thinkatoryx

[thinkatoryx]

Nothing is sweeter than this. This is more than sex, or even love. It's recognition.-- I loved this! 😍 I feel like this is exactly what Roman needs and is looking for.

Thank you <3 <3 Roman started out "collected" feeling empty, invisible, and worthless. Lukas had always seen something in him in a way a lot of people in the biz hadn't; that connection and recognition just deepened in a way I couldn't have predicted over the course of the fic. I'm sad to see them go!

[thinkatoryx]

If you did a sequel fic to ykw exploring Roman/Lukas/Mencken I would be super into that. I’d be especially interested in Lukas/Mencken since they’re both their for Roman not out of interest in each other. There’s so much potential there. There’s Mencken having to deal with Lukas actually being a necessary and integral part of the relationship, there’s Lukas maybe feeling insecure because he’s not the primary. There’s Roman dealing with not one but TWO partners completely devoted to him. There’s also needing to keep it all hush hush because Mencken’s the fucking president.

Yeah, there's definitely something to this idea. It wasn't necessarily nice and sewn up at the end of YKW, but it was at a balanced point, which it wouldn't always be. Things developing between Lukas and Roman would have an impact, and Lukas and Mencken's relationship as a friendship (or whatever) would have curves as well. I think if I were to, it might be a Mencken POV, which is a weird thing to think about writing. It's not like I don't know the guy, though.

[thinkatoryx]

I actually think Roman/Tabitha/Mencken would make for a workable poly pairing. I feel like had Gerri been into it that could have canonically been a very workable solution for Roman. I also think that part of why Roman got so clingy with Gerri was because he ditched Tabitha. He had someone to do gun couple stuff with her and then he had Gerri for the sexual connection. But he felt like he had to pick and it got fucked up. So just replace Gerri with Mencken or Stewy or Lukas and there ya go.

Yeah, I buy that. Tabitha seems like she'd be down for it.

I feel like Roman/Tabs/Mencken would certainly start out as a V with Roman at the center and potentially turn into a triad, but I feel like Mencken would be the one struggling here - it's one thing to have a boyfriend who has a girlfriend, it's another to have a second person you're vulnerable and intimate with.

Roman/Tabs/Stewy or Roman/Tabs/Lukas fold into a triad quickly. Mencken's the one who's not quite mentally there yet. Give him a minute, he's Gen X.

[thinkatoryx]

Whew, OK! I was down for the count for a few days, but I'm back now.

Extremely good news: my old blog is back! (24 days after my appeal, but better late than never.) I'll be posting on @thinkatoryprocess in just a bit, I plan on answering the asks I got over here just so people don't feel the need to resend anything.

All my notes and reference posts are back!!! This is so exciting.

(If you started following me over here and haven't followed me over there - well, it's up to you to follow me on my main blog over there, but this may just turn out to be an archival tumblr? I haven't decided yet.)

[thinkatoryx]

What’s your favorite Roman pairing to write? Mencken, Lukas or Stewy (personally though I’m very excited for the Roman/Eduard fic and the Tom one of it ever happens. But I know you haven’t actually written them yet). I’m also really interested in stories that navigate polyamory in a healthyish way. You introduced the possibility of Roman/Mencken/Lukas in YKW do you think you’d write something expanding on that? Or just a new thing that’s a deep dive into the thruple (hate that word btw but it serves its purpose).

Oh, I really have to think about this one.

The flavors are different on each, so if there's a winner it's not a blowout victory. Mencken's energy is sharp and nasty, Lukas is calculated and playful, and Stewy is filled with both knives and genuine emotion. The reason I like all three of these is because they have the necessary edge to press Roman down from doing his usual bullshit, but in very different ways, and not without the necessary give on their own sides to maintain a relationship. No one soft survives a relationship with this guy. Roman eats soft people for breakfast.

So all that said, of the current LIs I've written, you've caught me on a day where I'm gonna lean Stewy because you asked re: writing! Mencken is my favorite character of the three, but I think the dynamic possibilities are just so interesting based on their shared past through Kendall and their personalities match in a way that I'm super fond of. It's a VERY close one, because Roman and Mencken have that crazy tension that makes me crawl up into a ball of excitement.

Tom and Eduard... are very interesting new chemistries to play with, which is why I'm even considering these AUs, like, wow. Tom's intense, Eduard is very almost a blank slate that I have some ideas for, they're definitely different flavors than I've written before.

Re: polyam stuff, absolutely! The possibilities of poly stuff, emotional, plotwise, pornwise, etc, it's all very appealing to me. The only reason there wasn't as much poly in YKW is that the creation of the relationship landed so late in the arc. If anyone wants to talk to me about poly, I'm open! There was some discussion of Tom/Roman/Mencken at one point. But I'm interested in exploring more complex stuff, depending on exactly how monog any given LI is. (I tend to think Roman is flexible enough for polyam once someone suggests it sincerely.)

[thinkatoryx]

Connor’s situation is bumming me out a lot. Particularly him losing Willa. Do he and whoever he marries after Willa have an okay marriage at least?

Yeah, I think so! Connor winds up being more sadsack for a while but he's seriously in touch with feelings he's been avoiding for a long time, and that maturity and growth comes across when he meets his future wife.

I think he has a kid or two! He just doesn't like re-engaging with anything that reminds him of the time before Kendall's death.

[thinkatoryx]

Love the idea of Naomi writing an autobiography.

Adding: "As lead up to the book release Naomi could do one of those in depth podcast interviews. Like she could go on Marc Maron."

Oh, totally, and she knows these types from just being a Pierce. Once she's comfortable enough with the topics, and Rava's calmed down enough from public things being aired, she'll knock it out of the park. They don't need more money, but they'll make it anyway. Maybe she'll donate it to substance abuse stuff.

[thinkatoryx]

I truly cannot wait for you to explore Roman and Willa!

It'll be a little bit! It's in the queue after DYWGU, which has three chapters left. But I'm excited to write Willa in detail - she's so fun - and also dig into Roman's weirdness with women in a more positive way.

[thinkatoryx]

Does this mean DYWGU is next to be updated?? Because YAY WEDDING TIME!!!

Yup, DYWGU is next! I'm hoping to have stronger images to work from after dinner.

The muse was being very cranky, but things are finally flowing again. I'm very pleased.

[thinkatoryx]

What’s Connor doing in dead Kendall au?

Connor loses Kendall, but more importantly he loses Logan - and when he tries to defend Logan to Roman, he gets very close to losing Roman, too. Logan was a source of strength for him, his papa bear, even in his absence; now that Logan is weak and nearly gone, Connor feels weakness at best and nothing most of the time. He withdraws, burns money, loses Willa, marries someone because he can. He visits once a year. He doesn't like seeing Bea, though he pretends to. She's a reminder that everything changed, that Kendall existed.

[thinkatoryx]

How do people react to Rava/Naomi becoming a thing? The ex wife and the girlfriend? It is deeply weird.

I think the Pierces are not a fan of this relationship because it looks to them like Naomi is torturing herself in further grief by burying her face in everything Kendall touched. They also see the least of this relationship compared to any of the Roys, who will be amused but not surprised.

The outer world, well. Rava and Naomi aren't interested in the outside world, but they're a goldmine for the kind of gossip about the wealthiest people that people trade on for profit or influence. There's some judgment and laughter from that side of the gallery, but Naomi cools Rava down; they have to focus on Bea.

Once Bea is older, it becomes impossible to avoid the outside world, and Bea gets dragged into things. Weirdness follows her until, around the age of seven, a somewhat violent event happens between her and a fellow student who echoed something his parents said about "Roy pseudo-incest." Naomi gives in at this point and concedes to her family that it's time for her to write a book and explain her side of things, freeing Bea from that kind of scrutiny.

[thinkatoryx]

Oh yeah he must know. Tabitha figured she’ll help out two friends by presenting Roman with someone who can help him with his whole sex deal so they can go back to being eunuch besties and she hook Mencken up with a lucrative client. She trusts him to be able to handle Roman. So she’s just like, “Come to my party. Get a feel for this guy. See if you think he’s someone in need of your services.” She has absolutely no idea it’s gonna turn into a whole thing but she’s extremely entertained by it later.

This is actually a really nice, if weird, gesture, and I'm super entertained by the idea of how this conversation even goes. Roman I think would instinctively be pissed at Tabitha for linking him up with a man and revealing that he might be interested in this kind of thing... but on the other hand Roman's three drinks in, Mencken is not unattractive, and he just pulled some kind of tone of voice that broke Roman's brain for half a minute. He can stay.

Tabitha minds her own business until rumors start about Roman and Mencken being out in public together, of all things, and then it's time for one of them to dish. Preferably an annoyed and flustered Roman.

[thinkatoryx]

You ever thought about Shiv/Sandi?

I can neither confirm nor deny.

That's a joke - yes, I have. I think it's got a solid base to it. There's family history between the Furness clan (such as it is, I have my own ideas of what that whole side of things looks like) and the Roys, and I think there was an interesting spark of connection that could be built upon for a pairing between these two. Shiv doesn't have a lot of women around that she respects, tbh, and I think she respects Sandi.

[thinkatoryx]

Ch 18 of “collected”, Roman/Lukas Matsson: the final chapter, a wedding, and the messiness of real life and real emotions, both good and bad.

I loved writing these two, hope to get a solid idea for them again. <3

[thinkatoryx]

I have some asks piled up! I plan on answering them, I swear. I’m focusing on finishing the final chapter of “collected” at this point, though - hoping to have that up tonight or tomorrow morning. I’m having more fun than I was expecting while finishing this one! I hope it’s as fun to read.

[thinkatoryx]

Pro dom Mencken might not know what to do with Roman AT FIRST but that’ll last like what 20 minutes? Then there’s SO MUCH to explore. And he’s being paid an insane amount of money on top of it? The situation is too good to be true something’s gotta fuck it up…..AND HERE COMES FEELINGS WITH THE STEEL CHAIR!

No doubt pro dom Mencken has mostly been used as a tool by a lot of the people who've hired him, or has been inappropriately used as a stand-in for a relationship that he didn't really consent to. Roman might be one of the first people who hasn't done either. He's both obvious - he just needs to address this need he has, that's it, they can do that and then go home - but an enigma, because there are obviously thirty more layers beneath that. Plus Roman's funny and interesting and hot, what are the odds of that, he's the luckiest pro dom he knows, this guy is great - oh no.

[thinkatoryx]

I like the idea of Tabitha introducing Roman and PD Mencken. Like Roman decides to (platonically) reconnect with Tabs and she invites him to a get together. Then at some point she’s like “Hey Roman I got someone I want you to meet,” and then she just peaces out.

So does pro dom Mencken know he's meeting a prospective client? I think he'd have to. Love the idea of Mencken dissecting him with conversation and observation and Roman putting up a grand fight of deflection and obnoxiousness. Two can play at that game.