#until then i will game. and hang out with my friends. and go on tumblr. and do all these things i like to do. until i no longer can

[front-facing-pokemon]

[its-a-me-mango]

Oh hey... it's been a while Telly...

Everypony, this is URGEN, and I need your help, I have a sad TV that needs cheering up, can you help me? You guys think you can help me? Pretty please?

THIS IS A FUN LIL OC/SONA DRAWING/WRITING/WHATEVER EVENT THINGY AND YOU'RE INVITED TO TAKE PART!!!

INFO BELOW THE READ MORE!

Hi welcome to below the read more, nice down here innit.

THIS IS NOT AN EVENT WHERE YOU SUGGEST THINGS TO ME, THIS IS FOR YOU TO DO, I WILL BE IGNORING ANY ASKS RELATED TO REQUESTS FOR ME TO DRAW!

Anyway so as I said, you're invited to have your sona, your OC, your AU or heck even one of the SMG4 crew help cheer up Telly! You can do this in anyway you like, wethers it's taking them out somewhere nice like a park or city, to playing games with them, or just hanging out with them! You're in charge of picking out something fun for your character of choise and Telly to do together! They love doing anything as long as its with friends so you're welcome to do pretty much anything!

You can also make this in an medium you'd like, be it art, comics, writing, or anything else you can think of, there is no strict medium this has to be done in so go wild and most importantly have fun!

For the sake of keeping things clear in the SMG4 tag, you can use #SMG4CheerUp as the tag for this event, you are obviously free to @ me but if not, I will check the above tag instead.

Before I go any further, just want to make this clear:

THERE IS NO PRIZE! THERE IS NO DEADLINE! THIS IS JUST FOR FUN!

THIS IS NOT A COMPETITION

Just saying this as I don't want people expecting anything from me in return for this, nor do I want people putting themselves down or comparing themselves to others, I want people to have fun for the sake of having fun.

I'm obviously not super stricks on rules as this is for fun but I do have a few requests:

No just straight up brining Mr Puzzles back, that kinda defeats the point. You're more than welcome to use your AU or OC version of Mr Puzzles for this, but no actual Mr Puzzles, let him rot in prison for a bit please.

I know I said you're welcome to do pretty much anything but please keep your work age appropriate! Telly is meant to be no older than 10 at max so nothing too outrageous please! I don't mind a bit of angst or anything like that but you know, be nice to the kid alright, I will kill you otherwise /j

Also for this please don't use their teen/adult design, this is focused on them as a kid so please keep them as one, no aging up to do anything not age appropriate please.

Please keep in mind that Telly is mute and cannot talk! They can write/type to talk (as they don't know sign language yet) and they can make static noises, but no actual speaking for them!

TELLY USES THEY/THEM PRONOUNS AND NOTHING ELSE, PLEASE JUST REFER TO THEM AS A CHILD/KID

That's all I could think of lol, will add more if I think of anything else.

TELLYS REF IS HERE FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT (it is also linked on my pinned post at all times) I'm not overly strict on design so feel free to add your own lil details to them, I think it's fun! :3

My media asks are off for now, as I'd rather people make their own posts, it's what Tumblr's for and I wouldn't want anyone's amazing work to sit and rot in my inbox! I will be reblogging everything I promise.

You're welcome to ask me any questions but my response will likely be either "yes" or "if it's fun for you go for it!"

There is no deadline as stated, but I'll say this is open for at least a month-ish, or at least until Mr Puzzles comes back or something lol (watch that be, this week! wow how short lived /j)

ANYWAY WITH ALL THAT OUT THE WAY, GO FORTH AND ONCE AGAIN, HAVE FUN ABOVE ALL ELSE!!! :3

[pinkyqily]

ALL MINE - JUJU WATKINS X READER

Summary: school and life is stressing you out but your lovely girlfriend is here to calm the cloudy storm brewing up.

Contains: fluff, fool inlove, juju and reader are down bad for each other. Also ignore the mistakes in one of the text I'll edit it out later

A/n: another game day fic we cheer this is a date fic one of my favorite writing prompt i hope you guys enjoy this, I would have had this posted earlier but tumblr sucks and didn't save half of the ending so I had to redo it but here it's, and as always happy reading, feedbacks are appreciated or commenting in general 💕

It has been a while since you ans the basketball player hangout, with both of you being full time students athletes your schedule would always clash and you guys wouldn't be able to hang.

But that didn't stop your late night calls catching each other up about what is going on in your lives.

Juju could tell you where having a strees full week from your track week and juggling having a part-time job.

You where getting ready for the day that you had ahead of you until you heard your phone pig. Picking it up you saw a message from juju.

You weren't going to question what she had planned because one thing about ju was she stays planning.

Your whole day went well, practice went well your after a while you needed to meet up with a few friends for revision.

You got back at your apartment around three in the afternoon. You started by doing your wash routine that conceited of a coconut butter body wash, then gentility exfoliating any dead skin.

Getting out the shower, you wrapped your towel around you, moving onto your skincare routine and body care routine.

Once you were done, you started getting dressed, picking a black flared tube bodysuit, and paired it with a cropped puffer jacket. You wore your white and gold Jordan 4 that juju got for you, and for a final touch, you added your white Prada cross bag to finish your outfit.

With a final touch of using the Vaseline body oil and your kali perfume in vanilla candy rock sugar.

You picked up your phone to text juju that you were done and she could be coming. After a few minutes of waiting, you got a text from her saying she was outside, but before you left, you replied, Your perfume.

Finally making it outside your building you saw juju leaned back on the car.

"Hey baby." You said, making your way towards her.

"Hi, my love." She said once she saw you

"So where are we going?" You asked her, as you we're about to open the door for yourself she got to the handle before you beating you to it.

"Umm, thinking about me and you a little date night, driver around our area and get some food while we're at it, what do you think." She told you as she closed the door

"Sounds like music to my ears." You said

"Gald were on the same note, how was your practice?". She asked

"Wasn't bad went really well, I'm starting to think these coaches got sum up with them so much complaining before we even start, but things are well." You told her.

You started ranting as juju continued driving but still paid attention to what you we're saying.

"And can you believe that, telling me I'll come third behind some big headed fool."

"No baby, but all that matters is that you prove to her and everyone else that they are wrong, you're the one who knows your strength and weaknesses."She told you as she laid her on your thighs palming your hands together.

"You're right it just gets really irritating having to hear this." You sighed, needing to get that rant out of your system.

"You feel better getting that out?

"Yea how did you even know I needed a day off".

"You looked like you were going through withdrawals on your spam."

"Ugh, don't remind me was spam was meant to be mysterious vibes only." You said.

Taking off your seat belt as she already found a spot to park.

"Pretty sure I'm the mysterious one." She said, raising an eyebrow at you.

"Whatever miss nonchalant, bring your face closer for a sec." You asked her

All of a sudden ju was all in your personal space, you looked up at her getting lost into those dark brown eyes of hers.

You felt her hot breath on your neck.

Next thing you do is pull the neck of her hoodie and go in for a kiss. It caught her off guard, but she found herself grabbing your face, deeping the kiss a little longer.

The both of you move back, trying to catch your breath.

If humans were able to breathe into each other the both of you would be sucking the oxygen out of one another.

"You got me way off guard." Was what she told you as took out her car keys.

"What did you think was gonna happen when I asked you to come closer, big head!?"

"Welp, I thought I had sum on me guess I was wrong."

"Sure, now where are we?". You said with a sarcastic tone layed under it

"This new diner places I recently found, c'om let's get out". She said taking off her seat belt.

"They better have good food."

Walking into the place you and juju had your hand intwering, she wasn't huge on pda, but you never take them for granted whenever she displays any type of affection for you in public.

You both went to go find yourself a table, getting yourself sitted before the waitress came.

"Enough about me, how's basketball?." You asked her.

"Same routine, but everything nice getting ready for march, though." She said as a waitress started making her way towards your table.

"Hi, welcome to didi's diner what get I get for you two?". You heard the waitress say.

"Umm, I'll have your chicken burger combo with a chocolate milkshake." Was what ju ordered

"And you miss".

"I'll have your chicken and beef pizza sandwich with a cold lemonade."You said

"Perfect would you guys like to pay now or later". The waitress had asked you both.

"I'll like to pay now." You told her as you started getting your card out.

"You'll be paying, yea no baby I got that what our total".

"Your total is 105". The waitress said she found you and juju amusing.

"Your always paying for everything I got this one". You said to her.

"Nah I got this". Before juju could do anything you grab both her hands and handed the waitress your own card instead.

"Here you go". You said to the waitress who immediately grab your card before ju could get out.

"I'll be back with your food soon".

"Thank you".

"Bruh why wouldn't you let me pay". She said crossing her arms.

"Because you always pay". You told her

"I pay because I enjoy treating you out". She said lowering her back on the chair.

"Well this one is my treat". You told her as you laid your head on her shoulder.

"This was supposed to be a fun relaxing day for you". She said.

"It's fun and relaxing because being with you is the quality time I need, so don't be sour Judea." You told her.

"Using my government is crazy." She said, wrapping her arms around your waist.

"Girl bye it ain't the end of the world and you do have a pretty name so yea infact might just be calling you that". You told her

"Sure baby." the both of you found yourselves looking at each other anyone could tell y'all got tension and chemistry together as a couple.

Before you both could do anything the waitress was already making her way towards you both.

"Here's your food hope you guys enjoy". She said before leaving you guys.

Anyone around the two of you could tell you both had crazy tension and chemistry, the attraction you both have on each other was something natural and couldn't be replicated.

You found yourself digging in juju fries that came with her meal.

"You got a problem miss Judea". You asked her as you took another one of her fry.

"You just have a pretty face and smell so good that I could eat you instead". She said making you almost choke.

"Ju, we're in public". You said nugging her.

"So?". She asked, not really caring. One thing for certain was that juju doesn't shy away from a lot of things. "Whatever big head".

You guys date continued you feed juju a few bites if your sandwich, chatted more about your goals and what you both want.

And you guys ended your night with a drive back to juju places and getting all cuddled up with her and duce.

[commanderyes]

The Commander Says Goodbye

I’m not going to lie, I’m extremely anxious as i’m writing this, out of what these news could mean to a lot of people, and my heart feels heavy enough it could drop down my ribcage any minute from now and squish all my other organs. But I’ve been dancing around this topic for a long time now, and I think i’ve finally reached a point where i can’t ignore it anymore, for my own sake.

I hereby announce Commander Yes has come to an end.

As I’ve mentioned plenty of times before, here and to many other people, when I began this comic all the way back in 2018 I was in a really bad, really low place in my life in every sense of the word, and it was a spur-of-the moment decision to cheer myself up, because Path of Fire had just released and my enjoyment of the game had reached fever pitch and I had been playing Guild Wars 2 alone since as far as launch, and none of my other friends had ever really gotten into it. I guess I just, dunno, cried out into the big maelstrom of the community, one voice amidst millions, because i wanted SOMEBODY to look at what i did and revel in the nerdery with me.

And somehow the snowball began to roll and people wanted more and more of what I could do, and I was being actively reached out to, and, well, some time after that I landed my first ever job, I discovered a lot of things about myself, and I found myself in communities that welcomed me with open arms, and many of the people in there have since become among the best friends I could’ve possibly encountered, kindred souls who i’ve shared joys and sorrows for many years and who I can’t imagine living without anymore.

And all the while I kept making the comics, and with every entry posted every week I’d keep having people stopping to comment on them, and whether they were dumb jokes or personal takes on the story, they’d all share how much what I do kept hitting them in the kokoro, and to this day whenever I play anywhere in the game I still get people who recognize me and thank me for doing what I do. It was wonderful, it IS wonderful, and seeing that response motivated me to keep going, because what did still mattered to people, out there.

But I did always say I planned to keep doing these comics until I ran out of energy for them, and I think i’ve finally reached that point.

Because ever since I actually landed that job I’m exhausted and sleep-deprived every other day, so much so that I only have time to work on the comic on saturdays and sundays, and it gets harder and harder to just sit and draw, and at that point it was just more work, and while I still enjoy and play Guild Wars 2 a lot, it no longer consumes my time and attention like I’ve used to and i’ve been having fun with more personal projects, and honestly the direction the story is taking these days does not sit right with me and it’s hard to find inspiration in that, and this might be borderline selfish but every year I find people care less and less about the comics and it really takes a hit to you motivation when hardly anybody responds after you’ve spent a whole weekend trying to squeeze a five-page comic out.

And, well, I have been doing these for six years straight, and I think that’s a good run. I’m tired, and ready to move on, at long last. Let it be someone else’s turn.

But that’s the beautiful thing about this community, isn’t it? Even if I’m hanging up the hat, there are a whole lot of fantastic artists out there, as we speak, still cranking out works of art, deserving of all the attention they can get. And think of all the artists yet to come! For every story that ends, another story is just about to begin!

The world keeps on spinning, one way or another.

I’ll be closing my patreon shortly after this, but the reddit archives and tumblr blog shall remain for people to browse whenever they feel like (or until they both go in flames, i guess, what social media isn’t about to these days)

I still don’t think I ever was that much of a big deal, but all the same, to everyone who’s ever supported me and helped me be the person I am right now, to everyone who’s been there from the beginning, to all the devs of this game that has captured us for nearly a decade now, to all my fellow players and artists out there

Thank you.

See you out there, fellow commanders. Still the stars find their way.

[glitterjay]

— staring contest

⠀⭒ paring heeseung x afab!reader. friends to lovers(?, makeout, pet names, drabble, mention of alcohol(?, short, semi suggestive content under the cut (minors DNI)

parties like this were often in this side of town. big houses, loud music, it was what you and your friends called the rich kids neighborhood as kids. and here you were now, walking into one of those big houses for a party you were invited.

you had met jake in one of your classes and you had both hit it off instantly. it would be too fast to call him your best friend, but he was definitely making his way up to that title.

you heard about this big party invitation going around, to which jake gladly filled you in. it was lee heeseung's party. ironically, he and jake were really good friends, which made the latter earn a plus one to the invitation he had received.

jake had told you before that heeseung limits a lot who he hangs out with, which just makes him even more popular for his "mysterious" reputation. you weren't going to lie, he was handsome, but you wouldn't try to get to know him if he didn't want to.

once you both made it into the house, jake grabbed your hand to lead you to his group of friends (which included the host of such party) who seemed to already be playing around with each other. "damn jake, i didn't know you had a girlfriend" one of the boys teased.

"she's not my girlfriend, jay. but at least i have a pretty girl to accompany me." the comments made you blush furiously, coughing as if that would make the redness leave your face. "we'll see about that" a voice called. it was the only face you could put a name to besides jake. it was heeseung.

"you're just in time, yun. we were just about to play some games."

-

it had been 3 hours since you arrived at the party. cans of beers flooded the table where you guys had originally started playing beer pong. "i know! why don't we have a staring contest?" the one who you had learned was named sunghoon suggested.

"i think thats a great idea!" jay exclaimed. "jake can hardly look at anything without giggling anymore, this should be easy." as the other two kept pestering jake for his clumsy and drunk behavior, you had felt someone else starting the staring contest.

heeseung's eyes were locked on you. it was as if a lion had just seen the perfect pray. he looked hot. you turned around nervously, trying to find the one who brought you here in the first place.

"jake is long gone. probably playing around with hoon and jay." he said.

your body tensed a little after hearing his voice. it was much deeper and heavier for some reason. "yeah, i guess you're right." you could see heeseung eyeing you up and down, licking his lips. it made you feel insecure for a moment, until you realized how close he had gotten. "i could kiss you right now."

"so do it." you said, feeling bold. heeseung didnt think twice, rapdily grabbing your face and slamming his lips into yours. it was quick at first, but then it turned more romantic. your hands rested on his broad shoulders while his held your face steady.

"your pretty dress kept calling me all night. it wants me to take it off."

i feel like this is sooo bad... | © glitterjay | tumblr

[smilepilled]

in light of all of these horrible things jappening to till, i would like to start a loveletter train to hir. i'll go first, and i'll tag some people under the cut. please try to be platonic and reasonably-far-yet-friendly if you're not close to hir, because im sure no one that does this wants to make void even more upset. let's show some love for a dear member of this community; show some kind words and support for hir

i'll go first...

@idwl, till. we are distant mutuals, and i wish i could utter these words in a private setting, but i will repeat them as many times as i can until you accept it as a undoubtable truth. i will say so much more than this when i can, and i truly apologize for not once expressing my heartfelt appreciation for you.

coin-related; you are brilliant. your terms shine upon mine eyes when i see them, and the geniosity of the majority of your terms brings me hope for a more unified queer community. you've created things that struck close to home for me, and im sure your terms have brought the same feeling of homeliness to many others. your creations arent just pretty labels with pretty flags— they are ways for people to feel unionship, a sense of belonging & hope for themselves. your creations may be mocked by the soulless minority, but you should ALWAYS remember that your terms have, do, and will reach into the hearts of people.

person-wise; i am not able to say much myself, but from all and any interactions i've seen from you, i can tell you are a lovely, dear person. you are cared for, people cherish your presence— and even if i'm a mere aunt (read: vibe of a "distant relative") for you in this case, i too partake in the appreciation of your presence here. regardless if you choose to move on from liomogai tumblr spaces or choose to remain, you will always have a place in the memoirs of the people. you may leave the scene, but you'll never ever be removed from the picture frames in the people's hearts. you are appreciated and folks will be willing to offer support for you, no matter how small or big they feel it is.

please, please count on us. don't isolate yourself or run away out of fear that you're "too much" or "evil" (for example?), or any other adjacent though you personally may have about asking for help. your friends and peers care about you, and i hope this old creature stending its hand to you can act even as little as being a symbol of that. you are valued and cared for, and even if you never coin again, people will still care for you — as a person, not a coiner. thank you, thank you & thank you for all you've done in here, and thank you for hanging in there as you are today (& have many other times). please dont be mean to yourself, hurt yourself, and instead go to your friends & watch a nice nature documentary with snacks instead.

your community's got your back, publicly and/or privately. you can reach out, and we do care. please be well, and take a bunch of breaks if you need to— play some games and get some snacks, you deserve it; especially now, but you always do.

i'm happy to spend time with you if you need a distraction, my discord is @\hackerbug if you wanna drop by. no need to ask or warn me beforehand, just airdrop yourself and i'll be glad to help. its not just me, either. please take care

additionally: i apologize if any of this is too much or too intense. i'm just really worried and i want to make sure you understand im offering myself to help you with a space to rant/vent and take your mind off this situation. thank you for being yourself

tagging: @radiomogai, @lunentity, @rwuffles, @kiruliom, @inknoidd, @h-halos, @puppfie, @gender-mailman, @hypnosiacon, @losergendered, @rabidbatboy, @acronym-chaos, @daybreakthing, @gengernoway, @local-maneater, @scr-ppup, @sevvys, @icwdtea, @floraeth, @nyrieve, @snugmutt, @starstruckdolly. — it's obviously okay to skip this, but i'd appreciate if you guys could drop some love for till. hi definitely needs some hearts right now. please focus on giving support to hir instead of attacking the harrassing party, for this.

[sturniololoco]

My little cousin's (they can't use Tumblr) - can you do a SLS protective but like she got cheated on so they comfort her and talk to the boy (if you can't that's fine ik it's kinda weird they are weird)

Cheated On

Sturniolo Little Sister (SLS) x The Sturniolo Triplets

SLS’s POV

I don’t know why I ever agreed to come to this party with, my boyfriend, Jack, especially if he’s my even going to hang out with me.

My brothers dropped me off at Matts house, after I promised that he would drop me off by 12 o’clock tonight. Little to my knowlage, Jackhad planned to go to a party.

Where there was drinking involved.

I’m only seventeen, and I’m not stupid enough to go and mess around with things that could get me into trouble.

Jack was the complete opposite.

As soon as we got there, he took his hand off my waist and found some of his friends, and a cooler.

I went ahead and stood in the corner, drinking a Pepsi in a solo cup. This went on for another hour and a half, but I didn’t mind. This gave me an excuse to people watch. And Jack was having a good time, so I didn’t want to ruin his fun.

But it was getting late.

I pulled out my phone, texting Jack that it was already 11:45, and I needed to get home.

About 10 minuets later, I got no response.

across the room, I saw Henry, one of Jack’s friends. I walk over to him, and pull him aside from his beer pong game. He looked mad until he realized it was me.

“Where’s Jack?!” I half yelled over the loud music, screaming, and talking.

“He’’s upstairs, dunno why though.” He’s slurred with blood shot eyes. I rolled my eyes and quickly made my way up the stairs.

Trying to find my way around this mansion was harder then I thought, but I checked all the rooms but the one in the back.

Tired of searching for Jack, who should have been with me in the first place, I harshly push the door open.

I found jack to say the least.

Sucking faces with our high school whore.

They both looked up. The girls face lit up in a fake smile as she or off hi lap and brushed past me, going back to the party, leaving Jack and I Alone.

I didn’t move. Just standing there, not. Knowing what to do. Jack stood, and made his way over to me, grabbing my wrist.

“Baby, I-“ I ripped my hand from his grasp, readjusted my purse, turned from him, and walked out the damn door. I could hear him trying to catch up with me as I walked downstairs, out the front door, and halfway down to the next block over.

My eyes were dry.

“Baby girl, would you just stop and listen for a second, It wasn’t what it looks like! I-“ he started to say, grabbing my shoulder and turning me around.

“Really? Because what I saw was you making out with a girl who wasn’t me, and that’s a pretty hard thing to mistake.”

Jack stood there, moving his mouth, but no sound came out.

But I wasn’t staying any longer to hear his excuse.

“Bye Jack.” I turned the corner and walked down the street. Jack must’ve finally got the message, because he didn’t other following me.

Then it hit me.

The pain.

Tears began to fall and my throat began to ache. I sat on the curb with my face in my hands and began to sob.

Once my breathing was somewhat controlled, I pullout my phone. To call Matt.

It wrung once before he picked up.

“You’re Late SLS/N.” He said when he picked up. Glancing at the clock, It read 12:08.

“I-I know, I’m sorry. I really need a ride.” I say, my voice cracking.

“SLS/N, are you okay? Why are you crying.” I could hear him standing up ad grabbin the keys, telling Chris and Nick to get in the car.

“MattI’m fine. I just need a ride. I’ll text you my locations.” I finished, hanging up the phone, before I break down again.

It’s not long before I see head lights and Matts car pull up. I quickly scramble into the backseat next to Nick. Matt begins to drive away.

“Hey what’s wrong, sweetheart?” Nick asks, rubbing my shoulder.

“Nothing.” I say, wanting to forget that this night ever happened. Wanting to forget what I saw when I walked into that bedroom.

“Really, because that mascara shit all over your face says something different.” Chris says, eyeing me through the rear view mirror. Matt is quick to slap him on the arm while still watching the road.

“SLS/N, you can’t just call me, past your cerfew, crying and looking like shit and expect me not to worry.” Matt says, not doing much of a better job than Chris.

At that I crumple into Nicks side. He pulls me o him while I cry, shushing me while I couch and cry onto his shirt.

-

We get home and we walk into the house. I held Nick’s hand, not wanting to be alone. Mat, Nick, and I all go in and sit on the couch. Chris goes to the bathroom, and comes back with a warm, damp rag. He neels in front of me and whiles the mascara streaks off my face.

“Goddamn, what is in this stuff?!” He says, still scrubbing my face, though a little bit harder. I laugh through my tears and sniffle, regaining my thoughts and ready to talk.

Chris sits on my other side, and they all await my answer to why I was so upset.

“Umm. I-I…Jack cheated on me.” I say blankly, trying not to let my emotions get the better of me again.

“Aw SLS/N.”Nick says giving me a hug, which I gladly accept. “Can I be honest?” He asks me.

I nod.

“He was a fucking douchebag and I hated him anyway.” He states, not breaking the hug. I giggle, squeezing him tighter.

While this was going on, Matt and Chris look at each other. Giving each other a knowing stare.

“Guys…?” I say.

“Hey!” Nick says, snapping them out of it. “Why don’t we have a little movie night to get the sprits back up. Hmm? That sound good?” I nod, standing up and going to get a drink and some candy from the fridge.

Nick’s POV

I waited for SLS/N to walk into the kitchen before I spoke.

“I’m fine with whatever you two do, but if you get arrested, I’m using your own money to bail you out.” I say.

Chris and Matt smile at this and get up, Matt grabbing his keys, and Chris starting to head to the car before SLS/N came back.

I hear the car pull out of the drive way, knowing that they’re on their way to Jacks house.

SLS/N’s POV

I walk back into the living room, only to see Nick, and no one else.

“Nicky? Where did the boys go?” I ask.

“I uh… I think they went to get some more candy. They said we could start the movie without them.” He says, patting the seat next to him for me to sit down. I grab a blanket from the basket in the corner and snuggle up with Nick.

Chris’s POV

Matt and I walk back into the house, me with bruised knuckles and Matt with a cracked lip.

In the living room, Nick and SLS/N are asleep, a show playing on the TV. Matt walks over and gives SLS/N a kiss on her head, then says,

“Im going to bed, Man. I’ll see you in the morning.” He gives me a half hug, then heads to his room.

I lay on the couch, scrolling through my phone, when I hear movement from the other side of the couch.

“Chris?” I hear SLS/N say in a sleepy voice, sitting up and rubbing her swollen eyes.

“hey kiddo. C’mere.” I say, opening my arms as she crawls over to me. She lays her head in the crook of my neck, and I rub her back. She sighs softly and falls back asleep. I kiss her in the head and drift to sleep myself.

-

Matt’s POV

I woke up around 630 today and went out in the living room to wake SLS/N up for school. She was laying on Chris, who was scrolling through his phone. She groaned when I told her we needed to go so I could drive her to school. -

Pulling into the school, I could tell she was getting nervous. I grab her hand and give it a little squeeze.

“hey, don’t worry about him. Everything’s gunna be fine.” I say. She nods, giving me a smile.

“Call me if you need anything.” She nodded again and leaned over to give me a quick kiss on the cheek, before getting out of the car and going into the building.

SLS/N’s POV

Walking into school, I immediately felt better, especially when I saw Jack with a black eye and a busted lip.

My brothers are crazy I thought to myself, shaking my head and smiling. I snapped a quick pic behind Jacks back and sent it to our siblings group chat, then went about my day.

Idk y this was so hard for me to write 😂 I fell like it sound corny! Keep at it with the requests tho!!!

[no1frogfan]

Endless hour

Kita Shinsuke x gn reader

Word count: ~800

Tags & warnings: fluff & angst, long distance relationship

Note: HELLO it’s been like a year since I've written anything or been on tumblr, which is wild. I started this so long ago and now it’s clawed its way back out of my heart. Inspired many moons ago by Laura Gilpin.

Tomorrow, when Kita drives you to the station, you won’t cry even though you’ll want to.

You’ll lean out the window of his dusty truck and take in the morning bustle — or, as much bustle as you get in this small town. At the intersection, two elementary school kids will run past with their bucket hats and matching uniforms and a weathered-looking obaasan will chase after them, reminding them to be careful of cars and watch the road. It’s hardly necessary here considering there’s little traffic, and that’s probably what the kids will be thinking too, but they’ll slow down nevertheless and squirm impatiently at the crosswalk before darting off again.

Their parents will already be at work in the repair shop, or the soba place, or the grocery store, and it will make you nostalgic for the hometown you haven’t even left yet. Wistful for the last honey-dipped days of summer. Scared of what you’ll miss once you’re gone.

The midnight-purple grapes of autumn and the jewel-red persimmons of winter. Grandmother’s warm silken tofu and popsicles after dinner. Sticky kisses stolen in the shadow of the camphor trees. What will ‘Samu’s opening night be like? How many games will you miss? How many wins? How many losses? Aran and Suna won’t hold it against you, but ‘Tsumu might. Your group chat will be active at first while everyone is settling in to their new lives and awkwardly falling into new friends, but as time goes on, as ‘Samu works late, as the boys plunge into practice, as the semester gets underway and you get swamped with homework, the messages will slow to a trickle. And you’ll be across the ocean, halfway around the world. It might as well be another planet.

How will Shinsuke fare without your help with the harvest? Will he have to work through the nights to finish it all himself? How many weeks will there be until summer break? Maybe you’ll even have to get an internship, some work experience, a leg up in the industry that will keep you away even longer. And when you do come back, will he still look at you the same way in a year? Two years? Three? The nights will be long, but the days will be longer. Will it be too hard without him? Hands twisting with restlessness, meals cheerless with one body instead of two. Will you have anything in common anymore? Will you grow apart? Will you find someone new? Will he?

Tomorrow, his eyes will still shine with their perpetual luster. You’ll avoid turning to look so your tears won’t fall, and you’ll hope that the breeze streaming in will dry them.

Tomorrow, the sun will crest the hill, and Shinsuke will glow like your own north star.

But tonight, he leads you down to the paddies.

It is a perfect summer evening. The chirping crickets can barely be heard over the drone of cicadas. The stars drape over the fields like a glimmering veil. The moon hangs bright and full. Or, almost full. It’s waning, and not for the first time, you wish the night could go on forever.

Shinsuke pulls you along the curving paths with no sense of haste. He talks to you about his day, his grandmother, the weather, the harvest. His neck bent and eyes fixed on you with every step, as familiar with the paddies as the back of his hand.

Rice plants tickle your calves, heavy grains dipped low, smearing the moon’s reflection across the surface of the water.

He finally slows near the canal at the edge of the farm. Dropping your hand, he presses a finger to his lips and points to the reeds toward a tangle of frogs in chorus, damp bodies glinting as they crawl over one another, a densely layered symphony of kero keros. Gingerly, gingerly, he bends down, and snatches at one, holding it up to your face with boyish glee. And then you’re both off, running, splashing, leaping after the throng of frogs that burst forth like a clammy firework in every direction, mud whirling, laughter erupting.

Like when you were kids. Like every summer.

You catch five frogs. He catches six.

Somewhere, it is raining.

A sense of serenity swells, spilling up and over and out into the endless dark. You stand there in the paddy mosquito-bitten and mud-spattered, smothered by the humid night. You think of Shinsuke draped over you in the wildflowers, the glide of shoji and the grassy scent of tatami, you think of white grains gleaming. He rinses the mud from his hands, pulls you close with damp fingers, and kisses you until you forget there will be a tomorrow.

[wayiiseetheworld]

50 Ways

{ Chapter Three }

Summary: Fifty Ways Jack Abbot shows his love.

Warnings: Jack Abbot x OC!Wife. Established relationship. Age gap marriage. Depression. BiPolar. Medical inaccuracies.

Word Count: 979

Author Note: Chapter Three is about Robby and Jack's friendship.

I am obsessed with Abbot, Robby, and The Pitt. Slowly going to post my stories from A03 on here. Rewatching ER and Animal Kingdom because of this show. Thank you so much for reading! || Not my gif.

Based off this Tumblr post : https://shorturl.at/a51iG

A03 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64495642/chapters/165620575

Prev | Next

III : “Call me if you need anything.”

Jack couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when Robby transitioned from coworker to friend, then to best friend, and ultimately to family, but he knew it happened in a relatively short time. Seven months into their acquaintance, Robby had invited him out for a drink at a bar, offering to buy the first round after seeing that Jack had a tough day. After the initial invitation, Jack found himself looking forward to their outings, which became a regular occurrence as the moment they were working the same shift. Robby became his first friend outside the military. 

It was nine months into their friendship when Robby finally visited Jack's apartment for the first time to watch a football game. As soon as he stepped inside, he was struck by how warm and inviting the space felt. It was the opposite of what Robby thought of Jack’s living space. The walls had a few photographs of Jack and a woman who was dressed in a wedding dress, another photo of Jack who was younger with a different woman in another wedding dress, and a few photos of what Robby could see as men in military uniforms, Jack in a few of them. “Are you married?” Robby asks. 

“Aila.” Jack gestured toward the woman in the wedding dress. Though she was younger than him, Robby felt a pang of jealousy as he noticed the way Aila looked at Jack in that picture—her eyes full of love and admiration. “She’s my second wife. She should be here later with the pizzas after she finishes work, I hope you like pepperoni.” Robby quickly understood that Jack had lost his first wife without needing to ask.

A few hours later, Aila walked through the front door carrying pizzas, just after they had enjoyed a couple of beers. Jack casually introduced her to Robby. “It’s so nice to meet you, Aila,” Robby said with a warm smile.

“I’ve heard wonderful things about you! Jack invited you to our little Halloween get-together, right? It’s nothing extravagant—just us watching scary movies, sipping Halloween cocktails, and handing out candy to the kids. But Jack says you have the night off?” she replied, her enthusiasm infectious.

“I’ll definitely be there. That sounds amazing,” Robby answered, enchanted by the way Jack’s face lit up when Aila spoke, as if he was hanging on to her every word. As they spent the evening chatting and watching the game, Robby felt a connection growing with Aila as well. By the end of the night, she had already convinced him to promise that he’d be her friend too and not just Jack’s.

Robby considered Jack to be like a brother, just like he thought Jack considered him. So when they both became attendings and Jack was assigned to the night shift, Robby experienced a twinge of sadness he has never felt before, losing the person who helped him stay on his feet when he felt like he couldn’t. Jack had always been the one who supported him during tough shifts, just as Robby had done for Jack in return when the other man needed it. 

As the weeks turned into months, Robby adjusted to the change, though he missed the camaraderie they had shared during those shifts. Jack’s presence had always been a comforting constant to Robby, a thing he did not know he needed until meeting Jack. Robby has also been a person to make their own family as his own blood wasn't something Robby could count on. Jack and Alia were people that Robby knew he could count on, also Dana, the charge nurse, that took Robby in his life as a son. 

It was nearly Christmas, when Robby found himself increasingly drawn into a fog that he couldn't quite shake off. At first, he brushed it aside as the breakup, the stress from work—long hours, the weight of responsibilities, and the emotional toll of his profession. But as time passed, the heaviness in his chest grew. Joy seemed to slip through his fingers like sand, and laughter felt distant, almost foreign. 

He picked up his phone, considering reaching out to check in, but hesitated. He didn’t want to disturb Jack during his night shift, and the anxiety of even thinking about it made him feel almost guilty. 

Then Robby’s phone buzzed with a message from Jack. “Hey, Robby. It’s been a while since we’ve had the chance to hang out beyond the few minutes we see each other at the beginning or end of shifts. I noticed you have Sunday off, so how about a BBQ night at my place? I’ve got a fantastic bottle of whiskey Aila was tipped earlier this week that's calling our names. Anyway, I hope you’re doing okay. And remember, call me if you need anything, brother. My phone is always on for you.”

Those words carried a weight that comforted Robby in a way nothing else could. It felt as though Jack had sensed his need for reassurance, reminding him he wasn’t alone and that Jack was always there for him. A reminder that Robby just had people and sometimes he just needed to open his mouth and ask for help.

Feeling enveloped by warmth and gratitude, Robby replied, “Thank you, Jack. Sunday sounds perfect. Just let me know what I can bring. Hope your shift is treating you well.”

As he settled back into the couch, a sense of tranquility enveloped him—not just from Jack’s friendship, but from the sense of family he had built here in Pittsburgh. Robby closed his eyes, considering reaching out to Jack for coffee or a late lunch tomorrow before his night shift. He decided to make that call in the morning, given that Robby had the day off. But for now, he thought a bit of sleep might help him feel better.

[a-guy-named-e]

do you have any favorite Riz fics/series? I've been enjoying your writing and would love to know the kinds of things you like reading!

thank you for asking! you have No Idea the storm you just unleashed

okay so first up, absolutely ANYTHING by honeyfluent is going to be good, lots of very strong riz-centric writing but also just fantastic characterization of all the bad kids and some fantastic group fics. if you're in a fabriz QPR kinda mood (and have some time to kill), their pirate-verse is a godsend. start with year one at sea and move from there, the sequel series are all linked, and it's still being actively updated. the town of esterie is also a personal favorite.

ad nauseum is another good fabriz fic, not a QPR but still a fantastic read. timeloop meets "popular fabian" AU, obviously a bit more fabian-centric, but some really strong characterization of both him and riz, and particularly gut-wrenching at times.

Not a monster (…right?) is another gut-wrenching one, an aroace riz hurt/comfort that explores some strong emotions post-Baron's Game. i don't often cry at fics, but this one for sure had me in tears.

...this wasn't in the parenting guide is a fantastic series about the gukgak family, for the most part some alternate POV rewrites of fantasy high, from both sklonda and pok's POV.

It's What You Do is another alternate reading of specifically My Green Heaven featuring an aroace riz who is at first morbidly relieved that he might be more like his father than he thought. getting to see riz's thought process through this scene is absolutely crushing, truly.

satisfaction brought it back is a fantastic riz & kalina fic centered around the idea that post-transmutation kalina goes back ot just being a familiar. very sweet and lighthearted at times with just the right amount of angst to balance it out.

hang ups and hanging out: how to successfully exit a summer paranoia spiral is a sweet slice-of-life fic about riz learning how to fucking relax. a little saccharine if you're not in the mood for it (i found it looking for some specific angst, my mistake for having Paranoia tagged but not Angst) but a spectacular comfort read.

Before I Wave Goodbye is a heartbreaking fic about several times riz dies and sees his dad post-My Green Heaven—including one time that's self-inflicted (not in a suicidal way but in a very misplaced "i found a way i can see my dead dad and i'm overconfident in my ability to pull this off" way)

whether by accident or fortune, you and i is a very sweet fic, technically a 5+1, about the lists riz keeps on his friends and the ways he loves them (and is loved in return).

fated strings (the red means i love you) is a baron/riz series, which i didn't know i would fall in love with until i did, with demiromantic ace riz, sympathetic baron, and a not so great cassandra/ankarna. to quote the summary, "Baron joins the Rat Grinders and their boyfriend at the Aguefort Adventuring Academy, and all hell breaks loose." frankly anything from massivdisaster (the wonderful @highfiveheroes here on tumblr) is going to be good, so make it a point to poke around his account if you're looking for good fic about fantasy high in general.

and of course this is all barely scratching the surface. i would write more, but i'm technically on my prep right now and really need to go make copies for my beginning percussion class. but i would encourage you, if ever you want my thoughts on good fic, to browse my bookmarks! i add to them regularly (seeing as i'm still working through all the d20 fics tagged Riz Gukgak), and rarely if ever do i private them, so feel free to poke around! there's almost certainly going to be good works there that i missed while writing this that are absolutely worth your time <3

[herearedragons]

herearedragons POE fics and when you should read them

go here to get notified when the list is updated

tier 0: zero spoilers whatsoever/so AU'd that it can probably be read on its own

Out Of Water: mermaid modern fantasy AU featuring Aloth, Edér and Selene. the moment you know who Aloth and Edér are you can read this. (tumblr) (AO3)

The Moon Will Sing: Eder and Selene modern fantasy AU AGAIN but this time with werewolves (tumblr) (AO3)

Anthu: Magnus Archives-style retelling of Selene's backstory in a modern setting, actual Magnus Archives knowledge not required. (AO3)

Dawn Strider: putting Edér and his dead brother in Pacific Rim. the moment you know who Edér is you can read this. you'll get a little more out of it if you know who Lady Webb and Elafa are. (tumblr) (AO3)

Quickest Of His Tribe: backstory one-shot for my death godlike chanter, set way before the game begins. (tumblr) (AO3)

Lorenzo microfic about kissing Aloth to prove that he's not possessed anymore (tumblr)

Edérene microfic, no plot, just Ship Dynamic (tumblr)

microfic with Mae's canon divergent version of the prologue (tumblr)

First Mate Set The Sails On Fire (sea shanty) (tumblr)

Aedyran Lasses (sea shanty) (tumblr)

Ondra's Love (sea shanty) (tumblr)

tier 1: once you've finished Gilded Vale you're fine

The Hanged Man: murder mystery longfic following an alternative timeline where Edér is never recruited by the Watcher, and Selene is a cipher detective. canon divergent. for a fully informed experience wait until you've met Lady Webb but the Dunryd Row/Leaden Key lore is mostly in the background tbh. if you can, read it on AO3 because that version is better maintained (I'm going to tidy up the tumblr one soon) (tumblr) (AO3)

The Strangest I've Seen: short fic set in the aftermath of the Buried Secrets quest (tumblr) (AO3)

Edérene microfic set during the Buried Secrets quest (tumblr)

tier 2: finished Caed Nua

Hollowborn's Lullaby (poem) (tumblr)

tier 3: you know who Iselmyr is

Lorenzo/Aloth microfic (tumblr)

A Waelite Indeed: gift fic featuring Aloth and Iselmyr (tumblr) (AO3)

tier 4: you played The White March Part I

and the truth is stranger than my own worst dreams: Mae/Devil of Caroc one-shot (tumblr) (AO3)

like money and blood: Mae/Devil oneshot AGAIN (tumblr) (AO3)

walk out: a little Devil-POV thing about how her first meeting with Lorenzo went (tumblr) (AO3)

tier 5: you played The White March Part II

Cold Water: The Edérene Manifesto, multichapter, technically spoils one of Edér's possible endings but inconsequentially so. wait until finishing the game if you really don't want to know the possible epilogue slides. (tumblr) (AO3)

there ain't language for the things I feel: one-shot, my Mae x Devil of Caroc manifesto (tumblr) (AO3)

not the righteous kind: Maevil microfic that technically can be read at tier 4 but hits better after "there ain't language for the things I feel". (tumblr) (AO3)

tier 6: you know what happened to Iovara ix Ensios

Lorenzo/Aloth microfic (tumblr)

tier 7: finished Pillars Of Eternity 1

every word you shouldn't say (will come bubbling out of your throat): hanahaki au oneshot ft. Selene and Helaine from my friend's brain. two-Watcher sibling dynamics and girls being normal about their crushes. spoils the same epilogue for Edér and one of Aloth's epilogue options also. (tumblr) (AO3)

tier 8: started Deadfire

Far From Home: crossover longfic in which Eder becomes the protagonist of Dragon Age: Inquisition. (tumblr) (AO3)

Leverage: silly minific about Edér getting kidnapped by pirates. technically zero spoilers but like it's just going to be confusing without the premise of the second game. (tumblr) (AO3)

And I Found Her Blue: microfic. Ederene get married (tumblr) (AO3)

Lady Of Moonlight (sea shanty) (tumblr)

Our Captain The Deadwoman (sea shanty) (tumblr)

[seikoru]

!Nerd Armin h'cs

Since I found out that the dudes here love !Nerd Armin, I felt it was my duty to share my head-canons on him. I have no idea how to use tumblr at all but here it is. All of this is a pieces of my au for a huge storyline armin fanfic with original female character, so…. just enjoy

You met completely by accident. You only went to Wall High School this year when you moved. And you didn't really like the local way of doing things. The whole caste thing, the whole cool dudes/loser thing. it was weird.

You wanted to hang out with everyone, no matter how different they were. Even though you were considered a cool and pretty girl by their metrics.

You first asked Armin for help after another biology class with a hell of a teacher, and he gladly agreed to help.

Armin was immediately very sweet to you. The way he would sometimes adjust his glasses or tuck a strand of hair behind his ear while he was explaining a topic to you…

To be honest, he was a bit frustrated by your lack of results after his help. You were barely getting better grades. He just didn't notice that half the time you weren't looking at the textbook, but at him.

But the more you became friends, the better his character revealed to you. He was known around school as the creepy anime otaku. Was that true? Absolutely. When you first went to his place, you were literally in a pink kingdom where all the walls were covered with anime girls.

Yeah, Armin had never felt the touch of a woman before. He'd had friends like Mikasa, but you… you were something else.

You'd been friends for almost six months until the winter ball was announced. And you literally didn't know who to go with. There were tons of guys chasing you, but they were all like Reiner: idiotic jocks.

The prom was coming up, and you still hadn't found a date. Armin rejected the prom: he didn't like the idea of jostling with sweaty, drunken teenagers to idiotic music in a stuffy room when he could be at home playing video games.

You managed to talk him into going out with you as a friend.

Did you kiss him ballroom night? Yes, you did.

When you, already drunk, said "I want to kiss you", Armin was quite taken aback. At first he just pulled you away and said something like "You need to sober up," but his heart was jumping out of his chest.

When you started convincing him of your sincere affection for him, he became hesitant. Quietly he muttered "I don't want you playing with my feelings".

You asked "Feelings?". He realized he had said something unnecessary, but there was no turning back. So you moved closer, took his glasses off his nose and gently touched his lips with yours.

In a relationship, Armin is the ultimate golden retriever. He smiles widely when he accidentally meets you in the school hallway at recess and is adorably embarrassed when you fleetingly touch him in public.

You're not allowed to spend much time together, lest you bring a wave of bullying on Armin. You had to keep yourselves within the school castes. But you guys didn't like the PDA anyway, so it wasn't a big problem.

Armin is proud of his collection of anime girls on his wall, but he's even more proud of his girlfriend. He always thought you were out of his league, and he couldn't hope for anything more than friendship.

But how happy he was when you would come to his house and sit on his lap while he was on Discord with his friends playing some games.

Armin often caught hyperfixated on his studies and wouldn't get out from under mountains of textbooks. It's not like you like studying much. But Armin is fine with it: he's willing to do ABSOLUTELY ALL of your homework for you.

Socially, he doesn't show how soft he is on the inside. While you were friends, you were sure he only knew how to be sassy. But hell, it turns out he's also good at kneeling in front of you, slowly kissing your ankles, calves and knees, working his way up to your thighs-

And you loved owning that side of him. Supple, belonging only to you. When he stared at you with admiring eyes, and you gently brushed away the strands of hair that fell across his face. He could have tell to fuck off to anyone else without a second thought, but not you.

[classicconundrum]

i draw so that a 15 year old years from now right out of her deltarune phase scrolling mindlessly for the next thing to draw during history class can perhaps, one day, see my art and say "fuck it lets watch (insert homoerotic show/podcast)"

i draw so that a 25 year old nonbinary person on a 5 minute break from work can scroll on Tumblr and say "people still watch homestar runner?" before mindlessly reblogging as there fingers were trained to do after a life of this.

i draw so that the teen boy who has to pretend to be homophobic around his friends can send the little pictures to his boyfriend because "you like that show right?"

i draw so that 6 years from now the woman I wish I would have had the chance to marry can go on my blog and find all my little pictures and laugh and say "you never changed, did you?"

i draw for my friend, T, who likes every post i make and comments on all of my tiktoks "i agree!" followed by some arrangement of shouting and fire emojis

i draw for my mother who doesn't quite understand what I mean when I go on frivolous rants on what happened in that show or game or podcast or book or fanfic but smiles because its rare she sees me so happy it simply must be shared, and so she says "That totally makes sense" in a sarcastic tone that to one might convey rudeness, but between us has a certain sincerity, a recognition of the mundane, and we laugh.

i draw for myself to look back and squeal giddy because I love the way it turned out

i draw for people who would be my best friend that I never meet because im too scared to comment on there posts

i draw for the people i have known as long as i can remember, the people i likely won't get to see until i die, because they like my art

i draw in spite of those who make me want to quit, i draw because i know they can't stop me, and I don't think they would want to

i draw in spite of my middle school sweetheart that I still text sometimes because I miss when we were friends

i draw in spite of people who called all my art rushed after hours of work

i draw for the boy I wished i would marry because I know he looks at the art I made of him and washes out the part of it that was me, so that its a hollow glass of his own self love, posted to his media pinned as a profile photo, claiming it's nothing but knowing that after it all, he hangs a picture painted by me in his room and my love will never leave his heart.

i draw for the man he will one day be when he pushes the things he did down to unpleasant memories, and he looks at that figure, and knows that at one point, he was loved enough for someone to make it.

i draw for the man one day I will be, looking through sketchbooks full of Homestuck ocs and Mario enemies with nothing but the indication of a smile as I'm flooded with all the love I had for so many things.

i draw for the man T will be one day, hopefully still a friend of mine, finding his silly notes disbursed through my notebooks. his doodles in pages perfectly reserved just for him. you know. cuz I love him.

i draw for the people who will pass my life only knowing the cool eye I was drawing in history class.

i draw for the girl who took up art after seeing the way I put pen to page

i draw for the family that cheers to see another work done by me

i draw for the people who will exist long after I have died so subtlety effected by the art had on so many other artists, so many people, even if they don't know my name, even if they will never see my work.

i draw because its fun and it helps me think and I like thinking of ideas and putting them onto paper and I like how the finished piece looks most of the time.

i draw

[strangescaffold]

celebrating the launch of Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 a.k.a. my contribution to Clown Alley

hi Tumblr, I wanted to make one of my first contributions to this blog something sincere while still capturing the genuine feral energy that occurred. so I’m going to tell you a brief story about one of my contributions to the game we’re launching today. to preface: we’re really hoping to share more in-depth, goofy little blogs like this one to give you insights into our development structure. hopefully that’s something you’re interested in, but if not, hang out because we also might post other stuff. you gotta give us that chance!! so to paint the picture - today, April 22nd, 2025, we launched Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3 over at Strange Scaffold. it’s live on Steam, and (we hope) many people are going to play it over the next few weeks. maybe months. maybe it’ll sit on your wishlist for a bit until one of your friends is frantically checking Steam wishlists on December 24th and it shows up in your notifications!!

Anyway, I get tasked to make art assets for the studio sometimes! it's a lot of fun. they let me get my hands all over the podcast logo. they let me do the studio's launch logo for Creepy Redneck Dinosaur Mansion 3. they let me do whatever this was for Valentine's Day:

just so you know what we're working with here. so jump back to January. the team's working on different environments for the game. I'm lurking in the text channels for real-time updates, as one does when they're collecting programmer crumbs for content like a small Victorian child. I watched the following conversation unveil in what I'll present to you as an abridged version:

and like a golden retriever locked onto a squirrel passing me by as I sat leashed outside the Whole Foods waiting for my owner, I could only watch as I anticipated -

I was around.

I had no visual in my head for this. I truly let the spirits guide me. in the past, friends had critiqued my Photoshop shitposts for still "looking too good." That wasn't going to happen today. after falling down a hole for an hour -

the spirits had finished. I exported my canvas. I surveyed my delivered PNG and within it found no hubris to behold, merely a newfound sense of peace and acceptance.

and as I watched the resulting feedback trickle in -

"Suddenly, you can understand the full deal behind that hallway with stock images of clowns with added context."

— Charlie Kelly, checkpointgaming.net

I couldn't help but wonder if anyone would observe the finer details.

I like to think they will! happy matching :) — Christa @ Strange Scaffold

[bengiyo]

BL 2023 Review

I wasn’t sure how I wanted to write about BL for this year. I was originally going to do a The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly framework for it, but that feels meaner than I actually am about it. Instead, I think I’ll just write out some sections and unpack some things I felt along the way.

I Watched Too Much Again

Last year I engaged with about 92 productions around the world. This year it was 99 (I tracked stuff I completed here). Sure I dropped 18 of them this year, but goddamn. The problem with watching as much as I did this year is that I worked full time this year and also maintained a separate hobby. I also continued my twice-weekly watch sessions with my friend Emily, so there are an additional 100-ish watch sessions in here of rewatching, plus a few other rewatches (Theory of Love and My Ride most notably).

One of my struggles at this point is I’m far too familiar with the genre, and find myself feeling impatient and irritable with shows that aren’t to my taste the way I used to. Throughout the late summer and fall I found myself increasingly grumpier about the genre, and it didn’t get better until I had a holiday and basically slept a day to get some energy back. I also found myself growing apart from fans I’ve known and followed a long time. It’s been a difficult year for me as a long-time fan because my tastes, habits, and friendships in the genre have changed even if the amount I watch hasn’t really.

I Wrote a Lot This Year

I recently converted my watch tag away from my gaming internet persona to just my shortname, so all near-1000 of my Stray Thoughts posts can be found under #ben watches now. I’ve also been going back and adding #ben writes to some of the standalone pieces that I really liked. In reviewing them, the pieces I’m happiest about are my ode to Framboise from Kabe Koji Nekoyashiki-kun Desires to Be Recognized, my post begging everyone to watch La Pluie, my post about what it means to actually like queer men, my SBS ep 10 post that ended up being wrong, my post about the Lavender Scare and Be My Favorite, my Tokyo in April is… post about the breaking of the BL line,

However, the two posts I am most proud of is my half-joking response about why I think tagging each other back and forth across Tumblr in our writing is so important. and The Knowing: Being Queer in BL because I had so much great conversations with folks as a result of both of these posts.

Looking back at my own blog, this is probably the most active I’ve been in my entire time on this website, so thank you to everyone who interacted with me this year, because it really is people talking to me that gets me most inspired to write things down. Big shout out to @lurkingshan who will bug me repeatedly until I blog something that I said in passing.

We Started a Podcast!

After hanging out with @shortpplfedup since Bad Buddy, she got inspired and really wanted to bring something different to the BL podcasting sphere. I had time, and liked talking with her enough, so we started @the-conversation-pod. Now we’re a full year into it and planning out future stuff. It’s been so much fun being able to get things off my soul and break poor NiNi in our recording sessions.

From this year, I think my favorite episodes we did were The Moonlight Chicken Episode, the Eighth Sense episode, the ITSAY Anniversary Episodes,  The Wedding Plan episode, , and The Holiday Clip Show. Huge shout out to @ginnymoonbeam for anchoring the transcription process, and @lurkingshan for editing.

The VIIB Awards will begin airing soontm so look forward to that.

Favorite New Term: Business Gay Performance

Let’s be clear, Bump Up Business is not good. It is an obvious BL cash grab from OnlyOneOf that seeks to comment on the fake nature of BL while doing everything it can to trick the audience into believing that the BL pair is real.

Before we got deeper into this year, I was a big fan of a certain pairing, and then their fans took it too far and it affected the way I engaged with their performances and their work. I like that we have a new term for “fanservice” that communicates that you understand that this is for work. (thanks to NiNi for this comparison) I can look at the latest behind the scenes video from Last Twilight and say that I think Sea really understands the work they’re doing, and he and Jimmy have a very relaxed and mature version of BGP without feeling like I’m feeding into shipping.

Do I think they’re dating? No. Do I like the way they fake it? Absolutely!

I can look at one of @respectthepetty posts about Yin and War having personalized, color-coded mics, and we can talk about the next level BGP between the two and both communicate that we know that this is a performance.

It actually makes the extra PR work fun for me again, because now I can just shout “BGP! BGP! BGP!” and it not feel like I’m giving myself brainrot.

Thai BL Needs to Finish Stronger Next Year

Let’s get into some of the show stuff. This year was defined for me by Thai BL starting strong with good premises and then squandering them by not focusing on the details that mattered or leaning into baseless melodrama. Time for some reads. Some of these shows were generally good, but they failed at these things:

609 Bedtime Story: The world building crumpled in the back half and both endings are flat.

A Boss and a Babe: Cher is a pro gamer who worked for a gaming company and there was no plot point about this at all, or collaboration between the two groups.

Bake Me Please: Why was a show about cake so lacking in flavor?

Be Mine SuperStar: You had a real opportunity to explore a fan and idol romance and had Punn show so little growth. I hope the footage of First’s range is helpful now that Ja is out of BL.

Be My Favorite: You redid that whole amusement park date and muddled so much of what the hell happened on that day.

Between Us: You had years to make this interesting. Why are there five pairs and why is the end of this a JC Penny catalog photoshoot?

Dangerous Romance: What the fuck happened to the Sailom we had in episode 1 and 2 before that gun incident?

Hidden Agenda: Tee, what the hell was this? Twelve weeks of this?

I Feel You Linger in the Air: You may be the most beautiful show, with some of the most impressive performances of the year, but you absolutely botched this ending. Finish the goddamn season next time.

Love in Translation: I love you, but that whole kidnapping plot was so stupid at the end.

Low Frequency: I like your OST. That's about it.

My Dear Gangster Oppa: No examination about how gaming friendships become close quickly because of the combination of anonymity and teamwork (shout out to @twig-tea for this excellent summation).

My School President: Saving your gay commentary for the final episode felt like a conservative choice. I want more from you next time.

Naughty Babe: You retconned your own characters to tell a worse story. Unforgiveable.

Never Let Me Go: You didn’t know if you wanted to be a high school BL or a mafia story. It was difficult to watch.

Only Friends: I cannot believe you did Boston like that at the end. Either give Force’s character a clear personality next time, or keep him enigmatic; half measures make him and Book look worse. Sand was absolutely embarrassing. Boeing was a waste. Ending on all of them paired like that felt so unearned.

Step By Step: You forgot to ground Jeng’s external dreams at the end, so the final two episodes are just frustrating.

I’m glad I got that off my chest. We can go into the next year now.

Korea Put in the Work This Year

I really like the efforts from the various Korean studios this year. I really hope we get a Strongberry joint next year, but I want to acknowledge that we had 18 Korean BL dramas I watched this year, and at least three of them I think are must watches: Our Dating Sim, Sing My Crush, and The Eighth Sense. Beyond that, I think Love Tractor, Unintentional Love Story, and A Breeze of Love are easy recommendations.

It’s really impressive how the complaint for me this year with Korean BL is not about them using their time poorly. It’s more about normal drama concerns, where I think characterization is a little weak, or a theme doesn’t land squarely. This rapid iteration from the Korean studios is really impressive to watch, and I’m excited to see what some of the recognized players do next year.

Taiwan and The Philippines Have Been Quiet for Me

I wasn’t really able to connect with much from the Philippines this year except for The Day I Loved You. I never wrote about The Day I Loved You, but this beautiful and heart wrenching show is one of my favorites from this year. I wasn’t too keen on the Oxin Films offerings of this year, and I’m still chasing down the ones from The IdeaFirst Company.

As for Taiwan, this new BL project from the end of the year just isn’t hitting. Kiseki: Dear to Me also ended up really hurting me with the way they used Wayne Song and Huang Chun Chih. I love that angry little man with the white hair, but I’m still salty about Wayne and the general mess of that show.

Japan was Busy This Year

I watched 16 new shows, a few older ones, and a few movies this year from Japan. We haven’t gotten this much from them ever. I continue to love the Drama Shower project from MBS, and my beloved What Did You Eat Yesterday? returned this year. We had pretty stellar outings with Our Dining Table, If It’s With You, and I Cannot Reach You.

I think a third of the Japanese BL I’ve tracked on MDL actually released this year. That’s huge.

Still, I am going to side eye Minato’s Laundromat 2. You were the show that let me down the most this entire year. More than Only Friends, more than Step By Step, and even more than Kiseki. You absolutely blew it. You were telling a great story about a man with an acute case of internalized homophobia coming out of his shell and learning to love his younger partner and you blew it for stupid amnesia nonsense. I will never forgive you for this.

Where Were All the Uncles This Year?

Really, without Jim from Moonlight Chicken, and without the men from What Did You Eat Yesterday? we had an alarming dearth of older gay characters passing on knowledge and wisdom to the youngsters this year. What the hell happened?

Rare Dynamics Won: Second Chance Romance and Friends to Lovers!

We had so much second chance romance this year. It’s really my favorite version of gay romance because gays don’t always have ideal settings when they’re young. We had Our Dating Sim, Individual Circumstances, Jun & Jun, The End of the World With You, Tokyo in April is…, Be My Favorite, Love Class Season 2, and A Breeze of Love. I am satisfied.

Friends to Lovers is actually so rare in romance and we have so many to choose from this year! The best examples are I Cannot Reach You and Sing My Crush, but we also have one of the pairs in Love Class Season 2.

Gay Thoughts

I had a couple of ongoing thoughts this year about queerness in BL.

First, I want to return to my post about Sing My Crush and La Pluie, and how I assert that Men Need to Be Angry Sometimes. More than giving men grace to be righteously angry or upset about things, along with letting them express it in ugly ways, I really want to get into how we engage with these shows. I will stop engaging with moralistic reads on characters in 2024. I will no longer engage with asks, reblogs, or meta gripping the fandom where we're judging the moral fiber of the character.

The question that really only matters for me at this point is: Is this act from the character justified from their characterization, the narrative, or genre conventions; and is it interesting? Whether or not the character is good or bad reeks of the lame arguments about good and bad representation, and I am not watching BL like I’m being graded in Sunday school.

The second thing I really want to acknowledge at the end of the year is that the gay sex is finally getting better again. I watched The Novelist this year, and we have taken so long to get back to the space that show took us on the portrayal of male-male intimacy. We are in the genre about people with dicks. It should feel like it. There should be a masculine component there that feels specific to queer intimacy.

I will acknowledge 2 Cutie 2 Pie, A Boss and a Babe, Be Mine SuperStar, Bed Friend, Candy Color Paradox, For Him, I Cannot Reach You, Kiseki: Dear to Me, La Pluie, Love Class 2, Love in Translation, Love Mate, Middleman’s Love, Naughty Babe, Only Friends, The End of the World With You, Tokyo in April is…, and Wedding Plan for your contributions.

Final Thoughts

I like how broad the genre felt this year, and I enjoyed how much speculative fiction is entering into the conversation. I don’t know how I feel about there being five vampire stories in the works next year, but overall I’m glad that we’re getting more experimental concepts. I’m burnt out on the college engineering BL, and would like to see more shows about working adults.

Despite how grumpy I was for at least three months, I think this has genuinely been one of the best years we’ve ever had in the genre. I made a lot of new friends in BL this year, and I’m excited to see what comes next. Thank you all for spending some of your time with me this year and I’ll see you in the next one.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for being rude to my friend?

😾 - so I can recognise this

I am the organiser of the friend group. I don’t mind, but Somtimes I do struggle playing a large game of telephone.

I made some very last minute plans to go visit friend A with B, and forgot to tell C until this morning. Sometimes it’s hard for me to be the communicator and tell people what’s going on when.

I told C and appolagised for the short notice and invited him to come visit A with us.

C said he could come along, and asked if they should bring B and D’s stuff with him. I texted back ‘I don’t know, ask them?’

C seemed upset by this and said that they’d hang out by themselves that day.

Issue is - I had a seizure the day before. I have non epileptic seizures, and my brain was completely fried. Hence my fatigue and forgetfulness. I could just about manage yes or no questions, so I genuinely didn’t know. C has their number and Instagram so could ask B and D quite easily.

It’s the first time C has heard of my seizures as I tend not to discuss it openly and only tell people who live with me or look after me. I’ve been trying to be more open about it and to communicate my needs though.

C has left me on read after my explaination, and I feel like a right asshole. I feel like it was rude of me to text that to them. I explained why I was scrambled and said sorry. I am leaving it at that as I don’t want to pester them if they don’t want it, but I am also not a huge fan of the silent treatment.

It is worth noting that C is having a rough time at the moment and I am trying to be very gentle with them as I realise that life is tough for them.

We did used to have a group chat, but C left unprompted. I decided not to dig because it’s none of my business, but I do try to check in with them regularly to ensure they’re ok. It comes off as if they’re isolating themselves.

So. Tumblr - AITA?