#I was going all good vibes light academia gay

[random-doctor-on-the-internet]

I'm fucking cursed.

i have once again created a quiz for my current hyperfixation (discworld this time) and you may once again take it at your own risk

[sulumuns-dootah]

What WHB characters would wear in the human world: Gehenna

⟡ Masterlist ⟡ 

A/N: Very much inspired by the fact that demons in Obey Me have their own lil outfits while going to visit their favorite human ^^

   ༺☆༻

This short king is very much hot biker guy coded.

You know those tiktoks of guys who are showing off on the road and then do stupid shit at gas stations? That's this guy right here

He's not really a brand specific guy, but if you press him, he'll rave to you about MXDVS (honestly, same here ^^)

Darkwear/Techwear/Warcore

   ༺☆༻

Soft boi™

Light colors, nature, tea

Despite having his uniform altered to have black slutty shirt, he's very much cottagecore

He bakes, makes tea and cares for his fellow demons, need I say more?

Soft boy/Cottagecore

   ༺☆༻

V europian gay prince coded indeed

Dorian Gray kinnie

Open shirts all year around, only when it's cold/raining, he'll wear a coat over his shoulders

Vampirecore/Light academia

   ༺☆༻

Lose Paimon in the crowd any% speedrun IMPOSSIBLE challenge

The more colorful, the better

Gotta wear bright colors to match their bright personality

Indie/Kidcore/Harajuku

also pics credit to @/butterfliesworkforsatan on tiktok ^^

   ༺☆༻

Another dramatic ass fashionista

This time make it goth

You can't see it, but he's got eyliner on

What you see, however, is Jiyu wearing the same eyeliner

Vampirecore/Romantic Goth

   ༺☆༻

Ooh he seducin' with more than his words allright

'Hey, my eyes are up here'

Sadly his snake has to be replaced by snake skin boots, but don'T worry, he snake is unharmed and chilling at home in Hell

Big Daddy vibes

Suits and trutlenecks

   ༺☆༻

Anything sporty, really

Likes wearing gray sweatpants bc he gets a lot of compliments

Thinks that grey is just his color

Don't ever tell him the real reason for the sake of u all

Also, maaaaaybee you could accdientally shrink his clothes in the wash so it's tighter on him?

   ༺☆༻

Oh boy, good luck explaining to Juno, that he can't exactly be mostly naked outside or he'll draw too much unwanted attention

'But I've got this insanely hot body! Why should I hide it? Other's should be lucky to see me like that! I'm literally the hottest red lump in Hell!'

Cue in Juno trying to find things that are technically clothes that still show off his muscles

Damiano David ultimatelly becomes his fashion icon

Also Hatari

When this man discovers fishnets? Ooh boy

Good luck talking him out of just wearing full fishnet bodysuit

(and yes, it's hard to find pics that wouldn't get my post flagged by tumblr)

[thebestofoneshots]

☆ Star: send a short description of yourself and I’ll tell you who I ship you with!

im open to poly marauders! (Lowkey one of my favs so-)

my personality is very sarcastic and I have a dark sense of humor but I’m very kind and a good listener. I sort of have jealousy issues though and I can be quite sensitive and cry easily. I’m also really clingy and can be rather impulsive. I’m one of those burnt out gifted kids 💀 and get easily overwhelmed by crowds and strangers.

My hobbies are basically reading, listening to music, singing, doing art (although I’m not the best at it), and I’m obsessed with horror. My three main aesthetics are grunge, goth, and dark academia and I’m also pansexual!

i love your writing, it’s amazing and congrats on 400 followers! <333

If you want to participate in "TBOS' 400 600 Followers Celebration" too, you can look at this post for all the options of prompts you can choose from <3

I ship you with Marlene McKinnon and Remus Lupin. I know it's a weird combination, but hear me out. Marlene was absolutely obsessed with your aesthetics. She loved the way you dressed and was attracted to your vibe from the start. She saw you and she wanted, no, she needed to be your friend. She didn't even know she was queer until you started dating Remus, and the news that should've made her happy upset her.

"Guess what, Mars! Remus asked me on a date!" you told her with a smile.

"He did?" she asked, shocked, a soft tug at her heartstrings that she didn't understand.

"Yeah! He asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him."

"And you're sure it's a date?"

You were a little taken aback by her question. Up until that very moment, you hadn't second-guessed the nature of the outing. "You... Don't think it would be?"

Marlene noticed the change in your demeanor and wanted to punch herself for daring to upset you. "No, I... I'm sure it must be a date. Remus is, you know, he's a great guy! No need to second-guess yourself..."

"Right," you nodded, trying to regain your confidence.

In the end, it really had been a date. Remus had prepared everything. He took you to a bookstore and gifted you the book that seemed to interest you the most while you were distracted, of course.

Then you went for candies at Honeydukes, and in the end, you ended up eating something light at the Three Broomsticks. When you got cold, he gave you his sweater and wrapped his arm around you, bringing you closer to him. Remus was a true gentleman, and he was incredibly sweet too. So sweet that you had been the one to lean over and give him a goodbye kiss before the two of you parted ways for the night. Sirius, who had been staring, teased Remus relentlessly for the rest of the week.

As your relationship with Remus progressed, you felt Marlene start to pull away from you. She always had some excuse to not hang around, and at some point, you'd had enough. You waited for her as she walked out of her class and pulled her into a broom closet, closing the door when she tried to leave.

"Marlene, what the hell's going on? You've been avoiding me like the plague."

She looked like a trapped fox, as pretty as one too. "I've been busy—"

"—Don't bullshit me, Marlene," you interrupted her. "We've been friends forever. Tell me what happened."

"I think I'm gay."

You frowned at that; it was definitely not something you were expecting. "I... I'm sorry if I pressured you to admit that out loud, but... that can't be the reason why you've been avoiding me. You'd know I'd still be your friend regardless of—"

"—I'm gay, and I have a crush on you," she said all too fast before scurrying away from you.

You weren't sure how long you stayed in that cabinet trying to process what had happened, but one thing was for certain: you had to talk to Remus. The moment you spotted him through the halls, you ran for a hug. He was surprised but hugged back in an instant. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, his voice soft and soothing as he rubbed his fingers on your back.

"You know Marlene has been avoiding me," you said. He hummed in response. "She said it's because she has a crush on me."

"Oh," he said, staring at you intently. "And do you like her back?"

You frowned and turned to him, preoccupied. "No, Rem, I'm with you. I love you."

"That's not what I asked," he tsked. "There is no spoken rule that you need to only like one person in the entire universe."

You looked at him, eyes wide. "There literally is; it's called monogamy!"

Remus shrugged. "Since when have we been ones to follow the rules?" he said with a shrug. "I, for one, have always considered Marlene pretty. So… do you like her back?"

You hadn't even considered the possibility at that point, but Marlene was definitely stunning, inside and out, and you always got along incredibly well. She also had very nice lips, very kissable lips. "I think I might."

Remus smiled and gave you a soft kiss on the forehead. "We should probably talk to her then."

You two set out to find Marlene, and when you did, you talked to her. After a long conversation between the three of you, you decided you'd see how the relationship could work. It wasn't easy at first; you had to establish boundaries and other limits to the relationship. But eventually, you figured it out, and the three of you were more than pleased to have each other. You had Remus; whenever you wanted to chill, you'd hang out with him, listening to soft tunes while reading a book. Sometimes he'd even read aloud to you as you did your artsy stuff, be it crafts, paintings, drawings, or even sculpting; he was always ready to pass the time with you since he really enjoyed just being able to do that. And with Marlene, you'd hang out with her when you felt a little more outgoing, and you'd watch horror movies together on the telly or even do each other's makeup. It was simply perfect.

[rose-bookblood]

Blue Below the Surface | WIP Intro

Gorgeous header by @quilloftheclouds

Genre: fantasy, mystery

Target: NA

Setting: alternative Earth, a military academy in a fictional state; 2016

POV: multi, 3rd person limited, past tense

Themes: military, discrimination, terrorism, justice, right vs. wrong

Logline: When a terrorist attack shakes the military academy she studies at, 22-year-old Evelyn is determined to uncover the mystery, even when it starts entangling with the Elemental Republic's politics.

Literal logline: Dumbass gays get in trouble for doing stuff they were explicitly told not to do.

Featuring: greypanromantic MC | mostly POC cast | LGBT+ rep | disabled & neurodivergent rep | m/f friendship (that stays platonic) | established relationships | slowburn romance

Inspiration: idk I got the idea five years ago. Final version is inspired by Avatar: The last airbender, Fullmetal Alchemist and Attack on Titan.

CW: violence, gore, death, descriptions of corpses, mutilation, torture, war, trauma, depiction of panic/anxiety attacks, sex, mentions of alcohol

Hello, folks! I said I was going to make an intro soon and I delivered.

This project is probably the closest to my heart. I love every story I write, but this is the one that's been with me for the longest time. The old version of the plot was bad--there was a love square, and no, we don't talk about it--and self-indulgent, but it was necessary to get where I am.

Plot

The Elemental Republic is a secluded island in the Atlantic Ocean, a place for summoners of the thirteen elements to live without the intrusion of non-benders.

22-year-old Evelyn is starting her last year at the military academy, and everything seems fine, until a terrorist attack shakes the school. Determined to solve the mystery, she starts her own personal investigation, despite the warnings of the two detectives assigned to the case.

But the answer might bring to the surface a dark secret, entrenched with the very foundation of the Republic.

Characters

Evelyn Woodlock Stern

she/her

our dumbass greypanromantic MC

thicc girl

Ashkenazi Jewish

huge bookworm

cannot mind her own business

overthinks even her breakfast

that friend who never writes in the group chat, but reads every message

don't ask about her weird last name, she will murder you

Lily Brennan Hughes

she/her

Evelyn's bff

redhead gremlin

resting bitch face

cold outside, her emotions actually go from 0 to 100

she has a bullet journal and is not afraid to use it

dark academia aesthetic

in a relationship with Nathan

Andrew Lo Raafat

he/him

Evelyn's (and Nathan's) other bff

so fucking precious

bisexual

great liar

tormented artist vibes

light academia aesthetic

manga & anime boi

Cecilia Thorne Ioveanu

she/her

the one with a brain

crazy scientist vibes

mechanic

trans & lesbian

autistic

volunteers in the infirmary

Josephine Roosvelt Lenoir

she/her

detective #1

the group's mom

quiet & serious

deserves a nap

only chills w/ Travis

Travis Kasilag Chen

he/they

detective #2

demiboy bisexual

jokes a lot

should supervise the kids

good at comforting people

Nathan Campbell Strauss

he/him

thicc boi, basically a mountain

softie

supportive friend

surprisingly stubborn

broke his leg as a kid, uses a stick

your local gym habitué

Jeremy Brown Horse Collins

he/they

tough guy looks

quietly judging you

their biceps could kill a man

should rest more

videogames aficionado

don't touch his girlfriend

Annabelle Takeda Yamaguchi

she/her

always smiling

secretly a badass

bisexual

blind, uses a stick

rock aesthetic

Jeremy's gf

Serena Chukwu Rashidi

she/her

kind & optimistic

has a chaotic side

plant mom

theatre kid

lesbian

Victoria Jiménez Fujihara

they/them

kinda bossy

extrovert w/ too much energy

a lil insensitive, but means well

non binary ace lesbian

Serena's gf

(I had all the Picrews ready, but Tumblr said 💕 no 💕)

Setting & magic system

Right now you're probably screaming through tears because the synopsis explains absolutely nothing about the worldbuilding. Thirteen elements? What the fuck?

Don't worry, this nice little section is here for you.

The thirteen elements are water, air, fire, earth, lightning, metal, stone, sand, ice, light, darkness, sound, and vegetation. Unlike with the usual four elements system, each bender has a very specific power and not much room to branch out. So don't expect my earthbenders to pull a Toph (ATLA) and start metalbending.

This is an alternative Earth, where everything is the same, except for one thing: in the southern Atlantic Ocean there's a country called the Elemental Republic. The Republic has no relationship with the outside world and is inhabited by benders only. They have access to stuff like food or books, but no way to contact people. For this reason, no one really learns foreign languages.

The Republic is led by a Council of high-ranking members of the military called the Thirteen, one for each element.

An important thing to note is that in the Republic there's no discrimination--no misogyny, so racism, nothing. That's why the characters take both their parents' last names (fuck the patriarchy).

So that's my first WIP. Thank you all if you got this far (this was long lmao)! At some point I'll get to posting character intros, because I spent way too much time making those Picrews. I'll see you soon!

— Rose

Taglist: (lmk to be added or removed)

@tommie-hildebrandt @stormharbors @chaotic-queer-disaster @mel-writes-with-her-dragons @vellichor-virgo

[nochiquinn]

campaign 3 episode 1: 🎶 make new friends but keep the old 🎶

[vibrates]

oh this music is INTENSE, I dig it

gilmore!! gilmore and husband!!

godwives!!

aw, the hanglider from the tal'dorei campaign guide

eeeeee

aw sam broke the streak

that sam/travis/marisha table makes me feel fear

the new layout means I can't put my notepad on the side of the yt screen like usual, how dare you make me redo my whole window layout

oh right he's tall

liam and laura are back together and that makes me happy

taliesin's bi flag skull shirt

campaign 3 reminder to not be part of the twitch chat

you know why california is separate

"put your package in here" travis

[v i b r a t e s]

matt: everyone but laura and marisha leave laura and marisha: [gay fear]

SOUTHERN ACCENT

lmao mala and I both said the same thing at the same time

marisha IS her own goth gf

I love them both

oh the full art is EXTREMELY final fantsy, I'm into it

I love laudna's ratbird, I hope it comes to life and is a familiar

ahhh, academia

getting southern milo thatch vibes and I'm into it

laudna

telepathy??? imogen telepathist????

kunthea is my head is just kikimora from the owl house

imogen not good at telepathy yet

cool I hate her

I love this gothic 30s movie star murder queen

matt: beech nut necklace me: is violently yanked into recettear

"I AM fun scary!" "laudna, you're scary scary"

HE DID IT

"people are thrown here to be forgotten"

HE/THEY

GENASI

the ART

BARBARIAN

wake up babe new gender dropped

chronic injury genasi barbarian!!

OH NO

OH NO IT'S CUTE

if any of you give him shit for a nonbinary non-human I'll eat your shoes

THEY'RE THE CLERIC

"they're very friendly" "I hate it"

oh no I identify with fcg

"it rhymes so I'm in!"

this is the coolest shit I've ever heard in my life

logging in to pick up your dailies

I just want to point out this is STILL extremely final fantasy, don't fuck it up travis and ashley

I love them

"I really wanna eat that...but ashton really likes money"

"copper's not really money"

I love them so gd much

and WHOMST

"travis changed his name to robbie!"

WAIT

HE IS

MY BOY

SKYSHIP

FEARNE

is liam still playing orym? I can't see his dice to check

is this why they didn't level up in exu, for campaign 3 reasons

he IS!!

DORIAN BACKSTORY

"I think they crash"

"that is indeed how walking works"

tummy flutters

f e a r n e

suddenly I realize why I would die for parker in leverage

dad council convenes

"you're really tall" "you're really small" that's just math

HEY WHAT

COLORS

the mood lighting is both very cool and much easier on my eyes

mala: evil be our guest

their archenemy for this campaign really is a table

this feel like the best initiative they've ever had??

also travis where r u

love matt's nails btw

I LOVE THEM

HE BROKE THE MINI

"that's a sign, you're gonna die today"

"the rug is more dextrous than I am??"

turn into a WHAT

beldam??

"what do all my things do?!" you had eight episodes sir

"I'm a sword expert not a table expert" dammit jim

aw, travis wasn't here to react to the rage

gravity? gravity barbarian???

"FUUUCK YOOOU"

someone did the knife meme, I heard them

TRAVIS

oh no it's armstrong

mala: what if he's a wizard setting this up so he can "save" people

"strong boy :D"

given that these are apparently dorian's stomping grounds, what's gonna happen that he leaves the party

"never gets old" "we'll see!"

SPIRITUAL TOMATO

HDYWTDT

"critical role endorses knife fucking!"

"shiny day to you!" "you too!" these two are going to be amazing together

"don't fuckin laugh" then don't do that

"the first three rows have ponchos"

"bless you small creature!!"

YE

laudna's a pinterest upcycle witch

bertrand!

sam

S A M

I'm gonna laugh every time he pulls that thing out. idc how many episodes this is, every time

"it looks like something out of borderlands" I thought the same thing when fgc's art popped up so valid

I love this cripplepunk nonbinary bastard

HA I knew pickpocketing was going to be involved with these two meeting

oh do I get to watch the lovm intro every ep bc I'm down for that

I want the vex dress but there's not a chance in hell it fits over my shoulders AND hips

"definitely not....here"

does taliesin have a new snitch bc jesus

travis just giggling himself to death in the corner

WHOMST

samuel

in this moment I am matthew mercer

"did you say 'send help'?" yes

the whole table just quietly losing it while the scene goes on

oh no, with liam playing his exu character SAM is the sadboy

laudna

dancer??

laudna and fgc bond over being pinterest upcyclers

getting into What Measure Is A Non-Human right away huh

from where now

okay I know from exu that orym knows what a whitestone is

"I fell asleep" finally travis has an in-universe reason to zone out

fgc as ashton's assistance bot

I know it's a wookie life debt whatever thing but imagine

robbie got so excited he lost his hat

imogen feels so comfy to me

no talk me me anger

travis is me around 10 am every day

just realized there are stars out the fake window

"we've done pretty well with stupid so far" pour one out for dariax

will KEYLETH have a problem with a detour? do we know the same keyleth??

"anyway here's wonderwall"

kk slider when you put the song title in wrong

I love fearne

travis being excited about the axeflute

matt be nice he's a baby

hot cross buns

I need to know how to play this game

awww

"does your robot poop"

a bit of bullshittery

"maybe you should have your parents write you a letter" my new Extremely Unlikely Crack Theory is that laudna is a de rolo child

ashton doesn't know what straight is

fearne and ashton are going to leave with half the building

was that a young frankenstein joke

firelight!!

the monitor I'm watching on is very warm-toned and this is SUPER red now lmao

eshteross: shit-talks bertrand taliesin: 8D

youtube I am here because you don't freeze like twitch, stop hanging

"this campaign is about silver foxes only" "I'm here for it"

"furniture and old people, the fantasy everyone wants"

[cassielovesanime]

Since one of my friends asked for anime suggestions, I figured I would make a small list for them here as a post.

1. Welcome to demon school Iruma Kun

Type: comedy and school life

My personal summary: a hilarious anime about a boy who gets adopted by the king of demons. The protag is very likable in my opinion as he is a good guy but also a doormat so it’s fun to see him grow with his friends. Just genuinely very fun, but also follows somewhat of a story line and can have its touching moments. Just 10/10 if you want a good light hearted laugh I would say. Highly suggest for those who want to watch a casual anime that will make them laugh.

2. Toilet Bound Hanako Kun

Type: fantasy and school life (also bit romance)

My personal summary: girl meets spirit boy with a dark side and now is his assistant because she effed up because she is a little boy crazy for handsome guys. But it’s okay cause now she goes on whacky adventures with spirits and is trying to get to know the spirit boy who kinda saved her and continues to save her. This one is both funny and sweet, but also can be dark at times. The characters all have very interesting personalities and dynamics, and the cast is actually pretty small so you get to see a lot more of the main characters develop. Very good story wise and character wise. Highly suggest to lovers of fantasy but are also not too into anime.

3. Assassination classroom

Type: Comedy, coming of age, and School life

My personal summary: Teenagers are earths last hope to be saved from destruction as they are tasked to kill their teacher who looks like a man and an octopus had a baby that has super strength and speed. This is my all time favorite anime, and it is a very, very, VERY touching underdog story. It has so much humor but also so much darkness but so many of the characters feel real and it still to this day has arguably the saddest yet most satisfying endings in anime that I have seen, and I watched it back in 2017ish. It just has a bit of everything and the storyline is amazing, the characters are so well written, and the concept is very interesting as well. I just would not recommend this to those who aren’t comfortable with fan service, as it does appear a bit often in this one. Highly suggest to anyone who wants to watch a found family or underdog story. Also, amazing English dub, one of the few animes I suggest the English dub over the English sub (English sub is good too, but I love the dub so much).

4. Bloom into you

Type: romance, coming of age, school

My personal summary: very gay, and very well written. It’s a story that follows Yuu Koito who is a late bloomer who doesn’t get love, which she has constantly read in the media and had this big expectation for. She then meets her schools class president who takes a liking to her knowing Yuu doesn’t think she can fall in love with someone. This is very good I think for lgbtq+ rep as it takes the topics very seriously and handles them respectfully. It handles questioning sexuality and finding yourself, as well as taking pride in it. It expresses both being a lesbian and asexual, as well as late bloomers and domestic lesbians. It also handles topics of mourning and bad ways of coping and expectations from what I remember. I am more of a manga reader but I have heard splendid reviews about the anime, the only thing is that this series is a lot more serious and the anime isn’t finished (the manga is though, so I suggest this path more if you can afford it.) highly suggest for anyone wanting lgbtq+ rep.

5. Rascal does not dream of bunny girl senpai

Type: sci-fi, romance (this one doesn’teel like school at all but they are high schoolers)

My personal summary: a sci-fi take on high schoolers teenage years and problems, following Sakura as he tries to help and solve the cases of people with “adolescence syndrome”, which is surrounded by their problems and insecurities in life that causes abnormal and supernatural things to happen. Very compelling story and again is more serious, but it also knows how to hit you in the feels. The main characters are lovable and have one of the best romances I have seen in anime, and all the other characters are really likable too. I highly suggest to anyone interested in a good story because this one just takes the cake.

6. New game!(!)

Type: slice of life

My personal summary: mc is a girl who gets a game designing job right out of high school and now must work on a team with her idol. Very light hearted, and also quite gay in my opinion. I personally like slice of life yuri genres and etc., but this one is my favorite. The cast is lovable again (always important), and it has this theme of working hard and going after your dreams. It is one with a bit of fan service (far less than others, but still a warning for my younger friends following), but it makes up for those moments with very heart felt moments between characters. I genuinely adore the second season as for a slice of life genre, it follows a bit more of a story and it gets a lot gayer. However, being a slice of life it isn’t really explicitly lgbtq+ rep, but there is one couple that has major subtexts and moments and a really cute scene at the ending. I do suggest this to those who like the slice of life genre and perhaps want a bit of lgbtq+ rep, but not to anyone who doesn’t like slower paced stories. Oh, and also the art style is adorable.

7. Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace

Type: mystery, bit of a thriller

My personal summary: just a really good detective series. I haven’t watched this one in two years, but whenever I think about a dark mystery series, this is one of the top 3 to come to my mind, and is the most underrated one. It’s just very dark but also very compelling, so I suggest this to anyone who likes those sort of things. It also has an amazing English dub.

8. Little witch academia

Type: coming of age, fantasy, school life

My personal summary: another underdog story about a girl who dreams of becoming a witch like her idol and going to witch school… must I say more? It’s the gay witchcraft vibe that we all adore, a funny and lovable story that follows a girl chasing her dreams to become a witch. Again, likable characters, and an interesting story. It also has a unique art style that is adorable, and is very accessible seeing as its on Netflix. I highly suggest for younger viewers as this one is very kid friendly from what I know, but is also an amazing story with a nice fantasy aspect. Also, there is a bit of gay subtext and a hell of a lot of diakko shippers for wlw content if you like that (with a rival to lovers dynamic). MC can be paired with a guy or girl depending on how you wish to interpret it, and that screams bi rights to me :)))

[dirtyrottenraskel]

my take on yueki's personalities

yue 

notes / personality

cocky (but also like understated confidence - r e g a l af) 

kind of a nerd

maybe a little entitled, and a little bratty and suki loves to indulge her or to rile her up depending on her mood

books

seems soft but made of steel

strong sense of duty

socially intelligent - can be manipulative and suki (the dork) thinks it is so hot 

aloof queen bee typa beat

supportive, both in ur day to day and in going after your big moral life goals 

deep water - steady and powerful, often underestimated

untold depths, private yet surprisingly nurturing - master of deflecting away from herself

political nerd - well read, and when she has someone she trusts not to take advantage of her, she goes OFF 

distrusting of most people, has been used and ignored and underestimated her whole life

patient - homegirl knows how to play the long game

excellent at pai sho / chess 

she and suki have epic battles of wits - dif types of strategy but both are really into it and get a little too competitive (multiple board games have had to be replaced over the years)

loves travel bc wasn’t allowed to much, esp when she was sick 

was super repressed growing up - never let her be herself or really have any sort of independence

used to sneak out and wander around in rebellion and casually sabotage plans and decisions she didn’t agree with 

introverted, many opinions but keeps them to herself, discreet but well spoken

weaponizes secrets and information - doesn’t often use it but...she could

definitlyyyyy worries and overthinks and re-evaluates - worries ab social politics a lot

obsessive about picking things - wants it to be perfect

shes growing into her confidence as a leader

prefers quite intimate places

incredibly romantic

classic lit

planner for the future - visionary

kind / sweet / gentle - yes, but that’s also her “front” to a degree (seriously, i feel like she gets painted as so sweet and submissive and one dimensional by the fandom a lot of times and it freakin kills me)

INFJ-T (The Advocate) ((yes this is from 16p which i know is not super accurate but u can still catch her overall vibes from it ya know)

Creative/insightful/principled/compassionate/altruistic

sensitive/reluctant to open up/perfectionist/prone to burnout/not a fan of the ordinary

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - puppy love crushes, laugh ab it now, get into deep late night talks about responsibilities and leading, water tribe culture, prank wars (no one believes sokka when he says yue is a mean prank master (expect suki comes to see it in action lol))

katara - <> badass women friendship, totally would go to matches and protests together, tough girl shit, waterbending practice/duels - start of cautious, but then get rough in a good way bc they trust each other, they do water tribe food adventures together

toph - indulges her chaos, bonding over stupid royal upbringings, odd yet weirdly endearing pair

zuko - both sort of standoffish gay royals, but once they come to see that they are friends - take up similar spaces though, so only hang out in a group or rarely by themselves, they do hang out at like political parties and stuff when they get more comfortable together

aang - <> he has an impressive world view, yue is super studied and well read, so she and aang nerd out over past cultures together, and also their peace keeping nature, they have tea together often - usually after she and katara wipe the floor w/ each other

clothing / aesthetic:

blues and pale colors

classy and understated wealth

like those cute feminine button down shirts

dresses

like cold weather classy

complicated braids

sort of soft girl aesthetic?

pleated skirts !!!

i feel like she would wear ethically sourced fur (i don’t wear fur but idk how to get it in an ethical way - maybe it’s just fake??)

knit sweaters and skinny jeans and heeled ankle boots

light academia !!!

hella funky earrings - to mark her native pride and also cuz gay

from my readings, tattoos have a lot of cultural significance for Inuit women, and so i feel like yue would totally have some (when she comes of age ofc) 

suki

notes / personality 

extroverted 

also very strategic 

more spontaneous tho - will totally calculate the odds in a spilt second in her head and then just go for it

like still a careful planner, but willing to say fuck it, yolo if it seems right 

reflects on her mistakes, but more in like a healthy way - unless it was a leadership mistake, then it eats her up inside - worries more ab keeping her girls safe and making the right call

likes lively places

total bashful romantic

manages the present and the short term - realist

loves to do lists 

a little punch happy - loves to make violent threats, but also does it out of excitement and she’s just a really physical person tbh

steady, can come off as stubborn and abrasive but she really just wants what’s best for everyone she loves

harsh on herself and worries about her girls a lot 

always ends up in the oddest situations 

totally would kick someone’s ass for being racist/sexist/homophobic/etc 

dedicated to her training and her regime 

not a great cook, but she can manage 

would drink monsters 

has a weird relationship with femininity - took her awhile to reconcile strength and toughness and being assertive and aggressive with also wanting to feel pretty and feminine and embracing being a girl and how those things can coincide and amplify each other

abandonment issues - parents absent/dead 

was imprisoned - obvi she had several almost successful escape attempts, but she got really close to breaking 

was incredibly independent really early, grew up really fast and tries to make up for that now by sometimes being reckless 

tough/assertive/woman of action 

dry sense of humor/sarcastic - not good at nickname/pun humor tho

practical/dedicated/strong-willed/direct/honest/reliable/loyal/patient

stubborn/judgmental/difficult to relax/difficulty expressing emotions/too selfless 

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - <>  man they’re like platonic soulmates - she beat him up, and now they spar all the time, totally funny and crack jokes all the time, go skating together, they do shitty art together, and then show their lovers after zuko and yue come back from their high society mixers, broke her out of prison, m/f friendship !!! 

katara - also sparring buddies (suki will throw down at any literally moment (and tbh so will katara)), not close but will hang in a group - go to each other for advice 

toph - <> listen these two wreak havoc together, they help each other out a lot, i feel like they’re shopping buddies (similar enough style to frequent the same shops) toph knows suki won’t judge her for wanting to feel pretty and suki knows toph will be honest, they are both blunt sarcastic assholes and get along like a house on fire 

zuko - <> shows zuko how to like,,,enjoy things (and how to let go of some of that pressure to be always right and the adult and in charge bc they were raised with so much responsibility on their shoulders even tho they were just kids)? she is also super protective of him (once she trusts him), one of the only ppl who can match suki fully in hand to hand combat, both do the Disappointed Parent Look when the group falls into chaos, but by themselves, the two of them end up in hijinks

aang- suki enjoys his optimism and they’re just chill bros, they love exploring abandoned placed together 

clothing / aesthetic

sporty and skater mixed 

ripped jeans, crewnecks, vans 

green and yellow and dark red 

gym clothes/athleisure - lifting style gym clothes - cut off t-shirts and bike shorts

skirts too, likes to play into femininity

she’s a gold jewelry kinda girl - but stuff that won’t hinder her movements 

necklaces that end in the hollow of her throat & occasionally rings

definitely cuffs all of her jeans (it’s just bisexual culture ya know)

so many crop tops - some came like that, some were more of a diy project

yueki’s relationship!!!

nerd/jock solidarity 

feel the burden of responsibility and the weight on their shoulders 

they create a safe space between them, full of trust and warmth and vulnerability 

yue will read suki sappy passages from poetry books while suki polishes her fans 

they slow dance in the kitchen a lot 

they get good at ordering takeout - and they have some weird decision making process that only they understand - bc neither of them are great cooks 

yue would feel jealous of suki and sokka, if it weren’t for how stupid in love sokka was with zuko and yue can see that suki really only has eyes for her 

yue is taller than suki and it amuses her to no end to pick suki up and carry her away from a fight (we all know suki could get away if she wanted to, but when ur hot tall sexy gf throws u over her shoulder,,,,,,u don’t complain)

joke they’ve adopted kataang and zukka, bc they’re all dummies, but in reality every last one of them is stupid LMAO 

they love to do each other’s hair and it’s like super intimate and really cute 

sometimes it’s these epic elaborate hairstyles and then at other times, they try to see how many ponytails they can fit on suki’s head and how many little braid yue can do 

they travel EVERYWHERE 

since yue is royalty and suki is her body guard,,,, well i mean, they totally have to see these kingdoms they are doing trade deals with in person 

it helps that they're friends with a lot of them 

they stay over in everything from camping so they can stargaze to ritzy hotels with hot tubs in the bathroom 

yue gives suki rocks she finds on all their travels and suki lines them up on their mantle around the pictures of them in increasingly weird locations 

suki loves guarding yue’s meetings bc she gets to watch her absolutely rip a new one into misogynistic old men and it never fails to bring her joy 

While yue doesn’t love getting attacked, the ruthless efficiency suki defends her with is like,,,,,stupid attractive 

[thewildsophia]

.Tech Junkie. Little Witch Academia//Constanze x Reader

Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger x Female!Reader

A/N: Please, just let me be a lesbian for the little tech junkie. Please. Just this once (maybe twics-). I told you guys I was a simp for her and here we are.

Word Count: 3051

You had first met Constanze through Akko. She had suggested the two of you “become friends” since you were both interested, and well versed, in engineering. You had tried to seem nonchalant about it, but in reality you were super excited to meet her. 

She had actually first caught your eye during the Academy’s broom race about two months ago. The addition of a separate engine and propellers to her broom along with handles was honestly such a cool concept that you wish you had thought of. Seriously, she had made an entirely different power source for her broom. Ever since you saw her broom in action you’ve been trying to find ways to talk to her. The only problem is that you didn’t actually know her all that well; for that matter, you didn’t really know anyone all that well since you had started your time at Lunanova this year. 

Despite being loud, excitable and somewhat annoying at times, Akko was kind enough for you to get along with, see as she’s also new and all. The two of you had only been casually friends until she had gotten to know Constanze. You remember the day after the two of them spend time together, how she wouldn’t stop talking about her; not that you minded the subject matter, but rather how loud she was being. 

Akko had talked your ear off about her and you couldn’t help but feel a little bit of jealousy rise up in you as you listened to her. You were pulled from such thoughts, however, when she mentioned introducing you to her. She went on about how you two would ‘hit it off’ for your love of engineering and technology and that you two would make great friends. 

You perked up at this idea and, as calm as you could, agreed to it. About three days after your conversation with Akko, she had introduced you to Constanze. 

You were never that good with first impressions and holy crap this girl made your knees weak. She was short -- shorter than you -- and small, yet she still gave off the vibe that she could beat your ass. 

You remember introducing yourself and shaking her hand and, wow, she had a pretty firm grip. She was somewhat standoffish the first time the two of you met but you understood that; afterall, you were very much the same way when you first arrived at Lunanova and before you met Akko (because even if you didn’t want to admit it she had actually helped you become more extroverted than you were before). 

Akko had pretty much led that conversion for the majority of your time together, but it was towards the end of your get together that you noticed Constanze was having trouble with something. 

Glancing over at her work, you saw that amongst all the metal components and welding tools, she had a small breadboard in her hands, trying to wire -- what you assumed was -- a combination circuit, although there were definitely flaws in what she was doing. She had the resistors in the right places and the wires that connected to ground and power supply were good, but the wiring for the actual circuit was all wrong. You assumed she had tried to wire the breadboard like a parallel circuit while adding in components of a series -- which was understandable, a combination circuit was just a combination of series and parallel circuits -- but that just isn’t how wiring works. 

“Stop,” You had said after a moment of watching her fiddle with the breadboard which shocked you and her. She looked up at you, almost glaring before you continued, “You don’t need that many wires. Remove the ones here, here, and here, then move the two red ones to sideways and connect them in the plugs above the resistors up here and connect the black ones to the ones below the valley and to ground.” You explained the best you could, although she stopped doing what you told her to do after removing the extra wires and moving only one of the red wires over. 

She looked up at you, scrunched her nose then shoved the breadboard into your hands, turning back to welding a few loose bits of metal together. Taking that as your cue, you began rewiring the breadboard into how it’s supposed to look. You heard Akko talking in the background, somewhat shocked at the sight before her, but you didn’t pay her any mind, instead focusing on the task that was literally in your hands. 

“What are the tolerances?” You asked. She handed you a schematic that listed the total voltage, resistance, and current. You took the paper, looking over the schematic.

“12 volts, 5 amps, and 908 ohms…” You whispered to yourself as you quickly finished the circuit, “Where’s it’s power supply?” You asked and she pointed over to a desk that had a small power supply, one that probably didn’t go over 30V. 

You connected the power supply -- making sure to turn the voltage and current to the right number -- to the circuit and grabbed a multimeter that was nearby and began measuring the resistance. The resistance was off by a few hundred, so you turned everything off and examined the resistors. 

“You got a box of spare resistors?” You asked, looking over to Constanze, noticing that she was pointing to a small brown box only a foot away from you on the desk. You smiled sheepishly, saying, “Oh. Thank you.” 

You swapped out the resistor with the wrong bands with the correct one, turned everything back on and boom, 908Ω exact. 

“Circuit’s done.” You said handing the disconnected circuit to her. She quickly took it and hooked it up to the project she had been working on and, unlike before, things actually started to light up and functions were being completed. 

You smiled at her work, amazed that she could do all of that in such a short amount of time. While you were admiring her work, you had almost missed the small smile that she sent your way. You felt your face flush red and you quickly turned away clearing your throat. 

“No, bad thoughts,” You think to yourself, “She’s probably not some gay ass engineer like you are. Stop being a lesbian for someone you just met for God’s sake!” 

“It’s getting late,” Akko said, pulling you out of your thoughts, “We should all be heading back to our dorms now.” 

Constanze nodded, removing her safety gear and putting it away. 

“Come on, Y/N, let’s go.” Akko said, grabbing your arms and dragging you out of Constnaze’s workshop. Despite not wanting to leave just yet, you had classes in the morning, so you let Akko drag you along. You turned back one last time to see Constnaze waving to you two, and before you turned back around, she sent you a wink, which made you breath hitch and face heat up. 

“No, there’s no way,” You thought as Akko’s voice played almost as background noise to you, “She can’t be…can she? I thought I was the only lesbian here, and I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping that secret from others.” 

Akko had already dragged you to your room and left you there. Your hand hovered over the handle as you continued to think. 

“The only way she’d be able to tell is if she’s also…” You gasped at the idea, hands clenching at your sides. Your face flushed and you opened the door to your shared dorm, careful not to wake the others up. 

You quietly got changed into your nightclothes and went to bed, doing your best to fall asleep. You would come to find, however, that the only thing to come that night were more thoughts and questions about Constanze. 

~~~~~~~~~~

It had been about a month since your first meeting with Constanze and the two of you had become surprisingly close to each other. You’d help her out in her workshop whenever she asked for you, mostly wiring circuits for her.

She had actually introduced you to her roommates Amanda and Jasminka when she had you come over and help her. The two of them had immediately picked up on your feelings towards Constanze and, one day, decided to talk to you about it. 

“So, Y/N,” Amanda started, and you looked away from the breadboard in your hands to where she was perched on her top bunk bed. Constanze had left the dorm room to, you assumed, her workshop to grab a few parts she forgot in the first run over there. “You’ve got a thing for Constanze, I see.” 

You inhaled sharply, quickly turning back to your work and continuing to wire. 

“Oh God, oh fuck. Were you really that obvious? Did anyone else know? Did Constanze know?” 

“Shut up.” You said harshly and you felt a little bad at how aggressive it sounded but at the same time it really wasn’t any of her business. From your peripheral, you saw Amanda raise her arms in defense before continuing. 

“Hey, I’m not judging!” She said quickly, putting her hands down again. “Just thought you’d like to know that she’s also interested.” 

“What?” Oops, you had said that out loud. 

“Yeah, you’ve been on her mind for, like, at least the last month,” Amanda said, peaking your interest. “Everytime she comes back from the workshop after working with you, she has this stupid little smile on her red face and whenever I’d ask about it she’s quickly scrunch up her face and glare at me, motioning that it was ‘nothing’ but, let’s be real, we all know what it was.”

You hand pinched the wire in between your fingers tighter, still somewhat convinced that she was trying to punk you. You doubt, however, subsided when Jasminka spoke up. 

“Quiet isn’t always subtle, and you two definitely aren’t subtle,” She said, offering you a chip. “Despite being some of the smartest students at Lunanova, you two are pretty dumb not to have realized the other’s feelings by now.” You stuck your tongue out towards her at that jab, before biting your lower lip in thought. 

“There’s…got to be another reason. How would I know if she even likes women, let alone me?” You thought as the room grew silent. “I guess they would know her best, so maybe they’re right.” 

“How…do you know this for sure?” You asked hesitantly, slowly looking up towards Amanda. She scoffed before saying, 

“Are you kidding? Her feelings for you are written all over her face whenever she comes back from seeing you.” She swung her legs over the bed and jumped down, grabbing you by your shoulders and spinning you around towards her. “If she doesn't like you in a romantic way, I’ll…burn my own broom!” She shouted, motioning to her broom that was resting in the corner. 

You stared at her a moment, still unsure if Constanze actually liked you in a romantic way. You looked away and sighed, slumping back in the chair. 

“I just…don’t get how she could ever like me in that way.” You said, removing Amanda’s hands from your shoulders. She looked at you questionly. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. 

“What I mean,” You started, picking the discarded breadboard up, “Is that it’s difficult to first see Constanze as a girl who likes another girl and secondly that that other girl is me. Me of all people!” You exclaim, hooking the small power supply to the circuit. 

“Why is that?” Jasminka asked, cocking her head to the side. 

“Why? Because I’m, like, nothing compared to her,” You say, throwing your hands in the air for emphasis, “Constanze, she, she’s just so…amazing. It’s like she manages to be cute yet deadly at the same time. She's beautiful in a rugged way and that’s something I find so likable about her; she’s different but not bad. And that’s not even considering the kind of things she can create. I mean have you seen some of her works? They’re magnificent! She’s just…perfect. And I’m just…me.” 

The room was silent and when you looked up from your work towards Amanda and Jasminka you saw that the two of them were looking at the door. You turned in your chair to look at the door and there stood none other than Constanze herself. 

She stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and bright faced, holding a box of electrical components. You sat there, staring back wide-eyed at the fact that you didn’t hear the door open and that she, of all people, was the one to walk in on this conversation. It felt as if time stopped as no one dared to speak. You opened your mouth a few times, trying and failing to say something. 

She slowly set the box down on the ground before walking up to you. You had pressed yourself as far back against the chair as you could as she approached you. She was only a foot away from you when she grabbed your hand and gently squeezed it. Your breath hitched in your throat and your face burned at the simple motion. She brought your hand up a bit and covered it with her other one. 

Quietly, she sighed.

“I,” Constanze started, and you had almost missed it, “I like you. A lot.” She whispered, turning to look away from you. Her voice was beautiful to you. Soft and delicate, yet it still held the same reserved tone that her personality had. You looked at her face, noting the noticeable blush there, but you remained silent. 

Did you hear that right? Did she just say that she likes you? You? 

You grabbed her hands that were holding your’s with your free hand and she looked over at you. 

“I-I like you too,” You quickly said, “A lot.” You added. You gently tugged at her hands, bringing her closer to you and she let you. She was mere inches away from you when she surged forward, pressing her lips to your own. 

Her’s were warm and soft, yet slightly chapped most likely due to her chewing them while she tinkered. She let go of your hands before the two of you intertwined them together, never breaking from the kiss. She pushed back against you a little harder and you did the same, relishing the small sound that was torn from her throat and echoed in your head. The two of you only pulled away what you heard Amanda scoff.

“Ugh, get a room you two.” Amanda said, and Constanze glared over at her. She let go of your hands, taking off one of her gloves and throwing it at Amanda. Amanda held her hands up in defense as it was thrown and she laughed. You also laughed at the scene before you and smiled before looking at Constanze. 

“You’re beautiful.” You sighed and she looked over at you, red face and all. She mumbled something under her breath as she walked back towards the doorway. You were scared that she was going to leave before you saw her grab the box next to the door. She walked back to where you were, dropped the box on the desk and, instead of pulling up a chair, sat in your lap. Your lap. 

You quietly gasped in surprise at this and Constanze stopped moving for a moment, making sure that you were okay. After a moment of you not protesting, she reached in the box and pulled out a circuit board and grabbed the soldering iron. Before she got to work, however, she handed you the breadboard that you completely forgot about saying, 

“Finish.” You took it from her and did as you were told, adding the necessary components to it. 

You spent the next two hours like that until it became dark and you were required to return to your dorm. Jasminka and Amanda had already retired to their beds when Constanze had walked you down to your dorm rooms. 

When you arrived, Constanze tugged at your sleeve, motioning for you to come closer. You complied and she pressed a kiss to your cheek, and you smiled, giggling a little bit at the display. When she pulled back you returned the favor, cupping her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead. You smiled at the laugh that left her lips. You pulled away, standing up and straightening yourself. 

“Goodnight, Constanze.” You said placing your hand on the door. 

“Y/N,” Constanze said, grabbing your attention. 

“You are not nothing,” She continued, taking your left hand in her own, “You are not less than me. You are more. You are beautiful. You are perfect.” She finished, kissing the top of your hand. You stood there surprised with wet eyes. In all of your 16 years, no one’s ever said such things about you.

“Goodnight, lovely.” Constanze said, dropping your hand. You dropped to your knees embracing her. It started with a quiet sniffle, then broke into a sob as you began to cry into her chest. She stood there stiff for a moment before returning the hug, resting her cheek against the top of your head and running her fingers through your H/C hair. 

You remained like that for a good few minutes before you composed yourself and stood back up, rubbing at your red eyes with the palm of your hand. 

“Okay?” Constanze asked, and you shook your head. 

“Thank you,” You whispered, “No one’s ever said something so nice about me before.” She smiled gently while rubbing your arm. 

“Go sleep.” She told you, and you listened to her. You opened the door to your dorm and watched as she turned around to leave. 

“See you tomorrow.” You said, and she waved back at you. You walked into your room as quiet as you could closing the door. Once in, your legs practically gave out and you slumped against it. You hugged yourself as you thought about the events of the day. 

Her reciprocating your feelings. Her small self sitting in your lap with your arms around her waist. The comfortable silence between the two of you as you worked.

Dear God you had fallen hard for her. 

But you didn’t mind that.

A/N: I’m not too much of a fan on how this turned out but none the less I like this fic. I’m also a female in engineering and I think it shows with how detailed I get in some parts.

[strangeandforlornbooks]

best books with morally ambiguous narrators!

all y’all’s problematic faves and villains! :) also included are third person narrators but in books with morally ambiguous leads/themes 

Sci-fi

Scythe by Neal Shusterman: in a future free from pain, disease, and war, people can live forever. ‘scythes’ are given the power to decide who lives and who dies to preserve the balance. sad and kinda gives of hunger games vibes, if you like that.

Neuromancer by William Gibson: basically invented the cyberpunk genre. strange and removed protagonists. (a team of computer hackers have to face off against an evil AI). you kind of dislike everyone and suddenly you’re crying over them. one of those trippy sci-fi classics.

The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut: very beautiful and very very sad (same author as slaughterhouse five). the richest man in america has to face a martian invasion. more about free will and bad people doing good things than a plot that makes any kind of sense.

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick: set in an alternate universe where the germans and japanese won world war two. not really like the tv show at all- it’s not an action story, and there’s not really the hope to somehow fix the world that drives a lot of dystopia stories. instead its about how people survive and connect to one another in a hopeless society.

The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow: a supercomputer convinces the leaders of the world to keep the peace for hundreds of years by taking their children hostage and obliterating any city that disobeys. what happens to the hostage protagonists when war seems inevitable? lots of morally fraught decisions and characters slowly losing their identity. (plus a fun lesbian romance)

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson: a brilliant mathematician and a dedicated marine fight to keep the ultra secret in world war two. fifty years later,  a tech company discovers what remains of their story. one of the most memorable sequences in the book is a japanese soldier slowly becoming disillusioned with his nation and horrified by the war even as he continues to fight.

Blade Runner by Philip K. Dick: another one of those sci-fi classics that’s not at all like the movie. there is a bounty hunter for robots, though, as well as a weird religion that probably is referencing catholicism and a decaying society with a shortage of pets. kind of a trip.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power: girls trapped in a boarding school on an isolated island must face a creeping rot that affects the animals and plants on the island as well as their own bodies. the protagonists will do anything to survive and keep each other safe. very tense (and bonus lesbian romance whoo)

The Fifth Season by N K Jemisin: three women are gifted with the ability to control the earth’s energy in a world where those who can do so are forced into hiding or slavery. some veryyyy dark choices here but lots of strong female characters.

Historical Fiction

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: two victorian lesbians fall in love as they plot to betray each other in horrific ways. lots of plot twists, plucky thieves, gothic settings, and a great romance.

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiwicz: a powerful roman soldier in the time of Nero plots to kidnap a young woman after he falls in love with her, only to learn more about the mysterious christian religion she follows. very melodramatic but some terrific prose. 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: a blind girl in France and a brilliant German boy recruited by the military struggle through the chaos of the second world war. ends with a bang (iykyk.) very sad, reads like poetry.

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang: graphic novel reveals the story of a young boy fighting in the boxer rebellion in early twentieth century china. the sequel, saints, is also excellent. beautifully and sympathetically shows the protagonist’s descent into evil- the reader really understands each step along the way.

Fantasy

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: three triplets separated at birth, each with their own magical powers, have to fight to the death to gain the throne. lots of fun honestly

Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo: everyone in these books is highly problematic but you love them all anyway. a ragtag game of criminals plan a heist on a magical fortress. some terrific tragic back stories, repressed feelings, and revenge schemes.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King: idk how to describe these frankly but if you can put up with King’s appalling writing of female characters they’re pretty interesting. fantasy epic about saving the world/universe, sort of. cowboys and prophecies and overlapping dimensions and drug addicts galore.

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud: lots of fun! a twelve year old decides to summon a demon for his cute lil revenge scheme. sarcastic demon narrator. lighthearted until s*** gets real suddenly.

Elegy and Swansong by Vale Aida: fantasy epic with machiavellian lesbians and enemies to lovers to enemies to ??? to lovers. charming and exciting and lovely characters.

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen: an orphan boy must compete with a few others for the chance to impersonate a dead prince. really dark but very tense and exciting and good twists.

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu: fantasy epic. heroes overthrow an evil empire and then struggle as the revolution dissolves into warring factions. interesting world building and three dimensional characters, even if they only have a small part.

Circe by Madeline Miller: the story behind the witch who turns men into pigs in the odyssey. madeline miller really said, i just used my classics degree to write a beautiful gay love story and now im going to write a powerful feminist retelling because i can. queen. an amazing and satisfying book that kills me a lil bit because of the two lines referencing the song of achilles.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer: the tragic backstory for the queen of hearts in alice in wonderland. a little predictable but very fun with a compelling protagonist

A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) by George RR Martin: ok I know we all hate GRRM and rightfully so but admittedly these books do have some great characters and great scenes. they deserve better than GRRM though. also he will probably never finish the books anyway....

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket: not really fantasy but not really anything else either. plucky, intelligent, and kind children fight off evil plots for thirteen books until suddenly you realize the world is not nearly as black and white as you thought. 

Classics

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: gothic romance!! a new wife is curious about the mysterious death of her predecessor in a creepy old house in the British countryside...good twists and lovely prose.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles: not really morally ambiguous but one awful decision suddenly has awful consequences and certain people are haunted by guilt forever.... really really really beautiful and really really really sad. boys in a boarding school grow up together under the shadow of world war two.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: while imperial russia slowly decays a beautiful young woman begins a destructive affair. a long book. very russian. the ending is incredibly tense and well written.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding: I think you know the plot to this one. the prose is better than you remember and the last scene is always exciting.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: one by one, the guests on an island are slowly picked off. one of Christie’s darkest mysteries- no happy ending here! very tense and great twists.

Contemporary

The Secret History by Donna Tartt: inspired the whole dark academia aesthetic. college students get a little too into ancient greece and it does not end very well. lovely prose but I found the characters unlikable.

Honorable Mentions

The Dublin Saga by Edward Rutherford: has literally a billion protagonists, but some of them are morally ambiguous ig? follows a few families stories’ from the 400s ad to irish independence in the 20s. beautifully captures the weight and movement of irish history.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer: how morally ambiguous can you be if you’re, like, eleven? a lot if you’re a criminal genius who wants to kidnap a fairy for your evil-ish plan apparently!

Redemption by Leon Uris: literally my favorite novel ever. the sequel to Trinity but can stand alone. various irish families struggle through the horrors of world war one. the hero isn’t really morally ambiguous, but the main theme of the novel is extremely bad people suddenly questioning their choices and eventually redeeming themselves. sweeping themes of love, screwed up families, redemption, and patriotism.

The Lymond Chronicles and House of Niccolo by Dorothy Dunnett: heroes redeem themselves/try to get rich/try to save their country in early renaissance Europe. if I actually knew what happened in these books I'm sure it would be morally ambiguous but its too confusing for me. in each book you spend at least a third convinced the protagonist is evil, though. lots of exciting sword fights, tragic romances, plot twists, and kicking english butt.

Bonus: Protagonist is less morally ambiguous and more very screwed up and sad all the time

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: you know this one bc its quoted in all those quote compilations. basically the story of how one horrible event traumatizes a young man and how he develops a connection to a painting. really really really good.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: hard to describe but strange... not an action novel or a dystopia really but sort of along those lines. very hopeless.

[blush-and-books]

British Tumblr I need your help because I just saw the trailer for the BBC series Get Even and I am pressed

Why am I pressed, you ask?? Lemme tell you

The BBC series Get Even is a TV adaption of the Gretchen McNeil novel of the same name, which also has a sequel titled Get Dirty. I have read these books and loved these books and have been waiting for an adaption to come --- but not quite like this.

BEFORE I START: I understand that things get changed in film/TV adaptions of books. I am still going to watch this series when it comes out, and I am sure that it is great!!!! HOWEVER, I have a lot of problems with what I've read about the characters and subplots that aggravate me because I am pretty sure that Gretchen McNeil was not a part of production.

First of all, McNeil wrote the books to take place in America. This would typically carry zero importance and I wouldn't have an opinion on it taking place in the UK in the TV series, but it is important because one of the main characters, Bree, is the daughter of a U.S. Senator and this plays a CRUCIAL part in her character and personality. She often rebels for attention and feels like she is incomparable to the achievements of her older brother. In the show, it sounds like she is just the daughter of some rich dude like the rest of the kids are at the school, which takes away her edge and ability to be so intimidating to get away with things.

Following this thought on Bree's character, the black eyeliner I saw in the trailer is not it. At all. Bree is more makeup-free, slightly clueless about fashion, alt music hippie girl than emo, all-black, headphones 24/7 girl. She not supposed to look threatening but is internally the most threatening. I feel like the creators just said "well we can't have a sarcastic, edgy character who looks chill and normal, she has to wear black and leather and lots of eyeliner." Boo.

*I would make commentary on the fact that Kitty Wei is supposed to be like 6'2" but I know that's hard to find in an actress so I'll let that one slide*

Continuing, the AESTHETIC. Y'all the original takes place in California. It has sunny, words-written-on-bathroom-walls, fresh cut grass, light blue and yellow school color vibes. Not rainy dark academia vibes. Yes they are in a private school in the book but it's a private school that has the administration quality of a public school. It's more fresh and... Idk how to describe it. Teenager energy. Not whatever was in the trailer?? Its just different

《 Other less specific things that you might not know about if you haven't read the books, IF YOU'VE SEEN THE SHOW PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTIONS 》

- Mika and Rex are not supposed to be siblings!!!!!!! Akshhdjskahaj

- Donte and Olivia are not supposed to be dating. They are ex bf/gf in the book and Kitty and him get together

- on this note, IS THERE A GAY STORYLINE BETWEEN OLIVIA AND AMBER??? AMBER IS A LITERAL TOXIC PSYCHOPATH BUT OKAY

- Coach Creed is just a violent fucking asshole!!!! He never has any relationships with any students in the books!!! He is angry bc he got fired from his last job after accusations of him coming onto male students (even tho I kinda dig the change they made in the show with him being in a relationship w a student and am excited to see how it turns out)

- Do the 'Maine Men even exist!!?!? Do they just rename them bc obviously they changed the school name so that it isn't Bishop DuMaine??

- The internet describes Margot as a gamer, does the show even talk about her past with depression and self harm!?

- if Bree and John don't get their arc I quit

- CHRISTOPHER BEEMAN IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ALIVE OR AT THEIR SCHOOL WHAT THE---

- Rex and Bree were NEVER FRIENDS EVER

- they literally wrote Peanut out. They wrote my baby out. RIP

My biggest question to anyone who has seen it: is it any good?????

I rest my case thank you

[mikeshanlon]

iwwv anon and PHEW OK. I def did not expect that essay and now I feel bad cause I KNOW my thots r not gonna be articulate or right. nonetheless! i think Oliver does qualify as an unreliable narrator cause hes. very oblivious but not like... Richard papen (who is a whole ass clown don't get me started on tsh) but not like addy from dare me(I will support till the day I die that dare me is da like I WILL die on this hill) who sees what she wants to see. 1/?

i think he just... thinks that his friends r diff ppl than they actually r? that doesnt rly make sense but yea. what I mean is that everything the characters do is coated in that empathetic view Oliver has which is usually wrong? so we don't get an objective look into the characters. meredith is my girl like I love the hot popular girl trope deconstruction but at the end of the book she's not at a great place like she's w someone that doesn't love her like she needs to be loved... 2/

I guess the most probable ending is that James never meets Oliver again and that everyone is kinda stuck on what happened but that's soo sad and I really don't want to think abt it. ngl iwwv wasn't like my fave book ever and I really don't understand why people are so obsessed with dark academia sometimes but what i rly liked abt the book is that despite how fucked up everyone is and how toxic they r to each other they do at heart care abt one another...3/

like I rly liked that esp cause at that point the only other da book (other than dare me!) that I had read was tsh and godd every character is so fuckinh annoying and they all hate each other. i was super confused by it till I saw someone saying that it's satire and I felt my mind explode. I feel like this is so long but I didnt rly properly answer all you wrote sorry! I think its a pretty good book tho it has some crazy quotes like hold awn Im gonna look at the highlighted stuff on my copy.. 4/

Were you in love with him?” “Yes,” [...]Yes, I was.” It’s not the whole truth. The whole truth is, I’m in love with him still. LIKEEE PHEWW OK OK OK. WE OUT HERE. that line literally made me go crazy. I'm so sorry for any spelling mistakes or like general mistakes I made here English isn't my first language, it's 1am and I wrote this in the notes app w/o looking it over. so like.. NOT a professional review lemme tell you. 5/5

 Ahh im so sorry I did not see this before I yeeted for a month!!!

Oooh okay first of all dare me as a DA… I’ve only watched the show but like yeah I see the Elements for sure.

Also yeah I can understand what you mean abt Oliver being an unreliable narrator now… Ig my view of unreliable was more like they are purposefully twisting the truth or omitting facts or just literally don’t know shit but I get how personal bias can make the narrator unreliable. I do think the assertion that Oliver thinks his friends are different than they actually are makes sense. He sees James in a very positive light and though I like James a lot and think he is better than, like, Richard, he definitely has darker moments and manipulates Oliver at times (again I’d like to think it’s not the most nefarious thing in the world but like him just being shitty bc he’s in a dark place and he one, wants to do anything he can so Oliver doesn’t figure out he fought Richard so Oliver still thinks of him the same way/bc he knows Oliver would do something stupid like get himself arrested for James; and two, is very jealous that Oliver is with Meredith after Richard dies and has sort of a somewhat positive outcome from Richard’s death versus James being riddled with guilt and anger). And yeah, the probable ending is they never meet but I refuse to acknowledge that so LGNRG. Also that line makes me go CRAZZZZZZZZZZY!!! There are so many great lines, both using Shakespeare and on their own and its like okay give me a moment im going bonkers…

Personally, I haven’t read that many dark academia novels yet (bc for some reason i can barely finish a book rn sigh) but the concept interests me. I think what’s compelling is the setting/atmosphere of like ~mysterious college vibes~, and the idea of a sort of niche, obsessive bond and pursuit of knowledge with a tight knit group of friends (and the like inherent homoeroticism in every single DA elrngenrg). Like Dead Poet’s Society (the film I haven’t read the book) isn’t Dark in the same way most other dark academia is by like, obsession and death and manipulation (though of course there are dark elements with Neil’s storyline), but I think the other building blocks of academia are present there in a more wholesome way and you can see why people are drawn to that idea. As for the more Dark aspects I think it’s interesting to analyze things like group psyche, obsession, manipulation, etc, like what went wrong for everything to take such a dark turn???

 But, like everything else, it really has to be done well or else its just like okay….… I’ve tried to read TSH twice and I may try again but from the 100+ ish pages I read I totally get what you mean. IWWV is so interesting to me bc the characters are all very compelling and multifaceted and I like that they are a close friendship, we come in after 4 years of them spending all the time together and to me that is apparent. Like you said, we can see fissures and problems especially as the novel continues but there is care there between them. That also makes the decision to let Richard die much more interesting and sinister imo, as well as how all of them interact with each other after he dies, and how the roles of the group change without their “leader” so to speak. Also, maybe it’s just bc I like Shakespeare, but I think the academia part of IWWV is so much more accessible compared to TSH. Like I don’t know every Shakespeare play or anything so I didn’t understand every nuance or was like immediately like oh this is from Cymbeline or whatever the fuck, but you could understand the gist of things and it made sense that they spoke in Shakespeare lines bc that’s all they’ve been doing for four years and also theatre kids are Like That. Their pretention also provided any Layers to the story, like the parallels between the characters they play and their own arcs, how some of the lines echoed their own thots, foreshadowed, or they were able to say things through Shakespeare (I’m thinking of like, Oliver realized he loved James during Romeo and Juliet, the foreshadowing that James was going to ruin Richard’s life and that he dislikes Meredith/Richard when he quotes Mercutio at the start “A plague o’ both your houses”, the exchange Oliver and James had onstage and had that kiss during King Lear before Oliver was arrested,etc.) (Also I think the structure of some of the dialogue being formatted like a play really helped make it feel more realistic and immersive). Versus TSH which is just so pedantic and dense and hard to follow at times im like I get they are smart but what??? And maybe that’s part of the satire aspect (or maybe im dumb) but like donna I read TGF I know you are pretentious and info dump abt random obscure shit anyways so erglknerg. Like to me there was a Point to all of the academic Shakespeare stuff in IWWV and it was the soul of the book, and M.L. Rio made it very interesting—like the way that the directors reimagined the plays and had Julius Caesar be like a modern political play, the cool mirror shit in King Lear, the Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet performances where they did them at events and interacted with their environments (which were one of my favorite parts of the books bc I just think that concept is so interesting), etc. For TSH the shit they did literally just felt like “okay look at them they’re smart see you can’t even keep up!” like okay… I felt lost a lot and only like snapped into reality whenever Henry (?) was like oh… murder….. and even then I was like idk what this dude is saying but like he’s being darksided LMAO. And I also agree that it’s just like… Richard being thrown in the middle of this group could lend itself to some cool ideas but its hard to believe that he fits into the friendship group and hes just like hell yeah I love Greek so much and lets go kill this guy other than like okay ur gay and stupid and just want to impress Henry or whatever his name was (which he was but I digress). It’s just not as impactful to me as this close friend group falling apart. Ik TSH fans might be angry if they see this (and of course I haven’t finished the book so my perception may be warped but I also kno many ppl felt that way u did) bc I’ve seen ppl say IWWV is just like TSH but “lackluster” or whatever and while I can see some parallels (mostly b/w Richard and Henry and Alexander and Francis), I really think M.L. Rio expanded upon common DA tropes and the interesting parts of TSH but made it her own and interesting and oh yeah there are actually multiple compelling female characters and LGBT characters (and no incest)!!!

[isitgintimeyet]

Letting Go

AO3

Previous

i know this sounds repetitive, but I am very grateful for you all taking the time to read this and comment, reblog etc.

Thanks to @mo-nighean-rouge for the beta, and @happytoobservenolongerdistant for continued encouragement

Chapter 6: It’s My Party

Play all my records, keep dancing all night But leave me alone for a while Till Johnny's dancing with me I've got no reason to smile It's my party and I'll cry if I want to Cry if I want to Cry if I want to You would cry too, if it happened to you. John Gluck/Wally Gold/Herb Weiner/Seymour Gottlieb

“So, this Saturday, we’ve decided to have a party,” Anna announced as she entered Claire’s flat.

“It’s not a party,” Mary clarified, following Anna into the living room. “It’s a gathering.”

“What’s the difference?” Claire asked.

“Half the people, half the alcohol and zero sex.” Anna replied, pulling a face at her sister. “But, apparently, that’s all I’m allowed. Anyway, if you want to invite anyone from the hospital, feel free. Especially if there’s any of those ‘Dr. McDreamy’ types floating around. Love me a man in a white coat.”

“Or in a flannel shirt and jeans, eh, Anna?” Mary laughed.

Claire smiled politely at Mary’s comment. “Unfortunately we don’t have many of those McDreamy types around the hospital but I’d like to ask a friend, if that’s ok?”

“Fine. Is this friend hot and single?”

Claire couldn’t help but laugh at Anna. “Well, I know Joe’s single and I suppose he’s hot, but you’ll need a totally different frontal configuration to pull him!”

“Ooh, maybe blind date for John, then. It’s high time he had a relationship. And what about you, Claire? Have to see if there’s anybody we can invite for you.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me… not sure relationships are quite my thing.”

Nine years ago

“So, Claire, can I ask… I dinna want tae pry, but are ye courtin’ at the moment?”

“Gosh, courting, that’s a word you don’t hear much nowadays… sorry, didn’t mean that to sound abrupt. It’s a lovely word… full of old values, manners and respect. But no, I’m not courting. I’ve never been sure how a relationship would fit into my life… studying and working long shifts at the hospital.”

“Ah, ok, I see…”

“Jamie, that wasn’t an excuse. I’ve really enjoyed talking to you this evening. I’m glad I decided to come to this party. It’s been…”

“Special? It’s been special fer me. I’d really like tae see ya again. Can I give ye a call, go fer a drink or a meal mebbe?”

“Have you a pen?... There you go.”

“Thank ye, Claire. See ye soon, then.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Jamie.”

**********

Despite Anna’s repeated assurances to Mary that this was not a party... would never be a party... was only a few friends having a few drinks, the overspill of guests out of their flat, onto the shared landing and down the stairs proved otherwise.

Claire peered over the bannister, eagerly awaiting Joe. He had texted a few minutes earlier to announce his imminent arrival. She scanned the people milling about on the stairs -- no sign of Joe yet, just the familiar red curls and broad shoulders of Jamie making his way up the stairs, a bottle in his hands.

**********

The party seemed to be in full swing. Jamie could practically hear the music from the road, the beat of a heavy bass line pounding in his chest as he climbed the stairs. He looked up and caught a glimpse of wild brown curls. The beating in his chest grew stronger for a moment.

Nine years ago

“Mo nighean donn.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s Gaelic, means my brown haired lass.”

“Mmm, sounds so much better in Gaelic, far less boring. I sometimes feel like cropping it all off, or dyeing it, or having it straightened. Anything to change this dull curly mop.”

“Och no, Sassenach, dinna change it. Dinna ever change.”

********

Claire assumed that Jamie had gone straight into Anna and Mary’s flat. Perhaps he hadn’t seen her, or just decided not to greet her. She cast that thought aside as she spotted Joe taking the stairs two at a time to reach her.

Joe lightly kissed her cheek as Claire took him by the hand and led him into her neighbours’ flat. Surveying the assortment of wine boxes strewn across the kitchen table, he carefully selected an inoffensive looking Sauvignon Blanc, poured a tiny bit into the bottom of a plastic wine glass and sipped it dubiously. It obviously met with Joe’s approval as he filled two glasses and passed one to Claire.

Settling herself against a kitchen unit, Claire nodded slightly in the direction of the doorway.

“See there,” she muttered to Joe. “The chap in the doorway with the cream sweater and navy trousers? That’s John, who lives downstairs. Anna suggested fixing you two up. You interested? I can introduce you.”

“Hmm. Maybe, although I’m not sure I’ve a chance. He seems pretty taken with that guy he’s talking to. Although... move here Claire, have a look... I’m not getting a gay vibe from him. I think he’s straight.”

“He is.” Claire spoke instinctively.

“Well, that was said with great conviction. And how do you know, Miss?”

Even in the subdued lighting, Joe could clearly see the blush spreading across Claire’s face.

“Aha,” he exclaimed. “It’s the one that got away, isn’t it?”

“Wha… why… no. What do you mean?”

“Claire, darling, I’ve been friends with you for four years now. I know the passion that lurks underneath that cool exterior. You’ve dated in that time, but there’s never been anyone serious, has there? No-one’s managed to cut through that coolness to the passion below. And that’s because you’ll never forget the man that got away. And look at me, quoting Judy Garland songs at you! How cliché! So spill…”

Claire took a large swig of her wine. “Not really much to tell. We dated a bit several years ago, then he went off to America to work, so that was the end of it. I hadn’t thought about him in years, until it turns out he’s a friend of my neighbour, John a.k.a the hottie from downstairs. And that’s it.”

Joe looked closely at his friend, not believing that Claire was telling him the whole truth. “And is there not a spark ready to turn into an incandescent flame? Do your eyes meet across a crowded room?  Are you ready to jump his bones?”

“Really, Joe, that’s all there is. We’re acquaintances, that’s all. Nothing more.”

“Ok, Claire, if you say so. And, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a mingle.”

Claire stood and sipped her wine as Joe headed into the living room, warmly greeting everyone as he passed. Claire envied him his natural ease in social situations. Debating whether to go and find one of her hosts, she was all too conscious of Jamie, just on the edge of her vision. She watched as Anna walked past him, briefly stopping to chat to him. Her hand rested lightly on his upper arm, her face upturned to his. He smiled as she spoke.

“Excuse me, sorry, can I just reach across you for a glass, please?” Claire’s attention was drawn back to her immediate surroundings. She moved slightly to allow the man access to the wine glasses. He reached over for two glasses and moved away to the table before returning with both glasses filled.

Claire looked down at the glass she was holding, empty. The man smiled and passed her a full one.

“I know this sounds like some sort of chat up line, but … do I know you?”

Claire laughed. “You’re right, it does sound like that and no, I don’t think you do. Unless you’ve been at the hospital lately. I work there.”

“Never set foot inside there. Touch wood.” He looked around for something to touch before lightly tapping his head. “I’m Frank, by the way. So what do you do there, er... ?”

“Claire. I’m a cardiothoracic surgeon there. How about you?”

“Wow.” Frank looked genuinely impressed. “That must be incredible. Oh, well, I’m a doctor too, not dealing with the living though.”

“You’re a pathologist?”

“Historian. I’m working at the university. Came up from the University of York about four months ago now.”

“That may be where you’ve seen me… at the university, visiting my uncle. Lambert Beauchamp. Do you know him?”

“You’re his niece? I know Lamb… good man, sound research. That must be it. I knew I knew you. Never forget a face. So, Claire Beauchamp, how come you’re at this party?”

“I’m a neighbour. Live right across the landing. How about you?”

“I know John from his publishing company. I’ve been having some meetings there. They want me to write a book… or series… a crossover between academia and the great unwashed… considering different aspects of life… and death.” He nodded his head in acknowledgement to Claire. “So, you live across the way? Could we move over there, where it’s quieter, for a chat?”

Claire chose to ignore Frank’s last question. “Anna certainly seems to have invited everybody she knows and just as many she doesn’t.”

As she stood awkwardly next to Frank, a somewhat inebriated woman lurched towards the assortment of bottles and boxes on the table, jostling Claire in the process. With a slurred “oops”, the drunkard swiped a bottle of red and stumbled out of the kitchen.

Claire looked down at her shirt, now soaked in white wine. “Frank, please excuse me. I must go and change.”

He started to speak but she moved quickly away before he could ask to accompany her.

Jamie was standing alone at the top of the stairs, holding two glasses, not, she noticed, of tepid wine box wine but whisky... and probably a good single malt too, she guessed.

Nine years ago

“What do ye mean? Ye dinna like whisky? And ye, livin’ here in Scotland fer most of yer life.”

“Sorry, is that a deal breaker? Does that mean it’s the end for us?”

“Dinna joke about that, Sassenach. And dinna joke about the whisky. It’s a serious matter. I think what ye’re actually  sayin’ is that ye dinna like the whisky that ye’ve already tried. There’s a whole world of flavours with whisky. Can I teach ye?”

“Mmm… do that again… I like whisky when I taste it on your lips…”

“Weel, Sassenach, that’s a start.”

*******

Claire hadn’t seen Jamie since meeting Murtagh and Jocasta and felt that she really wanted to tell Jamie how sorry she was about Brian’s heart attack. She’d met him several times and knew how close he and Jamie were. She assumed that hadn’t changed during the time apart.

She walked across to Jamie. He looked up, surprised at her approach, then smiled tightly.

“Jamie… I... ” she spoke hesitantly. “I met Murtagh and Jocasta.”

“Aye, ‘tis a coincidence… in yer house. I sometimes feel…” he stopped himself.

“I didn’t tell Murtagh I knew you, but he mentioned about your dad, having a heart attack. Just wanted to say how sorry I am and I hope he’s doing ok.”

Jamie gazed into his whisky, the exact colour of Claire’s eyes. His traitorous mind always noticed that.

“He’s doin’ grand now. Thank ye fer askin’.” The formal tone had crept back into his voice.

Claire stood awkwardly for a moment. “Well, someone soaked my shirt in wine. I’d better get it sorted. Bye.”

“Bye, Claire.” Already Jamie was looking over her shoulder, waiting for the owner of the second whisky.

*********

Having changed her shirt, Claire checked her reflection in her hall mirror. Hearing the murmur of familiar voices, she paused, her hand on her front door knob. Peering through the spy hole, she could see John and Jamie, strangely distorted, standing close to her door, engrossed in a conversation.

The old adage says that eavesdroppers never hear any good of themselves, but that didn’t prevent Claire from quietly opening the front door a crack and positioning an ear against the gap. Picking up mid-conversation, it quickly became apparent what, or who, they were talking about.

“I didn’t know that you knew each other.”

“Aye, well, that was a few years ago.”

“But the pair of you never said… never acknowledged each other. Like strangers.”

“Probably better that way. It wasna the best ending.” Jamie's voice sounded flat. “She… er… I moved tae America. She didna. If it hadna been fer ye being neighbours, I would never have even seen her again. Eight years is a long time, people change.”

“And in all that time you never wanted to get in touch with her, or wonder what she was doing?”

“No, never. Ye have tae move on.” Jamie responded quickly. “Anyways, come on, we're due a top up and I'll show ye where I've hidden the single malt.”

Claire sank down to the floor, her back against the door.

She began to reason with herself, trying to be logical about the situation. Eight years had passed, since all had been given up. She was just being absurd, letting her feelings and thoughts run wild. Eight years should really have given her enough time to banish all those emotions and for them not to re-emerge. So many life-changing or world-altering events can occur within eight years.

And yet, Claire realised, logic had nothing to do with it. To her emotions, eight years was as nothing. Time had passed, but her feelings still remained, even after all hope had gone. Note : The last 2 paragraphs are paraphrased/ adapted from Chapter 7 of ‘Persuasion’