#this is a big reason of why his rust works so well bc he understands rust is HOT

[teethburied]

Matthew McConaughey on Rust in 'Making True Detective'

[ace-malarky]

@elkieselkiewrites on it

so now that we're seated comfortably-

this thing started as a Dumb Short Thing I wrote for the writer's group up at CE back in the day, based on a walk I took with pokemon go bc there's apparently a disused temporal portal that is also a pokestop and sometimes you just have to take the hint

Only that was just Bri and Rip's introduction to the time travel shenanigans and they're more the companions in this story, not the actual like time travellers and it

it was just supposed to be a one off. just a dumb little "there's a disused time portal down the walkway here n yeah I'm gonna reactivate it with pokemon go why not" kinda thing y'know?

only

I do not let things lie.

So Saturday came first (second? third? Ripley and Briony are a matched set so) and then I like? needed a reason? for him to be stuck where he was (magical Edinburgh) and no I still haven't worked out why pokemon go got the thing working again <3 maybe we'll never know <3

I don't think I technically have a reason for it being stuck yet either except that he probably burnt it out/overworked it looking for his younger sibling and OH YEAH so

missing younger sibling. I accidentally do this several times with different characters. Hi Elise. You're not missing but no one remembers you

I'm going to just. yank some of this from the original post because it has been a minute but most of this is still true

so. picture this. time travel academy? whomst the fuck knows. Saturday (may not be called Saturday yet. Do they-the-travellers take days/months/seasons/times as names when they graduate? maybe. fun) is a young teen with a younger sib. parents aren't on the scene bc. fuck knows. orphans, anyhow

Saturday is studying/working at the academy and Siofra is living in his room with him. May not be the desired way of it by the rest of the staff but Siofra is very hard to say no to, which is why

one night

the two of them end up amongst the time machines

The time machines themselves do not look uniform. Half of them are old hulking pieces of machinery, the others are little like. ornaments or clocks or jewellery, maybe? who knows how big they need to be, really. The casing isn't important, it's the virus-creature-thing inside the casing that's the real time jumper

Saturday sort of knows how to "drive" some of them but that's not the point, they're not meant to be down here but Siofra is on a mission

(neither of them know this yet)

(they will soon)

(it will be too late)

And then they reach the back of the room (the end of it?) and there is

the o l d e s t hunk of junk cobbled together from rusting scrap probably a health hazard just for looking at it pile of mess in the corner, cobwebs and all

Siofra, curiosity incarnate, dives for it

the time machine, first of them all, the one the others have been spliced from

(they are not machines, they are living)

(they are one being, maybe, cut and cut and cut again)

(everywhere everywhen all at once and we didn't know)

(they cannot talk in a way that we understand, not without the casing we build them into)

It wakes, unbound, uncoded, un-un-unchained.

It takes, and Siofra is gone

Saturday stands there, amongst the time machines and that pile of rotted old mass is still there which it shouldn't be, not if that was the casing. They have to travel up and down their casing's timeline, right?

Well, not if they sear themselves into another living body. Then travel becomes a hell of a lot freer.

And Saturday can't do anything with the pile of junk because it's just a pile of junk now, with the time machine of it gone who-knows-when with Siofra

Still, he tries. When people ask where Siofra’s gone, he lies. He says that they’ve gone to live with family while he concentrates on his studies. And he throws himself into them, he does everything he can to graduate faster, get his hands on a time machine of his own. It takes far longer than he’d like, but it’s still faster than most.

He files for a journeyman’s year, takes his time machine, and he’s gone. He’s chasing a ghost. He knows more than most about the Time Machine that started it all, knows how to feed it into his own to find the thread of their travel. It’s hit and miss. Mostly miss, and then completely miss as his machine crashes into a city and a time and gets stuck. He’s pushed it too hard and now it needs to recharge, and he’s stuck in a time without the energy and the parts that he needs.

Saturday has to wait and hates that he has to wait because he’s never been good at that, not since Siofra disappeared. He grows older but not Old, because. Time? Shenanigans? Idk man. Maybe it’s not that long.

And then, of course, Briony and Ripley stumble across the machine and activate it. somehow. He offers them time travel as a thank you and maybe they don’t believe him at first, but it’s pretty convincing, y’know?

So there they are, on an adventure with him, and he only means to bring them along once but they keep coming back and he hasn’t told them about Siofra, hasn’t told them… very much of anything, actually. He’s sort of trying to push them away, but he’s not very good at it because the two of them are just… they’re the first people he’s really talked to in a while.

No one’s come looking for him, yet. Maybe it hasn’t quite been a year, or time is… time is flexible. (do the rest of the travellers believe him lost? it's risky, even if the research is done right, there are always things unaccounted for)

And they don’t ask, at first, they’re just… happy to have adventures, the two of them. Happy to see all the different times he can take them to! They’re getting pretty good at history.

And then they do start asking, and they start offering to help and he’s grudging at first, but he accepts it. They weren’t going to give up. Briony likes a mystery, likes solving things and helping people in weird little ways. It’s why they offer to help when the fae is released from the top of Arthur’s Seat, even if it almost traps them.

Oddly enough, it’s that that gives Saturday an idea for where Siofra might be. Something about the fae and the story that Briony comes back with sparks something, and he – he doesn’t quite explain his thought process to them, still hasn’t entirely explained who he’s looking for, but they are all for it.

Or – Briony is, and Ripley is still on her “must protect Briony” kick, so she’s coming as well.

They get tangled with the Fair Folk, because of course they do. Of course Siofra – whose name means changeling – gets tangled with the Fair Folk. This does not answer what the Time Machine is. I do not think it is Fair in origin, but maybe that’s an eternal mystery.

They find Siofra in the past and he is Changed somewhat. Not quite a fae. The Time Machine is - quiet. gone, maybe, or consumed or pacted with Siofra except that they claim not to be able to travel in time on their own. He was trapped, after all. Honest.

Siofra takes some convincing to leave? Or the Fair take some convincing to let them go.

Then it continues like this; do they go home? Bri and Ripley need to be returned. Siofra hasn’t seen Much At All and would like to see more, please.

Although. What the fuck happened with the missing Time Machine hmm. There’s something I forgot about. I feel like copping to it would be a Bad Idea. Maybe they just – home-as-a-place is dumb. They have each other!! Siofra is probably going to be tight friends with Briony, to the detriment of everyone. They’re both far too keen for adventures

anyway I've been like. thinking about the time travel wip all day

[comradeocean]

I haven't read Arya x Gendry in like ... 6 years. I caught up a bit this week. Here are some I really like! 

[30 some fic recs after the jump]

post 8x01 Arya keeps looking for reasons to visit Gendry in the forge. - mmh post episode askbox fic

Somewhere to Begin, MissAtomicBomb (mrs_nerimon) The Stark sisters share a moment in the wake of some impactful reunions. - lmao my most frequently used GoT tag was "westeROS" (remember Ros???) followed by "Stark famly dynamics." So Stark sisters hashing things out... my kryptonite

Beautiful & Deadly Sharp, vlaurie17 Learning to fight with a sword were some of Arya's best memories. Sansa, however, was hesitant. “What do I do with it?” “Stick ‘em with the pointy end,” Arya smirked. Sansa just rolled her eyes, “Obviously." - also Stark sisters revisiting being Vengeance-made-girls together and practising to knife someone

I'll sing for you, Ravenclawpride06 Set post 8x1. Gendry wants it bad. Arya wants it worse. Was going to more explicit but I left it vague, felt it fit better in the end. All the pining! - I’m soft for the pining

This is my wish, crazychipmink "As he studied the drawing she had given him, he slowly began to let himself believe that she was real and alive and well. He had thought about Arya so many times that the memory of her was worn in his mind. Fragile and faded, like a piece of parchment that had been read too many times. To tell the truth, sometimes, he couldn’t even remember what she looked like, only that she was the only thing he ever wanted, ever wished for.” - season 8 episode companion fic series - ao3 tag: weapons design processes are long and require many iterations - “Davos assumed he was waiting to play his part in the great war to come, but in reality, Gendry was waiting for the next remarkable thing to happen to him. Perhaps if enough remarkable things happened to him, he would finally let himself believe that the most remarkable thing that had ever happened to him had happened.” wow ok

Who are you waiting for? crazychipmink [incomplete] "She had Arya’s face and Arya’s voice and even Arya’s smile. But despite all that, he felt like he had just spoken to a ghost. An unnatural ghost of Arya, pretending to be the girl he was in love with. Gendry had traveled to the end of the world to find her, but now that he finally had, she was gone." - the angst universe evil twin version of the fic above - we will take it bc we love to suffer - and also bc the author promises "fluff" and "eventual romance" ok sounds real but ok

the thing with feathers, yanak324 If anyone is capable of bringing the old Arya back, it’s this man in front of her, which is precisely why she must walk away. - a more (immediately) optimistic read of how Arya's in episode enactments of being No One might have gone

and in the end, jeeno2 [incomplete] Five times Gendry Waters is an idiot and the one time he figures things out. - Gendry being dumb is kind of a thing and I'm not always the biggest fan of how it plays out in fanon but this is sweet!

 The She-Wolves of Winterfell, vixleonard The pack survived. So has the Stark habit of keeping secrets. - 2nd generation Stark girls. Arya's daughter matter-of-factly saying "Stark women don't get married" - a whole ass mood.

Mid-Battle, Mary_West Sandor has something important to say to Gendry - if only Gendry can live long enough to hear it.

season 8 AU My Lady sanctuary_for_all Gendry and Arya find each other again. (AKA the plotline Gendry deserved in 7X07) - fic convention I am 100% here for: Arya scrabbling around Gendry's face looking for the seam. fic convention I am 100000% here for: Arya throwing off her glove in order to do so and then holding her hands against his cheek

Nights are for You (or Five Times Arya Visits Gendry in the Forge and One Time Gendry Visits Arya in the Castle) ASwornStark She hasn’t visited the forge since Jon returned home with the dragon bitch (the Stark sisters’ favored name for her) and him in tow. - reunion fic

season 7 Before We Jump, MissAtomicBomb (mrs_nerimon) Arya Stark's bastard boys bond on their way to the Wall. - anything for some good rowing references and bastard subjectivity

earlier laughing 'till our ribs get tough (that will never be enough), belasteals "Gendry took one look and laughed so hard that wine came out of his nose, until Harwin gave him a thwack alongside his ear." - A Storm of Swords, Arya IV (or, Gendry's POV on Acorn Hall) - real ones can't get enough of book canon and Acorn Hall.

Butcher, elephant_eyelash Gendry and Arya by the fire, discussing jacket potatoes and thinking murderous things. - perfect meditation on food and hunger and care

Dissimulo, Somnio, jeeno2 She is no one, now. But still the boy with the black hair haunts her dreams. - honestly the showrunners are cowards for not going there. let No One be Vagina Dentata Personified 2kwhenevertheBraavosiseasonsaired

post canon/canon divergent Charcoal, elephant_eyelash All about winter and feeling the cold. - weird how I'm obsessed with self-loathing and wintry alienation and the weight of history and ancestry but also devotion also love. super weird totally unexpected

Five Things Gendry Only Says in the Dark, jeeno2 Where no one else can hear him. - loneliness, shame, self-loathing. the important emotions. oh and spoiler alert some joy.

Like Wenda, Furious_Winter "...she could ride with Gendry and be an outlaw, like Wenda the White Fawn in the songs." - my favourite canon AUs are Arya and Gendry with the Brotherhood and my absolute favourites of those are when they are apart (who's ever heard of a marauding smith??) but have some of miserable bittersweet understanding and they glower at each other and make each other jealous and everything is unspoken but this is it this singular love they have for each other that doesn't quite work out. I've just realized that most of these recs are highkey angsty oops. anyway, this fic is like the most complete and perfect distillation of everything I want. - also this is so richly detailed and complete in itself. immensely satisfying. - yeah ok Furious_Winter is actually the master of post canon together but not Arya/Gendry love is not always enough fics. I'm just going to recommend all of them: - The Wolf's Head Helm [The Starks are back in Winterfell and Sansa is Queen in the North. One day, Arya receives a gift from an old friend... - Arya is in Sansas's queensguard.]  - A Means To An End (incomplete) [Arya Stark has returned from Essos and has been staying at the Inn at the Crossroads. Things are not nearly as simple as she sees them. - fuck this one hurts so good] - A Bastard At Heart [Arya and Gendry marry other people for the good of the kingdom 'cause they're self sacrificing like that. the last line took me outtt]

the truth is, baby you're all that I need, belasteals “You were jealous,” he laughed, almost shocked. “Arya Stark of Winterfell, jealous of a whore.” - sirens This One Is Not Angsty sirens

A Girl Meets a Boy, Hotpie A girl takes a face; a girl takes a lover. - possibly my favourite Crossroads Inn fic. love the Faceless Man stuff. love the detail of Needle having a smallest spot of rust, from Braavosi Steel Pox and Arya feeling a ways about it. love picking up the Melisandre thread.

So Easy To Love, Val_Creative She misses Gendry's complaining, too enthralled with staring. "You smell like Dennett's underarms," Arya murmurs, leaning in, going for blunt honesty. Gendry opens his mouth, beginning to laugh, turning uproarious and smiling. She's never seen anything more beautiful than this. More kissable than Gendry's mouth. - the summary makes it seem like it's all kissing when there is actually a big chunk of plot - in service of eventual kissing, yes, - but! spoiler alert! they don't even get to it in this fic! not exactly - maybe why I love it a lot??

With Bells in Her Hair, semicolonlife [incomplete] The further south they travel the more Gendry starts to wonder if he truly knows this woman who wears Arya Stark's face. As he begins to doubt himself more and more, Gendry becomes obsessed with the strange bells she wears in her hair. - ruthless slightly wonky Arya is my favourite Arya.

Wayfaring, Rainfallen An accidental series centered on the same basic headcanon of how Gendry found himself in the North and how Arya found her way back to it. - wolf girl Wolf Girl WOLF GIRL

Seen, sanctuary_for_all Being important matters less than who you're important to. - He wasn't sure what that verdict was, however, until she returned the unfinished sword to rest position with a deeply satisfied expression. "I am going to kill so many people with that sword." It was probably a bad sign for his long-term sanity that Gendry felt deeply complimented by that. "Happy to help." my useless heart: pikachu face - see! I like fluffy HEAs too

Hearts, sanctuary_for_all Arya comes home to her family. (Future flash) - look, I just think it's really important that even married and with children, Arya continues murdering people uwu

other AUs/misc I'll Run (Run To You), belasteals “You would rather marry a lowborn knight than a high lord, then?” She grinned, all bared teeth and sharp eyes. “I’d rather marry no one at all, else I'd not play at this mummer’s farce.” “What about the man who outruns you?” “Nobody outruns me.” (Greek mythology fusion: Arya as Atalanta, Gendry as Hippomenes. Arya vows only to marry the man who can outrun her in a footrace) - Atalanta, Mononoke, Arya. same energy.