starzki | Summer Mini Challenge Prompt: Smile

Title: There It Is
Author: Starzki
Rating: T (for language)
Genre: Drama, Humor
Prompt: smile
Word Count: 2075
Summary: Sometimes it takes a stranger to point out the obvious. S/K.
Table Link: Here
Story Link: Here

Notes: I am so glad that this story is finished. As it stands right now, I really unsure about how I feel about it. I hate writing original characters and I think this might have had too much of one.

But I made my choices. I have a few reasons for this. One, I have a crazy-extensive head canon for Melissa Mao from the time she joined the Marines to the time she joined Mithril. This story was an opportunity to kind of obliquely dive into that head canon that I couldn't resist.

Second, I actually like the premise. The prompt is "smile" and, as FMP fans know, Sousuke isn't much of a smiler. I found this website where they have screen caps of all of the times Sousuke smiles during the anime, and lo and behold, most of those have a little something to do with Kaname Chidori. :)

I wanted someone to notice the way that Sousuke cheers up when Kaname is around. For me, this meant that their school friends were out, since they see the two of them together more than they see Sousuke alone. Also, I think Melissa and Kurz would notice, but would be unlikely to call much attention to it. They know how Sousuke is. I couldn't think of a canon character that would be able to point this out.

Therefore, I created an OC. *headdesk*

It's kind of an AR, maybe a replacement for some of the action that took place in The Second Raid. I'm quite familiar with Austin and the Austin airport, so I set the story there. I tried to make Celina as different from Melissa as possible, but have enough in common that it's obvious why they would be friends. The effort to make them different accounts for Celina's appearance, her pregnancy, and her general, pacifistic look on life. But Celina is every bit as rough around the edges as Melissa. This story was all about editing it down. I wanted nothing more to go on and on about Celina and Melissa's back story, but that's not what the story was about. I hope I cut it down enough that the necessary exposition was there, but didn't get too boring learning about a new character.

I also made Celina pregnant and happily married (though it's only stated in passing) just so that the FMP characters actually get to see a functioning domestic relationship. Aside from Kaname's pre-teen years, I'm unsure that anyone on this show has really seen people in relationships that are working. So, I wanted to hint that there might have been some limited exposure for them.

Finally, I also made Celina a bit of a clown, willing to do anything to try to wring smiles from her guests. The song she sings along to in the car is The Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch." This is mostly because I can't listen to the song without cracking up. I also thought it might be shocking enough for Kaname to forget her troubles long enough to give us a smile. :)

Now this story is out of me, so maybe it will finally leave me alone. I wanted nothing more than to find another way to deal with this prompt. I wanted it to be a drabble. But this damned plot bunny was insistent. We'll see how I feel about it once I get it behind me some more.