MARUDA MONTH OF AWESOME

[higure]

... aka this isn't all that well thought out, but I don't care because MaruDa is turning 30, and I want to love them a little more.


credit

Technically this is also a little late, and I really won't mind if any and all activity carries past October 4th.

To celebrate the wonderful thing that is the bond of one Nakamaru Yuichi and Ueda Tatsuya, who have been giving us joy and shipping material for years now, I challenge you!

Comment to this post and spam pictures, give me your feelings, write fics, post fic ideas and prompts, answer those prompts, share your doujinshi, look for couple clothes, share conspiratorial theories, flail and cry on my shoulder because Ueda and Nakamaru will both be 30 in a month and they still look younger than you, give me reasons why I (I mean everyone) should ship them (more), invite your friends, have a party!

Anything goes, this post stays public, let's have fun! Let's have an awesome MaruDa month. (The idea was not mine, but I sure hope Levy and Seki forgive me for stealing it).

I promise to make a master post of things in comments so people do not have to look for it.

Need a little incentive?

Maruda and dress shirts, and ties, and more ties (and you know other polka dot men apparel), and in leather jackets, and Ueda making Nakamaru's PV that much better, and Nakamaru telling you who really uses the whip in this relationship. And have MaruDa reminding you just how long they have been the perfection they are. Even if their radio made of awesome (and the related regular couple shoots) is no longer.

Have MaruDa serenading you because of course Nakamaru takes Ueda with him to his SCP performance.

Enjoy them pimping each other's acting work in an interview or watch them discuss hairstyles like it's serious business.

And top it off with some lovely meta that makes you melt.

Now it's your turn, I will encourage all and every notion of affection. Spread the word, have some fun.



Shiny things to be found in comments:
Art:
Suits and ties (with a little written bonus)
another collection of fanart, omg so much awesome

Writings:
Chiffon
Don't Make Me Come Back There. I Beg You
AutoCorrect Refresh
This Is You
A Well-Laid Plan
Moonlight Without A Blueprint

Threads where you can request something to be written do you by a specific author:
Levy's drabble thread
Alex' prompt me thread
Ri's "find-me-something-i-want-to-write" request thread
!You can always leave random prompts and story ideas, things you have always wanted to see written about them in general comments and maybe some good fairy will pick it up. This is not limited to requesting from people who specifically offered to write. And of course you can pick any of the prompts and write something for it too ....

Translations:
An extremely cute and full of feelings compilation of short MaruDa related translations by snowaltz

Other awesome things:
MaruDa feels all over the place because talks of first impressions, and joy, but seriously check this out
Scanlated doujin from my PC
More MaruDa feelings in from of all kinds of old translations linkage

Comments

[je-levy.livejournal.com]

Sorry this took a while. I had a lively debate with myself about going for an hourglass theme possibly and getting conceptual and abstract on you. Near miss there :P



Moonlight Without A Blueprint



“I still say we should’ve made some sort of plan,” Nakamaru mumbles at him doubtfully.

At two a.m. the beach is bathed in a lazure blue. The moon is nearly full and its silver splashes an eerie sheen over them; over the sand under Ueda’s fingers. It’s cool too, and so much chillier than it would be during the day that it makes the moon seem like a frozen, great thing, looming over them—this foreign, bright witness to the two of them, kneeling under a bank of lava rock.

“You know, like an actual blueprint?” Nakamaru continues, leaning over to examine Ueda’s side from behind him. Ueda can hear him breathing out his nose; the way he does when he’s had a drink or two. Ueda smiles at his sand-covered hands as he pushes another lump of it over for further moulding.

That’s really the trouble with their occasional trips overseas. Jet lag. It had them passing out as soon as they’d hit the hotel—sprawled out on either side of a vacuum of a bed—only to be wide awake and completely at a loss around one a.m. They’d raided the minibar, expensive though it is. Ueda isn’t sure how they wound up out here, beside the whisper of waves and strange sounds of the night.

Ueda had begun to build a quick, sloppy sandcastle, and barefoot, tousled, and a little revved up from the liquor, Nakamaru—the foreman archetype—still wants to have a plan first. Ueda has the moat all built, a large incline around a mound of sand. He pulls up more with his fingers, as Nakamaru kneels beside him and scoops up the damp layer underneath with the side of his palm.

Ueda peers at him sideways, watches how his funny mouth forms a comfortable moue; his skin glowing like it’s under a black-light.

“Perhaps we’ll build a French castle. Do an Impressionist bit.” Nakamaru added jovially. Ueda can’t really see him fully in this light, so when Nakamaru does look down, his eyes only fix a gaze with two different shadowed shades of depth, each like looking into a house full of everyone Ueda liked. “Ùnless you’re all about the Middle Ages right now, in which case, we’ll build a ‘keep’ and decide the surrounding court—”

He’s rambling. Ueda shakes his head, grabbing a stick to carve a hole for a door. “We’re not building a monument, Nakamaru; it won’t last anyway,” he tells him.

One wall of the castle begins to crumble a bit as he moulds the door and Ueda quickly reaches for the loose sand, pressing the cracks closed. Nakamaru hasn’t taken his eyes off him and Ueda can feel it. A faint cloud must have passed its journey across the moon because suddenly the light reflecting off the sea is pooling around them and the lava rock now looks like it has diamond studs in it. The packed sand under his fingernails and in the creases of his skin is turning dusty as it dries. Nakamaru’s palm comes to rest, cold and sandy, on his; he could be placing pressure on the cracks with him. Ueda is abruptly conscious of how close they’re sitting.

“I’d really want it to last, though,” Nakamaru says with remarkable nonchalance. He pats damp sand into another crumbling spot with a weirdly expert gesture. “Wouldn’t you?

Ueda starts to smile again before he looks away from his current project to give Nakamaru a glance; but he finds himself suddenly scalded by the look Nakamaru has on. If he could draw like Nakamaru, Ueda would probably portray this sort of look on his face; it’s so very him. Unsure and delicately terrified, but so matter-of-fact about it, the person on the receiving end of this look would just have to second-guess themselves. Ueda is definitely second-guessing a great many things this moment.

[je-levy.livejournal.com]

“Well, since you’re working on it too…” Ueda begins, tearing his eyes away with a panic he doesn’t quite want to name. “What would you know about castles anyway?”

He can hear the smile in Nakamaru’s tone. “You’re very young,” he murmurs; he’s much closer; practically speaking into Ueda’s ear. “If you had lived as long as I have, junior—”

“—It’s really nice to think that in a month I will know everything you know,” Ueda cuts in serenely, barely inclining his head; he can feel the feather of Nakamaru’s breath spilling down his collar “…Gives me something to look forward to.”

His hands are very warm; both of them, but he feels like Nakamaru’s palm on the back of his is an easy weight. Ueda is trying, with fruitless effort, not to smile with his tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek.

“It’s practically two months,” Nakamaru informs him, his every word practically shining golden with his laughter. “But don’t let that discourage you.”

Ueda laughs. It’s one of their exchanges about absolutely nothing, but Ueda is shivering with meaning, After a careful moment, he clears his throat and tries to look at him inadvertently. Nakamaru sees the look and instantly stops looking so terrified; he’s all smiles and so many sorts of appealing. Confident. Ueda’s pretty sure Nakamaru’s really about to kiss him.

While his senses are doing their own thing, Ueda is completely amused by what confidence always does to Nakamaru.

“It’s one month, Nakamaru…” he murmurs quickly, a bit punch-drunk, but determined to take an open shot where he can get it. “But are you seriously about to kiss me?”

Nakamaru’s eyes shut, and he sighs with only his type of exasperation. “Ueda, must you ruin everything by sounding like that?”

Ueda bursts out laughing again. He loves him. Really, properly loves him, and it should be so simple. He’s mid-cackle when Nakamaru makes a sound of frustration, reaches up his neck to cup his jaw. The very moment Nakamaru’s lips curve and crush over his—a whole lot of lightning that strikes its glass-weaving shimmer between them—Ueda pulls his hand out from under Nakamaru’s to get a good grab at his collar. This tips their balance and lands Nakamaru on his back right on their little mess of sandcastle. Ueda couldn’t care less.

[chuckles0505.livejournal.com]

Augh, this is just the cutest ever ;_____;

I love how Nakamaru is all srs bsns over the sandcastle xD
Also the implications of “I’d really want it to last, though”,
all the glances in this because it's just about my favorite thing to ship about Maruda ♥____♥,
and this, Ueda is trying, with fruitless effort, not to smile with his tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek
Adorbs and I can totally picture Ueda doing this :'D

Thank you so much for writing all these <3 I've enjoyed reading them a lot!

[je-levy.livejournal.com]

I feel like Nakamaru would take any abrupt and random task quite srs bsns especially if he has random inexplicable background knowledge.

I just LOVE their glances and their expressions. I feel like it really makes most of their shipping material. I really wanted to focus on that at least just once.

Ueda is trying, with fruitless effort, not to smile with his tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek
Adorbs and I can totally picture Ueda doing this :'D
There was a moment in one of their india-fu games where Ueda was asking a question and listening for the answer, he had this exact look on his face with his mouth opened. It was so cute. >.<

I'm so glad you're enjoying them. Feel free to drop a word too if you like. I'm deeply enjoying the process it takes to write them XD <3333

[sashjun.livejournal.com]

Ah all my feelings, thank you so much for indulging me and my need for more sand and well beach and sea.

and barefoot, tousled, and a little revved up from the liquor, Nakamaru
This is such a precious image ugh *_____*

“I’d really want it to last, though,”
HCHFDSHFJKDGVKDFK i love how you always bomb me with them suddenly speaking on a whole new level and njksfhkdhfklshflhfldljfkdj the hand on Ueda's and gha jdskaldj and he loves him but calls him out on the kissing. Which in the end, obviously ruins the sand castle. I loved every bit of them, the idea of them jet lagged and building tipsy sand castles is just so great ♥

[je-levy.livejournal.com]

hahaha I'm so glad I went for the more obvious take on the prompt. The romantic notion was too overt to pass up. I felt a solitary moonlit night would be even better XD

So happy you liked it all. It's so much fun writing them doing cute things like this. <333333333