Judge overturns Calif. gay marriage ban.

I have a great deal of fondness for the rest of the cast, don’t get me wrong, but for me, Rick was the heart and soul of KRF. I was a fan of his Percival Dégagé from the first year he set foot in those gorgeous woods. Gods, but no one could carry off draped gold lamé sleeves and a hand fan the way Percy did when he was young! His wardobe’s gotten less flamboyant over the years, but he’s still fabulous. And funny. And moreover, Rick’s a genuinely sweet guy who’s all about the audience. He’s always been kind enough to spare a few moments for me, and over the years I’ve come to think of him as a friend, albeit one that I only see once a year. Which, honestly, is more often than I see a lot of other people I’m supposedly closer to.

I’m heartbroken over this. For Rick’s sake as well as my own. I know KRF was special to him. And I know it will never be the same without him.

For an appetizer, I’ve just had a lovely plate of Chill, which I knew would be a delight the second I opened it and saw that the first scene was written from the POV of my favorite character from Dust: Tristen Conn. I loves me some man-with-a-regrettable-past, I does! (It doesn’t hurt that I also adore Mallory the necromancer and Gavin the basilisk almost as much.)

Now I’ve moved on to By the Mountain Bound. I’m only about 5 chapters in and already I’m heartbroken for 3 characters (this is a good thing) and am completely in awe of Bear’s ability to write a breathtakingly hot, wrenchingly desperate sex scene.

When I finish that, I still have Carnival, the 2nd and 3rd Jenny Casey books, Undertow, and A Companion to Wolves (written with Sarah Monette). My biggest problem is going to be deciding which order to read them in.

It was, predictably enough, Wolverine that put me over the edge.

But Dr. Watts himself tells the story here, so I won’t rehash it. I just want to point out that if this happened to one man, it’s happening to many, and something needs to be done about it.

This will be spoilery, so the rest is behind the cut.

In 1975, when I was ten, my brother bought a copy of Giant-Sized X-Men #1 and I found my first-ever crush: Nightcrawler. Kurt was different. Well, anyone could see that: he was, after all, blue and pointy-eared, with a prehensile tail and glowing eyes. Plus he was German, which I thought was extremely cool, seeing as my dad had been stationed in Berlin with the army and spoke the language. The teleporting was also a big selling point.

Over the next 35 years (Gods, has it really been that long?), Kurt grew into a multidimensional character with a distinct personality. He was clever and charming. He loved old swashbuckler movies. He was devoutly Catholic, and that had a profound effect on his ethics. He loved his friends, always tried to do the right thing, and somehow, despite the fact that he was a very obvious mutant in a world that was rife with violence against mutants, he managed to keep his faith not just in his God but in humanity. He had some very rough times, but he always managed to find his way back to a place where he could hope.

Yes, I’m speaking of him in the past tense. In X-Force #26, which came out this week, Kurt gave his life to protect someone else. Which really is the only way he should have gone. Frankly, I’m devastated. Even though he was fictional, I’ve loved him most of my life. I’ll miss him terribly.

Schlaf gut, Liebchen.

On the one hand, like everyone else, I hate having my life put on hold while this happens. The interruption of my routine. Having to make arrangements for all sorts of stuff at the office. You know the drill.

On the other hand, I’m very aware of how important trial by jury is to a free society. This is vital stuff, damn it.

I’m still wearing my sneakers, though. Just because I’m doing my civic duty doesn’t mean I have to be uncomfortable.

There is no commentary I could add to this.