#and them starting to fully realize what these feelings and what being queer means for them

[dinitride-art]

hey fisher. thanks for ripping my heart out with that one post

I’m gonna assume this is about the s3 hug gif post. Listen, they didn’t have to make it like that and then hit us with the airport scene. And then s4 is Nancy telling Steve that they aren’t babies anymore and the kids learning about real relationships and feelings. And Lucas and max being like that and planning a date but it feels different from the times before because they’re old enough to start to realize that they mean something to each other.

And then there’s Mike and Will and they’re doing the same thing and realizing what their feelings are and what they mean and struggling. And Mike and Will, for the first time, are distancing themselves from each other emotionally and physically because they’re too old to not know what everything means. And they’re fighting about not keeping contact with each other and they’re trying to be normal and keep a safe distance and be as close as they’re allowed to be and find these new lines that they aren’t allowed to cross. And they can hold a phone at the same time and grab each other when they’re getting shot at but they can’t hold hands just to hold hands like they did when Will was possessed and they can’t be close to each other for longer than they’re allowed to be. But they keep gravitating towards each other and stepping back and forwards and they can’t fully step towards each other because they aren’t allowed to anymore but they can’t pull away because they need each other and they can’t help it. And Will can only reach out to Mike and put his hand on his back to tell him that he’s the heart, to tell him that he needs to save El.

Everything after that scene in season three is different. They’re kids still but they’re too old to not notice what’s allowed and what’s not. They’re starting to realize what real feelings are and what people mean to them. It all changes because Mike and Will can’t not notice their own feelings. They know what they mean now. They know that it’s not allowed. They’re so fucking scared. But they’re also really brave. Will makes Mike a painting, and while it might not go as he originally planned, he still tells Mike what he wanted to say. Even if he says it isn’t from him. And Mike’s questioning his and El’s relationship. He’s been pushing back against making it more serious, saying I love you, and he doesn’t give in when him and El fight about it. He’s trying so hard to be who he is, to be a good person, while protecting himself from what could happen if he was honest with her. They’re both figuring out how much they can have without being in danger. And this was all set up by the end of s3 with that hug. And hoppers letter voiceover. And the Byers moving. And castle byers being destroyed and the rain fight and all of it. Because they’re figuring out who they are now. And that changes everything,

And if they’d just hugged at the airport like normal I wouldn’t have had to write that addition to that post (or… all of this lol)

[jenny-in-a-jar]

🌈 2 Days Until my Surgery 🌈

(Picture taken June 8th, 2024)

I'm very very excited for my surgery (it's my second gender affirming surgery but this one is more significant to me since it'll be top and bottom surgery) and I'm obviously counting the days until it and I thought some people might be interested in my trans journey 🏳️‍⚧️ I finished up most of the story yesterday so today I'll queerness bc it's pride month under the cut! 🌈🌈🌈

But you can read through my journey starting here

First, let's talk about this outfit. Yes, I bought the shorts and top at Spencer's and honestly you can easily find someone who matches it at a large enough pride event. But, it's hard for me to not be sentimental about it. Especially since I wore it at least once the last three years.

(Pictures taken June 11, 2022 and June 10, 2023)

And you can see how it and I have subtly changed these last three years of my transition. (Too bad I didn't have for my first year of transition but such is life 🤷‍♀️). And every year I get excited to wear it again!

Because being queer means a lot to me. I wasn't one of those people who always knew they were queer. But, I never felt connected to my cishet peers either. It's odd looking back and thinking about how my normal group of friends were cishet but at things like summer camp and then college I would quickly make friends with queer people. I really wanted to be like them but couldn't know why because I felt like I didn't deserve to be as cool and free as them.

But, when I let myself dive head into queerness I finally realized that I queer people are mostly awkward nerds and all of them just want to live their lives as fully honestly themselves. And that I could relate to. And that's what made it easy for me "to rip off the band-aid" and transition. It's what let me walk out into a world where I knew I would get hateful stares because I knew I wasn't alone. And seeing how other queer people's eyes light up when they see me showed me I made the right decision because I made them feel less alone too.

And making friends in the queer community is so much easier than in the cishet community. Because there's a lot more likelihood that they'll understand your awkwardness and admire your weirdness. I said earlier that I had gone to a few house parties and actually enjoyed myself for the first time. I think the best way to show why is this anecdote. I remember being in this circle of people standing around awkwardly silent and then someone said "I'm autistic and house parties make me uncomfortable can someone start talking?" and someone replied with how they felt the same way and how they felt the same way and then a conversation started about how hard parties are and social interactions in general but we were glad to be here and to try to connect with people.

And I love studying queer history a lot. Mostly because I'm curious how I would fit in to a time/culture in history. But also I love seeing how we don't fit in existed and how society understood our non-conformity. We have always existed. Queerness is part of the human condition.

The queer community is far from perfect. We all come from very different backgrounds and often have biases we need to work on. But, it's worth it to carve out your place in the community and to find people who understand and support you and to reciprocate for them. Because the alternative is being alone.

And we all deserve to feel loved, in whatever form you need. And because I'm feeling sentimental so here's a picture of me and my love 🥲

(Picture taken June 8th, 2024)

I have one last update before my surgery tomorrow where I'll look towards the future ✨

Next part

[fastcardotmp3]

Steve is the first person Robin ever comes out to.

And it's good, it goes better than she ever could have hoped, it goes miraculously well considering just how reckless she had been about it in hindsight, how nearly accidental and vaguely self-destructive a choice it had been to wield Tammy Thompson's name like that in front of a boy she'd learned to trust within the past six hours.

The thing is, it's good, but she realizes later on that she never actually says the word. The big one, the identifying one, the one that gets thrown around as a slur as often as queer or dyke do towards any girl who dares not present in a specifically feminine way.

It's a bad word, a scary word, a word that drips off tongues like acid and drips drips drips a corrosive hole in Robin's chest every single time because if it's being said in her vicinity that means-- just at any moment-- anyone could figure out--

Robin doesn't care for the act of coming out either in theory or in practice. She believes that anyone she trusts enough to know gets to learn from context clues and anyone she doesn't trust will just never get to know her fully and that's good enough for her.

She doesn't sit her parents down and say, "Mom. Dad. I'm a--"

She doesn't sit her little apocalypse posse down and say, "Just thought you guys should know I'm a--"

She didn't tell Steve.

She doesn't say the word.

Because as much as she's able to accept who she is, it's so hard to claim a word that has been used like a weapon her whole life. Because as much as even her parents and her friends love her for who she is, there is something about saying it like that that makes her wonder if it could sully the support.

As if they'd realize oh, you meant like that...? and change their minds.

It's not until IUPUI, a little house in Indy with Steve, and a little record shop next door to the deli where Eddie got a job slicing meat that she starts seeing that word, feeling it anew.

There are zines at this shop, the ones behind the counter that she's offered after a few visits and a few conversations that she later recognizes as coded and questioning in nature.

There are stories and art and poetry and that word is all over them.

And the thing is? The thing that has Steve finding her crying in their living room one afternoon as she reads through the stack like it holds the answers to the universe?

Is that it is written and spoken and displayed like the most beautiful word in the world.

It's a compliment and a blessing and a brag. It's a little bit of magic and a great deal of history.

It's her, in the end. It's her and it belongs in her mouth, deserves to be spoken, because too many people are out there misusing it like a disgusting thing when it is divine, fucking love incarnate.

Robin tucks into Steve's embrace, his instinct to hold her even as he tries to understand what has her sobbing in the middle of the day, whether or not he needs to fight anyone about it.

He holds her and she holds him back and it only feels right that it happen like this when she takes his face in her hands, shaky but oh, so certain.

Steve was the first person she ever came out to.

If she's going to let the scary word become her favorite the way it is for the people writing it out so proudly, this is probably the place to start.

"Steve Harrington," she beams at the furrow in his brow, those big concerned eyes that she knows will be confused about this, but she knows will only hold her tighter once she explains. "Steve. Stevie. Guess what?"

"What's up?" he laughs, gathering the joy in her tears like she knew he would, and Robin feels something click in the moment before she says it to him.

Out loud and real.

Very nearly holy.

"I'm a fucking lesbian."

[nicole-alt-delete]

It was a hot summer day in Hawkins and the kids had dragged them into helping with some game once again. Eddie was more than thrilled to help, Robin had managed to escape with Nancy on a "supply run" and Steve was currently taking orders from Max, the only one of them who'd remembered to say please.

Eddie wasn't really sure what the end goal was but it seemed like they were one step away from LARPing- just changed the name so Max and El would still play. He was helping Will by carving this big fuck-all stick into a cane for him when the gravel behind him crunched under someone's feet, and a second later Steve was saying "Hey, I'm borrowing this- Thanks-" Not stopping for the answer before Eddie felt a tug at his back pocket.

He instantly whipped around, spluttering, "Absolutely not-"  and before Steve could even take a step he was fiercely gripping his black bandana taut between them like the world's saddest game of tug of war. Steve loosened his grip a little, making a point of not tugging on it or ripping it, just looking confused as he waited for an explanation.

Eddie blushed for a moment, realizing the position he'd put himself in, how protective he got over a little piece of fabric. He stammers for a second, "I- you can't just- I need that man,"

Steve quirks an eyebrow at him, clueless. "What do you mean you need it? It's been in your pocket every day and I've only seen you actually wear it once. C'mon just for today- the girls don't have any hair ties and I need to put my hair up, it's killing me,"

He sighs a little, fully aware there's nothing reasonable he could say to Steve here. He very much cannot tell him that he *needs* it just in case some hot guy walks by and happens to know what it means. That's ridiculous- especially when the guy he most wants to see it is the one tugging it away from him in the first place. Steve has no idea what it means and Eddie doesn't expect him to but it still drives him insane thinking that it could happen.

Alternatively, the idea of Steve putting his hair back with Eddie's bandana drives him a little insane too.

So he blushes, sighs, and lets go of it. Points at Steve firmly, "You better give that back Harrington, or I swear-"

Steve smiles and starts walking backwards with it, already rolling it up into a hairband as he cuts him off, "Yeah, I know Eds, you can hold it against me forever, promise,"

He runs off back to the other kids and Eddie shakes his head at him, flustered and annoyed, and forgetting himself until Will clears his throat behind him.

He doesn't say anything but he's smiling and making this little face as he looks away from Eddie, like he knows something.

"So uh. The stick?"

"Right- yes- stick- cane- it's a cane for a mighty wizard, let's go,"

--

He didn't think he'd notice it so much, but the empty feeling in his pocket is driving him crazy. He'd been wearing that stupid thing since he learned it was a thing people do- a stolen trip up to the city on a bus he snuck onto, a weekend as a runaway before he sucked it up and went back home.

Someone had called him queer and he turned expecting a fight only to see a group of freaks who stood out more than himself. They had smiled and asking him why he was all alone, and been worried. One wanted to make sure Eddie hadn't been kicked out. Another wrapped her scarf around him, and before he knew it he was in the back of a gay bar with people he'd never met and felt like he could tell anything to.

The idea of proudly wearing something that singled him out- but only to the right people- made his hart light up. It was like a new language, like thieves' cant, something secret and magic.

He'd spent hours asking about colors and being confused and rightfully embarrassed by more than a few of the answers. Some sounded better than others, some made his face flush. At the end of the day he felt better than he had in ages and he had the courage to go back home to Wayne.

Before he got back on a bus he stopped into a second hand shop and grabbed the first black bandana he could find. He debated the whole ride home which side to put it on. When he walked back up to the trailer door ready to apologize, it hung proudly out of his back left.

--

Eddie had let Steve wear it home and it was killing him, but they had stayed out late and he half forgot anyways, and Steve's hair did look pretty cute pushed back like that. Steve had promised to give it back anyways, and Eddie trusted him fully.

He just also really, really, really wanted it back as soon as possible.

So for once he got up before noon (barely- just after eleven,)  and made his way to Family Video and hopped Steve had left it in his car or something so that he could get it back then and there.

What he wasn't expecting was to walk in and see Steve bent over behind the counter with the damn thing hanging out of his right pocket, as if he had any goddamn idea what that meant.

Eddie nearly had a heart attack and was thankful the store was empty like it always was so he could sprint over, jump the counter and yank the thing out of his pocket immediately.

"What do you think you're doing wearing it like that?!"

Steve had barely registered the jingle from the door, let alone Eddie launching himself at him, and was thoroughly surprised to say the least, nearly knocking over a display as he reacted.

"Hey!  Jesus man- you can't be- what's the big deal??? That's exactly how you wear it all the time- I was just keeping it safe til I saw you again,"

He stared at Eddie properly confused, a little on guard still from how suddenly he had leapt over and how worked up he seemed.

Eddie took a deep breath and sighed, folding the bandana up in his hands and just holding it for a moment, debating what to tell Steve.

After a second Steve makes this little head movement like 'well? go on?' clearly waiting for an explanation and Eddie rolls his eyes and sighs.

"It's- Look, Stevie, you can't wear it like that, you're not- I mean it's. It's like- a symbol, okay?"

Steve leans on the counter and frowns, confused.

"A symbol?"

"Yes- yeah, like- like those little cross necklaces moms wear or Dustin's star wars shirts. They're symbols....for the same kind of people to pick up on,"

He struggles with the words, trying hard to insinuate just enough without giving it all away, still hesitantly afraid of Steve's reaction.

But Steve just looks thoughtful. Nodding a little, putting a finger to his lip as the gears turn.

"So- okay, what's it symbolize then?"

He'd been hoping Steve wouldn't make it that far.

"It's- uh. It's really not..."

Steve stares, "Man I'm not gonna judge you- just- why's it such a big deal that I can't wear it like that too?"

Eddie can't help but laugh, "If anyone who knows what it means saw YOU with it- you would- no, you'd set yourself on fire I'm sure of it,"

He shakes his head, holding the bandana tighter in his fists.

Steve only frowns though, "Eds, what's it mean? If you don't tell me I'll just get my own and wear it until someone else does,"

Eddie looks mildly terrified by the idea but laughs at it all the same. "No- No, god do not do that Harrington-"

"Then tell me,"

"I can't, it's really-"

"Eddie, I'm gonna steal it back,"

And he does, reaches for the bandana in his hands as Eddie pulls away, the two of them starting to bicker and wrestle for it, each equally stubborn until the point that Steve actually does manage to grab it.

The tension gets to him and Eddie can't help it anymore, he just blurts, "It means I'm gay, Steve!"

It makes Steve pause and Eddie uses the moment to grab it back and quickly shove it in his back pocket again, blushing furiously and hoping Steve doesn't take it too badly.

Steve's mouth opens a little to say something in response, but the door jingles and his head snaps to it, Eddie instantly hitting the floor because he's still behind the counter where he most certainly should not be.

A man comes in and asks where the new releases are and Steve happily helps him, leaving Eddie plenty of time to crawl out from behind the counter and sneak out. He almost gets away with it too, but the door opens again, jingles and Steve twists his head.

"Eddie, wait- We're not done- I'll talk to you about this later!"

Eddie doesn't look back at him as he runs out the door past Robin who had been bringing lunch back for her and Steve. She tries to greet him but he just blurts "Gotta go, Buckley," and darts past.

If he'd looked back he would have noticed how red Steve's face was. Part 2

[autismcatboy]

i hear the sunspot is a story about being human first, disabled second and a bl third. it doesnt flow like a bl and has very brief moments of romance because its not intended to be read/watched a romance.

the mangaka did not write it as a BL because she herself wasnt even familiar with it as a genre until after she started publishing. she was writing a story that just happens to also feature queer romance.

the live drama is not going to end with them getting together. its an adaption of just one series within the story and even at the most current series, they only barely got together.

the story is not unrealistic in how it handles communication (or lack thereof). its a lot easier to judge characters (and people in real life) when you think you have all the pieces, but the reality is we know very little about how others truly feel and when you have a lot going on and pulling you in different directions, its hard to know it yourself.

continued below the cut, spoiler free.

taichi and kohei are busy adults. between work/school, family and personal health, they dont have a lot of free time. many people dont have ways to contact friends they made in school because usually, you just see each other and dont think about exchanging contact information until later.

exchanging contact information is a bigger step to take in japan compared to places like the us. taichi uses a flip phone until hes pushed to get a smartphone after it breaks. data plans are expensive and many are selective about when and how they use them, and chatting apps like line are usually the main form of communication method. many people in the us dont like to give out their number or social media (which is also a feature of line) to people they know, like coworkers or classmates.

theres some pretty big assumptions about japanese culture and what its like to be a young adult by fans watching the drama that, in my opinion, just arent realistic. you're thinking like a bl fan and not like what people actually do in real life.

i hear the sunspot is a story about navigating the awkward, the hardships, fumbling and coming to terms with the things we may not like about ourselves. this isnt just about being disabled. able bodied, fully healthy people have things they dont like, push off and ignore. we see this in taichi, and how he continues to push that hes happy, nothing is wrong, he's just a big goofball and doesn't have anything below the surface and a lot of you have fallen for it.

relationships rarely go "we met, we fell in love, and now we are together and everything is perfect with only mild and entertaining drama." in fact id say they almost never do. people get scared to get close to other people, people dont think about if their feelings are romantic love or not when theyve never considered they might be gay. people get busy and distract themselves from addressing the things theyre not ready to look at and understand. all of these things happen much more often and often subconsciously, too.

people are mean and bullheaded when they feel like their comfort zone is threatened. people *run* when they feel like their status quo might change and they dont know what that will look like.

its easy to say someone is being ridiculous when you dont have their full story or dont stop to consider their circumstances. will it be different from how you'd react? absolutely. you lived a different life and had different experiences shape who you are.

but its equally as ridiculous to assume you know exactly how you'd react better than someone in their situation. no one is perfect, and definitely not 20 something year olds figuring out how to be adults after tough moments completely changed their childhoods. your early 20s, especially, is about thinking youre an adult and realizing just how little you know about adulthood. its easy to look back on when i was taichi and kohei's ages and say "oh there is a /lot/ that i fucked up with and couldve done better".

i hear the sunspot is about being human. the mistakes, the drama, the pain and the laughter. it happens to also have a gay love story but its not written to *be* a gay love story or even to be any love story in the first place.

if youre not willing to wait, and consider all the troubles that come before and during their relationship, this is not the story for you. save yourself the time, its got a long way to go. maybe come back in a few more years and see if the story resonates differently.

theyre not going to dive right into a relationship when they still barely know themselves.

[searchingforgravity]

Graceland Experience - PART 10

Fandom: Elvis/Elvis (2022)

Prompt: You are more confused than ever before when you find something you can't explain. You wonder if you will ever get back to your own time, or if you are forever destined to live in the past.

TW: Kissing, mentions of unwanted sexual activity, brief sex, smut

Rating: Mature

Word Count: ~4000

A/N: Sorry for the long wait with this one! I hope you guys enjoy!

"A beam expanding in a straight line could travel several miles before the Earth’s curvature made the surface fall away from it sufficiently to prevent further damage, and then it would be ten feet across. After that, flashing emptily into space, expanding and weakening, a queer strain in the fabric of the cosmos."

Well, this book won't seem to be of much help to you. Sighing, you close the book as you lean against a tree outside. You've just started reading Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov, but it seems you'll have more luck with The Sound of Thunder. This book starts of with a scientist and his apprentice accidentally creating a whole in space and time with chemicals. That is not how you got here, at least you don't think so.

Looking back to the Graceland house, you admire its beauty. You still haven't fully accepted that you're here. Or that you drunkenly hooked up with Elvis last night. The more you think about last night, the more you question if it was a good decision or not.

Was Sonny just being jealous this morning, did last night not mean anything to Elvis? You aren't sure, but you decide that's not what's important right now. Looking back into the yard, you gaze at the stables in thought. How in the world are you going to get back home?

Maybe Elvis could help you get back...but how? You've explained to him how you just kind of showed up here on his couch. Maybe it was a chemical thing, maybe the couch is the key to getting back. Maybe there was some sort of electric charge that happened when you sat down that forced you back to 1961...

You sigh in frustration. You face the fact that you just don't know how you've gotten here, and maybe you never will.

"Hey, how's it goin' out here?" a voice calls suddenly, causing you to nearly jump out of your skin as your hands move to hide your book before realizing it's just Elvis.

"You scared me," you breathe, your clutch on the book loosening.

Elvis chuckles as he comes to sit beside you, his body heat instantly making you feel less anxious. Safer.

He hums as he lightly grips the book in your hand, causing you to release it.

"Any luck with this book?"

You sigh.

"Nope. Just a scientist figuring out time travel through chemicals. I don't think that's how I got here."

He opens it as his brow furrows thoughtfully, reading the same passage you did.

"Yeah, I agree with you there," he hums as he turns the book over in his hands in thought.

You look out in the yard, feeling the late summer breeze on your face, glancing over at the stables. The grass is a vibrant green around it as you imagine what the grand horses look inside. Your mind is taken back to when you watched Elvis mount the horse from your room. How beautiful he had looked.

"I spoke to Sonny," Elvis says suddenly, pulling you out of your thoughts before you could get to wrapped up in them.

You turn your head back to him, searching his face.

"What happened?"

He hesitates for a moment, and your heart sinks. You search his face for any signs of a fight but couldn't find any. Elvis sees you searching him and waves his hand, dismissing your concern.

"It wasn't like that, we didn't fight or nothin'. But...well did you know he liked you so much?"

A shock runs through you like a lightning bolt. Your brows furrow as you can only imagine what Sonny had said to Elvis.

"I thought he might've liked me a little bit, but he never told me he did. He didn't try to make a move on me or anything."

"And you didn't- uh..." he starts, but is finding it difficult to finish his thought.

His face flushes slightly as he looks away from you for a moment.

"I didn't what?" you encourage, your curiosity peaking.

"Well, uh- you never...did you ever like Sonny?"

You're taken aback by this.

"You think I like Sonny?" you question, disbelief evident in your voice.

He instantly backtracks.

"Well, no! I mean, it's just that- you know Sonny's not a bad lookin' guy and- and he you know got you that gift and everything. He said he thought or maybe he hoped that you'd liked him," Elvis rambles, his hand coming to toy with a button on his shirt.

"I don't like Sonny, Elvis. I wasn't even planning to like you."

It comes out harsher than you intend it too, but it's the truth. You're kicking yourself for getting yourself caught in a situation with Elvis, but if you're being completely honest, you don't see a timeline where you wouldn't become involved with him given the opportunity.

"So you do like me, do you?" he questions, a small smirk appearing on his face, his embarrassment disappearing as it's replaced with a certain smugness.

"I think last night proved that well enough," you groan in feigned exasperation, waving away his cocky smile.

He hums.

"Oh, I'm not too sure, darlin'. I might need a little reminder. I can get a little insecure sometimes, you know?" he breathes as he inches his body closer to yours, turning so he faces you.

A warmth spreads down your body as he leans in, his eyes softening on yours before looking down to your lips. Reaching his hand out, he caresses your cheek and you lean into it, savouring the feeling. You feel his warm breath washing over your face, causing you to relax further as you lean into him.

"Remind me, honey," he mumbles, his lips centimeters away from yours, you can feel the buzz of electricity between them.

Your mouth opens slightly as a sigh tumbles from you. Leaning forward the slightest bit, your lips connect with his. You release a small sound of pleasure as you feel his warm, soft lips press up against yours, slow and sensual. He hums lowly as he presses his lips to yours with more intent, his body inching all the more closer as his hands come to thread through your hair, grasping your head gently to keep you from pulling away.

"It's startin' to come back to me," he groans, causing you to scoff playfully, pulling him back in for another kiss.

His hands leave your head as he roams them down your body, feeling the smooth fabric of your dress before landing on your hips, giving them a soft squeeze. Sighing into his mouth, you lean into his further, your tongue licking his bottom lip as you ask for entrance.

He instantly lets you into, groaning when he feels your tongue connect with his. Unlike last night, he lets you explore him, allowing you to take control of the kiss as he gives you access to himself. You don't think you will ever get tired of his taste on your tongue as it dances slowly with yours.

You feel yourself warming as the two of you continue, his hands coming back up to your face, slipping his tongue into your mouth now as you move closer, pressing him up against the tree as you move to sit on him, your head spinning. He moans.

"Mhh, be careful. I might have to take you to my room," he grunts, his hips lifting up to meet yours.

Your about to respond as you pull away, your cheeks flushed. You're about to say maybe he should, when out of the corner of your eye, something grabs your attention. Looking to a spot against the tree, your brows furrow. Then your blood runs cold. You pull away from Elvis, shock running through your system.

"Baby, what? Did I say somethin' wrong?" he questions, confusion on his face as he looks to you.

You shake your head, your eyes stuck on the spot on the tree.

"Elvis, look."

He follows your gaze as he turns, looking at the tree. At first, his brows furrow in puzzlement, not understanding what it is he's looking at.

"When did you do that?" he asks, looking back to you.

You heart feels like it's in your throat. There, etched into the tree is your name in bold capital letters, like a message. It doesn't look fresh, it looks like it had been there for at least a few years. Maybe longer. And it's your handwriting.

---

Bringing you inside, he tries to calm you down. Not much is helping as you sit on a chair in his room. You keep getting up, and pacing before sitting back down.

"Honey, I'm sure we can come to some sort of explanation."

"How?" you question, your gaze meeting his.

"Well, maybe there was someone else who lived here by that name years ago."

You shake your head.

"Elvis...it's my handwriting."

At this, he doesn't say anything. He can't argue with that. The slope of your lines in the wood, however old and weathered, were indeed in the same style you write. There was no denying you had written that on the tree. But How? And how long had it been there?

"Alright, well let's not freak out yet. We can-we'll figure this out," he says, but his usual confidence fails him.

"How is this even possible? I mean, that was written years ago. How can we figure this out, I don't even know what's going on!" your voice raises, fear striking you.

Would you ever make it back to your own time or will you be trapped in the past, and maybe go back further in the past? You don't even know what to think with this information.

"(Y/N), you're gonna hafta lower your voice," Elvis states, his voice dropping.

"Why?? Because I'm being hysterical? Well, I'm sorry but I have no idea what I just saw-" you start, a defensiveness creeping into your voice before he interjects.

"No! Because Sonny is in the house, that's why!" Elvis hisses, bringing you back to reality.

Shit. You've become so wrapped up in your own thoughts, you forgot that someone might hear you.

"Oh yeah, sorry," you say sheepishly as you sit back down on the chair, your eyes closing in contemplation.

You hear him sigh as he makes his way over to you, sitting on the chair opposite yours. Leaning forward in his seat, he takes your hands in his, causing you to open your eyes, looking to him for support. You need him to tell you something, anything to help you feel better.

"Right now, we don't know what it means, but if we freak out about it, that won't get us anywhere, right? So we just need to take a minute and relax."

You nod your head as you let a sigh tumble from your lips. He's right, you can't keep freaking out over everything that happens. Maybe you seeing this is a good thing. Future you must've figured out something in order to travel back in the past. At least it's not a step backwards.

At seeing you calm down a bit, he brings your hand up to his lips, kissing it affectionately.

"Good, now what do you say we relax a little bit? We can think about this crazy stuff tomorrow. I'm sure not much will change in a day," he chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

You agree, but you aren't so sure about not much changing. You have no idea how long that tree was bear outside before your name appeared, etching into it with big, ominous letters.

---

"Oh (y/n), don't stop. That feels real nice sweetheart. I told ya' Elvis couldn't fuck you like me," Sonny groans, his eyes closed in ecstasy.

You find yourself sitting on top of Sonny, he cock out of view inside you. Bile creeps up in your stomach as you try to get off of him. You're body only latches onto him more, moving up and down on him swiftly. Your face contorts in disgust as you press against his chest, trying to push him away from you.

"Did you ever find that letter?" he groans, his hands coming to guide your hips on him.

Before you have time to question what he means, you lurch forward in bed, a cold sweat covering you. Elvis immediately stirs awake beside you, turning to face you.

"What's wrong, honey? Is it a nightmare?" Elvis croaks, his eyes opening as he tries to adjust to the darkness.

You are disoriented as it takes you a moment to remember where you are. After you and Elvis had a talk about the tree, you relaxed with him that day, ordering dinner and watching movies. He asked you to spend the night in his room with him. You said yes.

"Yes, God I'm sorry," you groan, the dream flooding your mind as you try to rid yourself of Sonny's face.

"What was it about?" he murmurs, his hands feeling for you blindly.

You hesitate as you allow him to wrap his arms around you, his lips searching yours as he pulls you back to lay down, leaving a soft peck on your lips.

"I don't remember," you lie after a long moment of silence.

His hand comes to smooth out your hair as he leaves a small kiss on your forehead. You're not sure how Elvis would react to you having a sex dream about Sonny, even if it had been a nightmare. You imagine nothing good would come out of you telling him. He doesn't push you on the subject as his arms come to wrap around your waist.

"I'm sorry baby, I wish you didn't have so many nightmares," he hums, sympathy lacing his voice as he waits for you to get comfortable in his arms.

"It's okay. I wish it would stop happening," you sigh your hands coming to thread through his hair, finding comfort in the action as he sighs softly.

"Let me hold you a while," he murmurs, sleep suddenly riddling his voice as you imagine how tired he is.

You turn around in his arms as he glues his chest to your back, his hand brushing the hair from your neck so he can leave a gentle kiss on it. You sigh as you lean back into him, trying to get comfortable.

He hums softly as he snuggles his face into your hair.

"I'm not gonna let anything happen to ya', you know that right?" he murmurs, the words getting lost in your hair.

"Okay," you whisper, weaker than you intend as you lace your fingers through his.

Bringing your hand to his lips, he gently kisses your hand. Looking into the dark room, you listen as his breathing pattern becomes slower, until he starts snoring softly. You only wish it could be that easy for you. As you look into the darkness, a lump starts to form in your throat. Why is this happening?

You snuggle your body back into his, trying to get some sleep, but you get the feeling you won't be getting much of it.

---

Waking up in the morning, you are surprised you were able to fall back to sleep. Stretching, you look over to see Elvis still sleeping, a peaceful expression on his face as his palm rests on his chest, his other reaching out in your direction. You admire his face as you scoot closer to him, his outstretched arm instantly wrapping around you. You smile as you see his eye flutter open at your movements, instantly looking into yours.

"Good morning," you breathe, snuggling into him further.

He smiles.

"Good morning, sweet heart. Were you able to get some sleep last night?" he rasps, his morning voice causing a warm feeling to surround you.

His grip tightens around you.

"Yeah, I got a little sleep," you nod, your eyes traveling to his lips as he moistens them with his tongue.

"That's good to hear, baby," he mumbles, his eyes drooping as he looks down at you.

He looks at your lips before dipping his eyes down to your chest which is pressed up against him. You don't have to read his mind to know what he's thinking about. He shifts on the bed as he looks up to your eyes again.

"It's nice to have you in my bed," he mumbles softly, his hands coming to cup your face and his lips dip down to yours, kissing you softly.

You hum into the kiss as you lean into him, a pooling quickly forming in your core.

“It’s nice being in your bed,” you respond, your hands roaming his body before softly landing on his bare chest, feeling his body react to your touch.

“You like being in my bed do you?” He mumbles, that smirk forming on his face. “I wonder if there’s anything else you would enjoy doing with me…in my bed.”

You hum in thought.

“I can think of a few things.”

He laughs softly, his grip tightening on your face before pulling you to him, his lips connecting with yours. He kisses you slow and sensually, with intent. You sigh into the kiss as you bring yourself closer to him, softly licking his bottom lip as you ask for entrance.

Immediately he opens his mouth to you. As your tongue makes its way into his mouth, the kiss is unlike the ones yesterday. This time, he let’s you take the lead as you explore him, your tongue swirling around his with curiosity. He groans as his hands Travel their way down to your waist.

Wanting to be closer to him, you move your body as you sit on him, your core coming to rest on top of his growing erection. Cautiously, your swirl your hips around him, earning a groan from his lips as he brings his hands from your waist to rest on your thighs.

Grinding down on him again, a small whine erupts from you as his erection brushes against your clit in such a way it has you breaking the kiss, your head coming to rest on his shoulder.

“Tell me what makes you feel good, baby. I wanna hear you make that sound again,” he groans, his hips coming to meet yours as you grind on him once more.

You blush. Never had a man you’d been with put in the amount of effort to make you feel good that Elvis has, just by asking you what you like in bed. You’re not sure how to respond. He notes your hesitation.

“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t I try a few things, and you tell me what feels good for you,” he suggests, the rasp in his voice going straight to your core.

“Okay,” you whisper, breathless.

Bringing his hands back to your face, he leans up in bed, capturing your lips in his once more. You sigh at the taste of him. Humming, he gently works his tongue into your mouth, swirling his tongue around your slowly, with intent. You moan quietly.

After a moment of this, his tongue retreats back into his mouth, his teeth biting on your bottom lip softly, tugging. You moan louder as you grind down on him again, the feeling adding to the wetness in your panties.

“Did you like that?” He mumbles breathlessly, his lips coming to kiss your cheek.

“Yes, I liked the biting,” you whisper, your cheeks flushing at the admission.

He hums quietly at this.

“Good girl.”

The comment goes straight to your core. Your a little embarrassed with how turned on you are, you’re not sure why. Hiding your face in his neck, you kiss it softly. His hands find their way to your hair, leaning his neck into your lips as a sigh escapes his mouth.

“Does it make you feel good when I call you that?”

Your face feels like it’s on fire.

“Yes,” you mumble, the word getting lost on his neck.

He hums again as his hands travel down your back and to the front of your body, softly cupping your breasts. You grind on him again, and this time he meets your thrust, his erection having grown more prominent and a groan erupts from him. The sensation of his clothed cock has your eyes rolling back as you realize the only thing separating your bodies are yours and his underwear, your nightgown having ridden up to your waist.

“I wanna try more, baby,” he grunts, his thumbs flicking your nipples, causing a sigh to escape your lips.

You pull your face out from his neck as you look at him, his eyes blazing with desire. You nod your head as you agree before he connects his lips to yours once more.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Tag List:

@horrorgirl4life @goldobsessionsworld @tantamount-treason @peaceloveelvis @father-of-2cats @sissylittlefeather @elvisalltheway101 @littlehoneyposts @atleastpleasetelephone @ccab @msamarican @presleyhearted

[shakespearean-dream]

TW!!! — blood, scarring and mild body horror ahead 🥲

benny’s turn!

before i start i wanna clarify i hesitated a bit on posting this because lovely mutual @vor-leser just posted his benny interpretation (go look at it and follow him btw), and idk if we like mind melded or smth but our human benny’s are super similar LOL. i damn near scrapped the whole thing out of fear someone would get mad at me but i Would Not be able to start over and get this done ever so this is as good as we’re gonna get. 😭 my apologies niko love u /p

this has been like a full 7 days in the making 😭😭 the art block that i felt coming on while doing ellen and ted hit me like an optimus prime sized semi truck this week along with a depressive episode so i definitely appreciate that happening and i am not upset about it at all! /s i’m totally good so don’t worry or anything /gen, mental health is just weird and i also wanted to explain the gap in my posts 😔

i do not know how to feel about this drawing if i’m so fr with you; i’m proud of myself for AM-ified benny cause i think i got the slowly rotting from the inside out primal freak energy down pretty good, but on the other hand this feels kinda empty?? i usually have a lot more commentary squished in here but i think my brain’s a little fried 🤦‍♂️ i love drawing me some beautiful buff men though so drawing normal ben was familiar territory. however his wack ass haircut i gave him is his punishment for being a PRICK!!! go sit in the corner and think about ur actions benjamin.

like ted n the rest of the sillies i’m not straying too far from canon with his personality, he’s an ass and a murderer and a hella smart dickhead who desperately needs to be punished by the universe (thank you for that one AM). hot take i did not like his “redemption arc” in his game scenario and i don’t think with how he was throughout the entirety of his life (and also throughout the game, main example his inner dialogue) he would actually go out of his way to help the kid because he means it??? n prove he changed to the guys he killed cause he means it??? i dunno maybe AM torturing him made him have a main character “omg i’ve been in the wrong this whole time!!1” moment like the game suggests i’m just not buying it 💀 i’m sure it’s just cause bennys scenario couldn’t be too long and they couldn’t fully flesh him out which i won’t fault the game makers for. i’m a steven universe fan, i know what time constrictions can do to a plot and redemption arc 😭 looking at you white diamond…

his wife n kids are up top and they’re kinda neat to me— i was considering the hc that part of the reason manya (his canon wife) left him is because she realized she was a lesbian which would be funny as fuck considering benny’s also One Of Them Queers 😭. i think during the brief times he was home and able to parent his daughters they got really scared and tired of him, one because he’s just a very threatening powerful and overbearing man, but also because i feel like he would’ve been on their ASS about everything. grades, extracurriculars, friends, wardrobe, this guy was micromanaging his family to an annoying extreme (ofc because of his perfectionist complex). he probably loved manya and the kids in his own weird way, but it was more contractual to him than any real personal relationship. maybe he inherited that from his own parents?? i doubt he ever talked to them after he moved out.

that’s about the end of my thoughts on this fucker. 🥲 funny storyyyy i just remembered i have laundry to finish so im gonna go do that, lord help me. thank you for reading all this if you did!!!!! we’re over halfway through so who do yall want next? wanna save AM or nimdok for last? i’ll see u guys later :]]]

[imadhatt3r]

I've been trying to nail down what exactly Aoba's problem with Koujaku's fangirls is. It's not like he feels emasculated by not having a gaggle of girls following him around- Aoba actively doesn't want to draw attention to himself; Rather, I believe that it's something slightly different: he's jealous.

Aoba always seems annoyed by the way they crowd Koujaku whenever he's working, how they throw themselves at him, how they invite him on dates... Because he want to be like that too, but he can't. He wants to be someone that Koujaku pays this romantic attention to, he wants to tell him about how cool he thinks he is, how much he means to him... But he can't. Aoba's very private, unassuming, and has much too much restraint to do something like this. He feels annoyance towards these girls, maybe even anger sometimes, because they get to do all the things he wants to do, and the worst part is that it works- they're the ones who get Koujaku's attention, affection, and time.

And sure, Aoba knows sides of Koujaku that nobody else does, so he takes refuge in that; He might not get the kind of attention he wants, but he gets a special kind of it that only the two of them share. I think that's the part of the reason as to why he was so shaken up by the Platinum Jail situation- because he realized that the bond they share might be a lie, and that he doesn't know Koujaku after all- so the fleeting tenderness they shared untill now might've been a lie after all too.

This sense of inadequacy doesn't even go away after they start dating. In the re:connect scene, Aoba mulls over how he still has a suspicion that Koujaku is inviting clients to his house. He also thinks about how the fangirls would eat him alive if they found out that Koujaku's dating him, like he is somehow a worse pick than any of the women who are infatuated with Koujaku. Among his reasons he lists his gender, which opens up a whole can of worms on how queer people are treated in-universe. We don’t see any overt queerphobia, but there clearly is some sort of a difference in how queer vs cishet relationships are treated if Aoba sees his gender as a reason he might be a "worse" pick. It's hard to say how much of it is based in actual in-universe queerphobia, and how much it's just something Aoba's blowing out of proportions due to his anxiety. I think that it's more of a "he could've had a normal, more standard/traditional life with a woman" kind of thing.

I think that he mostly just needed time, as in the drama CD that takes place after re:connect he approaches the fangirls more like mild inconveniences, and not reasons to put himself down. Perhaps he finally saw that Koujaku was serious about him and he started to trust him more as a romantic partner?

I guess I just like this slight background arc Aoba has in this route. It's presented at first as if he's annoyed about Koujaku being a flirt, but really, it's just more that he wants Koujaku for himself, and he doesn't like the idea of sharing him with anyone else, even if he isn't fully aware of it.

[spicybylerpolls]

It's a shame how guarded the fandom is regarding sex. First and foremost because sex, and specifically shame around sex, is heavily, heavily tied to Mike and Will's story.

If Lucas can have a 69 sign above his head while he's sleeping, why is it so hard to believe Mike and Will are having sexual dreams about each other? Especially if you ship them and acknowledge the 69 sign was obviously signaling a sexual dream?

If Lucas can have a reference to dirty magazines under his bed, why is it so hard to believe Mike and Will also have dirty magazines hidden around their bedroom?

If Dustin can have a reference to masturbation, why is it so hard to believe Mike and Will are also interested in masturbation as well?

They specifically put these references in the other, ORIGINAL, party members, who are the same age as Mike and Will, while also including references for them too (that people just can't accept), signaling all these boys are starting to think about sex. The difference is, Lucas and Dustin don't have any shame surrounding who they're attracted to.

I don't know about you (however I imagine this is a common experience for many queer people) but before I accepted that I was attracted to the same sex, I'd constantly find myself watching the women in porn and consciously trying to focus on the man. I'd tell myself things like "oh - you're just interested in how your body will look when you're older" or "oh - it's normal when you watch porn" etc - basically anything to reaffirm that I wasn't gay. And this is all between ages 13-16.

This is exactly how I see Mike, specifically. Starting to notice his attraction to men but consciously repressing it, telling himself he's normal and it doesn't mean anything. And I think people forget (or maybe just feel uncomfortable talking about) this part - that the sexual attraction, the shame in the sexual attraction, is a huge, huge part of realizing you're queer and coming-of-age as a queer person.

And that's why Mike doesn't want to hug Will at the airport (or a big part of it). It feels awkward, even if he doesn't know why. It feels awkward because he feels ashamed for liking Will. I mean the first shot we get of Mike setting eyes on Will in Season 4 is of him looking at Will's chest and then quickly averting his eyes. This tells us everything we need to know - Mike is attracted to Will, feels ashamed about it and doesn't want anyone to know (or likely doesn't even fully understand it himself, but at the very least, knows it's not "right").

Point being, his shame surrounding specifically his sexual attraction to men is one of his biggest issues and failing to talk about it is a HUGE DISSERVICE to his character!

It also does a huge disservice to Will's character, too. The repercussions of this shame, a lot of the time, is Will's situation - not having your first kiss, all of your friends growing up before you, hating yourself because you have a crush on your best friend. All because he's romantically AND sexually attracted to men. This is what Will's thinking. If he wasn't such a freak, if he didn't want to kiss boys, if he wasn't starting to feel sexually attracted to men, then everything would be so much easier. He wouldn't feel like such a mistake.

This is why I think they'll absolutely have a sex scene in S5 and also why I think it will be explicit. I previously thought it'd likely be implied and that that'd be enough but I don't see it the same anymore. Now, I don't think this means it has to be racy, obviously, but just that the audience would see some of it. Quite frankly, doing an implied sex scene, while I wouldn't be dissatisfied, is a disservice to the story.

See, with Jancy, the implied sex scene works. The tension between these two characters has been building for a season and a half and we know they want to have sex. We don't have to see it, we just need to know that they do.

But with Mike and Will? That's not the case at all.

First of all, the tension has been building for 5 seasons, which is the entire series. An implied sex scene would ultimately be a tame ending to this storyline.

Second, Mike and Will specifically feel shame about this act, Jonathan and Nancy don't. We don't need to see their reaction but we need to see Mike and Will's reactions because it completes their characters. Because they have felt shame about this specific thing, not showing them feeling comfortable doing this, with each other, would be incomplete.

Third, think about Steve and Nancy's sex scene - we're shown it specifically because Nancy feels uncomfortable.

Ultimately, there's no need to show Jonathan and Nancy having sex because there's nothing left unresolved. That's what the Duffers actually get right - only showing a sex scene when it's important for the narrative and for the characters. Even Hopper and Joyce point to this, despite them being the oldest characters and the most suitable to have an explicit sex scene, opposed to Steve and Nancy. That's because there's nothing else to tell us about Joyce and Hopper through this sex scene - we know they love each other. I don't see why the Duffers would break this pattern now.

And well, even if you don't want the scene, I don't see how you could argue that the moment Mike and Will decide to have sex isn't extremely important for their characters and would tell us A LOT about how they both feel, especially Mike seeing as we don't get his perspective.

You could argue the kiss would suffice but... does it? A kiss isn't really... sexual. And Romantic, sure. But this wouldn't address the shame they specifically feel about sex. Mike starting to cry while having sex with Will tells us so much more about his character than him crying while kissing Will.

Kissing is also a thing children do. Ending a 5 season, 9 year long coming-of-age project, with two characters who have fought inter-dimensional monsters that quite literally represent their shame, simply kissing? Something we've already seen one of these characters do, multiple, multiple times?

Okay, I guess.

Anyway, I know a lot of these points have already been made, and that this was really long, but I just wanted to say them again because it upsets me so much, especially during rewatch when I see all the themes right in front of me. And I know it upsets other people, other young adults, too. Seeing this experience represented so accurately - one that you might even still feel shame about, one that you went through not too long ago - and not even being able to discuss it openly in the fandom, is sad. Being called a freak or a pedophile for simply suggesting that sex is important here and the Duffers are telling us so. Sex... the thing that literally created us all. And that almost everyone starts thinking about between the ages of 13-14.

Sigh. At least we have this blog. Thank you for that. 🫶🏼

[ingravinoveritas]

After seeing all those stories of Georgia going shopping with David (I'm honestly surprised that David knows how to drive, I don't know why), I think David is fed up with so much video.

@electronic-chocolate @victorianlonging Okay, so...I have indeed seen all of the stories that are referenced here, and I think a couple of things can be true at the same time. But let's first get the visual up for anyone who hasn't seen it (all in one video, for ease of viewing):

The first thought that I had is how reminiscent this was of what we've seen recently, with Georgia filming David when he seemingly really doesn't want to be filmed (such as at that festival last month).

What also came to mind is something I think at least several of us thought of (if my DMs are any indication), which is that David is clearly, visibly annoyed. There's no real way to not notice it, with him looking incredulous in the car (though I did laugh when he said "I'm not dressed for this," given how adorable he looked without even realizing it), and then when she sets the tone by immediately using the word "content." There's no question that that's what the objective of this was: To have content of/with David that Georgia could post to garner attention.

Once they're in the store, we see him balling up the shopping bags in his hands, which to me came across as a sign of anxiety. And given how non-confrontational we know David is, it's almost amazing to hear him respond to Georgia's "Say hi!" with an immediate "Nope." And the whole thing sort of becomes what you might call a self-narrating zoo exhibit (or "self-paparazzi," as I recently heard someone aptly describe it) where David is literally just trying to shop for groceries while Georgia is sticking a camera in his face.

We also notice that at one point, David is recognized by some fans and stops to take a picture with them, which when you think about it is likely a regular occurrence, since he has one of the most famous faces in the country. But because that is the case, you'd also think he would feel a sense of relief when those interactions are over and he no longer has to be "on"...until he goes back to Georgia and she is filming him. And as good-natured as David is, there's no doubt that it must get a little tiring after a while.

All that said--and in the interest of providing a balanced perspective--it is possible that David was playing things up, to an extent, and perhaps even exaggerating some of the annoyance that we saw. And there was something else about this that stood out to me, and that deserves discussion: His shoes...

Yes, David was wearing gay pride Doc Martens. GAY PRIDE BOOTS, ladies and gentlemen and those of other gender persuasions. And when we realize this is the case, everything about this vlog/series of stories starts to gets very interesting. Because while the shoes were by no means the focal point of the Insta stories, Georgia had to know that David's eagle-eyed fans would clock them right away. And clock them they did (and I also noticed this pair of Pride-themed Doc Martens, and would not be at all surprised to learn that David owns a pair of those as well).

Leaving aside the fact that no straight man on this Earth--no matter how strong an ally--would wear those boots (I mean...come on), I almost saw this as a callback/follow up to Georgia's story from a few months ago where she appeared to use "their" pronouns when talking about David (rather than he/him). Much discussion was had at the time of this being a way to "test the waters" for David to start being more open about his sexuality/identity, and this almost feels like a continuation of that.

Having heard from queer followers of mine who are not fully out to their families/friends, it seems that it is not uncommon for folks in that position to wear things to drop little "hints" around people they are not ready to disclose to yet. And when you think about the number of "hints" from the last few months--the nonbinary pin, the pronoun Insta story, David getting emotional talking about Pride Month on that podcast, and now these new Insta stories wearing those boots--it makes you wonder if it's all building toward something.

Whatever the case may be, it's still difficult to overlook how uncomfortable David looked at times in those videos today--even if he was playing things up. For my part, I would genuinely rather never have Georgia post anything about David again than see him in her posts knowing that he is uncomfortable with it. I also agree that her hunger for content seems to be increasing, but I would also like to hope that if David did seriously ask Georgia to stop filming--for any reasons--that she would do so.

So I suppose we'll have to see what (if anything) this all leads to, and what will happen if/when she films him again. Happy as always to hear others' thoughts in the comments...

[imsogayyippee]

I saw someone post their marble hornets queer headcanons and I love talking about my sillies so I'll make a post like that too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :3333

i basically ship anyone and everyone here so. yeah (except for jay x women n shit yk what i mean)

(under the cut cause it's long as hell)

Alex Kralie

He's bisexual btw btw!! I think he'd have a preference for men but hes definitely had girlfriends. Amy was probably the longest lasting girlfriend he's had, they would have gotten together near the end of Alex shooting Marble Hornets after he broke up with Tim and then they break up when. well. Amy died in 2010. So they were dating for like 3+ years!!!!

I usually play around w his gender cause. he's so gender lets be so fr. But my main headcanon is that he's a trans man, MAYBE not fully (demiboy or smth like that) but the point is that he transitioned and presents masculine >.<

I think he might have had some weird not-quite-dating relationships w Jay and Brian in high school or beginning of college and also dated a few women, but the only serious relationships he's had are Tim and Amy. He knew both Jay and Brian in high school but he met Jay first and besides from "dating" both of them, I think Brian and Jay ended up actually dating each other near the end of high school.

He started dating Tim in college a while after Brian introduced them to each other. They grew close fairly quickly, and Alex helped Tim whenever he was like rlly sick from the operator sickness or whatever, and they eventually started dating. They didn't date for too long, only a few months until Alex started getting affected by the Operator. Shortly after they broke up, Alex started dating Amy and then that's when he moves to go to the same college as her.

If we were to talk about my dear beloved AU where him and Tim survive, then they would start dating some time after MH ended. Obviously not right after because I mean. Alex did kill most of his friends. But after maybe,,, somewhere between half a year to a year I think they'd realize they still have feelings for each other, and that said feelings are even stronger now that they only have each other left and that they have the mutual experience of everything they went through. GOD I could talk about them for hours I love them.

Brian Thomas

Honestly, I mostly see people headcanon him as bisexual or even straight (nothing wrong w that btw!!!!!) but personally I see him as gay lol. Idk, to me he'd have some women flirt w him and he wouldn't even notice because he just thinks they're being nice LOL I feel like even if they wouldnt date women, they would have very close women friends :3 Also kinda weird headcanon but I think him and Jessica would have dated before they transitioned, and then after transitioning Jessica figured out she liked women and Brian liked men lmao

I never really see others headcanon this but to me Brian is non-binary idk. He presents masculine and goes by he/they, but I think they'd be like,,,,,, non binary with a strong connection to masculinity if that makes sense?

Near the end of high school, he started dating Jay and this went on to college, but eventually Brian met Tim and started liking him, so they figured out some sort of polyamorous relationship where Brian (consensually ofc. i do NOT fw cheating) was dating both Jay and Tim :3333. Not long after, Tim also figured out that he liked Alex, and this turned into like,, jay dates brian who also dates tim who also dates alex (already clarified this but just in case THIS IS CONSENSUAL!!!! NOT CHEATING!!). Eventually, when Brian sort of like disappeared?* and Alex moved, the whole thing kinda fell apart lol.

*(tim mentions in entry 15 that he hasn't heard of brian in a while)

Jay Merrick

Obviously he's gay cause,,, well,, that's canon. He "dated" (weird flirty friendship who occasionally kiss but won't admit it) Alex in high school and then, kind of out of the mutual experience of having """dated""" Alex, him and Brian grew closer and started dating. This man was down BADDDD for Brian I know it. Bray is cute as hell idc IDC!!!!!!

Later on, during Marble Hornets, he dates Tim maybe since like,, around the time of entry 69 or something like that?? and until he. well. dies. Idrk if they ever labeled it as dating, but even if they didnt, deep down they knew they were dating lmao.

Jay is so trans man to me. I could also see some sort of like non-binary for him but to me he's mostly a trans man. I think he'd go by any pronouns except for she, I don't think he'd care much as long as people aren't referring to him as "she".

Also I feel like he'd be asexual or maybe demisexual idrk lol

Tim Wright

YAY!!!!!! THE SILLY >__<

He is gay to me. He's probably had a girlfriend at some point, but he quickly realized he did not like women in that way lol. He obviously didn't care much about any of this for a while cause he didn't really have the chance to figure this stuff out until like college, which is when he got out of the hospital. When he met Brian, he was not only the only friend he had, but also he was super nice. Like they were such a good friend. Because of this, they became best friends and eventually started dating. Some time after this, Tim met Alex through Brian and also kind of grew close to him, since Alex would be with him if he was having a bad (operator sickness) day and stuff, and eventually started dating him too. They broke up when Alex started acting like an asshole bc of the operator n shit, and then when Brian disappeared he was back to being alone :(.

He's such a trans man to me. I cannot see him as anything else I'm sorry. I think he also wouldn't really care about pronouns as long as it wasnt "she". He started transitioning when he started college, mostly with the help of Brian. I think the most he would have done in the hospital was cut his hair tbh.

Also hes asexual!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe demisexual/greysexual (I'm totally not projectinf. at all). Also he's demiromantic (guys I am not projecting I swear).

Jessica Locke

She's a lesbian btwwww. this is half canon but still!!!!!!!!!!!!! She used to think she was bisexual before transitioning but then realized she only liked women. She was dating Amy since the last year of high school and then Amy also started dating Alex in late 2006 (CONSENSUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). They stopped dating when Amy went missing in 2010 ☹️☹️.

I'm not gonna make headcanons of the comic characters since, even if I've read them, idk that much abt them, but Jessica also started dating Taylor after MH :3

Jessica is so MtF to me. if you even care. She goes by she/her and has been out since she was little :3

Amy Walters

She's pansexual :3333333 she's had both girlfriends and boyfriends throughout high school, but eventually started dating Jessica. Then, in late 2006 she also started dating Alex. She dated both of them until she died :(

To me she's also MtF :3 she goes by she/they ^_^

Sarah Reid

She literally only shows up once but idc!!!!!!!!

She's bisexual and hear me out. intersex. She goes by any pronouns but mostly she. I don't have any dating headcanons for her, maybe Seth?? Idk I've seen people ship that I think, I don't usually think about either of them😭. I feel like her and Tim would have really gotten along during the shooting of MH lol

Seth Wilson

He's bisexual :3 I feel like they'd be agender?? Idk why lol. He goes by any pronouns. I think maybe he would have dated Sarah, idk lol. I also feel like they'd be demiaroace or smth like that, and based off that for some reason I kinda like the headcanon that maybe Sarah was like a childhood friend? ^_^

---

I LOVE YAPPING!!! Sorry if any of the shipping doesn't make sense, I usually make different like,,, timelines for each ship instead of fitting them all together in the same one lmfao

[hhave-a-nice-day]

ripping my hair out screaming throwing up being spiderman as a metaphor for being queer the essay is writing itself okay okay okay. so the metaphor is more interpretation in the first one but not this time baby!!!!! they fully went into it okay okay listen. being spiderman means being queer. gwen doesn’t come out to her father because she fears rejection the same way that miles does. they both fear their parents asking why they “lied” to them about who they are which queer people sometimes get when they come out, that they have been hiding and lying to their loved ones. when gwen does come out she does not get a good response and therefore she runs away to be with more spider people (i e more queer people). miles has been feeling alone and once gwen is back he no longer feels like he’s alone and when he sees the life she gets to live with all these other queer people, he wants in. HOWEVER. his experiences of being queer are not the norm, they’re not what everyone else experiences, and he doesn’t want the experiences to be the same. he doesn’t want to be in pain and he doesn’t want others to be either. as a result, he’s shunned by the people who should be a part of his community and should be the ones to accept him no matter what. it could be argued that this is a metaphor for assimilationist queer and radical queers. the people who believe you have to fit in/suffer to be accepted and the people who are loud and angry and won’t stand for that. when gwen comes back it turns out that her father was going to accept her after he reflected and realized that she was more important than any preconceptions he had about her based on who she was (also do not get me started on the trans colors in the scene where she’s talking to her dad. something something trans (color) coding on a scene where a person demands respect and demands that the other person know that they are not a danger and simply doing their best to be good in a massive movie that many people are going to watch in the midst of horrifying anti trans violence i Will cry). as a result of realizing that they don’t need to conform and be what anyone tells them to be both inside their community and out, they create their own community where they can make the change that they need to. i think that’s most of what i have to say. i need to watch this movie several more times.

[prince-liest]

How did you figure out you're aromantic?

Oh, god, what a short question for such a long process, hahaha. First off, didn't figure it out until recently, age 27, but here was the approximate (and very truncated in the amount of internal conflict and introspection involved) step-by-step process:

Figured out I was queer in high school because I felt the same way about women as I did about men! Spent about 5 years thinking I was bisexual.

Figured out that I'm not actually attracted to men when I read a post describing the experience of compulsory heterosexuality and related with it intensely, which was a very freeing experience. Spent 6 years thinking I was a (nonbinary) lesbian!

Hooked up at parties a couple of times out of curiosity and then took up my best friend's offer to fuck and realized that I got the same amount of skin-crawling distaste about that as I did about sexual contact with men, thus realizing I was ace.

Let that domino tip over into the, "Actually, identifying as gay has for a long time given me the same anxiety as I used to feel when I thought I'd have to date a man, and also I'm 27 years old and have never, ever actually wanted to date another human being. When people ask me what my ideal partner is like, I start listing off ways in which they should not bother me or demand my time or be part of my life. Maybe I just don't want... anyone." domino, and the subsequent "I'M FREE!! (from trying to date women)" euphoria was identical to the "I'M FREE!! (from trying to date men)" euphoria, so.

That's where I'm at!

I'm a generally introspective person, but I'm also really great at gaslighting myself into ignoring my own discomfort, so largely it's been, haha, a diagnosis of exclusion. First I excluded men, then the discomfort with women grew large enough that I was able to exclude them as well. Reading about other people's experiences and realizing where they paralleled my own was immensely helpful! So was being close friends with a very poly person who slowly and fully unintentionally changed my perspective on how I view relationships in a very poly-and-relationship-anarchy-as-default way, which incidentally is extremely compatible with aroace queerplatonic ideals and definitely softened me up to be ready to accept that particular realization.

Also, please let this be a sign that just because you identify with one "thing" doesn't mean that you're committing to it forever! <3

[chirpsythismorning]

Will Won't Believe Mike Has Feelings For Him, Until Mike Unpacks EVERYTHING!

In season 2, almost every touch between byler was initiated by Mike. Literally two episodes in a row at the start of that season, the camera focuses on Mike wrapping his arm around Will's shoulder warmly, only for us to never see this gesture from Mike again until s4, except this time it's with El (feat. Will in the background).

This is important because it means Mike went from initiating touch with Will in the earlier seasons, to not initiating it in the later ones, and conveniently right after he started having a relationship with El.

After holding back from initiating any contact with Will all of s3 (the same season almost all contact between them was initiated by Will for the first time), it's not until the end of the season that Mike lets go of his ih right as Will is about to leave for California, falling into his arms.

And then it takes the literal apocalypse, at the very end of s4, for Mike to wholeheartedly initiate contact with Will again (after yet another season of Will initiating most).

And so it makes sense why Will would be confused.

Because at the end of s3, Mike gives him the impression that he didn't want Will to join another party, with Will basically admitting that was the whole point of him donating the dnd game, because joining another party would literally be impossible for him, so like what's the point?

Will's feelings aren't going away. Whether or not Mike feels the same, is beside the point. Will still wants to be in Mike's life as his friend and he would be ecstatic to be best friends like they used to, entirely platonically.

After all, Will used to attribute Mike's behavior in earlier seasons as platonic, whereas bylers arguably viewed it as romantic. So Will's idea of romantic vs. platonic may very well be different than Mike's (and perhaps ours).

We tend to view those gestures as romantic, especially because Mike went from being able to do them nonchalantly, to now looking like a deer in headlights any time Will so much as slightly grazes his arm.

This is why I think Mike and Will's personal experiences with ih intersect and overlap. It affects them both differently, and that's probably because they had their realizations at different times, but it’s also probably because it started in environments that don’t resemble the exact same circumstances and experiences.

I do think because of Lonnie and because of Will's experiences growing up being bullied, he is understandably scared of being a target and that will never go away, it never does for queer people. That trauma is deep for Will and it's why he can't stand up for El in s4 when it comes to the bullies. It's why he freezes. And yet, even still, he seems a lot more comfortable in being who he is in a way that I just don't think Mike is, at least not fully or to the extent Will is (yet).

And it's because they are at totally different stages of their journey, journeys that are going to look totally different even side by side, but still qualify as both being worthy enough for acknowledgment in the end.

I hate the whole excuse regarding the girl in Will's class, because we don't really get much context there. But I'm guessing that Will obviously knew this girl sort of well. They're sitting next to each other in class, and he's been going to this school for about 6 months, so I highly doubt they are strangers.

I also am assuming they talked enough that this girl felt compelled to flirt by playing footsy, as opposed to her just being attracted to him and doing it on a whim. That obviously doesn't excuse her touching him without his consent, but what I'm trying to say is that there are girls that have liked Will for who he is, after getting to know him, who want to get to know him more romantically and he's just.... not having it.

And so if Will was craving normalcy to the point where he wanted to appear straight, dating a girl that is fully interested in him is obviously one of the popular options a person might consider in that situation. And Will's had this opportunity. This was just one of at least 3 in canon occurrences where a girl implied, 'Hey. I'm interested' towards Will. Which means all he would have to do is play along and he could keep his sexuality locked down and ignore his true feelings, by pretending to be happy in a heterosexual relationship.

We even have an unnamed fourth girl in the mix, who Will doesn't even know exists. This girl exists solely to make Mike insecure about his and Will's relationship. Because in contrast to Will, and most people that don't have extreme cases of ih, Mike views romantic relationships as shutting out everyone else, and he's scared that now that Will might be interested in a girl and moving towards a romantic relationship, he's going to shut Mike out and he'll lose him for good.

But Will doesn't have that same level of denial or self-hatred that might lead one to pursue or even simply draw out an unromantic relationship, at least not anymore. You could try to argue that in s2 Will did because he gave in and danced with the girl (at Mike's insistence), but since then, nothing.

Will is the kind of person that is comfortable enough in his sexuality to literally be single for the rest of his life, contentedly, because that would mean he doesn't have to pretend to be someone he's not to fit society's expectations. He's not scared enough about the implications of not having a gf and what people would think of him as a result. He is who he is and he's accepted that part of himself.

Mike on the other hand, has lots of expectations of himself, that he's sort of forcing himself to obey and follow. And he's also well aware of the implications of everything he does, especially when it relates to Will. He hyper-focuses on his actions and it's why he can't be fully honest about how he feels, and this is because how he has been acting as of late, is mostly an act in and of itself. An act that protects him from exploring the truth about his sexuality. An act that allows him to ignore it all together.

Every time Will has confronted Mike about his inability to be a good friend like he used to be, it's literally coming from a platonic place, not from a place of Will expecting Mike to return his love.

That's the thing, he doesn't think Mike could ever love him because he thinks Mike is straight. But he also (unlike Mike) doesn't have fears about Mike viewing his behavior as romantic, he just has fears that Mike doesn't want him as a friend anymore.

And I think that's the difference between Will's ih and Mike's.

Because Mike's ih is attributed to how he's been taught to believe he must grow up and be a certain way, according to bs media propaganda and from his family, along with how all of those ideas impacted him internally, since he has no one to really talk about it with.

And while Will has experienced some heinous shit in regards to his perceived sexuality at an extremely young age (a lot of which Mike witnessed right beside him or experienced himself firsthand) he doesn't apply those insecurities to his relationship with Mike. Even though Lonnie and those bullies and the scum of town broke him down, his mother loves him and his brother loves him and his best friend said asking him to be his best friend was the best thing he's ever done.

Mike doesn't have that kind of support going on for him when it comes to accepting his sexuality. He's scared, and understandably so.

This contrast between their characters is obvious in the way they go about their relationship, specifically in s4.

For example, Will doesn't view Mike not sending him letters as Mike turning him down romantically, he views it as Mike not caring about him at all, even as a friend.

And that's the main thing that made me have this realization about Mike's behavior in s4, and over the seasons in general because, to Mike, writing a letter to Will had romantic implications.

He sent letters to El and literally couldn't give in to send not even one letter to Will, and it's because, well, it would be too obvious (gay).

I imagine it's possible Will called Mike after they were settled in Cali, because he was still fairly certain they were on good terms considering how they left things (he has no idea Mike is spiraling over being recommitted to El again). Will had little reason to be insecure that Mike wouldn't want to talk to him, so I imagine that initially, things were at least fine.

But then it's been about a week and the Byers get a couple of letters in the mail, one for El and one for Jonathan, and... I can't even imagine what Will might have been feeling in that moment.

And then it happens again. And again. And Will is confused, because he thought they resolved things in their last conversation. He thought that they hugged and they were back to the way things used to be.

We even get this moment where Max is writing letters to everyone, EVERYONE, which makes me think Will did get letters from his other friends after the move, from Dustin, Lucas and even Max. And I think this can also be supported by a few other details. Bc if the phone line was busy, I don’t think any of the other friends would have a problem with writing Will a letter to reach him instead. And so by Dustin complaining about Mike was always whining about the Byers line being busy is an interesting choice bc, why wouldn't Dustin also complain? Wouldn't he want to call to talk to Will too.... Unless, Dustin is fully capable of getting his platonic Will fix via letters, EVEN probably ending them with love Dustin. (Will also knew what Lucas’ hair looked like in s4, which he would only really know if he got a picture of Lucas sent to him in the mail, most likely accompanied by a letter catching up).

I'm honestly guessing, that the only person who didn't write Will, not even once, was Mike.

It makes sense that in the time between s3-s4, Will attributed this behavior from Mike as him just reverting back to his s3 ways. He stopped focusing on Will and put all of his energy into worrying about El (again).

And so although Will doesn't make the effort to reach out to Mike as much as he could have, it's not because he's scared Mike will realize his feelings for him if he 'goes too far' or something. It's because he just genuinely thinks that Mike doesn't want to be his friend anymore.

And then the couple other times Mike himself calls the Byers over those 6 months, it's incredibly awkward. Something is off and Will doesn't know what it is or if it's his fault.

And this is why he puts his heart and soul into that painting.

The party was the last thing they talked about when they last saw each other. And that painting and what it represents reminds Will of a time when they were younger, when they could be themselves. Or more specifically when Mike could be himself and show how much he cared about Will, something he has been incapable of doing to the extent he would like to, for quite some time now. Will's holding onto this small ounce of hope that he just needs to prove to Mike that their friendship can still be what it used to be, if that's what Mike wants of course. And he's not scared that Mike is going to see this as romantic, or he's at least not worried about it. Why else would he put a heart on his shield and plan on giving it to him in front of everyone, in public?

Over the next few months, letters to El (from Mike), are arriving less and less over time, but they're still semi consistent. And all the while Will's just working on his painting with the purest and kindest of intentions.

Then, the day of their reunion finally comes and Will is so excited to hug Mike and give him the painting, but then suddenly, Mike is rejecting him. Instead of going in for a hug like he did at the end of s3, Mike makes his way towards Will, only to pull himself back and tap him on the shoulder instead before they can even hug properly.

Will looked very happy to see Mike, just like Mike did initially. However, in contrast, Will didn't hold himself back from the embrace at all, not until he saw Mike doing it.

Meaning ih wasn't in the way of Will in this moment, but it was in the way for Mike.

Mike's inability to simply hug him back like a friend hugs a friend, is when Will thinks, 'okay. so this painting is probably not the best idea.'

And then all day long, Will is moping, not even thinking about the implications of what it could look like. He doesn't care if he looks like a sad gay boy, because he is a sad gay boy.

Meanwhile Mike is smiling (painfully) most of the day, though we know because Mike lets it slip later, that he was too distracted by Will's moping to even enjoy himself. It was all an act. He was internalizing everything he was truly feeling and thinking in those moments.

Again we're seeing Will being quite capable of showing a full range of emotions, without him worrying about the implications that may come with it, whereas the implications of anything and everything Mike does (or even wears) is a guiding factor for why he is behaving the way that he is.

And then at Rink-O-Mania, Will says, 'what about us' and the entire byler community is gasping.. bc i mean, the guts?? the confidence? the self assurance that he must have had to say something so bold such as, 'what about us??', all while Mike is looking back at him fucking starstruck, wishing he had the balls to say something like that intentionally and not by accident.

Mike has started to be extremely careful about what he says, and in turn Will is having no choice but to do the same.

At this moment, Mike is still reeling from admitting to paying more attention to Will's mood than El who was lying straight to his face, and now Will is suddenly revealing to Mike that he missed him a lot and he was sad that Mike didn't call more...

But instead of Mike being like BRO I called. I called you every day for almost a year... he keeps his mouth shut.

This is the moment we finally see Mike's mask start to crack, because in this moment he reveals that he couldn't write to him because, "She's my girlfriend Will!" and "We're friends. We're friends.".

All of which are things Will never disputed as being basic facts.

The reality is Will isn't upset here because Mike doesn't want to do romantic coded things with him, he's upset because things that used to be platonic for them, that are platonic for most best friends, Mike is suddenly viewing as romantic now.

"But we used to be best friends," drives home this fact that Will's insecurities about their relationship are tied to Mike's behavior.

And then Mike's ih and 'detouring back into the closet' tendencies are back in full force, and it's causing Will to also cut himself short. Instead of being honest like he always is, he's stopping himself, because Mike is starting to change his tune.

It's why he walked away after the rain fight, and it's why he keeps his mouth shut instead of defending himself. Because this isn't how things used to be between them.

And that's what I find kind of tragic about their slow-burn, and I haven't seen anyone talk about this, which is that I think their experiences overlap.

I think that Mike's ih is starting to impact Will in a negative way. While Will has been learning to accept himself over the seasons, Mike's been learning to hide.

We've seen them go from a relationship early on where Mike was the reason Will accepted himself, to now being the reason he has to give him a veiled love confession, because at this point, Will has little reason to believe Mike could love him back based on his actions and his behavior.

At the end of s3, right before they hug, Will kind of just stands there waiting for Mike to hug him, like he's down to hug Mike, but only if that's what he wants. Will's ih is only starting to kick in at all now because Mike's has went from nonexistent, to value infinity. After a season of initiating all contact, Will is skeptical Mike even wants to hug him. But then Mike is falling into his arms and it's such a pure moment, because now Will is thinking, albeit bittersweetly, that things can go back to normal for them.

But they don't, with s4 essentially starting out as a repeat of s3.

Will is back to this trend of initiating all their physical contact again. First going in for a hug at the airport brightly (only to be shot down). Poking Mike in the chest at Rink-O-Mania when they're arguing. Grazing Mike's arm in the van when he gives him the painting. Reaching out to tap his shoulder during his monologue. Hugging Lucas with him. Elbowing him subtly to ask about how things are with El. These are all subtle moments where Will goes out his way to initiate touch with Mike, things that arguably Mike used to do with Will, but now only does extremely rarely, and most notably at the last second at the end of the season, after holding himself back the first 8 or so episodes.

I think what's so important about the way they approached this, is that in order for Will to truly accept and love himself, Mike has to accept himself too.

Without even realizing it, a long time ago, Mike made Will accept himself. Will was arguably experiencing a lot of ih in the first two seasons, but then suddenly it flipped, and now it's the other way around, with Will just being confused like I thought you cured me of this bro? wtf??

Will literally poured his heart out to Mike with that painting. He told Mike how he felt. He even spent the last year or so being fairly honest about how he viewed their friendship and about how he feels about him. And while Mike always makes the effort to correct things with Will, a lot faster than he does with anyone else, he's still leaving Will in the dark here.

Because while most bylers are fully convinced s4 ended things in a way that proves Mike is ready to be with Will once that opportunity arises, that doesn't mean Will is going to believe him.

Will doesn't end the season thinking Mike loves him, he ends it thinking the exact opposite.

It doesn't matter that Mike is finally reaching out to him again or that he's even standing right beside him at the end, because Will has already been through this with Mike.

He's already gotten hope that they could go back to how they were.

And even though their reconciliation in s4 seemed to resolve things, things still ended in a similar way to s3, only this time in a more grand way, with Mike telling El he loved her 9 times, and the added bonus that he apparently felt like his life started that day they found her in the woods (the same day Will went missing).

And so somethings gotta give. We cant just have a repeat of s3 and s4.

I think it's going to take A LOT for Will to even consider Mike could not only see him truly as a best friend again, but that he also returns his feelings romantically.

Sadly, despite all the beauty that is byler when it comes to them voicing how much they care about each other, Mike's inability to even want a platonic relationship is why they are in this situation in the first place. Because I honestly think Will is capable of a platonic relationship with Mike, whereas I do no think Mike is capable of having a platonic relationship with Will. And his attempts to hide his feelings have caused Will to be insecure about where their friendship lies.

And so it's going to require Will getting an explanation as to why Mike has been acting this way for so long.

Mike's not going to be able to end things with El and then manage to convince Will that its him who he loves.

This is where I think the letter comes in. I think that Will pouring his heart out in that painting, explaining all the ways Mike makes him feel like he's not a mistake, needs to be reciprocated in a similar way from Mike's end.

After the past few years of him making Will question everything he ever thought about their relationship, both Will and Mike deserve the closure that comes with acknowledging what the hell happened between them.

And I think the best way to do that is for Will to understand why Mike did what he did, because Will didn't personally have ih that gave him the urge to seek out, nor stay in unhappy relationships. Like I'm sure Will's fairly convinced that having a girlfriend is strictly straight behavior, as are most (uninformed) people.

If Mike wants to be with Will, he needs to give Will closure about why they went from best friends to strangers. And that is going to require Mike unpacking his ih in a way that Will is going to understand, once Mike finally acknowledges it instead of beating around the bush. Will is going to be able to be the thing that makes Mike accept himself, and vice versa.

And the way I think Mike is going to do that is IN A LETER (especially after convincing himself letters are romantic? boy! you better prove it!)

Once they finally do that, once they both speak to each other in their own personal love language (Will with his art and Mike with his writing), they'll finally understand each other and where they were both coming from.

And that's when they'll realize that they can overcome all these fears they've had growing up, everything that caused them this big mess in the first place, because they'll be able to get through it together.

And it's going to be so heartbreakingly beautiful and real that not even the ga is going to be able to be mad.

[dreamonminecraft]

I mean, George’s been showing an attraction for men (fictional and real) for ages, not just Dream. Those thirst traps he used to watch.. his fascination (not just jokes) with dicks over the years. Also he went from being very awkward/careful about any gay mention (remember how upset he got over the ’bottom’ comment?) to fully embracing that now. He even got upset when the sidemen thought he would be bad at head like? For me, in the past two years, he (seemed to at least) fully accept himself. That obviously doesn’t mean you’re ready to be out about it. But going out to gay clubs with Larray, being in their ’twink’ tiktok thing they did and all other moments.. they bonded over *something* surely. So yeah, I was shocked about this whole thing, not gonna lie. It’s the first time ever we’ve heard about him in connection with women, in a non-platonic way. Like remember when he went on that girl trip with the Botez sisters in 2022? Just him and the girls and them talking about that ’Zaddy’ waitress or whatever it was 😂 And all the moments of him seeming uncomfortable about talking of girlfriends and boobs and yeah, I don’t know. He’s always been just gay in my eyes (based on the things he’s done/said and not stereotypes or looks just to be clear.) Or even about just dnf either. Like take Dream out of the equation and I would still think that. Now sexuality can be fluid of course. Maybe he realised he could feel something for women too? Maybe it was an exception to the rule? Or maybe, he experimented a bit and what do we know what he really felt about it? People try things sometimes, for many different reasons. Maybe he had a little crisis or something. Maybe he was heartbroken over Dream flirting with someone else in the same room like? Or maybe he is bi/pan ( not trying to deny the possibility, I’m bi myself so.) But yeah, just my opinion, not some actual truth here ofc ❤️

I think that's a really fair assessment. From what we knew of his private life (up until a few weeks ago) he was attracted to men (real and fictional) and never shared details of any prior real life experiences with anybody (women or otherwise - first kiss, past partners, etc)

He's fine with the perception that people have of him being gay (obviously it doesn't hurt his career. not saying he's queer baiting) but Dream was very 'im straight. I kiss girls. I date girls' before he knew he wasn't straight, and when he started to realize that he wasn't, he still acknowledged that he liked girls while recognizing his changing feelings. George is just very private in general.

There's a clip from one of the very first dsmp streams where Dream calls George gay "he's like that one closeted friend who doesn't say I love you because he doesn't want to out himself" (my least favorite Dream joke ever, thanks) and you know how he justifies it to the (rightfully) uncomfortable chat? "I wouldn't say that if I wasn't 100% sure George was straight."

George's response: "Straight outta Compton"

I mean this guy has been actively denying any sort of public labeling of his sexuality by anyone for almost four years. Maybe he's in the same position as Dream and he just doesn't want a label (doesn't know/doesn't like the pressure/whatever) or maybe the public perception is something that he doesn't want. Whatever he is, I think it's pretty clear he's some sort of queer.

[augustjustice]

I Wanna Be The One To Walk In The Sun

AO3

@stevieweek day 1: stobin | prompts: sapphic, the party

rating: T | wc: 2.5k | cw: homophobia and transphobia mentioned but with no real bearing on the story | tags: sapphic stobin, background elmax, transfem steve harrington, get together, established relationship, futurefic, tooth-rotting fluff

Notes: I went in a slightly different direction with the prompt. This fic centers on sapphic Stobin entering into a romantic relationship after Stevie comes out as a trans girl. If that's not your cup of tea, please skip this one! Don't like, don't read as always.

Title from "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper.

It was amazing what a difference a year made. 

June of 1987 saw Stevie Harrington returning to Hawkins, fully out to everyone who mattered and with her girlfriend at her side.

When Robin had headed off to Purdue the previous fall, Stevie had followed. She knew, deep in her heart, that she would follow Robin anywhere. 

And though Stevie hadn’t enrolled for any college classes herself, leaving their hometown had felt like gulping down the first breath of fresh air after her lungs had started to burn from holding it underwater. She’d spent so long treading along, just trying to survive the many perils that Hawkins had thrown her ways, it had been years since she got to just be.

Being in a new place, though, with the exploratory air that college afforded available at every turn, opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Stevie had learned a lot about herself in the intervening months. 

Starting, of course, with just who she was, once you peeled back all the layers of high school reputations, smalltown expectations, and societal roles. Robin, of course, had helped her enormously when it came to navigating that last one, introducing Stevie to ideas that Robin was rapidly learning from her classes and dipping her toe into queer culture for the first time. 

Things that Stevie had never even considered before. 

Robin never judged her, when she started borrowing more and more clothes directly from Robin’s closet, in the tiny off-campus apartment they shared. And when Stevie speculated one night, when the pair of them were cross-faded from home mixed margaritas and the joint Eddie had gifted them as a housewarming present, what it might be like to wear a skirt, Robin had simply said, “Well, I mean…you can, you know. If you want to. Boy’s can wear skirts.” 

She’d been right by Stevie’s side the next weekend when they journeyed to the mall, and she picked out a skirt of her very own, for the very first time. Knee-length and flowing, the pale pink fabric was perfect, made her feel pretty and delicate as soon as she put it on. 

And Robin was there, holding her hand as they sat cross-legged in her bedroom, when Stevie quietly confessed that she thought maybe she wasn’t a boy at all later that night.

When Stevie had glanced over at her best friend–biting at her bottom lip nervously, afraid of what she might see shining back at her in Robin’s expression–she hadn’t expected to find the other girl blushing.

“Well–that’s great, Stevie! I mean, that’s really great–amazing, even! And I’m so, so happy–and proud! Did I mention proud?–that you told me. I was starting to think–well, what I mean is, I knew something was different. With the skirt, of course, but also because you’ve been growing out your hair? And started styling it differently–pretty! Like, really, really pretty. I mean, I know they called you the Hair back in school, but these days, it���s just, it looks–”

As the words spilled from Robin’s mouth in a steady stream, Stevie blinked, realization hitting her. Robin was rambling, the way she always did in front of pretty girls.

There was no way in hell that could mean–could it?

Reaching out, Stevie cupped her face, pressing a finger to her lips to shush her, the same as she always would have. “Robbie?”

“Yeah?” Robin gulped nervously.

When she smiled, fond and sweet, the corner of Stevie’s eyes crinkled with the force of it.

“It’s just me.”

But as Robin’s gaze dropped down to her lips, Stevie’s heart started to rabbit in her chest with the same frenetic pace as Robin’s rambling.

It was Robin who closed the distance between them. That first brush of their lips had quieted all the anxious thoughts racing in Stevie’s head, every fear draining out of her. 

Because this was them–Stevie and Robin, intertwined together the same as they’d always been. Just, now, in a whole new, exciting way. 

It felt good. It felt right.

Several deep, giddy kisses later, the pair of them laid side by side in Stevie’s bed, Robin’s head pillowed on her chest, right over her heart.

When Robin chose to break the silence, her words weren’t at all what Stevie had expected. 

“You wore chapstick that summer at Scoops, didn’t you?”

Stevie furrowed her brow, nose crinkling with her confusion. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”

“It was confusing,” Robin admitted.

“Rob, are you saying I gave you a sexuality crisis?” Stevie asked, delighted.

Robin nudged her shoulder, huffing out a sigh.

“I’m saying that sometimes you’d swing your hips while you walked away in those tiny little sailor shorts, and I had to remind myself that I liked girls.” 

Stevie cackled. 

“Turns out my gay girl radar was just even better than I thought it was.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I’d go that far. You didn’t clock Vickie for ages even though I kept telling you—”

“Well, I guess it all worked out alright for you, didn’t it, Harrington?” Robin sniped back, the twinkle in her eyes gentling things down to mere teasing. “Gave you plenty of time to swoop in and make your move.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did.” Cupping Robin’s jaw, Stevie leaned in and kissed her again. “Maybe I should send Vickie a fruit basket, or something.”

“Stephanie Harrington, don’t you dare!” Robin squawked, already giggling.

That night, Stevie got a new name and a girlfriend, all wrapped up together in the same single, perfect moment.

—

The months that followed had brought them back here–exchanging sticky kisses at the Family Video counter, the sweltering heat outside so intense it cast a shimmer over the entire parking lot. 

With Purdue dismissed for the break, Stevie and Robin had come back to visit her parents and the kids. They’d decided to pick up their old jobs again to make a little extra money during the long, hot summer months. 

Hawkins was still as close-minded as it had always been, but both Stevie and Robin had a pretty good handle on how to navigate it. 

Since Stevie had started to transition, she got away with being pretty stealth–even though she and Robin still went everywhere together, most people didn’t put two and two together of just who she was. That included Keith, whose constant stammering in Stevie’s presence had sent both the girls into giggling fits immediately after their rehire interview, not a trace of his former Harrington hatred to be found.

Though it still wasn’t safe to be openly together most places, they took advantage of the closeness between two girls that most of the town just dismissed as gals being pals. And, of course, any and every spare moment they had alone. 

Like now, the store quiet around them, falling into that slow Tuesday morning lull.

Stevie had just barely finished applying her chapstick before Robin pulled her into another, eager kiss. She giggled into the space between her and Robin’s lips.

“You know, if you keep doing that, I’m just gonna have to keep putting it back on again.”

“Okay, well,” Robin sighed, as though extremely put upon, purposefully dramatic. “They shouldn’t make it taste so good, then.”

She punctuated her point by brushing her mouth over Stevie’s bottom lip once more. 

Since Stevie knew now that Robin had a thing for her chapstick, she couldn’t resist teasing her with it, just a little. So she uncapped the tube slowly once they pulled apart, making a show of liberally reapplying the coat Robin had just kissed off. 

But when Robin darted her head forward again, Stevie ducked her, releasing a soft laugh at the offended squawk her girlfriend let out.

“Hey, how about…how about this. We make a game out of it,” Stevie suggested. 

Robin’s eyebrows drew down, a look of concentration crossing her face that Stevie couldn’t help but find adorable.

“What kind of game?” 

“Well, I was thinking–you kiss me, and then you have to guess what flavor I grabbed when I left the house this morning. Winner gets a prize.”

Robin thought this over for a moment. Then, she stuck her hand out to shake, like they’d brokered some kind of actual bet. 

“Deal.” 

When she pulled back from the first soft, lingering kiss to Stevie’s lips, Robin offered her first guess. 

“Uh…cherry?”

“Nope,” Stevie replied, popping the ‘p’ in her mouth. “Guess again.”

Robin’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she leaned in, pressing her lips more firmly to Stevie’s for a long, probing kiss. She even went so far as to suck her girlfriend’s bottom lip into her mouth, nibbling at it gently before pulling back.

“Strawberry?”

“Correct!” Stevie crowed triumphantly, smiling as Robin held her arms over her head in victory. “And for your prize, Robbie, you’ve scored yourself–another kiss.”

“My favorite,” Robin replied, eyes sparkling like this wouldn’t probably be the millionth kiss they’d exchanged that morning. 

As she dived back in eagerly, their mouths meeting again, Stevie couldn’t help but smile into it.

Stevie loved kissing. She always had.

With Nancy, it had always been a little bit too much. The other girl had been the one to pull away first, every time, embarrassed with Stevie’s over-the-top displays of affection.

Robin, though, was totally different. They could kiss for hours without stopping, their only breaks in the moments they pulled back long enough to giggle or tease or exchange some silly inside joke of theirs. 

If she was being honest, Stevie found Robin’s lips irresistible, whether she was wearing the bright red lipstick she often sported at Scoops, or her mouth was bare and pink, leaning more and more into the butch aesthetic she had cultivated after high school. Stevie was always leaning in to steal kisses, press her mouth against the bow of Robin’s smile or pout or even her cute little frown. 

But Robin always met her, never shrugging Stevie away, just kissing her back like it was as easy as breathing, familiar and warm and second-nature.

It made something bright and content and loved glow in Stevie’s chest, each and every time. 

Only the sound of the bell at the front of the store ringing, announcing the arrival of a customer, could burst the insulated bubble they had created for themselves. 

When the sound suddenly chimed, Stevie and Robin immediately sprang apart. But, when they turned as one to see a familiar cap and flash of red hair among the group tromping into the store, they cozied up once more.

By the time the kids made it up to the counter, they were exchanging teasing kisses again, giggling in-between them with their foreheads pressed together.

“Hello?” Dustin called out, obnoxiously loud as he banged on the front desk’s bell. “Can I get a little help here?”

Stevie pulled slightly away, hands still on Robin’s cheeks as they exchanged an eyeroll.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here, don’t lose your shirt. What is it?”

“You guys are so cute together, it’s giving me a toothache,” Max complained, but the words were totally lacking in their usual bite.

And as Max ignored the boys animated yapping and disappeared into the shelves, Stevie caught the way she kept sneakily stealing glances at where Stevie had dropped her hand over Robin’s, interlacing their fingers together on the counter. 

The truth was, Stevie–well. She knew her kids, always had. It hadn’t taken long being back in Hawkins before she put two-and-two together, about the long, wistful looks Max kept shooting El’s way, whenever she thought the other girl wasn’t looking.

She knew Max prided herself on being worldly, people savvy…but Stevie was still pretty sure she hadn’t realized that El looked back at her the exact same way. 

“The plight of baby lesbians everywhere,” Robin had observed wryly when Stevie pointed it out to her later that afternoon, once the munchkins were long gone. “It’s a wonder, honestly, that we got it together as quickly as we did.”

Stevie cocked her head to one side, thinking it over. With a nod, she felt something within herself resolve. 

—

After that, she made a little bit of a show of it. Always holding Robin’s hand on the center console where the girls could see when she drove them over to the Wheeler’s basement for D&D nights. Peppering Robin’s cheek in doting kisses whenever the kids stumbled into Family Video for a rental. Generally upping her usual displays of public affection just a little more whenever Max or El was around. 

It wasn’t exactly like it was a hardship. Her girlfriend was hot, and she and Robin were already touchy as all hell when they were together. 

She just…you know. Made more of a point of it when the girls of the group were around to see.

—

It wasn’t until the Fourth of July barbecue that Robin finally called her on it. 

After the ‘earthquake,’ Stevie’s parents had all but abandoned their property in Hawkins. Before leaving for Purdue, she’d paid some local people out of the trust she’d gotten from her grandfather for upkeep. Which meant…she had an immaculately clean and available pool up for grabs by the time summer rolled around. Naturally, Stevie found herself playing hostess to the party and co. by the time Independence Day arrived.

She didn’t mind it. Having them–the kids, the older not-so-teens anymore, the parents in the know–all there, laughing and splashing and chasing each other through the grass. It went a long way towards exorcizing the haunted feeling that had crept over the place, in the aftermath of everything that happened with the Upside Down. 

When Robin settled down beside her at the shallow end of the pool, dipping her legs in, Stevie caught El glancing back in their direction, over Max’s shoulder where the girls had been twirling lazily around each other in the water. 

She held the hand Robin offered her a little tighter, curling close to press a kiss against her temple. And when El sent a shy, pleased smile her way, Stevie could only answer with one in return. 

“What was that for?” Robin asked.

“Cuz you’re cute,” Stevie said, utterly sincere, which made Robin snort and jostle her shoulder lightly, though she didn’t let go of her hand. “What, can’t a girl kiss her girlfriend just because she wants to?”

“She can, but I sense some ulterior motivation, Stephanie Harrington.”

Stevie shrugged, tucking a bit of hair behind Robin’s ear.

“I don’t know, just for…being you, I guess.”

“Something tells me this has way more to do with your little babysitter’s club sitting over there then you’re letting on,” Robin leaned over and gave Stevie a quick peck on the lips, “but, for the record? You’re kinda cute yourself.”

“Only kinda?”

“Yeah, you know, a little bit,” Robin held up her fingers and pinched them together to demonstrate, voice going silly.

Stevie giggled, and she was still giggling softly when Robin captured her lips with her own in a lingering, proper kiss.

When they finally pulled apart, she caught Robin’s blink of surprise, a light suddenly shining in her eyes. 

“Oh, shit. Well, will you look at that?” she jerked her chin towards the deep end of the pool. 

Stevie turned just in time to see it. Between one breath and the next, El and Max intertwined their fingers, going from playfully pressing their palms together–with all the plausible deniability that entailed–to properly holding hands. 

And the happiness she saw blooming across both their faces when they did–Stevie felt it, too, bursting like sunlight inside her own chest. 

“Guess our good influence paid off,” Robin said. Though the words could have been teasing, her voice sounded every bit as awed as Stevie felt. 

Leaning her head on Stevie’s shoulder, Robin pulled her hand up to her mouth and kissed the back of it.

“Face it, Stevie. We’re totally, like…a pair of lesbian moms at this point.”

Bubbly, pleasant warmth spread through Stevie at the thought. The truth was…that sounded pretty damn near perfect to her. 

So she pictured it, for a moment, a future–Robin hers forever, a chubby-legged baby toddling between them. 

And when she leaned in and kissed her girlfriend again, the taste of happiness as always on her lips…Stevie Harrington let herself hope.