#hes just assuming he'll have to live in the closet forever cause thats how long he plans on staying with herbert lol

[godlizzza]

In your teenage Danbert au, did you ever imagine a scenario where Dan would come out to his parents? In reading your 'meet the family' fic, it seemed to me like his parents would probably be okay with him dating another boy, but Dan just wasn't ready to tell them yet. How do you think things would play out if they did learn about his relationship with Herbert?

I have thought about writing it but I don't have any current plans to write anything focused on that atm. With Dan's parents, I do believe that they would come around eventually but I don't think they'd be super accepting right off the bat. As loving parents as they are, they'd still be affected by the prejudices of the time, and given that those fics are set in the 70s, it would really play into that. I also think it's important to show that even the most caring people are still capable of being cruel, even if they don't mean to be.

Dan's mum I think suspects that he and Herbert are together but she's trying to ignore it and convince herself it's not true. I don't think it would've even crossed Dan's dad's mind that Dan could be queer, given how well he's always played the part of the nice, all-American straight boy. He's athletic, has had girlfriends, is masculine, etc. So, the news would be a real shock to him, and he'd quite incredulous and non-receptive.

If Dan did tell them of his own volition, it would be in a moment of extreme weakness/distress. Maybe if Herbert's family was moving away or Herbert got really sick/injured, Dan wouldn't be able to hold back his emotions and would let it all out in a torrent to his mother, who would be very startled and wary of his reaction. She might say something like, "Herbert's...not just a friend to you, is he?" And Dan would be so distraught in the moment that he'd just spill it all to her. Then they'd all have to deal with the aftermath.