@phantaire / phantaire.tumblr.com
"The clouds took the shape of Gorgon masks in the immensity of the heavens; every possible form of terror appeared." Victor Hugo, Toilers of the Sea.
Grantaire lives under a dark cloud, his snakes writhe and twist and hiss, and under their scaled bellies blisters start to swell. He is rotten.
fourth in the current gorgon!grantaire series, third in series of modern au.
In an unexpected turn of events, I appear to have written a new part in the gorgon!grantaire series, so I suppose I better try and proof read it and get it up and posted soon. Perhaps I’m going through a fic renaissance. That would be nice.
Kevin shouldn’t have started this conversation, and he didn’t know what had settled in his gut to force his hand. All he knew is that five minutes ago he couldn’t not have said those words to Elder McKinley, but now he would have turned the tide to have held them in check. Perhaps this was what Arnold felt every day, that he was built of words and thoughts and feelings that had to be let out, damn the consequences.
Because 'turning it off' is not, and has never been a viable solution to anything, and feelings exist to be expressed and thoughts need to be put into words, otherwise they fester away into doubt and misunderstanding.
This time two days ago I’d just got out of the Eugene O'Neill Theatre having seen The Book of Mormon on Broadway (with @slightlytookish!) I am now back in the UK, and timezones are mysterious and cruel things and so I have inflicted my jetlag on everyone’s favourite Elder Price. Wikipedia states that jetlag can have “cognitive effects include poorer performance on mental tasks and concentration, increased fatigue, headaches, and irritability” so I thought I’d be mean. (Once I’ve got over my jetlag and had this beta’d I’ll AO3 it.)
Plus Nine Kevin Price centric. (McKinley/Price pre-relationship if you squint/want) Canon compliant.
Sleep came easily to Kevin Price, it always had. His bedtime routine had been set in stone since he’d been a young boy; he would say goodnight to his mom and dad, he and his brothers would brush their teeth huddled around the bathroom sink – Lucas helping Ethan, Jack elbowing Michael, and Sarah using their parents en-suite rather than sharing with the boys - and then Kevin would say his prayers, lay down in bed and think of Planet Orlando until those thoughts turned into dreams. Almost always of Planet Orlando.
for the fic prompt thing: Nabulungi/Arnold (can be gen if you like), university setting :D
The first friend that Arnold had made at university had been Kevin Price - not intentionally mind, but when Professor Monson had assigned the pairs for the icebreaker activity randomly it had been “Price, Kevin” with “Cunningham, Arnold” and that had been that, Arnold had a friend.
And to be honest, Arnold hadn’t really felt that he’d needed any other friends, Kevin was brilliant and the workload was hard and Arnold had never been much good at slowing down and paying attention, and he really didn’t want to disappoint his parents.
And then a cute girl texted him - Hi Arnold, I got your number from Kevin because you and I share the course with Dr. Gotswana and I was wondering if we could go over the reading together, N x - and she’d signed it with a kiss, if only she’d signed her name. (He should have paid more attention in that elective’s orientation class.)
1) Give me a pairing.
2) Give me an AU setting.
3) I will write you a three-sentence fic.
Feel free to sub in prompt of choice for AU setting. I have some time off work and feel like writing short stuff between projects… :D
I haven’t posted fic here for ages, I haven’t watched the new Beauty and the Beast film but I really like the instrumental in the middle of the new Gaston track and I haven’t proof read this. Now that we’ve all got all the facts, enjoy.
A Man Among Men Kevin & Arnold friendship. (Background Arnold/Naba, Kevin/Connor) Kevin gets jealous sometimes.
It was getting to the point, Arnold thought, that something had to be done about it. He knew that he wasn’t the most... delicate person, but for the life of him – sworn on the Book of Arnold even, he’d go that far – he could not work out why Kevin was angry at him.
Enjolras loves it. He’s focused and determined, the way he is in all things, and that’s a useful trait in fencing. On top of that, he gets to vent any pent up rage he’s feeling in a healthy manner. ‘Just imagine I’m the bourgeoisie’ Grantaire taunts, and regrets it. It becomes a regular thing for them, once a week. Enjolras finds himself starting to wish he could kiss that smug look of Grantaire’s face.
“I didn’t know you fence”
“You won.”
Grantaire nods, still feeling Enjolras’ fingers entwined tightly in his hair, as though he doesn’t know how to let go.
“I won.”
“Swords? They’re fucking foils, for fencing. Do you know what happens when you fence? You stab people and there’s no blood because the foils aren’t fucking sharp.”
Enjolras sighs, “I know that they aren’t, but they’re still viewed as a weapon by our guidelines, so you need to board them as luggage.”
“I can’t do that,” the man’s voice has taken on a desperate edge.
*More EXR rec posts
Angels, demons, gods, goddesses, genies & gorgons!
The heart of a star is a powerful thing, and after hearing Enjolras talk, Grantaire was almost convinced he had one. He didn’t look like an awkward young man with no friends and an impossible dream; he looked like a warrior, a god. Like he could change the world every bit as much as he said.
There was only so much Grantaire could do. He had none of Enjolras’s conviction, his confidence, his blind faith. He just had the heart of a star, and it wasn’t doing him any good.
Enjolras would use it.
“Oh, fuck, tell me I’m not your new cause—what’s your name? I should know the name of my master.”
He winces. “Please don’t call me that. It’s Enjolras. And you aren’t a cause. You just deserve to be free. How long have you been in there?”
To his surprise, when he stands, Enjolras does too, without keyboard or tablet, and gives Grantaire a firm hug, the kind he does—well, the kind he does for his friends. For Combeferre and Courfeyrac and Jehan and Joly and all the others, and even Marius a few times, but never Grantaire.
“Oh,” says Grantaire, in a tone that would give him away to anyone with any observatory skills at all. Enjolras just pats him on the back and releases him. “You’re welcome.” That has to have been Enjolras’s thanks. If it’s just something he expects to do now Grantaire may not survive.
*Also check out the author’s tag for the mythology AU
“This is Enjolras,” Combeferre offers when the man himself does not.
“And I’m not one for telling tales,” Enjolras says shortly. Some added insult along the lines of ‘not to an apparent wine-guzzling layabout such as you’ is unspoken but heavily implied.
“Not even in exchange for a glass of wine after a hard day’s hunting?” Grantaire says, uncorking the bottle. He’s being irritating and he knows it, but he also knows that to back down now would be to lose Enjolras’s attention completely, and that can’t happen. That soul is the brightest and most beautiful thing he’s seen in too many long years, and he can’t allow it out of his sight again.
*Also check out the author’s tag for it
Something changes after that night, and Grantaire’s snakes are the first to react to it. Where they had once been marginally docile, the only whims that they tenuously obeyed being Grantaire’s, now they beckon towards Enjolras unprompted. No longer content to knot across Grantaire’s head - leaving the impression of chin length curls - instead they elongate, they twirl and they hiss spontaneously, with no impetuous other than the proximity of Enjolras. It is almost as though they smile in the presence of Enjolras, suddenly they reach out, coiling loosely to his shoulders, sliding out and over. It is almost hypnotic, he has caught Enjolras staring more than once.
He recognises the naked man. And it’s not even because he’s a widely televised serial killer. Grantaire recognises the naked man because he’s spent the last two months of his life carving said naked man out of marble.
“Oh my God,” Grantaire says again. “Apollo.”
“I don’t like that name. I never liked that name,” Not-A-Serial-Killer says. “Can I have another, please?”
*More EXR rec posts
I thought along with Fanfic Rec Day it’d be a good idea to start up an ask meme for writers so they can gush about writing and words and everyone can have a platform to ask writers some burning questions about their work.
Be proud and spread word about your hard work all around, writers! Today’s a day for all of us to appreciate you and your efforts : )
i) Barista and person who has a ridiculous coffee order
ii) I’m worried about your coffee dependency
iii) you accidentally poured boiling hot coffee over me so you’re responsible for taking me to A&E
iv) you give me a different fake name every time you come into starbucks and I just want to know your real name bc ur cute but here I am scrawling “batman” onto your stupid cappuccino
i) You buy a weird amount of flowers and I’m concerned as to why
ii) I’m allergic to flowers but I work in a flower shop – you’re a customer who’s very confused as to why I’d do that
iii) (this is also a good way to incorporate flower meanings eg, buying certain colours/types for person to represent feelings etc.)
i) You’re overdue on this book and I want it so I’m tracking u the fuck down
ii) I work in the library and I’m a little concerned for your health bc you never stop studying
iii) The library’s pretty empty save for you and me and OH that couple making out loudly in the shelves somewhere
i) I accidentally punched you in the face when I was too overexcited about something
ii) I thought you were my friend who’s just done something awful to me (read: cut my hair while I slept, dyed all of my clothes pink, etc. etc.) because you look similar from behind so I stormed up to you and shoved you from behind while calling you an asshole
iii) You get the gist to this one
iv) Oooh when you told me your name I thought you were joking because it’s fucking awful and I made a joke about it and things got awkward real fucking fast (perfect for a Hannibal au just saying)
i) We live in the same block of flats but haven’t ever talked and Sunday morning we were both doing the walk of shame and had to stand in the lift together
ii) “okay I know that being in the woods at 2am is a weird thing to be doing but my friend called me and- wait, why are you in the woods at 2am, fuck I’m going to die aren’t I?”
iii) A personal favourite of mine – first day at a new job and oh fuck my boss is the person I drunkenly hooked up with last weekend/night
iv) We keep accidentally running into each other I’m not a stalker I swear
v) You live across from me in our apartments and we smile when we see each other but we don’t really know each other and oh you’re the stripper at my friend’s stag do/hen night fuck this is really uncomfortable
vi) “My shower’s broken but I’ve got a date tonight could I possibly use your shower please?” “Oh sure (neighbour that I’ve been crushing on for the past six months) of course you can use my shower to get ready for your date (fuck fuck fuck)”
i) You’ve got a date tonight and you asked for advice on what to wear but I’m so in love with you and damn you look good in the outfit I picked out for you
ii) I really like you but you’re my best friend’s ex
iii) You’ve liked me for ages and were really obvious about it and I didn’t like all the attention but now you’re over me I really miss it and fuck I think I like you too?
iv) Somewhere along the way of getting into bar fights together, staying up all night with movie marathons, other friendship things, I’ve fallen in love with you but oh my god this could ruin EVERYTHING
v) Friends with benefits oh wait I like you
i) It’s my highschool reunion and I need a hot date so I can rub it in the faces of the people who hated me
ii) My homophobic parents are coming to visit will you pretend to date me as an extra “fuck you”?
iii) There’s a person who won’t stop bugging me will you pretend to be my partner so that they’ll fuck off?
iv) I told my sister I have a boyfriend so she’d stop trying to set me up with people but now she’s coming to visit and I’m in too deep I need a fake boyf ASAP
i) The first words your true love(s) will say to you are tattooed on you and why the fuck are their first words something really ridiculous like ‘I’ll pay you a tenner to punch me in the face’ or ‘quick what’s your favourite animal’ or ‘fucking shit hell holy fuck wow oh my god jesus h Christ fuck me’ etc. or even worse a really ridiculous song lyric like the opening lines of uptown funk or a high school musical song or smthing did you have to serenade me the first time you saw me asshole?
ii) You get an ‘impression’ of your soulmate when you turn 18 or something but all I got was a strong smell of bananas or an overwhelming feeling that Thatcher was a good prime minister or an image in my mind of a fucking unicorn
iii) The more ridiculous the better actually
iv) Something like whenever your soulmate sings a duet you can’t help but join in and my fucking soulmate is in a goddamn band but I can’t sing for shit
v) Or maybe something like soulmates always sneeze at the same time and I cant be sure but me and this kid in my French class just sneezed at the same time are we soulmates or was it a coincidence (proceed w character trying to make themselves sneeze around said person to see what’s what)
i) Mermaids
ii) Siren and asexual pirate who doesn’t understand why all his crew are losing their shit that person has a nice voice sure but what the fuck is happening
iii) Hogwarts
iv) We live in a world where the greek gods are real and you went and got yourself cursed and now I have to go on a fucking quest to sort this shit out why do I love you again?
v) Pacific rim au (either they’re drift compatible or one of them is a ranger and the other stresses constantly bc what if they die yes I have read a fic like this no I didn’t come up with this one but it’s fucking good) (also if you haven’t seen that film go watch it now)
vi) Literally any movie or book universe you like tbh just go for it
i) I wanted to go on the ferris wheel but there has to be two people to a cart come on random person let’s go oh wait are we stuck at the top? Fuck
ii) We work in the same office and you have a goddamn squeaky chair and you wONT FUCKING STOP SQUEAKING IT BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT ANNOYS ME
iii) Our mutual friend set us up on a blind date and I thought I’d hate it but you’re actually… kind of funny? But because I expected to hate it in no way am I going to let you change my mind just because you’re gorgeous and funny and intelligent oh no my friend is not winning this
iv) It started to snow and I’m the only one of our friends who would go outside with you – I soon found out why none of the others would go out in the snow with you (this works best if they’re new friends who don’t know each other all that well) when you shoved a handful of snow down my back and declared snow war
v) It’s nowhere near Christmas it’s literally still November would you calm down about Christmas wait no why are you getting the tree out no stop please stop (if you do this pre-relationship you can have the grouchy one secretly finding the other’s excitement endearing and falling in love with them actually that works for established relationship too)
vi) Current partner got a new job in America (or other country far away) and we’re getting by on skype calls and emails but it’s not easy and then I met someone new (can be poly or can be finding the OTP person)
vii) You want us both to get in shape and I hate working out/running but your ass looks really good in shorts oh the things I do for my friends and their nice asses
viii) Carrying on from 10.vii. you’ve caught me checking you out in what I thought was a subtle way too many times and now you’re calling me out on it what do I do???
ix) You’re an actor/other famous person that I really admire and I just saw you in the street and as I was debating whether or not to say hi you came up to me and started flirting what do I do??
x) You were waving at your friend behind me but I got confused and waved back at you and now I’m dying of embarrassment but you think it’s cute
xi) I sat down in the wrong class and I’m panicking but don’t want to get up and leave because the class has started and you think it’s hilarious and shut up you dumb fuck you don’t know me aahhh
xii) I’m a waiter at this wedding and you’re a drunk guest who will not stop hitting on me please I’m trying to work no I can’t dance with you omg let me find you some water
xiii) Our best friends are that awful ‘cute’ couple that make-out in public and call each other “sweetie” and “sugar” and “babe” and god they’re awful let’s talk about how awful they are – develops into “shit we’re the awful couple now”
xiv) You pissed me off in class so I threw a book at your head and now I’m in detention and jesus fuck I hate you so much and the teacher made me apologise and wait you’re cuter up close and the way you talk is kind of nice actually oh fuck no
Okay I could go on forever but this is over 1,500 words of auing already I have too many ideas christ
send me some to @theskyis-forever
I present a fic excerpt that’s too short for AO3, but it’s fluff. And let’s be real @slightlytookish told me I should post it, so I did. Very unbeta’d.
Salted Caramel McPriceley Pointless (and blessedly short) fluff.
All things considered, Connor had just sort of expected that he would be good at cooking.
He’d always had a sweet tooth, and it had taken the hard work and high stress of Uganda to finally burn off the last his puppy fat. His face was still slightly rounded, but he had matured into his body and it was harder to get granulated sugar and chocolate spread in Kitguli.
And afterwards, well.
"My parents are really looking forward to meeting you," Kevin had said the last time they'd skyped, "My siblings too, especially Jack, but the younger ones are mostly wrapped up in their own lives, so I don't know if we'll be their main focus at the party." "That's fine. I don't know if I want to be anyone's focus at the party." "Well, you'll be mine,"Kevin had said, and it was sweet enough that Connor had almost forgotten to worry.’
Connor is, for the first time, heading down to Utah to spend 4th of July with Kevin and his extended family. To say that he’s nervous would be an understatement, but, really, what could go wrong?
Twice Blessed, a 10 chapter McPriceley ‘The Book of Mormon’ fanfiction detailing the post-canon annual Price Family 4th of July extravaganza. Recently completed, and co-authored with the wonderfully talented @slightlytookish. Enjoy! (Link in picture.)
I came across your Gorgon!R fics on AO3 and I'm completely enamored with them. I'd never heard of Medusa as a symbol of revolution before, and I think I'm basically going to be researching this for at least the rest of the weekend now because it's amazing. (Err, yeah. There's not actually a question in this, just letting you know.)
Thank you! I’m really glad that you’ve been enjoying my Gorgon!R AU.
To help get you started, here’s a section of my revolutionary gorgon bibliography:
Enjoy!
It has been two years (!) since I wrote extraordinary, to the commonplace and in the a/n of that fic I mentioned that I had an Author’s Commentary for it planned. And so, selected highlights of that commentary.
Firstly, this fic had many names throughout the writing process, it started off as ‘ugly!fucker Grantaire fic’, progressed through to ‘inordinately homely’ and then finally, after the fic was completed I realised I needed something else. I was torn between Thomas Hobbes’ “nasty poor brutish and short” from the nature of humanity from Leviathan or a quote from Philip Larkin (poet of “they fucked you up your mum and dad” fame, but nothing seemed to fit… and then I found the Marquis de Sade.
From The 120 Days of Sodom and Other Writings came this quote:
“Beauty belongs to the sphere of the simple, the ordinary, whilst ugliness is something extraordinary, and there is no question but that every ardent imagination prefers in lubricity, the extraordinary to the commonplace.”
I then took this quote and looked and it and broke it down in the following way until I found the combination that I was happy with.
This quote was chosen because of the dual meanings, between which character was the represent the ‘extraordinary’ and which the 'commonplace’. The intention was to be that Enjolras’ ardent imagination wishes for the extraordinary, which Grantaire processes. Other than that The 120 Days of Sodom and Other Writings had no impact on the narrative!
And so, to the fic itself...
