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“Same as Me” by NightEyes Dayspring (read by Carrizo)
Today’s story is “Same as Me” by NightEyes DaySpring, who is a known troublemaker who is rumored to have a penchant for coffee and an interest in dead, ancient civilizations. He recently published an erotic furry novel called Scars of the Golden Dancer and an collection of adult stories called KNotty Works. Information about his work and where to find him can be found by visiting nighteye.coffee, which links to his website, social media profiles, and galleries.
This story deals with homophobia, bigotry against same sex relationships, and against queer people. While the Voice of Dog strives to bring you stories that cheer, that give hope, that uplift, it is important to understand honestly why we need to be uplifted, and what we need to be uplifted from. Many of us here at the fireside have faced scenes like this in our own past, and with the rise in shockingly homophobic and transphobic political rhetoric in many nations, many of us fear we must soon face them again. This story is to illustrate why Pride Month was and remains necessary. Please remember that you are not alone.
Read for you by Carizzo, your Coyote in the Court.
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Transcript
You’re listening to Pride Month on The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf, your fellow traveler,
Speaker:and Today’s story is “Same as Me”
Speaker:by NightEyes DaySpring,
Speaker:who is a known troublemaker
Speaker:who is rumored to have a penchant for coffee
Speaker:and an interest in dead, ancient civilizations.
Speaker:He recently published an erotic furry novel called Scars of the Golden Dancer
Speaker:and an collection of adult stories called KNotty Works.
Speaker:Information about his work and where to find him can be found
Speaker:by visiting nighteye.
Speaker:nighteye.coffee, which links to his website,
Speaker:social media profiles, and galleries.
Speaker:Read for you by Carizzo,
Speaker:your Coyote in the Court.
Speaker:This story deals
Speaker:with homophobia, bigotry against same sex relationships,
Speaker:and against queer people.
Speaker:While the Voice of Dog strives to bring you stories that cheer, that give hope, that uplift,
Speaker:it is important to understand honestly why we need to be uplifted,
Speaker:and what we need to be uplifted
Speaker:from. Many of us here at the fireside have faced scenes like this in our own past, and with the rise in shockingly homophobic and transphobic political rhetoric
Speaker:in many nations, many of us fear we must soon face them again.
Speaker:This story is to illustrate why
Speaker:Pride Month was
Speaker:and remains necessary.
Speaker:Please remember that you are not alone,
Speaker:and that there are others here who have endured
Speaker:the- “Same as Me.” by NightEyes Dayspring
Speaker:I cling to the sound of your words
Speaker:as the ink in my journal clings to the pages.
Speaker:Everything about you is
Speaker:perfect, my wolf, and yet
Speaker:so imperfect are we,
Speaker:so against what they say we should be.
Speaker:It’s the fact we’re the same that drives this connection,
Speaker:yet that’s the same reason they hate us.
Speaker:I know it’s the reason they sometimes lash out against me.
Speaker:I wish it wasn’t so hard to be with you.
Speaker:I wish there weren’t so many hurdles to climb.
Speaker:Your beautiful eyes sparkle when you laugh, tail wagging.
Speaker:I hate seeing you sad with your ears down,
Speaker:tail drooping.
Speaker:It tears at me what they do to you,
Speaker:the abuse they give you because you
Speaker:are like me. It hurts that I’m the cause.
Speaker:I don’t understand why they care. It’s not
Speaker:like we’re taking up much space in this world.
Speaker:It feels like there are so few like us,
Speaker:and yet I know there are others,
Speaker:others hiding, others still lurking in the dark.
Speaker:I wish they’d come forward so we could all stand together.
Speaker:I know some of them will never be as brave as us,
Speaker:but together we could push back.
Speaker:You tell me, “It’s okay,
Speaker:they can stay in the shadows,”
Speaker:but it doesn’t feel right to be this alone.
Speaker:We need allies to stand with us,
Speaker:yet there are none here in this town I trust beyond you
Speaker:with knowing the
Speaker:true depth of our love.
Speaker:In the rain yesterday, out behind the library,
Speaker:I held you as you cried against me,
Speaker:sobbing. We huddled in the service doorway,
Speaker:the rain falling inches from our muzzles as you
Speaker:told me you loved me,
Speaker:told me that your parents were threatening to hurt you if
Speaker:we kept seeing each other.
Speaker:Back in that little shelter
Speaker:away from the storm, I did everything I could to comfort
Speaker:you. We didn’t say it was time to go,
Speaker:but we both knew it was.
Speaker:I only needed to ask if you
Speaker:wanted to get the tickets;
Speaker:your soft, sad nod as you wiped your eyes told me you were ready.
Speaker:People shouldn’t care about who you are inside,
Speaker:who you love. Sadly,
Speaker:far too many of them do,
Speaker:and as I’m standing here next to you today, clutching a
Speaker:bus ticket to somewhere safer,
Speaker:somewhere far away from this cursed place,
Speaker:I worry about the future for us.
Speaker:I worry how we’ll find shelter the next time it rains.
Speaker:I don’t want to run,
Speaker:but we need to be safe.
Speaker:We are barely adults and already we need to build a whole new life for ourselves in a new town,
Speaker:the safety of home lost to us.
Speaker:I guess we should feel lucky we made it to this point,
Speaker:that we managed to get far enough along that
Speaker:we could walk out of this hell together before it all came crashing down upon our ears.
Speaker:“Are you ready?” I ask you,
Speaker:as the bus pulls up and the
Speaker:door opens. “As ready as I can ever be,”
Speaker:you whisper, as we walk forward,
Speaker:and find seats on the bus.
Speaker:I want to cry about the injustice,
Speaker:I want to scream about the pain they’ve given me, but I’m beyond that.
Speaker:I just want to find shelter somewhere I belong. I just want to love you in peace. As your
Speaker:tail settles against the seat,
Speaker:and you sigh with your eyes closed,
Speaker:I reach for your hand and take it,
Speaker:feeling your fingers grip mine the way you would hold onto a lifeline.
Speaker:I wish we weren’t the only couple who had to run for being the same,
Speaker:but the hate is too great to stay.
Speaker:I wish my parents still told me they loved me,
Speaker:but they only shake their heads at me now and act disappointed.
Speaker:Instead of seeing us as people, as two young lovers seeking to build a life together, our love is met far too often with scorn and hate.
Speaker:We are the same,
Speaker:yet for some,
Speaker:that is too different from themselves.
Speaker:Too other to belong.
Speaker:As the bus pulls away, I want to look back,
Speaker:I want to look at my former home,
Speaker:but I can only cry silently,
Speaker:tears staining my face.
Speaker:Through misty eyes,
Speaker:I can see you do the same.
Speaker:This was “Same as Me” by NightEyes Dayspring,
Speaker:read for you by Carrizo,
Speaker:your Coyote in the Court.
Speaker:You can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog, or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Happy Pride, and thank you for listening to The Voice of Dog.
