#TWELVE PERCENT?!

[cozylittleartblog]

a little Postlet. . because i Miss them

[loveisactivated]

[sapphic-bats]

“Would you stop it?”

Will freezes, confused and shocked now, his yelling ceasing at once.

Mike shouts again. “Would you stop yelling at me? It happens so often now!”

The other boy’s anger returns in a moment. “Then maybe you should stop giving me a reason to!”

The hurt in Mike’s eyes, returning to Will’s glare, shows his knowingness enough.

“You’ve changed, Mike! You stopped caring. You stopped asking. And you never, never, used to do that! What happened?” Will’s voice quavers. “What did I do wrong?”

Mike’s eyes go wide with horror, reaching out his hands to comfort him in a touchless surrender. “Will, no, you didn’t do anything-”

“You can’t even touch me, Mike. Don’t pretend like you haven’t noticed it.” Will’s voice is much less furious, now. It’s upset. “Can’t hug me properly, can’t put a hand on my shoulder unless I’m scared. And it fucking sucks!”

Mike’s taken aback by the profanity. Will never swears.

He continues. “It sucks, because I’ve been looking for a little fucking comfort. You used to care. I care, so why can’t you? What have I done wrong?”

A sob is let out, one that makes Mike’s heart rip itself in half. “Will, please, come on, I’m sorry. I- I…”

He stands there numbly for a moment, a short one, because suddenly he’s wrapping himself around Will, holding him close. He fears what could happen, Will pushing him away and snarling disgusted words at him, a repugnant glint in his eyes.

But it doesn’t happen. So he stands there, holding him.

“All I ever wanted to do was spend my life, whatever’s left of it, with you.” He bites his bottom lip hard. “But that’s so stupid. It’s so dumb.”

Mike shakes his head. “No, no it’s not.”

“It is.” Will snivels. “It’s so idiotic that I’m crying to you like I’m fucking five again. That… that I…”

When he trails off, Mike speaks again. “I’ve spent my whole life saying that.”

Will pauses, puzzled. “What?”

“All the time, I used to- I still do act adult, like I know what’s gonna happen. What I’m doing. But there’s only a handful of things I really know.”

He continues. “I know the sky’s blue. I know my name is Mike. I know that you’ve always been my best friend.” Mike lets out a small, sad laugh. “But even those don’t stay true. The sky can go gray, my real, full name is Michael…”

He smiles, shakily and unsure. “And sometimes… sometimes I’m in love with you.”

He feels Will tense in his arms, only pulling away far enough to look him in the eyes. “Which I’m lying about right now, because I’m in love with you all of the time. Every day.” His smile’s slowly crumbling, scared and terrified and falling all at once. “But I’m so shit at showing it. I’m so bad at communicating, at showing I care.”

And that’s when he says it. “But you’re not.”

Will’s eyes widen. “I understand. I know what you’ve been saying, and I see how dumb it was that I couldn’t say it, in the quietest way, back. So, if you’re gonna be loud, and honest to me, then I’ll be loud and honest to you.”

Will’s heart skips about two beats; one for each of them. He’s breathing, and it’s so loud. It’s loud, and he knows, then. He feels. Lets himself guide without much thought at all.

He kisses Mike. And immediately, almost too quickly, Mike’s kissing back, holding him and swearing things silently that are too noisy to hear through their passionate embrace. It’s messy, but not rough, and they’re honest. They’re telling the truth, now.

They stand there like that for what feels like hours, holding and caring and showing it. Being too loud in that quiet. The first time, the first kiss, that first song that hums out in the nonexistent space between them. They can’t get close enough.

When they break for air, loud and obnoxious air that they require to live, Will says it. “I love you, too.”

And Mike laughs. “Can I get a redo?”

Will’s brows furrow at the ridiculous request. “A redo? On what?” He laughs. “You were doing so well already!”

And the other boy shakes his head, beaming. “I didn’t say it first. Like, the real thing.”

“Well, now I get the credit.”

“Fine. Sure.” But Will relents, so Mike speaks on. “I love you.”

Will grins wider. “I love you, too.” Then, after pressing a kiss to Mike’s enthused lips, he says, “Even though I said it first.”

[karamell-sweetz]

*kabedons you against the wall cutely and platonically*

TSUKASA. TENMA. is probably the kind of guy to freak the heck out at the prospect of intimate gestures.

he would ask so many times if his partner is okay with him doing certain things (sometimes /p sometimes /r depends on how you look at him) by things i mean like hand holding. hand kissing. tucking✨ a strand of hair ✨✨ behind their ear✨✨✨.

and if they say yes he does the thing. and immediately after he does the thing he SCREAMS and hides his head in his hands. like an idiot. he is such an idiot do u understand me

[lakecountylibrary]

It's my favorite time of year! Time to make my annual blog post about the best queer books I read in the last 12 months!

I've been doing this since 2017 so here, go back and see some trends: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

Now, you may look at the covers of this year's batch and think... Four out of five of those are... kind of intense looking. Are you okay. And the answer is no, but are any of us? These books will help! Probably!

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson (lesbian, gay, bisexual, poly characters)

Ok so this book comes with like. All of the trigger warnings. Government sanctioned homophobia, racism, eugenics, graphic depictions of violence... read this one when you're feeling strong. It's a fantasy novel about characters who fight against those things in a world colonized by a profit-driven (and often, too familiar) empire. Brilliantly written, but steel your heart.

Twelve Percent Dread by @emilyscartoons (nonbinary characters)

Let's lighten up a bit, shall we? This one's a graphic novel that, as promised on the back cover, is fast paced and action-packed. Follow the adventures of Katie and Nas as they navigate jobs, adulthood, and the whims of one eccentric tech CEO who's going to change the world, one way or another.

The World We Make by @nkjemisin (ace, gay, lesbian, trans characters)

This one's a sequel, so sorry (not sorry) you're going to have to read The City We Became first. You'll love it, and you'll love this sequel. It's about New York manifested in human avatars, and it's about home and the power of being where you belong. The characters deal with some very real, familiar problems - and then they STOMP ON THEM WITH AWESOME GIANT CITY POWERS. Very satisfying read, highly recommend.

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (wlw characters & general gender shenanigans)

This one's the third in the series, also not sorry about this one, start with Gideon the Ninth. It's sci fi! It's necromancy! God is there and he's depressed. It's really hard to describe.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow (bisexual, lesbian characters)

A novella for when you are short on time or attention span and want a Sleeping Beauty remix told by an author who knows her folklore. Definitely have the second novella in the series, A Mirror Mended, on hand for when you finish - you'll want more.

See more of Robin's recs

[tiend]

it's arguable if Rex and his age cohort count as 'child soldiers' by the time they're deployed; he's age ten absolute, twenty relative, who the fuck knows experientially since we don't know how flash training works and that's ignoring the bit where we learn domino and other squads like them have been shoved out into the field early but -

he was a child soldier, even if he's some kind of liminal adult when he meets ahsoka, and tells her experience beats everything.

every clone in his command is an experienced soldier. they've been learning how to do it from decant. even 99, who never left kamino - during the invasion of kamino his instinct is to get to the armoury so he can arm the younger clone cadets - the assumption being that they are entirely comfortable with the weapons. neither cody or rex see anything out of the ordinary in this.

same thing in the movies, too - kids in headsets in tiered rows, learning how to soldier for the republic, or in the cartoon episode where boba sneaks onto pond's flagship with the clone youth brigade, and it's framed as special treat for them to fire off live rounds on a flagship during a war.

it's difficult for me to elide their entire lack-of-childhood and say they aren't child soldiers, because they were, for the vast majority of his abbreviated life rex was, and so was everyone else he knew, and it's not like trauma as a child doesn't heavily inform who you are as an adult.

[swindlez]

i knew shiver would win but man. 55% of the votes? literally make results regional again if youre gonna have matches be regional

[haru-sagara]

Surprise! You’ve been visited by Santa Towa! Don’t worry about a naughty or nice list, he has no morals. Anyway, let’s see what he’s brought you today!

For Haru, his wonderful Captain, his soulmate, his person, Towa brought him a vibrant bouquet full of pink and peach roses, purple monte casinos, mini pink carnations, and an abundance of other pretty greenery. The arrangement sat in a cute yellow pitcher (that he painted himself!) with a lovely white bow wrapped around the neck of the container. Next to the flowers was a small box with a thin ribbon tied around it and a card attached that read ‘Don’t open until tonight when we’re alone together!!!’ followed by three praying hands emojis and a string of random emoticons. Towa didn’t want to miss Haru opening his second gift–He needed to be there for it. Hopefully Haru would follow along with his request.

Santa Towa?! Haru thought he was Sagara Claus!

Ahh man, he's really not used to this sort of thing. Gifts and all that. The moment he sees the pitcher full of flowers his face flushes despite his best efforts to play it cool. "Aww mate," He's grinning like an idiot before he can even reach the damn thing.

"Towa, you legend you..."

The pitcher is lovely and will certainly get a lot of use both in the dorm and in the park, and the flowers really liven up the place. Is this what Towa has been growing in that garden of his? Haru may have to widen the plot for him!

He ran a finger over the petals of the roses as he looked at the card, laughter bubbling out of him at the random emoticons and emojis. Classic Towa, he thinks with fond amusement. And, never one to turn down a genuine request from his vice, Haru pocketed the small box and went about his chores for the day, burning with curiosity over what Towa has planned for the evening. Before he sets off he has half a mind to send a text, and luckily for him, half a mind is all he needed this time.

> Towa!!!! > Thanks for the legend gift!! ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡ > We'll take the day off tomorrow and go do whatever you'd like tomorrow!!!!! > Mwah! (´ ε ` )♡

[radfem-raccoon]

The IUD cramping feels like death by a thousand cuts. Like, it's low level pain but it never ends. Ugh.

[ryanrosshq]

Ryan 📲 Selena

Ryan: I feel like make up has advanced so much since I was wearing it like 15 years ago. Also I was never aware of cleansing balms back then I always used either make-up wipes or cold cream but that shit looks like MAGIC. I would've sold my soul for that on tour.

Ryan: Also yes, I've fallen into a youtube spiral. What started out as guitar technique videos, turned into cooking hacks, turned into 5 minute crafts, turned into make up tutorials and get ready/unready with me videos. I don't even remember what I was trying to figure out but I do want to buy an air-fryer, and I think I would ace a winged eye.

[majorsomethingdisorder]

I need to work on my venroku fic

[wellhalesbells]

are you open to hearing some support/explanation with regard to the ending of A:TLA and Aang's decision not to kill Ozai? if not that's totally cool and you can return to your regularly scheduled blogging, there are just some angles and lenses most people don't seem to think to look at it through that i think are really important to that decision, contextually, IF you're interested in talking about it

I have seen a lot of compelling reasons for why Aang shouldn't have killed Ozai. Well reasoned, can agree.

I have seen zero compelling reasons for why Azula shouldn't have.

[fallingforfandoms]

* dusting off this old WiP of mine *

Man. It feels good to be back.

:')

[petrichorium]

There is nothing more evil than hsr putting two healing trees as the first wave in the deer part of hall of memories. If they did ANY damage I would be less furious but they DONT they just SIT THERE AND WASTE YOUR FUCKING TURNS

[livvyofthelake]

:/

[izhunny]

I'll get you twelve percent of a footstool

“I AM ANGRY, SHORT, AND I HAVE MORE MOVIES THAN YOU. RESPECT ME. STEVE. STEVE. STEVE.”