#feel free to reblog and add as much or as little detail as you’d like

[leonstamatis]

hey blaseball friends. if you’ve thought about it at all. now that the game is over, what’s happened to your guy(s). where are they now.

#feel free to reblog and add as much or as little detail as you’d like #I’m just curious how other folks interpret the end #blaseball

[stvckwithaphobia]

— ROOMMATE. [han jisung] 🗝

content/warning. han jisung x female reader — roommates — perv jisung — rough sex — unprotected penetrative sex (don’t do this) — smut/pwp — dom/sub dynamics — kinda innocence kink and hints of free use — slight dumbification — reader gets called doll, good girl, slut and whore

word count. 0.7k

note. so deeply sorry I was so inactive again… but thank you for all the support nonetheless. my life has been a little rough lately, but I hope this time I will be back for real ❣️

important. minors do not interact, this is 18+ content — none of the characters are supposed to imitate real people, any coincidences with names and places are just for the sake of fiction — if you enjoy this content pls consider leaving a comment or reblogging this!

—

He feels horrible. Captured inside a moral dilemma all over again.

That’s what it’s been like these past weeks—due to your insomnia, your roommate allows you to sleep in his bed with him. Jisung knows it’s easier for you this way, having someone to protect you from nightmares.

The act of yours is so incredibly innocent—completely opposite to Jisung’s thoughts running on his mind.

But, luckily, tonight everything changes when he hears you moan his name so softly in your sleep. Well. Jisung thinks you are asleep but in reality you are just trying to get a reaction out of him.

And, oh god, once he realises you have been playing with him, it’s as if a switch flips inside him—bringing out his most evil desires.

You don’t know how many hours it’s been. Your brain is foggy from the sensation of your roommate’s thick cock pounding into your wetness. He’s filling you so deliciously, the bulge pretty much visible in the position he has captured you.

His hand is seizing around your throat. He adds just enough pressure as you enjoy while you are busy trying to not completely lose your mind yet. But with the way he is staring at you—dark gaze of those deep brown eyes fixated on your fucked out face and that mischevious smirk provoking you even more—it’s nearly impossible to stay sane for any longer.

“I knew it,” he lets out between thrusts. “You pretend to be all innocent, baby, just for me to snap and take you as I please, hm?”

Oh, how much you do. You’d allow him anything at this point—toss you around with his strong arms, manhandle you in a position he knows is best for you. After all, Jisung hasn’t been super aware of the tiny details about your sexual interests for nothing. That pervy bastard made sure to keep track of all your likings.

Checking your search history on adult content, reading some chapters of those steamy romance books on your shelf and sometimes hearing your soft voice spilling from your lips when you brought some male guest over—just for him to listen to it and cum in his own fist.

But now he’s finally got you under his spell. Absolutely helpless underneath him—as you allow him to rail you into oblivion. Your thighs or more so your whole body will for sure be sore tomorrow.

“Tell me, how does it feel having your tight cunt stuffed with my cock, my pretty little slut?”

“S-so g-good, Sungi… so g-good,” you giggle. By now you are more than far gone, allowing your roommate to take care of your body in the most sensual way possible.

You’ve lost count how many times he has brought you to that sweet relief tonight. Jisung seems to grow liking in overstimulating you, slowly manipulating your brain to only reach your nth orgasm with his permission. Of course, by demanding you to always either keep your eyes on his or call out his name or both.

But it feels so good, so overwhelming—the way your own juices are spilling out of you, right before he rams his length into your aching hole again. Deeper. Faster. 

“I knew it all along, doll. You’re just a needy whore for my cock, patiently waiting for me to fuck you as I like, hm?”

You let out a muffled babble then, followed by a high pitched moan and something Jisung makes out to be a combination of ‘more’, ‘harder’ and some syllables that sound like his name.

“Please– need all of your–“

He knows exactly what you need. And Jisung is willing to give you all of it—but for now he is not done with teasing you yet. Not after all the teasing you have been putting him in throughout this night and even before.

The little flirtatious jokes you’ve been making, the wandering around in your tightest shorts in the apartment in order to get a reaction out of him—the both of you are more similar than expected, the potential of being a little pervy for each other there from the beginning.

“Yeah, keep begging like this for me, doll, and maybe I’ll fill you with my cum. But prove to me first that you’re a good girl. You get that?”

You are definitely in for a long night and desperately wish this isn’t a one time thing—Jisung is undoubtedly ruining you for anyone else…

—

© stvckwithaphobia 2022 — don’t copy, translate or edit my work

#stray kids smut #skz smut #han jisung smut #stray kids hard thoughts #skz hard thoughts #han jisung hard thoughts #skz imagines #stray kids imagines #han jisung imagines #skz hard hours #stray kids hard hours #han jisung hard hours #skz x reader #stray kids x reader

[whumptober]

Mini FAQ

See the full FAQ for more information

How do I participate? Create something during the month of October inspired by the prompts. You can do this any way you want; you don’t need to strictly interpret the prompt literally. See the FAQs for more information on how to follow prompts. You can do as much or as little as you want during the event to be counted as a participant.

What type of media can be counted as participating? Anything you want. This is a MIXED MEDIA event! You can write fic, post meta, doodle or paint, create a gif set or photo edit, link a song, or get crafty with video – anything goes. 

Can I cross-post with other events? Combine with any event as you like! As long as the other event allows it, of course.

Can I use multiple fandoms or no fandom? Yes, you can create for any or multiple fandoms, and also OCs. You don’t have to stick with one fandom or one type of creative work for the whole month.

Do I need to post on Tumblr or AO3? You can post wherever you want. You don’t even need to post at all if you don’t want to.

How do I have my works reblogged/added to the collection? Posts will be reblogged to @whumptober-archive. If you want the official archive blog to reblog you, post on Tumblr and tag correctly (see this FAQ link for more info on tagging). Please note only a handful of posts will be reblogged each day. If you’d like to add to the AO3 collection, you can find it here. All posting is totally optional, and we request that you tag content respectfully.

Do you allow NSFW? Yes, but as always, please be sure you tag accordingly so that everyone participating can stay safe. See the full FAQ for more details.

Can I post early/late? Yes, but we will only reblog the day’s prompt on the day. You can continue to use the prompt list and post to the AO3 collection after the event has ended.

How do I prove I’m a completionist? You don’t have to; we trust your word. We’ll be collecting responses via a form at the end of the event so we can post a shout-out to all the completionists.

What do I get for completing the event? Satisfaction! We hope you had fun and feel proud of what you’ve accomplished! We’ll have some shiny badges you can take to display if you’d like to. These will be posted at the end of the event.

Please review the full FAQ and feel free to send us an ask if there's anything we didn't cover or you want clarified!

#whumptober #whumptober 2023 #faq

[impulsivefanwriter]

Ninjago Focus Season Shuffle Challenge!

Ayo fellow ninjago fans, I’ve got an AU challenge for you! Shuffle the focus ninja of any season (this is specifically for the WildBrain seasons, aka Season 11 onwards, but feel free to do this with prior seasons too if you feel inspired!) and see what happens. 

The WildBrain specific challenge is as follows: 

Original Focus Order:

Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu (Fire Chapter) = Kai

Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu (Ice Chapter) = Zane

Prime Empire = Jay

Master of The Mountain = Cole

The Island / Seabound = Nya

Crystalized = Lloyd

Take Seasons 11-15/16 (Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu Part 1 & 2, Prime Empire, Master of the Mountain, The Island/Seabound, and Crystalized) and change the focus ninja (you can also edit the season as you like to match, but try to keep some of the core elements/story beats). You can reply as a reblog (and if you rather post it yourself, please tag me! I’d love to see other ideas!) and include was much or little detail as you’d like. 

If you want, you can also change the season order a bit (and write how they affect each other), or keep it in the original order!

Have fun with it! And remember to add Crystalized spoiler tags if you add that season, which you don’t have to if you haven’t seen it yet!

#ninjago #lego ninjago #lego ninjago au #ninjago au #au challenge #ninjago challenge #ninjago au challenge #Lego Ninjago au challenge #Lego Ninjago challenge #Focus Season Shuffle Challenge

[here2bbtstrash]

✨ announcement: the trash library is OPEN! ✨

hi babes!!! exciting news for you today - we are TRYING A THING!!!

for a little context, this idea came about because i’ve deeply enjoyed getting introduced to some amazing new authors since i’ve started up my fic rec fridays this year! in addition, i get so very excited whenever someone shares something they wrote with me, whether it’s via a tag or a DM. i know firsthand how much vulnerability it takes to share something you've written, so it means the world, genuinely!!! i love getting to read and share y'all's works in this little community 🥺

but! as a person with wicked adhd, i have a hard time keeping up with sent fics when they’re all over the place- buried in my notes, forgotten about in my likes, conversed over in DMs. and then i never read them and feel bad, lol. so i thought we could try a new system!!

all this is to say: i now officially have a tracked tag!! that's right, we are building ourselves a #trashlibrary y’all!! ~party party yeah~ 🥳

join me under the cut for allllll the fun details!! 📚

what is a tracked tag? 📖 it’s just a regular ol' hashtag that you can add to a post (the same way you’d tag #bts fanfic or #jungkook x reader or anything else!) - but this is one i am personally following! that means i'll see everything in the tag and it'll make it much easier for me to keep track of it all, so that i can read all your delicious writing!

so how does this work? 📖 as far as i understand this magical mystical website, you’ll have to stick the #trashlibrary tag on any new post in order for it to show up in the tag. new posts only, unfortunately; editing or reblogging an old post and adding the tag on it won’t work. BUT! if you’ve got a brand new fic to post and you’d like for me to check it out, you can slap that baby at the end of your tags and officially add it to the trash library!!! it will need to be within the first 20 tags in order to actually show up in tumblr search, so pls keep that in mind! 🧐

what should go in the #trashlibrary tag? 📖 i’d like to keep it to written fanfiction specifically about bts, but other than those basic parameters, the world is your oyster! to make things easy, here’s a shortlist of stuff i enjoy in fics - if you write anything featuring ANY of the following, i would LOVE to see it show up in the trash library (but feel free to stick other stuff in there too!):

any member x reader (does my jihope preference need to be explicitly stated at this point 🤣), any combinations of member x member, ANYTHING with queer characters/themes or a diverse reader, POLYAMORY, group sex, HEALTHY kink (well-communicated & safe), unlikeable/flawed/complex characters, role play 🤤, ORAL!!!!!, dom/sub dynamics (preferably soft 🥺), overstim, SEX TOYS, ……cheating 🙈, drug use, sex work, anal play/pegging, experimental sex (trying something for the first time), unlearning shame around the human body and pleasure, forced proximity, hatefucking 😬, darker/more mature themes, semi-public sex, characters that are both horny for and enamored with one another lmao

i do also enjoy myself some tooth-rotting fluff or heartbreaking angst, i’m just less specific about my preferences there 😂 tagged works can be as short as a drabble or as long as you like, and literally ANYONE can use this tag - doesn't matter if it's your first fic or your hundredth, doesn't matter if we're besties or if we've never even so much as talked thru reblogs lmao. i’m up for it all!

will you read and review everything in the tag? 📖 i want to make sure this is explicitly clear from the jump. using this tag is the best way to ensure that i read and possibly review your work, but it is not a guarantee or promise that i will do either. not every fic is for me (WHICH IS FINE AND GOOD ACTUALLY, otherwise the world would be full of nothing but yucky porn 😂) and in addition: i’m just one person, with a whole-ass life, you know?

i will do my absolute best to keep up with this tag, and i'm very excited about it! but i kind of have no idea how much use it will see, and i may very well not be able to get to it all. what i can tell you is that i am much much much more likely to see your stuff if it’s in this tag, vs. lost in some other place that i have already forgotten about because i have 3 brain cells and 0 object permanence lmao.

by using this tag, you are telling me that you have read and understood this disclaimer, and that you can handle your emotions like a grown adult if i miss your fic, or even if it just takes me a while to get to it 💜

okay that's it! 🥺 i hope y'all are pumped - i know i'm excited to see what kind of goodies our library fills up with!!! see you in the stacks 😉

#trashlibrary #mposting #it's a brave new world out here #attempting to make the most of this barely functional website lmaooooo

[gummiix]

Intro :] (updated around every month ^^)

Interests:

I am largely fixated on Sonic the Hedgehog, so that’s what you’ll see most on my main blog (this one).

My other interests here include: Splatoon, everything Spider-Man and Spider-Verse, Kirby, My Little Pony (Gen 4), Super Mario, the Legend of Zelda, Pokémon (mostly just team rocket), various other random console games, and Pikmin.

All of these fandoms can be found in my featured tags, as well as other types of tags. (<- these are primarily for me, so some don’t make a lotta sense on the outside lol.)

I’ve also got separate side blogs for random interests that breached containment, like (in order of oldest to newest):

✩ stimming gifs, sounds/music, stim boards, web resources, etc -> @stimmii

✩ rottmnt -> @iheartrise

✩ nimona (the movie) -> @nimonablogheckyeah

✩ the amazing digital circus -> @iheartdigitalcircuses

✩ helluva boss -> @ihearthelluva

Stuff to note (BYF section):

~I curse. I also reblog some nsfw jokes on my main, but never something actually sexual at heart. (For example, smthin kinda like deez nuts jokes but more detailed. Like uhhh. She scott on my pilgrim till I take off.) I’ve tagged these as “#suggestive text” in the past, but I started tagging them as “#suggestive joke” a while ago.

~Mass likes/reblogs don’t bother me, don’t worry :]

~Uh. I may unintentionally spam-like/reblog other blogs though, if I happen to really enjoy your posts. I don’t mean to bother anyone, randomly I just go through a spiral of stuff I really like and feel the need to catalogue it somehow (or else I might forget lol)

~On my main I reblog things relating to politics/light discourse, usually just some civil rights stuff. I don’t tag these categorically.

~I have adhd and autism, and reblog about struggles sometimes tagged with “#nd things”. Also,

~I use tone indicators for anything that I think might be confusing, but always spelt out. For example, “/sarcastic” or “/light-hearted.”

~I am genderqueer and use they/she/he, in order of preference. (When I say “alternation preferred”, I mean I would greatly appreciate if you alternate between multiple of these pronouns for me rather than just choose one set forever.)

~Unimportant to blog, but I wanna add as a little hiya to the queer community that I am also demi-pansexual. (demi as in demiromantic + demisexual.)

~I blog a lot of sonadow here, so just to organize the duo in my blog I may tag sonic and shadow’s general interactions as the ship as well, even if the post wasn’t necessarily meant to be. Please send an ask / message me if this makes you uncomfortable.

~My memory is faulty, meaning I may reblog the same thing multiple times without meaning to, or forget to respond to a message/ask. (more on that below)

Moot-to-Moot Communication:

~If we’re mutuals, feel free to message me for any random reason!!

~I might take a while to respond, but I promise no matter what I will see your message and be thinking about it. The Dysfunction does do the hit (and also the anxiety and memory . lots of that too)

Drawn demonstration by user cuptoast on twitter dot com:

~Please, please just message me a lil reminder if I don’t get back to you after a day!! I prolly forgor 💀. Just a little “yo” or whatever you want is great, it helps a lot.

~However, I usually start conversations with an ask. (It’s a little silly, but it’s easier for me to keep track of and less intimidating that way.) If you’d prefer, you can just respond to it in messages.

~I…… may or may not be following over 4000 blogs (I very much am.) This means I never really see moots on the dashboard, which means I don’t really interact except for once in a while when I might FLOOD your posts with likes + reblogs ,:]

~In any messages whatsoever, if subtext is used then I would very much appreciate spelt-out tone indicators (or any other form of clarification 👍. I may casually ask for the tone if I’m confused)

~Just let me know if you want me to tag something for filtering out, like spoilers but also literally anything else.

Do not interact section:

In general, I block who I don’t want to interact with; but with the current situations, I want to clarify my stances if it makes anyone more comfortable to know… or uncomfortable, so they can know and do what they will.

~I stand completely with Palestine and Palestinians, against genocide, displacement, the Israeli military or government, and for a ceasefire. I reblog about Palestine news and history frequently. I also believe that Jews, as well as all average civilians everywhere, deserve to live and be happy- all including with places of worship. These are not contradictory statements.

~I am against proshipping, meaning that I am heavily against the fictional fetishization of children, (including minor/adult ships,) rape, or incest.

~I also did not realize that TERFs were so common here!! Unfortunate! I am also obviously against terfs.

WHEW!! THE END!!!! YOU MADE IT THRU!!! Thanks for reading :]. pow bam bang you get hearts <33💞💘💕

#gummii.txt #includes: #interests #sideblogs #before you follow #moot communication #and a DNI #long post #edit: ARGH I can’t get the blinkies to distribute correctly and I have to get my laptop to fix it #there were 6 but I messed with em and now I can only have 2 😔

[semifilms]

trying to impress you, how i think haikyuu boys would try to impress you. gn reader, reblogs appreciated! not proofread.

characters, tadashi yamaguchi, shoyo hinata, shinsuke kita, timeskip!koshi sugawara, timeskip!kiyoomi sakusa

yamaguchi has zero experience flirting, he’s never even asked for or gotten advice. i think he’d probably overhear you talking about having an interest in something and one day he brings it up in a conversation with you. so the. you’re like, “oh my god you like (interest) too?” and he tries to share facts about it he found the night before in a deep google dive. some things you knew others you didn’t. his plan worked though—you defined were impressed!

i think hinata tries to impress you by baking you a pastry you like. most likely got the idea from a rom-com that he definitely wasn’t watching by his own free will…it was for natsu’s enjoyment…yeah…but seriously he watched videos and looked up “best (pastry) recipes” just for you and tried to perfect them. but he more than likely messed up a step so when he gave them to you they were too salty or flat. you lied to him though and told him they tasted great. that made his heart flutter which made you happy.

now i was thinking “hmm how would kita try to impress the person he likes?” then it hit me. i feel like he wouldn’t know he’s trying to impress you..yk? like say he’s at practice and you’re there watching he tries way harder. or you’re in class and the teacher calls in him to answer a question, he knows you’re paying attentions so he adds in extra details that the teacher definitely did not ask for. someone’s bound to bring it up to him too. “kita-san why are you always trying to impress y/n?” aran had asked his best friend during practice. he was so clueless about it too. “i don’t know what you’re talking about?”

so because i’m in love with and completely obsessed with sugawara’s timeskip & him being an elementary teacher so, i was thinking maybe he’d try to use his teaching to impress you. and here’s what i mean; you’re his teaching assistant, still in college, your learning from him basically. it didn’t take him long to think you were cute or enjoy your company when you came to class to teach a lesson or take notes on what he did. so on the days you weren’t in class he’d bribe his students to say things like “you’re such a cool teacher!” and basically put in a good word for him so you’d be amazed. you did live to see how his students would praise him until one day one little girl—mirai came up to you when he was out of class and basically told you she thinks he has a crush on you. needless to say you were flattered and you asked him about it. i wonder what happens next…

so you’re msby’s need manager and you’re basically at practice before everyone else trying to prepare yourself a speech and a way to introduce yourself. luckily enough for you a certain team member also likes to get to practice earlier than everyone else. so when you se the curly haired male enter the gym you’re already freaking out as he get closer to you. “i assume you’re our new manager?” he’d asked as he sat his bag down on the bench next to you. “uh yeah” you replied almost immediately. now from that first time meeting you definitely wouldn’t have assumed much except the fact that sakusa was clearly not one for being social. that was up until you had continued to talk with him before the others had gotten there. and by the time practice actually started you were excited to see how everyone, especially sakusa played in action. unbeknownst to you after your conversation with the black haired male he practically had a tight throat and butterflies in his stomach. it was your first time seeing any of them play. he had to make a good impression. needless to say he made a lot of spikes nobody returned leaving some members confused because he usually didn’t take practice that seriously.

©semifilms do not copyright or plagiarize my work.

#sakusa x reader #hinata x reader #msby #yamaguchi x reader #sugawara x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu!! #haikyuu x reader #hq #kita x reader #inarizaki #karasuno #itatchiyama

[azalea-in-wonderland]

In the Heights Daniela/Carla “little details” Obsession Masterpost

I have become completely obsessed with the Daniela/Carla RS from In the Heights, and since they don’t really have all that much screen time, I’ve been poring over every single frame for all the little details that can be gleaned about them, all the things that are easy to miss on a casual viewing. I thought I would post this list of canon stuff I've noted (mixed with a lot of my own observations/opinions/speculation/headcanon) for other fans, and it might be handy for other fic writers too. And please feel free to reblog or reply and add details that I missed, or just your own headcanons!

In the bedroom scene from the opening number montage, Carla’s pajama t-shirt has a rainbow pattern on it. Daniela’s has palm trees. Carla has a reading light on her side of the bed, and flowers on the nightstand. Or that might be a desk right next to the bed. It looks like their bed is only a full size, not even a queen size, which means they don’t have the space or money for anything bigger but also means they’re fine with sleeping *really* close together, which is lovely. And I love that the actresses genuinely weren’t wearing makeup, looks much more authentic. And weirdly, they both look younger without it.

I think we can assume that Carla is a morning person and Daniela is definitely not. Carla also seems to have assumed the wifey role of turning the alarm off, probably getting up first to get the coffee started and letting Dani sleep a bit longer, then trying to get her out of bed in a good mood to start the day. (And given how amazing they both look at work, you know it's gotta take them a long time to get ready in the morning.)

When they come into the bodega, Carla holds the door open for Daniela. While Cuca gets their 3 coffees, Dani gets a box of chocolate doughnuts and Carla gets like 4 candy bars, a few of them might be granola bars? I really love that they just eat junk food for breakfast like normal working class people. (Don't be mad, I say this as a lifelong poor person, these are mi gente.) Carla hurries past Dani toward the door so she can open it for her again. Her little "bye!" is so cute, right?

Carla really likes to stick her tongue out at random moments, huh? I approve. I wholeheartedly approve. I counted at least 5 appearances, there might have been more. Somebody please gif all the tongue cameos.

If Daniela's salon has been open for decades, she must have started her business when she was pretty young. Driven with a vision, so sexy.

When Carla is talking about the guy bouncing between two girls houses and the customer says "we need to have a better standard" and Carla goes "that's what I'm saying!" all I could think was that's such a typical lesbian superiority moment, lol. You know she was thinking "If you really had a higher standard you'd find yourself a woman like Dani. But you can't have Dani because she's taken."

It’s kinda hard to tell because she doesn’t even have that many lines of dialogue, but I think Stephanie is actually doing a Queens accent for Carla -- the Latin version, not the Jewish or Italian version. ;) It’s a nice little touch.

And related to that, I love love love the way she made the character her own and instead of playing Carla as just the sweet and ditzy salon girl, she’s also kind of a spoiled brat and drama queen, like any good Queens princess should be. Those little moments where she throws a tantrum after not winning the lottery and after losing at Bingo, her whining and moaning about the car being hot, sulking when Dani dances with that guy, and dramatizing the blackout to whoever she’s talking (singing) to on the phone, so funny and cute. You just know Daniela finds it adorable and totally indulges and spoils her.

At the sink where she's working there are 2 pics of dogs stuck in the mirror. Are those her dogs or just random dogs?

Carla's automatic clapbacks and aggressive support of Daniela's speech about how the customers can suck it up and take the train. She goes from that hilarious scoff to the offended "uhscuse me?" to standing right next to Dani in solidarity to just looking turned on as fuck by watching her girl take the piss out of everyone. If Nina hadn't shown up I think she would have dragged her to the back for a quickie. 

Even though it was funny in the stage version too, Carla’s “I don’t think I know what you mean” and “As long as he keeps it clean” lines are just soooo much funnier with the character being gay. Especially since by the second one, Stephanie is playing it like she’s caught on to exactly what they’re talking about, but she wishes she hadn’t. (Edit: the song script notes in the ITH book confirm Carla does know what they’re talking about. “Carla gets it.”)

And if we want to be really really dirty-minded about this (and of course we do) you can add that with sex toys like strap-ons it’s very important to wash it after each use and “keep it clean,” so maybe Carla was just applying her sensible lesbian logic to Benny’s limo.

And apparently the actress did confirm on social media that Carla is indeed capital G gay, not bi or anything else. I’ll take her word for it. 

When the salon ladies are pushing Nina’s rolling chair across the floor, instead of pushing the chair Daniela has her hand on Carla’s lower back. Any excuse!

Let’s just assume that since Nina went back to Stanford, Dani and Carla really will be getting front row seats to her graduation. And they would absolutely be the people to ignore the “don’t cheer until the end of the ceremony” rules. Nina will be so embarrassed, but also love them so much.

At the end of Vanessa’s song when she turns the woman into a cockatoo, Dani and Carla are hanging out in the background having a quiet conversation about something. In my mind it’s not work related, just a little moment to check in with each other.

And I’m so sad they cut out the part from the stage show where Daniela gets impatient waiting for her soda and bellows at the bodega, “VANESSAAAAA!! I’m thirsty, coño!” It would have been even funnier with the realistic set to see her hollering from across the street.

Seeing this crowded, bustling salon I can’t help thinking that the pandemic would have been really brutal on the two of them. Salons were some of the earliest businesses to close and the last to reopen, and you can tell from the run-down and outdated look of the place that they’re just barely getting by at the best of times and probably don’t have a lot of savings. And after just moving to the Concourse and probably taking a dip in customers while they get the place established, it couldn’t have come at a worse time. I wonder how they made it through. Someone should fic that.  (This is getting long and I’m not even halfway through, so I'll do the read-more break.) 

Just casually hanging out resting with her head in her wife’s lap at the pool, sighhh. So cute. Not sure why Cuca is also leaning on Dani, but I like to think she’s like their adopted little sister. She’s not altogether necessary in this movie, but I’m guessing it was one of those “rule of 3″ things, where in a visual sense it just looked better to have 3 women than 2. Like the 3 Schuyler sisters, the Unholy Trinity from Glee, etc. It fills out the musical numbers. And I’ve loved Dascha Polanco since the first ep of OITNB, so I can’t be mad.

Notice that the towels they’re laying out on are kind of old and faded, that’s a nice little touch of class authenticity.

It’s funny how a line like “if it’s just between you and me?” was originally written for platonic best friends and yet can be transformed into one of the sexiest moments in the movie just by the flirty way they use their body language. You just know there are many many things that are only between the two of them.

The fact that Daniela’s wildest dreams for riches involve nothing more exotic or extravagant than Atlantic City and a rum cocktail makes her such a precious lil bean.

When they’re checking their tickets and Dani is pulling them out of her top, Carla says “let me have one” and then just reaches down into Dani’s shirt to look for one herself. Nbd when it’s your wife. Mis tetas son tus tetas.

When they’re trying to unfold that last ticket (the one that makes Carla have a tantrum), Daniela has her arm literally through Carla’s arms and pressing up against her boob. She also keeps gripping Carla’s wrist like she really instinctively wants to hold her hand in that moment, but Carla needs her hand to open the ticket.

(Sidenote: My favorite favorite moment of the movie for total OTT extra-ness was the bit after 96000 when everyone was checking their lottery tickets FROM THE POOL. It was so completely ridiculous and I love it. You just know that during filming at some point, somebody had to have been like, “But would all these people really have their paper lottery tickets with them in the swimming pool??” And someone else was just like, [giant shrug] “I don’t know bro, it’s a musical.”)

At the dinner at abuela Claudia’s, they’re so cute running through the door all excited and goofy, calling greetings to everyone. Also, Carla is definitely one of those girls who gets louder and louder the more she drinks, isn’t she? Lol.

And the fact that they can’t wait more than a few seconds into that bolero to start dancing, even though nobody else is. So wrapped up in each other and so oblivious to everyone else in the room, like they all just disappear for a minute. Abuela Claudia gives them a fond look at one point, and since this is the last night of her life, it’s sweet she got to see some happy romance in her home. Vanessa looks jealous of what they have, Usnavi looks kind of awkward but affectionate, like seeing his sister in an intimate moment and not knowing where to look.

Carla just pounding the stereo to fix the skipping record, ha! Most people would nudge the needle, but you do you, baby girl. Daniela was proud of her, that’s all that matters.

Carla’s encouraging responses to Abuela’s dancing, “Woowww, sexy!”

When they eat, Carla fixes a plate for Daniela. Daniela is sitting plateless by Kevin listening to his story about his shoeshine business and Carla comes in carrying two plates full of food, and then next frame Daniela has one. That is such an intimate and quintessentially WIFEY thing to do, I can’t handle it. “No, just go sit down and relax, I’ll get it.” You have to know someone so well to be able to make them a plate.

In the ITH: Finding Home book it mentions that during the dinner scene, Daniela is very impressed and supportive of Kevin’s decision to sell the company. As a business owner herself, she gets it and understands why he had to do it. You can hear her saying “Felicidades” (congratulations) a few times.

All the little concerned glances and looks they keep giving each other during Nina’s story about being searched. It’s obvious they can communicate without words.

Carla looks really uncomfortable when Kevin starts yelling, she even seems to jump a little. Maybe she had an overbearing dad herself.

After the emotional father/daughter scene where Nina storms out, Carla is the first one to pick up her fork and start eating again. Like she’s thinking, okay, that was horrendous, but this food is getting cold and we’re still gonna eat it, right?

The part where they’re both singing in overlapping English and Spanish during Blackout is so compelling and musically addictive, I can’t figure out why it sounds so great but I’ve watched it a hundred times. That is peak Lin-Manuel Miranda with the way the rhythms intersect. If anyone can’t make out the words clearly, Carla is telling someone “Oh God, so much panic, the crowd was manic, with everybody screaming and shoving and shouting and slapping, and everyone was frantic, what’s happening with you?” Daniela says (in Spanish) “Look love, do me a favor, wake Abuela up and see if maybe she has candles. I was dancing when the blackout hit, there are people here but I don’t know who they are.” I’m assuming Dani was talking to Sonny or Usnavi, maybe Nina? And I’m gonna say Carla was talking to that guy who works at the salon, whose name we don’t know.

And by their words I guess it’s safe to say they had some scary moments when the power went out at whatever club they were at. I think they’d both be extremely protective of each other, but especially Dani (even though she’s so much smaller) bc she probably thinks that her most important job in life is keeping Carla safe.

Carla’s mischievous look at Dani when she was taking her bingo cards, like “yes I’m taking 5 and you can’t stop me.”

And then even with 5 she still loses and Daniela wins with just one, ha ha. I love the way she flings her cards away and yells “I quit!” And Daniela says “Bingo motherlovers!” instead of “motherfuckers” because she’s in the presence of an old lady, and she has class.

The fact that Usnavi instinctively yells for Daniela when he wants someone to call 911 shows how close they are and how important her role is in “the family.” You can hear Carla saying a shocked “What?” and “What’s happening?”

The hand hold and squeeze while they’re waiting to hear the news. And then Carla with her arm around Dani and hand on her shoulder when the stretcher comes in.

During Alabanza they’re holding hands when they’re walking down the street, and then it’s harder to see because of the angle and how dark it is, but when they stand up from the stoop with the raised torches, they have their arms around each other’s waists. And before they stand up, Daniela reaches out for Carla’s hand like she needs her support.

The fact that on Vanessa’s application under employer, she just listed “Daniela” with no last name. It’s like Daniela is so well known and such a pillar of the neighborhood that the Heights residents forget that not everyone in NYC knows who she is. They’re just like “you know, Daniela. FROM THE SALON.”

While Cuca is eye fucking the moving truck guy, Carla is so totally oblivious to his existence and so focused on following right behind Daniela that she literally runs into her when Dani suddenly turns around, ha. It’s cute how Dani kind of gently redirects her toward the car.

“Oh God. [sob] It’s hotter in here.” I LOVE HER SO MUCH

Probably of no significance, but in the dinner party scene Carla is wearing an army green jumpsuit with sky blue earrings, and in the Carnaval scene Dani is wearing an army green romper with a sky blue bracelet and blue striped shoes. It’s just an odd color combo that they apparently both like.

The RAINBOWS. Carla has rainbow stripes going all the way up the sides of her pants and shirt. She’s also wearing special Pride-themed Reeboks that have a tiny rainbow flag on them. Such a perfect touch for a gay character in a movie that’s both based in June and came out in June.

Her hoop earrings say “Baby Girl” and Stephanie liked a post on Instagram asking if they were a gift to Carla from Daniela. That’s canon and they can’t take it away from us.

And I’m assuming she’s feeling particularly in need of religious consolation following Abuela’s death, hence the double cross necklaces and the WWJD reference. Since Dani also crossed herself when they were scared for Abuela, safe to say they’re both at least somewhat religious.

Edit: A few sharp-eared people have noticed that when Carla is in the car, and it cuts back to Daniela standing on the sidewalk, you can hear Carla say, “Mi amor, qué haces?” (My love, what are you doing?) And so of course she jumps right back out to come and see what Dani is looking at, because that’s the kind of supportive wife she is. 

It’s so sad that nobody turned out to say goodbye to them. When Carla sees how sad Dani is and gives that lil offended “hm!” sniff down her nose at the sidewalk guys, aww. I’m glad Daniela hunted the neighbors down. I think that may actually be my favorite non-musical moment, when she bursts through that steel door and bellows BYE PEOPLE!! Backed up by Carla’s sarcastic “Bye!” Carla is so cute stomping around after her with her hands on her hips, so devoted and supportive of her woman.

“Mi amor, cálmate.” I think this is actually the only reference in the script to the fact that they’re a couple, isn’t it? I wish they hadn’t left the job *entirely* to the actors and director, it would have been nice to have at least a few little changes to the book. It’s telling that Carla used Spanish for that moment instead of English, it feels more intimate.

Is it just me or did Daniela give kind of a saucy spin to the “Do I look like Jesus to you?” line by the look she gave Carla, like “honestly, with the stuff I do to you in bed? are you kidding me?” She even glances at Carla’s boobs TWICE as she’s saying it, to make the point really clear.

What��s with the woman in the pink tank on the other side of the bench at the picnic table, she looks very flirty and winks at Daniela. I’m gonna hc that she’s an old flame who Carla doesn’t know about. (Edit: It was pointed out in the replies that the pink tank lady is also Jessica from the salon, and now I'm even more convinced she and Dani had a thing, based on the familiar/exasperated way they were talking to each other. "My lunch break's not long enough for that trip, Dani." "Jessica, swipe the fare card." I bet they were a cute couple but too much alike to work out long term.)

Carla’s megawatt smile and enthusiasm when Dani starts singing and dancing, she can barely contain how much she loves watching her.

Until the guy shows up to dance with Dani, then you immediately see her in the background jump from baffled to concerned to an alarmed “that’s enough of that” in just a few seconds. The way she just pushes him aside like, “No. Not for you.”

The look Carla is giving her once Dani starts dancing all up on her has to be the sexiest thing between them in the movie, right? Stephanie conveys “turned on” like no one’s business. It’s funny to watch the neighbors in the bg, watching them dance. They so jealous.

The little ass slap of encouragement! You just know that Daniela is the top in that relationship, at least most of the time. (But it’s always good to switch it up occasionally.) Dani is so cute cheering Carla on while she sings, she looks so proud and happy to show off her girl.

Based on Carla’s background, I’m assuming she’s supposed to represent 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants? Because if she’s that mixed, that means her grandparents probably were the ones to immigrate, one each from DR, Cuba, Chile, and PR. That would mean her parents could also be American born. And she has a New York accent, not a Spanish accent, so English is her first language, but she seems to speak Spanish with perfect fluency and can switch back and forth no problem. Clearly Daniela’s first language is Spanish and she grew up in Puerto Rico, but I’m sure is 100% English fluent by now. In some scenes she had a stronger accent than others -- it was stronger in the salon scene than at the dinner party. Maybe Daphne hadn’t quite decided how strong she wanted to play the accent.

Daniela not buying Vanessa’s “friend” remark, ha, I just love how she’s so obsessed with everyone else’s love lives. And Carla’s “now that you mention it” -- she hadn’t even noticed that they had a thing going on, I mean, of course she hadn’t, it involves boy stuff, lmao.

While they’re still teasing Vanessa Carla puts her hand on the back of Dani’s shoulder and kind of grips her shirt.

Carla standing there with her arm around Dani while Usnavi is making his announcement, they literally just can’t keep their hands off each other. And then gripping each other in shock at his news. And I like how he calls them out as a couple, “Daniela, Carla, pack up the carro, I’m bookin’ a flight for DR tomorrow.” I’m a little confused about what he means though, since they’ve already packed, and what does their packing have to do with him leaving? Does anyone get this? Is he giving them Abuela’s furniture or something? 

I love how Carla is not afraid to just freaking GRAB both Vanessa and Nina when she’s teasing them, ha ha, she’s so handsy. She leaves Dani to dance with Benny, she’s like “Imma go grope Nina.” And her goofy laugh when Sonny says Nina was his babysitter is a gem. One of those moments where I remind myself “this actress is also Rosa Diaz,” but my brain still refuses to process it. I know objectively that it’s true, but my mind just can not accept it, it does not compute.

When Carla jumps down from the picnic table to let Usnavi get up there, and then Dani jumps up there too, Carla is staring at her with this wide-eyed open mouthed shocked face, I don’t know if she’s worried about her or just hella impressed and proud..

The last 30 seconds of this number are such an emotional climax and the characters look so deliriously happy, I can’t even believe they brought that much energy and joy and stamina given how many times they probably had to shoot this. These actresses are both older than me, and I would kill to have that level of energy.

In Carnaval, the split second scene before Daniela stoops to hug Carla there’s a scene of Daniela interacting with Vanessa and Carla has her hands on Daniela’s back and they’re both on the table, must be an editing mistake.

The hug at the end. I mean, tbh, this is the moment when there really should have been a kiss, it would have been the PERFECT time for it. But I can’t be that disappointed bc the hug is so wildly affectionate and ecstatic, like they just can’t get close enough.

The scene with the car driving away and Carla calling “we love you!” from the window makes me sad, partly because it’s the last we’ll see of them other than the closing number cameo, but also just knowing that for the characters, once that car leaves the Heights it’s never going to be their neighborhood again. They’ll come back to visit all the time of course, but it won’t ever be the same.

And I’m going to assume for my hc that Cuca is going along to help them unpack and set up the salon, but I don’t think there’s any real pressing reason for her to have to move to the Bronx herself. She’s just an employee, so she can take the train to work. It’s not the same as being a business owner and having to go in early, stay late at night, drop in at random moments on the weekends -- Daniela and Carla really need to live right by the salon, otherwise they’d spend outrageous amounts of time coming and going from it. Since the Heights salon abuts what looks like an apartment building right behind and next to it, I’m assuming they probably live right over the salon and only have to come downstairs to go to work.

During the closing number, I like that Carla is the first one to start singing, and that she gets to duet with Dani for that one bar before Piragua Guy comes in. They sound so good together! Also, it’s interesting (considering this is like a dream sequence) that Carla is wearing the same outfit from the dinner party, whereas Dani is wearing the outfit she wore in the opening number. It’s a little sad that they don’t get to be there for the grand finale, like in the stage show where everyone comes back out for that last climactic “home!” But for the movie it just wouldn’t make sense for them to be there, and Benny and Nina aren’t there either. But I’m sure they all see each other often and little Iris spends plenty of time being babysat by Aunt Dani and Aunt Carla. I bet she has so much fun running around the salon, listening to all those details she’s not old enough to hear.

And now just a few random things that are my own personal headcanons, but I’m just adding them here bc I don’t want to make a separate post. Others will no doubt have wildly different takes on some of this.

I’m getting the sense that they’ve been a solid, established couple for a good long while, based on how comfortable and familiar with each other they seem, and how the entire community seems to think of them as a two-shot. I would be shocked if they had been together for anything less than 5 years, could be as many as 10, especially since they’re both over 40. They might be married, or just living together.

And on the age topic, I’m personally just going with the easiest solution of having the characters around the same age as the actresses in my fic writing, about 40 and 50 respectively. But I’ve seen a few people making Carla significantly younger. My instinct would be to raise her age a bit, not lower it, since that would bridge the age gap more. Not that it’s even that big, but women are more sensitive and insecure about that stuff than men are. But I’m in my 30s so it’s no issue for me to write older characters, I can get why it would be more challenging for a much younger writer to write characters that are significantly older than yourself.

Re: family, I haven’t worked out a firm hc on this topic yet. I think probably a lot of Daniela’s family is either still in PR or has passed away, so her friends and Heights community are her family. I’m leaning toward thinking that Carla grew up with 3 older sisters and very conservative, religious parents, but she was nevertheless spoiled and a Daddy’s girl because she was the baby. Until he eventually found out she was gay, that is, when her parents pretty much rejected her. They refuse to meet Daniela at all bc they think of her as the woman sending their daughter to hell. (She’s still close with 2 of her sisters, the other one is a nun.) Carla doesn’t allow it to make her bitter, she just keeps trying and visiting them alone and refuses to give up on winning them over. Daniela wishes she would stop bc she thinks it’s useless, but she also doesn’t want to see her get her heart broken.

Finally, on sexuality: My hc is that Daniela had some experience with men before she realized/accepted she was gay, probably in her late 20s. She knows how to interact with men, she knows how to read them, how to flirt and charm them to get what she wants, and she knows which ones can be pushed around and which ones it would be a mistake to try it with. Carla OTOH seems like a gold star lesbian, like she realized she was gay when she was 12 and never had even the slightest interest in boys or men at any point. She mostly just seems oblivious to their existence and avoids them whenever possible, which is tricky bc she’s drop dead gorgeous and probably attracts plenty of interest that she doesn’t want. She doesn’t know how to read men or how to sense a threat and she never knows when to shut up, and it’s only a problem when they’re out late at night and they run into the kind of macho guys who like to hassle and challenge them, as if the very existence of lesbians is some kind of insult to men. (Y’all know the type.) If Carla has been drinking she can get pretty confrontational and bring that Boricua candela attitude, bc she’s like an attack dog when it comes to Daniela and their relationship. And it scares the hell out of Dani, because her deepest fear, the one she has nightmares about, is that one night on some dark street Carla will start shit with the wrong guy and that Dani won’t be able to protect her from the consequences.

Damn, that kind of ended on a dark note, didn’t it? Sorry about that. And please, let me know anything I missed! This is probably always going to be a very small niche fandom, we’ve got to help each other out. :)

Editing to add a compilation of interview quotes from the writers and actors about the relationship. Might as well have it all in one place!

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With Camila, I just wanted to be able to focus on Nina's story a little bit more. So if she was in conflict with her dad [Kevin, played by Jimmy Smits], it helped focus that story. When we lost Camila, I therefore had to balance it out and really do work to elevate Abuela Claudia [Olga Merediz] and Daniela [Daphne Rubin-Vega] to even more powerful matriarchal positions on the block.

Speaking of Daniela, was her and Carla's coupling always meant to be more of a wink, or was there more initially intended for them as queer representation in the film?

It may sound counterintuitive, but actually it's like marriage representation because when I cut the character of Camila, I just didn't want any critic anywhere to be able to say they all come from broken homes. So I was like, I need a married couple because I don't want anyone to try to spin that on me. And so I was like, oh, Daniela and Carla. They're the married business owners, and they've invested their relationship and their marriage in building this business together. And so that just felt very easy.

https://ew.com/movies/in-the-heights-writer-quiara-alegria-hudes/

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From In the Heights: Finding Home (book)

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LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA OPENED UP ABOUT HIS NEWEST PROJECT, IN THE HEIGHTS.

Gayety editor Caitlynn McDaniel sat down with the cast and creators to discuss filming in New York City, authentic representation, and a few new queer characters.

“Really it’s nothing more dramatic than Daniela and Carla, the women who co-own the salon, we just send them home together at the end of the night.”

In the original stage production, Daniela and Carla do not have a romantic relationship. But after Camila Rosario was taken out of the film adaptation, the creators wanted to make sure there was a healthy family dynamic still in the show. Miranda credits the change to the screenplay writer, Quiara Alegría Hudes, who chose to make Daniela and Carla a couple.

“It was a relationship that was already strong and already wonderful in the stage version of the show and we just kind of canonized that relationship and made them life partners in addition to business partners.”

https://gayety.co/lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights-cast-talk-queer-characters

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The two characters were portrayed as close friends in the original musical, though the sexuality of the two characters was not explored.

Daphne Rubin-Vega, who plays Daniela, told Broadway.com of the additions:  “Carla and I are girlfriends; we’re partners…. we cohabitate, it’s safe to say.”

Jon M Chu, who is directing the adaptation, confirmed to the outlet: “We’re doubling and tripling down on that [storyline]!”

Referencing a song from the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted: “Tell ‘em something they don’t know…?‍‍?‍?”.

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/12/13/hamilton-creator-lin-manuel-miranda-lesbian-twist-in-the-heights-film/

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MW: In the Heights has so much to say and show about community as a family, the family that you’re born to as well as your chosen family. What is the message that you take away from the film about the families that we make and love?

BEATRIZ: Well, you actually said it best, the families that we make and love, because some of us are lucky enough to be born into families that accept and love us as who we are, and some of us have to find our way to those families. But I think for those of us lucky enough to experience unconditional love from, whether it be blood relatives or friends or people that you’ve invited into your life that love you unconditionally, having that community, that family, that chosen family, really buoys you up as a human being.

The thing we all recognized after the last year and a half of struggling globally through this really difficult time was how much we really rely on human connection and other human beings. And so this film, it’s so strange, the timing of it, but I guess it’s a universal and timeless theme, this idea of family, connection, humanity, and how much we need and rely on each other. I’m so excited for audiences to see this film at this moment in time.

MW: Carla and Daniela obviously are a family unto themselves. Something I appreciate about their part in this story is that they’re fixtures in the community. They’re not in need of refuge, they provide refuge, they provide comfort to people.

BEATRIZ: Many times in media we are presented stories that are about queer characters that automatically connect with dramatic events or sometimes traumatic events, and just one way of seeing people is not all that they are. For example, as someone who is bisexual and grew up with not that much varied bisexual representation in film and television and media, what I thought of as bisexual was, “Oh, no.” I had this idea that, “I can’t possibly be this, because this is over-sexualized, hyper-sexualized, villainous, duplicitous. I’m none of those things, and yet I feel that I am and identify as bisexual, and yet the characters that are presented to me in the media that I’m consuming reflects back to me that I’m bad. That somehow, at my core, there’s something wrong with me.”

What’s really cool about [In the Heights] is that in this very subtle way, you see these characters that are this functioning, happy, loving pair that are pillars in their community, and, in each other’s company, they are the best version of themselves, and other people actually flock to them because they make other people the best version of themselves. How lovely and thrilling to have that be gently sewn into the fabric of this entire community. Abuela Claudia accepts and loves them, Usnavi accepts and loves them, all of the characters take them for who they are. There’s no judgment, there’s no questioning, there’s no, “Eew, I don’t know.”

There’s none of that, which is so refreshing to see that on film, because that’s what my life is mostly like. Most of my friends accept and love me just the way that I am, there’s no questioning or weirdness. Maybe there’s some curiosity, but there’s never any drama or trauma around it for me in my chosen family. In its subtlety, it’s so special.

MW: It seems subtle to me because I wake up with a man, but it won’t be so subtle to everyone that we meet Carla and Daniela waking up together, which is really great.

BEATRIZ: Waking up together, yeah. It’s so lovely to see. It’s so, “Oh,” it establishes it so perfectly, so beautifully, so quickly, and so clearly.

MW: The film diverges from the stage musical in several ways that we won’t spoil here, but one way is that Carla and Daniela were not presented as a couple in the stage show. So, especially as somebody who identifies as queer, how important was that change in the film for you? Would you have been as interested if Carla and Daniela were cousins or best buddies?

BEATRIZ: I didn’t know that that decision was made until I was already cast, so it was something that I was really excited about once I heard that Quiara Alegría Hudes, the writer [of both versions], was thinking about this idea that, “Well, they’re already partners at work, what about if they were life partners as well? They’re such a unit.” It made sense to her in this new iteration of the story to make them a couple. And, like I said, I was already cast. I wanted to be a part of this film really badly because it is such an incredible piece of art, and it was like a dream to think, “I could work with Jon M. Chu.” I just think he’s such a special, incredible filmmaker. I saw Crazy Rich Asians too many times in the theater. I just think what he does is so special, and only he does it that way. He’s got such a magical lens through which he views the world. And so when I found out that Quiara was thinking about making this change, I was so excited and so supportive, and just fucking pumped that there was a possibility that they might be a gay couple, and the fact that they ran with it, it speaks volumes to the filmmakers, the producers, everyone at Warner Bros. that trusted that [the] storyline fit in this world.

MW: How much did it help that for a lot of the work you were doing, you’re in partnership with a master of musical theater in Daphne Rubin-Vega?

BEATRIZ: I found out that she was cast the same day that I found out that I was cast. My agents told me on the phone, “Daphne Rubin-Vega is going to be playing Daniela,” and I lost my shit. I mean I absolutely lost it. I had pictures of her all over the back of my bedroom door when I was a teenager. Rent was one of the first times that I really understood that there was a possibility that I, too, could be an actor, that I could do this as a profession and succeed, because she was so phenomenal in that role, and it was this worldwide moment where her talent — the talent of everyone in that show — but her talent and what she brought to the role by being herself, everyone saw it. Everyone acknowledged that that was a seminal moment in American theater and in American theater history, and it just made me feel like it was possible for me, too. She was an idol of mine.

I was a fucking mess the first day of rehearsal. I was just like, “Oh, no,” because I was so — I don’t want to say intimidated, because she’s not an intimidating person, but I was just so nervous to meet her. It was meeting one of my idols. And then to work with her was so amazing, awe-inspiring, eye-opening. She has a very different process than I do, but I learned a ton by watching her. She’s incredibly professional, and her voice sounds just amazing in this film.

I’m so excited for her to have this moment on film because she is so good, and she’s so good in this role. It’s really amazing. It’s like watching a priestess or something at work. You’re just watching something that you’re like, “I don’t understand how you’re doing this, but I can’t take my eyes off of you.”

MW: The word that came to me as you were describing that was “undeniable.”

BEATRIZ: Undeniable, yes. She’s an undeniable talent, presence, human being. She’s incredible.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/06/stephanie-beatriz-brings-queer-representation-to-in-the-heights-and-bids-farewell-to-brooklyn-nine-nine/

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Stephanie Beatriz is intimately familiar with the power of media representation. Growing up, she was inspired to become an actor by Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was the first Latina on Broadway she connected with. Now, because the universe has a wonderful sense of humor, she’s starring as Rubin-Vega’s partner in what’s sure to be the movie of the summer, Jon M. Chu’s In the Heights, based on Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’s Tony Award-winning musical about a Latinx community in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood.

“The soundtrack of Rent [in which Rubin-Vega played Mimi] really provided me a doorway in to see the musical,” Beatriz remembers. “My family didn’t have money to go take a trip to New York so I could see a Broadway show, but I could get the soundtrack at the library and listen to it over and over.”

Unlike in the stage version of In the Heights, in the film, Beatriz’s character Carla is in a lesbian relationship with Daniela (Rubin-Vega), the owner of the salon she works at. For Beatriz, it was a full-circle moment.

“I grew up with a poster of [RubinVega] on my wall,” the bisexual actress confesses. “I had the cover of Newsweek that she was on with Adam Pascal taped to the back of my door in high school. And to me, she’s really legendary. So to make the jump as an actor to being in love with her was not hard for me at all, because she’s charming, very distinct, specific, beautiful.”

Beatriz adds, “I layered that in as much as I could, especially if Daniela is talking.” So it wasn’t difficult for Beatriz to portray her character Carla as “enraptured, glued, like it’s a master class, just watching it all unfold, watching Daniela’s personality take over the space of a room and the ambiance.”

She continues, “Any time Daniela might have a doubt, it’s Carla who steps up to the plate and tells her, whether it’s in her ear or out loud to everyone in the room, ‘You got this.’ I just loved that very much because I think that’s a real characteristic of a healthy relationship — one in which your partner sees the possibilities in you, sometimes when you don’t even see them yourself, believes that you are incredible, amazing, talented, the Lady Gaga list.”

Beatriz is especially excited to play a queer character in a movie where there’s no homophobia. When you see scenes with Carla and Daniela together, especially in the salon, you see, “lots of different shades of people, lots of different shapes of people, and different sexualities, and different expressions of self. That’s a safe space,” she says. “I think in many communities, the beauty parlor is a safe space, especially in Latino communities.”

It’s refreshing for the film to invite viewers into the life Daniela and Carla have created where everyone around them is accepting, “whether or not we know about their extended families is not the point of this,” Beatriz says.

“It’s really the family that they’ve created, the home that they’ve created in Washington Heights, is an accepting, loving place where they thrive.”

https://www.out.com/print/2021/6/09/stephanie-beatriz-helping-queer-latina-visibility-reach-new-heights

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But Chu and screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes have also crafted another new, inclusive element with two beloved characters.

Beauty salon owner Daniela and hairdresser Carla, while portrayed as coworkers and gossip buddies in Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hudes’ stage musical, will also be romantic partners on the big screen. Rent Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega and Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz play the two, respectively, in the movie.

Chu and Rubin-Vega had previously confirmed the evolution of the characters’ dynamic. At a recent press event celebrating the release of the latest two trailers, Beatriz discussed the significance of the decision. “What was so gratifying to me as a person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part of the fabric of the community,” Beatriz says, “and to be normal, and be happy and functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created.”

She continues: “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home.”

https://www.playbill.com/article/in-the-heights-stephanie-beatriz-on-introducing-queer-element-to-the-movie-with-2-fan-favorite-characters

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Rubin-Vega said she had no interest in playing any trope of what one might think a lesbian Latina might look or act like, noting that the queer experience isn’t monolithic, while expressing that the role offered her a newfound freedom, especially with regard to being present in the role and in her everyday life.

“Spoiler alert! I felt like not wearing a bra was going to free me. Did I get it right? Am I saying that gay women don’t wear bras? No, it was just a way for me to be in my body and feel my breasts. To feel my femaleness and celebrate it in a more unapologetic way,” she said, laughing. “To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing a lesbian Latina. It’s something that I hadn’t really explored before. Latinos [can be] very homophobic as a culture, and I wanted to play someone who didn’t care about homophobia; I was gonna live my best life. That’s a bigger thing. It’s also like, maybe I’m bisexual. Who knows? Who cares? If you see that in the film, that’s cool too, you know?”

https://encoremonthly.com/hitting-new-heights/

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Let’s talk about your characters, Daniela and Carla. In the original Broadway production they ran the beauty salon together but their relationships has changed a bit for the movie hasn’t it, what do they mean to each other?

Stephanie: “They live together, they’re partners at work, they’re life partners, they love each other. To put a real clear stamp on it, they’re gay as all get-out! They’re gay, they’re queer, and they love each other and they’re this functioning, happy couple that work together, live together and have made a home with each other, for each other, and in each other. I personally love that it’s layered so subtly into the film because I think many times when we see queer characters, gay characters, we’re focusing on the stuff in their lives that’s hard for them and in this film, I think we’re focusing on the fact that, there’s hard stuff in the community for everyone, but there’s also joy and the ability to celebrate life, even though that hard stuff is going on around you.”

Daphne, as Stephanie mentioned it is quite subtle and I like that about it too. As their relationship isn’t explicitly addressed in the dialogue how did you express their love for one another and that intimacy through things like the body language and the dance as well?

Daphne: “Like Stephanie said, we were just a couple who care about each other so I think that that reflects in the body language. It was really wonderful to be able to have the freedom and ability to portray a character that loves who she loves without all of the sort of social stuff around it. They had to deal with adversity and challenges but being gay is not one of them.”

“Their gayness is also is not an issue for Abuela Claudia or Usnavi, or anyone else in the community. These are women who are loved and trusted, and respected; they’re protectors of their community, and kids are allowed in the salon, as are trans folks, whoever you are, if you want to get a weave, you can get a weave or nails, and who you sleep with, it’s so not about that.”

https://thequeerreview.com/2021/06/08/exclusive-interview-daphne-rubin-vega-stephanie-beatriz-on-their-queer-in-the-heights-characters-lgbtq/

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Daphne Rubin-Vega is Daniela, the pint-sized ruler (with a massive-sized voice) of In the Height’s Washington Heights block. Perched from the top of her five-inch tacones as she delivers hot gossip and a loving touch in equal measure. In the original stage production, Carla (Beatriz) is Daniela’s comedic sidekick, working alongside Cuca (Orange is the New Black’s Dascha Polanco) in Daniela’s beauty salon. In the film, Cuca and Carla’s antics remain, but Carla is also re-developed as Daniela’s romantic partner with quiet, lived-in moments across the week of one block’s summer heatwave.

So the three of us got together as the sun was setting on the East Coast to talk about the history of Latinas and lesbians in musical theatre, welcoming the ancestors into our space, and finding love in the small moments of the everyday. (We talked over each other a bunch, but if you’ve ever sat across from a table of your tías and primas on a Saturday night in the summer, you already know the vibes.)

Carmen Phillips:  First of all, I just wanted to say before we got officially started, I mean, I’m just beyond myself to be able to meet both of you! It means just the most to me. Daphne — I saw you in Rent when I was 12 years old and it was something that changed my life, which I’m sure you hear all the time and it’s not unique anymore, but it did.

Daphne Rubin-Vega: [brings hands together] Thank you. It’s a pleasure.

Carmen: Hi. Okay. We can start!

Daphne: Hi!

Stephanie Beatriz: Carmen. I’ve literally done the same thing to her. I feel I might’ve done it on the first day I met her. I was just…  [is at a loss for words]

Carmen: I feel probably lots of people tell you that, but I will never get a chance to tell you.

Daphne: No, you’ve gotta tell me! Yeah.

Carmen: Thank you.

And obviously, Stephanie. I mean, you’re a huge… Autostraddle is just a very big fan, all the time, so you already know that. Thank you both.

I wanted to start this interview at sort of the beginning of the process. I’ve been trying to read what you have said thus far about playing Daniela and Carla but I haven’t seen anyone ask this.

Obviously both characters are presumed straight in the original stage production of In the Heights. When you auditioned or otherwise introduced to the roles, were you already aware that they were being re-imagined as queer women? Or was that something you found out after? What was that process like?

Stephanie: I found out after!

I found out that it was even on the table — it was, “This might happen” — And I was so excited! And I voiced how excited I was IMMEDIATELY! I was like, “I think this is a great idea. I absolutely support it 100%. If you try to do that, I’m 100% in support.”

Daphne: Yeah. Yeah. For me, I had already gotten the role and so Daniela’s sexuality didn’t factor into a performance at all. Her humanity certainly did.

So after I got the role… Quiara [Alegría Hudes] called me and said, “How would you feel if Daniela… Instead of Carla just being her business partner, she’s her life partner as well.” And I remember being jolted by the change and thinking, “Yeah, fuck yeah. Of course.”

Quiara never ceases to amaze me with her elevation of the storytelling and humanity in its different incarnations.

Carmen: I think this really brings me into this next question. Daphne what you were just saying — for you, it was about elevating this humanity. And in one of the interviews I’d been reading, Stephanie had the chance to talk about [the relationship between Daniela and Carla], and she said “So much of the film is about where home is. And for Carla, Daniela is home.”

Stephanie: Yes.

Carmen: That got me thinking about what a moment this is that you’re both of entering into.

I did some research in our database and from what we can tell, in all of film history, there’ve only been 18 movie musicals that have had lesbian or bisexual characters. Period. Not even 20!! And of course, when you start thinking about…

Daphne: I was in three of them.

Carmen: Oh You sure were.

Daphne: Oh, whoa.

Stephanie: That’s… I just…

Carmen: And there’s nothing like In the Heights, when we shift our focus to think about the history Latinx film. And I’m sure you all know, the entire community’s buzzing, right? My mom is going, it’s the first movie she’s going to see in a movie theater in 18 months.

People are just dying for it, and I think going back to the conversation about what home is… I’m wondering what it feels like, for both of you, to be kind of sitting in this historic intersection, right?

This is going to be a film that really is going to exist on a planet of its own. And we’re going to see queer Latinas represented in that moment. I wondered if that’s something you’ve thought about? Or if it’s not even a thing that’s on your plate at all.

Stephanie: I’ve thought about it a lot!

I’ve thought about how this moment means something — but it will be so much more meaningful in 5, 10, 15, 20 years, when even more titles are in that database. Even more of these films have been made, even more of these stories have been told. Even more of these characters have been represented on screen, in television, in film, in all types of media.

It’s very exciting to think that we could possibly be a part of… a moment of someone looking at these performances or this film and going, “Oh, of course. Oh yes, yes. Of course. Why not? What was I thinking? Of course that exists in the planet.”

That’s a really thrilling thing to have the privilege of being a part of.

Daphne: Yeah. I fully agree. I mean, as an actress, it’s what we do. It’s my calling to embody characters that are not like me, to represent the humanity of who they are. And I think, that’s a really loaded thing for me, in my culture [Rubin-Vega is Panamanian]. Not my culture, in Latino culture, in particular.

In my country of origin, I find it’s struggled very much with homophobia and racism. Colonization, it changed the entire country, right? That’s our history. So without putting judgment on it, I think it’s really incredible, what we’re able to do here.

And Stephanie said it before, how queer stories, or stories of people who were marginalized, are made to be othered in certain ways. The stories of those who aren’t centered are then either shown as dramatic or traumatic, she said.

And in this instance, it’s neither dramatic nor traumatic! It’s so regular, it’s so basic, it just is. It’s just… “Yeah.” Yes, and it’s really not that deep and so we’re not playing queer characters, we’re playing human.

Stephanie: Also queer.

Daphne and Carmen in unison: Yeah!

Stephanie: There are people who miss it, honestly! I’ve definitely had the experience where I’m perhaps reading a review or I’m listening to someone’s experience about watching the film and they’re not even… They’re not even… [gestures like a plane flying overhead]… “Whoop.” It just flew by their face.

Whereas, for those of us who were paying attention because we’re trying to find ourselves on film, we see it immediately.

Carmen: I mean, this interview will run the day movie comes out, so I don’t want to reach too far into spoilers. But there’s a scene! It’s before the opening number, right? It’s before “In the Heights” begins. It’s intimate, playful. And I zeroed in right away, I was like, “Oh, we’re really here.”

And I think… so much of the movie is moving in ways you don’t expect, because it is so the everyday. But we never get to see OUR every day on screen. You know what I mean?

Daphne: Yes.

Carmen: And Stephanie, the question I wanted to ask you is, obviously you are very aware of how, again revered — which is why I say these last two questions for last! — you are in queer women’s communities. There’s the iconic Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. And I think one of the things that everyone, at least everyone I know, is really excited about is to get to see you play a queer Latina again.

I was personally excited because it’s just a different way to use your comic timing. Carla’s very different from Rosa. I was very curious about what that felt like for you to create these two really distinct queer Latina characters.

Stephanie: That’s really kind, first of all. So thank you for saying that.

I think, one of the things that’s been really fun for me about the process of shooting In the Heights — and creating my iteration of that character — was that it brought me back to the feeling that I used to have in Repertory Company, when I did a lot of theater. And I’d have a season where I was playing a bunch of small roles in a funny, new comedy by Culture Clash. And then I also was playing Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Carmen: wow.

Stephanie: And then maybe the next season I was Isabella in Measure for Measure and also playing another… I mean, Rep Company really teaches you… It can teach you how to use yourself in all of these different kinds of ways. And it’s one of my favorite things about being an actor is kind of using different facets of myself to help create these characters and bring them to life. And turning up the volume on certain parts of my personality and turning it way down on other parts, right?

I’m really excited for audiences to see me in a different way, I guess, it’s cool.

And I’m pumped at the confusion factor that comes along with that, right. Because I think people get confused when they meet me in real life sometimes because they expect Rosa Diaz.

Carmen: Right.

Stephanie: And I’m excited for the confusion factor that will come with, “Wait, that can’t be the same person that plays that character, right?” I love that, I live for that. I live for the confusion of, “Wait a minute, what?”

Carmen: I knew you were going to kill it. When I heard you got cast as Carla, I was, “Oh, that’s perfect.” Because, I mean, I really think your gift for comedic timing, it’s unparalleled.

Stephanie: [mumbles to self] Thank you very much.

Carmen: And Carla’s a small part that, I mean, is already memorable. It’s a small part with a big bang. You know what I mean? Like that is… [Carmen and Stephanie crosstalk, there’s never enough crosstalk].

Stephanie:  I’m lucky, I’m very lucky.

https://www.autostraddle.com/daphne-rubin-vega-stephanie-beatriz-in-the-heights-interview-daniela-carla/

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Who was your first celebrity crush? 

First celebrity crush was actually Daphne Rubin-Vega, from Rent. That was a cool, NOT AWKWARD moment when I met her for the first time ever, in real life. I was sweating, I was like AHH YOU’RE SO AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL I USED TO HAVE A PICTURE OF YOU ON MY WALL, I’M SO SORRY THIS IS WEIRD. But it was also awesome. Of course I mentioned to Daphne that she was my crush. And I did it in the most awkward way possible, which is just, you know, right up my alley. I was like DAPHNE I LOVE YOU, right in her face. Which was awesome, and made for a really, really NOT AWKWARD rehearsal environment, at all. She likes me now, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK7YLaUULG8&ab_channel=BuzzFeedCeleb

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Beatriz’s career is soaring to even greater heights this June, as she’s stepping into Carla’s shoes in In The Heights, which sets itself apart from the musical with a few key changes such as the decision to have Carla and salon owner Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega) be in a committed relationship. Beatriz considers it a “brilliant shift” to the original storyline. “To have Carla and Daniela be gay and layered into that community and be totally accepted, not struggling to be heard, or fighting because they’re out, or not being accepted by the people they love, but just part of the family, I just love that,” Beatriz explains.

It’s through LGBTQ+ representation in TV and film that Beatriz believes art can usher in positive change. It’s a discussion she is trailblazing with her refreshingly honest and nuanced portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters, like Rosa and Carla. “Art is the way to move humanity forward,” she says. “When you create art, there’s a possibility for creating empathy in other people. That’s really what it’s all about. You can’t start to see someone as your equal, or as a fellow human being that deserves all the same rights as you do, if you don’t see them in the first place. If you don’t see them anywhere around you, how will you know that they’re just the same as you? ... We really want all the same things in life: to feel happy, to be seen, to feel safe, to feel love. And we all deserve them.”

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/stephanie-beatriz-pride-advice-pregnant-brooklyn-99-in-the-heights

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Rubin-Vega says that incorporating the queer story, emphasizing the plight of Dreamers, and focusing on brown and Black communities is “decolonizing cinema" and she's here for it.

“What other way are we going to address the structural oppression that has been perpetuated? How are we going to move it?” Rubin-Vega says of storytelling as a tool. “It’s an honor to play a character that has a lot of life,” she says of Daniela. “As you know, when I was just starting in theater, these roles didn't exist.”

“To play a woman that loves another woman is an honor to me. The symbolism of the salon. It's like the spiritual liberal hub. It's also like the gossip hub,” she says.

“We're just finding the language with how they would dress. You know, having to stop the stereotyping right [of queer women and queer Latinx people]? Musical theater is so extra. What a wonderful way to have extra-ness. And you know, and not be offended by tropes that use tropes as a way in,” she adds.

“We [Daniela and Carla] love each other … [it’s] ordinary, not extraordinary. It's just normal that these women get to be fully unapologetically in a community that we know has baggage around all the phobias, baggage around all the cultural trauma.”

Miranda’s story has always been about the beauty of a community and home — Rubin-Vega likens his rhymes to the impact of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter.

In an interview with Broadway World, Beatriz says, “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home.”

Rubin-Vega concurs. “I could not put it more beautifully than Stephanie. We didn't talk about our relationship. We just had the relationship,” she says. “Not only am I a fan of her work, but I'm a fan of hers. After knowing Stephanie, it's just like, Yeah, that's my girl. That's my boo. I feel that relationship ownership. I do have that I can honestly [say].”

A theater and film veteran who’s starred in Rent, Jack Goes Boating, Anna in the Tropics, and so much more, Rubin-Vega discusses the role of LGBTQ+ allyship.

“People in my life are [the] gay people in my life, like, a lot of people. I also have a bit of a hard time with the word ally because it is a verb, it's not a static noun. And [being an ally] is a constant behavior. It is a way of being in the world that is like breathing. And it's a consciousness for some of us more than others who have had been in so much privilege and living in supremacy.”

Daniela is presented as an integral piece of the Washington Heights community in Miranda’s story and Chu’s film. But the implications of that representation run deep. And Rubin-Vega has thought long and hard about it.

“Playing a lesbian — I can honestly think [about] my family legacy and just wonder how many unhappy ancestors I had,” who perhaps couldn’t live their authentic lives because of stigma, she says. “It's not something to get depressed about. It’s something to live toward when we represent our fullness.”

https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/2021/6/10/heightss-daphne-rubin-vega-ushering-queer-characters

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In “In the Heights,” Rubin-Vega plays Daniela, co-owner of a neighborhood hair salon with her life partner Carla (Stephanie Beatriz). The two were made queer for the film after being portrayed as straight co-workers in the stage show. Screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes called to tell Rubin-Vega about the updated relationship. “She’s like, ‘How do you feel about that?’” Rubin-Vega recalls. “I’m like, ‘I’m loving it.’

“Daniela is a high priestess of bad-assery,” she continues. “She’s a part of the person that I aspire to be, which is fully herself, making no apologies for who she is. She probably has earned her right to claim her fullness — self-empowered, self-employed, she has her own business. She touches other people’s heads, which is kind of a sacred thing in our culture, that we let people touch our heads.”

https://variety.com/2021/film/columns/in-the-heights-daphne-rubin-vega-1234991860/

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“Yes. Carla’s my life partner. There’s not a plot line about us being partners, but it’s very evident. Like, we’re just human beings that have chosen each other. So that there’s a representation."

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/the-scene/new-york-live/dishing-with-daphne-rubin-vega/3063551/ 

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Beatriz is also playing salon worker Carla in the new film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning musical, In the Heights. Beatriz, who is openly bisexual, is excited that her character is in a same-sex relationship with fellow salon worker Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), in the film -- a change from the Broadway show.

"In the original production, Carla and Daniela were simply work partners, but in this iteration, [screenplay writer] Quiara [Alegria Hudes] and [director] John [M. Chu] and [original playwright] Lin-[Manuel Miranda] all felt really strongly that they should be life partners are well," Beatriz shared. "What's really great for me as someone who is queer, as a member of the queer community, who is bisexual, is to see that rep in a film where it's just layered into the community, sort of in the background. And they're this really functional, fun, happy, funny couple that just happen to be gay."

https://www.kmov.com/stephanie-beatriz-teases-what-brooklyn-nine-nine-fans-can-expect-in-shows-final-season-exclusive/article_208dd9b5-dde4-5814-9c17-2b5e3e8defac.html

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What do you find most interesting about Daniela?

Every shred of me was excited about playing this role. I'd worked with Quiara in Miss You Like Hell, and because of my history with Quiara and Lin, I knew about In the Heights and saw it. Daniela is such a powerful character. She's diminutive, but you can feel her presence whenever she walks into a room. It was interesting to further explore her relationship with Carla, her life partner and business partner, and her dynamic with Cuca and the rendition of the salon in a filmic way. There were no restrictions with Quiara, Lin, and Jon.

Women often have an ambivalent relationship with ambition, so it's interesting to think about it within the context of the movie. Was that something you thought of when you were shaping your take on Daniela?

I don't know if ambitious people call themselves ambitious. I consider myself ambitious, but what's the ambition? The ambition is to live a full life. The ambition is to live a complete, free, unapologetic life where I can love who I want to love and live where I want to live, do what I love to do, wear what I want to wear, and have friends I want. If that's ambition, isn't that the American way, the pursuit of happiness? I think that Daniela, because of her appearance, her attitude is amplified, but if she looked different, she'd be a regular strong chick. Her choices wouldn't be questioned; she'd be pragmatic. She's priced out of the barrio that she loves. She'll be present in some ways, but her business will be gone.

https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/interview-daphne-rubin-vega-on-portraying-daniela_92380.html

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MW: Yeah, Carla is not Rosa at all. I would also say that your characters tend to sound distinctly different. How do you find a voice for a character?

BEATRIZ: I think that’s part of the fun. I spent a long time, as a kid, with lots of time on my hands. My parents worked a lot, and my sister and I would often come home and watch ourselves, and one of the things that we did at home was we had this Fisher-Price recorder. It was a little tape deck, and I don’t know where we got it, but you could put a tape in and record yourself. We had a few blank tapes, but we also taped over a lot of my mom and dad’s music — sorry, Mom and Dad — but we would record ourselves doing shows, like radio shows, where we would do different voices, we would interview ourselves, we would interview each other, we just screwed around.

But, in doing that, it was us finding funny and weird voices and stuff. That was the beginning of me acting, I think, playing around with that tape recorder by myself. And I think it’s just a really fun thing for me to do voiceovers and voices, and find my way into a character through sound. It’s one of the things that was so fun about being in In the Heights, was the music and finding my way into the character musically, and basing character choices on what Lin had already written in the music. I think that’s so fun. And the musicality of language is something that I’ve always been drawn to and interested in.

https://www.metroweekly.com/2021/06/stephanie-beatriz-brings-queer-representation-to-in-the-heights-and-bids-farewell-to-brooklyn-nine-nine/

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The beauty of upper Manhattan is on glorious display at a hair and nail salon featured in the movie musical “In the Heights.”

Daphne Rubin-Vega, Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco help capture the culture and values of a Latino neighborhood in Washington Heights through the women who run the popular salon.

“They provide an example of how people in your community can become part of your family, really your chosen family, and that those people are deeply invested in not only seeing you succeed, but really seeing you thrive as a person,” Beatriz, 40, told the Daily News.

“They also provide this incredibly safe, loving space, particularly for the women in this story, but really for all of the characters. ... It’s this incredible place of celebrating beauty of all kinds.”

The salon serves as a central hub of the film premiering Wednesday at the Tribeca Film Festival before arriving Thursday in theaters and on HBO Max.

Adapted from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, “In the Heights” brings back the fan-favorite salon ladies Daniela, played by Rubin-Vega, and Carla, portrayed by Beatriz, while introducing Polanca’s Cuca as a new character.

The stars agree the salon represents much more than a place to get a makeover.

“It symbolizes dreams,” Polanco, 38, told The News. “Small-business owners. What we like to call iconic figures within our community. They’re like hood celebrities, legends, what can I tell you? They’re there, and they have everybody’s back.”

“In the Heights” takes viewers inside the colorful salon during the lively song “No Me Diga.” But the women are also depicted outside the salon as significant figures within a neighborhood where every resident strives toward big goals.

Daniela, Carla and Cuca kick off the standout song-and-dance number “Carnaval del Barrio,” during which characters sing with reverence about their homelands.

“It’s a celebration of life in the face of all kinds of adversity,” Rubin-Vega, 51, told The News. “This determination to be joyous, and how powerful that in itself is. Yeah, it is beautiful to see flags flying and everybody going, ‘Oh, there I am!’ But more than that, it’s just that feeling of belonging.”

The “In the Heights” stage musical introduces Daniela and Carla as work partners, and the movie updates their relationship to be life partners as well.

“It’s just part of the background of the film, and that’s really vital, I think, for [LGBTQ] audiences to see themselves be part of the fabric of the film, and not necessarily have their stories always be coming-out stories or always be tragic stories or always be stories that are fraught with drama,” Beatriz said.

The actors felt personal connections to their characters. Beatriz, who was born in Argentina, remembers her mother befriending fellow customers and staffers at the salon she went to after moving to the U.S.

Polanco recalls her visits to a local salon when she was young, and loves how “In the Heights” covers that aspect of the community.

“It’s what instills confidence. It’s what instills trust, and amongst these three ladies, that’s what they give back to everyone else,” Polanco said. “In this community of Washington Heights, this is where they go to release, to motivate, to express, to get advice, to make harsh decisions, to console. It’s a revolving door of what I [call] noncertified therapy.”

https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/movies/in-the-heights-stars-share-what-the-movie-s-salon-ladies-represent/article_e2f853ed-978a-562d-8aaa-fc48b73b709f.html

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(Not specifically about the romantic relationship, but a great article about Daniela, Carla, and Cuca.)

Stephanie Beatriz, Dascha Polanco, and Daphne Rubin-Vega Are the Holy Trinity of In the Heights“

We were the witches with a cauldron, stirring the pot,” says Rubin-Vega of the trio, who reunited to chat about dance numbers, bodega orders, and the best kind of gossip.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/06/in-the-heights-stephanie-beatriz-dascha-polanco-daphne-rubin-vega

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I love that your character is a part of this trio of neighborhood divas that are just so much fun. What was your relationship like with Stephanie Beatriz and Dascha Polanco and how much fun did you guys have together?

RUBIN-VEGA: Oh my goodness! Doing nothing with them was fun. Ad-libbing was fun. I don’t think anyone’s funnier than Stephanie and Dascha, and when they’re together, it’s just nonstop. There’s also a realness. We all come from places and spaces where we had to outlast the negativity to get where we got, so that creates a certain energy in a human being that is irresistible because we’re really happy to be here.

https://collider.com/daphne-rubin-vega-in-the-heights-interview/

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Salon Squad

“I could do those costumes for the rest of my life and still find new things to do with them,” Travers said about designing for Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega), Carla (Stephanie Beatriz), and Cuca (Dascha Polanco). This adaptation has added a romantic dynamic between Daniela and Carla, which Travers incorporated in costumes he envisioned Carla had borrowed from Daniela’s closet — “maybe it was a windbreaker she had from 20 years ago; now it’s vintage to  Carla.” One reference point for the salon owner, he says, is Sex and the City designer Patricia Field. “Pat is such a fearless risk-taker when it comes to her own personal style and also her body of work is quite fearless,” Travers explains. “We took a light inspiration from Pat herself, just in terms of that risk-taking and the combinations of high and low.” Daniela’s powerhouse status includes a nod to Rosie the Riveter for her biggest musical number and Travers also points out that while this character’s wide-leg leopard print pants felt like a risky move at the time, “of course, now, fashion is all about the big pant.”

Meanwhile, Carla has “much more of an Instagram sensibility” with a Nikita Dragun influence. The streetwear-inspired sneakers, bike shorts, and crop top athletic spirit go further than “dress for likes” on social media, “there is heart in it.” Rounding out the trio is Cuca who wears a “head-to-toe [look] Monday through Sunday.” Describing this character as “unbelievably fun to dress,” he explains that if she is wearing a printed dress then her fanny pack, socks, and scrunchie will match. Travers’ favorite salon squad costume moment was creating a weekend nightclub look that resulted in a strong unifying motif: “Three women in jumpsuits — no dresses — just jumpsuits going out. I had such fun as a costume designer getting to express a similar idea through three very different sets of eyes.”

https://www.vulture.com/article/in-the-heights-costume-designer-interview.html

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Behind the scenes pics from the In the Heights: Finding home book:

https://azalea-in-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/656073091546529793

Behind the scenes pics from cut scene of Daniela, Carla & Cuca -

https://azalea-in-wonderland.tumblr.com/post/656283840034357248

#daniela and carla #daniela x carla #in the heights #stephanie beatriz #daphne rubin-vega

[wri0thesley]

[image id: starry sky background with ‘j0succ’s 5(555) follow event over the top of it]

hello everyone!!! i am so so happy that you have all followed me and read my writing and just in general being lovely to me, so i wanted to have an event to both celebrate my milestone and for my birthday (that’s june third, if u guys wanted to idk send me pictures of my husbands that day!). this event will probably stay open until then (although if i get too overwhelmed i might close it early!). i will warn you all when it’s about to close and reblog this post periodically! <3

this event is a mix and match style event with prompts to choose from, and is open for the following fandoms:

- jojo’s bizarre adventure - jujutsu kaisen - my hero academia

please refer to my rules before requesting! (also linked in my profile and pinned post! please also refer to the rules of the event, below the cut!

EVENT STATUS: closed!

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As mentioned above, this is a ‘mix and match’ event! First, choose a character: you may choose two characters in a poly relationship, if you want! If your idea features more than one character not in a poly relationship, please make that clear in the request! Then, choose some options from the four categories!

The four categories are

- Base. This is basically an AU category; you do not have to pick one, but if you don’t the fic will be set in the canon universe as detailed! You may also pick your own if the one you would like isn’t listed! If you choose something from this category, you can only choose one. 

- Sweet Add-On. This is the SFW plot category! Again, you can only pick one from this category; if you choose something from the Spicy category as well, it will become Fluffy NSFW - if you choose just something from this category, or something from this category and the base category, you will receive just fluff! This category cannot be combined with the Dark Add-On. 

- Spicy Add-On. This is the kink category! You can pick as many from this category as you would like, but try and keep in mind how they might work with each other and your other choices! There is also an option for adding in your own kinks if I haven’t mentioned what you’d like; please keep my rules in mind! This category can be combined with any of the other categories. 

- Dark Add-On. This is the Dark Content category. You can pick as many from this category as you like, and an option is included if your dark idea is not on the list! This category cannot be combined with the Sweet Add-On. 

if this all sounds a little complicated, you can scroll down to the bottom of this post to see some examples of what not to do and what to do! I have numbered all of the prompts for my convenience, but you can use their number or their name to refer to them, I don’t mind!

my default for writing is an afab, gender neutral reader (or occasionally an afab fem reader); if you would like something different, please include it in the request, but also keep in mind that i don’t have much experience writing amab readers and may not be good at it!

[image id: starry sky background with ‘menu (prompts to choose from) written over the top of it]

Base (Choose one, or choose none – if none are chosen, fics will be written in the canon universe as standard!):

1. No AU / Canon Universe 2. No Powers Universe 3. Arranged Marriage AU 4. Monsters AU 5. A/B/O (Alpha, Beta, Omega) AU 6. Historical AU 7. Royalty AU 8. College/University AU 9. Soulmate AU 10. Apocalypse AU 11. Vampires AU 12. Crime/Organised Crime/Mafia AU 13. Sugar Daddy/Mommy AU 14. Coffee Shop/Bakery AU 15. Florist/Tattoo Artist (Two Opposing Occupation) AU 16. Fake Dating AU 17. Fantasy AU 18. Amnesia AU 19. Angels, Devils and Priests AU 20. Sex Work AU 21. Pick One Not On The List!:

Sweet (SFW) Add-On (choose one or none):

22. First Kiss 23. First Date 24. Cuddles 25. There Was Only One Bed 26. Mutual Pining 27. Huddling For Warmth 28. Taking Care of Each Other 29. Spending A Holiday Together 30. Meeting The ‘Family’ 31. Engagement & Weddings 32. Fake Dating 33. Domesticity 34. Enemies to Lovers 35. Friends to Lovers 36. Trapped Together 37. Comfort 38. Beach Trip 39. Confessions 40. Pregnancy

Spicy (NSFW) Add-On (choose as many as you want!)

41. BDSM 42. Impact Play 43. Pegging 44. Breeding 45. Dacryphilia (crying) 46. Corruption Kink 47. Face-sitting 48. Cunnilingus 49. Somnophilia 50. Size Kink/ Size Difference 51. Edging 52. Orgasm Control 53. Dominant Reader 54. Virginity (please specify whether virgin character or virgin reader!) 55. Masturbation (Mutual, Assisted or Guilty) 56. Choking and Breathplay 57. Petplay 58. Vanilla 59. Cockwarming 60. Sex Toys 61. Public Sex / Exhibitionism 62. Praise Kink 63. Degradation 64. Over-stimulation 65. Aphrodisiac or Sex Pollen 66. Corsetry 67. Voyeurism 68. Pregnant Sex 69. Bondage 70. Choose Something Not On The List!:

Dark Add-On (choose as many as you want):

71. Yandere 72. Non-Con 73. Mindbreak 74. Dub-Con 75. Master/Pet 76. Knifeplay 77. Gunplay 78. Predator/Prey 79. Dumbification / Dollification / Bimbofication 80. Fuck or Die 81.Choose Something Not On The List!:

[image id: a starry sky background with ‘examples’ written over it].

GOOD EXAMPLES:

- hi nat, could i get a fic of prosciutto in an arranged marriage au, maybe with orgasm control and a virgin reader? 

- hi!!! maybe a fic for gojo with 59, 63, 71 and 72?

- hello! could i maybe request a florist/tattoo au (15) with confessions (39) and some cunnilingus? with geto, please!

BAD EXAMPLES:

- fic with itadori (i don’t write characters who havent been shown as over eighteen in canon!) with first kiss and yandere (one is from the sweet add-on and one is from the dark add-on, please don’t mix them!)

you can see the current request list (in case you want to check if yours made it through, for ideas, etc) here!

[image id: a starry sky background with ‘thank you all so much! please have fun requesting! written over it.]

I don’t want to gush too much on this post but I am so, so grateful to every one of you who has ever interacted with me, reblogged my posts, recommended me or otherwise - thanks to the Jojo followers who’ve been here since the beginning, my new JJK followers, and my even newer BNHA followers (I haven’t written much for it yet but I hope that this event will help with that!). Having this space makes me so happy!

I hope you all have fun requesting, and feel free to send me questions if you want or need clarification on anything! I’m super excited to get started!

[let-me-write-shit]

So, I had this idea for a harry imagine where they met during the 1D days and they took a trip for the summer alone and Harry wrote 'Summer love' for the reader. Then the reader got famous with a solo album and they never saw each other after that summer besides award shows and stuff. But then the reader puts out a song 'Summer by Kesha' which is a response to Summer love and Harry approaches the reader after the Brits (where she preformed) and wants to reconnect. You can end it yourself ❤️.

A/N: First Imagine after having covid. I’ve been trying to write this for weeks and my head was stuffy half the time, so I hope this turned out okay. Sorry it took so long. <3

Word Count: 4,378

Requests are OPEN! If you have a request for a blurb, oneshot, imagine, whatever, Send me a message HERE!!!

To add yourself to my Taglist, click HERE

CLICK HERE TO READ OTHER COMPLETED STORIES

Friendly reminder to please like and/or reblog. It helps more than you think :)

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Summer Love

It was always there; that weird underlying tension that fizzled in the air after releasing a particularly personal song. It was easy to write about, and even to perform in front of thousands of strangers, but when it came to interviews it seemed more difficult. Doubts started to settle in and you’d start to kick yourself about releasing something so obvious.

Y/N should be used to the feeling by now. She’s been doing this, professionally, for nearly six years now, and although she quickly and easily built thick skin, always pulling herself out of potentially awkward questions without getting too in-depth about personal meanings of songs and whom they might be about, always handling it with the right amount of grit and edge, to be performing at an award show in front of hundreds of fellow musicians whom she’s looked up to for years was a terrifying prospect. Especially considering he would be watching from the audience as she performed a song written about him.

She didn’t intend for this to happen. She didn’t even want to perform that song. But when she tried to fight against it, they almost pulled her out of performing and it wasn’t worth being cut. It was her first year performing at the Brits and her third year attending. She was still fairly new on the scene despite the amount of time she had been recording, and this was her biggest year in her career so far since the release of her new single. It was mostly due to the rumors behind the song, though the rumors did hold some truth.

She wrote it in response to a song He released about her years ago, but she’d been thinking of the right words to say and the perfect song to write for so long that she was sure people had forgotten by now. Back then, Y/N was too afraid to sing in front of people. But her stage fright didn’t affect her ability to make new friends. She was a wild child at heart and could make friends anywhere she went. She just happened to meet all the right friends in all the right places and it worked out in her favor. It’s how she met him in the first place. Y/N was lucky, and she knew it.

It was about ten years ago, now, when One Direction was dominating the scene. They had just finished their first tour and were on a short break for the summer when some of the boys attended a little party of a mutual friend of Y/N’s. She remembered the first time she saw him. His curly hair unruly and his dimples dreamy. It was at that party that she and Harry exchanged numbers. That was the start of it all.

They had spent nearly every day that summer together. Their differences in behavior would have a huge impact on each other and would set a tone in their own personalities for years to come. Y/N’s wild spirit and carefree energy was something Harry tried to implement in his life as often as he could. It was because of Y/N that he took more risks and started living increasingly by his own rules where he could. And Harry showed her peace. His calm and acceptance taught her how to take a step back and relax. They were yin and yang.

That summer was one they’d never forget and would find themselves randomly thinking about for years after, Getting high, drunk, hanging with friends, kissing until their lips hurt, sex whenever they could get an ounce of privacy, laughing until they cried. Two stupid teenagers having the time of their lives.

The thing about spending so much intimate time with someone for nearly two months was that you’d start to actually fall for them. Harry was the first to say the words ‘I love you’. Their friends would joke and make fun of them for thinking it would be anything more than a summer fling. How could it? They were having too much fun together. All of Harry’s friends loved Y/N, and Harry was the first person outside of her immediate family to hear her sing and encourage her to pursue music. Neither of them wanted it to end. But as August turned to September they both knew. They were young and naive to think it could last.

Y/N remembered the last time they saw each other. She found herself often thinking about it when she was sad and alone. They were at a private beach and the water was too rough to swim in so they stayed on the sand and talked. Harry was about to leave for London the next day and Y/N would be starting back at school soon. They whined about how they didn’t want summer to end. Y/N started getting emotional and Harry began to cry, too. They kissed and cuddled, crying to each other. They told each other that they’d try to keep in touch, but they both knew this was goodbye.

Pictures of them together leaked of that day and rumors began to spread like wildfire. It got even crazier when their next album came out and they released a song called ‘Summer Love’. Fans immediately linked it to the leaked pictures of her and Harry at the beach and her social media blew up with people in her DMs asking for details and stories that she never entertained.

She got angry. How could he write a song about her but not keep in contact? She started pouring herself into her music. It was barely two years later that one of her friends introduced her to a producer and she began to make music. No one expected her career to gain momentum so quickly. Her, least of all. She had no clue what it took to be famous and the first year was the hardest. Especially the interviews.

It was difficult, at first, figuring out how to navigate her ‘girl next door’ image when she couldn’t seem to break free from the narrative of being one of Harry Styles's ex-girlfriends. It would be brought up in nearly every interview and it got tiring. That’s when Y/N made the decision to stop caring about her ‘image’ and to be true to herself. She started shutting down questions related to her personal relationships and showed more of her goofy and real side. Eventually, it became less about Harry and more about how people connected with her as a person. Y/N was refreshing to see amongst all the same talent that’s been on the scene for a while.

There were times where Y/N and Harry would attend the same events and cross paths. He definitely remembered her and they’d share a quick nod or wave in passing, but they’d always be whistles in different directions, unable to speak. Until one event, in particular, last year.

Nothing crazy happened. It was just a fundraiser dinner and a lot of celebrities were in attendance. There were theatrical performances and a few bands playing while they ate, along with intermittent speeches and auctions. Photographers and videographers circled the hundreds in attendance, getting some behind the scene shots, but for the most part, everyone just mingled.

Y/N brought her manager and boyfriend at the time, and she sat at a table with James Corden, his wife, and manager, as well as a few other lesser-known celebs that were more into the business aspect of things. Everyone was talking. She found out that James’s wife was a big fan of hers and they were all laughing at something Y/N said, making promises to be on his show again soon, when a figure loomed behind them, tapping James on the shoulder but getting everyone’s attention, turning to see Harry.

“Oh, Harry! Hello mate! How are you doing?” James asked, attempting to hug him from his seat.

“Alright, man, how are you?” Harry asked, grinning coyly and awkwardly, waving at the rest of the table, “Hello!” and then he looked at Y/N, eyes glistening and nodding, “Hi.”

“Hey,” she grinned back nicely, tight-lipped, as her boyfriend’s arms snaked around her waist, pulling her just a little closer to him.

Her boyfriend, well-known for having a famous dad, had no clue of the history between Y/N and Harry but was a fairly jealous guy. He didn’t trust anyone around Y/N and it was something she resented in their relationship.

Harry turned his attention back to James after eyeing the couple, “I was just checking to see if you’d be performing tonight, too?” Harry joked, “Maybe a little number from Into The Woods?” he smirked, earning a laugh from the table and roars from James.

“No, no. They can’t afford me,” James played along.

“It’s a charity, James,” Harry shot back, “Or maybe they were worried people would walk out.”

“Excuse you! That musical had eleven nominations and three awards, thank you very much!” James laughed, pointing out the empty seat across from him and Y/N, “Would you like to join us?”

Harry agreed, taking the seat, and he stayed there for the rest of the night. He talked with everyone at the table, watched the speeches, and listened to bands play. Eventually, he got enough courage to start conversing more with Y/N, shocked to find that, although she’s grown in the last several years and had a pretty shitty boyfriend, she was still relatively the same carefree, wild spirit he met at that party.

They talked about the release of his first solo album and his time on his first solo tour. They talked about how she was working on a new album herself and the recent interview she had with James that seemed to be a contender for most-viewed. Harry had seen it, as well. He was enjoying being in her company again but could do without her boyfriend that seemed to butt-in at every chance he could. And from the looks of it, Y/N was annoyed about it, as well.

By the end of the night, Harry was kicking himself for not getting her number. As he lay alone in bed, those memories of that summer began flooding back as it did every few months since, and speaking with her today struck him. He felt nostalgic, missing their sandy kisses and midnight strolls. How they used to stay up all night talking on the phone just to see each other again when the sun rose. He contemplated reaching out via Instagram or Twitter but ultimately decided that she had long since gotten over him and that there was no point considering she had a boyfriend.

Except that wasn’t true. The whole car journey back to her hotel, Y/N sat in silence recalling every moment of the night and longing for that old connection for Harry back. The second she and her boyfriend got back to her room, she grabbed her notebook, ignoring her boyfriend’s beckons to join him in bed, and went to work. It was the fastest song she had ever written, taking a total of two hours. And she broke things off with her boyfriend not two weeks later. The news broke in less than twenty-four hours and it was the top story for weeks.

She almost didn’t include the song in her album, but at the last minute, she decided to add it. She figured enough time had passed where people wouldn’t know who it was about. She was wrong. Big time.

Her impending performance at the Brits was all anyone could talk about, and now that the day was here, Y/N’s nerves were reeling. The thought of singing this song and knowing Harry was here watching was enough to make her want to throw up. Every time the camera panned to Harry during the awards with his face plastered on a large screen off to the side, Y/N was certain she’d pass out. Luckily they were on separate ends of the stage and she couldn’t really see him from where she sat, so she just avoided the screen. Her normal ‘don’t care’ attitude was gone.

Soon, she was taken backstage to get wired and ready for her performance. She bounced up and down in her heels trying to summon some energy and shake the nerves, messing with the dangling strands of hair that framed her face and wiping her sweaty palms on her sleek, satin red dress with one off-the-shoulder draping sleeve and a long side-slit.

She was led out to a pitch dark stage and was positioned in the center, hands gripping tightly on her mic as a presenter on another stage finished a short speech and introduced the next act. Y/N looked down at her feet, listening, waiting for her queue, afraid to look up amongst the crowd of very talented, very famous peers.

“The incredible Y/F/N Y/L/N, with her new single, SUMMER!”

The lights shone brightly on Y/N and she began to sing, followed by the sounds of piano.

“I haven’t seen you since the summer

But you feel just like I remember…..”

Her heart pounded as she walked towards the edge of the stage, finally getting the courage to look up and into their faces, everyone smiling, bobbing their heads, and most even singing along. She scanned the audience, her mind racing, terrified and shocked that she had even found the courage to go through with singing this song here. And then she saw him. He sat towards the left of the stage at a circular table, close to the front, looking up at her, listening intently, with a lopsided smile, and their eyes locked.

That’s when something weird happened. The anxiety she felt just seconds before had washed away. For weeks, this had been her worst nightmare; having to sing this song to his face. She had given herself countless pep talks and dozens of plans to avoid eye contact with anyone in the audience while she sang just in case she ended up looking at Harry. But now that it’s happened, a sense of relief has washed over her. There were so many things she wanted to say to him over the past few years, but for some reason, singing this song at him seemed like enough for the time being. It summed it all up.

He could feel eyes on him, not just from Y/N, but from his table and those around him, as well. Everyone knew of the rumors about this song. Everyone assumed it was about him. Honestly, he figured it was about him, too. Some of the lyrics seemed to point to that summer. But assuming he meant enough to her, especially enough to write a song after all this time, seemed extremely arrogant of him, so he avoided vocalizing his thoughts on the topic and always pushed it aside when it was brought to his attention.

When he heard that she would be performing the song at the Brits, a part of him was scared. He didn’t know how he should react. Should he play it cool? Should he sing along? Should he ignore her performance? But when he saw her on the stage in front of him, he couldn’t take his eyes away. A smile formed on his face and all he could feel was pride. He was proud that he got to know her before all of the fame and got to see the talent before she blew up. He was proud that she worked so hard to get to where she was.

And then they locked eyes.

He was speechless. It wasn’t a particularly heart-wrenching song in its own right, but he could feel the meaning behind the lyrics deep in his chest. Harry could see the tension fading from Y/N’s eyes, something that would barely be noticed unless you were looking for it. And he laughed as she bounced and skipped around the stage. She kicked her heels off which earned an outrageous amount of screams and claps and he laughed as she spun around the stage, barefoot. There she was; that beautiful, carefree girl he’d known when they were just teenagers. And as the song ended and she began to slow down, they caught eyes once more and they smiled before the lights began to dim and everyone in the audience stood, clapping. Harry among them.

“Wow. That was incredible,” his sister, Gemma, awed beside him.

They shared a look; one of both knowing and apprehension. He never told Gemma about Y/N. Sure, she knew of the rumors and saw the pictures, but they never went into detail about their love lives with each other. She didn’t want to push anything out of her brother, but she was a fan of Y/N’s and didn’t want to make her brother feel uncomfortable if she was supporting an artist whom he had any sort of resentment about. But by the look of his smile and nod of agreeance, she knew that it was no trouble.

He found himself often peaking over the heads of the crowd in an attempt to steal a glance at her. And whenever he stood to clap, or collect an award, no matter how hard he tried to conceal his curiosity, he would always end up locking eyes. When she won the first award of her career, he clapped louder and longer than anyone else, and he knew that he was giving himself away. Everyone who had come with him had realized that he was increasingly becoming more interested in her as the night progressed.

When the award show was finally over, he attempted to shuffle amongst the crowd, hoping to catch her before she left, but that proved difficult as he kept getting stopped by other friends and celebrities wanting to congratulate him on his winnings and aiming to have a conversation with him. By the time he had reached her table, she had already gone.

The afterparty was brimming with people, with both celebrities who had gone to the awards, and some who hadn’t. The music was so loud in areas that you could hardly hear others speak. Servers were weaving in and out of people with trays of food and drinks while people talked, danced, and consorted. He was always surprised by the mix of people he saw at afterparties and the friendships he had never expected.

He was in the middle of a conversation with his sister, Alexa Chung, and a few others, when a reflection of glistening light just beyond their group caught his eye, and he looked past his friends to see Y/N standing towards the other end of the room laughing with James Corden, just like she had been the last time he saw her. He had made up his mind in an instant and politely excused himself, making his way over.

“Hello,” he dragged, cautiously edging up towards the two.

They both looked up and he noticed the surprise in Y/N’s eyes before James exclaimed, “Harry! How’s it going, mate?”

“I’m alright, James. And you?” He asked, and before James could respond he turned towards Y/N and muttered, “Hey.”

“Jesus Christ, Harold, you’re not very subtle, are you?” he joked.

It was only a joke, but both Y/N and Harry began to blush. James, too, knew of the rumors and even pressed his friend, off the record, about his brief encounter with Y/N. He knew that there were some reserved emotions between the two old lovers, but by the look of their reaction, it seemed to be a bit greater than he had anticipated and he knew he might have just inadvertently created a bit of tension between the two.

“Well, it was nice to see you both, but I’ve got to go look for my wife before she leaves me for Shawn Mendes,” James lied, giving both of them a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek, “Have a good night.”

They watched as James snuck off and stood there in a moment of silence as the room around them only got louder. Y/N smirked, waiting for Harry to say something. Years, she had pictured this moment. Years she had imagined having a conversation as more than just a passing node or group discussion. Still, if he didn’t get a move on, someone could interrupt them and it’d be just another fleeting moment in their years worth of run-ins.

“You look lovely,” he finally noted, motioning towards her dress.

Y/N snorted, raising an eyebrow, “Come on, Harry, what’d you really want to say?”

Harry grinned nervously, shaking his head, she could see right through him, “Could never get anything past you, could I?”

“Never,” she smiled, crossing her arms.

He looked at her a moment, scanning her eyes before his face turned more serious, “...I missed you.”

“Oh? Did you?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, teasingly jutting his head forward matter-of-factly, “I did.”

“I guess I missed you, too. If you couldn’t tell by the song,” she added, giggling.

“Oh, was that about me?” he asked sarcastically.

Y/N rolled her eyes, “Nah, couldn’t be. Some other bloke, some other summer.”

Harry laughed, astounded. So much time had passed and Y/N was seldom not on his mind. Sure, he had seen her in passing at the many award shows and alongside him on the internet, but he always wondered what time had done to her. He, himself, had learned and evolved with time and with knowledge. He hadn’t considered himself a ‘changed’ man, like so many that had gained money and an ounce of power, but rather he considered himself just grown. He wondered if she would be the same and often worried that the lifestyle would have sucked her dry. He sees it time and time again, lively people turning into shells of their past while trying to keep up with the scene.

But seeing her here, now, he knew that not to be true. She seemed every bit herself, just….grown. More confident, smarter, but just as playful and beautiful as ever. The nerves he was feeling before had gone, replaced with the silliness that he remembered always feeling when he was around her.

“So, we’ve established that I missed you and you missed me. What should we do about that?” he asked, rather flirtatiously.

She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side and as if it was the simplest answer said, “Well, I suppose that means you should ask me out to dinner.”

Harry smiled wider, “So no boyfriend, then?”

She shook her head, a playful smirk forming on her face, “Not unless you’re asking.”

His mouth fell open slightly. Her forwardness was always something he fawned over, and before he could speak, a dark-haired girl slunk up to the two of them and they turned to see Gemma. Y/N had never met Gemma before and only knew of her from the stories Harry told her when they were younger. Of course, she’s seen pictures of his older sister, but seeing them side-by-side she could see the similarities between the two siblings.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt…” Gemma started.

Y/N shook her head, “No, you’re not. It’s Gemma, right? I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.”

Harry watched as his sister attempted to stop ogling and accepted Y/N’s offer for a hug and polite kiss on either cheek. He knew Gemma must be internally freaking out as she admitted, “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m a big fan.”

“Thank you. You look gorgeous, by the way. I can tell who got the good genes,” Y/N smiled, poking fun at Harry.

He feigned hurt and elongated, “Heeeeyyyyy.”

“Hush, now. The girls are talking,” Y/N winked.

The three spent most of the night together, conversing with dozens of other celebrities who approached them, but they hadn’t strayed from each other all night. Their conversation seemed endless and never ran out of things to say. They even started getting a little childish and would sneak off and explore the hotel in which the party was held. Harry was happy to see that his sister and Y/N had quickly become friends, even if it was at the expense of his ego. But as the night continued and the three fought to hide their exhaustion, it had gotten too late and Y/N’s manager had finally found them.

“Come on, Y/N, we should get going,” the blonde tugged at Y/N’s arm.

Y/N nodded, “Yeah, alright.”

They all stood up and gave each other hugs goodbye, “It was nice to see you again,” Y/N whispered into Harry’s ear, lingering in his embrace just a second longer before pulling away, smiling, and following her manager towards the exit.

Harry watched after her, sad to see her walking away again. Why was sleep even a thing? He could spend hours more talking to her about utter nonsense, filling in the gaps of all of their missed time together. He felt a nudge to the left of him from Gemma and he turned to see her urging eyes. He knew what she meant. And he didn’t need another nudge. In seconds, he bolted up and jogged ahead, catching up with them. Y/N must have heard his footsteps, because she turned, amused to see Harry yielding, out of breath.

“Forget something?” she joked, crossing her arms with a smile.

He grinned, nodding, “Your number.”

She smiled wider, holding her hand out for his phone and when he passed it to her, she quickly inputted her number and saved it, handing it back. “Please pass my number along to your sister, too.”

“Are you just using me to get to Gemma?” Harry joked.

“Of course I am,” Y/N laughed. There was a moment of silence before Y/N leaned in, kissing him softly on the cheek before stepping back towards her manager, “Don’t lose my number this time, yeah?”

Harry shook his head, lips twitching, “Never. I won’t make that mistake again.”

------------------------------------

Taglist:

@odetostep @mylittleangel9403 @thurhomish @fallingfordolans

#Harry Styles Imagine #Harry Styles fanfic #harry styles fan fic #harry styles smut #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles oneshot #harry styles one shot #harry styles #one direction #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfic #one direction fanfic #one direction fan fic #one direction smut #harry #harry styles blurb #smut #one direction fanfiction #one direction imagine #one direction fan fiction #1d #harry styles angst #one direction fluff #fluff #liam payne

[autismcupcake]

Intro post 2.0

Heya! Joshua originally made us an introduction but it was pretty spontaneous and left out a few important things so we're going to redo it!

First off, hi! We're The Labradorite System and this is our main blog! It's run by most of us who front, but only some of us will make original posts and interact and that kinda stuff!

Currently we're mainly posting about Stardew Valley, our current hyperfixation, but we still post about other things! Namely, you'll probably see content of Half Life, Portal, hlvrai and some other odds and ends! There are a few things only specific people post - Joshua posts about Bugsnax (though we haven't played it, he likes the creatures and thinks they're cute), Tommy posts about science when it feels comfortable and Adrian will sometimes do little "frog assignments" for friends or pretty much anyone that asks for them

Our DNI is fairly standard, don't be a bigot and you're probably chill to interact

Feel free to tell us if you need something tagged, we'll tag just about anything

We try to add image descriptions to what we post and reblog! Undescribed images are tagged with "undescribed"

More stuff under the cut! Mostly system related stuff, if you'd like to know

First of all, names and pronouns of people you'll interact with most often as well as some important details

Our host, Tommy, uses it/its or any pronouns. There's quite a bit I could say about them, but she prefers talking about herself or letting people find out themselves. Although, I will say that, regarding pronouns, Tommy prefers them to be switched up if you aren't only going to use it/its

Bubby is a frequent fronter, he uses he/him pronouns. Bubby prefers to type with proper grammar and punctuation - it doesn't mean he's mad at you, he just prefers it that way

Joshua is someone you'll also see quite often, Joshua uses he/him or sticker/stickers. Stickers nickname is Joshie, so you'll see us and people who know us call him that.

Adrian pops up pretty often, Adrian's pronouns are it/its, they/them or he/him. Adrian also posts about frogs/assigns frogs to people who ask and is the main person you may see post about Slime Rancher.

Benrey doesn't use tumblr too much these days, I won't tell you why as it's his own business, but you may see Ben around here too. Benrey uses he/him, they/them, game/gameboy or anything other than she/her. Benrey also tends to have "uhhhh" between words or sentences, depending. With or without the e is okay, game doesn't care whether you say "benrey" or "benry". You'll also see us call him Ben and Joshua or Tommy call him Benny

Lastly, Haley! She's fairly new, but also fronts often and uses the blog. Haley uses she/her or pink/pinks and may add other pronouns. She almost always has a "<3" or some other type of heart after/in between what she says

We each have our own tags, as well as "personal" which is a collective tag and means to not reblog.

Also, if you'd like to speak with one of us specifically - whether it's through a message or ask or even tagging in a post - please make sure you specify! Whoever is available will probably answer unspecified asks/messages unless they think it might be meant for someone in particular

#it's currently four am so I may edit this later #but here's everything I can tell you right now #feel free to ask if you need any clarification #or anything at all really #we're here to help #pinned post #about us

[wickedobsessed101]

Fanfic Writer Asks

[SOURCE: criminal-minds-fanfiction: Most of the writer ask posts I come across are only like ten or so questions long so I thought I’d try to make a longer one because we like talking about our writing! Feel free to reblog!]

I’m answering all of these b/c I love Q & A’s about my writing, both for my fics and other things.

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction? It was 2013, so I was 14 years old. I’m now almost 23.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one? I’m mostly in the Wicked Musical fandom, but I like to read for other fandoms, like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Chronicles of Narnia, ect.

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer. OCs, but I’m more than willing to create an OC for someone based on characteristics they give me.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for? I love me some fluffy romance and hurt/comfort, but I also love some angsty drama.

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi-chaptered stories, which would it be and why? OMG, don’t make me choose! They’re all my babies! I love all my children equally! They all hold special places in my heart.

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why? Goodness, most of my stories prior to 2017, because I was in high school and had no idea what I was doing because I was just getting my feet wet with writing.

7) When is your preferred time to write? Anytime really. The latest I’ve stayed up writing a fic was 4AM. *Glares at ‘Threads of Truth’*

8) Where do you take your inspiration from? Where ever it happens to come up. I’m not picky. Movies, music, people I’ve seen on the street, random thoughts that enter my head, anything.

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote? In ‘Threads of Truth’, it’s a tie between Villy’s first date, and an argument that happens in an upcoming chapter. And that’s all I’m saying about that.

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind? In ‘Play The Game’, I liked the epilogue ending that I gave Elphaba with her family, even without Fiyero. I like writing her with kids. Another ending would be with the Fiyeraba still together, but I’m satisfied with the ending it has.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it? I’ll go back and fix typos that are pointed out, but I don’t change plot stuff. Like, I wrote what I wrote and I will amend my technique in future stories.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why? Other than my OCs, because I get to fully create them and my lowkey babies, I’d have to say G(a)linda. She has so much potential and she’s so much fun.

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why? Boq. Not because I hate him (I don’t!), but because I don’t normally know what to do with him. If he’s not with Nessa, he’s literally just standing there like a brick wall. No offence, Boq!

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories. [Ask me about a specific story(ies)]

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names? I usually change consonants and vowels to already existing names, or add unnecessary letters because... reasons.

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx? [Ask me about a specific story]

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on. “Hopefully, this will soak up any more leaks.” (Upcoming Wicked fanfic)

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them? Yes, 2. Both of them are a few years old and I’ve grown as a writer since then. Maybe one day, I’ll edit them and repost, but not anytime soon.

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to? Not everything can have a sequel, y’all! XD

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently? Yes! Around 60% of them.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire? @vinkunwildflowerqueen @raven-curls @mylittleelphie @weaselspeedfanfic Ultimate Queen of Cliffies

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it? This goes back to Question #6; most of what I posted prior to 2017.

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence? Silence. I need to focus.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes? I can’t write it. They’ll make out, and then be pregnant in the next chapter. Y’all can do the math for yourselves.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story? YES! Yes, I have! Both sad tears and tears of joy. I’ve also cringed from second-hand embarrassment at the things the characters do and say. I’m not in control of their actions all the time. Sometimes they tell me what they’re gonna do, and I’m like, “Well, alright, then.”

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write? [Ask me about a specific story]

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow? I write bullet points of things I want to happen in a chapter on the Word Doc, or in the story as a whole, and I try to keep those bullet points in order. And the Notes App on my phone holds a lot of my ideas, and sometimes full scenes.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction? That I’d become obsessed with writing and continue doing it for almost ten years, as well as expanding to writing plays and musicals.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like? Yeah. I’m not gonna say which one, but just know there’s one... or a few.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at? Yes, and I’m still not gonna say which one(s). I want all the love!

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec, not the answerer) Yeah, sure!

32) Are any of your characters based on real people? Yes. Villy Doiir from ‘Threads of Truth’ is based on 4 people I know in real life, all mixed together into one wholesome, mother figure/ mentor. Perhaps that’s why I like writing her so much.

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten? All reviews keep me going, no matter the length. But I love it when people review saying that they picked up on little references that were really just for me. It makes me feel like we’ve shared a moment.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten? A guest reviewer once said, “You tend to write Fiyero as an abusive person”. It wasn’t harsh, just... NOT TRUE. Especially for the story they were reviewing.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest? Close to my chest. I’ll share it with the world when I’m ready.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s? NOPE! You’ll just have to wait and see! LOL!

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written? I... really don’t know. My stories all have their funny moments.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it. I’m very busy, and collabs aren’t really my thing, but I’m always willing to lend an extra pair of eyes pre-posting.

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person? I’ve written one story in the first person and it was fun to get into the character’s head, but I love third person, cause I like knowing what everyone is thinking. Second person makes me feel a certain way and that don’t really like.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction? IRL, no. It’s not something I bring up over dinner. I’ll talk about my plays and musicals, but not fanfiction. I like keeping my fics for the online peeps and my more personal writings for the RL peeps.

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written? My OC, Princess Hannalyn, from ‘A Royal Romance’. She was so much fun!

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx. I haven’t done a song fic.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it? Not fully, but they’ve had little inklings, but certain details were still a surprise. And I’m not mad about it.

44) What is the last line you wrote? “I don’t want this to be the last time we see each other.”

45) What spurs you on during the writing process? When I’ll have one idea, and it spirals into many others, and when the characters write themselves. It makes it so much easier for me. Sometimes they tell me that they’re about to make a bad decision, and I just go along with it. They need to learn and grow somehow.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it? [Ask me for a specific story]

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about? [Ask me]

48) What’s your favourite trope to write? I love a good Royalty AU (not fully AU ‘cause of our princey-prince, but still) and Holiday AUs. And I’ve never written a Coffeeshop AU, but I LOVE reading them. I’ll read anything. I’m not picky, and I love to see what ideas others have.

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about? Yes, and both of them were Gelphies: 1 - “Easier Said Than Done” by mecelphie - It’s part of a long, wonderful series of Elphaba and Glinda together at Shiz and how their lives evolve together and has many lovable OCs. 2 - “The Thropp Diaries” by denpa wave chick saki - It’s first-person Elphaba POV of the book. It expands on lots of mentioned moments and we get to journey through Elphaba’s thoughts.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? I’d have to say fluff, so I can get my escape from reality. But it’s hard to write pure fluff without a little bit of conflict.

If you wanna read my stories, they’re all right here: Fae’sFlower

#wicked the musical #wicked #wicked fanfiction #fiyeraba fanfic #faesflower #Q & A #Fiyeraba #gelphie #Elphaba #Fiyero #Glinda #Galinda #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction.net #let me tell you about my writing and my stories #writer #Q & A with Nia

[dylawa]

“Your fic's value is not defined by how popular it is! If you had fun writing it and you like it, that’s all that matters! That means it’s good!”

-----

Let me propose a scenario.

In this scenario, you have been invited to a potluck. Everyone is to bring a cake. You can bring the same flavor as someone else. You can be as detailed or simple as you like. It can be gluten free, or be loaded with sugar.

With these parameters in mind, you bring your cake. You know it's a good cake; others have eaten this exact recipe before from other bakers. Hell, even people you know personally have had this cake that you made in the past. You add it to the table.

You go around and eat other cakes; as many as you know you can reasonably stomach. You find the creators to compliment them. Everyone is eating cake, some very similar, some WILDLY different, but everyone is eating. You can see it.

The night goes on. You don't hear about your own cake. You don't see your cake on anyone's plate. Nobody even asks you about your cake.

The potluck ends. You return to the table to help clean up. Many cakes are completely gone. Cakes identical to yours are more than half gone.

Your cake sits with only a couple slices taken. You can see one at the top of the trash.

You know the cake is good. But all that work was for nothing, not only because the food was wasted, but nobody cared enough about your cake to even ask about it.

-----

So, here's the thing about fanfiction: most people aren't posting for the fun of it. If the story was just written for "fun" and for the author's enjoyment ONLY, it would stay in the drafts. If the fun was just from writing and reading, what would be the point of posting?

Things are posted because the authors want to SHARE them. There is validation in being told your work is good, that someone enjoys your ideas and your writing, even if you KNOW already that it's good.

Hell's sake, I have an ENGLISH degree, but I still look for comments on my stuff every damn week. I KNOW my work is good value. Hell, not to toot my own horn, but I'd even go so far as to argue it's INCREDIBLE. Some of my greatest work to date has come out of HLAL. 

But do I get the same number of hits as other authors in the same category, writing similar kinds of relationships and scenarios? I went to the liberty of going into the All Might/Reader tag and sorting by date posted and grabbing a few numbers.

My fic, at the time of typing this, has 1169 hits. 13 chapters. That's with bi-weekly updates. Doesn't sound bad, right? Let's compare that to other fics uploaded around the same time (without names, just ratings, no particular order, with the only ship being All Might/Reader).

987 hits. 1 chapter. E

701 hits. 1 chapter. G

1235 hits. 1 chapter. E

3064 hits. 1 chapters. M

602 hits. 1 chapter. G

2451 hits. 1 chapter. E

621 hits. 1 chapter. T

696 hits. 1 chapter. T

Do you see the problem? Do you see the comparison I'm trying to make?

Now believe me when I say, I KNOW there are people out there with non-existent viewer engagement with their own All Might/Reader fics in comparison to me. But if you're any good with ratios, you can plainly see that the number of hits I have in comparison to these others is GROSSLY disproportionate. You can see that even rating doesn't play all that much of a factor. The average view count for all of these fics, for just ONE chapter, is almost 1,300 hits.

I haven't reached that in THIRTEEN. CHAPTERS.

Thirteen. Chapters. For a series I have been working on for three. Years. That I have been advertising on both Twitter and Tumblr nonstop, every time a new update comes out.

"But Dylawa, your fic is a series; you didn't include the view count from all your fics in HLAL."

Okay I'll do that. Gladly.

The total hit count for the entirety of the HLAL series, over 20 fics, amounts to 32,204. Average that out among the 20 fics, and you have 1,610 views per fic. That's it. If we take individual chapters into account, currently 89, 388 hits per chap. 

Notice how that number still doesn't hit the LOWEST viewed fics I mentioned above that were just one chapter. Uploaded once, then never touched again. All within the same month long timeframe that my latest fic was first uploaded.

Mine has been updated. Theirs has not.

This doesn't even take into account those that have less engagement than I do. If I'M miffed about someone tweeting, "You should just have fun writing and not worry about the engagement," imagine how those authors with 30 hits since March are feeling.

That's why "be happy you wrote something you like!" is shit advice. If you made a cake for a potluck, & nobody ate your cake, but everyone else ate a little bit (or a lot a bit) of other people's stuff-- which was damn near IDENTICAL to yours-- you'd be pretty damn upset too.

And ALL OF THAT that I just wrote, is JUST about the validation factor. I didn't even dive into how those numbers impact the potential for word about said fics to get spread among fandom, how that could result in new followers, and the domino effect of just mere conversation.

This is why I'm ALWAYS reblogging my advertisements for my fic. This is why I'm ALWAYS bringing up my Patreon. Because no one else will do it (but those of you that do, I see you, ilu, but there's like, two of you out of a hundred followers).

And it's not WORKING.

The number of hits, kudos and comments-- it all GENUINELY means something beyond just making an author feel good. It's unbelievably disingenuous to tweet "just have fun!" when there are other factors to consider.

We DO have fun. But why bake a cake if no one else is eating it?

#dylawa rambles #dylawa rants #discourse #fanfiction discourse #copied this from a thread i made on twitter so sorry for any formatting issues #attn: writers #important #psa

[tarithenurse]

Nightingale - 19

Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Hatake Kakashi &/x Fem!OC Contents: Yeah...this gets darker with some violence, a torture-ish situation, angst, sadness. A/N: Gotten to 347 of Shippuuden, btw. What a ride! As usual, ASK or REBLOG for tag!

Ch. 19

Her restraints haven't been altered, so Uguisu sits straight in the chair – the only display of freedom being a leg daintily slung over the other, allowing a foot to tap along in the air to an unheard melody as if she's bored. There is no fear in her face, just mild curiosity as she regards the towering man who has turned to her now. Gloved fingers move nimbly to release the gag.

"How are you feeling, Minami-kun?"

If she's surprised at the question and the (relatively) kind voice, she doesn't show it. "Much better, thank you. I don't believe I've slept this well since I was a teen."

"I suppose not..." Ibiki concedes, "but how come you managed to tonight? I would expect someone with your claimed experiences would have nightmares."

"Normally, yes. I guess I was too exhausted even to dream." The interrogator has begun circling the chair where she sits so her gaze lands on Kakashi instead.

"It can be a relief to finally tell the truth."

She nods. "Might also have helped that establishing the seal burned through all my chakra."

"The seal...yes." Pausing, he lets a hand brush against her shoulder, and while Kakashi holds his breath in anticipation, the woman merely tenses. "Do you feel...different with the seal?"

Uguisu purses her lips slightly as if in deep thought. "Well, apart from the physical effect...I'm not sure. It might be psychological that I feel free...like a looming shadow has been chased away...it probably is...but it's the best metaphor."

"You mentioned a physical effect?"

"It throbs, hurts. Not the worst I've ever felt but enough to be annoying." It’s impossible to tell she’s experiencing any discomfort when looking at her.

"Last night, you told us how the Curse Mark would be triggered if you used too much of your chakra or kekkei genkai." She nods at his words. "Is that the same now?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Why not?"

The little bit Kakashi knows about the woman, he can easily imagine that she's biting a sarcastic comment back rather than the calm reply she gives: "It seemed unwise to do anything without proper approval first...and I'm afraid to try."

"Explain."

"...which part?"

"The latter," Ibiki prompts less patiently but adds, "if you'd be so kind."

"When the mark activates, it's as if Orochimaru takes over mind and body and I...don't...want that."

Kakashi fears for one short moment that the woman will be asked to continue explaining, to retell in gruelling details what exactly she has suffered through at the hands of Konoha's enemy, and maybe that was Ibiki's plan as he bends over her to scrutinize her eyes and face because to the careful observer there's a subtle change in his stance.

He signals Inoichi who brings out a backpack together with a bundle containing the gear she’d carried last night.

“Is this yours?” The man with the long ponytail lifts the backpack.

“It is.”

“What is in it?” He places it on the end of the table that’s free.

A shrug. “I suppose that depends if anything has been added or removed since last I packed it.” Undoubtedly, Uguisu doesn’t trust the men very much. “There should be some tools, weapons, and clothing of mine. You’d also find a book from the Academy’s Library, a necklace, an alarm clock, someone’s favourite cup...washed, I might add...ehm, an also-washed sock, a photograph, and a pretty stone.”

Every item mentioned is procured from the depths of the luggage and lined up on the table.

Morino takes over again: “You have stolen these things, true?”

“Is it still considered stealing if the intention from the beginning is to return them?”

“Then why take them at all?”

A grim smile dances across the woman’s face. “The note explained why I borrowed the book. The rest? Proof that I could’ve killed but chose not to. I’m not the enemy.”

A smile is tugging at Kakashi’s lips behind the black fabric of the collar as he sees the interrogator momentarily at a loss for words – the skills he has honed over the years are telling him the explanation is true or at least not detectable as a lie.

"Then tell me," he recovers, "what you can do with your skill. Why was it so important to Orochimaru?"

"Because it can force people to go against their very nature." Only silence answers her. "One order from me, worded carefully, and the person will have no choice but to follow it to their best of their abilities. They will want to. Like an obsession or addiction nagging their mind until they give in to it because it's the only thing that matters to them. Orochimaru sought to use it to gain access to restricted places or during interrogations if a prisoner refused to tell him what he wanted. At the time, it wasn't necessary for the sake of carrying out murders but I'm certain he considered that as an option too," she sighs, "and probably more."

"Show us."

The onlookers were already silent but the hush that falls in the room makes it feel as though all air has been sucked away – a feeling that's intensified when Uguisu stares at the man with open mouth.

"Show? Are you...you don't mean that," she gasps, "or are...you volunteering?"

"Hm," Kakashi knows something's brewing when the interrogator begins to smile, "not me, no. However I'd recommend you demonstrate your skill on someone who has stated their devotion to you." Yeah, that makes sense. "Kakashi."

Even before Ibiki has finished saying his name, the jōnin in question has pushed to his feet. If Asuma had been there, he’d probably look at the white-haired friend in a way which would mean something along the lines of "told you so". The only Sarutobi, the old Hokage, shifts in his seat but doesn't object, allowing the addition to the people in the arena.

"Order him to follow the first order I give him."

Just do it. Kakashi nods to the woman, hoping to banish the fear from the doe-like eyes as she shifts her attention between the two men. I got nothing to hide.

“I must be able to sign,” she protests.

Without hesitation, the tall man in charge cuts her bonds and even allows her time to rub some life into hands and fingers before he motions towards the test-bunny. Is she hesitating? Just as Kakashi begins to wonder, Uguisu’s hands flies through a series of signs.

"Kakashi..."

Everything changes. The surroundings seem to fade away along with the people in it – even the shadow that once was Ibiki is unable to take form or speak audibly as it leans closer to Uguisu. Uguisu. She's washed out too, but her voice rings clear, somehow guiding him as she speaks again and he just knows that anything she says is important. Follow the order Ibiki gives me. It's a strange thing to say, but if that's what she wants then he'll happily do it and as he nods, the man in question begins to stand out clearer in the blurred world.

"Strangle her until she passes out."

A part of Kakashi tries to object, but his body moves on its own accord until he's leaning over her because this is what she wanted. She told him to follow the order. So he does.

The skin is soft and smooth under his fingers, the little hairs in the neck obediently bend under the pressure and it tickles a memory of having touched the blue strands before but in a different way. Above his hands the usually pretty face is distorted: mouth open, eyes watering and huge. She's afraid? But she wanted me to do this. It doesn't make sense, really, but he clings on to the one thing he knows for sure. Do as told. Her eyes roll backwards and the whites contrast the flushed skin. Almost there. Almost done as you wanted. Something wet lands on her face. Drops of something unimportant. She's resisting a bit now, but it's easy to avoid the instinctual flailing. Almost. And then she stops. The haze of the world lifts as Kakashi's hands fall to his sides and he realizes what he has done.

It takes four seconds to lower her onto the floor.

It takes five before he can hear the heartbeat, sluggish and faint.

It feels like an infinity before she gasps and coughs, each intake of breath shuddering through her body. It nearly breaks his heart to feel Uguisu stiffen as he pulls her into his lap.

"Truth..." Ibiki’s standing with his arms crossed, glaring down at the woman and smiling lazily as he takes in how she reacts even in her ally's arms. "Gotta admit I'm impressed it actually worked...maybe you're not completely useless after all."

"You wanna...see...usefulness?" she wheezes, pushing off of Kakashi and onto her feet. She's shaking, whether from the underlying trauma or the near death experience itself is unclear.

The man who ordered the attack strolls around the arena. "You didn't even try to fight him."

"Why should I...an order cannot be annulled..." Slender fingers tentatively stroke the angry marks left behind on her throat, making Kakashi’s gut tighten.

"Aï...The only thing I've seen so far is a scared woman crying and snivelling."

Something ignites within Kakashi almost as if he had been the target of the insult. But if I butt in...no...He knows the senior well enough to understand that this is part of the tactic, one move of many in an elaborate game of chess between him and the blue-haired girl.

Maybe she knows it too, at least she doesn't hide a tiny smile. "Fight back." Now her smile has grown into a full grin. "Perhaps a duel? Unless it's beneath you to fight a snivelling, scared girl like me? Hmm?"

"No involvement of others."

"Hm," she agrees.

Getting the hint, her white-haired friend retreats to his seat from before, only now realizing that his mask is wet.

Below, Uguisu is equipping the gear she normally wears and meticulously checks the contents of each pouch and sheath. Her hands are shaking. The sound of her breathing still has a slight creaking to it. Maybe for that reason, the scarred man is allowing her to take her time. He wants to see how capable she is.

Ibiki squares off at one side of the sandy floor. "The opponent must yield."

Again, she hums in agreement, taking her own place opposite of him. "Before we start...you might want to have a look in the book," she sweetly offers, "first page."

"Hah! Such a low trick won't work."

#Kakashi #Kakashi fanfic #hatake kakashi x #Hatake Kakashi x ofc reader #Kakashi fanfiction #Kakashi slow burn ish #Kakashi forbidden love #Kakashi Hatake #Hatake Kakashi #Naruto #Naruto fandom #Kakashi x female OC #x OC #x oc reader #Kakashi angst #Kakashi mystery #Konohagakure #Kakashi sensei #Kakashi jonin #Team 7 #Konoha #Kakashi centric #Nightingale #Uguizu #Nightingale fanfic series #fanfiction #fanfic #writing #wip #Nightingale series

[calibancangetit]

The Final Witch’s Quarry (Part 1)

Chapter: Her Quarry

Pairings: Prince Caliban x Reader

Summary: (Y/N) finally finds a key to her revenge as well as finally meeting the one person she is destined to stop.

Notes: I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU ALL HOW THANKFUL I AM FOR THE SUPPORT YOU HAVE SHOWN ME FOR THIS FIC! I really didn’t think it would do so well, but you all are really giving me so much love! Thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged as well as commented. It made me so happy. I’m going to start focusing on some imagines for you all as a gift. I got some ideas that I think you all will like. If you have any requests please feel free to ask. I haven’t decided if I’ll be doing any smut however, so please refrain from asking for that as of now. Thank you again! 

Prologue 

Hilda has had plenty of awkward experiences. She couldn’t count how many times she created tension so thick she wanted to just sink into the Earth and never come out. However, today was the first time she got to see that tension from an onlookers perspective.

You sat perfectly still in your seat at the Spellman’s dining room table. You were seated exactly centered at the table, where you had careful view of the entire kitchen as well as it’s occupants. Ambrose and Sabrina shifted in their seats uncomfortably as they both tried to make out the best thing to say. You let out a deep sigh as you crossed your arms; your annoyance raidiated off of you in waves.

A quick cough caught your attention as Hilda walked up to you with a tray of homemade cookies and tea.

“U-uh, it’s quite excellent to see Sabrina bring home some new friends-” your sharp glare made Hilda stumble on her words as she placed the tray in front of you-“or not. Um, where did you say you were from again, love?”

You eyed the woman beside you. She had a terrible habit of wringing her hands and patting her clothes down frequently; she also had this obsessive need to release uncomfortable chuckles to ease situations like the one you found yourself in now. It was amusing as well as agitating.

“Brooklyn.” you muttered as you lifted a cookie to your lips.

You sniffed it before taking the sweet between your teeth and savoring the oatmeal flavor. Your eyes met Hilda’s again as she watched you eat. You gulped down the cookie and let out a short awkward cough as you gave her a forced smile in order to aknowledge that you enjoyed it. She took your hint with a smile and ran off to the other side of the table to sit in and listen.

“So, um, (Y/N)?” Sabrina started as you crossed your arms again and gave her a harsh glare. “What I mainly need you to help me with is stopping Caliban.”

“What’s a Caliban?” You questioned with obvious boredom laced in your voice.

You could see Sabrina become more exasperated by your attitude as she tried to explain her plan. You listened on and off through her little presentation. You paid attention to certain key words within it like Prince of Hell, Tenth circle, etc., etc, yet your mind came to an abrupt stop when a certain competition was brought up.

“You are trying to obtain the Unholy Regalia?” You almost choked at the thought of her collecting every piece.

Sabrina and Ambrose gave each other nervous looks before nodding sadly. At this, you couldn’t help but burst into a fit of laughter.

“You realize this was made for you to fail! How could they expect you-“ you paused.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. You mind flew to the Regalia and it’s power. You smirked at the Spellmans as you drummed your fingers against the table. Things are going perfectly-at least for you.

“This Regalia is going to determine who is the ruler of hell?” You asked, twirling another cookie between your fingers.

“Yes, and Caliban is the only competitor. This man of clay seems to be hell bent, if you’ll excuse the pun, on defeating Sabrina, ruling Hell, and conquering Earth.” Ambrose bit his lip, and you couldn’t help but notice the frantic bouncing of his knee.

“And Caliban? What are his powers?”

“We aren’t sure. As far as we know he has the powers of any warlock, but he hasn’t shown us much.”

You gave a brief smile as you stood up from the table abruptly, knocking some cookies off your plate. That, of course, made Hilda wince.

“Do you know what’s funny about clay?” You asked with a face full of amusement.

The family shrugged to your little question with a series of confused whispers.

“No matter how good the sculptor, clay will always break.”

—

It had been a while since you have seen Hell. The stench of blood and death engulfed you, and torment was plastered on every suffering souls face. The walls of pandemonium were no better. Sinners were strapped against the wall and with every ten seconds of peace another 60 were spent with their bodies set on fire. You kept a straight face despite the cookies from earlier running up your throat. You were disgusted.

You felt Sage’s feathers brush against your cheek as she situated herself on your shoulder. You could feel her anxiety from being here and it was a valid feeling. She knew how you were feeling.

“So what am I suppose to do?” You asked as you flattened some of Sage’s feathers on her head.

Your eyebrows furrowed at the sight of your alli. Sabrina was an absolute wreck. She was chewing her bottom lip and wringing her hands every five seconds; you couldn’t tell if you were dealing with her or Hilda.

“Right now, you are going to be a scare tactic. Ambrose didn’t go into detail since he isn’t quite sure either, but he said Hell feared you. I’m going to need that fear.” You tried to ignore the way her face dropped.

After all, whatever was bothering her was none of your business. You were here for one reason and one reason only-

“Do you really speak to the false God?”

You blinked at the question and were about to brush her off, but you saw the way she pleaded with you for an answer.

“Didn’t you speak with yours?”

She gulped quietly before nodding more to herself than you. Guilt crept up your spine. She didn’t deserve your kindness, but you supposed she also didn’t deserve your spite. That was for her father. You could spare some advice.

“How long have you known you were Lucifer’s daughter?”

Sabrina was surprised by your sudden question but still answered, “Not long?”

“I can tell.” Sabrina stopped in her tracks at the confession. She could sense the trace of an insult and was greatly offended.

“What the hell is that suppose to mean?”

You gave her an amused look before continuing on,“I’ve known you for three days and even I can tell you are ill suited to be queen of hell just as everyone else can.”

She was at a loss of words as she tried to regain what was left of her pride.

You rolled your eyes and chuckled,“ You gotta stand up straight and quit being so nervous is what I am trying to say.”

Realization dawned on her face as she finally understood what you were trying to say. You shook your head in fake disappointment before pushing open too large blood coated doors.

You walked into the throne room where Lilith was expecting you and Sabrina. She was awfully disguised in the form of a human. It didn’t take you long to notice though. You could see through any poorly casted spell. You came to halt in front of the woman and quirked an eyebrow.

“Madame Satan,”

“Ah, the final witch. I thought you’d be-” she narrowed her eyes-“bigger.”

You gave a sweet smile and responded, "Yes, just like I thought you’d be queen. Guess life is full of disappointments. Isn’t it?

Her glare could slice you in half, and you wouldn’t be surprised if it did. Lilith made a move towards you but Sabrina quickly pushed her away.

“ Anyways,” she chuckled nervously as Lilith patted down her dress, “The court will be in soon to discuss more about the competition as well as upcoming changes I have been planning.”

Lilith hummed in agreement as she turned to face you once more to add on.

“You will be introduced as the Final Witch, who has sided with Sabrina in the competition. It should gain us some leverage. You must remain calm and seem regal despite whatever they may say. They need to know you are untouchable.”

You could clearly see the confusion laced on Sabrina’s face. She clearly had no clue who she allied with.

The sounds of heavy footsteps and high pitched cackles caught Lilith’s attention, “Here they come,”

You let out a breath as demons filed into the room. The last to enter were the three plague kings with a man following close behind them.

Sabrina seemed to take your advice since she stood before them with the aura of the greatest queen of all time. You stood tall yourself to match Sabrina as you waited for her to begin.

“Before we discuss the new regulations I plan on using during my reign, I would like to announce a very important alli of mine, who believes I am more certified to rule Hell than your prince.”

Your eyes wandered across the room as you assessed everyone’s reactions. You didn’t expect a certain pair to be staring right back at you. He was dressed in a leather vest with claws poking out of it. He was leaning against a pillar towards the back with his arms crossed. You could tell he was either very bored with the meeting or he was trying really hard to pretend to be.

“I present the Final Witch!” Sabrina shouted with a prideful smile.

The eyes of everyone in the room became filled with absolute horror as they faced you. The man from earlier smiled as it dawned on him who exactly he was staring at.

You turned away from him and cleared your throat, “I do, in fact, put my support behind Sabrina Morningstar. I speak for Heaven and Hell when I say that balance must be restored. A Morningstar must remain on the throne. Clay can not compare to blood.”

Whispers filled the room as they pondered their next step. You didn’t need to give a big speech. They knew of your hatred for the Morningstars. It was prophesied to be legendary. If you could agree with a Morningstar, then it must be correct.

“And what does your word mean to us?” A deep voice shouted from the back.

Your eyes immediately locked with the man’s once again.

“What does your word-” he said, walking ever closer to you-“ mean to me?”

You scoffed, “Excuse me.”

“Who are you to say I cannot rule Hell?” He asked.

Your eyes shot open when you finally comprehended who was in front of you.

“I’m the one soul no one could take. The one soul no one can have. I have powers that I am sure exceed what your small mind is capable of imagining. They are powers that Lucifer Morningstar gave me but could not take back. Powers that Heaven and Hell allow me to keep. They were indebted to me!” You seethed as he got in your face.

It was an obvious tactic to intimidate you, but you had definitely seen worse. Caliban only laughed at your attempt to prove yourself valid.

“Lucifer? How powerful could he be. It would seem he was tricked twice by two mere witches? Why should we let that legacy live on through her? The same witch that took down that same man, may I add.” He challenged as he pointed to Sabrina seated on her throne.

A small gasp left your lips as you listened to what he said. She’s the reason this all happened? She brought you here because she screwed up? You sent a glare at Sabrina as she tried to look away from you.

You were quickly losing traction on your side of the argument, so you had to think fast. The angered voices of the demons before you signaled that your lifespan was shortening if you didn’t find something to say, and Sage was getting more nervous by the second on your shoulder.

“Think about what you are getting yourself into. Lucifer didn’t lose to Sabrina because he was weak. He could kill you all without lifting a finger. He lost because Sabrina was stronger. She was stronger than him, so she is certainly stronger than you. I may be his enemy, but I’m smart enough to recognize the Morningstar strength.”

His eyes narrowed at your own. He was a foot away from you, and you were tempted to start a fight right then and there. However, it seemed Caliban had other plans. He smiled at you. There wasn’t any emotion behind it. It was just an unsettling simple smile. He suddenly turned on his heel and backed up from you.

“I’ll test your theory of her strength through this competition as well as yours. However, when you realize that she has dealt you some bad cards, feel free to slide into my bed for some better ones, beautiful.” A series of deep laughs echoed throughout the room.

You glared at him as he gave you a lustful look before walking off with the plague kings. Everyone allowed the rest of the meeting to go by with less trouble since Sabrina decided against sharing her new rules today. As the last of the horrid creatures left you shot Sabrina with the most terrifying look you could muster.

“You are telling me everything NOW,”

#prince caliban x reader #sam corlett #prince caliban #caliban x reader #caliban fanfic #caliban imagine #caliban #chilling adventures of sabrina #the chilling adventures of sabrina #sabrina spellman #sabrina morningstar #ambrose spellman #caos pt 3 #caos netflix #caos #sam corlett x reader

[the-sun-and-the-sea]

Hey! Do you by chance have any fic recommendations based off Finnick and his life? I’ve just finished Where Soul Meets Body, and was curious to if you knew any similar to that (but Finn’s pov).

Hi! So I’ve done some looking and despite how much Finnick fic I read, it was difficult to find very many that fit with your request. This list is shorter than I’d like, but I hope you can find something on here to read! <3

First, I’m just going to mention that I wrote a three part series about Finnick and Annie’s lives from Finnick’s point of view. It is by no means the best Odesta fic out there, but I do feel obligated to mention it because it fits with your request. So, if you’d like to check that out, you might like it. 

I tried to get as close to what you wanted as possible, but I did add a few extras in here that I thought you might like as well:

Knotted by green and yellow: I’m adding this one in later because I totally forgot about it, seeing as it’s on fanfiction.net instead of ao3. This one is, in my opinion, the best thing you could read based on your request. It’s long, detailed, well written, Finnick’s POV, and about the closest to Where Soul Meets Body in terms of style that you can get. I’d definitely recommend this one.

A View from the Lists by Mithrigil, puella_nerdii: I don’t think that this one is exactly what you want, but I had to mention it because it’s one of my all time favorite thg fics. It’s from Finnick’s point of view and takes place around the 74th Games, so it focuses more on his life in the Capitol. However, it is so engaging and very well written, so you might like to check it out. 

Moss on the Ruins by Trovia: This one is very similar to the previous one, at least to my memory. It takes places during the 71st Games and centers around Finnick’s life in the Capitol. Finnick’s point of view.

the bottom of the deep blue sea by Cat_nevermind: So this one is not Finnick’s point of view, but it does follow his story from his Games to around the 71st maybe? It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but it’s still very good. Maybe not exactly what you’re looking for, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. 

Trap, Crackle, Pop by grumkin_snark: Okay, this is yet another story that focuses on Finnick in the Capitol after his Games, but it’s still worth a read. This one is incomplete, just so you know. 

Ghosts (I’m still in mourning) by oh_so_loverly: This one is pretty close to your request. It’s really well written and has a lot of darker undertones that are fitting for the series. Nonetheless, it’s very enjoyable, so check it out if you’re interested. Finnick’s pov, and follows Annie’s first year as a victor. 

victor victorious by winterbones: So I actually just found this one today as I was looking for fics to list, and I honestly can’t believe I hadn’t read it yet. Anyway, this one follows Finnick and Annie from after his Games to the aftermath of hers, but in little snippets. It’s not super long but it’s gorgeous, and definitely worth a read. Finnick’s pov. 

I also wrote a one-shot, The Land of the Living, which follows Finnick’s story through flashbacks, if you want to check this out. It’s not Where Soul Meets Body magnitude, but you might enjoy it anyway. 

And finally, I did some searching for fics that fit your request. There aren’t very many that are like Where Soul Meets Body but from Finnick’s point of view, so I apologize for that. However, here are the filters I used to search. I saw a few fics in there that might be to your liking, but I didn’t mention them individually because I haven’t read them and don’t have the mental energy right now to consume anything new. 

If you don’t find anything on here that you like, I’d recommend sorting and filtering through the Finnick Odair tag (maybe search for pre-canon stories if you’re looking about something narrating his life). I feel like this list isn’t really what you wanted, so I’m sorry if that’s the case, but I hope you can find something on here to read!

If anyone else knows of fics that fit with this request, feel free to reblog!

#the hunger games #hunger games #thg #finnick odair #annie cresta #odesta #thg fanfic #fanfiction rec list #asked and answered