Welcome :)

And he'll say things like, "obviously we're going to get married," and "I'm not cooking for someone who's not my husband."

He would say that their wedding flowers should be the clivia lily, because it's orange and looks fiery, so naturally it matches him perfectly.

He wants a big cake, it needs to have at least four tiers but the bigger the better.

He has engagement rings and wedding bands saved on Pinterest.

When Flambae is in a particularly good mood, he'll call Robert "hubby," and "darling." He'll do it deliberately in the office, showing off to whoever is nearby.

Robert isn't sure how serious Flambae is about most of the things he says. He's not sure he wants a 500 person wedding (does Flambae even know that many people?), and honestly some of the things Flambae says are so out of pocket, Robert doesn't even bother shutting them down because there's no way Flambae doesn't realize how ridiculous it sounds.

Robert has always been a fan of simple things. Sometimes it's hard to understand how he's with someone who's so over the top.

But Flambae really is mostly just a yapper. For how much he talks about marriage, Robert is the one to propose.

He proposes twice, the first time very casually over dinner, not even a fancy one. He just pops the question in their dining room, passing over a ring box.

And of course Flambae says yes, but demands a redo. A better proposal, one where Robert actually puts some effort into.

So Robert does. He asks Alice to get him a nice, tailored suit. He reserves dinner at a fancy rooftop hotel, a full-course Italian meal, and books a room too, just because.

He drops on one knee and presents the ring, asking again.

"Will you marry me?"

And Flambae considers saying "no," just to fuck with him, because how dare Robert beat him to proposing. But the mood is nice and he looks nice, and there's no way he's letting anyone else have Robert ever.

So he says yes, and they kiss and make love and Flambae now has a shiny new ring, made of tungsten and ruby because they can withstand high temperatures.

When they finally get married, they do that twice, too.

The first time, they're alone in a little chapel, because it felt right. It fit Robert's style, to have just him and the person he loves most, whispering their vows and swearing eternal love. Only the officiant is witness to their union.

The second, a bigger wedding that follows Afghan wedding traditions. Everyone is there, the Z-Team, Chase, Mandy, Royd, having the time of their lives. Flambae's family is there, even his extended family, his parents greeting Robert with joy and pride, and Robert watches Flambae light up when his niece runs over, throwing her arms around him in congratulations. The whole thing lasts multiple days, Flambae walking Robert through all of it, and Robert doesn't even complain because he knows how important this is to Flambae.

but i think thats just an inconsistency that slipped through the cracks because in the post game credits they do show this art of flambae tweaking out over his destroyed car

Uh waterboy redesign be upon ye

Hmm I have some flambert art too I could post perhaps I'll come back to this acc

So I tell Jane to bring her boy over to a bbq I'm having and she can tell him she's trans at my place surrounded by queer and trans people who love her and will support her if he ends up being awful.

She waits till the end of the bbq to tell him the news, by which point the rest of us have learned that Jason is a kind, friendly, empathetic, hard working, dummy. So we sit down, all of us a little worried about this gym bro's reaction when she tells him she's trans, and that she understands if he doesn't want to keep dating her it's no big deal.

He's baffled, so we explain what trans is, and after the disclosure that she hasn't had bottom surgery yet...

"Oh you have a dick?"

"... yeah."

He look's around at the room full of people with baited breath, his clearly a little afraid girl friend says

"Oooohhhh! I get it! You think- don't worry Babe! Watch this!"

And ya'll this man jumps up, runs into the kitchen and returns with one of the bratwurst we had for grilling and proceeds to tilt his head back, put it down his throat, hold it in his mouth for a moment, and spit it up without even a whisper of a gag and then looks around at the group absolutely beaming with pride.

"Honey, I must tell you, i am in fact trans and I have not had bottom surgery."

This is my takeaway: Abel was Caine's projection.

Caine used Abel to voice all of his concerns and insecurities. Abel brought up Caine being just as trapped as all the humans. He used Abel to see if anyone would care if he got left behind.

Abel had Jax spend time with Caine and ask him about his hobbies because no human has ever done that for Caine. He was desperate for someone to talk to. He's lonely.

Abel talked about watching the humans from afar, wanting to join them. Caine's been doing that for years.

Everything Abel said was a reflection of how Caine felt and what he wanted. He feels like a prisoner in his own world. He wants to join the humans and be happy with them. He just wants someone to care about him.

This is what I drew after this situation 👇

which at the time filled me with dread. because i dont want to. but i agreed because i didn't want to seem like, selfish? i guess?

and i just think its really fuckin weird to say that to an ace person. i hate the idea that sex is an assumed part of every relationship, and to not have sex is like, witholding something important from your partner.

Because on one hand, there's the attitude OP describes that sex is so normalized that you're expected to compromise on, that if you don't you're depriving your partner if not outright abusing them.

And then on the other side, aces who do participate in sex with their partners get hit by this infantilization and theft of agency by this insistence that they can't consent in the absence of attraction, that they are being abused (or in some insidious cases, forcing their partners to abuse them in a horrible abuse loop)

Im baack!! ★