#I just want to have a platonic life partner or date two people already in a romantic relationship so there's no romantic feelings for me

[silverspleen]

Me: I am an adult, and have made excellent strides in processing my prior Issues.

My brain: BITCH U THOUGHT

[imagining-in-the-margins]

🌈CM Pride Challenge🏳️‍⚧️

The following are prompts including LGBTQA+ PRIDE! Reader, Original Character, Character/Character ships, Gen/Platonic fics are allowed!Please check out the Rules below the Keep Reading.

This event is over (Masterlist of Fics here), but you are welcome to use any of these prompts. If you would like to be added to the existing Masterlist of entries, please check out the Rules below!

General Prompts 🏳️‍🌈

Coming out is so much harder the second time

Describe Character’s first kiss with the same gender

Describe Character(s) spending a day at a Pride parade

The team realizes that A&B were more than roommates

Penelope goes a little overboard on rainbow decorations at Characters’ wedding

Character's marriage mutually comes to an end when they come out... now what?

Character comes out at the same time they announce their new relationship to the team

Character A fears it’s too late for them to live authentically, and B assures them that’s not true

Character A gifts B something colored like their pride flag because “the colors reminded me of you”

Child realizes that not every kid has two moms/two dads and they have a lot of questions about it

Queer characters have a hard time deciding what their child should call them and come up with fun ideas

Character A goes to a LGBT bar with B as a wingperson (or maybe they want them, themselves?)

Anything else you can think of!

More prompts (transgender, assorted, dialogue) below!

Transgender Prompts 🏳️‍⚧️

Character A helps B get their first tailored dress/suit

Character A helps B shave and/or put on makeup

The couple is looking for gender neutral nicknames

Character A buys B specialty gender affirming lingerie

Character is casually referred to with an appropriately gendered nickname for the first time

Characters are renewing their vows and redoing their wedding photos following a coming out

Character A walks in on B wearing a new gender-affirming outfit and surprises them with an enthusiastic compliment

The team throws Character an impromptu first birthday party following their coming out (how did they get a banner so fast?!)

Character A buys B a gender affirming but stereotypical gift (sports jersey, neon pink purse, etc.) that they would otherwise hate (but find absolutely hilarious)

Specific Prompts 💝

[Bisexual] Character gets irritated when people reduce their sexuality to their current partner

[Bisexual] Character A is in a M/F relationship with B and worries that their queer identity will become invisible dating them

[Asexual] Characters explore different forms of non-sexual intimacy

[Asexual] Characters are both asexual but too nervous to tell one another. They awkwardly attempt to have sex but end up laughing at how ridiculous they feel.

Dialogue Prompts 💐

“Are they… flirting?” “Big time.”

“I got to fall in love with you twice.”

“To be seen is to be loved." "I see you.”

“Be gay, do crimes.” “Aren’t you a cop?”

“There is no heterosexual explanation for that.”

“Life is very different once you find your people.”

“Cardinals and hydrangeas can change. Why not you?”

“You're still the person I love. Nothing will change that.”

“We both wear pants. Makes it easier to kick your ass.”

“It’s never felt like this before. I've never felt like this before.”

“I guess it makes sense now why it never worked out with my exes.”

Am I allowed to look at her like that? Could it be wrong when she's just so nice to look at? ("She" by Dodie)

“You can kiss a hundred boys in bars, shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling ... Well, good luck, babe. You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.” ("Good Luck, Babe!" by Chappell Roan)

Rules ❤️🧡💚💙💜🖤🤎

The fic can be a Reader insert, an Original Character, a character/character ship, a platonic ship, or a Gen fic. It can feature any Criminal Minds character. AUs and crossovers are more than welcome.

Tag me in the fic, or send the link to me in a Direct Message. It can be already written, or you can write it for the challenge - I’m collecting both! You can also tag it “#mentioningmargins” which is a tag I track.

The fic can be any genre, but ONLY send me smut if your bio states you are 18+. I DO NOT WANT smut written by minors. Ever. At all. I will check.Platonic ships and pure, fluffy fics are 100% allowed.

Please include Content Warnings and a one-sentence Summary of the fic in your post.

Have fun!

🌈Happy writing! 🏳️‍⚧️

[edwinspaynes]

My Case for Why Only Romantic Payneland Would Feel Truly Satisfying

Last night, I made a poll about whether people would be satisfied with QPR Payneland. I was curious where we stood on this as a fandom, and it's cool that it's about 50/50 between "either would be okay" and "I want them romantic."

Preface: I'm a monogamous biromantic asexual. If you were wondering. I have been in both a queerplatonic relationship (where I had a one-sided romantic crush on my QPP) and a few romantic relationships with both men and women.

Preface II: This post is not at all intended to be judgmental of any type of relationship. Poly people are awesome; aro/ace people in QPRs rock. This is specifically examining what is right for Charles and Edwin.

Preface III: I think that Edwin and Charles have definitely been in an unlabeled QPR since the beginning. They don't have the word for it, but it definitely is a QPR. They aren't romantically involved, but they make major decisions surrounding the other one and feel like they would wither up and die if they had to live in separate places.

This was great up until now, I think. A QPR is very valuable, very special, and very beautiful. It's meaningful and has served them wonderfully up until this point.

But it isn't sustainable for these specific characters.

The Need for Exclusivity in Both a QPR and a Romantic Relationship

I think that with no other external factors impacting my media needs, I would be okay with an exclusive QPR Payneland.

@tumblerislovetumblerislife astutely said:

I do not think that there is any world where they're suited for polyamory - this is honestly my biggest nope-out of fics and I deeply, deeply hate it for them.

This is because:

They already feel like a Pair Set to me that cannot be separated or infringed on by anyone else, and

In the end, it would never be fair to a romantic (or other platonic) partner because they would unplug anyone else's life support to charge the other's phone. No one else would ever be the priority over the other, and if they did, that would be OOC.

Even if they decided to date someone else now in the short-term, like Crystal or the Cat King, it's necessarily temporary. It's to Figure Things Out. There is an expiration date. And whether that's due to a romantic or a platonic bond between Edwin and Charles, their bond being stronger than any other is the reason for that expiration date.

So polyamory feels extremely disingenuous to their characters to me and is imo extremely OOC.

Authenticity to the Story

Edwin is currently, in the explicit canon, essentially Charles's QPP who has a one-sided crush on him. That is the explicit canon. It's not a fun place to be, no matter how much your QPP loves you - I have Been There.

Edwin is not unhappy or dissatisfied with the current situation, and he knows Charles loves him. But it still is kind of a sucky place to sit.

Luckily, the love does not actually feel one-sided! Charles reads as a character that has always been romantically in love with Edwin, probably long before Edwin fell romantically in love with Charles, but he neither has the self-awareness nor the words to describe it.

Charles touching his heart at the end of episode 8 makes it clear that he is beginning to have his Big Epiphany. I wish the show wasn't canceled because, uh, I want it.

This obvious two-sided romantic love makes a future QPR feel inauthentic to me. I think both characters would feel like it was the wrong shape for the relationship after they both had their epiphanies.

Other Media Considerations

I understand that a lot of people, it's important to have an explicitly-labeled QPR in a show. I do not disagree with this! I think we need WAY more QPRs in media that are explicitly labeled as such and treated as valid. I just don't think that it's right for Charles and Edwin.

I've explained why this is true from a character perspective; but let me also talk about how relationships like theirs are treated.

I'm personally sick of the "bond-beyond-bonds relationship that remains purely platonic." We saw it with Destiel onscreen because of the rancid queerbaiting in Supernatural; we saw it in Johnlock as a direct result of similar, albeit less magnified, queerbaiting.

This is, to me, the exact type of relationship that a QPR between Edwin and Charles would be.

It would be different. I know this. There is no world where DBDA is queerbaiting us; we have a gay MC and tons of queer side characters.

But to me, platonic Payneland being endgame would still feel like a betrayal because that endgame would feel like something adjacent to the endings of other shows that have queerbaited in the past. I feel like a huge appeal of DBDA is that it's beginning to right those wrongs and heal those wounds, and I firmly believe that's one intention of the show. It would feel unkind to the bulk of viewers for them not to end up together.

I think that the show ultimately was going to make them romantic endgame. It just didn't have the time to before getting the axe, which SUCKS.

So yeah. These are my personal thoughts. I hope I've articulated some of the things that a lot of you think.

[exactlyzealouslady]

I post this fiction on my account, however it's stopped working...

Yandere Stoneheart x kind gn reader (cult au)

CW: Possession, Obsession, Yandere Themes.

Imagine an au where you have an issue with the debt. No matter how much you try to make money, you always end up broke. Poor thing, about to get sued by your annoying landlord. 

Luckily, IPC noticed your struggle and decided to offer to work for them.  You'll get a high payment and be able to pay your bills. All you have to do is to sign a contact and your wish will come true.At first, everything went fine. Untill, you meet with ten stoneheart. Oh, how adorable you are~. 

While dating each other, Aventurine and Topaz also fall for you, due to your kindness and caring persona. Since day one, Numby already begins liking you, and later in a few days even becomes attached to you. It warms Jelena's heart so much that's two of you get along so well. Kakavasha feels accepted by you. Just like Topaz, you don't view him as the luck tool, but rather as the person.

Every time, when they get injuries, you always stare at them with those adorable concerned eyes. A type of eyes, that's they want you to look only at them. Lately, they've been feeling jealous whenever someone even looks at you. You don't even imagine how much they desire to own you. To hide you somewhere safe and protect you from the cruel world.

Jade is someone you never got along with. Her cunning, sly, and manipulative personality never appealed to you. Yet, Jade has strange feelings towards you. The way you glare at her and coldly reply at her questions, make her attached to you even more. The purple haired women can't stop thinking about you. She wants to know every detail about your life. Your weakness, strength, interest, etc.

Jade plans to convince you into making a wish. You can ask her everything you heart desire, but in return, you have to become her personal assistant. Wouldn't it be perfect to put a collar on your pretty neck? Turning you into an obedient pet, who'll do everything for their mistress. She'll assure you that your dependent life will become happy. 

Sugilite is intrigued by you as a person. He’s amused how much you want to help people in need. He hates that you spend so much time with Jelena and Kakavasha. It would be much better if you become his house partner and make meals for him. And as the reward, he will always spoil you with the delicates. The silver haired guy it's greedy after all, and he'll never want to share what belongs to him.

Obsidian eagers so much to mark you. To bite your bare throat, so everyone knows to whom you'll belong to. The red haired lady would do ANYTHING to have you, even by murdering someone. Every time, when she'll think about you, it is usually the two of you bathing in the pomegranate juice. Getting held tight by her, so you'll never escape her grasp. Staying with her for an eternity no matter what!

When you finally realize their unhealthy obsession towards you, you try to end the contact with IPC. You thought you could escape? You poor naive thing. Didn't you read the contact? The one who signs it never escapes from IPC. After all, they'll always turn life into paradise for the miserable people. How can you leave them? If you do, your life will be even worse before joining them. Without IPC, you're not able to survive.  But don't you worry, ten stonehearts will give you another option. Aventurine and Topaz will keep you secure, Jade will make your life richer by depending on her, Sugilite will feed you even more than in your entire life, and Obsidian, well there are secrets that she still keeps for the surprise… Sooner or later, you'll realize that you will be much better under their wings. After all, they'll turn your life into eternal bliss.

I might make it into the series and add other characters, once we'll know more about them. I will write platonic for Opal, though. If you're not shy, you're welcome to give some ideas. However, I will respond slowly since I'm busy.

[imdead770]

curtis sister!reader hcs?

(idk dude, with the gang or just with the curtis')

The Outsiders x Curtis Sister!Reader

Authors Note - I don't know exactly what you meant, so I'm just winging it. Enjoy! Ps: I did the whole gang, so some of these are platonic (because their you're siblings, duh) P.P.S: You're Sodas twin, it's just easier and you're in a better age range. Yeah.

Darry Curtis -

Since Darry is more laid back on Soda, I think he'd be laid back with you, too. Only difference is he's way more protective of you. Only thing is he has no idea what to do with you since you're female. He tries, though. Like if some guy broke your he'd beat their ass. Anytime a new partner comes he gives them the dad-style lecture. Pretty much the ideal big brother.

Sodapop Curtis -

Well you are twins, so it's only logical you're close. If I'm being honest people have probably thought you two were dating. Like you're both hot as hell. So everything someone asks you both are like 'Ew, we're literally siblings.' You two are basically joined at the hip. Not like matching outfits close, you two have different lives, but you and Soda tell each other everything. Since you both have middle child problems, it makes sense. Basically you 2 are besties.

Ponyboy Curtis -

Literally talks to you about everything. Girls? He comes to you. School? He comes to you. You're like the one big sibling he can open up to. Somethings he tells Soda, others he tells you. He finds comfort in you since you kind of remind him of mom. No one else sees it, but he does. You two argue, he's your little brother, it's only logical. Mostly about really stupid shit like he ate the last piece of chocolate cake pr something. But despite that you two are really close. Yahoo.

Dallas Winston-

Since he comes to the Curtis house a lot, he sees you a lot. And since your Sodapop's twin, you're hot as hell. You can see where this is going. The gang caught on whenever Dal would start inviting you to hang out with them. Or if you'd leave and he coincidentally had to go meet Buck at the same time. Anyways you're dating, he treats you as nice as Dallas Winston can. Darry hates it. Of all the nice boys you could've dated you picked the one most likely to break your heart. He's caught Dal sneaking in at least 5 times. Anyways Dal treats you pretty well, so eventually Darry treats him like he used to. It takes a while, though. A lot of glares.

Johnny Cade -

He met you whenever you wandered into the kitchen for something. The whole gang waved like you were a normal occurrence, so Johnny went with the crowd and waved back. He almost fell off the arm of the couch when you smiled and waved back at him. Honestly, your siblings were all for this. Johnny's the sweetest thing alive, he's your best option. Heck, Soda probably set you two up. Once you two started dating Darry didn't really care. It's Johnny, he had no reason to threaten him with a loaded shotgun. Johnny still gets nervous around Darry, though. Plus one time Pony walked in on you two kissing and it was awkward for them for like 4 weeks. Other then that it's like you aren't even a Curtis sibling.

Two-Bit Mathews -

He met you whenever you came out to hang out with the gang since you got bored of studying. He cracked some jokes like he usually does, but once he realized you thought he was funny, he made a scary amount of jokes, even for him. The gang noticed it, Darry was already like 'fuck no'. He's practically an alcoholic, you're too good for him. Somehow he pulled you, and Darry isn't as protective, but he still glares. Like if Two-Bit invites you to a party, somehow Darry pops out of thin air and glares. It's scary. But eventually it just becomes normally and everyone's okay with it. Anytime Two makes a dirty joke Darry silently threatens him with his life, though.

Steve Randle -

You came over to DX one time to ask Soda what he wanted for dinner. Instead you were met with Steve, who had no idea you were Soda's twin sister, and started hitting on you. Eventually Soda, you two talk, Steve connects the dots. He doesn't care though, he keeps flirting with you everything he sees you. Eventually you two start dating. Soda thinks it's weird, like his best friend is literally dating his female self. Steve didn't see it, though. Darry isn't too strict, I mean sure Steve's a dumbass but he doubts he'd hurt you. So no one really cares except Soda. He'll never see you or Steve the same.

[dontbesoweirdkira]

Mafia Trilogy !Yandere¡

Ranked On Insanity

A/N: This is purely my opinion on them. We all interpret their characters differently so don’t come at me if you don’t like their placements. I’m trying to be kind of accurate to their characters but also do fan service…I’m stressed so plz 😪

Requests open: 24/7

Warnings: Yandere and toxic themes.

Masterlist

I’m ranking them in three different categories…

Delulu to not as delulu

Batshit and completely delusional

These are the men who are at the point of no return….They are willing to do anything to get you at any cost. I do not say this lightly like I mean they are willing to do anything

My boy John has the entire c.i.a. at his very disposal and you think he won’t use it to find you??? He’s going to get you. Sam will too,, He’ll send out multiple men to come hunt you down if you even dare to hide from him. They do not give a flying duck if you don’t even have romantic interest in them, you are their darling. That’s the end of discussion.

Whatever they want you to do, you’re going to do it. There’s no rationalization with these two. Lincoln and Tom give them all the talks they want but they will not listen. Pushed to the brink enough and their friends are not safe either from their delusional thinking.

You already saw what Sam did to Paulie…imagine what he’d do for his darling. Not the ideal men for normal girls. You will be tormented every single step of your relationship with either one of these men.

No effort is made to hide their sinister behaviors and your eyes will bear witness to their horrific atrocities. If you push them too far they might even harm you eventually. There is no escaping or telling what their insanity will make them do.)

Sam Trapani

John Donovan

Pretty fucking crazy but is in a weird gray area between the other two

They are in the middle. Paulie is already an irrational brute and Vito is a traumatized Soldier, so they are definitely operating weirdly.

They both have similar desires of wanting a partner but have been dealt an unlucky hand when it comes to dating so when you came along…they couldn’t let you go. Their obsession comes from a place of codependency..they need you sooo badly and they cannot go back to their old cold life without you.

They really do care about their darling, truly. They’ll do whatever they can to organically win over your love and trust. Sure they will be super touchy, maybe a little too bossy or over protective of you but they mean well… they truly want to be the “chill bf” but who are they kidding??? They are cray cray in the membrane.

At any moment they can and will snap…their delusions will get the best of them if pushed to that point. If they feel like you’re going to leave or are constantly rejecting them, they will do a full 180 and turn into the previous bunch. They are extremely accusatory and feel like you’re constantly trying to cheat or leave them. Tons of arguments and unsavory punishments.

I can’t say they’d do exactly all the same things as the previous much like they’d never physically hurt you or make you watch their crimes but they are damn near close to being like them…

Paulie Lombardo

Vito Scaletta

Average Mafia Member

These men are still very much Yandere and are willing to kill and fuck shit up for you but aren’t as delusional as the rest. Like on average people terms they are very yandere but in comparison to other members of the mob…eh.

I know this is going to piss hella people off but I can’t imagine any of these three holding you against your will or being overly passionate about their darling.

Your safety comes first and they are more go with the flow kind of men. Especially Lincoln and Tommy, despite their desires, your wishes come first. Joe is just Joe, he cares a lot about you but on average he’s like fuck it…it’s your life girl-. Forced intimacy and everything isn’t their thing.

If you really weren’t romantically feeling them they’d just become platonic yanderes and make sure you’re safe from a distance. If any moment you changed your mind they’d be right there waiting to give you the world but if not they really won’t do too much about it. These men would have to have been romantically invested in you for years for them to snap and become like the rest .)

Tommy Angelo

Lincoln Clay

Joe Barbaro

[chipmunkfanno1love]

Cliva Theories

I thought I’d write my personal thoughts on the Cliva ship and how I imagine it playing out if it possibly does head down the romantic path. I also want to give my comparison if they stick to the platonic route. 

-

Thoughts on the ship generally:

When I learned that Viva was related to Poppy and later found out that she's actually her long-lost older sister, the thought of her falling in love with one of Branch's brothers sounded like such an adorable idea to me. Considering that she and Clay rule over the Putt Putt Trolls together, the pair already have an established relationship in the platonic and professional sense. The two seem to have a lot of respect for each other (which I'm sure Clay appreciates as he wasn't taken seriously by his brothers during his teen years) and seem to be the best of friends.  

Viva appears to look up to Clay as her rock and confidant when it comes to her strongest fears and insecurities (something she struggled to open up with even Poppy). The fact that she’s been so open with him and trusts him with the responsibility of being her right hand man shows that Clay has proven himself as trustworthy and that he’s very important to Viva. She was obviously devastated by his betrayal in the movie, but doesn’t appear to hold a grudge due to her focus on freeing Clay from his diamond prison while Branch and Poppy were working on freeing Floyd. Obviously Clay is very important to her, not just as a right-hand man but also as a friend. 

Despite trying too hard to be serious, Clay isn’t afraid to have fun and be silly around Viva, which shows he feels comfortable around her and she helps him embrace the fun side of himself while also acknowledging his desire to be taken seriously. Clay may also lean on Viva when it comes to handling his insecurities and frustrations (specifically regarding his issues with his brothers). I’m sure he appreciates someone as fun-loving and energetic as her taking over the responsibility of being “the fun one” and I’m sure he actually has fun with Viva due to not feeling the pressure of living up to his past boy band image. These two truly seem to empathise and understand each other as trolls. 

I definitely believe that Clay and Viva have a shared love of dancing. Clay was obviously in charge of choreography for Brozone back in their youth, plus he’s famous for his Rusty Robot and later the Well-Oiled Robot dance moves. Viva is obviously a talented and enthusiastic dancer herself with lots of energy for crazy moves like flips and cartwheels. I personally would love to see more of these two dancing together, whether it be as two friends dancing together or possibly as a romantic dance fast and/or slow. 

I think it's only natural that possible romantic sparks could grow between them as they re-adjust back into the lives of their long-lost family members and also accept that Bergans are no longer out to eat them. They obviously have a strong and special connection which they already built up even before they learned that their respective younger siblings are dating, so the possibility of them falling in love themselves does not seem that strange. 

I have heard some people say that it's wrong and even incestuous for Branch's older brother and Poppy's older sister to start a romantic relationship because when Broppy gets married it will make them in-laws. While I do acknowledge for some people it may be weird for one romantic partner's brother to date and/or marry their romantic partner's sister I will say in the ship's defence that it is neither morally wrong nor incestuous for a husband/boyfriend's brother to date and/or marry his wife/girlfriend's sister. They are not related by blood or legal siblings themselves, so there are no reasons why they can't date or marry (with Poppy, Branch's and King Peppy's blessing). It's not that unusual for a couple's siblings to fall in love and eventually marry in real life and fiction (e.g. The Chipmunks and their Chipette counterparts in the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise are some examples). Either way, let's try to respect each other's thoughts and opinions without judgement or harsh criticism. 

I’m certainly open to this ship from a compatibility standpoint, but from a chemistry standpoint I think I’ll need a little more convincing as their limited interactions seemed more platonic in nature than romantic. I personally felt that Clay calling Viva “girl” sounded more like how a male would greet his female friend than how he would a potential lover. Although I have heard from some people’s translation of some non-English dubs of Trolls Band Together that Clay calls Viva “babe” which sounds slightly promising on the romantic side. Still you could easily say that was simply how the international production people personally translated the dub rather than it being the original writer's intention. Still, I’m certainly open-minded with this interpretation. 

I definitely think like Branch, Viva will need some time to reconnect with her family and readjust to the outside world again, including learning to overcome her fear of the Bergans and coping with her trauma and abandonment issues. While well-meaning in her desire to protect her sister and fellow Putt Putt Trolls, I found her holding Poppy and to an extent the other Trolls hostage in order to “keep them safe” to be quite frightening and unhealthy. I only hope that to some extent Clay stayed with Viva out of genuine loyalty and care for her and not because he was basically held hostage by her. It would not be healthy for them to build any type of relationship out of fear and possessiveness. 

Just like Poppy and Viva are adjusting to their newfound sisterly relationship, I think both Clay and Viva would also need to make some adjustments in their relationship as it changes with them being back with their families and learning to trust the Bergans. I’m curious how they’ll lead the Putt Putt Trolls now, whether they return to Pop Trolls Village or continue to run the Putt Putt Village together as they always have, but this time make it more welcoming and friendly to Bergans and give themselves and the Putt Putt Trolls more freedom to explore outside their home. I believe it will not only be good for Viva’s mental health, but will also help their own relationship to grow as Viva learns to be less codependent and becomes a little more interdependent with Clay. Plus, I trust that Viva doesn’t hold any hard feelings against Clay for his betrayal, knowing that he was only trying to save his brother. I’m sure she can empathise and understand him on that over knowing the pain of losing and parting ways with family.

-

Here are two plausible directions I could see the ship taking:

Romance option 

Perhaps over time, Clay and Viva begin to notice that their relationship has grown and changed as they've settled back with their families. They start to realise that their feelings for each other may be more than platonic and their partnership may be based on more than a purely professional connection. I imagine that they both may struggle to open up about their feelings for each other at first. Clay's brothers (namely John Dory) may tease him over his crush on Viva but are overall supportive of the relationship. 

Clay’s brother’s teasing him over having feelings for Viva (new lower quality video). I imagine  Chandler as Clay, Rachel as Bruce, Phoebe as Branch, Ross as Floyd, Monica as John Dory and maybe Gunther as King Peppy: 

Branch in particular empathises with Clay's struggle with getting out of the friend zone and being in love with an overly energetic royal. He and Bruce may offer Clay courting and dating advice as they are currently the only two brothers to be in happily committed romantic relationships. 

Poppy is incredibly supportive of Clay and Viva becoming a couple and even offers to help them get together. She gets excited at the possibility of the pair going on double dates with her and Branch. Despite some hurdles along the way, the two eventually get the courage to confess their feelings for each other and eventually become a couple.

Before that happens, I could see a little ship teasing happening between them in this form. Perhaps Poppy and Branch have just gotten engaged or maybe it’s their wedding day and the two can’t help but get into a touching yet very awkward discussion similar to that of Ross and Rachel from Friends as they watch the happy young couple.

Viva and Clay ship tease example (0:05 to 0:34) (*Warning*: Sexually suggestive adult content)

I could see the conversation playing out like this:

Viva: “Look at them, they make such a Fantastamazing couple, don’t they!” 

Clay: “My baby brother and your little sister are in love and getting married. I never would have believed it.”

Viva: “Yeah, kind of ironic…what with you being my right-hand man and all. I guess it shows they were really meant to be.”

Clay: (chuckles a little) “Yeah, it is a pretty big coincidence, huh?”

After a few moments of silence, Viva finally speaks up again.

Viva: “Hey, Clay?” 

Clay: “Yeah, Veevs?” 

Viva: “Do you ever think…we’ll have what they have?”

Clay: (becomes noticeably nervous but yet also hopeful) “Uh, we, as in…”you, me, us: together”

Viva: “Oh nonono, not us (gesturing between the two of them) together (laughs nervously). I mean like, you with someone and me with someone. 

Clay: “Oh, whew. (fakes wiping his brow) You kinda scared me there.” 

Viva: “No probs, Clay. Just shake it off!” 

Clay: “Right, shake it off.” (Clay shakes himself rapidly like a dog and Viva lets out a little laugh to which Clay follows after her)

Viva: “You make me laugh.”

Clay: “Hey, I’m the former Fun Guy of Brozone and your current right-hand man. It’s what I do.”

Viva: (chuckles, though she’s still smiling it looks somewhat strained) “Yeah…i-it would make things kinda weird if we became a couple wouldn’t it?” 

Clay: (smiling but his eyes look visibly saddened) “Y-yeah, real weird.” 

The two share a heartfelt but very awkward moment, hinting that maybe the idea of them being a couple isn’t so weird to them. They may even be visibly disappointed at the thought of the other thinking it’s weird. 

-

In terms of romance comparison to other fictional characters' relationships I would imagine a romantic relationship developing in a similar fashion to these character’s relationships:

Melman and Gloria:

Perhaps like Melman, maybe either Clay or Viva have had feelings for their friend for a long time but have always been too shy to admit their feelings, while like Gloria the other expresses interest in dating, completely oblivious that their friend is in love with them. Maybe it’s only when one of them starts dating someone else who later turns out to be wrong for them (not that they have to be a bad person) do they start to realise the strong extent of their feelings and they get the boldness to finally confess. Overall, in the end the oblivious friend soon realises that their best friend is actually the one for them and the two eventually become a couple.

Melman and Gloria moments:

Melma and Gloria love confession: 

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable:

Viva and Clay share a lot of similarities to Kim and Ron in that they aren’t just best friends (Kim and Ron have been friends since Pre-K, while we’ve yet to learn what age Viva and Clay were when they first met) but are also professional partners, e.g. Ron Stoppable is Kim Possible’s crime-fighting sidekick while Clay is Viva’s right-hand man in the leadership of the Putt Putt Trolls. 

Kim and Ron as a couple:

Unlike Melman and Gloria in which one was simply too shy to confess their feelings and the other is oblivious to their friends feelings for them, it’s hinted a lot throughout the Kim Possible series that Kim and Ron share mutual feelings for each other but neither of them confess out of fear ruining their friendship. It was certainly confirmed to be the case from Ron’s side of things, while it’s merely hinted at from Kim’s side.

Proof that Kim and Ron had feelings for each other:

I could see either Clay or Viva being reluctant to admit their feelings for each other out of fear of their friendship being ruined as a result of their feelings being unrequited or their relationship doesn’t work out and they break up. I could see this storyline working well as their excuse in future Trolls shorts and/or films. 

There’s a possibility that they may have even not confessed their feelings due to it interrupting their professional relationship, e.g. Clay was too focused on being taken seriously in his job as Viva’s right-hand man while Viva let her fear of the Bergans returning stop her from considering a romantic relationship with Clay, possibly out of fear of losing him too or she was too focused on her job as leader to consider what her feelings for Clay truly were. 

With time for them both to reconnect with their families and time to readjust to the real world again, perhaps they both consider the possibility of romance in their lives, which possibly opens them up to dating other trolls but realising that they don’t have the same connection with their dates as they have with each other, leading to them realising that their feelings for each other may be more than platonic. 

Chandler and Monica:

Perhaps they may go down a similar route as Chandler and Monica from Friends where perhaps they begin a relationship off-screen and try their best to hide it from their siblings, either because they don’t feel ready to tell their family and/or they’re worried about how they will react to them being a couple. Though when they finally do confess their relationship, I’m sure their whole family is very supportive of the two as a couple.  

Monica and Chandler Love Story (*Warning* - Contains sexually suggestive adult content and possibly triggering fat jokes)

One thing all these couples have in common is that they were all friends first before eventually becoming a couple. The female character is generally depicted as a bold and beautiful woman (seemingly out of the guy’s league) who while she’s generally strong and independent does occasionally struggle with insecurities (with maybe the exception of Gloria perhaps), while the male character is generally depicted as more comical and goofy but overall very supportive of their female friend and vise-versa. Perhaps they date other trolls or other creatures, but ultimately realise that they’re each other’s true love. 

As we all picked up, they are quite similar to Branch and Poppy’s dynamic as well, only their roles are reversed somewhat with Viva being the more emotionally traumatised one and Clay being the more stable one who is there to emotionally support his friend/lover. Though Viva still has Poppy’s energy and enthusiasm while Clay is a little more cynical and organised like Branch.

If they do become a couple like Poppy and Branch I could see it happening in a slow burn manner with little romantic hints here and there. Though hopefully there are enough differences in their pairing that they don’t play out exactly like their younger siblings do and therefore their own relationship is still its own. 

Platonic option 

Of course, there's also the possibility that these two may just remain really good friends and later close in-laws when Branch and Poppy eventually get married. They may even support the other in their romantic relationships with other trolls/creatures. 

In terms of other fictional friendships and professional partnerships I can definitely see similarities between Princess Fiona and Brogan’s shared leadership of the Ogre Resistance in Shrek Forever After to Viva and Clay’s shared leadership of the Putt Putt Trolls. 

They may also have similarities in their relationship to General Amaya and Commander Gren from The Dragon Prince series who have a very close friendship as well as a professional partnership much like Viva and Clay themselves. I feel if either one or both of them eventually fall in love with someone else I could see either of them supporting their friend’s romance as Gren supports Amaya’s relationship with Queen Jenai. Perhaps if Clay is one to fall in love with someone else (such as perhaps a girl from his Sad Book Club) maybe Viva would feel a little jealous at the thought of losing her best friend and confidant, but only when Clay reassures her that he’ll always be there for her as a friend does she eventually accept his new relationship and gives the couple her blessing. 

Whichever direction Cliva goes, whether it remains platonic or heads in a more romantic direction, I am keen to see more of these two interacting with each other and seeing how they met and became partners in leadership. I hope their relationship grows with the changes to their situation and environment and continues to flourish. 

I'm just glad that Broppy has become canon as their romantic chemistry was so obvious and I'm just grateful that the ship has sailed nicely. Whatever happens with their older siblings is up for debate. 

[izartn]

So, about how I see Link Click's Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi relationship:

As it stands in canon? Queerplatonic partners. And it's convenient for the plot that they're like this.

Because of Chinese censorship it can't be explicitly romantic, yes I know it. Let me tell why it's queerplatonic for me. The way these two have intertwined their lives and futures together?!

Owning a business and living together, that hint in ep2 (comparing them to the subtextually older lesbian couple who also came across as queerplatonic bc censure) where Xiaoshi wonders/fears if years down the line he and Lu Guang will separate/break up implying their partnership is for life as far as he's concerned (the parallel can be taken as a subtext romance too but follow me we're talking text), the way they were already going also on vacancies together three years prev in canon, etc...

Without entering on their complimentary powers and the way the dives need both of them if they want security in not screwing the past, and the inmense trust and vulnerability the dives themselves require?

They're not simply best friends either.

Those aren't the actions of normal, totally not queer friends. Cheng Xiaoshi checks out women on the dives, sure, (and men too when the host is feeling it which I love bc they can't address it directly bc censorship and then it comes across as Xiaoshi being super confident in his own relationship to sexuality/gender) but I don't think he would ever date bc Lu Guang is already there, filling that place in his life minus sex and romance but all that same companionship and intensity of feeling.

These two meet in what, the last year/s of High School and then proceeded to latch onto each other with a commitment reserved for romantic partners.

And I know you want to say, "it's the censorship! they'd be romantic and canon if not for the censorship!"

Are you sure? Are you sure the story would work if there were explicit romance in it? (I mean, if they could I'm pretty sure they would have nailed it anyways but allow me my a-spec delusions) Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang feel so much like an already established pair, they work like one, and Link Click is not about them coming together like many other stories. Are you sure this would work as BL?

There's a distinct difference on the way they start the show already like six years at least since they're best friends and three or two since they live together. That's not usually how it goes. I'm talking not just romances but every buddy or nakama anime/show, where the protag has to learn to work with who will be his best friend or rival. These stories usually have the same kind of plot progression as a romance which is why they work so well when you make the subtext text.

But a story where the main romance is already established and we're following a plot that has nothing to do with it? Much more rare, even stranger to find them well done although there are some very good ones and with the friendships instead of romo they're more common. For example, Soul Eater, which is all about the trials of it and how they hace to truly come to understand each other. That's Link Click a bit, but not even then.

Link Click juggling a budding romance between Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi with all the other stuff is going on?? Messier for sure. I don't know if people would have liked it as much or if the donghua would have been as well done.

As it is, Link Click has the exact level of emotional connection between our protags it needs to have incredibly high stakes emotionally and at the same time not need a detour by romantic scenes/fanservice that would derail the plot or the other charas importance. That it happens to be pretty queer anyways in a platonic way?

Nice for the aroace-spec folks watching the show xD

Btw, I'm pretty sure in season 3 we're going to get more of Lu Guang's PoV, the origins of their powers and the past between him and Xiaoshi. It'll probably dig more into the aspect of "testing their bond and coming stronger bc of it" which is were the romantic subtext usually comes through...

—unless you're very very good at writing like Arakawa in FMA, who nailed the brotherly relationship without tipping into incest subtext which I've seen more than a few writers fumble. or the latest D&D film for the platonic childrearing and partnership for a no familial example between a man and a woman also very very difficult to get right for writers dunno why—

... but until then, for now I'm incredibly satisfied by the canon.

The other read of course it that they're already a couple since well before the start of season 1, and to mentally edit what we saw in canon with that lens (it wouldn't be very difficult honestly) but reading only the text? Queerplatonic partners!

There also how Xiaoshi and Lu Guang don't have that anxiety/insecurity of their bond that makes it so easy to read the want for something, like a romance for shipping purposes. Despite the disagreements on the Dives or the trials of season 2 or Lu Guang keeping secret Cheng Xiaoshi future/past death they read very steady which is fun. I love some good established relationship, you can go to deeper places when the base is already secure and the risk is higher for the characters. Plus I love domesticity! Yes, I do my angsty/Gothic leanings notwithstanding. Don't you know you need a home for the Gothic to be effective?

[nymphadora7]

yuri and kitty make sense. it did not come out of nowhere. the rom com meet cute? all of the tension while yuri was “dating” dae and how easily that tension transfers to romantic tension after kitty’s dream? that doesn’t come out of nowhere. kitty and yuri in the beginning of the show are two people who are at odds but don’t really want to be at odds. once the dae situation is mostly resolved, they become fast friends, which it’s foreshadowed they can be in episode 1. moreover, kitty has been with dae since she was 12. she clearly has been focused on him and not herself, and her interest in yuri is allowed to flourish because she is not with dae when it begins. she does not think she will be with dae. and she is in fact actively looking for someone to kiss. moreover, even if it was out of nowhere (which it isn’t) kitty is 17 (16?). at that age, crushes appear out of nowhere all. the. time. and while it might not have been the best idea to tell yuri about her feelings, kitty thought she would never see her again. sometimes the right thing for you, the thing that will let you keep going, is going to hurt someone else. doesn’t make it okay, just is. and on top of that, she didn’t fully confess anyway. and kitty’s not known for making good decisions, since literally the first tatbilb movie. it’s up to yuri now to decide what to do with this information. she clearly has wanted juliana to come back, and it is unlikely she will drop juliana because of kitty’s aborted confession. additionally, the few times we’ve seen juliana have been 1) the flashback, 2) the kiss in the janitor’s closet (neither of which reveal much about her), 3) the phone call in the tent, 4) the phone call in kitty/yuri/q’s room, and 5) the scene at the airport. in 2 and 3, juliana seems to have resigned herself to a life without yuri, and seems honestly shocked that yuri cared enough to go to such lengths to find her. what does that say about what juliana thinks of the relationship that yuri is so invested in? in 4 and 5, 4 explicitly, juliana is worried about yuri’s friendship with kitty, and jealous of it, and pushes the fact that she doesn’t quite trust yuri’s telling her the truth about the platonic nature of their friendship. to be clear, i have absolutely nothing against juliana. i am interested and curious to see her as a full character in season 2, and i do, in fact, desperately hope that they do not villainize a black queer female character. on the other hand, black queer women can be toxic partners. limiting othered people to only heroic, savior-like, positive roles, is also not great. and exhibiting jealous and mistrusting behavior already when we have so few, brief scenes of her is to me an orange flag. i’m not worried about it yet, but i have noticed it. and often, people who imply that they don’t trust their partner not to cheat, have already cheated themselves. once again, i hope this is untrue, i hope i’m wrong. finally, kitty was not in the right to almost confess to yuri, but it is not the cardinal sin some people are pretending it is. yuri and juliana may continue, they may not. whatever happens, it won’t be kitty’s fault. it is not inherently homophobic if you don’t ship kittyuri, or if you ship minty. it is homophobic to perpetuate this idea that the ship came out of nowhere simply because you don’t ship it and have refused to see what the show is explicitly showing.

in this same vein, min ho and kitty make sense. it did not come out of nowhere. and while min ho might not have had the best timing with telling kitty his feelings, he did in fact wait until he had confirmation that she was no longer with dae. he might have said something further had the PA not interrupted, but he did not appear to expect anything from her in return after he told her (just as kitty did not appear to expect anything in return from yuri when she almost confessed). kitty is shocked, but very clearly not upset about the information. to us, it is clear that min ho has liked kitty for a while, probably longer than he knew or let on. sometimes so called “hatred” for someone is genuinely that, but as demonstrated in xo kitty, it is often the exact opposite. (i am of course talking about disliking someone interpersonally for muddled reasons, not disliking someone for genuine reasons, i.e. they’re a harmful person.) dislike for someone is often based on someone protecting themselves for whatever reason. based on all that we know about min ho, he has a lot of family related issues, and a lot of reason to put up walls in order to protect himself. he is initially “anti-kitty” because he thinks dae should explore his options with someone he is in the same country with and then because he thinks yuri is a better option. a lot of this quite clearly stems from the way he was raised, the fact that his father is on wife #3, and the classism that very much exists in korea (as it does in many places) and honestly probably because kitty is half-white (i am not saying there is racism against white people, there isn’t. i’m saying that there is often unfortunate biases against mixed kids from both/all of their communities). in the chuseok episode, he says “my parents thought they were true love, and then had the messiest divorce ever” (or something to that effect). that line is so telling: min ho doesn’t believe in true love, or maybe even love at all. he looks at it as transactional, what can i get from them and what can they get from me? it’s evident in his failed (i think?) tryst with the k pop star whose name is escaping me, and in his situationship with madison. but spending so much time around kitty specifically changes his mind about these things. slowly, at first, and then much more rapidly. he’s still cocky, arrogant min ho, but he chills out a lot over those first few episodes. i think he appreciates that kitty actually responds to his teasing and one ups him oftentimes. and when he calls her his saesang, it’s so funny bc he is so clearly the one obsessed with her at all times throughout season 1. also, the dream happens after the chuseok episode, where they noticeably get closer. there is buildup! he thinks she’s beautiful when she enters his party, and is actively trying to resist his crush on her (because he thinks he shouldn’t have a crush on his friend’s girlfriend) when he reacts to it being her. he respects that he thinks she and dae are still into each other and moves his attention to madison. he knows her order in the detention episode. he is upset for her when he finds out yuri and dae lied. he saves her from the fireworks. he does not fight back against dae after dae attacks him because he thinks dae has the right to. he looks visibly shattered when kitty says min ho isn’t the one she was talking about. also, min ho would not have made the effort to sweet talk some flight attendant to find kitty’s seat and sit in coach because of nothing. 

with both kittyuri, and with minty, they are one sided crushes (at least at the moment) with potential to be reciprocated, and i think people are misinterpreting them because of that. neither of them came out of nowhere, neither of them are toxic, and neither of the two ships involving teenagers include characters who are morally bad.

in conclusion, let people ship things. ship things yourself! and most of all, do not take things that seriously. shipping should never be a war. even if you personally don’t like a ship, it is shitty to go and actively hate the ship, especially if the ship is not doing you any harm, especially if you go into the positive spaces for that ship to spread your hate. if you don’t ship something, do not interact with content for that ship. it is not that hard. it is 2023, not 2013. ship whatever the hell you want.

[sunmaylight]

Househusband Kafka? AU

((Edit: added a title to this piece))

I’ve started watching Kaiju No. 8 and have a plunny idea

Househusband Kafka who is legally married to Mina. Those two can be romantically married or platonically married and have picked up all the signed of a happily married couple without realizing it. Aka, “Because this is my First Life” k-drama (even though I haven’t gotten too far into it and they are both working young adults)

Canon happens as normal…to the extent that Mina knows that Kafka can turn into a Kaiju, but thinks that it is a slow transformation happening to him. She has the idea that it is reversible and pushes Kafka to be seen by the Kaiju experts and doctors to get the transformation reversed. Even though Kafka already knows that it might be impossible to reverse this at all.

More thought out stuff below

Pre-Marriage

Kafka and Mina unexpectedly reunited one day in the middle of Mina’s career. It would have been a joyful reunion if it wasn’t for the fact that both smelt like Kaiju extract.

The two met as Kafka was cleaning up a Kaiju and Mina is tasked with looking out for the cleanup crew in case if the corpse had any hidden failsafe organs. There was one, the Kaiju had a function of releasing extract as a spray and had it loaded up before it was killed. It sprayed only on Kafka and Mina. Luckily there is a public shower area nearby, so the two were able to get cleaned up quickly. They used the time waiting for transportation to pick them up to catch up. Before leaving they exchanged numbers

Time goes on, the two meet when they can until it get to the point where people recognize Mina in public. As a figure for Kaiju extermination, there are mixed reactions people have for her. Especially a significant sponsor who thinks that Mina should be married already and offers one of his children as a candidate.

Mina complains about this to Kafka when they are hanging out at her house with food and drinks. Then a flash of inspiration strikes Kafka. He suggests that the two become legal partners. That way, if someone tries something like that to Mina again then she has an excuse to refuse them. Her coworker can know about the two’s arrangement as well for a good laugh. Plus if she ever finds someone she wants to actually date, then they can divorce. Also taxes.

Plan in motion early in the morning and with alcohol in their veins, the two draft a contract and legal certificate. That includes mundane things such as rent, groceries, cooking (Kafka cooks for 80% of the time and Mina cooks when she can if she wants to. The 20% is if they can’t stomach food that day), etc; to the more Kaiju related insurances polices, visitation rights, and what kind of ceremony do they want to do. When they wake up, they both have a killer migraine and a crude drawing of Bakko for some reason. (The drawing has a special place on the fridge)

Post-Marriage

For the two of them, it feels as though nothing much changes about their relationship besides living together now with Bakko the giant white tiger. The tiger gets spoilt by Kafka and Mina tried but fails to fix Bakko’s behavior whenever the tiger sees Kafka after work. That is, pouncing on Kafka and licking his face a lot.

Outsiders notices things differently however. They are domestic.

When Mina forgot to bring a lunch one day at work and was going to get something from the canteen, Kafka somehow arrives at her office with two matching lunchboxes. She brings him to the canteen and others just watch as the two eat lunch while talking about Kaiju, what does Mina want to eat for dinner, chores, walking Bakko, and grocery request to pick up on the way home?!

When Kafka is about to enjoy some pudding during work, Mina barges in wearing sunglasses and Kafka’s hoodie. She then grills him about hiding the pudding at home. He argues that she shouldn’t have an entire cup of pudding every day, She argues back he shouldn’t do that as well. The two compromise in a corner of the break room and are seen pouting while sharing Kafka’s cup of pudding. Kafka’s coworkers let the two be since they are used to Mina’s unannounced visits.

While working, it is uncommon to see Kafka call Mina while she is being transported to a certain location during a Kaiju attack. If one listens in, they can hear her debating with Kafka on the best place to shoot the Kaiju. It is always 50/50 on who wins the debate since more often than not it is cut off when Mina arrives at her destination.

However, Mina calling Kafka while he is on his way to a clean up location is more common. She gives him info what to look out for when taking care of the Kaiju corpse that she noticed in battle. He then asks if she noticed anything else unique about the Kaiju. If she wasn’t in the battle, the two gush about the fight and distinguishing characteristics about the Kaiju. The information that Kafka learns helps reduce the work related accidents compared to other clean up crew teams. He even scores employee of the month a few times.

In the dead of night if there are no Kaiju attacks, Kafka and Mina sometimes spend the nights holding each other or sleeping with Bakko when things are too much. If they remember the disaster of their hometown, if either of them had a horrible day where someone they know died during a Kaiju attack, or even nightmares.

There are times when the two get into an argument about Kafka not being in the Defense Force yet/applying for another job in the Defense Force that doesn’t require him being in the front lines frequently. They both don’t talk about Kafka not applying for the Defense Force as they both hold onto that dream.

Canon

((My knowledge isn’t that great. I’m only watching the anime so far and they are concluding the fungus Kaiju. So take these what ifs instead))

When Mina arrived home after Kafka gains the ability to turn into a Kaiju, she and Bakko are greeted with the sight of Kafka cooking while using a tail as well. Instincts kick in and Mina has Kafka pinned on the ground with her weapon. Kafka tries to calm her down but it just stresses her out and stresses him out more in turn. The stress builds until Kafka ends up with a tail, sharp mouth, and an arm transformed before Ichikawa calls to remind Kafka to be careful not to transform in public. Mina then looks at Kafka horrified for him and thinks of what to do when Kafka interrupts Mina. He tells her not to worry, this might be a good thing in achieving his dream.

In the end, Mina decides to keep quiet about Karla’s partial transformations and for the Defense Force to pay special attention to the recruits of this batch. She doesn’t realize that Kafka can transform into Kaiju No. 8

As Kafka works as a cadet the Defense Force staff treats him differently. Before, he is somewhat known to the staff members as Mina’s “household-husband” and is treated as a giant teddy bear sometimes, but now as a cadet, he witnesses how strict these people are. It is exciting for him, he wonders if this was how Mina was treated while rising the ranks.

Besides Leno Ichikawa, the others in their group have no idea that Kafka and Mina are technically married and are roommates. They find out that the two live together when the group runs into Mina and Bakko while training. Bakko pounces on Kafka and licks him then once he is up, Kafka asks Mina what does she want for dinner like he does whenever he drops by the base before. Oblivious to the reveal he accidentally dropped, Kafka runs ahead of the group with Leno. The two jog and discuss about last week’s Kaiju attack when Mina jumps in and argues about a certain characteristic of the Kaiju that she thinks fits one type instead of the other. All three end up oblivious to the group they left behind.

[queer-reader-07]

few things bother me more than people saying that it’s “dumb” or “intentional ignoring” or “impossible” to have interpreted crowley and aziraphale’s relationship platonically.

and look i could go on about all the things that do point to romance but enough people have done that so i’m gonna defend myself here and explain why i read them as platonic for so long and why i think it’s perfectly reasonable to have read them platonically.

and a disclaimer that all of this is from my perspective and my opinion. so if i make a statement as though it’s matter of fact, know that i’m speaking from my perspective and just can’t be bothered to preface every sentence with “in my opinion…”

and it mostly boils down to one thing: their love reflected the love me and my friends have for each other.

so no shit i interpreted them platonically because they looked like my real life platonic relationships!!

i’ve talked at length about how i think there’s a specificity to the way queer people love. i think there’s something special about the way queer people show love, especially platonic love.

here’s the thing. i’ve been mistaken as my best friend of 16 years’ girlfriend more than once. i’ve been mistaken as one of my other best friend’s partner so many times her friends were genuinely shocked when she got a boyfriend because they thought she was dating me.

i understand the whole “being so platonically in love that people think you’re also fucking” situation. i unironically live that situation on the regular. so naturally i assumed that’s what was happening with aziraphale and crowley.

my thought process was basically this

1) they love like i love (specifically, crowley loves like i love). therefore, they’re platonically in love.

2) weird, everyone on the internet is convinced they’re dating. something something everyone values romantic love over platonic love

3) well whatever they’re still platonic in my heart

and it stayed like that quite literally until i watched episode 6 of season 2. and you can tell me i was being oblivious all you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that i genuinely believed they were platonic. queer platonic? sure. but definitely not romantic.

i saw all the witty quips and banter between the two of them and didn’t read any sexual or romantic tension, i read friendship. i saw aziraphale damsel in distress-ing himself on the regular so crowley could save him and thought “well it’s the only way he can spend time with crowley. checks out”. and i saw the bandstand breakup and the burning bookshop and “you told my only friend to shut his mouth and die and i did. not. care. for it.” and aziraphale so desperately trying to shield crowley from the horrors of the world and obviously i saw love. a love that is deep and profound, yes. it just never read romantic to me because i would do and say all of those things for and to my friends.

one of the few things i will never cease to find joy in is my friendships. i will ALWAYS love loving the people close to me, i will ALWAYS support them, and most importantly, i ALWAYS want to protect them. even when i know what is going to happen is inevitable, i don’t want to see them hurt. i want to shield them from the cataclysmic experience of the human condition and only have to experience in the moments of joy that await them. i don’t want to see the people i love hurt or in pain or jaded by how fucked up the world is.

because i already am those things. i am jaded by the world, i’m constant falling into the pit of cynical despair that the state of the world can manage to throw you down. and i know how fucking hard it is to pull yourself out of that place, to find hope and move forward and allow yourself to even enjoy the love and support you do have in life.

and the last thing i ever want is for the people i love dearly to experience those things.

so yeah. i related hard fucking core to crowley and the way he loves aziraphale SO. FUCKING. DEEPLY. and of course i read it platonically because it’s platonic for me. so deeply platonic in the best way.

and i could go on about how a lot of this stems from how much i value platonic love. how much i don’t adhere to social norms of love and how people express love. i will loudly proclaim my love for my friends, because i love them. i’m in love with them. but that doesn’t mean i want to date them or kiss them. and that makes perfect sense to me, and if it doesn’t make sense to you. well then, idk what to tell you.

this is longer than i intended but my point is that it hurts seeing people who act like those of us who did genuinely read aziracrow as platonic the first go around are stupid or that we chose to ignore the romance.

because, to me at least, it always felt like people were calling the way i love stupid or that i’m actually ignoring my “real” feelings

[cosyvelvetorchid]

It’s @saltommyweek2024 day 2!

(I’m in the uk and it after midnight so it’s day 2 already for me lol)

Day 2: Injury

*****

Rated: General audience.

*

Four months they’d been secretly dating. It had, of course, happened after a drunken night out and Sal had kissed Tommy. Days later they kissed again only this time they were sober.

It moved pretty quickly after that. A month in they’d the “where is this going?” talk and agreed to not see other people.

And last night, four months in, they’d exchanged “I love you’s” for the first time. After that—well, after the mind blowing sex that followed—they’d agreed to go public with their relationship. They decided that on their next shift together, 2 days from now, they would talk to Cap and officially declare their relationship to the LAFD.

Sal was just waking up and starting his day. Tommy had been on a night shift and Sal wanted to have breakfast ready for him to come home to.

His phone rang on the bed and he ran out from the bathroom mumbling swear words at whoever had forced him out of his shower.

“What?” He answered.

“Sal...” Chimneys voice was quieter than normal. Sal knew instantly something was wrong.

“What happened?”

“It’s Tommy, Sal. He..” the words stuck in Chims throat. Sal felt the blood in his veins pump harder and hotter. For a moment his lungs forgot out to inflate.

“Is.. is he alive?” He asked, voice shaky and terrified of the answer.

“Yeah, but.. “

Sal didn’t really hear much of the rest. Building collapse. No pulse. Got him back. Chest injury.

He walked briskly into the hospital waiting area having no recollection of the drive over.

“Sal.” Chim greeted. He walked over to him, the rest of 118 sat dotted around the waiting area and Bobby and Hen standing talking by the reception desk. Spotting Sal they walked over.

“What happened? How bad? What do we know?” Sal’s words sped out of his mouth, not knowing which question was the more pressing one.

“The factory roof collapsed” Bobby explained. “He pushed the manager he was pulling out, out of the way before the roof fell on top of himself. He was breathing when we got to him but coded in the ambulance. Chimney got him back and the docs have been working on for the last hour. No update yet.”

Sal ran his hand through his hair and used every bit of strength to stop himself from breaking down.

He’d only just found Tommy.

They’d worked together for 10 years and for almost all of it they’d been best friends. Platonic partners. Sal had realised he was Bisexual a few years ago but hadn’t looked at Tommy romantically, until about 6 months ago. He had no idea what changed, he just knew they one day Tommy was talking about a date he had planned and Sal found himself wanting to punch the guy he was going on date with.

Suddenly he wasn’t Tommy anymore. He was Tommy.

It was a huge change, and risk, them becoming more than friends but Tommy had somehow fit into Sals life, his soul, so beautifully as though they were two jigsaw pieces perfectly designed to fit together.

Sal always gave the air of someone confident and strong; invulnerable. He was sometimes cocky, often arrogant and always a pain on the ass. But Tommy turned him into mush. Tommy got to see his vulnerability; the softness he hid from everyone else.

He was absolutely gone for-

“Thomas Kinard?” The doctor called out. Everyone walked over to him in a group.

“How is he?” Sal asked.

“Thomas suffered pretty nasty injury to the chest which was a literal shock to his heart, which was why it stopped. We’ve managed to stabilise it, and we’re confident that he won’t need surgery to fix it. He’s got some significant cuts and bruises and a fractured wrist, but otherwise he is an extremely lucky man. We’ll keep an eye on his heart for a while and if everything goes well he should be allowed to go home in a couple of days.”

Sal almost grabbed the doctor and kissed him. Instead he breath a large breath of relief.

“Can I see him?”

*

The doctor led him into the room and Sals face softened at the sight before him. His big, strong, Tommy somehow looked smaller.

“Any idea when he’ll wake up?” Sal asked.

“Anytime soon we think.” He replied. “I’ll come back in a bit to check on him.” He added and left.

Sal walked over and pulled a chair closer to the bed sitting down.

“Cuore mio.” He said, taking Tommy’s hand in both of his and bringing his knuckles up to kiss. He knew Tommy loved it when he busted out the Italian. “You gave me a pretty big scare, asshole.” He sighed. “I’m supposed to be the reckless one who gets hurt—you’re supposed to be the one who yells at me for being stupid. That’s how it’s supposed to be—I’m the impulsive one and you’re the pragmatic one. I’ll always be the better looking one though.” He chuckled.

“You.. wish..” The groggy, rough voice was heaven to Sals ears.

“Tommy? Amore mio.” He stood to lean over him, gently running a hand through his hair. “How you feeling?”

Tommy swallowed and slowly opened his eyes to see Sal looking down at him.

“Better now.” He said smiling at his boyfriend. Sal bent down and pressed his lips against Tommys forehead.

“You cannot get hurt again, do you hear me? I don’t think my heart can take it.” There were tears forming in Sals eyes.

“I promise, baby.” He said back, reaching up to cup Sals face. They both knew it was an empty promise really—the job meant neither could actually promise they would never get hurt. But Sal appreciated him saying it anyway.

“Good to see you’re awake, Tommy.” Bobbys voice came from the doorway.

“Thanks Cap.” Tommy replied.

“I’m gonna go update everybody on how you’re doing. And, uh, when you’re healed and back to work, I think the three of us are going to have to have a conversation.” He said looking at Sals hand tightly gripped around Tommy’s, with his other still stroking his hair.

“Yes, Cap.” Sal said before turning his attention back to Tommy.

“I love you.” He said pressing a gently kiss to Tommy’s lips.

“I love you, too.”

[visgrapplinghooks]

friendlinghood: a proposal

skip to "terminology" if you don't want the long explanation

QPRs are really difficult to talk about because of the way the modern queer community has kinda framed it as like "dating but without romantic attraction"

when that's not entirely true

I mean, you COULD say that's a kind of QPR but it'd be a mistake to frame all of it that way. this is in large part to internet misinformation and shit as well as amatonormativity from which a lot of relationship discourse is framed against

queerplatonicism, from my pov refers to what is essentially the natural byproduct of queer and neurodivergent people having close friends

the queer community has been aware for a while that its members would have close friendships that in some way violated traditional social norms for behavior outside romantic relationships or family, etc.

when you sit outside the neurotypical and patriarchal norm, the conventional social understanding of what relationships are kinda breaks down for you

you display levels of closeness and intimacy and affection that are "inappropriate" for neurotypical and patriarchal society. in most cases they're not formal relationships, but natural evolutions of friendships between queer and neurodivergent folks

cishet people actually do have variants on this like the concept of "blood brothers" where two men who love each other basically make a pact to always have each other's backs and be their support and they do the whole movie thing where they mix blood to bind them together (it's a very cinematic thing, but the point is it exists in the popular consciousness)

"romance" and "friendship" each refer to a set of social norms and expectations. there's like a whole narrative constructed around those concepts and people internalize and have their own versions of them

a lot of people probably have friends they want to fuck or kiss or cuddle or declare their undying affection for but it'd just be "weird" within the social boundaries of acceptability and so people pigeonhole their relationships into either friend or romantic partner.

queerplatonicism (from my pov) is essentially accepting or practicing relationships which are neither platonic or romantic or even strictly familial. many queer people have them with other queer people they're close to. if you know queer folks then you probably know what I'm talking about - the friends they have that they're not dating but seem intensely attached and close to. they usually have weird names for each other that go beyond friendship like they'll jokingly call each other wives and husbands and siblings and partners... but it doesn't feel quite entirely joking. they'll express a lot of physical affection in the casual way you might typically ascribe to romantic partners. they'll prioritize time with those people as much as any romantic partner they may have etc.

straight and cis people and neurotypical people obviously experience them to some extent, it's just that patriarchy was built around cishet neurotypicals in particular, so it tends to cling to their mindsets more strongly, and once you're already outside of the "bounds of normalcy" by being queer, ND, etc. then it's a lot easier to feel like it's okay for you to be in relationships that aren't "normal".

because like the idea of loving someone with your entire fucking being... it's so tied up in these cultural ideas on how to behave about those feelings and it never made sense to me, because if you just let yourself feel those emotions you start to realize there are people in your life that maybe you love so much more than friends. but "more than friends" is so washed up in romance that you force those feelings down and think "this is fine, I'm happy with being just friends, what else can we be?"

maybe I don't want to have sex or hold hands on a ferris wheel or get. married or kiss or any of that. maybe I just want to exist in the same room as that person know that that person is in my life and know that person cares about me just as much as I do them.

terminology

I've started to use the term "friendling" in my day to day life, now. the term is a portmanteau of "friend" and "sibling" and "loveling" (the english cognate of the German word "lieblings" which can mean "favorite", but is also a term of endearment).

to me, it's probably the most accurate way to describe the Everything All At Once feelings that are simultaneously your weird friends that are your found family and also "romantic" but twisted beyond recognition where the term stops meaning anything.

I'm just throwing this word and explanation out there for anyone who feels like me and wants to use it too. not exclusive to queer people or neurodivergence or anything, I just think it's often easier to be cognisant of those feelings when you are queer and neurodivergent.

that being said, I do NOT want this to be folded into another "attraction label". this is, as far as I can tell, not a unique form of attraction but quite literally the opposite. it's an abstraction of the core impulses of attraction that ALL humans experience without the labels or social structures built around it. I do not want the language that I've spent so long trying to find for my experiences losing all of its value and being reapporpriated into the amatonormative, allonormative, and cisheteropatriarchal framework.

"friendlinghood" - is what I see as an attribute of relationships and the extent to which they deviate from socially conventional definitions of a relationship.

"friendlingship" - used grammatically like friendship. referring to any complex relationship acategorically.

"friendling" - used grammatically similar to friend. referring to those involved in any complex relationship acategorically.

all of this shit is nebulous and doesn't really mean anything beyond what meaning you choose to give it. I think any relationship can have some amount of friendlinghood and I don't think there's a clear line between friendlingship and friendship or romance or family, because it's not a type of relationship in the first place. it's just silly words I made that helped me.

language and labels

so the biggest problem with terminology like this is you can end up creating labels. my point was to create personal terms for myself and my relationships because that's what helped me personally process my own feelings.

that's not to say everyone needs or benefits from them. you can just vibe and do whatever you want and many people are happy with that.

I don't think words like this being codified and standardized really helps anyone. it's unavoidable that we as humans like articulating feelings, but the entire point of my interactions with friendlinghood is about certain things defying labels and language. language in this sense is just a tool, it's a hammer for a nail. it's not embodying the concept itself, it's just useful shorthand.

I will still freely refer to friendlings as close friends, best friends, found family, and other words. as long as I know the intention behind it is all that matters. I just needed that initial bit of language to articulate the feelings before the other words felt right to me.

[mamamittens]

Spooktober 2024 Event!

Running from 9/22/2024 to 9/30/2024 is my Spooktober Event!

A Halloween Party!

Which if you've been on the lookout, you'll have been given a spoiler for very recently!

It’ll be a lot like my Shake Date Event, actually.

Here’s how it’s going to work!

You, or if I’ve done it for you before, an OC, are going to a Halloween party! And you’ve been given a ride with a character (or two!). Maybe you dressed up, or maybe they did, but you find that there’s a candy bucket (or something close) waiting for you in the car. A little treat for coming out with them—how sweet!

This means I will only write your OC if I have done so before!

(Those of you who have already sent in an ask with new OCs, I'll get to you if I haven't already. New OC asks from this point on will be deleted. Handling someone's baby for the first time in a mass event is stressful).

You are to send me an ask in my ask box who was dressed up (they’ll be the ‘monster’ they’re dressed as), what candy bucket you’ve got, and what was in it! As for personal descriptions, you’re to tell me what you want me to know! I don’t know what you look like, after all. So let me know if you prefer a particular style of dress, your basic details, and something you want to have attention drawn to. Whether that’s your serious personality, or freckles! This is easier for OCs, as I’ll already have a frame of reference.

When doing the candy, feel free to have it be ‘given’ to someone specific if you want them to have that in particular. It’s nice to share, after all!

If you’re +18, you can drink at the party with your partner. Keep in mind the ‘costumes’ when asking for shots and who’s ordering them!

Costume – Monster

Vampire

Werewolf

Ghost

Demon

Serial killer

Undead

Scarecrows

Reaper

Boogeyman

Witch/Wizard

Naga (Snake person)

Drider (Spider person)

Mermaid

Angel

Alien (Specify the type if you’d like, whether that’s ‘The Thing’ or otherwise. If not, it’s dealer’s choice.)

Evil scientist

Hitman

Siren

Cult

Priest

Fae

Relationship – Chocolate Bars

Milk Chocolate - Meet cute

Cherry Chocolate - Rivals->lovers

White Chocolate – Friends ->lovers

Dark Chocolate - Predator/prey

Caramel Chocolate - Coworkers

Mint chocolate chip - Strangers

Kisses - Fling

Pop rock chocolate - Childhood friends

Chocolate covered nuts - One sided crush

Chocolate Orange -Yandere

Raspberry Chocolate – Platonic (For non-romance/sex)

Setting – Candy holder

Wooden Basket - Cabin in the woods

Leftover Bucket - Abandoned building (context may change exact type)

Recycled Milk Jug - ‘Normal town’

Prop Bucket - Dreamscape

Fuzzy Bucket - Home alone

Paper Bag - Countryside

Pumpkin Bucket - Actual normal town, urban fantasy/supernatural -esque setting

Plastic Bag – Workplace

Metal Bucket – Space

Striped bucket – Abandoned/Isolated lighthouse

Woven bucket – The Woods, such as a national park.

Salt treated wood bucket- The Ocean/On a Ship

Additional tropes

Smarties - Final Girl/Boy

Gummy Pack - Cursed artifact

Jolly Rancher - Stormy Night

Sour Patch - Summoning Evil

Tootsie Roll - Sacrificial offer

Ring Pop - Arranged Marriage

Fun Dip - Cosmic horror

Swedish Fish - Secretly the Monster/double life

Air Heads - Forbidden romance

Nerds - The Prophecy™

Twizzlers - Soul Mates

Blow Pop – Injury

Chewing gum – Hypnosis

Toffee – Urban exploration

Taffy – Reincarnated soul

Malts – Mysterious neighbor

Fireball – Stalker

Cotton Candy – Life debt

NSFW options below

BE WARNED: If you don’t have your age (at least a +18, I don’t need exact age, down to minute) in your bio or somewhere easily visible on your blog, I will just delete your ask. You must also have your character of choice (or characters) be +18 for this option.

I also will not be breaking any previous boundaries in concern towards the smut. So rest assured, there will be no coprophilia, water play, whatever fancy word for vomit there is, tickle play, age play, real people fiction, non con, or underage relationships. Requests to the contrary will, at best, be politely ignored.

This is not up for debate.

Smut

Black Rose - Breeding Kink

Butterball - Knotting

Cement Mixer – Pregnancy

Big Bang - Eggs

White Russian – Creampie/Cum play

Hot Damn – Praise kink

Mind Eraser – Degradation

Afterburner – Choking/breathplay

Jell-o shot – Edging

Pineapple Upside Down Cake – Oral

Alice in Wonderland – Size Kink

Motor Oil – Marking

Kamikaze – Temperature play (Served hot or cold for temp preferences)

Jager Bomb – Rough Sex (Extra strong is hate sex)

Green Tea shot – Soft Sex

Pink Schnapps – Dom/Sub (The person receiving this shot will be designated the ‘Sub’)

Black Jack – Restraints

Brain Hemorrhage - Overstimulation

Gladiator – Public Sex

Sangrita – Blood play

Apocalypse Now – Medical play (functions as the BD/SM shot)

B-52 – Toys/Objects (Also functions as the BD/SM shot, exact details contingent on other selections)

Jellybean – Anal (functions as the BD/SM shot, if the ‘giver’ is a human AFAB, a toy or strap is assumed. Ask for ‘Mini Jellybean’ for anal play but not full anal. Regarding AMAB characters, anal may be assumed regardless of this shot not being ordered)

I know there’s a word limit for an ask, so feel free to be a bit dry if you have to. If I REALLY have to, I can always ask for clarification through DMs, but I’d like to avoid it if possible. To that end, have your dms open so that I can actually ask. If I can’t get clarification and the ask is impossible to complete without it, I may just delete it.

Driest example possible:

“I, X (AFAB, Masc), go with Shanks (Vampire). I prefer casual dress, I have short blond hair, I’m a professional athlete (weights) but a bit chubby for off season, tan, and dark eyes. There’s a paper bag with Chocolate nuts that I give to him, with Jolly ranchers, sour patch, and tootsie rolls. He drinks a sangrita and we share Jager bomb, gladiator, brain hemmorrage, and cement mixers.”

It doesn’t have to be super detailed if you prefer to be straight forward to keep it within the word count. And it could also be very detailed if you’d like to play with it a little! As long as it’s clear, I don’t mind at all!

In relation to characters dramatically taller than what is realistic, I may tweak their height to something less… daunting without having to be asked. So, someone like Katakuri from One Piece may not be 16+ feet in a normal, ‘mostly human’ setting.

Other than that, I look forward to seeing what ya’ll come up with and hope it makes for a spooky good fun time for everyone!

[starbuckaroo]

I think I would be happier w bucktommy all these episodes down the line if Tommy still interacted with or asked after Eddie. I know there’s a lot the show doesn’t put onscreen so there’s no reason why it couldn’t have plausibly happened or couldn’t still happen (and I hope it does), but Tommy was Eddie’s friend first! They hung out a lot!

And yet, since he got together with Buck, we haven’t gotten to see them interact.

Granted, there hasn’t been a lot of screen time for Tommy and that’s fine, it’s a short season w very little room to breathe. This isn’t some sort of angry anti bucktommy tirade. But it does make me just a tad uncomfortable the way things are at this moment. Bc it’s not a stretch to theorize that maybe Tommy was hoping things Eddie might go somewhere and when they didn’t, he tried with Buck. I don’t think that’s supported by the text, but it’s also not negated, either. Idk. It’s not a huge deal at the moment, just a little snag?

Listen I am a buck fan but I am an eddie fan!!!!!!! And I am so so sad for eddie this season it’s been rly fucking rough on him! Not like buck needs to change anything (except not be a jealous freak and lash out physically if he can’t use his words), like I said I’m here for bucktommy I think they’re great. But like. Where’s the awkward “hey how do we hang out now that you two make out sometimes” or whatever?? We deserve to see that tbh! It’s a more common issue in queer circles, that ppl have to slip in and out of romantic/platonic interactions when people partner up or break up. It’s also the first time either of them have dated anyone within the LAFD and so it’s the first time this could ever have even come up!

Idk man. Just I keep thinking about how happy eddie seemed when he was hanging out w Tommy and maybe it’s just bc that ep was meant to be from Buck’s pov but i don’t know what’s worse, thinking it WAS real and now he doesn’t get to have that friendship anymore or that it WASNT real and he was never actually having that good of a time.

MY REAL POINT is that anyone who WAS or IS a buddie shipper or anyone who likes Eddie at all has to acknowledge how important buck and eddie are to each other, right? Which means that in any relationship that either of them ever have, if they want it to be serious and have long term potential, they actually need to integrate their partner with their best friend.

Maybe this is too weird for some ppl? It’s always seemed like a given, like if there’s someone new and important in my life, I def want my best friend to meet them and like them bc I want us all to be able to spend time together! I don’t want to feel split between them all the time! And esp with Tommy already having connections with most of the 118/main cast, and particularly Eddie, it would make sense for us to see them interacting!

Idk. I’m probably wanting too much from my network tv show lol I just. I will literally never take bucktommy seriously as a pairing if they don’t manage to address the Eddie of it all. And not in a “address the fact that buck loves him” contrived jealousy nonsense. I mean address the fact that their lives are bound together! And it predates anyone that either of them will ever date! Plus imagine the character growth it would take for Buck to send Tommy to Thursday basketball with like a plate of cookies and orange slices or something but not show up himself. Be like “have fun with the boys, slap Eddie’s ass for me” or whatever 😂 I would believe Buck was finally on his way to being ready for a long term adult relationship if they managed that, is all I’m saying

[kobedivision]

Happy Pride Month!

Happy Pride Month! Be safe and have fun celebrating! You matter and who you love and who/what you identify matters too, you are completely and wholeheartedly valid. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖

In celebration, I decided to reveal the romantic and sexual orientation of Lovesick! I had to do quite bit of soul searching and research but I finally feel like this is the most accurate results I could come up with. Enjoy!

— Ren

Demiromantic Pansexual

In terms of romance and if he wasn’t a lovesick maniac, Ren is the type of person to develop romantic feelings for someone after securing a strong emotional connection to a person. Despite being a hopeless romantic, Ren is pretty guarded about the topic in no small part due to the many people who have tried to get with him only for his fame or to say that they’ve dated the famous “Vox”. He longs for the day where he’ll meet his darling who would love him as he is and not his stage persona, as for Ren himself, it’s been said before but the moment that he finally falls in love, he loves deeply and with everything he has, is it a bit much? Yes but he’s never been one to do things half assed, this is no different.

As for sex? Ren isn’t picky, gender means very little to him, especially when his best friend is a crossdresser so he has no problems sleeping around with guys, girls, non-binaires, etc. While he is passionate in the moment, those nights hold very little attachment to them, he dreams to have his darling so he can feel and show them true pleasure.

While it hasn’t been publicly confirmed, there’s no denying that Ren has more than just a “thing” for Kureha Koizumi of Saitama. After catching his eye at one of his shows, inviting her backstage to get to know her, and even having her work on the cover of one of his albums, it was all downhill from there, to say that he is obsessed is an understatement and he has been on the path on trying to make her his.

— Max

Demiromantic Graysexual

Truthfully, Max has little to no knowledge about romance and sex and the like and isn’t really interested to learn, the closest he’s gotten is from what Ren and Kaiji have been teaching him about love and sex respectively but even then he has had a hard time truly understanding. Max has been shown little love (whether romantic or platonic) in his life, so in turn, falling in love is very difficult aside from his obsession with a certain someone. If you want Max to fall in love with you then you are going to have to work painstakingly hard to earn his trust and really establish a connection with him, which the success rate is little to none, assuming you don’t get immediately decapitated.

As for sex, it’s the same with romance as Max has little to no interest in it, it’s even been speculated that he genuinely can’t feel sexual attraction but Kaiji, the only one who still has faith in him, claims that Max hasn’t found the “right person” yet. Max has no idea what he’s talking about but he just shrugs it off.

— Kaiji

Panromantic Omnisexual

What a person identify as doesn’t matter to Kaiji, being a man who dresses as a woman and publicly endorses the crossdressing lifestyle, he of all people knows that gender means nothing as long as you truly love someone no matter what. As long as someone gives him the love that he desperately craves, he will devote himself to be the best and most loyal partner ever. All he asks is that they don’t leave him, he can’t handle another break up.

In terms of sex, Kaiji will quite literally sleep with anyone and everyone, no matter the gender or what genitalia they have. Although it isn’t obvious, Kaiji is a sex addict, he uses it to reach bigger and more euphoric highs and has pretty much replaced his teenage drug addiction with sex (even though he just ends up combining the two). He’s developed a hypersexuality over the years and his already high libido is much stronger than most.

Despite being in a relationship with Touya Kisaragi of Katsushika, Kaiji’s sex drive has not gone down in the slightest, in fact you can say that it’s increased since getting into a relationship, however, out of love and respect for his boyfriend, he only sleeps with Touya to satisfy his urges but the two of them are open to sleep with others after confirming with each other that it’s okay.