#yeah I give lessons to people the same age as me lol

[grandiosetirade]

At a university campus today, I gave a presentation on drawing. The exercise that I asked them to do was to create an animal character and what was my surprise when one of my students brought out Stumpy as a reference and they all started talking about the series.

And mean while I sat in silence like «  be normal be normal be normal be normal »

They were pleasantly suprised that it as a fandom lol .

[olympeline]

Okay, okay. Last one for today, I promise! Before I go to bed, have some further thoughts about the British Isles bros in my Hetalia National Animals AU:

England: rabbit → lion

Yep, Arthur was a twitchy-nosed bun when he was young. Something I bet he finds very embarrassing even to this day, hehe. Neither species is native to Britain, interestingly enough. Lions are obvious but people think rabbits have always been here. When in fact they were brought over by the Romans as a food source to support their invasion. The more you know. 💫 I picture Arthur as ever feeling a bit of an outsider in his family (the lone anglo amongst celts) and it fits with this interpretation. His older bros all have either native or domestic creatures for their animal forms. And then there’s Arthur: sticking out like a sore thumb with England’s giant, fuck off, big cat, lol. He became a lion sometime after William the Conqueror took over England. The golden English lion the world is familiar with is actually the emblem of Normandy; the French Duchy William originated from.

Scotland: stag

A heck of a lot of Scottish heraldry uses deer and, since I’m enforcing a self-imposed ban on mythical animals in this AU, a stag makes a good stand-in for the Scottish unicorn. Alasdair was the only brother who scored some real, lasting victories against Arthur back in the day. As evidenced by Scotland keeping its independence and then joining the UK as a kinda, sorta equal partner rather than being dragged in against its will. So Alasdair would need to be a big, powerful beast that could toss a lion on its horns on a good day. So yeah, a stag is good for him.

Wales: ??? → ??? → dog

Wales is the brother giving me the most trouble. For starters, I feel like he should have had a different form back in the old days. Like Arthur’s rabbit, but IDK what it should be? Then I wonder if he should have spent time as a lion alongside Arthur. Wales was conquered to the extent that it was considered fully part of England for hundreds of years. That’s why the Welsh flag doesn’t get its own part of the Union Jack like the other home nations, don’tcha know. Wales as a reddish furred lion alongside Arthur’s gold would be pretty cool, ngl. But then Wales did manage to preserve its national identity in spite of everything. So I’m not sure a full transformation is appropriate in his case. Even if it would get reversed later when Wales regained its status as a country through devolution. The only thing I am sure of is that his true beast form would be a dog. Something clever and tough that can herd and guard with care, but is equally able to rip apart a predator without mercy. Maybe some kind of sighthound like in the legend of Gelert.

Ireland: grey wolf → Irish wolfhound → ???

Speaking of doges with sad backstories! Ireland would have remained a wolf until he was conquered and became a part of the United Kingdom. Even before that happened there was this whole thing about eradicating Ireland’s wolves. Which I believe was spearheaded by the ruling English lords? My history lessons on this were ages ago so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. There was definitely a drive to tame and “civilise” what the English saw as a savage and wild land, I know that much. So a wolf-to-dog forced transformation is as much appropriate as it would be unwanted by the one enduring it. Definitely a lot of trauma there, methinks. Would Ireland turn back into a wolf after his people left the union and he became a republic? Mmmaybe…? I don’t know. Ireland was forever changed by its inability to resist the British invasion. A lot of its native culture was lost or replaced as a result. And a dog being so close to a wolf anyway could make changing back even harder. Mmm yeah, IDK. Leaving it ambiguous might be appropriate in itself.

Northern Ireland: grey wolf → Irish wolfhound

Eeyup, same beasts for the Ireland twins. Their attitudes towards the changes they’ve gone through would be very different, though. If it’s ambiguous whether or not Ireland is turning back to a true wolf, North definitely isn’t. If Hima had kept the UK bros’ story closer to real history then North would never have been a wolf at all. Starting life as a hound right from the beginning instead. But he didn’t, and so we got the slightly confusing scenario of both twins already existing long before partition put Northern Ireland on track to becoming a distinct nation. Ah well, what ya gonna do. Hima moves in mysterious ways.

[jujutsustraycats]

Hey ish! Your school would be starting in a few days and here a few things I wish someone told me when I was about to start my journey for 11th! Some of these might apply to you too even though the paths I have and you will be taking are completely different.

Next 2 years are gonna teach you a lot. They'll put you through the highest of high and lowest of lows. They'll change you as a person. They'll teach you so much about life (and also how people can be). Things would get overwhelming at times. You wouldn't understand what the fuck is going on at times. A lot of times you'd be left confused and hurt and alone for both, academic and non academic reasons. Also, you'd get a lot of career advice so you need to know how to filter out the useless ones! The best way to check authenticity can be reflect on the achievements of the one giving advice.

Even though your classmates might be in the same stream, you'll realise that everyone has a different story and that, in the worst ways possible too. There'd be times when it'd feel like none of your peers understand your visions and aim for future, there'd be times you wouldn't have a buddy to chat about your life philosophies with who also has the same opinions as yours (but remember to not give up on people as a whole okay? You'd find people you vibe with at the end of the day, you just have to be bold enough to put yourself out there!)

There'd be also times you might end up severely over worked and sleep deprived (but make sure not to drink so much coffee that your hands and shaking and your heart is beating so fast that your body goes into fight and flight mode thinking you're having panic attack lol). You know ish, these 2 years might completely make you or break you, but remember to not give up despite whatever situations you might end up in.

I personally was a several-Olympiad-gold-medalist kinda overachiever till 10th (even in 11th lol, i didn't sit for it in 12th because my priorities changed. And I overlooked it, don't do that. Celebrate your smallest wins and remember to appreciate yourself for the smallest milestones or you'll end up severely burnt out. It has happened to me twice over the span of last 4 years till now.) But even I ended up seeing the greatest academic downfall i ever had in front of my eyes at many times during these 2 years. And you should know that it's okay. A lot of people are going to be tough on you but try your hardest not to be one of them. Being kind to oneself can be difficult but try your best okay? And you said you are a perfectionist aren't you? Take care little dove.

I've seen a lot in these two years too. A lot of your academic experience also depends on what kind of teachers you get and me, personally, oh my teachers were pos and sadists. They'd bully me for the most stupid reasons (haha losers. You said i wouldn't be able to do it? Well. fuck y'all ✨ [you'd have to learn to be indifferent at times and not let their or anyone else's words get through you. Learn to develop a strong self belief.]) and I seriously hope you get better teachers.

But oh ish not every elder is bad, you'll get some amazing teachers whom you'd never want to break ties with. Hold on to them! okay? You'd also get really amazing friends who you'd know are going to last a lifetime and would be there for you in your toughest times. Hold on to them as well! Some bastards are too good to let go. Ha!

And also, in return, remember to be kind to your peers because you don't know what they might be going through (not to scare you but I had 2 of my friends who'd almost commit suicide, so yeah it can get scary for both, you and them at times but remember to heal them with your love and support. It's an age you all need each other!)

It's gonna be fun, full of lessons, scary, exciting and adventurous at the same time. You'd hate it sometimes and you'd love it sometimes, but despite all MASTI NAHI RUKNI CHAHIE!!! You won't ever get these 2 years back so make sure you don't walk out without making some amazing memories!! Vandalise stuff, copy the sign of principal to escape the school, bunk the classes (to study or not, your choice) have deepest conversations and most light hearted jokes and banters the exact other day, sleep in the class, eat from under the bench, give impromptu speeches on seminars and farewells, break rules....whatever ish. Whatever gets your heart pumping and adrenaline rushing. Because while it's the starting of peak years of your career, you should remember to be a human and have fun at times too. It's okay. It's normal. It's needed. One shouldn't be guilty about it.

Getting less than perfect marks on a few tests isn't gonna harm you as much as you think it will. The ones who love you will continue to love you. The ones who admire you will continue to admire you. The ones who support you will continue to support you.

Baki, main hun idhar hi ❤️ kabhi bhi kuch problem ho toh AA Jana apni badi behen se advice lene, I'll try my best to help you out. As I said the other day, the pain and trauma these 2 years have put me through has only served to make me more empathetic and protective of my juniors so if you come to me with loads of rants i won't say cliché things like "Stay strong". I'd first and foremost listen to you and simply that. I'd listen to you for as long as you want me to. Because sometimes you'd simply just wanna be heard ❤️

I'll try my best to be there for you! If nobody got you, I do! Remember that, okay? ✨

... Dear gods, I don't even know what to say. You made me cry. Like, tears actually sprung up in my eyes. Happy ones, though. Don't worry too much.

I'm not one for physical affection but I would've hugged you so hard if I were there. Thank you. This genuinely made my day.

[scarredwoods]

Since Leo is your favorite obviously lol! What’s your opinion on Raph for 03 and 12

Haha, so fun fact, Raph actually used to be my favorite until Leo took over first place when I got older

Out of all the turtles, Raph became one of my first fictional crushes (plus one of my gay awakenings) when I was a kid, but I'll gladly still answer that question

(Warning, it's a bit long and has episode spoilers)

I was born in 2004, but I did grow up with 03 because I found all the episodes free on YouTube one day and continuously binge watched them while also watching 2012 at the same time. While I resonated with Leo a lot now because of the oldest sibling syndrome, Raph was the one who captured my young little heart with how cool he was.

12Raph: He's a sassy fucker who won't waste an opportunity to say something snippy towards one of his brothers. 1st episode immediately showed that when Leo was talking out loud so Snake could hear them talking. Although Raph followed his lead, he couldn’t help himself but make fun of him during the interaction and put the blame on Leo on how Snake got away. He's a very fleshed out character with multiple flaws that all tie together with his character. Despite the discussion of his anger issues having their own episodes, sometimes I wish the writers actually had Splinter show him or give him private lessons on how to control his anger instead of having everyone around him tell him that he needs to control it and how it's getting in the way of their team/mission. Sure Splinter gave him a breathing exercise, but that was a bout it, and Raph barely ever uses it in the show.

Thankfully, the show didn't make it seem like anger was his only personality and made an effort to show the audience that he had a kind and softer side using the animals around him like Spike, the roof pigeons, and Chompy. Also, Raph getting a girlfriend and Mona Lisa coming back was one of the best decisions the writers ever did. To me, they are the definition of ship so good, even the gays love it. I love Mona Lisa to death, and I love her relationship with Raph. They are truly meant for each other. *chefs kiss*

Overall, I give 12Raph 8.5/10, the writers giving Raph a bug phobia was so funny bit very fitting that tough guy like him is afraid of a tiny bug

03Raph: Where do I start. Obviously, gotta start with the obvious and put out how sassy he is. This guy will not hesitate to make a sarcastic comment even in the most dangerous of situations. I see it as his personal comedic relief. Yeah, he has a short temper, everyone knows that, but he only lashes it out to people his age or older people he knows can take it. But when it comes to little kids and animals, he'll be patient for as long as he needs to. It's clear that his tough guy persona is a shield to protect himself from all backlash of being a mutant turtle in a human populated place where he knows he will never be accepted. Yet when he finds people who do, he puts the shield down and lets himself let loose. The obvious example of this is with the old lady who mistook him for the neighbor's son. Yeah, Raph needed to get away from the purple dragons, but he could've easily left once the coast was clear. Instead, he stayed and helped the old lady and took the time to enjoy his break from the shield. He even came back to give her a briefcase filled with money after hearing how she was losing her apartment.

The guy loves his family and even drops the shield during moments where he thinks he's about to lose one o le if something serious happens to them. He was even one of the first people to notice Leo changing because of how similar he was acting to himself.

A thing that the writers did a good job here is during the episode when they addressed his anger issues (after almost bashing Mikey with a pipe) and finally resolved it in the end, the character development stuck with him. Which I'm really glad. Cause honestly, it's tiring when shows show that a character is getting better from something, only for it to be forgotten in the next episode.

Overall, this Raph gets a 9/10, especially because I love it when he laughs

Sorry if this was long, but I love yapping when someone gives me the opportunity to. If you have any more questions for me, please ask, I'll answer all :)

[bullet-prooflove]

OMG "Kelnon, Prompter of Matthew Keller" I love that! It makes me feel like a knight of the round table lol. Thank you for bestowing me the honor of being knighted, I'm glad I could make your morning better! And yes, I agree ol' Matty boy certainly does have a long way to go since he tends to keep all of his emotions locked away far down in the deep hole of his mind. It's like what Neal said to him during the last episode of the show.

[SPOILER WARNING FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T SEEN WHITE COLLAR GO CHECK IT OUT IT'S GREAT]

Matthew is once again giving Neal shit for being "too trusting," and Neal hits him where it hurts by saying that yeah, maybe he is very trusting but he also has many people in his life who truly care about him. Whereas Matthew is all alone in the world. And Ross McCall is such an amazing actor cuz you can see for a split second that Matthew was indeed hurt by what he said! There's this flash of pain in his eyes that slips away just ad quickly as you see him put on his "bad boy" persona again to protect himself. And then only minutes later have Peter shoot him dead, and the camera pans out to show him all alone with no one to mourn him??? So poetically tragic, I love it. One of the best TV villains!

Sorry for the long ramble lmao has it been made very apparent yet that I love him? Is it starting to become clear? Anywho, I'd also be curious to know what the "meet-cute" was for the reader and Matthew and at what point did both of them realize "oh shit, I might feel something for this person!?" But that's not an official request or anything! Only you get to choose what you write and don't write, and I totally respect that. I hope you're doing well! 💗

- Kelnon

I have always felt that Matt is very aware of his status as a 'Blue Collar Criminal'. Neal describes him as such in one of the ep. I feel like Matt is very working class, he knows what it's like to have to fight to survive, I imagine he suffered an abusive childhood with his father in a criminal gang and he had to 'work' otherwise he didn't eat or was punished. He learned the family business in a brutal way. He is ridiculously practical because he was never allowed to have the same moral opportunities as Neal. Emotions are weakness is a lesson he learned from a very young age and it's made him hard.

I think he had a very traumtic event in his youth regarding a woman betraying him. I imagine he fell in love, considered going straight and his father killed her so he would learn that love is a weakness and because he wanted to keep him close. I believe in return Matt killed his father before disappearing and making a name for himself. I don't think he has ever had a person who actually cared about him. Even the girl he was associated with was on his father's payroll, she was set up as a learning experiance. He felt genuinely for her but she did not for him. His father still killed her anyway because he could see the depth of Matt's feelings and thought he needed to learn that lesson.

I think Avery is a naturally warm, empathetic person but she's very coveted in their world. I think a lot of criminals playing at their level struggle to form relationships outside of other criminals because it means hiding those aspects of yourself. You can't tell your partner you're stealing a Monet because if you're caught they will become an accomplice so you have to have a secret life and that fractures a relationship. Also their world is very male dominated so the ratio of attractive women is very limited so Avery is used to getting hit on ALOT by the men she works with which makes her guarded. She has walls but she isn't afraid to be herself, she knows who she is and she doesn't try to hide it and that's what Matt finds attractive. She's the most direct and upfront person he knows, she cuts through all the bullshit and she sees through his bullshit.

I imagine they met through a joint assignment possibly through Neal. Game recongised game, afterwards they worked a few ops on their own. I think Matt loved the way she made him laugh, I think it's been a long time since he's allowed himself to relax. I think he fell in love with her ability to be open when he's so closed off. I think the moment he realised he was in love was when he found himself telling her about his history because she asked him to tell her something real about himself.

I think for her it started off very much as sex. Matt's attractive, intelligent, dangerious but he's emotionally unavailable, which originally made her feel safe as there was no danger of attachments. They had similar tastes and became very attuned to each other as lovers. I think it was very on and off, usually when they were in each other's orbit by accident and then I think for Matt it started becoming less accidental. I think for her she realised she enjoyed spending time with him outside of the bedroom. I have this image that once when they were casing a place as couple they both sat down in front of a painting they had no interest in stealing and he told her how he felt when he looked at it. Not from a technical stand point but from an emotional one and it really resonated for her because he was describing real feelings in that moment, something she had never seen from him before and she realised there was incredible emotional depth under the surface. Afterwards I think she took him for gelato and it became more like a real date, her arm linked through his as they walked through the park. They started doing more couple like things after that, dinner, wine tastings, art showings, things that weren't related to jobs they were pulling, things they actually enjoyed doing together.

[mizzmellos]

OKAY HI

I'm a person who indulges a huge majority of death note ships (minus the disgusting illegal ones), and I'm always open to finding more good ones!

Mind explaining why you ship L/Mello? :)

I'm just quite curious ^^

Sincerely,

-Mo

HIIII omfg so this is going to sound so deranged but my wife and I have been RPing them for like literally ages so my brain is clearly very mushy and tainted from this. I don’t know why I feel like I’m about to give a presentation in front of the class or why I’m worried about posting anything on the celibate radiator Mello blog but. LOL. Anyway. *pulling up my powerpoint* ← no but fr you know I’m serious because I’m typing this up on the computer instead of mobile (hence no cute queen Mello emojis).

So I know lots of people focus on Mello’s rivalry with Near as some sort of obsession with Near. I’m not going to go all pepe silvia here but I personally read Mello’s drive as being more narcissistic lol. He wants to be number one → and in his mind, this position is L. They are synonymous. The current L isn’t his competition, but rather the one to impress. Near is just the one who’s threatening to take this thing he wants very badly away from him, and/or (in Mello’s perception, at least) rubbing it in his face/flaunting his position. This really childish anger and cruelty he harbors towards Near is illustrated (TO MEEE) when Mello first gets the notebook and wipes out most of the SPK. ← was a dirt poor kid who beat up a rich girl that pissed me off bc she was always rubbing it in my face so. Yk projection and all.

Anyway, Mello really doesn’t seem to have a desire to be L in the sense of the actual role—his behavior seems really uncharacteristic of somebody who would be able to cooperate with the world’s law enforcement. But I also see him as having absorbed the lessons at Wammy’s on a surface level → he heard them say “yeah, and then L had to kidnap—“ but never heard/ignored the “it was a sort of last-resort deal, please don’t do this.”

Back to the point, (is there a point?) the LABB book (idgaf it’s canon so suck my left nut about it) tells us that they only ever had one conversation, during which L recounted the LABB case, the final fight between L and the real Eraldo Coil and Deneuve, and how L first met Watari when he was eight. ← I think Mello tracked L’s cases religiously. If he found out L was working on a case (which was rare, because details were under wraps, but he was good at sneaking around and eavesdropping on Roger’s calls with Watari), he would try to figure out every little detail he could, just hoping he could somehow help him out. He never did, but that didn’t mean he didn’t try. I also think it was sweet that he would have told Mello about meeting Watari/that Mello would have been interested/how it would have come up. Not in a ship way, but just in a noodle incident way.

Since this is obviously only plausible in the everybody-survives post-kira AU, I always like to think they first meet in-person then, since I imagine their one and only canon conversation was over a computer (as this is how L seems to have most of his interactions throughout the series lol). Mello definitely has a huge crush (but I don’t even want to call it that cause it’s really just a tangle of very confused feelings wires that are all crossed) but he doesn’t even know what L is like at all → it’s a crush on the concept of his existence. I’ve said this before but I think everybody has somebody they would embarrass themselves for and just as Matt would do for Mello, Mello would do for L. It’s not that Mello wouldn’t do a lot for Matt, but rather that he wants to impress L the same way Matt wants to impress him. L has no idea how to perceive Mello/has only heard horrible reports from Roger back at Wammy’s and is pretty concerned that he was blackmailing presidents and taking Kira’s sister hostage. T_T but at the same time, there’s a very small sliver of L that admires this insanity? ← recalling the oneshot (but erasing the human washing machine because I really think they just were sick of our asses atp) L was also a kind of violent and troubled kid that beat on other kids for trying to hug him LOL. I think L has a very strange and sadistic streak the fandom likes to play down in favor of focusing on his cutely autistic stare (which is also very important) but Mello and Near are supposed to represent the two halves of his coin so I think he’d be intrigued by Mello’s motives/methods? Maybe (read: definitely) not approving, but still perhaps a bit impressed by what he managed to pull off. Neither of them knows what to think of the other, cue 1million word slow burn.

I could keep rambling but at this point I’m approaching 1k and I’m getting very worried. LMFAO. I really want to write some of this ^ cuter/softer/pretending to be semi-canon BS (when I say cute I just mean nobody gets kidnapped/I don’t spend 10k describing horrific burns btw) so hopefully you’ll be interested and check that out when I get around to it. :>

Also re-reading and saw that I talked so so much and said virtually nothing I have to be completely self-indulgent and drop some cute post-Kira LMello fluff things bc I love my beautiful perfect wifey <333

+ They play a lot of chess and go, but Mello prefers checkers ← it’s faster, L is way better at go than he is, and L takes 20 minutes for every move in chess if they don’t play with a timer. L always plays black (obviously). I know you’re all going to ignore my sexual checkersposting but Mello tries to balance playing as fast as possible (needs L to know he’s soooo smart) and being as aggressive as possible (needs L to know he’s so strong and cool) ← this is the only way he can win btw. Playing insanely and not thinking too hard. If he follows any common strategies, L can easily counter them. Instead, he just pretends he’s playing with troops like a military general and chases L’s pieces around the board, trying to split them up/corner him/overwhelm him as quickly as possible. It’s pretty rare but when L says “good move.” Well. I shan’t say more.

+ They definitely go to tons of cafes/restaurants and only have desserts/drink fruity wine. Mello loves eating expensive food and L doesn’t necessarily mind being dragged places, even though he would normally just have Watari deliver them to him instead.

+ Mello helps L on cases, but only sometimes. L doesn’t know where he goes when he’s gone, but he always comes back within the week, even if it’s only for a day. ← once and a while he’ll break in through a back door and sneak past L’s cameras just to critique his security systems. L really hates when he does this (shows up silently behind him in a dark room lit by TVs like a serial killer). But he does take the advice to heart and always corrects the problem.

OKAYYY 1.2K I’M OFFICIALLY MENTALLY ILL EVERYBODY! YAAY LET’S THROW A PARTY!!! LET’S INVITE LIGHT YAGAMI!!!

[mermaidsirennikita]

I also read the Maiden Lane series (I finished the last book last week) and I actually think book 2 was my favorite, I devoured it, I think all the negative reviews there are on Goodreads made me lower my expectations and I was so pleasantly surprised. It was such a different “ballroom romance” and never afraid of going to more difficult and “immoral” places. I think generally speaking there is too much purity discourse around historical romance and I was just surprised by how unapologetically messy all the characters are in her books. Do you have other books with that vibe? Also thank you a lot for the rec cause I think my perception of what makes a good historical series totally changed after reading her books

I'm so glad you liked it! That book gets a bad rep because it is "cheating", which I think is so unfair tbh. I don't feel like historical romance cheating is often the same thing as contemporary cheating, lol. Was Hero engaged? Sure. Did she have any feelings for that man or vice versa? No. Her brother was forcing her into the relationship. She had no true power. Her giving her virginity to a man who was not her intended was truly one of the only acts of agency available to her, and it was risky as hell.

But yeah, a lot of historical readers, unfortunately, are there to basically act out their purity fantasies. Like, it's fine if the characters fuck outside of wedlock, but only if it's monumental and viewed with shame. Non-virgins must be widows. Sex should result in pregnancy, etc. There's not a lot of consideration given to the fact that a) these books are inherently inaccurate and b) even if they were true to life, people had casual (by the standards of the time) back then, many marriages occurred because sex was had out of wedlock, people anticipated the wedding often, women took lovers. Not everyone felt this huge amount of guilt over it. Hoyt is so good at that.

For a similar vibe, I would absolutely recommend Joanna Shupe, who wrote a few Regencies, a few Victorians, and mostly Gilded Age books. Her characters love sex and are immensely messy (so much drama, so many revenge plots, so many heroines defying their fathers, so much excess) aaand often make bad decisions at first. I would recommend basically anything by her, but standouts include:

The Uptown Girls Trilogy: About three daughters of a rich New York man--the oldest one, who fucks daddy's lawyer/fixer; the rebellious middle child, who asks a casino owner to mentor her but dun dun DUN he really wants to ruin her dad; the baby angel, who gets tangled up with a gangster.

Fifth Avenue Rebels: Four friends get into some bullshit after a messy Newport party--the first is childhood friends to lovers with a heroine engaged to another man; sex lessons by a himbo rake to a shy wallflower type; former fiancees who hate each other hooking up at a masked sex party; and two assholes who've been circling each other the whole series finally becoming fuckbuddies, except he wants LOVE.

My Dirty Duke: a novella about a heroine who wants her father's BFF

Wicked Deceptions: her Regency books about: a duchess who disguises herself as a courtesan to get pregnant by the husband that abandoned her; a former scandal of a woman tangling with an uptight earl; a woman who cross dresses in order to do some good in the world getting found out by her dude friend who thinks he's going insane.

Nicola Davidson writes some fun books about people who walk on the wild side--she especially focuses on sex and queer issues. Start with her novellas, like Seven Sinful Nights (heroine agrees to be bad man's mistress for a week to avoid. her horrid in-laws) or Duke for Hire (the heroine pays a down on his luck duke to deflower her). Davidson does a lot of research and is super knowledgeable about things like sex toys, sex work, etc, in the past.

Eva Leigh writes really frank, honest books with morally complex characters. Lady Viper and The Bastard is her Georgian novella about a pair of rivals (both in their 40s) who fall in love as they scheme to tear two lovers apart; her Last Chance Scoundrels trilogy is a really good series about three friends (two of whom are brothers) who have to find wives within a year after ruining a much-vaunted wedding. Does a good job of exploring a more diverse (in several ways) England with artistic circles and parties and hedonism. Offers characters from both aristocratic and working class backgrounds.

Adriana Herrera's Las Leonas series focuses on a group of friends who leave the modern Dominican Republic and go to Paris to find love. The first book is m/f, the second f/f. They explore a world you rarely see in historicals, with sex (not all straight) and politics and art and subversive thinking.

You might also like Sierra Simone's historicals--she writes great erotic romance. Try The Chasing of Eleanor Vane (m/f, heroine is engaged to a loser but is seduced by his older uncle) and The Last Crimes of Peregrine Hind (m/m, one hero abducts the other for revenge, BDSM ensues), and The Conquering of Tate the Pious (f/f medieval, abbess falls in love with a lady conqueror who also conquers ladies).

Stacy Reid writes some deliciously messy books that sometimes feel like send-ups to old school historicals. Try her Wedded by Scandal series, which I love, featuring absolutely nobody who isn't messy, and tons of public sex.

Grace Callaway writes some really hot, fun, messy, mystery-solving historicals. Give her Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels series a try. It's Charlie's Angels, but historical, and these girls are constantly getting into trouble and falling for men who go "I must spank yhou for this, 10% as punishment and 90% because I'm hard". They're delightful.

Of course, you should definitely try Sarah MacLean as well. Her Rules of Scoundrels series (my favorite) focuses on four casino owners; Bareknuckle Bastards centers three outcasts who run Covent Garden; and her current Hell's Belles series focuses on a girl gang of friends who fuck shit up, basically.

Alexis Hall's Something Fabulous is a m/m historical romcom about a pair of heroes who go on a wild goose chase for the uptight one's fiancee after she runs away. The next book, Something Spectacular, focuses on the queer world even further with a genderfluid lead falling for a castrato soprano (fun fact: entirely accurate that castrati GOT THE FUCK LAID EVERYWHERE). If you want less whimsy and more drama, his A Lady for a Duke focuses on a trans heroine falling for a duke and having to deal with telling him about her past. Also something historicals often avoid--queer people have always existed!

[terrainofheartfelt]

i’m reading your lovely jenate fanfic rn and one of the details i’ve really been enjoying is the way you characterize the sibling relationship between jenny and dan! and it has me wondering, more generally, how do you picture dan and jenny’s relationship playing out as adults? we don’t really get to see jenny post going to london on the actual show, and i’m curious how things might have changed or evolved between them with them both being on more equal relational footing, so to speak. (i also think i remember you mentioning here that you yourself have siblings, so as an only child i can imagine you probably have a much more nuanced picture of this than i do lol)

ohhhh thank you so much!!! this is something that I actually explore in the next chapter (posting forthcoming), but I'll talk about it now just to get ahead of that lol

I am thinking, in show canon -- and in the canon i construct in this au in which the show ends after Despicable B ;) -- that Jenny sort of...gives herself a clean break from all things New York, including Dan. and Dan, with all his abandonment issues, takes that harder than she probably sees at the time, but completely removing herself is what she needs the most in that moment. and then, a couple years later, they gravitate closer, but virtually.

with their work being so time-consuming and not really on the typical layman's schedule (like, writer and fashion designer lol what free time) they don't really have time to full on talk on the phone or facetime, but they text regularly, often over an inside joke or a link or a meme they need the other to see (because their partner wouldn't find it as funny)

I think Jenny as a grown up would find it easier to talk to Dan first about things over their parents, and vice versa, because their is this sibling kind of thing were no other person quite understands you the same way, and has known you this long and loved you this long. but the love is different from the love you feel with your parents. i'm not sure if this is entirely accurate...but the love feels...more unconditional somehow, because a sibling has more choice in loving you, but less failures of doing so.

and yes! I do have an older brother, our age difference (3 years) is slightly larger than Dan & Jenny's, but my relationship and experience with him informs - consciously and unconsciously - a LOT of how I write Jenny & Dan. Disclaimer: our pasts are not nearly as traumatic as these fake people, and our parents are still together (over 30 years WOOT WOOT), so our life experiences don't exactly line up

but that being said, I look up to my brother so much. and I switched school mid highschool (like jenny but for less fraught reasons) so I went from being "Andrew's Little Sister" everywhere I went to being just Liz, just myself. and that's an adjustment, from always being the little sister to growing into your own person, and I wouldn't have gotten that opportunity without moving schools, and Jenny probably wouldn't have without moving to London.

and my brother and I have followed our own paths and live in different timezones (and regularly different countries, he splits his time between the US and Canada it's a whole thing), but I never don't feel like he isn't there for me. I know with him I always have a place to crash and someone to send me cute pet pictures when I'm sad and someone who is just as worried about my dad's health as I am (again, whole other thing, not gonna get into it bc privacy but yeah). and I am never entirely lonely as long as he is existing someplace in this world. shit I'm gettting emotional just talking about it but,

he's the guy that drove me to my piano lessons and teased me for my music taste and took me to my first punk show and said "that was so good!" after every performance even though he knows nothing about opera. and when I had a 3 month contract in florida and couldn't take my cat with me he fostered Steph and now Andrew is Steve's favorite person and when I was unemployed I crashed in his apt while he was organized for the 2020 Iowa caucus and he crashed on my couch to visit me after I got my job and moved and we smoke weed and recite monty python and joke and laugh together and I can be a version of myself with my big brother in a way that I can't be with anyone else.

so to bring it back to your meta question, lmao, I imagine and attempt to write Jenny's relationship with her big brother in the same way. it's never the same as when they lived in the same house, and that's hard. (because they stopped living in the same house when he was 18 and she 16 and you can never really go back to that), and they each have their own lives and careers and loves that keep them where they are, but they are still always just...their for each other. and, if given the choice, they are the first person to hear the other's good news.

[khodorkovskaya]

hey, i saw your driving post and i just wanted to say you're not the only one!! i passed my theory exam almost 3 years ago and i only just got approved to take the test in january after 40+ hours of driving lessons (and i cried in lessons like 50% of the time) + practicing w my parents. my friend had the same experience too, it's not that uncommon to struggle a lot with it i think. part of it was definitely my adhd (i found that ritalin helped but i feel weird recommending meds to people so that's just fyi) and a BIG part was some driving instructors being straight up mean or creepy lol. anyway good luck!! i felt so hopeless last year but now my test is next week and i feel v optimistic. you can do it too i'm sure, no need to rush & you'll get there! happy new year! :)

oh wow thanks so much for the message! ive never met anyone who's struggled with driving as much as i do, so your message makes me feel not so alone 💗

like everyone around me who has their license learned to drive in only a couple of weeks and i don't understand how it's even possible. people say that the number of hours you need to learn how to drive = your age. so if you're 18 you need 18 hours, if you're 30 you need 30 hours, etc. so i feel like an anomaly bc not only do i feel like i need a lot more hours, but also my progress is not linear. whenever i go driving with my stepdad he says that he doesn't understand how come i was fine with certain skills before and can no longer do them all of a sudden. idk i just feel so stupid when it comes to driving. so yeah im glad im not alone.

so proud of you for not giving up! wishing you all the best for your exam! 💕💞💗

[leaflovescloud]

Hello, April.

I can't believe that we are entering Q2 already. Time indeed flies.

I'm currently in BB, KD. It's a Sunday and yeah of course I'm working. But it's been a really chill week for Eid. And I managed to workout almost like everyday.

It feels weird that my life is not so occupied with work anymore. Instead, I have much more free time to do things that I like, or even spending time with my friends. I'm indeed grateful for that.

But at the same time, I'm also feeling anxious and lost as to my career progression. So my G11 is not progressing at all and that really worries me.

Clearly, I need to do something.

Is it true that I can't have everything at once? Hmm.

Anyway, other than career progression, I don't have anything to complain about. I mean, I'm truthfully happy, I guess. At least, I feel more attune to my inner self now.

Speaking of that, I've been acting very impulsively, doing things that I'd normally overthink a lot - piercing(s) [emphasis added].

So, in the span of 2 weeks, not only I got a piercing, but I got 4 piercings LOL. Tel me that's not impulsive.

So I got double helix, one ear lobe piercing and also a nostril piercing. That's actually very insane to me. But I'm just feeling empowered at this point as in I don't want to run away from my fear anymore. Instead, I want to honour what I truly want to do and really just do it and trust the moment.

And the fact is that I really do feel good about it. And I'm glad that I managed to empower people around me to do the same too. I hope empower is the right word, or rather, may be enabling them to do it, haha.

Speaking of that, i just want to highlight something. I think back then, I spent too much time overthinking and just worrying about things, that haven't even happened, and gradually I got consumed by the ideas and the fear that I created for myself, and that's what stopping me to achieve things.

I realized this traits about me because of K, of course. I mean, in life, I still need to be careful, be thoughtful, be thorough and logical. But sometimes, there are certain things that I can truly just listen to my heart and just do it. And I like that about myself.

Because of that, I feel powerful and I feel I'm ready to execute challenges.

Learning how to detach from the expectations is also very important. Often times, I find myself being upset when things are not going my way. For instance, I think I may be a bit affected or resentful when K didn't really "deliver" what he said he would, for instance, promise ring and bracelet. Or at least, I feel like he represented that he would get those for me?

And what I would do last time is probably keep on prompting him, and i think eventually he will buy it. But right now, I'm actually nonchalant about it, just because, I don't know, considering the circumstances, honestly I don't know I'm asking for gifts in what capacity. I'm not so sure about the role that I'm playing - Is it just someone that he is seeing right now and that's it?

And truthfully, I think the gifts will be more meaningful if it's comes from him without me prompting him. I would definitely appreciate that more. But aha, I don't think he is romantic kinda guy, in fact, I think he is quite practical.

And once again, I ask myself this - At this age and stage, I think I'm quite enlightened in terms of life lessons, and I think I like this version of myself, mature though still playful. And I feel like I'm ready to love and be a good partner. But I'm also kinda scared that I'm compromising my own needs and standards at the same time.

I think I'm just gonna give us a bit more time probably until June. I do hope that we can build a future together and support each other. But I really don't know if he is the right guy.

There are just a few things that are quite alarming and I really don't want to down play the significance of it - (i) 15 years older (ii) divorced (iii) with kid. This is something that I have never encountered before. I don't exactly think it came as a shock for me - because truly after all these things, what else could shock me?

And I appreciate the qualities in him, and how he is aspired to be a good father too. And I have no issue with that.

It's just we won't be like the couple going through the conventional path - For eg, being alone in the weekends....

I don't know if I should be involved in a relationship that has so many uncertainties.

I want a partner that I can grow together, and do things together.

Hmm.

[darsynia]

It’s kinda random and for some reason of all people to tell I felt like you’d be a prime candidate- congratulations! But seeing “older” adults writing fanfic may be weird to some people but honestly it’s always made me feel so so so much better because ever since I was like 13 my biggest fear was wondering if I’d “grow out of it” by the time I became an adult or if I’d be forced to grow out of it, ya know? And now I’m 20 and sure, there are some things I don’t enjoy anymore like I did as a kid, but the things I do still enjoy I feel sooo much better about still enjoying and knowing that I’ll get to keep enjoying it and grow up with the others my age right now and still do this- and I hope to meet more of them as we age too! Might seem kinda weird, idk, but it had just been on my mind x)

I get what you're saying, that you've wanted to express this sentiment but it's kind of random, and figured I'm receptive--and I am!

So not to get all weird into history and sociology or anything but I feel like there's something really important about the differences between the last few generations, and how they view leisure time?

I mean, my dad was born in 1935 (I was born when he was 44, the same age I am now), and his parents had to struggle through WWI, the Great Depression, and then WWII at various important, possibly formative ages. Privation was a big deal, and so was decorum, what people think about you, how you spend your money, how you present, that kind of thing.

But as each group had kids and life improved, consumerism grew, for better or worse, and the power of communication changed the way we relate to each other on a fundamental level. We don't stay in the same small town and do our fun shit where people will run and bitch about it to our parents, and somehow eff with their reputation as a result, lol.

I think this really is the beauty of the world we live in now, our adult world vs. the adult world of our parents and grandparents. We just... aren't required to care whether the things we love are valued by our peers as much anymore. My husband was joking with his dad about how when we're old, we're not going to be Boomers obsessed with our yards-- we're going to be playing old computer games and binge watching our version of 'classic TV' in our retirement homes! We'll be on our computers, and I bet you we'll be less lonely.

I got really long-winded here but my point, the TL;DR is this: a generation of people grew into adults and enough of them decided it was really fucking stupid to give up the things they loved just because someone else might think it's silly or childish. And, I mean, fuck yeah, right?

You absolutely don't have to give it up. One of the most important lessons I EVER learned as an adult is that if your group of friends makes fun of you for what you love, get better friends (or stand up for yourself and see if you can get them to stop being fucking stupid about it)! Love wildly, create freely, share generously, reap the deserved benefits (or sow in a better field) 💚

Thanks for sending this to me! Sorry I wrote a book in response, haha.

[persephoneflouwers]

Hi angie, this is unrelated to the fandom but I just wanted to vent. Do you have people at work who ignore you or only barely acknowledge you before they turn around and start talking to someone else? I do and I hate it so much, she either ignores me or gives me a "yeah" or a nod and then she start a conversation with someone else. That is so fucking rude, I only see her for 30 minutes for shift change and mostly on weekends because she's a part time, and we usually ignore each other, but when the rare occasion we talk, I'm treated like shit. I should learn my lesson and never talk to her at all 😐

Anyway, thank you for listening and I hope your day is better than mine.

Oh, I feel you! No, really. I. FEEL. YOU. Do you work in healthcare too?

I am just a newbie where I work and I’m a newbie in general lol. I look very young for my age (and for being a Doctor) and that doesn’t really help. There are few nurses (male ones, generally) that really don’t give a shit of what I say even when it’s our patient’s concern. It happened a few times in the past that they purposely gave me wrong informations or didn’t really help me and made me look pretty stupid at my tutor’s eyes. She’s an angel, but it still felt a bit humiliating like when you want to help and people just reaaaaally want to waste your time instead! Once I got so upset I wanted to cry because they couldn’t fucking give me a single answer and they were so hostile at first. I don’t think it’s personal, though. It never feels personal. It feels more like a fight against the latest arrivals lol they want you to grow up in in the lions cave, if that makes sense? At least, that’s my perception of it since I work in the Emergency Room and semi-critical care. After a few long night shifts (it took 4 months) it feels less tense. Everything is fine now, I just try to avoid interacting with the toughest ones if I can. But it’s hard, when you are part of the same working team. That’s fair if you want to solve this instead of stop talking to her.

[prof-peach]

if fans wanted to include peach in stuff they write, would that be okay? and how would they write peach's personality? aside from "FIGHT ME" anyway, i think that much is a given lol. i only really write the anime characters 'cause that's what i know, but it sounds like it'd be kinda fun to try making a version of ash that fits into this blog's universe! nerf'd Obviously, but i think she'd probably appreciate how hands-on he gets when training his pokemon!

Ok, I get a lot of these messages, and I often hear folks wanting to throw peach into their stories and comics and writings, and I will always simply ask that if it’s published online publicly, to be linked to it so I can snoop and enjoy the content too. If someone asks about her in your work, let them know about the blog I guess? But literally I love that people take this stuff, these characters and stories, and make new stuff with it. No ones making money off my work here? So where’s the issue? Go for it buddy, knock yourself out, I’m all for it.

For you, and all the others out there who want to add peach, and other characters to your world building, I will give you a detailed rundown of the main lot, and how they behave, what they do, how they function. You can use that, use bits, or use none of it, I do not mind at all. If you’re creating something, you’re in control, not me.

So, peach doesn’t actually fight people as much as you’d think. She’s very aware most cannot and do not want to do that, and so she likes to keep to herself with regards to that aspect of her life, she doesn’t ask to spar with people, or even bring it up at all, but people ask her all the time, even if they clearly would lose or become hurt should she miscalculate during the fight. She looks at people like they usually create problems, and often has a somewhat reserved nature to other humans. You have to work quite hard to get anything more than formalities out of her. She will dead-pan handle people with blunt and very to-the-point statements, aid whenever possible, but very quickly get back to handling the Pokemon she so carefully tends. Her focus is clear, she’s all about hard work, her very small select family, and the Pokemon.

Her brutal, loud and brash personality only comes out with friends, family, difficult humans, OR any Pokemon. She will joke and laugh and play with Pokemon, but clam up around humans, maintaining tight body language and generally will be a little cold by regular standards. She does however have some weaknesses in this emotionless shield she puts up. When peach was young she was always angry, which swung so fast to sadness, back and forth. Her teenage years it just got worse and worse, it was crippling at points. She is to this day, full of fire and rage, even sadness, but now she has learnt to control it, to use it. When she sees that in others, it’s familiar, and she is pushed to drop the front, and be very real with the person. Underdogs I suppose, people who get bad reps, but deserve the same as everyone else. She can’t ignore it.

Once you start to pry open her personality, you’ll find she’s a lot more laid back and fun than originally appeared, you just have to work hard to find that side of her. She will meme reference, can’t dance to save her life, loves her coffee, and can be caught in quiet contemplation while gardening. This hobby is her calmest, and often is why she can stay so level headed when her quiet rage boils up again. Without time outside she will become grouchy, a little snippy, and lethargic. Will not go in the ocean for any reason other than life or death, is fine with ponds and rivers, or water at wading height. Likes the rain.

With regards to her training others, they usually have to tolerate her somewhat strict nature. She is a little....unforgiving, holds a grudge if you make a lot of mistakes, and has no tolerance for ignorance in the age of information that we all live in. In previous posts I’ve mentioned she’s only recently selected two students, after many years of testing kids who want to learn from her. Hundred tried out, only two have ever been approved. How she teaches is very fast paced, be prepared to get some scrapes and bruises, she will test your physical and emotional tolerances with intense tasks, carefully watching students like a hawk. Bad posture in your stance? She’ll be the first to tell you to sort it out. Not hearing your Pokemon partner? Right, now you spend the day without using words trying to communicate, let’s see how you like not being listened to.

This is a woman who has spent her life saying very little, and watching everything, she watches Pokemon and can see an issue from a mile off, and in battles, her observations are why she can react fast, and chose effective strategy to avoid damage and achieve results. Don’t let her body fool you, her strongest asset is analysing, watching, planning. Those skills have over the years transferred to people too. As a student, mistakes don’t go unnoticed with this professor.

Her methods are harsh but fair, and should you prove yourself, she will protect you with her life.

Because of her disinterest in kids and lots of noise, she does pass the training of students on to the other staff members whenever possible. Grey takes on the lions share of battle lessons, he is far calmer, more open and friendly, with patience for people, and an empathy that peach sometimes struggles to have. When you go through a lot of harsh training, and difficult events, it’s hard to change how you feel or think, with peach, well, she’s been through it. Most do not come out the other end in one piece, but she did, and it made her strong. You may think I mean strong like buff and big, and yeah sure she is, but I mean it mentally more than anything. Peach will not quit. She has learnt to destroy the boundaries that stop people getting hurt, gone is the fear that freezes you in your tracks, that feeling that you’ll pass out if you go one more step. She’s learnt to ignore it.

This means she’s a little forgetful at how it is to be normal, to be vulnerable and soft and squishy like students so usually are.

She has her issues, but for the most part, visitors get a laugh, a smile, a calm assertive confidence, and facts. She will indulge those who have genuine interest, or show a connection with nature, an understanding of the balance that needs to be struck for everyone to live well together.

Despite her many flaws, she’s fiercely protective, and will go above and beyond to defend the island, it’s staff, the Pokemon and the visitors. Injustice is her biggest gripe, along with littering, and she doesn’t stand by quietly if something happens that seems unfair.

You will not see her without Valka, her vulpix, close by. That Pokemon doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, at all, and will run the second someone comes at her with that intent. Peach will scold you for pushing yourself onto her, should you persistently try to get close to pet Val. They are in sync, if peach is sad, Val is sad, if Val is stressed, peach is stressed, and so on. They are inherently connected, it’s just been that long, the psychic bridge between them has been built, and reinforced over the years.

The only other Pokemon who follows her so endlessly is Booker, a teddiursa who’s pretty rough looking. He quietly trots behind, grouchy and stoic, they fight closely together a lot. He lost his mom a long time ago to poachers, and peach took him in, and changed her whole life for him. Not many people know, but Booker was the reason she left the rangers, changed career, and got so strong. Will tolerate people petting him but isn’t keen at all, grumbles a lot and tries to move away.

You may also need to know about the others, for the sake of writing, she here a few more bits that may be important to you, or others wanting to do this.

Grey is very tall, very burly, composed, tells bad dad jokes, is a bit of a goof if allowed to be. If he sees a pun, he’ll say it. Can’t help himself. Very nice guy to work with, good at keeping people calm and grounded. Pokemon are drawn to him like a moth to a flame, he gives off warm energy, and has inhuman amounts of patience. If you wrong his family however, he will snap back.

He grew up in the city, loves to swim and hike and cycle, can snowboard, is really sporty. A total brain box with held items, and boosting stats. He will explore many paths, to make sure visitors and students get the information they need, in a way that can be remembered and retained for later. Is a huge guy, but will get on the floor to play with a tiny Pokemon. Treats big “meaner” looking species like babies, very good with all pokemon.

His free time is spent either tinkering, swimming, or trimming his bonsai trees. This guy stares at screens a lot, so appreciates time away from them. Peach built him his own little greenhouse for his trees and tools, which he keeps clean and loves dearly.

His methods as a teacher are built around fun and games, he makes hard work easier to do by distracting trainers from the difficult bits, and focusing in on something more interesting or compelling.

His most commonly seen Pokemon would be a houndoom, Saxon, old battle veteran, retired now to herding and being a good boy. Very gentle, loves a pet.

Pari, now a fully fledged nurse, often oversees the labs front desk and pokecentre features, such as healing pokemon, and informing trainers who come to visit. Her skills with eggs and hatchlings is high, she’s great with younger Pokemon, and hands out good advice to trainers a lot. She’s not a fighter, never was, but can find any file, any study, any book, and any refrence you may need. A true bookworm, loves her romance novels, chat shows and upbeat celebrity gossip mags. Will cry at a lot of stuff, be it sad or happy.

She’s got a seriously upbeat personality, but if caught off guard or shocked, she gets a little flustered. Too much chaos will overwhelm her, but usually she’s on top of things. The years spent on the island have made her better at maintaining composure in emergencies. With lots of siblings, she’s very competent with others, and has a good ability to disarm cagey people with her jolly nature. Because of this, she can sometimes gain information from trainers that some of the more harsh professors may not have access to. Charming is a word for it.

Her partners are an eevee, and a happiny. They are quite sweet and well adjusted, the eevee gets a bit bouncy if you get it too excited.

[cozycryptidcorner]

Well for my religious upbringing, there's two sides. Mother, who wasn't even a twice a year Methodist and only took us when my sister was in her religious phase or when I explained St Francis of Assisi to her, and father who is the super Catholic side to the point that he is now a deacon in the Catholic church.

For me, the dinosaurs were something that happened before the book and were like God's trial run. Then he killed them with a meteor.

Next, birth control has been a good thing, unless it's the plan b pill which I was told by my father is actually abortion. I actually cried over that one. Abortion is a big no-no but I forget their stance on rape babies. I think it was give them up and hand them off. Though my father does after abortion counselling or something? Idk there's a magnet on the back of his car offering assistance.

Mother said gays are against the Bible. Father is anti gay. I told them off once and said I was bi. That was enough to make two people, one who doesn't want to speak to her and the other who would call him asswhipe like it was his name to my face, contact each other and then decide that since I hadn't slept with a girl, I wasn't actually bi.

Last I checked mother is still vehemently against and probably moreso since the US made marriage legal ON HER BIRTHDAY!!!

My father actually left a campground once because he suspected the owners to be lesbians. He now stands a little kinder towards them but will remark that they need to stop adding gay characters to Disney movies cause they're being forced on us now. Though they will say nothing to my face about my trans friend and when they asked me to make us family friendship bracelets, I had us all pick our colors and they were almost all the standard rainbow colors. So I ordered it from our ages and it pretty much came out to a rainbow. I've never seen them wear them. XD

I no longer speak to my mother but my father sees my tattoo, which is Fight's Not Over Yet with a semicolon and he says he can probably get it off with sandpaper because tattoos are against the religion. I like to point out that so are shrimp or clothes made of different fabrics. They ignore my retorts.

I plan to raise my children as Christians but not so hardcore. Take them to the same preschool I went to at my old Methodist church because the basic lessons they teach about Jesus and such are good life lessons and get them baptized but I'm not gonna shove it down their throats and I'm gonna teach them right and that Jesus hung out with a hooker and chased people out of a church with a whip.

WOW lol yeah I remember you telling me about that whole tattoo thing.

I was asking bc I really wanted to reinforce how fucking weird my childhood was, because it wasn't normal. My mom has since calmed down on the more insane things, and i wouldn't call her fundamentalist anymore, but she went through what I called her "little house on the prairie" phase when I was growing up. I wasn't allowed to wear pants, skirts had to cover my knees, i couldn't watch tv that she didn't expressly approve of (like for example, i wasn't allowed to watch Ben 10 at the age of 15), and used to randomly flip through books I checked out to make sure they were "appropriate” (and for context, she considered the hunger games inappropriate) I had a flip phone until I turned 18 in 2016 and bought my own second hand iphone. The computers all had software that recorded every other second of screen time and kept a log of everything i typed, including my usernames and passwords for every site i visited. And that's just the home stuff, that doesn't even begin to include going to church twice a week, being forced to be in youth groups, and participating in sunday school and religion conferences. girls at one point i had the youth catechism memorized, could recite the ten commandments exactly as they were listed, and even had a couple of psalms down too. I was SO pretentious about my love of classical music and i used to be able to clock the era of every piece i heard. I COULD READ AND TRANSLATE LATIN. 

in the end, this all just made me one of the sneakiest natural liars. I would simply just read "inappropriate" books at the library. I bought a $20 portable dvd player and checked out box sets of tv shows that I would hide in my big school binders.

ya'll if 15 year old me saw 23 year old me, a tatted, blue-haired weed smoking feminist apostate who is openly bisexual with pronouns and a career ahead of me? no husband? no children? i'm like the final boss antagonist of every single christian movie.

[descendantofthesparrow]

hi rose!! I'm such a huge fan of all of your harry hook fics (because I'm such a descendants freak lmao 😭). I was wondering if you could give me any advice because I made my own descendants oc. here's some info about her :)

full name: flora flinn faciliar

age: 19 (or wtv the age rank is)

abilities & powers: dark, voodoo & death manipulation

occupation: student at auradon, she's also a physician who helps others with there problems because ever since she made it to auradon with the other vks, she learned that "kindness is key" ! ☆

home: isle of the lost (formally) , auradon (current)

significant other: jay jafar

likes: stealing, her father, her little sister, voodoo dolls, not being told what to do, being kind, hanging out with the sea 3 and the vks, jelly beans

dislikes: being told what to do, not receiving her father's attention, liars, stubborn people, not getting her way, etc.

extra info: flora isn't much of a person who trusts people. because her mother died when she was 7 she often became less trusting with other people and more distant. She always adored her father to. she'd often sneak into her after moving to auradon with the rest of the vks, she'd distance herself from the others (except for evie). fairy godmothers lessons and jays lectures always taught her that sometimes, kindness goes a long way. that took a good long effect on her and also taught her little sister, cecelia that its good to be, well, good! (she also tries to protect her sister from anything bad)

and yeah! thats it:) feel free to leave any advice or criticism <3

ello!!! and thank you so much~!! im not sure what advice i could give on ocs, yeah i make em for my fics? i kinda just-make some shit up and then kinda toss em away??? so idk if I'm a good person to ask about ocs since-well-my main oc rose sparrow, has like-nothing about her lol

but this all looks pretty good! other than maybe switch out her middle name? cuz like-F.F.F, its a lot of F names, very easily tongue twisted (unless that's on porpoise then ignore me) but Flora Flinn Facilier is just....a lot kinda, even on an island where all the kids (minus a few) names either start with the same letter or are just shortened, cuz even Mal's name isnt-Mal eficent or-Mal Menacing-its Mal bertha, there really arent rules for how middle names are? since-alot of em we don't know. we basically only know Mal's, and Ben's...oh and Audreys, which are Bertha, Florian, and Rose. Harry's is fully headcanon but widely accepted, James.

anyways, thats really the only thing i have advice on/criticism on???? otherwise great job!

[atalho-s]

Here comes the sun

pairing: tom holland x reader

warnings: suggestive? but not smut!

words: 1.3 k

summary: you’re tom’s guitar teacher and he is nervous to ask you out.

a/n: this was on my drafts for ages lol i wasn’t going to post it, bc it looks really bad, but yk what? whatever 💁🏾‍♀️😂

Tom grabbed the last clothes that were lying on the living room floor and some glasses from the coffee table and took one last look to make sure everything was in order. He was cleaning up the mess that had been left from the night before. Since he and Harry were sharing a house together the mess seemed endless.

He wasn't one of the most organized people in the world himself, but today was Thursday, and that meant he had guitar lessons. And with guitar lessons Y/n come along, his teacher for the last two months. After he come back from filming and had nothing to do for the rest of the year, he decided he was going to learn everything he could that he hadn't learned in the last few busy years.

But after a few lessons he had realized that he had started looking at her longer than he should have. Getting distracted more often. He really enjoyed talking to her about music, in fact about any topic. In fact, he'd been planning on asking her out for a few weeks, but he obviously never had the courage. So maybe today would be the perfect day. He had put on his favorite shirt with his favorite jeans and now he had just finished cleaning up the mess he and Harry had left behind.

He heard the doorbell ring and stopped in the middle of the living room with scared, tossing a coat he had in his hand into one of the closets quickly. He started to get nervous, maybe it was a bad idea to ask her on a date, maybe she didn't even see him like this, maybe she didn't even like him, after all she was just his guitar teacher, he didn't think she even noticed his looks to her, or if she noticed, she must have found it strange. The doorbell rang one more time and he snapped out of his thoughts, rushing to answer the door. He opened it and came face to face with an Y/n with her guitar case in one hand, wearing a skirt with t-shirt and sneakers, she looked beautiful.

- Hi Tom! Ready for class? - She said smiling when she saw him.

- Hi Y/n! Of course! Come in... - he said, opening the door wider and giving her room to enter.

- Did you practice since the last time? - She asked sitting on the sofa and opening her case, taking her guitar out. Tom stood up just looking at her and Y/n looked up when he didn't respond. - Tom? You going to stand there? - She gave a small laugh.

- Yeah! - He said coming out of his momentary space out. - Sorry! - He said taking his guitar that was in the corner of the room and sitting beside her on the sofa. - I managed to give a good improvement since the last time, I got that part where I was missing...

- Great! You want to show me? - she said smiling again and he smiled back.

- Sure... - he said and started to play the first chords of Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles. The music he had been learning for a week now. Y/n rested her chin on her guitar paying attention to it and Tom missed some chords cursing, making Y/n laugh. He played again now with a confused face, but missed the same part.

- It's alright Tom, you can try again. - She said and Tom shook his head, settling better on the couch.

- Okay, now here we go. - he said starting the chords, but ended up missing again. - Shit! - he cursed and Y/n smiled.

- You're not putting your fingers right... Wait, let me help you... - she said putting her guitar aside and approached him. - Excuse me…- she said and he smiled nodding that she could touch him. She then took her hand and smoothed his fingers over the strings, but instead of Tom looking at his guitar he was lost because her face was so close.

- Okay, now it's better... - she said and looked up to face Tom. Y/n also returned the look intensely and Tom approached slowly looking from her mouth to her eyes. Y/n didn't move from her spot which encouraged him to close the gap by sealing his lips to hers. In the beginning it was just a long peck, until he tried to pull away, but failing, because Y/n pulled him by the back of his neck, putting their lips together again and kissing him heartily, making him smile against the kiss.

Tom placed his guitar on the floor still kissing her and placed one of his hands on her cheek and the other on the couch, pressing her to lie down, which she gladly did. Then he lay on top of her placing his hands beside her head and Y/n ran her hand inside his shirt, making him shiver at her touch.

Tom broke the kiss looking for air and bit her lower lip lightly, running his hand down her leg pulling her closer and kissing her neck.

-Y/n...-He said low now against her chin. - It's this okay?

- More than okay...-she said, interrupting him and kissing him again as he reciprocated. Putting his hand on her waist, he pulled the hem of her shirt, lifting it until they parted their kiss so he could take it off, tossing it aside. He went back to kissing her, kissing each one of her covered breasts and she bit her lip.

- You don't know how long I waited for this... - Tom said now kissing her belly and she looked at him smiling.

-Me too...-she said and he kissed her up to her thighs, lifting the hem of her skirt.

- Really? -he asked against her skin and took a small bite making her give a small moan.

- Yes, for some reason, I can't stop thinking about you. -she replied and he removed his shirt, helping her take off her skirt right after. And while she tossed the fabric aside he took off her pants too, making them both stay in their underwear.

He got back on top of her and Y/n ran her hands over the muscles of his arms. He returned to kiss her lips now going more slowly and run with one of his hands from her leg to her waist, taking her panties lightly, not taking his mouth from hers not even for a second.

*****************************************

Tom was now sitting in his boxers waiting for Y/N to come out of the bathroom. He had his guitar on his lap and was strumming a few notes smiling openly to himself. It seems that his plan to ask Y/n out had turned out better than he expected.

He started strumming the first notes of Here Comes The Sun again, this time concentrating better and even hitting the part he had missed earlier. Hearing someone clapping, he looked up seeing Y/n in the doorframe wearing his favorite pink t-shirt, which looked perfect on her, he smiled at the scene.

- Congratulations Tommy, you finally learned! -she spoke approaching also smiling and sat beside him.

- My teacher is very good and well... I had a good inspiration... - he replied and gave her a peck, making her smile. - Y/n... I've been wanting to ask you this for a while but... Do you want to go on a date with me? - He said laughing a little at the irony of asking that now.

- I think we skipped this step, but of course I want to! - She said excitedly and laughed too kissing him right after with desire.

- So that's what you do when you say you're learning guitar? - they heard someone say and jumped in fright, turning around and seeing Harry with his arms crossed leaning against the wall of the living room.

- HARRY! - Tom said covering Y/n's legs with his arms and threw a pillow on top of him making Harry start laughing at their embarrassed faces.