#oh and we do not stan blonde hair beatrice

[trolleybitch]

trolley does nano days 18-21!

we are getting this show back on the road. bit by bit!

after the great hospital/pain/sleep deprivation flat of mid-month, my little graph is gradually making its way back towards the goal line. i ended up on another unfortunate no-writing day yesterday, but i managed 2400 on day 19 and 4300 (!!!) today. the next few days are going to be quite up and down in terms of available writing time, but by god i am determined to steamroller my way back towards that bloody line if my life* depends on it!

(*except not literally. this is fanfiction after all)

when it comes to my giant solstice planning/record spreadsheet, my wordcounts tab is looking delightful. my complete column for my chapters has only three 'N' for 'not started' chapters now, and look at that sea of 'Y' for 'yes'. 'P' is for 'partially complete' and yes chapter 11 haunts me. it needs a rework of the last third of the chapter and i simply cannot be bothered until the editing stage. my grand total wordcount is also rapidly approaching the 200k mark, which feels like a colossal milestone. it's a very odd but very good feeling to have the end of this story firmly in my sights!

[infinitestarsintheskye]

Ten of my favourite fictional women for women’s history month  

I was tagged by the ever lovely @valentinaonthemoon! Thanks so much lovely! :)

The following is in absolutely no particular order. 

1. Leslie Knope (Parks and Rec) 

A very passionate, very kind and amazing and hardworking but who is also flawed and can let her passion blind her to the truth sometimes, and her habit of digging her heels in can sometimes get her in sticky situations. I love her lots and lots and the level to which I relate to her is probably not good. I often say I am like the English Lit Leslie Knope with bonus anxiety. I love her lots. 

2. Skye/Daisy Johnson (Agents of Shield)

A badass queen who I love SO MUCH. Honestly her arc in AoS is just one of my favourites of all time. She is funny and passionate, but also headstrong and determined (sometimes to a fault). I love that she is not perfect, that she is flawed, and has been through so much and still chooses to be good. I love her lots.

3. Jemma Simmons (Agents of Shield) 

A wonderful science queen. She is just SO fundamentally good. Her curiosity and wonder for the world (and universe) is just so inspiring to me, but again her love and passion (esp for Fitz) can sometimes blind her to the reality of a situation but I still love that about her (it’s a very human trait to have). It has been an absolute privilage to watch her go from this very bright eyed, naive and curious young woman, to a passionate, badass, yet still so fundamentally kind and caring woman. Again, one of my favourite character arcs ever. I love her sososo much. 

4. Peggy Carter (Agent Carter and wider MCU) 

She is nothing like me and yet everything I aspire to be. What an absolute badass. She’s so intelligent and just such a role model to me. She stands for no shit and never sacrifices an OUNCE of her femininity to do it. Before coming across her I had never seen a character who was like that, who could retain this utter solidly badass personality and still keep this femininity, who liked having her hair done, who wore lipstick and skirts. I struggled so hard in my teenage years with reconciling, particularly femininity and intelligence, I wanted to be taken seriously but I never thought I would be if I was in a dress, and Peggy was the one who really changed that for me and I started embracing more traditionally feminine things. I just love everything about her, she has a temper, she lets her anger get the better of her sometimes, SHE IS NOT PERFECT (are you noticing a theme) and I just love her so much. 

4. Rose Tyler (Doctor Who) 

Again, a very formative character for me. She was working class, she was amazing and smart and sassy and most importantly for young me, SHE WAS BLONDE. I had grown up with the dumb blonde stereotype being put on me (despite never really being unintelligent) and hadn’t ever really seen a blonde character who didn’t slot, at least partially into that stereotype. She is fierce and firey and can give anyone exactly what’s coming to them. She is brave and wonderful, and so incredibly human. I love her lots and lots. 

5. Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing) 

My snarky love. You all know how much I love Much Ado right?  Her “Oh god that I were a man” speech is just one of my favourite pieces of writing at all time. I could write multiple dissertations just about her, she is so endlessly fascinating to me in all of her iterations. A woman scorned and holy shit she’s gonna let you hear about it. One half of the best (SUSPECTED) lovers to enemies to lovers. She’s so INCREDIBLY witty and sharp and she’s just so BITTER about whatever the hell it is that Benedick did to her and ugh I just love her so much. 

6. The Thirteenth Doctor (Doctor Who)

I cried at every single episode in her first season because I was so happy and so overwhelmed that The Doctor was FINALLY a woman. She is intelligent and quirky and just wonderful, whilst still retaining that really deep seated anger and kind of fury that The Doctor holds within them self. asdfghjkl I love her so much. 

7. Anne Eliot (Persuasion)

My soft, quiet, pining queen. Wants snuggles but only gets struggles. Pines for nearly a decade for the same guy (a full mood) and MARRIED HIM IN THE END BC HE ALSO PINED FOR HER FOR A DECADE!!! Underappreciated by her family who are arseholes and deserves so much better than them and Jane Austen gave it to her and we cannot help but stan for that. I love her so very much. 

8. Darrell Rivers (Mallory Towers) 

Doesn’t have a gif :(

Mallory Towers by Enid Blyton was my favourite book series growing up. I have read it more times than I can actually count. My copies are the most loved books in my collection. Darrell was the first character I ever remember relating to. There’s a passage in the first book where she sits down with her teacher bc her marks aren’t very good and they talk about how some people, like her friend Alicia, can muck about in class and be silly and still get good marks, but other people, like Darrell, need to focus and concentrate in order to do well, and that HIT HOME with 7 year old me. She has an awful temper and says things in spite and anger that are really quite awful, but always feels bad afterwards and really is just a good egg. I love her lots. 

9. Sibyl Crawley/Branson (Downton Abbey)

An all time fav. An absolute SWEETHEART but will absolutely tear you a new one if need be. It’s been almost ten years and I am still absolutely DEVASTATED by her death, we were absolutely robbed of seeing her as a mother, she would have been absolutely incredible. Part of one of my favourite romantic plotlines of all time, they shoudl have had their own show, Julien Fellowes fight me. I have so many feelings about Sibyl I could not possibly do them justice in just one small paragraph. I love her SO MUCH. 

10. Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)

A sassy queen who is stubborn and benefits immensely from admitting that she was wrong. One of my favourite characters of all time, Jane Austen knew how to write characters SO INCREDIBLY WELL!! I think we have all met someone like Elizabeth Bennet in our lives. Declares she will never marry for anything but love (we love to see it) even if it means she will either be a spinster or destitute (probably both). I love her so much. 

I will tag (if they would like): @besidemethewholedamntime @springmagpies and @acetoshikosato​