#the most surprising to me is Astrid tbh

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

Happy Birthday! So, 💬: Any new character developments in the realms of your OCs? Any at all?

The Advocate has a friend!

Granted, we mostly wrote their first meeting fifteen years prior to our campaign, not long after TA got in trouble, but still. A friend. About as un-aging as him and who promised to kill him should TA lose control. He might have some trouble keeping his promise though, because in fifteen years TA has grown stronger while his friend is currently weaker than he used to be, but it's always good to have options.

More importantly, they understand each other and that's precious. And rare, for both of them.

Currently missing after he fell in a crevasse in Garlemald. He's not dead but he'll come back changed. Didn't have much development, however, because what I did with him was basically just his introduction.

(Realistically, a lot of my characters are glorified NPCs in my FC's verse but it's fun and it gives me more freedom with them than I'd have otherwise.)

He's killed his first enemies during a mission. One by accident (he didn't incapacitated him like he wanted to), another one because he didn't give Lian and A'idan any choice.

For now he's too worried about his boyfriend's health to really think about it but it'll come and it'll be difficult. Interesting though, because for all he's been wanting to be an adventurer, he definitely didn't take the measure of the cost until now.

Astrid will soon be back in Sharlayan, with the goal to give herself the Echo, or at least some way to jump into someone's body.

But I feel like to understand why Ms Goody Two-shoes would want something like that, I might need to explain that she very much died on the Isle of Val and is only back because the Lifestream spat her out. There was no will behind it, nothing. Think of it more like a solar eruption, but she was the aether sent out in the world.

And now that she knows she's dead, and that she doesn't technically have a body but is just a ghost in solid form, well... She knows enough about the Scions on the First to be aware that her time is limited. And Astrid doesn't want to die (again).

So, she's hoping for an alternate solution. And to find a fresh corpse to inhabit, morbid as it is. Or maybe a clone. She's not picky.

(Obviously it's not something she'll admit out loud :'D)

Skaar's finally in the East! And he's managed to punch his son's boyfriend less than one hour after meeting him o/

Currently he's trying to figure out what the fuck is going on in the adventurers' group a few of his FC members helped create. So far he's mostly under the impression that they've decided fucking was more important than doing their job but, in their defense, he's gotten that impression because his 'host' is an agent of chaos who described their current situation in hm... colorful ways.

He's realized that eventually, but I've yet to write the fall out with my rp partners. It'll be fun, though!

And that's it. The others are just living their life without much changes so far.

Thank you for the ask, @dragoons-mid-jump! Helped me realize that they've been through some things, in fact, despite me not having much energy to roleplay.

[violet-moonstone]

Headcanons and opinions on Httyd/Rtte relationships

Hiccup and Astrid are in an open marriage. Hiccup also dates Dagur and Astrid dates Heather. Dagur and Mala are either not together or it's a political thing, idk. Tbh I don't think about that pairing very often. Nothing against Mala, I just don't see them together at all. I think Mala would be better with someone less intense and probably more shy and sensitive.

I think Hiccup and Dagur spend long amounts of time away from each other doing their own thing, but when they finally meet up again, it gets *intense*. They all need to plan carefully though because Heather and Dagur do NOT want to run into each other while with their partners. Also, I think "Aunt Heather" and "Uncle Dagur" would be adorable af with Zephyr and Nuffink. Heather is especially good with Nuffink, who is very nervous. Zephyr absolutely adores Dagur and loves getting tossed in the air, play fighting, etc, but Nuffink is a little intimidated by him for a couple years. Dagur learns to be more gentle and play with Nuffink without scaring him.

I'm surprised by this (because I generally dislike most characterization in THW) but I'm actually good with Ruffnut and Fishlegs together. I'm a sucker for any relationship where one is a chaos goblin and the other is a nervous wreck. This may or may not be the dynamic of my own relationship. (I am the nervous one).

Snotlout's "rivalry" with Eret was a cover for his huge crush on him and at some point, they start dating. Snotlout learns to be more vulnerable and realizes that his constant desire to be masculine played out in performatively hitting on women. (He's literally Mac from Always Sunny, you can't convince me otherwise). He hates the height difference at first (Eret is almost an entire foot taller, jfc) but genuinely enjoys that Eret can just hoist him up over his shoulder and carry him around, tease him by holding things over his head, hold him down and tickle him, etc. And honestly, same. Nothing wrong with being smol and portable.

Tuffnut is asexual. Also very big uncle energy with the kids. He shows them how to pull pranks and Hiccup and Astrid watch with growing concern as their children (especially Zephyr) become absolute menaces under Tuffnut's tutelage.

[crimswords]

✧      ⸻      [    jonathan  daviss,    cis  male,    he/him    ]          ;          congratulations  on  surviving  the  parapet,  cadet  LUCIEN  NICHOLS,  and  welcome  to  the  rider’s  quadrant  !  at  TWENTY-THREE  years  old,  you  should  know  exactly  what  it  takes  to  make  it  to  graduation,  especially  being  so  RESILIENT  and  SELFLESS.  though,  i  do  suppose  your  tendencies  to  be  OVERANALYTICAL  and  DISTANT  may  make  it  hard  to  survive  until  threshing.  other  cadets  say  you  remind  them  of  your  heart  skipping  a  beat  when  you  miss  a  step,  talking  too  fast  when  you’re  excited,  and  love  persevering  through  grief,  but  we’ll  have  to  see  how  true  that  is.  remember:  if  you  want  a  dragon  —  earn  one.      ╱      

OVERVIEW  ;   full  name:  lucien  patrick  nichols nickname(s):  luc age:  twenty-three sexuality:  homosexual   family:  pierre  nichols  (  father  ),  evelyn  nichols  (  mother  ),  astride  nichols  (  sister  -  deceased  )occupation:  cadet,  first  year  wing:  fourth  wing,  flame  section,  first  squad signet:  unknown bonded  dragon:  unknown

PHYSICAL  ;   face  claim:  jonathan  daviss height:  5'10 eye  color:  brown hair  color:  dark  brown tattoos:  none

PERSONALITY  ;   positive  traits:  resilient,  selfless,  calculating negative  traits:  distant,  overanalytical,  doubtful character  parallels:  eddie  kaspbrak  (  it  ),  will  byers  (  stranger  things  ),  milo  thatch  (  atlantis:  the  lost  empire  )

BRIEF  HISTORY  ;  

lucien  is  the  youngest  of  two,  born  into  a  long  family  line  of  scribes.  their  family  has  always  valued  knowledge,  honesty,  and  determination.  

growing  up,  lucien  was  always  following  his  older  sister,  astride,  around.  being  only  a  year  and  some  change  apart,  they  were  inseparable  since  the  beginning.  

his  sister  was  always  the  outgoing  one,  pushing  them  both  to  the  limits  and  doing  things  that  would  have  given  their  parents  a  heart  attack

lucien  would  never  do  these  things  alone,  but  with  astride  by  his  side,  he  felt  invincible  

with  his  sister's  attitudes  and  overall  nature,  the  family  shouldn't  have  been  surprised  when  she  said  she  wouldn't  go  into  the  scribe  quadrant  and  instead  was  going  into  the  rider's  quadrant

it  was  nerve  wracking  to  say  the  least,  not  being  able  to  hear  from  the  person  he  thought  was  his  other  half.  she  even  almost  made  it  to  the  threshing.  but  the  day  before  her  name  was  called  as  they  all  mourned.  

none  of  the  family  knows  exactly  what  happened,  but  since  lucien  is  here  now,  he's  going  to  try  to  see  if  he  can  find  anyone  who  knows  what  exactly  happened.

now,  as  a  cadet,  lucien  has  no  idea  how  he  made  it.  he  almost  fell  off  the  parapet  so  many  times,  stumbled  to  the  ground  as  he  finished.

he's  also  a  staunch  rule  follower,  has  memorized  the  codex  word  for  word  at  this  point  and  is  working  on  the  types  of  dragons  next.  

he's  not  the  most  physically  fit,  nor  is  he  good  at  fighting,  but  his  intellect  is  most  likely  what's  going  to  help  him  get  farther  into  the  program.  

TLDR  ;  

a  ball  of  anxiety  who  only  joined  the  cadets  to  find  out  what  happened  to  his  sister.  he's  incredibly  intelligent  (  beetee  from  thg  tbh  )  but  he's  also  so  so  awkward.  doesn't  know  what  he  got  himself  into.  

WANTED  CONNECTIONS  ;  

friends  from  home:  maybe  these  people  were  also  around  scribes  a  lot  ?  lucien  spent  so  much  time  there,  people  probs  know  of  him

enemies:  people  in  his  squad  that  may  think  he's  the  weakest  link  !  give  me  the  pain  

allies:  they  don't  necessarily  have  to  be  in  the  same  squad/wing,  but  they  partially  feel  bad  for  lucien,  so  they're  going  to  help  him  out

crushes:  lucien  is  gay,  so  he'll  go  full  panic  mode  when  everyone's  sparring  and  they're  all  so  attractive.  (  he's  also  never  been  kissed  so  ...  marinate  on  that  ;)  )

[kitkatt0430]

4, 8, 11, 15 and 18 for AO3 wrapped!!

4.) What work of yours has the most hits?

The Man in the Lightning has gotten the most kudos of my fics this year, with 126 kudos. It's sequel, Closer and Closer Still, has almost as many at 121 kudos. I really didn't expect quite that much attention on either one, so I am a bit surprised.

Though my 'all time' highest kudos is currently on Seen in Evidence, written in 2020, with over 600 kudos. The Olivarry shippers seem to have enjoyed it a lot. I know last year the all time fav was still Poking the Poodle (And Other Ridiculous TvTropes), so Seen in Evidence must have gotten a lot of kudos this year.

8.) Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

I wrote 6 Cisco/Hartley ships which makes it the pairing I wrote the most for this year. It's closely followed by Cisco/Harry at 5 fics.

11.) What work took you the longest to write?

Well the latest chapter of The Curious Case of Harrison Wells was partially done for at least 2 years before I finally finished it this year. Though I don't know that it counts since the fic itself is still unfinished and, uh, I haven't started on the next chapter yet.

For a finished fic, probably Welcome to 2015 which I think was a WiP for at least a few months before I completed it.

15.) What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

A lot. Um... so just a few:

I had a WiP for Xander/Larry for BtVS but I forgot to save it and a post update forced reboot seems to have eaten it since libreoffice only retrieved a blank document (which is unusual, normally it's retrievals of unsaved docs go really well). So... I'm either gonna re-write it or wind up with something completely different. I'm a bit miffed about it, tbh, because I could have sworn I had saved it. But it is nowhere to be found. So I must not have. *sigh*

The Man in the Lightning series is gonna have a few more fics for it, taking it through parts of S1. Next up is Barry telling Iris that he's the Flash, Iris realizing Barry isn't joking about dating a time traveler with fuzzy morals, and Eobard learns that Iris does not need super powers to be intimidating when she gives him her version of a shovel speech.

Season 2 AU where Zoom kills Harry after taking Velocity for the first time, not realizing he'd need someone to fix the problems with it later. So it's E2 Jerrie Rathaway he kidnaps instead of Jesse, in order to manipulate Harry's successor at STAR Labs - E2 Hartley - into doing his bidding. Thus it's E2 Hartley, not Harry, who comes through to E1 looking for help to stop Zoom. - I feel bad killing off Harry, but the fic doesn't really work if I don't. Jesse will still wind up involved later on, though.

I think the time to rewatch Fringe has come, which I'm hoping will finally get me over the block I have on my Fringe x Flash fic, starting with Astrid pulling together her own Fringe investigation team to look into meta humans. I have lots of ideas for an alt Season 1 and Season 2 (for the Flash) for this series including Ronnie surviving the singularity. Don't want to give away how, though, since that's a long ways off. ;) I intend for William Bell to pop up as one of the recurring villains of the series, who sees metas as interesting test subjects. He may or may not team up with Eobard at some point, but that depends on where I take the S1 plot.

18.) The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Hmmm... I think maybe Iris? She's always a bit of a difficult character for me and I worry about getting her voice right a lot. Sometimes things will just click and I can churn out a fic for her in no time, but sometimes it's just a struggle to find the right words for her.

[chocolate-sunbeam]

Heart of Horse, Astrid

Warm and enveloping sandalwood, tonka bean, hay absolute, velvety red musk, oakmoss, black pepper, and vanilla

It's surprisingly gentle and unobtrusive. One thing is that the hay--i can taste it, on my tongue. The bright, soft, creamy type of hay, grassy and dusty. Real nice. There's a faint impression of red velvet, a simmered vapor of pepper, a mossiness. There's vanilla but it's not sweet, which is very cool tbh. Sandalwood, ja

The creamy mouthy hay is the thing that impresses me most. Note to self, keep an eye on Astrid's hay note.

Overall, it's nice. A bare, bare cast of sweetness is developing as it warms. It's a matter-of-fact, self-assured scent with surprising innocence.

[ladytrist]

DRAGONS: THE NINE REALMS

Okay, I just have to share the points I thought of after I watched the trailer. Oh and just so you know, I am a hardcore fan of the entire franchise ever since the beginning and it basically raised me (if that makes any sense). So don’t be surprised to witness my attachment to the movies and series.

- Besides HTTYD being mostly known for the DRAGONS, I believe that the movies and series set in the “VIKING ERA” really gave them this unique thrill and appeal to the audience. It made them MEMORABLE. So, the new series being set in the modern world (1300 years after) just feels wrong. I saw the instagram post and then the trailer came out. All I could think of was hiccup’s narration “This is Berk”. Fucking ICONIC. The place itself, BERK is ICONIC and if y’all are hardcore fans as well, you’ll understand the nostalgia you’ll get once you hear hiccup say that.

- The CHARACTERS. Ok, I’m gonna be direct. NO ONE CAN REPLACE THE ORIGINAL GANG. That includes the dragons as well. I grew up with them, we witnessed their fights, achievements, new found friends, falling on love, etc. Them saying each other’s names after years waiting for each new movie is just music to my ears. Their presence is irreplaceable.

- HICCUP’S AND TOOTHLESS’S BOND. If you ask me one thing that’s the most irreplaceable, it’s their CONNECTION and specifically their connection. It made the entire franchise SO FUCKING SPECIAL TO ME. From the 2 of them having lost a body part and starting to work together, to learning to forgive and trust, and then to finally be able to let go but never forget each other. That shit brings me to tears. I might be speaking to soon, but there’s no way the new series can top this.

- HICCUP AND ASTRID. My ship is still sailing and another factor that made everything so memorable to me cuz it lead me to countless fan fiction that I believe are still in my AO3 account. I can already hear myself saying “oh if it were Hiccup and Astrid”.

- I also thought can’t the production (whatever you call them). Thought of something else? I’m sorry I sound disrespectful. They could’ve gone with a prequel series, a series of the gang doing fun mundane stuff, Hiccup and Astrid’s married life in Berk with Hiccup as the chief. Oh and Heather, she can add some spice.

Okay, now to wrap up. I believe, the franchise shifting to the modern world really got me to an uproar cuz this shift meant that well…everything changes (can’t deny it). I’m also wondering if perhaps we’ll see hiccup and the gang pop up in the new series (like a flashback), may be some parallels (tbh we need them). I am adamant that it’ll never be the same. Nostalgia will always win. I will TRY MY BEST to watch this new series and hopefully I’ll be able to gather some good feedback I can share. Guys, as much as I rant about this not being the same, that feeling may be constant but I’ll see what this new series have in store for us. I hate being like this I really do.

[widobravely]

What if, jester ends up telling caleb she loves/likes him and caleb doesn't think he is good enough for her SO he tells her about his parents because he thinks that jester will "see sense" and not like him anymore?

it would NOT surprise me tbh, caleb widogast being who he is! however i have my fingers crossed for caleb telling jester (and caduceus) about his past before the Evil Villain Dinner, because they shouldn't walk in there unaware. you don't know what trent would do. at the same time, i think caleb wants the clerics on his side because he wants them to greater restoration astrid and eadwulf.

personally if i were trent and i wanted to dramatically destroy caleb's friends' belief in him, i would set up a programmed image to play the moment of arson and murder, during dinner. (y'all will remember programmed image as the spell caleb spammed on rumblecusp to make all those arches and illusions for travelercon. programmed image can play an illusion for five minutes, so uh. that's fast enough to show bren setting up the family bbq.)

that said, i have not forgotten that jester believes that caleb is a good person. and that when she learned about essek's war crimes, she (forgive me, I can't remember verbatim) said that, well, since you killed a lot of people you ought to make a lot of babies to make up for it. two babies ought to be enough to make up for caleb's crimes jk

(in case it wasn't obvious, I'm teasing about the war crimes + babies to make up for the burned fam thing)

AND another thing: jester is chaotic neutral. throughout the campaign she has shown this mindset of me and mine over everyone else, no matter what they actually did. (see essek. caused a war, was immediately forgiven by jester.) i can see her saying something like "it doesn't matter what you did, you're my friend."

is that good? is that bad? it is what it is, that's all. chaotic neutral, yo.

so no, i don't think jester will push caleb away after finding out about his past. but as for "seeing sense" hm well. jester is a big girl and can make her own decisions! so whatever she decides in the light of the reveal of the family bbq........we shall abide by it.

but also caleb is a dummy sabotaging his own happiness.

this got a whole lot longer than it was supposed to, oof. i hope you saw the most recent episode because this answer is a Whole Spoiler.

[coepiteamare]

catch up tag games

i love tag games, but i haven’t been around, so things have piled up. in a frantic attempt to do everything AND not spam the dash, i’ve (once again) compiled. 

tagging (if you haven’t done it and if you want to): everyone tagged below + @monvante @cutechim @augustbutwinter @propinqxity @hansolmates @zibermuda

10 questions

Tagged by @triviafics

rules: answer 10 questions and tag 10 people you want to get to know better!

relationship status: single. painfully single 

favorite color: pink and blue!

three favorite foods: tacos, creme brulee, honey lavender ice cream

song stuck in my head: levitating by dua lipa (yes i’m late to the party)

last song I listened to: it’s okay if you forget me by astrid s

last thing I googled: ...barbie movie with the weasel

time: 8:46pm

dream trip: visiting all my friends (irl and online), south korea at one point

anything I really want: for my loved ones to be okay. to be happy. 

WIP FOLDER TAG

tagged by: @bratkook @joonscore @triviafics @dinamitae @underthejoon @jinpanman​

rules: post the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. then let people send asks with the title that most intrigues/interests them and you’ll post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it!

1) favourite crime - jk x oc

2) dreamwalkers - jk x dreamwalker!oc

3) maybe the sea calls you (the way you call me) - jk x mermaid!oc

4) the day the world stood still - taehyung x oc

5) the dictionary of lovers - jk x oc

6) untitled, (things you didn’t say at all) - namjoon x acrobat!oc

7) welcome to wonderland (we’re all mad here) - yoongi & jungkook x alice!oc

8) turn back (look how far we’ve come) - jk x oc

the “butter” song challenge!

tagged by @triviafics @opaljm

choose five songs that spell out the word BUTTER and link them, then tag 5 mutuals or the last 5 people in your notifications.

B - brutal by olivia rodrigo

U - urs by niki

T - true crime by epik high

T - the same by ashe

E - ex by kiana lede

R - rain by bts

Zodiac This or That ✨

clean ones here!

tagged by: @triviafics

Sagittarius (sun): Teal or Purple. Topaz or Turquoise. Dandelion or Daffodil. Ginseng or Cilantro. Horse or Stag/Buck. Plane ride or Road trip. Learn Hindi or Learn Japanese. Ginger or Wasabi. Climbing or Snowboarding. Teleportation or Super Speed. Carnival or Circus. Sake or Tequila. Duffel Bags or Suitcases. Time Manipulation or Basic Precognition. Tambourine or Triangle. Backpacking or Whitewater rafting. Aquarius or Libra.

Virgo (moon): Navy Blue or Olive Green. Peridot or Sardonyx. Peony or Sweet Pea. Hops or Rosemary. Chess or Checkers. Carrot Cake or Fig Bar/Cakes/Cookies. Knitting or Crocheting. Grammar Checking/Quality Assurance or Critiquing a piece of work. Golf or Tennis. Buttercups or Morning Glory. Herbs magic or Earth and plant bending. Mice or Bees. Cabernet Frank or Micro-brews. Enchanted Garden or Magic that can perfect skills. Bunnies or Deer. Cancer or Scorpio.

Leo (rising): Gold or Orange. Cat’s Eye or Ruby. Sunflower or Marigold. Aniseed or Elderflower. Oranges or Peaches. Dance or Theater. Cosplay or Creating Fan Fiction. Sunbathing or Hot Stone Massage. Light Magic or Magical Statues/Monuments. Saxophone or Trumpet. Chardonnay or Gin. Super Strength or a Power like Occlumency. Lions or Tigers. Being a Queen/King or Having Immortality. Being the hero or Being the headliner. Tickle or Pillowfight. Libra or Gemini.

This or That

tagged by: @triviafics (lol i love you isi)

love at first sight or slowly growing fond of someone? love letters or mixtapes? hand kisses or kisses on the cheeks? understanding each other without words or finishing each others sentences? gazing into each other’s eyes or looking away blushing? longing to be with someone again or spending every second together? laughing together or crying together? someone run their fingers through your hair or gently playing with your hand? surprise kisses or long tight hugs?

check-in tag!

tagged by: @yeojaa

1. why did you choose your url?

coepi te amare means i have begun to love you in latin. i first heard it from a rixythewraith ff with double b and i’ve used it in a lot of things ever since. 

2. any sideblogs? if you have them name them and why you have them

estbellumsacrum - my personal. there’s just a lot of art and things that are too sad to be here. 

3. how long have you’ve been on tumblr?

uhm i had my first tumblr in 2014? in 10th grade. but this one, i made in January 2020. 

4. do you have a queue tag?

yup! exqueue you

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

i started writing fanfics in highschool, but stopped. i wanted a way to keep myself writing and accountable and motivated, so i started this!

6. why did you choose your icon?

because i love jungkook. hehe

7. why did you choose your header?

because i love him. but also, it looks kind of whimsical and magical. 

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

uhm probably “you have (1) new voicemail”

9. how many mutuals do you have?

i have no idea tbh

10. how many followers do you have?

300 something!

11. how many people do you follow?

233

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

uhm not on here, but yes. yes i have

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

uhhh i used to be on it consistently. now a days, maybe once or twice a day?

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

not to my knowledge!

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

i feel a lot. i’m not just going to reblog things for the sake of reblogging, especially when i’m not educated on the topic and could be spreading false information. when i think it’s important, i’m going to do my research and educate myself. i do understand the importance of signal boosting, so i can understand where the “you NEED to reblog” part comes from, but at the end of the day, social media is also (especially tumblr) a form of escape. let people have whatever blogs they want, as long as they’re not hurting or harming anyone. 

16. do you like tag games?

yuh 

17. do you like ask games?

yes yes yes

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

uhhhh tbh, everyone? all of my mutuals are really talented, and i think all of them deserve the world. but uhm...i asked my friend who doesn’t have a writing blog on tumblr and she knows @underthejoon and @bratkook

19. do i have a crush on a mutual?

don’t we all? (but in all honesty, she inspired “love letters i cannot send”)

[clvmtines]

welcome aboard, clementine martinez, student #2. we are excited to set sail with you !  has anyone told you that you look like alexa demie? according to our records, you hail from florida, usa, prefer she / her pronouns, are a cis woman, and are here to study creative writing. we also see you received a spot on the ss university because of your online lottery win — we won’t tell anyone. during your first few weeks here, other students said you were + charming, + free-spirited, but also - restive. it sounds like you spend most of your time at the billiards room. upon checking your luggage, we noticed you packed a casino chip carried around for luck from home. hopefully your roommates don’t steal it!

hi friends! i’m very excited to be here. i’m jay (est, she/her) n i used to play astrid nyland a few months ago if anyone remembers bt i had to leave for personal reasons. i’m so glad to be back now that i hve life sorted and some free time for summer break <3 read on for some details abt this new muse of mine, clementine. 

01. biography !

so ! clementine was born in florida. & yes, her real name is clementine. her mom thot it was the cutest name idea ever. clementine mostly goes by clem. she comes from the town [redacted] in florida bcoz i am too lazy to look up a specific town <3 but alas ! it was swampy and humid and she lived in a trailer park. 

her parents got knocked up at nineteen. clem was born nine months after a particularly wild 1999 fourth of july. her birthday is march 26th and she’s an aries. 

(TW: addiction, child injury) clem’s dad was a gambling addict and petty criminal—he wld steal credit cards n whatnot. he wld gamble away diaper money n it would cause constant fighting until her dad finally left. her mom took this very hard n began drinking a bit too often, leaving clem to to make cereal for dinner n fend for herself. once clem tried to make hot dogs on the stove and spilled boiling water on herself. got a p bad burn on her arm/shoulder and still has a big scar.

the soundtrack of her childhood was cicadas buzzing and stray dogs barking. the sizzle and pop of natty light cans. turning up her ipod to max volume to drown out the sounds of her mother fighting with her new boyfriend.

throughout her upbringing, clem’s dad was always in and out of the picture. he’d blow into town when he hit it big. he’d take her on these little “adventures” like staying in a motel 6 n renting movies at block buster n ordering good pizza nt the dominos shit she ate with her mom lol. ofc he was charging it all to someone’s stolen credit card. he’d always promise to, like, take clem away. n clem was a daddy’s girl so she believed him. the last time it happened was her h.s. graduation. her mom didn’t show ( "overslept” after a bender ) but her dad did and surprised her n said everything wld be different. bt then he bailed on their plans for the next day n when she called his cell, the number was disconnected. tht was the defining “i’m done” moment. clem promised to never be disappointed by her father again.

(TW: racism) her mother has mexican ancestry and clem’s always been called her twin. but clem was raised in a predominately white area and honestly ?? it was really hard without her even realizing it. she’s still unpacking a lot of things today abt her youth that jst weren’t okay bt she thought were normal. like microaggressions, stereotypes, being fetishized by boys in high school. gross shit.

as a kid, clem was rumored to be really poor bc she wore tattered clothes n got free lunch at school. once she invited a friend to her house & the next day they told everyone it’s in a trailer park. that reputation—the “trailer park girl”—was really hard to shake. and clem got almost desperate to shake it. she was endlessly trying to set her old self on fire and emerge from the ashes like a phoenix.

eventually clem became more “popular”. in school she was, like, a straight b student. very average although super creative and quick-thinking. she always had street smarts. problem solving skills. independence. more of, like, practical intelligence as opposed to book smarts because academia bores her tbh. she was like why am i reading these overrated boring books by dead white men or learning abt polynomials when i know nothing abt how to pay a mortage or do taxes. like...she saw the american education system as bullshit and put in modest effort because she didn’t believe it deserved her sweat and tears. 

however, she entered the online lottery for the seas program on a whim and got in. so she’s studying creative writing now.

02. personality !

first thing you shld know abt clem is that she’s a compulsive liar essentially—she tells various stories to make her life seem better than what it was. to one person, she’s an heiress to a real estate company and grew up wealthy. to the next she was raised by nomadic hippies. some of her lies are small fibs while others are grandiose tales. she rarely talks about her actual upbringing. she hates talking abt her family or the v real trauma of growing up in a household where both parents struggled w/ addiction; the uncertainty, the broken promises, the fact that she had to grow up so soon and deal w/ so much. it wasn’t fair, and if she thinks about it too much, she feels this anger. anger at the universe. anger at her circumstances. she doesn’t know where to put this anger. she doesn’t know how to shrink it. so she avoids it.

despite her rough upbringing, though, clem is actually really sweet and kind. she’s adventurous, fun-loving, free-spirited, and bold. 

bt ! she can also be closed-off, competitive and restive. 

she’s seemingly tight with everyone? like she’s jst that girl who can get along with anyone tbh. 

in her spare time you can catch her tanning by the pool, hanging at the bar, playing pool ( which she learned from her dad ), and socializing. she’ll never say no to hanging out with people. 

she learned a lot from her little “adventures” with her dad, who was very good at conning others and often involved her in his dumb little scams. clem is suuuper good at pulling the ‘im baby 🥺’ card to get what she wants.

she can be a little selfish, because she grew up looking out for herself. 

stubborn and dogmatic as hell !!!

she doesn’t do too many relationships but when she does fall, i imagine she falls hard and fast. she refuses to be made a fool of, tho. when she gets vulnerable she flashes back to being a kid, waiting all day for her dad to show up only to have him bail on her. again. she hates that feeling. so if she, like, senses a shift in someone’s energy she’ll b like, “i’ll break up with u before u can do it to me” and the person wasn’t even tryna dump her lmao.

has a lot of sex. too much ?? sex?? mayb. but she’s v sex positive.

her personal style is v late 90s. hair clips, big scrunchies, neon, fur trim, crop and tube tops, hoop earrings, chokers, patterns, platform shoes, biodegradable glitter cuz it’s good fr the earth *winks*. clothes from o-mighty.......actually jst google o mighty, pull up the images and That is clem. she dresses like a bratz doll. she’s dedicated to the aesthetic.

03. headcanons !

her item brought from home is a hot pink poker chip from a casino. her dad gave it to her. he said it reminded him of her because of the color; he got it during one of his winning streaks and said it was lucky. she has a complicated relationship w/ her dad n doesn’t even speak to him anymore, bt she will never go anywhere without it.

she’s a smol bean—only 5′4

an astrology girl and she reads palms ! she absolutely makes astrology tik toks that people only watch because she’s hot. her flirting technique is to ask you to read your palm.

she doesn’t typically drink to get drunk. but she does love a good sugary cocktail. to her, a drink is like an accessory. a blue fishbowl by the pool, a jack and coke as she stands around a bar. usually she'll nurse the same beverage for a while. if you see her wasted it usually means she’s going thru it emotionally lol. the one thing she does do is drugs tho 

pretty much listens to exclusively female artists.

a bit of an activist. environmentalism, feminism and the like, she’s v outspoken. vegan for ethical reasons (TW: drugs) bt still does cocaine. she wears shirts with ‘my pussy my choice’ bedazzled on the front.

loves to rollerblade ! back home she didn’t have a car so she’d bike or rollerblade. now she still has her blades and she’ll use them when the ship docks. 

03. wanted connections !

Friends, bffs, ride or dies, friends who are like siblings to her, maybe a friend with an unrequited crush on either side ??

an ex she dumped/cheated on/otherwise self sabotaged their relationship because she was afraid of vulnerability.

an ex friend who realized she lies a lot abt herself n felt betrayed. OH ! ESP if they opened up to her on many occasions abt intimate, personal stuff. imagine the betrayal they felt when they found that everything they thought they knew abt clem is a lie.

someone who she actually opens up to. a confidant. or, maybe, like, a stranger she drunkenly spilled her soul to and now she avoids them like the plague.

a rival. clem can be competitive.

her drug dealer 

someone she knows she shouldn’t hook up with and… does it anyways. like a friend’s ex or smthing. spicy <3

i welcome anything !

[harley-style]

Why do people not like HTTYD 2?

That movie happens to be my favorite out of the three. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the first one is warming up to me and while I originally adored the third one I’m slowly learning why I shouldn’t like it as much, but the second one has always been the special one for me. I was wondering why, to others, this movie didn’t hold a candle. To me, it certainly did.

Reasons why I love the second movie:

Hiccup aged WELL and TECHNICALLY this is the FIRST movie I’d seen out of all THREE. TECHNICALLY. (Because I’m a dumbass and forgot most of HTTYD 1 including faces.)

Toothless has a really great character here. Did you see that protectiveness? And the way the two just bantered back and forth.

Its super easy to expect a villain like Drago, but also wonder if Hiccup was going to win against a madman. After all, there’s no reasoning with one. It was hard for me to believe Hiccup would win. Stakes, to me, were actually quite dire. STOICK DIED.

As a narrative, it made sense to me for Hiccup to struggle accept growing into his responsibility.

From what I remember of the first movie, I’d always wondered if there were people who exploited the used of the dragons they killed since for generations Berk was a ‘dragon slaying’ village. This second movie answered that quite nicely.

I love Hiccup’s mom and how her character was presented. Do I think she made a dick move by leaving her son? Yes. Was it right? No. Do I think she’s a lovely morally grey character whose aspirations and decisions don’t necessarily fall into a ‘good’ category, and still manages to be a complex character nonetheless? Yes.

Two words. Toothless Found. You guys have NO idea how many times I’ve watched this stupid fucking scene and it makes me cry Every Damn Time.

DRAGON RACING

The bond between Hiccup and Toothless as it developed in 5 years, honestly. Look at how their bond just grew. They have conversations with each other!!!! I just!!!! What!!!!

brb still fucking sobbing that their bond was strong enough for Hiccup to get through to Toothless

honestly I could go on and on about the bond between these two dorks but!

Astrid and Eret, fucking comedy gold.

ingenuity of the dragons. Still can’t get over the Zippleback flame wheels, honestly.

KING!!! OF DRAGONS!!!! A BEWILDERBEAST!!!!! I LOVE!!!!

okay moving onto deuteragonists: the twins were as great as always; love the touch of Snotlout and Fishlegs fighting for Ruffnut (very subtle nod to courting a wife in Berkian culture I’m guessing); Astrid being a badass, as usual; “Dragon riders coming through” will always be my favorite line, forever; Valka walking on dragons; “ERET SON OF ERET”/Eret Eretson; Toothless’ increasingly catlike behavior tbh; “Stormfly, fetch!”

have I mentioned For the Dancing and the Dreaming? if it were a lullaby I’d listen to it forever

hell, I’d listen to STOICK singing me lullabies forever, holy FUCK

It STILL gets me that Hiccup tossed his sheep in ASTRID’S basket, the fuck

“We have...our DRAGONS” is the most iconic line in my humble opinion

basically I just love HTTYD 2 and its okay if you don’t but I’ve not heard of a simple reason as to why HTTYD 2 was not favored for the others other than the fact that it was leagues behind the first movie.

So like...there you have it. Most of the common reasons why I love the second movie a LOT. It’s still my favorite out of the trilogy, actually. 

It might not surprise you that I also like Race to the Edge. Granted its the only TV series of the franchise that I happened to watch, but I actually enjoy it and consider it canon to my heart nonetheless.

[watchingcr]

1- I think i love Astrid lol

2- who was at her home??? Was it Eodwulf? Did they leave?

3- okay so, I found the visit very interesting, caleb clearly wanted to see her very badly, he wanted to see if she was as far gone as the prisoner in Xorhas (which again about to die in enemy territory as you’re in some cell this person that must be a traitor comes in, not blaming her for not showing anything tbh) I don’t know if he got his answer because to me she was putting many walls, most times that the conversation felt going to certain places she’d put a wall, can’t say im surprised, though I do wonder if the mysterious visitor had anything to do with it, or even the butler could go and listen and talk to people she rather not know much about her feelings

Imo the moments of true feeling was when she said trent may die soon more out of hoe clear her dislike for him is, and when she said part of her will always care for caleb, i could see there was a time they really loved each other

Regarding if she agrees on what is happening she answered without answering imo. And felt like I am believing this is helping people because is the only thing i can hold on to, I can’t focus on the pain or it would destroy everything i know... or is how I read it at least. She didn’t feel like she enjoys her work and all that but she does it because she has to believe is for the good of the people of the empire plus, i do think she can’t just leave lol.

I think she was wearing a mask and had many walls up to truly what’s going on with her, but i am interested in knowing more

[punkscowardschampions]

Astrid & Libi

Astrid: ....

Astrid: wHY Is JaKe doiNG tHat?

Astrid: itS beInG weIRd

Libi: Doing what, Astie?

Libi: He is a bit weird, isn’t he

Astrid: 👀 @ u 💬 @ u

Libi: Oh, well we’re both going to be in the school play that Mr Mullan is putting on

Libi: He’s going to be my husband/partner in crime 💥🔫🔫

Astrid: ⛔⛔⛔⛔

Astrid: yoUrE noT FRiENdS

Astrid: doEsNT mR mULLaN knOw??

Libi: I’ll have to do really good acting and pretend we are

Libi: Were first years allowed to audition?

Astrid: [lists everything vaguely shady that Libi has ever said about Jake like but you said… so good luck lol]

Astrid: ....

Astrid: i DoNt KnOW

Libi: Okay, I’ll have to work hard 😅 He seems like he really wants to do the play so hopefully he will work hard too

Libi: Oh that’s okay, it takes time to settle in doesn’t it

Libi: How are you liking your lessons?

Astrid: hmmMMMm

Astrid: HOPEfullY PeOPLe wonT bE 😢 oR 😡

Astrid: iT tAkEs tiME TO settLE iN ✅☑️

Astrid: I liKe hIStoRY & rE

Astrid: [cue a long long ramble about everything she’s learnt and is interested in within both of those subjects that I won’t subject us to even though I too like both of those]

Libi: I hope not

Libi: 😂 or 😁 or both

Libi: That’s really cool, you’ve learnt so much already

Libi: [At least she did all this last year so can talk about it too and indulge and talk about what she’s doing within those subjects this year]

Astrid: BObBy wilL BE

Astrid: 😢 oR 😡 BOTH thAT heS nOT yOUR paRTnER in CRImE

Astrid: [you’ll be so excited to learn some of that shit next year bab & have probably gone off fall down a rabbit hole/nerd out about all of that so there will be a pause for ages lol]

Libi: Bobby does have a part though, so we still get to rehearse and do all the fun stuff together 🙂

Astrid: 🙃

Astrid: DoEs Mr mULlAn kNOw iVe 👀 A dEaD boDy? iS HE gonNa 💬 @ ME?

Astrid: ❓🤔

Libi: Oh I don’t think he’ll do that, I think he’d see that as rude, he wouldn’t want to upset you, and talking about it might upset you

Libi: But if you did want to tell him anything, maybe you could tell me and I’ll tell him for you

Astrid: 👌 THat maKeS SenSE

Astrid: bUt i wONT tEll YoU iN cASE iT MAKES yoU uPSEt

Libi: That’s nice of you, Astie

Libi: But you can talk to me about it, if you wanna, I won’t tell you to stop

Libi: And I might get bits of it

Astrid: sOme SUBjeCTs yoUrE nOT ALlowed TO 💬 abOUT unLeSs tHE oTHeR perSon brINgs theM Up 1St

Astrid: whOs DeAD & wHo pEopLe waNNA 💋

Libi: Who 💬 those rules?

Libi: I’ll have to remember them 😏

Astrid: mRs FifIELd eveRy tIMe we Do SOCiaL SkilLS

Astrid: rEpeaTING it Will HelP yOU remEMbER

Libi: I’ll give it my best shot

Libi: Though sometimes it’s very obvious who wants to 💋 who that it feels strange NOT to talk about it, doesn’t it

Astrid: 🙂 🙃

Astrid: ThATs WHAT i 💬 baCK eVerYtimE

Astrid: buT sHE doeSnt Get 😡

Libi: It’s a good point

Libi: Do you think she’d like to help with the play?

Astrid: shE doEsNT lIkE mr mULLAN

Astrid: thaTS V obVioUS

Libi: Ahh

Libi: I’m not sure of him yet, he’s okay but… I’m not sure, I guess

Astrid: he waNTS yoU to 💋 JakE In fronT oF EVERYonE & THats NOT 👌

Libi: It’ll just be pretending, I don’t have to really like him

Libi: I knew it might be a possibility of kissing anyone when I signed up, so it’s okay

Astrid: & hEs gOnNa be prEteNdinG tO nOT bE meaN But afTer the PLaY he wONT 👀 @ u 💬 @ U

Libi: Probably

Libi: But that’s okay with me

Astrid: If yoUre NOT 😢 oR 😡 its 👌 WITH me ToO

Libi: Thanks for having my back

Libi: I’m most excited about all the behind the scenes stuff

Libi: There’s lots of props and sets and costumes to make and source

Libi: We could do with your 👀 if you wanna come ‘round after school Friday

Libi: Jake won’t be there, just our friends

Astrid: 🧡 wErE FamILY & FriEnDS iVE got yoUR bacK & frONT 💛

Astrid: 😀 😃 😄 😁 😆 😅 😂 🤣

Astrid: ❓🤔 WHEReS the PLaY SET & wHEn?

Astrid: friDAY afteR scHOOl 👌 FRIday afTer scHoOL

Astrid: 🕓 🕔 🕕 🕖 🕗 🕘 🕙?

Libi: Yeah we are 💚💜

Libi: [Nerd out about the whole vibe of this play]

Libi: We’ll probably get pizza, is that good with you? Come at 4 if you want pizza but if not have your dinner then come, alright?

Astrid: [when Ro’s your mum so you love dressing up and vintage shit, she’ll just be the casual unofficial costume designer of the play for this squad tbh]

Astrid: ILL be ThERE @ 5

Libi: Sounds great 😊

Astrid: WHEn arE yoU learNING youR lines?

Libi: Weds/Fri after school, then fitting it in with homework 🤞

Astrid: iS mR MUllaN doING eVERY reheARSAL?

Libi: He’s sharing with Ms Howe, the art teacher, I think he’s doing Fridays and she’s doing Wednesdays

Libi: We’ll see how that goes

Astrid: dO yoU LiKE her?

Libi: She’s really nice, and she always listens to everyone’s decisions in 🎨 so she should be a good addition to the team, I think

Astrid: ❕ ILL tEll HeR wHAt a dEAD bODy looks lIKe ❕

Libi: It would be nice to get the makeup somewhat realistic, budget willing

Astrid: [send her some designs obvs]

Libi: Oh wow, I really like the second one, it’s really detailed but looks achievable still

Libi: We’ve got to do five murders total...I think 🤪

Libi: and they all die in different ways so there’s lots of room to play

Astrid: 5 😀 😃 😄 😁 😆 😅 😂 🤣

Astrid: THe DeTecTiVe hAS goTTa be V in LOve wiTh YoU

Astrid: iS he NicER thAN JaKE?

Libi: Yeah, that plot twist is pretty easy to spot isn’t it 😏

Libi: 👗👠💄💉🩸💋💣 that’s me

Libi: I didn’t really know much about him before, he’s a third year

Libi: but so far yeah, he seems really chill and kinda funny, so that’s good, less awkward 🤞

Astrid: is A 💋 wiTH him iN the ScripT?

Libi: Yep

Libi: Just those two, thank goodness

Astrid: gRanDMa wiLL be 😡😡😡😡😡😡

Libi: I told her I was auditioning

Libi: but that’s what I’m worried about now as well

Libi: I didn’t think I’d get this part

Libi: What do you think I should do?

Astrid: KEEp it a SURPRise

Astrid: eVERyONe LikEs sURprIsES

Astrid: She woNT gUESS YouRE 👗👠💄💉🩸💋💣

Libi: Maybe

Libi: I’m not sure nan likes surprises though

Astrid: HMMmmm

Astrid: mAyBe she woNT nOtICE the 💋

Astrid: 5 BodiEs aRE GoNNa Be LyinG on StaGE

Libi: Priorities, right 😅

Astrid: I cOULd gET heR to CloSE heR 👀 whEN I do

Astrid: ShE woULD do it wiTH mE so IM noT 😢 oR 😡

Libi: You’d do that for me?

Libi: That’s really sweet of you

Libi: But I’ll find a way to tell her, it’s okay

Libi: If she isn’t okay with it I won’t do it

Astrid: 👌 bUT IF yoU dOnt whoS yoUR UnDERSTUDY?

Libi: China O’Neill

Libi: then Beck would get to be her current role

Astrid: ⛔⛔⛔⛔

Astrid: im NOt heLPIng HER

Libi: I can’t say I blame you

Libi: It’ll be hard to be ‘best friends’ with her in the play and rehearse with her that much

Astrid: ThankFULLY YOUrE THe BesT acTresS in SchOOL

Libi: 😌

Libi: You’re so kind, I just got lucky

Libi: China really wanted my role

Astrid: iTS NoT ACTing FOR her to PLAy tHE VIllaIN its A viNTAGE drESS UP sessION

Astrid: shes MEAN EVery Day

Libi: Omg 🤭

Libi: That’s a good one

Astrid: shE mIGHt taKe weeKENDS Off i dOnt KNow her theN

Libi: I’ve seen her on a few

Libi: Doesn’t seem like she does

Astrid: yOU got LUcky she iSnt YouR sisTER in the PLAY or ReaL liFE

Libi: Poor America

Libi: I wouldn’t say anything or think anything bad if she wasn’t mean to Bobby

Libi: or you, or just everyone

Libi: I know she has her own stuff but that’s not okay

Astrid: i likE AmeriCA

Astrid: wHENs she beinG murDEReD?

Astrid: & wHAT dOeS STUFF mean?

Libi: She likes you too 😄

Libi: She’s the 1st victim, how mean of me

Libi: like stuff in her personal life that would make her 😢 or 😡

Astrid: 😀 😃 😄 😁

Astrid: doES mR MullAN noT Like AmerICA oR dOeS shE NOt liKe him? 😆 😅 😂 🤣

Astrid: stUFF like JaKE not WaNTInG to BE heR BoYFriend

Astrid: ....

Libi: A bit of both

Libi: but I think they like annoying each other too, a 🤏

Libi: He likes her enough to cast her anyway

Libi: Yeah, but also stuff I don’t know, and the kinda stuff you wanna keep secret from everyone, you know?

Astrid: iF she So WASNT meAN she wOULD hAVE FRiENDS to TEll her SecreTS to & iF ShE CouLD TELL her SeCRETS To SomeONE she wouLDNT be AS mean

Astrid: 😵‍💫

Libi: That’s a good point

Libi: She’ll have to figure that out on her own though, I don’t think she’d like being told 😠😡🤬

Astrid: she wOULd haVE a meLTdoWn ✅☑️

Libi: Exactly

Libi: And she doesn’t pay attention in her social skills lessons so she doesn’t have good coping skills

Astrid: SoCiAL SkILLs iS v 😵‍💫

Astrid: BuT Im GlaD sheS nOT in OUR cLASS fOR iT

Libi: It sounds like Mrs Fifield is impressed with you though

Astrid: 🤞🤞

Astrid: i liKE thIS scHOOl

Astrid: [cue a rant about the school Ro sent her to when she was alive because imagine tbh, my child, autistic? NEVER]

Libi: That’s good

Libi: It’s important to be mostly happy at school, as we spend so much time here

Libi: And I like it too, it’s nice to all go to the same school, even if we’re in different years

Astrid: & !Now wE cAN HANG OUT moRE for tHE plaY!

Libi: 😄😄

Astrid: FRIDay @ 5 but 👀 FOr ME on wedNESdAY when mS hOWE is dOING reheaRSAl 😄😄

Libi: Wednesday after school in the gym and Friday @ 5

Libi: Got it

Libi: It’s gonna be fun

[ohnomybreadsticks]

When I got this request I was very excited because it’s basically a free pass for me to write whatever fluff I want!! Which I am also living for tbh. So I wrote a little sequel scene for my double android AU Alike in Both the Heart and Mind. I hope you enjoy, because I loved revisiting these dumbasses in love <3 This will also be up on my AO3 if you want to read it there C:

Rating: T, ~1K, “Getting Used to Normal”

RK wakes to the feeling of soft blankets and soft warm breaths puffing against his chest plate. It should be unusual, but nowadays he can safely say that it’s the norm. Normal. What a concept, for an android like RK. He looks down and easily locates the source of the warm air hitting his body - GV sprawled loosely across him like a glorified pillow. He’s overheating slightly, which is why his body is cooling itself with the synthetic breaths, but RK knows his partner would much rather be warm than cold. And who is he to deny him the comfort of their little blanket nest? At GV’s urging, they had turned the bed into a pile of warm pillows and blankets, all made out of the softest material they could find. 

“With your advanced sensors, there’s no way we’re cheaping out on fabrics!” GV had griped when RK questioned the weirdly lavish choices he was making. RK had no retort for that (when did he ever, in the face of GV’s aggressive kindness?), so they had ended up with the pile of fluff that he and GV were currently swaddled in. RK doesn’t mind, not really. He simply shifts the blankets a little to cool GV off, and runs a very careful hand through his hair. The touches are becoming easier the more he practices, and GV is very enthusiastic about him practicing. It’s the brush of RK’s fingers across his partner’s LED that wakes him from his stasis and has him beaming up at the larger android.

“Mornin, big guy” GV murmurs, vocal processors still booting up and making his voice sound scratchy and off key. RK carefully saves the clip to his archival folders, where he saves every new thing he can observe about GV. It’s a big set of folders, but with his advanced hardware it’s not really a problem. And he’d much rather have folders filled with pictures of GV smiling than pictures of gory crime scenes. 

“Good morning. Although afternoon may be closer to the truth.” RK replies with a rumbling chuckle. His internal clock reminds him that it is, in fact, 11am, which by most human standards would be classified as afternoon. Their last case had been stressful, so GV needing an extra long stretch of stasis wasn’t surprising at all. His systems weren’t nearly as advanced as RK’s, which could sustain him for weeks and weeks without a break to defragment or charge. GV prefers to ‘sleep’ every night, especially now that he has his own safe place to do it and a warm body to rest against. And RK, well, he doesn’t mind the extra time to just hold his partner close and observe him. Sometimes he goes into stasis, but he always makes sure to set a watch so that he can boot up and defend GV if need be. 

“Psh, doesn’t fuckin matter, we have the whole day off to waste!” GV crows triumphantly, stretching and wiggling as his systems come online completely, “And I intend to make the most of that time. C’mon, up you get.” He pats RK on the chest and sits up himself, sliding off the bed with surprising grace. For someone as small and human shaped as he is, GV moves with a certainty that belies his true nature, and RK could watch him for days. He does that anyways, but that’s besides the point. RK follows at a more sedate pace, sitting up slowly and carefully and patting the blankets back into place once he’s up. 

RK has decided to forgo his sleep pants today (GV had been quite firm about his ability to choose when and how he wanted to conform to ‘weird bullshit human rules’), and he feels oddly comfortable padding through the apartment with his black chassis fully on display. He supposes it’s because he knows GV won’t mind. In fact, he gets a playful swat on the ass as he joins his partner in the kitchen. 

“Damn, you expect me to concentrate when you’re out here with all this ass on a Thursday afternoon?” GV teases, and RK simply resigns himself to the fact that he’ll never truly understand the slang that comes out of his mouth sometimes. It’s like a secret language GV and Elijah share, and RK can only sit back and shake his head. He doesn’t mind all that much, it’s nice to see them having fun together. Instead of trying to come up with a witty retort (mostly because he can’t), RK just does an awkward little shimmy with his hips which draws a raucous peal of laughter out of GV. Definitely not what his systems were tuned for, but this advanced of a body can absolutely twerk just a little bit. 

“Daaaaamn baby, shake dat ass!” GV cackles as he pulls open the fridge and pulls out two pouches of thirium. It’s become a little ritual of theirs to top up together after a mission. Even if neither of them got hurt (RK’s favorite kind of mission), it’s nice to have fresh fluid in their systems to get everything back up and running to optimal standards. Taking RK’s hand in his, GV tugs him quite unnecessarily towards the door to the balcony and hustles them both outside.

The sun is shining brightly down on them, and RK feels the way it warms his chassis immediately. It’s a pleasant contrast to the cool pouch GV presses into his hands. The smaller android waits for him to sit down and get comfortable in his chair before clambering astride his lap and settling in. RK doesn’t even bother protesting now, he learned very early on that his partner considered his lap the best seat in any room. And if that makes his thirium pump hum a little faster, well, that’s a secret for just RK to keep. Or not, since GV can probably feel it where it presses against his back.

Sipping his thirium slowly, RK lets his eyes wander across the back of GV’s head, where his hair is catching the light and practically turning auburn, down to where his hands are nimbly pulling open the thirium pouch to bring it to his lips. It feels like the most normal thing in the world to wrap his arm around GV’s waist, so he does. RK could quite get used to doing things that feel normal, if they’re all so nice as this.

[primrose-path-of-dalliance]

here’s my ao3 year of 2020 in review, courtesy of @stellarfoam tagging me!

top fandom: critical role! i finally got into the series with campaign 2 in the beginning of this year, and all my published fics this year have been in this fandom.

date of first 2020 fic posted: march 11, which was my jester & caleb centric fic torn seams.

top multi-chaptered fic: liminal spaces, focused on the widojest ship and my only multi-chaptered fic of this year. does it count if it’s a collection of prompt responses rather than a longfic proper? lol.

top oneshot: torn seams again if we’re counting by hits/kudos, liminal spaces if we’re counting by total comment threads.

fic you’re most proud of: a tie between Ephemera, a 2nd person pov widojest fic, and the prompt response for dancing in liminal spaces. there are different aspects across multiple fics i feel proud of this year, but i’m going with these two for the characterization work i did in them. jester is my fave and that really comes out in these two fics.

fic you wish got more attention: Dark Mirrors, a pre-e110 release fic featuring jester and astrid having a private conversation during the dinner at ikithon’s home. it’s definitely on the lower end of the attention spectrum for my fics and i’m not surprised because it’s (unfairly) niche. but i am very proud of this fic for how much i got right of astrid’s then-upcoming characterization and jester’s dynamic with her!

fic that challenged you the most: Step Forward, a pre-e100 release fjorclay fic written during the big show hiatus. it was lowkey a gift for @angelsnhufflepuffs, who is a big fjorclay shipper, and the challenging parts about it were that (1) i was still trying to get a handle on fjord’s voice at the time, and (2) i factually have never and cannot drink alcohol without some bad med interactions lol. but the easy part was the implied aroace-spec caduceus :)

favorite quote/passage: let’s go with this bit from Dark Mirrors:

Astrid comes to a stop a couple paces in front of her, looking all handsome in her dark suit and sleek, short haircut.

Caleb gave her a look when they first arrived, and the forlorn longing in it made her teeth grind. That she returned a similar expression for the briefest second, until she wiped it clean with a polite nod as Trent Ikithon appeared from behind her... The grinding intensified.

Now, Jester smiles at Astrid and does her best to make it just a shade too sharp. "Hi there."

"Miss Lavorre," Astrid replies, unfazed and ugh, no wonder Caleb loves her. This entire night she's been nothing but graceful, despite the sly glint in her eyes so familiar that Jester thought she'd break the oops-stone in her pocket from gripping it so hard. Astrid could probably talk circles around her dad.

In her irritation, Jester almost misses the rest of what she says. "I am sorry for the intrusion, but for your benefit, you should not wander too much."

"Mr. Ikithon sent you to make sure I don't see anything bad?" she asks nastily.

"I took it upon myself."

"Gee, thanks."

Astrid smiles then, crooked so it's as piercing as glass at one corner, and Jester almost has whiplash from how violently it reminds her of Caleb. "Bren will be fine, you know. He's dealt with far worse."

Trent Icky-thong's insidious little smirk resurfaces in her mind—along with his words, not five minutes ago—

The bile in her throat burns. "Caleb."

Astrid's gaze seems to settle in order to eye her, and Jester raises her chin a fraction.

it’s my favorite because i love more raw, complicated dynamics like jester & astrid—and because when i first wrote this, i immediately realized that jester was super into astrid but too angry to notice it. bless her.

total words posted: 36,009 words! which stunned me a little bit when i actually saw the full number tbh. low productivity and motivation have always been issues for me, so i’m very happy about the progress i’ve made this year that’s being reflected in this word count :)

if any fanfic-authoring followers of mine want to do this and have a nice reflection on their fic this year, go for it <3

[amandabe11man]

all of them

yoOOO New Tumblr™ didn’t notify me of this ask for some reason, so sorry.... anyWAY--

Animated character that was your gay awakening? Does Undyne count even though she’s from a game...?

Grilled cheese or PB&J? I’ve had neither, but grilled cheese sounds much tastier, so I’ll go with that

What show/YouTube video(s) do you put on in the background when you when you don’t have anything to watch but you want something on? Creepypasta-narrations

Your go-to bar order, if you drink? I don’t really drink but I MIGHT if the drink barely tastes of alcohol. So...smth sweet. Or a Mojito... Those are okay

What’s your favorite pair of shoes that you own? My Dr. Martens-shoes that I haven’t taken proper care of so now the leather is cracked.. :I

Top three cuisines? - Fried noodles and such things - My mom’s chicken pie - Lövbiff

What was your first word as a child (that wasn’t a variation of “Mom” or “Dad”)? I don’t think I’ve ever asked my parents about that, actually, so idk. But I DO have a funny story from when I was really small (but still able to form words), and the grown-ups were watching TV or smth and one of them asked me “hey Amanda, what’s the name of the prime minister?” to jokingly test my skills, and i actually answered “göran persson” in my toddler-voice (AND it was the right answer!)

What’s a job that you’ve had that people might be surprised to find out you’ve had? I’ve barely had any actual employment, but I suppose that me working at a tech company last year (I illustrated stuff and other things) would be kinda surprising, considering how I’m not a fan of new tech?

Look up. What’s directly across from you? An empty cookie jar

Do you own any signed books/memorabilia in general? I have managed to gather up some autographs on paper, but one signed BOOK I have is from when I was little, and our family apparently met with Ilon Wikland (an illustrator, mostly famous for her illustrations in Astrid Lindgren-books). me and my brother got a different book each (ones that she had both illustrated) and she signed them for us. I used to love just looking at her illustrations and take in the atmosphere of them. Her art was prolly my first major source of inspiration, even.

Preferred way to spend a rainy day? Stay inside and enjoy the fact that it’s raining. But I also love to take walks when it rains

What do you get on your bagels? What WOULD you get if you had access to anything you wanted? Ummm-- melted cheese, if you’re thinking of the same kinda bagels I’m thinking of

Brunch or midnight snacks? Brunch

Favorite mug you own One that has little drawings of tea-related puns on it

What coffee drink would you describe yourself as? I don’t drink coffee so I rly couldn’t tell you, omf

Pick a song lyric to describe your current mood (and drop the name and artist!) Not sure what my mood is, but Bob Dylan’s “The times they are a-changin’” is stuck in my head, so

Fruity or herbal teas? Herbal

What’s that one TV show that you’re a little bit embarrassed to watch but you still like nonetheless? I don’t watch it anymore, but it Vampire Diaries used to be one of those guilty pleasure-shows, lol

That book you were forced to read for class but actually ended up enjoying? Of Mice and Men. And then we watched the movie too, AS IF I HADN’T ALREADY CRIED ENOUGH?!

Do you match your socks? yeUs

Have you ever been horseback riding? yEus

What was your “phase” when you were younger? (i.e., Mythology Nerd, Horse Girl, Space Geek, etc) Most of my phases haven’t really been phases at all, because I’m still into most of those things. I guess my true crime-thing was KINDA a phase, in that I don’t really have the hots for you know.....any of those guys >-->

Have you ever been to jail? Nah

What’s your opinion on Lazy Susan’s (the spinning tray in the middle of tables)? They’re nice furniture to have when playing ACNL

Puzzles? If they’re on easy-mode, lmao

You can only have one juice for the rest of your life, what is it? Bravo’s orange juice

What section do you immediately head for when you walk into a bookstore? The horror section, if the store has one

What’s one thing you’re trying to learn/relearn in your downtime right now? Trying to relearn anatomy, and I’m also trying to learn how to draw Rutger Hauer (still) and play a song on the harmonica

Who’s your go-to musical artist when you’re feeling upbeat? Anything I like goes tbh? But I must say, there’s nothing like dancing it off to some E-Type

Where could someone find you in a museum? At a miniature-display or smth

What’s that one outfit in your closet you never get the chance to wear but want to? My thigh-high socks....

Rainbows, stars, or sunset colored clouds? hMMMMM-- the sunset-colored clouds

If you could own any non-traditional pet (dogs, cats, fish, rodents, etc), what would it be? I’m happy with my rabbits, but idk- maybe a chinchilla too?

Do you have more art on your walls or more photographs? Neither. I’m kinda bad at wall-decorating..

You have to get one meme tattooed on your body, what meme is it and where does it go? “Vem vare som kasta?” tattooed on my chest

Pick a superhero sidekick to hang out with Wolverine, idk

Lakes, rivers, or oceans? All bodies of water are Noice but dat ocean tho

Favorite mid-2000s song? (we’re still IN the same century js) “Temperature” by Sean Paul, I guess??

How do you dress when you’re home alone? Like I normally would tbh

Where do you sit in the living room (we all have a preferred spot, and you know it)? Either on the couch or by the table IN the living room

Knives or swords? hmmmmM.... Swords

A song you didn’t think you’d enjoy but ended up loving “You Make Me” - Avicii

Pick an old-school Disney Channel Original Movie I haven’t seen any of those, but uh... Northern Lights?

Are you a “Quote that relates to the photos” caption-er, an “explanation of where I took the photos” caption-er, or a no caption kinda person when you post pictures online? I prefer captions, yes

Name a classic Vine I’M ABOVE SUCH THINGS (idk if this was a vine video but you’re welcome anyway)

What’s the freezer food that you stock up on when you go to the grocery store? Ice cream...

How do you top your ice cream? I don’t really do that a lot, unless it’s plain vanilla ice cream. In that case: CHOCOLATE SAUCE MFS

Do you like Jello? I might? I don’t think we have it in Sweden tho

What’s something that you don’t have a picture of that you wish you did? Me meeting Rutger Hauer IRL. (if I actually DID meet him, that is)

How are you at climbing trees? Pretty good until I get tOO high up

[seagreen-meets-grey]

When you’re close to me

After the realization hit her, it was impossible for Astrid to look at him the same way anymore. (Aka being a teenager and having a crush on your best friend is the best set-up for prom night.)

[Part 1: Revelations] [Part 2: Chicken Dance] [Part 3: Night Owls]

(The quoted song is “Sway” by Blue October.)

Crossposted on ao3 and ff.net

Astrid didn’t know exactly when it started.

She remembered lunch in the cafeteria, trying to squeeze in some homework, and a slightly nasal laugh when the math equations didn’t make sense to her and she let that out in a menacing tirade under her breath. She remembered wondering why it had pleasantly filled her ears, why it had made her look up.

She remembered standing in the school’s hallway shortly after last period, students jostling around, a cacophony of girly laughter, loud testosterone-filled exclamations and the general buzz of conversation surrounding her. She remembered turning away from her locker, ready to head out, and catching a glimpse of auburn hair in the crowd. She remembered smiling and waiting for him to catch up to her so they could walk out together.

She remembered her smile growing at every new text, remembered her sudden awareness of how much fun it was to hang out together.

But most of all, she remembered that one Saturday before finals.

It had been a busy couple of weeks, crammed with last-minute papers and presentations, long nights filled with caffeine and frustration. She was nothing but an ambitious student, always determined to ace every test coming her way, to prove herself and excel in every subject. Astrid Hofferson had goals, and she’d do everything in her power to reach those goals. That meant a very rigorous studying schedule, no distractions allowed. That again involved not being able to see her friends outside of school. She had no time for smoothies and movies, for afternoons in the park, the cove or on Heather’s couch, and certainly no time for Hiccup Haddock. Which sucked, because he was her best friend – the best she’s ever had, if anyone asked her.

She had first met him in kindergarten, but never really had had anything to do with him. Only when they got paired up for a project in freshman year – the classic way of getting to know people you never talked to – and after the initial rounds of awkward silence, did she have a real conversation with him. Up to that point, she had thought they couldn’t be more different people and that she couldn’t be less interested in the person that was Hiccup Haddock. But when he mentioned his dog with a missing tail and she told him stories about the parakeet she’d had as a kid and the puppy she had recently adopted, the conversation just kept flowing. Not always smoothly, but that didn’t matter. She liked talking to him. She found out he had a strong passion for what he loved and what he thought was right. He deeply cared for the people in his life and would do anything for them. Besides, it turned out they shared a lot of interests, and that made becoming friends even easier. And being friends with Hiccup was just that – easy. It was as if they clicked on another level, able to read each other like a book. There was no one who Astrid rather spent time with. He always made her forget about her troubles, but unfortunately finals – and therefore studying – were her troubles at the time.

Astrid groaned and buried her face in her physics textbook. She was lying on her stomach on the ground in her room, every surface covered with binders, notepads, textbooks, post-its, and index cards – the aftermath of a whole Saturday morning filled to the brim with studying, right after a short few hours of sleep preceded by a Friday afternoon and night study session.

Her brain was overflowing with equations, bullet points, half-sentences and phrases that refused to fall into context. The more she read and reviewed the less sense everything made in her head. Astrid sighed. She needed a breather. Placing her textbook aside, careful so the post-its didn’t shift out of place, she reached for her phone. She lay on her back and, holding her phone above her face, skimmed through various group chats. They all basically said the same; people were either studying or procrastinating, asking for help in several subjects, and the overall vibe screamed for salvation in the form of finals to be over already or a distraction of any shape or form.

Astrid was just grinning at a few memes sent by the twins when her phone suddenly buzzed several times from incoming texts, prompting her to drop it on her face.

Hiccup [11:48am]: your brain melted yet? i think i’m seeing smoke signals coming from your house

Hiccup [11:48am]: or did you try to make lunch and the house is burning down

Hiccup [11:48am]: do i need to call 911

Hiccup [11:49am]: where are your parents

Hiccup [11:49am]: omg did you finally snap from all the studying and killed them?

Rubbing her aching nose where her phone had met her face a moment ago, she typed back.

Astrid [11:50am]: Who do you think I’m cooking? ;)

Hiccup answered with a series of shocked emojis. Astrid grinned and imagined him placing a hand on his chest, pseudo-shocked look on his face. She rolled back onto her stomach, eyes set to the little dots indicating he was typing.

Hiccup [11:51am]: tbh i’m not surprised

Hiccup [11:51am]: always knew it was just a matter of time until someone died at your hands

Hiccup [11:52am]: how did you do it? axe or feeding them your version of an edible meal?

She could easily picture him gesticulating, waving his hands around, never able to keep them still while talking. It was kind of charming.

Astrid [11:52am]: Axe, of course. My cooking might be basic, but it doesn’t kill people.

Hiccup [11:53am]: biggest

Hiccup [11:53am]: lie

Hiccup [11:53am]: ever

Hiccup [11:53am]: hofferson

Astrid was about to reply when another text came in.

Hiccup [11:54am]: HOLY SHIT IS THAT WHY YOUR STEW WAS SO BAD? WHERE YOUR NEIGHBORS IN IT???!!

She rolled her eyes. A few months ago, she had made dinner for her friends. She had tried to follow her mother’s recipe but with her own twists, wanted to create something new, something originally Astrid – and, apparently, had succeeded. Only that her friends were rather spitting it back out on their plates than praising her cooking skills. The only one who at least tried and gulped down a few spoonfuls was Hiccup, and she loved him for it, despite the following teasing she had to endure.

Astrid [11:55am]: Shut up, Hiccup. I’m trying to study here.

Hiccup [11:55am]: how’s that going

Hiccup [11:56am]: have you even eaten anything yet

Astrid sighed. At his mention of stew, her stomach had growled viciously. Aside from half a croissant early in the morning, she’d had nothing to eat yet. She’d been so absorbed in studying that she hadn’t even noticed her parents leaving for their shopping day. Just one more chapter, she told herself while reopening her textbook, then she’d look for something to eat in the kitchen.

She put her phone away, not giving Hiccup the chance to further tease her on the subject of food. She would never admit this to him, but he was right. Astrid didn’t know how to cook, no matter how many cookbooks and articles she read, no matter how often she tried even the simplest meals. She was a lost cause. This was the reason why her motivation to look for something edible wasn’t necessarily high. She knew for sure there were no leftovers, and the fridge was likely mostly empty anyway; her parents would buy groceries at the end of their day at the mall.

Forcing herself back to her textbook, she pushed the notion of food to the back of her mind. Soon she was buried deep in her notes, trying desperately to press new information into her brain. When she stared at an equation and the numbers and symbols started dancing all over the page, she groaned in frustration. She needed to know this stuff by next Friday, and there was still so much more to revise.

She got up and went to the bathroom, filling the sink with cold water which she then dunked her head in several times. But it was of no use, it wasn’t ice water, of course this wouldn’t work. The only thing it did was to make her aware of how thirsty she was. While towel-drying her hair, she trudged down the stairs to grab herself a bottle of water. A quick check of the fridge confirmed her suspicion that there was basically no real food in this house. She found a few crackers in the cupboard and resigned herself to her dry excuse of a lunch when she heard the bell ring.

Bag of crackers in hand, she went to open the door and was greeted by a pair of familiar green eyes and a lopsided smile.

“Hey,” Hiccup said. His hair was as tousled as always and she noticed he was wearing an old green sweater that he only dug out on lazy weekends. Astrid didn’t have to ask if he had opened a textbook at all today.

“Hiccup, you’re smart,” she said in lieu of a greeting. “How do I restart my brain?”

Following her into the house and stealing a few of her crackers, which earned him a ferocious glare, he shrugged. “That’s exactly why I’m here.” He threw a cracker in his mouth and nearly missed. “I read the smoke signals.”

Astrid gave him a punch on the arm. “That’s for wasting my last food ration. Now I’m going to starve!”

Rubbing his arm, he motioned his head toward his car that was parked outside. “Then let’s go get some food.”

She crossed her arms, empty bag crinkling in her hand. “I can’t. I have to study.”

“We both know you’re not going to come far like this. Come on, I know you need a break.”

Astrid sighed. They both knew he was right.

“And something to eat,” he added when her stomach chimed in on the discussion. “See? Now let’s go before you kill and eat me too.”

Astrid bit her lip. She knew he wasn’t going to drop this. And a short break from studying could surely recharge her concentration.

“Alright,” she gave in with a sigh and put the bag in the trash, grabbed her jacket and followed Hiccup back outside. “But I lied, I didn’t cook my parents. They’re out shopping.”

“In that case, I’m even more scared, in such proximity with you when you’ve clearly not yet let out your daily dose of violence.”

“It’s not violence,” she protested, “it’s communication!”

“If it is, people should even be more afraid of you. You have some strong opinions.”

Astrid grinned and shut the car door. “Hell yeah, I do.”

“So communicate with me then,” Hiccup said while turning onto the street. “What do you want to eat?”

“Anything that’s not a dry cracker.”

“Or stew.”

She punched his arm lightly and he glared at her. “I’m driving here, you insane muttonhead.”

“You’re the muttonhead,” she retorted brightly before plugging his stereo cable in her phone and selecting their special car playlist. The songs that made it in were a bunch of shared favorite songs, songs they listened to on longer car rides together, songs that had a special meaning to them, or songs that were some sort of inside joke between them. They referred to it as their car playlist, but Astrid thought of it only as her Hiccup playlist. Whenever she felt down, she listened to it, finding comfort in the memories it held and the promise of their friendship that came with it.

While the music blasted through the speakers, Hiccup hummed along.

“How did you know?” Astrid asked as he turned onto the main road.

“Hm?”

“That I needed a break from studying.”

Hiccup glanced at her before turning his eyes back on the road. “Like I said, I read the smoke signals from your brain. I call it,” he made a grand gesture with one arm, “Astrintuition.”

“That’s not a thing, you dork.”

“It is now, I just named it.”

Astrid looked out the window to hide her smile. Of course he knew. He knew that she would spend her entire weekend preparing for finals and that she’d prioritize that over everything else. That’s why he decided to come by and make sure she ate something and still saw the sun. A fond feeling spread in her chest.

They ended up at Pizza Hut where they shared their favorite pizza, a Cheesy Crust Chicken Supreme. Hiccup watched in awe as she devoured slice after slice and when he exclaimed that he was stuffed, she ate the rest of his half too. She might not look like it, he thought, but that girl could rival his father when it came to eating. Astrid was so busy with her pizza that she missed the affectionate look he gave her.

On the way back to her place, the sun came out. It hit Hiccup’s hair at just the right angle to create a fiery halo around his head. Astrid rolled down her window to enjoy the warm breeze.

When their playlist jumped to a loud and fast song, Hiccup amped up the volume. He and Astrid automatically started duetting, jerking their heads along to the fast parts and swaying in sync to the slower ones. It had taken them a lot of tries to finally get all the lyrics right in the proper pace, and even now one of them sometimes fell out, provoking a snort from the other while they spluttered to jump back in.

Astrid loved moments like these. It was her and Hiccup, a team, enjoying each other’s presence. When the song faded out, their last chuckle dying down with it, she propped up her elbow and leaned her head on her hand. She closed her eyes, felt the wind in her hair, on her skin. She smiled when she recognized the next song, her favorite from three summers ago. Silently mouthing the lyrics along, she got struck by a feeling of utter contentment, accompanied by a swelling in her chest while familiar, memory-laden streets around her where dipped in sunlight.

Forget about the trouble Forget about the drama Cause I ain't Casanova Baby I can dance for days This time with you Is just amazing in so many ways

She looked over at Hiccup who slightly bobbed his head to the music, his eyes on the road, a small smile gracing his features, the sunlight dancing in his hair. She couldn’t stop looking at him. It was as if she was suddenly seeing him with new eyes. She felt a swoop in her stomach. In the light, she could make out slight stubble on his chin. His fringe and thick eyebrows cast shadows over his face. She had never really noticed how handsome he was.

Feeling a blush heat up her cheeks, she averted her eyes. Well, this is new, she thought.

For the rest of the day, she couldn’t really concentrate on anything and fell asleep much later than usual, confusion and strange new revelations keeping her awake until early in the morning.

From then on, she noticed the little things. The small touches that were suddenly too much, the glances, the dragged-out goodbyes, the increasing frequency of hugs that tended to linger a moment too long. She wondered why she had never noticed how green his eyes were, how much taller than her he had grown, or how broad his shoulders had become only in the last year.

Every day, she noticed it, noticed him more. And it only got worse over time.

When he looked at her, her heart skipped a beat or two. He invaded her thoughts regularly and often in the most inconvenient moments, like when she wanted to sleep or needed to pay attention during class. Astrid was in no way a sappy romantic. But every time the topic of love or romance was brought up even in the slightest, her mind wandered to Hiccup, much to her chagrin. They were friends. She didn’t want to ruin that with sudden, stupid feelings.

Eventually, she came to admit to herself that she had a crush on him (just a small one really, no big deal). It was when her grandmother asked for a nice photo of her and Astrid sorted through her pictures on her laptop. After an hour or so she suddenly noticed she had moved from looking at pictures of herself to staring at pictures of Hiccup instead.

It took her a while to come to terms with it, before she tried to block it out and hoped it went away on its own. When that didn’t work, she changed tactics. Going out with someone else would certainly help her forget about her crush. But whenever she tried to find a guy she’d go on a date with, the qualities she looked for in them were traits she associated with Hiccup. In comparison to him, everyone else quickly faded into the background.

By the time she gave up changing targets, she could no longer deny to herself that this crush was indeed not small at all. And her plan to not tell anyone so that it couldn’t become a bigger deal than it was – and it really was a big deal – failed spectacularly when Heather caught her staring at Hiccup from afar and asked her if she ever noticed how she wouldn’t shut up about him. Astrid tried denying it at first, but there was no fooling Heather.

“Hiccup this, Hiccup that. Astrid, you couldn’t be more obvious.”

Sometimes, though, Astrid was glad that Heather knew. She would do her all kinds of little favors, like “accidentally” forgetting something in her locker when the three of them were on their way to class, saving Hiccup a seat that happened to be right next to Astrid, or cancelling at the last minute when they decided to go to the movies so Astrid and Hiccup were to themselves. Although Astrid loved her for doing that, it didn’t help her frustration about her one-sided crush.

Heather, however, had a different opinion. She believed that Hiccup had feelings for her, too, based on the way he acted around Astrid. Despite her hopes that her friend was right, Astrid nevertheless argued that Hiccup had always been like that since the beginning of their friendship; Heather just hadn’t been there to see it since she’d come to their school later. Besides, Hiccup was the one always stressing that they were friends (best friends, but still just friends). Heather would just look at her like she was missing something obvious.

Time went on like this, with Heather always trying to nudge Hiccup and Astrid in the right direction and telling her to just talk to him or make a move herself. And it’s not like Astrid didn’t try. She gave Hiccup signals all the time, like shuffling closer and leaning against him while they were watching a movie, dropping comments here and there about the two of them together, touching him on the arm or chest or hand whenever she got the chance to – not that she minded at all – and even going out for ice cream on Valentine’s Day. But either he didn’t notice the signs, like the dork that he was, or he read them wrong. And there was still the possibility that he wasn’t into her at all – a notion Astrid hated but had to admit could be true.

Her frustration got especially bad when prom rolled around. While she normally wouldn’t even think twice about the ridiculous need to find a prom date that other girls seemed to have, a part of her still hoped Hiccup would ask her while she tried to work up the nerve to ask him herself. But whenever she opened her mouth to bring up the topic, she chickened out. If she asked him and he said no, she didn’t want that to affect their friendship, didn’t want to jeopardize whatever it was that made their whole dynamic so easy and comfortable. And it wasn’t like she needed a prom date to have a good time with him, anyway.

She kept going back and forth with her reasonings, caught between her idea of simply having fun with her friends without conforming to high school society norms, and the inevitable pull Hiccup had on her, creating her desire to be close to him, closer than she was now. And she just couldn’t find a solution.

Astrid was sitting in the cafeteria, picking at her vegetables, while she glared daggers at the girl who was currently talking to Hiccup on the other side of the room. The girl was tall, blonde and pretty, and she had her hand on his arm while she threw her hair back laughing at something he said.

“I know cafeteria food is awful, but even those peas don’t deserve what you’re doing to them,” Heather said next to her, watching as her friend tortured squashy peas and radiated jealousy like a miniature Chernobyl. When Astrid only grunted in response, Heather sighed. “Just ask him already. I don’t know how much longer I can take this unnecessary pining.” She snorted. “Or Snotlout.”

Astrid rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me.” She’d been asked to prom nine times by now, eight of those by Snotlout (the other one by an overachieving freshman named Gustav).

She cut into her steak, pretending she wasn’t secretly watching Hiccup and that girl. Her plate made a horrible sound when she got through the steak and ran her knife over the cheap china. She and Heather cringed at the bloodcurdling noise and Astrid mumbled an apology.

When she looked up the next time, that girl was gone. Hiccup came towards their table with his food tray and sat down opposite them.

“That’s the fifth time this week that I’ve been asked to prom,” he said. “Is there some kind of prank going on?”

Astrid scowled. She only knew about three. “If there is, I’m going to kill the person responsible,” she mumbled and chewed on her steak. Hiccup frowned at her sour mood but didn’t comment on it.

“Hiccup, do you even know how popular you are?” Heather asked him. “And you’re an eyecatcher. Girls notice you.” Hiccup looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. “It’s true, just ask Astrid.”

Astrid almost choked on her (awful) steak and felt Hiccup’s eyes burning through the side of her face. “Yeah well, kind of,” she stammered, fighting the blush growing on her cheeks while she avoided his gaze, “I mean, everyone gets more handsome when they grow up, not specifically you, but everyone, you know, which doesn’t mean that you didn’t, I mean… You’re fine, I guess.” She shrugged and stuffed half her steak into her mouth so that she couldn’t start rambling again like that.

“What Astrid’s trying to say here is that I’m right.”

A quick glance told Astrid that Hiccup was still frowning at her weird behavior. “Are you alright?”

She gave him a strained smile and swallowed the ball of dry meat in her mouth. “I’m fine.” He didn’t seem convinced but didn’t question her further either. Instead, he went back to complaining.

“I just can’t catch a break from turning down prom invitations. Which I most certainly never thought I’d ever even have to do in the first place.”

Heather took from that that he’d immediately said no to all of them. A smile grew on her face as an idea crossed her mind. This was a perfect opportunity.

“Hey, why don’t you guys go together?” she asked, looking back and forth between Astrid and Hiccup. Both of them simultaneously started to protest.

“It’s not like that.”

“We’re not… It’s not…”

“We don’t date.”

“Yeah, that’d be weird, because we’re just–”

“We’re just friends.”

“Yes, exactly.”

They were both blushing pretty hard, avoiding each other’s gazes. Heather rolled her eyes.

“Then just go as friends. That means you,” she pointed at Hiccup, “will be left alone by all those girls, and you,” she pointed at Astrid, “will get Snotlout off your back.”

Astrid pondered that for a moment and came to the conclusion that she liked that thought. She and Hiccup shared a look.

“Alright,” he said and gave her a lopsided smile. “Wanna go to prom?”

She tried not to break into a wide smile while she felt the familiar tingle in her stomach. “Sure,” she shrugged and went back to eating her cafeteria food which suddenly didn’t taste so bad anymore. Hiccup did the same, suppressing a grin himself. Heather just shook her head at them and sighed. Hopeless dorks.