How'd you guys have fared in some kind of soulmate au? Like the one where you have the first words they say to you on your wrist, or something like that?
Oh gosh. Um. That would have been wild.
So I haven't really given the full context for our relationship, because I'm a bit cautious of Tumblr Being Tumblr, but this is too fun to think about, so I have to share.
So when I met my now husband, he was an assistant manager at the company I work for. (Some of you might remember Assistant Manager Who Definitely Has a Tumblr.) (Side note: He does not have a Tumblr.)
We became friends through the D&D group we were both part of, and after he left the company, we started talking more and just kind of realized we didn't want to stop. So, he wasn't my boss when we got together or anything, but at one point, he was.
Why is all of this relevant to the question?
Because the day of my interview, the manager had lost his voice. So they devised a set-up: My now-husband (let's call him Steve) would ask the questions, but I would answer the manager.
So for this AU, I need you to put yourself in my shoes.
You've had exactly one job before, and it was at the library of the college you also attended. You were told to apply there, by the person in charge, and hired on the spot with no interview.
So you're going to go to your first job interview. You're nervous, so you do what you often do when you're nervous: You turn to YouTube. You watch several videos outlining what to expect from a job interview, and what kinds of questions they might ask. Then you memorize all sorts of answers.
Fast-forward to the interview. You're SO PREPARED. And so nervous. You walk in. And the guy that greets you barely has a voice. He leads you back to the stock room, and hands you a math test.
This wasn't in any of your videos.
He also asks if you have any questions. This WAS in your videos, and you know the answer is always yes. But it's supposed to be at the END of the interview, when you've had a chance to formulate questions. And besides, what is this man going to do if you say yes? Charades?
You say no. You already feel like you've failed, especially when you're told the math test is half the interview grade. But you're here, so you carry on.
Then, another man walks in. Voiceless guy rasps out that this other man will be asking you the questions, but you will direct your answers to Voiceless Man.
This was DEFINITELY not in your videos.
So all of this is nerve-wracking enough. Now imagine, on top of that, the new man asking you the first question, and it being the words on your wrist. The words of your soulmate.
But you're not supposed to answer him. So you answer the Voiceless Man, desperately trying to remember the answers you memorized, and desperately trying not to look at the man asking you questions.
The interview ends with you being hired on the spot. You're more than a little shocked. You walk out of the stockroom with a shift scheduled for the next day, to come fill out all of the paperwork.
You look down at your hand. It still has the pen you used for the math test. You can't start your new job out by stealing from them, so you walk back into the stockroom, much to both men's surprise.
"I stole your pen," you say sheepishly. It's kind of aimed at both of them, but apparently it's enough: Steve's eyes widen, and you panic. You set the pen on the desk, and (to your credit) walk, not run, away.
Oscar is on your conversation hearts list and because it's my favorite movie in the whole entire world I must ramble at you. do you have any favorite lines from it? i feel like my family quotes Oscar at least once a day, especially "You are both an ox and a moron," and "it's like disarming germany!"
We quote it a lot too! It's one of my dad's favorite movies. "You are an ox and a moron!" is also a common one for us, and my mom is absolutely in stitches in the "like disarming Germany" scene (that mace!). But some other ones I'm partial to include
"Of course I knew. I just had no idea!"
"Let me show you the door. THERE'S the door!"
"You're a butler now! Buttle!" (a back-formation joke that P. G. Wodehouse used too)
"Even in the old days, he was known as an honest crook." "That's an oxymoron." "Gee, you shouldn't ought to said that, Doc." "Yeah, leave Connie alone. He does the best he can."
"Your daughter's not your daughter, and the cash that used to be your jewels is now your underwear!" "Now you've got it!" "I got it! I don't even know what I'm talkin' about!"
"It's this music you kids listen to today! Bing Crosby, Cab Calloway… Don't think I haven't heard the lyrics to 'Minnie the Moocher.'"
"This is your third fiance today and it ain't even lunch yet!"
Among many others. Whole scenes' worth.
Thank you so much for responding to something from my list!
Saw on your Conversations Hearts list that you like Hogan's Heroes! Me too! What's your favorite character?
Oh, that's a hard pick. Newkirk is great for fanfiction explorations -- his lower class status in Britain creates interesting parallels with Kinch's likely experience in the States -- but I think if I'm looking at pure canon I'd pick Hogan. What a troublemaker!
Have you ever watched the 2010 movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice? It's got a somewhat urban fantasy vibe (magic in a modern world) and it has Nicholas Cage and also a cringefail science nerd boy played by Hiccup's voice actor.
i have not! but it is on my radar, and i want to watch it at some point 👀
This one is so tough!! If I'm being honest, the piece that kept my writing brain alive this year was by @oviandoviagain - it's their short story about the princess and the dragon egg (I can't describe it fully cause it's NSFW). Lives in my head rent free forever despite being like a thousand words or so long. I ASPIRE to this power
Runner up is Baldur's Gate Three (would you love me if I was a Gale Girlie?)
Honorary mention goes to my mortgage documents 😅
4. How many fandoms did you write for this year?
Three! My Time at Sandrock, Baldur's Gate, and Moana
Five if you count two of my own projects though ❤️
19. Share your favorite piece of dialogue
“Why do I get the feeling I was interrupting something important?” Grace said, reading him like a book.
“Yeah, it’s tax season.” He replied, trying desperately to breathe like a normal person. “What did you need?”
“Left one of my textbooks in your office earlier.”
He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “No you didn’t.”
Grace laughed. “You got me. I left my school bag in the kitchen. I’ll grab it and get out of your hair.”
“Appreciate it.” He replied, keeping his voice as even as possible as Grace grabbed her bag from the kitchen.
“You know your house is literally next door, right?” She reminded him on her return, one strap of the worn bag slung over her shoulder.
(This is from my unfinished My Time at Sandrock fic, you can see the characters in Daddy Material but the fic this is from isn't posted. For a little context, builder Cassie is definitely in that office)
20. Share your funniest line
Oh, damn him. Of course his only ways of showing affection was being performatively annoying or intimately vague.
(This is from Thunderstruck, my Moana fic)
Here's the post the questions are from if anyone wants to ask another ❤️