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msfbgraves · 1 year

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I always go on about Americans not knowing about class and its intricacies, but the people in The Age of Innocence certainly do, and also know that, for instance, in European eyes, they are all English and Dutch merchants and though that's nothing to be ashamed of, it is nothing to write home about either. I was born more than 100 years after that novel is set, Dutch aristocrats still think that way. It has not changed.

So they would know that Mad Men's Pete Campbell going around calling himself Peter Dyckman Campbell is being a terrible poseur. A Dyckman is a humble watchman of dykes; nothing to be ashamed of, certainly, as such a watchman must have made it big in America later on, yet, to a Dutch aristocrat, very obviously working class in ways they are not. And these Archers and Belforts and Van der Luydens know it. Because I have been screaming at my tv over that terrible lack of form. Wharton's people know society wise, they're a step down from English and Dutch aristocracy, because they're all new money. Whyever emphasise it, Peter? As least the Campbells are a clan!

And I've heard these things in The Hague growing up, though it would be extremely crass to openly discuss it. In fact, the way Wharton lays it all out in the book is not bon ton at all, it's a huge flipped bird to her milieu, but God yes, she gets it, all the inanities of the rules and who's who and the gossip and the veiled ostracism. And I used to think I must have had a stroke to worry about the fact that People Would Talk at my choices, because it doesn't seem to exist anymore, but it does and it's every bit as insane now as it was then. And she's laying it all bare and thank you, Edith Wharton, for telling me from a century ago that I did not grow up in the Twilight Zone.

I will never be one of that incrowd, but I was partly educated among them, and know enough to have the insanity of it validated. Even my own family doesn't believe it is really 'like that', and you do start to doubt your own sanity, because who would even care and am I making this shit up? No, I'm not! Though you never discuss The Rules with 'outsiders', and when you try to explain anyway (which is rude!) they think you are insane. Only one colleague outside of The Hague ever once confided in me that she thought a certain figure of speech her daughter used was 'provincial', and what did I think? To which I said, well, I'd never have said anything, heaven forbid -no, no - but since you ask, yes, I feel that this is a rather regional word and maybe she should want to point that out if her daughter was set to join other rich kids from out of town. Yes, quite, she's always felt that, but since her husband did not see what she was talking about - well, no one would have told him...- goodness, no! - Still, if she were mine I'd tell her - quite, quite, as long as we don't embarass anyone?

It's the same thing how I feel that I would have understood Emily Gilmore, even though I know I'd never be up to her standards. And I feel how stifled Lorelai feels, because these rules are restrictive af and that is of course what Prince Harry is also rebelling against. It's really like, well, if money is no object anymore, we must find other ways to make ourselves miserable. And again, the reason I'm even saying all of this is because I am disabled and have been Not Good Enough since birth, so I can't boot myself out again. Yet when I go home I see it all going on still, completely unacknowledged, and it makes me want to scream.

Bless this book for laying it all out, in a way that hopefully Americans can understand. You need to know how these people tick, because they're as dangerous and weird as Elon Musk.

#the age of innocence #classism #class differences #class war

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jakeperalta · 3 years

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What are your opinions on Logan and Rory’s affair in AYITL?

well I like the fact that they canonically still love each other and that it provides some cute moments. but I don't like the fact it's an affair because obviously cheating is wrong but also it's just done really badly in my opinion?

rory cheating on her boyfriend and always forgetting he exists is just used as a punchline and the story would be better without him being this weird add on. but the most frustrating part is the fact they're having this affair because logan is engaged to someone else, even though it makes literally no sense. why would he at like age 20 walk out of the family dinner because they said rory wasn't an adequate match (when they'd only been dating for a couple of months max) or leave his family's business altogether or propose to rory knowing his family wouldn't approve, if in his 30s he's just going to marry some woman he doesn't care about because his family told him to??? it's not even like he and rory are just casually hooking up - they hang out together, go on dates, they're the person the other calls when they have a problem... that's a relationship.

a far preferable storyline in my opinion would be how they kept in touch and maybe were in and out of each other's lives over the years before finally committing to each other and navigating everything that comes with that. but obviously that doesn't fit the ~final words~ plan with rory/logan being a carbon copy of lorelai/christopher, so we get this affair storyline as a forced way to have them be together so that he can father her child whilst also trying to explain why they wouldn't just be a regular couple excited to have a baby (because god forbid rory gets a happy ending or her own path in life!)

#in conclusion: i will ignore the immorality for the sake of appreciating the cute scenes #because it's all so out of character anyway #also props to matt and alexis because they really did what they could with the script especially the #'are you really going to marry odette?' 'that's the dynastic plan'#the script said logan is chris 2.0 and cares more about being a huntzberger but his eyes said actually rory is the love of his life #answered #anonymous #gilmore girls

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randomestfandoms-ocs · 3 years

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I thought Kirsty got along with Emily? Like in the gifs it looks like she gets along better with her grandparents than with her mom?

She does! It’s sort of complicated but one of the big themes of her story is that you can love someone and still hurt them, and that really applies to Kirsty’s relationships with both Lorelai and Emily. They both love her and genuinely think that they’re doing what’s best for her, but they both cross a lot of lines into emotional abuse territory.

So the thing about Kirsty and Emily is that Kirsty really loves Emily, and Emily is often a really great grandmother. Like when Kirsty gets cast in the nutcracker in New York and Lorelai can’t take time off from the inn to take her, Emily goes with her every year until she starts high school, and Kirsty has amazing memories from that time. She brags about Kirsty to all of her friends and has their lawyer look over any contract Kirsty gets for ballet, she bought Kirsty leotards and dance shoes when she didn’t want to ask Lorelai because she knew they couldn’t afford it, all sorts of things. But she was also relentlessly critical, and a big part of why Kirsty has an anxiety disorder — in Emily’s mind, Kirsty is pursuing a career that comes with a lot of spotlight and harsh criticism, and she wants Kirsty to be prepared so she can be extremely harsh trying to make her ‘perfect’, she has no problem with guilt tripping and manipulating Kirsty into doing what she wants (but in her mind she’s just trying to guide her to make the best choices), and she definitely makes Kirsty feel like she’s in the wrong (or just going crazy) if she tries to address the fact that Emily can really hurt her.

There’s also a lot of the same thing that we see with her and Rory in season 6, of really seeing/treating Kirsty like a second chance to have the perfect daughter, so if god forbid she ever messes up, Emily is completely brutal in tearing her down and making her feel awful (but again, in Emily’s mind she’s just trying to help her not repeat her mother’s mistakes)

And Kirsty... Kirsty who’s a child who’s always felt like her mother would be happier without her, whose mother has decided that she’s going to be the family fuckup, with abandonment issues a mile wide, she assumes that she’s the problem. She has all of these amazing memories with her grandma and Emily has done so much for her and obviously loves her so much, so when she crosses those lines and treats Kirsty like shit, Kirsty assumes that it’s her fault for just not being good enough and that Emily really is just looking out for her and she just needs to do/be better all the time

And then Chilton happens, and Friday Night Dinners start, and suddenly Rory is around. And Rory is perfect to them. Much like with Lorelai, Rory is the perfect angel and Kirsty is always just a bit too wild, a bit too independent. Where Rory has literally never spent a night away from Lorelai, Kirsty regularly goes to sleepovers with the older girls from her dance team, where Rory’s idea of a good Friday night is reading or watching movies and eating junk food with Lorelai, Kirsty would rather be hanging out with her friends, that sort of thing. And while Rory gets the occasional guilt trip or verbal lashing, it’s nothing compared to what Kirsty has been getting for her entire life. And that really fucks her up because even though she was never Lorelai’s favourite, she was always her grandparents’ favourite, right up until Rory showed up, and all of a sudden her inferiority complex is kicked into higher gear because no one ever loves her as much as they love Rory. And suddenly nothing she does is ever enough anymore because she’s never as good as Rory, she’s always compared to Rory, and anytime she’s anything less than perfect, it’s not just Emily’s vicious criticisms that she faces but a constant stream of “why can’t you be more like Rory”

And it takes a long time for Kirsty to realize how fucked up it is, and that she shouldn’t have to earn their love, and that the way that Emily talks to her is completely not okay. And it’s difficult for her to reconcile that with all of the amazing memories that she has of Emily because how can Emily love her and do so much for her and also treat her like garbage the moment she isn’t perfect. Like, Emily (and Richard) bought her this ridiculously expensive but absolutely amazing apartment and just gave it to her, so how can she call any of Emily’s behaviour abusive, right? and it takes her a long time to process the fact that just because Emily loves her and just because she thinks she’s doing what’s best for Kirsty doesn’t mean that Kirsty isn’t allowed to be angry and hurt and to really start establishing and enforcing boundaries where she’s concerned.

She does love Emily, and Emily loves her, and they definitely start off a lot closer than Kirsty & Lorelai, but sometimes the people who love you can still really hurt you, and that’s something that I wanted to focus on with Kirsty because I almost never see it in any media or fanfiction — it’s always either the horrible abusive monster or the perfect flawless angel, and life just isn’t like that and my salt at how Lorelai is treated like a perfect mother despite fucking up a lot led to, well, Kirsty’s entire existence tbh

#ask #answered #anon #kirsty gilmore #about kirsty

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humansofstarshollow · 4 years

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Oh god, I just realized Richard and Emily would have to fend for themselves in lockdown with no house staff 👀 I think they would starve. Lorelei would have to have Sookie prepare dinner for them and then she’d have to drop it off every day. Maybe Emily could get into Cocoa Puffs for breakfast? Because you KNOW she cannot make toast or boil an egg. Do either of them even know how to clean a bathroom???

they'd probably have the cook prepare a bunch of meals to freeze, before dismissing them. or order delivery a lot -with rory's help, of course, setting up a ubereats for them and teaching how to use it. there certainly would be some help from sookie who, out of stress and killing boredom would just bake and stew and fry and anything else you can think of, all day long, and do weekly runs through the town to share with the townies. somehow, emily and richard end up in the list because lorelai knows they're helpless.

but, hey! they can cook frozen pizza now- let's not forget.

i would love to have a scene in which the two of them argue about the benefits of bland tasteless fiber cereals vs the ambrosia that is cinnamon toast crunch (The Cereal ™️) lol

---

"Richard! I forbid you from eating that- that bowl of refined junk for the fifth day in a row."

"You certainly hold no such power, Emily Dear."

"You must be mindful of your diet. You need fibers, minerals and vitamins. Not some -waving towards the box- sugar tooped with candyfloss and added molasses."

"And that is why i will have my usual half grapefruit with this and then i will eat the steamed vegetables that will, no doubt, be added to my lunch later today."

"You are acting like a child!"

"Good thing i am gonna eat a big bowl of delicious sweet crunchy cereals, then."

"Are you just acting out to annoy me?"

"I certainly am not, Emily Dear."

"Don't Emily Dear me. Eat your cardamom toast crumbs- bathe yourself in it for all i care!"

"Thank you for you blessing."

"Don't come running to me when your body starts rejecting all of that and makes you pay for it."

Following the retreating woman with his eyes, Richard shakes his head, amused, still, by the now routine conversation. "I love you too," he calls after her.

#humansofstarshollow #humansofstarshollow personal #humansofstarshollow asks #humansofstarshollow anon #richard gilmore #emily gilmore #quarantine #gilmore girls #gg

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nuttycreationwitch · 3 years

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Hi, I’m feelin extra good today and thought I would do two headcanons. So I was going to do the reunion with our girl Caz and Stefan, but I also said I’d do one about just Caz; her looks, her personality, her journey and stuff like her style or how she does her makeup. Let’s gEt intO it. < if you know you know.

-So I talked about Caz’s appearance in my first post for this series, so go check that out, but she’s basically just very beautiful

-But she’s also alt

-We love a good alt girl

-Especially one who writes poetry

-Gabby Hannah who?

-But like good poetry

-If you like poetry search Olivia Gatewood, I love her stuff

-Especially this one here

-Or Blythe Bard

-Anyway, back on topic, I might post some pics with fashion references at some point but for now we talk personality

-I’ve said a bit about her personality already but i wanted to more

-Because I looooove Caz with all my heart

-First off, watch these 1 2 3 4, these are some characters that have similar personality traits to Caz. I know not everybody has seen these shows so I thought I would include these for reference. But please don’t take anything but the personality from these, Caz is her own character, these characters are just similar to her.

-45% Fallon Carrington, 30% Spencer Hastings, 15% Lorelai Gilmore, 10% Santana Lopez

-She is sarcastic, stubborn, thick skinned, blunt, sharply intelligent, competent, charismatic, quick witted, guarded, bold, brave, petty, fast-talking, rebellious, laid back, opinionated, wild, edgy, adventurous, and confident with people she doesn’t know well or doesn’t trust.

-But she’s kind, complicated, funny, carefree, bold, charismatic, quick witted, selfless, bold, brave, fast-talking, rebellious, laid back, adventurous, confident, intelligent, opinionated, and loving with the people she cares about.

-And I know this has been mentioned before but this girl is literally so smart

-I just wanted to stress that

-But she’s also very emotional, behind closed doors of course.

-She lost her brothers, who she loved more than life itself, and that really broke her.

-she actually has a mental list of things she won’t do in front of people: *cry *talk about her trauma *feed [because she still doesn’t feel right killing living things] *talk about her mental illnesses

-I AM QUEEN OF SEGWAYS, BOW TO ME

-Jokes aside, mental illness [I have or have had most of the illness mentioned and feel there should be more representation for them, but trigger warning: eating disorders, ptsd, depression, anxiety.]

-Mental health became much more accessible around the 2000s, and Caz decided that she should see a physiologist.

-Just in case

-She thought she might have depression and wanted to get diagnosed

-But oh boy

-It was much more than that

-The physiologist told her to come in again and they’d run some mental tests

-After weeks of testing and stressing about the testing Caz found out she was bipolar

-Along with having panic disorder, ptsd, adhd, anxiety, and highly functioning depression

-She was shocked

-The doctor gave her pills but they did next to nothing because she’s a vampire

-And she couldn’t really get therapy, because she can’t tell a normy about the things that a lot of her illnesses stemmed from

-She felt kind of....dirty?

-Like she’d lived with these things but now that she’s diagnosed she doesn’t know what to do

-And she feels selfish that she shut people out for so long

-And she feels selfish that she is making a big deal about this

-But it is a big deal, and it’s so fresh and new [if you ever need support or someone to vent too, my pm’s are open. Judgment free.]

-Caz honestly just feels so lost

-Rebekah disappeared, Damon’s chasing girls, and she’s just aimlessly traveling

-So she starts publishing her poetry

-Anonymously of course

-Because god forbid someone knows we have feelings

-It’s actually because she’s like, y’know, immortal

-And she can’t really have a well known public identity

-So she’s finding herself a lil

-Happy girl at last

-And she gets a call from Damon

-’Stefan’s in mystic falls again’ Really? tell me more’ I’ve given you all the information I have. But I thought we could have a little family reunion with our baby brother. He doesn’t know your not dead yet, but he’s always liked surprises.”

-And Caz is like ‘Hell yeah!’

-Because she’s always wanted to be with Stefan again, but she could never track him down

-Or she was distracted

-Or depressed

-There was always something in the way, but now she’s gonna see him again

-And she could not be more exited

-But first she’s gonna make a detour

-In Louisiana

#damon salvatore #damon x reader #tvd #the vampire diares headers #the vampire diares icons #the vampire diaries #the originals #the vampire diares imagine #rebekah mikaelson #stefan salvatore #stefan x elena #stefan x caroline

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angsteraser · 4 years

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Clarke Griffin Modern AU

Reposting from my Instagram @allthings_.books

• Almost all the Clarke AU’s I read have her as a doctor – but I prefer thinking of her as an artist. I feel like yeah, ofc we saw her as a medic on the ground but that’s because she was the only one out of the 100 with the knowledge and background. And on the ark it’s not like artists were needed – she was the daughter of the head medic so it was her natural root. But that doesn’t mean it was a passion.

• But she definitely volunteered at hospitals in her spare time.

• she started out doing a med degree because that was what Abby wanted, and at the time she thought it was what she wanted to. But as she grew up and experienced life outside of the Griffin household she realised art was what she wanted to pursue. So she decided to major in it, and that’s when her mum stopped talking to her. She ended up finishing her medical degree to, because she only had two years left and did enjoy learning everything.

• So if you want to get a rough idea about how I imagine her life to be, maybe picture Lorelai Gilmore – but her incentive to leave wasn’t because of a baby but her degree.

• Coming to how she met everyone. I think during her childhood, she only had Wells as a friend, but then Jaha moved out of their small town and she lost Wells when she was in highschool (they reconnected when she moved out, and he would come to meet her whenever he could and vise versa because GUESS WHAT, no one dies in my world.).

• except Jake, idk I just can’t imagine her dad being alive in my world and her still doing half the things I write. So yeah, he died in a car crash in my head when she was in highschool.

• Throughout highschool she had friends but no one she could depend on. You know the whole ‘we will walk together to the washrooms and sit at the same table, but god forbid we share any valid life detail.’

• Then one night she went to New York to look at universities, and met Murphy at a bar. He was about to get his ass beat but she helped him out and they ended up getting drunk and he let her crash at his apartment.

• Idk I like the idea of her meeting Murphy first.

• She went back home the next day and forgot all about that night.

• So then she gets accepted into university, and for the first few years is doing her med degree, but lives at home and barely interacts with anyone.

• Then when she decides to do an art degree, she gets into a fight with her mother, and ends up moving out and into a dorm.

• THEN she meets Jasper, Monty and Octavia who go to the same university – but she never saw before because they obviously werent in the same department as her and Clarke never hung around the university.

• They helped her settle into the independent life and get her own space and through them she met Raven, Bellamy and everyone else.

• She ofc saw Murphy with them as well and they hit it off again

• Okay now random headcanons that I thought of.

• I can only picture her in like a studio apartment, with BIG windows, a huge living room space. Wood and neutral colours. One bedroom, and a small kitchen that’s apart of the living room.

• And her work EVERYWHERE. She would paint and decorate all her furniture. Design all her pillow covers. She was an artist and proud of it.

• Her living room is her art studio, and has easels and paint and canvas’ everywhere.

• Definitely a night owl™.

• TERRIBLE puns and knock knock jokes.

• Plus she has terrible joke timing.

• But she got really excited when she told a joke so everyone laughed anyway.

• She was ALWAYS cold. Always. Her feet were like ice cubes. But she never wore shoes because they annoyed her feet. And she wouldn’t turn up the heat because it ruined her ‘vibe™’

• big snacker, she’d be the one with all the unbranded, weird ass snacks in her cupboard like idk squirrel shaped onion rings or whatever. Basically my girl took full advantage of the freedom she got after leaving Abbitch.

• But she was always forgetting to eat actual m e a l s.

• sleep schedule? I think the fuck not. The sun came up and went down it was all the same to her.

• She loved animals, especially dogs – but didn’t trust herself to take care of one. Neither did Wells, not after her fourth grade Hamster™.

• She would research about the most random things, just so she was always prepared and well informed for a Debate (Heated Argument*) at anytime.

• Loved board and card games. And was super competitive which goes without saying. She was an UnO chaMp™.

• A tumblr girl™ – either you know what I mean or you don’t. Like yeah she had all the socials – her private school friends back home made them for her. But she didn’t know their usernames or passwords. Her instagram bio still her highschool name in it. But then she could spend hours on tumblr because they were Her People™.

• Loved painting her clothes. Especially her socks. All her socks had her favourite characters on them, ranging from the Bananas in Pajamas and Pippi Longstocking to Monica in FRIENDS.

• Speaking of characters. She had two extremes while watching shows – either she would immerse herself fully in them, analysising every character development, researching every plot hole, ranting about every character on tumblr, or she wouldn’t watch it at all. No in betweens here maam.

• She loved crime shows, and would try and guess the end result before the episode ended.

• Also loved rewatching movies and commenting about how dumb everyone was.

• Physically incapable of turning down a dare ?? rumour has it she’d break out in hives if she did.

• Like she was sensible and practical, she had to be after leaving home when she was like 19 (idk im not good with working out ages) and the only money she had was the cash her dad left her, because Abby is a bitch and cut her off. The money was enough to pay for her art degree (Abby had already taken care of the medical one) – anyways getting off topic.

• Basically she was smart and sensible but say the word Dare™ and she would bunjy jump from her flats window..

• Claustrophobic. Good thing her apartment had that window, huh? (I just really like the idea of Clarke painting in front of a big ass window with the view of New York beneath her. It’s my whole brand rn)

• Coming back to apartments, poor thing never learnt how to lock a door. She was always leaving her door open, and Bellamy (look I have so many Modern Bellarke AU’s but Im running out of room so i’ll give us all just one) would come in with food (because her friends had to feed her if she wouldn’t herself.) and have to shout at her.

• She just kept loosing her keys under her shit so it was either leaving the door open or being locked out all night.

• So ofc, she left the door open.

• had a pillow army™. The fluffy ones, ones shaped as penguins, and doughnuts and various other food items. You couldn’t see much bed, all it was was pillows.

• Her life goal after moving out of her mums and getting an apartment was to keep one (1) potted plant alive (‘that cactus was fa u l t y’)

• has a really old tattered leather journal that was filled with sketches and ideas and reminders she would never remember to check.

• S t i c k y n o t e s on fridges kinda girl™. But all her friends were convinced it was because they looked pretty, because it’s not like she ever CHECKED what she wrote.

• She loved those honk if you’re __ stickers. she’d constantly switch the one on her jeep. (YES the jeep made it into my headcanons, don’t fight it)

• was a ‘blast your music loud and proud kind of girl’

• indie music when she was worked, or painting something that required concentration and a steady hand. Rock when she was jamming out and cooking

• speaking of cooking, my girl can’t cook, okay?. She was a master at breakfast foods and could whip up pancakes that tasted like fairy dust but that was I T.

• because yes, she would follow recipes. To begin with at least. But halfway through she would get bored and *merge* steps and it would all just be a mess.

• She drunk dialed Abby once and said ‘no mum, i’m giving up YOUR dreams’ because she would be damned if she couldn’t live out her Disney fairytale when the opportunity was r i g h t there.

• As for work, she had a part time job in the book store near her flat at night. In the day she would paint, and a lot of her work sold for top dollar. Her parents circle were her first few clients, and as they spread the word she found her career taking off.

• She hated being still and not doing something. So when she wasn’t painting, or hanging out with her friends, or at work, she would volunteer at the local hospital.

• But no matter how hard they tried to get her to actually w o r k there, she wouldn’t.

But like, she would also *volunteer* all night if need be, and all the staff treated her like she was actually working there idk lol this probably makes no sense but it’s clear in my head and I love it.

• The Delinquents (yeah, they call themselves that. Octavia is a softhearted rebel™) always ended up crashing at her apartment (because her door was always unlocked) and she loved painting them while they had movie night together, or stayed up late baking.

• All their apartments were full of paintings she did from their time together that they liked.

• OH THEY DEFINITELY WATCHED THE VOICE OR AMERICAN IDOL OR S O M E T H I N G LIKE THAT TOGETHER –

• wait I can see this so clearly. NONE of them could sing except Harper

• but that didn’t stop them from rating everyone elses voices and shouting at the judges for their decisions.

• now I am having group flashes oop -

#clarke griffin #the 100 #the 100 au #clarke griffin au #clarke griffin modern au #basically angstless clarke #a concept we all need #i have SO many more ideas #like all their friendships and shit #my headcanons arent e n d i n g

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prosciuttoe · 7 years

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Congrats on your milestoneeeee (and your book)! Prompt: Gilmore Girls AU with Clarke as Rory and Bellamy as Jess and all the 100 gang corresponding to some quirky character in stars hollow please :)

A|N: This ended up being a mix of bellarke being jess/rory and also luke/lorelai all at once because, well… I’m a mess. Sorry love, hope you like it!

p.s: You guys don’t have to have watched gilmore girls to read this! Just think small-town bellarke being cute. The end.

___________________

You see, the thing is, Bellamy doesn’t set out to be the town’s asshole. It just sort of happens.

It starts because it doesn’t occur to him that this arrangement he has with Kane is permanent. He figures that it’s only a matter of time before he and Octavia are allocated to another foster family, considering Kane is single and owns a diner and basically has a laundry list of traits that makes him a less-than-ideal foster parent. He fully expects to be gone by July; August latest. And in the meantime, he’ll just go on with his life without putting down roots. Simple.

Of course, this loosely translates to him being standoffish and rude to most, hence the label. Not that he minds, all that much, since it ensures that he’s left alone most of the time. He has his books and his job and Octavia. That’s all Bellamy needs, really.

Until Clarke Griffin comes into his life, and proceeds to fuck everything up.

The first time he meets her, she’s behind the counter of the diner, helping herself to the coffee pot.

“Hey!” he barks, crossing the room in three easy strides and herding her out into the open, “what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

She blinks over at him, hands still clenched protectively over her cup. Then, suspiciously, “I’m— wait. Where’s Marcus?”

“Out.” He snaps, slinging a dish towel over his neck. “Look, I’m not sure what your deal is, Princess. But where I’m from, we pay for the stuff we get.”

She bristles at that, her gaze cold as she sizes him up. “I had every intention of paying. Ask your goddamn boss, he can vouch for me.”

“Well, luckily for you, he’s not available at the moment.” He shoots her a thin smile at that, extending his palm out. “That would be a dollar fifty.”

He’s expecting her to storm out after, or throw a tantrum, at the very least- so it definitely comes as a shock when she plops down by the counter instead, sipping at her coffee before she cracks open a book.

“You know,” he manages, once he’s composed himself. “That’s actually a to-go cup.”

That earns him a saccharine sweet smile on her part; practiced and distinctly condescending. “Well, I’m not planning on disrupting my morning routine on your account.”

“Glad to hear of it.” He deadpans, giving her a sarcastic half-bow of sorts before retreating back to the kitchen. (It doesn’t help that she’s reading Ender’s Game, which has been on his to-read list for months. He almost wished that she had bad taste so he could hate her for it.)

She comes back the next day, and the day after, too; always with a different book in hand but with the same breakfast order of black coffee and waffles. She always sits by the counter- despite the numerous free tables available- and finds a way to get under his skin constantly. Whether it’s the incessant tapping of her nails against the countertop or folding the pages of her book or even, god forbid, writing in the margins. It drives him fucking crazy, to the point where it’s impossible to stay quiet about it.

Look, Bellamy is committed to his cause of self-isolation, okay? But not enough to idly look by as someone vandalizes a book.

“If you’re going to start defacing your book again, I’d prefer it if you didn’t sit here.” He points out, curt, the next time he spots her with a pencil clenched between her teeth. “It ruins my appetite for pop tarts.”

“How is writing in the margins considered a sacrilegious act?” Clarke points out, mild, tilting her chin over at him in challenge. “If anything, it enhances the reading experience. I get to look back at my notes and see if I think of the book any differently now.”

“You can reflect on it without actually writing it down in your book.”

She shakes her head at that, exasperated. Then, thrusting the book out at him, “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, mister.”

“Fine.”

(Bellamy thinks he catches a glimpse of a smile, then, but it could just be a trick of light.)

His initial plan had mostly involved ignoring her notes in the margins so as to prove a point, but he fails miserably in the end anyway. Her words are magnetic; insightful and intriguing and wholly impossible to miss, and there are times where he finds himself enjoying her thoughts more than the text itself. He finds himself writing back most of the time and it’s almost easy to fall into a routine of sorts, after that; leaving pieces of themselves in between the pages and picking out the details found in the blank spaces.

They’re well through December when he realizes that he’s not going anywhere, and that he’s pretty much half in love with Clarke.

“You should probably tell her before the rest of the town does,” Miller tells him. They’re friends- despite his best attempts at resistance- and Miller likes to drop by for breakfast before heading to his job over at the inn. “It’s not like you’re subtle, or anything.”

Bellamy can’t help but scowl a little at that. “I thought it would be a non-issue considering how half this town hates me.” He points out grouchily. “I’m an asshole, remember?”

“Yeah, but, like,” he searches for the words, shrugging, “an endearing asshole. One with a love life that a lot of people are way too invested in.”

Groaning, he drops his head onto the counter with a solid thump. “Great. Just what I wanted.”

“Just tell her before Jasper does.” Miller sighs, patting at his shoulder in what he supposes is a comforting gesture. The intended effect is more awkward than it is soothing, but Bellamy lets it slide. “That guy is a major gossip.”

He mulls over it all through the lunch hour rush crowd, fucking up several orders in the process until Kane takes pity on him and shoves him behind the cashier instead. He doesn’t do any better in that regard either considering how it all goes out of the window the second Clarke walks through the door, toting a basket in hand.

“Do I want to know?” he asks, jerking his chin over at the garland of ribbons weaved over the basket handles.

“It’s a Stars Hollow tradition,” she frowns, dropping the basket onto the counter. “Well, an outdated and antiquated one, at least. Women make the baskets, and the guys bid on them for the food and the company.” She punctuates the statement with a exaggerated roll of her eyes. “I tried asking Jaha if the guys could provide the baskets this time, and he nearly bit my head off.”

Grabbing at the mug that he’s beginning to think of as Clarke’s, he fills it with coffee, sliding it into her grasp. “So why participate, then?”

She shrugs, picking at the ragged ends of the ribbon. “It’s tradition, you know? Far be it for me to break it. Besides, I have some intel that Finn Collins is planning on bidding on mine this year, and he’s not all that bad.”

“Finn Collins?” he gapes. “As in, boyband? As in, the guy who works over at the minimart?”

“Uh, I could do worse.”

“I don’t see how anyone is worse than Finn Collins,” he declares, hating the petulant note in his voice. “That guy barely has two brain cells to rub together.”

She fixes him with a look at that, inscrutable. “It’s not like I’m drowning in prospective bidders as of the moment.”

For some stupid reason, he flushes. “Right.”

There’s a tense, awkward beat, as if she’s expecting him to say something else in response.

“So, anyway,” she says, averting her gaze. “I should probably get going. The bidding is starting up in a bit and I don’t want to be late.”

He blinks, has to remind himself to wipe the flummoxed expression off his face. “See you?”

“Yup.” She says, shooting him a tight, almost pained, smile. He watches her go for half a second, still attempting to reorder his thoughts into something comprehensible—

It all falls into place then- coming into the diner, her disappointment at his apparent disinterest- and he finds himself scrambling through the drawers of the cash register, muttering out a hasty excuse before emptying it and charging out.

“Hey!” he calls out, before she can get any further. “Shit. Clarke.”

She stops in her tracks, her expression quizzical as he draws up next to her, panting.

“Sixty.” He says, in between breaths.

“What?”

Pulling out a wad of bills from his pocket, he presses it into her palm, his pulse thundering in his ears. “Sixty for your basket,” he says, swallowing. “And your company.”

She stares at him, the minutes dragging on—

Before she breaks out into a smile, bright and fucking delighted, pulling one from him as well. “Took you long enough,” she goes, beaming, before looping her arm around his. “Can you spare a few minutes?”

“Yeah,” he laughs, reaching over to lace their fingers together; planting him in place. “I have time.”

#the gilmore girls universe works well for bellarke tbh #bellarke fanfiction #bffnet #bellarke #ems writes #prompts #fleur-reveur #asks

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