It is deep Autumn and Sam and Tusker, partners of twenty years, are on holiday.
They are travelling across England in their old campervan visiting friends, family and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with young-onset dementia two years ago their lives have had to change. Jobs have been given up and plans put on hold. Their time together is now the most important thing they have.
As the trip progresses however, their individual ideas for their future begin to collide. Secrets are uncovered, private plans unravel and their love for each other is tested like never before. Ultimately, they must confront the question of what it means to love one another in the face of Tusker’s irreparable illness.
Looks great and heartbreaking all at once. Check out the trailer for Supernova, the new film starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, above!
“I’m sure many bisexual guys feel the same and end up doing as I did: letting other people’s assumptions of straightness stand uncorrected. Perhaps out of fear of oversharing. Under the guise of privacy, maybe. Probably because ‘masculinity’ is a most fragile currency, ready to nose-dive at the first sign of vulnerability or difference. And because it’s really f–king scary to give up your privilege. Without a doubt because stigmas of indecisiveness, infidelity, deception and trendiness are still clinging to bisexuality.
“But here’s the thing. Silence has the perverse effect of perpetuating those stereotypes, making bi guys invisible, and leading people to doubt that we even exist. No wonder it’s still a chore to acknowledge bisexuality without getting into lengthy explanations. So yes, labels are frustrating and words, imperfect. But I’ve always considered myself bisexual. Not confused or trying to look edgy. Not disloyal. Not ashamed. Not invisible. Happy #bivisibilityday this Wednesday.”
– Actor Francois Arnaud, star of The Borgias, on his bisexuality.
BTS isn’t your typical K-pop boy band: they are a cultural phenomenon, and seven very attractive, affectionate and sexually ambiguous men who have inspired many, many hot stories. These fannish pleasures are an ongoing preoccupation for the Comfortfic Multi-Fandom Reading Group, a monthly quarantine project for fans to explore the therapeutic aspects of fanfiction. Since some of us are ARMY (aka BTS superfans), we’ve created a primer for OMG.BLOG into the phenomenon that is BTS and a fanfiction reading list.
Wait, what is fanfiction?
Fanfiction is work produced by fans for fans, inspired by other fictional or real works. It is non-commercial and predominantly produced by the femme identifying/queer community. It allows folks to re-imagine problematic mainstream narratives, or examine representations of gender, sexuality, and class that are often lacking in today’s stories.
Who are BTS?
BTS (Bangtan Sonyeodan) are a seven-member K-pop group that debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. They are arguably the biggest band in the world right now, being the first group to sell three number #1 albums since the Beatles. They are also the first K-pop group to have a number one on the Billboard charts and broke YouTube’s records for most views in 24 hours with more than 100 million views.
Their music empowers and focuses on messages about self-love, acceptance, and self-discovery. This resonates with a diverse and global fanbase, thanks to the band’s social activism: they have spoken at the United Nations, and in June made a $1 million dollar donation to Black Lives Matters, which was subsequently matched by ARMY.
BTS is unique because of their special connection to their fans, known as ARMY. The relationship they have with fans is personal and authentic, demonstrated by a reciprocal and creative exchange of plentiful content: live streams, tweets, vlogs (also known as Bangtan Bombs). These interactions go beyond the normal attempts at parasocial closeness that western celebrities have with their audience. They are just as in love with their fans as their fans are in love with them.
The combination of passionate fans, beautiful messages and hours of content leads, of course, to a lot of fanfiction.
Wait, fans write fanfiction about BTS? Aren’t they real people?
Fanfiction can derive from real people rather than fictional characters/stories, which is known as Real Person Fiction (RPF). It is constructed based on perception of the subject’s public interactions and media coverage. A type of fanfiction that is popular within BTS is Real Person Slash (RPS).
What is slash?
Slash is basically romance between two characters of the same sex, regardless of their sexual orientation in the canon material.
What is BTS slash like?
All the members are stunning, and often seen being affectionate. (They care about each other that much.) Given their origins in a country with stifling LGBTQ rights, and a global audience that has collective determined an autonomous intersectional fan space, their slash is unabashedly poly and queer. There are many stories that delve into consent, top and bottom power dynamics, and kink. It’s fun!
AFTER THE JUMP: Learn more about the lovable members of the band along with the five sexy key themes of BTS slash!
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and Ari Cohen star as a same-sex couple, move to a small town in search of a better environment for them and their 16-year-old daughter. But nothing is as it seems as something sinister lies behind the picturesque homes and welcoming faces of their new neighbors. Check out the trailer above! (Is the killer Jimbo? Welcome to the competition, honey.)
Based on the Tony Award-winning play that changed a generation, The Boys in the Band follows a group of nine gay men who gather for a birthday party in 1968 New York City – only to find the drinks and laughs interrupted when a visitor from the host’s past turns the evening upside down.
Check out the trailer for the small screen debut above!
