#a completely normal thing to say to you platonic bestie

[buckleysevan]

SUPERNATURAL (2005-2020) | S05E18 ‘Point of No Return’

[charmixpower]

Other queer headcanons:

Icy -> Asexual Lesbian

She just has ace vibes to me. Darcy's whole manipulation thing by attraction is so useful but also she does not understand how it works even a little bit

Darcy -> Bisexual

She has a preference for men but it's not super strong. Shes always knew she was bisexual, baby Darcy was always aware. Smart girl hours

Stormy -> Aromatic Het

Stormy is so aromantic to me!!!! She has that aroallo energy of being hot, idk what to tell you. I literally could never see Stormy in a romantic relationship, like she'd have a platonic life partner but dating isn't real.

Sky -> Questioning (Bi pref women)

Brandon has once 100% offered to kiss Sky to see if he's bi, bc he had a crush on him and Sky still didn't realize he was bi. Like Eraklyon palace is not the place to try and question your sexuality and being attracted to people who could turn out to be spy's or he had a fuck ton of explicit power over was scary so he never figured out his sexuality until like s2~3

Brandon -> Gender Neutral, Pan, Poly

Brandon doesn't have a gender. He's completely gender neutral. Like he doesn't experience gender. He doesn't get gender euphoria or dysphoria. If he suddenly turned into a girl literally nothing would happen. He just doesn't experience gender, no gender here, godbless. He'd probably say Gender Neutral but there's other words for that

He's pan bc when he goes into the smooch competition with Stella, no one is off limits. Like I said with Stella, if they met someone they both wanted to date asking them out is a done deal

Timmy -> Gay Ace

This is just 100% vibes. Tecna is busy not dating him and Timmy needs something nice for himself. He just has the ace "I'm tired of you allos acting stupid as shit" energy in my thing, and he's gay bc he deserves nice things

Riven -> Bisexual

He's bi with a preference for women, and he would of known sooner but he was so far into the fucking closet that he had become one with the clothes. Musa helps him come out of the closet and they talk about hot people together I love them

Helia -> Alterous Transman

Alterous attraction is basically just attraction that isn't platonic or romantic vs aesthetic or sexual. It can be between them or be a secret third thing (like it is for me). Helia's alterous attraction is between platonic and romantic, and between aesthetic and sexual, everything is really fuzzy for him. He doesn't get strong anything but he still gets the feelings and impulse, it's just weak and most of the time he can't tell if it's actually platonic or aesthetic

He's also trans, this is just true. As soon as he learned what a boy and girl was he was telling his parents he was a boy. Like he knew very very early on, and he socially transitioned at a young age. Gender win for Helia

Nabu -> Gay

THIS MAN IS A HOMOSEXUAL!!!!! He and Sky make up the "raised rich and wears shiny ass earrings once they realized being GNC is an option" club, and good for him

Daphne -> Queer (Lesbian)

Daphne was WAY too busy fighting the ancestral witches to ever figure out her sexuality but she was aware of the fact that she wasn't cishet, so she just grabbed a macro label and kept it moving

Mirta -> GenderFluid Lesbian

It came to me in a dream. If she can use fairy and witch magic fluidly in canon what if her gender was fluid in my thing??? I am a fucking genius. Her hair is so non-binary. Haven't decided on pronouns yet, and Mirta just is a lesbian.

Diaspro -> Questioning (Pan)

Diaspro absolutely didn't have a single crush growing up in Eraklyon bc everyone there was a asshole and hatred her and she hated them back more. She was kinda punched in the face by her attraction to Bloom. She figures it out as soon as she leaves and talks to some normal people for like a month or something in s2 or s3

Roxy -> Agender AroAce

Roxy reminds me of my bestie who is agender, so they're agender, and I think it's funny if Roxy was watching the Winx do their relationship nonsense abt to throw up bc ew allo people. They are very repulsed, and I love them. They are literally a teenager trying to be cool and not understanding why everyone is dating or doing this gender shit. Triple A battery

Selina -> Trans Lesbian

Look at Selina's fucking ugly green hair and outfit, that is a trans lesbian if I've ever seen one

Krystal -> Bisexual

She just is, I can't explain. It's the Flora

[perfluorononanoic-acid]

Synopsis: After a long day of school you and Gon decide to watch a nice movie while cuddling.

Content Warnings: nothing, just fluff with Gon as your bestie, gn!reader

Word Count: 723

Author’s Note: This was a super cute request, and I’m just going to assume this is a platonic Gon x reader :). Tysm for requesting, requests are still open!

________________________________

You and Gon shared the same biology class and were in the midst of taking your final test for the class. You both hoped the last minute cram sessions and extra help from Leorio would pay off.

You were hoping that after the test you and Gon could walk to his house and eat Mito’s amazing cooking, and hopefully have a chat with his grandma.

While you were daydreaming about Mito’s cooking, you heard something to the side of you,

“Psst”

You looked over and saw it was Gon who was trying to get your attention. You slowly turned your head over and gave him a ‘what do you want from me??’ look.

He sheepishly looked at you while signaling to your paper, trying to see your progress. The paper was pretty much filled besides a few circled questions you had to look back on.

You glanced at his paper and saw that practically only 50% of it was filled which made you cringe and slowly turn your face to him with a raised eyebrow, sending him a ‘what the heck dude’ glance.

You decided to just focus on your own paper to finish up the few questions you had to fill in. While finishing up the last question, you looked over at the clock and saw only 4 minutes were left.

You looked over to Gon and saw he was basically 70% complete with his test and he had an insane amount of steam coming from his ears which made you mentally laugh.

The 4 minutes went by fast and Gon practically guessed on all of the other questions. Your teacher announced that the scores would show up later today which was kind of nerve-racking for you and Gon.

You packed up your things and were getting ready to leave when a certain green-haired boy tapped your shoulder.

“Y/N are you ready to come over? Killua won’t be coming today so it will be just you and me!” He exclaimed with a big smile.

“Yeah, of course, after this test I just need to relax,” You responded.

He hugged you and then proceeded to walk with you towards his house, talking about anything and everything there was to talk about. His upbeat attitude was exactly what you needed to contrast your simple personality, making him a great friend for you and Killua to have.

When you reached his house, Mito greeted you both and had a delicious meal prepared for you both in which you both did not hesitate to finish after that stressful test.

Once you both finished, you and Gon went to his room and decided to check your scores, you closed your eyes and took a breath in before releasing and opening your eyes to see a 93/100 as your score which had you mostly proud of yourself, but you felt that maybe you could have done better.

“I got a 93, what did you get?”

“I got an 86!”

To be honest, you were shocked considering over 50% of his answers were probably just guesses. You took a mental note that Gon’s guessing skills were normally spot on. Your trail of thought was interrupted by Gon saying,

“C’mon let’s watch this new movie on my laptop!”

He motioned for you to come over to his bed in which you did, before you knew it he grabbed you close to him basically cuddle-hugging you as he started to play the movie.

With how tired you were from finishing the test, you felt like you were going to just fall asleep right then and there and his body warmth wasn’t helping your tiredness so you just gave in to your sleep.

Gon noticed this and smiled before pausing the movie and joining you, he was still holding on to you and slowly fell asleep as he nuzzled himself closer to you. You both ended up having a nice, warm nap with Mito coming upstairs to take pictures.

________________________________

@pretty-dreamzz 💜

[leclerced]

For the hitman!Oscar I have two ideas so you’re gonna suffer from both of them

First is that it never goes romantic. Like the whole relationship w Oscar is platonic maybe with borderline romantic gestures but they don’t see it like this. They’re just super close. So there’s cuddles, (literal) sleeping together, watching films and series. She cooks for him, he kills her enemies yk every day, totally normal deal that they have. Lando lets it be since he 1) has nothing to say because of his girl 2)actually starts liking Oscar too (as a human being not only as a killing machine)

Second one is that it turns romantic along the way! But it’s super slow burn. They connect emotionally but never really talk about it and both of them are loyal to Lando so they would never do anything behind his back. So I can totally see them discussing it when sth happens to Lando. Risky business risky life so he gets shot or sum and her and Oscar are with him. Lando is on strong drugs and tells them that they could at least be subtle with their longing looks and that he’s actually not opposed trying it two ways but Oscar is not gonna fuck him or maybe he could or maybe not because he’s the mafia boss. You know he starts mumbling and talking nonsense so they don’t address it immediately but then when Lando’s recovering he does talk to them about it. And it turns romantic like that.

Like ofc it’s practically perfect scenario for cheating and finding out about it and drama and then just going with it but I hate all of these things so fucking much imma never write sth about it so yeah. I hope my English in it is okay? And that it makes sense in general cause today isn’t my best bilingual day lol

your English is always perfectly ola !!

i love both but am bout to go to store so im picking a fav!

i love the idea of them just being platonic best friends its so cute. lando pays oscar to watch her and they become besties so he starts hanging around when he doesn’t have contracts out of town. lando starts to like him despite the annoyance he feels, especially once he tries asking oscar about it and bc he’s hitman!oscar, he’s like, “not interested. i have a girlfriend already.” and lando’s completely shocked by the admission and wonders if his girl knows and when he asks she confirms it and starts telling him about what oscar’s told her about her

[userseokmins]

secret wishes ◦ h.v.c.

💞 🄿🄰🄸🅁🄸🄽🄶: Hansol Vernon Chwe x gn!reader 📚 🄶🄴🄽🅁🄴: Fluff, Humor/Comedy/Crack, PLATONIC!au, Besties!au 💬 ⓌⒸ: 3.4k ⚠️ 🅆🄰🅁🄽🄸🄽🄶🅂: Food, One mention of alcoholic beverages, Reader gets a tattoo, Cheesy corny stuff, Everyone is a menace imho, lmk if i missed smth! 📝 🄰/🄽: what better way to make a fic debut on this blog than a (very belated) birthday vernon fic to my beloved @aceofvernons. Basically it's a love letter from one bestie to another but it got kinda out of hand sjjskakak I still hope you enjoy it 🎉 (also ty Nova for color correcting and giving me confidence 💖)

It's like waking up disoriented from a dream. 

Vernon is suddenly snapped out of the daze Seungwkan had left him in moments ago. The man responsible for it is now standing next to him, barking orders out to at least five other people who are running around their tiny, shared apartment.

"Geez, you didn't need to make such a big deal outta things."

"Should've stopped me instead of pouting in silence in your abysmally dark room like always."

"It's not that dark," Vernon protests and scratches the back of his head, "and I don't pout." 

Lilac strands flutter as he tilts his head and does the very thing he said he doesn't do: pout. Seungkwan spares him a look only to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah Mr. Vamp. Maybe when a certain person isn't mentioned, sure." He jerks his head to the right. "Now get your lazy butt moving so I'm not tempted to take a hundred percent of the credit, love, and appreciation in your stead."

Vernon reluctantly peers into the kitchen. Mingyu is waving a spatula in a threatening manner at Wonwoo and their partner for eating and playing with the batter he's been working hard on. Peeking into the living room causes his entire body to cringe at Seokmin and his fiance who are supposed to be blowing up balloons. Instead, they're taking a break to giggle and kiss at one another's necks.

Ugh.

Seeking reprieve, he finally finds comfort stumbling next to Joshua, the seemingly only calm one among the other chaotic scatterbrains. With a kind smile, the maroon-haired man hands a loose end of the various paper chains he's looping together to Vernon, who readily takes it.

"You're pouting."

"I don't pout, Josh."

"Sure, sure. Unless it's about you know who."

"Seungkwan said the same sort of nonsense."

"He's not wrong. Otherwise he wouldn't be putting in all this effort for the both of you."

Vernon frowns. "He didn't have to."

"He did 'cause you were pouting. We all had to."

"I don't… ugh, whatever. All I wanted was something small but different."

"It's different that's for sure." Red bangs fly up when Joshua snorts at a sweaty Seungcheol stumbling through the front door, flanked by additional friends, to bring in an unnecessarily large table. "I know it's not what you normally do but I think it'll be nice."

"We like to do quiet things. Just the two of us. But everything's been screwed up this year."

Joshua's laughter is soft and melodic despite the underlying mockery Vernon suspects it disguises. "So, this surprise party and the commotion that came with it isn't bothering you. You're sulky because quality bestie time has been sacrificed since they went away."

Just because he's right doesn't mean he has to say it. 

"I'm not sulking and I'm not sure what's so funny either." 

"You are, my dear buddy!" He clasps his friend's shoulder reassuringly whose lilac hair cutely lessens the intensity of his perpetual frown. "After we celebrate, you'll get them all to yourself."

Vernon's nose crinkles. "Why is everyone being so insufferable?"

Not bothering to reply, the other man simply hums and stands to hang the completed portion of the chain. He can manage his grumpy younger friend who's now stapling the remaining rectangular pieces of paper a little bit too aggressively. The knowledge that Vernon will settle back into his easy-going nature once you return is inevitable. 

It's just a question of how long all of them will be able to hold out until then.

By the time the sun sets, the fast-paced energy of the afternoon has dwindled down and the party preparations are finally finished.

"Are you sure it will be fine?"

"Honestly, Chwe! Do you not trust my baking skills?" 

"More like I don't trust my fridge."

Seungkwan looks up at the exchange between a whiny Mingyu and indifferent Vernon. "Just don't open the fridge overnight and everything should be fine." He huffs, handing a stack of empty pizza boxes to Seokmin. "There's nothing but the cake in there anyways."

That must be enough to satisfy the dessert maker who obnoxiously puffs out his chest in pride. Wonwoo secures the last pack of untouched beer he'd brought in one hand and his partner's wrist tenderly in the other. Bidding everyone a good evening, he leaves with Mingyu following behind them like an elated puppy heading back home after a tiring walk.

"We'll take these and head out too," Seokmin supplies helpfully as he and his fiance finish gathering the final pieces of trash laying around. "See you tomorrow!"

Joshua is the last to go and jingles his car keys loudly before shutting the door with an exclamation of, "Enjoy the surprise!"

He disappears with a cheeky grin and swift departure before the opportunity to be questioned arises and Vernon turns to his unphased roommate.

"What did he mean by that?"

"Oh, you know him. Sometimes he's normal, more often he's not. Probably just wanted to re-remind you of that fact."

Seungkwan's statement is one that anyone can agree with. Figuring Joshua meant nothing as usual, it's already forgotten by the time Vernon's made his way up the steps.

Much later into the night, he's on a desperate search for something when you call but picks up nonetheless. No matter what he's doing, one thing for sure is that he'll always answer the phone when it displays your name. Because it's you.

But maybe that wasn't the smartest decision.

"Hello 'sol!"

"Hey bestie," the phone is cradled between his shoulder and ear as he rummages between the couch cushions. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, guess I just wanted to hear your voice."

A silly smirk halts him in his tracks. "Miss me?"

"Oh, how I long for you so!" The sarcasm lacing your words can't fully hide the smile he hears. "I've talked to you every day as always, it's like I never even left."

"Wish you didn't."

"You and I both. It's nice to be home but still…"

"We've always spent your birthdays together."

"Which is exactly why you should've come back with me!" 

"Couldn't intrude on the fam like that."

You sigh. "No one would've minded, you're so dear to them." Mimicking your mother's voice, you continue, "Where's that lil Hansolie of yours? We enjoy his company so much, it's as if he's our son. In fact — we might love him more than our own child!"

Vernon laughs brightly. Bold and loud like he always does in your presence. You draw that part out of him like no one else can, setting him at ease to simply be himself. Comfortable. There are no appearances to uphold with you, no worries either. Everything melts away and it's easy to forget what he was all stressed about before you called. Until hurried feet pounding on the floor signify that someone is about to rush into the living room.

"I found them! I found the — " Seungkwan's happy skip halts upon seeing his friend on the phone and attempts to catch his breath after scrambling down the steps. But the keywords to the unfinished sentence roll right off Vernon's tongue out of relief without thinking. 

"The rings?"

Even if he can't see, you perk up from your slouched position in the car and repeat eagerly, "Rings?"

Vernon shares a wide-eyed look with the other man in the room who hesitantly places the box on the coffee table. So much for being relaxed — he got too relaxed and ended up spilling the secret. Exposing himself like an idiot. He normally doesn't care that you are privy to everything there is to know about him but now…

Licking his lips nervously, he chuckles awkwardly. "Uh… yeah?"

"Did you get married or something in the week that I was gone?" you tease. "What's all this ring business about?"

"N-nothing. It's nothing big… y'know how Kwannie was… contemplating… um, engagement."

The man in question gapes and starts waving theatrically while mouthing silent charades full of utter disbelief and betrayal that are readily ignored.

Meanwhile, you snort. "Oh yeah, because that's definitely not a big deal at all. About time! But how did you end up with his rings then?"

Vernon turns his back on a dramatic Seungkwan in order to focus on organizing a believable white lie. "We… invited some of the guys over to talk it out and uh, he didn't want to lose them in the chaos because… he's still deciding and all that, you know… "

"Incredible," you mutter, "yet it seems like you lost them."

Panic, his brain screams. And maybe some shame added as well.

"But whatever, at least you found them." Somehow you seem to miraculously buy his pathetic excuse. Leaving the matter alone because you're distracted by a hearty yawn, he lets out a quiet exhale of relief while you stretch your neck out. "I'm tired." 

Your best friend collapses onto the couch, feeling exhausted himself. "You should get some rest."

"And miss when the clock strikes twelve?"

"You've got a long day ahead, flying out after your celebration. You know you can stay longer if it's too much." 

He's a little nervous saying that after everyone excitedly spent time to set up a surprise party but your well-being will always be more important to them over anything else. 

Mingyu and his cake would survive.

"Puh-lease," you grumble and Vernon knows your eyes just have to be rolling, though you're actually glancing at your watch. "Don't you worry your handsome little head, I'll be right on time."

His eyebrows furrow. "On time for what?"

But you've already put the speaker away from your face, giggling like a gremlin in the background before you loudly cackle, "You're a horrible liar, Hansol!"

He breaks out into a cold sweat, even more perturbed when you simply hang up without even a farewell. "What is up with people today?" 

"I dunno, what's up with you?" Phone held dazedly in one hand, Vernon turns to face Seungkwan's wrath. "Because suddenly, I'm engaged — according to your standards!"

"Sorry 'bout that. I'll explain everything when I give them their gift, okay? I think… I don't think they believed me anyway."

"Even Bookkeu wouldn't be fooled by that awful acting. Gosh, now I'm gonna feel bad about not proposing."

"Aw, c'mon Kwan. You know that's not what this meant."

Seungkwan's not really upset and Vernon knows that. Still. It's a subtle sting of a reminder that neither in the ten-year relationship have made a move for sealing that lifelong commitment. It would be a lie to say that it didn't occasionally eat away at the gentle-hearted man. Not that marriage was needed in every romantic relationship.

"I should've said Seokmin but that wouldn't have made sense either… "

"Those two? They're so attached to the hip they would've never handed over their rings to anyone. As a matter of fact though, I wouldn't give you mine either seeing as how you treated yours."

Vernon is quick to jump at his roommate and put him in a light headlock as faux retaliation, knuckles rubbing on the top of his hair while the latter yells in protest. They roughhouse as usual (this time staying clear of any lamp posts), nearly pulling off one another's clothes in the friendly tussle.

That's the position they freeze in when there's two heavy bangs on the door — Vernon with his hand fisted in Seungkwan's collar who has the former's shirt halfway up his torso. Inching closer to one another, they hold their breath. Peeking warily at the front door before meeting each other's terrified eyes that continue to widen in alarm when the beeping sounds of the code being entered starts after two seconds of silence. 

They scream (very manly screams if anyone asks them about it afterwards) when the lock clicks open because who on earth knows their code and would break into their apartment at 11:56 PM?

"It's me!" You announce with a flourish — arms raised in exhilaration — only to lower them in confusion. "Oh. Am I interrupting something?"

Joshua glances around you to laugh at the two men entangled in what now looks like a hug. "Is that how you guys plan to defend yourselves? With a lover's embrace? You knew we were coming, Kwannie."

"I didn't know you'd show up at midnight!"

They step away from one another with disgruntled expressions and Vernon side-eyes everyone dubiously.

"You knew?" 

Seungkwan's stuttered excuse is cut short when your (and everyone else's) phone buzzes and you excitedly cheer, "Happy gremlin birth hour to me!," and turn to a gobsmacked Vernon. "Aren't I gonna get my welcome back squish and squeeze?"

Of course, he could never deny you a hug. Especially on your birthday. Even if you scared the crap out of him by 'breaking in' when you're supposed to be far away with your family still, he opens his arms with an upward lift of his lips.

"Happy birthday, bestie. Now tell me, what in the world are you doing here?"

He takes in your appearance. Despite the off-and-on nap in Joshua's car on the way back from the airport somewhat helping, there's no way your animated behavior can hide all the obvious tiredness and jet lag.

You back away with a pat to his left bicep that has various rows of little black tattoo symbols encircling it, rocking back and forth on your heels.

"Wanted to celebrate my birthday with you!"

"You should have rested."

"I'm not a child, I wanted to surprise you!"

"But — " Vernon gestures helplessly to you, then the decorations he's sure you haven't noticed, and expects some support from his other friends but they have seemingly disappeared to give the two of you privacy. Plus, likely to escape him asking about the bizarre circumstances.

Gee, what wonderful pals.

"I know, I know… all of you put in a lot of effort. Especially Kwannie."

"I helped too!"

"But it was his original idea and organization, no? You'd never plan something like this."

"Why do you know everything, it's your birthday?" He groans in exasperation at your laughter. "It's supposed to be a secret and you're supposed to be surprised!"

"Ah, speaking of which," you eagerly roll up your right sleeve, "look at what I got!"

His eyebrows raise at the reveal of the ink that now circles over your skin. "Oh? You got tatted?"

"Yes! When I called after you got yours last year, the waitlist was so long I ended up just scheduling it as a birthday gift."

From afar, one might think they're the same as the ones dotting his arm. But upon closer inspection, he's more than pleased to see how you chose to have your own unique personality shine through. Miniscule versions of symbols that mean something precious and objects that seem to represent you best are outlined or filled-in with your favorite color.

"Beautiful."

You smile broadly at how awestruck your best friend is. "No, you."

"No, you."

"No, you."

"Fine, we're both pretty!" Vernon relents, well aware that this could go back and forth forever. 

"That we are." You urge him to sit down on the couch and situate yourself next to him, right shoulder to his left, and grab his wrist. "Look!"

Extending your joined arms, you show him how your tattoos align almost perfectly. Then securing his other free hand in yours with the traditional pinky promise the two of you have done since childhood. He chuckles as you nudge him cajolingly with an elbow.

"I see."

"What do you see?"

"You just want me to say something cheesy 'cause you're in your affectionate era."

"It's the least you could do on my birthday."

A deep, weary sigh. "We're… each other's… better… half?"

The hands you have placed on his body tighten their hold as you squeeze hard in your excitement. He grunts as appropriate between your rambling, focusing mainly on when he'll be able to get circulation back where you're gripping, until you suddenly deflate.

"I messed it up. Stupid, sleep-deprived brain."

"You're not stupid."

"You're right, it's your fault."

"Mine?"

"I took the brain cell but now you have it back because we're together." Finally freeing the poor man, you stand in front of him and point. "Okay, let me try again so you'd better wipe your mind clear."

"Yeah, yeah." Vernon crosses his arms and pretends to look annoyed as if there isn't a goofy grin on his face.

"It was supposed to go something like this. We mirror each other, right?" You gesture to your tattoos again. "We're very similar, maybe even too similar at times. But," you flop down where you were originally seated, "we're also different! Different enough that we can compensate for each other's weaknesses and complement each other's strengths… you know, like you said — all that corny stuff."

"Cute."

"Like you."

"And you."

You lean in so close to Vernon that your noses almost touch. "Yeah, because we're besties and we look cute together. Okay, since I ruined the surprise and told you all my secrets, isn't it your turn now?"

"My turn?"

"Yeah, Mr. Rings."

"Ah… so that was your goal all along."

"Of course, I'm waiting with bated breath."

He raises his chin in the direction of the coffee table. "It's right there."

Despite teasing him about not wrapping it, you quickly snatch the velvet box before he can grab it himself. "Couple rings?" You put a hand over your heart dramatically. "Aw, you shouldn't have, Hansol."

"They're bestie rings, you dolt."

"Did you just call me an idiot?!"

"Yeah. With affection though."

You make a sound of disgust but return to the precious gift, lips curling upwards. "They're beautiful."

"Copycat."

"Stop it, you love me."

"I do."

"Then put it on me," you demand, handing him the ring box and wiggling your fingers in anticipation. 

Vernon mumbles something about how impatient you are and to chillax. But he does as asked and gently takes the hand always used to pinky promise and bro-slap him. Sliding the ring on your middle finger, pleased when it's a perfect fit. Then, he does the same on his own and scrunches his nose in satisfaction.

"Perfect."

"I know."

He takes your hand back in his like before, and brings you into the kitchen. Identical rings brush against each other and the tattoos on your arms act like magical sigils to shield from anything that threatens to break through the personal bubble created by your joined hands.

"How did you figure out my ring size?"

"There are lots of opportunities because you don't fall asleep until some ungodly hour and happen to still be passed out when normal people awaken. So thanks for that."

You stick your tongue out at his snarkiness and receive a dollop of icing on it in return. "Mingyu makes amazing cakes!"

"So you knew about that too."

"Duh. And I know he'll be mad if you cut a piece."

"Two," Vernon deviously points out and places a plate down for himself. 

It would be an absolute crime to not devour such a delicious treat, figuring it a waste to let it sit out instead. Making a gross noise of appreciation at the first bite, you couldn't wait to thank Mingyu later. 

You get that opportunity the next morning as more and more friends from the day before tiptoe in one after the other per Seungkwan and Joshua's request. Quiet giggles and definite blackmail material when they sneak a peek into the kitchen to see you and Vernon fast asleep with your heads laying on the counter, limbs splayed all over the place and each other. 

The two of you had chattered about everything, anything, and nothing at all. No words needed to be said even when a comfortable silence settled as the sun started to rise before both of your eyelids closed. 

You were his best friend and he was yours. That was all that mattered. The strength of your bond meant that you were content just being in each other's thoughts, even at times you were far apart. Physical reminders like tattoos or rings were just the cherry on top of the cake that you had worked hard and spent years together on creating.

Speaking of cakes…

"My precious darling," Mingyu whisper-screeched from afar, "I knew you would be destroyed!" 

He sighs, distraught, and Wonwoo pats him on the back. Their partner begins snickering when the tall man gingerly lifts up the new one he brought with shaking hands. "Good thing I made two!"

userseokmins 2023 ©

[lady-of-the-spirit]

tagged by @goldheartedchaoticdisaster thank you bestie ❤❤❤

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

55!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

183,074

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The short answer is basically "whichever one I'm feeling".

the longer answer is: Arata the Legend, the MCU (specifically my own OC content and Eternals), Good Omens, The Old Guard, The Wicked + The Divine, A Discovery of Witches/All Souls Trilogy, Doctor Who, Ted Lasso (in theory, so far) and like... other stuff I can't think of right now that I haven't published but still write for, and other stuff I have written fics for but wouldnt say I "write" for the fandom.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Okay

Rotten Work

Ethereal

First Word

everybody wants someone (i want to be somebody)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! Or I try to - I try to respond to every comment people leave, even if it's only a heart emoji or a 'thank you'. Because I want to show them I see them and appreciate them!!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Toss up between "no home sweet and no sweet home" with Joan having to run away from an abusive household in the middle of the night to a life of just constant running and loneliness she's not emotionally prepared for after having a relatively normal life and "my heart is a stone, my body is not my own" with Yataka dealing with years of blackmail, sexual assault and noncon suddenly being exposed to everyone by one of his abusers and just refusing to talk about it at all and rejecting the (admittedly flawed) attempt at comfort shown to him (points for being a fic I wanted to end with comfort and instead became my first hurt/no comfort).

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

It's hard to choose but I'm gonna say probably First Word (link above) because. I mean how does it get better than Human!Ten, Donna and Jenny being a little family together and Jenny's first word being Donna's name and Ten being absolutely in love with his girls-

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Oh I did like, back when I was 13. My ATLA OC fic got cyberbullied by some dude on tumblr, who copy&pasted whole chapters of my fic and then would go through the chapter and add shitty comments.

The only good thing about that situation was that he even added a whole post to express his confusion that all the comments on my fic were positive. everyone else was loving it. and then he apparently needed to ruin me and left his own comment telling me he was reviewing my fic. which of course led to a shock and some hurt feelings but uh, seeing him annoyed at everyone else liking the fic helped lmao now I can look back on it with amusement like what was going on with that guy that he felt the need to harass a 13 year old.

I also got another comment on the same fic accusing me of plagiarizing their fic and OC because both my oc and hers could bend 2 elements and had sort of similar names and when I went to read her fic it was so completely different from my own I had to LAUGH.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've attempted it a few times but I really don't know what I'm doing with it.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've never written a whole crossover - I admit I did start an au fic where all different studio ghibli characters were in the story of Anastasia the movie, but it did not get super far before I stopped.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

luckily no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No but if anyone ever asked I wouldn't say no!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Oh my god.... I mean as hard as it is to choose it's gotta be TenDonna. like platonically, romantically, a secret third thing, they are amazing together and I love them so much.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I try to never say I'll never finish a fic, but there's one for certain I don't think I'll ever finish, Prince Mononoke - a role swap au of Princess Mononoke. I was writing it for years and had my grandma proofread every chapter before publishing. I put it on hiatus for years, but then she died, and it didn't feel right to keep going.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I feel I write dialogue really well. I try my best to hit the right voice for every character and I think I do a good job at it. And honestly it's hard for me to not write dialogue like half the time I'm like can you guys shut up already and progress the plot with actions instead-

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm not as poetic as I'd like to be, I guess. Like. some writers are just fucking masters with words and I feel like I'm stammering. I'm also not super confident in writing romance - like, pining, or friendly relationship with a splash of romance for fun? I've got that. Actual romantic relationships? Not so much.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

If I do, I use google translate and hope for the best, but usually I don't. Ethereal has a lot of Canadian French in it because Marianne is from Quebec, but I use my sister (a French Immersion student) as my translator.

I mean I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Like, use the best translator website you can find and hope for the best.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

If we want to get really technical it was for The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, before I even knew fanfic was a thing. If we want to be specific to published fic, it was Avatar the Last Airbender.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

UGHHHH HOW DO I CHOOSE

honestly I have no way to choose. So I'm simply not going to lol

tagging: @dani-luminae @sighonaraa @altschmerzes @jamietarttsnorthernattitude @fallenangelontheceiling @vinatintasupernovita @strangelock221b @mousedetective @linguini17 and like, anyone who wants to do this!!!! it's fun :)

[tender-emotional-music]

Hi, I love your blog!!! It's so tubular to talk to fellow Stranger Things and Byler enthusiasts and you really get the characters. I wanted to ask, when do you think Mike and Will started liking each other, when do you think they realised it, and how oblivious are they to each other's feelings? Also any opinions you have on Mike's sexuality and his feelings for El? I'm aro-spec ace and way too fixated on analysing the platonic/romantic nuances of relationships, and it would be so cool if you could break those down in Mlvn and Byler. Make the answer as long as you like, I could talk about Byler for hours! This blog is totally sweet!!! Oh, any Byler headcanons you have too, sorry for such a long ask, lmao.

Sorry, i haven’t been checking my inbox and completely missed this ask 😭

I think Will has had a crush on Mike pretty much since he can remember, but it’s around s3 that he starts to realise it, with everyone growing up and having to see Mike in a relationship. He represses it throughout the summer, and it’s in s4 that he’s consciously aware and accepts it. Will is still dealing with his own internalised homophobia though, and fully believes that Mike will never reciprocate, hence him giving away his feelings in the painting scene and essentially resigning himself to helping fix Mike and El’s relationship, since he wants them to be happy and thinks this is how that can be accomplished.

Mike is more complicated, but I do believe that he realised he was in love with Will/gay/bi/however you interpret it in the s3 finale. Just the flashing between his and Will’s faces as the van drives off, focusing on him looking back at the Byers house and hugging Karen, and also him looking like he’s having a *realisation* when El says she loves him (while kissing him in front of an open closet with “The First I love you” playing - the song which also plays when Robin comes out to Steve in the episode prior). He’s aware of it then, but I think he seriously represses it and also doesn’t think Will is gay. It’s cool to see him leaning back into his more nerdy interests and being influenced by Eddie to be more carefree in s4 though, since we see him start to shed the idea of being “normal” and conforming (which is a big theme for Karen and Nancy too. That damn Wheeler family 😭)

I’m still torn as to whether I see Mike as bi or gay. Pre-s4 i was firmly in the gay Mike Truther camp, but I can see them going either way and I think there is evidence to support either reading. S1-3 he comes off as possibly being bi, but s4 it seems like he’s been written as gay. Either way, i hope they do it justice, as it will recontextualise his actions and his relationship with El differently depending on what his sexuality actually is.

Regarding El, I do think that he and El have work to do if they want to have a proper friendship after they break up. I don’t think they’re immediately going to fall into being besties, since they don’t share a lot of interests, and we don’t actually see much of their dynamic as friends, since the romance overshadows it. Regardless, they care deeply for each other and I’d like to see them start to make up for lost time and form a friendship.

And finally for headcanons, we know Will gives art to Mike, so I imagine Mike also gives Will little stories and stuff he writes. After the stuff with Vecna is over, i love to think of them starting a comic series together, maybe taking inspiration from their own experiences with the UD and their friends. They’d probably go to the same college too, and would move to a city, but still live a relatively quiet life and maybe adopt a dog. I think Mike would also start to listen to some of Will’s music. We know he calls Should I Stay or Should I Go “that weird song” in s1 and if we take his playlist as canon he seems to personally prefer synth music to rock, but I think he’d probably listen to some of Will’s faves to feel closer to him. They’d both also love 90’s music, and we see that there’s a guitar in Mike’s room in s4 (probs Eddie’s influence) so maybe he’d try to play something for Will.

That’s all I can think of for now, but I hope this is fun to read and I answered everything well enough! Sorry for leaving it so late lol

[thetomorrowshow]

normal is relative (love is love)

Hola folks! if you weren't aware, i am on hiatus! however despite completely cutting myself off from social media, i haven't stopped writing. i wrote this last week and emailed it over to my bestie and beta reader, afternineattheoasis, who is now posting it here and on tumblr for all to enjoy. otherwise, my queue should post every second tuesday of the month until i'm back :)

~

"And, I was just wondering . . . um, I—oh, this is just—I can't do this."

Doc raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Try again," he said.

Mumbo sighed, adjusted his tie. "Right. Well, I was just in the neighborhood—in the neighborhood? I've never said that in my life, I don't know—"

Doc harrumphed loudly. "Again."

"Okay." Mumbo took a deep breath. "Hi, G! Uh, I was—I have, I mean, or, or, I want? Look, it's—we're, we're good friends, right?"

"Stop."

Mumbo, gratefully, stopped.

Doc watched him for a moment, eyes roving over Mumbo, from his head to his toes. Mumbo stood there, awkwardly, just waiting for him to say something. Anything. Any piece of advice.

"Lose the tie," Doc said eventually.

"I—what? What? Lose the—lose the tie?" Mumbo sputtered. "It's—I always wear a tie!"

"It feels too formal. Take it off."

"That's absolutely ridiculous," Mumbo said. "I don't see how that's supposed to help me."

"I don't see how I am supposed to help you," Doc said. "What do you want from this? Why me?"

Well, Mumbo had thought that was obvious! Why would he go to anyone other than Doc?

"You're the only other aspec person I know," he said, pushing up his sleeves. That felt awkward. He pushed them back down. "I figured, because you and Ren have your—your—"

"Our QPR?" Doc supplied.

"Yes! Yes, that. Well, you and Ren have feelings for each other, and your relationship is a QPR—"

"I do not have feelings for Ren," said Doc, nose wrinkled. "Ren has feelings for me, and I like his feelings."

"Oh. Right." Mumbo blinked a couple of times. He was pretty sure that's exactly what having feelings was, but okay. "Um, well, how did you confess? Or how did Ren confess, I guess? Like, how was it different from confessing other feelings?"

It was Doc's turn to blink, a slow action, his robotic eye spinning circles around in his head. "Different?"

"Yes. How is—" Mumbo patted his pockets, a tic he'd developed some time ago that he did when he was searching for a word or trying to explain something— "How do you confess feelings of like? Isn't that—isn't that weird?"

"I do not understand."

Mumbo bit his lip. Doc had to be messing with him. "Well, like, a love confession is normal. But, well—a platonic confession? And asking to be in a QPR? That's weird."

Doc frowned. "It is still a love confession, Mumbo. Love is love. Platonic, romantic—just two different loves. All deserve a confession."

"Well, sure," Mumbo waved, "but it certainly isn't normal."

"Normal is relative," grumbled Doc. "Nothing is normal."

"Something—some things are normal, and—"

"Ask Zedaph what normal is to him. And then ask Joe. And then ask Keralis. They will all have different answers. Normal is relative."

He shouldn't have tried to argue with Doc. "All right, but, but a committed platonic relationship is not normal to Grian. He could—"

"I don't understand," Doc said. "You care about him, yes?"

Well, yes. Mumbo did care about Grian. He cared about him very much.

But what if Grian felt differently? What if Grian didn't want a committed platonic relationship?

What if Grian wanted more?

What if Mumbo was wrong about everything? What if he didn't actually want a QPR? What if Mumbo wanted more?

"Do you think," he said slowly, "that I might actually want a romantic relationship but I just don't know it? Like—I've never felt this with anyone before—before Grian. Maybe, maybe I actually want to date him, but I don't know it because I don't know what romance feels like and—"

"Do you want to kiss Grian?" Doc asked, one eyebrow raised.

Mumbo felt a bit of revulsion for a second, just to imagine such a thing. That would weird, a total violation of the relationship they have. "No."

"Do you want to woo him?"

That got the same feeling. "No, no—I—"

"Do you want to play footsie under the table and giggle about it?"

Mumbo actually almost gagged. "No, that sounds—"

Doc held his hands up, a look of satisfaction on his face. "There you are. I do not think you have romantic feelings for Grian."

Mumbo wasn't so sure that was a definitive test, but it did help a little bit, in reassuring his identity. He'd been identifying as aromantic and asexual for as long as he knew they existed, but his recent feelings for Grian had made him start to doubt his entire existence. It was good to have that little confirmation.

"Right," he said, still turning Doc's words over in his mind. "Okay. So—but what if Grian doesn't like . . . the idea? Of a, uh, not-romantic relationship?"

Doc sighed. "Mumbo, why are you so afraid of platonic love?"

That—he wasn't afraid of platonic love! He was just—just nervous, he supposed. Nervous that—nervous that Grian would be. Absolutely not afraid.

"Love is love. And besides, you really just want to . . . ah, put a label on your relationship, yes?"

"Well, yes, and also—make it committed? But what if Grian doesn't want—what if he wants a romantic relationship, not with—not with me, with someone else, and I don't—and we're a, uh, platonic couple? And I'm not comfortable with that?"

Doc waved his robotic arm. "Relationship. Such a messy word. Relationships are . . . ah, transitiatory, I suppose? They develop, and change, day to day. Especially in a mixed-orientation relationship, like the one you want to be in."

Mixed-orientation relationship. What, because Grian was alloromantic and Mumbo was aro? Or would it mean something else entirely?

"What exactly is a mixed-orientation relationship?" Mumbo asked hesitantly. "Just to, er, make sure we're on the same page."

"Something like what Ren and I have," Doc explained patiently. "Ren is alloromantic. I am not. Ren has romantic feelings for me. I am fine with it. He knows that I do not return them. It involves much communication, and our boundaries change frequently. That is what you want, yes?"

Not that Mumbo knew what to expect, but that sounded like something that he wanted. Maybe not the whole bit about Ren having romantic feelings anyway. Mumbo didn't really like the idea of Grian wanting that sort of relationship, and Mumbo not being able to provide.

"Does it ever get—is it ever hard, to know—or, does, er, when Ren wants things you don't want, is that hard?"

Doc stared at him for a moment, clearly trying to parse out the question. He chuckled suddenly, crossing one leg over the other.

"Right, I forgot that you're asexual also," he said, still chuckling. "No. No, Ren and I never have that problem."

That was probably too much information. Mumbo could've lived without knowing that. He could feel his ears heating up, like they always did when he got embarrassed. Change the subject change the subject—

"Um, right then. But, like—did you ever feel bad that you can't, you know, return his feelings? Give him what he wants—in like, a feelings, romance sense? You know?"

Doc, again, sighed. "Mumbo Jumbo, my platonic . . . er, love for Ren is not worth less than romantic love. They are equal, if different. You must understand that before anything, yes? There is no love greater than another. All love is worthy of love."

Mumbo knew that. He really did. He knew about love, and the different kinds. He had learned that being aspec didn't mean broken, just different.

Why couldn't he keep it straight when it came to Grian?

"I think I'm just having a hard time with this today," Mumbo said eventually. "I know this stuff. Like, remember when Joe signed us all up for that gender and sexuality conference so that we could learn how to use Cleo's pronouns? I went to the, uh, the aspec panel, and they talked a lot about that. And I've also just . . . just read about it online. So I know—I know that you're right. I know this. It's just hard. You know?"

"Ah, I remember that conference," Doc said, gazing off into the distance with what was either a fond or a disgruntled expression. "Some racist man threatened me. The fun thing about threatening a part-creeper is that you're sure to lose."

Mumbo really didn't like Doc's smile. Maybe it would be best to return to the main subject.

"Another thing I'm scared about—"

"Another thing? Mumbo, how many fears can one have about this?"

Mumbo laughed self-consciously. "Well, well, I've—I've got a lot, so just—buckle in, bud. Another thing is what if . . . well, what if he says no? And then he thinks it's weird, that—that—that I feel that way. And he doesn't want to be friends anymore. Then what?"

Doc stared at him. "You are making things up now."

"No, I'm—this is a genuine fear! I just want to be—"

"Mumbo," interjected Doc, "when Grian first joined, I thought you were in a QPR."

Oh.

Well, Mumbo rather liked that. He and Grian already gave off QPR vibes? That was—maybe not, not great, but it made him feel kind of proud.

"Of course, others on the server assumed it was romantic," Doc continued. "My a-dar has never been wrong."

The others thought—?

Mumbo could deal with that later.

"I don't think it counts as an a-dar if I already came out to you, mate," Mumbo pointed out.

Doc waved. "Potato, potato."

"Those were the same potatoes."

"Mumbo Jumbo."

Mumbo sighed, properly looked up at Doc. When had his eyes fallen to his shoes?

Doc stared into his eyes as he spoke. "If Grian is worth anything, he will never stop loving you. Understood?"

Mumbo didn't argue this time. Doc was right. And Mumbo knew Grian. Even if Grian rejected him and it was a little awkward for a while, nothing would change.

He took a deep breath. He could do this.

"Right. So let's say I'm going to confess right now. What do I do?"

Doc, again, surveyed him up and down, robotic eye moving slower than his natural one, from Mumbo's shoes to his hair.

"Lose the tie."

-

Mumbo didn't lose the tie.

He did loosen it, though, on his way out of his tree, after doubling back to check himself out in the mirror.

Doc was right. It felt too formal, too much like he was inviting Grian to a dinner party rather than asking a close friend if they wanted to change their brand of friendship.

So he loosened it, then left to find Grian.

Grian was meant to really get some progress done on his alley build today (because of course they shared a calendar, how else would they ever get anything done?), but Mumbo didn't see him passing by, so he headed instead for Grian's starter base.

There was no one there, either. Grian must have been out mining or something. Which kind of sucked, really, because Mumbo had just gotten up the nerve to actually talk to him. Now he would have to do it all over again—spend a day hyping himself up, an hour getting ready, skip breakfast so that he doesn't throw up, et cetera—another time. After all, since Grian wasn't here at the exact time Mumbo planned, everything had entirely fallen apart and nothing that day would work because Mumbo hadn't prepared for it.

He turned to go, trying not to look too dejected. It was fine! He was fine. It was all going to work out, and everything—

"Mumbo Jumbolio!"

Grian landed in front of him, elytra clicking neatly together on his back. He smiled, big and sunny and welcoming.

Mumbo felt a bit weak in the knees. And not because—not because he loved him, or anything, but—

No. He did love Grian.

"What are you sneaking around my house for?"

"Just—just looking for you, dude!" Mumbo said, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Any suspicion cleared from Grian's face instantly, even though Mumbo probably sounded like the most suspicious person ever. Instead, Grian just turned away and started walking, so Mumbo hurried up and fell into step beside him.

Instinctively, Mumbo slowed his pace, matching the stride of Grian's shorter legs. Grian started chattering about some builder thing like block palletes or something that Mumbo automatically tuned out. It wasn't that he didn't want to hear about block palletes—he was trying to become a better builder, after all—or that he didn't want to listen to Grian talk, he was just kind of busy not having a panic attack. Breathing exercises kind of took up a lot of his mental capacity at the best of times.

They arrived, somehow, at the Boatem Hole. Grian sat down on the edge of it, swinging his legs back and forth, still talking.

Mumbo didn't really like to sit at the edge of the Boatem Hole. He always felt like Impulse or Grian would be right behind him, ready to shove him in.

He sat down, anyway. He needed to have this talk with Grian right now, or else he'd chicken out.

"—right?"

Mumbo turned to Grian, trying not to look too much like a spoon.

Grian raised an eyebrow. "Were you even listening to a single word I just said?"

Mumbo swallowed. Loudly. Audibly. That swallow was probably heard by Grian. That was awkward.

How was he supposed to casually transition to his intended subject? He hadn't planned for small talk! He'd kind of just planned to turn up on Grian's doorstep and give his whole spiel!

He had to leave. He had to get out of there, regroup, and come back in five to two-hundred business days with an actual plan.

"Oh, your tie's all messed up—here, let me—"

Mumbo went perfectly still, heart pounding, as Grian started messing with his tie, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth just the tiniest bit. 

They'd hugged before, and cuddled, and just generally hung on each other. But this, somehow, felt like it meant something more than anything else. Like Grian knew what Mumbo was here to say.

Or assumed. Or maybe assumed that he was going to suggest a romantic relationship, because fixing someone's tie was generally considered romantic, right?

Mymbo didn't know. He hoped desperately that Grian couldn't hear his heartbeat.

When Grian finished, he sat back, surveying it with a frown.

Grian actually ended up making it worse, Mumbo realized, as he looked down at himself. The back part was half poking out, the collar stuck under part of it. The tie itself was not really any tighter than it had been.

"I know how to tie a tie," Grian said, eyes narrowed. "I don't know . . . what went wrong."

"I'm aromantic," Mumbo blurted out.

Grian blinked, looking a bit taken about. "I know?"

Right. Grian did know that. How could Mumbo save this? 

"I'm asexual."

"I . . . know that too?"

Okay. He could still save this. He could still make it work.

"Well, I don't—I'm not really looking for a romantic relationship, because of, because of that—not that every aspec person feels that way, but, but I do—" he was such a spoon— "so I don't want to date, not like—not like that, not romantically, but, like, if you would be all right with it, maybe platonically?"

Silence.

Grian half-turned his head away, then back, a look of utter confusion on his face. "Run that by me again?"

Oh, dear.

"Right," Mumbo said, ears on fire. "Um. Would you be interested in a—er, in a committed platonic relationship?"

Grian stared at him for long moment. Mumbo kind of wished he could shrink down to the size of a frog and hide under a rock. Not something that would be very practical or logical for most situations, but definitely something to work on.

Maybe he could put Zedaph on it.

"It's okay if not," Mumbo said belatedly. "Like, it's mostly an aspec thing, so if you aren't comfortable or—"

"Oh, like a QPR?" Grian asked, face clearing of his confused stare when Mumbo nodded. "Okay, I think we're on the same page, now."

Mumbo nodded several times. "Great," he said stupidly. He wasn't sure what else to say. What else he could do to keep his heart from being shattered.

"Wait—you're asking me—aw, Mumbo!" said Grian, a silly smile spreading across his face. "Of course, I'd love to!"

No way.

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes—

Streamers, confetti, a big sign rolled out that read 'he said YES' in big letters—

Mumbo, who was so busy celebrating in his mind, almost forgot to pay attention to Grian, who had begun speaking again.

"So, I don't really know how this works? So maybe we can have a sleepover tonight and do some research and stuff?"

Mumbo nodded vigorously. "Yes! Yeah, of course!"

"Because all I really know—you remember that gender and sexuality conference that Joe had us all go to, the one where Doc got us all kicked out on the second day? Well, before we had to leave, I went to the aspec panel—well, you were there, of course, we sat next to each other—and they talked a bit about QPRs there. But that's all I know."

He said yes.

Grian didn't do any of those horrible things that Mumbo had laid awake imagining, he hadn't rejected him or laughed at him or broken their friendship or tried to kiss him or anything.

He said yes. He said he wanted to learn. He said—oh, he was still talking—

"—that they have, but I imagine it'd be a bit different?" Grian was saying. "Not just because you're a different person from Doc, but because you probably have different needs than him. And me from Ren. Right?"

"Right," agreed Mumbo. "Yeah, of course, dude. Er—"

"Dude feels weird now," Grian said, brows furrowed. "Do we get, like, new cool nicknames and pet names?"

Mumbo had been thinking about the same thing last night. "There are a few," he said. "I mean, names are names and no kinds of names ought to be restricted by anything, so if you—if you wanted to try some, we could—but there are a few that already exist. Um, QPP? Like Queer Platonic Partner?"

"QP Partner," said Grian thoughtfully. "Cutie Partner. I like it. Anything less formal?"

"Um, datemate? Because we're like—just mates on dates, mate." That was so awkward why would he say that why would that come out of his mouth— "And, um, Zucchini? That's one—"

"Zucchuni!" Grian exclaimed, actually clapping his hands together. "You're my Zucchini, Mumbo Jumbo!"

Mumbo could have sworn his heart flew straight out of his chest.

This was so many new developments. Everything was changing all at once—in a good way, of course, but Mumbo kind of needed a moment to scream into a pillow and try to not have a panic attack. Or maybe just have it and get it over with.

But he didn't really want to leave Grian to go do that. Not while Grian was so excitedly redefining their entire relationship.

And as if he could read his thoughts, Grian took a deep breath and sat back.

"You probably need a bit of time to process, yeah?" he said.

Grian knew him so very very well. They had been best friends for years, after all.

"That would be wonderful," he said gratefully. "I'll, um, meet you for our sleepover?"

"I'll come over once the sun starts setting," confirmed Grian. "Don't be afraid to come find me if you need me earlier than that. And I'll text you in an hour or two, all right? Just to make sure you're doing good."

Mumbo nodded, heart bursting. Grian was like that, always remembering his anxiety and helping to remind him that he's cared about. 

He said yes.

Mumbo was officially in a QPR with his best friend.

He really did need to go cool down for a little. He felt like he was going to jitter out of his skin.

"Well, er, good talk!" Mumbo said lamely, standing and helping Grian to his feet. Grian sent a brilliant grin his way.

"Absolutely, datemate," he said, before suddenly pulling Mumbo into a hug.

Mumbo was never going to get used to this. He was in a QPR, for goodness' sakes—he was in a relationship!

He needed to get used to it, honestly. He wasn't sure he could stand this level of jitters every day.

He would have to tell Doc that his tie suggestion did absolutely nothing, Mumbo thought to himself as he headed back to Treesa. All that happened was Grian tried to fix it, and it halted all conversation, and gave Mumbo the chance to confess, and. . . .

Well. Maybe Doc was right.

Who would've thought?

[leoleolovesdc]

If I was to rewrite victorious Andre would be a cool trans guy who everyone in the school wants to go out w but hes actually secretly (not as much as he’d like to think, but still) pining for Cat, who’s actually aroace and pretty oblivious to his feelings, but she does entertain the thought of being w him which results in some silly situations like:

Cat: [kisses Andre on the cheek]

Cat (giggling): Sorry, I’m such a dork..

Andre: Thank you.

Cat: Huh?

Andre: [telling everything to the gang later]

Tori: Seriously?! “Thank you”??

Andre (sobbing in embarassment): I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY, OKAY?

Tori would be this one highschool kid who has gone to one too many identity crisis in middle shool regarding her gender and sexuality and has simply given up on labeling themselves. When she comes to Hollywood arts and the coffee incident happens there’s no romantic or sexual tension w Beck whatsoever (but Jade still hates her out of spite), they become very good friends w Andre just like in the show, is also good friends w Cat and Robbie and forms this unapologetically gay rivalry w Jade.

Jade is basically the same, just maybe less cartoonishly evil?? Still a lot of anger issues, bisexual she/they energy. breaking things and scaring the shit out of ppl. She dates Beck by the beginning but they very obvsly dont get along and its js as delightful as it is annoying hearing them argue abt everything all the fcking time and rant abt how much they hate each other js to not break up (they will eventually, dw)

Beck is not changed much, just more consistent. Sarcastic pretty boy, good actor, very blunt and open about his feelings, simply impossible to scare (maybe that’s why he managed to date Jade for so long💀)

Robbie is js the same weirdo w a puppet, except in this he’d lean more into a asshole-nerd trope. Is a fucking cunt to everyone, probably has big ass crush on Beck that he’ll never admit, flirts w every girl he sees out of insecurity, etc.

In this concept Rex is pretty much his own person, but since Robbie is a jackass then they are over all more similar, Rex still “bullies” Robbie, but it’s slightly toned down as they probably enjoy the same kinda things, have more compatible personalities, etc. Robbie’s js more awkward about… welll, everything.

Trina is still Trina, except we’d treat her like a actual character and not some “look, she’s bad at singing” joke

Cat is similar to her early seasons’ version, she is kinda dumb, volatile and weird but not completely out of it. She kind of knows how to play people (especially boys) to get what she wants. Most of her dumbness would actually be translated into obliviousness, Cat doesn’t notice thiings, she’s always in her own world and doesn’t rlly care abt “normal” things

In this Andre and Tori are best friends (none of the og chow fuckery where they claim beck and andre r besties somehow)

Cat and Robbie are completely platonic on Cat’s side while Robbie makes a few moves on her once in a while (w/o any intention of actually dating her)

Jade and Tori are just gay. I can’t really explain any way else. It’s the same as in the show, just more explicitly gay. Like, in the way where Jade probably goes out of her way to make Toris life miserable but gets very mad whenever someone else does it (shes probably screamed “only i can make her life living hell” at students in hollywodd arts more than once). Tori is also meaner to jade in retaliation, but theyre both kind of into fighting each other so its not rlly that much of a rivalry and more of a amusing thing. Theyre also weirdly jealous of each other. Jade chases people down the hall with scissors whenever someone makes a move on Tori

Beck and Tori are 100% platonic, they hang out more than they did in the show (which fuels jades bother w them in the beginning) but remain abt the same level of closeness

Jade is.. less mean to Cat. Like they dont find bothering her as funny bc she js doesnt understand it and it ends up being meaningless, thats kind of the only reason they manage to get along

Cat and Beck r pretty much the same as the show, still kinda big bro and lil sis dynamic

Cat and Tori are like the girlies ever. They go shopping together, gossip abt everything and everyone bc they know that no one else likes listening to them

Beck is pretty chill, w Robbie, who as I said, is kinda gay for him, theyre not that close but also not not-friends

Andre and Beck are very close, they fight a lot abt silly stuff but always make up and go back to being bros in less than a day

Robbie is kinda mean to Tori but theyre twice as mean back so they make it work🫶

Jade intimidates the shit outta Robbie, he is a jackass to everyone except her bc he knows he’ll get his dick chopped off if he tries anything funny

I already expanded on Andre and Cat’s dynamic, so yeah

Idk why am i even writing this but here it is

[shreya11111]

I feel like Bylers twist Mike’s affectionate best friend behavior for will and say, “well he has to have romantic feelings for him then,” but most of the time the things you are describing are literal normal best friend behavior. Some people are super affectionate with their best friends, but that doesn’t mean Mike is gay or bi just because he comforts Will, stays by his side, and looks at him? Is there anything a friend can do for a close friend that Bylers wouldn’t try to twist and make it gay? This is why many straight guys are scared to show affection for their male friends…

aw anon, you’re so right! the way mike behaves towards will is completely and strictly platonic with no romantic undertones whatsoever!

like this for example, what classic best friend behavior:

it’s not like mike looks at will’s lips who does the same back and we know will’s lip glance is definitely 100% romantic because he’s confirmed to have feelings for mike-

and then there’s this classic best friend behavior:

and this:

and also this! 😊:

nope, you’re right! it’s totally platonic best friend behavior to stare at someone’s lips so much it looks like you’re about to kiss them ☺️

no but on a more serious note - it’s not like we’re pairing two guys together just to “make them gay” or anything - if that was the case we would do the same for lucas and mike, dustin and mike, lucas and will or dustin and will but we don’t.

mike and will have chemistry. chemistry that crosses the line of simply platonic and seeps into the romantic territory. i’m sure a lot of people who see it the same way as you, anon, would say otherwise if will was a girl or mike was a girl.

also “some people are super affectionate with their best friends” okay, so is this supposed to also cancel out the amount of affection they would show towards their significant other? because, it is quite suspicious for mike to show this amount of affection towards his supposed “platonic bestie” and not show it towards his own freakin gf. i can’t even recall a single time he’s stared at el’s lips. and even if he has, it’s not as much as he’s stared at will’s lips.

it’s totally okay for men to be affectionate with each other while still being platonic. but, this isn’t the case with mike and will. there is literally a direct contrast to the way mike behaves with dustin and to the way he behaves with will. then there’s the fact that he struggles so much to juggle his relationship with will while dating el.

i would like to direct you to this parallel:

posted by @lol101elated

you can see the obvious contrast between not only the lighting/tone/mood of the scenes, you can also see the differences in mike’s reaction. when el said she “dumped (his) ass”, he looked annoyed and almost disgusted. however, when will said “i guess i did. i really did”, mike looked genuinely hurt. he had a stronger reaction to his fight with will than with his and his gf’s breakup. his fight with will read more like a breakup than his and el’s actual breakup. (not to mention that after el broke up with him, all he did was sit around, eat chips and complain while after his fight with will, he biked across town in the pouring rain to apologize to will).

this isn’t something we are “twisting”. this is intentionally being done by the writers and directors of the show. this is the story they are crafting. if i was you, i’d prepare myself for season 5 because we will be seeing a lot more byler whether you like it or not.

here is a great post i found by @rainymunson that basically sums up how i feel:

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[trans-girl-nausicaa]

tumblr choose your own adventure: part 12

>Ask her to spend more time with you.

Your HOMOSEXUALITY stat has increased by 1.

STATS:

AGGRESSION: 2

CAUTION: 0

HOMOSEXUALITY: 7

ENDURANCE: 1

SKILL: 2

INVENTORY:

[Wallet] [Cash: $14.50]

[Mobile phone] [Battery: 19%]

[Keys]

[Antique Czech Typewriter] [Ink ribbons: 0]

[Antique Czech Lighter] [Fuel level: 0%]

[Antique CZ 75 Pistol, 9mm, Automatic] [Ammunition: 0]

Yes, you decide that the thing you want most is just some company. After the incident, you’re feeling isolated, lonely, and disoriented, so–

Wait a minute.

What was that? Just a second ago?

Your HOMOSEXUALITY stat went up.

Why did that happen?

You just want to hang out with your friend, roommate, and trusted confidant, Louisiana Avalanché, while you are in the hospital. You want to feel comforted and cared for, just a little.

After all, with the timing of your respective jobs, you haven’t gotten to see her very much lately, so you’ve been missing her. Like, just her presence.

There’s nothing HOMOSEXUAL about that. Right??

Your feelings for Louisiana are completely platonic.

You try to think about it hypothetically. You turn to look at her. You examine her black, shiny hair in graceful tresses, her bright green eyes, her smooth brown cheeks, her sculpted jaw–

“Dude. Uh… hello? You ok?”

She’s talking to you

You snap out of it.

You were looking at her wordlessly. For longer than is normal, probably.

”Yeah, I’m fine, sorry,” you mutter. “You don’t have to bring me anything. Just, uh, yourself. I’d like it if you could spend some time with me. That is, if you HAVE time. To spend.”

That sounded normal, right?

“Yeah, sure, of course I can!” she says cheerily.

“I don’t want my bestie to be all bored by herself!”

You smile wearily.

Louisiana really is who you needed right now.

She hangs out with you for a while, the two of you joking and laughing together. Eventually she has to leave. She works nights as a bartender. She’s probably good at her job, you think. She is good at getting along with people, but she’s tough and doesn’t take shit from anyone.

A staff member brings you dinner. It’s grilled chicken and spanish rice. It’s surprisingly good.

That night, you dream.

You dream of walking through a ruined castle at night. The roof is long gone. The sky is full of stars. You come to a stone stairway. You walk down it. Down, down, into the bowels of this ancient structure. Your eyes start to adjust to the darkness. You can see everything around you, albeit dimly and without color.

You come to a landing.

You walk across the rough-hewn stones until you come to a well.

The well is full to the brim with a dark liquid. It’s too dark to tell what color the liquid is.

Next to the well is an unlit torch.

[zai-doodles]

OK OK this is my last question for real this time, I say with complete confidence

I just… MAN you really sold me on platonic Nalu!!! Would you please give a poor, desperate soul (me) some of your platonic Nalu headcanons? Or even just one is fine, I know writing all of these up must be tiring lol

bestie im literally having a blast stop apologizing im kissing u so platonically ily

ONTO THE NALU HCS

i actually have a bunch of stuff written for them so imma just throw it here

Natsu is so fucking acearo its not even funny They're besties, natsu would protect lucy with his life and lucy would do the same but its platonic i swear guys- Lucy is the first NEW person natsu gets close to after lisanna, bc this boy is so tired of having ppl taken from him without his fucking say so Like idk natsu works so hard to be strong enough to protect his family and then his dad and childhood best friend disappear without a trace when he's not even around to help?? Boy thinks he's cursed I fully believe that Natsu would rarely leave gray and erza's side as kids bc he was worried he close his eyes and they'd just be gone It gets SO much worse after lisanna dies

Idk the actual age when this happens in canon but im saying he was probably like 11 and had known lis since he was like 4 Erza and gray r also really shaken by her death but the thing that really fucks with them is how it changes natsu bc if u thought these 3 were codependent before oh boy All this to say that lucy was like, an exception, and its probably why erza and gray were so quick to be like yes shes great bc they were more just excited and kinda relieved natsu made a fucking friend without them or the guild involved I think his job was taking longer than he wanted, and he was growing really frustrated and impatient with the fact he hadn't found anything abt igneel and happy was trying to cheer him up but in my mind when natsu's bummed he's bummed he meets lucy and she's just so nice But its also that shes also kinda fucking weird and natsu just latches onto that bc to him weird is normal and comfortable and it makes him bounce back and idk it goes kinda similar to how it goes in canon without natsu and happy being weirdly antagonistic and Lucy isnt as put off by how bat shit crazy natsu is bc she just finds it fun and like a breath of fresh air Like lucy grew up in such a suffocating proper environment, so when she meets natsu and his fucking crazyness shes like omg finally my life is so boring Lucy is genuinely looking for excitement and adventure so of course she goes with natsu to join fairy tail And I think it takes natsu aback how ready she is to go with him but i think in his mind because she wasn’t deterred by his “quriks” like most ppl he was immediately like new family fuck yea Bc idk that's just how his mind works bc subconsciously i think natsu knows he is difficult or weird so he's learned to latch onto the people who don't mind that abt him and that's just so happened to,, only be ppl who had to put up with him in fairy tail Not to mention a part of him probably believes it's his fault that igneel left in that kid way where u just feel like everything is ur fault oop Also also i think that lucy literally has no frame of reference for like, a normal healthy friendship, so she kinda just takes natsu's lead and oh boy is that a mistake Like after lucy joins the guild natsu is just CONSTANTLY hanging around her the way he did with erza and gray when they were kids and lucy, again having little to no sense of how friends work, just kinda lets him and gets use to it, she actually really enjoys having that sort of attention bc idk she's never really experienced having someone WANT to be around her just cuz, like the closest thing she had to friends were her servants who were literally obligated to be around her all the time and any “friends” her age she had were forced to hang out with her bc of her family I think Gray and Erza start to worry a bit that if Natsu is too overbearing he’ll end up pushing lucy away bc they're all under the assumption that lucy is a normal person with normal boundaries and a normal childhood So they pull natsu aside like hey bestie maybe don't growl at people when they look at her she might think ur mean and stop wanting to hang out with u Bc they KNOW how natsu is and they dont mind but they're also 2 traumatized orphans who don't have a normal frame of reference for how other ppl work, but unlike natsu they usually air on the side of caution It kinda eats at natsu a bit and he tries to give lucy her space especially if she gets even a little annoyed with him Lucy starts to notice but doesn't say anything bc she just figures he's probably bored with her bc she genuinely believes she's just painfully uninteresting in every way And then she gets kidnapped And natsu loses his fucking mind :D Bc for fuck sake this boy can NOT have a friend without them being taken from him High key it goes like, the same as canon bc i like how that went But the AFTERMATH Oh fucking boy Natsu literally doesn't leave her side This is where, i think, Natsu starts breaking into lucy's apartment lol Its treated as comedic but there's an underlying tension where natsu is just extremely hesitant to leave ever or even let lucy leave And that's when lucy starts to be like aight this cant continue Not in a mean way in just a, idk how to function if i can't be alone ever and it lowkey brings memories of her childhood which is also bad bc natsu isn't her keeper nor should he be And that's not what natsu is TRYING to do he's literally just so scared that if he blinks wrong shell disappear they figure it out tho bc they r friends and UGH i just wanT them to talk and cuddle platonically bc UGH I LOVE THEMMM

[abeltownshipslittlebitch]

So true, the 5/Simon dynamic is just *chef's kiss*!

Can I ask what your 5's relationship with Simon was like pre-betrayl? What kind of things did they do together and we're they just friends or was there maybe something there that could have been, in a different life?

Also (because I have to sneak in a question about my other fav ship), what was your 5's relationship like with Peter pre-reveal? And did your 5 see it coming or was she completely blindsided?

Sorry if you've answered/talked about this before. Feel free to just link the posts if you have. 💛

I really haven’t talked much about my specific five so thanks for asking! It’s kind of long so I have a read more.

Pre-Betray my Five, Callista, and Simon were besties. They loved going on runs together and Callista cared about Simon quite a bit and vice versa. Callista didn’t have any attraction to Simon romantically or vice versa during early seasons, although their friendship was strong in a way that made them almost seem like platonic soulmates. During the time Callista couldn’t speak, she taught him sign language (she’s American but she knows British sign language) although it didn’t help much because I say that Simon would always grab her wrist while they ran together. It made running a bit awkward and uncomfortable, but it became a habit and it kept Simon from having to worry about Callista being the little crow she was from running off to collect a new trinket and nearly giving him a heart attack when he turns around to see her gone.

They hung out a lot, but usually with some OCs I made just for my world that were people Callista cared about. Callista loved reading as an escape so she babbled to Simon about books a lot, and she is a pretty good cook so cue her dragging Simon into the kitchen to help her with a recipe. And since she is American and lived in the southern region she cooked those kinds of foods which Simon always was skeptical about but tried anyway because she looked so happy to be reminded of home again.

Speaking of her being American, when she regained the ability to talk, it became pretty common for the two of them to make fun of each other’s accent. They teased each other a lot but it was always in good fun.

Basically in those early seasons my Five and Simon were best friends who loved each other platonically but much more than most friends did.

In the seasons with Peter pre-reveal, Callista did feel drawn to him and she trusted him way quicker than she normally would. It confused her, honestly. But it felt nice to be close to someone again in that platonic way, although this time there were romantic notes in there that was the start of an a extremely slow burn… because neither of them actually believe they have feelings for each other until much later. Peter didn’t realize he had romantic feelings for Callista until near the end S7 and Callista didn’t realize she had feelings for him until the gap between S8 and 9, and neither of them even admit it to each other until about 1/3 way through S9, and things are complicated because of other failing relationships they were both in but not sure if they should let them go.

Back to pre-reveal though, Callista has smart and stupid moments. She’s an amazing runner and is quick in coming up with plans and spotting things but she always did not see the reveal coming for two reasons:

1. She can be really fucking stupid and oblivious when it comes to these things.

2. After Simon “died” in S3 finale she refused to believe there was a chance he might be alive because if she gave herself that hope and then never saw him again and he was actually dead it would destroy her. (She was so devastated by Simon’s “death” in S3 she actually stopped talking and only spoke via sign language, which she hadn’t done since she regained her ability to speak in early S2. She was mute during the entire time skip between S3 and 4 and only spoke again because her sister came to Abel and she was so angry because she and her younger sister have major beef that she started speaking just to curse her out.)

Back to the point, there were obvious signs, but Callista was oblivious and in denial so she never saw it coming. Peter even did the same habit of grabbing her wrist while on runs and she would just awkwardly pull away and tell him only one person had that privilege (but Peter still did it out of habit and Callista eventually just let him). Callista tries not to think too much about it.

When Peter admits that he’s Simon, Callista’s brain short-circuited and she nearly had to be dragged to safety from the zombies around them because she just froze. There was an argument later because Callista wasn’t sure how to process all of this, but it ended in tears with Callista’s much shorter frame hugging Peter right enough to hurt as she sobbed “I missed you,” over and over again.

I hope that answered your question! And thank you for the ask about my Five!

[storiesofsvu]

What I want to see on SVU this season....

I normally do these before the premier, but obviously forgot. Also some of this list is obviously not going to happen, or at least, we have very limitied time to get what we want due to cast changes, but like let's pretend this was written like three weeks ago lolololol. Also gonna probably add in a few extra things after having seen the first 2 eps.

-Domestic Rollisi being happy, cute and making progress towards a forever together

-A Phoebe guest star, or even just some at home with Fin being soft and cute, like, hello, babysitting his grand kid with her?? (jayden? is the kids name jayden?) (bonus points if uncle munch also happens to be there. still salty he wasn't at the not-wedding)

-MORE COURT SCENES

-The return of Ms Calhoun (duh). Mega bonus points if it's her and Barba teaming up to work defence on a case cause that would be FIRE. like, give me a crossover so we get a full hour of them bickering through interrogation rooms, picking the jury and then working through the case in court. think of the WARDROBE. it would be amazing.

-Character growth without having to put them through immense trauma

-We find out McGrath is actually a terrible criminal involved with some bullshit so he gets busted and we never have to see him again. (bonus points if Garland or Dodds is reinstated)

-Some lgbt representation by our new bestie Muncy because i'm sorry but that girl is bi...

-Follow up; for Velasco & Muncy to NOT be anything more than besties. like, let them be work friends who sass the shit out of each other but it's completely platonic, let us see them out at a bar one night and at first it's "ah fuck, they're trying to make us ship them" but then in the next clip they're wingmaning for each other. (and this could be the easy intro for Grace to be all "dude, i guarantee i'm better at picking up women than you are" and her bi/pan comes out)

-Olivia to have absolutely nothing but happiness. and maybe a lunch or coffee scene with Cragen where she's all "how the fuck did you deal with us?" and he just laughs.

-Learn more about Velasco, and have him out there being happy, potentially meeting someone that hopefully doesn't have anything to do with law enforcement (unless it's Sam Maroun cause they'd just be hella hot together)

-More "follow up" style episodes from previous cases in the earlier seasons (like the herny one). I can't think of specifics right now but there are definiely ones that would be wonderful to be brought back. Even ones that aren't from that long ago. Like, Hank Abrahm, they had the PERFECT opportunity to address it when Pippa returned because he would have been out of jail by then. So like, we could see Gallagher again....

-Not necessarily SVU related, but would LOVE to see Casey and or Alex pop up on OC (or mothership). Esp because OC has mentioned more than once companies(?) that help "disappear" DV vics. Like, i would love to have a case related to that and Elliot & Alex run into each other, Alex having no idea he's back, he having no idea wtf she's doing kinda thing.

-And very likely never gonna happen but I'd love to see Donnelly back.

I say the last one like every other one is likely to happen LOL. I doubt most of it will, and I definitely had more thoughts but not really right now. So...there ya go...

[prettyboykatsuki]

It's not about acting, I simply long for a deep platonic relationship 😭😭😭

I long to be that bad bitch that ignores the whole society shiz and just keeps hanging out with my bestie without caring about the pressure or expectations to make it something more because it is just as meaningful if not more in some instances 😭😭

I want to be that crazy bitch with my crazy bitch turning others worlds on fire cause they can't comprehend that a relationship without more can be just as impactful

Also my grandma and her best friend are not gay but you would think they would be, a good example. 😂

Unless all I'm doing is completely misinterpreting you but in the end I love you dawg and you're fucking funny dude 😎

i think you are misreading what im saying /nm /gen

my point is that doing things like that or having like platonic intimacy is not nearly as societally acceptable as people will often pretend it is 😭😭 like in so much media (genshin fandom im looking at you) people can’t view deep platonic relationships as anything other than familial which is usually not the correct reading of those relationships lmao

everytime you bring up like qpr relationships or people display intimacy people can only interpret it in like one of two ways because simply having someone as a life partner who isnt a sister OR a romantic interest is very unfathomable. people pretend a lot that those relationships are just ‘friendships’ but society has a very specific view of friendship that doesn’t accurately represent those relationships

like you wanting that for yourself is real. that type of intimacy is real, but its not as acceptable in society as people seem to act like it is which is my point. i wish ppl would stop acting like that level of platonic intimacy is considered very normal when it is not lol

[anotherkindofmindpod]

There is speculation about John's relationship with Stu having a sexual/romantic element. According to one quote by John allegedly, Stuart went down on him. I'm not sure what to think because if true why would he have such trouble with Brian, to the point that he talked about the Wooler incident as internalized homophobia? And if not, then what's with that quote? If not for that, I would dismiss the claim because Paul's rivalry with Stu is not evidence that John and Stu had a sexual relationship

Hi Anon, I’ve read about John’s alleged claim that Stu went down on him once. To be totally transparent, we don’t have a clear source on this. Stu’s sister repeats it in her book as something she heard John had allegedly claimed to a third party, so it’s hearsay, and therefore we cannot verify it in any way. So again, just to be crystal CLEAR, without a direct quote from the person John allegedly said this to… it’s JUST a rumor.

That said, if you want my OPINION (speaking just for myself, not the entire AKOM cast), I personally find it completely plausible. Not for the veracity of the source but because it just… sounds believable?  In my personal experience at that age (high school & college) it was extremely commonplace for both girls and boys to experiment sexually, whether they were gay, straight or bisexual (yes, including straight guys who blew each other), so this idea is not at all shocking or unusual to me.  Sure, the ‘60s were a different time, but I was a teenager in the 1990s which is the relative Stone Age to kids in 2022. So my point is: horny teens have always fooled around and fluid sexuality is nothing new.

John said about the Barcelona trip that “it was my first experience with a homosexual that I knew was homosexual,” which to me indicates that he’s making a distinction there. I am definitely NOT attempting to speak for all bisexuals or queer ppl or women (etc) when I say this, but from my personal experience as a young woman, I can confirm that, for me and my friends at least, fairly or not, queer sex with a straight person (who presumably is viewing the experience as a experiment in the first place) was not taken especially “seriously.” So John experimenting with Stu, who was presumably “bicurious” (i.e. “straight”) may be relatively low stakes as compared to Brian, which would probably feel more “real.” 

As far as Paul McCartney goes, I don’t really think his jealousy of Stu proves anything one way or another. Paul was jealous of Stu’s status as John’s BFF- a role that Paul felt was rightfully his and that he'd earned. It’s hurtful when your BFF gets a new bestie (even if he stays besties with you too), especially when he connects with that new friend in a different/exclusive context (i.e. art college!). This is such an incredibly common phenomenon, something even children experience and can relate to. Here’s the thing though. It doesn’t matter how much John likes Paul - if John makes a new friend who is bicurious and potentially down to clown, he’s going to get super excited by that prospect and want to explore it. Paul would really have nothing to do with it (sorry Paul!).

"Romantic" feelings are an entirely different conversation. I personally wouldn't consider a single BJ a "sexual relationship" - to me that's just a sexual encounter that can exist in relationships that are otherwise platonic. I also wouldn't necessarily consider it "romantic" - Sex in and of itself is not an indicator of romantic feelings. But again... eye of the beholder. Having said all that, something being plausible certainly doesn't make it true! I don't actually think there's any evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, that points to this John/Stu BJ story being credible... I'm just saying it sounds to me like... a normal teenage thing?? So I wouldn't be shocked. And it wouldn't change the story much, if at all, for me (but I guess maybe that's b/c I already consider it a likely possibility, lol). Just my 2 cents! -Phoebe