#also one of my fav pens died while making this

[coycowboykoi]

Got the urge to draw the Iz gang as anime stereotypes, so I did :P (this also may or may not have been an excuse to draw Dib with the swirly glasses) getting ready for cringetober stay tuned yall 💪💪💪

Zim = Tsundere, Dib = Geek, Gaz = Tough Girl, and Tak = Bully

[anastacialy]

actually, fuck it, i AM writing the essay, even if no one will read it.

my thoughts on penelope, how she sees herself, and why the carriage scene's ending is the most important thing in the whole wide world under the cut. and bridgerton season three part one spoilers, obviously.

penelope featherington hates herself. bit of a strong start here but, there we go. that's what you get when i'm going feral about her again at three in the morning. (it was eleven a.m. when i finished writing this post. i rewatched all four episodes of season three...)

i'll start from the beginning — she isn't a confident person. i think that's what a lot of penelope hate really comes down to, not relating to her in that way at all. not understanding what being treated the way she has can do to you. so let's start here:

imagine for a moment, no one fucking listens to you.

this includes her favorite people in the world. her family, for one thing, that's obvious, but her best friend, too. many times we hear eloise discover and re-discover what penelope's interests are in the series because, as she says, "i didn't really hear it." she was so frequently not really listening to her. they've been friends for years, but huge aspects of her friend's personality were completely unknown to her. this isn't anti-eloise by the way, i love her too, but we're adults who can admit our favs are all flawed people. the show wouldn't be nearly as fun if they weren't. eloise continues to belittle others for their interests when they don't match up to hers (like that poor girl who was just really passionate about embroidery) and she's done so to pen, however unknowingly, for ages.

penelope tried to beg marina to not fool colin into marriage. she had so, so many other suitors, so many other choices she could have made. all pen wanted was to not have her other best friend slash crush make that life altering of a mistake. but for this, she was called a child. immature. talked down to as if she knows nothing about the world. (she had been mostly right, by the way, in her insisting that george must still love marina, would still want to marry her, discovering that the letter had been forged. if he'd not died on the battlefield, penelope would have been the one to secure a happy ending for marina.) when she wasn't listened to then, she got more desperate, telling colin that marina was in love with someone else to deter him from the marriage while still careful to not ruin marina's reputation and expose her pregnancy in the process. she tried. but no one would listen.

so only when the situation became dire, she did the only thing that she could, and took matters into her own hands.

which brings us to lady whistledown.

it's interesting, really, that she chose that name. to specify lady so she might be taken seriously, yet not hide under a pseudonym completely removed from herself (i.e. using a masculine pen name or implying she's not a part of the ton at all) it's clear that lady whistledown is, for the most part, what penelope wants to and yet fails to be: someone who commands attention, who people admire and trust for an opinion, someone who gets listened to.

by the time we find her in season three, she's fresh off hearing her crush saying he'd never, ever court her, and her best friend finding out that she was lady whistledown all along and had exposed a secret of hers — only after penelope had, of course, also begged eloise to stop seeing theo, to stop raising the queen's suspicions, and was once again ignored. her only friendships have been destroyed, and she has resigned herself to a loveless marriage of convenience because she can't stand to be ignored, controlled, and belittled by her family any longer. she's ready to take the devil she doesn't know over the devil she does.

so, when i say her self confidence is on the floor, i mean it.

yes, a sliver of hope remains in her, and we can see that in her decisions (wearing parisian fashions, for instance) but her plan remains, she is simply going to marry someone, anyone, because she has to.

but even still, her confidence has not taken it's last hit.

let's imagine some more: no matter what you do, people are going to laugh at you.

penelope finally, finally gets her big moment. people stare at her as she enters the room. she still immediately hides herself in a corner because that's who she's always been, but still. she has a moment. not quite what she'd imagined, i'm sure, as she bought all new gowns, but attention and awe nonetheless. but it cracks almost instantly when her social awkwardness comes out, failing to get anyone to ask her to dance, and shatters completely when cressida destroys her dress before she can ever take to the floor.

colin tells her she looks nice, and her immediate reaction is "do not mock me, please."

it's only after this that she confronts colin about what he said, only after this that she speaks ill of him as lady whisteldown — not saying any more than what his sister had already pointed out earlier in the episode, mind you, that his change in personality seemed disingenuous — only after she has been publicly humiliated that she lashes out in her anger.

and, this anger, she also immediately regrets after colin has proven himself to be kind. it's a bit like making a snide comment online without the ability to delete it after.

but when penelope has hope, she is kind. she writes of the promising ladies of the ton and wishes them well with their matches, when she has hope she speaks positively of would-be spinsters and their successful marriages. many of her earlier musings in previous seasons were to call the women of the ton beautiful, to speak to their skills.

but hope for penelope does not last long. she manages to successfully speak to one suitor at the next ball (which, though this is another argument entirely, is backed by a string quartet version of "jealous" as colin re-approaches her at the drinks table — any arguments that his feelings start at their kiss isn't paying near enough attention) but the entirely true rumor about her having help from him spreads through the vine and penelope is hopeless once more.

and a hopeless penelope is a cruel penelope, as we've seen, and this time, she turns that cruelty inward, publicly. while she later says it would have been suspicious if lady whistledown hadn't commented, in truth, she has proven time and time again that her emotions rule lady whistledown's writings. in that moment, eyes tearful, she was embarrassed and ashamed of herself, she decided to say so. she repeats the same sentiment to colin when he comes to visit her:

"in truth i brought this on myself. a sad, stupid girl who believed she might actually have a chance at love."

and here is where lady whistledown continues to be someone penelope sees as different to herself, because penelope doesn't see herself as a lady. not just for lack of title — she does not see herself as worthy of or requiring protection. to call back to antony's season one romance: "every woman is not afforded such gallant protection." "every woman is not a lady."

she says nothing of him bribing her maid to give them time alone. like most of the ton she doesn't think the time they spend alone together could be anything other than platonic, at least on his end. they spent extended time unchaperoned at the bridgerton house and not once did she speak on impropriety. he'd been alone with her in the previous season and even when they were caught no one had a thing to say about it. no one questions it because penelope is not recognized as desirable, not seen as needing this protection, not seen as a lady. she is seen, even by herself, as a spinster already.

when she asks colin for a kiss, she reassures him that she would ask nothing of him for it, she would not entrap him in a marriage citing impropriety, she doesn't even think about whether someone might see. she does not care in this moment if she is to be "ruined," she only wants to feel some illusion of intimacy, some imitation of being wanted. even her running back inside immediately after, and the subsequent conversation under the willow tree, are further proof that she doesn't believe he could have kissed her for any reason other than pity.

and, even after all she goes through with lord debling, she is still not the only object of his affections. the entire time she pursues him, cressida is there, hot on the trail, ready to sweep him away on a moment's notice. penelope writes of their dance that his choice of her is surprising. though her feelings for colin have not simply fluttered away once debling's shown interest, her possible engagement to debling is on a wavering tightrope. not once in this can she feel wholly at ease with lord debling, only afforded a bit of security once he asks her mother for her blessing. and amongst this, her mother still belittles her, saying she should not become greedy for wanting to marry someone who actually cares for her.

she asks lord debling if he might ever love her, in all the years of marriage they may have ahead, and he says probably not.

and when colin breaks up her proposal, insisting debling isn't right for her, still penelope does not even consider, can not even conceptualize that it might be done out of jealousy. colin having feelings for her is laughable, she says as much, and it is the same thing she has been told over and over since the start. he chases after her carriage out of breath asks to be let in, gets on his knees and tells her he can't stop dreaming of her and she tells him "please. do not say things you do not mean." she cannot imagine that any of this is real. it is confusion that prompts her to repeat the agreement they had in episode one, "but, colin, we are friends."

and while an entirely separate essay could be written about the rest of the carriage scene, it is what happens the moment the carriage arrives at bridgerton house that stands out to me. they have this moment, colin asks "could the carriage driver not keep on driving?" and they both laugh, the way they always do with one another, and he fixes her dress (carefully, avoiding using a select few fingers as he does so) and they kiss again, and he gets out of the carriage.

and for a single, heartbreaking second, penelope's face falls, and she calls after him: "colin?"

it is so clear in her demeanor that she thought that was it; that's all she gets. the fantasy is over and it is back to reality. for a split second, she believes he is no longer hers.

for a single second, it's as though she thinks he is going to shut the carriage door on her, and walk away.

but he turns around, hand outstretched, asking if she'd like to come in. and she's once again confused, "what?"

do not say things you do not mean. do not mock me please.

and when he says: "for god's sake, penelope featherington, are you going to marry me or not?"

she looks so relived she could cry.

[woolfpuppy]

Today I was creating a contact in my phone for my cousin* Jacob. To make sure it saved I looked up ‘Jake’.

Jake Skar

popped up. Friend from high school, my prom date. Playful, relentlessly sarcastic. drug dealer.

During senior year I invited him to family Christmas, because we always had 40 relatives over, and misfits, and lots of everything. He got me a ruby and diamond necklace. Because ruby is my birthstone, and he had a crush on me. I didn’t know how to respond (not gracefully). I still wear this necklace and think of him.

We kept in touch while he stayed in our hometown and I went to college (and later moved to Chicago.) When I’d be home we’d go for a gin and tonic in awful bars that reeked of smoke, 20 years after the indoor ban.

And then one day- I heard he’d died. I heard he went on a binge and was in the hospital. At 26, he was told he needed to stop drinking. his liver was so abused that if he went on another binge he would die. Five days later he went on a binge and died. My townie friends said it was intentional. He wanted to go.

So I click his name in my contacts, and our text chain from a decade ago pops up.

it’s so cringey. I’m so cringey. and, it brings him back, a little. reading those texts to me he’s dead and alive.

He’s 23, and wishing me a happy birthday and calling me ‘dearest’. we’re figuring out the logistics of meeting for a drink. I’m tired after work and flake, and then later redeem myself and ask him out.

In high school, I was in his phone as ‘Mom’. I don’t know how his actual mom was in his phone, although I remember the guys making fun of it sometime. I don’t know why I was in his phone that way. I would ask how he was, and tell him to drink less, and stop selling coke. He said selling coke was fine because it was better than meth, which his dad was in prison for. I told him it was scary that he had a handgun in his glove compartment- and maybe criminal. He would come over after school and I’d take leftovers out of the fridge- that my mom had made- and put them in the microwave. My life was so normal and pedestrian, and he hung out with me anyway. I wasn’t cool, I didn’t throw or go to parties.

I’m sure I invited him to church, and I don’t think he ever came.

How do I feel about him? I don’t know. I’m not sad he’s dead. I’m ambivalent about it I guess. As a 35 year old I get why he hung out with me. I get why he had a crush on me. But I never could have helped him how he needed. He needed so much care and love (we all do). He needed attention and to be told

“Don’t sell drugs, there are other options! Here are the other options and I’ll help you look at them. Here’s stability. Here’s boundaries. Here’s self worth and assurance. Here’s family to help you and hang out with.”

*not at all related to this small meditation on death and aging and technology but let the reader know I am the type of person who has a lot of ‘real cousins’, and I also call everyone who married in a cousin or their kids and siblings or my cousin’s cousins and feel strongly that this is a good step toward peace and love on planet earth.

——————————-

This meditation is about cousins I guess.

Last night I was at dinner with my cousins- I think there were twelve of us. Cousins and their partners, siblings, and kids. And after we had dinner, everyone got a notecard and pen. It was a little game. Answer these six questions and we’ll mix them up and guess who wrote what. Here are the questions: When you’re having a bad day what do you most want in a care package?

Sweet Treat

Salty Treat

Fast Food Fav

Gift Card Preference

Desired Amount of Social Interaction (when the package is delivered)

Act of Service

And now we all know, for each other, what is the best stuff to give for each other when having a bad day. Can you imagine having that type of support? That type of community? To know that your family wants to actively take care of you?

I imagine if Jake had that support. If he had that community.

The next morning the group chat was what you’d think- thanking the hosts for dinner and merriment. We all had a great time; we’re planning dates for the next dinner. The cousin who hosted has a two year old, and during the dinner she was in the mix- getting thrown in the air and buried in pillows, and reading books. When she woke up this morning she asked ‘Wo ist meine Familie?’ (Where is my family?) Because when she went to bed we were all still there. Which, really struck me. It’s so beautiful she wants to know where we are. That we’re part of her family. Her two year old network.

So this morning when I’m adding another cousin to my phone, my dead friend comes back to me. Jake. And, I don’t know. This sorrow is on me.

The circumstances. The arbitrary nature of this. My friend longed for family- for someone to care. I have that- not through much work of my own. Why didn’t he?

Why didn’t he have that?

Why didn’t he have that?

[perelka-l]

dadsuma for ask thingy thanks xo nya

Dadsumaaaa~

Alas tunglr ate the whole post but I will try my best to remember what I wrote *screams into pillow while crying*

Anyway, meme time:

favorite thing about them

Thing that I adore is how he looks like a carbon copy of Hashirama but basically only older and it's absolutely hilarious, especially when you stumble on that post that shows how when you erase his wrinkles he's basically just Hashirama in looks.

Anyway, he's a rough dad that gets a lot more interesting once you start prying~

least favorite thing about them

Art style shift mid-scene when anime changed the animator :(

favorite line

lel

on a side note, this whole scene - like, he does care about his son and he wants to be extra sure what he knows is true. Even if Hashi is a little shit. So yeah. 

brOTP

Him and his wife. That's OC territory though so I won't elaborate.

Also, weirdly enough, him and Madara and Izuna. I don't know why, I just think those guys in any outside-canon situation would be at least amusing or amazing together, with Izuna's teasing and slyness and Madara's different brand of roughness... It just speaks to me.

OTP

ButsuTaji. The ship that makes me sing and I just- just- I am 100% sure there was something between them- like, the way what made Butsuma snap and throw a punch was when Hashirama mentioned not being able to swap family names and- ya think he has a sore spot because of the past I bet this is why I bet my whole ass and my fav pen it was that it was that-

nOTP

tbh I haven't seen him in any ships I didn't like so I cannot even say I skip the topic, I just never saw anything I genuinely disliked.

random headcanon

It's not a headcanon, it's essentially unconfirmed canon that he's left-handed. Other than that, I love the headcanon that he's a battle medic :Da

Also, I deeply believe he was the one that killed Madara's siblings.

unpopular opinion

I'm gonna get cancelled for this but I deeply believe that Hashirama should be at least berated by Butsuma when pulling the stunt that got him punched.

Like, imagine if you will, you are a parent burying your child and your snot faced ten year old accuses you that it was absolutely your fault that his brother died. Coffin isn't even buried yet, and that's what happens. Of course we all know kids shouldn't be punched but we talk about times when kids are killed.

So honestly? I think Butsuma's actions weren't unreasonable.

song i associate with them

Earth Death by Baths, Iron by Woodkid, Shapeshifter by melodysheep (that's what I used for his recent bday pic uwu), Predict the Day by Ladytron.

Butsutaji special mention but Fate by Disaprition. It's where my tag name for him and Tajima comes from.

favorite picture of them

dilferyyyy also I like to think this is fully what he believed. Rough times and all. In modern AU he'd give his kids pepper spray and meticulously teach them how to use it. also man his hair is long.

[pastabadguy]

nate and pran for all ur favs pwease uwu

6. Ooh vices. Pran has many. He definitely drinks, he smokes, he does harder drugs when he gets the chance. He has a lot of hookups, not inherently bad but he isn't safe about it. I absolutely think he shows up at Jeremy's door at all hours intoxicated and sad.

12. WHOO BOY. Pran holds grudges against anyone and everyone and it is rare that he stops. He probably keeps a list in his head, who hurt me and how and all the reasons they are terrible. You’d have to be Really close with him (Jeremy) for him to forgive you for small transgressions. Nate is surprisingly quick to forgive, if him being friends with Lynn is any proof.

14. I think Nate has a lot of habits that he considers useful even if they aren't, I've written a fic about a very bad one. I also think he bites his nails. Pran has a habit of chewing on art supplies, fine if it's the back of a pen, less fine if it's a pastel or the wet tip of a paintbrush. He has his own self destructive habits, but they're less regular.

15. They actually have canon things that would make them cry. Nate is the only guy who cries in either game, he cries when he gets overwhelmed. Pran canonically would only cry if someone he loved died. I think maybe baby Pran cried, but he stopped quickly when he realized it would only make people angry.

18. Nate would never admit to like, half his thoughts I think. He's so goddamn repressed. Pran wouldn't admit to most things to the point where in canon JB starts treating him saying "I don't care" as saying he cares about her. It leads to my favorite voiced line in all of droplets at the end of Pran's route.

19. I’m going with bloplets here cause nobody’s killing each other in the main game. Both kill people without remorse but Nate can definitely have regrets over it, depending on the route and who he kills. Including his best friend (he gets better).

20. I already did some Nate ones, Pran time. Sometimes I think about what would have happened if Pran never met Jeremy and it wouldn't be pretty (especially given some of my worse headcanons about how Jeremy's friendship protected Pran). I honestly love the canon future for Pran and his design, it makes me really happy to know he gets healthier and happier. For aus, I've got one where Pran dies for Jeremy in a slasher movie type setup, one where he's a hitman, one where he's a glitchy robot with ptsd, one where he's a human watercolor. Tbh I am way to embarrassed to ever go into detail about my aus in public but they matter so much to me, they are nestled by my heart. OH and there's the fact that word-of-god in a Lake of Voices au he'd jump into the lake after Jeremy if Jeremy fell in, even though no one survives falling in :*(

More Nate stuff for fun: In the slasher au, Nate actually survived but Everett didn't and Nate carried around his head for a while. I have paired Nate with just about every character for fun. My favorite random pairs are Nate/Pran in bloplets and Nate/Jeremy and a few others hehe.

22. LYNN. For both but mostly Pran. Lynn's entire goal is to try to influence and help them but I think it works best with Pran. Pran, who didn't like nature, getting vine tattoos in the future makes me think of Lynn's whole plant thing and I wonder if it was intentional.

[clotpole-art]

Retrospective: Illustrated Merlin Alphabet Challenge

Finally finished the Merlin Alphabet Challenge, so here's the artist notes no one asked for! See below the cut for comments on each piece by order of creation. Be warned folks, it's a long post.

Before we begin: credit to @merlin-gifs for the challenge, which can be found here. It's awesome, go do it.

First thing you should know is I did probably 80-90% of these while on phone calls or in Zoom meetings and that's reflected in the simplicity of most pieces -- the compositions aren't complicated, the lines aren't refined, the coloring is slapdash. If you noticed variation in quality of the pieces, that's why!

Second: I tried to focus on trying something new for each drawing. Didn't always happen, but this challenge did succeed in helping me push me out of my own comfort zone.

Without further ado...

A is for Arthur Pendragon

Textures, baby! Brushed metal of his armor, scratchy linen texture of his shirt, wispy softness of hair and skin. I'd recently gotten my tablet out of storage after a year of figuring out where the hell I was going to live and this was one of the first pieces of digital art I spent time on. Glad it was Arthur kicking us off!

B is for the Beginning of the End (1x08)

Fun fact, I did not draw this with my tablet. I drew it with my work computer's touchscreen. It was awful, would not recommend.

C is for Camelot

I wanted to get used to different brushes, so landscape of the castle it was! There are brushes that help with drawing grass; I did not use said brushes and my wrist hurt afterward. That being said, I really enjoyed working on this and it was one of the few pieces I didn't do while multitasking.

D is for Daegal

Also drawn on my work computer's touchscreen, not my tablet. I didn't learn my lesson from B and the experience was even worse. This is my least favorite piece which sucks because it's Daegal so I'm slated to redo this sometime in the near future. Gotta do our boy justice.

E is for Elyan

Oh, I adored drawing this. Elyan often gets shafted in terms of fandom appreciation so I made sure to choose Elyan for this prompt and to participate in the Elyan fest. Plus, I love a good ghost story and figuring out a way to include the druid spectre was fun. Didn't multitask on this piece because Elyan deserved my full attention.

F is for Freya

Ho boy. This piece. I have such mixed feelings on this drawing. Really really didn't like it after I'd decided it was done and very nearly scrapped the whole thing. I had a vision in my head that I just couldn't render into reality and it frustrated me SO MUCH. Looking back, I like it much better than I did when I first created it.

G is for Gwaine

What can I say, he's pretty when he's cold. I didn't stretch too much with this one -- it's my normal drawing style, I was just trying to find a brush that mimicked the softness of pencil.

H is for Hunith

Another one that didn't stray too far from my comfort zone. I was stupid sick and slammed at work, so a motherly Hunith manifested herself. I blame the bad brush choice on the cold medicine.

I is for Isolde

I woke up and chose violence! Tried to vary my figure drawing style a little in this piece but my brain resisted, resulting in... this. Not mad at it, but not happy with it either. Poor Isolde.

J is for Juggling

Ah, this lovely piece was drawn during a particularly vexing meeting at work. Fun fact, there's another version of this line art that's less about Merlin's stress and more about mine.

K is for Knights of Camelot

Continuing the theme of doodling through bad news and shit meetings. Like I said above, normally meeting doodles aren't complex because I'm concentrating on something else. This one was more involved because I didn't want to concentrate on the meeting. I have a few issues with this from a technical standpoint (perspective, my nemesis) but it's still one of my favorites. Tried some funky coloring technique, didn't hate it.

V is for Vibrant Colors

And here is where we said fuck the rules and started going out of alphabetical order! This one was really fun to do and I loved kicking off Albion Party with this as my first submission. The colors were a challenge (as I hoped they would be) and this is the first time I had to do some color tweaking midway though and after finishing the coloring process. Vibrant Arthur, my beloved. This started as a multitask doodle but took dedicated time to finish.

O is for Old Religion

The concept for this one was buzzing in my head for a bit before a quote-prompt solidified it. I adore the thought of more visible, tangible representations of Merlin as the son of the elements, of "magic itself" -- not just sun-gold eyes, but sea-water hair and sandstone-skin. A complement to the vibrant Arthur portrait.

S is for Sorcerers

When I said I wanted to challenge myself, I wasn't kidding. Ho boy, this was fun but frustrating. I wanted to completely illustrate a gif. So I did. Will I do something like this again? Maybe. A while from now.

M is for Morgause

See above -- same illustrated gif style so at least I was able to reuse some drawings. Poor Morgause ended up looking a little wretched here because I was mentally done with this when I was drawing her. Love the concept of tarot cards + Merlin but others are doing it so I won't continue this series.

Z is for Zzzz

This one was specifically done to test out some custom brushes I made in Krita to make abstract background drawing easier for me. I think they turned out well! Plus who doesn't love bb iridescent Aithusa.

L is for Leon, P is for Percival

Quick, minimal doodles of the boys! Mentally, I was going for a Brady's-style retro ensemble cast TV show credits feel. Not mad at it! Some boys look closer to their actors than others (I think my brain broke drawing Percy, my apologies to Tom Hopper).

T is for Tristan

It wasn't until after I posted this that I realized there was more than one Tristan in Merlin. Could have drawn Isolde's bf but I drew Ygraine's dumb jock undead brother instead. Had some fun with dark greys and blacks here regardless.

Q is for Queen Annis

Best royal in Albion, bar none. I tried a different coloring technique here and I kinda like it! may make it my go-to but we'll see. Old habits are hard to break. Also: our queen deserved more badass clothes.

X is for Arthur X Merlin

Oh, be still my shipper heart. Doodled and colored during a meeting. I had hoped to spend more time on it outside of multitasking but alas, work is a bitch. This one is slated for a rework sometime in the future; I adore the concept too much to let it go without creating another version of this that isn't an utter mess.

U is for Uther's Ward

And here's my attempt at forgoing line art. Not fun, do not like.

Y is for Young Warlock

Channeled some pain into this one. Those are the dead eyes of someone who had been told that he'd succeeded when his friend died. That the destiny he'd been expecting to carry on his shoulders into old age was done and dusted before he turned 30. Grief plus the existential dread of the aimless immortal. Oof. One of my favs.

N is for Nimueh, R is for Rising Sun, W is for Will

And we end on this sorry offering. I was away from home for a while without my tablet and I just got tired of waiting. So, pen doodles at the airport. This was a challenge in its own right because 1. pen only and 2. I wasn't able to pull Netflix up for a reference on the fly. Which is why Will's face is obscured and Nimueh looks.... not like Nimueh lol.

In summary: this was a goddamn joy to do. I finished 26 letter prompts in approximately 21 weeks, which exceeded my own unspoken goal of filling one letter per week. I found a good, happy corner of the Merlin fandom after a years-long hiatus away from being a fandom creator. If you did make it this far with me, thanks for reading my inane comments and giving this little project even a moment of your time -- I'm so grateful.

[sinkix]

《What your fav Haikyuu!! Character says about you│Nekoma Edition》

Yo-hoo! Here’s another part to this potential(?) series! I hope you enjoy the possible call-outs in some of these lmao. Writers block been kicking my ass recently but I had a lot of fun writing these. Enjoy <3

You can find the Karasuno ver. here 

✧✧✧✧✧ ✧✧✧✧✧ ✧✧✧✧✧ ✧✧✧✧✧

Kuroo:

Have a hand fetish and will not say no to choking.

Daddy kink™

Will not accept anything below 6 inches.

More of a dog person but would love to own a black cat.

You drool over tattoos.

Your grades are mostly B’s but you know in your heart you deserve that A, and tbh you probably do. Chase ur goals bby.

Halloween is likely your favourite holiday.

You have to resist not to carve a dick into the pumpkin EvEry GodDAmN YeAr.

You either study for 6 hours consecutively or cannot study at all and you get very frustrated at this.

Have the potential to be a good leader and command the room but probably don’t put it to use as much as you should.

Your playlist parkours from sad 3am crying into your pillow songs to aggressive punk music you could rob a store to.

You like bad boys who hang around bars and look like they would put out a cigarette on your forearm and call you a slut. Just stating facts sweaty xoxo.

Either dress very feminine and girly with a ‘smol girl uwu’ aesthetic or a hardass punk who would kick your ass for a can of beer no in between and tbh both are equally hot.

You’re a big softie at heart either way and just want to be held and told everything will be okay.

Ur a hoe for when people stroke your hair or caress your chin it’s your ultimate weakness.

Watched Rick & Morty.

Twice.

Sleeves rolled up veiny forearms and donning a silver watch are your muse and something you fantasise about frequently.

Most of your memes are shitty top text bottom texts that are somehow funny and I don’t understand why lmao.

You call someone ‘bro’ even if it’s someone you’re immensely attracted to.

Did someone say ties? No it’s just ur dirty ass thoughts thinking about that hot business dudes attire from across the street and how you wish they were tied around ur wrists.

Probably had a crush on Jeff the Killer as a tween and are relentlessly haunted by your old Wattpad library. 

Tbh any dark-haired dude with bedhead that screams rugged and probably not good for you is something that draws you like a moth to a flame.

You often question why every person you’ve fallen for has been a Scorpio and curse that tendency of yours.

Dw man they’re hot so I feel u.

Kenma:

Went through a ‘I’m not like other __’ phase and it’s something that you think about a lot and wish you didn’t.

Watched dan & phil as a kid.

Any mention of Pokemon has you turning into a rabid beast you get way too excited.

It’s cute though dw bby.

Pretty antisocial but interesting to talk to.

Your family often question how you’re able to sleep in till 3pm and judge you heavily for it.

Nocturnal night owl gang rise up.

Frequently have bags under your eyes but somehow manage to pull it off.

Listen to ASMR on the down-low and will never admit it to a single soul.

Frequently go on BL binges and have many related book marks.

You pray that someone will never find your laptop bc holy fuck the amount of smut on that.

You wear scarves & beanies even when it isn’t that cold outside.

100% went through a scene hair phase/attempted to.

You dye your hair a lot or REALLY want to.

You have a voice kink low-key so anyone with a pleasant/soothing sounding voice just gets u goin’.

Cats are your favourite animal and you either do or want to own several.

Would name them after video game/anime characters u fuckin nerd lol.

Speaking of cats ,you fantasise heavily about cat-boys and have a folder dedicated to them.

Oversized hoodies are your vibe and always ball the sleeve hems in your fist as a comfort mechanism.

Shopping centres are your worst nightmare and trigger your claustrophobia or social anxiety and honestly I feel that spiritually.

Have a cute sticky note collection.

You like a lot of music consisting of guitar and slow/soothing beats.

You also fw EDM/ techno on occasions.

Honestly wouldn’t wanna anger you since you have a seething temper when pushed far enough.

It’s the kinda temper that’s eerily quiet but no less terrifying, like the other person can tell you are graphically plotting their demise.

You love sleeping to the sound of rainfall and often play those nature ambience videos while you sleep.

Never tidy your sheets and it’s just a big scrunched up heap of fabric in the centre of your mattress most of the time.

Make your fucking bed.

Lev:

Your ships are chaotic and shamelessly controversial.

Would do something just for the sake of creating mayhem lmao.

You were the fucker who stuck their chewing gum under the desk, I see you.

Your brain never stops whirring it’s a constant hurricane of crackhead energy and you have no idea how to turn it off. 

Would eat a stick of pencil lead for $2

You don’t help your situation with the amount of coffee/energy drinks you consume.

The class clown who cries themselves to sleep.

Such a wholesome dumbass but somehow kinda intimidating??? 

Even if you’re not confident you can do something you’ll try anyway and honestly I respect that about you.

You !! use!!! a lot??!! of!! random punctuation!!! so you always??!?!? seem!!111!! excited!!!!!11!?

Every time you’ve ever tried to make a sandcastle it has failed.

You tried to eat the sand once but we don’t talk bout that.

You would  also pick up slugs and snails and chase your friends around with them.

Can never tell whether people are laughing with you or at you and while you don’t let it show it high-key bothers you when you’re laying alone in your room at night.

Not one to hold grudges, you carry a ‘shit happens’ mentality which is v good but it sometimes leads to people taking advantage of it or walking all over you.

Your meme collection is both questionable and horrifying.

Like how many cursed images and heavily distorted pictures does one person need.

Never organise the files on your PC/laptop so it looks like a complete dumpster fire.

The one at sleepovers who persistently woke everyone else up with their snickering and refusal to sleep till dawn.

For the love of Asahi charge your damn phone.

I see that red bar and ‘12%’

Charge it now.

Bought a plant one time, gave it a name and talked to it frequently.

It died not long after bc u forgot to fucking water it.

No one better ever make you responsible for a pet.

Type of person that when someone asks you to tag along on an endeavour no matter how stupid it is you will agree.

2am skydiving in france? hell yeah.

Midnight shopping spree and spending over half your pay check? count you in.

Exploring an abandoned hospital and performing an Ouija board to summon the demons of hell? you’re damn right you’ll be there.

I hope you have a mum friend by your side bc if not how are you still alive.

You sometimes put the milk in before the cereal and it’s something I’ll never forgive you for.

Yaku:

Very responsible and usually make the right decisions.

You do have moments where you act like a complete dumbass though.

Like u go from 50 year old to 5 year old in the blink of an eye.

A hopeless romantic but it’s a side you don’t often reveal.

Prefer strawberry milk over any other flavour.

You’re the type of person to shower twice a day w/o fail.

Where that stank smell coming from? Not you clearly bc your skin is basically 90% The Body Shop’s rose scented soap at this point.

You get stomach aches a lot and you can’t figure out why.

Probably an allergy to everyone’s bs.

Really good at dirty talk even though you don’t seem the type so people are always taken aback.

You have to be really in the mood though otherwise it falls flatter than Oikawa’s ass, use your skill wisely.

You often call people clowns when you know you’re secretly the biggest one going.

Honk honk, hoe.

You send messages in one paragraph rather than multiple texts unless you are REALLY excited.

People underestimate you at times then are shocked when they realise you are capable of being a fire-breathing dragon from the flaming pits of hell.

You like spicy chicken wings.

Such a petty little shit at times lmao.

Enjoy the view from the top of mountains so you either hike a lot or really want to.

Way more of a cat person since it’s just much more convenient for you.

Usually pretty cheerful or calm and people are drawn to your stable/friendly aura.

Went through a phase of drinking mountain dew and your body still feels the awful effects

Fav element is probably air.

You’re 5′6″ or shorter.

Box dyed your hair brunette several times and can never get the pigment out to this day.

Yamamoto:

Whenever you smell something weird in the room you always internally freak out and think it’s you.

Head-butting walls is your hobby.

You fell off your bike as a kid and still have the scar on your knee.

Probably have tons of ear piercings.

Would tame a pigeon and call it Larry.

You get frequent nosebleeds and can never tell if it’s a medical issue or your extreme simping for fictional men/women.

Hopefully the latter.

You constantly chew your pen/pencil in class so you never lend them to anyone out of embarrassment.

I really hope no one ever lends you stationery bc 30 minutes later it’ll look like it was mauled by a rabid rottweiler.

You really want to own a dog and would call it something intimidating like Banshee or Diablo.

You bleached your hair that one time and it almost fell out so now you’re forced to stay at least 10 metres away from all at-home hair dye products.

You tried your best though bby so A for effort, even if it did look like dehydrated ramen afterwards.

Your grades are mostly C’s and you’re barely passing bc you just don’t care about your classes lol.

Still though you’re actually pretty smart so put it to good use you lazy oaf, channel that crackhead energy into something good.

Your phone screen has several cracks in it from when you dropped it on the bathroom floor while shitting and you’ll always be angry at yourself for that.

You have some really weird quirks but you make it work.

Actually a v chill person but you just kinda attract chaos/trouble wherever you go.

Carry a lighter with you even when you don’t need one.

Shy texter but once people see you irl you are the complete opposite, you just dk how to text without coming across as awkward.

One of those people that’s unintentionally funny and always get confused when you make someone laugh but it makes you feel good regardless.

Have a cool necklace collection and own at least one dog-tag/army style pendant.

Should really consider buying a rabbit you would look so cute w/ one.

You have really nice legs and people should compliment them more.

Either severely dehydrated or overly hydrated to the point you are peeing pure tap water so for the love of god please learn moderation, your kidneys and bladder will thank you for it.

Inuoka:

Your favourite character would be Hinata but you like people taller than you so your love for Inuoka spawned.

You really enjoy using the double spiderman meme.

Cannot correctly verbalise your feelings without creating a minimum of 10 misunderstandings but once people are used to it it’s kinda endearing.

You usually wake up in a good mood and people can never fathom how or why.

You either stay up till 5am or you wake up at that time no in between.

A morning person bc you love the sunrise.

Change your lock-screen very regularly bc you get bored.

Your humour consists solely of poop jokes.

When you don’t understand a joke you laugh anyway and hope they don’t ask you if you actually get it.

Happened once and you’re still traumatised from the cricket silence that fell upon the room.

Really like the taste of lemonade and drink it more often than you should.

Often think about what you would look like with a shaved head.

More of an extrovert but def have occasional introvert tendencies where you wanna be left tf alone.

Never allowed to pick up anything in stores bc the last time you did you sniffed a scented candle and it shattered to the floor.

Constantly have spontaneous ideas of what to change about your appearance.

You use a lot of hand gestures like thumbs up and peace signs.

‘Dude’ and ‘lmao’ is 90% of your vernacular.

Your nails are a disaster, some are down to the nub while others are pretty grown out bc you only bite a select few please sort it out.

Look really good in red.

Your laptop has way too many tabs open from random google searches of words you didn’t know the meaning to.

You read a lot of books but for like 10 minutes at a time bc you have the attention span of a walnut.

You are the type of person to nuke your AO3 tags with things that aren’t even relevant purely bc you found them funny.

Your Tumblr drafts are a nightmare, you have like 100+ in the works yet keep starting new projects why do you do this.

Happy sunshine but you have a LOT of mood swings like that shit comes out of nowhere.

Cry pretty often but no one ever sees and it’s usually because of said mood swings.

You always smile and pick yourself up again though which I commend you for.

TYPES IN CAPITALS IN SITUATIONS THAT DO NOT REQUIRE SAID PUNCTUATION SO YOU SEEM LIKE YOU’RE YELLING ALL THE TIME.

[disaster-bay-leaf]

Ok so these were the cutest~ (ㆁωㆁ)

4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 19, 22, 23, 28, 33, 34, 46, 47, 52, 59, 60, 63, 66, 83, 87, 88, 93, 99

I kno I listed like....all of them lmao but feel free to answer whichever you want and ofc you can ask me in return Baybe ( ◜‿◝ )♡

uHUHUHUHU much content for me to answer, im happy bebe 💜💜💜✨

4 - how do you take your coffee/tea?

hm coffee either Very Black No Sugar (for the sleep deprived me) or iced latte three sugars and theres no in between

and as for tea its All Black Teas That Exist, cinnamon-flavoured especially (but basically all teas that come to mind when u think “autumn”), and rooibos!!! okay basically the only oke i dont like is any type of green tea (which is sad because they look cool but my tastebuds said ✨no✨)

6 - do you keep plants?

honestly id l o v e too because i love plants but,,, im kinda horrible at taking care of them though still way better than the majority of my family (research helps) so the only plant i own is kinda a small-palm-tree-looking thing in a bigass glass jar that i saved from my mother’s plant-destructing hands and its mostly doing well (the ends of its leaves are starting to be yellow tho and im worried:((( )

7 - do you name your plants?

yes!!! though the current one was named by my sister and its called “pickett” after fantastic beasts shsjjsj

9 - do you like singing/humming to yourself?

oh god oh dude you have n o idea

i have absolutely n o singing voice but its something i do constantly to give my brain the right amount of stimuli so basically i listen to music 24/7 and hum to myself 99% of that time

12 - whats your favourite planet?

oh i actually didnt think about this for so long but either pluto (hes a planet screw nasa) or saturn (RINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) or venus (girls,,,and libra,,,)

19 - do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw in it?

okay im gonna be completely honest with yall and say that my every single try at keeping a journal failed spectacularly and i lost motivation after like a few months so my only journals rn are my fancy fake-leather-bound calendar to note tests and assessments into, a kinda roughed up notebook that i uses for noting down poems or scribbling or passing notes in class, and a kinda fancy bullet journal notebook that i used as a book of shadows for a while but since my fountain pen died i didnt touch it

22 - are you a morning person?

n o

i am so not a morning person but i wish i could be because honestly dawns are beautiful

but as it is rn im either sleep deprived all the time and loathe every second of being in an awake state or (if i have a few days of schoolbreak) my biological clock moves forward a few hours and i sleep 2am-10am

23 - whats your favourite thing to do on lazy days with zero obligations?

except for the fact that i dont remember the last time it happened, i would probably spend it drawing outside, watching anime with my sister and riding a bike around the forest

28 - sunrise or sunset?

i love sunrises because its so peaceful and everyone is asleep but also i subconsciously immediately correlate them with waiting for a train to take me to school (because thats basically the only time i see them) so its a bittersweet love especially with my fucked up biological clock

but sunsets are really really pretty too and i see them more often so i cant choose

33 - whats your fave pastry?

and isnt that a millior-dollar question dhsjjsjsj

either cinnamon rolls (i absolutely adore them) or that one specific type of cupcake-shaped-thing made out of shortcrust/bread/whatever its called and filled with vanilla pudding

34 - tell us about a stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it?

awwww this is cute

okay so basically my two favourite stuffed animals (i still have them, they sit in my wardrobe) were two teddy bears (like maybe 20cm high each of them) and one was pure brown and the other was silver-brown and they had stereotypical polish male names “Waldek” (read. Valdek) and Stefan (i think tho im not sure if i remember correctly, my memory is a feeble thing sometimes

46 - tell us the worst pun you can think of

what dog would never bite you? a hot dog *badumtss*

47 - what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

huh a year ago id say pineapple pizza but i guess i dont hate pineapples that much anymore (tho putting them on pizza is still an abomination) but i think that if id ever want to get rid of anything it would be parsley, i hate that freakin herb (does it count as food tho)

52 - what are your favourite memes of the year so far?

the ever given for sure shsjshjsjsjsjjsj

but bullying tramp stamps is gold and pure tumblr energy too

as for fandom memes: im in love with all keeping-up-with-the-todorokis variations and the fact that the entire bsd fandom looked at fukuchi and said “biTCH” and thats one of the only things we’re unanimous about

59 - whats your favourite myth?

i always liked the kora/persephone myth (though demeter is an overbearing parent to the nth power), loki and thor crossdressing at a party to get mjolnir back, atalanta because shes a queen and id politely ask her to kick my ass, and cassandra because she deserved better, and theres a l o t more because alas i was a mythology nerd but this post is long enough for me not to make this section 20 times longer sjjsjsjsjsjks

but there are a lot of slavic myths that are very cool too, though we dont know that much about them as about the greeks for example

60 - do you like poetry? what are some of your faves?

o o o o h yeah i do like poetry because to create such a beautifully sounding thing with only words someone has to be a genius

some of my favs are: some works of nakahara chuuya (thank u bsd for introducing me to this man’s beautiful imagery in his works i swear to god the descriptions do it for me) (also his poem about having hangovers is a mood like i feel you buddy), the raven by ea poe (i know everyone likes it but hOLY DAMN THE INTER/INTRAVERSE RHYMES ARE LIKE,,, BREATHTAKING) (and aso im a slut for gothic horror), and many more but also That One Poem From Welcome To Nightvale about reaching the island in the west,,, only perfect vibes from it

63 - are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organised or kinda leave them be?

okay heres the thing. for anyone else both my playlist library and my bookshelf would be considered pure chaos of a mad man b u t they actually have a highly focused system which means that i sort them based on their vibes, lovability and (in case of books) their age and whether or not theyre a part of a series so i would say my bookshelf is rather organised (when a quarter of it isnt occupying my desk that is) and my music is more organised than not but sometimes it gets out of control and i have to sort it entirely again

66 - what would your ideal flower crown look like?

either entirely constructed of simple white daisies, entirely constructed of only white roses, or something that probably would win a “how many different coloured flowers can one fit in a flower crown” competition

or something purple (maybe not belladonna)

83 - whats some of your favourite album art?

god i dont know if it counts but hozier’s wasteland baby is probably one of my absolute favourites and no one shall beat that

“thrifted youth” (dalynn) and “standard deviation” (danny schmidt) have very aesthetic covers too

also the iconic p!atd too weird to live, too rare to die! album cover,,, its just iconic what can i say

and last but not least matt meason’s pink-and-black album covers (though bank on the funeral is really pretty too but like,,, “who killed matt meason” d o e s it for me and so does the 2017 tribulation single)

87 - what are some movies that you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

this is such a hard question because im not a really cinematography-oriented gal but i suppose that (at the risk of not going deep enough into the cinema world):

- the princess bride

- inception

- night at the museum

- SPIRITED AWAY

- forrest gump

- truman show

- E.T. (i cried okay)

- the lord of the rings (because damn me if this isnt one impressive adaptation)

- parasite

and one more personal recommendation: “ready or not” with samara weaving because goddamn i dont usually watch this genre but holy s h i t is it good

93 - whats the hairstyle you wear the most?

honestly just plain hair down (because having curly hair is a menace), split in the middle when i have longer hair and split on one side when its short

also low ponytails or half-up-half-down when im exercising, or double french braids when my hair doesnt cooperate enough to look presentable in any other form

99 - list some songs that resonate with your soul whenever you hear them

this is difficult because my music taste is a goddamn rollercoaster on a good day, but heres some:

- me and the sky from “come from away” musical (this is sort of a test song for my mental stability, if i cry i aint stable)

- dancing after death by matt meason (okay most songs by matt meason except for like,,, hallucinogenics maybe)

- tears and rain by james blunt

- i will follow you into the dark by death cab for cutie

- almost home by mxmtoon

- anything by hozier really but shrike especially

- payphone, the cover by alex g (i cried to this song so many times)

- burning pile by mother mother (can i roast all my problems please)

- long way from home and cleopatra by the lumineers

- autoclave by the mountain goats

oooh that was c o o o o o o o l as fuck thank you sm so much bebe (and sorry for the long post @everyone else)

[bright-molina]

a/n dedicated to my fav @stevie-harrington! I said I’d write this for you ages ago and here it finally is omg (also, again, not my gif) 

synopsis: After moving to Hawkins the very first person you meet is Steve, the cute boy at the ice cream place who’s a terrible mess with a bad sailor’s uniform. What could go wrong?

*

You had never loved anything more than you loved the Starcourt Mall. Not necessarily because you loved the mall itself, simply because it required you to do less work in cases like this. 

It wasn’t long ago that you had moved to Hawkins and you were in need of some new room decor. And also some friends according to your mother, which is the exact reason she had recommended you head to the new mall. That was how you found yourself standing at the entrance to an ice cream parlor. You could see through the large windows that it was almost empty, save for an older couple, the guy working the register, and the girl you could see sitting in the back. You let out a relieved sigh and swung open the door, a small ding signaling your entrance into the shop.

*

Steve screwed his eyes shut tight at the sound of the bell above the door ringing. His job wasn’t that bad at first but after about two days into saying ‘ahoy!’ to every single person who walked into the store he had had enough. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that every other Friday he got a paycheck. A small one, but a paycheck nonetheless. He braced himself before spinning around to face whoever it was that had decided to ruin his brief moment of peace and quiet before the rush of people came in. 

“Ahoy!” He practically shouted before crashing right into the once spotless counter. Saying he was taken aback would’ve been an understatement. He didn’t really know who he was expecting to walk into the shop at 10 am on a weekday but you were definitely not it. 

He fumbled to pick up everything he had dropped while struggling to form a coherent sentence. Ultimately he gave up and simply let everything fall victim to gravity. “What, uh, what can I get you?” He tried desperately to not look like even more of an idiot as he let the various jars spill onto the floor. His sailor uniform didn’t do much to help his situation.

A sympathetic smile made its way onto your face as you dodged some sprinkles that had gone rolling your way. “You look like you could use a minute.” 

“No!” He all but screamed at you again and once more cursed himself silently. It didn’t help that Robin was very obviously snickering from the back room. “It, uh, it happens all the time. I’ll clean it up later” 

An amused smile replaced the sympathetic one as your gaze left him and trained onto the menu hanging above you. “You must go through a lot of toppings then if they keep falling over.” You quickly glanced in his direction only to find his eyes focused right on you. 

“Just every now and then,” Steve shrugged easily but was internally screaming at himself. This was wrong. He had never had any problem when it came to flirting with anyone at all. And yet there he was, completely flustered just by the sight of you and not knowing how to recover. 

You gave a small laugh and glanced down at the freezer that housed the ice cream in an effort to hide the way you smiled. But Steve had already seen and he gained just a little bit of his confidence back. 

“How about that one?” You pointed at a random flavor and he, Steve as his name tag read, handed you a cup filled with much more ice cream than was probably customary. You tried handing him a handful of coins and he refused to take it. 

“It’s on the house,” He told you. “My treat.” 

“Well in that case,” You spoke before he could walk away. “You should join me if you’re up for it. I could use the company.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that.” He smiled at you before telling you he’d be back and walked into the backroom for a brief moment. 

Ten minutes later he was sitting across the table from you. “You haven’t been in Hawkins long, have you?” Steve might have only known you for fifteen minutes at best but he was sure of what your answer was going to be. 

“How could you tell?” You asked as you ate another spoonful of ice cream, still not quite sure what flavor it was that you had picked. 

“Well besides all the bags,” He spared a glance towards the pile of bags on the floor before looking back to you with just the smallest hint of a smirk. “I’d remember seeing you around.” 

“Would you now?” You were amused, to say the least. Steve was forward, you’d give him that, and you weren’t exactly opposed to his advancements. Yes, he did look absolutely ridiculous in that sailor's uniform and you were almost certain that you weren’t the first girl who had walked into the store that he flirted with but you couldn’t help being curious about him. “I bet you say that to all the girls.” 

“Not a chance,” His smile was more genuine this time. He had finally relaxed enough to actually keep a conversation with you and was feeling more in his element already. “None of them are you.” 

You couldn’t help yourself. Instead of swooning like he was probably expecting, you let out a loud laugh. Any progress that Steve had made was quickly thrown out the window. Your head was thrown back, your eyes crinkled, and your smile wide. He felt a sudden warmth in his chest and had to physically look away in an attempt to hide the way his cheeks flushed. 

“You are aware that that line was incredibly cheesy, right?” Your laughter slowly died down and a small grin replaced it.

“I realized after I said it.” Steve nodded before glancing at the clock. His fifteen minute break had passed and more people were starting to come in. Very hesitantly and with a heavy sigh he sat up straight in his seat. “I should head back there.” 

“If you must,” You stood from your seat at the same time he did, picking up your variety of bags in the process. “I gotta get going anyway.” 

He slowly started walking back towards the counter again and gave you one final grin. “You should come back sometime. I mean, if you want to.” 

“I’ll think about it,” You grinned and watched as he bumped into the countertop, swore, waved, and headed into the back room. When he was gone you dug out a pen and reached for a napkin. You scrawled out a note and left it by the register before leaving the parlor. 

*

“I think this belongs to you,” Robin was shocked that somehow, someway, you seemed to actually think Steve was somewhat charming. She held up the napkin that you had scrawled your note on and he quickly reached for it. 

Your note was short and sweet. You never asked but here it is. You had signed your name underneath the note and right below that was a slew of numbers he could only assume were yours. 

“I think this was a win,” Steve finally looked up from the note, smile still present, and tucked the napkin safely into the pocket of his uniform. 

“I’ll give you half a point,” Robin uncapped the black marker and walked over to the board. “You did literally make a mess everywhere.” 

“That’s not fair,” Steve tried arguing his point. “We had a very nice conversation after that and I only looked stupid like four times.”

“Tell you what,” Robin leaned against the wall and marked half of a tally mark under the ‘You rule’ section of the board, the only mark on that side whatsoever. “If she comes back within the next couple of days without you having to call her then I’ll give you the full point. Deal?” 

Steve thought for a few seconds before answering. He was sure that you had liked him as much as he had liked you. Maybe not as much but you definitely didn’t think he was a loser, which was a huge plus. Truth be told, he was really hoping you would come back, which is the only reason he agreed. “Deal.” 

*

You came back the next day. It was a little later and there were more people but you had come back. Steve was a little shocked that you had actually returned but he greeted you with a wide smile nonetheless. He took his break a little early just like the day before and joined you in a booth. The two of you shared a sundae and talked for as long as you could. 

The week that followed happened like clockwork. You showed up, sometimes early in the day and sometimes late, bought something off the menu, and then Steve joined you. That day, though, was different. It was closing time and you hadn’t come in at all. 

“You look like a lost puppy,” Robin rolled her eyes from where she was cleaning up behind the counter. Steve was mindlessly sweeping the floor and staring out the glass doors at the now empty mall. She knew that when he didn’t retort back that he had it bad. “You could always call her.”

“Won’t I look desperate?” Steve finally looked away from the doors and finished what he had been doing. 

“A little bit,” Robin confirmed but he had already made up his mind. It killed him to admit that he had only known you for nine days, a grand total of just a few hours, but somehow he missed you. He had already made a fool of himself in front of you, he really didn’t have anything left to lose. The second he got home he would call you and hope you answered.

*

You had spent the majority of the day consoling your neighbor over the break up she had just gone through. Earlier that day you had found her sitting on the front step of her own house near tears. She was torn and you couldn’t help but try to help her. By the time you had remembered about going back to the mall, it was too late. But it had been a day well spent. 

The very last thing you were expecting was for the phone to ring right before you headed to your own room for the night. Your brows furrowed as you walked towards it and hesitantly picked it up. 

“Hello?” You had no idea at all who could be calling so late at night. But when the person spoke you recognized them instantly. 

“Y/N?”

“Steve,” You let out a small laugh as you propped yourself against the wall. “I didn’t think we were gonna talk today seeing as I didn’t stop by and you haven’t called me until just now.” 

“Well, I didn’t have a reason to. You’ve come to see me every day,” He told you confidently and you could almost see the smile on his face. “Look, I thought a lot on the drive home and I, uh,” You could also hear the hesitation in his voice. “I missed you today.” There was a pause and for a brief moment, Steve was terrified that he had messed up. 

“I missed you too.” You finally managed to say through your wide grin. 

“Hey do you,” Steve cut himself off abruptly, not sure of his next words. It was now or never. “Do you wanna go out tomorrow? With me? Like on a,” He was nervous again and you admittedly found it endearing. “On a date?” 

“How does 3:00 sound?” You gave him your answer almost immediately. Somehow he had won you over in the midst of all his rambling over the past week. “Is that okay?” 

“It’s perfect.” 

*

You were sitting on your front doorstep the next day alongside Max, your neighbor that you had spent the previous day with. She had seen you that morning and insisted on helping you get ready. Now she was waiting alongside you before heading to the mall to meet her own friends.

“You never did tell me who your date was,” Max pointed out, noticing the way you smiled just the smallest bit. 

“We, uh, met at the mall last week,” You told her. “His name’s Steve.” 

Max gasped, having just had a moment of realization. “He wouldn’t happen to work at that ice cream place, would he? Has ridiculously good hair? Like honestly it’s shocking.” 

“Yeah,” Your brows furrowed and you looked at her surprised. “Do you...know him?” 

“You could say that,” Max briefly thought of all of the events that had gone down a couple months ago. She quickly pushed them away and turned towards you, laughing a little in the process. “I can’t believe Steve Harrington is your date!” 

“Can’t believe in a good way or a bad way?” You were curious, to say the least. Right before she could tell you though, a car pulled into your driveway and Steve himself stepped out. 

“Max?” He questioned out loud, confused as to why one of his kids was sitting right next to you outside of what was presumably your house. 

“I believe we have one more mutual acquaintance, Harrington.” She nudged your side and you laughed. You leaned over, a barely noticeable smirk replacing your smile. 

“Watch this,” You told her before standing up and walking towards Steve. Max did just that, watching the way Steve’s attention turned towards you and you completely. His look of confusion turned to one of utter bliss as you leaned up and hugged him. You couldn’t see his face but Max could and he looked happy. She had only ever seen him act cocky, confident, and usually annoyed. You pulled away from him and she couldn’t quite hear what you said to him next. She had to laugh at the way Steve Harrington of all people grinned, looked away, and honest to god blushed.

“Who would’ve thought?” Max shook her head as she stood up and walked towards the two of you. “I thought you were supposed to be a real lady’s man, Harrington.” 

“Are you kidding me,” You chuckled at Max’s comment then turned to look at Steve affectionately. “He was a mess the first time I walked into the shop.” 

“I think the phrase you’re looking for is a hot mess,” He left his arm wrapped around your shoulders, ecstatic on the inside when you didn’t protest or move away. “I mean, it worked didn’t it?” 

“I guess we’ll see by tonight, won’t we?” You teased, laughing when he rolled his eyes playfully at your comment. 

“Hey so,” Max started, looking at Steve and the keys in his hand. “Since we’re all friends here,” He knew exactly where she was going with that statement. “Do you guys wanna give me a ride to the mall before you head out on your date?” 

He hesitated before answering. He was nervous enough about your date as is and really didn’t want the added pressure of Max asking questions as they drove. But the combination of Max’s pleading eyes and your smile that said ‘why not?’ was enough to make him groan loudly and motion towards the car. 

“Fine, get in.” Steve sighed and Max immediately ran to the car before he changed his mind. 

“You’re off to a pretty good start already,” You told him as the two of you followed in the direction Max had gone. 

“Am I?” Steve asked, beaming as he stood on the opposite side of the car from you. 

“You are.” You confirmed with a smile. As you got into the car and listened to Max and Steve bicker back and forth you came to a single conclusion. Living in Hawkins was going to turn out to be just fine.

[carvour]

i was tagged by @goddamnyouhyde​ to answer some shades of red asks (thanks, dude, i hate red /j). thanks for tagging! i think you probably just wanted me to answer one or two but jokes on you i’m answering all of them >:)

crimson: if you could have only one photo or poster on your wall, what would it be? > probably the original poster artwork for spiderman: homecoming. that shit looks awesome. maroon: what role do you play in your group of friends? > the lesbian. come to your own conclusions. ruby: favourite pre-2000 song? > anything chet baker. brick red: have you ever been in an abandoned building? > plenty of times! i ate lunch there during the summer with my friends (before COVID haha) when i got off of camp. merlot: do you have any unusual fears? > it might not be that unusual, but... dogs? dogs lowkey terrify me. vermilion: have you ever pulled an all-nighter? if so, tell us about the first time. > i’ve pulled an all-nighter a shit load of times, but the first time would probably have to be when i was 10 years old and i passed out for 14 hours, so i couldn’t sleep for 3 days straight afterwards. no joke, i just wasn’t tired at all. carnelian: at what point did your life change without you realising? > learning what the world asexual meant. burgundy: how often do you make your bed? what do your favourite bedsheets look like? > i almost never make them unless guests are over, to be honest. my fav bedsheets, though, are these yellow honeycomb ones with my cream-colored throw blanket overtop :) red ochre: are you inclined to watch a tv series if a lot of people on the internet are talking about it? > it depends. i usually get to a lot of stuff late in the game, so i might rediscover it myself after the hype has died down and watch it on my down time.  garnet: what’s the most expensive thing you own? > either my hoodie from cloakbrand or my computer.  sangria: to what extent do you enjoy sour candy? > i’m not a masochist, so i enjoy it on occasion.  cardinal: what is the first song that made you cry? > eleanor rigby, i was four years old and asked my piano teacher to play it on guitar after our lesson was done. she had no idea that a four year old could know what the beatles were, but she was happy to play it. blood: which of your family members is your favourite? > my cousin maggie on my mom’s side. i love both of my parents equally, but maggie and i relate way too much. rosewood: have you ever had a penpal? would you like one now? > i used to, when i was little, but i feel like pen palling would be a fun thing to get back into. scarlet: think of your favourite genre. what kind of media in that genre do you prefer - books, films, or tv series? > horror films, dystopian books, crime/mystery tv series.  carmine: do you prefer having or not having a schedule? > depends on the amount of work i have to do. persian red: answer with a picture of your dream holiday destination.

> scotland :D strawberry: what album would you love to have on vinyl? > if spies are forever could be on a vinyl, you bet your A.S.S. i would get it in a heartbeat.  claret: talk about a memorable experience on public transport. > my american history teacher getting us lost on the new york metro while traveling to a museum. fun times, fun times. i also witnessed a cello battle on the subway when i was 5 and living with my aunt. mahogany: what is your favourite musical instrument, in terms of sound? > french horn or guitar (trumpet is also pretty, but i think i’m just used to it by now.) lipstick red: if you could live one day with no one recognising you, what would you do? > commit crimes against capitalism. wine: tell us about your first experience with alcohol. > i’ve never actually drank alcohol outside of sipping my mom’s beer once. it was bitter and i hated it. cherry: thoughts on mainstream music? > if you look hard enough, you can find good things.  pomegranate: favourite and least favourite fruits? > i actually love pomegranate and strawberries! kiwi is ok, i fucking HATE honeydew and cantaloupe.  imperial: what film, in your opinion, has the best cinematography and/or special effects? > skyfall has some breathtaking cinematography, and the special effects in under the skin are upsettingly realistic in terms of how they portray the main character (i’m not going to spoil it, watch the movie yourself if you wanna know)

again, thank you for asking! i overshared a shit ton but i just like talking about things. thanks, ellis :D

[thecostumevaultblog]

I was tagged by the absolutely lovely @petegoestotown

Rules: answer 10 questions, tag 10 people and make another 10 questions.

⭐️My Questions⭐️

1. Favourite album?

Like, it changes every half a year. I get obsessed easily… Right now it’s Harry Styles’ Fine Line, but I’ve also been absolutely obsessed with Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, and Green Day’s American Idiot. I’m very eclectic in my taste…and a bit ashamed of the fact, to be honest.

2. Who were you in a past life?

I like to think I was Elisabeth of Austria (Sissi). You know the type, glamorous, rich and miserable. But, knowing my luck, I probably was just a fisherman’s wife who died of malnourishment and bad medical care during the delivery of her fifth child or something like that.

3. Airdrumming or airguitar?

Definitely airdrumming. I’m traumatized with guitar playing… and that’s a way too long story for today.

4. Where would you travel in time if you could?

Realistically, back to 2012 and go through collage again. Those were fun times.

But for funsies sake, Spain in the 1550’s just because I love the women’s fashion and England in the 1880’s for pretty much the same reason.

Big gowns are literally the only reason anyone would persuade me to go back in time. I’m pretty sure that at whatever point I went back I would end up either being burned at the stake for heresy, hanged for witchcraft or sent to an asylum for “hysteria”. I’ve never been a lucky gal.

5. Do you play a sport? Which?

Satan, get away from me! I hate all and any sports and have made a life goal never to play one.

6. What weird food combinations do you enjoy?

I don’t have any… I think. I’m pretty vanilla with my food choices. The only thing I seem to love that all non-mediterraneans I’ve meet seem to think it’s disgusting is olives. But that’s not a food combination.

7. Do you think aliens exist?

Yes, probably. But I doubt they're even remotely similar to humans. They are probably bacteria or something like that.

8. Who’s your favourite stand up comedian?

I don’t really have a favourite, because I don’t watch much stand up comedy, but I loved the bits I saw Trevor Noah do.

9. What movie or book do you know the most quotes from?

Anything by Shakespeare. I am shit at remembering book quotes. But my memory is not so bad with film. So, also Lord of the Rings, Cyrano de Bergerac and anything from the Disney Animation Studio.

10. How old were you when you had your first celebrity crush and who was it?

I was about 9, and it was Orlando Bloom. I promise it was all very innocent and pure... I was really young. *So embarrassing*

my questions ~

1. what would you put into your own created salad?

Oh, I do this all the time. I love this salad: lentils, tuna fish, olives, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, grated celery, grated beet, crab sticks and mozzarella. It’s amazing!

2. what would your call your garage band?

Loudly Whispers

3. which planet has the prettiest name in your opinion (in our solar system)?

Mercury. Don’t know why…

4. night mode or day mode on your phone?

Day mode! Night mode makes the screen look too green for me. It’s too much like the Matrix!

5. what was your fav childhood series?

It was an animated show called “Papyrus”. It was a French production, but it got translated to a bunch of different languages and I used to watch it in Catalan on TV. I just loved Ancient Egypt growing up…

6. what was the worst book you ever read voluntary?

50 Shades of Grey. Before you lose all respect for me… it wasn’t exactly voluntary… My aunt gave it to me as a present because “you said you like to read!” and I thought that it would be nice actually reading the book and be able to criticize it knowing the full extend of the thing.

7. if you could only ever eat fish or meat, what would you choose? (if youre a vegetarian:high five)

I couldn’t be a vegetarian… I would say fish.

8. if someone gave you a DVD with all the times people talked about you behind your back, would you watch it?

Oh dear! Oh dear! Don’t do this to me. I would throw it away only to get drunk thinking about what must be in there and proceed to fish it out and cry-watch it while intoxicated. And then be depressed and hating myself for watching it for a month.

9. pen or pencil?

Pen

10. whos your fav tumblr blogs? send them a nice message!

@tourdeforced, @tallulalusa, @thehowlingghost, @petegoestotown, @23-tiny-wishes, @kitty-rushes-in, @elleisforlovee, @vendelaberglin, @nails-n-glam, @weloveperioddrama, @lalilaloli, @pristina-nomine

I adore all of you and make me smile every-time you post! <3

my questions:

1. did a book or movie change your life or majorly shifted your views on a topic?

Not so much changed my life or my mind on anything… but I was really shaken after watching the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro. Like, it showed me nothing new or nothing that I didn’t think already, but it phrased it in such a poetic and yet poignant way that it absolutely shook me to my core.

2. you’re allowed to dress in the style of one youth culture only for the rest of your life, which one do you choose?

The depressed Goth… I wanted so bad to be Goth, but my mum wouldn’t let me buy the pertinent clothing to achieve it.

3. what type of gifts do you love to receive?

I’m so picky with gifts… because my taste is so niche and I’m obsessive with the most obscure things that people sort of tend to miss the mark. Still, with that in mind, I love to receive films and books as gifts, because even if it’s not about whatever topic I’m currently fixated on, there’s always something of interest in them.

I hate being gifted knick-knacks, I want thinks that allow me to find something in them.

4. do you know your MBTI type?

MBTI? What is that? Well, I guess that definitely answers your question.

5. would you like to have dinner with a time Traveller from the future or with your favourite author?

Favourite author. I don’t want to be told how humanity ends.

6. would you run your country for a year?

Nop. Not a chance. I would be terrified of being unable to fix the things I think need to change. And I’m terrified of messing up.

7. which piece of art would you like to own?

Shit. Every single one of them?

If I had to choose one, though, it would be Velázquez’s Las Meninas. Such a shame it wouldn’t fit my apartment.

8. do you have pet peeves?

There’s people who don’t? I hate when people bend the page on a book to mark it. I hate when people invite themselves to my house. I hate when people leave things out of their proper place… and many, many more.

9. which fictional character is a lot like you?

I don’t really know…mmm… I’ve been told Monica, from Friends. I’ve been told a lot I look like Leia… But I would say, Alma from The Phantom Thread if she used sass and self-depreciating humor to hide her vulnerability. Don’t really know what that says about me…

10. a quote you’d like to share:

“I will no longer mutilate and destroy myself in order to find a secret behind the ruins.” Herman Hesse

💖 MY QUESTIONS 💖

1. What’s your favourite thing to do alone?

2. What’s the thing you always carry in your purse?

3. A book or a film that stayed with you long after you finished it?

4. Have you ever gone to the movies and payed to watch a film you knew wasn’t worth it?

5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

6. What’s the one food you can’t live without?

7. Period dramas. Yay or Nay

8. What thing in your daily routine would you pay not to have to do?

9. What was the one thing you had to cancel due to the Covid Crisis that made you want to throw a tantrum?

10. What language would you like to learn?

@petegoestotown this was FUN! Thanks! I’m currently very bored and this is the perfect entertainment! Lots of love and don’t stop tagging me!

Now, the part that makes me sort of uncomfortable… I tag the usual people @tourdeforced, @tallulalusa, @thehowlingghost, @23-tiny-wishes, @kitty-rushes-in, @elleisforlovee, @vendelaberglin, @nails-n-glam, @weloveperioddrama, @lalilaloli, @pristina-nomine, please feel free to ignore me if I’m tiresome. Also, everyone else who wants to participate!

[elliot-orion]

42 - 50 for my number one Hall :P and 58 - 63 for your fav

Should have expected that ;) thank you for the asks!!! Also im super tired while writing this so sorry if it’s not super detailed or anything.

HALL

42. What makes your OC happy?

He’s got a thing for Lush. Lush makes him very happy. Also, he loves to play with his boyfriend’s hair, and he likes sparring with his sister and stuff. Also, the holiday season and getting presents for people. He loves making them happy with the Perfect GiftTM and puts a lot of pressure on himself to do it right. I don’t know how to answer this a lot of shit makes him happy okay? Sheesh it’s not just one thing. 

43. What kind of sense of humor does your OC have?

He’s got a more dry sense of humor than anything else, like Scout, which is pretty fun to play off Sparky’s chaos. He and Scout like shit-talking people in sign language, as you do. 

44. What are some things that greatly upset your OC?

people messing with his hair, people insulting his partners, when he loses control over his powers (it’s a huge fear of his), uh. He gets hella triggered by the scent of rose, and whenever someone gets sick. 

45. What are some things that annoy your OC?

being woken up before noon, not having his coffee made, people cracking their knuckles, sparky calling him Hallway, which he does specifically to annoy him of course. 

46. If your OC has them, what are some regrets s/he has?

OofTM. He regrets a lot of things surrounding his mom’s death, and the whole shit show that made him leave the military (which im not saying bc spoilers but you know what im talking about). He regrets a lot of that part of his life honestly, it wasn’t good times for him. He especially regrets the whole shadow prison debacle, and hurting Sparky.  In general, he sort of hates his powers. 

47. How easily does your OC forgive?

ahahahaha he does not forgive easily. Hall can hold a fucking GRUDGE here okay. and he WILL act on them. 

48. What are some of your OC’s vices?

He’s vain concerning his appearance, for sure. Also the whole grudge thing. He can be a huge hypocrite at times, and he’s got an awful habit of starting fights just because he likes to be in one. Oh, and his sweet tooth. He’s got an awful sweet tooth.

49. If your OC experienced trauma, what was it?

I’m not sure anything Hall experienced fully counts as trauma. His mom died but it was expected. Devastating and definitely something he still grieves over, but not traumatic I don’t think. He was in a war zone and the military for a good 4 years, but he doesn't have PTSD. Idk, there were definitely traumatic things in his life, but i don’t think they ever affected him in a severe trauamtic way, if that makes any sense? Idk what i’m trying to say here. 

50. What secrets does your OC have?

He’s a huge masochist, and part of why he loves fighting so much is the getting beat up part. There’s a reason Scout and his shtick with hits tends to be Scout removing the guy’s powers and then a brawl. Hall loves it. 

SPARKY

Come on you should have expected this, of course im doing sparky.

58. How does your OC take criticism?

Depends on who it is. If it’s a stranger or someone he doesn’t care about then he just laughs. A whole “sounds like a you problem bc i dont care” thing. If it’s someone he cares about, then that’s when the ADHD RSD hits (rejection sensitivity disorder, look it up especially if you have ADHD, a wholeeeee lota shit will make more sense trust me)

59. What does your OC think of him/herself?

I’m not sure how much he fully thinks of himself honestly? Largely, he doesn’t fully care about himself, he doesn’t take care of himself like. at all. Like, he was starving himself, not intentionally, but just knowingly not doing anything to fix it you know? I dont think that stuff is out of self loathing though, i think he just doesn't give enough fucks about himself to care. When it comes to his powers and strength though, he’s a cocky little fucker. 

60.  your OC could change one thing about him/herself, what would it be?

I think he’d want to change his impulsivity. You’d think it’d be how loud electricity is but I actually think he’d be really upset if he didn’t have the relationship with it that he does. But his impulsivity tends to hurt people, especially Scout, and it gets him into trouble a LOT. like a LOT and some of those times are really sticky situations he’d rather not be in, you feel?

61. What is the general impression your OC gives other people?

Chaotic, but overall harmless. They usually regret thinking that. 

62. How emotionally/mentally vulnerable is your OC with other people?

Not at all. Sparky has so many goddamn walls put up that its really shocking to him that Scout and Hall got through, and even after they are dating he still closes himself off all the time. He hates being vulnerable. 

63. How does your OC display love?

Sparky shows it more in the little ways, I think. He seems really brash and like he doesn’t care or pay attention, but he shows he loves people in the small ways, like making extra frosting because he knows Hall loves the sugar and noticing he always uses the same set of pens and getting them for him. Or like, hacking a camera at a theater so Scout can watch his favorite play with subtitles and finding out that Scout has bad allergies when he starts cooking, but not actually digging into their pasts. He’ll do these tiny, easily overlooked things, without really realizing how big they are even, because big gestures or saying how much he loves people is really difficult for him, and he just can’t do it.

Thank you again!!!

[skywalkerbc]

Mads’ massive bellarke rec (pt.1)

So I’ve been asked a couple times to make a bellarke fanfiction rec list so here it is! (Okay so I realised that I had way too many bc our fandom is filled with so many talented authors so even though this is actually massive, there will be several parts)

(Also- I don’t know everyone’s tumblrs so if you know any of these author’s tumblr accounts, please lmk so I can link them properly!)

In no particular order, here are some of my all time fav blarke fics:

~

MODERN-VERSE AUS

I dreamed you a sin (and a lie) by monroeslittle

“If I do this,” Blake said, “how are you imagining it’s going to work? I can’t just knock on his door, and say I want in again. It’s been eleven years. And even before I left, I never cared about the business. Do you have a plan? You say you want me to open the door for an agent. How? What’s that mean?”

“You’re going to get in touch with your grandfather again at your wedding,” Clarke said.

He stared.

“I hope you don’t have a girlfriend, Mr. Blake.”

fake!married AU. Clarke's in the FBI, Bellamy's the grandson of a mobster, and they've got to work together.

~

Lines in the Sand by @fen-ha-fuck-you

“You looked like you were gonna hurl when you got up,” Raven said, pausing for a moment. “I’m not sure this is better.”

Clarke shook her head minutely, finally looking up at herself in the mirror. She quickly wiped away the tears that had fallen. She hadn’t even noticed. “I’m fine.”

“No,” Raven replied, her eyebrows scrunching together. “You’re not.”

“I just… had a little too much to drink. That’s all.”

“That why you’re strangling that poor sink?”

~

i’m not asking much of you by emmylou

When Clarke gets invited to her ex's wedding- her CHEATING ex's wedding- she knows she can't go alone. She's not dating anyone, so she has to find a boyfriend, real or fake, fast. Luckily, Octavia knows just the guy.

~

I’d Promise You Everything (But I’m Not Sure How Much Good There Is In That) by @talistheintrovert

Bellamy has never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but Clarke outright hates it. Her father died at the start of February when she was in high school, she found out her first boyfriend was cheating on her two weeks later, and then almost exactly a year after that, her girlfriend dumped her to travel around Asia.

But now they're in their 20s and Bellamy finally admitted that he loved her a few months ago. He knows this is the real thing and he absolutely knows that she feels the same way, but he also knows how miserable Clarke gets around Valentine's, and he's determined to cheer her up this time.

~

hold me in your beating heart by amberwoods

He’d got out of bed and walked to the nursery to console his youngest child. When he’d been shushing and cradling her for about twenty minutes, he noticed a silhouette hovering in the door opening. Clarke.

“I’ve got her,” he’d said softly, his voice rough with sleep, “Go back to bed.”

She just stood there. When he took a closer look, he noticed she had a strange expression on her face. She was looking at Madi.

“Clarke?” he asked carefully.

~

And There’s a Hand My Trusty Friend by Who_Needs_Reality

He sighs dramatically. “Can’t believe you’re not gonna let me kiss you until next year.” That sends a sudden, sharp jolt of sadness through Clarke, the realisation that they’re going to be spending another day spent pretending that she’s not his; it means ushering in their first year together… by, well, not being together.

Or, {NYE fluff where Bellamy and Clarke are together, but since they're keeping it a secret from their friends, they run into an unforeseen complication.}

~

A Little Bit of Something (God, It’s Better Than Nothing) by @grumpybell

“-Clarke.” He sounds alarmed, suddenly, none of the casual, arrogant, amusement that had been in his voice moments before. “What?” “Why is your mom calling me?” “Shit. Don't answer that. Listen, okay. She and I kind of got into an argument today-” “-what else is new?” “Shut up. Anyway, she told me she's getting married and there was just so much subtext about my failure at relationships and my lack of love life, and I might have told her I'm engaged too.” There's silence on the other end of the phone. “To you,” Clarke prompts.

~

I Don’t Need Your Love (I Just Need You Now) by @talistheintrovert

“What was the worst part?” Raven asked.

“Probably when he shoved me against a wall and stuck his tongue down my throat,” Clarke admitted, sipping her hot chocolate, which she quickly realised was spiked with rum. God, her friends were perfect.

Octavia and Raven both gasped, but it was Bellamy’s reaction that she found the most interesting. He didn’t say anything, didn’t look up from his book, or even alter his expression, but his hand balled into a fist on the arm of his chair.

OR: The AU where Clarke and Bellamy hate each other until Bellamy realises she's being mistreated, and does his best to protect her.

~

Come Close (And Then Even Closer) by sheryl_sems

Clarke thinks about Octavia and how her best friend had stormed out of the house earlier that day, furious at Clarke for taking her brother's side in their argument. She thinks about Raven, and Monty, and Jasper, and Wells, and Lincoln but in the end, she really only wants one person by her side and it's fruitless to fight herself on this one.

"Could you call Bellamy?" She finally says in a soft, hoarse whisper.

Or the one where Clarke is attacked and the only person she wants by her side in the aftermath is Bellamy Blake.

~

You Look Like a Movie. You Sound Like a Song. by lordmxrphy

She knows shouldn’t care. She and Bellamy were never together. They never dated. But for as long as Clarke can remember, Bellamy’s held her heart. Even if he’ll never know it.

(a modern au inspired by when we were young by adele)

~

What We Do to Each Other by marauders_groupie

A Bellarke AU in which Bellamy and Clarke are childhood best friends, separated by life and trying to relearn each other again.

~

A Symbol of Goodwill And Love by LayALioness

“So when you said we need a good tree, you meant,” he hedges, and she huffs, little clouds of steam escaping her mouth.

“One that needs a good home,” she says, like it’s obvious. “Shopping for a Christmas tree is like going to the pound—you don’t look for a purebred at the pound, Bellamy. You look for the puppy with a missing eye, or mange. One that needs us.”

“If this is code for wanting us to get a puppy,” Bellamy muses, reaching out to tug on the tassels of her hat. “I think we should probably live together, first.”

~

We Have to Stop Meeting Like This by @goldenheadfreckledheart

Tumblr prompt: “We both have friends who party too hard and we keep running into each other in the bathroom while we hold their hair back.”

Aka, the three times Bellamy and Clarke meet each other while taking care of their friends + the one time they don’t.

~

Christmas Sweaters by lightyears

Clarke's upset that she won't fit into her Christmas sweater this year. Bellamy surprises her with a new one.

~

Ladylike by Who_Needs_Reality

Bellamy stares at her. "You want me to make out with you. Platonically."

Clarke very resolutely does not panic. "Do it for the views, Bellamy."

(Or, an AU in which Clarke works for a Buzzfeed-esque company, and has to kiss someone in order to test lipstick durability for a new video. Feelings and decidedly non-platonic nonsense ensue.)

~

Love Is Not a Victory March by @asroarke

“You could have been here four years ago,” she reminded, raising her eyebrows at him.

“No, I couldn’t have. I needed to be here with you,” he replied, and Clarke felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. It wasn’t the first time he said something like that, of course. But it caught her off guard every damn time.

“Was it worth the wait?”

“Yes, you were,” he replied, and how could Clarke not kiss him after that?

Olympics AU where a knee injury kept Bellamy and Clarke from making it to the Olympics... the first time around.

~

the tie that binds me to you by glowinghorizons

“we’ve been pen pals for like hella months and we finally decided to meet up and damn you’re cute, also did you break up with your jerk bf/gf yet?” au

or:

bellamy and clarke finally meet after months and months of hand-written letters, phone calls and text messages.

~

you bring me honeysuckle by caramelle

It suddenly strikes Bellamy, one day, that his girlfriend is in possession of what has to be the best hair in the entire cosmos.

Or, the one where Bellamy's fixation with Clarke's hair is totally normal and healthy.

~

Walk With Me by arysa13

Bellamy is pretty sure you aren't supposed to hit on the people you're supposed to be getting home safely, but he kind of wants to anyway.

Prompt: Bellamy works at safe walk and Clarke keeps falling asleep studying. And is the last one to leave the library every night!

~

Sugar, Spice, and All Things Nice by Who_Needs_Reality

Clarke just really wants a peppermint mocha. Breaking into the apartment of her ex, with whom she may-or-may-not still kind of be madly in love, is an unplanned side effect. Mostly.

Based on the prompt "listen i know i can’t just show up at your apartment at six in the morning but i need coffee and no one makes it like you do”

~

time flies but you’re the pilot by @onemanbellarmy

“Wait a minute, your new art teacher is Clarke Griffin?”

Gus paused to consider. “I think so?”

A huff of a surprised laugh escaped Bellamy. He hadn’t talked to Clarke since college.

(or, single parent x child's teacher AU)

~

the girl next door by funfanfin

The first time he hears her, he’s making his grandmother’s afritada recipe, a dish that reminds him of long, lazy, hot summers in the Philippines.

The first time he learns her name is on a Tuesday so ordinary and average he wouldn’t have remembered it otherwise.

The first time he realizes he loves her is during the early hours of a cool morning, with her curled into his side.

-OR-Bellamy hears singing from the apartment next door. It isn't long before he meets the girl behind the smoky, haunted voice, and it isn't long before he learns the reasons for her sorrow-filled singing.

~

only fools rush in by @chants-de-lune

based on the tumblr prompt:

"just drove a guy home from a bar and for the whole 15 minutes he talked about how excited he was to see his wife"

~

the fuzziest of woodland creatures by tempestaurora

“it’s 2 in the morning and i was just trying to get home but i left my sunroof open all day and now there’s a squirrel in my car and it scared me and i drove into a pole – would you please stop laughing you’re a cop. you’re supposed to be helping”

~

Settling Debts by indygoh

"Um. Thank you. You didn't have to," she peeked up at him, suddenly shy for some reason. "I can pay you back."

Bellamy just chuckled, already shaking his head before she could finish her sentence.

"I've got a little sister. She probably would have kicked my ass if she found out I didn't do something to help you out back there."

Clarke raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Do you always rescue strange girls in desperate need of tampons?"

"Only the really cute ones with crowns on their butts."

~

when love hits (better make it worth the fall) by kay_emm_gee

Summary: Four times Clarke gets hit on the head (+1 time she doesn't) during her last semester of high school, and every single time, Bellamy Blake is somehow involved.

~

Turn the tide on my losing side by Lalalli

Clarke doesn’t know why Thelonius Jaha keeps posting really random shit to her Facebook wall, but whatever. It’s fine. It was weird at first, but she’s used to it now.

And then Bellamy gets involved and it gets weird again.

~

My Soft Place to Land by Who_Needs_Reality

Bellamy's happy to be back. He's even happier to see who's waiting for him.

{Or, soldier!Bellamy comes back home after being deployed and meets someone special}

~

We Keep it a Secret (You Leave Me Dying to Know) by @ringsabellamy

Bellamy doesn’t claim to be the greatest at dating, especially considering he’s been quietly in love with his best friend for the past six years, but hey, at least he’s been /trying/ to get over her. Not, of course, that this current situation is helping.

Or: Bellamy just asked Clarke to fake being his girlfriend for one date, honest. But then things got a little...out of hand.

~

If You Like Your Coffee Hot by marauders_groupie

They haven't been friends for a very long time but Bellamy still can't ignore Clarke acting out and getting into fights when she was a model student just a few months ago. They might’ve kept each other at distance for years but she is still his first best friend.

~

Calm my tears, Kill these fears by @goldenheadfreckledheart

Prompt: I somehow always get you as a cashier at Walmart and it's always when I’m buying the weirdest shit at the weirdest time. “A head of lettuce at 3am?” "It's a long story”

~

bit of a disaster, aren’t we? by katsumi

Clarke breaks her ankle and really would prefer that Bellamy not find out about it. She has a feeling he's going to get mad. (She's right.)

~~~

CANON-VERSE AUS

Meet Me in the Morning by monroeslittle

“I guess one of us is messed up,” he said, “and it’s part of our hallucination that the other is, too.” He paused. “Seems appropriately hellish that my mind sticks me with you.”

She pursed her lips. “Likewise.”

AU. Clarke is trapped in a stupid time loop, and guess who's trapped with her?

~

I Miss Our Little Talks by @chants-de-lune

“Wow,” she breathed out. “I thought that one would have done me in.”

Bellamy didn’t smile, shaking his head and taking the slightest edge of coldness off his glare.

“You took a bullet for me.” he said through gritted teeth. “Don’t ever do that again.”

~

Today is Dying by theprincessandtheking

“Look, sorry, but it’s an emergency,” Harper said, eyes firmly fixed on the wall ahead of her.

The tea he’d downed at the bar was still in his system, as evidenced by the way the room spun when he reached for his shirt a few feet away and struggled to pull it over his head.

“So much of an emergency that you couldn’t knock?”

“It’s Clarke.”

~

That I Will Never Escape by @talistheintrovert

“Execute me; I poisoned you. Let Clarke live."

“Very well,” Octavia raised a hand and a soldier with a gun pointed it down at him. He steeled himself for the bullet that would end his life, but before it left the chamber, Clarke yelled out.

“No!”

He jumped, surprised, when she moved suddenly, and he registered in his periphery as she snatched the sword from the floor and spun it in her hand deftly.

“Clarke, what are you doing?” Bellamy frowned, his gaze switching to her, but a part of him already knew. His body was reacting to it before his brain could catch up – he felt his breath catch in his throat, and his heart-rate speed up.

~

we were nothing more than stardust by cresswell

"I'm going to kill that bastard," he says quietly, bent close to Clarke's ear. "He's not going to touch you again, and I'm going to kill him."

Her pinkie finger extends, brushing the waistband of his jeans, and he carefully pushes their palms together, lacing their fingers. He thinks she smiles in her sleep.

~

Love is Not a Whisper (or a weakness) by monroeslittle

"There was a strange, muffled snap, and the tentacle around her middle was retracted. The hold on her ankle was gone, and Bellamy was pulling her up through the water. She began to pump her arms, and they broke the surface; she gasped, and coughed.

He pressed a gun into her hand. “If you see a ripple, shoot,” he ordered."

AU. The dropship doesn't land on land. The next seven years are a little bit different.

~

Astraphobia by @chants-de-lune

The fear of thunder and lightning. In other words, rainy day cuddling with a bit of angst.

~

Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat by islabbe

There was blood everywhere; some of it red, but most of it was black. Bellamy wrinkled his nose at the metallic smell as it filled his nose. Pushing down the reflex to gag, he quickly made his way over to the tent.

“Clarke, stay with me,” he said gruffly, his voice straining as bent down to enter hers and Madi’s tent. She was drifting in and out of consciousness and Bellamy knew the longer he dawdled, the less time she had.

~

We Can’t Leave Us Behind by @ringsabellamy

"I don’t blame you for that, not anymore. I understand why you had to leave. But it still hurt, Clarke. And I guess...I think your goodbye reminds me of how I felt. Of what it was like to lose you.”

“The kiss,” she says, eyes full of sudden realization. “You think when I kiss you, it means I’m going to leave you.”

Or: Bellamy has a lot of healing to do, one try at a time.

~

Set The Dark On Fire by @talistheintrovert​

Clarke isn't coping well with peacetime on the Eligius ship, and while Bellamy has woken some of the others (mainly spacekru) and tries to organise a trip to the ground, making decisions and considering all the variables, Clarke makes a choice of her own:

She'll take herself out of the equation.

OR: the post season 5 idea I had to write because all of the unresolved emotional turmoil this season is actually killing me and someone needs to notice that Clarke is in pain, for the love of god.

~ 

for everything unsaid (there is a flourish of my pride) by theprincessandtheking

“I don’t know,” he says. “I guess I just didn’t really care either way anymore.”

She pauses, and from the corner of his eye he can see the odd expression on her face.

“So in the middle of wartime, when everything is going to hell around us, shaving is still a priority. But you spend six years with all the free time in the world for it, and suddenly you don’t care?”

He tries to smile at the joke, but he thinks it comes out as more of a grimace.

“I guess down here it was more of a sense of normalcy,” he explains. “But with you gone—”

He pauses, clears his throat in an attempt to keep his voice steady.

“Without you there, nothing really felt normal.”

~

I can never be alone when all gods keep calling me out by angel_deux

Raven fixes the radio after a few years, and Clarke can talk to them again.

~

they will see my strength (in this love i’ve found) by glowinghorizons 

“If you’re married they won’t let you go alone.”

The silence is deafening. Bellamy braces himself for the slap he knows is going to come his way any second, but it never happens.

“You--” she sounds breathless. “You don’t even know me.”

Bellamy shrugs. “Look. I-- this is crazy. I know. I just know that I can’t let my sister go to the ground without me.”

OR, Clarke finds out she's being sent to the Ground only days after her Dad dies. Bellamy is determined to go to the Ground with his sister. They need to fool everyone to make it work.

~

Like a Second Heart by Who_Needs_Reality

She’s hardly surprised, the first few times it happens. The hallucinations are vivid, but not long, not much, just short, staccato bursts of him, tiny pieces to keep her going -- his hand extended out to her to help her up from the rubble, his voice a soothing murmur in her ear telling her she’ll be alright until she finds water… of course she sees him, of course she hears him. It’s Bellamy -- who else would her mind conjure up to help her survive? There are worse symptoms praimfaya has left her with than a few too-real imaginings of her best friend after all.

{Clarke's not worried when she starts to hallucinate Bellamy. It's only when the dreams continue to haunt her even after the real Bellamy comes back that she's concerned}

~

We Sure Know How to Run by winterwaters

While attempting to get Jaha farther from the AI and the nuclear warhead, Clarke, Murphy and Emori run into trouble from another tribe and Clarke is injured. Bellamy and his group happen to be following that tribe and help take care of her. On the way home, she confronts her feelings for Bellamy - with a bit of help from Emori.

~

darling, just hold my hand by killianslonghaul

“I know you don’t like public displays of affection, but… you’re really not going to kiss me goodbye?”

or

Bellamy doesn't really do PDA, but he might make an exception.

~

baby on board by katebishop 

As a soon-to-be father, Bellamy thinks he's feeling the appropriate amount of worry and concern for his pregnant wife.

Clarke thinks he's utterly ridiculous.

~~~

Other AUS

Forbidden Words by onceuponahundred 

we’re in between classes, and we both hear a fourth year calling a first year a mudblood, and neither of us are having any of that prejudiced bullshit. unfortunately, my impulse was to hex them, and yours was to punch them in the face, and my jelly-legs curse hit you instead, i’m really sorry, and we both are probably getting detention now, but hey, plus side, you’re kind of cute

{Bellarke in Harry Potter}

~

Name One Hero Who Was Happy by Who_Needs_Reality

Clarke huffs again, and he glances at her.

“The Curse of Achilles, Bellamy? Do you know how risky that was?”

“I got the idea when I felt my soul being torn from my body.”

She sniffs, imperious. “How did you do it?”

“Huh?” Her voice is smaller when she speaks again. “How did you...not get your soul...y’know?”

“Oh,” he swallows. “I had some help.”

{Bellarke in a Percy Jackson/The Last Olympian AU}

~

Don’t Think I Want What I Used to Want by arysa13 

Bellamy has a compass that points to what his heart most desires, which, as a pirate, must be treasure, obviously.

~

can’t control my feelings, can’t control my thoughts by katsumi

When Jasper accidentally gifts Clarke a love potion, everyone she interacts with starts acting...weird. Everyone, that is, except Bellamy. [Hogwarts AU]

~~~

[beg-for-it-black]

LDWS Week 1 Voting

Guys! Voting is HERE! As of right now, voting will stay open until Monday at 6pm EST. You all have 1 vote for most favorite and 1 vote for least favorite drabbles. Participants are encouraged to vote, but you may NOT vote for yourselves! I should explain a bit more how this works, I guess. The winner isn't decided by whoever gets the most most fav votes. Each most fav vote gets +1. Each least fav gets -1. Once those are tallied, a winner will be determined. If there's a tie, there will be a tie breaker so that there is one winner and one person eliminated. Please, try not to vote on a drabble just because you like a pairing. Take into account the quality of the writing and how well it fits the prompt! When you vote, just send me a message stating the number and the title of the drabbles. Do not send messages on anon. The prompt this week was "Well that was a bad idea" and had to be between 440-450 words.

[carmintros]

@livxtcs​     /     ❛   ｡   ✩   ﾟ my eyes are probably playing tricks on me again, but is that really  candice king? oh, wait, it’s just  olivia wright. yes, that  twenty-seven  year old  cafe owner, who i am pretty sure is a  local. according to the talk of the town, she is  incredibly  stubborn & bossy, yet undeniably  loyal & resilient. that is precisely  warm sunsets, smell of freshly made coffee, classic feminine pieces of clothing, motherly advice, orange & honey perfume remind me of them so much, but then again you know what they say about tauruses, we’ll see how that one turns out !   penned by clara  /  gmt+2 & she / her

✦ olivia has always been the quintessential girl next door during her youth and adolescence growing up in carmel. she was the middle child of the wright clan, followed by an older brother and a younger sister, raised in a healthy middle-class family who, for the most part, got along. her childhood was great, as she would put it, before tragedy struck when her father passed away when she was only eight. it wasn’t easy coping with that loss, but the family became tighter than ever ; each other’s biggest supporters and friends through everything.

✦ for twelve years that she attended school, olivia was definitely considered popular by her peers. rarely in a sour mood and with a smile that could melt any heart, she enjoyed being surrounded by people and growing up in a small town. however, she was also a little too feisty and stubborn for her own good, especially when she truly believed she was in the right ; which was often.

✦ despite her homely upbringing, everyone knew that she was destined for great things from the moment they met her. she simply had that spark of determination in her eyes, and combined with a great voice, there was barely anyone who didn’t believe she’d move in a bigger city and make something of herself after graduation. not even her high school boyfriend posed as a threat when they were both adamant on getting there together.

✦ with bags packed and plane tickets in hand, the couple made their way to the big apple to chase their dreams. however, it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies in the span of four years, and while olivia did make an EP that slowly started to get noticed, it was her private life that began to take a different turn. while she always considered him to be her happily ever after despite how much it was obvious he wasn’t, he ended up leaving her in the middle of the night after getting a great business opportunity in london, with the infamous ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line.

✦ as fate would have it though, at the time, olivia wasn’t aware she was pregnant until it was too late and there was no way to turn back time. with a broken heart and shattered dreams, she moved back to carmel while struggling to determine whenever or not she was fit to be a single mother but the second she laid her eyes on her baby girl, she couldn’t of been more sure. with the support of her family, olivia decided to stay and devote her life to her daughter ; later on even opening a cafe with her brother’s financial help that she named central perk.

✦ years passed and her friends-inspired cafe became one of the most popular tourist and local spots in town, which prompted her to buy a place of her own near the beach where she focused solely on motherhood and her business. it was a bit interesting to the one’s who were aware how big of a romantic she was that she simply refused to find love again, but given everything, it was somewhat understandable.

✦ and finally, some fun facts!! olivia is a huge coffee addict (which is a given), wears glasses for reading or when she needs to handle paperwork, cleans when frustrated, loves to cook for her friends and family, doesn’t tolerate nonsense and is quick to give you a smartass comment to a stupid question, gives excellent advice, hates admitting she’s wrong, a total momma bear, can do her make-up even drunk, still cries like a baby when mufasa dies and susan forgets about narnia, likes having a glass of wine every night before bed, excellent at bar games, her favorite perfume has a scent of orange&honey which reminds her of christmas(her fav holiday), monica geller is her spirit animal !!

wanted connections

candice king  *  olivia wright is looking for an older brother(27+) and younger sister(23+) with the fc of any blonde m/f that could pass as candice’s siblings. if you’re interested you do not have to message the player to discuss the particulars first. you can find the mun at livxtcs , optional : these muses are her ultimate best friends. they kind of have that ross/monica relationship from friends aka they fight like any siblings would, but in the end of the day there’s nothing they wouldn’t do for each other.

candice king  *  olivia wright is looking for a high school sweetheart/baby daddy(27-29) with the fc of any male fc. if you’re interested you do not have to message the player to discuss the particulars first. you can find the mun at livxtcs , optional : someone local from carmel that she began dating her junior year of hs. they were inseparable ever since and even moved to nyc together after graduation for each to pursue their own dream. however, while olivia always thought he was the one she would eventually marry, he had doubts and it all resulted in him leaving one night after getting a great business offer in london, breaking her heart after 5-year-long relationship. but as fate would have it, shortly after that olivia found out she was pregnant and after being unable to reach him, decided to move back home.

[p-and-p-admin]

Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group.  (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Aurette and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for letting us get to know you a little better.

I'm deeply honoured to be asked.

A true titan in the world of SS/HG fic, many of our readers will have broken their hearts over your story The Tattered Man.

Okay, let’s jump right in.

What's the story behind your pen name?

Honestly, it was a whim. Long before I thought of writing, I needed a login name to read fanfic. It was a play on Auror. I had no idea it was an actual name.

Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most?

Hands down, Snape. I know that might sound strange, but he was the one that clicked. My niece introduced me to the books. Being in my 30s at the time, I already had kids of my own, so I didn't identify as one of the students. I loved Harry from the start but he had this uncanny ability to keep being wrong about nearly everything. The character who best expressed adult annoyance with that was Snape. And I do love a good jerk. Snape was a jerk.

Do you have a favourite genre to read? 

I'm a sucker for fantasy and science fiction. I hated reading as a child. All there was available when I was a kid was Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys and it was insipid. I glommed on to mythology early but once I'd read all the books in my library on the subject, I gave up reading at all. That was about 4th grade. Children's books in the 70s were total garbage and YA books only had one author: Judy Bloom.

Ironically, my first job was working in a bookstore. It was a college bookstore, so it was all textbooks. I wasn't even a student, so I had no interest in any of them. One semester. A Lit prof assigned Fahrenheit 451. The cover art caught my eye and I read the blurb. Then started reading the book. I finished it in about 5hrs. It blew my mind. I had no idea writing like that existed. And the book was about someone discovering the value of books. It was intellectual Inception waaaaay before that was a thing.

After that, it was like a switch flipped in my head. I sucked up books air. I was never without a book or two. Or three...

Do you have a favourite "classic" novel?

Obviously Fahrenheit 451. I'm going to go ahead and say Les Miserables as well. I was in my 30s when I finally read it and sobbed like a baby at the ending. The care and tenderness Hugo showed when portraying these disposable lives were so unique for that age. Sadly, even today. A lot of our culture is wrapped around the belief that only the wealthy have value and beauty is a pathway to wealth. The poor and ugly are a constant plague to be shunned or dealt with, not humans with crushed dreams that deserve to be valued in their own right. Look at how often fanfic recreatesSnape as handsome or Hermione as gorgeous. Those are always the least interesting stories. (hops off soapbox)

At what age did you start writing?

Whatever age I was when I wrote Safe House. Probably 40ish? That terrible little fanfic is literally the first thing I ever wrote beyond shopping lists and emails. It's an ugly child, but my first, so I love its pointy head. I intentionally leave it up so new writers can see my learning curve. No one starts out good. Read my stories in reverse chronological order and you'll see they get a little worse each time. That's how much I grew as I learned the craft.

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Reading tons of it. I was at a total loss after the book Deathly Hallows came out and it was all over. Reading it had become an event in my house. My husband and I would snatch the book out of each other's hands "You've had it long enough. My turn." And then there were no more...

I couldn't even tell you how I found fanfic, but it kept me sane. I keyed in on SS/HG because at the time there was a noticeable difference in the talent level in that ship. I must have read SS/HG fanfic for a solid 2 yrs before I took a leap and wrote my own. I was inspired by the amazing stories, but also by the crappy ones.  "Heck, I could do better" became its own form of allowance. So I had a small 'what if' and just went for it. Of course, it was crap, everyone's first is. But taking the leap and writing it was a huge thing for me to have done.

What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works?

I'm a sucker for a story where characters overcome emotional adversity, both external and internal. If you squint. You'll see that theme repeated throughout my fics.

What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter?

None. Nothing else ever grabbed me as a sandbox I wanted to play in before or after HP.

If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon?

Gosh, I don't think I would change a thing about JK Rowling's work. Things I would change would only be me forcing her story to fit my preferred ideal. However, if you think about it, her world, the good and the bad,  challenged all of us to churn out 100,000+ what ifs. Some out of anger. Heh.

As for fav piece of fanon, probably that Malfoy jr was Snape's godson. He's totally not, but whoever started that created a great layering of the dynamic between them that you can share in so many tones.

Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet?  

I was a stay-at-home mom when I was writing most of my fanfics, so I wrote in a chaotic and very noisy environment. I didn't listen to music when I wrote, but music was often the inspiration. When I would get stuck in writing, I would leave it and go listen to music that was emotionally similar to where I wanted the story to be while I thrashed out plot points. Colossus by Afro Celt Sound System is amazing for plotting a prelude to a battle.

What are your favourite fanfictions of all time?

Gosh, there are so many. Sadly, many of the authors who first inspired me are gone and pulled their fics off the web, like my fanfic bestie Dressagegrrrl. I would have to call out Pet Project by Caeria as the one I found most inspiring.  Anything by ApolloniaV is pretty high up there in my book. There are dozens I'm forgetting. There was one called Resurrection Man about Snape accidentally creating a hilarious Zombie apocalypse. Best. Fic. Ever. It disappeared from the web when the author moved on. An incredible loss.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process?

Total pantser. The obvious effect is to drive the story right off a cliff and be unable to salvage it. It's why I vowed to never start posting until I had a rough draft ending. Too many dead stories waiting for an ending that never came. But an outline for me is a killer in disguise. I lose interest in telling the tale because I already did in the outline. The fun part is over. Sitting at a keyboard typing your fingers off, while muttering, "What the hell are these people doing? Who's writing this stuff?!" is an amazing experience.

What is your writing genre of choice?

In fanfic, I ran with every genre there was. Mostly I wanted to see if there was one I couldn't tackle.  Most of my o-fic is a hard-to-define mishmash of fantasy and sci-fi. I want to write romance, but it always turns into something complicated and angsty that no longer fits the box.

Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why?

The Tattered Man.

Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote?

It came off exactly as I'd planned in my head. A rare occurrence for me.

What did you learn from writing it?

I could make people cry with my words. Up to that point, I'd made readers laugh and yell and blush, but to get a reader to the point of actually weeping? That's not easy. JK Rowling did it with ease. It was a challenge.

How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write?

It's very personal. My father had just died.  He'd had cancer, and it might have got him in the end, but what actually killed him was being sent home with a feeding tube and the wrong instructions. None of the homecare nurses realized the mistake until his kidneys shut down. It was devastating. When I next took up writing, I was still hurting so I tried to make others feel what I felt at a death that didn't have to be. It was crazy easy to write. I wrote it all in one day. Based on the reviews, I achieved my goal. It helped me work through my loss. Pretty sure I gave a few readers PTSD. My bad.

What books or authors have influenced you?

My all-time favourite book is Iain M. Banks' Use of Weapons. Definitely a classic among the eighteen people in the United States that read it. The man was a shockingly gifted author and I was devastated when he passed away. His ability to just drop you into the action from the first page and not bother to explain what's going on is sadistic genius.

How do you think that shows in your writing?

It led to my belief that a writer is always better when they assume their readers are smart. Grab their interest and just run. They'll catch on and even pass you with their theories of what's going to happen next. I've no patience with stories that spell out everything in minute detail. They're tedious and insulting. Less really is more. On the other hand, writing over your reader's head is just as annoying. Intentionally using obscure SAT words in your story just makes you a pretentious twat. Unless your character is a pretentious twat and it's part of the dialogue.  In that case, twat away. *gigglesnort*

Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction?

My family all knew. They were tremendously supportive. Especially Mr. Aurette, my personal Snape. Outside of my family, I was less forthcoming. Mostly because it was so crazy hard to explain. I think it's a lot less weird now, but back then? It was far more stigmatized.

How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"?

That's a hard one. For someone who'd never tried to write a story before, it was an amazing journey to realise what I could do. That changed me forever. Having the instant feedback of reviews was intrinsic to that experience. The downside is you can get sucked into writing for reviewers, and they will tell you clearly what they want and expect.  That can stifle. I knew no one wanted The Tattered Man to end the way it did. I was pretty terrified of the reaction. But it's what I wanted. It was the entire point. I wrote that ending for myself, but I cowered after posting.

How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media?

I absolutely loved interacting with my readers. I made some real-life friends and some really great fic buddies all over the world. I watched them become friends in reviews too. It was a really great experience. Spam-posting a fic would often take on a festival atmosphere. Unfortunately, when my review count started to really take off, I couldn't cope with the sheer numbers the same way. There weren't enough hours on the day to reply to everyone. Trying to personalize my response to a review grew overwhelming. I actually grew quite depressed over it. Connecting on a more removed, professional level seemed cold. I connected the most on Livejournal when that was a thing. But I had to back off. "Aurette" became far more witty and wonderful than I was in real life. Everyone wanted a piece of her. I couldn't keep up with the bitch. Lol.  I faded away from most interactions on social media out of self-preservation. Even tiny fame can make you whacko.

What is the best advice you've received about writing?

There's a few that come to mind.

1-If you want to be a better writer, kill every adverb you come across.

2-Read your words out loud to yourself. If you run out of breath, your reader will run out of patience at that exact point.

3-Dressagegrrrl was the one that finally made me see how playing POV ping pong within a scene was something that marked my writing as an amateur.

4-Stop trying to be clever. Be clever, if you are clever, but don't try. It comes off hamfisted every time. Readers hate that.

5-Never, ever, ever post something you wrote that day. You've left half of it in your head and you can't tell. It's awful.

6-If you're not even a little embarrassed by something you wrote 6 months ago, you're no longer growing as a writer.

What do you do when you hit writer's block?

That's a bit of a sticking point. Stress is a muse-killer. Anything you can do to rid yourself of stress will help. Writer's block is usually the result of something going on elsewhere in your life. Fix that and the creativity will come back.

That said, my life has turned into constant stress with the result being I no longer write at all.

Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing?

Everything has. 'Write what you know' is true for fantasy too. Whether it's heartbreak, or a drunken hookup that turned into love (Hello, Mr. Aurette) or a moment when you were a child and ignored or teased, or maybe the bully, all of it makes it's way into the emotional truth of a scene or character, no matter how outlandish the setting.

Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser?

I have a Dropbox full of stories I've run into the wall or had to leave half finished, both fanfic and o-fic. No teasers, because at this point I don't think they will ever see the light of day. Never say never, but the light of hope is dim.

Any words of encouragement to other writers?

Anyone can write and everyone has something to say. Be open to the process. Part of that process involves having a stranger tell you that your shiny new love is really shit. Being defensive only prolongs your shittiness. Embrace criticism. Sometimes,  the process of justifying something can actually buttress your choice, so you double down with better results. Other times, you'll see your idea wasn't working after all. Be ruthless in your editing, but don't delete. That scene you cut because it caused everything to go off the rails could be a different story trying to get out. Take that leap, you fail at everything you don't try, so why not try something you really want?

Thanks so much for giving us your time.

It's been my pleasure.  Thank you for the opportunity.  *waves to my readers*