#but lucille needs to divorce him asap

[bluberimufim]

Happy STS! 💜💌 What role does symbolism play in your WIPs, if any? What symbols relate to certain characters, events, or emotions? How do you decide what symbols to use, or what these symbols mean? Are they intentional, or do you notice them after they've appeared in the story? :) - @liv-is

Happy STS!!

Sorry to have procrastinated this ask but I wanted the answer to be good because of all the different parts the ask has. I'll split it into parts. The answers are about "Black and White", my beloved main WIP.

This is gonna be Lengthy.

What role does symbolism play in your WIPs, if any? What symbols relate to certain characters, events, or emotions?

Colours are very important in B&W. The whole circus is like a colour wheel with a big black and white tent in the center (each colour zone has a distinct Vibe but that's a post for another day). This mirrors how the story has a lot of pieces, with each side character being represented by a different colour, but they all ultimately revolve around Darius and Diedrich, the two protagonists, represented by black and white respectively.

In truth, Diedrich (white) is the original here, and Darius wants to define himself by contrast, while also being a foil to Diedrich, his kinda-mentor. Diedrich carefully guarded the secret of having sold his soul for his magic, while Darius tells everyone he did the same, despite no one believing him. Diedrich took Darius as an assistant and, in turn, Darius says he'll never take on an assistant in his life. He wears black suits and Diedrich wears white suits. But there's still many similarities between the two: their names start with the same letter, they use similar-sounding intros for their shows, and, when Markov joins Darius later on, he can't help but think of him as "his" Johann (who is Diedrich's best friend and travelled everywhere with him).

The Thing I wanted to get to is that both of their love interests are associatedwith the colour red. August (Darius's (ex)boyfriend), wears red almost every day as part his costume, and Lucille (Diedrich's wife), says her favourite colour is red. Hugo, who is Darius's other ex-boyfriend, also has slight associations with red. This is because all these lovers have one thing in common: they are tossed aside by their significant others in exchange for success. Although it's much more prevalent in Diedrich, on account of him being in the story for 38 years, Darius also does this. Diedrich has abandoned his wife three separate times because he just can't quit being a magician. (One of these times was when their son had just died, something indirectly but kinda directly caused by Diedrich, and he just didn't want to be with his wife bc it was depressing.) In the very first chapter, Darius leaves Hugo to go work under Diedrich, knowing full well this will probably land him in poverty. Then later, he basically says to August "come with me or we're done" (slightly better than straight-up abandoning, I guess, but still messed up), and August says "let's break up then".

How do you decide what symbols to use, or what these symbols mean?

The use of colour came to me very easily. I'm an artist, so I give it a lot of importance. For me, it's always one of the things that better defines a character's design in my mind. I'm a very visual person, so it ends up being the most obvious symbol for me, more than actual images.

I also have a Thing with Veera and Alexis's colours in the dystopia WIP, but I feel like I need to develop that more, but also because this post is already enormous. The dystopia WIP has a lot of colours.

Are they intentional, or do you notice them after they've appeared in the story?

Mostly they're accidents. Like the tent thing? I just realized that while writing this. The red thing has been around for a biiiit longer but it was also accidental.

But when I do notice a nice parallel or symbolism, I double down on it.

There's this parallel I completely accidentaly established between Anna (Diedrich's sister) and Johann's romance and Alphonse (Diedrich's son) and August, and I only noticed because I repeated a sentence in two dialogues (it was along the lines of "I want to love you in the sunlight"). Johann and Anna are obviously straight but their romance is taboo just as much as Alphonse and August's (which is gay) because Johann is married, but the marriage was forced upon him by his parents - kinda like, for queer people, society decides what your love should look like with no regard for what you truly want. Johann and Alphonse have just as much fear of disappointing their families, despite their difference in sexuality, because they've been told their love is unacceptable.

Aaaaaaanyway this was a very fun ask! I love rambling!!

It was also huge tho. I went off the rails.

[chocobabyporcelain]

Could you please write a fic, where Gladio offers his best friend, in which he has been in love for a long time, to become his girlfriend? (It's mutual, but they both do not know about it). Part with NSFW on your own.

Just so you know, the friends-to-lovers trope gives me life! I should apologise, though, I was halfway through writing this at the start of my time away, so I guess you’ve been waiting a while… Sorry.

Also, I ended up not going down the NSFW route with this one. I seem to have some kind of mental block with it comes to actually writing NSFW.

Tagging:  @nemo-ne-impune-lacessit @itsmootothecow @insomniasix @mp938368 @insomniacapples @itshaejinju @expectogladiolus @bluechocobo @airlea-sicarius @diadyn @birdsandivory @alicemoonwonderland @mandakatt @zacklover24 @eternallydaydreaming2015 @1000wolflover @stopmopingstarthoping @dreamiggy @grumpyoldmoogle @unerring-connoisseur(If you want to be added or removed from the tag list, let me know asap)

It wasn’t thephone ringing that woke Gladio. Nor was it the blinding light of hisscreen displaying caller ID. Gladio wasn’t sure what woke him, buthe was certain he was awake before his phone started playing BonJovi.

Without looking,he reached across his bedside table and grabbed it, sliding to answerand pressing it against his ear. “Y/N,” he grumbled. “are youfucking kidding me?”

“Movies24 isshowing Breakfast Club in, like, ten minutes,” you replied, noteven acknowledging his clear irritation. “You can get here thatsoon, right?”

Gladio grunted,running a hand through his hair. Of course he could get there thatsoon, its not like you lived miles away. “Y/N, it is,” he pulledhis phone away from his ear to squint against the harsh light andread the time, “almost 3 AM. Again, are you kidding?” He knew youweren’t. This was far from the first time you’d called him atsome ridiculous hour asking him to come over for a random reason.

On the other endof the line, you scoffed. “We nevermiss Breakfast Club, Gladiolus. It’s our thing!”

“Don’t you have the Blu Ray?”

“Notthe point!” you saidthrough a mouthful of what Gladio assumed was popcorn,“It’s playing onTV, are you gonna come watchit with me or not?”

It was pointless arguing with you, and Gladio knew that. Which iswhy, twelve minutes later, he was letting himself into your apartmentwith his key, a convenience store bag hanging off his wrist.

He found you in your room, sat up against your headboard, bed mostlycovered in snacks. The television in your bedroom was tuned toMovies24, the opening monologue of Breakfast Club already starting toplay. You had your hair tied up in a loose bun on the top of yourhead, wearing some lounge shorts and a ratty old hoodie that Gladiowas certain used to be his.

“You’re late, asshole,” was the first thing you said as yourbest friend entered your room.

Gladio shook the bag off his wrist and emptied it onto the bed. Twobags of sweet popcorn and multiple bars of chocolate fell on top ofyour snack pile. “Yeah, but I thought my contribution to your sugarfix would grant me pardon.” He moved some empty crisp packets andchocolate wrappers out of his way, before settling himselfcomfortably beside you on the bed.

You felt his eyes on you as you sifted through his additions to yoursugary feast. “What?” you grumbled.

“You’ve got caramel on your chin.”

Gladio had been one of your closest friends for… Gods only knew howlong. You still had very fond memories of the time you ‘defeatedthe point of prom’ by going together instead of getting dates.You’d lost count of the amount of time he’s pretended to be yourboyfriend so some creep would leave you alone, and although you oftenjoked about how he was literally the worst person you know, youhonestly weren’t sure what you’d do without him.

People frequently mistook you for a couple, and your mother wasreally starting to annoy you, always asking when you weregoing to ‘make it official.’ She seemed to think you hadone of those ridiculous sit-com deals where if you weren’t bothmarried by the time you were thirty, you’d just marry each other.

Which is what lead to the conversation you were currently having.

“It’s just a generally bad idea.” You were lounging, upsidedown on Gladio’s couch, flicking through the channels and snackingon a Nutrigrain bar. You’d usually only eat the strawberry ones,but Gladio only had the apple ones, and they were kind of rank, butyou’d opened it now so you were gonna finish it.

“How so?” asked Gladio. You weren’t convinced he was reallypaying attention to you, he had his nose buried in a new book, whichis how you had free rein over his television.

You shrugged, knowing the action was useless since he obviouslywasn’t looking at you. “Well, think about it,” you tossed theremote onto the coffee table. “If we got married just because wewere both single when we hit thirty and then I met my ideal guy a fewmonths later, don’t you think I’d just end up resenting you?”You’d given this scenario a great deal of thought after watching anold romcom that was playing on late night TV.

Gladio hummed. “We’d just get a divorce, right?”

“But then you’d resent me for leaving you.”

Marking his page, Gladio put down the book, turning towards you.“Will you sit properly?” he grumbled when he came face to, well,knee with you. “And anyway, I think if that happened, I’d just behappy that you were happy.”

You threw your legs over his lap, pulling your upper body to restagainst the arm of the couch. “Quit being cute,” you snorted,stretching your arms above your head, “it doesn’t suit you.”

Gladio shoved your legs off his. “Why’re you talking about thisanyway? Did something happen with Adrian?” he asked.

Ah, Adrian. Your ex-boyfriend, as of about two hours ago.

“You could say that,” you muttered. What had happened, was youhad found out you were actually one of three women Adrian was in a‘serious and committed’ relationship with. You decided tokeep that part to yourself (Though, you had notified his othergirlfriends). “He’d never seen The Wall, and when I tried showinghim, he just kept talking over it, y’know? And I’m just thinking,‘do I really wanna spend the rest of my life with some dick whothinks he’s more important than Pink Floyd?’”

With a loud guffaw, Gladio petted your head. “Good to see you gotyour priorities in order.”

You chuckled along, running a hand through your hair as you moved tosit against the back of the couch. “What about you, anyway? How’dit go with that girl? I never asked,” you said, quickly turning theconversation away from Adrian.

“You mean Lucille?” Gladio groaned tipping his head back. “Neveragain.” He brought a hand up to his face and covered his eyes, asif the thought of his recent date was giving him a headache.

You felt a little ashamed of the fact that you were glad to hearthat. “How come? She was pretty.” And she was. She had an almostmovie-star beauty, but you could tell she was painfully shallow bythe way she looked down her nose at you when you met.

Gladio hummed, shrugging one shoulder. “Yeah, she was kindapretty,” he said in a disinterested tone, “but she was soshady. She was talking shit all night. And besides,” he threw andarm around your shoulders, “no one calls my Y/N a messy slobexcept me.”

“She didn’t!”

“She did.”

Okay, maybe you weren’t exactly looking your best when you’d metLucille, but really? Maybe if she’d been up all night playing videogames, she’d look like shit, too! You huffed, scrunching your nose.“Is that bitch looking to lose her teeth?” you growled.

Gladio laughed, rubbing your upper arm. “Sounds like it to me.”

Pouting, you rested your head against Gladio’s arm as he rested hishead on yours, both of you watching the soap opera playing on the TV,but not really paying attention to it. His hand moved from yourshoulder to idly twirl the ends of your hair between his fingers, thealmost subconscious act of affection bringing a smile to your face.You’d thought it before, after almost every break up you’d evergone through, but you didn’t need a boyfriend. Not when you hadGladio.

Come to think of it, he was the reason for most of your break ups.Silly boys who couldn’t handle how affectionate you were with yourbest friend. You wondered if they’d have the same problem if yourbest friend had been female.

Then you wondered how many of Gladio’s break ups had been becauseof his jealous girlfriends not liking your closeness. Was it yourfault Gladio was still single?

Gladio let out a deep sigh, wrapping his free arm around you. “Maybewe should date,” he mused.

You snorted a chuckle. “Stop playing and make me some tea.” Youpushed his arm from your middle and wriggled free. You moved yourselfup onto the arm of the couch, shaking your head at his daft comment.It was far too late in the game to catch feelings.

Or acknowledge them.

It seemed Gladio couldn’t figure out quite where to look. At you?At the floor? He leaned forward, clasping his hands together betweenhis knees. “No,” his tone was sincere. “I mean it.”

You sighed, choosing to flippantly inspect your nails rather thanfacing this with any seriousness. “Honey, no. I’m a nightmaregirlfriend, you have no idea what you’d be putting up with,”you replied.

“Are you fucking serious?”

You tensed. You’d always hated when Gladio used that tone, but thiswas the first time it was ever directed at you. And that was so muchworse.

He grabbed you by the shoulders, a little rougher than what would becomfortable, and forced you to meet his gaze. He was upset. Not angryand not entirely sad either, just upset, almost disappointed. “Youthink I don’t know you?”

Hurt. Youcouldn’t put a name to that emotion before, but when you heard hisvoice, the way it wavered ever so slightly, it finally registered. Hewas hurt.

“Youtell everyone your favourite movie is Breakfast Club, but I know fora fact it’s The Little Mermaid.” Gladio’s grip on yourshoulders tightened as he spoke. “Red wine makes you wretch, butyou still drink it around your friends because you don’t want to bethe only one drinking Rosé. You’ve been playing Ocarina of Timefor fourteen years and I stillhave to playthe Shadow Temple for youbecause you can’t get passed it onyour own. You have adifferent scented candle in every room in your apartment, and I canname most of them. You drink apple & elderflower tea when youread and honey & camomile when you’re going to bed. Speaking ofwhich, you can’t sleep unless all the doors and curtains in yourapartment are closed.” He sighed, resting his forehead againstyours as he ended his infodump. “We grew up together, Y/N. You’vebeen my best friend since we were five years old. Don’t you daretry telling me I don’t know you!”

Ofcourse he knew you. You knew that. And now, you also knew that hewasn’t going to drop this because of you listing off your badhabits. He’d had years of dealing with you, he knew what he wasgetting into.

Withanother sigh breaking the stretch of silence, Gladio let yourshoulders go. “I guess I’m just… trying to tell you that I loveyou,” he said, softly. “I get it if you don’t feel the sameway. Just say so.”

Butyou did. You had to wonder why you were trying to discourage him. Youwere scared, honestly. Your friendship with Gladio was more preciousto you than anything, and you didn’t want to jeopardise that.

“Youknow I love you,” you replied. “But you’re my best friend, andif we cross this line we can’t go back. It’ll never be like it isnow.”

Ofcourse, you realised, you could never go back anyway. After you’veboth confessed to having feelings for each other, it was always goingto be awkward. Maybe, with time, it would fade and you’d only feelthe occasional twinge of awkwardness, but things would never be thesame.

Youmoved back onto the couch’s seat, once again resting your headagainst Gladio’s arm. “It would be so worth it if we couldmake this work,” you whispered.

“Wecan,”Gladio insisted, wrapping his arms around you. “I can’t promisethat we’re gonna spend the rest of or lives together, but I canpromise that I’m gonna be here for as long as you want me.” Hemoved one hand under your backside and pulled you into his lap, anintimate position that you were semi-familiar with. With one handfinding it’s way into your hair and the other moving from yourbottom to the small of your back, Gladio eased you forwards, holdingyou against his chest ashe gently kissed your forehead. “Youcan’t be in your head about this, Y/N. You see it as you want tosee it, in the simplest terms and most convenient definitions.”

Youlaughed. You couldn’t help it, the laughter bubbling in your throatas you pushed yourself away. “You can’t misquote Breakfast Cluband expect me to date you, asshole,” you said through your giggles.

Gladiopressed your foreheads together with a chuckle of his own. “Not amisquote, just bent it to suit the situation.” Hewrapped his arms around your waist. “I really do love you, Y/N.”

Yousmiled. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to give this a try. “I loveyou, too,” you whispered, before leaning in and pressing your lipsto Gladio’s. “We can make this work.”