raspberrylemonaid | (no subject)

Off-The-Cuff/Unlikely Shipping Meme!

One of the great things about writing shipping is the set up - characters meeting, getting to know each other, building history, feeling out compatibility.

But screw that.

In this meme you throw anyone at anyone. Don't ponder if they even make sense. Don't plot out how they met. Just chuck a starter and go. NOW YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP.

Post up ONLY THE MOST BAREBONES of your preferences (age limits, gender prefs if you have them. Anything that is a HARD NO only) and then go chuck your murderers, your nerds, your talking cats, all your usually unshippable characters at each other. Or maybe the character you have in ships normally just to see how they handle dating an alien that also wants to eat them.

The only hard rule is NO 'CANONMATES ONLY' PREFERENCES- not that you CAN'T tag or be tagged by canonmates, that just means you get to be suddenly dating your best friend without the 20 threads of worrying about ruining your friendship.

Some possible prompts

1. It's your first date! Time to figure out where super villians like to get coffee and what movies they like.

2. Things are going well, time to introduce the president to your friends... how will they handle it?!

3. First fights are a little more intense when your girlfriend can shoot energy beams

4. You're married to a pony now, congrats on your monstrous centaur children

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I read a lot of non fiction, usually. Inspirational stories, educational things. How-to books. I like picking up new skills.

[He turns a little red, the color popping on his otherwise pale self, reaching out and half pulling a book out with one finger, fiddling like he's embarrassed to pull it out fully. It's a book about a struggling man considering abandoning his life to open a cat cafe]

But I started reading the Timid Teacher series last year, and I've been thinking of reading more fiction... but I really have no idea where to even start.

[Kaneki definitely notices the book that Yu's pondering taking off the shelf, and he can't help but smile a little at his words.

He carefully reaches out and uses a hand to push the book in question out a bit more so it will tip over and into Yu's hand.]

Well...you can start with finding books about things you like. You'll be able to get a better idea of other things you'd like to read from there. Personally, I like mysteries and horror, but I'll read almost anything once.

[He turns the book over in his hands a few times. It has a ridiculously cute cover. Usually he had no shame about his enjoyment of things, but he was also used to being around his friends, who he knew, or strangers, who he didn't worry about.

Kankei was in that strange, gray between place. He wanted to make a good impression. He held the book upright in one hand, half hiding his lower face while he thinks, that red deepening a bit]

I think... I wouldn't mind a good mystery. I have a friend who's really into stories like that too...

[Okay, that's a good place to start. Kaneki nods a little, gesturing for Yu to follow him over to the Young Adult fiction section, over to where the likes of things like Sherlock Holmes could be found if one looked enough.]

All of the Sherlock Holmes books are good; they're classic mysteries. I'm a big fan of Edgar Allen Poe's work, too. It combines horror with mystery...I think you might like his short story called The Black Cat.

[He nods along to Kankei's assessment- Naoto had suggested Sherlock Holmes to him too, but he had never gotten around to picking anything up.

He picks up 'A Study in Scarlet' and one of the smaller Poe collections. Adding them to his cat book]

I think that's a good start. What about you?

Edited 2016-01-07 22:51 (UTC)

Me? I think I'm going to try reading something different for a change.

[Since Yu is going to try giving some mysteries a chance...Kaneki picks up a book that looks like a sort of fantasy about a talking cat who works as a stationmaster at a train station for creatures passing from one world to the next.

...definitely not to impress his date, or anything.]

...like this one.

[Yu looks at the cover art, and his eyes widen in wonder]

Like Tama! I mean... it's... probably based off that cat that is the Kishi Station mascot...

It is sortof like Tama, isn't it?

[He wouldn't be surprised if this book was inspired by her, honestly.]

If Tama could talk, that is.

Right.

[He calms himself, getting a little flustered- he didn't need to be gushing about cats on his date.]

Ready to sit?

I'm ready when you are!

[It's kindof cute, really...he's not sure what he was expecting, but such a deep rooted love for cats wasn't quite it. But that's better than most things he could have been into, honestly.

With their books in hand, Kaneki carefully leads the way from the bookshelves over to where the booths are. They can pay for their books and coffee all at once when they leave.]

[He gets his drink (heavy cream, shot of vanilla), sitting on the bench seat. He tilts his head slightly, indicating next to him. A quiet invitation]

[Kaneki's own coffee is a stark contrast to Yu's: black. Very black. He hesitates for just a moment when Yu invites him to sit next to him, but soon enough he walks on over to take a seat.]

The coffee here is good, so I think you'll like it.

It certainly smells good.

[He takes a sip, seeming to roll the drink over his tongue, savoring it, before swallowing]

Ah...

[Kaneki follows suit, very nearly burning his tongue in his haste but somehow managing to keep that little slip out of his expression.]

How is it?