#i also think that ivi inspired this a little because somewhere early in the fic she was like hey what Made grian react to things like this?

[quaranmine]

random firewatch au detail that has basically no impact on the story unless you want to psychoanalyze fw!grian even further than i did as the author, but it's very intentional that i always refer to both of mumbo's parents but only grian's mom. did i give him daddy issues? i guess so, but not in a way where i really deeply examined the implications as meaningful to the story. it was just a detail i stuck with from the beginning as a way to keep fleshing out the story's background subtly. the idea behind grian's dual citizenship was always that he was born in america to an american dad and british mom, and that his mom moved back to the UK when he was very young since she wanted to be closer to her family. perhaps his dad didn't go with them? or perhaps his dad did, and then later they split and he went back to america? whatever the cause, grian never even mentions his dad in the story, and it wasn't because i intended him to be dead (because that would have come up in a story about grief) if you get me

[the-cryptographer]

Seifer/Zell because y'all convinced me

How long has it been since I’ve played this game, anon?!?I feel like my ideas about them are kind of up in the air, and subject to change upon closer evaluation of canon, but I had fun~ Thank you so much for the ask, anon :)

Under the cut:

What they watch during movie dates and what kind of snacks they get from concessions.

Zell’s taste in movies is probably wider than Seifer’s. Helikes all those ‘inspirational’ sports movies and screwy romantic comedies andcorny martial arts shit like Karate Kid,but I think they can both get behind action films. And obviously Zell gets hotdogsand gummies. Seifer only eats a couple of the gummies tho.

Which one gets in to a fight with the other’s parents.

Seifer. He doesn’t actually fight with Ma Dincht of course,but always fighting with Edea. Eventhough the whole sorceress thing wasn’t really her fault, she can literallynever do anything right for Seifer afterwards. Although most of his complaintsabout her are really petty and he knows this. Let him have this.

What kind of street performance they’d put on to raise money if they were stranded somewhere.

Probably Zell puts on martial arts demonstrations and Seiferis the unfortunate crash test dummy that bears the brunt of Zell’s impartialwrath, lol. He gets tossed around and thrown to the ground a lot, lol. Also,remember how in FF8 you had to synthesize all your weapons? Yeah, that’sprobably what they’d actually do for money, go bounty hunting for beasteyeballs or smthn.

How they’d be as parents if they had-a-kid/someone-forced-a-kid-on-them.

I really kind of wonder? Neither of them strikes me as superinclined to parenthood. But I think they’d do their best to rise to the task~ Ithink they’d both split responsibilities pretty much evenly for the sake offairness. Zell probably takes the kids on extended training vacations wherethey run and lift weights a lot. Seifer’s probably more relaxed and whatever about things, trying to be easygoing and not doing the best of jobs. Also he’s the one who packs the schoollunches, and bends down to fix untied shoes, and calls them ‘sweetheart’affectionately.

Who would cause the most trouble during a camping trip and how.

Zell would get into a fight with the wildlife, and Seiferwould get tangled fishing line or tree branches and vines or poison ivy. Theyare both camping failures but, upon returning to civilisation, they miss being outin the wilderness and reminisce about these adventures fondly~

What they would give each other as both a serious gift and a troll gift.

For serious gifts, they probably give each other practicalkinds of items, which ranges from things like weapons and weapon accessories toNEW VACUUM CLEANER!!! which is a passive aggressive way of suggesting thatsomebody’s not pulling their weight with the chores hmmmmm. Zell gets a newpunching/sand bag at some point, and also Seifer wakes up early one day to waitin line for hotdogs – best gift according to Zell. Troll gifts are probablyrubber chickens and custom made dolls with satiric ridiculous face scars.

Who moves in with them as an unfortunate third wheel roommate.

Idk if it’s Squall or Selphie, lol. They come over to sulk orbe overbearingly cheerful respectively while they’re on the outs with Rinoa orIrvine respectively, lol. I think both Zell and Seifer find Squall’s moodinesseasier to ignore than Selphie being :D :D  :D  and then D’x D’x  D’x  But Seifer gets really competitive whenSquall shows up so it’s kind of a tossup who’s more difficult to deal with.Quistis and Fuujin&Raijin also visit and stay over kind of regularly, but Idon’t think either Seifer or Zell find them difficult in the same kind of way.

How they feel about handholding and sudden kisses in the ear-cheek vicinity.

Probably they make a big deal of holding hands around Gardenone day just for the sake of it, and it kind of becomes a habit. It’s goodbecause both are prone to running off suddenly in some direction, so this waythe other one gets dragged along for the ride, lol. I don’t think they’re biginto surprise kisses though. They like to know it’s coming in advance.

Who’s always snapping photos and who’s pack-ratting clutter.

Yeah, I don’t think either is big into clutter. Zell’s asecret neat freak, and Seifer’s not going to mess with the tidiness. I thinkthey both like photos though. Zell takes nice photos most of the time, butSeifer’s mostly in it trying to catch Zell during those ugly moments when he’sstuffing his face or otherwise making a fool of himself. So many terrible but cutepictures have come out of Seifer’s photography.

Who hogs the bathroom in the morning and who causes toothpaste related drama.

They are both huge bathroom hogs. Taking 5 years in theshower. Preening in the mirror. ‘Should I get another tattoo?’ Neither of themgives a single shit about toothpaste and the inherent drama surrounding it though. Theyboth use the same stripe mint tube.

What their matching costumes were for that one party.

Selphie put so much effort into this costume party – decorating,getting the music right, food and drinks, all the thematics, coming up withgreat party games – and Seifer and Zell both have the nerve to show up in thelamest costumes. Like, they put on capes and fake fangs, ‘we’re vampires, Iguess’. Terrible friends. Selphie would ban them from future parties if shewasn’t so fond of them.  

If I think they’d get married and why or why not.

I don’t really see it… but I can’t exactly pin down why(?)I think their friends might be more into the idea of holding a wedding ceremonythan them, and they might cave and do it just for the sake of having a funparty with everyone, if at that point they consider themselves practically married anyhow~

Who has over a thousand unread emails in their inbox or five hundred icons on their computer desktop and how the other reacts to this gross mismanagement.

Neither of them has a thousand emails, because neither ofthem answer their emails consistently or timely so everyone has given up onemailing them, lol. Seifer’s the one with too many desktop icons though – most ofwhich are for games. Zell is lowkey bothered by the sheer number of themanytime he passes by and gets a glimpse of the computer screen, but he triesnot to let it bother him.

What their hidden artistic talents are and how appreciative the other is of these talents.

These guys? Artistic? I think not. Or maybe Seifer doodles alittle in the margins of books, and Zell thinks some of the designs are cool.It’d also be cool if somebody did something with a tattoo art AU, so in thatcase one of them might have to git gud at drawing and iconography.

What they consider each other’s most attractive quality and/or their favourite thing about the other.

I’m so bad at this *crying* I think it’s that they can be real™ with each other. That’s what appealed to me about the fic I recced before. Other than that… I think they both have moments when they’re talking really passionately about something, and it really gets to the other. D’y’know what I mean?