#my polyam

[purpleyin]

Grishaverse moodboards: Malkolina (Alina/Mal/Nikolai) - Post-S2

Made for April 2023 @polyamships Polyam Shipping Day.

[purpleyin]

Stranger Things moodboards: Stoncy - circles

Finished for @stoncyweek2023. Could consider it a late day 1 for the prompt "Monster Hunter Trio", although I actually started it last year and failed to finish it then for reasons I don't remember. I also did a t-shirt design for the character items iconography from this I might post later on this week.

[purpleyin]

Stranger Things moodboards: Stoncy - Uncharted AU

When Nancy starts documenting Steve & Jonathan's treasure hunting exploits, Steve introduces Jonathan as the brains of the operation. Jonathan does plenty of documenting of his own kind, taking photos and drawing sketches for reference to go with the research notes in his thick journal. Steve also has his own journal that Nancy spies a few times, full of contact numbers and loose scrawled notes on them. Steve's has the occasional doodle too that makes her curious, though Steve is quick to shut the pages and point out his drawings aren't a patch on Jonathan's or his artist brother, Will.

Steve and Jonathan make an odd pair at first glance but it isn't long before she can see they work well together. Jonathan is smart and knows his history; that combined with how observant he is, spotting clues and making connections where so many would fail to, means they're never at risk of losing the trail. Steve is the linguist of the two and a charmer, good at talking people round, smoothing their way or using his good name when necessary; he always knows someone to help them out when they need it. He's instinctual and quick thinking to back up his brawn as well, saving them from more than one trap or ambush they could have easily fallen prey to.

What Nancy doesn't expect is to get so involved in their quest. She's meant to be a fly-on-the-wall, asking questions simply to move their narrative along and get a better angle on what's happening, but she finds herself getting invested, tied up in the puzzle as much as Jonathan. Watching Steve climb cliff faces and ruins solo, before he throws down a rope for the other two of them, has her heart pumping with adrenaline, worried for him but thrilled at their making progress. When she joins him up there with Jonathan - catching yet another spectacular view and that bit closer to their goal - it isn't hard to understand why they do it, why they risk so much. She hasn't ever felt as alive as she does in those moments.

And when things go south, leaving the trio stranded on an island with more than one set of new enemies after them, she doesn't hesitate to take a gun from Steve, ready to step up and defend them both. Any idea of her detachment is thrown out the window with that and the bizarrely ever increasing stakes. They find themselves slipping naturally into working in tandem under the pressure, as if they always had, and even though she wants to get through this to safety, Nancy doesn't want that particular part of this adventure to end just yet.

[purpleyin]

DCTV moodboards: Snowestallen - sky/sea/earth

Made for @polyamships Polyam Shipping Day.

[purpleyin]

Stranger Things moodboards: Stoncy - Christmas long distance

Christmas moodboard + the described scenario for it behind the read more, of their first Christmas while doing long distance. Made for the Stoncy Secret Santa Gift Exchange 2022 back in January.

Their first Christmas together doesn't actually happen on Christmas day, it comes four days earlier; a compromise so that they can have some time to themselves before the big day with the rest of their loved ones. Steve drives 17 hours from Hawkins and Jonathan about the same from California, while Nancy gets several coaches from her college to their midway point, intending to share a ride back to Hawkins afterwards with Steve.

All they have is one day in a crummy motel room meant for two but they make the best of it. They get a tiny Christmas tree from a local shop and sneak it in. It comes with a few baubles but no lights, but Jonathan says he prefers it that way so they leave it as is. As simple and unimpressive as their little tree is, Steve decides he'll take it home with him, a more cherished alternative to his parents' showy tree he has no attachment to. Nancy cuts out lots of very precise snowflakes from note paper of hers to decorate the room with and Steve reveals some home baked cookies he brought with him, having thankfully only eaten about a quarter on the drive there.

There's no way they can do a proper Christmas meal in the room even if they had brought a minioven or hotplate to plug in, and it wasn't safe to bring the cooked food with them on such a long drive. Instead, they find some cranberry sauce, tinned green beans, a pecan pie, and rotisserie chicken at the nearby 7/11 and get plenty of fries to go from a burger joint – the latter two are kind of cold by the time they get back to the room, but they don't care. They sit cramped around the tiny table with two chairs, moved across to by the bed so that Nancy can sit on the edge of the bed in place of a third chair. They wolf the food down to the sounds of Jonathan's carefully curated Christmas mixtape on a boombox Steve brought. She's pretty sure by Jonathan's slightly tense expression at times that there are some songs on it he genuinely hates, included just because he knows how much she likes them, but he says nothing about that and looks pleased to see her and Steve singing along to several.

Steve has a new Polaroid camera and is keen to take pictures of everything. Most of the time he takes a picture with himself in, he can't help but pose dramatically or make a goofy face, which makes Jonathan roll his eyes at first but he's grinning at the antics by the end of the meal, just pleased to be with them both, to see them safe and happy. Jonathan does show Steve a few tips for how to take better photos, though he's not used to the Polaroid format so they're just as much muddling through together and it's nice to see a shared interest for them.

After the meal, they chat to catchup for a bit but they're all so exhausted from travelling they quickly collapse into a cuddle pile on the bed. When they wake up next morning, it's to the surprising news of snow – something that happens once a decade at best where they are but it's hardly that strange a happening considering what they've been through together in Hawkins. It's unusual but still perfectly normal and a comfort to have a surprise be good for once. A stereotypically snowy day together makes the meetup more Christmassy and is also the perfect excuse to stay a little longer than originally planned, easy to blame their late returns on car troubles.

Steve disappears to get breakfast and they assume he's simply going to get vending machine food, but he's gone rather long, causing them to get worried until she notices his car keys are also gone. He comes back laden with a selection of baked goods and thankfully still warm cocoa in a flask which he deftly decants into three camping mugs. Given that they'd not seen a bakery or coffee shop anywhere around the motel area when they explored it the evening before, he must've driven out of his way in the snow to find something good for them. Steve also produces three candy canes from a pocket that begins a fervent discussion on whether they're an appropriate accompaniment to cocoa or an abomination like Nancy believes.

After breakfast, Nancy is intent to do something to take advantage of the festive weather. Neither Steve or Jonathan were prepared for such cold, but Nancy rummages through her luggage to find three pairs of gloves she'd expected to need once back in Hawkins. They head out to walk to a park they drove past the previous day and it isn't long before snowballs are flying. Nancy and Steve run around after each other, getting out a breath for a bit, with Jonathan just watching, amused at their competitiveness. Until a snowball she throws hits him squarely in the chest and he finally joins in, intent for payback.

When they are too tired, and their hair thoroughly wet from melted snow, to continue, they retreat back to the motel for warm showers. They don't know how much hot water there is, and the stall is too small to share, so they only manage brief showers one after the other. Steve doesn't have a change of clothes with him so he makes do with a towel around his waist and one of Nancy's oversized sweaters while he waits for his damp clothes to dry out. Even though they can't have long showers like would be ideal, there is a hair dryer to get their hair warm and dry. Steve offers to dry Jonathan's for him before his own, relishing the chance to show his care for him in that small gesture. As she sits waiting her turn and watches her two boyfriends, she thinks it might not be the perfect Christmas but it's a small taste of domesticity to have this time with them alone here. It warms her in another way to think of what they have to look forward to once college is done and they can hopefully be together again more permanently.

[purpleyin]

Stranger Things moodboards: Stoncy - Pirates of the Caribbean AU

Nancy is betrothed to naval officer Steve Harrington and, while she doesn't dislike him, something is missing from her life. He's dashing, and perhaps not quite the gentleman her parents would assume, much to her delight in the moments they have alone. However, her life is neatly planned out by her parents, who mean well, but it's just... Nancy has dreamed of adventure since she was a little girl voyaging to the island and this simply isn't it. She's read epic tales again and again by candlelight, and scoured the maps Jonathan snuck to her, tracing her fingers over the parchment, relishing the inherent mystery of the spaces filled with ornate monsters and warnings. Then Nancy gets her wish, pirates coming to take her hostage in the dead of night.

So far as everyone else is concerned,  Jonathan is a lowly cartographer's apprentice and hopelessly in love with Miss Nancy Wheeler. They grew up together, though there was a distance there until their later years when they bonded over illicitly shared books and maps. No one but her knows he's the one who draws every map in Port Royal, who creates the prized possessions people come for from far and wide to purchase, whilst his master drinks himself into a stupor and sleeps his days away. Sometimes Jonathan thinks things aren't so hopeless, feeling a kinship between Nancy and him, sharing their secrets and their dreams.

When Port Royal is stormed and Nancy is taken, Jonathan doesn't know what to do, but based on what he overhears in the chaos he has a good idea where to go and it appears that knowledge is exactly right to bargain with Captain Harrington for his help. Jonathan doesn't want to spend any more time than he has to with her would-be husband, but he quickly realises it's a necessity if he wants their mission to stand a chance. And Steve is just as committed, willing to abandon his post in search of Nancy. All that matters is getting Nancy back safely.

Somewhere along the way Jonathan moves from begrudging respect for Steve into something else. He's glad he's not alone in this, and they complement each other's skills well - neither would have been likely to succeed on their own – but there is a tension there that he can no longer blame on his jealousy of Steve. He doesn't know how to feel when they get separated, Steve's fate unknown, but he sticks to his guns, choosing to focus purely on the goal they had in common, to locate Nancy. So, when Murray places that equally blessed and cursed compass in his hands - intending it to lead straight to his expected heart's desire of Nancy - Jonathan watches it flicker back and forth, suddenly no idea which of the two directions to take.

[purpleyin]

The Witcher moodboards: Geralt/Yennefer/Jaskier - Midwinter/Yule

I’m a bit early for Yule but I wanted to make something for @polyamships Dec PolyamShippingDay and this came to mind as it’s been a while since I did a moodboard for these three.

[purpleyin]

Stranger Things moodboards: Stoncy - 2x02 AU

Made for @stoncyweek2022 and the Day 2 prompt ‘Spin the Bottle’. ~640 word ficlet behind the read more.

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The party in 2x02 goes a little differently when Steve manages to slow down Nancy’s drinking by distracting her with the only game there that doesn’t involve more drinking, Spin the Bottle. Samantha, Jonathan’s new acquaintance also drags him along to it.

When Steve’s spin lands on Jonathan everyone waves it off and says he can spin the bottle again...except Billy Hargrove has other ideas. He goads Steve about taking the easy out, implying he’s not man enough to follow through on it, obviously expecting Steve to bow down and look a coward. Steve looks to Jonathan and says “I’m game if you are, Byers.” Jonathan looks between Steve and Billy, something indecipherable passing over his face, and nods his consent to go along with it.

Steve decides to go big, so that no one can accuse him of doing just the bare minimum. He stands up and Jonathan mirrors him and then Steve embraces him, dipping him back a little dramatically as they kiss briefly though wholeheartedly. Steve expects it to feel different from kissing Nancy, and it does of course in some ways, but in some other ways it doesn’t at all. It wasn’t bad. At all. He’s left with a fluttery feeling in his stomach not dissimilar to when he first kissed Nancy.

And Steve doesn’t know what to do with that information. So he glosses over it mentally for the time being, jubilantly throwing his triumph at the dare in Hargrove’s face instead, relieved he’s once again managed to uphold the reputation of King Steve even if he doesn’t really feel like that person anymore. It’s a part he doesn’t know how to give up even as both he and Nancy tire of it.

Glancing to Nancy, she’s more alert than earlier. He hopes she’s managed to sober up a little. When he says “I need a drink,” abandoning the rest of the game, Nancy quickly offers to get him one. One for him and Jonathan both she announces gleefully, half-dancing on her way back over to the punch bowl.

Jonathan is looking rather pleased with himself too, in that subtle sort of way he has about him. It does feel good to get one over Hargrove, so Steve assumes that’s why, sticking it to one of the school bullies. And Steve has never been more glad no one can accuse him of being one of them now he’s given up his ties to Tommy and Carol and co. Maybe he and Jonathan actually have a chance of being friends if he plays his cards right. He could certainly do with someone else who appreciates the real him, if Jonathan would like that Steve; it’s hardly guaranteed and that thought unsettles his stomach more than a little once again.

When Nancy comes back, no sooner have they both downed their drinks than she’s tugging them over to the dancing throng, holding a hand each. As they settle into dancing as an odd trio, ignoring everyone around them, Steve starts to worry less about Nancy and truly relax for the first time that night. It feels right to be here with the two other people his age who understand just how messed up the world is, the people who need this night being teenagers even more than he does.

He grins back at them both and twirls Nancy round. He spins her slowly in close to him and then slowly back out, careful not to dizzy her but making her laugh at his cheesy moves anyhow. And then he bumps his shoulder with Jonathan amiably before doing his best Tom Cruise slide across the floor, finding he’s gotten Jonathan to crack a smile in return when Steve glances up right after. He has a feeling this is gonna be a better night than he could have imagined.