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simply sapphic book recommendations from powell’s books

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“Inside every person there’s a person you don’t know.”

— Unknown

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women. you agree. reblog.

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Queer is a good term

You dont owe anyone specificity

You dont owe anyone any information about yourself

Your gender is allowed to be queer, your sexuality is allowed to be queer

Youre allowed to not identify with queer, however you have to respect your queer siblings when they use the term for themselves

Radfems will try to pry specifics of your label out of your hands to know whether youre valid or not in their eyes, but you are valid regardless of your specific label, or if queer is your only label

Queer is an identity

Queer is a community

Queer is a history

We're here, we're queer, and we're done hiding in fear

This post is accepting or trans people of all gender, and all sexualities, youre loved and welcomed here

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just vibin'

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The Invention of Kissing

Would it hurt? Noel had heard of people bumping noses on the way in. She heard of people biting lips and braces scraping skin. She had heard that first kisses often suck.

It could be wet and slimy with too much tongue and not enough person in it. There was a chance she may even feel terribly afterward or want to stop eating or sleeping in the more dramatic versions. She could give into hysterics like an 18th century maiden who was never allowed outside.

It didn’t help that it was her last year in high school.

She had been keeping it a secret for years. Noel was almost eighteen years old and had never been kissed. Sometimes boys would offer to take her to dances or dates or out to the movies and she would consider saying yes– perhaps the wrong kind of kiss was better than no kiss at all. In the end, she always said no.

Throughout 9th grade and into 10th, she had tried to summon an image of kissing Tristan or Mike or Joey and there just came back a big dull greyness. How their hands would feel or mouth would taste just left her imagination flatlining.

And she would think about flatlining and then she would think about Sandra Oh in her mom’s favorite medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy. Then she would be right back to the problem of telling Joey she was too busy to go to any dances this year.

And in the end, she would rather be alone than not herself. Today was not like most days however.

Noel slung her backpack over a shoulder and checked the hallway twice. The lights had been dimmed for the night and left a ghost town– even the janitors were done for the day. The tall arched windows cast slim moonlight over the lockers and Noel held her breath against the stillness.

The trombones always stayed the latest but they were gone now. The flutes all carpooled together and most of the drumline had left the second they were dismissed. Marching band was out.

Noel adjusted her mellophone over her other shoulder and darted down hall with her head bowed. Her throat was too dry and swallowing repeatedly didn’t seem to be making it any better. Her shoes clattered against the school floors and her heart beat rapidly in her chest. 

She slipped outside at almost a full jog and a chill hit her face. The door clicked as it locked automatically behind her. Noel sucked on her bottom lip and surveyed the back of the school until her eyes landed on the metal bleachers nearby.

A figure was hunched over on the grass behind them with long straight chestnut hair tied back.

Noel was running before she knew what she was doing. The blaring lights of the football field were still on and the air smelled like frost and the mint gum she had been chewing earlier.

Her palms were damp despite the cold and something squeezed painfully in her chest. Was this the wrong thing? It was too late to turn back now as the head swung up and their eyes met through the gloom.

Harriette Jacobs gave her a thoughtful look before bursting into a grin. “Sup.” She said casually with a lift of her chin. She had a thin nose and thin lips. Would that matter? Her eyes were strangely large on her face and she still had the thick marks of color guard makeup smudged along her cheeks. Her flag was discarded off to the side.

She was wearing a dance outfit underneath her puffy black coat that hugged her athlete’s build. “Hey,” Noel nervously shifted from foot to foot. “Hey, Harri.” She tried to mirror the other girls loose tone.

Harri gestured for her. “Well, come down here.” Her voice was always a bit hoarse and lazily slow– which felt unexpected in a couple ways.

Noel bent like folded paper and her knees went damp against the crunchy frosted grass. “Hi,” she said again as she came down to her level. Noel tried to tuck her hair back, but she remembered it was too short to do that now.

Harri chuckled. “Hi yourself. Greetings. All that.”

Noel flushed two shades darker at the way Harri’s eyes dragged over her. “Are you sure?” Noel blurted out like her thoughts were an indoor cat finally finding an open door.

Harri shifted closer. “I’m the one that should be asking you that.” She tugged on her long straight ponytail. “You’re almost shaking, man.”

“Oh.” Noel inched somewhat closer in the dark. She’d have to bike home soon. She had chem homework to do soon. She had her mom’s dinner to reheat. “Sorry,” she said lamely and Harri shrugged.

“I was just happy there was another gay girl in our year,” she smiled again in a lopsided manner. “It’s cool you came out like that.” Noel looked down at her knees. “Didn’t mean to,” she said without facing her. “I just … got angry.” Noel had written a piece on LGBT+ rights in her school newspaper that last week and outed herself in the process.

“It’s hot.” A little flare spiked through Noel’s chest right down to her toes, she bit her bottom lip like a penalty point. “You’re, um, hot. Too.” A long moment passed before Harri tossed her head back and laughed. Noel flushed again. “That was wrong, right? Like, like definitely not it.”

Harri snickered slightly. “It was right, babe.” She said with a grin, “I’m flattered, for real. When I heard you tell everyone at the party you were swearing up and down that you’d definitely kiss someone, what was it?” She tilted her chin further up. “If it kills you?”

Noel flattened her coat down in the hopes less of her would be showing. “I said definitely with a girl, but yes. If it killed me,” she cringed. “Or them.”

Harri shook with laughter. “Alright.”

“Not that I’d do that to you!” She quickly put a hand up. “Uh, scout’s honor.”

“Man, don’t say that.” Harri gave a sneaky grin before pushing her ponytail over one shoulder. Her eyes seemed to crinkle and it turned Noel into pastry dough inside. “I’ve always wanted to die for a good cause.”

Noel made a sound not unlike a squeak. She had reached the squeaking portion of her attempt at a first kiss. 

Harri gave a low whistle, “But for real, I almost had a heart attack when it was me you texted.”

Noel relaxed down onto the ground. She rubbed her nose. “Sorry,” she said again and wished she would stop saying it. Harri snorted. “But you know,” she leaned in closer. “We don’t have to kiss just cause we’re the only gay girls in our class.” She made a wiggling motion with her hands. “There’s more fish in the sea, babe. Promise.” Noel gave a slow, easy smile. “That’s not, um, why I asked you.” She felt the moment rising like a hot water in a kettle. She hovered closer. “You don’t have to like me back or anything,” she said quickly, ripping the band aid off. “I was just … I just want to know what it feels like. So I asked.”

Harri’s eyebrows lifted all the way toward her hairline. “Like me? Really?” she drawled. Her eyes drifted to the sky for a moment and Noel watched her breath puff white in the air. “Cool. Yeah, very cool.” She nodded and then they both looked at each other, expectant. Harri’s eyes shone slightly and she cocked her head to the side. “Should I? Or … you?” Noel grinned a bit foolishly. “I dunno.” She slid slightly closer. “I’ve never done this before.” “Me neither.” Harri tipped closer and Noel could count her eyelashes at this point, they were long and almost regal. “You nervous?” “Yeah,” Noel said truthfully. She gulped. “Really nervous. But maybe … Do you wanna be friends even if it’s, uh, bad?” Harri had always been sleek and fun and known for skipping class. Noel was known for playing the mellophone and writing detailed op eds in the school newspaper.

They had talked, but they hadn’t really talked. Their friend groups mixed in places like marching band, but they didn’t really mix. Today was not like most days, however. “Sure. And do you wanna be more than friends if it’s good?” There was a cheekiness to the way she said it, teasing. And it worked. Noel boiled over. The heat flooded her as she studied the grass for a long moment. “That’s a lot of pressure,” she murmured, self-consciousness toying with the other part of her. The one that ached. “I don’t want to … do it badly.” “I don’t think it works like that,” Harri hummed softly. “But I guess we could find out.” 

And maybe it would be bad. Maybe it would be sloppy and gross and wet. Maybe it wouldn’t be like the movies and no music would swell. No one would clap. None of it would matter.

However, Noel leaned in. She closed her eyes. And they met in the middle with her heart squeezing and the whole world capsizing forward.

Warm, warm and alive and pressing in, like a dream. She slotted right there into that corner of heat and movement and another person clutching at her, wanting her, and her wanting right back.

And it felt like the invention of kissing.

———–

if you enjoyed the story please consider donating to my Ko-fi 💗 patreon 💗 or checking out one of my books (new book!). They are Sapphic fantasy short story collections. 🥂

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rb to have a very gay 2022

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reblog to give a lesbian a sword, a bi girl a dagger, and a trans girl a cool gun

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whatever man *walks outside of your render distance*

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What’s COMING OUT (pun intended) this month? Here's a list of queer books being released this month to help you keep your reading diverse! Which are you adding to your TBR? Comment with any you're looking forward to that aren't in here! October 1: A Veiled & Hallowed Eve by Hailey Turner Lore and Lust Book Three: The Awakening by Karla Nikole Port of Thieves by C. E. Olson October 4: Where the Stars Sing by Aminah Fox October 5: Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (Goodreads Author), Lisa Sterle The Throwback List by Lily Anderson Cute Mutants Vol 5: Galaxy Brain by SJ Whitby Tonight We Rule the World by Zack Smedley The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros Just Ash by Sol Santana Reprieve: A Novel by James Han Mattson October 11: Elliot, Song Of The Soulmate by Anyta Sunday October 12: Trailer Park Trickster by David R. Slayton Protecting the Lady by Amanda Radley Deadly Kiss by Ariel Marie The Heartbreak Bakery by A. R. Capetta Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan Frankie & Bug by Gayle Forman Any Sign of Life by Rae Carson Thronebreakers (Crownchasers #2) by Rebecca Coffindaffer Truth of the Divine (Noumena #2) by Lindsay Ellis ExtraOrdinary (Villains #1.5) by V.E. Schwab, Enid Balám Trailer Park Trickster (Adam Binder #2) by David R. Slayton October 14: Wicked by E.M. Lindsey October 16: Lost in Love by Emily Banting October 19: City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn Of Trust & Heart by Charlotte Anne Hamilton Still Stace: My Gay Christian Coming-of-Age Story | An Illustrated Memoir by Stacey Chomiak Perhaps the Stars (Terra Ignota #4) by Ada Palmer October 26: Meet Me in Madrid by Verity Lowell Dreaming of You: A Novel in Verse by Melissa Lozada-Oliva Tink and Wendy by Kelly Ann Jacobson October 31: Death Seeker by Liv Savell & Sterling D’Este What are you picking up this month? [ID: Nine images with a rainbow-striped background that display the book covers listed above. The first slide says "33 queer books coming out in October."]

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My First Summer (Katie Found, 2020)

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Happy Pride Month beautiful people! I always return to Tumblr during this festive and important period to celebrate and also protest for our community. I’ve made this little guide on content and resources to consider. There is so much more out there!