#for the full lesbian purple lesbian experience

[purisurory]

Purple art for the lesbians!

[springwitch26]

picture you (melissa schemmenti x fem!reader)

summary: when melissa comes over to check on you after a rowdy night, she's met with a tantalizing display of what the thought of her stirs in you.

warnings: lesbian sex duh (18+), voyeurism, masturbation, squirting, alcohol consumption and memory loss, teasing, vibrators, overstimulation, "casual" sapphic situationship

notes: hi sorry for being gone for six months (if anyone cares), but i'm back at least temporarily for kinktober. this is a fic based on "picture you" by chappell roan, so go listen to it for the full experience. i feel like this is kinda bad and idk why i wrote it other than i'm gay and deprived of affection. but that's the writer's burden is it not

the morning after ava's halloween party, you startled yourself awake with a jolt and a gasp. given how much alcohol you'd had the previous night, you expected to wake up in a puddle of sweat or worse. instead, you were tucked into your bed, dry, warm, and barely hung over. well, mostly dry.

you shifted your legs under the sheets and sighed. another pair of panties ruined because of her, you thought.

and yeah, you did blame melissa. she spent the whole night riling you up, only to then deny you sex because you were drunk. the two of you had been hooking up at every opportunity for a couple weeks. it was meant to be an occasional thing, an escape from the stress and tension of your daily lives as educators. but once you finally got your hands on each other, neither of you wanted to pull away.

vignettes from the previous night played on a loop in your mind. your memory of the party was a hazy blur that began at melissa's place. after much convincing, melissa had agreed to be the rio to your agatha for halloween. it was an easy look to throw together last-minute, given the amount of green in her wardrobe and black in both yours and hers. this was convenient because ava, true to form, had announced her party just two days before it was meant to happen.

"hold still," melissa said as she leaned into you. your eyes fluttered shut as she lifted the purple-dusted makeup brush to your eyelid. her free hand found purchase on your thigh. you held your breath as she gently applied the eyeshadow. "shakin' ain't still, princess."

"sorry," you breathed. she painted your other eyelid and then reached into her bag, retrieving a soft pink lipstick. she uncapped it and raised it to your mouth.

"open," she said simply. your lips parted and she smoothed the lipstick on. you were so focused on the command and the smell of her perfume and how close her face was to yours; you didn't even notice the way her fingers were slowly creeping up your thigh. "alright, pretty girl, you're done."

she withdrew her hand from your inner thigh and smiled when you whimpered at the loss. then she took your hand, pulled the hood of her green cloak over her head, and started toward the door. you scoffed at her fruitless teasing.

"come on," she planted a kiss on your cheek. "we're already late."

lying in bed, you remembered how she looked in that moment: the slinky black dress teasing her cleavage, the lacy green robe draped over her shoulders and caressing her long red waves. you recalled the warmth of her palm on your leg and the unmistakable lust in her smoky eyes. your face flushed and you squirmed under the covers.

once again you felt the dampness of your underwear, which reminded you of the racy dream you had after melissa tucked you into bed and left. you pressed your thighs together as the dream came back to you in bits and pieces—a subconscious compilation of all the things you wanted her to do to you last night.

in your mind's eye, you saw the redhead pinning you against ava's bathroom door, one hand over your mouth and one sneaking under your skirt. you remembered dancing with her, her hands running greedily along your curves and summoning goosebumps in their wake, and imagined what would have happened if her fingers had dared to venture under your dress. you could practically hear her reaction: "no bra? you must want me bad, baby."

now you were hot and bothered again at the mere image of her. almost unconsciously, you reached down and dragged your ruined underwear down your legs, leaving you bare except for the oversized tee melissa picked out for you to sleep in. on instinct, your fingers began to migrate down your body, searching for the source of the tingling between your legs. another flashback from the party swept your psyche.

the game was simple: you jump, you drink. you, melissa, mr. johnson and gregory—who was only participating out of loyalty to his unspoken status as the most rational and collected teacher at abbott—all played along while watching sinister.

"sit on my lap, sweetheart," melissa whispered in your ear as the opening credits played. there was plenty of room for the four of you on ava's couch, but that didn't matter to the redhead. when you sheepishly complied, gregory gave you both a puzzled look. "gotta make sure this one doesn't cheat."

you got comfy on melissa's lap and watched the screen, steeling yourself for the scares ahead. not even ten minutes into the movie, you had to take your first drink. the protagonist crept around while ominous music grew ever louder, and you braced yourself for the first jumpscare. just then, while you were on the edge of your "seat" on top of her, melissa pinched the back of your right thigh harshly. you startled in her lap, and mr. johnson hollered, "that counts, bottoms up!" melissa smirked and soothed a thumb over the bit of skin she'd squeezed while you sulked through a shot of vodka.

"don't be scared, honey. it's just me," she cooed, continuing to rub firm circles into your flesh. you couldn't stop yourself from thinking of her repeating that same motion elsewhere on your body. feigning fear at the movie, you turned away from the screen and buried your burning face in the crook of melissa's neck.

lost in reminiscence, you were hardly conscious of the fact that your fingers had begun drawing circles on your clit. you whimpered, lamenting that your own touch would never be as magical as melissa's. you had only the memory of how her fingers felt on your body, how her sultry voice sounded in your ear. these things alone were enough to make you spread your legs and touch yourself in earnest.

about an hour into sinister, melissa cut you off. you had been jumpscared one too many times, and the older woman decided it was time to switch out your alcohol for water. this meant that when the film was over and it was time to go home, you were more coherent... but only by a little bit.

sitting next to you on the edge of your bed, melissa pulled at the ties on your purple dress until the garment fell away from your torso. giddy with excitement because she was finally undressing you, you turned around and placed an enthusiastic kiss on her lips. she reciprocated, but pulled back when you reached for the buttons on her dress.

"no touching, my little witch," she said, batting your hand away. you huffed and pouted at her. "you're drunk. don't start. if you're good for me tonight, maybe i'll reward you tomorrow."

tomorrow.

your eyes flew open and sure enough, there she was—leaning forward through the doorframe, dressed in a blue jacket and leather pants, a smug smile on her face. your hand froze between your legs.

"no, please, go on. i was enjoyin' the show," melissa teased. "unless... you need my help?" she took a few small, measured steps toward you. "sounded like it from downstairs. you know i can't resist you when you moan my name, angel."

"i was... saying your name?" you asked.

"oh yeah, you've been whining for me since i got here," at your look of alarm and embarrassment, she went on. "babydoll, i heard dirtier things from you last night anyway."

at this, your mouth dropped open. you had no idea what she was referring to, and she could tell. she grinned and stalked toward the bed.

"you don't remember, do ya? well, that's a shame. you were beggin' me to touch you, sayin' you'd die if i didn't," her fingernail found your calf and traced a slow, meandering path up your bare leg. "it was cute. i've never seen you so needy."

more clips from the previous night ran through your head. melissa trying to help you into your pajamas while you grabbed at her fingers, trying to drag them where you wanted them. the stern look she gave you when you arched your back, pushing your breasts into her working hands. in the present, your whole body ran hot with embarrassment, and melissa chuckled.

"i came here to pull you back from the brink of death, sweetie, but if you'd rather do it yourself..." melissa trailed off, lifting her finger from your skin.

"no!" you protested, taking hold of her hand and looking deeply into her olive-green eyes. "please, i still need you."

"that's what i thought," she beamed, positioning herself over you. "now... what do you want, princess? fingers or tongue?"

"fuck—" you gasped as she cupped and squeezed your tits through your shirt. "tongue, please."

melissa wasted no time, lifting up your shirt and inching toward your center with featherlight kisses down your torso. when she finally reached the hem of your panties, she rubbed her finger back and forth along your clothed sex. "so messy today," she cooed before sliding the garment down your legs.

"yeah, 'cause you spent the whole party feeling me u-" your scoff gave way to a moan as melissa licked through your folds. your frustration melted away with each hot stroke of her tongue, just as she intended. she devoured every drop of you she could reach while you mewled, helpless against the pleasure. "god, yes!"

"not god, babygirl, me," melissa drawled between licks. she teased around your clit for what felt like forever, until your pleading noises cracked her resolve. she stimulated your bundle of nerves by drawing, and then scribbling, spirals with her tongue. "that's it, honey. doesn't that feel nice? isn't that worth waiting for?"

"yes, yeah," you babbled, already getting close from her ministrations. when your hips began to buck against her mouth, she paused. when she withdrew from the bed altogether and went to rifle through her bag, you huffed. "i didn't come, mel."

"i know you didn't, doll. that beautiful brain of yours gave me some great ideas last night, ya know," she said with a hint of amusement. "kept telling me to use toys on ya so i wouldn't technically be touching you while you were drunk. your logic was nonsense, but it did get me thinkin' of more creative ways to play with you."

once she was done speaking, she held up a deep green, curved dildo to your line of sight.

"it's a g-spot vibrator. can i try it out on you?"

you nodded vigorously, and she grinned. melissa grabbed the vibrator and positioned herself between your spread legs, nuzzling into your clit just to hear your sharp gasp. she switched to swiping her thumb over your button while her dominant hand teased your entrance with the toy.

"just relax, sweetheart, open up for me," she coaxed as she pressed the tip of the dildo inside you. fortunately you were more than wet enough to take the stretch, and it went a lot more smoothly once melissa turned on low vibrations. her finger traced lazy yet encouraging patterns on your clit. once the toy was fully sheathed inside you, it nestled against your most sensitive spot. even the gentlest vibrations made you shake and squeal. "aw, is that the spot, angel? good girl, i knew you could take it."

melissa turned up the vibrations by three settings, and it took all your willpower not to scream. while you adjusted to the new sensation, her mouth returned to your clit and suckled. the pressure on both of your sensitive spots proved too much, and you tumbled over the edge for the first time that morning. the redhead only doubled down in her efforts as you jerked and trembled through your release, nursing on your bundle of nerves with force.

when the stimulation started to feel overwhelming in the afterglow of your orgasm, your panicked eyes flitted to melissa. the pleased smirk never left her face as she dialed up the vibrator by several more notches and swapped her mouth out for her fingers rubbing your clit. "last night you promised i could fuck you however i wanted, for as long as i wanted. well, now i'm giving you what you begged for. how's it feel to be at my mercy?"

you moaned and writhed frantically as a second, more powerful wave of pleasure threatened to crest at any moment.

"is this what you were thinkin' about when i came in? me in that pretty costume, taking good care of your pussy?"

with these words, a drive of the dildo into your g-spot, and a pinch of your clit, you came undone again. this time melissa's hands were soaked in a gush of wetness, but she kept on rubbing you through the very last spasm.

"what, you been holdin' out on me? you've never done that before," melissa said lightly, passing you a glass of cold water. you shrugged and looked away in embarrassment. "hey," she started, lifting your jaw in her hand to meet her gaze, "it was gorgeous. and now i'm gonna try like hell to make you come like that every single time."

as she gathered her things, you cocked your head. she usually preferred to stick around and let you return the favor. melissa noticed your raised eyebrow and offered an explanation.

"i got errands to run today, and satisfying my girl was first on the list," she said before leaning in for a deep kiss. "i'll see you tomorrow at work, okay hon?"

you didn't have the chance to reply before she slipped out the door. she had spent the night looking after you and the morning pleasing you, then called you her girl. ha, you thought, so much for casual.

[eqt-95]

A double whammy? I hope you don't mind, but I think you're up to it... ❤️💜

Lena was a woman of science, and anyone in that industry could tell you that external factors could interrupt normal behavior. Like heat. 

It was summertime, and Lena did not do well in the heat. Her skin would burn, she’d melt with discomfort, and her brain would get muggier than the humidity. Sure, National City's heat was contributing, but it was nothing on the exposed arms and glimpses of midriff and polished abs her very best friend’s outfit had on display. 

Lena stood with her popsicle melting under the summer sun and pretended not to stare like she was the thirstiest lesbian on the planet. Meanwhile, Kara debated between the keylime or the berry cream popsicle from the very patient vendor with Ruby and Esme weighing their own very serious choices.

“Careful, someone might catch you gawking,” Sam grinned, taking a swipe across her own raspberry-lemonade treat.

“I’m not gawking. I was… just…”

“Admiring? Observing? Panting?” Sam offered.

“What’d you get?” she continued, not waiting for Lena’s reply before crunching into the strawberry basil popsicle in Lena’s hand.

“Hey!” was her lame, muggy-brained response. A pout came next as she looked at the Sam-shaped teeth marks in her popsicle.

“Yum,” Sam mocked, chomping down on the icy treat and shooting Lena a mischievous smirk and an antagonistic wag of her own, unmarred popsicle. 

Lena would blame it on her sufficiently over-baked patience later, but for the moment, a surge of irrational competitiveness overpowered normal social behavior which was why, without warning, her hand extended to grip Sam’s forearm and her mouth plunged downward, wrapping her lips fully around Sam’s popsicle and slurping upward.

Revenge was achieved. The world was balanced.  Sam looked mutinous. Lena grinned, wiping a small dribble from her chin. Esme giggled from the popsicle cart. Then: “Aunt Kara is eating wood!”

Lena turned her attention to the trio. Ruby was smiling ludicrously while happily licking away at her orange treat. Esme had her little hands clutched around a purple one laughing with unhinged delight. And then there was Kara. Kara who was negotiating three and a half popsicles. Half because Kara’s mouth was clearly full. And chewing. And crunching - gnawing. And looking red faced. And uncomfortable. And like she might take flight any second.

“Kara?” Lena managed, ignoring the suggestive elbow from Sam. “Are you… are you eating the stick?”

Kara immediately shook her head; eyes watering, shifting awkwardly. Then, slowly, nodded when Lena’s brow arched in suspicion.

“You know you’re not supposed to do that, right?” Ruby inserted, casually twirling her own.

And Kara simply nodded again.

—

Lena was a woman of science, and anyone in that industry could tell you about how any hypothesis was established through extensive observation.

It was through regular observation that Lena knew all of Kara’s quirks and habits. It was why Lena was quick to notice a new habit appear. Kara squirmed. She squirmed and blushed and stammered more often than usual. 

So Lena pushed the limits, checking in when Kara’s new traits showed up and, perhaps Lena was putting a little bit too much hope into it, but there seemed to be a correlation with, well, Lena.

But she needed more data. She was a woman of science after all, and anyone in that industry could tell you about the months and years it took to observe, test, and bring to market a new product.

That was where a range of experiments came in: 

Experiment no. 1: Weekly Brunch

Constant: location (Noonan’s), time, day, and table

Variable: Lena wore a low cut dress

Results: Kara dripped egg yolk onto her pants, syrup onto the table, and dribbled orange juice down her chin and onto her shirt

Experiment no. 2: Compromising Situation #1, the elevator

Constant: location (L-Corp private lift), floor change

Variable: an IT cart was ‘accidentally’ parked in the cab, taking up 95% of the space and requiring Lena to press into Kara for the full 63-floor ride

Results: Kara’s work laptop screen was crushed between her fingers

Experiment no. 3: Game night

Constant: location (Alex + Kelly’s), time, day, company, food

Variable: wine; more specifically, wine location: top shelf, hard to reach without a little black ink revealed on Lena’s back.

Results: Alex called Kara out for floating

Experiment no. 4: Compromising Situation #2, Al’s

Constant: location (Al’s), time, day, and company

Variable: their usual table was ‘missing’ one chair, leaving a musical chair situation until Lena simply sat in Kara’s lap

Results: Kara didn’t speak the entire night

Experiment no. 5: Movie night

Constant: location (Lena’s apartment), time, day, company

Variable: chocolate covered strawberries

Results: invalid

Note: experiment considered an outlier and to be noted in future studies. Before Lena could follow through with her protocol, Kara lifted a strawberry to Lena’s lips who, taken aback, bit into the strawberry. Kara replied ‘good girl’, popped the rest into her own mouth, and Lena didn’t speak for the rest of the night

Experiment no. 6: Lunch date

Constant: location (L-Corp), food, time, company

Variable: Lena ordered the greasiest double-patty available

Results: 

The experiment wasn’t going well, and even Lena Luthor’s patience had a limit for inconsistent data. That data was currently slurping her straw through the final dredges of an extra large milkshake from Big Belly Burger. That limit was when Kara Danvers stopped squirming and blushing and stuttering over Lena’s sultry, albeit ineffective, attempts at making a juicy burger look sexy.

The limit was crossed when, unaware of Lena’s greasy chin and flexing fingers and soft moan, Kara went and flipped the tables by turning Lena's anatomy into goop. How? It started when Kara dragged a finger over the cup’s inner wall and licked it clean with a demeanor that was making a different sort of mess. 

Another set of underwear ruined by a Kryptonian. And not even in the way Lena dreamed it.

It was when Kara reached a second finger into the cup that Lena’s patience let out a small whimper which years of practice covered up with a tiny cough.

“Darling,” she choked, throat tighter than the forgotten straw on the coffee table. She stretched her lips into a smile and crossed her legs. Always crossed her legs.

“Hm?” Kara asked, two vanilla-covered fingers deep inside her mouth, tongue swirling with the practice of

“I think you've sufficiently polished your milkshake.”

And Kara, blessed Kara, stared longingly at the empty cup like a puppy who'd just been abandoned on a farm. 

And Lena, cursed Lena, only then noticed the dribbles of milkshake left behind of Kara's lips and chin and now her tongue was-

“Right,” Lena said with a finality that included slapping her hands on her thighs, exhaling shakily, and standing with hopes that Kara couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary on her walk back to a desk of libido-killing work. 

“Hey Lena?” Kara asked, and when Lena turned around, Kara was standing. Close. Like, directly-in-front-of-her close. Like, Lena-could-have-wavered-an-inch-and-collided-with-her close. 

“K-Kara, what-?” she asked before taking a step back and pressing into her desk.

“You’ve got a little something-” Kara began, staring intently at Lena’s mouth.

“I-I do? Where-” Lena stammered. She lifted a hand to wipe at her mouth, only to feel it captured by a strong, warm, steady Kryptonian hand. 

“I got it,” Kara offered instead, and before Lena could process air or space or time, Kara’s lips were on hers. They were on hers and sending shockwaves of surprise and confusion and arousal and - to hell with thinking. Instinct won out, and she returned the kiss, letting out the soft whimper she’d always concealed and leaned into the softness of Kara’s lips, and gave access when her tongue trailed along Lena’s lower lip.

“I don’t think you can call these outliers anymore,” Kara smirked minutes later.

And Lena, too breathless and stunned to play calm, cool, and collected, absolutely folded: “How did you-?”

“Sam,” Kara said simply before interrupting Lena’s outrage with another kiss.

“Well, you know what they say,” Lena offered, still breathless but less stunned, “twice is just a coincidence.”

“Care to make it a pattern then?”

“Absolutely.”

Lena was a woman of science, after all.

[skayafair]

No but it's so mind-blowing how transparent everyone in this show is relationship-wise.

It doesn't take half a brain to clock Edwin as glaringly and gloriously gay. Idk how Charles didn't reply with "oh don't you worry mate, I knew all along" in ep.6 because again, OBVIOUS.

No one said anything about Charles but basically anyone who takes a single look at him instantly knows he's bi. Like, it doesn't even need confirmation at this point although his behavior is it on its own. It's funny even how so many people watched the trailer and went "I thought he was the fruity one".

Idk about Crystal but she's giving bi vibes too, especially with her first reaction to Niko sprites be damned and purple color theme. And I know purple most likely represents her psychic abilities but idc.

We don't know about Niko but several people in the fandom (including myself) felt her experience really reflects our own - aroace spectrum one, and also she's giving lesbian/sapphic vibes. And again, from what I've seen the fandom is pretty united in this.

Niko doesn't think twice making a date with a woman for Jenny because of course she's a lesbian, no questions asked.

Also is it just me or is the Cat King pan? I refuse to believe he'd limit himself in anything when it comes to this.

And that's just for starters!

Because everyone knows there's something going on between the boys™ and it ain't straight.

Crystal knows Edwin's jealous and the show is trying to sell it as "jealous as a friend who doesn't get all the attention anymore" but it's fooling no one (and I believe not Crystal either).

Edwin does gets jealous immediately when Crystal comes into the picture because Charles has a crush on her from the first sight and it's obvious.

Crystal and Charles are very clear with their feelings and intentions towards each other.

Charles immediately smells something fishy with the Cat King and Monty and turns his jealousy full volume, like even Edwin wasn't THIS persistent with prodding despite being more vocal about it.

Despite the fact that Edwin's coming out technically happens in ep.6, NO ONE bats an eye when he's starting to hang out with Niko A LOT. Charles, who - see above - was immediately alarmed by the Cat King and Monty, has absolutely no problem seeing how close his dearest friend grew with the new girl on the team. Partly it's because Niko is a member of their group and is friendly with everyone, including Charles, but STILL. Niko is the only one besides Charles who's allowed the physical contact to the point of pretty tight hugs and handholding. Yet it doesn't even cross anyone's mind that there might be anything but friendship between these two. BEAUTIFUL *sheds a tear*

So like. I'm ND so human relationship is usually even more confusing to me than to a neurotypical person, and I know it's very complicated as is, to everyone. That's why seeing a show where everything is so EASY and crystal clear without simplifying things to a cardboard state was such a relief and a comforting experience. It's just nice to have it easy for once.

[prototypesteve]

To celebrate Ace Week, October 20 – 26, 2024, here's the Asexuality 101 post I shared with coworkers, this year.

Feel free to share it with other folks who you’ve had to explain Asexuality to, from scratch. Again: it’s just the basics.

Statistically, with around 1% of the population identifying as it, most of the people reading this article aren’t asexual, and they probably don’t know anyone who identifies as asexual, and if they do, they probably don’t know them closely enough to know anything about their sexuality—especially if it’s somehow defined by there being… less of it… or is it none of it? It’s all kind of confusing.

So, what’s there for you to be ‘aware’ of on Ace Week? Lots. Maybe even everything.

A sky full of more than just stars.

This (above) is a picture of the night sky over Alberta at around 9 PM, this Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024. It’s probably nothing like the night sky you've seen before, because it’s how the sky looks when seen through the microwave spectrum.

You’re used to seeing a sky that looks like this (above). This is the same bit of sky, as it appears in our “regular” spectrum of visible light. But notice how the microwave view of the sky reveals an entirely different sky, where nearby space is suddenly far more hectic, complicated, and full. It’s a sky full of things your ordinary eyes can’t see or measure. That’s what happens when you look at the exact same thing through a different lens¹.

Most of us understand sexuality along a spectrum of who, or which. Who are you sexually attracted to? Which genders are you attracted to? One, any, all? Asexuality looks at the same world, but measures things differently, instead of who or which, it asks how much, or when. How much sexual attraction people are capable of experiencing, and in many cases, where, how, or when that attraction can be experienced.

Asexuality is a bit more complex than just, “people who don’t feel any sexual attraction.” Some asexuals fit that definition, but they’re the very-visible minority. Just like the microwave-view of the sky wasn’t solid glowing purple, asexuality manifests in a variety of forms. The less-visible majority² of people the asexual spectrum are sometimes labelled as demisexual: people who experience limited or very selective primary sexual attraction, usually based on an emotional bond.

Asexuality isn’t a broken or underdeveloped expression of cisgendered heterosexuality. Asexuality lines up and coexists with the who-or-which so-called “regular” sexual spectrum. There are gay asexual people, bi demisexual people, asexual or demisexual lesbians, transgender demi people, and hetero-oriented aces. (Notice how in the microwave image of the sky, the same stars are still there, and the Milky Way is where it was.) This is why you might hear about the many micro-labels within the asexual community, as people develop ways to quickly communicate how they inhabit their place along the asexual spectrum.

“Back up a bit, primary sexual attraction?”

Wikipedia defines primary sexual attraction as “the type of attraction that is based on immediately observable characteristics such as appearance or smell, and is experienced immediately after a first encounter.” People on the asexual spectrum experience little to none of this, and people who identify as demisexual often explain the attraction they feel as being above primary sexual attraction. It’s complicated, and more than we can cover in a single post. What’s important to know is that asexuality is a big, big topic because it covers as much ground as the allosexual spectrum you’re used to.

“Hold on, Allosexual?”

Asexual people (asexuals, aces, etc.) have our own jargon, because of course we do. One of those words is allosexual. From the greek word állos, which sometimes translates to “other”. Allosexual or others-sexual. People who are attracted to other people. It’s shorter than saying, “people who aren’t asexual,” and politer than the other words we might use to describe you.

So, what now?

Probably nothing. As exciting as it is to know there’s a whole other spectrum out there (and spoiler, there are many spectra, there’s also a romantic-attraction spectrum) the reality is, it’s small. In the few surveys that have been conducted, it seems as though only about 1% of the population identify as asexual in any way. (There are probably a few more of us, living with identities we were assigned by the world we grew up in.) For the time being, this may just be a neat-to-know thing, and a prompt to go visit your local observatory, to see a microwave telescope.

But for a few of you, it might be the beginning of a journey of self-discovery. You may have learned a few important new words here, or found a new way of seeing things that explains why you are the way you are, or why someone you care about is the way they are. If so, please be gentle. Asexuality is a large topic being explored and lived by a small community, most of whom are still in the middle of figuring out what this all means for us.

One of the safest places to start is Angela Chen’s gracefully-written book, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex. Written by a journalist, it gets into self-discovery, implications for partners, the medicalization of asexuality & the ways people try to “cure” us, and it even gets into the complexities of being asexual inside of a cultural context that might not leave room for asexuality.

From there, have look around the oldest Asexual community, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network, AVEN, or carefully look through your social networks’ asexual or asexuality tags (1% scales up well in a large community, but always remember you're on social media).

You’re not alone, you’re not “broken”, you’re not “delayed”, you’re not heartless. You’re part of a sky full of more than just stars.

Footnotes:

¹ Yeah, yeah, technically, microwave and visible light aren’t separate spectra, they're just different subsections of the bigger electromagnetic spectrum, and space is full of stuff that emits energy all across the full electromagnetic spectrum all at once. Sort of like how we're all a little bit of everything on the entire spectrum of human-expression, just in different proportions. But wow, if you thought this was already a convoluted post, can you imagine what a post that used that model would have looked like? So, let’s all agree to stick with the more casual way of describing electromagnetism. All least until after Ace Week, so we don’t wreck the mood.

² Demisexuals and other variants of asexuality are underrepresented for a number of reasons: it can be too complicated to talk about, it can be exhausting to defend your place on the spectrum, or you might not even see yourself as demisexual because your relationship feels “ordinary enough”. This is why we have Ace Week. It's an opportunity to let people know there are other words to explain how they feel, or how they express their complicated sexuality.

About the Author:

I was 12 when I realized I didn’t prioritize the same things my friends did. They were starting to explore crushes and boyfriends and girlfriends, while I was getting into graphic design. (1983.)

I was 21 when I realized I was “behind schedule” getting into “the dating thing.” Even back then, I thought of it in abstract terms like ‘dating’ or ‘being in a relationship’, I didn't personify it in any way, using words like ‘meeting a girlfriend’, or ‘becoming a boyfriend’. (1992.)

I was 37 when I realized there was clearly something off about me, and accepted that—for whatever reason—I didn't do relationships, and I decided to just focus on my career, and hobbies, and and and. (Late 2008.)

I was 51 when I learned there were words for what I was: Asexual and Aromantic. (2022.)

I was 52 when I started coming out as AroAce (2023).

[justjasper]

Creation of the Pan Flag

Copied (with grammar/spelling mistakes) from my twitter thread about it for posterity.

I was going to do this for Pride weekend but you know, life, so: I wanted to talk about a thing. I created the #pansexual flag, a thread.

Back in 2010, I was 20 and tumblr was my main social playground. I was active in various spheres, and I was learning.

I'd been IDing as bi since I was 13, but moved away from bi as an identifier and took up pansexual soon after discovering the term, bc I felt it fit better.

This is mainly bc the simplicity of pan being defined as attraction to any/all genders was extremely appealing to someone really coming into this new way of expressing their orientation like tumblr allowed. It felt right for how I wanted to relate to and express my orientation.

The bi communities I had access too often saw heavy discussion related to attraction parametres of "bi" - convos at the time I didn't really recognise for what they were: bi people working hard to define bisexuality on their terms, tackling intra-community transphobia, (cont)

(cont) and developing within a social space where more expansive gender experiences and identities were becomes more well known and understood.

My switch of labels was about finding something that felt truly right for me, but it would be dishonest to pretend the decision wasn't impacted by the politics and "discourse" I was involved in at the time.

There was no popular pan flag, and the offerings were frankly... ugly. To me. Various shades of purple, P letters, P symbols incorporating gender symbols, infinity symbols. They didn't feel consistent with the other pride flags.

So on a whim, I decided to design one. I designed it to be pretty, honestly. That was a primary function of it, to have s/t I liked to represent my identity. No point pretending I was trying to be super innovative and deep: I wanted something pretty to plaster on my blog.

Pink, yellow, blue. A strong magenta, a strong gold yellow, and a light cerulean. The pink not too purple, the yellow not too bright, the blue not too cyan. Hex FF1B8D, FFD900, 1BB2FF.

Pink and blue, because of their gendered traditions, and yellow, a generally non-gendered colour, to represent nonbinary folks etc.

I created it anonymously, on a side blog away from my main handle. I was already running LGBTLaughs which was proving very popular in tumblr and didn't want to monopolise queer blog space, I suppose.

I didn't expect it to take off. It proved popular on tumblr, and for a few years the flag kept getting added to the Wikipedia 'pansexual' page and then removed. Eventually it snowballed and ended up in use well beyond tumblr.

As I've got older I've realised a lot of people would be interested in knowing this part of modern queer history, and more about modern flag creation in general, and that it's worth documenting. Not for credit so much as for posterity.

So, that's that. The first time I saw a pansexual flag in real life at my city's Pride parade I may have had a little cry.

Twitter Drama

Best viewed on the original twitter thread, for the full documentation (I may update this with fuller documentation down the line) but here's a rundown of drama surrounding the flag.

First, to set the stage:

posted about designing the pan flag

said i was cool with bi/pan lesbians

said i was cool with kink at pride

Thus followed, in varying intensity 2020-2022:

misgendering

suicide bait

general harassment/pile-on

"called out" on r/pansexuals

blasted on sapphics for satan (fb)

now sworn enemy of of lesbian kpop avi twitter

claims the original pan flag was transphobic in meaning

multiple "new" pan flags designed to displace the one i designed

claims i stole the flag from a medieval indian kingdom, and subsequent vandalisation of wikipedia for the actual state of kerala

vandalisation of the wiki page for the pan flag, resulting in it having to be locked

[skyler10fic]

Passed Down Like Folk Songs

Summary: Daisy bumps into Carol at a pumpkin patch and they both feel like they know each other from somewhere...

Notes: For @ficwip All Ships Ship Week, prompts "Do I know you?" and memories/dreams. Also for @isolus-girl who is having a rough week+. Love you!

----------------------------

The local pumpkin patch and apple orchard farm was full of people the weekend before Halloween. It was no surprise then when two single sapphic women bumped into each other by accident.  

“Oh, hey, you dropped this.” Daisy Johnson tapped the shoulder of a blonde in a red flannel and handed her a carabiner of keys. Daisy noted the pink, white, and orange striped cat keychain. 

“Oh! Thanks.” The woman took the keys and hooked them to the belt loop of her jeans. She met Daisy’s eyes and paused. “Do I know you?” 

Daisy almost responded no but something made her look deeper. “You seem familiar too. And you have a Kamala Kat. I have the bi one, the kittens.” 

This earned a bright smile. “Aw, that one is adorable. Yeah, Kamala is a family friend. Do you know her too?” 

“No, just through mutual friends. I swear I know you from somewhere, though.” Daisy laughed at how odd the feeling was.

“I’m Carol Danvers.” The woman extended a hand and Daisy shook it. She noted no one had stopped to wait as Carol spoke with her.

“Daisy Johnson. I was just about to meet up with some friends at the cider sampling. Would you want to come too and we can figure out how we know each other?”  

A little girl, dragging her mother, called back to Carol, “We’re going to the petting zoo!”

“Okay, I’ll see you later!” Carol called in reply. “You know what, Daisy Johnson? I’m suddenly available. Why not.” 

Daisy introduced Carol to Jemma and Fitz, her cider sampling friends who were saving a wood picnic table for them all. 

When they had their tasting glasses in front of them, Daisy explained, “When I moved here in middle school, Jemma and Fitz were the only other new kids that year, so we hung out a lot, even though we were all from different places.” 

Carol sipped on her cider, enjoying the stories. “I can guess England and Scotland, but where did you move from?”  

“The LA area, which felt just as far away at that age.” 

“Wow, I am from LA! Well, not really. Pasadena.” 

Daisy squinted as she asked, “Wait. Did you go to Margaret Carter Elementary?” 

Carol slammed down her glass in excitement that Fitz’s Scottish kin would have been proud of. “Oh my god. It’s you! You’re the girl.” 

Daisy giggled. “I can’t believe I forgot your name. I can’t believe you forgot MY name!” 

Carol simply stared at Daisy in awed surprise. “How on earth am I sitting at a table thousands of miles away with my first kiss?” 

Jemma and Fitz gasped, and Carol and Daisy realized they had been following this exchange with rapt attention. 

“Yep,” Daisy confirmed. “That’s me. After school out by the science garden. My mom was out of town for work and my dad was late to pick me up.” 

“And my parents had no idea where I was after school and didn’t care as long as I was home for dinner.” 

Daisy leaned in flirtatiously. “So the lesbian cat keychain… Our experiment worked? Still kissing girls?” 

Carol shrugged. “You were very persuasive. And you said you have the bi one?” 

Daisy held up her bag with the keys clipped to the side, showing a kitten with blue, purple, and pink yarn balls. “Girls are definitely at the top of my preferences list, but I haven’t had anyone to 'practice' with lately. Is that woman you were with, who had the little girl, your…?

Carol followed Daisy’s glance to where Maria and Monica were walking their way and finished the sentence: “Friend, housemate, sister. By choice, obviously.” 

She laughed in acknowledgment that biological sisterhood was genetically unlikely. They might be opposites on the melanin color wheel, but they were family in all the ways that mattered. 

“Maria, Monica, I want to introduce you to my friends!” Carol called them over. A waiter brought by another cider sampler for Maria and some apple juice for Monica. 

When Carol explained how she knew Daisy and their history, Monica squealed. “It’s so romantic. Are you her girlfriend?” 

Daisy smiled as Carol apologized. She jumped in, “Well, we could always try a date first.” 

Carol unlocked her phone and slid it over to Daisy with the texting app open to a blank message. “If you text me from my phone, I’ll have your number and you’ll have mine, and we can plan something.” 

Jemma grew serious. “I hope you mean it. I’ve trying to get her back out there for ages.” 

“I tried,” Daisy protested weakly. “I just wasn’t interested in anyone from the apps. Those things are terrible.” 

Carol laughed in understanding. “And here you were all this time I was swiping through photos of couples looking for a third or married women looking to experiment without their husbands knowing.” 

“Here I am,” Daisy confirmed. It felt like more than that. She hadn’t simply kissed Carol as a preteen. She may not have remembered her name, but she remembered enough to wonder about her, to dream about her sometimes, to wish her well wherever she was in the world. 

Little did Daisy know, Carol had done the same. And with the power of a perfect autumn day, they found each other again.

[digenerate-trash]

All of my teacher head cannons are based on my experiences with real teachers. 

that being said: 

More teacher head cannons!!! 

(this time I rated them on how well I think they would be as a teacher)

Doren

Lowkey would fuck a student if they got consent.

Gives off “I have a daddy kink” energy but not the cool kind 

Calls students Good boy/girl to gauge their reactions.

Will give extra homework to the whole class if one dude pisses them off

Has a ‘I’m the cool’ teacher thing going on but is really the most uncool bitch in the whole world. 

Would spit on you if he could get away with it. 

Is absolutely a bitch that says “I don’t know CAN you?” when you just need to piss

Will put stickers on your tests that say generic shit like “good job” and “wonderful” 

No one gets graded above a 95% because he personally believes that he knows better than every student and even some teacher's real “I'm the smartest man in this school” energy 

Will put on movies at the end of the year because he doesn't feel like teaching the last week 

Overall 2/10 I’m not learning shit in this class (out of spite.)

Mason

Needs approval from everyone for everything. 

Probably just learning the ropes as a teacher 

The cool teacher. 

Everyone wants a piece of this man and he just wants to swim

Could literally convince him the sky was purple he's a gullible mess

Gym body but puppy personality 

Would throw hands at anyone who harassed any of his students. 

Gentle teaching methods. Sometimes super effective but some students use it to coast

Super easy to get sidetracked

Undiagnosed ADHD man 

Students openly flirt with him and he's got no clue how to respond so he's just like “Haha good joke” 

Would not fuck a student no matter what, 

Clueless about other teachers and the inner politics going on at the school 

Stay in his lane king 

Absolutely started off as a lifeguard and doesn't know how his life got here

6/10 I’m a big fan of your class but it's only because it's easy. 

River

Virgin. 

Has a full life outside of school 

Like two years away from retirement 

When the class gets too out of hand wants to curl up and die right there

Stressed as hell 24/7 

Never married never will be 

Teaching style is harsh as hell but will stay after school or give up their lunch break to help out students who are struggling 

No days off in this class it doesn't matter if your exams are done. School is school and you will learn as long as you are here

Doesn't play favourites but he seriously should. 

Hates Doren (just has a bad feeling about the dude) 

5/10 I'm trying my best dude please stop saying you know I can my reach potential if I applied myself. Its math. I'm not gonna apply myself

Sirris

Says she “knows what I'm going through” but I doubt her science teacher was a MILF. 

Why are you always wearing low-cut tops??? 

At least one rumor about how a student fucked her over her desk and it was so good she hentai came. 

Gentle teaching style but doesn't take any shit. 

Has considered slapping students but never would 

Personal stories that tie into the lesson somehow 

Talks all the time about how much she loves her kid and how much of an angel he is 

Would love to get a tiny kiss on the head from her. Please

She brings a lot of momma bird energy to the class. 

Will touch your shoulder very gently 

Will then look over your test and say to the whole class “Remember to read the questions on the test carefully”

A student has absolutely called her ‘mom’ by accident and she feels flattered by that

Will put on bill nye on Fridays after a test to give everyone a break. 

8/10 Either adopt me or let me make out with you. I'm dealing with confusing feelings! 

Winter

Bro if Sirris is a MILF winter is like a super MILF with no kids. 

Big BDSM lesbian energy. 

Her weekends are booked solid and she has no time for school life to get involved with that. 

Wears SFW leather accents all the time no matter the weather. 

Has decided that instead of gray hair they want platinum blonde and they are rocking it 

Calls her students good boys/girls out of habit. 

Absolutely could beat any of the other teachers in a fight. 

She's super passionate about history and has several antiques which she considers priceless. 

Students who mock her subject are always sorry after she lectures them. 

She's happy to help students during lunch. But not after school. She has boundaries 

Overall 8/10. Im not confused. Fuck me into the historically accurate pillary with your massive strap. Im fucking ready. 

Leighton

Evil. 

Will fuck students without their consent 

Absolutely blackmails students and teachers. 

Dude jacks it under his desk at school while he watches porn after using his admin pass to get passed the website blockers. 

Will send teachers an NSFW link and then mark them for disciplinary action for clicking on it. (Mason will fall for this trick every time) 

Has never and will never hire an outside consultant or HR representative claiming its a ‘waste of resources’ 

Dude will rub his hard dick on your back while you're sitting in his office for detention. 

Piss kink. Don't ask me for evidence. I just get this /feeling/

Will take a long weekend more than a couple of times a year just for the fun of it. But will never allow the same grace to any other teacher. 

Has a file of his favourite students that he meticulously plans to molest. It's like a black book. 

Bro obviously watches teacher/student porn or 18yr/old man porn at school. 

Teaching style is fucking old school. Reinforcement through pain/ruler. Writing lines. Detention sessions are just holding a penny between your knees and standing in the corner with a dunce cap on. 

Plays favourites but if you are his favourite fucking watch your back. 

0/10 I’m not learning shit. And also I dread office visits. If you touch me I'm calling the police.

[oathholder0]

i love her, so here's a Moira appreciation post and some headcanons

She's talented as hell. Looking at her sprays and voice lines it's evident that she: Can speak multiple languages, can juggle, can play the fiddle, can bake, can probably sing (please refer to her fiddle spray it looks like she's singing, lemme live my life).

Went to Trinity College for her undergrad and masters then took the opportunity to undertake her doctorate at Oxford.

Had to move back to Ireland after the Venice Incident for legal reasons and administrative reasons. That, due to her financial situation and 'fall from grace', was #traumatic.

She is naturally more reserved and cold but mostly that is a persona for professional reasons and her having extreme trust issues. She gives off the vibe that if there was a person she was really close to she'd let her walls down a bit and is just sweet and dorky.

Lesbian.

Closed herself off from ever being in a serious relationship.

I also love the fact that she has over 30 years worth of experience in the field of genetics.

I will say it again I am a sweet Moira truther ok, she's a diddums.

She took a long time to adjust to the sudden success of becoming a minister after all those years of being scorned. It was anxiety inducing and stressful for her at first but eventually went to her head and now her ego has returned full force from the days of university.

For all the reason that she can be genuinely nice, I am not denoting that she can be cruel and egotistical. She's a human alright, she's not ALL good and there's no need to demonise her for being that.

Having said that she still is a leader of a terrorist organisation lol.

Her favourite colour is not purple.

Has killed and isn't afraid to do it again under a military context. Retribution anyone.

I am a firm believer in the fact that Moira if pressed could win in a fight. Or at least try her best.

[unclewaynemunson]

Pt2 to the Wingman Wayne AU sequel :D (This one’s gonna be slightly longer than most of the other parts!) | You can read pt1 here | ao3 link

Robin would never admit it to Steve, but she is nervous. Like, really nervous. The level of nervous you get from having a date as a lesbian in a small town in the Midwest who has only ever dated one girl before – a girl she knew from the school band, which means they didn't actually meet each other on a date, which means that Robin technically doesn't really have any first-date experience at all – contrary to Steve, who has a lot of first-date experience.

What do people wear for a first date? How do they prepare? Should you even prepare at all? Do people come late, do they come early, do they bring a present, how do they greet each other?  

By the time she's finally changed into clothes that make her feel the right amount of comfortable yet attractive, her room has exploded into even more of a mess than it usually is: her whole wardrobe is covering literally every inch of the floor, another pile of clothes is thrown haphazardly onto her bed, and Polly is making herself comfortable on Robin's favorite soft cardigan, no doubt getting dog hair all over it.

She shoots another glance in the mirror, tugging at her collar and frowning at the way her jeans are fitting around her upper legs.

'No, you're not gonna get changed again,' she sternly tells her reflection. 'You're fine. This is fine. You got this.'

'You got this,' Rosalinda repeats from her cage in the corner of the room. 'You look great. You look great.'

Robin perks up at that; teaching Rosalinda to say “you look great” whenever Robin is looking in the mirror has definitely been one of the better decisions in her whole life so far.

She rushes over to the cage to treat the parrot on some nuts, but then she notices the clock and a string of curses escapes from her mouth as she starts frantically looking for her All Stars - which she finds buried underneath Polly’s butt.

Well, at least she has one thing less to worry about now: fashionably late is gonna be her very well thought through arrival time.

---

She arrives at Benny's about ten minutes late. As she haphazardly shoves her bike into a rack, she spots a curly-haired girl leaning against one of the parked cars with a somewhat bored look on her face.

'I'm so sorry,' Robin says, slightly out of breath as she rushes up to the girl. 'I'm literally the worst at time management and I couldn't find my shoes because my dog was sitting on them and then I lost my keys because I forgot to –'

'It's fine,' the girl interrupts her. To Robin's relief, her lips are curving into a smile – a very pretty smile, that is. 'Mr. Munson already told me that you were probably gonna be late.'

Something about that seems really unfair and Robin huffs.

'How does he even know that? I never even met the man! No one even bothered to tell me your name, and you already know all about one of my worst personality traits!'

'It's Nancy.'

'What?' Robin gives the girl a distracted look.

'My name.' She holds out her hand and Robin shakes it, even though she thinks that's a bit formal for a date – it is, right? Or is this normal date etiquette and is Robin indeed as clueless as she feared she would be?

'I'm Nancy,' the girl elucidates. Her hand is cold against Robin's, but not in an unpleasant way, and Robin can barely suppress a shiver. 'And my worst personality traits is that I always want to be right.'

Robin can't help but smile at her. 'Good to know, I’ll make sure to remember that in case I ever need to let you win an argument,’ she answers.

'You're Robin, right?'

'No, I'm Tammy,' Robin deadpans.

'Oh.' Nancy lets go of her hand, going wide-eyed.

'Kidding. I'm Robin. Sorry for that lame joke.'

But Nancy chuckles, and it sounds just as cute as her smile looks. All of Nancy is cute, actually: she's almost a full head smaller than Robin and wearing a colorful skirt paired with a purple button-down. A necklace with a ballet-shoe pendant is resting against the skin right underneath her collarbones, and her fine-featured face reminds Robin of a work of art: perfectly heartshaped, with sharp cheekbones, a pointed chin, and huge, deep-blue eyes that get this adorable sparkle when she smiles.

And unfortunately, Robin knows all too well what will inevitably happen whenever she's put in front of a girl as pretty as Nancy. It's like she can actually feel the words piling up in her throat.

'I have to warn you, I've never actually been on a date with a girl before. I mean, I've dated a girl, but not been on a date, like, with someone I don't know yet. I mean, it's not like I'm not out yet, alright, but in this town, there's only so many people you can be out to, if you know what I mean, so I couldn't exactly go happily dating around, and I've never really been interested in dating boys at all, so that never happened either – so what I'm trying to say is that I've never been on a date before and it's kinda making me nervous and I have this habit that I start rambling when I'm nervous, so you should probably just cut me off at some point or else I'll be passing out soon because I'm getting really out of breath and –'

'Take a breath,' Nancy finally interrupts her monologue. Her smile is less shy now and more amused, and Robin gratefully does what Nancy ordered her to do.

'It's okay,' Nancy says in a sweetly quiet voice. 'I'm glad you told me. I've actually never been on a date with a girl either. I've been in some relationships, with guys, but they didn't – they didn't really work. Um...' She points towards the door. 'Should we get –'

'Yeah, let's go inside,' Robin says, eagerly taking the chance to continue their conversation somewhere that's not a joyless gray parking lot.

They order at the counter and Robin lets Nancy pick a booth; they end up at the one in the most remote corner.

'Well,' Robin says, raising her Coke at Nancy, 'Cheers to Wayne Munson, I guess, for landing both of us our very first official date with a girl.'

Nancy chuckles and clinks her glass against Robin's.

'Cheers to Wayne Munson,' she repeats. 'I have to admit, I was very surprised when he called me. I only met him once, you know?'

Robin listens attentively while Nancy tells her how she met Mr. Munson at the plant, where he was working while she was on an assignment for the newspaper. It's surprisingly easy, to talk to her. They easily launch into this whole conversation about the working conditions and safety hazards down at the plant, both equally indignant about how the employees are treated there, and Robin fires all kinds of questions at Nancy about her job at the Gazette.

'I've been really lucky,' Nancy admits. 'Last year I got this internship at the Hawkins Post and that was... not great. I was basically the only woman and all those men thought I was only good for making them coffee and sandwiches. It's actually why I broke up with my boyfriend. He thought I should just “sit it out,” be grateful for the opportunity or whatever. Which I thought was fucking bullshit.'

Robin nods eagerly, her mouth too stuffed with Benny's heavenly burger to form an intelligible response.

'Anyway, I didn't sit it out – I went behind their backs for a good story and they fired me. But that's how I ended up at the Gazette. They make much better articles anyway – like the thing we did with the plant.' Nancy pauses to take a sip of her drink, and her eyes are lit up beautifully with the passion for the work she's doing. 'They care about this community, want to publish stuff that actually helps make it better. So I got to talk to Mr. Munson, and he had some really interesting things to say,' she said, coming full-circle with her story like a true journalist. 'But we didn't talk about any personal stuff, you know,' she continues. 'So I was really surprised when he called.'

Robin chuckles. 'Yeah, I haven't even met the man, I only know his nephew Eddie. He's supposed to have some sixth sense for matching queer people,' she tells Nancy while jokingly wiggling her eyebrows. 'That's how my best friend became Eddie's boyfriend. I wouldn't have been here if that dingus didn't tell me that it was gonna be worth it.'

The shyness is back in Nancy's smile as she holds Robin's gaze over their fries.

'Well, I think your friend might be right about that sixth sense,' Nancy says quietly.

Robin feels her cheeks heat up at that and looks away from Nancy's intense gaze.

'Don't tell him that,' she jokes. 'His ego is already annoyingly big.'

She looks back into Nancy's eyes and immediately feels fucking stupid for not taking her chance and say something heartfelt in response to Nancy's brave vulnerability.

'But no matter how much it pains me to admit it, I have to agree with you that he might be right,' she awkwardly adds. And luckily, it works: Nancy is beaming at her like the fucking brightest star in the milky way.

Pt3

Taglist: @munsonsuccubus @messrs-weasley @shrimply-a-menace @booksandsience @sadcanadianwinter @mightbeasleep

[dnpbeats]

No but actually on the topic about the fuchsia phone case joke. I sometimes find it so hard to reconcile the images and videos of them then, with a)the two idiots we know now, but also just the two people we now understand them to have been at the time.

I see dan making a slightly off colour joke about phils phone case looking gay, and then i think the scared closeted 20yr old, trying to desperately figure himself out, and qhen i try to match them up, in some ways it makes so much more sense and in others it feels like my brain is short-circuiting.

I guess I just always wonder what those jokes and comments actually meant to them at the time. When I first started watching them, way back in 2015, I always understood the jokes they made as being in the same context as when my straight peers/friends made them. Misinformed but not malicious. As coming from the perspective of a straight person who didnt really think about what they were saying. But now obviously we have context, and now im a full raging lesbian myself, who similarly made gay jokes/comments when I was still in the closet, and I'm just starting to realise what mustve been going on in their heads. Like, im not saying the fuschia phone case comment was some desperate desire to be free and open or whatever, it was a joke and it wasnt a particularly deep one, but there is an added layer to it. Dnp laughed for more than just the fact that the 'fuchsia phone case looks gay'. They laughed bc they knew who they were, they were making fun of the whole 'having a purple phone case means your gay' concept in the first place, and they were just two closeted 20-somethings, existing in a world that wasnt ready for them yet. And yeah it was just a stupid joke, but thinking about it too much has made me a little emotional so here we are.

Hi!!! I totally understand this. It’s been wild going back and watching their content with the knowledge we have now. Like I, as most people did, presumed they were queer before they came out. But it’s absolutely a different experience thinking that and knowing that. While I was watching ditl it hit me that like. They were a closeted couple while filming that, and that’s not speculation, Dan confirmed that. And it kind of hit me in a way I can’t describe, but honestly part of it did make me sad. Just like, knowing what it must’ve been like for them. And I totally get what you’re saying about the gay joke. Like for them obviously part of it was like “oh haha making a gay joke when we’re gay!” But it’s also like… making a gay joke because you’re closeted and that’s as close as you can get to publicly being yourself. And even then, whatever the exact joke was, they cut out part of it. Which honestly was probably a good call lmao but, yeah. I agree that specific joke wouldn’t have been some like grand moment in their lives or that it’s that deep at the end of the day. But it’s just knowing that things/jokes like that were probably a regular occurrence and for a while that was like what they had yk? Making gay jokes and then cutting them out, because they didn’t want them to be misconstrued but maybe bc they hit a little too close to home

And now look at them. Joking about eating jizz on the gaming channel for all the world to see

[sixminutestoriesblog]

violets

February is the smallest month and often the least favorite of some people. In the Northern hemisphere it balances the line between the grey winter months and the raucous spring ones that will follow. But being a little month caught between louder ones does not mean February isn't hiding its own sparkles of magic with a holiday dedicated to emotion and an extra day up its sleeve every four years. So its only fitting that one of the birth flowers for this month is the indomitable violet.

How long has the violet's magic been around? Well - we could ask Sappho, the ancient Greek poet whos work was so well-known and admired that she was sometimes called 'the tenth Muse'. She mentions her lover wearing wreaths of violets and in a different poem a crown of them. Sappho's poems often speak of her romantic love for other women and so the violet often does too. In 1926, one of the first modern plays to depict the love between two lesbians, La Prisonnière, used a bouquet of violets to signal their relationship.

Most violets are edible and so they were (and still are) added to an array of foods and drinks. Modern France is known for its violet syrup. Eating this flower goes back to antiquity in fact. Ancient Persians thought violets were calming and could sooth away headaches. The Greeks, and therefor the Romans, believed violets were good for fertility and made love potions with them. In fact, Athens was known as the 'City of Violets' for its abundance of them.

The idea of violets and love carried over too. The very same Saint Valentine, who happens to have a holiday named for him in this month, is said to have ground up violet petals in order to make the ink he wrote his letters with.

In medieval European art, the violet is often shown in paintings with the Virgin Mary. Because it grows close to the ground with a lowered flower head despite its royal color, it represents modesty and humility.

In Victorian times, the purple violet represented modesty, faithfulness and fortune. Folklore said wearing violets in your hair could help you combat inebriation. Carrying violets could ward off evil spirits too (perhaps because sickness was still thought to be caused by evil smells and many violets are very fragrant). Make sure you carry a lot of violets when you do carry them however. Another English superstition said that carrying less than a full handful of the flowers in to the house lead to bad luck and a single violet would be the death of all the ducklings and chicks on the farm! If violets bloomed in the autumn, whoever owned the land they bloomed on would experience a death in the family (there are flowers in the violet family that do this often however so fear no harm on this account).

These days the sweet violet is the symbol for consistency in the UK. In Australia and New Zealand, violets were sold on 'Violet Day' (the date of which varied from year to year) to help raise money to commemorate the dead soldiers from World War I. The violet is the state flower of New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin and Rhode Island. The humble little flower is also being tested for medicinal uses in modern medicine.

So you see, like February and February babies, this little flower packs quite a punch.

[redtail-lol]

Lunian microlabels that I coined!

Lunian is an umbrella term for mspec lesbians, but that can mean different things to different people. Since the lunian flag and name were based off of the moon and the sea, I've created 6 tidal-based flags for different experiences! I will be creating bi/pan/poly/omni/abro variants too! Flags based on Kenochoric's Lunian flag!

#1: Full-Moon Springtide Lunian

[Image ID: A 5 striped flag modeled after the lunian flag by kenochoric. The top stripe is a deep navy blue; the second one down is a bright bluish indigo; the middle stripe is a light sky blue; the second to last stripe is a pale sea foam green; the bottom stripe is white. The flag on the left has a fade between the top two stripes and bottom two stripes. Both flags have blue full moons. End ID.]

Meaning: A lunian who considers themselves lunian because they're attracted to multiple genders that are considered part of lesbian attraction! Ex: wlw and wlnb. I, OP, am a Full-moon springtide lunian!

#2: First-Quarter Neaptide Lunian

[Image ID: A 5 striped flag modeled after the lunian flag by kenochoric. The top stripe is a deep navy blue; the second one down is indigo; the middle stripe is a deep sky blue; the second to last stripe is a bright aqua green. The bottom stripe is a pale sea foam green. The flag on the left has a fade between the top two stripes and bottom two stripes. Both flags have blue half moons, with the left half being obscured by shadow. End ID.]

Meaning: A lunian who considers themselves lunian because they are mspec, but their attraction to genders considered part of lesbian attraction is much greater than their attraction to other genders, and as such they feel somewhere in between mspec and lesbian; using lunian as an alternative to homoflexible or lesbiflexible

#3: New-Moon Springtide Lunian

[Image ID: A 5 striped flag modeled after the lunian flag by kenochoric. The top stripe is a deep, dark violet; the second one down is a slightly lighter shade; the middle stripe is a slightly dark periwinkle; the second to last stripe is between turquoise and blue. The bottom stripe is a bright sea foam green. The flag on the left has a fade between the top two stripes and bottom two stripes. Both flags have blue half moons, with the right half being obscured by shadow. End ID.]

Meaning: A lunian who considers themselves lunian because they use the split attraction model, and are lesbian in one form of attraction and mspec in another.

#4: Third-Quarter Neaptide Lunian

[Image ID: A 5 striped flag modeled after the lunian flag by kenochoric. The top stripe is a deep, dark violet; the second one down is a slightly lighter shade; the middle stripe is sky blue; the second to last stripe is a desaturated light blue. The bottom stripe is a very pale blue. The flag on the left has a fade between the top two stripes and bottom two stripes. Both flags have blue new moons. End ID.]

Meaning: A lunian who considers themselves lunian because they are mspec, and are reclaiming the historical definition of lesbian!

#5: Tidalphasic Lunian

[Image ID: The original lunian flag by kenochoric with its dark purple top stripe, purple second stripe, desaturated sky blue middle stripe, bright aqua green second to last stripe, and bottom pale green stripe, with an overlay of 4 blue moons in a small arc. From left to right, they are a full moon, a half moon with left side shadow, a new moon, and a half moon with right side shadow. The left flag also has a fade between the top two stripes and bottom two stripes. End ID.]

Meaning: A lunian who's reason for identifying as lunian is fluid and changes. They go through the many phases of possibilities just like the moon and tide!

#6: Midtide Lunian

[Image ID: A 5 striped flag modeled after the lunian flag by kenochoric. The top stripe is a deep navy blue; the second one down is purple; the middle stripe is a slightly dark periwinkle; the second to last stripe is a deep turquoise; the bottom stripe is a pale aqua blue. The flag on the left has a fade between the top two stripes and bottom two stripes. Both flags have blue crescent moons. End ID.]

Meaning: A lunian who's experience as a lunian was not covered by this post, or a lunian who's experience as a lunian is a mix of the labels here. You are all valid lunians but I don't know every way to be a lunian! Just like the tide, lunian experiences aren't rigid and there are times you are in between two.

Have a lovely day all lunians and please feel free to coin tidal terms for your experience if it wasn't given its own label here!

[Image ID: A reddish brown image bordered with the aurora lesbian, lunian, bi lesbian, and omni lesbian flags. There's an illustration of a calico cat and text that reads "PLEASE: •Check my pinned before following •DNI: Pedos, zoos, people seeking discourse, solicitors, and anyone seeking a relationship with me." End ID.]

[rotationalsymmetry]

Finch

There's this self care game app called Finch available on the ioS app store and Google Play, that I've been messing around with since a friend introduced it to me a few weeks ago. I am a cynical, cynical person and I want to hate it, but, uh, it is...actually pretty decent.

full thing behind cut for length

First, it is not either ad-based or microtransaction based -- there's an in-game currency that you can't directly buy by spending more money, and you're not in any way limited in how much time you can spend on the app if you don't pay or anything like that. There's free mode and subscription mode, and as far as subscriptions go this one's about as cheap as it gets except that the only option as far as I can see is annual, not monthly: base rate is $60 per year, but if you do a free trial the first week you can get it for $40. And...the free version is almost exactly the same as the paid version, the difference is that there are monthly themed events and if you're subscription, you get two daily rewards for participating and if you're free, you only get the shittier daily reward. Otherwise, same experience.

So, what it is: you get a sort of pet, a cartoon finch, that you can name and choose the pronouns of and dress up like a doll and who lives in a house that you can furnish and who goes off on daily adventures where it learns something (often very profound lessons like whether it likes the baby shark song or not), and who starts off as a "baby" and grows a little bit every day that you get a certain low threshold of whatever the heck ("energy") on the app. Which you get by doing self-care activities that you can either choose from a pre-set, well, set, or type in your own. And you can also "pet" it like this is Pokemon Go and gain friendship points. Anyways, I think you can see why I really want to make fun of this thing.

Oh, and your pet finch also gets its own "micropets", that can also grow to adulthood, albeit much faster.

And yeah, there's ways to interact with friends or "friends". Of course there are. Not ways that involve actually communicating in your own words of course, because then they'd have to monitor for harassment and whatnot, but in extremely cutesy and "positive" and "safe" ways, like complimenting your friend's finch's dress style or reminding them to drink some water.

There's a pretty solid although imo could use some improvement queer freindliness and a decent disability friendliness: your finch can use he/him, she/her, or they/them pronouns, although so far not any other pronouns or custom pronouns, there's a decent range of lgbtq+ flag stuff in the swag --

Oh, I should explain the swag, in addition to "energy" you also get "rainbow stones" for doing things, and "rainbow stones" can be exchanged in the "store" for, well, a t-shirt with a lesbian flag on it, or a purple top hat, or different colors for your bird, or a set of hearing aids in your preferred color, or whatever.

Anyways, the swag, there's lgbtq+ flag stuff (shirts, actual flags, weird hat thingeys -- also a disability flag flag and shirt) and some mobility aids (hearing aids, canes -- so far there doesn't seem to be a way to get your finch a wheelchair) and there's a lot of various gendered or not so gendered stuff and quite a lot of dress your finch up as a different animal stuff, and again also furnishings for your finch's house, and it is adorable and it just really scratches that itch of wanting to go out in the world wearing a tiger hat and golden dragon wings because you can. Or to decorate your imaginary home like it's a superhero secret base or a pirate ship or an ocean resort. October had a Halloween theme of course. November, sigh, appears to be cottage core. I'm complaining but fuck, it's adorable.

Anyways, both the house swag and the clothing swag are available from the beginning, the bird colors swag gets unlocked as you go along as does the ability to "travel" to different parts of the world. With the house swag and the clothing swag, there's a set of stuff that's always available, and a rotating set of random shit, largely from past monthly events, where you can reload the selection once per day for free and other times for a price. The "standard" set and the monthly event rewards let you pick your own colors, with the rotating stuff what you see is what you get.

Your main page is the goals that you set -- every day, once a week, Mondays and Thursdays, whatever -- which are again extremely customizable (oh, you can also set a goal for multiple times in one day, I do that for drinking water...if you do that you can only set one time of day or set it to "any time", so if you want to do a thing multiple times a day at specific times make a separate goal for each one) (of course you can get reminders, I have chosen not to) and there's also a thing in the upper right corner where you get a set of ad hock options, including: a wide variety of pretty decent reflection prompts, although their freeform reflection prompt is buggy; some guided exercises that I assume are chosen to be unlikely to cause harm but which nevertheless do not go well with my very exercise averse body; some breathing exercises which are OK but only vary inhale/exhale/hold lengths and don't include, idk, alternate nostril breathing or even so much as a reference to abdominal breathing, I don't know why you'd have a dozen different breathing-length patterns and not do anything else at all but whatever; a "first aid" section intended for if you're having a rough time in the moment; some suggestions for setting yourself more goals; and some other stuff.

There's also a "journeys" feature if you want a sense that your self care goals are leading somewhere. A couple pre-sets, some prompts, and the ability to completely customize your own thing. (I don't know if they censor swear words or not, I haven't tried.) (Regardless, only you ever see any of your self care stuff, the interactions with friends don't include showing your goals etc, only what the game has your finch doing. It does show how you dress your finch and furnish your finch's home.)

Oh, also you can tie one goal at a time to hatching a micropet egg, which takes a week. I have to say I have personally found this one extremely motivating.

My cynical, cynical mind is half expecting to stumble across something unmistakeably bad on the race or culture front, but so far the worst I've actually seen is a quote attributed to Lao Tzu that he did not say and wouldn't have said. So far we've gotten one reference to Frosty the Snowman even though it's not even Thanksgiving yet, we'll see how they handle The Holiday Season when December gets here I guess.

Anyways. I do actually recommend it, if you want a little bit of a self-care push that's cute and fun and nurturing, and/or already spend too much time on your phone so might as well be using some of it on something good. There are things that I would have done differently, but overall it's pretty good and it does what it's supposed to do, ie give you little immediate rewards for doing the self-care things that you think you should be doing (plus some encouragement to think about which self-care things you should be doing.)

Even if they do seem to think gender should be a trinary, sigh.

[camelliagwerm]

Rook Ask: 30, 31, 47, 49 for Hissera ✨✨

thank you, Pau <3

30. What is Rook’s class? Did they choose it?

She's a rogue, and I'm not sure if she chose it per say, but she didn't exactly have the strength to get used to a weapon and shield or a two-hander. But she was already quick on her feet, good with delicate things like locks etc (thanks to the tinkering hobby) and considering she got adopted into a high-status family (thanks Arthur), a duelling instructor ended up being her first set of formal training. But she also found herself gravitating towards bows as well - again, not unheard of among the social rank she'd been adopted into given hunting is a popular pastime. However a lot of bows were too small or uncomfortable for her to use, until Bull brought back an old Antaam war bow, which was much more comfortable and easier for her to use (she's still using it to this day, and tinkering/modifying it to suit her needs.)

31. What specialization does Rook pursue? What called them to it?

Saboteur! Even as a kid, she enjoyed tinkering; I imagine as a way to keep herself useful to the orphanage (before she got adopted, at least), she started to learn how to fix things so they wouldn't boot her out the moment she became too big or too much of an inconvenience. But both her dads, Arthur especially as it was something he'd taken to in his retirement, encouraged her to develop it. Even if it often led to her causing mischief. It was something she really began to develop with some informal training with Rocky from the Chargers. She also picks up some alchemy alongside it, mostly from Arthur's old notes from when he used to experiment and develop things with Sera back in the Inquisition (hence her explosive arrows, her lightning flask etc.) So saboteur always felt like the natural choice, particularly as it also uses things like repurposed Antaam explosives and a...cannon?

47. What’s Rook’s temper like?

She doesn't get angry much. Her equivalent of having a temper is more like...sarcasm or stubborness. So far she hasn't had any arguments, but she has viciously ripped Solas a new one verbally with the japes and in conversation with her team. Multiple times. And it was deserved.

48. A colour, flower, animal, and weather to describe Rook:

Colour: I've mostly been using lilac, white and grey body paint as her full body (somewhat custom) vitaar, but you could extend that to some pink (for her preferred gem horn), a bit of red and dark blue. Her default armour is one of the crow ones since I don't think the Shadow Dragon stuff suits her super well

Flower: I really like violets for her, actually. The purple-y colour scheme helps for sure since that's the default colour for Rook. But I've also seen it as representative of creativity and inspiration, of protection and resilience. Violets also being associated as a symbol of lesbian love is also rather appropriate.

Animal: honestly I think a cat works for her just fine. She loves them, she became very fond of the family cat (a fine, round, orange boy called Chutney), and honestly sometimes she has as many braincells as one and can be as noisy as one. Nothing deep about this particular one.

Weather: my first thought was thunderstorm. Aside from the fact she is not subtle at all (and neither is her combat style, something something the thundering of cannons), I've noted storms turn up a couple of different (notable) times in Veilguard - right at the beginning with Solas' ritual. It's a sign of conflict and chaos when tied to Solas, but it can also mean passion and self discovery. Also, rather appropriately, Arthur's own magic build utilised a lot of storm school passives in Inquisition, so it has a nice tie to her family as well.

[redtail-coins]

Waxing and Waning Gibbous flags

Waxing Gibbous Springtide mspec lesbian: An mspec lesbian who is exclusively a lesbian in both sexual and romantic attraction, unless aro or ace, but experiences strong mspec tertiary attraction and feels it significant enough to label, which is why they identify with an mspec lesbian label.

Bi - Pan - Poly/Ply - Omni - Abro

[Image ID: 5 separate 5 striped flags. All have a mostly full moon with a crescent shadow on the left side, colored separately for each identity. Colors on the first, in descending order, are: deep indigo; slightly dusty violet; pink; pale gold; peachy orange. It's moon is violet. Colors on the second are: dark pink; deep rose red; pastel yellow; cerulean; sea foam green. It's moon is desaturated turquoise. Colors on the third are: deep violet; light purple; desaturated sky blue; cyan; green. It's moon is desaturated lilac. Colors on the fourth are: very dark violet; deep purple; periwinkle; light tan; lavender. It's moon is indigo. Colors on the fifth are: deep rose red; rose pink; pale yellow; mint green; bright teal. It's moon is tan. End ID.]

Waning Gibbous Neaptide mspec lesbian: An mspec lesbian who is unsure if they're mspec or a lesbian, or if they experience attraction to men or not. They may often question if their attraction to men is real and genuine, if it is imagined, if it is comphet, or if it is simply tertiary attraction.

Bi - Pan - Poly/Ply - Omni - Abro

[Image ID: 5 more 5-striped flags, each with another mostly full moon with a crescent shadow now on the right. Colors on the first, in descending order, are: deep indigo; violet; muted pink; light peach; salmon. It's moon is violet. Colors on the second are: dark pink; deep rose pink; pastel yellow; cerulean; turquoise. It's moon is desaturated turquoise. Colors on the third are: dark purple; light purple; periwinkle blue; cyan; teal. It's moon is desaturated lilac. Colors on the fourth are: very dark indigo; deep purple; periwinkle; very light pink; lavender. It's moon is indigo. Colors on the fifth are: deep rose red; rose pink; pale yellow; light green; green. It's moon is tan. End ID.]

Oh boy now I need to come up with some counterparts for the seasonal labels. Welp. You can look forward to that in like a year lmfao