#i alsways think of them like. appearing cheerful when they’re being mean to each other. laughing as they fight but they’re dead serious

[moonshynecybin]

Feels like I haven't sent you anything FCO related in a while and I don't have much to offer but I was thinking about those first days/weeks after the announcement when things are still very fraught between them and Valentino is on edge because he truly wants this to succeed and Marc is just being a terrible actor, even when he lets Valentino take the lead (which, 95% of their joint interviews, let's be real, but whenever Marc is asked something on his own? yeah, that baby knows how to lie now but back in early 2016? with his feelings written all over his face? yeah, no).

So. Cue to the two of them in one of their motorhomes, post whichever event where it was obvious Marc had issues pretending he wanted to be there (it gets better with time and with Valentino's support, etc etc, but, bad day) and as usual, just a vision, of Valentino looking at Marc and going "Fuck's sake Marc, you need to learn how to lie properly."

Because every now and then, it's my favorite thing in the world to picture Valentino saying the most insane shit. I'll let you pick Marc's reaction.

Although, I will say, in my mind there is one version where Valentino is really tired/annoyed (could be because of exterior circumstances that have nothing to do with Marc, bad night of sleep, bad race, whatever) and he goes "You know what? Maybe we should practice. Come on Marc. Look at me and lie to me. [pause] Do you need me to start with an example or do you need me to provide you with text?"

[It's not my forte or my favorite thing to do to think of mean™️ Vale, but, well, happens.]

valentino in fco au fully believing marc’s ability to lie at the beginning bc he’s crazy and then being forced to be close to marc who has recently been cracked open like a lil egg and realizing that his face looks different a lot of the time now. at times terribly young and terribly fraught and still reaching out for vale in awkward half aborted little touches that he jerkily pulls away from and vale is TRYINGGG to use his smoke and mirrors magician in the press abilities to keep the lie going but marc hasn’t quite learned how to do that yet. is sort of in the thick of the transition to the marc we know today. and after one weird day where they’re so awkward together that a journalist gives them a considering little look like he MIGHT know something, vale is like okay well. if this doesn’t come easy to you marc (marc fully SO mad that vale can read him here, plays it off with an awkward laugh of COURSE) how about we practice.

so it’s like. truly they’re already doing so many dates/PR blitz thingies but now vale is narrating them (he loves to teach……) with little ways they can help the performance. little ways to lie (imo they aren’t lying rlly they wanna fuck BAD. in some ways this is weird roleplay). so he’s whisking marc away to dance and placing one of marc’s hands on his back and murmuring in his ear to tell him to smile when the cameras flash. he’s chillin in marc’s hotel room with him going over tape of their presscon like u shouldn’t even be answering that question, you should be inventing your own question and answering that one. he putting a gentle hand on marc’s cheek and asking him to lean a little like he wants to hear what vale is saying. it’s all very much a crash course on how to be a charismatic little clown that can wiggle out of questions, and marc has most of it already bc hes a liar boy he’s just also very DIRECT and DICHOTOMOUS in how he sees the world (part of why fake dating hurts his ass bc he dosn’t quite know where they stand….) and he’s being somewhat tortured by being in love with this guy who hurt his feelings bad but is also doing rlly nice stuff for him all the time and is ALSOOOO acting like he wants to fuck him comma, meanly. stop teasing me when you know im still in love with you kinda beat. anyways. by the end unbeknownst to vale, marc is internally fully just like fine. i’ll be fully back with vale for this EVEN IF HE HATES ME, and when it backfires i’ll want to die but i’ll have it for the time being. and vale is spending all this awful time watching marc perfect the performance. close himself off in public. face smooth, eyes too-wide, big smile pasted on. but eventually he realizes that its directed at HIM, not at the press. and it occurs to vale that he might’ve just taught marc some skills that could be used against him