#mateo oliver

[armsthaticouldfallinto]

Not so Tiny Dancer.

[a-windsor]

a couple of weeks ago someone asked you questions about fics and about something u would do different or something like that. I sort of remember you mentioning thing!verse and something about race? Do you remember? If so, can you elaborate?

Hey anon! Sorry for the delay in responding to this.

I fully stand by the multi-racial family that is the Robbins-Torres’s. I do wish I talked more about what it means that they have one fully white kid, two arguably white (or could be read as white) Latin@ kids, and one Afro-Latin@ kid. The thing I’d change that I can still change is Calzona having a conversation about what it means to choose a white sperm donor and then use Arizona’s egg, and basically how they tried really hard for a blonde baby. It makes sense for them as a family, but I’d have loved to see them tackle it more as a couple about the implication of the blonde/blue eyed one and how she’ll have more advantages from the get-go. I stand by the fact that Lena would totally identify as Latina to some extent (obviously white Latina) not because I think that’s necessarily “okay” but because it’s totally something Lena would believe about herself.

In terms of what I’d change that’s already “canon” is the scene with the Black woman saying something to Asa/Teo/Arizona in Kiss the Girl. I think that pulled on some bad stereotypes that I didn’t do a great job of unpacking, coming from my place of white privilege, and I actually loved the way actual Grey’s handled that with Derek and Zola. If I could rewrite it, I’d have someone white say something to them, because it shows the racism Teo will face in the world. I’d also love (if the inspiration ever strikes me) to have Callie and Arizona have to deal with the reality of raising a little Black boy in Amerikkka. (eg. having to talk about police shootings, racial profiling, etc, though I think Teo’s most important conversations about this probably came from Tuck Bailey). 

I’d also love to explore any racism or prejudice Asa and Caroline would face, along with any feelings they might have about the extent to which they are read as white. And of course the role class has in their lives as it interplays with their respective races.

Basically I’m a lot more competent in discussing race (though still growing and learning and susceptible to slipping up) now than I was when started Thing!verse almost five (5!!!!) years ago, and I do regret especially that scene in Kiss the Girl.

[a-windsor]

Grey's Thing!verse Fic: Grand-Things, 1/1

Title: Grand-Things Author: A. Windsor Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy Series: Thing!verse Rating: G Author’s Note: Taken from many of the prompts I got this holiday season! Such as: Lena and Tess first Christmas together spent at the Robbins Torres house with the whole family there or grandthings waiting on the stairs Christmas morning to see if Santa came.  Teo bringing his girlfriend/fiancée home for Christmas for the first time. I would love christmas when the kids are older with their significant others. Among many others! This was supposed to be a drabble but expanded into a full length (short) fic.

[a-windsor]

Thing!verse Christmas MiniFic

The first of probably two or three. Will post to ff.net/lj/ao3 as a set likely later this holiday season.

In response to the anon prompt: One of the things finding out Santa isn't real.

____

“Umm… Acer?”

“Yeah, what’s up, T?”

Ten-year-old Teo looks nervously over to where their sisters sit doing homework at the kitchen table. His feet kick against the bar stool rung. Asa, book in hand, recently home from the Academy, watches him closely.

“Do, uh, you think Santa’s real?”

Asa freezes.

“Why do you ask?”

“‘Cause I kinda was thinking that he’s… not.”

“Oh?”

The girls snicker.

Teo looks up sharply, dark eyes flashing at Lena and Caroline.

“What?” he demands.

Asa glares at their sisters.

“You already knew, didn’t you?” the ten-year-old demands.

“Mateíto,” seventeen-year-old Lena cajoles.

“No! No me llames Mateíto. [Don’t call me Mateíto.] You guys knew and didn’t tell me,” he accuses.

“You’re right,” Caroline says.

“Cari…” Asa warns the thirteen-year-old.

“Nah, he figured it out. He can know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Teo cries, jumping off his stool, arms crossed over his chest.

“‘Cause we all had to figure it out for ourselves,” Caroline says.

“Except me,” Lena says, elf hat cocked on top of her blonde curls. “Asa told me.”

“You beat it out of me when you were eight!” Asa defends. “And you’d started to figure it out anyway, or you wouldn’t have asked.”

Lena shrugs.

“So Santa isn’t real,” Teo deflates. “¿Por qué las madres hablan de él como es?” [Why do moms talk about him like he is?]

Asa grins. “They like it. Not sure Momma really believes Santa isn’t real anyway. They wanna keep us young as long as possible.”

“So they buy the presents?  I thought the handwriting was familiar. And the same as the Easter Bunny’s.”

The girls laugh.

“Mas are gonna be sad,” Caroline notes.

“Yeah. El nene es macho,” Lena grins. [The baby’s all grown up.]

“Can’t believe you lied to me,” Teo huffs.

Asa smiles fondly and pats the stool beside him.

“You’ll get over it,” he says as Teo reclaims his seat.

“But seriously. Not cool,” Teo complains.

“Aww, Tiny Dancer,” Lena coos. “Our baby all grown up.” She pretends to dab at her eyes. “But seriously,” she echoes him, “It’s honestly way more fun to believe.”

“Oooor Lena’s just never gotten older than ten,” Caroline rolls her eyes.

“That’s probably true,” Asa agrees.

The garage door starts rumbling open, and the three younger siblings fall quiet and return to their homework. Their moms enter soon after with arms full of grocery bags. Asa’s already getting up when Arizona asks him to help get the rest.

Lena’s already popping out of her seat when Callie calls:

“Butt back in the chair. Asa and Momma can get it. You three finish your homework so we can all actually relax after dinner for once.”

“Okydoky,” Lena salutes, dropping down.

“I had to give all the kids the “Santa comes to the hospital” speech today,” Arizona is telling Asa as they come in from the garage. “Some of them didn’t know that Santa goes wherever he has to. Isn’t that silly, Tiny Dancer?”

Teo freezes just a moment, his siblings’ eyes all locked on him.

“Umm…” he starts. “Yeah! Super silly. He’s Santa.”

“Right!” Arizona beams.

As she moves to put away the groceries, Asa meets his gaze and gives him a subtle thumbs up. When Teo glances towards his sisters, Lena is beaming goofily and even Caroline gives him an encouraging nod.

“We’re doing Christmas cookies Saturday,” Callie reminds them as she puts groceries away. “No matter who you would rather be kissing.”

“Don’t look at me!’ Lena defends, pointing towards her brother. “I’m not the sailor home on leave!”

Asa and Arizona groan at the joke.

“We’re in the clear,” Caroline deadpans, not looking up from her homework. “The Shepherds leave for back east tomorrow.”

The bag of mini marshmallows flies impressively true for its size and weight, striking Caroline on the top of the head.

While Lena, Teo, and their moms guffaw, Asa complains:

“I’ve gotten less hazing at Annapolis!”

[a-windsor]

Anonymous asked: This may be a cruel question, but which mom passes away first in Thing!verse. When you started writing adult age Thing!verse, I wondered if you were going to write one of their passing away. Just curious your thoughts on which kids would have stepped up and taken care of the parent left behind. I've seen it with my own family, that when a parent passes away, the dynamic between the kids and the remaining parent changes and they really have to be there for them in a new way.

——

Ho boy. Do I have some ideas about this. And here lie spoilers for basically the entirety of thing!verse future, so I’ll put it under a cut so that people who wanna know can know:

The answer is Arizona. Arizona goes first. And Callie is pretty much a wreck. (I think if Callie went first, Arizona would be better about the stiff upper lip. Callie just feels things so intensely.) 

And the rest you probably don’t need as much detail about but you’re getting it. 

So by the time Arizona dies, this is where everyone is in their life:

Asa is in his late 40s. He’s married to Katie, a Colonel in the Marines, and they’re stationed in DC because he works for the Pentagon at the moment. Katie worked in the base hospitals when they were deployed, and now works at a hospital in DC. They and their three children, the twins Daniel (Danny) and Ella (17) and daughter Camila (Cami, 12), are happy to be stateside somewhat permanently for now, because they bounced around international (and the occasional domestic) bases for a long time. 

Lena is in her mid 40s. She is married to Tesa. Her and Tesa’s two children, Liliana and Santiago (Lily and Santi), are 16 and 14, respectively. She gave up the law when Lily was a baby because Carlos got very sick (he was pretty old by this point too) and he finally convinced her to sort of “take her rightful place” in the family business. She runs the Seattle hotel completely, and serves as Chairman of the Board of the Torres Company. Her cousin Lucas is CEO. Tesa runs the Torres Family Foundation. 

Caroline is in her early 40s. She is, of course, married to one Nathaniel Rizzoli-Isles and they have two boys, Javier (Javi, 11) and Nicolas (Nico, 9) Rizzoli-Torres. Caroline is decently high-ranking patrol officer in Seattle PD, Nate is a lower ranking officer who actually only works part time. He took all of the first four years of Javi’s life off. They also have been foster parents since Nico was a baby, generally taking in teenagers, especially LGBT teenagers. (Hence having a full house and Nate only working part time.)

Teo is about 40. He and his wife Rani (a PR exec) have three daughters: Parker (5), Carmen (3), and Nila (6 months) Robbins-Darzi. He’s lived in LA most of his adult life (with the occasional stint in New York or abroad with different dance companies), dancing, teaching dance, and choreographing. More teaching (and choreographing occasionally) these days as he gets older, and because he has three young girls at home that take up a lot of his time and energy. 

(Oh and if anyone cares, Dr. Kate Shepherd, Officer Nathaniel Rizzoli-Isles, and Ms. Rani Darzi all keep their names, but Teresa Ramos becomes Teresa Robbins-Torres. This is so irrelevant, but just FYI.)

Again, this is more info than you needed, but I have a lot of thoughts. But the relevant portion above is that the girls have spent their lives in Seattle and the boys have not. So the girls are already living in Seattle when Momma passes away, and the boys have to fly in. Lena, being Lena and also having a fairly flexible schedule, handles most of the arrangements and logistics of the funeral and other legal post-death matters. Caroline and Nate handle Callie before the boys get there and after the boys leave. Which is not, probably, what they would have predicted would be the break down, given Callie and Lena’s close relationship, but Callie finds it too difficult to be around her mini-Arizona. It’s very difficult for all of them. 

The boys of course would be there as quickly as possible, kids in tow, and the funeral is a big old mess of emotions and no one but Lena and Caroline really notices that Callie always makes an excuse to not be around Lena very long. Eventually that’ll work itself out, but for the immediate aftermath, it’s Caroline who swings by before after and during every shift, who brings Nico, Javi, and whichever foster kids are currently living with them to distract and cheer up Callie. Lily will bring Santi by, Tesa will bring dinner over, but Callie isn’t ready to see Lena on a regular basis. Until she is.

But back to the boys. Because they’re not getting their fair shake. Just because they didn’t stay in Seattle doesn’t mean they lost their closeness with their mothers. It’s just a different dynamic. If anything, their time with their moms was more precious and concentrated, and less “Can I drop the kids off for a couple hours tonight while my spouse and I have some quiet time?”. Both relationships are good. So even though “the boys” are very busy men, they start calling their Mami a little more, checking in. But in terms of “on which kids would have stepped up and taken care of the parent left behind” it’s Lena and Caroline, just based on proximity, and they both help in different ways. 

I would say, also, that eventually Nate and Caroline move into The House to help take care of Callie, and to house their boys and their foster family, lol.

And the chickens. 

[armsthaticouldfallinto]

Happy late blame your fic mummy Birthday little squishy Thing 4!

I just really love older!Teo, okay?

[a-windsor]

variety-ownage answered your question:Alright, y’all. It’s 3 day weekend and we’re...

Does Teo miss his family, seeing as he’s all the way down in LA? And Asa too being even further?

The boys miss their family the way anyone who lives far from their family does. Probably similar to how Lena felt during college. For Asa, that's just part of the job. There's Skype and everything else, but of course he misses them. For Teo, he's at least just a 2.5 hour plane ride around, so he gets to come up a lot, and the rest of the family comes down to sunny LA a lot. But for both of them, it also allows them a little more independence, the chance to make their own way. So there are pros and cons. 

[armsthaticouldfallinto]

Artwork of We Three Things by epic A-windsor, for a Secret Santa fic over on Callie_Arizona lj comm.

Completely forgot to post this before now, so as I sit alone doing deadline work because no one has enough game as me to pace themselves for all nighters