Bondage doesn't solve everything: a Kelvin/Keefe romance

The scene was especially intense tonight.  Kelvin, Keefe's boyfriend -- and for tonight, Master -- had him chained to a St. Andrew's cross, wearing a gigantic slave collar, the biggest in his collection, making it hard to breathe.  The nastiest alligator-clamps on his nipples.  And he was using a rider's crop on him!  

"Ow!" Keefe had subbed in a lot of BDSM scenes, back in the old days when he was Baby Queef, a performance artist at the Club Sinister, but he had never been into the pain part.   How about something fun, Babe, like edging me, or forcing me to do oral?   

"Ow!"  But Kelvin was new to BDSM, and not really good at reading his signals.  He wasn't even experienced in vanilla sex.  What do you expect from someone who grew up as the youngest child of world-famous megachurch pastor and televangelist Eli Gemstone, a role model (and teen idol) for millions of Christian kids?  That's a lot of pressure!  No wonder he was too guilt-ridden or worried about his image to do much sexual experimentation.

Kelvin unhooked his slave collar and pushed him down to his knees.  Oh boy, forced oral coming up!  Keefe thought.  But instead he got his horse whip and started on Keefe's chest. 

"Ow!"   Remember, he told himself, this is Kelvin, the love of your life.  You would do anything for him.  Keefe had been in love with him since Day 1, when Kelvin dragged him off-stage during a Baby Queef performance and moved him into his house.  But the preacher's son was deeply closeted: it took him over a year to say "I love you," and another before he would allow them to become intimate.  He still refused anal, either as the top or the bottom.  But that was fine...oral was all that Keefe needed. And kissing -- a lot of kissing. Maybe getting tied up and "forced" now and then, to spice things up.  

Is that really all I need? He asked himself.  Do I really want to spend my life on my knees, looking up at Kelvin?  Do I want a Master?

"This will teach you your place, Slave," Master was saying.  "You'll think twice before disobeying my orders again."

Huh?  What orders?  This was a scene -- a game.  Outside the dungeon, they were equal partners.  Weren't they?

"Wait -- Kelvin, are you punishing me for starting a teen group without your permission?"

"You will address me as Sir."

"I will address you as Kelvin.  Answer the question: Are you punishing me for starting a teen group without your permission? "  

"Ow!"  The whip came down on his back, hard.  He roared with pain and rage.  "Get me out of here, jackass!  Now!"

"The safe word is 'green.'"

"Green, green, green!"

Kelvin put down the whip.  "Ok, ok, hang on."  He started untying the ropes.  "What's wrong, Keefe?  I thought you liked this.  You're aroused"

"Kelvin, you're standing in front of me naked.  Of course I'm aroused"  His hands free, he removed the nipple clamps and sat down on a leather bench. 

"You know that love you," he began.  He had said it a hundred times before, but here, now, it felt different.  "But it's not like any other love I've ever felt.  It's white-hot, fierce, so intense that I lose myself.  Everything I want, everything I need falls away.  All I want is to look into your eyes forever."

"That's a good thing, right?" Kelvin said.  "You're everything I need, too."

"And you want it to happen," Keefe continued.  "I don't really have a job, with duties and a salary -- I do what you tell me to do.  If I make a suggestion, you dismiss me.  If I disagree with anything, you pout." 

"You apologized for starting that teen group without my permission," Kelvin said, "And I forgave you.  Why are you still harping on it?"

"Everything I own is either a gift from you or something I bought with your money. "  

"I didn't know you felt this way," Kelvin said, sarcastic.  "I'm sorry that I buy you things."

"I'm one of your accessories, someone to parade around so everybody thinks you're cool."  Suddenly the tears started up. "I want to share my life with you; I don't want you to be my life.  I want us to walk side by side, as partners.."

"But Keefe, you are my partner," Kelvin said, paling as he realized what was happening.

"No, I'm not.  I'm your boy toy."  The tears started.  He struggled to talk.   "I have to go.  Right now."  

"No, don't...I love you..." and as Keefe headed to the door.  "You can't go out like that.  At least let me take off the slave collar."

But he couldn't wait.  Kelvin followed for  a few steps.  "Wait..." he called, his voice cracking.  He was starting to cry, too.  "I love..."

Keefe ran up the stairs, across the foyer, and out of the house.  Should he go back inside to change clothes and pick up some car keys? No way -- if he turned back, he would collapse into Kelvin's arms. He took one of the golf carts and drove it, tears burning in his eyes, across the estate to Judy and BJ's house.  

Judy, Kelvin's older sister, answered the door. "Keefe, darlin', you're crying.  What's wrong?  Did that jackass Kelvin do something?  Did he hit you?"

"Not like that," he managed to stammer.  "I...I....think I left him." 

She led him to the couch in the parlor, and sat with her arm around his shoulders.  Soon BJ appeared, and sat on other side.  It took a moment for him to speak. "I need somewhere else to stay tonight.  And maybe...."  He broke down again.

"Of course you can stay here until you get things sorted out,"  Judy told him.  "And even if you don't.  You're part of the family, with or without Kelvin.  You'll always have a home here.  I'm sure Daddy will be happy to give you his father's house, since Gideon doesn't want it."

"It's too early for plans like that," BJ told her sternly.  "Right now we just need to get Keefe through the night.  Could you go into the kitchen and make us some tea?"

"I don't know how to make tea!" Judy protested. "Emilia always makes it."

"Oh -- just microwave some water and put a Lipton's teabag in it."

"Water will be fine, Judy," Keefe said.

She vanished into the kitchen.  BJ kept his arm around Keefe.  "Buddy, it's hard being the partner of a celebrity.  You're in their shadow so much that it feels like you're losing yourself.  I know from experience."

Keefe stared.  That was exactly what he said, half an hour ago.

"But you don't just let it end.  You have to fight.  Find some way to be your own man.  Find a life that doesn't revolve around him.  If he loves you, he'll accept that."

"Maybe I'll fight tomorrow," Keefe told him.  "Right now I'm too tired to think,"

"Oh, of course.  Stupid of me.  We'll get that collar off and find some pajamas for you to wear.  Will you be ok by yourself in the guest suite?  I could bed down on the couch in there. "

"No, that's ok.  I just want to sleep."

In the morning,  the housekeeper Emilia made turkey sausage, 12-grain toast, and a fruit parfait just for Keefe, but he couldn't eat more than a few bites.  At least he wasn't crying anymore, but...he had been with Kelvin almost every moment for the last three years.  Even having breakfast without him seemed strange.

"Morning, Brother."  Kelvin was there, right in the doorway!  Judy stood quickly to block his entry. 

"Can't I just talk to him?"  

She looked at Keefe for validation. He shook his head.

"You heard the man.  Get out!"

"Judy, I came to pick you up for the Salvation Center.  We have a board meeting in half an hour."

"That's a lie and you know it!  We always take separate cars..."  She glanced back at Keefe again.  "Oh, sorry, I forgot that I asked you to pick me up this morning."  She returned to the table, kissed BJ on the cheek, and hugged Keefe.  "Bye, y'all.  I wish I could come along on all the fun things BJ has planned for you today!"

Then they were gone.  Keefe watched for a long time, hoping that they would return for something, and he could see Kelvin again.  "What fun things do you have planned for us today?" he asked.

"Oh, Judy was just trying to make Kelvin mad.  In a few minutes I'll pop over to your house and get some of your stuff.  Then I'm free all day , if you want to do something -- go to the beach or Splash Mountain, or to a movie. Or we can just hang out here and play video games."

Keefe frowned.  "Don't go to any trouble on my account.  If you have somewhere to be..."

More after the break

"The Out-Laws": Adam Devine has a crush on Pierce Brosnan. Don't you?

The Out-Laws has an embarrassing low Rotten Tomatoes score, but it stars Adam Devine, plus Reyn Doi, who played a gay kid on That 90's Show, as a “weird and interesting looking boy famous for ribbon dancing to weird music.” Maybe he'll be gay in this movie, too.

Scene 1: This is amazing: a diorama of a wedding reception featuring miniatures of every cartoon and sci-fi character you have ever heard of: Beavis and Butt-head, E.T.,  The Human Fly, Ren and Stimpy, Gumby, a Teletubby.  Owen (Adam Devine) explains to his fiancee Parker (a girl) that each character matches a real guest's personality.  His horrible parents are Skeletor and Medusa.  

She wants to know which figure he is.  "He-Man, of course."  To demonstrate the resemblance, he shakes his butt and frontside (no underwear for our boy!).

"This is the man I'm going to marry," she says with a resigned sigh.  I take that you didn't choose Owen for his goofball personality, girl?  It must have been the cock and balls bouncing around. 

"By the way, let's start the plot moving: my parents can come to the wedding after all."  He gets all excited; they smooch. It's a heterosexual rom-com.  Get used to it.

Scene 2:  Owen 's parents, Skeletor and Medusa, criticize his fiancee ("She is not a stripper!  She owns a very successful yoga studio!"), his choice of wedding venue, and finally him ("You're becoming weird, Owen!).

Cut to work. He is the youngest manager in the history of Sunshine Bank!   After polishing his photo and booping its nose, he faces his work buds.  They complain that he never dated anyone before, and now suddenly he's engaged.  What's wrong with her?  Why does one of the most handsome men on Earth play so many guys who can't get laid?  You can only stretch willing suspension of disbelief so far.

First crisis: Gary has locked himself in the vault again, even though there's an emergency exit lever right there. 

Security guard buddy Tyree (Lil Rel Howery) tells  Owen that the manager of the competing bank called him a "dickless troll" "I tried not to laugh, but it was fucking hysterical, imagining you without a dick."  Now try imagining him with a dick.

Scene 3:  Dinner at a hibachi restaurant with Owen, his parents, his cousin, his grandmother, a teenage girl, and a little boy.  They grill Fiancee Parker on being a stripper.  "I'm a yoga instructor!" she protests.  Cousin RJ (Blake Anderson from Workaholics) has become an EMT; he wants to give Owen a ride in his ambulance and flatline him so he can visit their grandpa, who died of...well, figure it out for yourself.  It's dirty.

Owen needs some pictures of Parker's parents for his next creative project, but she doesn't have any, so he calls the owner of their storage facility to ask to be admitted to the McDermott locker.  There are two pictures of shirtless guys on the bulletin board behind him.  The storage guy is gay!  

The storage guy calls a Scary Rich Lady to notify her that someone asked about the locker.   She takes Owen's name, then deals with the issue of a guy selling her fake diamonds -- by shooting him! Uh-oh, Owen is in over his head. 

Later, while getting ready for bed (no beefcake), Owen and Fiancee Parker discuss the logistics of her parents' visit: they'll arrive the night before the wedding, and so on. Owen puts in his retainer, but then realizes that his girl wants to smooch and spits it out.  She definitely was attracted by his genitals, not by his goofiness.  Their foreplay consist of her fondling his earlobes or something.

Scene 4:  Owen comes into the house with groceries, talking to Parker on his phone: "I got that tofu you like." "Yeah, I like my tofu like I like my men: real hard."  Me too, girl.   She continues that "Tonight I'm going to twist you up like one of those Go-Gurts and slurp you dry."  Ok, I like to imagine Adam getting oral sex as much as the next guy, but that sounds painful.  

He begins singing about how tonight they're finally going to bone.  Wait -- they sleep in the same bed. Why wouldn't they have....? 

 Her parents are in the house, watching!  Surprise -- they're 1980s mega-stars Pierce Brosnan (Billy) and Ellen Barkin (Lily).  Who didn't have a crush on Brosnan's lovable rogue on Remington Steele?

After decking him in self-defense and informing him that they aren't burglars, Mom Lily wants a hug, and Dad Billy kisses him - right on the mouth!  "You kiss just like Parker!"  Owen exclaims, not entirely displeasd.

Parker comes in.  The parents act batshit crazy, threatening Owen and then backing off with "I'm joking." Wait -- is Parker doing a long con, pretending to be in love with Owen so her confederates can rob his bank?

Scene 5:  Wine, weird art-project presents, and their meet-cute story: Owen enrolled in Parker's yoga class, and passed out in the child-position, butt in the air.  She thought he was dead. "So you asked her out?"  "No, I stayed in the class for a year and a half, then she asked me out."  That's a very long con.  Parker must be unaware of her parents' career path.

Cut to Owen making breakfast the next morning.  Parker can't get anyone to cover her class, so  Owen has to entertain her parents.  

They discover that Owen doesn't like his butt grabbed: "It scares me."  So of course they all have to do it.  This will become important later.

Scene 6: Owen has some fun activities planned: a South American pottery exhibit, followed by the Holocaust Museum (it has a great food court). But they're up for skydiving, with Owen attached to Dad Billy's body: "I'm not going to pull the cord until you convince me that I should let you marry my daughter."  I'd be calling that wedding off the minute we hit the ground.  

Owen: "I love her!  I dog sit!  I tip 20%!  I'll never have sex with her! Pull the cord!" Billy: "That's my cock, you idiot!"  Geez, Owen, at least wait until you land.

Next up: a tattoo parlor, but Owen is too sensitive for more than one prick.

Next: a bar.  Owen gushes about how cool Dad Billy is.  Even his smell!  "You're so lucky you get to have sex with him," he tells Lily.  Maybe if you ask him nicely, he'll invite you to join in. 

Billy runs into the Scary Rich Lady, and assures her that Owen is an idiot.  He has no idea what's going on.  

Scene 7:  Next day?  Owen at work, praising Billy to high heaven. Just ask him out, Dude.  You won't be the first guy to dump a girl for her Dad.

Suddenly two robbers burst in, their faces covered, their voices disguised.  They force Owen to the bank vault.  Somehow they know about his vocal security bypass (he has to sing "She left me roses by the stairs.")  

Owen recognizes Billy's distinctive scent!  The robbers are his in-laws!  On the way out, they call Owen by name and toss him the ink-packet, blasting him with pink dye.  

Scene 8: While the police take statements, Owen remembers that he was bragging about being bank manager yesterday, and he told Lily the code!  Uh-oh, they will think he's in on the robbery.  Then Parker arrives -- with her parents.  

They tag along while Owen is interviewed by an FBI Agent.  Of course, he can't say anything with the two bank robbers right there. The Agent ask how they knew the access code.  Owen starts crying. 

Scene 9: On the way home, the Parent/Outlaws force Owen to sit between them.  He is terrified.  

At home, he showers, then calls his security guard bud Tyree for advice: "Don't do anything.  First, they'll kill you.  Second, you gave them the codes; you're the mastermind!"

Left: Pierce Brosnan's butt.

Next, he tries to tell his own parents, but they're clueless.  He suggests they do their speciality of asking highly invasive personal questions when they all have lunch. 

I'm out of room, so I'll stop there.

Beefcake: None.  But Owen talks about his penis a lot.  In case you haven't seen it lately, here's a close up.

Heterosexism: Owen and Parker smooch 30,000 times.  What do you expect in a rom-com caper?

Gay Characters: Maybe the Storage Guy.

 Reyn Doi appears in one scene, as the entertainment at the Scary Rich Lady's house.  Scary Lady explains that he is "like the Kanye of the former Soviet Bloc."  Not enough screen time to determine if the character is gay. 

Gay Subtext:   Big time, although the scene in the top photo is from another movie. Owen has quite a crush on Billy, even kissing him.  Billy backs away in surprise, and Owen explains: "Well, you kissed me when we first met," "Yes, but I didn't use tongue."  I wouldn't be surprised if Adam was actually playing Owen as bi.

My Grade: Simplistic plot, but the one-liners and physical comedy made the movie much funnier than I expected from the reviews. Adam Devine appears to be made of rubber, and he will do anything for a laugh.  It's like watching an old-time silent movie comedian like Buster Keaton. The gay subtext was a plus, but points off for the lack of overt LGBTQ representation.  B+.

See also: Bumper in Berlin

Why Him?: Adam Devine hooks up with Griffin Gluck over discussions of jizz

Workaholics Episode 5.5: Penis jokes and buddy bonding at a gay pride party

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Nude photos of Trench, Mr. Freeze, the Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, and an Austrian fitness model

Arnold needs no last name.  He almost single-handedly took bodybuilding out the realm of  Muscle Beach physical culturists and Italian sword-and-sandal movies and created the genre of Man-Mountains. His superlative physique and distinctive Austrian growl have been parodied innumerable times, on Saturday Night Live, on Seinfeld, on Tiny Toon Adventures).    It's hard to leave a room temporarily without being tempted to use his signature line from The Terminator, "I'll be back," or Terminator 2, "Come with me if you want to live."

Already a Mr. Universe and nearly a Mr. Olympia, the 21 year old Mr. Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in 1968 with his best friend Franco Columbu, to become an actor.  He posed for a lot of fitness magazines, including the gay-coded Tomorrow's Man.  In the 1970s he was the subject of more conventional semi-nude paintings by Jamie Wyeth.  

In the 1980s, photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe.

I had a friend in the 1980s whose bathroom featured what looked very much like a nude photo of Arnold, clipped from a fitness magazine.  It's not the black and white beach photo above, or the flexing photo that's available everywhere; this one was in color, and showed Arnold standing on a hillside.

Arnold's first starring role was in Hercules in New York (1969), which nobody saw.  His accent was so bad that his lines were dubbed.

He starred in Stay Hungry (1976), about a young man, drawn into the world of bodybuilding, and in The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980), asMansfield's muscular husband, Mickey Hargitay.

More Arnold after the break