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aois-amaterasu-painting · 3 days

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Aoi Twitter 2022 (+bonus Tsuchinoko tweets):

2021 July 26: "This year, I was able to meet up with Tsuchinoko without any issues, and it seems like Uruha-san's fans are getting more used to it. From now on, I might have to call it the 'shy blue-tongued skink blog,' but that’s so long - I really don’t wanna! #ItHasBeenUpdated"

2021 July 27 Ruki: "It's the blog of our rumored Tsuchinoko lead guitarist. 🦆"

2022 Feb "Th-there's Tsuchinokoーーー! With a photooo! For more details, go to my profile! #UruhaBlogGotUpdated

2022 Mar 26 Uruha: "I’ve started Twitter to commemorate our 20th anniversary. Everyone, please continue to support us. Let's make the tour even more exciting!!"

2022 Mar "Wait, hold on a second. Could this be the Tsuchinoko guy? 🤔"

Uruha QT: "I'm not a Tsuchinoko! LOL"

Reita QT: "Ah, he's on Twitter… You can't call him Tsuchinoko anymore! 🤘🏻"

Uruha QT: "Ah, that's the thing that matters!"

2022 Feb "Right now, I have this overwhelming urge to grow my hair super long. To put it simply, I want to look like Rapunzel."

2022 Mar "I really like Ruki's delicate sense of aesthetics."

2022 May "And just between us, I missed the timing for a song and when I got back to the dressing room, Uruha was grinning and said, 'Nice arrangement 🤩👍'. Before heading to the venue tomorrow, I'm going to stop by the 100-yen shop to buy some joke glasses and party poppers. I’m going to tease him big time when he messes up. Just you wait."

Uruha QT: "I just returned the favor since you always say it to me 🫶."

Aoi QT: ( ˘ω˘🫶 )

2022 May HBD My bro.🧁

2022 May "Fukuoka, I’m back. And thank you. I won’t say anything more today. Once again, happy birthday, Reita 🎂."

2022 Jun "Nagoya, I’m back! Ruki and Kai also mentioned it, but we’re really feeling like a band more than ever. Sometimes things don’t go perfectly, but being able to turn our ‘want to play’ into ‘getting to play’ is a blessing. I’ve got some unfinished work, so I’ll head back early, but let’s hang out again soon ✊Thank you, Nagoya."

2022 Jun "Good morning 🙌 Let’s have a great day today. I have just one job for you all—cheer me on!!!"

2022 Jun "I couldn’t figure out one of the trending Visual Kei quiz questions. But of course, that makes sense. After all, I am a being that transcends the boundaries of the Visual Kei genre itself 🍷."

2022 Jun "I mean, Seikima-II is releasing a new album, so I won’t be able to sleep until the release day. It brings back memories of being scared by my brother at the beginning of 'House of Wax' when I was in elementary school. I’m so excited 🙌."

2022 Jun HBD URUHA🍰🎉🥸

2022 Jun "Thank you, Sagami-Ono. Live shows are just the best, aren’t they? Looks like I’m going to have some good dreams tonight. Let’s hang out again soon 🙌."

2022 Jun Reita: "Take this as a souvenir for the afterlife. The residents of Shimote"

2022 July "But then again, wanting to peek into someone else’s romance might be human folly, so perhaps it’s better if it stays hidden behind the clouds. Since the universe doesn’t cloud over, I’d like to think that’s better for the two of them. (Serious face)"

2022 July "What exactly is a fan meeting? I've been pondering this for almost 20 years now. The hardest part is whether I can properly convey my gratitude to everyone. I'm not very good at expressing myself. Just thinking about it gives me a stomachache, so I've been wondering for the past two hours if it's finally time to use some of my paid leave. What do you think? 🤔"

2022 Aug "Good morning ☀︎ I watched the 20th ANNIVERSARY -HERESY- video that arrived last night this morning. That day really was the best. I hope you're all looking forward to it 😌 I think it airs on 8/11."

2022 Sep "Ah, I looked amazing again today. I might end up charming everyone without meaning to, so please forgive me."

2022 Sep Reita "But you all have nowhere to go because I won’t take my eyes off you. But starting today, since we’re having rehearsal, I’ll have to look away for a bit 🫣"

Aoi QT: Yes, Fallen in love.

2022 Sep: "After the fan meeting, I’ve been putting all my effort into preparing for this day. I played my guitar with everything I had—my fingertips are torn, my hair is in disarray, and I played with single-minded focus. What you see here is the culmination of my efforts. Thank you, everyone. On the first day of band rehearsal, I’ve completed this 02 tour. The rest is up to you... Have goods dreams... (:3 ｣ ∠) The end."

2022 Sep: "Huh? The 02 tour hasn't started yet? More importantly, I can't get out of my head how Uruha kept smirking and saying, 'Aoi-san has a lot of solos this time, doesn’t he?' If the tour starts like this, my frail heart will surely burst. So, with that, adiós... (|3 ｣ ∠)."

Uruha QT: "No, that’s not it! I was just jealous 🤗"

Aoi QT: "I have more than usual compared to previous times. Uta-ma has as many as usual. So there's no need to be jealous ( 🫶˘ω˘ )"

2022 Sep: "I'm getting closer to achieving the sound I want day by day, but on the other hand, there's the dilemma of having sounds I've prepared but hardly ever use. I'm trying to sound like a musician here, but tweaking presets is risky and a hassle, though if it works out, it’s worth it. It’s frustrating."

2022 Sep: "That aside, the truth is, we're basically Sailor Moon, so we really need to get that thing today. Was it 'Tsukimi has changed and it's delicious'? That's a clever line. Well then, I'm off to the studio🙌."

2022 Sep: "Ugh, that sauce had an unpleasant flavor. And can you stop putting up pictures of me looking like a cross-dressing old guy holding something vulgar?"

2022 Sep: "We had a really good rehearsal today ◎ I've slimmed down a bit, so look forward to it 🫣 P.S. I think our new uniforms are really comfortable. Hmm... 🤔"

2022 Sep: "Sorry for the late hour. Listening to this again now, I recall the emotions I had when I composed those phrases back then, and it makes me feel a bit embarrassed but also proud. 😌 When you type '20 years,' it's just three characters and a brief moment, but it was an irreplaceable time."

2022 Sep: "When I think about it, during those 20 years, we were a part of so many people's youth. In a few decades, let's look back on those days together in a retirement home 🤘 Well, good night."

2022 Oct: "Just between us, one of my acoustic guitars isn't working well, so I'm borrowing Uta-ma's guitar. I plan to return it in better condition than when I borrowed it ┏○)) The Kobe performance will start in about 45 minutes. Please look only at me."

2022 Oct: "Great job in Kobe! I still believe the latest is the best. It might sound self-serving, but when the band is at its best, the results follow. It was that kind of night. Everyone in Kobe, let's hang out again 🙌 Next up, Kagoshima—wait for us! 💪"

2022 Oct: "Hey ✋ From what I remember, the highlights of yesterday were REITA trying to stomp on my Achilles tendon, and the person on the right side of the stage inching closer, making little adjustments, as if they wanted to have their back against mine 😪."

2022 Oct Reita: "Worship us, who have descended upon Kagoshima."

Aoi QT: "So, it's not written in katakana…?"

Reita QT: "Revere us, for we have descended upon Kagoshima…"

2022 Oct: "Kobe and Kagoshima were so much fun, but it seems I was really tired. I slept for about 10 hours like I melted 🫠. I overslept, so I’m heading back with messy hair. Please don’t look at me."

2022 Oct: "U: 'Huh? You don't get it? The answer is peanuts!' A & K: (Writhing in stomach pain and dying peacefully) By the way, 'peanut' is the Japanese name, you know. That’s it from the backstage about 10 minutes before the performance.┏○))"

Uruha QT: "Stop it! ❗️lol I just said that instead of nitpicking, it's better to build up your virtues, which will then contribute to the success of the live show—didn't you just say that yourself? 😫"

Aoi QT: "Just between you and me, you were the one who said that, and I only replied, 'Yeah, that's right.' 😲 To be honest, from the way it's written, it doesn't even sound like something I would say…"

2022 Oct: "Great job, Fenice 🫶 By the third song, the volume pedal—the 'one that controls everything'—went crazy, and I ended up making a face like 'dafuq' It’s probably a curse because I couldn’t find the right pedal before the show and settled for this one instead. 'Punished,' just like the drumsticks. Please accept this as my humble offering."

2022 Oct: "I got a little caught up preparing for tomorrow, but once again, HBD KAI 🍪"

2022 Oct Reita: "I have returned from hell to annihilate the carefree fools."

Aoi QT: "Please accept this offering (┐「ε:)【ヲ】"

2022 Oct "It’s been a while since I decided to grow out my hair like Tatsuro’s long locks. Right now is the hardest period, where styling is the most difficult. But I endured this morning, believing it will get easier once I push through. By the way, I mean Yamashita Tatsuro."

2022 Nov: "The moon is amazing 😲"

2022 Nov "I was planning to grow my hair long enough to braid it and use it as a jump rope, but I'm starting to lose motivation. I'm always shouting in my head, 'So annoying! Ugh, so annoying!'"

2022 Nov Reita: "The day after tomorrow, we’ll be in Koriyama for the first time in a while. Next up is BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY. Let me post a picture of myself from back then. I wonder which generation REITA this was, since now I’m the 8th generation… I keep dying and reincarnating all the time ☠️"

Aoi QT: "Back then, we were like razors, weren’t we? You were the 'Kami' and I was the 'Sori'."

(*TN. Play on words. "Kami" (カミ) means "god" or "hair," and "Sori" (ソリ) means "razor" or "shaving.")

Reita QT: "Now, both are gods"

2022 Nov: "Thank you, Utsunomiya. Each show is special, and because of that, I didn’t want to ruin it with my own lack of skill. MASS has been that kind of tour for me, but it's entirely because of my own shortcomings. Not writing anything would only make everyone worried, but right now, I can’t find the right words. For now, before the day changes, I just want to say thank you for today. Thank you."

Ruki QT: "Personally, today was a day where I gave it my all, but there are still plenty of times when I feel frustrated like this. It’s proof of how serious we are about each and every live show. But the strength of a band lies in how we each cover those frustrations, come together, and help each other grow. And I believe that every challenge we overcome allows us to grow even more. 🔥"

Aoi QT: "Hey, stop it. I wasn’t expecting this, and now I can’t read because my vision’s all blurry.."

2022 Nov: "To be honest, I was scared today. Even though it's my own fault, it felt like a bit of a hurdle to stand in front of everyone. But it looked like everyone accepted me and had a great time. Thank you. Let’s have fun again! By the way, Reita's chest wasn’t my type."

Reita QT: "How rude to grope it without permission, right? 💕 But you know, it can be surprisingly addictive 😘

#the gazette #aoi twitter #tsuchinoko are yokai btw #twitter

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therealbeachfox · 7 months

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Twenty years ago, February 15th, 2004, I got married for the first time.

It was twenty years earlier than I ever expected to.

To celebrate/comemorate the date, I'm sitting down to write out everything I remember as I remember it. No checking all the pictures I took or all the times I've written about this before. I'm not going to turn to my husband (of twenty years, how the f'ing hell) to remember a detail for me.

This is not a 100% accurate recounting of that first wild weekend in San Francisco. But it -is- a 100% accurate recounting of how I remember it today, twenty years after the fact.

Join me below, if you would.

2004 was an election year, and much like conservatives are whipping up anti-trans hysteria and anti-trans bills and propositions to drive out the vote today, in 2004 it was all anti-gay stuff. Specifically, preventing the evil scourge of same-sex marriage from destroying everything good and decent in the world.

Enter Gavin Newstrom. At the time, he was the newly elected mayor of San Francisco. Despite living next door to the city all my life, I hadn’t even heard of the man until Valentines Day 2004 when he announced that gay marriage was legal in San Francisco and started marrying people at city hall.

It was a political stunt. It was very obviously a political stunt. That shit was illegal, after all. But it was a very sweet political stunt. I still remember the front page photo of two ancient women hugging each other forehead to forehead and crying happy tears.

But it was only going to last for as long as it took for the California legal system to come in and make them knock it off.

The next day, we’re on the phone with an acquaintance, and she casually mentions that she’s surprised the two of us aren’t up at San Francisco getting married with everyone else.

“Everyone else?” Goes I, “I thought they would’ve shut that down already?”

“Oh no!” goes she, “The courts aren’t open until Tuesday. Presidents Day on Monday and all. They’re doing them all weekend long!”

We didn’t know because social media wasn’t a thing yet. I only knew as much about it as I’d read on CNN, and most of the blogs I was following were more focused on what bullshit President George W Bush was up to that day.

"Well shit", me and my man go, "do you wanna?" I mean, it’s a political stunt, it wont really mean anything, but we’re not going to get another chance like this for at least 20 years. Why not?

The next day, Sunday, we get up early. We drive north to the southern-most BART station. We load onto Bay Area Rapid Transit, and rattle back and forth all the way to the San Francisco City Hall stop.

We had slightly miscalculated.

Apparently, demand for marriages was far outstripping the staff they had on hand to process them. Who knew. Everyone who’d gotten turned away Saturday had been given tickets with times to show up Sunday to get their marriages done. My babe and I, we could either wait to see if there was a space that opened up, or come back the next day, Monday.

“Isn’t City Hall closed on Monday?” I asked. “It’s a holiday”

“Oh sure,” they reply, “but people are allowed to volunteer their time to come in and work on stuff anyways. And we have a lot of people who want to volunteer their time to have the marriage licensing offices open tomorrow.”

“Oh cool,” we go, “Backup.”

“Make sure you’re here if you do,” they say, “because the California Supreme Court is back in session Tuesday, and will be reviewing the motion that got filed to shut us down.”

And all this shit is super not-legal, so they’ll totally be shutting us down goes unsaid.

00000

We don’t get in Saturday. We wind up hanging out most of the day, though.

It’s… incredible. I can say, without hyperbole, that I have never experienced so much concentrated joy and happiness and celebration of others’ joy and happiness in all my life before or since. My face literally ached from grinning. Every other minute, a new couple was coming out of City Hall, waving their paperwork to the crowd and cheering and leaping and skipping. Two glorious Latina women in full Mariachi band outfits came out, one in the arms of another. A pair of Jewish boys with their families and Rabbi. One couple managed to get a Just Married convertible arranged complete with tin-cans tied to the bumper to drive off in. More than once I was giving some rice to throw at whoever was coming out next.

At some point in the mid-afternoon, there was a sudden wave of extra cheering from the several hundred of us gathered at the steps, even though no one was coming out. There was a group going up the steps to head inside, with some generic black-haired shiny guy at the front. My not-yet-husband nudged me, “That’s Newsom.” He said, because he knew I was hopeless about matching names and people.

Ooooooh, I go. That explains it. Then I joined in the cheers. He waved and ducked inside.

So dusk is starting to fall. It’s February, so it’s only six or so, but it’s getting dark.

“Should we just try getting in line for tomorrow -now-?” we ask.

“Yeah, I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible.” One of the volunteers tells us. “We’re not allowed to have people hang out overnight like this unless there are facilities for them and security. We’d need Porta-Poties for a thousand people and police patrols and the whole lot, and no one had time to get all that organized. Your best bet is to get home, sleep, and then catch the first BART train up at 5am and keep your fingers crossed.

Monday is the last day to do this, after all.

00000

So we go home. We crash out early. We wake up at 4:00. We drive an hour to hit the BART station. We get the first train up. We arrive at City Hall at 6:30AM.

The line stretches around the entirety of San Francisco City Hall. You could toss a can of Coke from the end of the line to the people who’re up to be first through the doors and not have to worry about cracking it open after.

“Uh.” We go. “What the fuck is -this-?”

So.

Remember why they weren’t going to be able to have people hang out overnight?

Turns out, enough SF cops were willing to volunteer unpaid time to do patrols to cover security. And some anonymous person delivered over a dozen Porta-Poties that’d gotten dropped off around 8 the night before.

It’s 6:30 am, there are almost a thousand people in front of us in line to get this literal once in a lifetime marriage, the last chance we expect to have for at least 15 more years (it was 2004, gay rights were getting shoved back on every front. It was not looking good. We were just happy we lived in California were we at least weren’t likely to loose job protections any time soon.).

Then it starts to rain.

We had not dressed for rain.

00000

Here is how the next six hours go.

We’re in line. Once the doors open at 7am, it will creep forward at a slow crawl. It’s around 7 when someone shows up with garbage bags for everyone. Cut holes for the head and arms and you’ve got a makeshift raincoat! So you’ve got hundreds of gays and lesbians decked out in the nicest shit they could get on short notice wearing trashbags over it.

Everyone is so happy.

Everyone is so nervous/scared/frantic that we wont be able to get through the doors before they close for the day.

People online start making delivery orders.

Coffee and bagels are ordered in bulk and delivered to City Hall for whoever needs it. We get pizza. We get roses. Random people come by who just want to give hugs to people in line because they’re just so happy for us. The tour busses make detours to go past the lines. Chinese tourists lean out with their cameras and shout GOOD LUCK while car horns honk.

A single sad man holding a Bible tries to talk people out of doing this, tells us all we’re sinning and to please don’t. He gives up after an hour. A nun replaces him with a small sign about how this is against God’s will. She leaves after it disintegrates in the rain.

The day before, when it was sunny, there had been a lot of protestors. Including a large Muslim group with their signs about how “Not even DOGS do such things!” Which… Yes they do.

A lot of snide words are said (by me) about how the fact that we’re willing to come out in the rain to do this while they’re not willing to come out in the rain to protest it proves who actually gives an actual shit about the topic.

Time passes. I measure it based on which side of City Hall we’re on. The doors face East. We start on Northside. Coffee and trashbags are delivered when we’re on the North Side. Pizza first starts showing up when we’re on Westside, which is also where I see Bible Man and Nun. Roses are delivered on Southside. And so forth.

00000

We have Line Neighbors.

Ahead of us are a gay couple a decade or two older than us. They’ve been together for eight years. The older one is a school teacher. He has his coat collar up and turns away from any news cameras that come near while we reposition ourselves between the lenses and him. He’s worried about the parents of one of his students seeing him on the news and getting him fired. The younger one will step away to get interviewed on his own later on. They drove down for the weekend once they heard what was going on. They’d started around the same time we did, coming from the Northeast, and are parked in a nearby garage.

The most perky energetic joyful woman I’ve ever met shows up right after we turned the corner to Southside to tackle the younger of the two into a hug. She’s their local friend who’d just gotten their message about what they’re doing and she will NOT be missing this. She is -so- happy for them. Her friends cry on her shoulders at her unconditional joy.

Behind us are a lesbian couple who’d been up in San Francisco to celebrate their 12th anniversary together. “We met here Valentines Day weekend! We live down in San Diego, now, but we like to come up for the weekend because it’s our first love city.”

“Then they announced -this-,” the other one says, “and we can’t leave until we get married. I called work Sunday and told them I calling in sick until Wednesday.”

“I told them why,” her partner says, “I don’t care if they want to give me trouble for it. This is worth it. Fuck them.”

My husband-to-be and I look at each other. We’ve been together for not even two years at this point. Less than two years. Is it right for us to be here? We’re potentially taking a spot from another couple that’d been together longer, who needed it more, who deserved it more.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Says the 40-something gay couple in front of us.

“This is as much for you as it is for us!” says the lesbian couple who’ve been together for over a decade behind us.

“You kids are too cute together,” says the gay couple’s friend. “you -have- to. Someday -you’re- going to be the old gay couple that’s been together for years and years, and you deserve to have been married by then.”

We stay in line.

It’s while we’re on the Southside of City Hall, just about to turn the corner to Eastside at long last that we pick up our own companions. A white woman who reminds me an awful lot of my aunt with a four year old black boy riding on her shoulders. “Can we say we’re with you? His uncles are already inside and they’re not letting anyone in who isn’t with a couple right there.” “Of course!” we say.

The kid is so very confused about what all the big deal is, but there’s free pizza and the busses keep driving by and honking, so he’s having a great time.

We pass by a statue of Lincoln with ‘Marriage for All!’ and "Gay Rights are Human Rights!" flags tucked in the crooks of his arms and hanging off his hat.

It’s about noon, noon-thirty when we finally make it through the doors and out of the rain.

They’ve promised that anyone who’s inside when the doors shut will get married. We made it. We’re safe.

We still have a -long- way to go.

00000

They’re trying to fit as many people into City Hall as possible. Partially to get people out of the rain, mostly to get as many people indoors as possible. The line now stretches down into the basement and up side stairs and through hallways I’m not entirely sure the public should ever be given access to. We crawl along slowly but surely.

It’s after we’ve gone through the low-ceiling basement hallways past offices and storage and back up another set of staircases and are going through a back hallway of low-ranked functionary offices that someone comes along handing out the paperwork. “It’s an hour or so until you hit the office, but take the time to fill these out so you don’t have to do it there!”

We spend our time filling out the paperwork against walls, against backs, on stone floors, on books.

We enter one of the public areas, filled with displays and photos of City Hall Demonstrations of years past.

I take pictures of the big black and white photo of the Abraham Lincoln statue holding banners and signs against segregation and for civil rights.

The four year old boy we helped get inside runs past us around this time, chased by a blond haired girl about his own age, both perused by an exhausted looking teenager helplessly begging them to stop running.

Everyone is wet and exhausted and vibrating with anticipation and the building-wide aura of happiness that infuses everything.

The line goes into the marriage office. A dozen people are at the desk, shoulder to shoulder, far more than it was built to have working it at once.

A Sister of Perpetual Indulgence is directing people to city officials the moment they open up. She’s done up in her nun getup with all her makeup on and her beard is fluffed and be-glittered and on point. “Oh, I was here yesterday getting married myself, but today I’m acting as your guide. Number 4 sweeties, and -Congradulatiooooons!-“

The guy behind the counter has been there since six. It’s now 1:30. He’s still giddy with joy. He counts our money. He takes our paperwork, reviews it, stamps it, sends off the parts he needs to, and hands the rest back to us. “Alright, go to the Rotunda, they’ll direct you to someone who’ll do the ceremony. Then, if you want the certificate, they’ll direct you to -that- line.” “Can’t you just mail it to us?” “Normally, yeah, but the moment the courts shut us down, we’re not going to be allowed to.”

We take our paperwork and join the line to the Rotunda.

If you’ve seen James Bond: A View to a Kill, you’ve seen the San Francisco City Hall Rotunda. There are literally a dozen spots set up along the balconies that overlook the open area where marriage officials and witnesses are gathered and are just processing people through as fast as they can.

That’s for the people who didn’t bring their own wedding officials.

There’s a Catholic-adjacent couple there who seem to have brought their entire families -and- the priest on the main steps. They’re doing the whole damn thing. There’s at least one more Rabbi at work, I can’t remember what else. Just that there was a -lot-.

We get directed to the second story, northside. The San Francisco City Treasurer is one of our two witnesses. Our marriage officient is some other elected official I cannot remember for the life of me (and I'm only writing down what I can actively remember, so I can't turn to my husband next to me and ask, but he'll have remembered because that's what he does.)

I have a wilting lily flower tucked into my shirt pocket. My pants have water stains up to the knees. My hair is still wet from the rain, I am blubbering, and I can’t get the ring on my husband’s finger. The picture is a treat, I tell you.

There really isn’t a word for the mix of emotions I had at that time. Complete disbelief that this was reality and was happening. Relief that we’d made it. Awe at how many dozens of people had personally cheered for us along the way and the hundreds to thousands who’d cheered for us generally.

Then we're married.

Then we get in line to get our license.

It’s another hour. This time, the line goes through the higher stories. Then snakes around and goes past the doorway to the mayor’s office.

Mayor Newsom is not in today. And will be having trouble getting into his office on Tuesday because of the absolute barricade of letters and flowers and folded up notes and stuffed animals and City Hall maps with black marked “THANK YOU!”s that have been piled up against it.

We make it to the marriage records office.

I take a picture of my now husband standing in front of a case of the marriage records for 1902-1912. Numerous kids are curled up in corners sleeping. My own memory is spotty. I just know we got the papers, and then we’re done with lines. We get out, we head to the front entrance, and we walk out onto the City Hall steps.

It's almost 3PM.

00000

There are cheers, there’s rice thrown at us, there are hundreds of people celebrating us with unconditional love and joy and I had never before felt the goodness that exists in humanity to such an extent. It’s no longer raining, just a light sprinkle, but there are still no protestors. There’s barely even any news vans.

We make our way through the gauntlet, we get hands shaked, people with signs reading ”Congratulations!” jump up and down for us. We hit the sidewalks, and we begin to limp our way back to the BART station.

I’m at the BART station, we’re waiting for our train back south, and I’m sitting on the ground leaning against a pillar and in danger of falling asleep when a nondescript young man stops in front of me and shuffles his feet nervously. “Hey. I just- I saw you guys, down at City Hall, and I just… I’m so happy for you. I’m so proud of what you could do. I’m- I’m just really glad, glad you could get to do this.”

He shakes my hand, clasps it with both of his and shakes it. I thank him and he smiles and then hurries away as fast as he can without running.

Our train arrives and the trip south passes in a semilucid blur.

We get back to our car and climb in.

It’s 4:30 and we are starving.

There’s a Carls Jr near the station that we stop off at and have our first official meal as a married couple. We sit by the window and watch people walking past and pick out others who are returning from San Francisco. We're all easy to pick out, what with the combination of giddiness and water damage.

We get home about 6-7. We take the dog out for a good long walk after being left alone for two days in a row. We shower. We bundle ourselves up. We bury ourselves in blankets and curl up and just sort of sit adrift in the surrealness of what we’d just done.

We wake up the next day, Tuesday, to read that the California State Supreme Court has rejected the petition to shut down the San Francisco weddings because the paperwork had a misplaced comma that made the meaning of one phrase unclear.

The State Supreme Court would proceed to play similar bureaucratic tricks to drag the process out for nearly a full month before they have nothing left and finally shut down Mayor Newsom’s marriages.

My parents had been out of state at the time at a convention. They were flying into SFO about the same moment we were walking out of City Hall. I apologized to them later for not waiting and my mom all but shook me by the shoulders. “No! No one knew that they’d go on for so long! You did what you needed to do! I’ll just be there for the next one!”

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It was just a piece of paper. Legally, it didn’t even hold any weight thirty days later. My philosophy at the time was “marriage really isn’t that important, aside from the legal benefits. It’s just confirming what you already have.”

But maybe it’s just societal weight, or ingrained culture, or something, but it was different after. The way I described it at the time, and I’ve never really come up with a better metaphor is, “It’s like we were both holding onto each other in the middle of the ocean in the middle of a storm. We were keeping each other above water, we were each other’s support. But then we got this piece of paper. And it was like the ground rose up to meet our feet. We were still in an ocean, still in the middle of a storm, but there was a solid foundation beneath our feet. We still supported each other, but there was this other thing that was also keeping our heads above the water.

It was different. It was better. It made things more solid and real.

I am forever grateful for all the forces and all the people who came together to make it possible. It’s been twenty years and we’re still together and still married.

We did a domestic partnership a year later to get the legal paperwork. We’d done a private ceremony with proper rings (not just ones grabbed out of the husband’s collection hours before) before then. And in 2008, we did a legal marriage again.

Rushed. In a hurry. Because there was Proposition 13 to be voted on which would make them all illegal again if it passed.

It did, but we were already married at that point, and they couldn’t negate it that time.

Another few years after that, the Supreme Court finally threw up their hands and said "Fine! It's been legal in places and nothing's caught on fire or been devoured by locusts. It's legal everywhere. Shut up about it!"

And that was that.

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When I was in highschool, in the late 90s, I didn’t expect to see legal gay marriage until I was in my 50s. I just couldn’t see how the American public as it was would ever be okay with it.

I never expected to be getting married within five years. I never expected it to be legal nationwide before I’d barely started by 30s. I never thought I’d be in my 40s and it’d be such a non-issue that the conservative rabble rousers would’ve had to move onto other wedge issues altogether.

I never thought that I could introduce another man as my husband and absolutely no one involved would so much as blink.

I never thought I’d live in this world.

And it’s twenty years later today. I wonder how our line buddies are doing. Those babies who were running around the wide open rooms playing tag will have graduated college by now. The kids whose parents the one line-buddy was worried would see him are probably married too now. Some of them to others of the same gender.

I don’t have some greater message to make with all this. Other then, culture can shift suddenly in ways you can’t predict. For good or ill. Mainly this is just me remembering the craziest fucking 36 hours of my life twenty years after the fact and sharing them with all of you.

The future we’re resigned to doesn’t have to be the one we live in. Society can shift faster than you think. The unimaginable of twenty years ago is the baseline reality of today.

And always remember that the people who want to get married will show up by the thousands in rain that none of those who’re against it will brave.

#gay marriage #gay rights #gay history #gay

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