We’re going to assume this was an accident, because in which universe would a fan-made poster depicting hunky Thor with his arms wrapped around an aroused Loki find itself front and center at a mainstream theater? (If you answered “Asgard” in your head… congratulations!) Atlantic Wire has this wonderful tale:

The poster reportedly appears outside a Shanghai cinema, and was spotted by this Korean site (the translation reads: Thor in a Shanghai theater (hahahaha) How are you going to solve it?) and on China’s social media platform Weibo.

…The poster is actually a fan-made, photo-shopped image — a practice that some culture lovers, both straight and gay, do for their favorite fandoms (movies, comics, books, tv shows, boy bands etc.). It’s kind of the next eventual step for fan-fic or slash fiction.

Never change, you devilish pirates of content, scavengers of uncopyrighted Internet images. Never change.

A Chinese Theater Accidentally Used a Gay, Fan-Made Thor Poster and It’s Glorious (Atlantic Wire, h/t Alicia)

“I’m 90 years old,” the young lady in this video begins by saying. “My grandson, @木头宅, is gay. He is very dutiful and sensible. I love him dearly. I hope he finds a good boyfriend and lives a happy life, and I hope that the government supports him.”

And that’s it. A short and sweet message, just in time for Chinese Valentine’s Day yesterday.

But, of course, that’s not completely it. The 30-second clip, in all its simplicity — produced by Guangzhou-based PFLAG (Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays) China – has gone viral, reports SCMP.

“Mutou” [not his real name], a 28-year old engineer in Fuzhou, said he was completely swept  away by his fearless grandmother who had agreed to speak on camera.

“This means she will have to deal with lots of pressure from strangers and relatives,” said Mutou, who revealed his sexuality to his parents last year. The elderly woman had been surprisngly supportive and understanding after Mutou’s parents told her the news, he said.

“She even tried to calm my parents – who were less accepting in the beginning – and asked them to take it easy,” Mutou said. “She did it out of simple love.”

The grandmother also held a placard that urged for the legalization of gay marriage.

‘I hope he’ll find a boyfriend and live a happy life’: Chinese gran’s message to gay grandson goes viral (SCMP)

That’s Beijing dropped a bombshell yesterday, reporting that Galaxy Soho’s management apparently doesn’t want the city’s LGBT Center to have an official presence at the Craft Beer Festival this Friday and Saturday. Specifically:

After (beer festival organizers) submitt[ed] their festival proposal – which included a description of a LGBT Center booth to the Galaxy Soho management, they were informed that the Center’s representatives would not be allowed access to the venue’s premises, over concerns that LGBT members would not fit with the the site’s architecture (“和我们的建筑 不太吻合”).

That’s Beijing‘s attempts to get clarification from Galaxy Soho were unsuccessful (we also sent two emails to Soho contacts but have yet to receive replies).

The small-office, home-office complex, which hosted the Beijinger’s Bar and Awards party last month, was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, and as it now stands, a significant segment of the expat community here thinks they are institutionally homophobic. (Note to Soho: rectify this, ASAP. Do we need to tell you why?)

Vicky Mohieddeen, director of Electric Shadows and co-organizer of the city’s regular queer film screening series CineQueer, emailed us this statement:

I wonder what the reaction would have been if it had been a Chinese ethnic group that Galaxy Soho had denied entry to? Discrimination of the LGBT community in China needs to be absolutely and wholly rejected – especially by those of us who are lucky enough to come from countries where gay have the same rights as everyone else. I hope the Soho management realise that their actions are outdated, misguided and they change their policies – but if that doesn’t happen then I’d settle for Galaxy Soho becoming the most flaming queer hang out/ make out spot in Beijing.

The LGBT Center is encouraging Beijing’s gay community to attend the Craft Beer Festival at Galaxy Soho in droves. Stephen Leonelli, the Development and Operations Director of the Beijing LGBT Center, gave this statement to That’s:

“I don’t want to protest SOHO, because strategically we know from experience that is not the best way to achieve our goal of acceptance and equality. My strategy, is to have a presence and raise visibility for LGBT people at the event. I do not want this opportunity to be lost.”

We’ll be there, and we’ll let you know how it goes.

UPDATE, 6/20, 1:35 pm: Carl Setzer of Great Leap Brewing tells us that SOHO Properties is now okay with the LGBT Center’s participation, and that the center will have an official tent at the Craft Beer Festival. Also, he said the homophobic statement was the result of “one bigoted mid-level manager” who has been reprimanded.

Beers, but no queers (That’s Beijing)