3+ day, 3+ hour ago (366+ words) The last time I saw my grandmother, she kept asking, "Is the other Frances your sister?" My grandfather had noticed the changes to my shape in the months before his death, too, remarking every time I saw him that I looked fit. We would talk about the tomatoes and garlic I was growing in my small garden plot, how I still had not grown any tomatoes as fragrant or flavorful as his. A compliment he repeated was, "Farming looks good on you, Fran." Grandpa, similarly gentle, complimented my hair when I came home from college with it boyishly short. He taught me to clean a fish when I was seven, an important skill for his oldest grandchild to have regardless of birth sex. My mother's mother and father's father both seemed to accept that their grandchildren did not need to…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago (411+ words) At my job my boss laid out very clear expectations for what needed to happen for me to get a raise and I did hit all of those marks, numbers and expectations. But when I sat down with HR to discuss my performance, she said I need to show up with more positive energy and contribute more in meetings to get my raise. Summer: Gods, I hate corporate unculture so much. This grates my autistic brain because you were set very obvious criteria for a raise. That implies an agreement with conditions. You met their conditions and they failed to meet you in turn. You've got two major paths here. Acquiescence or friction. Friction being to take it up with HR and actively oppose the unfair conditions that are imposed on you. It's the "right' thing to do, but not…...

3+ day, 23+ hour ago (688+ words) 1. Compression Boots ($500)2. Wilson Vest ($54)3. Wilson Tennis Pants ($98)4. Preeti Mistry Dal Blend, Burlap and Barrel ($12)5.Smart Sleep Wakeup Light ($149)6. East Fork Every Day Bowl 4-pack ($141) Michigan Big Logo Hoodie ($49)Glass Prep Mixing Bowls ($45)Bombas Gripper Slippers ($48)Zojirushi Water Bottle ($36.76)Williams Sonoma Goldtouch Pro Nonstick Bakeware Ultimate Set of 6 ($139.95)Yoto Player ($109.99) I guess this year what I want is a lot of "Dad who doesn't get out much because his child is always sick" stuff. For starters, Michigan hoodie (my wife thinks I have enough hoodies but sadly" she is wrong) for those chilly 6 a.m. morning walks where I'm wearing a baby and walking this lunatic dog who lives in my house. I think I'm ready for a better water bottle, particularly because I keep dropping my current water bottle on the ground. 1. Powerball Ticket ($2)2. For Them Trad Boxer ($28)3. Loop Earplugs ($48)4. Smart Projector…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (343+ words) Seasonally, my questioning was appropriate. The deciduous trees lining Prospect Park are just beginning to shed their leaves, it's apple season at the local farmers markets, and most importantly, it's Femme Top Fall. What better time to embrace the femme top identity than right now? I'm a firm believer that the best tops are former bottoms! This is perhaps a self-serving take, but I do think there's merit to the idea. We know what works, because it's worked on us (save for the usual caveats that everyone's experience is different, bottoms are not a monolith, etc etc). ANYWAY, if you're a soon-to-be-former-bottom reading this piece, it's time to step up and do your part to end the top shortage. The future belongs to us, former bottoms. Topping is a skill, it turns out, and it takes time and practice to…...

5+ day, 19+ hour ago (394+ words) 1. Pac Man Ghost Purse Charms ($20)2. Pokeball Pill Case ($35)3. Iridescent Earrings ($45)4. Rain Clouds Earrings ($45)5. The Siya Berry Flower Crown Hoops ($105)6. Gold Heart Studs ($86) Plus, I would be remiss if I didn't plug at least a few shops that focus on beads, including SweetgrassCrafts and RebelinaShop, both of which have beautiful and affordable options. 1. Yaakni' Chokma' Blanket ($440)2. Mahli Designed King Sheet Sets ($375)3. Modern Hummingbird Throw Blanket ($73)4. Birch Bark Standing Sage Holder ($36)5. Turtle Potholders ($20)6. Moon Quilt Holiday Gift Set ($379) Indigo Arrows, an Indigenous-led Interior Design and Textile Studio based in Treaty One Territory, has lovely options like the "Love" Swaddle Blanket for the baby children in your life and a Moon Quilt Holiday Set you could use for a all-encompassing housewarming gift for any U-Haulers in your life. Finally, Kotah Bear has a variety of affordable options, including this plush bathrobe that I…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago (505+ words) How's your October been? Sending you good dreams, Cowboy I (28, trans masc non binary) have had recurring nightmares about having to go back to school (both high school AND college) because I missed one class and I'm always late and forget what I am supposed to work on! I graduated high school 10 years ago and college 4 years ago. " Beks L Thank you for the gift of your dream. Also, not to make this about me in any way, but I identify with this SO MUCH. I, too, have had recurring nightmares about being forced to return to high school at my present age, and it's always awful and terrible and, when I wake up, I swear that even if that did happen I wouldn't go back. They couldn't make me. Cast your gaze backwards. What keeps you on the hook?...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (855+ words) First up, we have our top seven picks for the month, followed by the rest of the titles we're hotly anticipating. This memoir in essays explores chronic illness, grief, identity, and navigating society from a queer and Black lens. Author Danielle Bainbridge is an academic and playwright who co-created PBS Origins. I'm new to Bainbridge's work, but I love a memoir in essays! And now enjoy the rest of our most anticipated LGBTQ books for November 2025! A small town murder mystery YA, Girls Who Play Dead is about queer protagonist Mikky moving home to help his sister through the grief of her best friend Erin's murder. Here we have a 90s-set romance about aspiring poet Bird and music-loving Jessa, whose paths cross only because their two best friends start dating. They conspire to break those friends up, but this scheme…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (1560+ words) Nic Anstett is a writer from Baltimore, MD who specializes in the bizarre, spectacular, and queer. She is a graduate from the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Workshop, University of Oregon's MFA program, and the Tin House Summer Workshop where she was a 2021 Scholar. Her work is published and forthcoming in Witness Magazine, Passages North, North American Review, Lightspeed, Bat City Review, Sycamore Review, and elsewhere. She currently lives in Annapolis, MD with her girlfriend and is at work on a collection of short stories and maybe a novel. I don't need to tell you that it's been a scary year to be trans. The horrors are blasted across our newsfeeds on a daily basis. There is no shortage of scary shit out there, but I find myself turning more and more to horror literature to escape and make sense…...

4+ day, 18+ hour ago (541+ words) Tears, obviously. You're only human. You don't tell anyone else, not yet. Tonight the news is just for you. You sleep in the same bed as your now-ex. You're only human. You finally tell your family. You don't know why you sat on the news for a few days. You're not ashamed, necessarily, but you're nervous to admit that this attempt at Forever Love did not last. Your parents ask if you want to come home, and you do. Your sister holds your hand the entire train ride. You remember love is still present in your life. You join a sapphic sports league. It turns out that as a sporty dyke, you love being in community with other sporty dykes. As a bonus, most of them are hot. You begin to look forward to your Sundays, doing a full face…...

4+ week, 1+ day ago (606+ words) My ex remarried last year and I find myself being jealous of how much her new wife loves parenting our son, our son calls her "dad" and they do things one-on-one, whereas my gf has never done a one-on-one outing with our son. Her new wife has always wanted to be a parent and is just so ready to parent our son. Summer: Well, I can"t hold anything against your current girlfriend because she made it clear she did not want full co-parenting responsibilities and you agreed to it. She"s done nothing out of sync with the agreement you made at the start of the relationship. I think you really need to sit with this one and think long and hard about what your future looks like. Summer: Well, substance use is one of two areas I can…...