>I've had all these questions sparked by Striking Vipers:
>
>
>1. Who did you think was gay in the ep? Dany, Kyle, Both,
>Neither
>

I didn't think either was gay. Heteroflexible maybe but probably their queerness is just limited to each other.

Maybe this is just me and I'm viewing this episode as someone mildly queer (heteroflexible). But I think there's a sexual aspect to most same-sex relationships. Not necessarily in the sense that the other fantasizes about the other (although I have thought about kissing some of my friends before) but I notice if my male friend is taking care of their body, if they are more attractive than me, if they are a good dresser, if they are charming, etc.
Sometimes I may say they're 'well dressed' or even, 'I think he could date my sister / friend', which isn't erotic by any stretch but it is acknowledging my friend's sexuality.

And also the kind of love that comes from same-sex relationships can get pretty deep and deep love sometimes can come out in ways beyond what is common in same-sex relationships (think Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas kissing before games).

I've never had sex with a man but sometimes I think about it and have thought if I would want to have sex with a friend or a stranger.

It seems in this case the writer just took the leap that underneath their real, deep bond was a desire to intertwine themselves on another level. At least for Carl, the sex was a way to deepen his fondness for Danny. Maybe Danny felt closer to Carl as well, even if their bond wasn't enough for him to throw chaos into his waking life.

The gap between their real relationship and their cyber one was like the difference between the type of woman (or man) someone would really date and the type of woman (or man) they would view in porn. Most of the women in the porn I watch I would never date in real life but in that fantasy world that 'type' works. In my case one doesn't bleed into the other. Maybe Carl and Danny were the same way, although their friendship added complications.

But the question of 'who are we?' can be brought up?

Are we simply our bodies and biology? Is there something more spiritual or emotional which is our essence?

Maybe Carl fell for Danny's essence in a way which he couldn't access when Carl was with Danny in the flesh.

I thought it was bold of Danny to meet Carl in public after the game. He seemed more emotionally responsible than Carl, likely because he was married. So, he wanted to at least be honest with himself and see if the feelings between them needed to be played out in real life.


>2. What if it was a Computer Controlling the other avatar,
>would Dany be cheating?
>
>3. What if a Random Girl was controlling the other avatar, is
>it cheating?
>
>4. What if it was a Girl Dany knew? is it cheating?
>
>5. What if it's a girl was controlling a guy avatar, is it
>gay and cheating?
>
>6. What if Dany was sexting with a computer AI, is it
>cheating?
>
>7. What if Dany sexting with a girl he knew, is it cheating?
>Duh
>
>8. What if Dany was sexting with someone who was playing the
>role of a girl, but he knew it was a guy on the other end,
>would it be gay and/or cheating?
>


I would think of any of these as 'cheating' (maybe sexting) but Danny would be putting his intimate emotions in the hands of someone (something) else and that's a slight violation of the trust of Theo. But I would think of it like porn in that way. It's not quite cheating but then again you probably would need to talk about it with your partner first to get the go ahead.
>


>
>9. What if your boy got in a lifelike girl body suit that
>looked like a real-life girl and you had sex with it, would
>that be gay? (swear to Ja my wife asked me this one too).
>
>


I guess this would be like having sex with a trans-woman. The woman's sex would be female so the sex would be hetero. At least in my mind.


But yeah this was a great episode. Especially since the men were Black men. There aren't really many mainstream shows which I have seen which really delved into the dynamic of Black male friendships much less same-sex sexual relationships between Black men.

Also, what did you think of the fact that the characters in the were Asian? I thought the racial difference was a direction the writers were going to explore.

And I liked that Carl's avatar touched on the difference between sex as a male and as a female. I've always thought women enjoyed sex more than men, at least when you watch them orgasm.