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peachtree-dish · 3 years

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A Te Che Sei Il Mio Amore Grande

I'm writing fanfics again. Woot!

Inspired by the song of the same name.

Chapter One: Quando Ti Guardo

June 06, 1969

Luca drummed his fingers restlessly along the soft velvet of his armrest, his eyes switched from peering out at the Italian coastal terrain and once again reading the watch that rested against his wrist.

“You’re doing it again.”

His eyes snapped up to watch as Giulia sighed at him from behind the thick leather-bound novel in her hands. As her amused yet exasperated gaze landed on him, he grinned sheepishly.

“Mi dispiace, Giulia. I honestly don’t remember the ride being this long.” He checked his watch again and grimaced. “Has it really only been ten minutes?”

Admitting defeat, the red-headed girl marked her place and set the book aside. “Luca, it’s been nine months, si? But what is the one thing we’ve learned about time from Segnora Rosa?” She quirked a knowing brow at him as Luca slumped forward.

“Time is always constant, lo so.” He mumbled.

“Esattamente, therefore,” She continued as she picked up her book with renewed gusto, “the train will take exactly an hour every single time we travel to and from Porto Rosso.” With her argument settled, Giulia returned to her page and began reading once more. After a moment of stillness, she peered at him subtly from above her page. Luca was looking outside once more, his eyes filled with a mixture of yearning, and his mouth twisted in anxiety. With a kinder expression, she said, “If it’s any consolation, amico mio, I’m sure he’s just as nervous to see you.”

Luca puffed out his cheeks but didn’t reply, instead preferring to peer down at his clasped hands.

“Maybe you could finish the bracelets you’ve been working on, that will help you pass the time better and maybe keep your mind off things, eh?” She nodded to his school jacket pocket which held a mass of multicolored strings that had yet to be organized. Perking up at the thought, Luca agreed and set to work on detangling the threads from one another.

Outside the bright light of the morning sun blazed peacefully across the pristine indigo coastline and followed the two youths on the journey. Some miles away, a small town was anything but peaceful.

“Massimo!” A young man jumped up the paved stairways of Porto Rosso, disturbing the half-dozen pigeons resting there. At their indignant coos and squawks, Alberto quickly glanced back with a slight shout of “sorry!” before continuing on his rampage towards the Marcovaldo residence. Skidding to a stop once he passed the archway, he leaned heavily against the tree that he and Luca had slept in nearly a year ago prior and gasped.

With a large crash, both Massimo and Machiavelli burst through the front door looking frazzled and ready for a fight. The latter was fully puffed up with his claws digging into the cobblestone walkway and his pupils shrunken to small slits. Massimo swiveled his head around looking for whatever danger could have provoked Alberto’s shout, his shoulders hunched and his good arm gripping his harpoon tightly. However, when no danger presented itself, he glared half-heartedly through his eyebrows at the young sea monster who sheepishly grinned.

“Well, where’s the fuoco, eh?”

“Yeah, sorry about that, Massimo, everything’s fine. But!” He pointed animatedly at the large man, “you are aware of what day it is, right? We only have a few hours until-”

“Until Giulia and Luca arrive, si piccolo, lo so. You’ve only been talking about it for a month now.” Shouldering his harpoon and popping his neck, the old fisherman turned to enter the house, an unhappy Machiavelli climbing onto his open shoulder, but not before growling irritably at Alberto.

“Come have breakfast, Alberto, we’ll see what we can do to keep busy while we wait.” The large man patted Alberto’s sun-kissed shoulder before entering the house. Slumping in resignation, the teen followed behind Massimo but not before stretching to give one last searching look at the expansive cliffs that breached the horizon, hopeful to see a plume of smoke.

**************

When the train finally pulled into the stazione, Luca was already flinging the train door open and running into the waiting arms of his mother who squealed with delight and refused to set him down for several long moments, much to Luca’s embarrassment and secret delight. An equally excited Giulia was soon to follow, and she said a quick hello to the Paguro’s before launching into Massimo’s open arms. While his father patted him on the head and asked the generic questions of wellbeing, Luca tried to glance around his parents. If Massimo was here, then so was-

“I told you I’d be okay.” Luca’s heart thudded painfully in his chest for one moment as Alberto sauntered into view. Prying himself from his mother, the young sea monster swiftly walked to Alberto and embraced him without pause. Luca buried his face into the crook of Alberto’s neck and breathed him in for the first time in nine months.

Whatever nerves and fear Alberto had been holding released him the moment his best friend enveloped him in his arms. Luca had grown slightly taller over the colder months and his skin had lost its sun-kissed pigmentation, but the warmth in his eyes had not faded in the slightest.

“Welcome home, Luca,” Alberto mumbled into his friend's hair, ignoring the wetness gathering at the corner of his eyes, he pulled away with a chuckle. “Are we going to do this every time we say ciao?” Luca smiled wetly and scrubbed weakly at his face.

“I think I could get used to it if it’s with you.” Alberto resolutely decided to ignore the heat that gathered in his cheeks as Luca turned to answer Massimo. Brushing it off as too much time in the sun, he tuned into the conversation just as the gentle fisherman began speaking of their new fishing truck.

“Grazie to Alberto’s ‘knowing fish’, we earned enough for me to invest in an auto,” Massimo stated proudly, clasping a large hand onto Alberto’s shoulder. The teen modestly scratched under his hat and shrugged, turning to Giulia and Luca.

“He’s really only saying that. Massimo did all the hard work; I just stuck my head underwater a few times every day to navigate us. But!” Alberto waved towards the station entrance and began pulling Luca by the hand. “you really have to see the truck I’ve been writing to you about.”

The truck itself was what could hardly be described as new. The front bumper was barely hanging on and rusted completely through on the right side. Green chipped paint covered the doors and Luca noted with a swell of warmth the black hand-painted logo of “Massimo and Alberto Fishing co.” Most people would consider the truck like garbage, but Alberto found the faded paint and broken glass charming, and he said as much to the group. Giulia rubbed suspiciously at the truck’s tailgate, her eyes squinting as she studied it.

“The Americans call it a ‘Hudson pickup’,” Massimo announces proudly, his pronunciation heavily accented.

“I’m still not sold on it being actually safe, but I’ll admit it wasn’t too bad the first time Massimo drove it.” Daniela opined, opening the front door with a loud squeal.

“Yeah, not so much when Alberto decided to try it,” Lorenzo muttered good-naturedly. “My tail still won’t swim straight.”

“You drove the truck?!”

“You crashed the truck?!”

Giulia and Luca exclaimed, she glanced curiously at her papa who raised his hands innocently. Luca began looking at Alberto’s arms and skin, scouring for any injuries, completely ignoring the rest of the conversation.

“He’ll be sixteen this year, mia figlia, he’ll need at least a year of practice. Nessun problema, your time will come soon.”

“Oh, come on,” Alberto kindly pulled Luca’s hands away and hopped on the rear end beaming down at his family, “it wasn’t so bad for the first time. Plus, she just needs some love and she’ll be right as rain. You guys just can’t see her potential.” He patted the chipped paint fondly. “Not to mention this makes delivery way faster.” Massimo chuckled as Lorenzo continued to grumble and Daniela merely rolled her eyes.

“Si, and speaking of quick deliveries, let’s go home and eat lunch, hm?” Massimo lifted Luca and Giulia's luggage into the bed of the truck while the rest of the family, the Paguro and Marcovaldo families together again at last.

As the truck rattled through the colorful fishing port threatening to fall apart, Giulia and Luca rattled story after story to Alberto and Luca’s parents. Alberto tried to ignore the feelings of jealousy at the way his friends appeared to be so in tune. He laughed politely at their inside jokes and did his best to understand half the jargon they spouted, but in reality, he felt more lost than ever before. Stuffing the uncomfortable feelings down as far they’d go, Alberto helped the Paguro’s down first so that Daniela could help with preparing the food alongside Massimo. While Lorenzo had shown an interest in learning the human ways of cooking, he hadn’t quite managed to pull it off as well.

“You set the curtains on fire one time, and they never let you set foot in the kitchen again,” Lorenzo complained to the kids as he followed his wife.

“Except it wasn’t just the curtains,” Alberto whispered loudly to his best friends who giggled unapologetically.

“ONE TIME!” Lorenzo called hotly from inside.

Giulia smirked at her friends, “Some things never change, amicos.” Grabbing her bag, she turned to the house, “Oh, and Luca don’t forget about your gift!” She winked knowingly at a flustered Luca and befuddled Alberto.

Alberto glanced down at Luca who was doing his best impression of a frozen fish.

“Uh, was that supposed to me-”

“I made you something!!” Luca blurted before slapping a hand over his mouth. He glanced nervously at Alberto, who merely stared back stunned. Fishing in his uniform jacket pocket, Luca wordlessly pulled out the two multicolored bracelets from his pocket and held one out to Alberto. Alberto stood frozen his eyes glued to the green and purple threads glistening in the warm afternoon sun, his mouth hung loose in a silent ‘oh’. The threads danced innocently between them, and Luca felt his bravado begin to waver. When he still hadn’t said anything or moved to take the bracelet from Luca’s grasp, the younger boy grew more flustered and started to pull away, his voice shaking. “I- I’m sorry, you probably think this is so stupid.” Luca tried to not panic, desperately willing his mortification away.

Alberto’s hand shot out to pull both the bracelet and Luca’s hand back. “I can’t believe you made this for me.” He whispered, cradling the bracelet tenderly as he studied it in his palms. He traced the twining threads and smiled at how the pattern reminded him of scales. He looked at Luca and put his arm around him to pull him close. “I love it, thank you. No one’s ever given me something so beautiful.”

“R-really?” Luca asked, his expression hopeful.

“Really. Did you make this too?” Alberto squinted at the painted pearl hanging from the end of the strings, creating a clasp to hold it in place.

“Giulia's mom actually helped me design those with her paints.” Luca motioned to the pearl. “She said that gifts help make the distances feel smaller.” He pondered the delicately painted waves of his own pearl. “It’s funny when I was learning so much and seeing so many places, I never realized how far from home I would feel.” His gaze landed on Alberto, only now realizing how close they were. Up close he could see the new freckles that peppered his cheeks and how his face was slimming down. Nine months of hard work had broadened his shoulders and caused his wiry arms to harden with lean muscle. Clearing his throat, he pulled away again.

“Anyways, I guess we better go inside before the food gets cold.” Blushing as red as Massimo’s favorite wine, Luca threw one last smile over his shoulder and ran inside. Alberto grinned in response and slid the bracelet over his wrist fastening it so that it hugged him snugly. An emotion that he couldn’t quite name filled every part of him, spreading from his toes to the tip of his ears. Walking inside to the smells of homemade pasta and loud laughter, Alberto felt that the promise of a wonderful summer had just begun.

#pixar luca #luca 2021 #alberto x luca #luca x alberto #fanfic #mutual pining #they share one brain cell #Giulia has it 99% of the time #just teens trying to figure out life #a te che sei il mio grande amore

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robinofgothamcity · 3 years

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♡ prompt: “i thought you were dead? for years, i thought you were dead! and i hate that i still love you and never moved on!”

♡ pairing: tim drake (red robin) x fem! reader

♡ lyric inspiration: “you’re riding high in April, shot down in May but I know I’m going to change that tune when I’m back on top in June. I said that’s life and as funny as that may seem, some people get their kicks stomping on a dream.”

♡ note: not checked for grammar or spelling mistakes / please check the pinned tweet please! since i’m very low on inspiration.

Tim Drake stared at you, mouth wide open, not knowing what to say or do. he felt like he saw a ghost. you were standing across the room, talking amongst others as they instantly crowded around you. everyone had thought the same thing Tim did and only a selective few knew about your whereabouts.

you were giving Dick a hug, whispering in his ear about how much you missed him as Damian stood there dumbfounded. Jason was not in the room or else you knew that he would be giving you an earful about the entire situation. Jason always did think of you as a sister when you first started dating Tim.

“what the fuck happened to you?” Damian screamed, finally coming into the realization of the situation, “you were dead! we saw you die! all of us did!” he continued. you bent down, giving him a hug as he didn’t bother to try and deny it.

“it’s a long story. i was under secrecy for a long time and couldn’t tell or say anything without me getting caught,” you told him. you looked to Dick who still couldn’t believe what was going on, “it must’ve been a monumental mission if you were technically dead for three years and I couldn’t know about it,” he replied.

you nodded, whispering to him that you’d tell them the details later, “is...he around?” you asked, referencing Tim. Dick moved a bit to the left, revealing the man you were still madly in love with. you felt yourself gulp, scared on his reaction, “oh god, I never realized how bad this is,” Dick whispered to himself, sensing the tension immediately.

you swinging around the Batcave, Batman clearly annoyed with your antics as you finally plopped down next to him, “aww c’mon Bruce! live a little! this Batcave is so depressing and need I say, dark?” you said, hearing the door jingle open.

“great, the boys are here,” he murmured, realizing that introductions had to happen between you and his sons. Bruce had taken you in a few months ago, under the guise that you needed a better mentor, “you haven’t met them, right?” he asked.

you shook your head no, “course I haven’t! it’s my first week in Gotham!” you exclaimed happily. you did hero work out of the west coast and happened to finally land in Gotham for the first time ever, “although I did run into Damian earlier in the week so I think he’ll recognize me!”

Tim and Dick were the ones who walked in, conversing about some Gotham football game. you smiled at the two boys as they stopped dead in their tracks, “uh....Bruce, who is this?” Dick asked, pointing at you. you stood up, shaking their hands, “I’m ( your name )! Bruce’s new apprentice!” you explained.

the two sighed, Dick’s first thought being if Alfred knew about you. Tim on the other hand didn’t exactly respond as quick. you were oddly excitable, not exactly the personality that ran rampant across the ‘family’, “apprentice or daughter?” Dick asked, a bit playfully.

“she’s an apprentice. no need to adopt someone who’s already an adult,” he replied as he stood up himself, “she came from the west coast so she doesn’t exactly know her way around here. it’d be helpful if one of you showed her around. I don’t trust Jason or Damian enough,” he said, walking to another one of the computers.

“Stephanie isn’t around?” Damian asked, walking inside of the cave, “she’s already acquainted with her and she isn’t available to do it right now so it’s up to Dick or you Tim,” Bruce repeated. Dick looked to his brother with his eyebrow lifted up, “well?” he asked Tim.

the two of them went to look at you who was already not paying attention to what was going on. you were nose deep into a computer with music blaring inside of your headphones, “I swear that girl has ADHD or something,” Damian murmured to his brothers, “but I think Drake should do it! you just love getting to know people, don’t you?” Damian pressured.

Bruce nodded in agreement, “it’s settled, you’re showing her around!” Tim stared at Damian, ready to attack the gremlin with his bare hands, “appreciate it Tim!” you yelled from your seat, surprising the three who thought you couldn’t hear what they were saying.

it was already a few months into your internship with the Batfamily. you had gotten closer with Jason, Stephanie, and because of your relationship with Dick, you befriended Starfire as well. even though your work was constantly surrounding you around Tim, you weren’t around him much unless it had to do with work.

“where you heading off too?” Jason asked, seeing you all dressed up, “Star, Barbara, and Steph wanted to go out for the night since we aren’t on duty so we’re going to get drinks up the street,” you told him. he nodded, looking to Tim and seeing the way he was checking you out, “why do you go with them, Tim?” he asked.

Tim looked at Jason with a bewildered expression, “why would I be the only guy in the group?” he asked sarcastically. you on the other hand jumped up in joy, “you should!” you exclaimed, “come on! it would be amazing! you know you want too!” you poked Tim’s side in anticipation.

he sighed, slipping a bit on the couch, “fine,” he muttered, making you excited all over again. you gave him a few minutes to get himself together, “you know he likes you, right?” Jason told you. you laughed out of genuine shock, “who? Tim? yeah right!” you let out another laugh, not believing he was lying to your face, “fine, don’t believe me but it’s pretty obvious.”

you couldn’t say much else as Tim walked out, hair restyled and threw on a different jacket, “ready?” he asked, hands deep in his pockets. you nodded, throwing Jason a scrap piece of paper before heading out the door as Dick walked inside, “meeting the girls?” he asked.

“yeah and I’m taking your brother as a hostage,” Dick was surprised, “did you finally?” he started to ask before Tim screamed at him to shut up, “how about we leave,” Tim told you, discreetly hitting Dick on the back of his leg as retaliation.

the two of you walked out as you told Tim that the place you usually went out with the girls was in walking distance, “I think they’re going to be surprised you even decided to leave your apartment,” you joked as he rolled his eyes playfully, “I don’t think they’ll mind. at least Stephanie can stop saying that I never go out,” he said.

you laughed softly, “yeah you might be going out with a bunch of girls but it sure beats being stuck inside playing video games or doing work,” you replied, “yeah, guess your right,” you two walked inside of the restaurant, already seeing Steph, Starfire, and Barbara sitting at the usual table.

the three girls had their mouth hanging as they saw you walking in with Tim, “he actually came out?” Barbara screamed, not believing Tim was actually out, “yeah, figured it was better than staying in for the night!” you said excitedly.

“I couldn’t even get him to come out with me at times and I dated him,” Steph murmured under her breath to Star. she laughed as you pulled chairs for you and Tim, “I’m getting first round of shots!” you told the group excitedly. Star and Barbara had followed you to the bar, leaving Steph and Tim in a small awkward silence

“you like her don’t you?” she asked. Tim nodded, figuring it was better to just tell the truth than to lie, “that’s cute! she’s a great girl. I’m happy you finally found someone else but I will say one thing, I think you better get a move on with your feels with her because I know a few others who have an interest in her and one might be on your team,” she said, not so subtly hinting at Connor.

Tim was taken back by what Stephanie was telling her but remained silent, “and I think she’d say yes on Connor so you better be quick,” she laughed, seeing Tim’s slightly jealous eyes. you returned to the table, giving everyone their glass as you raised yours in the air, “to Tim! for actually leaving his house for once!” you screamed as they all raised their glass and took the shot down.

throughout the night, Tim saw the way you were singing and dancing with Steph and Star, your terrible drunk singing voice getting louder as they played ‘poker face’ by lady gaga towards the end of the night.

you stared at Riddler, seeing that he was ready to attack Tim with full intentions to kill him. you debated for a moment, saving a few civilians from getting mildly hurt or seeing your boyfriend get killed? you chose the latter and ran to Tim who was not paying attention in the slightest at what Riddler was doing.

“Red!” you screamed, your feet moving as fast as they could and pushing him out of the way. you felt the slice of the knife into your stomach as you had successfully pushed Tim to safety, “fuck,” you whispered, seeing the blood already pooling underneath you.

although you getting hurt was already pre-planned, you had no intentions of getting hurt this badly, “fuck, fuck, fuck,” you continued, trying to grab your cape to stop the bleeding, Tim stared down at you, seeing the blood gushing at a rate too dangerous for his liking, “hold on, please hold on!” he screamed, moving you out of harms way.

Bruce had saw you giving him the signal, weakly but you still gave it to him. it was your only chance for your pre-planned mission to actually succeed and the start of that plan was to make you die in front of everyone. Bruce had swung down from the stairs, seeing the way your eyes closed.

“she needs to go to the hospital,” he told Tim, making him rush you to the hospital himself. he knew this was the only time he would be able to say his goodbyes to you and he need to make it count, “go now!” he yelled.

Tim dragged your almost lifeless body to the nearest hospital, screaming at the staff that you needed help immediately. the nurses grabbed your body, hauling it to the OR as Tim sat there, blood all over his uniform as he watched you get wheeled into the hallway.

it felt like hours by the time they gave an update to all of them. Bruce, Tim, Dick, Jason, Steph, Barbara, and Damian, were sitting in the waiting area, munching on food nervously as the nurse came out of the hallway, eyes bleary with tears.

“she didn’t make it out of surgery. she passed.”

all of them (for the exception of Bruce), immediately bursted into tears. Tim more than anyone had fell to the ground, having no control of his body as he screamed that it couldn’t be true and that you weren’t actually gone. a part of Bruce’s heart broke seeing his son having a mental breakdown but he knew for their safety and yours, he couldn’t say a word.

the following days were left to plan your funeral as the nurses who relied your wishes stated that you wanted a closed casket for no one, not even Tim, to see your dead body. Tim hadn’t spoken a word to anyone as he only spoke up when it came for him to plan your arrangements.

they buried your casket with your uniform laying on top of it as they all saw your casket get lower and lower to the ground. Tim was by this point sobbing as he couldn’t have cared who saw and who didn’t.

Dick grabbed Damian, moving themselves to another part of the room as you walked slowly to Tim. he had yet to say anything but as soon as you locked eyes with him, you both let out sobs to each other. Tim grabbed you by the arms, bringing you into a hug as he sobbed into your shoulders.

“what the fuck is going on?” he yelled, not knowing what to say, “I’m alive Timmy. I didn’t die that night,” you practically sobbed back to him. he released you, now anger and sadness crossing over him, “what the fuck do you mean you didn’t die?” he screamed, scaring Dick and Damian in the process.

you sat on the ground, trying to compose yourself, “I went on an undercover mission for league. I had to die in order to protect not only myself but all of you and the entire league. which explains why I look different,” you murmured the last part.

“I thought you were dead. for years, I thought you were dead! and I hate that I still love you and never moved on!” he exclaimed, seeing the way you stared at him heartbrokenly, “you think I wanted this to happen? it was for the betterment of the league if I took on this mission. I never wanted to leave you or Steph, hell I didn’t want to leave any of you but I had too! it broke my heart knowing what I had to do!” you yelled back.

Tim bent down, taking you into his arms, “what the hell are we going to do?” he whispered in your ear, not knowing how to respond to any of this rationally. you shrugged as the two of you tried to calm yourselves down from the hysterics you both were throwing, “I just need you here with me,” you whispered back.

Tim nodded, not releasing you from the hug you were giving him. “I won’t. I won’t let you go! not anymore!” he replied. you laughed through your tears as you heard someone else walk into the room.

“what the fuck.....” you heard Steph and Jason’s voice scream through the Batcave, “what the FUCK is going on?” they screamed in panic.

hehehe a cliffhanger

#DC comics #DC imagines #dc x reader #dc imagine #dc #Tim Drake #tim drake imagine #tim drake x reader #Tim Drake x Y/n #Red Robin #red robin x reader #comics #red robin imagine #red robin x y/n

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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years

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Loki spoilers won't be found here.

Loki shouldn't exist. Not as a show anyway. Despite being perhaps Marvel's most popular character on screen, Loki snuffed it at the start of Avengers: Infinity War. But of course, that didn't stick for long, what with him being a god and all.

Following the return of an alternate Loki in Avengers; Endgame, Thor's mischievous brother is now working to fix the timeline alongside an organisation known as the Time Variance Authority (TVA). It's a weird starting point for one of Marvel's most unique characters, but in a world where people fly and heroes are named after bugs, weird is most welcome. In fact, that's exactly why fans are so passionate about Marvel, and that includes Loki director Kate Herron.

"I remember trying to turn one of my Barbies into Storm, and I melted her hair off," says Herron. As far as Marvel entry points go, that has to rank up there with the very best. And just like Kate grew up "loving the X-Men cartoon," a whole new generation will grow up adoring shows like Loki.

Herron tells us that she's always loved the God of Mischief, so when she heard that Loki would be starring in his own solo outing, she immediately had to get involved. "I remember saying to my agent, 'Just keep calling them. Just keep calling them. Eventually, they will cave, and they will meet me.'"

Once she was in the room with Disney, Kate showed them a 60-page pitch document that included "everything" in it. "I figured, go big or go home, because I knew I’d be up against some really experienced directors, and I thought, 'Well, I’m not going to lie to them' and be like, 'I’m the most experienced person you’re meeting.’ But I thought I’d just be the most passionate."

"Loki defines what the vibe of the MCU has become. He was that, almost from the beginning."

Clearly, it worked, and not long after, Herron started to collaborate with Loki head writer Michael Waldron, another Marvel fan who took an unusual path to reach this point. Before joining the House of Mouse, Michael worked in the Rick and Morty writers room, which he describes as a sort of "sci-fi college" where he was "inundated with science-fiction knowledge all day, every day."

Riffing on obscure Marvel characters for Rick and Morty put Waldron in good stead for the challenges he would face writing Loki. "Obviously that kind of sci-fi multiversal world was adjacent to what Marvel is doing more and more of. My brain was really finely tuned for that, heading into the MCU world."

In his first pitch meeting, Michael described Loki himself as pivotal to this world that Marvel has created. "He defined what the sense of humour and the vibe of the MCU had become. He was that, almost from the beginning." It's vital then that Marvel gets this show right, and that's something both Michael and Kate are fully aware of.

Not only does Herron want to "pay respect and homage to a character that people love," she also wants to ensure "there’s a reason why we’re going back in," by "taking Loki to fresh ground."

Of course, covering "fresh ground" can be risky, especially with a "six-hour movie" like this. And that's why Waldron was "terrified" longtime Marvel fans might find their show too complex or inaccessible. "That was my biggest fear. It keeps me up at night," says Michael. But the writers room rose to that challenge by starting from the ground up.

"We had to establish a logical foundational sci-fi reality for the show. It’s the TVA. They police time. That meant that we had to create rules, and build out what do they do? Why do they do it? For the writers’ room, they all had drawings and stuff like this on the whiteboards."

"That was my biggest fear. It keeps me up at night."

"And that necessitates really complex explanations and ideas," Michael continues. "Then you have to figure out: 'OK, how can we boil this down into a very simple way so that the audience is going to understand what Loki is going through, but they’re not going to feel like they’re in science class? They’re not going to tune out because they’re bored?'"

That doesn't seem likely though. Waldron describes himself as the show's "harshest critic," so he was quick to call out scenes or bits of dialogue that might not work. "I’m very easily bored," says Michael. "I fall asleep easily in anything." And it was this low threshold that helped him navigate those trickier exposition scenes in ways that will still hold the viewer's interest.

And it also helps that we've never seen Loki quite like this before. As Kate points out, "Loki's in a very different place to where we’ve seen him in the last 10 years. We’re taking him on a very unique, new journey. It’s him working out who he is, and trying to basically undo this mess he’s made with time, with the TVA."

Although there will be nods to the comics, Herron says that Loki's journey here is something we've "not seen or read before." And that's also true of where we're at in the MCU right now. Post-Endgame, this is a very different world to the one Stan Lee envisioned all those many years ago.

Michael remembers when the Loki writer's room was fortunate enough to watch an early cut of Avengers: Endgame, and then suddenly they realised, "We’re making Loki in this era after that." So what comes next? "To me, that was exciting – this unchartered territory of 'where does the MCU go?' It felt like, more than ever, that sandbox – we could blow the lid on it, and go wherever we wanted to."

No comic book characters were off-limits to Waldron and his team either. "If they were within the rights, and legal could clear it, there was no reason we couldn’t try and chase them down." And when we pressed him on possible cameos, Michael simply told us to "Expect the unexpected."

"Loki's in a very different place to where we’ve seen him in the last 10 years."

That's often par for the course with new shows like this, but we have no reason to doubt Michael here, because for once, it really does seem like Loki will be different from anything that's come before. Kate says just when it looked like things might be getting "too" weird — "They’re not going to let me do this" – Marvel told her, “No, go weirder.”

So yes, keep an eye out for "twists and turns" and sure, look out for wider "ramifications" that will impact the MCU at large. But first and foremost, except things to get real weird real fast. Could melty-haired Storm even appear for a multiverse cameo? Probably not, but that's exactly the kind of chaos we're expecting to see in the God of Mischief's very first solo venture.

Loki premieres on June 9, 2021, streaming exclusively on Disney+.

#Loki #Disney+#Michael Waldron #Kate Herron #interview

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cooloddball · 3 years

Note

I swear to God, these copy pasta anons have me so on edge that every time I see an anon saying they’re losing their faith in cockles or whatever I just think they’re an undercover anti or something. So here’s the thing, I think Jensen’s been a lot more active on social media purely because of business. He’s posted about and commented on his new co workers’ instagram posts a lot lately. It’s obviously for pr and that’s ok, in fact I think until two weeks ago, most of his interactions with J@red were about w@lker, and then the fallout drama happened and now he’s going out of his way to show that he and the overgrown man-child are ok again, it’s actually a little funny. He doesn’t really need to do that anymore with Misha, as of now they won’t be in any new projects together (that we know of) but he still makes a point of liking Misha’s posts, even ones that made me raise an eyebrow, like the bloody shirt one or the 4th of July one. Besides we know Jenmish like to keep their business private. Technically speaking, they don’t really need to interact anymore because they’re just former coworkers to the outside world, I don’t think they’ll rock the boat and go out of their way to flirt on social media, especially because a lot more people are zooming in on their relationship lately. But like I said, they like to mostly keep their shit private, it’s been proven to us many times. The whole “Vicki helped me move in with a friend” business,and then it turns out that friend was Jensen all these years later, or all the times that they hung out outside of work that we only find out about later on, the latest example being that ridiculously couple-y picture where they’re holding their coworker’s new baby in a hospital. My point is, Jenmish will be perceived by us when they want to be perceived by us. We don’t really have a way of knowing how much they’ve kept in touch, but based on things like “ok babe” or ‘blanygate’ as some like to call it, I’m guessing they’re doing just fine.

Yes I agree with all this.

However, Jensen has always commented on his friends' posts. And what's interesting it's almost always something thirsty especially under Max's posts :)

x x

What's interesting is that he rarely comments on Misha's photos and he even has a particular way in which he likes Misha's posts.

As for him and JP, yes I think it's for PR to show everything is okay. I think he wants to put all the bs behind him being that he's doing a spn prequel and spn is based on the premise of family. He and JP have been branded as family for so long so much so that that's all there ever will be. I also believe they made up and are still friends but that tantrum JP threw put an extra strain on their friendship.

Speaking of PR. Jensen has liked all of Clif's posts from June. Nothing in that is weird per se, but he rarely likes his posts. What's even more interesting is that Clif always tags JP, Gen, Jensen and Dee on his posts( why does he do that though? It's a bit odd. Also do you remember when Clif's brother was hating on hellers and cockles shippers on twitter last year and Speaking on behalf of the Ackles and Dee said he doesn't even know who he is and should stop spaeaking on behalf of her family?)

Anyway Clif stopped tagging Jensen and Dee after the JP's Twitter tantrum. However, Jensen has liked each and every photo since that date. It's just funny.

x x x

Also Clif and Misha don't follow each other on IG anymore. I think they used to follow each other or at least Clif used to follow Misha because he follows everyone from the spn cast 👀 even Alaina and Matt. Something isn't adding up.

Also remember Dee posting the mantra tea on her IG stories a few days after the scandal whilst on a walk in the woods? 👀 all I'm saying is if they are trying too hard all of a sudden and it's damage control. It's all a out family and this is not far fetched tbh.

All in all, Jensen "coping with shit" Ackles J"gutted" P and Misha "I love and miss you both" Collins are all still friends though the dynamics of that friendship may have changed greatly since the spn prequel announcement.

On cockles. Yes there are still together. As I said in my answer earlier, social media comments and likes don't mean anything tbh.

This digressed a lot but I think it's in the purview of PR and even if you didn't ask for this, it's what you got, LOL.

Speaking of copy pasta anons I have one very bitter anon in my inbox and I just laughed at what they had to say about me and cockles. Stay tuned for developments.

#asks #anon #j2 fallout theory #aftermath of j2 fallout #this whole plot keeps thickening #it gets curiouser and curiouser #jensen and friends #copy pasta #j2 fallout

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maldito-arbol · 3 years

Text

Let’s talk about the GP zodiacs (Part 2)

HOLSY HSIT I LOVE THE GP KIDS SO MUCH AND THEIR SIGNS ARE SO INTERESTING

Thank u to puff-poff for shooting me with an ask about the gp kids, I think our brains just assimilated

One more note: I should’ve mentioned this in my last post but compatibility between signs doesn’t only apply to romantic relationships, it applies to any kind of relationship like friendships, family relations, etc. It’s just that when it comes to more platonic relationships, wholly incompatible signs are more likely to be able to work something out together. As an example, I’m a Gemini, and I’m about 300% certain I could never ever in my life date a Pisces, but I do have a few Pisces friends that I get along well enough with.

Okay same drill—sign, element, infodump, GO

Violet

Birthdate: June 12th

Sign: Gemini

Element: Air

Overview: SQUEALS GUYS ITS VIOLET MY BELOVED. WE’RE BOTH GEMINIS THEREFORE WE ARE THE SAME PERSON. I’m kidding but no, Violet being a Gemini makes her 100x easier to project onto. So I mentioned before that Air signs are the least in tune with their emotions, are the thinkers before they act, are horribly indecisive, and these very much apply to Geminis as well. However, the most iconic trait of a Gemini is the ability to switch personalities at the drop of a hat whenever it services the group of people they’re in—what most people call the ‘two-faced’ part of Geminis. Hey, I promise you that being two-faced is actually a pretty cool and useful asset when in the hands of a decent human being. It means we get along well with a lot of different people, and if we don’t, we can act like we do as if it’s nothing. This asset, however, can turn into a curse of sorts in that a lot of us have...NO IDEA what our actual personality is. We reshape and remold ourselves and copy traits from other signs to fit in so much that we lose sight of who we are as an individual, and therefore we have a very hard time figuring out what we truly want. This is where the indecisiveness comes into play—ask a Gemini what they want for lunch and you’ll get a “what? Huh? Oh, you pick. I’m fine with whatever.” I know Geminis best because I am one, pls forgive me for rambling so much more about them than the other signssss.

Okay so first of all, let’s talk about Violet adapting to other characters to ‘fit in’. It’s not as obvious because Violet DOES seem to have one very fixed personality, but Violet prefers to speak through actions rather than words, so I would call her following Emma to help the children at GP a Gemini move. She could’ve simply dragged her to Lucas—she’s probably strong enough to do so, but instead she decided to go along with her. This isn’t to say there’s no pushback of course, as Air signs Geminis aren’t idiots, so they’ll often try to reason with others (particularly fire signs cough cough) to try to bring logic and critical thinking into the conversation. However, when that fails, they can still be counted on to support their friends even if they disagree. This is why Geminis and Leos are soulmates you heard it here, the stars said Violemma is the way. BUT ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW VIOLET’S THE ONE ADAM LISTENS TO DURING THE LEUVIS BATTLE. YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT BEING ABLE TO GET ALONG WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE, THERE YOU GO.

Anyway it’s also very much worth noting that while Violet can seem very harsh at times (bc Geminis will put you in your PLACE), bringing her logical kind of advice into conversations can be a very helpful comforter.

On another note this scene is so gay?

Compatibility and ships: hellooooooo Air sign Violet you are compatible with other Air signs (Aquarius, Libra, and Gemini) as well as Fire signs (Leo, Sagittarius, and Aries). Usually you’ll see Aquarius and Sagittarius as the most compatible with Geminis but I disagree with that because I have never met a Sagittarius I like so I’m still pointing fervently at Leos and the fact that Emma is a Leo. Listen. Violemma is the way. I am determined to convert all of you to Violemma if it’s the last thing I do. Geminis simply cannot help themselves around Leos they fall like a fucking anvil for that bright, golden-hearted dumbass energy. If there’s any Leos in the tpn fandom let me know I might just propose to you.

Oliver

Birthdate: October 25th

Sign: Scorpio

Element: Water

Overview: the first time I looked up Oliver’s birthday I went “Scorpio???? REALLY????” but then this is another case where the more I think about it, it does indeed make sense. If Leos are the natural leaders of the Fire signs, then Scorpios are the natural leaders of the Water signs. Where Cancers and Pisces will often lose themselves to their emotions, Scorpios have a very strong handle on them. I mentioned before that Water signs are at the highest emotional level, but Scorpios are a bit of an interesting case because you oftentimes won’t even notice that they’re very emotional people. They try to act like Air signs in that way, but their true colors are always there, waiting to be coaxed out.

For Oliver, you can clearly tell that his emotional bond with his friends and especially with Lucas is very high—but even so, he doesn’t let his emotions cloud his judgment or his ability to adapt to the situation at hand. Where earth signs are very fixed and difficult to move, water signs are always moving and changing to find solutions best suited for new circumstances. The best example I can give is the part where the music plays early, and despite internally panicking about it, Oliver is the one who naturally steps up to calm everyone down.

Scorpios are great at handling others’ emotions as well as their own, which makes them marvelously empathetic leaders. We stan.

Compatibility and ships: as a Water sign, Oliver is compatible with other Water signs (Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio) as well as Earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn) so speaking broadly that makes him compatible with Pepe (a Pisces) and Zack (a Cancer) but narrowing it down, Scorpios are usually best with Tauruses and Cancers. Idk if I’m the only one who ships Oliver with Pepe but I know there’s a few people who ship him with Zack—so congrats to you guys, you won the stars’ approval.

Lucas

Birthdate: November 28th

Sign: Sagittarius

Element: Fire

Overview: yall,,,, when I found out Lucas was a Saggy Titty I legitimately guffawed out loud. Lucas and Sagittarius is so funny.... because it’s so wrong. Saggy Titties are the definition of chaos, they’re brazen, impulsive, and constantly changing. Like think of a frat boy in a house full of beer and pool tables and hot girls and you get Sagittarius. This is why I have never met a Sagittarius I like—because they have frat boy energy, and even non-male Sagittariuses require wayyy too much energy for me to handle. I guess the only time Lucas really does act like a Sagittarius is in his childhood with Yuugo, and the way he’s a lot bolder and outgoing versus the quieter older Lucas we have now.

It is important to note that Lucas has been through a lot of trauma and lost a lot of comrades which could very well change the a person’s entire outlook and turn their personality 180 degrees—that could be a large factor, although on the flip side, Yuugo still fits his Capricorn sign even after going through what he’s been through. Different events affect different people differently. Lucas was most likely knocked entirely off his Sagittarius high-horse very quickly when he arrived in Goldy Pond. But if I had no prior knowledge of who he was beforehand, I very well might’ve pegged him a Leo like Emma or even another subtle Aries like Norman. So yes, he does indeed have fire energy, it’s just generally very lackluster and farrrr away from Sagittarius’ level.

Compatibility and ships: okay so I know the only Lucas ship with any weight to it in this fandom is Yuucas, and here’s the thing,,, A Sagittarius and Capricorn combo is the most horrifying fucking couple imaginable and I’m stan so hard. Realistically speaking, your Capricorns would try to put a leash on their Sagittariuses because man. I forgot to mention how childish Sagittariuses can be (though the frat boy comparison should’ve been a clue), and holy shit that poor Capricorn is gonna get ripped to shreds by their Sagittarius. Imagine like a super pompous cowboy trying to ride a furious bull that’s trying to buck him off like there’s no tomorrow. Capricorns are people who want complete control over themselves and their partners, while Sagittariuses,, Saggy Titties just want to see the world burn. Put them together and you could probably cause the End Times Apocalypse. But you know what? Good for them. I think Yuugo and Lucas love each other enough that the toxicity that comes with typical pairups with these two signs is about nonexistent between them. But I fully believe they could still destroy an entire planet and that’s valid of them to do so. Anyway moving on!

you wanna talk about another Sagittarius that makes absolutely no sense?

Paula

Birthdate: December 9th

Sign: Sagittarius

Element: Fire

Overview: My authors I am begging you, stop putting character birthdays in the Sagittarius zone you clearly don’t know what a Sagittarius is.

Since I refuse to acknowledge Paula as a Sagittarius, let’s talk about what sign she actually acts like because I said so. Paula’s a Virgo. Fight me Shirai. (Also im sus that shirai is virgophobic because where the fuck are my virgos. There’s like zero major characters that are virgos, and the characters that ARE don’t even act like virgos. I’m coming for your small intestine Shirai) so as earth signs, virgos are generally pretty resourceful and of course level-headed. They’re kinda shy and reserved, but they’re also very hard workers you can count on when you need to get a job done. Nary will you find a Virgo that procrastinates or attempts to weasel their way out of a mission they’ve been given. The unmovable earth in virgos shows through in how committed they are, and we can see all these traits in Paula. Though she’s a quieter member of the GP resistance, you can tell just how much of an asset she is to them. She doesn’t run, doesn’t lose her cool, and she’s good at pointing out important details.

Pls let me decide your characters’ birthdays for you Shirai I promise I am good at it.

Compatibility and ships: I guess, astrologically speaking, as a Sagittarius, Paula does fit pretty well with Sonya because she’s a Gemini. I actually know next to nothing about Paula ships but I do know she’s lesbian and her and Sonya are cute but I also ship her with Barbara because reasons don’t ask questions I WILL bite you anyway they’re compatible too because barb’s also a Gemini.

Lot of Geminis, don’t you think? Yes I do. Let’s talk about them.

Sonya and Sandy

Birthdates: June 3rd and May 22nd respectively

Signs: Gemini

Element: Air

Overview: these two are what I call the gemini twins bECAUSE THEYRE ALWAYS HANGING OUT AND ITS SO TRUE GEMINIS LOVE EACH OTHER BUT ALSO ITS SO WEIRD THAT WE GET ALONG. imagine like two of those one way mirrors facing each other where it just goes on and on and on for infinite mirror and that’s what two Geminis hanging out is like. Look, they’re literally thinking the same thing and it’s so great

Anyway there isn’t a whole lot of Sandy and Sonya content to go off of in the first place, but them being Geminis seems reasonable to me—at the very least they are indeed meant to get along well and they’re so in sync I could cry. Plus they’re pretty intuitive and able to think right on the spot as they’re facing Nous and Nouma (at least at first) My man Shirai also.. really likes Geminis for some reason because they keep popping up. So instead of one Spider-Man meme it looks more like this,

Compatibility and ships: not gonna dwell too long on this section because from previous ones you may already recall they’re compatible with each other and I guess with Paula as well as I must begrudgingly accept the fact that shes canonically a Sagittarius.

Pepe

Birthdate: February 19th

Sign: Pisces

Element: Water

Overview: so I mentioned before that water signs are at about the highest emotion level, which makes Pisces a very sensitive group like Cancers. But Pisces in general are known for being the kindest and most accepting people as well, which means they’re able to make a lot of friends very easily. They’re basically that one person you sat next to in class who started a conversation with you just to be nice. Now again, there’s not a whole lot of Pepe content to go off of, but we can tell he’s kind and loving to his friends and the other kids in GP. One thing I can mention is that Pisces usually are the one of the nosiest of the signs, and they get very bothered by lies and secrets (this is true for a lot of water signs, but Pisces are the worst in my experience) so we got this single piece that may have a little bit of the Pisces in Pepe showing:

Compatibility and ships: So as a Pisces, Pepe is only compatible with Oliver and Zack considering they’re also water signs. Everyone else is Fire and Air, funnily enough, but the Pepe ships with those two are super cute I think so it’s ok.

Zack

Birthdate: July 7th

Sign: Cancer

Element: Water

Overview: so do I think Zack fits his sign? Yes, in a way I do. I already went into Cancers when I explained Don, so quick recap: Cancers are some of the most sensitive and empathetic, so their loyalty to their loved ones is pretty close to on-par with an Aries. And while Zack isn’t as outwardly emotional as someone like Don, the Cancer in him shows up well in that he’s constantly taking extremely difficult missions he doesn’t want his friends to risk, and he shrugs off any injury to himself.

This might just be a me thing but almost every Cancer I’ve met has a habit of doing That. I am so concerned for their safety. I guess though, if I hadn’t known his sign beforehand, I 100% would’ve pegged him an Aries.

Compatibility and ships: I already went over this with Pepe, but Zack is compatible with Pepe and Oliver. Y’all ok listen to me. OT3. Make it happen. Between them they have every sign in the element of water. They’d be unstoppable.

Gillian

Birthdate: September 30th

Sign: Libra

Element: Air

Overview: here’s a fun one. So as I previously stated, air signs are usually out of tune with their emotions, but where that causes Aquariuses and Geminis to repress or hide them, Libras,,,, just dump them everywhere. Listen I know Libras are supposed to be the sign of the balance scales and they have a thing about the world being perfectly balanced which makes them more prone to revenge bUT ALSO. MY first and foremost takeaway from Libras is that they all suffer from Rich Bitch syndrome, in which they obsess over material items and every Libra has a thing about cute girly stuff change my mind. HOWEVER, they’re often very chaotic as well, the kinda Sagittarius of the Air signs. So like a super cute and seemingly fun girl who will probably murder you in your sleep.

I’m sorry I can’t take it I’ve been laughing at this for the past fifteen minutes it’s too funny. Anyway, Gillian’s Rich Bitch Syndrome appears through her fashion statement. Her PINS. omg. Gillian your Libra is showing.

Compatibility and ships: as a Libra Gillian is compatible with other Air signs (Aquarius, Gemini, Libra) as well as Fire signs (Aries, Sagittarius, Leo) but she’s most compatible with Aries and Sagittarius so—— Paula yes, but also Nigel because he’s an Aries! Speaking of Nigel,

Nigel

Birthdate: March 27th

Sign: Aries

Element: Fire

Overview: Aries Nigel doesn’t come as a surprise, let’s be real here. I delved into Aries before with Norman, so just as a recap: Aries are so intensely loyal to the ones they love and would do absolutely anything for them even at the cost of their lives, and this can make them prone to outbursts of anger and/or impulsivity. Here’s your one image of Aries Nigel, I don’t even have to explain:

Compatibility and ships: so I already said this but Nigel is at his most compatible with Gillian. Are there other Nigel ships?? Pls let me know I’m very curious.

Aw, it’s over now :(

I loved talking about the GP kids they fill the void in my heart. Now to move onto talking about the demons because the silliest idiot requested it and I am beyond ecstatic to spout pure headcanon bullshit. If you’re feelin excited then feel free to keep sending characters my way I will be happy to ramble about their canon zodiac or my headcanon for their zodiac

Edit: i forgot to link part 1 to anyone who wants it and doesn’t want to stalk my profile to find it

#the promised neverland #yakusoku no neverland #tpn analysis #tpn #goldy pond #you have no idea the trouble tumblr put me through attempting to put only ten images in this giant post #fuck u tumbley for having a limit #but i also took the extra effort to make unnecessary memes so that ones on me #hope y’all like #ugh this made me think about GP ships and how much i wanna draw them #especially the new OT3 I can hyperfixate on #also can we talk about Sagittarius erasure in media #the only Sagittarius I know who actually acts like a Sagittarius in his respective show is Shou from mp100 #but he’s also one of my favorites so I guess not all sagittariuses (derogatory)#what was i talking about #tpn manga spoilers #mal rants #man I wanted to wait a little longer to post this but I’m literally on the brink of passing out I’m so tired #so here ya go take it #idk if I’ve made errors I was like half-awake when I proofread it #but anyway g’night I’m gonna go into a coma

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personuhh · 3 years

Text

I want your input on how you guys think the P4 cast’s futures would shake out! I have a general idea of where I want things to go, but I think having input from everyone is important too. Any characters that I’ve left off (Kanji, the Dojimas, Yukiko, etc) already have pretty solid arcs planned, so don’t worry, I didn’t forget them.

There are a bunch of numbered questions to make it easier to respond to, I’d be happy even if you guys took the time just answering one or two! Thanks for your interest, and hopefully you guys find this an interesting read at the very least lol.

(I’ve grouped all of the questions at the end in case you want to see them all together.)

General Info:

The game is planned to take place in 2015, so everything will take place 3 years after Arena/P4DAN/Golden Epilogue.

Because it’s centered around Inaba, it will only focus on characters still in the town (so Rise, Chie and Naoto will not be playing large roles in the game).

Yosuke:

I’ve mentioned already where I see Yosuke in 2015 (directionless, just finishing college but still working at Junes) but I’ve also been tossing around a few ideas for future careers that I think would work for him. I think him being a mechanic or just generally handy with fixing things would be a good avenue to explore, not just because of his interest in motorcycles, but also because I think it would compliment his arc nicely; for someone who’s so afraid of screwing everything up, I think it would be good for Yosuke to realize that he’s really good at fixing things. it’s not too out of nowhere (he’s a broke college student, I’m sure he’s had to fix a leaky faucet in his apartment or something, and he must have tuned up and fixed his bike after he crashed it), and could be a thing he realizes (with Yu’s help ofc) over the course of his route that he just... never thought of as a legitimate skill before.

I’ve also thought about him joining the Shadow Operatives (Mitsuru’s team of shadow fighting elites, comprised mostly of former SEES members), which is usually my go-to when thinking about what his potential career could be, but in a lot of ways it feels like somewhat of a copout. On top of it glazing over Yosuke’s critical lack of personal identity, it also feeds into the idea that he isn’t anything special without his persona, which doesn’t exactly do much for character growth. I think it’s the most obvious and canon-compliant choice, and one that he would both enjoy and be good at, I worry about what it would mean for his character. Of course, Mitsuru recognizes his skills and would likely take him on no problem, and while I love the idea of Yosuke joining them and living a life full of excitement and badassery, I don’t think he needs to do much soul-searching to arrive at this decision.

So...

#1: What jobs and/or hobbies do you see Yosuke doing that utilizes his skills (either preexisting or ones you believe he could easily develop)? Thoughts on what I’ve said regarding his potential career?

Yu:

Yu has been giving me some pretty big headaches when trying to plot this game. Obviously, as the protagonist, giving him something interesting to do that also ties into the plot is important; which is why I’m leaning so heavily toward him working for the Inaba PD. It would fit with why he chooses to return to Inaba permanently, and would be plausible within the time period, along with obvious connections (Dojima) that could secure him a position within the force. My concern is that the game then becomes either too serious, or too heavily based around Yu as opposed to the rest of the cast. I definitely don’t want it to turn into yet another Inaba mystery, and choosing another profession for Yu would likely keep things a lot more lighthearted (if Yu’s working as an elementary teacher for example, the biggest problems he’s going to face are like, the stubborn kid in his class that won’t stop shoving pencils up his nose, maybe an angry parent, nothing TOO serious that requires a complex solution) and leave more time to focus on whichever route you choose.

HOWEVER, this job also would allow for easy cameos from outside characters (Naoto, Chie, Akihiko and the other Shadow Operatives) all of whom work closely with, or directly for the police. I just worry about it taking over and pulling the focus away from other characters. I don’t want it to be Detective Simulator: Persona 4 Edition, which is why I’ve also been throwing around other alternatives for Yu’s career (the obvious ones being teacher/daycare, and veterinarian) but it needs to be a job easily securable within the 3 year timeframe and a reason for him to move back to Inaba. If he’s still enrolled in college with the promise of a job at the end of it, there would be no reason for him to move and have to commute.

#2: Would you prefer Yu’s job be something more in the background rather than one of the major driving forces of the plot?

#3: Would you prefer Yu’s role be more of a player insert protagonist?

#4: Arena-style internal narration (first person, hearing Yu’s thoughts), or stick to P4′s approach (second person, slightly more objective)?

#5: Any suggestions for what you think would suit Yu as a career?

Naoki:

I’m completely fine having Naoki’s job staying as him just working at (and eventually inheriting) Konishi Liquors, but I think there’s still plenty to explore for his character outside of that. Because his SL focuses on Naoki grieving and Yu leaning not to treat him any differently, it doesn’t account for the rest of Inaba and how they treat Naoki. Small town reputations stick, and even if he’s managed to move past Saki’s death to an extent, everyone still knows him as the other Konishi kid, and I think he would really struggle to deal with that reputation. Even if he’s learned to open up to Yu, Yosuke, and a few of his school friends by the end of his SL, I can see him becoming incredibly jaded and growing tired of Inaba because he can’t manage to escape the public’s pity. I’ve thought about him turning to dangerous, risk-taking behavior and escapism as a result of this, but it’s pretty hard to change an entire town’s opinion of you and your family, and I don’t see where it could go from here other than him essentially running away from it all and giving up.

#6: Any ideas for Naoki’s route or character in general?

#7: Would you be interested in dating him, or would you prefer it either be platonic, or for him to be kept as a supporting cast member?

#8: Are you okay with heavy topics like (underage) alcoholism, or do you believe it would be better to avoid a plot like this?

Daisuke & Kou:

I’m honestly hesitant to include these two in the game at all, as I find it a little hard to believe that they’d stay in Inaba for that long.

#9: Any ideas for potential jobs that would keep them in Inaba?

#10: Would you prefer each of them to have separate routes, or have them grouped together?

#11: Would you be interested in dating them together, separately, or for them to have their route(s) kept platonic and for them be in a relationship with each other?

#12: Any general ideas for their route(s)?

Dates:

Since I have no set time frame for the game, I’m open to including all kinds of seasonal dates, festivals, and events (like Valentines or New Years, for example) and I’ll decide on a time of year based on that.

Aside from shared events between all routes, though, I’d love suggestions for some cute character-specific dates (eg. Yu takes Yosuke to a concert, Kanji and Yu go shopping for yarn, something like that). Please go ahead and be as random and specific as you want, it doesn’t have to be a massive event.

#13: Any general date ideas?

#14: Any character-specific date ideas?

Full question list under the cut:

Question list:

#2: Would you prefer Yu’s job be something more in the background rather than one of the major driving forces of the plot?

#3: Would you prefer Yu’s role be more of a player insert protagonist?

#4: Arena-style internal narration (first person, hearing Yu’s thoughts), or stick to P4′s approach (second person, slightly more objective)?

#5: Any suggestions for what you think would suit Yu as a career?

#6: Any ideas for Naoki’s route or character in general?

#7: Would you be interested in dating Naoki, or would you prefer it either stay platonic, or for him to be kept as a supporting cast member?

#8: Are you okay with heavy topics like (underage) alcoholism, or do you believe it would be better to avoid a plot like this?

#9: Any ideas for potential jobs that would keep Kou & Daisuke in Inaba?

#10: Would you prefer Kou & Daisuke to have separate routes, or have them grouped together?

#11: Would you be interested in dating Kou & Daisuke together, separately, or for them to have their route(s) kept platonic and for them be in a relationship with each other?

#12: Any general ideas for Kou & Daisuke’s route(s)?

#13: Any general date ideas?

#14: Any character-specific date ideas?

#ada's writing #i need a tag for this game....#persona 4 #ada speaks

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adamsvanrhijn · 3 years

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it’s time for... the great big post of Things Smithensy Published This Year, 2020 / quarantimes edition!

under a cut this year for the first time!

ordinarily this post is called “etc etc Things Smithensy Wrote This Year etc etc”. it’s different this year because i wrote a significant amount more than i published (formerly, this would have been to the tune of a few thousand, this year it’s about 200 thousand) and also published some things that were entirely or partially written in 2019.

total # of works published on AO3: 46 total # of chapters (including one shots) "": 143 total # words "": 350,179

[for comparison, in the previous five years, 2015-2019, i published 243,892 words. 🧠🪱] [that’s the worm emoji, if you’re on a platform that doesn’t support it.]

most prolific months of the year by word count:

May: 47,643

August: 41,241

March: 40,112

other interesting things:

1 work was first posted in 2019 and continued to update through 2020. (it is one of three 2019 WIPs, the other two of which did not update at all this year! whoops!)

14 works first posted in 2020 remain incomplete

7 works contained sexual content

5 works contained content that would get me canceled in other fandoms!

summary of my 2020 music taste:

6 works are titled with Carly Rae Jepsen song lyrics

5 works are titled with Joanna Newsom song lyrics

5 works are titled with Vienna Teng song lyrics

2 works are titled with Aly & AJ song lyrics

Without further ado !

january

but level, in time Thomas and Richard ten years after the conclusion of you will not take my heart, alive. Rated M, 1.2k words. [WIP]

and eager besides Thomas dresses the Duke for dinner. Rated T, 1.2k words. During canon.

like foals, unsteady on their feet Two blokes, having a chat, not trying to fit in for once. Rated T, 11.1k words. During canon.

"You can draw the line wherever you like, Mr Ellis. Richard. Doesn't change the fact that I went off with a strange man from a pub, now, does it – "

"Who among us hasn't?"

Thomas made a sound rather like he was choking. It seemed inappropriate to smile; Richard did anyway. Just a small one; he couldn't help himself. Thomas had a way of cutting through his curtains, letting the sunshine in.

"So," Thomas said after a moment. He coughed. "You really are…"

And hadn't he thought he'd made that perfectly clear.

"No, Mr Barrow," he said, "I touched your mouth back there owing to our shared inclination toward domestic service."

february

(went with you up to) the place you grew up in A summer day in the Ellis back garden. Rated T, 1.6k words. Post-canon.

want you in my room The last night of the Royal visit, and the morning after. Rated T, 3.7k words. During canon.

all my wooing done Not all firsts have seconds. Rated T, 1.1k words. During canon.

and speak each other in passing Four times Thomas Barrow didn't meet Richard Ellis. Rated T, 1.3k words During canon.

"William," Thomas calls back, "we don't have all day."

He's gotten distracted watching one of several tearful departures happening on the platform. People do love to get in the way for that sort of thing, like no one else's time or space matters because they've got feelings.

"...Mum, come on, now, it won't be so long – "

"They never do let you away from that place – "

It's a young man about their age and a woman who is evidently his mother.

No one ought to behave like that in public.

march

3 additional chapters of a fic we'll get to later comprised the bulk of the ~40k words from this month; but no unique works were last published/updated in March!

april

far away, the thudding of the guns Thomas, during and after the Front. Unrated, 20k words. [WIP, first chapter published Dec 8, 2019]

strange how I fit into you (there's a distance erased with the greatest of ease) It takes more than love to run a household. Rated M, 10.8k words. Post-canon.

"How did this get here?" Thomas asks, holding up one of Richard's shirts. It's soft; the pinstripes are faded and have been for ages now. There is an unidentifiable blotch on the sleeve up by the shoulder that wasn't there a few weeks ago when he last washed it.

Richard sets his head on his shoulder. His cheek scratches. Tomorrow morning he'll shave and Thomas will pretend to be relieved. "I don't know," he says lightly. "Must've been at work."

"It's not tailor's chalk," Thomas retorts.

"Maybe on the bus."

"You had your jacket off on the bus, did you?"

"Had it off some place," says Richard, nuzzling his neck. He holds him a little tighter, moves one hand up to his chest and the other lower than it needs to be. "Maybe here… I get distracted, don't I, Mr Barrow."

"Yes, you do," says Thomas, snippy, if reluctantly so. "And now you're distracting me, so get."

persistence A look at the shared history of Phyllis Baxter and Thomas Barrow. Rated T, 11k. [WIP, first chapter published Jan 3]

you and me will get on just fine Snippets from the Royal Visit. Rated T, 11.4k words. [WIP]

may

one more night with you The Crawleys open up Grantham House for the last time, and Thomas has someone to see. Unrated, 6.6k words. Post-canon. [WIP]

good love Five times Thomas danced with a woman, and one time he didn't. Rated T, 2.5k words. Pre, during, post canon.

He can't stop thinking about the last time he danced with somebody.

He hopes he's okay.

and I've been feeling weak without it (only want a real, real love) The danger always was that they wouldn't work in close quarters, but they do. Rated M, 14.6k words. Post-canon.

june

better things to do The night out in York goes differently. Unrated, 3.1k words. AU, canon divergence. [WIP]

From behind him comes the thrum of chatter and the sound of jazz music, upbeat and swinging, the sort he'd expect to hear at any place from the Palais to the Jubilee Hall but not necessarily in his own corner. Not necessarily for working people, as it happens, either, the other aspect notwithstanding. Dancing. There must be dancing. When was the last time he danced with anybody?

july

better late than the never we've been told before Richard fetches Thomas from Downton. Rated T, 4.8k words. Post-canon.

and those who sow trouble reap it A love triangle, except it's a many-angled shape. Rated T, 10.1k words. Pre, during canon. [WIP]

tiny little bows Thomas is tired of waiting. Richard is, too. Rated T, 2.6k words. During canon.

"Don't tell me they don't have those in London."

It is sweet, Thomas can admit, or at least it is as far as cats go. Just sat on the wall with its tail swishing, nuzzling his hand.

"Well, they don't have this one in London," says Mr Ellis. He looks up at Thomas and grins in a fashion that makes his heart flip over, then turns back to the cat. It's purring. Thomas can't blame it; he would be, too.

august

bring you back to where I know you (I just want you to let you let me hold you) Thomas and Richard find something they'd been missing. Rated X, 6k words. Post-canon.

only a steel man can be a lover They don't talk about the sadness. Rated T, 900 words. Post-canon.

it takes my breath away (what you do so naturally) Thomas chooses his own path. Then he veers off and finds a better one. Rated M, 5.4k words. During canon.

...linens airing out in windows and back gardens, children with clothing either hemmed just before their wrists and ankles or full of tucks and patches… Must not be a school day, but then you never know, do you?

The men are working, he suspects, only to find a game of football in the park just round the corner.

Home used to look like this.

He wonders if it still would, now.

to guide your eye Richard tries something old; Thomas tries something new. Unrated, 11.3k words. Post-canon.

september

writing in the margins Richard isn't sure of Mr Barrow just yet, but he hopes he will be soon. Rated T, 2.4k words. During canon.

...As it happens the resident butler and I seem to be getting on like a house on fire, but don't make anything of it just yet...

tend and mind Flu season. Thomas makes for a good nurse. Rated G, 485 words. Post-canon.

forever and please don't go A storm rolls in. Richard gets stuck at Downton. Rated T, 500 words. Post-canon.

count up all the chances Handsome young footmen loving people they shouldn't. Unrated, 2.8k words. Spanning and post canon. [WIP]

october

let's not give the game away Thomas struggles with a finer detail of valeting. Rated T, 600 words. Pre-canon.

take my eyes to borrow A chance encounter changes everything. It also changes very little. Rated M, 18.8k words. Pre and spanning canon, AU.

"You got into a spot of trouble with your commanding officer?"

"I may have done."

It was spoken like it ought to have been a joke, but Ellis wasn't smiling anymore. "Queer, isn't it, being in service," he murmured. He really was talkative. "The bonds you form… things aren't so clear-cut out here as they were before, are they?"

Had he told him he was in service, before?

"How do you mean?"

"I think you know, Corporal," he said.

"I don't," Thomas told him.

But he knew enough in the moment to know that he was lying.

the things I shut Daisy comes to a conclusion. Rated T, 1.8k words. Post-canon.

a love that won't sit still After the Royal Visit, Thomas and Richard correspond. Rated T, 18.5k words. Post-canon. [WIP]

hope keeps us standing Downton Abbey is not like other great houses, and its butler is not like other butlers. Unrated, 17.2k words. During canon. [WIP]

you follow what you feel inside (it's intuitive; you don't have to try) Times are changing at Downton, and Thomas has a decision to make. Rated M, 1.9k words. During canon, AU. [WIP]

a love that won't sit still The Royal visit ends; Thomas and Richard correspond. Rated T, 18.5k words. [WIP, first chapter Feb 2.]

november

of someone else's flowers Richard makes an important introduction. Rated T, 2.6k. Post-canon. [WIP]

all my casualties of love Thomas tells Richard about his past lovers. Rated T, 5.5k words. During canon.

nothing like a fresh abrasion (to win your love) Richard takes care of Thomas. Rated M, 15.3k words, extensive content warnings. Post-canon.

Fittingly, a breeze passes through from outside, occupying the moment of silence. Autumn air—it makes them both shiver. Earlier in the morning Richard had opened up the windows to get some light in, some fresh air. Most nights they keep the curtains drawn and with good reason, but they don't always get opened back up again.

It's the little things. He's going to endeavour to make them a priority in future.

Drapes tied back, window propped, shutters open. Sunshine.

He wonders if he ought to be concerned about heights.

LES MISÉRABLES: what of the rhythm and meter A literary exchange in the backroom of the Café Musain. Rated T, 1k words. Canon era. [Written in 2019.]

LES MISÉRABLES: the fall of a royal head Jean Prouvaire attempts to bring revolutionary praxis into the bedroom. Rated T, 1.7k words. Canon era. [Written in 2019.]

a web that you have wove There's something unusual about the Royal Household entourage… and Mr Ellis in particular. Rated T, 14k words. During canon, AU.

december

when to my soul, the body would say Thomas and Richard stay at a pub in the middle of nowhere; intimacy ensues. Rated X, 83k words. [WIP, first chapter published Jan 5 2020. This is the March fic.]

this sudden burst of sunlight Thomas & Richard's first time in the A Love That Won't Sit Still universe. Rated X, 5k words.

waken us from sleeping On his way to France Matthew comes across someone he knows. Rated M, 6.9k words. During/between canon. [WIP]

warm blood (underneath my skin) Vampire Richard drinks Thomas's blood. Rated X, 1.6k words. [WIP]

the most sacred of life's keepsakes Thomas & Sybil fall in love and get married. Rated T, 2.1k words. AU, canon divergence.

today, a difference Thomas & Sybil have a baby. Rated T, 7.7k words. AU, canon divergence.

never die for long Thomas has a letter; Sybil has ideas. Rated T, 5.3k words. AU, canon divergence.

kindling Telephone calls between Thomas and Richard on Christmas day, over the years. Rated T, 5.1k words. Post-canon.

They've got a sparkling tree and a roaring fire and full bellies and a very comfortable sofa and, best of all, each other, in a place that's their own. Both of their own, and unlike years past, neither of them are plucking hours out of thin air and hopping on milk trains to make the day work. There's nowhere to set off for in the morning, no other place they're meant to be, no other people to serve. They were together the day before and they'll be together the day after.

How very nice it is, that.

It was a very long time in coming.

#2020 tag #year in review tag #my fanfiction #fic talk tag #quarantimes

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beholdme · 3 years

Text

All the Many Shades of Gerry - Chapter 19

Chapters: 19/19

Fandom: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Gerard Keay, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay/Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist

Characters: Martin Blackwood, Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Gerard Keay, Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), Sasha James, Gertrude Robinson, Elias Bouchard

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Library AU, Librarian Jon, Artist Gerry, Trans Male Character, Trans Martin Blackwood, Canon Asexual Character, Asexual Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist, Ace Subtype - Sex Positive, Polyamory, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romantic Fluff, Falling In Love, Boys in Skirts, Kissing, Demisexual Gerard Keay, Minor Character Death, Past Character Death, Canon-Typical Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Flirting, Minor Jonathan “Jon” Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Adventures in Hair Dying, Happy Ending, Banter, Gerry has a lot of sass, Gerard Keay is Morticia Adams, Jon is a very grumpy Librarian, Martin adores them anyway.

Summary: In which Gerry is a kaleidoscope and Jon and Martin can’t help falling in love with him.

He happens to love them back.

Find it on Ao3

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

"It’s skew.”

“Come and straighten it, then.”

“I’m spotting, you’re hanging.”

Gerry growls at him. Jon looks rather pleased about it.

Martin, who doesn’t want Gerry to hit their infuriating lover with a hammer, goes over to where he’s hanging the massive painting and tilts it minutely to the left. “Better?”

“Perfect!” Jon pronounces, clapping his hands.

Through some sort of witchcraft, the artist has hung the painting in such a position that it emulates where a window would be in a traditional room. It opens up the space in such a way that it seems less like a store room, and far more like a creative space that someone would actually enjoy spending time in.

The lightning helps too, warm light filtering from the ceiling and corner lamps, and LCD strips illuminating the bookshelves from inside.

All in all, considering this was a utilitarian storage space just a few weeks ago, it seems like a downright miracle.

The three of them lean back against Jon's desk, free of clutter for the first and only time in its life. The bookshelves are empty, and except for his new painting, so are the walls.

The piano occupies one wall, and Gerry hopes to hear it being played often.

Jon reaches out and takes Gerry's hand, drawing them close together affectionately. "How long have you been planning for us to move in?"

"Well, I wasn't planning, per se. Only considering the possibility." Gerry smirks confidently. "I know we're all a little bizarre, but this is the course of most relationships, and we could only spend so much time sleeping over before paying for three flats became superfluous."

"Besides," Martin continues for him. "There's no harm in planning for something you hope will happen eventually. Especially when your new flatmates will be this wildly good looking."

He gestures to himself dramatically, doing a small turn in place. Gerry and Jon laugh with him happily, until he stumbles back into Gerry's side, where he gets wrapped up under an arm.

"So do you like your new space, Jon?" Gerry cuddles around him, twisting the three of them into an odd sort of snuggle pretzel.

"I absolutely adore it." Jon utters happily, sighing in contentment as they all lean there together.

***

At the end of June, Jon hands over his keys and the three of them officially live together.

There's still a lot of settling to be done, even though they've been moving in together for almost six weeks by that point. The boxes are unpacked, but they still need to make it a comfortable home for all of them, a certainty that comes only with time.

Martin and Jon both love their studies, a matching pair that look and feel completely opposite.

Martin opts for a small bedroom, keeping the bed from his old flat, his painting hung opposite. He finds an antique writing desk at a charity store, and installs it for writing poetry or working on his laptop in the evenings.

He adorns the walls with pictures and posters, and random pieces of poetry and music that he loves.

It's a cozy space that he adores, even though he opts to sleep in the master bedroom almost always. The option makes him feel like he has his own breathing room, even if he rarely needs it.

Jon's is more of a true study, with a large desk taking up the majority of the space. His walls are lined with shelves, and he promptly fills them with books and knickknacks. The odd collection includes first edition classics, next to mass market paperbacks and music books, with non-fiction nature and animal books scattered throughout. These are interwoven with seashells, tiny mechanical statues and several flowers preserved in resin, gifts from Martin throughout their relationship.

On the wall above the piano, he hangs framed photos of his parents, himself with Gerry as a teen, and all three of them together as adults. The photo he once took of Martin, Gerry and Tim hangs right in the centre, all his favorite humans in one frame. He hangs the sketch of him and Martin in the park from when they were all courting, as well as the others he has stolen from Gerry over time.

Gerry embraces the chaos and upheaval as if it's all he ever wanted, and really, it is. A home, with the people he loves, noisy and frenetic, loving and comfortable.

In the middle of July, he quits his job at the bar in the middle of a shift, with very little contemplation or preamble.

He smiles at his lovers radiantly when he comes through the door several hours early to find them watching a movie.

"What happened?" Martin queries, clear concern lining his expressive face.

"I quit." Gerry flops down between them, snuggling down immediately.

"But why?" Presses a sleepy Jon, trying to hide a yawn behind his hand.

Gerry shrugs. "I got the job because I was bored, essentially. I wanted to interact with interesting people and I didn't know anyone in London anymore. But tonight I realized how badly I wanted to be right here, with you two." He smiles at them, trying to explain without conveying too many of his sappy emotions. "l honestly couldn't think of one reason to be working at midnight on a Saturday, instead of at home, or out on a date, or literally anything else we could be doing together. So I quit."

"Oh Gerry." Jon whispers, both of them carefully tuned to his moods, regardless of his attempts at seeming unconcerned.

"I don't feel the need to fill my time and chase inspiration anymore. I just want to be with you. Both of you." He kisses first Martin's hand, then Jon's, grinning at them all the way.

"I love you. I'm happy you're home." Jon whispers to him, sleepy and content.

Martin hums an agreement, squeezing his hand and smiling down at him lovingly.

They watch their movie and then go to bed all together, and Gerry knows he's made the best choice of his life.

***

Gerry finds himself with an odd amount of time on his hands while his partners go to work during the day, like normal people.

He decides to take on several art commissions from clients he's actually interested in working for, which thrills Gertrude. He doesn't think it entirely makes up for his boyfriend hitting Peter Lukas in the middle of a showcase, but it's a start.

He also indulges himself and buys a new tattoo machine.

He's not really interested in taking clients again, but… well, he wants it and so he gets it. If it's only to use on himself or the occasional visitor, then that's fine by him.

"You have everything you need to give tattoos now, right?" Martin asks him one early morning.

Gerry is still mostly asleep, clutching a cup of tea and petting Saturn where he perches on his lap. He blinks at Martin, confused.

"I think so. I mean, I haven't used my machine yet, but there's really only one way to test it out." Gerry tilts his head curiously, sunlight glittering in his hair, dyed back to its original black. "Why do you ask?"

"Do you want to give me one?" Martin grins at him a bit shyly.

Gerry sits up straight, instantly wide awake. "Yes. So much."

Martin laughs warmly. "You have the same look on your face that Luna gets when we take out the catnip toys."

Uncaring about how eager he might look, Gerry shoos Saturn to go over and kneel by Martin. "I would be honored to have your tattoo virginity. Do you want me to draw something?"

"Yes," Martin tells him with a grin, "that's exactly what I want. A Gerry Delano original, right on my skin."

"What do you want it to be?" Gerry's teal eyes are bright and slightly manic, and Martin glories in the sensation of producing a new reaction in his lover.

"It's entirely up to you." He responds, pressing a firm kiss to Gerry's mouth. "I want to see what makes you think of me."

"Oh, I like it." He declares, jumping up and going off to find a sketchbook.

Martin sips his tea and smiles to himself, very pleased indeed.

***

"You're just going to let him give you whatever he wants to?" Jon blanches when Martin tells him.

"Relax Jon, it's Gerry, not some evil mastermind. He'll draw something I like. And if I don't, it's not hard, I just tell him no."

Jon, who rather considers that Gerry is an evil mastermind, does not look convinced. "But…"

"Hush, love." Martin tells him firmly.

Gerry, drawing under the window nearby, takes no notice of them. He has a focused frown on his face as he concentrates on the careful lines appearing on his page.

Martin considers it a rare pleasure to just watch him draw, and tries to guess what might be forming on the page before him.

He completely trusts that Gerry knows him exactly well enough to draw him the perfect tattoo. And then he can have his own piece of Gerry, inked right into his skin.

When he sits back down with Jon and Martin a little later, he has a smudge of charcoal above his eyebrow, and Martin gently rubs it away before Gerry has a chance to start talking. He blushes quite uncharacteristically, and Martin knows it means he's been swirling in the frantic rush of his own creativity.

"So I have a proposal for you." Gerry starts, body humming with excitement. "A tattoo in two parts, if you will."

"Yeah?" Martin encourages him, just as interested.

Gerry collects Martin's hand in both of his own, running a thumb over a spot on his wrist. It's the same place that Jon has his own tattoo, which immediately makes Martin pleased. "A small crescent moon, right here. The placement to match with Jon, the symbol for Luna."

Gerry pushes a scrap of paper forward, an elegant crescent moon filling space.

"For the other…" Gerry turns over the larger page, handing it to Martin.

There's an immeasurable beat of silence as Martin contemplates the design before him. A set of waxing and waning moons, connected by a series of dots, lines and more dots making a background of geometric shapes.

He… feels it. He understands now, what Jon had meant, when he described seeing the inspiration for his own tattoo for the first time. It's a representation of some inner part of himself, normally hidden from the world, but carefully unearthed for his lovers, over the course of many months and endless intimacy.

"Martin?" Gerry entreats, leaning minutely closer to him.

"I love it." He whispers, pulling the goth over to kiss him fiercely. They tangle together pleasantly, for several moments, everything else falling away as they get absorbed in each other.

"Not that anyone asked me, but I like it as well." Jon informs them pertly.

"Your opinion is as important to us as ever, baby." Gerry replies, grinning proudly. He turns back to Martin. "Where do you want it?"

Martin considers for a moment, before getting up and pulling off his shirt and jumper, leaving himself bare from the waist up. He still feels a small pang of shyness to be naked in any way, but confidence born of time and perspective drown most of it away now.

He and Gerry stand facing each other. Martin lifts the other man's hand, placing it on his sternum, over his softly pounding heart.

"Right here?" Gerry asks, voice soft.

"Right here." Martin affirms.

***

In the end, Gerry takes them over to Melanie's tattoo shop to work on Martin. He lists a number of reasons, but really, he finds a certain amount of comfort working under the stark lights and amid the buzzing of other machines.

They do the small tattoo first, and Martin sits for it exceptionally well.

Before Gerry starts the sternum piece, an endeavor of several hours, Georgie arrives and drags Jon off to drink coffee and catch up in a nearby coffee shop. Melanie goes into the next room to take another client, and Gerry and Martin are left alone together.

"Ready, love?" Gerry asks as he finishes placing the stencil, bisecting his chest.

"I'm nervous," Martin confesses softly.

Gerry doesn't move his gloved hands, not wanting to contaminate them, but he does press their foreheads together gently, taking a moment to sooth Martin with his companionship.

"Do you want to take a break? You can just sit with the stencil for a while." Gerry leans forward and places a swift kiss on Martin's nose, before retreating from his personal space.

"No, I'm ready." He smiles, biting his lip a little. "I just- I feel like this is a big moment, you know?"

"It is. You're embracing who you really are." Gerry runs a finger along one of Martin's chest scars, considering. "You're choosing to love yourself instead of just tolerating him."

"How can you always tell?" Martin whispers the words, voice heavy with emotion. "How can you put things into words like that, so simply."

"I know you. You think I don't see when you avoid looking in the mirror. You hope I don't notice that you used to hate being naked, even with Jon and I." Gerry pauses, tripping Martin's head up with the tip of a finger, minimizing contact still. "But I see you, Martin. I love you just the way you are. And I want you to love yourself just the same. I'll tell you everyday, show you constantly, if I need to."

Martin is crying for real now, tears streaming down his face. Gerry abandons his sterility, pulling Martin into his arms. He rocks his lover gently, and they are just together for a moment, no need to rush, no distractions. Just them, and the comfort they find in each other.

"I love you too." Martin tells him simply, when they pull apart.

"Good," Gerry grins, kissing him thoroughly, the taste of salty tears on his lips. He stands, pulling off his ruined gloves and going to wash his hands again.

Martin takes a sip of the tea Jon made him before he left, smiling because Jon always makes it with a little more sugar than he allows himself. "I'm ready."

When Jon returns, they're just finished up, the last few moments of buzzing filling the air. He watches them together, artist and canvas, and loves them fiercely.

"How was coffee with Georgie?" Martin queries, taking his offered hand.

Jon relays the details as Gerry finishes, and then cleans up.

Jon and Gerry stand on either side of Martin in the mirror as he looks at it for the first time. Martin nods wildly, when Jon asks if he likes it, and they hug him from either side as he sheds a few more tears.

Jon had once thought that tattoos seemed very boring in comparison to Gerry's normal work, but seeing the design come alive on Martin's skin, full of feeling and depth, he can't help but think of it as the best thing his lover has ever done. Gerry can't help but agree.

"Let's go to the park!" Martin exclaims as they leave, after saying their goodbyes to Georgie and Melanie.

"The park?" Jon asks, laughing. "It's so windy."

"I don't care, I want to feed the ducks and eat ice cream with my boyfriends." He insists, giddy with happiness and adrenaline.

"Okay, but you're picking the flavours this time." Gerry says, taking one of Martin's hands. Jon takes the other.

"Deal."

***

Jon and Gerry find themselves watching Martin once again feed ducks as they sit beneath a tree, more than a year after the very first time.

"Why don't we come to the park more often?" Jon asks from where he reclines between Gerry's long legs.

His arms snake around his waist, and Jon feels very content and comfortable, despite the cutting wind.

"Because," Gerry kisses under an ear softly, "we live in England and it rains more than 100 days a year."

"He looks so happy here." They watch as Martin stoops to offer a piece of bread to a curious toddler. The child is inordinately pleased, and her mother watches on gratefully from nearby as they feed the rowdy birds together.

"Are you happy?" Gerry asks him, unexpectedly serious. "With your life, with me?"

"Gerry! Of course I'm happy with you." Jon sits up, turning in the tangle of Gerry's limbs to face him.

"I'm only checking on you." He runs a gentle finger down Jon's face, then cups his cheek affectionately. "I know how much stress work puts you under and I hate that for you."

Jon looks away from his intent gaze, fiddling with his fingers nervously. "Well, yeah. My job sucks. The worst part is, I love being a librarian! Being surrounded by books, helping people choose something to read or guiding them with their research. But that's so little of my job now, and Elias just finds new and interesting ways to put pressure on me. But I'm not qualified and I know I probably won't get another job in a library, especially not without a glowing recommendation from Elias-"

"And we both know that's never going to happen." Gerry finishes for him.

Jon nods and they just sit together a moment. Gerry lifts one of his hands and kisses each of his fingers and then his palm, until Jon blushes and smiles at him.

"I know you think it's annoying, so you keep your feelings about work inside, a lot of the time. I don't want you to do that anymore, okay? If you have a terrible job, then we all carry that."

"But-"

"Nope, no buts. We are all partners. That means more then dinner dates and living together and sex."

"And punching rich fuckers who hurt our Martin."

Gerry laughs, still reveling in Jon's unexpected protectiveness- and the violent manifestation of it. "Yes, that too. There will be other jobs, for all of us, probably. But our relationship, the three of us. We're forever."

"Like those tattoos that you gave Martin today?" Jon asks, pert glint in his eye.

"Yes, much like that." He smirks brazenly back. "And the one I gave you, and the ones I've given myself, over the years."

Gerry continues, squeezing Jon's hand, "I know that the idea of not being able to provide for yourself scares you, but we're in this together now. You don't have to cling to a job that you hate in case you're left without one at all."

"I-" Jon looks away, uncomfortable to be so well understood. Gerry stits with him, energy easy between them, just holding his hand, loving and supportive.

"I have been considering, that is, maybe becoming a school teacher." The confession is halting, and he offers it with a small shy smile.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Gerry responds, gentle encouragement colouring his voice.

"I would probably have to go back to school for a year. Get a post-grad in Education. I wouldn't be working for most of that time, and my savings will only go so far, even without having to pay rent." Jon whispers, as if the words will be any less offensive to him if they are quiet.

"You know I can float you, especially for just a year. And Martin too."

"It just doesn't seem fair to burden you with that."

"It's not a burden, it's a part of life. You think you're so old, that you should be settled, but you're barely 30, Jon. You still have time to make new life choices occasionally, and the point of being in a relationship is that you let us support you every now and then." Gerry is earnest and focused, and Jon can't help but believe him, long fingers cupping his face and teal eyes holding his gaze.

Martin arrives then, plonking down next to Jon and giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"What are we talking about then? Such serious faces."

Gerry nudges Jon, who haltingly offers Martin the same idea he told Gerry.

“Oh, I think that’s a great idea.” He says, eyes alight. “Like, high schoolers, right?”

“Yes, of course. Anyone under 10 is an alien and I don’t want to hear any arguments.”

They laugh at him, their contentment surrounding him warmly.

"You don't have to quit right away." Martin offers. "There are plenty of part time degree programs, and you have to apply first. It all takes time."

"You seem pretty clued up about it." Jon observes, narrowing his eyes at Martin suspiciously.

"Well, if you must know. I've been thinking about getting a business degree."

"Oh my God! Martin, how is this the first we're hearing about this?" Gerry demands, sitting up straight.

"I didn't want it to be a thing until I was sure, and the move was over." He confesses, "It's gonna take a lot of my free time and I wanted to discuss that with you both carefully."

"I'm gonna be living with two thirty year old students." Gerry mutters, shocked. He leans back against the tree again, running his fingers through his long hair.

"I haven't agreed yet-" Jon starts.

Martin speaks up at the same time. "You could get a degree too. We could all be students together."

"No, but thanks anyway." Gerry shudders, grimacing. He perks right back up. "I'll be your sexy study partner though."

"Gerard!" Jon cries, scandalised.

Gerry shakes his head. "As if I've never felt you up while you were trying to study for a test."

"Exactly!" Even Jon struggles to keep up his prim expression at that, and they tumble into pleasant laughter together.

"So," Martin hazards, "are we gonna do this?"

"Well, if you're going to. I suppose we should both get it done at the same time." Jon responds, still hesitant but clearly warming to the idea. "You're really okay with this, Gerry?"

Gerry beams at them both, a soft, special look in his eyes. "I'm more than okay with anything you want to do with your lives. In case you haven't noticed, I'm really very fond of you both."

Jon leans forward in the circle of Gerry's legs, pressing their lips together in a gentle kiss, before turning back to lay against his chest.

Martin shifts around to lean into his side, and Gerry tucks one arm around him, the other around Jon. Jon reaches out to take one of Martin's hands, and the three of them sit wrapped up together.

As ever, their own mutual magnetism draws them forever closer and closer, binding them to one another in an inexplicable tangle of love and affection.

"Do you think it will always be like this, between us?" Martin whispers gently, as the sun begins to set and the landscape sets ablaze before them.

"Probably not," Jon responds, voice warm and content. "Life will keep shifting like a tide, and we'll move with it, but the great thing about us is- we're moored together. Nothing can keep us apart, because what we have is stronger than whatever shifts and eddies might try to take us away."

"The gravity between us is fiercer than any storm, any disaster that might try to shake us." Gerry picks up Jon's train of thought, pulling them both minutely closer.

"Good," Martin says simply, fiercely in love and the happiest he's ever felt.

They watch the sun as it drops below the horizon, sometimes quiet and occasionally sharing some errant thought or another.

They eat ice cream on the way home, holding hands and laughing.

It's warm, and soft and peaceful.

And they're all, finally, home.

#the magnus archives #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #gerry keay #jongerrymartin #fic #also on ao3

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royalreef · 4 years

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“ 𝐻𝓊𝓏𝓏𝒶𝒽! ” There’s officially 400 of you following my dear fish princess! When I started this blog, I never thought I would’ve gotten this far, but this community has been so welcoming and supportive. It’s truly been a joy to write with everyone, and I never would’ve gotten here if it weren’t for all of you encouraging me and my writing. Writing an underappreciated character, and especially with the amount of my canon divergence, brought me to always assume that I’d have a much smaller audience for it - and I’m glad to say that I’ve been proven wrong!

But really, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near where I am today without the sheer amount of creativity and talent already present in the rpc. Every day I am blown away by the sheer amount of work that is being put into blogs and muses both, and every day I am awestruck at the replies that I read! And you’ve been there through thick and thin, so I think it’s about time I give a little back and show my appreciation.

👑 The Low Royals

For those of you who have been with me the longest, who have seen the growth and fine-tuning, and even potentially helped me shape this blog into what it is now - I raise a glass to you! You’re all my good friends, and I can thank none of you enough. I truly do appreciate and care for all of you, though I might be bad at saying it. You’ve all made me laugh, and cry, and feel ten thousand other emotions, and I can only hope to support all of you the same as you’ve supported me.

Tam / @necrodanger / @ruiincd / @rebeljest : You have been here from the beginning, and for that, you are the first upon this list. Where would I be without your help? When my Miranda first started interacting with your Val, much like the princess not knowing how deeply she’d fall in love with the pauper, I did not know how such a wonderful friendship would grow between us. You have been through Hell together with me, and though I may stumble, I trust you. Your companionship has been crucial to so much here, and I can only hope that I have helped you grow as much as you have helped me. You are irreplaceable in your talent and creativity, and you know I look forward to everything you write, all that you draw, and every day that I get to chat with you over Discord. I can never thank you enough, and I am truly in your debt!

Jeremy / @grave-risen / @lioncovrte / @covenwtch / @amalgaemate : Jerm!!! Gosh, what praises can’t I sing of you and your excellent muses? Your characterization is spot on - there’s just such a warmth that you breathe into all of the characters you handle. They truly take on a life of their own in such a special way, with all the unique pitfalls and challenges that come with them! You have such fine little details that I love to see in each individual personality and your devotion to detail is to be admired. Likewise, you’re someone who I know I can trust, as that warmth truly spreads over into you yourself, and you’re just such a welcoming and genuine friend that I know I can just vibe with without any pressure. I really do love the plots we’ve done so far, and really look forward to seeing how Brian and Miranda handle becoming friends again. I may tease about him being a snack, but you know I’m here for all of the emotional curveballs you can throw at me!

Shorp / @pasttorn : I might be bad at chatting you up recently - but as always, you know I adore your Damien and all of the drama that he can cause! He’s a shit-stirrer of a muse, and you know I love the way you write, which together is just a perfect combination for a great time! You’ve also been around a bit longer in the rpc so you’ve seen some shit, and you’ve seen me reboot this blog and remake my lore. And for that, for sticking through as I went completely off the rails, I think that’s a pretty good summary of you! Chill, supportive, and sweet, a good pal all around to just vibe with and have some fun creative blends with!

Lola / @monstersmashed : AH... Oh, how Miranda loves her Marcus, and how I adore all the OCs you make! What kind of talent is it to be able to make so many unique OCs and have them all be so individual in such a way that really shows the quirks that makes each and every one special, and where can I get some of that? I remember Junie when she was much, much newer in the rpc, and I swear my adoration for what you can do with an interesting concept has only grown!! I sincerely love plotting with you and working out how your darlings can interact with my three disasters, and just absolutely a good friend all around.

Oli / @mindsmelded : OLI! I know you’re inactive right now (and honestly, I don’t blame you) but I GOTTA give you my love too! Every single reply from you just gets me EXCITED to read, with how you handle your muses! There’s just a passion and a flow to your prose that I love, and I truly admire how you can detail out exactly how each muse thinks in such a unique style that, even if you didn’t give a name or pronouns, you know EXACTLY which muse is responding! I admire you for that, and really that’s such a valuable skill that I want to master in my own writing too! You’re overall just such a supportive sweetheart who I can trust to talk to, and expect plenty of wholesome memes in return as a pick-me-up!

👑 The Middle Royals

Here is to all who I roleplay regularly with, but maybe don’t chat up as often as I’d like on Discord or through messages, or maybe just haven’t known as long as others. You have such excellent characters that I love to see interact with my fish princess, and I can’t wait to talk to you more! Some have budding relationships with your muse and Miranda that I can’t wait to see blossom into something complex and special all on their own, but all have just wonderful muses who I highly recommend you give a follow if you haven’t already! There’s a truly special amount of care being put into their writing, and I cannot recommend them enough.

Raz / @superbeaucoupdevisages : Honestly I didn’t expect to start to ship Oz and Miranda, but, WHELP, it happened!!! And I’m glad it did, honestly, because these two? Cute. Very cute!! With a whole lot of potential for angst and lore-exploring too! And really, I’m looking forward to it, because the way you write is simple and concise, which leaves it wonderfully IMPACTFUL. It’s short, sweet, and hits right where it hurts!! Which could honestly be said the same as you, as you know how to make your ideas known in as few words as possible. You know how to be there without the need for pretense, and sometimes you really do need someone to be there to get to the heart of issues, and for that, I thank you!

Hannah / @ciiclops / @bingemuscs : Probably the odd one out here as we have known about each other for quite a while, predating my reboot, but we’ve only recently really gotten around to chatting, which is a SHAME. I love just being able to infodump with you about my lovely, lovely arachnids, and Iris has always been such a charm to interact with!! I can’t wait to see how she might interact more with Miranda and how they might get along, as I’m really just a sucker for nerd and prep friendships (or maybe even something more) !!!

Zac / @collectathon : Can I just say that I’m super excited for your Zoe muse already? There’s so much to get into still, and she’s pretty new in terms of Miranda’s interactions, but I can’t WAIT to see what happens! Especially with all the ties Miranda has to the eldritch... Plus, I know to go to you for a good time, and I don’t think I’ll get over Miranda trying to frame Scooby Doo for arson anytime soon! You’re a wonderful friend with such a passion that I look forward to talking to more!

June / @preparetodie / @fullofschmidt : Is it bad to say I genuinely didn’t think much of Aaravi until I found your blog? Because I kinda did! But you have taught me to appreciate and love this fiesty AND VERY SAD slayer in a way I never have before, with such introspections on her character that I haven’t even thought about before recently! Similarly, your Vicky? STUNNING. She’s special in her own way, and honestly I can’t wait to discover more about her. Likewise, I’m looking forward to both of them learning more of Miranda’s specific secrets, and all of the fun turmoil that comes with that! (Plus, your art? So lovely!!! I might just have to commission you sometime!)

Hari / @warraigoe : I love! Your Damien! He’s honestly really funny, and sometimes even I can forget how lighthearted the actual tone of Monster Prom can be - so I think having something a little lighter is really good! Certainly, Miranda appreciates it, pfft! Your passion for writing really comes through, and I gotta say I really admire you going the extra mile to really get people similarly excited for something too! You’re someone who I really would like to chat and write with more often, if only my energy could pan out, because you’re honestly just that interesting! Good vibes, great times all around!

Josie / @galaxietm : We haven’t gotten the chance to write much together yet, but the amount of excitement I get from being able to write with you in the future is telling as to the quality that I’ve observed so far! You really do have just a smooth, chill demeanor to you that I can’t help but get really excited to be able to plot with you, and from what we’ve been able to do so far, it’s been looking really promising for things-to-come with Vera and Miranda! And from what I’ve seen of your prose? Similarly silky-smooth, flows as easy as a river, and just really something that I can’t wait to see more of, along with getting to know you more!

Nigel / @1-0-1-9 : YOU!!! Us meeting on Twitter was such a lovely chance meeting, and your friendship truly was a great birthday gift! I don’t show near as much love to your muse as I wish I did, because gosh you really do care about him and it shows! You’re someone who I could chat with all night though, and you bring up so many things I haven’t quite thought of yet! I really do appreciate having someone there who I can bounce ideas off of regularly, and you’re just excellent for that. You say you’re a dog in a human’s body, and tbh? I absolutely believe that with just how friendly you are!

Mori / @roskaarotta : Molly is one of those OCs who I can just immediately pick out as one of my favorites, with the amount of care you’ve gone into in making her! Your writing with her is a lot like how I see your art with her - absolutely soaked in a killer atmosphere that you can’t get anywhere else. I love how you took demons/angels and put a bit of yourself into them, and the character drama you write is to die for! I love hearing all of Molly’s backstory and really get a grasp of her personality, and you KNOW Miranda loves her Raccoon Wife!!

Rilli / @empatheticxangel / @marquisxofxlove : Speaking of which - YOU ARE ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF SOME OF MY FAVORITE OCs! Liam is such a darling, and you’re another big inspiration in me furthering my own lore! The amount of detail you work with for Liam is awe-inspiring, and I truly love hearing about how his world works and the history it has, alongside his own unique biology! The way you handle his powers is legitimately something I haven’t seen done before, and I think that really just goes to show exactly how much consideration and love is really going into developing him. Not to mention - you DRAW all your icons!! Like, DAMN.

Dani / @candyredmuses / @pxppinmolly / @bluemoonmuses : DANI. NERD. DORK. FELLOW MUN OF A PINK PRINCESS. I cannot say how much I appreciate you! And though we might not chat it up as regularly as some others (basically until I find a meme or song that reminds me of you) - you are on my mind!! Your work on character development CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. I think about Molly and your work on her so often, and she truly inspires me to further work on Miranda and put all the more thought into detailing her out! I might be a cryptid, but you can sight me anyday! (And bonus points for ALSO BEING A FELLOW HORROR-LOVER.)

👑 The High Royals

And here’s to all who I don’t know as well! Who I see on my dash or maybe have a thread or interaction or two with, but don’t chat OOC with that often or that Miranda isn’t totally established with yet! I see you, and I appreciate all that you’re doing and all of the effort that goes into your art and writing, and I look forward to the friendships and further interactions that can come of this!

If you’ve gotten this far and you haven’t been mentioned, then I’m sorry! You’re totally free to leave a comment or somesuch, shaming me for being as forgetful as I am, because you’re really all so wonderful, and I would love to shout everyone out if it weren’t for my bad memory! I love all of you so much, and I’d sincerely like to thank everyone reading this, for getting to this milestone together!

@vibinjustice / @rotaidevxr / @eoleolhan / @prsonatm / @stripedstrigoi / @lovsiik / @anxechoxinxhell / @vnemis / @bigveee / @multiipl / @moonmiissed / @woerended / @chainsxwsmile / @grandtales / @stcries / @yourfuturebcyfriend / @hoopsheartthrob / @xj-nine / @hellishmoth / @soupervillainpotage / @fatedcfied / @muse--menagerie / @hazbinvesta / @pinafcl / @dreamsugargirl / @hollowxport / @canisfuria

#rp promo #follow forever #monster prom rpc #mp rpc #Most secret royal advisor || OOC #Spawning of the Reefs || Promos #(( in case nyall wanted to know what ive been doing all day #(( also dear god i hope all these pings work

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yourcoffindoor · 4 years

Text

Bulletproof Heart Pt. 1

Pairing: Gerard Way x Reader

Prompt: Request from Anon- “ could you write one where the reader is a rock singer and they and mcr are on warped tour together, and they both lowkey like each other but think they’re both out of each other’s league, and find out that they’re both secretly into nerdy stuff + maybe getting together? thank you so much xxx”

AN: This is a multi-part series--I couldn’t help myself! Also, I based this fic around something Gerard said in a Rolling Stone interview:

Hope its ok Anon! enjoy!

You had dreamed of this moment since you first picked up a guitar. Back then it felt like an impossible fantasy, being on stage with your band, playing in front of a crowd of screaming fans; which is why it felt so surreal when your manager Tim told you that your band, The Violent Delights, had booked Warped Tour.

"June 18th," he told you with a satisfied grin, "you're in for the long haul, kids."

Your band-mates let out a collective shriek of joy, while you planted a grateful kiss on Tim's cheek.

"You're an OK manager, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, dramatically wiping his cheek where your lips had been. "Now you guys better get practicing. This is a good opportunity to really get your name out there. Plus you got some real popular acts to compete with."

Your interest was peaked. "Oh yeah? Like who?"

"Off the top of my head? Fall Out Boy, Dropkick Murphys, and I think a band called My Chemical Romance."

"Oh shit, My Chem?" your bassist, Gavin, piped up excitedly. "That's the band I'm always trying to get Y/N to listen to."

"I'll have to finally borrow their last album," you replied, "gotta scope out the competition after all." Gavin rolled his eyes while you laughed.

Your manager got serious. "It's three months on the road, and its gonna take a lot of energy and hard work. Quite frankly, it ain't glamorous."

"Tim, when have we ever been glamorous? I wouldn't care if it were a 12 month tour," you declared, "I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world." Liz, your drummer, nodded in agreement beside you.

"You might be singing a different tune when you haven't had a shower in three days."

"As long as I'm singing it in front of an audience, we'll be fine."

* * *

Back at your apartment you marked June 18th on your calendar with a star, feeling invigorated with excitement all over again. This was it, you thought, the next level for our band. You were determined to give it your very best, outperforming every other band there.

After all, you had worked so hard to get to this point. Starting in friend's basements and tiny cafes, the band had slowly built up a sizable following of loyal fans. You were no longer the opening act, drawing sell out crowds more often than not. You made a promise to yourself that the band wasn't going to lose this momentum. There would be no distractions for you on this tour, just hard work and the thrill of performing. That meant no parties, and absolutely no boys. You weren't ready for another relationship, you told yourself, especially since the last one ended in disaster.

Yes, this was the moment the band had been waiting for. You let the warm excitement that this knowledge brought envelope you, and you lay your head down on your pillow, falling asleep to fantasies of what lay ahead.

* * *

Its a long road from Maryland to Ohio. Columbus was the first stop of the tour, which meant your band had 6 and a half hours to go over the set-list, make adjustments discuss their hopes and fears for the three month experience. Gavin gave you a few CDs to listen too, including My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. You had heard their first album ages ago and enjoyed it, but there was something incandescent to the music you were hearing now. It stirred a whirlwind of heavy emotion, and you were enthralled from beginning to end. You made a mental note to see them perform at Warped as soon as possible.

When your bus arrived at its destination, you felt the unwelcome buzz of nerves building in your stomach. This was real, you thought, this was happening. You were used to performing at this point, but it was the amount of people you'd be performing for that was nerve-wracking. Not to mention the fellow artists who may be watching and judging your sound. You breathed deep and tried to push past the nervous thoughts that hummed incessantly around your head like insects.

Your band-mates were buzzing about with excitement, but you needed to distract yourself. Fresh air always helped settle you, so you grabbed your shoes and decided to go for a walk around the venue.

It looked almost like a circus with all the trailers and tents that had quickly populated the surrounding area. Merch stands and catering tents were being organizes as dozens upon dozens of vans and trailers pulled in. There were already a few fans camped outside of the chain-link fence that surrounded the area, eagerly awaiting a glimpse of their favorite artists.

You kept wandering, and you saw that a band was being interviewed in the media tent. There were five of them, each holding a microphone; but one member, a dark haired boy, was doing most of the talking. He was cute, you thought, and your stomach did little flips watching him respond to the questions that were being asked.

You watched a little bit longer from a distance, until you felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned to see Gavin and Liz, who had been doing a bit of exploring as well.

"Hey, there you are! I was talking to a few people by the catering tent. They said some bands are having a party on their buses later tonight, we should check it out." Gavin informed you excitedly.

You hesitated. No parties. "I dunno, I want us to be in good condition to perform tomorrow."

Liz chimed in. "All work and no play, Y/N. C'mon, it'll be a great chance to make some connections with other bands."

"If you don't come with us," Gavin pronounced dramatically, "we'll be far too devastated to perform tomorrow." His hand went to his forehead, as though he was about to faint.

"Somehow I doubt that."

"Pretty please?" Liz stuck her lower lip out pathetically.

"With sugar on top?" Gavin added.

You glanced at the black haired boy in the distance. Maybe he'd be there, a small voice in your head piped up.

"Ugh Fine! But I'll only stay for a little bit."

Satisfied, the pair stopped harassing you, and left you to continue wandering, promising to meet up with them later.

* * *

People spilled out from open trailers as music blared from an unknown source in the background. Some were already far gone, stumbling from place to place, or lying on the ground blacked out.

You followed Gavin inside one of the trailers. You watched as he interacted with the strangers inside with ease, a trait you envied. He managed to find you both drinks, and you grabbed the mystery beverage, sculling it in hopes that it would numb your nervousness. You may have been a great performer onstage, but offstage it was easy for your social anxiety to take the wheel.

Gavin began to walk away, ignoring your whispered pleas not to leave you. Fuck. It always felt awkward to not know anyone at a party. You clutched your red cup like a life jacket keeping you afloat in a sea of drunken strangers.

A man approached you out of nowhere, the smell of alcohol emanating from every pore on his body.

"You look lonely." He leered at you expectantly.

"Then it seems like you need glasses. I'm just fine on my own."

He laughed. "Ooo! I like you. You've got spunk. Name's Brent, guitarist from Midnite Heist."

"Can't say I've heard of you guys."

Brent was either oblivious to your indifference, or just chose to ignore it. "So how'd you end up at this party?"

"I'm in a band on the tour too. Lead singer actually."

"No way! That's awesome, we need more talented eye candy on this tour."

You screamed internally while he droned on, tuning him out as you continued to sip from your fast emptying cup.

You scanned the room, watching people laugh and dance. Your stomach suddenly flipped again as you noticed the black haired boy from this afternoon, solemn faced and quiet, silently nursing a diet coke in his hands. He was clearly not having a good time. The guitarist who had been talking you up soon saw you looking at the sullen figure and turned his attention towards him, his eyes lighting up with recognition.

"Gerard fucking Way!" he bellowed, carelessly sloshing his drink as he waved him over, causing a stream of alcohol to fall to the floor below.

Gerard seemed to hesitate before walking over. "It's been awhile man," he said softly. His eyes, a warm hazel, flicked to you repeatedly as he spoke. "you here for the whole tour this time?"

Brent laughed, his sobriety dangling by a thread. "Yeah, but still not up on the main stage, unlike you big-shots." he said, punching Gerard in the arm. Gerard offered a crooked smirk in return, his patience already wearing thin. Brent nudged you in the arm. "This is Y/N, her band is new to Warped. I told her I'd show her the ropes." He grinned at you. Ugh.

Gerard seemed to sense your discomfort. "Welcome, nice to see a new face around."

Brent interrupted before you could respond. "How come you're wasting time with a coke? I would've expected you to be the first one wasted here."

Gerard's jaw clenched, and you cringed internally at the sheer awkwardness of the encounter. "I'm sober now," he informed Brent, "I don't touch that shit anymore."

Brent laughed dismissively. "Dude, you? Do you even remember the last Warped tour? I'll give it 2 days before you're lying face down in the bushes again." he laughed as if he had just said something hilarious.

You were livid, and Gerard was on edge. You decided to step in when you noticed his knuckles turn white from clenching his coke can.

You moved slightly, ready to get between them. "Hey you know what? I'd really love a coke right now too. Mind showing me where they are?" you looked pleadingly at Gerard. He took the hint.

"Follow me."

You gave a curt wave to Brent, who looked on in confusion before continuing his drinking binge.

You stepped outside, and the sounds from the party behind you became a faint, thumping buzz in the background. You were both silent for a moment before you decided to break the ice.

"So that guy was a dick."

Gerard's scowl turned into a thin, lopsided smirk. Your heart melted a bit. "Yeah. I just realized some of these people are only tolerable when I'm drunk."

Stop. Move away. You don't need a distraction like this. You tried to scold yourself but words kept escaping from your lips, prolonging the encounter.

"This is my first time doing Warped Tour, but I'm assuming these parties are pretty much never-ending?"

Gerard pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Oh yeah, its every night for some of these bands. You're in for an interesting experience." You looked at him for a moment, perhaps for a bit too long. You had never seen anyone look so beautiful while surrounded by clouds of smoke.

"Yoohoooo! Y/N!" you heard the hollering of a clearly tipsy Gavin call from the doorway of the next trailer. "Where'd you go? The night is young! Get back here!"

You sighed. "That's my cue. Well actually that's my bassist, but he'll never let me live it down if I don't go back in there."

Gerard turned his head to the side and exhaled. "Catch you around. Next time you need rescuing from a douche-bag just light the bat signal."

You gave him a soft smile, forcing yourself to turn away and walk back to the trailer. As you did, you whispered aloud to yourself as a reminder:

"No distractions. No boys."

#gerard way x reader #gerard way fanfic #my chemical romance fanfiction #fanfic

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therokoko · 4 years

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“A bad attitude on set is deadly” - Interview with Alex Rider Director and Producer Andreas Prochaska

Andreas Prochaska on adapting the books, casting Otto Farrant and the challenges of releasing the series in times of Corona

Based on a podcast interview with Austrian news outlet Der Standard titled “Schlechte Laune am Set ist tödlich”. I’ve translated the important bits.

1. How he came in contact with Alex Rider:

Well, that was relatively simple. I have an agent in England, and he sent me the script for the first episode as well as an outlook, a kind of series bible about how things were going to proceed, and I read this and thought: “This works for me. That’s something completely different.”

I mean, especially … you mentioned “Das Boot” earlier, which was the production I worked on before, and which was burdensome in every way, I mean not only because of the time it took but also because of the topic, because we killed, I think, 26 characters in “Das Boot”, not counting extras, and of course that has an effect on you. And then I also filmed “Spuren des Bösen” [Traces of Evil, a German 8 part crime series made between 2010 and 2019, A/N), in which a mother jumps out of a window with her baby, and I was looking for something with a lighter tonality, and something which I hadn’t done before in this particular form, and “Alex Rider” was perfect for that.

I also didn’t know the book series at all. I read it completely unbiased and thought: “This is actually a cool, daring concept – so to speak somewhat exaggeratedly Coming-of-Age meets Jason Bourne....

[This job] was a result of “Das Boot” insofar as someone working for the distributor, Sonar, knew someone at Eleventh Hour – and it’s not just over here that people talk, and when someone says “listen, this guy has done a decent job, take a look” or something, that helps, and in this case it’s probable that the people became aware of me through these contacts.

2. How they approached adapting the books:

Well, it already started with the fact that our series is a mixture of the first book of the book series, namely “Stormbreaker”, and “Point Blanc” – I don’t remember right now whether that’s the second or a later book.

In Stormbreaker, the drama of the protagonist is established with the uncle who dies and the realization that this uncle wasn’t who he appeared to be. Stormbreaker had been made into a feature film which was produced by Harvey Weinstein and for which Anthony Horowitz had written the script, and that was pretty much a lead balloon. And because of that it was relatively clear that everything bad that had happened with that feature film needed to be avoided, namely that everything was totally over the top.

And my job was to [adapt] this material, which actually … I started reading the novel afterwards, and I stopped after 20 pages because I realized that that wasn’t helping me because they are actually books for 12 year olds, or at least Point Blanc is – when I read it I thought: “This is an English, better-quality version of the ‘Knickerbocker Gang’ [a German children’s book series about a group of child detectives, A/N] or something like that”. And the task was to just adapt this material for an older audience and to just draw the characters in a different way emotionally, to draw them in a more realistic way. When you look at the entire season it does occasionally reach into almost absurd spheres, but it was important for me to pave the way for the audience by starting out realistically with a protagonist that could just be the boy next door.

3. How he went about filming a spy series:

Well, the most important thing for me in every story are the characters and to get as close to them as possible. I developed a sympathy for this unwilling hero quite quickly. And, as I said, I tried to make the surroundings as British as possible given my Austrian view of things, and to draw a character that you believe and for whom failure is always a possibility, because I find it incredibly boring when you have these superheroes and you already know that they are never in any real danger.

And this was very important to me also in working with Otto Farrant, who plays Alex, to guide him and direct him in such a way that you get the feeling that it’s possible for things to not turn out well, so that you go on this journey with him emotionally, and as to the rest it is … I don’t approach things mathematically. It’s not as if I feel: “Ok, in minute 10 this particular thing must happen, and in minute 20 this thing must happen.” For me, every story is a journey, and you try to make these journeys as good as possible following your instincts.

Like, for instance, the opening scene. In the script the villain was sitting on a roof manipulating some things on his laptop. And then the thing that happens with the man happens – I don’t want to spoil anything, because it’s actually a pretty nice surprise – and this was only 2 thin pages, and I thought: “Actually, to start this series off in an epic fashion, I’d rather like to introduce another character here, too, to charge this scene as much as possible so that you’re just drawn into this world.” And equally in episode two, that’s so to speak the episode of the test, where he has to pass the test designed to show whether he’s suited for this mission, and the script called for a hut in the woods and a road in which things happen, and I thought: “Ok, if we are dealing with a secret service, the military is not that far off.” And so I told the location scout to look for abandoned military bases, and we ended up on a former nuclear weapons base somewhere in the South of England, which made the producer sweat quite a bit because this was a relatively complex location compared to what had been in the script. But those are the things where I, as a director, can try to create visual appeal for a global audience. The series has been sold to a hundred countries, which comes with certain expectations, and of course you don’t want to disappoint these expectations.

4. On the circumstances of the release and viewer reactions:

It came out in England in the beginning of June, which is sad, of course, because we had planned to have a premiere celebration at some festival, which wasn’t possible because of the current situation. And so this release on Amazon almost felt a little stepmotherly. So I just refreshed the link on Amazon.uk again and again to see how the people reacted to it, and there were actually many very positive reviews in a relatively short time. I think we are at 4.6 out of 5 stars at the moment, whatever that means, …

There are of course, again, total haters who only give one star and say: “What a bunch of crap.” But the majority of people seem to really like it. So hopefully, or it seems we have managed, at least in England, to … that the fans who read it as children watch it, so to speak, in retrospective joy and that they remember the times in which they read it, and still [feel like the series] adds something new.

5. On the casting process:

There was … even before I came on board, they made an England-wide, i.e. Britain-wide casting call. And in England, there are quite a lot of youth theatre projects, which were also contacted. And we received, I think, more than 3000 e-castings, which were screened beforehand. I still saw about 200 e-castings, and then this number was reduced bit by bit. In the end there were 3 people left in the room, one boy was from Game of Thrones, another one was very young – barely over 16, which would have been difficult -, and then, to be honest, there was only Otto. On the one hand, that was surprising because you think that there are loads of great actors in England, that it would be difficult to find the right hero, but in the end it was just very clear. It was an interesting casting situation: there was Anthony Horowitz, then there were the two executive producers from Eleventh Hour, then there was Wayne Garvey from Sony International Co-Productions, and also a casting agent from Sony America, and they all sat behind me like an assembly, and I just took the camera and worked with the actors and just tried to ignore the audience – I also felt like I was being cast again as well in my work with the actors, but … it was, yeah, it was very interesting and exciting.

I virtually grilled him for hours, tried again and again to draw the different scenes in different temperatures and with different emotions out of him, just to see what his range is and how much I would be able to work with him later on in terms of fine-tuning. Because carrying 8 episodes is an extreme challenge for a young actor, and it doesn’t help me if the boy is just dashing and then he carries only half an episode and then breaks apart. That is why it was so important to really test him thoroughly, also in combination with Brenock, who plays his best friend - we tried different combinations – and with Ronke, who plays his confidante in the household, just to try and find the right chemistry. And that was a very exciting and very satisfying process. What was really great was, when he had those three, there wasn’t any discussion anymore at all, we all agreed – I mean it would have been equally possible for Anthony to favour someone else or for Sony to like somebody else better, but it was really incredibly harmonious and unanimous.

6: On what made Otto Farrant stand out:

Well, it was his perseverance. I mean, really, we had one scene which we really tried in 10 or 15 variations, and every time I felt that he understood where I wanted to go. To direct often means to change the temperature of a scene using only short adjectives, and for that you need someone who understands you and who can also implement that. And I just saw that he doesn’t give up that he really has stamina, and that was essentially – apart from the fact that he really comes across as incredibly natural and likeable – the deciding factor for me in the end.

7: On the responsibility of making Alex Rider and the first weeks on set:

Well, I mean the … Alex Rider is, I mean to English fans, a promise like James Bond, on a different level. And you need someone who – and of course you need that with every film and with every series – you need an actor who touches the people emotionally, to whom they can connect. That is, of course, something you can’t … beforehand … I mean, of course you can, as we did, try everything out during the casting process, but you only know whether it really works out after a week of shooting.

And I really – especially in the first 3-4 weeks, in which I was still searching, too – I mean with every production you start on the first day of shooting and you want to throw away all the material you shot on the first day right away and start over on the next day – but he was searching, I was searching, and in a way I became – it sounds a little exaggerated right now – I became a little bit of a surrogate father during that time, because I noticed that he needed a certain type of attention and a certain security that only I as the director could give him. That is, he could come to me with every problem and with every decision concerning the character, and that worked out really well …

8. On the challenge of “carrying” a series as a lead:

As for the “carrying”: on the one hand he has to, so to speak, function technically, i.e. he must be able to, so to speak, deliver every scene, i.e. to know the dialog, to have the right energy, and do that over the course of months - now, luckily, Otto is 21; I don’t think that would have worked with a 16 year old. And that meant that while we were shooting Otto had to read the other four scripts, which were still being written while we were shooting, and he had to comment on them and to learn them by heart, and the transition was seamless. I had to interrupt my shooting schedule for two weeks because we had a location that was only available at a specific time, and so I left the set and flew to Austria to start the cutting process, and on the next day the other director came in and just kept working with him. That means Otto had to adapt to the other director, and that’s a challenge for every actor, but especially for a young actor. ...

I [as a director] could only keep it together up to a certain point in time, until my episodes where done shooting. [...] And of course, when the lead actor is in a bad mood when he comes to the set in the morning, that is at least as bad as when I come to the set in a bad mood. That emanates in all directions. So the strength of character of someone, who also knows … I mean, he doesn’t know yet about the power he may have in the second or third season, when he maybe becomes executive producer or I don’t know … but [it’s important] that you, as a human being, just treat everyone with respect in such an environment.

Source: Der Standard AT

#alex rider #alexrider #andreas prochaska #otto farrant #alex rider tv #ottofarrant

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missnmikaelson-main · 4 years

Text

National Anthem 2. June 4, 2020 - Part One

She clutched the yellow legal pad to her breast and leaned back, propping her heel on the wall. With her weight balanced on one leg in a state of semi relaxation she ignored the myriad of noises that filled campaign headquarters in favour of the small television mounted in the corner above. Someone had helpfully turned the volume up, but she still had to strain her ears.

And if anyone asked she was making mental notes for the follow up article. She was not under any circumstances listening to the rise and fall of his voice and thinking about the very fine figure he cut in his suit.

Nope.

That was not what was happening.

Notes would have sold that story better, not that there was a story to tell, but if anybody asked she could easily cite the clearly labeled folders on her laptop since driving Caroline crazy only ever extended to her desk and packing habits.

She could have recited his platform in her sleep.

And if she bit her lip it was because she wanted to commit the televised interview to memory. It was not because he liked to gesture with his hands and she couldn’t stop thinking about the way those long fingers liked to deliberately graze her palm at every turn.

Nope.

Her skin was not tingling with memory.

She was not subtly rubbing her thighs together because three nights ago they sat beside each other at a dinner where she gleefully let him tease her and ruin yet another pair of underwear. She was not imagining those hands stealing under her skirt.

And she was not conjuring up wild dreams of what they could do to each other if they ever managed to get a little privacy.

Okay…

Maybe she was thinking about that last one, but in her defence it had been three months. Three damn months had passed since she joined the campaign trail. Three months had trickled by with all the speed of poured molasses while they flirted, while they teased, while he strung her higher than a kite.

“Many comments are being made on your accent.”

She tuned into the onscreen interview again as they wound down and approached the human interest portion that the entire country denied they eagerly awaited, though as far as juicy gossip went this morsel wasn’t that good.

“I’ve heard a few of them,” Kol chuckled.

And damn that laugh did things to her.

“According to all of my sources you were born in Northern Virginia, contrary to some commenters suggestions that you were not.”

“I can guess where those rumours came from.”

Elena could guess too. There were some opponents who thought they could knock him out of the presidential race by insinuating he wasn’t actually American, and she knew precisely which one. She also knew that the one starting that rumour knew how false it was.

“… but I assure you, Mark, I’m as American as you.”

“Can I ask how you came by the accent?”

“It’s not much of a story,” Kol shrugged, smiling that damn adorable smile that made him look so much younger. “My parents wanted the best education for us…”

“More like wanted you out of the house,” Elena muttered so low nobody could hear. She was still upset with Mikael and Esther’s decision twenty years after they ripped apart her childhood friendship. Luckily she got to reconnect with Rebekah and after everything they were stronger than before, but there had been years where she missed the blonde like crazy and thought their letter correspondence wouldn’t sustain them.

“They sent my siblings and I to an elite boarding school in the United Kingdom when we were young. Each of us attended until graduation and all of my siblings with the exception of one of my older brothers caught the accent. Haven’t been able to shake it. We often joke about it actually. Elijah never lost his own accent, yet he spent more time in the UK than any of us.”

She tried to hear Kol’s signature ‘darling’ with a heavy southern drawl and giggled.

“Something funny Elena?”

Her eyes snapped to the campaign manager and she shook her head. “Nah Josh, I’m just imagining Kol with a Virginian accent.”

“As fun as that sounds,” he rolled his eyes, “don’t you have an article to write. I’m sure your publication isn’t paying you to stand around and watch the news.”

“It’s already written,” she waved one hand.

“Including the new information you just heard?”

“That’s hardly knew information,” Elena shrugged, straightening up. “The Mikaelson siblings attended Westminster School London and spent summers and holidays at the family mansion in Mystic Falls, Virginia. Before that they each attended Mystic Falls Elementary School.”

“That’s more information then the Senator has ever given,” his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, well,” Elena tucked her hair behind her ear, “he also has never said he once set off a glitter bomb in his little sister’s bedroom during a slumber party and put frogs in his oldest brother’s cereal.” She had no issue telling the tales of his pranks to Josh. Outside of the polaroids she kept in a shoebox under her childhood bed there was no physical proof and even if the stories got out they would only serve to make him appear endearing.

And she did not think he was endearing.

Nope.

She was not still laughing about the things he used to do in the summers before growing up. She was not thinking about the time he dumped Klaus’ paints over Rebekah’s hair and looked at her when she tried not to laugh.

“Is he giving you exclusive interviews or something?” Josh’s brows rose.

Phantom hands grasped her hips as ghostly touches grazed the column of her throat. She would not label that an interview, no matter how telling it was.

“I’m from Mystic Falls,” she explained. “His sister is one of my best friends and technically I’ve known him since I was five.”

“I take it your editor didn’t know that.”

“Not the details,” Elena tilted her head. From the corner of her eye she saw the interview wrapping up and turned her head to catch the last question.

“Anyone new in your life?” The way the question was phrased made it very clear what was really being asked.

“I meet new people on a daily basis with the campaign trail, but I sense that’s not the question you’re asking.”

“You got me. There’s been a lot of curiosity lately.”

Lately was an understatement. People had been snooping around since his last long term relationship; not that Mary could really be considered long term.

“So anyone new?”

“No,” Kol’s eyes flickered beyond his interviewer and directly into the camera until she felt certain he knew he held her gaze, “there is nobody new.”

Elena ducked her head and stared at the empty legal pad, hoping her hair covered whatever blush stained her cheeks. “I should go get to work.”

She slipped into a dimly lit hallway and shut the door, leaning against it as she did. She had just managed to get her heart under control when a smooth voice interrupted what she had thought to be solitude.

“Do my eyes deceive me, or are we finally alone?”

Her skin tingled as he moved closer and stopped a few inches away. She felt his body heat before she looked up through her eyelashes.

“It’s the main hallway in a major campaign headquarters,” she whispered, and her fingers were not smoothing down his tie. “I wouldn’t count on being alone for long.”

“Oh,” he sighed, “so I don’t have enough time to wrap you around my body and have my wicked way with you.”

“Probably not,” she meant for her voice to be exasperated, but it may have come out breathless as she imagined digging her heels into lower back and her fingers into his perfectly styled hair.

She cleared her throat and found her voice - the one that wasn’t indicative of the hot mess he made of her insides.

“I would hate to be the one caught defiling the baby of the house.”

“I hate that that name stuck.” He groaned, chuckling as he covered her hip with his hand.

“That’s what you get for being the youngest member ever elected,” she teased, moving her hand to smooth a non-existent wrinkle from his suit.

“There are younger members than me now.” His gaze flickered between her laughing eyes and parted lips.

“Maybe,” she conceded, “but you’re the youngest ever, and it doesn’t help that you look young.”

“You’re not about to call me boyish are you?”

She shrugged, smiling from ear to ear. “You look it in every interview. Young,” she reached up, trailing a finger over his jaw, “fresh faced… boyish…”

“I assure you darling,” he caught her wrist, twisting it to press a hot kiss to the sensitive skin, “that there is nothing remotely ‘boyish’ about me.”

“Really?” She shivered, letting her legal pad fall. It hit the floor with a soft thud. “Cause I have this picture in my head of a scrawny kid switching out the sugar for salt and catching a picture of his big brother’s faces.”

“Scrawny?” He gasped, mock offence etched in every inch of his face.

“Thin arms,” she nodded, “bony knees, and hair that sticks up in every direction. And of course that constant smirk that said trouble. I’m sure you remember me just as fondly.”

“I see a little girl with perfect curls and huge brown eyes, somehow always looking like a doll. Until she fell in the mud, anyway. I don’t recall you ever being scrawny.”

“You were at an elite boarding school and missed that phase,” her eyes sparkled. “And I remember you pushing me in the mud.”

“Technically I pulled,” he tilted his head. “You pushed me.”

“You pushed Rebekah,” she smiled, “I had to avenge my friend. And you were really skinny, so easy to push.”

“I assure you darling,” his voice dropped half an octave as he pressed her palm to his abdomen, “there’s nothing scrawny about me now.”

And she did not bite her lip because she could feel those abs that were still oh so lickable.

“Shall I show you?” Amusement danced in his eyes.

“Here?” Her fingers hooked in his belt loops. “And have the future President arrested for public indecency? Press will have a field day.”

“Only if we get caught,” he breathed, catching her chin with his finger.

His nose brushed hers and it would have been nothing to close that last inch, but before she could a door clicked down the hall and they were forced to separate.

He cleared his throat when there was a respectable distance between them and caught her dark eyes. “I can’t believe you’d bring all that up.”

“That’s what happens when you surround yourself with not new people,” she winked, hurrying to walk around him.

++++

She hooked her right leg over her left after toeing off the heel. It wasn’t like the bottom of her shoes were filthy, but there was always the chance that enough dust had collected to leave a telling line, and she couldn’t have that. Physical evidence wasn’t the point of teasing.

“So Elena,” Josh caught her attention from across the table, “did you get your article finished?”

“Almost,” she smiled her sweetest smile. In that moment, at this dinner, Josh was her new best friend, even if he didn’t know it. The seat he had snagged was the one she normally took, and while her skin ached for the covert touches that left her panting and barely able to string a sentence together sitting across the table had its own unique advantages.

And he was about to experience first hand what he had spent three months putting her through.

“I’ve got a couple of things left to proofread and then it goes off to my editor,” she cut a small piece off her chicken and popped it in her mouth.

“And I suppose you threw a few of those other details in,” he grinned, taking a drink.

“Other details,” Kol cocked an eyebrow, “what sort of details?”

“The truly sordid ones,” she let her eyes flicker over his features.

“What did you tell him?” His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“She might have mentioned a glitter bomb, and something about frogs,” Josh laughed. “You didn’t tell me you two knew each other.”

“Elena and I go way back,” Kol took a drink.

“We do,” she nodded, letting her toes make contact with his thigh. The response she got was priceless and as close to dropped composure as she would ever get in public, and she wanted to make his eyes pop open again. “Kol and I go all the way back to knobby knees and skinned elbows.”

He swallowed and caught her ankle, but her flexible toes curled and gently stroked his length.

“Knobby knees, huh?” Josh leaned an elbow on the table.

“I refuse to believe I ever had knobby knees,” Kol shook his head, a fond smile on his lips. He brought his hand up to the table and focused on cutting his food into bitesized pieces.

And if he held the knife a little tighter then strictly necessary nobody mentioned it.

Just like she didn’t mention how feeling him harden beneath her toes was having the same effect his hand had on her thigh.

“Deny all you like Mikaelson,” she bit the corner of her bottom lip, “but I’ve got pictures.”

“Let this be a lesson to you Josh,” his brow lowered as he caught Elena in his gaze, “never start a potentially life long friendship with a journalist.” He turned, giving his campaign manager a quick wink as he stage whispered. “They keep everything.”

“And twenty-eight years later write a tell-all detailing the time he pelted me with paint filled water balloons,” she raised her glass in salute.

“In defence,” he held out his hands, “the paint was water based and it was really hot that day.”

“I was wearing white,” she gasped with a dramatic little shriek. And no, she was not thinking about her retaliation and the way the coloured water had beaded on his bare chest. “Everybody could see through my sundress.”

“I replaced that dress…”

“Because Rebekah made you,” her eyes sparkled while her toes applied a light pressure to his length.

“And you were wearing a bathing suit underneath,” he leaned across the table, gesturing to her with his fork, “it’s not like anybody saw your underwear.”

“How old were you two when this happened?” Josh tilted his head.

“They had to have been kids,” Marcel joined in, grinning from ear to ear on Kol’s other side. “Must have been back when you had those knobby knees.”

“I don’t know,” Cami tilted her head, casting her eyes from Kol to Elena. “Water balloons sounds more like adolescent antics, maybe pre-adolescent.”

Dishes clinked as a busboy scurried behind them.

“Well,” Marcel prompted.

“Oh,” Elena tipped her head back in thought. It had been so long ago, but she distinctly remembered the warm tingling feeling that she had not gotten when he tore off his soaked t-shirt. “When was that?”

“It was after that year you shot up four inches and started dating that Salvatore,” he supplied, mouth twisting on the name.

“Right,” Elena nodded. “I was seventeen, and you were nineteen,” she levelled her fork in his direction and turned her head towards Cami. “I’m guessing that’s a little old to be pelting the baby sister and her besties with water balloons.”

“A little,” Cami laughed. “Tell me you at least gave as good as you got.”

“Oh, I gave,” she grinned, pressing down with her toes. His thigh clenched under her heel. “Rebekah, Caroline and I got hold of his ammunition and drenched him from head to toe,” she lifted her eyebrows. “Then he shoved Rebekah in the pool.”

“I was out of water balloons,” he shrugged.

Elena was pretty sure she saw his jaw pull with strain, so she eased the pressure and reigned it in to the lightest of touches that resulted in little more than a tickle; and dammit, if that tickle didn’t travel straight up her own leg.

“Water balloons, frogs, glitter…” Marcel tilted his head.

“Don’t forget the sugar/salt incident,” Elena chimed in.

“So, what I’m hearing,” Marcel leaned back and steepled his fingers, “ is that you were that kid.”

“What kid?” Kol’s brows lowered, but the smile stayed on his lips.

“A little shit,” Cami supplied, and from anyone else it probably would have come off as an insult but the psychologist said it with affection.

“I was not a little shit,” Kol scoffed.

“I’ve got a handful of people on speed dial who can confirm that you were,” Elena grinned, making to reach for her cell phone.

“Leave my siblings out of this,” he rolled his eyes, “and I’ll admit that I maybe, just maybe, I was that kid.”

“You were that kid,” she tilted her head, “and the only reason you wanna leave Rebekah out of it is because she’ll tell stories from boarding school that prove my point. Also I’ve got more than your siblings; Bonnie and Caroline would gladly take the stand.”

“How has none of what you know found its way to the masses?” Marcel shook his head.

“Because we’re friends,” Kol kept his eyes on Elena.

“Surprising after everything, that I assume is just the tip of the iceberg,” Cami waved a hand between them, “you did to her.”

“Like I said,” Elena smirked, “I always gave as good as I got. And it wasn’t all bad.”

“No?” Josh toyed with his water glass.

“Nah,” she nodded. “He did help me study for my SATs and stepped in when my escort pulled a disappearing act during the town pageant.”

“Did you win?” Marcel asked.

“My friend Caroline did,” Elena shook her head. “She was more qualified, though I think Kol’s abysmal dancing is what really knocked me out of the running.”

“Excuse me,” he scoffed, “I’m a wonderful dancer. And I think I excelled at the near touch,” his fingers traced the air just above her ankle, “and flirting with the eyes.”

“You sound like Mrs. Lockwood,” she laughed. “He also taught me how to cook a decent meal that wouldn’t give my boyfriend food poisoning.”

“If I’d known back then that it was for Salvatore,” his mouth twisted again, “I wouldn’t have bothered.”

“I take it you didn’t like this boyfriend,” Marcel caught the second grimace.

“Salvatore?” Cami mused. “Damon Salvatore? Your opponent?”

“Those two have been competing for years,” Elena took a drink of water, “but it was Damon’s younger brother Stefan.”

“Not that I liked Damon much either,” Kol swirled his drink in his glass. “He always looked at you in a way that I didn’t like.”

“You almost sound jealous,” Cami laughed.

“Damon was an ass,” Elena blinked slowly. Something had gone down between one of her best friends and Damon, and though Caroline never went into details about it she had gotten the sense that it was really bad. The second her friend told her she had broken things off with him and was happy she hadn’t been involved long enough to gain deep feelings. He was the definition of a two-faced politician and the basis for her rule.

She was pretty sure that rule was out the window; assuming it had even gone with her onto the bus.

“Speaking from experience?” Cami tilted her head.

“Two dates, and during each one he ordered for me,” her eyes narrowed at the memories. She had given him a second chance after the first date went badly, blaming it on what she thought were first date jitters, but after the second when she had opened up to Caroline and let the name, that her best friend confirmed was the ass from high school, out she stopped taking Damon’s calls. “Let me correct myself. Damon is an ass.”

“Bring it into the present tense,” Marcel nodded.

“Something about that guy’s face in interviews just makes me cringe,” Josh agreed.

“Might I suggest a toast to knocking him out of the race,” Elena raised her glass.

“I’ll drink to that,” Kol clinked glasses with her, holding her gaze over the crystal as everyone drank.

“Shouldn’t you actually knock him out of the race first?” Cami asked, reaching for her own glass and staring at the wine.

“Here’s to soon knocking him out of the race,” Elena amended.

Her abdomen clenched with the whispered promise in his eyes. She thought maybe, just maybe, her words referred to more than politics.

Dinner continued with a side of light teasing through dessert until she had to lower her foot and replace her shoe. She rose from the table in a single, fluid, motion with the rest of the party and had to bite her cheek to keep her smirk hidden when Kol remained in his seat.

“Are you coming, or spending the night at the restaurant?” Marcel cocked his head to the side.

“Just finishing my drink, mate.” The look he shot her promised torment as he reached for his glass.

“Looks more like you're nursing it,” Elena said, licking her bottom lip. She lifted her jacket from her chair and slipped it on.

“Well, darling, this bourbon is amazing,” he sipped the amber liquid and made a show of appreciating it. “Truly astounding.”

“Enjoy it then,” Josh rolled his eyes and laughed while gesturing towards Cami and Marcel, “we’ve got competitor speeches to go over.”

“And by that, he means that I do,” Cami winked at Elena. “Got to find their weak points.”

“So what do these two do?” Elena stage whispered, pointing rather obviously to the pair of them.

“Verbally insult the competition, drink expensive liquor and make my job ten times harder and infinitely more fun.” She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “It’s not a bad way to spend a Thursday evening. You wanna join us?”

“While that sounds like it would be highly amusing, and the chance to insult Damon Salvatore with like minded people is always welcome, I’ve actually got a little work of my own to finish up.”

“Then perhaps you’d like to drive with me instead,” Kol suggested. He stood from the table and folded his jacket over his arm to hold in front of his body while everyone watched Elena for a reaction.

“You’re gonna go way out of your way to drop her off at her hotel?” Marcel tilted his head.

Elena smiled softly.

“Since we’ve been in Washington the last few days and we’ll be here for at least another week, Rebekah offered me her apartment so I didn’t have to stay in a hotel. And since I was getting really sick of take out I jumped at the chance to have a full kitchen again.”

“And it had absolutely nothing to do with the king size bed, rain shower and jacuzzi tub,” Kol cocked an eyebrow.

“I never denied the tub was a draw,” she bit her lip as she smiled. “That thing would fit three people in it and has this sort of waterfall feature,” she looked at Cami while waving her hand in a sweeping arc. “Plus Bekah’s got the most amazing selection of scented candles, bubble baths and epsom salts, plus wine that I am encouraged to drink.”

“Damn,” Cami breathed, casting her blue eyes to Kol. “Do you think I can stay at your sister’s place? It beats my airbnb.”

“And the hotel by a mile,” Elena nodded.

“You’d have to take that up with Rebekah,” he nodded to Cami, “and it’s not out of my way. It’s very much in my way.”

“Rebekah lives on the floor below him,” Elena explained, “at least when she’s in town.”

“In that case, I guess we’ll leave you in Kol’s capable hands,” Marcel clapped him on the shoulder.

Elena lifted her eyes to stare up at the chandelier and bit her lip. “I suppose that would save me the cab, or asking any of you to go out of your way.”

“Elena,” Kol offered his arm, nodding to the others as they said goodbye.

She tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and set off through the restaurant at a sedentary walk. Ahead of them Marcel held open the door for Cami. Josh stepped out last and the three of them disappeared down the street.

They weren’t far behind them and Kol steered her to walk up the street.

“Where did you park?” She rubbed her fingers in tight circles, feeling the tension in his coiled muscles.

His only answer was to take a sharp step to the left. He pulled her with him, yanking her almost violently to his body as his mouth covered hers hungrily.

And if another option existed outside of submitting to the cruel ravishment of her mouth she didn’t see it. And quite frankly she wasn’t sure she would have taken it because the way his tongue dominated hers made her toes curl in her high heels.

Not that he was affecting her.

Nope.

And she wasn’t clinging to his shirt for dear life.

Through her jacket she felt the impact of stone and the scratch of brick snagging her hair. The kisses shifted from punishing to searching, and she moaned into his mouth.

He ground against her hip and it was not having an affect on her.

No siree, no affect whatsoever.

She was most definitely not aroused enough to be dripping.

At least that was the story if Rebekah got wind of the incident and asked. But when he kissed her she definitely kissed him back, if only to see what it was like.

Why had it taken them so long to kiss?

Of course that excuse only worked the first time. She couldn't rationalize or deny how she carded her fingers through his short hair and hooked her leg around his waist.

She gasped for air, letting it fill her burning lungs the moment he pushed her further into the wall.

She had a sinking suspicion she would merge with the building material if she didn't merge with him and merging with him sounded like more fun.

“Kol,” she panted, biting her bottom lip.

He bit her throat in response, and that did get a response she could never deny. Her throaty moan could not be written off.

There was also going to be a mark on her throat.

Thank God for Caroline's obsessive packing that resulted in half a dozen stylish scarves.

“Kol,” she whimpered, rolling her hips. His length pressed deliciously against her. “I should really get back.”

“That eager to get away?” He growled, and damn if it didn't make her want to rip off his pristine white shirt and use that freaking tie to shut him up for a while. On second thought she might need two; one for his mouth and one for his hands.

Then again, she could use his belt for his hands. Or his tie for his hands and her ruined panties to shut him up; he’d probably love knowing just what he did to her body.

“I've got some work to do,” she ground down. Her hand held the back of his neck as she breathed hotly against his ear. “I thought you could look over my article.”

“Is that what you want me to look over?” He nipped at her ear.

“Amongst other things.”

@kol-and-elena-fanfiction @elejahforever @elejah-wonderland @cry-btch @geekofmanyfandoms @morsmornte @xanderling @bellemorte180 @iw1shiknew @blndbandt

#kol mikaelson #Elena gilbert #kolena #marcel gerard #camille o'connell #josh rosza #the vampire diaries #the originals #national anthem fanfic

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alocalband · 5 years

Text

Duct Tape and Wishful Thinking Sterek, 1.3k, Teen For the prompt: things you interrupted me to say Also on AO3

“You’re doing it again.”

Derek frowns. “Doing what?”

“Staring.”

Without meaning to, Derek’s eyes immediately glance back over to Stiles, and then quickly away.

Scott smirks.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Derek.”

Derek’s gaze drifts helplessly once more back to where Stiles is fully bent over the engine of the Jeep, intently toying with whatever duct tape and wishful thinking are holding the whole thing together.

Those jeans are doing amazing things for his ass.

Scott’s elbow hits Derek hard in the side. “Quit ogling my best friend and help me keep watch.”

They’ve been out here in the dark of the preserve for a couple hours now. It started as a meandering search for the source of whatever’s been leaving headless carcasses at the Nemeton all week, Stiles roaming the edges of the forest in the Jeep while Scott and Derek did runs through the trees alongside.

Then, of course, the hunk of junk died, and now the agenda for the evening is basically just to make sure nothing attacks Stiles before he’s had a chance to make the thing start running again.

“I am not ogling.”

“I can literally smell how much that’s a lie.”

Look, it is not Derek’s fault Stiles got back from his second year of college looking like that, okay? Maybe if someone had warned him that Stiles suddenly figured out what to do with his hair and how to dress himself and had apparently been hitting the gym pretty regularly, Derek might have been able to prepare for this.

As it is, it’s all a little too much. Derek might have already been having certain... feelings about the guy before, but this is ratcheting those feelings up to a level he’s not sure how to handle.

“Please just ask him out already and put us all out of our misery.”

Derek is definitely not doing that.

For a lot of reasons, really, but mainly because he’s not exactly interested in getting his heart broken. And he knows Stiles doesn’t feel that way about him, that the most Stiles feels for him is reluctant camaraderie. Which is fine. He can deal. He’s obviously weathered worse romantic situations in his life.

Derek’s eyes betray him once again as they fall onto the hard lines of Stiles’ back. He’s wearing a shirt that actually fits him, which means the corded muscles are clearly visible beneath the fabric as he works.

But if Derek’s honest with himself, the problem here isn’t just that he wants to take Stiles back to the loft and lick every inch of him. It’s that he also wants to, like, bring him breakfast in bed afterwards and then discuss the merits of a June wedding.

He really needs to get this under control.

“Oh my god, can you at least turn the pining down a couple of notches?” Scott whines.

Derek huffs and turns to scowl at him. “Listen, I’m dealing with it, alright? It’s just harder to move on when-- when he’s right there. But I’m keeping it in check, and when he heads back to school in the fall, I’ll find a way to get over it. I’m not going to let my feelings get in the way of--”

“Hey, you guys know I can hear you, right?”

Derek’s mouth snaps shut, and both he and Scott turn to where Stiles is now just sitting on the closed hood of the Jeep watching them. “Also the Jeep’s been fixed for about ten minutes now, I just really wanted to see where this conversation was gonna go.” He smirks, the little shit. “I was not disappointed.”

Scott chokes on a barely held back laugh.

Derek draws in a deep breath, holds it for a silent count of ten, and then turns around and starts walking.

He’d run, but he has slightly more dignity than that.

Slightly.

From behind him he can hear Scott and Stiles arguing with each other, but he tunes it out and keeps going. He doesn’t need to hear it.

Half an hour later, back in the loft and dressed down for bed, very pointedly not letting his thoughts linger anywhere near the events of the evening, Derek’s front door opens and Stiles strides in.

Derek sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Please leave.”

“Hey, if you didn’t want me dropping by unannounced you shouldn’t have given me a key.”

“I didn’t give you a key. You stole mine and made a copy while I was unconscious after the troll incident.”

Stiles waves this off with one hand and a roll of his eyes, as if to say po-tay-to po-tah-to, and then throws himself onto Derek’s couch. “So. About what you said.”

“We don’t need to talk about this.” Derek crosses his arms over his chest and starts contemplating how well picking Stiles up and tossing him back out the door would go over.

“I think we should anyway.”

“It’s not an issue.”

“It could be.”

“Stiles...” Derek sighs again. “Please don’t make me do this.”

Stiles bites his lip and looks down at the hands he now has clasped together in his lap. “Yeah, so the thing is I kinda love you too.”

Derek freezes.

He’s certain he heard the wrong.

Stiles jumps back up from his seat and starts pacing nervously, completely ignoring Derek’s current mental breakdown. “So obviously I’ve been attracted to you since day one, you know that. Anyone with eyeballs knows that. But then there was Mexico, and I thought-- But I mean, why the hell would you ever reciprocate? I’m me and you’re... Whatever. But I caught a bad case of what I thought was unrequited feelings, and I was just gonna suffer in silence, right? That seemed like the mature response--adulthood freaking sucks by the way--but apparently... you like me back?”

He stops short and finally looks at Derek head on. “You do, right? I didn’t hallucinate the last couple hours?”

At that, Derek does the only thing his still offline brain can come up with. He closes the distance between them and kisses him.

It’s a good kiss. Something Derek’s going to remember years later, no matter how the aftermath of it shakes out. Stiles immediately goes pliant in Derek’s arms, and then, after a moment, starts taking over in that way he has of throwing himself into a project with the enthusiasm of someone who’s not just willing but eager to pull multiple all-nighters for it.

Panting, they break apart, though Stiles keeps pulling at Derek’s shirt with both hands like he’s afraid Derek will move away any farther that those couple inches.

Derek squeezes Stiles’ hips with his own hands in reassurance, and then ducks his head down and to the side to press his nose into the hair at Stiles’ temple.

“’Love?’” he whispers, trying not to sound as hesitant as his heart definitely is.

Stiles swallows, then turns his head a little so that he can place a kiss at the juncture between Derek’s neck and shoulder. “Yeah. You?”

“Yeah,” Derek breathes.

And then they’re kissing again.

It takes them a little while, but eventually they make it to the bed. Derek does, in fact, get to lick an awful lot of mole-dotted skin, and does, in fact, make Stiles breakfast in bed the next morning.

He’s smart enough to save the June wedding talk for a little later.

#sterek #teen wolf #derek hale #stiles stilinski #fanfic

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rachel1987 · 4 years

Text

GWCFT Part 7

This is it everyone! With the Talent Show over, Hare must face his greatest fear: his mother’s opinion! In the final installment we get June Hare’s word on her son’s relationship, whether Hatter or Hare want to hear about it. What will she say?

xposted on ao3 and FF.net

A little while later, after the excitement of the goof up of the final performance, everyone was sitting around eating pretzels and having tea. They had moved a group of chairs up to the stage and were using it as a makeshift table for the time being. Most of their friends had already gone home for the night, but the Queen, Rabbit, Alice and June congregated at the foot of the stage while Hatter and Hare tried to figure out why the magic box had malfunctioned toward the back of it.

"Why didn't you perform in the talent show, your Highness?" June asked curiously, trying to make casual conversation. She had Hare's cape draped over her shoulders to keep her warm and was sipping at a cup of hot tea. "You must be very accomplished, I'm sure you could have shown us quite a show. I hear you're a wild animal trainer! My son told me that you keep a wild woebear as a pet."

"I am not a show pony," the Queen replied, taking a sip from her cup of tea. She had been drinking wine coolers all night but Rabbit suggested she switch to tea a few drinks ago. She wasn't drunk or even tipsy really, just a little more loose lipped than usual. Which could be pretty dangerous when you're already as loudmouthed as the Queen. "I came to be entertained, not to be the entertainment. It was enough that I convinced Rabbit to perform, I shouldn't have to do a song and dance as well."

"She did do a song and dance to order me to perform," Rabbit whispered to Alice, the sweatbands from his act still wrapped around his wrists. "She should have saved it for the show. It would have been much more appreciated with a larger audience."

"And I had no idea you could move like that, mr Rabbit," Alice said politely. "You're a very good dancer."

"Why, thank you, Alice," he grinned, face going a little pink. "My Mumsie did always say I was light on my feet, you know."

"Yes, I couldn't keep my eyes off you," June added, making his face turn a little green. He gave her a friendly smile and scooted his chair away a little.

"Well, heh…" Rabbit chuckled, looking at his watch. "Oh, look at the time. Your highness, I believe it is time that we make our leave. You have a busy schedule to keep tomorrow."

"Yes, and I still have my bubble bath to take tonight…" the Queen said with a grin.

"Well, in that case, it was an honor meeting you, your majesty," June said as the group joined the Queen in getting to her feet.

"I should probably be heading home too," Alice said with a smile beside the Queen and the Rabbit. "It's getting late and I don't want my parents to notice that I'm gone."

"It was lovely meeting you too, Alice. I hope to see you again soon."

Alice nodded in agreement. "Yes, that would be nice mrs Hare. Good night mr Hatter and mr Hare!"

Hatter and Hare turned their attention from the trunk and joined everyone else at the base of the stage.

"Going home so early?" Hatter asked. "I thought we'd maybe squeeze in a game of charades before the night was through."

"Oh, heh, no…" the girl shook her head. "I'm far too tired for something like that. I can come by tomorrow and help you clean up if you want."

"Oh, well that's very kind of you, Alice," he replied, hopping down from the stage and taking a seat. Hare followed suit, although he walked up beside his mother and turned to the Queen.

"Thank you for making the time to see the show, your Majesty," he said appreciatively.

"Yes, well…" the Queen smirked. "It's always a pleasure to be among my subjects. And also to meet new ones." Turning to June, she bestowed upon her the first friendly royal smile that had been offered her entire trip. "Mrs Hare, it was lovely finally meeting you. Maybe the next time you come to Wonderland we'll play a couple rounds of croquet at the Palace?"

Hare made eye contact with his mother and they silently screamed at each other out of pure joy. June took a second to compose herself before nodding her head, ears bouncing. "That would be marvelous, your Majesty. I will eagerly await your invitation to the Palace and will be there with bells on."

The Queen immediately regretted the invitation, but hid it behind her gleaming smile and nodded. "I'm looking forward to it. Come, Rabbit!"

And, with that, she took her leave with Rabbit and Alice trailing behind, each of them carrying an overflowing bag of pretzels in their hands.

All that was left was Hatter, Hare and June, standing at the foot of the stage in the empty courtyard.

"Shall we head inside for a nightcap?" Hatter offered, turning to his bunny compatriots.

"What do you think, Mom?" Hare asked her.

"Yes, that sounds nice," she said happily.

The party moved inside and settled in the living room. Hatter brewed a fresh pot of chamomile and vanilla tea, adding a splash of lemon and spiking it with brandy.

"The perfect hot toddy to end a long day," Hatter said, setting the tea tray down on his coffee table. He pulled a chair across from the Hare's, who were both sitting on the sofa.

"What did you think of the show, Mom?" Hare asked as he added some honey to his tea.

"It was just wonderful!" she exclaimed, leaning back into the plush sofa, cape still draped over her shoulders. "I had no idea all of your friends were so very talented! I was very impressed."

"Anybody stand out to you?" Hatter asked, adding an extra splash of brandy to his cup. "Other than Hare, I mean."

"Well, I actually thought your song was just delightful," June crooned. "It was very sweet and you sang it beautifully. Did you write it yourself?"

"Aww shucks, June..." Hatter's cheeks flushed and he waved her praise away, trying to make light of it. "That's awfully kind of you to say. Yes, I write all my own songs. I had been working on that one for a while and I decided now was the perfect time to perform it."

"It really was very good, Hatter," Hare praised him, taking a sip from his tea. "It was one of your best so far. You should send a recording of it to your mother, I think she'd like to hear it."

"Oh, you do?" It seemed the idea had never come to his mind to send it to her, but he was interested in the prospect. "You don't say…"

"And you're right, Hatter, I was also impressed with my son here. Even with that little goof up, you did a fantastic job with your magic act." June gave her son a pat on the knee, making him grin.

"Thanks, Mom," he blushed, enjoying the acclaim. "If I'm being honest, I was pretty nervous about it. It would have been perfect if the door on that trunk hadn't gotten stuck."

"Well, it wasn't the first time you'd locked yourself in one of those," June said, hiding her smirk behind her cup of tea.

Hare rolled his eyes and looked to the Hatter with an embarrassed expression.

"You really swooped in to the rescue though, June," Hatter added. "I had no idea you were so talented with a hairpin. In a way, you did your own talent act for all of us."

"Oh!" June put a gloved hand to her mouth and chuckled, face turning red. "I guess I did, didn't I?"

"We were all mesmerized," Hatter nodded, really lathering on the charm again.

They enjoyed the company of one another until they drank their way through the pot of tea. The dishes were moved to the kitchen, cleaned and put away and they returned to their places by the sofa to relax a little. The back door to the Hat house was open, letting a fresh breeze in, making the area comfortable.

"What are the plans for the morning?" Hatter asked, tuning his radio in to some music while they lounged.

"I don't think we really spoke about it…" Hare said, glancing at his mother, who shrugged.

"My train to the Hinterlands leaves at noon tomorrow, so that doesn't leave much time to do anything."

"Maybe I'll come by for breakfast in the morning," Hatter offered. "I'll bring some pastries and we'll all go to the station together?"

Hatter was, in a sense, inviting himself on the trip but they didn't seem to mind very much. The three of them felt very comfortable together, which was a little bit of a surprise to the Hare. He had anticipated his mother finding Hatter too outlandish and wild for her son, but she seemed to have accepted him rather well in the short amount of time they had spent together.

"I think that would be very nice," June smiled, her eyelids dropping a little. "Maybe I'll make some biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I know I saw the ingredients in your kitchen, son."

"Ooh, that would be lovely!" Hatter exclaimed, never being one to turn down a homemade meal.

"That's very sweet of you, Mom, but you don't have to…" Hare started, only for his mother to shake her head at him.

"It's no trouble at all. After everything you two have done for me all weekend, it's the least I could do." She smiled at the both of them and Hare could tell that she was getting very sleepy. They'd have to leave soon if they were going to make it all the way to his place before it got too late.

"It's settled then," Hatter said with a smile. "I'll drop by at 9, how is that?"

"Great idea, Hatter," Hare smiled. "We should probably get going, Ma. It's getting late."

June nodded and got to her feet, adjusting the cape on her shoulders again. "I think I'll powder my nose before we go."

She left the boys alone again and Hatter shifted around and took a seat next to Hare on the sofa.

"The magic act was terrible, wasn't it?" Hare asked, taking the Hatter's hand in his own.

"Terrible? No… you were fine," he tried to reassure him, wrapping an arm around the Hare's shoulders. "It made for a more exciting show, with you getting stuck like that. Nobody will forget it."

"The Cat won't let me forget it," Hare said as he rolled his eyes. "I could hear him laughing at me all the way inside the box."

"I'm sure we'll mess something else up in the next few days to make him forget about it," Hatter said with a shrug. "We are pretty good at that."

"We are," he agreed. They sat silently for a little while, listening to the radio play before Hare spoke up again . "Hey, Hatter, I didn't thank you for everything you did for me this week. You really stepped up more than I could have asked for."

"Oh, it was nothing," Hatter said, flashing that charming smile of his. "You would have done the same for me if it were my mother coming to visit. And probably more, come to think of it."

"Yeah, well," Hare laced his fingers with Hatter's and leaned against him a little. "I'd like to repay you, when Ma goes home and things go back to normal."

"I'm sure I can think of something you can do to make it up to me," Hatter said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, elbowing Hare in the ribs. The two giggled to themselves as June returned from the bathroom, trying to suddenly compose themselves in her presence. She grinned at them happily as Hare got to his feet, tugging on his lapels to better his appearance.

"You ready, Ma?"

She nodded and they made their way to the door, Hatter's hand on Hare's shoulder.

"You two travel safe and I'll see you in the morning."

"That sounds good," June replied. "Have a good night."

The pair exited through the IN door and Hatter stood at the doorway until he saw them swing the gate shut behind them and disappear into the distance. With a sigh, he looked at his courtyard. The lack of tea table made the area look strange, he'd have to fix that tomorrow before the afternoon tea party. He walked to the table the pretzel machine was on and picked up the Dormouse's teapot, carrying it inside with him to watch some late night HTV.

Hare and June made good time getting home. They had arrived by half past ten and were all settled for bed by eleven. Walking down the hall in his newly purchased sleepwear, he knocked on his mother's door before entering.

"Come in," came the reply and he pushed his head in through the crack in the door.

"You comfortable, Mom?"

She grinned seeing that he was in the pajamas she had bought him earlier that day. They were covered in little orange carrots and had a blue trim around the edges. It made him look five years old.

"Oh, yes, this is very nice," she replied from her spot, patting the quilt that was covered in embroidered vegetables. She was in a sleeping gown covered in small flowers and her hair was wrapped in curlers, with a handkerchief over them. "Thank you. Very comfortable. And everything is so spick and span. Nothing out of place."

Hare would have relished in his mother's compliments if his mind wasn't on something else. He spoke as he entered the bedroom and took a seat beside her on the bed. "Mom, what do you think of the Hatter?"

"I must be honest, son, he wasn't quite what I expected," June admitted after some thought. "I always imagined you'd settle down with someone a little more like me. A more domestic type."

What would be exciting about that? Hare thought to himself, though he didn't dare say it aloud. "We work well together, Mom. We're very compatible."

June smiled and nodded, patting her son on the arm. "I know, son, I can see that. You both really care for each other, don't you?"

Hare couldn't form words but his face said everything.

She nodded knowingly, choosing her next words very carefully. "That's all well and good, but I do have one concern." She paused and took her glasses off, looking at her son with her dark eyes that looked so much like his own. Reaching a hand out, she placed it on her sons and looked at him seriously. "Does he make you happy?"

The Hare's heart stopped beating and he almost forgot to breathe. His mother had never spoken to him like this before. "Yes, Mom. He makes me very happy."

June rubbed her thumb over her son's knuckles and smiled at him. "Then that's most important to me."

"Really, Mom? You mean it?"

June put a hand on her son's cheek and rubbed it with her thumb. "You're my son, my pride and joy, and I only want you to be happy. You've done so well here. So many friends and this lovely little house and garden. You make me very proud. However, I do want to ask for one favor."

"What's that?" Hare asked, unsure if he would want to know the answer.

"If the Hatter is going to walk on the table, can you make sure he removes his shoes first? They left marks on his table cloth and it looked very untidy."

Hare giggled and shook his head, ears flopping around a little. "It was really something, wasn't it? I had quite a time convincing him not to do it all week."

June laughed along with him, putting her glasses back on as she gazed across at her son. "Oh, how I've missed moments like this. Why don't we have some warm milk before bed? Like when you were just a little boy."

"I don't think it would hurt," Hare agreed, getting to his feet and leading his mother to the kitchen. He went to the fridge and grabbed the carton of milk as June went to the cupboard to get a couple mugs.

"We used to do this all the time, do you remember?" June asked, gazing at all the cups and mugs in the cupboard. She picked two she rather liked and set them on the table, watching Hare pour the milk into a deep pot over the stove. "Whenever you couldn't sleep I'd make you some warm milk with cinnamon and we'd read books out loud until you couldn't keep your eyes open anymore."

"I remember one night I had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep," Hare said, remembering like it was yesterday, stirring the milk with a wooden spoon. "We sat up reading James and the Giant Carrot and drank through a whole quart of milk. I think we probably read more than half of it before we called it a night."

"That was when you had chicken pox, wasn't it?"

Hare stopped and furrowed his brow, thinking to himself. "No… no, I don't think so."

June rested her elbow on the table and thought for a moment. "Something similar must have happened then. You got really sick one night when you had chicken pox and it was touch and go for a little while there. And I remember you were very offended that you thought an actual chicken had gotten you sick. You had me put away all your chicken toys and were too afraid to touch them for months."

Hare laughed at that. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that. What was the name of my favorite chicken again? The orange one. Do you remember?"

"You had so many, I don't think I could remember. You had Cluck Rogers for a long time. And one you named Burrito... Frittata lasted a while."

Hare smiled, thinking of all the chicken toys he'd had over the years. He continued to stir the milk on the stove until it was nice and hot, carrying the pot to the table and pouring it into the two mugs. After replacing the pot on the stove to cool, he took a seat next to his mother and lifted his mug of milk up, only to realize it had a picture of a dancing hot dog on it.

"Mom where'd you get these cups?" Hare asked, looking at the image on the side of the mug and then across to his mothers. Her's had a cow in a unitard with the words "Let's Moooove" on it.

"They were in the cupboard. Why?" June didn't seem to see any problem as she sipped at her mug of milk, deciding that it might need a touch of cinnamon and going directly to the correct pantry to find some.

"Why didn't you use one of the nice ones on the counter?" he asked, gesturing to the full rack of delicately painted mugs and cups sitting in view.

"Oh… well, because I like these ones. They're cute."

Hare was going to say something but stopped, mouth hanging open a little as he processed what she said. He blinked and furrowed his brow, pointing a finger at his cup as he spoke. "You like these?"

"Well, yes. They're very kitschy, aren't they?" she said as she returned to her seat, sprinkling a little cinnamon into her cup and stirring it with a spoon. "They remind me of a set of bowls I had for you when you were a baby. You'd only eat your mashed carrots out of this bowl that had a clown printed on the bottom and you'd eat and eat until you could see his entire face."

He was completely unmoved by her little story, surprised that she actually liked his little tacky things in his pantry. "I thought you'd think they were too… childish."

"Not at all! I mean, they may be a little garish, but they are very fun," June smiled as she looked at her cup, laughing a little before taking another sip from it. "I saw the plates in your cupboard too of the dancing foods. Those are pretty silly too."

How could he have been so wrong about his mother? Leaning back into his chair, he rested his elbow over the back of the seat, gazing at his Mom across the table. "You don't think they're tacky at all?"

"No, I don't," she replied, brow furrowing a little at how her son was reacting to this news. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I just…" Hare shrugged, gesturing toward the cups. "I didn't think you'd like them. I had them hidden away because I thought you'd want to use something else."

"Oh…" June looked down at her cup again and chuckled. "You didn't have to go through all the trouble. The pretty ones are very nice, but I like these ones just fine. If they're what you'd rather use then that's what we should use."

Hare scratched his head and reached out, picking up his mug and taking a sip from it. It had cooled a little and he also decided that it needed some cinnamon in it.

"You don't have to change things around for me, son. You know that."

"Well, I know now…" he mumbled behind his mug.

"What other things did you put away? Was there more?" June seemed reinvigorated by this realization that her son had changed things in the house to suit her better. She no longer looked like she was in need of sleep, the milk seemed to have given her a boost of energy.

"Oh, well, not much…" Hare shrugged. "Just some blankets and things. And I hid a lot of my practical joke stuff."

"Why did you think you had to hide all of that from me?" She was starting to look like he had hurt her feelings somehow. Her brows were knitting in the center of her forehead and her shoulders were drooping a little.

"Well, I didn't want to disappoint you, I guess," he replied

"Oh, no, son…" June shook her head, reaching across the table and pushing Hare's bangs away from his eyes in a doting way, like she'd done a million times in his youth. "I'm proud of every little thing you have and do, even when you do mess up."

"Really?" Hare couldn't believe what she was saying. He'd always felt this huge pressure from her, wanting to impress her and make her proud, but he always assumed that meant that he had to be perfect all the time. In both the things he did and what he owned.

"Yes, really. You're my son, the best thing that ever came into my life. And I know I have been harsh and pushed you too hard, but that's because I wanted you to succeed and be happy. And if that means you want to be with a crazy tall man in a big hat and have ridiculous designs on your tableware, that's alright with me."

Hare thought back to all the work he'd done over the past week, worrying about what she'd think about his house and everything contained within it and felt like he had been stressing for nothing. Just like both the Hatter and Caterpillar told him all along.

"Thanks, Mom…" was all Hare could manage, hiding sheepishly behind his mug of now lukewarm milk.

"Now, why don't you show me some of the other things you managed to hide away from me?" June teased.

It was 9 o'clock on the dot when Hatter arrived on the Hare's doorstep holding a pink box of hot cross buns he'd picked up from the Wonderland Bakery. He dusted himself off and straightened his cap before knocking on the door.

"It's open!" came a voice from inside.

Hatter pushed the door inward and entered the house, the smell of freshly baked biscuits and sausage hitting him in the face.

"Yum! Smells scrummy in here!" he announced as he walked through the entryway and to the kitchen. He found them by the stove, both wearing aprons and looking bright and cheery. Hare had flour on his face and down his right side, while June looked spotless.

"Thanks!" Hare said, flashing Hatter the first carefree smile he'd seen on his face the whole weekend. "What's in the box?"

"Hot cross buns," Hatter said, placing the pink carton on the table next to the bouquet of pansies Hare had picked from his garden for his mother two days before and joining the pair by the stove.

"They're his favorite," Hare told his mother, who nodded.

Hatter stood over them with his hands clasped behind his back, craning his neck to see what was going on over the stove. He saw a large skillet with sausage crumbles and gravy cooking in it, bubbling away deliciously. "How's everything going over here?"

"You should ask him," June said, giving her son a gentle nudge. "He'll give an honest answer."

"Okay, okay. Here, Hatter, give this a taste…" Hare said, offering a spoonful of the off-white gravy to the Hatter, who smacked his lips at it.

"Mmmm!" His expression brightened and he nodded. "Not bad! Maybe a little more pepper and I think you're good to go."

"That's what I said! Isn't that what I said?" June exclaimed, reaching for the pepper grinder and adding a few generous turns of the knob.

"Yes, Mom, that's what you said…" Hare rolled his eyes and shrugged at his partner.

"How long have you both been up? You have an awful lot of energy for so early in the morning."

"Only about an hour," Hare shrugged, wiping his hands off on his apron.

"We did start the morning off with coffee, that helps!" June added, giving the gravy one final stir before turning the heat off and letting it rest for a few moments, taking the fresh biscuits out of the oven.

"What tea would you like?" Hare whispered to the Hatter after sneaking in a smooch on the cheek.

"Anything you have will do, I'm not picky," Hatter replied with a smile, before Hare rushed to get a kettle on the boil.

The energy in the kitchen was really fantastic and Hatter eventually just had to step back and let the Hare's have the run of it. He took a seat at the table and watched them zoom around like a well oiled machine, never getting in the other's way and always being in the right place at the right time. Even though they hadn't worked together in a kitchen for years, they still knew how to do it.

Looking around, Hatter noticed that all of the fancy dishware had been put away and the settings were all the Kitchen Kabaret set. All the punny mugs were also set out and on display. Hatter caught the Hare's glance for a moment and raised his eyebrows in confusion and surprise, holding up a mug that had a picture of a crustacean on it with the words "Don't Be Crabby, Just Have Coffee" on it. Hare gave him a smile and a wink and that was all he needed to know. He had been right after all.

It didn't take long before the table was set, Earl Grey was poured and everyone had a full plate of biscuits and gravy in front of them. They also had some fresh fruit salad and the hot cross buns to round out the meal.

Hatter really enjoyed the food, going back for seconds as soon as he cleaned his plate. "June this really is delicious," he commended halfway through his second plate. "Hare, why don't you cook meals like this?"

Hare rolled his eyes a little as June smiled at the Hatter. "Thank you, Hatter. I'm glad that you like it. It's one of my best recipes, if I do say so myself."

"Hare, you should ask for this recipe. It's good."

"I have it in the orange books we used the other day, Hatter," Hare replied, munching on some strawberries.

"Oh…" Hatter paused and tore off a piece of a hot cross bun and plopped it into his mouth. "Well, maybe we should keep those books at my place then. Maybe we'll use them more often if they live there now."

"Oh, uh…" Hare looked at his mother nervously. He knew that if the books stayed at the Hatter's they'd get lost in a matter of days. "I think maybe I'll have copies made for you."

"Righty roo!" he exclaimed, taking a sip from his tea.

"Do you stay at the Hatter's house mostly?" June asked curiously.

"Oh, yes," Hare nodded. "There's always a lot going on at the Hat house, so we spend most of our time there. We're always entertaining guests or making things… we don't come to my house very much at all, to be honest."

Hatter flattened his lips and nodded. "I think this is the most time I've spent here in the past two months. We might need to change that though, if it means more home cooked meals like this."

"Hatter, I can cook you more meals at your house," Hare replied, exasperated. "You just need to let me take charge in the kitchen."

"But it's my kitchen!" Hatter shouted, not the least bit angry but actually excited. "My house, my rules."

June hid her mouth behind her hands and chuckled, watching them bicker a little. She found it charming and couldn't help but enjoy the interaction.

"I'm not going to argue over this," Hare said, shaking his head as he started packing up the dishes and moving them to the sink. "You want me to cook for you, you'll have to let me take charge."

Hatter pouted playfully and pointed at him with a gloved finger. "Has he always been like this?"

"March has always been a little on the stubborn side, when he knows what he wants," she said with a wink. "I think sometimes it's best to just give in."

He considered this, so many thoughts running through his mind but none he would say out loud with June in the room.

"I guess I'll have to think about it," he replied.

The rest of the morning went by quickly and before they knew it, it was 11:30 and time to leave for the train station. Hatter and Hare carried all of June's luggage on the short walk, leaving June's arms free to carry her purse and the pansies the Hare had picked for her. He gave her a fresh bouquet to take and enjoy on the train ride, wrapping the stems in a wet rag and a plastic bag to keep them fresh until she arrived at her destination tomorrow.

The train had just pulled up to the platform by the time they got to the station. For once it was running early, so they had a little bit of time before she'd have to board and be on her way.

"Well, this has been one of the funnest weekends I've had in a very long while," June said, trying to hide the fact that she had started to cry a little on the walk over. The thought of leaving them broke her heart and, while she was excited to see her sister again, she could also do with staying the rest of the week with her son and his friends. She had her handkerchief in her hand and kept dabbing at her eyes and nose.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Hatter beamed, feeling mostly responsible for the good time she'd had. This probably wasn't true, but it was the honest truth to him. "We'll have to do this again soon, June. Before too much time has passed."

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed excitedly, clasping her hands together. "We'll spend more time with just the three of us. Maybe we'll have a spa day."

"Ooh, a spa day!?" Hatter boomed, looking at Hare happily. Hare obviously wasn't thrilled with the idea, but forced a smile and nodded.

"Yes, that would be… fun," he managed with a lighthearted chuckle.

"Oh, and son, one more thing before I go," she put a finger to her cheek and she spoke nervously. "I wanted to know if you could possibly give me the Rabbit's number. I think I'd like to call upon him sometime."

Both Hare and Hatter's jaws gaped a little, Hare's face going green. "Oh, no… Mom, I will not do that."

June could only keep the ruse up for so long, before she waved a hand at the two of them and laughed. "I'm only kidding dear. He's much too old for me. I don't know if he knows how to have a little fun."

Hatter and Hare exchanged a glance, not daring to say a word to one another. For a second, Hare thought he was going to faint. Hatter thought he'd be able to tease Hare by calling Rabbit "Papa Rabbit" from now on.

The train whistle blew, making the three of them jump, signaling that the train was ready to begin boarding. It was time to say their goodbyes.

"Now, you take care of my boy, you hear me?" June said as she turned and looked up at Hatter. She had a serious expression on her face but there was a tenderness in her eyes as she shook a finger at him.

Hatter smiled widely and nodded, putting a hand on Hare's shoulder as he spoke. "You don't have a thing to worry about, June. You're leaving him in very capable hands. Why, I'd never forgive myself if something were to happen to the Hare."

June's expression broke and she smiled widely, reaching up with her hands and cupping the Hatter's face. She pulled him down closer to him and kissed either side of his mug, giving him a pat before letting him go. His face was pink as he stood upright, chest puffing with pride. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Hare wipe a tear from beneath his glasses.

"I will be keeping tabs on you, so don't you get into too much trouble," June added to the Hatter, straightening his jacket a little and giving him an approving smile. "Don't make me come back here and have to mother you."

Hatter beamed and looked up to the sky, cheeks rosy. "Oh, June… you're such a card!"

The whistle blew again and the three exchanged a glance, knowing it was time for her to board the train. Smiling, she reached out and embraced the Hatter, giving him a warm hug. Hatter returned the hug sweetly, patting her back. "It was lovely meeting you June," he said in an oddly serious tone. "I'll take good care of him for you."

She smiled and nodded, a tear running down her cheek which she brushed away hurriedly. "Thank you, Hatter," she managed to mutter, giving him another peck on the cheek and tap on the shoulder before turning to her son.

"I'll help you stow your luggage inside," Hare offered, following his mother onto the train carriage. Hatter stuck behind on the platform and took a seat on the bench, waiting for his friend to return, wanting to give them some privacy in their last moments together.

They made their way to June's compartment and he helped his mother put her luggage away, a short man with a paper hat walking up and asking for her ticket. She gave it to him and he looked it over, nodding at it after a few moments before returning it to her. Once the luggage was put away, the pair stood in the compartment awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say.

"Now, you give me a call when you're settled at Aunt May's, okay Ma?" Hare told her, a touch of concern in his voice.

"I will, son, don't worry," she said, reaching out and straightening his bow-tie one last time. She also pushed his bangs away from his eyes again. "The Hinterlands isn't so far away, I should get there by tomorrow morning."

"Well, still… I'd like to know that you got there safe."

"I promise that I'll call you the moment I get settled there," she reassured him. "Now give your old Ma one last hug for the road, hmm?" She held her arms open to him a little, welcoming his embrace.

Hare nodded and engulfed his mother in one last, long, warm hug. She held onto him and smiled, burrowing her nose in his neck as they held one another. She felt another tear come to her eye and she wiped it away before her son could see. He had been missing from her arms for so long, the thought that she didn't know when they would be in the same room again made her heart hurt. She felt his hand rub her back as she held onto him for longer than she'd probably meant to, pulling away and looking at her son with all the love in the world in her eyes. "I love you, sonny. And I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Mom," Hare cooed, reaching out and wiping some smeared mascara from her cheek with his thumb. "But we'll see each other soon. We won't let this much time pass again, okay?"

She sniffled in spite of herself and nodded, clearing her throat and shaking her head, forcing a strong smile. "Look at me, I'm acting like a child…" she muttered, dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief one final time before composing herself. They looked at each other once more, before the final train whistle blew. "Okay, you'd better go if you don't want to go all the way to the Hinterlands with me."

Hare paused at the compartment door and looked at his mother, a loving smile on his face. "I love you, Mom. Have a safe trip."

"Thank you, son," she said with a short wave.

And, with that, Hare turned away from his mother and made for the exit of the train. He was feeling an odd mixture of emotions. Relief and sadness all rolled up into one. Seeing his mother so emotional was difficult for him, but not something he didn't expect to happen. He was more surprised to find that after the lovely morning they'd had together, he was actually really going to miss his Mom. Composing himself at the train door for a moment, he exited to find Hatter on the bench eating a cupcake.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, pointing at it.

"Oh, this?" Hatter asked, before taking another bite from it. "Someone gave it to me. Said I had a sweet face that needed to get sweeter."

Hare furrowed his brow and looked around the platform, seeing that the Hatter was completely alone, and yet still decided not to question it further. The tall man devoured the rest of the sweet snicky snack and tossed the paper trash in the bin, before leaving the train station.

"That wasn't so bad…" The Hatter said as they walked back to the Hat house from the train station. He had his arm draped over the Hare's shoulder, who had his arm around the Hatter's waist as they walked. "We should invite your mother over more often."

Hare rolled his eyes a little, his knees going weak for a moment. "I love my mother, but I don't think I could have taken another day with her. She's just too much work."

"I don't think it was as bad as all that…" Hatter shrugged. "I think maybe you blew things out of proportion a little. She didn't seem nearly as bad as you'd made her out to be."

"Perhaps…" Hare nodded. He knew he was inclined to make a big deal out of nothing when dealing with both good and bad situations. And, in all honesty, she wasn't as bad as he remembered. "I think maybe she's mellowed with her age."

"Why'd you have the sudden change of heart with your stuff? I noticed your cups and plates were back out, so were your pastel blankets."

"She said they were kitschy?" Hare shrugged. "I guess she found a charm in them."

"I suppose you'll enjoy the quiet now that she's gone?" Hatter tilting his head a little, looking down at the Hare with a grin.

"I'm just excited to get things back to normal," Hare said with a wave of his free hand.

"So… wanna go prank call the palace?"

"Do I?" the Hare giggled, ears perking as he raced the Hatter home.

#gwcft #guess who's coming for tea #hatter and hare #mad hatter #march hare #june hare #hattrem #hare #adventures in wonderland #aiw #disney #fanfiction #fanfic

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