#Victor and Alice are -- doing their best to adjust

[thevalicemultiverse]

What does BABS stand for? And what’s it about?

((BABS is short for "Beneath A Broken Sky," a fanfic that @thesatiricaldemon is writing that puts Victor (post-Corpse Bride, in a situation much like the one he was in at the beginning of my own Forgotten Vows, being sent off to the Houndsditch Home to forget Emily), Alice, and (unfortunately) Bumby (those two right before Alice was going to shove Bumby into the train at the end of Alice: Madness Returns) into a world where basically every eldritch apocalypse imaginable happened at once in the mid-1990s. Features stuff from The Backrooms, Local 58 TV, Gemini Home Entertainment, The Monument Mythos, The SCP Foundation -- I think if there's an analog horror series out there, Satirical has at least referenced it. :p You can find the fic here on AO3, though it does require you to be logged in to read it.))

[thekinslayed]

The Ails of a Cup of Red

summary | Aemond's esteemed visitor on his coronation day falls ill, and he has a way to make her feel better.

pairing | king!aemond targaryen x foreign princess!reader

tags | 18+, MINORS DNI! unprotected sex, oral (f), nipple orgasm, dubcon, use of aphrodisiac, dark!aemond, multiple orgasms, manipulation, gaslighting, thoughts of incest, aemond thinks all siblings fuck, mentions of pillow humping, breeding kink, babytrapping, this is so filthy u guys idk

wordcount | 6.5k

note | still on vacation and haven't been in the headspace to write so this might not be the best, but i wanted to get something in before the new season!

likes, comments, reblogs are much appreciated!

(divider by @zaldritzosrose)

Your nose scrunched in disgust at the smell of manure that wafted through the slits in the carriage. A sigh left your lips at the image of the Red Keep growing bigger as you passed through the Kingsroad. You wished your brother didn’t have to bring you on this diplomatic visit to Westeros, but alas, there was a new Targaryen king who was to sit on the Throne, and as the king and princess of your kingdom, you were expected to show a gesture of good faith to your house’s longstanding friendship with the dragonlords. Your family’s friendship with the Targaryens ran centuries deep. The dragons may have thought themselves mightier than men and equal to none, but they bore respect for your family. After all, your kingdom was prosperous long before Valyria had been reduced to ashes, longstanding on its own as it continued to be. 

This respect had saved you from being conquered by Aegon and his sisterwives but instead had welcomed them as friends of the kingdom. It had protected your lands from being rained on by dragonfire, and from fighting the war where the dragons had danced perilously and ended with a one-eyed Kinslayer emerging as the sole victor of the crown.

The last time you were in King’s Landing, you were only a girl, eight years of age. Your late father had been good friends with Viserys the Peaceful, the two men finding an acquaintance in each other with their shared interests. You remembered that visit quite vividly, especially the cold hostility in the air within the castle, one that seemingly did not affect their king. It was visible in the sharp stares between princes and princesses, the queen and the heir. It permeated the pliable minds of the children, making way for an unnurturing environment no child should find themselves in. Those blurring memories made you dread the moment your carriage stopped at the gates of the Red Keep, though there was little you could do. You slumped back into the plush cushion of the seats, covering your nose with a handkerchief.

“Do remember to be nice to them, Aemond.”

Aemond gritted his teeth when the tailor poked him again. He stood as still as a statue in the middle of his chambers, while his mother made some final adjustments to the future king’s garments for his coronation. He nodded obediently at his mother’s instructions, ever the dutiful son. 

“Have our guests docked into the bay?” he asked, earning a nod from his mother. Aemond was made aware that their esteemed visitors were on their way through the Kingsroad and would soon be welcomed.

“You remember your time with the princess, don’t you? You both seemed quite fond of each other,” Alicent mentioned, to which Aemond responded with another nod and a hum. He remembered you, not much, but he did. In his youth, the royals from the far east of Westeros had visited as a gesture of good faith with the Targaryens. His nephews had pestered the young princess with wanting to show off their mounts, but you had been petrified by the prospect of coming face to face with their beasts, falling into tears of fright. Instead, you had stuck by Aemond, who had been dragonless and quite apprehensive about babysitting a little girl around. Still, you had been good, sitting quietly beside him whilst you read peacefully in the Keep’s library and eagerly following him around his home. Overjoyed with having found a companion in Aemond, you had given the young prince a big hug upon your departure, as well as the promise of reuniting.

“She had even written to you when you–”

“I remember, mother. There is no need to remind me.”

Alicent cut her words short from Aemond’s sharp tone. The Dowager Queen could feel the impatience emanating from his rigid form the longer the tailor took to adjust his doublet. Her son had no patience in being fussed over, especially not when he was to be king. Alicent could only sigh, and let silence encompass the ever-growing space between them.

There was a sense of familiarity as another one of Alicent Hightower’s sons was to be crowned king of the Seven Kingdoms. Her second son, her favored one, and the last of her babes left alive. The sharp tension in the air felt like an odd moment of deja vu. When Aegon had been crowned, she feared for the war that was sure to come, and now with Aemond soon to be crowned, she feared him. The war had changed her son, had taken away any ounce of tenderness her sweet boy once held. He had become the terror of the realm, the Stranger descended upon earth with nothing but death following his trail. When Aemond took to the God’s Eye, Alicent prayed. She prayed for the battle to end the bloody dance they had found themselves in. She prayed that the gods take the biggest threat to the realm away from them; whether she meant Daemon or Aemond, she dared not speak. 

The pit in your stomach grew into a clammy flutter in your chest once the carriage stopped right at the foot of the steps of the Keep. You were announced with a thunderous boom in the vast open yard, which made you let out a nervous sigh and run a hand through the ends of your hair.

“I still do not see why you had to bring me, brother,” you mumbled, looking at your lap when your king fixed you with a pointed stare.

“You know why. We have to keep ourselves in good faith with the Targaryens, even more so now than ever. Now, no more frowning,” he commanded, just before the door of your carriage was opened. Your brother climbed down the steps first, before holding out his hand for you to take. You took another breath to calm yourself, before plastering a bright smile on your face and stepping out of the carriage.

“Not a very warm welcome, is it?” your brother commented. To even call it a welcome was an understatement. The only people around were the Kingsguard lining the steps, and the two members of the royal family stood on the top. From the distance, the silver-haired, one-eyed Targaryen stood out like a beacon of light against the drab red bricks of the castle. Your eyes couldn’t help but immediately cast to him once your feet touched the pebbled ground. Their future king stood tall, with his hands crossed behind his back and his chin held high. The green of his leather doublet appeared a darker shade in contrast to his silver mane, which billowed in the light breeze of the late spring air. The most striking feature of all was the strip of leather fastened around his head, covering his left eye.

He looked so different, in every sense of the word.

You could scarcely see the young boy you sat in the gardens with–– no, this was a new person altogether. His gaze was prickly, causing gooseflesh to rise on your skin as you took careful steps towards him and his mother. His tall, rigid figure made for an imposing presence, and as you took the last step towards him, you had to crane your neck to meet his eye. You greeted him with a smile, yet his face remained unchanging while he put out a hand for you to take.

“Princess, welcome,” Aemond greeted, with a kiss to your knuckles. His lips were soft against your skin, a stark contrast to his otherwise harsh demeanor. A heat tingled on your flesh in his hold, one you ignored as you bent to curtsy.

“Prince Aemond, it is wonderful to be in your presence once more,” you responded. Aemond’s lips quirked up in response to your words, which you figured was his attempt at a genuine smile, though it looked somewhat more like a grimace. You turned to the Dowager Queen, dropping into another curtsy before kissing both of her cheeks in respect.

“It is an honor to have you here for Aemond’s coronation. I hope your travels have been easy,” Alicent said. She looked older than you remembered, much older than she actually was. The war had definitely taken its toll on the Hightower queen, cementing its place on her conscience in the form of the crease between her brows in a persistent worried look on her once plump face. Still, she regarded you with a comforting downturned smile, motherly and warm. You were always fond of Alicent, her presence reminding you of your own late mother’s. She gifted you a pretty dress once, you remembered, and had let you play the harp in her chambers while Helaena watched on in amazement.

Helaena. The loss of the queen’s only daughter was a loss you felt that still hung heavily in the air. You had heard of the atrocities inflicted upon her and her babes, the news bringing you to tears when you had heard of her passing. You missed her, Aegon too, in all of his frivolities and drunkenness.

“The travels are of no worry, your grace, we wouldn’t have missed prince Aemond’s coronation for anything else. Isn’t that right, sister?” your brother replied, turning to you with a raised eyebrow. You nodded in agreement, turning to the prince before you, whose stare upon you was unwavering. A tingle in the back of your neck rose to your occiput, one you ignored with another smile to the dragon prince.

“It shall be quite a momentous day on the morrow, I am glad to be present for it, your grace,” you said, to which Aemond responded with his word of gratitude. He intimidated you, he always had, but even more so now. His gaze alone had you flustered, his towering presence making you want to shrink in your skirts, and as you were led inside the Keep, you clung to your brother’s arm before the silver-haired prince could offer his.

You have always considered the court of King’s Landing quite dreary, lacking any lively splendor and charm that decorated the halls of your kingdom. The air in the Red Keep was thick with a rigid tension, the prickling heat of the south and the constant stench of shit and decay making you wrinkle your nose and shift uncomfortably in your garments. To rule with terror was never the way of your kingdom. Respect was never demanded, it was earned, so as your father said, but Aemond, he had earned the respect in the darkest of ways. The home of the dragon lords and its constituents had grown dourer upon your second visit, only ever heightened by the imposing presence of the man walking beside you. Where your people greeted you in the halls with genuine cheerfulness and adoration, there is more fear in the eyes of this kingdom’s people when they come across the Kinslayer, casting their quivering eyes to the floor lest they catch his sharp gaze. It interested you, albeit terrifying. 

You are pulled from your thoughts upon hearing Alicent’s words. Aemond remains unmarried, she said, and she hoped he would find his queen soon and perhaps have his heir.

“Mother, please,” the crowned prince grunted, throwing her a stern look. You accidentally caught his eye, but you quickly trained your gaze back to your feet. “Our guests have no interest in hearing of such matters.”

“Oh, hush, Aemond. The princess has been welcoming suitors herself, haven’t you, sweet girl?”

A warm flush rose on your cheeks once the attention was turned to you. A gaze on your left burned the side of your face, the expectant look on their faces flustering you.

“Yes, I have, your grace. Since I have come of age, I have had the pleasure of meeting many noble lords from across our land,” you responded.

“Have any of them caught your eye, princess?” Aemond asked, much to your surprise. Up until that moment, it seemed he barely gave you an ounce of his attention, and his sudden interest in the conversation was quite unexpected. Before you could respond, however, your brother had spoken up.

“I have given my sister the privilege of choosing her own husband, one that would please her, but she has been quite meticulous in the process thus far, not one of them has passed her standards,” he said, teasing. You nudged his rib, which only made him snicker. The silver-haired man beside you found no amusement at the young king’s words, his face still as stoic as ever. It almost seemed frozen in place, like a mask.

“My brother hasn’t been too keen on sending me off either, your grace. We are all we have left of our family, after all.”

Your words piqued Aemond’s interest. The young king had always been harshly protective of his sister, this Aemond knew.

Viserys had once tried to offer a betrothal between the princess and Aegon but had fallen through when your brother had caught the king’s first son feeling up a maid at the dinner table, already drunk on wine before the main course had been served. Next, it had been Jacaerys, but the sight of the princeling training with a burly knight who looked too much like each other had concerned your brother, who then informed your father, which ended in no marriage pacts being formed.

Aemond observed how you exchanged a warm look with your brother, how you clung to his elbow. You were kept close to the king’s side, and farther from the dragon prince. This made for a curious sight in Aemond’s good eye. Affairs between kin were part of the queer Targaryen customs, with marriages between siblings a normal occurrence in their bloodline, but yours?

Aemond couldn’t deny your beauty. The first glimpse of you stepping down from the carriage had all but knocked Aemond off his feet. The wind had shifted when you had stepped into his midst, almost akin to the way it had slapped his face when he was falling from the heavens beneath the God’s Eye. He had to will himself to remain unphased in your presence, with your bright eyes and radiating smile. You were beautiful, utterly so.

Was the future king’s blackened heart beginning to beat once more? Perhaps it was. Perhaps it was never capable of doing so, but only to pulsate desire. He couldn’t deny the news of your unclaimed hand intrigued him. He kept a close eye on you at the feast preluding his coronation on the morrow, how you glided through the tunes of the harp in a graceful dance, how you smiled at every noble who had the gull to think they were worthy of such beauty.

You had felt it throughout the night. His gaze burned like droplets of wax upon your skin. You felt it despite being away from him, in the halls, in your own guest chambers. You thought it best to shake off the feeling as much as you could. Perhaps it was the ghosts of the Keep playing its tricks on you, making a prey out of an unassuming guest. As the night grew dark, you willed yourself to lay your mind off thoughts of the one-eyed prince, descending into slumber after a week’s worth of travel, ignoring the creak from a wall panel in your chambers.

Aemond’s coronation was barely a grandiose affair, at least not as grand as your brother’s when he took the throne after your father died. It was rather solemn, rigid, and tense as the people watched with bated breath when the crown of the Conqueror was placed upon Aemond Targaryen’s head. It was heavy, perhaps even heavier than the first time he had carried its weight when he became Regent. The sight of him upon the Iron Throne was menacing, the melted swords beneath him were uncomfortable, but as they all knelt before him, Aemond was pleased. His chest swelled with an oozing pride. This was his place, his crown. He had always known he was suited for it, had fought for his seat with fire and blood.

There was little merriment in the people’s spirits, though it cannot be blamed. The repercussions of the war were still well felt, even more so when the man who had drawn first blood was now their king. The celebratory feast was livelier, at least. It was obvious his mother had taken charge of the preparations, with the extravagant decorations, performers she found from gods know-where, and an endless flow of wine. It seemed like a desperate attempt at normalcy, as though his reign wasn’t permanently tainted with darkness. He wouldn’t have stayed for the celebrations if it were completely up to him, if it weren’t for a presence beside him.

“Are you enjoying the celebrations, princess?” Aemond asked, urging you to turn to him. You took a small sip of your wine, before giving him a nod.

“It is quite wonderful, your grace,” you responded. It was rather drab in your opinion, but you held your tongue. The sweet wine made for a better experience. You didn’t drink much, but something about their liquor made you reach for your cup often. It didn’t take long for you to start loosening up, the warm buzz making you feel more at ease. “The wine is delicious!” you commended, making the man beside you smirk.

“Arbor Red from the Reach, one of the very best we have to offer,” he informed you, a dimple on his cheek deepening when you took another gulp. Aemond was rather handsome like this, you realized, with his thin lips lifted, his purple eye sparkling under the dim flames. His hand rested a hair inch away from yours, the warmth from his flesh radiating into your own. You watched as he took a sip from his own cup, his throat bobbing when he swallowed. Gods, what was happening?

A warmth began to pulsate through your body, making you start to sweat in your dress. You felt an odd throb in your core, your hands growing clammy. You tore your gaze away from Aemond’s, clearing your throat. “Are you alright, princess?” you heard him say, before touching your arm. It left a searing burn on your flesh, and your chest started to heave as your pulse started to rise.

“I... I don’t…” you stammered, though it felt impossible to get the words out. Beside you, you, Aemond looked at you in concern, his voice muffled by the thunderous thrumming in your ears. The rest was a blur, your mind barely registering what the king had said.

Maester… unwell… chambers…

A hand on your forehead, another on your waist, all leaving its mark on your flesh.

In the dead of night, a panel in the princess’ guest chambers opened, revealing a head of silver hair. Aemond stepped into your accommodation, his eye immediately catching your writhing form on the bed. The sheets were crumpled and damp from your sweat, the furs kicked to the floor. You were only clad in your nightgown, which had grown sheer as the sticky cotton clung to your form.

“Princess,” Aemond whispered, making you turn to him. He loomed over your figure like a shadow, with the threat of taking you into his darkness. Your hazy mind could barely comprehend when he had gotten here, or how, too muddled by the burning throb deep within you.

“Aemond,” you whined, pressing your thighs tight as you lay on your side. “I-It hurts…”

“What hurts, beautiful? Hm?” he asked, tone much too soft than you were used to. His fingertips trailed on your calf, but you had jerked away. The slightest touch left your skin tingling, the dampness in between your thighs only growing with the scent of smoke and sage that engulfed you.

With a hand on your thigh, Aemond urged you to lay on your back to face him, despite your protests. He shifted his weight on one knee to lean over you, his fingertips pushing the sweaty strands of hair away from your face. Your nipples pebbled painfully against your nightgown, and you had moaned wantonly when Aemond had accidentally brushed his knuckles over your chest, skimming your overly sensitive buds. Seven Hells, what a delectable morsel of flesh you were. Aemond could start salivating with how irresistible you looked, with your flushed, teary face, plump bosom, and the curves he traced under his palm.  

Gauging your reaction, he cupped your breast, squeezing the supple flesh in his palm. Your jaw fell slack, a whine falling from your lips. Your thighs squeezed dangerously tight as slick gushed from your cunny at the slightest touch.

“Does that feel better, princess?” Aemond prodded, but you could only moan in response. Slowly, his other hand made its way up your garments, trailing his fingertips up your thigh. His brow raised as his hand met your weeping center, pulling away to show his coated fingers. They shone from the dying embers of the hearth, your juices thick and stringy as the silver-haired man scissored his fingers to show you. Your eyes squeezed shut in shame, unwilling to look as Aemond put his fingers in his mouth to get a taste, groaning. His fingers returned to your slit, tracing and massaging your entrance.

“This is where it hurts, hm? Poor you,” he tutted. His good eye fell upon a pillow thrown to the side, smeared with your arousal. You must have tried to relieve yourself with it, he assumed, and the thought of you humping a pillow made his cock jump in his trousers. He grabbed the cushion, pressing it to his nose to smell your essence. “Gods, you smell heavenly. This wasn’t of much help, was it, darling? You need more.”

Humiliation filled your veins, rendering you unable to look at the man before you. You fisted the sheets tight into your palms, your conscience fighting through the thick cloud of whatever curse was making you feel this way. “Please… I-I need…” you whimpered.

“Tell me,” Aemond urged. You bit your lip harshly, tears streaming down your temples. You need not say it, he knew, he had put you in this predicament after all.

“Help me, please… just help me. I can’t take it, Aemond,” you sobbed, pulling on his cotton undershirt. He only hummed, pressing his aquiline nose against your cheek as he breathed in the sweet smell of your damp flesh.

It was quite a pitiful sight to see you like this, and perhaps he should feel a small bit of remorse, but it was all for a reason. The empty vial in his pocket was a burning reminder of why you had ended up like this, of what he had done.

He had to thank Alys, really. The bastard witch, once he had seeded her, was as eager as he to place the Kinslayer on the throne. Her hopes of putting their offspring on the Iron Throne after Aemond were too obvious. It was all too easy for him to bend her to his will, make her procure any tincture he asked, and slither into his enemies’ minds upon his bidding. She was a good fuck too. It was a shame he had to gut her after his victory above the Gods’ Eye. He had no trust in the dark magick, nor for Strong bastards. Alys Rivers was a cunning woman, but a fool to think the prince king, would take her as his wife. No, Aemond now had someone else in mind.

It was all too easy to slip the witch’s tonic into your cup of wine, which you had drank eagerly. It was easy to blame it on exhaustion from your travels, on the heat in the Great Hall. You had been escorted back to your chambers, the maester unable to do much for your condition, and that was that. You were all his for the taking.

He tore your nightgown off your body in one, exposing your bare form to the night. Aemond’s good eye darkened at the sight of you, his gaze hungry as it ran down your naked body. You had crossed your arms over your chest, the other over your sex, but the king had pulled them away with a tsk.

“None of that now. You need my help, don’t you?”

You let out a sob, shaking your head. Aemond mimicked your refusal, cooing with a sticky sweet tone painting his motives.

“What is that? You do not want my help? Shall I leave you alone then?” he asked, a devilish smirk rising on his lips when you shook your head again, more profusely this time, when he started to pull away.

“No! No, please! I beg of you, do not leave me like this!” you wailed, pulling on any part of him you could reach. Aemond looked at you with a dark satisfaction, one that only grew when you had spread your legs for him, giving him a perfect view of your weeping cunny as you caged him with your thighs.

He had muttered something in mocking, something about helping his most esteemed guest, but the cloudy haze your mind was lost in made it difficult to comprehend anything. All you could feel was his touch on your waist, another on your jaw, and the softness of his thin lips when he smashed them against yours. He swallowed down your whimper as you engaged in a clash of teeth and tongue, his eagerness almost equaling your desperation.

He trailed his lips down the column of your neck, leaving his mark on your flesh. A deep sigh of relief left your lips when he enclosed on one of your stiff buds, rolling it with his warm tongue. It felt utterly delightful, like a poison finally being sucked out of your wound. Aemond gave the other breast the same amount of attention, massaging its pair with his calloused hand. A heat steadily rose from deep within your belly, and with a nip of his teeth on your sensitive nipple, you came undone with a moan of his name.

The one-eyed Targaryen pulled away with a look of amazement on his face. He looked at the mess in between your thighs, where the evidence of your climax mixed with your slick. His throat felt dry, like he had been walking aimlessly through the deserts of the Red Waste before stumbling upon the water that shall fill him with life.

“You are divine,” he exhaled, his good eye still trained on your pulsating core. They clenched around nothing, beckoning him to taste. He looked at you, evidently still overcome with the need for more. He knew you wanted more, needed it. You wouldn’t be better from one release alone, no, Alys’ tonic did not work that way. You needed an antidote, one only Aemond could give you. He shall end your suffering soon enough, but first, he had to get a taste of you.

He wasted no time, licking a hot stripe up your slit. Aemond groaned in delight, the sweet taste of your essence coating his tongue. He devoured you like a man starved, slurping up the tears your cunt had wept in its despair.

“Hells… you taste of the most delightful ambrosia, princess. So sweet, so wet… all for me,” he praised, his voice coming out muffled from the apex of your thighs. You were long lost, moaning unabashedly like a wanton whore. Your grip on your morals had been weakened by the slippery trail of carnal desire.

Aemond’s silver tresses were clutched tight in your hand, a pain the king revered. You ground your hips against his face, the tip of his nose rubbing on your pearl deliciously. He held your thighs in a vice grip, and he shook his head from side to side, making you whine in delight. Shifting his thumb to rub on your clit, Aemond began to fuck you with his tongue, the hot, wet muscle darting in and out of your walls rhythmically. Sparks of pleasure ran from your bundle of nerves wildly up your veins, spreading into a speckled flush across your chest. With a shudder, you released all over the king’s tongue.  Your eyes rolled back as you came once more, your chest heaving up and down from the weight of your second undoing.

Your pulse still buzzed with desire, and you cursed the gods on whatever it was they had inflicted upon you. You whimpered when Aemond pulled away to stand, a panic rising within your chest when he looked to the door. He wasn’t leaving you, was he? Your blood still ran hot with need, and you needed him to take you, take all of it away.

“Don’t go, please,” you begged, reaching out for him. You scrambled to rise to your knees, pulling Aemond in by his trim waist. The cotton of his undershirt was gripped tight in your fists, and his neck grew damp when your teary face buried itself in the junction between his shoulder. “My king.”

Aemond’s chest grumbled from your words, his cock now throbbing painfully, begging for its release. His arm wrapped around your waist to pull you flush against him, his stiffness poking your hip. With a hand on the base of your neck, he urged you to look at him.

“Say it again,” he growled, nipping your ear with his teeth. He squeezed the flesh on your hip tight, making you whimper.

“Aemond, my king! I need you; I need you to take all of this pain away,” you sobbed, hot, desperate tears streaming down your flushed cheeks. You grabbed a hold of his hand, urging it towards your center, but he was stronger. Aemond pulled his hand away, cupping your jaw in his calloused palms to make you look at him.

“The only way for your pain to subside is for your maidenhead to be taken, princess. There is no other way. Are you sure of this?” Aemond asked, looking to you for confirmation. Your mind barely regarded the implications of what was to occur, of what he was taking from you, nodding eagerly without any doubt. You rambled a series of yesses to him, and then he was pushing you to lay on your back once more. The king before you was never one to dally, evident in the way he wasted little time in baring himself. His stiff length slapped against his stomach when his trousers dropped, the mesmerizing sight making you trail your fingers down to play with your cunt in impatience. He was a sight to behold, with well-defined form, and the scars that littered his milky skin; the remnants of war had cemented itself on the king’s physical form.

Aemond grabbed hold of his cock, stroking it while coming to kneel before you. He slapped your hand away from your center, taking hold of your thigh to spread them wide. He couldn’t deny the spark of anticipation in his chest, and if he were a lesser man he would’ve plunged himself into your walls in one push. Instead, he lined himself with your slit, before looking to you for one more confirmation. Your brows were adorably furrowed in frustrated desperation, a small whisper of ‘please’ falling from your pouty lips. With your hand pushing on the base of his spine, Aemond breached your walls.

Your previous releases and the copious amounts of arousal the aphrodisiac had produced from your body made for little hindrance. There was only a mere sting at his initial thrust, but it required little effort for him to bottom out. His pace was relentless from the start, clearly as overcome with desire as much as you were. The slick pooling on the back of your thighs made a wet slap, slap, slap with every thrust of Aemond’s hips.

You gripped the sheets to ground yourself as your body jerked in rhythm with his thrusts, your legs wrapping around the silver-haired man’s trim waist to keep him close. Your jaw fell open, moans freefalling with no regard for decency. Aemond fared no better, growling in your ear and delivering a harsh bite to your shoulder. It was animalistic in nature, something primal and heavy. The bedframe thudded against the wall, and you could only hope no soul would happen upon the halls outside your chambers at this hour.

“This is what you wished for, was it not? You wanted my cock, you needed it,” he groaned, letting out a dark chuckle against your skin when you nodded fervently, followed by a chorus of whiny yesses. He left his mark on your breasts, tugging and sucking on the supple flesh to claim you as his. “Taking me so well, my princess,” Aemond rambled on, muttering dirty nothings into your skin as his thrusts stayed unrelenting.

“Aemond, oh, Aemond!” you cried out, gripping his broad shoulders tight. Your nails dug themselves into his sculpted back, making him hiss in delight. Your core spasmed with your impending climax, massaging his length as it drove into the rough spot within your walls.

“Perhaps I should put a babe in you, hm? Make you mine, all mine,” he taunted in your ear. Perhaps you should be more concerned with his words, but the wave of pleasure threatening to take you over robbed you of your sense and wit, reducing you to nothing but a moaning mess. Aemond’s thumb found its place on your pearl once more, rubbing tight circles into the nub that threatened to send you into overdrive. With another thrust, then two, you fell apart on Aemond’s cock, spilling your white, hot essence all around his length. He followed soon after, painting your walls with his seed in a couple of spurts.

The cloudy haze that had impeded you reduced to a pleasant buzz in your fingertips, your head lolling to the side as your eyes closed in utter bliss. You felt Aemond pull out of your walls, whining when he pushed your combined juices back into your cunny. He laid beside you, pulling you into his chest with his arms wound around your sweaty form. A delighted sigh left your lips when he cupped your jaw, then bestowed a kiss on your forehead, and the tip of your nose, before capturing your lips. Pulling away, Aemond leaned his forehead onto yours, the tip of his aquiline nose nudging slightly against yours. It was pleasant, the way he held you like this, almost more intimate than your coupling.

“Marry me,” he whispered against your lips.

Your eyes opened while your brows furrowed in confusion at his proposition. Your mind lagged to follow along, the remnants of the aphrodisiac’s heady swirl still tainting your better thinking. “W-what?”

“Be my wife. Together, we shall forge the legacy our ancestors have strived to achieve. Our kingdoms shall unite in power, our houses would be formidable allies, and more. This would all be possible with our union,” he explained eagerly. His grip on your face had grown tighter and tighter, his pupil widening, making him look almost crazed. You were starting to grow wary, if it weren’t for the ache in your muscles, you would have dashed as far away from him as possible. Perhaps this was the Targaryen madness everyone said, but in the darkness of your chambers, you could hardly consider him madder than you were.

“I-I don’t…” you stammered. The haze that had clouded your conscience was starting to lift, making you think more clearly. You tried to pull yourself away from his grasp, but his firm hold on your cheeks and your trembling limbs rendered your efforts futile.

“After tonight, you will no longer be untouched, and your future husband will know. A princess who will not bleed on her marital bed,” Aemond iterated sternly, his brows raised. Your lower lip trembled with dread, your hands pushing on his chest–– closer or away, you couldn’t decide which.

You squeezed your eyes shut in an attempt to tune him out, but he was everywhere, from his hot breath on your face, his seed in your womb, his curse tainting your spirit.

“You are being cruel,” you whispered, turning your face away. When you had shifted to lay on your back, he had risen to lay on his side, his silver mane framing his face ever so beautifully.

“I am showing you mercy,” he contradicted, cupping your face, softer this time. His thumb caressed your cheek tenderly, and if you had known less the gesture might have brought you comfort. “You needed me, I did what you asked me to, princess. Would you have rather I left you writhing in pain?”

You were starting to grow muddled. He was right, you did need him, had begged for him like a desperate harlot. Humiliation coursed through you for having debased yourself like this, unabashedly so. You think of the shame this would inflict on your name, your brother’s. Gods, what have you done?

“What will they say when my seed takes? Hm? What will your brother think of his sweet sister?” Aemond taunted, rising to loom over you. A curtain of starlit hair enclosed around your head, making you see only him. He was tantalizing, with his sharp stare and a face sculpted by the gods’ own hands. Your resolve was starting to crumble as you pondered on his words. “They need not question your honor when you shall be my wife, my queen.”

You, a queen. It would be a lie to say you had never imagined yourself crowned as such; you have done so all your life. In time, you had learned it would never be, your brother was king, and you were to be married off, reducing your worth to a lord’s wife, but Aemond wanted to make you queen. It was a daunting prospect; you had never thought to become queen of Westeros. Hells, you had no wish to come here in the first place! But the seed had been planted, a dragon’s seed, nonetheless.

The corners of your eyes stung with a fresh wave of hot tears. Aemond had caught them when they started to fall, planting his lips on your cheeks, his tongue darting out to taste the salty fluid. It was reverent, almost in adoration, and when he pulled away, you gave him your answer.

“I will marry you, my king.”

A wicked smile lifted the corners of his thin lips, his dimples making an appearance. Satisfaction painted his good eye, and you realized what you had done. You resigned yourself to your fate, and you could only pray he would be tender with you, like the kiss he planted on your hair when you shifted back to lay on his chest. Aemond let out a deep sigh, thoroughly pleased.

“Sleep, my queen, we shall make our plans for marriage known on the morrow.”

[turbulentscrawl]

How Do They Decode?

Just a little question I mused about for the survivors today.

“Gee, these machines don’t seem to be holding up very well. How can we help them along, so we can GET OUT before they GIVE OUT?”

In other words, the way I see it, ciphers could process on their own, but the issue is that they’re in terrible shape. So, to get them working again, we have three options, one for each side of the cipher a character can use!

Front. Decoding Manually. Who Needs a Glorified Typewriter to Calculate for You?

Emily, Freddy, Lucky Guy, Kurt, Tracy, Helena, Fiona, Margaretha, Eli, Aesop, Norton, Patricia, Jose, Victor, Luca, Melly, Edgar, Ada, Orpheus, Memory, Luchino, Frederick, Alice, Evelyn

Side. Adjusting and Fixing. Just Keep This Hunk of Junk from Falling Apart, and Let Electricity Do the Rest!

Emma, Lucky Guy, Servais, Naib, Tracy, Vera, Kevin, Eli, Norton, Jose, Demi, Luca, Anne, Orpheus, Joker, Qi, Charles, Matthias, Florian

Back. Beat the Cipher Like it Stole Your Lunch Money. Why Not?

Andrew, Memory, Kreacher, Lucky Guy, Naib, William, Vera, Kevin, Norton, Murro, Patricia, Mike, Edgar, Ganji, Emil, Luchino, Lily, Matthias, Florian

A few commentaries:

-Memory is just a child, so in practice she doesn’t know much about these ciphers and will resort to just kinda shaking and smacking them. However, she’s also a creation from Orpheus’s mind, so his education and inclinations show up in her too sometimes, and this is when she’ll type and calculate.

-Helena has memorized a keyboard layout, but doesn’t exactly know what each part on the cipher does and isn’t violent enough to be smacking at it, so she only types.

-Aesop isn’t the best typer, but he doesn’t like getting his hands covered in the cipher’s grease nor does he want any bruises from roughhousing it.

-Lucky Guy is highly adaptable and can fill in wherever he’s needed on a cipher. Norton is similar, though he does prefer adjusting from the side to typing.

-Luchino is primarily a typer, but sometimes, when his stress is high enough or he’s used enough of that serum, his instincts take over and he rages on the ciphers a bit. -Andrew, William, Murro, and Emil have no clue what these machines are or how they work, just that they NEED to work. And you know what? Beating the fuckall out of them seems to be doing the trick well enough.

[gking10]

Liveblogging TMAGP2: Making Adjustments

I think this is the first "entry" into the TMA franchise written by Alexander J. Newell? And it's a hell of a good one. I know I only have 3 incidents to pick from so far, but this is my favorite. As a reminder, I have already seen this episode. Everything after will be new to me though.

2:09 - "-and that’d be another “resurrection,” possible subsections… “obsession,” “medical”, “pursuit” and… hmmm. “Blasphemy”, maybe, so that would make it… four two three seven." Again with these subsections! Some of them are thematic, but some of them are just elements that were present. The main focus of Frankenstein in my eyes is his focus on avoiding responsibility. He goes against the laws of nature, and just abandons his creation because it has scary eyes. He lets Justine literally get executed because he refuses to reveal the fact his creation killed his brother. And then Victor makes then entire thing about him! About how bad he feels, about how he'll have to live with the guilt and regret of knowing. He's so up his own ass, Frankenstein's Monster basically tells him "I'm going to kill your loved ones" and Victor assumes the monster is just going to attack him on his wedding night. Idiot. What a goddamned idiot. And do any of these subsections get all that? Nope. Maybe "Blasphemy" gets close to it.

3:15 - "We aren’t here to decode the system. That’s Colin’s job and you’ve seen what a delight it’s made him. Just try to learn your codes and process your cases." Interestingly, while Gwen is determined to take this job seriously and process incidents to the best of her ability... she still seems to willing to overlook some of the absurdities and look deeper.

3:33 - "Then quit. No-one’s making you work here." Gwen can be mighty capricious at times. I think she might have taken Sam saying even she doesn't have perfect memory of the system as a blow to her ego. Alice doesn't want to take the job seriously at risk of it feeling real, and Gwen herself has said a lot of "hopeless wasters" come into this job. So why does Gwen take it so seriously? What is her goal here? Why does she even want Lena's job when everything about the job seems so... obfuscated.

4:32 - "Hey Gwen? Gwen? Gwen? Time isn’t real." Did I mention I love Alice?

8:40 - "I was meant to be doing a portrait for some generic witchy alchemist and it was when I was researching the symbols and stuff that I came across “Ink5oul”" It's always the symbols. And Ink5oul is already being associated with alchemy.

9:39 - "Looking beyond into the interior, it seemed like more of the studio was dedicated to ring lights and photography gear than tattoos!" It's like the focus is all on being scene. Being perceived. Not just having the tattoo for yourself, others, EVERYONE seeing it. I think this whole thing is pretty Flesh-coded, and that's only gets more intense the further this goes. It's the relentless observation of the body. The soul doesn't matter. Appearance does.

9:56: - "they had an absolutely gorgeous floral serpent design running up their arm and into their neck that was so vivid it looked ready to slither off their skin and onto the chair." That tattoo has to come alive in a later episode. I want to hear an incident where this icon just siccs a tattoo snake on someone. I support non-binary wrongs.

10:40 - "Before I could reply they hit a button on their set-up and suddenly we were live streaming with lights in my eyes and their arm tight around my shoulders. I don’t remember much of what they said to their viewers, but they kept telling everyone how lucky I was whilst they dragged me into the chair." You know, listening to this again now... I'm getting Mr. Beast vibes. Like it's awful. "Oh, I'll do this charitable thing for you, you just need to agree to let my exploit your image to be ravenously consumed by my thousands of fans! I'm not even going to give you a warning, just start being content! If you aren't content, then what's the point of your existence?" Ugh. Gross. And then the immediate painful torture. This would be a nightmare for me.

11:35 - "I wanted to scream but I couldn't even breathe as it felt like thousands of wasp stings ravaged my body whilst mediocre dubstep thrummed through my chest and Ink5ouls chatted to their viewers completely unconcerned." 11:57 - "The stream was over and I was apparently forgotten." 12:39 - "Just as suddenly as the lights had turned on, they were off and I was bundled towards the exit. No debrief, no aftercare." This really gets to me also. The sheer... banality of it. Imagine going through the most unimaginable torment you have ever experienced, having your flesh merciless carved into... and someone is just playing shitty EDM over it. It's the worst day of your life but to the person causing it, it's just Tuesday. They're not even really being sadistic, they aren't relishing in it, it's just... nothing to them! And then you're just thrown out, like a product that's been used! There's no conclusion, no explanation, no catharsis, just intense pain and then it's over and you're expected to just move on like nothing ever happened. Awful.

15:04 - "Looking around me, I realised that all of my paints were still out" So as a rational person not being mindscrewed by alchemical symbols on your tattoo feeding on your body dysmorphia, you used the paints on the portrait, right? Right?

15:32 - "I began to take a pallet knife to the left eye. Just a small tweak. It was as subtle change, barely noticeable but I knew I was making progress, because I could feel when the knife scraped bone." :( I had to double back when I first listened to this. And then triple back. I thought she was talking about the canvas. And she was. For a moment. And then she seamlessly transitioned into being the canvas. The switch is just, instant. There's no direct moment of it starting to blur or be confused, and I love that because it makes it so jarring. 16:42 - "It was small tweaks at first" Proceeds to give very extensive list to 'tweaks'. Just completely broken from reality and now looking for anything and everything to fix. And there is ALWAYS something to fix.

19:50 - "If I wanted to clear the canvas, I would have used turpentine." The nonchalance of this line makes me laugh. I'm a bad person.

20:40 - "Just stop paying attention.. Don’t look at me like that, I’m serious. I just skim the case for keywords, and if it’s a talker I hit play and get on with other work." I've already said my whole thing about this. Sam does not seem to want to accept the horrors of the world however. The absurdity of the systems, the way the computers haven't updated since the 90s. He forces himself to listen to the incidents. He wants to figure out what things mean. He wants to make a change. Time will tell if this is a virtue, or if it will get him killed.

22:07 - "They’re “expanding external operations” and you know what that means. Outsourcing. Redundancies" I don't think that's what Lena meant. I think that was code. Code for what? Something bad, probably.

24:46 - "Er yeah, that should be fine. It’ll need to be after the 28th though as that’s payday." What's going on with Alice's brother? Is he in a tough spot since his music career hasn't kicked off yet and he needs to ask Alice for cash?

I really do love this episode. Body dysmorphia is one of my favorite aspects of the Flesh, and this gave all of the vibes. I know we aren't going to have the same clear-cut entities as TMA, but still.

Woof. This was a lot of yapping. First Shift was 10 to 15 minutes longer than the rest of the episodes though. Now I'll be able to get to episodes I haven't seen yet! See you then!

[victorluvsalice]

Valicer Multiamory Month, Day Two: Hurt/Comfort (Valicer In The Dark AU)

The second day of @polyamships's Multiamory March brings us a classic fanfic trope as a prompt -- "Hurt/Comfort!" As such, we're visiting my beloved Valicer In The Dark AU, for a story featuring Smiler tending to Alice and Victor after they were all beat up in a fight with a rival crew. Because that is the kind of life they lead. :p Enjoy!

--

“Ow!”

“Sorry – just have to make sure the cut’s squeaky clean, you know?”

“I know,” Alice said, biting her lip and doing her best not to wiggle as Smiler continued dabbing at her arm. “Just bloody stings, is all.”

“That’s how you know it’s working!” Smiler shot her a smile. “Don’t worry – I’m almost done. Then we can get you bandaged up.”

“Good.” Alice looked over at her partner in agony, slumped next to her on the couch. “How are you doing?”

“Better,” Victor replied, sitting up a bit. He touched his side and winced. “Relatively.”

“Hey, remember – according to my prodding, you’ve just got some really nasty bruises,” Smiler said, reaching over to pat his arm. “Which is an improvement over broken ribs!”

“I know – it just hurts about the same.” Victor hissed as he adjusted position, then sighed. “Still...that could have been a lot worse.”

“You’re not kidding,” Alice said, glancing at her own sliced-up arm, then at Smiler’s black eye. “If we hadn’t managed to knock out their Hound at the start of the fight, we could be dealing with bullet holes right about now.”

“And nobody wants that.” Smiler tossed their bloody rag into a little bowl of water, then produced a roll of bandages and started to wrap her arm. “And while that was a nasty scrap, the important thing is that we’re all still alive.” They grinned and winked. “And the ones with the pearl necklace.”

“Hooray for us,” Alice nodded. “And hopefully that jeweler who so wanted the damn thing is willing to pay us extra for ‘medical expenses.’”

“Oh, I’m sure I can convince him,” Smiler said cheerfully. “And if I can’t – well, maybe Victor can just hit him with some lightning.”

Victor snorted, then winced again. “Ow...that doesn’t solve all our problems, you know.”

“I don’t know,” Alice said, grinning. “It solved a fair few of them during the fight.”

“Yes, well – still.”

[kcrabb88]

Queer Movies/Books/TV Shows for Pride Month!

Happy Pride everyone!! For your viewing/reading pleasure I have made a (non-exhaustive) list of queer media that I have enjoyed! 

Movies/Documentaries

Pride (2014): An old tried and true favorite, which meets at the intersection of queer and workers’ rights. A group of queer activists support the 1985 miners’ strike in Wales (complete with a sing-through of Bread and Roses + Power in a Union)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire: On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman (or, two young lesbians fall in love by the sea, and you cry)

God’s Own Country: Young farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker for lambing season ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path (Seriously this movie is GREAT and doesn’t get enough love, watch it! It’s rough but ends happily)

The Half of It:  When smart but cash-strapped teen Ellie Chu agrees to write a love letter for a jock, she doesn't expect to become his friend - or fall for his crush (as in she falls for his crush who is another girl. This movie was so good, and really friendship focused!) 

Saving Face:  A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations (this is an oldie and a goodie, with a happy ending!)

Moonlight:  A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood (featuring gay men of color!)

Carol:  An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York (everyone’s seen this I think, but I couldn’t not have it here)

Milk: The story of Harvey Milk and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official (the speech at the end of this made me cry. Warning, of course, for death, if you don’t know about Harvey Milk)

Pride (Hulu Documentary):  A six-part documentary series chronicling the fight for LGBTQ civil rights in America (they go by decade from the 50s-2000s, and there is a lot of great trans inclusion in this)

Paris is Burning (Documentary): A 1990s documentary about the African American and Latinx ballroom scene. Available on Youtube!

A New York Christmas Wedding:  As her Christmas Eve wedding draws near, Jennifer is visited by an angel and shown what could have been if she hadn't denied her true feelings for her childhood best friend (this movie is SO CUTE. It’s really only nominally a Christmas movie and easily watched anytime. Features an interracial sapphic couple!) 

TV Shows 

Love, Victor: Victor is a new student at Creekwood High School on his own journey of self-discovery, facing challenges at home, adjusting to a new city, and struggling with his sexual orientation (this is a spin-off of Love, Simon, and it’s very sweet and well done! Featuring a young gay man of color)

Sex Education:  A teenage boy with a sex therapist mother teams up with a high school classmate to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school (this has multiple queer characters, including a featured young Black gay man and also in season 2 there is a side ace character!) 

Black Sails: I mean, do I even need to put a summary here? If you follow me you know that Black Sails is full of queer pirates, just queers everywhere.

Gentleman Jack:  A dramatization of the life of LGBTQ+ trailblazer, voracious learner and cryptic diarist Anne Lister, who returns to Halifax, West Yorkshire in 1832, determined to transform the fate of her faded ancestral home Shibden Hall (Period drama lesbians!!! A title sequence  that will make you gay just by watching!) 

Tales of the City (2019):  A middle-aged Mary Ann returns to San Francisco and reunites with the eccentric friends she left behind. "Tales of the City" focuses primarily on the people who live in a boardinghouse turned apartment complex owned by Anna Madrigal at 28 Barbary Lane, all of whom quickly become part of what Maupin coined a "logical family". It's no longer a secret that Mrs. Madrigal is transgender. Instead, she is haunted by something from her past that has long been too painful to share (this is based on a book series and it’s got lots of great inter-generational queer relationships!) 

The Haunting of Bly Manor:  After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry hires a young American nanny to care for his orphaned niece and nephew who reside at Bly Manor with the chef Owen, groundskeeper Jamie and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (sweet, tender, wonderful lesbians. A bittersweet ending but this show is so so wonderful)

Sense8: A group of people around the world are suddenly linked mentally, and must find a way to survive being hunted by those who see them as a threat to the world's order (queers just EVERYWHERE in this show, of all kinds)

Books

Loveless by Alice Oseman:  Georgia has never been in love, never kissed anyone, never even had a crush – but as a fanfic-obsessed romantic she’s sure she’ll find her person one day. This wise, warm and witty story of identity and self-acceptance sees Alice Oseman on towering form as Georgia and her friends discover that true love isn’t limited to romance (don’t be turned off by this title, it’s tongue-in-cheek. This is a book about an aroace college girl discovering herself and centers the importance and power of platonic relationships! I have it on my TBR and have heard great things)

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters: Reese almost had it all: a loving relationship with Amy, an apartment in New York City, a job she didn't hate. She had scraped together what previous generations of trans women could only dream of: a life of mundane, bourgeois comforts. The only thing missing was a child. But then her girlfriend, Amy, detransitioned and became Ames, and everything fell apart. Now Reese is caught in a self-destructive pattern: avoiding her loneliness by sleeping with married men.Ames isn't happy either. He thought detransitioning to live as a man would make life easier, but that decision cost him his relationship with Reese—and losing her meant losing his only family. Even though their romance is over, he longs to find a way back to her. When Ames's boss and lover, Katrina, reveals that she's pregnant with his baby—and that she's not sure whether she wants to keep it—Ames wonders if this is the chance he's been waiting for. Could the three of them form some kind of unconventional family—and raise the baby together?This provocative debut is about what happens at the emotional, messy, vulnerable corners of womanhood that platitudes and good intentions can't reach. Torrey Peters brilliantly and fearlessly navigates the most dangerous taboos around gender, sex, and relationships, gifting us a thrillingly original, witty, and deeply moving novel (again, don’t be thrown off by the title, it too, is tongue-in-cheek. This book was GREAT, and written by a trans women with a queer-and especially trans--audience in mind)

A Tip for the Hangman by Allison Epstein: A gay Christopher Marlowe, at Cambridge and trying to become England’s best new playwright, finds himself wrapped up in royal espionage schemes while also falling in love (this book is by a Twitter friend of mine, and it is a wonderful historical thriller with a gay man at the center).

Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer: a very very queer remix of The Picture of Dorian Gray (which was already quite queer), featuring amazing female characters, a gay Basil, and a much happier ending than the original. 

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston: The gay prince of England and the bisexual, biracial first son of the president fall in love (think an AU of 2016 where a woman becomes president). Featuring a fantastic discovery of bisexuality, ruminations on grief, and just a truly astonishing book. One of my favorites!

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston:  For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures. But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train (This is Casey McQuiston’s brand new novel featuring time-travel, queer women, and I absolutely cannot WAIT to read it)

The Heiress by Molly Greely: Set in the Pride and Prejudice universe, this takes on Anne de Bourg (Lady Catherine’s daughter), and makes her queer! 

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters:  Nan King, an oyster girl, is captivated by the music hall phenomenon Kitty Butler, a male impersonator extraordinaire treading the boards in Canterbury. Through a friend at the box office, Nan manages to visit all her shows and finally meet her heroine. Soon after, she becomes Kitty's dresser and the two head for the bright lights of Leicester Square where they begin a glittering career as music-hall stars in an all-singing and dancing double act. At the same time, behind closed doors, they admit their attraction to each other and their affair begins (Sarah Waters is the queen of historical lesbians. All of her books are good, and they’re all gay! The Paying Guests is another great one)

(On a side note re: queer books, there are MANY, these are just ones I’ve read more recently. Also there are a lot of indie/self-published writers doing great work writing queer books, so definitely support your local indie authors!) 

[mystical-flute]

Black Coffee & Pumpkin Pie: Chapter 5

AO3 || Buy Me a Coffee

The downside to asking someone to a dance was going shopping for new clothes for said dance. While Neal had a suit, it didn't seem to be enough for Jefferson, who had dragged him to a clothing store and was insisting on a tuxedo, instead of a regular suit. It was only a few days until the dance, so Jefferson had been very pushy.

"So, did you find a date to the ball?"

 "Uh, yeah. I asked Emma, actually. We've decided that she's going to wear purple and I'm going to accet her."

 Jefferson raised an eyebrow. "Emma Nolan?"

 "Yeah? What of it?"

 "Nothing. I'm just glad you found a date. I didn't realize you had been getting that close to her."

 He shrugged. "Well, she and I just started talking, and I offered to help her plan her trip to New Orleans with her friends."

 Jefferson nodded. "Ah that's right. I've heard they're very excited to go. That was really nice of you to offer. I'm sure you were able to give them places they never would have thought of."

 "How did you know that?"

 "Captain Lucas-Fa was talking about it. Her daughters are part of the group going."

 "Jefferson, darling! What brings you here? I thought we had you fitted for a tuxedo a couple weeks ago. Don't tell me there's a problem with what you bought," a blonde woman said with a small frown as she approached them.

 Laughter escaped Jefferson as he clapped Neal on the shoulder. "Not at all, Ana. My tux is perfectly fine, so is Victor's. I'm here to help Neal here find a tuxedo. He's our newest firefighter and he had the nerve to invite Emma Nolan to be his date."

 "Oh! Well that's exciting. We'll make sure to find you the perfect suit then," she said with a smile. "You can just go straight on back. Cyrus will take all your measurements. If you need anything just come find me. I'm Anastasia, the owner."

 Neal nodded, and before long, he was on a pedestal in front of a mirror, waiting for Cyrus to return with a jacket for him to try on, when he heard the distinctive sound of shoes scooting against the floor of the shop.

 "Someone there?"

 "Shit."

 Ah, someone was there. Neal frowned, getting off the pedestal and moving over to one of the racks, pushing the jackets aside.

 He found a teen boy sitting there, curled up against the pole in the middle of the rack, eyes wide as he clutched his phone.

 "Oh – uh. Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you," Neal said, stepping back so the kid knew he meant no harm.

 The teen blinked up at him in surprise. "You aren't gonna call for my dad?"

 Neal tilted his head. "Not unless you want me to. Why would I? You seem old enough to be wandering around a suit shop on your own."

 The teenager let out a sigh of relief, keeping his voice low in case there was anyone else nearby. "Thank God.  I don't want to wear another new suit, but my dad's insisting on it. I just got one last year!"

 "Ah, your dad must be some kind of town bigwig, right? Always making sure his family's all perfect looking?"

 The boy rolled his eyes. "You can say that again. My dad's Mr. Gold. Second only to Mayor Mills in importance, at least, in his eyes. I'm Gideon. You're that new firefighter from New Orleans, right? Everyone's been talking about you."

 "Neal, yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you, Gideon," he said with a smile. Mr. Gold. This was his half-brother. Neal would have looked like he was in awe, but he managed to keep himself composed as he heard footsteps coming in his direction, and, giving a signal for the teen to keep quiet, and concealed the boy behind the clothing and stepping back up onto his podium in front of the mirror.

 "Gideon? Gideon, where are you?"

 Neal swallowed tight, looking over at his father appeared  before him, walking on a cane. Huh. He hadn't known that.

 "Ah, Mr. Cassidy, right? Have you seen a teenager run by here? He's late for his fitting," his father asked, looking at Neal with a small frown.

 Neal shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "Oh – I'm sorry sir, but I haven't seen anyone run around here."

 His father frowned slightly. "Ah. Thank you anyway. I do hope I can find him soon, he's late for his fitting…"

 Neal had a feeling the teen was just being overdramatic, and gave Gold a wry smile. "Yeah, well, you know how teenage boys can be. Suits are stuffy and the worst thing in the world. He's just lucky to have a dad like you to teach him all the ins and outs of looking good as a man. I mean, my mom did her best, but…" he trailed off, shrugging a little. The ball was in his court now.

 "I'm sorry, your father passed?"

 Neal rubbed the back of his head. "It's more complicated than that. I had one until I was thirteen but he… wasn't the best, to put it mildly. And then I was in foster care with a single mom."

 Gold frowned. "That is something no child should have to go through. You have my sympathies."

 He nodded a little. "Thank you. Don't get me wrong, my adoptive mom is great, couldn't have asked for a better mother in my life but… there were some things that a dad would have just known how to do better, you know?"

  "Of course. I too didn't have much of a father growing up. Which is why I'm trying to do the best I can for my sons," his father replied, before a yelp and a thud interrupted the conversation.

 Gideon suddenly rolled out of his hiding spot, and Neal hid his laughter behind his hand.

 "There you are, Gideon. Come now, James is waiting for you. It was nice to speak with you, Mr. Cassidy."

 "You as well, Mr. Gold."

 When Gideon turned to look at Neal when their father was distracted, Neal only shrugged helplessly and waved as his own tailor reappeard with pieces for him to try on, but Neal found himself quite distracted with the conversation he had shared with his father.

 Neal was starting to think everything he'd been told about his father was wrong.

 "You finally did it? What was he like, Neal?" Eudora's calm voice asked as he got himself ready for the ball.

 "He… was kind. Just like any other father. I have… I have a half-brother too, Mama. He's a few years younger than me."

 "That's wonderful, honey. Did you tell him who you were?"

 Neal's hesitation was enough for Eudora to sigh. "I know you're scared, Neal, but your father has been missing you for seventeen years. Nom atter what happens, you'll always be my son. You finding your birth father will never change that."

 He sighed, looking at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his tie. "I know, Mama. I'll tell him soon, I promise. And I'll take lots of pictures tonight and send them to you."

 "You better! And tell me all about that girl that's caught your eye!" came Tiana's distant voice from the other end of the line.

 Neal chuckled as he grabbed his coat, putting it on against the autumn chill of Maine.. "Yeah, yeah. I promise. I'll call you later, Tia." And with that, Neal ended the call, making his way to the location of the ball.

 "Hi Neal…"

 Emma walked up to him in her deep purple dress, hair tied back in a low bun, with ringlets of her hair framing her face.

 He stared, his heart beating rapidly against his chest as he smiled at her, trying to conceal his shaking hands. "Wow… Emma, you look amazing."

 She blushed. "Thanks… you look pretty sharp yourself. Are you excited?"

 He nodded. "Yeah… I really am, especially since I'm here with someone like you… although if I step on your feet, I'm sorry."

 She laughed, handing her leather jacket to the attendant. "You can't be any worse than the guy I went to senior prom with. I thought he was going to break my toe – he never noticed when he stepped on my foot."

 Neal couldn't help but wince, holding out his arm for her and heading into the ballroom.

 The hall was decorated in hues of red, orange and brown, perfect for the fall season and the celebration of firefighters.

 "Damn, I didn't think this place could look this sharp…"

 Emma giggled, quirking a brow and smirking. "What, were you expecting something less because we're a small town?"

 "I didn't say that."

 She laughed. "I'm not offended, don't worry. I know Storybrooke has been a big culture shock for you."

 "Not as much as you might think. I even have a waitress who knows I like fry sauce. Makes it feel more like New Orleans," he smirked, winking at her.

 "Well, you know, a waitress has to be helpful, doesn’t she? Customer is always right and all that. Come on, what should we do first?"

 "Oh – uh, well, you're the expert on this dance."

 Emma grinned. "We can just mingle for now. Regina and Uncle Robin will do the opening dance first," she explained.

 "Uncle? Chief Hood is your uncle?"

 "By marriage. Technically. It's complicated, but I've called him that my whole life. Why stop now, y'know?"

 "Yeah, believe me, I get it. Family can be messed up sometimes."

 "Sounds like the new firefighter has a few secrets."

 Neal couldn't help but smirk. "Isn't that why most people come to small towns? To try to protect their secrets that haunt them from the big city?"

 "What is this, a Lifetime movie?"

 "Hopefully with a better ending."

 Although, with how… controlling his mother and stepfather could be, Neal wasn't sure if he had high hopes for that if the story came out that he was Baelfire.

 And with Alice here… as much as he trusted her, he didn't know if Uncle Roger was doing any detective work for Killian. Providing the two of them were even talking, of course.

 "Neal? You okay?" Emma's voice cut in, breaking him from his thoughts.

 He shook himself from his thoughts and looked at her with a smile. "Sorry, I was just stuck in my own thoughts."

 "Well that's good. Welcome back to reality then, because Grandpa Robin and Grandma Regina are going to do the first dance."

 "We better get a good spot to watch it then… I don't want to get reprimanded for not having enough pride."

 "You saved my brother. Grandpa Robin would never think that of you. That, or Regina would never let him do it in public," Emma smirked, guiding him to the front of the crowd just as the music began to play.

 He felt like he was in a fairytale as he looked around the ballroom, people dressed in their finest outfits, and the more controlled dancing people were doing, rather than the grinding motions of a high school prom or homecoming. Everything felt so elegant, and Neal was suddenly starting to feel very out of place.

 "Hey, don't worry about it, okay? This dance is just for fun," Emma said with a smile when she noticed the look on his face. "It's just a dance."

 "Do I look out of place?"

 "If you keep making that kicked-puppy look you will," she teased. "Just think of it as prom, only without the copious amounts of Axe stinking up the air."

 He let out a snort, hiding the grin behind his hand as Chief Hood and Regina danced by them, and he smiled, and slowly, other couples began to join them. Neal put a hand on the small of Emma's back and followed suit, trying to keep with the tempo of the song.

 "You know, you aren't so bad at dancing, Neal. You sure you've never been to a dance like this before?"

 He chuckled. "Well, my mama liked to dance. She said her husband taught her. They'd make a big show of it, especially at Mardi Gras."

 "Your mom sounds like a great woman."

 "She is. I'll give you the address to her restaurant when your friends go to New Orleans. She'd love to meet some people from Storybrooke."

 "Sounds like fun!"

 "I'm sure you'll love it… and she and Tia have been dying to meet someone from Storybrooke."

 He glanced over across the room, smiling softly as he saw Alice happily dancing with the woman he'd seen her with weeks before. She caught his gaze and gave him a knowing smirk that had him blushing and turning back to Emma.

 "So uh – you're in college, right?"

 Emma nodded. "I am. Studying criminal justice. I'd like to be a detective like my dad is."

 Neal grinned. "I think that's so cool, Emma. Maybe you'll end up in New York solving high profile crimes and get a TV show based on your exploits."

 She laughed. "Well, I don't think I'd go that far. But I would like to go far in my career and get out of this little town. That's why we wanted to go to New Orleans. There's life there. There'es excitement there. More than just firefighters pulling stupid kids out of a closed down mine. No offense."

 "None taken," he laughed. "Who knows, you might come across a mystery in New Orleans – there's a lot of history there y'know."

 "Hmm, sounds interesting. What, are you trying to run me out of town or something?"

 "Not at all. I'd hate for you to leave town after we only just met," he smirked.

 Emma returned the look, and the dance went on. Neal wasn't sure how long the two of them stayed on the dance floor, but by the time she'd pulled him off to meet some of her other friends.

 "I know you've got your firehouse buddies, but I figured you might want to meet some more people around your age too," Emma explained as they took a seat at one of the large tables. "This is Alex, Lily, Dawn, Phillip, Yue, Eliza, Roland and Elaine. Guys, this is Neal. He's the one helping me plan the New Orleans trip!"

 Neal waved nervously, taking a small sip of punch. "Nice to meet you all. I hope you all enjoy your trip to New Orleans."

 "Ohh, so you're the new firefighter. Dad mentioned you. Glad to meet you officially. I'm Roland Hood," the dark-haired man said. "And thanks for helping us with our trip. I know it's making dad and Regina feel better that you're involved."

 He shugged. "Well, there's really only so much I can do in the end. It's still your trip after all."

 "Heyyyy," Lily crooned from the other side of the table. "I have an idea, Neal. Why don't you come with us? I'm sure you'd love to have an opportunity to go visit your family, right?"

 Neal missed the quick, frantic look on Emma's face as he  turned to Lily. "Uh – what? You guys seem real tight, I wouldn't want to impede on your trip," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

 She shrugged. "Well, if you're sure."

 "So how's Bobby doing, Emma? It's a shame he had to miss the ball tonight," Elaine said with a small frown.

 "Better, thanks Elaine. Dr. Whale says he should be released from the hospital soon. In time for Thanksgiving or Christmas, we're hoping."

 The conversation, mercifully, changed to their families, and Neal slowly felt himself relax around the group, glancing casually around the room, before spotting Mr. Gold looking right at him.

 "Ignore Mr. Gold. He's just a weird dude who thinks anyone new in town could be his son," Roland suddenly said, having followed Neal's gaze. "Not that I don't think that case is weird andcrazy, but still. I hear he's been harassing my step-mom's sister about it. Just ignore him. He'll stop bugging you eventually."

 Neal's throat suddenly went dry, and he swallowed thick before pushing for more. "What happened? His son went missing?"

 "Yeah, his ex-wife and her new husband took him in the middle of the night and went off the grid. No one's been able to find him since. The cops tore the east coast apart trying to find him, and even the FBI was involved. It was like magic. Eventually some nun came forward and admitted she helped them escape, but said she had no idea where they went. Dad says she's doing time for aiding and abetting kidnappers. It's so crazy that a nun would do that."

 Neal whistled, his heart pounding against his ribs. "That sounds like the sort of thing you'd want to solve, Emma."

 Emma snorted. "Yeah, maybe. But you know my dreams lie in a big city."

 "Could be your big break before you move to the big city though and leave us all in the dust," Dawn teased. "But I remember my mom and ad talking about the case. They said Mr. Gold closed down his pawn shop for weeks."

 His stomach was in a knot. He knew the case was bad, but getting all of these details was starting to make him feel ill.

 This needed to end. He needed to come clean.

 Setting his punch cup on the table, Neal rose from his seat, drawing attention from the others.

 "Neal? What's the matter?" Emma asked.

 "I need to speak with someone. I'll be back, I promise."

 Gathering his courage, he slowly made his way over to his father, who gave him a raised brow as he approached.

 "Ah, Mr. Cassidy, right? What can I do for you?"

 "Mr. Gold – sorry – Papa. I… it's me. It's Baelfire."

 His stepmother's eyes widened, his brother started choking on the water he was sipping, and his father lost all color in his face, before his eyes narrowed sharply.

 "Prove it. Prove that you're my son."

 He couldn't say he didn't expect this. "You and Milah got married in the woods because she said she didn't have any family, but she did. You got your leg injury during Operation Desert Storm trying to protect a child from harm. You have an old-fashioned spinning wheel in your house. Or at least, you did when I was born…"

 His father's face shifted from doubt to shock. "Yes… that's all correct. Oh Bae… I can't believe it. But – what about that story you told? About foster care?"

 "I ran away from them when I was thirteen. Decided to go by Neal Cassidy so no one would ask questions. Ended up in New Orleans. Eudora took me in when she found me digging around in the dumpster outside her restaurant, and adopted me a year later," he said softly. "I wanted to know about you, and Milah and Killain refused, but Eudora was supportive. She's the reason I ended up back here."

 Aiden rose from his seat, leaning against his cane and embracing Neal with his other arm. "I owe her a debt of gratitude. Welcome home, son."

[fly-pow-bye]

What’s Airing On Cartoon Network? (July 2019)

The Futon Critic has updated, and has what Cartoon Network will air in July. This include Ben 10 2016, Craig of the Creek, LEGO Ninjago, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, Summer Camp Island, Teen Titans Go, Victor and Valentino, and the new series Mao Mao Heroes of Pure Heart. It’s a long post, so see you after the break!

Ben 10 2016:

Ben 10 continues his world tour. Saturdays at 12 PM, we get two Ben 10 2016 episodes in a row.

July 6th:

Big in Japan - During a tour of a robotics museum, Ben finds hero-gone-wrong Tim Buktu "trying to save" Tokyo from a Dragon. Has Tim finally turned over a new leaf, or is this just another one of his half-baked plans to play the part of hero?

Cyber Slammers - At Biggie Box Japan, Ben waits in line for the release of the latest Sumo Slammers video game, but he must soon save the store from Steam Smythe, who wants to retro-fit a massive mech with steam punk powers!

July 13th:

Big Ben 10 - When Ben and family go to London to visit the legendary Big Ben, the Bugg Brothers are there to greet them, with yet another outrageously over the top plan of course: to shrink the Big Ben bell in order to steal it!

LaGrange Muraille - Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max take a trek to the Great Wall, but their adventure is nearly ruined by daredevils LaGrange and Vin Ethanol trying to jump the international monument, and Ben must hop into the Rustbuggy to chase away the foes.

July 20th:

Lickety Split - When a mysterious electrical storm downs the Omni-Copter at the Equator, Team Tennyson soon discovers Solar & Polar are behind it.

The Claws of the Cat - While taking in the sights and sounds of a Rio de Janeiro music festival, Ben bristles at Gwen's suggestion that she be his new sidekick, as the festival is threaten by the supersonic sound waves of Lord Decibel.

Craig of the Creek:

Saturdays at 9:00 AM.

July 6th:

Turning the Tables - Craig dines at the restaurant where his older brother works and orders up a plate of REVENGE... and lots of breadsticks.

July 13th:

Kelsey the Author - Craig and Stacks help Kelsey become a real author turning her story into a book!

July 20th:

Council of the Creek - The circle game wreaks havoc on the Creek, so Craig forms a council to restore order.

July 27th:

Sparkle Cadet - Craig, Kelsey and JP team up with an intergalactic hero named Sparkle Cadet, hoping to save the Creek from negativity.

LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu:

Ninjago’s surprise return continues. Saturdays at 12:30 PM.

July 6th:

Booby-Traps, and How To Survive Them - The ninja team up with a reluctant Clutch Powers to enter a mysterious pyramid where they inadvertently unleash an ancient evil.

The News Never Sleeps! - Lil' Nelson takes a job as a paperboy, which is more difficult than it sounds in a city overrun by scorching Pyro Vipers and an evil Serpentine sorceress.

July 13th:

Ninja vs. Lava - The ninja find themselves trapped in a pyramid and must escape encroaching lava to warn NINJAGO City of a new Serpentine invasion.

Snaketastrophy - The Serpentine attack on NINJAGO City is seen from an unexpected perspective - entirely in the style of a live newscast delivered by Gayle Gossip and her cameraman.

July 20th:

Powerless - The ninja rush to the NINJAGO Museum of History to recover a dangerous scroll before it falls into the hands of the Serpentine Sorceress Aspheera.

Ancient History - While Aspheera pursues revenge on the "Treacherous Deceiver" who betrayed her, the ninja make a startling discovery.

July 27th:

Never Trust a Human - A flashback episode tells the story of Young Wu and Young Garmadon meeting Aspheera and teaching her the secrets of Spinjitzu.

Under Siege - Having learned Master Wu is the "Treacherous One," the ninja find themselves under siege at the Monastery, trying to protect Wu from the wrath of Aspheera.

Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart:

Mao Mao makes his debut in July. Coming right after Teen Titans Go, these episodes will air on Mondays at 6:10 PM, with another episode coming at 6:20 PM. No commercials?

July 1st:

I Love You Mao Mao - An explosive loner and his slacker best friend are waylaid from their journey into legend, only to find that their story is just beginning.

The Perfect Adventure - When Mao Mao gets hungry for the perfect adventure, Adorabat tells a white lie.

July 8th:

No Shortcuts - After struggling to keep up, Adorabat gets a cybernetic "Mega-Mech." But can fancy new powers make up for experience?

Ultraclops - Badgerclops gets huge to destroy a towering monster, but when he refuses to shrink down, the kingdom faces a new terror.

July 15th:

Mao Mao's Bike Adventure - When Mao Mao underestimates enemy and friend alike, it almost costs him the entire kingdom.

Breakup - Feeling left out, Adorabat wishes Mao Mao and Badgerclops would spend less time with each other and more time with her. When she gets what she wishes for and accidentally breaks up their friendship.

July 22nd:

Not Impressed - When a Sweetypie isn't impressed with the sheriff department's antics, our three heroes try everything to win him over.

Enemy Mime - When the sheriff's department fights a monster that copies their every move, they'll have to find a way to fight without fighting.

July 29th:

Outfoxed - When Rufus and Reg come to swindle the town, Sheriff Mao Mao teaches them a lesson in justice.

Bao Bao's Revenge - When Mao Mao's old partner threatens the kingdom, his friends will need to learn about his past in order to protect the present.

OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes:

OK K.O. moves to Saturdays stays on Sundays despite Futon Critic reporting otherwise at 4:30 PM this month, with two episodes in a row for each week.

July 7th:

We Are Heroes - K.O. struggles with his upgraded role as a member of the hero team.

KO, Rad, and Enid! - When confronted with their lack of a team gimmick, K.O., Rad, and Enid wonder what their group identity should be.

July 14th:

TKO Rules! - K.O. and T.K.O decide to swap places for the day.

Chip's Damage - Elodie enlists K.O. to help figure out what to do about Chip Damage.

July 21st:

K.O. vs. Fink - When Fink taunts K.O. for being a momma's boy, he grapples with newfound insecurity about it.

The K.O. Trap - K.O., Rad, and Enid are caught in an especially devious trap.

July 28th:

Whatever Happened to... Rippy Roo? - Rippy Roo visits the plaza.

Planet X - When Rad returns to his home planet, he learns a shocking truth about alien society.

Summer Camp Island:

This season of Summer Camp Island ends this month. Every Sunday at 12:00 PM, we get four episodes in a row.

July 7th:

Susie's Fantastical Scavenger Hunt - Oscar and Hedgehog must learn to exist without each other when they are put on different teams during a scavenger hunt.

Mop Forever - At Alice's dress-up party the campers are magically turned into their costumes.

Pajamas Party - When Pajamas starts to panic that Oscar will outgrow her, Oscar tries to help but things go awry.

The Soundhouse - Oscar and Hedgehog discover a new structure on the island and become friends with its caretaker.

July 14th:

Puff Paint - Oscar's painting is unpopular so he goes on a journey of self-discovery.

Susie Appreciation Day - Hedgehog and Oscar find themselves trapped in Susie's cabin and must escape undetected.

Campers Above the Bed -Hedgehog finds a city underneath her bed as she looks for her missing diary.

Midnight Quittance - Ramona invites Hedgehog and Oscar to participate in a special holiday ritual.

July 20th:

The Great Elf Invention Convention - Oscar, Max, and Hedgehog do a favor for Barb the elf in exchange for some chips.

Twelve Angry Hedgehogs - Hedgehog wants to win the Golden Science Badge but runs into some unexpected competition.

Spell Crushers - Hedgehog tries to get over a crush so she can regain her focus on magic.

The Library - The campers spend a rainy day at the library.

Teen Titans Go!:

Teen Titans Go managed to get a sixth member to join the team, and didn’t manage to send her to space. Amazing. Mondays at 6 PM.

July 1st:

Communicate Openly - Bumblebee becomes the sixth Titan and moves into the Tower but has a hard time adjusting.

July 8th:

Royal Jelly - Bumblebee offers to help Robin with his leadership skills by teaching him how to act like a queen bee.

July 15th:

Strength of a Grown Man - Needing a hero with shrinking powers, but forgetting about Bumblebee, Robin invites The Atom to join their fight against the Brain.

July 22nd:

Had to Be There - So she isn't left out of inside jokes, the Titans time travel to past adventures and insert Bumblebee into their memories.

July 29th:

Girls Night In Part 1 - The Girls Night Out Crew decide to stay in and have a slumber party but an unknown alien threat descends on Jump City.

Victor and Valentino:

Saturdays at 9:30 AM.

July 6th:

Churro Kings - When Victor and Valentino start making good money from selling churros at the taco stand, their lust for stuff makes them do dirty tricks to take out their competition.

July 13th:

Know It All - When Victor accidentally unleashes evil bats from a cave, it's up to the boys and Don to protect the town, but Victor's know-it-all attitude keeps getting in the way.

July 20th:

Fistfull of Balloons - When Victor gets double-crossed during a water balloon fight, he goes on a revenge mission to find out who was responsible.

July 27th:

Love at First Bite - Valentino crushes on a girl named Matty, who Victor is suspicious of but Valentino ignores his warnings. When Valentino goes to dinner at her house she turns into a Matlazihua and he discovers he's what's for dinner!

[bluboothalassophile]

Could you do a fic where Raven and Jason are deciding who to invite to there wedding and they get an unexpected guests or guests

Hello,

I don’t know if this turned out how you want, but I had fun writing it and I hope you enjoy it! =)

Families of the Bride & Groom…

“Okay, so you have the Bats, I got Harley & Ivy,” Ravensaid.

“We’ll keep them separate,” Jason suggested.

“Mmm, which of us is getting Constantine?” Raven askedlooking up from the guest list. She and Jason had sorted out the guest list oftheir wedding weeks ago. Somethings were obvious, like the Bats were Jason’s family,Roy his best man; she had Harley, Ivy, Victor, and her family.

Others were a bit more challenging, like Constantine. Constantinewas like Jason’s uncle, and he was like her dad. No, Constantine wasn’t givingher away; that honor went to Victor Stone. Still, Jason and she had friends insimilar circles.

“You get him, he’s your dad,” Jason said.

“Are you sure, I mean, I know how much he means to you,”Raven pointed out.

“Yeah, I get Chas though,” Jason decided. “Zed already toldme; way before I even met you, how my wedding would be divided,” he shrugged.

“She didn’t leave you a master list, did she?” Raven asked.

“No, because I laughed at the mere thought of gettinghitched. When I asked who would be dumb enough to marry me, she threw hersketch pad at my head. She also told me I wasn’t marrying an idiot,” hegrumbled.

She smirked. “Zed at least knew I wasn’t an idiot.”

“Are you kidding little bird, pretty sure she saw you comingleagues away before we even crossed paths,” Jason chuckled looking wistful. “Soyeah, I was never getting Constantine, I get Chas.”

“Alright, maybe he and Vic can sort out who’s giving meaway,” Raven decided.

“Good luck,” he snorted.

She groaned as her head rested on the table. At theinsistence of her aunt, her uncle, and her grandfather, this wedding had turnedinto a circus event. A big Catholic wedding (Of course this was after Damian hadspilled the beans on her and Jason’s original wedding plans. So now they werehaving a family wedding at Uncle Jack’s insistence it was going to be a CatholicCeremony, else it’d be Jewish, at Alan’s insistence; Raven had found the middleground by just saying, Catholic wedding, Jewish party), Lucifer was paying, andhe had even selected the church. Yes, God was invited to this wedding, thoughRaven was praying he didn’t show.

“So, I have; Alice, Jack, Alan, Mary-Beth, Billy, Jessica,Mazikeen, Lucifer, Gabriel, Amenadiel, Azrael, Timmy, Teether, Melvin, Harley,Ivy, Constantine, and Vic; think God shall smite us or come to the wedding?”Raven said looking up from the papers.

“If he shows I’m punching him.”

She snorted, “Luci will probably pay money to see that.”

“You got them, I got Alfred, B, Cat, Dick, Mar'i, Jake, Tim,Steph, Cass, Babs, Duke, Damian, Terry, Helena, Roy, Lian, Chas, Artemis, Bizarro,Kyle, Donna,” he started.

“No, you can’t have Donna,” Raven said looking at her list. “Donna’smy maid of honor, you know, because…” she shrugged.

“Ah, right,” he nodded.

“You want Linda?”

“No, Linda’s with Lucifer, you have Linda,” he said.

“Hm… how about Garfield?”

“No.”

“He’s coming to the wedding.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s my friend.”

“He’s an ex!”

“Jason, two words: Rose Wilson!”

“So not even close to the same thing,” he muttered.

“You invited Rose, she invited Joe, and if you can have RoseI’d like Gar there.”

“Fine you can have Garfield,” he sighed.

“And Garth.”

“Why don’t we just invite the entire hero and villain community,shut off this list debate?” Jason suggested.

“No!”

“This was so much easier before we had to have a wedding!” Jasongroaned.

Raven sighed in agreement. Because their plan was simple,they would take a few family and friends to the courthouse, get married, thenhave the party with friends and family. Apparently though, that wasn’t allowedwith Damian Wayne; nope, the little Arabian Prince had gone overboard andannounced that this union would be proper with all the family there. No one inthe Bats had seen Damian so insistent on that point; honestly, he was the lastperson anyone expected to care about this matter.

Their door was thrown open which had Raven and Jason lookingup as Damian walked in, he was looking mighty haughty about something. Whichhad her eyes narrowing.

“I see you are going over the reservations for the guests,”he deduced.

“I hate this, what was wrong with our wedding plans!?” Ravendemanded sharply.

“Too simplistic, and this is a long awaited union.” The teensnapped with an authority he didn’t have.

“What Wait!?” Jason and she shouted. It wasn’t like theywere Bruce and Selina who had danced around each other for decades! And she andJason hadn’t been ducking each other, they were just friends first. The datingthing was a fluke that had accidentally worked out to this point. But the demonspawn (not her) had decided they needed a wedding; a big wedding since Jason proposed.

“You two imbeciles had avoid this for years,” Damian snapped.

Raven glared at him.

“Now, I came to request that I be allowed a plus one,” hestated.

“And who are you inviting!?’ Jason sputtered.

“A date.”

“Who!?”

“You will have to see, but as father said I was too young Icouldn’t have a plus one, so I have come to ask that you adjust the plans.” Damianlooked a bit bashful then.

Jason groaned as his head fell back. “Fine, fuck, fine!”

No shenanigans at this wedding Damian,” Raven warned.

“I would never!” he sputtered. Raven rolled her eyes.

“So, this plus one, add it to your side of the aisle Jay,”Raven decided.

“Why couldn’t you just take the Bats? They like you more,”he grumbled.

“You want Lucifer?”

“I’ll take the Bats.”

“I thought as much,” she sighed.

“You two have not finished the guest list?” Damian scowled.

“We’re at the divide and conquer phase of this,” Jason countered.

“Tt, should have finished this weeks ago,” he chided.

“You are welcome to sort this out for us!” Raven snapped.

He actually balked before hurrying out of the apartment.

“So, I got the demon spawn’s plus one, do you have God onyour side or not?”

“Yeah, I’ll take God if He shows. And damn that sounds weird.”

“The Supers, why are we inviting the Supers?”

“The same reasons the Flash and Arrows are coming,” Raven answereddryly.

“Fuck this was easier when it was just you and me to thecourthouse.”

[lawful-evil-novelist]

Introduce your OCs. As many as you can. Salem seems cool especially.

All my ocs?  I dunno anon, I have a lot of ocs.  As a small numbers summary, my rogue kids ocs number at 25, my Gotham U kids number at 3, their friends and family number at 2 and this is not taking into account Black Mask’s weapons dealer and his bodyguards.  I also have the Curtis family, the Tsath, and assorted Rogue family.  And that’s just Batman OCs, which I’m assuming you want to know about, so I’ll list them as best I can.

Under the cut because that is over 45 OCs.

Tobias Bloom, or simply Tobi, is Mr. Bloom’s adopted son.  He’s a small phytokinetic boy from South Korea and is a pretty happy and well-adjusted kid, you know, considering he’s the son of Mr. Bloom.

Dorothy Crane is Jonathan Crane’s daughter,  she is also the daughter of Roxanne Sutton but she and her brother were mainly created with Jon in mind and thus it is closer to describe her as Jon’s daughter than Roxy’s.  Her name is a really blatant reference to the Wizard of Oz and she takes a lot of her personality, including her snark and vindictive attitude, from Jon.

Pluto Crane is Dorothy’s younger brother.  Compared to Dorothy he’s a lot more timid but a lot less vindictive.  On the other hand, Pluto is a lot more prone to anger than Dorothy is, his temper is faster and like Jon’s it is violent.  His name is a reference to “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe.

Ezekiel Dent, more commonly known as Zeke, is Harvey Dent’s son.  At his core he is very much like his father, but he’s not well treated and has a low self-esteem and depression as a result.  Zeke and Todd are a couple.

Evangeline Fries, or Eva, is the daughter of Victor and Nora Fries.  While she primarily lives with Nora when she first realized she had ice powers she ran away and was found by Victor, who brought her home.  Eva closely resembles Nora and Victor has, on occasion, mistakenly called her Nora when distracted.

Violet Harris is the daughter of Music Meister, and in her teens begins a job as a sidekick for Black Canary, due to them having similar meta-abilities.  Violet is a natural musician, much like her father, but usually channels her energy in to ballet and violin, rather than singing.

Clover Isley is one of Pamela Isley’s plant children.  Her appearance is largely based on that of Jervis Tetch and Mary Dahl, and is thus rather small and childlike in appearance.  However, Clover is a rather spiteful child, and her personality is based largely on fair folk, being mischievous and full of bad ideas.

Lavender Isley is Clovers older sister, and her appearance is more closely based on Harley Quinn’s, though Lavender dyes her hair purple out of preference (Lavender lives up to her name), Lavender is much gentler compared to Clover, and a lot kinder.  That said she is not without faults, and like her mother is prone to vengeful rages.

Ayah Jones is Waylon Jones’s daughter.  She has a very mild form of Waylon’s condition, which surfaces in superhuman strength, reptilian eyes, and sharp teeth.  Ayah is normally very cheerful, but she is fully willing to fight to defend people.  Ayah is a trained boxer because she insisted on knowing how to fight.

Hunter Jones is Ayah’s older brother.  He also has a form of Waylon’s condition, though along with Ayah’s symptoms he also experiences scale growths.  These are located mainly on his face in spots where bone is prominent (jaw, eyebrow, cheekbones, etc), joints, and spots where the bone is very close to his skin, like along his spine.  These growths are dark brownish green.  Hunter is a lot calmer compared to Ayah, and can come across to some as timid or a pushover.  Hunter and Leo are a couple.

Aiden Lynns is Garfield Lynns’s son.  He’s pyrokinetic and is also diagnosed with autism.  Aiden is normally very soft-spoken and shy, but is still very friendly.  Most of the other Rogue kids like Aiden, even if they don’t like each other.  He is also the youngest of the Rogue kids next to Gwen and Jeremy.

Aisling Machin is Lonnie’s only daughter and eldest child.  She’s a lot more orderly than her father and is the most responsible of the three kids.  She disagrees with most of her father’s views, but agrees that society needs to be reformed, largely because it creates people like Lonnie in the first place.

Maxwell Machin, or Max, is Lonnie’s older son and middle child.  Lonnie is the least kind to Max, who is withdrawn and hostile towards most people as a result of Lonnie’s abuse.  Max is a daredevil of sorts, and Batman has caught him in multiple illegal motorcycle races.  Though hostile to most, Max is close to his siblings and protective of Niall.

Niall Machin is the youngest of Lonnie’s children, and his favorite.  Niall is the closest to his father and often overlooks his poor treatment of Max because he’s treated well.  He doesn’t ignore it outright, he knows Lonnie doesn’t treat Max well, but he also is willing to look the other way if it means he can keep a close relationship with Lonnie.  Aisling and Max don’t like this in the slightest and think Niall is selfish, which he is, but they still care about their younger brother.

Sarah Menkel is Peter Menkel’s daughter.  She’s a cheerful, friendly girl, a bit of a tomboy and an avid gymnast.  Like her father she is hypermobile and a contortionist, both things she uses to freak people out.  She’s much better at blowing off mean comments compared to the other Rogue kids.

Andrea Monroe is the daughter of Paige Monroe.  She’s extremely optimistic, mostly in an attempt to keep her mother happy, often at the cost of her own happiness.

Eleanor Nygma, or Ellie, is the older daughter of Edward Nygma and Selina Kyle.  She is a lot more like Selina in both appearance and personality, is proud to be the daughter of both.  Selina is very elegant and smug.

Elizabeth Nygma, or Liz, is the younger daughter of Edward Nygma and Selina Kyle.  She is very similar to Edward in appearance and personality, and similarly is just as haughty and prides her intelligence above most other attributes.

Barbara Quinzel is the daughter of Harley Quinn and the Joker and Todd’s twin sister.  She’s nicknamed Barb and Babs by her brother Todd.  Barbara is very cheerful and friendly, but shares a similar morbidity with her father.  Barbara is named after and the goddaughter of Barbara Gordon.

Todd Quinzel is the son of Harley Quinn and the Joker and Barbara’s twin brother.  He is cheerful and bubbly and acrobatic.  Joker’s chemical damage has resulted in Todd having albinism and asthma.  Todd has very bad vision and wears thick round glasses.  Joker is very protective of him, as are Bud and Lou.  Todd is named after and the godson of Jason Todd.  Todd and Zeke are a couple.

Leon Sanchez, or Leo, is the son of Bane, he is half-Nahuatl.  Bane’s venom use caused Leo to develop superhuman strength.  Leo is a snarky, cynical young man, but comes off as smug and apathetic.  Leo was born November 2nd, during Dia de los Muertos.  Like Bane, Leo is extremely intelligent and multilingual.  Leo and Hunter are a couple.

Gwendolyn Tetch, or Gwen, is the daughter of Jervis Tetch.  She’s shy and quiet, often mirroring her father in manner and personality.  Gwen has a meta-ability linked to mind control.  Gwen is regularly assumed to be Jervis’s “Alice” but in contrast, her name is based on the White Rabbit.  Gwen takes the assumption that she’s Alice as an insult.

Jeremy Todd is the youngest Rogue child and the son of Jason Todd.  He is much closer to the Rogue kids than the Batfamily and considers himself part of the Rogue kids, not the Batfam.  Jason doesn’t like this but the Rogue kids accept him willingly.

Cosette Walker is the daughter of Drury Walker, and splits her time between her father and her mother in France.  Cosette is polite and well-mannered, and is rather flighty.  She loves butterflies and birds and the color blue and singing.

Marcus Wesker is the grandson of Arnold Wesker.  Because his parents abandoned him with Wesker and Scarface, Marcus grew up with a lot of verbal abuse from Scarface and ended up adopting his rude attitude as a manner of defending himself, which really only made Scarface more aggressive towards him.

Salem Jackson is a white witch from a rich family in Mississippi, and a psychology major at Gotham U.  She has large black horns and interns at Arkham Asylum.  Most people do not know much about her family in Gotham but there are rumors abound that she killed her parents in retaliation for being abused as a child.

Audrey Brenner is an anthropology major at Gotham U, but was born and raised in Metropolis.  She prefers Superman to Batman and several rogues have taken a liking to her and protect her.  Audrey works as a cashier at the gift shop of the Superman museum over breaks and deals with Lex Luthor on an almost daily basis because for some reason he has to visit the place regularly.

Valerie Spade, or Val, is a chemistry major at Gotham U and, essentially, a villain intern.  She works for Penguin and he rents her out to various rogues.  Val has superspeed and as a result has a boosted metabolism that means she needs to eat regularly.

Penelope Spade, or Penny, is Val’s older sister, though she has a meta-ability, she doesn’t use it often, and is an art student in Metropolis.  Penny and Audrey get along and Audrey has convinced the Superman museum to commission her for their special exhibit posters.

Jack O’Reilly is Audrey’s best friend and the shift manager at the Superman museum gift shop.  He goes to school in Central City and has dyed his hair green to emulate the Joker.  He finds villains fascinating, which is a pretty reasonable reaction because he and Audrey attract them like flies.

Daniel Frei, or Dani, is a weapons dealer partnered with Black Mask, he is the youngest of Mask’s dealers at 19, and is part of a larger German crime family.  Dani is cautious and avoids conflict with most of the Batfamily, though he has quite often flirted with both Nightwing and Red Hood.

Nathaniel Zhao, or Nate, is one of Dani’s bodyguards, he is half-Chinese and half-German.  He is a chronic smoker and a survivor of severe abuse from his father.  Nate regards most people rather bitterly, but after an accident where Batman lost his headset, he actually spoke to and befriended Oracle.  Nate is 21.

Xavier Knight, affectionately nicknamed Xav, is Dani’s 17-year-old bodyguard.  Xavier was born deaf and has severe damage to his vocal chords that prevents him from speaking without feeling pain, and instead almost always signs everything.  Though he can hear due to a cochlear implant, he usually has headphones and reads lips like he did as a child.  Xavier’s vocal chord damage is visible from his throat, and because he doesn’t want to ask any awkward questions about it, he covers the scars with a scarf.

Abigail Curtis is a forensics officer at GCPD and a college friend of Edward Nygma.  She is vain, sarcastic, and temperamental, the latter of which is in large part due to her job.  She hates Batman because he takes a large portion of her evidence for himself, but appreciates his work to clean up the crime in the city.  She’s known to throw things and despite being small can take Lyle Bolton in a fight.

Jasper Curtis is Abigail’s twin brother and almost emotionally dead.  As a child he was interred at Arkham due to mild depression and was psychologically tortured and experimented on by Hugo Strange.  Jasper’s response was to retreat inward, his only really prominent emotions being irritation and apathy.  The experiments gave Jasper the ability to remove his head without killing himself and pull his spine out of his back without losing its support.  Both of these cause him chronic pain.

Melody Curtis is Jasper and Abigail’s older sister, a metahuman who can create living things from drawings.  Melody doesn’t live with her siblings, but takes care of them as best she can.  Melody has a personal vendetta against Hugo Strange.

Hazel Marsh is a half Tsath, half Atlantean woman best known for defending the Tsath against Atlantean purists, by killing the purists.  Hazel’s Atlantean father almost never gets to see her.

Basir Mihael is the prince of the Tsath,  He’s missing an eye because of the Atlantean purists, and lives in Gotham because he wants to learn how humans deal with Atlanteans.  He is in a relationship with Jasper Curtis and is one of the few people who can make Jasper laugh.

Reagan Napier is the Joker’s older brother, he lives in Star City and is a bare knuckle boxer.  Reagan is extremely protective of his brother and has threatened both the GCPD and Batman several times, he has also broken Lyle Bolton’s nose.

Ailish Napier is Joker’s mother.  She still lives in Belfast where Joker and Reagan grew up, in their childhood home.  Though she communicates with both of her sons by letter, she has avoided meeting Joker directly, a decision Joker urged her to make for her own safety.

Cinta Walker is Drury Walker’s mother, a Javanese woman who fell in love with Drury’s father, but only married him and moved to Australia with him after Drury was born.  She still lives in Australia, even after Drury’s father died, but visits Drury in Gotham on occasion.

Chayton Crane is Jonathan Crane’s paternal grandfather.  He didn’t know about his grandson until Jon was 19, but treats him as family nontheless.  Chayton does not speak to Gerald Crane, and is furious that Gerald abandoned a child he concieved.

Ruth Crane is Jonathan Crane’s paternal grandmother.  She is a very gentle, kind woman who taught Jon how to speak Crow and is very protective of her grandson.  She carries a concealed firearm and has threatened Batman with a shotgun.

Leigh Crane is Jonathan Crane’s closest cousin, being about 15.  Leigh is a nervous, shy girl and though she has been to Gotham to visit her cousin, clung to Jon the whole time and refused to leave him for a moment.  Jon is very protective of her.

Lyndon Keeny is Jonathan Crane’s great great uncle and Marion Keeny’s younger brother, though he is almost 100 he looks about 23 because he has been in the Lazarus Pit.  Lyndon is good friends with R’as al Ghul and is brave to the point of utter stupidity.  For instance, he steals from Vandal Savage, regularly, for fun.

Lucio Kyle is Selina Kyle’s younger brother.  He is a grad student at Gotham U, where he studies forensics.  He is also Abigail’s current intern.

Vaite is Garfield Lynns’s childhood best friend, a young Maori boy.  He is a cheerful, friendly young man and is still on very good terms with Garfield.

[nebbychan]

For @victorluvsalice

Skyrim AU

Synopsis:

Skyrim’s literally gone to shit; with the return of Alduin the World-Eater and Harbringer of the End Times, a civil war between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks divides the land in two, once proud factions now in ruins, and sweetrolls stolen; there is only one who can restore the honor and peace to Skyrim. Legends foretold of a being with the soul of a dragon, the only being capable of ending the madness; they are known as Dovahkiin, the Dragonborn. For centuries, the people of Skyrim thought the Dragonborn could never resurface, until now.

Characters:

Victor Van Dort

Race: Nord Class: Mage (Expert Necromancer and Illusionist) Faction(s): None Weapons: Fork, Dagger, Ancient Nord Bow Daedric Artifacts: None Follower: Emily, Barbas Likes: Dwemer ruins, Conjuration, Alchemy, Enchanting, Dogs Dislikes: Thalmor, Fish, the Blades, Smithing, Stormcloaks Favorite Capital(s): Markarth, Whiterun, Winterhold Least Favorite Capital(s): Solitude, Windhelm Favorite Quest: A Daedra’s Best Friend (he left it incomplete on purpose because hey, free immortal talking dog!) Least Favorite Quest: Diplomatic Immunity (Ugh, fancy parties…) Bio:                Victor was born in Windhelm, his father was a wealthy merchant working with the Argonians and Dark Elves by the docks. They moved to Solitude when he was still a child, mainly due to the fact that his mother did not get along with them and loved to start up conflict. She worried that one of her enemies would send a Dark Brotherhood assassin after her, plus she wanted to be close to the other upper-crust families in said capital. Victor had a bit of trouble adjusting, especially when he one day started showing interest in magic, begging his parents to let him attend the Magic College in Winterhold. While disappointed that he shared no interest in the family business and was hesitant about sending him away, his father agreed and sent him off once he became of age. There, he learned conjuration, restoration, illusion, and destruction spells. His favorite spell in particular was the Candlelight spell, which provided some light whenever he was alone in dark places. Despite this, Victor hadn’t actually been in combat before. Once he graduated at the top of his class, he was brought back to Solitude for an arranged marriage- which he chickened out of and attempted to flee Skyrim by crossing the borders, unaware that the party he was travelling with was Stormcloak soldiers, led by none other than Ulfric Stormcloak himself. This misunderstanding led to his capture by the Imperials and nearly had him decapitated in Helgen. Only reason why he narrowly dodged execution was because of a dragon flying in and destroying the place, from there, Victor escaped with an Imperial soldier. With the return of the dragons, Victor also finds out he’s Dragonborn- great, MORE things he didn’t ask for. Being Dragonborn has it perks, but it’s also brought unwanted attention from everyone, especially the Blades, whom he deliberately ignores because he knows they want to use him. (Also they wanted him to kill Paarthurnax, didn’t help with the fact that he had come to like that old dragon.)

 Alice Liddell

Race: Imperial Class: Assassin Faction(s): The Dark Brotherhood Weapons: Knife, Glass dagger, iron Warhammer, crossbow (laced with frostbite venom) Daedric Artifacts: Mace of Molag Bal, Mehrune’s Razor, the Wabbajack Follower: Cicero Likes: Justice, quiet places, Sweetrolls Dislikes: Thalmor, Draugr, Vampires, Frostbite Spiders Favorite Capital(s): Whiterun, Falkreath, Morthal Least Favorite Capital(s): Markarth, Windhelm, Solitude Favorite Quest: Innocence Lost Least Favorite Quest: Any quest that makes her the errand girl Bio:                Alice was born in Winterhold; living in a cozy little home with her older sister, mother, and her father- who was the archmage at the College of Winterhold. She lived there happily for years, as a child she’d sneak into the College’s library to read and learn about magic. Life seemed promising for her when she conjured up her first Flame Atronach and used a series of Fear spells at her entry exam…at eight years old. No doubt Alice was a gifted mage, and her family couldn’t be any more proud of her. She even got to be roommates at the College with her older sister, Lizzie, who was already attending to learn about restoration. But one evening while the family slept, Alice woke up to the smell of smoke; the house was on fire! While she managed to escape, the same couldn’t be said for her parents. Lizzie was nowhere to be found, guards assume she had died in the fire too and that Alice’s Flame Atronach was to blame for the incident. Alice was sent to the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften shortly afterwards, there she endured years of mental and physical abuse from the Headmistress, Grelod the Kind. When she came of age, Alice was thrown out and left to wander Skyrim as a street urchin, she’d go to inns and taverns just to ask for work, but her mental state made it difficult for her to get by. A year of wandering Skyrim led to her hearing a rumor about a boy named Aventus Aretino, who ran away from Honorhall Orphanage and went back to his home in Windhelm to perform the Black Sacrament. Alice went forth to investigate, though when she arrived the boy mistook her for an assassin and gave her a contract too good to pass up; she had to kill Grelod the Kind. Without hesitating, Alice bought a ride straight to Riften with what little money she had left, and her trusty Flame Atronach and years of bottled up rage were finally unleashed as Alice watched Grelod burn to death, just hearing her screams brought immense satisfaction. Thankfully, Alice hadn’t suffered repercussions for her little stunt, but it did lead to her initiation into the Dark Brotherhood. Astrid liked Alice from the start, seeing great potential within her, and welcomed her into the family with open arms. With Alice working as an assassin, everyone now had a reason to fear the Dark Brotherhood. Some are too scared to confront her or her follower, Cicero.

 Victoria Everglot

Race: High Elf Class: Thief Faction(s): Thieves Guild Weapons: Iron mace, Nightingale Blade, Nightingale bow Daedric Artifacts: Dawnbreaker, Sanguine Rose, the Skeleton Key Likes: Fine clothes, Pickpocketing, Lock-picking, Honey-nut treats, Long Taffy Dislikes: Chaurus, Dwemer ruins, Falmer, Red Ninroots Favorite Capital(s): Dawnstar, Riften, Whiterun Least Favorite Capital(s): Windhelm Favorite Quest: Blindsighted Least Favorite Quest: A Return to Your Roots (She HATES Blackreach, seriously, fuck that place.) Bio:                A quiet child born into an aristocratic family in Solitude, Victoria mostly kept to herself, not that her parents really cared. Victoria had the heart of a thief, she’d steal things right under people’s noses and no one would suspect her of any wrongdoing. So when her family fell under hard times, Victoria would sneak out the house as her parents slept or went out on business to rob unsuspecting citizens of their gold, gems, jewelry, any valuable item she could get her hands on would do! Her parents eventually began to question where all this gold came from and why their neighbors were becoming poor, but never suspected Victoria. Once she became of age to wed, her parents set her up with Victor Van Dort, a college graduate from Winterhold. They got along nicely at first, having a bit of small talk and while they didn’t exactly fall for each other, it was apparent that they became instant friends. However it wasn’t until the wedding rehearsal did things go downhill; not only did he screw up the vows, but Victor somehow managed to trash the chapel and nearly set her mother on fire. Victor fled Solitude in embarrassment, but before Victoria could get a chance to pursue him she was then engaged to another man, an aristocratic high elf from the Thalmor Embassy named Barkis Bittern. Not wanting to deal with that noise, Victoria grabbed whatever money she could along with some essentials, got on her horse, and fled Solitude. She was about halfway towards Whiterun when she heard that Victor was captured, likely on accident during an ambush on the Stormcloaks led by the Imperials. This was now a race against time- as Victoria heard those that were taken hostage would be taken to Helgen for execution. Victor was innocent; she knew he didn’t deserve such a fate, and she wanted to prevent any injustice. Once arriving in Riverwood for a quick restock on her supplies, Victoria could almost feel the ground beneath her shake and the roar of a dragon from the skies. She thought it was only her imagination and her lack of sleep getting to her, at least until she arrived in Helgen- only to find it in ruins. She would’ve entered had it not been for an Imperial soldier stopping her, letting her know that a dragon attack took place and finding survivors would be near impossible. Still, Victoria refused to believe that Victor had died during the attack. Going back to Solitude wasn’t an option either, fearing her parents’ wrath and possible jail time for all the theft she’s committed. Instead, Victoria rode all the way towards Riften. While staying at the Bee and Barb, Victoria met Brynjolf; the two sat together at the bar and chatted over mead and apple pie, she reveals to him her thieving behavior- which in turn catches his attention. A successful initiation that following morning led to her joining the Thieves Guild, and while she’s more content with the life of a thief, Victoria hopes to find Victor safe and sound during her travels.

 Lizzie Liddell

Race: Imperial (also a Werewolf) Class: Warrior Faction(s): The Companions Weapons: Daedric greatsword, Daedric Battle axe, Forsworn bow (laced with poison) Daedric Artifacts: Ring of Hircine, the Black Star Follower: Bonejangles Likes: Sweetrolls, restoration spells, swords, sneaking Dislikes: Thalmor, Vampires, the Silver Hand, politics Favorite Capital(s): Whiterun, Falkreath, Winterhold Least Favorite Capital(s): Markarth, Solitude Favorite Quest: Purity of Revenge Least Favorite Quest: The Black Star Bio:                Born and raised in Winterhold, her father, the late archmage at the College gave her the best rooms, best tutors, and good classes. Lizzie specialized in restoration, mainly due to her little sister Alice and her misadventures always getting her scratched up. Still, it did hone her skills, and gave extra credit for her classes. That was until a new student named Angus Bumby came along; something about him seemed off, and Lizzie did her best to ignore him and continue her studies, but it didn’t take long for him to begin taking interest in her. She continuously told him to sod off but her commands fell on deaf ears, when one day he and a student from her class suddenly disappear.  Lizzie discovers her classmate’s body lying in a pool of blood that evening, two holes punctured into his neck and wrists. The discovery sent chills down her spine, realizing there was a vampire staying within these walls. It was no secret who the vampire was, and she promised herself she’d tell her father before Bumby could claim more victims. Sadly, she’d never get the chance, as Bumby had infiltrated the residence and after draining the blood of the Archmage and his wife, attempted to turn Lizzie into a vampire to claim her as his bride. Still, Lizzie wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and while she managed to scare him off, it set the house on fire in the process. Her escape was successful, but was convinced Alice had died in the fire. It was already enough for her to swear revenge on the vampire; however she could never take him on in this state, she was lucky to have made it out unscathed during their encounter. Lizzie moved out to Whiterun to seek training as a warrior, only to run into the Companions near Honningbrew Meadery and help them take down a giant. Her participation made it much easier for her to become a Companion, then later on a werewolf. For years she trained with them, growing stronger by the day, feeding off the anger and resentment towards vampires. Once she felt strong enough, Lizzie set out to search for the damned vampire and avenge her family. She at first began in Solitude; renting out a room and there at the Winking Skeever she meets a bard nicknamed Bonejangles, a redguard man along with his band of reanimated, sentient draugr whom are trying to push a new era of music onto Tamriel. It was loud, had a great beat, a catchy tune good enough to dance along, and spontaneous lyrics and vocals; and yet few seemed to care for his music, as they’re in favor of more traditional songs. Lizzie, on the other hand, supported his ideas; not a huge surprise that they wound up becoming close friends. Bonejangles catches her off-guard and offers to help her take down the vampire, Lizzie refuses at first, but reconsiders when he reveals to her that he’s in the Dawnguard- a vampire hunter, the bard thing was just to throw off any suspicion. The two find Bumby hiding out inside one of the many Dwemer Ruins in Markarth, which had been infested with chaurus and Falmer, which were taken down easily. In the heat of battle, however, Bumby manages to get a good swipe at Bonejangles, almost taking out one of his eyes and breaking his leg when tossed around. This angers Lizzie, and as a result, transforms into a werewolf in front of them. Her angered roar was enough to scare the vampire as he attempts to scurry off; not a good idea when a pissed off werewolf could easily catch up to you. Bumby begs for mercy, but his pleas fall upon deaf ears; Lizzie savors his screams as she tears him apart, and she would’ve completely lost it if it weren’t for the fact that Bonejangles was in need of medical attention. Satisfied, Lizzie reverts back and after dragging her friend out of the ruins, begins healing him. With her family now avenged, Lizzie wonders what to do with her life. Bonejangles offers to take her to Fort Dawnguard to consider becoming a professional vampire hunter, and she did seem to agree at first, at least until news of people getting assassinated in all parts of Skyrim catch her attention, no doubt this was the work of the Dark Brotherhood, but it was the way the victims died that interested her. All victims found were burned alive, likely by a Flame Atronach- controlled by one gifted mage. Thinking her sister could still be alive, Lizzie performs the Black Sacrament (the human flesh and heart used for the ritual was…“donated” by a lovely bandit outlaw that dared to cross her.) in the hopes that Alice would come to her for a contract…

 Emily

Race: Wood Elf (formerly), Khajit Class: Warrior Faction(s): None Weapons: Scimitar, Iron Shield, Falmer Bow Daedric Artifacts: Ebony blade, Ebony Mail Follower: Victor (technically she’s his follower) Likes: Weddings, Butterflies, Night time, Dancing Dislikes: Dark places, Bandits, Thalmor, Stuck-up people Favorite Capital(s): Riften, Markarth, Whiterun Least Favorite Capital(s): Morthal, Winterhold, Windhelm Favorite Quest: The Book of Love Least Favorite Quest: Blood on the Ice Bio:                A former priestess of Dibella, Emily was the most attractive wood elf to grace Skyrim. Her beauty would entice men, some even begging for her hand. She had refused them all; except one. He was a high elf, worked at the Thalmor Embassy in Solitude. Emily thought him the perfect man, how he won her heart with his charisma. However, her story isn’t exactly light-hearted. Instead of meeting her beloved to elope at the Temple of Mara in Riften, she met her end- sacrificed as an offering to the Daedric prince, Boethiah. Her body was carelessly thrown into the river, forever lost; but her soul, however, lived on in anger. She was finally released when some poor fool by the name of Victor Van Dort had come across the Shrine, but instead of sacrificing another soul, he released her. Emily was overjoyed, now finally able to leave that wretched shrine; all that was left now was to take revenge.

Her lover had taken refuge within a Bandit camp in Falkreath, adorned with the Ebony mail and blade Boethiah had bestowed upon him. His recent failure on trying to lure a high elf woman in Solitude left him vulnerable to attack. He had stepped out from his shelter for fresh air, instead being greeted with the scent of death and the tip of a Scimitar pointed to his gullet. The sword was held by a Khajit woman, her body foreign to him, but the fire in her eyes had him frozen in fear. “Emily?” His lips trembled, now stiff as a board; Emily had taken on a new body, found on the way to Knifepoint ridge. She glared, ordering him to walk, lest she behead him on the spot. With Victor in tow, just in case things got out of hand; Emily travelled to the Shrine of Boethiah, offering the man she once trusted to the Daedric Prince. Boethiah was pleased, and granted her lover’s armor and sword as a gift. She now travels alongside Victor as his most trusted companion, besides Barbas that is. Emily misses her old body, but has thankfully accepted the fact that she’d never recover it.

[victorluvsalice]

But of course, it’s not Egg Day without a visit from the Flower Bunny! They showed up and came in for a chat while Smiler was having some fun shaping the bonsai tree, so I had Alice go over to greet them -- and to my surprise, they were already listed as friends! O.o I don’t -- recall this happening? Maybe I did have Egg Day before and accidentally deleted it from the calendar or something. . .

Anyway, everyone ended up having a lovely chat with the Flower Bunny, even if it took me a bit to get them all to move out of the cramped back-door mud room. And even if the power went out YET AGAIN while they were chatting. Darn it, keeping an “Off The Grid” lot powered is kind of a task and a half, isn’t it? Fortunately the gang had just enough funds to keep buying wind turbines, so that’s what I did, moving them behind the barn so I could keep them out of the way. Ended up with a little wind farm of six, at which point supply started actually keeping up with demand. XD Not before Smiler’s “Techie” lifestyle started to slip, though! I’m sorry, Smiler -- there’s only so much I can do with what resources you have been given! 

Even with that, though, the day went along quite well -- Alice and Smiler both fulfilled their Flower Bunny social obligations with some stories (though it wasn’t quite enough to convince said Bunny to let Smiler have a friendly feed), then Alice went upstairs to start working on her first book (well, short story collection -- Tales From Wonderland, natch). Meanwhile, Smiler joined Victor in the garden to get the “Gardening” tradition fulfilled, then indulged on a little gaming time on their laptop before heading off to their second final! This time with less puking, hooray. :p Small victories!

[thevalicemultiverse]

Things You Need To Know About: The Secundus Verse

Tag: ~V: Secundus

Premise: It is a world ruled by Mad Science – not that that ever really affected Victor Van Dort. Living in a quiet cannery village in England, the son of wealthy upper-middle-class fish merchants, Victor expected his life to follow the path his parents had set out – marry well, take over the family business, and grow old and die in the same place every Van Dort before him had. And while his heart secretly longed for an adventure, he didn’t think he’d ever actually have one…until the day he encountered the mysterious steam train in the woods just outside his home…

This AU is a multifandom steampunk stew, originally conceived as a NaNoWriMo project for 2010. The general premise is loosely based off comics like Girl Genius and Narbonic -- mad scientists have a specific condition responsible for their reality-warping ways, and the world has changed appropriately -- in this case, into something much more steampunky. The verse is named after the city the stories are set in, which is the Mad Science Capital of the World (or, well, the Western bit of it anyway) and houses a variety of scientists from many disciplines and fandoms. You can read the fics that make up the verse here: The Secundus Verse. But for the newbies:

This verse picks up a couple of weeks before Corpse Bride would have happened (if Emily hadn't already been picked up by Dr. Finkelstein and Sally a few years in the past and Reanimated in Secundus). Victor is on the run from some of his bullies when he stumbles across a puzzling sight -- a steam train sitting in a clearing in the woods. The bullies are similarly confused, and force Victor to investigate the inside to figure out what's going on. They scatter when they hear the train's owner coming back -- Victor tries to follow their example, but ends up tangled a rope ladder he knocked out the door while hiding. The train lifts off with Victor still attached, and he is accidentally kidnapped to the fabled city of Secundus, Mad Science Capital of the World! The train's owners, "Doc" Brown and Marty McFly, are shocked to find him as an inadvertent passenger and take him in to calm down before bringing him home. Their hospitality and warmth, and his own growing interest in the mad science on display in the city, convinces Victor instead to stay with them, accepting a spur-of-the-moment job offer from Doc.

Victor quickly starts adapting to life in Secundus: getting the right sort of clothes, learning the lingo, and meeting the people. One of the first he meets is Alice Liddell, local monster hunter and clerk at a haberdashery. While initially a bit cold to the newbie, she rapidly warms up to him, and the two become firm friends. Victor also befriends her boss, Richard Dodgson (a steampunk cyborg hatter), local hero Sir Christopher Lloyd, and biologist Lewis Carroll, the owner of Wonderland Park. Finding himself surrounded by people who like him for the first time in his life, Victor definitely feels like he made the right choice in staying.

Unfortunately, his parents don't agree. To Victor's shock, they show up in the city, determined to drag him home. His protests that he's happy in Secundus fall on deaf ears, as they're convinced he's been put under mind control. They've also convinced his erstwhile fiancee and her family to join them on the trip -- while Victor quickly discovers that he likes Victoria Everglot, the meeting also clues him into the fact that he's fallen in love with Alice. He's reluctant to say anything, however, sure she could never feel the same way about him. Even after meeting and befriending Emily and getting encouraged by her to admit his feelings, he can’t convince himself that Alice would give him a chance.

Fortunately, fate intervenes, and after another stressful meeting with his parents, Victor blurts out that he loves her right in front of her. He attempts to flee -- but Alice catches up with him and assures him that she returns his feelings. A delighted Victor enters into a relationship with her -- and with Victoria finding romance with Sir Christopher, and Emily matched with Richard, it seems all will be well.

Sadly, this is not the case -- Victoria's parents are violently against having a "Touched" as a son-in-law, even one as honored as Sir Christopher, and do everything in their power to keep the lovebirds apart. Their attempt at engaging Victoria to another man are foiled when said man, Lord Barkis Bittern, is revealed as Emily's murderer, but it becomes readily apparent that they're only too willing to drag her away from Sir Christopher by force if necessary.

Rather more of a problem is Lewis's unarticulated crush on Alice, which leads him to decide to create a clone of her out of jealousy over her and Victor's relationship. The clone, Suzie, turns out a bit wrong, with tentacles in place of a lower body and a vicious, spiteful, greedy nature. She eventually decides to take over the entire city, installing herself as the Queen of Hearts and killing Lewis in the process. Barkis joins up with her while fleeing the police, and together they make a squadron of monsters and unleash them on Secundus.

Secundus, of course, fights back, and Victor and Alice are able to track the source of the problem to Wonderland Park. Victor is captured by the Queen and imprisoned to await transformation into her king -- the stress ends up triggering his own Creativity and turns him into an entomologically-focused mad scientist. Alice, Doc, Marty, Sir Christopher, Richard, and a few others mount an assault on the park's Looking-Glass House to rescue him and some other captives (including Victoria and Emily). After some initial success (including getting Barkis killed by the Queen's favorite footsoldier, the Executioner), they are captured by the Queen and taken to her throne room. Alice engages with her in an epic battle --

Which is interrupted by Victor showing up, having heard what was happening and absolutely furious. He kills the Queen via an injection of fast-growing, flesh-chewing spider eggs (it IS as gross as it sounds), and reveals his own Touched nature in the process. A guilt-based breakdown follows (he experimented on Emily when she came across him briefly), and he is forced to be sedated before the group leaves. He attempts to put himself in solitary confinement for a few days after he awakes, struggling with his new madness and the fear that he'll hurt his friends, but Alice is eventually able to calm him down and settle his mind, and he reemerges ready to start life as a proper mad scientist.

Of course, such a decision doesn't come without consequences -- disgusted that their son is one of "them," the Van Dorts disown him and leave the city. Happily, Doc and Marty are only too happy to pick up the slack as his family -- as is Alice, whom he marries that summer. Add on that the Everglots finally gave in and let Victoria marry Sir Christopher after he saved her from the Queen, and Emily and Richard followed suit in the fall, and Victor thinks things have turned out pretty darn well. He still has bad days, of course -- but now he has a safety net of people who love him to keep him from falling. And besides, how can one regret the decisions that led him to being able to make the most amazing butterflies in the world? Including one he can even ride...

Be advised that the main fanfic at least has some disturbing imagery – the same shouldn’t pop up in the threads, though! (Unless someone wants one set in the creepy flesh house…) At any rate, I'll tag if anything too creepy comes up, but keep in mind mad science isn't always pretty.

This verse has two distinct time periods and one special sub-AU that threads can be set in:

Welcome To Secundus: January 18- to early March 18- -- in story terms, about up to Chapter 15 of "Secundus." Victor's still quite new to Secundus, but he's adjusting as best he can. He has a couch to sleep on, a steady job at Dr. E. L. Brown's 24-Hour Scientific Services, and a rapidly-developing interest in the green-eyed warrior who works in the hat shop nearby. He'll happily offer to help you if you come wandering into the store -- shoving something into his hands and telling him to "drink this" will be met with rather more reluctance, though. (American McGee's Alice happened in abbreviated form, ending with the Jabberwock boss fight; Alice: Madness Returns never happened at all)

We're All Mad Here: March 18- onward -- after Chapter Twenty of "Secundus." Victor's gone Creative as a result of the Queen's machinations, and now no one can accuse him of not fitting in with his adopted city. While he still works at Doc's on a part-time basis, he's got a house now, and is busy setting up his own lab to show them all! Anybody want to see his butterflies? He's got ones that glow now! If a time period is not specified for a thread, it'll probably be set here, because I love my little mad science dork. (American McGee's Alice happened in abbreviated form, ending with the Jabberwock boss fight; Alice: Madness Returns never happened at all)

Secundus Madness Returns: Specialized AU where Alice and her family were never part of the Secundus community. Alice instead followed her normal path through the games. In addition, the Van Dorts were unable to convince the Everglots to accompany them when they went to Secundus and so pursued Victor alone -- and, without the added pressure to get him married to Victoria, gave up on him earlier, disowning him by February and leaving. There's also the small matter that Lewis, never getting jealous of Victor and Alice's relationship, also never made the Queen of Hearts, so THAT nonsense was avoided too. Victor and Alice met after the events of Alice: Madness Returns, and Alice found she fit in very well with Victor and his world, leading to a very unusual romance. This is the universe I came up with for my old Butterfly Boy blog, since I wanted to leave open the possibility with shipping him with a non-NPC Alice. And as he got said Alice -- delusional-beauty-alice -- and has actually had a child with her. . . Personality-wise, this Victor is functionally identical to We're All Mad Here -- a lepidopterist-based Touched who still works at Doc's shop from time to time. He's just also a new father on top of everything. Anyone's welcome to play in this verse -- you just have to specify this is the timeline you want when doing the starter/asking. (Well, unless you're his wife. I'll assume in that case.)

Common NPCs:

Alice Liddell (Welcome To Secundus/We're All Mad Here)

Victoria Everglot (Welcome To Secundus/We're All Mad Here)

Emily Cartwell (throughout)

Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (throughout)

Marty McFly (throughout)

Jennifer Parker (We’re All Mad Here/Secundus Madness Returns)

Clara Clayton (We’re All Mad Here)

Sir Christopher Lloyd (Welcome To Secundus/We're All Mad Here)

Richard Dodgson (throughout)

Lewis Carroll (Welcome to Secundus/Secundus Madness Returns)

Lightning the corgi (We’re All Mad Here/Secundus Madness Returns)

Ferdinand the riding butterfly (We’re All Mad Here/Secundus Madness Returns)

Shipping: Purely Victor/Alice. The timeline of the AU has him leaving Burtonsville before he ever meets Victoria, and while in "Secundus" (and by extension Welcome To Secundus/We're All Mad Here) he does end up encountering her (and Emily), by that time he's already fallen in love with Alice. She never showed up officially in the Secundus: Madness Returns timeline, and that world's Emily only appeared in a brief thread long ago that involved Victor being temporarily deaged. Add in that by this point that version of Victor has celebrated two anniversaries with his Alice, and -- yeah. Advances will be met with friendly but pointed comments about his girlfriend/wife depending on time period.

NPC Ships: Victoria Everglot/Sir Christopher Lloyd, Richard Dodgson/Emily Cartwell

Important Facts:

The Welcome To Secundus/We're All Mad Here NPC Alice has a different family structure, as I started "Secundus" before Alice: Madness Returns came out. Specifically, she's traded sister Lizzie for Uncle Charles Liddell and Aunt Susan Liddell, whom she lives with before marrying Victor. Also, her father's name is Henry, like the historical Alice's father. (On the multiverse level, I decided that his parents were evenly split between "Arthur" and "Henry" for the name and chose at random for the first -- so Secundus's is Henry Arthur, while Forgotten's is Arthur Henry.)

NPC Alice also has a different history. Much of her Wonderland is based on things she actually saw in real life -- a pertinent example is Richard Dodgson, hat-maker, who basically is Hatter without some of his worst personality flaws. The fire was genuinely started by Dinah knocking over a lamp -- no shenanigans here (and thus no Madness Returns plot)! And, most significantly, while Alice was committed afterward, she only stayed in Rutledge for eight years. Since the Queen of Hearts is a real person in this verse, I decided her personal journey against her madness and guilt ended with the Jabberwock boss fight (which I think anyone who has played the game will agree is a perfectly good final boss battle).

While Wonderland Park is always available as a location for threads (good place to catch Victor, in fact -- no matter the time period, he LOVES the place), Lewis Carroll is only available as an NPC in Welcome To Secundus and Secundus Madness Returns. Reason being (spoiler for fic!) the Queen kills him shortly before the shit hits the fan in Secundus. So if you want to play with him AND a Touched Victor, you want to go for the Secundus Madness Returns mini-verse.

Some common lingo thrown around the city is "Touched" (their name for a mad scientist), "Fabricated" (person created through biological processes, such as being sewn together from multiple corpses), "Automaton" (person created through mechanical processes, such as your average self-aware robot), "Reanimated" (person who has been raised from the dead), and "Mixed Bag" (some combination of the above that doesn't fit into a neat category -- Richard, for example, is a Touched but has replaced a lot of his body with mechanical components). I recommend reading the Lexicon, the City Guide, and the article on Atypical Scientific Neural Disorder on my website for more information.

Victor is quite friendly as a mad scientist and will happily show off his inventions to anyone who asks (and occasionally anyone who doesn't). Being a lepidopterist Touched, expect to see lots of weird and wild butterflies. Quick warning, though -- he does have a few nasty variations for people who annoy him. . .

It's not a good idea to threaten anyone Victor cares about within earshot of him, but ESPECIALLY not Alice, Doc, or Marty. They’re basically his new family and he will NOT hesitate to defend them with his life.

As for his old family. . .Victor has a sour relationship with his parents and will not appreciate being forced into contact with them. (Nell said that he ought to be “fixed,” after all.) He still has some regrets about how things turned out, though, leading to some complicated guilty moments.

Victor loves his pets, and has two (that I play) in the We're All Mad Here and Secundus Madness Returns periods -- Lightning, a super-excitable Pembroke Welsh corgi with a jagged white streak on his head; and Ferdinand, a giant blue butterfly that Victor uses as a steed when he needs to get places he can't get to by walking. He's quite willing to give rides on the latter (he'll show you how to actually get on without hurting Ferdy).

Most common NPCs to answer questions will probably be Doc Brown and Marty McFly, as I tend to set open threads/asks at the shop for ease of interaction with other people.

This verse is open to everyone!

[victorluvsalice]

Merry Christmas Marie!

@liddellvxndort As per your request, have a largely-fluffy scene of modern!Alice having a bonding moment with her new baby, your OC Valice daughter Madeline! :) Hope you enjoy!

---

“Well, hello there, little one. How are you?”

Madeline blinked up at her, little nose slightly wrinkled. “I imagine you’re at least feeling bettesr than you were earlier,” Alice continued, bouncing her newborn gently in her arms. “I know I am. Quite a mess coming out of there, wasn’t it? But you’re all clean and warm now.” She smiled at the little knit hat atop Madeline’s head. “And fashionable. You’ve got hats waiting for you at home too, you know, from a certain Mrs. Victoria White. And a nice big blanket too.”

Madeline yawned at that, tiny mouth stretching wider than she’d thought was possible. “Yes, I know – all that excitement was rather exhausting,” Alice agreed with a nod. “I’m pretty tired myself. But we’ve both got to stay awake until we’ve eaten. One of the nurses said she’d be back in a little bit to show me how best to feed you – and your father’s eventually going to return from his adventure to find the cafeteria with cake for me. Well – for us. I hope.” She frowned thoughtfully. “I wonder if he even remembers today is his birthday too anymore. You’ve rather thrown our plans into disarray.”

Madeline yawned again, then managed to work a fist free of her blanket, waving it about. “Right, right – ‘your plans?’” Alice filled in, chuckling. “‘What about my plans? Do you think I wanted to get shoved out of a nice warm belly through an absurdly tiny opening into this big, bright, noisy, smelly world?’” She shook her head. “Well, I can tell you – there’s a reason there’s so many platitudes about plans going wrong. And yes, the world is bright, and noisy, and smelly a lot of the time. But I think there’s more than a few things to recommend it too.”

Madeline squirmed, kicking at her blanket. “What, you don’t believe me? All right, I’ll provide a few examples,” Alice said, adjusting her grip. “Cake’s one – that’ll be nice, once you get old enough to eat it. And there’s butterflies too – little winged insects that come in all sorts of beautiful colors. Your father loves them – he’ll teach you all about them. And about music too – do you remember Victor playing the piano for you while you were still in there? I hope you do. I spent a lot of time next to him on the bench, listening to him play with a hand on my belly, feeling you kick to the tune.” She laughed again, softly. “You always seemed to want to dance. . .perhaps you’ll like to draw too. Art’s another nice thing, in my opinion. And books too, of course – with and without pictures, though I won’t blame you if it takes you a while to warm up to the latter. And. . .” She smiled, blinking back the tears. “And then there’s you. You right now are the nicest thing in the world. I – I didn’t think I’d ever have you, after I got out of Rutledge. I couldn’t even imagine having Victor. Who would want to waste their time on a broken girl who’d spent so much time in supervised hospitalization? But then he showed up one day in Houndsditch, and despite everything in the world trying to tear us apart, he stayed by my side. And then we came here, to New York, to make a better life for ourselves. . .and finally, we decided we might as well try for a family. And now – here you are.” She sniffled. “My little Madeline Elizabeth Van Dort.”

Madeline waved her fist again, little fingers flexing. “Hah – yes, hooray,” Alice agreed, giving her another bounce. “It’s going to be a hell of a transition for me, you know. Trying to be a mother. But I’ll do my best, I promise. I’m going to give you the life I had up until I was eight-and-a-half. And then, hopefully, the life I should have had beyond that.” She leaned down and kissed Madeline’s forehead. “I love you.”

Madeline made a “gah” noise, reaching for her face. “I’ll take that as ‘I love you to’ – ow!” Alice jerked her head away, then winced. “Or maybe not. . .I’m very sorry, but I’m going to have to insist you let go of my hair.”

-

[victorluvsalice]

Forgotten Vows Friday: Evolution of An Otherland

Since “Fixing You” is more or less the “official” introduction to Victor’s Otherland (after “Remembering You’s” brief glimpse post-Victor smashing the wall), I figured I might as well talk a little about how said Otherland has evolved over the years. There’s been a fair amount of changes, starting with:

-->Victor’s main domain used to be a field. Yeah, when I was writing some of the early bits of what would become the Forgotten Vows Verse, I had Victor often imagining himself in a field of some sort. I can’t pinpoint when I started thinking that loving the woods suited his character more, but I do know it had a big effect on the ending of “Remembering You,” as I’d originally planned for him to end up in a field after smashing the wall. I like the forest area I came up with a lot better, though. Trees are more him. (I think watching Nier: Automata around the same time and seeing the gorgeous Forest Kingdom stage there also helped.)

-->Once I decided on “forest, not field,” his main domain for a while was a place called the BurtonDead Forest. The idea there was that it was a forest that mimicked the layout of Burtonsville, with a town square, big trees where the anchoring buildings sat in reality, same paths in and out, that sort of thing. And it had random elements of the Land of the Dead thrown in -- like blue roses, and coffin benches.

And then, while writing the series, it slowly became apparent that Victor now hated his hometown, and the feeling was mutual, driven home by a line in “Fixing You” where Victor says he would have NEVER chosen his mental landscape to look like Burtonsville.

Okay then -- as you saw in my sneak peek, I adjusted the forested area appropriately. (And again, Nier: Automata’s Forest Kingdom was a big influence. Those big ravines are PERFECT for people with quad jumps.) I’m now calling it the Living Dead Forest, since that’s more indicative of what it is -- a place where Victor’s happy memories of the Land of the Dead merge with his favorite kind of natural retreat.

-->As mentioned before, “Silent Burtonsville” as Victor’s corrupted mental landscape has always been a thing ever since the initial “dry run” of “Fixing You’s” plot over on his old solo RP blog. I simply switched over from the traditionally foggy world to a rainy one because when I was editing, I didn’t think I was using the fog effectively, and I could more interesting things with the rain. (Example: When it starts bucketing down, Victor and Alice are in trouble from a certain enemy.)

-->Also as mentioned before, Victor’s music-themed domain used to be called “Musical Mayhem.” However, I came across the Alice fan-sequel Alice in Orchestralia while reading up books related to the original Wonderland duology on Wikipedia, and the name was too good not to reuse. So now it’s Orchestralia. Victor is mocked for the fun in “Fixing You,” though Alice notes she’s much worse at naming things.

-->Victor’s magic-themed domain, the Magic Tower (Victor isn’t very good at naming things either sometimes) used to be set in the middle of a desert, with just some dead scrubby flowers here and there. However, thinking about it later, I realized Victor would never want a domain to look so dull, so I’ve replaced it with the garden mentioned in the sneak peek (with strange plants and alchemical symbols grown in roses).

-->The domain that’s probably the best-developed in my head after the Living Dead Forest is probably the Butterfly Jungle -- mostly because I can just reuse ideas I’ve used for Secundus!Victor’s projects over there. XD The one that gives me the most trouble? Sketchbook World, Victor’s art-themed domain. I have a general sense of the aesthetic, it’s just hard to come up with creatures to populate it!

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: As Long As You Love Me -- So What’s Your Deal?

So last week we had the first meeting of Victor and Alice in the As Long As You Love Me AU. Today, you get the other snippet I’ve written -- well, I say snippet, this thing is practically a rogue fic chapter. The main thrust is Alice giving Victor her backstory, with a Bart Curlish-type twist. We start out with the pair still on the road, Victor wondering how the hell his life has led him to being kidnapped by a murder lady, when Alice notes something. . .

"You're awfully quiet."

Victor jerked upright, blinking. "Oh. Ah – I'm sorry," he said on automatic. "I just – d-don't really know what to say."

"It was an observation, not a complaint," Alice replied. "I'm not much good at conversation myself." She nodded at the radio. "You could put that on if you like."

Well, if she was offering. . .Victor hit the button, and the dying notes of some pop hit filled the car. "That was our girl Taylor Swift with 'Out Of The Woods!'" a perky female voice chirped. "Now, a quick news bulletin – police are still searching for the missing son of cannery magnate William Van Dort. The victim, twenty-year-old Victor Van Dort, was apparently kidnapped on his way home from Spring Park two weeks ago. After an initial ransom demand, there has been no further contact with Victor or his kidnappers. Police are welcoming any tips, and Mr. and Mrs. Van Dort have put up a $5,000 reward for any information leading to his safe return. Now, let's pick things back up with NSync's 'Bye Bye Bye!'"

Victor did not think NSync capable of 'picking him up' and turned the radio back off. Alice gave him an amused look as he did. "So that's who you are. I was wondering why you brought up canned fish."

"Yes, well – most everybody knows Van Dort Fish," Victor said, feeling a touch awkward. "I think we're sold in every supermarket in the States now, and every one back in England too."

"That would explain why I don't know – I can't remember the last time I was in a real grocery store," Alice told him. "It's almost always those convenience marts you see at gas stations. Which honestly hold so much food they might as well be groceries. I've seen some selling fruit before."

"I don't know if I'd like fruit from a place that always smelled of gas," Victor admitted.

GURGLGUGHGUGHGURGGLE

Alice slowly turned her head and arched an eyebrow at his middle. "I think your stomach disagrees," she said. "That is a very loud sound to come from someone so thin."

Victor blushed. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I – I h-haven't eaten in two days."

"Two days? And you didn't think it worthy of mention?" Alice shook her head as she looked down the road. "Well, we've got to run into a rest stop soon. I'm a bit peckish myself if I'm honest."

Victor stared at her. "I don't get you," he blurted, unable to stop himself in time.

"We've only been acquainted for a little over an hour. That's not much time to 'get' anyone."

"Y-yes, but – you're being so nice."

Alice glanced over at him. "Would you prefer it if I wasn't?"

"No! No!" Victor said hastily, holding up his hands. "But – it's just – y-you've still got their b-blood all over you."

Alice looked at her arm. "Right. . .I've got wet wipes, I'll use those before we go in."

How could she be so nonchalant about running around covered in blood?! How could she be the type of woman to stab a man to death without a single thought and yet offer to let him listen to the radio? "I – I need to know – why did you go after them? Hugo and the others?"

"Because they were vile, wicked people who made their living off the pain of others."

"Most people would have reported them to the police after finding out they did snuff films," Victor had to point out.

"Perhaps," Alice allowed. "But I'm not most people. Besides, people like Hugo almost always have an 'in' with the police. Better to make sure he gets what's coming to him, rather than just hope."

"So – so you've done this before?" Victor said, aware it was probably the dumbest question he could have asked.

"Yes – I know it's not really obvious, but I'm quite skilled at ending lives now," she said with a smirk, adjusting her grip on the wheel. "I'm – well, I suppose the flowery way of putting it would be 'holistic assassin.'"

Victor blinked. "A – what?"

Alice gave him a truly vicious grin. "I kill whoever Wonderland tells me needs killing, and inevitably they are people who would make the world a better place by their absence."

And now she was being completely confusing again. "W-Wonderland?"

Alice glanced at his baffled face. "I'm explaining this poorly, aren't I?" She drummed her fingers on the wheel, then tilted her head, listening to some invisible companion. "Good point – I should start at the beginning and stop when I come to the end, shouldn't I? All right, Victor, let me give you a bit of backstory – perhaps then you'll 'get' me. Sit up straight and pay attention."

Victor shifted in his seat. "I'm listening."

"Thank you." Alice brushed a bit of hair out of her eyes. "Up until the age of eight and a half years old, I was a perfectly ordinary, if very imaginative, little girl. My father, Arthur Liddell, was Dean of Christ Church college in Oxford university; my mother, Lorina, was a homemaker – well, I say that; we were rich enough to afford a maid, cook, and nanny – involved in various charitable causes; and my sister, Lizzie, was a free spirit who loved to read and planned to travel the world one day. We were all very happy together – it was the best life a young girl could hope for." Alice let out a nostalgic sigh, before her expression warped into one of utter hatred. "And then, like a boil, Angus Bumby erupted into our sphere."

Victor frowned. That name was familiar. . .where had he. . .the news! Yes, there had been something he'd seen in passing while browsing the web. . . "The psychiatrist?" he asked, tracking down the scrap of memory. "D-died after falling in front of a train?"

"Ah-ah – that's closer to the middle," Alice gently chastised. "We'll get to that. When I first knew him, he was an undergraduate of my father's – studying psychology, yes. He came to tea one day and, after one look at Lizzie, became totally obsessed with her. He stalked her incessantly, attempting to convince her that they were meant to be. Nothing would deter him from her – not her own loathing of him, not my father's repeated threats of police action, not even a restraining order. And then, when it finally got through his thick head that she would never willingly return his affections, he broke into our house one cold November night, raped and killed her, and used my nightlight – an antique Victorian lamp – to set the library ablaze." Her grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Our entire house went up in flames that night. I was the only one to escape."

Victor's jaw dropped. Terrifying as she was, to know she had experienced such tragedy. . .and so young. . . "Oh," he whispered. "I – I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault – and brace yourself, it only gets worse," Alice replied. "I was so traumatized by the loss of everyone and everything close to me, save my favorite toy rabbit, that I just – shut down. Retreated to the depths of my mind, unable to face the real world. After a year in hospital to treat my burns, it was decided I would be removed to Rutledge Asylum to recover."

"Rutledge–" Wait a minute, she'd said that everything was fine up until she was eight and a half – which meant – "At nine years old?!" Victor demanded, stunned. "That's – that's absurd! Who commits a child?"

Alice went very quiet, then turned to face him. For the first time since he'd met her, she looked genuinely surprised. "You're the only person I've ever talked to about this who thought there was something wrong with my incarceration there," she said softly. "Everyone involved saw it as a necessary evil."

"Bullshit," Victor replied. He wasn't the type to swear much, but this felt like the right sort of situation. "Why didn't they ask one of your relatives to help?"

"Ah – I didn't have any," Alice explained, eyes back on the road. "Mama and Papa were both only children, and I was a surprise child born ten years after my sister. Mama's parents had been killed in a car accident before I was even conceived, and Papa's mother died when I was still a baby. The only one I ever knew was Grandpa Liddell, and he passed about two years before the fire."

Some of the fire went out of him. "W-what about family friends?"

"Well, my father was well-liked around Christ Church, but as you might expect, most of his work colleagues balked at taking in a catatonic nine-year-old," Alice said sardonically. "Mama's friends were much the same – willing to coo over what a tragedy it was, but not willing to do much about it. The maid and cook had already left for greener pastures, and our family lawyer was only interested in how much of my inheritance he could sneak away in a cloud of legalese. The only one who wanted me was Nanny, but she'd been left rather financially strapped by the loss of her job. She visited me now and then, but she simply couldn't afford to take me in. And when she did finally find another career. . ." Alice chuckled. "Well. It wasn't exactly child-friendly, let's put it that way. And no orphanage wanted a child who simply sat around staring at the wall – except for Houndsditch, but that's again getting ahead of myself." She sighed. "Simply put, Victor – I had no one. The only thing Littlemore Hospital could do with me was foist me on Rutledge so I wasn't taking up one of their beds."

Victor dropped his head. "I see. . .it's still terrible."

"It's the way of the world," Alice said philosophically. "I wasn't the only child in there. It isn't only adults who lose their grip on reality." She rolled her eyes. "Not that I would recommend a stay in Rutledge to anyone. I wouldn't say it was as bad as good old Bedlam in the bad old days, but – the doctors found me an interesting curiosity, the nurses considered me a nuisance, and the orderlies thought of me as an easy source of rough fun."

Victor blanched. "They didn't–"

"Not that kind of fun," Alice quickly corrected him. "Though there was a pair of twins who liked to push as far as they could in that direction. I think only the fact the whole place had cameras stopped them." She smirked. "They won't be tormenting any more young girls in their care, I can tell you that much."

". . .So they were the first?" Victor asked in a small voice.

"No – I sliced one of them with a spoon after they attempted to ruin my rabbit with porridge, but actual killing came later." She hit the turn signal and moved smoothly into the right-hand lane. "We've lost the track of our story – back to business. So I was committed to Rutledge, and proceeded to spend the next ten or so years insensible to the world. Eventually, Wonderland finally got sick of me hiding out within myself, kicked me in the arse, and dragged me forcibly back to heal my broken mind."

Wonderland again. "What is Wonderland?" Victor asked, absently twisting his hands together.

"An imaginary land I came up with on my seventh birthday," Alice explained, glancing at a passing sign. "Full of nonsensical creatures and people. I visited often in the year and a half before the fire, making up new areas and new residents – I lacked for playmates when I was small, so imaginary friends were often all I had. After the loss of my family, however, the place became corrupted by my growing madness. I didn't realize what had happened until the White Rabbit came to fetch me one stormy night. I soon discovered the Queen of Hearts – one of the realm's many monarchs – had turned into a worse tyrant than normal, morphing into a terrible tentacle monster and subjugating everyone across the various sub-domains. The only way to restore Wonderland to anything resembling 'normal' was to slaughter my way across it, killing her monsters and corrupted allies before taking on the Queen herself."

Victor bit his lip. "I see. . ."

"Trying not to ask if it gave me a taste for murder?" Alice teased, giving him one of those dangerous grins. Victor shrank back in his seat. "I wouldn't say that was the catalyst. Perhaps I became rather inured to the sight of violence, but I didn't intend to turn my Vorpal Blade on anyone from the real world. Even in Wonderland, I killed only because I had to – because the alternative was staying a comatose blob in Rutledge. The Queen was simply my own darkness and madness – slaughtering her made me better. Or, at least, sane enough to be discharged. Everyone else along the way – well, I could bring them back with just a thought. Doesn't really count as murder then, does it?"

Victor knotted up his fingers. "No. . .it's just – surprising your mind would jump to killing things as a way to save yourself."

"A bit dark, perhaps," Alice allowed. "But answer me this – did your childhood dreams ever include slaying monsters or battling in war?" She glanced at him. "Or seeing the end of some hated bully?"

The image of Gordon Tannen disappearing with a scream down the throat of Blue Ben swam before his eyes. He swallowed and pulled at his shirt collar. "Point taken."

"We're never as innocent as we like to pretend," Alice said with a triumphant smirk. The turn signal clicked on again, and she proceeded down an exit. "I've just gone ahead and stopped pretending. But when I was first released from Rutledge, I was still trying my best. My great hope was that, after killing the Queen and restoring my mind – mostly – I could put all the battling behind me and start a new life. So I was discharged to the Houndsditch Home For Wayward Youth, an orphanage for troubled and destitute children. It was a work/study sort of situation – I earned my keep doing chores and helping with the children, and I also received outpatient therapy from the proprietor." Her fingers tightened again on the wheel. "One Dr. Angus Bumby."

Victor blinked rapidly. "Wait – what? You – they never caught him?!"

"Obviously not, considering you knew him as a psychiatrist from wherever you heard about his death," Alice pointed out, making him feel rather an idiot. "I don't think they let convicted felons – let alone sex offenders – work with children. How he slipped through the police's fingers, I don't know. My only guess is that he had a friend somewhere on the force who could destroy any evidence of his involvement in the fire. Which would also help explain how he got away with his other activities for so long." She gave Victor a piercing look, filled with old but still-smoldering fury and disgust. "Houndsditch, as I later found out, wasn't really an orphanage. It was a training ground for child prostitutes. The supposed savior of the poor and lost hypnotized his charges into forgetting their past, then sold them on the black market to the vilest of the vile."

Victor's stomach lurched, sending a gush of bile up his throat. He swallowed it back with an effort. He desperately wanted to accuse of her lying, of making things up to justify her hatred – but the look in her eyes. . .the truth of her words was undeniable under the force of her glare. "Oh my God. . ."

"Yes, not exactly the philanthropist he always took pains to paint himself as," Alice said, as they came up to a light. She checked for green, then went left. "He had similar plans for me – he lured me in with the promise I could forget the fire and move on with my life, when his actual goal was to make sure I could never finger him for the crime by turning me into one of his empty-minded little puppets. He claimed there were men lined up and waiting for a 'raving delusional beauty,' but I have trouble believing I wouldn't have ended up as his personal sex slave." Her jaw clenched. "Lizzie and I look rather alike, you see."

It all abruptly clicked together in Victor's mind. "He was the first. You pushed him into that train, didn't you?"

"Eventually," Alice confirmed. "I didn't realize who he was when I first arrived. Even without his help, I'd repressed a lot about the fire and what had happened immediately before. It took about a year's stay in Houndsditch and another trip through a rotting Wonderland – this time corrupted by Bumby's avatar, the Dollmaker, and the Infernal Train of forgetting he had me build – before I understood the truth. And then, when I did. . .I confronted him in Moorgate Station. I told him I would see him charged. And he laughed in my face. Said it was highly unlikely anyone would ever believe the words of a former lunatic. Especially mine against his. So when it looked like he would escape justice–" One hand came up and mimed a shove. "I decided to bring justice to him."

A lifetime of societal rules and regulations demanded that Victor be horrified – that he call the woman driving a monster, condemn her for declaring herself judge, jury, and executioner. But the only horror he felt was at the cruel twists of fate that had led her to do the deed in the first place. Damn it all, how could anyone blame her for wanting revenge? Tell her that someone like that – a rapist, a murderer, a – a child pimp – deserved to live? If he'd been in her place, Victor was almost certain he would have done the exact same thing, and damn the consequences. "Good," he said softly. "If anyone needed to die, it was him." He hesitated, then added, "But – why keep on killing, if you'd avenged your family and saved the orphans?"

"Because. . ." Alice pursed her lips and drummed her fingers on the wheel, contemplating. "Because when I pushed him onto those tracks, saw the train whisk away his body. . .it felt – right. Like my will and the universe were finally in line. And when I exited the station, I entered a world where Wonderland – the nicer version – and London had merged together. A world where I didn't have to go catatonic or wander about ranting and raving to see my friends, nor endure the East End's ugly scenery to go shopping or say hello to passing people on the street. A world that I could navigate on my own terms. I couldn't help thinking of it as a reward. Proof that the universe approved of my actions."

"I'm sure the police didn't," Victor couldn't help saying.

Alice grinned as they approached another light. "They didn't think anything at all of them. I was never caught. I fled, of course – I fully expected a manhunt for me to start before the day was out. But then every paper started reporting Bumby's death as a tragic accident. And when I did a little investigating. . .well. I'd already known there were no human eyewitnesses to my crime – the station had been strangely empty that afternoon. But I thought for sure the security cameras would have fingered me." Up went the point-making finger as they turned into a parking lot. "Except – right as we confronted each other – every camera at Moorgate mysteriously failed. A station-wide glitch. They were restored an hour later, but by then it was too late to see me. And none of the other evidence they could dig up could conclusively prove I was there."

Victor stared as they parked. "But – that's just a coincidence," he insisted, as much to himself as her. "You can't – you can't seriously believe that the universe covered your tracks for you."

"'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, is the truth,'" Alice replied. "Sherlock Holmes. I would have passed it off as a mere lucky fluke myself if, when I was trying to figure out whether I not I should return to Houndsditch, Caterpillar flew by and insisted I needed to take a different path. I followed him, and ended up at the lair of a few of Bumby's compatriots." She turned off the car. "I knew what Bumby did, but not where he did it or who with. How could I have found that place if I hadn't been guided there? But the clincher was these three men, all built like brick privies, promptly descended on me – whether out of anger, greed, or sheer lust – and I got a knife away from one of them and slaughtered the lot. Without even a bruise for my trouble." She pulled out her keys and spun them around her finger. "I'll give Bumby this – he was right that we all have a purpose. And mine is to destroy those who would otherwise get away with their crimes. To stop the other Bumbys of the world, in all their guises. Child slavers. Pimps. Rapists." She glanced at him. "Snuff film directors."

For a moment, Victor was back in that dark closet, listening to the meaty thwuks and thunks outside. "So you've just – wandered around, finding people to kill?"

"Not quite 'wandered' – as I told you, Wonderland tells me where I need to go, and who my targets are," Alice corrected. "My friends can be a bit cryptic at times, but they have yet to steer me wrong. Open the glove box and get me the wet wipes, will you?"

"What? Oh," Victor said, looking around and realizing they were parked in front of a diner. He fiddled with the glove compartment and got it open, handing over the package. He watched for a second as she pulled one out and ran it over her arms. "You – you don't kill everyone you meet, do you?" he asked hesitantly.

Alice smiled. It was – a surprisingly nice smile. "You're still here."

"But why?"

Victor regretted the words the moment they left his lips. Did he really want her to think about why he was with her in the car alive? His survival was dependent on the goodwill of a set of very vivid hallucinations, and if this provoked them. . .

"Because Cheshire says you're important," Alice replied, doing her face. "He wouldn't say why, but it appears your purpose and mine intersect for a while. And goodness knows I could use some company that doesn't originate from inside my own skull." She balled up the now-pink wipe and stuck it in her pocket. "Let's get some food in you. And then. . .where's your hometown? Or closest equivalent to, as you sound an expat like myself."

Victor surprised himself by laughing at that. "Yes, well. . .currently it's a little town called Hill Valley," he said. "Er – do you have any idea where we are now?"

"I wasn't paying that much attention to the names, but I know we're in the southern part of California. Where's Hill Valley?"

"Up north – if I remember correctly, Route 395 goes right through it," Victor told her.

"Excellent. Then we'll head north." She grinned at him, friendly with just a hint of danger. "And we'll see what happens along the way."