20 LGBTQIA+ stories with upbeat endings

14. Were the World Mine

Things start out pretty rough for Timothy, the central character in Were the World Mine, a 2008 musical comedy. He’s openly gay but lives in a homophobic community. His father kicked him out for being gay, while his mother still struggles with accepting her own son’s sexuality. At his all-boys’ school, Timothy is especially subject to bullying from the student rugby team. It’s enough to make anyone deeply demoralized, but Timothy stumbles upon a way out.

While rehearsing for a school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Timothy comes across a recipe for a love potion referenced in Shakespeare’s play. When you come across a mysterious recipe scribbled into your script, you naturally go ahead and cook up a batch. The result turns out to be an actual love potion, but with a significant twist: it only works for same-sex attraction.

Puck in high school

It’s easy enough to see where this goes. Timothy starts to disperse the potion throughout his town. The situation is particularly fitting, given that Timothy is playing the mischievous sprite Puck. Within A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck is responsible for dosing the central characters with a love potion that wreaks havoc.

Indeed, Timothy’s version of the potion goes on to wreak havoc on his own town. It’s generally pretty cute if a touch cliché — the rugby team breaks into a balletic dance right after they come in contact with the potion. Eventually, however, Timothy’s drama teacher (who may be more than she seems) convinces him that drugging people isn’t entirely cool.

But things don’t have to be exactly as they were when the potion’s effects wear away. It turns out that, for some people, the effects of the love potion weren’t exactly necessary for them to adjust their views. Timothy may have a far better time of things after the events of the play are over, it seems.