seattle pride '24

i went to the seattle pride parade today and it was a blast !!!! i got there around 11am and managed to find the perfect spot near the beginning of the parade route. although it didn't exactly matter, because an impromptu gathering of queer anarchists began to get people from the crowd to join them in marching for palestine which i joined. they weren't an official group, which made it all the more important. they had signs there, and the one i had had the anarchists "A" on it which... not that it's bad, but i just wished id grabbed something more specific to the march.

there's me in my battle vest with the 'RATM' patches. 

i felt a bit bad because i was meeting some friends there. it was a friend of mine from high school and a few of their friends who were all super cool. i ended up just walking back to meet them after i got to the end of the route (which was roughly a mile long). when i started walking i noticed that the Seattle Aces and Aros were marching right behind me, and they noticed my aro flag and gave me some aro stuff !!! i walked all the way back to the beginning of the route to meet my friends, but not before i took a picture with some religious protestors. shoutout to the stranger who held my phone for me <333

we walked to the seattle center and hung out by the DJ stage for the rest of the time and danced t some mash-ups. i thought i was gonna be more sunburnt than i actually ended up being, which was nice. i took my shirt off, and felt comfortable enough to just wear my trans tape. it felt amazing to not feel ashamed of my chest, especially after seeing so many just like it. 

this pride was really emotional for me in a way that my first pride (seattle, 2022) wasn't. i dont know if it's for any particular reason, either. i noticed a lot more aro flags than last year which literally made me so happy :') i hugged a mom with a "Hugs from Mom" shirt and i cried on her shoulder.

i can't wait for next year; pride events remind me how many queer people there really are, and how much i love them all. 

happy pride month yall !!! stay gay, stay loud, stay proud, stay visible <333