#were going to the parade and the festival afterwards

[veeaziel]

any tips for a closeted queer person going to their first pride with a group of people they met two weeks ago at work who they have no reason to believe are queer??? asking for a friend

[livwritesstuff]

boston pride is today so here have an edited repost from when i walked in the parade last year

Steve is getting boring in his old age (forty-four, almost).

It was inevitable, he supposes when he looks back, and he likes being boring. 

He likes the steady routine of the life he and Eddie (married for seven years, now) have built with their three daughters (four, seven, and nearly ten, a notion Steve is choosing to ignore because there’s no goddamn way Moe nearly has an entire decade under her belt already), and he doesn’t find himself making attempts to mix things up all that often.

Naturally, Eddie is the one to suggest they make the trip into Boston with their daughters for the annual Pride parade, and when he does, Steve isn’t automatically inclined to agree.

Look – Steve knows it’s important for kids to see the world and do new things and all that enriching shit, but maybe he still bears some of the scars from keeping a semi-feral pack of teenagers alive amidst the eldritch hellscape of their hometown, and it’s not like they don’t keep themselves entertained at home – Hazel had finally got the gist of Go-Fish not too long ago and that’s been a whole new ballgame Steve is perfectly content to continue exploring.

In the end, however, the logical side of him (and Eddie’s ever-persistent badgering) wins out, and come mid-June of 2011, they all make the drive into Boston to see the parade.

It doesn’t take Steve long at all to acknowledge that it was a good idea. He hadn’t been to Pride in many years (again – he’s boring in his old age), and he’d forgotten how much fun it is – a true celebration of love and happiness in the face of a lot of fucked up shit and all that. The parade’s pretty good too (definitely a few floats he hopes the girls are too distracted chasing after candy to notice and ask questions about later, but only time will tell), and so is the festival afterwards. It ends up being a really great time for all of them.

Of the whole day, though, Steve’s favorite part is the trip home, a drive that should have only been thirty minutes, but turns into nearly two hours with all the traffic on I-90.

The girls are still riding the sugar rush of an afternoon’s worth of lemonade and fried dough and candy thrown from parade floats (Hazel might be succumbing though, if Steve’s quick glances in the rear-view mirror at the way her eyes are drooping closed are anything to go off of), and it seems as if the day’s contagious joy had followed them into the car. Robbie and Moe have been asking a lot of questions – mostly chatter about what floats were everyone’s favorites and who got the best face paint until Moe, perceptive as she’s always been, hits them with, “What’s Pride for?”

Which turns into, “Why do people think it’s a bad thing?” and that becomes, “So how did you and Papa fall in love?” at which point Eddie, who’d been fielding their daughters' questions so Steve could keep his focus on the stop-and-go highway traffic, launches into a dramatic and involved retelling of how their relationship had begun nearly eighteen years ago.

“So I told him that I liked him and what do you think Papa said?” Eddie eventually asks as he approaches the end of the story.

“What?” the girls ask with eager smiles and wide eyes.

“Nothing,” Eddie says ruthlessly, a wicked grin on his face.

“Alright,” Steve cuts in over the laughter coming from the backseat, “Let’s not be dramatic. I said something...eventually, and it wasn’t even that long later – four hours tops.”

“That’s right,” Eddie concedes, “And then we all lived happily ever after and all that jazz.”

“Good,” Robbie says, “’Cos if you hadn’t, today wouldn’t happen.”

“Hate to break it to you, sweet pea,” Steve replies, “but I’m pretty sure Pride would still happen even if Dad and I weren’t there for it.”

“We wouldn’t be here," Moe corrects him, "All together.”

Steve blinks.

Jesus Christ, these kids are gonna be the death of him. Can’t drive the damn car if his eyes are misting over, can he?

“Yeah,” Eddie says as he reaches over to curve his hand around the back of Steve’s neck, “Yeah, bug, that’s true.”

And thanks goodness for that.

[nothorses]

For the sake of my question, I'm hoping wherever you're from, it's not ireland because I'm looking for an experience other than Ireland. I'm from Ireland (the capital city specifically) and we have pride near the end of June every year. I was pretty excited to go, a Bunch of queer youth groups and things like that go every year. But...when I went to Watch the parade, it was....so bad? Not in quality, but there were an unbelievable amount of corporatations? And well hated ones too, AMAZON?? AT PRIDE? With a cute little rainbow logo, well that's nice... And there was SO. MANY. corporations. I for sure saw more people under banners that said shit like fucking Google more than I saw people I could reasonably assume were there for celebrating their queerness. It was just....fucking advertising. And this is why I'm asking you, I'm not really sure who to ask but really I just want answers from other queer people who've been to pride in their countries. Are the biggest pride parades where you're from like this??? Are yours full of companies too???? Or is Dublin just fucked??

I haven't really gone to pride since the first time I went some years ago because of exactly this. I'm in the US, the first pride I went to was San Francisco pride in maybe 2016? and I didn't even go for the parade; I just came to explore the festival afterwards. every single one of the booths was some corporation, and all of the food was like, super expensive because it was all controlled by one company running every food booth across the whole festival.

I've heard small town Pride celebrations tend to be a lot better for this, I just haven't had the opportunity to go to one. But you might consider looking into one of those; you'd also be supporting a Pride celebration & vendors who are less likely to be getting the kind of support that those at the big city Pride celebrations are getting.

I did also have a nice time connecting with the ace group that was there, and using Pride as an opportunity to connect with community is just like, generally very much in the spirit of what it's about! so maybe going in with some plans and intentions would be helpful as well.

[quadcoiller5billion]

Insomniac Spider-Man characters reacting to you coming out to them | pt.2

Harry: Deep down he suspected you were fruity (gaydar) but doesn't mention it when you tell him. He's super supportive and probably understands the most how you feel considering he's been through it himself and reassures you that when you're ready, the others will accept you. He's kinda your "gay mentor" and helps you work through a lot of stuff and you too are way closer afterward. You know he's only a call away if you need him and/or his advice. You and he go to some pride parades and festivals before convincing the others to come along and join in on the chaos.

Ganke: At first, he's surprised. Until he runs back through all of his memories of you and realizes that you being gay checks out and doesn't understand how he didn't notice earlier. But besides that, he supports you 100% and appreciates you telling him. It doesn't really change your relationship and you two are still besties. Although he is the guy who you rant to about your crush while he does homework, side projects, etc.

Hailey: She accepts you and is super happy for you. She invites you to stop by her art group if you're looking for a safe community cause there are a lot of fruity people there. She's always there for you and is a shoulder to cry on if you need it.

[ansxit]

Witches, Curses, Dream Lords Oh My!

[Morpheus x Reader (Howl's Moving Castle Au)]

a/n} AAAAAA OH MY GOD YOUR GUYS' SUPPORT IS LITERALLY AMAZING I LOVE ALL OF YOUR NOTES THEY MAKE MY DAY !!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ ((Btw, just comment if you want to be part of a tag list for this series!))

(Also!! Please reblog + like!! It would really mean a lot to me !! <3)

- In a world with witches and wizards, one the most feared and skilled of them all is a loner by the name of The Sandman

TW] Implications of low-self esteem, Verbal Harassment, The act of digging nails into someone's wrists

~Chapter One~

You were sitting at your desk, gently sewing together some additional touches of a line of hats the shop wanted to sell for the oncoming season. Humming softly to the music box that lay open beside you, you reached to grab another pin while the afternoon train came rolling down the tracks. Black clouds trailed behind it, momentarily shading the window in the lobby. You paused, waiting for it to pass until you continued your work, and started humming again.

“Oh! Y/n didn’t you hear the clock chime?” Your manager stood in the doorway, holding her jacket and gloves. “You don’t have to keep working, why don’t you come out to the festival with us?”

“I'm alright, thank you though,” You smiled at her and held up one of the hats. “I just want to finish the rest of these pieces, besides, I have plans to visit Johanna this afternoon.”

She put a hand on her heart and sighed.

“You two are sweet, Y/n. Alright, let me know if you need anything! Make sure you tell her I said hello.” You nodded and she walked out to the waiting girls in the lobby.

“Do you see it?” One of the girls in the other room exclaimed, and you leaned back in your chair to see them all looking out of the long window.“There! Just beyond the clouds!”

“See what?” Another girl asked.

“The Sandman’s castle! Oh, I wonder if he's visiting town for the parade!”

“You don’t think he's really back in the Wastes again?” A younger girl asked. She nervously wrung the hems of her sleeves. “You've heard the stories, he tore out a young woman’s heart last time- who knows what he did to it afterwards!”

“Well you won't have to worry about that,” The first girl’s smile turned into a snicker. “He only steals the hearts of pretty girls~”

“Hey! That's not nice!”

You stood up and rolled your eyes, moving to close your door when a different girl exclaimed,

“No! There’s his palace!” And against your better judgment, you turned to look outside as well.

A puff of white smoke shot out of the castle; if you could even call it that. It looked more like a village on legs, with decaying trees clinging on to what little leaves they had left. It creaked on rusty hinges as it moved further up the mountains, and when the fog finally caught it— it was gone again. Royal planes zipped by, waving the bright pink and yellow colors of your country. They hovered where the castle just was for a few heartbeats, until carrying on with the patrols.

“He's just a coward.” The first girl rolled her eyes. “He's been on the run from the King for how long?”

“Girls!” Your manager called from the door. “Let’s go!”

The other girls giggled as they walked away, already moving their focus to the festival they were celebrating. A strange, compelling, feeling kept you in a daze as you stared after the long gone palace. If you stared hard enough, you thought you could still hear the whining of the machinery behind the clouds. Your heart tugged wildly and you stumbled out of your reverie, bracing a hand against your doorframe to keep from falling over.

A handful of breathing exercises helped to calm you down. You had never had such a reaction to the Sandman’s castle before, but then again, it had never been so close to the town before, it typically liked to walk itself along the mountains or distant plains to make quicker getaways.

When your heart finally stilled, you sat back down and tried to ignore the trembling in your hands. But working couldn't do you any good, you've already completed most of the hats, and anytime you tried to pick up your needle, you would only drop it again.

The finished hats stared back at you as you rested your head in your hands, boredom and nervousness gnawing at the ends of your brain. The town outside was bustling, everyone getting ready for the big celebration that was the Spring Festival. With a determined sigh, you stood up, dusted off your dress, and gathered your personal belongings.

-

“The city is much more alive than I thought.” You commented to yourself, narrowly avoiding the carriages as the square filled with pedestrians and soldiers. Most areas would soon become blocked off for the parade that should be happening in just fifteen minutes. So everyone that had procrastinated was trying to get to where they needed to be for the best view of the festivities.

You noticed the bus that was headed north of the town rang its boarding bell, and you jogged to catch up before it took off. Its compartment was packed full of people, so you just held the outside railing to keep from falling out. Ten minutes later, you got off and looked down at the bakery’s address, and started walking towards its direction.

Several cars honked at you as you traversed through the road, and the brightly colored flags being waved by the marching guards caught your attention. The parade through the Wastes should be starting at any minute. You thought about the large crowd of people and cringed, deciding to take a detour through the alleyways to avoid the insanity of the Spring Festival.

You looked down at the address again, trying to mentally figure out how many more turns you had to take to make it out to the main road again. Some shuffling caught your attention, and you realized you had almost run into a pair of guards.

“Why Hello– It seems like a lovely lady lost her way,” The blond guard commented, leaning in closer than you would have preferred. His friend took notice of you as well, a dangerous smile growing across his face.

“Oh, I'm not lost, so if you'll excuse me–” The brunet guard blocked the other side of the alleyway, slyly leaning against the rifle he held.

“What's the rush, why don’t we take you for a drink first?”

“No thank you.” You tried to be firm, but it felt like you had done nothing more than whisper by how quickly they laughed at your statement.

“I told you, you always end up scaring all the pretty ones.” The blond teased his friend. “I think it's the ugly whiskers you've got growing out of your nose.”

“I think I prefer her more scared than shy.” He purred and he and his friend stepped closer. Your heart was hammering out of your chest and you were ready to turn around and run when a pair of footsteps sounded behind you.

“Sorry I took so long, I was looking everywhere for you, my dear.” A cold hand pressed against the small of your back and a towering figure leaned over your shoulder. “I see you’ve found some new friends…”

“Back off, buddy.” The blond guard challenged, and the brunet puffed up his chest. “We’re busy here.”

“Is that so?” The black haired stranger smiled. “I could've sworn you were both leaving.” With his left hand, he tossed some dust onto their shoes, and to your shock– the guards stood up straight and began marching away from the two of you in unison, exclamations of their surprise going with them.

“What.. what did you do to them?” You stammered, watching the two guards walk out into the parade and then vanished into the crowds.

“They’ll be fine,” He dismissed, and he withdrew his hand— you’d forgotten he was even holding you— and then held his arm out to you. “Where are you headed? I’ll escort you in case they come back.” You glanced at his arm before looking up at his face. He was… certainly handsome. Wispy dark hair floated around him as if he were suspended in water, and we wore an oversized black jacket that could fit the skies within them. Below that was a white poet’s shirt, and a red ruby hung from his neck, somehow glinting in the shadowed alleyway. His jaw was chiseled and his lips were strung into a light smile.

“Oh, uh, thank you. I'm headed to Cesari’s. The new bakery that's downtown?” Your face grew hot as he leaned in closer to whisper into your ear.

“I don’t mean to alarm you but I'm being followed. Just try to act natural.” He didn't entirely back away from you as he started walking, still remaining close enough that you could feel the cold chill of his entire body. Despite your circumstance, you felt pleasantly warmed by his presence.

You gripped his arm just a little tighter when you passed other people in the alleyway that you wouldn't normally expect to see. A creeping feeling of anxiousness arose when a particularly well-dressed couple stopped when you passed them; and suddenly turned around and began following you.

“My apologies, it looks like you’re involved now.” The stranger held your arm closer to his side, suddenly taking off at a much faster pace, attempting to outrun whoever was behind you. As you both darted through the twisting maze of the Waste’s alleyways, you noticed a whole group of people blocking your way out. Bile rose in your throat as they all grinned, and then you noticed a black void where their eyes should have been. “Hold onto me,” Your black-haired savior commanded, and you barely had enough time to react before he jumped into the air, well above the walls that lined the alleyways, and even further above the buildings standing next to them.

You shut your eyes, expecting to plummet back towards the ground for a sickening death. “Johanna is going to kill me for dying.” You thought sadly. But the brutal impact never came. Gentle laughter came from beside you, and a small wave of embarrassment washed around you.

“You can open your eyes, it’s safe up here.” The stranger laughed, and your sheepish emotions transformed in shock as you realized you were floating over the town below. “Now you just straighten your legs, and start walking.” And just as he said, you began walking through the air as though on invisible platforms. He adjusted your grip on your arm to hold both of your hands instead, and he leaned his head over your shoulder. His wispy hair tickled your skin and your face flushed as he leaned against your neck. “You’re perfect at this, my dear.”

You noticed the bustling city below you, they looked like little ants from the height you were walking at. There was a slow descent and the two of you stepped in unison onto the spire of the town hall. You noticed a familiar sign above a quaint building with red shingles.

“Down there,” You motioned with your hand. “That's Cesari’s.” Your savior nodded and pulled back, simply deciding to hold just your left hand as he led you to the balcony. You'd be lying if you said you didn’t miss his closeness already. The thump echoed as you landed, and he held your elbows to steady you as you remember what it felt to be under gravity again. After he was certain you wouldn’t fall, his grip changed back.

“I’ll lead them away from here, just stay put so they don’t follow you.” He still held your hands, and you had a feeling he was not keen on letting go. You both didn’t blink as he leaned just a little closer, and you swore at this proximity, he could hear how fast your heart was beating. You glanced down at his lips, and then back up to meet his gaze; And oh gods how did you just now notice his eyes.

They were a beautiful, deep black, reflecting the light as though they were made out of glass. You felt as if he were gazing into your soul, pinning down all of the characteristics of yourself and laying them for the world to see. A ring of white danced around his iris, and you felt as if he held twin stars within them. Your brain short circuited for just a moment, and only then you realized he was still waiting for you to respond.

“Okay,” You whispered, worried any more words would ruin the trance you both appeared to be stuck in. Barely a moment had passed but it felt like just enough to last you a lifetime, and then maybe another infinite amount of years.

“That's my girl.” He winked and with the flourish of sand, he vanished– so quickly and without a trace it left you wondering if you'd dreamt the whole thing.

-

“Y/n L/n!” A commanding voice shouted across the hall from you as a ball of protective fury ran towards you. A hint of fear shook you as Johanna tumbled into you, grabbing your hands and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. You went to lean into it, but all too soon the Constantine was gripping your shoulders and staring you down. “Someone just told me you floated down onto the balcony, for the love of anything holy, tell me it isn't true.”

“So I didn’t imagine it then, did I?” You pondered aloud, glancing back out of the window. It was no use, he was gone with the crowds, but your heart behaved as though he were still breathing right next to you. Johanna pinched the bridge of her nose and you looked back at her.

“Johanna!” A friendly male voice called, “You could use my office, if you’d like.” Her shoulders tightened just slightly, You assumed it was to hide her discomfort, and she gave him her best customer service smile.

“No thanks, I should really get back to work.” You both made eye contact again and she just barely managed to not roll her eyes. She grabbed your hand and led you to the basement of the restaurant. Workers were busy lifting heavy boxes and lugging around equipment, but most of them still turned to smile at Johanna. She would always give one back, but it quickly fell away when they looked away.

“You are so lucky to be alive right now, Y/n.” She finally said when they were in a quiet area. “That man was obviously a wizard, and if he was the Sandman--”

“But he was kind, and polite.” You argued absentmindedly. The mysterious man just couldn't leave our mind, and you still felt the ghostly feel of his hands along your back and wrists. A pleasant chill cascaded down your spine. “He rescued me, Johanna.”

“Okay… and if he were the Sandman he would’ve taken your heart and; Oh I don't know, eaten it?!” She rubbed her forehead and pinned you down with a stern gaze. “You have to be more careful, you know, they say even the Corinthian is on the hunt again. I can’t bear to have anything bad happen to you.”

“I'll be okay, besides– the Sandman only takes the hearts of pretty girls, so I don’t have to worry about that.”

“Y/n I swear on our King’s name if I hear you speak like that about yourself again—”

Her rant was cut short when a familiar coworker of Johanna’s peaked her curly-haired head through the doorway.

“Jo? The cakes have finished,” She wore long plastic gloves, and her tan skin was dusted with flour. You also noticed some dessert batter caked into her apron. “And, the patrons miss you, of course. Oh, Hey Y/n!”

You waved at her and Johanna rolled her eyes playfully.

“I'll be there in just a minute, Rach. Try not to lose any customers while I’m gone.” Rachel snorted and leaned against the doorframe.

“It’s a miracle we don’t lose them with your oh-so wonderful customer service. But I guess I’ll manage; I’ll see you around, Y/n.” And she slunk back into the kitchens, out of sight.

Johanna stared where she stood for an extra few minutes when you stood up and dusted off your clothes.

“Alright, I didn’t mean to keep you for so long, I just wanted to say hello.” Johanna looked back at you and sighed deeply. You both walked out through the back door and she stopped you before you could fully take off.

“Y/n, do you really want to spend your life in that dusty hatter’s shop? You could move in with Rachel and I, she loves you– she won’t mind,”

“It was very important to my parents, Jo, you know this. Besides, I’m doing just fine on my own.” You tried to slink your hands out of hers, but her grip was too strong.

“I know, but is it really what you want to do?” You wilted under her gaze and gently pulled your hands out of her grasp. This time she let you. “It’s your life, maybe it’s time you stuck up for yourself and lived it. Or maybe just stuck up for yourself in general.” She added dryly. A flare of embarrassment riled up inside you, but you managed to control it before you started shouting at her.

“I’ll see you around, Jo.” You said shortly, and without even a hug goodbye, you turned your back to her and started walking home.

Her words had genuinely meant a lot, (and hurt a lot more than you would like to admit.) They always did whenever she commented about the life you led. She was your best friend, most of the time you would even consider her your sister. But her concern in your personal matters felt invasive at times, and you just wanted to prove you could handle an adult life on your own.

As you boarded the bus back to the upper side of town, you pondered her words a little more. She always had your best interest in heart, you know this, and a part of you felt horrible for being so short with her. But a small voice still nagged at the back of your mind, one that whispered she needed to mind her own business; that you could handle it. You fiddled with the seams of your sleeve and you continued to think about it all the way back home.

-

A sigh of relief left you as you finally entered the shop, lighting the candles and locking the door. You had just put your jacket and hat up when you heard the door open, and a young man in a light brown jacket entered the store. His dark sunglasses reflected the low firelight, and you wondered why he would need them at this time of night. He glanced around briefly before turning his full attention onto you.

“Excuse me, sir.” You tensed as you turned to face him. “But we are currently closed– our hours are on the sign out front.” You were absolutely certain you locked the door behind you, but waved it off. It had been a long day, you probably just forgot about it on your way in.

“I have to give him credit,” the stranger disregarded your remark, slid his hands into his pockets and examined the many displayed hats. “Dream always managed to surround himself with pretty things.” Your fists clenched at his comment, wondering who he could ever be talking about.

“Pardon, who is Dream?” You questioned him, but he didn't elaborate, just kept smiling. Remembering what Johanna had said, you gathered your courage, and briskly moved past him to open the door.

“Well, I’m sorry sir, but we are closed. So if you’ll please exit the premises, or I will alert the authorities.” His grin sickeningly widened more, and he reached up to take off his sunglasses.

“Standing up to the Corinthian~ Now that takes guts, Ma’am.” Fear crashed against your back in tidal waves and you moved to run out of the shop, but the eyeless zombies from earlier were blocking the way. You turned back, but he was already a hair-length away from you. A scream escaped your mouth as he grabbed your wrist, blunt nails digging into the skin, and the smell of burning flesh wafted through the air until it was the only thing you could smell. With what little courage you had left, you went to stare him in the eye– but whatever air was left in your lungs dissipated as you stared into two more bloody sets of teeth where his eyes should have been.

An agonizing, searing pain flowed throughout your body, and you fell to the floor, convulsing as the dark magic diffused through your bloodstream.

“My regards to the Sandman,” He smiled wide, showing off all six rows of teeth, and then he was gone— locking the door behind him.

-

(Please reblog + like!! It would really mean a lot to me !! <3)

[4ragon]

I'd love to see your Christmas headcanons for iris wilson or klavier gavin!

Oooo two of them. I'll start with Klavier.

And I will start with: Klavier 100000% has a Christmas album. Like a big one. Not quite Mariah Carrey big but pretty big, at least one Gavinners Christmas song gets played pretty regularly on the radio and they have previously been in the parade as well. And he's gone to a million crazy Holiday parties too.

However. I do not think he's actually all that invested in it. Don't get me wrong, he loves the limelight and any chance to perform on the big screen, but I think he would enjoy low-key holidays more than being carted around for various Christmas performances and star-studded events.

I think he was raised somewhat religious, and he and his family would go to morning services and then have a nice, close-knit Christmas afterward (and then messy divorce headcanons etc. etc.), so he sort of misses the feel of a private family Christmas. I think in his post-Gavinners life, he really likes the WAA Christmas celebrations, because while it's not quite the same, it captures the same feel as a close-knit family celebration.

He's a pretty good gift giver I think, although his go-to is Gavinners merch if he thinks that is going to make a good impression. (Good impression: Trucy, Dick Gumshoe, Athena if paired with something else. Bad impressions but in a cute way: Apollo. Absolutely not: Miles, Franziska, Phoenix.) He also tends to go a little over budget in secret Santas, but not nearly as much as Franziska.

///

Now for Iris...you'll have to forgive me, I don't have a TON of knowledge of 1900s holiday traditions.

I do think she would love Christmas, but I do not think her and Sherlock would celebrate a particularly traditional Christmas. I know that Christmas trees and Santa Claus existed by then, and I think Iris would be way into the decorations. It looks like Christmas lights were also invented by 1900, but I think the Holmes flat would be absolutely decked out in experimental lights of all sorts of colors and patterns. That just seems right.

I also think she would go all out on dinner, despite it just being her and Sherlock for a long time. They'd have a full roast duck, a million side dishes, and of course the fanciest tea she could find. And I think she'd adore when they expanded their little group so she could feed more people. I looked it up, and technically Ryunosuke and Susato were not there for any holiday festivities during the game, but I think by the end of DGS2 they get a good collection of people to join them such as Gina, Barok van Zieks, and [redacted].

Also, she's pretty easy to get gifts for. She loves plants, tea, and anything that would make her life as an author easier. I think her go-to for gift giving is inventing something for them (which is Sherlock's go-to as well but usually goes over better from her).

[polizwrites]

Make Way for a Fabulous Tomorrow

Another belated fill for the WinterIron Pride Prompt Party!  

WI PPP Day 13: Audacity Title: Make Way for a Fabulous Tomorrow Rating: General Pairing(s):  Bucky/Tony Warnings/Triggers/Tags: Pride Parade, coming out publicly, rainbow capitalism is not necessarily a bad thing. Summary:  Bucky asks Tony about SI’s involvement in Pride events.   Word Count: 407

“So, how many pride parades has SI been involved in?”  Bucky asked, staring up at the gigantic float that the two of them - as well as several other Avengers - would be riding on the following day.   Nearly two dozen employee volunteers were putting the finishing touches on the decorations - including the multi-colored motto:   “Making Way for a Fabulous Tomorrow”  

Bucky was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that companies were willing to recognize and support the queer community.   Sure, Natasha complained about something called “rainbow capitalism”, and how come July first,  things would be back to business as usual, but it still seemed pretty amazing to him.

“Twelve years,” Tony replied, “although this is my fifteenth, personally.  I’d just come out as Iron Man, and was still kind of riding high on all that.  So I grabbed the keys to the convertible and drove up the PCH to San Francisco.  On the way, I had JARVIS make a few phone calls and the next day, I was chauffeuring a couple of  seventy-year old queens in full regalia down Market street.”      

“Sounds like fun.”

“It really was, until I got made,”  Tony grinned wryly at the memory.”    A local reporter caught up with me at the festival.  Must’ve thought  he had a juicy story on his hands, or that I’d pay him off to keep quiet.   I told him the truth:  I was bisexual.”

“I thought you were pansexual,” Bucky commented.

“I am now, but wasn’t as familiar with the labels - or myself - at the time.  Anyways -  turns out he was bi, too.”   Tony waggled his eyebrows;  Bucky chuckled and shook his head fondly.  “He did ask, afterwards,  if I was ready to come out of the closet.  I said I was, and he got one hell of a scoop.”

“How’d that go over with Pepper, and the SI board?”

“Pepper wasn’t too surprised,” Tony shrugged, “but a few board members lost their shit and tried to have me ousted.  Funny enough, the relative that Stane left his shares of the company to  turned out to be trans and became one of my steadfast supporters.  Obie’s probably still spinning in his grave over that, so to speak.  Obviously, the attempt failed, and now SI is at the top of the list of Best Places to Work for the LGBTQ+ community.”

“Thanks to you setting the example, sweetheart.”  Bucky replied, knowing it would make Tony blush.  

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

Happy Halloween! How's the day celebrated in Legacyverse??

Happy Halloween!! Funny you should ask, because there’s actually a chapter in Book 2 coming up super-soon relating to the subject (and I was trying SO HARD to make it there in time BUT I DIDN’T...oh well it’ll be fine-)

But I suppose I can explain some of it in the meantime!

So, in the show proper, it was never really ironed out whether Day of the Departed and Halloween were like, the same day, or just similar events, or whatever else...so I’ve taken the liberty of making them different days, but under the same “holiday”. ...yeah I know how that sounds. Anyway.

—On October 29th is the Day of the Departed! This is when people—usually—spend time with immediate family, lighting lanterns for lost loved ones they still remember. Or for people with no one to mourn or just feeling particularly bitter, it can also be a day used to settle debts or lingering regrets, and cleanse their souls of things weighing them down. Either way, this holiday is for letting past sadness go without forgetting its impact. This is the most familiar celebration in Ninjago, and naturally the one most commonly celebrated. Not much has changed from its show depiction.

—On October 30th is what’s known as Autumn Fest! It’s actually celebrated differently depending on the Province you hail from, but is always dedicated to appreciating all the things that you currently have. ...Like a less distressing Thanksgiving snksnksnk. In the South, West, and the Archipelago, this is the day that farmers haul in their harvests and celebrate their bounties with a feast, but in the Western Province, they have the added tradition of holding a big parade in West Haven to ring in the rest of the season. 

In the North and East, their lands aren’t as fertile for growing crops, but they still use the day to make offerings of what they can to the Guardians in the hopes of a non-violent winter (as Eirlys obviously prefers her weather the snowier the better and Tawhiri loves herself a good, vicious storm). This is less of a celebration and more of a “we like not being assaulted by blizzards so please keep it that way” kind of thing. Whether or not these offerings actually have any effect on the weather and/or the Guardians has not been seen nor proven, but eh, let the people believe (and neither Tawhiri nor Eirlys are going to turn down a good snack). 

And then in Central (i.e. Ninjago City), their celebrations are focused on the season itself, and all the fun things autumn brings. Down by the marketplace near the docks, they hold a huge festival jam-packed with like, every fall-related activity and food you can think of on display. The food alone smells amazing (apples!! pies!!! jams!! pumpkin spice!! uwaugh!!), everyone wears their coziest sweaters, and on good years, the trees will be at their peak in color, so it’s pretty popular to walk through the falling leaves, jump in leaf piles, and take pictures and whatnot.

But in all Provinces, there’s a legend that says if the last leaf of a tree falls in your presence, it’ll bring you luck for the upcoming year! (...usually specifically in the ways of romance, but a lot of people prefer to ignore that part~) 

—And of course, on October 31st is Halloween! Basically Lloyd’s Christmas, you dress up, do some pranks, gather candy, pumpkins, inspire fear, you know what’s up. The only real difference is that costumes are normally centered around fears you wish to conquer in the future (so like, becoming the thing that scares you). A person who’s a vampire might want to overcome their fear of blood. A person who dresses up as a doctor might want to overcome their fear of hospitals, or something like that. In olden times, this tradition began to help people understand the things they were afraid of, why they feared these things in the first place, and encourage them to move on from those fears afterward (that part of the tradition is a bit lost now, but the spirit is still there). 

—These three holidays are collectively known as the Moon’s Triad, or the more modern phrase “Departed Break”. DotD focuses on the past, Autumn Fest is focused on the present, and Halloween focuses on the future. Most people will only celebrate one or two of the days, as trying to partake in all three is exhausting (physically and emotionally), but there are those who still try. A whole week off school is taken to accommodate for the exhaustion that follows the celebration regardless (hence why the term “Departed Break” became more popularized). 

—In the year 20X1, the Moon’s Triad takes place over a Saturday, Sunday, and a Monday, meaning that “Departed Break” for this year technically begins afterwards on Tuesday, November 1st, and school resumes on November 7th. 

...a week is a lot of time for stuff to happen though, especially when you’re a snake-fighting ninja :O 

[queerautism]

You sead you went to your local pride how'd it go

Oh I forgot I didn't end up writing about it! It was really awesome because I got to see a bunch of friends, and spending time with them was lovely. We went to the local museum first because they had a Pride crafting session, and we made little flags (me and dave made our personal flags that are in his icon / my header) then put them on my powerchair, Rosie. We also had our floggers on the powerchair :D

Afterwards we joined the parade and went into the park were the festival was happening. I'll try to find the pictures of my outfit and the chair and stuff tomorrow, we looked cool :3

[acciocutepeople]

Places To See in Seoul - South Korea

There's nothing better than planning a vacation, especially one that you're really excited about. You purchase your tickets, pack your packs, and afterward the best part: you start to wander off in daydream about your Trip as you plan your itinerary, making a rundown of the spots you must see while you're far from home. As the lists gets longer, your Excitement grows, and before you know it's a great time to go Seoul!!

With such a significant number of spots to visit, arranging a trip to Korea can be overwhelming. We have created a list of the top most Amazing attractions in seoul, South Korea as of 2018. These attractions are perfect for adding to your tour schedule!

1. N Seoul Tower

No outing to Seoul is finished without a trip to the famous N Seoul Tower. N Seoul Tower was the first of its kind - no other pinnacle like vacation destination had been built in Korea prior to its construction. The tower sits at 236 meters tall, which implies that while you're at the best, you're at the second most elevated point in the whole city.

While you're visiting the Tower, there are an assortment of activities that will keep you occupied, so make sure you clear several hours for the trip. You'll at first need to look at the perception decks, which give you a magnificent panoramic view of Seoul that makes for totally culminate photographs. While you're on the deck, you'll obviously need photographs of the city, however keep in mind to have a companion (or stranger/new friend) snap a photo of you with the city as a scenery to demonstrate to your friends back home!

2. Gyeongbokgung

If you ask the people you meet in Seoul what you absolutely must do with your time in the city, most will tell Gyeongbokgung Palace some place on their list ). This eminent royal residence was Built in 1395, so in addition to the fact that it is a standout amongst the most excellent man-made structures on the planet, it's also over 600 years old!

This royal Palace is the biggest of the Five Grand Palaces, and accordingly, it's a quintessential piece of Korean history. The Kings of the Joseon tradition lived in this royal Palace, and its design and architecture that - it is unmistakably fit for Royalty.

A little more than one hundred years back, Imperial Japan decimated the majority of the Places, which was wrecking for Korea. While it is still being restored up 'til today, it is a completely astonishing complex that will take you hours to see in its entirety. The complex is additionally home to two unique museums, The National Folk Museum and The National Palace Museum of Korea.

3. Submerged Tomb of King Munmu

Once you've gotten your fill of the city, Visit to the sea to look at the Underwater Tomb of King Munmu, a must-see tourist attraction in Korea. King Munmu was a ruler that lived right around 1,500 years back, and he is essential to Korean history because he unified three unique kingdoms, merging their power into one. Why is he buried underwater, you ask? Trust it or not, he wanted it that way! King Munmu believed that if he were buried covered in the ocean after his demise, he would return as a dragon to protect the land he helped lead towards greatness.

Reasons Why You Should Visit South Korea

1. All year celebrations

Consistently, there are a greater number of celebrations in South Korea than one could Attend, a couple of main festivities everybody likes to participate in. At the point when the snow melts and the climate gets hotter, pink and white cherry blooms change South Korea into a magical wonderland for a small period towards the start of spring, and a large number of individuals come to see the blooms from everywhere throughout the nation. Buddha's Birthday is another Major occasion celebrated in May with lantern parades and performances at nearby temples, while in fall, Koreans commend their own Version of Thanksgiving amid Chuseok and respect their ancestors during proudly conducted ceremonies. Actually, there are celebrations in each month of the year for every taste.

2. Rich history South Korea has a long history going back finished a thousand years. Because of the natural isolation of the Korean Peninsula, the nation's way of life hasn't changed as much as in different regions. Still today, you can remain in wonder of the absolute significant cultural heritage sites of the nation, for example, Gyeongbokgung Palace, the main palace situated in Seoul. The city of Gyeongju is likewise a place of historic value and is regularly called a 'museum without walls'. Gyeongju was the capital of Korea during the Silla Dynasty from 57 BC - 935 AD and is home to countless royal tombs, royal palaces, and temples that are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

3. Throbbing society Because of their long history, South Koreans have an assortment of customs they have kept alive throughout centuries. 'still today individuals love to dress in in traditional clothes (hanbok) - you can lease it to wear around Seoul and Jeonju', for instance. In Modern Seoul, you can still find traditional hanok house neighborhoods with lovely teahouses that have been in existence for decades. This blend of old and new is really Fun to Explore when traveling in South Korea.

[chaletnz]

Machu Picchu Adventure: Ollantaytambo

We drove from the middle of nowhere to Ollantaytambo which was a bustling little town that looked quite fun to explore, but unfortunately we only had time for the archaeological ruins tour. Our tourist tickets were pulled out again and clipped when we went through the entrance. Inside we could see rows of steep terraces and Darwin said our goal was to reach the top. The Brazilian ladies didn’t come up but the rest of us slowly made our way up, five terraces at a time. Each terrace is about 3m high. We looked over the Ollantaytambo town and a huge rock to the side of it, the rock had a few faces hidden in it and one had been carved with a crown on top. At the top we could see the beginnings of a temple, large stones carved and interlocked with one another and others lying around waiting to be included in the structure. Darwin then led us back down to the bathrooms and then out into the market of Ollantaytambo but rushed us through to wait for John to bring the van. He arrived a few minutes later and we all piled in. As soon as we got on board Darwin told us to prepare our things to be dropped off at the train station and then we were promptly set out on the footpath and told to walk down the street to the station. I made my way down with Leo and Giada, the Italian couple, and we stopped for a drink in a cafe since we were a little too early. I had a milkshake and they went for mango juices. We made sure to be at the train station 30 minutes prior to departure as our tickets threatened that we may not be able to board if we were late. As we stood around with the crowd of people at the door of the station a big dog fight broke out with the street dogs barking and biting each other. A heroic (American) lady called Julia leapt into action and tried to break it up without fear of rabies or other street dog diseases and despite the frantic cries of her fellow travellers “Julia, no! Julia, stop!” After that excitement we were in for a treat when the train was ready for boarding. Suddenly it all made sense why we needed to arrive so early as all the passengers were swept up in a festive surprise parade led by the PeruRail staff. There were 6 ladies in traditional colourful dress holding signs with letters that we followed down the street past all the market stalls, they danced to the music as they led us through the gate to the train platform for boarding. Leo, Giada, and I were in carriage C so we followed our lady all the way down and then prepared to board. Unfortunately I wasn’t seated with them but I ended up sitting with the Filipino ladies instead for the train ride. It was about two hours long through amazing scenery of rolling hills and rivers and a few rundown little shacks here and there. It was just after dark when we arrived in Aguas Calientes and upon leaving the train station we found ourselves in the market surrounded by loads of people holding signs with names so I was searching them all frantically to find my own. The Filipino ladies and I were all reunited again when we found ourselves with Joel and his sign with our three names. He walked us up the steep streets to our hotel and got us checked in and acquainted with the town. I headed back out shortly afterward to buy some snacks and water for tomorrow. My option was either to meet in the lobby of the hotel at 6.20am or hike up to Machu Picchu starting around 5-5.30am and meet them at the entrance at 7am. As the sunrise wasn’t until after 6am and I would be going alone I opted for the bus ride up and would then walk back down. The bus ride is $12 each way and for the price per kilometre it is the most expensive bus journey in South America. I successfully bought my ticket one way to go up in Spanish and made sure I had $12 in my cleanest, tidiest bills in my wallet in case I wanted to buy a ticket back down. With tomorrow prepared, I went out in search of dinner and chose fried trout with potatoes. I treated myself to an Inca Kola too as I wanted to try this bright yellow drink at least once! I think it will only be the once though…

[livwritesstuff]

i got to walk in Boston’s pride parade today and it was simply the best and most joyful time (and then it ended, at which point i was slammed with the resulting overstimulation of it all yippee). anyhoo all that love and happiness got the old creative juices flowing and this is what came from it. i suppose it acts as a bit of a sneak-peek of what’s to come in this series

Steve is getting boring in his old age (forty-four, almost).

It was inevitable, he supposes when he looks back, and he likes being boring. 

He likes the steady routine of the life he and Eddie (married for seven years, now) have built with their three daughters (four, seven, and nearly ten, a notion Steve is choosing to ignore because there’s no goddamn way she’s already got an entire decade under her belt), and he doesn’t often find himself making attempts to mix things up.

Naturally, Eddie was the one to suggest they make the trip into Boston with their daughters for the annual Pride parade, and when he does, Steve isn’t automatically inclined to agree.

Look - Steve knows it’s important for kids to see the world and do new things and all that enriching shit, but maybe he still bears some of the scars from keeping a semi-feral pack of teenagers alive amidst the eldritch hellscape of their hometown, and it’s not like they don’t keep themselves entertained at home - their youngest had finally gotten the gist of go-fish recently and that’s been a whole new ballgame Steve is perfectly content to continue exploring.

In the end, however, the logical side of him (and Eddie’s ever-persistent badgering) wins out, and come mid-June of 2011, they all make the drive into Boston to see the parade.

It doesn’t take Steve long at all to acknowledge that it was a good idea. He hadn’t been to Pride in many years (again - he’s boring in his old age), and he’d forgotten how much fun it is - a true celebration of love and happiness in the face of a lot of fuck up shit. The parade’s pretty good too (definitely a few floats he hopes the girls are too distracted chasing after candy to notice and ask questions about later, but only time will tell, he supposes), and so is the festival afterwards. It ends up being a really great time for all of them.

Of the whole day, though, Steve’s favorite part is the trip home, a drive that should have only been twenty minutes, but turns into nearly an hour with all the traffic on I-90, and the girls are still riding the sugar rush of an afternoon’s worth of lemonade and fried dough and candy thrown from parade floats (the littlest might be succumbing, though, if Steve’s quick glances in the rear-view mirror at the way her eyes are drooping closed in her car seat are anything to go off of), and it seems as if the day’s contagious joy had followed them into the car.

The older two have been asking a lot of questions - mostly about what floats were everyone’s favorites until their eldest, perceptive as she’s always been, hits them with, “What’s Pride for?”

which turns into, “Why do people think it’s a bad thing?”

and that becomes, “So how did you and Papa fall in love?”

at which point Eddie, who’d been fielding their daughter’s questions so Steve could keep his focus on the stop-and-go highway traffic, launches into a dramatic and involved retelling of how their relationship had begun.

“So I told him that I liked him and what do you think Papa said?” Eddie eventually asks.

“What?” the girls ask with eager smiles and wide eyes.

“Nothing,” Eddie says ruthlessly, a wicked grin on his face.

“Alright,” Steve cuts in as the girls giggle in the backseat, “Let’s not be dramatic. I said something eventually, and it wasn’t even that long later - four hours tops.”

“That’s right,” Eddie concedes, “And then we all lived happily ever after and all that jazz.”

“Good,” their daughter says, “’cos if you hadn’t, today wouldn’t happen.”

“Hate to break it to you, sweet pea,” Steve replies, “but I’m pretty sure Pride would still happen even if Dad and I weren’t there for it.”

“I mean we wouldn’t be here today all together.”

Steve blinks.

Jesus Christ, these kids are gonna be the death of him. Can’t drive the damn car if his eyes are misting over, can he?

“Yeah,” Eddie says as he reaches over to curve his hand around the back of Steve’s neck, “Yeah, bug, that’s true.”

And thanks goodness for that.

[petrichorvoices]

What your doing right now is GOALS. Great job y'all

THANK YOUUUUU THIS GIVES US THE PERFECT EXCUSE TO TALK ABOUT OUR DAY

ok so pride. holy fucking shit. this was our first pride and it was INCREDIBLE. we were completely decked out with like, half binder, skirt & suspenders, sweatpants rolled up. we had a ton of pins, we had all our jewelry. we stayed up last night drawing pride flags and trans symbols and lyrics all over us, and we still had them today

we got to be in the parade. we got to be in the parade!!!! we were with our uni, we rode on the back of a car, it was incredible. we had an ace flag we were carrying and by far our favourite part of the parade was noticing people with ace flags, waving ours at them, and them waving theirs back at us. we ended up crying during the parade, because holy shit, look at all these people, look at how loudly queer we all are

there were so many incredible people there. we found an aspec group in the city, so we're going to check them out. we saw a group of people in leather and rubber and this one guy had a fucking awesome rubber tail, it moved in such a neat way

there was a festival at the end of the parade, and at the entrance of it there was a pair of religious dudes being all bigoted, so we joined some other people in drowning them out with stuff like "Jesus was trans, you heard it here!"

from there we managed to find our friend {we met him yesterday, she's so fucking cool, and they might end up being our fourth roommate since her roommate is kinda bigoted}, and we walked around for a while. we got some flags!!!! gods it was SO hard to find a gay man flag, literally only one booth had it. but we got a big genderqueer flag, we got a genderqueer sticker for our laptop, it was great

inside this building they had it set up as the wellness centre, so they had a bunch of information on STIs and drug use and whatnot. they were giving out like, free condoms, dental dams, etc, they even had free STI testing right then and there. there was some group there surveying gay men for sexual health awareness or whatever and we got ten bucks out of it which was great

after pride we went grocery shopping for basics, stuff like milk and eggs, and we were perhaps too comfortable walking around the grocery store with "fag" written on our leg but a bunch of other people from pride were there too. afterwards we went home, our friend cooked some stuff, we just hung out for a bit, and now he's on his way back to her place and we're writing this post

it really makes us so incredibly happy that we're here and being who we've always wanted to be, who we know we are. we get to be loud and proud and confident!!!! we're having an incredible time so far and we're excited to be here

[evsvolunteerstotem]

A month full of surprises

28. 05. 2024

Čau, everybody!

Even if I don't want to commit myself too much, I'll go out on a limb here and say, that May was one of the best months in the Czech Republic for me so far. It was a month full of happy moments and surprises and because I want to have enough time to shed light on all the highlights, I'll keep the introduction short and will not spoil everything already. So have fun reading on and I hope you’ll feel entertained today.;) 

May started right away with a National holiday, the “Labour Day” and Tatiana and I used it to drink a coffee together and go to the cinema afterward. On the following weekend, Plzeň celebrated the liberation of the city by the Americans at the end of the Second World War. The city centre was full of onlookers who watched the parades of uniformed people in historical cars and learned more about the liberation at stands, lectures, and information boards. My friend Isabelle and I were also curious and therefore attended the festival. In addition to the lectures, we were also entertained by the concerts on three different stages, the performance of an American school orchestra and other acts in the city centre. There were also many booths with delicious food while the sun played along as well and made the day a wonderful experience for both of us. 

The next holiday, known as "VE-Day" (Victory in Europe Day), the official end of the Second World War in Europe followed on the 8th of May. But that day I didn't stay in Plzeň, but made my way off to Poland, more precisely to the beautiful city of Wroclaw. Even though the trip didn't go as planned and our bus was stuck in a traffic jam for almost 3 hours, I received an even warmer welcome from my sister, when I arrived at our flat. After breakfast the next morning, we made our way to Slodowa Island, then on to Wroclaw Cathedral, and finally, after a short lunch break, to the so-called “Hala Stulecia ". When we arrived there, we were very surprised, as we felt like we had seen this building before and after we searched for it on the Internet, we found out that it was indeed a film set for the latest part of "The Hunger Games", which was released in cinemas in 2023. We bought some tickets for the interesting exhibition and then had the chance to see the hall from the inside, and well, rumor has it that there were one or two fan-girl moments when we entered the hall. ^^ 

After the visit we sat down at the nearby fountain to enjoy the sunny weather and cooled down a little bit before we made our way to the Japanese garden and after that back to the city centre. By the way, if you plan to visit Wroclaw and want to use public transport there, I would recommend that you hold on well to something on the tram because the tram drivers can be little rowdies sometimes. ;D 

In the afternoon we had coffee and cake at a super cute café before heading home again, where we ended the day with a very relaxed evening. On Friday, things didn’t go quite as planned, as we went to the Sky Tower, the highest building in Wroclaw, just to find out that it wasn’t open already. Then my route planner sent me on a complete detour and my sister, who was already hangry, didn't feel like doing anything anymore. But then, thank God, we arrived at our destination, the Jewish cemetery, and the ticket seller, without knowing it, lightened our mood by asking "One way or return?”. ^^ The cemetery was very impressive and we spent some time there, before heading back to the centre, or to be more precise, right next to the Oder. At the “Café Odra,” we enjoyed our much-needed lunch and a cold drink and had a good time in the sunshine. After a walk home and an important little nap, we went to a pizzeria in the evening and finally to a nearby park, where we ended the day with a looooooong deep talk.

Our last day in Wroclaw started with checking out of our flat before heading to the so-called “Hydropolis”, a very interesting museum that we visited before making our way to the bus station, where we had our last coffee together – at least this was what I thought. Because, when it was time to say goodbye, my sister suddenly told me that she was not ready to say goodbye already and that she would like to come to Plzeň with me. And well, that’s how it went. She bought the LAST ticket for the bus and we made our way back to Plzeň and, even though I was very surprised in the beginning, I think it was the right decision because if I’m being honest with myself, I was also not ready to already say goodbye to her. ;)

This is why my next days looked different than expected, because we enjoyed the good weather together, drank iced coffee in my favourite cafes, went to the cinema and even at work my sister accompanied me. She attended the sports event we had on Tuesday and was our special guest at the English and German conversation. We even pranked one of my classes by having my sister pretend to be me and start the class before I joined in and finally clarified the situation. You should have seen the faces of my seniors haha. But of course, she was not able to stay forever, even though some probably liked the idea (including me) and so after she left on Wednesday, everything was going back to normal. 

Well almost everything, because in TOTEM some other special events were following. Like the "Sousedský jarmark" one week later, which was indeed the next little surprise. While the whole week seemed to be quite sunny and nice, Friday turned out to be the complete opposite. And so we had to reschedule everything and move all stands and activities from outside to inside. On the day itself, everyone was a bit nervous, because no one knew how many people would come and if the atmosphere would be good or not. But what can I say, I think it was a big success! The house was full of people -from children to seniors- and the performances in the large hall as well as the stands in the small hall and other activities went really well and it seemed as if no one was letting the bad weather take their good mood. I also had my own stand and of course, performances with Adeto again, which were -as always- very exciting and fun. We also performed with Adeto the next day and, in my opinion, delivered a great appearance in Beseda, "a 3-story centre for arts events, conferences, and children's activities in a magnificent Art Nouveau building." After that, I met with volunteers from Brno and spent a nice afternoon with them, where we not only laughed together but also reflected on our voluntary service so far and our thoughts of it ending soon. Well, we all came to the conclusion that we don’t really want it to end and that we would wish to stay a bit longer because, for all of us, it feels a little bit like a second home already.

Speaking of second home, on the following Sunday I once again had the feeling of belonging a little bit more to the Czech society, when we went to the finals of the Ice Hockey World Championship. As we arrived at the public viewing in the centre the place was already full of people and it was even hard to find a place, where we were able to watch the match without always standing on our tiptoes and craning our necks, but in the end, we found a good spot and followed the very exciting match. Even though the Czech Republic was dominating the match against Switzerland they only got a draw in the first two thirds, but then, 10 minutes before the end, they finally shot their first goal. And when their second goal 15 seconds before the final siren followed everyone in the crowd was cheering. And I was so overwhelmed and happy to be part of this historical moment. Well, this was what I would call the last real surprise in May, as the Czech Republic seemed to be the outsiders during the last years but then proved everyone wrong! For me, it was a great honor to be part of the spectacle and the great celebration afterward, and even though they say “Kdo neskáče, není Čech. Hop, hop, hop“, of course, I had to celebrate with all my might. =D

Sign at the “Slavnosti Svobody” festival ;)

One of our numerous mirror selfies in Wroclaw^^

Visiting the impressive ‘Hala Stulecia":D

Modern urban art in Wroclaw….

Watching the beautiful sunset from our flat <3

At the sports tournament with TOTEM:)

Summer is coming to Plzeň!!

Last smažák before my sister left us again:(

At the public viewing of the Ice Hockey match between Czechia and Switzerland =D

… and again, I’m very grateful for this month and everything I was able to experience during the last weeks. I promised myself to make the best out of my last months in Plzeň and I think that I have done quite well so far.;)

Next week I will be home for some days but then I’ll be back here and enjoy my last two months in the Czech Republic. I’m looking forward to summer and everything I will experience during it and of course I will keep you updated on everything about to happen. 

With that being said stay tuned and we'll see each other again in June.

Sbohem!

Laila ;)

[ariaintaiwan]

Day 7: Dragon Boat Day

Today was the second day we had off for Dragon Boat Festival, and today was even more filled. My whole class went together to watch the dragon boat race and climb Elephant Mountain. We all took the bus together and went to the vendor area to get food. There was a vendor selling fresh-baked mini pizzas, and once I saw a margherita pizza I had to get it. I also got an honey tea drink from the bee farm's stand next to the pizza stand and talked to the lady running it for a while. I wasn't able to follow everything she said, but it was a really fun interaction. She asked where I was from, how long I'd been in Taiwan, how I felt about the weather, etc, and I mentioned how I really like bees and think they're very important. Shortly after getting that drink, the races began and we all went over to watch. I stood under the tent for a while to stay out of the sun. There was seating, but it was all wet so I decided to just stand until a nice old man next to me saw and grabbed a folded-up cardboard box and put it by where I was standing so I could sit and not get wet. It was cool to get to see the race, but the part I remember most about the whole event was just everyone being so nice to me. After the race ended, we all went back to the buses to go to the train station and ride to Elephant Mountain. By the time we got there, it started raining, and I didn't have my umbrella, but luckily my classmate let me borrow one. It wasn't an easy climb up the mountain either way, but it would've been a lot worse without the umbrella since I have glasses and wouldn't have been able to see. While the rain was slightly inconvenient, it also made for a very pretty climb, and something about rain is just magical to me, so it was a great time. After we got back from Elephant Mountain, the same people from yesterday were continuing the parade. I was hungry and went with my classmate to get lunch, but afterwards I went to see the parade. Whenever people in the parade noticed me or one anyone else they could tell was a foreigner walking by, they were always excited and greeted us, so I asked a group of them if I could walk with them for a while. They said yes and that was a very fun moment, but it was short lived. A traffic cop saw me and gestured at me to get out of the road. I think it was probably because I was walking off the to the side to not get in the way of the drummers, but it was still disappointing. Interestingly, they didn't shut down the road fully for the parade, so there were still some people in cars that were just going very slowly, and also people on motorcycles just going around the people. After that I went back to my hotel and had planned to stay in my room for the rest of the night since I had already had an incredibly packed day, but one of my classmates ended up inviting me out since they hadn't eaten yet, and so I went with them. We went to get mango shaved ice and had a really nice conversation. The classmate I was with is one of the less experienced ones, so I let them try to order but ended up helping them. We shared a mango shaved ice because they were really big, and I tried to pay for half of it, but they ended up treating me since I helped them order. After that point, I finally got back and got to sleep since I had to be up the next morning to move in with my host family.

[tomorrowusa]

Daegu is South Korea's third largest city and lies in the southeastern part of the country.

Pride events are nothing new in Daegu. But the city's current mayor is Hong Joon-pyo – a twice unsuccessful candidate for president who is often compared to Donald Trump. Hong is a notorious homophobe who tried to halt a Pride event despite a court order permitting it.

Officials in South Korea's southern Daegu city have tried to stop an annual LGBT pride festival from taking place, leading to clashes with the police. Officers had to forcibly remove city workers to allow organisers to set up for Saturday's annual event. Local businesses and several churches failed to get a court injunction to ban the festival earlier this week. The Daegu Queer Culture Festival has been held in the city's central district since 2009. Daegu's conservative Mayor Hong Joon-pyo supported the motion for an injunction, which sought to ban the festival over claims large numbers of people on the streets would restrict local businesses. The court sided with the festival host earlier this week, saying that freedom of expression was as important as freedom of business. The clashes began early on Saturday morning when hundreds of Daegu officials, led by the mayor, stopped trucks of festival organisers from entering the main venue in the Dongseongno district. There were cheers from event organisers after police removed local government workers to ensure the safety of the "legitimate" event.

The police complied with the courts rather than with the mayor and marchers were allowed to parade. Cheers to the Daegu Police for obeying the law rather than corrupt officials.

Christian fundamentalists have a big influence on politics in South Korea. The far right (and misnamed) People Power Party won the last presidential election and also control many municipalities. The fundamentalists are behind much of the homophobia in South Korea.

The Korea Herald reports that something similar to Daegu may be playing out in Seoul.

Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ rights groups are looking to hold what will be Korea's biggest queer cultural festival of the year on July 1 at Euljiro in Seoul. The festival in the country's capital city had taken place at the 13,200-square-meter Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall from 2015 to 2022, except for a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers of this year's event, however, were not granted permission by the Seoul Metropolitan Government for use of the plaza, as the city -- led by conservative People Power Party Mayor Oh Se-hoon -- instead granted use of the space to a Christianity-based group planning a "concert" for youth wellness and recovery, citing that priority should be given to events intended for children's well-being when requests overlap.

Hong Joon-pyo seems to have a lurid episode in his past. When he was the 2017 presidential candidate of the populist and now defunct Liberty Korea Party, it was revealed that he once helped a friend attempt to commit date rape.

Hong Joon-pyo and Pig Stimulant: "Which S Korean Man Doesn't Have a Story Like That?"

In a chapter titled “The Story of the Pig Stimulant,” Hong talks about how he helped a friend attempt to commit date rape. One of his housemates was in love with a girl; to help a brother out, Hong and others gave him a stimulant typically used on livestock to boost ovulation. The scheme failed — not because the starstruck lover didn’t succeed in putting the drug into the girl’s beer (he did), but because the girl wasn’t motivated to have sex with him afterward. “He took the unconscious girl to a motel,” Hong wrote in the memoir I Want to Go Back.“But when he tried to take her clothes off, she woke up and started to scratch and bite him…. My friend argued that if the stimulant was real it wouldn’t have failed like that.” 

Having a lack of sexual ethics does not disqualify people like Donald Trump or Hong Joon-pyo from public office in the eyes of fundamentalist Christians.

Wow, red neckties seem to be popular with far right sex criminals. Is that how they identify each other?