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mego42 · 4 years

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I 100% agree about wanting more fanfic lists! I honestly think it's the best way to get a variety. Everybody has personal preferences, if someone, who mostly reads long, fluffy au Brio fic, is making recs, they're not likely to mention short, angsty, canon Brio (which is understandable and fair!) so ideally someone else, who does like those, would also do recs. I'm pretty sure I've read or at least tried the vast majority of Brio fics, but the recs often make me re-read the fic and author.

YAAASSSS!!! I mean like, okay, I v much get why people have issues with rec lists, and I def do not by any stretch endorse the idea that recs/rec lists should be considered anything other than one person sharing a think they liked, but to me a lot of the issues (the same fics/authors getting recced, feeling like awesome fics/authors are going unrecognized) can be solved by more reccing, not less. everyone’s got different taste and different stuff they look/read for and I am extremely pro sharing that.

Idk, I think about it like this: in a previous internet life I was a YA book blogger and I lived and died by recs from other bloggers whose taste and preferences I knew. I mean, you know, I’d check out a book bc the premise sounded interesting but literally the first thing I would do was go to Goodreads and look for a handful of people who tended to like the same books I did and see what they were saying about it bc that was the best way to get a good idea of if I wanted to give it a shot. Or, on the flip side, there were some people whose reviews I followed bc I knew we v much did not read for the same things so if they hated a book for X, Y and Z reasons, I was probs going to like it (one thing about book blogging is if you want to keep current, you do not have a lot of time to mess around, snap judgements are key but that’s a whole other thing and idk if it’s even relevant anymore bc that landscape has changed so much).

ANYWAY, the point is, I got in the habit and now I do the same thing with fic bc, tbh, I don’t have a ton of time to read, esp not when I’m actively writing which, with the exception of the last week or two, I’ve been doing p non-stop since I got here. All of which to say is, I am desperately in favor of fic recs for purely selfish reasons, I need them! Give them to me!!! Please!!!!!

That said, I uh, am v bad at returning the favor and I recognize that (I think I’ve made what? two rec lists for this fandom?) so I will try to do better to live by my own, idek what this is, moving on and here are 10 recs not really thematically linked by anything other than I’ve read them and loved them and don’t think I’ve put any of them on one of my rec lists yet (and if I have, my blog is a trainwreck I cannot be expected to remember what’s on it LET ME LIVE):

The Goodest Boy by EnsignDisaster

There’s a key turning in the lock and Buddy rushes over to greet his Master excited for her to meet his new friends. The door opens and he dances around Master’s feet rejoicing on the fact that she’s made it home. It's been literally forever.

“Hey Buddy what’s wrong? Need to go potty? Need to pee-pee?”

“Nah he’s good we took him out.”

Master does something very unMasterlike, she drops all the food she’d brought in on the ground and screams. It’s a non traditional avant garde type of hello…Buddy loves it. Mostly because while Master taps furiously on her small light box and sits tense in the corner opposite his new friend Buddy can lick up the egg smashed on the hardwood floor.

Buddy! The! Dog! POV! no further explanation necessary. Technically WIP, but it covers the whole pilot in a way that could be read as standalone (THOUGH THAT WOULD V MUCH GIVE ME A SAD though, when did the show forget the Bolands had a dog? so maybe that’s a tragic casualty of canon, idk)

May The Moon’s Silvery Beams by @pynkhues

Emma hums in agreement, and Rio turns her around to sit her on the counter, grabbing one of the older looking boxes of muesli while she kicks her legs out, heels bumping back against the counter, watching him. He gropes around the inside of the box, finally just opting to pull the plastic cereal bag out and peering inside. He can’t quite keep the grin off his face when he sees the wad of cash lining the bottom. This woman kills him, she really does.

Then there’s a little face peering up beside him, trying to peek into the box.

“What is it?” she asks, and he tilts the box sideways so she can see inside.

The upside to not getting here until s3 is that old fic is new to me! Huzzah!! Idk how many of y’all have already read this on but if you haven’t I highkey recommend. Extremely cute take on what if Emma woke up when Rio and came by to collect his/Beth’s/whoever's money during the shutdown. Cannot believe I’m reccing kidfic. Witchcraft!!!!!!

Maybe You’re My Fantasy by ohmisterjapan

He fucking loves the involuntary. It speaks to how he likes to unlock chaos and walk away. He's been called a control freak before and it felt like such a misunderstanding of him - he's all about self control but he doesn't want to control others. It's more that he enjoys revealing to them how little they can control themselves. It's more that he likes to stand still in the eye of someone else's storm and pick coldly through the wreckage.

Another oldie but a goodie. This fic is more like an extended character study (first chapter Rio POV, second chapter Beth) and I LIVE FOR THIS KIND OF SHIT. I really really really love the take on both characters, it really digs in and pulls out some nuances that made me sit and think about my own read of them and I love it.

A Shock Of Blue by mintletters16

“You don’t look very well. Would you… like me to get you a glass of water or something?”

Her voice is low but smooth, laced with a softness that cuts straight though to his core. Strawberry blonde locks fall gently just above the pair of magnets freezing him in place.

He can still feel the chaos tearing through his veins - emanating from the gold plated gun stuffed in his waistband - and suddenly he can’t be here anymore. Can’t meet this wide-eyed gaze that’s been locked on his for the past God-knows-how-long anymore.

Can’t see blue alive and concerned when he just left it cold and void somewhere in oblivion.

She’s looking at him like he’s on the brink of madness. He thinks maybe he is.

Apparently, it’s backlist rec day over here and I’m not sorry. This one is another technical WIP but the chapter works as a standalone (BUT if the author decided to return to it I WOULD NOT BE MAD). It’s a what if Beth and Rio met pre-canon and it works so!!! well!!!! The tension and fascination and build are all *chef’s kiss* plus the writing is gorgeous and lyrical and ugh, I love it.

for a moment we were strangers by openhearts

“We got stuff,” Rio motions with a nod to the backpack Beth hadn’t noticed when they arrived hanging on the back of one of the chairs at the island.

She swallows and turns back to the dishes, realizing Rio apparently means to sleep there , assuming the place isn’t bugged. Or for some kind of cover story if it is. She turns and fixes Rio with a narrow-eyed stare, studying his face, the corner of his jaw especially prominent from the angle she’s looking up at him. He’s methodical about drying each dish and setting it back on the rack, maddeningly ignoring her hard stare, so when he goes to take the next plate from her hands she grips it tightly and gets his attention.

“Hey.”

“What you on about now?” he asks, irritated.

It gets her gut uneasy, how he’s just . . . there, settling in, in ways he never had before, no matter how nonchalantly he would let himself in through her locked doors.

“This is,” Beth tries, failing, to find words for it, “. . . it’s weird .”

This one takes place post 204 and Rio and Marcus end up spending a long weekend staying with Beth and Emma for reasons (that work, for the record, I’m just not trying to summarize rn) and it’s domestic and cute but honestly my fav part of it is how weirded out Beth is by how easily they slip into sync. The story does an excellent job balancing where they are in canon (uneasy post-sex truce) with a snapshot of what they could be if they got over themselves (HA! as if) and Beth is DEEPLY FREAKED which makes her slow slide into realizing she could maybe sort of kind of oh shit like it/him??? that much more satisfying.

Not So Careful by @bensonstablers

When he doesn’t answer, her eyes go to his but he’s too busy watching the letter opener which is still pressed against the back of his hand. Curiously, Beth runs it up his arm, careful not to press too hard, and smiles a little as he shivers. Pulling her leg up onto the bed, she shuffles closer to him before pressing the tip of the sword to his chest and slowly circling his left nipple with it, being sure not to get too close.

“You ain’t gotta be that careful.”

And when she lifts her eyes to meet his, he’s got that look. The one that always makes a lump form in her throat and for her to fall back into bed with him without a single thought of what they have to do that day. Only thing is, this time they’ve got nothing to do for the rest of the weekend and well, staying in bed the entire time had seemed like an appealing idea so she allows herself to give in a little to that look.

It makes me EXTREMELY SAD that knifeplay ranked so low on the kink survey so I’m gonna need y’all to check out this V V V EXCELLENT example of it and come back and tell me you’re sorry and you voted wrong. I am v reasonable what are you talking about.

love (where it wasn’t supposed to be) by @lilliloves

"You know what I can't stand?" Rio asks, stepping closer. It's a rhetorical question but he pauses for a second and watches Dean sniff, watches a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead, watches him shift on both his feet as he contemplates making a run for it.

"A guy who don’t realize how good he's got it." Rio continues, looking Dean up and down in disgust. "A guy that will literally fuck up a good thing just to get his dick wet."

"Yeah, well I can't stand a guy who can have anyone he wants but chooses the married woman he's not entitled to.” Dean shoots back. "And I really can't stand the fact that you're always in the room with us even when you aren't there."

And who brings him into the room Dean hmmmmm????? Jk, jk (or am I). In this one Rio catches Dean out on the town with another woman (bc of course he is) and tries to call him out but whoops! gets called out himself. I really love the like, idk, undercurrent of wistful regret in this fic. I love Dean straight up calling Rio out on his feelings (spoilers but there’s an exchange right after this one that made me straight up holler), and, you know, obvs I am here for Rio making Dean feel like an ass.

Hell Is Other People by makemanybraver

Rio: We're in Hell, Elizabeth! If you don't think you belong here, then repent! Don't fuck everyone in the room in hopes that you get to go out!

Beth: Why do I have to repent?!

Rio: Because you did some fucked up shit in your life, Elizabeth! You keep doing fucked up shit here, too! And you think you don't belong here!

Beth [screaming at the top of her lungs]: Because I don't!

This fic is existentially bonkers and I love it. It’s the kind of experimental format/homage/what have you kind of thing that I L O V E. Based on No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre, Beth, Rio, and Fitzpatrick are stuck together in a room in hell for all eternity. What more do you need, honestly.

Working On Things by odenkirk

Unknown Hold up, Elizabeth. I'm really thinkin about you here.

Beth turned her face into the pillow, effectively suffocating herself for a moment, but thinking it was a good trade off for the way the cool silk of her pillowcase chilled her skin.

She lifted her head to glance at the still sleeping Dean before replying.

Beth I'm thinking about you too. But this can't happen.

She wanted him to know she wanted him, but she also thought that admitting she was already there would save Rio from trying to convince her. She wanted him, but morals had to win just once in a while.

YES this is technically Beth/Dean while also being Beth/Rio BUT it’s also sort of Rio/Dean and I am HERE FOR THE DIVERSITY OF SHIPPING leave me alone who asked you.

Five Times He Knew What She Was Thinking, and One Time He Didn't by JoeyLee

Aight, so tell ‘em I was hittin’ it. Said deliberately blunt, eyes locked on her face the whole time, just to see those blue eyes widen. She looked so shocked that he almost laughed, so he softened it teasingly just to keep her going. Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart, tell ‘em we were makin’ love.

Then he just watched her, just watched her face, just fucking fascinated. Her lips were parted and her eyes were big as saucers, and…there it was. Before she could look away flustered, he watched the thought go through her mind. Him and her together.

He wondered what she was picturing or where. Them in the back seat, her bed, a motel? Her on top or him from behind or his face between her legs?

Whatever it was, the blush started immediately, and he watched it bloom out from her cheeks to her hair. Then she was tearing her eyes away to gulp a little. But it didn’t knock her down for long before she was looking back. And then, wait, was she actually asking him how to go about telling a fed they were fucking?

Okay this is another technical WIP but works as a standalone. I am absolutely fucking feral for character POV takes of canon scenes and this is a supremely excellent take on Rio POV of some notable scenes from the pilot through 204. Imo it brilliantly captures Rio’s voice and I love it a lot.

HEADS UP I am absolute shite at tracking ao3 to tumblr unless people have specifically told me someone’s ao3/tumblr name SO if you recognize any of the non-tumblr authors on please lmk so I can tag them and YES I recognize that I am asking y’all to do things for me throughout this entire post and I’M SORRY OKAY I’M A WHOLE ASS MESS LOVE YOU BYE

#brio fic #brio fanfiction #good girls fanfiction #fic recs #anon #asks #gg disk horse #i feel like i had jokes i wanted to make in the tags but now that im here i've totally forgotten them #ANYWAY the important takeaway here is #tell me what you like and why i want to know okay #send me recs #ME ME ME #hahahahaha jk #sort of

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paintedrecs · 4 years

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@mad-madam-m tagged me in the “list 5 OTPs from 5 fandoms” meme a couple days ago, which I laughed at her for because (a) she knows my otps FULL WELL (b) our lists are very nearly an exact match (which i am by the way delighted about because half my list right now is full of rare pairs, and I have never before known the hell of treading that landscape alone)

but!

I’m gonna do the meme and double it up as an announcement of what I am currently into and what you’re likely to see on this blog if I start picking up my activity levels a little.

I honestly have no idea how active tumblr is at this point - how many of you are still around, and how many of you I might lose if I start reblogging my other fandoms in addition to Sterek - but after doing a Pillowfort experiment for a while, I think I’ve finally figured out how to use social media again in a way that works better for me.

My old method, before tumblr kinda imploded and fandom got weird (filled with antis and ship hate and constant infighting, ugh why), was to create a separate blog for everything I was into, which is why I have appreciatederek, appreciateshiro, appreciatejack, and...is that it? See, this is why I need to stop scattering myself into a zillion different pieces.

So I’m going to consolidate more (like I do on twitter and now Pillowfort), and also hopefully get back to my fandom roots: digging into more meta, like I did 8 years ago when I first fell in love with Sterek, and posting fic recs, like I also did thanks to Sterek. (And sharing my own fics as I write them. Guess which fandom pushed me down that path, too.)

So it’s fitting that the first ship on this list is...well, an obvious one.

1. STEREK (Teen Wolf)

Y’all know this one. Sterek will always, always be the OTP of my heart. I love their dynamic. I love the creativity and passion of the fandom. I love that they brought my writing back to me and introduced me to so many of you.

I still have dozens of Sterek fic ideas; quite a few of them are partially written or have significant outlines, so at some point I will still be writing them. Life is just, as you know, very busy and very tiring and it’s so hard to fit everything into my days. I’m working on it, I promise.

I’d like to start doing more updates with snippets of my upcoming fics, maybe a lil Q&A if anyone wants to chat about what I’m working on/my thought process behind what I’ve already written/what you’d like to see from me, etc. Interactive fun stuff! Sterek fandom is still the best and most supportive fandom I’ve ever been a part of, and it makes me happy every time I’m reminded we’re all still around and thriving.

And here’s some of the other stuff I’m into right now...

2. XANATOWEN (Gargoyles)

I have been sailing this ship entirely by myself since January, recently joined by the aforementioned M, who also created this gif for me while she was still in the patient “I’m your friend, I will listen to you yelling about this show” stage. (ha ha ha look at her now, that’s what you get)

I’ve been genuinely holding myself back from spamming tumblr with my thoughts about this show and this ship, which I’m beginning to realize is...maybe silly. I’ll still try to keep it a little bit balanced, but you can definitely look forward to more Gargoyles on the horizon, including:

Fics - 30k so far, with another 4.6k that I’m hoping to post this afternoon, after I look over it and decide if I still like it (ha ha fic writing amirite). I also have a fairy tale AU that I’ve done a substantial outline for, so I’d really like to get that underway.

Episode recaps/meta posts - these are currently being posted over on Pillowfort. The goal is to get the last two episodes of Season 1 up there, then to start crossposting them here.

As long as it’s not a gigantic hassle to paste over all the screencaps, because I uh. I have a lot of them. And a lot of thoughts about the show as a whole, but particularly about the relationship between David Xanatos and Owen Burnett: the meta’s currently averaging from about 1.5k to 2.5k per episode, whoooops.

I love them. I love them a LOT. See my meta posts for very detailed explanations as to why.

3. TREVORCARD (Castlevania)

I honestly did not expect to get this deeply invested in this ship. I watched and liked the first two seasons of Castlevania and really enjoyed the dynamic between Trevor and Alucard, but it wasn’t until the lead-up to Season 3 (and then the devastation of how absolutely terrible that season was) that I realized how much I loved these two together.

So now I’m having a very Sterek Fandom moment of “eff you canon, they’re ours now” in regards to Trevorcard.

I’ve written one fic for them - it’s a 20k coffee shop/modern/college/artist/musician AU because they deserve all the fandom tropes and so much happiness together..

I don’t currently have plans to write any more, although if I do, it’ll likely be some sort of neighbors AU with wolf!Alucard, since my vast experience with Sterek fandom has taught me the absolute joys of exploring characters who can canonically turn into a beautiful giant effing wolf.

I’ve also been steadily reading my way through every single Trevorcard fic in the AO3 tag, which unfortunately is only ~200. (HOW is this a rare pair. I will never ever understand it, they’re perfect together, and the animators literally said they intentionally storyboarded moments like the one above with the knowledge that people would start shipping them.)

Once I’ve finished up my AO3 tour, I’m going to compile the ones I enjoyed into rec lists. There are some really wonderful fics in there, and I’m excited to see what the rest are like.

4. TAIBANI (Tiger & Bunny)

I really don’t talk about this ship much, but it’s so immensely close to my heart. I have...so much...official merch of Kotetsu and Barnaby; it makes me happy every single time I see it. If I used my Tiger & Bunny stuff as the standard for what sparks joy during a konmari, the rest of my apartment would probably wind up empty.

The show (which is finally getting a second season in 2022 - Kotetsu & Barnaby had better be getting married) is wonderful. I genuinely can’t recommend it enough. Great writing, wonderful character development, beautiful animation, and Kotetsu and Barnaby are absolutely perfect together. Here’s an old post where I talk about that a little bit.

I’ve only written one fic so far: a canon compliant established relationship future fic that focuses more on their family dynamic as Kotetsu’s daughter adapts to turning 18, becoming a hero, and living with her frustratingly affectionate dad & his new husband.

I have ideas for two AUs: a single dad mature student/young professor one and a sorta weird circus/steve irwin-inspired one. We’ll...we’ll see if I ever get around to either. What I end up writing always surprises me, so I sorta give up on planning what words will come out.

And oh wait! I totally forgot about the third idea, which will be roughly canon compliant, with “Kotetsu sets Barnaby up on a series of blind dates that Barnaby initially thinks will be with HIM” angsty/funny fic. Hrm. I should get back to that one, I’ve outlined part of it.

I haven’t actually read a ton of fic for this pairing, because the more I like canon material, the less I seek out fandom content to “fix” it, but I would like to start going through the AO3 tag after I finish my Trevorcard project. I did an initial rec list ages ago and would like to follow up with another.

5. SHEITH (Voltron: Legendary Defender)

Here’s the last pairing I write fics for. I have several more in progress that I’d really like to finish - including a dragon AU that I wish someone else would just finish for me so I can read it, hahhhhhhh sigh. I wrote 15k, did a ton of research, and basically intimidated myself out of continuing, because it’s one of my Big Projects. Not gonna be like, PDIW length or anything, but it should be a pretty hefty fic once it’s done.

Then there’s the roommates AU, the burrito shop AU, the....wow. I really need to get back to these, don’t I. A couple of them are super close to being finished, too.

I’ve also compiled a few fic rec lists, although I haven’t updated those (or my Sheith blog) in a while.

This fandom has been...interesting. Rough sometimes. Sliding into some of the other pairings on this list has provided a good break for me, particularly since they’re all such small fandoms that they’re relatively free from drama and hate. Once I’m fully refreshed and re-inspired, I’d love to get back into writing Sheith. They’re such a perfect, feel-good, extraordinarily balanced and supportive ship, and I am disappointed every single day I remember that Voltron didn’t stick the landing with making them canon.

Look at that almost-kiss. Just...look at it. And tell me they aren’t in love.

#gargoyles #sterek #trevorcard #taibani #tiger and bunny #xanatowen #sheith #meme #about me #about my fics

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diveronarpg · 4 years

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Congratulations, KYLIE! You’ve been accepted for the role of NICK BOTTOM. Admin Julie: I was impressed with your app from the first word. Your voice for Nikolai is impeccable and incredibly succinct, as if I myself could hear him talking. Nik’s a tough one to pin down, given his lackadaisical view of the world and the war between the Montagues and Capulets, but you didn’t just pin him. You hit the nail on the head. I’m overjoyed and ecstatic, and simply cannot wait to see your Nikolai grace our dashboards! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Kylie

Age | 25

Preferred Pronouns | she/her

Activity Level | on a scale of 1-10 i would say i’m about a 6 or a 7!

Timezone | mst

IN CHARACTER

Character | Nick Bottom / Nikolai Borisov

What drew you to this character? |

What drew me to Nikolai initially was the sense of humor that I felt permeated his biography–I especially loved the line “Nikolai Borisov fell in with the wrong crowd with eyes wide open—waltzed right into hell and had the gall to call it toasty.” It told me that Nikolai posessed the ability to see the absurdity in the mob life–of pledging your life to a person who could give a damn wether you live or die, of taking yourself seriously enough to think that putting the lives of everyone in a city on the line for your own singular ambition is somehow in their best interests. I think humor is a large part of his character, but the longer I spent with him, trying to find his voice and being inside of his head, I came to realize that there was a dissonance between how he uses humor outwardly, and who he is internally. I think that the line that really sums it up for me is actually–”He is Frankenstein: a little mad, a little lonely, a man who dared to dream bigger than anyone else.” He wants to be around people, and he uses his humor to try and get people to like him, to decide that they want to be around him, but they have also never really understood him. I think he’s a lot like the fire he loves so much–a light in a city that thrives on darkness. But don’t be fooled, the light that he casts off is not divine in any sense of the world, its just as destructive as any good burn.

I also enjoyed the ways in which his particular form of intelligence set him apart from the others involved with the mobs—it takes real skill to be able to wire a bomb and place it in a location where it can do maximum damage, to be able to burn a building down to its foundations and avoid being caught, and Nikolai is good enough at what he does to be paid to do it by the most dangerous and important people in Verona. I was very interested in the ways that the chaos of his personality, of his habits, interact with his intelligence. It would be easy to underestimate him, to write him off as a little bit mad–but that would be a mistake, because there is always a method to his madness.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

LOOK WHO’S DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVE

Nikolai doesn’t burn things out of anger—he does it because it brings him comfort, because in the cold where he was born you have to take warmth where you can get it, because fire is all he’s had throughout his entire life. I’d like to see him pushed, to see what exactly would cause him to think about why he does what he does—what would make him well and truly angry? Would that anger be enough to make him think twice about why he’s burning things? I’d like to see who or what he would allow to get that deep underneath his skin—would it be one of the Mobs? Would it be Pavel and his careless disregard for Nikolai’s hard work? Would it be damage to his reputation as a fireman?

ACTING OUT ALL THEIR FEARS

I’d love to dig more into Nikolai’s work with the mobs—what exactly are his parameters, what is he willing to do or not do? He’s chaotic and a little bit mad, but he’s not without pride—he thinks he’s the best fireman in the business and his work speaks to that. If he were given an opportunity to tie his allegiances to one side, would he take it? He values his independence and his ability to move around whenever he wants to highly, so whoever tried to buy his work on a more permanent basis would have to appeal to his vanity where his work is concerned. I’d also love to explore what exactly has kept him in Verona this long, when he would have normally probably moved on to a new place with new clientele.

THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO TAKE A FALL

Nikolai has spent his entire life in motion, running from his work before he can be caught. It’s a dangerous game of inches and seconds and I’d love to play more with that—how long will it be before he spends too long admiring his work? I’d love to see how he would react if he couldn’t run fast enough, or if the person chasing him was as familiar with the back alleys of Verona as he is. What lengths would he go to to save his own skin, or would he simply bow out, knowing that every good show has to come to an end at one point or another? After all, if old Billy Shakes had kept writing after his number had been called, who’s to say that the stuff he wrote would have still been decent?

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | of course!

IN DEPTH

What is your favorite place in Verona?

“Everyone in this town is so concerned with history.” Nikolai rolls his eyes, which are currently focused on a brown paper bag, nearly transparent with grease stains. He comes up with a fry which he unceremoniously shoves into his mouth, using his free hand to gesture wildly, with no real concern with what exactly he’s pointing at. “Over there is the bridge that His Holiness Pope Who Cares commissioned in 1189 B.C.E, in that museum you can see the dick picks that Leonardo Da Vinci painted and sent to Michelangelo’s house at three in the morning with a note asking if he was still up, and over there is the cathedral where Mario and Luigi pretended to care about religion, so that their dad wouldn’t get mad at them later.”

He pops another fry into his mouth and shrugs his shoulders as he brushes the salt off onto his jeans–denim with grease stains that could probably match the ones on the paper bag. “Where I’m from, in Russia, is the furthest North you can be without hitting the Arctic. There is no history there–the snow and ice get everything before it has a chance to acquire any kind of meaning. A building is just a building–none of it matters because you’re so concerned with surviving.” He shakes his head, and if anyone had been looking for it they would have seen his expression falter–the kind of melancholy that gets tinged with nostalgia and harder to explain the further you move away from it, the more you transform from the person in the memory. He’s quick to grin again, a little too sharp around the edges–a little too hungry, his father had once called it, after Nikolai had laughed at him when he’d asked about the black marks on his son’s hands. Wolfish.

“Anyway, that’s not what you asked, is it? My favorite places in Verona are the ones that don’t really fit–the abandoned warehouse next to the ornate cathedral. The street art on the side of a museum full of treasures. The shitty looking diner run by someone’s grandmother next to the Michelin star restaurant. The places that are never gonna end up in someone’s history book.”

What does your typical day look like?

Nikolai scoffs before he starts to cackle, a loud sound that draws the attention of people passing by—but come on, what a stupid question. Does he really look like the kind of guy who has days that are typical? He’s eating fast food on a park bench during the hours when other people are hard at work, his legs folded up underneath him. “Anyone who does enough of the same shit to have their days be considered typical is sad.”

He shrugs his shoulders, drapes an arm over the back of the bench. “I’m not going to daily yoga classes or brunch if that’s what you’re after. I go wherever the spirit moves me, whenever it moves me, and I’m rarely ever bored. Unless I’m on a job–” His grin turns into a kind of smirk, and he chuckles. “Then I have a routine. But those specifics are only obtainable by cash–and unless you’re hiding a hell of a lot in places that are hard to see? You’re not gonna get them.”

What has been your biggest mistake thus far?

He can remember every detail of that day with photographic clarity–the outfits of the people that had walked by on the street, the look on that smug bastard’s face and the shrieking of his laughter as he had hauled ass in the opposite direction, the way the ash had practically glittered in the sunlight. It would have been beautiful, had it not been three hours too early, had it not been everything he had built for himself that had gone up in gorgeous plumes of smoke and red-orange flames. It had been the first time he’d looked at a fire and felt something other than overwhelming sense of comfort, a sense of belonging in the world that could only come with leaving an irrevocable mark on the landscape. Instead he had looked at the smoldering remains of that particular building and felt fear–the fear that he would well and truly be on his own this time. That he would never feel warm again.

He blinks and tries to school his face into something unaffected, but he’s certain that he misses the mark–he’s never been good at judging where normal should be. “When you do what I do, you can’t really afford to make mistakes. One mistake and you’re a heap of ashes where a person used to be standing, y’know? But when I was starting out I made a lot of the typical rookie mistakes–I’d be surprised if I still had fingerprints.” He laughs again, and this time he feels it reach to the corners of his mouth.

What has been the most difficult task asked of you?

Nikolai shakes his head and shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket, his left hand immediately finding the lighter that’s nestled securely in the fabric. His fingers move over the familiar outlines, the places where the finish is worn off from repeated handling–difficult begins and ends with this familiar weight in the palm of his hand. Difficult rarely ever stands up to the all consuming power of a good burn. “The job isn’t difficult–not when you’re good at it. The hardest part has been staying in one place for so long–normally I’d have left this place for somewhere new a hell of a long time ago.” He exhales, and tilts his face up towards the sky so that he can feel the warmth of the sun. It’s the boredom that worries him most of all, that makes him wonder when it will be time to leave Verona and her criminal underworld behind for good–it might be better for him to get gone before the place can drain the creativity from him permanently.

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

“It pays the bills.” He shrugs and grins–a slow reveal of teeth, too many teeth to be considered friendly or casual. “What do I care if they tear each other apart in the same of some bullshit history between them? The minute it dries up I’m out of here and onto the next batch of maniacs just like them.”

EXTRAS

pinterest board x

#accepted: nick bottom #accepted

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