Ellenberg
Michael Green
Michael Rapino
Michael Rappaport
Michael Weber
Michelle Williams
Mike Medavoy
Mila Kunis
Mimi Leder
Modi Wiczyk
Molly Shannon
Nancy Josephson
Natasha Leggero
Neil Blair
Neil Druckmann
Nicola Peltz
Nicole Avant
Nina Jacobson
Noa Kirel
Noa Tishby
Noah Oppenheim
Noah Schnapp
Noreena Hertz
Odeya Rush
Olivia Wilde
Oran Zegman
Orlando Bloom
Pasha Kovalev
Pattie LuPone
Paul & Julie Rudd
Paul Haas
Paul Pflug
Peter Traugott
Polly Sampson
Rachel Riley
Rafi Marmor
Ram Bergman
Raphael Margulies
Rebecca Angelo
Rebecca Mall
Regina Spektor
Reinaldo Marcus Green
Rich Statter
Richard Jenkins
Richard Kind
Rick Hoffman
Rick Rosen
Rita Ora
Rob Rinder
Robert Newman
Roger Birnbaum
Roger Green
Rosie O’Donnell
Ross Duffer
Ryan Feldman
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sam Levinson
Sam Trammell
Sara Foster
Sarah Baker
Sarah Bremner
Sarah Cooper
Sarah Paulson
Sarah Treem
Scott Braun
Scott Braun
Scott Neustadter
Scott Tenley
Sean Combs
Seth Meyers
Seth Oster
Shannon Watts
Shari Redstone
Sharon Jackson
Sharon Stone
Shauna Perlman
Shawn Levy
Sheila Nevins
Shira Haas
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Simon Tikhman
Skylar Astin
Stacey Snider
Stephen Fry
Steve Agee
Steve Rifkind
Sting & Trudie Styler
Susanna Felleman
Susie Arons
Taika Waititi
Thomas Kail
Tiffany Haddish
Todd Lieberman
Todd Moscowitz
Todd Waldman
Tom Freston
Tom Werner
Tomer Capone
Tracy Ann Oberman
Trudie Styler
Tyler James Williams
Tyler Perry
Vanessa Bayer
Veronica Grazer
Veronica Smiley
Whitney Wolfe Herd
Will Ferrell
Will Graham
Yamanieka Saunders
Yariv Milchan
Ynon Kreiz
Zack Snyder
Zoe Saldana
Zoey Deutch
Zosia Mamet
“A pair of thrones between us, and my heart clutched like a rosary within his hands ...”
Twelfth-century Europe. Newly-crowned King Philip of France is determined to restore his nation to its former empire and bring glory to his name. But when his greatest enemy, King Henry of England, threatens to end his reign before it can even begin, Philip is forced to make a precarious alliance with Henry’s volatile son—risking both his throne, and his heart.
Richard, Duke of Aquitaine, never thought he would be King. But when an unexpected tragedy makes him heir to England, he finally has an opportunity to overthrow the father he despises. At first, Philip is a useful tool in his quest for vengeance... until passion and politics collide, and Richard begins to question whether the crown is worth the cost.
When Philip and Richard find themselves staring down an impending war, they must choose between their desire for one another and their grand ambitions. Will their love prevail, if it calls to them from across the battlefield? Teeming with royal intrigue and betrayal, this epic romance reimagines two real-life kings ensnared by an impossible choice: Follow their hearts, or earn their place in history.
Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special. Too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying—not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. Still, she's focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.
After announcing their pronouns on national television, London Parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. They’re there to prove the trolls—including a fellow contestant and their dad—wrong, and falling in love was never part of the plan.
As London and Dahlia get closer, reality starts to fall away. Goodbye, guilt about divorce, anxiety about uncertain futures, and stress from transphobia. Hello, hilarious shenanigans on set, wedding crashing, and spontaneous dips into the Pacific. But as the finale draws near, Dahlia and London’s steamy relationship starts to feel the heat both in and outside the kitchen—and they must figure out if they have the right ingredients for a happily ever after.
I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson
It's been months since aspiring journalist Kian Andrews has heard from his ex-boyfriend, Hudson Rivers, but an urgent text has them meeting at a café. Maybe Hudson wants to profusely apologize for the breakup. Or confess his undying love... But no, Hudson has a favor to ask--he wants Kian to pretend to be his boyfriend while his parents are in town, and Kian reluctantly agrees.
The dinner doesn't go exactly as planned, and suddenly Kian is Hudson's plus one to Georgia's wedding of the season. Hudson comes from a wealthy family where reputation is everything, and he really can't afford another mistake. If Kian goes, he'll help Hudson preserve appearances and get the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in media. This could be the big career break Kian needs.
But their fake relationship is starting to feel like it might be more than a means to an end, and it's time for both men to fact-check their feelings.
Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald
For aspiring cinematographer Luna Roth, coming out as bisexual at twenty-four is proving more difficult than she anticipated. Sure, her best friend and fellow queer Romy is thrilled for her--but she has no interest in coming out to her backwards parents, she wouldn't know how to flirt with a girl if one fell at her feet, and she has no sexual history to build off. Not to mention she really needs to focus her energy on escaping her emotionally-abusive-but-that's-Hollywood talent manager boss and actually get working under a real director of photography anyway.
When she meets twenty-eight-year-old A-list actress Valeria Sullivan around the office, Luna thinks she's found her solution. She'll use Valeria's interest in her cinematography to get a PA job on the set of Valeria's directorial debut--and if Valeria is as gay as Luna suspects, and she happens to be Luna's route to losing her virginity, too . . . well, that's just an added bonus. Enlisting Romy's help, Luna starts the juggling act of her life--impress Valeria's DP to get another job after this one, get as close to Valeria as possible, and help Romy with her own career moves.
But when Valeria begins to reciprocate romantic interest in Luna, the act begins to crumble--straining her relationship with Romy and leaving her job prospects precarious. Now Luna has to figure out if she can she fulfill her dreams as a filmmaker, keep her best friend, and get the girl. . . or if she's destined to end up on the cutting room floor.