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moonbearmeliox · 3 years ago

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DSMP/Mianite Harry Potter AU: Backstory & Philosopher’s Stone

Masterlist

Events Before Philosopher's Stone

XD, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, is at large during the first Wizarding War. The Order of The Phoenix is trying it’s best to stop the threat(because the Ministry isn’t doing much). The original members included Phil, Jordan, Puffy, Tom, Tucker, Sonja, Eret’s dad(who dies during the War), Sally(Fundy’s mom, no connection to Wilbur, also dies), and three powerful wizard siblings: Mianite, Dianite, and Ianite.

As powerful as the three were, they were assigned guards just in case XD came for them.

Jordan was assigned to Ianite, Tom was assigned to Dianite, and Tucker and Sonja were assigned to Mianite.

And then the prophecy happens, that XD will only be defeated by the one who wields the Wand of Balance.

No one knew who wielded the wand of balance at the time...except for a few members of the Order

Now there was also the suspicion that there was a mole in the Order, and that was proven right when they got word that XD also knew about the prophecy.

So they have the three siblings separate to different parts of the country for fear that XD may come after them for the wand or knowledge of the wand. No one knows the locations of where any of the siblings are, except their guards who are with them, and Phil.

This is the night when everything happens.

First, Tom finds out that Dianite was the traitor, and hurriedly sends an owl to wherever Tucker and Sonja are, because owls always find their recipient. He also hurries back to the order

Second, Tucker and Sonja come upon Mianite, who was murdered by Dianite. In their pursuit, Dianite loudly proclaims in public that it was Tucker and Sonja who murdered Mianite and frames them for the murder of 13 muggles before faking his death and leaving behind a finger as evidence of death.

Third, Jordan and Ianite are ambushed and in a desperate attempt to save Jordan, Ianite sends Jordan...somewhere. Ianite dies shortly after the ambush.

Lastly, while all of this is going down, XD goes to the Maron household in hopes of getting information out of Jordan about Ianite or the wand of balance.

Except Jordan isn’t there. XD is met with Puffy and a one year old Tubbo. XD and Puffy duel, resulting in Puffy being hit with a powerful curse that afterwards made her stay at St Mungo’s for over a year. She was left with half white, half brown hair and sheep horns.

It also made her unable to protect Tubbo when XD went to kill him.

Except the curse backfires, and rebounds on to XD, supposedly killing him and stripping him of his powers.

The word travels fast that XD was defeated by a 1 year old boy. They claim he is the chosen one since he defeated XD.

Tubbo Maron, The boy who lived.

The aftermath: Tucker and Sonja in Azkaban, Mianite and Ianite dead, Dianite is a traitor and supposedly dead, Puffy is hospitalized, and Jordan is missing.

After weeks of searching for Jordan and coming up empty, Phil decides to take in Tubbo and raise him with his wife Kristen, alongside his son, Wilbur.

Philosopher's Stone

Having grown up with Phil and Wilbur, Tubbo knows he’s a wizard very early on.

He also knows that the whole wizarding world thinks he’s the chosen one, with all the stares and whispers he gets when he goes out with Phil and Wilbur on occasions.

But every time Tubbo gets anxious about it, Phil always reassures him.

“Everyone thinks I’m some great wizard or that I will be when I get older. I don’t know if I can handle that kind of pressure, Phil.”

“Mate, don’t worry about what you think the entire world thinks about you. If you do, you’re gonna run yourself ragged. All that you should worry about is if you’re happy. And when you’re not, you’ll always have someone to talk to. And if you’re worried about being a great wizard, I know you have some of your dad’s traits. You’ll be great.”

Phil tried to keep Tubbo away from most of the “Chosen one bullshit” as he referred to it. He tried to give Tubbo a normal wizard life as much as possible. But he would tell Tubbo many stories about his dad and what he got up to at Hogwarts.

Phil did not tell Tubbo anything about the Order of the Phoenix or about most of the events that happened the night he got that scar. Just that XD came looking for Tubbo’s dad and when his dad wasn’t there, XD went to attack him and died. All Tubbo knows is that his dad was never seen after that night.

Speaking of Hogwarts, after seeing Wilbur go off to school for two years and having it just be him and Kristen in the house when Phil has headmaster duties, Tubbo finally got his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Hand delivered by Phil of course.

Once books, robes, a wand, and an owl named Benson was acquired, Tubbo counted down the days till September 1st.

The day came and Kristen took the boys to Platform 9 and ¾ to board the Hogwarts Express. After an emotional goodbye, Wilbur and Tubbo boarded the train and Tubbo’s adventure began.

Tubbo bumps into a tall boy named Ranboo on the train and they find a compartment to ride together. It’s all nice and tranquil as they make small talk and get to know each other. Ranboo mentions he's a muggleborn and has memory problems. Tubbo's about to tell him his name when the compartment door is slammed open by a tall blonde boy.

“Hey bitch! Is this compartment taken?”

Tommy. The boy’s name is Tommy. Who took a seat no matter the answer.

“So, what’s your name?” “I’m Tubbo. Tubbo Maron”

*Que the exclamations of surprise and questions*

Word did travel that The Chosen One was on the train, and a boy named Purpled came into the compartment.

Purpled is self centered, telling Tubbo that he could keep better company with him.

Tubbo turns him down and Tommy loudly tells him to leave the compartment. Purpled does after Tommy's spider Shroud tries to bite him.

Anyway, the train soon arrives at Hogwarts and the first years are ushered across the lake and into the castle to get sorted.

Brought into the Great Hall by Professor Puffy, the sorting starts. Ranboo gets sorted into Hufflepuff, Tommy gets sorted into Gryffindor, Purpled gets sorted into Syltherin.

Then with a brief hesitation, Professor Puffy calls “Tubbo Maron”

The hall erupts into whispers as Tubbo steps up to the stool and the hat is placed on his head. After a few moments, the hat shouts Ravenclaw.

Tubbo goes to the table and after getting a thumbs up from Wilbur and a wave from Ranboo and Tommy, Tubbo is introduced to Eret, an older year Ravenclaw.

On to life at Hogwarts.

Purpled steals a student’s item during flying lessons and Tubbo tries to take it back on a broom. Professor Vikstar, who is the flying instructor and Head of Ravenclaw, sees this and puts Tubbo on the Quidditch team to play Seeker. Eret is the Captain of the team and is able to show Tubbo the ropes.

Purpled also challenges Tubbo to a duel. Tommy goes with him as his second and Ranboo comes to make sure they don't get in trouble but surprise! Purpled doesn't show and the trio, having to run away from the caretaker, stumble upon a giant three headed dog(which they later learn is named Fran from the Groundskeeper, Hbomb.)

Troll in the Dungeon! Professor Antfrost comes bursting into the Great Hall on Halloween, loudly proclaiming there is a troll in the dungeon before fainting.

Look at me and tell me Tommy wouldn’t want to go and see the troll.

Tubbo and Ranboo reluctantly tag along to make sure he doesn’t get hurt/in trouble. Cut to Tommy being held upside down by the troll and Tubbo knocking it out with it’s club.

Puffy, Phil and AntFrost come across them and instead of getting house points, they get detention.

Oh look Antfrost is injured, must have gotten that when he ran into the Troll.

The trio has to serve detention with H in the Forbidden Forest and since they were able to get the name of the dog out of H, why not ask him what it’s guarding.

He says he won’t say anything about it. “Whatever Fran is guarding is between Professor Watson and Nicholas Flammel…..I shouldn’t have said that.”

So now the trio are spending most of their free time researching about Flamel.

“Why can’t you just ask Professor Watson? Isn’t he like your dad or something ``

''He would know we’re looking at something we aren’t supposed to. And I don’t want to get in trouble again.”

Christmas comes around and Tubbo gets an invisibility cloak with a note saying it was his father's (Puffy gave it to him but Tubbo doesn't know that.)

Well now the whole school's open to explore and he can research about Flamel after dark.

He isn't quite about it though and when fleeing from the caretaker he ends in an empty classroom that has a mirror.

Except when he looks in it, he doesn't just see himself. He sees a man standing next to him. His father! He excitedly turns around but no one is there. Looking back at the mirror, he sees more people, including Professor Puffy standing right next to his dad.

It's easy enough for Tubbo to come to the conclusion that this mirror shows him his family, but he's curious why Puffy's there.

So of course he asks Puffy if she knew his dad. And she's a bit hesitant on her answer

"I know him. We, uh...we went to school together."

The answer doesn’t satisfy Tubbo but Puffy kicks him of her classroom out before he can ask more questions.

Tubbo keeps going back to the mirror every night till he is eventually met with Phil and Puffy in the room waiting for him.

Phil explains that the mirror is the mirror of Erised, it shows the person what he desires most. When Tubbo tells him that he sees his family in the mirror, Puffy tells him that Tubbo’s dad is her brother.

Tubbo wants to ask more questions, but Phill tells him the mirror will be moved and wants him to promise not to try and find it. Tubbo reluctantly agrees.

Eventually the trio find out that Nicolas Flamel was the creator of the Philosopher's Stone and that’s what Fran must be guarding. Tubbo also comes to the conclusion that Professor Antfrost is the one after the stone.

So the trio try to go see Phil to tell him but Puffy says he’s away on urgent business. And instead of waiting for Phil to come back(because by then it will be too late) they decide to go after Antfrost themselves.

Conquering room after room, Tommy is knocked unconscious by the chess set and Ranboo stays to make sure he’s ok. Upon the final room, Tubbo comes face to face with Antfrost.

But Antfrost is not alone, kinda, cuz he’s got XD on the back of his head. We already know the motives. He wants to stone for XD, Tubbo gets it from the mirror and Antfrost turns to dust in the end.

Phil nearly has a heart attack when he finds out what happens but all is good in the end and Tubbo’s first year at Hogwarts comes to a close.

Before Tubbo leaves, Puffy gives Tubbo a family album and plans to visit during the summer.

#dream smp #mianite #harry potter au #tubbo #captainsparklez for dreamsmp #wilbur soot #ranboo #tommyinit

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kissinginkitchens · 3 years ago

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You Bring Me Home—Chapter Ten: When it Rains

a/n: hi besties!! This one is... tough I’m ngl to y’all. It is the second to the last chapter which is so wild to think about, but alas all good things must come to an end. Hopefully you don’t hate me too much by the end of it but feel free to vent in my inbox :))) much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai’i!Harry x Original Character (Halani <3)

Warnings: swearing, some suggestive humor, ANGST (!!)

Word Count: 7.4 k

catch up on parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine

“Is that my shirt?”

“No,”

Alani squints at the cartoon bee printed on Harry’s white t-shirt and crosses her arms in disbelief.

“Yes it is! I’ve been looking for it everywhere,”

“Don’t worry, you can have it back soon,” he admits, crawling back into his bed with an apologetic kiss to her pouting lips. “Doesn’t smell like you anymore,”

“Thief,”

Harry scoffs and props himself up on an elbow. “Don’t act like my Spice World jumper isn’t hanging at the foot of your bed right now,”

“You left it there,” Alani defends. “I was merely being kind and looking after said hoodie because it was abandoned by its owner,”

“Oh yeah and you’ve fought real hard to reunite us,”

“Can we get back to the main issue at hand? Which is that I’m kinda pissed off that you look better in that shirt than I do.”

Harry chuckles to himself and presses an affectionate kiss to her temple. “You’re too kind.”

Alani rests her cheek against his chest and listens to the rain pattering harshly against the window, admiring the flashes of lightning that illuminate the dimly lit room. Harry had convinced her to stay the night, worried about her driving home alone in the storm, and he was met with very little resistance. Secretly, he thanks the rain gods for allowing him another night to hold her close.

********

“H, you gotta tell her,” Jeff had warned the previous night. “I already pushed the flight back a week—”

“I know,” Harry huffed. “I just need a little more time.”

Jeff sighed, rubbing his tired eyes with the heels of his hands. “You have until this weekend when we go away with the girls. One week in Maui, and then it’s back home. I’m sorry.”

********

Harry’s stomach turns remembering the conversation, but he decides to push all the nagging thoughts to the back of his mind and focus on the present.

“You all packed?” he asks, trailing his fingers up and down her arm.

Alani drapes her leg over his hip and nods. “Been packed since last week.”

She had been ecstatic the day after Mila and Chad’s wedding when Harry invited her to tag along on the couple’s trip with Jeff, Tom, and their significant others. His eagerness to include her in his friend group was not only reassuring, but exciting. It felt like their lives were coming together, even more so after she had introduced him to her parents. They, of course, had adored him and quickly given their seal of approval. While Alani knew that it was ultimately her choice, it still felt good to have support from the most important people in her life, and she hoped to win his friends over just as easily. Harry, on the other hand, had no doubts that she would fit right into his chosen family. Her name had been cautiously dropped during a weekly FaceTime call with his mother and sister, and he was overjoyed when they enthusiastically grilled him for details.

What Harry was less sure of, however, was how Alani would react upon hearing that his vacation was up and that he would be headed back to L.A. in a week’s time. It was still early in their relationship and an indeterminate break seemed less than ideal. He had tried to convince both Jeff and the label that he could finish the album in Hawaii, but the same couldn’t be said for Jeff Bhasker, Mitch, Tom, and his new bassist, Adam, who all had families waiting for them back on the mainland. It was too risky personally and financially, so Harry reluctantly negotiated one last week to persuade Alani that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t be a death sentence.

“What d’you wanna watch?” he asks, sitting up against the headboard to turn on the T.V.

Alani sighs and settles deeper into his side. “When Harry Met Sally,”

“But it’s not Christmas or New Year’s,”

“So?”

“So,” Harry explains. “We have to wait ‘til the holidays, wouldn’t be right otherwise,”

Alani scoffs and peers up at him with a judgemental look. “So I guess Serendipity is also out of the question?”

“We’ll have all Christmas to get through that list, darlin’,”

Her stomach flips at his suggestion of their future holiday plans. Privately, she had wondered about such things, as well, including what gifts she might get him or where they would spend the holidays. Though still months away, it suddenly felt within reach.

“Fine,” Alani softens. “The Notebook,”

“And let you drool over what’s-his-face?” Harry pokes. “No fuckin’ way,”

Alani pinches his side and sits up. “Would you stop being insecure about that? I’ve already told you I was just kidding that time,”

“Yeah well, it still stings,”

“Why don’t you tell me your celebrity crush? You know, so I can be totally fine about it because it doesn’t mean anything,”

Harry shrugs, the corners of his lips turning into a playful smirk. “Don’t have one,”

“Liar,”

“M’serious,”

“Why, because you’ve already dated them?”

“Hey,” Harry pouts. “That was a bit snippy,”

Alani’s muscles tighten. She hadn’t realized that his dating history was a sore spot, but she takes a deep breath and plants a sweet kiss to his jaw as an offering of peace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,”

“S’alright. Truce?”

“Deal,”

“Jennifer Aniston,”

“Huh?”

“My celebrity crush,” Harry explains shyly. “When I was younger,”

Alani giggles lightly. “I see. Good taste, she’s hot,”

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna leave me for her too,”

“I just might,”

“Can’t say that I blame you,”

“Look I know this is a cute little bit we do,” Alani sits up, her gaze dead-set on Harry’s to communicate the seriousness behind her words. “But I just want you to know that I feel so lucky to be with you. I’m not going anywhere any time soon,”

Harry swallows harshly. It was everything he’d ever wanted to hear and it kills him that he can’t return the sentiment with full honesty. A little less than a week is all he has to prove that even though he physically has to go, his heart will remain wherever Alani is. “Me either,”

Another round of thunder booms outside and the lights fizzle out, leaving the room completely dark save for the intermittent flashes of lightning that gently illuminate the room.

“So much for watching a movie, huh?” Alani sighs.

“I think I know some other ways we can keep ourselves entertained.”

********

Harry sets a steaming cup of tea down onto the table in front of Alani and she looks up from her tube of nail polish curiously. Harry flashes a dimpled grin in her direction and whistles a familiar tune, one that she had heard in the studio when he was busy doing his Bob Dylan impression.

“What’re you singing?”

“Hm?”

“The song,” she clarifies. “You were singing it the other day, what is it?”

Harry serves her plate of hash browns and shrugs. “Dunno, just a little tune ‘ve been workin’ on,”

“It’s nice,”

“Thanks, sweets,” he offers, setting her food down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Hey Alani,” Jeff interrupts, stepping into the kitchen with his cellphone pressed to his shoulder.

“Glenne wants to know if you’re okay with her setting up a spa thing for you guys,”

"Yeah, definitely,” Alani perks up.

“Cool, thanks.”

“Look at you,” Harry teases, taking a bite of his toast coated in strawberry jam. “Minglin’ with the girls,”

“They’re not even here yet,”

He scans over her appearance and his brows furrow, hit with the sudden realization that she’s dressed in formal attire.

“What’s with the fancy outfit”

“I have a meeting, remember?”

“With?”

Alani blows on her freshly painted nails and holds up her other hand for Harry to do the same.

“My senior advisor. We’re going over my research project,”

Harry’s brows raise. “Smarty-pants,”

Alani had scheduled her meeting with Dr. Hudson months ago and had, truthfully, forgotten all about it until she had received a courtesy email the day prior. She had been working on her proposal in the spare minutes she had away from Harry, which were few and far between, but she knew the initial meeting would be much more casual. Alani checks the time on her phone and stands quickly when she realizes that she is supposed to meet Dr. Hudson in less than thirty-minutes.

“Gotta go,” she offers, shoveling potatoes into her mouth and grabbing her bag.

Harry ceases blowing on her nails and kisses the back of her hand before sticking out his lips for a kiss of his own. “Good luck, darlin’. Meet me at the studio after?”

“Sure thing, sunshine. See you later.”

********

“How did the Joni Mitchell piece go? You never told me,” Dr. Hudson questions, taking a sip of her coffee.

Alani offers a shy smile and toys with the hem of her skirt. “A flop,”

“Just one more closer to the winner,”

“Yeah,” Alani sighs, stirring her smoothie. “Maybe it’s time to move on from that,”

The professor shoots her a disapproving look and sets her drink down. “Alani—”

“I just think maybe there’s more realistic—”

“You are not giving up,” Dr. Hudson reassures her. “You’ve come too far and you’re a terrific writer. One of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching. These things take time,”

Alani nods gently, her lips pursed in a tight smile. “Thank you, that really means a lot,”

“What are you working on right now?”

Absolutely nothing, Alani thinks, but then she remembers the half-written article about Harry sitting in her files.

“A short piece about… a local musician,”

Dr. Hudson’s brows raise, intrigued, and she nods. “That sounds interesting. Definitely more personal,”

You have no idea. “Thanks. I mean, it’s not really anything—”

“I’d love to read it when you’re finished,” the professor continues. “What’s the scope?”

Alani thinks, trying not to give too much incriminating detail about her subject or their relationship.

“Well,” she starts, hesitant. “He’s writing new music and working on his first album. I guess I kind of want to follow his journey and redefinition of success in the music industry,”

Dr. Hudson hums. “I love it. Send me a draft.”

Alani swallows and takes a minute to consider the offer. Surely there couldn’t be anything wrong about sharing her work privately with her advisor. She had been so excited about the potential of the article when it was first started, but it had since been neglected like so many of her other rejected pieces. Starting again seemed exciting, and she knew that Harry would be pleased to play such an important role in making her dreams come true. That had, after all, been the initial terms of their agreement.

“Okay,” Alani accepts. “I will.”

********

Harry draws out the last note and Mitch lets the chord ring between them for a moment.

“I think that’s the one,”

“Yeah, I liked that progression better,”

“Hope you got that, Bhasker,” Mitch calls to Jeff in the sound booth, who gives a thumbs up in response.

Harry continues humming, his head still bobbing to the tune, when he hears the studio door creak unpleasantly. His eyes shoot up to find Alani wincing and timidly stepping into the room.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,”

He softens and beckons her over. “Never an interruption, sweets,”

Alani slots herself between his legs and wraps her arms around his neck, giving a gentle peck to the tip of his nose before pressing their lips together.

“How’s the weather?”

“Just got a lot sunnier,”

“Meeting go well?”

She nods and twists a lock of his chestnut hair between her fingers. “Yeah, actually,”

“Then we should celebrate!” Harry perks up, peppering a kiss to her cheek. “Dinner, wine, movie, the whole shebang,”

Alani frowns, thinking back to the article she promised Dr. Hudson. “Hmmm, raincheck?”

Her boyfriend deflates. “You’re ditching me?”

“Just for one night,” she explains, pulling him closer. “I wanna finish up some school stuff before our trip. Otherwise I won’t be able to give you my full attention,”

Harry pouts, but he nods understandingly. “‘Kay,”

“I’m sorry, sunshine. I’ll miss you tons,”

“Ditto, sweets,”

Alani presses her forehead against his and her fingertips wander through the growing curls at the nape of his neck. “Please don’t be upset,”

Harry smiles warmly and smoothes his hands up and down her back. “Never, m’love. Could never be upset with you,”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he nods, planting a sweet kiss to her lips. “Hey, I wanna play you somethin’,”

Alani grins and pulls back a bit to read his expression. “Let’s hear it,”

Harry grabs the guitar next to him and slings it over his shoulder before adjusting the capo. The song starts sweet and gentle, his voice light to match the tune.

And oh we started

Two hearts in one home

It’s hard when we argue

We’re both stubborn I know, but oh

Sweet creature, sweet creature

Wherever I go, you bring me home

Sweet creature, sweet creature

When I run out of road, you bring me home

Alani watches in awe as he pours so much emotion behind every word, his vocals effortlessly powerful and rich. She claps when the song finishes and leans in for a kiss.

“I love it,”

“S’not finished yet,” Harry shrugs, still fiddling with the strings. “Just the chorus right now,”

“Will you teach it to me?”

His brows raise in surprise. “You play?”

“No,” Alani admits. “But I have a feeling you’re a good teacher,”

“Well, let’s see what you got,”

Alani turns and Harry props the guitar in her lap, his arms wrapping around her as he guides her into the right position. His left hand demonstrates the beginning chord and she replaces his fingers on the fretboard to try for herself. She strums and the beginning note resonates in near-perfect pitch.

“Hey,” Harry beams. “You’re a regular Hendrix,”

He continues positioning her fingers over the right spaces and letting her strum, humming the lyrics softly into the shell of her ear.

“We don’t argue that much,” Alani defends playfully.

Harry chuckles and kisses her temple. “Maybe not, but we’re really good at makin’ up.”

“Easy, Styles.”

********

Harry: Hungry?

Alani peels her eyes away from the computer screen and reads the message lighting up her phone.

Alani: Not really

Harry: …

Harry: oh

She laughs and pads over to the window. Sure enough, Harry holds up two bags and flashes a cheesy grin down below.

“Need a study break?”

“I’ll meet you at the door.”

Harry makes himself comfortable in the middle of her bed and unpacks the bags.

“I’ve got a California and a spicy tuna for my favorite girl,” he announces. “With a side of eel sauce,”

“And the world's best boyfriend goes to Mr. Harry Styles,” Alani grins, taking a seat next to him.

He smirks and pulls out his own order of miso soup and sushi. “How’s the homework comin’ along?”

“Not too shabby,”

“Glad to hear it,”

“Hey, what time do I meet you at the airport tomorrow?” she asks, dipping her roll in the sauce.

Harry freezes and turns to her with confusion written all over his face. “I’m sorry, did my girlfriend just insinuate that we’re not leaving for the airport together?”

“I really need to finish this,” Alani explains. “It’s almost there,”

“Two nights?” he complains.

Alani nudges him with her shoulder and shakes her head. “We’re gonna be spending an entire week together, non-stop. You’re gonna get sick of me,”

“Never,” Harry rebuts. “Not possible,”

“Just one more night,” Alani bargains. “Then I’m all yours, no interruptions.”

He nods and takes a sip of his soup. “Alright, deal.”

You have to tell her, Jeff’s voice rings in his mind.

********

The airline stewardess ushers Harry and Alani to their seats while Scott and Miles settle down a few rows behind. She didn’t know exactly what to expect from first-class, but suddenly the perks of having a famous boyfriend increased tenfold by the sight of their luxurious accommodations.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Alani asks while Harry hovers over his chair.

“Sitting, or I was about to,”

“And you’re not even gonna offer rock-paper-scissors for the window seat?”

Harry shakes his head with an amused chuckle. “No because I already know that you’re gonna get up to pee every five minutes,”

“Not true,”

“It is too true and it’s exactly why we can’t cuddle while we fall asleep,”

“Or maybe the reason is because I’m claustrophobic and I just don’t wanna hurt your feelings,”

Harry frowns. “Really?”

“No,” Alani admits, taking the aisle seat. “I just said that so you’d give me the window,”

“Get up, we’re switching,”

“Thank you, sunshine! You’re the best,”

Harry slumps into his new chair and crosses his arms. “Forty-five minutes and we’re already fighting like an old married couple,”

“Oh really?” Alani smirks. “Is that what old married couples argue about? Who gets the window seat?”

“And leaving the toilet seat up, going antique shopping—”

“—What old married couples have you been hanging out with—?”

“—Picking up the kids from school,”

Alani presses a kiss to his shoulder and rests her head in the crook of his neck. Her eyelids are still heavy from staying up the night before, but her article was completely finished and sent off to Dr. Hudson just like she’d promised. Now, she could enjoy her vacation free of any worry or obligation, completely focused on the perfect boy still rambling next to her.

“But, obviously I mean that doesn’t count, right?” Harry asks, craning his neck and smiling softly when he sees that his girlfriend has already dozed off. He kisses the top of her head gently and lets his own eyes flutter close with a deep, contented breath.

********

“And then I’ll have to repaint it, but I haven’t decided on a color yet,” Glenne explains to Alani as they stroll through the airport.

Alani hums. “It was your grandmother’s?”

“Well, it was somebody’s grandmother’s. We picked it up at this little antique shop in Santa Monica.”

Jeff escorts Glenne into the shuttle car while Harry and Alani share a knowing look and stifle their laughter. They shuffle into the back seats as Tom and his wife, Jenny, claim the middle row.

“So you’re a journalist?” Jenny asks, turning in her seat eagerly to face Alani.

“Not quite,” she explains with a polite smile. “Still a student, but hopefully someday,”

Jenny nods and twirls the ring around her finger. “Sounds exciting. Maybe you can hitch a ride on tour with this one and do some writing there.”

“Yeah,” Alani smiles, settling further into Harry’s side. “Maybe.”

The idea of traveling the world with Harry and being a part of the excitement of touring the album was something she had considered briefly, but hadn’t allowed herself to fully indulge until this moment. It was already thrilling to see him polish the songs he had begun during his trip, but she could only imagine how much more special it would be to see him perform them for the rest of the world. A twinge of jealousy sparks at the thought of having to share any part of him with the public, but Alani knows that his gifts are much too special to keep all for herself. Harry was golden and he deserved to shine in all of his radiant glory. That was exactly what she had penned in her article, and she said it not because he was her boyfriend and there were clear personal investments, but because she knew it was true even before he had shown any romantic interest in her.

“What’s tour like?” Alani pipes up as Harry watches the landscape out his window.

He considers it for a moment and clears his throat. “Fun, mostly. Can be tiring,”

“Lots of partying and adoring fans?”

“No,” he chuckles to himself. “Not so much the partying. Enthusiastic fans, sure,”

Alani narrows her eyes. “No partying?”

“Nope,” Harry reiterates. “Don’t really like to do all that stuff when I’m working. Also just didn’t wanna…”

He trails off and Alani waits a beat to see if he’ll continue. “Didn’t wanna?”

“Fuck it up,” he finishes. “You know, like, be the one who ruined a good thing for a little bit of fun.”

She lets his words settle in, rubbing a reassuring circle on the back of his hand. “Makes sense. Sounds really responsible of you to do that.”

Harry presses a soft kiss to her temple and resumes his study of the scenery. They chat amongst their friends for the remainder of the drive and Alani immediately presses Glenne and Jenny for information about her boyfriend in his younger years. They indulge her inquiries and ask their own questions, deciding privately after a few minutes that her and Harry are a good fit.

When the group arrives at the resort, Glenne takes charge and instructs them all to meet at the lobby for lunch in twenty minutes. They collect their keys and head up to their respective rooms, which are all located on the very top floor.

“What a view,” Alani muses as she takes in the sight from their private balcony.

Harry admires the wonder on her face and nods, his eyes not leaving her side profile. “You’re tellin’ me,”

“Let’s never go home,” she poses, arms snaking around his torso. “Let’s stay here forever, just me and you,”

His throat tightens as he thinks back to the inevitable conversation waiting for them. Harry didn’t know why it was so hard to think about leaving because he had every intention of keeping touch and making their relationship work at all costs. But there was a part of him, a very tiny recess in the back of his mind, that feared the possibility of Alani not feeling the same.

“Yeah,” he agrees with a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. “Whatever you want, sweets,”

Alani senses a shift in his demeanor, but she can’t read it. “You okay?”

“Never better,” Harry swallows, mustering up a small smile. “But I am hungry,”

She isn’t entirely convinced that there isn’t something bothering him, but she decides not to push it and tightens her grip around his waist, instead.

“Race you to the lobby.”

“You’re on.”

********

“You’ve never seen Finding Nemo?”

“Was I s’posed to?”

“My god,” Alani marvels. “You know, I’m starting to believe those rumors that you were grown in a lab,”

Harry’s brow raises and he blinks. “That I was what?”

The restaurant that Glenne and Jeff chose features an aquarium tunnel at the entrance, much to both Harry and Alani’s excitement. Fish, large and small, swim around them and the pair take turns pointing out their favorite colorful species. The Hull’s snap photos for their four year-old daughter, but Jenny also secretly captures one of Harry and Alani with their hands clasped under the mesmerizing blue lighting as a keepsake for her friend.

“Add Finding Nemo to our movie list,” Alani says, admiring a clownfish that swims close to the glass.

“S’it gonna make me cry?”

“Probably,”

“Goddamnit,”

Alani giggles softly and turns her head away from the glass to silently observe Harry under the lighting of the rippling water. The combination of his serene features and the sound of Billie Holiday’s I’ll Be Seeing You over the sound system creates a perfect image in her mind, one that makes her afraid to blink, lest it be gone forever. Harry glances over at her through the corner of his eye and his lips curl.

“Checkin’ me out?”

“Always,”

“Like whatcha see?”

“Love it.”

His heart nearly stops at her words, but before he has a chance to process their implication, the hostess calls on their group.

“And I’ll have the piña colada,” Harry orders once they're seated.

“Oh my god, H,” Glenne laughs from across the table. “That reminds me, remember your birthday last year when James got trashed and hoarded the karaoke machine for, like, two hours?”

“Ruined that song forever,” Jeff quips, reliving the memory of the Late-Late host drunkenly serenading the entire party with the same song on repeat.

Harry cringes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I try not to,”

Alani watches as they reminisce on the event, adding their own details and pieces to the puzzle. It’s amusing to watch, but a small part of her also has to fight the pang of exclusion settling into the pit of her stomach. She feels guilty for being affected by it knowing, logically, that it isn’t intentional or malicious in any way. Still, Alani is painfully reminded of the vast differences between their worlds. Harry had gotten to know practically every part of her life, including her family, but there was still so much that she didn’t know about his. It was something she worked hard not to dwell on, given the novelty of their relationship, but she also worried that fear and insecurity would prevent her from investing what little of her heart Harry hadn’t claimed yet.

“Who was it that started dancing on a table and almost broke a chandelier?” Tom asks, wracking his brain.

“I think it was Ken—” Jeff hesitates, clearing his throat. “Actually, I don’t remember,”

Harry shifts in his seat beside Alani and reads over the menu, quickly changing the subject. “What’re you gonna get?”

“I don’t know,” Alani admits. “Everything looks so good,”

“Oh look,” Jenny pipes up across from Harry. “They’ve got your fav, the mango sorbet. I wonder if it’s as good as the one in Italy,”

Harry beams and reads over the item. “Oh yeah, that was amazin’,”

Alani files the detail to the back of her mind. She hadn’t known mango was his favorite flavor of anything, and while it was a trivial detail, she realized that there were so still many little details about him that she wanted to know. Harry had made such an effort to remember everything about her, like her go-to sushi order and the fact that she always saved the kiwis for last in her fruit salad, so it made her feel a touch guilty that she hadn’t made the same effort.

“Wanna share the coconut shrimp?” Alani asks with a gentle nudge to his shoulder.

“Oh, uh—”

“He’s allergic,” Glenne says offhandedly, not cold or condescending, but more in the same way that an older sister would.

“Oh my god,” Alani’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry,”

Harry laughs lightly and shrugs. “S’okay, I’d let you poison me,”

“I didn’t mean to be rude,” Glenne apologizes, reaching her hand out to Alani. “I thought you knew.”

Alani accepts the hand and waves away her concern. “No, don’t worry about it. I didn’t know, actually.”

“We can stop talking about my defects now,” Harry teases. “‘M not dyin’,”

He leans in closer to Alani and presses a kiss to her temple. “But if I was, it’d be an honor to have my last meal with you.”

She responds with a soft smile before returning her attention back to the menu. His sentiments, however sweet, unfortunately did very little to soothe the embarrassment of her mini faux pas. It was irrational, Alani knew this, but it made her wonder what else she didn’t know and what bigger secrets he was potentially keeping. Whose name had Jeff meant to say earlier to identify the mystery dancer at Harry’s party, and why had it created an awkward shift in the air? She decides not to let the spiraling questions spoil her fun and takes a generous sip of her cocktail to avoid them for the time being.

********

Harry sets the room key on the nightstand next to their king sized bed and lets himself sink down into the soft mattress. The group had spent the entire day sightseeing, from botanical gardens to scenic beaches, but he was really itching for some quality time alone with Alani. Lately, their time together had been cut frustratingly short by work, school, and life in general. Even when they were seated right next to each other with arms linked or fingers interlocked, she felt far away and he didn’t know why. He hoped that this trip would allow them time to reconnect and solidify their relationship before he had to return to California.

“Mini bar,” Alani comments, kicking her shoes off and wandering over to the small refrigerator in their suite. “Who’s paying again?”

“The label,”

“Thank you Columbia Records,”

She swipes a few bottles of tequila before climbing into the bed next to Harry.

“Wanna play a game?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and nods. “What kinda game?”

“Never have I ever,” Alani explains. “But instead of putting your finger down, you take a shot,”

“Sounds dangerous,”

“It’ll be fun. You can go first if you want,”

He hums and nods in agreement before sitting up to face her. “‘Kay. Never have I ever...named my car after a musician,”

“Cheap shot,” Alani narrows her eyes, taking a sip from the bottle of Jose Cuervo.

“Your turn,”

She fiddles with the bottle cap, a question already in mind, though she isn’t sure if she should ask it.

“Never have I ever… dated a model,”

Harry’s brow furrows, but he opens his own bottle slowly and takes a sip. “So it’s that kind of never have I ever,”

“Just trying to keep it interesting,” Alani shrugs innocently.

“Right. Never have I ever slept with a guy named David,”

Her eyes widen, but she laughs half-heartedly and takes a sip. “Jeez, okay. Never have I ever—”

“Wait, so you two actually…” Harry interrupts, trailing off at the end.

“I mean,” Alani starts, her eyes wandering to the ceiling. “Yeah, a long time ago,”

“How long ago?”

“Okay, maybe this was a mistake—”

Harry shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry. I’ll play nice,”

“Alright,” Alani accepts. She knows that she should probably steer the game back onto safer territory, but the wound has been re-opened and she can’t resist the urge to keep picking at it. “Never have I ever slept with a fan,”

Harry takes a slow sip. “Never have I ever cheated on my partner,”

The bottle stays put in Alani’s hand. “Never had I ever gone on a vacation with my partner before this trip,”

The tequila washes over his tongue bitterly like the faint memories that it symbolizes. “Never have I ever dated someone just for the publicity,”

The bottle in Alani’s hand doesn’t move, much to Harry’s relief, but her mind is not as tranquil.

“Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t,” she says slowly.

Harry takes another shot and it burns all the way down. “Why are we doin’ this?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t wanna play anymore,”

“Alani,” he starts, springing to his feet when she leaves the bed. “Hey, look at me, please,”

She blinks back the tears that threaten to spill over her lower lashes before turning to him. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid game,”

“S’just all out of context,” Harry offers, reaching for her hands. “Wasn’t the right way to have all of those conversations,”

Alani takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah, you’re right,”

“What’s really botherin’ you, hm sweets?” He coos, bringing her cold knuckles to his warm lips. “Tell me, please?”

She releases a shaky breath and tries to sift through the fog in her brain for the right answer.

“I don’t know, really, I just,” Alani hesitates. “Am I a bad girlfriend?”

“No,” Harry says quickly, his hands lifting to cup her face. “God no, you’re the best,”

“Then why didn’t I know that your favorite ice cream flavor was mango? And why didn’t I know that you were allergic to coconut, and why—”

“Hang on, is that what this is all about?” he questions. “Cause I’ll go eat an entire coconut right now,”

Alani laughs lightly and pinches her eyes shut. “No, it’s not about that. I just feel like you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met and you make me feel so fucking special and, God, I just wanna be good enough for you because—”

Harry holds his breath and watches as her eyes gloss over.

“Because I love you,” she finishes, voice small. “More than I ever thought possible,”

His own eyes sting, but he doesn’t fight the tears that fall as he presses his lips to hers firmly.

“I love you, too,” Harry murmurs. “I love you so fuckin’ much it drives me crazy,”

Alani chuckles softly. “Ditto,”

“I’ve been wanting to say it for ages, can’t believe you beat me to it.”

“Guess you’re not the only one full of surprises.”

********

The early morning sunlight creeps gently into Harry and Alani’s room, casting a soft, golden glow onto the bare skin that peeks through the white duvet. Harry stirs first, a strand of Alani’s hair tickling his nose and making him smile. He prys his heavy eyelids open and winces at the dull aching of his head aggravated by the light. Alani hears his muffled groan and sighs, willing the sun to go back down and let her sleep a few more hours.

“Mornin’ sweets,” he rasps with a warm kiss to her bare shoulder.

She peels her own tired eyes open and flashes a sleepy grin. “Good morning, sunshine,”

“How’d you sleep?”

“Super. You?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and rests his chin in his palm as he admires the traces of sleep still on her face.

“Just swell.”

Alani chuckles lightly and reaches a hand up to comb through his unruly bedhead. His skin is warm to the touch, and the light from the window casts a heavenly glow around his visage. She pokes her finger into his dimple, which elicits a soft laugh and makes his smile grow wider. They stay intertwined under the sheets as the sun fully rises and soak up their own details to keep as souvenirs from this moment. Alani takes in the scent of vanilla and the juxtaposition of Harry’s inked bicep against the plain, white sheets. He stores away the image of her sleepy, mocha eyes and the pink, manicured fingernails that trail up and down his arm. Neither of them are sure exactly how long they remain in this moment, for all they know it could be hours or days. But whatever the duration, it doesn’t seem to be enough. I need more time, Harry had told Jeff, but there was no more left to give. He had to tell her, and it was now or never.

“Hey,” he begins carefully. “I need to tell you something,”

Alani sits up to be eye level with him and nods. “Anything,”

Harry waits a beat, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pressing his lips to her bare shoulder before letting the confession spill out.

“I have to go back to L.A.,”

“I kinda figured,”

He draws in a deep sigh of relief. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Alani shrugs. “Hilo isn’t exactly Hollywood,”

“I asked for more time, but the label—”

“No, I get it. So… when? Next month?”

“Friday,”

Alani’s brows furrow. “This Friday?”

“Yeah,” Harry admits with a gulp.

“The last day of our trip?”

“Yes,”

Her heart drops into her stomach and she feels sick. It all made sense now why Harry’s mood had shifted when she jokingly asked him not to leave, and why he had been so insistent on spending as much time together as possible this week. Their game of never have I ever turned instantly defensive when asked about his dating history. Never had I ever gone on vacation with my partner before this trip. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t. He had whisked her away on a farewell trip and God knows who else had been in her place before, or worse, who would be in it next. Harry was saying good-bye.

“Wait,” Alani says finally, mind still racing too fast to process. “How long have you known?”

“Alani—”

“How long?”

Harry swallows. “Couple of weeks,”

“You knew for weeks and you didn’t tell me?” she questions incredulously.

“I tried—”

“You know that I hate surprises, you know how I feel about plans—”

“I’m sorry,” Harry insists, sitting up straighter. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but it just never felt right,”

Alani rolls her eyes. “So what, you were just gonna leave a fucking sticky note on my pillow and hope for the best?”

“Don’t say that—”

“Is that why you brought me here?” she asks, voice hoarse. “Is that why you gave me this necklace? A souvenir of our little summer fling so you could leave with a clear conscience?”

Harry’s jaw tightens. “How could you even think that?”

“Because maybe it’s true. Why else would you wait until the very last minute to tell me about this?”

“Maybe we should take a minute,” he suggests, the whites of his eyes now bloodshot. “Before we say something we’ll regret,”

“I think I already did.” Alani admits. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t.

Harry’s head pounds and he feels like he’s drowning, treading water in every direction only to be dragged further into the current. He quickly pulls on his clothes from the night before and tries to steady his breathing.

“M’gonna go wait in the hall,” he offers. “Give you some space to think and then we’ll talk, yeah?”

Alani doesn’t respond or even meet his pleading eyes. She simply tightens the duvet around her body and turns her head to the window, letting a single, bitter tear roll down her cheek. The door closes softly and she is immediately filled with regret and guilt. Had she truly meant all of the things she said? Or was it fear and the instinct to flee taking over her mouth? Alani wanted to believe that she was wrong and that Harry hadn’t intentionally kept her in the dark, but from where she stood, the sun had long disappeared behind the clouds and all that was left was the storm.

Harry trudges down the hallway and the walls spin, closing in on him slowly. If he had just told Alani sooner, everything would be different. He had avoided doing so for this exact reason and out of fear that their relationship wouldn’t be worth the risk in her mind. It was selfish—he was selfish—to try to make the decision for her, and now the woman he loved was getting ready to walk away because he had broken her trust. What else was there to do? His back meets the wall and he sinks to the floor.

“Hey H,” Jeff clears his throat from above. “We should talk,”

“She knows. Didn’t go well,”

“So she did approve the article?”

Harry lifts his head and his brows furrow. “What?”

There’s a harsh knock at the door and Alani jumps. In Harry’s absence, she had managed to cool off and sift through her frantic thoughts. She had been wrong to think that he used her, all it took was a quick stroll down memory lane to prove otherwise. He had never given her any true reason not to trust him, so there had to be some other reason why he hadn’t told her about his plans to leave so soon. Alani pads over to the door and unlocks it gently.

“Harry, I’m sor—”

“Wanna talk about surprises?” he seethes. “What the fuck is this?”

She squints at the phone screen that he holds up to her face and the title of her unpublished article stares back at her.

“I don’t know—”

“Well it has your goddamn name on it,” Harry shoots back.

Alani steps aside and lets him into the room before she closes the door behind her. “I can explain—”

“Did you write it or not?”

“Yes, but—”

He shuts the phone off and slams it face down onto the night stand. “How fucking dare you call me a liar and then pull this shit behind my back,”

“I didn’t lie,” Alani defends, voice weak. “I had no idea it was going to be published, please just listen—”

“A class project,” he interrupts with his back still turned. “That’s what you said,”

“It was never meant to be released,”

“How do I know that? How do I know you’re not just trying to cover your ass?”

“Please,” Alani begs as her vision begins to blur. “I was wrong, I shouldn’t have said all those things,”

Harry runs a hand through his hair and casts his eyes to the ceiling in an attempt to quell the emotion that pools behind his eyes.

“So why did you?”

“I was scared,”

“Of?”

Alani takes a deep breath. “Of losing you for good. Of falling in l—”

“Don’t,” he interrupts. “Don’t finish that sentence,”

“I don’t know how,” she tries again. “And I don’t know who released it, but I swear—”

“You really expect me to trust a word you say after you accused me of lying about this whole thing, about us?”

Harry’s gaze lowers back to hers and the bright, green eyes that she has come to love are replaced with a blood-shot, stormy sea that makes her stomach drop. The words get caught in her throat.

“I fucked up,” he continues. “I know that I should’ve told you. But I’m having a hard time believing that this wasn’t planned, that this random website would just accidentally publish your work without your consent,”

Alani can’t explain it either, she truly had no idea how her writing had ended up in the wrong hands. There was only one other person she had entrusted it with, but surely Dr. Hudson hadn’t betrayed her, had she? Alani didn’t know who to believe anymore.

“Harry, I’m so sorry,” she tries. “I didn’t mean what I said, and I know I can’t take it back, but you have to at least believe that I never wanted to hurt you,”

Harry is silent for a moment, and Alani decides that it’s her turn to tell the truth. There was nothing left to lose.

“At first, I did want to publish it,” she explains. “But I changed my mind and I scrapped the whole thing. In the end, the only person I intended to show it to was you,”

“So how did it get onto the internet for the whole fucking world to see?” he presses.

Alani sighs. “My advisor wanted to know what I was working on, so I sent it to her, but she never had my permission to publish it. Now I realize how stupid it sounds, but it’s the truth,”

“If you had come to me, I would have given you permission,”

“I’m so sorry,”

Harry’s shoulders tense. Every fiber of his being wants to believe her, but how could he? She had told him herself that things would be messy and warned him that he didn’t know what he was asking by pursuing a relationship with her. Maybe it really was all his fault for not seeing the signs, but that still didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t trust her anymore. And based on her reaction to the news of his departure, it seemed as though Alani didn’t trust him either.

“Even if you’re telling the truth,” Harry begins, slow and deliberate. “You still thought, after everything, that I would abandon you. And if that’s the kind of person you think I am, if that’s the person you wrote about—”

“Harry—”

“Then I hope you got all the material you wanted.”

“Please, don’t go.” Alani cries but it’s too late. The door slams and her heart falls.

After a beat, she races to the door and into the hallway but there’s no sign of Harry. As quickly as he had appeared into her life, he had vanished. Gone without a trace.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #harry styles x oc #ybmh #sorry besties <3

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beloved-child-of-the-house · 4 years ago

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Drarry rec list for @gaykagome no pressure <3 I tend to read drarry only as adults; I’m not really interested in them getting together at Hogwarts. I usually read works that have Harry specifically described as a poc. I don’t read fic that handwaves Draco’s terrible past behavior (tho not all of these will have explicit amends making) I also tend to read M+.

First gotta mention the fic that got me reading drarry fic. Here’s the Pencil, Make It Work (M) by ignatiustrout. It’s 49k so definitely a commitment, but it’s so worth it! Harry keeps bumping into Draco in the muggle world, and falls into one of his obsessively investigating Draco Malfoy phases again, and eventually kinda muscles his way into a friendship with Draco. They fall in love very gradually and naturally. Harry and Draco are both really three dimensional, vivid, heartbreaking people in recovery. They’re both working really hard to be better people, and that’s an incredibly compelling story to me. Good fun and really touching.

My darling friend @clytemenestras has written a really incredible slowburn mystery what we used to call case fic, A Guide to the Morphology of Magic. (E 64k) Sally’s Draco ear is impeccable, and his prose is incredibly affecting. If you love the mystery story aspect of the original canon, this fic is for you! Very compelling OCs too.

So Sally would want me to rec (and I agree!) Grounds For Divorce (E) by tepre. It’s kind of a behemoth at 122k, but it’s wonderful. Harry and Draco are under an enchantment that forces them to regularly spend a certain amount of time touching each other. They have a lot of growing pains learning to deal with it, and they come together and apart a few times before ending up happy together at the end. You get to spend a lot of time with the characters and watch them grow. Draco is pitch perfect, and Harry is also a delight. Harry gets to visit Egypt and meets some of his extended family, which I just love. They spend a lot of time falling in love here; it’s quite luxurious.

These are all really long, so here’s a much shorter one also by Tepre. It’s called Etched, Curled, Stationed (1.7k, T) and it’s about Grimmauld Place adopting Draco. Very sweet and lovely prose.

Here’s another one by ignatioustrout called Around You Moves (29.6k, M), and Harry and Draco are roommates in their twenties, and it’s inspired by I believe a reddit post by a guy who’d always thought of himself as straight but found himself jealous of his roommate’s hookups. Charlie writes a very soft Harry, who is an actual preschool teacher, but he does frankly show Harry’s struggle to control his emotions and identify his feelings in the wake of his traumatic upbringing, and it’s so encouraging to see Harry working on his mental health and his relationships. I also like that this story directly addresses relations between Draco and Hermione, because Harry is not the only person Draco was horrible to when they were all at Hogwarts.

So most of the stories I mentioned have a fair amount of sex in them, but this one takes the cake. It’s called Trouble, My Old Friend (E, 21k) by our old friend tepre. Harry is an Auror and investigating a certain potion that it turns out Draco invented. This potion will show you your deepest sexual fantasy. Well! Obviously Harry tries the potion and obviously it shows him Draco. Harry gets um immediately hooked on this potion. I wouldn’t call it PWP tho because it’s an interesting story that’s about sex and has a lot of sex in it.

I’m not sure why I haven’t read very much in the way of shorter drarry works, but I have written a couple of ficlets. Here’s one where they play Pokemon Go together. Here’s one where a kitten follows Harry home. Those are really fluffy and short.

Also I really found the idea of Draco being turned into a werewolf during the war to be super compelling, so I wrote a series about it! The series is called Moonrise and all 5 stories in it total 59k. The ratings vary from T-E. Harry is living in Grimmauld Place, taking in strays, and Draco finds he’s become a stray. It’s an everyone’s gay. Ginny’s gay, Luna’s gay, Neville’s gay, Ron’s bi. We’re all gay. (Sally is also writing a werewolf drarry fic, so follow wendlaa on ao3 to get an email when it drops!! i’ve read it in draft, and it’s fuckin amazing)

Speaking of Sally, if you’re looking for drarry art, you should follow @clytemenestras. And if you subscribe to his patreon, you can see horny stuff, which I highly recommend. I also really enjoy @practicefortheheart and @yemiello. Dustmouth is another fave. They’re not on tumblr, but you can see their drarry comics on ao3. This one I particularly like. It’s an epistolary story where Harry sends Draco postcards while he travels the world. I like to see Harry having some fun. Funny and sweet.

#drarry #drarry fic rec #drarry art rec #drarry fic

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mikauzoran · 4 years ago

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The Ascendancy of The Plan ™ (re: Mikau’s WIPs)

So, I feel like I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in the past few months since I last did one of these status updates. Most of the stories I ended up writing were much longer than anticipated, and I’ve had a lot of ideas just pop into my head that I hadn’t originally been planning, so this list isn’t going to look very different from the last one, but I promise that I have accomplished things, and there are some new projects in the works. ^.^;

I’m currently posting the final chapters of Among the Wild Things and Betting Against the House. Below is a list of works I have planned for the coming months. Let me know what sounds interesting or what you’re excited for.

Anhedonia: When Adrien Met Marinette: (Adrienette, post-reveal/pre-relationship, roommates) So, I’m taking a screenplay writing class, and we’re studying the scripts of several movies to get a feel for how the writer evokes different cognitive responses from the audience. One of the movies is When Harry Met Sally. I’ve never seen this movie, but apparently it’s about two friends finally ending up together after some trials and tribulations. It’s about never giving up on finding love and happiness...only I’m feeling depressed at the moment, and I don’t want to hear about true love because I’m lonely and despair of ever finding someone to share a life with. So I’m using my feelings to write a story. ^.^ Naturally. XD

It’s post-reveal/pre-relationship Adrienette. They’re roommates, and there’s been a misunderstanding because Marinette didn’t tell Adrien how she felt about him after she found out he was Chat Noir, and he’s told her that he’s over her because he thinks that the only way to preserve their friendship (since she’s already turned down his advances as Ladybug, so, obviously, she wouldn’t want him as Marinette either). It has a happy ending, and they straighten things out because I still believe in finding true love and happiness. XD I’m a sap like that, and these two deserve happiness.

Ladrien Present: (Adrienette, Ladrien) I’m still trying to write a story where Ladybug brings Adrien’s birthday party to him. ^.^; I have half of it written (the Adrienette half), and I have an outline for the rest. I just...need to sit down and make myself write it. I’ve seriously been procrastinating on this one. I don’t know what my deal is. -.-;

Marichat Prompt: This is an overflow prompt I received as part of my Productive Procrastination Prompt Giveaway. It’s about Chat Noir visiting Marinette and it somehow coming up in conversation that Marinette has always thought of Chat as a player. For some reason, this makes Chat really angry because he can’t stand her in particular thinking that about him. I thought this story out a couple months ago, but I didn’t write it down, so now I’ve forgotten, and I’m going to have to think up the plot all over again. XD

Alyadrino Prompt: Someone sent me an Ask that said, “Snuggle party makes me imagine what if nino and alya accidentally did to adrien what luka and marinette intentionally did to him in shades 12″, and I thought, “…Oh, all right. Why not?” I had a basic outline of what I wanted to do with this story a couple months ago, but I didn’t write it down, so now I have to figure it out all over again. Oh, well. I have the basic idea, I think.

Lukadrigaminette: At the beginning of the month, I thought, “I should do Valentine’s Day stories!” I ended up writing a Marichat one, and then I had this idea. It’s not Valentine’s Day related, so I decided to shelve it for later. So, several years ago, my friend and I concocted this scheme to bake for our respective crushes and win their hearts that way. It’s a really fond memory for me, and I’m turning it into a Lukadrigaminette story. Luka and Kagami join forces to bake for Adrien and Marinette in order to win their love.

Plagg and Wayzz Prompt: I got a comment on one of my stories that said, “Can you do a top wayzz bottom plagg one? Preferably in universe and in human form. Doesn’t have to be smut.” First I thought, “What the bloody hell?” because it was a comment on a Lukadrien story, and that’s all it said, and I thought, “Well, that’s random.” I’ve never really written Wayzz before, but this gave me the idea for a story where the team is up against an akuma that somehow separates them from their kwamis, leaving the heroes unable to detransform and the kwamis in defenseless human form. What I came up with really doesn’t have anything to do with the prompt other than Plagg and Wayzz will both be in human form. It will probably just end up being a Lady Noir identity reveal piece, honestly.

Supportive Adrien Lukadrien One-Shot(?): I haven’t actually pinned this story down well yet. ^.^; I was just thinking that I wanted to write something where Adrien is the one supporting and encouraging Luka, since I typically write Luka being a supportive presence for Adrien. I was thinking that the scenario could be that Luka is feeling down because Marinette still loves Adrien and things aren’t going well between Marinette and Luka, so Adrien takes Luka on an outing and confesses his love and they live happily ever after or something.

The only thing is that a different scenario is trying to creep into this story. It’s really weird. It’s post-Papillon defeat, and Adrien is twenty-four (Luka is twenty-six). He’s been in kind of rough shape the past few years since his father was arrested and he lost his family and home and fortune. He couldn’t finish university, and he’s been travelling around, trying to find work and make a life for himself. He ends up back in Paris, broke, and auditions for a band because he happened to see a flyer advertising for a new lead vocalist. It just so happens that it’s Luka’s band, and Luka ends up finding out about Adrien’s situation and taking him in and feeding him...but that scenario is just more Luka taking care of Adrien, and that’s not what I wanted to write. XD It also feels like multiple chapters, and I don’t want to go there. Oh, well. We’ll see what happens.

Adrien Trapped in AU-Land: (Adrienette, canon universe featuring AUs) My idea is based off of a writing prompt submitted by @graaythekwami on the @miraculousfanworks Discord server: AU where all the characters wake up in a different AU every chapter, fully remembering what happened in the last AU. My idea is for Chat Noir to get hit by an akuma (probably named Escapist or something equally dumb ^.^) who traps Adrien in a series of alternate realities (AUs) until he realizes his feelings for Marinette and manages to break free.

L’Amour de Loin: (Lukadrien, post-Papillon defeat, Félix wingman) I did a sneak peek for this here. This was one of the two “Winter Lukadrien Pieces” mentioned on my last status update. Adrien is living in London with his aunt and cousin three years after Papillon’s defeat and arrest. He’s in rough shape and hasn’t kept in touch with anyone from Paris. One day, he gets a text from Luka out of the blue, and they rekindle their friendship. Félix acts as wingman to ensure that it turns into something more.

Adrienette Hanahaki: Awhile ago I did an ask game about a trope I’d like to try writing, and the one I came up with was Adrien with Hanahaki disease (The one where you start coughing up flower petals due to unrequited love making flowers grow inside your lungs). I’ve been thinking about it, and I’ve decided I’d like to actually write this story. My basic outline is: Adrien starts showing symptoms, and Gabriel badgers him about whom he’s in love with, and Adrien just blurts out, “Marinette!” And Gabriel threatens Marinette into dating Adrien, and they start fake dating but then fall in love.

Happenstance and Magic: Marichat May 2019. Marinette and Chat Noir adopt kittens together, and Adrien tries to get Marinette to see that he’s not perfect but still a worthwhile person deserving of her love.

I’ve been thinking about this one, and I think I’m going to cut the number of prompts I actually use. Once I’m done with the other stories, I want to sit down and make a more thorough outline of what I want the story to be and which prompts I’m going to use to get me there.

The Seduction of Adrien Agreste: This is part of the Springtime in Wonderland (Daisy/Jabberwocky) series. It deals with Luka and Adrien experimenting with physical intimacy to see if they can reach a compromise where Luka and (asexual) Adrien are both comfortable and have their needs met.

Things Currently on the Backburner:

The Rejects Club: Predominantly Marichat with Adrienette. Chat Noir and Marinette unexpectedly grow very close very fast as they open up to one another after Marinette overhears Adrien seemingly dismissing her as a romantic prospect. Identity shenanigans at farcical levels ensue.

I can’t really deal with Rejects right now. I’m feeling super overwhelmed by basic life stuff, so I don’t really have the mental or emotional energy to put into a story where I don’t know how many more chapters there will be until the end. I’m thinking that what I have planned will take at least another one or two hundred thousand words. This thing is just so massive, and I’m not in good enough mental heath to deal with it right now.

Springtime in Wonderland: Yeah, no. See the paragraph directly above. This is another one that’s going to take another couple hundred thousand words to complete, and I just don’t have the stamina in me right now. I’d rather focus on smaller projects that actually feel attainable. I’m trying not to burn myself out.

And that’s it for the moment. I’m sure I’ll come up with plenty of other stuff between now and the next time I do a status update post, but is there anything that you’re particularly interested in? Let me know what you’re thinking.

Thoughts? Feelings? Suggestions? Opinions? ^.^

#Adrinette #Adrienette #Marichat #Lukadrien #Lukadrigaminette #Alyadrino #Lady Noir #Miraculous Ladybug #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Chat Noir #Ladybug #Luka Couffaine #Status Update #Mikau's WIP

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pebblysand · 3 years ago

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[the thoughts on canon-compliance you did not ask for.]

last night between 2 and 3 in the morning (look, i couldn’t sleep, got up to write, then got caught up, okay? don’t judge me for my terrible sleeping patterns please) i had a super interesting discussion with a few people on the hinny discord channel about the definition of canon-compliant-ness. i think this is fascinating because to be honest, before getting into the hp fandom, i didn’t even think this was something one could disagree about. to me there was what was canon, and what wasn’t. a very black-and-white sort of system. i’m finding that it’s not.

through the discussions that i’ve had both on my fics and other people’s fics, it seems that i can narrow down - in the hp fandom - three elements of canon.

i. the events of the books/films

now, as a general disclaimer, you can obviously argue about whether the films are ‘canon.’ you can also argue whether cursed child is canon. there’s a lot of elements which differ between those and lots of opinions about how to look at them. personally, i tend to ignore cursed child. as to the books v. films, i pick and choose what suits my story more. generally, that’ll be the books. but for instance, i’m writing a harry&hermione friendship one shot right now, and there are a lot of movie-isms in that story because that is an aspect that was more explored in the films. however, for the purposes of this post, i’m mainly considering the source material to be the seven books. nothing more or less.

having said that, to me personally, that’s what ‘canon’ is: the events of the story and the characters that gravitate around those events, as described in the source material. things like: tom riddle killing lily and james, or harry, ron and hermione rescuing the philosopher’s stone. anything departing from that is, de facto, an ‘au.’ the whole world of what-if scenarios: what if Harry was sorted into slytherin, what if dudley was a wizard, all of those, to me, are aus.

generally, both as a reader and a writer, those are not scenarios i’m particularly drawn to. my default answer to those what-if scenarios is: ‘well, if harry is sorted into slytherin, there’s no story.’ or at the very least, there’s no story as i know it, and if there’s no story as i know it, then i’d rather read/write original fiction. it’s obviously a very personal preference and there are exceptions to this preference. i loved the changeling [1] for instance, and love the self-aware style of dirgewithoutmusic’s aus [2]. but as a general rule, that is not my preferred genre.

now, aside from the what-if scenarios, there’s also the question of filling in the gaps of the story itself. like, i find it interesting that we only make tsunamis [3] is labelled as ‘canon-compliant’ because i get the feeling that a lot of people would disagree that a fic in which hermione is harry’s first kiss is canon compliant. but, by exploiting the silence sometimes left by the author and turning it to your advantage, are you writing an au? is a negative space canon? is silence canon?

again, as a matter of personal opinion, i would not push my definition of canon-compliance as including blank spaces. to me, as long as it does not contradict the letter of the text, adding in events to the books to suit your story (i’ll address character in point ii) does not make your fic an au. to give another example that was brought up to me regarding my own work, i don’t believe that the events described in chapter nine of castles [4] are au because they exist in a blank space of the books. the fact that harry didn’t notice the 1:1s between ginny and amycus doesn’t mean they didn’t happen, it just means that they’re not in the positive space described by the books.

ii. the characters/characterisation

(as a quick vocab note, please note that below, i’m using the terms ‘ooc’ to mean that the characterisation of a character in a fic is not canon-compliant. they’re synonyms to me.)

now, while the above was pretty straight forward, i believe that this is where i perhaps differ from the masses in my interpretation of what “canon-compliance” means. more i discuss with people, the more i realise that i don’t really think there’s a real ‘canon’ characterisation. or at least not in the big things. like, yeah, it’s canon that harry likes treacle tart, because that’s a fact. but anything that is down to psychology or perspective of the character is, to me, generally up for grabs.

as a human, i believe that there’s things that people do, events that they go through, that condition them to act a certain way. while there is a core to every human being, i personally believe that in life, anyone would basically be capable of doing anything, given the right circumstances. i’ve recently - rightfully - been told my writing is all about the power of choice in our life, the reasons why we make those choices and the people those choices lead us to be. for example, do i think i might murder someone tomorrow? probably not. do i think i might be capable of murdering someone in wartime? perhaps? i don’t know, that’s not the world i live in and my life choices have not lead me to find out the answer to that. however, my point is: to me, good ‘characterisation’ is down to the circumstances and choices outlined in any work of fiction. hence, good characterisation is essentially, to me, equal to good writing.

i often say that good writing could make me believe anything and i mean it. i don’t tend to gravitate towards these fics because these ships are not my personal taste but i genuinely believe that good writing could make me believe in drarry or rarry if it tried. it’s funny because over the course of the discussion yesterday on discord, this was brought up ‘well, no one tags drarry as canon compliant,’ and i’m kind of like, i don’t know whether or not they do because i don’t read it but if they did and none of it contradicted the events as detailed in the books, perhaps it could be? like, that would take really good writing (imo), but good writing has - on occasion - made me believe in dramione a couple of times, so why not? in ‘til the sirens come calling [5], good writing made me 100% believe that harry and hermione would have an affair together. in we only make tsunamis [3], it makes me believe that they had this quiet little relationship building throughout hogwarts that we never knew about.

now, though, i suppose the question isn’t: do i believe it? the question is: is it canon? and, i think that’s where i differ from most people because to me, it is. to take ‘til the sirens come calling [5] as an example, i believe the fic is an au because hermione marries victor krum in the end. that’s going against the hard fact presented by the epilogue, and thus makes it an au. but i don’t believe the concept of a harmony affair is inherently au, because nothing is inherently au, character-wise. it’s about how you write it. how those people get to that place. that’s what makes canon-compliantness, in my opinion.

for example, for that fic, truth be told, we don’t know what those nineteen years include per canon, so they could very much include an h/hr affair. and whilst i don’t believe that the characters as they are in the books would have an affair together, i believe that the characters as they are presented in the fic, with the events and hardships that they go through, definitely would. good writing, to me, is - in part - recognising that characters are moving on a spectrum and that whilst their decisions/actions might not make sense in book-verse, they make sense in fic-verse. good writing is convincingly moving your characters from book-verse to fic-verse, and it not feeling ‘off.’

if it does feel off, that is bad writing to me, and that is also ooc-ness/non-canon compliant. it means that for whatever reason, the writer has not successfully transitioned and explained said transition through the events outlined in the story. with the right prose, you could make me believe draco decided to take on a career as a ballerina dancer after the war, and it would still be ‘canon-compliant’ to me. on the other hand, i have read fics (i won’t name them because that would be shit and also i don’t keep track of my ‘bad’ reads) where harry, ginny, hermione, or ron all act according to book canon and yet, their motivations felt off to me and completely ooc because the writing didn’t successfully lure me in. specifically, there was a lack of character evolution that i found uninteresting. i read mostly post-war stuff because i want to see my characters grow up [6].

as a last, additional note on characters, i also think that the characters in a story only exist within the prism of how we view them. this means that to me, locking my own understanding of a character's personality as 'canon' is particularly difficult because my understanding of a character is unique. i believe there are as many harry-s or ginny-s or hermione-s as there are readers. so i think saying someone's interpretation of a character isn't canon-compliant is odd because i don't actually believe there's any wrong or right answer. as i said, do i believe it likely that draco would become a professional ballerina? no. but if that works within your understanding of his character as described in the books, who am i to say that is or isn't canon compliant? i'll admit, the idea makes me sort of lol though.

iii. tone

lastly, i’ve come to find (in potter particularly) that canon-compliance might include tone. as in: hp is a story that is a) written in a certain style and b) written for children/young adults.

regarding style at a), this is honestly the main reason why it took me 15 years to write potter fic, despite the fact that i’ve been a fan for even longer than that. i genuinely thought you had to write like jkr. and i, well, don’t write like jkr. i love the books, but i don’t even particularly like her style. i like: camus, and sorj chalandon, and sally rooney, and dirgewithoutmusic and copper_dust [7]. i have zero ambition to write like jkr and don’t particularly want to read stuff that is written like her stuff either. it’s a style that imo works for her, but it doesn’t work for me as written by other people. i don’t particularly think you need to stick to her style to be canon-compliant.

which brings me onto my actual point: b) hp is a story written for children. young adults perhaps, for the later books. it sometimes explores dark themes but the writing style, the tone, etc. is lighthearted enough that it appeals to a younger audience. there’s snogging but there’s no sex, there’s violence but the torture is mostly off-screen, etc. issues like sexual assault, substance abuse, etc. aren’t explicitely brought up in the books, although they would one hundred percent fit in a book about a war that wasn’t necessarily aimed at children. the question is whether this setting and tone is part of what we call ‘canon-compliance.’

honestly, i don’t know. i didn’t think so until it was brought up to me that castles might be a dark!au and i was like: maybe? like, if you want it to be? i know what i like to read in fanfic: i love the exploration of serious themes that were not explored in the books, or explored differently due to the fact that they were written for children. one thing i will say and insist on is that i don’t think castles is all dark. i actually make a point of having lighthearted moments in each and every chapter, even just a notch, because i am attached to the fact that life as a concept is a mixture of good and bad, and you could laugh at the funeral of someone you loved, again in the right circumstances. but yeah, to me the post-war world is dark. so if tone is part of canon-compliance, then yeah in that way castles (as well as most of the stuff i read, to be honest), is a dark!au.

as a last side note, i’m not sure what that means for my other, lighter stuff though. like are the wolf’s just a puppy [8] or slipped [9] more canon-compliant than castles? i never thought about it in those terms but perhaps? it really opens up a world of questions in my mind and i don’t really have the answers to them.

conclusion:

so in sum, as a reader, what i mean as ‘canon compliant’ is basically a) the events as described in the source material and b) the characterisation of characters as they are at the start of the fic. if character evolution is sufficiently justified and well-written in the following thousands of words that the fic has, then said characterisation can still be canon-compliant, even if the characters act different than they would have in the source material itself. i’m a fan of good writing and good writing can make me buy into literally anything. it takes me places that i've never been before and convinces me that those places are the ones i should be in.

as a writer, i hope that regardless of 'compliance,' whatever i write at least makes ‘sense’ to people within the universe, even if they don’t consider it canon-compliant, per se. i feel like i can’t really be the judge of that. from the discussions we had last night, i feel like there are as many versions of what is and isn't canon-compliant as there are people.

---

[1] the changeling by annerb

[2] the boy with a scar series by dirgewithoutmusic

[3] we only make tsunamis by disOrdely

[4] castles by yours truly

[5] ‘til the sirens come calling by vexmybones

[6] as a side note and to take my own stuff as an another example, i totally agree that harry in castles isn’t harry in the books. i don’t think there’s much debate to be had in that assertion. i wrote him like this frankly because every other fic i’d read didn’t. they often had him sort of continue to be perfectly himself after the war, which i felt wasn’t speaking to me on a deeper level. imo, i think the war’s done a lot of scarring and the fic is about him growing into a new version of himself. so, to me, if i get a comment that says ‘i don’t think harry would act this way but i really love your writing’ it’s somewhat flattering but also confusing because i don’t really understand how one can enjoy the writing but not the characterisation. to me, they’re so intrinsically linked. what the comment tells me is: i think you did a very poor job at explaining character evolution and justifying character x’s [harry’s] choices but i still like your writing, somehow? i suppose that’s nice, but it doesn’t particularly compute in my brain. like, if the character feels off, it means the writing feels off and thus, why are you still reading? i appreciate all and every comment that i get but it doesn’t mean they always make sense in my own brain. if i’m honest, these comments often send me into an ocean of self-doubt about how shit my writing must be.

[7] copper_dust’s work and profile.

[8] the wolf’s just a puppy (and the door’s double locked), again by yours truly

[9] slipped (and said something sort of like your name), same.

#writing #fic writing #canon compliant #the meaning of words #pebblysand goes off a tangent #also general disclaimer that these are my thoughts #there's no wrong or right answer #it's just my own thoughts about the meanings of words

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lilydalexf · 4 years ago

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Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with Sarah Ellen Parsons

Sarah Ellen Parsons has 18 X-Files stories at Gossamer and 19 at AO3. If you want high quality fic with interesting characters, go read her stories. Some of my favorites of her fics are The Crouching Thing and My Constant Touchstone Who Makes Me A Whole Person (which are two very different stories!). Big thanks to Sarah Ellen for doing this interview.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

With today's binge-watching culture, I'm not at all surprised. You can watch a bunch of eps and then seek out fic that is where you are in the series.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

I took away a writer's group Yes, Virginia, that is still together. Mostly as friends, but whenever I write something, or someone else writes something, it's the first place we all run for machete beta. I have betad SO MANY novels.

We have a number of folks who are published writers since then and our time in X-Files fic brought us lifelong friendships IRL and made us all better at our craft. The majority of those folks were better writers than I am. And I make my living as a writer in my day-job.

Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

I belonged to a couple of the largest lists and posted there and bitched about the show on usenet with everyone else. We had our own Yahoo group for beta. We all had crappy GeoCities websites that we programmed the HTML for ourselves and hooked through various fandom link circles to get traffic to our stories. But the main method of distribution was the lists.

Fun fact, I found a free page counter thing that I used at work one time through fandom. So fandom pays off in skillz.

Even without social media, we managed to get our stories in front of readers who would enjoy them. Where there's a will, there's always someone ready to step up and find a way.

What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

Again, I have lifelong friends IRL that I got solely from fanfiction. That's the best takeaway.

Fandom disappointed me because it, like everything else, is ruined by people's egos, backstabbing, and petty people who get in positions of power and then use those positions to punch down or dictate. I was young when I was writing X-Files and I still had hope that people would rise to their better natures, so I got involved in various futile efforts to try to make people behave the way I wanted them to behave, I guess. I did a lot of public bitching that didn't serve me or my friends well. I now put that effort into politics, where it does actual good.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

X-files was made for me. It combined science fiction, mystery, horror. I love all of those genres. Plus there was Scully. No matter how sexist that writer's room was, Scully was awesome. But you kept seeing bad writing. Even in the heyday seasons, like Season 3, there were really terrible eps that made you want to fix things.

I'm a lifelong speculative fiction fan and a published feminist science fiction author. I actually was published before I fell down the fic hole. I got involved in fanfic due to getting my fantasy novel turned down from every major publisher for being "too dark". And I needed to get readers to see my stuff to prove to myself that I wasn't terrible at writing. I got a ton of feedback and it was like market research to see what people wanted to read.

My time in fanfiction made me 100% a better writer than I was.

What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

I went to the X-Files Expo to see if I could make contact with someone from Harper Collins because the tie-in novels sucked so hard. I got rejected with my pitch as I didn't have a literary agent.

Around that time, a pal who I watched X-Files with IRL was looking for a free X-files wallpaper for her work computer when she found the website where fans in Pennsylvania had fic archived. She read some and wrote to me - "you need to see this, and you can do better." So I started reading and was.... I probably CAN do better. So I wrote The Batman Plot. And made two friends I'm still friends with with that one story.

What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom?

Nonexistent. I couldn't even watch the latest season and I saw only 2 of season one of whatever that was before I gave up. I have never watched the second movie.

X-files is my first fandom bad ex-husband. I loved it SO MUCH, but it betrayed me.

Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

I was deep into Harry Potter for a while, but I didn't end up publishing anything in it. All my stories were novel-length and I was writing so much for work, I never completed anything. I called Snape/Lily when Prisoner of Azkaban was published and got Jossed by Rowling in one of my big ideas. (This is bad fandom ex-husband 2. JKR will never get a dime of money from me again because of her hateful stance on transfolk. I have RL friends who are trans and NO.)

I wrote fic in Supernatural. It was the obvious next thing after X-Files. However, the misogyny and bringing in all the Angel/Devil Christofascist stuff lost me. The ep where they declared all other religions other than Christianity as invalid and killed a Hindu god made me stop watching for good. I know enough Christofascists IRL that I can't tolerate it in my fiction. (Bad fandom ex-husband 3)

Who are some of your favorite fictional characters? Why?

This list is far too long to actually make. But characters I spent time writing about include: Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Co. (I wrote three unpublished Star Trek novels before I found online fandom). King Arthur and Morgan Le Fay, Sherlock Holmes (I wrote a Sherlock Holmes play after seeing "Crucifer of Blood" and entered it in a national competition, where I got very nice comments back.), Mulder, Scully and Krycek, Rowling's Hermione and Snape (like him or not, its masterful characterization), Dean and Sam Winchester, John Winchester and Bobby Singer. I wrote one comedy story starring Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A couple of Roswell stories under a different name. Catwoman and Batman. I have some unpublished Avengers fanfic lying around as I'm an OG Marvel fan with a massive comic collection.

Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully?

I was on a business trip a few years ago and FX had a marathon and I watched part of it when I was in my hotel room. Early seasons are comforting, but I don't go back there now.

Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom?

I don't read X-Files fic anymore. I read a tiny bit of Star Wars after the second movie because Rian Johnson had it right. Now I don't care. I love Mandalorian, but am content to watch.

Do you have any favorite X-Files fanfic stories or authors?

Too many to count. All of YV. Which reminds me, I need to go update our entry at Fanlore. I promised Punk I'd do it a while back. I need to at least get everyone linked. Right now it's only Punk and Sab.

But it was a ton of us. Marasmus, Maria Nicole, Cofax, CazQ, M. Sebasky, Livia Balaban, Kelly Keil, Wen, Ropobop, Jess Mabe, JET, fialka, and a bunch of others that I can't remember their fic names any more, just their real names because I know them all IRL. I need to go back and look up their fic names and link them up there.

In addition to my little group of pals, I loved reading Mustang Sally and Rivka T, Rachel Anton - I keep trying to find her to encourage her to write romance if she's not doing it already, but no dice, Dasha K., Anjou, there were so many great ones, but their names have slipped my mind in the past 20 years.

What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I'm most known for Prone, and I'm proud of that story for all kinds of reasons, but I think my very best is The Crouching Thing.

I mostly didn't publish anything I didn't think was good and hadn't been machete betaed within an inch of its life, but I'm not sure much of the angsty romance stuff holds up as well. I think it worked when the show was still ON and we were all in that emotional headspace, but probably not now.

Do you think you'll ever write another X-Files story? Or dust off and post an oldie that for whatever reason never made it online?

Funny you ask. I am currently reworking a plot idea I had for an X-Files fic into a contemporary M/M novel, which I will publish under a different pen-name. The plot is the idea I had for X-Files, the characters are very, very different other than one is uptight and the other more easy-going. But no more Mulder and Scully.

Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I have been making my living as a writer for 25 years. I write the word count equivalent of 5 Tolkein novels a year, just for my day-job. I am turning back to original fiction, which is where I was before X-Files. I'm working on the M/M thing, a high fantasy thing, a low fantasy historical thing and a bunch of M/F Regency romances as I get time and energy. I publish Fantasy and SF under my real name. Romance has pen names as you don't want that getting back to your workplace, either.

SEP is fic only and here she will stay.

Where do you get ideas for stories?

I have too many ideas to count. I try to write them down when they come, so I won't forget. At least the outline of the idea. Often a scene. I've been like this my entire life. I started writing novels seriously at 15. I wrote a 500 plus page one about Morgan Le Fay during breaks in high school because "Mists of Avalon" pissed me off so bad as I'd read the original source material and that was a Wicca recruitment polemic.

What's the story behind your pen name?

Sarah Ellen was my great-grandma, Parsons was her grandma's last name.

Do your friends and family know about your fic and, if so, what have been their reactions?

Half my friends ARE fic friends. Most of my friends know as does my brother, who thinks writing for free is dumb. This is universally agreed on by non-fic friends who know. My mother still doesn't know about the fic. Just the "real" writing. I write under a pen name to keep it away from my job and my published work.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

My X-files stuff is up on Gossamer mostly. I'm trying to get the stories all moved to AO3 for all the genres. I'm working on this now. SEP is really not a living thing anymore, but there was a time when she was more me than me.

If you want to find my "real" non-fic writing, write to me at se_parsons at yahoo dot com and I will point you at it.

And PLEASE someone, hunt down Rachel Anton and get her writing something we all can BUY. Where are my old Krycek bitches at? Do any of you know where she is? [Lilydale note: I’ve tried contacting Rachel Anton for this Old School X project but have not had luck. I would love to find her too!]

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

The community I loved has mostly moved on, but I think we left a legacy of solid work crafted out of our love for the show. Find a living community you love for a show you love. There are great people out there creating and get involved. It will be worth it.

(Posted by Lilydale on December 15, 2020)

#new post #old school x #xfiles fanfic #xf fanfic #xf fanfic author interviews #sarah ellen parsons

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skinks · 4 years ago

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hi!!! what are your favourite movies? like actually good ones but also any trashy comfort movies? is IT (2017) one of them?

Hello!! IT (2017) IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THEM oh man, thank you for this, I love talking about movies!!!! This is possibly the most difficult question you could have asked me. Apologies for how absolutely off the rails this got, I just... love movies so much lmao

I’ve said this before, but opening night of IT ch1 was the best cinema experience I’ve ever had, I’m so glad I got to see it with a fully packed audience who were all laughing and screaming together the whole way through. I’m a huge fan of... everything ch1 was doing, the 80s nostalgia, the summer-coming-of-age themes, the solid ghost train funhouse JOY of the Pennywise performance and scares, the washed-out cinematography, the tiny background details to make everything that much more eerie, the kids’ ACTING?!

Like, a lot of the time I find child actors can be really awkward and stilted to watch, but I remember leaving the cinema really impressed by JDG and Sophia Lillis in particular. I liked that they were all allowed to be little shitheads with potty mouths, it felt like a callback to 80s movies like The Lost Boys or Stand By Me. The whole thing worked to make me really care about what happened to the kids (even if I do still have issues with how they handled Mike. I understand even ch1 had limitations with juggling so many characters, but still). I saw it another 2 times in the cinema and have rewatched it at least, I dunno, 7-10 more times since then?

Add to all of that the retroactive CANON R+E baby pining subplot? I just love it, as if that wasn’t obvious by now given my Whole Blog. It’s a really special movie to me!

Anyway!! Ok, the main handful of movies I rewatch all the fucking time are:

Back to the Future, The Lost Boys, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Jaws, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Ocean’s 11, POTC 1, The Dark Knight, Inception, Die Hard, LOTR trilogy, Snatch, The Nice Guys, Logan Lucky, Mad Max Fury Road, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing, Tomb Raider (2018)...

Those are the easily consumable ones that I’ve seen so many times I don’t really have to concentrate or think about them, but I really love them and unfortunately often KEEP rewatching them instead of new stuff. It would take too long to go into why I love all these movies so much because I could write the same amount as I already did for ITCH1, and everyone already knows why those movies are good, so, lol.

I think I’m gonna have to subdivide and categorise this whole post because there are too many separate criteria for... goOD MOVIES, AUUHH 😩

Okay so first off, HORROR MOVIES? I’m especially in love with Re-Animator (1985) and its sequel Bride of Re-Animator, they’re such good examples of camp and batshit 80s practical effects, and also EXTREMELY funny. I’m actually just gonna post my list of my fave horror movies that I do actually keep on my phone at all times lmao. These are in no particular order:

Wholeheartedly recommend every one of these. I’ve never been so scared in my life as I was watching Hereditary in the cinema, hoo boy. Mother! by Aronofsky is one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had (and I actually saw it on the same day I saw IT ch1 for the first time!! That was a fun day)

Psycho (1960) and The Fly from 1986 should also be on there but I couldn’t fit them in the screenshot.

I’m a HUGE fan of a ton of martial arts movies too, like Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer, Ip Man, The Raid movies, John Wick 3 is my fave of the trilogy, Drive from 1997 with Mark Dacascos is incredible, SPL 2, Ong-Bak, Operation Condor, Project A, Iron Monkey, and Zatoichi (2003) are some favourites.

My favourite Tarantino is Reservoir Dogs, fave Coen brothers are Raising Arizona, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and O Brother Where Art Thou. Love some old-timey colour correction and weird offbeat dialogue. I also love Goodfellas!!! And Donnie Brasco! And The Firm, I’m so easy for any good crime/law/gangster/heist procedural like that, especially if they’re from the 80s or 90s in a super dated way.

Fave Disney movie is Tarzan, favourite Ghibli movies are Spirited Away and Lupin III. I remember watching Spirited Away during a thunderstorm one time and it being.... god! Transcendent! Favourite Pixar movie is The Incredibles (the first one. ALSO the documentary “The Pixar Story” is great and well worth a watch, it’s very comforting for some reason) and my favourite Dreamworks movies are HTTYD1 and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron.

I tend to watch more anime movies than tv shows, so stuff like Akira, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Journey to Agartha, and my ultimate fave anime is Sword of the Stranger (2008). The climactic fight in that movie is fucking stunning and should be counted in “bests fights” lists right alongside anything live action

Also if we’re talking animated movies another hearty favourite is Rango, and a Belgian stop-motion (which at one time I considered my favourite movie ever) called Panique Au Village (2009) which is one of the funniest movies ever made imo.

As for TRASHY movies, I’m not sure if that’s the right word for how I feel about these ones but.. dumb/silly/slightly guilty pleasure movies? Ones that I feel need some kind of justification lmfao

Troy - something u must know about me is that I’m a giant slut for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, so if a movie smashes historical and mythological nonsense together with fun costumes and sword fights, I’m gonna enjoy myself. Even if they should have made Achilles and Patroclus gay. Other movies in this vein are King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and Immortals (2011)

Gods of Egypt - I know all the reasons this movie is whitewashed bullshit. But it was already bullshit with giant Anubis mecha and giant snakes and bad acting and ridiculous CGI and frankly I had a blast at the cinema (my friend who I forced to come with me did not have a blast. Sorry H***)

Avatar - yes, the one with the big blue people. This movie gets a lot of flack nowadays but I really do enjoy it just for the spectacle. The full CGI world technology was so new at the time and I love to wallow in the visuals and daydream about riding a cool dragon around in the jungle

George of the Jungle - I’ll defend this movie to the death ok this movie shaped me as a person, it is fucking hilarious and Brendan Fraser is the himbo to end all himbos. It’s perfect. The song Dela is perfect. I still want to write a reddie AU about it. It’s one of the best movies ever made and I’m not being ironic

Set It Up - I KNOW this is a dumb Netflix original romcom but consider this; it was funny and the leads had great chemistry. I got butterflies. I once watched it and then literally immediately set it back to the start so I could watch it again

The Brady Bunch Movie - when people talk about great satires or parodies you will see them bring up the same movies over and over again, Blazing Saddles, This Is Spinal Tap etc, but they never talk about The Brady Bunch Movie from 1995 for some reason, which they should. It is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and every time i watch it somehow it gets funnier

Some more general favourites that I do still love but don’t rewatch as often, and don’t wanna go into more detail about are:

Moon (2009), Crna Mačka Beli Mačor, The Sixth Sense, Parasite, The Handmaiden, Tremors, Wet Hot American Summer, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For the Wilderpeople, The Secret of My Success (I love kitschy 80s movies, is that obvious by now), The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, Rear Window, The Odd Couple, Breaking Away, Pan’s Labyrinth, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Eagle, Gladiator, The Artist, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Call Me By Your Name, Master and Commander, Pacific Rim, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Legend (1985), Emma. (2020), Flash Gordon, Trolljegeren, Hross í Oss, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, WarGames, District 9, Ajeossi (2010), Tracks (2013), Sightseers, Mud (2012), Pitch Black, Four Lions, Shaun of the Dead, Starship Troopers, The Truman Show, Withnail & I....... Jesus Christ ok I need to stop

NOTABLE EXTREME FAVOURITES that I didn’t include in the regular rewatch list because they’re too heavy/not as well known/require more attention.:

Thin Red Line (1998), Badlands (1973) both dir. Terrence Malick

Malick’s brand of dreamy impressionistic filmmaking is something I find really appealing, both of these movies are gorgeous and unusual and poignant and, in the case of Thin Red Line at least, have a lot of things to say about a lot of rough subjects. I don’t totally understand all those things sometimes, but a theme with a lot of my favourite movies is that I’ll be more likely to love something long-term if it raises unanswered questions, or is surreal/esoteric etc. Plus the cinematography is incredible, and I wish there was a way to get Jim Caviezel’s narration from The Thin Red Line as an audiobook because it’s very poetic and soothing.

Let the Bullets Fly (2010) dir. Jiang Wen

This movie is WILD, it’s so much fun. It’s sprawling and intricate and epic and smart and really fucking funny, it! Has! Everything! A gang of very tolerant outlaws!! Jiang Wen’s beautiful broad chest!!! Chow Yun Fat absolutely DECIMATING the scenery, and the two of them outsmarting each other in order to gain control of a small Chinese town!!! Plus it’s long, but it packs so much nonsense and intrigue that it goes by really fast. Wow what a flick

A Field in England (2013) dir. Ben Wheatley

I know I included this in my horror list but aaaaahhh ahhhh Wheatley is one of my favourite directors (he also made Sightseers, and is directing the Tomb Raider sequel which makes me absolutely rabid.) This is a surreal black-and-white psychological horror black comedy set in the English Civil War about some deserters who may or may not meet the Devil in a field. People eat mushrooms. It’s bonkers. I love being blasted in the face with imagery that I don’t understand

Mandy (2018) dir. Panos Cosmatos

Speaking of being blasted in the face!!!!! This movie... I saw it in the cinema and I can’t even begin to explain the experience, but I’ll try. My favourite review site described it like this:

“...somewhere between a prog album cover come to life and a metal album cover come to life, and subscribes to both genre's artistic tendency towards maximalism: what it ends up being is basically naught else but two glorious hours of being pounded by bold colors...”

So, prog and metal are my two favourite genres of music. This movie opens with the quote “When I die, bury me deep, lay two speakers at my feet, put some headphones on my head and rock and roll me when I'm dead.” and then a King Crimson song, it is SURREAL to the nth degree, it’s violent and bizarre and Nic Cage forges a giant silver axe to destroy demonic bikers and there is a CHAINSAW DUEL. A galaxy swirls above a quarry. Multiple animated horror nightmare sequences. At one point a man says “you exude a cosmic darkness” and releases a live tiger. At another point Cage says, in a digitally deepened voice, “The psychotic drowns where the mystic swims. You’re drowning. I’m swimming.” and I haven’t stopped thinking about it for two years

Paper Moon (1973) dir. Peter Bogdanovich

Really fantastic movie set in the Great Depression (and also in black & white) about a conman and a little kid who may or may not be his daughter, running cons across the Midwest. It’s beautifully shot, so sharp and sweet and the progression of their dynamic is really well done because they’re played by an IRL father and daughter. Tatum O’Neal was NINE YEARS OLD and she’s so amazing in this movie she’s actually the youngest person to win a competitive category Oscar. I keep trying to get people to watch this fbdjfjdbf it’s wonderful

Alpha (2018) dir. Albert Hughes

THIS MOVIE IS A VICTIM OF BAD MARKETING ok, the trailers made it look like some twee crappy sentimental Boy And His Dog Adventure, plus it had voiceovers in American-accented english? That’s a total disservice to one of the coolest things about this film; the fact that they got a linguist to construct an entirely original Neolithic language that all the characters speak for the entire runtime. And yes, it is eventually a Boy And His Wolf adventure, but it’s COOL and fairly brutal, and it has some really incredible cinematography. The landscapes are so strange and barren and alien, you really get the sense that this is an ancient world we no longer have any connection to. And it’s also about like, the birth of dog & human companionship sooo it’s perfect.

Free Solo (2018) dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

The Free Climbing Documentary. I loved climbing as a kid, I love outdoor sports, and I love movies that elicit a physical reaction in me, whether that’s horny, scared, real laughter, overwhelming shivers, or in the case of Free Solo - HORRIBLE SWEATING TENSION. Like, I knew about Alex Honnold beforehand because of this adventure film festival I go to every year and I followed him on IG so obviously I knew he lived, but the actual climb itself was torture. My hands sweat every time I see it!! It’s incredible, such a cool look into generally what the human body can do, and more specifically, why Honnold’s psychology and life means he’s so well suited to free soloing. It’s such an exercise in getting to know an individual and get invested in them, before they attempt something very potentially fatal.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee

I can’t even talk about this. When I was around 13 I snuck downstairs to watch this on TV at 11pm in secret, and my life was forever changed. I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t seen Brokeback at the age I did. I seriously can’t talk about this or I’ll write an even longer essay than this already is

God’s Own Country (2017) dir. Francis Lee

The antidote to Brokeback Mountain, I’m so glad I managed to see this one in the cinema too. It makes me cry every time, as someone who’s spent years working on a cold British farm with sheep it was very realistic, which is expected since Lee grew up on a farm in Yorkshire. I love that this movie isn’t really about being closeted, but about being so emotionally repressed and self-loathing that the main character finds it so hard to accept love. Or that he deserves to be loved. The cinnamontographies.... lordt... but also the intimacy and sex scenes are fucking searing wow who hasn’t seen this movie by now. 10 stars. 20 stars!!!

Tomboy (2011) dir. Céline Sciamma

I saw this years ago but I’ve never forgotten it, it cut so deep. It’s from the director of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it’s about a gnc kid struggling with gender and misogyny and homophobia in a really raw, scrappy way, it reminded me very much of my own... childhood... ahh the central performance is amazing for such a young age. I haven’t seen Portrait yet but I feel like if you went nuts for that, you should definitely check this out, it’s lovely.

Donnie Darko (2001) dir. Richard Kelly

EVERY TIME I WATCH THIS MOVIE I UNDERSTAND LESS AND LESS and that’s what I love so much about it. I love surreal movies, I love time-fuckery and stuff about altered perception etc etc and Donnie Darko scratches all my itches. I wish I could find a way to figure out an IT AU for it, because I know it would work! Somehow! Plus it’s got the subdued 80s nostalgia and I found it at an age when I was really starting to explore movies and music and the soundtrack FUCKS.

Offside (2006) dir. Jafar Panahi

I wish more people knew about this!!! It’s an Iranian film about a disparate group of women and girls who are football fans and want to watch Iran’s qualifying match for the World Cup, but women aren’t allowed into the stadium, so they all get thrown into the Stadium Jail together? They don’t know each other beforehand, but it’s about their changing relationships with each other and the guards and just, their defiance alongside hearing the match from the outside and WOW it’s so lively. Great dialogue and very funny, and such a different kind of story from anything you usually see from Hollywood.

The Fall (2006) dir. Tarsem Singh

This movie... I guess it’s the ideal. This is the platonic ideal of a film for me, it has fantasy, magical realism, glorious visuals, amazing score and costumes and production design and a really interesting, heartbreaking relationship at the core of it. I don’t know why so many of my favourite films feature incredibly raw performances by child actors but this is another one, Catinca Untaru barely knew any English and improvised so much because of that, and it’s fascinating to watch! Also the dynamic with Lee Pace is one of my favourites, where a kid forms a friendship with a guardian figure who isn’t their parent, but the guardian grows to really care for them by the end. It’s like Paper Moon in that sense. What is there to even say about this movie, it’s pure magic joy tempered and countered by genuine gutwrenching emotional conflict in the real world, it’s also ABOUT old moviemaking, in a way, and it’s stunning to look at!

Mad Max Fury Road (2015) dir. George Miller

I know I included this in my “most rewatched” section but it deserves its own thing. We all know why this movie is fucking incredible. I remember clutching my armrests in the cinema and feeling like my skeleton was being blasted back into the seat behind me and tbh that is the high I’m constantly chasing when I go to see any movie. What a fucking gift this film is

Théo et Hugo dans le Même Bateau (2016) dir. Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau

I only found this movie last year and it became an instant favourite. Initially I was just curious because I’d never seen a movie with unsimulated sex before, but it’s so much more than the 18 minute gay sex club orgy it opens with. No, not more than, AS WELL AS. The orgy is important because this movie is so candid and frank about sex and HIV treatment in the modern day, it was eye-opening. Another thing that really got me is that I’d never seen a real-time film before. It’s literally an hour and a half in the lives of these two men, their intense connection and conversation and conflict in the middle of the night in Paris, with some really nice night photography and just!!! Wow!!! AMAZING CHEMISTRY between the actors. This is such a gem if you’re comfortable with explicit sexual content.

Ok. This is already over 3k but film is obviously one of my ridiculous passions and I can and do talk about it for hours. I’ve been reading magazines about it for years, listening to podcasts and reading review blogs and recently, watching video essays on YouTube because the whole process is so interesting to me and I want to learn more!!

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of valuing form over narrative. The idea that story can often come second to the deeper physical experience and emotional reaction that’s created by using ALL the elements of filmmaking and not just The Story, y’know? Whether that’s editing, shot composition, colour, the sound mix, the actors, how it should all be used to heighten the emotional state the script wants you to feel. And so, I think for a few years now this approach has been influencing the types of films I really, really love.

I think I love surreality and mind-bending magical realism in films specifically because the filmmakers have to use all those different tools to convey things that can be way too metaphysical for just... a script? I’m always chasing that physical response; if a movie can make me stop thinking “I wonder what it was like to set up that shot” and instead overwhelm that suspension of disbelief, if I can be terrified or woozy or crying for whatever reason, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s why I watch so many fuckin movies, and why I’ll always remember nights like seeing IT (2017) for giving me another favourite.

Thank you again for this question, I didn’t mean to go so overboard. Also there’s no way to do a readmore on tumblr mobile so apologies to anyone’s dashboard 😬

#long post #films #this is like bill hader being asked to pick his fave comedies and he gives a 4 page list #he has such good taste though ahhahbfhfhfhh lemme talk with him nonstop about movies while i ride him. thank you

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bcimbatmandude · 4 years ago

Text

More Human Than Meets the Eye-part 2

Here’s part 2 of the first episode guys! Thanks for reading!

Previously: "I'll be back very soon," he promised quietly. Adaline said nothing, only gazing at her father very seriously for several seconds. She bit her lip and creased her eyebrows and John had to fight back a smile at the adorableness. He didn't dare move for fear of interrupting the father-daughter moment.

She nodded then, and Sherlock moved towards her, grabbing her small body in a tight hug before kissing the side of her head. He stood to his full height once again, and bounded outside.

"The game is on!"

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Sherlock called for a taxi and soon the two of them were headed for Brixton. They sat in silence for a while. Sherlock fidgeted on his Blackberry phone while John stole nervous glances between him and the outside scenery. Finally, Sherlock lowered his phone."You have questions," he stated.

John noticed that he didn't pose it as a question. "Yeah, where are we going?" he started."Crime scene. Next?"

"You have a daughter."

Sherlock paused; he wasn't expecting that to be the next question. "…yes," he drew the word out a bit. "I apologize for not telling you about her when we first met. I realize that living with a child isn't exactly ideal for some people but…"

"No, no it's alright," John interrupted, shaking his head. "I don't really mind. She's adorable," he chuckled. "Isn't she?" Sherlock agreed, smirking. "I'm quite attached to her myself."

"If you don't mind me asking, where's her mother?"

"Dead," Sherlock answered concisely.

"Oh my…I'm so sorry. That was so uncouth of me. I didn't think…" the army doctor began sputtering. "Oh it's fine," Sherlock reassured the man. "She died about seven years ago. Very close to the time Adaline was born."

"You raised her all on your own then?" John inquired. "Somewhat," Sherlock said simply. He didn't make a notion to elaborate. John felt as though he'd already pried far too much at this point, so he quickly moved on."So, uh, who are you then? What do you do exactly?"

"What do you think?" Sherlock countered, looking outside."Well," John began, hesitant, "I'd say private detective…" "But…" Sherlock prompted."…but the police don't go to private detectives."

"I'm a consulting detective. Only one in the world. I invented the job." "What does that mean?" John asked, completely overcome by his curiosity now. "It means," Sherlock started, "that when the police are out of their depth, which is always, they consult me."

"The police don't consult amateurs."Sherlock looked away from the window at that moment, and John almost felt bashful with the look he was giving him. He stopped himself from retracting his statement. "When I met you for the first time yesterday, I said, 'Afghanistan or Iraq?' You looked surprised."

"Yes I was. How did you know?" John asked him, leaning forward in his seat.

"I didn't know. I saw. Your haircut, the way you hold yourself, says military. But your conversation as you entered the room…It was quite obvious that you were an army doctor. Your face is tanned but no tan above the wrists. You've been abroad, but not sunbathing. Your limp gets really bad when you walk but you don't ask for a chair when you stand, like you've forgotten about it, so it's at least partly psychosomatic. That says the original circumstances of the injury were traumatic. Wounded in action, then. Wounded in action, suntan….Afghanistan or Iraq," he loudly clicks the 'K' sound at the end of the final word, and John just stared. He was in utter disbelief of this man.

"You," John started, and found he had to clear his throat. "You said I had a therapist."

"You've got a psychosomatic limp – of course you've got a therapist. My daughter could figure that out. Then there's your brother."

"Hmm?" John prompted him to continue.

Sherlock held his hand out and John looked at him questioningly. Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Your phone please." John looked at him wearily but reached in his side pocket, handing the detective his device dutifully. Sherlock took it and examined it as he spoke. "Your phone is expensive, e-mail enabled, MP3 player, but you're looking for a flat share. You wouldn't waste money on this. It's a gift, then."He turned the phone over, studying the back. "Scratches. Not one, many over time. It's been in the same pocket as keys and coins. The man sitting next to me at this moment wouldn't treat his one luxury item like this, so it's had a previous owner. The next bit of course, is child's play. You know it already.""The engraving," John said quietly.

Harry Watson

From Clara Xxx"

“Harry Watson. Clearly a family member who's given you his old phone. Not your father, this is a young man's gadget. Could be a cousin, but you're a war hero who can't find a place to live. Unlikely you've got an extended family, certainly not one you're close to, so brother it is. Now, Clara. Who's Clara? Three kisses says it's a romantic attachment. The expense of the phone says wife, not girlfriend. She must have given it to him recently – this model's only six months old. Marriage in trouble then – six months on he's just given it away. If she'd left him, he would have kept it. People do – sentiment. But no, he wanted rid of it. He left her. He gave the phone to you: that says he wants you to stay in touch. You're looking for cheap accommodation, but you're not going to your brother for help: that says you've got problems with him. Maybe you liked his wife; maybe you don't like his drinking."

John was absolutely beside himself at this point, and couldn't contain the wonder in his voice. "How can you possibly know about the drinking?" Sherlock merely smiled at the man. "Complete shot in the dark. Good one, though. Power connection: tiny little scuff marks around the edge of it. Every night he goes to plug it in to charge but his hands are shaking. You never see those marks on a sober man's phone; never see a drunk's without them." Sherlock got a somewhat dark look on his face at that point, but it came and went so quickly John wasn't sure if he'd imagined it or not.

The detective handed the army doctor his phone back, and said, "There you go, you see – you were right." John looked at the man, both eyebrows raised now. "I was right? Right about what?"

"The police don't consult amateurs." Sherlock looked out the window again after he said this, and he bit his lip nervously, awaiting John's reaction. John saw this action and realized where Adaline had picked it up from.

Sherlock was sure he had just blown the whole getting a new flat mate thing. He had let his mouth run away again, and he and Adaline were probably going to have to move, yet again. He felt shame wash over him, and a bit of disgust. How was he going to explain this to his daughter?

"That…was amazing."

When Sherlock heard John's words, he whipped his head around to stare at him, shocked. He didn't say anything for several seconds. "Do you think so?" he said coolly, trying not to convey the surprise he was feeling.

"Of course it was," John nodded emphatically. "It was extraordinary. It was quite extraordinary."

"That's not what people ordinarily say," Sherlock admitted. "What do people normally say then?" John asked.

"Piss off." Sherlock smiled briefly at John who laughed quietly and looked out the window.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

The cab arrived at Lauriston Gardens, and the two men got out and walked towards the police tape that was strung across the road. "Did I get anything wrong?" Sherlock asked while they walked. He just wasn't able to contain his curiosity.

"Harry and me don't get on, never have. Clara and Harry split up three months ago and they're getting a divorce; and Harry is a drinker," John explained. Sherlock's chest puffed up a bit, and John laughed at how impressed he looked with himself.

"Spot on, then," the detective bragged. "I didn't expect to be right about everything."

"Harry's short for Harriet."

Sherlock stopped dead in his tracks, and noticing this, John stopped as well, looking back towards the man. "Harry's your sister."

"Look," John said, continuing onwards again. "What exactly am I supposed to be doing here?" Sherlock muttered to himself furiously, gritting his teeth together. "Sister! There's always something! Another lesson to impart to Adaline then…"

The two men approached the police tape where they were met by Sergeant Donovan. "Hello freak," Donovan sneered, and John was taken aback by the malice in her tone. "I'm here to see Detective Inspector Lestrade," Sherlock cut to the chase, annoyed already. "Why?" she asked stupidly."

I was invited," he explained shortly.

"Why?" she repeated. John realized at that moment that he didn't very much like this woman.

Sherlock sighed to himself, as though trying to gather up the bit of patience he had left. "I think he wants me to take a look."

"Well you know what I think, don't you?"

"Always, Sally," he muttered, and began lifting up the tape.

"Where's baby freak?"

John watched as Sherlock stopped all of his movements. His back became tense and he didn't move for a very long four seconds. Suddenly he took a deep breath and turned to look at the woman. "You didn't make it home last night," he said simply."I don't…" Donovan started. "Who's this?" she countered, looking at John.

John opened his mouth to answer but Sherlock beat him to it. "Colleague of mine, Doctor Watson." Sherlock turned to John with a bored look on his face. "Doctor Watson, Sergeant Sally Donovan." He paused then, and his nose twitched a bit. "Old friend."

"A colleague?" the woman screeched. "How do you get a colleague?! What, did he follow you home?" she questioned John, and he pursed his lips together in annoyance towards the woman's attitude. "Look," he said, choosing to look at Sherlock. "Would it be better if I just waited and…"

"No," Sherlock said, lifting the tape for him. The two of them walked towards the crime scene. Donovan lifted up her radio to her mouth. "Freak's here. Bringing him in." John heard her comment and shot a glance towards Sherlock out of the corner of his eye. Sherlock appeared as though he hadn't heard her.

When they got to the pavement, a man dressed in a coverall walked out of the house, approaching the two men. "Ah, Anderson," Sherlock said to him. "Here we are again."Anderson looked at him with distaste. "It's a crime scene. I don't want it contaminated. Are we clear on that? It's bad enough you bring your baby freak up here sometimes. Training them young are we?"

Sherlock took another deep breath in through his nose, and when he spoke, he voice was steady. "Quite clear. Is your wife away for long?"

"Oh don't pretend you worked that out," Anderson sneered. "Somebody told you that."

"Your deodorant told me that."

"My deodorant?" Anderson repeated. Sherlock smirked then. "It's for men." Anderson scoffed. "Well of course it's for men! Í'm wearing it!"

"So's Sergeant Donovan."

Anderson stopped and looked around in shock at Donovan. Sherlock sniffed very pointedly. "I think it just vaporized. May I go in?"

Anderson turned back around and pointed at the detective angrily. "Now look: whatever you're trying to imply…"

"No, you look," Sherlock suddenly thundered, and John had to stop himself from stepping back at the man's sudden change of tone. "I can excuse you calling me names. The two of you are blubbering idiots and together have the IQ of a flea." John watched as Sherlock bowed himself up even more towards the man. "However, if the word freak leaves your mouth one more time in concerns to my daughter..if I even feel as though your tongue is trying to form the word, or any other type of derogatory, vile name, I will make both of your lives an absolute living hell."

Sherlock leaned in close to Anderson's face, who at this point looked as though he was trying to get a hold on himself."Do. Not. Test Me." He finished darkly. He shoved himself past both Anderson and Donovan, and John snickered at their pale faces.

"Also," Sherlock started again, and the two of them looked at the man cautiously. "I'm sure Sally came round last night for a nice little chat, and just happened to stay over. And I assume she scrubbed your floors, going by the state of her knees."

Anderson and Donovan looked at the detective in horror. He looked at them pointedly, then turned and walked into the house.

John walked past Donovan, briefly looking down to her knees, and back up to her face. He raised an eyebrow at her, making sure the woman knew he was judging her, and followed Sherlock inside.

that’s part 2 over and done with! thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

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maxiekat · 5 years ago

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In a world full of rom-coms, when was the last time you cried over an onscreen breakup that actually stuck? No grand gestures to save the day, just pure, raw, lust and heartbreak. If you want to get so deep in your feels you forget if you’re actually heartbroken or just bleary-eyed over someone else’s love story, then you may need to subscribe to the church of Drake Doremus.

The director is known for his mostly improvised, chill-inducing romantic dramas (Like Crazy, Newness, Equals) and his latest is a tender-to-the-touch look at a modern love triangle in Endings, Beginnings, which premieres Sunday at Toronto Film Festival. Much like his previous work, Endings, Beginnings is clever and cutting, but also soft and quiet. Shailene Woodley is at the heart of the film playing Daphne, a thirty-something artist (her specialty is hand-painted tea pots, which she sells on Etsy) who recently and abruptly quit her job and ended her long-term relationship with her boyfriend (Matthew Gray Gubler, in his third Doremus film).

Looking for a hard reset on life, Daphne moves into the pool house of her much more together older half-sister. She also stops drinking, focuses on looking for a new job, and cuts men out of her life. Until, of course, she meets two men at a New Year’s Party. One’s brooding, asking her for a light of a cigarette in the most drunken and charming of ways. He’s wearing a shearling jacket, worn-in with adventures. The other’s in LA’s version of a suit — he’s put together, and looks at her with the steady intentness. Daphne should be avoiding both, but she quickly becomes enamored with bad boy Frank (Sebastian Stan), a nomad who drinks absinthe, and good boy Jack (Jamie Dornan), an academic who has a dog and dreams of moving to Europe. What starts as innocent text-flirting evolves into two full-blown relationships. Oh, and the guys are best friends.

When Stan first read for the film, he read for both Frank and Jack’s role, but what really attracted him to the heady rom-dram was Dormeus himself, of whom he’s been a huge fan. “I met him and I said, ‘I gotta tell you, I don’t know which one of these people you are seeing me as, but I really relate to both of them. I love both,’” he says over the phone to Refinery29. Stan’s in London where he’s filming the spy-thriller 355, a movie he says is “stylistically and tonally very different,” than Endings, Beginnings, but with “a couple of similarities here and there.”

“And we just got very deep. We got into relationships and being in our 30s and the world we are in right now, and all our experiences.” The vulnerability seen on-screen between Woodley, Stan, and Dornan is something special, and almost entirely improvised, based on just 30 pages of notes. Endings, Beginnings is a far cry from the big budget Marvel movies you’re used to seeing Stan in (he plays Captain America’s pal Bucky Barnes in seven Marvel movies and one upcoming spin-off series.) I was reading your Instagram post earlier gushing about working on this film with Drake. When did you become a fan of his, and why did you two think Frank was the role for you?

“I was aware of [Drake] for awhile. Like everyone else, I loved Like, Crazy, and then I also like his recent movie with Nicholas Hoult, Equals. I was also just really interested in doing a movie and improvising — because the entire movie is practically improvised. I never worked in that medium before. I got a call saying, Hey do you want to meet with Drake and talk about this movie [and] read the draft?, which was basically like 30 pages. There were two guy [parts] at the time. I met him and I said, ‘I gotta tell you, I don’t know which one of these people you are seeing me as, but I really relate to both of them. I love both.’ And we just got very deep. We got into relationships and being in our 30s and the world we are in right now, and all our experiences. Again, I didn’t really know that is where we were gonna go, but he was very honest with me and I was honest with him. We parted ways, and the next thing I knew he called me to have a session with somebody at the time that he was thinking of for the role as Daphne, and I went in and had a 3-hour improv session with him, then he called me and told me that he wants me to do the Frank role and I was fine with that.”

Only 30 pages. Everything else is improv? All the film’s dialogue?

“Yes, that is all literally on the day, in the moment, happening real-time. Basically, the script that he had was just the outline: Daphne comes out a recent relationship and moves in with her best friends. They’re having a New Years Party, and she runs into Frank who asks her for a cigarette. It was all outlines, but in terms of the dialogue and how we would get there, that was all improvised. That was an interesting experience because I had never worked that way and no take is ever the same. I walked away from that experience feeling very vulnerable. You’re not hiding behind any lines.”

The improvisation really added to the film. I left it feeling more emotional than I expected.

“We’ve all had relationships, and we know how tricky they are. They’re complex and there’s many layers. I don’t know — I have always loved romantic comedies. I grew up on When Harry Met Sally and all that, but I sometimes feel that relationships aren’t entirely depicted as messy and as raw and as painful as they are. That’s why I loved working with him because I feel like he gets to the core of situations. I’m happy to hear you related to it because that is what he wants. He wants you to go, 'I’ve had that conversation...been in that situation.’”

There’s been a resurgence in romantic comedies, but not so much romantic dramas like this. Do you think there’s a reason why?

“I love romantic comedies and there is a space for them, but [rom coms] are hopeful. Sometimes when I go to the movies, I don’t want to necessarily see what my life is. I want to be like, Hey! It’s nice to think that maybe that could be that way. If you want to be inspired, or laugh a little bit — there’s that element of it. And sometimes you want to see a movie that makes you feel less alone in your experience. A lot of European films are much closer to this, and I think Drake loves a lot of European films and is influenced by them and the personal quality. Structurally in romantic comedies, you have bigger things happening, right? Whereas [in this movie], there are big things happening, but there’s a much more subtle transition through everything.”

Frank is the “player” of the film, while Jack is the “good guy,” for lack of a better phrase. You’ve said before that you didn’t really know why you were often cast as the “bad boy.” Do you still not know why?

“I don’t know! [Groans] I don’t know. The truth is, the reason I was saying [I could play] Jack was that I talk a lot in my life. I philosophize a lot. I try to read things. Then I think about it, and then I wanna talk about it. I relate to that [aspect of Jack]. And actually, there was a lot to Frank and Daphne that we shot that was funny. They had a lot of their own back and forth, but what ended up being in the movie — I think Drake never forgot the vision that he had for Frank — [was him] being much darker than we shot. I am happy it ended up that way because there needed to be a contrast.

But I don’t know! I am glad they think I can do this. I am one of the most over-thinking, neurotic people I know. So I don’t know how it happens, but it keeps happening.”

I thought a big part of Frank also was his big shearling jacket. Since most of the movie was improvised, did you have anything to do with his outfits?

“Oh yeah, I kept that jacket, first of all. It’s a great jacket. What’s great about Drake is that he was like, ‘Hey, listen, people wear the same stuff all the time. If something works, let’s just it.’ I was like yeah, the guy probably kind of flies by the seat of his pants anyways so he just has a few things. I think I wore some of my own jeans. The boots I wore were mine. Drake definitely wanted us to wear our own stuff so we could feel comfortable in it.”

This was originally called No, No, No, Yes and ended as Endings, Beginnings. How did the title change shape the movie?

“It was always a working title. I saw that it was paired up with her experience — every no and every yes was paired to one of the relationships that she was going through. Endings, Beginnings is a little more specific. I know for awhile he was even contemplating a title that was even just made up of emojis which I thought would have been really fun.”

Oh yeah. I loved the texting aspect in this movie.

“There is an element of texting in the time period we are in, and there is this new language to it. They got it in the sense that both Jack and Frank have their very specific ways of texting. Jack probably uses punctuation, and Frank does not. [Laughs]”

You’ve worked with a few of the Big Little Lies women now. Do you have plans to work with the others like Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon, or Laura Dern?

“That has not hit me — that’s kinda funny. I don’t think I have ever met Reese Witherspoon and I’ve met Laura Dern. If the opportunity presents itself then great. I certainly wouldn’t have had a problem if there had been a role in the second season. I would have done it in a second. I loved the first season.”

I have one more that I have to ask about — obviously Gossip Girl is getting rebooted, and Chace [Crawford] said it made him feel “old,” but he’d be down. Have you thought about it at all?

“[Laughs] I don’t even… it’s so weird. Somehow a lot of people talk to me about Gossip Girl, and I always thought I was just a guest star. It was a very special show. It certainly defined those years, and we all got our start there in a way. It would be hilarious and weird and crazy. He’s right — we are old! I don’t know what business they’d have with me, but, Jesus. If there was some funny little witty thing and they called and we’re like, ‘We’re doing this thing and we have everybody….’ I’m not gonna be the asshole that says no. Maybe I’ll be in the background scooping some ice cream.”

#sebastian stan #endings beginnings #drake doremus #gossip girl #shailene woodley

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doggernaut · 5 years ago

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Fic behind the scenes: Merry Christmas, I’m Yours

Since I wrapped up my Zimbits fic, Merry Christmas, I’m Yours, yesterday, I wanted to write a behind the scenes post about my writing process. Truly, I have no idea if anybody is interested in this, but I always love it when other fic writers give insight into their stories so I figured why not. My writing process was so different for this one that I thought I might talk about it a bit, as well as about the bits and pieces I decided to include versus leave off the page.

(Full disclosure before I really get into it: My husband and I were still in high school when we met, and we dated through college, so I am very pro-Zimbits-getting-together-in-college-and-staying-together-forever for that reason. But I love love love AUs where they get together later in life. There’s something very tender about those stories and I will happily read every single one.)

So, Merry Christmas, I’m Yours. I’ll start with the title, because I don’t want to forget to mention the lovely song I took inspiration from: “Merry Christmas, I’m Yours” by Brittain Ashford. I kind of have a thing for melancholy Christmas music, and when none of the songs in my own extensive library were quite the right fit, I found this one by searching phrases like “melancholy Christmas” and “bittersweet Christmas.” I eventually found a giant playlist that included this song, and when I listened to it I knew it had to be the one. It captures that perfect balance of romance and longing that can be especially potent during the holidays:

No, I'm not ready to leave yet

I don't want to go

Though I packed my things

And the air here smells like snow

We heard a church choir singing from the chapel next door

Merry Christmas, love

Merry Christmas, I'm yours

There is another song, “Brightly Above,” by the same artist that felt lyrically and tonally perfect for this fic as well:

And we walked across town in the snow

Uncertain where we were to go

And I've not forgotten the years that

We spent trying to get where we are now

We fight as we will,

And the light still shines.

I keep it on, your hand in mine. Now please:

Sing with me under this tree, and the lights that go clear to the sky

Under this tree, beneath the stars,

Burning brightly above where we are

So just imagine me listening to these songs on repeat as I wrote.

I came at this wanting to write a fic inspired by When Harry Met Sally, which is one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite tropes. (I have, for years, been trying to work out an original YA novel inspired by WHMS.) But there was also a second inspiration: A friend of mine was in a long-term, long distance relationship with her best friend. They were best friends for several years before they began dating, and when he moved back to his home town, she told me, they still talked every day. When they were finally able to reunite in person a year or so later, they realized they were in love.

Their breakup after three years of long-distance dating, she said, was devastating. They’re not best friends anymore. They can never be friends again.

So I wanted to write a story about that — about what happens if Harry and Sally get together and don’t stay together. Except I didn’t really want to write that, I wanted to write something with a happy ending. So I thought, what if Jack and Bitty are in love, and they both know they’re in love, but they never talk about it or pursue a romantic relationship because they’re too worried about destroying their friendship if they break up? What if that friendship is the most important thing in the world to them, and they don’t want to risk losing that?

I also had this single line, from an abandoned fic that was going to be about Bitty and Jack both being sad and going through kind of a rough patch (individually and together) later in their relationship after Jack gets traded to a California team: “Bitty has an orange tree in California.” (Don’t worry, it was going to end happily.) I never wrote that fic but I stole that detail for this one.

This was initially going to be a lighthearted 5 +1 fic, five times Jack spent Christmas with Bitty and didn’t tell him he loved him, and one time they spent the holiday together as a couple. It was going to be funny, and everyone was supposed to laugh about how dumb they are to take forever to figure things out. The chapters were going to be much shorter and I was going to post it over five days right before Christmas.

Hahahahaha.

This fic made a hard left into Angst Town in Chapter 2 and went off the rails from there.

I initially wrote out an outline with a timeline but that quickly went out the window. The biggest changes were shifting from Jack’s singular POV to alternating POVs. That shifted a lot of the plot because I decided certain parts worked better as Bitty’s story. This also meant having to scrap entire plot points. For instance, at one point Bitty was dating a personal trainer Jack hated, who had him on some crazy raw food diet (ergo, no more baking), and there was going to be a big argument in which Jack calls Bitty out for going to to LA and forgetting who he is and Bitty tells Jack to mind his own business. In the original outline, they’re so mad at each other after this argument that they don’t speak for several years and Bitty finds out Jack is engaged to another person while watching a morning show interview.

(Making that change meant I had to cut this bit, which I really liked:

“Sam seems nice,” Bitty says.

“So does Brett,” Jack lies. Maybe it’s not what Bitty needs to hear, but it’s what he wants to hear. Truthfully, Jack thinks anybody who would ask Eric Bittle to change himself is kind of an asshole, but then, he reasons, Bitty did say he hired Brett to be his trainer before they started dating. Maybe Bitty likes salads and kombucha. Maybe that’s who he is now.)

In the original outline, Bitty does something in media for his job. I couldn’t decide if I wanted him to have a behind the scenes industry job or an on camera role. I eventually settled on having him work in advertising instead because I thought it would be interesting for him to just kind of fall into an entry level job after college, maybe never intending to make it his career, and discovering he’s really good at it. I also wanted him to have a job that didn’t involve baking at all because part of his arc was losing that part of himself and discovering it again.

Given the structure of the fic, with chapters taking place in five year increments (until I got to the final chapters), there are a lot of big life moments that are unmentioned or glossed over. I never wrote about how Jack comes out to Bitty and their friends, or why/how Bitty got the job in advertising. I didn’t go into detail about their relationships with other people or each of their career highlights or how Bitty eventually comes out to his parents. The focus was always meant to be on Jack and Bitty together.

Other things that happened off-page: Jack publicly comes out sometime between Chapter 3 and Chapter 5. Shitty and Lardo have a couple of kids (and they ask Jack and Bitty to be their godfathers) even though they aren’t mentioned until Chapter 5.

And my timeline got completely scuttled. I originally had the events of chapters 3 (Shitty and Lardo’s surprise wedding), 4 (Bitty in California), and 5 (Christmas with the Knight-Duans) in a different order. At one point, parts of the epilogue were parts of Chapter 5. When they were finally in the order that made the most sense for the flow of the story, it didn’t make sense to have the five-year gap between Jack’s retirement and finally getting together.

I regret committing to those five-year increments now (one of the hazards of posting chapter-by-chapter as I write) because the story feels off balance to me. But these characters just would not do what I wanted them to do, and instead of building toward a big, shouted love confession in the final act à la When Harry Met Sally, they kept slipping up and telling each other before I got there. This upped the (already more than I intended) angst quite a bit because while in my original outline they both knew and just never acknowledged it, actually speaking it aloud and not being in a position to do anything about it seemed especially cruel.

But the biggest change, as I mentioned, was that this lighthearted story turned out a lot more sad and bittersweet than I had planned.

There’s a lot of ground to be covered in twenty (give or take) years. And I’m old enough to know that it isn’t all sunshine and roses. It’s just the stuff of life. I wanted to include some of those realistic touchstones in this fic. Sometimes you spend years working toward a professional goal and finally get your dream job, only to get unceremoniously laid off at thirty-seven. Sometimes your job transfers you from a place you really love to a city you hate. Sometimes you switch careers in middle age (though most don’t go from being a professional athlete to whatever Jack does). Sometimes you live a happy, childfree existence, only to decide in your forties that you actually do want kids (hi, Shitty and Lardo). Sometimes you spend years with the wrong person and make the painful decision to move on. All of these have happened to me or people I know. So yes, Bitty gets the fabulous career (I always want Bitty to be wildly successful) and has fun with a lot of hot boys in West Hollywood, and Jack gets to win a few Cups (off-page), and they both have fulfilling sexual and romantic relationships with other people in the years before they get together, but they also have setbacks and disappointments. The important part is that they’re always there for each other.

And then when they finally do get together, they’re not young and dumb (well, still kind of dumb) like they used to be. They have real adult problems like aging parents and home repairs and random aches and pains and slower metabolisms. They are, in Bitty’s case, living off of unemployment and trying to start over mid-career. They love each other so much, but they have baggage.

When you get together in college, you get to pack those bags together.

When you get together in your forties, those bags are already packed and they move with you from place to place. None of that is exactly sexy, but it’s part of what happily ever afters are made of. And ultimately, that’s the story I wanted to write.

#omgcp fic #my fic #behind the scenes #mostly for myself but for anybody else who might be interested

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tepre · 5 years ago

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It's Trivia Tuesday!! Can you give us a “behind the scenes” look at one of my fave fics of yours: All The Earnest Young Meeeeennnnnn !! 😍(well fuck there's no origami emoji??) This could be things that got removed or changed, the origins of ideas/details, whatever you like! (And feel free to pass on the ask ;)) Happy holidays darlin 💚

AHHHH THIS IS SO SWEET! 😭

SO, All the Earnest Young Men:

Oh god, this fic. This chaos of a fic. It came together in such a strange way?? I was rewatching Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency over the summer and was hit, ANEW, by how much I loved Dirk & Todd’s dynamic -- where Dirk was EXASPERATING and ANNOYING and lovable and so convinced they were friends while Todd just hated EVERY SECOND of it. And then they have to go through all these ADVENTURES together, and Todd reluctantly admits both Dirk’s genius and relents to their friendship and realises how LUCKY he is to have it and hsdgfjhsgdf I just ADORED IT. And so much of Draco’s personality as a child seemed to revolve around him being all BLUSTER and EGO and at the same time insecure enough that ONE insult sent him on a hissy fit. And I kept on being like, Fuck, what if we’d extrapolate that into adulthood? Like, all pompous confidence, zero self-reflexiveness outwardly, but then once you’ve pushed through that outer wall, it’s just ONE BIG PILE of insecure little baby? And then I thought about Helen from Bridesmaids and Sally from Cabaret and badabing badaboom. This asshole *gestures at the characterisation*

and then a portrait repairer moved in down the street and would work with her curtains open during the day, and I’d see her at it on my way to work--with all the magnifying glasses and the paints--and I’d always go, damn that’s a cool job

and then also I had this conversation with someone (I DON’T QUITE RECALL WHO) about how there’s not a lot of hypothermia/forced-body-heat-sharing tropey fics in drarry whereas they used to be the bread and butter in Merlin, and then that took me on a whole journey of HOW and WHY and LET’S BRING IT BACK

so those are random things that made it so that when I got your prompt I was like. Yes YEs and also YES. And, of course, getting you was an EXCELLENT opportunity to go wild with snarky art world thematics! Thinking about why magical portraits move, and how major art movements would translate into the magical world, etc.

And then there’s things I put in there that were for the benefit of no one but my sorry ass. The “Simpelweg Weg” in Brussels -- ‘Simpelweg’ means ‘simply’ but translates directly as ‘simple street’, so if you call a street the simple street, you have to write it as, ‘The Simple Street Street’ which IS A DUMB JOKE THAT I HAD TO SLIP IN THERE SOMEHOW

Also, every end of a ‘section’ corresponds to the beginning of a next section! There’s always a word that repeats somehow. I decided on it at some point because I wanted to make everything difficult, apparently?? Because writing a non-linear thriller mystery IN TWO TENSES wasn’t difficult enough.

Ernest and Earnest is of course a NOT SUBTLE AT ALL nod at The Importance Of.

I took great pleasure in dressing Harry up in Neville’s herbology conference t-shirt. I feel like if there’s Chudley Cannons t-shirts in the HP universe, there’s FOR SURE herbology conference t-shirts, summer camp t-shirts, Celestina Warbeck 1993 concert t-shirts, etc etc etc

What else? I can’t think of anything else 🤔 my keyboard fell apart in the process of writing this. Also, it was a million degrees and I’d hung a bag of ice in front of the fan to recreate an AC and that’s how I attempted to write a hypothermia fic. You can 10000% see how I run out of ways to describe cold in about, 2 paragraphs in. “It was uh.......cold?? THE ICE WAS COLD. THEY SLIPPED ON IT A LOT. SO COLD. Icy!!! Icy and cold!”

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davieslandon · 4 years ago

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discord || Drinks & Catching Up

DISCORD THREAD FEATURING: Landon and @lorencourtier

MENTIONS: N/A

WHERE: Blue Bar��

WHEN: the day after Khai’s car accident

DESCRIPTION: After a few texts, they decide to go out for drinks and Landon picks Loren up after work. (Lordon first date)

TRIGGER WARNINGS: brief mentions of homophobia

Landon

Work was tough that day and Landon couldn't wait to get out of there. Not that he got much done as he spent most of his day staring at his computer and at his papers without actually seeing them. Every time he so much as tried to get anything done, his thoughts went to everything that happened in the last few days and he was back to square one. He was so relieved when he got a text from Loren and when the other boy agreed to meet up for a drink. Their conversation at the bar went really well and they exchanged numbers but Landon was a bit hesitant about texting first; he always was in these sort of things. Maybe a drink and a chat with someone who was disconnected from all of his drama was just what he needed to wind down and for his mind to stop spinning. He got in his car and checked the address one last time before making his way over. Thankfully, there was a free spot right in front of Loren's place and he honked his horn to announce his arrival. "Hey", he smiled, as soon as Loren was out.

Loren

Loren had been thinking about Landon a lot since their first meeting. He knew he probably looked like a goob to the other male with how drunk he was. But now he had a chance to show him another side of himself. The sober side. He got off his couch and threw on a hoodie over his white tee and slipped into his old pair of converse. Making his way quickly outside to meet Landon once he had honked. He pulled the passengers side door open, his curls flying wild in the wind, and he offered the other male a smile. “Hey yourself good lookin” he smiled shyly. Sure he could be flirtatious and unfiltered sometimes. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t shy as fuck. “So where we headed? You pick the place and I’ll pay the tab” he winked. Strapping his seatbelt over himself after closing the door.

Landon

Even in a hoodie and jeans, Loren looked really good and it was nice to get to see him outside of the dim lights of the bar. "Oh um...I usually just go to Blue Bar for a drink but if you know of anywhere else, I'll try anything once." Why did he always have to be so awkward? He was fine with people he knew and even with people who he didn't really have any interest in. But the second he was confronted by someone he thought of as good looking, his brain turned to mush and made him sound like someone who'd never talked to anyone in his life. He started up the car and got out of the parking space.

Loren

Once Loren was situated in the seat, he leaned back and looked over at Landon with a smile. He was so cute how he seemed to get flustered, just by talking to him. “Blue Bar it is then” he nodded. “I go to Cherry Pop a lot, or Reggies. But, I like Blue Bar. Great atmosphere” he nodded. He lifted his hand to push his curls back out of his face and lifted his brow as Landon began to drive. It was nice seeing the other male again. He was much cuter than Loren remembered. Even though he remembered him being pretty cute in the first place. Landons eyes were still punching him in the gut with how mesmerizingly blue they were.

Landon

"Hmm, I can only imagine what you get up to at Cherry Pop", he teased with a chuckle. Landon didn't go there as often as he knew others living nearby did as it wasn't exactly his scene. The few times he did go ended up being more enjoyable than he thought though. He didn't want to take his eyes off the road but he couldn't help the way his gaze redirected to Loren's hand as it was running through his hair. As much as he denied it to anyone who teased him about it, Landon had always had a thing for curly hair, and this time was no different. "So what did you get up to today, apart from laying on the sofa and thinking nice things about me?"

Loren

“Can you now?” he asked with a blushing chuckle as he rubbed his legs. Landon kept looking over at him and it made him feel all jittery inside. He was trying so hard to hide it though. Sure, he liked to go out and have a good time. But Landon, he made Loren want to submit. Especially when he called him out for thinking about him. “Not a lot actually. I had the day off so I just laid around and watch some old movies. Have you ever seen When Harry Met Sally?”

Landon

Landon really hoped he didn’t offend with his comment but judging by the blush on the other’s cheeks, Loren knew he was only teasing. After all, no one went to Cherry Pop just to have a drink. “Yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea.” He was going to say more but then held himself back. Things were still so new with them that he didn’t want to make Loren uncomfortable with his teasing. “I have! It’s actually one of my favourite movies. I love to watch it when I’m feeling a little low. It never fails to lift up my spirits.”

Loren

“Well, I’d love to hear your ideas” he grinned. Reaching over and squeezing Landons leg gently as he playfully shook it. Loren knew the other male probably did know exactly what he got up to out there. But, hearing him say it would be sexy as hell. Especially coming from that sweet look he had on his face. Landon couldn’t help it though really, he just had one of those faces. He looked like a rugged bad boy with an innocent smile. Plus, those blue eyes were just icing on an already incredibly delicious cake. “Really?” he asked a bit surprised. “It’s one of my favorite movies too. Just so... tumultueusement comique” he smiled. “Maybe we can watch it together sometime. I mean, if you’d like that?”

Landon

Landon was going to take this as a lesson not to put his own foot in his mouth. Because he just knew that he was going to turn bright red no matter what he said but what else did he expect by making conversation about a strip club? “I think you go there to enjoy the show that they offer by having poles in the middle of their tables. Maybe pay a little extra to get a nice show? I’m not sure if you’re a fan of their weekly burlesque entertainment though. That’s something you’re going to have to enlighten me on.” By the end of his rambling Landon was probably looking as red as a tomato and he was avoiding Loren’s eyes, which was made easier by the fact that he was driving. Landon’s eyes widened when he heard him talk French and he bit his lip. Was he really one of those people who got affected by someone talking a foreign language? Apparently so. “I would love that actually, yeah.”

Loren

It was hard not to stare at Landon as his cheeks turned red. But, he did his best not to gawk. He didn’t want to make Landon too uncomfortable after all. “Yeah, you’re exactly right. There’s nothing wrong with getting a little naughty is there?” Loren bit the tip of his tongue as he smiled. His own cheeks heating up a bit as he flirted. “However, I do in fact enjoy the burlesque. I thinks it’s pretty fascinating and sexy.” Watching Landon bite his lip, his own lips parted. His tongue trailing slowly over the bottom as he thought about what it would be like kissing him. “You’re cute” he spat out without even thinking twice. A wide smile spreading across his lips as he took in Landons features. “We should definitely do it then. It’s a date.”

Landon

Landon nodded, there was definitely no judgement from him. He wasn’t as promiscuous as some people he knew but he definitely wasn’t an innocent virgin either. There was absolutely nothing wrong with being a little naughty in his books. “Do you? I only watched a burlesque show but I have to agree. There’s something quite beautiful about it as well, isn’t there?” Landon wasn’t expecting such a statement from Loren and he smiled. Getting a compliment was always flattering, especially from someone so attractive. Couldn’t Loren see himself? He was hot, yet adorable at the same time. If that was even possible. “It’s a date.” Landon could see the Blue Bar in the distance so he looked for an empty parking and parked in the first spot he saw.

Loren

“Oh yeah, definitely! Sometimes I prefer the burlesque show over the strippers, honestly.” Loren could definitely get quite promiscuous, but it wasn’t the most important thing to him. He liked having fun, and feeling good above all else. “Great, I look forward to it” he said with wide smile a on his features. When Landon agreed for a date he almost forgot that they were already kind of on one. “So... is this a date too then?” he asked, hoping the other male would confirm. He could see the bar just ahead, and when Landon parked the car. He unbuckled himself from his seat belt and leaned over the console to kiss his cheek.

Landon

“I know what you mean. There’s something a bit more classy about them in a way”, he agreed. Landon wasn’t expecting the question and wasn’t sure of what the right answer was. The thought of this being a date was something he liked the sound of but he wasn’t sure if Loren was on the same page. In the end, he figured honesty was the best policy and shrugged. “I’d like it to be if it’s something you want as well, no pressure though. I’m sorry it’s not very original as far as first dates go.” Landon unbuckled his seatbelt as well and was about to head out of the car when he was surprised yet again by a kiss on the cheek. “That...what was that for? Not that I mind”, he hurried to explain.

Loren

Of course he wanted it to be a date. He liked Landon a lot, and he was curious to where things could go. “It is something I want” he assured with a smile. “I don’t really like flashy first dates anyway. It kinda takes away from really getting to know someone. In my opinion anyway.” To be honest, he didn’t care if the date was flashy or not. As long as he was with Landon. He let out a soft chuckle as his cheeks heated up and he shrugged slightly to one side. “Just for being your magnificently adorable self” he replied. Biting his bottom lip as he tried to read the expression on Landons face. “Come on, let’s go in and get you that drink. You look parched.”

Landon

It was nice to know that they were both of the same opinion and wanted to know what this could lead to. It was too early to tell but, apart from being really attractive, it was clear Loren was also very friendly and they were getting on really well so far. He provided him with a moment of tranquility in the mess that was his life at the moment and Landon couldn’t be more grateful. “That’s a relief because flashy dates tend to make me a bit uncomfortable and more awkward than I am already, if that’s even possible.” Landon couldn’t hold back a wide smile at the other’s actions, he was so cute. He nodded and got out of the car, waiting for Loren to do the same and then they started walking towards the bar. “It’s been a long day so I’d say you’re right.”

Loren

To be honest, Loren didn’t really find Landon awkward at all. Maybe it was because he too could be very awkward. “Well, I’m glad you told me that. I was about to get up on the bar and sing show tunes for you” he grinned. The tone of his voice giving it away that he was only joking. He followed Landon toward the bar and pulled the door open for him. “I’m sorry you had a hard day. Hopefully I can make it all better. Well, me and a couple of drinks” he mused.

Landon

“I take back what I said. If that means getting a live musical act like in La La Land then I’m a big fan of flashiness”, he joked. In reality, anything like that would have him turning red like a tomato but it was entertaining to think about. Landon thanked him and walked in, making his way directly to the bar to order. “Trust me, you’ve already made a huge difference just by agreeing to join me for a drink. Although you’re right, a couple of drinks will probably help as well. But mostly it’s your presence.”

Loren

Loren laughed as Landon tried to retracted his comment. It was cute how fluttered the other boy got at his quirkinesses. “I mean, it’s still a possibility” he mused. Following Landon to the bar and taking a seat. He ordered a white vodka cranberry and turned his attention back to Landon. “That’s sweet, I’m really glad I’m here. Especially since it’s with you. I could do this everyday. Meet you here after your shifts, do a little dance and show for you. The whole works. It’s the least I could do for someone sporting the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen this side of New York”

Landon

“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. Maybe after a couple of drinks, you can give me a little show like that first time we met. Maybe without you falling off the chair this time though”, he teased. He couldn’t hold back a chuckle at the reminder of when they talked for the first time, it was quite funny after all. Landon took a seat and ordered the same drink for himself. “That sounds like an idea I could totally get behind but I wouldn’t want to get on your nerves, having to see me everyday”, he laughed. “It would give me something to look forward to after work, that’s for sure. And what kind I’d show could I look forward to?” Landon but his lip bashfully over the compliment, he doubted it was ever going to stop having an effect on him. “You know, flattery will get you everywhere in life but somehow I think I’d still like you whatever you say.”

Loren

“Oh, you better. I don’t want you to be too surprised when I pull a full 180 on ya” he laughed. “But just for the record. That was a carefully choreographed maneuver to get your attention. Not a fall.” Of course that wasn’t the truth, but Loren liked the sound of it. He hoped Landon would to. When their drinks arrived Loren popped a straw into his and took a couple of small sips. “What? Are you serious?” he asked. Displaying a faux face of offense as he placed his hand on Landons shoulder. “You could never get on my nerves. I like hanging out with you. Besides, I liked the idea of giving you something to look forward to. I would look forward to it myself honestly.” He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing that Landon would like him no matter what he said. But it made him smile anyway. “You sure about that? I can say some pretty crazy things sometimes. Like this one time when I was about eighteen. I told this old man to get out of my way. I mean, to be fair he was trying to arrest me. But I was ruthless” he teased with a chuckle. Placing the straw back between his teeth as he lifted his brow.

Landon

“Why don’t I believe that?” he laughed. In reality, he knew it probably wasn’t the case since Loren was quite drunk the night they met but it was still nice to think about. And he had a point after all. While Landon already had his eyes on him because he was enjoying his singing, they probably wouldn’t have started talking if it wasn’t for the fall. “Yeah? I guess that’s a pretty solid plan then, as long as we’re both looking forward to it and enjoying ourselves.” He picked up his drink and took a sip, raising his eyebrows over what he was hearing. “You told a policeman to get out of your way? Now that sounds like an interesting story. Hopefully one with a happy ending that isn’t you behind bars. I’m guessing you can get quite wild when you want to be.”

Loren

“You should totally believe it. Does this look like the face of a liar?” he asked, making puppy eyes. The grin on his face never disappeared though. He was just having way too much fun flirting. He was truly grateful for that fall at the moment. If it had never happened he probably wouldn’t be here with Landon right now. “Oh, I’m definitely looking forward to it. I’m making it happen now. I have to” he smiled widely. He took another sip of his drink as he watched Landons reaction to his words and he shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, I guess you could say it was interesting” he chuckled. “I was a pretty rebellious kid. When my parents divorced, my dad got remarried to this cunt of an actress, and believe me when I tell you she was a good actress. Cause when I was little, she acted like she actually fuckin gave a shit. But yeah, her and my dad kinda flipped a switch when I turned thirteen.” Loren wasn’t sure why he was telling Landon all of this right now. But he wanted the other male to know him. The real and deeply disturbing truth of him. At least if he wasn’t into, he could just away now and save Loren the trouble of heartache in the future. “Sure, I was a handful. But, I mean what kid isn’t?” he continued. “I met this guy who basically promised me the world. But that’s a shit show story for another time. Anyway, my dad and new quote an quote step mom. They thought I was the devil incarnate. Sent me away to boarding school in hopes I’d pray the gay away.” Now he was fondling with his straw in his drink. Spinning the ice cubes round and round. It was a sort of nervous tick of his. “When I got back, my dad kicked me out. He said I made Tamara, my step mom, uncomfortable. Of course I refused to leave, and he called the cops. The rest is just kind of history.” He leaned down to take another sip from his drink. A long lingering one this time, and then he smiled up at Landon. “I’m sorry. That was heavy. This isn’t about me. Tel me about you... I wanna know everything.”

Landon

It was hard to deny him anything when Loren was looking at him like that so he ended up shaking his head in amusement instead. “I think I’d call that the face of someone who knows how to get what he wants but I guess not a liar, no.” He was glad to know that they’d already agreed about seeing each other again after today. Things were obviously still very new and Landon still considered himself to be a bit of a mess but it was nice to know there was something for him to look forward to. Landon couldn’t hold back a wince at the mention of praying the gay away. Not out of judgement but because he knew he was very privileged in that aspect. His family were always nothing but supportive over his sexuality. His sister didn’t even think twice about asking him to adopt her baby, even knowing he had a boyfriend who would very probably be in the picture. It was moments like these that reminded him how lucky he was and that not everyone was in the same boat as him. It also made him angry that anyone would treat the other boy like that, especially knowing it was the people who were supposed to love him unconditionally and be there for him. Loren was so nice and gave him a chance when others would have run away so Landon couldn’t help but think he was the last person to deserve being treated that way. To call the cops on your own son for being gay...he might not always be the perfect parent but he liked to think he’d never get to that level. “I’m so sorry. They sounding complete assholes, no offense.” In reality he meant all the offense but it was still Loren’s dad and he didn’t want to hurt him in case he still looked up to him. “It’s fine, don’t apologise. I like getting to learn things about you even though I wish you hadn’t gone through something like that. I think you’re amazing and they don’t know what they’re missing out on.” Landon wasn’t sure what he should say. He wanted to be open with Loren after the other trusted him with his story but where could he even begin?

Loren

The last thing Loren wanted was for Landon to pity him. Aside from his dad and his new wife, his life was pretty good. Sure he made a lot of poor decisions, and he tended to act a fool. But he was generally happy. At least he had a great relationship with his sister. Sometimes he wondered if he had moved with his mother, if maybe things would have been different for him. But he didn’t wanna dwell on that. You can’t change the past and Loren didn’t even bother to try anymore. Landons reaction however, took him a bit by surprise. He didn’t expect the other male to get so upset and intense over his admission. “Thank you, Landon” he spoke softly. Reaching out to place his hand on the smallers cheek. He let it sit there for a moment while he gazed into his eyes and smiled genuinely. “I’m not offended at all. You’re right, their assholes.” He didn’t want say that he didn’t think they were missing out on much. Even though he felt that way, he didn’t wanna ruin the moment. “Can you answer a question for me?” he asked. His hand trailing down Landons cheek to rest at his chin as his thumb traced over his lips. “How do you feel about kissing on a first date?” Was that forward? Probably. But Loren really liked what he knew about Landon so far, and he hoped maybe he would let him express it.

Landon

Landon was glad that at least they were in agreement. It was true that no one could choose their family but that didn’t give parents an excuse to treat their children in whatever way they wished for. He was glad to note Loren realised they were assholes and wasn’t really trying to get their acceptance. It still pained him to know there were still people treating others like shit over their sexuality and vowed to himself that he would never take his family’s acceptance for granted again. Landon nodded, curious over what Loren was about to ask and smirked at what he heard. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting but he couldn’t say he minded. He was never the sort of person to be against kissing on a first date especially if it was going as well as theirs was so he smiled. “I think kissing on a first date is a great way of showing the other person you think it’s a nice date. What do you think?”

Loren

When Landon smiled, Loren pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. His answer made him feel all tingly inside. Damn those butterflies! He sat for a moment just starring into Landons eyes before matching the others smile with one of his own. “I think you’re completely right. I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Without even giving a second though, Loren leaned in closer until their lips were just barely touching. His lips brushing softly against Landons as he spoke again. “I think this is a really nice date” he practically whispered. The smile never leaving his lips as he pressed them softly against Landons. Kissing him slow and deep as his hand cupped the smallers face.

Landon

Landon knew what was coming but somehow it still took him by surprise when he saw Loren lean in until their lips were almost touching. He wasn’t sure what he’d done right to get to this moment right here but whatever it was he was glad he did it. Before he could say anything in reply, they were kissing and Landon was using one of us hands to run it through the other’s curls. Later he would think about how good it felt to do that and how soft Loren’s hair was but, for the time being, he couldn’t focus on anything other than the other’s lips on his. This was turning out to be an amazing first date. He pulled back when the need for air got to be too much and he bit his lip. “That was nice.”

Loren

Loren kept his eyes closed when Landon pulled back for air. A sweet smile spreading slowly across his lips as he licked them. Savoring the taste of the other males lips upon his own. When he opened his eyes to take in the view of Landon biting his lip. His smile only grew wider. “Yes, it was” he replied. A soft chuckle passing through his lips as he felt giddy and a bit dizzy from the adrenaline. Damn, Landon had some incredible lips, and he kissed by the book. It was enough to leave Loren sitting there mostly breathless. “We should definitely do that more often” he practically giggled. Pushing his hair back from his face before covering his mouth with his hand. He was being way to obvious with his blushing. But he couldn’t help himself. “So... you were about to tel me about you. What are your parents like?”

Landon

Landon almost felt like he was a sixteen year old boy on his very first serious date and he would bet the giddy smile on his face made him look that way as well. He just couldn’t bring himself to care. Things seemed to be so easy between them and he really liked Loren so he wasn’t going to bother trying to hide it. The kiss and the wide smile on Loren’s face was confirmation enough that he wasn’t on his own so he was determined not to ruin it with his tendency to overthink everything. “Whenever you want”, he confirmed, knowing they’d probably end up kissing again at some point during the rest of their date. “Oh, yeah. My mum’s pretty great. She’s always been very supportive of everything I wanted to do, even when my dreams were pretty farfetched. My dad...well he didn’t really stick around after I was born so I never really met him but then my mum got married again and my stepfather’s like my actual dad.”Message #drinks-and-catching-up

#discord #drinks & catching up #c: loren #m: loren #lordon

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