#DEFINITELY NOT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE BUT IM ROLLING WITH IT

[batataaurdoodh]

@hetalia-rarepairweek day 5 : historical

thanks to @astrophilic-soul for the references and ideas ‼️ ✨

[tommyshelbyswh0re]

In our hearts forever- tommy shelby

summary- mrs shelby has a cough which turns out to be a lot worse than they thought.

warnings-angst, death, talks of the afterlife, grieve, not edited or proofread coz i’m lazy, just really sad tbh

psa- i know absolutely nothing about medicine or illnesses. i googled most of this so it definitely isn’t historically accurate.

it started with a sore throat on a random thursday afternoon. she thought that tea with honey would help. and it did. it soothed her aching throat for a couple of minutes before she again found it hard to swallow or speak. she passed it off as a winter cold.

by 10pm, tommy had returned home to find his wife in their bedroom asleep. he thought it was odd because his wife was always a night owl. there was multiple occasions where he snuck downstairs with a revolver in his hand in the middle of the night because he heard clashing of pans in the kitchen only to find her humming a tune and baking treats. he adored her for it. he loved going to work with a lemon muffin in his briefcase because his wife knew he barely consumed anything other than cigarettes and irish whisky. “thomas i don’t know how you don’t faint mid-day when there’s nothing in your stomach” she would roll her eyes at him.

he shook her awake out of concern. “sweetheart, are you ok?” he asked. “im fine” she mumbled in her half-asleep daze before she had all but a coughing fit. thomas didn’t know what to do. ofcourse he had seen his wife sick but he did not have a good feeling about this. “water” she heaved out whilst trying to reach for her glass of water on the bedside cabinet. he quickly passed it to her and helped her sit up. “i think i’m getting ill” she whined.

“oh really? do you think?” he sarcastically chuckled. this caused her to giggle which furthermore caused her to return to her coughing fit. once she had stopped she pressed a kiss to her husbands knuckles before attempting to go back to sleep.

thought the night she kept awakening with her coughing fits. this kept tommy up and he knew that he would take the next day off work to help his wife get better.

“thomas you don’t have to, i’ll be fine” she told him the next morning once she knew of his plans to stay home.

“no, as of today i am at your beck and call. whatever you need, let me know” he kissed her forehead.

a couple of hours later he heard her coughing again. this time it sounded a lot worse than before so he ran upstairs to check on her. he was not prepared for what he saw. he saw his wife sweating buckets whilst shivering. her teeth her chattering with a trace of red and it was then that he knew she was coughing up blood. that and the droplets of blood on the bed sheets from where she had struggled to pull herself up. his first instinct was to panic. he knew that this wasn’t just a cold from the cold winter weather. he grabbed her a glass of water and mentioned something about ringing the physician. his wife couldn’t tell though because she was focusing on trying not to dry heave.

thomas ran downstairs to the phone to ring the doctor who came straight to the home. once the doctor knocked on the door, tommy immediately let him in.

“you called mr shelby?” the doctor asked. “yes, my wife, she’s not well. she’s had a sore throat and cough since yesterday and today it has gotten worse. she’s shivering and sweating at the same time” thomas spoke with panic wavering his voice as he lead the doctor up the staircase and in to their spare bedroom. “sweetheart the doctor is here, he has come to check over you” he said after entering.

“okay” she whimpered.

the doctors pressed a stethoscope to mrs shelby chest and ask her to breath in. as she did so, a loud wheeze escaped causing both tommy and the doctor to furrow their brows. the doctor looked concerned which in turn panicked thomas even more.

“rest now mrs shelby. mr shelby, may i speak with you outside?” the doctor whispered the last part to thomas to which he responded with an immediate nod of his head and lead the doctor out into the hallway.

“it seems mrs shelby has signs of spanish influenza. as of right now, there is no cure of this illness. i’m afraid she doesn’t have long left” the doctor patted tommy’s arm.

“i don’t believe you. there has to be something?” thomas was getting angry. he had already seen his first love gretta die from this and assumed by now there would be some kind of medication.

“im afraid not. the fatality rate of this disease is 100%. she will not survive this. spend as much time with her as you possibly can” and with that, the doctor let himself out.

thomas stood in the hallway for what felt like hours, but was really 10 minutes. his brain tried to process this devastating news. how can his y/n be taken away. she had done nothing in her life to deserve this. she was good. she had a kind soul. she had dedicated her life to selflessness and helping others in time of need and now there was nothing to help her. thomas didn’t understand it at all. he had murdered, inflicted pain, lied to get his own way and used people and yet he was still healthy. he could breathe without feeling like his lungs would collapse and he could speak at full volume without having to take breaks to finish a small sentence. his y/n was happy and healthy less than 3 days ago. and now she would be taken away from him and this world far before he ever imagined. he had ultimately decided not to tell y/n that this could be her last day on earth. he didn’t want her to know that she would never see him again.

he walked back into the bedroom and sat at her bed side. he took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles. with his other hand, he stroked her hair and accidentally grazed her forehead, realising how hot it was. he stood up, walked to the adjoining toilet and placed a towel under the cool water. he came back and gently placed it on her forehead making her smile in her sleep.

“im going downstairs love. i’m going to update pol on what the doctor says. i’ll be back in 10 minutes, don’t go anywhere.” he meant that in the sense of dying. don’t die y/n. not whilst im not here. you don’t deserve to leave this earth without love surrounding you.

“where would i go?” y/n whispered jokingly with her eyes closed, still not aware of her diagnosis.

“places love, places” tommy smiled sadly.

he practically ran down stairs and rang polly.

“hello, polly speaking” she answered the phone.

“pol it’s tommy. y/n’s not well. it’s bad. the doctor came and said it’s spanish influenza and there’s nothing they can do. she’s going to die. please come, she needs you” he hurriedly spoke through the phone.

“what are you talking about thomas?” she hastily asked, panic setting in her bones.

“my wife is fucking dying. you need to come” he nearly shouted down the phone.

“we are on our way” pol’s voice cracked.

“please hurry, i don’t know how much time we have with her” he sobbed and out the phone down.

he walked back up the stairs to find y/n’s fingers turning blue. she was still shivering.

“im back love” he whispered

“i knew you would be” she used some of her remaining energy to pat the bed next to her and invite him to lay with her.

“you need to rest” he denied.

“please thomas? i know i haven’t got long left i can feel it. i want out last conversation to be with my head on your chest, listening to your heartbeat so i know you’ll be okay. i want to die in the arms of my lover.” her voice cracked and tommy’s eyes watered.

“okay” he whispered back and he slowly walked towards the bed and layed down gently in hopes to not cause her any more pain.

she struggled but eventually snuggled into his arms and spoke up.

“i love you thomas. you know that. you’ve always known that just as i know you have always loved me. i don’t want you to lose faith in this world. there is not a reason for everything and sometimes thing just happen. i know i didn’t do anything to deserve this and you need to know that this is not the world getting back at you for the mistakes you have made either. we fell inlove when i was twelve and you were thirteen and it doesn’t end here. my love for you shines thomas. so whenever you feel hopeless, look into the sky and the brightest star represent me and my love looking down at you and encouraging you. you can do whatever you put your mind to. everything you want in life can be yours if you set your sights on it. we weren’t blessed with children but you are going to be an amazing father one day. with another woman-“

“no. your my last love. i never want to feel another woman’s love because it wouldn’t even compare to the feeling of yours” he shook his head. there were tears falling down both of your faces.

“im not telling you to go out and be a ladies man” she chuckled. “but don’t run away if it finds you. i want you to move on with the right woman. i want you to have a home and a family. don’t sacrifice the quality of your life because i’m not here anymore. live it for both of us. we will meet again thomas. when and where the idea of death is in the past and we don’t have to worry about ever loosing one another again. i’ll wait for you to return to me and i’ll welcome you with open arms. i’ll scope the afterlife out and set us up with an eternity of love. don’t forget thomas, i’m always watching and encouraging you. and certainly don’t forget that i love you, always have and always will.” her voice weakened as she spoke and her energy was going fast.

“i love you my dearest y/n. i’ll never forget you. i’ll live for us both and every achievement i receive is ours. everything i do is in your memory. you are the love of my life. i don’t know what i’m going to do without you.” he sobbed.

she used the last piece of her energy to lift her hand to his face “you will be ok.” and with that and a murmured last ‘i’ll wait for you’ her hand dropped and so did her chest. she was gone, and with that, so was a chunk of tommy’s heart.

—

when polly arrived to see that y/n was already gone her heart broke. not only for y/n but for tommy. their love was a type of love you read about in books and she knew tommy would be lost without his y/n.

[skyfallensoldier]

Mobile Navigation || Rules & Mun ↓

DISCLAIMER: I just want to note here at the beginning that while I am considering this RP blog to be historically based, i.e. remaining true to the time period and overall details of John Laurens' biographical information and whatnot, I do not consider myself a historically accurate blog, not entirely. Historical fiction is a well known genre of literature and many, MANY creative liberties are taken within that genre. Think of this blog like you would if you saw an Anastasia Romanov blog. She's dead, we know she didn't survive, and she's been dead a long-ass time; so has Laurens. People still have included her in many works of fiction, even after her body was identified and it was proven she did not survive her family's massacre. I saw a romance book a couple of months ago where she survived that was recently published. Historical fiction, while a controversial thing at times, is a legitimate form of literature.

You don't have to tell me if you think John isn't acting exactly like the real man himself would have, I know that. I'm not going to call John my 'perfect sunshine boy cinnamon roll' or dismiss the privilege he was raised on due to his father, I'm aware he was a real person who had his own personality, virtues and prejudices. I won't deny that while he was certainly a progressive thinking man for the time he grew up in he definitely still had racist thoughts and actions that were indicative of his upbringing. But I'm not on here to debate modern, real life politics, or get into arguments about whether he was a good abolitionist or not. At the end of the day, this is still a hobby for me, and I'm writing for fun.

Basically, don't take it too seriously. I'm a 21st century bisexual woman writing from the POV of an 18th century (likely gay) male soldier, the way I write him is obviously not going to be a perfect representation of who he was. I know he wasn't an amazing, perfect person, but I've still chosen to write a fictionalized version of him for my own entertainment. Please try to respect that; thank you.

Mun Stuff

Name: Luna Gender: Female (She/Her or They/Them) D.o.B: July 23rd, 1996 Age: 24 Nationality: Canadian Sexuality: Bisexual Timezone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) Activity: Daily BIOGRAPHY (SORT OF)

Hello, there! You can call me Luna! I've been interested in writing ever since I first got the internet when I was 14 and discovered FanFiction.Net and now I'm an aspiring author and Roleplay enthusiast. If you include acting/talking out DnD like games with friends then I've been 'roleplaying' since the fifth grade, but I like to think there's always room for improvement. If you ever want to chat I'd love to make a new friend or plot out a roleplay, so don't be afraid to shoot me an ask or send me a private message. Just because my muse can be a jackass doesn't mean I am! I’m a huge advocate for mental health, and if you ever need someone to talk to, please don’t ever hesitate to reach out! Some of my hobbies including literature and writing (of course), digging into mythology from various cultures, practicing solitary eclectic paganism/new age spirituality, drinking tea, and collecting crystals/minerals.

Please note that for the sake of disclosure, I am considered ‘Neurodivergent’, in that I suffer from ADHD, diagnosed at about age six, and have Anxiety and Depression which are directly tied to it. This doesn’t often effect my life on here, but I sometimes have an unpredictable sleep schedule (stay up all night, sleep in late into the morning, etc). I’m usually quick to reply to threads for the most part! I work every Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm to 7pm in addition to odd jobs here and there, during which time I won’t have access to the Internet. The rest of the week I’m on and off all day basically, so you can feel free to contact me any time.

RP Style

⭐️ Please use basic spelling/grammar/punctuation when you RP with me. I'm not a drill sergeant about these kinds of things, I know that typos happen, and if you have a vision problem or such we can absolutely find a way to work around that, I also have no problem roleplaying with people whose first language is not English, so that's totally fine and I’m happy to accomodate in whatever way I can, but it does make it a little difficult to play with you if I don't know what you're trying to say. For this reason I prefer if you not use any text shorthand (lol, idk, brb, jk, etc) unless our muses are messaging each other. Using it in the tags is fine.

⭐️ I roleplay Laurens in a past-tense 3rd Person Point of View (think story-telling format), and generally I don't use icons or text formatting unless I notice my partner does, then I will try to match their style (for example if you use icons and small-text, I will try to do the same, though because formatting isn't possible on mobile, any mobile replies might take longer to be posted than if I were on my laptop). If you have any issues with how I'm writing or need me to adjust my style for any reason don't be afraid to ask.

Contact

⭐️ If you spam me with messages over and over again about something I haven't replied to, chances are I'll drop the thread. I don't mind being reminded because I know Tumblr's notifications are notoriously unreliable sometimes, and humans can forget/lose things, but if you keep poking at me after I've acknowledged you the first and second time, I won't be pleased. Things can get busy on here, or in real life, or sometimes you're just lacking muse for that particular thread, y'know? It doesn't mean I hate you and don't want to RP, I'm almost always up for plotting, but muse tends to fluctuate.

⭐️ My ‘Discord’ is available to mutuals upon request. I don't mind roleplaying on there if Tumblr is being glitchy or you're just not feeling up to formatted/heavily plotted threads, sometimes Discord is fun in that you can do immediate replies without needing the effort of putting icons and formatting into it. I also have a Kik but I never use it. I don't RP in Tumblr's IMs, that's purely for OOC interaction.

⭐️ I also occasionally stream movies/TV shows in group chats or play “in character” Cards Against Humanity game nights, Among Us, etc. If you’re interested, lemme know, I’m always looking for more people to hang out with!

Important

I have no actual triggers that I'm aware of, although snakes do creep me out (mostly shots of them coiled up or images of their pupils), but there are some things I will not roleplay personally for comfort reasons:

⭐️ Cannibalism. You can mention it, for example I won't freak out if someone tells my muse that somebody else ate a person (he might, assuming its not a Supernatural type verse), but I won't RP him engaging in cannibalism, not even in AUs (blood-drinking vampires are fine). I'm just not sure I could stomach writing about eating people. I managed to watch Hannibal, barely, but writing about it? Nah. I can handle lots of horror, gore and disturbing content but not this. Sorry.

⭐ Incest/Pedophilia. I do not SEXUALLY ship with characters under the age of 18. John is not attracted to children, and would never consider sleeping with someone much younger than him.

⭐ I will not write anything sexual with muns who are under 18 years old, even if your muse is an adult. I'll still ROLEPLAY with you if you are under 18 but probably no younger than 16 just because things tend to get explicit on my blogs and I don't want to be accused of corrupting the youth with my foul language and weird opinions, lol. Seriously though, this blog covers a lot of dark subjects and while I’m all for minors exploring that safely through writing rather than in real life, some people aren’t comfortable with interacting with under age people for legal or personal reasons, please respect that.

⭐ Necrophilia. Just... no. Vampire threads don't count, as they're undead and not 'dead dead'.

⭐ Rape. I won't write it with you. I'm okay with mentions of rape, with rape/sexual assault survivor/recovery plots, and even with one character intervening to rescue another from an attempted sexual assault (if an attempted assault does occur, it will be thoroughly tagged and under a cut). I'm fully open to discussing rape recovery/trauma plots as those are things that happen in real life, and it can be interesting to explore how a character reacts to trauma. But anything else is a no-go, sorry!

⭐ Please be aware that I write Laurens as a gay man. However! Because of the time period, violent homophobia and social stigma, he has slept with women before and may be seen flirting with or referencing relationships with women in the past. He is still gay, and still uninterested in being with women long term, he's simply closeted to all but a few individuals. So, unless your muse is Martha Manning (who Laurens DOES love in a manner, and he always will), shipping with female characters on here most likely isn't going to happen unless it's heavily plotted/developed and part of an overall plot, and you understand that it will not be a conventional sexual relationship. I'm sorry if that disappoints you but I've read Laurens as a gay male for so long I have trouble seeing him any other way.

⭐ I will not roleplay slavery plots. This is not up for debate. Roleplaying a highly fictionalized version of a long dead real person who existed during a troubling time is one thing, but I draw the line at that. For this reason, while I'll happily play with non-white muses, muses using non white faceclaims, and crossovers with characters of all sorts, I'll have to decline playing with any muse claiming to actually be writing slavery. There’s a difference between, say, roleplaying a character like Daenerys, a fictional character who was technically a slave-bride sold by her brother, and writing actual slavery from a very real, horrible time period. Slave ownership will of course be mentioned on this blog, that's unavoidable, but just like the mention of rape may happen on this blog from time to time, it will be in reference to a past event or speaking about the subject in general, not roleplaying a scene of it. Please respect this rule, I was hesitant to make this blog at first, because I know it makes some people uncomfortable, but I won't glorify such a horrible real thing that happened to so many people.

Exclusives/Mains

Just a head's up, unless I develop a bunch of chemistry with a particular portrayal of a muse I'm not likely to agree to being exclusives with anyone, unless perhaps it's a very niche or divergent character that has formed a good relationship of some sort with John and I'd have trouble interacting with other versions of that muse. For major characters I just feel it would be unfair to say no to someone who I click with in every other way, solely because I have already befriended someone else writing that character.

I will, however, discuss becoming mains with someone whom I've either developed or plotted out detailed storylines/interactions with regarding our specific portrayals of our characters. This means that I tend to reply to them quickly when I'm online, or may make little gifts (moodboards, aesthetic things, mini ficlets, whatever) for them unprompted, have a verse dedicated just to them, etc. Even if it seems like we haven't done much on Tumblr, there may be a lot of off-site development on Discord or whatnot that led to us plotting out intricate stories for our muses.

Current Mains:

Alexander Hamilton - @quillborn​

DO

⭐️ Send private messages.

⭐️ Send my character asks/starters/memes.

⭐️ Tag me in things.

⭐️ Ask to plot or ship.

⭐️ Ask for angst, fluff, etc.

⭐️ Submit things to me & my muse.

⭐️ Do crack and other ridiculous things with me!

⭐️ Like my RP threads.

⭐️ Like my personal posts.

⭐️ Comment on my personal/OOC posts (if you want to).

⭐️ Comment on my crack threads.

⭐️ Instant Message (IM) me if you'd like to talk, whether we're friends already or not!

DON'T

⭐️ Send hateful messages to me about other people and especially my mutuals; doesn't count if it's about the muse and not the person playing them, however. Also, if I’ve got beef with someone for whatever reason, don’t harass them/send hate to them on my behalf, please. I don’t condone anonymous abuse, attacking others, or harassment. I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself, I promise.

⭐️ Introduce yourself with ‘wanna ship?’ For one, I prefer if we’ve at least started a roleplay together, or have spoken OOC. Auto shipping doesn’t always work out and I hate promising people something only to realize there’s zero chemistry, because then I feel like I’m letting them down.

⭐️ Come into my inbox with just ‘wanna rp?’ and that’s it. Please at least have some idea of what you want to roleplay, it’s not very fun when someone approaches you to RP but then doesn’t offer up any suggestions at all. Remember, you are always free to send me memes, whether we’re mutuals or not, and hit me up for whatever plot you think might interest me! I want to hear about it!

⭐️ Spam me with "reminder" messages if I've already acknowledged you the first few times.

⭐️ Reblog my RP threads if you're not a participant in them.

⭐️ Send me anonymous OOC hate. Hate for Laurens is fine, it's just another form of roleplay.

⭐️ Kill off my character or severely injure/maim my character without permission or having plotted something involving that with me first.

⭐️ Follow me if you're a porn blog. I don't mind blogs that post NSFW content, or smut a lot, etc. I mean blogs that aren't for RP and are literally just a normal looking blog until you click on it and the header and first twenty posts are hardcore nudity and porn. I hate those things.

⭐️ Shame my ships.

⭐️ Complain about my tagging. I put my smut under a 'read more' without exception and tag them as "NSFW //" with two dashes. Things that are not necessarily graphic but still have sexual undertones go under "Suggestive //". I use these tags to avoid attracting attention from porn blogs and porn bots that track certain key words, as such I do not tag my content with "Smut" or trigger words such as "dick, oral, anal, nudity, etc", please block my NSFW and Suggestive tags if you're uncomfortable. Triggery subjects (mentions of rape, animal abuse, torture, mental illness) will be tagged under the name of said trigger with a space and two dashes, example: "Self Harm //", “Suicidal Ideation //” or "PTSD //".

⭐️ Godmod my character. If you’re not sure what is/isn’t okay, come talk to me! I don’t bite! If you’re looking for an example of god mod behavior, here: “X lunged at Laurens, taking him by surprise, and hit him square in the nose, causing blood to spurt.” It might not seem like a big deal but it means that you decided how your character’s actions affected my muse, and not only that, didn’t give him a chance to dodge or anything. Not cool.

⭐️ Ship with me without permission (sending in shippy asks is A-Ok if you're interested in exploring a ship between our muses, I'm talking about things like claiming that our muses are in a relationship without discussing it with me, referencing dates or sexual acts that never happened, etc. I ship mainly with chemistry otherwise things get boring fast.

⭐️ Assume/act like our characters know each other/are closely connected (friends/family/lovers) if we've never discussed it unless it is established in canon/history. This especially goes for original characters. I'm open to Laurens forming deep relationships with OCs obviously, but those have to be developed in character, not just assumed from the first interaction.

⭐️ Attempt to roleplay with me if you are not a roleplay blog/or if you're just trying to RP as "yourself." I don't do Character X Reader imagines stuff. I don't RP with 'fan' accounts, only RP blogs. You can still send asks so long as you're not trying to initiate an RP scenario. For example, asking Laurens what his hobbies are, asking for a blessing etc? That's fine. Spamming me with different actions "you" are talking to Laurens is weird. Stop that. I will also not RP with blogs that claim to roleplay as real life people, such as Markiplier, that's super creepy. This does NOT apply to "historical fiction" roleplay (obviously since that's what this blog is), which is considered its own genre of literature. I'm talking about the above where people will 'roleplay' as real life, currently alive people like YouTube celebrities and ship them with their friends, even if they've made it clear that they're uncomfortable with it. 

⭐️ Get angry at me for doing something you don't like if you don't even have a rules page for me to go by. It's not fair; you can't expect your partners to just read your mind and magically know how you feel. If something bothers you let me know, I’ll make a note about it so I avoid it during our interactions!

⭐️ Use me as a meme resource blog without ever interacting with me. I don't require "reblog karma" for you to follow me, partners are more than welcome to reblog from me, but if we never interact and I just occasionally see you reblog fifteen posts from my meme tag and then disappear again I'm not gonna be happy. Go to the source or to an archived blog no longer getting notifications, please!

⭐️ Reblog my Meta/Headcanons. If they're from a different blog it's fine but the ones I've personally written are for MY portrayal of Laurens. I work hard on most of my stuff and I'd prefer if you didn't reblog it, not because you aren't allowed to have the same headcanon ideas as me, but because then it ends up getting liked or reblogged by lots of other people, spamming my notifications, etc.

OCs & Multimuses

I love OCs and multi-muse blogs (I have my own multimuse sideblog over at @historyremembers, which has other 18th century characters including the Hamilton children and some OCs), so feel free to interact! That being said, please have an about page of some sort on your blog. I can't follow back blogs that have absolutely no information available regarding their character(s). I don't RP with OC children of Laurens. This is nothing personal, but I'm fairly certain he was gay in real life and prefer to play him that way, and he only had one child - who he never even got to meet - in real life, so it just wouldn't make sense to me for him to have other kids running around unless he'd adopted some. If you're a multimuse, I may not follow you back if I'm only familiar with two of your muses if you have a blog of fifteen characters, simply because I'd prefer to keep my dash clean and only have characters/fandoms I'm familiar with on it. I'll still RP with you if you have a character I'm interested in! I just might not follow back if the majority of your characters I do not know, I apologize for this.

If you’ve made it to the end of this, congrats! I know it couldn’t be easy (my ADHD brain was frustrated trying to just write all this up) but it’s necessary so there’s not misunderstandings on what I am/am not willing to RP. I won’t ask for a password since I trust most people to have the courtesy to at least skim the rules of those they want to RP with. 

Have a nice day!

[twopoppies]

Historical AU Fic Recs

I was asked by @zsolounamanzana to recommend some historical fics (sorry love, I accidentally deleted your ask!). I don’t actually read historical AUs that often, so I will probably end up recommending ones you already know, but here’s a bunch I really liked. I hope there’s some here for you:

Threadbare by kiwikero / @icanhazzalou

Harry Styles was eight years old when Louis Tomlinson kept him from falling into a machine in a Manchester textile mill.

He was 18 years old when nothing, not even the threat of death, could keep Harry from falling in love with Louis.

Howls Like A Beast (You Flower, You Feast) by @indiaalphawhiskey

France, 1754. Château de Versailles.

“You don’t love me,” Louis had said, utterly blasé as he callously fractured the heart of a Harry that was just barely eighteen.

“I do,” Harry had insisted pleadingly, green eyes already watering.

Louis had rolled his eyes, exasperated and flippant in the way only beautiful, young boys could be when faced with the affections of a baby prince. He had run his finger down Harry’s cheek then, had forced him to look into his eyes as he delivered the final blow.

“You’ll change your mind once you’ve seen more of the world,” Louis had teased, pressing a brutally delicate kiss onto Harry’s lovely, pure cheek. “Once you’ve been properly defiled.” He had whispered filthily, delighted by the gasp he heard, the frantic pink blush that had rested high on Harry’s cheeks, the power he had felt at knowing he could make the Crown Prince squirm.

To Honor by Awriterwrites / @a-writerwrites

#46. It's Getting a Little Hard

Ech day me comëth tydinges thre, For wel swithë sore ben he: The on is that Ich shal hennë, That other that Ich not whennë, The thriddë is my mestë carë, That Ich not whider Ich shal farë.

**** Each Very grievous are they One must go hence Do not know when Greatest grief Do not know whither I must go

-Unknown, Medieval English lyrics

Commander Styles leads his men to victory, but at what cost?

And down the long and silent street by whimsicule

The year is 1881 and if you’re alone in this world you might as well be dead, because starving dogs have no mercy.

Or: Wherein Louis and Harry are on the opposite ends of the social ladder, but their paths still cross on the filthy streets Louis calls his home. The odds are staked against them from the beginning, and even more when Louis' past finally catches up with him.

Atlas At Last by @louisandthealien

He doesn’t know what he had been expecting out of the road trip itself besides burping contests and too much shitty gas station food with Oli and Stan, but in the brief moment before Harry ambles up his driveway, Louis idly wonders if this is about to become some sort of Gay Coming of Age story.

Maine to California in ten days. In which Zayn’s an open-shirt hippie they meet somewhere in Ohio, Liam’s the pastor’s son running away from home, and Niall’s the number they call on the bathroom wall.

It’s 1978. Harry and Louis are just trying to get to San Fran in time for the Queen concert.

No One Like You by myownspark / @myownsparknow

Dear Niall,

I was glad to have the chance to talk with you again at the AHA conference. Your idea that the Musee D’Orsay Tomlinson painting is in fact not a self-portrait is an intriguing one, and I may have discovered something that will have a bearing on that theory.

Some background: as you may remember, I’ve been researching for a book I’m writing about Harry Styles. I’ve been in communication with Styles’ last living descendant, who is in possession of a trunk that her family believed to have belonged to Styles himself. It held some personal items she presumes to be his, including two unmounted paintings and a small collection of letters.

Upon spending the last few days in Provins studying these items, I believe there to be a connection between Tomlinson and Styles, and I would very much like your opinion.

Are you up for a trip to France?

Sincerely, Liam Payne

Where Liam and Niall are art historians discovering the truth about two nineteenth century painters on opposite sides of an artistic divide.

The Man Who Saw The Devil by @metal-eye

"The Devil was staring at him.

"Louis shifted slightly in his seat and scratched the back of his neck, picking up his program and reading the title of the play again: L’homme qui a vu le Diable.

"He was wearing a satin red suit, one that certainly stood out amongst the usual greys and blacks of other Paris theatres, and instead of merely appearing the two times that the main character summoned him, this Devil followed the other men around on stage as they spoke and played cards. He kept looking over their shoulders and mocking their awkward movements, jerks and twitches compared to his own lithe prowl. The theatre audience, most readily impressed by gruesome effects and sensationalism, couldn’t take their eyes off him.

"Neither could Louis."

Paris, 1912. Louis is a frequent patron of the Theatre du Grand Guignol. Harry is a performer. Tonight he's playing the Devil.

The Case Of The (Definitely Not Haunted) Styles Mansion by Anonymous

“So there’s a sense of humor buried beneath all that condescension, huh?” Louis said when he’d stopped laughing.

“It’s not condescension, it’s intelligence. I understand you might not be able to recognize it yourself,” Marcel said, then slapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh god, I’m sorry.”

Louis stepped closer, his eyes on Marcel’s face. “For being an asshat?”

“For being rude,” Marcel said, from beneath his palm.

Louis shifted a half-step closer until he was at the very edge of Marcel’s personal space. It felt like he was nudging at it, asking to be let in. Marcel flushed hot for no reason.

“Lucky for you it takes quite a lot to actually insult me,” Louis said taking one step closer. Too close. Too close.

Marcel met Louis’ eyes. Those blue eyes that reminded Marcel of poetry instead of science, lyrics instead of formulas. They were so pretty he wanted to drown in them.

---

Or the Nancy Drew AU where Marcel is a man of logic, Louis is a private detective who believes in ghosts, and the Styles Mansion is definitely, absolutely, positively *not* haunted.

Through Eerie Chaos by MediaWhore / @mediawhorefics

For as long as anyone can remember, Old Hillsbridge Manor has always been believed to be haunted. Everyone in the village agrees and keeps a respectful, fearful, distance. New in town after a bad breakup and an internship that led to disappointment rather than a permanent job, Harry Styles figures taking pictures of the decrepit building could be a great new creative project. Or at least a much-needed distraction while he searches for a job and crashes at his parents’ new house. No one warned him about the apparitions though; about the music, the laughter, the people who flicker and vanish when you call after them, the echoes of a past that should be long gone… Harry has never believed in spirits but even he can admit that there’s something weird going on. What starts as mere curiosity evolves into a full-blown investigation and soon enough, Harry finds himself making friends with an aristocrat from the 1920s and struggling with finding the best way to tell him that he’s dead.

The Ghost Hunter AU where Niall lives to prove ghosts are real, Zayn is a skeptical librarian and Harry gets caught up in a century-old mystery and catches feeling in the process.

We’re What’s Right In This World by BriaMaria / @briannamarguerite

“Why did you talk like that in Brighton? If you weren’t planning on ever telling me?” Louis asked. “Is it because you think you’re going to die?”

“It’s war, Lou,” Harry said finally.

The words were a knife slipped between his ribs. Everything hurt and he was bleeding. He shifted up, his palms cradling Harry’s jaw, his lips against his boy’s. Not kissing, just resting there, so Louis could feel him. “Promise you’ll come back to me.”

Harry’s hands smoothed down the sides of Louis’ body. “You know I can’t do that. I’ll never lie to you.”

“Promise me. We’re going to have our cottage. And our dogs. And our breakfast in the garden where nothing grows because of the wind from the sea. Promise me.”

“I won’t.” Stubborn as always, his boy. “I’ll promise you, I’ll love you all my life. I’ll promise you, you’ll never leave my thoughts. I’ll promise you, you’re my forever and my always. But promising you something I can’t cheapens the things I can.” ---- Or the World War II AU where Harry goes off to fight and all Louis wants to do is be the boy who brings him home.

Paint The Sky With Stars by kiwikero / @icanhazzalou

On 10 April 1912, Harry Styles boards the finest ship the world has ever seen. Still grieving the death of their mother, he and his sister are being sent to America to live with a callous uncle who cares more about his business connections than family. Harry prepares himself for a long, disappointing voyage alone in his stateroom.

Louis Tomlinson has borrowed and saved, and finally has enough to purchase a Third Class ticket to America. With all of his belongings in a single ruck sack, he boards the Titanic filled with hope for a brighter future. Never one to sit still, he can’t resist exploring the massive ship, and soon goes sneaking into First Class in a stolen steward’s uniform.

By a twist of fate, Louis finds himself in Harry’s stateroom, entranced by the most attractive man he’s ever laid eyes on. He keeps returning day after day, even if he doesn’t understand what it is about Harry that continues pulling him in. That’s all right; Louis has a week to figure it out, and Harry is plenty willing to help.

Except they don’t have a week. They have four days. Because on 15 April, their entire world will be turned upside down.

Or, the historically accurate Titanic AU with a happy ending.

Say Hallelujah, Say Goodnight  by @alivingfire

Louis is an angel who is just a little too bad to be good, Harry is a demon who is just a little too good to be bad, and they're both a little too in love to be impartial when angels and demons go to war.

Louis has been alive since life was a mere concept; he watched the summoning of Man into existence, he was there when Eve took the apple. He’s seen seas break the world into separate pieces, he’s watched empires crumble into dust. He’s seen wildfire consume cities, he’s seen the world painted white with snow. He has known the most beautiful humans to walk the planet, he has watched the most powerful mortals gather their riches and influence around them and then die just like the poorest, weakest humans do. He’s met humans whose motives defy explanation, people who use their lives as battering rams, as tools, as weapons, as chess pieces.

None of that stopped Louis in his tracks.

But Harry did.

If you haven’t read Butterfly Gun and you can find someone who has it downloaded (it’s been deleted), read that...it’s set in the 1940′s if I recall correctly and it’s beautifully written. 

I haven’t read this one yet, but it was highly recommended to me. It’s a WIP, but the writing is apparently is finished: 

Victorian Boy by DonnaHaywardsHead

Victorian AU. Harry the virgin Duke of Somerset knows little of love, while Louis the sly Duke of Warwick knows too much. When the two dukes come together for the Bilsdale fox hunt in York, Harry finds himself drawn into Louis' bed. But when secrets from Louis' dark past come to light, Harry fears that the fox isn't the only one being hunted.

This is another I haven’t had a chance to read but friends told me is wonderful:

Back To You And Tennesee by rippedgloves 

Louis Tomlinson rises to rock and roll fame at age twenty three and is thrown into a life of luxury and excess, but being on stage isn’t easy for a boy who has always stuck to the side-lines, and Louis struggles to deal with his new fame as he joins the Grand Ole Opry and is sent out on tour with names like Liam Payne and Elvis Presley. His life takes a turn, however, when his childhood role model, Harry Styles, joins them on tour, and the two become closer than two men in the spotlight are allowed to be.

-

OR, the one where Louis is Johnny Cash and Harry is June Carter

[fauvester]

Biddle high school au headcanons: so like. Fed reserve Biddle wears square glasses cause they look better on his oval face, but in HS he’d definitely wear the “clubmaster” glasses by Ray Bans. He’d be in MUN (Clay is in both DECA and Debate, what a frat boy, Webster’s Clay’s debate partner, Calhoun does a single person debate event. I digress), and gains presidency of it in sophomore year. His favorite blazer is a blue blazer with red piping. He’s in 1st period art history w/ clay (who zones out

Ray Bans seem like such a ridiculously pretentious concept that he would obviously love them.  That style is also particularly dope. the name also sort of works with his personality. HC accepted.

IRL Biddle was really more into the adventure aspect of traveling than the diplomatic part - I doubt he had the guile for post-Napoleonic international realpolitik.  As a US minister I think he would have merrily led us into total disaster by sheer naivite - like that’s what he did to the Bank, reading his letters during the 30s and 40s you get a grasp of how COMPLETELY incompetent he was as a politician.  He seems more likely to entertain foreign ministers and perhaps glean some ideas from them than try to outmaneuver him...

what im tryin to say is that he might well just be a MUN groupie who wants to hang with the Cool Kids like JQA, Gallatin and Clay but won’t be assed to actually do the work lmao

“debate club” is code for Sit Around And Talk Shit After School club, which, when you really think about it, is what competitive high school debate really is

softboy biddle though is completely accurate to his historical persona, 100%.  sort of torn between whether he’d be a Brooks Brothers bitch and wear suits every day, or an asthetique in oversize pastel sweaters with lightwash jeans rolled up to the ankle and immaculate white sneakers. either has historical basis.

[history-rover]

Fic Writers Week (Day One): Words of Validation

Day 1: Words Of Validation - Fic Readers, take some time to leave new comments / Fic Writers, share some of the comments that stuck with you the most.

First and foremost, every single comment that has ever been left behind on any one of my fics means a great deal to me, and I can’t even describe how happy they all make me! Seriously, you all make my day! I’d like to put every single one of them into this post, but I don’t want to clog up peoples’ dashes, so even if you don’t see your comment here, just know that it is in this post in spirit.

One Available Copy

aaaaaaAAAAAAAA this is amazing??? i love this so so much asdfghjkl. Your characterization was on point and I literally laughed out loud a bunch of times. Thank you so much for sharing with us!! 

This was so lovely, sweet, funny and i can't really cope right now :D Your characterisation was spot on and this au in general was so good! And the thought of Kirishima and Bakugou sharing their assigned reading is doing funny things to my heart! 

This is so so so so cute!! I just love the progression of their relationship from emailed library notifications to post its to face to face talking and texts.... it's just so so adorable. Plus the idea itself is genius! And I've never seen a college AY that talks about library stuff like this and it's just a really cool concept and a really good idea...!Also, all the tiny details you wove into this really made it as good as it was: the inclusion of so many characters, Tsuyu's livestreams, Endeavor and Monoma's humiliation, the humour, the tododeku making out between the shelves and literally not giving a single fuck.... everything was funny and cute and the ENDING!! The ending was super well executed and wonderful and cute and I absolutely loved it. All of it. Thank you so much for writing this because it's seriously hecking amazing <3 Oh my gosh this is my favorite college AU fic! I really love everything about it. Your characterization of Bakugou especially was on point, very good, A+ LOVED IT 

Oh my goodness this was so freaking cute? Bakugou's attempts at flirting going right over kirishima's head is so in line with these two boys I'm yellinggggg thank u sm for writing this fic!!! u really made their college feel like a real living breathing place especially with the addition of all the meme pages!! 

I wrote One Available Copy (OAC) with the goal of making people laugh and smile, and to hear that I had done that made more happy than I could have imagined! I’m always second-guessing myself on characterisation as well, so these comments meant a lot to me, and I can’t thank people enough for them! Also, to hear that I had made the world feel alive and real...thank you all so much!

Wedlock

WHAT. A. FIRST. CHAPTER!!!

I am so excited for this AU omg?? I love that they're in an established relationship already and omg the playfulness? Flirting?? YES, MY BOYS, GO OFF AND START A SCANDAL. I AM ROOTING FOR YOU!

And magic!! Oh my gosh I love the incorporation of magic in this era and the fighting--the fighting. It's amazing. Intense. I love it.

Thank you as well for the superb attention to detail. I can tell a lot of research went into representing the era accurately and it makes your world all the more vivid and fascinating! (the sweets, i am remembering the sweets hahahaha)

I'm definitely looking forward to more of this AU! Great job!!!

Special shoutout first of all to @todorokishouts for this giant comment, after having to deal with my sobbing of research woes for this fic, and cheering me on through it, and consistently being the first person to comment on every new update along with @dystopiansushi! And yes, never forget #sweetgate2k17

I really loved how many cool elements of the time you included, it shows such an amazing deal of research!

Holy shit I'm loving this fic already!! Their established relationship is so playful and sweet, I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next in their schemes!Also, your attention to detail in the setting while still managing to seamlessly infuse magical elements is really impressive! You've got me wanting to learn more about this world :DI hope to see more soon!! Thank you so much for this great fic :DD

Wow this is great so far! :D. I thinks it's really cool how much research you've done too, the accuracy of everything is awesome :0. Can't wait for the next chapter

I already love this and I can't wait to read more! I love how much research and knowledge you put into this au because it just shows how much you care about writing and the characters. A truly incredible first chapter with all the romance, humour and action any good story has. I loved it!

Did I mention that Wedlock is the most research-intensive fic that I’ve ever done? I swear I did the same amount of research (and still am doing research) for this story, as I did for my thesis, and to know that it wasn’t for nothing, and that people appreciated it, made me weep with joy. 

So this is fantastic. Like, excellent start. Established Tododeku? Awesome magical period romance? Actual Magic Frog Tsuyu? Appearances from numerous lovable minor characters? You are on a roll, my good sir. So I've noticed this trend in most fantasy and royalty AUs that feature Tododeku, and that is the trend of Commoner/Servant!Izuku being shipped with Royalty!Shouto. In light of that, can i just say that it is SO refreshing to see a story where they don't have to get around a weird societal imbalance of power in order to properly fall in love? It's beautiful and wonderfully uncomplicated, while still having the court politics that make stories like these so delightfully intriguing.But yeah, you've started really strong and I went back through your stuff to realize that I also read and loved your college AU, so needless to say, I'm super excited for this fic! Izuku and Shouto's dynamic is so wonderful in this, and I can't wait to see where it goes!

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL OML THIS IS ONLY CHAPTER 1 AND I CAN'T STOP SCREAMING ALREADY!!! THIS IS SO REFRESHING IN SO MANY WAYS LIKE: TODODEKU (all of it) FANTASY AU (it is always refreshing in a way) DAD MIGHT (ADOPTED IZUKU) CLASS 1-A & EVERYONES COMMENTS (they are easily the best) URARAKA AND TSU FIGHTS!!!AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: THE WAY YOU WRITE EVERYTHING FROM THE CHARACTERS TO THE ENVIRONMENT IS BEAUTIFUL. I'M HYPED!!!

PitViperofDoom messaged me yesterday with a link and one word- "READ"And boy howdy am I glad I did! This was fantastic! I love the historical aspect of it mixed with magic and quirks and the romance was just. So good. I died with the cord thing very nice 11/10, perfection! I think you really stayed true to characters while giving them interesting influence from the setting and your writing skills are just amazing. I could really see every moment playing out. And the plot! Scheming boys and scandals, oh my! Great job. I can't wait to read more!

These three comment made me collectively die of happiness on the spot, to the point where my mother actually ran into my room asking me what I was screaming about. I think that pretty much sums up why these comment stood out to me.

Path of the Wind

I love this. I'm so happy I got to be the first to read through it; I love the premise, I love your Izuku, I love your Inko and your cryptid All Might, I think the whole thing is a fantastic and original idea and I absolutely can't wait to see how you continue it <3

None of this would have been possible without my beta reader @dystopiansushi, so thank you so much!

All aboard the hype train - whoop whoop! I'm an absolute sucker for fantasy/mystery/supernatural-esque AU content, with a side serving of Tododeku, so here I am! I'm excited to see how this plays out!

I’ve never written anything in the realm of the supernatural/fantast type before PotW, so to hear this was a big boost in confidence for me!

Whoah, I love your attention to detail here. The potholes especially caught my attention. It's something people think about, but most wouldn't think to describe distance like that. I'm excited for this!

I’ve always been a sucker for big detailed scenes, and I was so happy to find out that people enjoyed them as well, and that they didn’t take away from the story like I had been worried about.

Todo sure left an impression, poor boy Also I'm SO ON for how supportative and cute momma Inko is? Fuck, I love everything about your writring and I don't know how to describe what I like more and susbsusbsjs You're amazing

holy shit i cannot get enough of this story. it’s so well written, and extremely intriguing.i love how amazing the characters are?? just their mannerisms, midoriya’s mumbling, kirishima’s touchiness, and todoroki’s bluntness are so on-spot. also your Iida is perfect i love him!!im hardcore relating to midoriya right now, just itching to know the town’s secrets haha (as well as todoroki’s cause damn that kid is mysterious)

This is such a good update! You have such a soft way to write, I like it so, so much 

*crying emoji* thank you so much for complimenting my writing, and my writing style, and for validating me!

My Neighbour Totoro? I think you mean My Neighbour Todoroki (I'll walk myself out). Hums loudly at the mention of glinting eyes watching Midoriya enter Yuuei Academy. Who could that have been? All Might isn't really size appropriate to be slinking around there after all. And just what is Todoroki up to? Midoriya has a lot of interesting questions, thats for sure. I hope he gets the answers to all of them, because they're making me wonder too. Having the Todoroki's as the fire department will certainly link Shouto to finding the necessary evidence Midoriya's searching for in regards to the old Yuuei fires where All might was spotted, and I bet Endeavour has a huge role to play in that too. I wouldn't be surprised if the fire was instigated in an attempt to successfully lure All might out, although I may be stretching the theory bar a little on that one. I just hope Endeavour hasn't forced Todoroki the impossible task for trying to track All Might down once and for all. But, he seems genuinely scared of Midoriya's "haunted" place, or maybe he's just scared of Midoriya? What's going on Todoroki, communicate with us here. I hope Midoriya doesn't get lost trying to track shouto home. Good luck boys! Until next time!

'Somewhere in the distance, there's the sharp trill of birdsong, followed closely by the frantic flapping of wings, the sounds a concert accompanied by the occasional whisper of a breeze rattling the leaves and branches of the forest, and his own discrete pants for air.' Okay just gotta say that line is absolutely gorgeous and I can picture it perfectly in my head. There are so many descriptions throughout this chapter that are just SO PRETTY!!! FIRST CONTACT WITH THE CRYPTID AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! This was adorable?!?! All Might is a sweetheart through and through! And Izuku fanboying? Oh my dear boy. (Izuku concerned for Shouto? oh my aching heart. BUT IZUKU THINKING ABOUT HOW PRETTY SHOUTO IS IS THE BEST THING EVER OKAY) Inko! Please take care;;;;;; don't worry your mother too much Izuku!Now, onto Aizawa. He cares a lot about his students, yeah........ but is that all? Hmmm? Do you know more than you let on, Aizawa? *eyes emoji* Could there be more teachers behind the scenes, helping All Might out? The plot thickens.

That would require finding said clearing, Shouto, and all things considered that sounds like quite the challenge. People often don’t remember directions well when rushing around.I wonder why Shouto wants to meet All Might so badly. Is his home life anywhere near as bad as it is in canon? Perhaps hopes All Might will help rescue his mom from wherever Enji stashed her.

AND TOTORO MAKES HIS APPEARANCE - i mean All Might. He's like the local friendly bigfoot. Bless him and his accident-selfie. Midoriya had such a rough tumble - it sounded both super painful and really dangerous - I'm glad he got saved in time. Todoroki ironically lead Midoriya to the clearing by running away from him to begin with - I see you trying to benefit yourself and your goals in this invitation. I worry Midoriya won't be able to find the clearing since he woke up there and was carried away from there - without a definitive route. Todoroki might not be as patient when he realises Midoriya can't find it for him. Aizawa's behaviour concerns me. Is he in contact/affiliation with All might? I feel like he knows. Until next time!

I honestly did not expect to get this initial comment, much less speculation about PotW, so I was absolutely floored, when the speculation began to come in with later chapters, and I must say that it gave me so so much motivation to keep on writing!

Man so much of this is so Ghibli; Izuku leaning out of the window, the tiny house on the edge of a giant forest, Shouto appearing in the dusk to give an ominous message, only to retreat to his mansion home across the moor (okay the moor is Gothic lit but STILL WHAT A MOOD). He has the biggest combo of San & Haku going on and I dig it so hard.

You write EXACTLY as a Ghibli movie is animated and just Wow It’s gorgeous

This is absolutely gorgeous. You capture the atmosphere so well. I’ve always wanted a regular high school au for these kids and while it isn’t the main focus, I really enjoy that aspect of the story. The plot so far is amazing, just the right combination of Ghibli and BNHA that it creates a new story entirely its own. I love every moment of this and am excited to see how Todoroki and Midoriya’s relationship evolves.

Studio Ghibli is one of the biggest influences in my life in terms of media, and I desperately wanted to do justice to it through PotW, so these comments literally made me cry from happiness.

Wow, this got really really long, and I wholeheartedly apologise to anyone reading this on mobile, and I just wanted to say once again, to everyone who has ever read my fics, to everyone who has ever read my fics and commented, thank you so so much! Your comments, reblogs, and supports give me so much motivation, and sometimes they’re the only things that get me through a tough time!

[grumpyowlblob]

Random Question Tag

Rules: answer the following questions and tag other people you’d like to get to know better!

I was tagged by @honeybunny-gyeom whaddup bitch

How tall are you? 5′9ish

What colour are your eyes? Blue-ish

Do you wear contacts and/or glasses? noooope thank god

Do you wear braces? lmao no although they are hella cute

What is your fashion style? think tomboy mixed with librarian mixed with punk. cardigans and comic book tshirts aplenty and hella distressed jeans. always with a black shoe, and jewelry up the yin yang (i wear rings, a chain bracelet, cord bracelets, a glass bead on a string around my neck, and like eight earrings all at once)

When were you born? January 2, 1997

How old are you? I’ll be 21 in three weeks wtf

Do you have any siblings? one little sister, one older sister. none of us are blood relatives

What are your favourite subjects? english and art.

What are your favourite movies? uhhhhhhhhhh historical action movies? even if they’re not technically accurate? i just like them for the aesthetic and the fight scenes. lots of action movies. anything except rom coms and horror/thriller

What are your favourite past times? knitting, netflix, youtube, music

Do you have any regrets? meh. i only regret tiny little things. i freak out over the smallest little details, like the wording i used in a text sent to The Boy but like, i ended up getting a really huge tattoo that turned out to be absolute shit and i honestly dont give a fuck ill just get it touched up by a half decent artist when i have the cash so... meh

Do you want kids? i definitely want kids, but ideally (if i can be hella picky) i want 1-5 but only in a certain order. the oldest four would all have to be boys before a girl came. im good with just one boy, im good with two boys, three boys, and four boys, but i would want four boys before a girl came along. i want to raise as many feminist sons as possible

Would you like to get married? i am very neutral when it comes to this. i would be fine not being married to my life partner, but if they wanted to get married i would say yes and be happy with that as well. i would probably only insist on getting married if it was for some legal complications or something idk like if we wanted to adopt or for our kids’ benefits or something like that. but i’m either wearing a tux or as minimally fancy a dress as im allowed. 

How many countries have you visited? Canada (where i live), and ‘murica, because my big sister lives there

What was your scariest dream? the only dream i have ever remembered vividly is being “stolen” by wolves at night, except we never left the backyard of my childhood home and all they did was roll me around and pick me up in their mouths like a pup. i was maybe 2 or 3 at the time? and i wasnt scared in the slightest but are you ever really scared of anything at that age? idk

Do you have a significant other? i have something going on but it’s not defined in the slightest and i don’t think romantic feelings will be involved anytime soon -____-

Put your playlist on shuffle and without skipping list the first 15 songs

Emperor’s New Clothes - Panic! at the Disco

Surfin’ USA - Beach Boys (meh, i like the oldies)

Who Do You Love - Marianas Trench (musically my most favourite group, yes even above BTS’s music)

Boombayah - Blackpink 

I’m Not Sorry - DEAN (my new personal jam tbh)

Under the Boardwalk - The Drifters (hella oldies but such a good song)

Pour Some Sugar On It (2012) - Def Leppard 

I Need U - BTS (i nEED U GIRL, WAE-)

Trespass - Monsta X

Bibia Be Ye Ye - Ed Sheeran

Take Me To Church - Hozier (NEW ALBUM??? PLEASE???)

Cypher 4 - BTS (SORRY BAE)

The Takeover The Break’s Over - Fall Out Boy (secret emo)

Astoria (Instrumental) - Marianas Trench

Ain’t it Fun - Paramore

I tag @cohesivo and @princessguttermouth yall can do it if u want 

[alanajacksontx]

A primer to forecasting the value of SEO

If there’s one thing that’s universally accepted, it’s that the results of SEO are unpredictable.

However, as more investment is made into the channel, we’re being put under increasing pressure to be performance-driven (and show the value we can drive “up front”) in the same way, our paid counterparts have been for some time.

Invariably, this means setting targets and being held accountable for whether we hit them or not. But this shouldn’t be an issue and in fact, I believe it’s completely possible, with the right caveats and education, for SEO to become a results-led channel. And ultimately, if we’re going to continue to grow in popularity (and see further investment), we need to be.

Measure the right things

For a long time, SEOs have talked about “improving keyword rankings”, with the coveted number one spot on a high traffic term, being the primary focus for many marketers. In 2019, however, this approach is myopic. I’m not ruling out rankings entirely, they still have value, but promoting the idea that a small, well-backed site, can outperform a titan like Amazon, Compare The Market, or RightMove for a competitive term, is unrealistic. Moreover, the resources required to do this could be better spent driving change elsewhere and this is why it’s important to measure the right things.

For forecasts, I typically look at three metrics: traffic, conversions, and revenue, with the former holding the most importance.

My reasoning – While you may receive a significant amount of new traffic from a high-value term, but (more often than not), the traffic will not be as qualified, lowering the “true value”. Used as a vehicle to drive wider site change, SEO. However, it should build results across your businesses search landscape as a whole and this can only really be measured through increased traffic (and from this, we can work out conversion and revenue increases).

But traffic isn’t a “clean” metric either and can be influenced through changes in the market, wider media activity, competitors, or even the weather. For this reason, many look to derive a “growth factor” or absolute increase figure from keyword gains, basing the output of expected traffic from changes in position (and the clicks received from this). This is an approach we’ll discuss shortly and certainly can give an indication of any potential performance gains, but its reliance on keyword data still provides a few flaws.

Put this into context

A key point to make with any forecast is that it is a projection, based on factors that we believe we can predict with varying degrees of certainty. Apple cannot provide an exact figure to shareholders, for the total number of new iPhones they will sell; nor can Disney foresee the specific number of tickets the next Star Wars film will sell. This context is important, given the unpredictable nature of search marketing.

I think we often lose ourselves in trying too hard to be accurate, that we miss the point of a forecast altogether, it’s an indication, not a definitive statement of growth that could be achieved, linked to the investment that is made. So it’s perfectly fine to caveat as such and represent any figures as non-binding. I personally use a “percentage certainty” score depending on my experience of rolling out specific activities (and their impact), which is often well received.

Importantly and as a key takeaway for this section, you need to put your data into perspective.

If you’re required to project the impact of a minor change perhaps to help and IT prioritize their development queue it may be more realistic to provide a percentage range instead of a specific number. So long as the methodology and your explanation of how this could come to be are logical and data-driven. Ultimately, a forecast is only as reliable as the data and the experiences of the person making it.

Projecting growth (or not)

In terms of working out the specific figures, each SEO has their own methodology, but broadly speaking, these can be grouped into three:

1. “Experience-based gut feel”

This kind of forecast draws on the expertise of the individual and can be a useful, “quick and simple” guideline for making snap decisions. The reliability of the projection is intrinsically linked to the knowledge of the person making it and shouldn’t be utilized in any official capacity or to make business-critical decisions. But this is not to say that this type of prediction isn’t valuable, it just depends on the use case and context the forecast is being made under.

2. “Ranking-focused click curves”

This uses ranking data to project an increase in keyword position over time (and the value from this). In my experience, many “off the shelf” forecasting tools use this method, which relies on modeling traffic based on click-through rates from ranking positions. More advanced studies might include competition or seasonality factors (perhaps from Google’s Keyword Planner) and may provide the output as either a total growth figure or shown by month using a compound growth rate or more complex increase curve.

3. “Traffic-based growth modeling”

This is, in my view, the most accurate way to forecast and frequently uses historic traffic data to predict the impact of not carrying out SEO activity, taking the market impact, seasonal changes, and other factors into account, and estimating projected increases from this. It’s often incredibly difficult to perfect and typically requires the help of a data scientist. But, if executed correctly, this methodology can provide a good representation of the impact your proposed activity can make.

A side note: In many scenarios, you may expect to see an increase in traffic predicted over your time period. However, SEO takes time and doesn’t often conform to the pre-set timelines of a campaign or contract. As such, it may be that a true forecast may not show immediate growth or even (if your site is following a downward trajectory) no increase at all.

The key takeaway here is that without the activity, you may be in a much worse place that you are predicted, and no growth doesn’t necessarily mean no value.

However, at their heart, each of the above methods still requires an expert to assess the types of changes you are intending to make and their impact. This must be someone with enough experience of the channel to understand how the different projects will move the needle, in the context of your site’s situation.

There’s no “official view” of how search activities will impact your performance and opinions may differ between experts. Moreover, the value of each work-stream will likely change by industry (or even by the query) and this is an important context to keep in mind when discussing targets and key performance indicators.

Evaluate objectively

So far, we’ve discussed context, measurement, and methodology.

As such, in this whistle-stop tour of forecasting, it would be a missing piece not to touch on evaluating performance and targets. As I mentioned in the last section, SEO takes time and we’ve already established that it’s highly unpredictable. So, holding it to the same degree of accountability as other channels may be unhelpful. Importantly, performance needs to be a two-way and open conversation between your expert and your business (as it’s impacted by many different factors); in my experience, continuing with this approach throughout the completion of a strategy and into the evaluation process is the best way ensure you’re driving the most value from the channel.

There’s no official blueprint or road-map to SEO success and it’s highly likely you’ll try things that do not work and others that exceed expectations. Not every fluctuation in traffic or missed target (or over-achievement) for that matter is due to performance and your expert should be able to explain why this is the case. Deviations do not always mean the model is off either; remember, in an SEO forecast, you’re ultimately asking your expert to predict not only the direction of a constantly evolving algorithm but changes to market demand and the world you operate within. It’s not a coincidence that many of us become futurists!

To sum up, predicting SEO results can be very hard but is a challenge we must seek to solve if we are to take the channel to the next level within digital marketing teams. A prediction may use a data-driven methodology, but is still essentially the view of a specialist, based on their experience of the search landscape. Not all forecasts will show growth and not all targets will be hit, this shouldn’t be seen as an issue as long as the reasoning behind this can be explained.

Ric Rodriguez is an SEO Director and winner of the 2018 Drum Search Award. He can be found on Twitter @RicRodriguez_UK.

The post A primer to forecasting the value of SEO appeared first on Search Engine Watch.

from IM Tips And Tricks https://searchenginewatch.com/2019/03/11/a-primer-to-forecasting-value-seo/ from Rising Phoenix SEO https://risingphxseo.tumblr.com/post/183382767780