#bc when i would introduce her to various groups there would be really intense interest

[saederkrupps]

this one too. actually my pillars of eternity character, myilmur

[brattyandchatty-blog]

Better Than Planned pt. 1

Conventions of the Cafeteria 

As a true teenage girl filled with true teenage angst, Daniella’s wardrobe consisted of various shades of her favourite colour: black. From her sweaters to her sneakers, there was not a speck of another colour in her dresser or closet. But this did not keep Daniella from having clothes every girl would desire. She knew what was trendy and she experimented with fabric and pattern. The last thing Daniella wanted was to blend in. Black was her staple, her character. Some even said that her blood ran black through her veins. 

Daniella was a wonder in heels. Not only did she glide through school in the trendiest clothes, she spoke to no one. Hair always done, makeup professional, she stole the attention no matter where she was without one word escaping her lips. No one knew where she came from; she showed up on the first day of the tenth grade with her a perfect sneer on her face, long blonde curls pulled back, and the reddest lips you’ve ever seen. Gossip spread through the school like wildfire. Was she a diplomat’s daughter being punished with public school after a crazy summer in Rio? Some guessed she dressed in all black to mourn her recently deceased parents while she lived off of her trust fund. Some theories were insane; an ageless vampire, a model in witness protection, a government spy.  Some girls followed her home once, desperate for something they could tell everyone at school, and were shocked by how incredibly normal her home seemed. Yes, she lived in the most expensive part of town, but it wasn’t dismal or overly extravagant. It was a warm, beautiful home with flowers in the garden and a doormat. A puppy sat in one of the windows, there was no wrought iron fence to keep out guests, and her mother even greeted her at the door. Two years had passed and still no one knew much more about her.

There were very few attempts made to contact Daniella herself for information. The strange thing about Daniella was that she cast such a strong aura of “don’t talk to me” that no one ever really did. Even the kids who made it their business to get in people’s faces stayed out of her way. Yes curiosity got the best of some, and they were met with very flat answers; never a smile, never an insult, she simply answered the questions however she wanted and made it very clear that they wouldn’t be getting anywhere. It wasn’t like she was silent in her classes either, she answered questions whenever there was a participation credit, and contributed to group projects, but that was always where it stopped. Looking at her, you would immediately understand. Whatever world Daniella belonged to was flawless, interesting, and nothing like Wallace Road Secondary. She was surrounded by idiots, and she clearly knew better than to waste her time on any of them, until I got there.

It was the first day of the twelfth grade, which should probably be the most exciting first day of one’s high school career. Although, it really wasn’t for me. I was starting a new school and while everyone else was chatting away about their fantastic summers, I was making sure I didn’t get stuck next to the kid who smelled like bubble gum vape and B.O. for the next semester. At my old school, I was the friendly girl. I dressed in pastels and I never missed out on an opportunity to crack a good joke. At Wallace, I had every intention of remaining that girl as I sat in home room. I got there early so that I could pick out a good seat. If I were still in the 8th grade I would’ve showed up at the last second so that no one thought I was too eager, but the beauty of the 12th grade is that you finally realize that people really don’t care. My new classmates filed in behind me and I tried to casually assess them. Who should I approach to try and become friends with? 

It’s amazing how you can walk into any school and pick out which group everyone belongs to within seconds. The artsy girls walk in in oranges and denim with larger frames on their glasses and some sort of fringe variation cut into their hair. I’ve always wondered if it was a requirement to own at least one pair of pointed shoes to be able to sit with them at lunch, but it would probably be rude to ask. Then come the smart kids, the geeks, the future employers, all dressed for the private school they want not the public school they’ve got. Then the inbetweeners, the slackers, the stoners, and the shy kids, all of them entering at different moments between too early and right on time (except for the stoners who are often late on the first day). And finally we have the group I will certainly fall into; the well-polished, on time but not rushed, army of pretty overachievers. Yes, we will annoy you when we ask you to vote for us in our run for class president, and yes your mother will love us.

Two tall, freshly tanned girls sat to the left of me. To let them know I’m approachable, I pushed my hair off of my left shoulder and flashed them a smile. They grinned back and I was able to get a good look at them. The first girl had her hair straightened and her plum dress reminded me of the yellow dress I have on. Very simple and flattering but gives the allusion of a careless beauty. It’s always a sign when that two people are meant to be friends when they have similar styles. 

“Hello,” said plum dress’s friend, clearly the more confident of the two, “I’m Grace Kim and this is Sheila,” As she said this she gestured to Sheila with a wave of her hand. Grace’s dark hair fell past her shoulders in waves and her smile was bright.

“No last name, Sheila?” I joked, I could already tell that I’d be sitting with them at lunch, “I’m Penelope Johnson, but I’ve always gone by Penny. I just moved here from the East, sucks that it’s my last year, but the winters won’t be as rough.” 

“Sheila Shevchenko, Grace probably can’t say it,” laughed Sheila, I could tell she practiced that laugh. No one laughed that pretty. Still, I respected it, I respect anyone who puts that much effort into their perfect self. 

“Where are you from back east?” inquired Grace, “New York? Quebec? Newfoundland?” 

“Toronto,” I said with a shrug, I knew she knew I was from Toronto, I was far too kind to be a New Yorker, I didn’t have a French Canadian accent, and no one actually lives in Newfoundland! Still, she was doing a very good job at seeming interested in finding out about me, so I continued on, “Yeah, grew up in the ‘burbs, not that different from here, but I’ll get way less use out of my parkas this winter.”

“Have you ever been to Victoria before? Like was your first day here the first time you’ve seen the island? In BC?” Grace said this like she found it unbelievable, to be quite honest I didn’t know much about Vancouver Island before my family packed up and left, but I didn’t want to sound snobby.

“No, I visited Vancouver during the Olympics, but we never had time to see the Victoria, I can’t wait to go exploring on my own sometime, so far everything’s been super beautiful,” Maybe I had lain the praise on a little too thick, but I could’ve said anything and Grace wouldn’t have noticed. As I spoke, a tall blonde girl walked in. She wore dark eyeshadow and a long, black dress. It was one of those new, trendy low back strappy dresses that everyone wanted for the summer. When she walked in, everyone stopped speaking and waited for her to choose her seat. There was no denying that she was beautiful, but I wasn’t quite sure that her entrance should’ve left everyone at a loss for words. Clearly it was her first day too, leaving me very disappointed. 

How was I supposed to be the new cute girl with a model in my homeroom? There was only one seat left, the seat to my right. I had hoped to steal attention today, make some kind of a splash, but now I felt like I missed the memo. I felt like a fool in my simple dress. Never the less, a new opportunity presented itself to me. We could be a power duo! What’s second best to being the most talked about girl in school? Being her best friend. 

So, I tossed my hair off of my right shoulder, and turned toward my new pal. To my surprise, she didn’t even glance my way. Instead I felt very strongly that it would be a bad idea to introduce myself. We clearly formally belonged to the same kind of circles; this girl was fashionable, pouty, and you just knew she was important without her saying a word. I could not give up on my attempt to make her acquaintance without a fight. Again, I turned my head towards my neighbour and I gave her my biggest, Academy Award winning smile. Again, she did not seem to care. 

“Hi, I’m Penny,” I tried anyway, if she ignored me now I had Sheila and Grace as witnesses and you just know they’d whisper about her rudeness to anyone who would listen. 

“Are you new?” said the girl, holding intense eye contact with me as she awaited my answer. I was very intimidated, but determined not to let it show, I held her gaze. From the silence around me I knew the whole class was listening. Grace and Sheila may not have even been breathing. 

“Yes,” I answered as quickly as I could, “I just moved here from-”

“Toronto,” she cut me off, “Yeah, I can tell from your voice. I’m Daniella.” And with that she turned and faced the front, making it very clear to me that introductions were over. Confused as hell, I turned to Grace and Sheila, but I was met with two sets of wide eyes. I could now see that Daniella was clearly not a new student, but I had no idea who she was beyond that. Before I had time start up a new conversation with them, our teacher entered the room and class began.

* * *

I was right about Grace and Sheila asking me to lunch. After homeroom I discovered that I not only had one but two other classes with Daniella. In those classes, she made a point of sitting as far from me as possible. Being the calculated, careful person I was, I ran through our conversation over and over again in my head, trying to find what it was that I said wrong. The only conclusion I could come to was that she thought she was too good to speak to me, which is very disappointing on your first day. Maybe it’s uncool for new students to introduce themselves to every person they can on their first day; clearly this town was very different than the one I was used to. 

Some things remained the same no matter where you were; I was not surprised when Grace and Sheila lead me to the cafeteria. In the Cafeteria I was greeted by 4 more Graces and Sheilas. Cathy, Jenna, Alice, and Avneet eagerly slid to allow room for us in their table. I was flooded by questions about Toronto, music, and my plans for the future. Finally, things I was prepared for started happening. These girls were trying to figure out if they wanted to be friends with me just as much as I was trying to figure out if I wanted them as friends. 

“Did you have a boyfriend in Toronto,” said Jenna, I could tell she was the gossiper of the group. The way she leaned in and looked at me quizzically hinted that she was looking for something worth telling people about me.

“Not when I moved,” I replied, a simple no would’ve answered her question perfectly fine, but then I totally would’ve lost my edge. Now I’ve left and opportunity for speculation. “Do any of you have boyfriends?”

Immediately the girls started laughing and poking Grace. Being outside of  the joke was very tough. All these girls were so comfortable with each other and friendly that they didn’t even need to speak to laugh with one another! 

“No, we don’t” shouted Grace, excitedly, “I mean, I have been talking to a guy this summer, but it’s no big deal.”

Grace continued to smile at her friends and pretend to be embarrassed that they had given her secret away. We all could tell she was excited about it. The problem with high school girls is that they put too much emphasis on girls who have boyfriends. It is ridiculous because any girl with a boyfriend becomes way more popular, when those girls can be just as great on their own. Either way, even I wanted to hear about Grace’s bae; I was all about independent women, but I was also a sucker for romance. Before I could ask however, the conversation moved on.

“So, I heard you spoke to the queen this morning,” said Jenna, leading the conversation away from Grace.

“Sheila?” I guessed, even though I knew she meant Daniella. Finally, some answers about the girl that silences everyone. 

“No, Daniella,” said Jenna, then she narrowed her eyes at me, “I heard she actually introduced herself.” 

“Yeah,” I said, glancing sideways at Sheila and Grace, “Okay, so what’s the big deal? Who is she?” Suddenly, I felt nervous. Did I really mess up so badly by saying hello? I cracked a nervous smile and considered burying my face in my lunch. 

“Well…” Avneet hesitated, “no one knows. She just showed up one day like two years ago, and no one learned anything more about her. She’s never had a friend, not that she’d have any trouble finding one, and she’s never been involved with anything-”

“That’s not true!” interrupted Jenna, “Maryanne dances with her in the ballet. She’s the only one allowed to wear black tights and ballet slippers to class.” 

“Right,” agreed Avneet, “anyway, since she’s been here, all anyone’s wanted to know is who she is. I’m sure there’s a lot of kids at this school with no friends, but none of them look like her.” 

All the girls nodded in agreement. I was left more confused after the explanation. Two years have passed and still nothing? That means she had no online profile, no plans on the weekends, and uninvolved parents. My mother could find out more gossip than anyone I know while volunteering with the PAC. Either this girl’s mom has never worked a garage sale or it is very different here than at my old school. There were no secrets where I was from. Everyone knew everyone. As much as I wanted to ignore Daniella and make my own name in this school, I knew I wouldn’t be able to shake this curiosity. And so, I revisited my previous plan; I was going to become best friends with the most talked about girl in school. 

[khayr]

lebeingstwo

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Cool Asks for Fic Writers

ANSWER ALL OF THEM.

oh my god lmao OKAY THEN!!!! I WILL

(it’s long, here’s a read more lmao)

1. Describe yourself how you would describe a character you’re introducing

She tugged the hood of her sweatshirt back as she approached, fingers threading through her ruffled hair to smooth it back down into place. After a moment her mouth curved into a wide grin, the smile reaching all the way to her eyes. As she came to stand with the rest of the group she shoved her hands down into her pockets, shifting her footing as she did so.

2. Is there any specific ritual you go through while/before/after your writing?

I listen to a lot of fanmixes (usually my own) to kind of settle into the mood for whatever fic/ship I’m working on. 8 ) usually a fresh cup of tea and a warm blanket are also a must, hahaha.

3. What is your absolute favorite kind of fic to write?

.................. fluff......................................

4. Are there any other fic writers you admire? If so, who and why?

I have a lot of really really talented friends!!!!! I admire a lot of their writing for various reasons honestly but I really love reading stuff that my friends write.

5. How many words can you write if you sit down and concentrate intensely for an hour?

I honestly don’t know bc this has never happened to me ever, hahaha...... I tend to jump around between a lot of tabs and etc.

6. First fic/pairing you wrote for? (If no pairing, describe the plot)

I’m 95% sure it was either a TMNT fic or maybe even my original runescape fic. I honestly don’t know. If it was TMNT it was definitely a shredder/my oc fic and the runescape fic is an iban/oc fic that I’ve started rewriting TWICE now lmao (the second rewrite is a slow work in progress rn!!!!!)

7. Inspiration, time, or motivation. Choose two.

Inspiration and time!

8. Why do you choose to write?

It’s funny because I had always wanted to be more of an artist than a writer, but definitely ended up putting more of my time into the latter. P: I’m glad I did though tbh. 

9. Do you ever have plans to write anything other than fic?

I did at one point buuuuut I’m not so sure anymore, haha.

10. What inspires you the most?

Really interesting characters/characters that maybe aren’t elaborated on as muuuuuuuch in canon as they could be!

11. Weirdest thing you’ve ever written/thought about writing/etc.?

I almost wrote a rwby sex pollen fic for april fool’s one year but I ended up trashing it three pages in someplace in the cesspool of my gdocs hahahahahhaa

12. A fic you wish you had written better, and why?

A lot of my Dredd stuff probably, but a lot of those are a couple years old now so it’s more of an “I’ve improved a lot since then” sort of thing. I’d like to revisit that fandom at some point down the road if I get some good inspiration.

13. Favorite fic from another author?

believe it or not I don’t have an answer for this one because there are so many fics I’ve read that I adore and I really just couldn’t pick one to put here :’)

14. Your favorite side pairings to put in?

This honestly doesn’t happen in a lot of my stuff because I tend to focus on one character or one pairing!

15. Your guilty writing pleasure?

..................... injuring my own characters lmao. ): im awful to them. right now in my wow ficlet thing I’ve got going on my poor hunter is sporting a black eye and healing three cracked ribs + a torn meniscus like when am I gonna leave her alone hahaha

16. Do you have structured ideas of how your story is supposed to go, or make it up as you write?

what is this “““structure””” u speak of........ (on occasion, yes, but most often no!)

17. Would yo describe yourself as a fast writer?

depends on how bad I want to get the fic out honestly, hahahahaha

18. How old were you when you started writing?

5th grade? 6th grade? something back then lmao

19. Why did you start writing?

every pre-teen wants to write a self-insert fanfic let’s be real here

20. 4 sentences from your work that you’re proud of

this is from ‘the road is long and winding’ which is my wow ficlet collection about my hunter (my namesake lol) (it’s gay. and cute.)

“ Huntmaster ,” she finally said in mock surprise, leaning forward with a faintly impish smile on her face. “I’m sorry,” Khayr blurted out, averting her eyes in a last ditch attempt to save even a tiny shred of her dignity, “I shouldn’t-” Beside her Thalyssra chuckled softly and reached for one of her hands to take it in her own, fingertips tracing the thin white scars that littered the hunter’s fingers with mild interest. Khayr went quiet and allowed her to do so, lips barely parted as her scrambled apology died on her tongue.