#i wasn't really allowed to buy fandom stuff growing up

[helium-stims]

@euniysu's Red Hood Real Flowers Charm

[dojae-huh]

Anon personally I'm a fan of doyoung, but I've only liked a few of his covers and solos ever. He's choses songs that are whinny for me, I listen to Kpop for the pop not to listen to someone sing ABT heartbreak in an emotional way.

This is why I always say I might end up loving taeils solo or taeyongs solo alot more than doyoungs if he keeps to the formula of whinny songs for the main vocalist.

As for fandom shift, I got into 127 and dream at the same time in 2017. They had almost the same fandom on twitter then and most ppl were there for markhyuck as it is. The others seemed too young for even the teenagers (as younger girls love older men idols then their own age mates)

The issue is that in 2018 thanks to BTS becoming a popular name in America alot more American fans entered the Ncity and the empathy album being perfect helped it alot (boss still is an excellent song and it still sound hip even after 5 years)

When a new market is introduced then a new type of fan enters the fandom, the same hyper fixated fans also enter shinee fandom too. I'll give u an example of why I left being active on shawol side of twitter, most topics were abt internal issues within the fandom on English side of twitter, poor my member started. When taemin released his solo in 2015 noone was happy, the members hyping him once got the fandom to buy and follow them. The same with taemin asking shawols to follow the superm and then quieting down is a good example of how shawol side of fandom worked.

After superm a new age of fans entered the fandom, these kids have no idea what happened with jjong and have discourses about the company and him. I've seen ppl being pissed over things not related to them at all (concert hall change, it's a Korean even/ Asian fanmeet hardly 500 international fans are allowed in these things but I saw baby shawols crying like their life depended on it when all older shawols know kfans are so strong together that they always get results)

The 127 fans sending trucks is also a result of shawols getting SM to change a lot of things and agreeing to their demands. The issue is that 127 fans are doing it at taeyongs solo time deliberately, so to point of fandom kfandom was fragmented from day one of NCT as a whole.

Most antis are other members fans, jungwoo's sister being a actress was a leak from a haechan stalker as they thought woo stalkers were making fun of haechans family structure. Woos stalkers released haechans family issues online. So the shift never really happened in kfandom, it did in the international side only.

I started liking NCT when it had 15 or 16 ppl, it was easier to keep up with almost all members. Now they have 22 it gets tough keeping up and so most older fans have left the fandom. Twitter is limited to the newer fans and most older ones come to support or follow the news from fanaccouts

Also nctzens always had a bullying issue, I still remember 2 of my fav fanfic writers being bullied out of the fandom coz the popular fan accounts asked them too.

As for YouTube numbers, shinee never had MV numbers, but they're still one of the most respected idols. They're still relevant after 15 years in the industry so numbers don't count. Recognition counts and 127 has gotten that these past few years thanks to kick it becoming a popular song in Korea.

P.S. sorry this is all over the place but I'm just writing stuff without reading it back 😞

But fandoms usually grow and then crash on twitter every 2 years, as most passerby's get bored in 2 years of their new hobby

I like Do's covers, he is good at re-arranging. I regularly listen to OSTs too, but more for Do's voice as Korean OSTs without hearing the meaning of the lyrics are not my cup of tea.

A lot of Korean NCTzens were against those trucks with demands regarding 127 and accused the initiators of the action as having no right to speak up and act in such a way on behalf of all other fans. It wasn't planned by the fandom at large, just a minor group with money. The group made an account (seems like after the act) so kfans had a place where to write their comments.

[sharkneto]

do you think five is sometimes childish? like in the comics when he sometimes acts like a child. mayb some headcanons about it?

I think in the show, not directly - Aidan does an insane job acting as a mature, 58 year old man.

As a headcanon? Yeah. I've talked around it a bit in some of my fics, but I do think Five has a lot of growing up to do. I think there's a not-insignificant part of him that's sort of stuck at 13. How could there not be, when he had no one around him to help him actually grow up and mature for 40 years?

This is not to be confused with him being a child or fully acting like a child. He is first and foremost a fully grown, middle-aged man. He has adult interests, he is capable and can take care of himself, he should be treated as and respected as an adult. He is Old and he is Tired. But I think it's more along the lines of that he's horrendously ignorant in how the world works, how to socialize, how to be an actually functional person. All those little lessons he missed out on because he was tragically trapped in the apocalypse. It's in those little nothing trips you go on with parents or friends or whatnot where you learn how a car wash works or how to make an appointment. It's all those cringe lessons we learn in middle and high school, figuring out how to fit in and find and make friends as we get older. It's those first few years in college, moved out from home and having to manage money and feeding ourselves and being fully responsible for ourselves.

The only real practice he's had with any of that was at the end of the world, where he's scavenging and literally everything was his because everyone else was dead, and with Delores, who is just him and doesn't exist. His only conversation partner was someone who already knew what was going on in his head so he didn't have to learn to really articulate his thoughts. If something didn't come out right, he could just handwave "ah, you get it" and Delores would get it because she is him.

I think everyday conversations, small talk, is so outside of Five's wheelhouse. His communication skills are Not Good. Big things? Big things that deal with consequences and time and his experience with all the fucked up shit he's had to do? He can do that. A nothing conversation with a sibling that winds for half an hour and no one is really saying anything? Absolutely not, what the fuck are they even talking about? Anything that has to deal with emotions and talking through them and identifying them is also so beyond him. The guy hasn't done any self reflection to figure out what he's feeling for decades (what's the point? He feels bad? Well, he's in the apocalypse and his family is dead, of course he feels bad. What more could there possibly be to it.) This is all stuff, for a lot of people, we learn and figure out how to do and communicate as we grow up, get to be adults, and go to therapy. For sure Reggie wasn't teaching them how to communicate well and to be in touch with their emotions, and Five absolutely did not get anything on that front when he was alone at the end of the world or getting used and abused at the Commission.

As to acting like a child, it has been a minute since I read the comics so I can't off the top of my head think of specifics (except for his Child Disguise during his corporate espionage phase which I Adore). But headcanons for show!Five, I think it comes down to more allowing himself to have random shit for no reason, have comfort items. As a 26-year-old adult, I have plushies and impulse buy little odds and ends regularly because I Like Them. I think allowing himself to have things that might come across as childish is a big hurdle for Five, because he's desperate for people to not see him as a child when he looks like one. Relaxing and letting himself Be is his first step, which is a thing a lot of us all learn, too. I, at least, had a phase in my early 20s, after I graduated college, where I cleaned house on explicitly fandom things and any plushies or whatnot I had were For Decoration. I was an adult and I thought my surroundings should reflect that. Now I have a cow ottoman in my living room that I think is technically for children because I'm embracing my accidentally cowboy-themed living room and also I wanted the cow ottoman.

I got sidetracked, there, but what I'm trying to get at is that part of growing up is figuring out what you like, don't like, and vibing with that and letting yourself just do that. Five has no fucking clue what he likes and doesn't like. He's never had a chance to really explore that or had resources to spare to do so. Any kindness he did for himself that wasn't Directly Survival Related, he pawned off reasoning as "being for Delores". Things can just be for him, now.

The growing up Five has to do is all hinged on learning how the modern world works and figuring out who he is as a person, outside of being an Academy member, an apocalypse survivor, and a Commission assassin - none of which are things he had a choice about. Who is Number Five when he gets a say in it? It's less of a "he's like a kid!" and more "these are the things he's fifty years behind in, developmentally, and he has some catching up to do".

(If this ramble got incoherent, because whups yeah, you can find these headcanons poking out in my fics like The Zoo Is Better When It's Not All Dead, Simple, and A Rusty Cog)

[tuiyla]

I was reading this old post of yours (tuiyla[.]tumblr[.]com/post/680831769638993920/how-well-written-do-you-think-blaine-finn-and) and thinking about how Finn and Quinn are really the writerly inverses of each other. The audience during initial airing may have bought in, but with time and distance, I think a lot of fandom is very "you can tell me he's the hero, but I'm not buying" and "you can tell me she's the villain, but I'm not buying". 1/2

And maybe that's why Promasaurus is SUCH a trainwreck. It's when these two unearned character frameworks crash directly into each other. To the point where they even have the "hero" trying to assault the "villain" but seem utterly unaware that that's what they've written. 2/2

Oh I've touched on the trainwreck that's Promasaurus (re: Fuinn) as well before. I think that's a good point, Anon, since Quinn and Finn are probably the two characters with the most fucked up framings in opposite ways.

I've long theorized the extreme reactions Finn and Quinn sometimes get from fans but that extreme being the inverse of one another and of what the show theorized are because fans have to counterbalance the show's framing. Even when Quinn changes and does good stuff, she's reset by the writers and we're all but told to despise her. Look, she's shallow and duplicitous and a bitch, even after years' worth of supposed character development. But we like Quinn! Because you can't make her go through what she does and have sympathetic moments without the audience growing to like her. Equal but opposite is Finn, who does some of the most fucked up shit on this show but we're constantly told he's oh so great and it becomes exhausting when the show cuts him so, SO much slack. And so fans, or me at least, don't. Because the show already lets him get away with everything but never extends the same to Quinn, hence the opposite reactions.

But the real problem, as is the case often with Glee, is the lack of nuance. More specifically, that Glee refuses to acknowledge that it's actions rather than people that have moral value. In the show's eyes people like Finn and Will and (to a lesser extent) Rachel will always be Good because they're the Good Guys™ so even though they make mistakes they're never Bad. They can't do things that are Bad and get proportionate consequences. But Quinn (and Santana and sometimes Puck) are Bad and their good moments are in spite of their characters, not something they're equally capable of. It's like they're in constant danger of getting shoved back into the villain zone whenever it suits the show.

Of course, we know life and even fiction don't work this way. So it's baffling and frankly disturbing to watch a scene like Finn foaming at the mouth and attempting to assault someone in a wheelchair and still getting rewarded for everything he does. It wouldn't be so bad and we wouldn't have such contrarian responses had they allowed space for nuance in the story. Maybe have the narrative acknowledge that Quinn wasn't doing anything so outrageously bad. Hell, maybe let's acknowledge her very valid trauma. And let's frame Finn as the asshole he's being, for once. They can still stay The Hero and The (ex-)Alpha Bitch overall, fine, whatever, but for the love of god let go of that strict moral baggage every now and then.

This is very, eerily similar to what goes down in regards to The Outing and IKAG, btw. Because Finn can't possibly be the bad guy, surely he meant well, and besides Santana's the bitch in this situation! The dissonance is astounding. Appalling, too. But as much as there are valid Finn and Santana parallels and dichotomies writing-wise, Finn and Quinn are arguably a stronger case and Promasaurus an excellent example of how, even late into season 3, Glee was incapable of regarding these characters as more nuanced than their initial boxes.

[writings-from-the-hart]

Writebr Intro

Writeblr Intro Time!

Hiya! This is so overdue and I apologize for that lol. I’ve been meaning to write this but school seems to always be getting in the way of just that. Writing. But here I am finally writing this! And yes my username is a pun of my own last name but I just couldn’t resist.

So basically, I really want to surround myself with other writers and have stumbled across tons of writeblr’s (I think that’s what they’re called lol). Instantly I was in love and wanted more of what the community had to offer. I’ve been a self-proclaimed “author” or writer since my early years of grade school. I was that child in the back of the class with ADHD that couldn’t sit still (the cliche bouncing leg and always chewed down nails) and had what my mother called an “overactive imagination”. My notebooks in high school were often filled with wild stories about “galaxies far far away” or dystopias with cruel governments ruled by dictators. Now I’m in my second year of college swamped with classes about the Psychology of criminals (or I like to call the science of murder), and trying to find time to write a novel. So the struggle is real my dudes.

A little about Me:

Hana

20

She/Her

Pisces

Asexual

Forensic Psychology Major and English with a concentration in Writing Minor

Book hoarder

Dog Mom

Vintage AF

Low Key Emo Punk because I’m no average white girl!

History nerd (Love learning about the old wars and cultures)

Movie nerd (There’s an endless stack of DVDs in my house)

Fandoms:

The Mandolorian (or the ManDADolorian)

Star Trek

Star Wars

Hannibal

X-Files

King Falls Am

Welcome to Nightvale

Transformers (Obviously not the bad movies lol. Bumblebee is baby and must be protected always.)

Good Omens

Sherlock

Lord of the Rings

Marvel (There are so many shows and movies in this category we would be here all day if I tried to list them.)

Timeless (Not sure if the fandom is still alive after what the writers did to one of our ships lol)

DC (I’m a huge Batman geek and adore Wonderwoman, but I take the good with the bad when it comes to this fandom. Especially movie-wise anymore.)

And there’s probably more but my memory isn’t working currently.

Goals?. . . maybe:

Get my novel finished (This has literally been on my To-Do List for who knows how long.)

Meet more writers/new writers.

Improve my poetry (I suck at poetry so I bad I never let it see the light of day, so I need to work on it.)

Start my bullet journal.

Wips:

Okay by now you all know I have at least 1 Wip because I mentioned getting a freaking novel done, but just as a precaution as to what I mean by Wip or Wips. I get distracted quite easily, for some odd reason my brain absolutely loves to jump from one idea to another for no absolute reason. Like WTF dude we already have an idea we’re working on why do you keep bringing all these new ones to me like stray dogs. And like any good dog Mom or distracted writer, I want to keep all the ideas/stray dogs. So, when I say Wip I mean “Look at this cool idea I came up with” and I’ll make sure to specify which one is hogging most of my time.

Renegade: Dystopian, Thriller, Post-Apocalypse, and Science Fiction.

This is my baby. Most of my free time is dedicated to adjusting plotlines, character arc’s, fixing freaking plot holes, and other important stuff other than just plain writing. I’m hoping to finish this also monster of a story by 2020 and get it published. So big stuff!  

“So tell me little wolf do you want to punish those who have wronged you?” An assassin known as the Crimson Ghost makes their way through the corrupt city-state of Ashton completing a job given to them by the Black Rose. What is a seemingly normal job though turns into something far more complicated when they stumble upon the fractions of an abandoned notebook from the past. A past the Republic is trying to desperately hide and bury no matter what. On the other side of the world in the Republic’s capital Eshar, plainly referred to as “The Prodigy” or “machine” by his superiors,  Eric Coalwood has built a life upon the ashes of his family, striving to meet the high expectations set before him by his mentor General Wolfheart. However, his life falls out of its normal day to day routine when the unexpected is asked of him. Command a task force made up of the Republic’s most wanted or his life is over. Eric doesn’t need reasons for why he must do what he has to, all he needs are orders and the Republic is more than happy to give them. Either way the clock is ticking for both the Crimson Ghost and the Republic’s prodigy and with time running out they both have two options. Either get over their different beliefs concerning the Republic or allow the world to once again succumb to war but this time nobody is going to survive it. “Legends are slippery things. For the glory that coats them hides the pain, suffering and death that created them.”

The Trouville Files: Dystopian, Thriller, Post-Apocalypse, and Science Fiction.

Not my biggest priority but definitely one of them considering the plot of this story. I mainly use this wip as a reference for Renegade because it’s actually the prequel to it. Also, it’s great to use as writing practice when I’m plagued with writer’s block for Renegade or frustrated with a plot hole. So this is my double-edged sword that does a lot of good.

“Death in these black days is neither kind nor quick.” The year is 2153, the world we know is nothing more than a wasteland strewn with the dead and a sky being choked by their ashes, not glorious and thriving but desolate and starving. The Red Death, a pandemic with a steady progression and a gruesome countdown to the demise of those infected. No one outruns it or survives it. “United we stand, divided we fall.” The Allied Nations, a totalitarian superpower, promised a united people but all they gave this world was more death and destruction. The Red Death isn’t the only thing slowly killing humanity anymore, we are in the form of the War of Broken Pacts. The spark of revolution is lit, but if it will remain so is a question asked by everyone. Does it stand a chance against the iron-fisted government holding the people in shackles? “Rebel with a cause.” Genius Medical Officer for The People’s Republic, Cyprus Ramiro works day and night in search of a cure for the Red Death exterminating hundreds, at least before this war kills him first. But he is also a man on the run and the rebellion can only shelter him for so long. “Duty over pain.” Cunning Spy and Soldier, Orion Ultor is ordered by the Allied Nations to infiltrate and gather information on the ever-growing People’s Republic. In bold letters is Search and Destroy; make a ruin of the rebellion and ensure the Allied Nations remains as it should -- unquestionably in power. No matter the cost unless he wants to suffer the consequences again. “If we fall we shall rise from the ashes like a phoenix.” They should have never met, battlefields don't make good friends. It wasn't fate, it wasn't destiny, only war throwing people together.  The Allied Nations is trying to stamp out something they fear, but can they before the Red Plague? Or will humanity find itself extinct.

Beyond his point is where I house my stray dogs/ideas

Hiraeth: Paranormal, Horror, Mystery, and Thriller.

Scooby-doo who?

Hiraeth means a homesickness for a home which you cannot return. That is how Arcane feels like she’ll never be home no matter how hard she tries to connect with her family. The closest she feels to being home is with her friends and in the worn leather seats of the van they all pitched in to buy. It all started out as a way to pass time and for all of them to escape their families because to be honest parents never understand, but it all turned sideways when a simple “ghost hunting trip” stirred something that was meant to remain buried. The truth never remains buried though, not really, somehow it will always creep back in ugly and twisted. Arcane has never felt “at home” but she’ll do whatever it takes to keep what she considers her family safe.

Sweet Dreams: Historical Fiction, Thriller, and Romance.

A literal dream turned into story plot and no I’m not kidding.

The Red String of Fate, The Lovers, and War. These are the three elements intertwined within the plot of Sweet Dreams but before anyone makes any assumptions this isn’t some chummy rom-com. There will be tears and heart strings may get yanked clean out because the angst is real. War and love never mix well, it leaves a sour taste in ones mouth and makes the mind question things it shouldn’t. Like is the woman in his dreams the same woman he sees in all his dreams? Constantly he somehow ends up spotting that same ruby red lipstick, honey golden eyes, and brunette hair laying in perfect curls. She’s everywhere except in his actual life. They say you and your soulmate share dreams, living proof of how intertwined souls are. She doesn’t believe in love or the idea of souls, not with the monsters roaming around the countryside and battlefield carrying assault rifles. Society tells her where her place is, but she disagrees and rather create her own destiny.

The Prophet: Paranormal, Thriller, Post-Apocalypse, and Science Fiction.  

A short story I can’t seem to let go or it doesn’t want to let me go, but either way, this story has the makings for something great. It also at times seems strikingly similar to Good Omens, so don’t be surprised.

There’s no anti-christ in this story, he already has a book about himself so let’s not make another one besides there are other stories that need to be told. Such as, have you ever heard of modern day prophets and I’m not talking about those people with cardboard signs saying “the end is near!” or giant churches with people preaching about the end times. No, I’m talking about a kid with messy hair and dark circles under their eyes because sleep is no longer a choice due to migraines that plague them every night. Migraines that bring weird cryptic messages that make one question their own sanity. And what happens when strange people start asking about said migraines and messages?

Virago: Fantasy, Thriller, Historical Fiction, and Romance.

I’m not a huge fantasy reader, for some reason I can’t stay invested in them, but here I am with a fantasy story in my wips. It has mages, knights, assasination plots, and one super badass general who takes zero shit from her king. That’s right women empowerment, my dudes! I don’t really have much of a synopsis inline or a plot because this is only of those wips I let rattle around in my brain from time to time. But I will say it does give me that LOTR vibe but also Game of Thrones.  

Don’t be surprised if you see my stray doggos from time to time because I will admit I love to play around with storyboards. Even if I don’t have a fully planned out plot put together for it.

And that concludes this what was supposed to be short Writeblr Intro. I hope I have peaked some of your guys’ interests because the community definitely got a hold of minee. Feel free to send me a message about anything I mentioned (even if it’s just fandom shit I don’t care) and don’t be shy. I’m a huge introvert but somehow love talking, so don’t worry it won’t be awkward and odds are I’m equally nervous about conversation lol. Also, feel free to add me to any taglist and reblog/like if you’re active and would like more Writeblr mutuals!

Happy Writing,

Writings-from-the-Hart

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Chapter 13: Sometimes I Can’t See Myself

Rating: T Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Bellamy x Clarke Chapter: 13/? Word Count: 2124 Words

Chapter Summary: The one where Clarke and Bellamy try to figure out why they argue almost every time they talk to each other.

Also on AO3

Dec 5 Pre-Winter Break Extravaganza Guests and Friends Hosted by Harper Williams, Nathan Miller, and Bellamy Blake Friday, December 5 at 9:00pm Tonight – 46ºF / 38ºF Chance of Rain Our Place Invited by Harper McIntyre Harper is going   21        43           8 going   maybe   invited

Hey everyone! Winter break is approaching and we’ll be separated for 3 weeks!!! Let’s get together and wish each other whatever happy kinds of holidays we celebrate and drink before we vacate the campus! We’ll have beer and liquor, but please bring your alcohol of choice for a fun party game (if you’re underage, obviously not required, but find a way if you can! <3). Hope to see you all there!! – Harper

Bellamy Blake November 29 at 1:28pm Monty , I am requiring that you bring your moonshine. That shit is horrible, but for some reason, I really want more of it. Clarke Griffin and 4 others like this

Monty Green: You got it. One order of Bellamy moonshine coming right up. Jasper Jordan: Thanks a lot. Now I have to go buy scented candles. That stuff makes our room smell weird. Monty Green: Stop complaining. You helped me come up with the recipe.   Bellamy Blake: You guys can’t come to the party without it, so suck it up, Jasper.   Octavia Blake: Monty's moonshine counts for me and Clarke too! Bellamy Blake: Seriously, that doesn’t count. Find your own. Monty Green: Yeah. Stop riding on my coat-tails, little Blake. Octavia Blake: I need people to stop calling me little Blake. Clarke Griffin: Oh, come on. We discovered Monty. We deserve some credit. Monty Green:  I seem to remember Jasper and me discovering you, not the other way around. Jasper Jordan: Yeah, come on, Clarke. Get your facts straight. Bellamy Blake: Well, it was a valiant effort, Clarke. But a loss nonetheless. Clarke Griffin: Ugh. You guys suck.

It was a bigger party than he thought it would be. Even after seeing the invitation Harper sent out, he hadn’t expected so many people to show up. Still, it was oddly comforting to see his sister interacting with his friends as an adult; to see her laughing with Jasper and Monty; to see Miller actually accepting a hug from her. He could even reluctantly admit that it was nice to see the way she interacted with Princess. The two brought something out in each other. Princess seemed to ground his sister and bring her down from the clouds. Octavia had actually been finishing homework, and one time he had walked into their dorm to find her studying for their French class. On her own.

And Octavia… well, she seemed to make the princess laugh. She had a face that looked like it didn’t get to do that very often. Most of the time, he saw her with her brow furrowed, ink marks somewhere on her person, and paper cuts on her fingers. But, O seemed to be able to get her to attempt to relax. While he wasn't thrilled by her almost constant presence, he could tell that she kind of needed it. He wasn't unhappy when she walked through the door anymore, either. 

Bellamy found himself a little distracted from his date and a little too focused on watching them instead. He just happened to be watching when Princess wandered away from the group and down the hall. Annoyance flared up inside of him. Everyone got the speech when they walked in that the bedrooms were off limits. And she had been to more than one party there, so she really should have known better. He dropped to whisper into Roma’s ear that he would be right back.

He was a little shocked to find her sitting on his bed, but not as shocked as she was to see him open the door. It struck him then that this was a chance for him to talk to her about Octavia and maybe they could actually try to call a truce, but she jumped up and muttered an apology, attempting to skirt around him. He did the only thing he could think of and he grabbed her upper arm to stop her from going past.

“Where you going, Princess?”

“Back to the party.” She tugged her arm back, but he just moved his hand down to her elbow.

“Why were you in here?” She finally met his eyes and her jaw tightened. He grinned down at her when she didn’t speak. “I mean, if you wanted to see my bedroom, all you had to do was ask.”

She pulled her arm back harder and he let go. “You’re disgusting, Bellamy.”

“Maybe.” Good job, Bellamy. He leaned back against the wall next to the slightly-open door. “But you’re the one who was sitting on my bed.”

“It wasn’t like that.” She glared at him. “I just needed to get away from the noise for a minute, okay? But the noise followed me in here, so I’m just gonna go.”

Guilt stabbed at his gut and he grabbed her elbow again when she tried to push through the door. “Clarke.” It was a small thing, but it stopped her from leaving. He had never said her name in the two months he had known her. “Listen. Why do we always do this?”

The glare melted off of her face and she looked confused without it. “Argue?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged and dropped his hand, allowing her to step back, then sat in his desk chair. She stood and regarded him carefully, chewing her lip, until he motioned at his bed. “Are you going to sit down so we can talk about this or are you going to leave?”

Clarke scoffed, but she sat, crossing her arms and staring at him intently. “I think we argue, because you hate me when you haven’t even taken the time to get to know me.”

He smirked, keeping his eyes focused on hers. “I think that’s a little mutual, Princess.”

“There. That’s what it is. Princess. Why do you keep calling me that?”

He studied her for a moment. She straightened her back and set her hands on her knees, but didn't break eye contact. There was a right way to describe the origin of the nickname, and he wasn’t sure what it was. “Well.” He hesitated. He didn’t know much about her, but he thought she might be able to handle the truth. “I’m sure you know O and I didn’t grow up with much money. And I have to admit, I might have made a snap judgment when you and your mom came in and… contributed all that furniture.”

“I didn’t ask her to do that. I mean, I asked for the desk, but I wanted to give O-”

“I know. O told me.”

“And yet, you still call me Princess.”

“Well, if you stopped reacting, you’d take all the fun out of it,” he offered with a sheepish grin. She laughed. Reluctantly, but she laughed. 

“Listen.” She hesitated, and he thought it was funny how they were both so unsure over their attempt to have a civil conversation. “I don’t have any close friends anymore, Bellamy. Octavia kind of forced her way into my life, but now….” She held up a hand for a moment, but let it drop heavily into her lap. “I don’t want to lose her just because her older brother sucks.”

He couldn't not laugh at that. She surprised him by smiling instead of glaring. “I really haven’t ever seen O get this close with someone, either, if that helps. I don’t want her to lose the chance to have a friend who,” he paused to clear his throat, because what he was about to admit was uncomfortable for him, “takes care of her. I mean… just because her choice in friends can be a little uptight sometimes.”

“So, what does this all mean?” She gestured between the two of them and he shrugged.

“I don’t really know. I think we’re always going to butt heads a little. You’re pretty stubborn.” She opened her mouth but he continued. “And I can be, too. I’ll admit that.”

She smirked. “So, we’re always going to butt heads, but we can at least –“

“Try harder to get along?” She nodded and he stood, offering her his hand. For a moment, he thought she wouldn’t take it. But she did and they shook on their tentative agreement. Maybe they wouldn’t be friends, but they could at least make it easier for Octavia to get time with everyone she wanted. When he dropped her hand, he smiled. “You can hide out in here for a while longer. But I should get going before Roma thinks I ditched her.”

Clarke just nodded and offered a quick thanks. He hung back at the door. She tilted her head with a half-smile. He had to shake himself to try to rid himself of the strange intrusive thought that he liked to watch her when she was thinking. 

“What are you doing?” she asked, half laughing.

He shook himself again and smiled. “Rejoining the party.”

 ***

Clarke was more than a little tipsy by the time the party ended, but so was Octavia. It was hard for her not to be. She had to keep drinking to tame the whiplash Bell and Clarke were giving her. Bellamy had brought a beer to Clarke. He hadn’t taken the opportunity to make fun of her when she gestured so wildly telling Jasper a story that she knocked Harper’s psychology book off the counter. And then, Clarke didn’t make a joke about how he should get a room instead of sticking his tongue down Roma’s throat when she accidentally interrupted their little groping session against the fridge. Octavia had picked up the slack on that one though. It was too much to ignore, really.

The weirdest part was that Octavia was ready to go home before Clarke for once. In fact, she had to pull Clarke out of a spirited debate about what the best anti-zombie weapon would be. 

"Guns. Seriously. How is this even a debate?" Jasper asked.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "You're going to run out of ammo in... what do you think, Clarke? A couple years?"

"Years? More like months. Even if you had all the ammunition from all over the world," Clarke paused to take one of the shot glasses Bellamy offered her and raised her eyebrows at him before tossing it back. "Even if you had allllll the ammunition, what if you're a shitty shot? You going to headshot one-hundred percent of the time? No."

Bellamy nodded in agreement. "What are you going to do? Figure out how to make gunpowder?"

Jasper frowned. "I could totally make gunpowder. Saltpeter. You have an easy supply in your body. Just pee. Charcoal? Just burn wood. It's easy. And sulfur."

"There's no way!" Clarke gestured wildly and Bellamy had to steady her, chuckling. "Unless you're fighting the zombies from Yellowstone, where are you going to have a readily available supply of sulfur?!"

"What's your answer then?!" 

"Lightsabers." Bellamy and Clarke spoke at the same time, laughed, and then high-fived.

Of course, this led to an argument between them about what type of lightsaber would actually be the best (Bellamy insisted it was a double-bladed one; Clarke insisted it was dual wielding dual-phase blades which Bellamy thought that was impractical) while they ignored Jasper's protests about their choice being a fictional weapon. Octavia had to placate them by saying that really, any lightsaber would be effective. She had no idea Clarke knew that much about different lightsaber types.

When she finally got Clarke out the front door, she glanced back to see Bellamy leaning out of the front door, waving. Clarke actually smiled at him and waved back. Whiplash. Seriously. Octavia would have said something, but she was terrified that she would jinx it, so she just rolled her eyes and linked her arm through Clarke’s.

Clarke steadied herself on Octavia’s shoulder about halfway home so she could unlock her phone and keep walking. O couldn’t help but glance down at the screen.

Bellamy Blake has sent you a friend request. Approve   Decline

Clarke’s thumb hovered over the ‘approve’ button, but she stared down at her phone like it bit her. There would be a time and a place to mock these two over how weird they were about becoming friends. Sadly, it was not this night. It was possible that they were finally figuring out how awesome they both were. It was more likely that they were trying to get along for her sake. She loved them both so much it wasn’t even funny.

Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin are now friends