Wisteria (Attack on Titan story)

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Fanfiction
Title: Wisteria
Author(s): butterflychansan
Date(s): Dec 14, 2013 – Jan 1 2014
Length: 56k+ words; 14 chapters
Genre(s): slash, Modern AU
Fandom(s): Attack on Titan
Relationship(s):
External Links: on AO3

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Wisteria is an influential JeanMarco Modern AU fanfic that was extremely popular at the height of the fandom.

Summary

Author's summary:

Modern AU where Marco Bodt is 26, the proud owner of a flower shop in New York City, perfectly content by himself having discussions with his flowers, when the man who broke his heart six years earlier walks through the front door.

Jean Kirschtein is a police officer, successful at his job and engaged to an amazing woman, living the dream his parents gave him. We got a straight male over here, that's right. But still, he walks past Bodt's Flowers every day just to see Marco's name and remember the boy he met in college, the boy he left. When it's Marco himself behind the counter, Jean's entire cookie-cutter perfect world changes.

Wisteria is about a police officer that finds an excuse to buy flowers every day just to see the shop owner blush. It's also the story of love, and whether it can survive the tests of timing, fear, and duty to others.

Series

The story became the first in a series of five works, mainly featuring oneshots set in the same universe. The prequel, Forget Me Not, was longer and just as influential than its predecessor. The last work in the series, Sunflowers, is incomplete and discontinued.[1]

Reception

On AO3 the work has 4,600+ kudos, 1300+ bookmarks, and 500+ comments. fic:wisteria on Tumblr

"Jean with glasses wearing a red beanie"
Glasses Jean wearing the red beanie by kimiooon (2014)

Red-Beanie Thursdays

In the prequel Forget Me Not, Jean is depicted wearing what Marco calls “the Forced-Positivity-Motivational-Fuck-Yeah Jean” red beanie. The red beanie became an important plot point, and fans of the fic series showed their love to the author by sharing selfies of themselves in similar hats[2]. Eventually, fans declared “Red Beanie Thursdays”, Archived version the day to post selfies, fanart[3], fanfiction, and cosplay related to JeanMarco.

Fanworks inspired by the Story

Fanmixes

Fanart

Reactions and Reviews

If you make one more JeanMarco reference, I will cut you in half.

- My sister in a flower shop, using a shitty pun against me for referencing Forget Me Not and Wisteria [4]

T-This story made me cry from beginning to end Q___Q Sometimes out of angst, other times out of happiness and even desperation!

It was do wondefully written, the use of all those inner monologues Marco had, as analogies, was just perfect and made me connect on a deep level with the story QnQ I loved how it was a "post-college" "post-relationship" "we already know each other" kind of story, and the problem was set on another face of relationships; that felt like a fresh change in fic plots!

I cannot find more words to express how marvelous Wisteria was (maybe I'll cry when I go to my garden and see the wisteria plant blooming next spring guhguh), keep up the excellentissimo work!!

Kyyhky's 18 March 2014 comment on AO3 [5]

[avoidingavoidance]

I’m breaking character for this one. (and by character i mean the grammarless gross fujoshi i really am fff)

Go. Read. Wisteria.

I never cry. I’m not a crier. It’s not a personality thing; it’s a tolerance thing.

I fucking cry every day because this astounding human being updates this heart-breaking masterpiece every single day by some unholy beautiful black magic.

You have not felt pain until you have read this story. I feel serious despair and adrenaline and just seriously. Stop procrastinating. Go read it. Then read it again for all the things you missed the first time. Then read it a third time for all the beautiful subtle things hidden between the letters.

Go read it for a visceral, gutting exposure to the world of being in love with someone who cannot and will not admit it to themselves and others, but who keeps coming back regardless.

Go read it for the feeling of being so close to something, so close to someone, and then having everything dissipate under your fingers like so much smoke.

Go read it if you’ve never felt like you’re completely alone in the universe.

Go read it if you have.

Go read it for the hopelessness, then go back every update knowing with desperation that it will work out, that is has to, and then have your heart broken when Jean pulls the carpet out from under your feet again.

Go read it if you’ve never experienced the kind of hope and faith that tears at your soul while you’re waiting for fate.

Go read it if you have, if you’ve felt the simultaneous weightlessness and crushing burden of time ticking by without you.

This is much longer than I expected and it’s not exactly the PSA I was going for but seriously, the way I feel is this. Fucking. Strong.

I can’t even think of this as fanfiction anymore. Anyone who’s ever been in love, anyone who’s ever had their heart broken, and anyone who’s ever broken someone’s heart needs to read this. Because at the end of the day, you’re not alone, no matter how much you feel that way.

Aa out.

[butterflychansan reblogged avoidingavoidance]

This is the most wonderful thing. Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart, oh my god. I have rarely let people read my writing before this, but I decided to post Wisteria anyway… people like you and the responses and this immense, heartfelt encouragement are what keep me going. Thank you very, very much.

<3[6]

References

  1. ^ butterflychansan's Tumblr, Archived versionPosted 18 March 2015. Accessed 17 February 2022
  2. ^ #hail the beanie on butterflychansan's Tumblr, Archived version Accessed 17 February 2022
  3. ^ Posts tagged "Red Beanie Thursday" on hdotk's Tumblr, Archived version Accessed 17 February 2022
  4. ^ the-trojan-horseface Tumblr, Archived version Accessed 17 February 2022
  5. ^ Comment on Wisteria, Archived version Accessed 17 February 2022
  6. ^ Wisteria Tumblr Post, Archived versionPosted 22 December 2013. Accessed 17 February 2022