#Achievement Unlocked

[pointless-achievements]

I drank 7 cups of coffee and now I can talk to electricity

Achievement Unlocked:

Haste

Drink enough caffeine to unlock a 3rd-level spell slot

[sarahmackattack]

In which I achieve a lifelong dream, of sitting on the seafloor with a bunch of giant Australian cuttlefish

This morning I checked a major bucket list item off the list: hanging out w/Giant Australian Cuttlefish. They're super focused on mating, and are shockingly chill about people hanging around. I'd heard this was true, but whew, it was wild to experience firsthand.

It's a rare thing for an animal to reliably be found at a certain place & certain time. So often "lifer" animals depend on luck to seen. With these cuttlefish, so far it's been like clockwork. Late May-August, go to Whyalla in winter, and there they are, resplendent and numerous.

Good news:they're reliable + stunning. Bad news: Whyalla is a friggen hike from Philly & the water is a bit chilly (58 degrees F today). If you want to swim with them, you better get a thick wetsuit on and maybe be a bit cold (I was honestly too excited to be cold).

Seeing mating behavior up close was so completely amazing. The males perform dominance displays where they roll black bars across their body directly at another male. It's mind-blowing to see in person. They generally do it with the half of their body facing the other male.

[pointed-achievements]

Achievement unlocked:

Undert8le

Happy birthday, to all who observe. Celebrate Undertale's 8th anniversary.

[ilikedetectives]

taping this compliment on my fridge

[hellsite-detective]

The "we have poll abilites, let's start discourse. decide" post, but specifically the one with the response from @/achievement-unlocked: "Love wins! world's first yuriyaoi"

thanks!

seein' this case slide across my desk, my mind went blank. everything in my vision was blurry except for the word "yuri" starin' back at me. i just knew i had to track this one down. i went down to the Search Bar and asked the Don for "tumblr achievement-unlocked yuriyaoi." and they chuckled at me...

"Yeah, I got that one. Here you are."

they slid a link across the desk and i cracked it open. but the post was nowhere to be found. i demanded another link, and they obliged. but this link didn't have the post either. now i knew they were fuckin' with me. i switched my tactic and asked for "tumblr achievement-unlocked love wins!" and the dance continued. i kept gettin' handed links that mentioned the post in the description, but the post itself was nowhere to be found. finally, i caved and demanded the full quote of "achievement unlocked love wins world's first yaoiyuri" and was handed the post. finally, i grabbed the post, pissed off, and started to leave.

"Hey! Don't you have a payment for me?"

yeah, i do. here you go...

i flipped them the bird and left the bar to file the post away.

here you are! despite the run around i was gettin' from Google, i managed to back them into a corner. have a great day!

Post Case: Closed

[papermint-airplane]

I am so proud of myself for peeling my exhausted, swollen, in pain ass out of bed after work to cook dinner for the next couple of days, throw some towels in the washing machine, and packing my lunch for work tomorrow. 🥇 Most people can do things like this without effort but that felt like climbing Mt. Everest using only my teeth. But I still did it. 🥇🥇

✨Just depression things✨

[stohn-studios]

*Spoilers* Baldur's Gate 3 did a hell of a job of giving you a plethora of romancing options, including those who care to get their non-human freak on and get their....mind blown. So here is a little piece to join the flood of art this game is generating out there.

@the_art_of_willpower

[yellowmanula]

So it's official – I’ve become a PhD student :)

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

#AchievementUnlocked

(This feels like the pinnacle for a little inchworm :-))

[pointless-achievements]

Achievement Unlocked:

A Decade of Infamy

Happy 10th birthday to the DashCon Ball Pit Baby (who isn't real, but it's funny to pretend they are)

[tj-dragonblade]

FLUFFBRUARY 2023: Feb 27 & 28

Feb 27 prompts: market friend photograph Feb 28 prompts: wreck veil wind

On AO3 - 1800-ish words

'Friend', Hob has named him; has so named him for most of their acquaintance, and Dream is pleased to be thought of thus. It means companionship, shared stories, laughter and affectionate insolence, a shoulder to lean on when the weight on his own grows heavy. It means a modern temple in the waking world and a space where he is always welcome. It means someone who will meet him on equal footing, unconcerned with his function or station or what gain can be had of him, who enjoys his company for himself alone.

Still, however. There are times, growing ever more numerous, that Hob will use the word—my friend, we're friends, that's what friends do—and Dream will agree, with a faint smile, while his own mind derides him with sneering sharpness.

Liar. Liar; you are not his friend.

Because, increasingly, he has. Concerns, about his own ability to be a friend to Hob.

A friend would not seek every opportunity to touch Hob's hand, his arm, simply to know the feel of Hob's skin warm beneath his fingers. A friend would not find distraction in the shape of his mouth, the crinkling of his eyes when he laughs, the dark hair visible at the open neck of his shirt. A friend would not observe him with predatory hunger when he walks, when he stretches, when he drinks.

A friend would not. Wonder, what his kiss might taste like, nor what magnificent sight he might make unclothed. A friend would not indulge fantasies, of being tenderly disrobed in turn, held, kissed, gently handled, split upon his cock and lovingly driven to the heights of pleasure—

A friend would not entertain such thoughts again, and again, and again, of a man who has shown no inclination that he would be amenable to them.

But. Perhaps. The fidelity of continuing to wait, when the agreed-upon meeting was missed, the devotion inherent in building the New Inn, in ensuring that Dream would find him again—might these indicate some feeling greater than friendship? The bright enthusiasm with which he greets Dream, the willingness to share so much of his time, the ready comfort when Dream is vexed of some frivolous diplomacy necessitated by his function?

No; surely, such things are simply in the nature of Hob Gadling to provide to his oldest friend, who would be foolish to hope for deeper meaning.

Incessantly he dwells upon these thoughts, day after day after day by the measure of the waking world, and finds his disquietude increasing. The Dreaming, as it does, begins to betray his emotional state; at last he flees to the waking world, where the correlation of himself to his realm is slightly muted and neither his staff nor his creations can skewer him with knowing looks.

It is a grey spring morning, damp and chill with a thrill of freshness and renewal nevertheless in the air.

He has brought himself to the New Inn. Of course.

He lets himself in the back door and up the private stair, as Hob has generously allowed of him, and knocks before entering Hob's flat.

Hob is in the kitchen, phone in hand, dictating his grocery list into it as he takes stock of his cupboards. "Dream!" he greets, and his smile is a spear of sunlight lancing straight through Dream's nonexistent heart.

"Make yourself comfortable," Hob says, opening the refrigerator now and peering within. "Let me finish up my list, then we can head to the supermarket."

He does this always, adapts on an instant's notice when Dream comes to him unannounced, seamlessly integrates Dream into his plans.

Dream is entirely grateful.

It is easy, to slip into the rhythm of Hob's day, Hob's life. They walk together to the grocery store, unbothered by the mild spring wind or the overcast sky, even when it opens in a light sprinkle before they reach their destination. The shopping is accomplished with unhurried efficiency, Hob chattering on non-stop as he navigates the aisles, Dream content to listen and push the trolley. The walk back is much the same, Hob sharing stories of his students now, canvas bags swinging in either hand. Dream carries the rest, smiling faintly at Hob's animated retelling of an attempted classroom prank.

"Let me put this all away and I'll make us some lunch," Hob says when they reach home. Dream has observed enough in this kitchen that he can easily assist with both the putting away and the preparation of food. He is pleased to help despite Hob's assurance that as a guest he need not; there is peace to be had in this domestic routine, comfort in following Hob's cheerful direction.

The fare they make together is remarkably satisfying.

Hob delves into his grading after lunch, reading essays aloud, and Dream offers input and commentary that Hob gladly incorporates with his own. It is time pleasantly spent, hours passing un-noted, wrapped in the warmth of Hob's voice and Hob's function and Hob's presence.

They spend the evening in the pub, 'people-watching', to use Hob's words, a fascination he's developed over his most recent century. He guesses at people's stories as they laugh and smile and talk around him, and while Dream is not inclined to divulge every stranger's every secret in this game, he will occasionally give affirmation if Hob has guessed something correctly.

It is, again, time pleasantly spent, and Dream is loathe to let it end, no matter the duties he must attend to in the Dreaming, no matter that Hob must soon sleep.

"I know you've spent the day here already and you've got plenty to see to waiting for you in your realm, but you're welcome to come back upstairs," Hob offers, when the hour winds toward closing. "Don't want to rush you off, if you like." His head is slightly tilted, one hand absently toying with his earlobe; Dream has observed this unconscious habit in him many times, finds it inordinately charming, and just now it fills him with immeasurable fondness.

That Hob acknowledges his duties, understands that Dream must come and go, offers him the invitation to stay if he so wishes all the same; Dream is touched. Hob respects his function; Hob is nevertheless hopeful that he will yet remain. Hob appreciates time spent with him; Hob enjoys his companionship.

And Dream would not deny himself Hob's wishes, in this. "I would keep your company awhile longer, if I might."

"Of course." Hob's smile is so blindingly warm, so sincere, so pleased; Dream aches to kiss it.

A friend would not.

He follows Hob back upstairs. Hob pours them both wine; they sit; they talk. Dream gazes his fill, enamoured of the spark in Hob's eyes, the fall of his hair, his animated hands, the relaxed and easy lines of his body. These moments are a true joy, a memory that he treasures once they part, a feeling that he cradles close in the cavity of his chest until they meet again. He loves, he knows; but Hob is his friend, and Dream would not see that friendship brought to ruin by his misplaced affections.

The hour has drawn late enough to be early again, and he knows he is keeping Hob from his sleep. Reluctant as he is to go, reluctant as Hob has been to bring their evening to a close, Dream knows it is time. The wine is gone. The conversation has lulled. He stands from the sofa; Hob follows suit.

"I thank you, Hob Gadling, for sharing your day with me. It has been a pleasure."

"Likewise. I'm…I'm glad to have you. Anytime." Hob's hands are stuffed in his pockets as though to keep them contained, prevent their reaching out; he rocks up onto his toes and back, a nervous sort of fidget, endearing. Fondness swells in Dream, spills into his smile most certainly, and Hob smiles back with the same.

Except.

There is an edge of self-recrimination in it, a twist that says careful, and a tilt to his eyebrows as if resigning himself to a want he cannot fulfill. It is a mirror of the things Dream feels in himself, and suddenly, he is re-examining every assumption he has made about their friendship, like twisting a kaleidescope until an entirely new image comes into focus.

"I really enjoyed your company, today," Hob is saying, earnestly casual. "You're welcome whenever you like, you know. Course you know. My home is your home, all that."

Dream's perception shifts, a veil drawn from over his senses, and he sees.

"Your hospitality does you credit," he says, a rote response, because he cannot tear his focus from what is suddenly crystal clear and blazing before him. The dark warmth of Hob's gaze is ripe with longing. The tilt of his brow speaks of quiet hope. The softness around his eyes betrays depthless affection, fondness, love, and the bare parting of his lips begs for reciprocation.

Dream is gazing upon the story-perfect image of a man in love, pining for some hint that it may not be in vain.

"Hob," he breathes, revelation in his voice.

The quiet of the flat thickens, draws taut, waiting.

Hob swallows audibly. His eyes never leave Dream's.

Struck to the core, Dream moves forward. His feelings…need not be his alone, are not his alone. His love need not be held in check, made quiet, kept hidden. Here is Hob before him, hoping, silently asking, and all he need do—

All he need do is reply.

He lifts a hand, touches Hob's face, cradles it reverently as he tilts in.

"Dream—" Hob's voice is hushed, breathless, taut with anticipation and Dream could not hope to stop himself if he tried.

He touches his mouth to Hob's, fits them together, kisses him with careful ardor, and all the wants that clamor and shriek within him are at long last singing in the harmony of fulfillment.

Hob has clasped ahold of his wrist, is hanging on it as though he would fall if he let go, would perish if Dream removed his hand from Hob's face, and Hob is kissing him back softly, slowly, with such thorough heartfelt tenderness that Dream cannot bring himself to end it.

It is a long moment later that he finally manages, however reluctantly. He presses a final parting brush to the fullness of Hob's lower lip, draws back softly, opens eyes he does not recall closing.

He finds his resolve utterly wrecked, then, by the enraptured expression on Hob's face as he blinks out of the kiss, lips still parted, hand still clinging to Dream's at his face. His other hand lights on Dream's waist, holds, twitches as if to draw him closer, and Dream. Would gladly have them closer, as close as possible, as close as Hob would desire.

Hob draws in a shuddering breath, meets Dream's gaze, and every line and curve of his beautiful face is begging Dream to kiss him again.

Dream would like nothing better, than to kiss him again.

And so he does.

[quotablefanfiction]

It perhaps said something about Shen Yuan’s husband that Binghe’s greatest, most sophisticated original spell was designed to get rid of bloodstains on the fly before they had a chance to set.

Binghe’s highest achievement, a laundry spell (chp. 8)

Achievement Unlocked by The Feels Whale (miscellea) (AO3) The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System – Teen – Luò Bīnghé/Shěn Yuán, Mòběi-jūn/Shàng Qīnghuá #Reverse Transmigration #Shen Yuan Reveal #Luo Binghe vs The System #Meet the Family #Eating Disorder – ARFID #Non-Graphic Discussion of Emesis #Discussion of Past Child Abuse #OG SQQ’s Canonical Levels of Androphobia #LBH has PTSD and is Offended about it

One day, after five years of reasonably peaceful marriage with only a few kidnappings and sex pollen incidents, Shen Yuan is sent back to his old body without warning. Luo Binghe makes a deal with an alien entity calling itself the System to perform a mission in exchange for the ability to bring his husband home.

The mission is simple; [Uncover secret transmigrator plotline and flesh out the character wiki!]

At least it will be once he figures out what the words ‘transmigrator’ and ‘wiki’ mean.

Or: That one where Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe don’t realize they’re in a domestic fluff bonus chapter.

Written for the 2021 MXTX Big Bang with art created by Ataratah

[ilikedetectives]

I open the bird app and *SIRENS GOING OFF*

[pointed-achievements]

Is there an achievement for hiding your internet life from your parents for over a year?

Achievement unlocked:

Professional Prying Parent Parrier

...Stay safe, okay? Hide your internet life from your parent for over a year.

[thepariahcontinuum]

I know Swifties commenting on posts about Taylor Hebert is a common thing for all of Wormblr, but it's actually the first time it's happened on one of my posts

[henpillled]

i got my first "you are gonna be 25 when are you gonna have a baby?" by grandma!!!