#they might grow on me but i think coming after series 16 is not a point in their favor

[saltinesinsoup]

enjoying the latest season of taskmaster but these contestants haven’t grown on me as fast as last season’s have.

[lightsoutletsgo]

the one where ollie lives alone (cl.16 x bearman!reader)

pairing: mainly ollie bearman x oldersister!reader for this part but there's a plenty of charles leclerc x bearman!reader here and there!

word count: 4.2k

warnings: a whole lot of stupidity mentions of death, seemingly angsty in some parts (you'll see what I mean) this might be one of my favourite parts I've written for any series ever 😭 it's so dumb but so funny (according to the people who proofread for me!) as always let me know what you think! your comments are always appreciated. happy reading! mimi 🤍

taglist: @arieslost @iamapersonwholikesunicorns

“Jesus Y/N, what the hell is in here?” Ollie wheezed as he staggered past you, arms straining under the weight of the box he was carrying. You rolled your eyes, “You’re so dramatic Ols, it’s literally just makeup.” 

“Is that the last box ma belle?” You turned and saw Charles in the doorway, staring at you fondly. “Mhmm! Everything else is in the van.” You held your arms out to him and he crossed the room, pulling you in by your waist and kissing you softly, “I can’t believe you’re finally coming home with me…” You smiled, looping your arms round his neck, “Me either,” He booped your nose with his own, a loud cough making the two of you jump apart as Ollie leaned against the doorframe, one eyebrow raised, “Are you two done being gross?” “Shut up dummy.” You punched his arm as you walked past him towards the front door. You inhaled deeply, it felt strange but exciting to be moving out and into Charles’ apartment. 

Behind you, Charles watched Ollie stare at you, looking like he wanted to say something. He quietly padded up behind the younger driver and nudged his arm,  “Are you going to miss her?” Ollie was startled but quickly scoffed, “Hmm? No way!” Charles gave him a pointed look, “I get the whole place to myself! I can’t wait!” Charles gave him a smile and punched his arm gently, “We’re only ten minutes away if you need us.” Ollie laughed, “Thanks but I can manage!” 

♯ incident 1 - the dishwasher ⊹.∿  As it turned out, Ollie could in fact, not manage. Mere hours after you’d left him, you found yourself sprinting back up the stairs, cursing the old apartment building for still not having an elevator. You reached the floor of your old apartment and checked the door to see if it was open, turning the handle and entering you called out, “Ollie? I got your text!” You poked your head into each room as you went, searching for him, “What’s the emer…gen…cy…” You trailed off as you reached the kitchen, Ollie staring up at you with wide eyes, crouching next to the dishwasher that was… pouring out soapy bubbles? “Ollie!” “I think I made a mistake.” He said dryly, suspiciously poking some of the bubbly foam next to his shoulder, “Yeah, no shit Sherlock.” You said sarcastically, thinking of a solution, “You put dish soap in didn’t you?” He nodded sheepishly, “There were no dishwasher tablets left so I just… thought on my feet?” You facepalmed and sighed, “Okay well, we need to- DON’T OPEN IT!”

You looked on in horror as Ollie pulled open the door and a torrent of soapy warm foam spilled out and all over the kitchen floor, creeping further into the centre of the room, was it… growing? You looked over at your brother to see him staring back at you with comically wide eyes. “So that’s why we don’t do that.” You said, face deadpan. Ollie giggled nervously, “Oops?” A snort from behind you had you turning round to see Charles filming the whole thing, “Oh some help you are babe.” Charles coughed to cover up his laughter as he put his phone away and entered the foamy bubbly monstrosity that was now the kitchen. “Somewhere under here there’s a bucket and mop.” “Ollie?” “Yeah?” “You’re going in.” 

♯ incident 2 - french toast ⊹.∿ A few days had passed since the dishwasher incident and you dozed in Charles’ arms, enjoying the lazy Sunday morning sun slipping through the bedroom curtains. The previous night’s activities had left you a little worn out and with no plans for the day, you had wordlessly agreed that a cosy day in bed was just what you needed. A shrill sound pierced the air and jolted both you and Charles awake. You scrambled to find your phone, as Charles groaned, hands rubbing his face as your hand came up to feel how quickly your heart was pounding. You glanced at the screen as your hand met your phone and you scowled, Charles rubbing your back and doing his best not to laugh as he saw who was calling you,  “Ollie Bearman, you better have a damn good reason for calling me this early on a Sunday morning.” There was a pause, “It’s eleven o’clock?-” “That’s not the point!” You sighed, “What do you need?” “Well, you see… I have a question.” “Go ahead,” “So I was making french toast right? And I followed the recipe exactly as you wrote it out! Right amount of eggs, milk and sugar.” “So what’s the issue?” Ollie sighed, “It won’t cook but it smells a bit smokey…” You pinched the bridge of your nose, “Then turn it down?” “I don’t know how!” “Turn the hob dial down dummy!” Ollie went silent for a second, “Did you say hob dial?” Alarm bells started ringing in your head, “Why would I adjust the hob when I’m using the toaster.” You froze for a moment before pulling your phone away from your ear and putting it on speaker, unable to believe what you were hearing, “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Charles gave you a concerned look, sitting even closer to you and wrapping one arm around you while the other rubbed your knee comfortingly 

“I said, I’m using the toaster.” You stared at your phone, mouth slightly agape, “You’re making french toast in the toaster?” “Correct.” Charles snorted and choked back a huge guffaw of laughter as the hand he’d placed on your knee came up to cover his mouth, his face turning pink with how hard he was laughing, “Ollie! French toast isn’t made in the toaster!” “It’s called french toast!” You pressed the video button and changed the call to facetime. Your brother stared back at you, looking rather dishevelled, “That’s a rather deceiving name if you ask me!” You groaned, facepalming, “You make it in a frying pan” Charles was no help next to you as he wheezed silently, grabbing his own phone to record the conversation for later use and hilarity. “Well how was I supposed to know that?!” Ollie was indignant as he pleaded with you through the screen, “OLLIE! You’ve watched me make it hundreds of times!” He pouted through the screen letting out a little ‘hmmph’ “Well if you hadn’t abandoned me, we wouldn’t have this issue would we!” You rolled your eyes, “For the last time, I did not abandon you! I live a 10 minute walk away!” 

You sighed before laughing at your brother lovingly, “Alright then silly, head over for lunch and I’ll show you how to make french toast the proper way.” Charles snorted once more and you both burst into giggles as your brother scowled at you, “Stop laughing at me!” Ollie whined, you caught your breath and wiped your eyes, heart warm at the silly moment you knew would turn into a fond memory, “Uhhhh Y/N?” You looked back at the screen to where Ollie was turning the camera round to show you a sparking, smoking toaster, “I don’t think it should be doing that…” You cursed as Charles scrambled out of bed, pulling mismatching socks on as you grabbed a hoodie, “Change of plans Ols, we’re on our way!” 

♯ incident 3 - Gerald ⊹.∿ Things were peaceful for a couple of days after the french toast debacle - something you were more than thankful for, wrapped up in your perfect little bubble with Charles. Of course you continued to text Ollie, but there had been no major crisis that required your immediate attention. Until there was. 

It had been one of those long lazy days spent at home, until Charles had announced he was taking you to dinner and told you to get all dressed up. You’d slipped on one of his favourite numbers and he’d shown his appreciation more than once, sliding his hands round your hips and squeezing while you waited to be seated, pulling your chair out for you to sit down and sliding his hands down your arms once you were seated, moving his chair round the table to sit closer to you so he could place a slow smooch against your neck. You hummed happily as he fed you a mouthful of his dish, “I knew you’d like it!” You smiled at him, “I like most things you suggest…” He bit his lip as his eyes darkened slightly, “Is that so?” You nodded, eyelashes fluttering as your lids close, “What if I suggested something a little… more intimate?” You giggled, picking up your wine glass to take a sip and hide your face, too shy to keep the eye contact, “I wouldn’t mi-” Your phone blaring cut you off and you gasped, rushing to put your glass down as other customers in the restaurant glared at you, Charles chuckling quietly next to you, his hand resting on your thigh and rubbing soothingly. 

“Ollie I swear to go-” “He’s dead.” You heard your little brother sniffle and adrenaline kicked in, “Ollie, who’s dead?” You kept your voice as calm and quiet as possible, you heard him sniffle once more before a sob left his mouth. That was all you needed to hear before you were grabbing your clutch and nodding towards the door. Charles tilted his head and you mouthed your brother’s name. He nodded understandingly and rushed to pay the bill before you were both scurrying back to his car. As soon as you were buckled in you put your phone on speaker, “Ollie… Honey… what happened?” Charles also looked panicked as he heard Ollie’s choked sob, “He was fine and then he just… wasn’t.” “Who Ollie, who’s not fine?” You pleaded, “Ge-” You cursed as the call cut out, “It’s okay ma belle, his phone probably just died, we’re almost there okay?” You nodded, hands nervously twisting and wringing together in your lap. Charles eyes darted to your hands for a second before looking back at the road, one hand leaving the steering wheel to gently hold your hand in his. You looked at him and squeezed, a wordless thank you. 

As soon as Charles pulled up, you were racing out of the car, slipping your heels off and carrying them in your hand as you sprinted barefoot up the stairs of the apartment building. You reached the door and rang the bell, knocked, called his name, anything you could think of to attract his attention. The door opened slowly and it wasn’t Ollie that appeared but Arthuer Leclerc, looking ever so sombre, “Arthur?” Your eyes were panicked as you looked him over for any injuries or obvious isses. He simply held his hand out to indicate to you to enter and you slowly stepped through the door, “Where’s Ollie?” Arthur nodded, head down towards the ground and the panic rose in your chest again, “He’s in the living room, saying his goodbyes.” “Goodbyes to who?” You paced down the hallway and burst into the living room, your jaw dropping at the sight you saw.

Ollie stood in front of the coffee table that was lit with candles, dressed in a suit and your brain suddenly registered that Arthur had been dressed the same way. You were even more concerned when you saw Arthur’s girlfriend fully dressed in black,  standing next to Ollie with a comforting hand on his shoulder. You approached him slowly, arms opening and your expression softening as he turned to you with a red splotchy nose and red-rimmed eyes, he fell into your arms and you patted his back, gently shushing him, “What happened, Ols?” “He’s gone.” Ollie croaked out, “Who’s gone honey?” Your voice was gentle as you stroked his hair, the same way you did when he was younger and couldn’t sleep, “Gerald.” “Oh.” You said softly, “Was he a friend?” Ollie nodded and you held back a wince as he rubbed his snotty nose onto your shoulder, knowing he needed you, “He was such a good friend.” You led him over to the couch and sat down, his head falling onto your shoulder as you continued to play with his hair. 

You were aware of Charles appearing in the doorway and you gave him a brief smile, before turning your attention back to Ollie, “Would I know this friend?” Ollie nodded, his sobs quieting to sniffles, “You were his friend before I was.” Your stomach dropped as you frantically thought of who Ollie could possibly be referring to, feeling guilty that your mind was blank, “The funeral was lovely.” Arthur’s girlfriend nodded solemnly, a hand over her heart as the other hand came up to dab her eyes with a tissue, “The funeral has already happened?” You were confused as Arthur nodded, “Just before you got here.” Your eyes shot to Charles who was just as concerned and confused as you, “Wait, the funeral was here?” Ollie scoffed, “Well where else would it have been?” “Wait Ollie,” You held his face in front of yours, “Why was the funeral in your apartment?” “He wanted to be remembered in the place he was most happy…” Ollie sighed wistfully, his head turning to look at the coffee table once more. 

You squinted, focusing on a shape amidst the flickering candles and once more your mouth gaped as you stood up and stormed over to the other side of the room. “Ollie. Bearman.” You gritted your teeth, “Don’t tell me that this was all about a fucking cactus?” “Succulent!” Ollie snapped at you, wiping away a tear from under his eye, “He was a succulent,” He whispered as he looked down at the floor. Charles broke first, snorting in the doorway and you watched as he did his best to choke down his laughter, coughing and shaking his head, you watched as he excused himself from the room for a moment to force a solemn expression back onto his face. He returned but you could see the laughter threatening to bubble over as he took in the sight before him. Ollie, his younger brother and his younger brother’s girlfriend all dressed in black and in mourning for a succulent that sat sadly on the coffee table and looked like it had been watered a little too much.

“I’m glad you got here,” Arthur spoke up suddenly, “Oh goodie, do tell me why.” Your tone was sarcastic. “We’re about to do the funeral exit.” Charles was holding in his laughter so much that he now had tears streaming down his face and Arthur patted his back with a ‘there, there’ and handed him a tissue. “Arthur’s girlfriend has agreed to sing the exit song and we’re so thankful she has.” “Who is we Ollie?” You brow furrowed as you looked around the living room,�� “I-I…” You sighed. “Go ahead.” You all stood still, heads to the floor as Arthur’s girlfriend launched into a rendition of ‘Memory’ from Cats, “Miiiiiiidniiiiiight, not a sound from the paaaaavemeeeent.” Charles quietly crossed the room to stand next to you, nudging you gently with his shoulder, “Interesting date night hmm?” You growled, “Don’t you dare encourage him.” Ollie approached you,  “Do you want to say your final goodbyes?” “Ollie, why would I care about a succulent?” He gasped, “It’s Gerald!” “Yes Ollie so you said, but why would I care that it’s name is Gerald?” Ollie shook his head, “Don’t even recognise your own friend…” Arthur tutted and even his girlfriend gave you a disapproving look as she continued wailing in the background, you mentally made a note to apologise to the neighbours the next time you were here during normal sociable hours. 

You rolled your eyes at your younger brother and stepped forward to ‘pay your respects’ to the succulent. Your eyes narrowed, “Oliver. James. Bearman. That’s MY fucking succulent!” “It was nice of you to wear black.” He continued, nodding towards your dress and Charles blazer and pants, ignoring your exclamation. “We were on a date!” You screeched, Charles once again powerless to help in any way, instead just collapsing with laughter. You growled as you lunged for your brother, “Ollie, I swear there will be a funeral tonight.” You hissed, “Yours!”

♯ incident 4 - spiderman ⊹.∿ After everyone had said their goodbyes to Gerald, he had been unceremoniously dumped into the rubbish bin and that had been the end of it. Ollie had promised to buy you a new succulent and had learned that they did not, in fact, require watering every day, and you now forever had ‘Memory’ stuck in your head. Once more, peace had been restored but you doubted it would last much longer. 

Your theory was proved correct when a few days later, your phone rang. An unknown number. You ignored it at first, all too aware of strange reporters and crazy fans who would do anything to get closer to Charles. You simply went back to reading your book, until your phone rang again. It was an unknown number still and you grumbled, rolling your eyes and answering quite snappily, “Yes? Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line seemed almost taken aback, “Umm excuse me is this Y/N Bearman?” You sighed, “Yes it is, no I won’t give you a quote and yes Charles is great in bed, goodbye!-” “No wait please! I’m from downstairs! You live in 10B yes?” You stopped as your finger hovered over the end call button and brought the phone back up to your ear, “Uhhhh I used to, yes, can I ask why?” “Oh, well there’s a man trying to climb onto your balcony and I was concerned that’s all.” Your stomach flipped, your mind rushing to thoughts of someone breaking in when your little brother was home alone, “I’ll come over now! My younger brother still lives there.” You raced to grab your keys and jumped into your car, deciding to get there as soon as possible rather than walk. Who was stupid enough to break in in broad daylight? You briefly considered calling the police but you were sure the idiot would be gone by the time you got there. Your car pulled up and you craned your neck to look up at the balcony of your old apartment. Your eyes widened and you gasped as you spotted that there was indeed a man hanging off of your balcony, “Holy shit,” You mumbled, scrabbling to open the door and race towards the apartment complex. The closer you got you squinted as you realised the hoodie looked ever so familiar. “Ollie?!” You yelled up and shrieked as your brother looked down at you, giggling nervously as his feet kicked back and forth as he desperately searched for a footing, “What the fuck are you doing?” “Uhhh I can explain!” He yelled back to you, “H-hold on, I’m on my way up!” You hurried up the stairs, once more cursing the lack of elevator as you finally reached your floor, unlocking the door and rushing through the apartment to french doors out onto the balcony. 

“What the fuck were you thinking?” You screeched, leaning over the balcony and diving to grab him and pull him up, “Ollie that’s so fucking dangerous!” “Look!” You heard a kid shout from the street below, “It’s Spiderman!” You scoffed and rolled your eyes, "He wishes!" You paused for a moment to yell back, before resuming hauling your brother over the apartment balcony. “How did you even get up here? Why are you up here?” Ollie chuckled, panting slightly as he finally threw one leg over the ledge, “Funny story actually…” You raised an eyebrow, “Well please share,” “I forgot my key…” “I-” In your shock you almost let go of him and his scream attracted the attention of yet more passers by below, laughing and pointing at the odd sight they were witnessing. You smiled down awkwardly before turning back to Ollie once more, “Why didn’t you call me?” Ollie whined as you began to tell him off, “Because I didn’t want you to find out…” “Oh so this was a better idea- Ah!” You squeaked as Ollie tumbled over the ledge and onto the balcony. Landing on your stomach in a tangle of limbs, “Your foot is up my butt!” “Yeah well it wouldn’t be if you hadn’t been being stupid! Anyway, get your elbow out of my eye!” “Oh I’m sorry, I was making sure I wasn’t about to fall to my death!” You shoved Ollie off of you and led there on your back, panting, Ollie much the same,

“For the record, you are the shittiest spiderman there is.” “Thanks, that’s really boosting my confidence.” “Glad I could help.” 

♯ the resolution ⊹.∿ “We need more protection.” You announced loudly, stepping into the kitchen “Excuse me?!” Charles choked on his protein shake, cheeks turning pink and you heard Max snort on the phone, “God, no! You pervs… I meant like, we need protection from Ollie and his dumbass incidents.” Max cackled, “Charles has sent me the videos, I was dying at the dishwasher incident.” You groaned, crossing the room to stand next to Charles who sat at the breakfast bar. He grinned as you rolled your eyes at Max who you could now see was on facetime.  “Yeah, well I’m turning grey way sooner than I should!” You joked. You chatted with Max a little longer before Charles signed off with the promise of joining him to game later. 

You sighed, leaning against Charles’ side,  “What’s wrong ma belle?” You took another breath and paused, “I’m just… worried about Ollie…” Charles put his arm around you and rubbed your back soothingly, “What has you so worried mon amour?” His expression was warm and you knew he wasn’t angry with you, rather genuinely curious, “I just feel like… maybe he isn’t ready to live on his own yet?” Charles nodded at you and you took that as a signal to continue, “I mean, he’s always had me there to help him and I know someday he’s gonna have to get used to me not being there but I just feel like right now…” You trailed off with a sigh, “He still needs you.” Charles finished and you gave him a grateful smile and nodded. “But, I don’t wanna leave you. I love living with you and having you around and I love just... living life with you. Am I selfish for not wanting to give that up?” You bit your lip, moving away from Charles to pace the kitchen floor. Charles shook his head with a fond smile, 

“Ma belle… You’re not selfish for wanting to do something for yourself and I’m proud of you for wanting to pursue that, especially since it’s me you want,” he slid his arms around you as you stepped next to him and dragged you backwards to him, making you giggle, “but I also know that you want to be there for family and I can understand that, you guys are close, the same way that me and Thur are, probably even closer.” You hummed, leaning back against him, “Thank you for being so understanding.” You sighed, “Now I just need to work out how to fix it…” Charles smiled and turned you round in his arms, nudging your nose with his, “Well… we have a spare room?” 

Which is how you found yourself hauling boxes upstairs a week later, “Jesus Ollie, what the hell is in here?” You wheezed out and Ollie simply smiled at you, patting you on the head as he walked past you, arms empty, “You’re so dramatic Y/N, it’s literally just a few bits.” You poked your tongue out at him as he mimicked your words from just a couple of months ago. “Is that it mate?” Charles head appeared from behind the apartment door and Ollie nodded, as you finally conquered the stairs and planted the box down on the hallway floor. “Now let’s go over the rules one more time Ols.” He sighed, “Fine…” “Rule one?” You crossed your arms and raised an eyebrow, “No dish soap in the dishwasher…” He grumbled, Charles chuckled, “Rule two?” “No cooking without supervision.” Ollie recited as you nodded, “Don’t worry, that rule applies to Charles too.” “Huh?!” “Shush baby, rule three?” You turned back to Ollie, “No watering the succulents unless instructed, no matter how sorry I feel for them.” You nodded, “I am not having a repeat of Gerald and the… funeral.” You shuddered, as Charles snorted before asking, “Rule four?” “Always call one of you two if I forget my keys…” “And?” You raised an eyebrow, “No climbing balconies under any circumstances.”  You clapped your hands together and smiled, “Good! Well I can’t think of anything else, can you?”

You turned to Charles who shook his head and Ollie who just shrugged, “In that case, let’s go! Pizza for dinner sound good?” The three of you walked into the apartment and the door to the hallway swung shut, your arguments about pizza toppings muffled through the door, but the happiness and love you felt for each other not dulled in the slightest.

[mirixmoya]

I’ve been a hayffie fan for YEARS and the backlash I’m seeing against them now after SOTR overlooks the crucial point Haymitch is an unreliable narrator. His trauma distorts his perception, making him believe he’s incapable of love, but that doesn’t make it true. THG series has consistently shown us that first-person narrators don’t always see themselves clearly. Also, if anything, Suzanne Collins really loves to write a boy who’s wayyy more in love with the girl than she is with him.

Haymitch’s relationship with Lenore Dove was passionate and intense, but it was also fleeting and fragile. It was such a beautiful display of young, exciting, love and infatuation. But I truly think had he not been reaped, her free spirit, their diverging convictions, his commitment to his family likely would have led them down separate paths. His lasting attachment feels more rooted in guilt than the once-in-a-lifetime love.

Effie, however, is a love that endures. She chooses him, over and over, for TWENTY FIVE years, despite what it costs her. She but by a deep, unwavering commitment. The real tragedy isn’t that Haymitch lost his one great love with Lenore Dove—it’s that he doesn’t yet recognize the love he has with Effie.

Love doesn’t diminish when you love again. I truly think Suzanne Collins played off of the star crossed lovers trope presented by Haymitch with Katniss and Peeta and make him and Lenore Dove the true ones of the series. If Lenore was Haymitch’s star-crossed lover destined to be lost, then Effie is proof that love can exist beyond tragedy—whether he realizes it or not.

oookay yes anon i do like a lot of what u said, so i'm just gonna give my thoughts below!! (also, worth mentioning, my pre-sotr hayffie thoughts were a product of like 10+ years of thinking, planning, and refining. so with only a week of thinking space, my post-sotr are very much still in the process of being parsed out and refined.)

i think the idea of haymitch being an unreliable narrator is an interesting one, especially considering how closely paralleled with katniss he is. i do, however, think thg fandom has a tendency to misuse the concept of the unreliable narrator, so i'm gonna be careful with that one. i do think that 16-year-old haymitch should not always be taken at his word, especially when it comes to love. no 16-year-old should be. like you said, his love with lenore dove is passionate, and exciting, and full of youthful-enthusiasm. and it is fleeting in the sense that, narratively, we know it is doomed to end. however, i (personally) take post-war haymitch at his word when he says that lenore dove was his 'mate-for-life'. i think he's old and/or lived enough to know what he means, and i believe him when he says it.

it is interesting that you think that haymitch and lenore dove's diverging convictions would have eventually wedged them apart. i don't know if i agree (yet), but it's something i will definitely continue to think about. but i have been thinking about how haymitch's image of him and lenore dove growing old together is entirely of his own imaginings. lenore dove--who we know to be opinionated, and passionate, and full of life--isn't there to speak for herself. i do wonder what lenore dove would imagine for her own life growing old, and whether it would align with what haymitch has imagined for them. i, also, do agree that guilt has big hand to play in haymitch's epilogue memories of lenore dove. he fed her the gumdrop. he feels like he killed her, and i imagine that's not an easy thing to let go of.

what has allowed me to really reconcile haydove and hayffie's co-existence is that neither seems to be taking up the other's space in haymitch's life. hayffie isn't young love, it isn't whirlwind passion, maybe it isn't even that exciting. their interactions are mundane. their romance is a slow grow. it's stone-by-stone, year-by-year, familiarity, trust, sustained companionship. again, not as exciting as young love, but it might be stronger. it maybe has the ability to last longer. effie could never be what lenore dove was for haymitch, nor (do i think) would she want to be. lenore could never be what effie is for haymitch, nor would she would want to be. these relationships don't overlap. they're parallel in a very literally sense where they don't disrupt or overlap onto one another. and i do think this is how i will be framing haydove + hayffie in my fics moving forward. haymitch's lingering pain over lenore dove should be an affirmation of his ability to love, rather than an opposition.

i also like that you brought katniss and peeta into the conversation because i've been thinking a lot about the linear progression of the love stories we see across the series. if everlark is a pure example of star-crossed lovers, and snowbaird is doomed from the beginning, i think that puts haydove somewhere in-between. i think haydove did love eachother a lot, like all-fire, and i do think they were soulmates to a degree. i don't know if they would have been able to live happily ever after. i don't think it's for me to say. but i do think the central tragedy there is that they never got the chance to figure it out for themselves.

hayffie, on the other hand, does get that chance. they spend 25 years together, building their relationship, brick-by-brick. and (seeing as they eventually reach a point where they've known eachother longer than they haven't known eachother) i don't think it's crazy to assume they spent many more years together after the war.

but let me know what y'all think :)

[dilly-dahlia]

You're post about Garroth's unintentional misogyny mixed with like, the fact that mystreet Garroth wears a LOT of dressed throughout the series and minigames. A LOT.

So like obviously he got the toxic masculine standards for himself to not be emotional and stuff but somewhere deeper down he also perhaps next to being grossed out at Laurance's long hair, somewhere he might feel jealousy over Laurance getting to express himself like that. This is just heavily bottled up.

This could be taken in "Garroth is nonbinary but wayy to supressed to ever realise it" context but doesn't have to be

oh FUCK yeah. this. beautiful. amazing. standing ovation (genuinely; i fear that may come off as sarcastic)

and i feel like Garroth’s initial disgust and like “aren’t you a man” reaction with Laurance’s hair and your comment about it being jealousy is SO GOOD because I made a hair analysis for some characters in my rewrite, and in it I said that Laurance’s first wave of long hair (when it was orange) is representative of his happiness. and the second time he grows it out after he becomes a shadow knight, it’s because he’s comfortable and around people he loves, despite what he’s become

and then we have Garroth, who never got this. he was raised by an abusive father who taught him how to take the reigns on leading what is essentially a kingdom and how to keep people in line. so at a young age Garroth was the example for young men in O’Khasis, and because Garte planted stereotypical gender roles in his head, Garroth assumed that’s what everyone looked like/did and if they didn’t then it was a display of weakness

and I just think it’s gonna be interesting writing him for me because his father raised him to be misogynistic and sort of have like a… like, women owe you something mindset?? (ie, because he’s done xyz for Aphmau she owes him a romantic relationship or something) and Garte kind of reinforces that because Garroth is the son of O’khasis so girls and women are and will eventually throw themselves at his feet anyway. (and that sounds bad but Garte is a bad person and also in my rewrite the marriage he and the lord of scaleswind arrange for Garroth and Nicole is a child marriage. Nicole was 16 at the time and Garroth was nearly 23, but that’s a whole other thing)

but then on the other hand we have Zianna who taught Garroth that he should always just be kind no matter what and not to expect anything in return. Zianna who teaches him that no means no and he should NEVER force anyone—but especially girls, and ESPECIALLY his lover—to do anything they don’t want to do

so it’s like this constant battle in Garroth’s head I feel like. idk BASICALLY all this to further my mcd Garroth unintentional misogyny agenda. and also furthering that MyStreet is the “happy” timeline because that’s where Garroth gets to be true to himself whether he’s non-binary or whatever (even if he is oblivious to the feelings of others in mys)

[bassiascoparia]

Hey! It's me!

So I have some questions about Gaea and Camp Jupiter.

If you were to have Gaea be the antagonist of HOO, what would be her motives, plans, etc? Would she still need to open the doors of death? If not, which other Greek or Roman mythology figure would be a better antagonist without mischaracterizing them?

Also, with CJ, the world building is an interesting concept but, of course, failed in the final draft (WHY THE CONFEDERACY WAR ARC MUST BE APART OF THE BOOK?! RICK WHY?!) And Lupa (Idk if she's a part of Roman mythology, but still, why she gotta be so cruel? Those are children, especially in Jason’s case)

The split personalities thing in the books is.. odd because while roman mythology was inspired by the Greeks, they should be separated, at least being their own person.

Honestly, I'm not making the roman gods cruel either, but the traditional mindsets of the past affects how the demi gods/legacy treated and viewed as along with their parents relationship. That's what I got, let me know if I need to fix or add on.

Thank you for reading and cya later!!

If I'm being honest, I think that Rick shouldn't have written Heroes of Olympus so soon, but should have waited for some time (a few years) before starting on it.

(I also think that that his publishers should not have demanded that he pump out books that big every goddamn year, because good writing can take time, you absolute morons-this is towards Rick's editors, not the guy himself.)

I think that there are two potential avenues for HOO:

I) Making Gaea not a villain, but a morally gray character who does bad things but has good motivations. It's like with Luke and the Titans, except it's with Gaea and the nature spirits.

I would make Gaea's army be WAY larger than Kronos' army, since there's so much pollution on the Earth, many nature spirits, gods and goddesses would join her side. Also, she's not just a Titan-she's a Primordial, second only to literal Chaos and above all who come after her-by order of birth and chronology, at least.

I would have had some of our heroes in the OG book series join her to add tension and further the narrative that the world is not black and white, it's full of nuance, complexity and moral grayness. I might even go so far as to make Grover join Gaea and think that he could make a new world with her.

I might make a combination of his joining her-she manipulates him into thinking that they can build a new, better world without many ramifications and he also exercises his free will by joining her, though he wasn't with full autonomy under her influence.

Also, it would be cool if Percy encountered the river spirit that he had talked to in BOTL on Gaea's side. She's pretty minor and doesn't appear again

Since HOO was so popular along with the PJO franchise, I truly believe that the series would've made a good impact on many people if it were written like this.

2) Not have Gaea be present at all and focus on the politics and tension between CHB and CJ.

The first thing I would do is add adult demigods and legacies. This is what sets Camp Jupiter apart from Camp Half Blood-demigods can actually live there, grow old and have children! Not have to fend for themselves in the mortal world and die early deaths. This is the most special feature that distinguishes it from CHB, so why not show it in person instead of telling us and not showing it?

I do think that there's potential for tension between the demigods and the legacies-the demigods thinking that they're superior because one of their parents is actually a god, while the legacies are only descendants and their parents are mere mortals (or demigods, but not gods).

Also, the reactions of the adults looking at Percy, a freshly traumatised 16 year old straight from a war would be pretty interesting. It could be hilarious, heartwarming or depressing-or a combination, choose your pick.

I would make Chiron and Lupa meet. Imagine the possibilities!

[yumemiru12]

Liella - Billboard Japan INTERVIEW

[This interview was published online on the Billboard Japan website, released Dec 16, 2024.]

Interview: After TV Anime Season 3, All 11 Members Finally Unite—Liella! from ‘Love Live! Superstar!!’ Embark on Their 6th Live Tour with a Variety of Theme and Insert Songs

The Love Live! series, with the keyword “A story we all make come true,” unfolds across all forms of media. The fourth installment in the series, Love Live! Superstar!!, portrays the story of the school idol group Liella!, who are based at the private Yuigaoka Girls’ High School. The third season of the TV anime began airing on NHK E-Television in October. Alongside this, singles featuring theme songs and insert songs have been released one after another.

Released on October 23, Let’s be ONE and DAISUKI FULL POWER are singles featuring the opening and ending theme songs of Season 3, respectively. Each single also includes contrasting coupling tracks: the funky and wild guitar with high-speed beats of 青春HOPPERS (Seishun HOPPERS; Youth HOPPERS), and the dreamy, floating sensation of the mid-tempo ballad Within a Dream, as its name suggests.

Additionally, on November 13, Bubble Rise / Special Color was released, featuring the insert songs from Episodes 2 and 3. On December 11, Zettaiteki LOVER / Dazzling Game will be released, featuring the insert songs from Episodes 6 and 8. Reflecting on the story of Love Live! Superstar!! Season 3, the members discussed these songs: Date Sayuri (1st-gen, Shibuya Kanon), Aoyama Nagisa (1st-gen, Hazuki Ren), Yabushima Akane (2nd-gen, Yoneme Mei), Ookuma Wakana (2nd-gen, Wakana Shiki), and Sakakura Sakura (3rd-gen, Onitsuka Tomari).

About Liella! in Season 3 of the TV Anime

—The third season of the TV anime Love Live! Superstar!! surprised viewers right from the beginning. Shibuya Kanon’s overseas study plans were canceled, and rather than rejoining Liella!, she began activities as part of a new school idol club with first-year students Wien Margarete and Onitsuka Tomari. Date: The development was something I hadn’t imagined at all, so I thought, “Ah, so that’s where they’re taking it.” For Kanon, Liella! is something very important, and the members are people who changed her life. So when she decided to leave that behind, at first I couldn’t quite understand why. I found myself thinking, “Why would she do that?” But as the story progressed, I thought, “Ah, I see.” It made me happy to discover that Kanon is someone who acts while thinking far ahead into the future. I got to see a new side of her.

—As someone who plays Ren Hazuki, also an original member, how did you feel about this development? Aoyama: Ren was initially opposed to school idols in the first season. But this time, just as Kanon had spoken to her back then, Ren is now the one advising Margarete, saying, "You're also a student of Yuigaoka." Seeing her grow more and more through the story made me very happy as well.

—That scene conveyed her current role within the group. Aoyama: That’s right. Ren is also active as the student council president, but ever since meeting Liella!, her heart has gradually softened. After opening up to everyone, she started smiling more and more. I feel like she might be the member whose impression has changed the most.

—Yoneme Mei and Wakana Shiki, who have gone from first-years to second-years, also show further growth in Season 3. Yabushima: The four second-generation members started out as first-years, and at the beginning, I had the strong impression that they were each struggling with themselves. They often couldn’t be honest with their feelings, got discouraged, or became negative. However, in Season 3, now as second-years, they’ve developed a sense of responsibility as seniors. They’ve started thinking about how they can contribute to Liella! and what they can do to make Liella! even better. Some of them have even begun to take action based on those thoughts.

I really felt their growth, and I think this development overlaps with the cast members’ experiences as well.

—Being the middle generation, they are both in the position of following their seniors and showing the way to their juniors. Yabushima: That’s right. It’s because our seniors keep running forward that we look at their backs and feel inspired to push ourselves to do the same. Ookuma: As for Shiki and Mei, they’ve always had a dynamic like that of a duo, but that doesn’t mean they only act together. We’ve also discussed the relationships among the four second-generation members, as well as how they should interact with both their seniors and juniors.

—In Episode 3 of Season 3, “White-colored Center,” Shiki takes on the role of Liella!’s center for the first time. Ookuma: Shiki wasn’t originally someone who joined Liella! because she wanted to be a school idol, so it was difficult for me to fully grasp her character at first. But by Season 3, through her interactions with Mei and other moments, I began to understand her personality and what drives her. What made me especially happy in Episode 3 was that she herself realized those things. I think that kind of self-discovery is really important in high school, and I believe it will connect to Shiki’s future growth from here on out.

—Shiki's center song, "Special Color," features lyrics written by Mei within the story. Yabushima: I really felt that the lyrics were something only Mei could write. Of course, Mei is the closest to Shiki among the members, but I think the song reflects more than just their relationship. It also captures the changes in Shiki’s feelings and the sides of her personality that she was able to show because she met Liella!. I believe it’s because of Liella!'s existence that their bond deepened even further. Their world expanded, and I feel like they’re moving in an even better direction because of it.

Aoyama: At first, I avoid looking at the song title or lyrics and just listen to the instrumental track. I enjoy imagining, “What kind of story will this song accompany?” When I heard Special Color, I thought it had such a transparent and pure quality to it, so when I found out it was Shiki’s center song, I felt it was absolutely perfect for her. Yabushima: The lyric “I’m the strongest—I’m telling myself that right now” being sung by Shiki alone really hits hard. It feels deeply impactful, and I thought Mei was really bold to write those words for Shiki. It’s hard to explain, but I feel like these are not the kind of lyrics you can casually decide to write for someone else to sing. That’s how strongly Mei must have felt when writing them. It’s such a powerful and meaningful line—I really love it.

3rd-gen member Sakakura Sakura is 'strong-hearted'

—Along with "Special Color," the insert song single also features "Bubble Rise," which was performed in Episode 2. This song is by "Tomakanote," the group formed by Kanon, Margarete, and Tomari. For Tomari, it marked her debut performance on stage. Sakakura: I was truly moved. The first time I saw it, I was so overwhelmed with tears that my vision was completely blurred—I could barely see it properly...

—What was your first impression of the song? Sakakura: From the time we recorded it, I felt it wasn’t a typical school idol song, in a good way. It’s a very mysterious and beautiful piece, which made perfect sense knowing that Margarete wrote the lyrics. I also predicted that Tomakanote wouldn’t lean entirely toward the “cute” style, so I thought the song fit the three of them perfectly. I was so excited wondering how they would move and perform while singing, and it went far beyond my expectations. Especially for Tomari—I kept thinking about what kind of expressions and emotions she would show while singing. From the time of her debut up until now, I have been eagerly looking forward to this moment. Because it was something I had been wishing for, I think my strongest feeling was simply pure happiness.

—When you saw the performance scenes (from the anime), was there anything that surprised or stood out to you? Sakakura: In the line “Soredemo kienai Wishing” (Even so, the wish remains), there’s a close-up of Tomari during the “Wishing” part, and I thought, “So that’s the kind of expression she makes.” I had imagined that she would perform with a cool and beautiful look, but she went beyond my expectations—it was really surprising. At this point in the story, Tomari doesn’t have much passion for being a school idol yet. She’s participating in school idol activities to evaluate whether her older sister (her biological sister, Onitsuka Natsumi) is justified in putting so much effort into it and whether being a school idol is suitable for her sister. Even so, seeing Tomari express so much in her performance made me think: once she truly understands the appeal of being a school idol and stands on stage with that realization, what kind of amazing things might happen? I’m really excited for what’s to come.

—Were you conscious of those subtle nuances during the recording? Sakakura: Yes, definitely. The song itself isn’t the kind of piece you sing passionately, and since Tomari isn’t someone who naturally puts a lot of emotion into her actions, I wanted to create a performance that felt more composed and relaxed, rather than overly intense. However, since I’m still relatively new to recording, I worked really hard to bring out that sense of composure. It was a challenge in that way as well.

—Date-san, how did you feel about singing this song? Date: Since Margarete has always sung alone, and this was Tomari’s first performance as a school idol, I was worried that if Kanon would sing with her usual Liella! energy and the sparkling idol vibe, there might be a noticeable contrast in tone. But Kanon is a third-year now, so I felt she could convey a sense of composure. With that in mind, I tried singing it in a way that felt a little different from usual, aiming to bridge the gap.

—In June 2023, Sakakura Sakura, who plays Tomari, and Yuina, who plays Margarete, joined Liella!, starting the new 11-member lineup. Could you tell us more about Sakakura-san? How do the rest of you see her? Date: She’s an amazing person.

—What do you mean by that? (laughs) Date: Both Saku-chan (Sakakura) and I joined through open auditions, so in that sense, our journeys are a bit similar. But looking at her, I feel like I was taking things too easy by comparison (laughs).

Sakakura: That’s not true!

—Is she very stoic? Date: Yes, I’d say so, especially in terms of her mental strength.

Yabushima: It’s a bit hard to put into words, but she has this unwavering core—a strong inner strength she always carries. Wakana (Ookuma) might know this, but at the start, I was crying all the time. During the early days of practice, I was almost always discouraged and felt down. Even now, seeing Saku-chan makes me think, “I need to work harder.”

Sakakura Hana (Onitsuka Tomari): What!?

Yabushima Akane (Yoneme Mei): She’s incredibly inspiring, and there’s so much I’ve learned from her. I think she’s truly a strong person. Of course, she must have faced a lot of struggles and hardships, but she’s overcome them, and now she’s standing on stage as Tomari. Watching her, I can only see her as Tomari now.

Ookuma Wakana (Wakana Shiki): That’s why I think she was chosen. There’s a clear reason for it. With this many members, you’d expect some overlap in character traits or roles. But when Sakura-chan joined, it felt like she had something unique—qualities and talents that none of the others had.

Sakakura Hana (Onitsuka Tomari): That makes me so happy.

Aoyama: If I had to describe Saku-chan in one word, I think "strong-hearted" (強心臓) would suit her perfectly. The moment she steps on stage, she must feel nervous, but she never shows it on her face. I think that’s why the rest of us can carry on as usual without feeling unsettled. She’s always loved the Love Live! series and came into this as someone who had been cheering for it from the outside. If it were me, I don’t think I could remain as calm as she is. She’s openly expressed her admiration for Liella! many times, and I could really feel her strong desire to connect with us as a teammate. That’s one of the moments where I thought, “This girl is amazing.”

—As you’ve been active as part of Liella!, was there a moment when you really felt a sense of unity within the group or a bond with the other members? Sakakura: Recently, I felt it strongly during the Asia tour. Everyone was working so hard, pushing themselves beyond their limits on such a tough schedule. That experience really deepened our bonds. I think it’s because we had that time together that we’re now able to fully embrace Season 3 of the TV anime as a united Liella! team and enjoy watching it together as one.

About Liella! in Season 3 of the TV Anime

—On October 28, the [Season 3 OP & ED Theme Song Release Event] was held at Omiya Sonic City. It featured the first live performances of the Season 3 opening theme, "Let's be ONE," and the ending theme, "DAISUKI FULL POWER." Aoyama: We all talked about wanting to show the absolute best we could at this moment. Even during rehearsals, we practiced through our breaks, striving for the very top until the last possible moment. Additionally, this time, we tried something new by doing a live broadcast on YouTube. The archive is still available, so I hope it becomes an opportunity for more people to watch the anime. It’s also a chance for those unfamiliar with Liella! to get to know what kind of performances we do. With that in mind, we put a lot of effort into this event.

Yabushima: We also performed the two coupling tracks (青春HOPPERS then Within a Dream) back-to-back, and since their styles are completely opposite, switching our emotions and expressions was challenging. The reason I was first drawn to Love Live! series was the synchronization between the cast’s performances and the anime visuals. I’d love for people to focus on that aspect as well. Of course, there was also a talk segment, and I hoped that anyone watching the live broadcast might find something that sparked their interest. I think we gave everything we could in all parts of the event, showing the best of what we’re capable of right now.

—On December 11, a new insert song single, Zettaiteki LOVER / Dazzling Game, was released. Zettaiteki LOVER is the first song performed by all 11 members together in the series, right? Yabushima: I felt like there were a lot of straightforward expressions of emotion, like “Daisuki sa” (I love you) and “Aishiteru!” (I love you deeply). That stood out to me. I don’t think we’ve had many songs like this before. It felt like they really wanted to convey those emotions with that much strength and sincerity.

—That’s true. Since the story was set in Shanghai, perhaps that influenced the song as well. Sakakura: The inclusion of Chinese lyrics felt really fresh, and I thought it was a song perfectly suited for Keke being the center. I also felt it was wonderful that she could perform such a song in her hometown.

Ookuma: It felt like the song was designed to fully showcase Keke’s voice to its fullest potential. I also think it suited her voice quality very well. Additionally, the way the song layers voices so much was quite unique, and it made for a very pleasant listening experience.

—On the other hand, "Dazzling Game" is the insert song from Episode 8. It’s a song collaboratively created by Liella! and Tomakanote for their decisive showdown at the school festival live. Sakakura: I thought it seemed like a song that would really excite audiences at a live performance. I imagine it would also elevate our own feelings as performers. I can’t wait to see the Liella! members perform this song.

Aoyama: Liella! usually has a lot of uplifting and positive songs that encourage someone to move forward, but Dazzling Game is different. It’s a song where each member sings about their own determination and their desire to grow and become more. The choice of words is stronger, and the way it’s sung reflects that strength—it feels like we’re emphasizing the consonants more.

Date: At first, I thought it was a song about rivals clashing, but that’s not the case. If you read the lyrics carefully, you realize it’s actually a song about becoming one group. The melody is a bit more intense, and it has a vibe that feels slightly different from the usual Liella! songs. That sense of excitement about something new is really wonderful and makes me look forward to what’s ahead.

Sakakura: In the anime, Liella! and Tomakanote dance facing each other, and I think that’s pretty rare for Love Live! series. This is a song and formation that could only come about because Season 3 focuses on two groups raising each other’s levels. It felt really fresh.

—It’s truly a song that makes us look forward to the live performances. The 6th LoveLive! Tour is set to begin in March 2025. Finally, could you share your thoughts and enthusiasm for it Date: I think the 6th live tour will be a culmination of everyone’s emotions exploding on stage. It’s been such a long time since we’ve performed live with the TV anime behind us. When I used to attend Love Live! series concerts as a fan, I loved remembering scenes from the anime while watching the performances. This time, I think the emotions I’ll feel will be different from any past live show. Since I don’t yet know what those emotions will be, I feel like I need to work hard to express them properly.

Aoyama: This live will follow the anime’s depiction of the 11 members finally becoming one, so I feel like it’s a new stage of beginnings for Liella! in a way. I’m excited for the moment we can proudly declare, “These 11 members are Liella!”

Also, with Season 3, the topic of third-year graduation has come up several times, so I think this tour will bring out even more emotions than before. It makes me realize once again that “This isn’t something that will last forever.” We, too, don’t know how many more live performances we’ll get to do, so I want to give it my all and finish with no regrets.

Yabushima: In the one year depicted in Season 3, the first-year, second-year, and third-year have all grown individually, and there have been significant emotional changes too. I want to take the feelings of all 11 members and express them properly on stage—whether through our expressions, our voices, or our songs.

Sakakura: For us third-generation members, this will be our first live tour where we carry the TV anime’s story and live performances as Liella!. I think it will be an incredibly special experience for us.

As for me, Sakakura Sakura, I’ve been able to build great friendships with all the members, and now I can confidently say, “I am a part of Liella!” But for the fans, I think they didn’t know what kind of performances Tomari would deliver until now. That’s why I’m so grateful to those who have supported us even before Season 3 began airing. I want this live tour to be one where I can convey my heartfelt thanks—"Thank you so much for supporting us until now, and please continue to cheer us on in the future."

Ookuma: I wasn’t someone who had been following the Love Live! series for a long time, but during rehearsals for the 3rd live tour, I watched the synchronized performances of the TV anime characters and the cast. It left me deeply moved, and I realized, “So this is what it’s all about.” I came to understand the feelings and reasons behind why so many people love the Love Live! series.

This live tour will be one where we carry the weight of the TV anime, so I want to deliver even more of that emotion to everyone. I hope it becomes a tour where people can think, “The Love Live! series really is amazing,” and reaffirm their love for it.

[honeysuckleharringtons]

Part One: "Double Shot" ~ S. Harrington

Summary: (Then) In the small town of Hawkins, Indiana lies the Byers family, a family of four who might just be gaining a fifth member of the family. — (Now) Brew and Me, known for its punny motto and delicious coffee, might soon be known for bringing people together in unexpected ways.

Pairing: Nurse!Steve Harrington x Fem!Byers!Reader

Word Count: 1,808

Content Warning: teen pregnancy, small mention of abortion, vomit/morning sickness talk, mild swearing, mentions of food, mentions of medical-related things (not detailed, just mentioned), lmk if i missed anything!

Extra Notes: thank you to @dungeons-are-too-cold and @heartshapedhargrove for constantly listening to me talk about this series, i love y'all sm

Originally Written: 10/16/2023

honeysuckleharringtons' masterlist can be found here!

'brew and me' series masterlist can be found here!

[ Then, June of 1987 ]

Hawkins was a quaint little town, just about an hour and a half outside of Indianapolis. Hop on the interstate and drive northwest for a while, and soon enough, you'd be met with luscious sugar maples and winding back roads into a small town filled with big families. That's where you'd find the Byers', a family of four who lived near the outskirts. But for the four of them, things were about to change in a very big way.

"It's okay," you whispered to yourself, a gentle reminder that, quite frankly, you were having a hard time believing. "It's just a little pregnancy test. It can't hurt you."

The test itself might not have been capable of inflicting pain on you, but whatever results it bore to you a half hour later might. The visionary knife in your gut twisted at the thought of the test lighting up with a positive. You willed yourself not to think of it, afraid of somehow speaking it into existence despite the words not leaving your mouth.

A knock rapped against the bathroom door, startling you from your current train of thought. "Honey," Joyce called on the other side, "dinner's almost finished."

"Yeah, Mom," you managed to stutter out, attempting to mask the anxiety coursing through you. "I'm just gonna shower and then I'll be out."

You felt slightly bad that you'd be wasting all the available hot water for the next half hour, but you couldn't risk someone coming in and finding the test. The distraction a shower would bring you would be an added bonus.

As soon as your mother’s footsteps receded down the hardwood hallway, you got to work. After looking over the instructions at least five times and then managing to open the wrapper with trembling fingers, you finished the test. A couple nervous breaths exited your lips as you placed the stick on the counter, then promptly hopped in the shower. Attempting to wash away all the messiness of the day—but not the messiness of your thoughts—you let the water cascade down your body, the warmth of it lacking its usual sense of comfort.

As your fingers combed shampoo through your hair, thoughts ran rampant through your mind. Y/N Byers, a mother. Even if the title made you a bit hesitant, at least it would finally give your boyfriend a reason to grow the hell up, right? You loved him, truly, but that boy certainly needed a reality check.

You forced yourself to look at the upside of things. For one, you'd had plenty of training. Between your younger brother and babysitting throughout your teen years, you definitely knew enough to at least get by. Your current gig as a day-camp counselor at The Peony, the local country club, was just the cherry on top. For two… were there any more positives of this?

While you wanted to see a good side to the situation, you couldn't help but consider the possibilities of getting kicked out of the house, being forced to break up with your boyfriend, and the decision of even keeping the baby or not. Your stomach twisted at the thought of being homeless and your baby being fatherless. A wave of nausea hit you so hard you were nearly puking in the shower, a pain so horrid that morning sickness could surely never compare.

You rushed out of the shower, not even bothering to grab a towel before emptying what little was left in your stomach into the toilet. Your eyes glared up at the test on the counter as you wiped off your chin with a piece of toilet paper. It was almost funny, you thought, that a tiny white stick could be holding the answer to your future.

Forcing yourself up from the cold tiles under your knees, you managed to reach the shower and finish the rest of your nightly routine. Your hands shook as you gripped the nob, wondering if this would be the last shower you took before your final step into womanhood.

You had to remind yourself how to breathe as you reached for the test, giving yourself one last look in the mirror. Your skin was some shade of pale green, nausea coursing through you as naturally as the blood in your veins. Here goes nothing.

Blue. The test lit up the brightest shade of blue. It might as well have been screaming, "You're pregnant, dumbass!"

The test fell from your hands and into the sink, the device practically staring at you. Another wave of nausea hit you, forcing you to sit down on the cold and wet edge of the tub. As your exhausted hand ran through your hair, you sifted through the millions of thoughts fighting for your attention.

Another soft knock sounded against the door, one of your brothers reminding you that dinner was finished. Maybe you answered, "I'll be out in a minute," or maybe you didn't manage to say anything at all. You really weren't sure because all the blood in your body rushed straight to your ears to the point where you couldn't even hear yourself breathing anymore. Maybe you'd passed out and this was all a strange fever dream. You really, truly, didn't know.

In fact, in the midst of your internal battle, there was really only one thing you were positive about: you had no idea what the hell you were going to do.

[ Now, November of 1991 ]

"Welcome to Brew and Me, where our motto is- Oh, it's you." You sighed heavily as you registered who was standing on the other side of the counter.

Steve just stared at you with his eyebrow raised. "I'm not sure I'm familiar with your motto. Can you remind me again, miss?"

Your eyes nearly rolled out onto the counter. "The usual?" you asked reluctantly, hands on your hips as you all but challenged his request.

He pushed his wire-frame glasses up the bridge of his nose, a hand landing on his hip in rebuttal. You'd never seen another human being as joyful as Steve was when he got the opportunity to mock you. "That's not the motto," he reminded you in a sing-song tone.

All interest in fighting left your body, finally giving in to his wish. "It's always a brew-tiful day for coffee," you forced out.

His lips turned downward into the cutest pout, and your heart swooned at the sight. "You should really work on how you express-o yourself. That was just sad."

Steve knew his slip of the tongue would make your blood boil, and his pout quickly turned to a smirk as he watched annoyance wash over your face. "The word is espresso, and I'll have you know that I have been considered one of the happiest coworkers here so take that."

He snickered at your sad attempt at a fight. "I find that incredibly hard to believe," he countered. "To answer your previous question, yes, I'd like my usual. Double shot tonight."

A flash of sympathy appeared on your face. You knew all too well what he was in for. "Long night?"

"Exam in the morning, clinical tonight."

You gave him a sympathetic smile before turning to your coworker to bark out his order. "Hazelnut Americano with double shots for John Lennon!"

"Someday," he said, his eyes narrowing in on you as you struggled to hold in your laugh, "you're gonna realize that these glasses are one of my best features. And then, you will finally agree to that date with me."

You just shook your head, waving him off toward his favorite table in the house. A small smile crept its way to your lips, but you did your best to hide it. Your heart went aflutter at even the simplest of actions from him.

Steve Harrington could be described as the most attractive man alive, but just as easily be described as the most stubborn one in the same breath. Sure, he had beautiful, tousled brown hair and hazel eyes that you could get lost in if he'd allow it. Add in the way he looked in his uniform slate-gray scrubs and you were done for. But on the opposite hand, Steve also didn't know how to take no for an answer. Still, you found it quite endearing that three months in, he was still very interested in that date he brought up every time he came into your little coffee shop.

The devil on your shoulder practically begged you to say yes—yes to Steve, yes to the whole nine yards that came along with dating him, all of it. But the idea of actually saying it? Well, to be frank, it scared you more than anything in the whole world. Still, you couldn't help but wonder what it might be like if you ever did accept. His hair fixed up the right way, scrubs traded in for slacks and a nice sweater… your heart flipped at the thought.

That was when that devil sitting on your shoulder decided to do the most devious thing. You didn't really believe in 'out of body' experiences, but it was the only logical explanation to why your feet had carried you over to his table all on their own.

You'd never have the courage to say what was coming out of your mouth, but your little demon friend surely did. "Tell you what, doc?" you started, leaning down and narrowing your eyes at him. "When you successfully guess my favorite thing on the whole menu—without help from any of my coworkers, classmates, or professors—then we'll talk."

Steve just stared at you, mouth agape, for the remainder of the time it took one of your fellow baristas to whip up his coffee. Some mix of shock and fear of disappointment sat on his face for so long that you headed back to the counter, grabbing his coffee and a sympathy cookie from the display while you waited for him to come back to life. When he still didn't respond, you did the only thing left—say the motto and continue on with your work.

"Have a brew-tiful day, friend," you said, much more enthusiastically than earlier. You glanced down at your watch, noticing it was almost time for your break. You were tempted to sit at his table just to see how long it would take him to form another coherent sentence.

Finally, he spoke again, slowly coming out of his dazed state. "You…" he hesitated, possibly trying to think up an intelligible string of words from that dictionary he always carried with him for no apparent reason. "You said yes…"

"I did," you confirmed. "And I hate to rush off, but I have to take my break."

"You said yes," he repeated, pure shock coming over him. "Huh. I guess it really is a brew-tiful day."

AAAHHH, MY BABY IS OUT INTO THE WORLD 🥹

I don't think anyone understands how happy I am for you guys to finally get this series. Like, I have been shaking in my boots, waiting to post this for you guys and now you have it!!! 🥹

Thank you so very much to Georgia (tagged in the extra notes at the top) for listening to me talk about this series sm and for helping me brainstorm so many lil things for this series. I love you so very much, my bestie 💞

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed and I can't wait to see you guys back here for part three next weekend! 🫶🏻

-> taglist: @dungeons-are-too-cold @ducky-died-inside @awkotaco24 @liberhoe @princesseddie @aftermidnightwriting @manuosorioh @esoltis280

[authormars]

Saw this post and wanted to do it

20 Questions for Writers

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

37! Wow! I honestly... I didn't expect that. I think about how many fics I write. I've only been obsessed with three fandoms in the three years I've had an AO3, so 37 feels crazy.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

222, 501. Honestly, I expected more, even without all of the 6k+ word WIPs in my docs that are being finished. Granted, my early fics were kind of... Short. 1k words a chapter seems crazy short to me now. I write 2k in one sitting if I'm dedicated. Really makes me think about how far I've come as a writer.

3) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Jealous Boy (217, Obey Me Fandom), 4th Floor Idiots (209, Critical Role Fandom), Your Power Is So Frail (158, Obey Me Fandom), Where Crimson Meets Gold (148, Obey Me Fandom), Leviathan's Quote Book (100, Obey Me Fandom)

I'm surprised 4th Floor Idiots is up there! The other fics have had at least 10 months, if not more to get those kudos. I only entered the CR fandom a few months ago, and 4th Floor Idiots wasn't even my first fic! Crazy.

4) What fandoms do you write for?

I've written for... a lot, to say the least. Currently, I'm only writing for the Critical Role Fandom, but I used to write for Obey Me and CRK and DSMP and... a lot.

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Almost always! I love comments. I love responding to them. The only times I don't is when they're simply hearts (which are still always appreciated)

6) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

For the Cookie Run Kingdom fandom, a fic called Smokey Windows. It's part of what was meant to be a 3 part series following Espresso and Madeleine as they grow up. That fic was... Oof. The one before it too. I never finished the last fic that finally was meant to have the happy ending, so it's just left with... Sadness.

If we're diving really old, though, Pog Island War and some of my other fics for that fandom are up there, but that's a DSMP fic and really badly written

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

If we're going multi chapter... I'm not sure. I'm an angst writer at my heart. If we're talking about fics that haven't ended yet, Crimson Canines, 4th Floor Idiots, and Correspondence do have planned happy endings. Finished fics, maybe Jealous Boy? It takes a while to get there, but they still end up happy

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Sometimes! Not really on AO3 though. I write darker topics, so it's bound to happen one day.

9) Do you write smut?

I've written three smut things, one of which isn't finished yet. Jealous Boy, the Kiss Me, Son of God series, and Red Wine, Spiced Whiskey, and Bad News, which is a Perc'ildan fic I'm working on currently.

10) Do you write crossovers?

No. My obsessions take over my whole mind, so there's not much room for anything else. I've technically written a BATIM AU for the OM fandom, but I'm not sure if that counts as cross over?

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I've had an idea stolen before, but never a fic, weirdly enough. The idea that was stolen was written differently enough that it didn't really matter.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not to my knowledge, but I think someone asked a little while back.

13) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Jewel of the Dragon, cowritten by my friend Mikey and I

14) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I have recency bias. I barely remember ships a year or so after my obsession fades. Perc'ildan is my current obsession so I suppose that

15) What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oof. A lot. I've been struggling with Correspondence recently. I can't seem to get the scene right in my head because what I wanted it to be was originally intended to go a different way. I might finish it though.

A WIP that I wish I finished but know I never will is the final book in my CRK series.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm pretty good at dialogue and staying in character. I love angst and hurt no comfort and abuse/torture, so I'd like to say I'm good at those too

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Smut. Smut all the way. Nothing grosses me out more than having to write dick, penis, length, cock, or anything similar

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I did for the CRK fandom. Madeleine's family was French, so I wrote down French dialogue, with some translations

19) First fandom you wrote for?

I will never tell anyone because it's really embarrassing. We'll say DSMP, even though that's the second fandom I've ever written for.

20) Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

This is a hard question. I think I have a favorite fic in every fandom, but not one overall. Recency bias, after all. For Critical Role, even though my Swap AU is my favorite concept, Crimson Canines or 4th Floor Idiots are my favorites. For Obey Me, Where Crimson Meets Gold, the first fic I ever wrote for the fandom. For Cookie Run Kingdom, probably Smokey Windows.

@borntobabygirl @witheredapple @bloodinmymilkshake

I don't have a lot of writer friends weirdly enough

[shrinkthisviolet]

Alternatively an AU where Eowells 'raises' Barry alongside Morgan and they get to grow up as brother and sister (with the world's shittiest dad)

OOOH I LOVE THIS!

Making the case is easy enough for Eowells—Joe assisted in Henry’s prosecution, he shouldn’t get to adopt his son. And Eowells recently lost his wife and has his daughter, baby Morgan. He could use another child to fill the desolate quiet…and he’s more than happy to take in a child whose pain he might somewhat understand. (And ofc he’s a rich white man—that helps too)

Barry is ofc an angry kid at 11. Made angrier by the fact that he couldn’t even be adopted by someone he knows (Joe) but by Eowells. But…baby Morgan is adorable, and Barry finds himself at least coming to adore her, if not her father. Because yeah—Eowells is “Morgan’s father” to him. Barry won’t change his name, won’t call him Dad. But he’ll softly call himself Morgan’s brother, and hold her close like she’s the most important person in the world. Iris (he’s not allowed to interact with her outside of school, but ofc they find their ways) notices and teasingly remarks on it, saying he makes a wonderful big brother

Barry is parentified by the time…well, maybe by the time Morgan is 5. He was a little bit before, but this is when it really starts. He’s 15, old enough to stay at home by himself, so often he and Morgan have the house to themselves. He soothes her nightmares, sings her to sleep…when he turns 16, he’s the one taking her to and from school. It’s tough balancing this and his own life, he’s not cut out for all this by himself…and Tina notices. She asks after Eowells, but he makes excuses (because yeah, by this point, he considers Eowells his dad and even cares about him, even if that love is mixed with resentment for his late hours working). Still, Tina insists, and Barry reluctantly accepts, letting her shoulder some of Morgan’s childrearing. They become a sort of team…and Tina even helps him out from time to time

In this AU, Morgan is much more attached to Barry than to Eowells. She doesn’t think of him as her dad exactly, but…he’s not far off either, and in a lot of ways, he’s at least more parental to her than Eowells. The first time she got scared of thunderstorms, it was Barry who cuddled with her, sang her to sleep, and told her a funny story about thunder and lightning being “show-offs” that made her giggle. It’s Barry who comes to all her choir concerts and karate belt tests with (or without, on occasion—Tina’s still a busy woman) Tina, being the embarrassing big brother who says “that’s my sister!!” and insists on taking a million pictures and teases her just enough to make her roll her eyes but smile anyway (and she, ofc, gives as good as she gets)

It means that she’s also much less conflicted about Eowells. Sure, she loves him, but if it’s Barry’s life on the line? He’s always been there, Eowells hasn’t. It’s an easy choice to make. She’ll always choose her brother. She even changes her surname to his—although she’s now Tina’s legal child, she’s always been Barry’s baby sister before anything else.

Admittedly, parts of this AU overlap with what I have planned for the Childhood Friends AU (you’ll notice there are some chunks I didn’t address in these headcanons, and that’s because they’d be spoilers for some CF AU plot points 😅), which is…really the only reason I’d hesitate to write it. And yet…👀👀

Also, to anyone else reading this, @fezwearingjellybananas (the wonderful sender of this ask) did sorta write this premise in their amazing Speedster Siblings series (with the addition of Wally, and it’s Jesse rather than Morgan so she’s a speedster). I highly recommend it!

send me an au and i’ll share 5+ headcanons about it!

Taglist (send an ask or DM to be added or removed):

@arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @raith-way @vexic929 @ironverseocs @thechaoticfanartist @goldheartedchaoticdisaster @negative-speedforce @starstruckpurpledragon @angst-is-love-angst-is-life

[fandom-scatteredthoughtsonpaper]

Announcing a fandom community server!

Hi, guys! This is sorta directed at my followers but also Obey Me fans (and other fandom people).

I mentioned, like, a looong time ago I wanted to do a community server, but I didn't really understand how to use Discord, but since then I've been in a zine, a few collabs, and hosted my own collabs (currently running one for Lucifer 👀). So, I have the experience and knowledge of running a server now!

My urge to create a fandom-centric server has really bloomed and after sitting on the it for a year, I feel confident enough yet still anxious to release a link of an invitation to it (found at the bottom)! It's still fresh, and bots haven't been implemented yet, but I really want to push this out.

I myself am in a lot of different fandoms, obviously Obey Me, but also Baldur's Gate, Stardew Valley, Kingdom Hearts, Persona games, What in Hell is Bad, a few obscure fandoms (like Alien Stage and Touchstarved) and older ones (Homestuck), so I have all the intentions to have this server be inclusive to webcomics, anime and manga and adjacent media, games from standard video games to phone games, graphic novels, books, otome and romance stuff, indie media like web series, cartoons, and games, and more as it grows.

I also want this server to be a hub for writers and artists to share their stuff they're too awkward or anxious to post and receive feedback, and as a place to get to know fellow-minded people in shared fandoms. AUs, theories, headcanons, crossovers, self-inserts, your MCs/OCs - all allowed!

A few things to note:

This is a fandom community server, but it might start out as Obey Me heavy because I'm trying to direct attention to that fandom since that's the one I am mostly in and participated in most things as a fan.

Adults and minors (16+) are allowed, but there are rules implemented that divide channels into SFW and NSFW categories and channels.

Writers, artists, content creators, cosplayers, fans that dabble, etc. are enthusiastically welcomed

The server can also function with channels regarding roleplays and self-publishing (commissions, Etsy shops, etc.)

I really want this server to kinda be a central spot for small fandoms or dying fandoms (like Obey Me) or old fandoms or growing fandoms and ones in-between basically non-existent and probably way too big. I want the server to be a community of different fandoms and the people that incorporate them, and I want it to be a fun place to just either relax with other fans and share works you like or works you've made or as a place to just dip in a silently lurk to look at what people are talking about or look at what is shared or as a place to lose your fucking minds when updates happen or something wild or devastating in the media occurs.

I want this to be a respectful but enjoyable place to come to and join and feel like you can invite friends or maybe even make friends!

Hard rules:

Before entering though, the server has a soft screening process for people to join.

Verifications will be done by me to make sure no one with ill intentions has a chance to cause harassment or harm to members. Fandoms can be toxic and mean in public places like here and Twitter, but this server will be, to the best of my ability, a space away from that.

Absolutely no pedophilic content is allowed. Like, none. It'll be one of the fastest things to get you kicked and banned and blacklisted.

There are rules and specific channels for certain ships and certain explicit content that can be talked about in the server if there are any questions.

This server is for fandom communities and politics and religious hot takes are not applicable here. This is a designated relief zone and none of that is really welcome.

I think that mostly covers the sales pitch and important stuff, lol.

So with all that out of the way--

Link to join: https://discord.com/invite/g8VeSe4t

[tiredassmage]

11 Has your OC ever been the object of someone's affections that they did not (or could not) reciprocate?

[ A Short Ask List About Love ]

You know, it's been like, centuries since I've given some love to the ogs that took me into Eorzea, and this feels like a good one to bring up one of my favorite little silly bonus facts of Astor's lore, so we should revisit him.

The silly part of the lore this brings to mind is Astor's first near... well, to say "relationship" will feel a little generous. It's more accurately the first time he remembers someone flirting with him - or at least that he recognized, lol.

So, refresher - Astor grew up mostly just with his mother in the Dravanian Forelands, not far from Tailfeather, in the woods near the Hundred Throes. His mother was a healer who had some relation to the Sharlayan colony before she'd settled down with his father, a local hunter and fur trader who was frequently on the road trading. Thus, stops in Tailfeather were a fairly regular occurrence during his youth and as he grew up.

Through one such series of trips, Astor unknowingly caught the eye of a merchant's daughter. Whenever he was in town with his mother for supplies, he wouldn't mind spending time with her. And she kissed him before she left town for the last time - and that was about the first time Astor put two and two together about her enjoying their time together, you could say. xD I've joked he didn't quite put the whole thing together that she was probably flirting with him for longer than that until much later in life, which is... partially true in that the full extent of the implication probably doesn't hit him until it becomes a teasing point that Odeve loves to return to in their relationship.

Which does bring me to Odeve! Who I think might be a more interesting and in-depth answer to this.

Astor meets Odeve Arnaud very early in his time in Gridania and is really one of the first friends he makes as he grows into the idea of being an adventurer. At the time, she shot with the Gods' Quiver, though eventually her growing interest in the world beyond the Twelveswood - partially inspired by Astor's later adventures with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn - push her to join the Twin Adders.

Odeve is one of his first guides to the Twelveswood and as (if not more) eager as he to learn and share stories. She has a warm smile, a bright spirit, and a love for the wood she's called home from birth.

And in short, she's kind of the one that got away, I think.

Now, Astor and her do have a relationship somewhere in the... nebulous early years of him being in Gridania and possibly into the early events of A Realm Reborn. But between their respective growing duties - Astor with all the growing pains of coming up into being a Warrior of Light and Odeve pursuing a place within the ranks of the Order of the Twin Adders, they mutually agree to perhaps take a step back and reorient themselves as friends. And they stay quite close as such; Odeve is one of the few that offers Astor some grounding outside of being a Scion and a hero - roles far greater, admittedly, than he ever thought to reach for when he left home with the murky imagery of Hydaelyn's call and a heart aching to do some continued good in the world after his mother's passing when he was 16.

Odeve has an awareness of who he is as the Warrior of Light, but she always knew him as just Astor first. And she wasn't there. She wasn't in the thick of things the way the Scions were and are, and that... proves to be more reassuring than Astor could've ever anticipated.

Odeve has a determination about her and wants to do good on her own. By no means were they waiting on each other, exactly, but... I think there's always going to be a little bit of something between them from being in love. I mean... just because they're friends now doesn't mean they don't love each other still, really. They've just elected that calling it romance isn't the right fit.

They do, however, by Astor's request, have a sort of... hook-up again some time during Heavensward in the midst of... dealing with some of the fallout of the banquet in Ul'dah - an all around uncharacteristic request of Astor, but also admittedly during a time where he was at one of his lowest points. And quite possibly something he'd repeat after Baelsar's Wall, left to his own devices.

She agrees, but that doesn't quite ease Astor's concerns that he's taking advantage of something between the two of them. But those are times when he could really use someone that's steady, someone who still has a very firm belief in him when he's kind of losing sense of who he is. And, again... I think the lingering fondness for each other is... mutual. Even if they say several times to each other that they don't want to keep the other waiting to hold a relationship with each other. And I think that is all a heavier weight on his mind than Astor probably realizes.

But it's also not something I really see changing while he's dealing with being a Warrior of Light. It... takes a lot from him, to fill that role. The burden's quite heavy, and at times I think it's nearly gotten the best of him - emotionally even more than physically, though it's clearly taken both. In the end, he feels like an entirely different person, even to himself, even after Shadowbringers - which is about the next time I'd consider they might have the time to contemplate whether or not they want to try again. And that's kind of something I think Astor needs to sort out for himself regardless, before he brings anyone else back in.

If things had been quite different, and Astor hadn't gotten so heavily involved in the Scions..? I really think this probably would've been the relationship that stuck. Both of their lives would probably look fairly different, then.

But it's not bad to still have an old friend to rely on when the world weighs too much. Someone that has a bit of a smaller picture to hold onto, if you will. In a way, that's still a little like going home.

[shadowthehotdog]

1, 16, 24 for the simpsons ask! With Gloria and/or Laurel, or any other OC you wanna ramble about :]

[Simpsons OC Asks]

1 – How did you discover the show in the first place? Did it inspire you to create an OC right away, or later on?

Having been born just about 10 years after the first episode aired, I was always ever aware of the shows existence for as long as I can remember—of course, I always, for whatever reason, was under the assumption I wasn’t “allowed” to watch the show—after all it was an “adult” show, and I was a kid, so I wouldn’t be allowed to watch it (even though that logic doesn’t hold up—I was allowed to watch way worse stuff as a kid! my parents let me watch pg-13 and R rated movies with endless cursing and innuendo—and one of my favorite shows to watch growing up was Saturday Night Live—a far racier show than the Simpsons)

So, for years I never touched the show despite my awareness of it—even when I started watching Futurama, it’s sister series, I still dared not to touch the Simpsons! (Again, even though Futurama often had significantly racier episodes/jokes!!!)

Hell, even as a teenager, consuming far worse media content wise—I still didn’t watch the show—but at this point it was because it didn’t really pull my interest—from my understanding, the show was more “slice of life” (I didn’t know that was far from the truth, of course) and I just…wasn’t into slice of life type shows. I was into more fantastical adventures (stuff like steven universe, rick and morty, and of course futurama—I seemed to really like sci-fi animation for the most part, and fantasy here and there as well)

So it wasn’t, believe it or not, until 2021, when I was 22 years old, that I finally sat down to properly watch The Simpsons. Up until that point, the ONLY Simpsons episode I had EVER seen was the Futurama crossover—and I ONLY watched it for Futurama (I remember HATING the Simpson characters voices, even)

Anyways, I sat down, put on Season 1, Episode 1…and I thought it was boring. VERY boring.

I pressed on anyways with Season 1, but eventually stopped around episode 3 or 4–because it was just. Too boring. I couldn’t get attached to any of the characters, the pacing felt slow—it wasn’t even that funny. Homer was straight up unlikable, Marge and Lisa barely had personalities…and Bart? Was just okay. I knew he was like, the mascot of “edgy media” circa early 90s, but to me, a person watching in 2021, who grew up on creepypastas and Homestuck? He might as well have been Dennis the Menace (the *American* Dennis—the one that BARELY feels like a menace)

So I stopped watching and didn’t touch the show for two years after that.

In that time I thought about trying again—so I asked everyone in the group chat I was in (who’d watched the show) to tell me all of their favorite episodes, and I would just try watching those instead (since maybe it was just that season 1 wasn’t great, or the first episodes weren’t great) and of course, that’s when I found out that, yeah. Season 1 actually *wasn’t* that great. (I’ve seen a LOT of watch guides say to start with season 2 or 3) Even with that list though, I kinda forgot about the show (the list just. stayed in my backburner for the longest time)

Anyways, it was finally in 2023 I decided to give the show an honest chance again after watching a bunch of Futurama and Disenchantment, and having started my Futurama/Disenchantment account—and after running out of accounts related to those two shows to follow, I decided “hey…maybe I could follow some Simpsons accounts, since its just close enough” …and THAT is how I ended up giving the show another chance.

This is when Gloria started to come together a little in my head—I told my best friend that I was thinking of making a Simpsons OC (before I actually officially started watching the show—I just thought it might be fun to go into it with a rough character idea and develop her as I watched more of the show) and asked her for a suggestion of Who to pair her with (since I thrive off making OCxCanon pairings) and she suggested, immediately, to pair the OC with Krusty the Clown.

I, already being *slightly* familiar with Krusty (and the archetype he fulfilled as a “washed up TV Clown”) thought that was an intriguing idea—so I started trying to think up ideas of how my OC would meet Krusty—so I looked into him as a character, and then watched a bunch of Krusty centric episodes—and because I noticed the circus-theming of his show, I thought “hey, what if I made an acrobat character, and she comes onto the show to do acrobat stuff” so then I came up with and idea of what kind of person would end up being an acrobat on a local television show…

and so her backstory about being a disgraced olympian gymnast came to mind immediately—after all, only someone struggling in that way would put up with the conditions of working on Krusty’s show, lol.

So I put together her backstory, and it just all started falling into place—her parents and family all being athletes (her father being a Mexican olympic swimmer, her mother a Polish olympic runner), Gloria also competing as a figure skater (I needed a way to up the amount of medals she won in the short time she was competing so I picked whatever the most similar sport to gymnastics that there is in the winter games lol), her parents dying tragically when she was very young, her having a previous romantic relationship with Sideshow Bob (him being the reason she was able to get a job on the show—it was a ploy to try and win her back on his part), her already having an obsession with clowns to an extent (in my research, I found out Mexico LOVES clowns. Not surprising to me, since clowns are great, in my humble onion!)

And after that, I started building my universe—eventually I made Laurel because I wanted to make another OC (and Priscilla—fun fact about her—even though I never really watched the show when I was younger, I always thought if I made a Simpsons OC it would be a child named Priscilla? so that’s why I named Laurel’s daughter that—because that name for a Simpsons OC was always in the back of my mind) and somehow Laurel ended up being Krusty’s ex-wife (it started at first as just a quick plot twist my bestie came up with, for an RP I was doing bc I hadn’t decided on Priscilla’s father yet at that point—another potential father we had considered in the RP was Snake, but I couldn’t think of a reason why Laurel would have ever met him. Meanwhile with Krusty, I was able to come up with a backstory for that almost instantly!) and then I just. Kept making more OCs. Vanessa, Jeanie, Fatima, Echo, Hiroshi, and then Bev.

16 – What would an episode centered on your OC look like? Are there specific themes that would be explored through your OC's life?

So a recurring idea I keep thinking of, but haven’t actually figured out the specifics of yet, is the concept of Gloria doing SOMETHING outside of her role on The Krusty Show that gets her significant public attention (which, even as a disgraced former olympian—she still was already fairly popular—especially in Mexico—due to having a likeable and kind personality, being very friendly, and having an infectious laugh)

And I imagine that when she starts getting this attention, it would cause Krusty to get worried that 1) she might leave the show, and 2) she might leave *him* for someone better—Krusty as a character is a very insecure individual, so I imagine any time something like this would happen, he would worry about the stability of their relationship, and if she would stay with him.

So the conflict of the episode would Gloria getting more and more attention, while Krusty gets more and more insecure and worried that she’s going to leave—to the point where he starts pushing her away.

Of course, they would resolve this conflict by the end of the episode, and she would assure him that no matter how popular she gets—HE is the man she is in love with, and that she wants to be with him, for better or worse. He’s HER guapo payaso, after all.

24 – Aside from their home, is there a specific place in Springfield where your OC likes to spend time?

As mentioned in the previous ask, she’s in a relationship with Krusty—so the time not spent at her home, would be spent with him at his home—doing all sorts of things—watching tv, drinking, getting high, and also sleeping together (both literally, and in the innuendo sense.)

I imagine that’s probably what would make the conflicts in the previous ask begin—they already spend a lot of time together, so of course if she gets more famous, and thus more busy—that’s why he would get worried about their relationship and feelings about him.

[pseudospaceship]

20 Questions for Fanfic Writers

Thank you to @lavenderprose for the tag!

Tagging @rooks-leather-jumpsuit and @redheadsramblings if they're down!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Four so far. I've only been on Ao3 for a few months. I wrote fics as a kid and didn't come back to it for many, many years, until I discovered it was the only way to deal with the grooves Emmrich Volkarin was eroding into my brain.

2) What’s your AO3 word count?

58,028 and growing.

3) What are your top five fics by Kudos?

Well, I don't have five yet, so I'll just give them in order.

Everything. 205. Short one-shot smut. The first thing I posted on Ao3, which was immediately bombarded with attention I assume because: porn.

The Ferrous Sun Shines on the Living. 79. The Drugs Fic. Emmrich goes a little off the deep end while Rook is in the Fade prison.

Three Days in Arlathan. 61. Another angst-fest: hurt/comfort and pre-relationship bad communication.

The Oracle. 51. Modern AU set just about 3 millennia after the events of Veilguard. Up to chapter 13 of maybe ~20.

My takeaway is y'all want smutty and angsty one-shots. I posted Arlathan two days ago jeez (and yes I might write a smutty sequel for it).

4) What fandoms do you write for?

All Dragon Age all the time. Currently all Emmrook. Sometime I might branch out into Solavellan (someone asked for angst?), but I'm not really confident that I can carry Solas's voice as well as I can Emmrich's. I'm fluent in academic, but Solas is getting more into pre-19th century in a way that I don't quite have the chops for.

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do, but not always all of them. I try to give comments most of the time, because I know we all want that feedback/validation, but I go back and forth about how important a generic "thanks for reading!" is. I do appreciate you reading, I just don't want to sound transactional about it.

6) What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

So far they're all at least hopeful endings, if not outright happy. Ferrous Sun is probably the angstiest one, that it ends at the very, very beginning of what's got to be a long healing process. I'm capable of them, but ultimately I want only good things for our longsuffering necromancer. :(

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

"Everything," definitely. "The Oracle" will be a happy ending, too (sorry spoilers).

8) Do you get hate on fics?

So far none! The Dragon Age fandom and the Emmrich fandom in particular are all very sweet in my experience.

9) Do you write smut?

Oh yes.

10) Do you write crossovers?

Sort of sometimes? I'm working on an AU right now that is a rewrite of a popular adventure film--I don't know if that makes it a true crossover in the current parlance.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also, not that I know of.

13) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not recently. Back in the distant mists of time, my HS friends and I had a very messy round robin that was an unholy amalgamation of the X Files, a few peoples' favorite comics, at least one video game, and probably a number of other things I'm forgetting.

14) What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I mean, Mulder/Scully is the classic, right? That's where the lingo even came from, if I remember correctly (there was even a name for the people who specifically didn't ship them, but I don't remember what it was). I'm pleasantly amused by Destiel, I think Eliot and Hardison probably have amazing angry sex, and it might not count as a ship because the canon hints at the possibility (likelihood?), but Ilisidi/Cenedi from CJ Cherryh's Foreigner series is just way too *chef's kiss* for many reasons.

15) What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

The sequel to my first/only finished (yet unpublished) novel. I love that book so bad and I really, really want those characters to keep going but I can't for the life of me find a plot for them.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Language. I'm good at language. I have an excellent command of the English language gained through years of reading and then years of studying other languages with very different grammar and syntax. I like words and I'm good at putting them together. I'm also good at dialog and, I think, pretty good at character voice, if I know the character well enough.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Plots and endings. Absolute trash. I've slowed down on The Oracle because I'm getting toward the end and I have a Pavlovian fear of it, even though I know mostly how it's going to go.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I won't do it unless I'm sure of it. I'll throw words in sometimes, but if it's a real language I do a lot more work than Google translate to make sure I'm doing something reasonable. In non-fic work I've got dialog in a language that I studied for years and used to translate regularly (gotta get back on that bicycle...), but even then it was very limited and basic. Conlang is different, especially something as half-baked as Dragon Age elvhen. I'm pretty free with that.

As a general rule, though, the reader's comprehension is the most important thing. Any non-English I include will either be reasonably obvious (in mood if not literal translation) through context or will be translated for the reader at some point. If that process of discovery can't be done or isn't important to the story somehow, I'll just find some way to say that the character is speaking another language and therefore isn't comprehensible, or I'll give the dialog in English and tag in the narration what language they're actually speaking.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Probably Redwall when I was like 10?

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

Of the ones on Ao3, I like them all for different reasons. Ferrous Sun might eke out the rest just because I wrote a bunch of it on a redeye flight and it still turned out pretty damn good. Though, honestly, given the story maybe that's why it turned out so good.

The crossover I'm working on might be my very favorite, though. I'm being really coy about it on here because I think it's MIND BLOWING and I want all of your minds to be blown, but we'll see how that pans out.

[illegiblewords]

Related to the last reblog, I wanna take a second to talk about George R. R. Martin.

I haven't read A Song of Ice and Fire. I haven't watched through Game of Thrones. I have shamelessly spoiled a lot from the sidelines and I know he hasn't managed to write the next book after thirteen years.

What I understand is that George R. R. Martin is one of the most dedicated gardening-style writers I've ever heard of. I feel genuinely horrified for him and his current situation with the series. See, Martin works like this. He has a cast of characters with existing situations and connections. He puts them into scenes together not knowing what the result will be. He writes a version of how the scene unfolds and puts it to the side. Then he rewrites another version of the same scene where different decisions are made by the characters and puts that aside. Then he does it again, as many times as he thinks is necessary. Presumably at some point he chooses the version he likes best, and goes forward with it, and repeats the process with whatever scene using whatever characters follow. He never knows exactly where he'll end up. I also heard he likes going against expected or established narrative structures, which is reactionary and difficult to do well at the best of times--let alone when you have untold invested fan theorists. You simply aren't going to be able to come up with something no one else considered possible while keeping quality standards under those conditions. What if George R. R. Martin gets farther ahead and decides he didn't like one of his earlier scenes after all? Welp. He's gonna not only need to pick an alternate outcome for that scene, but he might need to rewrite a bunch of other scenes unfolding after it. Over and over again.

The man must have a billion versions of a billion scenes written up at this point, very few of which are actually getting used.

Now not only apply this approach to one book (which--difficult but you can get through eventually) or even two, but SEVEN. The point-of-view cast has gotten bigger and bigger, the plots more and more complex, the longer the series grows. Apparently A Dance With Dragons had 16 point-of-view characters.

Of course George R. R. Martin hasn't written The Winds of Winter. With that writing approach, it's genuinely an unfathomable amount of work.

Add to that the guy hasn't wanted to admit defeat for so long, and has been so particular with his process of writing as a lone author--it gets worse. I don't know if anyone has ever sat him down and tried to get him to adjust or compromise his technique, but if it happened I don't think it worked. It seems like he felt more okay with whatever arrangement he had with Fromsoft for Elden Ring, and I can only guess that less control overall meant he couldn't go full-throttle with his gardening and so kept his workload manageable. If he did either collaborate or pass the reins for the rest of ASOIF it might help, but I can understand how he might feel like that is less natural or legitimate a progression given how everything was written before.

I feel terrible for this guy, but I also don't know how he let himself walk into the situation. I don't know how nobody intervened at the beginning knowing what his process is. Like. If your approach to painting The Sistine Chapel is to fully paint and scrap the same figures section by section until it's finished, for the love of god don't line up seven churches of increasing size to use that same approach with. You'll die.

I get that when Martin's stuff works for him it seems to be very successful, but this is kind of what I meant about how gardener-style and architect-style storytelling really are different categories. My approach is completely antithetical to George R. R. Martin and his approach is completely antithetical to me. I need to know my endings, my scenes, my casts, my major decisions, my backstories, etc. well in advance so that while I'm writing I'm mostly focused on description and phrasing instead of description, phrasing, characterization, plot, etc. I know the structural bits are already sorted.

It isn't that there are no scenarios where a gardening approach works, but long series/large cast seems like the worst possible fit.

[paperandsong]

I present a list of 16 Underappreciated fics with recommendations in the authors’ own words, taken from responses to this post: Unloved Fic Tag Game. Most are Phantom of the Opera fics, but there is one from Rebecca and another from Elisabeth. Take a chance on these hidden gems - many authors say these are their best work. They were written with love. 

Remember that it is never, ever too late to give kudos and leave comments on fics - no matter how old they are!

All Imaginable Pangs by @les-gnossiennes-fantomatiques​: It’s a pre-canon Leroux fic set towards the end of the 1860s, told from the point-of-view of a well-to-do Parisian courtesan. Do you like people talking about art and the nature of creating things? Do you like angst about growing older and not feeling at home in your own skin? Do you like lots of incredibly awkward smut and romance?

Annard Noz by @paperandsong:  Little Christine and Raoul roam around Perros-Guirec collecting stories until a vexed old woman frightens them with the legend of the Laveuses de nuit. I wrote this for the Légendes rustiques project which uses French legends recorded by George Sand and reimagines them as stories Christine and Raoul may have heard as children. If you like folklore you might be interested in this series. 

Beneath the Winter Snow by @pianomanblaine​: I wrote this story for the Advent Calendar a few years back. It was the first fandom event I participated in after picking up writing again a few months before, and the response I got made me feel very welcome here. It’s a simple and very fluffy oneshot, and I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope people will have fun reading it as well.

The Day My World Crumbled by @nerdywriter36​: It’s a Nadir/Rookheya fic, which is definitely a rarepair only familiar to those who know Susan Kay’s book. It was basically just a way for me to flesh out part of their story that had been plaguing my mind for a while that needed to get let out.

The Dead Are Gone, They Don’t Come Back by @conquerthenight​: (Mind the tags) Normally I cringe when reading my own writing, but I have yet to do so for any of this series. I would recommend this series to: anyone who wants a reason for Ileana to be so unconfident and scared other than “she just is”, anyone who either wants Maxim redeemed or wants any insight into his POV because the fourth work in this series explores his POV, anyone who wants to read from Rebecca’s POV (the second work in the series is from her perspective), anyone who read the novel Lolita who would’ve rather read from Dolores’ POV instead of Humbert’s, and anyone who believes recovery fics help them cope with trauma.

Digging into the Youth that is you by @enigmawritesstuff​: What you get is a dynamic that deals with trauma in a healthy, heartfelt and loving way, that makes you feel seen and touched. It helps me feel that there is hope that one day you'll be understood as you need, or want, to be, and that's okay. To need someone to help you stand sometimes. Which is why this phic is actually quite dear to me.

A Fierce Inequality of Love by @shinyfire-0​: My most underappreciated fic is the first fic I ever wrote. I wrote it in the late 90s or early 2000s, back when fandom was brutal and people gave vicious reviews if they didn't approve of a fic. This was one was castigated because (spoiler!) Christine does not stay with Erik. I love the tragedy of the man, and so I LOVE a tragic ending for him. And maybe, despite the fact that she escapes him, it's a tragic ending for Christine, too.  Anyway, this one came straight from the heart.

Les Flambettes by @textsfromthefifthbasement​: I think it's probably not as popular due to the archive warning and the fact that it sounds like an R/C fic. But it is a horror story involving the trio with a braided structure alternating between past and present. Part of the Légendes rustiques project. 

Mirrorverse Addendums by @sarcasticdolphin: I know it is a bit dense - there’s a lot of history to cover, and I want to do it correctly. Elisabeth das Musical fandom as a whole lends pretty well or being fandom-blind as it is quite close to historical fiction. 

Notre Dame des Lorettes by @catcorsair​: This is a short prequel story centered on Erik that takes place during the paused construction of the Garnier amidst the fall of the Paris Commune of 1871. Just give it a shot! It’s such a short little one shot, and frankly, I think it’s probably my best fic in terms of writing.

Our Love Brings Ruin by @battydings​: For anyone who wants to read a story about the complicated feelings that revolve around validation and being wanted/needed, but don’t mind a bit of death, this story is for you. Because more than being a story about a couple who are complicit in murder together, it’s about a woman who is willing to step over her own personal values in the name of validation.

Phantoms of Paris by @lincolnlogger​: If you're looking for a story where Andre, yes Manager Andre, gets a lot of narrative POV privileges, you've come to the right place. If you want Erik facing his past head-on via therapy sessions, you've come to the right place. If you want Nadir hanging on by a thread, you've come to the right place.

Philia by @brendadaaedestler: One of the main characters featured in the one shot is a character from Susan Kay’s novel, which [you] not many have read, though you don’t need to have read Kay’s novel to understand the one shot. You would probably like [it] if you enjoy reading fluff content.

Unexpected Variables by @meilas​: Beauty and the Beast 2017. I thought it was funny when I came up with the idea. I actually don't care if anyone else reads it or not.

Vainement, ma bien aimée by @illuminaughti-online​: I think "Vainement" might be my best-written from a technical sense. Also? I genuinely like these kids, as well as the folklore and a nice creepy setting. Give Baby Raoul a chance and you might wind up rooting for him after all as he tries to come to terms with the fact that the world is a terrifying place and that Christine intends to plunge into it headfirst regardless. Part of the Légendes rustiques project. 

You are Music by @apileofpans​: If you like E/C/R getting together in a healthy way with a healthy dose of communication and understanding between the three of them, this is the fic for you! There is a scene between everybody one on one and I just… GAH!!!! It’s like a wonderful hopeful fic with promises to come, it’s just like. Comforting in a way!!!

photo by @shinyfire-0​

[messydiabolical]

Mass Effect Qs: 1, 5, 16, 30, 36, 37, 45, 67, 76, 79, 95, 101

Thanks for the ask, you mean business! *cracks knuckles* okay let's do this (link to all the questions) 1) How did you get into Mass Effect? 2013: Spouse gifts me a copy of me1 on steam. I, according to steam, played 61 minutes and decided it wasn't for me and uninstalled it 😅 2021: I watch Jessie Gender do a letsplay and enjoy it a lot. I buy Legendary in a sale deal. I am hooked. 2013 me apparently wasn't ready lol (I've always struggled with non 1st person perspective games, it's probably what put me off).

5) Preferred alignment Overall paragon, though I do think some of the paragon responses are too washy/hand wavy when it comes to say, the council. I go with the in between option a lot in general dialogue. 16) MAKO: Die in a fire or best thing ever? I have to be in the mood for it, and when I am, I enjoy the MAKO a lot. Just vibing along. It helps that I play with mods. N7 MAKO for more speed, MAKO squadmate banter for more vibes, and charted worlds for easier map navigation. But even first playthrough vanilla, I liked the MAKO. I find thorough exploration satisfying.

rest of answers under cut as there are so many and this is getting long!

30) Favourite DLC mission? Mission is a toss up between Lair of the Shadow Broker (Feron my beloved) and Leviathan (probably the most fun overall gameplay wise, I like the detective aspect and the lab apartment is cool). Fave DLC is Thane's alternative outfit though. DLC of all time, all hail Thane's cool dad glasses.

36) Funniest moment in the game? Grunt falling past the Heurta lab window, Feron's sassy little "I'll try not to go anywhere" while strapped into the chair (the ultimate commited to the bit sarcasm king) and the sexually awakened salarian's email after recruiting Thane (funny and wholesome. You go you horny funky little guy, you and me both).

37) Creepiest moment in the games? The T-GES Mineral works employees on Mahavid in the Leviathan DLC telling you to leave, you don't belong here etc. Especially on first playthrough when you can't be sure if they might turn on you violently or not, and will you have to fight these poor brainwashed civilians? In a similar vein, the Reaper IFF mission with the vids showing the workers sharing memories and their growing confusion.

45) Best Villian in the series? The leviathan

67) Who would you cosplay if you could (no holds barred)? The biotic God would be fun

76) What are you hoping from ME4? That they take their time, are well invested and the staff treated respectfully so that they can produce something with love and care *crying thumbs up* I just hope they don't rush through some money grabbing shit show. Storywise the skies the limit, there's a whole universe to explore, have fun with it, do something new, respect the old, and heck if you can throw in more drell that'd be neat.

95) Do you mod your games? Heavily. My MAKO answer probably shows that lol. Herobrine24's modlist is a great base for modding I'm always checking it.

101) If you could meet Shepard, what would you say? Can I offer you an egg in these trying times? In seriousness I would just want to offer them some food and a nap.