#Random Au in truce time

[skitastc]

Stupid Inkmare teacher AU idea that I stole somewhere

[arolesbianism]

Finally starting to get some proper fairy worldbuilding brainstormed for the random card au, huge win for 3 specific characters and them only

[leoleolovesdc]

How I interpretate Jason Todd's post-death life

In canon, Jason Todd is legally dead and uses a fake identitiy to go around and do normal life stuff, but in what I consider to be my "Main AU" after the events of Under the Red Hood and many other not-so-friendly interactions between Jason and the fam, they finally managed to get into a truce-state.

While this "truce" didn't mean that they were on good terms it basically consisted that they would not bother each other. Meaning that Jason does his thing in his part of the city and the Bats can't bother him about it just as he can't go around attacking them in his seek for petty revenge against the family. Cough, cough. Titans Tower.

But when Jason finally decided to forgive Bruce, he didn't reach out to him in a normal way. No, no, no! This man decided to simply show up at the GCPD, unmasked, no suit, no nothing, find a random officer and just go:

"Hi, I'm Jason Todd. Yeah, that Wayne kid who died four years ago. Can you call Bruce, please? He needs to come pick me up."

Basically, he arrived at the police station claiming to be a dead child. No one believed him, of course, but he insisted that they made a DNA test. When it came back saying it was a match no one really knew what to do.

Jason claimed to be suffering from amnesia, that he had just woken up a couple months ago in Ethiopia (the place he died) confused and not knowing exactly what had happened. He told them that he was very lost, but after talking to people and working to get some money and free rides, he managed to find his way back to Gotham.

And this stupid mother fucker knew that the cops would go search for holes in his story, so before doing all of this he actually went to Ethiopia and executed all of the steps in his lie so there would be people who saw and helped him at the right time to back his story up.

Even with the "evidence" Jason made up the police didn't buy this story, neither did the goverment, but what could they even do? The DNA test was a match, after all. So they kinda just called Bruce to tell him that his son was there.

And like, obviously it wasn't a surprise to the family. Everyone knew that Jason was alive and had become the Red Hood, so when aproximately 15 Waynes arrived at the police station sobbing it was because they knew that in Jason Todd language, claiming back his civilian identity meant that he wanted to be a part of the family again.

[radiance1]

Random Danny Phantom au.

The world ended, nukes launching to every corner of the world.

If the nukes didn't kill them, then the aftermath sure did.

An actual, honest to god supervillain wanted the end of the world, and they did it even when they got taken along too.

Vlad, Danny and Dani survived due to their Halfa biology, with Dani leaving for the ghost zone after everything went down.

Danny is overcome by grief, and anger with no place to direct it.

Same goes for Vlad.

And they already didn't like each other, so just one minor thing set them off on each other.

Due to Danny's victory over Pariah Dark, and Vlad helping him with the suit and pushing Pariah back into the coffin, they each became king of the Ghost Zone.

More like half-king since they both share the position but eH.

Danny got the Crown of Fire, which because of his ice core turned into the Crown of Frost.

Meanwhile Vlad got the Ring of Rage, and became much quicker to anger than he was before.

Surprisingly enough, Danny was the one who landed the first hit.

The opposing nature of their cores, fire and ice, wasn't at all helping the planet when they both went all out, especially with the added power boosts.

They fought on the wasteland planet for a few years, then moved to space. To which something of surprise happened, Danny, with his ice core and the Crown of Frost connected to the moon, meanwhile Vlad, with his Ring of Rage, connected to the motherfucking sun.

Why is this important?

Well, because even though humanity was basically wiped out, the faith left behind on things they worshipped was still around.

So Danny and Vlad both got even more boosts of power from the lingering faiths left behind on the sun and moon. Basically becoming gods.

Not that Danny or Vlad cares, for Danny he just wants the earth back to how it was, and his family by extension. For Vlad, even though he has all of this power now, Madeline isn't here anymore, nor is Vladco and everything else he worked for.

So they just, continue fighting.

The Sun vs the Moon.

They held nothing back, using every inch of power in their cores and the power gained from lingering faith of the sun and moon and caused devastation if they were still on earth.

They fought for years and years. Until one day they just, stopped.

Be it because of how much power they used up, or they just felt emotionally exhausted, perhaps both. Danny just stayed on the Moon while Vlad just kinda, drifted, around the sun.

During this time, Clockwork saw this as the best time to yoink them over to the ghost zone, and properly appoint them as Kings of the Infinite Realms.

Of course they had to have the clothes to match, and with them having a connection to the sun and moon certain ghosts had a motif to go off of.

Danny was gifted a white robe that glowed a soft light, with the edges seeming to turn into frosty mist and the area around him is extremely cold.

Vlad was gifted a golden robe that glowed intensely, the entire thing seemed to be made of fire and the area around him extremely hot.

Opposites and stuff I guess.

No other ghost really wanted to fight them and take the Ghost King title, it's honestly far more trouble than it was worth and they didn't want the responsibilities.

So Danny and Vlad had to put aside their differences and rule together properly for each and every ghost in the zone.

Safe to say, neither of them were thrilled to be working with the other. (With Danny not thrilled to be working at all.)

Which is pretty in character with them being polar opposites.

During their off time, much to some ghost's chagrin, they typically leave outside of the zone to their respective domains, the moon and sun. Both of them feel a sense of comfort when near them.

Surprisingly after their battle and working together, Vlad feels calmer around Danny because of his overall aura, whereas Danny feels the never ending chill he experiences lighten up whenever he's near Vlad.

So they're on some sort of truce right now.

Everything is going fine, the zone finally stabilized with the extended presence of both its kings, the Ghost Zone now has some sense of law and order, and everything is just better over all than under Pariah Dark's absence and rule.

Until Danny gets summoned to some far off dimension, still in the appearance of a teenager because he never aged (neither did Vlad) and is absolutely stunned to see living, breathing humans.

It's been far, far too long since he's seen humans.

So there he is, still in his king robes (Which basically become his regular clothing), sitting in a magical summoning circle with cultists all around him preaching to him about he's going to enslave the world and how they off themselves up to be his servants.

Stunned beyond compare seeing people, and then out of the blue more people come out and beat up the cultists, with the last one begging for him to help them and then being knocked out.

A stray thought entered his mind, and he doesn't even care about the other people anymore. So he steps out of the circle, ignoring the others surprise, their battle ready stances, and their attempts at talking with him and just exits the building and flying out of the planet's atmosphere.

He then turned to look at the planet, and he started crying.

It was breath taking to see the earth living again, especially when from the moon all he ever saw was the wasteland that was once his.

Some random dude came up out of the atmosphere with him, with a determined expression on his face before that melted away into surprise and concern. Who then just floated there alongside him.

Meanwhile, over in the DP outer space:

Vlad is not at all amused when he felt the sudden void of the moon. So he went to check it out, seeing the moon deity gone from his place. Usually when they go to the Infinite Realms they are still aware of the others presence.

But now Vlad doesn't feel him at all.

So Vlad goes to find Clockwork, who should surely know if his opposite decided to go back in time.

Clockwork says he doesn't know where Danny is, but he does know he was summoned to another dimension. Vlad questions how Clockwork doesn't know where Danny is since he's the literal Master of Time.

Clockwork says that he oversees all the events and timelines in this dimension, the one where Danny was summoned to however? Noooot so much.

So now Vlad feels he has to look for his counterpart and is increasingly angry that he has to do so, but then Clockwork nudged him along to go and find him.

So now Vlad has to look for the wayward moon deity; while said deity is now talking with a bunch of actual people and is not at all hiding his wonder and amazement at seeing and talking to living people again.

(Clockwork when he knows exactly where, how, and why Danny got summoned, but isn't telling Vlad a single thing other than "You have to go find him." and acting as if he couldn't just pop into the timestream and ask the Linear Men if they've seen an immortal teenage moon deity in any timelines.)

[randomname360]

Undertale Fandom Headcannon

Okay everyone knows that Error and Ink have a truce when it comes to Outertale. Error likes stars and silence that Outertale has to offer so that's why he doesn't destroy Outertale. Ink noticed this and started coming to the au as a way to talk to him because he knew the Destroyer wouldn't do anything bad there. This made the place a neutral zone.

I think Nightmare and Dream should have a place like that. People might say they already do because of Dreamtale and where the Tree of Feelings was but I think we need a place more random. Ccino's Cafe would be the perfect place. I can already see Killer going there because of the cats then eventually maybe he brings the rest of the gang. Maybe the gang gets tired of the fad and stops coming but Nightmare doesn't. Maybe he starts coming on the regular because he likes the desperation of the customers in the place. I mean the people who come to coffee places go to either drink coffee to stay up to work on something, meaning they are stressed, or because they are having a mental crisis and need a coffee break, meaning they are ready to give up and just cry in a ball. Both types of people come to the Cafe feeling negative emotions, they might come to Ccino's Cafe in particular to cheer themselves up with the adorable kitties- this means there is a lot of negative auras that come to the place.

Nightmare might grow acustom to the cafe's aura and start drinking staying there for a few hours at a time. Maybe he drinks some coffees while enjoying a book. Maybe Dream comes by to chat with Ccino but notices Nightmare there just enjoying himself. Maybe he starts coming more often to keep an eye on Nightmare because he's afraid Nightmare might hurt Ccino. Maybe he confronts Nightmare and Nightmare says he wouldn't hurt a being here, not yet at least. Maybe he quotes Error saying the whole "I'm destroying this place last." Maybe Dream starts coming and having civil conversations with Nightmare.

The two could talk about whatever: make the place an informal meeting spot to talk about work, a girl talk space to talk about their days and teammates, or make it a hang out spot where they just do their own things and sit near each other.

Just my own personal headcannon that I think more people should think about.

[duchi-nesten]

DannyMay Day 26: Art/Fic Switch!

Treats and Threats

Summary:

Valerie was going to kick Phantom’s ass for this! The only problem? She didn’t know where to find him.

Good thing Cujo was more than willing to help in exchange for some treats. Too bad he wasn’t very good at distinguishing which Danny he was meant to find though...

Word Count: 2894 || AO3 Link

Did I use this day as an excuse to try writing something for the shared cujostody au?? Maybe...

it referances this comic a little bit...

[Shared Cujostody AU Masterpost]

---

Valerie was gonna kick Phantom’s ass for this. Did he think she wouldn’t notice?

She looked over to Cujo, who was sniffing all over her room. He just came over as he often did. Phantom liked to think they had a set custody schedule or whatever it was he called it, but in reality Cujo just came by whenever he wanted and to whichever of them he wanted.

She was reluctant to ‘’adopt’’ the ghost dog at first. Yes, she wasn’t as mad at him anymore after she finally listened to Phantom and found out why exactly Cujo was now a ghost, but that didn’t mean she had to like him. He was incredibly persistent though and the more time Valerie spent around the dog, the more she started loving him. He was just a tiny little puppy, a ball of joy who wanted to play all the time.

She even kept some treats for him for whenever he came over and started making and buying him some dog clothes. He loved dressing up, especially when they got to match. And it made Phantom jealous, so it was just bonus points for her really.

Phantom used to insist that the dog wasn’t his, but now it seemed like they were fighting for who gets to have him. Okay, she was fighting. That idiot seemed delighted to share the ‘’custody’’, he kept making jokes about them being a family which was genuinely getting on her nerves. He was so infuriating.

She did agree to a truce with him after finding out he was right about Vlad, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy sharing Cujo with that menace. He was too careless and brute with the puppy. Which is exactly why she needed to find him right now and kill him, truce be damned.

Unfortunately for her the ghost attacks have been kinda on the down low lately and she had no idea where he hung out when he wasn’t fighting them. She did send him a bunch of text messages and even tried calling (which was still so weird! How did he even get that phone??), but she was sent to voicemail every time.

If only there was a way for her to track him down…

She glanced at Cujo, who had his head stuck in the plastic box of treats. She sighed. Truly nothing could stop a ghost dog. She always tried hiding these from him, but no matter where she put the box he always managed to sniff it out.

Which gave her an idea. If he could sniff these out then maybe…

‘’Cujo, baby. You know you’re not supposed to eat those.’’ she gently pushed his head out of the box. If he really wanted to he could just phase through her hand and continue, but he was a good boy and always listened. Yet he kept his eyes on the treats as if they would disappear at any moment. She chuckled.

‘’I’ll give you a treat if you do something for me.’’ she said and his eyes instantly snapped to her. His tail slowly swayed back and forth. ‘’Can you find Phantom for me? Sniff him out?’’

Cujo blinked at her before barking happily, tail full on wagging now. He phased through her hand and made his way through the bedroom window. She quickly jumped to follow him, nearly yanking the window off its hinges. Her suit making a humming sound as it activated.

He got quite ahead of her, but she managed to keep up just fine. She did have his ecto-signature marked in her tracker just in case she ever lost track of him, but she also had Phantom’s and that one tended to disappear off her radar at random. She wasn’t so inclined to test if Cujo’s wouldn’t do the same.

They flew their way through Amity Park before Cujo suddenly took a sharp turn towards her high school. She saw him growing into his bigger form before he disappeared behind the building.

As she rounded the corner and saw Cujo’s back, tail wagging. It seemed like he was holding someone in his mouth.

Got ya, ghost boy.

She landed behind the dog and could hear his captive yelling

‘’Cujo! I can’t right now! I told you to go to-’’

Cujo turned around to show his catch to Valerie and…

‘’Oh-... Heheh.. hi Red! Uh.. Huntress!’’

That was not Danny Phantom.

That was Danny Fenton.

‘’CUJO NO. Shit, I’m so sorry Da-uh citizen!’’ She quickly raced up to them and coaxed her puppy into releasing her ex boyfriend. Which he did by letting him fall face first on the ground. ‘’SHIT.’’

Valerie knelt down next to him to help him rise to his feet.

‘’Are you okay??’’

‘’Yeah.’’ he said, standing up to his full height, which was only slightly taller than her. He looked at her and sent her a bright smile. ‘’Don’t worry about it.’’

She smiled back knowing that he probably struggled to see it through her visor. His view got even more obscured when Cujo put his huge snout in between them wagging his tail happily. Which ended up with him accidentally knocking over some full trash cans standing behind him.

‘’Ugh. Cujo, I just cleaned that up.’’ Danny said resigned, moving over to the garbage. ‘’Lancer’s gonna have my head if he sees another piece of mutated meat.’’

Valerie looked at the knocked over trash and sure enough it was full of disgusting glowing green meat. Or at least what was left of it. It looked maimed and burned.

Right. He was recording a tiktok during lunch today. She was eating in the library while working on her missed homework, so she didn’t get to see it herself, but she heard the rumors. Apparently he put some sort of new ectoplasmic concoction from his parents lab in his serving of today’s mystery meat. It backfired and spread to every piece of meat in the cafeteria like a disease.

People were saying it was like a zombie apocalypse with all the meat moving around the room. Some even said they saw the Lunch Lady ghost appear for a second before she noticed Danny in the middle of it and left terrified. Which if that was true Valerie couldn’t blame her. Danny’s eating habits probably made her turn in her grave.

‘’You didn’t eat it, did you?’’ she asked, squinting at a small piece of meat that apparently survived whatever happened to the rest of it and was slowly crawling away from them, likely trying to escape. Danny picked it up and squashed it in his hand before it got far.

‘’Obviously I did.’’ he turned to her with a familiar shit-eating grin on his face, moving the thing he caught closer to his mouth as if to prove a point.

Damn him. How could he be so endearing even when he was being disgusting?

She shook her head chuckling and looked at Cujo instead. He was looking right back at her expectantly. Right.

‘’No Cujo, no treats until you find Phantom for me.’’ she said sternly. She saw Danny trip over a trash can lid out of the corner of her eye. ‘’You good there?’’

‘’Wha-Yes! Ha- Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine! Don’t mind me!’’ he tried to act cool, almost losing his footing again. Dork.

Cujo whined at her, stepping from front paw to front paw and cocking his head to the right. He knew damn well he looked cute when he did that, no matter which form.

‘’Baby, no. I’m not gonna cave. Find Phantom and I’ll give you a treat then.’’ she said calmly trying to stroke him behind the ear, but since he was in big mode she had to settle for his cheek.

He whined a bit more letting out a little pathetic bark to go with it. He turned and stalked over to Danny, poking him in the back with his nose, which made the boy squeak.

‘’No, Cujo.’’ she said, sighing. ‘’That’s the wrong Danny you’re thinking of.’’

‘’Y-Yeah, buddy!’’ Danny chuckled nervously, petting Cujo’s snout. ‘’I’m not the one you’re looking for! Definitely not! I’m not Phantom, why would you even think that? You’re not thinking that right?’’

Okay he was acting weird. Almost as if he was hiding something.

Valerie looked him up and down. His eyes were wide, observing her every move with fear. One arm was rubbing his neck, which he always did when he was nervous. The other still stroking Cujo’s fur almost instinctively.

That’s when it clicked.

‘’No fucking way.’’ she uttered absolutely baffled.

It made so much sense.

‘’W-What?’’ he asked, his voice cracking.

‘’How many times did that asshole leave you as a dogsitter?’’

She knew Phantom did that. She caught Cujo in the background of one of Danny’s tiktoks a while ago and when she confronted Phantom about it he admitted to ‘’hiring’’ Danny as a dogsitter sometimes.

If that asshole left Cujo with Danny too often, then no wonder the poor puppy would mistake Danny for his second caretaker. Oh she was going to kick his irresponsible ghost ass even harder now!

‘’Uh… w-wha..?’’ Danny tilted his head questionably.

‘’I know about the dogsitting, Danny. And it looks like he’s leaving Cujo with you so often that the dog thinks you’re him!’’

‘’Oh… you think-’’ he knitted his eyebrows in confusion before his eyes widened. ‘’Oh! Oh, hahah, he didn’t- I mean it wasn’t many times! Maybe like twice! Is this the dog? I didn’t even recognise him, I don’t even remember his name!’’

Cujo whined again, turning into his puppy form and jumped in Danny’s arms, who barely managed to catch him in time. He started sniffing and licking his face distressed.

‘’Cujo stop! I mean! Dog whose name I don’t remember…’’ that made Cujo whine even harder and Danny flinched. He instantly gave up and buried his face in Cujo’s fur. Valerie could barely hear him mutter ‘’I can’t do this to you.’’

That interaction only reaffirmed Valerie’s suspicions.

‘’Don’t cover up for him.’’ she said, crossing her arms. ‘’I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at him. He’s going to pay for this too.’’

‘’Uh…why were you even looking for him in the first place? Did he do something?’’

‘’Yes, he knows what he did! And now this! The moment I find him I’m gonna kick his ass so hard he’ll be the gone kind of dead!’’

‘’… well you definitely won’t find him now…’’

‘’What?’’

‘’Nothing!’’ Danny shoved Cujo in her arms and started walking off before she could even react. ‘’Anyway I’ll be going now! Gotta finish cleaning so Lancer doesn’t kill me! Bye Val!’’

‘’Bye-....wait…what did you just call me?’’

Danny stopped frozen in his tracks. She stared at his back bewildered.

He slowly turned around and stared back at her too.

‘’...Bye Red Huntress! It was nice to see you, I’ll go disappear behind that corner now!’’ he yelled nervously and booked it behind said corner.

It took her a second to shake off the shock. Cujo jumped out of her arms as she quickly followed after the boy.

‘’DANNY.’’

She rounded the corner to see that he did in fact disappear. Shit.

She was sure he called her Val. How did he know about her secret identity? She was always so careful! It did explain his weird behavior though, he probably didn’t know how to act around her like this.

She needed to talk to him immediately, he couldn’t just reveal something like this and run off!

Though that is exactly what he did. How did he even disappear like that? This boy was impossible sometimes.

In frustration she knocked her head on the wall a few times. What was her life at this point?

Her thoughts got interrupted when she heard Cujo’s bark and a yelp come from behind her. Turning around only provided her with even more frustration when she saw Danny mcfucking Phantom laying helplessly under Cujo’s once again big paw.

‘’Why must you do this to the hand that feeds you…’’ he hissed to Cujo before turning his attention towards Valerie. ‘’Hey Red! You look very good today! Are those new arm plates on your suit?’’

Danny Fenton could wait. She was gonna deal with this asshole first.

‘’YOU.’’ she roared stalking over to them. Cujo looked up at her coming closer and switched to his puppy form again laying his whole body on Phantom’s chest, wagging his tail and barking excitedly.

‘’Ah.. hahah, have you been looking for me?’’ Phantom said, raising into a sitting position, even though Cujo was making it difficult for him.

‘’I’m going to end you!’’ Valerie yelled, pulling out her gun and making sure to aim it at his face and away from the dog in his lap.

‘’I thought we had a truce! What did I do?!’’

‘’YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT YOU DID.’’

‘’No, I actually don’t!’’

She let her gun disappear back into her suit and angrily knelt beside them. Picking up Cujo from his lap, she turned him around to show Phantom a charred section of fur on his right back leg.

‘’I FOUND SOME SINGED FUR ON CUJO AGAIN. You were playing too harshly with him! again!’’ she put the puppy down, so she could stand up summoning her gun back and aim it at the ghost boy in front of her.

Phantom looked from the gun to her, at Cujo and then back to the gun.

‘’……. Listen in my defense he really likes fetching ectoblasts…’’

‘’He’s gonna be fetching your ectoplasm when I’m done with you! What were you thinking?! He’s not one of your vile rouge buddies! He’s a little puppy! How many times have I told you to be softer with him?!’’

‘’Valerie, with all due respect…That dog can chew off Skulker’s head, he can take a few tiny burns! He doesn’t even react to it!’’ he defended standing up too. He kept his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. ‘’Can’t I just play catch with my own son?’’

Cujo barked from the side.

‘’UgH your SON that you constantly leave with Danny! Apparently you do that so often that he’s more used to Danny’s scent than yours!’’ she yelled irritated.

‘’Uh…I’m a ghost…. I don’t have a scent?’’ he answered, uncertain before nodding to himself. ‘’Yes. Yes! I don’t have… a scent for him to find. Only uh… Only material beings do.’’ he added still unsure and she swore she could hear him mutter something about being a genius.

‘’What.’’

‘’He couldn’t sniff me out and uh… you and Danny are the only humans who have me on speed dial so he thought that was the best next thing. Yes, that’s definitely it.’’

‘’…What.’’

‘’Yeah! It’s true! Totally! So he did good!’’ he motioned to Cujo which made him wag his tail more. ‘’Give him a treat, he deserves it. He’s a good boy!’’

The puppy barked happily.

‘’Yeah, you are!’’ Phantom crouched to coddle Cujo. ‘’Your mother just couldn’t see it! But don’t worry, your cool ass dad always got your back.’’

There he goes again with the family bullshit. Valerie slumped defeated and hid her gun.

‘’Ugh. Stop saying things like that to him, we’re not a family.’’ she groaned.

‘’Well yeah, we’re divorced.’’

‘’We never even dated!’’

‘’As far as you know.’’ he looked up at her with his dumb trademark smirk.

‘’What’s that supposed to mean?’’ she asked because what the actual fuck did he mean by that.

‘’Nothing!’’ he stood up quickly picking up Cujo to shove him in her arms and woah, did that give her deja vu. ‘’I have to go, can I have a rain check on that ass kicking? I’m very busy right now!’’

‘’Wha- No!’’ she protested trying to keep Cujo from licking her face. ‘’Get back here!’’

‘’Bye Val!’’ he yelled and flew off before she had the time to react. God damn it!

She turned her gaze down to Cujo’s pleading eyes.

‘’Alright.’’ she pulled out a dog treat from a tiny storage in her glove and gave it to Cujo. ‘’You did good baby.’’

She put him down on the ground so he could devour the treat in peace and sighed loudly. Phantom ran off like a little bitch and apparently Cujo couldn’t sniff him out. He would just go to Danny again.

Which reminded her. She still needed to have a talk with that boy. She did trust him not to tell anyone, but she needed to know how he found out in the first place, so she can make sure no one else can find out the same way. She should probably give him a bit of time before she gets Cujo to stalk him out again though.

The puppy had finished his little treat and was now looking at her with those cute red puppy dog eyes. She couldn’t hold back the smile that overtook her face. Whatever. She’ll deal with Danny at school tomorrow. And deal with Phantom whenever she sees him next.

‘’C’mon Cujo. Let’s go home.’’

It was on the way home when a sudden thought hit her.

DID PHANTOM TELL DANNY ABOUT HER IDENTITY THE SAME WAY HE DID WITH HER DAD?

[totallyjustabunchofhocuspocus]

Fic: Something to Sink Your Teeth Into 2/4

Read on AO3

Pairing: Buck/Tommy

CW: I mean, the usual ones for Vampire!AU's. I'll throw a warning for consent issues inherent in vampire fuckery in this chapter, though nothing sexual happens (and won't happen) under said vampire fuckery, and the intentions are, believe it or not, mostly pure.

A witch. An actual witch, here, in the middle of a gathering of the most powerful vampires for hundreds of miles.

An actual witch, who was apparently strong enough to weave a spell powerful enough to incinerate a vampire into a single word of command…and yet untrained enough that he didn’t realize he was in the middle of a den of vampires the instant he’d set foot on the premises. A witch who was old enough to have a job serving alcohol, yet lacked a familiar—at least judging by the way that Tommy wasn’t, you know, being savaged by some kind of random animal currently. A witch, alone and without the support of their coven—because there was no way in hell a witch this young would have been allowed anywhere near Gerrard’s estate if his coven was worth a single damn.

It didn’t compute.

The young man was still fighting like a wounded bear, trying to bite at the hand Tommy had over his mouth, muffling any further attempts at spells. He struggled fruitlessly against Tommy’s hold, his eyes gone so wide the whites were showing all around, his heart pounding like a jackhammer, the scent of his terror almost choking the room. From further in the mansion, Tommy could hear a cacophony of screams from the human victims Gerrard had brought in, overlaid by the loud laughter of the crueler vampires, the pounding of feet as the humans tried to run for safety that no longer existed.

Tommy had a decision to make.

They weren’t likely to be alone for long. Not everyone would be running their chosen meal down like prey…some preferred blood flavored by other things than fear, and would be utilizing their other talents to entrance and ensnare their victims, dragging them to quiet corners and rooms to ease them into a much kinder death than Gerrard and his cronies ever bothered with. And Tommy was in one of the quietest. With a witch.

If the kid had been fully human, Tommy might have been tempted to let him go. Shove him towards the still-open French doors and let him take his chances trying to get off the grounds. He probably wouldn’t make it—no doubt Gerrard had people patrolling the estate in case someone did manage to escape the mansion. But he’d at least have a chance. Tommy wouldn’t need blood for another several weeks, and he hated the way the humans at these parties didn’t even have a sporting chance to escape. He could’ve just let the boy go and gone back out into the main part of the house, done his duty by his coven in grabbing up some poor victim who had no chance of leaving the place alive and putting them out of their misery.

The kid—Evan, he reminded himself, his name was Evan—wasn’t fully human, though. He was a witch. And witch blood…

Witch blood was a fucking treasure.

A vampire who drank witch blood was damn near unstoppable until it wore off. The power in witch blood was intoxicating, addictive. There were legends of ancient vampires regularly ingesting witch blood in order to be able to walk in the sun again. Tommy had no idea if any of those legends were true, but having tasted witch blood a handful of times himself over his long life…he could believe it.

The properties of witch blood on vampires were the main source of centuries upon centuries of conflict between the two. Even now, in this modern age that had forced them into an uneasy truce to keep the secret of their existence, there were occasional eruptions of violence. A witch willing to let a vampire drink from them could ask for any price. To the point where allowing a vampire to do so without express permission of their territory’s high coven was grounds for instant banishment, if not outright execution. The high covens governed the exchange of witch blood with an almost religious fervor.

As a guest on Gerrard’s territory, Tommy was risking outright coven war by not handing this kid over to him right the fuck now. Every second he delayed put his entire family at risk. And yet…

“All right, Evan—it’s Evan, right? I heard you talking to your roommate. Listen to me. Your friend’s dead…or if he’s not he’s going to be very soon.” Tommy said urgently, staring into the witch’s eyes. He froze at the mention of his friend, a stricken look flashing through them, a few tears welling up before he blinked them back furiously. “If the coven master of this place figures out what you are, you will never see the light of day again. He’ll keep you somewhere no one will ever find you, and you’ll spend the rest of your life being his personal blood bank.”

Inwardly, Tommy shuddered at the thought of Vincent fucking Gerrard having free access to witch blood whenever he wanted it. Never mind trying to ally with Ortiz, he’d have every coven from Canada to Mexico bending to his every whim. He’d be able to drive anyone he disagreed with right out of their territory. Every single advantage Alonzo’s small coven had, everything that kept them safe, would vanish. Damn near overnight. No, Gerrard wasn’t getting his hands on this kid.

But Tommy couldn’t just let him go to take his chances getting out of here on his own.

And if he didn’t put in an appearance in the main part of the house soon, people were going to notice. They could not afford to be noticed right now.

“I am going to offer you a way to get out of this alive. I’m gonna take my hand away. You’re not going to try anything. You might take me out, but there’s no way in hell you make it through every vampire in this place on your own. You pretend I thralled you, and I walk you out. It’s gonna be fucking horrific in there, but you can’t let on you even notice. Afterwards…okay, I don’t actually know what I’m gonna do afterwards. But I won’t kill you, and I won’t cut your tongue out and lock you up in a basement somewhere. Believe me, kid, that’s a hell of a lot better deal than anything else you’ll get in this place. Okay?”

It was a plan born of desperation, the only thing he could think to do that didn’t involve just snapping the kid’s neck and stuffing the body in the trunk of Lucy’s car before running back in to put in some kind of appearance at Gerrard’s feast. That would be the easiest solution, honestly. Gerrard and his allies could not get their hands on Evan. If Tommy wasn’t willing to do exactly what Gerrard would do to the kid—and he wasn’t—then the most expedient way to deal with the problem was to kill him. Weirdly, though, Tommy found he really didn’t want to be the one to snuff out the light in those pretty, pretty eyes. He was rarely so sentimental over humans. He didn’t go out of his way to be cruel like so many others of his kind…but nor did he especially care about them. Something about this one tugged at him, though.

The witch shook in his hold, the terror of an animal that knew its only option was to start gnawing its own leg off gleaming in his eyes. Tommy could practically hear his thoughts racing in his head. After a moment, though, Evan gave a hesitant nod. Tommy relaxed slightly, easing back his hold on him. When Evan made no move to try and lunge away, he slowly, slowly took his hand away from the kid’s mouth.

A different word this time. Not the fire spell. Still in the strange, lilting language that brought forth hazy images of Latin mass with the now-faceless woman of his dimmest memories. Tommy’s ears popped, and a massive, invisible weight slammed into him from above, driving him to his knees as Evan scrambled away from him and sprinted for the French doors. The air itself seemed to have turned to lead, pressing Tommy down, down, down, crushing him into the floor.

It would have worked on a younger, weaker vampire. Probably would have pinned anyone else in the mansion besides himself and Gerrard helplessly to the ground. A human, and even some of the youngest turns, would have been crushed to death. As it was, Tommy lost a few precious seconds pressed to the carpet with an impossible, invisible weight bearing down hard on him before he threw himself to one side with a roar. The spell was localized, the weight vanishing as soon as he rolled away from the boundaries of it. He leapt to his feet and closed the distance between himself and Evan in a few mere heartbeats, catching the kid around the waist just as he was about to cross the threshold out into the gardens.

Damn it, he’d tried to be nice.

Before Evan could react, could call up another spell, Tommy swung him around in his arms and gripped his chin, forcing the kid’s eyes up to meet his, now glowing with ruby light. A soft surprised sound punched out of Evan, barely a gasp as Tommy’s not-inconsiderable will crashed over him like a tidal wave.

Evan fought. He fought hard, twitching in Tommy’s grip, struggling to choke out another spell word. It had been ages since anyone fought Tommy this hard, actually…he would have shaken Lucy’s or Ravi’s thrall off easily. Probably could have shaken off Sal’s. He might even have been able to escape Tommy if he hadn’t been so terrified, or had more than a few seconds to collect himself.

In the end, though, he went still in Tommy’s grip, the fight draining out of him until Tommy was able to let go of him. He swayed lightly on his feet, staring dazedly into Tommy’s eyes. And still, Tommy could feel his hold over Evan trembling…it was like trying to hold a rudder steady in a fucking hurricane.

Who was this kid?

Where was his coven?

“All right, all right, just relax. Nothing’s wrong. You’re not gonna care what’s happening, okay? Don’t worry about the spell. Understandable reaction, really, that’s on me. I would’ve done the same thing. Sorry about this, but it’s probably our best chance of getting out of here in the end.” The screams outside the room were growing fewer and farther between. He was running out of time, and fast.

Tommy hadn’t prayed in centuries. If there was a God, he’d abandoned the man who called himself Thomas Kinard now long ago. Still, he hoped as hard as he could that anyone who might care would be too caught up in a feeding frenzy to notice him trying to leave with Evan. Once he got him out of here…

Shit, he still had no idea where he was going with this. He just knew he couldn’t let Gerrard get his hands on Evan.

“Come here,” he said, slinging one arm around Evan’s shoulders and drawing him close as he turned back towards the hallway to the main part of the mansion. Tension rippled up and down Evan’s back before he sank back down into eerie calm. “There we go. Don’t fight me kid, this’ll go faster. What’s your name? Your full name.”

Forget hurricane. Holding onto Evan’s will was like trying to steer through a tsunami.

“Evan…Buckley,” the kid gritted out after a moment, struggling against the compulsion to give into Tommy’s every want.

He didn’t especially enjoy subverting people like this…sure, it made hunting an order of magnitude easier, but he’d seen his kind inflict terrible abuses with this particular talent. If he tried very hard, he could remember the guilt that had eaten at him when he was newly turned, every time he’d done it. Could remember thinking that someone he never wanted to disappoint would have been horrified at him exerting his will like this over someone who couldn’t fight back. Taking choices away from innocent people. He couldn’t recall the particulars, anymore than he could recall the face of the woman who’d taken his human self to church. But he still didn’t like it.

“I know, Evan, I know. This sucks for you, and believe it or not, I’m sorry. I meant what I said, though—I’m not gonna kill you. I don’t know if we can get out of here without putting on a little show, but I can control myself. I won’t take much. Put your arms around me. Act like you want it.” He didn’t like it—but he liked his alternatives less right now. Needs must.

Evan obeyed with jerky, hesitant motions, fighting him every step of the way. But he wound his arms around Tommy’s waist, burrowed into his side and leaned into him. The delicious scent that had been driving Tommy insane since he’d first happened on the kid wafted up around him in a cloud, and Evan was so warm. He let go of Evan’s shoulder to hook his arm around his neck, pulling him even closer as they entered the main living room, where most of Gerrard’s guests had been congregating.

In less than ten minutes, the room had turned into a fucking abattoir.

Bodies were strewn over the floor and furniture, many of them so savaged that chunks were missing from their throats, wrists, and thighs. Anywhere there was a major vein. Blood soaked the floors and carpets, the rich aroma nearly drowning out Evan’s smell. Dozens and dozens of vampires lounged on every available surface, those remaining victims that hadn’t already been slaughtered caught in their grip. Out here, no one was trying to be gentle or seductive…this was a fucking slaughterhouse.

Evan made a ragged sound in the back of his throat, trembling in Tommy’s grip, and he tilted the kid’s face up to look at him again. “Eyes on me, sweetheart,” he said firmly, tightening his grip when Evan’s feet slid in a puddle of blood and viscera. “Just keep your eyes on me. Nothing else is going on.” He felt the thrall become firmer, less shaky—shock finally driving some of the fight out of the witch.

He made his way slowly and confidently through the room, Evan stumbling along beside him like he was drunk, clinging to him like he actually did want to be in the circle of his arms, the enticing scent and warmth more distracting than Tommy was expecting. Deliberately, he guided them past a few of Gerrard’s turns who had obviously already fed, eyes alert for Lucy or Sal. Neither of them were usually one for violent kills, but Lucy was still young enough that it would be hard for her to control herself around so much free-flowing blood. He and Sal always kept an unobtrusive eye on her during these things. He had almost managed to make it across the room, almost made it to the door that opened up into another maze of hallways and rooms…hopefully he’d done enough to sell the illusion he was just looking for a little privacy to enjoy his own meal. No one ever expected him to join in the wholesale slaughter, and hadn’t for a long, long time. He had never been so grateful he had a reputation for leaving soon after the feasting was done…usually without saying any goodbyes.

Another ten feet, and he could sneak them out to the cars. With luck, he could have the witch back at their own coven compound before he managed to fight off the thrall and then…

And then he could figure out what he was going to do next. Ten more feet.

He should have known better than to hope it would be that easy.

“Oh come on, little brother. It’s rude not to join the family for dinner!” a voice sounded behind him, the mocking, sneering tone of it as familiar as his own name. He’d spent centuries with it ringing in his ears at every turn. Escaping it had been the greatest joy of his life. He came to a halt, his back ramrod straight, Evan still swaying and slipping under his arm, clinging to Tommy’s waist and plastered against his chest in false adoration.

He forced a neutral, polite smile on his face and turned around. “Gerrard.”

[coolingrosa]

Can you elaborate on your interpretation of canon ink being a level 2 of support?/genq

Level 2 support usually requires more supervision and assistance with tasks. It doesn’t mean everyone on the level 2 support spectrum would be requiring support all the time, but rather may need it for different situations or at least need to live with another to keep them stable. While they can still live their life on their own, they may struggle with immense social cues, repetitive tasks, and diving too deep into their special interests rather than focusing on the life around them.

I see canon Ink on this side of the spectrum bc I believe his job is his special interest. And due to the fact that a lot of people don’t tend to get along with him in his canon, and he puts his special interest above the friends he DOES have. it definitely gives me the vibes that he’s on level two support. Of course, he is an adult, so he’s still capable of caring for himself and basically to teach him to do so. However, with his family interactions, it’s very clear he never DID get that support. He has a hard time keeping his job to himself and tend to info dump at random about different aus. He’s also easily swayed WITH his special interest. Underverse definitely isn’t canon, but I do know Jakei spoke with the Undertale creators to make sure some actions were correct, and Comyet has said most of Underverse Ink is accurate. Him being manipulated by XGaster using his special interest, something he relies his whole existence on and is incomplete without, is also good evidence. Hell, in the truce prologue we see that Ink isn’t dying. Nobody is creating any more, of course, but he’s alive and he’s still able to have his vials.

But because nobody is making anything new, he feels incomplete and freaks out and makes decisions and choices he normally would never.

Ink definitely needs emotional support and regulation as he’s capable of having breakdowns that are also linked to his trauma that will cause him to shut down. But he will also have meltdowns if too many AUS get destroyed under his watch and will either throw up (which is funny to some but to me has always SCREAMED horrible anxiety disorder) or will hyperfixate on fixing it or freak out. Having to deal with these emotions on his own, never being taught that him never being able to sit still when freaked out is him craving stimming to regulate, never having anyone to lean on to help him deal with it, and also making reckless decisions he’s ultimately regrets later out of panic are all reasons he needs support.

And support does not always mean medical help. The Star Sanses living with him and making sure he eats and keeps a routine and stays on track is support. Him having Dream and Swap to help him during his meltdowns or to join him when he leaves the house to get stuff done is support. Him having them around so he doesn’t do anything reckless or make bad choices is support. I don’t think Ink would benefit from medical attention as not all people do. Sometimes they just need people in their life to understand them and help them through the struggles of life so they can have that to fall back on if coping on their own comes up short.

But bc he NEEDS this support to truly thrive, and without them, will likely fall to pieces and never eat, make bad choices, have multiple meltdowns on his own, and also not be able to stick to a solid routine is why I think he’s support two. He does need somebody keeping an eye on him and helping. Letting him do his own thing, of course, since he is an adult, but also there just in case and in the background while he does his life.

[beanyboobee]

My brain is once again giving me random vanitas no carte fic ideas that I sadly do not have the time to write.

But one such idea is one in a completely alterative world, where the Vampire of the blue moon created their own clan and over time it grew to the point where there are now different fractions in Atlus, The tensions between both sides is still relatively high due to the fear and stigma around the blue moon vampires still existing but it isn't as bad to the point of genocide (At least not anymore).

The story takes place a few decades later, In which Noe Archiviste is made public knowledge, His teacher had found him the same way he had in the canon world, However the difference here is that Comet De Sade kept Noe's existence within the walls of his manor, Only whispers and rumours making it outside, Till one day the Vampiric world practically exploded upon learning there was a surviving Archiviste and one with such strong ties to the De Sade family at that.

It was around this time, Luna, The clan leader of the vampire of the blue moon took in two young boys that became their heirs (The fact that they were human is not known)

Due to both of these events happening at the same time, Paranoia got the best of the vampires, one side paranoid that now the blue moon clan had two heirs which to them proved perhaps the clan was growing in an attempt to gain more control and power.

And the other at the knowledge of an Archiviste still being alive and on the side of the red moon vampires, Despite the fact that Archivistes were neutrals during the time of the human-Vampire war.

This eventually lead to a truce being called and a meeting being held in which it was agreed that to settle the tensions and proof that their actions were not made to hinder either side, There would be a marriage between Noe Archiviste and the older of the blue moon heirs.

After all, To harm one would cause immediate offense to either side, One the student of Comet De Sade and the last remaining Archiviste and the other the only student of the Original vampire of the blue moon, Luna, Though often referred to as Vanitas.

Noe knows about this since it was first announce, so nervously waits around, and prepares for years and when the time for the wedding comes, and he is nervous but excited to meet his spouse, despite the fact marriage to vampires is nearly always based in some sort of power gain and never for actual human reasons, he was excited none the less and to actually get to see outside of his teachers manor walls. Only when he shows up to the ceremony....His spouse.... Is no where to be found.

Turns out his fiancé has 'Skipped town' and now Noe is left to wait till his fiancé eventually returns for the ceremony to actually happen. If he ever returns. Which only makes tensions between the two sides grow more.

All the while learning that perhaps there is more to these tensions then previously thought, After visiting the blue moon clan for the engagement ceremony, It is suggested that perhaps he try and find the other half of the 'book of vanitas' and see for himself it's true nature, as red vampires have tended to demonise it for so long but his brief time in the other territory made him question it.

And so off to Paris he goes! but he gets more then he bargained for when a human with erratic and borderline insane behaviour is the one in charge of the book and demanding Noe help's him out in his 'mission' Not only that but apparently this human is his very estranged fiancé who is busy flirting with another woman right in front of him! Who upon learning who Noe is, becomes suddenly cold and distant!

But it's too late now as the two are hunting curse bearers through Paris and all the while figuring out what it means to be engaged. Over all a dramatic but comedic fanfiction Au, With a sprinkle of political intrigue and ALOTT of frustrating will they wont they moments, and the occasional "You're my! fiancé!" thrown in there when the mood strikes, despite Noe accepting that he never expecting Vanitas to actually care for the title as well... in Atlus Fiancé is nothing more then a title, a tie. So still juicy bits of angst sewn in.

[filledtothebrimothy]

🦑🦇Sharing my BramCraft headcanons bc they make me ill🦇🦑

They first met way before Bram got chopped in half, so theyve known each other for centuries

They met kinda like how mermaid aus happen. Lovecraft was snoozing underwater when one day one of the fishermen living on Bram’s fief caught him

I have a hc that Lovecraft has a multitude of sizes for his monster form so he can stay relatively hidden under rocks and such as to not be disturbed, so when the fisherman caught him, he was kinda just this mass of weird green tentacles that fit in the palm of this guy’s hand

Lovecraft was actually still sleeping when he was caught, so he didn’t wake up and kill everyone on the boat

This weird sea creature was brought to Bram for inspection, who was pretty much able to see right through what Lovecraft was

In order to protect the people of his fief, Bram told them he’d handle it and brought Lovecraft to the shore by himself and awoke him

When Lovecraft woke up, he didn’t feel like attacking this random guy and just wanted to go back to sea, so the two of them made a truce

…and then Lovecraft realized he was on a completely different continent than the one he called home, which meant he had to swim all the way back

That was what they both thought would be the last time they’d ever see each other, but they’d be wrong

Several hundred years later, Lovecraft (somehow) ended up near Bram’s fief by accident once again

This time, though, he ended up accidentally protecting the fief. He was probably just strolling through the woods and was in a bad mood & some random attackers pissed him off or smth

Bram found him, and they both just kinda stared at one another. Like “holy shit how is this guy from hundreds of years ago still alive”

Bram invited Lovecraft to his manor as an honored guest bc not only did Lovecraft protect the land, but also their truce from all those years ago was still holding up

This was probably around a time of war for Bram’s land too tbh

Bram’s people were confused abt why their lord brought in this random homeless guy, especially in hard times for them, but he assured them that they could trust Lovecraft

They didn’t question each other’s immortality. They simply felt a connection between the two of them- they were similar, and that was all they needed to know

Alas war was still going on, but the two of them SWEPT the battlefield together (they just want to live in peace)

When witnessing each other in combat and each others’ abilities (well not so much as an ability for Lovecraft but ykwim), they both just thought “ahh. that makes sense”

Bram’s country won the war with these two powerhouses! Hip Hip Hooray!

Around this era was probably the peak of BramCraft. They understood each other and never pushed the other for information. They both simply wanted peace and quiet, and living together in a manor no longer engaged in war allowed that

Lovecraft, who was previously simply a guest in Bram’s land because of their silly truce and somewhat a weapon for the war, was now no longer sleeping in the guest bedroom (he was seeing what the hype of human life was all about) and was very close to Bram

The people of Bram’s land never saw much of Lovecraft, who always stayed inside the manor, but Bram was quite social with the commonfolk

Bram still behaved like a lord and knew they weren’t on his level, but he was engaged in their lives and the harvests and such

He probably used them in war by turning them to vampires to fight against the enemy before turning them back, so he kind of felt he had an obligation to treat them well as thanks

Of course, all good things must come to an end, as this was just a temporary era of theirs

They both knew this wouldn’t last forever (despite both being immortal/being able to live forever). Sooner or later, SOMETHING would force them apart, so they agreed to say their goodbyes before that could happen

Before going their separate ways, though, Bram took Lovecraft on a long tour of the entire fief

Lovecraft ended up growing a fascination with the peasants, especially the farmers and their crops as well as having a slight distaste for fishermen (this would also become the reason why he and Steinbeck become close friends)

They say their goodbyes, and the golden era of BramCraft comes to an end 💔

Things just kinda spiral downward from there, especially for Bram (curses, Fukuchi) (i also just rlly wanna know what happened with the girl that looks like Aya)

And now, Lovecraft is probably sleeping at the bottom of the ocean once more, and Bram keeps complaining about wanting to sleep in his coffin

[marcskywalker]

merthur au/prompts I can't stop thinking about (@ fic writers)

arthur being magic positive and hiding it from merlin. I spoke more about it here and @neupulman wrote this amazing fic based on it but omg this idea lives in my head RENT FUCKING FREE and I'd love as many fics written on it as possible

merlin being cursed (or wtv) and temporarily loses his magic. He grows insanely controlling of arthur cause he feels like he can no longer protect arthur from danger if he doesn't have magic and is constantly trying is order him around. no, you're not allowed to go there, no you can't say that, no you're not allowed to accept food from him. and arthur is just ?????? tf is wrong with my best friend?? but doesn't read much into it because it's merlin and merlin's always been a little weird and bossy. merlin keeps getting into so much more trouble (cause again, his usual way of staying out of trouble is magic) so arthur's put in position to protect him more often and both of them are ???????? "why THE FUCK ARE you putting yourself in danger for me??" and "WHY ARE YOU getting into so much trouble??" until they figure out that "oh you're in love with me and can't bare to see any harm come to me" and "oh you have magic and someone already hurt you by taking it away"

Arthur meeting Merlin's family for the first time and being accepted. Idk how clear I can make this but I hate Arthur's family and how is he is treated by them (except you ygraine, you're dead and lovely) so ya someone give that boy loving affirmations

One of them is brainwashed/mind controlled/possessed and beats the shit out of the other person who refuses to fight back. I LOVE this trope. It slaps all the time. Look at destiel. Look at stucky. ALL THE TIME

another au that I've spoke about before AND I'LL SPEAK ABOUT IT AGAIN: I took that scene where Arthur says "I'll give up my crown just see her smile again" or something like that about morgana, and ran with it. There is only so many assassination attempts a brother can go through before he wilts and does another to have his sister back. In Arthur's case: he willingly hands over the throne for a chance at having a chance at his pesty, loving, older sister (I AM A YOUNGER BROTHER ARTHUR TRUTHER) look at him with something other than endless hate. what I Love about this prompt is that it could go so so many different ways. @mobycotton was lovely enough to write this amazing fic for me that I LOVED. In my head, Arthur is really shaken up by another one of Morgana's attempts at killing him. He doesn't know what's saved him and at this point he wishes whatever it is would stop. He goes down a spiral thinking of his family; the mother that he killed, the father that he let down, the uncle he betrayed and the sister he never deserved. What good could he be for Camelot when he wasn't even good enough for his flesh and blood. So he announces his truce; gives it over to morgana and leaves Camelot and everyone he knows behind. The knights and merlin have to eventually hunt him down and convince him otherwise (and he meets random people along the way who are stans of King Arthur just like me and he gets some sort of self esteem back)

Protective BAMF merlin. Basically merlin overhears someone talking shit about his prince and starts a fist fight. Arthur finds out

Mid s1 merthur where Arthur knows he's in love with Merlin and he shoves it DEEP inside, sticks to pining after his manservant like the pathetic (lovingly) puppy he is. All Merlin knows is that, for whatever reason, he would rather eat his own feet than let anything happen to Arthur. Which is why when brave, stupid arthur walks towards a stranger light source in the forest; he follows without hesitation, only to see...... arthur and himself snogging against a tree? Basically a pining, repressed prince Arthur and Merlin I don't know what this weird feeling in my tummy when I see him is Emrys accidentally walks through a portal into an alternatively universe where they know how to communicate well and have been disgustingly in love. The four of them have to work together to get Arthur and Merlin back where they belong.

Merlin makes a deal with his king cenred: for protection of his village, he will infiltrate Camelot's castle and bring them down. He just wishes someone had told him that prince charming of Camelot would make him fall in love with his pouty lips and gooey eyes. I don't know if yáll have noticed this but Arthur pouts A LOT. I can't take him seriously smh

[francesminos-tt]

Lucemond classic canon-divergence, abo au where Viserys betroth Lucerys to Aemond after the eye incident. With a twist.

 The union between alpha and omega is a sacred thing. It’s cherished by the old gods and new, especially by the Targaryens because it will bring heirs and dragons. Lucerys respects such union, and so does Aemond.

Lucerys has always been a loving and compassionate kid, though he can be cheeky and mischievous sometimes, in his core, he always cares for others. He is a little chubby and clumsy, not overly good with swords, but has a passion in embroidery. He will be an omega like his mother, all people say. Lucerys believes them.

Apparently King Viserys believes this too, because his solution to Lucerys taking out Aemond’s eye is to betroth those two boys. Another union of alpha and omega will mend the rift in our house, the King declares. Queen Alicent objects of course, but to no avail. Surprisingly, Aemond doesn’t seem to mind too much. So the matter is settled. Lucerys will go to King’s Landing as prince Aemond’s betrothed. They will learn, train and grow up together, and after they both present, the wedding will be held in the capital.

Those first months are the hardest. Lucerys is all alone in a place he once called home, but now filled with strangers. Aemond is still healing, so basically all Lucerys does is reading to his uncle, his betrothed. He has a soft voice and perfect pronunciation of high valyrian, a relaxation like no other, his mother would say. Lucerys hopes Aemond would feel the same. He desperately wants to make things better, to take away Aemond’s pain, even for a little while. Aemond just listens, never demanding him to leave nor making him stop. Little by little, Lucerys could see Aemond relax, tension fading from his shoulders, a painful frown turning into a slight smile. Not until Aemond falls asleep without the help of milk of the poppy for the first time in two months does Lucerys deem this as a win.

After Aemond resumes training, Lucerys finds himself a new routine. He would accompany Aemond to the training yard at the crack of dawn and sits there to watch. Aemond normally pays him no mind as the one-eyed prince trains hard to regain control over his body. Lucerys flinches every time there is a clash of swords, but he forces himself to stand still. After training, he would go with Aemond to the Dragon Pit. One and a half year later, on a random morning, when Lucerys greets Aemond outside the latter’s chamber, he gets a whispered good morning in return.

 They come to a truce, or even a real relationship, Lucerys would argue. Aemond presents at his 14th nameday, an alpha like everyone expects. Lucerys meets him after Aemond recovers from his first rut, the first thing Lucerys notices is the proud smile spread across the alpha’s face.

“Congratulations, uncle. I am sure you will be a formidable alpha.” Lucerys says with all his heart.

“I thank you, nephew.” Aemond replies with dignity and pride.

“I brought you a gift.” Lucerys pauses before draws a small embroidered handkerchief from his pocket and presents it to Aemond. On the light blue silk is a massive dragon about to take flight.

“Forgive me, uncle, the needlework is not that intricate. You don’t have to use it, of course, I just hope you could accept this as your presentation gift.” Lucerys rambles, heat creeping up to his cheek.

“Did you make this yourself?” Aemond asks, seemly intrigued by the embroidered dragon.

“Yes.” Lucerys admits.

“Then I shall keep it on me at all times.” Aemond tucks the handkerchief in his tunic and gently takes Lucerys’s shaking hand into his calloused palm. “It reminds me of my duty and commitment to you, nephew, as your alpha.”

Lucerys stares right into Aemond’s lone eye, and all he sees is tenderness and devotion. That’s when he realizes he is in love with Aemond. Maybe he always has been.

“I thought you didn’t want me, didn’t want our betrothal because I hurt you.” Lucerys manages to babble among hiccups.

“Don’t cry, sweet omega.” Aemond calls him omega even though Lucerys hasn’t presented yet. “Nobody is able to resist your stubbornness it seems, not even me.”

Lucerys chuckles as he leans in for Aemond’s touch.

 People at the Red Keep start to call them lovebirds, much to Queen Alicent’s chagrin. The King is thrilled despite his ailing health. He sees an alpha-omega union with so much potential and happiness. Now it’s Aemond who accompanies Lucerys everywhere, to read, to take a leisure stroll in the garden, to fly on dragon back. Lucerys can’t wait to present. Sometimes he daydreams about the children he and Aemond would have, all with silver hair and violet eyes, little dragons who are both adorable and fierce.

All his happiness end on that fateful day. Vaemond Velaryon challenges his claim to Driftmark so there is a petition held in the throne room. Lucerys isn’t worried, no, because his mother and family are here, he knows they will defend him at all cost. And there is Aemond. His alpha keeps a steady grip on his wrist during the whole ordeal. Vaemond’s accusations are harsh, but that man soon loses his head for his arrogance and vulgar insult. Lucerys collapses after seeing all the blood spilled on the floor. He hates blood and conflict, all of which reminds him of when he hurt his alpha. He feels hot, the air suffocating, the bloody smell blocking all his senses, and Lucerys presents. As an alpha.

When he comes to, it is well past midnight and Lucerys is in his chamber. Rhaenyra is there, offering her sweet lavender scent as comfort, but Aemond is nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Aemond, mother?” Lucerys asks. To him, not seeing Aemond has become an anomaly.

“My sweet boy, it is not appropriate for your uncle to visit you in your private chamber at such late hour.” Rhaenyra answers, stroking her son’s unruly curls.

“But he’s my betrothed.” Lucerys argues. Panic begins to rise from his gut when his mother hastily breaks eye contact.

“Your betrothal is annulled as you both present as alphas. The King deeply regrets this but for continuation of our family, you are to marry another omega and sire children. Rhaena, maybe, if the King accepts my petition.”

Lucerys’s world shatters. Did Aemond willingly agree to this? Why didn’t he defend their relationship? Are his promises all lies? Does Aemond only love him for his second gender? Does Aemond abandon him because Lucerys couldn't bear children?

“No. I won’t accept this.” Lucerys struggles to get off the bed. “I want to talk to Aemond. We love each other, mother. He promised. He promised we would marry.”

“Oh, sweet boy, I am so sorry.” Rhaenrya embraces her trembling son. “I don’t think it is wise taking to Aemond now. In fact, it is him who suggests the betrothal to be annulled.”

Lucerys’s resolution breaks along with his heart as Rhaenyra hands him a handkerchief with dragon embroidery.

It turns out, promises are meant to be broken. Lucerys has always been a loving and compassionate kid; he cares for others and avoids violence as best as he can. He loves unconditionally and whole-heartedly.

He is not that boy anymore. A part of him died with his betrothal, turned to ashes and buried deep in the ground. He is not that boy when he leaves King’s Landing on Arrax, swearing never to return. He is not that boy when he enters the great hall of Storm’s End. He is not that boy when he sees Aemond’s measured expression falter for a split second.

He is not that boy when he proudly tells lord Borros that he shall take the lord’s word back to the Queen but bear in mind that prince Aemond is an oathbreaker. He broke a promise once. He will not hesitate to break them again.

Lucerys is not that naive boy anymore. When he sees Aemond’s shocked face as he falls from the sky, he feels no pity, only a cruel sense of contentment.

If I cannot have you as my alpha, uncle, at least I can take your sanity away. I will haunt you to your last breath because I promised I would always be with you and I am not an oathbreaker.

That is Lucerys’s last thought before he is welcomed by eternal darkness.

[toonsurvival]

I was Inspired by Pibby and the MLP Infection AU Trend, so I wanted to make my own version of it as well but Toontown Theme.

I'm gonna call this AU....

Toontown: Currupt Infect

And I'll draw the Characters later when I have time but here's some Details.

Description

The Cogs and Toons we're doing their usual Daily Tasks, Cogs try to take over Buildings and do things that are not Toony for the Toons.

The Toons fighting for their Homes 🏡 and Protecting their Family Members while being Silly as always.

But one day, Flippy made an emergency announcement, and Warned the Toons and Cogs to have a Temporary Truce and needed to Work together right know.

They we're Both surprised, what got Flippy so Serious and Scared for the Toons and Cogs Safety?

Why do they need to grab as many resources as much as Possible and evacuate to "The Brrrgh" for the Toons and Cogs to move in?

[What they didn't know that Flippy is from the Future and went back in time with their Memories and Stuff including their own Experiences, Couch Z and Professor Pete is the only 2 that came with him.]

Some of the Toons took his Warning Seriously while the Cogs are a little skeptical but some of them follow suit.

The ones who didn't take it seriously will regret later, and the ones who did will be safe and relieved. But both Sides will be Horrified once the Infected finally appear.

And suddenly realized why Flippy was Warning ⚠️ them Multiple Times... this thing... was something they could never forget...

This Infect... Killed so many Cogs and Toons in a very Brutal way.

Couch Z trains people how to Protect themselves and Avoid getting Infected while Professor Pete teaches about them and make Blue Prints 🖨 of a Flying Magical Ship 🚢

The Brrrgh had been a Safe Zone for both Party's, even though there are some outpost in other Playground and Streets. It's still very Dangerous living outside of Brrrgh.

Over time people Agree to change the name of Brrrgh to "SAFE ZONE" so it will be easier for people to Recognize the Symbol and Logo of the Bored once they are trying to Retreat or found Survivors to bring back to the Base.

Here's some examples of Characters that Survived the Infection or Died, and what they are Currently Currently Doing.

The one who Survived

Bellringer - Helps Spread Information and News

Prethinker - Learning and Studying about the Infected Monsters Behavior and working with a Team of Scientists to find a Cure.

Multislacker - Has Cameras 📷 every on every Street and Playground and has a Team to help him Get Information and fix any Broken Cameras. Helps Bellringer with more Information and Savings Toons and Cogs since they also put random Speakers around the Places they can see.

Pacesetter - Helps with Rescue Tasks and Deliverying Mail, and sometimes Protroll the Area to find Survivals running away from the Infected Monsters.

Duck Shuffler - Really Good at Avoiding Attacks and not getting Infected while Saving Toons and Cogs and Brutally trys to Fight of the Monsters or Distract them.

Treekiller - Makes Sharp Weapons and Build Stuff out of Wood 🪵 work in a Team of Lumberjacks and Smiths.

Plutocrat - He turn his Pizza Restaurant 🍕 into a Tavern, were he sells all kinds of Consumable Goods and Beverages, it also helps Keeps Toons and Cogs morality up and desperate times.

Satellite Investors - Helps with Rebuilding Stuff including Projects.

Mouthpiece - Keeps an Eye of the Young Children and Runs a Knitting Club to make new Clothing and Plushies with other people.

Rainmaker - Sometimes help Mouthpiece with Babysitting but she mostly helps with Rescue Tasks as well but most of the time Helps in a Distance use their Weather Abilities to Fight Off the Monsters and slowly taking over other Streets and Playground with Cold Snowy 🌨 Weathers to make another Safe Zone.

Judy - She has no Idea how she manage to Survive but is very Greatful that she did, and she get to see her BFF again 💗 Mouthpiece! She works alongside her and keeps an eye on the kids as well. But she also helps Organize Schedules and Task for Toons and Cogs and Strict with People to be carful.

Litigator - He is Greatful that he and his Friends survived but is sad that Chief Legal Officer died Protecting them while they we're Running to the Safe Zone. Helps Judy so they won't overwork themselves and his friends joined in as well since there's so many Toons and Cogs that does Tasks for people.

Stenographer - THANK GOODNESS! She is good with ORGANIZING! Including being good at dealing with Stubborn 😣 People.

Case Manager - He Helps Labels Stuff so Toons and Cogs won't get Confuse and it will cause less accidents from happening.

Scapegoat - He still sometimes help people by Covering For Others but he also Works at a Cafeteria to make sure Toons and Cogs will have a Staple Diet, plus he discovered that he likes Cooking and wants to Learn more.

Derrick Man - He Does Delivery Stuff including Transferring goods into the Safe Zone, he sometimes does Health Check Ups for the Cogs when they come back from a Task, Has a Healthier and better Relationship with Rain. And slowly started to Understand Toon Culture while Toons slowly started to Understand Cog Culture as well.

Firestarter - In Charge of Keeping the Camp Warm with Unlimited Fire 🔥 of different Sizes for Toons and Cogs can use including handing out Heating Pads whenever they are going out to do Tasks in the Snow. Sometimes help Pacesetter with Tasks and gets someone else to Cover for him.

Featherbedder - He has a Side Job working at a Children's Library and sometimes read Bed Time Stories at the Safe Zone for Toons and Cogs, while at Night Shifts he does Tasks that need skilled people to be very Quit and Soundless, he's Perfect for that type of Job since the Infected Monsters will most likely not Detect him as long their carful.

Major Player - Makes a Entertainment Zone for Toons and Cogs to go to have Fun, it also helps give people a Temporary Distractions of the Harsh Reality they are in. They can watch Movies 🎬 Play Bored Games 🎮 Listen to Music 🎶 Dance 🕺 etc.

Chainsaw Consultant - Does the same thing like Major Player but instead of a Loud Entertainment Place, he works at a Quite Entertainment Zone we're Toons and Cogs who likes peace and Quite can go to. They got Books, Quite Bored Games, Realizing Music, A place to lay down under a nice Breezy Shade, freezing Fishes, etc.

Land Acquisition Architect - He works along side Multislacker and Bellringer when he's Guarding the Entrance from Monsters and Patrolling places that are too Dangerous for untrained people.

Deep Diver - Has a Deep Conversations with the Scientists and Prethinker on how the Monsters have different Weaknesses and Strengths, but her mane Job is working at a Fish Hotel we're people drop off their pet Fish's.

Gatekeeper - She literally Guards the entrance from Infected Monsters and help Survivals to Run to the Safe Zone, she has Key Workers of Toons and Cogs with Tasks she's unable to do since she's busy Guarding all the Entrance or doing something else.

Jennifer - After that Awful incident of The Chairman getting Brutally killed to Death telling them to Run to the Safe Zone while Bobby screamed in Fear and Cried in Thomas Saggs arms. Well... instead of being Lazy at her Job, she became really serious at her New Secretary Job, Fearing that the Infected Monster will try to get in the Safe Zone. Luckily Cogs and Toons who are associate with her made sure that she does take Breaks and reminds her to take care of herself.

Chief Operating Officer - While he was Running to the Safe Zone in Fear while Carrying Bubby JR in his Arms, he never forget his Brother Screams with his other Coworkers panicking beside him... it took a while for him to be able to be Active for Bubby and his other Coworkers who we're worried for him. But after recovery for a while a Toon offer him a Job at the very good Polite Department we're other Cogs and Toons Work at, and he became a Manager as well, he's also glad that Bubby found friends in his age Group.

Bobby JR - He's Scared... and they missed their Dad... He's very scared of those monsters... Luckily there's a lot of Activities in the Safe Zone for Children to not be bored and he made friends as well including a Bear Toon.

Public Relations Representative - Well... he's still very Unstable, but slowly recovering and getting help from both Toons and Cogs. And he gets to see his old Friends again, Pacesetter is surprised that he is Faster Runner than him, kinda had a weird friendship because of that while Derrick is glad to see he didn't get Corrupted by the Infected Monsters, and others who new him.

The one who Died

Chief Legal Officer - She has no regrets of helping her Coworkers escape from those Monsters but is terrified of becoming one of them while slowly loosing themselves...

Redd 'Heir' Wing - It took some time for him to get along with Toons and the Idea 💡 of working with them but after getting saved from a Certain Toon... he's more cooperation and friendly.

Jason -

Chief Executive Officer -

Director of Land Acquisition -

The one who became the Infected Monsters

Witch Hunter -

Count Erclaim -

Derrick Hand -

Director of Land Development -

The Chairman -

Survival Rate of Each Cogs and Toons

Higher Chance of Survival

Horse

Bear

Fox

Bat

Turkey

Cold Caller

Short Change

Big Fish

Medium Chance of Survival

Cat

Deer

Armadillo

Kangaroo

Mingler

Spin Doctor

Shyster

Legal Eagle

Flunky

Micromanager

Average Chance of Survival

Pets: Basically Doodles, Fishes, Jungle Spider, Bats, etc. Most Pets will be Average Change of Survival but they can go Higher or Lower depending on their Skills and Traits and who is their Owner or they a Wild Animal.

Dog

Duck

Monkey

Pig

Raccoon

Two-Face

Number Cruncher

Double Talker

Back Stabber

Connoisseur

OK Chance of Survival

Mouse

Rabbit

Kiwi

Koala

Telemarketer

Mover & Shaker

Factory Foreman

Loan Shark

Needlenose

Conveyancer

Advocate

Big Cheese

Magnate

Low Chance of Survival

Name Dropper

Glad Hander

Mr. Hollywood

Penny Pincher

Robber Baron

Ambulance Chaser

Middleman

Oh Damb! Hard chance of Survival

Tightwad

Bean Counter

Money Bags

Pencil Pusher

Yesman

Swindler

Toxic Manager

Magnate

Completely Doomed Unless your in Safe Zone before the Outbreak Happened or you Survived because someone Help you or gotten Lucky.

Bottom Feeder

Bloodsucker

Pettifogger

Barrister

Big Wig

Downsizer

Head Hunter

Corporate Raider

Con Artist

Head Honcho

Since you can't have a Funeral for every single Person that Died, Flippy turned the Kudos Bored into a Community Touch Screen.

Were there's a List of People who Survived or Died and Regular News on Stuff what's Happening.

[kitofawriter]

More random Count of Shadows AU stuff because it’s consuming me:

Macaque was white prior to his imprisonment where his fur turned black so he saves energy on that part of his glamour. His eye was also damaged in the fight when he was taken so he still lost it but it wasn’t SWKs doing this time.

PIF is the first to figure out Macaques identity but she doesn’t say anything because she’s curious how this will play out, and he’s not hurting anyone in her family.

DBK was kicked out of the brotherhood due to his affair with a heavenly maiden, and he’s still mad about it which is why he agrees to let Red Son go undercover.

Instead of a treasure LBD and the Mayor told Mac about a key that could open anything, including setting them free. Mac escaped to find it but chose not to return to set them free because he’s not an idiot (mostly) he proceeded to use the key to steel loads of treasure and magical artifacts to insure he was powerful enough to enact his revenge.

MK and Mei latch on to Red Son (disguised as the Count of Flame) basically immediately, much to his annoyance because his task is to get close to Yellow Tusk and find information about the coup against Heaven that they framed Macaque for. He doesn’t actually know why Macaque wants the information but if it helps take down the men who banished his father he’ll help.

The Camel Ridge Trio framed Mac for “inciting rebellion against Heaven” when Mac was the one most vocal about not doing that. Which is why SWK becomes convinced that it was a set up from Heaven trying to start a war and have an excuse to wipe them out. There’s definitely a “if it’s a war you want it’s a war you’ll get and I will personally make sure you regret it” moment.

SWK still went on the journey, as that was one of the conditions for the truce with Heaven. So he’s still got all that going on. (Azure was pissed when he learned about the fillet as that wasn’t one of the conditions but SWK calmed him down)

Camel Ridge is in a super serious drought at the beginning because the energy pulled from the land around it drained all the resources and they set it up without talking to the dragons about rain first. This is what SWK is working on and why he is away at the beginning, which allows MK to befriend the Count.

Im still debating if SWK has his gold vision. At first I thought no so he couldn’t see through Mac’s glamours, but now I’m considering yes and Mac has something that lets his glamours overpower it. Just for the potential of SWK being suspicious and trying only to be disappointed that it’s not really him (but it IS)

Rumble and Savage are clones of Macaque that he used an artifact he stole to breathe life into. They help him do a lot of the dirty work while keeping suspicion off of him.

[radiance1]

So I have another idea that's kinda based off my other one.

More so in the way that Danny and Vlad are a dragon and phoenix. Danny being a dragon is kinda vital to this au AnYwAyS so.

Unlike in my other half king idea aus, Danny and Vlad do not have a truce, well kinda but also not. They won't go out of their way to fight each other if say, they're on the other side of the zone or out of it and such.

But as soon as they see each other physically it's on sight.

(Like all my other half king ideas, Danny has the crown and Vlad the ring.)

It doesn't matter where or when, as soon as they so much has make eye contact they drop every damn thing they be doing- important or not, and go blow to blow. Either in words or physically.

Though most of the time, fighting in words is when they're in human form, physically is almost always going to be in mythical beast form.

Not that it's 100% but it is what it is.

The reason being that Dragons and Phoenix's are either mortal enemies, or have a harmonious relationship with each other.

And in this case there is literally no in between.

And guess which one Danny and Vlad got.

So in one of their very recent fights, they managed to mortally wound each other. Which wouldn't be possible for ghosts, but since they're also half human they managed it.

So when they decided to fuck it and disregarding their shared status of Ghost King they make the choice to go the extra mile and finish the other off.

Not that it would actually kill them, but it's literally not much in the face of their shared eternity.

After pulling off the last attack, they both get knocked out, ectoplasm and blood flowing from their wounds but instead of falling into a random part of the ghost zone they instead fall into a portal that opened under their falling bodies.

They didn't fall through time, nor to anywhere on their earth.

No, they instead fell into another dimension entirely.

Vlad fell onto a farm, a loud crash announcing his entrance from the portal. His flames were weak, barely an ember from his magnificence that once was, not even hot enough to burn anything around him.

His blood started pooling under him and he twitched, the only thing telling that he was alive. He could faintly hear the sounds of hurried footsteps, waking him from unconsciousness and he struggled to open on of his eyes.

Imagine his surprise to see a farm, and an old human couple in front of him.

On Danny's side of things, he fell into a giant pit of glowing green liquid. He woke up after he fell in, and at first he thought it was Ectoplasm, but it wasn't.

It was too filled with life, the pure opposite of the death energy he was intimately familiar with. He could feel it stitching up his wounds, he could feel it invading his body and being not at all friendly with the ectoplasm in his blood.

He managed to drag himself out of the pool, his body felt weak and feeble despite how physically it looked like it was in prime condition. He could feel himself condensing from his place on the floor, his body slowly becoming the form of a giant egg of glowing white and green with streaks of an icey blue within.

The last thing he heard was the hurried click clacks of heels nearing his location, before he blacked out, the only thing left was the edges of his consciousness.

On another note, the Kent family, even with their son being Superman. Did not expect a giant phoenix to be resting, no doubt slowly bleeding to death, outside of their house after they heard a crash.

Neither was one Barbara Kean expecting to see a dragon turn into a giant egg after dragging itself out of the Lazarus Pit.

[cosmic-walkers]

I really love how you focus solely on the queer subtext between the characters, and how you're able to make a lot of out of what little we get between Thomas and his interaction with certain men in Wolf Hall. I didn't realize just how much he and Stephen interacted before you started posting it, even though I read the entire series. I enjoy seeing how you're able to tie that together.

I like your take on Stephen and religious guilt. In the book at least he didn't want to be a priest, but it makes sense he's covet Catholicism because he was forced into it and it's all he knows. And now here comes Thomas poking holes in his safety net lol. And now he's wondering if he should've been in the religion to begin with.

YESSS to everything you've said omg.

Honestly, my favorite things to do - especially in period-centric literature and pieces - is to seek out queer themes in the context of times, religion, etc. Obviously, you know me I'm mostly writing Henry and Thomas, but there is also something so realistic about the way the relationship between Stephen and Thomas is portrayed at the beginning that really gives me subtle hints of the possibility of a relationship, love, etc. The way Thomas acts around Stephen is a way he only acts around people he is comfortable with; he doesn't erect any walls. He teases Stephen, tries to annoy him, tests his limits, etc. And as angry as Stephen gets, you can tell there is a part of him that enjoys their banter. Like around Henry and the other Lords and Nobles, Thomas does keep up a certain persona. He is kept to himself, respectful, of course he goads them and doesn't back down, but there is certainly a level of respect.

With Stephen, it goes out of the window. He doesn't actually address him in the way he's supposed to (he isn't just a random priest, he is the Bishop of Winchester T-T), he calls him by his first or last name, and he is just so casual around him. he jokes around him, etc. at first you can chalk it up to the fact that he doesn't think he owes Stephen respect but then, the way he interacts and lets loose around him, he does see Stephen as friend or at the very least an aquaitnece.

And then Stephen indulges; he lets Thomas be around him, he lets Thomas talk to him and address him in rather casual ways. One of my favorite parts was the scene in the book where he was organizing Stephen's stuff for him and made a comment about his parent's love letters; stephen being a bastard is trait of shame for him, but he was actually calm and friendly with Thomas despite that joke.

I think there was a mutual truce between the two *until* Stephen was sent away to France. Anything that could have come between them or any development was essentially ruined.

But before that (and you know even after wrt to our fix-it aus), there is certainly something there. When I write or think about these two and the fact that Stephen falls in love with Thomas, there is a lot of Catholic guilt because first of all, he is a Bishop and Thomas is what he deems to be THEE heretic, but then at the other end there is the sense of duty. As a bastard, Stephen was more or less pushed into this life where he had to sacrifice the life he could have possibly wanted in order to appease all sides. This position later on granted him power but as we read earlier in the book--he isn't happy to begin with. I think falling in love with Thomas Thee Heratic probably makes things difficult because aside from Catholic guilt, it makes him question if this is the life he could've had if he had a choice. If he would've been happy, if he even wouldn't been a staunch Catholic, and if things were different would he have been with Thomas and been happy? BASICALLY, everything you just said.

I think Thomas scares Stephen (when looking through a QUEER subtext) because he threatens everything Stephen knows about himself, and everything he was forced to believe.

That's what makes them good---