#but also very much aren't into any particular series' right now

[darlighl]

flops

i miss doing art casually

[laroserie]

— Various x-men characters, baking with reader

— characters ; Scott Summers. Rogue. Logan Howlett.

— warning ; no particular tw. author is not great at baking but he had a baking phase so. very sweet / fluff and self-indulgent. can be seen as platonic or romantic. reminder that author has not read the comics (only saw the films + is watching the animated series, xmen evolution and 97) and doesn't know much about some characters ( ex Rogue ) so author is doing his best to characterise them. author has favorite and it's shows. author says a cake count as a pastry and a pastry is basically any baked goods (if you do not agree. soryr that suck)

– Scott Summers.

Scott seems to be the kind of guy to be very open to baking, depending on what you want to bake.

Simple things like, cookies or a chocolate cake ? Sure. He is your man, he will be very happy to bake with you.

Now if you want to do something more complicated like, macarons or hell a pie, he will pat your shoulder and say 'Good luck with that' and walk out of the room. He is not even attempting to bake things that are too hard.

Why should he, when he can make simple things that taste good. There is no need to try some extravagant bakeries that most likely won't end up being very tasty the first time.

But with enough coercion and 'begging' (which you could call 'annoying him to no end') he will concede, but don't get him wrong - he is not at fault nor taking responsibility if it end up being disgusting.

Scott is the type to be very commending even in the kitchen, he is still the 'leader', here he will give you instructions and let you do it - until he does it himself because 'you aren't doing it properly' (he is trying to fix this habit up, don't get too angry at him).

He is also the type to follow the recipe and measurements extremely close, but if he's, for example, measuring flour and there is a bit too much but you have your back turned, he'll just let it be, let it slide, because no one else but him is aware of it, so it's fine !

He is still fun to bake around with, of course, but, he is still very, ... himself while doing so.

Once you are done, Scott is most likely to let you have the first bite - he is staring you down waiting to hear if you like it or not before trying for himself.

If the outcome isn't exactly the greatest - Scott will make it his personal mission to master it. He will not be beaten by something as simple as a pastry.

– Rogue.

If you have Rogue to bake with you, she will be overjoyed. She could be so happy that you want to bake with her, baking is an activity you usually do with people you are close to, so in her eyes you wanting to bake with her, show that you see her as someone you are close to in the very least.

She'll tell you to wait a few seconds, be gone and come back with a binder with handwritten families recipes and ask you if you wanna try one of them.

Unlike Scott, she is the type to not really care about measurements, she try to follow the ones from the recipes but if there is a bit too much flour, she won't scoop some out of it, because after all, that shouldn't change the outcome right ?

But that is, if you follow a recipe, if you don't ... let's just say there will be enough cakes - or whatever you both made - for weeks. She isn't really great at guessing how much is too much or how much is not enough.

She is absolutely the type to tease you while baking, if you are making something that requires meringues, she will do the meringue test (the meringue test is that if you take the bowl it's in and flip it upside down and nothing drop - it good, if it drop it's not) but not take any precautions, like doing it over the sink or counter. She will give you small heart attack.

Even if you don't really follow the recipes and have to change a few ingredients in the middle of the process because there isn't enough or because you didn't have it, the outcome will taste quite good most of the time. Rogue, will go and make everyone in the manor have a taste - because everyone should have a bit of what you both spend time on.

– Logan Howlett

Okay, now, baking with Logan is something that could only happen once in a blue moon. If you ask him to bake with you, he won't answer you and just give you a look that scream 'do i look like a fucking baker to you ?'.

Now that said, if you do go on your plan of baking - without him - there is a high chance that he will watch you do so, he will lean on a counter and watch you go about your baking.

He will comments on what you are doing and says snarky remarks about what you are doing - that's in his opinion - wrong.

Logan may help you when you are struggling - you are supposed to mix something together but it's a bit too hard for you, he will extend his hand and tell you to give it to him. But that's as far as he will go - and giving you the sugar that's in the cabinet next to him.

If you are making something like cookies, he will take one without asking, because after all he 'assisted' you (told you, you really sucked at mixing eggs and flour and telling you to be more organised when you bake because you are making one hell of a mess).

[cassandraclare]

*sighs a bit* Okay. Guys. I have been asked this question a lot, and answered it a lot. I don't know how to give a better answer — Dru & Ty&Kit share significance as main characters — so I guess I'll talk a little about comparison and structures.

First, all series have different structures. I don't think it's super useful or predictive to try to map an upcoming, unknown book series onto an existing series. In TLH the main character was Cordelia, everyone else was secondary to her, and people's roles and the significance of them altered from book to book. It was a big ensemble cast and they mostly stayed put in London especially in book 1.

TWP focuses on a smaller group of people. It also has a very different structure. In book one, Dru is not with Kit and Ty. They are in different places, both of which have their own stories that are significant to the plot. There is no way to see Place One without following Dru. There is no way to see Place Two without following Kit and Ty.

I know that TWP is a long way off. I know there are people who are very angry with me that there's such a gap, but there isn't anything currently I can do about that, or about the fact that I don't yet have the schedule for my upcoming books. That rests in the hands of several different publishers who must coordinate the release times and production schedules for four different series. I am not withholding any information about when these books come out. I simply don't know it yet.

I understand that TWP being a long way off makes for anxiety, and that those who are worried Kit and Ty will somehow be secondary are looking for tiny clues in microscopic details — micro-reading the of placement of the word "and" in my newsletter and such — that are meaningless, but I get that it all comes from anxiety. (FTR, those worried Dru will be secondary are equally anxious.)

I think there is only so much I can say. Because there's a big gap between TLH and TWP everything I do say or every image or hint about it is freighted with a weight of assumption it can't really support. Anxiety is always going to trump reassurance. And truly, at the end of the day, if you only care about Kit and Ty and find the idea of a Dru story tiresome, you will feel like they got shafted because when you absolutely hate a plotline, you will always feel like it's taking up way too much space. That's just how our minds work.

I've been doing this long enough that I know no book can survive a hostile reading. I know that Book Three of a trilogy is the one people hate until they don't. (When Clockwork Princess came out people hated it so much I considered quitting writing!) I know that it's wonderful to love a character but can also be a problem for people when I put out books that aren't about that particular character or dynamic. I know that for a lot of people, Sword Catcher and Ragpicker King are just tiresome things that have no business on my schedule because they're not Shadowhunter books. And I get it. But I also have to block it out, because I've been writing a long time, and I've gotten to a point where I know that I have to write the thing I want to be writing, because if I don't, if I sit down and try to force myself to write something I'm not feeling like writing at that time, I'll be making myself physically and mentally sick. And that's no good for anyone, really.

I suppose the positive thing is that, while this would not have been true five years ago, I am at the place where I want very much to be writing Wicked Powers. I missed these characters and am glad to be back with them. I consider this a story in which there are three main characters. And that is all I can say right now because it's all that I know.

(And this was much more of a general response to a lot of things than a specific response to this question, but I did feel like it was stuff that I needed to say. Creators are at the end of the day, just people. Sometimes we are powerless to reassure. Sometimes we are tired. Sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes we try things and they don't work. Sometimes we can't explain to you what our story is going to make you feel, because only reading it is going to tell you that. This may be one of those times.)

[sleepy-fiction]

Sticker Analogy, Steak Analogy

● Visualizing how Bill Cipher flipped his parents.

THESIS

Understanding how Bill flipped his parents from two-dimensional to three-dimensional is hard to visualize. Not only is it hard to visualize a 1D plane as 3D beings, but it's hard to visualize how detrimental it would be for a 2D being to abruptly translate to 3D. Today, I will simplify this disparity by comparing 2D planes with stickers and beef.

0.7K WORDS

BODY

Think of living in a 2D plane and only seeing 1D as being a sticker on the wall. We can replicate this by laying the left sides of our head flat against a wall and closing our right eye. What do you see? This is similar to how 2D dimensional being see their 1D world as a series of lines. Now imagine that you are a front facing sticker. We can replicate this by placing our backs flush against the wall and looking around with our left eye. We see a lot more this way, don't we? But this still does not change the fact that stickers, much like 2D beings, are stuck to their planes of dimension and why this is important.

Futhermore, if a 2D plane is a wall, and a sticker is a 2D being, gravity would work much differently. The only thing that keeps a sticker on the wall is its strong adhesive. Without it, a sticker would fall down towards the ground. Stickers need their adhesives as it is the very thing that keeps them connected to the wall. Think of the adhesive of a sticker as its organs; the glue is its most functional and sensitive parts! Stickers were made to stick to walls and to hide their sensitive parts.

Contrarily, if we were to remove a sticker, for any particular reason, we would have to peel the sticker off its wall. And if we were to flip a side facing sticker to face forward, we would have to peel the sticker onto its side. This brings up three possible problems, the first being it's organs, and the latter two on gravity.

Similarly, when we peel a sticker, we are forcefully pulling its most vital parts. It's adhesive off its body. Secondly, we are exposing the sensitive parts of the sticker to new gravity, as well as 3D forces such as wind and debris. Finally, depending on the plane, without its gravity, a sticker could either collapse in on itself, or as we more commonly know, a sticker would fall off the wal and to the floor.

DIAGRAM.1

In summary, A sticker is not meant to be double sided, its meant to be glued on the wall (the wall being its 2D plane). When we flip the sticker or remove the sticker from its natural plane, its sensitive parts are revealed to the elements. The sticky side of stickers aren't to be adoft in the wind.

Frankly speaking, ripping off a sticker doesn't always come out clean.

FIGURE 1.

Furthermore, 2D figures are not meant to be flipped, their body's aren't made to support the crushing weight of 3D forces on their sides. Think of the sensitivity of the sides of a 2D figure like searing a steak. If you were to poke a steak on both of its faces, you would find that it's tough and sturdy from the heat from the pan. But if you were to cut into it, the meat is soft and pink. Continuing with the food analogy, you can also beef as a good example of how 3D translation was detrimental it was for Bill's parents' organs.

DIAGRAM 2.

Let's imagine that I have seared beef on one side, but I did not oil my pan. As it adjusts to the heat, the seared side toughens and sticks to the pan. Now, this meat is completely stuck to the pan, and if I were to nudge or shake the meat in any direction, it would remain stuck to the pan. Flipping this meat would not be easy because it is fully stuck to the pan as it is now naturally joined a 2D plane.

In order to translate this mest back to 3D, I would have to take my spatula and dig either through the stuck side of the beef to forcefully rip it onto its side. And if the beef is still raw everywhere except its seared, it would collapse until the weight of the new gravity.

CLOSING

In conclusion, abruptly translating a 2D living creature to a 3D plane is a lot like removing a sticker from a wall, or flipping over stuck beef. It is unnatural, detrimental to the original forms of the items, and is incredibly greedy.

After all, it would've just been easier to accept what you had and not tried for more, ⚠️.

[suplicyy]

"Wanna Be Your Muse..."

Artist!Reader x Karasuno [Part 2]

Summary — He discover by chance that you love drawing him, maybe even too much...

Characters — Tanaka, Ennoshita, Sugawara, Asahi, Daichi.

— Fluff

— Gn! Reader

You've been together for a month now, and him going to your house and vice versa was starting to become a routine. That day, he was the one who went to your house to spend the afternoon.

You were in your room watching a series, when you said you were going to the bathroom and left the room, leaving him alone there. While you were gone, he watched your room, looking at some posters on the wall, books on the shelf, a notebook open on his desk... – a notebook? - he thought. You usually left your desk tidy, so it was rare to have anything "dropped" on it.

He knew it wasn't good to see your things without permission, especially when you weren't there to let him or not, but he thought about taking the notebook and putting it on the shelf with the others. So when he went towards your desk to get the notebook, he didn't expect to see some drawings of him.

Tanaka Ryuunosuke

This man is in love with you more than ever, but now that he has seen your drawings, he is already sure that he would spend the rest of the days of his life with you.

I swear, he almost passed out right there.

As soon as you come back from the bathroom, get ready, because he will praise you until the end of the day (but it's not like he doesn't do this every day, but on this particular occasion his compliments would increase by 100%)

At that moment his eyes almost turned into hearts.

Whenever you would do some of his art, he would offer to be your model; doing poses, gestures, expressions, everything you can imagine.

Chikara Ennoshita

He honestly never thought you would draw him. Among so many things you could observe and put in your notebook, why him?

But other than that, he was quite happy, his cheeks turning pink and an affectionate smile appearing on his face as he watched your artwork that you made with so much affection.

When you got to the room, he would tease you in an affectionate way.

He would try to help you with his opinions when you were in doubt about something.

Draw on paper or digitally? What colors to use? He would try to help you choose these and many other questions.

Sugawara Koushi

He would be so proud of you, I swear.

That definitely made Suga happier than he already was (he always say to you that just being in your company is enough to make him happy).

He would give you lots of kisses all over your face as a thank you!!

There would be times when he would see you drawing, and Suga would sit next to you with a sheet of paper and a pencil and try to draw with you. Even if his aren't as pretty or detailed as yours, you'll have fun together.

He would definitely paste the art you gave him on his bedroom wall. And he would always look at them when he was feeling down as a way to cheer him up a little (and it almost always works).

Asahi Azumane

Someone call an ambulance please, he just had a heart attack...

I'm serious, he was so nervous at that point that at any moment he could let out a not-at-all-manly scream.

Asahi would definitely keep your drawings for life, and always checking them out from time to time.

And if you asked him to draw him someday, he would say yes but he would definitely be a blushing mess.

And I don't know why, but in my mind Asahi is a pretty great artist. He would also draw you, but he would never have the courage to show you because he thinks you won't like them or because they aren't good enough.

Please give him some kisses and praise his drawings, he will be extremely shy about it but his heart will warm with so much love!!!

Sawamura Daichi

He would find the drawings very cute!! If you saw his expression when he was looking at the drawings of himself, you would see a big smile on his face.

Daichi would give you the most comfortable hug you had ever received in your life, and kiss the top of your head affectionately.

He already knew that you drew, and even saw you doing some of them, but he didn't imagine that you would draw him too.

I imagine he would ask you and Yachi to make posters for the volleyball club, with you doing the arts and her doing the designs!

And one of the reasons he did this was not because he wanted to show everyone how well his partner draws, no way... (yes, he did!)

A/N — I barely started writing here and I already disappeared, I'm really sorry guys!!! This week has been really busy for me, so it was a little difficult to finish this one...😭😭😭

And also... THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT!!! I never imagined that in such a short time so many people would read what I'm posting, I'm really very happy!!

— Read part 1 [here] !

[astraystayyh]

skz quotes series masterlist

these are the fics i am currently working on, where the quote is part of the dialogue or it inspired the fic as a whole!! brainstorming these was very fun, i hope you'll enjoy reading it <3 2/8 done.

chan x reader. soulmates!au. strangers to lovers.

in a world where you can only see colors once you meet your designated soulmate, you already know that you and chan weren't destined for another. but maybe, just maybe, the stars were wrong about you both.

"on purpose. i love him on purpose." - Casey Mcquinston.

Echoes of love- minho x reader. lovers to (one sided) strangers. memory loss trope. [posted]

if given the choice to, would you love minho again? yes, you would've once said in a heartbeat. but now, you aren't sure of your response anymore.

"to love someone is to firstly confess, I'm prepared to be devastated by you." - Billy-Ray Belcourt.

changbin x reader. fwbs with so much emotional and physical tension.

things were clear and simple between you and changbin- a strictly physical relationship with no strings attached. until those same threads bursted at the seams, making you question everything you thought you knew about him.

"if i kissed you right now, i don't think I'd be able to stop." - unknown. & "please forget your scarf in my life and come back later for it" - Mikko Harvey

hyunjin x reader. art students. forced proximity. slow burn. hanahaki disease!au.

working on an assigned art project for three months with hyunjin is an easy task, right? not so much when you're both exactly what the other is afraid of, and simultaneously, terribly longing for.

"f i loved you less i might be able to talk about it more." - Jane Austen.

Volcano- han x reader. enemies to friends to lovers. uni au. [posted]

you've never gotten along with han, your mutual prejudices ruining any prospect of friendship between you both. but you slowly realize that you are more similar than what you originally thought- your darkness recognizing his, and his light yearning for yours.

"I'll take care of you. it's rotten work. not to me, not if it's you." - Anne Carson.

felix x reader. exes to lovers. second chances. [au is yet to be determined]

in which you meet your ex felix years down the road, and you realize that maybe, just maybe, the love never truly deserted your heart.

"for a while it was love, wasn't it? for me, it was love." - Unknown.

seungmin x reader. best friends to lovers with a taste of unrequited love.

seungmin believed he was content with only being your friend. of being the one picking up pieces of you that others carelessly broke. but in the depths of his bruised heart, he desperately needed you to stitch him back together, for once.

"oh god, please. please. love me. love me. desperation sits heavy on my tongue." - a.m.

jeongin x reader. strangers to lovers.

jeongin hated the commute he took daily from his hometown to his work in Seoul. Until the day you stepped in the train and sat on the seat facing him, changing his view of this train ride, and his life.

"on the train we swapped seats, you wanted the window and i wanted to look at you." - Mahmoud Darwish

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

the taglist for this series is closed, there is no set schedule nor a particular order. comment or send me an ask if you want to be added. (general taglist is also open :))

p.s: if u happen to know whose the owner of these quotes, please tell me. most of them come from tiktok slideshows ajdjdh

[skibidilando]

A Day at quadrant: LN4 (Part 2)

Author note: I don’t even know how to post anything on this and never wrote a fic but I hope this is good but I think it’s pretty shit and I haven’t finished it yet and if any writers want to use this idea you can for sure just @ me please oh and if you have feedback please let me know thanks xx

Also i tried to change my like writing style thing cause i feel like it was shit last time but yeah idk

Lando x quadrant fem reader

Blurb: reader is a member of quadrant, she games most of the time but also likes f1 along with her best friend Ria bish. She is friends with all members at quadrant and finds it a good laugh with all her mates, but maybe her view of someone in particular is more than a mate..

Warnings: sexualising, swearing, mention of a gun, leaked tape, sad distraught reader, friends to maybe lovers if I make it a series? Smut-ish? If I missed any let me know (I don’t know how to do warnings sorry x)

Well wasn't last week a fucking eventful week. You still cant stop thinking about Lando right next to you comforting you about what happened. You're starting to feel better about the whole issue and get some support from people online and all the other members of quadrant, but fuck that was just shit. You haven't been in any quadrant videos since, but you're in a better place now and probably need to start participating in them more.

Lando and ethan make the idea of quadrant meeting up at landos apartment and trying to train like him for a day. You aren't exactly looking foward to it but oh well, at least Ria is going. You text your gc back and tell them that you will do it too. Then, you get a message.

Lando: are you 100% sure ur okay to come back and film already? you dont have to if you dont want to.

Y/n: yep. I need to get in more videos and im feeling better anyways, thanks for asking.

Lando: all good

Well that was polite and unexpected of Lando to reach out, but whats more unexpected is for your panties to be soaked right now over 2 text messages. well fuck, oopsies.

That night all you can think of is Lando, it's a bit embarrassing to admit, but he was circling around your head like it was an f1 race. You decide to get your head out of it and call Ria to come over and have a chat, since she is your best friend after all. Shortly she pulls up to your apartment in Monaco, funning in bursting of excitement to see you.

"RIAAAAAAA!" you shout when you open the door for her. "Y/NNNN" she replied back. You give her a hug and make her a cup of coffee just how she likes it. You guys sit and chat about the f1 grand prix in Bahrain coming up, and how you hope Lando continues to have a good season with Oscar this year. "Did you see the chat about the new yt vid we doing" You ask Ria. "omg yes and they are bringing angry ginge in I heard" Ria replies back.

"STOP IT" you yell back laughing. You love ginge and his videos, who wouldn't? he's a very very funny bloke. "OMG i''m definitely coming tomorrow then to the recording are you kidding?".

Unfortunately time goes by when you're having fun, and Ria was the most fun, so she had to go a few hours later which felt like minutes. Besides you both need sleep for the youtube vid you're filming tmr at Lando's. You go to bed and try to sleep as much as you can, which didnt happen lol.

rise and shine love. It's already 6am and time to go to Lando's place to film. Normally you don't have to wakeup early as fuck but for the purpose of the video and "being Lando Norris" you had no choice. You get to his apartment after parking at the front and knock on the door, to which he opens. "hi y/n" he says nicely and gives you a hug. "So good to see you Lando, where is everyone?".

"first here mate" he says almost excitedly. "so what are we actually doing today like playing video games or some shit" you say. "haha your funny mate, we are lifting weights, eating what i eat, using the sim, and neck strengthening" he says laughing at you. "fuck r u taking the piss" you say laughing. "oh my days Landoooo do I look like an f1 driver" you also reply with. "well yeah thats the whole point of the video ya dumb fuck" he replied jokingly.

"hahaha get fucked lando nowins" you snap back. he laughs as you proceed to miss the chair you went to lean on making you flinch and stumble looking like an idiot. he is still laughing which makes you laugh too. "Lando norizz" u reply. "haha you think I have no rizz, funny" he replies egotistically. "yeah i do actually" you don't at all, in fact he hasn't even tried yet he has rizzed you up. "wanna bet?" he snaps out.

you don't have time to think before he pins you against the wall and just looks at you with those hot eyes of his. you can already feel your cheeks burning and your thong getting wet. "you say I have no rizz yet your cheeks are burning, and I bet those panties are more soaked than that porridge you tipped over the counter when you stumbled at my gaze, huh?" he grunts out.

what the fuck just happened, first how did he know and secondly did he just pin you against the wall. not the first time you want that to happen. you know what fuck it if we wants to be like that then he may as well be uncomfortable the whole video.

"how did you know about my tight, black lacy thong i'm wearing over my tight pussy hey? not your first time thinking about it aye?" you tease him, but while walking over to him you see him looking uneasy.

why? because ginge was at the fucking door and heard that, and can see Lando's boner from a mile away. "well bonjour" ginge says laughing. "bonjour mate" lando says as he daps up ginge covering his boner and trying to ignore what just happened.

You already know this video is gonna be the longest set of your life..

sorry its a short one x

[twig-tea]

TWIG! Friend! I couldn't help but notice your tags in my excitement post about getting to La Pluie -- I see that you and I are YYY mutuals. :) Let's call YYY... say... zany or offbeat -- off the beaten path of the usual romance-dominated field of Thai BLs. What are some other "zanier" BLs (not just Thailand, but everywhere in Asia) that you love and would recommend for an off-the-wall experience? And, why?

@waitmyturtles I'm so sorry you sent this a million years ago and then I kept letting it languish. And it's extra rude because I love this question! It's so hard to add something like YYY to a rec list without a billion caveats, so this is a great chance to shout out some of the series & shorts that don't get as much attention. A few of these I know you've seen but I have to include them for completeness.

First, for the sake of other people reading this, as Turtles has written about, Cheewin brings his own kind of zaniness to almost everything he works on; my faves of his other than YYY are Make It Right and Secret Crush on You (the exception is Bed Friend, which is not in any way zany but I still liked it).

Also going to mention that since Turtles asked for off the beaten path zany, I won't be mentioning any of the popular comedies (in case you're wondering why I Became the Lead in A BL Drama or Man Who Defies the World of BL aren't on this list).

Alright now that's out of the way, let's get into the other recs!

Zany lesser-known BLs other than YYY

Ossan's Love Franchise (Japanese, 2016-2024, GagaOOLala)

It is... less true now that this series is lesser-known than it was when I started writing this draft (in uh... August 2023) but I shall persist! The franchise details alone for this series are complete crack:

A 2016 45-minute short [skippable imo];

The 2018 original series which builds the short into a zany 7-episode comedy series about a man in his late 20s who suddenly finds himself the love interest of his older boss (in his ~50s) and his coworker/roommate (in his mid-20s);

The sequel film Ossan's Love: Love or Dead (2019)which turns into an action film halfway through for no clear reason but also remains a romantic comedy in which the mains from the original season decide if they want to stay together

The AU season Ossan's Love: In the Sky (2019) which has the same characters of the lead and his boss from S1 and the short, but this time they work in an airport and all of the surrounding cast is different and leads to a very confusing love rhombus. Incredible 10/10 no notes [people hate this because they like the mains from S1 & the film but I loved the mess]

The sequel season to S1 and the film, Ossan's Love Returns (2024) which you can absolutely watch in isolation and is about the main couple re-establishing their relationship and their found family friend group after being long distance for a few years.

It's truly excellent comedy, and gets better every outing; there are some barriers that might prevent some enjoying the earlier seasons but the most recent one is really delightful. You can hear me talk more about this series with @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup on The Conversation podcast!

Diary of Tootsies (Thai, 2017, grey/Netflix (for the movie))

I love Diary of Tootsies and the follow-ups so much. SO much. One of the best laughs of my life was the opening to the movie, and I cannot be in a long car ride without thinking about the purse incident in s1. This show doesn't get a lot of BL fandom attention because the romance arcs are not typical for BL (but that's one of the things I love about them). And the friendship in this series is truly what sells it. Season 1 is self-contained, a lot of people dislike the romance plot of S2; I really like the arc across s2 to the movie (as established above, I tend to be less invested in a particular ship across a franchise or multiple franchises). The movie plot is all about reconciling who you thought you wanted and who you are with (amongst all kinds of shenanigans).

HeHe and He (Hong Kong, 2018-ongoing, YouTube)

This mockumentary sitcom-style series does tackle some serious topics and is also absolutely hilarious nonsense across its 3 seasons. The very simple premise is that a gay guy ("hehe" is slang for gay) and a straight guy who are old friends become roommates when the gay friend breaks up with his longterm boyfriend and needs a place to stay, and hijinks ensue. They do direct-to-camera confessionals spliced in with scenes from their lives. I love this show so much, and it would actually be high up in my indie BL rankings if it were completed. I lose it at least once an episode. It's very queer (if you want a show that tackles everything from hookups to turning everything into a joke to being so, so mean to each other while also loving each other dearly to even chemsex, look no further), and I am in love with all of the wacky characters that have formed a love-hate found family that is deeply relatable. The creators posted a video a few months ago saying they're struggling to end it in a way that they're happy with so I'm not sure we'll ever get an ending for the show. But if you like comedy and queer content it's worth a watch even incomplete! I've been very patiently following this project since 2018 and it's legitimately one of my favourite shows.

Rainbow Prince the Series (Filippino, 2022, YouTube)

This is a musical; it is a lot of campy nonsense. There is royalty, political intrigue, a dog, kidnappings, and so. much. singing. The songs are surprisingly catchy and it's all extremely good fun. Also a lot of the dialogue is very clearly improvised.

Hey! First Love (Vietnamese, 2019, YouTube)

This series of shorts are mostly just silly fluff. The very tenuous plot is that these shorts are slice-of-life moments from a young established couple, but it's all really just excuses for Vietnamese comedy and BL romance tropes. If you haven't watched anything from Vietnam, this is a very low-stakes commitment (I think it's under 30 minutes of content all told; there are 4 "episodes" which are spliced together shorts, each of which has a tiny plot but there is not much of an overarching narrative, and then a Q&A with the actors at the end) and gives you a sense of the Vietnamese sense of humour. Both of these actors have gone on to continue to be in other Vietnamese BLs, so if you have watched Vietnamese BL you may recognize them! The production quality on this is charmingly low.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (India, 2019, Amazon Prime)

This film was such a joy to experience in a live theatre. Billed "the first Gay Bollywood RomCom", this movie was a riot of chaos, dance numbers, shenanigans, hilarity, and cuteness. I loved the way this film incorporated the very real legal change to decriminalize homosexuality in its story. Arguably not "BL" as it very much fits in the bollywood tradition not the BL tradition, but OP did ask for all of Asia!

Like Love (China, 2014-15, grey)

And no I don't mean censored--this is from before China started censoring its BLs. This show has kisses as shown in the gif, and even (poorly cropped) sex scenes. It also is super bizarre. I was so confused by this show, the characterization, the fourth wall breaks, and how disjointed it was so I went to read the source material and...it turns out it's one of the most perfect adaptations I've ever seen, the book is in fact exactly like this. The characters are caricatures, there is no bridging between scenes, and the plot is the most absurd take on 'loserfail no-thoughts-head-empty character who doesn't admit he's gay but still ends up in a dedicated and loving relationship with a rich handsome domineering man ' I've ever seen. It's a bewildering experience. Note the sound quality on this one is suuuper miserable. I like s2 way more than s1 (s1 is getting together and includes a lot of the bullying-teasing and I'm-not-gay-I-just-need-him-to-pay-attention-to-me stuff, s2 is the honeymoon phase + getting the homophobic parents on board) but S1 is definitely the zanier of the two. That being said, if you wanted, I think you can dive right in to s2 (there's a direct-to-camera explanation of what happened in s1 at the start of it). Note that they set up a cliffhanger at the end of 2 in anticipation of s3 which was going to be made in 2016 but was cancelled because of the political changes in China in 2016 (this is one of the reasons I went to read the source material; they do get a happy ending in the books).

This is an extremely silly but also touching franchise with a lot of tropes I don't love, but also a lot of things I do (and just neat to see some stuff so early in BL: Underwater kiss? Helicopter ride? Femme fatale becomes friend of the faen? Supportive grandparent? It's all here). There are some fantastic speeches in s2 about supporting your gay children; I liked how in this the kids didn't give up on their parents but try to reconcile their filial piety with their dedication to each other. If you do watch S1, highly recommended you watch the series version rather than the film. For "S2"/the follow-up film, make sure you look for the uncensored film version.

The Lover Room 709 Cut (Korean/Japanese, 2016, grey)

This starts extremely silly, plays with BL tropes, and gets a little bit serious at the end but is mostly just full of puns and innuendos. Includes one of the most hilarious takes on kabedon, and egregious use of the soundtrack from Brokeback Mountain. Also: fart jokes. Folks worried it was going to stay teasing the audience but it does commit and we do get an actual resolution that is satisfying. I admit I've never seen the whole series (which includes stories of 3 other couples in the apartment building) but the BL cut is readily available if you search. Make sure you look for the deleted scene with the lotion application--this scene walked so IFYLITA could run (I'm kidding, but it's very funny seeing this scene now and thinking about that one).

The Boy Next Door (Korean, 2018, YouTube)

This is another older series playing with censorship (similar to The Lover) in which the two characters end up in BL romance tropes but are not actually in love...or are they? The shenanigans are very fun. This one is left more ambiguous than The Lover, which is one of the reasons it's further down the list.

Go! Go! G-Boys (Taiwan, 2006, grey)

I debated between this and another quirky comedy from Taiwan in the early 2000s, Formula 17, but while that's unequivocally a better movie, this one is lesser known and more zany, so it technically better fits the bill for this ask (but if you haven't, go watch Formula 17!). The plot is a bit cringe--straight boy signs up to gay beauty contest to pay off his girlfriend's debts (accompanied by his gay childhood friend who is in love with him) and finds his truth. Meanwhile a homophobic police officer has also infiltrated the contest for investigative purposes. Amongst all that admittedly not great setup, however, are several bizarre sequences including the incredible Lord of the Rings recreation scene (complete with Gatchaman of course), a killer soundtrack, a random delivery of poultry, someone slapping a cake, and, most absurdly unbelievable at all: police taking harassing death threats to the gay contest seriously. It does a great job of setting up what should be a dramatic scene and then immediately undercutting the tension with something absurd. It's not narratively good, but it is a fun ride! And yes, there is a happy ending. Stick around for a fourth wall break (literally) after the credits.

Something Crunchy Crunchy (Korean, 2018, GagaOOLala)

Extremely bizarre little musical short in which snacks are anthropomorphized as hot guys and they sing songs about being eaten and wanting to be eaten. Played entirely sincerely, but the concept is screamingly funny. Fascinating. Also, kind of poly?

Dom (Korean, 2016, GagaOOLala)

Another hilarious and weird Korean short, this time in which we see the protagonist's sex life from the perspective of the condom boxes that are anthropomorphized and given personalities based on their brands.

And since we can't leave out the ladies,

A few zany GLs:

Lily Fever (Korean, 2015, YouTube)

I wrote about this one a little in my GL rec list; it is absolutely bonkers nonsense. There is not really a plot, it's a fever dream of a show. Chaos! Not so much a romance as an excuse to see cute girls flirt and make out.

Legend of Yunqian (China, 2020, grey)

I debated including this one because only the middle is really the zany part, it's sandwiched with more serious xianxia drama. But in the middle of this miniseries is an extremely cute interlude in which xianxia characters time travel to present day for ~reasons. It's censored but there is very little uncertainty about feelings, and manages to be absolutely charming. Worth the short runtime for this kitten quickcut (subbed "Whomst?!" in the show for ultimate comedy). Warning for character death (but it's ok because time travel to reincarnated character!) Subtitled by the indispensable @douqi7s [see their pinned post for links].

BetCin (Filippino, 2022, WeTV)

A lesbian couple with a YouTube following decide to break up but then find out there's a contest for couples, and they decide to pretend to still be together to try and win the contest rather than tell their fans they've broken up. This series does some really interesting things by starting with a breakup and then looking at how two people who are no longer dating manage BGP while also managing their feelings. There's a lot going on in this show, and the hijinks definitely ensue!

Perfect One Night Stand (Korean, 2020, GagaOOLala)

This is a cute Strongberry GL short in which a friend agrees to help her other friend find a girl to have sex with before the day is over; they go through several quirky candidates looking for the titular perfect one night stand.

[suzukiblu]

hi! i have a question for you, if that’s ok? i always try to leave comments on fics i read, especially on ao3 where it’s really easy to do that. in other fandoms i’ve been in, before getting into dc, fic authors often responded to my comments on their works and it was pretty easy to make friends through that and other social media and have lots of fun interactions talking about the fandom and our favorite characters etc.

however, i’ve found with this fandom it seems to be very different? almost nobody seems to respond to comments on their fics and i’ve found it very difficult to make any fandom friends, even in a casual-tumblr-mutuals kind of way. (this isn’t about you btw, you seem like the friendliest person i’ve come across on here so far which is why i’m asking you haha)

i completely understand many people are busy or some authors may find responding to comments overwhelming, but i was just wondering if this is something you or anyone else has noticed? is it a quirk of the dc fandom in particular? or am i just getting older and fandoms in general are changing haha, idk.

anyway sorry for the long ramble, feel free to ignore if i’m making no sense. i really enjoy all your stories (and your art! your art style is so cute!) and i hope you’re having a great day :]

Thank you, I'm glad you like my stuff! Especially the art, that I always feel like I'm worse at, hah. ❤️ I hope you're having a great day too. And asking me questions is always okay, no worries! I can't always get to everything in my inbox, to be honest, but I do my best to respond to as much stuff as I can. Either way, though, I never mind getting questions.

Personally I don't currently respond to most of my comments (I try to answer questions that aren't spoilers, but that's usually it these days) because it's just really easy for me to run out of spoons doing it and end up down a rabbit hole of comments instead of actually WRITING, which stresses me out because then I don't feel suitably "productive" for my imposter syndrome brain, and I also know a few people who don't respond because of anxiety or things like that, but I don't know if it's specifically a DC fandom thing or an overall trend in fandom in general? Every fandom is different, obviously, and also certain SECTIONS of those fandoms are different. Like, when I was into MCU fandom, I never really expected super-involved responses when I wrote Stucky because there was SO MUCH Stucky that it seemed like a lot of people just kinda churned through it and it all blurred together for them, but when I wrote about Darcy Lewis oh BOY did people come out of the woodwork to tell me how much they loved it in GREAT detail. Having a niche in general helps, I think, because if you're doing something that isn't super-common or interested in something that isn't super-common, people will be more excited to see it from you or hear you appreciating it from them.

I WILL say there's only a couple DC authors I can currently think of who I generally assume I'll get replies from when I comment on their fic, but I don't know if that's the specific fandom or just that I'm not reading a ton of fic right now and therefore have a smaller pool of authors I'm commenting on. Like, it's hard to tell, honestly. Also DC is a very widespread fandom and pretty old and established, but there's definitely characters and series and canons that just get ignored by huge chunks of it, so if you're into them you either have a real easy time finding people who are excited to talk to you or a real HARD time, depending on where you're looking.

Either way, I think it's really great that you try to leave comments on everything you read and a really good habit for the fandom ecosystem, I know a TON of authors who appreciate getting even, like, a single friggin' emoji or kudos, whether they respond or not. Literally any not-a-hate-comment comment is good for the ecosystem, imo, even when it's not obvious that it is. I very literally once wrote, like, eighty thousand words pretty much just because someone left a very kind comment on an old fic I'd abandoned. I did not actually RESPOND to that comment, as far as I remember; I just changed my mind about abandoning the fic and went through the long-ass process of getting my brain back into it and then the even longer-ass process of writing another 80k over the next few months/year until I got to the end. So like, I VERY much am a person who believes in the value of feeding the ecosystem, hah.

I am largely a call-and-response type of writer myself, so like, getting comments or people talking to me in my replies/asks/messages is basically like somebody is putting tokens in the fic machine and pulling a lever, and we'll all just see if I write three sentences or 80k or secretly tailor a fic towards things a frequent commenter's mentioned appreciating/being into. It's a surprise every time, with me!! And like, that's just how I work, of course, everybody's different, but I have NEVER met anybody who told me they didn't like getting comments.

When I leave comments myself, I tend to feel like more like I'm just telling the author that I think they're on the right track with the thing they're writing, one way or another, and letting them know it got a reaction or feelings or the like out of me, but I'm generally not really expecting a response from them. For actually making friends, I've found MUCH more luck in talking to people on Tumblr and Discord than on AO3. I've made friends on AO3 on and off over the years, but it's just much, MUCH easier for me to do on Tumblr and Discord. Though I kind of have a cheat code there in the sense that I'm a pretty prolific writer and so I've kinda encouraged people to get into the habit of checking my blog pretty frequently or even put alerts on for it, so generally people have a lot of opportunities to talk to me or be reminded I'm around.

I tend to notice people who show up repeatedly in my Tumblr mentions, personally, especially when they talk in the tags or comment in the replies or send me asks, and some of them I've either become friends with or just, like, secretly adopted as secret faves and sometimes sneak little extra treats of Things I Think That One Tumblr Person Would Like into my writing or pick specific WIPs to work on because I think "hey last time I wrote this [ TUMBLR FAVE ] really liked it, I should write more!" (and then I cackle in triumph/delight when they reblog it later, for that is a Victory, mwahaha), but like, it's a process? I definitely feel like making friends in fandom is generally slower than it was once upon a time, but also I'm a Fandom Old so there's been a few migrations and such over my time online too. And also Discord confuses me, hahaha. Discord is VERY confusing to me.

Ummm . . . okay I got INTO that reply, I guess, lol, but I hope that answered your question? Or at least helped answer it, if nothing else!

[mantisgodsart]

[Tonight I dreamed of teeth and claws and what felt like a million grasping hands chasing me through an endless field. The air smelled of sulphur and acid, and I could tell something was watching me, far beneath the moss and earth.

I woke to find I had been shedding wing scales in my sleep, and that apparently one of my primary containment chambers was registering a foreign presence within it. The only thing there when I checked, however, was Mal, who is supposed to be there - and certainly not supposed to be registering as an intruder.

I hope I don't have to update containment over this. Rescribing every little knot in the weave every time I need to strengthen or add to it gets tiring, when you have to do it multiple times a month. Maybe I should start looking for an apprentice again, if only so I don't have to maintain the entire laboratory myself.

There's an old joke about this sort of thing, charmsmiths only getting an apprentice when they need to make sure someone's take down notes about the experiment that kills them. I'd like to think it's more simply making sure that my knowledge doesn't die with me...]

One of the two left over from @bug-oc Round 1, Mal from @sushiikando gets a post all to their own, just like a Round 2 contestant! This is both because zey're a big/complicated design and because we... really aren't gonna be done Pola any time soon. Which is probably what we get for making a comic, even a short comic, while in the time of summer where we actively struggle to think. Oh, well. We'll get it done eventually.

More details under cut, as usual - despite our enthusiasm for walls of text, we don't particularly want to completely obliterate your dashboard. We're getting kicked in the dick by fatigue right now, so further ones might take a bit - we've got Maria sketched out, and Pola's comic only really needs painting and accompanying story, so all fates willing, it shouldn't be too too much of a holdup. There's an abundance of things that we would LOVE to be doing right now, but heat does awful things to our brain, we're still feeling off from being sick, and with tourism season in swing to boot even with our current medication it's an uphill battle to get ourself to do anything at the moment. Hopefully, this clears up soon. For now, we're still very much alive.

First things first - wow, this one took a few drafts. Although not really an originally anticipated difficulty, the lack of reference of just what Mal looks like under that coat made a lot of our original ideas fall a bit flat unless we wanted to make something up from whole cloth. Marigold's transmutations don't include clothes by default, since actively incorporating inanimate objects into an animate body is both difficult and much, much fussier than usual when you're using Marigold's particular methods.

We tried a few initial designs that stopped at that point, then tried at incorporating the coat into the design more properly a la the more "abstract" brews, but after a few fell flat, we sort of... just started throwing spaghetti at the wall, so to speak, and spaghetti stuck. The body patterns here are, for the most part, entirely made up. Maybe the patterns distorted, maybe they didn't - we don't know what's under the coat and we will likely never learn. It's probably fine.

Our primary inspiration here is eastern dragons, particularly the mythos of the koi who climbed the waterfall - the colors and patterns of Mal's design reminded us of koi patterns on first glance, and after a few drafts, we started running with the concept, using both Mal's wings and the shape of the lab coat for "fins". Runaway To The Stars's Bug Ferrets also provided some inspiration (particularly in the face - if you click the link, those mandibles might start looking very familiar).

We also took some amount of inspiration from theveryworstthing's REMwolf series, particularly Laika and The Morriss Dragon, though a lot of the particularly body-horror-y and sillhouette-breaking effects we might have wanted to include in a more detailed piece got nixed by a lack of time. We cannot take the duration of the entire tournament to draw one Round 1 contestant, unfortunately. Even if we wish we could've gotten a bit more detailed, and we very much would've liked to tinker with working in some design elements akin to Sea Legs or Guard Dog or Biology Lab, we're very nearly a full month overdue by now. We have other contestants to paint, and so we must move on.

...fuck, this took a while. Thank you for being patient with us while our brain's scaffolding falls to pieces! We dearly appreciate it. Hope you have an excellent summer!

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Hi Rose 💜 Weird question time! Do you have a favourite quote(s) from the series you've watched? Like, some sentence that got stuck in your head. I am looking at the empty wall in my room and feeling a very adult urge to just write something on it so I'm looking for inspirations.

No pressure though, it's just my head is completely empty and my memory is bad 😅

Hi Kat💜

So my memory is also terrible. A lot of the times I forget quotes really quickly. But I was thinking about this and going through the rolodex in my brain, and realized that I do remember lines from shows, but usually they aren't significant by themselves. Like for me it's a quote that brings me straight into the show again, like I'm seeing in my head and it's invoking the same feelings that I felt during the show. (also there's also the language thing, where I'm not always sure if I know exactly what they're saying so I'm always afraid of giving it weight for some reason)

Like for example. If I'm thinking of WDYEY, I think of onions, and chicken thighs. Specifically "I think I should use two chicken thighs", as said by Shiro. Because it makes me remember them instantly, and have the same feeling I had when I watched. Also lot of the times I think of bits of dialogue and not necessarily lines by itself. Like for instance in ULS when Hotae is talking to Donghee while cleaning and he says a bunch of things ending with something like "But that's all bullshit. Because when you can't endure something, then you just can't endure it."

So I don't know if these will help you, because although I think I could maybe put them on my wall or something, and it would be meaningful to me, I don't know if it would be the same for you.

But anyway, you asked and I will tell you some of my favourite lines, that I think of, when I remember certain shows. (these are from memory, so they might not be verbatim)

Light on me "Yesterday, today and tomorrow. I'll still be thinking about you" Shinwoo - this is of course an all time favourite.

Love Sick "It barely takes any time to fall in love, so why does it hurt so much to say goodbye?" Noh (I'm gonna stop at one with this one because I'd be here all day)

Gaya Sa Pelikula "Tell me a story Karl." & "I refuse to be a plot device that triggers somebody else's identity crisis only to be left alone in the end" & "Jesus is too forgiving to be a Capricorn" Vlad (yeah this show also had a lot that I like)

Kieta Hatsukoi "We don't have to be like everyone else" Ida

If it's with you "I think liking you might be good" Ryuji

Old Fashion Cupcake "Don't just be a part of my life. Please be my entire life" Togawa

To My Star "If it's too hard for you. I'll go to you." Seo Joon

We Best Love "Am I still the lucky one?" WBL 2 "You wanted to stay with me forever, but you didn't believe in my forever" Shu Yi

Theory of Love "Why Khai? Why are you still waiting" "I don't wanna love you anymore. It hurts" < I can hear this one in my head. Third

The Eighth Sense "I'm getting sick of wearing a mask" & "Let's try it together even if we're afraid" Jae Won (this one is another I'd have several)

Unintentional Love Story "I'll love you instead." Ji Won Young

I've not been able to really go look, because life, but I know I have more and if more come to me I'll let you know. I know there are a couple from kdramas I really like but for the life of me I can't remember them right now. The only one that comes to mind is from Navillera that it's just "Did you soar?" cause I get emotional just thinking about it.

Anyway since perhaps I'm not the best person for this particular thing, because I have a terrible memory and maybe because I'm more of a visual person when it comes to tv, I thought I'd open the floor to some people that might be able to help. So tagging some folks that might be able to contribute to your endeavour.

@lurkingshan @twig-tea @wen-kexing-apologist @bengiyo @hyeoni-comb (no pressure of course)

[forever-will-last]

hellooo do you have recommendations for cadina fics? I love "a thousand pictures in my mind" and I'm also reading "mirror me back" and "get in, loser" but I want to start reading more!

I DO!!! I made a post about this a little while ago so I'm just gonna borrow that same list again I made. I admittedly haven't been reading too much lately (I have been working on the Cadina Week content NONSTOP since the last update of a thousand pics basically) but here is my list!!! Both get in loser and mirror me back are actually on it already but I'm just going to send the list as is!!!

cadina fic recs (first, some ones from my friends, and then many others i heavily recommend, in no particular order):

Get in, Loser! We're going... to fall in love? - SUPER cute slow burn made by the incredible amazing talented stunning @16sydd16. Genuinely one of my favorite Cadina fics of all time.

ANYTHING by the Cadina Captain herself, Chisamaya. Maya's been holding down the Cadina fort for YEARS and has 13 INCREDIBLE Cadina fics on her AO3. She's also on Tumblr @chisamayas and posts super cute fanart of Mean Girls and Cadina all the time! My personal favorite fic of hers is Collared (very smutty pet play fic) and I will live and die a Collared stan.

can i come and sweep you off your feet? - super adorable (and angsty at some points, especially for poor regina) fame AU by my very talented friend ninesixtheenths / @girlkisser-wieners on Tumblr! i absolutely also recommend her rugby fic, which is rejanis but is 10/10, as well as her regret indie band au fic.

(mean girls) series by anonymous - this is from another friend of mine who posts these anonymously instead of tying them to her account. there are SO MANY good ones in here including a soulmates au, a superhero au, and some GREAT character studies of both regina and cady. there are a few rejanis fics in this series too but they're all phenomenal.

okay onto fics that aren't from my friends but i heavily recommend, in no particular order:

Mirror Me Back - okay i know i said no particular order but this one's a lie. if you haven't read MMB yet, stop what you're doing and read it right now. it's very smut heavy, however, this is genuinely the fic that got me into writing for this fandom and it is one of the best fics i've ever read across any fandom. every day i perform rituals for an update /j

On Predators and Pack Dynamics - omegaverse fic that is genuinely incredible. obviously very smut heavy but i love the characterization of them here.

if i could tell her (how she's everything to me) - role reversal & arts high school AU from 2020 where cady is the popular one and regina is a little socially awkward. very cute, very sweet, very fun.

Pretty Girls - mean girls 2024 rewrite where cady and regina were anonymous pen pals before cady moved to evanston. really loved this one!! one of the first i read in the tag.

To You, I Can Admit That I'm Just Too Soft for All of It - grad school au that i absolutely LOVE. the chapters are unordered snippets but they are so cute and fun. the author also does some social media stuff with it, i believe on tumblr, so it's a cute little tie in!!

you would find her in a polaroid picture - SUPER good college au with gymnast!regina!! genuinely recommend anything this author writes tbh i adore their stuff!!

i choose you and me, religiously - once again recommending anything this author writes as well. SO talented. this one is a slow burn idiots in love au and it's just. chef's kiss. muah. i love it.

[hotwaterandmilk]

Hi! I love your content and was wondering if you have any tips for those who might want to post their own scanned manga stuff on here?

I have some furoku, postcards, magazine clippings, etc and I enjoy scanning and cataloguing stuff, but I'm a bit shy about posting it online. I'm worried there might be some kind of etiquette regarding all of this that I'm unaware of. Like are publication dates important to disclose? should I try and find it for every scan I upload or can I just give some basic details about it? Oh and if someone else has already scanned something I own should I refrain from posting my own scans of that item? Hope these questions aren't too dumb, I just don't want to accidentally step on anyone's toes.

Hi, thank you for your kind words. I can only really share with you my opinion on sharing scans, as there are no real "rules" about doing this hobby that I'm aware of. I feel that things boil down to courtesy, like so many elements of fandom, and asking those involved when unsure.

I personally won't share something I'm aware someone else has shared before, unless I feel I can provide a better quality scan or additional context to make the effort worthwhile. For example, people have shared plenty of old Hana to Yume calendar scans in the past on sites like Minitokyo, but as they're not in 1200 dpi I feel like my effort in rescanning and sharing these images is "worth it".

If someone else is committed to scanning monthly furoku for a particular series, I won't double up by sharing scans of the same furoku - I'm wasting my own time by scanning/editing these items when someone else is doing them already, but I'm also potentially making the existing contributer uncomfortable.

However, we can't all be expected to keep track of every scanner on every website or through every fandom - sometimes there is overlap or there are multiple people passionate about a work. In that case, or in any case where unsure, I don't think it hurts to reach out to someone and ask "Hey, do you mind if I also share ____" ?

People can say no, but ultimately none of us involved in sharing scans/scanlating/fan works/etc. owns the original property and these are widely published titles. We can say "Hey I'd prefer it if you don't share ____ when I'm already sharing ____" but it is down to the other party if they wish to cease doing so.

In terms of things like publication information, that's very much a personal choice. My opinion on this is that it is respectful to include artist information wherever possible and publication details when you can so that others can find the original item for themselves. It's extra work, but it means I don't get messages asking "Where is ____ from?" as that information is already available.

The caveat to this, for me, is that sometimes we simply don't know all the details. Goodness knows I've got hundreds of postcards from 80s shoujo magazines that I've been gifted or received in bulk aucions without any information on the issue they were included with and at best I can narrow down the year they were released... right now I'm not sharing that content because I really do want to attribute that information if possible. But not everyone cares about things like that and that's OK, sometimes people just include an artist and the series and that's all.

I want to be clear that I'm not here to prescribe what you should and should not do when sharing your treasure trove. I'm just one person with a singular experience. So much of sharing scans as a hobby will boil down to what is important to you and how much time you have on your hands. And plenty comes from trial and error, along with feedback that others provide.

I feel it's important to convey that not everyone will like what you share or how you share it, while some will lift what you share wholesale to try and profit from it on other sites. I've had to develop a pretty thick skin regarding what people say about me online, despite being a nobody. I'd be lying if I said this didn't get to me sometimes, but for the moment my love of sharing has won out.

What I think is key, overall, is just that you want to share things with others and are willing to put the work into doing so. Missteps around doubling up on sharing may happen, but are more often than not resolved through communication.

I hope you can find a way of sharing the things that are important to you that best fits with your needs and schedule. ^^

[binaryjayne]

More Venko. Forever Venko. I am STUCK on this pair.

First off, I wrote a thing. It's this thing right here:

After the war, the Alliance and press catch wind of their relationship and decide to "redo" their wedding, making it an enormous event in the process. Both James and Kaidan want just a tiny bit of it for themselves.

Pairing: Kaidan Alenko X James Vega | rated G | 2.5k words | Part of the Honeymoon series

CUE THE OVER ANALYZING OF THESE CHARACTERS AND THIS FIC.

Spoilers for my Honeymoon series (and this fic in particular), but honestly, if anyone read the first smutty one-shot, there's nothing new or surprising below this line.

Okay. So, in this fic, both of them have an idea of how they want their proposal and wedding to go. Let's walk through Kaidan's first:

He got his suit tailored.

He made a reservation at a fancy restaurant.

He hired a violinist.

Does any of this sound like something James would be into? No, I really don't think so. I'm not saying James is simple, but he certainly has simple tastes. James values his connections to people over anything else. It's important to him that the people he loves are happy.

Would that proposal make Kaidan happy? Absolutely.

James? Not so much.

That approach to him would be stuffy and too much. Kaidan would find it romantic and understated, while James would find it over the top. He'd find more romance in an impromptu proposal on the back porch of their home while stargazing under a blanket. Granted, he's never going to not be thrilled at whatever Kaidan's proposal was, because at the end of the day he was always going to say yes (ignoring the fact that they're already married). But a little more consideration for what he might like would be nice.

I mean, a violinist? Really, Kaidan?

~

Now James' wedding plans:

Backyard BBQ

Only friends and family

Tattooed wedding rings

There's no spectacle, no expectation, just good food and good company. Would James love it? Yes. Would Kaidan love it?

ALSO YES!

So why does James think he'd hate it? Well, he doesn't, but he feels like Kaidan deserves more than something as casual as a backyard get-together. Kaidan deserves the violinist and the fancy dinner and the ring in the champagne flute. Those are big gestures that show just how much you love that person. Just because he doesn't find it particularly personal, doesn't mean they aren't traditional gestures for a reason. James doesn't want to be on the receiving end of that kind of affection, but Kaidan certainly deserves that type of luxury.

He doesn't realize that Kaidan would be thrilled to be surrounded by his friends in a tiny ceremony. There's no expectation to be a certain person or act a certain way. Moments like an exchange of vows should be private and only shared with your loved ones. He might want something a little more than a backyard BBQ, but under no circumstances would he hate a small reception at the orchard. No cameras, no titles, just love.

Oh, and he'd want real rings, but could be convinced to get a tattooed one as well.

~

So why am I highlighting this? Because they've only been together for a year, give or take a few months, and they're still learning about each other. It's why the whole thing turns into a fight because they don't truly know where they stand with one another, only knowing they're in love. They're trying, they want it badly, and yet they keep missing the mark.

It takes time, sooooo much time to truly know your partner, and they got married in the middle of a war, as figureheads in the middle of that war. There wasn't any time to do anything besides cling to the fact that what they had was real and would fight tooth and nail for it to survive.

They have more in common than they think, but are two very stubborn people. I've written them specifically to have trouble communicating, because I'm a dick like that. But if Kaidan would stop interrupting, and if James would stop acting on knee-jerk reactions, they'd find more success at getting to know each other.

So they keep screwing up. They're going to stumble, they're going to be selfish, they're going to misinterpret the needs of one another. And you know what? That's okay. They've decided they want to be together and are willing to put in the work to make it successful. They're not perfect, no relationship is, but growing together is what is going to make them woven together in a way that makes sense for them both.

Will it work? Who's to say, but they're trying. They want to make each other happy, but it takes time for them to truly know just how to do that.

But there's time now, hard-fought and well-earned time. Giant spectacle of a wedding or stargazing at the orchard, as long as their together, it's time well spent.

~~

So that's my thought process. The explanation is probably longer than the three or so paragraphs that it pertains to, but there we go.

[kinglazrus]

Beep boop hello to you! Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💚

I adore whoever made this ask game. Thank you for sending me one, Lexx! This was so hard to choose, so these aren't in any particular order.

The Moment It Breaks

Description: After months of lies and secrets, it finally happens. His identity is revealed in the worst of ways—in the middle of a ghost fight. Now everyone knows that Tucker Foley is the Tech Hunter

Reason: I made this AU for the Danny Phantom au zine, Reality Trip, and I have had so much fun playing with it. It started as a throwaway wondering "what if Vlad approached Tucker instead of Valerie?" and grew into something huge. I've always adored no one knows aus, and this one takes it a step further. I'll be posting the fic to Ao3 soon, and I've got big plans for the rest of this AU.

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Description: Valerie knows Danny Fenton, everybody does. Youngest of the family, son and heir, future owner of Fenton Works. Notable for all those reasons and infamous for none of them. Where Maddie and Jack are the local quirks, Danny is the tragedy. And, for the next week, he's the Red Huntress' newest client.

Reason: I adore writing Valerie's point of view. She's my favourite character, so it's a bit criminal that I don't have more fics focused on her. I've also used some different narrative techniques in this fic playing with perspective, which has been a lot of fun.

The Punishment Fits the Crime

Description: Ghosts are naturally drawn to death. Danny, however, finds himself drawn to those who have wrongfully died. He always said he would never hurt someone who doesn't deserve it. It's not his fault that he keeps finding people who do. Or: Danny is a vengeful spirit.

Reason: My darkest fic, tonally. I got the idea to turn Danny into a vengeful spirit and immediately decided to push it as far as I could. There's only a couple of chapters up right now, but the tags tell you all you need to know about the direction this fic is going.

The In-Laws

Description: Harriet and her son, Kwan, meet each other's boyfriends through a family dinner. Hopefully, Vlad Masters and Danny Fenton can get along for one meal.

Reason: Because it's fun! This is a very light-hearted, humorous fic, and I had a great time with it. I like to write all kinds of pairings, and this was a great way to explore two I hadn't yet: Vlad and Harriet, and Danny and Kwan. Bad News shippers come get your juice.

Blossoms On Her Tongue

Description: Years after Undergrowth’s attack, Sam’s ghost powers from that day are slowly returning. Sam is excited at first, both at the chance to grow closer with Danny, and the opportunity to use her own powers for good. But things aren’t as great as they seem. After all, plants don't mix well with the cold.

Reason: I can't actually say because that would be a spoiler! But there's a specific dynamic I wanted to explore for the trio and this fic was what came out of it. I've got three parts planned for this series, each one focused on a different member of the trio.

Honourable mentions that I almost picked for this:

The Survivalists (of course)

Prince Before King. Genius Before Fool.

Not Your Danny

Deep Wounds

Dead Man Walking

Until Death Do We Part

[ageofhearingloss]

Who Are You Now ⎮Danny Wagner x Reader

A/N: hey guys, i am sososooo excited to give y’all my very first fic that i’ve ever written :’) this is an ode to danny lane, but also a little morsel for jake lane as well (i wouldn’t be a janny girl if i didn’t do that now would i). i’m thinking that this will be four, maaaaybe five parts so please let me know what y’all think (but please be kind cause i am fragile as fuck) and if you’d be interested in reading the rest! (this story exists in a timeline where the boys aren't in the band aaaaand it will have 18+ content so minors DNI! go away please and thank you!)

also quick shoutout to real life bestie @joopsworld for being my editor-in-chief and urging me to start writing again in the first place! she also made this collage (all pics sourced from pinterest and insta) and it is just perfect. 

okay guys! hehe! thank you for giving me the courage to do this!

(here is part two!)

pairing: danny wagner x female reader, jake kiszka x female oc

warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption and that’s pretty much it, this one is fluff! but just y'all wait, that’ll change ;)))) This series will contain 18+ content so minors, DNI! shoo shoo!

word count: ~7k heh sorry

summary: you and your best friend have just moved to a new city and spontaneously meet a group of handsome young strangers during a night out. you hit it off with one of them in particular, but are left wondering if you are just friends or if there’s something more on the horizon.

“Girl, you gotta hurry up,” you yelled as you pounded on the heavy plastic door of the porta-potty, “They flickered the lights, I think we’ve got, like, five minutes.” “I’m trying, don’t rush me!” Natalie replied, anxiety laced in her voice as you listened to her fumbling around. 

The two of you had been waiting for this concert for months, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect evening for it. It was a seasonably warm, autumn night in Nashville, the outdoor venue placed along the river, allowing the sounds of the water, the chirp of the crickets, and birds of the night to waft over the fellow concert-goers. The sun had just made its descent below the horizon, leaving the sky a beautiful purplish-pink hue while allowing the stars to begin their nightly dance. 

Removing your hand from the door, you glanced around to admire these things that have become commonplace in your new home. You and your best friend, Natalie, were still adjusting to your new residence. The two of you had gone to college together to study music, but when you found your careers coming to a standstill in your hometown, the move to Nashville seemed like the obvious decision to make. Being in a city surrounded by the constant swelling of music and supported by fellow artists inspired the two of you to no end; it was something that you’ve never experienced before, and you knew it was something you weren’t going to be letting go of any time soon.

You were completely dumbfounded by the fact that it was October and you weren’t on the look-out for the first blizzard of the winter. The thought of not having cleats on the bottom of your boots and a 20lb bag of salt in the back of your car was absolutely unheard of. Yes, you were a long way from your hometown in the snowy midwest, but you had never felt more at home. You allowed your eyes to close, listening to the evening sounds around you.

I can’t believe we actually made it here. 

Startled out of your daydreaming, Natalie yanked the door open, strolling past you while fanning her hands in the air to dry them. “Pushy,” she murmured, wearing an amused smile while she glanced at you from over her shoulder. Her eyes, the color of the river dancing next to you, were sparkling with excitement, her milk chocolate hair shining golden in the last remaining bits of sunlight. You sent a beaming smile back to her, bounding after her as she guided you back to your seats. 

The seats you had selected were right in the middle of the venue, not too close to the stage, but not in the nosebleeds, either. Content with the view, you relaxed into your seat, Natalie handing you the beer that you two somehow found the time to buy. You took the time to look around once again; taking in the details of the stage, doing your fair share of people watching, until you found the eyes of a man who seemed to have already been staring at you.

He was sitting at the other end of the section, only a couple rows ahead of you. Even from this far away, you could tell that his eyes were the color of deep caramel, almost burnt. You held his gaze for a few seconds, convinced that it wasn't you he was actually looking at, so you glanced around at the people sitting nearby. When you realized no one was looking in his direction, you moved your eyes back to him and found that he was still watching you, this time giving you a small smile accompanied with a slight nod as if to say, “Yes, you.”

You felt a poke on your knee. “You totally said something to me, didn’t you?” you mumbled, still looking at the stranger. Natalie laughed out, “Yeah, I said that I can’t believe we actually made it– what are you looking at?” You looked back at her, then glanced down at the man who was now preoccupied with speaking to his friends around him. She got the hint, nonchalantly looking towards where you had directed her. “Oh, he’s pretty,” she whispered, a shit-eating grin creeping upon her face. You nodded eagerly as you stared at her, the two of you bursting into a fit of laughter a moment later.  

She was right, he was pretty. Maybe even the most beautiful man you’d ever seen. You took a second to gather in his features; you could tell he was tall even from sitting down; he had a muscular build, with deep brown, ringlet curls that swept over his shoulders and down his back. When you had met his eyes moments before, they were warm, kind, inviting. His smile was effortless, and even though he was extremely handsome, there was no hint of arrogance that came off him. 

Who is this guy?

You rolled your eyes at yourself, he’s just some random man. But you were eager to catch one more glimpse of him and as you looked in his direction, the lights dimmed all too quickly, signifying the show was about to start, and he’s lost to darkness.

The concert had been everything you hoped it’d be, and more. You and your friend had been speechless the second the show ended, and then flooded with excited comments all at once. She was your favorite person to see shows with; you both had a mutual love and admiration for live music, whether it be in an arena that seated thousands, or in someone’s backyard. Which was one of the driving factors as to why you moved to this music-filled city in the first place.

“By the way, I counted that guy looking at you six times tonight,” Natalie offered as she climbed the steps leaving your seats. “No, don’t tell me that!” You laughed back, heat flushing your face while you tried to hide the smile that threatened to break upon your mouth. “I’m being so for real, what if he’s at Mickey’s later?” She joked as she raised her eyebrows up and down before linking her arm in yours. 

“I gotta pee, and then we can head to the bar.” 

“Again?” 

“Hey, I had three beers! It’s not my fault you have a bladder of steel.” 

Waiting for her once more outside the porta-potty, you pulled out your phone and called an Uber to your favorite dive bar. The bar was nothing fancy; you and Natalie had made it a promise long ago to get skilled at playing pool, and this bar just so happened to be the perfect place for that. Slipping your phone back into your pocket, you watched the groups of people pass you by on their way out. 

You heard the door open just as you spotted him in the crowd, not surprised when you realized he was already glancing your way.

“How far away is the Uber?”

He gave you the same smile as before, and offered you a wave goodbye.

“Y/n?”

You didn’t hear her as you lifted your arm to give him a small wave back, to which he nodded in reply. You watched as he and his group made their way towards the exit of the park and into the night.

“Wait, did he come over here while I was in the bathroom?”

“Nonono, he just waved goodbye from over there,” You absently gestured towards his direction, eyes still strained on where he had just been.

“Yeah,” she snorted out a laugh. “I saw!”

You gave her a sarcastic smile, linking your arms together once more and before dragging her towards the exit. “C’mon, the car is only two minutes away.”

~~~~

Thanking the driver as you stepped out of the car and into the bustling streets of Nashville, the city was alive with more people and music than you were used to growing up. You and Natalie had found this bar one night in search of reprieve from the crowds, bouncers, and pricey cover charges, stumbling inside to find a hidden treasure trove, Mickey’s Tavern. The two of you had been regulars ever since. 

Walking through the threshold, one of the rotating bartenders recognized the two of you and got started on Natalie’s whiskey ginger and your gin and tonic without you having to say a word. 

“Ooooh the table is open, you wanna go grab it?” Pointing your thumb over your shoulder as you asked Natalie. She was already on it, leaving you to meander over to the bar to wait for your drinks. Thanking the bartender and leaving your tab open, you wandered over to the pool table, where Natalie already had two cue sticks, chalked and ready to go. 

“Are you sure those are the rules? I feel like that’s not right,” she brought her drink to her mouth, brows bunching together as she surveyed the pool table. 

You shot her a pure feline grin, “Yeah, Nat, I’m 100% positive. Didn’t you say you wanted me to teach you?” You did have a little more experience when it came to the game than she did, but you didn’t let on that you were feeding her bullshit rules in order to mess with her. 

“Well, yeah, but that rule contradicts everything you just said five minutes ago,” she muttered as you bent over the table, lining up your shot.

“That’s because she’s messing with you.”

Oh shit.

You paused at the unfamiliar voice coming from behind you.

You caught a quick glimpse at Nat as you straightened to stand up, and watched as her eyes widened with a smile already plastered to her face. Your breath caught as you turned on your heels and of course, standing right in front of you, was the handsome mystery man you’d been ogling over not even an hour ago.  

“Sorry to interrupt your game,” his eyes darted behind you to the table, “but were you two just at that show over on the river?” His voice was sweet, melodic, and matched the same warm, inviting demeanor that he presented to you at the concert.

This can’t be real.

Sensing that you had gone stiff with shock, Nat made her way to your side of the table while nodding and saying, “Yeah! You were sitting just a couple rows ahead of us, right?”

He smiled that effortless smile you’ve seen from him a few times now, and even though he was addressing your friend, he could not peel his eyes away from your stare. You began to notice the outfit he was wearing– it’s simple, but damn, was it effective. A loose, white button-down hung off his back, unbuttoned slightly to reveal the top of his chest and the obsidian pendant around his neck. He wore pristine black jeans that juxtaposed the white sneakers that looked like they’ve been to hell and back. Every article of clothing clung to his body as if they were handcrafted especially for him.

You were pulled back to reality as a hand clapped over the man's shoulder, presenting a shorter and equally handsome man with long, golden-brown hair. He presented a dashing, but secretive, smile, his eyes full of wisdom and swirling with cream and sugar. His tanned, smooth skin was on display underneath a black buttoned shirt, laying open nearly to his navel, with an ancient silver medallion dangling in the center of his chest. 

“And who do we have here?” His voice was husky, alluring, somehow matching the same glint in his eye.

Looking past him, you noticed two other men standing behind them, their attention pulled to the interaction you and Nat were having with the men in front of you. You quickly realized this is the group he was at the concert with. His friends.

The taller man turned slightly to face his companion who still had his hand on his shoulder, and smiled, “I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

They all directed their attention back to you and your friend, Natalie effortlessly easing the tension with her warm personality, “I’m Natalie, and this is-” she placed a gentle hand on your back. “I’m Y/n,” you interrupted, not realizing that you had still been holding your breath. You hadn’t left those caramel eyes this whole time. Nat gave you a slight pat on your back for reassurance and finally, you felt a genuine smile grace your face, your eyes lighting up a bit and the anxiety finally vanishing from your body. Thank god for Natalie. “And you are…?” you offered to the men in front of you with a quirked eyebrow. 

“Oh right, I’m Daniel,” said your mystery concert man. “And these are my brothers, Jake,” he threw his arm around the shoulders of the long-haired man by his side, “Josh,” he gestured to the man who looked like Jake’s other half, who donned a head of wild, brown curls and gave you the most beautiful smile you had ever seen. Sunshine incarnate, you thought as Josh joined Jake's side. “And Sam,” he said as a lanky man, equally as tall as Daniel, bounded over to stand on the other side of the man doing the introductions. He looked like Josh and Jake combined; long, flowing hair just like Jake’s, but with an equally saccharine smile as Josh. He had a playful charm to him that put you further at ease. You looked between the four beautiful men, noting how Daniel was the only one who didn't look identical to the others. Sam, following your eyes, somehow knew exactly what you were thinking. He grasped Daniel’s arm and started shaking him slightly. “I know,” he grinned at you. “He’s the only one who didn’t get the Kiszka good looks.” He winked as Daniel shook his head, accompanied by a huffy laugh. The men before you presented an alluring, unified front, and you could tell that love flowed freely between the four of them and their bond with each other ran deep. You and Natalie were both grinning ear to ear as you finished exchanging greetings, the two of you shot a sideward glance at each other as if to say “Can you believe they’re all this gorgeous?” 

After shaking hands with the men, Josh proclaimed “We’re waiting for one more of our friends to join us, can we get you ladies a drink in the meantime?” 

“I think we’re all good for now,” you signaled to the drink in your hand, “but thanks, Josh!” You smiled sweetly to him, and he gave you a quick wink in confirmation before beckoning Sam to follow him to the bar. Left with Daniel and Jake in front of you, Jake lifted his chin in gesture to Nat’s drink, “what are you drinking?”

“Whiskey ginger,” she answered, blue eyes assessing him, bringing the glass to her lips.

“Aaah, a woman of taste,” He nodded contemplatively, earning him a smirk in return.

Oh, these two are gonna have some fun together.

You looked back to Daniel and could tell by how he was looking between Jake and Natalie that he agreed. 

Daniel’s attention then landed on the pool table behind you, “Would you mind if we joined you for a real game of pool? Jake here knows the rules pretty well,” throwing a smirk your way. “Not at all,” Nat said as she brought her cue stick up to gently swat your back, “I’ve gotta learn the real rules at some point.”

You laughed, “Hey, you gotta admit I had you going for a while!” Her eyes crinkled up in that smile you adored, throwing her head back as a laugh escaped her. 

Jake cut in, “I’m gonna be on Natalie’s team.” Daniel’s eyebrows lifted in question, Jake answering his friend, “What?” He began to walk around to the other side of the table, “Someone’s gotta show her some winning moves.” She made her way over to Jake, eyeing him up and down competitively, before playfully shoving his shoulder. The two of them shared a laugh, eyes burning into each other's with lustful amusement. 

“Looks like you’re with me,” you offered to Daniel, beaming, as he came to stand at your side. “Just don’t try to pull a fast one on me, too, y/n.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling.

Slowly, he bent to say softly in your ear, “I’ll bet you $5 they’ll go home together tonight.” You knew Nat like the back of your hand and you know how much she loves her own bed, but accepting the challenge, you offered your hand out to him. “Deal.”

He grasped it firmly, shaking it as his eyes seared into yours. 

~~~~

Those damned hands.

Watching him grip his cue stick, placing a hand on the side of the table, brushing the hair out of his face, it all made you nearly jump out of your skin. You were aware of every movement Daniel made, cursed to not look away in fear you might miss the tiniest detail. Noting how nimble his fingers were, how gracefully they skimmed the felt of the table, it told you just how skilled he must be with them- 

Focus on something else, y/n. 

It took pure willpower to pull you out of your flustered state, forcing yourself to look at the game table displayed in front of you. As Jake lined up a shot, you noticed how the game had progressed nicely; turned out you and Daniel made a great team, working strategically against your opponents, and Jake just so happened to be an excellent teacher, Natalie quickly grasping the rules and giving your team a run for your money. 

You listened intently to Jake and Natalie’s conversation– they were equally matched in wit and humor, and they seemed to hit it off exceptionally well. You even caught that Jake had called her “Nat” a couple of times. Funny, usually she doesn’t let that slide with strangers, you pondered, she must be in real deep. 

As your eyes bounced between the two of them, Daniel made his way to your side once again, his attention still on his brother's turn, but said to you,

“You don’t have to call me Daniel, I like Danny and Dan, too.”

You smiled as your brows knitted together in confusion, wondering how his comment was along the same train of thought you were just having. 

“Then why did you introduce yourself as Daniel?”

“Sam gets on my case about using my full name; he almost exclusively calls me Daniel.” He shrugged, “I guess I’ve gotten used to it.”

You peeled your gaze from the table to look at him, “I’m assuming his full name is Samuel, so why does he go by Sam?”

A Chesire grin crept upon his lips, “So you can imagine my frustration.”

Huffing out a laugh, you turned back to the table with a slight nod of your head.

“Dan it is, then.”

“BROTHERS!” Almost as if he were summoned, you heard Sam's voice boom over the atmosphere of the bar. You watched as he and Josh wove their way back to the table, Josh holding two drinks high above his head so they didn’t spill as he bumped into the people around him; it was impossible not to notice how much taller Sam was than his curly-headed counterpart, especially in this moment. Taking in the sight before him, Dan dropped his chin to his chest, chuckling, “Say the devil's name three times and he’ll appear.” He said it loud enough for Jake and Natalie to hear, the latter covering her mouth to mask her giggles.

“We come bearing refreshments!” Josh rejoiced as the two boys approached the pool table, and you took inventory of the drinks they handed to their brothers:

A glass of whiskey, neat, for Jake, and a Topo Chico seltzer for Dan. Sam was gripping a Corona bottle that had not one, not two, but three lime wedges floating in it, and Josh had already chugged the majority of his margarita. He noticed you watching him throw it back, and explained “Tequila is good for the soul” with a mischievous smirk. You couldn’t help but smile when you looked at Josh; he had a radiance that was undeniably unique and impossible to ignore.

Your attention moved back to check-in with your friend, but instead you found her preoccupied as Jake raised his glass to her. She mirrored his action and clinked her drink against his, neither of them relinquishing eye contact as they both took a sip of their amber liquids. Dan was also watching, and you weren’t surprised when he jabbed his elbow into your side lightly, wiggling his eyebrows to remind you of the bet you two made. 

Conversation was easy and enjoyable amongst this party of six. The pool game took a backseat while you all got to know each other; the men, you, and Natalie took turns volleying information back and forth about yourselves to the patient, waiting ears of the others. You could’ve guessed that Jake and Josh were twins, and were not surprised by the fact that Sammy Boy was their younger brother. You learned that Danny, in fact, wasn’t a Kiszka; he’s a Wagner. “We grew up together,” Josh explained, his empty glass chiming against the table as he set it down. “Jake was hell-bent on starting a band when we were barely teenagers, and we recruited Danny to play drums for us in our garage.” The four men exchanged knowing smiles as you inquired “And how did that go? The band?” “Well,” Dan cut in, “considering Jake is the only one who has a music career, I’d say it went pretty great.” He clapped his hand on Jake’s back, and you could have sworn you saw a hint of crimson color Jake’s cheeks. Nat noticed it too, her eyes saying to you, Isn’t he the sweetest thing? 

Beyond that, you learned that Jake was also an accomplished chef and had taught Sam everything he knew. Sam was in charge of manning the kitchen at a restaurant you and Natalie frequented, explaining to him that the restaurant had quickly become one of your favorites upon moving to this town. “I can’t believe I’ve never seen you! Who knew it’d be sweet, sweet Daniel who brought us together.”

Josh was a filmmaker, flying between Nashville, LA, and NYC regularly for work. He was animatedly talking with his hands while he explained the murder mystery he was currently shooting. He had all of you on the edges of your seats, dramatic tension hanging like dense fog in the air, when you all were interrupted by the abrupt change in song and volume, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey roaring to life from the jukebox at the other end of the bar.

Mumblings erupted from the four boys; Jake shook his head defeatedly, “For fucks sake…” 

Sam shot straight up in the air to glare at the jukebox over the heads of the other patrons of the bar,  his eyes squinting on his target. Setting his Corona on the green felt, not caring if it tipped over, you all watched as he started his warpath into the crowd, hollering “DAVE!! DO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF DEATH WISH?”

Josh’s shoulders shook with laughter as Dan turned to you and Natalie, explaining, “Dave, the friend we were waiting for. Also known for being an absolute menace on aux.”

~~~~

Dave and Sam had decided to join your game, after they stopped bickering over the music, of course. You found out that Dave was the one who had lived in Nashville the longest, and he was in a band of his own with his buddies Alex and Chris.

“We’re called “The Thing With Feathers,” if you wanna look us up.” He told you with a sideward smirk. “The thing with feathers…. Like Emily Dickinson?” Nat inquired. 

“Exactly like that.”

Dave was incredibly charming and charismatic, similar in energy to Sam but a hint more suave. You assumed their matching energy might be the reason as to why they bickered like they have been married for 50 years. He had a messy mop of brown hair, and wore a teal, silk top so stunning that you found yourself convincing him to tell you where it was from.

Dave joined your team with Dan (“Where you been, buddy? I’ve missed you!”), and Sam joined his brother and Natalie. Josh insisted on pulling up a bar stool and playing referee for your game that had somehow managed to go unfinished for a long while (“I can make any game interesting. Just you watch, y/n”). 

Your team was getting your asses handed to you, until finally Natalie claimed victory, sinking the 8-ball. Claps and cheers erupted from your group as she responded with a slight curtsey and bow of her head, grinning from ear to ear. You’re delighted as you watched Sam jump up and down, running to Nat to give her a double high-five. She was laughing up a storm as Jake threw an arm around her shoulder, a proud grin plastered to his face. “All thanks to my winning moves,” voice laced with a hint of sarcasm as he squeezed her shoulder a little tighter. Her eyes flickered with surprise for just a millisecond, before she wrapped her arm around his waist, hip-checking him, retorting “Hmm, I actually think it was beginners luck.”

It hit you suddenly that you had only met this group of men a little over an hour ago; you felt as though you’ve known them your whole life. You noticed how at ease you felt, how you could undeniably be yourself without feeling like you needed to win the others over. Your laughs, smiles, and teasing jokes came freely, and were received and reciprocated with joy and humor. It’s a welcome feeling, and you knew that you’d be chasing it for a while. Natalie met your eyes, still snug under Jake’s arm, and you could tell she felt similarly. The two of you had made a few friends since moving to Nashville, but most of your close ones still remained back in your hometown. You two have been dying to find a group to call your own, and these guys seemed like they’d be a perfect fit. You were just praying that tonight wasn’t a one time deal. 

“How about we get a victory round for our Pool Champ?” Josh asked, jumping off his stool and already heading in the direction of the bar. Everybody was celebrating as they followed Josh, you and Dan at the end of the train. He ushered you ahead of him, placing a gentle hand on the middle of your back, guiding you through the crowd. His touch was whisper soft, but his hand felt like a brand against your body, instantly lighting you up in a way that you’ve been fighting to acknowledge all night. 

Those damned hands. 

Huddled around the bar, you and Daniel were graced with the chance to speak one on one, Natalie involved with the twins about Jake’s music, Josh gushing over how talented his brother was and insisting that she had to hear him play his guitar. Sam and Dave were back over at the jukebox and you could vaguely hear Sam’s scolding and Dave’s boisterous laugh. 

You were eager to learn more about Dan- he was the only one who was still somewhat shrouded in mystery, but before you could begin asking him questions, he beat you to the punch.

“How far from here do you live?” Dan asked, bringing his drink to his lips until he halts, “Not– that sounded creepy. I swear I’m not a stalker.” He brought his drink back down with a nervous laugh, shaking his head side to side.

“No, no! I know what you meant. Nat and I are just about 15 minutes away from here.”

“Thank god,” he released a breath, fiddling with the tab on his drink can. “So I take it you come around here pretty often then?”

You gave him a sly grin, eyes squinting just a little bit as he stammered, “Just curious if I’ll see you here any time soon.”

You hadn’t seen him flustered at all tonight, but listening to him stumble over his words ignited that same flame inside you that now you’d need a firehouse to extinguish. 

“Yeah, this is our favorite bar, we come here all the time.”

He gave you a grateful smile, seeming to thank you for being gracious of his fumbling, and you returned it, trying to ease his nerves even the slightest bit more. 

“So you and Natalie live together? You seem like you’re really close, how did you meet?”

You regaled the tale of how you two went to college for music together, quickly becoming joined at the hip and inseparable ever since. You’ve been through hell and back together, and you’re honored to stand by her side. He listened intently, glancing between you and your friend with a smile that suggested he knew exactly the feeling you were describing. Once you were running out of things to say, he had an arsenal of questions ready to ask you about your studies, about the music you loved, everything, and you answered each of them with matching enthusiasm. 

In a breath of silence, you were able to ask, “So how about you and your brothers? Seems like it’s more than just playing together in the garage.” You were happy to have the spotlight shift back to him if it meant that you got to glean a little more information out of your mystery man.

“We’re from a tiny town in Michigan, and we really only had each other. Just like you and Natalie, we’ve been inseparable ever since we were little. I dunno,” he ran his fingers through his hair, “we rely on each other.” 

You sat your glass down as you looked between the brothers, and knew that he was telling the truth. You felt it, saw it, immediately when they introduced themselves to you. 

“I know about all the others, but what do you do–”

Suddenly, Sam and Dave were behind him, Sam hauling him out of his stool with a “Sorry, y/n! I need him to help settle a score between me and Idiot over here!” The two of them dragged Dan back over to the jukebox, him gracing you with an apologetic smile as you chuckled to yourself. Brothers, indeed.

You joined Natalie and the twins, eagerly listening to their conversation unfold, bouncing between Josh’s movies, Jake’s music, and their questions about Natalie’s career. Eventually, Sam, Dave, and Daniel made their way back to the group, and the seven of you indulged in one last drink, hearing stories about their lives and loving every second of it. Dave had everybody in stitches talking about his time on tour with the band; you truly couldn’t remember the last time your stomach ached so badly from laughter.  

You sat back, admiring how Dan interacted with not only his friends, but how he spoke to Natalie. He had a witty and dry sense of humor, but was the most soft spoken and gentle one of the group; you’d previously thought that it was Jake, but you were proven incredibly wrong once that man had a few drinks in him. You’ve always been content to be a fly on the wall- observing how others interact and listening to the words exchanged around you was always something that brought you comfort. With this group, it was impossible to be bored. 

But you were happy to let them pull you out of your head and back to the conversation, and Dan insisted that they had to hear stories from your college days with Nat. She enthusiastically agreed, and hopped off her stool to stand behind yours, leaning down to hug your shoulders from behind. “You guys have GOT to hear about how y/n passed out on the side of the road on Halloween!” And with that, she had their undivided attention for at least the next half hour. 

~~~~

Drinks had long been emptied, and you and Nat had agreed that it was time for you to get some shut eye; sorry to break up such a jolly group, but the night had turned to the wee hours of the morning, much later than you two were used to staying out. Nat pulled her coat from the back of her stool and smoothed her dress. “I’m gonna run to the bathroom, I’ll call the–” “I know the drill, don’t worry.” You winked back to her. Once she disappeared to the bathroom, you watched the boys start making their way to the door, agreeing with you that it was time to call it a night. You called over to the bartender to close your tab, and once he made his way over to you with your receipt, Jake appeared behind you, placing his card down on the bar.

You looked up, “Jake, you don’t have-”

He held his hand up to stop you from talking.

“I want to, plus I owe it to her.” His eyes twinkled. You could tell he cared for Natalie even in the short amount of time they’ve gotten to know each other. You couldn’t imagine there being any ill-will behind those eyes, but what kind of friend would you be if you still didn’t give him a warning?

“Just please don’t be an asshole to her, okay? I think she really likes you.”

He was signing the receipt as his head snapped up to look at you, a sheepish smile already evident on his face, eyes wide and sparkling, “Really?”

You couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm, and you nodded your assurance.

“The same goes for you and Danny. He has a big heart. Be careful with him.” He slid the pen and paper back over the bar and gave you one last mischievous show of his teeth before you two sauntered over to the front door to join the rest of his band of brothers.

Natalie returned a beat later, informing you that your car home was still a little ways away. The boys insisted on staying with you until then, and you didn’t mind if it meant you had a few more moments to share with them. Dan has made his way to your side again but you noticed him shifting his weight between each foot, something you would chalk up to a nervous habit. Your gaze naturally found his, and the man was every shade of flustered as he watched you with an unsure grin. Carefully, he finally leaned down to whisper in your ear, “Looks like I owe you $5.” 

You grinned at him, opening your mouth to tell him to save it, when he interrupted you with, “Hold that thought,” and briskly slipped away back over to the bar. Confused, you watched his head of curls ask the bartender for something, the bartender placing a Sharpie in his outstretched palm a second later. He turned to walk back to your group, his teeth bared in a smile that could have shot you straight to the heavens. He painted a picture of collected calm, worlds different from how he looked moments earlier. He returned to your side, grabbing your hand without hesitation, and held it in his as he lifted it up. Sharpie in the other, he proceeded to write his phone number on the back of your hand, and the gesture had everyone halt their conversations to turn their attention to the two of you. You couldn’t help but blush at his action; no one had ever done that to you before, not to mention it being a little outdated. Josh seemed to agree, exclaiming “Woooooo! Look at you go, Grandpa!” Dan shot him a glare out of the corner of his eye while quickly finishing up his writing. You chanced a quick look over at Natalie to see that her jaw was on the floor as she watched this event unfold, eyes darting between your hand and your face as your eyes widened, trying to say to her I know, I can’t believe it either! You peeled your attention away from Nat as he let go of your hand gently and replaced the cap on the Sharpie, finally looking back into your eyes. His demeanor was filled with confidence and laced with excitement. 

“Text me right now so I have your number, too.”

You chuckled, “Shouldn’t you just have asked me for my number?”

His smile turned cheeky, his gaze darkening just a hint, “Yeah, but I only thought of that after I started writing.”

The two of you shared a genuine laugh now.

“I like this much better anyways,�� you said as you pulled your phone out of your pocket, Daniel intently watching your every move.

“There,” you said with a wink after pressing send, “Now we can arrange my payment.”

The Uber pulled up to the bar then, initiating the goodbyes between you and your new friends. For whatever reason, it shocked you that they each brought you in for a hug, Josh leading with a “Hope to see you soon, mama.” Dave crushed you in a side-hug that you swore could have left a bruise, and even Jake offered you a surprisingly larger bear hug than his smaller frame would suggest he was capable of. Sam damn near swept you off your feet, grasping you so tightly that you were winded when he released you from his vise-like embrace.

Dan was the last one to scoop you into his arms, his hands ghosting over your lower back ever so softly, but his hold on you was firm. His scent was all-consuming; musky, laced with bits of cedarwood, tobacco, and vanilla. He released you with a slight hesitation of a hand on your back, his fingers gripping the fabric on the back of your shirt as you turned towards the car, as if to say that he didn’t want you to leave so soon. Knowing the feeling, you threw an understanding glance over your shoulder as you made your way to the car, hoping to convey that you wished you could stay with him, too. 

Your breath hitched as you watched him go completely still in response, eyes darkening even further than they had been minutes ago. The look that he gave you was one you could not place and hadn’t seen yet from him that night. It made you want to turn on your heel and run straight back to his side, almost as if he were beckoning you back to him. It seemed as though the world had vanished around you, lights dimming, noises silencing aside from your heart thundering in your ears, and all you could see was him and that damn look on his face.

Remember, y/n, you literally met this man, like, three hours ago? Calm down. 

Finally, you blinked, and the world started coming back to life. You hadn’t noticed that you had frozen in your tracks, too, that look of his slamming your composure right out of you. It took every ounce of willpower to look away, and you could feel the heat on your cheeks begin to rise as you realized that the rest of the men were staring at you, and then turned back to the car to see Natalie already inside, watching you expectantly. Gathering the shred of dignity you felt you still had left, you threw the guys another quick wave goodbye before hurriedly sliding into the car and slamming the door behind you. 

Only then were you able to catch your breath.

Settling into the worn leather of the backseat, you felt Natalie pat your knee. 

“I can’t believe how much fun that was,” she let out with a tired sigh. 

You were sure she could hear your heart threatening to beat out of your chest.

“I know, I haven’t met a group of guys genuinely that nice maybe ever?” 

“I know! Not creepy at all! Must be some kind of miracle.” 

There was a breath of comfortable silence, Nat giving you a moment to calm down and collect your thoughts. 

“And I can’t believe they’re the guys from the concert, and that you have his number? Unbelievable.” She continued after a few minutes.

“The universe works in crazy, mysterious ways.”

Just then, your phone vibrated. Opening it, a smile started creeping wide across your face.

Daniel: I was thinking that I could use those $5 to buy you coffee, say on Saturday. What do you think?

Y/n: sounds like a good use of your money, i’m in! 

“Looks like I have a date on Saturday,” you said without looking up.

“Ha! I knew it wouldn’t take long, that man’s fast. Plus the way he looked at you when we were leaving? Forget about it.”

Your phone buzzed again.

Daniel: Great! I’ll send you the details tomorrow. It was a pleasure to meet you tonight. Goodnight, y/n.

Y/n: you too, dan, goodnight 

You set your phone down in your lap, still smiling to yourself thinking about the man who had come so swiftly into your life. Looking out the window, you watched the city put itself to sleep as the car sped towards your apartment. You blindly reached over for Nat's hand, and once you felt hers in your grasp, you gave it a quick squeeze. You sighed back into the seat as you slowly shut your eyes, feeling ever grateful that you took this leap of faith. 

To be continued…