YOUR UMA LORD, GOLD SHIP!

During the convention, but before the main event - whatever it is - starts, an uma, dressed exactly like Gold Ship's Uma Lord setup, including a large and heavy crown, manages to get on the main stage and grab the mike before anyone else can catch her.

"BOW, MERE HUMANS, FOR YOUR UMA LORD HAS ARRIVED! IT IS I, THE ONE AND not ONLY, GOLD SHIP, OF RACING AND WORLD DOMINATION FAME!"

"AND I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL UMA FANS OF JAPAN! AND WHERE BETTER TO ANNOUCE IT THEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREAKING CONVENTION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR?"

Insert Evil Lord Laugh Here

".....Anyway, as some of you might or might not know, I haven't raced in a while, and have actually been retired both as a racer and a trainer for a bit now. Thanks to my bestest friend, Opera O From The Future a.k.a. Forever Gold T.M. Opera O ( @forevergoldtmoperao ), a.k.a. My Dear Orphie's unwavering emotional support (for just being there and also for allowing me a place to live) I've found the motivation to change my life around. For starters, I traveled around the country, searching for a past long forgotten, a family that once abandoned me, and more importantly, a family I could call mine... and I found it! This is my twin brother, Julius Krone! Who, as a prank, has taken over my social media. Ehehehehe~"

In this moment, Julius Krone, dressed in a Mejiro McQueen cosplay, gets on stage. His sister grabs him and pulls him towards the middle of the stage

"Please, hold your applauses for the next announcement!"

Nobody was applauding. In fact, nobody seemed to care - as far as anyone was aware, this was just a crazy Gold Ship fan. Nothing to see here.

......."I AM GOING BACK TO RACING!"

Suddenly, passerbys start stopping near the main stage, and conversations can be heard. "Is this actually Gold Ship?" "Can't be, who would announce somethig like this in a place like this?" "...Gold Ship would...."

"That's exactly what you heard! I, Gold Ship, am going to participate in the G2 Sapporo Kinen next month! Until then, I will be training in a new training academy - NOT Tracen, I am tired of that place. Not for any specific reason, I just wanted to try something new."

"Anyway! Be prepared to watch me!"

It’s subtle but she’s wearing a Tracen trainer badge and is the only one in the stands to do so.

...

my girlfriend is also my man is also "my partner" if i'm in a professional setting. yesterday we went to a ren faire and a man mimed at me - you're together? and at my delighted nod, his baffled, you're gay? made me laugh. a woman with rainbow hair said i love the two of you together. you're both so beautiful it's absurd.

my dad introduced my partner as my "..... friend. or whatever" the other day. he knows we're dating. in the same way, i was never able to get my sister's husband to stop saying that's gay like it's 2008. he still uses the word fa***t, and my sister's defense of him has always been well, he's just kidding.

my lover and i dance to old music in a tiny kitchen. we judge new music together and take food critique very seriously. we watch love is blind before we fall asleep and agree that if they had a queer season, it would be bloody but also make for excellent tv. of fucking course queer people would meet someone for 2 weeks and agree to get married. what are you saying.

at a bar with friends, a man puts his hand on my wrist. got a boyfriend? and yes, i do have a boyfriend, she's amazing. i am texting her while i wander around a gas station named after geese. i am visiting a swing state for a wedding. in the candy aisle i overhear: she's actually like a lesbian it's disgusting. two teenage girls with packaged sandwiches in their hands, giggling. no literally, like. i'm not, like. okay with her being there while we're all, like, naked and changing.

my girlfriend and i tailgate, drink gin and cider out of cups. from the frat group beside us, a man corrects himself with one of his friends: bro, i mean, nonbinary entity, and it makes everyone around him laugh, myself included. he razzes his friend the same way i would have killed for at 19 years old - like nothing happened, he continues: you apply sunscreen like an alien. he does a little sassy (and fairly accurate) dance interpretation of the motion. his friend is laughing so hard they're crying.

i am lucky, i live in a safe neighborhood in a safe state. my masc passenger princess comes up from DC. i drive her for an hour to where all the leaves are a violent arrangement of color. we walk along the trails, letting autumn into our blood. in this part of the state, there's a lot of pickup trucks and trump signs. when we chastely kiss before getting into the car, i accidentally make eye contact with a woman holding her child's wrist. she looks disgusted. she looks fucking pissed.

two hours later my girl and i are eating dinner on a patio, soaking in the last warmth of new england sun before the chill of winter sets in. we are giggling and trying to talk through plastic vampire teeth. at another table, i see a young woman sit up straighter. i watch her watch us. she blushes and takes her partner's hand from across the table. shy, like the taste of evening has just become something deeper.