There have been gay characters on soap operas for a few years now. But this time it’s different, because now my soap, Days of our Lives, finally has its first gay characters. I’m so psyched.

Even though I rarely watch Days anymore, it’s still my soap. My mom has watched it almost since the beginning, and I picked up the habit from her when I was 11 or 12. I’ve been following the Hortons and the Bradys on and off for 25 years. (Holy crap, it’s been that long?) I know, most soaps have mediocre acting and writing; whenever I watch Days and Matt happens to be in the room, he rolls his eyes. But I can’t help it. These people are like family to me.

So, here’s the deal: the show recently introduced a new character, Sonny Kiriakis (played by Freddie Smith), who’s the son of Justin and Adrienne Kiriakis. (Justin and Adrienne were on the show in the late ’80s and early ’90s and then disappeared for a long time until returning a year or so ago. We’d never seen their son until now – he was “traveling the world.”) Sonny’s first appearance was June 23, and the audience learned that he was gay just two days ago, when he came out to his great-uncle Victor. His parents already knew and were already supportive, which is so refreshing to see. (This scene, where they talk about how they first reacted, is touching and seems pretty realistic to me. And I like the line about the cowboys.)

The writers are setting Sonny up for some sort of somethin’ with Will Horton (played by Chandler Massey). Will is both a Brady and a Horton: he’s the son of Sami Brady and Lucas Horton, and he’s the grandson of Roman and Marlena, one of the most legendary couples in the show’s history, so his character has deep roots. (Will has been on the show since the mid-90s, but Chandler Massey just started playing him last year.) Will just graduated from high school, and lately he’s been acting kind of awkward around his girlfriend, as if something’s going on with him that he doesn’t want to talk about…

Sonny and Will met each other on Sonny’s first episode on June 23. Take a look: chemistry?

A few YouTubers are archiving the whole story. Because it just began and because most characters only show up a couple of times a week, it doesn’t take long to catch up. Start here.

I will be following excitedly.