37: the fruity suburbanites have breached containment

content notes: concerns about homophobia and transphobia; mentions of cops, weapons, racism

july 12th, 2025

’tis a bonus Blobic and Chris comic, inspired by an adventure we went on the other day!

I hope this goes without saying, but in case it doesn’t: being queer / being queer-friendly and being into hunting are in no way mutually exclusive!!! it’s entirely possible that everyone else at this shop was also very gay or was otherwise unfazed by my partner and I’s whole deal, and I’m hoping that was the case. Chris and I also both tend to read as white men (or at least men-adjacent) to the average stranger, which I’m guessing makes up the majority of this shop’s demographic, so we had that “going for us” in a way. and some of my worries about standing out were definitely from a place of “these people seem much more knowledgeable about archery than I am! please forgive that we are newbies”

all that said, it’s definitely been interesting for me to notice how my experiences with being perceived as queer continue to evolve throughout my life, especially as I’m being read more and more as a man in public! I definitely think I felt more comfortable being in this shop as my current openly-queer-man self than I would have back as a semi-closeted femme teenager, but it keeps throwing me for a loop to remember that me being openly affectionate with someone who looks “boyfriend-y” is Visibly Gay Now in a way it wasn’t before, and it’s been taking me some intentional practice to get comfortable with that to the extent that I wanna be. I think this is one of my first relationships that isn’t very straight-passing, at least not currently, and it’s both scary and cool! I love my partner so so much and I want to keep them and me safe and welcome in as many spaces as possible, and I also want to show off how much I love them to everyone I meet all of the time. it’s been interesting choosing and learning how to balance and navigate this realistically in a way that works well for both of us!

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transcript:

my partner and I went to a hunting store the other day! this store had a cultural vibe that’s fairly different than what we’re used to, and I felt pretty self-conscious about standing out, because I was worried we wouldn’t be taken seriously
[arrows pointing to the store scenery note “lots of dead animals,” “guns,” and “pro-cop sticker,” while an arrow pointing to Blobic and Chris notes “fruity suburbanites.” additionally, Chris is noted to be vegan, while Blobic is wearing a rainbow bracelet and a shirt reading “my gender is snail” (available now on Redbubble!), and is “vibrating with the effort of repressing the urge to tuck Chris’ stray hair behind their ear”]

but the employees helped us string Chris’ new dumpster-dived bow, and taught us the basics of how to shoot it, and I learned a lot and had fun!
[Chris shoots an arrow into a target while an employee watches and Blobic claps happily]

by the end we felt comfortable enough to go out on a limb and act a little bit more normally, which felt like letting out a breath I’d been holding the whole time
[Chris, Blobic, the same employee, another employee, and a cat stand together]
Chris: remind me your name?
other employee: Name!
Chris: I’m Chris, and this is my partner Blobic
Blobic, shaking Name’s hand: nice to meet you!

I’m glad we went, and part of me wants to try coming back as our usual queer selves!
Blobic, while cuddling with Chris: wow,,, we’re the archery f****ts!

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