#dystopiaverse

[vincent-frankenstein]

talk to me about Thomas ur oc I wanna hear the rambles

my silly guy :] I am always happy to talk about him!!!! here's the basics for folks who aren't familiar with him, and I'll ramble under the cut bc I have SO . many thoughts about him

so Thomas spent so so so long devoting his entire life to taking care of his brothers that he like... fully did not have one of his own. He didn't have space to really develop an identity outside of that. Tristan and Jasper had their own friends and problems and activities and Thomas was just. the driver, the listening ear, the shoulder to cry on. He had to work to support his family and outside of all that he had no time to figure out who he is.

so coupled with the fallout of his baby brothers being horrifically frankensteined into one being, and dealing with that grief and his father's renewed grief, he's gonna have one hell of an identity crisis. because like, he can't bear to look at Rose, his father is actually taking responsibility to care for Rose, and Rose is also able to take care of themself, they're happy to exist, they're just chilling. So suddenly Thomas has all the time in the world and absolutely zero solid facts about himself beyond the fact that he failed. He's a Molotov cocktail of anger and grief and panic, because what does he do now, who is he now, without people to care for, without his brothers? They were inextricably connected to the point that Thomas didn't know where he ended and his brothers began and now that connection has been violently severed. the first chunk of time between Rose coming into being and Thomas meeting Mallow is the darkest time of Thomas's entire life.

So I've been thinking a lot about that, but also the process of him healing from it. It all starts with Mallow, she's the first person to really meet Thomas - like, he had "friends" in school but they only met good ol' Tommy Hart, the ray of sunshine who will absolutely help you with your homework, he'll absolutely give you a ride, he's a delight to have in class, so helpful, always so helpful. Mallow is the first person to see him grieving and not leave him to do it alone. For the first time in his life, Thomas has a shoulder to cry on.

I like the idea of Thomas eventually discovering how much he loves to write. Because Rose is literally a born poet - Jasper and Tristan both wrote poetry - and I think that after a lot of processing and grieving and learning to accept that Rose's existence isn't Thomas's fault, I think they could bond over that. Thomas is like, the last "loose end" of Rose being completely happy to exist, because like. they like being Rose, and Sonja treats them like their own person, and they've got all their arena friends who never even knew Tristan and Jasper, and their dad is... struggling, but he was never there to begin with, but Thomas was there every day, and Rose was born loving him with an intensity that leaves them breathless. That's their big brother, he watched over Tristan and Jasper every day of their lives, and yeah they argued sometimes and yeah it wasn't always smooth sailing but... Rose misses him. And they know Thomas misses who they used to be. They notice every time he flinches when they enter the room. They notice the way he's never once made eye contact with them.

And like, they're not gonna push that. They miss Thomas but what the fuck are they supposed to do, force him to hang out with them? They're not grieving, but he is, and they get that, so they throw themself into arena fights and they dump their own sadness into a shitty little notebook and they show it to Sonja, sometimes, but otherwise they just deal with it. And meanwhile Thomas is finally starting to feel like a person, and switching out Beating Shit Up with writing out his feelings to cope. And writing out his feelings to cope turns into just. writing, and I feel like he'd turn more towards writing fiction than poetry but they both write to vent, and they both write for fun, and after a long time they're able to meet on that equal ground.

It would be... hard for Thomas. Even as he starts to heal, Rose is like a walking open wound, and seeing them is like dumping salt into it. And Rose wants to like. flop across him like Jasper used to, or go sit in his room and Exist together, like Tristan did whenever he got stressed, but they're not gonna push him, they don't think they can handle him outright turning them away, or worse letting them stay and being uncomfortable the entire time. So it would take forever for either of them to reach out, but... I feel like Thomas would find Rose writing, eventually, maybe while walking home from hanging with Mallow, and instead of turning around or walking past he asks to join them.

[amyoffline]

...get back to me after I make the video essay. this is the exact "is this crack or are we being serious and why do i care" premise that produces my best work

If I had the ability to write, I would be writing so much phanfic about the doomed relationship between Dystopia Daily Host Daniel Howell, and youtuber who just enjoys doing youtube even if he had no views Phil Lester...

[teamxdark]

*starts calling dystopiaverse knouge "Rebelgade"*

[deukae-planet]

Odd Eye dystopia ver.

[eirenical]

7, 15, 16, for the fanfic asks!

7. What’s the last thing you read that made you cry? 

I... honestly don’t even know.  XD  But I cry REALLY easily.  So, it really could have been anything.  Pretty sure I cried over some of @hunxi-guilai‘s gorgeous meta/fic about touch-starved Wei Wuxian.  (Also this one about his first stint in the Burial Mounds.)  But that second touch-starved one, in particular, got me RIGHT where I hurt.  I think those were the most recent?  I’m also rereading gotcocomilk’s Death of a Ghost and that one usually makes me cry at least twice.  ^_^

15. Post the last line you wrote without context.

Forget convincing his da-jiujiu to leave… maybe what he should be doing was convincing them to let Jin Ling stay.

(Guys, you have no idea how excited I am to start posting this fic, but I am DETERMINED to actually FINISH IT before I start posting it, because I’ve been getting in the habit of leaving WiPs hanging and I do NOT want to do that with this one.)

And one more... as a treat... from a different WiP.  ( @mylastbraincql: this is the next section of that fic you’re waiting for.  ^_~)

They would stand and fight until it killed them unless Jiang Cheng could pull off a miracle.

16. Describe your WIP that currently has the highest word count.

Oh, fucking HELL, my highest word count WiPs are probably Muet and FYFM.  ...yep.  Muet is 62K and FYFM is like... 103K and WOW I’m not sure I’m up for describing either but I WILL TRY.  XD

FYFM started out life as “Grantaire gets a tumblr and harasses Enjolras until they end up getting together” and morphed into something... very very different.  -.-;;; For one thing I VERY MUCH do not really ship e/R anymore, except for occasional moments in the stage musical depending on the cast, so I’ve been torn in two directions over this fic for a while (do I stick with the e/R endgame because I hate pulling a bait-and-switch on my audience or do I change up the endgame ships and potentially disappoint anyone who’s still reading), which is why I stalled out.  Anyway, now it’s more of a Les Amis modern AU origin story with a side-helping of Courfeyrac-angst.  I’ve committed just about ever fanon sin in the book, too, because I started that fic before I know any better.  But yeah, someday I may decide that I’m willing to bite the bullet and make a decision on that one so I can finish it, but... who knows?

Muet OTOH, I know EXACTLY what it is and where it’s going and I WILL definitely be finishing it.  I’ve lovingly named it “psychic dystopiaverse” because well... that’s what it is.  The government uses psychics to spy on and control the population and Les Amis run an underground railroad to get young psychics away from the government and out of the US to safe countries.  At the beginning of the fic, we find out that Enjolras has been compromised--he’s lost his memory of the last two years--and that well... complicates matters.  Add to the mix that Courfeyrac (his second-in-command) had already BEEN compromised and things are not looking good for anyone.  (Also a warning... if you decide to read this one, PLEASE heed the warnings.  Sexual and nonsexual consent issues ABOUND in this fic.  Exploring that was a good deal of the point for me in writing it.  So there IS a rape/noncon warning on this one FOR GOOD REASON.  So.  Yeah.  Not for the faint of heart or easily squeamish, but if you’re a “dead dove: do not eat” fan... come on in.  The water’s nice.  ^_~)

[If anyone else would like to send questions for after I’m done grading... here is the set! ^_^]

ETA: ...it would have helped if I actually added the link, wouldn’t it?  OTZ

[deukae-planet]

Odd Eye dance video (dystopia ver.)

[eirenical]

Hi! It doesn’t seem like you’re still working on it but you somewhere that you’d be willing to share spoilers... I am OBSESSED with Muet and I’m dying to know what happens! If you’ve got anything else written out or outlines or anything that you’d be willing to share, especially if you don’t plan on finishing it, I would love to read them! Obviously no pressure! You are such an amazing writer (I’m also obsessed w FYFM so... same ask I guess!) :)

I hope you don’t mind me answering this publicly, but I had a feeling a few other people might want to know this, too: I absolutely plan on finishing Muet, and I will definitely get back to working on it.  I’m hoping that will happen much more easily now that I seem to be getting my writing mojo back.  ^_^  But since being able to write again without pain is still very much a new thing, I’m trying to baby it a little in the hopes I can encourage it to stick around a while.  OTZ

So, in short, YES, I am absolutely planning on continuing work on Muet.  ^_^  That story is my baby and I’m not planning to abandon it just because I’ve found a shiny new toy.  ;D  (Also, OMG, THANK YOU for saying such nice things about it!  :D  I’m so glad you’re loving it!)

Now… FYFM may be another story.  :P  I started that story very very early in the days of my LM fandom time, and my views on the characters have change so much that I find it difficult to get back into that headspace.  So… here’s a real question for everyone, an informal poll (for everyone who has an interest), if you will… ^_^

What would bother you more?

Me not finishing FYFM and just kind of… leaving it where it is as an unfinished piece, with maybe a short summary of where I had planned to take it?

My finishing FYFM but changing a few major (already tagged) details, like endgame ships?

Because I’m starting to feel like the only way I’ll be able to finish that story is to drop my original plan for it and take it in a new direction, so I’m really curious to know if that would be a dealbreaker for people.  ^_^

That being said, I am always ABSOLUTELY willing to share spoilers, so I will gladly do that, too.  ^_^

[eirenical]

Guys.  GUYS.

I don’t know if it was angst over the imminent closings I mentioned last night or relief over the semester finally being OVER, THANK FUCK, or if it was @lizardrosen planting thoughts in my head by ficcing at me a few days ago, but I WROTE THINGS THIS MORNING.

:D

:D

:D

I WROTE MUET THINGS.  OVER 500 WORDS OF THEM.

IT’S BEEN SO LONG.

Don’t mind me.  I’ll be in a corner crying tears of pure joy.

XD

[eirenical]

...tease?

Tease tease?

^_~

After several minutes of being the recipient of that waiting stare as his breathing and heartrate leveled off, Marius began to feel unnerved.  “Courfeyrac… are you alright?”  Marius swallowed hard.  “I… I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Courfeyrac blinked once… twice… at the third blink, a bit of life returned to his eyes, and a hesitant smile tilted one corner of his lips.  “Hurt me?  Oh no. But, my dear Marius, I do believe you’ve ruined me for anyone else.”  Marius’ eyes widened then, breath catching at the deeper, huskier tone of Courfeyrac’s voice.  He’d done that.  Marius. He’d been the one to ruin that beautiful voice.

…and he already wanted to do it again.

*eg*

^_^

[eirenical]

Last Lines

I was tagged by @lizardrosen a few days ago, so I thought I’d play.  ^_^  Since I have two active WIPs, I’ll give you both.  ^_^

And tagging... I have no idea who’s actively writing anything?  @fixaidea @dreamer-wisher-liar @kingesstropolis @somuchbetterthanthat maybe? I seriously don’t even know. XD If you’re writing something and you’d like to share, consider yourself tagged.  ^_^

First:

Boyd read the text, then read it again, then read it once more for good measure.  After the third reading, he tucked his phone back in his pocket doing his best not to leap from his seat and do a victory dance.

Alexis looked up from the report she was reading, inclining her head in Boyd’s direction.  “They’re coming?” she said.

A happy grin broke through despite Boyd’s best efforts to keep a straight and serious face in the middle of the bullpen.  He nodded.  “They’re coming.  Both of them. They’re taking the red eye up tonight, so they should be here pretty early in the morning.”  He paused.  “I admit, I wasn’t expecting them to take me up on the offer so quickly.  I just sent those invitations this afternoon.”

And the second goes behind a cut for being lime-ish leaning towards lemon territory. ^_~

Courfeyrac shifted, pressing closer to Marius’ side, hands already starting to wander.  But it wasn’t until Marius felt the button of his slacks slide free that he realized that that wandering had a purpose.  He gasped, threw his head back against the window with a loud thump, even as his hand wound its way into the now far less artfully disheveled curls that were even now lowering towards his lap. “Ah!  Courfeyrac, that’s—ah!  That’s not—*fuck*.  You don’t have to—”

Though Marius had been certain just a moment ago that he was so spent from this encounter that he’d not manage to get hard again for weeks, it took less than a minute for Courfeyrac’s skilled ministrations to coax him back fully erect.

[eirenical]

I was going to try to sneak something in for Rare Pair Week before the end of the day, but that didn’t happen.  :P Instead, I spent the day thinking about something that @lizardrosen  asked me last night: about faith in the Muet-verse–who has it and who doesn’t and how does that relate to everything else. So.  Since I promised you a nice long response… enjoy?  ;D

Enjolras was raised some flavor of Christian, but his family’s faith was mostly secular in nature.  Sure, they did Christmas trees and Easter baskets and all the commercialized trimmings, but they hardly ever went to church.  As a result, Enjolras doesn’t think much of religion.  If he were to bother to think about it enough to put a label on it, he’d probably say he was agnostic.  He doesn’t spend too much time thinking about whether or not there is a higher power. He has too much else on his plate to worry about that.  His parents taught him to be kind, to be charitable, and to do whatever was in his power to help others; that’s good enough for him.

I know we’ve discussed Feuilly before, but I’ve thought about him some more since then.  He’s Jewish, because, let’s face it, my Feuilly always is, and that fits in pretty closely with where the state of his faith is at, actually.  I said once that he doesn’t believe in G-d.  That’s not really true, though.  He wants to not believe in G-d. He wishes he didn’t believe.  It would be easier if he didn’t.  If he didn’t believe, he wouldn’t have to wonder why all these awful things were happening in the world and G-d was doing nothing. He wouldn’t have to wonder why bad things happen to good people.  He wouldn’t have to wonder if G-d was even fucking paying attention.  He wouldn’t have to wonder what the whole fucking purpose of it all was.  But that wondering, that questioning, that anger… that, in itself, is a very Jewish thing.  So, though he claims he doesn’t believe, he still very much does.  And when he’s at his loneliest, at his most despairing, he clings to the traditions of his childhood—the Shabbos rituals, the recitation of the Sh’ma, the old camp songs he learned from his grandfather and grandmother—and sometimes that’s enough to get him through one more day.

And this is getting long, so Combeferre, Courfeyrac, and Grantaire are going behind a cut.  ^_^

Combeferre believes in Science as though it were his religion and his G-d, all rolled up into one.  He believes in evidence; he believes in proof.  If you could show him proof of a higher power behind the design of the universe, he’d most likely accept it and adopt that belief into his world view.  If not? If it’s something he just has to take on faith?  Not so much. Science doesn’t let you down. Science is reliable.  And the few times it isn’t, it’s simply because you don’t know enough to understand why it didn’t follow the rules this time.  All it asks is that you question everything, test everything, and learn from what you observe.  That’s easier by far than questions of faith.  Combeferre has seen too much—lived through too much—to believe in a benevolent high power.  It’s easier and more comforting by far to believe in Science.

Courfeyrac… I can’t tell you much about his background without giving away major spoilers, but I can say that his mother was raised Catholic but had long since given up faith in a higher power by the time she had him, and his father was mostly like Enjolras—a secular Christian.  So, Courfeyrac grew up much like Enjolras did.  The difference?  Courfeyrac believes in G-d.  Not the fire and brimstone variety, though, the ever-loving variety.  When he was young, he used to catch episodes of Touched by an Angel on TV, and though on some level he thinks it’s childish now, he still believes in guardian angels and all the rest.  He believes that someone is looking out for humanity.  He has to. To think otherwise is just too sad for him.  When he was a child, he used to entertain a fantasy that Tess and Monica would swoop into his life and make everything better.  …these days, when he lets himself indulge in that childish fantasy, he more often hopes for Andrew.

Grantaire… Grantaire doesn’t really believe in anything.  He knows there’s a higher power of some kind; of course, there is. And said higher power mostly treats humans like playthings.  Wind them up, point them in a direction, and watch them go, right?  Forget the rest of the nonsense.  If there’s a higher power at all, they’re not in it to micromanage humanity. If they are, they’re doing a shitty job, right?  So, Grantaire figures they’re mostly in it for kicks, and well, he figures he can’t complain about that, because if HE were a supreme being, he’d be mostly in it for the kicks, too.

And… I am getting very, very sleepy.  So, I think I’ll save Prouvaire, Joly, Bossuet, Musichetta, Bahorel, Eponine, Gavroche, and Marius for another time, because some of them are going to require a bit of research.  ^_^

[eirenical]

For the trope mash-up --- 21 and 60 for Enjolras x Feuilly?

Thanks, @shadows-of-1832!  If anyone else wants to play, here are the tropes, though I may have to get to them when I get home later. ^_^

21. Dystopian AU & 60. Poorly TimedConfession

(OH GOSH, OH GOSH, THIS WANTS REALLY BADLY TO BE A MUET HEADCANON.  I’M SORRY.)

(For those of you unfamiliar with Muet, here’s the pertinent information–the government uses psychics to terrorize, spy on, and control the population.  Les Amis run an underground railroad of sorts to get psychic children away from the government before they can be snatched up and to fight back against the government in any and all ways they can.  A Really Bad Thing happens in Philadelphia.  Prior to Philadelphia, Enjolras and Grantaire had been a working partnership, so had Courfeyrac and Feuilly.  After Philadelphia, neither Grantaire nor Courfeyrac is able to leave the safehouse for a good long while.  Enjolras and Feuilly end up partnering up for the duration.)

So, it goes like this: 

They’re on a mission of some kind–picking up supplies, delivering supplies, spying on someone–something important and moderately high risk.  And something goes wrong.  They’ve been spotted, but not identified, and they’re running for their lives with no way to call for backup because there IS no backup.  It’s the first truly dangerous situation they’ve found themselves in since becoming partners.

They’ve wedged themselves into a some kind of dark, tight space to avoid whoever’s been chasing them and as they’re pressed against each other, hearts pounding, barely daring to breathe, Feuilly feels something hard pressing against his hip.  (I’m trying really hard to avoid having him ask the “is that a _____ in your pocket?” question.  ;D) 

ANYWAY, Feuilly shifts around, trying to get whatever it is to NOT be sticking into the point of his hip because OUCH, and as he’s shifting around, Enjolras suddenly lets out this low moan and jerks away from him as far as he can–which is… really not very far–and Feuilly promptly freaks out because the moan and the clattering is GOING TO DRAW SOMEONE’S ATTENTION, ENJOLRAS, WTF.  And there’s just enough light that he can just barely see that Enjolras is blushing and biting down hard on his fist and he suddenly GETS IT. 

And now they’re both blushing.

Enjolras leans in and apologizes and, as quickly as he can, fumbles through an explanation of how he didn’t plan this, but it’s not just situational or lust or anything stupid like getting off on danger, but he really actually thinks he’s in love with Feuilly.

Feuilly leans in and says quietly, “Are you KIDDING me, right now?  NOW?“

And Enjolras says sadly, “I think we’ve all learned far too well that there may not be a later.”

(I SAID I WAS SORRY.)

[eirenical]

(OH GOSH, OH GOSH.  @shadows-of-1832 sent me  21. Dystopian AU & 60. Poorly Timed Confession and Enjolras/Feuilly for the trope meme and IT WANTS REALLY BADLY TO BE A MUET HEADCANON.  I’M SORRY.  I’M SO SORRY.  XD  *gets back to writing*)

[eirenical]

@lizardrosen replied to your post “For the trope mash-up --- 21 and 60 for Enjolras x Feuilly?”

um wow, RUDE? but actually i adore this premise and would totally read a full thing

(Tumblr is being a little BITCH about notifications and you don’t want to know what I had to do to create this reply.  *falls over*)

It’s that last line, right?  ;D  I THOUGHT ABOUT LEAVING IT HAPPY AND ROMCOM-Y AND THEN WENT, “...NAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.”  XD

And... it is entirely possible that this will make it into canon or an outtake someday.  ^_^  So, I GUESS WE’LL SEE.  XD  Anyway, YAY, I’m glad you liked it!  ^_____^

[eirenical]

@kingesstropolis @lizardrosen

*whistles innocently* ^_~

[eirenical]

Heeeey so 👀 what is Marius going to do to Courf in Muet 👀👀

Why, NONNY.  You come into my house and want to talk Muet spoilers?

I WOULD BE HAPPY TO.  XD

Just… not on a published ask.  ;) 

I WILL say this, however… it’s less a case of what he’s going to do and more a case of what he’s already done.  *slow evil grin*

(In all seriousness, though, as a general policy, I am NOT AT ALL SHY about sharing spoilers about any fic I’m working on, especially these days when I write so slowly.  :P  I just prefer to do so in an ask I can respond to privately, because there are people who follow me who have made it clear that they do NOT want spoilers and tumblr mobile doesn’t give you the option of leaving readmores behind readmores.  So, yeah.  If you really want to know, nonny, I will HAPPILY TELL YOU.  Just send me an ask I can respond to privately.  ^_^)

(Also, I’m just SUPER GLAD that you were interested enough to ask!  ^_____^  That totally made my day, NGL.  ^______^)