#conspicuouslyvibes

[dufrau]

RONANCE LOST IN THE WILDERNESS!

This is the one I am avoiding writing lol. It's also I think eventually going to be good but it will take a lot of work and I am intimidated by it!

Here's a snippet I guess but it's still The Beginning even though Im 3k words deep.

"We passed by a tower," Robin remembered. "Just before... I thought we might hit it but we didn't. Obviously." "Yeah," Nancy agreed. "That's what I was thinking. If we can just find a break in these trees so get a good look..."  Nancy trailed off. Her voice was strained. Robin wondered if she was just struggling under the extra weight or if she was actually more hurt than she was admitting. She didn't think Nancy would tell her even if she asked. She made a little more effort to support herself, tried not to lean so hard. "Hey," Nancy looked up at her with concern painted all over her face. "Don't push yourself too hard, okay? I don't mind. And tell me if you need a break." Robin nodded, swallowing.  It didn't help, that Nancy was being so helpful. The reminder of these best parts of her. The loyalty and the care and her stubborn insistence on getting things done. Her availability, suddenly. All Robin had had to do to get her attention was almost get herself killed. Again. She probably should have known by now that that would be the trick.

[dufrau]

According to Google, you are as short tall as Nancy Wheeler. Do you think your skills/power comes from the fact that it's concentrated into a smol and mighty average stature?

Follow up question:

I'm not TALL tall, but my supervisor called me "big bird" once while reprimanding me and I haven't stopped laughing about it.

What's the best height-related nickname you've heard/receieved?

I am half an inch taller than Nancy Wheeler actually. This is very important, because she is the tiniest person in the world and believe it or not but I am the largest.

I've never had any height related nicknames I don't think? I am truly just a very average height person to the point where it is generally just unremarkable.

I am actually not joking this time though when I say that multiple people have told me I seem taller than I am. Like they will be standing next to me and for some reason we end up talking about height and I tell them how tall i am and they'll be like "Oh really? I thought you were taller than me." even though they are standing right next to me and I am definitely not taller than them? It's very weird.

One funny height related thing is that one time back when I worked at the bakery my brothers were both there (one of them worked there and the other was just stopping by i guess) and we were standing in front of the pastry cases talking, and one of my coworkers was like "wait a second can you guys all line up side by side i want to see something." My youngest brother was about 6 feet tall and my other brother is like 5'9" and I am 5'4 (and a half!) but our legs were all the same length, like our hipbones matched up exactly somehow??? My brothers just had/have weirdly long torsos i guess. 🤷

[dufrau]

Can you list the members of the "spicy six" as spices (or herbs)?

I agree with your opinion that Jonathan is the least spicy of boys. In my head, he is dried parsley. Sorry. It's in my spice cabinet, and I don't know why. Because compared to fresh parsley, dried parsley is just green dust.

(Feel free to include members outside of the spicy six) <3

Yes! Jonathan is dried parsley! He is something musty and old that doesn't really affect the flavor of your food at all. He is filler.

Steve is probably, like, vanilla extract or something. He's sweet but too much of him is cloying and also he doesnt need to be in everything all the time.

Nancy is hard??? Maybe she's like cumin or something, something that some people really hate and that can come on strong if youre not careful with it but actually it is the backbone of, like, everything. Or honestly maybe she's just salt. The most important seasoning on earth.

Robin is also hard! I dont know! Maybe she's like, that ingredient you bought for one specific recipe that you had never used before but now you put in in everything because it turns out its great and much more versatile than maybe you imagined. Sumac or gochugaru or powdered porcini mushrooms. Something you never needed until you needed it and now you dont want to live without it.

Eddie is dried up old weed stuck in an oregano jar for safe keeping that you forgot about and now are just using as oregano, because at this point 99% of eddie characterizations have nothing in common with canon eddie munson besides his haircut.

Argyle is good weed just left out on the counter not worried about anybody finding it because he is happy to share.

[dufrau]

I fell down a rabbit hole because of one of your boots posts. I kept seeing the term "patina", and was like "why the hell do all of these boots have copper? Can copper be mixed with leather?". Long story, short-

I did some research, learned some stuff about boots, learned some stuff about terminology, etc., etc., now I own a useless antique typewriter.

I'm not SAYING it's your fault, but it's also your fault.

Anyway, do you want this?

(Jk, you can't have it. Mostly because I already started trying to restore it with no experience, and I've already mangled it irreparably.)

I get the patina connection between leather and copper but I cant say I fully understand how this led to a typewriter? I support it though. I love old things, being something of an old thing myself.

BUT.

If you want to restore this typewriter you should talk to my buddy @jerseyless who is a vintage typewriter expert and also a very chill and nice human being.

But anyway did you buy any boots? 😂

[dufrau]

Top 5 cheeses. Go.

I think I have really boring cheese taste. I have had a lot of cheeses but I couldn't tell you what most of them were. Im struggling to think of 5 that i especially love? Anyway.

5. Feta but like really nice feta, not the stuff you get on a greek salad from a sub shop but like nice feta that isn't overly salty where you can taste the creaminess of it and the texture is Just Right.

4. American Cheese. It is garbage but it is my favorite cheese to have on a breakfast sandwich, and breakfast sandwiches are my favorite food, so I must love it!

3. Stilton. I like super funky blue cheeses just fine but Stilton is only mildly blue-ish and a little nutty and it winds up on pretty much every cheese plate I am in charge of.

2. Aged Gouda. I like the crumbly texture and the salty little crystals that melt on your tongue and it's like a little bit waxy but in a fancy way.

1. Cheddar. I'm basic. Cheddar is always good. I like the mild creamy ones and the sharp crumbly ones and the super fancy aged ones that basically shatter when you try to slice them. Cheddar is the second best cheese for breakfast sandwiches and possibly the best cheese for burgers although I do like American on a burger too. It's versatile and dependable.

Honorable mentions to basically every other cheese on earth I truly like them all very much.

[dufrau]

Your post about food where you said "I don't really hate anything, I just like some things a lot less than others"- that's how I would describe your general disposition as a human from what I've gathered lol.

It's a great quality. 👍 👍

#dufrau appreciation post

Lol WELL.

I do hate (the music of) Billy Joel. And also Van Halen.

And also I hate the usual things like terfs and nazis and creepy men on the train and people who are rude to people in the service industry etc etc

And earwigs. I really do hate earwigs so much 😭

And wet socks.

Besides that though im pretty adaptable 😂

[dufrau]

Tagged by @conspicuouslygay 🍻🫘💜

1. What's something that always makes you laugh?

Other people laughing makes me laugh. Deedee Megadoodoo. General cat silliness. Inside jokes from 20 years ago. And like, this is hard to explain without sounding like a monster, but like when people jokingly say mean things about babies, like pointing at an infant and being like "look at this dumb cunt" its very funny to me.

2. If you were a character in a movie, book, or television show, what genre would you live in?

Probably a sitcom. My life is not very eventful and most of it takes place in my living room.

3. What's something that isn't real that you really wish existed?

Teleportation. I want to be able to visit people without it being a whole travel fiasco. Also depending I guess on how resource intensive teleportation wound up being it would probably be a lot better for the environment than like airplanes.

4. What's the dumbest purchase you've ever made?

This is really hard to say because I buy a lot of dumb things. I used to buy a lot of switchblades, and that's very dumb. When I was very into miniature painting a few years ago i backed A LOT of kickstarters and i am still getting minis in the mail occasionally. I have enough minis that even if i paint every day they would last me years before i ran out. Also this wasnt a stupid purchase when i bought it, but i bought a cast iron griddle and then within a couple months we moved and since then we've only had electric stoves and the griddle is not compatible and it pisses me off because i was so excited about that thing. Oh and I bought a salad spinner like 2 years ago and have never used it even once.

5. What is an "everyday evil" you experience often? Something banal, but unfair.

I dont think I really do experience a lot of this? Mostly because I dont leave the house except for pink drinks so most of my human interaction is with bartenders and they are generally very nice. But right now I am dealing with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and it's a whole annoying thing over less than $200 and like it's not a huge deal either way it goes but on principle it just offends me and upsets me that they will put resources into auditing people for $200!

6. A stranger is inhabiting your body for the day. What tip do you give them in passing?

Lift with your legs bro I don't want a back injury when i return to this vessel. Also I would tell them the particular way Eddie likes to be held, because IT WILL COME UP and also because if you hold him any way but the way he likes he will grab my face with his claws, and I like my face, so. Oh and I would tell them which of my hair products they should use for whatever length my hair is.

7. What's your favorite footwear, and why is it boots?

Funny you should ask. IT'S BOOTS. Because. I just feel very tough and cool in them. I like the way they feel around my ankles. I like leather. I like that the heel gives me a little boost I'm not gonna lie. I like that they protect me from the elements and if I needed to kick somebody they would hurt a lot more than sneakers would. I like their silhouettes. I like that they get cooler looking and more comfortable the more you beat them up. AND ALSO. Nobody wears nice shoes anymore man. It's wild. I am always looking at peoples shoes because I am obsessed and almost nobody is wearing goodyear welted footwear. Looking out the window at a restaurant for an hour the other day I saw a handful of Doc Martens, which are *technically* welted but its effectively fake, a lot of blundstones and ll bean boots, and maybe one pair of thursdays. So wearing nice boots is also satisfying because in any given room you will probably have the best shoes in the place.

IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU ARE TAGGED. ANSWER ME THESE QUESTIONS SEVEN.

[dufrau]

I was going to ask another food question 😂.

Top 5 tropes.

Similar to "archetype" I am suddenly unsure that I have ever fully understood what "trope" means so here instead is a list of things that I Like When This Happens lol. Assume all of these are about characters who I believe have immense sexual/romantic chemistry.

5. When they are hiding or being followed and they need to squeeze very close together up against a wall or in a closet or something and they are both Going Through It but then they just have to go on and pretend that wasn't scarier than whatever is chasing them.

4. When they act like they hate each other harder and harder until finally one of them jumps on the other and they make out furiously and still sort of act like they hate each other.

3. Any kind of act of absolute and utter devotion that both of them understand as exactly what it is but neither of them can acknowledge it for reasons of duty or circumstance or the timing just not being right. (This is a very random example because I don't even ship this exactly or go to this fandom but a scene I think about A Lot is in Agents of Shield when Fitz rescues Gemma from Mars or wherever the heck and they about to finally get together when she got sent there but while she was gone she fell in love with this other dude there and she tells him and he's the saddest boy in the world about it but then he's just like "Well okay, so we are going to figure out how to save him too then." That scene just wrecks me.)

2. Fake Dating of any kind for any reason.

Respect and understanding and love learned through teamwork or shared leadership/responsibility etc. This is very clexa coded but also ronance but also faith/buffy and also anybody you could possibly ship on Battlestar Galactica and also sports movies and also and also and also. I like it when mutual respect is the foundation. I like to see people admiring each other and I like it when characters understand how hard it is to do the things each of them does. I like it when somebody makes a sacrifice and somebody else knows exactly what that sacrifice meant.

[dufrau]

Ask game!!!!

21, 38, 44

21. What I love most about myself?

Oh man. I have no idea. I guess I love how much I love my cats. Sometimes I will notice how much I love them and how openly I express it and I'm like "oh. maybe I'm an okay person after all."

38. My childhood career choice?

I wanted to be an "Artist". I did get my bachelors in fine arts, so I guess I kind of tried at least, but I dont have the work ethic required for that kind of life.

44: A random fact about anything?

My chives have survived the winter! The thyme and rosemary are dead as hell and i cant really tell what's going on with the parsley but my chives are stubbornly just doing their thing out there.

(questions)

[dufrau]

Is there a mundane skill you wish to master but don't think you ever will?

Mine is leaving normal voice-mails. Like, it's probably mostly in my head, but I leave voice-mails for my job regularly, and I've never in my life hung up and thought "Hey, that went exactly how I wanted it to go."

Hmm. I dont know. Mostly not like "skill" but just executive function stuff in general. Like, honestly? I'm fine on the phone. I worked a phone job for a few years and I hated it but I am perfectly capable of being normal on the phone or leaving a voice mail but I will still put off making a phone call for months just because it stresses me out so much. But like even smaller stuff than that. Getting up to refill my water bottle when its empty. Going to bed when I'm tired.

I don't really know what counts as a skill. Im passable at most things once I understand them.

But I did make lasagna one time and it came out terrible and I have never tried again because im so used to being good at cooking that it kind of shook me to my core how bad that lasagna was. So maybe the mundane skill I would like to have is making a decent lasagna.

[dufrau]

How do you pronounce "aunt"?

Also, as a southerner, I'd like to know if the phrase "fixin' to" is something you've heard of or used. As in "I'm fixin' to go home".

Like "ahhhhhnt" rather than like the household pest. I don't really have a Boston accent for the most part but it shows itself there. I can't say it like 'ant' it just feels wrong!

I have heard "fixin to" but mostly on tv/media, it's not super common here in my experience but I think the meaning is still commonly understood?

[dufrau]

2- Orange Crush

15- TLOU au

9- Tits Out for Annie Oakley

Also 9- Red&White&Blue&Gold

11- You're covered in sun

Sorry it's so many lol. But I neeeeeed it.

Okay lets gooooooo

2: What scene did you first put down?

I wrote this linearly so I started at the beginning, but I had the whole idea at once so I knew at all times what I was writing towards, right down to the spaghetti.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

I learned that it takes a lot longer to describe a facial expression in writing than it takes to have one. This is the first wholesale AU I've ever worked on. Just in general, though, adapting an episode of TV to a story meant to be read. And in doing that with an extremely well structured episode of television I think I learned about story structure and pacing, although im not sure WHAT i learned because it still feels largely like vibes. Also that its okay to write the hard thing! In one of the first posts I made about maybe writing this one of the tags suggested I was going to change the ending. But once I started writing it it was very clear that changing the ending would weaken it, so I wrote it and it was sad and I was afraid everybody would hate me but only a few people did lol. Also the Robin POV sequel was structurally complex in a different way that was a challenge to write but I think ultimately it worked out okay.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

For Tits Out: Not exactly. I never really had a handle on this one at any point so I never really knew what it was going to be besides smutty? I think my original intention was for it to be moodier, less silly. I don't know. Like I was sort of invisioning it as like a smuttier version of Exile, and it has SOME of that but also feels kind of the opposite too in certain ways. I dont know! I thought of the title the morning I posted it lying in bed trying to think of song lyrics that fit and none of them tit so I just started thinking stupid things and this is where we ended up!

For Red&White: The last chapter I originally envisioned as them actually getting to a hotel room and Nancy actually doing the tie pulling thing from her end monologue but I couldnt figure out how to get them there and keep the mood consistent with the rest of the fic. Like I had the class reunion AT the hotel at first because I was like okay they can just catch an elevator but like... it just didnt really work like that. And then i realized that this was a story about banter from the beginning so the answer was not to force action but just to make the action banter? If that makes sense. (I do have a google doc somewhere with the beginnings of an alt ending in the hotel room though that i almost wrote for femslash week smut day)

11: What do you like best about this fic?

The atmosphere. I described the hell out of that old people house. I feel like I absolutely nailed the sense of place in that one. And also how well that atmosphere works with the ending, that kinda hazy dreamlike feeling. And then also that nobody guessed the ending! As far as I know. Maybe somebody guessed it and decided not to brag about it. Guess we'll never know.

(questions if you want to ask me anything)