Category Archives: original writing

Days Well Spent: The Building Doesn’t Fall Down

Posted on December 31, 2024 by Ryn PB

A few nights ago, as I lay in bed, waiting to fall asleep, I was hit by the vision of the building around me crumbling down. No matter what I tried to do, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, mental health, original writing | Tagged 2024, 2025, anxiety, books, day well spent, fortune, hope, hwang bo-reum, intrusive thoughts, korean lit, life, life lessons, life well lived, mental health, misfortune, miyazaki, new home, new year, new year's eve, nye, reading, shanna tan, the boy and the heron, translated lit | 1 Comment

Big Booty Judy: A Vehicular Ode

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Ryn PB

Early last month, I replaced my and my sister’s first car, a 2007 Toyota Camry, with a newer car because the cost of the many repairs she needed done was too high. Big Booty Judy, named for her spacious trunk, … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, original writing | Tagged anxiety, car, cars, driving, emotions, high school, license, life, life lessons, memories, mental health, sedan, toyota | Leave a comment

My Second Favorite Bridge: A Life in Three Bridges

Posted on May 21, 2024 by Ryn PB

Introduction Recently, while flipping through a book of writing prompts, I came across one that asked, “What is your second favorite bridge?” Surprisingly, I had an easy answer to this one. I have my second favorite bridge tattooed on my … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, mental health, original writing | Tagged abuse, anxiety, architecture, bad boss, bad job, bookstore, bridge, bridges, car, cartrip, childhood, concrete, construction, emotional abuse, employment, fired, history, jobs, john cheever, memory, mormon, nebraska, nostalgia, omaha, phobia, roads, roadtrip, short stories, short story, streets, tappan zee, tattoo, tattoos, travel, trip | 1 Comment

Friends, Alone

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

Content Warnings: underage drinking and smoking, homophobia, violence/bullying, mild domestic abuse Even though she had a key to the house, and even though the Raneys usually kept their door unlocked anyway, Allison wasn’t in the habit of entering their house … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, original writing | Tagged art, arts school, batman, batman the movie, books, cigarettes, friends, friendship, gay, high school, hot chocolate, LGBT+, movie, movie night, painting, photography, popcorn, queer, queer lit, reader, reading, robin, school, shark spray, siblings, smoking, twins, vivian maier, writing | Leave a comment

TBR Playlist: Saviors by Green Day

Posted on March 7, 2024 by Ryn PB

I’m starting a new blog installment purely for my own enjoyment… again. As we all know, I love pairing songs and books together, but I’m running out of books I’ve read that I want to recommend and that go well … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, LGBT+, original writing | Tagged 1990s, 2000s, 7fates: chakho, alice waler, alice walker, anna-marie mclemore, book, book tag, books, brian broome, bright young things, bts, chloe gong, classic lit, classics, emo, evelyn waugh, foul lady fortune, graphic novels, green day, hayley kiyoko, historical fiction, janelle monae, kpop, laura hankin, laura taylor namey, leigh bardugo, LGBT+, literature, memoir, mental health, mtv, music, music lit, nick hornby, ninth house, nonfiction, pop punk, punk, punk rock, queer lit, reading, rock, rock music, sci fi, science fiction, shanghai, sonora reyes, the color purple, the great gatsby, these violent delights, vile bodies, YA, YA lit | Leave a comment

JJS: An Interactive Story

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Ryn PB

Content Warning: transphobia, misgendering, queerphobic slurs, doxing, bullying *How to read, interactive version: The first article has links to the other “sites.” These are also color-coded. *How to read, static version: Everything is presented in chronological order except for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, LGBT+, original writing | Tagged anxiety, breaking news, bts, color, company, creative writing, death, doxing, fandom, friendship, global, hallyu, hypertext, idol, idols, instagram, interactive, k-pop, korea, korean, kpop, lgbt lit, LGBT+, lyrics, magazine, mental health, mixed media, multimedia, music, music industry, music news, news, online, online bullying, queer lit, red ink, short story, social media, songs, trans, trans experience, trans lit, trans stories, transgender, transmasculine, transphobia, united states, website, worldwide, writing | Leave a comment

The Best (Nontraditional) Winter Holiday Songs

Posted on December 22, 2023 by Ryn PB

Happy holidays to alternative music lovers! As much as I enjoy the traditional Christmas carol every now and then, I wanted to compile a list of holiday songs that aren’t the same ones that have been sung and listened to … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, original writing | Tagged a capella, acapella, all time low, blink-182, carols, christmas, christmas tree, fall out boy, frozen, green day, holiday, jimmy kimmel, kpop, music, owboy, playlist, pop punk, ramones, reindeer, santa, santa claus, season, spotify, straight no chaser, stray kids, taylor swift, the killers, the polar express, tree, twenty one pilots | Leave a comment

I Can Lift a Car: How Walk the Moon Inspired Me to Meditate More and Keep on Trying to Make my Own Happiness

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Ryn PB

Going to a Walk the Moon concert has been on my bucket list ever since I heard their music, which was a surprise even to me. My typical music is angst-ridden pop punk, angry rock music, and the occasional musical … Continue reading →

Posted in new era, original writing, stories | Tagged anxiety, concert, happiness, live music, meditation, music, walk the moon | 1 Comment

To The Homeless Man on Michigan Avenue with Swollen Legs

Posted on July 22, 2018 by Ryn PB

I’m sorry. I’m sorry I pretended to look the other direction, all the while gaping at your legs. Your legs that looked like they should be on a different body. Cracked, dry, swollen to twice the size of your emaciated … Continue reading →

Posted in original writing, stories | Tagged disease, homeless, poems, poetry, sorry | Leave a comment