#what a dillweed

[clown-demon]

((Aaaw does the wiw baby bitchy nonnie need a binky?? Aaaw, you're too dumb to learn how to use a block button and resort to hate cuz no one loves you.

I legit dunt care if I'm annoying. Don't like my yapping learn how to block, dumbass.

[chipthekeeper]

straight people truly watch television with their eyes closed

[waitmyturtles]

Gelboys, and the Delicious Art of Eliciting Cringe

A bunch of my amazing friends are doing an amazing project in rewatching the wonderful 2019 drama, Theory of Love, and watching the romcom films that are thematically associated with each ToL episode. Their recent ToL posts have gotten me thinking about Third and cringe.

When I think about Theory of Love, I always firstly think about wanting to chuck a chancla at Third's conker.

I'm a Khai defender, even while admitting that he was a gigantic putz to Third during a lot of the series. But, as the lovely @lurkingshan said to me when I first tuned into ToL -- Third was the architect of his own misery.

Oh, indeed he was. This incommunicative wet blanket! I wanted to keep yelling at Third: if you crush on a person, they can't read yer mind until you say something about it!

Third filled me with a sense of dread and cringe. He couldn't bring himself to communicate his crush on Khai to Khai. My dread came from watching Khai continue to do his Khai things, with my knowing that Third would get increasingly heartbroken vis à vis Khai, without Third intervening unto himself to stop his cascade into misery until it was too late for him. As a viewer, I saw Third devolve, slowly crumbling into more and more despair.

In my 2023 review of Theory of Love, I argued that part of the show's brilliance in presenting such a pitiful Third at the start was a brilliant narrative move to lull us viewers into feeling a sense of implicit empathy towards Third -- a sympathetic bias that would then lead to us viewers to not question Third on his actually very questionable decisions. I thought it was such a good play on the part of the screenwriters to tease us viewers like this.

What I'm absolutely LOVING about the currently-airing Gelboys are similar feelings of simultaneous empathy and cringe for the guys in the love triangle that's been established as of episode three among Fou4mod, Chian, and Bua.

We were first presented with Fou4mod and his life deal: his wildin' family, his musical predilections, his bisexuality -- and his very strong internal demand for clarity in relationships. Surely the moment of crying in the mall to end episode one gave me the teeny-bopper shivers, but I got the strongest sense of cringe from Fou4mod's behavior at the end of episode two, when we saw him -- in real time!!! -- compromise and negotiate around his internal emotional compass for the sake of keeping the waffling Chian close to him.

(h/t @clairedaring )

That shit was just painful to watch (and it was AMAZINGLY well done). For my sake, it was particularly painful because I could so, so, SO relate to being just like that when I was a teenager.

I'm an old mom and auntie now, but ::hacking cough:: back in mah day, I remember being a 15-year-old teenager and thinking that my only rule in relationships would be that if I was lucky enough to date someone cute, then that would be all I'd need. I wouldn't demand anything else. I'd consider myself worthy if someone cute liked me back.

Cue the sirens and alarms! Someone should have, because of course, with that mindset, I got myself into a whole lot of messy-ass shit, dealing with a bunch of assholes during and well after my college years. I had a common mix of low self-esteem and and ill-conceived priorities that led me to date a string of incompatible dillweeds until I got myself into more mature relationships from my mid-20s on (with those relationships not always being perfect ones, either).

I find the cringe that Fou4mod and Chian present to be SO particularly viscerally painful because, to me -- it is SO relatable.

We have here teenagers who don't know what they're thinking, what they're feeling, what they're even doing -- because they don't have the comparative life experience to know what their actions might result in by way of what we, as the more mature and invisible audience, expect as their natural emotional ends. Fou4mod and Chian have no idea, because this is the first time they're going through these waffling human interactions, in love, dating, courtship, relationships, hook-ups, whatever.

Take even Chian's waffling and cringey behavior. I am loving all the varied takes on Chian (cc @tinrange and @mirmoria). It is so easy at this point, now that we've consumed episode three, to perhaps demonize Chian, and I definitely feel at times like I want to do that, too.

But I want to take a step back and assess Chian's existence as we know it at this moment -- from my perspective, of all things, as a worried mom, and as a former teen myself.

I love what @tinrange presented in her post about Chian's existence and status as a teenager who is very, very alone, and is looking for some kind of connection ANYWHERE, no matter how unhealthy he knows, and his friends know, those connections to be. Chian is so alone, we might even consider his current state one of (temporary?) abandonment. I love that his moment getting advice from chatGPT shocked so many of us to states of stomach discomfort.

But, also -- this kid is ALWAYS connected online. The headphones are in. Killing time with his napping and/or studying friends, watching a drama on 2.0x. Scrolling IG endlessly. Repeatedly editing his Close Friends list. Thinking about the symbolism of sharing a story to literally one person. Receiving the heartbreak, in silence, of realizing those symbolic efforts keep cyclically coming to naught as Bua flip-flops his attention to others.

Chian is in an almost constant state of distraction. During the very few times that we see him disconnected -- like the moment above, when he sees Bua with Moo after doing Bua's nails (like a chump), or the moment when he negotiates his unclear status with Fou4mod -- he is able to, finally, get in touch with the discomfort of the instability of his status with Bua. And it's clearly breaking him.

But he's not stopping the cycle, as of episode three. His wheel, for now, seems to keep turning in the same direction, back towards his attraction to Bua, almost serving Bua the attention that Bua wants, on a platter.

Chian, I'd posit, doesn't have the life experience yet to know how to break that cycle. From the perspective of a worried mom, what would I say to Chian? "That Bua guy is a POS, you gotta move on"?

My advice would be useless, we know that. We know Chian's not been listening to his friends, to the point of his friends giving up on Chian, knowing Chian is going to repeat the cycle of servitude and rejection that he's been dishing up to Bua.

But besides Chian not listening to his friends, I'll say again that Chian -- especially without the physical presence of supportive and empathetic family near him to give him perhaps sounder advice than his friends -- does not have the guidance or skill set to know HOW to change his behavior. He might only be able to break away from Bua when Bua does something idiotic or drastic. Which, we know, will leave Chian even more in the dumps -- because that specific scenario would leave Chian with absolutely no agency to change his hoped-for outcomes.

WE, as the viewers, know how Chian needs to change his behavior. But Chian, as a very wonderfully written natural teenager, has no idea how to do that yet. And I think that's just so very raw and realistic, and it's being beautifully done in this show.

What was great about Khai in Theory of Love was that, in the second half of the series, we saw him engage in very specific acts of behavioral change to get to a place to be a realistic partner to Third. I talked in my ToL piece about how behavioral change is very much the most difficult type of change a human can make.

While I don't have a lot of hope for a positive outcome for Chian (YET), I am at least encouraged by Fou4mod continuing to dally around the center of his own moral compass, hinting to Chian that he'd like an update on that status question, stat.

Fou4mod centers himself around his desire for clarity, even though he's really messing around the edges of it, eliciting the concern of Baabin. But Fou4mod still has that conviction. It hasn't burnt out yet. He has hope, and that hope is defining and disappointing him, as we see in the last scene of the episode, as he stands in-between Bua, Moo, and Chian. And unlike Chian -- Fou4mod has family, lots of it, around him, and a friend that's patiently by his side, there to comment on Fou4mod's navigation of this very titchy and ick situation.

Fou4mod has optimism and is guided by his center. Bua seems like a big ol' playa (but we'll find out more if/when we get an episode about him). While Chian, in many ways, does indeed deserve to be put into a blender, I want to make one little note of hope I have for him, something that makes me cringe at him just a tiny little bit less:

While Bua used his Close Friends list to show off his flirting towards Moo to Chian, Chian removed Fou4mod from his list before he uploaded his own flirtatious moment with Bua.

The whole IG flirting circle thing is just messy and uncool anyway. But at least Chian thought to put up a boundary that Bua himself hadn't thought of. Maybe Chian will show us a glimpse of an internal compass that we're unaware of as this series goes on.

[intriga-hounds]

i have long suspected that i have off the charts ADHD…i’ve spoken to doctors about this, who agree and refer me to the psych dept only for me to never make the appt……………

i have a lot of the classic symptoms: disorganization, interrupting others, difficulty listening, either doing 200 things or 0, etc.

but i just found out that bluntness is a well-documented aspect of ADHD. i literally JUST got roasted by my sister and best friend about being too blunt, and when i brought it up with other people, they all laughed and agreed i’m frank to a fault. many people have told me they’re just glad they’re on my good side, that i’m intimidating, etc.

in online social interactions in particular, i often come across as a giant dillweed bc i will say exactly what i’m thinking without social niceties attached and i’ve hurt lots of feelings that way. i have a tendency to put people on the defensive and make them feel like i’m talking down to them, even when i have no bad intentions whatsoever.

anyway i pretty much am never intending to put people down or kick anybody around, but i’m aware that that’s the vibe i give off, and frankly i’m too lazy most of the time to embellish my social interactions with the buffers i know will put people more at ease around me.

as a side bar, i do not have this issue when “performing” (such as when i’m teaching). however, when socializing with peers, it is a big problem.

i have other social issues associated with ADHD (such as having trouble keeping in touch, even with local friends), but this was one i hadn’t realized was well-documented and recognized (as opposed to, you know, social media “symptoms” that are just things that everyone does).

anyway, all this to say, it felt reaffirming to know that my bluntness is just another ADHD thing, and while i certainly won’t use this as an excuse to be rude, nor will i stop working on bettering myself, it’s good to know i’m not just being a dick for no reason. :)

[imagine-darksiders]

AHHHHHHH I stumbled across your writing and art through your transformers fic, and loved your style so much I devoured your other fics even though I’ve never heard of Darksiders. And promptly fell head over heels for it! I don’t even go here but I’m adopting a Horseman or three and every maker. I want to wrap them in warm blankets and feed them cookies.

Death’s Reaper form being unable to keep from showing those subconscious feelings and this giant skeleton’s darkest desires mostly being, wanting to coo over y/n. SOFTY. BIG SCARY SOFTY. Death getting worse at hiding it from everyone they encounter. I can see him blaming Reaper internally to avoid confronting his feelings like “I am a HORSEMAN, I have a reputation, do NOT blow this for us” (Reaper is not listening, too busy mentally frolicking with y/n)

Your fics 😭😭😭 I literally sat in my car and cried over Eideard in CHWH, and I am cackling at Strife and War in Eden’s Heir, the sheer confusion over humans knowing what guns are when they’re living in caves! the mob boss au has me by the throooooat. What would have happened if y/n did actually ask Strife not to hurt the dillweed that bruised her??? 👀👀👀 how would he have reacted

Amazing, spectacular, addictive, 10000/10 I didn’t know I needed this in my life

Absolutely tickled at the random idea of a generally non-spiritual y/n having someone comment about her soul, and just bluescreening because what the hell do you mean, souls are real???? I have one?? Like sure, apocalypse, Horsemen, demons, hard evidence exists, but facing something previously unknown and intangible about yourself is the real terror. Pestering Death or worse, Strife or War about souls and trying to come to terms with that?? Existential crisis on top of existential crisis.

Gnawing on this entire universe but especially your writing of it 💖 Please forgive me for liking your entire tumblr 😂

BELIEVEEEEEE ME, there is nothing to forgive. Spam away. ☺️💕👍🏻

[604to647]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tags @joelmillerisapunk @letsgobarbs 😘😘

Uhhh... this Modern AU Marcus Acacius in Vegas for 47 Minutes in Heaven, has totally gotten away from me to the tune of 8.3K (so far) 😣😣 Oh well, editing is future Emily's problem! Here is a bit of their enemies vibe (ya know, before the lovers part 😁):

“Well, what do you know?  You don’t know where you’re going, you don’t know how anything here works, and you certainly don’t know your place.”

The look on your face must register your utter shock at being yelled at by a total stranger, because for a second, the man’s stormy mocha eyes soften and flicker with something like regret.  He opens his mouth, though nothing comes out.

“Well, I know that you’re the rudest, most entitled asshole I’ve ever met.”

The behemoth closes his mouth and glares at you.  You glare at him right back.  Neither of you breaks eye contact until the elevator reaches its destination with a ding.

As the doors open to the welcomed sound of people chattering, rushing around and going about their morning, the man gestures with dramatic flair, waving for you to go ahead, “Ladies first.  Wouldn’t want to be rude.”

You walk out without a backwards glance, grateful that there’s clear signage indicating where the change room is so you can storm off without being seen asking for directions.  That better be the last time you see that dillweed.

And how about a little confused-that-he's-jealous Frankie (friends to lovers)?

Who the fuck is that guy?  Frankie can’t figure out if it’s the random guy at the bar that’s flirting with you that’s bothering him, or the fact that it’s actually bothering him that’s bothering him.  He drains his beer and grips his glass tightly as he watches the two of you chat merrily, fighting with himself: You’re a friendly girl, you get along with everyone – this is no different?  You're just being friendly. And even if you were flirting with this pencil neck, that was your business and not Frankie’s. So why can’t he look away?  It’s. None. Of. His. Business.

Practically scolding himself, Frankie grinds his teeth. You’re a smart, capable girl, certainly no damsel in distress - and unless you were to somehow indicate such, you didn’t need Frankie or anyone else to get involved, rescue you.   He should leave you be.

But the second Frankie sees the suit touch your elbow, he’s out of his chair with a force that knocks it violently into Mark’s, who’s not even surprised - he and Gabe wear knowing twin smirks as if they expected this turn of events.

Sidling up beside you, Frankie slips his arm around your waist - friendly, protective, possessive; when you turn to face him, a surprised but welcoming expression paints your pretty face when you see who it is. Frankie puts on the gentle smile that he always reserves just for you and says loud enough so that your new friend can hear over the music, “So, what time were you thinking for the farmer’s market tomorrow, Bambi?”

NPT: @aurorawritestoescape @inept-the-magnificent @baronessvonglitter @milla-frenchy @evolnoomym

@magpiepills @sawymredfox @nerdieforpedro @tateypots and anyone else who would like to share! Love seeing all your things 🥹

[j4gm]

SPOILERS!!! REFERENCES AND EASTER EGGS IN F&C ep. 7: THE STAR

Let's see what this episode has in store.

This is an alternate universe where Simon was killed by vampires before he found Marceline. Even the scientific parasite in his breast pocket looks like it has been drained of blood.

Our Simon demonstrating his survival skills. We never got to see him dealing with vampires in his own universe, but presumably he ran into them a few times and is familiar with their weaknesses.

These kinds of vampire minions last appeared in the Stakes miniseries. They are a lot more varied in design now. Also, the architecture of this world is interesting. It looks like gothic palaces have been built into the roots of decaying skyscrapers.

Bonnie's crew has several of the familiar vampire hunting tools from Stakes, including stake launchers and garlic bombs. They also douse some of the vampires in holy water, which was previously shown to harm demons in the episode Dad's Dungeon. This is the first time it's been seen working on vampires.

Marshall Lee has a Hambo mirror decoration. In the prime universe Hambo was Marceline's toy teddy bear, given to her by Simon.

Martin is an interesting choice for Bonnie's crew. In this universe it seems like he never had a son, since the humans presumably never left Ooo for the Islands. It also seems like he's a better person here, willing to risk his life to follow Fionna's noble lead. He has the same jacket as he had in The Visitor, which several people identified when we first saw Fionna wearing it in the trailer.

The cat on Bonnie's mug is Timmy from the episode The Pajama War. The fact she broke it is surely the most heartbreaking loss of this episode :(

The other member of the team is Huntress Wizard, who looks to be a human in this universe for some reason. I don't think Huntress Wizard was originally human in the prime universe.

Baby Finn snuck into this universe, and by the end of the episode was left to be raised by self-repairing battletank single gay dad PepButt. I'm sure he'll turn out fine.

The Cosmic Owl has been flagged up on Scarab's arrest list for "profiteering". Perhaps his neglect of his duties during Hoots has been discovered, or perhaps this is a new crime.

There are loads of new genderswapped characters in this scene. I've already reblogged a post listing all the ones we've spotted so far, so refer to that for details. The most significant is Ms. Abadeer. According to the credits, her first name is Hana.

Even Billy has been slain by vampires.

Princess Bubblegum calls Fionna a dillweed, her go-to insult from the episode Hot Diggity Doom. It's good to hear some Adventure Time swearing from time to time despite the liberties they're taking with the TV-14 rating.

Enter the titular character! Like the other members of the Vampire Court from Stakes, Marceline has taken a new name from the ranks of the Major Arcana of a tarot deck: The Star. Huntress mentions that she is the last member of the court, having outlived everyone beside the Vampire King himself. The fact she can fly suggests she killed and sucked The Fool's soul despite him being a fellow member of the court.

She is seen using her soul-sucking demon powers, inherited from Hunson, on Martin. She also demonstrates that she has no problem drinking blood in this universe, despite the fact vampires can eat the colour red.

Bonnie and The Star have such an interesting dynamic in this episode. It seems like fate is seeking to entwine them, but this has been twisted into a relationship of mutual hatred. Yet The Star is furious when a minion suggests she kill Bonnie, and Bonnie fails to take an opportunity to kill The Star later on. Something is keeping these two immortals in an eternal dance, even in a universe where they are arch nemeses.

A lot of this series has centred around Simon's relationship to fatherhood, and realising that he is a better dad than some of the others he's met will likely end up being a key moment in his recovery.

I believe this section was boarded by Hannah K. You've probably all seen her famous Bubbline stakeplay drawing. This scene must have been fun to draw.

I really enjoyed the parallel of Gary and Marshall getting their climactic kiss while Bonnie and The Star fell together to their deaths, demonstrating that the girls' fall was just as gay as the boys kissing, but in a very different way. We also know from interviews that Gary and Marshall's relationship is supposed to parallel that of early Bubbline in the prime universe. Perhaps Princess Bubblegum got Marceline out of a bad deal with Hunson Abadeer, shortly after their first meeting at Marceline's concert, and that's when they first hit it off.

The dream in this episode's credits features Marceline's house; a home that neither The Star nor this Marshall Lee have ever known.

[unicornblossom13]

Announcer: And the votes are in. Sentinel Prime is our new Magnus!

Sentinel [gives a double thumbs up as the crowd cheers]: Hey! Hey!

Optimus [from inside a nearby building]: WHAT?!

[Rapid footsteps are heard as the Autobot makes his way outside, slamming the doors open]

Optimus: WHAAAAT?! You dillweeds! [points at Sentinel] You’re a dillweed! [points at Cliffjumper] You’re a dillweed’s secretary! [points at Perceptor] And you’re probably some dillweed I’ve never met! You’re three dillweeds being dillweeds and you’re gonna dillweed this place into the ground!

[moondollz-cafe]

As a caregiver and regressor one thing i am tired of is finding a little/caregiver i genuinely care about and i tell them disorders i have and they say they are okay with that but the second i become unstable and have dni in my bio they spam me and then get pissy when i dont respond or when i show symptoms of being mentally ill they suddenly ghost me… like come on you knew what you were getting into. maybe if i didnt have any disorders i would have stable relationships

- Dillweed | any pronouns

[sashkapi]

Do you have any headcanons about those chaotic siblings? Because Man your headcanons are so awesome

OH BOY OH BOYO

Thmanksks <3

1. Because of their frequent physical fights Brianna is considered pretty strong when compared to other girls her age.  Buttowski brothers are for equality They'll fight their sister all the same <3

2. Speaking of Brianna: in my au(I guess it's an au atp) she is the reason for the slight wardrobe change of her brothers. They didn't really complain especially because Bri kinda gets their preferred styles. 

3. All of them were forced to play piano at some point. It stuck the most with Brad.

4. Musically speaking, Brad is the most "musically gifted" out of the three. Not really actually. He just thought girls like music and started learning how to make music until it actually stuck and became his consistent hobby and he improved.  Bri still plays piano for talent shows but not for herself. You have to throw Kick off a cliff with an instrument if you want him to play it. (Almost like there's an episode based on this whoa)

5. If you force them to pick an instrument to play then their picks are: Brad - guitar (chicks like it and he likes playing it) Bri - piano (she can only play it and has no interest in learning any new instrument) Kick - keytar (played both piano and guitar before so he would be curious about this amalgamation)

6. They all have "bits" of each other talents, mostly because they live together  Brad and Kick actually know how to put on make up (Brad paints his nails sometimes and Kick sometimes masks his scar if needed) Brad and Brianna somewhat good at acrobatics  Kick and Brianna have some knowledge of music making

7. Kick isn't the only one who hides his natural hair color. Brianna does it too. Her natural hair color is brown but girl likes Teena Sometimes so much that she dyes her hair blonde.

8. While I draw Kick and Brad with eye bags because "Ha ha, funny scissor seven reference" they also both suffer from insomnia. Brad frequently loses track of time and sometimes goes to sleep at 4 am. Kick physically can't fall asleep at a reasonable time. (There is an actual reason why but I'm saving it for another day).

They also learned how to fight quietly because parents are asleep but THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO DECIDE WHO GETS THE LAST BIT OF ICE CREAM IN THE BOTTOM FREEZER AT 3:42 AM.

9. When it comes to each other love lives: Brianna will be all over her brothers to get all the information. It's prime gossip material. Especially with brothers like hers. Of course she would want to know what type of person would date a pathetic pig pen or adrenaline maniac. Kick cares a tid bit below surface level. He would just make sure that his siblings are in a "normal" relationship and intervene only if there's a potential "Kelly situation". Other than that, he doesn't really care. Brad pretends he doesn't care. He does. His sibling better not dare getting partners before he does. 

10. Silly one but if not "dillweed" Brad and Brianna sometimes call Kick "Brick".  Now all the siblings' names start with "Br" :)

[eastwindmlk]

For May' @jilychallenge I started two plunnies. One was Dillweed in a Fancy Metal Can and the other is this.

Partner: @charmsandtealeaves

Prompt: University Football/rugby/field hockey training is open to the public, on a very hot day star player A takes a shower from a water hose and B walks against a lamppost bc B might have been staring

Either read on AO3 or under the cut!

It was Wednesday evening in The Leaky Cauldron, which meant the lads had gathered in the back of the dingy establishment for their weekly team gathering. Well, James liked to call it their team gathering, it was mostly an excuse to grab a pint in the middle of the week for most of them. 

In front of them, on the large oval table in the back, they assumed was supposed to be their ‘event space’ that none of them could imagine would actually be used by anyone but them. After all, they’d celebrated most of their big moments around this table ever since uni. Lay the newest redition of their pub league bracket.

“I am sure we can manage,” Sirius commented, his finger gliding down the print-out with their pub league charter. Smirking as he tapped, their first match. “The Hog’s Head team always sucks. I’m pretty sure good ol’ Mundungus still pretends to be their striker.” 

Both the men rolled their eyes and a snicker went through the collection of young men gathered. Glasses clinked together. “Wait, Mundungus is their striker? The one that sells pot? Owns the pawnshop?” Frank asked curiously, squinting at the paper. 

“It almost feels bad to be playing against them. At least we don’t need to run too fast then,” Peter grinned, downing half of his pint in celebration. 

While James would not celebrate an easy win as readily as his friend, he could not help but feel a little bad for the middle-aged blokes having their first game against them. But he supposed that is why they had a point system instead of a knock-out. 

“We play Babberton Arms the week after, they’re usually decent, same goes for The White Wyvern.” It was then that a name caught his eye, there was a pub in the league that he wasn’t familiar with. They were new on the sheet, and what was more surprising was that their listed captain was one ‘Lily Evans’, a woman. 

Sirius noticed his hesitation, throwing his arm over his shoulder as he leaned in to look as well. “Anyone know The Three Broomsticks?” he asked, the team falling silent for a moment before Kingsley supplied:

“It’s a small gastropub down in the village. Nice place, little highbrow, though.” This caused a couple of people to pull out their phones to look it up. 

“They have a good menu.” 

“The lady who runs it is a total MILF.”

“I think I had a date there once. Nice place.” 

So far, it sounded pretty good. James reckoned he would probably recruit Sirius to go on a recon mission soon. Spend an evening there to scope out the competition. It would be fun. While he would never admit it aloud, he was not opposed to something a little finer than this. 

Peter, who started laughing, holding out his phone for everyone to get a glimpse of what was on the screen drew everyone’s attention. As far as James could tell, it was a team picture. All the players were posing in front of the metal goal that was part of their local park. 

He was not entirely sure what was too funny about it, but several people were chuckling and scoffing when the phone passed to them. “They’re all females?” Someone asked, clicking their tongue and earning a round of laughter. 

“We’ll be fine; I am sure a bunch of girls are not going to take our cup,” Remus commented, squeezing James’s shoulder. 

Sirius was quiet until someone made a remark about how they would at least have a good time looking at them run, pretending to jiggle a pair of tits, making the rest of the table burst into hysterics.

Easily and masterfully redirecting the jokes in an effort to cut short this sort of talk. By joking. “All I know is that we might want to put Pete in goal because he has never scored with a girl once in his life.” 

There was a short bout of silence around the table before the first person broke, Benjy snorting loudly and slapping Peter, who was not looking as amused as the others, on the back hard enough to hear it connect. 

“I just think we shouldn’t be too quick to judge them, it looks like they actually train,” James deducted, having found the profile himself and scrolling through the public posts. Finding out some interesting things about this other captain. 

Lily Evans and he had a few mutual friends, mostly people from the pub league and a bloke that went to the same gym as he did. 

They liked similar bands, she attended a Lord of the Rings marathon he’d been unable to get tickets to. 

By the looks of it, she and her friends dressed up. 

She volunteers for or supports multiple charities. Her work involves a white coat, which intrigued him.

Her red hair was natural, and her green eyes were breathtaking. 

He also found a post about wanting to start this women-only footy team. With dates and times when they were supposed to meet up.

James leaned in a little too close, to squint in the background of one of her throwback pictures where he could swear he knew the grease ball she was toting along when his finger slipped and he accidentally liked a picture of her on holiday. 

“Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck no,” he muttered to himself and frantically tapped the little thumbs up, only to be offered more options. By the time that he finally figured out how to unlike it, he’d left a heart, angry and laughing reaction, and there was no way in hell she did not know he was stalking her Facebook. 

Turns out, he did not need to be physically talking to someone to put his foot in his mouth. His ineptitude with the dinosaur that was Facebook did just fine at making him look like a right idiot. Though it must be some record, taking less than ten seconds.  

What made it worse was that, not a minute later, there was a buzz, the light on his phone blinking blue. A Facebook notification. Worse, a friend request from one Lily Evans.

After having ignored the notification for several hours James found himself staring at it, bending over his container of Szechuan noodles. Staring long and hard enough for Sirius to elbow him in the side. 

“If some spicy text got you this wrapped up, I need to see it,” he chuckled, trying to lean over to see what James was staring at. Not shrinking away from the glare he received, much to James’s disappointment, he was reminded that his best friend was not intimidated by him in the slightest. 

Turning the screen to show off the notification bar, rolling his eyes at Sirius snorted. “Isn’t that the captain from the Broomsticks team? What does she want from you?” 

“Maybe she wants to plead for mercy?” he suggested with a smirk, his thumb hovering over the decline button. Why would he accept it? It wasn’t like he knew her. His tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth for a moment before selecting ‘accept’. 

He might not know her personally, but he was not going to turn down the possibility of spying on their new rivals. As team captain, it was his responsibility to be prepared for anything. This certainly had nothing to do with the bikini picture he spotted earlier. 

---

By the time that his phone buzzed the following Saturday, while he was stretching before their first game, he had completely forgotten about this happening.

‘Good luck today! {insert football emoji and a smiley]

Squinting against the glare of the rising sun behind him, he could almost make out the picture of the redhead rival captain. There was a nervous roll of his stomach, eyes darting around the field. Wondering if maybe she was here to spy on them. But most of the crowd was distinctly more follically challenged and would not look nearly as good in a black one-piece as he had learned Lily did. 

He reacted to the message with his usual lion emoji before tossing the phone into his bag. Not wanting to get too distracted.

What did not help was checking it again at half-time, only to find a new message. 

‘You should pay more attention to that centre back.’ 

Making his eyes roam the stands in search of a hint of the spy, but if she was there, she was hiding in the crowd. 

‘We’ll be fine! He’s no Matt Clarke.’ 

The message was sent before he realized it, a reference to his favourite team that his friends would likely get. But would she? He supposed she could always google him if she wanted to know, he supposed. The ref blew his whistle and just before he tossed the phone back in the bag he saw the notification pop up. 

‘Think you’re good enough to go up against the Bald Eagle?’ 

She knew. And he considered that maybe he was already in love with this stranger. 

---

Just like that, his recognizance mission was compromised. Or rather, forgotten about. Until Peter asked casually while beating him mercilessly at a game of FIFA. “Did you hear the chick team won their first game seven nil? Maybe we should try and catch one of their trainings. See if this was just a stroke of luck.” 

He did not even have the decency to look at the screen when he tipped in another goal against him. 

James considered accusing him of cheating, but what was the point? The last time he did that, they were in college, and it had been embarrassing enough to still make him cringe today. “I did see a post about it on Lil’s timeline. I think they meet every Thursday.” 

The characters on screen celebrated the end of the game, and he immediately flicked to the main screen, not particularly feeling like seeing his pathetic stats.  

Peter grumbled something about the stats being there for the both of them before falling silent. Giving James a confused look. “Lil? You two are that friendly already?” 

He pulled up his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. “I’d like to think so.” 

“Are you two secretly chatting or have you just become intimately familiar with her beach holiday pics?” Peter was still laughing between the coughs when his elbow landed in his stomach, throwing his hands up in defence. “Right, right! Got it! It’s both.” 

James shot him a playful glare and pulled up his shoulder, eyes returning to the screen to select another formation for his team. Certain he could out-strategize his friend’s undeniably superior skill. 

“I’ll go check them out this week.” 

---

The sun was starting to set when James and Sirius slunk into the park, rugged up in oversized cardigans they borrowed from Remus and stylish baseball caps that were generously donated by Kingsley. Who did insist they were not to adjust or bend them, as they were, collector's items. Or rather, they would be one day, and he was not going to risk it. Which did lead to a rather loose fit on Sirius and a promise of a very bad hair day for James. 

The pair of them carried a picnic blanket and book to look less suspicious. If they pretended to hold a book club. The biggest risk they ran was to look like nerds. 

Which they were. Not that James or Sirius would openly admit to this to anyone but each other. They are rather skilled at hiding their general nerdiness under a layer of muscle and smooth talking. Even if the smooth-talking occasionally included references to their nerd media of choice. 

James had overthought the time they should be arriving. Not too early, or they would notice something was off. Not too late, because then they would not get enough time to observe. After a lot of mulling over, James decided that twenty minutes after practice started should be perfect. 

He knew that their team took, at least, ten to fifteen minutes to waffle and joke around, and ten minutes was a quick warm-up. Which meant that they would probably wander in just as they started playing. 

Once he spotted the group of women, or rather, a collection of bouncing ponytails, James learned he was wrong, and he could not be happier about it. They were still warming up. Better yet, they were stretching and it was utterly enchanting. 

No matter how hard he tried, which was not very hard, he could not take his eyes off their captain. The feisty redhead he’d been texting off and on since Saturday wore a bright smile and a pair of criminally tight bike shorts as she dropped into a low lunge. 

A sight that he was clearly not prepared for. If it had not been for Sirius grabbing his arm, he might have walked straight into a rubbing bin. Frankly, he’d have deserved it for shamelessly staring. But what was a mortal man like him going to do? Avert his eyes when given the chance to glimpse at a goddess?

But as Sirius spread the blanket on the field across from the training, where he could resume his research in peace. The book he was pretending to read was open in his lap, his phone in his hand. He could not help himself. 

‘Good luck! [insert football and lady running emoji]’ 

Only after hitting sent, James realized that he might have just blown their cover. If Lily had done the same thing he had done when he got her message, it would not take a genius to figure out who they were. If there was something he’d learned about her over the past week or two was that she was, in fact, an actual genius. 

If the gods were merciful, she would see the humour in this. She’d not said anything about his little bikini picture snafu, which was arguably a lot creepier, and he had profusely apologized for it after a few pints to settle the nerves. 

That had been what had really set off their chatting. Messaging back and forth to the point that he had his eyes glued to his screen even while watching footy.  Remus had made remarks about it, which meant it had to be painfully obvious. 

Not that the screen was any sort of distraction now, for obvious reasons. However, there was also a less obvious and far more concerning reason for his mobile to lie discarded on the blanket. 

They're good. 

No, that was an understatement. They were terrifyingly competent. It was intimidating and did things to him, he would rather not admit to. 

“Prongs, I think we’re fucked,” commented Sirius after they watched a tall blonde flip throw the ball with such ease their jaws were on the floor. 

James swallowed, nodding slowly at his friend’s assessment. “So fucked.” A firm shove jolted him out of his trance to notice that, across the field, several of their rivals had turned to look at them. Most of them took this moment to catch their breaths, hands set into their sides. James could see their breaths form little clouds in the cooling evening air. 

He reeled in his jaw and raised a hand in an awkward greeting. As if he was not already done for, Lily raised her hand in what he thought would be an awkward wave back. Only for her to flip him off before winking and returning to her practice. Her jumper had ridden up and exposed a swath of tattooed skin on her side. 

Hand to his chest, James fell back into Sirius’s lap as if shot. Maybe he had been, because he was unwell. They’d never even spoken face-to-face, and he’d already decided on a May wedding at the Riverside, four kids and a Newfoundlander named Elvendork. 

Sirius peered at him with, what seemed like, genuine concern as James raked his hands over his face. “You right, mate?” he asked, the cap sliding forward as he tipped his head down to look at James. 

“Yeah. Yes. Though I could do with the incessant urge to make a fool of myself for her,” he groaned, an offended tsking rushing past his teeth when his friend pushed the cap down over his eyes. “Oi! Can you blame me? Just look at her!” 

Sirius looked up while he wrangled the cap back into place, taking a long moment and then some before sighing in defeat. “I vote Irish wolfhound and late spring. I look good in lavender.” 

“I was thinking Newfoundland,” he answered, a smirk playing around his lips.

“Only if I can be the godfather,” Sirius bargained, the raise of his eyebrows caused the cap to slide forward once more making James snicker. He let himself be pushed up and to his feet. “Go talk to her! Don’t do anything stupid,” his friend encouraged. 

James shot him a playful glare, tossing his own cap towards him and fixing his hair. Well, as much as it could be fixed. His feet already carrying him down the slight slope to the field. “It’s not like I am going to run into a lamp post,” he joked, tossing a grin over his shoulder seconds before connecting with just that. 

In his defence, the ladies were having a water break and Lily had taken off her jumper, standing there in just her sports bra, sweat glistening in the setting sun. Her hair was frizzy from the humidity and surrounded her like a halo. 

If that had not been enough, Lily had laughed, her head tilted back in delight and James was pretty sure he would move heaven and earth to be the one to make her laugh like that. Which was the thought that spun dizzily through his mind while he reeled from the impact. 

James staggered back a few steps, rubbing the side of his face that had made the actual impact. His glasses askew while he sat back down on the grass, blinking the spots from his vision. 

When his eyes focussed again, Lily was right there, her forehead creased with concern. Before he could think about it, his mouth moved. “Marry me?” Which was probably the first time that James Potter ever was truly mortified by something he had said. Mouth opening, this time intentionally, to apologize. 

But before he could, she laughed, and the sound was pure and surprisingly not like she wanted to run away. “How about you take me for a drink first?” 

The vigorous shake of his head made him reel all over again, but James didn’t care. ”It’s a date.” 

(A little reference vid, because I can.)

[iguessitsjustme]

4Minutes Ep 1 Drunk Thoughts

I have had A WEEK so I decided to get drunk this weekend and also liveblog something. 4Minutes won my poll so that’s what I’m watching. As you can probably tell by the fact that I am coherent, I am not yet drunk. Haven’t even started drinking yet. (I just had to go buy more alcohol because I don’t think my one bottle of wine was gonna be enough to get me drunk.) Drinking starts now and liveblog starts under the cut:

All I know about this show is I’m gonna be very confused and I’m gonna see a lot of ass.

Killer soundtrack jesus

Oh he’s dead. Goodbye friend. Dead.

BIBLE SPEAKING ENGLISH. Blessings to me.

Why is every noise currently happening all at once?

That’s just anxiety. You’re fine (I am not a medical doctor nor a time wizard but I am also ~right~

And that’s what claustrophobia feels like ladies and gentlemen

Fascinated by his necklace. I like it. I am not a huge jewelry person but if I had a necklace like that, I would wear it.

Well. Hate him now. What kind of jackass needs a car with an engine that loud (I live on a busy street and I suffer btw)

This is all very cinematic for some reason. I’m sure I will find out the reason at some point but right now I’m just vibin

I’m sure this investment department this man has never heard of but is the backbone of this company is very above board and is not gonna be the cause of any problems whatsoever…I should go find a snack.

Oh hit and run. What a dillweed.

I want cake. So bad. Do you know what I don’t have? Cake. But Great apparently can either travel through time accidentally or see the future. I…want cake.

This doctor with the glasses better keep his glasses.

I migh be tipsy but i’m still me and he needs his glasses or i’ll riot

Aahshhsdghlk don’t show me the surgery ahhahahhahh i am squeamish i don not like aahaha

Whatever is going on with this story, I can at least say the soundtrack slaps

I like Korn. Which worries me. Because like. He’s probably gonna die.

I do not like how cute these two are. Gonna hurt me.

Oh straight into sexy times I see

Ass count: 1

Why do all BL boys (do we count this as BL?) open condoms with their teeth? Stop that.

I…need more wine. I don’t mind high heat shows but they aren’t really my cup of tea so to speak.

Horny boys. Very horny. I think the burger and milkshake I rordered are here. Right as they almost start round two. God bless

Borger time chom chomp

Ominous thunder is ominous. Also the fuck is whit that cat?

Oh so Korn is Great’s brother. Got it. He gonna die and the brother I don’t like is gonna live. But he’s played by Bible so I forgive…for now.

Oh well these parents are shitty and actually I no longer dislike Great. No wonder he’s Like That. And given the second opportunity he did not do a hit and run. So he is redeemable at least

Korn has such older sibling energy

I love the sibling bond. This is gonna hurt me so bad I can tell

Korn is so niceys about Great smoking. If I ever caught any of my younger siblings smoking, I would have beat their ass (I cannot actually beat their ass I am not a violent person and also both of them would win against me in a fight howmstever, they would definitely never smoke again by the time I was done with them)

Listen. Listen. Drunk truth time. Tyme? Is that his nme? I don’t liek him. Sometimes about his voice just makes me think…do not trust this man. He lowkey sounds like First and maybe I’m still annoyed by Kant in THK and don’t trust him but my gut is saying Tyme only cares about himself and he pretends to care about others but he doesn’t not really. I could be completely and totally wrong. I’m just a drunk idiot. This is just how I am feeling

Overweight? OVERWIEGHT??? Fucking WHERE? Not that there’s anything wrong with being overweight but girl. GIRL. You are literally skin and bones. That’s like calling my overweight and I am tiny. TINY. I turn sideways and disappear. What in the ever lovin fuck…

Oh grandma’s gonna die. Cursed by the narrative. (sober Rae edit...I realize this is his mother..I think)

Psychic man. He sees his future sex life of course.

OOOOHHHHHH

I don’t know what’s going on. Time for episode two.

[waitmyturtles]

Gelboys, Episode 4: What’s Old Is New Again Is Kicking My Ass In Such Good Ways

[Another appropriate title to this post could be: Sad Boys (Bois?) Are Eternal, which, oh yes, they are.]

(h/t @my-rose-tinted-glasses)

I was half-liveblogging to @lurkingshan while I was watching this episode late yesterday, asking and begging Shan, WE ALL COLLECTIVELY GET WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE, RIGHT?!?!5555583737474 🤣🤣😭😭😭😭

The eternal trap of embarrassing yourself for a love that’s almost impossible to call your own, is what I was first reeling about.

The fact that Baabin voluntarily left the concert of his dreams to chase after his one-sided love of Fou4mod is what got me this week in my nostalgic feels. When I was a young lass — how many hang-outs and adventures did I miss with my friends because I was chasing after a dillweed. So many.

Do I regret missing those moments with my homies? Some, yes. Not all of them, though.

I don’t regret having the experiences I had in my teens and twenties — because, stereotypically, they made me who I am today. Chasing after assholes taught me that chasing after assholes was an activity that didn’t pay off, emotionally and even financially (ha, yes, seriously — Baabin spent dough on those tickets).

What we’re seeing in this show is the process of Fou4mod and Baabin laying down the bricks of their life experiences, creating moments in their lives that their future selves will learn from by way of how they want to experience happiness AFTER the tumult that we’re watching them go through now. We, as the audience, are observers to the youth that we know these young guys will grow out of before they know what hit them.

Besides all of what Baabin went through in this episode — ESPECIALLY during that INCREDIBLE confessional crescendo and decrescendo — I am also just SO obsessed with the story of Fou4mod and Chian crossing a significant line of youthful experience in the photo booth.

In a case of the director himself getting real macro and meta, look at Boss Naruebet Kuno showing us what’s old is new again, again.

(what’s up my girl @shortpplfedup) (h/t to the legendary @liyazaki!)

All of these scenes, from 2021’s I Told Sunset About You, to today’s Gelboys (actually set in 2022, tee-hee), sit in the space of young high schoolers contemplating the whens and the hows of how they will cross lines with the people they are attracted to at these moments.

This goes for Baabin, too. He ultimately can’t decide to cross the line of confessing to Fou4mod, leaving him alone, staring and tearing up at a picture of the goddess Lisa, in multiple stages of regret.

From Teh and Oh-aew to Fou4mod and Chian — these young men are negotiating their lines of intimacy and engagement, for what might be the first time in their lives. I absolutely love that this is a theme that Boss has returned to in his work. Instead of giving us a fantasy high school romance, Boss gives us ITSAY and Gelboys, two shows that sit in a more raw and real place of teenagers being messy because….they don’t know anything else but the messiness they’re in now. It takes a whole lot of life experience to have love and sex with someone that can be on the calmer and more copacetic side.

I am just kicking up my heels with this experience of watching teenagers grow up in intimacy through Boss’s work. He’s not shying away from depicting the very real pain and confusion of these experiences. I channeled Baabin fully from my past experiences during this episode. No matter the technology and distractions these young people have in Gelboys, the confusion, the pain, and the hyperbolic joy of unrequited love or first sex remains constant, consistent, and eternal for every generation of humanity — and I love that Gelboys is using a very loud drill, louder over the sound of Spotify playlists and Siam Square concerts, to make that point.

[issytwosims]

"Hey, Taaaaaank..."

"Made ya look!"

"You should've seen your face, haha!"

"What the hell, you dillweed?! That's disgusting!"

"O-oh, I'm sorry, Tank... I just thought--"

"Well that's the problem, was it, Buckface? You used your dumb brain! You've been hanging out with Rippsqueak too much, so shut up and eat you damn 'dog!"

Poor Buck tried to be playful... Didn't end well :C

[coastalcowplant]

Most of the group gathers by the court. Rebecca, Troy, Autumn, and Zachary all eagerly group on the court in teams, girls against guys.

Rebecca, competitive and looking for a way to up the stakes, offers a bet to the group, “LOSERS are on biffy duty tomorrow. You boys are going D-O-W-N!”

Not looking forward to even the possibility of having to clean the bathrooms, Troy laughs to hide his sudden nervousness. “What? Is that supposed to scare us? I’ve been playing volleyball since I could walk!”

Wanting to start the game, Autumn calls out to him, “Hey dillweed, heads up!”

Rebecca serves the ball and the four play back and forth for several rounds. The score ends up tied at the game point. Each team more nervous than before they started, the counselors are all wary the next point would lead one of the stinking bathhouses. The ball comes for Rebecca, and she sets the ball up for Autumn, jumping high enough she falls to her knees as she lands.

“Autumn, heads up!!” She cries out.

Autumn is quick on her feet, “I got it! I got it!!” She spikes the ball to the boys.

Desperately, both Zachary and Troy dive for the ball—but they miss.

“YES! Looks like the boys are cleaning the bathhouses!”

previous / next / beginning

[icarianbeast]

Put your signature on your art

I am begging you, artists of all types but especially fandom artists, put your signature in obvious places on your art. Make it unremovable. Hide it in the lineart and add it in the corner too. I have seen so many beautiful works of fanart ripped from their home blogs and put on Pinterest or Instagram without any credit to the original artist and no sign of a signature on the piece because the artist didn't sign it. Eventually, they get reposted so many times that it becomes nigh impossible to figure out where they came from.

Your art is worth your signature. Don't fool yourself into thinking it's 'not good enough to be stolen' (I've been there, I get it, it's not true). Put your blog name on it, make it traceable to you. You deserve the love that your art receives. And, trust, if your art is reposted with your signature on it, people who like it WILL find it's source. People will try even if it's not on there, but it makes their job a little harder.

You can't prevent your art from being reposted. I've seen a number of artworks on Pinterest that have a big 'DO NOT REPOST' watermark on them. But, hey, you know what? Because that artwork had the username of the artist on it, I was able to find the actual artist and give their work the love it deserves. So, even though it's not possible to stop jerks from grabbing your stuff, it is possible to help the people who see it and like it to find you from it. To look on the bright side, if you add your signature to your art and it gets nabbed and reposted, well, it'll show your name and your art to more people. (Even if it's really annoying to see your artwork posted on someone else's Instagram with a stupid little generic 'credit to the artist :)' in the caption instead of real credit.

If you're making comics, put your signature on every panel. It feels redundant, I know. It feels like overkill. But when some jerkwad snags it from your blog and reposts it on Pinterest one panel at a time, your signature will be on each piece of it, and people who actually care about your art will be able to find it's source.

And for those SUPER dillweeds who go the extra mile to crop signatures off of art- First of all, fuck you guys if you're reading this- But for artists; Put your signature on there multiple times. I like to put a 'bait' signature big in the corner, where it's obvious and looks easy to crop. That one will be the easiest for people to see and identify if something just got reposted directly. If it's grabbed by someone who's putting in the extra effort to be a dick and crop out signatures, they'll crop out that one and figure they're in the clear. In addition to that big one, though, I'll hide another somewhere else in the piece, less obviously. I usually put it on 15% opacity, so it blends in, and curve it with the lineart. Sometimes it looks like shading if you aren't looking too hard. This one is harder to get rid of without directly doctoring the artwork and making an obvious gash. But, also, it's harder to find in the first place. Someone who's looking for it (perhaps on a stolen, cropped artwork) will probably be able to spot it, but someone who thinks they've already removed the watermark won't think to look for it. At the very least, if someone is claiming your work as their own, you can point it out and be like hey buddy. What's that then.

Anyway. TLDR: Put your signature on your art because it's impossible to stop people from stealing it so the least you can do is make sure it's traceable back to you as the artist.