its always like
>be at pride parade
>streets bursting with color, music, laughter
>strangers hugging like lifelong friends
>everyone unapologetically themselves
>no fear, no shame, just pure joy
>dancing like nobody’s watching (but everyone is, and they’re cheering)
>rainbow flags waving, glitter everywhere, screams of freedom
>for a few hours, the world isn’t grey—it’s technicolor
>you forget who you’re supposed to be and just exist peak humanity, unironically
but then like
>parade ends
>music fades, crowds disperse
>wipe off the makeup, stash the flags, mute the pride back to the real world
>family that would "love you, just not like that"
>coworkers who joke about things that keep you up at night the you that thrived at pride? locked away again
>silence where there was singing, dread where there was
defiance
>sitting on the train, staring at your reflection
>smudged eyeliner, fading glitter
>hit with the cruel truth: pride isn’t yours yet
genuinely crying rn, the moment when i was taking off the rainbow flag makeup (got it done by some stranger at the end) on the train going home ripped my heart appart, i hate pride parades