Been in a writers block, so here's a continuation. Thought it might be fun for some self-reflection as if it's the current time, especially since the last one was over a year ago.

"Ready to go?"

Cole was seldom the first to be ready out of the door. He had a streak of being fashionably late, so it was a little odd that Steff was still deep in her thoughts, her bag not yet in her hands.

"It's a little strange," Steff admitted, tapping her pen against the book she was reading, "To think that we've come so far from the kickstarter show we were some four or five-odd years ago. Sometimes I think it's for the better. But-..."

Setting down his phone after checking the time, Cole walked to pull a chair out from beside her, sitting down to peer into what book she was reading. It was something sentimental and sappy, no doubt the tinder to her current thoughts. He thought people might have assumed he was similar in real life to the way he was on-screen, and he didn't deny they shared some traits, like a knack for overdressing and a love for literature, but he liked to think he had a bit more empathy than some thought.

"But...? Having regrets?"

Steff shook her head, snapping her book shut. "No. Not regrets. But I don't think I really understood what I was getting into, making this series so young. I mean, we're like the only show to release more than one season in a year, and it still isn't good enough for some people. The war arc got good ratings, but then it dropped off after and I can't help but think I'm messing everything up?"

Quizzically, Cole raised an eyebrow. Maybe that was another thing he shared with his character: strong opinions and a knack for disagreement. "So what if you get low ratings once in a while? I mean, people hate on Pan's Labyrinth and that's like the best movie. Or, like, what do you like? The Notebook?"

Raising her book, Steff hit his shoulder lightly with it before sighing loudly and standing up. "Oh, you tease too much. My interests do extend past sappy romances. And all I'm doing is venting. Advice is always good but...this I have to figure out on my own."

"So mean-" He rubbed his shoulder in mock hurt. "At least today is easy."

"Easy?" Setting the book down on the counter, she reached for her bag to rummage through it, most likely to check its contents. "Maybe you think so. I'm usually the one that has to answer most of the questions."

"We'll pick up a few, then. Share the load," he suggested, a little amused as he snagged his phone to tuck it in his pocket. "I'm not mute, even if you're the wordsmith."

"With written ones," she corrected, waving a pen in his direction absent-mindedly before pulling her bag off the counter. "The questions other people have are...sometimes difficult to answer."

He couldn't help it and he laughed, deciding that she was antsy to leave and get on with it. Steff always did hate being late.

"Well," he started, doing up the top button of his shirt and tightening his tie. "At least it's Rose that's picking the fan questions. How bad could they be?"

Although she was often in front of the camera, Steff could not help but admit that she was much more in her element behind the scenes. It was almost relaxing, watching her creation unfold, only needing to make slight corrections to everyone's delivery. She supposed everyone had internalized enough, save for a few of the newer additions, but they were sometimes sparse in appearance.

Her ankles crossed in her place in her chair, she smoothed down her dress. It was understated and modest. Rose had convinced her to wear it, despite insisting on a nice blouse and pants. She could not help but look over at the others, their faces brightened with the studio lights that aimed at them.

Cole was sitting quietly, his eyes trained on the cameras as the crew adjusted them to fit all of them in frame. He was selectively talkative, which was sometimes pleasant unless it was interviews, so she silently hoped he would be more responsive instead of expecting her to say everyone's part. Surely, despite her status as director, he'd finally offer in something usable.

On the other hand, Kellan and Ethos were chatting quietly, their faces serious. Steff had been relieved at their on-screen and off-screen chemistry. At first, Ethos hadn't fit in entirely with the cast, but when she wrote to embrace the distance he had from the others, it seemed to bring everything together. It also surprised her that Kellan didn't have a larger fan base - it seemed their audience always favoured the morally skewed ones.

Luca was at the end, his manner cool and collected. They had been in each other's screenwriting class for their senior year of college, and although they hadn't been particularly close, he had inspired a new character from her and she had managed to convince him to join her.

It struck her that everyone had gone quiet and the cameras had been focused on Rose, who was busy introducing and chattering about their recording. It seemed fitting that it would be her that would start off the questions, for she had gained a following from those that found her endearing and fun to watch. Walking over to the cast, Rose gestured at each of them to name them off casually, her hair curled up to frame her face.

"-And so I've selected a handful of audience submissions to ask," Rose concluded in anticipation, taking her place at the end of the line by Steff, her body still angled away from the camera. "Everyone knows our next season is coming out in a month, so get excited as we go behind the scenes to ask our cast and director some questions that you have all been dying to know."

Reaching over, she took a stack of cards from Aric offscreen, tapping them on her lap once to straighten them. Smiling, she skimmed the first one before looking over at Steff.

"To start off with our lovely director, we have a question from Ontario," she continued excitedly, shifting the first question to the bottom of the stack. "How do you think the audiences will react with some of the big storylines going on in this next season?"

"...Well." Steff started off quietly before clearing her throat lightly, finding it easier to look at Rose than at the camera. "We definitely have some developments between characters, as well as some events I would consider unexpected. I don't want to give too much away, but we like to liken it a little to the first Hunt war, but with many other variables."

"The Seelie's a new component as well," Kellan added, the cameras shifting to him. "They haven't been part of much until last season, but we definitely think the audience will like their increased involvement."

"Faeries are popular," Rose agreed and giggled, reading off the next question. "And from New Zealand: how do you create your characters?"

Thinking about it for a second, Steff clasped her hands in her lap. "Well, I like to think some of them are modeled off the people, and then some are completely fabricated originally, and then I fit their appearance to the actor...Sometimes that changes the character...Sometimes not. The twins were definitely based off the actors, but Aspen was made before I casted him. I think Luca's a special case for this, though."

Luca, from the other side of the line, listened carefully before finding the words to answer. "I was at the same university as an exchange student from Bunka and Steff and I met in a screenwriting class. She found out I was a designer and saw some of my work, so I think that's where my character comes from. He's really a mix of some designs I created with the character that Steff gave him."

"Definitely gives authenticity." Looking delightfully serious, Rose nodded. "That brings us to our next question from Brazil, which is asking those here what they think are their biggest differences when it comes to them versus their characters."

Steff paused, not knowing how to answer. She had certainly thought about it, but it seemed her character was more and more like her by the episode. Sometimes she wondered if there was any major distinction.

"My character is definitely far more patient than I am," Ethos answered, if only to fill the silence. "I don't get angry easily, of course, but he's like my Superego."

"Yeah. There's definitely subtle differences between some of our characters, but I like to think that mine is the Id and Ego of my actual personality, if we're continuing with our Freudian analogy. He has a Superego, but it's silenced." Cole leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. He always seemed to be relaxed in front of the camera. "Another difference is that, for me, homicide is only a side job."

"Cole-" Steff glanced over at him, wanting to push him lightly, although she refrained from doing so. Instead, she decided to keep the mood light, sensing he was in another one of his teasing moods. "I do have executive power over your character."

"Ah, such a threat." Cole brushed off her words with a sigh. "Alright. A difference between me and my character is that he's a natural blond."

"Really?" Rose's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow! I couldn't tell."

Kellan's eyebrows rose in curiosity. "What are you? A brunette?"

"Definitely not blond," laughed Cole, running his fingers through his hair and styling it back quickly from his face. "I'll take the fact that no one noticed as a compliment."

It had been Steff's idea, although he hadn't been opposed to it, and they had tested it out months before filming. He had been a blond once, back as a child when she had looked through what few childhood photos he had, but his hair had darkened considerably by the time they met at the beginning of university. It had added to his cool attitude in the show and helped make him look washed out with makeup when his hair was mussed and the smear of blood was dotted across his face. She would have never admitted to appreciating the aesthetic artistry of something that sounded so morbid, but she couldn't help but find it fitting in the series.

"I'm sure some of our viewers will be surprised to know that," Rose said cheerfully, knowing they had to get in enough questions before their time ran up. "Ooh. My favourite topic, all the way from Berlin. What type of new relationships have been brewing up in these seasons?"

"Relationships can be friendships, Rose," Luca commented, mildly amused.

"I guess..." She wrinkled her nose. "But I think we can all agree that romance is far more fun to talk about."

"Well, I have read some very choice Wattpad stories about us," Cole started, pointing discreetly at Steff. "So I'd like to say that maybe some of the crowds are still rooting for the sick dude? Although, I'd like to make a public plea to the fans to think of our own dignity. I think I've seen too many stories with my girlfriend and one of the twins - or both - and Luca and even Mason. It's disturbing, a little."

Steff reddened, finding that she wished she hadn't encouraged him to speak so much at the recording. "You've read what?"

"I'm just curious of the minds of the masses." Cole grinned pleasantly. "My original major was psychology."

"I'll save the topic and maybe move onto the Kellan arc," Ethos said, tucking a bit of hair behind his ear. "We're definitely establishing a relationship between him and the Seelie, especially with my character. Kellan's a little quick to trust, and my character is nothing if not trustworthy."

"Yeah, there's definitely the element of friendship there," Kellan agreed, "But not the ability to be friends. We think the development will be interesting for the viewers to see."

Glad that the conversation had shifted away from god-knows-what Cole was reading on the internet, Steff played with her fingers a little, peering down at Luca. "And there's this new storyline with Luca and I. We're definitely not friends, I would say, but it reminds me of the relationship my character might have had in earlier seasons with others in the Institute."

"He's definitely not entirely moral, but he's not sinister, so the dynamics work." It was funny, since one usually guessed the faeries took the longest in makeup application, but it was often Luca that was stuck getting things done longer. The tattoos on his chin and wrist, where they were often visible as opposed to the ones canonically on his back and ribs, took long to stencil in, his nails and teeth were always a pain, and putting on a kimono was more of a process than Steff expected.

"No ill intentions with her. That's a big thing," Steff said, thinking it had been obvious at that point. "He's not super prominent at the moment, though. Maybe in the future, although Luca is helping now with costume design, so that's a big help."

"Seems like you're both working well, on and off screen." Shifting the cards again, Rose tried to hide her disappointment that there hadn't been more talk of on-screen romance. Of course, she had prepared for just that. "A fan from Texas wants to know how this show has developed Cole and Steff's in real life relationship. Such a cute couple - I definitely think this question is really one that fans would love to hear about."

"...We do work together," Steff responded, a little embarrassed about the situation. "So we spend lots of time with one another, but I spend a lot of time with everyone else as well."

"Ah, but it was really the sadistic charm of my acting mid-season 2 that really reeled her in," Cole detailed frivolously, feeding into Rose's question. "Who would have known, right?"

Looking delighted and a little oblivious to his earlier words, Rose set the cards down in her lap and laced her fingers together in front of her. "Can we expect anything from you two in the future?"

"That's really too soon to tell. Maybe another cat," Cole said coolly, a trace of smugness lingering in his expression. Sometimes it reminded Steff of his character, but the feeling soon disintigrated. "We're not really focused on that. I just want to support Steff and this show. It means a lot to her."

Steff smiled, just a little. It was nice to know that despite his playing, he could still make a genuine effort sometimes. "I do want to focus on the show. That's my main priority."

"And I bet the fans are excited to see what you've worked on for this upcoming season," Rose replied, turning back to the camera and soaking in her time in the spotlight. "Alright, this next question is coming in from Manila..."

Glad when most of Rose's following questions were not embarrassing, Steff answered them easily, or as easily as she could when she was feeling like she was on trial. It was much more favourable to them accepting interviews by people from news or gossip networks, for they often twisted their words to exaggerate them or change their meanings. Rose could be a little too focused on trivial things at times, but she knew what the fans wanted and still wouldn't dare manipulate any of the words of the cast to get more publicity.

When they finished and Aric called for it to be cut, Steff rose from her seat and wiped her hands on her dress, finding they were a little clammy from the pressure of the video. Slipping past the people to get her bag, she appreciated the promise of being able to retreat to the safety of home. It wasn't that she was overly opposed to interviews, but being the center of attention wasn't her ideal Wednesday afternoon. Besides, home meant a good book, and that was always something to look forward to.

"How do you think I did?" Cole asked cheekily, walking over to start out of the building with her. "Did I pick up enough questions?"

"Too many," Steff said, good-naturedly. "I appreciate you helping, though. It means a lot that you're this involved."

"Don't thank the fiend," he remarked, pulling ahead to open the door. "You'll only encourage bad behaviour."

"You're not a fiend," she protested but then offered another smile in response. It was Cole, she remembered, and she could not always tame his tongue, not that she fought to change all his ways. "You're going to convince people you're just like your character."

"Maybe they'll like me like that." With sharp eyes, he looked sidelong at her. "Some people are into that sort of thing."

"Mmm. I like you just as normal Cole," she opposed, pulling her bag to her chest as she walked. "That's a much nicer thought."

"A fairytale thought?"

She rolled her eyes a little, used to him poking fun at her sometimes daydream-like comments. "I think-...know you're nicer than you make yourself out to be on screen."

"Are you sure?"

Walking a step or two ahead of him, she nodded slowly. The weather was nice. Blue skies and a few puffy clouds. Fairytale weather, maybe. "Despite your teasing, I don't think it's too much of a fairytale thought to think so."