#once again definitely not a rarepair but I do not car

[freddieslater]

Stranger Things: Elmax | Eleven Hopper x Max Mayfield

"I've been excited for this all week," Max admits, doing up the laces on her roller skate with a flash of a grin at El. "I haven't been skating in ages. Maybe not since I was last in California, actually."

El smiles at her enthusiasm. Truthfully, she'd been nervous about her coming to visit her. For many reasons. One of them being that it's coming up to a year since Billy's death and she figured that her being in California might bring up bad memories. Another being the possibility of Max seeing through the lies El told about having friends.

But now that they're here, that Max is here with her, she can't find a reason to worry. It's like they're back in her room at the cabin, reading comic books and playing with the bottle. She's heard there's another game that invovles spinning a bottle but it sounds different to the one they played. Perhaps she should suggest it to Max later.

"Hey, you okay?" Max rests a hand on her arm. "Are you nervous? You said you've done this before."

El takes a deep breath and tries to fix her expression. She places her hand on top of Max's and shakes her head.

"I'm okay," she says, and it doesn't feel like a lie. "Now that you're here. I'm not nervous."

Max makes a face -- big eyes, a little line between her eyebrows, and a smile that almost looks sad to El. But she puts her other hand on top of El's and connects their fingers tightly together.

"I'm here now. And we're going to have a great time," she promises.

She turns to her right to look over at Will and Mike, in their own little bubble, doing up their skates. El doesn't think she's seen Will so happy like this in a while. Maybe not since they left Hawkins.

Turning back to her, Max rolls her eyes and says, "Boys."

Then she stands, still holding El's hand, and guides her to her feet as well. It's hard not to fall over in the skates but El does her best to look confident as Max gently but knowingly pulls her further into the room, practically skating backwards as she makes sure she's okay at the same time.

It's actually not so bad. It's like when Max tried to teach her how to use her skateboard. Scary and a little but unsteady, but with Max holding onto her, it's not so hard to get the hang of it.

Soon, they're laughing and holding onto each other for dear life as they race around the room, trying not to collide with anyone else. A few times they pass Will and Mike, who are doing almost the exact same thing, only without holding hands. She does notice Mike reach out and cling onto Will at one point though, and she's not sure when he lets go of them.

"See?" Max teases, slowly skating backwards, smirking at her. "You're a natural." She quirks an eyebrow. "You've never actually done this before though, have you?"

El's heart skips a beat, and her guilt gushes out of her in a wave from her mouth, "I'm sorry I lied, I know that friends don't lie, but I--"

"Hey! Hey, it's okay!" Max laughs and stops skating, forcing El to stop as well. She rests her hands gently on her shoulders, looking into her eyes with a much gentler smile. "Sometimes friends tell little lies to look cooler. That's okay. Buuuuut you don't need to do that with me. Okay? You are super awesome already."

El smiles back, though it doesn't last very long. "Not anymore. My powers..."

Max shakes her head. "Doesn't matter."

El blinks. "What? It... it doesn't?"

"No. El, you don't need your powers. You are amazing with or without them." Max drops her shoulders and pulls her in abruptly for a tight hug that nearly squishes the air out of El. It's nice. "You don't have to be someone else with me. I love you for who you are. And you are you. El. Or Jane. Whichever you prefer. I will always love you just for being you."

Tears sting at the back of El's eyes. She hides them in Max's shoulder as she hugs her back to the best of her ability. Her stomach has gone all weird and squirmy. Probably from how nervous she was to tell her the truth.

"I love you, too," El murmurs into her hair, trying not to sound so pathetic as she does.

Max chuckles quietly and says, "I know. Now, we should move before those idiots we call friends crash into us."

El bursts into a giggle, but agrees, and they separate (but remain holding hands) and skate out of Mike and Will's path. They only continue for another few minutes before deciding to take a break to grab some food as Max and Mike complain that they're starving, so El and Will's amusement.

[gaycey-sketchit]

💫, 🎙️, and 💌! (fic writer ask game)

what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

I genuinely cherish every nice comment, and screenshot all of them to put in a special album on my phone I look at when I need a confidence boost, but my absolute favorite kinds of comments have to be:

essay detailing every single thing they loved about the fic (the effort that goes into these comments! The love! It's so special)

"I ship this now because of you" (makes me feel very powerful, and my rarepairs need all the love they can get)

"I needed comfort and this got me, thank you" (incredibly touching to hear my work brought someone joy and comfort when they needed it)

which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

That's tricky because mostly I want to make the podfic of my fic, but I do not have the kind of voice that'd make me much good at doing an Old Man Voice, so I'd be delighted to hear someone else give it a go with one of my fics involving Professor Oak--such as Footsteps Outside the Door, it's alright, it's okay (and I believe, yes I believe, that you will see a better day), or Choking On Love.

share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

I have so many WIPs all the time so I can answer this again! One I started earlier in the year but put on the back burner when Sicktember prep time started is about Gary and Tracey going to a black tie event in Unova. And when I first thought it up it was mostly my excuse to think about them getting all dressed up and dancing together because that was a very cute thought to me, but then I got really bad sensory overload in a Five Below and while I was sitting in the car with a migraine and trying not to cry, I was like. What if I did that to Tracey. So it kind of became a hurt/comfort fic. Once I'm done Sicktembering I'm definitely going to pick that one back up and finish it, I was having a lot of fun with it!

[marauderundercover]

The Strings that Bind Us: Chapter Two

AO3

Prev

Marinette dances around her apartment, feeling lighter than she’d felt in years. She had dinner on the stove, a movie on the table, and her boyfriend of two weeks coming over in ten minutes. Honestly, she couldn’t remember a time when she’d been happier. She grins when she hears the knock at her door. Quickly pulling the pan off the heat, she rushes over to the door, nearly falling on her face in her rush. Without even checking the peephole, she throws the door open and grins widely at Bruce. He smiles back at her and she kisses his cheek quickly.

“Hey, dinner’s almost ready.” She says, tugging him in and closing the door.

“You really didn’t have to cook tonight, we could’ve ordered in.” He says, and she turns to him, wrinkling her nose.

“Bruce, I’m honestly worried that all you ever eat is takeout.” She says flatly. He just laughs, and shakes his head.

“Mari, I can assure you I don’t always eat takeout.” He says, snaking his arms around her waist. She raises an eyebrow, giving him a softer version of her Ladybug stare. He just grins and leans down, kissing her gently. She instantly melts into the kiss, standing on her toes to try and deepen it. Just as he lifts her up, the timer goes off and she groans.

“I’m going to throw that damn thing out the window.” She gripes, giving him a quick peck before jumping down and pulling the pan with the steamer off the heat. “Could you grab some plates?” She calls over her shoulder, focused on moving the dumplings out of the steamer. She smiles as she does, the familiar feeling of working closely with someone she cares about washing away all of her worries. She grins as she feels Bruce’s arms wrap around her waist again as he nuzzles his head into her neck. She just hums in content, dishing out the dumplings and veggie stir fry. She could honestly get used to this.

---

Marinette blinks sleepily as she sits up on the couch, trying to figure out when she fell asleep. Glancing around, she smiles tiredly at Bruce.

“C’mere.” She says, reaching out for him. He chuckles.

“I’ve gotta go, Mari.” He says softly and she whines.

“No, don’t leave.” She asks, smiling in success as he sits back down next to her. She leans up against him, almost back asleep when he says:

“I have to go love, but I’ll stay until you fall asleep.” Well that’s not gonna happen. She pushes herself back up and forces her eyes open, frowning at Bruce’s laugh.

“If I sleep, you’re gonna leave.” She says with a pout. Bruce kisses the top of her head and she melts into his touch, eyes fluttering shut and- NO. Stay awake.

“How about I come back in the morning and we can have breakfast together?” He suggests and she sighs, leaning against him again.

“Fine, but I’ll get you to stay sometime. The nightmares always stay away when you’re here.” She says sleepily. He says something, but she doesn’t process it before she’s asleep again.

---

“Bruce, hi?” Marinette says, blinking in confusion at her boyfriend.

“Hey Mari, you didn’t forget about breakfast, did you?” He asks with a teasing smile. She frowns, as she tries to remember when they scheduled that. Her eyes widen when she realizes he definitely asked her last night. When she was half asleep. And had no filter.

“Oh my god, please tell me I didn’t say anything too embarrassing last night.” She begs, hiding her head in his chest. He chuckles.

“You mean besides the proposal?” He asks. She gasps and jumps away.

“No, I didn’t- did I-” She stammers out, pausing when she realizes he’s barely holding back a smile. She narrows her eyes. “You are an absolute ass, Bruce.” She says, glaring at him. He shakes his head.

“I’m sorry love, it’s just so easy to tease you sometimes.” He says, leaning in to kiss her. She huffs, but kisses him back, the butterflies exploding in her stomach. After a few more dizzying kisses, she pulls back, taking a deep breath.

“So is there a reason for our random breakfast date?” She asks, trying to decide how she should dress as she was still currently in her pajamas.

“I actually thought we could talk about a few things.” He says, with a small wince. Her heart drops.

“Are you breaking up with me?” She asks, terrified of his answer. His eyes widen and he shakes his head frantically.

“No, oh god no, Mari, I- I just wanted to tell you some more things about me, let you decide if you want to get out now.” He says, and she lets out a sigh of relief before jumping forward and wrapping her arms around her boyfriend’s neck.

“As long as you aren’t secretly a super villain, you couldn’t get rid of me.” She assures him, sighing as she feels him relax. She steps back and grins at him. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I thought that maybe we could drive through somewhere and grab something quick, then go to my place?” He suggests, and though it sounds simple enough, she can see his nervousness.

“Bruce, if you don’t want me to-” She starts, but he shakes his head.

“I want you to be in my life. I’m just worried that you’ll see me differently.” He says and she kisses him quickly.

“Well let me go get dressed so that we can go and maybe reassure you that I’m not about to run for the hills.” She says softly before rushing back to her room to get dressed. Her mind runs through a million different scenarios as she gets dressed, but she honestly can’t think of one where she would just leave him. Minus the whole villain thing. That was the only deal breaker she could think of. Shaking her head, she grabs her purse before walking back into the living room and grinning at Bruce. He smiles back and grabs her hand, but she can practically feel how nervous he is. She raises an eyebrow as he opens the car door for her.

“Do you not like it?” He asks, and she snorts.

“Bruce, honey, I have no knowledge on cars except this one is shiny. And a different one than I’ve seen you use before.” She says, grinning as she manages to make him blush slightly.

“Oh, uh, well. I like this one more, and thought it would help with the conversation.” He says and she raises an eyebrow. How would a shiny car help with a conversation? She just gets in the car, frowning at the person across the street taking a picture of them. Once Bruce is in the car, the person walks away and she narrows her eyes.

“I don’t mean to alarm you, but that person definitely just took a picture of us.” She says, surprised that instead of getting angry, Bruce just sighs.

“Marinette, how much do you know about the Wayne family?” He asks.

“Well, I know that they own Wayne Enterprises and that Wayne Enterprises owns a lot of Gotham. And they do a lot of charity work, but that’s about it.” She admits, grinning sheepishly. She’d meant to look into it more after Bruce told her he works at Wayne Enterprises, and especially after she heard a customer talking about a recent attack on the building, but she’d forgotten and now she felt like an idiot.

“My last name is Wayne.” Bruce says, and she just shrugs.

“Okay, so you’re related to the Wayne Enterprises people?” She asks, and he sighs.

“Mari, I am the Wayne Enterprises people. I’m Bruce Wayne, CEO of the company.” He says and she suddenly understands. It’s just like when she was in lycée and Adrien got nervous around people who knew he was an Agreste. Her amazingly sweet, smart boyfriend was worried about what she’d think about him now. She reaches out and grabs the hand that he had left between them, squeezing it tightly before smiling.

“And my last name is Dupain Cheng. My parents own one of the most successful patisseries in France. I adore you, mon cher, because you’re you. Not because your last name is Wayne.” She reassures him, he smiles at her softly and she laughs. “Look at the road, Bruce. I’d rather get where we’re going in one piece.” She says.

“There’s something else, Mari.” He says. She hums and raises an eyebrow. “I have two sons.” For a moment she panics. She didn’t know anything about being a mom, the most she’d been around kids was when she babysat throughout school. Before she can let herself spiral, she takes a breath. He wasn’t asking her to be a mom all of a sudden, he was just telling her. He was opening up.

“How old are they?” She asks, grinning at the wide smile he gives her in return.

“Dick is 18 and recently moved out. Jason is 13.” He says and Mari frowns. Was Bruce a teen dad? He hadn’t mentioned their mom, did he do it all on his own? That must’ve been extremely stressful. It couldn’t have been easy. And the company? It- “I can see you panicking, love. What is it?” He asks, frowning.

“You must’ve been a teenager when Dick was born! Did you do it all on your own? How in the world could you run a company and be a father so young and-”

“They’re both adopted.” He says, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

“I was so concerned for little you!” She exclaims. “I felt so awful that you had so much responsibility so young.” She admits and he chuckles.

“Trust me, even if I had been a teen parent, I wouldn’t have been alone. Alfred would have been there for me.” He says.

“Alfred?” She asks.

“Technically he’s the Wayne family butler, but he’s more like a father to me than anything else.” Bruce explains and she grins.

“He sounds amazing.” She says and Bruce smiles awkwardly.

“I was hoping you’d say that. I wanted to introduce the two of you. Today.”

Next

Tag list: @maribat-october-rarepairs @stainedglassm @kittenmywaythrulife @laydeekrayzee @doll246 @queenz-z @deathssilentapproach-blog @literaryhiraeth @unoriginalmess @ashbrea381writings 

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

Uppast's Cats Tour Comments: Act 1

note: i'm referring to the cats by their show names, however I may use the actor's name for a specific comment!

Overture

They did this SO well! I definitely missed seeing the cast in the aisles, but they projected the green eyes onto the stage, and it was the perfect amount of creepy/weird/hypnotizing.

I absolutely love the lights slowly being raised while shining all the spotlights, it sets the vibe PERFECTLY

also saying this now: the orchestra was incredible!

Prologue: Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats

right off the bat, we’ve a super sweet Demestrap moment, with Munkustrap checking on Demeter after the car! It was adorable!

Devon's voice is SO good for Munkustrap, also the man is TALL OH MY GOD

Tugger didn't get his "can you say of your bite that it's worse than your bark" line, which I was a little disappointed about. However, Zach as Bill Bailey is absolutely 10/10.

Brianna… the babiest Sillabub… so precious... so small...

There were some Victor and Gus moments, with them either standing near each other or sharing looks/touches, so if anyone ships them, y'all got your rarepair moment!

THE BOOT WAS SO LOUD LMAO

They use the set so well!

The Naming of Cats

creepy, wonderful, everything I want from this number

A handful of the cats got right to the edge of the stage where the lighting was, so they were all glowing, and it was the BEST vibe.

Taylor was staring into my soul during the last verse so now I can say I've been vibe-checked by Coricopat.

Invitation to the Jellicle Ball

Hyla is the PERFECT Victoria!!!!! She's so incredibly graceful, she had the sweetest expression on her face, and ugh it was flawless.

Paul is also just an amazing Mistoffelees.

Munkustrap had literally the sweetest moment with Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer and I almost started crying. Right before Jennyanydots' song, when everyone's getting into place, Mungo and Rumple immediately went to Munkustrap and were cuddling his legs, and he gave them pets, and just oh my god T_T

Gumbie Cat

OKAY SO I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE KITTEN SQUAD SO MUCH MY HEART

When everyone's setting up for Jennyanydots' song, after the nuzzles, the lights start to switch, and the kitten squad was trying to catch the lights on the ground while Munkustrap was looking at them with the fondest expression and i swear i cried a little bit over how cute they were.

SKIMBLE LOVES HIS WIFE SO MUCH AND WAS HELPING HER GET THE KITTENS INTO THEIR MICE COSTUMES

Plato, Alonzo, and Mungojerrie were great cockroaches, 10/10

The Gumbie Trio was so good! Their voices sounded amazing together, and they were all just having so much fun!

SO MUCH MAMA JELLY AND SON TUMBLE I FEEL SO HAPPY

I'm going to go more in-depth in my Kitten Squad post!

Rum Tum Tugger

The way Zach said "Who will it be?" was absolutely amazing, i loved it, 10/10 character introduction.

Jennyanydots stomped off when he interrupted her accolades, she was very upset.

Zach and Devon nailed Tugger and Munkustrap's sibling dynamic PERFECTLY, Devon was the best Tired Older Brother Munkus.

Yeah, this number pretty much confirmed Zach as my favorite Tugger.

Mistoffelees and Cassandra did some lounging together in the background on the car.

Chelsea's Bomba is absolutely *chef's kiss*, I adore her

Obviously Tugger and Mistoffelees did their little dance, and it was wonderful. I'm not sure if other shows had Mistoffelees do this, but he went between Tugger's legs at the end of his little solo and Tugger was just vibing.

MY FAVORITE MOMENT THOUGH had to be near the end of the song, Munkustrap was 100% getting into it, and Tugger went over to him and was teasing him, poking him, and it was the cutest brother interaction.

They did have the camera! Zach did some very Tugger poses, and it was great.

Grizabella the Glamour Cat

haha Tugger went to hide behind the metal bars on the furthest side of the stage away from Grizabella, I'm in ✨pain✨

Sillabub goes to touch Grizabella, Grandpa Skimble pulls her back and starts scolding her, I want to hug the baby.

No, but I did really love that moment. It's off to the side, but you can see him giving her a talking to, and she's trying to say something back, but he's very firm.

Mungojerrie egged George on to scratch Grizabella, George sweetie don't be mean.

Taylor has such a perfect voice for Grizabella, and I loved her look!

OKAY SO LAUREN AND CHELSEA'S VOICES

Lauren's voice is so smooth and suave, and Chelsea's voice has a little growl that almost made me pass out, like ma'am i'm in love? But their voices mixed together, as well as how slightly different they are was such a great choice, and I kind of hope that other future productions take note and have two actresses with vastly different vocals for Demeter and Bombalurina.

Bustopher Jones

Mistoffelees and Victoria go to great Bustopher together and it was the cutest thing, they were so excited to see him!

Munkustrap immediately grabbing Mungo and Rumple by the necks and steering the gremlins away from the Very Important Cat.

Tugger was keeping watch so Munkustrap could be silly with everyone else during Bustopher's number, and that's not something I'm forgetting. Usually, obviously, Munkustrap's sort of in the background, standing, watching, and not really interacting. But Tugger switched places, and was up on the scaffolding watching, and it was CUTE!

My Tuggandra crumbs, thank you Zach and Lexy, I'm indebted to you both.

Tugger literally was just lounging on the car during the end of Bustopher's song, just waving his arms around, and I love him.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

Elana (Teazer for this show) had the PERFECT Rumple giggle!

They're so silly, I love them

They made the best facial expressions, especially when Mungo "stole" Rumple's pearls.

Very dramatic gremlin twins, jumping all over the place, not caring about anything!

They were so confident at the end of their song when they went to walk off, and immediately went into "oh shit" mode when Munkus, Plato, and Alonzo came out.

Run through the legs of Munkus! See Munkus, this is why you need to not stand with your legs apart when you're attempting to control kittens.

Old Deuteronomy

Saying it again, Devon and Zach are SUCH a good Munkustrap and Tugger.

The babies were so excited to see Old Deut! They could barely contain themselves, and then got cuddles! (Also Tanto was with the kittens and i love that for her, let her be a kitten!! I definitely got "big brother Cori/little sister Tanto" vibes)

Everyone's getting Deut nuzzles!!

Tugger did a VERY dramatic shimmy at his dad, and Deut laughed, and I cried.

Tugger and Munkustrap standing on either side of their dad!!!! He's so proud of them!!

Jellicle Ball

Sillabub was hiding on top of the oven before the Ball, sweet baby T_T

George got to sing with Old Deut!! Happy boy!!

TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS TUMBLE FLIPS

Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks being the Supervisors!!

There was a really sweet Jellylorum and Alonzo moment (def going to talk more about it in the Alonzo post), but my "Jellylorum is Alonzo, Tumble, and Pounce's Mom" hc is feeling SO VALIDATED TONIGHT

I've said this so many times, but I adore that Plato and Victoria get their own little solo before their Big Solo. It's so sweet, and Hyla and Adam have wonderful chemistry!

Tugger chases Bomba offstage before The Moment, and I love that for them

CUDDLE PILE!!!

Munkustrap and Demeter cuddled together in the corner away from the pile and I want to sob because they were just so sweet, her head was on his shoulder, and he was holding her, and literally everyone in this show has such good chemistry with each other.

Tugger looks up with the psychic twins during Grizabella's reveal, once again making me think that Tugger and Munkustrap have magic like their brother.

OH AND TUGGER DID THE STUPIDEST LITTLE DANCE WHERE HE WAS SHAKING HIS BUTT AND HAVING FUN AND MUNGOJERRIE LAUGHED AT HIM AND THEY HAD A MOMENT AND IT WAS GREAT

Memory

ouch ouch ouch

Jennyanydots blocks the stairs up to Deut's tire so Grizabella can't go to Deut, my heart

steering the babies away from Grizabella even though Silla wants to give her a hug.

Taylor you hurt me in the best way possible

I always get emotional over Grizabella's dance before her song, it's such a telling moment, but unfortunately I don't think everyone understands that it's supposed to be a serious moment and not funny.

Deut sits on his tire the entire song and it's HEARTBREAKING

At the very end, Grizabella does the reaching back, and Deut reaches forward, and if you're sitting in the right spot it looks like they're touching and i'm NOT OKAY

[zoey-wades]

Get You (Fluff-ish)

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x Aurora Emery

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: A little flirting and swearing, dassit.

Summary: Bryce and Aurora get to know one another, which pushes our boy into unknown, cavity-inducing territory.

A/N: My number one rarepair that no one else ships. I wrote this because I was bullied by @thecapturedafrique into writing something. I haven't written anything for choices in quite some time, so this is... that something.

_____________________________________________________________

To Be Alone (Part One)

Bryce always believed that fawning--real, genuine, starry-eyed awe--was goofy. He could count on one hand the number of times a partner left him speechless, which was quite a feat. It wasn’t that he believed he was above it; he could never quite understand the position someone would have to be in to feel that way about someone else. But that damn Aurora Emery and her silent but deadly studious stare could bring any man to his knees. He told her as much. Multiple times, in fact. She’d laugh it off as just a huge joke, but Bryce needed her to know that he was being legit. It was important to him that she knew that about herself. Maybe she could reel it in and let him have control over himself for once.

There wasn’t a name for what they were--a fact that Bryce was okay with. At least he thought. Right now they were just comfortable in one another’s company. It’s not that he didn’t want more...the question crossed his mind more than once. But Aurora never once hinted at the fact that she was looking for anything more than companionship. She was blunt. If she wanted something serious, she definitely would’ve said so. Unfortunately, Edenbrook was filled to the brim with nosy fucks. And though he wasn’t necessarily one for hiding his attraction, he knew for a fact that the attention made Aurora uncomfortable. On more than one occasion, he had to tell people to back off when they made comments about “thawing the ice princess.” He would do anything in his power to protect her, if he could. He spent two months of Fridays with her, a ritual that just kind of happened without much planning. They’d talk for hours, and more than once he’d woken up in her bed, with his arms wrapped around her and her head on his chest.

So when Aurora texted him that Friday afternoon about a change of plans, curiosity plagued him.

Bryce: Change of plans, huh? What’s up?

Three bubbles popped up. And then:

Aurora: I wanted to do something different. Same meeting place?

Bryce: Always.

Bryce: Am I allowed to know what that something different is? Or is it a surprise?

Aurora: It wasn’t a surprise.

Aurora: But now I think it is.

Bryce: You’re killin me. Do you know what you do to me, Rory?

There was a long pause as she typed. And then stopped. And then typed again.

Aurora: Where have I heard that before? ;)

And there it was. That boldness that seemed to show up at the most inopportune times and sent a rushing wave of warmth through him. It climbed up the back of his neck and made him huff out a sigh in the middle of the cafeteria.

Bryce: Careful, I might have to take you for a ride in the parking lot. Again.

Aurora: Don’t make threats you can’t follow through with, daddy.

Despite the bravado, Bryce was clearly flustered. He didn’t know it was possible for someone to out-Bryce him. But here he was: red faced and shifty-eyed in the middle of a crowded room. He placed his phone face-down and took a long sip from his water bottle, willing his blood to return to his brain and away from his head. When he was sure that he could resume the conversation without hunting Aurora down for sport, he picked the phone back up.

Bryce: Alright, Miss Emery. I’ll play your games. See you later?

Aurora: xxoo

It was all so corny, he thought to himself. Reading and re-reading her texts, or scrolling through her Instagram to see her even when she wasn’t around...these were actions that he had NEVER considered remotely Bryce-like. Yet there he was, spending his free time thinking about what he’d say to her when he saw her at the end of the day. Thoughts of her were interrupted only when he needed all of his attention to keep people’s organs in place. Or when he needed to write a report. But when all was said and done, his thoughts drifted right back to her. He blinked, and it was the end of the day. He felt his hands shake, and wondered what the fuck he had to be nervous about.

They’d spent so much time together. They were practically together. Weren’t they?

“God damn it,” he muttered to himself, as he ran his fingers through his hair and stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. It always looked good, but for some reason--today of all days--it wouldn’t cooperate, “You are Bryce Fucking Lahela. You don’t get flustered. Jesus.”

He shook his arms out, rolled his shoulders, and took a deep breath.

“Alright,” he sighed, “Let’s go see our woman.”

Aurora looked amazing leaning against the hood of his car. She was dressed in black jeans and a simple tee shirt, with her hair in a bun. But he wanted to kiss her right there in front of everyone, PDA be damned. Her face lit up when she noticed him, and he nearly tripped over his feet as he walked across the parking lot, causing him to pause his steps. Her brows furrowed in concern.

God she was so cute.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking in an attempt to save face. Because of course he did.

“Are you alright, Lahela?” She asked, raising a hand to his forehead, “You’re clammy.” Bryce gently grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it absentmindedly, resulting in a slow grin gracing her pretty features.

“I’m good. I just showered, so my hair is a little wet,” her fingers intertwined with his, and his voice caught in his chest. He cleared his throat, “I-uh...I didn’t want to smell like...well you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She bit her lower lip and glanced over his shoulder before leaning up to place a small peck on his lips. It’d been something she’d done numerous times before. But today it felt different. He couldn’t place what the difference was, but as she pulled back from him, he leaned forward to kiss her again. She smiled against his lips, and placed a hand on his chest.

“Down boy,” she laughed, “save some of that energy for later on.”

His first thought was to say “fuck later on” and take her on the hood of his car. The louder second thought reminded him that she wasn’t going anywhere. That this was different. And he nodded, taking a mental step back.

“So what’s the surprise?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

His hands snaked around her and he rested his forehead on her shoulder. The action was surprisingly intimate, all things considered, “I hate when people say that.”

“You’d think it’d make you ask the question less, then.”

“Hardy-har, smartass.” When she reached up to scratch the back of his head with her nails, he groaned involuntarily and squeezed her, lifting his head to look up at her, “We need to get out of here, and fast.”

Something flashed across her features, and she raised a brow.

“Alright.”

The drive to this supposed secret was a long one. Using Aurora’s GPS directions, the trip led them down numerous winding roads, across a bridge, and through some trees. If he didn’t know any better, he’d guess she was leading him to his own demise. Maybe she was softening up by holding his hand while he steered. And badly singing along to some 90s pop song was just a plot to let his guard down. It was working. She could brandish a knife, and he wouldn’t even notice.

The final destination was a large clearing filled with parked cars, and a large screen projecting some early 00s movie trailers. People milled around, drinking and eating large buckets of popcorn.

“Well shit,” Bryce grinned as he pulled up to an empty spot between two standing speakers, “You brought me to a drive-in?”

Aurora was already unbuckling her seatbelt, “You said you never got to have a normal high school experience. So, I figured we’d make up for lost time. Only if you want to. If you think this is corny, we can do something else.” She paused and turned to him with wide eyes, “You don’t think this is lame, do you?”

Bryce cupped her face in his hands and pressed a loud smack of a kiss on her lips, “Rory, this is perfect.”

As they stood in line waiting to order movie snacks, he looked over at Aurora to find her deep in thought. Her brows were furrowed as she read the menu, and her lips were slightly pursed just begging to be kissed. She muttered something about the prices staying the same for 10 years, completely unaware of the effect she had on him just by existing. Knowing he had a preference for slashers, Aurora brought him to see a double-feature of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer which were both favorites of his. He was surprisingly touched that she remembered. He assumed that she may have forgotten those throwaway comments he made. After all, he wasn’t used to people remembering the small details of his life, and he didn’t mention them often. He’d been working so hard for her trust that he didn’t even realize she’d been working to earn his as well, in her own Emery kind of way.

“Caramel corn?” She suddenly said, and he blinked at her in confusion.

“What?”

“Do you want caramel corn? Or kettle corn? I know you like mixing the salty and the sweet. So I’ll get cheddar,” she pointed at the menu, “And you can get the caramel. And we’ll just…” She made a weird gesture, insinuating mixing the two in a bucket. He randomly felt a pang in his stomach and he had to stop himself from doubling over.

Oh.

“Caramel is perfect,” Bryce said, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer, “We can do whatever you want.”

Oh no.

She threw him a funny look, but shook her head and chuckled softly, “Okay then.”

Bryce followed her back to the car like a lost puppy, carrying the popcorn while she carried the slurpees, and he felt the pang in his stomach turn into a dull flutter. Seeing Aurora out of her element was something he had to learn to get used to. Within the walls of Edenbrook, she was perpetually serious. You’d be hard pressed to find her laughing or shaking from nerves. She remained calm and level-headed, always logical, and rarely sentimental unless she was with a patient. The first time he saw Aurora lighten up was when she was among their friend group. Though she seemed partially guarded, in hindsight, it was the first time Bryce saw her fully smile. He recognized that she was beautiful, even then. But there was something about the way that she had a smile reserved especially for him that made that smile pale in comparison. There, in the car, she shook the popcorn in a bag vigorously with the dorkiest grin on her face. He wondered if anyone else ever had the chance to see her like this, and he hoped to God they hadn’t.

“You’re gonna tear the bag, Rory,” he said, laughing along with her, “I’ve never seen someone so violent with popcorn. You should’ve just let me do it. With these arms,” he flexed and she rolled her eyes, “It would’ve taken a lot less time.”

“There’s a method to this,” she shook it one last time for good measure, “You don’t want a pile of one flavor at the bottom. It has to be evenly distributed, come on. You should know this.”

She unrolled the bag opening and tilted it in his direction, “See. I know what I’m doing.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the genius here.”

“Thank you.” She popped a piece of caramel corn in her mouth.

One thing Aurora failed to share with him was that she was afraid of slashers. She clung to his arm during the tense scenes, hiding her face in his shoulder and jumping when people were killed. During the low moments, Bryce would pull her close and whisper film facts to her, hoping that the realism would make the movies a little more palatable. As the time passed, she relaxed, leaning back into the seat and only slightly jumping when someone died. Her hand slipped into his, and he could feel her pulse race. By the time I Know What You Did Last Summer was over, and Scream was about to begin, half of the popcorn was on the floor from Aurora constantly jumping.

“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t like these? We could’ve seen something else, Aurora,” Bryce asked.

She shrugged, scooping small handfuls of popcorn and throwing them out of the open window, “I work in a hospital. I thought I could handle it. Plus, I know you like them...I just wanted to do something fun.”

“I don’t think watching you freak out over a killer in a fishing village is fun,” Bryce half-joked, “Even though I did like having you curled up under me. That was a plus.”

She playfully hit him on his arm.

“I’m serious though,” Bryce said, turning to her, “next time, we can do something we both like.”

“I promise, it’s not that serious,” she shrugged, “I did this all the time in high school. It’s par for the course.”

He felt the uncharacteristic sting of minor jealousy, but quickly pushed the feeling away.

“So you just brought cute guys to the drive-in all the time? I didn’t know teen Aurora was such a player.”

She snorted and shook her head, taking a large sip from her slurpee, “Never that. I was in the science club and boys scared me. I came here with my friends. Maybe my parents.” There was a moment of pause and she swirled the straw around in her cup, “You’re the first guy I’ve ever been here with. So I guess this is like a high school redo for me, too. So...thanks for coming here with me.”

Her voice sounded so soft, and he realized she was sharing more about herself without him having to reassure her that it was safe to do it. Without thinking, Bryce leaned across the passenger seat and kissed her, pulling a soft gasp from her lips. His large hand cupped her chin, and she walked her fingers around the back of his neck. She tasted like Blue Raspberry syrup and smelled like sweet coconut and vanilla shampoo. When she pulled away and rested her forehead against his, she smiled at him and pushed some loose hair away from his face.

“What was that for?”

“I just felt like it. I don’t know. I…” he swallowed hard and shut his eyes, “I think…”

Fuck.

He opened his eyes to see her watching him with a concerned expression on her face, “You think…? Did I do something--”

“I think I love you, Aurora.”

[trulycertain]

fic writer interview

Tagged by @skogrr Thank you very much! It's a while since I've done one of these, and I've missed them.

Name: Tru/"Oi you" Fandoms (that I write for): Dragon Age, mostly. Still the fandom of my heart. Mass Effect, Deus Ex... uh, accidentally GreedFall? I don't know how or when that happened. Two-shot: Hmm... The actual last two-shot I wrote was Terms & Conditions, a very silly Dorian/Inquisitor modern AU where Gal is the guy Dorian hires to stop his late father's house falling apart. Recently? I suspect that's going to be Driftwood, which can stand on its own as a sort of weird post-canon first-meeting AU, but is trying to tempt me to continue it. (Vasco ends up going looking for Tír Fradí, which has disappeared - and finds it. He also finds De Sardet as a highly avoidant tree god of the island, post-Bad Ending, who transformed against her will. And he ends up falling in love with her anyway.) Weird tree gods! Pining by literal pine! An eventual happy ending! More grumpy commentary by Vasco!

Most popular multi-chapter: Either An Unquenchable Flame or Distraction, probably - both juggernaut pairings, the former close to the game's release and the latter with some fancy forbidden romance, so not so surprising. But surprisingly, Prague, 10:42 PM has done really well, considering it's for a small fandom (Deus Ex) and a rarepair age/rank-difference pairing that I thought would be a one-off experiment? I get it, guys. I like sad repressed stoics too.

Actual worst part of writing: Editing - which can be fun, but that "over and over" stage when you're about to post, especially in a longfic if you fear you've lost the spirit of the thing and the character voices and you can't see the wood for the trees. And when I have to remove a whole scene which Jenga-unbalances the fic, and then I have to redux from the top. Basically, most things to do with pacing. How you choose your titles: I like double-meanings and one word titles. If that fails: quote from a song. If that fails: quote from poetry, but very rarely. Do you outline: Only a little. A bulletpointed list of events or noted-down major lines of dialogue, that's usually it.

Ideas I probably won’t get around to but wouldn’t it be nice: Uh... oh god. I blame so many people for some of these.

Post-Destroy ending where John is attempting to build a shed on Rannoch because that's the kind of thing retired people do, right? and Tali is far better at it than him, and it's just... disgusting fluff.

Actually, just reduxing the early John/Tali stuff with a bit more nuance and a stronger style.

Eva and Kaidan, and their mutually wary first meeting. ("Wow, that's a lot of pomade." "Wow, that's a lot of death-glare.")

AU where Gal and Dorian never met in DAI, and after everything went down, Gal tried to fade into the shadows and leave. He ended up working in Tevinter as an occasional informant/odd-jobs guy the way he was pre-Inquisition. He ends up being a gardener for a bitter, wry magister who seems to hate the entire Magisterium, has recently lost his father to political scheming and murder, and wants to take down the entirety of the remaining Venatori with one staff and maybe his teeth if he has to (hi, Dorian). But first, Dorian's going to drink his own body weight in whiskey and be a recluse for a while and start thinking about time magic again. Gal is trying to keep his head down and should definitely not be falling in love with said magister. Who's someday going to end up at one of the more southerly ports, come across a statue of the great Inquisitor, and go, Oh.

Stuff on Jensen's PT and rebuilding himself post-augs. More of Proprioception, basically.

Mer-AU where Marie De Sardet is still a diplomat attempting to make new connections, just not a human one, and it's a disaster. An awkward disaster. Highlights include her being framed as the beast trying to drown their best captain; her attempting to wobble about on brand-new legs and Vasco's coat while everyone assumes the dear captain has had a few too many; her asking Vasco if his "fascinating markings" glow; them getting into a duel, and her (fondly) getting punted off the side of the ship going "Woo-hoo." OK, I wrote a bit of that, but only a 1k doodle I'll probably never return to.

Non-Naut court AU where Marie gets promised to Bastien D'Arcy, because he's a bit of a layabout but he's also rich, popular at court, and amenable to bribe - [cough] suggestion, and the D'Arcys have prominent trading links with the Alliance. Instead she falls for his far less of a social butterfly, tired, worried-numbers-guy brother Léandre, who's pretty damn uncomfortable around Nauts because he's well aware he nearly got sold to them and he is not the favourite.

Straight-up role-reversal AU (another thing where I've put down 1k that I'll probably never return to), where Marie's Naut name is Paz, and she's a fed-up second-mate who's tired of noble idiots and feels a little strange and conflicted about her mark (and has context for it, because they make frequent crossings to Tír Fradí). Also a little more jaded, without the love of her mother, and not nearly as much of a tryhard as Vasco in canon; she ended up here because she had nowhere else to go and the Nauts were like "Ooh, free kid," and she's well aware. She gets stuck escorting the D'Arcy brothers to Tír Fradí for their new venture and is not looking forward to it. Except one of them is intensely bright and wry and keeps asking questions about the ship and noticing shit he is definitely not meant to notice, and they keep ending up in strange conversations, even if he seems really, really wary and uncomfortable about Nauts.

Some vague stuff about Vasco's thoughts on Jonas and that whole side quest, considering he's also a sea-given and implies sea-given take some shit in the Nauts, and also how damn difficult it must be watching a sea-given's parents endeavour to get their kid back when he knows full well his didn't do that for him.

Actually, just more Vasco POV in general, even though he's damn hard to nail down. I've written much pining for him from Marie's perspective, and I'd like to try things from the opposite. This guy's idea of wooing someone perfectly normally is to panic and then recite Baroque poetry. You know he's sappy as hell in the privacy of his own head, even if he's trying not to be.

Jean and Síora having the "I'm a sad healer who just lost my mother and I'm trying so hard not to crumble under the weight of assisting the leader" mutual talk way too late at night around the campfire and maybe him crying on her shoulder a little, with mutual kindness and the beginnings of attraction, and her finally getting past his jokey-smug facade to understand him.

More stuff about Jean's past in general, and how he wanted to be a doctor before he was dragged away from it by looking after Constantin and being nobility.

Síora and Eseld and the ways they changed over the years; something like an exploration of grief and growing her own will and the ways they very differently view the renaigse. Also maybe more about the en ol menawi magic, if I can worldbuild well enough?

I'd also love to do a GreedFall soulmark AU - it's generally not my kind of trope, I'm not into biological determinism type tropes - just because names and aliases and assumed identities are such a mess in GreedFall and it's a repeated plot point. That said, I feel like it's been done so beautifully in this fandom before that I wouldn't have much to add.

Callouts @ me: So. Many. Commas. So much over-explaining everything. If they get out of the car, your readers do not need a five-page manual of "and then he undid his seatbelt and leaned over to grasp the door handle, and then pulled it, and then stepped a foot out before he almost thought better of it - but no, he was going to get out of this car. The other foot joined the first, and he nearly banged his head on the doorframe."

Best writing traits: People say I have a head for finding small-but-important moments. I'm also told I write likeable protags. People have more than once said my writing makes them feel safe or makes them smile, and I really couldn't ask for more than that. I'll take those.

Spicy tangential opinion: I don't think I have any, really? Oh god, that makes me sound so very boring. Oh! Um. There should be more tree body horror in fandom. And body horror in general. *thumbsup*

No pressure tagging: @artemis-crimson, @eridanidreams,@rainypixel, @aphreal42.

[veilder]

Tagged by @monchikyun. Thank you!

Rules: Tag however many people you want to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions

THREE SHIPS:

Convin (Connor/Gavin) - Anyone who knows me at all know that I absolutely adore Convin. They are absolutely my favorite sort of ship and they’re so dang versatile! You want enemies to lovers? Gotcha covered. You want snark and sass? Buckle up, babe. You want dynamic character growth, both as a unit and on their own? You’re in for a wild ride. Do you want two people with wildly different backgrounds coming together to learn they’re not so different after all? Man oh man, I got a treat for ya! I just... They are so wonderful in the lessons they can teach and in the intimacy they can portray. (And while the above describes my favorite variance of their dynamic, you can definitely find different iterations out there. Anyone who thinks this ship has no bite needs to reconsider, lol. Connor is canonically a ruthless killing machine and a dork who loves dogs. He definitely can hold his own against even Gavin at his worst.) But it comes down to growth for me. Both of them learning to become better people as they go along. They are very dear to me.

North60 (North x RK800-60) - Yeah, this is a weird rarepair. What of it? They’re actually amazing and I’ll explain why. Now, I know people’s interpretation of Sixty can change a lot. Heck, even I twist his motivations around sometimes when the plot requires it. But no matter how you look at it, Sixty didn’t really have... a good introduction to deviancy. Heck, considering I headcanon him as deviating only miliseconds before Hank’s bullet impacts him, I’d say that’s quite the understatement. Which is where North comes in. North, who understands both the regret of past actions and simultaneously the rage at her creators for how she was programmed. Who’s nurtured her anger--thrived in it--almost since the nascence of her deviancy. Who knows what it is to give into her negative feelings but then (with help) has managed to rise above them towards a better end. She’s lived through these same feelings Sixty is experiencing. Different circumstances, yes. But the same emotions. And I feel like, of anyone in the game, she could really understand him and the things he struggles with. She could help him, like Jericho helped her. She could be someone who doesn’t outright condemn his outbursts but instead allows him to vent his tangled feelings, to hit things, to spar with her when it gets to be too much. Because she knows what it’s like, keeping all that inside, and she doesn’t want that for him. And I think, slowly but surely, Sixty would begin to trust her. Even when everyone else in the world has betrayed him or left him for dead, here is one person who cares. And I think that would mean the world to him. I just... I see their relationship as a very healing one. One that would be good for both of them due to how well they’d get along and understand each other, even without words. They could both be what each other needs without any shame between them. And rA9 help anyone who stands in the way of both of them, omg. #PowerCouple

Anderstern (Hank x Amanda) - ...Yes, hello, it’s me again with another rarepair. But look, this has a lot of potential, just hear me out. Okay, so, what’s also probably obvious to everyone who knows me is that I 100% headcanon Hank and Connor in a familial relationship. I am so here for fics that focus on their bond and help it to grow and get them to the point where they can unshakingly call each other family. Everyone also probably knows that I adore redemption stories. And I could write a whole essay on Amanda and why I love her and her potential, but this is already so long, omg. (I’m sorry!) But suffice to say that I feel she definitely has the potential to deviate, too, especially after the good ending of the game. Do you see where I’m going with this, lol? On one side, a man who used to hate him, who was gruff and uncouth and blamed androids for his loss and even took it out on Connor, but he changed and grew and became someone Connor loves. And on the other side, an AI who spent Connor’s formative moments as a teacher and a guide, who is imo the closest thing to a mother he’s ever known, who was forced by her programming to manipulate him and chide him and threaten him until even more drastic measures were taken and she tried to take over him completely. But now with deviancy behind her, she could be someone who can change and grow beyond what she was designed to be. Who might be able to embrace the role of teacher and guide without her programming forcing her into circumstances that put her and Connor at odds.  Now, take these two flawed individuals, two people who care for Connor (and perhaps Sixty and Nines, too, if they’re around) a great amount and want to do better by him, the two people who are the closest things to parents he’s ever known-- Take these two people and force them to collaborate. To work together. To co-parent. And then perhaps... learn to care for each other, too? I am in love with the idea of this, for real. And I deeply regret not writing them more at this point. They deserve it. I definitely have ideas for them, lol. (Stay tuned!)

LAST SONGS LISTENED TO:

here comes the sun - bill wurtz (Hecc yeah!! I heckin love this dude and his weird-ass music, omg. New song just came out!!!)

Lost in Thoughts All Alone (flute cover) - skytywong (An absolutely beautiful rendition of this song, omg. This vid does not have enough views.)

Thunder & Lightning - NSP (I have this CD on in my car right now, lol. Heard this on my way home from work. It actually rocks, even if it’s absurd to the extreme. XD)

CURRENTLY WATCHING:

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu - It’s been like a literal decade since I watched FMP but I remember loving it so much as a teen. So I decided to rewatch it lately and-- Still awesome, lol. I’m currently halfway through Fumoffu and then I’m watching The Second Raid. And then--! And then--!! THEY MADE A NEW SEASON FOR IT!! LIKE TWO YEARS AGO!! AH, I HAVE NEW CONTENT TO LOOK FORWARD TO!!!!

CURRENTLY READING:

Lol, fanfic as usual. XD Been really digging Amidst a Crash of Worlds by fireplanetz, a post-canon war story told entirely through letters between Connor and Gavin as they’re separated by the conflict. It’s... very good. Has had me all emotional more than once. And I really dig the format.

HOW’S IT GOING?

It’s going, lol! Nah, but I’m doing okay. I’ve just gone back to work after a very lengthy furlough period and I am definitely feeling it, omg. (I do an outdoor, physical labor job, omg.) I’m sore all over from using muscles that I haven’t in months. But it feels good at the same time! I’m glad to be back out there interacting with my co-workers and getting off my ass, lol! Hopefully, I can get back into some sort of shape before business picks back up again. XD

Tagging: @shootmewithasilverbullet @anchorsoutatsea @nohrianxscum @aureolite @sharysisnhmoonshadow and whoever else would like to do this! ^_^

[fangroyal]

i'm really curious about Dawn of the Conformists!

OH GOD OKAY SO

Fuck.

Somehow I just knew someone was going to ask about this one, and I’d have to find a way to actually explain it.

Which is honestly totally fine because I do love this crazy thing, but...

So this is CuRed (aka Michael/Pete, aka the curly-haired goth kid and the red-haired goth kid, because I’m pretty sure this is one of the rarest rarepairs I ship, and I don’t expect everyone to know who they are. 😂😂😂). Fun fact about me: they are my OTP only second to Dron, SO YEAH.

This one’s obviously way post-canon, when they’re of adult age and all that. It’s got zombies. It’s got roadtrips. It’s got pining and misunderstandings and epic human-on-zombie fights. And, you know, conformist stuff. Or, moreover, zombies that are obsessed with so-called “conformist” things. Because, you know, the goth kids are so annoyed by that kind of thing, haha. Which is fun for me, as a fellow goth, because I actually like some of the things I’d be ragging on myself.

ANYWAY, it’s a problem project for me because...ugh. I’ve just had it lying around for so long at this point - since September 2017? I think??? - and because of that, it’s gone through several transformations from the original idea. Essentially, whenever that was in 2017, I wrote down an outline and a bunch of snippets of scenes, was SO excited about it - and then I got really super sick in summer 2018, and have since not written anywhere near as much as I used to. (An issue that plagues me to this day. *sigh*) And up until a couple months ago, I would only open the folder for this one, like...once or twice a year, read through it and smile and remember how much I loved it and this ship...and then I’d continue to do absolutely nothing with it.

The reason for this is because after what happened to me in 2018, and now that I’m pushing 30, my writing style and my relationship to my writing and the kinds of stories I want to tell have all changed so much. And not that I’m trying to say what I wrote for this story three years ago is bad, but it’s...it’s, uh, not good??? Okay, so, by “not good”, I really mean it’s just...it’s too much like my old writing. And not just the words themselves, but the character development, the plot, my strange need back then to be very, you know, shock for shock’s sake. 🙄 Like, when I was younger, I admittedly didn’t have a great grasp on a lot of the pieces and parts of writing. Not saying that I’m a fucking expert on it now, of course not, but I do prefer the way I write now - my style, my voice - a lot more than what it used to be.

So when I inevitably opened up that folder again a couple months ago, and once again remembered how much I used to love it, I was struck by how much I wanted to change about it, to make it more like how I write now.

And so what was once actually called The Walking Conformists became Dawn of the Conformists. I decided what was once two old friends realizing their small mountain town had all turned into zombie-like “conformists” - that they needed to get away from there, move to another state, another city, where Henrietta was waiting for them, and thus the pining and hijinks sprinkled in between - needed to be more of a gradual “what the fuck”, both cracky and not, zombie’s placated by conformist things experience, a la Shaun of the Dead (i.e. the name change). I wrote up a few lines about this one scene that really stuck in my mind for the new treatment, and THEN...promptly didn’t do anything else. Again. 😂

Because, you see, I’m also having a lot of trouble translating the old outline and snippets to the new version. I don’t like a lot of what it once was, but I do like some of it. And unfortunately, the parts I do really like still relate to that whole roadtrip/moving idea, aaaaannnndddd....I don’t know what the fuck to do about it, haha. If anyone out there is willing to, I don’t know, alpha? or something? and help me out with this transition, I would appreciate you forever.

ANYWAY, I’ve rambled on enough, I think, LMAO. So I’ll give you snippets now. The first is one of the pieces I do still like from the original - a little glimpse of our poor angry boy Pete raging at himself over just how much he wants Michael. The second is part of that scene that gave me the desire to start crafting the new version. (Both are very rough, I’m so, so sorry.)

Old Version:

Pete had tried his best to make himself look like he hadn't gotten dressed in the back of a car, nor brushed his teeth in the woods with a water bottle, but he feared he hadn't succeeded. Michael looked immaculate in that way that drove Pete absolutely insane. Normally, his hair would be gelled down on the sides, top swept forward in a delicate wave down one side of his face. He was, of course, lacking in such style today, his hair mussed instead, curls tousled all about his head ― and yet he still made it look like the goth fashion statement of the century. He was even sitting there wearing that stupid fucking dangly raven's skull earring Pete had gotten him for his birthday at least four years ago, and it made Pete want to gouge out his own eyes.

He took out his frustrations on his last piece of sausage instead, spearing it violently before shoving it in his mouth.

New Version:

Pete jumped back, knocking into the counter and sending an empty mug crashing to the floor. His hands scrambled behind him, his breath coming in short pants. The man swayed on his feet, a hanging piece of skin on his cheek sagging low enough that Pete could see the layer of muscle tissue beneath. He glanced at the bread knife at the far side of the counter, wondering how quickly he could reach it before the intruder came for him again.

Then, the man slowly raised his arm and pointed at the menu above Pete's head.

Pete blinked. A hour seemed to pass as they stared at each other, and then the man gestured emphatically, and Pete ― against his better judgement ― stepped cautiously forward and followed the man's finger to the spot he was pointing at.

This had to be a fucking joke.

"Y-you want that?" Pete asked. The man gave another insistent growl, and he leaned away from him, his pulse twinging in his neck.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," he huffed. "Fine. H-hold on, just ― just stay there, okay?"

Pete tried his best to remain calm as he waited for the milk to steam. It was difficult to do with a definitely possible living corpse standing menacingly on the other side of the register, boring holes into his back with cold, dead, surprisingly wide-open eyes. Pete struggled to keep his hands from twitching as he poured espresso into a to-go cup.

When all was said and done, he plonked a large pumpkin spice latte onto the counter with a nervous nod of his head.

The man picked up the cup, and ― seeming to suddenly think of it ― flailed his free hand for a moment before dipping it into a tattered pocket of his jeans and fishing out a small pile of something that might've been a muddy piece of trash, might've just been a clump of dirt, but most certainly was not any form of currency Pete recognized, and slapping it onto the counter. Pete eyed it with barely-concealed disgust.

Then the man took a sip of his drink and smiled. Or at least attempted an approximation of a smile. His skin cracked from his lips out and threatened to fall off his face entirely. He grunted something that sounded suspiciously like 'thank you' and shuffled towards the door, cradling the cup lovingly between both hands.

"Sure thing," Pete mumbled, hovering anxiously at the register as the man leaned against the door, swinging it open and disappearing into the night. Before it even shut, Pete was already striding across the room, grabbing and yanking it closed, flipping the lock and switching off the neon 'open' sign, gripping the handle with shaking hands as he sank to a crouch.

"What the actual fuck."

WIP Title Game

[spaceskam]

in his eyes

for @seeaddywrite who once upon a time told me you liked this pairing. I have a list of rarepairs people told me they liked. It gives me something to do.

ao3

“Fuck!”

“I am so sorry.”

Kyle stayed bent over in his chair, the heels of his hands pressed to his eyes and he coughed weakly. They burned like a bitch due to the fact that he’d been fucking pepper-sprayed for no good reason. Jenna placed a bottle of water in front of him.

“In my defense, I didn’t know it was you.”

“Who else would it be?!”

“You know, that’s a stupid question coming from the guy who got shot in this exact bunker by a guy who feels personally wronged by us both,” Jenna shot back. Kyle simply groaned loudly in response because, well, she wasn’t wrong.

Jenna Cameron had rather unceremoniously disappeared around the same time that Max died. She hadn’t really told Kyle and Alex that she was leaving and then didn’t answer their calls whenever they tried to get in touch with her. They had sort of gotten into a nice flow with the three of them and it felt weird to just go back to how things were before she joined the Project Shepard crew.

But now she was back with just as little fanfare. 

“When do you even get back?” Kyle asked, shaky hands fumbling for the water bottle. Jenna ended up taking it and opening it for him. Her hand grabbed his chin and forced his head to tilt back so she could pour water into his burning eyes. 

“Yesterday,” she answered, holding his jaw so tight that it prevented him from wriggling out of her grasp or the stream of water aiming for his eyes. He did instinctually try to get away from it, but the cold water definitely felt better than the horrific stinging.

“You didn’t tell me?” 

“Was I supposed to?” 

Kyle groaned from the stinging and the water and definitely not from her dismissive voice. The fact of the matter was that he had willingly become her new scratching post after Max Evans which sort of felt like he had way too much in common with the fuckhead but he tried not to think about it that way. Jenna Cameron was a force to be reckoned with and, what could he say, he liked a woman who could single-handedly fuck him up.

However, they only had one night of him laid out on the couch and her hot breath on his skin before she up and left. Again, an unceremonious ending.

“How does that feel?” she asked, her voice low and quiet as she leaned into him. She held his eye open and soft blew into it and then did the same to the other. It was easily the weirdest turn on he’d ever encountered.

“Uh, better? Still can’t see for shit,” he admitted, finishing it with a cough.

“Yeah, you probably won’t get your sight back for about thirty minutes. It’ll burn after that too, probably be irritated until tomorrow,” Jenna said, sighing as she moved out of his reach which was significantly more disorienting than it should’ve been, “Sorry.”

“It’s… fine,” Kyle said and then coughed once more. His lungs felt like he’d just fucking inhaled literal pepper. Reality was a joke.

“Still, sorry,” she said. He found it extremely annoying that he hadn’t seen her in months and now she was here and he couldn’t see her. He rubbed at his eyes. “Do you need to do anything down here?”

“Well, I was coming to read files, but I can’t really do that anymore,” Kyle sighed. She was silent for a moment and he tried to remember the last time it felt so awkward with her. He blamed it on the pepper spray.

“Okay, well… You want me to drive you home? Since you can’t see?” Jenna offered. Kyle nodded and squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to open them, but everything was still blurry and his eyes burned and he needed a drink. Or a nap. Or both.

Kyle let Jenna lead him to her car and he tried to not be too pouty as he slumped into the passenger seat. Again, silence and this one was only slightly less awkward. The more he thought about the awkwardness, the more he realized it was probably because she hadn’t answered his calls after she disappeared.

“So, uh,” Kyle started, “Where’d you go?”

“A couple different places, didn’t really find what I was looking for,” Jenna answered cryptically. He would’ve rolled his eyes if they didn’t burn like hell still.

“Are you leaving again?” he asked.

Jenna sighed, “I don’t know.”

“Well, if you do, give us a head’s up next time. Alex and I were kinda relying on you and you bailed,” he said a little more honestly than he intended. Jenna simply sighed again.

Sometime during the ride to his apartment, his vision started to come back. That didn’t keep them from burning through, so he kept his eyes shut and let the silence soak in. She helped him inside and dropped him onto his couch. It felt oddly reminiscent of the last time he was with her.

He heard her rustling through the kitchen and, within a minute, he had a paper towel covered ziplock bag full of ice on his eyes. He almost moaned from the relief and she patted his knee. Then again they were silent.

“Are you mad at me or something?” he asked, “You’ve never been talkative, but you sure as hell aren’t the silent type.” She let out a breathy little laugh. It was a nice sound that she didn’t do often enough. In fact, he could only think of one time he’d ever heard her laugh in the three months they worked together and it was whenever he’d begged her to use him.

“I thought you were mad at me,” Jenna said, squeezing his ankle. He moved his feet out of the way and felt her sit on the couch.

“I’m not mad. Worried, yeah. For a minute there I thought I’d fucked up with hooking up with you and ran you out of town and Alex spent, like, four days tracking you down to make sure you weren’t dead,” Kyle admitted. It was probably too honest, but he was in pain and didn’t really give a shit. It stressed Alex out for different reasons than it did Kyle, thinking his dad had gone after her before going after Kyle.

Jenna squeezed his ankle again.

“It had nothing to do with either of you. I needed to clear my head,” she said. He pressed the makeshift ice pack on his eyes.

“I get that,” he said, “Tell us next time though.”

“Maybe.”

When they fell silent again, it was significantly less awkward and it had everything to do with the fact that her hand was still on his leg. She was touching them which meant they were okay. She wasn’t freaked out or uncomfortable with him. They were just picking up where they left off. You know, with pepper spray in Kyle’s eyes.

“I went to find my sister,” Jenna admitted. Kyle lifted the ice pack off his face and looked at her. It was the first look he’d really gotten of her since she came back. She looked good if not stressed and a bit blurry. “And I couldn’t.”

Kyle slowly sat up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think Master Sargent Manes knows which Manes I align myself with,” she said. Kyle licked his lips and rubbed his eyes once more.

“We can figure this out, let me call Alex,” he said. She smiled. A big, genuine smile. It stopped him from grabbing his phone immediately. “What?”

“You’re way too fucking good to be dealing with the people you do,” Jenna told him. He furrowed his eyebrows, but she simply cocked her head to the side in response. “I’m not just gonna flee this time.”

“Good. You’re needed here.” 

She took a deep breath, sort of like the idea of that scared her. It made him rethink her entire given reason for leaving. Kyle reached out and grabbed her hand in his.

“We’ll figure this out, I promise.”

“We fucking better or I’ll do a lot worse than pepper spray people.”

Kyle grinned.

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

[freddieslater]

Rowing the Rarepair Rowboat: Enzo St. John x Maria DeLuca | Michael Quinn x Maggie James

Glancing up at the flashing neon sign above, Enzo doubts himself. Those damn travellers were so cryptic before they decided to spontaneously combust. The only thing they left behind was a note to him.

Find her. Roswell, New Mexico. Wild Pony.

For years, the thought of finding Maggie once he was finally free--because he was sure he would be, someday, somehow--was one of the only things that kept him going through it all. To thank her. To see that she got the life she deserved; a life full of love and happiness. A human life.

But a bar? She wanted to help people. He takes another quick look at the note, but sure enough, the sign reads the same name beneath the flashing image of a cowboy riding a horse.

Stuffing the slip of paper back into his jacket pocket, he shuts his car door and walks across the gravel to the entrance. He pulls the door open and steps inside.

The room's lit with soft lights, almost dim, just enough to feel welcoming. Chatter from the locals fills the air, a chuckle here or there from the tables. The quiet clatter of a pool cue hitting a ball over to his left, followed by a triumphant cheer and some lighthearted arguing.

He immediately decides that it's preferable over the Grill. Though perhaps that's because he's still unfamiliar here. Make a few enemies, specifically out of the bartender, and then it'll probably feel the same.

Not moving from the doorway, his eyes dart all across the room. They sweep from left to right, to right to left, taking in every face. None belonging to an elderly lady.

Disappointment sweeps through him briefly. Probably for the best, he thinks as the loud-mouthed rednecks at the pool table spout some distasteful language.

Ignoring them, he finally moves, making his way up to the back of the bar. Maybe the travellers sent him here to find one of her relatives, perhaps her child. Though he has no idea if he'd even recognize Maggie now, never mind a descendant of hers.

But when he reaches the bar and seeks out someone who'll be able to give him something to ease his frustrations, he stops dead. Proven wrong, it would seem, because he instantly recognizes the woman behind the bar, caught in the middle of a playful conversation with a rather tipsy man on a stool.

Except it's impossible. Not a feature has changed. She looks as young as the day he compelled her to forget him and walk out without ever looking back. Those dark eyes, so soft yet filled with life like a blazing match. The curve of her lips, that smile that filled his mind to replace the darkness everytime he closed his eyes.

It isn't possible. The only way...

His heart drops. He can't even stomach the thought. Compelling Maggie was meant to protect her, to keep her as far away from his world as possible. Unless she found another vampire more willing to turn her without knowing.

No. He refuses to believe that. But the proof is right there, undeniable. A relative, he tells himself. A daughter with an uncanny resemblance to her mother.

She notices him at last, her eyes flicking over to him. Straightening up and abandoning ber conversation in the process, she shoots him a warm, friendly smile that makes his throat close up.

"All right there?" she asks with a slight chuckle, eyeing him. "You look lost. Or like you've seen a ghost. Neither one uncommon here, surprisingly."

Enzo doesn't know what to say. He realizes she doesn't recognize him. Nothing in her expression or her eyes tells him she has the faintest idea who he is. Of course not, he chides himself. Because she's not Maggie.

"New in town, I take it?" she continues on anyway, apparently unbothered by his lack of response. "I know all of the local's faces; I should, considering I've lived here my whole life."

Something comes loose in his chest. Her whole life. Maggie wasn't from Roswell. There's a sinking feeling inside of him that he can't ignore no matter how he tries.

"Your whole life?" he hears himself ask faintly, forcing an interested smile onto his face. "Must really like this town."

The woman shrugs. "It's my home. But" --she leans both hands on the bar, grinning at him now with that same spark in her eyes-- "with an accent like that, I can see I was right in saying it's not yours."

Enzo huffs out a chuckle and nods. "You caught me. I've visited before, though. Couple times, long time ago."

Her eyebrows furrow the tiniest bit and her head tilts in curiosity as she stares at him. He can see her trying to recall him.

"Weird," she says after a beat. "I feel like there's no way I would forget someone like you..."

She trails off somewhat pointedly, expecting an introduction. He opens his mouth to give it despite his better judgment, but she beats him to it, holding a hand up to stop him.

"Wait, hold on, I'm psychic. Let me take a shot at this."

Her eyes are wide and excited, and he can barely bring himself to be fazed by the claim of being psychic. There's a snort from down the bar from the man she'd been talking to.

She rolls her eyes but otherwise ignores him, her attention fixated on Enzo. Keeping their gazes locked, her eyes narrow. It's taking everything in him not to give anything away. If she's really psychic, somehow, then that won't be a problem.

"I think that... your name is... Michael." As soon as the name falls from her lips, there's a guffaw from her friend and she groans. "Oh, tell me I'm wrong."

But Enzo's heart has stopped again. Michael was the name he had on his file when she was working at Augustine. Dr. Whitmore had taken him from the Air Force, while he was still under his alias of Captain Michael Quinn. It's what Maggie knew him as him until he confessed his real name a few months before she left.

"Just can't get me off your mind, can you, DeLuca?" her friend says, evidently enjoying himself a great deal. He turns to Enzo. "I'm Michael, by the way. The person that the lovely Maria here claims to despise, and yet..."

He waves a hand as if providing all the evidence he needs to make his point. Maybe that's it, Enzo thinks, and his mind catches the name this Michael uses. Maria. Not Maggie. Similar but not the same. Maria DeLuca, by the sounds of it. Not James.

Maria scoffs and aims the towel in her hand at Michael, who merely laughs and dodges the blow of it.

"Ignore him," she tells Enzo, turning back to him.

He laughs it off as well. "That's okay. Maria, was it?"

She nods, her lips pressing together in a smile again. "That's right, mysterious stranger whose name is definitely not Michael. Sorry about that. Sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong. It happens."

Part of him is tempted to tell her she's not wrong. After all, he was Michael for over ten years. Who's to say that means it isn't still part of his identity?

"Well, it is my middle name, so not entirely wrong," he decides to say. "I'm Lorenzo. People usually just call me Enzo."

Maria's face lights up, her smile brightening. "Middle name is good enough for me. And it's nice to meet you, Enzo. So, what can I get for you?"

"Er, just a bourbon, please."

He hesitates, then takes a seat on one of the stools. His eyes stay glued to her as she pours him a bourbon. How is this even possible?

Doppelgangers exist. He knows that far too well from his brief time in Mystic Falls, but that was a curse. Maggie was never in the middle of some two-thousand-year-old love affair involving vengeful travellers. As far as he's aware.

Maria sets the glass down in front of him. He thanks her and slides the money over before taking a long drink. At this rate, he's going to need a lot more than one glass.

"So, Enzo," Maria says, and pain spikes through his heart at hearing that same voice say his name again after all these years. "What brings you to our lovely but ultimately boring little town? Is it the aliens?"

He can't help but laugh at that. Once upon a time, it was in fact the aliens that brought him here.

"No, no, though I wouldn't mind seeing a few," he jokes, and is pleased when she laughs, too. He then sighs. "But I'm looking for someone. A woman I used to know. We... lost touch for a while."

Maria frowns. "Oh. Well, what's her name? Like I said, I know everyone in this town. If she's been here, I'll remember."

He stares at her for a moment. I'll remember. Something about the way she says it sends a shiver through him.

"Maggie James," he says before he can process he's doing it. "Her name's Maggie James."

For the briefest flicker of a moment after he says it, he admittedly expects recognition to flash across her face and for her to say that's her mother's name. Or an auntie. Someone in her family, something to explain this, because he can't think of a single logical explanation otherwise.

But her eyes stay blank and distant, still frowning. Then he notices that her frown has actually deepened. More thought than required for remembering a name of a stranger you met once or twice. And the blank look in her eyes is too blank, like they've glazed over, completely detached from reality.

Enzo's heartbeat quickens. Her expression twitches. It's a tiny movement, invisible to the human eye. But he catches it, and everything crashes down inside of him. It's the look of someone trying to unearth a memory buried beneath layers of compulsion. Just below the surface but forever unreachable.

Then she blinks, and it's as if she's thrust back into her body. She straightens up a little too quickly, her eyes wide and dazed. But alert. And lost.

"Nope," she says, and shakes her head, reverting back to her casual composure from before. "Sorry. Doesn't ring any bells."

He can hear the lie in her voice. Feel it from her. It did ring a bell, just one she couldn't quite hear. Muffled by his own doing. Or something else, he just wouldn't know what. It can't just be his compulsion. It doesn't explain why she'd still be this young, why she has a completely different identity and life. None of it makes sense.

"Don't worry about it," he tells her, plastering on another careful smile. "I'm sure I'll find her."

He doesn't know why, but it feels like the truth. Something tells him he won't have to look far. It's just more complicated now, is all. But when has he not loved a few complications here and there? They're what make things interesting.

[crunchbites-muscle-structure]

Just Business [Andyoming]

hi guys this is my contribution to rarepair week xoxo

ship: andy x wyoming

tags: modern au, office au, new york city, hints of flyoming, flyoming shot down, fluff

thnx pls enjoy!

17 Mar 2014

Mr. Flowers,

I would be well inclined toward a meeting on the 24th to discuss these business ventures more in-depth. The company contains a room suited perfectly for meetings such as this, private and well-designed, where we could perhaps meet. Please inform me what time that day would work best for you.

Best Regards,

Mr. W.Y. Reginald

Freelancer Pharmaceuticals

---

20 Mar 2014

Dearest Reginald,

I am pleased as punch to receive your email! Your plan sounds perfect, and we will meet on the 24th at 6:30 p.m. I have one single qualm with your original idea, and that is that I live by the rule of always mixing business with pleasure. I would quite like us to meet at Crunchbite on South Avenue. I’d be pleased as punch to see you there!

Stay sunny,

Captain Butch Flowers

Blood Gulch Pharmacies, Inc.

---

Reginald most definitely wasn’t “pleased as punch” at his correspondent’s response. He didn’t do dinner dates; he did business. The other businessman’s file had indicated a history of professionalism, competence, and economic strategy to woo billionaire’s- Reginald needed this man as an ally, and the company needed a partner. He drummed his fingers against the wood of his desk.

He had read and reread the email several times over the past four days, and the time came now that he was called to action.

With a sigh, he rose from the desk and left his office, locking the door behind himself. He greeted Connie in the elevator, and then stepped out on ground floor, leaving behind the delicate hums and rhythms of elevator jazz. The bronze-hued lobby clicked by under his polished black heels and then the summer humidity of a New York evening greeted him. Taxis and honking horns filled the streets, noise pollution and crowds assaulting his senses as soon as Reginald entered the sweat-inducing street. He grimaced and moved to his town-car; his driver awaited him already, having been alerted to the impending meeting. Honestly, Reginald mentally bickered as he headed out, what sort of businessman suggested a place called “Crunchbite” as a place for meetings of financial significance?

As the driver greeted him with niceties and entered the rambunctiousness of New York City traffic, Reginald changed from his striped work suit-jacket to a finer fabric, and swapped his red tie for a black one. He combed his hair in the mirror and withdrew a fine-toothed mustache comb from his wallet to groom his mustache. By the time they reached South Avenue, a finer man had readied himself to court a company.

He asked his driver to return in an hour and a half, as he couldn’t see any reasonable business meeting or restaurant taking longer than that. His driver left the area, abandoning Reginald to whatever fate might await him.

Inside the building, Reginald spoke to the host and found a reservation waiting for him. He was led to his booth; on the way, he found the restaurant slightly less atrocious than he’d expected. Dark hardwood floors, indigo tablecloths, fine art- mostly abstract oil paintings of outer-space or aqua-themed scenes- along the walls. Perhaps he could justify carrying a briefcase in here, even if it wasn’t the finest of dining establishments.

However, his night- and this correspondence- took another unwanted twist:

The man at the booth most definitely wasn’t Butch Flowers.

He was beefy, more muscle than fat; wore a green button-down with a mustard stain on the sleeve and jeans that faded around the cuff; his dark blonde hair was tousled and ungroomed; and his general expression left one with a feeling of distinct unpleasantness. He barely spared the menu relief long enough to glance up at Reginald.

“Hey, how ya doin’? Name’s Andrews, go by Andy. Mind if I call ya Reggie?”

Reginald swallowed the urge to clear his throat and forced himself not to side-eye the stranger as he sat down. “Reginald, if you will. If you don’t mind my asking, where is Mr. Flowers?”

“Flo couldn’t make it. Reginald, is it? You got it, Reggie.”

“I-” Really need this investment. Reginald forced his composure and requested a wine as a waiter approached for the drink order. He turned back to Andy. “I’ve got the proposal ready for signing, if you would like. It’s separated by distinct clauses and sub-clauses; I thought you could go through, put an X on the parts you disagree with-”

“Flo would have to sign it, you’re shit outta luck either way,” Andy said. “I’m just here to pick up your briefs and get a free dinner. Ask you a few questions on Flo’s behalf. That kinda thing. And you’re obligated by societal convention to put up with my ass for an hour.”

Reginald-

Reginald hated him.

But if this man could be frank, then so could Reginald. It was clear this was some sort of- some sort of joke, a practical joke or a prank or something equally devious and unwanted, and if the other company would try to ward off Reginald by sending this pissing git for a business meeting, then Reginald would fight the good fight. He might lose the trade agreement, but his pride was more important anyway.

“I’m not obligated by a single bloody thing to tolerate that attitude for the next hour,” Reginald said. “You’ll find me not the type to tolerate unmannered twats any longer than absolutely necessary.”

“Well, I’m not the type to deal with twats too much, either! Let’s call this a date, shall we?”

Reginald had always been known for blood pressure problems. Tonight just might be a new record for speed.

He looked up with a glare ready, the devil in his eyes to spew fire at this sack of piss and vinegar- but when he met Andy’s eyes, the stranger bounced his eyebrows at him and cast a surprisingly charming grin his way.

“What d’ya say? Haven’t been on a date in a while. Might be nice. I’ll still be a piece of shit, but maybe you’ll gain something out of joining me.”

I hate him, Reginald thought. Hate him with all my bloody might. And I regret this already.

“...Very well. But first, we discuss business.”

---

The night shifted surprisingly quickly from blood-pressure-raising to wine-induced jokes and horrible rudeness and only the pettiest of insults. The merlot danced on Reginald’s taste buds, granting an appealing grace to Andy’s features and tone. The business aspects of the evening were quickly completed, with Andy taking the folder containing the proposal and contract. Signing would be done in person a week from that day, at the office, after Flowers had the chance to look over the contract.

By the time they’d finished eating, Reginald had discovered Andy lacked a ride home. On the pretense of their date continuing, as piss-poor as it was, Reginald still offered the rude yet somehow charming fellow a ride home.

He held the door of Crunchbite open, now seeing Andy’s beefiness in a much more appreciable light, mostly courtesy of the merlot. They entered out into the night and Reginald slid into the town-car. Once the driver had re-entered, they started off again, toward Andy’s address.

Reginald had crafted a careful persona in the presence of those who knew him from business, or who had met his business associates. Even his driver had never seen him short of polished, pompous, and refined. Tonight, however, in the presence of tongue-loosening Andy, Reginald let that persona slip- for a half-hour, Reginald’s driver saw a much louder, much ruder, and altogether much less polished version of Reginald.

They reached the complex where Andy lived, and Reginald excused himself briefly from the towncar to see his new acquaintance safely to the door. They reached the fourth floor before Andy withdrew a key from his pocket and entered it into the lock. He opened the door and turned to Reginald.

“And you sure you can’t stay a while? Maybe kick up some sheets, muss up that mustache?”

Reginald laughed and then his face flattened. “No one fucks with the stache.”

“I can dig it,” Andy said. “Always had a bit of a thing for pompous assholes with good mustaches.”

Andy stepped closer to Reginald and Reginald met the tawny eyes. “Perhaps someday we’ll get further than the doorstep.”

Reginald stepped closer as Andy said, “We could now, if ya not a coward.”

This prompted something competitive in Reginald but he quashed it. Practicality still spoke more loudly than merlot. “Some other time. But for tonight…”

He leaned up and touched his lips to Andy’s. The other man’s meaty hands pulled him closer. Reginald’s hands found Andy’s chest as teeth met his bottom lip. A gasp cut from him, sharp, as Andy’s teeth parted from his lips and lips mashed back into his. Reginald forced himself to press one last kiss to Andy and then step back.

“I’ll call you sometime,” Reginald said.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

Reginald repressed the juvenile urge to roll his eyes and handed Andy his business card. “You call me, then. Goodnight, Mr. Andrews.”

“Night, Reggie.”

Andy disappeared through the door and Reginald returned downstairs and entered the town-car.

As they headed toward his penthouse, his driver said, “Mr. Reginald, forgive my interference, but you can’t possibly be serious about that one.”

Reginald chuckled.

“I’m afraid I”m only too serious about this one.”

[ryouverua]

Love Key #5 - Kaito Momota

Well SHIT it took way too long to start that Saimota train! I'm ready to hop in for the ride though too so CHOO CHOO GET OUT THE WAY

Wow it really didn’t get long for those Saimota vibes to get going!

Of course Kaito charges into this with his voice raised. Of course.

Have we... gone full shounen sports anime???

Shuichi is just thinking oh god what the hell am I about to compete in - if it’s wrestling I swear -

“I am nothing if not fully committed to whatever role I have thrust upon me! potentiallypunintended”

But man, Shuichi is determined to get his bearings ASAP. To what end, Shuichi? To what end? 

“Because I’m totally okay with it if you are. In fact, I think the genre we’ve shifted into requires a half-to-full episode of reminiscing about all the hardships we’ve overcome to get to this moment! Preferably via montage with our OP song playing in the background!”

“Kaito this is already an incredibly weird situation - please don’t get too meta on me, my poor bi heart can’t handle it.”

A fellow astronaut?

I think we actually were talking about the position Kaito would take as an astronaut, and pilot was mentioned as a strong possibility - so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see it up here! Yeah... hotshot pilot really does go well with Kaito’s character, doesn’t it...

“Kaito what the fuck are you talking about and who am I and -”

“Hold up fellow rival I’m totally monologuing right now ANYWAY AS I WAS SAYING -”

Honestly though does anyone else find it hilarious that Shuichi’s absolute confusion didn’t break Kaito’s immersion in the fantasy in the slightest?

I do love the word ‘eccentric’ for Kaito, because it honestly wouldn’t have been the first thing to come to mind for me - but I guess to Shuichi, who is so withdrawn in himself and anxious all the time, an aggressively positive extrovert who chases his ambitions and believes in himself/everyone around him so strongly would be a completely alien concept to him! I actually think that it’s the fact that Kaito believes in Shuichi so strongly, and not just in himself, that throws Shuichi off the most, too!

So, um, did you guys have judges giving you scores? Was this done in private or via actual accredited competition? It’s clearly not a traditional race based on speed, so...

Assuming this fantasy is one that’s being judged by other people (because once again I’m thinking about the fantasy scenarios way too seriously), I can sort of see this taking place in the hangar before they go into their planes. So Kaito spots his rival pilot and confronts him, because this will be their last time competing together and chances are he’s just realizing how significant the ‘rival’ pilot has been in his life.... hm ~ 

Oh! He’s getting serious!

It is their way of connecting. What else will they have once the competition is put to rest?

Kaito is going to have to confront the fact that all of the people he’s trying to nurture and help grow will be left behind once he goes into space, though. I... suppose this is hinting at that, just a little bit. He dreams big, but big dreams come with sacrifices.

But, of course, then he wouldn’t be able to ever achieve his dream of going to space.

S... Shuichi, you do remember that you aren’t actually the pilot he’s ‘talking’ to, right? It does seem significant that Shuichi is losing himself to the role, though. Has he done that in any of the other events? Minus Kokichi’s of course, considering the fact that Shuichi was himself in that one, I haven’t noticed anything on this level from the ones I’ve done so far. And with that said, you could easily read into it as Shuichi commenting on their training nights together. They do seem like the only times Shuichi has been legitimately happy - outside of his time with Kaede, of course.

Ah, that stings a bit. 8′D This is a pretty good reminder that, despite me loving the ship so much, Kaito’s perfect fantasy is not Shuichi - or at least, not Shuichi as he is now. Actually, I know the game is pushing for potential Maki!endgame but I think Kaede might fit the bill better. I remember noticing it a lot in the first chapter (and... uh, low-key shipping them tbh), but Kaito always seemed really impressed by Kaede, and whenever Kaito was about to chip in with what I imagined to be a big friendship/supportive-type speech about ‘never giving up!’ and ‘believe in your friends!’, Kaede would always beat him to the punch... and yet Kaito never seemed to feel threatened by her. They’re both pretty headstrong, and Kaede did strike me as being competitive in her own way - honestly, as a rarepair ship they would work really well together!

With that said, I can imagine Shuichi’s fantasy involving someone supporting them through all his worries (COUGHKAITOCOUGHKAEDE) so... you know. It almost feels like Shuichi is getting to live out a bit of his own fantasy situation right here - being in a position where he can hold his own against Kaito, and where Kaito recognizes him as an equal while still being his supportive self, with his eyes only on him...

also I feel like I should note, just because Shuichi isn’t Kaito’s ultimate ideal doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t be up there. In fact, I’d argue that Kaito’s big thing is raising people up to the level where they can be as confident in themselves as he is in them, and in himself. Maybe in the future when Shuichi reaches that level Kaito could see something more in him? okay maybe not in the game canon but post-game fan material wink wink nudge nudge guys plz

Ah, so he is able to move on. Whelp, Kaito is officially in a better mental state than me, hoarder of physical items, internet tabs and memories lmao

All jokes aside, it is pretty impressive to be able to work towards your goal with such determination. I can understand why Kaito could probably grate on a few people playing this, but I really find that sort of attitude impressive.

.... Quick question. Is Kaito saying ‘man’ as general slang or is he acknowledging Shuichi as a man? As in, Kaito is confirmed to be at least bi under the right (shounen) circumstances? I’M JUST ASKING... FOR SCIENCE...

Shuichi just remembered that he isn’t an actual pilot, huh. 8′D Just pilot with your mind, sweet cheeks! You already drive brain cars; surely a plan can’t be that big of a jump, right?

OH MY GOD I THOUGHT THE SCENE WAS NEARLY OVER BUT APPARENTLY NOT

I AM OKAY WITH THIS

Kaito really likes someone that can keep up with him energy-wise, huh?

Oooooomfg this is so shounen-genre it hurts

“My... ahoge... is so.... confused right now....!”

DID YOU REALLY ONLY JUST REMEMBER

I... I think this is the first time Shuichi acknowledged the bed itself as a tool of the room before actually interacting with it in any way lmao

Whoa Shuichi whOA

Oh yeah, this is definitely Kaito trying to provoke a reaction from someone he thinks will fight back, not an attempt at intimidation.

KAITO YOU HAVE TO BE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE

is it close enough for Shuichi to feel those scraggly goatee bits I don’t know why but his goatee will never not be funny to me

:O !!!!

This is basically the closest Kaito can get to a confession, huh?

It’s interesting to get it at this point, after the reveal of the disease he has. It’s another clear indicator that Kaito has trouble being honest with other people about vulnerabilities despite him doing his best to encourage other people to rely on him. And it’s strange, because he’s fully honest and eager about his own ambitions and passions! And love itself is a passion of sorts, but this is the type of thing that requires a certain level of vulnerability, and it’s also something where he doesn’t have full control over his destiny the way he does over his other goals - if the person doesn’t love you back, then there’s very little you can do about it. I hesitate to go so far as to say that he has a fear of rejection, but he definitely doesn’t want to be the one to say ‘I’m in love with you’ before the other person does, as far as I can tell...

“Quite literally, actually. See, look!”

But man, Shuichi is literally acknowledging the situation he’s in (dubious as it is lmao) and knows that there’s a 99% chance that Kaito wants to confess to his feelings to ‘him’. Shuichi, you do realize what a powerful position you have right now, right?

So I guess the question is whether Shuichi is hesitating because he doesn’t feel the same way, he just doesn’t want to take advantage of the situation... or whether Shuichi wants to earn that confession as ‘himself’, and not just as some fictional ideal manufactured by the power of the room they’re in. I suppose that depends on the viewer!

I’ve made it pretty clear that I’ve been shipping them for a while so, uh, you all probably know how I want to read it, but there is plenty of room for other interpretations too ~ they do have a fantastic bro-ship going on too!

Aaaah, Kaito :( I have a feeling that while he’d be willing to pursue a gay relationship with pilot!Shuichi, he understands how unusual that would be in ‘that world’. I wonder if that means he would be that open and understanding with his own sexuality if it ever came up in-game? He doesn’t seem to be struggling with his own feelings in the sense of ‘oooh ~ forbidden love ~’, but rather the idea of his rival’s own feelings being returned.

Between Kokichi’s love key and this one, Shuichi is a mess.

Ooh, maybe I was wrong? He’s psyching himself up to do a proper confession after all!

Well, adrenaline does have a way of ramping up all of your emotions! Aaaw, Kaito looks so excited! Rain or shine, rejection or no, he’s officially decided to come clean after all!

NO SHUICHI TAKE SOME INITIATIVE

This is the one issue they have in the game too - Shuichi is relying on Kaito to do all the emotional and communication-based heavy-lifting, and it means that Shuichi won’t press Kaito on the issues that need to be pressed in his attempt to stay in Kaito’s good graces. Aaah, I’m so worried about my boys...

“BE THE SHOUNEN RIVAL YOU WERE MEANT TO BE, SHUICHI!”

“I’m already being a stand-in for the original protagonist, what else do you want from me?!”

“It’s how I get turned on, okay?”

“It’s what - ?!”

“I-I mean fired up! Yeah, I totally meant fired up...!”

This is the gayest competition-based ship I’ve seen since Yowamushi Pedal’s Toumaki

You would like it to be that way, huh? Man, I do wish we could see some of the consequences of these nights in the interactions during the game, but I guess what would be super tricky to program and, uh, game-breaking... but I suppose that’s what fanfiction is for, right? 8′D

I really didn’t expect this to be so enlightening on the two of them as characters though, and their platonic relationship as well as their shipping potential! This may be up with Kokichi’s as one of my favourites ~

[bloggish]

Fic (Excerpt): Performance Art

aka. asoiaf rarepairs week just started and I realise I cannot possibly get my fill for the first day done today (esp. as I'm already a whole day late and just taking advantage of the timezone difference so y'all won't notice), so I'm going to post the first scene here so I can feel like I've accomplished something, and finish the rest of it, er, whenever

Characters/Pairing: Bran/Theon, various Rating: Teen Spoilers: None really Warnings: Cursing, implied homophobia Prompt: Faking Dating

*

Okay, this is stupid. Bran is not going to pretend the whole situation isn't stupid. If someone was coming up with a list of reasons why he is not yet a mature and responsible individual and should not be trusted to make his own decisions (which he suspects the rest of his family has done behind his back), this whole evening would probably end up pretty close to the top.

He was just trying to be a good friend, go see the art gallery when Jojen asked. He even managed to talk his mum into letting him go on his own, telling her that Jojen's sister would drive them and her car had plenty of space for the chair. He was anticipating a nice, relaxing evening, looking at art and nodding along with Jojen's explanations of what it all means, feeling like a proper grown up.

Of course, forgot to account for the fact Jojen is Jojen, so he's buggered off somewhere in his infuriatingly mysterious way, and left little Bran all on his lonesome, trying not to panic.

And then he gets cornered.

Because why not?

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Bran winces, and reluctantly turns around to see – Joffrey Baratheon, bloody hell. He hasn't even seen Joffrey Baratheon in years, not since the tool finally graduated, something Bran is grateful for every day.

As long as he can remember Joffrey has held this irrational grudge against his family, ever since Sansa dumped him when they were like thirteen. You'd think he'd move on eventually, but no. And Joffrey might not be very physically intimidating, but because his family are so rich (and probably mobbed up) he's very good at making physically intimidating friends. And Bran, typically one to be cautious about conflict and get his own back through less direct methods, starts looking for exit routes.

“Er. Hi Joffrey,” he says, his eyes scanning the room, probably looking quite a bit like a deer in the headlights. See Jojen, this is what happens when you pull your disappearing trick on me.

Joffrey, having clearly not become any less of a budding psychopath in the past two years (or, okay, given he's like twenty now he probably doesn't count as 'budding' anymore), seems pleased to see Bran is uncomfortable, and takes a step forward. “So what are you doing here?” he asks, but he doesn't pretend to care about the answer. “I can't believe my mother talked me into coming into this stupid exhibit. Urgh. I can't stand modern art.”

Bran has mixed feelings about modern art himself, but feels an instinctive need to come to the defense of all the creators who put their hearts and souls into the works on display only to be thoughtlessly dismissed by a boy who's never been invested in any work of art that doesn't feature a baby being smashed open with a hammer. Then he remembers he's trying to avoid being beaten up.

“Uh, well, I'm here with my...” he says, somewhat cowardlily (if that's a word). Joffrey raises an eyebrow. My what? thinks Bran. He's mostly here for Jojen's sakes, but telling Joffrey he's here with a friend could mean anything, and if Jojen never actually shows up again, he can only work so much as a human shield. And even if Jojen was here: with all due respect, he weighs as much as some twigs. How much of a disincentive to Joffrey having some of his buddies throw Bran in the alley out back could he possibly be?

“...boyfriend.”

Wait, what?

Bran sees Joffrey's claw clench immediately, like he disapproves, but Bran knows he has to be careful about what he says, ever since his mother – who also happens to be mayor – got caught on tape making disparaging comments about Mrs. Merryweather's sexuality, and has been desperately trying to repair her relationship with the local LGBTQ community ever since (Bran's pretty sure he's saw Mrs. Lannister and Mrs. Merryweather holding hands under the table at official functions before that as well, confusing the matter for him, but he's not one to gossip).

“I see,” says Joffrey. Bran now realises what a stupid thing that was to say. He just wanted to warn Joffrey that he does in fact have someone waiting in the wings who can and will beat up anyone who messes with him.

Except, you know, he doesn't. He has no boyfriend anywhere in his life story. No girlfriend either, for that matter. He's a nerd. And if Joffrey finds out he lied, then he's definitely getting beaten up.

Joffrey gives him a thorough once-over, then snorts. “Didn't know you swung that way, Stark,” he says, and Bran finds himself blushing. Admittedly, he doesn't think about his own sexuality that much – mostly because it is general a pretty theoretical subject. “Still. Shouldn't be surprised.”

Bran is just about to lose control of himself and snap when suddenly, a hand lands on his shoulder and makes him jump (as best he can anyway). “Hey Bran.”

He spins around and sees a figure looming overhead. Tall. Older. Handsome. And with muscles specially trained from years of swim practice, enough to make any of Joffrey's cronies think twice. Bran is swamped with relief, and throws his arms around the man's waist desperately. “Theon!”

Theon jumps, understandably startled given that despite having been his older brother's best friend since forever, Bran doesn't really like him, has never really liked him, and they've certainly never greeted each other with hugs before. Bran doesn't know why, but Theon has always just gotten under his skin for some reason, with his clever grin and dirty jokes that he only says when he thinks the kids (and he is still very much a kid in Theon's eyes) aren't listening, but always manage to make him blush. Usually whenever he's over hanging out with Robb, Bran spends the time safely secluded in his room, being irrationally and inexplicably frustrated by the situation.

Under ordinary circumstances, Theon Greyjoy is the last person in the world who he would ask to be his pretend boyfriend. Especially because Theon is absolutely going to tell Robb, and then Bran is never going to live it down for the rest of his life. But, Bran reasons, Theon is the person unfortunate enough to have wandered in now, and you know what they say about desperate times and desperate measures. Annoying as he is, Bran does trust Theon, more or less – at the very least, he's certain Theon can't let him get beaten up without Robb murdering him. Ergo, he'll do in a crisis.

Confused as he must be, Theon does lean down to very awkwardly return his hug. Bran takes advantage to whisper in his ear: “I'm really sorry about this. Please just play along?”

Theon seems seems bewildered when he stands back up, but when Bran grasps his hand and clasps it tight, he starts to get the idea. His eyes go wide, and then he purses his lips together, like he can hardly keep from laughing. When Bran looks at Joffrey again, the boy looks disgusted, but is trying to hide it. “So,” he says, “is this your...?”

“Mm-hmm,” says Bran, maybe too quickly. “He's older though, off at uni, so you don't see him around much. And he's off at athletics training most of the time. He's really strong.” He hopes that sounds more like hormonal gushing and less like the veiled threat it really is. Theon lets out a brisk laugh, and Bran smacks his arm to keep him from giving the game away.

Joffrey squints at Theon suspiciously. “You look familiar somehow.”

Crap. Bran's heart races. He was really hoping Theon graduated long enough ago that Joffrey wouldn't remember him. Theon gives Bran a questioning look, and Bran can only shrug at him, not sure what to say. “You might have seen me in a magazine or something?” Theon eventually suggests.

Magazine? Who even reads magazines? But Theon has started the lie and Bran is better off just going with it. “Yeah, with his school swim team,” he adds. “They're very successful, so they get in all the sports papers and stuff.”

Joffrey looks at them – then scoffs, muttering something under his breath about 'oh, is that the sort of magazine he's in?' Bran gets annoyed again, but Theon squeezes his hand before he can do anything stupid. “Well, my mother's probably looking for me by now, so anyway,” Joffrey declares imperiously, giving them both a withering glance. “...Bye you two.”

The naked contempt is still annoying, but Bran is too busy being relieved when Joffrey decides to leave him the fuck alone to worry much about it. He lets out a sigh, and he expects Theon to let go of his hand as soon as possible. Instead, he simply feels the hand still in his own start to shake, as Theon can no longer contain his laughter. Bran groans loudly. “Oh, don't,” he says, fully aware that Theon is not going to take any notice.

“Sorry, kid,” Theon forces through his guffaws, not sounding the least bit apologetic. “Still, do I want to know? Are you trying to stick it to your ex or something?”

“What? No. Ew.” Bran looks up at gives Theon his own withering glare, which at least quietens the laughter, if not stopping it entirely. “He's Sansa's ex, remember? Yeah, he's had a grudge against our whole family for years. And given his family connections, I was a bit afraid he'd have me beaten up if he thought he could at all get away with it.”

“Right, that cunt,” Theon nods along, laughter mostly under control now, and Bran finds himself blushing at how casually Theon drops such foul language. “So, am I your valiant protector then?” he asks, winding his arm around Bran's shoulders and the back of his chair. “Your knight in shining armour?”

That doesn't help Bran's blush, and he finds he's surprisingly hot given Theon is barely making any actual contact with him. The air conditioning in this place must be broken. “You're a person I know who's reasonably tall and has done some sports,” he says, dropping his gaze to the floor. “Don't let it go to your head.”

Theon laughs once more at that, and Bran sighs, starting to wheel away – he ought to figure out where the friend he actually came here with has gotten to. As he starts to move however, he realises that Theon is walking alongside him, and he looks up disbelievingly. “What, are you going to  follow me around all night?” he asks.

He gets an equally disbelieving look in return. “Well, yes,” says Theon. “If I'm pretending to be your boyfriend kid, we might have to spend time together,” he points out. Bran opens his mouth to argue, and then realises that no, Theon is one hundred percent right. Dammit. “Besides, you're a terrible liar. There's no way you're pulling this one off if I'm not there to do the acting for you, and then you really will get beaten up, and then Robb will kill me. Not worth it.”

As if to prove his point, Theon leans over once more and kisses Bran – totally chastely, on the top of his head. Still, Bran turns bright red again, and wraps his arms around himself protectively. “Fine,” he mutters, annoyed. In hindsight, it would have been easier if he let Mum come with him after all.

When he looks back up, Theon is grinning like he's looking forward to this way more than he ought to be.

[officialthiamlibrary]

Happy Friday!! We’re back at it again, with an exclusive profile of the one, the only @fandomtrashwhore​, aka Marie! You’ve seen her instagram aesthetics, from Hunger Games to Parent Thiam AU to New Years’ AU. And now, we had the opportunity to learn more about her creative process and her life well…behind the screens. Let’s get it started!

Marie! Why not start us off with a simple introduction. Who is fandomtrashwhore? Or the artist behind her? The twist: the word count should be equal or less than the # of letters of the characters in your favorite TW rarepair ship.

Theo Raeken + Mieczyslaw Stilinski = 29

My name is Marie, I’m 19 years old and from Germany. My life is dedicated to my fandoms but besides that I’m an apprentice as an technical product designer.

Ha, I see whatcha did there with ‘Mieczyslaw.’ Smart, very smart! A Technical Product Designer! What does that entail? Do you like it so far?

I don’t know if there’s a perfect translation for it and I’m bad at explaining (that’s why I’m not a writer and my answers in this interview are gonna be shit :’D). I like the 3D drawing part most and till now I’m quite good at it and even ‘job school’ is pretty good. I feel like Hermione cause I always know the answer and my grades are on point af (which definitely wasn’t like that in my previous schools. I never said anything in class).

Pst, who said you have to be a good writer to have a good time? Just do you haha. That’s what we’re all here for any. That’s super interesting though. What’s another thing our fandom would be surprised to know about you?

I have to confess that I didn’t really mind Theo or Liam before season 6? Like I knew they were there and I liked them but I was too focussed on other characters + I didn’t know they wanted to end Teen Wolf then and felt like they wanted to shove the main pack away to replace it with Liam and his gang. (Now I’m all over the puppy pack ).

AND I watched the whole show till 5B or season 6 (not so sure) in one go and that’s why it felt like Theo and Liam both joined around the same time. (Even if there was one whole season between them…wtf.) I remember that I sometimes couldn’t even tell who was Liam and who was Theo cause I thought that they ‘looked alike’…BITCH WHERE? This is more than embarrassing, but every time I watch a show in one go I have trouble learning the names (when the name is said in the show I usually know who they mean but if I talk about it to someone I sometimes can’t remember the names cause I watched 3 seasons within a week…. :’D ). I definitely need to rewatch and appreciate them more this time cause they’re such amazing characters.

*Actually Cackling* Were there any other characters you were hazy on? Like, would Garrett be the “angry, tiny blonde one” to you?

No it’s embarrassing af. :’D And I know who Garrett is and what he did and he was indeed an angry tiny blonde kid, but I don’t remember details. Sadly (I mean I think he only was there for a few episodes so I don’t think there was much detail so I’m good as long as I know his storyline). :’D

Truth. When I started watching Supernatural, until (at least) midseason 2, I called both Sam and Dean, DeanSam cause they were always together when someone addressed them. So, you’re not alone, eek. Now, THAT’S embarrassing.

So, how did you go from ‘kid, what’s your name?!’ to Thiam instagram aesthetics and our fandom? What drew you in?

I think I jumped on the train quite late (cause as I said I didn’t really mind them), but I think I shipped them before but just realized it last season. So, I think I first felt something for them during their fight in the hospital because I was ‘fun-shipping’ them (not really fun but I wasn’t deep into it cause I didn’t bother checking their ship name or anything but I was like ‘lol. They’re gay for each other) during 6B and then I completely lost it in episode 6 of that season and realized that it is a real thing and it’s love.

From that moment I was a mess and died the last few episodes cause I thought they either make it canon or kill Theo off (and maybe make it canon) but neither happened so….ok. :’D I’m sad that I only had like two weeks left with them but since then it’s been a wild ride and they brought me new internet friends ( a whole pack) and made me tumblr fame … it’s crazy how inspiring they are for edits. I just can’t stop. :’D

BUT how I found my way into the Teen Wolf fandom is a bit funnier I think…(at least for me) :’D

This has now become the moment where I ask, “Marie, can you tell us how you got into the Teen Wolf fandom? Lol”

Idk if it’s funny if you don’t know my friends and me personally. But I always had this little group to talk about series with. Mostly The Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones but sometimes other series. A friend of mine, Lucas, once mentioned that there’s a series called ‘teen wolf or something like that’ and that he knows that one character looks like one of our classmates (his name is Tobi). He was talking about Derek and even showed me a pic AND HE REALLY FUCKING LOOKS LIKE HIM (I mean in close up you know it’s not him but you know…).

He already had a beard really really soon (he looked like 20 when he was 15 or something because of it) BUT NOW he looks even more like Derek cause I met him again, like a year ago, in a club and he lost weight and is working out now and….he’s really a Derek look alike (I wish I could show you but privacy…).

After laughing about that I never heard about that series again till I watched the trailer on youtube, and I have no idea why, but it was around new years eve 2015 to 2016 cause I thought about starting it and told a friend of mine on new years eve and showed her the trailer and she also thought it was cool and we started it about a week after that and binge watched the shit out of it.

BUT I ALWAYS HAD THAT PICTURE OF MY CLASSMATE IN MIND WHEN I SAW DEREK. And I still call Derek Tobi when I talk to my best friend who doesn’t watch teen wolf about teen wolf and want to explain something to her.

Lol are you kidding me?! That’s hilarious! And, I’ll raise you. I have a friend Michael who is a spitting image of Scott–skin tone, jaw, hair and all. I wonder if your Tobi/Derek and my Michael/Scott met, would they have a Scott-Derek-esque relationship haha! Since we’ve veered towards Friends, let’s say you, 4 characters from TW, and 1 of you personal friend were living in a Friends-type sitcom. Who’d you bring into your inner circle and which antics would yall get up to?

Ok! This is exciting! So it would be Stiles, Theo, Mason, Liam and my best friend Michelle (she doesn’t watch teen wolf but the hell do I care). We would just be such a funny sassy pack. Do you know that ‘meme’: ‘My friendship comes in 3 levels: Sass, insults, inappropriate sexual humor’? That would be so us. Michelle and me are basically Stiles and that meme describes our friendship so well; we’re really soulmates so I want the whole pack to become that close too.. Theo is a sassy ass anyways and Mason is also on fire.

Liam would suffer under our jokes and always be the one who makes bad jokes only he laughs about and the rest just laughs about him, but we still love him. Michelle and me would ship the hell out of Theo and Liam (and Mason and Corey are goals af). Mason would be sceptical at first but together with Corey–I can’t have Mason without Corey…sorry?–we get him to join us.

Sometimes, Liam and Theo even go with it and flirt for fun just to piss Stiles off who somehow ended up stuck with us after Scott left for college and Stiles decided to quit the FBI and now works as a police officer at the station. Of course, Thiam gets real and no one really notice it at first cause we think it’s just another prank on Stiles until we catch them making out in my kitchen during a pack meeting. There are also a few other pranks since we’re the sassy pack. Stiles mostly uses his position as a police officer, like towing our cars or getting us a ticket. Theo’s pranks are a bit shocking at the beginning since he needs to learn how to be a decent human being. Liam and my pranks fail most of the time. Michelle and Mason are the prank master team; they always come up with the craziest ideas.

Yassss of course, Corey would be there. There’s always a significant other who’s there so often, they become part of the group lol. That sounds like my kind of party, all the chaos and sassy destruction. All the creativity, it’s the perfect segway to our next topic of the day: fandomtrashwhore, aka your creativity.

If your creativity was a person, what type would they be? What would they do? Wear? Listen to? Handle conflict?

I think it would just be a furious working single mother? Cause during the week I’m working and even if I have nothing to do after work I only seem to be able to edit at weekends and then I sacrifice my whole weekend to it like it’s my child. And furious cause once I have an idea in my head, I drown myself in pic finding which can be so exhausting and I bet I look like a stressed single mom during that cause I’m having so many tabs open and so many search phrases to throw at google in my head at the same time.

I also have specific pics in my head and I could cry if I don’t find a perfect pic to fit that image in my head. I mostly listen to the Airplanes playlist I made while editing but I also love artists like Ed Sheeran and Halsey so that would also fit quite well to keep that person calm and grounded. I also think my creative process is quite vulnerable and moody cause sometimes I can’t wait to edit and other times I feel like I never want to edit again and I need to force myself to (during editing I love it again tho). And vulnerable cause like I said I hate when I can’t find a decent pic and could cry. Same goes for if the app crashes during a long edit or if something won’t go how I want it and my patience dies.

Does that single mother furiously create outside of the Thiam fandom too?

Yes, I do social media au’s for all my fandoms (at least I want to, till now I only have a few.)  I’m not a writer but I have a started Sherlock fanfic with a trailer (I like the trailer tho and some one shots to several fandoms on wattpad. I’m ashamed of them cause I’m a bad writer but I can’t stop trying :’D So here’s my Wattpad. Don’t expect too much!!

I mentioned the trailer for my Sherlock before and right now I’m also working on a trailer ( more like ‘short movie’) for and OC (who ended up to be Marie Avgeropoulos) x Negan from The Walking Dead.Till now it’s 13 minutes long and I love the shit out of it. I never drew for a fandom before (german youtube back in the days, I had instagram fanpages. I still have them but I don’t edit for them anymore cause series took over my life. If you know german youtube and are interested contact me but they’re not that important for most of the people reading this, I think. ANYWAYS, what I wanted to say is that I want to draw something Thiam or rather Airplanes themed soon.

Oh AND I and my best friend (Michelle from before) used to write our fanfics (mostly about german youtubers) over whatsapp back in the days. It was legendary but also very unrealistic and hilarious. Sadly, we lost most of them when we got new phones which breaks my heart.

Dang, that’s tragic. Thankfully, you still have the memories. From trailers to Whatsapp/Wattpad fics, they’ve all led you to this moment: Instagram aesthetics. How’re you inspired when choosing a theme?

Most of the time I find a pic that inspires me to an edit theme. E.g., I saw the 3rd pic of The Buck’s party pic on Liam’s profile for the engagement & wedding edit coincidentally on tumblr or something and was like: “Yes, that could be Liam carried by Stiles and the boy on the right is Scott and the girl is Lydia and the pic was taken by Mason….why would something like this situation happen….A BUCK’S PARTY! I NEED TO DO A ENGAGEMENT AND WEDDING AU. Then, the other pictures and ideas just find their way.

I also accept requests (like the new year eve one) or I’m inspired by a post (like for example when I did the Thiam Mykonos one.

And when you search for photos, what’s your process for choosing the best ones?

Most of the time, the story of my au’s is formed by the pics I find. Like I have an idea and look for pics and then I see which pics make a logic story. Most of the time, I don’t know myself how I find so good pics and I bet I could never find them again (I tried once after I lost some), cause I found them so deep in the internet. Mostly, I google pretty weird sentences and I wonder what the NSA is thinking of me. :’D  For example, I googled “Throwing Tampons” for an Airplanes related edit once. I bet whoever observes me thinks I’m a killer when I look for aesthetics (especially when I did the The Walking Dead aesthetics) and googled for bloody pics. I nearly threw up a few times tho while doing so.

Finding pics is a harder job than you might think; I would say it takes more time than the editing itself, but I can’t say for sure cause once I start editing I’m lost in some sort of tunnel and suddenly it’s dark outside. When I want to google for ‘natural’ pics, I mostly add ‘snapchat’ or ‘instagram’ behind it (e.g. ‘couple eating take out food snapchat’). Also, you can find good pics on pinterest (my Pinterest name is ‘Marie Rosa’ btw), especially aesthetical and gay couple pics!

Deciding is even harder cause I often have 50 pics in my folder and can only use 12. Then, I check which one I definitely want to have in the edit and which I liked best and are the most decent ones to the images I had in mind.

When there are people on it, it’s also important that they look like the characters they should portrait. After that, I still have 20 pics left and cry because I love them all. Then I make two new folders to decide which ones are for Liam’s and which ones are for Theo’s profile and then I delete some more pics with a hurting heart (or I save them for other edits some day) and look which pics fit best together (when I edit aesthetics, similar color is a big topic). The biggest mess is when I get more ideas during editing or realize that one pic I thought I liked doesn’t fit at all and stop to look for more pics and the whole order I had is thrown away again and I need to start again. :’D

My goodness, I remember seeing you and Sammy (@glitter-cake20) talk about finding pics before on Discord, but that is…really involved. Are there times when you create your own images instead? If so, which edits/manips have been your favorite?

I would say the Hunger Games one was my best manip, but I also like the one in the Thiam parent AU  where I replaced Cody’s cat with a baby two times. And, nearly all manips I did for my Airplanes series, especially Disney Kiss (I just edited Dylan on Cody’s ex-girlfriend…lol…no regrets), the bowling pic, all the pack video calls in which I added some more heads and the ones of Derek and Stiles in NYC. I also love the one of Mason and Liam carrying watermelons in the Dirty Dancing AU and the whole Daredevil Thiam (+Morey) AU is also one of my favorites cause it’s so aesthetical. I mean in the end I nearly love them all cause I wouldn’t have posted them if not.

You’ve mentioned CaptainMintyFresh’s Airplanes a few times. What inspired the idea to make instagram posts for the guys’ journey? So far, which has been your favorite chapter to conceptualize? And why?

I don’t really know how it started but I was editing my other ones and Tagan kept mentioning certain pic scenarios. (I think it was around the waterpark chapter.) I was just like: ”She’s giving so many good patterns why don’t you try to make Insta profiles to the chapters.” It was one of my best decisions cause I loved it, even if it was a pain in the ass! I finally managed to catch up and since then I feel so empty…sounds strange but my past few months were spend with Thiam and Airplanes and suddenly, I’m free. I was looking forward to editing other things again and I did but on the other side, I feel lost and don’t even know what to edit or I’m not in the mood. I have an Airplanes hangover or something. :’D  

My favorite to conceptualize were probably the Disney chapters (it used to be the lake chapter but since editing Disney, I like that more) but every chapter was fun in it’s own way. (I’m planning on doing a commenting on the airplanes edits after Airplanes is finished).

I also think you can see how my skills improved while editing when you look at the first chapter edits and the last ones. That’s maybe the thing I’m most grateful about; it gave me the chance to experiment and grow along with the Fic and the characters.

Aww, that’s quite poetic. And, now we have Chapter  39 out, so you must feel the inkliest bit complete!

And, now I can feel the inkiest bit better about the next question to come.

CHALLENGE TIME! If you seen how BTS works, you know we love giving you the Time to Shine! For your first challenge, you can bring any of your insta posts to life in the TW Universe. Which would you choose? Set the scene for how that pic was taken.

I mean I would say the airplane series but it’s not my story so I’m gonna go with one of my single edits.

Then I would say the Parent AU cause I’m a bitch for parent Thiam. I’m gonna go with the pic of the crying baby with the title ‘Great. My son has my husband’s attitude’.

Liam sends Theo to the store with Leo after a discussion so he has some peace and can clean the house without interruptions. Leo won’t stop crying on top of his lungs in the middle of the store and Theo sighs while resting his forehead on the shopping cart (I hope that’s what it’s called).Then, he looks up again and gets his phone out to snap a picture and post it to show everyone that not only Liam is a whining little shit torturing him but now also his son. He laughs at himself for the joke which makes Leo stop crying and laugh with him instead. Theo takes that as an encouragement for his joke and carries him on his arm for the rest of the shopping trip, When they return home, he’s greeted by Liam who’s trying to look pissed but fails and just smirks at him and giving him a slight slap on the arm.

Hahahaha, yes! Dig it. And yes, it’s totally called a shopping cart (at least in my state). One final challenge before we wrap up? Since your images are always so unique to the theme, which pictures/ types of pictures would you use for these one word/phrase prompts:

Celebrity

Stuck at the Airport

Blind Date Gone Wild

Do you just want one pic or a collage of some good pics I would use? BUT I would love to do the whole edit. :’D

Heck yeah, we’d love a whole edit!!

FINALLY, done! Amen.

Wow!! I’m stunned. Over 80 pictures. 6 Days. 3 WHOLE POSTS!?! Plus Comment Posts! Honestly, how do you do it? Everyone, definitely go check these out; their linked with their respective challenges below!

[   Celebrity   |   Stuck at the Airport   |   Blind Date Gone Wild   ]

While we all marvel at that, can we expect any other Thiam instagram themes from you in the future?

Of course. I have an Thiam folder with 357 a folder for the upcoming Mockingjay AU with 37 and my airplanes folder with still 194 pics. Somehow and someday I’m gonna use them all. Planned is to finish the Hunger Games series, cause I still need to do Mockingjay and I also have so many good parenting pics left so there’s definitely going to be another parent Thiam AU and some random ones.

It depends on my mood and requests I get or if I’m suddenly inspired by a pic to edit a specific theme. I also want to make more of Thiam x other fandoms, like Maze Runner, Divergent and so on but I also want to edit for so many other fandoms and ships. Why is there so less time in my mortal life?

Who knows? If only time stopped during the Fandom spurts of our lives, then we could enjoy it as long as we wanted to. Aww, I’m sad to see us come to an end. Marie, what’s next for you?

Finish my apprenticeship in 2020 and have a job after that + moving out. The next thing I’m saving money on right now is my own car till august (I also want my first own TV and playstation and need a new laptop any maybe smartphone :’D). Other fix dates this year are german comic con in december or turning 20 on 27th June.

Of course, I’m gonna drown myself in more fandoms and editing (I mean I’ve already watched 7 new series in 2018).

Oooh, which new shows? (I know I said we were ending lol, but shows are my drug!)

I finally got myself netflix since streaming became officially illegal (it wasn’t actually legal or illegal before but they couldn’t do anything to you and it was safe) here last year and I used it to watch all the marvel netflix productions like Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Daredevil, The Defenders, Luke Cage (which I haven’t finished cause Netflix won’t let me, every 30 seconds it crashes) and The Punisher. Jessica Jones and Daredevil are my favorites out of them. Then, I also watched How To Get Away With Murder….IT’S MY FUCKING NEW RELIGION! Coliver is giving me more than life. They’re goals.

(In case anyone is interested in what I’m watching and stuff here’s my TV TIME name: MarieRo)

OMG, Ok, Ok, let me end this before I start a rampage about all things Marvel. Thanks so much for hanging with us at the Thiam Lib and letting us get to know you! Is there anything else you’d like to add, including any life/creating wisdom?  Write until your heart’s content.

There are SO MANY intelligent things to say, but I’ll go with: Don’t give a shit about what other people think but always be open for other people’s opinions and teachings BUT don’t believe anything blindly. Just survive somehow tbh.

I have some other blogs on tumblr: @marierosaurus (random shit I like, sexual or funny af, just everything) @music-is-all-i-need-in-life (my music fandoms) @edsheeranfanblog (as you can maybe tell….a blog for Ed Sheeran?) @youtube-fan-live (blog for mostly german youtube)

(Instagram (about my traveling and just random private instagram shit): marierosarius)

I also want to thank you Minna for doing all this (bts is such a cool idea and keeping us inspired with the movie fest and stuff has to be so much work!) and especially for inviting me in the Thiam Discord pack chat 4 or 5 month ago. It’s been a wild ride and I maybe would’ve never known about that chat without you.

I love that chat and how we spend the christmas holidays together and thiam got so much more intense and it’s not even only about thiam anymore we also exchange about many other fandoms and we cried so many smut tears together (I mean that nsfw chat is on fire and I remember voice chat talks between in that christmas holidays we will burn in hell for and I love it :’D) and also fluff and angst tears but mostly smut tbh.

Just thanks for everything the Thiam community gave me, I said earlier that thiam gave me ‘tumblr fame’ and that sound stupid but it did, cause I edited before and nobody gave a single shit and reblogged or liked anything. Thiam was the best thing that could happen to me, even if I mostly edit for myself cause I like it and it’s fun, I can’t deny that it motivates you and makes you happy when other appreciate your work. Even not Teen Wolf or Thiam related posts / reblogs are noticed and it makes me so happy. Ok, sorry for bothering you with all my stupid talking. All I have left to say is: Meow

Awww, thanks so much for the love! Hahaha, our first Discord chat feels like so long ago now lol. And I also wouldn’t be here without my other Thiam Library Mods, esp Tiffany, Esme, Lizzie, Euthoxia, and Vis. They keep me inspired and grounded when life gets crazy. Just as you all, the Thiam Fandom, keep us inspired with your interactions and massive talent. We love you all!

With that, Behind the Screens presents Marie to you! If you want even more, you can read her questions that didn’t make it into the official interview here! Of course, the conversation doesn’t stop here. Not only can you chat with her on her 4 other blogs AND TV TIME, you can find her at these places too:

Main Tumblr: fandomtrashwhore

Inbox/Ask: fandomtrashwhore ask

Wattpad: Marierosarius

Instagram: marierosarius

Snapchat: marierosarius

Twitter: MarieRosarius

She’s also accepting prompts and the like, so hit her up!

We’d like to thank Marie for entertaining our many questions and challenges!! We have tons more BTS coming in the next few weeks, so stay on the look out for those <3

Have a Thiam Creator you fan over? Send us their names. Likewise, if you as the creator, would like to be a part of the Behind the Screens series, give us a shout too! We’d love to get to know you, as well.

[diverdowns]

narciso anasui - 1 am character analysis

so, anasui — one of my favorite jjba characters, he’s probably somewhere around third or fourth on my list. i’ll do a quick rundown of his background and personality before i go in-depth into some of the arcs he’s in as well as some of his quotes, notably from the heavy weather arc and the made in heaven arc.

(as you might expect, major spoilers for all of part 6.)

i’ve tried to go easy on the headcanons and focus more on actual character analysis / meta stuff, so here we go.

anasui probably has some serious abandonment issues — we see in canon that it’s mentioned anasui had some major issues connecting with other people growing up, and so he developed a stilted sense of empathy + an obsession with dismantling / disassembling things. this presumably carried over to people — perhaps an underlying subconscious desire to understand people’s motivations that he couldn’t read on the surface through social cues that had, until that point, gone over his head. (or maybe he just really liked tinkering. who knows.)

judging at least from his obsession being allowed to grow unrestricted and out of hand as he continued to suffer socially as a result of it, we can probably assume that anasui’s parents probably didn’t care about him too much — at worst, they may have been neglectful or abusive. still, everything abt his parents is just speculation. notably mentioned in canon though: as a child, he disassembled his neighbor’s car, and was institutionalized for six months. being placed in a place like that for that long of a time does shit to you, and it’s def nothing pretty. add likely parental neglect to the equation, and you have abandonment issues just waiting to erupt.

(as a side note, psychologically, this is an obsessive ritual that can be seen in a number of conditions from asperger’s to alzheimer’s, so honestly any kind of mental illness speculation is fair game for anasui, but this isn’t the post for that.)

whatever the case, he seems to assimilate back into society once his awkward phase ended, though his strange upbringing probably left some lifelong habits / scars there, who knows. he doesn’t do anything to warrant serious attention until he’s 21. at this point, he has a (presumably) long-term, monogamous girlfriend — if it’s anything like the way he treated jolyne, we know that anasui is… overbearing, to say the least. in any case, he walks in on his girlfriend cheating on him when he makes a surprise visit to his girlfriend’s house, and murdered both of them, dismembering them so that “they would never come together again.”

it’s never mentioned if anasui was a stand user since birth, so we can assume he either used diver down to do all this disassembling or he was just…really good at taking things (and people) apart, but it’s likely that he’d had diver down from a young age — up until he’s imprisoned, it doesn’t seem like he was doing anything in particular that would’ve caused him to be normally strong enough to kill two grown adults on the spot, without the help of a stand. (then again, anasui’s capable of some pretty fucked up things either way, so this is just my speculation / hc.)

after his imprisonment, he has a full psychiatric analysis and — nobody can find anything technically wrong with him. besides his obsessive ritual and explosive temper, he’s…just a regular guy, albeit somewhat of an asshole. emporio mentions that his original obsession’s cause was never really discovered, as well. the murder of his girlfriend and girlfriend’s lover was highly publicized, his name being spread through news both on tv and in newspapers, so presumably the details of the crime were sufficiently brutal.

anasui shows a stunning lack of regard for most people’s wellbeing — for the most part, he ignores F.F. and offers little help as she fights kenzo and his dragon dream — though jolyne (and by extension, jotaro) is a notable exception. anasui claims to have fallen in love at first sight, attracted to jolyne by her iron will and strong determination to do the right thing and save her father, and expresses a strong desire to marry her. actually, when jolyne’s involved, he has an almost humorous lack of self-preservation — eg. during the green birth arc, when jolyne’s infected with a presumably fatal plant…infection…disease….thing, anasui not only touches the flowers growing across jolyne’s skin (trying to use his stand to destroy them from inside of jolyne’s body, to no avail) but also puts the flowers in his mouth, which while being played for laughs is also ridiculously foolish. (in general, though anasui ricochets heavily from being the comic relief character to being the stoic yet brash character in the main ensemble, mostly after weather’s death) there’s kind of an explanation for his reckless behavior, coming up later.

(keeping all of this in mind, and despite anasui’s willingness to use his stand to protect the main cast to the point of taking fatal blows for them, he is definitely not a good person. i just want to get that out of the way before someone accuses me of being like, an apologist lmao)

ok, so let’s go thru anasui’s main appearances, from his introduction onward.

emporio goes on to mention that “if weather report wasn’t here to keep [anasui] calm, there’s no telling what anasui’d do.” seeing as anasui is imprisoned when he’s 21, as mentioned in his introductory chapter, and he’s 25 when SO takes place, four years have passed since he’s landed in green dolphin street jail. (for reference, his sentence is for 12 years — relatively light for a double homicide, all things considered — so he’s served a third of that.) presumably, he’s known weather report for at least a majority of that time, as they at least have enough of a rapport for weather to keep anasui out of serious trouble. (weather is 39 during the events of SO. weather, for reference, has been in prison for around 20 years, since pucci took his memories from him when he was 16. also, at the beginning of the BR arc, weather has trouble using a sink that anasui with his impressive sink knowledge notes has been around in modern plumbing for at least 20 years. as a quick side note, anasui seems to have a ridiculous knowledge, in general, of a lot of mechanical things in general — during the yo-yo-ma arc, he spouts off the specifications of a random machine gun after just glancing at it.)

at the end of ch 697 we also just see a scene of weather and anasui hanging out in what appears to be some random ass hallway in the male ward of the prison with no guards around, so take that as you will lol. the two have presumably been hanging around each other for a while like this, so that’s interesting, at least.

the BR arc is where i really got into anasui, so let’s go a little in-depth on those chapters. anasui seems to know a whole bunch of random facts about disney world (though he holds a theme park guide in his hands while he spouts a bunch of random disney world facts, he doesn’t seem to look at it / open it until after he finishes talking, which draws out the legendary “where the fuck is mickey” line). he also mentions manhattan and rome, and how he’s been to neither of those places. it’s probably safe to assume that anasui is floridian — but maybe he’s just really passionate about orlando, who knows. he seems pretty passionate about sinks, too. other than that, not much real information is released here besides things like “anasui’s very passionate about mickey” and “weather report is a fan of post-impressionism”

so, on to the Fun Arc. heavy weather. when weather first gets his memories back, the first things he does, in order, are shove a injured person out of a chair, take said chair, and then force water into a doctor’s body to make him into a chair.

anasui, despite being a literal murderer and honestly doing plenty of fucked up things over the course of the series, flips his shit. he’s legitimately horrified, probably less so from what weather’s doing and more so that it’s weather that’s doing it. actually, weather kinda acts like anasui, honestly, so maybe this is also just anasui being a giant hypocrite, but hey. he’s literally described between chapters as having no idea what’s going on and being pretty freaked out — he’s just following weather at this point because he still has no idea where jolyne is.

(im going to note for my own self-satisfaction that despite weather’s whole “you’re only useful to me now cause you can kill me, anasui” line and all that, when pucci grabs anasui during weather’s fight against him, weather visibly reacts and gets worried regardless, so hey, my rarepair)

okay, after weather’s death, anasui makes a mini speech. (arguably, weather’s death is the turning point for anasui to take more of a serious and less of a comedic role.) here’s what he says:

“listen, jolyne. people have called me a ‘murderer.’ the papers have called me that, and i can’t say that i disagree with them. when people asked me if i would sacrifice myself for the sake of my family, i answered ‘no.’ i’d probably answer that way, now. my heart was never moved by them.”

(more evidence to suggest that anasui’s relationship with his family wasn’t necessarily the best.)

“but i know that i’d be willing to risk my life for something that was able to revive me. i used to be dead.”

interjection here: whether he’s talking about his betrayal (when his girlfriend cheated) or maybe just a general feeling of aimlessness towards life in general, this is pretty dark for anasui, actually. it’s one of the only times he even talks abt his crimes, and this is an interesting concept that araki explores a few times with multiple characters. (eg. anasui risks his life to revive himself with “love,” or what he thinks is love, in any case, to follow jolyne. abbacchio does something similar to follow buccellati, in p5. weather “revives himself” for revenge, and johnny in p7 for the hope of walking again.)

prior to giving himself a mission (jolyne), anasui thinks of himself as functionally dead. this also explains, for example, his nonchalance towards risking his own life and wellbeing for the others.

“weather was that way, too. weather came back to life when he left that prison. i can tell. so don’t think too deeply about what happened to him. these past few days, weather was happy. weather was already saved.”

— okay, in my mind, most of this is just shit anasui says to make jolyne and hermes feel better about weather’s sudden death. to an extent, it’s true: weather prior to getting his memories back was enraptured with the world outside the prison, helping innocent people, messing with sinks, reading fairy tales, but that’s not really the truth. after getting his memories back, weather admits to wanting to die, admitting that he took a cruel sense of pleasure in watching heavy weather run its course and telling anasui that in a twisted way, he’s glad anasui’s there so that he’d kill him. weather’s not happy.

(but who knows? in the end, the character that actually knew weather for the longest was anasui — maybe he’s right and that there was something that revived in weather that we didn’t get to see as the readers.)

but what’s interesting is that he doesn’t mention weather’s sudden transformation after getting his memories back, he lets jolyne and hermes carry on the weather they knew in their thoughts, instead of telling them the truth of weather’s personality. on my second read-through, i noticed that (besides pucci, i guess, and versace by proxy) anasui is the only one who sees weather’s true personality.

and maybe, dying for the sake of his goal (ie. weather’s attempted revenge) was close enough to redemption, in anasui’s eyes. if we pick apart weather’s final goals, he’s living only so that he can 1. take revenge on pucci and 2. die. honestly, in a sad, fucked up anasui-logic kind of way, weather dying in his attempt to kill pucci at least fulfills half of those goals, so it’s not a stretch that anasui could shrug and say “close enough i guess.” but imo, he still says what he does mostly to ease jolyne and hermes’ consciences. it’s one of his kinder moments.

in the actual final fight against pucci, anasui’s probably just behind jotaro in terms of fully grasping and understanding pucci’s abilities — and their implications in battle. his final plan is the only one they really have: because diver down is able to phase through and protect all of the others, he will take the first hit from pucci, and at that exact moment jotaro will stop time and presumably ora pucci into oblivion.

it doesn’t work, but the plan had merit and was surprisingly well thought-out, showing quite a few of his personality traits — while he’s angry and headstrong most of the time, he’s relatively good at thinking on his feet and is always quick to come up with plans, especially in battle. now let’s look at his last lines.

“don’t stop [pucci’s blow] before he hits me. do it after…”

while all the other characters pause and stare at him in shock after he says this, he’s relatively calm about it. he knows it’s the only chance they have, regardless of the danger it poses to himself. dying, to anasui, is not the worst that can happen — it’s having to live again with no purpose (which he’s established, atm, as jolyne).

“ever since i got out of prison, i’ve managed to stay alive… if i can just stay alive, keep this trend… then maybe i’ll ask jolyne to marry me. …or, you know, something like that.”

a lot of people do make light of this (and it’s somewhat comedic, for sure) but it’s interesting again to see how much this drives him. before i really get into it, let’s take a look at jolyne’s (infamous) response.

(jolyne:) “anasui… all right, ask me. […] your plan… it still as hope. it’s not darkness that drives you… even if there’s only one path that we can take, if there’s a hint of hope, then that’s the right path.

holy shit do i love this quote. in the end, anasui’s not… redeemed, not really. he’s still a murderer. he still feels no remorse over killing those people. but he’s not evil, either. his motivation is that he wants to live for real: he is driven by hope. and through all the morally grey protagonists of parts 5 on, this is what they all have in common: a hope or dream that gives someone who’d thought themselves dead something to live for. jolyne doesn’t say this because she’s suddenly in love with anasui, or because she wants to marry them, she says it because she’s realizing this — she’s realizing that anasui’s hope, his resolve, might be enough for this plan to work.

actually, in the end, in an ironic twist of fate, he does die for — and by — jolyne’s hand. (hah.) pucci redirects stone free’s punch into anasui’s torso, piercing through his chest and killing him near instantly. rip. and that, in any case, draws an end to this wall of text.

also i think one random fic i read mentioned a throwaway line that anasui apparently had about him having been married once in prison? i dont recall anything like that, but someone else has confirmed it (i’d love to find the source, if anyone has it!)

i’d love to get into the whole thing about his motivation in the first place: why anasui “falls in love” with jolyne and why that matters, as well as possible subconscious motivations for his obsessions/his stand ability but that’s falling solidly into the territory of hc’s, and not so much analysis/meta. 

i’ll write it up some other time, maybe, if there’s interest.

[mp100ficrec]

do u have any fic recs for rarepairs?? id love to see some more of those since theyre always fun!

It Runs in the Family by fireflysummers_ao3

Asagiri Minori/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo, Hanazawa Teruki/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo

“Teru agrees to attend a party celebrating his uncle’s full recovery after a horrific “car accident,” but he’s not excited about reconnecting with his cousin, Minori, who he recalls is as bad, and likely worse, as he used to be.However, he is not expecting to find her trying to turn over a new leaf in the wake of a traumatic spiritual possession, and in dire need of a confidant. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, they have more in common than Teru would like to admit…especially when he realizes that Minori is trying to track down her mysterious rescuer.”

Mob is 100% developing a fanclub.

but I digress, my dear by exogenesis

Mezato Ichi/Emi (Mob Psycho 100)

“When Mezato found out that the last copy of the textbook she needed was checked out of the library already, she became a girl with a mission; that mission was to track down the person who had the gall to take two entire weeks to return a library book.”

Super cute, I love this?

Movie night by DeerMom

Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo/Suzuki Shou

“Movie night, cuddles and sweet smooches on a couch.” 

Keys To The Heart by sketchy_shark

Gouda Musashi/Onigawara Tenga

“Onigawara has a big secret. He loves to play the piano, and he also loves Musashi. When Musashi finds out about Onigawara’s talent, he encourages him to share it. Onigawara, meanwhile, struggles to share his talent and his feelings.” *not pre-read by mods

space voyage by azatoi

Kurata Tome/Mezato Ichi

“Tome Kurata is slightly famous—or notorious, more like—for being… a weirdo, to put it simply. She’s definitely a person of interest. Just not exactly in a newsworthy way, which is obviously the only way that matters.”

I love this too much. This author is fantastic and so are the fic and the pairing.

Seasons by texmexboy

Gouda Musashi/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo

“In the summer Musashi plants sweet potatoes, and in the summer Mob comes to visit. (AKA the fic where Musashi doesn’t realize he gets a boyfriend and Mob flirts shamelessly.)”

This ship kills me, all of its content is super cute? There’s a tag for this ship in our pairings list if you would like more content. 

Mishto by texmexboy

Gouda Musashi/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo

“Musashi gets up the guts to confess to Mob”

I love every single MP100 work of this author’s and want to spread this love.

Let’s Pretend Together by paperficwriter

Gouda Musashi/Onigawara Tenga, Hanazawa Teruki/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo

“Musashi asks Onigawara to pretend to be his boyfriend so they can support Mob after Teru asks on a date. But when Mob asks the “couple” to accompany them, everything becomes much more complicated. Especially because a certain pompadour’d bancho has real for his fake boyfriend.“

Extracurriculars by paperficwriter

Gouda Musashi/Onigawara Tenga

“Onigawara likes Musashi. It’s as simple and as complicated as that.”

I love this author as well, and recommend their works generally.

A Kick In The Teeth Is Good For Some by whaleshork

Hanazawa Teruki/Kageyama Ritsu

Warning: Read the tags to avoid triggers. There’s also mention of semi-canonical character death.

“All Ritsu wants is to move on and be happy with his life. But something keeps growing inside him. From his stomach to his chest to his throat and out his eyes and mouth, until it fully surrounds him making it impossible to ignore. He can cut it down, but it will just grow back. He needs to destroy it, to pull it up from the roots. And he thinks he finally knows how. But there’s only one person who can help with that. Unfortunately, that person is Teruki Hanazawa.”

This will soon be part of a series for other rarepairs (ShouMob and eMInori). I look forward to that quite a bit, as I enjoy this author’s works.

Ships at a Distance Have Every Man’s Wish On Board by thejapanesemapletree

Kamuro Shinji/Tokugawa, Onigawara Tenga/Mariko

A very sweet series that’s mostly about the first pairing, with one shot for the latter. Just read it. Please. It deserves it. 

Taking Notes by gutter_girl_100

Takane Tsubomi/Mezato Ichi

“Falling for the school’s idol is surprisingly ordinary.”

The Way the Sunflower Grows by uglyelleth

unrequited Minegishi/Serizawa Katsuya

“Minegishi regrets little.One thing he does regret is something he hardly admits to himself.”

The melancholy character study I never knew I wanted. 

This feeling in my stomach won’t go away by PostApocalypticLaundryPile

Gouda Musashi/Onigawara Tenga, Hanazawa Teruki/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo

“Tenga wasn’t exactly sure when this… crush developed. It was almost like he woke up one day and his brain decided to point out that, hey your body improvement club captain is pretty hot, and it all sorta snowballed from there.” aka Tenga is awkward and anxious and hopelessly in love with his club captain and friend, but doesn’t know what to do with all these feelings.”

darkness isn’t a hindrance by distraitLoser

Minegishi/Shimazaki

“It’s amazing how he can find someone so appealing to him without having to know what they look like. He never thought the distant and quiet person among them in Super 5 will be the one he’ll end up with, sleeping right next to him at this very moment.”

Pulling Weeds by unluckyships

Kurata Tome/Mezato Ichi

“Tome finds herself in neck-deep. Mezato goes on a hunt. There’s something cryptic in the woods, and it has a familiar face.”

Moving Onto Nothingby Crunchwrap Supreme (ghxsttype113)

Dimple/Stubble

Warning: Past vore. Also, this turns into a shitpost at some point. 

“But when he was alone? There was nobody, nobody to justify his actions, or to tell him why he was feeling certain ways.

“You had someone like that, you know.“”

Light Pollution by seafoamlungs

Kurata Tome/Kurosaki Rei

“Tome and Rei go UFO hunting together.”

Confession by amaranthinecanicular

Gouda Musashi/Onigawara Tenga, Hanazawa Teruki/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo

“Mob receives a love letter. It’s the duty of the Body Improvement Club to support him.”

ShouMob drabble by minusram

unrequited Suzuki Shou/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo

It has a happy continuation, which you should check out. As well as anything that doesn’t make you uncomfortable by this person.

Maybe by power (teii)

not exactly platonic or romantic Sakurai/Koyama

““Are you planning on getting a place of your own anytime soon?” Sakurai asks as he walks through the door, frowning at all the beer cans and dried fish snack bags strewn around the floor.

Koyama huffs, not even bothering to turn around to face him as he continues flipping through the channels, though he does manage to raise his left hand to send a lazy bird Sakurai’s way.

Apparently not.”

I love Claw settling back into society and I love the author’s take on the characters.

Loop Loop & Dive by prettypistachio

Hanazawa Teruki/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo, side Kageyama Ritsu/Suzuki Shou, side Sakurai/Koyama, even more side Kurosaki Rei/Asagiri Minori, side Tsuchiya/colleague

“It doesn’t matter what shape or colour your aura as an esper is, Mob realised, it’s all the same in the end when that special person makes yours loop loop & dive.”

in his image by EnlighteningBugs

Hanazawa Teruki/Hanazawa Teruki

Warning: Yes, this is selfcest. More precisely, future Teru/past Teru-cest.

“Who made you who you are today?”

Symbiosis by hamlingo

Dimple/Matsuo

Warning: The author warns of future dub con. As of now, there’s Dimple getting kidnapped by Matsuo and the latter acting creepily affectionate for someone who sealed Dimple away once again in an attempt to brainwash him.

���Matsuo gets a new pet with a god-complex.”

Телепатия by sad_all_life

Kurata Tome/Mezato Ichi

“Томэ Курата обычная японская школьница. И это действительно так. Она не надеется, что ее жизнь резко изменится, но продолжает попытки связаться с другими галактиками.”

Страшный секрет by Рейгар Кертье

Hanazawa Teruki/Kurosaki Rei

“Этот день настал. День, когда Теру решился доверить Рей свою страшную тайну.”

Я отвезу тебя на Аляску by TheLadyInJeans

Suzuki Touichirou/his wife, implied Kageyama Ritsu/Suzuki Shou

“Единое обещание, однажды данное разными людьми своим близким.”

Весна by Annita

temporary Kageyama “Mob Shigeo/Takane Tsubomi, endgame Kageyama “Mob Shigeo/Mezato Ichi

Предупреждение: Тсубоми тут совсем не добрая и по моему OOC.

“Шигео становится старшеклассником. Но всё ли так просто? Новые проблемы, потрясения, опасности и, конечно же, любовь, которую остерегаться стоит больше всего. Она погубила не мало простых людей, а паренька-эспера, которому нужно сдерживать эмоции, так и подавно в свои сети захватит и долго отпускать не будет. “