#honestly the only decent one is zoey

[wannabemasterofwindintraining]

Decided to colour these sketches cause i actually kinda like them

[artists-who-rarely-draws]

My Aphverse Job Headcanons!!!

I shared this on stars discord but you all can have it now cause it was a hit there lmfao

Here are my job ideas for mystreet in my brain except it's still HEAVILY based off of mcd like my street should have been.

Feel free to ask for clarification id be happy to give.

Aphmau: Carpenter

Garroth: his job journey has been complicated (and hopefully the only one I'm gonna go this in detail on) because he spent his entire life not even having to consider what he was going to do because well... from birth he was set to take over Gartes position as soon as he decided to retire. Garte will just keep paying for his life until that point, and it's not until like... more than halfway through him working to get the necessary degrees for something he has no passion for and is learning that he kinda hates doing that he realizes he DOES NOT want to do that, the basically isolating hours and work that just frustrates him but he's in to deep.. he finishes his degrees but Garte ever the workaholic still has no plan to retire so garroth is just left coasting for a while but he's so social and everyone around him had full time jobs and he gets one literally to just have something to do cause he is going stir crazy, probably some kind of security detail for like big public events just waiting to be called away to take over his dad's company, of course he eventually learns that he's allowed to choose a job for himself but mostly through like... talking to his friends, and I can really see him experimenting for a while before he lands on *drum roll* firefighting! But he still hasn't told his dad he's not taking over the company, he's incredibly terrified of that conversation and is just hoping Garte will die before retiring zane would probably love to take it over anyway, so who Is garroth really hurting?

Laurence:controversial, mayhaps but I see him being a barista at like a genuine Italian mom and pop Cafe, he's probably the Rank just below owner to lmfaoo they want to give it to him when they retire lol.

Dante: probably a personal trainer lol.

Katelyn boxing instructor probably rivals with Nicole.

Nana: Probably runs and owns a bakery.

Zane: honestly probably unemployed. The only job he really wants is his dad's, he eventually becomes the vice president because his dad is still ceo but he gets REALLY moody about it for a while because his garroth is still the planned heir (he gets the job in the end when Garte probably forcefully is retired and garroth won't take up the mantle)

Vlayd: when he was backpacking around the world he probably was making vlogs and content about it, not really as a job but just because but he got popular so he made decent money. Now he's probably like a meditation teacher or smthn like that lol work he can do while going anywhere he wants.

Cadenza: Has her own fashion line that is wildly gaining popularity

Gene: Nightclub owner, he really only does well in position where he's in charge.

Zenix: Bar work / Security at the night club, he likes how there's constant stimulation, and how he gets a. Excuse to rough troublemakers up.

Sasha: Dj at the nightclub. She likes how she gets to control the mood in the club ans can see pretty much everything.

Travis: has a position in his fathers company. He hates it but like Garroth it's what he was raised to do and he was given a job in the company immeaditly instead of just waiting until he got to run it.

Zoey: was a very influential chemist, but was let go due to some corruption in the higher ups and her speaking against it. She works in childcare now mostly as a hobby.

Blaze: Same as Dante but he's wildly more popular

Aaron: would have been in a situation similar to Travis and Garroth, except he basically went off the grid as soon as he was old enough his parents couldn't stop him, he became a firewatcher (people in watch towers in national parks) that's how he met his wife, who sadly passes in childbirth (that's right single dad Aaron in this because I can and I said so. I said it was heavily based on not 100% accurate) he moved back into the city cause, well... the woods are no place to raise a baby. He probably does freelance remote computer work now

Daniel: I don't think he shows up in mcd so it's based on pdh lol, I have no reasoning for this but I love the idea of him as a daycare teacher. Apron and everything.

Jeffory: works in Gartes company. He's not that into it, but it pays well enough that he can basically work part time to spend more time with Abby and still have a fairly cushy life with her.

Dottie: probably one of Kayelyns employees lol.

Nicole: has her own Boxing business not in on the rivalry idea, thinks they should team up lmfao.

Lucinda: Owns a witchy shop lol, basic I know but come on. Crystals, tarot, incense, the whole nine yards. She's also a nepo baby lol, she does NOT have to run this shop her dad would pay for her whole life but Lucinda enjoys workings and being self sufficient.

Brendan: works for Aphmau as a Carpenter.

Emmalyn: Librarian. Yeah i... yeah lol

Kiki: Runs a animal sanctuary. For both exotic and typical animals, teams up with the bakery and Cafe to host mass adoption events for her rehabilitated animals.

(And that's all the people I can remember to add rn whoops)

[starstriix]

hi star! i really love your work!

what are your favorite ships overall?

Hiii!!

I obviously mainly fixate on jock, but I'm really open to a lot of pairings. Though tbh, this may be the one fandom where I don't really care for any mlm ships at all?? (Not that I mind them) It's mainly wlw or het ones.

I'm pretty much open to most canon pairings too (duncney, aleheather, etc), but I don't care for gen 1 as much in general so I'll tell you a few gen 2/3 ships I've liked:

Obviously I'm cool with zoke, and samkota was super super cute. I actually don't mind Dott either, I think it's pretty fun and very reminiscent of the 2012s (Dott fans are like siblings to me. They could never make me hate you) Shasmine was pretty much the main thing I remembered from watching PI when I was younger, so it's cool in my book (also height differenceee)

For Jo, I pretty much like the concept of most Jo x female character ships (brick is the only man I see her with. Think of it as the bisexual who mostly likes women and one very specific type of man). Jomaria makes sense to me, Jo/Dawn is pretty neat and I can see the appeal in Jo/Zoey but I really enjoy them as best friends, lmao. Also Joeather is funny as shit but I don't see them being an ACTUAL couple.

Dawn/Zoey is a really good one I've seen, I like em being weird girls together. It's a super cute concept, and they actually had decent-ish interactions in canon. We need more weird girls in our lives. Dawnkota and Dawnmaria are rarer ones I've only seen a few times, but I think they're neat and worth exploring as well!

I don't really ship them but can we PLEASE talk about Zoey and Dakota's interactions. "Hold me? 🥺" and then Zoey proceeds to awkwardly look away THEYRE SO FUNNYYY

Ella/Sammy is super sweet :) though the concept of Ella/Scarlett is SUPER cool too. Especially the ship name,, "Poison apple"?? Brilliant. Alsoo...Scarlett x me because she's hoWHAAAT WHO SAID THAT?? WHO SAID THAT

I've seen Sky/Lightning in fics and I honestly think it's neat?? The matching names are really cute, too. We love jocks in this household. I also think Scott and Zoey would be interesting as a pair, though I don't see much content of them. Same with Zoey x the system (minus Mike and obviously Chester). AND Zoey x Anne maria??? I genuinely have no idea how I've never seen content of those two together. I thought it'd be a bit more popular.

And of course,, Lightning x his muscles. Best ship, you can't change my mind.

[elizapreg]

Z2A - Chapter 1: Laundry Day

Chapter 1: LAUNDRY DAY “Things are quiet in the Boundary today, marking nearly a month since the last Eniyx sighting. We remind all citizens to stay vigilant and report any strange sightings to the Authority. In other news, Buybest has extended its weekend sale so shoppers can look forward to many savings across” *Beep beep beep beep* Closing the timer on her phone, Amy stood up and stretched a bit, looking over at the static filled newscast on the old tv in the corner of the laundromat. Swinging open the machine she was using, she began to pull out the warm clothes. She couldn’t help but notice the strange stares she was getting from the toddler sitting on the bench about five machines down. Children always seemed to have a hard time not hard locking their eyes to where her arm would be, and the pattern of discolored skin surrounding the area. Or at least she assumed that was what the kid was looking at. Amy looked down at her rounded orb of a middle, the tank top she was wearing not exactly hiding things. It’d been long enough at this point, that she hardly even noticed it. She’d grown accustomed to the shift in her balance, the strange looks, and the constant inquiries of what many assumed to be impending motherhood. At first she and Zoey would try to explain the truth of the matter, but eventually realized it was both much more convenient and much faster to just smile and nod. Only problems ever came with people they saw often enough to question why she had never popped after all these months. Chuckling to herself, she continued to grab her clothes from the machine. ‘I bet Zoey would love to head off to a good sale, we are running low on some things…’ She thought to herself, ‘Honestly she’s probably already there.’ Stuffing the clean clothes into her bag, she headed to the front desk, “Thank you Mr. Parker! I’ll see you next week.” She said to the elderly store owner. “Oh of course Ms. Grey, and give my greeting to Ms. Lal if you will, and if it's not too much of a bother, ask her when she would be available for her services, a few of our dryers have been struggling lately.” “I’ll be sure to let her know Mr. Parker!” Amy replied as she made her way out the door. Looking up and down the street, she didn’t see any taxis in sight. Shrugging to herself she started to make her way down the block herself.  The sidewalks were empty except for one or two people on the far side of the street, so she had all that concrete to herself. Every week more and more people moved towards the more central parts of the country. Even though it had been years since the Eniyx had last taken any territory, people still were on edge, and the bigger cities forming in the central lands were being built with all the latest defenses.  Old towns like this, with their worn brick-and-mortar walls, were becoming ghost towns. 

The only reason Amy lived here was the low rent, at least before she met Zoey. Turning the corner she could see a set of empty apartment buildings, one in a state of disrepair, but nothing compared to the sorry state of the other, the top half of the building more or less blown apart with no visible efforts being made to repair it. Amy winced a bit looking at it, she could still remember the night she did that. It was shortly after Zoey finished the arm, and Amy’s aim did not live up to her confidence on that encounter. Noticing a cab coming up the road, she waved it down and climbed into the back seat. Rummaging around her bags to find some payment, she told the driver the directions. Doing some math in her head, she sighed a bit of relief realizing she still had barely enough to leave a decent tip. Looking down at the plating on her shoulder, Amy gave thought to how things had been since Zoey had completed it. Given the nature of the project, the government had been quick to come looking for what Zoey had developed. Seeing the prototype, an organization known as Charcom had stepped in to provide funding…and a tsunami of paperwork, red tape, and stipulations.  Yet here they were, still living in this dusty old town, yet to see their lives get properly funded. Arriving at her stop, Amy thanked the driver. Walking into her building, she passed the out of service elevator and opened the doors to the stairwell. “We should really consider not living on the 8th floor…” She grumbled before starting her way up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zoey leaned back from her desk, and tapped her watch. “Amy? Are you back yet?” After a bit of silence she pulled out her phone, sending a message to her girlfriend. Zoey got up, having to push a schematic she was working on back onto her desk before it fell off.  She made her way out of the apartment, down the hall, and to the stairwell, opening the door and looking down the shaft. “Amy?” she called out, voice echoing just a bit. “Yeah, I’m here, just about to set this down and reply to your text. Laundry was a bit slow today,” Amy called back. “See if Martin is home and tell him to come carry this damn sack of clothes.” Zoey laughed, “Oh what? You know if he helps us, he’s gonna wanna stay for dinner right?” She hurried down the stairs to give a hand herself. “Yeah, I guess we gotta stretch it to payday don’t we?” Amy called back.

“Mhmm, and I’ve gotta hit up that sale at Buybest to get things I can use for your arm,” Zoey said as she skipped down some stairs, “I think we’ve got just enough with that.”

  “Any luck with Charcom?”  Amy asked. Zoey turned down the next flight, reaching the floor Amy had made it to and grabbing the laundry bag from her. “No, no, they are still ghosting us.” Zoey said dejectedly. 

“Oh so they are sure to show up the second I use the Arm once, but when we want some help in return for all we do for them its radio silent?” Amy replied. 

Shrugging Zoey continued, “Guess we are too good at solving their problems, they don't have as many jobs for us these days.” Reaching the top floor, they made their way back into their apartment.  Zoey went straight through the living space and tossed the bag into the bedroom. Amy shut the door behind her, making sure to prop it up with her foot so that it closed properly, then turned around and took a seat on the couch, perfectly filling that worn out spot on the cushion.  Her eyes scanned the place over.  Aside from the heaps of parts and papers on Zoey’s desk, most things seemed to be in order.  She questioned whether the schematics near the bedroom door were there before, but she hadn’t memorized each one that Zoey had hung up, and they changed just about every week.

 “Oh yeah, Mr. Parker wanted me to ask you when you’ll be available to fix up some of the dryers. To be honest they do really need a tuning, part of why I’m so late is how long it took to finish all that.”  Amy said. “Oh yeah, I’ll run by there tomorrow, after I run to Buybest. I know it's not exactly convenient for you to have to go without the Arm for this long, so I want to get that fixed ASAP.”  Zoey came back into the living space and pushed some more things into a pile on her desk.  She flicked off her computer and then sat down next to Amy on the couch. “I keep telling you, I can manage just fine running solo.” Amy jokes, flexing her arm. “I managed for 6 years before you came along after all.” Amy added, putting said arm around Zoey’s shoulders, with Zoey resting her head on Amy. “I know, but I made it to make your life easier didn’t I? Plus I don’t want some Eniyx showing up with you unprepared.” Zoey teased. “I don’t trust you to walk away from a fight without your firepower.” Amy opened her mouth to retort, but simply laughed. “Hey, I’ve chilled out a bit… Mostly… But anyway, what’s the plan for the rest of the night?” “Well, I was thinking we cook up the last of the top ramen, get nice and snuggly, and finally get around to watching that new documentary series Martin told us about.” Zoey said excitedly. “Ugh, can’t we watch something more…exciting than the history of Olympic Squatting?” Amy complained back with a pout. “You know he’s just going to keep asking us what we think until we watch it right? And given the lack of jobs we’ve had recently, we are running out of excuses for why we haven’t.” Zoey scolded. “He’s your brother, and given how much he helps out I think we can watch a silly…” She pulled out her phone and checked the show length. “4 HOURS?!?” Amy burst out laughing. “See!?” She stood up, heading into the side of the room that is the kitchen, and started filling a pot with water. “How about we watch it at double speed, or at least look up the summary, and watch something more our speed? We have a whole free streaming service of cheesy low budget garbage to laugh at.” She set the pot on the stove, and waited patiently for the flame to kick on before walking up behind the couch and looking over Zoey’s shoulder. She’d gotten good at not bumping her middle into the couch doing that now. “Ok fine… But if Martin wants to quiz us on it, I’m throwing you under the bus.” Zoey chuckled back. “The government funded mechanical genius refusing to take a quiz? Couldn’t be my Zoey! She can’t help but show off that big brain.” Amy teased, planting a quick kiss on the top of Zoey’s head. “She’s too proud to let other people know more than her!” Zoey blushed. “Engineering and Mechanics are not exactly the same as random sports trivia you know!” “Neither is sitcom trivia and who is the reigning champion of Building 2?” Amy retorted, raising an eyebrow as she pointed at the shelf of cheap plastic trophies from the annual complex trivia nights. Blushing even more now, Zoey turned to look at Amy. “Well master chef answer this quiz question: how long does it take before water boils over on a stove that runs hotter than its dial?” 

“Shit, now our gourmet meal will be ruined!” Amy yelled, quickly running over to turn down the heat.  Her belly maneuvering skills were not so great in a panic, and her belly knocked some of the plastic dishes off the counter in the process. She blushed as she heard Zoey howling with laughter. “I keep telling you this wouldn’t happen if you’d made this battery smaller!” Amy called as she struggled to bend over and pick up the fallen dishes, before seeing Zoeys hands already grabbing them from off the floor. They both stand back up and Zoey puts a hand on Amy’s round middle. “We’ll aside from the fact I couldn’t really make it any smaller given what we had at the time, I still stand by the fact it makes you look adorable.” Zoey said softly, leaning in and putting a soft kiss on Amy’s warm cheek. 

Blushing even more still, Amy turned for a moment, putting the overcooked ramen into bowls for the both of them. “Bon Appetit, my love.”

“Cheers” Zoey said back with a wide smile, tapping her bowl to Amy’s in a sort of toast. “Now let's hurry up and watch this before it gets too late… I don’t think we stand much of a chance making it through once we start getting tired.

[garrothromeave]

mcd garroth + laurance headcanons for the sake of me posting something while working on my long-ass post, also happy birthday blaze ily, 

garroth - total momma’s boy. seems obvious, but it’s true -- back in o’khasis, he was practically glued to the side of zianna. whenever she had to leave for a few days when he was younger, he’d cry if he couldn’t go with her. when he left for the guard academy, he wrote to zianna on a daily basis. to put it simply, he had separation anxiety. the hardest thing about faking his death was not being able to see or talk to his mother. - incredible piano player. his father made him take lessons when he was younger for quite a few years, but he was naturally very good at it. he never mentions this skill to anyone. while they were at malachi’s castle and were looking for materials before they left, garroth stumbled upon an old piano and played something. he got really into it, and laurance ended up stumbling on him playing. he made laurance swear to never tell anyone about it. - when garroth was around eight or nine, his stutter was so bad that garte didn’t let him speak in public or around any people other than the family out of shame. vylad and zianna used to help garroth with his stutter.

- garroth is very sensitive to the saying “oh my irene.” growing up in the ro’meave house, it was taboo to use irene’s name in vein. or anywhere in o’khasis, really. nowadays he’s still very caustious whenever he says it, because he thinks that someone is going to yell at him. - horrified of getting hurt. back during the days of training in the guard academy, while he was very good with technique and fighting itself, he had a very bad flinching problem. overall, for the longest time, wounds and pain made garroth very uncomfortable. because of this fear of getting hurt, he has a bit of a stubble because of the one time he hurt himself while shaving.   - 6′4, because 6′11 is unbelievably tall and i honestly don’t even think that it’s canon? s’yeah. he seems 6′4 to me.

- garroth often sees new things and (internally) has this very child-like wonder response. he was sheltered for the entirety of his childhood and teenagehood. and after the guard academy, he stayed put in the same village for 5 years -- so he hasn’t experienced very much. he often wants to ask dozens of questions, but because of his shyness, he tends to just observe anything new very closely. which leads me to my next headcanon,

- because of o’khasis’ intolerance to many things, he was not very commonly exposed to magick’s users. the first magicks user that he directly met would be zoey, and he was very nervous when talking to her the first time he met her. when garroth gets to know her more, she catches on that he’s curious about a lot of things, and offers to tell him about things. he declines, and he regrets that decision to this day.

- as stated before, o’khasis isn’t very tolerable of things, which caused garroth to develop incredibly bad internalized homophobia. when aphmau comes along, he gets a very strong desire to protect her (little do we know, this strong desire comes from his connection with esmund) and confuses it for/tries to convince himself that it’s romantic love. it is in fact love, just platonic. so basically, this man’s gay as hell.

- garroth has more freckles than any other ro’meave family member. he’s mildly insecure about his freckles, seeing them as a ‘childish’ trait, which is why he wasn’t very bothered with the idea of hiding his face with his helmet. 

- his hair is super curly. it used to be more tame, but as he got older, it got more curly. it’s usually a mess because he doesn’t know how to take care of it, but it somehow looks hot as hell. (no homo ofc.)

- garroth is allergic to blueberries. 

- raven was garroth’s first genuine connection since he left o’khasis. zenix was his second. he loves raven a lot, and hates that he can’t see him as often as he’d like to.

- garroth is a total cat person. don’t get me wrong, he loves dogs, but if he were to choose between having one or the other, he’d choose to have a cat. he had a pet cat when he was little that he still thinks about a lot. (probably named sprinkles, just for the hell of it.)

- because of how he grew up, garroth’s actually a very picky eater. while he’d never admit it to himself or anyone else, he misses the more “rich-people” food he was spoiled with. 

- garroth isn’t actually that stupid, when he first arrived at pheonix drop, he had a name in mind that he wanted to go by (to better hide his identity). however, when his name was asked by someone, he panicked and “garroth” accidently slipped. he beat himself up for the longest time after that. the only reason he finally let go is because no one had ever pointed out how/seemed suspicious he had the same name as the deceased first-born son of o’khasis.

laurance - his hair grows decently quick, so even after cadenza cut it for him, it only took about 4 months for it to grow back just past his shoulders. he prefers it having some length to it anyways, and usually ties is back into a ponytail. after the irene dimension, he would let nekoette braid his hair. - has a very lanky body type. naturally has long limbs, and would often get called a ‘stick’ when he was younger. he’s about 5′11. but don’t confuse his thinner stature for weakness, he matches garroth’s strength easily.

- bi icon. fuck that “you were my first kiss” bullshit he gives aphmau, the list exists and while it’s stupid and weird, according to it, garroth was his first kiss. which is fuckin funny as hell if you think about it.

- laurance is very good with animals. more so rodents and smaller creatures, like squirrels, birds, rabbits, etc. cadenza was convinced that laurance could talk to animals for the longest time. he even had this little mouse that would pop in his house. however, on the contrary, larger animals -- not so much. he’s shit with horses and cows, especially. 

- incredible singer. has serenaded aphmau on multiple occasions, and has even gotten her to sing along with him from time to time. he sang for malachi to help him fall asleep every night since the day they met him. this caused him to start singing for levin at night as well. when laurance saw malachi again after the 15 year jump, within the first few days of his return, malachi asked for laurance to sing for him again just like he used to. which brings me to my next headacanon,

- laurance saw malachi as his own child, and treated him as such. they were very close, and malachi was the most heartbroken over laurance’s disappearance since he saw him very much as a father. it wasn’t that laurance favored malachi over levin that created this bond, it was the fact that laurance first-hand saw a child in need of a home and someone to love him, and it reminded him of when he was small. 

- he’s a sucker for bets. gambles, wages, anything like that. while he’s not directly a gambler, if someone offers he’s sure to accept. he’s a risk-taker, and ends up getting really into it. this also branches into his competitive behavior. he’ll be really upset and possibly a bit petty if he loses. why else do you think he still hadn’t given castor the 5 dollars he owes him?

- slingshot master. you give this motherfucker a slingshot he can kill someone with his impeccable aim. he’s also very good with a bow and arrow or any sort of projectile, but he’s the best with a slingshot. when he was younger, he hand-made slingshots from materials that he’d find around the forest.

- speaking of the forest, laurance is a very nature-loving soul. when he moved to meteli when he was adopted, he’d often go and explore the forests nearby. he and cadenza would use their imaginations and play all sorts of games. laurance and her especially loved to climb trees, and would jump from branch to branch. this helped laurance become very flexible. this is also how he met sasha, she was sitting in his favorite tree one day and they just hit it off from there.

- after he was rescued from the nether, laurance frequently had nightmares that would lead into sleep paralysis episodes. the first time it happened garroth had been looking over him (since this was around the time when laurance first got back and garroth had allowed aphmau to go do her lord tasks while he watched over him) and when he had the ability to move and speak again, he started freaking out. garroth had to calm him down and assure laurance that he’d talk to zoey about what happened. garroth and zoey are the only ones that know of laurance’s sleep paralysis, mainly because he didn’t want to worry aphmau or anyone else. zoey often gave him ways to cope with it. it didn’t happen every night, but it did occur at least 5-6 times a month. his sleep paralysis stopped the moment he entered the nether for the second time. 

- the first time laurance heard he’d made the list for the jury of nine, he felt honoured. when he was oblivious to how corrupt it was, he saw it as a huge opportunity. after learning about it’s true nature, he was still glad that he’d made the list -- because him being on the list prevented another person from risking being on the list and being chosen to be apart of the jury.

- yes, laurance can cook very will in this universe as well. it’s not that he was taught, it’s more that he can look at ingredients and just throw them together to make great combinations. zoey also taught him a few things.

- laurance does not know his real birthday. malachi does not remember his. since cadenza had “given” laurance a birthday, he offered to let malachi share his unofficial birthday with him. malachi accepted. 

garroth + laurance

- laurance began referring to garroth as “pretty boy” after seeing his face. he continued to call him that for the first month of their friendship. garroth hated it, and that’s the only reason laurance eventually stopped.

- laurance and garroth are both very good story tellers, but after one incident where garroth was telling levin and malachi a story, he started stumbling a bit over his words and couldn’t articulate correctly, so laurance picked it up and continued it. from there, they took turns with the story and occasionally interrupted one another to add a detail or plot point, and after that, malachi refused to listen to garroth or laurance separately when telling stories, because their collective minds came up with the most fascinating shit.

- garroth isn’t the best at coming up with insults because he’s simply too nice, but laurance loves to make fun of garroth (in good fun, of course). however, there is one thing that garroth could hold over laurance; and that was their height difference. whenever laurance would mess with him, garroth would just bring up height to piss laurance off. 

- when laurance regained his sight, him and garroth sparred very often. that’s when garroth realized how much strength laurance actually had, since he’d originally underestimated him. laurance, in all honesty, was equally surprised. their spars were pretty evenly matched.

- while these two are best friends, the amount of arguments they’ve had is insane. most of them were light-hearted and were more so disagreements, but sometimes things escalated and would result in yelling. that’s because laurance always took it a step too far. that, or garroth would try to disregard what they were talking about, which only made laurance more heated. but they’re both incredibly quick to forgive each other. once they had a really bad argument and didn’t talk for an entire hour afterwards, but once they saw each other again it was like they’d never fought. 

- since garroth grew up with everything and laurance often had to hunt and shit, garroth wasn’t amazing at it. laurance found out, originally teased garroth, but gave him tips and took him out and taught him how to hunt. garroth’s still shit at it when he does it alone, but when he does it with laurance he’s pretty decent. 

- garroth doesn’t drink. laurance does. laurance once tried to convince garroth to drink, but he refused -- which laurance respected, but garroth had to deal with drunk laurance for the rest of the night at the guard station. he learned things that he really wish he hadn’t that night. 

---

i had more for garroth and laurance’s relationship, but uh, i don’t really have time to write them down, so take these for now! i hope y’all enjoy them as much as i did writing them :]

[drmmyrs]

The Way I Loved You (Poppy x MC)

Soo bear with me since I think this might be a long series. This part is mostly just establishing the story so there is little to no fluff yet.

But stiiill, let me know what you guys think and I’d really appreciate feedback/constructive criticism. Hope you enjoy and if not, thanks for reading anyways :)) 

tag list: @whackawriting @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @uselesslesbianfr (ithis is my taglist I thiiink, but if you wanna be added or removed just let me know)  

Pairing: Poppy x MC (Bea)

Word Count: 1650

Warning: Little swearing (at least for this part)

A/N: This is from the part before Poppy and MC were paired for a project

Bea had been at Belvoire for two months now, but she still wasn't used to waking up on a queen-sized canopy bed fitted with luxe sateen sheets in a bedroom which probably cost more than her family's house back at Farmsville. She glanced at the clock–11:30 am. She still had some time to spare before her first class. How people managed to wake up early on this luxurious bed made of clouds, she didn't know.

After a few more minutes of daydreaming, Bea begrudgingly pulled herself out of bed. She was preparing her outfit when the smell of heaven wafted through the bedroom door–bacon and pancakes. Like some kind of puppet on strings, Bea let herself be led by the delicious aroma to the kitchen where Zoey was expertly pouring pancake batter on a pan.

"I didn't know I was roommates with a master chef," Bea jested.

Zoey turned around at Bea's voice, and as she saw her, a smirk crawled up her lips.

"Well, don't you look sexy." Zoey eyed Bea up and down with an amused look on her face.

Bea glanced down at her outfit and saw that she was still in her pajamas. "Whatever Zo, not everyone can rock designer outfits even in bed."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. Besides, Spongebob PJs do have a certain charm."

Bea rolled her eyes while smiling. "So, what are we having for breakfast?"

"I'm pretty sure it's lunch. And aren't you supposed to be in class, like, right about now?"

"Nah, my Tuesday classes aren't until one o'clock."

Zoey stared at Bea. "Babe, it's Wednesday."

Bea's eyes widened at Zoey's words. "No, no, no, Professor Roberta is gonna kill me."

Bea rushed to her room and hastily changed her clothes faster than she thought was possible. She contemplated going to class au naturel, but ultimately decided against it. Bea was not ugly by any means without makeup, but in a sea of extremely contoured cheeks and false eyelashes, having no makeup was basically social suicide, especially since Poppy was in that class. Ugh, great. Of course, I'm late to the only class I have with Poppy.

When Bea thought she was presentable enough, she sprinted out the door but not before grabbing a handful of pancakes and shoving it to her mouth, looking like a chipmunk in the process. The T is gonna have a field day if someone saw me like this. Bea slowed her sprint to a stride as she swallowed the last of the pancakes.

Bea arrived in class forty-five minutes late.

"Look who finally decided to join us," Professor Roberta said in disdain.

"Sorry Professor, won't happen again."

"I'm sure it won't. And since you decided to join us so late, you're gonna have to work with Ms. Min-Sinclair over here for your community service project."

Oh hell no.

Sure enough, Poppy was sitting alone, glaring at her, and Bea could almost swear she could see smoke coming out of her nose.

Bea hesitantly sat down beside Poppy.

"Look Poppy, let's be civil about this and finish this project fast so we–"

"We're not going to do anything, Farmsville. I will ace this project and you will stay out of my damn way."

"Like hell I'm gonna let you take all the credit."

"Is there a problem here?" The professor glowered at Poppy and Bea.

"None professor, we were just calmly discussing the details of the project," Poppy responded with a fake smile.

Bea rolled her eyes. Kiss ass.

Once the professor was out of earshot, Poppy sharply turned to Bea. "Be ready on Friday, we're going to a foster home in Middletown."

"Middletown? But that's like an hour away!"

"I don't see you coming up with better ideas," Poppy hissed.

"I–I–"

"I thought so. Do not be late, Farmsville. I don't want you taking more of my time than you already do," Poppy said with a glare before she grabbed her Chanel purse and strode away.

***

Back at her dorm, Bea was resting her head on her hands on the dining table when Zoey arrived.

Upon seeing Bea, Zoey immediately took a seat beside her and placed her hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "Aww, babe. Was Professor Roberta that mad?"

Bea turned to face Zoey. "No, but it was much, much worse."

Zoey raised her eyebrow.

"I was paired with Satan for our project."

"Poppy?"

Bea nodded. "She even wanted to do the project in Middletown. Middletown. That's like an hour away! I mean surely there has to be another community that needs servicing that doesn't require an hour drive with Poppy."

Zoey pretended to think thoughtfully. "Hmm, maybe she finally found a way to get rid of you permanently?"

"I'm serious, Zo." Bea glared at Zoey.

Zoey laughed. "Okay, okay, sorry. But do bring holy water just in case."

Bea groaned and stood up from the chair before ambling to her bedroom. "I'm going to bed."

Before Bea was able to shut the door, Zoey called out after her. "You'll survive, babe! Give her hell for me."

***

Just a few minutes after Bea got back from her classes, she heard the sound of consecutive horns outside which she immediately knew were from Poppy. No one else is obnoxious enough to disturb an entire dormitory. With a sigh, Bea grabbed her things and trudged outside.

When Bea got outside, Poppy's Range Rover was parked at the curb. Bea walked to the passenger's side and opened the door.

"Be a dear will you and don't touch anything, I don't want your filthy hands staining my car."

Bea rolled her eyes. Hello to you, too.

The first few minutes of the drive were silent except for the light rain that started drizzling on the windshield, that is, until Bea asked Poppy, "why are we going all the way to Middletown anyway? There's probably some–"

"Remember that time when I asked for your opinion?"

Bea just glared at Poppy.

"Me neither. So, shut up, Hughes."

"How about you take a day off from being a bitch, Poppy. Seeing that you've had your whole life being just that," Bea rebuked.

The entire car ride was spent with both girls hurling insults at each other that it was honestly surprising that Poppy didn't kick Bea out of the car in the middle of the road.

After one looong hour, they finally arrived.

"Don't get in my way, Farmsville," Poppy warned as she approached the house and rang the doorbell. After a few moments, a middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Poppy! What a pleasant surprise. Come on in." The woman gestured them inside.

Hang on, how does she know Poppy?

The woman led Bea and Poppy to a couch and asked them if they wanted something to drink, to which both of them politely declined.

"So, Brenda. How is the family?" Poppy was wearing a smile that might actually be... genuine?

Bea stared at Poppy in shock. Not only were they on a first-name basis, but Poppy was actually nice to someone that doesn't involve sucking up.

"They're doing great! Thomas actually just got promoted recently so we're gonna take the kids somewhere nice sometime next week."

"That's amazing, send Thomas my regards."

Okay, what the hell is happening?

After a few more polite conversations, Brenda turned to Bea. "You haven't introduced me to your friend yet." Brenda extended her hand to Bea. "I'm Brenda."

Bea wore her biggest smile as she shook Brenda's hand. "Bea. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Poppy cleared her throat. "Actually, we came here for a community service project, and we were hoping that we could throw the kids a small party and maybe at the same time we can do a photography shoot that can be shared to prospective families. Do you think we can do that?"

"Oh, certainly! I'm sure the kids would love that."

"That's great to hear. Where are they anyway?"

"They're actually out there playing with the toys you sent them. Come on, I'll lead you to them." Brenda stood up and walked towards the back door.

Poppy started to follow her but turned around when she noticed Bea was still sitting down.

"If you're just gonna sit there like a half-wit, do us a favor Farmsville, and do it far away from here."

Still in disbelief, Bea stood up and followed Poppy and Brenda to the yard where Poppy was greeted enthusiastically by five kids. She watched as Poppy played with them with such kindness and compassion that she couldn't help but smile as most of her anger towards the blonde was replaced with warmth and some other indescribable feelings. After a few more games where Bea was basically manhandled by Poppy to join, all of them went back inside exhausted. As it was already getting late, Bea and Poppy said their farewells to Brenda and the kids with a promise of returning on Sunday for the party and went back on the road.

Bea had so many questions she wanted to ask Poppy but the look on Poppy's face implied that she probably won't be answering any of those. A few minutes later, there was suddenly a huge downpour of rain that Poppy had to park the car. Bea then received a text from Zoey, and as she read it, a look of dread flashed across her face.

Poppy frowned upon seeing the look on Bea's face. "What is it now?"

"There's a typhoon. We're stuck here."

***

Bea and Poppy managed to find a decent hotel nearby where they decided to stay until the typhoon passed.

"Two rooms, please. And make them as far away as possible," Poppy said to the receptionist while handing him her credit card, giving Bea a glare at the last sentence.

And here I thought we're finally making progress.

"I'm sorry Ms. Min-Sinclair, we only have one more room available for tonight."

[windowsandfeelings]

1, 10, 16, 18?

1. A show that you wish you could be a character on

When I was 22 and moved to New York I reallllllly wanted to be a character on How I Met Your Mother, which...did not in any way happen. And I will always always always want to live in Stars Hollow (even though life experience living in actual small towns was extremely boring).

10. A show that you binge watched

Ha! What haven't I binged? Since way back in the one-disc-at-a-time-in-the-mail Netflix days.

But as far as record-setting binges? One time I rewatched all 9 seasons of One Tree Hill in 3 weeks. I watched all 10 seasons of Smallville in a couple of months in 2016. And there were several months of 2020 where I literally only watched Bones. Over and over again. It was very healthy and normal and not at all a stress response to *gestures about in dismay*

16. A show that has a good ending

Interpreting this as favorite series finales: The OC, Friday Night Lights, Hart of Dixie, The Office, Gilmore Girls (in spite of most of season 7), Lost (season 6 is a mess outside the sideways timeline but the finale is a masterpiece, fight me!), Dawson's Creek...

And recent, but the end of Station Eleven was perfect.

18. A show that you believe should have had more seasons

Honestly, I try not to wish for this anymore after we actually got a fourth season of Veronica Mars and... yeah. Plus, nothing really goes away forever anymore. (But the cancellations that have bummed me out most recently are Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist--though odds seem decent we'll keep getting movies occasionally--and A.P. Bio.)

[k-llama-llama]

FWB (P.1/5)

Monsta X AU: 8th member

Zoey x Monsta X

This is an ALTERNATE universe set in approximately 2016/2017. That's all for now.

A/N: We’re kicking off the month of December with the Zoey AU Au. This is coming out over the next six days, so make sure to share all of your reactions. ALSO FYI check out my patreon (patreon.com/kllamallama for exclusive posts!)

Requests are CLOSED…but your feedback is still super important to me.

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“This is officially the worst day ever.” Zoey declared, dropping her bag inside the door.

“Long day, huh?” Changkyun looked up from the couch.

“Obviously.” She kicked off her shoes, walking around to sit down on the ground next to the couch.

“You want to talk about it?” He looked down at her.

She sighed, looking up at her best friend. “I don’t know. Skipped lunch, long practice, and finally realized that it’s never going to happen with Seungcheol and I’m probably going to die alone.”

“One of those things is not like the other.” Changkyun sang, reaching out to pat her hair. “What happened?”

Zoey leaned into his hand. “I called him, like an idiot, because I wanted to hear his voice. And he called be buddy. Buddy! You don’t call someone you want to date ‘buddy’, do you?”

Changkyun winced. “I mean…I wouldn’t.”

“Exactly.”

“But hey….that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like you.” He said half-heartedly. “Maybe it was just a poor choice of words?”

“He’s never once asked me to hang out. He’s asked all of you guys individually. And I just get the feeling that he’s awkward when I’m around, and not in a ‘I have a crush on you’ kind of way, you know?”

Changkyun smoothed her hair back. “I’m sorry, Zo. I know you really liked him.”

“Maybe. Maybe I didn’t. Maybe he was just the first guy to take me seriously as a rapper. I’m starting to think I just knew I couldn’t do any better and just placed all of my stupid hopes on him.” She looked up at Changkyun, a pout on her face.

“You’re way out of his league. It’s not your fault he’s too stupid to see it.” Changkyun said. “And you don’t need a boyfriend, anyways. Are we not enough for you?”

“Of course you are. And I know I don’t need one…but…I guess I wanted one.” She snorted. “Stupid, right?”

“Not stupid at all.” Changkyun leaned over the arm of the couch. He didn’t really know how to make things better. Zoey had been hung up on Seungcheol for almost a year, even though everyone could kind of tell that it was one-sided.

“I mean…I’m pretty, right? And you said I was at least a seven with kissing, not that Seungcheol would know that. And I mean…I have an awesome body and Seungcheol has seen lots of that so he should-“

“Zo, I don’t think you’re the issue.” Changkyun said kindly. “Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”

“I guess.” She stood up on her knees, so her face was inches from his. “You would date me, right?”

“No.” He said quickly. “I know you too well.”

“But like…objectively. I’m dateable? I’m girlfriend material.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes, you’re girlfriend material. A little bossier than I’d like but you’re not bad.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” She sat back down. “Like…I know my only shot is with another idol because let’s be honest I’m not exactly low profile, but I have decent boobs and they’re real and I’m not afraid to like really –“

“Please, please stop with whatever you’re saying.” Changkyun begged.

“You’re sure you wouldn’t date me?” She asked again.

“Definitely not.” He poked her forehead. “Did you drink after practice?”

“No! Why won’t you date me?”

“Because you’re my best friend and it’s weird. Why do you want a boyfriend so badly?” He laughed.

“Don’t make me sound desperate.” She glared at him. “I just want…urgh, you know…someone to hug me, and kiss me, and tell me I’m pretty.”

“We hug you and tell you you’re pretty all of the time.” He offered.

“But none of you will sleep with me.” She said bluntly.

“What?” He sputtered, caught off guard.

“You won’t will you?” She sighed. “No kisses, no sex, I’m destined to die alone.”

“Hey, we have our pact, remember? If we’re still single when we’re old we’ll get married or something.”

“I’m not talking about when we’re forty, Kyun.” She frowned. “I’m talking about now.”

“If it’s such a big thing, I’ll take you on a date.” He offered.

“Not a real date.”

“Sure. Dinner and a movie. I’ll even grab your butt or something.”

“Kiss me.”

“Isn’t that something you do when you walk the girl home? We live together so I don’t think I have to-“

“No, I mean now.” She was back up on her knees, leaning close to her face. “Prove it. Prove that you’ll take me on a date.”

He looked at her lips. “I’ve kissed you before.”

“Exactly. So what’s the big deal with doing it again?” Zoey asked.

“I don’t know…if the guys know…or if…”

“Fine.” Zoey sighed. “I’ll just have to-“

Changkyun kissed her.

Zoey shut up instantly, eyes wide opened as Changkyun pulled her into what felt like a legitimate kiss. He had one hand behind her neck, the other on her cheek, and his lips were moving gently against hers.

When he finally pulled back, it took her a second to process.

“You kissed me.” She said simply.

“I just didn’t want to hear what you alternate plan was.” He grinned, sitting back onto the couch.

Zoey nodded, sitting back to the floor. “Am I still a seven?”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve gone down to like a five.”

“Yah! It was because I was surprised!”

[offtopicoverload]

Get Lucky

so i totally forgot about this request from @renluthor for like. two months, terribly sorry, but i finally finished it lmao. bit different than what we had discussed, but i had a lot of fun with it and think it turned out decent enough, hope you enjoy it also idk how to tag on ao3, i hope this works fine

M Rating (still suck at rating, there's drinking and kissing so)

Zoey x MC (Bea)

~1700 words (still pretty short since i cant seem to get my word count up rn but im also not that fussed)

Read on Ao3

-

Bea Hughes stands in the middle of Belvoire’s quad on her first day at the school, staring down a snarling beast, some bitch named Poppy that’s really starting to get on her nerves. “You know what, Poppy?” she snarks, “I’m really going to enjoy tearing you down. Something tells me nobody likes you half as much as you like yourself.” She pauses, glancing around before her gaze lands on some frat bro, “Michael, how often does Poppy call you an idiot?”

He frowns, face downcast, “Every day. My therapist says it isn’t good to surround myself with people who bring me down, but my parents are friends with Poppy’s and -”

“Oh my god, nobody asked to be invited to your pity party, Michael!” Poppy shouts, effectively cutting him off with a stamp of her foot.

Bea’s scowl grows, “You know what nobody asked to be invited to? Poppy’s Daily Bitch-Fest. Death by migraine would be more pleasant.”

“Oh, you haven’t even seen Poppy’s Daily Bitch-Fest,” her eyes narrow at Bea dangerously, “But if you’d like a demonstration, by all means, be my guest of -”

“Hey Bea! Look at the time, we gotta go!” Someone takes hold of Bea’s wrist, tugging her along and away from the crowd, from Michael, and from Poppy and her glare. She’s pulled into a sprint across the lawn, running wildly until they’re inside a dorm and standing before some door.

“Wish the circumstances were different, but welcome to the Winfrey dorm complex, aka your new home!” The girl lets Bea’s wrist drop back to her side, gesturing widely with one hand as she fumbles to unlock the door with the other.

She finally succeeds, throwing the door open and ushering Bea inside, the door slamming shut behind them. Bea’s eyes immediately rove over the expensive decor and nice furniture of the huge dorm she’s somehow stumbled upon.

The girl collapses on a couch, kicking her feet up as she looks over to Bea, “So, you got out of that one alive. Barely,” she adds under her breath. “How are you feeling?”

Bea follows suit, slumping down on the opposite side, toying with the hem of her shirt distractedly. “Honestly, you’re gorgeous,” she shrugs, watching the fabric slide between her fingertips. She freezes, slowly glancing to Zoey, “...is what I was thinking, but did I just say it out loud?”

A laugh bursts from Zoey, her head falling back, “You did, and you’re absolutely, positively right. Not to mention easy on the eyes yourself,” she grins, winking at Bea, before sticking her hand out. “I’m Zoey Wade, your roomie,” she shakes Bea’s hand when their palms meet, “This right here is our dorm. Your room’s on the left, mine’s on the right.”

“Okay,” Bea responds abruptly, sinking into the cushions and crossing her arms beneath her chest. “Okay,” she repeats.

Zoey glances over to her, “Are you okay?”

Bea’s eyes flicker to her dark ones, “Yes. Yes, because I got lucky on the roommate front,” she smiles, albeit somewhat forced.

“That you did,” Zoey smiles right back. “In fact, I know the perfect place to get you off campus until the hype dies down.” she jumps to her feet, crossing to the front door before Bea can even react.

She scrambles to her feet, nearly tripping on the corner of the coffee table, “Wait!” Zoey spins as she swings the door open, winking before disappearing down the corner, Bea nearly sprinting to catch up.

---

An hour later, Bea and Zoey are sitting in a dim corner of a Soho speakeasy, soft music and conversation buzzing in the background. Half-drunk Manhattans sit before them, their own voices adding to the soft din of chatter flowing in the space.

“How’d you find this place?” Bea inquires curiously, her eyes scanning the building and its patrons. It’s cozy and warm, the inviting atmosphere a sharp contrast to Belvoire’s intimidating one.

“Connections,” Zoey’s shoulders rise in a nonchalant shrug, unbothered as she scrolls her phone.

“Whose?”

Zoey looks up from her phone, gaze meeting Bea’s as she smirks, “Can’t spill all my secrets on the first day, babe.”

“Why not?” Bea challenges, one eyebrow quirked.

Zoey’s phone is set face down on the table as she looks at Bea mysteriously, smiling secretively, “As sweet as you are, I always need a few cards up my sleeve.”

“How many you got?”

“I’ll never tell,” she winks, in what Bea is quickly learning to be her default.

“I thought the whole point of coming here was to learn more about each other, roomie,” Bea counters pointedly.

Zoey shakes her head, leaning back against the booth, “The point of coming here is avoiding the campus harpy that goes by the name of Poppy.”

“So you don’t want to get to know me? Or let me get to know you?”

“Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll tell you something.”

Bea just her bottom lip out in a pout, her eyes wide and innocent as she blinks up at Zoey. She only smiles coyly in return, drinking her cocktail as Bea deflates, sighing and slumping backwards.

“You are so lucky you’re cute,” Zoey hums from the back of her throat.

Bea grins before schooling her expression into something flirtatious, “I’m hoping I’ll get luckier.”

Zoey laughs at that, just as loud and unrestrained as back in their dorm, “Nice try. At least buy me a drink first.”

“I’ll buy you the whole bar, how about that?”

“I’ll take another Manhattan for now,” Zoey laughs, sinking back into the booth as Bea jumps up, weaving through the speakeasy’s crowd to get back to the bar.

She returns a few minutes later, wiggling the drinks in her hands enticingly with a wide grin on her lips. She slides back into her seat, sipping her own bright coloured cocktail as she looks to Zoey.

“So what made you want to come to Belvoire? Long way from home, right?” Zoey plays with her drink, scraping a cherry off a toothpick with her front teeth.

Bea shrugs, “It’s a good school, and I thought it’d be fun to try something new… But now I’m mixed up in petty drama,” a sigh shifts her shoulders, Zoey stilling her absentminded fidgeting.

“Petty drama, maybe, but you’re making a name for yourself,” she nudges Bea with her elbow. “That’s more than a lot of people can say.”

“So you don’t think I’m totally screwed?”

“Hmm,” one carefully manicured nail taps Zoey’s chin. “I give it ten to one odds,” she finally decides, smiling sweetly across the table.

Bea frowns, a dent forming between her brows as the girl across from her’s smile grows in amusement, “Those aren’t good odds.”

“But there’s still a chance. Look, I know I don’t know you very well, but you seem like the type to pull it off.”

“Seems like you’re just trying to flatter me.”

“And what if I was?”

“I guess I’d wonder if there was a reason for it.”

“Can’t a cute girl be reason enough?”

Bea lets her gaze rake over Zoey suggestively, “I suppose so.”

“See? You’re smart, you’ll be fine,” she encourages. “Probably.”

“Ugh,” with a groan, Bea’s head falls forward, forehead crashing against the table.

“Nope, nope, nope,” Zoey chastises above her, “No moping.”

Bea turns, her cheek pressing into the wood, “What else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re going to dance,” Zoey announces, standing with her palms flat on the tabletop. She cocks her head at Bea expectantly, sauntering out to the dancefloor when Bea takes the hint, popping up and chasing behind her.

The dance floor's more crowded than anywhere else, couples and friend groups moving in unison to the beat thundering through the air. Zoey whirls around, dancing to the peppy song currently playing until Bea’s joined her, swinging her hips and throwing her arms about carelessly.

The song’s change, the crowd moves as one, and the pair spin and jump and whirl, Zoey taking Bea’s hands and twirling her until she’s laughing and dizzy. Time ticks past until they’re both breathless and sweaty, leaning against one another for support.

“You’re a pretty good dancer,” Zoey chuckles, her breath brushing Bea’s cheek, goosebumps breaking across her skin.

A grin breaks Bea’s lips too, relaxed and somewhat tired, “Right back atcha.”

Zoey throws her arm over Bea’s shoulders, fingers knitting behind her neck as she looks down at the shorter girl, her messy hair and gleaming eyes, her smudged lipstick and shining teeth. One hand retracts, the pad of her thumb swiping lightly beneath Bea’s lips, cleaning up the mess on her skin.

Bea’s breath hitches, her eyes widening in the dim lighting of the speakeasy, glued to Zoey’s dark ones as they shift over parted lips. “Hey, Bea?” she whispers, thumb still ghosting over Bea’s skin.

“Yeah?” she whispers back, the exhale skimming Zoey’s skin now.

“Are you still trying to get lucky?”

“God yes,” she groans.

Zoey bends down, letting her lips softly graze Bea’s, just barely making contact. Smudged lips chase hers, Zoey smiling before Bea’s palms are on her cheeks, tugging her downwards, her own thumbs brushing along high cheekbones.

Zoey’s hands find her hips, pulling her closer until they’re bodies fit together, only heat between them under the lights. Zoey nips at Bea’s bottom lip, the shorter girl gasping against her lips, Zoey’s tongue slipping past them.

Time ticks past, the mass of people surrounding them lost in a haze, heat the only thing discernible. The break apart after a short moment, unconsciously swaying to the music together, getting caught up in the rhythm, sucked into the thudding bass.

“We should probably head back to campus,” Zoey murmurs after another song fades out.

Bea’s head lolls to the taller girl’s shoulder, a groan spilling from her throat, “Mm, do we have to?”

A familiar chuckle explodes from Zoey’s chest, “Yeah, maybe you’ll find a four-leaf clover along the way. Get even luckier.”

Bea pulls back, her eyes eager as they meet Zoey’s and the remaining laughter in them. “Okay, let’s go!” she grabs Zoey’s hand on her hip, tugging her through the crowd and out the door, pulling her along this time. Her laughter rings behind Bea as she barrels down the street, New York’s lights illuminating her way.

[montygreen]

Fic Writer Asks

Thank you so much for the tag @takeunknownroadnow!! 

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

I currently have 22! 

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

241928

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Two! Never Have I Ever and Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. 

I have other fandoms I’ve written for in the past, but last year when I was writing most of my Never Have I Ever fic, I basically orphaned everything I’d written prior to that year. When I was younger, I’d written for fandoms such as Scorpion, Steven Universe, The 100, and Miraculous Ladybug (everything is stored on my google drive still LOL)

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In order: found a life worth living for someone else, i feel like i'm the worst (so i always act like i'm the best), my heart just burst like a glass balloon, i'm forever chasing after time, i got dark only to shine

5) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Do.... any of my fics end with angst? Honestly, they really don’t, I just really enjoy writing fluff. Though I suppose i thought my heart was detached (from all the sunlight of our past) ends with some slight angst?

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Basically all my fics end happily, I don’t think I could designate any of them as having the *happiest* ending

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Not at all, I’ve read a few excellent ones, but it’s not something I see myself comfortable writing.

8) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

God no, I’m not even a huge fan of reading smut unless I know it’s gonna be well done, so I sure as hell don’t try and write it.

9) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Always! I answer all my comments! Comments are like instant serotonin, and I always want people who comment on my fics to know I appreciate them!

10) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t believe I have. I’ve gotten some weird... comments before wherein people give weird unsolicited criticism or try to instruct me on how I can improve the fic in their eyes and comments like that make me role my eyes into the back of my head.

For example, I once wrote a fic from the perspectives of tons of different characters and a comment I got basically told me I should alter my writing style for each character... as if it’s like, that easy to just completely change your writing style lmao.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of? 

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

None of my recent fics, no. But I very vaguely remember a fic I wrote in like 8th grade that I posted on Fanfiction.net for Scorpion was translated into French, which was pretty damn cool.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes!! @parkersedith have written 5 fics together!! Co-writing is like, an insane amount of fun, and it’s also fun when our other friends try and guess who wrote what.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

This is not a question I can answer 

15) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Probably my x +1 idea that’s x fake dates Devi and Ben go on and one time its real, I just... really could not come up with creative enough scenarios that would require fake dating or that I had any interest in writing.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I think I do a pretty decent job with characterization? Particularly with Devi because I relate to her a lot, so often times I’ll just make her me, but a bit less mature and snarkier.

I also am fond a lot of my dialogue because I like to think I’m pretty witty.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Ugh, I really don’t like the way I write descriptions of surroundings or actions or anything like that. 

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’m monolingual and can only speak English, so I wouldn’t risk writing dialogue in another language, since I really would want to mess it up.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

When I was 12, I wrote fanfiction for the anime Soul Eater and posted it on DeviantArt, I deleted it, and I sincerely hope no copy of it exists anywhere.

Also, from ages 10-11 I was obsessed with Warrior Cats and I had my whole own lore figured out with my own clans and everything, I even plotted out my own “Warriors Super Edition” with one of my OC cats, and it’s written in a notebook that’s buried deep in a box of mementos (Yes, I used to write my fanfiction ON PAPER)

20) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

i'm forever chasing after time 100%!! It features my best poetic language, my best plotting, my best foreshadowing, my best everything, really. It’s the fic I have the most pride for and I’m glad it’s in the top 5 of my most popular fics (though it deserves to be the MOST popular imo)

Tagging: @mellarkably, @boylebingo, @parkersedith, @logynnrose, @catty-words

[new-years-tay]

here’s a few show recommendations/reviews. these are my personal opinions but i really want to hear your thoughts about these shows if you’ve watched them!! also please please send me your recommendations!

1. agents of shield: 10/10. this show is part of the mcu. the casting and storyline are perfect. my favorite ship is fitzsimmons. this show has made me CRY so hard; literally everything about it is perfect, please watch it. also the last season is currently airing on abc and hulu but i believe the previous seasons are on netflix.

2. brooklyn 99: 10/10. every single episode has me falling off my seat. i love the element of humor balanced with beautiful healthy relationships. my favorite ship is peraltiago obviously. i really like how the individual characters interact with each other and the friendships they form. the characters are genuinely funny and i loved every minute of this show. all 7 seasons are on hulu and the nbc app. supposedly there’s going to be an 8th season, which will probably be the last one. i honestly cannot wait to see jake as a dad.

3. stranger things: 10/10. obviously. this is an amazing show. normally i cannot, emphasis on cannot, watch horror, but i loved this show.

4. the good place: 9/10. i love this show and everything about it. the reason i gave it a 9 is because theres a lot of adult humor in it. probably dont watch it with kids. i haven’t been able to watch the last season yet but the ending of season 3 had me bawling.

5. zoeys extraordinary playlist: 10/10. this is a new show, it premiered in feb i think. there’s only like 12 episodes. however, this show is a literal rollercoaster. the first episode will have you crying and laughing. i didn’t realize how invested i was until i saw the season finale which was so emotional.

6. the office: 3/10. i genuinely don’t think this show deserves all the hype it gets. i watched the first few episodes and got second hand embarrassment so bad i couldn’t continue. this show also has a ton of dirty jokes. sure, the characters are funny and i practically have the same name as jim and pams baby, but i personally don’t think this show is worth your time. sorry.

7. marvel’s runaways: 5/10. this show started out pretty dark and only got worse. it was pretty engaging but by the 3rd season i was like wtf am i watching.

8. the end of the fxxxing world: 7/10. decent show. i started it thinking it was an apocalypse show, which it is definitely not, and stayed mainly because of the main characters’ accents. it’s kinda dark though and slightly fxxxed up. pun intended. i liked the ending though.

9. prison break: 9/10. a bit stressful but what i likes about this show is that it stayed true to the title throughout the whole show. i think there was a break in every season. also t-bag is a horrible person but i really liked his character and he was pretty funny. i also share his views on kale smoothies. #iykyk

10. criminal minds: 8/10. sort of like b99 but like a lot more intense and graphic. pretty stressful and i don’t like watching it alone but reid is super cute lol

[let-me-write-shit]

Somebody To You: 8

Friendly reminder to please Like and/or Reblog. It helps more than you think! :)

New chapter every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

WARNING: Mention of situational depression

Word Count: 2,866

A/N: Ok. Here’s the thing. This chapter was MEANT to be about something else....but I got a TAD BIT carried away and...well, here we are. So the super fluffy stuff will be in Friday’s chapter...but this chapter is still really cute :) Hope you like!

Click Here For Previous Chapter & Other Completed Stories

--------------------------------

CHAPTER EIGHT

The thing about Zoey’s situational depression is that it tended to put her into such a deep sleep that oftentimes caused her to oversleep. Usually, when waking up from one of these episodes she became slightly disoriented, which was the case the following morning when she felt herself being shaken awake, and the sharp whispers of her name being repeated made her cognizant of the fact that someone was desperately trying to get her attention. She shot straight up, clutching her sheets over her bare chest to see Nancy, kneeling beside her on the bed and pressing her phone to her chest.

“Wh-What’s wrong?” Zoey stammered, trying to take in her atmosphere.

The early morning sun had just risen, shining softly across the city below. Brett was still fast asleep in the bed beside her, snoring loudly. Loose strands of hair were stuck chaotically on her forehead and cheeks and drool had formed at the corner of her mouth that she quickly wiped away. Nancy looked like she had only recently been woken up, but she paid no mind to Zoey being half-naked, or the fact that there was also a half-naked man in the bed beside her.

“Harry’s on facetime,” Nancy pointed to the phone she held to her chest, “he says he needs to talk to you and it’s really important.”

The expression teetered on the side of concern and Zoey nodded, looking around frantically for something to cover herself while still trying to process what was going on. She could hear the sounds of Harry rustling and breathe through the speaker on Nancy’s phone and increasingly began to worry, wondering what was so important that he needed to Facetime her so early and it couldn’t wait.

“Ok, give me two seconds to put on a shirt and I’ll facetime him from my phone,” Zoey whispered.

Harry must have heard and his muffled voice sounded from Nancy’s phone, “Okay, hurry!” before the ping of the facetime call ended.

Nancy pulled her phone away from her chest to see that Harry was no longer on the screen and looked up at Zoey, whispering a quick apology for waking her up so suddenly, before standing up and quietly leaving the room. 

Zoey slipped out from under the bed covers, instantly cold from the air conditioner, sending shivers down her back and across her stomach. She grabbed her robe that she had draped on the back of her vanity chair, pulling it over her and tying it tightly to her waist before grabbing her phone, seeing several missed facetimes, texts, and calls from Harry. She pressed the ‘return missed facetime’ button, plopping onto her chair. Her reflection popped onto her screen and her eyes widened at just how crazy she looked, wiping the strands of hair away from her face and trying to smooth out the bedhead on the top of her head. 

Her phone panged as Harry quickly answered her call, smiling widely, twitching when he noticed how dazed she looked, “Did I wake you?” he asked.

Zoey shot him a bemused look, whispering back, trying not to wake Brett, “It’s 7:30 in the morning! I’ve only been asleep for four hours.”

Harry winced, “Sorry! But guess where I am.”

Zoey’s eyebrows furrowed, confused by the exchange so far. He hadn’t seemed in trouble at all. He was so desperate for her to call that he had Nancy come and wake her up, yet the conversation so far was nonchalant.

“What is going on?” she hushed again, “I thought you were hurt or something. You made it seem like it was super important.”

“Why are you whispering?” he asked, just as Brett stirred in the bed behind her. Zoey flinched, looking behind her and pausing, avoiding any sudden movement so as not to wake him up even more, which caused Harry to call out, “What are you doing?”

Wordlessly, she stood and tiptoed over to her closet door, flicking the light on and softly closing the door behind her. Her bedroom might have been small, but at least she had a semi-decent walk-in-closet. With a grunt, she sat cross-legged in the back corner, leaning up against a row of dresses that hung down to the ground, and tightening her robe that had loosened from bending down.

“Are you in your closet?” Harry chuckled.

“Yes,” Zoey confessed, rubbing her eyebrow.

She watched as Harry’s laugh slowly turned into realization and he asked, “Oh, shit. Is Brett there?”

She felt her cheeks begin to flush and again said, “Yes.” It was Harry’s turn to be embarrassed, mouth forming an ‘o’ and looking just beyond the phone. She shook it off and remembered his question, “Didn’t you say you were in Philly today?”

Harry’s eyes glinted in excitement, “Yeah! I got up early so I decided to do a bit of sightseeing. Guess where I am.”

“The museum?” she yawned, shrugging.

He turned the camera screen around to show a familiar tree-lined street with a few cars parked along the side of the road, slowly panning to a yellow cape cod house with a small front porch, and a dark wooden door. An assortment of bushes and flower blossoms lined the front and surrounded a lantern post on the right side of the walkway, while a weeping cherry blossom tree sat on the left.

Zoey gasped, sitting upright, “Is that my house?”

Harry spun the camera back around to face him, smiling, “I also saw your school you mentioned. It’s so big!”

“How the hell did you remember my address? What the hell?”

He laughed, “Think anyone’s home?”

“My sister’s car was in the driveway, so probably.”

“Should I go knock on the door and say hi?”

Zoey laughed at the thought of her sister seeing Harry Styles on her front step, “You might give her a heart attack. She’s so shy.”

“Does she even know we’re friends.”

“I mentioned it in passing, but I don’t think she really believed me.”

Harry took his keys out of the ignition and pushed open his door, stepping out. She clasped her hands over her mouth, anxiety coursing through her body as his camera was panned down towards his feet, watching him casually saunter up her parent’s walkway, something she never thought she’d see. He flipped his phone around so that Zoey could somewhat see what he was doing, though at a very unflattering angle that, if she tried, she could probably see up his nose.

Harry knocked on the door lightly, his heart beating a little faster than normal. Honestly, he was nervous. It was understandable. He was by himself, knocking on a stranger’s door, about to meet the little sister of a friend he just made. A minute had passed and no one had come to the door yet. He held the phone up to his face to see Zoey, her puffy eyes were starting to settle as she had become more awake.

“No one’s answering,” he told her.

She smiled, “Want me to text her?”

Just as he was going to respond, he heard the click of the door being unlocked and he dropped his phone to his side as a freckle-faced girl with long, dark brown hair framing her face answered. Her hazel-green eyes were wide in shock. If he looked hard enough, he could see Zoey in her. The bright, round eyes, the arch of their eyebrows, plump lips, but the bottom lip slightly larger than the top, even their nose was the same, small at the bridge and slightly turned up at the end.

“Hello,” Harry smiled, kindly, trying not to laugh at her expression.

“H-Hello?” She stuttered, flickering between him and scanning the area to see if anyone else was with him.

“My name’s Harry. You’re Katie, right?”

“Yeah? How do you-why are you here?” she shook her head, confused.

“Well, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d stop by. I actually have a friend that wants to say hi.” 

He held his phone up for Katie who’s mouth dropped when she saw her sister and the two girls let out a small screech.

“Zoey, what the hell?” she exclaimed, sounding exactly like her sister did earlier.

“This was all his idea, I had no clue he was planning on going there,” Zoey immediately defended herself.

“What the heck is happening right now?” Katie clasped her hands on her cheeks and Harry couldn’t help but laugh as she reminded him so much of Zoey right now. “Do you want to come in?” she offered, widening the door.

“Yeah, that’d be lovely, thank you,” Harry grinned.

He followed her inside and waited by the landing as she closed the door. He noticed the hallway lined with pictures of the two girls growing up and his lip twitched upwards, his heart softening as he recognized his new friend from the childlike eyes in the frames. For some reason he could never quite picture Zoey as a little kid, running around and playing in sandboxes, but here was the proof right in front of him.

Katie led Harry towards their living room where the television was on and The Office was running, a half-eaten bowl of cereal was sitting on the coffee table, and a laptop was opened, but the screen was black, probably having gone to sleep mode. The two took a seat on the couch and Harry held his phone up so they could continue talking to Zoey.

“I don’t even know what to say right now,” Katie blushed, grinning, “How do two even know each other.”

“Through her roommates,” Harry informed her.

“I tried getting rid of him, but he just won’t leave me alone,” Zoey joked.

“I’m like an annoying fly. You can’t get rid of me,” Harry smirked, making the girls laugh.

“You haven’t been responding to my texts!” Katie uttered towards her sister.

Zoey frowned, “I know, I’m sorry.”

Harry turned to Katie, smiling, “It’s okay, she’s been ignoring me, too.”

The three of them continued talking and Harry had Katie tell him embarrassing stories of the two of them growing up. She was nice and could see why Zoey found it difficult to be away from her sister. Seeing them interact was special. He knew just how important family was to her because he felt the same. Their bond reminded him of his own bond with his older sister. They could pick on each other, then praise each other in the same sentence.

“So, Katie, do you have any plans tonight?” Harry asked.

“I have work in an hour, but I get off at 6. Why?”

“Well, Zoey told me that you were a fan. So, I have two spare tickets to my show tonight for you and a friend, if you’d like.”

“Are you serious?” Katie squealed, clasping her hands over her mouth.

Zoey awed, “That’s so nice!”

“Thank you,” Katie grinned.

There was an indistinct knocking through the phone and both Katie and Harry watched to see Zoey’s attention shoot up and look past the screen. A deep, Australian voice laughed, “What are you doing in here.”

Zoey sheepishly smiled, pulling her phone down so that just her chin and neck were visible and she hushed, “Sorry, just on the phone with my sister. I’ll be right there.”

He knew it shouldn’t have bothered him, but why couldn’t she also say that she was on the phone with him, too? Her whole situation with Brett didn’t sit well with him. It wasn’t because he didn’t like Brett, because he was a nice person and he didn’t have anything against him. It’s just that Zoey was always so defensive when Brett was brought up into conversation. If you like him, that’s fine. But you don’t have to hide it, especially from your friend. And if you didn’t like him, why keep sleeping with him? It just made no sense to Harry. But he wasn’t going to tell her that. She could do what she wanted. And he had no room to talk. After all, he still had to figure out what he wanted to do about Rory.

Things hadn’t improved with Aurora since their last serious conversation. They still texted semi-frequently and would occasionally flirt, but there was definitely a lack of interest on her side. She did warn him of this, though. How she wanted to give him the distance to figure out what he wanted. And he was trying, honestly, but he just had so much on his plate that the stress of figuring out what he wanted the future of his relationship with Rory to look like was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. Still, he worried that he would take too long to decide and ruin his chances altogether.

Not wanting Zoey to feel uncomfortable, Harry said, “Well, listen, Katie and I are going to talk about the plan for tonight and I’ll call you later. You better answer.”

“No promises,” Zoey grinned, waving them goodbye and hanging up.

Harry slipped his phone into his back pocket and turned to look at Katie, who had a clear expression of confusion and concern on her face. Her gaze was towards the floor for a few seconds, and when she looked up, Harry could almost hear the words that came out of her mouth before she spoke.

“Who was that?”

“Zoey didn’t tell you about Brett?” He asked. When Katie shook her head no, Harry bit his bottom lip in thought. Obviously she didn’t tell her about Brett for a reason, and he didn’t want to be the one to say anything in case there was a reason for hiding it. So very carefully he said, “He’s just a coworker. He hangs out with Zoey and her roommates a lot.” Katie nodded, looking down again. He couldn’t tell if she believed him or not, so he changed the subject, “So, she’s been avoiding you, too, huh?”

Katie looked up, almost frowning, and nodded, “Yeah, but I get it. She’s been having a hard time lately.”

Harry nodded, “Yeah, she told me about Jess. I figured she’s just missing her or something.”

 “Well, yeah. But it’s Jess’s birthday on Tuesday. It’ll have been a year since she’s died.”

Harry’s eyes widened and his mouth fell, “That’s on Tuesday?” Katie nodded her head and he sighed, “I know that Jess died in June, but I didn’t know the date. That makes so much sense. Usually, she tells me everything but now she’s barely answering my texts. I feel bad that I didn’t realize.”

Katie blew a puff of air before cracking a smile, “Sorry, this is just so weird. You’re in my house and talking about how you and my sister tell each other everything? I feel like I’m hallucinating.”

The two of them talked for another hour or so, mostly casual chats and polite conversation starters, him asking her what she does for work and what her hobbies were before Harry had to leave. He was sure to give Katie his number so that she could let him know when she got to the venue and planned to see her and her friend when he got off stage, he wanted to make sure he took care of Zoey’s little sister, or else he was sure that Zoey would beat him to a pulp. 

The drive back to his hotel was mostly silent. He was so deep in his thoughts that he forgot to turn the stereo on. Why hadn’t Zoey just said something to him? She knows he would have been there for her. He felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. He should have. She wasn’t just avoiding him. Both Rory and Nancy have reached out to him about how distant she’s been with them, too. He figured it had something to do with Jess, but obviously he couldn’t tell them that. They still didn’t know about Jess. Still, they asked him if he knew what was bothering her or if he’d reached out to her. He should have been more assertive about it. Right? Or did she want space? 

His hands began to clam up, gripping the steering wheel tighter. He didn’t know what to do. The feeling of helplessness was infuriating. Zoey’s always been very forthcoming about her emotions, but this was such a fragile topic. He remembered being in this situation and having the need to be around people, but not wanting to talk. Maybe that’s why Brett was there.

He thought harder. It was three days until Tuesday.  And to make matters worse, he knew that she didn’t work on Tuesdays. A whole day of nothing to distract her. A whole day of nothing but being trapped in her own mind. Unless she had someone to talk to. He was off from Tuesday to Thursday. He definitely couldn’t fly there, he’s flown out way too much already and his management and tour team was pissed enough as it was. Plus, he was meant to go to the studio on those days to start writing for his new album. But he could call. Or facetime. Or ...something? 

KEEP READING

---------------------------

Taglist:

@thurhomish​ ,

[riannekaufman]

(ZOEY DEUTCH, 25, SHE/HER) We have been waiting for a while, but RIANNE KAUFMAN was finally spotted in the village today. People heard whispers that they are a WITCH that is hellbent on fixing the veils. Will they succeed? Only time can tell. Until then we will keep a close eye on them as they listen to THAT WON’T SAVE US BY AGAINST THE CURRENT.

statistics

full name: rianne louise kaufman

hometown: boston, ma

age & DOB: 25 / october 28th

gender: cisfemale

pronouns: she/her

species: witch

occupation: currently unemployed. does tarot readings and makes potions under the table.

relationship status: single

sexual orientation: pansexual

appearance

fc: zoey deutch

hair color: medium chesnut brown

eye color: hazel

height: 5'2"

build: fit, hourglass

piercings: hoop in left nostril, both ears, belly button

tattoos: floral crescent moon on right wrist (x),  lavender sprig on left arm (x)

personality

positives: intuitive, charismatic, captivating, flirtatious, & driven

negatives: stubborn, sarcastic, impulsive, reckless, & impatient

background (car accident tw, death tw, drugs tw)

rianne never quite had a normal upbringing. shortly after her birth, her parents (a witch and warlock) were both killed in a freak car accident. this left the small orphan in the care of her maternal grandmother, louisa davenport.

louisa made sure to teach rianne everything she knew, but it came with a great warning. growing up in the heart of boston, ma, she was taught to hide her powers from the rest of the world. hunters lurked around every corner and the elderly woman couldn't stand to lose her only living kin. it was also because of this that louisa taught her to use her magic for as much good as possible.

shortly after rianne turned twenty-one, her grandmother's health began to decline. it was around this time the old woman finally told her where their family was from. it was the first time rianne had ever heard of wildemount, but the curiosity inside of her grew.

her grandmother passed away in may 2017, leaving rianne a deed to a house in the english village and a decent sum of money to live off of. it shocked the young girl, considering for the majority of her life, she was convinced her entire family were simply a group of poor immigrants.

upon relocating to wildemount, rianne discovered things that she only imagined in her wildest dreams. it's been a bit of a culture shock for the young woman, but it was mostly positive... until the leyline split.

additional personality information

rianne is very rooted in nature and insists on doing things as naturally as possible. for every plant she uses for a spell or potion, she must plant a new one. she protects animals fiercely and believes they should be all but worshipped.

smoke weed every day might as well be her mantra. little lady is almost constantly high as it helps with her anxiety and tbh, just makes her feel better over all.

she'll fight with anyone that says there's black magic and white magic. while someone can do primarily good and bad, she firmly believes that all magic is gray and that every single thing comes with a price.

rianne, while fiercely loyal once she cares for someone, is terrified of getting attached to anyone in anything other than a slightly platonic way. she's lost all of her family and, honestly, can barely stand the thought of a romantic connection despite how lonely she is. that doesn't stop her from loads of physical affection and flirtation, however. 

she fancies herself a bit of a superheroine of sorts and almost always tries to do the “right thing” in situations because that’s her grandmother would have wanted. (spoiler alert: what she thinks is right is usually wrong.)

she's always ready for an adventure and gets pretty antsy if she sits still for too long.

short tempered and reckless, she often finds herself in a bit of a trouble.

[tvobsessed96]

Some thoughts on Max and Zoey

I’ve been trying to get my thoughts down all day, but it’s proven difficult. It was turning into a long, exhausting essay and I wasn’t feeling it. So, I’m going to try to be a bit more concise. Just a bit. It’s still going to be long, so I’ll put in a cut. I’m going to be saying both positive and negative things about Max, so keep that in mind.

I love Zoey and Max a lot, and they are absolutely my ship of choice at this point in the series. At the same time, I do understand where a lot of the fandom’s criticism of Max is coming from. Before I go on, I want to be clear that I don’t think Max is only friends with Zoey because he wants to date her. I think he loves her as a person first and foremost, and his romantic feelings for her are just icing on the cake. We’ve seen that he doesn’t let his let his feelings get in the way of being a good friend when it really counts, especially in 1x08. He didn’t have to rush into that conference room to save her presentation, he didn’t have to listen to her talk about her dad, and he certainly didn’t have to try so hard to make her feel better. He did all that anyway. Even when he kind of hates Zoey, he loves her. However, I do think there’s a sense of entitlement in the way he talks about a potential romance with Zoey. Like it’s an inevitability that she’s just too stubborn to give into. And as adorable as Max is when he’s happy, the way he immediately rejects Zoey’s platonic interpretation of “I’m Yours” as a possibility wasn’t a good look. Even though he still wants to be her friend, I can’t help feeling like part of him resents her for not immediately jumping at the chance to be his girlfriend.

It’s not that Max doesn’t have valid reasons to be mad at Zoey. He definitely does. One of Zoey’s most important weaknesses as a character is that she can be very selfish. Her social awkwardness leads her to avoid confrontation and uncomfortable conversations, even at the expense of other people’s happiness. The conversation she has with Max at the end of 1x07 is one she should have had with him after “Sucker” at the very least, maybe even after “I Think I Love You.” She even acknowledges as much when she goes to talk to him. Setting Max up with Autumn was not the best way she could have handled the situation. It was unfair to Max, and really unfair to poor Autumn. But I honestly don’t think Max is trying hard enough to see her perspective. He listens to her speech and seems to agree, but then he adds the condition about movie night. In the next episode he even says that he doesn’t buy her explanation about endangering their friendship as the real reason they can’t be together. To be fair, though, I know I would be hurt if the person I have romantic feelings for sang a love song to me, and then immediately turned around and sang a love song to someone else a few minutes later. 

Ultimately, I think my biggest issue with Max is that he expects Zoey to make figuring out her romantic life a priority. It might not bug me so much if the writers hadn’t chosen to put so much on Zoey’s plate. She works in a highly stressful job with a demanding boss. And because she’s a woman, she has to work twice as hard to achieve the same level of recognition and success as her male peers. Her beloved father is dying of a debilitating disease, and she’s just learned that she likely has less than a month left with him. To top it all off, she’s been given this power that suddenly makes everyone else’s pain her responsibility. I do think the show does a good job of balancing the heavier stuff out with plenty of great humor. But even so, the last thing Zoey needs is her best friend making her feel bad for not wanting to date him right now.

All of this to say that I just really want Max to reassure Zoey that she doesn’t owe him anything. That he’s happy to give her the time and space she needs to decide what she really wants, even if her conclusion isn’t what he wants to hear. I think the show has done a decent job of showing how much he cares about her in spite of how he’s feeling. But I’d still like to hear him say it, you know?

I guess that kind of turned into an essay, after all. Thanks to anyone who read the whole thing! I know I kind of gave Max a hard time, but I really do ship him and Zoey. What can I say? I’m a sucker for the best friends to lovers trope. If the writers do it well, this could be something really sweet. I might not totally agree with how Max is handling things right now, but that doesn’t automatically have to be a bad thing. I actually like that I don’t have exclusively good things to say about him. Zoey, Max, and Simon aren’t perfect characters. They don’t always say or do the right thing, and that’s great! Perfect characters make a story dull and unrelatable. ZEP is many things, but dull and unrelatable aren’t on the list.

[matt0044]

Sledge: “IT’S A BOMB!”

I’m no toy collector but that HAS to be one of his action figure’s catchphrases.

The Beast vs. Dino Team-Up kicks off with the team seeking Ryjack’s ship before Evox’s motley crew can snatch it for themselves. I honestly still love that they set up this team up with two episodes in advance rather than making it a single one-off that can be viewed in isolation. It’s just a part of Beast Morphers.

Zoey locates it and tries to board it when an unknown party is in-bound for the ship but triggers the self-destruction, the first time that’s ever gone right for a villain. Evox takes notice of this and sends out the Robotars along with the Reanimaizer in order to recover whatever they might find within the wreckage.

Roxy recognizes Snide’s sword from her original’s memories of Grid Battleforce training and has Blaze reanimaize him. It’s almost a shame that it couldn’t be Zeltrax but upgraded since it would’ve helped justify Dino Thunder. Maybe they could’ve sprung for Messagog since he was just dubbed over with a suit actor?

The villains hide as Keeper appears before Zoey. She mistakes him for a possible enemy and throws a Compliant Collar on him in a decent bit of quick thinking. Her team arrives and recognize him from Ranger History Classes. I’m assuming that’s a Grid Battleforce course but I love the idea of Ranger battles being a part of history books. Something that Megaforce sorely could’ve used.

Devon gets Keeper into a truck only for a Vivik to make off with him. The Beast Rangers morph and pursue them into the city where the Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters footage kicks in, the truck originally carrying AbaRed. I love that they’re able to bring over footage of specials and movies since the higher production values shows how special it is with Devon dodging explosion on the roadway. :)

Triptoids join the fun as the Beast Rangers are distracted from the truck with all the mooks. However, a trans-dimensional portal opens up to reveal Tyler, Chase, Koda and Ivan fully morphed only to soon lose Keeper to Snide quickly. Not gonna lie, I really smiled seeing the boys back in action and kicking butt. :D

Evox gets Keeper to exposite about the Energems as well as the Dino Charge story, understandable due to how weird that timeline seems to be. Meanwhile, the Rangers reconcile with Zoey’s lapse in judgement before getting a message that demands Ryjack’s collection in exchange for Keeper’s life. Commander Shaw makes a calculated risk by agreeing to them due to the info they may get.

The Rangers meet up in Abandoned Warehouse #1637 when their risk doesn’t pay off as the collection is sent to the Crystal Dimension and a Gigadrone is inbound. The Beast Rangers head out to protect the Morph-X while Dino Charge sticks around to deal with Snide, morphing for old time’s sake. Tyler gives Riley and Shelby to jump on in through a portal so they can join the party.

Sadly, Riley and Shelby’s actors were unable to reprise their roles. I can’t tell if they did dubbed over the suit footage in post or if they got new actors to imitate since they are dead ringers. I hope nothing bad went down behind the scenes. I also would’ve justified their absence better as seeking out Keeper in other areas or getting the drop on Snide, blasting him straight out from the portal. :P

Either way, it’s great to see the old gang back together in Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters footage where they got Koichi Sakamoto’s crazy choreography back in business. Tyler even brings out Mini-Rexy to go Supercharge and uses his legs as make shift T-Rex teeth. Dude’s right. It was about to get wild all over again. :)

While the Beast Rangers contend with the Magnedrone (I gotta call it something), Evox reanimaizes Sledge from the end of the Poisy Show. I love how he calls collecting the Energems a hobby. No grand plans for the world, just gotta get them Energems. His old crew returns as well to give the Rangers a thrashing, something that I think can be attributed to the Reanimaizer’s effect.

The episode ends with the Dino Charge Rangers and Keeper leaving for their own dimension. It makes sense with their families at home but I’m assuming that they’ll keep in close contact with Sledge back. In any case, the stage is being set for “Grid Connection.” Again, having the crossover baked into the overall storyline is something even the Saban era shied away from post-Lost Galaxy.

[earlgreytea68]

The Omegaverse Lawsuit

Everyone's been talking about the Omegaverse lawsuit recently, which is a little odd, since it was filed in September, but hey, sometimes that's how it goes!

It literally took me a little while to figure out that the names of the book series at issue here are Myth of Omega and Alpha's Claim. Like, I know this is meant to clearly signal they're Omegaverse books, but it just amused me to be talking about Omegaverse and not have it be a ficcy title. It really drove home to me how very, very different fic is as a genre from commercial original fiction, even when they're hitting the same tropes. 

The first thing to note is that the complaint is not a copyright infringement claim. Instead, the plaintiff, basically a writer named Zoey Ellis, is making allegations stemming from a copyright infringement claim against *her.*

The whole thing starts with a DMCA notice. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it's really easy for copyright holders to get allegedly infringing activity taken down: they file a notice. The website hosting the allegedly infringing activity is required by the DMCA to remove the allegedly infringing activity basically immediately. The person whose material has been removed is permitted to fight against the notice, but of course many people don't do that. It takes time, effort, and a knowledge of the law. For a lot of busy, sensible people, it's often not worth it. What this means is that DMCA notices are massively abused. We know they are. Theoretically they can only be advanced in good faith, however. So, if you can prove you've got a DMCA notice that was issued in bad faith, well, that could be a thing. 

Which is what this complaint builds around. It doesn't happen often, challenging a DMCA notice on bad faith grounds, but this complaint goes for it, which is impressive. And they allege a decent case because they allege a DMCA notice was issued for a book that hadn't even been published yet. Knowing an unpublished book is going to be copyright infringement before you've even seen it is a talent that you'd be smart to utilize on winning the lottery (if that’s what happened, of course). 

The plaintiff here did what you're supposed to do under the DMCA if you believe your work is fine and provided counter-notices. However, unlike in the case of the original notice, counter-notices can take months to process and resolve to get the works back up. 

As anyone familiar with fandom can tell you, rumors spread quickly. Once the word was out there that a DMCA notice had caused a takedown based on plagiarism, the allegations say that forums picked up on it, defaming the plaintiff's reputation. 

The complaint goes on to allege a pattern of the defendant Addison Cain manipulating social media for stars and reviews. I know we theoretically have standards for how stars and reviews happen, but, really, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there in book marketing. These are the examples in the complaint: 

Idk, if the DMCA notice claims are true, they seem sketchy, but these communications don't strike me as that bad. The truth is, it's hard to know as an author when you're going "too far." You need to educate people as to what's helpful algorithmically, and upvoting five stars and downvoting one stars is helpful. That sounds like what she's doing, providing information so people know how they can help a writer they love. Presumably anyone doing this would seem to care enough about Addison Cain's books to spend time doing this. It doesn't seem from these excerpts like she's bribing people in any way. The second example seems especially bland to me, like, the reader seems to ask if it would be helpful to mark it "not helpful," so the reader brings it up, and then in response to Addison Cain they seem to say that they're shocked anyone would find the review helpful, which seems to me to imply that their "not helpful" designation was a true reflection of how they feel. Surely encouraging truthful and honest behavior on the part of your readers isn't a bad thing, and surely we would not ask authors to explain to readers how to be mean to them, instead of how to help them. So, I don't know, this part of the complaint strikes me as a little weak. I just don't think asking for people who liked your book to review it as scandalous as they seem to think. Like, their exhibit is titled "Review Manipulation," and it includes things like this: 

(which, btw, afa I can tell, is her encouraging people to leave good review on *someone else's* book)

and

Idk, what do you think? Are you outraged by those? 

Moving on: 

This does seem ridiculous to me. She does seem to think that she was the first to ever write a M/F Omegaverse (which the complaint alleges is provably untrue), but also seems to think that she therefore influenced the entire genre to be exactly like her. Idk. This just makes me think, like, ::raised eyebrow:: Who goes around saying "Oh, you know why that's like that? They're all copying ME!" Idk.

(Incidentally, it's interesting that she's claiming to own the straight version of the trope, that the straight version of the trope is the unusual version, because romance is in the mainstream culture dominated so much by straight love stories, and indeed every love-story example in the complaint is a het example. They use "The Runaway Bride" as an example of an enemies-to-lovers trope, which was SO WEIRD to me, I stared at it and was like, ....but all of Harry/Draco exists???? lol)

Asserting that on its own, though, would just make me roll my eyes a bit and move on. Coupled with the DMCA notice allegations, however, it does make it seem like she's trying to claim ownership over the entire M/F Omegaverse genre.

The similarities listed in the DMCA notice do seem like pretty basic aspects of the trope that I don't think anyone can own. 

(There are more alleged. This is just the first few.)

But the DMCA notice does purport to contain reviews that say the two books are very similar. 

(Again, there are more, this is just a selection.) Part of me feels like maybe these people just haven't read much Omegaverse? Or haven't read fic, so they're not used to how tropes work? Idk. Without having read the books myself, it's hard for me to make this call. (And that's honestly how copyright infringement gets decided. You just have to read the books and decide if they're substantially similar in something copyrightable. Which apparently somebody did because the books were eventually reinstated as not infringing, it just didn't happen in a court of law. If this case goes on, eventually some judge is just going to have to sit down and read these.)

And of course the DMCA notice obviously chooses the most favorable to their cause, because there's also this: 

If the only similarities are the rules...that just sounds like the Omegaverse trope. 

The claims itself in this case are really interesting. It's not a copyright infringement case, because the plaintiff is specifically saying they are NOT infringing. Instead, the first claim is a copyright misuse claim (that you're using the monopoly granted to you by the government in an improper way, usually understood to be anticompetitive in a way that the government didn't contemplate as being part of the copyright grant). These are relatively rare but I think it's the right call, that using your copyright to send false DMCA notices would be copyright misuse. 

The defendant has now answered the complaint denying the allegations. Indeed, the defendant asserts that the complaint is defamatory because it alleges Addison Cain has only filed one other DMCA notice in ten years of being a published author and thus she has not repeatedly manipulated the system to shame other authors. It also includes a counterclaim that alleges basically that this lawsuit has been brought for harassment purposes because it’s expensive to defend a lawsuit and they alleged that online sales metrics tell them that at most Zoey Ellis has lost about $2000 worth of sales.

So that’s where the case stands now.

Other miscellaneous observations:

--The complaint has spoilers for the end of Alpha's Claim which tell me I would never read that book. 

--This is what the complaint lists as the common markers of the Omegaverse trope: 

--

You know, people in Omegaverse fics often grapple really hard with consent issues, and I love when that happens, and I'm sad that's obscured in this paragraph. I mean, I know the point of the complaint isn't to talk about the ways in which the trope can be subverted, but anyway.

I'm not a huge Omegaverse person, but one thing I do often enjoy about it is how stark it makes the sexism of our patriarchal society, that the gender that breeds is so devalued and treated as dangerous and cordoned off and loses agency, etc. And then how straightforwardly it often has to deal with that. And I know M/M Omegaverse often skimps on female characters but I also like how much it drives that point home, that it's not a man/woman thing, it's literally just that as soon as someone has to bear the children, that comes attached with all sorts of burdens and expectations. 

And I'm also not saying that every Omegaverse author sits down to grapple with those issues, or should be, or has to be. Just that Omegaverse can reveal so much about how we structure societies. And I'm sad that this complaint is just furthering this idea that fic doesn't really do anything profound or interesting or necessary and is just: 

It's cool, not all fic/writing/creativity needs to serve GREAT INTERESTS, nor should it, but also I think a lot of fic/writing/creativity does, and that gets ignored in favor of dismissing it as frivolous. Idk. Obviously this complaint is not about solving that issue, but it made me think about it. 

--

OR. Hear me out. They could get together and just cuddle for 100,000 words and banter and stuff. Just sayin'. Just throwing it out there. 

--

I'm honestly really annoyed by this paragraph's wording. It sounds so condescending. "Employed a degree of creativity consisted with other 'fan fictions.'" I hate those quotation marks around "fan fictions," like they're not sure those are a real thing. So-called "fan fictions" (which, who calls them fan fictions anyway? who are they quoting there lol). But also, like, what's the "degree of creativity consistent" language. Like, the standard for copyrightability is that it possesses a modicum of creativity. That's it. It's a low bar. We know the phone book doesn't have a modicum of creativity but almost everything else has SOMETHING. So this strikes me as a little...sneering and dismissive, like, "Well, it's just as creative as other 'fan fictions.'" No. It's creative. Fic is creative. This is creative. It's an entire BOOK, that no one is alleging copies anything other than tropes (AS ALL PIECES OF FICTION DO, THIS IS NOT A FIC THING). It's got plot, characters, setting, dialogue -- none of which are alleged to be copied. So, like, just say it. It's creative. It possesses a modicum of creativity. Move on. I have no idea why that weird "fan fictions" reference is in there, Idk. 

--They've got an exhibit that they claim is Addison Cain online statements about the plaintiff, but I can't make heads or tails of them. They're weirdness about how she's wrote the original M/F Omegaverse, but I don't see any references to the plaintiff author Zoey Ellis, other than very vague references like this: 

I'm a little bewildered by this exhibit. I think maybe they might be alleging that Addison Cain set up fake accounts to badmouth Zoey Ellis but if that's the case it's not clear to me, especially since they've blacked out the account name: 

--This complaint has an exhibit that's basically an expert witness on Omegaverse. I love this so much. :-)

--Let's just enjoy this being in a legal filing: 

--This isn't part of the main allegations. This is apparently, though, the kind of thing that Addison Cain has in the past considered plagiarism. Just a small selection, again, there are more. But:

I have long said that writing a sex scene is like writing a cover letter: You’re trying to convey a very narrow series of events, over and over, and there’s only so many words you can use to do it. So comparing sex scenes like this just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Sex scenes will mostly inevitably sound similar in isolated sentences like this. It’s so funny, I was just saying to Aja about a gif, “He’s arching his neck to give him access like every heroine in every romance novel.” Because that’s a line we’ve all read in every romance novel.

--

Honestly, honestly, literally every single Omegaverse fic I’ve ever read has this exact moment. (And many of them do it better.)

--This complaint has taught me a lot about how much of a kink some people have for being covered in days’ worth of caked-on semen, rubbed into their bodies and massaged into their hair. Really, the complaint is kink-instructive, I recommend it.

--Honestly to me the most damning thing about this is this exhibit where Addison took matters into her own hands to post the similarities between her book and another book, because I’m just not convinced by any of these, and if this is what she thinks copyright infringement is, then I doubt she understands what it is. Bull all these BTBB/TMO comparisons have been her making her case that these two books are similar, and I’m just dubious. And then stuff like this comes up:

Omegas being tired after a heat, yup.

They…both came up with a futuristic device that has a…screen?

She does end with this:

But I just don’t see what she’s claiming ownership of *other than* these really common Omegaverse tropes that I’ve read a million times. (Which isn’t to say that’s a bad thing. I’m a fic person at heart; I adore tropes.)

Anyway. That’s it. That’s the case so far. Let me know if you have questions, because lawyers can be bad at remembering what non-lawyers might be confused about.

In the meantime, I’m going to dig up some Omegaverse.