#and all the Moki are absolutely adorable too!!

[lurking-latinist]

I guess this would be a good place to talk about the six & evelyn mundane au that I texted to the very patient @ontologicalmoki​ once...

ok so I usually don’t like this kind of AU very much (as opposed to canon divergence AUs or change-one-thing AUs) because it doesn’t make sense that the characters would be the same person. but hear me out please.

University lecturers Dr Smith and Dr Smythe, stuck alphabetically next to each other at a particularly boring convocation, immediately hit it off. Nothing is different about Evelyn’s background--she just meets the Doctor differently--and, well, I’ve known multiple professors who were *exactly* like the Doctor. (Used to work for one, which is another story entirely.) So they are basically the same people as in canon--except that the Doctor is human--which as long as he’s an eccentric scientist who’s cagey about his background, doesn’t make that much difference.

There’s not a lot of plot to this AU; the heart of it is basically that they are just totally inseparable. They eat lunch together all the time. They go to each other’s lectures for absolutely no reason (they are not even remotely in the same department, he’s a scientist and she’s a historian). They go to *other* people’s lectures together and whisper snarky remarks to each other the whole time. They somehow get permission to teach a History of Science course together and it is utter chaos but extremely educational.

Evelyn agrees to supervise a History Society field trip and for some reason the Doctor is there. “Why is there a physicist on our charter bus to Stonehenge?” say the students. “Well,” she says, “he wanted to see it and he can’t drive.”

Have you seen this tweet?

well now you have. the doctor is #1 (and he’s not too keen on giving out his name if he can help it) and evelyn is #2. which has the entertaining result that all the physics students think he’s having some kind of dramatic affair with this mysterious woman who’s constantly in and out of his office and leaves him brownies, while all the history students know far more of his business than his own students do, and also all about Evelyn’s divorce and her views on love vs. friendship. (like most things I write this would be a celebration of platonic relationships.)

(but also... presumably Rossiter would not live on another planet, given that this is a mundane AU, and thus she could get married and *also* carry on with her life and not move to another planet. yes please)

You could tell quite a bit of it from the perspective of one of Evelyn’s students and one of the Doctor’s, who are trying to figure out What the Deal Is With Those Two. If you absolutely had to have a romance the students could fall in love with each other.

the doctor dresses exactly like this tumblr post. specifically the man in the first picture who is wearing a tie with a cat on it, and the cat is also wearing a tie.

the doctor’s office door is covered with weird little comics and clippings. the inside is surprisingly clean, largely because he doesn’t actually do any work there--if he’s not in the lab, he takes his work to the lounge or that weird table near the canteen or anywhere where he can talk to random people while he works. (This is inspired by the professor I used to work for--I’m pretty sure I was in his office more than he was, even though he worked incredibly hard--and also by the surprisingly pristine look of the Classic Who console room.) Evelyn’s office door has three or four posters, all of them for lectures that took place at least five years ago; none of the posters has a year listed. (Also inspired by people I have worked with.)

I did eventually come up with faint sketches of a coherent plot, involving a scandal with a major scholar selling forged manuscripts. Evelyn becomes suspicious and they get their hands on one of the manuscripts in question. The Doctor disappears into his lab for three hours--“I scanned it!” “...with what?” “with SCIENCE!...Which says it contains a pigment that wasn’t invented until 1837.” Unfortunately this plot is inspired by a quite recent real-life scandal in my own field and I’m not sure I’m comfortable writing a story whose villain would inevitably be based on a particular individual whom I’ve heard lecture.

Moki pointed out that none of this technically has to be a mundane AU, just a story where the Doctor and Evelyn go undercover at a university, but I specifically want the Doctor to be Just Some Guy who is just Like That.

but you absolutely have to keep their canon dynamic, which is that Evelyn absolutely adores the Doctor and he thinks she hung the moon, and they just fit together because they get each other.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Hello! :) Here again to drop a Yu-Gi-Oh! ask, because I dreamt about it last night and can't help myself lol I decided to throw in a Seto Kaiba Headcanons request today, if that's okay with you. Some Headcanons about him attempting to win his S/O's heart. I'm wondering how he would go about it! I'll sign my anon asks with this -💙 Don't know if the ask box lets symbols go through, but I'll try! I'm hoping you're having a good day so far! :)

I love you to the moon and back and honestly, thank you so much for sending such adorable YuGiOh requests! Even more, Seto is my YuGiOh crush and this just makes it an infinite times better

And omg yes, that little blue heart is so adorable, I love you so much, please sign yourself that way, dear Blue Heart Anon

Okay Okay, so we’re talking about the most over the top guy in the whole universe, so basically, he will to  A N Y T H I N G  to win your heart over.

And I mean it.

He was extra enough to create and pilot a Blue Eyes White Dragon (BEWD for short) plane, so like 

??? 

There’s no boundary for what he’d invent for you.

I want to say that he’d be super smooth and flirty, but I think we all know he’d choke on his words before he could actually SAY what he’s been rehearsing for so long (despite Mokuba encouraging him) so he’d settle for writing a ton of letters that he’d rip apart and burn because they aren’t perfect enough for you to read and truly understand his feelings.

He’d come to pick you up from home extremely random with his BEWD plane and you’d go to Disneyland just to have fun for hours.

Of course, he’d say that it doesn’t compare to Kaiba Land, but it’s a nice change of scenery.

Also, he won’t admit it too soon, but he loves Disney movies, especially watching them with you and Mokie.

But hear me out, the best part comes right now.

After he finds out more about you, he’s gonna make Disney create a Disney movie after you and him and you will be the super badass Disney Princess that is a hardcore gamer, and he is the Number 1 Gamer Prince and whatever the hell he wants to make.

Of course, after this is done, he will make a special place for Y/N Gamer Corner which is basically a huge gaming area, completely high tech hologram like, just like he did with Duel Monsters, and all your favourite games will be featured and available to play there, be it multiplayer or singleplayer.

Literally a dream come true.

You can’t tell me that he hasn’t already won your heart by now.

I mean, all the effort, the feelings, the imagination and creativity (and money) invested into making your dreams (some that you had no idea you had) come true.

And of course, when your heart bursts out with emotions and you ask him why does he go through all the trouble to make you so happy, instead of using his money to make himself and Mokie happy, he says that you’re family to both of them.

And then he looks away and says that he wants you to be his girlfriend (or that Mokie wants you to be around more often).

Of course, he doesn’t want you to see him blushing, but it’s impossible not to, especially when his face is so perfectly pale and gorgeous.

And of course, you accept, because how could you not, he’s the perfect boyfriend.

Very soon, he gives you a matching trench coat so you can match and be the perfect ( E X T R A as F U C C ) Gamer Couple.

Just like you see Jessie and James in Pokemon, you two stand back to back, showing off how awesome you are, in a generic Protagonist ( JoJo) pose.

And Meow is Mokie, of course, standing in the middle like the little sassy mascot that he is.

Be gentle with this guy though, he’s still learning about how to be a boyfriend, okay?

He’s like “Okay, I did everything, but I didn’t think past this point, so I don’t know what to do.”

He’s already had a tough time learning how to be a Dad/Older Brother for Mokuba and a CEO and literally all professions at once, but being a boyfriend is a bit different, especially since he barely experienced any kind of maternal love or seen what it’s like to allow yourself to show weakness and allow yourself to heal through nurturing and love.

But once he sees that it’s all good, he slowly lets his barriers and walls down and allows you to actually be a girlfriend and with time, he learns how to become a real boyfriend and everything comes naturally.

You’re absolute #CoupleGoalz and everybody envies you.

And obviously, your social media is F U L L is couple pics, super high tech stuff, funny videos, aesthetic pics, travel pics and all the super neat things you get to experience, which is a LOT.

[the-cryptographer]

@rainstormcolors

Why are the reviews on AO3 all so articulate? asdfg. (I wrote up most of this before reading them.)

You’re articulate too, though! You don’t give yourself enough credit, omg.

But if you guest comment on ffnet, I can’t reply to your review through the site. Which was maybe why you commented there instead of ao3, but here I am, responding publicly anyhow :p

-YGO is a franchise with such a separation from reality; it’s always striking when a fic plays their world so grounded, with all the details and routines of our reality to tend to.

Haha. This was conceptualised before DSoD. And, now having watched it, I kinda think a ygo future fic about Seto sould be more sci-fi and futuristic in its general aesthetic. there’s some kind of discrepancy even in the ygo world between the kind of mundane limitations given to the cast and the technology they use that’s of our world, versus solid holograms and the ability to upload your brain to a virtual plane(?) but, yeah, post-DSoD the idea of Seto running a company in turn-of-the-century Japan that’s more or less limited to the realities of corporate Japan seems kind of... naïve? Seto will run his company however he wants!! - that means it doesn’t have to be limited to the laws of physics, let alone the realities of political or economic policy.

But, yeah. Aside from the fact that a fic meant to be a deconstruction of boss/subordinate pupship kind of requires a mundane company setting, I kind of like the realism of these characters having to do these really ordinary tasks. I think season zero mixed the kind of daily school life vibes well with these more absurd and fantastical moments. I think I was trying to call back to that kind of vibe.

(omg, haha. i was so worried the roller coaster crash would just jar everyone out of the fic. i’m sorry i can’t actually take these characters or their setting seriously.)

- [*snip*] Basically, I like your Seto.

I am so glad you liked their meeting so much, and that there was a very clear quality to Seto‘s mental state.

For me, many fanon interpretations of Seto run either too kind and cooperative, too competent(?) and stable, or both. I was just following my headcanons about him, but I was worried he wouldn’t be well received~ Coming from somebody else, I’d worry that they’d consider the visibility of Seto’s vulnerability an insult, lol. I’m glad his bitter form of fragility seemed on key. Thank you :)

- I’m trying to put into words how you’ve matured [Jounouchi]. It’s a culmination of small details.

I think what I was hoping for Jounouchi was to make him seem a little more self-resigned and down-to-earth. He can be pretty arrogant, even how I write him, but he’s not entertaining a lot of the same grandiose dreams he once was or- er- not with the same kind of high hopes that he used to. I think there are both good and bad things about that but- Yeah, I think he’s spread himself thin enough that there’s not a lot left to put into figuring out his own goals. Which is probably somewhat intentional.

- The moments of friendship are cute, between Yugi and Jou and between Jou and Anzu. Jou and Honda seem outright brotherly to me.

x)

re: Jou and his father.

Ah, it’s somewhat of a pet peeve of mine. (Child) Abuse as it is portrayed in fanfiction... Ah, um, I think there tend to be lots of conflicting feelings and circumstances. But, um, even if you care about someone you shouldn’t stick around them if they can’t treat your right. Advice that Joey absolutely refuses to take because he’s been raised not to.

- I like how Jonouchi doesn’t remember to return Mai’s handkerchief for so long, but apparently he’d put it on his person regularly. It’s become a token of her. I’m trying to think of how to describe the Polar scenes in general. Mai’s a presence in Jou’s heart and we’re given blips and fractures of these meaningful moments between them, and perhaps that’s a reflection of their separation. There’s almost a sort of vague dreaminess to those scenes, I think because of the way they’re spliced into the greater narrative and because there is this literal distance between them. I think the hyphenation might be contributing to this effect as well, as it reminds me these scenes are spliced in. Mai seems elegant and warm.

Thank you! I’m glad you liked the handkerchief scene!

lol, I’m doing my best to not let anybody forget for even a second that Mai is a presence in this fic, even via her absence. Jou certainly hasn’t forgotten.

The italicisation of her sections is maybe a bit on the nose. There’s a point where their conversations are going to turn ‘real’ and the italicisation will stop.

- According to the comments on those AO3, you were tentative about going with Manga Mokuba for the fic. I prefer a more worldly, biting, independent Mokuba myself. I love when he’s a character in his own right and not just somebody to prop up his troubled brother. You seem to have gone the awkward teenager route with him.

I was reading someone else’s JouKai, which didn’t actually feature Mokuba that much, but it was the manga version and I kind of fell in love with the idea of Jounouchi interacting with a Mokuba who... looks down on him slightly(?) or is a little more pragmatic than emotional in his acceptance of Jou’s presence, and Jou kind of responding to that with a more measured mix of indulgence and resistance. Manga!Mokuba is a little less iconic in ppl’s minds than the sweet anime version but, maybe more importantly, Mokuba’s gonna be taking a somewhat antagonistic role against Seto in the plot and I was concerned that those two features mixed together would make him unrecognisable. Even when Mokuba’s acting independently in the series (stealing star chips in DK, challenging Yuugi to CapMon) you get the feeling he’s doing it with his brother’s goals in mind.

But I also prefer Mokuba’s when he’s more biting and independent. There’s a lot of potential for a Mokuba that has motives and goals that run in opposition to Seto’s. It’s a... very scary time for Seto as a result. But I think what I was trying to get at with all those oblique posts was that it might actually be good sign for them. I think it’s Mokuba saying that he believes that both Seto individually, and their bond as brothers, are strong enough to make it, even if he rocks the boat.

haha. He is an awkward ugly teenage Mokie. There’s a kind of horrible tradition of making antagonists ugly, but since the antagonist is also un-secretly the sweetest little brother and the sweetest person, I thought it might cross the line twice back into adorable. Somebody give this poor ugly troubled teen a hug~

- You put effort into explaining Jonouchi’s pale hair. How would you explain Yugi’s hair?

I think I posted on tumblr about it. I’m convinced Yuugi’s hair is naturally curly. Like, at least ringlets, if not afro. He lost the genetic lottery and so he’s a foot shorter than his peers and also has the nappiest hair for someone Japanese. No wonder he got teased.

I think I also said that Yuugi gave Jou his hair dye. Yuugi bleaches his bangs. If you’re asking about the magenta though... idk. It’s anime. I’m just gonna go with bleached bangs and the rest is black to maintain some kind of parsimony with realism.

- No, bad Isono! You’re supposed to become a surrogate family member to the Kaiba brothers according to my headcanons! Boo! (Not really. I guess if he were fleshed out as a character, he should be given his own life as well.)

I know, right?! Haha! It was a good foil for Jou though. What do employees owe their employers and vice versa, yada yada? Also I had trouble imagining Jou being able to climb all over Kaiba’s office like it's his personal jungle gym if Isono was there to put a stop to it with disapproving looks. Stop Jou 2k17!

I think in canon the Kaibros are a bit underappreciative where Isono is concerned, but I hope you didn’t miss the implication that Mokuba and Isono are still in contact. They are friends. They chat about their personal lives, and Isono asks after Seto. I kind of hope they’ll reconcile and Seto will give him some references and visit him in Fukuoka, once Seto’s a little more sane and a little less self-entitled.

asdfghjkl; This was such a kind comment ;^; You are very wonderful rainstormcolors, I don’t know what I did to deserve. Thank you for commenting and giving me the excuse to blabber more about my fic~