#that cat was all i drew when i was first listening in high school.

[keplerscove]

i've been listening to WTNV again for the first time in around 6 years, i feel like it's time to finally catch up on what i've missed.

[vivwritesfics]

The Devil Dances With A Smile

Chapter One

He can't kill you. He can't bring himself to lay a hand on you. So, he falls for you instead (its a shame his employer really wants you dead)

Hitman!Max x reader

Chapter Two

His class wasn't listening, he could tell that much as he drew things onto the whiteboard. He ignored it, kept writing. But then the giggles started up.

It was a new class, a bunch of eleven year old experiencing their first year of high school. For the first week, they had been quiet. But now they were a month in. The trouble makers had learnt how to make their peers laugh and it was normally at his expense.

They hadn't yet seen their teacher, a professor, at that, angry. He'd gotten annoyed, had snapped a pen under his desk to help keep his cool, but had never gotten angry with his year sevens.

"Eliza, James!" He snapped, and the two fell quiet. He wasn't angry, he just needed the two of them to know better than to test him. Not today. Not after how rough his other job had been.

"Sorry Professor Verstappen," the two of them said in unison. The entire class fell silent when the two of them did, and Max got on with his lesson.

Max rubbed his eyes as his lesson came to an end and his class handed in their workbooks. He shouted a reminder about homework, but their chatter was too loud to hear it.

When the door fell shut and Max put his head in his hands. Just a few minutes of rest, that was all he needed. He let his eyes fall shut.

Even in rests that only lasted a minute, Max dreamt the same thing. The young man with the lion tattoo on his hand, begging for his life at the end of his gun. It didn't matter what he said, Max always pulled the trigger.

A knock at his door pulled him out of his dream, pulled him back into his day job. He pushed his hair out of his face and looked towards his classroom door.

The history teacher stared at Max for a minute. No, not stared. He'd asked him a question and Max had just ignored it. "Huh?" He asked, a yawn leaving a lips.

"I asked if you were okay," Charles said, his worried expression softening.

Max gave a nod. He had always liked Charles, even when they were academic rivals through secondary school. But then university came and they went their separate ways. Max went off to study geography and Charles went to off to do history. They never thought they'd be reunited as colleagues. "Just tired, that's all," he admitted.

Now, don't get it wrong, Max loved teaching. Sculpting young minds, helping them pave their way forward in life. But teaching was only part of what he did.

Most teachers went home and marked homework. Max did that too, for maybe an hour. And then it was dinner while the cats ate. Tonight he had some shitty, healthy pizza and the cats had their gourmet food.

But then his night shift began.

He didn't look like a contract killer. He didn't wear all black, didn't have a long coat with weapons beneath. No, he looked like a normal guy. He wore skinny jeans and a black leather jacket.

But their was a reason people called on The Lion. He didn't exactly need a weapon to kill anyone. He was quick, clean, and didn't ask any questions.

Christian met him in the same place each time. Max entered the office in the warehouse full of old cars, and Christian slipped the manila folder across the desk.

There was a usual routine to this. Normally Max pulled out the paper in the folder, read the information on his target. He learnt all he needed to know about his target, grabbed the weapon he thought would be best, and he set off.

But not this time.

Pulling the information from the folder, he turned the paper towards Christian. "What the fuck is this?" He asked.

On the folder was a girl in a cafe. She had an apron around her waist and a tray of empty glasses in her hands. No criminal convictions listed, no possible crimes.

No reason for Max to take her out.

"Something about inheritance," said Christian, his voice nonchalant. He didn't care what happened to the target, as long as they ended up dead by the end of it. Christian was just there to fill his coffers.

Max looked at the picture again. She was pretty, he couldn't deny that. She was smiling in the picture, seemingly making jokes with somebody the picture hadn't captured. His usual targets were criminals that had made threats against people. Those people wanted the criminal taken out before they made good on those threats. That was where Max came in. He was the one that took them out.

His other type of target was rich assholes. The kind that exploited people for money, the kind who's wealth would be better distributed to the very people they were exploiting. They weren't easy jobs, killing someone and changing their will, and they didn't get them often, but they were Max's favourite. The tougher the better.

"Christian."

Christian groaned as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Do you want to stand around and argue, or do you want to get paid?"

The Lion was on the prowl. No weapons, Max wouldn't need them for her. He climbed into his car and looked at the address of the café. A café by the train station, open for twenty-four hours out of the day. Two and a half star rating, the only good thing about the café being the 'pretty, kind waitress'.

Once the night was up, the reviews would plummet.

Max drove. A waitress at a shitty, twenty-four hour café. She couldn't be worth as much as Christian was saying she was. And, if she was worth that much, she couldn't have known.

Parking outside of the train station, Max looked over at the café. It was the same angle the picture was taken from, he recognised as he looked down at her picture in his folder. She was grinning in that picture and she was grinning now as she cleared away somebody's plates.

He couldn't do this.

***

You didn't love your job. How could you when this was your job? But you still completed it with a smile. Making coffees and running food out to people. Clearing plates and glasses, and wiping over their tables.

It wasn't forever, you told yourself as you took the plates back into the kitchen. "Desserts for table sixteen," You called to the boys in the kitchen. Jimmy saluted you as you scraped the plates into the food waste bin. It was just you, Jimmy and Frank this late at night. Jimmy and Frank were in the kitchen, while you worked the floor.

While Jimmy made the desserts, you backed out of the kitchen and surveyed the few tables you had in. Somebody was at the counter. "Sorry," you said as you rushed past him. You logged into your till and looked at him. The handsome man with the freckle on his lip. "What can I get for you?" You asked, finger poised over the buttons.

For a moment, he said nothing. It was nearly one in the morning, and he wasn't being an easy customer. He looked behind you, at the drinks you had on offer. He looked at the small version of the menu on the board behind your head.

"How about some coffee?" You tried, holding up a mug.

He gave a nod. "A coffee, please," he said and you got to work. Making coffee's was the easiest part of your day. Steaming the milk and pouring it in with the shot of coffee, creating a leaf in latte art at the end. You passed over the coffee and put it through the till.

The bell rang, signalling the desserts were ready, but you didn't run to it. Not while the handsome man in the skinny jeans and leather jacket was still paying. His phone chimed as the payment went through and he grabbed his coffee, taking a seat on one of the round tables by the counter.

You ran to answer the bell, to run the apple pies over to table sixteen, and returned to the counter, cleaning the coffee machine and the jug you used to clean your milk.

Eyes were on you as you worked. You didn't mind it too much, it happened more than you cared to admit. Teenagers that should have been in bed, coming into the café to stare at you as you served them black coffee. You let them sit in the café, since it was better than them roaming the streets.

As you cleaned the counter, you looked at the little round table opposite. Looked at the man with the freckle on his lip. He was pretty, pretty blue eyes, pretty full lips. He was well put together, better than most of the people you saw something through your door at this time in the morning. "What brings you here at this time in the morning?" You asked as you sprayed sanitiser on the counter.

The handsome man with the freckle on his lip looked around. "I'm probably here for the same reason anybody else is," he said and sipped his coffee.

You couldn't help but look around at everybody else in the café. Those getting home late from work, waking themselves up before they headed home to their families. People on break from working in the middle of the night, coming in for a coffee to wake themselves up. People that just wanted shelter, that you had undercharged for a coffee.

The man in front of you didn't seem like that.

Your eyes returned to him. You stared at him, stared at what he was wearing, at the way he was holding his cup. He didn't look on break from work, desperate for a fix of caffeine. He didn't look ready to go home, waking himself up to go and deal with the kids.

You hummed and grabbed a pastry from the counter. "Here," you said and placed it in front of him.

He looked up, brows furrowed as he continued to smile at you. "What's this for?" He asked and pulled the little, white plate towards himself.

You shrugged your shoulders. You couldn't very well tell him that you wanted to figure him out, that you gave him the pastry to keep him around.

Going back to work, you could feel his eyes on you as you cleared away plates and glasses and cleaned tables. You caught his eye several times as you ran plates back into the kitchen.

When you got him his second cup of coffee, he finally introduced himself. "I'm Max," he said and pushed his empty cup towards you.

"It's lovely to meet you, Max," you said, keeping your tone polite. You introduced yourself, gave him the name that he could have read from your name tag.

At the end of your shift, Max was still sitting there. Your conversation had been light through the evening, neither of you learning very much about each other. Just enough to keep you thinking about him as you got changed.

The morning crowd were walking in as you walked out. Max was still at your table. Part of you wanted to stop, wanted to tell him how you hoped to see him again another time.

But Max stood. He put his empty mug at the end of his table. "Can I walk you to your car?" He offered, taking long strides to catch up with you.

You gave him a smile. "You can walk me to the bus stop, if you'd like," you said and he answered you with a nod.

The two of you kept talking, the topics light as he walked you to the bus stop just a little way down the street. Even at the bus stop, Max stayed talking to you until your bus pulled up.

"I'll see you around," Max said as you stepped onto the bus.

Waving, you paid for your ticket and found yourself a seat.

You should be dead, he couldn't help but think as he walked away. Max ignored his buzzing phone as he walked back to his car.

Christian was going to have his head, he knew as he started heading back to his apartment.

He couldn't kill you, he was sure of that now.

a/n we're starting over with taglists. no permanent one. comment if you wanna be added for the series

next

taglist: @nurse-floyd @biancathecool

[michiviv]

comfortember, prompt: leaves changing, books

pairing: timeskip! akaashi keiji x gn! reader

sypnosis: akaashi falls in love with the owner of the bookstore along the season.

warning: akaashi calls reader pretty, idk if anything else

notes: slow burn is a joke

word count: 1148

When you officially take over the story the leaves were still green. They framed the shop so perfectly it seemed quaint, homey even. The leaves were still green when you met him for the first time.

By him, I mean the man you'd be silently admiring for months, exchanging few words here and there. He was just so pretty… although he always wore a slightly-exasperated expression as he skimmed through the rows of books. He always made an effort to go through the entire store (it wasn’t much, but he still did), however he always remained near the manga section. Skimming through manga, mostly shonen.

Was he a shonen fan? Did he only read shonen or did he branch out?

Sometimes, when you were tending the counter, he would buy himself a volume and order himself some coffee before sitting on one of the tables facing the counter. The steam from the coffee often fogging up his glasses, which made you giggle as he wiped them. It was a slightly endearing sight. If it wasn't manga, it was a sports magazine, however you would only catch him reading the MSBY section.

You honestly felt like a creep, picking up on his habits. He only came once a week yet somehow you knew all of his reading habits but not his name.

Akaashi was the same too however. He knew your habits, always greeting him with a smile. You always drew animals as your latte art, you drew him a swan once. On your breaks you read romance novels, he saw you pick up a manga once but he didn’t know what you were reading.

Did you read obscure mangas? Like maybe Kiss of the Rose Princess? He didn’t catch anything he personally edited so he assumed you didn’t read much shonen. He had attempted to talk to you, maybe suggest one he had edited but every time he had tried someone wanted coffee. It was his curse.

slowly, overtime the leaves started to grow yellow and the weather slightly chiller. You stared off, outside the window. Thinking of anything you possibly could’ve. Books, rent, taxes, the pretty boy…

“What stage is your favorite?” A voice spoke, it was calm and kind of monotonous. You turned to look at the source and there he was- the man you were just thinking about. maybe you summoned him into exists, “of the leaves, i mean.”

“hm, i don’t think i have one.” you murmured, turning to look at the leaves. you imagined the shift from green to yellow to red to brown. “do you have one…” you trailed off, hoping he’d give you his name.

“akaashi, akaashi keiji.” he introduced himself with a small nod, “i think i like them when they’re green. it’s normal but it’s nice… it’s just right.”

finally you knew his name and it was just perfect. such a pretty name for a pretty boy, you made sure you would **never** forget it. you began to write down notes on his cup, silly little words of encouragement and drawings. one day it’s a cat and the next it’s a pig, he’d never know.

some nights when he came near closing, you’d stay hours just talking with him and learning about each other.

“what were you like in high school?l” you asked him, scrubbing the expresso machine.

“me?” he asked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise before he smiled a little bit to himself. gods, you’d kill for that smile. “i was vice and eventually captain of the volleyball team.”

you gasped a little, listening to his revelation. he didn’t seem like the type to be one of those jock volleyball players, “really? you’re joking.”

akaashi chuckled and shook his head, “dead serious. we competed in the tokyo nationals and my best friend is now a member of the black jackals.”

“that’s amazing, akaashi! show me, who is it?” you asked him, eager to know about his past.

akaashi sought out a sports magazine and brought up a team picture of the team, and started pointing out all of the players he knew and/or played with. in total he had previously met 4 people, bokuto, atsumu, hinata and sakusa. when he pointed out that bokuto was his best friend i could help but let out a ‘damn!’ that guy was ripped!

“you’re telling me— the buff guy is your best friend?” you asked him, sort of in disbelief.

“yes,” he replied, amused, “what? don’t believe me?”

“no, yes… i mean- you two are quite distinct. i can’t imagine you two talking in high school.”

“he was something..” he said with a dramatic sigh, causing both of you to laugh.

as the leaves continued to change, he began coming more often, and maybe his comments became flirtier. you two held contact for a while, began walking around the block together ‘accidentally’ brushing hands. neither of you backed off, yet neither of you took action. which was starting to piss you off.

why couldn’t you just do it. why couldn’t you just hold his hand or ask him out on a date. not that you haven’t tried, the words just get stuck on your throat and you end up asking him to have a walk with you or you offer him a cup of coffee for the cooling weather.

as you berates yourself while decompressing the coffee machine, akaashi walked in. he sauntered over with his hands behind his back. you looked up at him and smiled, “hey, akaashi. how was work?”

akaashi hummed as he pondered a response, “it was alright. work is work.” he started, pausing. he took enough time pondering his response that you had stopped what you were doing and completely turned to look at him; giving him your undivided attention.

“listen, i…” he took another deep breath before looking at you seriously. although his face was serious you could see the uncertainty and nervousness shift in his eyes, “i’ve been interested in you for a while. you’re pretty, you’re smart, you make me feel so happy and alive— basically, what i want to say is that I want to take you out on a date.” he finally confessed, pulling his hand from his back and revealing a bouquet of flowers.

your face had flushed red long before he finished his confession, slowly you took the bouquet of flowers, the grin that slowly grew on your face practically cementing itself there. “akaashi, i-“

“only if you’ll have me.”

“right,” you chuckled, “well, i would love to. these flowers are beautiful.”

“how about tomorrow night… at 7?” he asked, you could see the tips of his ears turning pink as he fidgeted with his fingers, “i’ll pick you up.”

“that sounds perfect.” you reassured him, leaning over the counter to plant a kiss on his cheek.

finally, the leaves had turned red… and they were your favorite.

[raevenlyreads]

My Tarot Story

I was first drawn to Stephanie Law’s Shadowscapes deck as a way to dip my toe into tarot. I’d been working with runes throughout most of high school, and was ready to set myself free from the “tarot cards are a gateway to Hell” nonsense that is so common in the conservative Christian South I grew up in. I was determined not to be afraid anymore, and the Shadowscapes’ warm, soft artstyle was welcoming and alluring—and it came with a guidebook, which I felt I desperately needed.

At first, I challenged myself to do “dry” readings, where I would look at a spread and try to interpret them without the book. Then, like a kid flipping to the back of the book when doing their math homework, I would feverishly search the guidebook—only to find that not only were my interpretations correct, they were more specific and targeted than the more open-ended “answers” in the guide. This process made it clear to me pretty immediately that a good deck that you vibe with will tell you everything you need to know in the card itself. I forged ahead, feeling more confident with every draw.

I looked longingly at several other decks over the years, but none of them pulled me in the way the Shadowscapes did. There was always something just sort of Goldilocks about the whole search: this deck is too plain, this deck is too busy, this deck is too literal, this deck is too abstract. I played with some of my wife’s decks (she has a stunning collection too, full of shapeshifters and faeries and oracle cards - all fascinating, but none quite for me), but nothing spoke to me like the Shadowscapes. Pretty to look at, but “empty” for me. I didn’t know how to connect with them like I could with the familiar watercolor world of Shadowscapes.

I kept searching, reading books and listening to podcasts and following Tumblrs and doing my own journaling, slowly building up a background of formalized knowledge to support my intuitive reading.

I finally picked up Masa Kazuki’s Silhouettes deck at the suggestion of a mentor. I was shocked to find it so argumentative! This deck has opinions! This deck wants to be rifled and marked up and creased and broken in. Where I’d previously treated my Shadowscapes almost like a delicate artifact, the Silhouettes demanded to be an everyday workhorse. I started doing silly readings with it on Tumblr, pulling cards for friends’ fictional characters—anything to give this deck something to do. It was then that I started really considering reading for other people, genuinely and seriously, not just as a game. Silhouettes taught me that cards are to be used; a pretty deck that sits in the box does no one any good.

My old fears and hesitancy with divination were gone. I began doing shadow work with my decks, exploring my deeper psyche with my familiar friend, Shadowscapes, and using what I learned from there to branch out into astrology. That primed me to work with my next two decks, both by the fabulous Xia Hunt. I opened negotiations with her diva of a deck, The Children of Litha. This one fought me, and still does to this day on occasion. If Silhouettes is a workhorse, then Litha is a show cat, pampered and doing nothing for anyone’s pleasure but her own. Litha demands attention, Litha demands time. Until I put in the work of learning all her tricks and quirks, my efforts would all just sort of …slide off. I put her away for a long time, but as I continued my dive into astrology and shadow work, Litha opened up to me, and our partnership blossomed.

When Xia announced Litha’s cousin deck, The Nameless One, on Kickstarter, I knew I had to have it. Its inky black cards drew me in like a scrying bowl, and its sigils seemed to lift off the page like moons. I was already a huge fan of Xia’s work by that time, and so was happy to back it and wait - and waaaait. This project was delayed due to both Covid related logistics troubles, and because—as Xia continued to work on this project—its guidebook became a massive tome of a grimoire, rich with details about the symbolism used in each card. My astrology foundations came in way handy as The Nameless One’s court cards are all masks of the zodiac. I adore working with this deck because I learn something new every time, and will probably continue to do so all my life. It reads like the alethiometer from His Dark Materials, with layers and layers that go all the way down into its inky depths.

By this point, I was pretty keen to branch into new forms of card divination, and—during the long, long, loooong wait for the Nameless—the Magpie’s Lenormand also launched on Kickstarter. Since a lenormand deck is not a tarot deck and, as a corvid lover, I couldn’t pass up such gorgeous magpies, this seemed like a natural next step. Much to my delight, I discovered that a lenormand deck is meant to be read more like a story, where the cards themselves are less important than how the entire spread fits together. The writer in me was delighted: this was exactly what I would do when I drew story cards for my Tumblr friends! How fun to discover a deck that does this on purpose. Rozenn’s unique art style of using bleach on ink creates a hypnotic swirl of blooming paths for the eye to wander, and the color palette is like nothing else. It’s rich, royal blue edges are such a treat to just sit and play with while I settle myself into the headspace to read.

And of course, I didn’t stop there. Xia’s third deck, The Children of Ostara is now in production (and you know yours truly backed it immediately). Also on the way is a Xia collaboration with Wyrmwood, a more classic set of playing cards with her own distinct art style. I can’t wait to get my hands on that one and see how reading with that style deck goes. Should be fun!

Until then, I’m delighted to be writing the next chapter of my tarot story with all of you. Many of you already know me from Tumblr (and if not, you’ve probably seen a post or two of mine screenshotted in the wild - check the icon!), and those that don’t, come say hi! I love answering questions and talking about tarot- or astrology, or fandom, or astrology and fandom, as seen in my “What is Tom Locke’s natal chart?” adventure when re-reading LJ Smith’s Forbidden Game.

Thank you all for joining me on this adventure. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Come join me on Patreon for exclusive reading discounts! Or, check out my ko-fi page for single reading commissions

[ciciceyina]

Touch Starved part 1

Pairing: Idol!Mingyu × Fem Carat!reader

Genre: Soulmate AU. Soulmates can't be apart from one another for more than a day otherwise they will become deathly ill. Fluff/comfort

Short Summary: Y/n has her life completely uprooted the day her and Kim Mingyu meet for the first time. Follow along as y/n moves to South Korea in order to be with her soulmate and soon realizes that the life she once fantasized about isn't all that she thought it would be.

Notes: Plus size/fem reader, reader swears a lot, soft Mingyu, reader suffers from severe depression and anxiety, golden retriever!Mingyu × black cat!reader relationship. In this first part the italic text is Korean being spoken by the boys. Inspired by other fic tropes l've read, but with my own spin on it. Hope you enjoy! This is the first time I'm publishing a piece of my work, pls be nice lol

  “We are going to get into so much trouble if they find us out here, without security mind you. I don’t know why I let you talk me into this. Hyung is gonna ring us out if he catches us.” Chan pulls his baseball cap down further hoping that would keep the eyes of the fans away. Who was he kidding? The fans would spot them out immediately, this was a suicide mission. 

 “Chan, you’re too uptight. Listen, I have to find her.” 

  Mingyu pulls his face mask up to round the corner outside of the venue. The two had slipped into some casual attire to not attract attention before sneaking out from the rest of the boys. Chan didn’t really believe that they fit in. Not with the two of them looking especially suspicious with face masks and ball caps barely covering Mingyu’s grown out hair. Carats are smart, there was no way they wouldn’t be noticed.

  “Yes that’s all fine and well but if it’s meant to be it’ll happen without you having to sneak around.” Chan tries to keep up with him as he’s speed walking his way through the crowd.

  “She doesn’t know I’ll be here, I have to take measures into my own hands. The clairvoyant specifically said that I would need to be careful. My window of time is slim. I just had Covid, most carats don’t even know I’ll be here. This is exactly what she was getting at.” Mingyu was getting extremely excited, the younger of the two could tell from the pep in his step. Chan grabs Mingyu's arm and turns him around.

  “And how exactly do you expect to pull this off? Say we make it around the venue without getting caught. Are you just going to start touching everyone in your path?” 

  “I was going to leave that part up to fate. I knew I needed to be out here at the very least. Give my lady in waiting a chance.” Chan could imagine the absolute shit eating grin that was under Mingyu’s mask. The man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed heavily.

  “You’re so lucky I’m a romantic at heart.” 

                                        ~

  “Ahh I can’t believe this is real. I’m so excited guys.” You stare in wonder at the venue hall. They had set up a merch stand and a photo op with a cardboard cut out of the members of Seventeen. You bounce up and down with excitement, you’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time. 

  Seventeen wasn’t even on your radar until two years ago, when your two best friends had shown you the tall goofy member and claimed he was totally your type. He totally was. Ever since then you fell completely hard for the one and only Kim Mingyu. Something inside of you, something you couldn’t quite explain, drew you to him. Of course you’ve had celebrity crushes before. Nothing new to you, but he just felt different. You were enamored. You chalked it up to K-pop’s highly effective way of selling the members looks and charms to your infatuation. 

  Besides Mingyu, the music that Seventeen produced spoke to your heart. To be here, seeing them live in concert, was definitely the highlight of your career. You needed this ultra boost of serotonin. Work has been a drag, you wish you could move on from your high school job. You have been stuck there for years. Seeing your old classmates move on and up to greater things made you a bit sad. But you didn’t have a clue of what you wanted from your life. This job was comfortable, but was comfortable all you wanted? 

  Pushing your thoughts away you reached into your bag to find the freebies you had made of the members. This was your favorite part, making other fans gifts. Seeing them coo at their biases made you feel seen. These were your people. You handed your friend the bags that were clearly sorted by unit. She was fairly new to the group, but was adamant that she be your little side kick. Having her hold the freebies was a way of teaching her. Although with all the chaos there was little room for teaching. 

  “I plan on handing them out in the merch line. If we’re not too overwhelmed then I’ll start approaching some other people, is that okay?” Marie nods.

 “You got it boss. Just let me know which group you need and I gotcha.” Marie was a newer friend of yours but it felt like you had known her forever. You were only a little sad when you first made contact, hoping she was the one. Sadly not, but you gained a friend you thought you’d have for the rest of your life. At least you had hoped so. 

 “So are we planning to hit up the merch line now or later?” Your other friend, Lauren, asked as she dragged along her twin sister towards the line. Catching her hint you nod and take the lead to the line, weaving in and out of all the other fans. 

  “Now to gain the courage to actually talk to others” You look to Marie and she nods.

  “You got this bestie, I believe in you.” 

                                          ~

  After the (fun) chaos that was the merch line, you had about a couple hours before the doors to the concert opened. The other three had made their way to the restroom. You decided to take a peek outside. It was a little overwhelming with the constant flow of traffic inside. Your antisocial side of your personality was rearing its head. You needed some alone time. 

  As you took in the outside of the arena, you noticed the tour sign on the digital banner. You decided that you absolutely needed to take a picture for the memories. As you did so, you noticed two guys looking a little out of place. They mostly looked confused. The taller one, gosh even with the ball cap and mask you could tell he was hot, was especially bug eyed. Wiping his head around as if he was scanning looking for something…or someone.

  Something inside of you told you to approach them. Maybe they needed help? Or maybe they were fans but were confused about where the entrance was. God knows you and your friends were at first, getting slightly yelled at by the security here. The shorter one made slight eye contact with you, yikes talk about being a creep y/n. You decide to walk up to them so that 

  “Hey, are you guys here for the concert?” The taller one looks spooked by you. The other one goes frigid. Maybe he was just as anxiety riddled as you are. 

  “Um, yes.” The taller one has such pretty eyes, you note to yourself. Maybe you could warm them up to you by being friendly. 

  “Would you like me to take your picture in front of the banner real quick?” You ask sweetly hoping you weren’t disturbing them. 

  The shorter one looks a little confused but the tall one nods his head yes. You reach your hand out for one of them to give their phone to you. They both stare at you. The shorter one, you decide is the younger one, jabs the other one in the side. 

  “Give her your phone.” The tall one hisses under his breath unbeknownst to you, still with your arm outreached. Finally the taller one hands over his phone. With phone in hand you take a quick snap of the two. A weird sense of deja vu hits you, trying to shake it off you rummage into your concert bag.

  “Do you guys want a freebie? Who are your biases?” Shuffling through the little pictures of the members,  you fan the pictures out for them to see. You loved seeing male fans, and you think the members do as well. The two look a little confused at first and the shorter one mumbles something to the taller one. They lean in to look at the pictures in your hands. 

  “Mingyu.” The taller one says, you smile. Shuffling for said man in your pile. 

  “Ahh Mingyu is my bias too, I’m actually kind of bummed that he won’t be here tonight. Here’s a cute one…” you hold out the freebie for him to take. 

  When he does his fingers lightly brush over yours and that’s when you feel it. What you have only imagined before, that first contact with your soulmate. His touch sends heat shooting up your arm and you can actually hear your heart beating faster. Shit. You look up into the man’s eyes to see them blown wide. So it’s not just you feeling this overwhelming sense of comfort. Like you knew this man already. Like you had spent every past life with him wrapped in his embrace. Just like that, hot tears are steaming down your face. Gosh, why were you crying? You didn’t want to cry, but you couldn’t stop yourself. What were the odds of you finding your soulmate at a Seventeen concert, were you dreaming? 

  “Who are you?” You ask as you reach to pull down the mask from his face. You had to see his full face, but before you could an absolute bulldozer of a woman plows into your side. You’re manhandled to the ground and you really wanted to cry now. It felt like she had cracked your whole spine, maybe cracked open your skull too while she was at it. You groan in pain as you try pushing the woman off of you. Who the fuck does she think she is. 

  As soon as she was straddling on top of you, she was yanked away by that strange man. No, not strange, your soulmate. He looked scared. Oh god, what if he didn’t want a soulmate. What if this was the last thing he could have ever wanted from you. Despite your worries you couldn’t help but get lost in those chocolatey brown eyes that you noted earlier. Soulmate, my soulmate. No, don't second guess this, of course he wants you. Why would he look so concerned otherwise? You couldn’t help but think you were so lucky, you could tell this man was extremely attractive. Way out of your league. If you hadn’t just got the wind knocked out of you, you’d laugh at yourself. 

  “Are you alright?!” He touches your arm and you sigh, feeling that warmth again. He sat crouched over you looking for god knows what. Probably some sign of injury. Maybe you had knocked your head a bit too hard, things were starting to become fuzzy. His touch is heightened when he comes across your bare skin, your heart about to burst from your chest. But you felt safe at the same time. You wanted to be cocooned in that feeling for the rest of your life. 

 “I’m fine.” You assure him with a small smile. You lazily reach up to hook your finger around his ear quickly taking in how soft his skin was. You quickly slid off the mask before your chance was taken away from you again. 

  “No way.” You exclaim in surprise. There was no way that your soulmate was Kim fucking Mingyu.

                                                           ~

  “Y/N!! Why did you just leave us like that, are you okay?” Marie strides into the secluded room that you were taken to after getting thrown to the ground. You watch as the twins pile in too. They look a bit upset. Probably with you.

  You hiss, the aid poked a sensitive spot on the back of your head. They had called on the venue to send over their medical staffing to come and check on you. The lady was deep in your hair trying to find the gash she suspected as the cause of your insane dizziness. You were chalking it up to meeting Mingyu, and finding out that he was who you were looking for your whole life. But that was probably the butterflies in your stomach. You laughed a little, this wasn’t seriously happening 

  “I’m fine guys, really. Just a little bump on the head.” You shoo your friends away from you. 

  “I wouldn’t say it’s just a little bump on the head, he told me she all but ran you down into the hard cement. You would be lucky to not have a concussion.” The lady commented. 

  “She was just doing her job. If anything it brings me comfort to know she would protect the boys in such a way.” Your friends look at you curiously. 

 “Boys?” Lauren asks, she crosses her arms and stares at you. You gulp. 

 “I’m like ninety percent sure that I’m currently in a dream. You won’t believe who my soulmate is.” You look at your friends, they all stare at you with weird looks. 

 “Who are you talking about?” Hanna asked. 

 “I think my soulmate is someone from Seventeen.” All three of them let out a little laugh. 

  “I think you hit your head too hard. Could she be having some delusions?” You pout at Lauren who only looks at the aid. Just like you said, it was unbelievable. You didn’t believe it yourself, but you’re sure it was him. 

  “I don’t like the look of this gash, you should be taken to the hospital to get looked at. That hard of a fall could lead to a concussion.” You shake your head and lean away from the woman. 

 “Absolutely not, I’m fine. I’m not going to miss this concert. I’ve been looking forward to it all year and plus I’ve spent too much money. No, there's no way I’m going to a hospital right now.” 

  “We can take her after the concert.” Marie tells the woman. She shakes her head. 

  “I don’t recommend waiting.” She retorted. 

  “That’s okay, I appreciate all of the help but I’m sure you have others to look after.” You grab your bag laying on the chair next to you. Standing up blood rushes to your head but you won’t show signs of discomfort in front of her out of stubbornness. 

  “C'mon, let’s go guys.” You pass the other three to the door which you swing open. Outside are a few men dressed in suits, one with a briefcase looking straight into your eyes. He made you nervous as he started to approach. 

  “Is she well?” He asks into the room that you just left. The aid slips past the four of you to his side. 

  “I told her that we should run some tests at the hospital and to bandage up the gash better, I don’t have all of the necessary equipment here.” The man looks disappointed at the news. 

  “I’m extremely sorry for this, Miss L/N. But please let us make it right by taking you to the hospital. We can talk there about your arrangements.” How does he know my name? 

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” Marie asks from behind your shoulder. 

  “Please forgive me, I’m Mr. Kang. I’m the head lawyer of Seventeen's legal team. We’ve been informed by Kim Mingyu that he and Miss L/N here are Soulmates. We really shouldn’t discuss more here, we will need to talk in a more private area. We can discuss Seventeen's Soulmate contract once we arrive at the hospital. I have some cars outside to take us there right now when you’re ready.” He holds his arm out to gesture to the door down the hall that you all stood in. 

  “Mingyu?!” Your friends shriek in unison.

   You cringe at the loud noise in your ears. Now you don't feel well. It feels as if your head would split in two at any given moment. You clutch at your face, fuck.

  “No fuckin way y/n, no fucking way.” Marie  shakes you and you feel like you’re going to hurl. 

  “Don’t do that. Can we sit down for a moment?” You lean into Marie  as your legs become a little wobbly and you feel slightly numb all over. She clutches at you.

  “Y/N what’s wrong?” 

  “I’m just a little sleepy..”

                                                             ~

  You could hear someone talking over you, but you didn’t want to open your eyes. Sleeping felt so nice, though you don’t remember when you laid down to rest. It didn’t really matter because your head felt amazing. Like someone had laid your head down on a cloud. Now that you think about it, it felt as if someone had their palm resting against your forehead. It didn’t matter, sleeping was more important. 

  “What’s wrong?” You could barely make out the voice. They sounded scared, you noticed the voice was deep. The voice didn’t bring up any memories. 

  “Sir we have to go, she needs to be seen.” 

   “No.” You were curious, of course, but opening your eyes seemed so difficult at the moment. Could they be quiet while you slept? It was very rude of them. 

  “Sir I’m not asking again, let go of her.” The warmth on your forehead shifted to your cheek. Shivers went down your spine, finally you cracked open your eyes. 

 Brown soft eyes were what you noticed first, then the large hand cupping your cheek. You knew this man, you spent hours focusing on him during dance rehearsals on your tv at night. It was Mingyu. Oh Mingyu. 

  “What are you doing here?” You ask softly, a small smile forms on your lips looking at his pretty face. God he was so attractive. He smiles softly back at you but turns his attention elsewhere as you hear someone else call his name. 

  Closing your eyes you return to your sleep. This was such a nice dream. You heard that same deep voice from earlier say something above you. Though you couldn’t understand what they were trying to say. It didn’t matter, you were sleeping, they could leave you alone. You needed your rest. You felt the warmth from your check fade but then again as something was pressed into your hand. You brought your hand up to your face to curl onto your side into a more comfortable sleeping position. 

                                                               ~

[flythesail]

Last summer, I decided to get rid of an old wallet when my parents had a garage sale. It was pink with a cat and sequins. I don't remember ever using it as a real wallet, just something to play with as a kid.

But the wallet interests someone, and she checks the pockets before she buys it for a quarter. I must have missed a pocket because inside was a library receipt from 2011. The text is so faded I can barely read it, but the title at the top is easy enough to make out: The Secret of the Old Clock.

Now, I don't remember reading Nancy Drew as a kid. So did I ever read that book or just check it out? There's no way to know. But even if i didn't, it's funny to think about that receipt going forgotten for over a decade, only to be found when Nancy Drew has come to mean so much to me.

Believe it or not... In 2019, I watched Nancy Drew for the first time and decided I didn't like it. It's not what I expected it to be, and I didn't like other CW shows, so why bother.

Right...?

Okay, I did bother and continued to give it a classic "half paying attention" watch anyway.

For as much as I claimed to not care, I googled "Does Ace die in Nancy Drew" after 1x07. I fell in love with the Drew Crew when they showed up and surrounded Nancy in her living room, although she didn’t ask. I saw Nick carve his name under one of the tables at the Claw, and listened to Nancy and Ace read emails out loud in the library. I saw Bess and George become truer versions of themselves.

There's something beautiful about stories that are given the room to grow. That last long enough that you can change your mind and grow right along with them.

Sometimes, life sucks. Yet Nancy Drew became one thing I could count on when I needed good in my life. When college was hard or when a global pandemic made it nearly impossible to make new friends at a time I was also losing some from high school - the Drew Crew were there for me with their mystery solving, own struggles, and general shenanigans.

Over the next years, I'd go from watching new episodes days after they premiered to watching them live. I'd write over 100k of fic and realize through it that writing is all I want to do with my life. I'd spend so much time in these characters' heads that they would begin to feel like my own.

Nancy Drew is about finding your people and your place in the world. It hits that early adulthood period that maybe isn't talked about as much as it should be and it makes you feel a little less alone when you see the way you feel in your own life reflected on screen.

We've seen Nancy start at the Claw, find her family, fall in love, build strong relationships with her fathers, and bring her mothers with her. Nancy Drew is a show that says it's okay to not have it all figured out - or maybe even to never - because who you become along the way is just as important. Nancy Drew is a show that says things do get better, and sometimes that's exactly what you need to be told.

So here's to a show that means a lot to me, and to all the wonderful people I've met along the way. Here's to every rewatch to come. That's the best part about stories. Even when you reach the end, you can always go back to the beginning. You can feel the way they made you feel all over again.

[promptcorner]

I need to talk about this cat:

Here’s why:

It’s a dumb reason, but it’s still a reason. So, don’t attack anyone or assume anything. This is just a rant.

Way back in 2015, my dad was writing a new song for this challenge he set for himself. I don’t remember the specifics, but he was surfing the web and found the Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty Meme. However, at the time, it wasn’t called Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty. It was mostly called Butterfly Rainbow Unicorn Cat.

I think most people know the image I’m referring to. I can’t find the original post.

The name was mostly undecided, so Dad went with Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty because it rolled off the tongue.

He made a song that revolved around the meme and commissioned me to make an album cover. You all probably know where this is going.

I was, I think twelve when I made the cover. I was new to drawing digitally and was trying some things out.

If anyone is curious or wants to listen to my dad’s song, here’s the link:

The song discusses international issues, internet stuff, and life’s hardship but shifts focus to the Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty. Because, “Nothing could be wrong cus it looks so pretty!”✨🦋🎶

But yeah, I drew that cover. The name Bellapink5 was an old internet name I used before changing it to Bellapinkpen.

Anyways, cut to high school a few years later in 2019 and my dad tells me that some of his students at school (he’s a music teacher) told him that someone at Nick copied this song’s album cover.

Of course he goes, “What the H?” And looks it up. Low and behold he finds RBUK and tells me about it at dinner that night. We both thought, “What the H?” Because Felicity looks almost identical to the original meme and my drawing, the theme song is super close to Dad’s song too. It’s not by much, but it’s hard to deny someone at Nick didn’t see or hear any of these things and mishmashd them together. Because that original photoshopped cat, album art, and Dad’s song were the only threads that stuck out the most when searching Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty.

It’s actually very obvious when looking at these pictures close together. When you search Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, this is what you get:

I told a few friends and my grandparents about this, because I was a bit upset that a big company decided to use something that the internet made, something that I was involved in, but didn’t do anything with it!

I completely forgot about it after ranting for a bit. The show got cancelled and things moved on. But the memory came back and I decided to look some episodes up, to see if they really copied the album.

I watched Alpha Jay’s video essay on the matter, saying it kinda copied Unikitty. I do think Unikitty had a part to play. Because it’s existence definitely was a push for the show to be made in the first place. But I don’t think the art came from that show.

Then I stumbled onto Vailsklbum’s video and he literally shows Dad’s album in his video as a possible source of inspiration for this show along with the meme. My mouth literally dropped.

I know this show is like, four years old. But I need to rant again.

I’ll break down what both Jay’s video and Vail’s video pointed out that everyone in my family and friends noticed when looking at Felicity’s design…

I’ll do so in a reblog.

[kitakit-otome]

Satan competes for Belphie in the #1 spot for me 😭 He’s just totally my type! Blond with pretty eyes, smart, loves cats, bookworm, has sense of humor…

I feel like Satan and I could talk for hours about a book we’re both reading and just lose ourselves to the plot or the characters. In the anime he was hooked to mystery novels which I LOVE. I remember binge reading the entire Roman Mysteries series in high school and I also own a few Nancy Drew books (the others got destroyed from water 🥲)

This man would absolutely melt immediately if he saw MC in cat ears which is canon btw in both the game and anime, from multiple scenarios and events might I add 😂 And I own a few different cat eared headbands too, which I really love to wear from time to time.

Not me outing myself that I joined Anti-Lucifer League because my two biases are there wtf

Also how can you not love him?!

He’s so cute when he pouts 🫠

And I was recently given a fresh reminder that out of all the brothers, Satan is the only one born as a demon. He never had ties to the Celestial Realm and the only family he has are Lucifer and the others.

If they were forgiven and let back into the Celestial Realm, would Satan be left behind I wonder? I know the brothers would never agree to it but imagine being Satan, knowing the only family you ever had could potentially be stripped from you at any given point in time. Sometimes I wonder how lonely it must be being him.

And personally I think out of all the brothers in season 1 he was usually considerate of MC in the minimum effort while everyone else just expected them to figure things out on their own. Which…was exactly how I fell in love with him in season 1 🫣

Also if anyone has listened to his character song before even knowing the meaning behind his lyrics, in my opinion it’s the most beautiful one out of all and I cried when I first heard his singing voice. I cried even more after reading the English translation of the song 🥲💞

Who knew the only biological demon in the group was such a romantic?

He even dedicates his song to the MC at the last verse–UGH WHY DOES HE DO THIS TO MY HEART?!

Me after fangirling over this fictional character:

[winterwriterstudios]

Yuu As… [01]

PEG!! From Peg + Cat on PBS Kids!

P.S, Peg has been aged up, cause I don’t want baby Peg to experience all this trauma at her actual age. So, she’s now 15-16.

Peg is totally freaking out during and after every overblot.

Ace, Deuce and Grim usually remind her to count to 10 when she does. Sometimes Jack and a few times Epel (he’s just so confused when she’s freaking out). Sebek keeps forgetting and yells at her to calm down, which just makes her more overwhelmed and both of them in tears.

The first overblot was definitely frightening for her. Like, she was breathing heavily in the floor, tears clouding her vision and she honestly couldn’t hear anything.

Cater and Grim were the ones protecting her.

Trey told her to count from ten to one and she started to feel a lot better.

There for emotional support for Riddle. Even helps him bake the tarts (she’s very good with measurements, so she helped him out A LOT).

Always wears her beanie. Cater thinks it’s cute, Vil, not so much.

Crowley: Do you have anything from where you were from? Peg: I got my stick!

Ace once threw her stick as a joke.

No one was laughing after Peg drew a giant block to land on him.

No one refers to her as “The magicless student”, cause this girl literally draws numbers on air, like wdym she has no magic??

Her and Riddle are besties

Her and Azul are besties

Her and Kalim are besties

Her and Ortho are besties

Grim is her emotional support animal monster and she’s proudly his henchman.

Certain times, he reminds her of Cat and she tears up, cause she really really misses him.

Really misses her mom and friends, too.

First years try and cheer her up whenever she does.

Once, they made the mistake of asking her how her life was , only for them to be fricking confused.

Like, excuse me? You are friends with the president? You are friends with numerous aliens? You are a knight? You are friends with giants? Your pet cat could talk (wait, no, that actually makes a lot of sense, ngl)?

Even Grim is so fricking confused.

But, that actually explains how Peg is literally friends with everyone.

Imagine Vil’s reaction once Peg tells him that she’s besties with Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and is even in a band with her.

Peg aces any test with mathematics, but the teacher always has to remind her to not show her workings on the air.

Imagine a scene where Peg’s solving the hardest problem on the test on the air and literally everyone is just looking up at the equation, nodding and comparing workings, then the teacher’s all like ; “PEG!! STOP SHOWING YOUR WORKINGS!!” And the whole class just collectively groans.

Peg wants to be a teacher and greatly admires all the teachers. The teachers are constantly grateful for the work she puts in and Crewel was heartbroken when he realized he couldn’t adopt her. But after looking at a photo of Peg’s mom, he’s thinking of other ways.

Peg ran away from Malleus the first time. Straight up. Idgaf if it’s novel Malleus, this girl ran away at the speed of light, no second wasted.

Gradually warmed up to him and they became beasties.

Malleus listens to her stories like it’s gospel. Bro writes notes and generally gains a lot more understanding of humans. After every story, Malleus learns at least one valuable lesson and tries to apply it when he’s trying to make friends.

Lilia thought he lived a full life until he met Peg. Lilia: “I remember the war. Ah…good times.”Peg: “Completely unrelated, but I remember all times I went to the moon. It was really fun and—“ Lilia: ??? Lilia: Times??

Lilia seriously taking the L in every life experience competition he has with Peg.

Questions whether she’s actually lived for just 15 years.

Sebek absolutely respects her. Like, she was a knight? She met various influential figures from her world? At first, he thought she was lying, until she showed proof (photos or something, idk) and now, bro thinks she’s too good for high school.

Peg absolutely loves being a drama queen.

This girl is literally good at every club. She can sing and dance, she’s great with animals, she can use maths to score some mad shots in basketball, science has a lot of maths, she’s been on camera numerous times, this girl has basically travelled around the world (even in the water) and she’s a knight of the round table. She’s built for almost anything life throws at her.

Well, except an interrupted schedule. She is very precise about timing and scheduling. She will totally start freaking out, too.

HC: That she’s very adverse to change

She isn’t friends with the tweels. “Like, um…wdym they are the good guys? They act like the monsters I fight??”

When Azul overblotted, she DID NOT trust them. Especially Floyd. Even after the overblot, she doesn’t trust them.

Tweels: *scheming* Peg: Eww Azul: *scheming* Peg: Aww! He’s just a baby skrunkly!! <333

She has mushrooms in her pockets, so that whenever Jade bothers her, she can just throw mushrooms and he’ll just have to look at them, giving her enough time to vanish. (Basically how she deals with monsters)

But, with Floyd, she tactfully evades him, since he has a pretty low attention span

Vil says he hates her fashion sense and proceeds to shower her with gifts and new clothes as often as he can.

Epel and her are closer than two pair of sardines in a can.

Peg tries to come up with a response poem for every poem Rook makes about her. She’s not nearly through, but Rook loves the few she has delivered to him, even though they aren’t very good.

Silver and her train regularly and she tries to keep him awake when she can.

She used to have a crush on Cater (ending of Book 1), and was a blushing mess around him, until after Book 2.

She finds Trey to be very normal and comforting to be around.

She tutors Deuce and he will keep calling her his favorite teacher until he dies. (Bro has started getting Bs in maths and he goes to his mom all excited then to Peg). He also seems to be the second most understanding first year when she freaks out.

Peg is the usual victim of Ace’s pranks and taunts, and she doesn’t care. Unless they are about Cat Grim or her stick.

Peg gets worried that she’s projecting onto Grim too much and constantly tries to remember that Grim isn’t a replacement of Cat and Grim is his own person.

But sometimes she accidentally calls him Cat (Grim flares up, cause he thinks she is calling him A CAT) and despite apologizing profusely, she still feels guilty, cause she lives them both and doesn’t want to replace on with the other.

Peg acts like a sister to Grim and less of a mother. Doesn’t know how to say no to him, unless it’s something serious and Riddle takes it upon himself to teach her discipline (something she should learn as a prefect).

Peg, despite having her sense of reality a bit skewed she realizes and acknowledges her financial situation, ready to cut some corners and work extra hard at Sam’s shop

Peg and Leona have pretty heated chess matches that Leona constantly makes silly faces in to distract her. And after winning (sometimes mainly because of his silly faces) he makes the most smug faces which makes her want to tug his ears out (/affectionately)

Ruggie sees Peg as a younger sister, always making sure she has something to eat and she’s doing alright. Constantly calls her ‘kid’ and teaches her the ways of the cheap (coupons and bargaining).

Jack admires Peg and subconsciously protects her a lot of times. Explosion? he gets in front of her. Someone throws something at her? He catches it before it can catch her.

People say it’s a crush, but Peg is one of the few people Jack can trust would do the same for him, if they could. And if you can call that a crush, then he does have a huge crush on her /sarcasm.

Peg tries to make herself useful by helping others. Everytime someone says “thanks”, she puts on sunglasses and I’d like “I do what I can.”

No one gets the joke, except for her.

[wednesdaytoo]

@coffinbutch tagged me for this! 15 questions + 15 friends! (coffinbutch you are so brave for doing all 15 tags. im gonna take the coward's way and ask any mutual to consider themself tagged if they want to do it!)

long under here

1. Are you named after anyone?

yea! im named after my abuela who died waaay before i was born

2. When was the last time you cried?

3 days ago

3. Do you have kids?

nope! i work with kids (teenaged) and they're fine, i enjoy them, but that's plenty of Kid for me -- i don't need to have my own in my home everyday. id love to be a lesbian uncle tho! which i already kno is Not gonna happen from either of my brothers, so my only chance is my wife's younger sister haha (we were just talking abt this yesterday lol)

4. What sports do you play/have played?

hahha i don't think i've ever played a sport like Officially, like outside of PE classes. i like badminton tho, and B and i are trying to learn how to play pickleball (we suck)

5. Do you use sarcasm?

i suppose on occasion i sarcast

6. What is the first thing you notice about people?

hair & clothes? face? im a simple guy

7. What's your eye color?

the inner part of my irises are yellowish-brown and the outer edges are grey-blue. ppl dont usually notice it unless theyre quite up close tho. from a few feet away i think they look grey and that's what i'll usually mark for eye color, or blue if that's not an option

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

i could go for either, but i think i lean slightly more toward scary movies, especially bc i love vampire movies so much. like when we watch a dracula movie and u have one of those "the monster is defeated! hooray!" endings, does that count as a happy ending movie?? we root for drac tho so it's a let down!

9. Any talents?

idk im pretty good at whistling !

10. Where were you born?

california

11. What are your hobbies?

movies, video games, insect/arachnid related things (catching, collecting, pinning, reading abt, etc), sewing/embroidery when the mood strikes me, reading (trying to get back into it at least!), listening to music/discovering new bands, sorting/cataloguing things

12. Do you have any pets?

3 cats (hopey, bullets, and cocoa) + a baby tarantula (avocado) <3

13. How tall are you?

5'6.5" or 168 cm!

14. Favorite subject in school?

in high school my favs were probably trigonometry and ceramics

in college i'd say science (esp entomology, ecology, botany, and astronomy) and foreign languages (i took french, japanese, ASL, and spanish)

15. Dream job?

see one of the above hobbies and then pay me $100/hr to do it :-))

no but fr even tho my current job has its annoyances, it's usually so chill. some days i just text B from work like "here's a bracelet i made today" "made u a candle today" "it was slow and i mostly just read in the library" "i drew a cute poster." two weeks ago we came in for a couple hours to decorate little pouches with custom vinyl designs on our new cricut. the next day we went roller skating lmao. even the actual "work" is enjoyable (i help students w/ their schoolwork, mostly math, which is fun to me, or entering info into forms/spreadsheets, also kind of fun to me bc i can listen to music while i do it). buuut i dont make a lot of money. if they paid me $100/hr and gave me some benefits, i'd be set!

[littlequeen7]

I have barely any followers so I dont expect anybody to see this. But if there is any place to talk about my love for Taylor, it is here.

I've had a few people ask me why I love Taylor Swift so much. I understand why they ask, and why I might get weird looks, parasocial relationships and whatnot. But what they don't understand and what I have a hard time communicating is that Taylor is more than just music to me.

We grew up together. I'm five and a half years younger than her, so she completely shaped my adolescence. When Debut came out I was just starting the 6th grade, the grade when I learned some harsh lessons about bullying and friendships.

Fearless came out in the middle of 8th grade, the worst year of my life. That album was a comfort to me when everything else seemed hopeless. I had cut-outs from J-14 magazine plastered on my walls, of Taylor and the Jonas Brothers. I tried to convince my teacher that we should sing Fifteen at our 8th grade graduation (I lost that one).

Speak Now came out when I was 15, and I listened to that album until every word was ingrained in my brain. My older cousin bought us tickets to her Speak Now tour for my birthday, and she was my first ever big concert. We drew 13's on the back of our hands and screamed along with her while she sang Mean barefoot, while she hit giant bells during Haunted (my favorite song at the time), while she floated over the crowd on her balcony in her Love Story outfit right in front of us, close enough I thought if I reached out I could touch her. I don't remember which cover she sang, but she did it in her purple dress, with sharpie scrawled across her arms. I took so many blurry and grainy photos of her that day. Speak Now will always have a very special place in my heart.

Red came out when I was 17. I learned through one of her diary entries that she had actually written the song Red on the flight home from our concert. To think that I saw her not even 24 hours before she wrote one of the most iconic songs of her career was mind blowing. I was dating now, so all of the songs about relationships became relatable for the first time. I knew from the moment I heard it that All Too Well was the best song of her career, and I have some obnoxious Facebook posts to prove it. The Last Time became one of my favorite songs she had ever made. Flash forward 5 years and I was posting 22 on my Facebook the minute it hit midnight. (Yes, Facebook. I'm old and uncool, we've established that already.)

1989 came out the year after I graduated high school. I was on my own for the first time, completely unprepared and immature, with a toxic partner who I ended up staying with for 5 years. I still have distinct memories of riding the bus past the WWU campus on my way to work, blasting the album in my headphones. I was in my semi-popular Lana Del Rey Tumblr days then, and you best believe I was making gifsets of the Blank Space music video. These were also the years when I sank into my deepest depression. 1989 was a bright light in that darkness.

Reputation came out when I was actually 22, right after leaving the five year relationship, and leaving everything I owned behind me or in storage, while my ex took my two beloved cats. This was my revenge era, my short lived "hoe phase" if you will. I remember listening to it for the first time in the car with my mom while driving to Seattle. I remember listening to it in the kitchen with my then 11 year old sister, and her saying "well that's inappropriate" during one of the songs (probably Dress). I was a little too harsh when I said, "well she's a grown adult, shes writing for herself, not writing for kids." What a brat. I specifically remember one Tumblr post from a fan that went to the Secret Sessions, of her gasping and saying "Taylor!" in a scandalized way during one of the songs (my guess is, again, Dress) and Taylor replying something along the lines of "I know, right!" To this day, Reputation is the album I have the most fun listening to, and the one I blast the loudest in the car.

Lover came out when I was 24, living in a small room without a door in my Grandma's house that doubled as her office. This was the no privacy era and it did NOT slay. This was also the era that I was in love with someone I shouldn't have been (you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes). Every love song on that album was dedicated to him. False God became a new favorite. This was the time right before it all fell apart, when the entire world shut down and I hurt people and was hurt myself (again, stupid prizes).

Folklore came out in the midst of being completely isolated from the world, except being dropped off at work every day and trying to go to college online. The beginning of my severe and debilitating germaphobia. The constant fear that I would catch COVID from my irresponsible coworkers. Not to mention, my heart was ripped open because I was August, and she was Betty. This album, I think, is the one where I couldn't deny the similarities to my own situation. It felt like it was meant for me, in that moment. Seven was for the little me that died when I was young. This Is Me Trying was a letter to my loved ones, when I couldn't explain that my brain was actively trying to kill me. I've only listened to Hoax twice, because that one is the most painful. I was the epitome of "I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."

Evermore, bless it's heart, came out of nowhere and was an amazing surprise. That being said (Ryan Bergara voice), Tolerate It, Happiness, Ivy, Long Story Short, Closure, Evermore and Right Where You Left Me were a twist in the knife of a trauma that wouldn't leave me, no matter how hard I tried. I was out on my own, truly alone, for the first time in my life. And I was terrified that, like Taylor said, this pain would be forevermore.

The re-records were amazing. I was so proud of Taylor for sticking up for herself and challenging the leeches that had gotten rich off of her talent. The moment she hinted at the 10 minute version on social media, I flipped my shit. Again, I have Facebook posts to prove it lol. I memorized the new verses in a day, I listened to it on repeat for weeks. I was staying at an airbnb the day Red TV came out, and I spent that night dancing around the kitchen with my headphones on.

And now... Midnights. I'm 27 now, and by this point I've lived a thousand different lifetimes. I listened to it in my dorm room alone, with my headphones on the second it was released. And then for good measure, I listened to it again the second the 3 AM version came out. I always need the second listen, to really soak up and understand an album. I made a bracket tournament thingie of all of the songs, and at first Vigilante Shit won, but after a couple more listens, Karma replaced it in the top spot. I listened to this album so much, on repeat constantly, that even though it was released in October, every single song made it to my Spotify Wrapped (not to mention the fact that I was in the top 2% of TS listeners). I was lucky enough to score tickets to the Era's tour, after much anxiety and freaking out from crashing websites and delayed sales. I screamed as soon as it was confirmed. Things have been rough, especially in the last month or so. One of the only things keeping me hopeful is the fact that in 4 months, I will get to see one of my favorite people in concert again.

That's not to mention the merch over the years. A Speak Now Tour shirt, notebooks and posters with Taylor's face on them, two signed CD's, a Red cardigan, a "fuck the patriarchy" keychain, The Scarf, and a few (not as many as I'd like) vinyls. I'm still pissed that my 1989 CD with the polaroids is lost somewhere in my storage unit.

At this point, if anyone is reading this, which I doubt they will, and especially if they have read this far (I'm sorry this post turned into a monster), they're probably thinking that I am a weirdly obsessed fan. Someone who thinks that someone they've never met in person is their BFF. I don't think I'm either of those things, but Taylor Swift has, and always will be a comfort to me. Especially as a neurodivergent person, having just ONE person who has been consistent for most of my life, someone who I can look up to and learn from, music I can listen to and immediately be comforted, is essential. At this point, now that I really think about it, Taylor Swift really is one of my special interests, and she has been long before I even knew that special interests were a thing (late diagnosed).

On top of all of this, she is just a genuinely good and kind person. You don't see that super often, in this cut throat industry. She is someone to look up to, even if Dear Reader says otherwise.

I've been writing this for about half an hour, and my phone is shaking from holding it above my head while I lay in bed and type. If literally anyone gets this far in the post, thanks for reading my weird diary entry I guess lol. Above all else, this is really a love letter to Taylor. Thank you for being there for me through it all.

[hisprophetsagain]

✨ 3, 8, 9, 16, & 27 ✨

3 - last song i listened to was dammit by blink-182 lol. i think cheshire cat and dude ranch are super underrated and dammit is one of their best and it came on my no doubt/spiderwebs station!

8 - favorite band/artist is so tough but i’ll split it: modest mouse and pat the bunny’s various projects. with pat even though he was in a ton of bands there’s a throughline to his work (and he was often the only one in each band, to my knowledge, just trying out different sounds). modest mouse are just all-timers, man, and i dug into them at just the right time

9 - birthday is october 21! :D this Leads me to having october-1st-though-new-years-is-a-holiday syndrome

16 - i want so many tattoos! idk exactly what tho lol. i recently thought about getting the symbols from the blair witch project and kill list because cult-y symbols look cool but i also eventually want to get SOMETHING american traditional. i drew stuff out like a decade ago when i last planned on getting something but never liked them enough to really get them

27 - favorite book is SO tough because after college my body just forgot how to read 🙃🙃🙃 as a kid the girl who loved tom gordon was a favorite and i think any parents with middle school aged kids into horror can introduce that to them as their first king novel. mccarthy’s the road was really striking and is what i named my blog after. it’s very “high school lit” of me but the catcher in the rye and a farewell to arms have always stuck with me. i just bought a kindle, though, so hopefully i can get back into reading and find some new favorites :3

[arsenalsquid]

MY VIRTUAL SINGER SONG TIMELINE

I wanna make this as a little story about my earliest connections to Vocaloid/Virtual Singers and how it all led me to loving them.

#1 Nyanyanyanyanyanyanya!

Without a doubt, this was the first. All those YouTube videos and internet memes, it was the "Nyan Cat song" of course! But... in reality, it was actually a Miku song, but super sped up. I and many others wouldn't know, so my jaw DROPPED when a friend hovered over the song in Project DIVA, but that wouldn't be until much later. While this wasn't my true start, it would be a long journey.

#2 Senbonzakura and LOL – Lots of Laugh –

Maaany years later, and here I am! My first actual exposure to Hatsune Miku! I'd download a ton of 3DS demos to play, and Project Mirai was one of them. These two would be burned into my mind forever. I even remember going out of my way and searching them up on YouTube, and being amazed by the visuals on arcade/PS4!! I now understood the most basic concept of Miku; someone who sings. I don't remember why I liked this though. I must have seen it as a cute game, with cute songs and fun visuals. But, that would be it. I'd eventually delete the demo, forget about the songs, and move on... but not before...

#3 Kagerou Daze

The first song I encountered on my own! I discovered it while looking at videos of Senbonzakura and LOL, so this was around the same time as that. It was this animated one in particular that I saw the most! I believe I did see the Project DIVA music video, too. I just found myself so enthralled by this, it was so different from the cutesy songs I was just listening to. It was such a heavy feeling song, but the pacing made it so fun to listen to. A feeling that would return later... I listened to these 3 songs a lot, but yeah, I just stopped and didn't really bother looking for more.

#4 Tokyo Teddy Bear

Once again, more years would pass, but this was it. I was having a VRChat session with friends, and one of them put on some virtual singer songs. I didn't really care or pay any attention to them, and just chatted or drew. That is until they put Tokyo Teddy Bear, the Kasane Teto cover. I completely stopped what I was doing and just stared. It was like my friend's voices disappeared and all I could see and hear was this song... and it's visuals. And when it ended, I asked my friend to play it again, and again. It was kind of funny, as they pointed out how I looked just standing still and staring. He showed me some other Teto songs, like Teto Territory and that Fukkireta song.

Afterwards...

I was OBSESSED with Teto. My PFP, reaction gifs I'd send, and non-stop talking for about a week straight. I was so happy to find something I liked this much. And that's when my friend showed me Project DIVA Mega Mix+!! I've come full circle. From there I liked even MORE songs, and after a day or two of him showing me the game, I bought it alongside the DLC, and bam. Vocaloid/Virtual Singer lover forever. Got Project SEKAI, downloaded Project DIVA and Mirai on my PS Vita and 3DS, and got a few merchandise.

I've never felt this obsessed with something in a long while, I think my last thing was Persona 3 back in high school. It's really fun though!! Listening and finding all sorts of new music, seeing the music videos, building my playlist, sharing it with others. I definitely skimmed through a bit, but music means a lot to me. And this form of music is just so amazing to me, a near endless supply of songs to listen to. It makes me so happy. Even the most depressing songs make me happy, because I have something to listen and connect to when I'm down. I love using music as a coping skill !!!!!!

Thank you for reading if you did!!!! This is more of a personal post for me to save >_< My love for this will keep growing :3

[justmeinadaze]

Playing the Game (Steve X Plus Size Reader)

A/N: "I'm not gonna do it. I was only thinking about it....O.o...I did it."

Since Joe Keery has decided to invade my dreams I bare you this piece. We still have a confident, beautiful curvy reader here :) Never forget that no matter what you look like big, tall, short, small, etc that you are beautiful <3

Warnings: Fingering (*sings* on the passengers side of my best friends ride), Daddy/Sir kink for sure. Dom Steve/ sub (brat) reader. I will expand on this more in future chapters. This is actually my first time with this dynamic so be gentle!

Word Count: 2500

Steve crashes his entire body down onto the sofa, throwing his head against the back. 

“Why did this seem more exciting a couple of years ago?”

When Robin invited him to go with her to a Hawkins Halloween party hosted by some of the graduates from his high school class, he thought it might be fun. Between still working at the video store, his most recent break up, his dad constantly breathing down his neck, and the feeling of his life generally going nowhere, he thought a night full of fun distractions would make him feel better. Robin detached from him as soon as they arrived to go find the girl she was crushing on and after aimlessly wondering around for about an hour, he decided he would settle for just getting ridiculously wasted. He grabbed a cup full of “punch” and settled in the spot he currently found himself in. 

“Probably because a lot of these people seemed less annoying a couple of years ago.” 

Steve’s head shot up as he turned to see you sitting on the opposite end of the couch. How had he not noticed you? Had you been there this whole time? Contrary to his simple Halloween costume (Riggs in Lethal Weapon), you had obviously put more effort into yours. You were wearing this black corset that hugged tightly around the extra curves on your body. The garment was pushing your breast up and drew attention with the lacy bow tied in front of it. Your matching mesh leggings flowed down your chunky, beautiful thighs, topped off with leather flats on your feet. Your hair was pulled back into a ponytail and atop your head were some pointy cat ears. You had a mask just over your eyes with whiskers near the nose. You smiled over at him making his heart melt. Did he know you? He’d like to if he didn’t.

“How long have you been there?” Steve asked.

“Um, pretty much since the party started.” Your eyes shift towards him and he looked away a little guiltily. “Oh, don’t worry, Steve Harrington. I spent my high school career being invisible to most of these people especially you, I’m sure.” You raised your red cup in his direction as a salute. 

“I’m sorry. I…” was all he managed to stutter out making you giggle. You pulled your mask to your forehead. Your eyes were done with black eye shadow but at least he could see you a bit better. 

“Y/N. We had 4 years at Hawkins High together. A few classes here and there. I actually know your friend Eddie Munson. I was a part of his Hellfire club for a couple of years.” He didn’t respond or make any kind of movement to even affirm that he was listening to what you were saying. He was so transfixed by you. He eyes scanned over you from head to toe. When you spoke, he watched your lips move wanting to press them against his. When your hands raised, he wanted to grab them and hold them against the couch by your wrists. In the middle of your sentence, you had crossed your legs, making him wonder what they would feel like wrapped around his waist. 

As you laughed at him your whole body jiggled causing him to let out a shaky sigh. You pulled your masked back over your eyes and rose from the couch. Wait? What happened? He didn’t want you to leave. You walked towards the back of the couch and leaned your head down till you were right up against his ear.

“It’s ok, Daddy. I wouldn’t remember me either.”

His eyes swiveled around to meet yours and you coyly smiled at him. “Nice seeing you again, Harrington.” Steve was completely frozen in place as he watches you walk away, his groin straining uncomfortably against his pants. 

#############################################

“Come on, Steve. You got this, man. Let’s go.”, he chants to himself in the mirror of the bathroom. You may have won this round but you had completely thrown him off guard. He needed to show you that he was confident enough to play your game. That he was still King Steve even though he no longer ruled the halls of Hawkins High. He exited the bathroom and immediately went on the hunt to find you. He peaked his head in every room he could, praying you weren’t already in the ones that had moans emitting from them. 

He finally found you, of all places, standing next to Robin. Your eyes were full of sincerity, completely focused on her as you listened to her ramble. 

“I can do this. I can just go up to her right? Just say something like ‘Hello. I’m Robin. Do you like movies. I like movies.’ No, that’s so stupid. Oh my gosh.”

“Robin!” you laugh gently, placing your hand on your back. “Just be yourself. I’m telling you! You are amazing, beautiful, and adorably geeky.” She flashes you a nervous smile as she wobbles on her toes. “She’ll love you. But you’ll never know if you don’t go talk to her!”

“She’s right, you know?” Steve’s voice cuts through the commotion of the room as your eyes meet. You take note of his difference in demeanor causing a smile to spread across your face. 

“Oh, shut up.” Robin turns to you. “He always says stuff like that but he doesn’t know. He doesn’t understand. I do wish I had his confidence though.” She peers past you to make sure her crush is still there. 

“You do. It’s in there. Trust me. Now go before I do something that makes you gag.” She scoffs at your threat almost challenging you to try. “Oh, okay.” You push her lightly back, stepping forward towards Steve. “You know what Steve? I never noticed how gorgeous those eyes are. You want to meet me in the backseat of your car later?” You bat your eyes at him as he looks down at you, smirking. 

Robin starts making vomit sounds with her mouth as she pushes between you two. You smile fondly after her as she walks away. Slightly, you turn your head to look at Steve and notice he’s still grinning at you. 

“You ok there, Harrington? Do I need to call an ambulance?” You bring your cup to your lips and take a drink. Right as the warm liquid hits your throat, you feel Steve’s presence at your side. His warm breath tickles your ear.

“I’ll take you up on that offer if it still stands.”

You turn your head to face his. He’s so close to you your lips are practically hovering under his. 

“I don’t remember offering you anything.” 

“Oh?” His eyes open wide with amusement. “Something about the backseat of my car?”

You openly laugh, but Steve doesn’t reciprocate. He doesn’t even move an inch as he continues staring down at you. The smile he was wearing, now slowly disappearing. 

You narrow your eyes to his as you straighten you back making yourself as tall as could. “You can’t handle me, Steven.”

“You don’t know what I can handle.” He moved slightly forward into your space, placing his hand on your lower back. You can feel his cock through his pants brush up against your center causing you to lick your lips and press them together. Steve leaned his head to the side of yours till you were both practically cheek to cheek. You could smell his cologne as your nose hung over his shoulder. He smelled so good. When he spoke again is tone came out husky and low, almost vibrating into your ear. 

“Don’t ever call me Steven again.”

“I can’t! I just can’t.” Robin shouted shuffling quickly back towards you two. Steve, almost too casually, straightens back up and takes a step away from you. “Maybe next time. Next time I’ll try. Y/N, are you ok?”

No, you were not okay. Your legs felt like they were made of gelatin. You could feel the wetness pooling in your panties. You were not prepared for Steve fucking Harrington to respond to you the way he did. You had danced this tango before with many men and they all came prepared with the same attitude. “Oh baby. I can rock your world. I can do anything you need. All you have to do is ask.” You didn’t want to have to ask. You wanted to be told. You needed someone who could control your bratty attitude and then treat you like a queen. 

“Huh? Yeah, I’m good. I think the alcohol is finally hitting me.” You pull Robin in for a hug, resting your chin on her shoulder. “It’s ok, babe. You’ll get her next time.”

Steve looked at you and genuinely smiled. He liked watching how you were with his friend. You may be sassy but you seemed to really care about her well-being and something about that made his heart beat even faster for you. You deserved to be treated with the same kindness and caring you showed to other people. He desperately wanted to be the one to do that for you.

“Hey Steve. How many drinks have you had?” you ask him. 

“Just the one. Why?” 

“Robin, would you mind if he takes me home?”

“Yeah sure. I’m going to hang out for a bit longer. I can get a ride with Wheeler. I think I saw her curls around here somewhere.” Robin takes a quick scan of the room. You reach into your clutch and hand Robin your car keys. 

“Take my baby. I’ll swing by during your shift tomorrow and grab it from you.” You reach over and loop your arm into Steves. “Onward, Harrington!”

############################################

Steve parks the car in the deserted parking lot outside of your apartment building. He steals a glance at you to realize you were already staring at him. He leans back in his seat and tosses you a sly smile. 

“You didn’t need a ride, did you?”

Your own Cheshire grin spreads across your face as you turn to face the windshield. “No, I didn’t.” You turn back to face him. “Harrington, don’t play with me if you aren’t all in.”

Steve reaches his hand over and caresses your check softly. His fingers trace your lips sliding down to your throat. He gently runs the tip of his fingers along the sides of your neck making you swallow down moan. Almost abruptly he tightens his grip around your throat and pulls you towards him making you grunt against your teeth. Steve rubs the tip of his nose along yours.

“Who said I’m not?” he asks sounding like you insulted by merely suggesting. You reach out your hand and place it on the back of his neck, aggressively pulling him in for a kiss. His grip on your throat loosens as he slides his hand to your cheek. You let him go as you start to pull away but his hand keeps you in place. “Say it again.”

“Say what?”

He lets you go but you don’t move from where you are. You feel him lean past you and open the glove box. He ruffles around for a bit before finding what he wants and slamming it shut. Suddenly something cold touches your thigh and tears through the material around your legs. You look down right as Steve closes the pocketknife and throws it in the backseat. With both hands, he tears a hole up to your panties, and slides one of his big palms through to move the now drenched fabric blocking your pussy. His other hand reaches up, grabbing you behind your head and pulling him back towards his face. 

“Say it, again.”

When you don’t answer he forcefully shoves his middle and ring finger into your entrance, making you cry out at the sudden intrusion. 

“Steve!” 

An agitated sigh escapes his lips. “Wrong.” He starts thrusting his fingers at a brutal pace. 

“Harrington.” You moan out unable to think straight as you feel yourself getting close to that edge. 

“I think you’re doing this on purpose to make me angry.” The squelching sound of his hand pumping into you is almost pornographic. You feel yourself start to tighten around him as you near your climax. At that moment, Steve suddenly stops moving causing your eyes to snap open. 

“Say. It. Again.”

It suddenly hits you what he wants to hear and you let out a bit of a breathy laugh. You lean into him and placing your forehead against his, you slide your tongue along his bottom lip. 

“Please, Daddy. Don’t stop.”

“Good girl.”

He starts thrusting into you with his fingers again as you grind your hips against them. Steve’s lips glide down to bite and suck at the skin on your neck. You grip your hand into his hair pushing his lips further into your flesh. Your other hand shoots down to his wrist as you feel the coil in your tummy snap. You try to push his hand away but he forces is fingers deeper into you as you ride out your high. 

When he finally removes his hand and pulls away from you, you fall back in your seat panting. The sound of him sucking his fingers causes you to turn and watch him. He notices and gives you a wink.

“You taste good.” 

You can’t help but smile at him. If someone had asked you junior year of high school if you ever saw yourself in the passenger seat of Steve Harrington’s car being fingered by the king himself you probably would have laughed in their face. You two had always moved in different circles and he never seemed to pay you any mind. You also kind of thought he was a stuck-up daddy’s boy. 

The feeling of warmth on your knee brings you back to the present. Steve had rested his hand on your leg and was looking at you now, not with lust, but care. 

“Are you ok? Do you need anything? I think I have some water or something in the trunk.”

“Steve!”, you playfully giggle at him as you place your hand over his. “I’m good. I came. I didn’t come back from war or something.” He starts laughing along with you. 

As you bend down and start to gather your things, he quickly gets out of the car jogging to your side to open the door. You get out and eye him up and down. 

“What? I’m a nice guy. Speaking of, um, I can pay you back for those.” He points down at your leggings. 

“Oh, don’t even worry about it. They were like 50cents at a thrift store.”

He holds out his elbow and you grin as you loop your arm in his. Steve walks you up to the door of your building and opens it for you. 

“Hey Y/N. Can I, um, have your phone number?”

A smile spreads across your beautiful face and you slowly back into the Elevator behind you. “Of course. If you can find it.”

He shook his head as he walked back to his car. You weren’t going to make this easy but thankfully he liked a challenge. 

[bushdivingbushranger]

What was going to an all girls school like, if you don't mind me asking? :)

OK anon im so sorry this is so long and so convuluted I actually got so carried away jdbKJBGKSDBGH. i'm not even sure i properly answered your question i just got overwhelmed with Love for my same-sex schooling DHGKJSDFBHG anyway, if there's anything more you want to know lmk and I will try to be concise next time 💀

Essentially, my own experience at a single-sex secondary school was fantastic—however, I know my experience isn’t universal, especially since my school was a little bit different to most, I think.

That being said, I still think that sending your daughters to female-only secondary schools is something every parent should strive to do if they can. No other learning environment will ever be as good for girls as a same-sex school.

In terms of school staff, mine was about 95% female, and 5% male. The few male teachers we had were genuinely competent men and decent teachers, they were also watched like hawks. Our principal was female, all leadership positions in the school (such as House Leaders, Year Level Co-Ordinators, Department Heads, even the chaplain) were held by women. Our school psychologists, our nurses, our library technicians, our café ladies, our career advisors, our tutors—all were women. Our school houses (think like Harry Potter houses) were named after important women in our country’s history.

I went to a co-ed primary school. And whilst at twelve you might not have the words to describe it, graduating from a co-ed space, into an all-female space is really a giant weight off of your shoulders. You don’t realise how suffocating co-education is until you’re no longer having to bear it. It feels so much more natural, so much more free! You are welcomed as you are. You can be loud and unashamed of it. We joked frequently with each other and our teachers, laughed loudly and cared not whether our laughs were ‘ugly’. I found that teachers were far more supportive than they were in my co-ed school. For example, in a co-ed school I had been told frequently to ‘pipe down’ or to ‘reel it in’ from teachers, and more vexingly to ‘shut up’ from boys due to my boisterous personality. In high school? My teachers encouraged me to audition for the play because I had ‘great projection’. In every school programme (more on those later) that I was involved in, I was the one asked to give speeches about them at assembly. I was asked to be the lead of our house chants during our sports festivals. I was asked to join the debate team because of my passionate nature, which in primary school, had me known as ‘difficult’.

Likewise, I had a friend who was by nature quiet, and loved to draw. In primary school she’d doodled on the back of a work booklet, and when her teacher returned it, she’d taken off two points and had written a comment saying something about teachers in high school not accepting work that was drawn on.

Do you know what happened when she got to high school? Our English teacher had seen the eye she’d drawn on the back of our Romeo and Juliet test and had written, ‘beautiful!’ above it. The next test, she drew a two-headed cat with witches’ hats on both heads (I remember the left head was called Turpentine and the right head was called Esmeralda). Our teacher wrote, ‘wonderful!’ above it, with a smiley face.

The next day she got an email from our art teacher that had a PDF flyer of information on both in-school and local art competitions.

Anyway, she had questions and that teacher answered every single one of them. She also personally helped her select the works she wanted to submit. She ended up having two pieces shown in the school gallery, along forty pieces made by other girls. About five years later for our final year, on that art teacher’s recommendation (and tutelage!) she took all of the visual art subjects on offer. When she graduated, her final piece was shown at a public exhibition in our state’s capital city, that honoured the best pieces done by select graduating students in the state.

So yeah. Our teachers were pretty amazing. Of course, there was the odd teacher or two you would butt heads with but that’s just a universal school experience. Our humanities classes, like history, for example, often had a unit that would focus on the female experience of a certain time period. For example, when learning about WW2, we did projects on female resistance fighters et cetera.

We had health classes that were actually focused on female health. We learnt about female anatomy (even the clitoris! Though we were all about thirteen/fourteen at this time so we found it incredibly awkward to talk about), as well as symptoms of PCOS during our menstrual unit. We learnt about contraceptive methods and devices (however, as a Catholic school they did have to tell us that whilst these methods are available, the church-sanctioned method is of course, abstinence).

Whilst the majority of the girls shaved their legs and wore makeup, as someone who did neither of those things I rarely felt judgement about it (albeit, I think there was a little for my lack of makeup, but this only lasted the first two years). A good portion of our staff also did not wear makeup, I don’t recall this ever being commented on. And, by the time we’d reached about our third year, a good portion of my year level and the ones above did not wear makeup on a daily basis. Leg hair was not looked down upon by any of us I don’t think by this year either. In fact, if you were particularly hairy often your hairless friends asked to rub your legs!

We were never short of female role-models, our staff made sure of that. We had multiple days per year when guest speakers would come and talk to us, mostly these were women who were experts in their fields—whether that be neuroscience or computer science, linguistics and literature or mathematics, politics, et cetera. The only times we really had male guest speakers was when police officers (one male one female) came to give us an assembly about sexual peer-pressure and laws around sharing nudes that was basically, “these are common (male) manipulation tactics used to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do, don’t fall for them”.

We were encouraged to take STEM subjects, and those of us that had taken interest in computer programming were sent to coding programmes in the city during school hours! That’s how keen our teachers were to get more women into the field! This was the same with the girls interested in politics, who got to go to Model UN events, as well as mock parliaments in the country’s capitol.

We had a lot of programmes generally. A few overseas ones for girls who were in LOTE (languages other than English) classes. A few interstate ones, too. And of course, local programmes and excursions. Most of them (aside from the LOTE ones which focused on immersion) were volunteer programmes aimed at helping women and girls. The rest were about furthering our own skills or learning new ones. Majority of these were year-level based, but a few depended on the clubs/groups/classes you were in. For example, I was part of the Writer’s Club, and we took an excursion to the state Writer’s Festival and listened to female writers as well as feminist panels. We also had self-defence programmes every year.

In terms of peers I generally found everyone to be quite amiable by the time we’d reached our third/fourth year. There’s a common myth about all girls schools being filled with ‘catty’ girls who are constantly bitching about one another, but I really did not find that to ring true. There were a few fights and arguments in the earlier years, I was part of quite a lot lol but that’s honestly… just something that happens at school, at any school. Largely, we were good to each other. If someone was crying there was always someone who’d ask her what was wrong. If you missed the notes on the slide, there was always a girl willing to share her notes with you.

I think going to an all-girl’s school, and not having that much interaction with the opposite sex generally for that six-year period truly does something, I think, to your psyche. We are socialised to look down on our fellow woman, socialised to look down upon ourselves. But actually being constantly surrounded by women, and almost ONLY women, really helps to undo that. Even now I could not describe the fierce love I have for all those women and girls I came in contact with during my time there—even the ones I bickered with. Each and every single woman I met there enriched my life in some way or another. I think that is the effect of consistently spending time in any female-only space: developing a true appreciation for women. It is the only reasonable conclusion to come to.

I have been out of high school for two years, and in university for one. Among the many men I have met since, none of them have even been able to hold a candle to the any women and girls I know.

Anyway. TLDR: it slapped, send your daughters to same-sex schools!!

[soh-da-meatball]

Hi! Question 11 with Cats for the ask game? ^^

Hi dear!! so sorry for the late reply I tried to tag and link as many people as I can!!

11. Any fanart you especially like from [IF]? Include artist!!

@thunderwhenhepurrs (btw they can write AND draw like do you SEE THE TALENT) If I had to pick a fav the Mistoffelees and Macavity tango, the literal audible GASP I let out when i first saw it (link)

@rainbowratsstuff THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST ART like muacks muacks would cuddle and cry because they're so cute 😭💕 I can't pick a fav but ONE of my many favs would have to be the one with Mistoffelees in his den!! (link)

@lozeyart ICON. KING. THIS ART. (link)

@cat-brrr has THE BEST Alonzos and just incredible character design and expressions and I love them all so very much 🥺❤❤❤ (and all the little comics are so funny too please go read them all) If I have to pick one art to feature I'd definitely pick Cold Paws because it's just. so. CUTE!!! (link)

@storyweaverofgondor AGAIN amazing fantastic stunning art!!! My favorite is definitely I've Got You, Brother because it made me so emotional when I first saw it 🥺🥺🥺 (link)

@frodosso THE SOFTEST. MOST 🥺🥺🥺🥺 ART. 11/10 best beautiful A1 wagyu grade (link)

@0zzysaurus okay his art is SO SO GOOD like the linework, the colours, the expressions!!!??? but I would like to direct the focus to THE JERRIES. His design is my absolute favorite Mungojerrie design EVER (link)

@chocolama-stuff shhh stop you have to follow her no no trust me dude YOU HAVE TO because LOOK AT THIS (link)

@yoa-artblog no no listen I'm not playing FOLLOW THEM. ARE U KIDDING ME LOOK AT THIS??? 😭❤❤ (link)

@oggysonart if anybody is to make a CATS animation it HAS TO BE Oggy because LOOK.. and after you're done looking you can go to their blog and continue looking because I would just link their whole blog as my fav (link)

@linadoonofficial THE KITTEN ART 😭💕💕💕I can't someone please pass me my defibrillator (link)

@roselessart drew the CUTEST Demestrap art and I love it very very much muacks muacks will kiss goodnight tuck lovingly into bed 😭💕💕 (link)

@munku-strap-on is a blog run by @saph-y and @princess-triton two INCREDIBLE artists!!! so I'll do you one better.. I'll link TWO ARTS >:D (but forreal please go look at their blog the fashion pieces are stunning omg) (link) (link)

@frozenladycat the... the- box 🥺😭💕💕💕💕.. THE BOX TRO- *sobs in corner* TH-THE BOX T- *screams* (link)

@nunsongici HER ART. the fluidity of movement in her work!!!!!! THE COLORSSS 😭💕💕💕 (link)

@1deabril art of Tugger holding his bagpipes ready to stir some shit is my absolute FAVOURITE please he looks so proud of himself 😭💕💕 (link)

@mungos-your-jerries drew the Deut bros as TWITCHES and it fills my heart with serotonin every time i see it (link)

@sneakydraws has a Tuggoffelees High School AU comic series and SHHH I don't need to say more just click the link and read Part 1 I PROMISE YOU you will want more huahuahua >:D (link)

@sgtsemisauce has developed a CATS comic @catsthecomic and asdkgjhlsdg I would just link the whole blog as my fav but I'll pick this comic strip that got me HOOKED (and it will get you HOOKED TOO) (link)

I'm pretty sure I've still accidentally left out many incredible artists and I am so sorry (please feel free to tag them and your fav art from them!!) but please just know that this fandom is so full of talent and creativity and we're all blessed to have them here 🥺💕💕