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Gay & Tonic

@deerene.bsky.social

690 followers 260 following 6.1K posts

Writer of fiction for the page and screen. Artist. Queer. Black AF. Professional whimsical skiddadler. Jewelry maximalist. Geriatric millennial. ENM/Poly. Vers. 📍DC Daniellerene.com Myfrontporch39.substack.com

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Gay & Tonic @deerene.bsky.social · 21d

Here’s me explaining more about the piece.

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 2h

Front page of Scottish newspaper The National today.

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tos👾 @tripscore.bsky.social · 1h

this is useful

Very Old Pic of D. Gray @blurbette.blacksky.app · 1h

Mother sauce 101.

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Christinaaaa, Christina’s gone @chris-ti-nuh.blacksky.app · 1h

A bug painting a picture and the words “less grind, more whimsy”

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Lizzy @luvrunr.bsky.social · 2h

Message to self

“I am open and ready to experience all of the joy and wonder the Universe has in store for me.”

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𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑘-𝐴-𝐵𝑜𝑜 @reckliss26.bsky.social · 2h

A rose is still a rose. Babygirl you're still a flower

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Written by Uju ✍🏽 @writtenbyuju.bsky.social · 14h

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Bruja Brat @brujabanton.bsky.social · 14h

☹️🥺

Anna Stesia @onlychyld.blacksky.app · 15h

Awww man Tanqueray died

humansofny IG account picture of Tanqueray with the caption:

humansony We've lost a legend. Stephanie 'Tanqueray' Johnson passed away last night after suffering a severe stroke. She will be most remembered for holding the world in thrall with her no-holds-barred storytelling about life as a burlesque dancer in the 1970's. Stephanie was a complicated person. Her public persona was irresistibly charismatic. Yet behind the scenes I've rarely met somebody who had such difficulty with close relationships. She was internationally adored, yet intensely lonely. She was desirous of companionship, yet quick to cut people out of her life over the smallest slights. Stephanie told me endless stories about how badly her mother treated her as a child, yet remained capable of exhibiting that same behavior toward others. People are complicated.
And the longer you live, the more you realize the most inexcusable behavior often stems from the saddest traumas. There was always a little girl inside of Stephanie who never had a chance to feel safe. A little girl who learned at a young age that the best way to keep from getting hurt was to throw the first punch. But this little girl also had such a love of life. And despite her X-rated stories, and her sharp edges, was capable of such innocence. Stephanie slept with a teddy bear until the day she died. She'd melt in the presence of animals and babies. And until the very end, she laughed like a little girl. In the final weeks of her life all the hard edges melted away. All the defense mechanisms, the learned responses. She reverted back to the little girl she'd been before she'd gotten hurt. And that is the Stephanie that is smiling down on us right now. In her own words: 'When I get to heaven I hope God shows me a movie of my life. But just the funny parts. Not the in-between parts, cause then we'd both start crying. Underneath all the laughs and the gags, it was always about one thing: survival. Tanqueray was a lot of fun.
But Tanqueray …

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Gay & Tonic @deerene.bsky.social · 14h

And nowwww back in my uniform lmao 😂 thanks everybody I had fun.

Woman in button up shirt and rings and other jewelry. Wearing sunglasses in a dive bar.

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Bee Quammie @beequammie.bsky.social · 19h

The hair
The skin
The smile
The green

I WAS NOT READY FOR THE BEAUTY

Gay & Tonic @deerene.bsky.social · 1d

A real gem.

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SinnamonS @sinnamonscouture.bsky.social · 17h

"André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever" opens Oct. 15
at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion in ATL!