#cuz I’ve been working on it for years

[cj-marj]

ShikaNaru snippet

Living with someone is nice. Most times.

There’s a man lying on his carpet. They’re childhood friends; that’s the easier way to describe their relationship. But the term ‘friends’ is a loose word. They didn’t know much about each other as kids, and even when this started, but they’ve always been that way. They come together and break apart like puzzles fit for each other. Their times together were few and far between but each moment was unexpectedly memorable.

Then Shikamaru started coming around more often.

As usual, Naruto welcomed it without much forethought. But when the days grew shorter and Shikamaru remained a constant presence in his house, that lack of forethought came back to haunt him. He became afraid. He enjoyed the company, and he became afraid of losing it this time. This time, he hoped he could glue the lines between them so they would never come apart again. But Shikamaru had a life outside of him. So he carried on.

Some nights, he slept alone, and he didn’t complain. Some nights, Shikamaru would stay over. Some nights, they would stay up working and fall asleep next to each other in the living room. Being the early riser he is, Naruto would awake first and bask in the warmth of his frequent house partner. He would shuffle forward just to count the lashes on his eyes, and the faded acne scars, and note the few moles he finds under Shikamaru’s jaw. Then before Shikamaru wakes, he shuts his eyes and lies there, pretending. At some point, he came to learn that Shikamaru caught on to his ministrations, but he never said anything. He let Naruto have it so Naruto took it.

He shouldn’t want it. He shouldn’t want to want it either, but one day, when Shikamaru waits for him to drop the pretence and he opens his eyes to meet those ever-brown ones he’s coming to love searching for, he gives into his yearning. He realises, or rather, remembers, right there, what a weak man he is for this. He wants this. He wants Shikamaru to stay. He wants to never be apart from him again. And Shikamaru must see it in his eyes, because not only is he good at reading people like that, but Naruto’s never been good at hiding his feelings.

“Morning,” Shikamaru drawls in that low timbre his voice takes on after a long sleep.

“Morning,” Naruto whispers back.

The air is dry and so is his throat. They had forgotten to shut the glass doors last night after they’d come in from smoking. Shikamaru tumbled to the ground laughing at something stupid Naruto had said, and Naruto followed him solely based on the instinct of craving his warmth. They rolled around on the carpet speaking in tongues, sneezing and occasionally giggling into the ground at their own childishness. Naruto was beyond full. The mirth in his heart threatened to explode out of his chest and kill him right there. But he lived, just to fall under the same threat the next morning.

“What’s for breakfast?” His eyes break away and land somewhere on Naruto’s hair. His hand follows soon after.

“Dunno. What do you want?”

Shikamaru’s fingers are warm, but Naruto shivers at his touch. It’s such a clear reaction that he can’t even bother to hide. And Shikamaru sees this, but he continues to run his hands through Naruto’s hair.

“Why’s your hair so messy in the mornings?”

Like a man possessed, Naruto’s hand lifts to ruffle through Shikamaru’s hair as well. The ink strands slip through his fingers without fuss. Tangles never really hold in Shikamaru’s hair.

“Like yours is any better.”

They’re supposed to be bantering, but the tone is off. Shikamaru’s hand is moving too rhythmically through Naruto’s hair and the latter’s voice is too soft to illustrate nothing if not a man in love.

“You should braid your hair before you sleep.” Like he mentioned before, it’s pointless. One brush and Shikamaru’s hair is cascading down his neck like a waterfall. But this is what happens: Shikamaru starts it, Naruto continues, Shikamaru lets him have it and Naruto takes it in the only way he’s ever known.

“It hurts my hands. Will you do it for me?”

With ferocity.

[peachfruitcake]

well gosh

[gomzdrawfr]

Bam bing bong, summary of my doodles in 2024

[pepperpixel]

A pic of my human whirl design and holomatter avatar whirl hanging out together! Cuz I thought that’d be cute! And I was right… it is!

[mushroomgothic]

today i was offered a full time (if I want it to be) well paying seamstress job sewing pageant dresses and costumes for kids?? by a lady who I just happened to cut fabric for at work last week. she has a whole successful business running out of her house right now, but next month is expanding to a very nice big space downtown

[lesbiansanemi]

I’ve been spending less and less time on this stupid ass website recently and honestly….. good

[saetoru]

my dad is so sad ab replacing his car 😭😭😭 he literally got a better one today but he’s just attached to the old one sobs

[beaniebabie-pie]

art vs artist 2024 … close-ups of these pieces under the cut!!! thanks so much for your support this year🐠((warning for artistic nudity below)

character in the second before last image belongs to @/rolley-polley-pillbug !!!!!

[dramaturgical]

2024 has been pretty wild for me

Tw: death

[clarabowmp3]

I can’t keep living like this

[blessphemy]

was seeing some tumblr post about wage stagnation and cost of living increase

you know I was feeling a little bit of “should I be ashamed?” about myself for not sticking with 1 job for more than 2 years (a combination of circumstances, the fields I’ve worked in, mergers, etc) and not having a Career but then I remembered that in the process of my skipping around I have on two occasions doubled my prior salary (not an exaggeration) so like

[telogen]

I miss therapy

[jarkonian]

Here’s my first prototype for a self-contained boss fight!

[smallsadchild]

There is a song. Called Human of the Year. By Regina Spektor. It gets stuck in my head. But my brain for some reason, always replaces the word human.

With Chuuya.

I do not know why. But the chorus to that song to me is now “chuuya, chuuya of the year and you’ve won…” and I fear it will be that way ‘til the end of my days.

But I have no one to complain to. Because I know no one irl who knows both the song and bungou stray dogs. Or even any Nakahara Chuuyas just in general.

So I send this into the void. In the hopes that one day, maybe, someone will see it and understand my pain. That, or that I can forever fuck up this song in someone else’s brain because god damn it I don’t want to be the only one.

[galariangengar]

💭

[zouisalmightie]

im supposed to be done with my program in april and today my mentor was like “you didn’t hear this from me but they’re trying to figure out a way to make you redo the entire first year all over” and ive been spitting mad since 6pm.