#pride month is over pack it up lesbians

[mooneysometimes]

[holysheithyall]

local loser asks a girl out more at 8

[palidoozy-art]

I do this every year for pride, for visibility. This year's a little earlier, at least.

Hello! My name is Palidoozy, aka Emile Flowers. I am a bisexual transgender male, currently married to a wonderful (cis) husband. I transitioned roughly... almost 10 years ago at this point? I can't remember. I work at Maxis/EA as a Concept Artist, working on the Sims 4. Some of the packs I've worked on have been the Werewolves, Crystal Creations, Basement Treasures, and Book Nook.

I moved from Texas to Massachusetts in the past year, due to the politics, climate, and to be closer to my family. I don't regret it. My HRT clinic actually shut down a month after leaving Texas. Meanwhile, here where I live in MA? I see pride flags all year round. There are crosswalks are painted in transgender flag colors. I've met more openly gay and trans people than I have in the 9 years I lived in Texas. CoL is muuuuuuuuch higher, but I'm glad to be at a point in life I can afford it. And I'd rather pay more than live under the whims and fuckery of Texas' state politics.

But there's still reminders. There's the news, obviously, but we actually had a hate crime around here about two weeks after I moved in, back in September of last year. There's a local church that has doors outside their congregation, painted to represent trans rights, lesbian rights, gay rights, and BLM. Someone vandalized them. I actually walked by them that morning. As cruel as it was, however, the response of the community was really strong. The church pulled the doors, had them repainted about two days later, and put a big ol' passive-aggressive (or just straight up aggressive) sign over their doors about it.

I'm much happier here than I have been in the past 10 years. I keep getting older, which sucks, but my life keeps getting better, which is pretty neat.

Anyway, happy pride. I hope life is good to you. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[astrowaffles]

Pride Month

Gojo peered out of the window. “Your neighbour’s got a pride flag out,” he observed. “You’ll fit right in here.”

“Well, it’s pride month,” said Megumi.

“I like to call it Megumi Month!”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

“What?”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

Confused, Gojo held out his phone. Had he changed his password? He couldn’t remember. If he hadn’t, that meant Megumi could still unlock it.

Uh-oh.

Megumi didn’t unlock it, he just turned it on and spun the screen to face Gojo. “Look at it.”

“At…my lockscreen?”

“Your lockscreen, showing what?”

“Me….and Suguru?”

“Yes, you and the evil mastermind. And why is it you and the evil mastermind?”

“Because we were best f-“

“Boyfriends. You were boyfriends. Happy pride month.”

“He wasn’t an evil mastermind. He was pretty stupid, actually.”

“He’d have to be, to date you.”

“We weren’t dating!”

“Uh-huh. I believe you.”

-------

OR: megumi moves into his apartment ft. gojo being nostalgic, itadori being a ray of sunshine & nobara being lesbian

“MEGUMI!”

“WHAT!”

“WHERE DID YOU PUT ‘LEGALLY BLONDE’?!”

“Dear god,” Megumi muttered, beginning to rummage through the nearest cardboard box.

“I HEARD THAT!”

Megumi rolled his eyes and rummaged further. “He could just look for it himself,” he complained under his breath.

Gojo finally gave up on screeching through the wall and came in through the kitchen door. “I heard that too, you know.”

“And?”

“And it was very rude?”

“Didn’t ask, don’t care,” Megumi sniffed, finally fishing the movie from where he’d packed it. “Why do you want this?”

“Don’t ask silly questions and you won’t get silly answers,” Gojo sniffed back.

Megumi glared at him.

“Okay, okay, it’s to watch,” Gojo relented. Then he pouted. “You don’t even have a DVD player, do you?”

“No, because I’m not ninety years old,” Megumi told him. “Put it in the laptop if you want.”

“Oh, so you’re old enough to have a laptop with a DVD slot but not a DVD player?”

“The laptop’s old!”

Gojo pulled a face. “And you’ve still got it? I would’ve bought you one if you asked…”

“I like this one,” Megumi said defensively.

Gojo eyed it. “It’s because of the stickers, isn’t it.”

“They don’t come off! I don’t want to throw them away!”

“I knew it,” Gojo sighed, and turned it on. It made a slightly disturbing whirring noise as the fans immediately began frantically cooling the struggling machine, and the DVD slot didn’t come out until the second attempt. “I’ll buy you some new stickers, so let me get you a better laptop.”

“You’re the only person in the world who asks to be allowed to buy new stuff,” Megumi pointed out.

“You’re the only person in the world with his own apartment at eighteen,” Gojo countered.

“Apart from you.”

“No, I had a penthouse,” Gojo corrected. “Now keep unpacking and let me watch the magic of Reese Witherspoon.”

Megumi didn’t fight him; he’d expected way more stress, and way more tears, from Gojo today. While Gojo wasn’t often an openly emotional person, moving his ward/son/annoyance into a separate flat would usually be enough to tip him over the edge. Megumi had been prepared, ensuring the tissues were the first thing set up on the kitchen counter and the laptop was unboxed in case Gojo had needed to watch Titanic.

As it was, Gojo was probably self-medicating with Legally Blonde - either that or he was pretending to self-medicate with Legally Blonde in order to avoid helping with the unpacking. Megumi didn’t mind, since Gojo usually just got in the way and messed things up and left food all over the carpet anyway.

Gojo peered out of the window. “Your neighbour’s got a pride flag out,” he observed. “You’ll fit right in here.”

“Well, it’s pride month,” said Megumi.

“I like to call it Megumi Month!”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

“What?”

“Show me your lockscreen.”

Confused, Gojo held out his phone. Had he changed his password? He couldn’t remember. If he hadn’t, that meant Megumi could still unlock it.

Uh-oh.

Megumi didn’t unlock it, he just turned it on and spun the screen to face Gojo. “Look at it.”

“At…my lockscreen?”

“Your lockscreen, showing what?”

“Me….and Suguru?”

“Yes, you and the evil mastermind. And why is it you and the evil mastermind?”

“Because we were best f-“

“Boyfriends. You were boyfriends. Happy pride month.” Megumi threw the phone back to Gojo, who caught it, disgruntled.

“He wasn’t an evil mastermind. He was pretty stupid, actually.”

“He’d have to be, to date you.”

“We weren’t dating!”

“Uh-huh. I believe you.”

“We weren’t!”

“Like I said, I believe you.” Megumi went back to rooting through boxes. “Did you pack this one? It’s full of shit I don’t want.”

“Language,” Gojo chided absently, eyes fixed back on the laptop.

“I’m 18.”

“I’m nearly 30, so what.”

“So shut up.”

Gojo gasped, very loudly and very dramatically. “Megumi! After all I’ve done for you, working hard as a single parent with ten jobs-“

“You have two jobs and they’re practically the same job. Teach jujutsu, use jujutsu.”

“-And I did it by myself! No childcare-“

“What was Shoko? Or Nanami? Chopped liver?”

“-And two kids, one of whom couldn’t even read-“

“I could read!”

“-Who said I was talking about you?” Gojo said wickedly.

“Well it wasn’t Tsumiki, she can read better than you,” Megumi shrugged.

“After all I’ve done for you,” Gojo repeated, “The least you could do it have some manners.”

“I have manners!” Megumi protested.

Gojo stared at him. “Are you absolutely certain, dearest?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“A-ha! Avoiding the question!”

“Prioritising my answers,” Megumi corrected. “I still have manners.”

“Suuure you do, buddy,” Gojo nodded, and went back to his movie.

Overall, June was a sucky month to move house in. The temperatures were high and so was the humidity, making everyone hot and sticky by the time the boxes were all inside. Megumi’s furniture hadn’t been delivered yet, having only been bought a few weeks ago – Gojo had insisted on paying for it all, even though Megumi had finally gotten access to a lot of the money stored up in his accounts from various relatives, jobs, and – of course – Gojo himself. He’d have even more when he finally turned 20.

Flies buzzed around Megumi’s empty rooms, making both Megumi and Gojo swat irritably at the ones that tried to nestle into the spikes of their hair.

Gojo watched Megumi carefully extract a particularly fat one from the back of his neck. He’d grown over the last few years, tall and broad, looking more and more like Toji every day. Maybe in a few years, when Megumi finally settled into his body and stopped tripping over things and looking confused with his new long limbs and wide shoulders, he’d gain enough muscle to make him almost indistinguishable from his biological father. There’d been a few times recently where Megumi, with the quiet footsteps taught by Gojo himself, had caught Gojo off-guard and had almost had his head blown off. All he really needed was a lip scar.

Gojo shuddered at the thought.

“You okay?” Megumi asked, noticing Gojo’s slightly horrified expression.

“Just thinking,” Gojo assured him.

“I didn’t know you could think.”

“You learn something new every day with me!”

“I wish that was true,” Megumi sighed. “Then maybe you would’ve been a passable teacher.”

“Okay, rude-“

Gojo’s tirade was cut off by Megumi’s new doorbell, ringing clear through the heavy, warm air.

“Must be Itadori,” said Megumi – who, in true Megumi fashion, absolutely refused to call anyone by their first name.

“HEEEEEEY MEGUMII!” Yuji yelled as soon as the door opened. In true Yuji fashion, he’d jumped at the chance to sound a bit closer to his friends.

“Hi,” Megumi replied, reaching out a hand to take some of Yuji’s bags. “Need some help?”

“Sure, thanks!” Yuji handed some off, and then turned sideways in order to fit through the door with the rest of them. “I didn’t know what to bring so I just brought it all!”

“All of what?” asked Megumi, cautiously peering into one. “Is this pride bunting?”

“Sure is! I thought we could combine the housewarming with a pride party, since we can’t go out without being recognised…”

It was true. After reaching peak celebrity status in the jujutsu world, their fame had even spread to the ordinary people, who hailed them as super-cool special reinforcements or whatever the media had chosen to frame them as. In an area so thickly populated with sorcerers as this was, it was frankly incredibly irritating trying to leave the house for a big event like Pride.

“I love that idea,” Gojo announced, having paused Legally Blonde to welcome his student. “Does Nobara know?"

"It was actually her idea," Yuji admitted sheepishly.

"Of course it was,” Megumi sighed. “When’s she coming?”

The doorbell rang again.

“She’s already here, isn’t she?” Megumi put down Yuji’s bags and went back to the door. “Hi, Kugisaki.”

“Hi, Fushiguro,” said Nobara, who had agreed to call Yuji by his name but insisted she wouldn’t be familiar with Megumi unless she got the same energy back. She was very, very salty about it.

“HI NOBARA!” Yuji yelled.

“Inside voice~” Gojo sang, shutting off his laptop now everyone was here.

“Sorry!”

“Jeez, let me in then,” Nobara demanded, bustling past Megumi. She didn’t have any bags with her, but from the way she immediately set about rustling through Yuji’s, she’d probably just made Yuji bring hers.

Megumi closed the door before more insects found their way in. “I like how you asked me about this party before you brought the decorations.”

“Oh, shut up,” Nobara told him. “Actually, no. New order: shut up and put this flag on your wall.”

It was a custom-printed lesbian flag, complete with a cutout of Gojo’s face.

“Oh my god, this is the best thing ever,” Gojo enthused, taking it before Megumi could reach out. “I want it on the wall forever.”

“Let’s start with it on the wall, y’know, at all,” Nobara snarked.

“I’m not a lesbian,” Megumi pointed out. “Neither is Gojo.”

“Neither am I!” Yuji volunteered. “I like the colours though.”

“You are all honorary lesbians for today,” Nobara announced generously. “Here, take a pin.”

She passed a small box around. Megumi stared at the ‘WOMEN SCARE ME’ pin he’d pulled out. “I want to swap.”

“No can do. ‘Sides, that one’s perfect,” Nobara shrugged.

“I’m attracted to women!”

“Yes, but can you be normal around them? No. Put the pin on.”

Megumi sighed and stuck it to his jacket; Yuji enthusiastically did the same with his ‘PRO CHOICE / PRO FEMINISM / PRO CATS’.

“’Three raccoons in a trenchcoat’,” Gojo read off the badge he’d been passed. “I like it.”

Nobara climbed onto some of the stacked boxes in order to string her fairy lights across the room. “You can keep these,” she told Megumi. “You need some decoration in here.”

“I’ve only just moved in!” Megumi argued. “It’s not gonna be perfect!”

Yuji was seeing how many boxes he could stack before they started to lean. The answer was six; he stood on tiptoe to slide his Bluetooth speaker on top. In the end, Gojo – ever annoyingly tall – had to help him put it securely on the middle of the top box.

“Good to know I’m still of use,” Gojo sighed.

“You’re not,” said Megumi. “Retire already.”

“Just because you said that, I’m gonna work another forty years.”

“Fuck you.”

Gojo’s dramatic gasp signalled another monologue coming on, but he was cut off by Nobara falling off her boxes.

“Fuck!” she yelled. Gojo didn’t correct her.

-

-

-

“When I got my first apartment,” Gojo reminisced, ignoring Nobara’s clattering in the kitchen, “I didn’t know housewarming parties were a thing.”

Him, Megumi, and Yuji were sat in a triangle on the floor, waiting for whatever Nobara was creating. By the sounds of it, she was attempting to remake the oven.

“I thought you said you had a penthouse?” Megumi pointed out.

“What? Oh, yeah, when I was 18. I got an apartment when I was ten.”

Yuji gasped. “Cool!”

“No, not cool, Yuji,” Gojo told him. “It was very boring.”

“Is that even legal?” Megumi questioned. Gojo shrugged, which wasn’t very reassuring.

“Dunno. I liked it, though.”

“Did you have fairy lights?” asked Yuji.

“No.”

“What about a fruit bowl?” Nobara called from the kitchen.

“Does anyone even have a fruit bowl nowadays?” Gojo asked.

“Fushiguro does, apparently.”

Megumi turned to Gojo, horrified. “You bought me a fruit bowl?”

“Apparently…?”

“I can’t believe this.” Megumi looked ready to murder someone – and that someone was almost definitely Gojo.

“You never know what you’ll need,” Gojo tried to argue, shuffling away from Megumi as best he could.

Megumi made a rather threatening gesture and then rolled his eyes. Nobara reappeared holding a tray of cupcakes.

“Look, Megs! Blue, pink and yellow!” Gojo pointed out, probably hoping to get back into Megumi’s good books. “Just like the ones I made you!”

“You didn’t make these ones, did you?” Megumi asked suspiciously.

“No-one made them,” Nobara confirmed. “Well, someone did, but it was someone in a factory.”

“Can I have one?” Yuji asked, tentatively reaching for one.

“No, Yuji, I brought them out for us to look at them,” said Nobara sarcastically, lowering the tray so the three sat on the floor could reach them.

After Gojo had gotten sick of telling extremely uninteresting tales of his childhood and had told enough of Megumi’s that he ran the risk of having his mouth taped shut by his own ward, Yuji started a horrendous game of ‘Guess Who?’.  The category was ‘Jujutsu Sorcerers’, and soon devolved into hysterical impressions of various sorcerers they had met, including Nobara’s stellar impersonation of Nanami.

“I wear fake leopard print and I’m better than you,” she mimicked, voice forced deep and hands around her eyes to imitate goggles or glasses.

Yuji, arguably the closest person to Nanami, guessed Inumaki. Nobara nearly screamed with frustration.

“I think we should play something else,” Megumi suggested, watching Nobara attempt to attack Yuji without any weapons on hand. Yuji, whose main weapon was his hands, was frantically blocking and looking unduly terrified.

“Like what? Hangman?” Gojo pondered.

“Only if one of us actually gets hung,” Nobara offered, looking meaningfully at Yuji. “Inumaki,” she muttered scornfully under her breath.

“Maybe not,” Megumi backtracked.

“We need to do something gay,” Nobara sighed. “Otherwise what’s the point?”

“What percentage gay?” Megumi asked.

“Well if you’re doing it it’s 100% gay,” Nobara told him. “You can’t help it, you’re just built like that.”

“Says you, Miss Oh-No-Makki-Don’t-Do-That-Yourself, Let-Me-Lift-It-Even-Though-You-Have-Visible-Biceps-And-I’m-Built-Like-A-Mop-“

“Shut up!”

“Um?” Yuji interjected. “Maybe we could just watch a gay film or something?”

“I vote Luca!” said Megumi immediately.

“Awh, I wanted to vote one of the Haikyuu movies,” Yuji pouted.

“I wanted to vote this one,” Nobara said, waving the website for something niche - and probably unnecessarily emotional - around.

“I vote Legally Blonde,” said Gojo, like an idiot.

By the time they were all settled around Luca – which Megumi had literally fought tooth and nail with Nobara for – Yuji was dropping asleep and Gojo was tapping on his phone.

“Turn your typing sounds off,” Megumi told him.

“No,” said Gojo, but the sounds didn’t come again.

Yuji hummed and snuggled closer to Megumi. Nobara, on Yuji’s other side, looked extremely offended but didn’t say anything.

Gojo dropped his head onto Megumi’s shoulder. It wasn’t as much of a neck stretch as it used to be; Megumi had become an excellent pillow even if he wasn’t a good height for resting your elbow on anymore. Yuji started snoring in evident agreement.

“You guys suck,” said Nobara. “I can’t even reach Fushiguro to lie on him.” To compromise, she simply threw herself across both Yuji and Megumi’s laps until her head was in Gojo’s. “Much better,” she informed them, and closed her eyes.

“Is this gay enough for you?” Megumi asked.

“Fushiguro. You’re a man. I’m not being gay at all.”

“Damn. Try again next year?”

Gojo laughed. “You can try again when you get your own apartment, Nobara. Just make sure to invite me so I can take pictures of the cuddle pile.”

“Are you kidding? If you’re there, it’ll be impossible to get you out of the pile long enough to take a picture,” Megumi objected.

“Good point,” said Gojo. “Try again next year instead?”

“Yeah,” said Megumi. “Try again next year.”

“Next year it is,” Nobara agreed. Yuji just hummed and snuggled even closer.

A03 | Exclusives | Tip Me | Commissions

[jamiesfootball]

lol TL gang goes to Pride lol

Roy - immediately breaks off from the pack and finds a group of drag queens. “RHONDA! How the hell are you, mate? You look incredible”

Keeley - has beef with 18 different lesbians who she KNOWS will be there and has enlisted Rebecca’s help as a human shield to hide behind

Rebecca- is flattered. Wore matching outfits with Keeley. Spends all of pride making a variety of women and men say, ‘god I’m gay’

Isaac - announced himself as the czar of outfits for the whole team. Did a very good job, which in this case means they are sadly understyled. He also won’t admit to anyone that he is wildly uncomfortable and nervous (they all know). Colin is patient and loves him anyways

Colin - also won’t admit to anyone that he is wildly uncomfortable and nervous (Isaac and Michael know. They are patient and love him anyways)

Jamie - planned to spend the day helping Isaac talk up Colin. Has been optimistically offered every Pride flag sticker under the sun by every gay, bi, trans, ace, aro, queer person under the sun. Is wearing them all to be ‘a good ally’

Beard - “RHONDA! Your wig looks better- did my guy help you?"

Moe - is trying to hand out new genders to the team like a drug dealer

Richard - ”this would be better if we had gone to pride in Paris”

Jan - has been to pride before. Dressed in normal t-shirt and shorts. Blends in. They have lost Jan Maas in the crowd.

Dani - shirtless! having the time of his life!

Thierry - also shirtless! Partying with Dani!

Jamie - is hiding from Moe’s very convincing argument that he try new genders ('this is like the astro-teleportation all over again') and has gone to hide behind Keeley. Joins Rebecca as art of The Wall because yeah, he knows who this Mariah is and Keeley is honor bound to fight her if she sees her. Yeah, it’s non-negotiable, they’ll just have to make sure Keeley doesn’t see her.

Rebecca- is speaking to jamie for the third time ever but an airhorn goes off before we can hear anything. Together, the three of them win some sort of couple’s prize. They are all flattered but not surprised

Later on Jamie finds Roy and says, ‘I think one of these stickers apply to me.’

Roy, who has been drinking with drag queens since 11am and is on the sort of level of ascension that only absinthe brings on, says, "Yeah that makes sense"

Jamie: ???????

Roy, condemning himself to 6 months of confusing text messages and non sequiturs because he will not remember this tomorrow: I mean it’s kind of obvious

Jamie: Huh. Well, don't tell anybody yet, yeah? I'm still figuring it out.

Roy, unsure of where the sun is and seeing in the fourth dimension: Yeah, sure.

Trent: "Rhonda! Hello, it's so good to see you. How are things at The Independent?"

[camvrin]

pride month is over pack it up bucko

ermmm kys lesbian die

[leakyweep]

BOA DOM! BOA DOM! BOA DOM! (I will wait patiently..)

I just picture her being so giving. That is, after she puts you through hell to get it.

Boa Hancock x afab!Reader -- Earned It

A/N: I need her. I need her exponentially. I need her abundantly. That is all. Also I heard "Hearts Don't Break Around Here" by Ed Sheeran while listening to this and it adds to the experience just do it. HAPPY FUCKING PRIDE MONTH BITCH !!!!!!!

Words; 1.5k

Warnings: Afab reader, she/her pronouns, they're lesbians harold, fingering, face riding, so, so much pussy eating like damn why cant this be me, praise, this was not proofread i wrote this in a fit of gay desperation, 18+ MINORS DNI

Boa Hancock was not the woman she seemed on the outside, and it took time for you to learn that. Her exterior was tough, selfish, and uncaring of others unless they served her some kind of purpose. However, after getting to know the Empress, she's vulnerable, traumatized; but kind-hearted. You had learned this on those late nights laying beside her; stroking her long, black hair as she poured out her heart to you about her past.

After those sleepless nights, she began to pack you lunch, complete with notes wishing you good days. Bouquets of your favorite flowers wound up on your doorstep, adorned with a note of the same nature that accompanied your lunch. Invitations to her palace quickly increased, and you found yourself warming her bed more often than not, holding her through the good and bad nights alike.

Though you had your disagreements with the woman, she was one of the most down-to-earth and caring people you had ever been with. When you had asked her to be your girlfriend, she was ecstatic. She had never gotten to know a person before; she always used her beauty to get what she wanted. With you; that felt so, so wrong. She never wanted to use you. Your smile, your looks, the way you gazed at her as if you really saw her, not just her exterior beauty but the complexity and elegance of her soul; it all made her feel so special.

Boa always took care of you; this was true for outside and inside the bedroom.

So, when she gave you that half-lidded look, the one that was filled with so much lust you felt it was tangible, you giggled. You had just gotten back from a mission with the Kuja, your leather armor still donned. You had been gone for a week; and every night Boa found her fingers between legs, thinking about your fingers instead.

She knew how hard missions could be from experience. So, after the bath she had prepared for you- complete with bubbles, wine, and your favorite book- she laid you down in her canopy bed, her hands tangling in your hair as she passionately caught your lips in her own. She had been looking forward to this moment, when you finally returned and she could be intimate with you. So she could take care of her blossom.

After a heated and desperate makeout session, here she was, teasing the daylights out of your dripping cunt. She ghosted her fingers over your slit, tugged pieces of your hair, left marks in that spot between your neck and shoulder that always made you writhe- anything but touching you where you wanted her most. Soft whines of her name and "touch me" escaped your puffy, red lips. She only chuckled softly, those lust-blown pupils staring at you boldly.

"My darling, you'll get exactly what you want in time..." Her long, slender fingers ghosted over your stomach, running down the already sweaty skin there. She pulled away from your body on the bed to grab a silken ribbon, tying your wrists above your head, leaving you completely defenseless to the goddess that was about to ravage you.

Boa smiled as if you were a treat for dessert as she crawled closer to you, her full breasts hanging below her. The sight of her like this was intoxicating to you; and it only made you wriggle and whine for her more. You knew that's what she wanted, she loved to play the power game.

"Aw... my lover is so cute when she whines for me. She wants me so bad, doesn't she? She wants me to touch her needy little pussy, right?" Her hands rested on your thighs, pushing them apart to position her face level with your throbbing pussy. She could see your wet dripping from your entrance, and she ran two of her fingers through it to collect it on the tips of her digits. She lifted them to your mouth, shoving them past your lips and scissoring her fingers in your hot mouth.

She pulled her fingers back, running them around your pussy lips, through the coarse hair that grew there. You had to will your legs not to squeeze her head as you just whispered, "Please, Hancock, please..." through shallow breaths. Your eyebrows were knitted together, your eyes pleading. Boa felt as if she was seeing stars, hypnotized by the desire in your gaze. No one had ever wanted her like you do, and just the thought of your devotion made the heat between her legs warmer.

"You've been so good for me, my love. You've earned it..." She smiled up at your desperate face, watching as pleasure invaded your senses at the feeling of her tongue pressing flat against your clit. You let out a loud moan, louder than you had anticipated. You hadn't realized exactly how badly you had needed- wanted- yearned for her touch.

Your hips gyrated against her tongue, your wrists struggling against the satin as her wet muscle dragged around your clit, pleasure pooling in the pit of your stomach. Wanton groans escaped your lips, her name being sung like a Psalm in church as she slurped up your cunt.

She hummed against your pussy, her nose sliding against your clit as her tongue migrated to your entrance, quickly claiming the inside muscles she could reach. You watched as she hungrily devoured you with a fire in her eyes. She had clearly missed you; she had never eaten you out with such severity. You had- many times- as she loved the feeling your tongue blessed her with. Now, it was her turn to give back.

Her fingers prodded at your entrance, her tongue moving back up to lap up your clit. she inserted two well-manicured fingers into your pulsing walls, biting her lip at how tightly you held her digits.

"My baby had been waiting for me all week, hm? Your hips are grinding against my hand so unashamed..." Her words were muffled by your pussy, and you couldn't find the words to respond as you felt your muscles contract at your incoming orgasm. Your mouth fell open in an 'o' shape, calls of Boa's name on your tongue.

"Yes, my goddess, 'missed you," You sighed. The pink blush of your cheeks matched Boa's as the hand she wasn't using to poke at your g-spot grabbed a handful of your ass, squeezing the doughy skin in her palm roughly. She pressed her thighs together, looking for friction as your moans increased in volume and number. She could feel the waves of your climax starting; she sucked down on your clit, her tongue swirling as her fingers stilled deep inside you, her middle finger kissing your spongy sweet spot deliciously.

Your toes curled and hands struggled against the restraint as your orgasm shook your body, pleasure washing over you like a wave. You called Boa's name like a mantra; like if you said it enough times you'd be blessed- which you already were to have such a woman as her. Stars exploded into view as her fingers dragged deliciously against your walls as they were taken from your pussy. You whined at the empty feeling, your eyelids finally opening to reveal a pussy-drunk Boa. She looked at you with doe eyes, her lips curling into a hazy smile.

"My turn, darling." She untied the satin from your wrists, positioning herself above your face, sitting on it with her pussy positioned perfectly above your mouth and nose. You grabbed her ass desperately, devouring her wet cunt as if you hadn't eaten all week while you were away and she was your feast. She slid her hips desperately against your mouth, her clit brushing your nose as she swayed back and forth on your face.

You felt the weight of her muscular thighs surrounding your face, her scent and the sound of her moans invading your senses; physically and mentally encompassed by her. Your fingers dug into the plush skin of her inner thighs, pulling her closer to your face to pull those sweet moans from her mouth. She held onto the headboard of the grand bed to grind her hips into your tongue perfectly.

"L-love- right there-" She sighed shamelessly loud, her hips now bouncing frantically against you, your hands traveling from her thighs to her hips to help her set her pace.

After lapping, sucking, and fingering her cunt, you felt her walls hugging your digits tightly, a loud shout of your name tumbling from her lips as she gushed her juices onto your fingers and face, your eyes closing to be submerged by her. You licked your lips and around your mouth as much as you could, slurping up her juices. Everything about her was perfect to you.

She fell softly next to you, her tall, slender frame bringing you into an embrace. She grabbed the satin ribbon from earlier, wiping the remaining cum from your face and eyes gently. A soft smile adorned her lips as she laid her head on your chest; long, soft legs intertwining with your own muscular calves. You both let out a sigh of contentment, relishing in the feel of each other. The emotion and love between you two was unabashed, and as you fell into your own dreamworlds, you whispered a soft, "I love you," into her hair. She hid her blushing face as she returned the sentiment, leaving a soft kiss between your breasts.

[laylakeating]

CREATIONS FROM EVERY MONTH OF 2023! (except october but we're not going to talk abt that !!)

Post your favourite and most popular post from each month this year (it’s okay to skip months).

i was tagged by two of the Most talented girlies in the world !! @saw-x and @taiturner ILYYYYY ty for sharing what your brilliant minds came up with this year !!!

JANUARY

MOST POPULAR: britt + karma !! i had so much fun with this set and it was honestly such a good way to start off the year !! FAVOURITE: probably that same set !! also the glee icons pack i made :D

FEBRUARY

MOST POPULAR: from my blog, britt + mike in 207 shsjhs. from teen dramas, brooke in 207 (one of my fave looks of hers) (this was clearly a month for the seventh episodes in second seasons ??) FAVOURITE: barchie + high infidelity for barchiesource !! something a bit different for me creatively but ugh i love it. also glee 514 for gleesource !! again something a lil different !!

MARCH

MOST POPULAR: riverdale returning to television and proving it takes the cake as the funniest show in the world (another rvd is iconic and beyond reproach set for 701) FAVOURITE: a banger month for creative sets !! basically everything i made for barchie week, this unholy trinity MASTERPIECE i made for gleesource, and this djats set + destiny, choice, chance

APRIL

MOST POPULAR: my favourite scene from djats for djats week in green bc apparently i like to make things hard for myself ?? who knew FAVOURITE: again. SO MANY. another month another appreciation week shsjhs. anyway all the sets i made for djats week, more sets for gleesource including santana + valerie and mercedes and santana + river deep mountain high, my santana lesbian visibility set, hsmtmts + tarot cards which took me wayyyy too long to finish, rvd ladies + barbie posters (50s edition), and barchie in 701 for barchiesource in RED (very proud of how it turned out considering i hate giffing in red)

MAY

MOST POPULAR: quinn + tropes for glee appreciation week !! FAVOURITE: everything i made for glee week (there were quite a few bangers), my 2 9-1-1 sets shjshsj - maddie + you first (a banger) and madney + paper rings (another banger), also the first (and only rip) set in my layla episodes series (layla + 101), and this jordayla + proposal foreshadowing i did over on jordayla gifs !!

JUNE

MOST POPULAR: this halle bailey set <33 FAVOURITE: once again. everything i made for all american appreciation week !!! special shout outs to layla + the eras tour and the layla set i made for day 1 !!

JULY

MOST POPULAR: nancy + the wizard of oz horror (that makes sense i swear) FAVOURITE: the aforementioned nancy set, also stancy + persuasion, the little mermaid live action and the quote that made me insane for a few weeks, layla + the lip pout she does (she's adorable), AND last but certainly not least, this pride and prejudice edit which was just nothing like i have ever done before that i LOVEDDDD

AUGUST

MOST POPULAR: ashlyn + giving maddox mouth to mouth (her delivery of AS A FRIEND still sends me into orbit) FAVOURITE: HSMTMTS MONTH BABEYYYYY !! fave sets include (but are not limited to there are too many) gina for hsmtmts week, fave songs (also for hsmtmts week), rina + maybe this time + motion blur (THIS TOOK ME WAY TOO LONG BTW), this antoine set bc he is an icon, madlyn + daylight (still a serve), rina + invisible string (to this day the most insane thing i have ever made), hsmtmts + a meme summary (just your regularly unhinged content honestly), and this jet/maddox set <33

SEPTEMBER

MOST POPULAR: this cinderella 1950 set in pink/blue <3 FAVOURITE: okay so we have ej playing cupid/being a love prophet HSJHSJ, TWO icon packs, one for olivia rodrigo and one for lexie grey, and also the britt + her love for my headband set bc it was the only other thing i made in september and i was worried it'd get lonely

OCTOBER

MOST POPULAR: apparently you have to post something for it to be popular FAVOURITE: i made many sets in my mind dw

NOVEMBER

MOST POPULAR: blair looking excellent (as always) for teendramas !! FAVOURITE: finn + bigger than the whole sky (part of my glee midnights series) (a true labour of love) (still obsessed with it btw)

DECEMBER

MOST POPULAR: percy !!!! for pjosource FAVOURITE: everything i made for 12 days of rina (there are only 5 days rip), and OF COURSE, to round the year off with a bang, the extraordinarily belated 2k celebration set for justine, AKA dair + midnights !!!!!!!!!

tagging some beloveds <3 @alinaastarkov, @jordanlayla, @katherines, @kayascodelorio, @perccyjackson, @yenvengerberg !!

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

Hi admi, please believe me when I say I'm not trying to be a pest but, didn't you say that there used to be someone on here who would message that a lesbian shouldn't have a blog dedicated to Evan? I.. think they might be on shamrock's blog now 😂 (to be clear I DON'T think homophobia is funny.. it's ridiculous to me)

she really said pride month is over, pack it up skittles squad....

well i better go seeing as lesbians aren't welcome on evan tumblr, goodbye my sweet tweam. shamrock won.

[thecastcompany]

Cast Company Summer Memories

Here are the Summer Memories of Cast Company between the months of June and July!

We kick off the summer with a Pride Party! We hosted a Pride Party and asked folks to dress up in their best Pride Outfits!

Blix over here supporting the Lesbian Flag!

Quin supporting Cast Pride and Bisexual Pride! @toomany-elves

We did a Lakeshire Market in the Summer ( During that Treasure Goblin Phase Fiasco ) and we challenged our folks to bring quest to the market or take a picture by the water! And here is our lovely pictures of folks posing by water!

THEN THE THOUSAND BOAT BASH BEGINS! AND WE SAID SHARE YOUR BOATS!

This was also how we found out.....the boats were racial.

We Attended the Tiragarde Trot and asked our guildees to get on horse mounts and take a picture!

We then head out to Booty Bay for the 4th of July!

And we hung out, played games, chatted, and watched fireworks while listening to Classic Rock together!

We then had Club Cast Faction Packed Night and asked our guildees to represent there favorite factions!

We hosted a Culture Cache where we tasked our members to wear the clothing of their respected cultures!

continue to part 2! in another post!

[tangent101]

This goes for stuff other than being LGBTQ+ as well.

Now I am trans and queer (ace and lesbian). Back a couple decades I was still living at home and I forgot to do some chore. My mother blew up at me and said "I should have adopted a pair of Korean children, they know how to respect their parents."

I seriously contemplated packing up everything and leaving. Never contacting my parents again. Just erase them from my life. And the only reason I did not was my grandparents were alive and I still loved them dearly and did not want to lose contact with them or to put them in the middle of a conflict where they would feel obligated to try and mediate things.

So I swallowed my anger and pride and without telling my mother, I forgave her. But I never forgot.

Fast forward to a little over half a decade ago, I realize I'm a girl. I actually delay on telling my parents. I know it's not going to go well. And lo! I was right. It blew up. And months later on the evening of Christmas Day, I sent my mother pictures of my cat snuggled in a cat bed my mother got the cat, and sent it via an account that used my chosen name.

She blew up. I ruined Christmas forever. I just stopped responding for a bit and she realized she fucked up and we're now in the Cold War situation of I am trans but around her I dress in old pants and shirt rather than dresses, and I allow her to misgender me while I daydream of the day she is dead and I get into my prettiest dress and dance on her grave before taking my inheritance and going on a nice vacation somewhere. Because fuck her. Fuck my father for allowing this. They gave birth to me. But my mom-in-law is more my mother than the woman who gave birth to me and she shows me more unconditional love.

If there are conditions on your love, it's not love.

[phtalate]

Write up of WLW Media:

June is over, but Pride continues. (Literally, the parade near me is next saturday.)

In honor of that, here’s my write-up of WLW Media I’ve consumed, horked down, hoovered up, whatever you want to call it and a fairly substantial TBR list.

My goal here is to provide more WLW material, because honestly it’s often kind of hard to find. Recommedations in the notes are very welcome!

I’ve also put books on this list I didn’t like as much, because if you dislike the books I adore they’re probably more your thing. (Having someone who’s taste is opposite of yours is often surprisingly useful)

I intend to make this a half-yearly to yearly thing, because my reading speed is so inconsistent. (Seriously from zero to eleven books in a month everything is game.)

My criteria for WLW media are the following: features a WLW romance or a sapphic character in which the character or the pairing is central to the book. Books with one sidepairing that’s WLW don’t count unless that sidepairing takes up substantial time.

This is mostly fantasy and SciFi: (because they’re my favourite genres)

I'm putting a read more here, because the TBR is out of control and the list got quite long.

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

Starting with Gideon the Ninth, this series seriously doesn’t need an introduction or propaganda. It’s the rare WLW story that actually gets shoved in your face!

It’s a sci-fantasy-horror series about necromancy in space seasoned with the occasional meme that’ll make you groan. It’s very good and while it’s relationship focused it’s not necessarily very romance focused, if I’m making sense? I don’t recommend reading parts of the first book at 3 am because it gets seriously scary at times. Also the author doesn’t shy away from body or corpse grossness. If you like you characters sane and emotionally stable, this is not the book series for you.

The Priory of the Orange Tree Samantha Shannon

Described by the author as a feminist retelling of St. George slaying the dragon, this is very much classic fantasy with some modern twists. If you like your books thick and dense this is for you. Features a bodyguard romance.

The Doors of Eden Adrian Tchaikovsky

Evolutionary biology crossed with modern riller. Features parallel worlds. This qualifies by virtue of having a lesbian and her disappeared girlfried as well as a trans lady scientist as two of six view point characters. Dense and thick and takes a while to get into. Adrian Tchaikovsky is a writing style chameleon, but if you’ve read Children of Time he chose a similar writing style for this.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The disgraced princess of an empire (she refused to be burned alive) is banished to a temple in an out of the way impoverished province. One of her maids who accidentally encounters her even though they weren’t supposed to have contact with her is the only person she can count on for aid. A former warrior priest acolyte that escaped the burning of her temple as a child is hiding her identity and working in the palace as a maid. Working for the princess is the first time since then that she’s been back on/in her temple. This definitely earned it’s fucked up label. Features some body horror.

Also fucked up sibling relationships both adopted and blood related. (For those of you who like that.) Do not be deceived by how small and manageable the paperback version looks. It’s got over five-hundred pages of densely packed text. First book of a trilogy, third book comes out autumn this year.

This Is How You Loose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Diversity win! The alien entities fighting a time war identify as female! Another one that really doesn’t need an introduction considering how popular it got. Two agents fighting on opposite sides of the time war write each other letters, starting with one taunting the other and developing from there.

Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

This is very much YA but not in a bad way. A witch who can only feel emotions by taking them from other people in trade for something and a girl who desperately needs help go on a journey to rescue the world from an encrouching magic plague.

A Memory called Empire by Arkady Martine

Did not like this as much as I expected to and am kind of sad about it, because people whos’ taste I trust liked it alot, so I’m wondering if I missed something? Maybe that something is being a native speaker, since the German friends I read it with didn’t enjoy it that much either. I’m left feeling kind of meh about it. Features a wlw romance. And is about the influence of language on the construct of Empire and identity.

Even though I knew the End C.L Polk

I didn’t really like this one. I felt it was too short and it’s storylines not explored enough. (It’s a novella.) I also tend to not like stories with a definite Christian Afterlife that exists and is definitely paradise. Other people liked this a lot though.

The long way to a small angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I’ll be honest, I did not like this one and think it isn’t well plotted or has good worldbuilding. It also has no genuine conflict. But since a lot of people seem to like Becky Chambers this is probably a personal taste thing.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Described by the author as „High fantasy, low stakes – with a double-shot of coffee.“ I’m going to disagree on the low stakes bit. While the stakes aren’t world-ending, they are present. This is about an orc who is tired of the mercenary life and starts a coffee shop. The stakes are that this is the life she wants and the business is her baby. Features a subtle romance that doens’t really come into play for a good long while because the main character is still busy with the whole learning to be a person with needs and wants thing. Very sweet though not in a toothrotting way, more like a slightly sweet well made baked good balanced out by the bitterness of the coffee.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

One of the two main characters is wlw though this doesn’t really get picked up on because Cheris is too busy dealing with the empire she’s part of, the frankly quite evil calender and her own identity. This series makes use of the „any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic“ principle by going so far beyond it lands in magic territory. If you like math, original worldbuilding, military fantasy, good prose with a wide vocabulary or all four of these check it out.

The Price of Salt or Carol by Patricia Highsmith

A classic and one of the few things on this list that isn’t fantasy or sci-fi of some kind. Patricia Highsmith first published this under a pseudonym. It was kind of revolutionary at it’s publishing time for featuring a queer romance that had a kind of happy ending. I liked the well built characters and romance and the ability of the author to describe complex, ambivalent feelings.

Other Media:

Anime:

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genious Young Lady

Typical modern Shoujo style. I was just searching for something sweet to watch and was suprised by the earnestness with which this story was willing to treat its’ themes. Is originally based on a novel series.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Takes the magical girl anime to it’s natural extremes. Kind of a deconstruction, though I have to say that it doesn’t go any harder than Sailor Moon was already willing to go before this was ever written. Gets on this list for a very important side character.

The Witch from Mercury

Has a very much modern Shoujo style but is also a mecha anime. I need to watch the second season. Features a kinda arranged marriage, a mecha school and fucked up things lurking behind the cute exterior.

Trapped in an Otome Game: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Very funny. The main character gets transmigrated into the villainess of an otome game and is very determined to not share that fate. On accident she kind of seduces every available man and the female rivals and the female main character. The result is chaos, a friend group that doubles as a harem and the gayest sleepover I’ve ever seen while the main character has no clue. (Noteably she is completely able to say stuff like „If I were a man I’d marry Maria on the spot!“ without catching on.) I’m rooting for Maria but there are several female characters who have their sight set on the main character.

I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level

Cute. An overworked office drone dies and gets transmigrated into a witch and proceeds to do nothing much for the next 300 years. Then things suddenly get going and do not stop again any time soon, as the heroine gets friends, children (Surprise! She’s a deadbet mom and didn’t know it.) and admirers. I’m rooting for the dragon.

I’m in love with the Villainess!

Very cute. A modern girl gets transmigrated into the heroine of an otome game and promptly proceeds to flirt with the villainess. Is based on a series of novels. Covers themes of queer loneliness and class struggle amongst all the silliness.

Revolutinary Girl Utena

I haven’t watched this in ten years and have forgotten most of the plot, but I remember really liking it. Utena assumes the role of the prince and duels other people for the Rose Bride. This takes place in a school and involves dramatic elevator rides. Also the movie had Utena and Anthy (The Rose Bride) turn into cars for some reason? I need to rewatch this. Also please don’t forget to check the content warnings, most stuff I like is fairly fucked up.

Sailor Moon

This one gets a pass on the strict criteria because it’s a classic and Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus were many peoples first wlw couple.(Though Usagis’ straightness is debateable, miss I’ll follow this pretty girl to her home because I’ve got heart eyes.) The classic magical girl anime and manga, popular for a reason and doesn’t really need me to sing it’s praises.

Live Action:

Couple of Mirrors

One of a few full length wlw dramas. (I’m aware there are a couple thai dramas, but they’re mostly modern and my interest is fantasy, sci-fi and historical). Historical costume drama featuring a young innocent socialite writer and a girl with a fotography studio and a rather dark past.

Legend of Yunze

One of apperently quite a few Mini Webdramas. It’s essentially just significant scenes stiched together. You need about an hour and a half to watch all of it. Some people have called the central couple the female version of wangxian, though while there are similarities these two are their own thing.

The extra features the line „Stand in the corner, fuckboy.“

Also season 3 when?

You can find it through this carrd: https://legendofyunze.carrd.co/# or through Youtube. An account named douqi has translated this drama and a lot of others including Nü Er Hong which is below in the TBR.

On the TBR:

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

Second novel in the trilogy starting with The Jasmine Throne, I’ve gotten fifty pages in but put it down and need to pick it up again. Tasha Suri also has more books I’ll need to take a look at.

The Unspoken Name A.K. Larkwood

This is the first book. I’ll have to get to the second to get to the WLW.

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Also has a theme of empire and rebellion (and assasination). Of the same list as Exile and the sorceror.

The Exile and the Sorceror by Jane Fletcher

Found this through googeling Sapphic Fantasy recommedations. I don’t think I could dig up the specific list this is from again. The cover looks like the fantasy novels in my mothers shelf and I liked the summary.

Sword of the Guardian by Merry Shannon

Apperently a Fantasy Bodyguard romance? Off the same list as When Women Where Warriors and The Exile and the Sorceror.

The Warriors Path (When Women Were Warriors) By Catherine M. Wilson

Describes by the author as like the fantasy stories she loved to read but with women.

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Occasionally reading the classics is good for the souls. Especially if they contain lesbian vampires.

The Traitor Baru Coromoran by Seth Dickinson

Recommended by veliseraptor who has excellent taste. Features themes of empire and collaboration and becoming compliant with the system vs. resistance. Read the synopsis it does a better job than I do on describing what it’s about.

Clear and Muddy Loss of Love by Please Don't Laugh (请君莫笑, Qǐng Jūn Mò Xiào)

and

Female General And Eldest Princess by Please Don't Laugh (请君莫笑, Qǐng Jūn Mò Xiào)

Baihe (chinese gl, female equivalent to danmei) novels that get recommended a lot.

I am bizzarely scared to read these, because what if I don’t like it?

Also if anyone has any more baihe recommendations, I’d love to have them! Bonus Points for dark, fucked up stuff!

The Beauty’s Blade Feng Ren Zuo Shu

Baihe, have seen this one on tumblr before and the description is really good.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

Lesbian horror monster fantasy! I found this trawling Good Reads. I hope it’s good! The description is really fun.

City of Hope and Ruin by Kit Campbell and Siri Paulson

Another fishing in the Good Reads pond find. More in the fantasy space. Looked interesting enough I’ll give it a chance.

Uhh, googeling wlw/lesbian fantasy on Good Reads produces interesting results ‚:) If someone else wants to try, since it‘s not possible to search two tags at the same time or do nested searches, I’d recommend looking through the lists.

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

I love fucked up women. And political schemeing and characters pretending to be someone else. This seems right up my alley.

A Master of Djinn P. Djèlí Clark

Picked this up without knowing it contained a lesbian detective as a main character! Delightful surprise!

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

Once again, picked this up without knowing it contained a sapphic romance! Don’t know if I’ll like this, since unfortunately I don’t vibe with Sandersons style and this is supposed to be similar.

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

This is Sci-Fi. And once again I didn’t know this contained wlw, because it wasn’t mentioned anywhere when I got the recommendation.

When the Tiger Came Down the Montain by Nghi Vo

Second in the series after the Empress of Salt and Fortune, which I omitted because the WLW part isn’t really central. The tiger/scholar romance is more central in this one, so I’m putting it on the list.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Was reccomended to me as very modern fantasy and unique, is apperently WLW as well?

Fishing through Novelupdates works better than Goodreads, but also produces as per the nature of the site unfinished and untranslated/partially translated novels. The tag for GL is either yuri or shoujo ai or both, because Novelupdates will let you search for several tags at a time.

Novels that perked my interest, I don’t vouch for the translation or it’s completeness:

The Princess’ Shadow Guard Cannot Be Too Clever by Senlin Zhangchun

The General’s Manor Young Concubine Survival Report by Feng De Lingdang

The Hero (♀) Hypnotized The Demon King (♀) by Sanrokukyuu(this one is a oneshot)

As I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess of an Otome Game, I Panic-confessed to the Heroine to Avoid My Ruin Flag. Since She Was Ok With It, I Will Live a Fake Yuri Life. by Satera Ito

The Witch Nichang by 八千岁 (no transliteration given)

Live Action:

Nü Er Hong

The same account (douqi) that did the translation for Legend of Yunze has translated a lot more Mini-Dramas and I already started this one. I plan to watch more from that selection and dig my way through the carrd.

Carol

Movie Adaption of the book. I don’t always agree with the community on who is universally hot (Keira Knightley does nothing for me.) And think that insisting we all are all attracted to the same peolpe and this is a community shaping shared experience is damaging. But Cate Blanchett can get it and casting her as Carol was an inspired move.

[qnewsau]

Rainbow Precinct welcomes Sydney Pride Month

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/rainbow-precinct-welcomes-sydney-pride-month/

Rainbow Precinct welcomes Sydney Pride Month

Sydney Pride Month is set to shine all over Sydney’s Rainbow Precinct in 2024.

WORDS Lorraine Lock

June is Pride Month in Sydney and with over a hundred events to choose from, it’s a jam packed calendar, so shrug off those winter blues and get ready to party for pride!

Most Sydney Pride Month events are in Eastside Sydney with Rainbow Precinct and Oxford Street leading the way in putting on the glitz, glamour and greasepaint.

Just east of the CBD and a short stroll across Hyde Park, this area thrums with life when Pride comes to town.

Venues like Claire’s Kitchen, Darlinghurst Theatre Company and the new Loading Dock Theatre at Qtopia will be hosting cabaret and live theatre performances, including comedy, monologues, informative conversations and history panels in what is fast becoming the new theatre district of Sydney in Darlinghurst.

The Oxford Art Factory and Soda Factory are venues with live music programming, drinks and a lively crowd, open till the early hours and with big nights planned over the King’s Birthday long weekend.

Stonewall is hosting the Sydney Pride launch night tonight and many other events over the month – appropriate given the namesake of the Hotel and the history of the Stonewall Riots.

There’s a show [Orgy of Drag] to commemorate those trailblazers who have gone before and Stonewall’s usual weekly programming has been vamped up to include “pride editions” of Malebox, Trivia and Trans Glamoré.

Courage & Compassion

This year’s Sydney Pride Month theme is “Courage & Compassion” and, above all, this festival is community oriented and welcoming, with plenty of charity fundraisers in the mix.

If your legs are up to it you could join the ‘Sydney Frontrunners 5k Walk and Run’ around the park or just front up at Kinselas and have some ‘Beers 4 Bobby’ (Goldsmith Foundation) on Tuesday 18th June.

History buffs can join Sydney’s veteran drag queen, Wonder Mama for a tour of the Rainbow Precinct, with some anecdotes and discount shopping along the way. Wonder Mama (a published author) is also teaching Nude Life Drawing Class at Universal.

The Bookshop Darlinghurst is also hosting a Life Drawing Class, so if you’re ready to unleash your inner Van Gough, now is the time!

Still on the art theme – Tap Gallery is calling for entrants to this year’s Pride Art Prize, so go ahead and put those art classes to use.

There are trivia nights each week at Surly’s American Tavern dive bar, with the sensational Breko; and at Burdekin ThursGays with ‘Kevin in the City’- both funny and informative hosts who will keep you and your team entertained and on your toes! Turbo Trivia with Charisma Belle at Stonewall also has meal deals and shows throughout the night.

Of course there’s Drag entertainment to be had every night of the week along the Oxford Street strip including at The Oxford, Stonewall and Universal.

The Burdekin has ‘Spritz or Swallow’ drag brunch on the rooftop, each Sunday with Mynx Moscato.

The Beresford has a big long weekend planned and at Universal they’re getting ready to announce the next ‘Miss Universal’ with a $5000 cheque to go along with that crown!

There’s plenty of other entertainment on offer with something for everyone, including Dog Haus Pup Pride, Poof Doof’s Reminisce Gay Anthems night, and a special Pride George Michael edition of music bingo.

If Taylor Swift is your vibe, get along to the special BIngay fundraiser for ACON.

Junipero’s world of immersive dance floors for lesbians, queer women, trans and non-binary people is making an appearance at the Burdekin.

June long weekend

The long weekend is shaping up to be exciting with ‘Thick’N’Juicy at Oxford Arts Factory and CHAPS at Stonewall – sounds like a good opportunity to break out the leather, rubber, denim and chaps – all are welcome!

Pride Month events make an appearance all over Sydney and as far as the Blue Mountains, but if you’re looking for a one stop adventure destination, you can’t go past Darlinghurst’s Oxford Street and the Rainbow Precinct… It’s the cultural heart of our LGBTQIA+ community and a place to party, make new friends and explore.

With something on every single day in June it’s so easy to fill up the calendar, or you could just head to Taylor Square, pick a beer-garden or rooftop and prepare to watch the world strut by!

-For the full lineup of festival events go to www.sydneypride.com

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[uozlulu]

And then my brain was like "Oh hey, that teacher AU thingy, I have ~ideas~" and I'm like "But we're supposed to be writing an original novel," and my brain was like "IDEAS!!!!" so...ideas~*~*~

The general set up

It's just after Labor Day weekend 2001. Daniel's been divorced for almost four or so months after being married for twenty years. He'll be 50 in December. He's been sober since 1983. He's got a weekly political column and he's about to start work on the first draft of his next book.

He is also at his daughters' high school because Alice works a 9 to 5 and won't be home until 6, but he lives in an apartment near the school so tag he's it. His younger daughter Jess is a freshman and failing every single one of her classes including art even though she's good at it. His older daughter, Mandy, is doing well grade wise but her French teacher found a pack of cigarettes in her purse and her choir teacher is upset because it's ruining the choir.

AU characters

Daniel - almost 50, journalist/writer. Freshly divorced and kind of deciding what to do with his time. He tries his best to be a dad, but he's fallible as anyone can be especially since when he's not working on a book he tends to be gone researching the next one

Armand - 30 - Does he have a last name? No one knows. All the students just call him Mr. Armand. He teaches theater, drama, and English. The kids ADORE him because he's young and relatable and lets them put on things like Sweeny Todd as the school musical

Louis - early 30's - French teacher. Monsieur de Pointe du Lac. Students also adore him. He expects a lot out of them

Lestat - mid 30's - Choir teacher. Mr. Lioncourt. He's absolutely ruthless but it's gotten them top in the state (and top 10 in the country) in competitions and no one's revolted by quitting yet so it's working.

Mandy - 17 going on 18, high school senior, looks like her dad. OVER IT about the divorce, but still getting good grades because she takes pride in herself. Has had a smoking and drinking problem for a few years now, though many think it only just started because of the divorce. Tends to be a serial monogamist, always has a boyfriend. She feels like she had to raise her sister by herself because their dad was always off somewhere and their mom sometimes works late and on weekends.

Jess - 14 going on 15 - high school freshmen - kind of pudgey around the edges, always wearing every color of the rainbow, would be on the volleyball team but her grades are tanking, clearly a lesbian but she doesn't maybe know this yet, shameless flirt, she's extremely talented in art but is failing her art class because she draws things other than the assignment and only turns in the written portions if they do them in class. Taking the divorce very hard because she didn't really see it coming because she thought her parents were the norm.

Alice - mid 40's - works as a secretary at a law firm. Tries her best to be a mom but also tries her best to be a law secretary so she's not always around. She's been sober since 1982.

Other characters may appear to fill in staff roles and such. We'll see how it goes. I want Claudia in here somewhere but where and how I'm not sure yet.

Potential events

Daniel ends up going to the teacher meetings because Alice has work. He meets with the girls' teachers. Louis drops the cigarette bombshell, Lestat is Lestat. Armand catches Daniel off guard. Armand has an ease to him but there's also an edge. He's intriguing but also kind of young.

Armand comes away from the meeting intrigued as well. Daniel being 50 doesn't phase him in the slightest.

Daniel takes the girls home because now that it's been established Mandy's smoking, Alice and Daniel decided while Alice is at work, he's got to keep an eye on them after school. Mandy is sincerely offended. Jess is content to work at the table while Daniel works on his book even though she's not really doing her assignments. Daniel leaves when Alice comes home. Neither of them are excited about this arrangement since they wanted a cleaner break, but they're doing what they can for the girls' sakes.

Daniel knows he should probably get himself back out there. He's not really sure where "there" would be, but he tries a local club and avoids the bar part of it like the plague, though it's tempting. The music is definitely different (the death of disco vs. Tiësto) but he likes the anonymity of it all. He runs into Armand at one of these forays. This Armand is a bit different from the one at the school. There's more edge to him and that blanket of darkness, strobe lights, glow sticks, etc...is more freeing than a classroom.

There's probably a series of situations in which Daniel and Armand run into each other. Stalking? I dunno, but you know a nod to the game they played in the books. At some point they kiss. It's completely earth shattering.

Daniel's pretty sure he's having a midlife crisis. He wants Armand. Armand is Jess' English teacher. Armand is also 20 years younger than him. He is not doing a good job of talking himself out of anything because that's never been his strong suit. He's pretty sure he only had it in himself to talk him out of bad choices once and he already used that to get sober when he found out Alice was pregnant with Mandy.

Armand meanwhile, knows what he wants and aims to get it. It's not hard to run into Daniel in the city. They live in the same borough. Daniel doesn't go to the bars but he will go to the clubs where he doesn't have to think about his sexuality too hard and such. They also run into each other at other locations Armand's probably noticed Daniel at before like local shops and such. He's got his cleavage out. He's got his hair done. He's learning Daniel's buttons. He's going to get what he wants and that determination is definitely part of what's attracting Daniel to him.

The winter concert arrives. Jess is in the freshman girls' choir and Mandy is in one of the fancy singing and dancing groups. Alice gave Daniel a new digital video camera that takes movies. He's managed to get it to work but not with sound. Armand appears and helps him work the device. They stand silently in the back row while the freshmen perform. Daniel turns off the camera. They whisper a bit back and forth and quiet again when Mandy's group goes on. Finally the concert is over. Daniel thanks Armand for his help. Armand something something flirtatious.

Daniel has the girls for winter break. They go to visit his family in San Francisco. Daniel goes for a nigh out to an old gay bar he used to wander into before he met Alice. He ends up encountering Louis and Lestat of all people there. Louis and Lestat are a couple. They aren't married yet because it's 2001. They came to San Francisco to get away from everyone and have some fun. They used to go to New Orleans to see Louis' family but some major drama last year ruined it for this year. Louis knows Armand is into Daniel, he maybe wingmans or something here though Armand is back in New York.

Daniel heads back to New York. He's still working on the first draft but it's almost finished. Jess' grades are up somewhat but Mandy is still sneaking things.

One night it's snowing and freezing because it's winter in New York. Daniel's out and runs into Armand. They have a moment. Daniel almost thinks about inviting him back but doesn't. Armand does invite Daniel to his place and it's very, very tempting. Daniel makes an excuse but keeps thinking about it.

Eventually, they do end up banging it out. Daniel has a lot to think about. Armand is still in it to win it.

Things to consider

The generalized structure of a romance novel (even if this doesn't end up 80,000~ words, the structure might help place plot points and stir drama

What is the ending?

What's the time frame of the story? The school year? More than that?

Are there repercussions? Or does that make things too complicated?

There's probably a school musical

Armand dressed up as a vampire for Halloween

Claudia (and Madeleine?)

I am going to have to write at least M stuff properly for the first time in years. I hope I'm not rusty

Part of Daniel's crisis is he's bisexual and in denial

[no-terfs-no-swerfs-no-fascists]

I was waiting for local papers to come out with anything half-decent before I posted anything about it, but since that ain't happening, I'll make do with The Guardian because they're the only ones whose article mentions that our Prime Minister, an out butch lesbian who openly lives with her partner and they have a child, has not only done nothing for the community, but has actively worked against it.

So.

Basically, our war criminal Prezz is terrified of what the fash will do now that he and the Gov can't escape finally admitting that Kosovo is an independent republic and that they've just been beating a dead horse and using the Kosovo Serbs as a political token they fully intend to sell out the second it's profitable for them personally, so he's trying to appease them by cancelling EuroPride.

This potentially means a return to Pride as a protest... and all the violence that will come with it.

The first Pride was organized in 2001, after the "democratic" changes in Serbia, but it ended with a BRUTAL beating of the participants by right-wing groups, football hooligans, and cops. I thought about posting photos, but I didn't want to disturb anyone, and they're googlable.

The second Pride was planned again in 2004, but the organizers canceled it after the March Riots and the burning of mosques in Niš and Belgrade, and it won't be until 2009 that there would be another attempt. This one was blatantly sabotaged by the Government, who abruptly made the decision to move the parade to a location different from the one originally planned, applied, and approved of, effectively making it impossible to hold the event.

The first SUCCESSFUL Pride Parade was held in 2010. And by "successful," I mean nobody got beaten up during the event. However, members of numerous right-wing groups, football hooligans, and members of clergy lined the sidewalks to counter-protest, and people who took part in Pride hound themselves yelled at, threatened, spat on, had various objects thrown at them, and banners with hateful messages were visible everywhere.

In 2014, the first Pride that truly went without any incidents (although counter-protesters were still around, they were drowned out by the sheer number of Pride participants, over 1000 of them - which may not sound like a lot to you, but compared to previous attempts, it was PACKED). The following year was not only the first consecutive Pride, but the first Trans Pride event was held, too.

Pride has been held every year since (although in 2020 it was held in the digital spaces due to COVID-19), every year with new events added and more people attending. The events themselves were safe, although counter-protests keep being held and, unfortunately but predictably, a lot of people get bashed on their way home from Pride.

This year, Belgrade is supposed to be the host of EuroPride (think of it as the Olympics of Pride events in European countries), and about two months ago, serious and constantly escalating attacks on both the community and the organizers have begun to crop up, mostly from right-wing politicians (ie, almost all politicians), but also other right-wing groups and, most recently, the clergy.

I didn't talk about it much because, unfortunately, all that shit is so normalized here that if I did, I'd be talking about nothing else (and, frankly, the past two months have also been extremely difficult for me personally, too). But this shit needs to be talked about, needs to be out there, and you need to know about it from me, as for a lot of you, I'm likely the only person who lives in Serbia that you know.

All if this came at us amidst a scandal of Pride events being pay-to-enter for the first time ever (except for the parade) and a lot of people being justifiably PISSED at the organizers, who are also the leaders of the biggest LGBTQIAP+ NGO in the country, which is a whole nother can of worms that I, honestly, don't have the energy to get into (and I'm supposed to be working anyway, so I should probably bring this story to a conclusion already).

Wish us luck, everyone.

We need it.

Badly.

[tootiredmotel]

a different lover is not a sin

or: 5 times Dean didn't go to Pride + 1 time he did

Happy @starrynightdeancas gift exchange posting day!!! This one's for the wonderful and talented @andzia267 !!! Sending you all the hugs and good vibes, and I hope you enjoy it! And thank you Sophie for hosting all this, you're a rock star! <3

Read on ao3 or below / 5.5k words

CW: homophobia, queer used as a slur, john winchester being an asshole

1 - 1994

Dean was fifteen years old when he found out that being gay was something people could be proud of. It was early in the morning, they'd left their motel about 20 minutes before, and Sammy had fallen asleep in the backseat. The sun was just starting to completely show over the horizon, and they were driving through– or rather, struggling to get out of– Phoenix on their way to a possible poltergeist in Tucson. Every street they tried to take was blocked for the big event, and dozens of people already lined the sidewalks with colorful outfits and signs.

"Fuckin' queers," John grumbled in the seat next to him. "Never should'a thrown that damn brick."

Big banners overhead displayed "Stonewall 25: A Global Celebration of Pride". Dean made a mental note to hit up a library once they got to Tucson to look that up, "Stonewall". In the meantime, he was mesmerized staring out the window. Guys held hands, women kissed, everyone was practically vibrating with excitement. A black man in heels and a wig caught his gaze through the window and waved. Dean started to wave back, but his hand was harshly swatted back down.

"Do not," John said. "Don’t talk to them, don’t even look at ‘em. These people are sick in the head."

Dean focused his gaze on his lap until they were out of the city, and his mind wandered back to the gas station they stopped at the day before. He thought of the guy at the cash register that called him "cutie" and winked at him as he bought a candy bar for Sammy and beers for Dad with his fake ID. By Dad’s logic– which Dean trusted, of course–, that cashier, that queer, must've been sick in the head.

Then Dean remembered how his heart sped up, how his ears got hot, and how for a second he let himself think the cashier was kinda cute too. He realized he must also be sick in the head, and the thought was making him feel actually, physically sick. He felt like throwing up. Dad could never know.

Dean was fifteen years old when he learned that being gay actually wasn't something to be proud of.

---

2 - 2000

Dean was 21 years old when he learned the word “bisexual”. Dad had caught word of a ghoul case in lower Manhattan and sent Dean to take care of it. It was starting to get too hot and the streets were too crowded, but Dean was mostly glad to get a break from the constant fighting between Dad and Sammy.

Except it was June, and every time he turned a corner, there they were. The Pride parade flyers.

The second he spotted a rainbow he averted his gaze. He turned another corner and spotted another one. He avoided reading them at all costs. He heard Dad’s voice. Sick. Sick in the head.

For years now Dean had pretended he wasn’t sick. He pretended to not stare at Patrick Swayze too much whenever Dirty Dancing played on TV. He pretended like he didn't imagine what it would be like to kiss a guy, what stubble would feel like against his lips if he ever did.

He liked women. He could stick to women. He could live his whole life like that. And that meant he wasn’t totally sick, right? He wasn’t gay -gay if he liked girls.

But then what the hell was he? Would he even belong at one of these Pride things if he wanted to? He was probably a freak of nature. Even sicker than the rest of the bunch.

Curiosity got the best of him. He spared a glance at one of the flyers as he waited to cross the street.

Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transexuals, ALL WELCOME

“Are you gonna go?” A voice next to him asked. ”It’s next weekend.” He was blond, pale, and a bit shorter than Dean.

“What? No! I don't swing that way,” Dean said, a bit too quickly and with too much bite.

The guy looked him up and down with a frown. “Geez, alright. Just askin’.”

He started to walk away, and Dean spoke up before he could stop himself.

“Hey man, wait.”

The guy stopped walking.

“Sorry, can I ask you something? Assuming you... know about this stuff?”

He seemed exasperated, but he turned anyway, willing to hear Dean out. Dean licked his lips, rubbed at the back of his neck, swallowed nervously. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, asking a stranger on the street about something so personal. At least the chances of meeting this person ever again were close to none.

“What’s bisexual?”

The guy’s features softened a bit. He seemed to understand something about Dean that so far Dean refused to acknowledge.

“It means you’re into more than one gender. And yes, you can do that,” the guy said. He flashed Dean a tight smile and then disappeared into the crowd.

Dean felt his hands go numb and balled them into fists, shoving them in his pockets. He took a deep breath through his nose. The guy said you. You are. You can.

The guy didn’t know what he was talking about. He knew nothing about Dean. He was wrong.

Or maybe he was right.

But he couldn’t be.

Dean couldn’t be… that.

Dean was 21 years old when he decided he wasn’t bisexual. He wasn’t anything. He was also 21 when he solved a case in record time (two days), just so he could book it out of New York before the next weekend arrived.

---

3 - 2004

By the time he was 25 years old, Dean knew he was bi. He hated it, he never spoke about it, and he ignored it as much as he could, but he was aware of it. And he knew he was bi because, at 25 years old, he’d already gone through two serious breakups, and they both equally sucked.

The first was Lee. He hunted with Dean and John for about a year, the second half of which Dean and Lee spent sneaking around and hooking up behind John’s back. It was fun, and hot, and exciting, and some of the best hookups he’d had up until that point in his life were with Lee.

But the thing is that it wasn’t just hooking up. They were close, and Dean liked him. A lot. They kissed for the first time after a particularly scary werewolf hunt in which Dean almost died, but John was more preoccupied with the mostly-unharmed victim than his own son. Dean and Lee rode in the backseat, bruised, bloody, and quiet. When John went to walk the victim up to her apartment, Lee reached over and placed a hand on Dean’s back, asking him if he was okay. Dean fell into Lee’s arms, and they kissed as they pulled away from the embrace, soft and comforting. It was Dean’s first kiss with a guy.

Lee was a lot of firsts for Dean over the next few months. But then John almost caught them once, drunk and making out in the Impala.

And then that case in Arizona went wrong, and Lee just couldn’t take it anymore. He packed up, swore off hunting, hugged Dean goodbye, and left him in the dust.

Dean needed to clear his head after that. He could barely look his dad in the eye after that close call, couldn't let him see the sorrow he was feeling. With every interaction, he imagined how John would yell at him, probably try to beat it out of him, if he noticed all he was feeling over Lee. Or worse, John could ignore him, practically disown him like he did Sam.

So he also packed up and left. Went hunting on his own for a while.

It was on one of those hunts that he met Cassie, and she was yet another handful of firsts for Dean over the course of a few months. She was amazing, and he fell hard and fast, but of course that went up in flames too.

Then again, he should've known better than to be honest. Honesty only ever got him in trouble.

He’d just left her back in Ohio and was working at a bar in Indianapolis for a few weeks to make some cash. He’d eventually meet back up with Dad. He just couldn’t right now. Not with Sam gone to college. Not after getting his heart broken twice over within a year.

He was hyper-aware of the end of June approaching. He knew it was coming, Indy had a pretty big celebration, and he made sure to be working all day that day so he wouldn't have to face it.

That was pointless, though. Toward the end of the day, a big group of about ten or twelve people who were clearly coming from the parade stumbled into the bar. One of them was apparently the owner’s little sister and they went there every year after the celebrations. They were loud, and obnoxious, and looked incredibly happy. Their happiness was contagious, and Dean loved serving them. He chatted them up, got to know them a bit, and heard all about the parade, all while staring down anyone at the bar who dared look their way with even the slightest stink eye.

But watching them that happy and comfortable, seeing not one, but two pairs of guys sloppily leaning against each other and sharing the occasional kiss while none of their friends seemed to bat an eye… something in Dean ached. Deeply.

Dean was 25 years old when he realized that a small part of him kind of, sort of, wanted to be part of this community. He couldn’t though. Not if he wanted to be on good terms with Dad. Not if he aimed to be the man Dad wanted him to be.

He left Indianapolis the next day.

---

4 - 2008

Dean was 29 years old and on his own personal highway to hell when he learned his brother went to a Pride parade before he ever did. They were driving through San José, the streets were lined with ads for Silicon Valley Pride, and Sam just casually decided to mention how fun it was the last time he went.

Thankfully they were at a red light, or else Dean probably would’ve slammed the breaks. He twisted to look at Sam head-on, his arm on the back of the seat.

“You what ?” he gawked.

Sam shrugged innocently. “What?”

“You went to one of these Pride things?”

“Yeah, dude.”

Dean’s brain was just trying and failing to load. “Why?” he finally asked.

“Jessica was in the GSA and some friends invited us. It was awesome.”

“She was in the what?”

“The G. S. A.,” Sam answered slowly. “Gay-Straight Alliance.”

“Oh.” Whatever that is, Dean thought. He kept eyeing the flyers. It was tomorrow.

“Green.”

“What?”

“Light’s green. Green means go.”

Dean rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

He kept driving and turned up the radio. Somebody To Love was playing, and as much as he liked Queen, he had to change the station. He tried to picture his little brother (his straight little brother) wearing rainbow face paint and having the time of his life at this thing. How come Sammy got to go when Dean could barely entertain the idea? Dean was the not-straight one. It wasn’t fair.

He channeled his jealousy into gripping the steering wheel.

“You okay, Dean?”

“Yeah.” No. “Yeah, m’fine.”

Dean was 29 years old when he died and went to hell without ever having gone to a Pride parade, knowing that his idiot ( straight! ) little brother already had.

---

5 - 2014

Dean was alive again and 35 years old (75, if you count hell) when he was formally invited to a Pride parade for the first time. It was a couple of days after that whole mess with Cas in Lucifer’s crypt, and he called Charlie. He just wanted to hear her voice, needed to know he was still on good terms with at least one of his best friends.

“So anyway,” Charlie said after a while of recounting what she’d been up to. "How single are you right now? My answer is: miserably."

Dean chuckled. Then he thought of Cas, and the smile disappeared. "Yeah, you and me both, sister."

“Would you mind coming with me to this thing next month? Going alone kinda sucks.”

Dean put the phone on speaker and placed it on the library table as he sat down with a beer. “What’s the thing?”

“Pride.”

Dean was glad no one was around to see him almost choke on his drink.

“You good?”

“Yeah, what was that?”

“Pride parade. Don’t have anyone to go with this year.”

“Why uh… Why? Why me?”

She knows.

“I dunno.”

She knows she knows she knows.

“You’re my friend, Dean. Thought maybe you might be interested. But never mind, I guess.”

And while all the alarms in Dean's head were blaring danger danger danger abort, he also hated to hear Charlie so disappointed.

“Hey, no, listen, Charlie, I… I would. Really. You know I support you, wholeheartedly." And that's obviously the only reason I would want to go. "But with Sam doing these trials, and Cas on the run with the angel tablet–”

“It’s okay Dean, I get it. Talk to you soon?”

“Yeah.”

And she hung up.

Dean knew, at this point, that there was nothing wrong with being queer. It wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, and it sure as hell didn’t mean you were wrong in the head or whatever.

But years of pretending to be a false version of yourself in an effort to please a man who was impossible to please wasn’t exactly an easy habit to break. As much as he wished it didn't, as much as he wished he could just exist, the thought of anyone finding out still made him sick to the stomach.

John’s voice still echoed in his ears. His words still drove Dean’s sense of self-worth and so many of his decisions. He tried to never stare at a good-looking guy for too long. He tried to not get too into it with Benny. He tried to keep his feelings for Cas at bay, tried to keep him at arm's length, tried to keep the fact that he was in love (deeply, stupidly in love) as close to his chest as he could.

Even that night at the crypt choking out the words to get through to Cas, he couldn’t bring himself to say what he meant. I love you, he’d wanted to say, because it was the truth. What came out, however, was I need you. And he did, he needed Cas more than air, but it wasn't quite everything.

It still got his heart split in two.

Was he so far gone over Cas that he couldn’t hide it? Had he been trying so hard and failing just as miserably this whole time? Was his attraction to dudes that obvious? Or did Charlie just have a sixth sense for this kinda thing?

It was probably the last one. He hoped it was.

Cas knew, for sure. Angels knew everything right? They could read minds, feel longing, or whatever. And if none of that ever tipped him off, well, Dean put it all on the line back in that crypt. He told Cas how he felt, told him he needed him, tried putting himself out there, and it got him left. Again. With Dean, it was always leave-or-get-left when it came to love. He was tired of it.

Dean was 35 years old, desperately in love with his best friend, and truly heartbroken for the third time in his life, when his other best friend– an out and proud lesbian– gave him a chance to go to Pride, to break through his shell, to finally embrace himself as he was; but because he was practically living in the closet, he couldn’t seem to find the handle after so many years of purposefully ignoring its existence, and he missed his chance. Besides, what was the point of going to a celebration of love without the love of his life by his side?

---

+1 - 2021

Dean is now 42 years old and the happiest he’s ever been. The love of his life? Cas? Turns out he’s felt the same way all along. They're kind of together now, and slowly but surely they’re working through a decade’s worth of shit.

They’ve been raising a kid together too, along with Sam and Eileen, and that kid is also God. After saving the world and whatnot, Jack decided to bring back some of their friends and family that died over the years: Mary, Kevin, Charlie. Yes, there are two Charlies now, but it’s not as confusing as you’d expect. (One is from another dimension, and the other one is Dean’s little sister. Simple.) Mary’s off hunting most of the time and Kevin’s applying to college.

They’ve got extended family now too, Jody and the girls. OG Charlie is staying with them for now, while she finds her footing. Most of that household is queer. Most of Dean's household is queer as well, actually. Turns out both Jack and Eileen are non-binary, Cas is gay in the broader sense of the word, and Dean…

Dean is bi. And everyone knows now.

Apparently, a lot of people had known for a long time. Sam has known since the siren back in ‘09 (even though Dean stands by the fact that it wasn’t like that, Sammy ), and everyone has slowly picked up on his and Cas’s thing over the years, so there’s that.

He still feels a bit weird about it. About calling Cas his boyfriend, about having the freedom to hold his hand in public, about the fact that they now have goddamn pride flags hung around the bunker. He feels even weirder about the fact that John’s voice in his head is now drowned out by the sounds of his home life, more lively and supportive than he ever expected to have.

He wasn’t expecting any of this, he didn’t think everything would change so fast. But when you spend the better part of your life pushing down such a huge part of you and then finally give yourself an out, a chance to show the people who love you who you really are, everything just... follows.

Love follows. Acceptance follows. Family follows. And he wasn’t really expecting any of it.

He certainly doesn’t expect it when Cas walks into the library after his weekly Thursday evening call with Claire and announces, matter-of-factly and with air quotes, “We’re going to "Pride" this weekend.”

Dean’s stomach drops. It’s the Sioux Falls Pride Parade and Festival, it’s in two days, and they’re leaving tomorrow to spend the night at Jody’s so they can all be there bright and early Saturday morning. Everyone immediately starts bustling about, packing and planning outfits and gathering flags to bring with them.

Dean just goes to his room– his and Cas’s now– to pack a small duffle.

Well, he means to. Instead, he takes out the duffle from the closet, puts it on the bed, and sits next to it for a while. An hour goes by. He thinks back to all those times he had brushes with one of these things and was just never in the right mindset. He’s not even sure he’s in the right mindset now, but he’s going. It’s happening.

“Jack’s all ready to go,” Cas says when he walks in. “We spent about half an hour putting together an outfit for Saturday. He wanted it to be as colorful as possible.”

Dean smiles, but it’s not all there. He looks at the empty duffle next to him.

“Yeah, I might need some help with that myself.”

Cas is in sweats and a hoodie. Yes it’s June, yes it’s hot, but he’s a quasi-angel, and the way he experiences the world Dean will never be able to wrap his head around. He walks over and stands in front of Dean, running a hand through his hair and down the side of his face until he’s cupping Dean’s jaw. Dean takes Cas’s hand and leaves a few kisses on the inside of his wrist, closing his eyes as he does.

Cas regards the empty bag and hums quietly, as if in thought, before walking over to their closet. Dean chases his hand, holding onto it until he’s completely out of reach. Cas starts searching, and Dean’s stomach knots more and more with each clang of the hangers. Cas finally pulls out a flannel from its hanger– purple with hints of blue and pink– and tosses it over. Dean can’t believe he didn’t think of it first.

They continue to pack in comfortable silence before changing and getting into bed. Dean doesn’t flop onto his stomach or cuddle into Cas’s side as he usually does; instead, he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling in a daze.

“Dean?” Cas’s voice snaps him out of it.

Dean turns his head and asks, automatically, “You okay?”

It’s a habit by now, asking each other that question. It’s part of the working-through-a-decade’s-worth-of-shit thing they’re doing. Turns out they share a whole lot of trauma. They share worries and insecurities. They share nightmares sometimes, mostly about the Empty.

“I’m okay,” Cas says, putting his hand on top of Dean’s heart for him to hold, and Dean can breathe a little easier.

“You nervous about this thing?” Dean asks, interlocking their fingers.

“The parade? No, not really.”

And then, because he's been working on communicating how he's feeling out loud or whatever, Dean looks back up at the ceiling and says, "I am. Kinda."

He feels Cas shifting and propping himself up on his elbow, and then he's in Dean's line of sight. Dean's gaze is drawn to him, like all of him has been since the moment they met, and Dean can't believe he just has this now. He has a boyfriend, and it's Cas, and he's looking down at Dean with stars in his eyes and a comforting smile that actually works because it's Cas.

And then Cas is leaning down and softly pressing their lips together, and that's also something Dean can’t believe he gets to do: kiss Cas good morning and good night and at any moment in between, kiss him I'm sorry, kiss him we're going to be okay, kiss him I love you.

"I love you too, Dean," Cas says once they've pulled away, and Dean didn't even realize he'd said it out loud, but it doesn't matter. "And you don't need to be nervous. I'll be there with you."

The thought should be a thousand times more nerve-wracking, not just going to Pride but going to Pride with Cas on his arm. It's not nerve-wracking at all, and he soon drifts off to sleep.

Friday goes by faster than it should. The six-hour drive to Sioux Falls, although packed in a car with five people, goes by in a blink. They stop for provisions before getting to Jody's, filling up on backpacks' worth of snacks.

They get to the house and are met with endless hugs and excitement to match. Patience, Alex, and Jody are already working on dinner for the bunch, while Charlie, Donna, and Kaia are running around prepping for the next day and dragging along a hesitant but nevertheless happy Claire. Dinner is chaotic and loud and there are way too many people at the table, and Dean has to step outside after a while.

He sits on the back porch steps. Claire joins him. She's holding a beer, he's not. He hasn't been drinking for a few months now. They don't talk, but she leans her head on his shoulder and they stay there a while, looking at the stars.

When they go back inside, Claire sits back down in her spot at Cas's left, across the table from Dean, and leans on his shoulder for a while too. It's her way of saying she cares, of saying I missed you without really saying it. Jack sits at Cas's right, talking excitedly with Patience about some tv show or other, and the image fills Dean with such fondness that he reaches over with his foot, presses it to Cas's ankle, and keeps it there for the rest of the night.

Dean, Cas, Jack, Sam, and Eileen spend the night spread out around in the living area while the girls sleep in their respective rooms, and Dean is only slightly less nervous as he falls asleep holding Cas’s hand.

---

The nerves all come flooding back as he’s parking the Impala the next morning.

They’re not able to get even remotely close to Phillips Avenue since the streets are so full. They park the three cars that all twelve of them came in as close as they can and then have to walk for another twenty minutes. From blocks and blocks away, people walk and holler and greet them excitedly, many of them trying to circle this swarm of flanneled individuals that are taking up a whole sidewalk. Granted, Dean and Claire are the only ones in their usual kind of outfit. The rest of the bunch is wearing as many colors as they could compile from their closets, half of them are wearing face paint, and the other half are carrying an assortment of pride flags.

They fit right in.

The walk toward the main avenue of the parade is kind of a blur for Dean. He knows he waved at a few people, some friends of Alex from high school joined the group at some point, and Jack already grabbed a snack from his backpack.

The actual parade is also kind of hazy. Getting out of the house that morning had been probably even more chaotic than the night before, so they’re a bit late and the parade has already been going for a good half hour. On top of that, they accidentally merge into it not quite at the starting point but a bit further down the road, in between a decked-out pickup truck and a group of people with dogs. Music is blaring, the dogs are all barking, a big float rides a few yards in front of them, and hundreds stand on the sidewalks recording on their phones and cheering them along.

Dean’s not sure they’re even supposed to be in the actual parade. Maybe they’re supposed to be on the sidewalks? Is this right? What is happening, what is he even doing here?

He doesn’t notice how heavy he’s breathing until Cas is squeezing his hand and beckoning him to meet his eyes. He does, and the blue in them, as imposing as the Atlantic, drowns out everything else around them. “You’re okay, my love,” Cas says. It’s a fact. As long as Dean is with him, he’s okay.

On his other side, Dean feels someone link their arm around his. It’s Charlie, and she’s beaming at them, her cheeks almost as red as her hair. It brings Dean back to reality, grounds him, but he’s okay now. He’s not alone, and he’s meant to be here.

He’s proud to be here.

The parade leads up to a sloping park, and at the lowest point of it, there’s a stage where Dean assumes someone will MC for the afternoon, or maybe perform. It’s grandiose in its simplicity, kind of like a Greek theater, with everyone settling down on the grass around it, expectantly.

“We’ll be right back,” Dean hears Sam say, and he turns to find they’re all set to spend the afternoon, towels laid and backpacks off (save for his). “Jack wants to go meet the drag queens,” Sam says with just a bit too much glee before he and Jack take off.

“It’s not just Jack,” Eileen smiles and follows.

Cas is already sitting, eating one of the PB&Js he packed as lunches for everyone. Jody and Donna are settling down as well and Charlie’s taking a dozen pictures, but the rest of the girls are all standing. “We’re gonna go check out the vendors,” Claire announces, and they start to take off as well.

“Be careful, please!” Dean calls after them, but they pay him no mind. He turns to Charlie. “Hey, your majesty, keep an eye on them will you?”

She smiles, bows gracefully, and heads in the same direction.

Jody stands and grabs Dean by the arm, beckoning him to talk in private for a second.

“What’s up?”

If Dean knows Jody at all, and he does, they’re on the brink of a mom talk.

“Look around, Dean.”

“What for?”

“Just look,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Please?”

So, at her request, Dean starts taking in the environment. Now that everyone is gathered, he can actually see all the people that came out (heh) for the event. There are church groups, pet shelters, skateboarders, and rollerskaters. Drag queens are already taking pictures by the stage, and at least two people are wearing unicorn heads. A few vendors’ tents and food trucks surround the park, and rainbows completely dominate the scenery. There are elders, and kids, and all kinds of families and couples, and everyone looks… happy. Free.

And Dean is here with them. He is one of them.

There’s no danger, no monsters of any kind. No one to judge him, hurt him, call him sick in the head.

He finds Claire’s blonde head amongst the sea of shoppers at the edge of the park. She’s holding hands with Kaia and has one of the biggest smiles Dean has ever seen on her face. There’s no shame in it, and she’s not in any danger either. Things are different now, and she has the freedom to be herself that he never had at her age.

He has it now too. He can be himself.

Dean doesn’t realize he’s about to cry until Jody pulls him down into a hug.

“Dean, I am so proud of you.”

And then he cries.

---

They spend the afternoon laying on the grass, eating, drinking, and enjoying the festivities. The girls come back from the vendors’ tents after a full hour, and most of the bags on their arms are Charlie’s. She gets Cas a mug that says bee yourself in rainbow colors with an image of a cartoon bee, and she gets Dean a button pin that says AC/DC in pink and blue. There’s a meaning behind that apparently, and Dean decides he’ll look it up later.

Jack memorizes all the drag queen’s names. Donna takes a million pictures. They trade numbers with a few people.

There’s a big fireworks show just after sundown. It starts to get windy and a bit chilly, so Dean grabs the nearest pride flag and wraps it around himself. Cas, the perpetual freak who just doesn’t feel temperature apparently, is wearing a t-shirt and shorts and smiling at him unabashedly.

“What?”

“That’s the bisexual flag.”

So it is. “Shut up,” Dean says, but he’s smiling too. “You want in on this?”

He doesn’t wait for Cas to respond before he wraps it around his shoulders as well. The fireworks continue.

“You know,” Cas says after a beat. “As beautiful as they are, pyrotechnics are extremely damaging to the environment.”

Dean can’t help but laugh because of course, Cas would say something like that in a moment like this. He laughs and laughs and regrets being the only one to have heard that; then again, he’s the only one who could’ve found that funny.

He laughs a bit more, wipes a tear, and sees that Cas is still just solemnly watching the show.

“Cas?”

“Yes, Dean?” He replies and then turns his head.

Dean wants to kiss him. He wants to kiss him so bad. Then he remembers where he is, physically and in his life right now, realizes whom he’s surrounded by at this very second, and decides that he can.

So he does. It’s not unlike the way he kissed Cas when they rescued him from the Empty. Granted, there’s less sweat, blood, adrenaline. But just like that day, they’re both on the ground, and the gesture catches Cas by surprise. Just like that day, Dean pulls Cas in gently by the back of his neck and there’s no hesitance or fear. Just like that day, he just does it, presses their lips firmly together, and relishes in the taste of Castiel, in the feeling of the person he loves most in this world kissing him back.

The one big difference is this: that day marked the beginning of the rest of his life. Today? Today is just Dean’s first Pride.