#I spent time around - got close to - who ended up being queer. And it's like. I really have been surrounded by queerness my entire life. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

charlotteharlatan · 10 months

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Do you ever think about what would have happened if Mary Hodges (formerly Mary Loquacious) hadn’t interrupted Crowley and Aziraphale’s “intimate moment”?

Because I do. I think about it a lot.

First off, the way that this shot is set up is perfect. Mary - Mary who had a key role in the whole “Antichrist shuffle” fiasco, and who is a walking reminder of the approaching apocalypse that will separate Aziraphale and Crowley - is literally coming between them. The show is full of these beautifully simple, yet easy-to-miss moments that only last a few frames.

Now, on its surface, this part of the scene mostly plays as humorous because Crowley and Aziraphale are sexless-by-default, non-human entities who just happen to come across to most humans as a very aesthetic queer couple. So naturally, Mary makes the same assumption as every other human that so much as glances in their direction, and isn’t that a laugh?

Except that…she’s not actually wrong about it being an intimate moment. Not just in the physical sense, although I think this is the closest we see them physically get in the whole first season (not counting being literally inside each other’s corporations, I suppose).

But it’s intimate in the emotional sense too, because Crowley is worried and stressed about having lost the Antichrist, and now on top of everything else he’s got Aziraphale calling him “nice” and poking at some very old wounds (if he’s so “nice” then why did he Fall?). And Crowley is also probably *frightened* - they’re inside a former Satanic convent that kept regular contact with not just Crowley himself, but also Hastur, and probably other demons too. For all Crowley knows, someone from his side could still be lurking about; they could overhear and get them both in big trouble.

And as if all that weren’t enough, I don’t think I’m imagining a healthy dose of frustration with Aziraphale in the mix either. Just a few minutes prior, the angel essentially tempted Crowley into miracling the paint stain out of his coat, and then broke their rules by saying “thank you” for it. Aziraphale has spent at least the last few centuries sending him some very mixed signals and we can see that Crowley is done with them dancing around each other. That game was more or less fine before, they had time, all the time in the world. But now, in just a few days, all the time in the world will be ENDING. And yet here’s Aziraphale, playing the same game as always, acting like nothing between them has changed, even though they both know better.

So yeah, it all comes to a head in that moment, and Crowley (sort of understandably) loses it a bit. He won’t actually hurt Aziraphale and they both know that, but he has to get across to the angel SOMEHOW that he’s experiencing some Big Feelings. And he doesn’t have a whole lot of options as to how to do that. He’s too worked up to communicate effectively. So he goes with the wall slam. This causes an emotionally charged situation which we’re primed to think will have an emotional payoff - the camera pulls in close, a dramatic transition, drawing us in to the tension of the moment right along with Crowley and Aziraphale.

And then there’s Aziraphale, who…doesn’t defend himself at all. Aziraphale, who is kind but far from defenseless, who used to guard the gate of Eden with a flaming sword, who was supposed to fight in a platoon of angels in the final battle. He’s no pushover, and yet he lets himself get literally pushed over. It doesn’t even seem to occur to him to stop Crowley, not even as he’s wrinkling his precious coat.

And maybe this is just my read of this scene, but Aziraphale’s reaction to Crowley coming into his personal space is interesting in and of itself. He doesn’t act as if this is the first instance of Crowley being that close to him - and it is CLOSE. Their lips are centimeters apart. Their noses are touching.

And one might well say that all of it happens so fast that Aziraphale is caught off guard and freezes up, but as so many have already pointed out about this scene, just after Mary interrupts he looks…blatantly longing, and then more than a bit put out.

And after Crowley lets him go, he casually fixes his clothes and goes straight back to bickering. Which may be partially a defense mechanism, because they don’t have time to talk about what just happened, there clearly won’t be any emotional resolution right now. But really, wouldn’t “you go too fast for me” Aziraphale be more rattled if that were truly the first time they had crossed that physical boundary and shared space like this? He looks affected, certainly, but quickly shakes it off.

And, to take it one step further: Aziraphale knows Crowley. He knows what words are likely to set him off. He has an established pattern of having Crowley do things for him, based on Aziraphale’s own prompting (see also: wordlessly asking Crowley to help Hamlet become a hit). Aziraphale does as much tempting to get Crowley to do “nice” things as Crowley does to get him to do “naughty” things. All of which is to say, Aziraphale may have actually been baiting Crowley here, but the bait is just a little too effective, and Aziraphale isn’t fully prepared for the intensity of the response he gets. But there’s a strong case to be made that by calling the demon “nice,” he’s looking to get a specific reaction out of Crowley. Again, not the healthiest form of communication, but it’s what they have in this context, because honesty would be too dangerous.

Which brings me back to my point: it IS an intimate moment, in more ways than Mary could have possibly realized, and what if she hadn’t walked in on them? How would Crowley have finished his sentence that got cut off, and how would Aziraphale have responded to it, to Crowley’s outburst of emotion, or to their proximity?

Maybe he would have gently and politely pushed Crowley away - but to me, something about his expression and body language says he wouldn’t have. Because Aziraphale is tired of dancing around this too, actually, and in the heat of the moment, he may just have closed the distance. Especially if they’ve had “intimate moments” before this one.

And between you and me, I think they did, and I think it was after Crowley saved Aziraphale and his books during the Blitz. It’s a solid explanation for the increased tension between them in the holy water scene.

Anyway. This meta has been sitting in my drafts since before the first trailer came out, S2 is only nine days away, and I’m clearly very normal about all of this.

#good omens #good omens 2 #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #go meta #meta #analysis #scene analysis

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 4 months

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WIBTA if I start giving some very *very* Christian family members religious pamphlets from non-Christian religions as gifts?

To be clear, I am writing this while firmly believing I'm NTA but I am angry and don't trust my own judgment too much right now.

Background and Players: My Son (19) was adopted out as a baby by his incubator behind (my husband, 40) his father's back. He was abandoned at 4 by his adopted family because of behavioral issues related to what his incubator was putting into her body while she was pregnant with him, and went into foster care with people I will call Amom and Adad. Adad is a pastor in his 90s and Amom is a pastor's wife in her 80s. When Son was 13 and I had been with Husband for 5ish years, we had been told (by someone from his incubator's family but we didn't know that at the time) he was non-verbal and "mentally an infant" and that trying to pull him out of the routine he had would just be incredibly harmful to him, so we had given up hope of finding him and having a relationship with him. We got a phone call one day, a worker who was looking for a medical history for Son. Husband spent close to 3 hours on the phone with her, answering questions and asking anything he could squeeze in. Turns out, we had been lied to about his mental health just... completely. He's impossible to shut up and he graduated high school last year despite, you know, *gestures vaguely at everything* and I am incredibly proud of him. Half an hour after that call ended, she called back and told us Son might be interested in meeting us, was it okay for her to pass on our contact info. A month later, Son, Amom, Adad, Husband and I were sitting in a restaurant together and a month after that we went to their place for a week to spend Christmas with them. This is when they informed us that they had finalized his legal adoption a couple of weeks earlier. 2 years after that, my QPP moved in with us, and another year later 16 year old Son asked if he could move in with us. He still does.

The Issue: Son wants a continuing relationship with Amom and Adad, but due to the previously mentioned substances used by his incubator, he has memory and time management issues so I have to regularly remind him to contact them. I have no problem doing this, but the contact we have had with them over the last few years has soured me on their company. I've got no problem reminding Son to contact them and organizing rides for him to visit (usually QPP and I driving him, the trip is a couple of hours each way) but I'd rather never speak to them myself if it can be avoided. It didn't start out this way, but over the years they have made it very clear that they don't respect anyone else's beliefs. Not just us, like there was one night where they were going off about some Danish surgeon saying publicly that he was Muslim first, Danish second, and they were trying to convince us to be terrified by that. The conversation ended awkwardly when Husband asked if Adad was Nationality or Christian first (because that's different you see). We have found books on the bookshelves in the guest room about how any kind of queerness at all is demonic possession, one of which they wrote. They talk about things like being sent on a mission by their god to save as many (and I hate that these are quotes) "brown heathen children" by making them Christians as possible (Son and his adopted siblings are all First Nations, Amom and Adad are as white as I am), or how Jewish people are evil for stopping Christians from claiming their suffering because "Jesus was a Jew so aren't all Christians also Jews?". Amom once spent a week trying to convince me to go to church with her and share the details of my childhood sexual abuse with the entire congregation because "it will show God you are ready to be forgiven". QPP is a shintoist and after they found that out, we started seeing more literature about the Japanese, specifically during WWII, around their house when we visited.

We have politely made it clear that we are not interested in Christianity, especially not their version. Multiple times. We thought it was finally over after Son had a meltdown at them at his graduation ceremony because he wanted JUST ONE conversation with them that wasn't about Jesus. He was in tears trying to explain that to them, and their response was to tell him he needed to come back to church so they could lay on hands and chase all the demons making him say these horrible disrespectful things to them out of him. He was supposed to stay with them for a few days to visit after that, but by the time I tracked him down and got him calm, he didn't want to go anymore. They seemed to stop after that, like they actually backed off and I think I got maybe 2 emails that didn't mention God or Jesus, not even a "God bless" in the sign off. We were optimistic. Son was late organizing it but we dropped him off (at his request, he's worried that Adad won't make it to next Christmas and wanted to see him) at their place on Boxing Day. We did not hang around, we did not send gifts, we didn't even reply to the Family Christmas Email (it had a video of a Jordan B Peterson rant embedded in it and I've told them before that we are not interested in anything that sack of hateful arrogance has to say please stop putting him in my inbox). We have done everything we can to make it clear that we do not want a relationship with them for ourselves, including outright directly telling them politely to their faces that we will not stop Son from seeing them but we don't feel comfortable around them and don't want a relationship with them for ourselves. Son came back with "gifts" from them - a study guide for a specific Bible book (I got John, Husband got Michael, QPP set his on fire before we saw who it was) and a bag of candy that looked like it came out of a thrift store (I got the same one they always get me, which I laughed off the first and second and third time and explained I couldn't stand them because my abuser used to give me one when he was done. Husband is diabetic and got York Patties. QPP actually got something decent though, $20 for gas).

I have managed to keep my "I'd rather you hadn't bothered actually" rantingvto Tumblr, which i don't think they even know exists, but I'm still pissed about the Bible crap as "gifts". I am considering changing tactics completely and being super friendly, mirroring their energy, and giving them the same treatment they've given us. I want to make excuses to visit so I can explain the finer points of shintoism and Celtic paganism in every single conversation. I want to give them books for gifts, books like The Tao of Pooh and The Gospel of The Flying Spaghetti Monster. I want to wrap cash in pamphlets about The Invisible Pink Unicorn and leave it on their fridge.

QPP and husband think I should give myself more time to calm down and just keep ignoring it and playing nice when I'm forced to play at all but like, IT'S BEEN 6 YEARS.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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literary-illuminati · 3 months

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2024 Book Review #10 – The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

I read A Deadly Education last year and quite enjoyed it (and Novik’s unrelated Spinning Silver is just one of my favourite low fantasy books full stop so she has quite a bit of my trust), so I finally got around to putting in a hold request for the sequel. Broadening your horizons and reading outside your comfort zone means swimming through 400 pages of YA a couple times a year, right? Anyway, despite only barely remembering who anyone but El and Orion were when I went into this, was a fun read!

The book picks up more or less directly where A Deadly Education stops – with the horrible murderous monster-infested extradimensional wizard high school’s cleansing machinery repaired for the first time in generations, and the place therefor incredibly less monster-infested than previously. El, prophesied future dark lady of the apocalypse with a savant’s talent for specifically the sort of magic you cast after cackling and before someone puts a sword in you, doesn’t get to enjoy that much – her senior year seems destined to be spent being the target of just about every monster that’s left. Eventually you really have to wonder if the school is trying to kill you – and that question is where the plot really starts to go off.

So I said it before, but this is very much YA. I don’t mean that as an insult, or even a marker of quality, just that it’s a book from the perspective of a 17 year old looking down the end of high school and clearly written to provide a relatable emotional reality for an assumed audience of the same. So El sometimes acts like a cartoon character, and is pathologically incapable of expressing her emotions coherently or expressing affection for the guy she likes in any sane manner, and is far more blase about murder attempts and soul-eating monsters than emotionally awkward conversations – but honestly all that just rings as pretty true to life. Deeply aggravating at times, and her internal monologue and all its snark and doublethink does occasionally grate a bit, but overall it really works. She’s just a fun character to spend time in the head of, (and far less irritating in basically every way than she was in the last book. So hey, maturity!).

The emotional beats were all pretty simple and clearly telegraphed, and it isn’t exactly a book that requires you to sit down and ponder deep symbolism or metaphor to comprehend, but the pacing is tight and it’s very readable. The prose isn’t really anything to write home about – especially knowing what Novik can do when she decides to get fancy and show off a bit – but it very clear and just dripping with El’s personality on every page. I read this at the same time as I was picking through an incredibly dense and citation-heavy historical reader, and the contrast made me very appreciative of those virtues.

Character-wise – well, there’s El, and Orion (love interest, single-minded and near divinely-ordained monster hunter, golden boy of the most powerful enclave in the world), and there’s El’s few close friends, and then there’s a cast of dozens of students with maybe one memorable character trait who kind of drift in and out of the narrative as required. The amount of nuance and exploration someone gets drops off dramatically with each step down the list you go. Most of the cast shows up precisely when required and is more or less forgotten about directly afterwards – which does sell this being a school with over a thousand students in it! But the number of characters who really feel real drops off pretty rapidly.

(Also like, I assume it just comes down to social progress in the 2010s coming at you fast, but you really get the sense that at some point between the books getting written the publishers sent down a memo that you were allowed to say queer people existed now.)

Even more than Deadly Education, this is a book without any sort of singular villain, or even really any consistent antagonists. Some of the other students are assholes, sure, but the book’s whole thesis is that no one is that murderous or awful for the sake of it – they are because they’re rats in a cage, convinced that amoral self-interest and husbanding and acquiring every resource they can is the only hope they have of maybe living to see their families again. Offered a chance to do good, to actually change things for the better and help everyone without getting themselves killed in the process, just about everyone takes it. Even the semi-intelligent school itself gets in on it by the end, pressing the senior class to figure something out and make it obsolete – and the whole conflict of the final act is how and whether everyone will.

El and Orion can both kill basically arbitrarily large numbers of monsters (or people), so the monster-killing is never really where the book finds its drama either. I mean, both do a lot of it through the climax, but the actual tension mostly comes down to crowd management and logistics and whether everyone else is as committed to this as the two of them are.

As for what they’re struggling against – so like, this isn’t Divergent, by the standards of the YA I read in high school, the social commentary is both subtle and nuanced. But I mean, it’s also a story where highschool is four years or murder-hell-prison and justified only because it’s barely the lesser of two evils, and also a story where the poor and marginalized are only kept around more-or-less explicitly as ablative bodies for the kids the powers that be care about, with their only hope of good life being so impressive and useful to those kids that they try to bring them along when they ascend back up to the gilded paradise that is their birthright. So like, not that subtle.

As far as teenage romances go (which, for me, really isn’t very fair at all), El and Orion’s was surprisingly tolerable. It helps that they’re both actually deeply profoundly weird about it, and also that the book didn’t try to milk any drama out of will-they/won’t-they stuff or a love triangle. The ‘and they have sex for the first time the night before the final climactic struggle where one or both of them could very well die’ did feel right out of an old bioware game, though. (Also I’m just a sucker for tragedy and ironic mirroring/repetition, so the ending was great for me).

Look forward to finishing the series whenever I get around to it sometime in the fall.

#book review #the last graduate #the scholomance #sff #ya #urban fantasy

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character-of-all-time · 1 year

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Now that the submissions are closed, were there any funny submissions that topped the previously stated funny submissions?

I might end up publishing the full response list to browse through at your leisure and so that someone else can seek out the hee hoo funny ha has rather than making myself go through all 1522 again, but I would like to highlight a few submissions that stuck with me:

character: Sam Winchester

from: supernatural

why?: oh COME ON. ur gonna make me defend sam fucking winchester as the most character of all time?? he literally has bangs. he died at 23. he died at 26. he died a lot of other times too but those are the most important ones. he's jesus and he's the antichrist and he gets placed on a visual crucifix too many times to count. he's an addict and he's a christian and god is making his life miserable on a personal level. he is wholeheartedly convinced that there are other people who "have it worse" than him (he was tortured by satan for centuries). again he HAS bangs. he's been possessed too many times to ever feel like his body is his own. he's in a constant cycle of being beaten down and KNOWING he shouldn't get back up, and not wanting to get back up, and getting back up anyway like a kicked puppy who thinks maybe this time they won't get kicked. never ever gives up but in a sad and pathetic way that makes u feel vaguely nauseous. he's psychic. he bought a ring for his girlfriend while they were still in college. he went to stanford. he's unclean in the biblical sense but he prays every night. he had a queer allegory arc spanning multiple seasons that people ignore so they can claim he's cishet. he totally fucked a 300-year-old witch while studying under her to become a witch himself. everyone he has ever loved is dead and he knows it's his fault. he spends the first few decades of his life angry -- SO angry -- at everything he's been put through, full of rage at the things he's suffered and the people who caused them. he is punished for this fury, taught to never be angry again, and after a while he just lies down and takes it. he is a serial killer and on the fbi's most wanted list. he uses "low sodium" as an insult. he's a vegetarian. he never drives his father's car. he has demon blood flowing through his veins and his best friend is a literal biblical angel. he's an abomination. he thinks that hope is kind of the whole point. he has BANGS. he killed his brother several times over, and he destroyed the world to bring his brother back to life a few times too. he spent time in a psych ward. he thinks he is terribly hard to love. his mother destroyed his life before he was even born and he still calls her "mama." he died at 23. he was kicked out of the house when he was 18, and then was kicked out of basically everywhere else for the rest of his life. his only family locked him in a panic room and left him to die. he forgave them for that because he doesn't know how to do anything but forgive. he's got bangs. anyway

what do you want?: u KNOW what i want. if my best friend sam doesn't win this bracket i'm crashing my car into the world's tallest and thickest tree

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character: jesse pinkman

from: breaking bad

why?: Well.Well. i. so. hes THE character okay he was created in gods eyes only to be sculpted and changed by the wrath of satan (or the other way around). Its jesse pinkman. have you ever watched 5 seasons of a grown man with cancer abusing another grown man in order to support his family who hate him because of the way hes trying to support them (drugdealing)?No? well i need you to and then come back to me. jesses relationship with the aforementioned Grown man with cancer (walter white) is so multidimensional you could refer to jesse as walters affair, student, victim, partner in crime, son figure etc and it would be RIGHT because they are all encompassing and fucked up. and jesse loses everything and he cries and hes so emotional but he PREVAILS. he prevails and he precedes walter and all the toxically masculine men who hated him, who convinced him was less than who he was. and the dog motif!!!!! hes a loyal dog but his owner has been slowly feeding him poison, to break him down slowly, and its killing him so he BITES because it hurts and they all talk about the rabid dog he is, how badly the owner needs to put him down. and then his owner gives him away to much worse men, owners who wont feed him the poison slowly, but will beat and use him relentlessly. and then his old owner is going to die and he knows it and he needs to secured his reputation and put everything in place. he saves the dog and kills the dogs new owners. he BEGS for his dog to kill him, to kill him like he had done to the dog. but this dog is not like any of his owners, hw will never be. so he barks and says that he should do it himself and he RUNS. hes crying and whimpering but hes not getting beaten or poisoned anymore, hes a free dog and its up to him to make his own future without the influence of evil owners. THAT'S jesse Pinkman. hes the bride of heisenburg hes the dog motif and he loves and loves and protects animals and kids because he couldn't protect himself and he wins with tears in his eyes. um also hes trans so ^ hasnt watched this show in like 7 months i have mo idea what im talking about

what do you want?: one billion dollars

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who: Victor frankenstein

from: Mary shelley frankenstein

why?: I don't remember anything about this book except for the incredible and relatable line of 'I raveged an oatcake' cos God man me too

what do you want?: An oatcake

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who: sphagnum moss

from: real life

why: Love that bitch. They are light and hold moisture well. and they also form peat bogs when they die which is swag

what do you want?: To be turned into a zebra mussel and sleep in a Marimo moss ball and not have to worry about relationships or taxes

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who: Guy Montag

from: Fahrenheit 451

why?: he kills his boss with fire which i think is pretty cool and something we can all aspire to. i also want him to be in an online popularity contest because i want ray bradburys head to explode from beyond the grave

what do you want?: prove life after death so i can destroy ray bradbury’s soul

#askance #supernatural #sam winchester #breaking bad #jesse pinkman #frankenstein #victor frankenstein #guy montag #fahrenheit 451 #sphagnum moss

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lucindaspartnerrealandtrue · 6 months

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This was supposed to be a timeline for all the mys ships that did/might happen in my rewrite(which isn't even started but shh). It ended up being just me ranting about mys!Garrance.

At first, it follows smh. But then. It's just me rambling. Well. It's me rambling in general.

tw for mentions of homophobia and smoking.

Now, now, i think i've been neglecting these two recently. Honestly I don't even remember how I started shipping them but I did, and years later here I am, still drawing and writing about gay block men.They're literally engaged in mys and no one is convincing me otherwise(<- this whole thing will get its own post eventually). Uhm, okay, now that I got that out of my system, maybe I should give some actual hcs.

◇ Garroth is a year older than Laurance.

◇ They used to be close friends when they were little(most of the mys cast knew eachother in childhood at some extent), but once they entered their teenage years they grew apart,and the fact that Garroth and his family moved away when Garroth started high-school not helping their situation.

◇ Garroth did his freshman year and a bit of his sophomore year in O'Kasis Academy, but due to not being able to fit in ended up moving to Phoenix Drops High(after a lot of complains and pleases from him and Zianna towards Garte).

◇ Well, when he got in PDH, Laurance has been there already for like half a year(he was a freshman), and was already hanging around the Shadow Knights, so as you may imagine Garroth and Laurance didn't really got to interact a lot.

◇ In that summer, Laurance and Gene broke up for unknown reasons. The entire school, of course, found out about that.

◇ Garroth did try to get closer to Laurance that year. It did not work.

◇ Laurance spent that year mostly alone, with the daily interruptions of some people who were trying to try their chances with him.

◇ They started finally getting closer again when the 'canon' started(Laurance's junior year, Garroth's senior year)

◇ Aph basically made them interact by befriending them both and making them sit together every single day.

◇ Regardless, Laurance and Garroth started hanging out together on their own not long after.

◇ Laurance fell first. Garroth fell harder.

◇ They never got together in high school, actually, though it was pretty obvious they liked each other.

◇ Originally, Garroth didn't even realise he caught feelings. Man was busy, ok? He was thinking about college, and besides, his father would NEVER accept one of his sons being queer-

◇ The realisation that he is, in fact gay hit him like a brick.

◇ Regardless, that's a subject for another time.

◇ Aph and Travis, the best wingmen EVER.

◇ They were hyping up Garroth's every move. It was very obvious what was happening, for everyone but Laurance, that is.

◇ Laurance had long rants about his 'secret crush'.

◇ it was not a secret.

◇ They were very in love. But a bit too stupid.

◇ Anyway. Garroth leaves for college next year(thankfully for him missing most of the Ein situation)

◇ Laurance weeps the entire year.

◇ He still finds ways to make Garroth visit though

◇ Be it complaining about forgetting his lunch and being too busy to go and get something for himself or being about cigarettes.

◇ Garroth, of course, 'falls for it' every time.

◇ Laurance finds out Garroth was planning on cutting off his family entirely(temporarily, he regains contact with Zianna and Vylad a bit later on. He litteraly wakes up with Zane going to a college close to his)

◇ Basically, he takes Laurance with him.

◇ But first, Garroth goes to his last family dinner for a while, Laurance there's to. Garte isn't pleased.

◇ Well, they clearly make an exit.

◇ They're dating at that point, sharing their first kiss in the car. Very romantic.

◇ While college they share an apartment somewhere close by.

◇ When they meet the rest of the cast ABSOLUTELY NO ONE is surprised that they're dating.

◇ Of course, after college, they move in together, somehow being persuaded by Dante to let him move in with them.

◇ They get engaged in Emerald Secret, I'll expand on that eventually.

◇ Pet names. A lot of them. From both sides.

◇ They don't do pda a lot because Garroth doesn't feel comfortable doing so, but behind close doors, Garroth IS the clingy one

◇ They're still holding hands almost 98% of the time,though

◇ It doesn't bother Garroth that much that Laurance smokes, but he still tries convincing Laurance to do it less and less.

◇ Which actually works because Laurance does smoke much less than he used to! He is trying to give up on it completely, not only for Garroth but himself. But of course, as any addiction, it's hard.

◇ Anyway. They aren't very jealous. Of course, there is some type of jealousy there, but it's rare, and they usually talk it out privately.

◇ Kisses.

◇ They are hyping up each other constantly.

◇ I just like them being happy, ok?

◇ As I said before, mys!Garroth is a dog person, mys!Laurance is a cat person.

◇ Yeah, so...Ungrth and Raven. Not so much of mystical creatures in this one, are they?

◇ Those two are their kids. They don't actually really want actual human kids. Not now, at least. Maybe later.

◇ Their idea of the best date is lying on the couch together with some snacks while watching crappy movies

◇ It's a bit hard when a certain someone is blasting music from the basement(cough Travis cough)

◇ They love him tho

◇ They also miss Dante sometimes(<- moved out eventually)

◇ Laurance knows how to play the guitar. I think you know what he has done with this ability.

◇ It was in private, though. Garroth might have sobbed a bit(/pos).

◇ Laurance also blasts music while he does his part of the chores. It's country music. It's the only time when he actively listens to it.

◇ Something about his fiancé and country music combined is very attractive to Garroth.

◇ mys!Garroth doesn't know how to cook(does not stop his from complaining about Laurance's way to do things tho, in a light-hearted manner, obvs). mys!Laurance is a very good cook.

◇ Garroth likes reading a lot. He sometimes reads to Laurance before sleep.

◇ They're eachothers comfort.

◇ Cadenza made it clear that if they ever have a wedding, SHE'LL design the suits. Of course, no one complained.

◇ Speaking of, the Zvhals adore Garroth.

◇ The Ro'Meaves. Uhm. Well. Garte dislikes Laurance. A lot. Zianna adores him, though! Vylad and Laurance are friends(I have yet to work on their dynamic in mys, so that's all I have for now). And then there's Zane. Mys!Zane and mys!Laurance are the best yet worst frenemies you'll ever meet.

◇ Speaking of, Garte hates more the fact that Garroth is dating Laurance than the fact that Garroth is gay.

◇ He got used to Garroth's 'queerness'. But not with Laurance.

◇ Laurance doesn't stand Garte either for obvious reasons.

◇ They went over for a family dinner once. Yeah. It was even worse this time.

◇When they first started dating, journalists were all over them. Garroth hated it, Laurance wouldn't have cared too much if it didn't bother Garroth.

◇They are being left relatively alone nowadays

Yeah, that's all I have for now. Thank you for actually reading all this, and pls ask me stuff about the cast or other ships. I'm always happy to rant about them or hear others do it

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breakbeatbun · 8 months

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i did a lot of "boy things" as a kid and I've always felt less "girl" because of it, i never played with stuff that was considered feminine, partly because i was afraid of judgment, but also i found "boy stuff" more appealing. it's tough not relating to one's peers in a binary way. i would love to play cars

tags on this post for context

i was raised by a mechanic and carpenter so a lot of my early free time was spent in a barn full of tools, machines, welding masks, piles of cut-up BMX bikes we'd find in the garbage, stripped-bare sandrails and their engines, couple rifles or compound bows here or there, probably listening to whatever crusty old rock music my dad put on. hell, i was rowing through the gears of my mom's old square body S10 while she drove us to the store before i was barely tall enough to see over the dash. "hanging out with friends" was playing Guitar Hero or Racing & Skateboarding Video Games, or riding our bikes and skinning our knees. "hanging out with dad" was often target shooting in the backyard or building something; I rarely ever held the flashlight, i had the tools in my hands and grease under my fingernails.

that's a lot of exposition but i'm trying to paint the most specific picture i can! TL;DR, a lot of arguably "boy things" in my upbringing, and i fit right into it, lot of fondness in my heart for it still!

around the time i had my big Gender Awakening at the tail-end of high school i had already been Online for a bit - hell i learned what it meant to feel non-binary from this very website circa 2013 - but it wouldn't be until maybe 2019 or so when i moved out that i really started making other queer and trans friends, and it was pretty immediately obvious that i was extremely different from the rest of my community, both online and offline. of course, nobody was rude about it, everybody was VERY respectful of my name and my pronouns and my identity, but it was still really easy for me to feel "othered" because our shared experiences didn't line up at all; At most maybe i got made fun of for having long hair. it made it really easy to feel like i wasn't doing enough work to justify my queerness.

at the other end of that spectrum, i recently tried on she/her pronouns at the front of my bio, just to see if i was missing something, and i was quickly met with an IMMEDIATE outpour of support from friends and community alike. SO many people were loud about being So Proud of me, Knew i Had It In Me, i had multiple friends message me privately to offer information and easy routes to HRT "just in case ;)" i was thinking about it! and, yeah, it's nice to have that kinda support, i'll admit! but it was hard not to feel a little invalidated in not wanting to change. it really felt like a lot of people, close friends even, just kinda saw me as a trans woman waiting to have a bigger realization, as though being non-binary was just a meaningless stepping-stone to something greater. and i mean, i can't blame them, they just wanted to help!!

today i'm pretty firmly Queer/non-binary (with a little bit of Girl on the side when it's either Appropriate or Funny), and my body and voice are very much unaltered from the ones i was born with. virtually indistinguishable from a cishet version of myself, just with the he/him lopped off and they/she sloppily appended in its place; simply because i don't have the energy or don't care to put much effort into change, and that's very much fine for me. I know damn well i don't owe it to anybody but myself anyway, granted none of it tends to matter much when you present as a rabbit girl on the internet LOL. I'm thankful to have built myself a little space where i can engage with others like me, or where other queers feel welcome to express interest in the things that I'M all about! even if it's a little few and far between. still struggle with feeling like i fit in with The Girls tho LMAO.

IDK! this post is my half-baked love letter to my fellow AMAB NB folks who get treated like Cis Men, Trans Women who don't "put the effort in," or Anyone who can Otherwise Relate in the same, or even an opposite sort of way. we are playing cars together

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pikablob · 7 months

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Hot take for Steven Universe

I really hate the "the diamonds are an allegory for bigoted parents and therefore everything they did was okay actually" take that's become popular since the finale.

Now, to preface this, obviously I don't want Steven to start going around stabbing people. I don't think Bismuth was wrong in her anger at the diamonds, but SU is fundamentally a show about understanding and love triumphing, where everyone is capable of changing for the better. The diamonds aren't written as the kind of cartoon villains where you can just punt them into the sun and be done with it. So no, I didn't want this to end with the literal child, who's whole thing is seeing the good in everyone and helping them break harmful mindsets, to suddenly decide murder is okay.

What I did want is for an actual resolution to the diamonds' arcs where they have to make that change. Like, they spent milennia running an oppressive space empire where people who step an inch out of line are executed, that directly harmed every single one of our main characters - their treatment of Pink/Rose and Steven mirroring how some parents treat queer kids, while a good theme on its own, doesn't erase that. Even within that context, as someone who lived through something close to what it's referencing, the diamonds should need to really prove they've changed. Like, the allegory is there, but it's not all they did and the rest of what they did is so much more awful that reducing them to just the allegory doesn't work.

I think the real heart of the problem is not that Steven didn't beat up the diamonds; it's that the diamonds don't actually have to undergo any real change or redemption. Blue and Yellow realise Steven has Pink's gem, and then just assume everything can go back to normal - okay, sure, that's a way in - but where's the moment when they realise they're wrong? Where's the moment when they really have to work towards being a better person and realising their mindset was harmful the way characters like Peridot did?

It just isn't really there; the moment it starts, White steps in, and then White pulls Steven's gem out and starts laughing and then... she's just good now? We go straight into them healing the corrupted gems, and everything's okay now.

Except, it's not okay; there's a whole extra movie and season about how not okay things are. Except the movie is about the lingering effects of Pink's awfulness and it and the series are all about how Steven's loved ones failed him actually and all the fun in the series actually wasn't fun and everyone sucks. They start from a baseline of "the diamonds are kinda hard to get on with but they're good now" - we basically skipped over the kind of emotional shift and growth that was downright necessary for the diamonds' arc to feel satisfying.

So no, I don't think people are wrong to be upset that the main villains got off too lightly, and as a queer kid who had to go NC with an unaccepting parent, I don't think the whole queer-family-allegory thing means the ending is suddenly okay.

If anything, I think the real problem is the show mis-spending its runtime. And I know that it was cut short, and that Rebecca had to fight for every inch of queer rep, and I appreciate that. But I think it's just a badly paced show at times, and it cut things it really needed to keep (giving the diamonds an actual arc) in favour of things it didn't need (Future, in this case).

Name a fandom or franchise in an ask, and I’ll give you a random hot take I have for it

#ask pika #negative #rant #answering this today because I just saw an absolutely rancid take about this on my dash #steven universe #su

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winderlylandchime · 8 months

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I’ve seen you every once in a while mention your partner and I was wondering if you could (would want to?) tell us a bit about them/you guys? Obviously by still being as much private as you’d like to be. Swear this is not meant in a creepy way but more in a ‘awww’ type of way because they sound like a very lovely person through the little moments you’ve shared. But also if you don’t want to, that is completely understandable :)

Oh dear sweet anon! Thank you for this question. I am happy to share a bit about me and my spouse and our relationship. I’m very proud of them and who we are as a couple. It hasn’t always been easy and we have been in couple’s therapy at difficult points in our relationship. But for now I’m just going to gush. Sappy shit under the cut.

My spouse and I met in graduate school. They’re older than me but a year (kinda) behind me in school. We bonded over a shared love of music and values around social justice. Plus they are a hottie and the funniest person I know. As a result, we are both in the same field - I work primarily in the applied part of the field and they teach. Since the pandemic, they teach from home so I get to hear them lecture whenever I’m not in an appointment during their class. Um, hi, they are so talented and also the best professor.

We have been together for 16 years (17 next January). We were engaged after a year and a half together but (if you’re doing math) that was in 2008 and we had plans to move to CA but then Prop 8 passed so we had to wait until it was overturned (as well as DOMA - I don’t know if many people know this but things like health benefits got taxed at the federal level as part of income so when we were still struggling financially and domestic partners, we couldn’t shared insurance because it would have bumped us into another tax bracket). So we have been married 9 years (we didn’t immediately rush to get married as our eldest nieces had just been born and we wanted our siblings to be able to come to the wedding). Anyway! That’s the time line.

We love many of the same things. We watch most of the same TV shows and movies and we do so together. There is A LOT of pausing so we can Seriously Discuss what is happening on the screen. Together, we love Brooklyn Nine Nine, Schitt’s Creek, Drag Race (and going to live drag shows!), Good Omens, Our Flag Means Death, Heartstopper. And pretty much all the fandoms you see me scream about on here.

Queer As Folk. When I met my spouse, I hadn’t fully identified my sexual orientation. I came out as lesbian and then queer as part of being with them. When I met them, they had a chubby one-eyed cat named Kinney. Their walls were decorated with cut outs of Gale Harold from magazines. They had watched most of QAF as it aired (you know the scene in the bar where they’re watching Gay as Blazes? that was their experience watching QAF). So immediately, they sat me down and had me watch the show. They gave me a kitten for our first Christmas together and I named him Emmett. I did a rewatch in 2018 (?) and remembered that fanfiction exists and the rest is history. Unlike many couples, my spouse fully knows I read and write fanfiction. They have read some of my fanfiction and enjoy it. They think I’m talented and that I should write book (?). They buy me candy to eat when I’m writing, they let me close up for hours on end to write.

During the pandemic, we spent every day together in our apartment and we did so for longer than most folks. I have mentioned that they have a chronic pain condition and it appears to be autoimmune in nature and I have a heart condition so we’ve been especially careful (we haven’t totally avoided getting COVID which goes to show how transmittable it is). During lockdown, they also pursued top surgery and came to the non-binary identity (we’re in our 40s, identities are understood now that we didn’t have words or options). I think we became even closer during this time. I can honestly say, my spouse is my very best friend and also the cutest non-binary-bunny.

All the sappy stuff I can’t stand in fic? Tons of I love you’s, tons of (non-canon) nicknames? Ugh I make myself a little sick with how much we do all that. (Btw that is an individual fic preference)

It’s not to say we don’t have problems and we don’t argue. Of course we do. But overall they’re the best and I’m super lucky and we have worked hard to get here. Everyone who wants a partner in life should be so damn lucky.

#dear sweet anon #ask winderlylandchime #sorry this is so disorganized and rambly

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bowiebond · 2 years

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💕 Argilly

How did they meet?

I wrote a one shot about it once actually: They met at the beach around 10/11 years old, Billy was surfing and Argyle was watching him. At the time, he approached him first, but Billy dismissed him quickly because he had long hair like a girl and had an accent, the kind his dad complained about. Argyle keeps approaching him though and eventually Billy befriends him because he's lonely and they spend their entire summers together, but the rest of the year? Zilch. They go to different schools. So summer holidays are there's until Billy moves away.

Who flirted with who first?

Billy was the first to flirt, but only in a teasing, gay chicken way, probably around when they were fourteen. Argyle is so genuine in his affection for him that it doesn't come across as the usual flirting Billy is used to, so he doesn't clue into it being flirting until they're a lot older (in an AU where Billy lives and moves back to Cali). He just assumes Argyle is a sap, who considers him like a really close friends at first.

Was it love at first sight or a slowburn romance?

I think for Argyle, it was love at first sight. He was a super anxious kid, probably a middle or only child, and Billy was his first real friend. But even before that, seeing young Billy ride the waves like he owned them? He admired that confidence so much and definitely only approached because he was sporting a little of an awe induced crush. Billy on the other hand, it was very much slowburn. He hadn't had a friend like Argyle before (anxious but genuine and very willing to give affection even if it was considered 'strange' or 'queer'), if he even considered the school mates he had friends. Not seeing Argyle for months and then seeing him again was already a shocker to Billy because he assumed the kid would forget he existed and that the summer they had together was a one off. But Argyle came every summer and spent nearly every day with him until they had to part ways. Billy treasured that slice of happiness and that slowly flourished into romantic feelings as he grew up and started to realize the difference between friendship and whatever feelings he had for Argyle.

Did they start dating right away or were they friends before things became romantic?

Honestly? Friends for YEARS before they even touched romantic feelings. It took them both a while to realize their friendship wasn't friendship because they both had very few genuine friends outside each other. Billy was either standoffish or he put on a mask to make people like him. Argyle on the other hand was very socially anxious (until he started smoking) and labelled the 'weird ethnic kid' but most of his peers that weren't Hispanic. His Hispanic peers just called him 'weird', full stop for being so self conscious and avoidant of social events, usually sticking to his young primos/primas and Abuela during them to do quiet crafts. So they didn't even come to realize their feelings until they were halfway through their teens.

What was their first date?

Their first date was probably just them eating in Argyle's van (work gave it to him the moment he got his license at 16 honestly, they didn't have anyone else willing to do deliveries). They finished up at the beach for the day and Argyle asked Billy to go on a 'little date'.

"What's the difference between a big date and a little date?"

"Big dates are for anniversaries. And a fruit."

"...Dates don't have specific sizes, but okay."

"Big dates are better, man."

They ended up getting ice cream, walked around for a bit, and then Billy and him sat in his van and got high with pizza. It was a good date in Billy's books.

What are their favourite things to do on date nights?

Most of their dates consist of eating and smoking; though on occasion they have craft sessions and call it a 'little date'. It's probably their favourite kind of date because they'll just sit across from each other with a pile of beads, thread or paints and go to town making each other little gifts to wear or keep. Argyle likes to paint Billy's cassette tapes to add flare to it, and Argyle has a million bracelets because Billy finds the repetitive weaving relaxing for his own anxiety that grew up with him. They also sometimes go golfing at the junkyard when Billy is angry but wants company to vent to. Argyle is down for controlled chaos.

Do they still go on dates after being together for a while?

They don't consider dates to be big events, so just hanging out gets smacked with the title 'little date'. Big dates though? Those consist of sneaking into R rated movies and screaming at the gore, pricey ones like going to the amusement park, or when Billy gets his Camaro, drifting in abandoned parking lots as Argyle screeches at the top of his lungs and Billy cackles. They love dates and they will continue to go on them until they're too old to get out of their rocking chairs.

What is their love language?

Billy likes physical touch, acts of service and words of affirmation.

Argyle likes quality time, gift giving and acts of service.

More often than not, Billy will make sexual advances to gain physical touch, but Argyle is more into hold hands. He likes sex, sure, but holding hands is something he can do whenever he wants and he likes the way it makes Billy all sheepish and awkward yet happy.

Billy wasn't all into words of affirmation until Argyle starts pouring the compliments and encouragements on. He always liked praise, it wasn't something he got often, but hearing 'I love you, lil sol' always make his stomach swoop and his heart melt.

Billy loves acts of service because he rarely has anyone on his side, so Argyle doing little things to make his life easier always made his chest feel lighter. Argyle likes acts of service because Billy is the kind of person who will always do things for people close to him just out of habit and it makes Argyle feel good to know Billy cares enough to fix his tires instead of pop them.

Argyle loves just spending time with Billy, so quality time is big for him, even if they don't talk and just sit together in silence, stoned out of their minds. Gifts are also a big thing for him because he grew up learning that gifts (espeically handmade) had a lot of love in them and he considers Billy's gifts as his own personal 'I love you' since he's not good at saying it out loud (The words have little meaning to Billy for a long time because everyone who’s told him they love him left him anyway - but Argyle grew up in a home with lots of love so he manages to say it every now and then just to watch Argyle light up and get all ‘aw shucks’ about it).

Who kissed who first?

I can see it going either way; Billy kissing Argyle in the heat of the moment because he’s been bottling his feelings and it just spilled out - but personally I can see Argyle kissing Billy first.

It’s probably edging on the evening, sun setting, and Billy has to head home real soon. It’s the last day of summer, he’s covered in sea salt and sand, and his eyes are shinning at a joke Argyle made. It’s hesitant yet trance-like, the way he leans in, cutting the difference in height between them before he presses a soft kiss to Billy’s lips. He tastes like salt; from the sea and his own sweat, and it’s nice because he’s also warm like the sun yet chilled around the edges from the water. Billy doesn’t respond at first, but he’s had a good feeling this was coming eventually. They were both aware of their friendship being a little strange, a little queer, but summer was their honeymoon so it didn’t matter. It’s when Argyle starts to pull away, that inkling of dread and anxiety curling in his gut at the idea of ruining whatever this happy middle was, that Billy follows and kisses him back. It’s nothing big, but it’s soft and Billy can taste the sweetness from Argyle’s fruit salad earlier; overloaded with pineapple because the guys loves the sweet tang of it. Spouts off about how it ‘eats you back, like the circle of life’. Neither of them talk about it, but they smile at each other, they part ways, and they’re counting down the days until summer comes back around. It’s an agonizing wait and is cut short when Billy sees Argyle behind the counter at Surfer Boy Pizza, the one between their houses apparently.

Who started the relationship?

Argyle is the one who asks the question. Shortly after Billy keeps frequenting his shop, he puts a bunch of pineapple on Billy’s pizza to spell out ‘WANNA BE BOYFRIENDS?’ Unfortunately the pineapple pieces get knocked around in the box when Billy picked it up so it spells closer to ‘VOVVA DL BOVRINCS’ with a backwards ‘c’...Billy asks what the fuck was up with his order because he didn’t even order pineapples and Argyle just blurts out he wants to date him. Billy rolls his eyes, walks away, but when he brings the empty box back, he used the pineapple he didn’t eat to spell ‘YES...DIPSHIT’.

Monogamy or Polyamory?

Argyle is more open to Polyamory than Billy because he’s all about ‘free love’ and big families. Billy fears Argyle would leave him for someone better, so he’d against it for a long time and it causes arguments when Argyle even breaches the topic because Billy always assumes Argyle already has someone in mind to cheat on him with. A few years down the road though, they have a lot of deep talks about it and they both find themselves enjoying the idea of having partners outside each other, even if they intend to legally marry each other the moment it becomes viable because they were each others first love and promised that to each other. (They hand fasts/marry their other partners down the road but it’s not legally bidding, just to share that memory together).

Are they/do they plan on getting married?

Billy doesn’t think marriage is all that important, especially since it’s illegal for them and it’s never led to anything good in his life, so why bother? But Argyle really wants to have a whole ceremony, even if it’s not recognized by law or church, because he always grew up hearing about his parents wedding day and how his father cried because he felt like the luckiest man alive.

Who proposed? Was it a yes or no?

When Argyle sees Billy in Hawkins after driving the Cali crew all the way there, Argyle pretty much proposes on the spot with a cool mushroom he found and Billy strangely enough, agrees despite his old disdain from marriage. Maybe because he almost died last year, his sister is in hospital, alive but scarred, and he’s high on emotion from seeing his boyfriend who he had left suddenly without a proper goodbye. They have a long engagement, and they make each other a ring by hand - Argyles is made of resin and filled with ripped petals and forest moss, and Billy makes his own of steel with a oceanic crystal center. It should be swapped, but they like carrying a piece of each other with them.

Do they want kids? Who brought it up first?

Argyle always wanted a big family, so he brings it up first. Billy is hesitant at first, but with enough coaxing, they consider adoption. Funnily enough, Argyle becomes an art teacher and Billy becomes a surfing instructor and they end up emotionally adopting a bunch of kids because they even get around to adopting a young girl (by that time, they’ve began dating other people quite seriously and most of them also want kids so it becomes a big discussion between the stonercule).

Do they already have kids, together or from previous relationships?

No.

Do they have any routines/rituals in their relationship?

Once a fortnight, they have a date night. First date of the month is Billy’s choice, second is Argyles. They still call their dates ‘little dates’ and save ‘big dates’ for anniversaries as Argyle said years prior. They also take care of their hair together every night - Billy takes care of his curls and Argyles keeps his hair silky. They roll and braid each others hair every night and its the perfect way to send them off to bed. Whenever Argyle is upset with Billy, he tends to give him the silent treatment. Billy will get a bunch of pineapple, slice it up, put it in a bowl and grab a plate and then proceed to spell questions out since Argyle doesn’t want to talk. They will go back and forth until their issue is solved and their both snickering because Argyle ate most of the pineapple in the bowl meant for their conversation while they were talking.

How do they take care of each other when they are sick/hurt?

Billy is an absolute baby with Argyle when he’s sick. Man cold is real for him. He’ll bitch and moan and cough all dramatic until he has his head in Argyle’s lap or he’s being spoon fed soup. Argyle on the other hand will cough once and go ‘aw man, I hope I’m not sick’ and then sleep for like three days - which by the end of he’s perfect okay. Billy hates him for it, but he’ll always leave snacks and water by the bed while Argyle snoozes and make sure he has enough blankets. He’ll braid Argyles hair back too if he fell asleep with it out.

How do they like to spend time together?

They both like working with their hands so it’ll be arts and crafts galore, pottery and woodwork classes, splash and finger painting, Billy working on the van or Camaro while Argyle sits by him on a skateboard, sliding back and forth with a lemonade and shades. They surf together a lot in the warmer seasons too. They like hanging out, chatting idly because first and foremost they are friends.

What are their favourite non-sexual forms of intimacy?

Hand/pinkie holding and forehead/shoulder kisses <3 Snuggling is a huge thing for them, they love falling asleep together.

What are some of their favourite things about their partner?

Argyle loves Billy’s happiness; bright and sunny. Billy loves Argyles out of box thinking. They can talk for hours about nothing and everything. Overall, they love the way they make each other feel, the inherent affection and feeling of safety they have with each other because they understand each other and grew up relearning each other again and again every summer because of nine months between every visit.

How do they comfort the other when they are upset?

When Billy gets upset, he needs softness. He needs someone who won’t shout back and provoke his anger. He needs someone who will snip his shit in the butt. Argyle does that. He rarely raises his voice in anger, only panic. He lets Billy isolate himself for a little bit before he goes to find him and sit beside him wherever he’s curled up into himself. He holds him and rubs his back and lets Billy cry because he hates being like that with Argyle, shouting and getting mean, but its so hard to accept sadness or conflict without anger and violence. He never lays a hand on Argyle, but he feels awful every time he says something he doesn’t mean, something that could prick Argyles soft heart and fester something sour inside it for him, something that could make him truly angry and leave for good.

Argyle only really gets upset when he’s anxious or panicking and he feels Billy isn’t taking him seriously. Usually, Billy can get away with soothing Argyles worry by talking softly, holding his hand, caressing the shake from his hands and wiping the tears from his eyes. Argyles a soft hearted giant and Billy knows that. He will always let the bigger man curl up against his chest and just regulate his breathing until it matches his. There’s only been a few instances where Argyle gets really frustrated (he’s almost never mad - he hasn’t got it in him to be angry at anything) and usually he just gives the silent treatment until Billy apologies.

Who buys the other spontaneous gifts?

They both do: Argyle usually surprises him with handmade gifts or big brand clothing, but sometimes Billy will come home with a new crystals or incense/candles for Argyle burn around the house to help ‘calm his haywire vibes’ when he’s not high.

What position do they sleep in?

Billy is a curled up on his side kind of guy or an on his back, arm over the stomach, one out kind of guy, depending on the day. Argyle is pretty adaptable. If Billy is fetus? He curls around him and wraps him up in warmth and safety. If he’s splayed out, he’s rest his head on his arm and snuggles up to his chest even though he’s a good head taller than him.

Do they bathe/shower together?

Definitely. They even get a house with a big bath just so they could fit in together, Billy leaning back on Argyle as they ignore the warm water and bubbles. Sometimes Billy will spend their whole bath time just massaging shampoo and conditioner into Argyles long hair, into his scalp. Argyle is putty in his hands when he does, and he always gets what he wants if he asks for something after massaging his lover.

Do they do anything else in the bath/shower other than wash?

Billy likes to blow him under the water, to test how long he can hold his breath. Argyle likes to smoke. Sometimes Billy reads to him while he smokes. More than once they’ve split half the bath water onto the floor and drenched a joint because the couple decided to get it on in the tub.

In the bedroom - Vanilla, a little spice, or kinky af?

Typically vanilla, but with a little spice on occasion. There’s been a few cases of Billy being a brat with Argyle and the other using his height to his advantage to hoist the blond up and fuck him on the nearest available surface of their house or in the back of his van. (Argyles a soft/pleasure dom at best, but Billy doesn’t mind. He likes that Argyle is gentle with him, no matter what. Not a lot of people have been, when given the opportunity to be).

For applicable ships - who tops/bottoms?

Argyle tops, Billy bottoms. On occasion they switch, but I feel like Argyle is too lazy to deal with prepping himself, though he’s happy to spend an hour fingering Billy until he’s crying and begging him to fuck him.

For applicable ships - who is more dominant/submissive?

Billy is definitely a switch, but he prefers to bottom overall. Argyle is a switch, but only because he likes sex with Billy and has little preference to be in either role. He prefers to focus on Billy’s gratification, so he ends up taking on a more dominant role majority of the time, but he’s happy to be Billy’s living toy when the blond wants to ride him until he can’t get it up anymore.

What is their favourite sex position?

Lotus - they love being close to each other, kissing when they fuck. Billy likes sitting on Argyle’s lap and wrapping his arms around him as they rock together. It’s slow and intense, and it’s not what he’s used to with others who usually wanted it hard and fast (which he wasn’t against but it was different emotionally).

Do either of them enjoy bringing sex toys into the bedroom?

Argyle loooooves sex toys. He thinks they’re a gift to gods green earth. Billy agrees, only because he’s been stuffed and teased with them so much that he could contribute at least half of his most intense orgasms to them.

Favourite place to have sex?

When they’re teens? Argyles van. When they move in together? Their bed because it’s theirs, and that means a lot to both of them. Plus, it’s comfy as fuck and they both like a little luxury as they get older.

Most adventurous place they’ve had sex?

Movie theater. It wasn’t all the way, but it was knee buckling when Argyle pulled him into his lap during an intense sex scene and started kneading his dick until he was fully hard and leaking. Billy had to muffle himself and pray no one saw them, but he stained his jeans and got revenge by grinding his ass into Argyle until they were both fucked to walk out of the movie and had to sneak out like when they sneaked in lol

How often do they fight? What about?

They don’t have a lot of serious fights, and their fights resolve fairly quickly. It’s usually to do with one of their insecurities, but more often they’re fighting about if ladybugs are all ladies or if society’s concept of gender is just non applicable to anything that’s not human.

Have they ever broken up?

They unofficially broke up when Billy left - Billy couldn’t bring himself to tell Argyle because they had only been together less than a year and felt like it was doomed to end like this anyway because Billy’s life was a shit hole anyway and he didn’t deserve Argyle or a boyfriend, period. So he just vanished from Argyles life one day, their house stamped with a ‘for sale’ sign. Argyle always hoped they’d see each other again, got close with Jonathan when he moved to California. Billy fooled around with people in Hawkins but never dated because his heart belonged to Argyle and he missed him more often than not even if he refused to send him a letter in case his dad saw Argyles return message. He doesn’t see him again until the end of Season 4.

Messy breakup, amicable split, remain friends, ride or die or til death do us part?

I feel like Billy would try to make it messy so he’d have a reason to not feel so heartbroken if they did break up, but it would be closer to Argyle saying its okay for them to take different paths and just be friends. They would try to be friends for a while, grow distant and apart because they’re both hurting, and eventually rekindle their previous friendship later in life after they found new partners.

But personally, I can’t see them breaking up. They’ve been together since they were 10/11 and they would continue to be together until they were old and gray, even if they opened their relationship up to others as well. They’re til death do us part, friends forever and lovers for life <3

#argilly #argyle #argyle molina #billy hargrove #stranger things #argyle x billy hargrove #i apologise if there is spelling errors this post was a long one lol

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fordearlife · 2 years

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Let's talk about Felice in terms of queerness and racism~

I posted this screenshot of Felice with a rainbow key chain earlier, which showed up toward the end of S2, and today saw a tweet speculating about her potentially being a lesbian, and I got thinking–

Wille's speech is going to change social dynamics in Sweden but also at school in a big way because he, as the most high-profile among them, just came out to the world, which will likely inspire others to come out or start to question their sexuality if they weren't already. He added an element of safety for them to do so. Nils seems the most obvious – he said he didn't want to be the first out CEO, but with the crown prince coming out first, it's more likely that he'll just say f*** it and stop hiding that part of his life so intentionally.

The writers haven't shown us Felice questioning her sexuality, but they HAVE shown us a few things: the key chain (imo the scrambled colors of the rainbow could symbolize her confusion or hint at her piecing it together in the future), and now one of her best friends is out (to some extent) to the world and she has at least one other best friend who might feel more comfortable coming out in S3, even if Stella doesn't profess her love for Fredrika for the same reasons she told Sara. Especially because Felice doesn't feel close to her parents, these people would be her support system if she were to start questioning.

But I don't believe she would have her queerness challenged in a *season conflict* way by those around her – I think the conflict she faces will be racism. Madison, one of her other best friends, has shown culturally appropriative tendencies (possible use of sage for the ritual in S1?). I kept that feeling to myself when we only had S1 because I thought the writers were perhaps just misguided in presenting her as the "spiritual, witchy" friend, but S2 has me thinking it was intentional (which I'm stoked about). This always struck me as more of a US issue, but some of her hairstyles in S2 (the one below is from E1) are not ones usually worn by white people, and Madison is from the US or has spent a lot of time there, so we might expect her to know better. I would.

The reason I think this will (/should) be a theme of S3 is because the writers made a point in S2 to show Felice 1) expressing discomfort about the wig she was supposed to wear for the Valentine ball and being dismissed by her friends (including Madison) and then 2) being singled out for having her hair down at a meal while Stella and another girl were not. Everything is on purpose in Young Royals! Paralleled with Vincent looking down on Simon in S2 during the rowing team scenes, it seems like they're planning to bring racism, microagressions, etc. more into focus moving forward.

So, this leaves Felice with a possible significant self-discovery arc in which she questions her sexuality and/or chooses/is forced to address the racism she faces as the only (?) Black woman at the school. The show clearly takes on the responsibility of showing the nuance in many issues that other media tends to portray rather simply, such as mental illness, neurodivergence, queerness, and expectations, and as a setup, this would match that energy given that Madison is otherwise an excellent friend and would likely fully support Felice in coming out but be resistant to anyone questioning her character.

#young royals #felice #wille #simon #lgbtq #racism #analysis #madison

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pretttydemonwrites · 3 months

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19, 21, 22, 23, & 28 for all your tabletop-originated characters (or at least your faves)!

OUGH. That's hard because actually I don't have that many characters that originated as tabletop characters! I think it'll be Racquel and Charlie for this set!

19. sleeping position?

Racquel - full starfish, absolutely just spread out across whatever surface zir sleeping on. a real nightmare to share a bed with to be honest, cuz what inevitably happens is zir just fulling laying on top of the other person. Charlie - instinctively curls up because he is always cold, and also runs into that issue of "blanket/bed is too fuckin short for him long legs" and he needs to be completely covered from the neck down in order to sleep 21. obsession from childhood? Racquel - this might feel a bit sad but like, having a family? not like, having kids (thought ze does end up with at least one pseudo adopted child) but just having those kind of connections? growing up not really knowing your parents at all will kinda mess your shit up so ze has spent on a long time trying to find people to care about and for those people to care about zem in turn.

on a less serious note: archery

Charlie - he has always been really into sunflowers??? hey idk where this came from, this just popped into my head unbidden. but he loves the way they follow the sunshine, and he loves how tall they get, how sturdy they are, how BIG, and he loves sunflower seeds (he hates eating them around people though because having to spit out the shells is so embarrassing)

More below the cut!

22. role model?

Racquel - ze was raised by an elf named Silas, who took Racquel in and taught zem pretty much...everything? closest thing to a father figure ze had and he kind of maintained a sort of distance between them for reasons Racquel never really understood, but it didn't stop Racquel from being in awe of his skills. he was a powerful cleric but his experience in adventuring and travel meant that he was able to teach them survival skills, which lead to zem becoming more of a ranger. cool guy, shame he got murdered.

Charlie - probably his older sister Aine (awn-yah)! he's the second oldest of his four siblings, and Aine and him are just under two years apart, so they're pretty close. she was the one who helped him channel his magic into his natural stimming and came up with the idea of adding the rings to then help focus that magic a bit more. things still go haywire a bit, but Aine's patience helped him have confidence in himself so he messes up a lot less than he used to and he's very grateful to her for that.

23. strange habits?

Racquel - man, the only things I can think of right now are zir tendency to steal baked goods (happened frequently when zir party was posted up in a literal palace) and zir habit of basically only wearing half zir shirt, but that's because one side of zir torso being covered in scar tissue gives zem a lot of sensory issues so ze hates having anything touching it too much.

Charlie - well, other than various stimmy things I think Charlie is just a nervous babbler. he can say so many words without actually saying anything at all because he is so nervous all the time!

28. five songs to describe them

God we were cruising right along until I got to this one. i sUCK at picking songs for my OCs, so I will try and come back to this one later I think general vibes for Racquel is Arctic Monkeys meets indie queer artists talking about gender in increasingly esoteric ways. For Charlie, take like, indie girl with an acoustic guitar and then sprinkle in a dash or two of like Irish folk music. ...Yeah.

#oc asks #ask meme #ragsy #sorry this took so long!!!

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mxmorganmorph · 1 year

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Task 11: Intro & Connections

Name: Morgan Age: 29 Gender: Non-binary genderfluid (they/she) Occupation: Owner of Transformations Salon and Drag Performer Sexuality: Queer (all genders) Birthplace: West Virginia, USA Redwood Hollow Residency: 4 years

FULL BIO | MUSINGS | HEADCANONS | ALL MUSES

TL;DR BIO:

Grew up in West Virginia with their Mom and Bubbe. Their father left before they were born and they have no idea who he is or where he is. They don’t talk much about their family.

Growing up as a queer kid in a small, rural town was not easy and left them with emotional scars that still have yet to heal.

They went to college and got a degree in Queer Studies, but couldn’t find a job and was forced to move back home.

What happened in the years between that and Redwood Hollow they do not speak of.

First rolled into town as a Queer Studies adjunct professor and taught at Redwood College from 2019-2021.

After an unexpected inheritance from their passed estranged mother, Morgan took some time off to deal with family issues and quit their job teaching.

They went back to school to finish their beauty degree before opening Transformations Salon, where they do hair, nails, make-up, facials, and waxings.

Throughout all of this, they continue to do drag performances at venues around town, under the drag persona of Molly Morph. They also perform in community theater.

Every Sunday, they host a Dungeons and Dragons game that is open to the public, which people are free to come and go as they please.

PERSONALITY:

Vibrant, vivacious, and very friendly--Morgan is always looking to meet new people and strike up a conversation. They have very little shame (that they show) and aren’t afraid to make their opinions known.

At the same time, they put up a lot of walls. While it’s very easy to get to know them on the surface, they hold their history and traumas close to their chest.

Has a tendency to give advice and take people under their wing, especially younger people. Let Them Help You.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

Mentees/Drag Daughter: Morgan takes a lot of people under their wing, especially younger people. Whether it be to give advice, be a shoulder to cry on, or someone to give you a makeover and confidence boost--they are here for you. Additionally, anyone exploring their sexuality/identity/expression, they are more than happy to help.

Friends: They tend to get along with people who will accept them for who they are, and requirements don’t go farther than that. Friendships tend to be one-sided, with Morgan supporting you while not giving up much about themselves.

College Professors/Students: Morgan taught at Redwood College for two years, so it’s very likely they met you in the staff room or the classroom. They care deeply for their students, even now, and still check in with them when they run into each other.

Your Hair Person: You frequent the salon and have built up a rapport with Morgan, who does your hair/nails/etc. ADDITIONALLY, always looking for new employees at the salon!

Collab, Bro?: As a performer, Morgan is always looking for other performers to collaborate with/businesses that will hire them to perform.

DnD Players: Anyone who is a big fan of nerdy fantasy should consider joining Morgan’s DnD game. Let’s build an OC for your OC!

West Virginia Folk: Morgan grew up in West Virginia and stayed there all the way up until moving to Redwood Hollow. If your character ever lived there, we can plot out a connection there. I am open to other characters being related to Morgan--they are ethnically Jewish on their mother’s side, and their father is unknown Caucasian.

Criminals?: Morgan may or may not have spent some time in jail. Do with that what you will.

WANTED PLOTS:

Tinder Mishap: Morgan has a moment of weakness and downloads a dating app. They and your character connect, and Morgan accidentally ends up catfishing them with pictures of their drag. Who knows where things go from there?

Petty All the Time: Your character thinks Morgan is a hack and they can do makeup/performing/fashion better than they can. This starts a rivalry between the two where Morgan is (passive aggressively) always trying to put out an olive branch and your character just doesn’t give in.

You Son of a Bitch, I’m In: Through one way or another, your character knows about Morgan’s past and run-ins with the law. They need someone with an upstanding reputation like Morgan to help with a crime, and they blackmail them with their secret knowledge.

TAKEN CONNECTIONS:

Friends: Sally Finkelstein @sallytheseamstress, Rita Jacobs @ritasaysrelax, Lucius Best @iceice-best

Precious Son: Jim Hawkins @jxmhawkins

Children to Worry About: The Beaumont Triplets @beaumont-ague, @happiestmariebeaumont, @berlioz-beaumont, Rowan Rackett @rowanxrackett

Trying to hire: Tina Bell @xaspiringbeamoflightx

OTHER:

Please, I’ll never stop begging for John Silver. The headcanons I have for them are deep, extensive, and angsty. I promise it’ll be a good time.

Would love to see more non-binary and drag queen characters. Some suggestions are Camilo (Encanto), Francis (A Bug’s Life), Timon/Pumbaa (Lion King)

#happiesttask #happiesttask11 #about

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twig-tea · 8 months

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I'm back!

Whew it was a wild week. Saw tons of family, spent a lot of time on the beach and drinking local wine.

And of course playing with my parents' dog, the old lady in my profile pic whose name is Princess Patch aka Patches (please note she has zero patches on her fur, this is the name she came with when my family adopted her from rescue):

I'm ~28 hours of tv behind lmao so catching up before I dive into everyone's posts (and thank you for tagging me, I'm super excited to read everyone's thoughts!

Other than both seasons of the Uncanny Counter (which I just binged with my family instead of watching my shows--it was great btw, so much found family feels!--I came by this amount of tv watching honestly), I've managed to finish:

Stay Still (I liked this short series, though it fell into the evil female trope, and was tragedy-coded, it was also well done and ended happier than I expected)

Stay By My Side (cute but messy);

Jun & Jun (kind of ditto? Too many dropped threads);

Wedding Plan (really turned around for me; it's not my favourite series but Nuea is one of my favourite characters and Lom's apology worked for me. I still don't love him but I'm much happier with a main character who lies to others to be able to stay with his partner than lying to his partner so he won't leave);

Laws of Attraction (!!!! I got almost everything I could have wanted. More Nawin being allergic to shirts, more Rose & Maya, more unhinged Charn being too smart for his own good, Thaentai literally hissyfitting his way out of getting kidnapped/banished to the States, ridiculously in love photoshoots, a baller speech about marriage equality, a puppy pile of my favourite queers, supportive grandma...and if I couldn't get the only thing I asked for [Nawin, Maya and Rose in the same room] then I'm happy to have gotten Nawin thinking about being in the same room and crying about it as second best)

The Star S2 (did anyone else watch this? It was.... something lol)

Now that I'm in my gloriously empty apartment, I am catching up on the shows that haven't finished yet! Prioritizing Only Friends, Hidden Agenda, Dangerous Romance, My Personal Weatherman, and I Feel You Linger in the Air since I think those are what most folks are writing about these days, and then I'll start reading posts again. This week is also nuts because a really close friend has two (2!!!) debuts at the Toronto International Film Festival this year (and I'm so proud of her) and will be going to screenings of both, so I'll be easing back in lol but looking forward to reading what y'all wrote this past week!

#twig talks #not gonna tag this #too much of my own prattle and not enough about the shows mentioned

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whitehairedanimeboyfriend · 2 years

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trans man here who came here to block u from a terf list and have instead discovered that transandrophobia does not mean what i thought it did and i fully support having a more active transmasc movement in tandem rather than lumped in w trans women. im close friends w trans women and know that while our experiences are similar theyre also different enough to warrant different approaches so as not to speak over one another. working together is important but also recognizing diff needs is too.

also. glad to know im not the only trans guy uncomfortable with experiences i have had being lumped into lesbian activism and having lesbians (both cis and trans) make wildly uncomfortable transphobic comments.

sorry this is long i just like to read through to make sure people arent being unfairly targeted by blocklists if i have the time and i really think you (and the arguments being made around transandrophobia) have been unfairly targeted.

I have lived, worked with, protested next to, loved, and dated trans women. I have been in situations where I have been fully supported by the trans women around me, and I go on to support them.

That being said I have also been in situations where I felt left out of the conversation.

At a local trans and dyke march, we had a group of speakers. One (1) of them was a trans man. The person who spoke after him said that "Next Year, I hope we get more speaks that are trans women" (he also spent a good part of his speech apologizing for taking up space and about how privileged he is, since he's a man, and didn't talk at all about issues specific to trans men.) All despite her being one of four trans women speaking that day, and there being only one trans man.

An ex friend (who is a trans woman) asked me about my views on abortion. I said I think anyone should get an abortion if they wanted to, and that if I got pregnant, I would definitely get an abortion. She proceeded to tell me that was a very privileged for me to say that, and that I was rubbing it in her face that I could get pregnant in the first place. That not keeping the baby is transmisogynistic. Somehow. This friend was also a well known trans activist in my community, often on the news and even got on the front cover of a couple magazines.

There's a couple other stories but those get a little dark and personal and are "too soon" if you know what I mean.

Some of the good stories? When I was homeless and in another city, there was at a shelter not inclusive of trans people. They were repeatedly misgendering me. Saying I would have to go the the emergency floor (and wait until midnight to claim the bed) or the women's floor. A trans girl came and sat with me outside while I waited to be able to claim the bed. (She was allowed on the women's floor because she passed.) After that day she got me connected to a trans emergency housing group and I ended up staying with another trans woman for several weeks.

I've got more stories like this as well, but a lot of them aren't mine to tell, and have identifying information in them. There's this idea floating around that I hate trans women... I don't. I love and support trans women, and have been loved and supported by them. I am asking the queer community at large to wake up to the idea that trans men are frequently left out of the conversation. (or are ridiculed when included.)

I see trans women the same way that I see any group of people. Made up of individuals, forming loose communities, worthy of respect and love, capable of both bad and good as either individuals or in those groups.

Apparently this is a really controversial opinion though.

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kaylakat2 · 1 year

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posting more year old doodles from miscellaneous sketch pages because I can and also because I love all of these for different reasons. Explanations and information after the images, if you’d like to read about them :) (this one is very long cause it covers topics I've been dying to talk about (cause when I say I have 15 years of story for these guys stored in my brain, I mean it), so just a heads up!)

The first one is from a Halloween sketch page where I explored Chase and Marcus going on a date to a pumpkin patch. Which is really special for a lot of reasons, one being that a significant part of their early relationship (around a year) was spent at work. They didn’t have the opportunity to go out on dates or really do any of the cheesy stuff either of them would want to do with a new partner. So going on a date at all is fun, but it’s made more fun when Marcus gets to see a side of Chase he hadn’t before. You see, Chase never really got to be a kid, carving pumpkins, trick or treating, going to a pumpkin patch and going on hayrides. Nor did he really get to do anything else kids do. He didn’t have any friends, since his parents kept him away from peers not on 'his level', and he barely had any time outside of studying and schoolwork, seeing as his parents felt his potential would be wasted doing anything else. So when Chase finally feels comfortable, and gets to have fun, his inner kid comes out full strength. And honestly? Marcus loves it. They get to see their serious, reserved partner, who’s usually only relaxed in private, get goofy and smiley. He gets to see Chase get excited over how this pumpkin patch sells the small pumpkins. They get to see him enjoy sweets and spiced cider. He gets to see Chase really be himself. And though it's a little surprising, Marcus can’t say they’re opposed to seeing more of it.

As for the second one, it is, as you may be able to tell, a wedding photo. And just like the previous info dump, this one is gonna be long. Cause the subject of marriage between these two is actually kinda complicated, since, as I do with all my characters, I’m projecting my own contradictory feelings about the topic onto them. Chase loves the idea. He sees it as an act of rebellion, a shining symbol of his independence and ability to finally live as himself after years of hiding in denial. He gets exceptionally happy at the idea of saying he has a husband, that he’s happily married and he chose the person he’s with. That he did this of his own free will, and not because he was expected to. Marcus though, he’s vowed since he hit 20 that he was never going to get married. It’s a stupid, archaic way to fit queer people into the heteronormative idea of love and relationships. It’s getting paperwork and the government involved in your relationship for no good reason. And he hates that. But. He’s not opposed to talking it out. So they do. They have a long talk about it, discussing each of their reasons for wanting to or not wanting to do it. Chase brings up the logical point of adopting kids being easier, Marcus keeps mentioning all of his own reservations. They end it without a real conclusion.

But Marcus gives it a long think. Chase really wants this. It’s special to him. And he's given up everything he had for Marcus. Granted he probably would have lost his parents and the rest of his family eventually (yay homophobia) but he still moved with Marcus. Moved to an area Marcus wanted, to stay close to his parents. Chase lost the few friends he had. All of his stuff. Everything familiar to him. Just to be with Marcus. So maybe it was worth making a compromise on it. Maybe it was worth it just because Marcus loves him.

As you can see, Marcus caves. He gives in and actually says yes when Chase proposes. He enjoys all the wedding festivities and being able to say he has a husband. They even pull Chase onto the dance floor, despite his adamant protests. "But," Marcus says "it's our wedding. Can't I have just one cheesy little dance with you?" And of course, Chase obliges. And now Marcus has their favorite picture of Chase. Where they're twirling him around on the dance floor, both smiling like crazy.

The third one is a lot more silly than the other two and I'm honestly just posting it because I love Chase's expression. Marcus decides to drop lunch off for Chase while he’s at work on a particularly busy day. Marcus decides to fully surprise Chase, coming up from behind and placing a hand on his side, with a flirtatious 'heey'. But y'know, in the workplace that's not something you'd be expecting to face, so Chase rightfully freaks out. And nearly slaps his husband before he realizes what's happening. Needless to say, Marcus apologized for not thinking that move through.

#chase & marcus art #my boys #drowsy draws

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