#alison is actually nate's type

[terrainofheartfelt]

liiiiiiiizzzz, do you have any dair (+nate? 👀) singing/musical headcannons?

I got SO MANY. so many that I'm gonna start with a list of links <333

musicians! jenny & dan

dilf!dan the musician

a nads hc post cosigned by moi

mostly about thanksgiving but also about music

dair the opera queens

pianist!dan

dair & karaoke

errant hc from ask game

now THAT all being said and shared, have some few random selections that are always at the tippy top of my mind

rufus doesn't know how to read music (he learned by ear), but he and alison put their kids in piano lessons. dan stuck with it, jenny got bored very quickly. which is just to say dan is the first humphrey to learn music theory. he also knows guitar, but isn't really interested in Performing. he likes having it be a thing that he does for himself (and for blair. and for their kids)

and dan's got this voice that can be so light and delicate and floating, but he can also just open his mouth and WAIL. I think in one of those posts above i conceptualize him as a jeff buckley, phoebe bridgers, sara bareilles kind of type. there's a delicacy in his voice so that when he goes big, it's super effective. he'd be a karaoke star if he would just stop picking sad white boy songs. (like yeah dude, fake plastic trees is good but you're really killing the vibe)

blair's parents put her in music lessons because that's just a Thing you do as a rich wasp but she was never really passionate about it. she has a great singing voice but that is privileged information. dan also offers to teach her guitar or uke at some point and she is just like "why."

i am actually suuuuuper attached to the idea that nate is tonedeaf. he cannot match pitch to save his life. jenny (who has perfect pitch) tries to measure once and comes up that he's always a tri-tone above or below when he tries to match pitch. that doesn't stop him from bringing the house down at karaoke with his performance of "Wildest Dreams" but boyyyyyy can that man dance jenny discovers this when they're pals and tells him "it's okay, this is just proof that you're a real human and not like, manufactured in a lab to be a perfect man."

[fritextramole]

Oh my God Jenny kissing Dan during the season 4 masquerade would have been soooo fucked up given that she and Juliette would knowingly and voluntarily have chosen which of the boys they were kissing that night lmao. At least if it happened in season one it’d just be a Ross & Monica-esque gross but honest misunderstanding, but the season 4 kiss would have to have been A Choice on Jenny’s end. (To be fair, these are the same showrunners who included an oral sex scene between siblings on the actual HBO Gossip Girl reboot so… 🤢)

I mean, I could see a universe where Juliet either forced Jenny's hand/tricked her into kissing Dan (why exactly she would do that is beyond me but I'm sure the showrunners could come up with something) (I could also see a universe where it's a case of mistaken identity on Dan's end as they flee similar to in season 1)

but given your later point about the oc and dynasty who's to say the showrunners didn't love incest and hate Jenny enough to have her make that choice 🤢🤢. they already had her do along with William giving Lily fake cancer and try to get Nate drunk so she could sleep with him last season who knows what she'll do

Also on a related note a part of me genuinely wondered if the showrunners weren’t toying with the idea of having Eric be Rufus’s secret love child, rather than Scott. Obviously the timeline would have to be different, but then they played pretty fast and loose with the Rufly timeline to begin with so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There were just enough jokes/throwaway lines throughout the first couple of seasons that it felt like kind of a “haha just kidding…. unless?” type of thing to me.

Anon, your mind!!! I'm obsessed with this idea I wanna hear more about it!!!! I remember Jenny's line at Thanksgiving about how Eric's roots are "pretty Rufus-like" but do you have any other examples I wanna read a multi paragraph breakdown of this theory!!!!!!

when do you think they would've found out? in the season 2 brunch episode where GG sent out the blast that Dan and Serena share a sibling? at the beginning of season 3 when Scott was around in the show? at the end of season 3 when William showed up???

I'm sure there would've been a little hand wringing about the affair but the show had stopped caring about Alison at this point so they would've moved on. Eric and Jenny probably would settled on being happy about it but it's hard to say for Dan and Serena given how they never moved on from each other (do you think they still would've gotten married in the finale or would rufly be allowed to stay together?)

I could see a universe where Lily didn't know (or at least wasn't sure) that Eric was Rufus's son but I think narratively it's more dramatic if she did. how would Rufus have reacted to the fact that she's been keeping their son from him? (she didn't even tell him after she and William got divorced! is that why she and William got divorced? Serena would hate that it could be interesting)

anon I want you to know I'm going to be turning this over in my head for the next like week please tell me more

(I've said before that I think early on they were planting foreshadowing for Jenny and Eric to date and I am going to combine these 2 possibilities into one au if only to torture these fictional characters in my head)

Also, there WAS actually a similar near incest plot in The OC (which the GG showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage made before Gossip Girl), and the CW Dynasty reboot they did after had a major romantic pairing that turned out to be cousins, in addition to a bunch of other pseudo-incestuous pairings. I have no idea WHY they keep inserting different variations of this same plot-line into their shows (at least Dynasty has the excuse of being a reboot of a soap opera that had some of the same relationships in it), but it’s kind of a recurring theme.

I mean... I think it's because incest is the universal taboo so it's guaranteed to scandalize no matter what. like rewatching the early gossip girl episodes it's like. "Blair had sex with Chuck and Nate in the same week! what a whore!" which feels like small potatoes knowing about the Princess-Diana-esque-Royal-Wedding-Unplanned-Pregnancy-Car-Crash-Deal-With-God plot she's got in a few seasons but the near incest still feels gross. (but I mean. given how the show dresses and looks at its female characters I would bet there's also some level of poorly disguised fetish at play)

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

i’m trying to write alison and nate being friends but it’s not happening. this is like rufessa 2.0 

[queerchoicesblog]

A Promise Kept (OH/WT Crossover, Harper Emery & Ellen Thompson, Friendship)

As anticipated, my very first (official) crossover fanfic for the entry Friendship of the @choicesjulychallenge hosted by @kinda-iconic  ❤️

As I was playing Wishful Thinking I had this crazy idea: I started picturing an Ellen Thompson & Harper Emery friendship. They’re about the same age, they’re both devoted and esteemed professionals (dealing with scumbags like Ellen’s boss and Declan Nash *cough cough*)...long story short a friend-ship canon started shaping. And that’s the result: hope you like it!

Disclaimer: The fic contains a reference to this previous work as well as a personal background and FC (Gugu Mbatha-Raw is not the perfect FC but I get Harper vibes) for Dr. Emery

Prompt: Friendship

Word Count: 1988

Perma Tag: @brightpinkpeppercorn @melodyofgraves @bhavf @begging-for-kamilah @abunchofbadchoices @silverhawkenzie @kennaxval @strangerofbraidwood @crazypeanat @desiree-0816 @universallypizzataco

Harper Emery Tag: @bubblygothzombie @emeryharper @korrasamixfan  @delphinusbae

If you like this, please consider a like, comment, and/or reblog.

_____________________________

"Holy crap! How come I missed this?"

Aurora froze gaping at the box placed on her aunt's new desk. She stopped by to return her set of keys before starting her shift and found Harper unpacking her stuff in her new, well previous smaller yet comfortable office as "Head of Neurosurgery, Edenbrook Hospital". She had never been there before: she had only seen it during video calls but it was the first time she actually set foot there. There were a couple of boxes around filled with the little decor the place needed: her aunt's degrees, a few framed photos (graduation picture with beaming Dad, Grandpa and Nana; a rare shot of Harper and her mentor, Dr. Rabinovits, posing for the cameras and was that Alexander Evans, that former patient she heard of? Well, probably a family photo of the Evans wearing Santa hats), a small ebony sculpture, a painting of a Caribbean landscape and a set of wrist and hand stretchers. Books had already been organized over the shelves.

But that one...that was unexpected.

"What, Rory?" Harper asked, checking her bookcase.

Aurora's fingers grazed a frame before picking her up in her hands.

"You have been interviewed by Ellen Thompson? The Ellen Thompson?" she asked, showing the newspaper article that caught her attention.

Harper slowly diverted her eyes from her previous chore and let them linger a moment over the old article before moving closer and gently taking it from Rory's hands. A tiny smile filled with nostalgia formed on her lips: her younger self flashing an enigmatic smile to the camera casually sit on her desk was still in the dark of the tough challenges her career had in store for her. She was just happy, proud of herself; she was just forgetting for a moment the harsh reality of "that cruel science called neurosurgery", as Dr. Rabinovits put it. But the memory of that day was pleasant, comforting in a way.

"Yes, it was her last article she wrote before being promoted daytime anchor. I thought you knew? I'm pretty sure Nana has a copy of this, Marcus too probably..."

"Yeah probably...I must have missed it. I was too busy with college and my dissertation at the time probably..." Aurora considered. "But how?! I mean, I'm not trying to belittle your achievement, it's just...Ellen!"

"I know, I was surprised too at the time" Harper laughed softly.

"I bet!"

"I didn't think she would accept it. Because of bias, you know? She confessed that it had been quite a tough call for her, she's an incredibly talented professional and being accused of being biased is a capital sin in her field..."

"Biased? How could she be biased?" Aurora furrowed her brows, confused.

Harper took a pause and gave her an amused look.

"Because we're friends, Rory! Don't you remember?"

"You're friends??" Aurora gaped, plopping down on the sofa. "I really slept on this for years?"

"Well, we don't see each other as often as we once did now but we never truly drifted apart. And oh, you were probably too young to remember but she attended my graduation. Nana probably has pictures of that day...there was a small group of friends celebrating with us: you surely remember Bethany - she visited a few months ago, Nate, her college boyfriend, Ricardo, Alison, Elliott-"

"Oh I do remember Elliott! Your college sweetheart, dressed up to the nines and all googly eyes" the young Emery giggled.

"Glad you remember" Harper made a scene of rolling her eyes, smiling. "...and the most elegant of all was Ellen. That Ellen"

Aurora took a moment to reminisce the few memories she had of that day. Yes, probably...no surely! That girl in a gorgeous pink dress clinging her glass and chatting with Nana was Ellen. And...oh gosh, her younger self had even been so nosy to ask Ellen, that Ellen where she bought that dress because she wanted one just like hers. Luckily, Harper spoke again, saving Rory from the embarrassment of that moment.

"As I said we had somehow kept in touch over the years, against all odds. We were both so busy...her internships, her field jobs, my residency. But we managed to check on each other every now and then. Small things, even just a message in the voicemail or a quick call"

She smiled - a quick soft smile- and handed the framed article back to Aurora.

"When I became 'the youngest Head of Neurosurgery in the history of Massachusetts' she showed up at my door" she said, nodding behind her. "And announced that she was gonna interview me. It wasn't even up for debate, she would have signed that article"

"The hell with the friendship bias?" the niece asked, more and more involved in the story featuring two of her personal role model.

Harper smiled again, but it was a weaker one this time.

"Apparently so. She claimed that there were very good reasons to write it, even ethical reasons if you wish. She said that it was a story worth being told, that I could have inspired people out there, little girls in schools, things like that."

She sighed, shooking her head.

"Not sure I lived up to that inspirational role, but I tried, right?".

Aurora diverted her eyes: she knew what her aunt was referring to. She remembered the conversation they had the night before the hearing, their argument during the break of that hearing...and frowned. 

The weight of the last few words lead to a brief silence, interrupted only by the sounds of steps along the corridor. 

"Oh this must be Tanaka with Dr. Yannick. I asked them to stop by to sign those papers...excuse me, it won't be long"

That said, she hurried to meet the colleagues, leaving Aurora alone in her office. 

The Emery girl absentmindedly eavesdropped the three of them discussing a surgical oncology procedure but she got lost in the surgical medicalese the doctors spoke. So her eyes fell on the article in her hands again. She started reading:

“A Promise Kept: Why You Should Know The Story Behind Edenbrook Hospital New Shining Star" 

As some of you probably know, this will be my last article. Before you start getting sentimental about it, I do not regret it: I've spent so many years of my life typing behind a laptop and as much as they will always be an important, essential maybe, part of my life, I'm ready and eager for what comes next. You are going to hear my voice and see my face on your screen, brace yourself, dear readers.

I must confess that I was full of doubts about writing this article because I value ethics and professionalism. But I soon realized that ethics and professionalism are the main topics of this piece I'm writing and well, the very reason why this article should see the light of day.

So, for one last time, let me tell you a story.

More than a decade ago, I was a college student, an ambitious hard-working journalism major struggling over a research project. My professor asked the class to think outside the box and choose an issue we were not familiar with so that we were forced to document, do some real fact-checking and so on just like real reporters do. I spent hours in the library trying to find the perfect issue for a project I wanted to be A+, but nothing came. I was losing all hope when I noticed the notes of the girl sitting in front of me. They were complex anatomy schemes: she was a med student. Frustrated by my current situation, I did what I rarely do: ask for help. So I tapped her shoulder and asked her about controversial issues in the medical sphere she would like to see debated or brought in the spotlight. Just one, it was for a journalism project. The girl took her time to think about it then handed me a piece of paper with her answer:

Less than 19% of surgeons in this country are women and the percentage drops considerably if we consider specific specialties and women of color. It is a truth universally acknowledged yet publicly denied that women are still overlooked for surgical positions: the fair sex is emotional, tends to get to involved in the medical cases, not to mention potentially hysterical and suffering of that dangerous 'lack of refrain' so well known (?) to their male colleagues. They make better nurses than doctors and better GP than surgeons. 

That was a promising start. I thanked the girl and wished her good luck with her upcoming exam. Actually, I saw that girl a few days later: she passed her exam with flying colors and was now standing by my side at a rally. We became friends and one night, the first night of our senior years we made a pinky promise: a solemn silly pinky promise not to give up no matter what obstacles we will have to face later in our careers. A solemn silly pinky promise to be one day the best journalist and best doctor we could ever be. For ourselves and the others out there.

Well, I'm glad and proud to announce that about fifteen years later, that mystery girl has become the youngest Head of Neurosurgeon in the history of Massachusetts. Daughter of an archeology professor and another legend in the surgical field, Eloise Emery, the Haitian born cardio surgeon who successfully performed the first domino heart transplant on pediatric patients at Mount Sinai Hospital, NY, in 1989, Harper Emery is already exceeding any reasonable expectation. Colleagues describe her as 'headstrong, devoted and passionate, a doctor who would go above and beyond for her patients' while prestigious medical magazines crowned her 'the most brilliant neurosurgeon of her generation”.

At first, I thought that I accepted to write this article because I know Harper Emery and I value and respect her dearly both as a friend and a professional. But that is not completely true.

I accepted to write this article because I know Harper Emery and I know that she will always keep her promise. She already did.

Good luck, Dr. Emery!

Author: Ellen Thompson

Aurora swallowed down the lump threatening to form in her throat: that was the aunt she knew and looked up to basically her whole life. An aunt she thought irremediably lost...but maybe she was wrong, after all. As that realization crossed her mind, her phone beeped. It was a message from...Dr. Trihn? It was a selfie of her new flatmates waiting for her at the cafeteria. They had already bought her a cappuccino and a saved her half donut. Oh right, 'roomies breakfast', she had almost forgotten. She cautiously placed the framed article on her aunt's desk and was about to exit the room when she almost bumped into Harper coming back to her office.

"Gotta roll?" she asked.

"Hm yeah. The new roomies want to grab a coffee together at the cafeteria...I suspect, no I'm afraid that is some kind of a 'shining happy people' ritual" Aurora sighed, hanging her head.

Her aunt chuckled at her reaction to a friendly gesture.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds." she teased then smiled. "Have fun, Rory!"

The Emery girl nodded, even though she wasn't fully convinced, and picked a set of keys out of her pocket.

"Oh here's the keys and...Aunt Harper? You should hang that article to the wall"

Dr. Emery threw her a quizzical look then joked:

"Because it was written by Ellen? It would certainly give me celebrity points to impress the poor souls visit-"

"No, Auntie, you got it all wrong. Hang it to inspire yourself"

Aurora flashed her a quick confident smile and left the room headed to the cafeteria as Harper met once again the fierce joyful gaze of her younger self smiling back at her behind the framed glass.

[reticexce]

🎰! ^^ (Hullo!)

( ship generator; not accepting! )

Alison x Flora 

they share so many interests!! i think they’d really get along, maybe even in a sisterly kind of way since ali’s older than flora. flora’s doing what alison wished she could when she was younger, so ali would really be supportive of her and even help her out with art school if she could. they also share the same fashion sense, so imagine them going shopping together!!

Emile x Flora 

my sweet boi ,,,, he would treat flora very nicely, especially since she reminds emile of alison, his sister. he also dabbles in photography, and how cute would it be if they swapped camera tips and tricks! he’s pretty shy around women though, but he means well and will open up eventually, so there’s potentially for something platonic at the very least!

Cedric x Flora 

cedric is ,,, unpleasant lmAO he’s just very snooty and uppity, but he does like reading so there’s a very high chance they’d meet at the bookstore where flora works, especially since it’s a smaller bookstore, which is the type of stores he gravitates towards usually for interesting reads. flora seems so lovely though, and cedric might actually rub her the wrong way since he can be real crude, but you know, if they can bond over books, it’s a start. though honestly – there might be something about flora that would remind him of alison, his ex. so that might actually muddy things a bit ( but we definitely don’t have to do anything with that if you aren’t interested! )

Nate x Flora 

yiKES bc nate is unpleasant too!! aggressive, and if you read his or alison’s bios, you’d know what happened between them. like cedric, flora might actually remind him of alison, but he hasn’t thought about her in years so it might be unlikely. still, nate is very crude, very brash, and isn’t a ray of sunshine at all. he does like music though, so that’s a common ground they could share, but nate has very high walls and doesn’t trust people who are nice to him so it might be tough for for flora to get through to him! 

[char27martin]

6 Pitfalls to Avoid When Writing LGBTQI+ Characters in Teen Fiction

Before you embark on writing a queer character for Young Adult, answer this question: Is there something about his/her/their queerness that is essential to your story, or are you trying to check off one of your agent’s items on a diversity list? If it’s the latter, stop right now. Close your computer. Walk away from the burning building. Do not move forward. Can I stress this more emphatically?

I believe that regardless of your faith, sexual orientation, or race, you can create characters of any type, if you’re willing to do so authentically. Today’s Middle-Grade and Young-Adult readers are savvy and awake; you will not be able to borrow from any preconceived ideas you might have. This also applies to my fellow LGBTQI+ writers. These kids are watching and will hold you accountable. That’s what makes writing this genre so exciting. I hope you reach beyond what you know to accept the challenge of exploring and examining your own fears, moral hang-ups, and prejudices. It may be fiction, but you’re going to learn a lot about yourself and I’m going help you get there.

                    Lisa Freeman is an author, actress, and teacher best known for her novels HONEY GIRL (2015; Sky Pony Press) and RIPTIDE SUMMER (2017; Sky Pony Press). She grew up amidst the Hollywood scene and emerged as an actress in such films as Back to the Future, Back to the Future II, and Mr. Mom. She earned her MFA and Pedagogy in the Art of Writing degrees from Antioch University and now resides in Santa Monica, California, only miles down the road from State Beach, where her Honey Girls novels take place. You can visit her at Lisa-Freeman.com.

1. Don’t be invasive in your writing and research.

It’s never okay to out somebody. Under no circumstances should you ever violate the privacy of a teen’s life to create your narrative. Do not eavesdrop, follow, or presume it’s okay to open a discussion with someone who doesn’t want to have it. I implore you to take this under serious consideration, even though your writing teacher may have said it’s okay to be aggressive when searching for a story. Sexuality is deeply personal, as is coming out, gender identification, or transition, so a writer must show restraint. Never invade queer space for your own needs.

Find resources that are public. Personas such as the actress Amandla Stenberg and YouTubers Ingrid Nilsen and Tyler Oakley are wonderful examples of influencers who have shared their coming out processes and lives online. It is their choice to have an open discussion with their followers.

2. Avoid stereotypes.

Teen readers must be able to see themselves in your story. This is a common thread that YA authors are aware of, but how one does this with a LGBTQI+ character is through avoiding stereotypes. For example, if you have a boy with a high-pitched voice who is melodramatic and being called a “sissy,” that’s a red flag. Also, not all queer characters hate themselves or struggle in coming out. That might not be their conflict. You’ll have to take into consideration many things to make the stakes high. Here are some suggestions: Consider setting, body image, and, most importantly, what s/he wants. How can you reveal your character through events? What are the conflicts that motivate them forward? If you can set goals through obstacles that are not fixated on their sexuality, you’re heading in the right direction. But if relationships don’t stick, if the tension and pace become repetitive, go back to the question of, “Am I caught in some preconceived notion of what gay is, gay does?” Ask yourself, how does s/he fit in the world? Are they defiant or loyal? What consequences are created by their actions? In my novels, I answer these questions through relationships. It is the most effective way to show when a character is accepting their flaws or getting caught up in them, which leads me to…

3. Don’t be afraid to create an emotional connection with your character.

If you grew up as a queer teen, this is a wonderful opportunity to use some of the feelings, emotions, and fears you had or have, but remember, you are not writing a memoir. If this wasn’t your experience, you may be wondering how a writer who is not gay creates emotional connection with a queer character. Are you willing to examine the complicated and sometimes unexplainable truth of young people who identify as queer? Not sure? Well try this: Wear a shirt that says “Queer.” Even if you’re out, try it. Wear the shirt to work, the bank, the market, whatever a normal day entails. See if you can really live with committing yourself to these fabulous kids. Then, start writing. If you don’t feel safe doing this because you live in a community that is traditional, do not, under any circumstances, explore this experiment. But do explore your own internal reaction to it. This will also help connect you to a queer voice, assuming that you are not a lesbian or gay man, or that you do not identify as genderqueer, transgender, or bisexual.

If you’re thinking of doing a LGBTQI+ media binge starting with Birdcage or the original La Cage aux Folles, this will be entertaining but not necessarily productive, unless you are writing historical fiction and it fits in with your story. There are other queer-conscious resources via the screen. I encourage you to have some fun, watch RuPaul’s Drag Race, and other shows on Logo. If you want a laugh, Kids in the Hall or Portlandia. For beautiful, well-acted performances, see Carol, Blue is the Warmest Color, and Maurice. There are also classics like Personal Best and High Art.

Some literary examples include wonderful books like Tim Federle’s Better Nate than Ever, I Am J by Cris Beam, Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For and Fun Home, and my favorite, Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle.

The biggest literary agent database anywhere is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the most recent updated edition online at a discount.

4. Don’t try to protect your queer darlings.

Force your characters out of their comfort zones as quickly as possible. What I’m suggesting goes for all MG, YA, and New Adult characters. Don’t protect these fictional teens from the inevitable challenges of growing up. There will be no transformation if you do. Allow for life on life’s terms. The good and the bad, let them fly for themselves.

5. Don’t make everything about sexual identity.

We queers are more than our sexual preferences. No character is 100 percent anything. Just like any teen character, yours can be hero or victim, offensive or sweet, compassionate or vindictive … the list goes on. Regardless of their salvation or damnation, you must illuminate how they coexist in the world and what makes them unique without fixating on their sexuality. And since the verbal landscape and narrative of gay consciousness is changing rapidly, it might be a good time to take a crash course in the terminology of the LGBTQI+ community.

Do you know what LGBTQI+ means? Pansexual? Do you know the difference between genderqueer and non-binary? Do you know that people with different-sex partners also sometimes identify as queer, as well as bisexual? When I speak with students, I am always schooled about new terms and have learned how some teens hate labels and refuse to identify as anything because it’s absolutely passé to them. When I say I’m a lesbian, sometimes they look at me like I’m a dinosaur for using what they consider an old-fashioned word. This has always opened up a dialogue that I find amazing, but, in order to get there, I’ve had to learn not to be judgmental of how queer youth see themselves. Hopefully it has made me a better writer.

Often people get stuck in the “sex” of an LGBTQI+ character. If you’re writing MG, this really won’t be a problem since novels for 8-12 year olds do not reveal explicit sexuality. YA, on the other hand, also abides to certain boundaries, but allows the transformative experience to be a bit more graphic, if not only from an internal perspective.

6. Don’t skimp on the back story.

Back story is pivotal for all characters, but especially queer ones. Even if they’re only 15, your character has lived a full life before coming to a certain realization about their sexuality. If s/he is coming out, you have to know the history that led to this moment. If they aren’t coming out, the same. If they are pursuing love for the first time, what motivated them to finally take action?

Even if 95 percent does not hit the page, this character you are creating must have a strong undercurrent that fuels their actions forward at all times. This way you won’t have to rely on dialogue. In my first novel, Honey Girl, anything queer-related was always spoken of in code. It was gestured, suggested, implied, but never actually said. This was all established through back story.

I hope these suggestions will help you create a well-crafted story and unforgettable teen characters with worthy goals and riveting transformations that appeal to your readers. To my fellow LGBTQI+ writers, let’s remember we are letting our young queers know that we see them and that they matter. And we all, regardless of our own identity, can help them make sense of this world through our stories.

If you’re an agent looking to update your information or an author interested in contributing to the GLA blog or the next edition of the book, contact Writer’s Digest Books Managing Editor Cris Freese at cris.freese@fwmedia.com.

      The post 6 Pitfalls to Avoid When Writing LGBTQI+ Characters in Teen Fiction appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/guest-columns/6-pitfalls-writing-lgbtqi-characters-teen-fiction

[terrainofheartfelt]

Musicians!Humphreys my beloved!!! So you alluded to them working with some of Lincoln Hawk’s old material, but apart from that, what genre(s?) of music do you see them working in? For Jenny I definitely picture rock, but also that’s probably because of Taylor Momsen more than anything else lol. For Dan I’m actually not sure - for someone with as many opinions on art and film and literature as he had, I can’t actually remember if he ever talked about music? I mean, with his upbringing and personality you have to imagine the guy would have some strong opinions, but I’m not entirely sure what they would be!

(Also this is an incredibly minor nitpick, but unless there was fraud, deception, or coercion involved in their marriage (or physical incapacity that was unknown at the time of marriage), Dan and Serena would be getting a divorce, not an annulment. The reason Rufus and Lily got their marriage annulled was because they were technically married under false pretenses i.e. an undissolved previous marriage. The whole short marriage = easy annulment thing is a misconception and, at least in New York, the rules are quite specific and pretty strict. Anyway I love literally everything else you wrote sjskfjfjdkd that is just one of those tropes for me lol)

Yesssss my kind of question! This is multi-pronged, so come on this journey through my thought process with me.

I’ll be honest, all these hcs are based off my own personal music tastes, but hey, my fic my blorbos my rules. Which is just to say, Momsen’s work with TPR isn’t really my cup of tea, nor is Badgley’s musical moonlighting, so that’s kind of…separate from how I’ve painted this all in my brain.

Music tastes-wise (I actually wrote meta for Ivy about this but it was sooooooo long ago, but I could probs hunt it down if you’re interested) I think both Dan and Jenny are the type whose taste is shaped SO much by their parents, and then as they became their own people, those tastes diverged and converged and evolved. One thing I think about a lot is a passing comment from Jen in s2 when she’s like…sorting the record collection? and she mentions Muddy Waters and when I first heard that my heart went !!!! bc I listened to Muddy Waters growing up too bc my dad LOVES that artist (self recognition through the other, etc.) so I think, in addition to the Lincoln Hawk 90s rock of it all, Dan and Jenny were brought up on a diet of blues, classic rock, and folk—think Laurel Canyon. (Some artists: Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Nina Simone, Mavis Staples, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Pat Benatar, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell, Tim Buckley, Jeff Buckley—Rufus and Alison actually would have been settling into the Brooklyn artist scene in the late 80s/early 90s when he was there too, right?—Simon & Garfunkel, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, I should probs stop now…)And another pet hc of mine is that Alison was into some country music, but like, the good kind—not this bullshit stadium country, but what my friends and I call ~Lady Country~: like Brandi Carlile and The Chicks formerly known as Dixie. Dan and Jenny both know “Cowboy Take Me Away” by heart. now I’m tempted to share my lady country playlist…

So for Dan, he grows into a pretentious music lover: we see him talk about Eliot Smith & Morrissey, and I think growing up he and Vanessa get each other more entrenched in their own pretentious tastes—he’s a classics and rock and punk and indie and folk guy. He sticks to the genres he deems as “Good” and it’s not really until Serena and Nate come into his life that he takes off his blinders. In his 20s, he doesn’t really have a set framework for what constitutes as “good music” in terms of genre, if it’s well-written, it’s well-written. He becomes a lowkey swiftie, not in a like, internet girl kinda way—he just respects her game, and he LOVES the geniuses behind boygenius, and, as we’ve established in this corner of the fandom, Hozier is His. Some other artists for him: Paramore (Jimmy Stewart was his first celeb crush but Haley Williams was his second), Frank Turner, Bleachers, Andrew McMahon and Brian Fallon (and all their associated acts), Lord Huron

Jenny has always just liked everything in the way that girls are allowed to/have to like everything. Her tastes range from the artists she learned from her parents, the poppunk overlap between her & Dan & Vanessa, her riot grrl rock, plus pop music, plus the indie finds she loves to sniff out. My Jenny playlist jumps from genre to genre like nothing else—actually, my blorbo playlists, I don’t really put something on there unless I think it is something that suita the character’s taste, so Jenny’s has Range, darling, and Dan’s keeps to his hipster-light taste, and Blair’s leans towards vintage sound, and Serena’s is poppier…anyways… Some artists that I keep in mind for Jen: Kesha, Halsey, Panic! at the Disco, Patti Smith, Stevie Nicks (and Fleetwood Mac), Amy Winehouse

Which brings us back to: what kind of musicians would this make them? In the post-canon fic-let that you responded to with this ask, I have a particular album in mind: In the Game, by Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill. It’s a collab between two very excellent artists—whose lyrics just scream dan & jenny to me. O’Neill just—she sounds like Jenny to me. She has this captivating, bluesy, raw kind of voice, she can be so tender, but wail when she has to. (and I think, if you were to strip her voice of the hard rock affectation she sings with—bc that’s her genre, no shade—Momsen would sound the same). And genre-wise, the more I think about it the more it fits. Bc this album is an interesting blend of blues & folk with a little bit of rock, and I think that suits, bc neither Dan nor Jenny would want to write music that sounds too much like Lincoln Hawk and their dad, they’d want to create their own thing, and what happens is a gelling of their tastes, starting in the overlap of their venn diagram, and stretching the other into branching out. In the way that Jenny loves listening to anything and everything, she is also down for trying any genre, but I think Dan—whose not a frontman like his sister and father are—would stick to his comfort zone, but his comfort zone is like, fantastic.

And there’s this note I made for this au—which will maybe someday become a fic?—that sort of defines how I hear them as performers. Jenny sings like she’s trying to pull the emotion out of the listener, to make them feel what she’s feeling. Dan sings like it’s the very words that are being pulled out of him. They’re both emotive, but in different ways; one is more…in your face, while the other is more turned inward. Artists that I think are like Jenny in this sense (it’s not genre-based, it’s more a vibe): tswift, Kesha, Hayley Williams, Brendan Urie, Mick Jagger, Brandi Carlile. Artists that remind me of Dan with this kind of emotive, lyrics led vibe are: Phoebe Bridgers, Hozier, Sara Bareilles, Jeff Buckley. Also important notes: Jenny can WAIL, okay? Like she has so much voice in such a little body. And Dan is really, really good at hooking into his falsetto at all the right moments that can make a person just— he’s not a belter like Jen is—her voice is undoubtedly bigger—but he has that command over his instrument. Like the way Hozier and Jeff Buckley and Brendan Urie can just — hook into their head voice and make a Moment? yeah.

I could go on about musician!Humphreys forever, so if you have more to ask, by all means 💜💜💜💜

And bestie. listen. I so appreciate everyone who has their pet centers of knowledge and information and is very into sharing them (see above) music is mine, but marriage law is not, so please, when a girl says she posted a thing after writing it in mostly one sitting and without any proofing, please give her a little bit of grace. ♥️

[asocier]

          i almost forgot this headcanon entirely but i managed to remember it, fking bless. so basically, i was thinking earlier today about how, despite being only four years older than leah, alison acts and carries herself in a much more mature manner, and not just in terms of like having a job and adulting. like it’s not just because alison has more responsibilities now that she has to support herself and isn’t a student like leah. 

          it shows even when it comes to the type of media alison consumes in comparison to leah and how alison doesn’t really keep up with typical “young people humor” like memes and stuff. basically, alison has boomer energy, but it’s an interesting mix of boomer and millenial/gen z energy because while she’s not in the loop about memes, she still uses social media and keeps up with what trends on social media, but she also uses it mostly for work and her own hobbies as well. so she uses it more than u know actual boomers but she’s the type to be a little slower in keeping up with memes. 

alison speaks, thinks, and dresses also suggests more maturity, and it’s not rare for alison to come off as a motherly figure when interacting with younger muses, even if they’re only a few years younger. i think the fact that alison had to grow up so quickly in a span of eight years ( give or take ) that contributes to this too. needless to say, alison has been through a lot, and even before the incident with nate and cedric, alison already kind of had to figure things out for herself since her parents weren’t really in the picture as much as they were before. so once she finished high school and cut all ties with her family, she really had to step it up once she managed to break away from grant.

          it’s just anther thing to think about when it comes to alison and leah. they do share a lot of similarities, but there are definitely nuances between them that makes them both different and i wanna try and highlight them as often as i can not only for my followers to understand my girls more but also so i have something to reference as well whenever i write them. 

[asocier]

peeks back into tumblr, stays purely for 🎰

( five random connections; not accepting! )

Cedric & Huan 

          I’M LAUGHING BC I FOUND THIS POST AND ALKJSLKAJDS CEDRIC IS THE SAME WAY cedric can’t see shit without his glasses but he refuses to wear them out in public and only wears contacts and sometimes he really has to choose between being blind and a danger to society or wearing his glasses which really isn’t a big deal because he looks good in them but it’s the principle, it goes against his standards for his appearance. anyway, i thought that was really funny and idk maybe huan and cedric can just be blind asses together alsjdlsa that would honestly be like, so lighthearted in comparison to the dark shit huan has gone through though, and even cedric has had his own rough upbringing and tumultuous relationship with his family. 

          i’m not entirely sure how these two would cross paths, but if they did, it’d be interesting to see how cedric handles huan’s trauma and whether or not cedric would see bits of himself in huan or like, resonate with some of what huan has been through like the idea of not being able to really be a child growing up, not understanding what trauma is at an early age, ect. granted, what cedric went through is not on the same level as what huan went through, but it’s not like cedric’s upbringing was super smooth sailing either so ??? i dunno, it’s something to think about. 

Emile & Mineko

          not that mineko is looking for sympathy or anything, but i feel like emile would have a soft spot for her. i feel like emile generally has a soft spot for artists thrown into the music industry because he’s come to learn how cutthroat it really is, and how soul-sucking the creation of music has become when profits takeover genuine creativity. emile doesn’t make the same music mineko does since he focuses mostly on classical music, but he understands how important of an outlet playing, creating, and performing music can be, so if mineko and emile were to ever cross paths ( he honestly would have no idea who she was because he lives under a rock, so it’s possible she could indulge in that ignorance ), if he ever caught whiff of that dark awareness that slips out from mineko now and then due to her unprocessed trauma, i feel like he’d try to brighten her day now and then bc he has this protective older brother energy in him ( and i think mineko is 19? while emile is 24, so there’d be an age gap if that was the case ). 

Alison & Kuroha

          first of all, i love kuroha. secondly, i see a lot of similarities between alison and kuroha which i think would make for some really interesting interactions, especially in alison’s  spy verse  which i would definitely be open to adjusting to make it work for kuroha as well. i bring up the spy verse specifically because i think kuroha and spy alison view romantic relationships in a very similar way, and also carry themselves in that kind of “two-faced” manner where upon first glance, they’re like pretty and feminine which makes you put your guard down and makes you vulnerable to when they’re actually about to kill you. like, they have moments where they can be soft, like their shared appreciation of flowers, but they definitely aren’t people you should underestimate. 

         just off the top of my head, i think a possible dynamic ( if you were interested in this verse at all ) would be that kuroha was associated with the agency alison worked for as like, one of the doctors who would treated wounded agents. because you know, you cant be sending agents to just any doctor, especially when the agency is doing some shady shit on the side. anyway, if we go down that route, kuroha would see alison a lot for check ups, physicals, treatment, ect, and, the girls could talk about their lives like friends tbh. another route would be if kuroha did autopsies for the agency, like if it came down to a situation of like “so this really important figure we’ve been tracking died suddenly which seems like foul play, can you confirm?”, it’s possible alison gets assigned to the case especially if it was suppose to be her mission before to take down that person but alas someone beat her to it. 

          this is definitely like, me digging deep into the spy verse lore and this probably makes no sense to you, but if this interests you at all, you’re definitely welcome to hit me up!!! even if you don’t wanna go down the spy verse route, i think canon alison and kuroha or even werewolf alison and kuroha could get along. cue alison trying to get sleeping pills for jaesung bc his ass is about to lose his shit if she doesn’t 🙄 also i read jaehwa’s bio and i love her too, spy verse is definitely open to her too if you wanna do that

Leah & Jaehwa

          leah’s so baby in comparison to jaehwa. i feel like it’d be a dynamic that would be like, jaehwa showing leah how to stay safe if she’s walking home alone in the dark, if she’s meeting guys for the first time for dates — self defense type of stuff. like leah would definitely look up to jaehwa if they ever met, and it might even get to a point were leah just thinks jaehwa’s so badass that she might get intimidated to approach alkjdalsjdlaALKJSDLKSAJ i don’t know off the bat how these two could meet since leah’s just suffering in college trying her best and crying herself to sleep because she’s stressed out, but like, she’d really admire jaehwa tbh

          i saw that jaehwa has a demon heart, and i was thinking that if leah in her angel verse ever crossed paths with jaehwa, she’d be super curious about why she’s sensing demon vibes from someone who looks human so that’s another possible connection route. it’d be pretty lighthearted for the most part though since angel leah is even more baby, but like, she’s a rude baby alsdlkas also cyanide teeth wtf that’s so hardcore what

Nate & Haruka

          OH SO THIS IS WHO JAESUNG’S HEART IS FROM hm hm hm my first thought is that, since haruka is also a werewolf, it’d make sense to have her meet nate in his werewolf verse as well! nate as a werewolf grew up packless essentially, being outcasted at an early age, so he has very much been living that rouge life and has that reputation of being a rogue living on his own. he tends to keep to himself a lot, but he likes city life, so it’d be interesting if it was a case of haruka and nate meeting in tokyo and kind of finding unexpected common ground. he’s kind of an asshole though so i’m not sure how much haruka would like him in the first place though alkjdkas—

[asocier]

education headcanons: a guide*

          a lot of these headcanons aren’t set in stone due to the fact i’m just ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about some muse’s specific education path, but i thought it’d be helpful to lay out some basics i’ve never explicitly expressed on this blog for the sake of reference and access! 

          after completing high school, alison enrolled in an arts program at a local university but only completed one full semester before withdrawing due to unforeseen financial difficulties. ever since, alison has not returned to school formally, though she continues to hone in her sewing, artistic, and designing skills via workshops offered to the public taught by some professionals in the fields she’s interested in. as such, her learning is a bit unstructured and scattered, but it’s more manageable for her and her current position in her career. likewise, the veterans of her workplace take alison under their wing and show her a lot about the fashion industry, and alison’s aunt teaches alison about some of the business aspects of running a company. you could say, then, that alison’s schooling is very immersive. if asked whether she’ll ever return to school in the future, assuming she can afford it, alison is very ambivalent. she’s more likely to pursue an official degree if she sees a real need to, though with how things are going, she doesn’t seem to have that need.

          leah graduated high school with high honors and ranked within the top ten of her class. she currently attends a large university and is pursing a bachelor’s of science in psychology. because of the type of degree she is pursing, leah has to take a wide range of required general education classes, even if they seem to not quite align with her psychology major. she’s canonically only in her second year of school, and after graduation, she intends to go on to get a master’s in educational psychology ( which is different from school psychology btw! ) so that she can work with children in the school system in the future. 

          in some timelines i’ve plotted with mutuals, leah actually continues with her psychology studies and goes on to get a phd and also remains very involved in academia such that she actually is a university professor, so this is an alternate route for leah’s future too!! it’s more likely that leah would be heavily involved in research rather than providing services to the public if she takes on this route, but a person’s path is rarely straightforward so it’s possible she does a bit of everything tbh. 

          emile knew from the get-go that he’d stick with community college right after high school. he told a lot of people that he was going to follow his father’s footsteps and be a lawyer, but deep down, he wasn’t really sure if that was something he’d actually enjoy. still, emile remains on that path for a bit, completing the necessary associate’s degree that will allow him to grasp the basics to be a legal assistant, and that’s kind of where he’s at right now in terms of career and education. he knows he wants to go back to school, and his he’s learning towards a history degree, but the question is always what do i even do with that, so you can imagine his reservation. also — money. 

          grace is still very young, so her path is very flexible, but i definitely headcanon that she completes high school as either valedictorian or salutatorian ( assuming everything goes well for her because, you know, colleges don’t like academic dishonesty ), gets into a really prestigious university, and just knocks it out of the ball park with her time in university both academic and extra-curricular wise. i’m not really sure what sort of degree grace would pursue, but i could see her studying music and trying her hand at composing. it’s also likely that grace studies economics or business since i like to imagine that after university, or maybe even during it, she gets involved in a start up company of some sort or just really involved in business in general. grace is out to be a ceo so watch out!

          i dont talk about cedric’s education a lot, but i actually do have a solid headcanon that he’s a business major. his university days were like kind of what you’d imagine for a rich white boy — he sailed through his classes and partied a lot along he way, and of course, because of who he was, he was practically untouchable, unfalliable, even though we all know that’s not true. but yeah, in canon, i guess you could say cedric has been out of school for a few years now and is definitely doing a lot of business owning seeing as how, while a bartender, he still co-owns the bar he works in and is trying to start his own business as well. 

         idk what the fuck nate does honestly, but i imagine it’s not a lot of schooling. if he did go to university, it’s because cedric was paying for it, or, it’s that the two boys lived together while cedric was in university, so nate got access to the social side of uni without actually doing the uni work. i kind of doubt that nate formally attended university after high school, and it’s probably more likely that he went to community college for a few classes to get by, but seeing as how he has terrible work ethic, it’s likely he doesn’t complete a formal degree. still, i imagine nate can really focus in non-traditional classroom setting, and by that, i mean like, online classes. so you can imagine how much he actually thrives when taking online classes for subjects he’s actually interested in, so i feel like he’d be a fan of skillshare and sites like that that make knowledge more accessible even if it is a subscription. that’s probably how nate manages to develop his craft despite being a lazy bum at home honestly. 

          my boi aito actually hated school when he was in high school surprisingly enough. it was during high school did he develop a big “fuck you” attitude to figures of authority in his school, but he mellowed out a lot in university once he got to experience a bit more freedom in classes and pathways. aito did well in high school though, following a similar path as leah and graduating at the top of his class, which confused a lot of people because he wasn’t even in class for the most part. but anyway, in university, aito is an engineering student, but he also took a lot of classes in computer science and astronomy for the fun of it. 

          he does go on to get a master’s, and similar to leah, he does have a potential route where he gets really involved in academia and becomes a professor who teaches physics and astronomy classes while conduction his own research. dare i say aito would ever combine these two subjects and deepen his study in astrophysics instead of engineering if he ever had the chance to??? potentially!! honestly, aito is such a flexible muse when it comes to academics because i swear, he just wants to learn everything. the sky’s the limit with him, tbh. 

[asocier]

werewolf verse details! 

           this post contains very basic information regarding these muses in threads where they’re able to shift into wolf forms! this info is based on a previous thread i’ve plotted with another mun; i have taken the characteristics of my muses from that thread and created this verse to allow for interactions with those who are interested in threading with these four in a non-canon supernatural verse! all muses will be open for shipping in this verse under the right conditions, btw. 

          note: leah, aito, and grace do not have a fleshed out verse of this type as of 11/5/2020, but maybe they will in the future ( re: plot with me )

          like in their canon, alison and emile are siblings. alison is considered an omega while emile is considered a beta, but due to lacking a real pack growing up, their classification means little to them, if anything at all. in other words, they didn’t grow up in an environment that strictly adhered to the hierarchy associated with werewolves, where alphas are dominant, omegas are submissive, and betas are in the middle. in fact, alison behaves more like an alpha -- she’s very dominant and headstrong, though it’s mostly towards outsiders than to her brother. growing up mostly on their own, the siblings learned to get around on their own and mostly relied on each other, though emile’s passive personality leaves him in the shadow of his sister, who doesn’t hesitate to get in your face if she’s provoked. 

            as with typical omega//verse lore, alison does go into heat regularly, but unless she’s mated with someone, she regularly takes suppressants to control the symptoms of heat and protect herself since she’s small even in her wolf form, so it’d be incredibly dangerous for her to experience heat somewhere unfamiliar to her.

           physically, cedric seems like an alpha, and is often mistaken for one due to his mannerisms. when he corrects people by saying he isn’t an alpha, they automatically assume he’s a beta. in actuality, cedric is classified as an omega, which confuses a lot of people. it’s an insecurity of his since growing up since people would give him a lot of shit about being “weaker” according to the hierarchy, so he often tries to just play up the fact that yeah, he’s an alpha. the dead giveaway that he isn’t, however, is his scent, so it’s incredibly easy to call his bluff. like alison, cedric also uses suppressants to control symptoms surrounding heat and to maintain what image of being an alpha he can salvage. 

           nate is packless -- he’s considered a rogue wolf due to being practically disowned by his former pack for butting heads with leadership. as an alpha, he couldn’t help but push his limits and get what was coming for him. he lives alone and kind of just isolates himself from most people, and he isn’t all that interested in bonding with a serious mate. he experiences ruts ( the alpha equivalent to an omega’s heat ), so he’s certainly not against mating but not mating with the intention of forming a pair-bond. 

          this is an incredibly basic post to start things off! i haven’t decided on a verse tag yet ( it might be super basic tbh ), but i might post a starter call later on or post more headcanons when i feel inspired.

[asocier]

🎰 hopefully the right emoji ...

( five random connections; not accepting! )

Emile & Andrei

          these two seem like they would be such sweethearts together :pleading: andrei seems like sucha soft boy, and emile is my soft boy, so it makes sense for the soft boys to befriend each other right? emile tends to be more on the reserved and timid side of things, so maybe that might make him more approachable for andrei since he’s a bit wary of humans. there’s also emile’s werewolf verse, which basically has emile as a beta werewolf but he’s very much still sweet emile! so that’s another way they can befriend each other too, like werewolf emile helping andrei get used to living amongst the humans and such. andrei and emile share the same sense of style too uwu 

Nate & Nanase

          this pairing seems interesting because nanase and nate actually share some mannerisms, so they aren’t drastically different. nate creates the type of music nanase seems to hate though ( re: techno, edm ) so that might be a point of contention. it’s not that nate hates classical music though; it’s just not where his inspiration really comes from. but i feel like if these two were to meet in a school setting, either high school or university, they’d get into a lot of trouble together lmaooo like nate would probably be an instigator tbh but he might be the type of instigator to get nanase into trouble while nate saves his own ass. depends though! they could either both go down, or one throws the other under the bus. something to think about and consider; the fact they both carry themselves in similar ways makes me feel as though they’d get along much better compared to nate with most muses tbh 

Aito & Yue

          oh i hate it when a married couple gets separated because of death, especially when they have a child together :cri: that’s so sad. jun is such a cute babey tho ,,,, i think there’s a chance for aito and yue to get along tbh. i think aito would be interested in yue’s writing, and while aito is typically very memey and doesn’t take life too seriously, i think he might put up a more “professional” or like, a more formal type persona whenever interacting with yue just because that’s how he is. of course, that all comes tumbling down when the baby shows up tho!!!! i also think the fact aito and yue both learned english through american media would bring them closer, or at the very least, it’d be a conversation starter. i also think there’s potential in both of them trying to quit smoking together. aito smokes mostly when he’s stressed, so it’s like a recreational activity, but in any case, he does want to quit. so they could form some sort of bond over that as well, like a support system. 

Leah & Ruisi

          i kind of feel like ruisi is the type of person leah would have a really soft spot for. he’s like the person who gets bullied or neglected, and i think with leah being a really empathetic person, would wanna be his friend or at the very least, pay attention to him and be that person to say hi to him and ask about his day. she’s a sweetie like that, and honestly either angel leah or human leah would wanna interact with him :) i bring up angel leah because of the whole demon thing, but demons don’t always tie in with angels so it really comes down to your lore and what kind of demon you had in mind for ruisi’s demon and his pact! but yeah, leah would treat ruisi really nicely. i dunno if she’d be a student mage like he would be, but we could always plot something where leah attends a neighboring academy or something !! i love me some good student plots tbh 

Cedric & Yuuto

          rip yuuto and being stuck in the friendzoNE ALKSJDLKAS i think that’s where cedric and yuuto diverge because cedric very much has that player energy so he definitely had a lot of people after him both while he was in school and after the fact. cedric dresses well also but comes from a family of money, so he dresses bougie because he actually is bougie smh. i think it’d be interesting for these two to cross paths since cedric, i guess you could say, has the relationship experience yuuto wishes he had, so it’d be a funny conversation for them to have if they ever discussed why it’s so hard for yuuto to get a date. cedric’s kind of an asshole ( he did treat alison poorly, after all ), so yuuto has drank more respect women juice than cedric hands down, but cedric knows better than nate ( who really didn’t get that dosage of respect women juice until like, his mid 20s ), so yuuto talking with cedric about relationships would be more of a mature, intelligent, and tasteful ( like in a classy way, but a delicious way ) conversation than if yuuto were to talk to nate tbh 

[asocier]

Please give me all the name except Leah bc we've plotted with her. I wanna hear your thoughts on how Keith might interact with the others on here.

( lemme talk muses to you; accepting! )

          this is probably gonna be a very in-depth reply just bc i wanna do keith justice and take into account the headcanons you’ve made for him as i talk about how i could see our muses interacting! i know you had a big project recently that incorporated some changes to keith’s heacanoned behaviors, so all of this might be a lil different depending on those changes as i based a lot of this on your older headcanons before the project. 

          i think one big thing i can see happening is alison or emile and keith relating on some level with their art. it might take a while for keith to feel comfortable sharing his art with them since that seems to be something he tries to hide, but emile or alison would love to teach him a thing or two if he was interested! alison focuses mainly on painting ( watercolors in particular, but she also dabbles in acrylics and oils when she can get her hands on them ), and emile sketches, so keith has some options depending on the medium he’s interested in! the twin also dabble in a lot of other hobbies too ( e.g. baking, sewing, photography, blogging, hiking, birdwatching, ect. ) so tbh if keith wanted to bond over an activity, there’s plenty to choose from!

          overall, i think alison and emile would naturally take on some kind of sibling role to keith just because of how they normally act. the age difference between alison and emile and keith in their canon verses would also warrant some kind of protective relationship since alison and emile are 24 canonically and keith is 18. it’s not a huge age difference, but it’s significant enough to make them conscious that keith is younger ( although, alison and emile don’t always act their age so -- ) i think it’d become most apparent when/if keith ever confides in them about his hands. helping him manage his stress or reminding him of his stressors bc they’re worried about him having a flare-up is something i can see happening, but again this would definitely depend on whether keith allows them to know about his condition. i dont think they’d be the type to ask him outright about his hands, so it most likely would be on keith. 

          we discussed a bit about how emile is a clean eater, and similarly, alison is as well. like keith though, she her eating habits are bit disordered ( though i don’t headcanon that she’s diagnosed with an eating disorder; it’s more so that her eating habits are erratic due to poor management at times ). she doesn’t always eat regularly and can legit just forget to sometimes because of work or stress. she eats small meals in general, so a lot of times, she can’t finish her portion and one meal becomes two or three, and she’ll have leftovers for days. splitting a meal with a friend is a common outcome when she goes out to eat as well. it’d be interesting to see keith cook meals for alison like he does with leah if they get to that level -- she’s a clean eater too ( but she loooves sweets ) so whatever keith makes would make her pretty happy, though she might be a little embarrassed that she needs to be taken care of. it’s likely she’d try to return the favor though since she does cook herself, but i’m guessing that’ll be more difficult since keith has reservations about people cooking for him. 

          in contrast, nate is like, the completely opposite. he eats like trash, but he eats a lot when his mood allows for it, and he rarely cooks for himself, so that might really get keith riled up because wow nate is terrible lmao. in all honesty, nate might piss keith off a lot just bc of how he lives his life, but they both share that hesitancy to really get close to people due to their attachment style, so they’re not totally polar opposites. i don’t think keith would really appreciate nate’s lifestyle, but who knows! nate has his own creativity about him since he creates music, so he’s not all that uninteresting and directionless. nate also would be able to take keith’s forward way of speaking; if anything, nate might be just a direct since he doesn’t really have much of a filter. a point of conflict though ( or indifference, really, since nate is kind of apathetic about this topic ) would be how they feel about family since keith is very family-oriented and nate isn’t. 

          aito and nate are two muses that have an erratic sleep schedule due to the fact they’re normally night owls. nate is a d.j. so he’s often doing events that run late into the night, and he sleeps in until the late afternoon pretty often. aito stays up doing his work as well, but he also just prefers to do more things at night when the rest of the world is asleep. he doesn’t really sleep in though, so he sleeps late and wakes up early, hence why he drinks a lot of coffee to even function in the morning at this office job. it wouldn’t be implausible for keith to run into aito or nate in the very early hours of the morning if he still did his walks at 4 am to clear his head since nate also walks around for like no reason at the hour ( sometimes he eats, sometimes he just can’t sleep, sometimes he’s drunk -- it’s a lot tbh ) and aito is a weirdo and might get food at that hour. 

          when it comes to cedric, i think it might be harder for keith and him to interact since i don’t think they share a lot of commonalities? the one thing i can see if them bonding over is books since cedric also has an appreciation for non-fiction material even though he does mostly read fiction. he can also mark them up and dog-ear them like crazy, so that’s something him and keith share as well. so if keith ever borrows a book from cedric, he’ll definitely see how cedric has marked them up and all the places he bookmarked to get back to later!

          overall, i think with some plotting, we could find a way to get my muses to interact with keith! i think it’s harder with nate and cedric just bc they’re ??? kind of unpleasant lmao but they’re not impossible to interact with. aito is a big nerd but very friendly, so he shares a similar energy with leah. alison and emile are also very friendly, but they’re more prim and proper, so they’re a little more mature for their age ( but definitely not unapproachable! ) i hope this post made sense and actually answered the prompt, i kind of went overboard but there was a lot i wanted to say haha

[asocier]

interaction guide for emile! 

last edited: april 6th, 2021

          emile ... my sweet baby boy. he’s an extremely friendly muse all around, and while he seems like he’d crumple at the first sign of danger, emile has surprisingly good fight or flight instincts. there’s a part of him that can work well under pressure, so when the world literally is on fire, emile will unexpectedly take charge and call the shots. of course, that’s when the pressure is really on — for the most part, emile is extremely non-confrontational and is perpetually stuck in a loop of ‘what am i doing with my life?’ as he wakes up everyday to a job he doesn’t care for. he makes the best of things, however, and finds pleasure in the simple things. he especially loves being out in nature, so that’s where he’ll truly be himself. in terms of his love life, he’s trying — that’s all i can really say on the matter. he’d be a good boyfriend, though, once things get serious; my sources have confirmed this. 

          supernatural plots — boy howdy, does emile befriend supernatural beings easily! i’m not sure what it is, but he really has a history of forming meaningful relationships with those who aren’t human, and it might just stem from the fact he thinks they’re incredibly interesting so long as, you know, they aren’t trying to kill him. so throw your magical girls, your aliens, your monsters, your non-human muses at emile because boy howdy is he down for the shenanigans and the adventure that comes alone with befriending these muses. he will absolutely literally be so fascinated by them and not give them grief if they’re nice to him !!! if they try to kill him, boy howdy will he be ready to run for his life because emile is already scared of everything and now he gotta run to save his ass. 

          family friendly wholesome plots — emile + children is literally one of the best things on this blog. i say this for like two other muses on this blog too but c’mon, emile and kids literally get along so well, how could i not suggest this possibility too in an interaction guide for him? he’s one of best babysitters and would love to interact with young muses, even if they aren’t small children but still quite young. even tween/teenagers might get along with him ( though if they’re going through some angst, he’s gonna be ... a lil awkward )

          nature/camping/plant plots — i mentioned that emile loves being out in nature, and this has long been the case since he was young. i make fun of him by saying he’s like an overgrown boy scout just because he has so much knowledge about the outdoors and camping from years of doing things like hiking. he also has a green thumb; really loves himself a nice plant. so here are some plots where your muse: 

needs a camping/hiking buddy and invites emile ( pre-est relationship most likely )

meets emile at a campsite ( first meeting type of plot ! )

is a camp counselor at a summer camp and emile is your co-counselor/head counselor and yall gotta take care of all these fking kids together for a whole summer 

works at a plant nursery/floral shop and they always see emile come in bc he hoards plants and loves to buy fresh cut flowers, either for himself or his sister, alison bc she loves flowers too 

just ... talks to emile about his plants casually or asks him for advice on why their plant isn’t doing so well 

needs a new trail mix/energy bar recipe and asks emile ( a neighbor? a friend? someone who is also looking at recipe books in a book store? ) if he has any

          art/photography/music plots — like his sister, emile dabbles in a lot of hobbies too and he shares a lot of those with alison. the biggest differences lie in the fact that while alison favors watercolor painting or body art with acrylics, emile prefers sketching with paper/pen and paper. similarly, while alison mainly plays the piano, emile plays the violin. photography is something both siblings share, though emile likes to take pictures of landscaping in addition to portraits. here are some plots where your muse:

needs a photographer for their *insert special event here* and hires emile 

needs a violinist for their *insert fancy event here that requires live music* and hire emile

asks emile for violin lessons 

wants to play pictionary with emile and that’s how they learn that emile can draw really well

          “what even is emile’s romantic life” plots —  my boy really tries to fall in love, okay. he tries, but it’s not that easy for him when you take into account how he’s not really out of the closet to a lot of people in his life and how he generally just has terribly luck with romantic relationships in general. this started back in high school, and it really doesn’t do much for his self esteem when it come to dating. it kind of puts dating on the back burner for him, really, especially since he isn’t in the best place in his life at the moment to find a serious relationship, but he still likes to try and go on dates once in a while, and he’s trying to learn to embrace the fact he isn’t straight. so here are some plots where your muse: 

bothers emile a lot about why he doesn’t have a girlfriend and plays matchmaker/tries to teach him how to talk to girls because that’s what you think the problem is 

gets set up on a blind date with emile and it either goes really well, or it goes really badly. plot twist: you two used to know each other somehow ( high school, community college, work before one of yall left the office, camp a while back, ect ). 

plays a supportive role in helping emile discover his sexuality ( can be in high school or afterwards ). your muse can either be super helpful or super intrusive and it makes emile suffer but, you know, your muse has good intentions. this “help” can be your muse sharing their experiences with emile, taking him out to lgtbq+ spaces to help him embrace this side of his identity, assuring emile that it’s not wrong to like the same sex, ect. they could also just take a balls to the wall crazy approach if that’s more their style, up to your tbh

          miscellaneous plots — here are some more random ideas in case you’re feeling stuck still! i’d like to remind everyone that my wishlist tag is always a great place to look too if you aren’t feeling what’s in the guide. i hope that the guide gives you an idea at least as to how you might approach a muse and what plots work well for them!

your muse offers to find emile a better job because they can tell he’s not loving his current job, so they offer him a helping hand. similarly, your muse offers to help emile go back to school because they wants to see emile succeed and be happy doing something in a field he actually cares about.  

office plots — your muse works at the same law firm as emile and shares an office space with him. please talk to him because emile needs a friend at work to make his job more enjoyable :’) 

high school plots — emile does have a high school verse like most of my other muses do. the bulk of what happens in high school involves emile discovering he’s not straight and being bullied for it for nate and cedric. on top of that, he’s witnessing his sister go through a really bad relationship, but with how secretive she is with things, it’s hard for him to intervene. there’s a lot of avenue for serious plots in this verse, but as with alison, lighthearted high school plots can also happen with emile! teenagers aren’t just full of angst, after all. sometimes we just need some shenanigans.

community college plots — instead of university, emile attends community college for a couple years to obtain his associates so that he can work as a legal assistant. he works odd jobs to keep himself afloat, and for the most part, he’s just vibing. 

werewolf verse plots —a post explaining the basics of this verse can be found here! in this verse, emile is considered a beta and spent his whole life practically raising his sister, alison. growing up, the siblings did not belong to a stable pack, and as such, they pretty much spent most of their life kind of living how they wanted. emile in this verse is just vibing, too. he’s not looking for a mate or for drama, he’s just trying to make sure his sister doesn’t get herself into trouble.           i’d like to re-emphasize that this is not a true omegaverse even though i do categorize muses as alphas, omegas, or betas, mention bonding between werewolves, nesting, heat/rut, and the use of suppressants to control the severity of heat. the description of these topics, however, are very tame as the focus of this verse is not unhealthy power imbalances or plotless smut. this verse exists bc werewolves are cool, and also because the idea of bonding between partners is where i find the most interest since true bonding really embodies the “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death” sentiment in marriage vows except even to a more serious degree. so yeah — werewolves. have your werewolf meet mine. it’ll be fun. 

[asocier]

interaction guide for alison! 

last edited: april 6th, 2021

***please be sure to read the note at the end of this guide pertaining to interactions with alison as a muse!***

          alison is a complex muse. for the most part, i’d say she is pretty flexible with some limitations ( more on that in the note at the end of this guide ). slice of life plots, romantic/friendship plots, and generally lighthearted interactions are the easiest to start with alison, though angst certainly has its place as well under the right conditions. while alison is very kind, very loving, and overall a fairly soft type of muse, she is also incredibly strong ( not necessarily in a physical sense unless we’re talking about her spy verse ) and, in main verse, will not take kindly to being treated like a pushover. this is important to keep in mind so as to not baby alison and overlook the fact she has gone through a lot to get where she is now. 

          fashion-related plots — in her main verse, alison is employed by her aunt as a designer for her aunt’s clothing line. it’s not a huge label, but it’s fairly noteworthy, so alison gets to experience quite a significant chunk of the fashion world. as part of her job, she also assists in fashion shows and travels quite frequently to different cities, and in her free time, she runs an art and fashion blog and dabbles in sewing at home. needless to say, fashion inspires alison a lot, so meeting other muses who are involved in the fashion industry or who are also interested generally in fashion would be a nice way for alison to meet them. fashion plots aren’t limited to main verse, either — in high school and in post-high school verse, she’s always looking for ways to make a little extra cash, so if a good opportunity arises, she’ll take it. some ideas below include scenarios where your muse:  

works in the fashion industry and meets alison on a business trip ( airport thread anyone? )

is part of a fashion show staff or is a model that works closely with alison ( imagine your muse wearing something alison designed though :weeps: )

needs their outfit tailored. this can be professionally, for example, alison doing part time work as a tailor to make a little extra cash, or casually, like alison is a friend your muse knows can sew and so they ask her to tailor as a favor. 

just needs some fashion advice for a big date/event/job interview so they ask alison for input. on the same vein, alison can be your muse’s personal stylists as a job too !!

works in the same office as alison at the fashion firm and collaborates with her on a design

works in the same office as her and just hates her because your muse thinks she got handed everything to her bc the ceo of the company is her aunt

asks alison to design something for them, whether that be an outfit for a special occasion ( prom dress, wedding dress, suit, costume, ect ) or something for a fashion show!

          art/music/photography related plots — fashion and art go hand-in-hand when it comes to alison’s inspirations and big interests. she dabbles in a lot of hobbies, and while she’ll go through phases where one interest may wane while the other waxes, painting, playing the piano, and taking photographs are three big hobbies that will always be close to her heart. my favorite plots involve alison being able to express herself creatively through her artwork, and allowing another muse to see her artwork is a fairly intimate interaction tbh just because alison doesn’t usually share much about her hobbies to others aside from “oh yeah, i do x,y,z for fun sometimes.” some plots under this category involve scenarios where your muse: 

talks to alison about shared interests such as watercolors, sketching, photography, or music ( specifically piano )

encounters alison while she’s painting, drawing, playing the piano, or taking pictures. photography especially is a big one since she runs her fashion and art blog, and i wouldn’t put it past her to run like a food/travel instagram either so she’s always taking photos !! 

asks alison to take their photo ( or a photo of them and their crew ) just because they can’t do it themselves and surprise it turns out alison takes some bomb ass photos 

is alison’s art muse. this can be that they pose for a sketch/painting or, if we wanna get interesting, your muse actually allowing alison to paint on their body since i headcanon that alison experiments with body art to make some really powerful creations before photographing the model to add to her portfolio. 

asks alison to be their art muse ( which, would get her v flustered bc she never thought she’d be someone’s muse, ever. but she’d also be very flattered ). 

gets piano lessons from alison

asks alison to take pictures for their prom/wedding/graduation/just because they want a photoshoot !!!!

asks alison to play piano for their super special fancy event that has live music !!!! 

          post-high school verse plots ( trigger warnings may be applicable ) — post-high school is where the bulk of alison’s time as a sex worker is spent, either when she’s with her ex-boyfriend grant or after they broke up since she continues to do sex work to support herself even after she leaves him. sex work for alison includes a variety of activities including prostitution, escorting, and sugaring ( being a sugar baby ), so plots in this verse are not limited to sexual encounters. in fact, i’ve had a lot of fun discussing with other muns plots and relationships that started out in a post high school setting but evolved into a new canon for alison where she finds her footing and breaks away from sex work in a manner different from her actual canon!! in other words, post-high school verse is the point in alison’s life where significant events can really change the course of alison’s life, so interesting things can really come out of interactions started in this verse. this verse does canonically have a lot of triggers due to the nature of alison’s relationship with grant, but we definitely don’t have to delve into that dark side if you don’t want to <3 some plot ideas under this category involve scenarios where your muse: 

          is one of alison’s clients ( regular or first time ). being a client of alison’s is such a broad plotting point with so many possibilities that i’m just going to put some plot bunnies all in this bullet point: 1) it can be an instance of your muse paying alison to be their first sexual encounter for whatever reason you choose; 2) a misunderstanding where someone else paid alison to come visit your muse but your muse actually has no interest in sex with her. but maybe they could just hang out with her maybe? gives more sustenance to the plot than her just going home lmao but if she did go home it’s possible this mishap is a conversation starter when they meet again someplace else! 3) your muse could also just be really nice to alison and their encounters start to blur the lines between business, a casual relationship, and something romantic. in any case, they spend a lot of time with each other, so they get to know each other real well. again, can be romantic or no strings attached, though the latter will probably be difficult for alison in the long run. 4) your muse and alison regularly hang out and chat in exchange for payment or gifts; why your muse decides to pay for company is up to you. this plot has potential for a very pure sugar baby relationship, no sex needed. 5) tries to be a savior and financially supports alison so she doesn’t have to do sex work anymore, or at the very least, allow her more of a means to find her footing so that she can decide where she wants to take her life.            these are just some ideas, but you’re never limited to them. a client/sex worker relationship doesn’t have to be a bad experience for either muses, and the basic idea i’m getting at is that the dynamic can be sexual or just your muse looking for company and some affection in exchange for money or some other gift. there’s definite possibility for platonic relations here since sugaring isn’t always sexual. whether or not grant is still in the picture can also impact this plot idea and change it radically too, so more options for you if you’d like!

          is in need of a fake date/girlfriend. this can be a one time thing or a regular thing. to add onto this — if it’s a regular thing, a “breaking up” plot when alison decides to move on from being a sex worker is a possibility, and your muse can either handle this really well and support her decision to pursue something else, or they can freak out and things turn toxic because they become unhealthily attached and possessive of her. 

         attended the same university as alison and notices a few things. post-high school verse does include a short period in time in which alison is a university student, so it’s possible for your muse to have befriended her in a class, and as such, they might notice that she stops coming to class suddenly. they can then run into her a while later and asks her about it, or they can actually find out what kind of work she’s been doing somehow while attending school despite alison telling your muse she does something else. 

          talks a lot of shit about alison and spreads nasty rumors about her while she’s still enrolled in college, which kind of helps her find more clients but also just really negatively affects her image too ( and she confronts your muse about it )

          high school verse plots ( trigger warnings may be applicable ) — high school verse holds the bulk of alison’s interactions with cedric and nate. this verse also has a lot of triggering details since quite frankly, cedric and nate are actually terrible people. heavy plots containing serious matters can come from this verse, but lighthearted school plots can also come from this verse! below are some some ideas in which your muse: 

 knows about how much of a asshole cedric is being to alison and tries to convince her to break up with him.

 knows that nate is harassing/blackmailing alison and gets involved somehow.

protects alison during high school because bullies just love to pick on her for no reason, so they become her protector of sorts. 

is one of alison’s bullies. can either run with the drama and use that to make life even more difficult for alison, or they can have a change of heart where they realize how much nate and cedric fucked over alison.

is one of alison’s close friends in high school; can be a classmate, an upperclassman, an underclassman, someone she only sees during clubs or at lunch.

is a teacher alison learns to trust and really confide in, especially when it comes to her life at home, her relationships, or her assault. can extend this plot idea out to older muses in general who alison may learn to trust!!

has a crush on alison uwu she may be dating cedric canonically, but we can work something out. it’s not like cedric was faithful to alison anyway—

          royalty/aristocrat verse plots — alison does have a royalty verse with very, very, basic information fleshed out, but i’m not super attached to what’s written in her royalty verse. i mostly enjoy writing royalty threads with alison due to how regal she is in her mannerisms, so i really like writing her as someone with royalty status uwu. this sentiment can extend to plots where alison is some sort of aristocrat as well, but a rags to riches story ( or vice versa ) is also fun since that’s kind of what happens to alison and her family anyway in canon. so please consider plots in which your muse: 

has a forbidden relationship with princess alison and the two of you have to keep it a secret and work through whether your relationship will last or not ( bodyguard/princess; princess/princess; princess/prince who isn’t the one she’s arranged with; princess/commoner )

is arranged to marry princess alison but she’s so anti-arranged marriage that she doesn’t even want to look at you let alone talk to you ( or the reverse — your muse just refuses to acknowledge alison )

holds the princess hostage for ransom ( could be money, could be something revolutionary like wanting the royal family to change laws to benefit the people )

helps alison conceive a child. as much as alison wants to have a child, conceiving a child can be incredibly difficult even under the best conditions, and with how much weight is put on a woman for conceiving the next heir, stress can make it even more difficult to conceive. so :eyes: how your muse helps her is up for discussion.

          other verse/au/wishlist plots — in addition to royalty verse, alison also has an alternate verse, a werewolf verse ( note: this isn’t an abo/omegaverse setting even though i do draw elements from this verse ), and a spy verse. the wishlist tag is also another option if anything strikes your fancy!

alternate verse — this is a very general verse that essentially captures interactions in which the canon events of alison’s high school and post high school events do not happen. additionally, alternate verse alison was raised differently from canon alison such that she was not socialized to uphold traditional feminine gender roles. in other words, she was not discouraged from acting more tomboyish as a kid, and she was not raised in a strict environment that forced her to act a certain way and as such, alison’s trajectory in life is very different. alternate alison is more aggressive, more forward, and she can be a bit of a misandrist. she tends to be more social than canon alison in the sense that she’ll go clubbing, partying, and barhopping more readily, and her career path is a little less developed ( re: she’s not tied down to a fashion job and can take on all sorts of work depending on what makes sense for a thread ). 

werewolf verse — a post explaining the basics of this verse can be found here! alison’s in this verse is a blend of canon and alternate alison in how she acts. because she was raised without a pack for most of her life, her only family being her brother, emile, alison learned to carry herself like an alpha even though she’s an omega, which leads to a lot of problems when she meets other, actual alphas who try to hit on her or take control. this is where alternate alison’s aggression can come in. on the contrary, canon alison’s maternal instinct and affectionate nature becomes apparent whenever werewolf alison decides to eventual settle with a serious partner, whether that be another werewolf she’s bonded with ( up to mun’s decision whether bonding is a thing in our thread ), or someone else she loves.            i’d like to re-emphasize that this is not a true omegaverse even though i do categorize muses as alphas, omegas, or betas, mention bonding between werewolves, nesting, heat/rut, and the use of suppressants to control the severity of heat. the description of these topics, however, are very tame as the focus of this verse is not unhealthy power imbalances or plotless smut. this verse exists bc werewolves are cool, and also because the idea of bonding between partners is where i find the most interest since true bonding really embodies the “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death” sentiment in marriage vows except even to a more serious degree. so yeah — werewolves. have your werewolf meet mine. she can take care of yours or you know, keep them company. 

spy verse — also known as handler and hound verse on this blog due to reasons. this is essentially an espionage verse in which alison is a rather high ranking field agent. she’s older in this verse than in canon ( 31 vs. 24, though her age in spy verse can vary depending on plot ), and is technically engaged to her agency assigned partner. this verse opens up the opportunity for morally grey muses to interact with her. the best way to learn more about this verse is to read this link which should outline all the details you should know about this verse’s setting, this link for a tl;dr ( not recommended ) and look through the verse tag for aesthetics and answered asks set in this verse!

          miscellaneous plots — these are plots that don’t fall into a defined category for whatever reason ( mostly because they aren’t developed yet ) but i’d still love to explore them <3

future plot — i think about this a lot because i have such an immense love for alison, but i’ve headcanoned that once alison is older, she becomes a very big advocate for sex workers those who have been in domestically abusive relationships with a romantic partner. it takes her years to find the courage to share her story, but after years of volunteering at women’s shelters and doing charity work, she eventually finds her calling to take things a bit further. it’s possible your muse encounters alison during her volunteer work or while she’s a guest speaker sharing her story at some event. really though, i think it’d be interesting for muses to interact with alison when she’s a lot older since she’d have so much time at this point to process her trauma and, hopefully, seek the help she needs. 

angel  plot — alison is an angel and is very much one to stick by the rules and be good. a big contrast to leah’s angel verse in which leah is childish and does whatever the fuck she wants. angel alison is more experienced and is regarded as a good angel, but her curiosity about romantic love might get her into trouble. 

childhood plot — alison is a tomboy who kicks ass; the older she is, the more feminine she’ll be ( unless it’s alternate alison, in which she only gets more aggressive ); your muse is an older muse or a fellow child who interacts with her ( male child muses beware! she’ll make you eat dirt if you aren’t nice to her or emile! )

single mother plot — this would straight up be a self-indulgent plot for me to be able to play alison as a mother. she absolutely adores kids, and while the circumstances in which she has a kid in this plot wouldn’t be ideal, she’d love her kid with all her heart, and this would allow your muse to help her raise her child, try for a romantic relationship with her, or maybe they’re the other parent??? just tossing thoughts around, i just really love alison as a mom :weep:

——————————————

          now that you’ve made it to the end of the guide, please read this important note about alison before interacting with her!

         tl;dr — please respect my muse and don’t force scenarios that would not make sense for her to be in on me. she’s a fairly flexible muse, but i will not ignore specific, canon, character traits just to make a plot work. i’m open to discussions regarding how to make an idea work ( which includes perhaps using one of alison’s other verses ), but please don’t assume. also read her character bio — this is a must ( trigger warnings are included ).

          like i’ve said before, alison is a very complex muse. i’d like to think she’s a fairly flexible muse but with some limitations as a result of her experiences. if you’ve read alison’s biography ( which you should have, and in fact, i expect you to since it’s very crucial to her as a muse ), you’d know she has been through a lot of traumatic events. as such, she has developed certain mannerisms, tendencies, and thought processes as a result of what she has been through. these behaviors, such as being very wary of men when she’s alone with them in a setting that goes beyond a normal, casual interaction ( e.g. a man ringing her up at a cash register at a store ), are engrained in her character, and it takes a lot of time and trust building for her to change any behavioral patterns she may have.

        i say this to preface the fact that if you have any plot ideas you’d like to share with me, please take into consideration whether it makes sense for alison in her canon verse if that’s the verse you’re interested in. canon alison, in short, is not the type to form casual, sexual relationships. if this is what you’re looking for, look elsewhere. there are exceptions to this, but these exceptions have involved a lot of plotting to make it work and make sense. i could say more on the matter, but for now, i’ll just say that alison behaves very different depending on what period of life she is in. as such, canon/main verse alison behaves differently than post-high school alison, who behaves differently than high school alison. alternate, werewolf, and spy verse alison behaves even more radically different than the former three. so you certainly have options if you’re really interested in a specific plot for alison! i’m very open to ideas, but i ask that you also respect my muse and what she’s been through as well since i’ve worked hard on her backstory. 

[asocier]

A F J

( valentine’s day alphabet; accepting! )

AFFECTION.   how does your muse show affection?

          you have to be someone very special to really receive genuine affection from nate. when he actually means it, his affection is rather subtle and quiet, rarely ever anything that really just yells affection like physical affection would ( though, this is something that comes rather easy for him since he’s not stranger to intimate contact ). a few examples of this quiet affection is like, doing chores without being asked to ( e.g. doing the dishes ), buying a present for his partner but just leaving it somewhere for them to find rather than making a spectacle out of it, letting his partner be in the same space as him and letting them rest against him or sit in his lap even if he’s concentrated on something else. 

FLIRT.   is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

          alison can put on an act and behave more confident than she actually is if the situation calls for it, like in the case of when she used to interact with clients, so she can be quite witty and charming. some tactics she’s used before include lots of compliments paid to the other to inflate their ego, laughing at their jokes even if it’s not that funny, playing footsies under the table or touching on their hand/arm during a conversation. it’s all fake, however, since she typically has no interests for her clients. 

          when it comes to people she’s genuinely interested in, even if she’s pretending to be confident, it’ll be like a switch was flipped and she’ll be less eloquent, and her nerves will get the best of her, causing her to choke up a bit. she tends to laugh a lot, which can be perceived as flirty, but it’s really her trying to deflect from the fact she’s super embarrassed and flustered by the sudden attention on her from someone she’s attracted to. 

J   :   JEALOUSY.   does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

          yes. as good-natured as alison typically is, she does get jealous, and it’s very easy to tell that she is. her jealousy doesn’t cause her to make a scene by any means if she sees someone getting a little too cozy with her partner in public, but she’ll immediately gravitate towards them and will make it clear that her partner is taken either through mild pda or the usage of pet names like “love.” she’s not the type to get jealous if her partner spends time with people of her partner’s sexual orientation, however. her jealousy is inconsistent, but it’s definitely possible.