#and like yeah it's fine but MOM. YOU MADE HER QUEER. AND I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT

[zukkaoru]

how do i tell my mom she accidentally queercoded this character by switching their gender bc she didn't have enough boys to fill all the male roles for this play

[our-aroace-experience]

ok so here's my ace/arospec story

ace:

i learned about being ace

oh i don't know

12 years old maybe

i searched it up after reading about it online

"aroace definition"

it went something like

"being both aromantic and asexual"

i searched up

"aromantic"

"asexual"

at first i thought it was a bit strange

i hadn't learned yet

to distinguish

between romantic attraction and sexual attraction

because i didn't know

people actually wanted sex

people actually saw someone and went

"wow"

"i want to fuck them"

i had a crush on a childhood friend of mine

at the time

(a guy. i am a girl.)

i'd always assumed i was cishet

grew up in a conservative christian household

slightly offtopic but honestly my parents were great

not stereotypical conservative christians

both allies

they had friends who were trans and gay

i'd checked out queer media from the library

and they were fine with it

anyway

back to the story

so since i had a crush on the opposite gender

i assumed ofc

i was cishet

well ofc i wasn't into sex, i was just a kid

but at age 13

almost 14

i was alone

in a hotel room, no parents, on instagram

that's the only time i could get that

late night phone time

when i didn't have parents around

i found @i.put.the.ace.in.disgrace on instagram

scrolled through every fucking post

on their account

and on the #asexual tag

i related to those posts

like

a lot

a suspicious amount for someone supposedly allo

even though i was just a kid

yeah maybe i'd grow into it

maybe i'd feel attraction one day

but not now

and who the hell was going to tell me

what i could or couldn't identify as

so i tried out the ace label

spent hours and hours

wondering if it was right

if i was really ace

if i wasn't too young

but going back to being allo felt wrong

so i decided to keep the label

the first person i came out to

was an online friend

they were so amazing and supportive of it

i love them so much for that

they said i'd been on their gaydar for a while

(a message i still think about

when wondering if i'm really ace)

felt sick the next day

i'd always been an ally

supported my queer friends

arospec aspec trans homosexual i supported them all

but it made me sick

to think about me

myself

being queer

it was sort of rough

but i got through it

later

came out to my friend and her mom

they were cool about it

i knew i'd be safe

they weren't ecstatic or super happy

but they accepted me

"cool"

that's what they said i remember it

i was a hot mess that day too

stuttered over all my words when trying to come out

and they still accepted me

i love them

later

i decided to hint at my identity to my mom

talked about not liking sex

i checked out a few ace books

from the library

my mom took me aside

i don't remember her exact words

it went something like

"it's natural to be curious

but you can't be ace at 14

you're not trying to be

are you?"

ofc

i managed to convince her i was allo

had to be more careful then

arospec:

i'd only had one crush.

one crush who i'd liked as a friend first.

you see where this is going, don't you?

well

i didn't

i'd heard that aces had not very many crushes

so i assumed i was just Really Really Asexual

and i couldn't be aro hahahaha

i'd been in love before!

aros cannot be in love!

oh by golly i was wrong

i started questioning

(only one crush?

my friends are all over their crushes

plural

and i've only had one??

maybe i'm not as allo as i thought)

i debated over gray-aro and demi-aro

picked demi

it described my experience more accurately

came out to aforementioned friend

then aforementioned online friend

they were chill about it

(fucking love them)

then i 3d printed a black ring

and a white ring

ace

and aro

and this is maybe the best part of the whole experience

i had friends who were stereotypical conservative christian

queerphobic

they complimented my aro and ace rings

and so did my mom

and that made me really happy for some reason

shit that was a long ask im sorry

thank you for sharing! i hope your mum comes around to you being aroace one day

also side note: this reads like a poem it’s so well written!

[salamandergoo]

STWG Prompt: Chocolate Covered Strawberries

CW for discussion of period-typical homophobia

The floorboards in the doorway of the kitchen squeaked, they had since the Byers family had moved into the house and it had gotten on Jonathan's frayed nerves the first hundred times he'd heard it.  By now, though, it was just a background noise in the usually subdued home.  When he heard it while leaning over the stove, he already knew who it was.  "Hi El."

"Hello."  He could picture her path across the tiled floor, could hear her near-silent steps.  "What are you doing?"

"Making chocolate covered strawberries."  His tongue poked out in concentration as he twisted the strawberry skewered on toothpicks, doing his best not to drip melted chocolate everywhere.

"Why?"  She reached out to stick her finger in the chocolate, but he easily batted her hand away before she could touch it.  Will had tried the same thing before getting banished from the kitchen.

"Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.  I thought it might be nice to make some for uh... for a friend."  He set it down on the parchment paper he'd laid on the counter and picked up one that had already cooled off.  "Here, you can have this one."

She grinned at him and took an eager bite of it.  "Your friend Argyle?"

"Yeah, uh... you know, now that Nance and I aren't seeing each other, Argyle and I are both single, so I thought... yeah, that it would be nice."  He felt his face turning pink and turned his focus to skewering another strawberry.  If nothing else, it would be a nice snack while they got high in the van..

"Do you like him?"

"Do I- of course I like him."  Jonathan glanced at El.  "He's my best friend."

"Do you like him the same way you liked Nancy, though?"  Her eyes were curious, he didn't think she had any ill intent, but he pulled his shoulders in like he needed to protect himself.

He fidgeted with another strawberry and thought for a moment.  "...is mom home?"  He didn't even know if she like, knew anything about queer people.   That they were-

They were what?  Jonathan glanced over at El, who had an innocent look of puzzlement on her face.  Shit.  Maybe that lab hadn't taught her to hate queers, maybe she'd managed to stay unexposed this long.  But it couldn't be his responsibility, right?

"She left with Will after you made him leave the kitchen.  He needs a new sweatshirt."  El reached for a strawberry and he let her take it.

"Um.  Right.  Okay."  He could do this, he could totally do this.  "So you know how you like Mike?"

Her nose scrunched up.  "I guess."

"Good enough."  He had a feeling that relationship wouldn't last much longer.  "That's... we get told that girls are supposed to like boys and boys are supposed to like girls.  And that's fine, that's usually how it shakes out anyway."  He held his breath for a moment.  "But sometimes, um, sometimes boys like... they don't like girls.  They like other boys.  Or they like boys and girls.  And it's the same way for girls.  And were told it's not supposed to work like that, but it does anyway, no matter how hard you try, you just... can't make it go away.  How hard other people try..."  He shook his head, trying to shake away the thoughts about his father with it.  "It's not wrong, though.  Even if a lot of people think it is, it just... it just is, you know?"

"...so you do like Argyle?"

Jonathan's shoulders slumped a little.  "Yeah.  Yeah, I like Argyle.  A lot."

"He is very pretty."  El smiled and patted his arm.

"Yeah, he really is."  Jonathan let out a breathy little laugh.  "But- but you can't tell anyone, okay?  Because some people think it's wrong and they could... they could hurt us."

"Okay."  El nodded, expression turned serious.  "I will not tell anyone."  She wrapped her arms around his waist and he stiffened, still getting used to her occasional bouts of touchiness, and then she was leaving the kitchen with a chocolate covered strawberry in hand.

It turned out that chocolate and strawberry was one of Argyle's favorite flavor combinations, right next to pineapple and pizza.  After tasting it on his lips, Jonathan thought it might be one of his favorites too.

[chubby-aphrodite]

i feel like im going fucking insane. my mother mildly enjoys going to this diner in town, which would be fine, except,

the one time we went there together, because we had heard the food was decent and wanted a new place to possibly add to our repertoire of preferred diners, it was right there. the one television i didn't have to break my neck to look at. playing newsmax. and it wasn't just the sheer fact that it was newsmax, it was specifically a segment about how queer people are predophile groomers.

to say i was "uncomfortable" was an understatement. i felt genuinely fucking unsafe. i regularly wear pins and shirts with pride flags on them. i felt unsafe because i was actually unsafe. i cried in the parking lot on the way out. but my mom didn't care. "next time." she said. why next time? "we'll ask them if they can change the channel or turn it off next time." no. no next time. i'm not going back there. i refuse to go back to where someone willingly slurps down garbage propaganda about how i'm a dangerous predator or a confused loony who should be locked up for their own safety.

i didn't say that, though. i didn't have the words at the time. i said "they think i shouldn't exist." i can be a very articulate person when i want to be, but i couldn't be right then. i was so distraught.

we've never gone back there together.

but my mom still goes there for lunch sometimes. and today she went there by herself for dinner while i made my own dinner at home, like i usually do wednesday-thursday. she didn't feel like cooking and they made a specific dish the way she likes, she said. you can't get it like that anywhere else around here anymore, she said.

so she comes back and tells me yeah they were playing newsmax again. and that she knew i didn't like it but there was nothing she could really do about it. she just liked the food.

we started arguing.

how could she go there knowing that the owner specifically puts it on? (she told me that he puts it on.) that she was giving her money to someone who believed those things? "i'm too old for ultimatums" she said. (no she's not. she gives me stupid fucking ultimatums all the time.) there's plenty of diners around here, we're in fucking new jersey, the diner capital of the country. "you can't get that food the way i like it around here anymore." you can make it the way you like it. "not tasting like that i can't."

i wish you would just fucking learn instead of giving that guy money. (i didnt say that.)

"if you're so pressed about this one guy playing newsmax, why don't we also just stop going to all the places that play fox?" that's different. "no it's not." yes it fucking is.

i couldn't say this at the time because i was just getting more upset and inarticulate but my reasoning is as follows: we live in a heavily republican area. yes, a lot of places play fox, but they tend to just be local, fox affiliate stations and not the dumbass talking heads of the company that break national news by saying something stupid and bigoted. and most of the restaurateurs around here at least have the good sense to try and appear neutral by also playing abc, nbc, cnn, and so on along with fox. and, because of, if we stopped going to anywhere that played fox, we'd have to never go to a local restaurant ever again.

but i have to draw the line somewhere. and i draw it at fucking newsmax blaring hate about me and my community to my face.

i know i said i didn't say most of these words in this order to her. because i couldn't. because i was so fucking upset. but i can't now. i can't bring up past arguments about anything without her blowing me off and getting mad that i'm still on this shit. so here i am. writing it on fucking tumblr. and i'm going to be reading it to my therapist tomorrow, too, because holy shit did it put me in a downward spiral.

[ducknotinarow]

Rhodes - Have you ever ... regretted kissing/getting handsy with that old band mate of yours? The one that Karine caught you with.

| send my muse ‘have you evers’ and they have to answer truthfully! [part 2 tba]

"I'll be fine I promise." Rhodes once more insisted, he was feeling a bit lighter. Both thanks to seeing the truth of the way his relationship with well his family over all was not in the best shape. And because of getting his hair fixed, it been a long time since he had it short. Able to feel the air on his neck was something to get used to. As he held his phone near his ear. Listening to the voices of his boyfriends on the other end.

Rhodes, had decided it was time to stop just letting the wind blow him around like a leaf. As easy as that was made out to feel it clearly was just not working anymore if it ever truly was. But, Rhodes felt it was best do this alone, even with the offer of his boyfriends being there, or Mr. Evans-Alder or Bailey or Maple or Jasper or even his mother. But Rhodes wanted to have a chance to have this conversation one on one first. Bailey had drove him and his boyfriends into Duckberge at least.

Rhodes asked they least be near by, Bailey seemed okay to agree with that. Rhodes was stopping by to grab stuff before heading over to stay with his mom. For once not having plans with his boyfriends because he wanted to talk to her about--well everything. And in truth, he had no idea how the conversation with his Dad was going to go. So, even if he was a teen he knew he was going to need his mother.

"I'm here now, I promise I'll call you guys when--well I'll call you." Rhodes had no idea how any of this would play out.

-----

And he never could image it play out this way. Rhodes felt the burning gaze from his father focused on him as he could only bring himself to look down at the floor. He just could not bring himself to lift his head back up. Which felt so--wrong. Rhodes never once felt shamed for any of who he was. When Axel and him made out in his room? it was like unhidden puzzle pieces finally clicking into place.

Why girls didn't really appeal to him, he got along with them just fine but he didn't feel those things that well he should. But at that moment? To bad he regretted ever having that moment with Axel right now. Eyes were left wide and large, the side of his face burned from the contact of Karine's hand swatting against his cheek the moment he had come inside. Everything was going fine enough Erin opened the door happy to see her big brother. His Dad? Well he wasn't panicked or nothing, Rhodes wished he been something at least but he did walk Rhodes inside so they could talk. Karine? The second she saw him she was fast on her feet. He hand met his face as she ripped her daughter away from him.

That strung more than the slap to be honest.

"Karine what was that for?"

"She thinks i'll spread my gay to her." Rhodes answered for the goose. Who was busy shooing Erin away to her bedroom. Not caring to be part of the outcome as if she done no wrong but did as a mother should. Yet the slap was not what his father wanted to focus on in the moment.

"why would she?"

Rhodes had to resist the urge to be sarcastic, guess he didn't know then surprised Karine didn't tell him still. "Because Dad i'm gay." Rhodes tried his best to

"Why--why do you say that?"

Rhodes was in a bit of disbelief but he kept talking, "because i'm attracted to guys? I'm dating my best friends."

"Both?"

"yeah figured should match just how much of a ranging queer I am so it don't over flow and infect others." Okay well so much for not making remarks like that.

"You're not gay."

"Well I've been doing a lot of stuff that says otherwise." Rhodes let slip out again, this was nothing like with his mom when he came out to her. But--there was something about the way he said that.

"You can't be gay."

Was this disbelief or like denial? Rhodes tried to see if something in his Dad would tell him otherwise, but there wasn't really any give away to assure him in the moment. "Dad?"

"Is this because of all the rock bands? I know the glam stuff can be seen like-"

Was he blaming himself? Did he really think something turned him gay like that? "No? It's because I'm not attracted to girls."

"Did you try?"

"..What?"

"We can send you to a therapist or they have camps even."

Was he being serious? "To what?"

"To fix you!"

That hurt more than the slap to his face. Rhodes just stared in disbelief before he let the tears form in the corner of his eyes. "I don't need to be 'fixed' there isn't anything wrong with me! I've been out as gay since middle school! And clearly you didn't think anything was wrong till now! Hell you didn't even notice a change in me!" Rhodes shouted. He knew people out there didn't accept the gay thing. Heck they wouldn't like that Rhodes was fluid in his gender or that he had a boyfriend heck worse that he had two. Like Karine, but he never once ever thought his Dad would be that way. Or take the thing they shared a love for as what did it? "Fuck this!" Rhodes stated firmly as he went to turn and made way to the door, he didn't need to grab anything from here everything he needed. Wasn't here clearly.

"Rhodes don't walk out that door we can figure this out" his Dad called out

"there isn't anything to figure out! I'm gay I like boys I make out with them I crush on them I wanna fuck them and be fucked by them! I want to go on dates with boys. I already figured things out a long ass time ago! Maybe if you actually bothered to know anything about me you would have known a long time ago as well!" Rhodes ranted breathing heavily as he let it all out, so much pain finally getting let free. "So, I'm going to go to parent who dose fucking care about me and by the way Mom knew this whole time! She been my support this whole time enough for you." Rhodes continued on. "So, why would I want to stand in front of someone who thinks I need to be fixed when I can be with my mother who thinks I'm great no matter what!?" Shoulders lifted and dropped with each breath the back of his throat burned.

When his father had nothing to say he stormed out the door and slammed it behind himself walking down to the end of his block before he sent a text asking to get picked up. When Buddy asked how it went all Rhodes could do was tell him it be better to say in person. before he dropped to sit on the cold cement sidewalk. Dropping his head into his hands shaking, though he didn't think it was because of the cold.

For a quick moment flashes of that moment with Axel played over his mind, the song they listened to when Axel gave him that look, that made his feathers lift and his heart flutter. he seen that look before never from a guy though. When he moved in and kissed Rhodes, how hands started to roam over each other. Rhodes dug the heel of his palms into his eyes. For a second he wonder if maybe just maybe he hadn't kissed Axel back that day maybe this wouldn't be happening to him now.

[hard-core-super-star]

no because literally, in a single ask there are many different topics and the answers just get longer. I imagine you opening your inbox and seeing some aks that look more like the digital bible itself😶

I'm telling you! I'm behaving now. I changed.

I'll wait, and I already have my doubts about something but I don't know if it's a reference. the 119% thing.

totally, just like they did when they guarded at all costs that Kate would be played by hailee. It would be really funny if the Nightwing phase hadn't just been a phase.... unless...👀 I also don't know how well-known this mafia game is, but I've literally never heard of it until now. you're good at FIFA? for further scientific research. i- i never played GTA, my mom was ok with me playing mortal kombat and seeing the most graphic and merciless deaths, but not with me stealing cars and running away from the police 😔

okay, if I go watch it for the gay shit and I come out of it sad I'll blame you and you'll pay for my therapy. If she's supposed to be an irredeemable villain then she did something really fucked up, right? because I'm kind of more of a fan of villains..... to a certain point... um yeahh..of course

I'm literally eating myself up because I want to know what this cliffhanger is, I mean, the show was cancelled... knowing this isn't going to ruin my experience, is it?

queerbait, queerbait is everywhere- oh, the denial, it's okay, thinking like this can keep you sane, but it's between ava and sara? wait, I got lost hwjakksskskk you defend flash until you possibly can't anymore, but only watch for caitlin? how does it work? RIGHT? It took me a while to like caitlin exactly for that reason. and don't judge me, but it got tired to a point where I wasn't even rooting for barry and iris to get together anymore. they almost made my hair gray for a while, but I recovered.

now I understand why there's SO MUCH supercorp fics, these people are drooling and surviving on crumbs- think with care <3 hdjskjsk

– 🌟

i’m happily surprised and impressed that we've managed to talk about so many things at the same time and, despite the slight confusion sometimes, we still have MORE to say. it's not often i find someone so willing to read my paragraph-long responses and then RESPOND with their own paragraphs. [and needless to say, i absolutely love reading your responses, even if they're long]

mhmm, we’ll see about that.

it technically is a reference but i don't know if you're thinking what i’m thinking. and if you're not one of us is going to end up looking like an an idiot 😶 [it’s me, btw]

i mean, he's technically still my favorite superhero so i guess the phase still isn't over. i’m just too gay to obsess over a man the way i obsess over kate. i don't think it's that well known but i love it. idk what kind of research you're doing that requires this knowledge but yeah, i’m pretty good at FIFA. not like super amazing or anything but i’ve played it all my life so i think i’ve developed some skills. funnily enough, my mom was the opposite way. mortal kombat was too violent but planning heists and stealing cars was fine. [but not until i was like…10 or something]

babe, i hate to break it to you, but i can't even pay for my own therapy so you're on your own. stop asking questions because i WILL write an essay on her. basically, she does do fucked up shit BUT she's also heavily, HEAVILY, traumatized. i can't get into it without giving out too many spoilers but as the show goes on, we learn she's genuinely just a heavily messed up person and NOT a Joker type of villain who causes pain for the sake of it. [she's also not a sociopath, no matter how many times the characters say she is smh. she's also queer-coded af so there's that]

it's probably my fault for bringing it up everyday lmao. it doesn't ruin anything at all, it's just frustrating. they do finish the plot of season 7 nicely so that's why i just ignore the cliffhanger. it was supposed to tease season 8 but then season 8 never happened. the thing that pisses me off is that the CW didn't bother to tell the writers or the producers or the ACTORS that they wouldn't be getting another season.

sorry, i phrased that weird because it's technically a spoiler. the queer-bait is between zari and a new character hence why i didn't give many details in case you decide to watch the show again. sara and ava aren’t queer-bait at all, they're just queer 👍 it doesn't work very well but like the flash still has some really good things in between all the shitty writing. [that's another reason to watch batwoman, btw, their writers are out of this world] plus, like i said, caitlin snow was part of my gay awakening so it's not like i could just ditch the show even while it was going downhill. i don't judge you at all, i hated their relationship in the last few seasons. idk how they did it but they made me dislike barry at some point which is a crime because he's my boy!!!

akdkkdkskk that's a perfect way to put it, no further comment is necessary. i’m definitely not thinking about it 😶

[fragglerockopinions]

I said "the AIDS crisis" and my dad said "There wasn't a crisis"

My dad said AIDS was just like COVID-19 in that it wasn't a very big deal and only killed a certain tiny insignificant part of the population (read: queer, poor, elderly, non-white, immunocompromised)

My dad said Tiana from Princess and the Frog doesn't experience racism; she experiences classism. And they called me racist when I said black people fucking jim crow america could not experience upward mobility on account of The Everything

My mom calls my antidepressants "psycho pills"

My mom got me a prescription of vitamin D pills because they don't believe in depression and think I just don't go outside enough. I work outside in a barn btw.

My mom said my chronic pain is a result of the devil trying to keep me away from god

My mom makes fun of my PTSD triggers. She sang the song I was singing when I was assaulted as a child and laughed when I covered my ears.

During wisdom tooth surgery recovery, she told me to shut up and quit whining while my only form of communication through the gauze in my mouth was whimpering.

She said I was disgusting for bleeding so much.

After I randomly started crying during wisdom tooth surgery recovery (because the process was extremely difficult, I couldn't eat anything at all even liquids for almost an entire week, and I felt helpless and ugly because of the dark purple bruising on my entire lower face, but I couldn't tell them that) my mom said I needed to get off my "psycho pills" which I hadn't even taken for a week.

She replied "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO CRY. WOMEN CRY AND MEN DON'T CRY THAT'S WHAT MAKES YOU A WOMAN."

I have been a trans man since age 11. I'm 21 now. They are in deep, deep denial.

Oh yeah every time she looked at me during that time for like three weeks and saw the bruising, she made a face and said I looked horrible.

They both always yell at me for having short hair. One time my sibling said "um he's almost 21 he can do what he wants with his hair" and my dad said "I DON'T GIVE A CRAP IF YOU'RE THIRTY SEVEN YOU OBEY ME"

They tried to throw away my favorite pillow. I found it outside on the ground and I said "um. Why is my pillow outside were you trying to throw my pillow away" and they said "no" and I said "are you sure" and they said "YOU'RE DISGUSTING WHY DON'T YOU JUST GET A NEW PILLOW"

I was telling my mom fun facts about etymology and trees and she said "Did You Know you remind me of a two year old? Did You Know you're the most annoying person on the planet?"

I told my mom I blacked out from a sudden pain in my spine and she said "that sounds a little dramatic"

The same night I said I got a bad sunburn and she said "oh my god you're so needy"

I told her I was worried because my cat was bleeding anally and she said "oh my god why are you never happy after all I do for you"

My mom said "you know you need to find something to do this summer and stop being so lazy" and I said "oh my bike has a flat tire or else I would probably be doing that" and she said "why are you so useless"

One time I hugged her and she gagged and said I smelled bad

I stopped smiling at her during high school because every time I did she would make a face and tell me I looked gross and to go brush my teeth. Even if I had literally just come upstairs from brushing them in the bathroom.

I dropped a cup of gatorade and mopped it up before she got home (agony btw that's the most painful thing I can do with my back problems) but the floor was still wet when she got home and she yelled at me and said it was my fault they had ants (they do not have ants). I said "mommy, I think my fine motor skills are getting worse and I can't grip things and everything always falls out of my hands" and she said "have you tried paying attention" 😐😐😐

She used to force me to do kegels with her when I was 13

In middle school I was assaulted and I came home crying and ran to my dad's arms and she said it was my fault it happened because I was being annoying

Of course when I brought it up recently she did not remember that.

I should start a list of outlandish shit my abusive parents say so everyone else can suffer along with me

[beepboop358]

How I think the characters will react to Byler when it is officially officially confirmed in the show:

El: once El realizes she doesn't romantically love Mike, she will become an avid byler protector.

El is a badass independent woman with a pure heart of gold. She cares deeply for Mike because he was the first person to show her any sort of compassion, so she will want him to be happy, and after she grows closer to Will, she will want Will to be happy too. El won't understand the societal stigmas around Mike and Will liking each other, since she was raised in a lab away from society and then lived isolated in Hopper's cabin, she has no knowledge of what society deems right from wrong surrounding sexuality and love. She will think other people thinking Mike and Will's relationship is 'wrong' or 'unnatural' is utter bullshit and completely stupid, as she should!

Jonathan: he will be 100% supportive. He knows how Lonnie tormented Will and made homophobic remarks about Will being gay when he was younger. He has always encouraged Will to be himself and ignore what others say, especially what Lonnie says. Jonathan will also be a byler protector.

Jonathan knows Will isn't "normal", he even said Will was "good at hiding" in s1 which has several meanings, and he probably already knows Will likes Mike because of how he immediately turns to look at Will after Mike blurts out he loves El in s3 in Hopper's cabin.

s1 ep. 2: "He's trying to force you to like normal things, and you shouldn't like things because people tell you you're supposed too."

s2 ep. 1: "No I'm serious. You're a freak. But what? Do you want to be normal? Do you wanna be just like everybody else? Being a freak is the best. I'm a freak. Who would you rather be friends with? Bowie or Kenny Rogers? Exactly. It's no contest. The thing is, nobody normal ever accomplished anything meaningful in this world. You got it?"

------(Some subtle queer coding there with the Bowie reference; David Bowie was a bisexual musician, and he also sings the original version of the song "Heroes" that plays after Will's fake body is found in s1, and the lines that play while Mike cries and hugs his Mom are extremely queer coded: "And we kiss as though nothing could fall. And the shame.")

Nancy: It's implied Nancy and Mike are pretty close, and honestly I think she has always suspected that Mike has a little thing for Will. From the look on Nancy’s face when he blurts out he loves El, it kind of reads as like she doesn’t believe him, because she knows something.

s1 ep.7: "I knew you were acting weird, I just, I thought it was beause of Will"

Joyce: will be 100% supportive, and a protective mama bear of Will as always, but also for Mike. Joyce will join the club of avid byler protectors along with Jonathan and El.

Dustin: avid byler supporter. I think he's picked up on how much Mike cares for Will, how Will cares for Mike, and has probably suspected at least something this whole time. Dustin doesn't care about being considered cool he cares about doing what he likes and being true to himself, and that belief for sure translates into how he views his friends as well. He will absolutely support Mike and Will and treat them normally.

s3 ep.3: "Instead of dating somebody because you think it's gonna make you cooler, why not date somebody you actually enjoy being around?" s1 ep.6: "Sometimes your total obliviousness just blows my mind"

Max: She seems pretty perceptive, so she's probably picked up on Mike and Will's 'special dynamics' by now, and we know she's definitely sick of how Mike treated El. She will be supportive of Will and Mike, but mostly she will just be glad Mike isn't with El anymore LOL.

Lucas: I think he definitely notices Mike seems to reallllyyyy care for Will, and that Mike doesn't act the same about El, although he claims too. I think Lucas sees through Mike's bullshit. Look at his smirking face and crossed arms when Mike frantically asks where Will is in s2:

and how he reacts the same way to Mike blurting out he loves El and "can't lose her again" in s3:

Hopper: he will probably want to kill Mike again.

"wait what?! so.. let me get this straight...all that time you were making out with my daughter, you were just...pretending to love her? You lied to her the whole time you two 'dated' yeah? And now you're dating your best friend. Oh god wait, I watched you tell him that asking him to be your friend was the best thing you ever did that night in the shed... Oh you little asshole!"

I can't imagine Hopper being homophobic towards Will and Mike, but I don't see him jumping up and down for them either. He will mainly be upset that Mike dated El when he was actually in love with Will, and not care so much that Mike is in love with another boy, just another person. But once he processes that El is actually okay, he will be fine with it.

Lonnie: is the literal scum of the earth! Obviously Lonnie will hate that Will is gay and dating another man. He will probably make some comments about how he "always knew it" and call Will and Mike homophobic slurs, probably at Will's birthday.

s1 ep.1: "He used to say he was queer, called him a f*g"

Steve: "Oh you two little shits are dating now? But I thought he was into the psionic chick? No? Okay, alright cool. Uh hey have you guys met Robin yet? I think you would get along, you know what I'll introduce you." Steve was so accepting of Robin coming out to him, there's no way he won't have the same kind of reaction for Mike and Will.

Robin: once she gets to actually know them and spend time with them, she will adopt Mike and Will as her gay sons and inspire them to be themselves and help them out whenever they need it. She will also pick up on the fact that they like each other immediately. If we don't get this pairing in s4 because of location logistics, I really hope we get it in s5!!!

Erica: she won't be homophobic, but she just won't care too much.

Karen: will encourage Mike to follow his heart, and like whoever he likes, because a relationship needs real love to survive, and she knows all too well what it is like to be stuck in a relationship with no love, and she doesn't want that for her kids, she wants better for them. She wants Mike to be truly happy no matter what, and she doesn't want to see him repeat her mistakes. Karen will be very supportive of Mike, and probably defend him to Ted.

s1 ep.2: "All this that’s been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you. I just…I want you to feel like you can talk to me. I never want you to feel like you have to hide anything from me. I’m here for you okay?”

Ted: he won't be as much of an asshole as Lonnie will be about it, but he will probably make some snarky comments.

s1 ep.7: “our son with a girl? *scoffing*”

[j01-chester]

Zulius and Shipping

Hi there and welcome to my first post on my secondary that isn't a repost of any kind, this post is basically my stance on Zulius and the topic of shipping, I don't really mind if nobody sees this, it's just a lil important to me I suppose! So my stance on Zulius and his sexuality and shipping huh, well!! For one I believe that Zulius is 100% a queer man, specifically a feminine gay male, but in terms of shipping here's my stance.

I don't ship him with anyone nor do I personally like the idea of him being with anyone, I do believe he and splendib were possibly exes but nothing beyond that (like I don't believe they like eachother anymore, I believe they're very much just bitter exes). Why do I not like the idea of him being with anyone, well I'll explain my various reasons now!

He's perfectly fine the way he is

For one I don't think he has any problems with the way he is, and I personally don't think his character needs any changes, he's fine the way he is and I think that's what matters in fact I think this point stands for everyone in Centaurworld, the show isn't exactly a romance and I just cannot see anyone dating without it being some kind of one episode gag like that one episode with sunfishmerguy besides that I just can't see it especially with the tone of the episode and I'm especially against them dating anyone in their herd because their herd is basically coded siblings with a single mom and that just gives me a super icky feeling and they've out right been called as much too, like derpulton calling them family, wammawink essentially calling them that, and I'm definitely sure they've been called that other times too or like when water baby told Wammawink she did good with the herd as if complimenting how she raised her kids idk it just gives me a big nasty feeling seeing people ship adopted siblings if you get what I mean. I know 99% of the fandom don't ship the characters but this post is mainly about the people who do. It just gives off an uncomfortable feeling and it's just important for people to remember adopted and found family is just as much family as biological family, in fact that's literally one of the main themes of the show, that family comes in all shapes and sizes and even though they might not look like it, the herd IS a family.

It kind of goes against what he stands for

A good line I like to think of when thinking about Zulius is "Ha, I don't need a thing. You can't improve on perfection" when offered to go to the tree shamans to request for something he needs. He's happy the way he and his life currently is and I honestly like that a lot. Characters are always wanting something or aren't happy with their lives or themselves for some reason or another and just being himself is enough for Zulius he doesn't need anything or anyone else but his family to be happy and I think that's such a sweet message to give to kids! That being you is enough and you don't need to date people or to change yourself for people in anyway to be good enough for others.

You can be perfectly happy without dating anyone

I feel like this is very important to say not just for this post but for anyone who needs to hear it, you don't need people to date you to love yourself, you're wonderful just the way you are and that's really important to remember! Coming from a Demipanromantic transman who has stopped dating I can tell you I've grown to appreciate myself more and I've felt a lot happier once I stopped dating and took a step back to just appreciate myself for who I was after I stopped and I think that's super applicable to Zulius, I think he's a raw example of, you don't need to be in love or to date someone to be happy, as long as you're yourself that's enough! Don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with people who do date, but I honestly think the message that Zulius gives off to people intentional or not is super beautiful and very important for kids especially in this era where dating and love and romcom shows are everywhere and you needing to date someone to be happy is forcefully shoved into your face!

Not every queer character needs a love interest

This is something that doesn't apply to just Zulius but queer characters in general, you don't HAVE to be with anyone just because you're queer, yes! Queer representation is good, but you can represent queer people without having them date people, and I think people are just using that as an easy way out so it makes me so happy that this show isn't just taking the easy way out and is putting the effort in to represent him in other ways, it just is something you don't see often and I think it's just something people should think about more y'know?

One more thing!

This didn't really fit in any category so I just thought I'd shove it in here but I see people shipping him with characters because of the way he speaks or words he uses to people and it's just important to remember that a lot of queer folks use certain words and it's kind of uncomfortable to see people take them and twist them into something romantic, for example, in one episode he says babes, but I know multiple queer people including myself that use words like babe, girlie, girlboss, sister, queen and other words to anyone INCLUDING family, words like these aren't exclusively romantic, and they can be said to anyone from friends to siblings of any gender so please keep that in mind when saying stuff like that because seeing stuff we say being twisted to be made exclusively romantic is actually kind of uncomfortable, I know I don't speak for all queer people but I do know multiple of my other LGBT friends would or do agree with it, it's just kind of not fun to see phrases, words and terminology being twisted to mean something they don't, I get to some people it can mean a totally different thing and that's fine!! But the way Zulius used it was very blatantly not romantic haha,,!!

But yeah that's all I have to say and if you don't agree or anything I'm not gonna complain or anything, I doubt anyone will see this I just needed to let it all out haha, but if you do see this!! Thank you for taking the time to read it <3

[michaelwheelerseasontwosweaters]

The Older Sister is Always Right

a byler fanfiction by Nancy's point of view

my brother is an idiot, to say the least.

you might ask what im talking about but, once you meet him you would know. im not talking about his sassy remarks, his resting bitch face, or even the fact he steals my money!

im talking about how he fucked up with the person he loved most in the world.

william byers.

the son of joyce and lonnie byers and the brother of jonathan byers.

ive known will since he was five, not that i had a choice in the matter since my brother was obsessed with him and his huge smile he always wore around mike.

when i was younger i tried to ignore the obvious signs. i think my parents did too.

see, when you live in hawkins you only fall into three categories. number one: the ones that ignore it (or pretend to in some of our cases). number two: the bullies who harass the queers. and number three: the queers.

it's sort of funny, how obvious they were but no one picked up on it as fast as i did.

THE WHEELERS HOUSE ; AUGUST 1955

I walked into my front door, already done with fourth grade. everyone is evil!

"nance! nancy!" my brother screamed catching my attention. "jesus calm yourself, whats going on?" i asked him, seeing the glowing radiance of happiness flying off of him.

"i made a new friend, remember will?"

"the boy who you haven't quit bugging me about? yeah i remember." i giggled. "well his mommy finally let him come over here! cmon nancy hes in the living room! cmon!" he exclaimed as he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the living room.

"woah mike! he's still going to be there if i walked." i rolled my eyes at my five year old brother.

"i know but will is important!"

THE WHEELER HOUSE ; JUNE 1956

I looked through my drawers, throwing clothes out as i do. "mike! do you know where my new dress is?" i yelled, hoping he would hear.

no response.

"ugh! michael you ass!" i yelled only to get a "language!" from my dad in response.

i walked over to mikes room and slammed open his door. "wheres my- what are you guys doing?"

mike was currently fighting air with a sword and will was hiding behind card board in my new dress.

"oh hey nancy! im fighting the evil dragon whos trying to get will!" he explains like its nothing.

"cool..." i say dumbfounded. "wait nancy! you could be the evil dragon!" mike yells as he got the idea.

"yeah! nancy please?" will smiled.

"ugh fine, give me a sword." i caved in and walked over by mike as be beamed with joy.

mike handed me the sword and just like at, we were hitting each other with a sword and will was a giggling mess.

THE WHEELER'S HOUSE ; JANUARY 1957

"barb! we could hang out this weekend, i think the snow storm is over." i talked to her over the phone.

"k nance, i have to ask my mom though. speaking of which i have dinner, I'll talk to you later!" barb spoke.

"okay, bye barb." i said before hanging up and grabbing my homework from my nightstand.

knock knock

"come in." i said, not looking up to see who opened my door. "hey nancy, can we talk?" mike asked.

"what do you want dingus?" i asked as i moved my homework so he can sit across from me on my bed. he obviously took the hint and sat across from me, criss cross.

"so? what was so important?" i asked noticing the small tears in his eyes.

"im worried about will." he whispered.

"why? hes fine, right?" i asked. i hope he was okay. will was like a less annoying little brother.

"he said he was sick all week but he came to school with bruises! he wouldn't tell me what happened, i thought friends tell each other everything." he finally let a tear down.

"mike, he's fine. and friends have some secrets, it's normal i think. you don't need to panic." i tried calming him down.

"i care so much about him nancy, hes my best friend! i can't let him be hurt, best friends dont do that. will is too small and adorable to have that happen." he explained.

adorable? did he use adorable to describe a boy?

THE WHEELER HOUSE ; NOVEMBER 1958

"nancy, what does it mean to get divorced?"

"woah, why are you asking?" i asked him, it was weird to hear my nine year old brother ask what does it mean to get divorced.

"mrs byers and wills dad got broken up. he seems sad. i don't get it. his dad was always mean! isn't that a good thing he's gone?" mike explains, confused.

"i think just because someone is mean doesn't mean you want them gone? i don't know mike." i answered.

"hm.. oh i also forgot what i was going to ask you can i borrow your colored pencils and pillows?" he asked.

"why."

"im inviting over will since hes sort of sad and need pillows and he likes drawing."

"you don't have enough pillows?" i asked, annoyed.

"cmon nancy!" he groaned. "fine, asshole."

"hey!" he yelled as he pushed me over.

"shithead!" i pushed him back and kicked him down.

"ill kill you nancy!"

THE BYERS HOUSE ; DECEMBER 1959

"nancy! nancy! hurry your ass up."

"well don't make me hold all your shit!"

"language!"

we were currently getting out of the car to spend christmas at the byers instead of our house and mike decided its convenient for me to hold all his shit.

I almost dropped one of the green and red wrapped presents on the ground and mike ran to catch it.

"you can't drop that! that's Will's present!" he screamed.

"geez. sorry." i apologized, not understanding why a small gift meant so much. "why does it matter anyway?" i kept walking.

"it's wills. that means its important! I'll kill you if you break it." he threatened.

"micheal! be nice to your sister."

THE WHEELERS HOUSE ; JUNE 1960

i unlocked the door to hear star wars playing in the distance. of course, mikes obsessed with that movie.

mike was currently home alone because mom and dad was taking holly to a doctor's appointment.

"hey, im home." i said, not yelling because hes right in the living room. i walked into the kitchen and grabbed some chocolate and walked into the living room, going to force him to give me the remote.

but i wasn't expecting what i saw.

mike and will laying down on top of each other, their limbs tangled up together with snacks all spilt on the floor.

aw, very couple-ly.

wait.

isn't that wrong?

they are boys. its different.

i looked at my brothers faint smile and decided it wasn't wrong. the shithead is happy.

im okay with him staying happy.

THE BYERS HOUSE ; FEBRUARY 1961

i walked past wills room, trying to get to jonathans' room. we had a big test today and i noticed he forgot his homework because he was busy talking to robin.

they aren't friends but, he seems to think shes interesting.

she sort of reminds me of will. in a way.

"hey nancy." will says, startling me.

"oh hey, whats up?" i asked.

i noticed the envelope in his hand and the nervous look on his face.

"where was mike at school today?" he asked. "oh hes sick. i guess the mushy valentine's day stuff got to him." i laughed.

"what's the note for, bowlcut?" i asked, saying the nickname i have for him.

"um, its for mike.. can you give it to him? thanks, bye!" he stuttered out before running back to his room and slamming the door.

i looked down at the envelope and noticed a small paper heart on the back.

wow. will byers gave my brother a valentine.

THE WHEELERS HOUSE ; MARCH 1962

mike barged into my room and went straight to my bra and underwear drawer.

"mike! what the hell is wrong with you?!" i yelled as he grabbed my piggy bank and spilt it all over my bed.

"ill pay you back! i promise! moms going shopping and i need one hundred dollars for this gift for will and i only have ninety. counting the money mom gave me." he explained as he stuffed quarter after quarter in his zip up jacket pocket.

"whoa, whoa what gift could you possibly get for will that's one hundred dollars? that's like rich people money!" i exclaimed.

"I don't care, its for will!" he yelled before bolting out the door.

"asshole!" i screamed after him.

THE WHEELER'S HOUSE ; NOVEMBER 1963

me, mom, dad, and holly were waiting in the living room. mike sneaked out and we didn't know where he was. we currently had the news on but my attention wasn't on that until i heard horrible words that would explain to much.

"the body of william byers has been discovered."

oh no. mike.

like on que, he slammed the door open and my mom walked over to him.

he started sobbing in her arms once she opened them for a hug. I felt my heartbreaking at the site. me and my brother don't always get along but he's still my brother.

"hes gone! hes g-gone and I'll never get to hug him again!" he yells out, hiccups breaking through.

"nothings going to be the same anymore." he muttered.

and he was right.

today the byers were moving and taking el with them.

I could already tell my brother was having a hard time accepting it. I noticed the incredible tension between Mike and will I can't help but wonder what happened, mike wouldn't tell me in years.

just a few years ago if you told me i would be crying next to my brother watching jonathan byers car and a moving truck drive out of the byers driveway i would have giggled.

but now... now its reality. after everything we went through and had to deal with this past summer (not even mentioning what happened years prior to this) is finally over.

even if it's over it doesn't stop the trauma and the memories. I can't imagine how will or mike or literally any of the kids feel.

I looked at mike and saw the hurt face on him, I decided I should just drive home because he needs more time to process this.

just like that I was pulling into our driveway and ignored calls from my mom and walk straight up to my room.

jonathan's gone. the only thing I have left is our shared trauma. I guess that makes me strong. dealing with stuff, it makes anyone strong.

ten minutes after thinking, and holding back tears I heard my brother's footsteps walking towards my room.

he opened the door and i saw the tears swelling up in his eyes.

"nancy..." he choked out.

i walked over and pulled him in a bone crushing hug.

"gone. hes gone, again." he sobbed into my shoulder.

"i know, mike. i know." i rubbed his back as an effort to calm him down.

"nance. i-i..." he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"you loved him. i know mike, i always knew."

[fr3aklike-me]

yeah the play REALLY did something to me, and all of his friends looked so proud of him, it was so sweet and sad all at once, i can't explain it. and i relate to neil bc i went through the same thing with my parents, my mom wanted me to be a journalist and my dad wanted me to be lawyer, so when i had to tell them that i wanted to go to fashion school it was really scary, and i knew that they were going to be very disappointed, like, i remember when i called my dad just to tell him that, and i was literally shaking and holding back my tears, so i know exactly how it felt like for neil. and yeah omg, it took me a long time to realize that it was the same actor, he looked like a baby in dead poets society, his power fr. so at first i didn't notice anything romantic between niel and todd, i just thought they had a cute friendship, but then by the end when he found out that neil was dead, his reaction was very different from the others, but im not sure if i think it was because he liked neil or bc they were just very close friends, but also i saw a few edits of them on tiktok and they looked like they might like each other sometimes. so yeah, very sus those two. but what do you think?

oh the wedding was great!! i had a lot of fun, was very weird watching my friend get married tho 😭 but it was fine, thanks for asking!! and the shopping went great too, i bought these AMAZING boots, idk if you've watched gilmore girls so idk if this is going to make any sense to you, but whenever i wear them i feel like lorelai (she wears a lot of boots) which is great so yeah. and the book was very good, the ending made me want to scream but still very good lmao. im so sorry this is huge :( but anyways how have you been?

-🫀

dead poets society spoilers, tw for death mention

right, omg, just the pure friendship all the boys shared was so touching to me. it reminded me so much of my friends. and it was so sweet to see the sheer support and admiration they had for one another. oh, wow, yeah, that is definitely such an intense move to make when you desire to go a particular route in your life that you're worried your parents may not approve of. I am so proud of you for telling your dad about it, though, and being truthful + standing up for your passion. like, that is such a strong and amazing move, it's so great of you. I hope you've been able to pursue your passions since. for sure, his reaction to Neil's death was very intense (and also, just so well-acted omg). so, when I saw the clip where Todd is like, "I can take care of myself," and then Neil just smiles so gently at him and says, "No." at that point I was like, hmmm. I even asked my mom about it LMAO bc she had seen the film. I feel like there may be something romantic, and I definitely ship it. I also read that there is that scene where Nail, in reference to Todd, says, "I'm being chased by Walt Whitman." and I read on that post that Walt Whitman was apparently suspected to have been queer? so, maybe it was something the film tried to subtly portray? either way, thank goodness for fanfiction LMAO

oooh, whoa, it was your friend getting married! that must've been very surreal to watch, I could only imagine how that feels like. and omg I do watch Gilmore Girls! was just rewatching it today. and yesss, omg, I love that you have Lorelei-style boots, her fashion sense is *chef's kiss.* and it's all good, I enjoy talking to you! I've been good, thank you for asking <3 I've mostly been doing schoolwork for my spring class, and am working on some writing rn

[sagestupidity]

Upcoming long-ass post ahead. Warning you now. It goes deep and it is long. There is a lot of personal information, but I wanted to get it out there for pride month. There is a tl;dr at the end. If tumblr mobile allowed for a page break like the old days, I'd use it now

Tw: homophobia, religious bigotry, sexuality, biphobia

I remember the first time I heard about homosexuality. I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, at daycare, in a tree house with 2 other kids my age. They had just learned a new word and were throwing it around every other sentence that day. Lesbian. "What, are you a lesbian?", "so and so is a lesbian hahaha" "only a lesbian would say something like that". I had no idea what this word meant, I was a sheltered 8 or 9 year old. These daycare friends explained what it meant. "It's when girls like other girls, like boyfriend and girlfriend, but they're both girls". For a half second, my world was rocked. I had no idea that was something someone could do. That was a option? 🎆. Before I could even think about it further, the next sentence came out of their mouth "that's so gross, right?". Well shit, they were explaining it to me, they must have been the expert. "Yeah, that's so gross". I couldn't possibly be a lesbian, I'm not gross, I'm Megan, I like bubble baths and art and fairytale stories of princes and princesses. I'm not gross, and therefore definitely not a lesbian.

When I got a bit older about ages 10-12, my parent's signed me up for a week of vacation Bible school out in Pine Idaho every summer. For most of those summers, I went with my mom's boss's granddaughter who was about my age. Her name was Alex. She was super cool and a nice friend. Very much a typical tom boy. Had a bionicle collection, wore a lot of sporty clothes, even got some of her clothes from the boy section. I was sooo jealous of how cool Alex was. But whenever I was shopping with my mom, and tried to pick out less feminine items, I'd get lectured "that's for boys Megan, you can't have that, it's weird that you like this, Megan". no matter how much I liked it, how much I thought about how Alex was allowed to branch out like that. Why couldn't I?

From then to grade 7, I was in my femme bubble. I wore a ton of pink, because I looked up to Elle Woods from legally blonde. I'd have an occasional crush on the class emo. Loving long hair and eyeliner on guys, but otherwise despising everyone else in middle school because i was getting bullied mercilessly. I reclused into books and movies, like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean

I was transfered to Idaho arts charter school. Where the girl to boy ratio was about 7 to 1. We had no sport program besides competitive dance. My family started going to a WELS lutheran church, and for a while, none of this conflicted. Little did I notice, that my church and my upbringing were compiling into some bad homophobia on my part. I was taught that gay people were against God and were going to hell. Gay people were "gross" after all. I was told by my own parents that if I *became* a lesbian, they'd drag me to the pastor's house and have an exorcism performed on me. The idea of even kissing a girl with romantic intent made my stomach flip and my chest hurt. That's just proof of how disgusting and wrong it is... right?

But being in a school dedicated to the performing arts eventually caught up with that. Sure there were gay kids at my school. Our main export was musical theater and dance. But I wasn't friends with any of them, so it was fine. Until someone from my friend group came out. For his privacy, I'll call him A, since I still know people that know him IRL. I had been friends with A for a while before he came out as gay. I wouldn't say we were close, but I'd say we were friends. When he did come out as gay, it was like a dumb homophobic light went out. A wasn't any different just because he was gay, he was still my friend, and nothing changed except my worldview.

Nothing.else.changed.

Whenever I brought A up when telling a story to my parents, they'd interrupt with "you mean the friend that's going to hell" as if that was his name and they were correcting me now that he was an out gay teen. I dug my heels in and became a gay ally for my friend, A. Delving into gay rights as a special interest.

By the time I was 16, I was approaching the next metaphorical hurdle. I noticed I didn't really have any crushes... on anyone. I had friends. I liked fictional characters from books and anime and the occasional celeb. I just thought I had high standards for boys I would date. But I couldn't like girls. What would that even look like? It was pre 2010. The only girls into girls I ever saw were on posters in boy's rooms, or straight girls kissing to get male attention. It took a lot of work to realize God didn't hate gay people and even more work to realize that that could apply to me too. I came out as bi to only my friends at age 17.

I graduated, went off to college. Got a dorm mate, who we will call M. M was also bi, and she had the experience to back it up, supposedly. More experience than me, who hadn't really dated anyone at all. M somehow forced me back in the closet. She insisted I wasn't bi because I had never dated or kissed or anything with a woman. I had just barely had my first kiss with anyone that summer. I was only "bicurious" because how could I possibly know until I finally had experience like she did. So I shrunk myself, and only saw boys, because they gave me attention. Girls only saw me as straight, because I wasn't bi, I was "bicurious".

It took a lot of work to bust out of the bi closet a second time.

I lived my life as a bi woman. Constantly changing my spot on the kinsey scale until these past 7 years or so. I made a realization.

I don't really like guys. I'd sleep with them. I appreciated the validation I felt when I did. But I didn't really like them.

So I juggled with the queer label. Because my sexuality was complicated. Sure, I'd sleep guys, didn't mean I was attracted to them, it's not like it meant anything.

Any time I tried on the lesbian label, I'd get yelled at by a lesbian for being biphobic. They'd say stuff like "lesbians don't like guys", "stop bring men into lesbianism" "lesbians don't want to sleep with guys". No amount of me explaining that I don't like men would convince them. So back to the queer label I went.

I got married to a woman in 2019. And was content with the queer label.

But this year, 2021-

I started reading The Lesbian Document™. Learning that my occasional crush on a male celeb didn't really count as attraction to men.(sorry Bo Burnham).

I made a bit of a realization. I knew I didn't really like men, I was just ok with the idea of sleeping with them. But the idea of being with men felt similar to binge drinking.

They were both

Easily accessible

Toxic

Dangerous/thrilling

Coping mechanisms for deeper issues

I realized I was using the idea of sex with men as self harm, and I should probably stop that.

To wrap up this whole long-ass biography- I'm coming out a third time.

My name is Megan.

I'm 28 years old.

My pronouns are she/they.

And I'm a lesbian.

tl;dr:

[bxffysxmmers]

real gods require blood

All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood. - Zora Neale Hurston

- zeus inspo - hera inspo - poseidon inspo - demeter inspo - athena inspo - apollo inspo - artemis inspo - ares inspo - aphrodite inspo - hephaestus inspo - hermes inspo - hestia inspo - dionysus inspo - persephone inspo - hades inspo - modern gods inspo used in blurbs

first thing's first: everyone in this ad should be between the ages of 22 and 27 with the exception of persephone who should be 22 - 24 and demeter who should be 25 - 27. genderbending is okay with me as long as you run it by me first because i don't want to have a million girls, i want it to be fairly balanced. everything said below should be taken with a grain of salt meaning if you put your own spin on it that is totally fine, the inspo is what matters.

additionally, only one or two characters should be from chicago, because the group is a group of people who are imports to the city and the life they have here so please do with that idea what you will. i did link to some cool pinterest boards with some inspo for a modern take on all of the different gods if you want to look at those but again, it's just for inspiration, please please please make every single one of these guys your own.

now, for the actual ad, basically these guys are something of a found family. through their jobs, parties, socializing, exes, currents, whatever they all met and it was almost instant, that connection, that 'feels like i've known you my whole life' thing that came over them. and so they stuck together, even if it was just a group text or once a year dinner party, they've all stayed in touch ever since despite distance, work, time constraints, and anything else that came between them.

the first pair that met and really started it all were aphrodite and ares. they were on again off again, always a problem with time and where their lives were at, but the love is there. they've been friends since their time in school together and it never let up, that care. the rest of the group swear one day aphrodite will find a way to settle down and be with ares but for now ares deals with the on again off again because sometimes is better than never. and then aphrodite found god here, and another one, and their interconnections grew the group and now here they are, family without being blood, with ties running through them, cutting and caressing them all the same.

from there, feel free to just get with me and we can make it work. i'm going to be making a ship developer for them (including a timeline because it seems necessary so that we have some idea on who, what, when, and how) but the basis is a found family plot with interconnections that made this many people come to mean so much to one another. from there? go wild, get with me on any questions, and please have fun with it. some suggestions for interconnections are below in the applicable boxes but if you don't want to use them just talk to me.

and lastly... if you want to add a god who isn't listed please just let me know! give me a little blurb and we can make this happen. remember the slight dystopian feel and the modern twist but like... yes, please, let's do this, i'm here for it. thanks!!

ZEUS. OPEN.

zeus drinks himself half to death at a bar. he no longer cares for mortals. he has long stopped trying to make this world turn.

suggestions: brother to poseidon and hades. married to hera. enters polyship with hera and hestia after cheating scandal. himbo energy.

HERA. OPEN.

hera no longer praises marriage. instead she talks to the women. she tells them that men always lie, tells them to run. she wishes she could take her own advice.

suggestions: married to zeus. enters polyship with zeus and hestia after cheating scandal. better than you.

POSEIDON. RESERVED FOR TESSA.

poseidon still loves the sea but he could not hate mortals more. he feels the pollution of his domain like a phantom pain, raging that he could not protect his oceans from mortals.

suggestions: brother to zeus and hades. has a crush on demeter. moods like the sea.

DEMETER. RESERVED FOR LUNA.

demeter isn't peaceful. she feels the dying of the earth and with it goes her happiness. she curses the mortals who caused this.

suggestions: older sister of persephone. doesn't approve of hades. has a crush on poseidon. the mom friend.

ATHENA. OPEN.

athena chainsmokes in an alleyway, and glares at ares as bloody knuckles and booted feet connect with battered bodies between them. the fight clubs are their temples now.

suggestions: business partners with hephaestus (queer solidarity, y'all). just doing her best. definitely sapphic. possibly once had a thing with aphrodite.

APOLLO. RESERVED FOR THOMAS.

you find apollo in a nightclub on 55th and 3rd, his prophets writhing in intermittent darkness, bassline pounding in their ears, liqour coursing in their veins, smoke and strobe lights clouding their eyes.

suggestions: twin brother of artemis. pansexual and everyone knows it. always chasing the next high, running from the lows. in a secret relationship with hermes.

ARTEMIS. RESERVED FOR DAPHNE.

artemis spends the night in a jail cell, blood on her knuckles and on her shirt and in her mouth, the smell of metal lingering in the air.

suggestions: twin sister of apollo. sapphic pls. the protector meets the vodka aunt. possibly once had a thing with aphrodite.

ARES. RESERVED FOR KITT.

you watch as ares starts a fight in a dive bar, takes a knife from his pocket and uses it without flinching, smiles as he wipes his blade on his thigh, smashes a bottle on the floor and lights a match.

suggestions: on again off again with aphrodite. in love with aphrodite. not currently with aphrodite. just a boy, made of rage and the inability to express his emotions. looks like he'll kick your ass, will pull athena and artemis off of you in a fight, exhausted that he has to yet again. also requested here.

APHRODITE. FREYA WILDER, ATHENA.

aphrodite drinks your worship straight from your lips and chases it with a scotch, crashes a cigarette, flicks the ash on the floor and leaves without so much as a thank you.

suggestions: on again off again with ares. in love with ares. running from ares. most likely to have slept with everyone in the group, twice. intimacy issues? i do know her. i know her so well. someone help.

HEPHAESTUS. OPEN.

you find hephaestus on college campuses, amongst engineering students. in times like this he is more relevant than ever, growing whilst other gods die. it seems that aphrodite is more keen on accepting his gifts now more than ever.

suggestions: business partners with athena (queer solidarity, y'all). once had a thing with aphrodite. a serious thing. didn't end well. they're totes okay now, for sure, yeah, definitely, mhm. patience is a virtue. stubborn pride is a gift. also requested here.

HERMES. RESERVED FOR TONE.

hermes is in the hustle and bustle of rush hour and the rush of the subway. he is perched atop skyscrapers, surveying the beautiful chaos of it all and lo, it is good.

suggestions: brother to hestia. in a secret relationship with dionysus apollo. running to and for, never from. chaotic good gremlin energy. do not feed after midnight. possibly once had a thing with aphrodite.

HESTIA. OPEN.

hestia mourns broken homes, she waits for her family. she waits in the doorway, arms outstretched and a smile like forgiveness waiting to embrace the siblings whom she know will never return.

suggestions: sister to hermes. pretends she doesn't know about dionysus apollo. doesn't approve of dionysus apollo. enters polyship with zeus and hera after cheating scandal. the mediator. why can't we all just get along?

DIONYSUS. OPEN.

dionysus shoots up in a basement in the seedy side of town. he wants to forget the suffering that has filled his immortal life.

suggestions: in a secret relationship with hermes. "gotta stay high, all the time, to keep you off my mind". heart of gold but no one ever seems to believe it. here for a fun time, not a long time, but thinking about that too much hurts.

PERSEPHONE. RESERVED FOR ARI.

persephone grins when people tremble. she is vengeful and wears flowers in her hair and she will make damn sure that the world will never forget her name.

suggestions: younger sister of demeter. in love with hades. she's beauty, she's grace. she'll punch you in the face.

HADES. OPEN.

hades stalks the streets, hazy in the fog of the streetlamps, and he smiles, because people will always believe in death and worship riches.

suggestions: brother to zeus and poseidon. in love with persephone. can you say trauma? secretly the most well rounded and good hearted of them all. how are you so pure, bro? who sent you?

[waokevale]

Slight panic attack,

Porcelain Face - Chapter 5

WARNING: Lilo&Stitch 2 spoilers (If you haven't watched it before)

-"So how about we go inside? Have you ever been to a porcelain store before, paper-boy?"

The guy in grey apron asked as the three of them walked into the warehouse of the shop.

-"Nope, and if you want to talk to me with a nickname it's actually cardboard boy." Virgil replied.

-"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, what's your name by the way?" The guy asked, a little nervously from the awkwardness of this conversation so far.

-"Its Virgil" The cardboard boy replied.

-"That's a lovely name you got there kiddo! I'm Patton! I'm the son of the owner of this store, cool right?" The guy so-called Patton said in a cheerful tone.

-"Yeah, yeah. Skip it, that's amazing that you guys finally know each other now but haven't we brought Vee here for a reason???" Ethan rolled his eyes.

-"Ooooh! Yeah! Explanations!" Patton finally replied.

-"Not ALL of the explanations, Pat." - the porcelain boy raised his voice a little with stress and worry.

The older one nodded quickly.

-"Soo.....Do you want to know about your mask?"

Virgil and Ethan both looked questionably at him.

Virgil's expression on his cardboard face obviously said that he indeed wanted to know more about it and the other boy was just waiting for the bomb to explode.

-"Well...I know it's magic but I don't know exactly where it came from, hehe...." Patton laughed nervously, scratching his cheek.

Ethan facepalmed his head then, Virgil though looked pretty confused and disappointed.

-"Guess we're staying here for the rest of the school time...right?" Virgil said, wanting to change the subject, what's the point of asking questions anyway if they won't tell you the answers.

-"Oh no no no! You're not staying in THIS place.

It's only for fixing Dee over here." he said pointing at the porcelain boy

"How about going to the cafe?" Patton suggested getting a glare from the porcelain boy for the nickname that was used in front of Virgil again.

-"You change your mind pretty quickly."the cardboard boy said.

-"Not wanting to be rude of course."

-"Nah, you're not.

He's just like this confused mom friend even if he declares himself a dad" Ethan simply said making the usually bubbly person huff in annoyance before smiling again and saying:

-"Welp, I may act like that sometimes but I do not have a feminine face like you, dear cousin." The older boy smirked as the younger one with heterochromia gasped offended.

-"That's not my fault! Let's just go to the cafe!"

Virgil giggled at their funny relationship, they got along pretty well. 

It was a shame for him to be honest to not have any cousins or siblings....It felt so...lonely.

After they appeared at their destination Patton asked the boys what they wanted to get, since he was the one to buy the stuff.

Virgil wanted to deny but he looked at Ethan instead remembering he didn't eat.

Apparently Ethan forgot for a second as well before getting "angry" again.

-"I can't- You bastard! How dare you Patton?! Right in my face?" The porcelain boy exclaimed as both of them knew what he was talking about, they both laughed. 

-"Your loss. Virgil will get your food then!" Patton simply said as Ethan crossed his arms, pretty pissed off at his miserable non-human being.

-"No, no I don't-"

Virgil tried explaining as Patton gasped before heading closer to the boy and whispering:

-"Please don't tell me you don't eat too."

-"No, it's just I don't want to inpose, please-" Virgil tried saying but Patton kept nagging him until he finally sighed in defeat and agreed.

As Patton went to buy the food and drinks there for a moment was  silence between the two of the other boys until Ethan finally spoke up.

-"Sooo...You're really not ashamed of me being...you know?" He asked as the other boy shook his head pretty fast it could even fall of his neck.

-"No! Of course not! You're wonderful!" He tried defending the other who smiled softly at him.

-"Are you busy tonight?" The porcelain boy asked.

-"N-no? Why do you ask?" Virgil said.

-"Then I'm inviting you over! You can finally meet my queer-platonic mums!" He said exitedly before flushing in embarrassment for saying it out loud."

-"R-Really? They won't mind?" Virgil asked again, a little more shy this time but still with hope in his voice.

-"No, but there is another problem with them that you need to just ignore..."

-"What???" Virgil became a ball of confusion at this moment.

-"They ugh....Think we are a couple? How do you say it....They...ship us?"

-"What???? And why would I be a bout-" Virgil asked with an inside joke.

-"Well, it's not exactly a bout...."

-"I know what it means, dummy. I'm just playing with you to make it sound less awkward."

-"Well, that didn't help-" As Ethan was in his mid sentence he got cut off by Patton who just came back with the food."

-"DA FOOD IS HERE!" Patton happily exclaimed.

With that sentence The boy in vitligo did some hand gestures to Patton, probably the sign language as the boy in glasses glared at him and used the sign gestures back.

Ethan: "F-U-C-K O-F-F P-A-T" 

Patton:"L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E" 

-"What were you saying????" Virgil asked but instead of answering Ethan took the muffin from Patton's plate who clearly yelled at him as he  shoved it in Virgil's face.

Unfortunately it didn't go through his mask as it was intended to.

Instead it made Virgil very uncomfortable.

-"Guess it broke, huh?" Ethan said.

-"I'll eat it later you idiot! Don't shove it in my mouth here if I can't eat it!" Now Virgil was really pissed at the other boy who now tried to apologize to him the best he could.

And it finally worked.

-"How about we go to Dee's house?" Patton suggested.

-"I already asked him that before, he agreed."

-"Yey!" Patton replied still as happy as ever.

-"But I need to get my things first-" Virgil said worriedly.

-"Oh right!" The both of them said in unison.

As Patton drove him off to his house to get his things.

His parents weren't home as usual....

After 10 bare minutes of packing he came back and popped in the car next to apparently Dee.

-"Why aren't you sitting next to Patton in the front sit?" Virgil asked curiously for why the other boy was sitting here when there was an empty sit in the front.

-"He knows why." Patton exclaimed rolling his eyes as Ethan stuck his tongue out at him.

-"Okay then..." The cardboard boy awkwardly replied.

After 10 minutes of driving or so, because Patton couldn't drive faster that 50mph.

[Ethan always woke up pretty early and run 5 km like it was nothing]

When they finally arrived Ethan went to knock on the door as he said:

"Mom C! Mamma D! I'm brought Pat and Virgil home!"

-"Pfff..Mom C, Mamma D?" Virgil said

-"Shut up" Ethan replied as two woman in the age of 30 or close came to the door.

One had light curly hair dyed the color red and as the author would describe African eyes as they were green with a big patch of hazel in the middle.

She also appeared to have a lot of freckles on her face.

She as well as Patton wore an apron but not for painting though as for cooking.

The other one looked more tomboy like, one could say.

She had pretty short but not too short dirty blonde hair, torquise eyes and a literal face of a duck.

She wore a black hoodie and stripped shirt under it, also having trainers and ripped jeans.

-"How's our not-born-from-either-of-us gay son doing?" They both said in unison as he sighed, Patton though giggled and Virgil just rolled his cardboard eyes playfully.

-"Ooooh! Is this your boyfriend you've been talking about?" Mamma D (Dominique) said.

-WHA-NO! HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND MOM!"

Ethan yelled, his face being the color of a tomato at least.

-"Not yet" Mom C (Caroline) said looking at a wall and winking to it. 

[She breaks da fourth wall]

-"God..." Dee whined tiredly.

-"Auntie Caroline and Dominique are funny aren't they?" Patton exclaimed.

-"Um....." Virgil was almost silent, as he as well as Dee blushed madly.

-"Anyways, we are going to my room, what's for dinner?" Dee asked, not caring that he himself didn't eat, since the other two on the other hand did.

-"Mac n Cheese!" Dominique yelled.

-"Mmmm, my favorite!" Patton happily cheered.

-"God, I wish I could eat....It always looks so good..." The porcelain boy mumbled not expecting the comforting pat on the back from his hooded friend in the mask.

-"It's fine, though. I'm used to this torture." The boy exclaimed this time louder.

There was a moment of silence before Ethan asked both of them:

-"Hey guys, what do you want to play?" He said pointing at a giant stock of board and video games.

-"Jenga!" Patton exclaimed

-"Monopoly..?" Virgil said unsurely.

-"Virgie NOOOO I don't want to lose you!" Ethan whined holding the paperboy's hands with the pleading yet fake sadness on his face pretending to be dramatic again making the smaller one giggle.

-"Aww you guys are cute." Patton said, adoring the other two who flushed and moved away a few inches.

After some time of playing board games like dungeons and dragons, Jenga, Uno and Hot Patt-tato they were loosing up for a movie.

-"Oh, oh! Let's watch Bolt!" Patton yelled exitedly.

-"I'd rather watch Jungle Book, It's more classic." Dee criticized

-"What about...Lilo & Stitch?" Virgil suggested, still pretty shy though.

-"which part? I have all four, plus the series." Dee exclaimed.

-"Um....Maybe the second one?" Virgil said.

-"Okay then..."

When the dinner was finally ready they all stopped the movie to eat, except Ethan who didn't want to wait for them here and later getting teased on by Dominique and Caroline, Dee left, offended and flustered, then Virgil and finally Patton.

They got to the part in which Stitch couldn't control himself anymore and screwed stuff up, him and Lilo had a fight and later on Lilo went to play a role without him as he was even more broken.

This scene made them all sob, but not as much as when Stitch was put into the fixing machine as everyone thought it was too late for him.

Now they all fully cried. What was the most surprising was that it wasn't Patton who cried the most at the scene but Virgil. 

Both Ethan and Patton tried to comfort him after watching the part.

Though there was happy ending so nothing really bad then..

-"Virgie, why did you pick a movie which would make you cry so much?" Ethan asked worriedly.

-"I just...wanted to see this part again...For some reason.."

-"Okay then..." The boy in vitligo signed.

-"Oh! Son, it was very nice to meet you and I'd be glad to adopt you as my own." Patton said with a loving stare at the masked boy.

-"Ummm....What?" Virgil asked, pretty confused now.

-"Shh..You're my baby now."

-"...Eth?" Virgil tried asking for help but none came since Ethan just gave the "shrug it off" motion.

After some time of eating snacks and talking, the porcelain boy checked the hour.

-"Oh shit we should probably go to sleep, guys."

-"Language, Dee." Patton rolled his eyes tiredly.

-"But it's only 2 AM in the morning?" Virgil asked as the other two gave him an unbelieving stare which made him regret saying this out loud.

-"Bed. Now" both of them said at the same time.

-"Nooooo" Virgil whined as he was being pulled by them to bed.

-"But my Tumblr-" he tried defending himself but for no use.

-"It won't fly away. Now sleep!" Ethan said in a worrying yet stern voice.

-"Um...I sort of have problems with that."

-"Shouldn't you put your mask away first? It's probably hurting your face no-" Patton asked yet being cut off by the younger boy in the cardboard mask.

-"NO!" Virgil yelled but put his hands to his mouth and gasped at his sudden outburst.

-"I'm so sorry, I- I didn't mean to-" he cried as Ethan came closer to him.

-"It's not your fault, it happens sometimes to every one of us. 

Now do you want me to sing you a song? Maybe it will help you sleep, I don't know...."

The smaller boy nodded without any hesitation even to his own surprise making Ethan chuckle a little as he began to sing Welcome to Wonderland by Anson Seabra.

Which actually worked as his wonderful siren like voice lulled the cardboard boy to sleep.

They both then fell asleep on the porcelain boy's bed as Patton just signed, peacefully this time and went to the living room.

.

.

.

.

.

-"VIRGIL WAKE UP, WE OVERSLEPT!" The voice broke the amazing silence as the boy in the bed hissed lazily not caring.

-"Virgil please, we need to go! Or I'm taking your mask off." Ethan fake-threatend.

Virgil then suddenly flicked from the bed "energized as ever"

Or rather anxious as ever.

As they both sat in the car and run as fast as they could to the classroom...

And there was a new student.

[love-is-not-a-choice-69]

Chapter III

Alex flopped onto the bed and lied face down on their pillow. One week had passed since classes had started, which meant one week had passed since Jessica and Brian had started hanging out with them.

Alex was tired. They were never hungry, and were always tired. And moving started to take up so much energy. They sighed and sat up, pulling their laptop closer. Once on, Alex pulled up a blank document to write an essay they needed to start.

Halfway through the introduction, they were interrupted by a Skype call. They answered when they noticed it was Kaden calling.

"You look like crap." Alex rolled their eyes. "Thanks for the bright compliment, Captain Obvious." Kaden rose an eyebrow at their snark remark. "What's wrong Al?" Alex shook their head. "I'm fine, Kay. I'm just tired." Kaden stared at them with a disbelieving look. "Ok. Fine, but tell me if something's wrong, ok?"

Alex nodded. "So what'sup, my little follower?" Kaden rolled his eyes. "I called to tell you that your mom calmed down. And she wants to talk." "After a week and a half? I don't think so. If I call her, she'd probably end up getting irritated. And if she doesn't, then I probably will. I'm not ready yet." Kaden nodded.

"Ok... So anyways. There's a new kid in my year. You would like him. He dyes his hair purple and all sorts of other colours and wears ripped jeans and wears sunglasses inside. He's actually pretty cool." Kaden looked down with a small smile, picking at something below the screen. "So what's the smile for?"

Kaden looked up at Alex's smirk. "Oh shut up. I just think he'd make a great friend," he said before pouting. Alex smiled. "Yeah. Ok, sure. How are the seniors holding up?" Kaden snorted. "They're wavering under the pressure. Everyone expects them to be super obnoxious and nice and commanding respect but it's kind of funny how much juniors can trod all over them."

Alex smiled widely. "Wonderful." Kaden nodded, face becoming serious gradually. "Alex. I know I've asked you this before but... How exactly did you know you were queer?" Alex smiled softly.

"There was something always on my mind, saying that I wasn't what I or society was saying I was. I didn't know what exactly it was, but then when I learnt about other genders and sexualities I started connecting the dots. So really, it's how you perceive yourself, along with what you know."

Kaden looked down at what he had been playing with. "So... What am I supposed to make of this?" He lifted up a post-it note that had small neat writing on it. "What does it say?" "It's an anonymous love letter. That wasn't very subtle." Alex looked at him confused.

"When he put it in my locker, Kaitlyn saw him and told me about it when it fell out." "Oh? New guy's got guts." "Yeah. I know," he said smiling widely. "So? How's it make you feel?" "I dunno. Fuzzy inside? I dunno. I've never been attracted to another guy before, so I'm not sure how to interpret this.

"It's different when I like a girl. That's for sure. So I can't tell if it's just an amplified friendship ray or an actual beacon of a crush. I guess I could just give it a bit of time? Get to know him better and know him as a friend first."

Alex smiled encouragingly. "That's a safe idea. The safest, in fact. So good luck with that. Also. I wanna meet this guy. Once you're friends bring him home and call me immediately." Kaden laughed and rolled his eyes. "Ok. Ok. Were you doing anything before I called?"

Alex startled. "I was doing an essay due two days from now. Ugh. How dare you. I gotta go. Bye." They hung up after the boy reciprocated the dismissal and got back to work, feeling just a little less tired.

***

"So his name's Kaden?"

Alex smiled at Jessica. "Yeah. He's been my best friend since I was 14. My mom made me babysit him. It was annoying, but then he grew on me. Now we're best friends and he's one of the only things I miss from home."

Brian rose an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Jessica. Alex sighed but then shook their head. "My parents and I kind of left on a sour note, so I'm not really missing out on much. I've escaped." The silence dragged on, and Alex was growing antsy.

They were all in Jessica's room, Brian was lying down on the bed, Jessica was sitting in the wheelie chair by the desk and Alex was sitting on the ground between them, with their back to the bed.

"So who do you guys consider your best friends?" Alex asked to fill the silence. Brian got a far away look in his eyes. "There was this girl that lived across the street from me. She was really closed off and she was homeschooled. We started talking three years ago, but she got into an accident so I haven't see her in a while."

"Oh wow. Deep. Way to lay it out there." Brian shrugged at Jessica's comment. "I'm an open book, Jess." Jessica rolled her eyes and looked to Alex. "I've considered Brian to be my best friend. Because I talk to him a lot. But I think the bestest friend spot goes to one of my older brothers, Jeremy. He's really quirky and I feel really close to him."

Alex and Brian smiled sweetly at Jessica and Alex sighed. "The stories behind your besties were so much more heart-felt than mine. Geez. How am I ever going to amount." Brian grinned and Jessica snorted. "Guess you should go back in time and become a person with a better back story. Maybe then you'll get on our level."

Alex rolled their eyes and nudged the wheelie chair around with their foot. Jessica laughed and twirled around.