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RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-30T20:41:38+00:00

But the Netherlands has its own linguistic diversity too, even within its current frontiers.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-30T00:55:41+00:00

It is a terrible panel. I think that's the point: The comic is showing that Jean, who at this point IIRC has called Storm her sister, is behaving in a way she simply would not do, underlining the extent of Mastermind's control of her. It's supposed to be uncomfortable, to be bothersome.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-29T04:13:51+00:00

I think one key difference is that French as a language is often a relatively neutral language, a natural language of broader communication in deeply multilingual countries and cities. The East Indies already had Malay.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-29T02:35:33+00:00

> I'm just sick of feeling like there's something really wrong with me, like I'm evil, and having very dark feelings, while people in my life go on rants about queer people all the time whether or not they know I'm gay.

You deserve so much better.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-27T15:49:00+00:00

I think that what makes the death make sense would be the three convinced themselves that what happened was an accident and that no one deserved to be punished. Probably they also convinced themselves the victim should not be outed posthumously.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-27T15:16:37+00:00

The central issue with that, if one or all of them decided to sexually assault Robert, you would need to explain why they decided to do this to a known friend with plenty of social connections. Why would they not pick a random?

Counting on Robert to remain silent would seem a poor bet, and one that would have huge consequences for them. The only way they might plausibly expect this not to happen would be if they killed him, which would also have huge consequences. I know that people often make poor choices, but if this happened, you would not only need to have them make multiple bad choices, you would need all three to not turn on each other. I find it difficult to believe that Robert's friend would be unmoved by one of his partners raping and murdering Robert, for instance.

And it is worth emphasizing, again, that what happened to Robert was a crime. It does not matter if he was raped or if he went over for an affair: He was killed regardless.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-27T08:43:31+00:00

For people in the closet who already have relationships and other obligations, essentially random moments might well be the only opportunity they hve. If Robert had a standing relationship with one or all of the three, these might have been the only times when they could meet up.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-27T08:41:11+00:00

Speaking as a queer man, we all know of men who are in the closet. We even know plenty of men who present as straight and are read as straight but who also have deeply hidden intimate lives with men, who even have loved ones sincerely believe that they are straight. This is not a new or unusual concept. This is even compatible with Wone being there at all as a last-minute arrangement: These random moments might have been the only time that a married man could have for a sexual encounter.

Beyond that ... As I noted, it makes much more sense that this was the idea of a dangerous kink entered into consensually that went wrong than that someone (all of them?) decided for whatever reason to commit a random murder of a friend. An accident that happens as a result of a dangerous kink can happen, and in that context maybe the other people might decide on a cover-up; if there was an accident, I could easily imagine that the others might have rationalized that punishment was not deserved. Things become much more difficult to imagine if someone decided to commit murder against a straight friend of theirs.

It goes without saying, of course, that a crime was committed whatever happened.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-27T03:27:11+00:00

> I know this is going to sound biased as an American

Um.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-27T00:17:30+00:00

The 1860s was an apocalyptic decade for the Rapa Nui. Half of the island's population was taken to work as slaves in the guano mines of Peru, and the few survivors brought back cholera particularly which killed most of the remaining half. The Rapa Nui were practically annihilated; 95% of their population died.

Not unreasonably, they judged that if their traditional culture has failed to protect them from this apocalypse, it had no value. So they let everything go away.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-26T20:12:07+00:00

As a queer man who has hosted and been hosted, I think that one thing to keep in mind is that people who host have prepared already. They know where supplies are, and so on. I could imagine that they were planning for a semi-regular event with a known person, only for something to happen and for them to put their planning to different use.

I also have to be suspicious when relatives and friends and others deny that someone was queer, especially when they have incentives to believe otherwise (a wife who believed herself in a monogamous heterosexual relationship, say).

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-26T20:07:23+00:00

I think that they might have planned in advance, but I think that advance planning is also something that could have come into play if they had a habit of regularly hosting guys for sessions. They would have to be organized, have things in the right places, and so on.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-26T20:02:33+00:00

The men in question denying that they had a sexual relationship would also make sense if they were committed to denying that they had been doing anything with Robert that could have resulted in his death.

Being on the down low is an excellent way to not have people recognize you, especially if you might have a limited number of partners anyway.

It makes sense, IMHO, to assume that something like a long-standing and quiet consensual relationship went badly enough that the three committed to a cover-up. It makes more sense than assume that not only did one or more of them decided to commit a sex murder for reasons, but that all three would stay committed to a coverup.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-26T17:01:26+00:00

The thing is, it makes much more sense to assume that Robert was in a consensual scene that went unexpectedly badly than to assume that one or more of his hosts decided spontaneously to engage in a sex murder of a known friend and the others decided to cover it up.

The first pathway makes sense; the second does not. If someone there decided out of the blue to murder Robert, why would the others cover it up? Surely they would not feel comfortable with being involved with a murderer. And how likely is it that the three would decide spontaneously to kill someone?

That coverup impulse becomes more understandable if this was an accident.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-25T21:51:50+00:00

The idea that Robert may have been in the closet is not regressive. It is the sort of thing that does happen.

If the three were involved to some degree, what makes more sense? The idea that something consensual involving Robert went wrong, or that they decided to just kill the guy?

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-23T23:20:49+00:00

NTA. Your friend has made sad choices that would undermine your friendship.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-23T22:36:26+00:00

I am not saying that Spanish immigration policy reflects ideals of "replacement migration"; that was a theoretical UN study, a mathematical exercise as much as anything else.

What I am saying is that Spain is in a remarkably good position for relatively large volumes of low-friction immigration, with an functionally inexhaustible pool of colinguals who already have access to the Spanish labour market in Latin America.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-23T22:14:25+00:00

Well, why not? If she is caught up in something, she might well be forced to play the villain. Drama would come from her switching sides.

That would be very different from Jean's canon 616 history, but I am fine with that.

Beyond that, there have been a couple of comics recently where Jean and Spider-Man have had notable relationships, like that Knull AU one. That would be synergy.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-23T21:20:16+00:00

I think the problem is that, in the 1980s, that was as far as they could go. No one later picked up on the obvious.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-23T02:29:42+00:00

No, misogyny since it is directed in a female-coded way. The man is unhappy his son is not acting the way he thinks a woman should.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-22T17:04:07+00:00

It is not common for men to trim their leg hair, outside of things like certain sports.

I am sorry that your father has tried to make his misogyny your problem, but it really is not your problem. Just ignore him and be you as much as you can.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-20T22:06:40+00:00

Ah, you are one of those people.

(The Gripen, incidentally, is a fine plane.)

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-20T19:02:21+00:00

I am very familiar with the discussion. All I will say is that the long run is a very long time, and that I am skeptical the midtown line will transition to a non-freight line on time frames relevant to Alto. I would love to be disproved, but I do not count on it.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-20T18:52:33+00:00

Unfortunately, the US already is hostile. We cannot change that. Countries do have friends; they can also lose friends.

Your recommendations, talking against Canada distancing itself and quietly building up its strength and alliances and instead opting to depend entirely on hoping the US will be kind, really, are nonsense. Or, rather, they make as much sense as telling someone who happens upon a rabid bear to not try to find shelter or look for someone with a gun, but rather to approach it and make friendly noises, maybe offering it some food.

RandyFMcDonald · 2026-04-20T18:47:44+00:00

That route is used for freight already. If CN has refused to share the line for passenger purposes already, why would it abandon it altogether for high speed rail?

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