#False cycles

[mugloversonly]

Letterman Exchange

For @stmarchmm prompts: Day 1: Courting rituals Day 21: different designation day 25: scentmates rating: M summary: Steve wants to court Eddie Munson, the beta freak of Hawkins High. He just needs the opportunity. AO3

Eddie Munson stood tall on a lunch table ranting about the basketball team again. Pretty much everyone tuned him out at this point, but Steve thought he was the most magnificent person in the entire school.

“You’re staring.” Tommy sneered. Steve glared at the other alpha.

“I wasn’t.” He denied, even though he definitely was.

“Steve you were drooling.” Carol laughed meanly. “What were you picturing? That beta freak on your knot or something.” She snorted. “Oh, Steve! Steve!” She mocked. Tommy joined in her laughter as Steve rolled his eyes.

He didn’t care that Eddie was a beta, he didn’t care that the school thought he was a freak. Steve wanted to court the man and he’d find a way.

----------

His opportunity came the following semester. They shared gym class, which luckily happened to be their final period. Eddie always arrived a few minutes early and would already be dressed down when the rest of the guys entered the locker room.

But after class, he either waited until everyone was done; or on days he had Hellfire, he grabbed his clothes and changed in a stall. Steve thought it was a little weird, but with the way everyone talked about the beta it wasn’t a surprise he wanted to keep himself out of harms way. As far as Steve knew, he never showered. Which wasn’t unusual for a last period gym class.

Steve ditched the last ten minutes of the class before gym with an excuse that he needed to talk to his coach. The teachers let him do whatever he wanted and he used that to his advantage. He quickly ran to his locker and grabbed out the bracelet he bought for Eddie.

It was simple, black leather with small spikes. A first courting gift of jewelry represented a serious intention to mate. Steve wanted Eddie to know that it didn’t matter his designation, Steve wanted him. He peeled back the scent patch at his wrist to scent it thoroughly, reapplied the patch, before he headed to the gym.

He slipped into the locker room and slid the bracelet into Eddie’s locker before he hid around the corner. A few minutes later, Eddie came in, early as always. He opened his locker and Steve held his breath as Eddie saw the bracelet.

He held it up to the light, as if inspecting it then sniffed it cautiously. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked around the locker room, suspiciously. Steve ducked back a little so he wouldn’t be spotted and Eddie shrugged his shoulders.

He slipped the bracelet on with a small smile before he changed into his gym clothes. He sprayed himself down with some sort of scent neutralizer before he shut his locker and bounded into the gym.

That was odd; scent patches were required at school and betas normally had a pretty neutral scent to begin with, why would Eddie need to mask it more? He couldn’t think of a reason for it as he waited for the bell to ring and the rest of the class to enter the locker room.

He dressed down and went into the gym, his eyes settled on Eddie as he talked to some of the girls in the class holding his wrist up so they could smell it. Likely, he was trying to find out who left it for him. Robin Buckley, a really uncoordinated junior, pointed in his direction with a shrug.

Eddie’s eyes snapped to him and Steve raised his hand, wiggling his fingers a little. Eddie nodded in confusion but turned away. The gym class continued like normal and like every Wednesday, Eddie grabbed his clothes and changed in a stall.

As he left the locker room, his gaze stopped on Steve. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes were narrowed. Steve assumed that meant Eddie didn’t want to court and that was fine. It stung, but he understood.

-------------

The next morning, Steve went to his locker to grab his text books and found a hair tie with Eddie’s scent on it in his locker. Eddie accepted his request.

He ditched the period before lunch and ran to the store to get Eddie some flowers. Before the end of the period, he taped a handful of roses to Eddie’s locker. Flowers as a gift, told him he wanted to have every moment of joy no matter how fleeting with him. He peaked around the corner again as he waited for Eddie to find the flowers.

Instead of the curious excitement from the day before, Eddie quickly pulled the flowers down and shoved them into his locker. His eyes darted around until they fell on Steve, hiding around the corner. He very deliberately, but subtly, tilted his head to the side before he turned and walked down the corridor.

Steve took the hint and followed at a casual pace, doing his best to seem like everything was normal. Eddie exited the building out the back and walked into the woods with Steve far enough behind, no one would guess they were together. Eddie disappeared but Steve knew where they were headed.

A few minutes after he entered the woods, Steve stumbled to the bench Eddie did his deals, but it was empty. With a rush of movement, Steve found himself pinned to a tree with a switch blade at his neck. His hands went up in surrender and he bared his neck in submission as best as he could.

“What are you doing, Harrington?” Eddie growled. Steve stared in confusion before he spoke.

“You signaled like you wanted me to follow you.” He said but it came out like a question. Eddie’s blade dug a little deeper into Steve’s neck and the beta bared his teeth.

“Why the bracelet yesterday and the flowers today?” He asked. He pulled Steve forward a bit before slamming him back into the tree. “Huh?”

“They’re courting gifts! I thought you accepted, your scrunchy was in my locker!” Steve explained with his hands still raised. He was so confused right now. Eddie’s brow furrowed too.

“Can I see it?” He asked calmly as he backed up and put his knife away, satisfied that there wasn’t a threat. Steve nodded and pulled out the piece of elastic. It was black and had little skulls on it. Eddie took the piece of fabric and inspected it carefully.

“I didn’t put this in your locker.” Eddie said. “But, I know who did.” He sighed and moved to sit on the bench.

“Who?” Steve asked as he too took a seat.

“Gareth, my band mate. I told him about your bracelet yesterday and I guess, he took matters into his own hands.” Eddie rolled his eyes. Steve deflated, his shoulders bent inward.

“So, you don’t want to court then?” He asked sadly. That sucked. But Eddie quickly jumped up and stared at him, his eyes big and pleading.

“No, I do! I told Gareth last night that I wanted to and he told me I should give you a gift in return but…” Eddie crumbled back to the seat. “I’m scared.” He admitted softly. Steve thought about all the beta had to endure, especially from the jocks, and he could see how that may be terrifying.

“Of me?” Steve whispered. Eddie turned to Steve and held his gaze.

“A little, yeah. I’m scared this is a joke to mess with the freak.” He whispered. Steve took Eddie’s hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the scent patch there.

“It’s not. I would never do that. I really like you Eddie, I think you’re fun and loud. You stand up for your friends and you just have this beautiful smile with these dimples.” Steve said. Eddie’s face lit up into that smile he loved so much. “There it is.” He said as he poked Eddie’s cheek. Eddie turned away shyly before the smile slid off his face.

“What about your friends?” Eddie asked accusingly.

“What about them?”

“Will they be okay with the King dating the Freak or will they make my life hell?” Eddie made a good point but it still made a growl build in Steve’s chest.

“I’d never let anyone hurt you. No one will fuck with you or anyone in Hellfire.” Steve promised. Eddie nodded thoughtfully.

“There’s one more thing I have to tell you before I can accept.” Eddie took a deep breath. “Promise you won’t tell anyone, even if it changes your mind?” Eddie held his gaze again, his eyes were big, wet, and wide.

“I promise.” Steve agreed even as he knew there wouldn’t be anything Eddie could say to change his mind.

“I’m an omega.” Eddie whispered. He reached up and pulled the scent patch off his neck. The faint lavender scent that had been present on the scrunchy bloomed out in full force with the softness that marked Eddie as omega tickling Steve’s nose for the first time.

“Holy shit.” He whispered softly, a little lightheaded by it. He leaned in closer to smell right at the source. His eyes dilated a little before he clawed off his own scent patch. His pine forest and fresh dirt scent wafted out and Eddie gasped at the rich alpha scent. He tucked his nose against Steve’s neck practically huffing the man.

Eddie whimpered when Steve pulled away but tried to cover it with a cough. His body heated a little and slick flowed between his legs. He saw Steve in a similar state. The alpha’s cock hardened visibly and his pupils were ringed in red. Eddie could only assume his were rimmed in gold.

“Scentmates?” Steve whispered.

“Scentmates.” Eddie agreed. A cramp hit his stomach. “Steve, I think I’m going into a false heat.” He gulped. In heath, they learned when alphas and omegas found their scentmates, there was a high chance one or both of them would go into a false mating cycle. It’s why scent patches were required at school. With the dazed look in Steve’s eyes, Eddie could assume Steve was in the same boat.

Steve blinked distractedly at Eddie until his alpha instinct to protect his omega kicked in. He knew his body would hold off the rut until his mate was safe, but they had a time limit. Steve hoisted Eddie into his arms and carried him through the woods. A quick look around guaranteed there was no one in the parking lot; class must have started. He sprinted to his car and deposited Eddie in the passenger seat.

“My van.” He whispered as another cramp hit him.

“We’ll get it later, I promise.” Steve said as he climbed in.

“If you someone fucks with it, you’re paying to fix it.” Eddie warned.

“Deal.” Steve laughed. “Do you want me to take you home or my place?” Eddie thought about it before ultimately deciding he wanted his nest.

“Steve, I’m not sure I’m ready to spend my heat with you, even a false one.” Eddie admitted. The alpha in him whined but logically he understood. They never really talked before today and Eddie deserved to go at his own pace.

So once he got to Eddie’s trailer, he didn’t get out. Eddie shuffled to the door but before he went inside he jogged back to Steve. He took the bandanna out of his pocked and rubbed it along his neck, scenting it thoroughly. While he did that, Steve stripped off his polo, then his undershirt, and put his polo back on. He scented the fabric and exchanged it for Eddie’s bandanna.

The scent exchange from the omega was an agreement to court and from the alpha it was a promise to keep Eddie safe. Eddie brought the shirt to his nose and moaned softly at the spicy scent of rut.

“Okay, I have to go inside before my slick turns my driveway into a slip and slide. Or should I say, a slick and slide.” Eddie laughed.

“That was terrible.” He chuckled even as he groaned deep in his throat at the image. “I’ll pick you up for school tomorrow.” Steve promised.

“Bye, alpha.” Eddie said suggestively. Steve made sure the omega got inside safely before he drove home as fast as he dared, the rut now settling into his body. His knot was already swelling with Eddie’s arousal still permeating the air.

Once he got home, he dropped his mouth open to drink in more of Eddie’s scent. His hips jerked up and he grunted as he came untouched in his boxers. As he caught his breath, he cracked the windows and sighed. It was going to be a long night.

--------------

By the next morning, the false mating cycles had cleared from their systems and Steve stood by his car, waiting for Eddie to lock up. Normally, he’d knock and walk his omega to the car, but Eddie was already on the porch when he showed up, so as not to disturb his uncle.

He opened the passenger door, with a hand out to assist Eddie inside even though he didn’t need it, and closed the door after him. He headed to the driver’s side, and slid in to head toward the school. They didn’t speak for a few minutes until Eddie took a deep breath.

“I accept your courting Stevie, but I don’t want to come out as an omega. Is that okay?” Eddie asked, suddenly unsure.

“I thought you were a beta anyway.” Steve said. “I’m not going to make you change that for me. You have your reasons for hiding you designation; and while I’d like to know why, I wouldn’t force you to tell me or out you.” Steve promised.

“Thanks, Stevie.” Eddie smiled. Steve took his hand and rested them both on his thigh.

“I do have a request.” Steve said as he glanced over. Eddie gave him his undivided attention. “Wear my Letterman?” Steve asked. Eddie grinned.

“Want the whole school to know I’m yours, Harrington?” He teased.

“Maybe.” He mumbled. Eddie removed his jacket and grabbed Steve’s Letterman from the back seat. He slipped it on, and Steve’s alpha rumbled in approval. When they got to the school, Steve ran around and opened Eddie’s door. Eddie stepped out of the car, holding his vest.

“Wear it, Harrington. It’s my Letterman.” Eddie smirked. Steve didn’t hesitate, he slipped the vest on and popped the collar slightly.

“How do I look?” He asked. Eddie threw his arms around the alpha’s shoulder and leaned in to press their lips together for the first time. His blood sang as he hands settled on Eddie’s hips.

“Like mine.” Eddie sighed against his lips. The warning bell forced them to end the embrace and head into the building. All eyes were on them as Steve walked Eddie to his locker.

“Can I sit with you at lunch?” Steve asked. Eddie leaned against his locker, almost shyly.

“As long as you don’t mind sitting with us Freaks and Geeks.” Eddie smiled. Steve dropped another kiss on the man’s lips.

“Not at all.”

------------------

Later in the cafeteria, Steve moved toward the Hellfire table but was stopped by Tommy.

“Dude, what the hell? First you wear that Freak’s ugly ass vest, then you sit at his table?” Tommy sneer. “Are you pranking that loser beta or something?” Tommy asked gleefully. Steve growled loud enough that the whole room quieted.

“That ‘loser beta’” Steve began, the quotations evident in his voice. “Is my beta. I’m courting him and if you value your life, I suggest you leave him and his friends alone.” He bared his fangs at the other alpha and turned to the rest of the room. “That goes for everyone. Keep my beta’s name out of your unworthy mouths or I’ll knock your teeth out.” He snarled for good measure and walked to his omega with his head held high.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Eddie said with a chunk of hair pulled over his face to hide his smug smile.

“I know.” Steve answered. But his alpha preened. His omega was pleased and Steve would do whatever it took to keep him safe and happy.

“So, Harrington?” One of the other Hellfire guys said; Steve thinks this must be Gareth. “Did you really do a body shot out of Heather Co-” the rest of the question was cut off by Eddie throwing an eraser at the guy.

tags

@katyawriteswhump

buy me a coffee

[battleclawed]

What if the Sacred Orb survived and was the most doomed girl to ever live... long-ish OC lore under the cut

In my AU, the Battle of the Burning is pushed back a little bit, so Kludd gets to be an alive dad to both the Sacred Orb and Coryn for a while. Don't worry he still dies

I've named my Sacred Orb OC Guinevere as a nod to Kludd and Nyra's Lancelot/Guinevere-ness (bonus points because the root for "Guin" means "white"). She goes by Gwen in daily life, though Nyra likes to use her full name.

Gwen is Kludd's mini-me, right down to her appearance. When Gwen is still very young, she's closer to her mother, but as she gets older and her parents tell her about their plans and her role as heir, her father becomes her entire world.

(As far as Kludd's parenting goes, I can't imagine he likes babies at all so he's in distant father mode until Gwen starts actually having a personality, at which point he's like "Wait. This thing (my child) worships me and I get to tell it what to do and mold it into whatever I want? Sick this rules")

Gwen's worldview and sense of self are entirely built upon the idea that she is not only superior to all non-Tyto owls but also superior to everyone--she hatched from the Sacred Orb, she is the most Pure, she is the perfect heir who will inherit her father's kingdom.

The first crack in this view is the birth of Coryn (who's still Nyroc at this point). Nyra starts paying more attention to Coryn because he's born on the eclipse, which irks Gwen. She's the one who hatched from the Sacred Orb; who cares about some moon magic?

Gwen develops a complex about not being an eclipse baby and takes it out on her little brother, but otherwise ignores him. She thinks he's weird in classic mean big sister fashion. They are not close.

Before Kludd dies, Gwen is unshakably confident; she is, after all, the perfect heir, a great fighter, a Tyto Most Pure, just like her invincible, infallible father, right? The world will be hers one day. She is perfect, her family is perfect, and nothing will ever go wrong.

(Also, there's no way Kludd and Nyra are letting their precious heirs kill each other, so Gwen's TUPSI is her friend Cinder, a Lesser Sooty. Cinder was born into the Pure Ones, completely buys into their ideology, and is perfectly honored to be a sacrifice.)

("I'm honored that my death will make you purer," Cinder whispers. "I'm so happy to die for you." Gwen can't afford to hesitate. Her father is watching.)

Kludd dies in the AU equivalent of the Battle of the Burning, which completely shatters Gwen's worldview. After his death, she takes on the title of High Tyto, dons his mask and his battle claws, but they don't quite fit. She tries to be strong just like her father, but she slowly starts to crack.

Coryn still has firesight, so he still leaves for the Great Tree after seeing visions in the flames of Kludd's final ceremony. Nyra is deeply upset by this. Gwen is glad her mother belongs only to her again, but also plagued by the idea that maybe her mother would prefer for Coryn to have become the High Tyto instead.

In the wake of her father's death, sometimes Gwen wishes her mother would hug her and hold her like she's a chick again, but she knows that can never happen. She's the High Tyto now. She can't afford to show weakness.

Gwen is a good soldier but not as talented of a commander as her father was (or at least, she believes he was). The Pure Ones lose battle after battle after battle under her command, which only makes her spiral even further. (She puts on a facade of confidence to mask this. It mostly works.)

Nyra and Gwen argue constantly after Gwen becomes the High Tyto. Nyra wishes her daughter would obey her. Gwen wishes her mother would trust her abilities. They're all the other has left and yet they make each other miserable.

("I'm the High Tyto," Gwen says. "I'm the one in charge." Nyra counters by pointing out that she is the one born on the eclipse, the one with the great enchantment. Gwen resents her mother more and more, but she has no one else to rely on.)

She wonders if maybe Nyroc would've been better. Maybe it should've been him after all? Maybe this is all because she wasn't born on the eclipse. Maybe she was the wrong choice, except she can't be wrong because that would mean Cinder died for nothing. She can't be wrong because that would mean her father (who taught her and raised her and believed in her) would be wrong too, and that just isn't possible.

Coryn obtains the Ember of Hoole and becomes king of the Great Tree. Gwen wishes she'd been allowed to kill him in her TUPSI after all.

During their final confrontation, Gwen corners Coryn and tries to kill him--tries to avenge her father, defend the legacy he left her, justify her entire existence--but can't go through with it. (It's all too much. She wishes she was still a hatchling. She wishes her father was still alive. She wishes none of this had ever happened at all.)

Gwen surrenders, but, seized by the need to not disappoint her father even after his death, tries to kill Coryn one more time in an act of betrayal. She almost succeeds, but is stabbed through the back by Twilight.

Gwen dies a bloody death, just like her father. As the world grows dark, she wonders if he's proud of her.

[false-guinevere]

Thinkin about the False Guinevere incident again (likely thing for me to do) and just. God.

Just. The way Guinevere is being tormented and harmed and put through the wringer in the story and she doesn’t even get an apology. Because the story was never about her. It’s about Lancelot. It’s Lancelot whose emotional turmoil is given importance. Galehaut aids Guinevere for love of Lancelot. It’s Lancelot’s self-exile that Arthur mourns. And it’s Lancelot who is given an apology in the end, who must forgive and accept back Arthur for the story to wrap up. It’s Guinevere who’s the victim but Lancelot who’s treated as the wronged wife. (A win for Arthur/Lancelot but at what cost). The story of the False Guinevere isn’t about Guinevere.

But is it ever about Guinevere? She is always there. She has become such a key part of Arthuriana. But. Her marriage, her affair, her guilt, her cruelty, her kindness, her choices. It’s not about her. The story itself needs Guinevere, but never wants to actually have Guinevere. The story holds her close and hates her and loves her and never lets her go. And it’s still not about her.

[gawrkin]

Arthur's Affairs by Peggy McCracken

(Found in The Cambridge Companion to the Arthurian Legend, by Elizabeth Archibald)

Courtly Love in Action, for Arthur this time...

[...]

[...]

Ms. McCracken asking the real questions here

[toopolar]

Gabriel ultrakill would viscerally hate sephiroth maybe ?

[curemoonliite]

i get the sentiment behind making decisions based on what your fave would do but some characters just would not be good at giving advice in certain settings

for instance, i thought "what would eda do" during a situation when i was mulling over whether or not to break up with someone and instead came to the realization that disney s&p is the only thing keeping wendie malick from answering this question by having eda brag extensively about how many more bitches she's snagged after her thirties

and also bc crassly talking about her sexual conquests keeps her from thinking about how she still feels like she fumbled the bag with raine, bc it's easier to be the strongest witch in the boiling isles and keep pretending than admit you're not over them

[nightly-valkyrie]

Love seeing people talking about the endings of Signalis, but whenever I see one being lifted as more canon than the others I think about that tweet from Yuri Stern that pretty much said point blank that there was no ending that was more or less canon or final than the others...

[baravaggio]

incredible to me that so many people who talk favorably about abortion restrictions don't even know that pregnancy is counted from the first day of your last period. obviously anyone advocating for a 6 week ban is an evil wacko but I think a lot of regular people don't understand that the way this is counted means you effectively have a 2 week window at most to realize you're pregnant, have that confirmed by a provider, and get into the clinic for an abortion

[alagaesia-headcanons]

Looking back on my old Morzan aus, I maintain that Morzan having a redemption arc is a very fun and interesting concept because it provides a way to explore his original intentions through their transformation down the line, and I like considering the different impacts he could have had on Murtagh's life. I also stand by my decision to pair him with Brom each time because they make for the funniest couple imaginable. But I may need to go back to the idea, because I never got around to bringing it to its natural conclusion of Morzan/Selena/Brom: Alagaesia's most unhinged polycule.

Brom should have not just one, but two newly reformed ex evil henchmen lovers who he has to keep on leashes like excitable dogs because they're doing their best, but they're still way too quick to jump to murder as a potential solution to every problem they run into. And yet Morzan and Selena are also the ones to rein in Brom's absurdly convoluted and paranoid plans because their new moral compass has never once realized that part of the reason he's always going through it is because he causes himself twice as many problems as he solves. They'd be such an incredible mess, I need them together.

I just want to turn IC into a comedy about Morzan, Selena, and Brom attempting to dismantle the empire and assassinate the king without literally burning everything down in the process, while trying to raise their kids to be at least marginally less insane than them.

[plasky]

I just had a really dumb character idea

So you know how there's like mimics n stuff to which they transform/mimic and object/thing/person

I then also thought of a cuckoo bird and how it inacts brood parasitism

What if let's say this was translated to a sort of mimic thing where the mimic leaves their child to some random family and the child shifts to look like they belonged to that family although still looking more off/off-putting

The mimic child then causes "accidents" to the rest of the children in the family leaving only them in the end to have all the food and everything they need for themself to live

[dustedcreationsblog]

"Some who claim to be of Christ, some of them have merely been dipped into the water and not baptized; and that is why there is no change in them. That is why they continue as they have been, repenting with no fruits bearing true repentance. . .because they are not truly born again."

[multi-lefaiye]

i have been thinking So Much about the false hydra for like two days now

there's something deeply compelling to me about the cycle of horror of it all.

a monster rises from the earth, devouring everything in its path in an endless drive to sate a hunger that will never leave, destroying hundreds of thousands of lives in its wake. in the end, however, the monster dies, unable to sustain itself at the rate it was growing. it dies, and the lives it took die with it, scrubbed from even the memories of those who knew them.

and from the corpse of the monster, a seed is embedded in the soil, one which begins slowly to grow. and someday.... that seed will mature, and it will poke its head from the earth, a toothy grin on its empty face as it begins to sing a mournful song, as it begins to feel *hungry.*

[domistique]

you could post some mvdp images so these anons can recognise what a real bike-shorts bulge looks like (cycling mutual enjoying watching f1 fans discovering lycra. they don't know how good we have it)

meep

[gawrkin]

Sorelois is another delightful rabbit-hole:

King Loholt

Galehaut

Somewhere in-between Ireland and North Wales

So-called "Assurne River"

This is the place where Guinevere and Lancelot (whose birthname is Galahad) go to for two years while False Gwen is going on.

BTW, "Gales" is an Old French word for Wales, hence in Vulgate canon, it is explained that Wales was named after its first Christian King, King Galahad. Moreover, a few locations are implied to as being part of the general area of Wales: Norgales (North Wales), Sorgales/Sugales (South Wales), Estre-gales/Outre-Gales ("Outer Wales?"), etc.

[pocket-mobster]

this sounds like a shitpost cuz it kinda is but i think u could apply military aesthetics and propaganda to basically any job and itd get swamped with applicants overnight. like give the postal service OCPs (army uniform) and youll have applicants for centuries. i don't even see this as a good or bad thing; it's just comically exploitable.

[THIS POST WAS MADE BY AN AMERICAN. IF IT SOUNDS INSANE, YES]

[bravevolunteer]

today on f.naf things i'm mad certainly weren't intentional so i sound insane for talking about it: the town being called hurricane