in
1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?
2. chocolate bars or lollipops?
3. bubblegum or cotton candy?
4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?
5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?
6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?
7. earbuds or headphones?
8. movies or tv shows?
9. favorite smell in the summer?
10. game you were best at in p.e.?
11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?
12. name of your favorite playlist?
13. lanyard or key ring?
14. favorite non-chocolate candy?
15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?
16. most comfortable position to sit in?
17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?
18. ideal weather?
19. sleeping position?
20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?
21. obsession from childhood?
22. role model?
23. strange habits?
24. favorite crystal?
25. first song you remember hearing?
26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?
27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?
28. five songs to describe you?
29. best way to bond with you?
30. places that you find sacred?
31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?
32. top five favorite vines?
33. most used phrase in your phone?
34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?
35. average time you fall asleep?
36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?
37. suitcase or duffel bag?
38. lemonade or tea?
39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?
40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?
41. last person you texted?
42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?
43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?
44. favorite scent for soap?
45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?
46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?
47. favorite type of cheese?
48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?
49. what saying or quote do you live by?
50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?
51. current stresses?
52. favorite font?
53. what is the current state of your hands?
54. what did you learn from your first job?
55. favorite fairy tale?
56. favorite tradition?
57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?
58. four talents you’re proud of having?
59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?
60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?
61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?
62. seven characters you relate to?
63. five songs that would play in your club?
64. favorite website from your childhood?
65. any permanent scars?
66. favorite flower(s)?
67. good luck charms?
68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?
69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?
70. left or right handed?
71. least favorite pattern?
72. worst subject?
73. favorite weird flavor combo?
74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?
75. when did you lose your first tooth?
76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?
77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?
78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?
79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?
80. earth tones or jewel tones?
81. fireflies or lightning bugs?
82. pc or console?
83. writing or drawing?
84. podcasts or talk radio?
84. barbie or polly pocket?
85. fairy tales or mythology?
86. cookies or cupcakes?
87. your greatest fear?
88. your greatest wish?
89. who would you put before everyone else?
90. luckiest mistake?
91. boxes or bags?
92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?
93. nicknames?
94. favorite season?
95. favorite app on your phone?
96. desktop background?
97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?
98. favorite historical era?
Aoede: favourite music genre, artist and lyric?
Asteroid: thoughts on rocks and gems?
Aurora: do colours have meanings for you? what is your favourite colour and why?
Bestla: do you have a favourite norce god?
Comet: do you have any allergies?
Celestial: favourite celestial object?
Constellation: what is your zodiac sign and birthstone?
Eclipse: if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Extra Terrestrial: do you believe in aliens?
Gravity: what makes you happy when you’re feeling down?
Light Year: if you could travel to one place in time, where would you go and why?
Lunar: favourite word for or way of describing the moon?
Meteor: what’s something your passionate about that makes you light up?
Milky Way: you’re one in a billion! who is one in a billion in your life?
Nebula: do you like clouds? cloud watching?
Nova: what’s something new you want to try?
Orbit: who are the closest people in your life?
Red Dwarf: do you think stars are cool!?
Phobos: something you are afraid off?
Satellite: what do you surround yourself with that brings you joy?
Solar: what is your favourite way to get cozy and warm?
Supernova: do you like hot weather?
Shooting Star: if you had one wish, what would you wish for?
Triton: planets have cores, what is at your core?
Yellow Dwarf: bright white or soft white lighting?
Zenith: look directly above you, what do you see?
What I find really odd about fanfic in general is that you can almost tell what kind of a person is writing it, you know?? Like some people are really poetic in their descriptions, some people almost drown in the feelings they write, others create dialogue that flows so well it feels like you’re watching real people discuss things in front of your eyes… I just really love that aspect of it, and I love placing writers in a kind of “hey look they’re a descriptions/feelings/dialogue kind of person” box so to speak. It’s such a pleasure reading it when it’s written so individually
Keith had never really considered himself to be the type of person to find someone immediately attractive. He didn’t find people attractive in general, just annoying. It was probably why his last few relationships had failed. To be fair, talking about golf tactics while you’re in your early twenties doesn’t exactly scream late night parties and fun dates. Even if the guy was incredibly sweet and a pretty good lay.
Regardless, Keith didn’t exactly believe in that whole love at first sight propaganda. His brother did; it was how he had found his girlfriend of three years. He told the story with doe eyes and a goopy smile that made Keith want to pull his insides out just to have an excuse to save himself from the story again. No, love at first sight was not a thing.
“Hey, buddy, what can I get’cha?”
Until now.
Keith can only stare wide eyed at the glorious Greek God of a man, who was watching him expectantly with a smile that probably was the reason the sun rose every morning. He was taller than Keith by just a bit, his muscular arms peeking out from his black uniform. There was the trace of a tattoo peeking out at his collarbone - not that Keith was looking, God - and another on his wrist.
His blue eyes sparkle with amusement at Keith’s apparent predicament. He leans on the counter, his muscles flexing - somebody in here had to know CPR, Keith hoped, because he was going to need it in a few minutes.
“You know what you want?” He asks, in a voice that lilts with the barest trace of an accent. Keith guesses it’s of Spanish or Latin descent. He doesn’t care, though, because he just wanted this guy to keep talking to him.
“I-I,” Keith splutters, choking on his tongue. “Yes. Yeah, I, uh.” He whips out his phone. Pidge was going to kill him if he got her order wrong for the third time in a row, which was why he’d had her text it to him.
“Um, so, uh… Bear with me here,” He chuckles nervously, scrolling up to the message. “My friend wants a triple venti half-sweet caramel macchiato, but like… not hot.”
The barista blinks, leaning back and running a hand through his hair before looking at the register and starting to punch it in. “Alright… You said venti, right?”
He glances up. Keith swallows his heart and nods.
“And what can I get you?” His fingers are ready for the next ridiculous order, but Keith was unfortunately one to disappoint.
“Um, just a black coffee. One cream, one sugar. Oh, and a coffee cake.” Pidge would kill him if he forgot her coffee cake.
He smiles faintly, tugging Keith’s heartstrings along with it. “Wow. Adventurous, aren’t we?” He takes a break, leaning over the register again. “Okay. Let’s do this. One triple venti half-sweet caramel macchiato, one coffee cake and one black coffee, one cream and one sugar.”
Keith wanted him to talk forever. That voice was doing things to him that should be illegal at this time of day, in this weather. It was freezing outside, he was supposed to be freezing his ass off, not melting from the inside out.
“Yeah. Sounds about right.” He says, pulling his wallet from his back pocket and flipping it open.
“You want your coffee cake hot?” The magnificent angel asks in his glorious voice. Keith was very glad he was a flaming homosexual.
“Um,” He glances over at the door, which had frosted over from the heat that contrasted from the biting cold outside. “No, I think it might freeze if I do that. Pidge would kill me…”
“So I’m guessing you want your hot drink stopped up?” The barista - Keith drops his gaze down to read the Hi, My Name Is Lance! tag - laughs. He could feel his heart fluttering like a bird in his chest. Lance was such a… perfect name. He had never loved a name more in his life.
“Yes, please,” He says helplessly, smiling. “I don’t feel like being castrated today.”
“That would be a shame,” Lance says almost suggestively with a playful wink. “Nineteen fifty-two is your total. Cash or card?”
Keith winces. Pidge owed him one for this. The things he put up with for a good grade in Calculus. He pulls out a twenty, handing it to Lance, and drops his change into the tip jar with an extra dollar.
“Hey, thanks,” The barista lights up. He picks up a couple cups, jotting stuff down on the back and pausing, flicking his electric blue gaze up. “Name?”
“Uh,” Keith was so good at English. “Keith.”
He would swear up and down that Lance smirked at him. It was either that or someone had shocked Keith’s spine to make him shiver. “Great. It should be ready in a few minutes.”
“Thanks, Lance.”
The look of surprised happiness on the barista’s face was enough to make his entire week.
***
“You are obsessed.” Pidge remarks dryly, sipping her coffee and looking up at him with amused hazel eyes.
“No!” Keith defends hotly, sipping a pumpkin spice latte that Lance had mentioned were his favorite one afternoon. Not that he cared. Not that he went there every morning looking for the barista with the stunning smile and lilting voice.
“Keith, you hate pumpkin.”
“It’s not so bad…” He mumbles, glancing down at his Calculus textbook, flipping it open. Never had he wanted to actually do his homework so badly.
“Keith,” His best friend reaches over, pulling the bag that held the recommended-by-Lance treat over to herself. She looks down, then back up at him. “You’re drinking pumpkin shit. You’re eating something that actually resembles food, and you literally go to this particular Starbucks every morning to see if you can catch the guy. What’s his name? Lance?”
He flushes hotly, yanking the bag away from her. “I just like that particular Starbucks!”
“Uh huh,” She pushes her glasses up the brim of her nose. “Whatever you say, Gaylord.”
Keith stews quietly for a moment, reading the pages in front of him without actually comprehending any of the symbols. His gaze catches on her cup. He scans the printed out sticker that read the abbreviated version of her drink.
An idea creeps into his head. Keith looks up at his friend a smile playing around the corners of his lips. Pidge looks up, midway through shoveling half her coffee cake in her face.
“What?” She swallows, scowling at her friend. “You’re looking at me funny.”
“I need a favor.”
***
“Hey, Keith!”
Keith can feel himself grow an inch taller at the sound of his name when he walks through the door. He stomps the snow from his boots, looking around the empty store and unwinding his windblown scarf from his neck.
“Hey, Lance.” He grins, looking over at the barista. Lance was leaning over the counter lazily, resting his chin on his arms. That tattoo on his collarbone was tucked away. Keith feels a twinge of remorse. What he would give to see the full picture.
“What can I get you today, Space Cadet?” He teases, straightening up. Keith had made the mistake of telling him he was going to school to become an Aerospace Engineer, so now every day he had a new nickname that was space related.
Keith grins. “I have a new order for you. You ready for this?”
Lance stands up straight, saluting to him with a dopey grin. “Aye, aye, captain!”
He pulls out his phone as he walks over to the counter, clearing his throat. “So Pidge wants a venti caramel macchiato, with skim milk instead of regular, extra shot, extra hot,” He snorts at the rhyme. Lance grins. “Oh, and extra whip.”
The barista punches this into the register, scoffing as he writes down the name and circles a few things on the cup before sticking the order sticker on the cup. “Oh, c’mon, supernova. That wasn’t even hard. I could write that in my sleep.”
“And a coffee cake,” Keith adds with a laugh, blushing at the nickname. That was his favorite so far. “But I think you already knew that.”
“So predictable,” Lance sighs mournfully, poking out his bottom lip in a pout. “Give me a real challenge!”
Keith pauses, opening up his texting app and scrolling to the specific text. He had been blessed with a best friend who used Google Search as both a tool and a weapon. He never wanted to be on her bad side.
“Are you sure? Last chance to back out.”
Lance grins, getting ready to type in everything. “Hit me.”
Keith takes a breath. “Double ristretto venti, half soy, nonfat, decaf, organic, chocolate brownie, iced, vanilla, double shot, gingerbread frap, extra hot, with foam whipped cream, upside down, double blended, with one sweet n low and one nutrasweet and ice.”
The whole store is silent. Even the music was holding its breath. Keith glances up from his phone, clicking it to sleep mode and looking up at the barista. Lance was staring at him with a stricken expression, as though Keith had reached out and smacked him.
“Damn, starshine!” He laughs, rubbing his neck. “I don’t even… I don’t even think that will taste good, buddy.”
Keith grins, pocketing his phone. “I know.”
“But…” Lance hesitates, his blue gaze flicking up to Keith’s, nervous and worried. “You… sure you want that?”
“Fuck no, I don’t want that!” Keith laughs, shaking his head.
“You ass!” Lance groans, rubbing his face. “You nearly made me die, I’m the only one on the floor right now and I don’t even… half of that sounds made up!”
“Yeah,” Keith agrees smugly. “Definitely.”
“You’re so mean.” Lance whines.
“Yeah.” He agrees with another laugh.
Lance studies him, the anxious relief fading from his eyes, replaced by something softer. Keith had to look away, his cheeks heating up. Why did this guy make him feel like goo?
“So what do you actually want?” The barista asks, his gaze surprisingly soft.
You, Keith thinks, but that wasn’t something you could just… say. He settles for another pumpkin spice latte and a bagel sandwich, paying and watching as Lance moves around to effortlessly craft the drinks.
When Keith is walking out, he glances down to see writing on the paper bag that his breakfast was in. He recognized the familiar scrawl, pausing on his route to look down.
You liar, the pretty scrawl reads. There’s a number, Lance’s name under it, with another message underneath it. Here’s what you really wanted.
three internet trends i will (regrettably) probably never grow out of:
• typing in a cresCENDO TO EXPRESS EXCITEMENT • …………..unnecessarily……. long……….. ellipsis’ • puttinfh a typo in eveyr other word to shwo u dont really give a fukc but u actually do
“You good?” Sevika asks, and Vi barks out a laugh.
“Oh yeah. Fucking peachy.” She says through grit teeth, then sucks in smoke harder than was necessary to avoid elaborating.
Sevika leans her shoulder against the wall beside Vi, looking down at her, expression unreadable. There was a bruise forming in the shape of Vi’s knuckles on her jaw. Lucky shot. The only real hit Vi had managed to get in.
“There’s some girls at Babette’s who can’t do penetration either,” Sevika offers, and Vi bristles.
***
Vi has some old wounds that never healed. Sevika likes to pick at them. They find a way to start healing them together.
***
I debated posting this here. Trigger warning for rape, panic attacks, ptsd, and violence.
This is a Moving Forward PSA for everyone using AO3. I am witnessing the results of a culture class and communication failure. Not a lack of communication, but a misunderstanding caused by changes in fandom culture.
Before fic tagging was common, fics weren’t tagged. You had a pairing, if applicable, an author’s note about genre or general content, and if they were feeling charitable, a vague content warning. There are even a few genres of fic where even vaguely tagging literally spoils the plot and impact (such as horror, psyche thriller, in which the likely content is implicit to the genre). As a result, there is a basic category tag that permits this, as a courtesy to “old-fashioned” writers.
“No Archive Warnings Apply” means the fic is PG13 at worst, probably fluff, totally safe.
“Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings” is the polar opposite. It’s a glaring Enter at Your Own Risk billboard. It means: a shitload of warnings apply but I ain’t telling because this story requires shock value. It’s very important to read the author’s notes for those fics because they might be using that older format from above.
But without the context of fandom culture that generated AO3, it’s understandably easy to conflate the two categories, given their similar wording.
For those of you who want to see me screw around and be gay, I got a Tik Tok. Thanks to my lovely girlfriend 😍 my username is renylovestigger. Come watch me not do my homework and not write things and pretend to know what I'm doing...
… plant catnip on my grave. I want to be visited by lots and lots of cats.
more on writing muslim characters from a hijabi muslim girl
- hijabis get really excited over pretty scarves - they also like to collect pins and brooches - we get asked a lot of questions and it can be annoying or it can be amusing, just depends on our mood and personality and how the question is phrased - common questions include: - “not even water?” (referring to fasting) - hijabis hear a lot of “do you sleep in that?” (we don’t) and “where is your hair?” (in a bun or a braid, usually) - “is it mooze-slim or mozzlem?” (the answer is neither, it’s muslim, with a soft s and accent on the first syllable) - “ee-slam or iz-lamb?” (it’s iss-laam, accent on the first syllable) - “hee-job?” (heh-jahb, accent on the second syllable)
- “kor-an?” (no. quran. say it like koor-annn, accent on the second syllable) - people tend to mess up our names really badly and you just get a sigh and a resigned nod or an awkward smile, maybe a nickname instead - long hair is easy to hide, short hair is harder to wrap up - hijab isn’t just covering hair, it’s also showing as little skin as possible with the exception of face, hands, and feet, and not wearing tight/sheer clothing - that applies to men too, people just don’t like to mention it ( i wonder why) - henna/mehendi isn’t just for special occasions, you’ll see people wearing it for fun - henna/mehendi isn’t just for muslims, either, it’s not a religious thing - henna/mehendi is not just for women, men also wear it, especially on their weddings - there are big mehendi parties in the couple of nights before eid where people (usually just women and kids) gather and do each other’s mehendi, usually just hands and feet - five daily prayers - most muslim kids can stutter through a couple verses of quran in the original arabic text by the age of seven or eight, it does not matter where they live or where they’re from or what language they speak natively - muslim families tend to have multiple copies of the quran - there are no “versions” of the quran, there has only ever been one. all muslims follow the exact same book - muslims have no concept of taking God’s name in vain, we call on God at every little inconvenience - don’t use islamic phrases if you don’t know what they mean or how to use them. we use them often, inside and outside of religious settings. in islam, it is encouraged to mention God often and we say these things very casually, but we take them very seriously - Allahu Akbar means “God is Greatest” (often said when something shocks or surprises us, or if we’re scared or daunted, or when something amazing happens, whether it be good or bad; it’s like saying “oh my god”) - Subhan Allah means “Glory be to God” (i say subhan Allah at the sky, at babies, at trees, whatever strikes me as pleasant, especially if it’s in nature) - Bismillah means “in the name of God” and it’s just something you say before you start something like eating or doing your homework - In Shaa Allah means “if God wills” (example: you’ll be famous, in shaa Allah) (it’s a reminder that the future is in God’s hands, so be humble and be hopeful)
- Astaghfirullah means “i seek forgiveness from Allah” and it’s like “god forgive me” - Alhamdulillah means “all thanks and praise belong to God” and it’s just a little bit more serious than saying “thank god” (example: i passed my exams, alhamdulillah; i made it home okay, alhamdulillah) - when i say we use them casually, i really mean it - teacher forgot to assign homework? Alhamdulillah - our version of “amen” is “ameen” - muslims greet each other with “assalamu alaikum” which just means “peace be on you” and it’s like saying hi - the proper response is “walaikum assalam” which means “and on you be peace” and it’s like saying “you too”
Klancetober Day Two: Autumn Leaves
So... I did fall behind. Midterms are coming up and I forgot about time management!
*
Keith steps back to survey his work, wiping a sleeved arm over his face to rid it of the sweat. He leans on his rake, smiling faintly at the massive pile of leaves he had managed to gather. It had taken him a couple hours, but the leaves were gathered and he could put them in the compost pile Lance was lovingly tending to, along with their garden.
“Cannonball!” Comes a happy shriek, moments before the pile of leaves he’d so carefully constructed went up with a puff of wind and a body falling heavily into the middle.
Keith stares at the leaves in disbelief, gaping. “Lance!” He whines, dropping the rake.
The perpetrator looks up at him with sparkling blue eyes, crumpled bits of leaves stuck to his hair and clothes, his grin mischievous and wide. “Oops,” he says.
“You- You did that on purpose!” Keith whines, stomping over and putting his hands on his hips to glower down at the Cuban.
“Did I?” He gasps, feigning surprise. “Oh, no, whatever will you do…”
“Now I have to start all over again!”
“Or…” Lance wiggles his eyebrows, reaching up and yanking on his hand, pulling him down. Keith falls with a yelp, landing on his boyfriend’s chest.
“You could stay here,” Lance finishes, pressing a sloppy kiss to his cheek and picking a leaf from his hair.
“But I just finished and now we’re ruining them…” He bemoans, closing his eyes.
“Yeah, yeah.” Lance grins, rolling over and pinning him in the leaves. Keith looked good like this; his ebony hair spilling over the red and gold and brown leaves, skin flushed from the cold, his lips holding the pout that his eyes matched with fond annoyance. “You really need to relax, babe.”
“But my leaves…”
“...Will be here all month.” He laughs, brushing his hair from his face and leaning down to give him a kiss. “Don’t worry,” he coos, “I’ll make it up to you later.”
Keith accepts the kiss with a huff, settling into his ruined pile of leaves to accept the affection given to him. “You better.” He mumbles, reaching up to brush bits of fallen leaves from Lance’s hair.
Lance ends up getting his way, and the two roll around the leaves, the wind picking them up and scattering them around the yard once more. Keith had the feeling his boyfriend was going to make a habit of this each time he pulled out the rake.
Oh well, he decides, it was a good way to lure Lance outside for some fresh air. If the fallen leaves were what it took, then he was happy for the chore.
BLACK LIVES MATTER. FREE PALESTINE. reny | 24 | sometimes a writer | they/she | brown eyed sevika supremacy
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