#just two lesbians reading the newspaper

[mountainsandmayhem]

Taste Her, Little Dove (18+)

Joel Miller x f!reader x female

Summary: Joel encourages you to indulge in your curiosities towards women.  CW: girl on girl (Happy International Women’s Day), oral (f!receiving), fingering, dirty talk, pet names (little dove, baby etc.), sub/domme dynamics, sort of voyeurism on Joel's part, male masturbation, lots of orgasms, one night stand AN: practice safe sex!! This is unprotected sex, be better than my writing! STI’s may be less likely in lesbian hookups but please use dental dams or gloves with a partner that you don’t know. Stay safe! Dividers by @saradika-graphics WC 3.6k

More Little Dove Here

You sit at the kitchen table, phone open in one hand reading an article, fresh morning coffee in the other. “What’s it like to go down on a girl?”

Joel almost chokes on his coffee, folding the corner of his newspaper down and looking at you over his reading glasses. 

“Jesus, babe. It’s 8 am!” His hair is tousled with sleep, still wearing just his boxers and a white t-shirt. 

“Didn’t realize 8 am was prude hour,” you joke. Cupping your hot coffee in both hands and inhaling the steam. 

“It’s just not what I thought was going to come out of your mouth.” He says with a laugh, putting the paper down and placing his glasses on top of it. “You never cease to amaze me, my love.”

“Well, I adopted Ellie in my second year of college, the first year I was too busy with classes. I didn’t get those wild college years. You know?” 

The sounds of the morning birds chirping merrily fills the kitchen for a moment while Joel looks at you. 

“Alright. I fucking love it. It’s powerful watching you fall apart as I lick you.” He smirks a little, a dimple forming in his cheek before he sips his coffee. 

“So the same way I feel when I give you a blow job?” You shrug. 

“I guess. I don’t know, the female anatomy is a lot more complex, but finding that right combination of licking and sucking, along with fingers. It’s like…” he trails off, thinking for a moment, “like a game of chess. Every time I go down on you it’s different. Sometimes you like the tip of my tongue to flick roughly, other times you like gentle kitten licks and lots of kisses. I almost have to read you and figure out the best way to win the game.” 

“Huh,” you suddenly feel a little insecure, he’s doing all that work and you - “I just do the same thing every time. Am I doing it wrong?”

“No babes,” he laughs, reaching across and taking your hand in his. His thumb caresses the smooth skin along the top of your hand. “Dicks are pretty easy. Grip them and move up and down. You are amazing at blow jobs.” 

He smiles at you and your gaze falls back to your phone. He picks up his glasses and paper and goes back to reading. After a few minutes, you break the silence. 

“How would you feel about me going down on a woman?” 

His eyes light up as he takes you in, he bites his cheek to stop the shit eating grin he can feel forming. “Go on….”

“I’m curious. I’ve never been with a woman.” 

“Ok,” he folds the paper up again. “Are you doing this for you? Is this something YOU want?” 

“Yes,” you say confidently. 

“Ok. So are you asking for a threesome? Because if I’m being honest, I don’t think I want to be with another woman.” 

“No! Oh god,” you try to stop your voice from sounding horrified, “I don’t want to see you with anyone.”

You’re quiet for a second before adding, “You know what, nevermind. I don’t like this.” 

“What baby?” He asks encouragingly. 

“I feel selfish. I’m going to ask you to let me indulge in my curiosities when there’s nothing in it for you but to watch. I’d want you there.” 

“Hey,” he stands and walks to your side of the table. He stops behind you, wrapping his strong arms around you and rests his chin on your shoulder. “You’re not being selfish. I don’t want to be with anyone else but I sure as fuck would watch you play with another woman.”

Finding a woman was surprisingly easy. After taking Joel’s advice, you put on a little red dress and the two of you headed to a bar near your house. Joel went in first and sat at a booth near the back, ordering himself a whiskey. After touching up your lipstick and fluffing your hair in the rearview mirror you strutted into that bar like you owned the place. Heels clicked on the floor as you walked over to the bar and ordered a martini. You sat there, eyes flicking around at the patrons, trying to make yourself look approachable. 

A gorgeous long-haired brunette woman was sitting across from you with an almost empty drink. This was your chance, you call the bartender over and ask him to send her a drink. As he walked over to her the music in the room seemed louder, and butterflies started to flutter around your stomach. But she took the drink and then came to sit with you. 

She agreed to let Joel sit in the wingback chair in the corner of your room. “I’m not interested though, lover boy. So you can watch but hands off.” 

Joel smirked at her, “Feelings mutual. I’m only interested in my Little Dove.” 

Now that the three of you are in your bedroom, you’re not as confident. She’s completely naked, you just a bra and panties, and Joel sitting in the dark corner, ankle resting on his knee. 

“Give me a colour, Little Dove.” 

“Green,” you say shakily, hands hanging by your sides and eyes dancing around the naked woman in front of you. She steps forward, linking her fingers with yours. You lean into her touch, the tip of your nose tracing down the bridge of hers. 

“Can I take your bra and panties off?” She whispers. You hear Joel stifle a groan, which encourages you to keep going. 

“Yes please,” your hands trail up her arms as she reaches behind you to unclasp your bra. The cool air pebbles your nipples as the garment falls to the floor.  Her soft lips find your neck, kissing towards the dip on your collarbone, her thumbs hooking into the waistband of your lacy panties. 

“Don’t stop,” you whimper, hands sliding into her long hair, guiding her to your aching nipples. Her tongue flicks over one as she gets to her knees, panties slipping down along your thighs as she goes. You use her shoulder to balance you as you step out of your thong. 

“You’re so wet for me,” she hums, kissing up your thighs to your hip bones. You won’t survive if both she and Joel start talking, and that’s further solidified when Joel’s deep voice adds, “Good girl, Little Dove” from the corner of the room. 

Your body shutters as she stands, sucking a peaked nipple into her mouth. She sucks and licks, the other hand teasing your slit. Your head falls back and you gasp at the feeling of her. Being with a woman is so different from being with Joel. She’s soft, her hands are like silk as they move across you. 

“Get on the bed,” you moan. You swear you hear Joel’s breath become heavier as he watches you. When you glance towards him he’s in the same position, chin resting between his thumb and forefinger, elbow perched on the arm of the chair. He shoots you a wink before you climb into bed. She’s on her back, legs open for you and can’t help but lick your lips at the sight of her puffy pink pussy. She’s glistening for you and you swell with pride at how you made her like that. 

Laying on top of her you start kissing her lips and grind your hips into hers. She moans into your mouth, hands grabbing your ass. “I wanna lick your pussy,” she says between kisses, “please.” 

You already know she likes to be in control, it was part of your conversation at the bar and with Joel. The two of you roll in tandem, sheets tugging around you before she throws them off. A groaned ‘holy fuck’ floats across the room. Joel is loving this more than the two of you. 

She settles herself between your thighs, her warm breath hitting your clit, causing it to twitch. She stares up at you as you writhe underneath her, your eyes clamped shut. “Look at me,” she says, voice husky. 

You peel your eyes open, they flick to Joel and then settle on her. The bedside lamp casts warm lighting across her face. She’s truly quite beautiful and you can’t help but notice the similarities between her and Joel. Deep brown hair, and warm amber-coloured eyes, she licks her plush lips before teasing your clit with the tip of her tongue. Pleasure courses through your body and your hips buck forward involuntarily. 

“Sssh,” she hushes you gently, and one of her forearms comes to rest across your pelvis. “Do you like that?” 

“Y-yes,” you coo, “again. Please.” 

“Mmmm,” she hums, teasing you again before adding, “such good manners.” 

Little sparks fizzle across your whole body at her gentle caresses. So different from when Joel devours you. Her arm is slender and soft against your belly, no facial hair to tickle your inner thighs. You moan her name, hands tangling in the sheets as that ache builds. 

“You gonna cum for her, Little Dove?” Joel’s voice is deep and thick with arousal. Your eyes flick back to him, he looks dangerous sitting in the dark like you’re the prey, which is exactly how you like it when it comes to Joel. The tongue between your legs stops and you cry out at the loss, “No, please.” 

She’s quickly up to be inline with you, one hand gripping your face under your chin, squeezing your cheeks slightly. You moan, yes being the prey is exactly how you like it. 

“Don’t look at him. You’re mine,” she kisses you hard before pulling back and adding, “Do you understand?” 

Joel's heavy breathing fills your ears and you can’t help but look at him. “Tsk, tsk,” she taunts and then turns to Joel. 

“I think she needs to be taught a lesson. Is that ok with you?” 

They’re wholly focused on each other, almost as if you aren’t even in the room. “My Little Dove will never learn,” he says, “what do you have in mind?” 

She glances back at you with a mischievous grin, “Come sit behind her and hold her down.” 

Joel stands, adjusting himself in his jeans as he walks over. The bed dips under his weight, he props a few pillows against the headboard before hooking his arms under you and pulling you flush against his chest. His hard cock throbbing against your lower back. 

She laughs at you, “can’t see him now. Can you?” 

You shake your head. “Answer your mistress, Little Dove,” Joel whispers in your ear in quiet demands. 

“N-no mistress,” you whisper. 

“That’s better,” she says, nails tickling your inner thighs. “Open your legs, he’s going to hold you open for me and I’m not stopping until you beg.” 

You swallow hard, Joel’s cock jumps before he reaches for your legs, strong hands wrapping around the back of your thighs, pulling them towards your chest and encouraging you to open more. She dives in with much more hunger this time, lapping at your clit. 

You throw your head back to rest on Joel’s shoulder. “Oh fuuuck, don’t stop.” 

She doesn’t listen, stopping abruptly and laying a quick slap on your inner thigh. Joel hisses in your ear and your eyes widen in shock and arousal. “Watch your mouth,” she says in a dark, commanding tone that you didn’t think a sweet looking woman like her was capable of. 

“Sorry, mistress.” The heat from her slap travels up your thigh to your pussy and it clenches around nothing. “Felt s’good,” you whine. 

“No swearing,” two of her fingers tease your entrance. “Good girls don’t say words like fuck,” her fingers slide into you and you bite your lip hard to stop from swearing and yelling and moaning. 

“Say yes mistress,” she taunts, curling her fingers forward. 

Joel’s strong arms hold you down, you’re completely at her mercy. “Ye - oh god - y-y-yes mistress.” 

“Do you wanna cum, baby?” Joel whispers as she continues teasing you, bringing the tip of her tongue to tickle your clit again. 

“Mmm-hmm,” you moan, turning your head to nuzzle into Joel’s neck. And your body tenses up into his grip. 

“Ask her nicely,” he says. 

“Mistress, fuuu-, can I cum?” It comes out in a high-pitched moan, you’re clenching so hard to not cum, teetering right on the edge. 

“Only if you scream my name while you do it,” she says in her demanding tone, working her fingers inside you faster. 

Joel’s thumbs rub little circles on your legs and after you relax into him you release. Pinned by Joel the orgasm runs through you hard and fast, and it’s over too soon, but she keeps going. That familiar tingle builds quickly again and before you’ve caught your breath you cum again, screaming her name over and over as you cum on her hand and mouth. 

She sucks your clit into her mouth. Stars start to light up in your vision, muscles start to hurt from how badly you’re shaking. As you start to cum again it all starts to feel like too much. “Stop. Stop. Please!” You beg. 

She releases your clit with a pop and slows her fingers. “Look at me sweet girl,” she coos. She smiles at you gently when you make eye contact, it's almost like looking at a completely different person from the woman who slapped your inner thigh just minutes ago, “Do you actually want me to stop.” 

“Yes, sorry. But yes.” You say, gasping for breath. 

She slides her fingers out and Joel releases your legs. They whisper to one another and Joel slides himself out from behind you and heads back to his chair. She pulls you into her arms, head resting on her soft breasts. No wonder Joel likes to cuddle up to you like this, it’s warm and inviting. You can hear her heart beating softly as she plays with your hair with one hand. The other draws little circles up and down the arm you’ve draped across her. 

It’s silent for a while before you start to giggle. 

“What’s so funny, Little Dove?” Joel’s voice is light. He’s used to this part when you come down from the high and have a feeling of comfort and elation. It might be his favourite part, especially now that he’s seeing it happening from the outside. Your cheeks are pink, and your hair is disheveled, but there’s a big happy grin on your face. 

“Fuck. That was….” You trail off, looking up into her brown eyes. “Well, that was amazing.” 

“Good,” she cranes her neck to kiss you lightly. 

“Umm, can I?” You ask, hand trailing down her body and stopping just above the slit of her pussy. You pout out your bottom lip at her, eyes turned soft and pleading. 

“Christ, lover boy.” She says to Joel but doesn’t break eye contact with you, “How do you ever say no to this sweet girl?” 

Joel chuckles from the corner. “I don’t.” 

You take her sly smile as a silent yes and climb on top of her, taking one of her nipples in your mouth, swirling your tongue around it while you use your knee to nudge her legs apart. Kneeling between her parted thighs you kiss across her chest to her other nipple, cupping her breast in your hands and massaging them gently. 

Hearing her little moans leave her lips is intoxicating. When Joel moans it’s usually deep and from his chest, but she’s so pliant to you right now, sweet, little high-pitched whimpers leaving her parted lips. 

You kiss down her body, gently nipping at her hip bone, a small squeak of surprise fills the room. You kiss the sore spot gently and settle yourself between her legs. Now that you’re this close to her pussy you are almost unsure of yourself. You swallow the lump building in your throat. Joel can see you hesitating. 

“Taste her, Little Dove,” he whispers. “Just place a long lick from the bottom to the top. Go slowly.” 

You place your tongue flat near the entrance and slowly slide your tongue up. She tastes amazing. Sweet with a hint of saltiness, she gasps and twitches as you hit certain spots. 

“Did you feel that, baby?” Joel asks. 

You nod your head and repeat the same lick, mapping out the spots that drive her wild. Once you have them figured out Joel speaks up again, “Good girl. Use the tip of your tongue and put more pressure on those spots. Swirl your tongue around them. Figure out what makes her twitch.” 

“Fuck this is so hot,” she whimpers as you follow Joel’s instructions. 

You swirl your tongue around her hardening clit, before lapping up the fresh wave of her arousal, moaning at the taste of her. She’s shifting underneath you, one of her hands tangling in your hair. 

“Tease her with your fingers, Little Dove. Slide one in, just a little while you lick her.” 

“Yesyesyes” she chants, breaths coming in quickly. The way her breasts rise and fall causes a throb in between your legs. You thought you were orgasmed out but she looks incredible. You slide your middle finger in, stopping at the first knuckle, curling it forward. She cries out, you aren’t ready for her to cum yet so you pull your tongue away and place little kisses around her mound, carefully avoiding the sensitive spots as you explore her more with your finger. 

“You’re so tight. Do you want me to use two?” You ask, sliding your finger in all the way. If you were Joel, you’d never want to be anywhere else than in between your legs. He was right, this is a feeling that can’t be described. There’s an almost overwhelming sense of power once you’ve figured out what they like and have relaxed enough to enjoy it. 

“Please. Oh god - yes please.” She’s almost mumbling the words between moans and when you slide your ring finger in with the middle her legs start to shake. 

“You gonna cum?” You ask, kitten licking at her clit. 

“Don’t stop,” she whines. You curl your fingers again hearing the squelching of how wet you’ve made her and then suck her hard little clit into your mouth. She calls your name out to the room, “Yes yes. Just like that. Fuuuuuck.” 

You can feel her cunt tightening around your fingers. “Stay at the pace, Little Dove. You’re doing so well.” Joel’s voice seems thicker and you wonder if he’s touching himself, but you keep your focus on her. She looks like a goddess in the dim lighting of the room, head thrown back and mouth open, calling out your name through her moans. You feel the wetness between your thighs growing. 

“I’m gonna cum,” she cries before you feel her pussy spasm around your fingers. You keep your pace the same, curling your fingers forward and tracing the edges of her pulsing clit. You’ll go until she says to stop, even if your jaw is starting to cramp. You feel drunk watching her, this is so much better than you could have imagined. 

“Ride me,” she says, squirming out of your grasp. She straightens one leg and you crawl up, straddling yourself around her raised leg, hooking her knee in your arm across your body. The wetness between the two of you is magical, sliding your clits against each other. 

You can see Joel now, he shifts in the chair as he removes his jeans, freeing his cock from his boxers. He spits in his palm and starts to stroke himself in time with the two of you. 

“Does that feel good?” She asks, bringing your eyes back to her. 

You nod, biting your bottom lip as the tension behind your belly button starts to build. You grind your hips in slow circles as she moves back and forth, both of you growing wetter. 

“God your pussy feels so good against mine,” you moan between her gasps. “You’re making such a mess.” 

She wraps her hands around your hips and pushes you down onto her hard, grinding into you faster as both of you start to breathe heavier. “Don’t fuck stop,” she whines. 

“So needy. This little pussy,” you say. You’re not entirely sure what’s come over you, Joel’s ragged breaths from his chair fill you with encouragement, he loves hearing you talk dirty to her. “Wanna cum all over your tight cunt.” 

You hear Joel’s breathing jump, glancing over to see him spilling into his hand. The tension in your stomach snaps, and you look back at her as the two of you cum together, grinding sloppily. The sounds of your wet pussy’s rubbing together and your moans and squeals are the only thing you can hear. 

You both ride it out together, you feel like you’ve been cumming for hours by the time it slows. Both of you calming your movements. You kiss her kneecap before falling to the bed beside her, the two of you gasping for breath. Joel sits quietly, smiling over at you. 

“Fuck,” she says after a few minutes of silence. “Are you sure you aren’t a lesbian?” 

You and Joel both laugh. “I think it’s safe to say that my Little Dove is bisexual.” 

You giggle to the ceiling and then look towards her, “I think it’s safe to say that I’m only straight for Joel Miller.” 

Taglist:

@corazondebeskar @hiddenbabynyc @rainstorms-library @smutsmutslut @sullyrocky44 @keylimebeag  @pimosworld @casa-boiardi @pedritoferg @paleidiot @lorilane33 @pansexual-potatoes @baar-ur @jessthebaker @jasminedragoon @koshkaj-blog @pedroswife69 @strawberri-blonde  @none-of-this-makes-any-sense @iloveenya @javierpena-inatacvest @wannab-urs

[grenade-maid]

there's a lot of reasons more people aren't into yuri that are troubling to consider, but equally, I genuinely think it cannot be understated how much of it comes down to most yuri being boring as hell. Like truly. I've been reading the front page of Dynasty Scans like it was the newspaper for 15 years I am not exaggerating I can show you the download file data 15 years.

You know what the complaint about yuri by yuri readers was back in 2009?

"wow that really was just 5 volumes of them blushing at each other and then they don't even kiss"

You know what the complaint about yuri by yuri readers is today in 2023?

"wow that really was just 5 volumes of them blushing at each other and then they don't even kiss"

Don't get me wrong, Yuri has grown a LOT in that time, to the point that most people today wouldn't even understand a Maria-sama reference if it were dropped in front of them (thank God). It's expanded and evolved to encompass more stories about adult women, wider varieties of scenarios, a greater acknowledgement of real life lesbianism, and is more comfortable showing girls kissing with tongue and having sex.

Yuri Manga is maybe the best is it's ever been, and it's also getting the widest readership it's ever had in the English speaking world. The titles we carry at work are always on back order with long queues, and, when I've asked them, most weebs of all gender or sexualities report keeping up with at least a few Yuri series.

At large though? Most of it is still really boring. That's not a bad thing necessarily. I like it because it goes down easy. For the most part any series you pick is gonna be pretty chill. Even shit from Sal Jiang which is PRETTY EDGY for yuri is a pretty breezy read. More serious ones like How Do We Relationship? cover some pretty real subjects about how intimacy is actually quite difficult even when both of you love each other, but it's not like... Exciting. Yuri isn't where you go to pump your fist or get perched on the edge of your seat.

So when the comparison is made to yaoi, well, I mean, have you READ any yaoi? Even in some of the more restrained titles those boys are likely to be sucking and fucking balls and all within the first volume or two. There's gonna be drama, intrigue, shit is gonna get messy, passions are gonna get heated, clothes are gonna be ripped off, people are gonna get sold to One Direction, it's stuff you can sit down with a bowl of popcorn with you know? Stuff you can message your friend and gush Hey Can You BELIEVE? A lot of it is pretty trashy, but that's the appeal. The generic state of yaoi is torrid and exciting and sexy. Ultimately, as a species many of us like to see pretty people fuck. In yaoi you'll get that. In yuri you won't. Nothing wrong with that, but it is gonna be a major contributing factor to their relative popularity.

It's also worth making the comparison to hetero romance manga, which has undergone a renaissance of it's own in recent years. There's now a whole meta around crafting a handful of mean shitty grouchy dysfunctional bully women and flinging them at the protagonist of the day who, unlike in years past, may actually have a face and personality. Most of these are also very trashy and truly scrape the bottom of the bucket in terms of writing.

AND YET?

I would bet money on the fact that you'll have heard of these women and probably even have a good idea what they're like without ever having touched a page of their manga.

I'm sorry but the straights are whipping donuts around the yuri girls in terms of delivering a wide variety of weird compelling fucked up women. How many yuri leading ladies by comparison can you point to as standout recognizable characters even divorced from their story? There's definitely a few, but not many. I'm not talking quality or depth of writing, I'm talking straight up pure recognizability. There are many beautifully written women in yuri, now more than ever. I can't think of many who'd like, get a figure made or have their face splashed on merch, though.

I don't really have a conclusion here. I love Yuri a lot, but at the end of the day this is just kinda the state of things right now.

[hard--headed--woman]

Hey! After talking about not just a lesbian but a lesbian couple yesterday in my post about Elisa y Marcela, I will do the same thing today ! This time, the two women are american. Their names are

Donna Burkett and Manonia Evans !

"I did not believe the government had any business telling me who I could marry."

This sentence aptly describes the convictions and state of mind of the two women in 1971.

This year, indeed, Donna Burkett and Manonia Evans applied to a Milwaukee County clerk for a marriage license, decades before their state legalized homosexual marriages. At the time, their story made the rounds of the national media and newspapers, attracting the hatred of some and the admiration of others. Such a bold move at a time when homophobia was so rife was bound to get people talking! They were the first same-sex couple to do such thing.

Aged 25 and 21 respectively, the two women had met in a gay bar. After being refused a license, they filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the denial of marital benefits, including inheritance rights and joint tax filings, did not afford them the equal protection granted by the Constitution. The complaint read, “The legal increments of marriage ought to be shared irrespective of generic differences, to wit: mutual fulfillment and happiness and the equal opportunity to share in the benefits of the law as those in heterosexual unions blessed by the civil marriage contract.”

Federal judge Myron Gordon dismissed the suit over "technical legal issues".

Meantime, Donna and Manonia still wanted to get married, so they invited 250 family and friends together on Christmas Day 1971 for a ceremony officiated by Joseph Feldhausen, a gay Russian Orthodox priest, in Milwaukee. Some members of their family, like Manonia's parents, were not present, not accepting this union, but the two women were OK with it, saying that it's part of life when you're gay.

Their wedding also made it to the news.

The results of their newfound fame were not positive ; the young couple’s friends shunned them, Donna lost her job, and Manonia got kicked out of school. Manonia’s father, a preacher, said he’d rather see his daughter dead than homosexual.

Unfortunately, the strain took its toll and eventually, Donna and Manonia split up. Both of them spent the rest of their life fighting for gay rights. Some years ago, Donna, who isn’t married even though she now has the right to, said that she doesn't care anymore, that she's happy with herself, but glad that young homosexuals can marry who they love. The two women haven't seen each other in many, many years.

It sounds like a very sad story indeed; their attempt to obtain the right to marry failed, their coming out caused them a lot of problems, and they ended up separating because of it all.

But this story and the determination of these two young women has encouraged many homosexuals to fight for the right to marry, and has definitely helped this cause achieve its goal.

Although their lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful, the argument they used – equal protection under the Constitution – was cited by U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb more than 40 years later, when she overturned Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriage in 2014.

I personally love this story and think we should all remember it, as it is important in global lesbian history, and is so interesting and inspiring!

[katieaki]

My ✨ post-apocalyptic Lesbian Cowgirl Mailman choose-your-own adventure✨ has just updated! Read it here for free on my Patreon and vote in the poll! Here is a guide to get you started, the summaries of each part of the story thus far, the complete collected text, and FAQ, all in one place. They have everything you need to know about Lou, her requited-but-complicated love, the religious assassin who just beat the tar out of her, the worst person she's ever met, and the ill-advised journey she is on! There is also a discord where Pony Express readers from all across god's green internet can gather, here!

✨Read the update for free on my patreon & vote on what happens next! ✨Excerpt below the cut.

Small, Miserable Woman Reminisces on Being a Small, Miserable Girl

Once, before she’d come to understand the full impenetrability of her mother’s depression, Lou had thought that she would coax her mother into giving her care by pretending to disappear. Early in the morning, she had tied a jar of water and a peach into a furoshiki, stuffed a roll of newspaper into her father’s hat so it wouldn’t fall over her eyes when she wore it, and walked out into the fields beyond their pasture. She had sat on an overturned pail in the dappled shade of a serviceberry bush and waited to hear her mother calling for her. She had eaten her peach and drank her water bit by bit, watching the sun move across the sky. She had waited and waited and her mother hadn’t found her. Lou had watched a tarantula hawk drag a paralyzed tarantula into her burrow to feed her babies with. The tarantula’s limp legs that offered no resistance as the wasp dragged it along on the ground had frightened Lou worse than seeing them walking around. Still, there’d been no sign of her own mother. She’d dried out her empty water jar and filled it with serviceberries and waited some more. 

Eventually, the sun had begun to set and she had thought that maybe her hiding spot had been too good. Probably, she had thought, her poor mother was worried sick. To lose her husband and two of her children, then to lose her remaining daughter without warning. What had Lou been thinking? Her mother must have been anguished. Lou had run back home as fast as she could, barefooted over rocks and briars. When she had crashed back into their home, panting and apologizing for scaring her, her mother was laying in bed, facing the wall, just as Lou had left her. Not only had she not noticed that she was gone, she hadn’t even seemed to register that she was back and greatly distressed. By that point, Lou had already stopped crying when she was upset. If she hadn’t, she’d have done nothing but cry. Instead, she had just placed the serviceberries in the pie chest, made them both peanut butter sandwiches, washed her bloody, filthy feet, and gone to sleep. When she had woken up, her mother hadn’t eaten her sandwich, so Lou had eaten it for breakfast with a mug of milk that had just begun to sour. That had been a lesson that, before that half hour of waiting fruitlessly for Artie, Lou had thought she’d fully learned: she wasn’t enough of anything for people to to miss. Her mother hadn’t even noticed she was gone. Neither would Artie.

[archangeldyke-all]

Hii! Wanted to say that I check your blog the second I start checking my phone every single morning! I love your blog sm and I'd like to thank you for all these wonderful sevika content. You make my day every day<<<3

So, what about sev with reader while reader is suffering from postpartum depression? Maybe reader doesn't want to hold little fucker or breastfeed her.

thank u for such a sweet note! hehe the idea that i'm part of ur morning routine is so sweet i'm like the lesbian newspaper lolol

men and minors dni

sevika knew this was a possibility.

the moment she learned you were pregnant, sevika went into Research Mode. not just for the baby-- how to babyproof a house and pick a baby name and not pass on generational trauma-- but for you too.

so while it breaks her fucking heart seeing you like this-- she's thankful for the fact that she was prepared for it, and knew what to look for.

it's been two months since you gave birth to your perfect little girl, and your postpartum blues have officially become postpartum depression.

you feel truly horrible. in all senses of the word.

physically, you're still recovering from a rough labor and delivery.

mentally, you're so exhausted and foggy that all you can find the energy to do is cry.

and emotionally, you feel like a failure.

for nine months, you were anxiously awaiting the arrival of your beautiful, healthy baby girl. and now she's here, the most important, precious thing in your life... and you can't even hold her.

sevika's been a fucking godsend.

she's constantly reminding you that this is normal. that 15% of people experience what you're experiencing after birth, that the act of giving birth is so intense and hormonal and disruptive and it's no wonder you're still out of wack afterwards, that your daughter loves you, that she loves you.

she's been dragging you to the doctors office once a week, your daughter in her carrier on her left hand, a list of concerns she has about you in her right.

she's been gently feeding you the medicine you've been prescribed each night with a nice warm cup of tea, kissing up your tears when they fall.

she knows that when this ends, what will come next is the endless guilt for being sick during your daughters first few moments. so, she's been taking endless pictures and videos for you-- little fucker throwing up, little fucker sleeping, little fucker's pooping face, and her first sink-bath, and her fast asleep on sevika's chest.

each night, sevika will crawl into bed beside you, little fucker in her arms, and the two of them will sit beside you and tell you what they did all day.

"and then after our walk, what did we do baby?" sevika asks your daughter, an adoring smile on her face. you want to cry but you've been out of tears since dinner, so instead you just reach out and hold sevika's hand. "oh, right, you took a nap and mommy washed all your new clothes from the store-- you're gettin' too big for your newborn clothes, baby girl!" she coos, running her finger against your daughter's chubby cheek.

then, she'll lay a sleeping little fucker down in her crib at the foot of your bed, and pay attention to you.

she helps you pump, holding you and kissing your head while you cry against her shoulder.

"i give it two months 'til you're back to normal babe." sevika whispers, rubbing your back.

you chuckle. "what makes you think that?"

sevika shrugs. "remember how much worse you were a month ago before you got your medicine? before you started goin' to your new-mom support group?" she asks. back then, you were sleeping more than your newborn, close to twenty hours a day, and when you were awake, you were just crying and staring at the ceiling. "look at you now, honey." sevika whispers. "went on a walk with us this morning, pumping three times a day, reading in bed instead'a sleepin'... you're coming around."

you melt into your wifes arms. "how am i ever gonna thank you for this, sev?" you ask.

"thank me?" she asks. you nod.

"for taking care of me. and our girl. holdin' down the fort with a fuckin' newborn while i get my head back on right."

"honey." sevika sighs, kissing you firmly on your forehead. "you never gotta thank me. 'm your wife, did you forget that?" she teases. you snort, pinching her side. "i'd do this forever-- 'til the end of time-- if it means i get to be spending time with my girls."

you fall asleep crying-- which isn't unusual nowadays. but, today, instead of crying from dread or anxiety or the pit of darkness in your chest-- you're crying out of love.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @lavendersgirl @half-of-a-gay @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner

@shimtarofstupidity @chuucanchuucan @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther

@ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai

@glass-apothecary @macaroni676 @artinvain @realgreeniebeanie @k3n-dyll

@sevsdollette

[2btheanswertothequestion]

She finds out about it a few weeks after her classes start. It happens by chance, and almost seems too good to be true.

But it's not.

The University of Illinois does actually have its own newspaper for gays and lesbians. It exists, made explicitly for them, by them.

And Robin needs it.

It requires some snooping, though it's basically nothing after everything she did at Starcourt. Soon enough, she is $8.50 ($7.50 for a yearly subscription and $0.5 each for the two previous issues) poorer in dollars and infinitely richer in happiness.

People Like Us: News, opinions, and features for the C-U gay and lesbian community it says on the front page. Issues 2 and 3 are both 8 pages long while the first issue is slightly shorter. They have everything. News about marches in Chicago and local gay-friendly businesses. Opinion pieces on places to meet up and homophobia. Roommate ads, reviews, and personal stories. News about AIDS. And, in the very back, a blurb proclaiming LESBIAN CONTRIBUTORS WANTED.

Maybe that'll be her one day. She's no Nancy, but she can write. For now, though, she's content with reading. It's almost overwhelming to hold the papers, knowing that it's made by people like her. That someone like her might be reading the same words at the same time. Less lonely, in a way.

No one else on campus knows about her. Ellen, her dorm mate, seems fine so far, but Robin won't take her chances just yet. She struck gold with Steve, Eddie, and the kids, but someday her luck will run out. So she hides the issues in a hard folder under her mattress whenever she isn't reading.

Then she gets the October issue in her hand and nearly dies of excitement. On the front page, the news section is announcing that "two highly acclaimed gay/lesbian films are set to appear on campus this month". The groundbreaking Desert Hearts and Parting Glances will be screened four times each, one week apart from each other, at the end of the month.

At her first opportunity, she calls and tells Steve about it.

"You have to come and see them with me!" she says. "I can't go alone!"

So he does, and he barely complains about the 3-hour drive.

On Sunday, October 19, he shows up at 7 in front of her building. They catch up while having a bite to eat before the film. It's mostly her talking, blabbing about classes and professors and new people and Illinois and the college experience while he chews his half of the pizza, staring at her with big eyes that scream I missed you, I missed you, I missed you!

She takes every chance she gets to knock their feet together under the table and clutches his arm on their way to the film. Just in case her own eyes don't scream it back loud enough.

By the time Desert Hearts starts, she's giddy. She knows only what the newspaper told her: that it's about a soon-to-be-divorced college professor meeting a lesbian country girl in Reno in the 50s, and that it includes a 'climactic lovemaking scene'. Both facts have her squirming with excitement, her seat squeaking beneath her.

The lights go out and the movie starts. It's slow-paced and atmospheric, using the Nevada scenery to its advantage. Parts of it are actually really slow, but she doesn't mind, especially not as it builds and builds toward Vivian ultimately accepting her attraction to Cay.

Steve is with her from beginning to end, scoffing at the antagonistic stepmother, squeezing her hand when the lovers are separated, and squeezing some more when they're reunited. When they reach the intimate scene, he gasps loudly. Then both of them succumb to a giggle fit and must stifle themselves lest they be thrown out. The newspaper was right – it is pretty hot stuff.

There's no dramatic declaration of love at the end, no the ending is as slow and quiet as the rest of it. Still, it hits hard. A sledgehammer to the chest, shattering her ribs and smearing her heart all over. Because these women look each other in the eyes and say 'I love you'. They say 'I want you'. They say 'she just reached in and put a string of lights around my heart', and they say it like it's normal. Which, Robin knows it is. But her world is small and their world is the silver screen and they say it like it's normal.

Steve turns to her when the credits roll and the lights come back on, saying it was good. But when she looks at him, his face falls. Arms wrapping around her, he pulls her into his lap and guides her face into the crook of his neck. Fingers cramping where they clutch his shirt, she buries herself deep and cries, cries, cries. She thinks she hears someone ask if she's okay, but Steve shoos them off, so it doesn't matter.

He walks her home in comfortable silence. As they stop outside her building he tucks her hair behind her ear and offers to stay with her. But she tells him no – he has work in the morning, so she'll have to make do without him.

The responsible thing to do after waving him off is go to bed, wake up early for class. Instead, she steers her step to the nearest payphone and punches in a California number. Minutes later she's got Vickie on the line, wondering if she's okay and if she's been crying. Robin reassures her, then recounts the evening. Soon Vickie's bell of a laughter envelops her; they discuss who's the Cay to whose Vivian until Robin runs out of coins.

Next week, Steve is back and they do it all over again, except this time they eat burgers. They even snatch the same seats they had the previous screening.

Parting Glances follows a gay couple for 24 hours of their daily life. Because they're established, their intimate scene happens much earlier. Steve's muttering about how unfair it is that it's less explicit than the lesbian scene has pride burn in her chest, even as she shushes him.

All in all, it's a really good film. It doesn't hit her as hard since it's about gay men and no lesbians, but it still hits. Again, because it's presented as something normal. They're people in love, and they have jobs and problems and dreams and friends. The hardest hit of them all is Nick, who has AIDS but not in a pitiful way. He's a rockstar with a sense of humor, still cool and charismatic. Sexy, even, thanks to the oozing confidence and the intensity of his gaze.

Steve is quietly contemplative on the way out. She slips her hand into his and lets him think. It's first when they're halfway home that she breaks the silence. Spinning so she's walking backward in front of him, him holding her waist to steer her away from lampposts and curbs, she asks:

"Did you like it?"

"I did. But it left me a little sad." He shrugs. "I just hope Nick survives and gets back together with Michael."

She chews the inside of her cheek. "I don't know if… I mean, AIDS is-"

"I know, Robbie, I'm keeping myself up to date. Or I try. It's just… It's very…" Steve sighs, shaking his head. "You know."

And she does know. The fear of being targeted and the frustration of being helpless. The fury of knowing diseases are supposed to be cured, until the ones affected are people who aren't supposed to exist in the first place.

Steve says, "I think he'll be okay. Nick."

"Yeah," she says, a little choked up.

"And he and Michael will be happy."

"Yes."

"And Cay will stay on the train, or Vivian will return to Nevada, and they'll be together. For real."

"They will. And even if they don't," she reaches up to cup his cheeks, caressing his stubbled jawline, "they'll have someone else. Someone just as good. Or better."

His gaze on her is heavy and bright, boring through, seeing inside. He nods.

"Or better," he says.

With that, he grabs and swings her around (in a pretty impressive move, not that she'll admit it to him) until she's latched onto his back. Then he carries her home.

It's maybe 50 degrees out, so not freezing but enough to leave you shivering if your jacket is old and getting threadbare, like Robin's. She's not cold, though, because Steve always runs hot. His back is firm and his grip on her thighs is secure; she burrows into him, absorbing his warmth and familiar scent. Lulled, not to sleep per se, but to rest by his even strides, she dreams of all the beautiful things she wants to have, and even more vividly of the things she wants to keep.

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

People Like Us was a real newspaper. You can find the issues that helped inspire this fic here.

(Oh, and you should really watch both those films if you haven't already.)

[djuvlipen]

I know the black triangle was used for roma, but it was used for homosexual women as well, yes?

The thing with the Nazi persecution of lesbians is that it's only been very recently researched by historians, the first major works about it date back from the 1990s. It's also a complicated subject to study because the Nazis never explicitly wrote lesbian persecution into the law the way they did for Jews, Roma, or gay men (the paragraph 175 on which they relied to send German gay men to camps date back from the 19th century iirc), so archival evidence is a bit hard to find. It's even more complicated because Nazis destroyed a lot of their documentation in 1945.

So far historians have found no lesbian deported to Auschwitz for the primary motive of her sexuality. When sexuality is mentioned on the entry register it is always as an addendum, never as a primary motive for their deportation. So the majority of the lesbians who were in Auschwitz had been arrested for belonging to another persecuted group (Jews, Roma, political opponents, etc), with their sexuality being an aggraviating factor.

In Ravensbrück, the women's Nazi concentration camp, there were 3 registered lesbians. Two of them were deported for political reasons  (with “lesbian” as an addendum), so they wore the red triangle. One of them was deported for being “asocial”, so she had to wear the black triangle. That is the only example I know of a lesbian wearing the black triangle for her lesbianism.

That doesn't mean lesbians weren't persecuted by the Nazi regime; Nazis destroyed German lesbian culture, closed their bars and clubs, they prevented the publication of lesbian newspapers. They were forced to comply to Nazi sexist policies that wanted German women to marry German men and have children. Being a lesbian in a concentration camp also meant increased vulnerability. In Austria, where lesbianism was criminalized, lesbians were condemned, had to pay a fee, or were sent to Austrian prisons.

I really encourage you to read Claudia Schoppmann and Regis Schlagdenhauffen, because they both wrote very valuable stuff about Nazi lesbophobia.

In general, the black triangle was used to mark asocial prisoners, a very broad and vague category in which Nazis put anyone who didn't fit the other categories. It included Roma, prostitutes, beggars, alcoholics, etc. But Roma have a very distinct place among the rest of the "asocial" category, because it was applied to us not for social reasons but racial ones, because the number of Roma made to wear it far exceeds other "asocial" categories (proportionally speaking), because it was used to brand us for genocide and exterminatory policies, not just persecutory politics (as opposed to the other "asocial" categories), as in: entire families, newborns, the elderly, etc, had to wear it.

Though I am a bit tired of this discourse because the black triangle was not used everywhere, in every camp, or all throughout the Nazi period, frankly I would care less if this discourse wasn't always used as a pretext to minimize the Romani genocide, to negate the Romani genocide, to misrepresent Romani history and anti-Roma racism, etc. Like, the amount of time non-Roma spoke over us about the Romani genocide anytime this topic is brought up is so annoying😭.

Claudia Schoppmann, Nationalsozialistische Sexualpolitik und weibliche Homosexualität

Regis Schlagdenhauffen (ed.), Queer in Europe during the Second World War

Régis Schlagdenhauffen, « Les lesbiennes sont-elles des victimes du nazisme ? Analyse d'une controverse mémorielle », Revue d'Allemagne, tome 42, no 4, 2010

https://www.worldcat.org/fr/title/47812452

[ratsworms]

just got the worst idea ever: time travel x jigsaw apprentices au. it'a been years. they all got caught in the end. amanda and lawrence are in prison. john's been dead for a while now. lawrence and adam had a plan to leave the country with fake ids together just in case but lawrence gave up on the last second and convinced adam to take his chance on his own. lawrence very politely waited for police to arrive while drinking tea. hoffman got shot and died. no one ratted out lynn and she's out there living her not best, meh but somewhat decent life as if nothing happened, but she regularly visits amanda. everyone thinks she's just as guilty as the rest of them but there's nothing to connect her to. adam's still on the run and he reads the newspaper to catch up about the rest. he doesn't think he can do this anymore. there's a documentary coming out about them. adam watched a few bits and they got most things so wrong he found it hilarious. he's thinking about killing himself.

then. one day he goes to sleep in one of john's still secret warehouses. there are still a few of them adam can squat in. john was expecting the last one to be lawrence, he even had a tape ready for him about trusting the doctor to carry out his legacy. adam finds that hilarious too.

so, adam goes to sleep in a cold warehouse with bunch of killing tools and when he wakes up he's holding the documentary's cd, he's in a different warehouse, one that he recognizes so well and misses so much because it's been raided ages ago. he turns in the bed and realizes he's laying next to his younger self.

younger adam wakes up. tries to go to sleep because he's convinced this is a dream full of deep psychological messages. realizes he can't. thinks he's high. tries to remember if he was high. he freaks out. old adam slaps the younger man. the younger one slaps the younger one. both come to the realization that holy shit this is real this is happening. older one is actually glad because his own time kinda sucks for him and everyone else right now.

they talk. younger adam still kinda believes he's high or dreaming or both. they talk. they watch the documentary (they both collectively hate the part where it says "it's highly assumed that amanda young and adam faulkner stanheight were having a romantic relationship" because they're gay and she's a lesbian and it's just not true) younger adam has an a lot of dumb questions. the older one explains some of them but seeing himself this young and still somehow full of life and charm and humor makes something in him ache. when lawrence comes in to check on his regular-adam, the older adam hugs him, and without realizing what's happening he hugs him too, then lawrence is confused because why are you bigger wait why the fuck are you the same age as me and what the fuck why is there two of you. they don't know. they don't know

[svnnyd4ys]

(some of the) eah royals as incorrect quotes!

Blondie: Apple noticed only today that they can label their email inboxes, but they took apart their entire bloody laptop two weeks ago. Lizzie: This reminds me of the Apple who couldn’t turn on the coffee maker, but remembers about 500 digits of pi. Blondie: I’ll be delighted to inform you that this is the very same Apple.

!!!

Duchess: The best way to gain someone's undying loyalty is by saving them from a perilous situation. Ashlynn: So you're just gonna wait until Briar is in danger and save them? Duchess: Of course not, I'm going to create a situation that puts them in danger and then save them. Ashlynn: ... Ashlynn: You're insane.

!!!

Blondie: *fills up bottle and drinks from that* Ashlynn: *brought 4 bottles of water so this wouldn’t happen* Apple: *drinks straight from the tap* Duchess: *dehydrates* Lizzie: *drinks from the puddle of water on the floor* Briar: *licks the tap, doesn’t even need a drink*

!!!

Duchess: Fine! Judge all you want but... Duchess, points at Ashlynn: Married a lesbian. Duchess, points at Lizzie: Left a man at the altar. Duchess, points at Blondie: Fell in love with a gay ice dancer. Duchess, points at Apple: Threw a girl’s wooden leg in a fire. Duchess, points at Briar: Lives in a box!

!!!

Apple: From now on we will be using code names. Apple: You can address me as Eagle One. Apple: Blondie is “been there done that”. Apple: Briar is “currently doing that”. Apple: Ashlynn is “it happened once in a dream”. Apple: Lizzie is “if I had to pick a wonderlandian". Apple: And Duchess is.. Apple: Eagle Two Duchess: Oh thank god.

!!!

*Briar comes home absolutely drunk, undresses, and stands in Blondie’s bedroom.* Blondie: Babe, are you.. coming to bed? Briar: No thank you, I’m sure you’re lovely but I have a girlfriend. Briar: *Lies on the ground and falls asleep* Blondie: ...

!!!

Briar: Well, aren’t you all a rag-tag group of adventurers with unclear goals and good hearts! Oh, let me guess: you’re out to save the world! Duchess: Well, actually, that sounds like a pretty fair assessment. Ashlynn: More or less, I guess... Apple: That sounds awesome! Let’s do that! Lizzie: I’m new here, but I am open to the concept. Blondie: I thought that’s what we were doing, guys, come on!

!!!

Duchess, reading the newspaper: Huh. Did you know Nickelodeon opened a hotel? Briar: Yeah, I went there once. There was a dead squirrel in the pool and I made some of Ashlynn cry by telling them it was the real Sandy.

!!!

Apple: Guys, there’s a monster under my bed and it’s really ugly. Duchess, on the bottom bunk: Honestly, fuck you.

!!!

Blondie: What makes you think it's okay to watch Hannibal given its subject matter? Ashlynn: Sometimes, I watch television shows for entertainment purposes. Briar: Because I condone murder and cannibalism.

!!!

*The squad's reaction to being told they're the chosen one* Apple: I will not let you down. Duchess: Sounds fun. Ashlynn: K. Blondie: No, I'm fucking not. Lizzie: Do I have to be? Briar: Please god, I am so tired.

!!!

Ashlynn: I think I just figured something out. I got to go. Briar: Aren't you forgetting something? Ashlynn: Uuh...*hesitantly kisses Briar's forehead before running out.* Briar: No, pay your bill! Damn, who raised you?

!!!

Briar: *sighs* Blondie: You bored? Briar: Yeah. Blondie: Wanna start drama for no reason? Briar: I thought you’d never ask.

!!!

Lizzie: Punch me in the face. Duchess: ...Punch you? Lizzie: Yes, punch me, didn’t you hear me? Duchess: I always hear ‘punch me in the face’ while you’re speaking but it’s usually just subtext.

!!!

Apple: Be right back, gonna hit the toilet for a quick power sob.

!!!

Briar: I'm hot, I’m tall, I'm gay, and I'm on my theatre kid arc.

!!!

Ashlynn, writing in their diary with a glitter gel pen: I'm losing my sense of humanity. Nothing matters. God is dead. There's blood on my hands.

!!!

Duchess: If we were in prison you guys would be like my bitches.

!!!

Lizzie: Don’t weep for the stupid. You’ll be crying all day.

!!!

Blondie: I was born for politics! I have great hair and I love lying! !!!

[hard--headed--woman]

two days ago i went to the Pride in the city where my uni is and i just read what the newspaper had to say about it. they gotta be fucking kidding me.

"des gays, des gouines, des trans", really ? "gays, dykes and trans" ? you're calling gay men gays, trans people trans but you use a slur for lesbians ? why couldn't you say "des gays, des lesbiennes et des trans" ? why do you respect gay men and trans people but we get called dykes???

seriously do they really not realize how fucked up that it ?

[andromerot]

i don't want to engage in conspiracy thinking, but i think people say its cringe to like (that specific) newspaper comic now because they don't like lesbians very much

ok maybe dont engage in conspiracy thinking then! its other lesbians saying it mostly. there was a poll with it against homestuck and i guess people got angry about it which is silly but i didn't really want to look into it. ive been very protective of the things i like lately so i got pissy but the poll thing is also stupid actually. its literally tumblr drama lol but i hate how new things get crystalized as Cringe and Awesome every month i find it really fucking annoying. i haven't read it but free homestuck and dont let dtwof fall in the same category of untouchable stuff only because like two people fought about it

people generally dont like lesbians but this is a bunch of tumblr users who are generally girls or something like it so i dont think that's it. again, ive not looked into it, but people say the dtwof defenders got transmisogynistic which i find very easy to believe because it is a very tme oriented sort of thing. anyway apart from all that i like that comic it is funny :) and i dont want to care about whats silly or not anymore i am literally just some guy who reblogs images oh do you see what is happening to me why did i say all that who cares. i got mo'd.

[rosallora]

S2E20 Divided Loyalties

Love the commentary on the news to start! I love Delenn talking about the power dynamics of the Minbari - and how she learns sometimes more from the human newspapers about Minbar than from the leadership! The funny bit of hypocrisy in that, according to her own traditions. Also I love her wanting to be a bit more informed about what people think about the Minbari, though!

Ivanova and Talia are FINALLY getting along!!! I’m so happy about it. Funnily enough one of the first things I said during like, the PILOT, was that I was hoping that our two leading-ish ladies would be able to talk to each other well. So this is a really lovely development!

Also there’s uh... there was something... a little sapphic about that. Not gonna lie. It’s probably me being gay as hell. But there was something about that conversation and the offer of Talia staying at Ivanova’s place... that was kinda gay. It was kinda gay, right?

Lyta... one of the most sci-fi names we’ve seen so far on a human character!

I like that she’s kind of bonkers from the start. She read Kosh, after all. That must mess you up.

It’s AMONGUS TIME!!!!!!!!!! IN! SPACE! (Wait, amongus was ALREADY in space)

Oh my god is Lyta going to password journal unlock everyone? I am so worried about Ivanova. I know this is going to hit her hardest.

It’s cute that Sheridan and Delenn are having this cute moment but HE DID NOT TELL HER WHAT BUTT MEANT. BOY YOU STILL HAVE TO TELL HER!

Wow uhm... Talia and Ivanova are uhm... really comfortable and domestic... uhmmmmmmmmmm... UHMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I do love that apparently on Bab5 you’re given a set of silk pjs and dressing robe when you come on board. Ivanova has the dark blue set and Talia has a beige set.

I THOUGHT UHM? TALIA WAS GOING TO KISS HER? SHE’S THE ONLY ONE THAT SHE CAN IMPLICITLY TRUST UHM?????????????? THEY WERE SLEEPING IN THE SAME BED? I MEAN OF COURSE BUT UHM? UHM? I’m FREAKING OUT

Okay so the show is gesturing towards Ivanova being the spy/trojan and that’s... INTERESTING. It would compound with her natural aversion because of her mother... it would all make sense. I feel so bad for Ivanova though. And I don’t think it’s her because it seems... too obvious? And I’m glad that Talia’s here for her. The solidarity...

Delenn and Sheridan... I’m still not sold on it. It’s gonna take time.

(Ivanova/Talia on the other hand............................)

IVANOVA IS A TELEPATH HOLY SHITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!! A latent one anyway. That’s so sickkkk!

I want the best for Ivanova...

THE CORPS IS MOTHER THE CORPS IS FATHER IT’S FUCKING TALIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But the lesbians :c this is like. Almost worse than bury your gays. This is so sad. But... why did she want to be so close to her? Just for intel? CHRIST. Poor Ivanova!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!

KOSH TIME, KOSH TIME! Lyta DID hold something back... oh shit. What was she hiding? What does she KNOW? Also I feel a bit bad that she’s acting against the respirator she has on. Oh FUCK KOSH IS OPENING UP! Why is he so willing to let her see again? Maybe because once you’ve seen it once, it doesn’t matter anymore?

[ribelleribelle]

talking about my wip/go to fantasy for when im bored in class because i have nothing to do

it doesn't really have a name, but it's about 3 flatmates who are kinda broke and in their 20s (except for steve but i'll get to him in a moment), one of them's rock band, and the sheer chaos that they are constantly in.

we have:

Seb (sebastian) - he/him, gay, plays guitar, is a complete disaster and a total mood, looks like a metalhead but listens to all rock music, really ("i don't see any difference, rock is rock"). he's a bit of a dumbass but not that stupid and really cares about his friends (even if he seldom shows it). he works in a record shop since he dropped out of university, now he is in a band.

Vivian - she/her, maybe bisexual?? she doesn't know (i don't know either i haven't decided yet), aspiring stylist/movie costume designer, sleep deprived and coffee dependant, sarcastic sense of humour, can't stand her flatmates, actually a nice person if you aren't seb or his bandmates (except eve).

Steve - he/him, the most middle-aged-dad-literally-just-some-guy ever, ghost. yeah, he's a ghost, he died 30 years ago (in the dullest way you can imagine) and since then he haunts the house. not that he cares about all that haunting stuff tho, he's just here to read his newspapers and chill. he can't really chill though because he has to hear the band practice and vivian argue with seb every. single. day.

then there's the Haunters (because of steve haunting the house), seb's band, and we have:

David - he/him, trans and bi, singer, he and seb were best friends in middle school and high school, they were inseparable until he got a girlfriend (who looked suspiciously a lot like seb) and went in the same university as her. when they split up, like 2-3 years later, he realized uni wasn't for him and went to find seb again. seb is in love with him since they were 16.

Ash - they/them, aroace, bass player, met seb in the record shop and have been friends for a couple of years. they're the youngest member of the band and has been basically adopted by them. tiny and angry, has a collection of sunglasses and gets bored easily because of no attention span whatsoever (they're literally me except i don't play bass).

Eve - she/they, lesbian, drummer, vivian's best friend (who doesn't approve of her being in the band tho) and fashion icon. can't drive but loves to and doesn't let anyone touch her car. she is the one who knows seb and david the least, so she's constantly going insane over their always present sexual tension and obvious mutual untold love.

basically the main story is: vivian wants to hold a party to show how cool she is and how good her clothes are so that she can get a job and start her career as a designer, meanwhile david arrives unannounced to reunite with seb after 2 or 3 years since they last saw each other. they decide to put together their old high school band again, ash joins them and later so does eve (who met the band kinda by accident). they start playing together and they like it so much they manage to convince vivian to let them play at her party. while her, eve and ash organize the party and try to figure out all the problems and trouble they find along the way (steve tries to help too), seb and david have to put back together their frienship by being extremely gay and even more oblivious with each other. the day of the party comes and everything is set up (more or less), the guests are all there and vivian is confident. all the attention should be on her creations but when the haunters start playing they steal the spotlight with an amazing performance and the frontman and guitarist being unintentionally very homoerotic. the tension between the two finally breaks after they kiss on stage and they Realize a LOT of things. but the show must go on, they keep playing while ash is unimpressed (they saw that coming) and eve is SHOCKED (they didn't), but not for long because steve arrives to see what the hell is going on in the living room and he's VERY angry because he just wants to read but there's too much noise, so he freaks out all the guests. they all run away, stuff catches fire, it's a MESS, and vivian is FURIOUS. just before she's about to commit 4 murders in a row (not 5 because steve is already dead) seb and david escape and there's like a wholehearted conversation about their feelings (spoiler: they're been super in love with each other since before david got a gf but didn't realize it) also they make out a little??? idk i'm too aroace for this. meanwhile the rest of the band is also safe from vivian's rage because a woman approaches her and tells her how cool this whole performance was (clearly thought it was fake) and offers her a job. everyone gets an happy ending but the story WILL go on because the hunters are gonna keep playing and maybe they'll get famous and vivian too, who knows? (i don't)

.....doodles under the cut bc i wrote already too much :]

if you can read my handwriting ily <3

anyways, what's in these blurry pics:

seb

eve

ash

david + tiny eve playing the drums and tiny ash being *swag*

messy sketch of seb and david being gay

old ass drawing of eve and ash

even messier sketch of seb and david being gay

same thing as 5 and 7 but with ash and tiny steve being a ghost in the corner

random drawings of everyone

eve being shocked, ash being uninpressed and the only decent drawing i have of vivian (sorry)

[finishinglinepress]

FLP MEMOIR BOOK OF THE DAY: Bobby and Carolyn: A Memoir of My Two Mothers by John Philip Drury

On SALE now! Pre-order Price Guarantee: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/bobby-and-carolyn-a-memoir-of-my-two-mothers-by-john-philip-drury/

Bobby and Carolyn: A Memoir of My Two Mothers focuses on the author’s mother and the “glamorous soprano” who came between his parents when he was eight years old. They both fell in love with her, but Carolyn Long and his mother, whose nickname was Bobby, ended up together, sharing a life and what they secretly considered a marriage, having exchanged vows on a moonlit night in the summer of 1958. This #memoir celebrates the do-it-yourself union between two women: a housewife who became a bank teller and a professional singer who became a voice teacher. It endured until one partner’s death in 1991—memorialized by the cemetery plot they share, with their names engraved on opposite sides of the tombstone, just like the names of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Their life together was turbulent, partly because of their volatile personalities (and it took volatility to make such a leap of faith into forbidden love in the Fifties), partly because of prejudice against same-sex relationships, so they had to call themselves “cousins” in order to rent an apartment or a house together. Although the author grew up with the two women and considered Carolyn more of a parent than his father, he didn’t discover the true nature of their tumultuous relationship until both women had died and left clues for him to find in their diaries and notes. #lbgtq #gay #lesbian #life #secretlife

John Philip Drury is the author of six collections of poetry: The Stray Ghost (a chapbook-length sequence), The Disappearing Town, Burning the Aspern Papers, The Refugee Camp, Sea Level Rising, and The Teller’s Cage: Poems and Imaginary Movies. He has also written Creating Poetry and The Poetry Dictionary. His awards include an Ingram Merrill Foundation fellowship, two Ohio Arts Council grants, a Pushcart Prize, and the Bernard F. Conners Prize from The Paris Review. After teaching at the University of Cincinnati for 37 years, he is now an emeritus professor and lives with his wife, fellow poet LaWanda Walters, in a hundred-year-old house on the edge of a wooded ravine.

PRAISE FOR Bobby and Carolyn: A Memoir of My Two Mothers by John Philip Drury

Bobby and Carolyn: A Memoir of My Two Mothers by John Philip Drury

Bobby and Carolyn is remarkable for its lyricism, its sharp focus, its empathy, and yes, for its rich comic ironies. It’s really unlike any memoir I’ve ever read. It’s the kindness of the book that strikes me. This is a memoir of songs and silences, of public and private performances. John Philip Drury uncovers in concise and beautiful prose the remarkable stories of the two mothers who raised him. A remarkable and jewel-like book.

–Stephen Kuusisto, author of Have Dog, Will Travel: A Poet’s Journey

An archivist of his mother’s secret and sometimes volatile love affair with a woman, an accomplished opera singer in the 1950s, John Philip Druryinterviews people who knew them and mines press clippings, newspaper articles, diaries, photographs, letters, and a cassette recording of his mother on the piano accompanying the woman she loved. During voice lessons she taught, the opera singer “kept a big, round magnifying mirror on top of the upright [piano] so the student could see what his or her mouth was doing during the song.” Bobby and Carolyn is a kind of mirror, too, showing how the act of disclosure can be a form of love.

–Julia Koets, author of The Rib Joint: a memoir in essays

When poet John Philip Drury’s petite mother, Bobby, falls in love with voluptuous opera singer Carolyn Long, his father leaves to attempt his own singing career in New York City, and John grows up inside the tumultuous relationship of the two women. Opera programs, operatically slammed doors, Bobby’s work as a bank teller, Carolyn’s piano and music lessons in the living room, all become elements in the making of the young poet-to-be. Sumptuously detailed, written back-and-forth in time, Drury’s memoir examines his growing up with the kindness and perspective of a biographer. The lives of his mother and Carolyn (his erstwhile Auntie Mame) develop as luxuriously as voices taught to sing from the diaphragm. And Drury’s voice develops into its poetic richness, too. Their creative acts became his, and now he gives their pioneering lives to us in this splendid, fascinating memoir.

–Molly Peacock, author of Paradise, Piece by Piece and A Friend Sails in on a Poem

Please share/please repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #memoir #read #lbgtq #gay #lesbian #secretlife #marriage #opera

[benoitblanc]

for the sleepover, tell me what you're writing about and your favorite line so far if you have one! ✨

okay this kind of has three answers so i'll answer all of them! i always love talking about my writing projects (derogatory and affectionate) :)

original project: i am still dragging my feet with my crime show, which i have made little to no progress on in the past like two years, rip. you might have seen me talking about it before but tldr the very basic premise is that it's about a group of petty grifters who accidentally pull a con on the mob and get roped into this massive imbroglio of crime lords and long-seated feuds in the parisian criminal underworld. i unfortunately am STILL outlining, and the two scenes i do have written are in script format anyway, so i'm not going to post a favorite line

x-files university au: this has sort of replaced my peggysous time loop fic as my big fic project right now, which is really a shame because i am literally a loop and a half away from being done with the time loop fic so i should really get back to it so i can PUBLISH THE GODDAMN THING. sigh. i hate plot bunnies. this one is especially annoying because it's pretty much a rehashing of the mytharc episodes from season 1 (with a little futzing around with the timeline + m&s are uni students + doggett and reyes are also there), which means i kind of need to rewatch them... but i am only 2.5 seasons into watching this show for the first time. (sort of. as you'll see with the next project i've sort of been skipping around a little. don't worry about it.) however, i am kind of obsessed with my weird little college agents and their weird little project for investigative journalism 401, so we keep chugging away at it. i'm putting my favorite scene from it thus far under the cut below, plus a bonus line specifically for you :)

x-files uhhhhhhhh: i literally do not know what to say about this one without giving things away, but i will try: it's a season 5 au that deals with grief, devotion, and codependency with a hint of psychological thriller mixed in just for shits and giggles. i also read the recipe wrong and added a full cup of angst instead of a teaspoon, whoops. i know this means nothing to you because you don't even watch this show but for those of my followers who do i don't even think i can say what characters are in this without spoiling things. as such i am not going to post a line from this one either

sleepover asks!!!

(and read on for some snippets from my txf wip!)

my favorite section from the txf university fic (bonus points if you catch the non-txf reference):

“Or how ’bout this: happy family of seven moves into this huge big house in Massachusetts last year hoping to flip and resell it, and within a month, there’s a kid dead of cyanide poisoning and the mom took a one-way trip off the top of the staircase.”

“That’s a horrible tragedy,” Scully starts, “but-”

He slaps the newspaper on the table. (“Do you just carry that around?” John asks.) “The dad went to every publication that would listen claiming the house was haunted.”

John is rubbing his temples, and Scully mutters something that sounds suspiciously like ay yi yi. Monica, however, is nodding thoughtfully along. Mulder might kiss her, if a. he weren’t dead certain she’s a lesbian and b. he hadn’t recently come to the realization, completely unprompted by any real-life events, that he’s more partial to redheads.

and a bonus completely out of context line for mitali!

“Because Han Solo is a slut, that’s why. Open the button.”

[froggyrights]

Hello! Happy June! It's Pride and I have another question (8/30)

HiHi, today we are again diving into the evolution of another word: queer!

The word queer entered the English language around the 16th century, and initially meant "strange", "odd" or "eccentric". (This is a slightly unrelated sidenote; as someone whose dialect of English is Hiberno-English, the word queer is still very commonly used to still mean this, and has also evolved to the word "quare" which can be used in place of "really" or "very" to provide adverbial emphasis <- like if someone is "quare tall" they're so tall that you're kinda in a little disbelief about it. Anyway just thought this was a fun side note because I really had not realised this word was controversial for people until I was on the internet)

Anyway, onto the late 19th century, the word queer began to have the connotation of "sexual deviance", before then starting to be used specifically about the "sexual deviance" of "feminine men".

The first, or at least one of the first, recorded time that the word queer was used as a pejorative for gay was in a letter written by John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquis of Queensberry, about his son's relationship with Oscar Wilde. This letter was read out in Wilde's trial in April 1895 (in which he was being tried for "gross indecency" or "homosexuality"), and in it Douglas refers to Wilde and other gay men at the time as "Snob Queers". It is believed that American newspapers picked up this phrase and began using it themselves, thus spreading the pejorative to the US's vocabulary.

"The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang" (1937) defined the word queer as "Homosexual. Derogatory from the outside, not from within. US, 1914", which tells us both that by 1914 it was a common pejorative or insult for gay people, but also, that queer people were using the word to refer to themselves as well. Around this time, queer, fairy, trade and gay all signified distinct "categories" of homosexual men. Historian George Chauncey notes in his book ("Gay New York") that queer would've been the self-identifier of ""masculine"" gay men.

We can also assume that this is what was happening in the U.K. as well, as a letter held in the National Archives shows us (you can look up the letter in full, search the full name of the person and "My Dear Billy"). This letter was written by a man named Cyril Coeur de Leon to ‘My Dear Billy’ in 1934. Billy was the owner of "The Caravan Club", a ""disorderly house"" of ""male prostitutes"", and in it he writes "Just a note to say that I am very disappointed about you. I honestly thought you were queer, but different from the others, and I liked you very much […] I have only been queer since I came to London about two years ago, before then I knew nothing about it." This use of queer is arguably ahead of it's time, given that at this point queer was exclusively about gay men, whereas de Leon mentions he "still likes girls occasionally".

Over the years though, queer has evolved from the narrow definition of "gay man" to "gay men and lesbians" to "anyone not heterosexual" to "not heterosexual and/or not cisgender". And despite the fact that for the majority of the time that it has meant "gay" it has been used by the community, some people are still of the opinion that the word is "too offensive" to be used, but thankfully, this argument isn't as common as it was in the 90s and 00s, though still annoying persistent.

And as for my question, today I want to know firstly, if you use the word queer yourself? and secondly, what is your favourite word/way to refer to the queer community? (for example, "friend of dorothy" is funny to drop into conversation, and today I spoke to some who said they were "looking forward to meeting other *limp hand movement* at [pub name] tonight!")

Happy Pride 🌈 🎉

I LOVE the word queer me and the queer are married and in love holding hands into the sunset forever 😍🥰

it's by far my favorite word to use to refer to the community but some other more specific words I like are dyke and in dutch the word 'pot' which has been (and still is) used as a derogatory term for lesbians but started being reclaimed in the 70s. I think it's so awesome I love it