So today I am (randomly, without any prompting by any current events whatsoever) reminded of Adam Lambert's first tour and the evolution of the Fever kiss. It started as looks and touching and then some little pecks, but eventually, after a few months, it was regularly this:
[video from here] [and yes, the compilation vid of the kissing is six parts and an hour long] [that was a good summer ❤]
So by the rate Jere is going I think we'll be there in about a week? Since we are already here after three days?
@naffeclipse at this point I'm not even drawing predictions, I'm drawing "So I know what's gonna happen is gonna hurt, but what if I make them hurt in a different way?"
Joey Drew is Gay and there's no way around it (Pt 5)
So what about the women in Joey's life? Well, we hear a fair amount about two women in particular- Lottie, and Abby Lambert.
First, there's Lottie, a telecommunications girl who befriends Joey. She takes a quick liking to him, but Joey seems to have an aversion to any displays of affection she shows him.
In fact, he claims to "not have time for girls" in general, and this seems to be his reasoning behind not pursuing Lottie romantically.
Immediately following this...watertight explanation, Joey goes on a little side quest. See, Lottie notices odd initials on his boots:
She goes on a long search to find the previous owner, updating Joey with her findings often. However, she gets very down on herself when the effort seems to lead to nowhere, and grows weary as many of the men she's been sending messages to are continuously reported dead.
Note how Joey responds to her more somber attitude as the days go on:
He creates an elaborate lie in order to "solve" the mystery, entertain her, and spare her some of the pain of her depression.
It seems the "I don't have time and I'm too selfish" excuse doesn't really hold up. How odd, I was quite sure Joey Drew was being honest and introspective here.
This story gets even weirder, though. Nathan points out via footnote that he couldn't ever find the correspondences between Joey and Lottie- so the legitimacy of this tale is immediately called into question.
If it is completely fabricated, then Joey literally made up a story in which he keeps 99 feet away at all times from an extremely attractive and sweet woman who was very interested in him. If this is the case, it also seems to be some hardcore fishing for cool guy points. Joey comes out looking like a saint, AND he doesn't actually have to go out and catch girl cooties.
This brings us to the end of Lottie's tale, so let's talk about the (only?) confirmed real woman friend of Joey's.
Abby Lambert is the initial artist friend that introduced Joey to Henry. She seems to be his closest woman friend and confidant, and he ends up trusting her to run the art department as a whole.
Notice both her and Joey's reaction when she invites him as her date to an art salon.
In the middle of the skit they perform at said art salon, Joey takes a second to emphasize that they were just friends- an already stated fact.
It's all fake, but even during something so simple, he still makes it a point to clarify that they aren't involved romantically in any way.
If Abby and Lottie are anything to go by, he has a weirdly hypervigilant attitude when it comes to romance with women.
Regarding Abby specifically, here's more food for thought.
While not outright stated, Abby is very queer-coded herself. She's outside the "norm" for women at the time, both in wardrobe choice and attitude. She has a commanding presence, a streak of "rude" humor, and seems to be uncomfortable in dresses, preferring not to wear them at all if she can help it.
While there is no outright confirmation of her sexuality or identity, she sits outside the strict male/female roles of American society at the time.
This has no bearing on Joey's sexuality in a direct sense, but it still does beg the question: could there be a reason why Joey felt more comfortable around a woman who was not as rigid in her gender presentation? He doesn't seem to care that she wears men's suits, in fact he seems to be drawn towards her differences rather than repelled by them.
Even if there is no gaydar involved in how they found each other, there is a marked difference between the women Joey keeps close (Abby), versus the women Joey does not keep so close (Lottie.)
Now, to attempt to end this juggernaut. How about I cram in some odds and ends in the final part? Because yes, believe it or not, there's STILL MORE.