The Mighty Nein: Animated D&D game with a ragtag fellowship, a naked Orc, a lot of gay/bi guys, and Riker from "Star Trek"

Link to the n*de dudes and Orcs

I saw The Mighty Men on Amazon Prime, and figured that it was about "the mighty men of old" mentioned in Genesis 6:4 -- a verse that always gave me a little stirring when I was a kid sitting in Sunday school or the morning church service.  

Mighty Men -- like Hercules on Saturday morning cartoons: 

Softness in his eyes, iron in his thighs,
Virtue in his heart, fire in every part
Of the Mighty Hercules.

Could we go back to the iron in his thighs again?  

By the time I figured out that it was The Mighty Nein,  I was already invested.  

Scene 1: Some veiled beings with cow-ears gather around a giant pulsating gem, and an Orc (Graham McTavish) holding his dying wife. There's always a dead wife. 

 They kiss; she swears that they'll be together again; he grabs the ceremonial knife and kills her.

Priestess: "As the body dies, the soul lives on for eternity with the Luxon."  

The gem absorbs her soul.  Husband: "I can't wait to see who you will become."  Is she getting reincarnated or moving on to the afterlife?  Make up your mind.

Scene 2:  Priestess yells that they've been breached -- "protect the beacon (gem)!"  A cultist grabs it and runs to a vault with a statue of another husband and wife.  The beacon cleverly hides the husband's crotch.  

 He hides it and closes the vault -- just in time to be eviscerated by three warriors, Astrid, Dain (Matthew Mercer), and Eadwulf (Redchild).   They grab the beacon/gem, eviscerate some more guards, conjure a shadow-being to subdue the rest, evaporate doors, jump over tall buildings, and vanish another dimension.

Scene 3: Next stop, a wooden fort in the forest.  But their horses are supposed to be ready.  What's gone wrong?   Eadwulf and the Astrid, investigate.  Dain stays behind with the gem/beacon.  But he makes the mistake of looking at it (haven't you read any heroic fantasy?  It will possess you!).  

Meanwhile, Eadwulf and Astrid notice that everyone in the fort is dead.  "The Kyrin are here!  It's a trap!  Run!"  Too late -- the whole dimension explodes!

Some viewers may recognize them from their many, many appearances in tv series, webseries, podcasts, video games, and online Dungeons & Dragons games, but I didn't, and it's not really necessary to understand this installment of their adventures.

Opening: Cut to the opening sequence, five-minutes long (which is standard for Japanese anime):  a fort on fire; a wounded guy sinking into the water; everyone smiling; a muscle guy; the Tarot card Death; a goblin jumping over its opponents; a redhead fighting; an Elf crying; a muscular tightrope-walker; a pink bunny pulling on a female being's antlers; an old guy, probably their Gandalf (I mean Dumbledore); a group shot.  

We only get the stories of three in the first episode.  All interspliced, but I'll separate them out.

Caleb and the Goblin

Caleb (Liam O'Brien), the redhead, is being bullied by two teenagers (Yuri Lowenthal, left, Rowan Atkins Downs).  He uses his magical powers to scare them off, then tries to pick the lock of the Mystic Banshee shop.  

Uh-oh, a Goblin picks his pocket.  Caleb chases it down, but it reveals that it was just trying to help: the lock is booby-trapped, and would have killed him.  "Refill my flask, and I'll show you how to break into the magic shop."

The Goblin, Nott the Brave, is actually a halfling rogue/wizard under a curse.   Presumably there will be a big reveal at some point.

 It is voiced by Sam Riegel, who looks like a lady with a beard, but is apparently a cisgender man.   male. 

Caleb and the Goblin, wait for the owner of the magic shop to lock up and go home, and break in to look for the unspecified thing that he wanted: something guarded by a scary bat-being.  Hey, Caleb uses German words.  Shouldn't they all be speaking Westron or Elvish or something imaginary?

Uh-oh, the Goblin sees a poster: Caleb is wanted for murder, with the reward 100,000 gold pieces.  Should they turn him in?  Too late -- the shop owner returns and chases them out. 

They bond, and Caleb tells his back story: he and his friends Astrid and Eadwulf (remember them?) were students at the Magic Academy 9 (and also in a three-way bisexual romance, but that isn't mentioned here).  The evil headmaster Ikithon had indoctrinated them so severely that when he ordered them to murder their parents as a final test of loyalty, he did.  Then he felt guilty and stumbled out into the night.  

 

Beau

Beau, the guy in blue on the far right, examines the destroyed wooden fort  where the thieves who stole the gem/beacon were splattered.  His Dwarf supervisor argues that it was "the damn Kriks," a racist term for the Kyrin (the cow-eared elves who kill their partners so their souls can be absorbed).

Beau uses his psychic powers to see the three thieves being splattered.  One of them, Astrid, survived the blast, and is watching.  Plus he finds two green gems that are used to intensify magic.  "This wasn't a Kyrin attack," he exclaims.  "It was someone from the Magic Academy!

Dwarf Supervisor thinks that this theory is ridiculous.  The Magic Academy is in their country!  Why would you attack your own people?

A n*de phot of Omidi Abtahi, who plays the bartender in one episode, on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.  I was looking for n*de photos of the actor who plays Beau, but it turns out that she is a female character, played by a woman. She has appeared in many D&D games, podcasts, and so on, so regular fans already know, but for new viewers it will be a Big Reveal later on.  

In some of the stories, Beau gets a girlfriend, but there's no mention of lesbian interest here.

More after the break

What has Ian Winningkoff been up to lately? Hint: you'll need several n*de dudes, one going downtown, to get through it all

  

Link to the n*de photos

In October 2023, I posted a profile of Ian Winningkoff: Young Chuck Montgomery in Righteous Gemstones Season 3, Classmate #2 in an episode of Secrets of Sulphur Springs, and Danny Zuko in a local production of Grease.  There were a lot of page views during the first week or so, and then they dwindled to near zero, the usual fate of profiles of actors who aren't particularly famous. 

 But during the last few days, the number of page views has skyrocketed, leading me to wonder if something has happened.  Did Ian get a starring role in a big production?  Did he come out?  Did he get arrested?

So let's check Ian's Instagram, his dad's Facebook page, and his high school website to see what he's been up to lately.

In the summer of 2024, Ian starred as Troy Bolton in a local production of High School Musical.

2024-25 was his senior year at Ben Franklin High in New Orleans.  We see him in January 2025, filling out a profile for the NCSA college recruiting website: "I love the game of basketball on a larger note then just playing, but my dream is to play for a college program."

And he's got a goatee that makes him look like a Disney villain.  Not just Disney:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Wes Bentley, Tom Cruise, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, and Spock got bearded up when their character went dark.

Mardi Gras, 2025: Ian is hanging with some rather hot homies, no girls. So, into guys, buddy? 

In April 2025, Ian's dad notes that he is starring in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

A photo dump from April 2025 shows Ian hugging his buddy Xander, who will receive the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award and be named to the LHSAA All-Academic Team.  Quite an impressive boyfriend -- oh, wait, the rest of the photos show Ian hugging, kissing, and pretending to strangle a girl.

Next comes a n*de dude on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.  You'll need it to get through what comes next:

May 2025, Ian's Senior Prom photo dump: multiple scenes of hugging, kissing, pretending to strangle, dancing in his underwear with, sticking his tongue out at, and licking the corsage of a girl. Here he winks so we will congratulate him on being heterosexual. 

More after the break.  

Recker Eans: The gaydar boy on "Beyond Waverly Place" drums in gay-friendly videos, but is he gay in real life? With bandmate d*cks

Link to the n*de photos

In Season 2 of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place (2025),  the Dark Lord Morsus enlists one of his Orcs (Adam Nemet) to enter the human world, befriend Billie, the Chosen One, and when her defenses are down, bring her and her family to the dark realm.  

He appears as Quentin (Recker Eans), a middle school bad boy, makes contact, and grows to genuinely like her and her guardian, the wizard Justin (David Henrie).  At the school dance, accidentally reveals his true identity, but promises not to hurt Billie or her family. 

In the Season 2 finale cliffhanger, Billie's brother Roman (Alkaio Thiele) sees Quentin in his true form and, not realizing that he is an ally, banishes him to the Nowhere Zone, "a dark, cold realm of dangerous beasts."  They'll have to mount a daring rescue in Season 3. 

Although Billie has a crush on Quentin, it is unlikely that he has romantic feelings toward her, a being of another species who is 1/1000ths his age.  Actually, Quentin seems much more invested in establishing a friendship with Justin.  

Actor Recker Eans was certainly pinging my gaydar. Here he is tied up and terrified as actress  Janice LeeAnn Brown tries to lick him.  Just say no, buddy.

 

I started researching Recker, figuring that he would start with the usual community theater and commercial gigs, followed by a series of short films with odd subjects and guest spots on teencoms.  Not at all.

Recker was born in Gilbert Arizona on August 3, 2010, making him 15 as of this writing and 14 when he played Quentin.  

He got a drum set for his fifth birthday, and started taking lessons at the School of Rock (a real music school a few blocks from his house).  By the age of seven, he was featured in a drumming documentary, and interviewed in Gilbert Lifestyle.  

He started his own band, the Twits, and soon they were performing throughout the Phoenix area. Eventually they opened for Devo in Las  Vegas.  Plus he starred in three episodes of  a BBC science program, The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed; and an ad campaign for Gap Kids.

At the age of nine, Recker was featured as one of The Great 48, "The 48 most influential people living in the Valley Today," for Phoenix Magazine.

By age ten, he was drumming for Neffex, Volbeat and Signals.

I watched a couple of the music videos.

Neffex, "The Worst in Me" (2020)

Just yesterday I was making you laugh
How did things get so bad?
How do I make you so mad?
I look at you and I miss what I've seen
A smile so bright with your eyes so green
And I'll wait for the day it comes back to me

No girl-pronouns!  The lyrics could be addressing anyone. Plus, as the two guys (Bryce Savage, above, Cameron Wales) sing on an open truck bed, they attract the attention of an elderly woman, a young woman fixing a car, two bodybuilders, a girl on a bike, a skateboarder, and Recker getting a tattoo. 

Signals, "Disastermind" (2020):

The boy (Recker) tries to get the attention of his parents, but is ignored.  He makes a mess, and gets in trouble.  Finally, he makes a pair of angel wings and a sword, and runs down the street, while Michael "Jag" Jagmin and Jonathan Kintz sing:

Locked away in a tower above the sky
When I wake, am I still nothing?
Hate me, break me
When I wake, am I still nothing?
It's easy to flee when you feel like you're meant to be
On the other side

Gay boys growing up amid the constant  "what girl do you like?" interrogation can relate.

Of course, Recker had no control over the lyrics, but it is interesting that he gravitates toward gay-friendly or at least non-heteronormative work. 

More after the break.  

David Henrie: The Wizard of Waverly Place re-wizards, but is he as gay-friendly and n*de as his costars?

Link to the n*de dudes

I thought lightning might strike twice, or rather five times. The Wizards of Waverly Place, which ran on the Disney Channel from 2007 to 2012, featured countless gay subtexts and about a dozen beefcake hunks who have gone on to a gay-positive adulthood.

Gregg Sulkin, left, displays his physique in gay magazines.

Jake T. Austin starred in the gay-friendly The Fosters.

Dan Benson runs a gay-friendly OnlyFans page, where he reviews adult products and shows his d*ck.

Selena Gomez is "mostly straight," and reveals that her character, Alex Russo, was bisexual, but the Disney censors wouldn't let them say so.

David DeLuise is a gay ally who has a n*de video online -- after the break.

So what about David Henrie, who played eldest wizard in the family, Justin Russo?

Since Wizards, he has done a lot of voice work, and had minor roles in movies: 

Lane in Paul Blart, Mall Cop

Rudy Isling -- Walt Disney's competitor -- in Walt Before Mickey.

Clean Cut Man in Cardboard Boxer, about a homeless man who is forced into cage matches.

Sebastian in This is the Year, about a teen road trip.  David also directed, and his brother Lorenzo Henrie starred.  

The Young Ronald Reagan in a 2024 biopic.  Ugh.

Six episodes of Underdeveloped, a mockumentary about inept producers.

No gay content here.

More after the break

Jason Maybaum: Is the gay-vague son on "Raven's Home" gay in real life? With some Disney Descendants and Jake Green

 

Link to the n*de dudes

In 2021, I reviewed an episode of Raven's Home (2017-2023), the Disney channel update of That's So Raven, in which the girl with psychic powers grows up and moves in with her frenemy Chelsea, and they raise their kids together.  I didn't realize at the time that Raven Simone, an out lesbian in a same-sex marriage, refused to make Raven gay!  Disney offered, she refused!  Friggin' Uncle Tom, complicit in the heteronormative erasure of LGBT people -- including lesbians, darn it!

Chelsea's son Levi (Jason Maybaum, left, with costar Isaac Ryan Brown) is a femme boy, an aspiring actor, cast as the gay-subtext Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet.  Mom says "I'm proud of you, no matter what," which is usually what parents say to avoid saying "even if you're gay." And he never expresses any interest in girls in any episode -- I checked.  Due to Raven's insistence on heteronormative erasure, he couldn't be canonically gay, but -- and the writers -- certainly piled on the gay subtexts.  Could Jason be gay in real life?   

Jason was born on August 31, 2007, and began his acting career in commercials in 2014, when he was seven years old.

He played the son in The Perfect Stanleys (2015), about a stay-at-home mom whose life is "perfect."

A bratty kid who criticizes Ders' museum purchases in an episode of Workaholics (2016)

A commercial kid who terrorizes sports great Frank Cushman (Jerry O'Connell) in an episode of the mockumentary series The Fifth Quarter (2016). Jake Green, on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends, plays the narrator.

The son in Bi*tch (2017), about a woman who snaps and thinks she's a dog (say what?).

The bratty son of Superstore manager Glen (2017).

A student in Teachers (2017), with Ryan Caltagirone (left) as Hot Dad.

The son in Desperate Waters (2019), with Matthew Lawrence taking a male-female couple on a "three hour tour" (not really; reference to Gilligan's Island).

The son in...well, you get the idea.  A lot of sons.  Let's try some of Jason's when he was a teenager, after Raven's Home.

 

Since Raven, Jason has mostly done voiceover work: Wolfboy and the Everything Factory (2021-22), Spidey and his Amazing Friends (2022-23), Ridley Jones (2023).

Plus a lot of singing and dancing.

His only recent live-action role seems to be Cameron in Descendants 3 (2021), which the IMDB says is about competitive dancers in Los Angeles, but Wikipedia says is an animated film featuring the children and grandchildren of Disney villains: Booboo Stewart (descended from Jafar), Mitchell Hope (left, Beauty and the Beast), Dylan Playfair (Gaston --wait, wasn't he gay?)....

Jason plays Cameron, the grandson of Cruella DeVille. 

I fast-forwarded it on the Disney Channel, and couldn't actually find him, but everybody divides into boy-girl pairs for the climactic dance, so presumably he's heterosexual.

More after the break

"My Secret Santa": A reverse "Tootsie," with a ski resort, a gay couple, a shirtless hunk, Corey c*ck, Dustin's backside, and a n*de Santa Claus

 

Link to the n*de photos

In American offices at Christmastime, it's traditional for everyone to swap names and give anonymous presents. Thus, "Secret Santa" as title of movies in 2003, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2025.  The most recent, My Secret Santa on Netflix, shows two guys hugging Saint Nick, so they may be a gay couple.  Probably not, or there would be headlines all over the internet, but we'll see.

Scene 1: Establishing shot of an iconic small town, with skaters around a gigantic Christmas tree. nuclear families sledding, kids playing hockey, and the Klotz Cookie Company, where the supervisor, Taylor, is checking on the production of cookies shaped like stockings, reindeer, Santa caps, and so on. She rejects one where Santa looks depressed.  A baker asks why she's being so bitchy: she's over-extended financially, in anticipation of her Christmas bonus.

Mr. Clotz calls her over and explains that due to decreased demand for store-bought cookies, he's firing her.  Just before Christmas!  Can she at least get her bonus? 

Scene 2: Home to her crappy apartment, where the landlady yells that she's been late with the rent four months in a row. This was before you were fired?  Not very financially responsible, are you?   

"Sorry, my daughter wanted a new snowboard for Christmas, and of course that took priority."  Are you supposed to be a sympathetic character? Rent before snowboards. 

Into her apartment, where daughter Zoey has just been accepted at Snooty Snowboard Academy.  Just tell her you can't afford it. It's not a degree granting institution anyway. And where's the gay couple?

Scene 3: Taylor tries to sell some of her old records to get some cash.  Record Store Guy (Cam Woodman) only offers a buck apiece, but the rich guy browsing latches on to her Screaming Kittens album -- "these guys were legends!"  They're actually all ladies, not guys.

 "They were great singers, plus incredibly gorgeous.  I was especially attracted to the lead singer, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World....wait, it's you."

Yep, Taylor is the lead singer.  I think the guy knew that, and was just trying to find subtle way to flirt.  It doesn't work, but at least the record store guy ups his offer to $150.

Rich Guy chases her out onto the sidewalk and tries some more passive-aggressive flirting.  She flirts back, but rejects his offer of a date, because otherwise be lousy story. 

Scene 4: An apartment full of movie memorabilia.  Her big brother howling in a wolf mask. "You guys are adorable," Taylor tells him before complaining that she's had two interviews, but no job yet, and she has to pay the Snooty Snowboarding School by next week. Student loans are not an option?  

Big Brother takes the hint and pulls out his wallet.  Then he sees the amount due.  Nope!  If these guys are straight roommates, I'm leaving.

Wait -- Brother's Boyfriend looks up the school, and discovers that employees get 50% off tuition for their dependents.  Usually it's free.  So Taylor just needs a job there.

Big Brother is played by William Vaughn, who may be gay in real life -- he's a comedian, so it's hard to tell.  The Boyfriend, at the bottom of the cast list, has very few lines. He may not speak at all.  He is played by Nathan Kay, who is straight in real life -- his wife wishes him a happy anniversary and says "I love you."

Left: there are no photos of Nathan Kay on his Instagram, except for a few where he's in costume to play an outrageous character of some sort, but he does post a "real photo" of Ben Powles, who plays the bully in "Dear Grandpa, it's Michael."  I don't know what that is.  

Scene 5: The Sundance Ski Lodge, where the boss is complaining that the manager ran off with "that Latvian ski instructor," and their Santa Claus quit, so they're short-handed.  His Assistant wants the manager job, but he dismisses her.  Subplot time!

While he is listing the events of the next few days, the Rich Guy from the record store appears -- his son Matthew!  Wait -- is the Sky Lodge right in town?  

Meanwhile, Taylor is at the front desk, telling Blake the Concierge (Corey Hendricks, n*de on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends) that she'll do anything -- anything -- even clean toilets.  I've never understood why that is used as the worst possible job.  We have two toilets in the house, and cleaning them is no problem at all. A lot better than emptying litter boxes.

He says that they aren't hiring right now -- but just then the Assistant walks past, noting that they need someone right away, for $2,000 a month.  A job!  But it's to play Santa Claus.  Bummer!   

More after the break. 

The Brothers Ferox: A bodybuilder, a swimmer, and the Joker's nemesis walk into a gladiator arena. With bonus n*de short guys

  

Link to the n*de dudes

In Episode 1.1 of Spartacus: House of Ashur, a dwarf gladiator team called Brothers Ferox (shouldn't that be Frates Ferox?)  fight Ashur's champion Logus  (Joe Davidson, right).  He yells "My c*ck stands larger threats!",  thinking that they'll be easy to defeat, but they best him, and further humiliate the House by urinating on his corpse.

We see them briefly in Episode 1.2.  The gladiator Achillea is assigned to fight them, but after she fends off an attempted rape by Creticus (Stephen Madsen) -- and slices off his private parts -- she has to fight Korris first, and is killed in the arena.  

The brothers appear in every future episode; hopefully we will see more of their fighting, and some of their lives outside of the arena. 

I'll profile each of the actors separately: Daniel Bos (center) as Balbus, Leigh Gill (right) as Satyrus, and Mikey Thompson (left) as Musicus. 

Daniel Bos, from Perth, Western Australia, has been competing in the Paralympics since he was 12 years old. In 2025 he beat two Oceanic records at the World Para-Powerlifting Championship in Egypt.

He is also a competitive bodybuilder, seen here with his competition-tan.

Spartacus: House of Ashur is Daniel's first acting gig, but he calls it "the best thing I've ever done," and is anxious for more.

The heavily inked Leigh Gill, sharing a hot tub with an equally inked buddy or boyfriend, has 27 acting credits listed on the IMDB.  He is best known as the hetero-horny actor Bobono in Game of Thrones (2018) and Gary Puddles, a clown traumatized by his gay-subtext friend's murder, in two Joker movies (2019, 2021).

N*de photo of the buddy or boyfriend on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.

More after the break

"Christmas on Cherry Lane": A gay couple starts a family, and there's a plot twist you won't see coming

  

Link to the n*de photos

Christmas on Cherry Lane (2023) stars Vincent Rodriguez III, the muscular, bulging actor who specializes in family-friendly gay guys.  I figured I would watch in the background while doing other things on my laptop, but no, it requires you to pay attention.  There's a major plot twist.  I'm giving only the character names, not the actors' names.

There are three families on Cherry Lane on Christmas Eve

Family 1: John and Lizzie, who is due in two weeks,  just moved into the house, and are planning a quiet Christmas alone. They put up the tree and sing "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful," with a Hallmark Tree Trimmer ornament.  This will become important later.

Suddenly Lizzie's Mom and Dad arrive, and announce that they invited her brother and his family, too!  But John and Lizzie haven't even unpacked. Where will they put all those people?  

Dad Frank's d*ck is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

Family 2: Regina and her friend Daisy, not shown, unpack Christmas decorations.  Her back story: she's a widow with adult children, and a boyfriend named Nelson.    

The adult kids, Winnie and Conrad, arrive in a horrible car.  Why does he keep it, now that he's making a ton of money?  Because his Uncle Ham gave it to him after Dad died. This will be important later.  

Sister Winnie doesn't have a job, except singing at open-mike nights for tips, but she'll be a famous singer one day, she says.  Mom wants her to try business school.

Mom announces that she's getting married to her Boyfriend, and she's selling the house and moving to Florida.  The adult children do not like this at all, and plot to break them up.

Family #3: Zian, left, and Mike, who works as a chef at a restaurant called Repair. They just moved into their house, too, and they're planning a Christmas Eve party tonight with twelve people.  Except contractor Quinn and his crew haven't finished remodeling the kitchen yet.  He brings them a plate of Christmas cookies, complements them on what a cute couple they are, and asks if "that famous singer" is coming to the party.  This will be important later.

Mike is freaking out.  Maybe they could move the party to the restaurant?  No, this is the first Christmas in their new house, where they're going to raise their family, so it's important to hold it here.  They walk outside and sit on lawn chairs in the cold and sing "Silent Night."  All of it.

Speaking of starting a family, the lady from the adoption agency tells them that the foster family they were placing a girl with backed out, so they're getting a child tonight -- on Christmas Eve.  With twelve people coming for a party.  Hopefully a family-friendly party.  How are they going to get a bedroom ready?

More plot complications after the break.  Spoiler alert: it's a big plot twist.

Spartacus: From Tony Curtis cruising Olivier to "House of Ashur," with gladiators, gay guys, gore, and a lot of p* enises

 

Link to the n*de photos

Spartacus (103-71 BCE) was a Thracian slave who escaped from a gladiator school with 70 of his followers and started the Third Servile War: 120,000 enslaved persons rebelling against the oppressive Roman Republic. 

In 1951, Howard Fast self-published Spartacus, a novel about the slave revolt, as a protest against his incarceration during the McCarthy Era witch hunts.  

The 1960 movie version starred Kirk Douglas as Spartacus.  It famously includes a scene, cut from the theatrical release but restored in 1991, where the power-hungry  senator Crassus and his slave Antonius (Sir Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis) discuss being gay, in severely closeted terms, as the eating of oysters vs. the eating of snails: "It is all a matter of taste, is it not?" 

The 2004 movie (aired during two nights on the USA network) starred Goran Višnjić as Spartacus, and upped the participation of his wife, transforming the story into a heterosexual romance.

A Spartacus tv series, with seasons given different names (Blood and Sand, Gods of the Arena, and War of the Damned), aired on Starz between 2010 and 2013.  It starred Andy Whitfield (left), and after his death Liam McIntyre.  A lot of n*de guys, such as Mike Edwards (top photo), James Wells (left), and Manu Bennett as Crixus (on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).

Plus there were several gay characters, including Spartacus' best friend Agron.

Assyrian slave Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) becomes one of the series' primary antagonists when he collaborates with the Romans in their attempt to bring down the slave rebellion.  Eventually beheaded.  Shouldn't that be Asher, one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel?

The most recent Spartacus series, Spartacus: House of Asher (2025), is a sort of sequel which posits that Ashur killed Spartacus, returned to life, and now runs a gladiator school.

From a civil war to a school?  Trying to minimize political references that could get you in trouble in the fascist state?

Ashur beefcake after the break

Gemstones Episode 2.6: Yep, they have s*x. Plus Judy grows a heart, Torsten a brain, and Amber the noive

 

Link to the NSFW version.

Episode 2.6 has that controversial scene that fans are still arguing about, three seconds that have been analyzed backward and forward, frame by frame. Are they doing it or getting dressed?  But really, it's so obvious that it could become an adult videowith only a few minor changes in the actors' dirctions. It's so obvious that I can't even put a screen shot at the top photo without getting a "sensitive" tag.   But first we have some unfinished business to attend to.

The Cycle Ninjas:  We begin immediately after the Cycle Ninja attack in Episode 2.4.  Jesse and Amber grab guns and fire on them as they zoom off, grazing one.  He falls off  his motorcycle, but jumps onto his colleague's and gives them the finger.

The family, except for Kelvin, gather in Eli's drawing room to discuss the incident with the sheriff.  Judy thinks that it was a case of road rage.  Sheriff Brenda thinks that it was a botched robbery by some teenagers: professional assassins would have finished the job.  Eli is sure that Junior sent the Cycle Ninjas to kill him.  Other family members are at risk too, so he puts the compound on lockdown.

Judy complains about being stuck at home, with Tiffany living there after Baby Billy abandoned her. "She cleans everything with vinegar."  Not the time, girl.  Eli agrees: "Are you incapable of thinking of anyone but yourself?"

Out on the porch, Eli asks if Jesse has been to see Kelvin: "No. we ain't friends.  He grew up to be a nerd." 

The Second Dressing Room Scene

We cut to a full body front-and-rear shot of Kelvin, as he stands in front of the mirror in his dressing room. "Look at me," he tells Keefe, "A grotesque reflection of what I once was." Dude, you're not going to get any sympathy with that incredible body on display.

 He is distraught over the fight with his father and the loss of the God Squad; he has been de-manned by the symbolic castration. Why should he get dressed?  "I shall remain hidden, like the beast I've become."

 Keefe advises that dressing for the day "soothes the soul," and drops to his knees.  Kelvin pushes his head forward and down to begin oral actiivty.  We see and (and hear) his climax and conclusion.  Keefe swallows and says "nice." 

The scene lasts only a few seconds, and thus is easy to miss (I missed it the first time).  And it is immersed in the act of getting dressed.  Viewers are expected to be unsure whether they did it or not, thus continuing the "are they or aren't they?" speculation. 

But the "they didn't do it" theory makes no sense: 

While stepping into his Tommy Johns, Kelvin steadies himself by pushing on Keefe's head. You steady yourself on your friend's shoulders, not on his head.

Using his hands to push is painful.  Elsewhere he is shown using the palms and base of his hands without pain.  

Keefe says "nice" because...um... Go on? 

Structurally, it is a logical conclusion of the first dressing room scene.  Keefe rejects Kelvin's invitation, and then initiates it.

It makes sense for Kelvin's character. He that his injury has rendered him impotent in a society dedicated to the phallus, grotesque in a society that prizes male beauty.   What better way to demonstrate that he is still potent, still beautiful? 

It makes sense for Keefe's character.  You've just gotten a good look at the amazingly hot backside of the Man of Your Dreams, and now you are kneeling with your face three inches from his amazingly hot c*ck --aroused by your proximity.  What guy could resist going down?

Afterwards, Keefe helps Kelvin get dressed, boops his nose, and puckers up for a kiss.  Kelvin moves in, then changes his mind and abruptly turns aside.  He still resists the idea of romantic love, but he is gradually coming around.

Down in the yard, the God Squad is running a motorcycle over the tennis court and otherwise wilding.  They've even moved into the house.  Kelvin is horrified: "Our empire is crumbling."  Notice that it's now "our" empire; they are equal partners.  Keefe encourages him to prove that he is still strong, physically and mentally: "Your will is not broken, even though your thumbs are."

Judy Grows a Heart:  Judy is signing fan photos with a d*ck and "stay horny,"  while Tiffany calls the area hospitals to see if Baby Billy was  admitted.  Judy scoffs: "He abandoned you."  But Tiffany can't believe it.  Maybe he's still looking for Funyons, and will return with the car loaded-down with them. Maybe he had a stroke, and doesn't remember who he is.  What if he's dead?  

Tiffany starts to cry,  and Judy starts to feel compassion, "thinking of someone other than herself" for maybe the first time in her life. This reminds me of the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz: "If I only had a heart."

Amber Grows Courageous.  Next the Cowardly Lion: "If I only had the noive." At the marital support group, Amber brags about how she chased off the Cycle Ninjas and shot one from 50 yards away.  The women cheer.  Jesse, feeling threatened, argues that they were both shooting, and it's unclear who actually "grazed " the Ninja,  The women aren't having it.  Amber luxuriates in the cheers, feeling for the first time that she's her own person, not just an extension of her partner. 

 Later, Jesse's crew tries to console him for being de-manned by his wife. They suggest some buddy-bonding over craft beers, but he refuses.  He's too upset about "the whole church sucking my wife's dick." Another call-back to Kelvin's blow job.

Holding hands in front of the God Squad: In the gym, Kelvin addresses the God Squad's concerns that his broken thumbs make him an inappropriate leader.  He proves his strength by offering them  "Strawberry Shortcake Bahama Bro Smoothies."  and suggests that they join hands to pray about it. 

Keefe reaches over to take Kelvin's hand, but look at his procedure.  He moves in to position near Kelvin's elbow, brings both of their arms together, and moves down.  He is, in effect, caressing Kelvin's arm, a more romantic gesture than a platonic hand-holding. Kelvin pushes him away: "I didn't mean me."  Because touching his broken thumb is painful, or because holding hands is painful?

The God Squad wonders how he can lead them on missions when he can't even lift a smoothie.  He tries, but spills it all over!  The guys laugh and make rude gestures. Keefe tries to comfort him with a hug, but Kelvin brushes him away.

Finally, Torsten -- the scarecrow, "if I only had a brain" -- figures out that he, and other God Squad members, are twice the size of Kelvin.  He should be leader: "Kelvin, I challenge you!"

"But Torsten, you're my gentle giant," Kelvin protests.  Another favorite?  Have they been in the steam showers together? 

They all rush out for the cross-bearing challenge. 

More after the break

Elias Harger: the "Fuller House" femme boy, victim of ghosts and maniacal mothers, grows up to date a Jewish champion. With Hagenbuch and twink d*cks

 

Link to the n*de photos

I never watched Full House (1987-95), the TGIF warmedy about three dads raising three girls in a gay-free San Francisco: it was on Friday nights, when I had other things to do, and besides, it sounded awful.  Although John Stamos as Uncle Jesse was quite a hunk.

(In those days, you knew about all of the popular tv shows, even if you had never seen them).

And I never watched the sequel Fuller House (2016-2020), about the grown-up girls sharing a house: it sounded awful, and besides, Candace Cameron Bure (focus character DJ Tanner) made it very clear that she didn't like gay people and would not permit them on her show.  Presumably she meant gay characters, or did she check all 100-plus members of the cast and crew for rainbow flags?

Apparently the homophobia didn't stop with Candace.  According to a review, Fuller House was a "thoroughly offensive mess," with "gays are hilarious" jokes every episode: "we're expected to laugh at the mere suggestion that a character might be experiencing same-s*x attraction." 

Then why, according to the fan wiki, was DJ's son Max Fuller a "closeted gay boy?"

Max was played by Elias Harger, shown here with  his tv brother Michael Campion.

 Surely Candace would never permit a gay boy on the show, especially as DJ's son.

Time to check Max's character arc. 

In Seasons 1-2,  he is a femme boy with a gay-subtext relationship with his friend Taylor (Lucas Jaye) and occasional references to same-s*x interest, such as a crush on Blake Sheldon.  

Then in the Season 2 Christmas episode, he meets the Girl of His Dreams, Rose.  Taylor becomes his competitor for her attention.  

Max and Rose pursue an on-off romance through Season 6.

So, did the writers actually plan for Max to be gay, then change their minds when Candace yelled at them, or was it just a matter of "isn't same-sex desire hilarious?"

We can get a clue by checking to see if Elias Harger is gay in real life.  

According to his IMDB biography, Elias grew up in Denver and Atlanta, where he participated in community theater from the age of five, starring in Shrek: the Musical and A Christmas Carol (no, he didn't play Scrooge).

He moved on screen in 2014, playing Peter Pan, a boy who remembers his past lives (The Ghost Inside My Child), and a mysterious boy kidnapped by a serial killer (Popsy)

In 2015, a boy haunted by the ghost of his evil grandmother (Granny).

In 2016, he was cast as Max in Fuller House, but he also found time for more dark, disturbing movies to counteract the homophobic family-friendly smarm.

In 2017, Elias played a boy who disapproves of the new baby in the family.  If they're going to bring in new kids, he'll bring in a new mother (The Arrival).  

In 2018, the son of a female funeral director with a dark secret -- she likes her men like she likes her popsicles -- cold and hard (Dead Love).

His only post-Fuller role is in the animated Felix and the Hidden Treasure (2021).  Felix (Elias, Daniel Brochu) and his talking cat go off in search of his missing father, and run afoul of baddies dressed as superheroes. 

As of this writing, Elias is attending Georgia State University in Atlanta, majoring in music, hoping to become a concert pianist, or else a pianist on a cruise ship.

So no specifically gay roles, but there aren't a lot of gay roles for kids.  What about gay in real life?  First, check out Adam Hagenbuch, who played Uncle Jimmy (d*ck on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).