It's All Three For Me

"Seasick" - Shipping Rizzles on a Lesbian Cruise

Title of Fic: "Seasick"

Author: Sybilia

Fandom/Pairing: "Rizzoli & Isles", Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli ("Rizzles")

TW: /

Rating: M

Synopsis: Angela Rizzoli wins a 7-day-vacation on a cruise across the Caribbean and wants her daughter, detective Jane Rizzoli, to come with her. But shortly before the ship's departure, Angela suddenly declares that she is feeling unwell and can't come on the cruise. This leaves Jane with her best friend, brilliant and nerdy Medical Examiner Maura Isles, as the "plus-one".

But when her and Maura enter the ship, Jane quickly comes to the conclusion that something on the "Olivia" smells - well, fishy? (sorry for the double entendre, lol). Not only are there solely women on the ship - the women all seem to be very interested in the same sex. Jane is mortified, especially when Maura points out that as the winner of the cruise drive, Jane is legally obligated to stick to the release she signed, which inlcudes leading various group activitites, posing for pictures and the like.

Jane would rather just up and leave but lets herself be convinced into staying (does she even have a choice, for real?). So, our two favorite Bostonians find themselves in an extremely gay environment, surrounded by hundreds of lesbians, and have to pretend being a couple as soon as they leave their cabin on the ship to participate in the various activitites and competitions going on.

But Jane would not be Jane without her competitive streak and she soon finds herself wanting to be the "Queen of all Lesbians", as the winner of the games is called. This leads to some pretty hilarious events like her participating in a "Lick clean an ice-cream bowl"-contest or a "penetrate donuts with a dildo on a harness strapped to your waist"-competition.

It does not only sound funny and weird as heck, it is! The wonderful thing about this fic is that there are multiple wonderful things, to be honest. The plot is so clever and original that you don't want Rizzles to leave that lesbian cruise ship ever again. But then we also have the beautiful, very accurate depiction of Maura and Jane who are written in character so very well by this crazily talented writer. The descriptions, be it of the games or the ship or the tourist destinations, are done in great detail and serve to make this story even more outstanding. Aaand as the special cherry on top, we also get the authors's OCs and all of them are utterly PRICELESS! We have former Wimbledon Champion, the unapologetically gay and deliciously unhinged Millie-Joyce Ming, famous singer and surprisingly tame diva Beata Frankenmeier and "Big Carl" Carla Timmons, another police officer ready for a good time among fellow lesbians.

And in the middle of this spicily sapphic ship, we have Maura and Jane, both secretly already harboring more than just platonic feelings for one another... but will they finally be courageous enough to admit their blossoming love for each other and go from "fake girlfriends" to "real couple"?

I cannot stress this often enough: READ THIS MASTERPIECE!! It is so wholesome and brilliant and great fun and romantic and wild and creative and had me laugh out loud in public again and again because the humor is simply impeccable. Read it. You won't regret it.

Also, make sure to check out the writer's other two stories, "Constant Companion" and "Seasick"'s sequel, "Cherry Grove", they are equally awesome!!

Rizzoli and Isles is actually a show about a Queerplatonic Relationship.

Okay hear me out.

So, I always have shipped Rizzles. There are many MANY ways in which these are queer coded characters with a heavy romantic subtext, that a lot of the time honestly bleeds into the maintext. A lot of the actions and dialogue that we would typically interpret as romantic, especially between a hetero pairing, certainly works for this show. 

But I did a re-watch of the show recently, and while I still ship them romantically, I actually think what is being portrayed between them is something else. They are DEFINITELY more than friends; I mean they are life partners in every sense of the word. But the kind of dynamic that is CANONICALLY portrayed between Maura and Jane, is in fact, a Queerplatonic Relationship.

So here’s a working definition of the term for those who aren’t familiar with it: 

Queerplatonic relationships and queerplatonic partnerships are committed intimate relationships which are not romantic in nature. They may differ from usual close friendships by having more explicit commitment, validation, status, structure, and norms, similar to a conventional romantic relationship

I have actually experienced something like this, (and yes I’m going to get a bit anecdotally personal here; I’ll try not to be too long winded, but it’s relevant, I promise lol): 

I had an (unspoken) kind of relationship like this with my best friend in my early/mid 20s. We have been best friends since I was 11, but something definitely shifted when we became adults, and I have to say, I ended up, quite unexpectedly, being deeply in love with my best friend…platonically. I didn’t want to date her. I didn’t want to sleep with her. But, I was totally devoted to her and we were each other’s person for years. We were each other’s assumed plus one for everything, we regularly did dinner dates, we gave each other super sentimental cards and specialized gifts on birthdays, we also regularly did domestic shit together like grocery shopping, errands, chores, house projects; you name it, we had it/did it. I mean we were even each other’s phone background for a while lmao. We never lived together, but we had keys to each other’s places. 

Now a lot of this shit can happen and does happen in standard friendships (maybe not the phone background thing; that was super gay ngl hahaha), but the thing that made this different was the level of assumed partnership going on between us. And the…energy. We would stare deeply into each other’s eyes. We had that magnetic kind of magic with each other, like no matter where the other is in the room, we find our way back to each other. And people literally perceived us as a couple. Hell, my other friends teased us about it. 

Any of this sound familiar?

Oh and I DO find her to be attractive and even sexy. And we flirted (still do lolol) a LOT. 

But I didn’t ever really…..actually want to have sex with her. Not that I would’ve even necessarily been opposed to it, because we were so close, but it just, wasn’t ever a desire for me.

This was interesting to experience, because I do identify as a lesbian, I have been romantically attracted to people, sexually attracted to people, and the two, as society expects, do usually go hand in hand for me. But with her, I honestly could’ve seen forever; like being exactly as we were, as life partners, I could’ve even seen myself raising kids with her, and I would have been TOTALLY, GENUINELY content with it, ‘cause my relationship with her filled me up in a way nothing else has. This was confusing as all hell to me for a long time, because I didn’t have a name for this until recently when I learned about the concept of Queerplatonic Relationships which again supersede friendship and often are life partnerships, but aren’t inherently romantic or sexual, even though they are quite deep. I actually think QPRs speak to that “limitless” “otherwise undefinable” kind of relationship dynamic. 

Sooo - and I promise I’m wrapping my story up - when my bff met her current boyfriend, which is her first super serious adult relationship, I didn’t quite experience jealousy, I mean I always envisioned a romantic partnership for her, and I still want that for me! Buuuut…my feelings were complicated because it’s like…I had to mourn what I lost, as our dynamic inherently changed, and the fact that I wasn’t her person anymore. Weird thing to process indeed. Also *ahem* SOUND FAMILIAR?

Without getting too carried away here (oh who am I kidding, I already have 😂) for comparison’s sake, I actually went through a crazy ass heartbreak with someone, also while I was in my mid 20s; someone to whom I WAS romantically, sexually, spiritually, connected and attracted. I mean I was IN LOVE with this woman and she broke my heart by not fully reciprocating my feelings and not wanting to be with me. I thought I was gonna die when we stopped talking. Hell, it’s been years and I still think about her. 

But if you were to ask me who the true love. of. my. life. has been so far…I’d pick my best friend! 

The funny thing is I think a LOT of women end up in these kinds of dynamics, ESPECIALLY queer women, maybe even more so queer women who form super close relationships to “straight” women (gotta put str8 in quotes ‘cause…this shit is inherently queer even though it’s not romantic/sexual). You all know what I’m talking about; You’d do anything for each other, there’s chemistry, connection, and care, yet it doesn’t quite fit into any box you try to give it. People read you as a couple. You know this about yourselves, and you just…accept it. Because what you have is actually beyond any label. You know?

Anyway, I think there’s actually something cool and radical about this and I know that queer people want and deserve romantic and sexual representation, but I think this IS an accurate kind of representation that happens all the time that isn’t appropriately covered or discussed in media.

In hindsight, I think that’s what really hooked me on R&I. I mean, I started watching ‘cause I thought they were lesbians, and I kept watching ‘cause I thought it would be canon! And yeah, I still think about what could’ve been with them: fanfiction is good for that. But why do I still watch the actual show? Well…I LIVED it. 

Now: do I think that Maura and Jane often tip the scales a lil’ TOOOOO far in the explicitly gay direction on this show? Oh hell yes! Do I think you can interpret them as two people who are madly in love, romantically, with each other, yet are too scared to do anything about it? Oh hell yes! Like I said I do ship Rizzles. BUT, if I’m honest about what is FULLY, CANONICALLY being portrayed, no subtext, ALL maintext: It’s 10000% a QPR. 

So no: Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli are certainly not JUST friends. They aren’t just colleagues, although their work relationship is just as powerful and awe inspiring as their personal one. They aren’t really like sisters, although they can quarrel like siblings at times. They aren’t truly romantic, although they are essentially life partners. They aren’t in a sexual relationship with each other; not that it couldn’t go there, but I also see how it wouldn’t need to go there, and how that doesn’t diminish the bond at all. They have something that I recognize -and something I think perhaps many of us recognize too- something beyond definition, because at the core of it they are true-blue soulmates who share a kind of unconditional love that is rarely found in ANY kind of relationship. If there is a definition that comes close to summing this kind of thing up: Queerplatonic Relationship is the answer!

Idk just felt like sharing this. Thanks for reading 🤓

I don't care about canon, I want The Gay TM

"that ship isn't canon! that character isn't gay!" well thats not what the voices told me

You

You and me

You and me won't be unhappy

Jane had been off all night. Maura had asked twice and had been shut down abrasively. When they left The Dirty Robber, Maura didn't want to invite Jane home with her, even though she still wanted to know what was wrong.

But Jane asked, and Maura was polite so she said yes.

+++

"I'm going to head out." Jane had nursed one beer all evening, and said nothing else. Jane stood, and Maura stood to walk her out, knowing better than to ask again or to offer Jane to stay over.

Jane ducked her head quickly as Maura was distracted by the door and kissed her. Maura left the door alone, turning in Jane's arms.

Jane was tall and muscular and strong and she kissed hard and fierce, like she was trying to prove something. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't great, and Jane's hands were under Maura's shirt already somehow, like Jane was a teenage boy and she'd driven Maura home after a movie or something. Like they were waiting for Maura's parents to open the front door and catch them making out.

The only parent here was Jane's, though, and she was still at work.

Jane pulled away, her face a bright red blush.

"Um. Goodnight," Jane said, fumbling with the door behind her, unable to look away. Maura could have mercy and let her go. She could open the door and allow herself time to process. Or she could question Jane. There were so many questions, and she didn't know where to start.

"Did you mean to do that?" Maura asked, and Jane nodded, her eyes wide and a little scared now, still fumbling for the lock behind her. "Is there a reason you meant to do that?"

Jane slouched against the door and groaned.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to know what it was like. Just once. Just to see if I liked it. And I didn't want to talk about it."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Did you like it?"

Jane's eyes caught Maura's lips and she nodded slowly, her eyes worried but her mouth stretching into a smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Well I didn't. Is that how you kiss men?"

Jane shrugged, looking down at her books, utterly dejected.

"Do you even like men? If that's how you kiss men, I'm pretty sure you don't."

"I like you," Jane said quietly.

"And I didn't like kissing you. It was like kissing a man. All action and no finesse." Maura stepped closer, and Jane shrank back against the door, looking so terrified that Maura almost had mercy.

Almost.

"If I wanted to be kissing a man, I'd be kissing a man right now. But I'd rather kiss you."

She brought herself close to Jane, who was desperately pressed against the door behind her. She leaned forward, licking her lips, letting her breath flow through Jane's open mouth, watching her sharp inhale. She raised a hand and brushed Jane's unruly hair behind her ear, then leaned forward again, dragging her lips across Jane's pulsing jugular, feeling the tilt of Jane's hips into her as she did. She pressed a few little kisses along Jane's jaw, hearing her strangled whimpers and smirking to herself. Then she drew back a little, focused on Jane's mouth and closed the distance with her lips.

Jane had been all tongue and teeth, but she clung desperately to Maura's forearms, resting on the door either side of Jane's head, delicious little moans drawn from her throat as Maura gently pressed closed mouth kisses against Jane's lips until they parted for her, Jane's breath uneven, her hands finding purchase on Maura's hips and pulling her closer, the heat of her pelvis nearly burning against Maura's belly. Maura introduced her tongue to the mix, slowly and tenderly cataloguing Jane's lips and teeth and tongue, catching Jane's lower lip between her teeth and gently tugging until she felt Jane's knees buckle.

She pulled away, but not far.

"That's how you kiss a woman, Jane. Like she's precious. Like she's worth taking your time with her. Like you value her emotionally," Maura informed her. She looked Jane over; she was a mess, her face and chest flushed bright red, her legs trembling, keeping herself upright with her grip on Maura. Her lips were plump and dark from the increased blood flow, and Maura could feel the way Jane was straining not to press her pelvis any harder into her. Jane nodded slowly, as though she hadn't heard a word, her eyes fixed on Maura's mouth. Maura could finish Jane off fully clothed without even touching her, but she had mercy.

Or maybe she was being just a little bit mean, letting Jane leave in such a state.

"Goodnight," Maura said, reaching behind Jane and unlocking the door. She saw Jane's shoulders slump as she peeled herself away from Maura, reaching for the door handle.

"You know, your legs look unsteady. Perhaps you'd better not drive home. You know you're always welcome to stay."

Jane looked down at her hopefully, and Maura knew suddenly how Korsak felt, all those helpless puppies giving him those hopeful eyes.

"I can?"

"Only if you plan on kissing me again." Maura wondered how much of the rush Jane had been in was Catholic guilt and repressed homophobia, and how much of it had been sheer nerves. But Jane turned the lock with confidence and pushed Maura back gently, all the way back to the kitchen counter.

"Oh, I plan to. I plan to kiss you like a woman." Jane's grin was wicked, but her hands were gentle.

Jane's eyes searched Maura's face, dropping down to her lips, followed by Jane's mouth, soft and sure this time, like she had all the time in the world.

Why do I feel so called out?

I actually think it would make academic papers much better... adding a little spice y'a know...

Gen Z culture is trying not to reference memes when writing an academic paper.

...they do it for the dramatics, pet

What is with fic writers saying that clothes are "ruined" if they get cum or water based lube or any other substance on them one single time

Are they unfamiliar with the concept of Laundry

adult life is crazy because you can be going through the most devastating and heartbreaking things while still having to go to work and do the laundry and grocery shopping

Jane 'why does this feel so right?' Rizzoli, everybody.