#i love seeing disabled characters in fiction. makes me happy.

[luna-azzurra]

12 Emotional Wounds in Fiction Storys

Betraying a Loved One. Your character made a choice, and it backfired, badly. They betrayed someone close to them, maybe on purpose, maybe by accident. Now, the guilt’s eating them alive. They might try to fix things, but can they even make up for what they did?

Guilt Over a Past Mistake. They made a mistake, one that cost someone else. Maybe it was reckless, maybe it was a dumb decision, but now it haunts them. They can’t stop thinking about it, and no matter how hard they try to make things right, the past keeps pulling them back.

Survivor’s Guilt. Imagine surviving something awful, an accident, a disaster, but someone else didn’t make it. Now your character is stuck asking, “Why me? Why am I still here?” They push people away, convinced they don’t deserve to be happy or even alive.

Feeling Powerless. Your character is trapped, maybe in an abusive home, a toxic relationship, or just in life itself. They feel stuck, with no control over their own future.

Being Wrongly Accused. They didn’t do it. But no one believes them. Your character has been falsely accused of something serious, maybe even a crime and now they’re fighting to clear their name. It’s not just about proving their innocence, though. They’re also battling the pain of being abandoned by people who were supposed to stand by them.

Public Humiliation. They’ve just been humiliated in front of everyone, maybe it’s a video gone viral, or they were betrayed by someone they trusted. Now, they can’t even look people in the eye.

Living in Someone’s Shadow. No matter what they do, it’s never enough. Someone else, a sibling, a friend, a partner, always shines brighter. They feel stuck in that person’s shadow, invisible and overlooked.

Abandoning a Dream. They had big dreams, but somewhere along the way, life got in the way, and now they’ve given up. Maybe it was because of fear or circumstances beyond their control, but the loss of that dream has left them feeling empty.

Childhood Trauma. Something happened to them when they were young, something painful that still affects them today. Whether it was abuse, neglect, or a significant loss, the trauma follows them into adulthood, shaping how they see themselves and the world.

Being an Outsider. They’ve never felt like they fit in, whether because of their background, their personality, or something else. They long for acceptance but fear they’ll never find it.

Struggling with Addiction. They’re caught in a destructive cycle, whether it’s with substances, behaviors, or even people. The shame and struggle to break free from addiction are real and raw.

Living with Chronic Illness. They’re living with a chronic illness or disability, and it’s not just the physical challenges that weigh them down, it’s the emotional toll, too. Maybe they feel isolated, or like they’re a burden to others.

[thejollywriter]

IT'S TIME TO LAUNCH THE BOOK

WELCOME FRIENDS, TO THE BEGINNING OF AN ADVENTURE! Allow me to introduce to you, DELILAH JONES; free-lance Robin Hood and bad-ass extraordinaire.

In the cyberpunk future of The Redwood Files, Delilah Jones is half film-noire private detective, and half western-gunslinger, who rides into a lawless town and fights the bullies and the bastards that hurt innocent folks.

This anthology contains SIX, count 'em SIX short stories and novellas detailing Delilah's Adventures.

Through a Dream, Lethally; When tech CEO Michael Lense decides to hijack the soft-RAM in his employees heads in order to make people do his bidding, things can get awful, FAST. Being forced, without your consent, to be an assassin or a thief or a sex worker, and more. But Lense also has the city under-thumb. Only Delilah's got the brute force to break Lense's control, and free the city from his cruel influence.

Happy Endings, Guaranteed; Delilah has a partner, and after a long day of nonsense, is looking forward to visiting them at work to unwind. Only to get to the club where her partner works, and discover that they've been KIDNAPPED! Delilah races around the city, squaring up with every underworld hard-ass she comes across following every lead to find her partner. Except nothing is what it seems, and a simple (but tragic) kidnapping turns out to be way more nefarious than Delilah expected. . .

Delilah's Heart; recovering from the last adventure weeks later, Delilah meets a handsome butch at a dive bar. Things between the two show promise, but the butch gets called back to work by an abusive bastard who violates and exploits his employees. The butch asks Delilah for help, and as she digs into it, discovers a deeply connected mafia bookmaker who uses that underground protection to kill and exploit people without fear of consequences. Delilah's the only one who can bring justice down on this bastard, but it threatens a gang war if she does. . .

Gutter Medicine; a gang of outta-town skinheads robs an impoverished clinic in a rough neighborhood. Delilah digs into the theft, and promises to recover the medicine, only to discover that the outta-towners are stirring up trouble to pave the way for an invasion from the South. A Kingpin from Los Angeles is hungry for expansion, and Redwood is fertile ground. Unless Delilah can stop the gang, and convince the Kingpin it'd be too expensive to expand beyond the safe borders of LA.

Restitution; Delilah's robbing a rich billionaire's museum-like mansion one night when she's caught by an unlikely sentry, a very old man who'd had plans of trying to embarrass the billionaire for reneging on a deal, and leaving the old man destitute. Delilah invites him to tell his story, and she volunteers to see justice done, according to Delilah's exacting standards.

In a Name?; every trans person's name comes from a personal place and an intimate choice. This story is about a young thief, with big dreams and a hard head, how she picked her name, and the day she was reborn into Delilah-fucking-Jones.

These stories have literally been years in the making. Some of them are personal, all of them are personal favorites, and this anthology is a collection I've worked very hard on.

Genre fiction is deeply important to me, and I love bringing queer characters to this space. Every story published in this book appeared first, both as ideas and in rough-and-final drafts on my patreon.

HERE'S HOW TO BUY AND SUPPORT THE QUEER NOVELIST IN QUESTION!

my ko-fi store: this is the most direct way to support me (a disabled queer novelist) and I get the biggest cut if you buy the e-book from this source

AMAZON! you want a paperback, YOU GOT A PAPERBACK

and lastly, if you want to see my writing in advance, get your name in the credits, or get special copies in advance, my patreon

thank you for your support, and happy reading <3

[bandtrees]

this has always been one of my favorite lines in this scene it’s so striking to me. i think debating over callum’s level of lucidity and what can or cannot “fix” him is deeply antithecal to what the story is trying to express with him - but the idea that callum is still there and still a person who does have the capacity to love mingus, just not in a way she can ever comprehend or accept, because she can't comprehend or accept anything outside her narrow worldview, is sooooo good.

there is no way of actually knowing if callum is proud of mingus, much less recognizes her at all - but it's added to by the fact there's only so much of that she would accept even if he could. ultimately, she wants validation and power, his prestige, from him, she wants a supportive parental figure she never had - there's only so much of that callum is able to provide even in a world where her stint to fix his memory actually worked. he's like a hundred. he never even MET her. to say nothing of all he's missed in the past fifty-odd years. to say nothing of how his age may have messed with his mind deteriorating even without the pre-existing brain damage.

and mingus' phrasing here implies he doesn't even look at her when she visits - which brings me to the visit that radicalized her: the one after her surgery, where he was watching gingi out the window.

obviously, callum watching gingi is mostly for the thematics of it all, how similar the two of them are in ways mingus refuses to recognize, but theres also the thought of... callum's been sitting alone in that room for over half his life, barely lucid if at all. of course he's going to be drawn to a brightly-colored thing making noises and knocking stuff over outside. if he can't respond to stimuli of the people around him he's at the very least going to latch onto something more visually interesting than Brown Wall and Brown Figure.

but it's not like mingus can think of it like that, because she's internalized so much about her grandfather and built up such a specific, personalized vision of him - she doesn't see him as an elderly man with (a fictional equivalent to) dementia, she sees him as President Callum Crown™, the man she personally has to please and live up to the legacy of and make proud, disregarding the fact that's not something he has the mental capacity to even do - because she's so obsessed with validation and complete control that the only way she can get it is by either subjugating others and forcing it out of them (what she does with her townsfolk), or just completely projecting on someone who, for her purposes, is basically a blank slate.

which is maddening to her in its own way, see how crazy she drives herself trying to restore callum's memory in the first place - but also, would she be happy even if callum could see her for who she is? post-game, when she's working on herself, that's an irrelevant question as she's pushed past that need, but as we know her? absolutely not.

i love the ch3 standoff between norm and mingus as a show of "Okay guys let’s see who can dehumanize this disabled guy harder (via pedestal-putting) and justify themselves for it better" and why i think it is so important that it’s gingi who reads the postcard and ultimately speaks for callum instead of either of them, or even the narrator. they can’t read, and they struggle to, but they manage to get it right even when people are telling them to stop. and the fact they’re able to do it at all, are given the chance to do so, and are ultimately the one to wind down this conflict shows that the world of dialtown, while not perfect, really is how callum would have wanted it.

both gingi and callum are some of the most altruistic and human characters ever, and the crux of their parallels is that they are denied this by close-minded people because they happen to Behave Strangely. it's why seeing mingus act the way she does hits so hard - she loves her paw-paw, yes, but if she were to see him in a vacuum, a one-limbed man who can hardly think, much less speak for himself: or even his younger self, who was struggling to make ends meet with his odd inventions...

...well, the feeling norm's imagining here would probably be mutual. mingus' relationship with bigotry is a very fascinating one, she's very close-minded but views certain oddities (ie her flesh-head) as having earned their place and thus being fine - she's a freak too, by her own admission, but she's doing it for a just and wider purpose, so it's fine. which is, ironically, the ideology callum forced upon himself.

callum was obsessed with helping people, pushing himself to do more and more, because it was the only way he ever found respect. if he didn't help people and have grand visions for the world and make himself "useful" to society at large, then what would he be, if not a freak?

mingus and her paw-paw are very similar people, from their well-intentioned extremism, to their stubbornness and paranoia, to their inability to view themselves as anything more than a vessel for that grand cause they believe in (callum in the dialup, mingus in restoring her paw-paw's memory) - which is funny, because if mingus was able to view callum, and herself, as a flawed human person, she would come to understand how similar they really are.

:(

[jesterbells]

Tumblr New Word Dictionary

I love new words. So here's a list of recently created words and idioms I have learned through tumblr (not all of these terms were invented on tumblr but that's where I learned them--the citations specify whether the term was coined by a specific post, or cite a source for where I first heard the term even if that is not necessarily where the term originated):

blorbo: a fictional character you're a fan of. Coined by thelustiestargonianmaid.

"I'm so hungry I could get banned from facebook": coined by babyslime in response to a Wil Wheaton post

GORIMM: Gross Older Relation I Must Marry. Source: bethanydelleman

hlep: when a disabled person asks for a specific kind of help and "they do something that is not what you ask for but is what they think you should have asked for ... Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hlep." Source: giantkillerjack's therapist.

horse fantasy: something that is theoretically possible unicorn fantasy: something that is definitely (or almost definitely) impossible. Source: bemusedlybespectacled.

zomancy: soup divination. Source: cryptotheism.

UFOs: unfinished objects--"something that is unfinished but in hibernation," as distinct from WIPs. Source: knitting community and bylambd.

autoenshittification: turning cars into digital extraction machines to steal your data and money through digital infrastructure and microchips, and the endless repair nightmare of digital car systems and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Source: mostlysignssomeportents

nude: "when your clothes are off." naked: "when you're clothes are off when you're up to something." nakey: "when you are an animal and your collar has been removed." Source.

sideways fan: following a fandom second-hand. Source: capricorn-0mnikorn.

spoken Garamond: "the over-emphasized voice people use to read poems." Source: Frances Klein's friend.

nongry/nungry: when you're starving but also don't want to eat any of the food in your kitchen. Coined by tathrin.

scrumbling: scrolling on tumblr. Coined by the mum of anti-terf-posts.

window shipping: "any shipping done without actually watching/reading the work in question." Coined by lurker-no-more.

friend John / a Friend John answer: "when someone asks a relatively reasonable question in context and the enquiree 1) speaks at length without answering the question, and 2) implies the enquirer has injured the enquiree by even asking such a thing how could you." Coined by sileana.

bitism: a new school of media criticism which asks the simple question: is the work committed to the bit? Coined by linecoveredinjellyfish

snors d'oeuvre: having a little nap on the sofa before taking onseself to bed for main sleep. Coined by SJKSalisbury (can't find the tumblr repost now).

socratic terror: "what every athenian felt when they went down to the agora in the 5th century and saw an old man with a beard approaching them." Coined by lesbianshepard.

introvirtuous: "when you're introverted but have taken on numerous leadership and outgoing roles in your life." "I'm here to help. But I'd rather not be." "Someone around here has to get things done. and unfortunately it's going to be me." Coined by soundslikerhetorical.

grundlous: "of or pertaining to grundle." Coined by IMLIZY.

concretes: specific aspects of a character that persist across interpretations. The essential, structural essence that makes a character recognizable as the same person. Rarely physical traits; subjective. Coined by Ladylark and kayanem.

skeletonin: "the happiness chemical released when you see a ghoul or perhaps a ghost." Coined by gwentrification.

broflakes: "the weak, fragile 'alpha' males who are so easily threatened by strong women." Source: rickladd (can't find the tumblr reblog atm).

the planet of hats: "the thing where a people only have one thing going for them, like 'everyone wears a silly hat.'" Source: Star Trek fandom & TV tropes, learned via homonculus-argument.

feelings yakuza: "those who turn their personal discomfort into a social evil and try to erase the target completely." Source: Japanese fandom via マロミチャン.

Ship of Thesaurus / Rogetism: "When a student copies an essay online instead of writing it and then painstakingly changes every word to a synonym until the text no longer makes any sense." Coined by trek-tracks and Chris Sadler respectively.

Flemming's law / vibe dysphoria: "the most toxic person you've ever met over-relates to woodland creatures on social media." Coined by Chris Flemming and canadianwheatpirates.

fight with a gorilla: "any secret or invisible struggle." Coined by punksandcannonballers.

squimbus from my polls: the poll version of blorbo except for obscure fan favorite characters. Coined by yardsards.

pebbling: "the act of sending your friends & family little videos and tweets and memes you find online, like how penguins bring back pebbles to their little penguin loved ones." Source: NurseKelsey (can't find the tumblr reblog atm).

serpentineabouts: roundabouts that aren't round. Coined by paulgadzikowski.

luft: air equivalent of wet. Coined by questbedhead.

getting the good bologna: "when you experience something of better quality and then you’re doomed to no longer be satisfied." Coined by the family of kelssiel.

hypofixation: "the kind of things that you've autisticly decided you Do Not Care About." Antonym of hyperfixation. Coined by animate-mush.

[the-eeveekins]

I've talked about it a lot over the last 6 months, but with the year ending, I want to express my feelings once again, with more clarity.

There may never be a character who means as much to me as Suletta Mercury does. There may never be a fictional couple that means as much to me as Suletta & Miorine do. Not just because I love them so much, but also because of what their representation meant to me.

I've been a Gundam fan for over 20 years. I'd basically given up on a female main character in a main series before G-Witch. Suletta Mercury gave me representation I desperately wanted from a franchise I'd loved for decades. Representation that I'd lost hope of ever seeing.

And then they gave me even more representation by making her a queer woman. You could not have convinced me before G-Witch aired that Suletta would fall in love with another woman. That Gundam would take that step with it's first female main character, especially with a target demographic of mostly teen boys. But it did. Suletta Mercury fell in love with a woman, and not just that, she fought and earned a happy ending married to that woman. A woman who is just as equally amazing as she is.

(And while it's not representation for me personally, I think Suletta providing representation for women of color and disabled fans is also a big deal.)

I'm sure as I grow up, queer and sapphic media will continue to push boundaries, and we'll get more queer female leads in mainstream media. But I can't think of any other franchise I love where making the main character a sapphic woman would mean close to what it meant to me when Gundam did it.

Certainly there's "better" anime out there, even Gundam anime. But none of them mean to me what The Witch From Mercury meant to me. None of them come close to the love I have for this show and these two women.

[lavendermoonlitskies]

Hi.

It’s been a very intense week. I am a little embarrassed by the level at which I publicly freaked out on here about the possibility of losing this fandom, i.e. my happy place, and even more so how disgusted I am by that awful man’s actions, but I’m going to leave those posts up because they are genuinely how I feel and I do not want anyone to think I no longer care about what he has done.

I posted a lot about not wanting to lose this fandom space or the enjoyment out of watching this series, but with my head a little more clear, I want to make it known that victims of sexual assault getting justice for what has happened to them is always the number one priority. At best, NG took advantage of his authority to get what he wanted out of two women with their reluctant consent, traumatizing them in the process. I feel the way I feel about Good Omens, but if this results in season 3 being scrapped, then so be it. I will be upset (not at the victims, obviously), but life goes on and I will be fine.

I’ve done a lot of thinking in terms of fandom engagement, and the truth is, at this point in my life, this is how I get through the day. The fandom is talented, brilliant, funny, and at this point in time it’s too engrained in my daily routine to completely deprive myself of it so suddenly. I mentioned this in another post, but things in my life are really unsure at the moment and the constant anxiety about not being where I should be is terrible for my mental health.

Good Omens came into my life right around the time I needed it, it’s an escape. A fictional world for me to immerse myself in and 1) see myself in a disabled character whose disability is not only represented well, but celebrated in a way that I’ve never seen before on screen, and 2) imagine a happy ending for a couple of characters I’ve grown to love, during a time where I don’t know what my happy ending looks like. If I’m being completely honest, 90% of my engagement with it anyway is with fanfics, art and metas from fans.

As I’ve been kind of quietly lurking around people’s tumblrs and ao3’s, I started to realize that other fans are probably in the same mindset that I am, and I recognized that this fandom may be their happy place too and they don’t deserve to have that taken away over the actions of one man who isn’t even the sole author of the book, and is only one of many, many individuals involved in the production of the show. I had to sit with that and realize that holding myself to an entirely different standard is unfair, so I won’t. Nobody’s a bad person for drawing their favorite characters, or writing stories, or analyzing a relationship between two fictional characters in-depth in a tumblr post for other fans.

I don’t want to hurt anybody, I just want to be happy. That’s all.

[ayashitetsuko]

An open letter to David Jenkins

Some fans believe that we should not vent our anger and frustration to show creators. I don’t believe that. The thing about being a professional is that receiving criticism is part of your job—especially if you have done a terrible job.

OFMD went from groundbreaking to disappointing overnight.

There was a momentum to create a queer media that is smart, fun, sexy, and most importantly, respectful. In the way they are writing these queer characters. Especially older and disabled queer characters, a reflection of a generation of marginalised communities that have gone through so much. To give audience a glimpse of hope in their escapism.

But sir, you choose to Remus Lupin him instead.

This is not just about killing off a character. Hell, I might be willing to accept it. After all, I have read and even written fics with MCD in it—involving my favourite character.

But I want you to know that this is a special case. It is not just another popular character being killed off to drive plots.

I have issue with how you kill off a queer character that represents many marginalised communities in his arc.

Izzy is an abuse survivor who becomes disabled as a result of it. Izzy is a queer elder. Izzy is suicidal but manages to overcome it with the healing power of love and community.

Having him killed off just like that is a huge slap for fans who have gone through what he has gone through. Turns out, even in fiction, in our escapism, there is no joy. Only despair.

Also. Father figure? Where does that come from? Ed has never been shown to have any level of respect for Izzy. So let me ask you again. Where does “father figure” come from?

You have an opportunity to make a difference with OFMD; to be remembered in history for the right reasons. Yet somehow you choose not too. You choose to turn this into cheap, sensationalist entertainment where death and torture are thrown around for shock value.

It is like you have no idea how much power you have by being a professional storyteller.

Let me break it down to you. For you as a writer, perhaps killing off Izzy is nothing but an artistic choice. A plot point to figure out. But for audiences in marginalised groups, stories are mirrors. They see themselves in stories. That is how stories give them hope. This is why OFMD has never been “just a pirate story”. Perhaps this is hard to understand if you have never been part of an underrepresented community in the mainstream media, but this is how many are feeling about your work now. Your legacy.

OFMD has truly become an overnight failure. I don’t know how this happened. I would like to blame budget cuts, but your Vanity Fair interview makes me realise this is all deliberate choice.

So, what is next for us Canyonites?

If anything, this convinced me that queer and disabled people should write. And continue to write.

We can no longer trust major media to speak for us. We definitely can never trust David Jenkins again. Any form of progressiveness that he showed earlier was just coincidence, apparently. Even worse, it was fake.

As my friend Sam beautifully puts it, Izzy belongs to us now. We reclaim that character and give him all the happy endings he deserves in our fic, our art. We transform the works. We write about queer, disabled, suicidal characters the way the deserve to be written. If being a published writer is the path you choose, make sure you make wiser decisions than David Jenkins.

Thank you, sir. It was good while it lasts.

But this is a terrible job that you’re doing.

[pompadourpink]

It's a new beginning!

Hello children,

September is coming, school too for some of you - often a great moment for a bit of decluttering and a few new good resolutions. Here am I, offering myself as one of them!

As you hopefully know, I started this blog in 2016 and have been a private tutor since the beginning of the pandemic. I have room at the moment for several new students, so here is what I offer:

Classes, obviously - the typical schedule is one hour a week, sometimes one and a half, or one every two weeks, or two every two weeks; typically same day same time (I'm always happy to make adjustments if you work shifts)

Homework, if you can make the time for it. I typically prefer it to be finished by the middle of the week so that I have time to take a look and correct it, giving you the opportunity to give it a second try before class!

Depending on your preferences, either just a few activities so we can take our time, especially if you are a beginner, or something a bit more dynamic consisting in five to ten minute long activities to keep you motivated and alert (which seems to be a crowd's favourite as most of my students are neurodivergent).

Talking activities are typically answering series of questions I share from my Notion, talking about your week, summarising a book or a movie, making me guess a word or a person, or a concept I call "alien talk" where you explain something (like a vaccine or insurance) from scratch to a little red man.

Writing activities are often fictional (I have students create a little character on a website and we write an update about their life regularly), they can also be an overview of your month, a letter to quit your horrible job or convince Snoop Dog to marry you because you are a gold digger.

Transcribing activities, especially at the beginning, are either me reading very easy sentences so you can write them down and memorise the way things sound, then it's episodes from young children's shows, extracts from very famous movies, then we hit harder and turn to gameshows or podcasts.

Translating activities, from one language to another, are a written translation of the first page of a novel (I did the Secret History recently), or a newspapers article (we are working on this one at the moment); or an oral translation of songs lyrics, fairytales, children's books, muted captioned playthroughs of your favourite games on Youtube, etc.

Finally, a few games: silly quizzes, crosswords, Wordle and even Quordle, hangman, and sometimes we even sing if you're comfortable with that.

Here is the link of my website where you will find reviews and a list of what to send me to get the process started. A few things to know:

I try to make the activities fit your preferences: get me a list of what you like and that is what we will work on. If your first language is not English, I am happy to include it, I'm always eager to learn (I've been reviewing my Spanish this way!)

I work without cameras. I don't need to see your face, I just need a voice and a good Internet connection. All students are welcome, no matter if you have an accent, a stutter, or disabilities. Do not be afraid of being judged, there is none of that here.

I ask for your contact information to be able to do my billing, no one else sees it and no one will know if you give me the address of a building in your area if you feel more comfortable this way. If you prefer to have a lesson first and decide that you want to continue before sending me your info, that's also an option.

I have a student and a regular rate, depending on what you can afford, and we can make different arrangements if your country's rate makes it too difficult, I've done it before.

Please comment if you have a question!

Much love,

Rose

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Alan & Jeff Forever!

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Jan 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 10 of 12 - I am a little concerned that this is getting too big for its britches, rather like Phaya’s recently recovered snake… shall we say? Adding in yet another character at this juncture isn’t the best idea. Still, I love how this show makes me cackle laugh with grandmas + Yai and then TENSION.

It’s a wobbly kind of balance but a balancing act is happening nonetheless. It makes the pacing of this show good. It may be all over the place but I'm never bored.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 11 of 14 - No trash talk this week, I was charmed & delighted. Who knew I would actually enjoy this show? Certainly not me. (not much of a...) Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - I am pretty much skipping most of the 3 chef friends, and all of the side dish action (sorry Neo). And with OffGun apart for most of this ep, it didn’t hold together since they are the glue. Sigh.

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 12fin - Okay let’s talk about it.

Mhok should have gone off with someone else. Day treated him like shit and never once apologized. To assume an apology isn’t necessary is to pity Day in the exact way he didn’t want. (On a complete aside, one of my favorite Thai restaurants back in my mispent youth was in Hilo, HI… ah memories) meanwhile the "passing escalators trope" activated in the land of malls (it’s been a while my old friend).

Anygay, I hold that Mohk was not a fault and Day was the one who needed to apologize.

Although they did have one of BL's BEST ever face touch moments. 

In conclusion: 

The story of a blind man and his caregiver falling in love. Mark is great. JimmySea are spectacular. The support cast is GMMTV-good. And for the first 3/4 this BL was something rather special. But it was let down by its ending (for which I entirely blame the author). In order to like this show you must buy into the premise that Mhok was in the wrong and caused their breakup. If you don’t believe that, you won’t like this BL. Also "fixing a disability = true happiness" is gross messaging. For me, endings counts for a lot and this one was ultimately “happy” but felt like a failure. 7/10 and I was sorely tempted to go as low as a 6/10, so it should count itself lucky 

I dithered my darling BLabies... I dithered A LOT over this one. But JimmySea alone held this one up.

GMMTV we gotta talk. You're fielding some of the world's best pairs right now. It's time to get them equally good scripts.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - This installment had too much of the side couple in it. Although it was nice to see First/Dream (Twins) again. He's still a cutie, even playing a straight. 

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 23 of 24 - I have to say I’m very glad we are on the last installment of the series. Narcissistic hairdresser starts seeing a spirit in a mirror. Turns out to be a friend from his youth who he thought was dead. This one is kinda sweet, and I find the premise interesting. Is the kid actually dead and a spirit? Or is there something else going on? I am intrigued. And I like the actor playing the kid in the mirror. I suspect this will be sad tho.

Time the series (Thai Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - I don’t exactly know what is going on. And frankly I don’t particularly care, either. So far nothing seems to be happening, and I really intensely dislike one half of the main couple. DNF welcome 2024 here we go 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) 1-2 of 8 - based on the Manhwa Love Supremacy Zone by Hwacha (they should have kept the original title). I adore the premise. IRL person has been sent into fictional universe to save a side character from doom. Fantastic. Every fanfic author's dream. Also, I love that our POV was the bad boy in high school so there’s also a redemption arc going on. I adore this kind of isekai (if you wanna call it that). Puppy/cat pairing too! 

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Oh my goodness they too cute. Basically dating. Although only one of them realizes it, and he is such a drama queen. It’s GREAT. Also they are both so damn gay. I love the supportive bestie trying to cope with the girl who has a crush on his gay bff. 

Happy Ending (Korea Tues YT) 1 of 3 - Strongberry is back and it’s very them and very atmospheric and cute. I’m enjoying it. 

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 8 - Japan giveth and Japan taketh away again. Look, I just like the lost love teacher/teacher couple better. I'm assuming they'll have to do a time jump in the final episode to make this one work at all. 

I am SO GLAD we have KBLs back on our screens.

It's done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam so I assume it's on YouTube. I never even noticed. Anyone?

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - Is TRUST Entertainment bringing us the first ever Burmese BL? I don't know if it's really the first, but @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch through.

Beside You (Thai ????) - a 3 ep short that's supposed to have aired but I can't find it.

It's Airing But...

[NO INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Ends next week. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

In Case You Missed it

All my year-end round ups:

TOP 10 BL Trends of 2023

Top 10 BL Secondary Pairs of 2023

2023 BLs Best Trope Execution Awards! TOP 10

All the BLs Announced for 2023 that didn't happen

BL 2023's Best:

Back Hugs Thailand & Elsewhere

Cute Bits of Domesticity

Boys Feeding Boys

BOOP!

Best Cuddles

Heads in Laps

Touching Head Touches

Thailand Put His Head on Your Shoulder

Put Your Head on My Shoulder (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES FROM THAILAND

Next Week Looks Like This:

2/2 City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn (Fri YouTube?) 10 eps - An actor falls in love with a programmer and the narrative intends to “explore the ramifications of being public figure in the social network era who must endure critics, bullying, and defamation.” Looks like another Lovely Writer/Call It What You Want sort of thing. But helmed by Star Hunter? Chaos will ensue.

2/2 Anti Reset AKA Anti-Reset (Taiwan Fri Gaga?) 10 eps - from Vidol (who aren't doing us very proud right now) - Human and robot find love.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Say what you like about this show (and I have) they do some very gay cuddling. (Him the series)

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

This show, damnit, so close to being genius. (Last Twilight)

I don't that's a hardshi,p grandma ... although it may be a hard ship... get it.

I'll stop now.

(The Sign)

(Last week)

[stargazer-sims]

Victor & Yuri appreciation post ♥

My beautiful boys have aged well, and in my opinion this is the best they've ever looked. I will never not appreciate these two. Writing their "journey of discovery" story took me over two years, and I'm glad I saw it through, because these characters deserve it.

They were characters of mine long before I ever made sim avatars for them, but I've had fun with them as their sim avatars as well. A lot of the CC i've made over the years and a handful of builds have all been for them. Whenever I want to quit The Sims, I always come back to playing with these two, and whenever I'm discouraged with the writing process, I look at what I've done with these characters.

A lot of people ask if Yuri and Victor are that Yuri and Victor (from YOI). The answer is no; they are not fan fiction characters. If you're curious, Victor and Yuri's origin story is here.

__________

A little about Victor & Yuri...

Victor Thomas Edward Okamoto-Nelson birthday: 2 December gender: male pronouns: he/him occupation: paediatric nurse spouse: Yuri Okamoto-Nelson child: Caroline Lily May Okamoto-Nelson (adopted)

random facts about Victor

Victor is a former competitive snowboarder. He retired from competition to attend nursing school. He's still obsessed with snowboarding though.

When he was six, his father Thomas and baby sister Caroline were killed by an impaired driver driving through a crosswalk

He is terrified of thunderstorms and has been ever since he was a child

He has a hereditary genetic abnormality which caused his hair to turn prematurely silver. His hair was completely silver by the time he was thirteen, and by eighteen, his eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair and facial hair were also completely silver.

He always thought he had a mild learning disability, but it turned out that he actually had a correctable eye condition that made reading difficult for him

He and Yuri met online, on a forum for snowboarding enthusiasts. They had a long distance relationship for three years, during which time Victor threw himself into learning to speak Japanese in preparation for going to join Yuri in Japan.

He loves dogs and has a gift for dog training

His pain tolerance is very low and he doesn't do well with being sick. Yuri teases him about it, but would move the earth to take care of him and make sure he's as comfortable as possible whenever he's sick or hurt.

He cries easily, which is one of the things he likes least about himself

His favourite colour is red

Yuri Okamoto-Nelson birthday: 20 September gender: male pronouns: he/him occupation: communications professional spouse: Victor Okamoto-Nelson child: Caroline Lily May Okamoto-Nelson (adopted)

random facts

Yuri was born prematurely, at thirty weeks. Initially, he wasn't expected to survive the first forty-eight hours of his life, but he defied all the odds and survived. He loves his birthdays and always wants to make a big deal of them because he sees them as a celebration of another year of being alive rather than just being another year older.

He has a lot of health issues, but despite being chronically ill, he's determined to live the best life possible. He's physically active when he feels well, and loves snowboarding, yoga, swimming and dancing.

He's the oldest of three children. He's closest with his youngest sister Shirayuki and is estranged from his other younger sister Hana

He owns his own business, BRAVE Communications, which is a PR and communications firm. He runs it alongside his friend and business partner, James Fairchild, who is also disabled

Yuri is a survivor of intimate partner violence, from his one and only relationship before meeting Victor

He once made 1,000 paper cranes, and wished for happiness. Shortly thereafter, he and Victor met online.

He loves animals, but was never allowed to have a pet growing up. He was overjoyed when Victor agreed that he could adopt a dog, and he adopted a rescued Pomeranian whom he named Sango. Over the years since then, he's had a lot of pets

He likes to write, and has published three children's books so far, along with his friend Fox Abbottsford, who did the illustrations.

His favourite food is strawberries. He will eat just about anything that's strawberry-flavoured, but for him, nothing is better than fresh strawberries.

His favouite colous are yellow and pink

__________

*** Their married surname is Okamoto-Nelson. Victor's original surname was Nelson and Yuri's was Okamoto, but they couldn't decide who should take who's name when they got married, so they decided to combine them.

[decompose1]

im so intrigued abt the name tell me abt jabberwocky please

YAY OKAY!!

Jabberwocky is a character i made for a superhero roleplay run by a friend of mine. Some people in this world have "Marks"- superpowers caused by a solar flare a few generations ago, displayed in the form of a tattoo/birthmark-like marking on the skin.

Jabberwocky's mark, "Alice in Wonderland", allows her to manipulate the size of her body and any object she touches. There is no known limit, and she CAN do it at will, but she also shifts unintentionally depending on her emotions. This can cause her to become GIANT or SUPER TINY if she were to get, say, really angry/excited, or really scared, respectively.

There's an extra layer of complexity to this because Jabberwocky has level 3/"high support needs" autism. She's cognitively/intellectually disabled and has very little understanding or control of her emotions! She's also fully nonverbal and only uses AAC to communicate (she cannot reliably write/type, either. Struggles with language)

The location they're in is a fictional continent with its own autonomous city-states (that'd take me a bajillion years to get into). The city-state Jabber was born into, however, sees Marks as extremely scary and dangerous, so they're kinda heavily criminalized and it's illegal to even USE your mark in public. But the thing is Jabber can't help it, her mark activates without her say any time she feels like. Emotions. So she's labeled a Villain and constantly got arrested for public mark usage until she ran away and joined a cult in the mountains that worships the sun and moon. But uh. The moon exploded. So the whole cult is super freaked out and increasing recruitment efforts, leading Jabber to become a missionary for them.

I'm playing her as a duo with her little sister, Tyche, played by a friend of mine :o). Jabber is 23 and Tyche is 19. They're best friends, very very close!! They love each other so dearly and they make me so happy to write. My girls...

uhhhh the premise of this RP though is that all the characters were recruited to this top secret paramilitary project to try to make the Land better in the middle of all this extreme political unrest and bad shit. Jabber is not there by choice, she was arrested and handed over as a deal. But if she completes the project they'll free her, so. Yay(??). Her sister did join by choice because she's a hero, and that coincidence is what reunited them!!

... THAT'S SO MUCH! thank y ou for your interest in my strange little lady. She's very sweet and also doing terrible awful cult recruitment because she thinks this is a good thing. I love her

[gobbluthofficial]

I genuinely think the most upsetting thing about Umbrella Academy season 4 is how it treats Klaus' addiction and sobriety.

Klaus FINALLY gets sober and has a support system that actually cares about him. But this support system treats him like a burden. The only things Claire and Allison say about Klaus after he's sober and living with them is to talk about how much of a burden he is. I understand that supporting someone who's been an addict their entire life is hard. And I understand that it can be frustrating when they consistently deny help or relapse and always hurt you in the process. But they don't seem to be happy that he's gotten better! At all! Every time we see Allison or Claire interacting with or talking about Klaus, they're talking about how much they resent having him in their life. Allison is annoyed that he's living with them and bubble wrapping their whole house. Claire tells Allison that she needs to stop helping Klaus because every time she tries to help him, he just drags him down with her. When Klaus relapses, he snaps at Claire and it really upsets her.

And I understand these are real feelings and conversations people around addicts have! I have had these exact conversations in my real life! But this is fiction! And it is a story that has been building up season upon season of "The bad things that happen to you aren't your fault" and "Your family will always be there to support you"!

The only thing people are going to take away from this is "I shouldn't help the people I love when they're at their lowest because it will inconvenience me" or "I shouldn't ask for help when I'm at my lowest because it will inconvenience everyone around me."

And on top of that, the show equates his powers with his addiction. Believe me, I understand that having to hear dead people and have them follow you around all the time would make anyone want to start taking substances to get their mind off of it. I think it makes for an interesting and complex character! But it's an entirely different thing for Klaus to get his powers back and immediately fall back into addiction and drugs without seeing any sort of build up to it!

It just comes off as equating the way you were born with being destined to be an addict forever and there's no hope for you to ever get better. One could argue the Hargeeves' abilities work as stand ins for things like disability, mental illnesses, etc. but whether you look at it that way or not, the text is saying "Because of the way Klaus was born, he will forever be an addict and there is nothing anyone can do to help him because he is just destined to be this way." And then he dies! He dies because everything bad that has ever happened to him was his fault!

I've been around addicts all my life. They've hurt me and they've refused help and they've been hard to deal with, but I have also seen them get better! I've seen the most desperate and upsetting of situations get turned around and these people get back on their feet with the right support networks. And it really pisses me off that a huge show by one of the biggest names in entertainment can just show that these people are beyond saving and don't deserve help.

[famouscyclenerd]

ANTI THIS, ANTI THAT

I think it's funny how antis love to talk about how much eluciens dislike Elain and gwynriels dislike Azriel. And then go on about how they are so pro both of them. Even though ya'll want Elain to suffer an unaccepted mating bond she'll feel for the rest of her life and rot in the Night Court when it's been mentioned several times (by both her sisters) that she would love the Spring Court. You don't want Elain and Azriel to be with their mates even though that's the ultimate happily-ever after in Sarah's books.

Let me break it down for ya'll:🕺

Some elucien's doesn't like Azriel (not Elain)

They don't like the way he thinks of her and overall believes them to be a very bad match. Some have described his actions towards Mor and Elain as "incel behaviour" for the way he thinks and speaks for them, but none of them have said the same thing applies to the way he thinks and speaks to Gwyn and others. People saying: "I just want bby Lulu to be happy" can apply to him being happy single, with his mate, with Vassa, with anyone. That's a Lucien stan, not necessary an elucien. Ya'll don't want your faves to be happy?

Some gwynriel's doesn't like Elain (not Azriel)

Mostly because she has been very passive through-out the series and don't think she's a good match for Azriel. I've seen some calling her boring, but many are open to having their minds changed. Some doesn't care about Elain, which is fine, you don't have to. We have yet to see her fully shine and she's one of the few characters that we haven't gotten a pov from.

A LOT of e/riel's doesn't like Lucien nor Gwyn

Just because they don't like him and they think Azriel is hotter. I have yet to see a (good) reason why Elain and Lucien aren't a good match. People have called Lucien and Gwyn ugly (the gollum pic for instance - even though Lucien's described as handsome and Gwyn as beautiful - another day of antis ignoring canon), making fun of them for being gingers, making fun of Gwyn for working in the library and her, as well as Luciens, SA. Mocking Lucien for having to be carried because he can't fly. Calling Gwyn forgettable even though you talk about her every single day. Speaking for Gwyn (something antis preach about how we speak for Elain and how wrong it is. Even though they speak for her when they say she still wants Azriel yet she returned the necklace - a downright rejection) about how she should not want to have sex and especially not with the freak in the sheets Azriel. How convenient.. yet, canon begs to differ.

The great thing about shipping gwynriel and elucien is that you aren't anti anyone. You can call characters out for their behaviour, but you still want them to be happy and you still like them!

P.s! If it's racist to call out Azriel's entitlement over Elain then it's racist and ableist to speak badly of Lucien too. Also, I see you! You make fun of his disability all the time and it's not cute. Hope ya'll don't do that in real life. :D

P.s.s: You can't preach about feminism while making fun of other (fictional) women simply because they threaten your ship. This also applies to indirectly calling Nesta ugly by talking about how they had to dull Elain's beauty (by putting her in a black dress lol) when that's something you came up with. Nothing in the book supports your claim. Do you even listen to Elain? When she spoke about how Nesta, at the age of fourteen, was able to seduce a duke. And that was without Elain wearing black.

[kittencomicslol]

Gyutaro rant because IM LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH GYUTARO SHABANA OH MY GOD

LOOK AT HIM

LOOK HOW FUCKING PERFECT HE IS OH MY GOD IM GOING INSANE JES SO PERFECT WTF

HES SO FUCKING UGHHHH I WANNA HPLD HIM CLOSE AND KISS EVERY ONE O HIS PRETTY BORTH MARKS AND TELL HIM HOW PRETTY AND PERFECT HE IS AND I JUST WANNA UGHHH

I HAVE SO MANY DETAILED LITTLE HEADCANNONS ABOIT HOW HE WOULD PREFER/LIKE TO SNUGGLE AND OR SHPW AFFECTION IM ALWAYYYS THINKING OF HIM ❤️❤️❤️ LIKE WOULD U GUYS WANT TO SEE THEM??? ID LIKE TO SHARE THEM

I WANNA RUN MY HAND ALONG HIS WEIRD SPINE BIT NOT IN A WEIRD WAY ITS JUST COOL AND IT MAKES ME GO

AND THE WAY HIS RIBS

UGH

ME WHEN THE CHARACTERS RIBS ARE VISIBLE UGHHH ITS JUUUUHGHHGGG

I HAVE HIS LITTLE SPOTS MEMORIZED(at least from the front angle, thr back isn’t rlly memorized)

BIT I SWEAR LIKE I GET STREASWD OR UPSET AND I THINK ABOUT HIM LOKE

OH MY GOD CAN WE APPRECIATE THE KNY ACADEMY VER OF HIM??? LIKE I KNOW I CONSTANTLY TALK ABOIT HOW MUCH I FUCKING HATE MOTERCYCLE RIDERS BIT HE IS AN ACCEPTION AND NOW SEEING THEM MAKES ME THINK OF HIM WAAA ❤️❤️❤️

AS SOMEONE WHO DOESNT REALLY GET TO LIKE. EXPERIENCE REGULAR SCHOOL BC OF MY DISABILITY AND BC I DONT RLLY GET ALOT OF PJSYICAL ATTENTIPN IRL THE FICKING ENDLESS SEA OF IDEAS I CAN MAKE IP W MODERN GYU SWOOPS ME OFF MY FEET!!

I SO APPRECIATE THE RARITY(or honestly it’s getting more common >_<) OF WHEN HE SHOWS UP IN OR IS PRESENT IN MY DREAMS BC GAHHHH!!!! MY WIFE!!

HES MT FAV I LOVE HIM MY FAV FAV FAV MY LOVEE

Haters will say it’s not true but I just know if he was real he would love me(this is a joke if he was real I know this man would not like me) BUT I CAN DREAM I CAN DREAM I CAN DREAM

This is so me and him coded tbh

I love him I love him I LOVE HIM 🗣️🗣️🗣️ RAHHH NORMALIZE BEING IN LOVE WITH AND BEING HAPPY ABOIT AND BEING HYPERFIXATIED FICTIONAL CHARACTERS BC GUHHH IS SO NICE GOOD FEELING YES THUMBS UP HOORAY!!!

[rainbowchaox]

I’m a trans man that uses a cane sometimes so seeing jayvik and victor in general makes me so happy. I love projecting onto fictional characters❤️

Yeah I can’t imagine like the Joy people recieve from like Viktor and the whole romance arc he had with Jayce? Like I have been reading some people being touched by the whole storyline and I think we need more romances with disabled folks :DD

[farm-witches-fic-recs]

We're back with more community faves! The coven loves sharing these recs and we know the creators are so happy to see the blurbs about why you are so fond of these pieces.

Check them out and leave some comments and kudos!

==============

“After the Proposal” and other comics (@smileyrice) “I don’t know how to find all of smileyrice’s SC fanart works in one place but this adorable bit is emblematic of the drawings, comics, sketches, and other works depicting day-to-day scenes and stories of David and Patrick’s lives. All of smileyrice’s art is just precious and beautiful. The stories are adorable and the design/look of the comics is at once true to the canon and quite original. I love them very much and am grateful to be able to revisit them often.”

All things being equal (surreal) “It's such an honest and beautiful look at disability and representation, but not in a gimmicky way. It's really just a love story, for the OTP we all hold so dear, with one little thing changed. Also, the level of healthy communication in this is like 27/10.”

the ever and ever that fiction allows (lookingforshadows) “An underrated, sparkling gem of a fic.”

Happy Golden Days of Yore (@blueink3)  “It’s my annual Christmas Eve read (and often times in between when I need a good cry with a happy ending). Divorced David and Patrick are so broken without each other and this fic heals them in the best possible way. It is sob-inducing but so satisfying in the end. The writing is superb.” 

The Immortals of Schitt’s Creek (middyblue) “I love the magical realism in this fandom and this fic was one of the firsts for me and I come back to it often. There’s seasonal vibes, drama, bittersweet realities, fluff, smut, and everything in between.”

Improv piecing (@my-nameless-bliss) “David feels that love is like fabric. He’s used to having to piece together scraps to have enough, but Patrick has him rethinking the metaphor. I love this peek into David’s head—the bits of his history, the careful consideration of people’s motivations, the focus on figuring out how to do this early relationship “correctly.” Nameless_bliss has such a gift for sounding relaxed and effortless while actually packing a lot of thought and emotion into each section.”

It’s Time (@lisamc-21) “I keep going back to this. It's not the longest fic yet you still feel the years of pining that happened prior to where this story starts. I love a good friends to lovers fic and this is one of my faves!”

Moon Shot (@resilientrose) “This fic is beautifully written with a captivating plot and wonderful characterisation. The angst will make you hurt but the payoff is well worth it. A fabulous college AU with art student David and baseball player Patrick.”

Small projects (GClane) “It's gentle, but packs a massive punch.“

This Time Around (@distractivate) “Secret dating when a boyband gets back together, weaves in the characters so well and you can't help but be into each new turn the D&P relationship takes!”