#it's a short course and it's mild - i'm just glad i was able to get an emergency appointment before i left

[ejunkiet]

🏔️

[ozzgin]

Yandere! Edward Scissorhands x Reader

On her quest to make at least one sale for the day, Avon lady Peg cautiously steps into the eerie mansion of a known inventor. She soon learns that it has long been devoid of life, with the exception of Edward, a synthetic human creation left unfinished. She returns to the bright suburbs accompanied by the poor young man, earning the curious stares of the bystanders. Among the colorful houses, however, Edward spots a gloomy dwelling that the neighbors seem to avoid. Who is the mysterious occupant?

Winner of the Halloween Poll! A short gothic romance in the style of Tim Burton, where two outsiders find solace in each other.

[Horror Masterlist]

The light yellow car slows down as it reaches the driveway and the engine stops. Peg makes her way out and hurries over to the passenger side, keys dangling between her fingers. She helps Edward out once she sees him awkwardly shuffling in the seat, unsure of his next step.

"You'll love it here. I just know it."

The woman hastily closes the door behind the tall, peculiar visitor. She places a gentle hand on his back and guides him down the asphalted path. 

Edward's gaze briefly wanders further into the street. The houses are slithering along neatly, their vivid colors somewhat tiring to his unaccustomed eyes. Yet one of them sticks out. Strangely enough, it reminds him of home. A rusty iron fence surrounds the property, and patches of lush, unkempt vegetation creep through the bars. The walls are dark and crooked and the black tiled roof casts a shadow over the entire abode.  

"Who lives there?" The question escapes his lips almost unconsciously. 

Peg follows his gaze, eager to introduce the area to him. Once she settles on the source of his inquiry, her smile falters for a second.

"Oh, my. That's, well..." she lets out a forced laugh and encourages him to continue walking. "I'm glad you're already so curious, Edward dear. You'll get to know everyone soon, don't worry about it."

One more push and the guest has securely entered the house. As she prepares to twist the knob into a lock, she peeks out for the last time, surveying the surroundings with mild worry. A neighbor is walking their dog, whistling in the distance. As they approach the mysterious building, the animal begins to bark and the owner scurries to the other side of the street. 

"He's so...strange!" one housewife exclaims, sipping on her lemonade.

Joyce is biting the temple tips of her sunglasses as she carefully inspects the dark haired man, currently using his sharp, spear fingers as barbecue skewers. She's batting her long eyelashes, entranced. She does like her men on the enigmatic side. In fact, she might just have a word with him. She folds the sunglasses and hangs them by the collar of her low-cut blouse. Of course, she doesn't forget her famous ambrosia salad as she departs from the rest of the fidgeting women. 

"Ed, darling. You must try out my signature dish!" she daintily holds up a spoon and attempts to feed the pale newcomer. 

He cautiously opens his mouth, unsure of how else to respond to the gesture. He tries to find Peg within the crowd, hoping she'll give him a new task away from this uncomfortably touchy person. And as luck would have it, his savior has come to the rescue. Peg doesn't hesitate to pull Edward away, cheerfully mumbling a domestic excuse. 

Once freed from the shackles of awkward social interactions, the man tiptoes his way out of the yard and down the street. He doesn't like the constant murmur of people talking. He doesn't understand the jokes, the loud laughs, the complicit slaps on the back. He feels as if he's on the other side of a glass window, separated from an audience demanding cooperation despite him only being able to discern muffled, discontinued meaning. 

None of this was mentioned in the Etiquette book. Or perhaps it has always been there, and the Inventor never got to the specific chapter. Died lamentably before he could explain how one navigates neighborhood BBQ parties.

Edward's step is clumsy and he doesn't have a particular direction in mind. In his scattered daze he nearly trips over something and turns around apologetically. You're sitting on the ground, resting against the fence. The book you were reading is now thrown aside, as you're too busy massaging the ankle that just got kicked by the sudden intruder. You look up, ready to scold the responsible airhead, but your eyes stop on an eccentric feature that catches your attention. 

"What happened to your hands?"

You're a little embarrassed by your unexpected, tactless curiosity. The man seems entirely unfazed, however.

"They weren't finished. I'm incomplete."

"Hmm. Isn't everyone?" 

Edward considers the question and recalls the people he's met so far. Peg and her husband. Joyce. The children. 

"But they don't look unfinished. They have all the body parts."

You chuckle slightly at the literal observation. 

"Well, you can't check them on the inside, can you? Most people have missing parts. Or broken ones."

"Where would you get it fixed, then?" Edward is startled by this new discovery. 

"You learn to fix it yourself. Otherwise it just stays like that, maybe forever."

He lifts his hands and stares at them. Is he going to be like this forever, too? He hasn't pondered the concept of time much before Peg had found him. Yet now, 'forever' feels unsettling. 

"Do your hands bother you that much?"

Edward doesn't know how to reply. He wishes he could resemble everyone else, that much is true. Then people wouldn't stare. And they wouldn't be afraid. As he mulls over the right words, he suddenly becomes aware of his surroundings. It's the house he noticed earlier, when he first arrived here. Which means...

He examines the person before him. They, too, look complete. So why?

"Why does everyone avoid this place?" He remembers the gathering he just left. "You weren't at the neighborhood party either. I thought all neighbors will show up."

"I was never invited."

"Why?"

You shrug.

"You're also not currently attending, are you? Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"I took a break. It's too loud. Can I sit here?"

Before you can answer, he drops himself next to you with a thud. His fingers swish together as he adjusts his posture. 

"Oh, sorry, I forgot. What is your name? I'm Edward."

"Uhh... (Y/N)." You mutter, taken aback by his direct approach. What an odd fellow, you think to yourself.

"Nice to meet you, (Y/N)." As he scans your features again, he feels compelled to add, "You look rather pretty."

A faint blush takes over your face and you twirl your hair in an attempt to hide it. Is he mocking you? You genuinely can't read his intentions. 

"You don't look too bad yourself, Edward. I think the hands add to your charm." You eventually find the confidence to blurt it out, quickly following up with a laugh.

His heart tightens and he almost forgets about his hazardous extremities, having to stop himself from touching his now throbbing chest. He's never malfunctioned before. It doesn't feel like anything is wrong, either. Your comment, for some reason, made him very happy. 

(Y/N). Looking back to everything that happened, he's glad. Maybe he should thank Joyce next time he sees her. He wouldn't have met you otherwise. 

As the sun begins to set, you remind Edward that it's impolite to leave a party for too long. He protests, stating he prefers your company. As flattered as you are, you rephrase it as Peg being worried about his sudden disappearance and he feels bad enough to agree on his early retirement. On the condition he can hang out with you again. Once you guarantee a reunion, he makes his way back home. 

As he lays on Kim's bizarrely fluid mattress, tucked into the layered pastel sheets, Edward is overwhelmed by a strange, unfamiliar warmth. A wide, childish smile is plastered on his face and won't go away. Each time he closes his eyes to fall asleep, he pictures the encounter. (Y/N). It's a nice name, isn't it? He finds it particularly charming. He whispers it out loud in the dark room, as if making sure it's real. Reminding himself you're real. 

He can't properly explain it. It's the same thick window that stands between him and the world, but you're next to him. An outsider. A rejection. The idea that someone else out there shares his struggle has cleansed him of any longing for acceptance. Why bother with a sea of foreign, smudged faces? Peg becomes Joyce, and Joyce fades into Marge, and they all become a generic crowd of smiling pleasantries. It's a funny thing, being among humans. Once he left his old mansion behind, he realized how truly alone he had been. Still, being surrounded by people he could not comprehend made him feel even more lonely. That is the tragedy; sitting at the grand table, empty handed, unseen, unheard. Misunderstood. No one's fault, really. It just happens. But every now and then, if fate so allows, one might just find another starved attendant. With the same glint in their eyes, of someone not belonging. 

Oh, he can't wait to see you again.

It's unusually noisy outside for a late evening and you can't help but glance out the window. That's when you notice the roaring crowd, trampling in a hysterical march of unknown purpose. You have a bad feeling about it. The horned moon leers down at you like a bad omen and you quickly throw a jacket on, sprinting into the street. 

"What's this all about?" you shyly ask the nearest group. 

"Witch!" Esmeralda scowls at you with a pointing finger. 

Peg notices the commotion and runs towards you, completely disregarding the prophetic warnings of the woman. 

"Oh, (Y/N). It's Edward. They..." she sighs, frustrated. "I know I don't have the right to ask you this, but you're his friend. Could you please make sure he's alright?" Her voice is pleading and regretful. 

You nod without saying anything else. Before you turn to leave, you swiftly gesture to Esmeralda, raising your index fingers up and mimicking a devilish look. She gasps and throws her hands together in prayer.

It had to be done. 

Meanwhile, Edward has reached his old mansion and just now stopped in the entrance hall, panting anxiously. He feels nauseous and helpless. It's not that he's being chased by the enraged members of the neighborhood that alarms him. He cannot stand the possibility of not being in your presence ever again. How frightful, how agonizing! He claws at a nearby column in turmoil. 

It can't be, it won't happen. He'll tear his way through the masses if he has to. Oh, what a terrible thought. His Inventor would roll in the grave if he knew the violent ruminations that plague him right now. But if he has no other choice...Would he go as far as taking someone's life if it was for your sake? Well, technically speaking, his sake, really. He wants to see you. He needs to.

Panic slowly creeps through his body. The thoughts are piling up in an erratic hum and he can't find his focus again. He paces back and forth, attempting to recollect himself, but there's an urgency that drowns him in cold sweat. 

"Edward?"

The ringing stops. A switch has been flipped and he snaps his head in the direction of the voice. It's you. Completely spellbound, he extends his hand to touch your face, verifying whether you might be an illusion of his feverish desires instead. The blade pierces your skin, leaving a bright red trail behind. 

"I'm so sorry-" he cries out, realizing his act. 

You softly lower his hand with a reassuring smile. 

"It's just a small cut. Don't worry about it. I think we have more important matters at hand, won't you agree?" you joke as you nudge your head towards the window. 

"I spoke to the police officer on the way here, so we shouldn't have any surprise guests." 

You remove your jacket and throw it over some dusty furniture before climbing up the stairs. Halfway through you briefly stop and urge Edward to join you. He simply nods.

When the issue is settled and everything has been said and done, will you return to your miserable exile? Won't the neighbors become suspicious if you're frequently seen sneaking up the hill? Perhaps even the utmost secrecy won't prolong the visits much. 

And then what?

As he considers the potential scenarios, he becomes increasingly impatient. The joy of your return has been tainted by the impending doom of abandonment. He wishes you'd just stay with him here, forever. 

Once the conclusion has been reached, he lets out a quiet apology. Maybe to you, maybe to the beloved Inventor, maybe even to himself. He inserts a finger into the entrance lock and silently twists it. 

You must forgive him. Or at least try to understand him. He just loves you too much, (Y/N). Is it truly such a hideous crime? To want to keep you safe? If so, he will live with the guilt. But not without you. 

You're home. 

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

Birthday Wishes - Arthur Leclerc

<word count - 1657>

Tonight was going to be the third date you would have with Arthur, and you were beyond excited. You had immensely enjoyed the other two dates you had been on with him, and he truly was one of the sweetest guys you had ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

He had said he was going to meet you at the restaurant, so you got yourself ready so that you could be there a bit early. You didn't want to come across as too eager, but being early never hurt anyone. 

Thankfully, the restaurant was a short walk from your apartment, so you set off in the mild Monaco sunset. When you arrived and walked into the restaurant, you scanned the room, but there was no sign of Arthur anywhere.

You walked up to the front of house, ready to ask for the table since you assumed he wasn't there yet. "Hi, how can I help you?" the kind faced lady at the desk asked with a smile. 

"I've got a reservation for two, I'm pretty sure it should be under Leclerc?" you asked, remembering that Arthur had told you about the reservations. "I think someone is already here, follow me," she said, walking out through the restaurant and taking you to one of the tables near the back.

Then you spotted Arthur, sweetly smiling at you as you approached. His eyes were glued to you through your every move, not able to get over how stunning you looked. He scrambled to stand and greet you as the waitress walked away.

"Hey, wow, you look absolutely incredible," he complimented, pulling you in for a hug and kissing your cheeks.

"Thank you very much," you blushed, never getting used to him complimenting you. "How are you?" you asked as he pulled your chair out for you - just like a true gentleman. "I'm great thanks, you?" He countered, pushing your chair in before sitting back down on his own. "Yeah, good thanks," you nodded, picking up the menu.

Both of you ordered what you wanted, and you were glad to be able to talk to him. "What have you been up to today?" you asked, gazing at him from across the table. "All of my family came over, like my Mom and my brothers, so it was pretty hectic," he smiled, his dimples becoming more prominent.

"Any special occasion?" you asked, knowing that the whole of his family was often very busy within the world of motorsports. "It's actually my birthday today," He sheepishly said, emitting the detail that he'd rescheduled family dinner to come out with you.

"Arthur! You should've told me, we could've done something more special," you playfully scolded with feigned anger.

"Being with you is special enough for me," he quietly muttered, so quiet, in fact, that you barely heard it. You weren't even sure if you were meant to hear it, so you smiled warmly at him.

From across the table, Arthur took your hand and held it in his, your fingers slotting together like pieces of a puzzle. "Happy birthday, Arthur," you said as his thumb mindlessly ran up and down your skin. "Thank you, Y/N," he responded.

A few moments later, an idea popped into your head. "Excuse me for a second, I've got to use the bathroom," you said, standing and walking in the direction of the bathroom. When you were certain that Arthur couldn't see you, you slipped off to the front of house.

"Excuse me, it's my friend's birthday today, and I was wondering if we could do something for it?" you asked, approaching the desk, "I know I should have given notice, but I only just found out it's his birthday, sorry," you rushed, not wanting them to feel pressured.

"Of course we can, you're with the young man in the corner, yes?" she confirmed, and you were excited to see what they had up their sleeve.

"Yes, thank you so much!" you thanked, walking back the way you came to avoid suspicion from Arthur. "Ah you're back, I was starting to think you'd ran away from me," He joked, glad to have you back.

He had dated a fair few girls recently, but none of them could bring him the same sense of calm and contention like you could. It was like a strange feeling of familiarity, even if he hadn't known you long.

"I couldn't run from you, especially on your birthday," you lightly chuckled, taking his hand back in yours from across the table.

The two of you finished your main courses, and your plates were cleared away. You kept on looking over his shoulder to spot if they were coming, but you were trying to not make it look obvious.

Arthur just assumed you'd seen a famous person - you were in Monaco after all. "Look, I know tonight is far from over, but I was just wondering if-" He started, but was interrupted by you starting to sing happy birthday as one of the waitresses appeared in front of you with a cake.

There was a sparkler, spitting sparks of light up in little shoots of orange. Of course, there were the usual candles, their crimson flames dancing in the still air of the restaurant. A few people around you joined in as you sang, the cake being placed in front of Arthur.

His face was lit up, but you couldn't tell if it was the candles or the pure joy in his near Cheshire cat grin. He couldn't help but stare at you through the flames, wondering how he manged to be on a date with someone so thoughtful.

As the song came to a close, you told him, "Make a wish! But don't tell me, or else it won't come true,". Arthur didn't even have to think twice about what his wish was going to be, and he blew out the candles as people around cheered for him.

The other diners in the restaurant resumed the normal operations of the night, and the smile on his face was priceless. Every ounce of joy he had in his body was being put on full display for you to see. "I'll say it now, I don't know what kind of cake this is, so I'm sorry if you don't like it," you nervously chuckled, not having thought that through before.

"It could be my least favourite in the world and I am still going to eat it since you went through the effort to get it for me," he said, not really caring how cliche it sounded as the words left his mouth. "Would you like a slice?" He asked, picking the candles and sparklers out of the sponge.

"Yes please," you chirped, passing him your plate, "But birthday boy gets the first slice, I don't make the rules," you laughed, holding your arms up defensively.

"You're right, but, I think the birthday boy has the complete authority to overturn that rule when there is a beautiful lady in front of him who deserves the cake more," he said, plating up a slice for you and passing it over to you.

"Unfortunately, I can't argue with the birthday boy, so I will just have to deal with the burden of having the first slice," you laughed with feigned hurt, waiting for him to get his slice before starting yours. "And, luckily for you, chocolate just so happens to be my favourite," he said, swallowing his mouthful of pillowy chocolate sponge.

"I didn't get a choice, so I'm glad you like it," you told him. It was the thought that counted, but there was just a certain feeling that getting your favourite cake on your birthday provoked.

"Thank you for this, I really appreciate it," he said, unable to quash the tingling feeling that spread across his chest, and the butterflies that fluttered around in his stomach. He felt this way on your first date, but the intensity increased every time he saw you.

You collared the waiter over to pay the bill, fully prepared to pay for dinner as the present you weren't able to give him since you had only just found out that it was his birthday. "Oh, no, allow me," he dismissed the unspoken offer, gently pushing your hand away from the card reader.

"It's your birthday, the least I can do is get you dinner," you told him, going for the machine again. "And because it's my birthday, I want to treat you," he said, quickly tapping it on the reader with a beep.

"Next time, it's on me," you told him, with a stern yet playful tone to your voice. You had said that after your first date, and your second, but he clearly wasn't one for listening to your instruction.

You stayed for a short while after, discussing what you were getting up to the next day, and when you were both free. "After you," he said, opening the door for you as you walked out into the Monaco night.

"Thank you for dinner tonight, I've had a wonderful time," you smiled, standing beside him under the moonlight. "It's my pleasure, I've had a brilliant time too," he told you, watching as your eyes glinted in the luminance of the moon.

It was almost as if all of a sudden, h was bombarded with these overwhelming feelings of love and wonder. He just wanted you.

"Can- Can I?" He asked, leaning in so close that you could feel his breath on your face. His heart was pounding out of his chest so hard you could practically hear it. "Yeah," you nodded, closing the small gap between you.

Your lips came together, and you could still taste the the decadent chocolate on his tongue. Reluctantly, he pulled himself away and gazed into your eyes. "My wish came true," he grinned, hoping his other wishes with you would come true.

A/N - I was writing Charles' birthday thing last night, but then I quickly realised that it was Arthur's birthday today, so I quickly whipped this up. Sorry if it not great... Requests are open as always! Love you 💖

|masterlist|

[s-b-party]

Home is There and Here With You

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59810080

Includes: Light angst, Mild hurt/comfort, Memory loss, Friendship, Platonic relationships

Yuu has a moment of self-reflection of sorts after contemplating about the overblot incidents, leading to homesickness and fear of losing memories. Cue Grim trying his best to comfort them.

When all was said and done, Yuu was glad that the guys made it out of their overblotted states. Were they wrong? Yeah but it was also hard not to feel bad for them. Of course Yuu had found the same routine of needing to stop somebody's overblot annoying to do, but at the end of it, they were glad to see things get resolved. Glad...but also sad.

It was hard to admit after seeing all the times the guys had others look after them when the blot had dissipated. There were always people there to bring them back home.

The red tyrant...

The lion...

The sea witch...

The cobra...

The fair queen...

The watchman...

The dragon...

They all had people fighting to bring them out of their manic states. Were they all good friends? Not exactly, but they definitely had special bonds that the Prefect could see even if nobody else could. While some were very close, others were closer than strangers but perhaps a bit too distant to be called "friends".

All Yuu could think about was their old world and the people that were left behind. Sure, they made many friends here along the way and they have been here for quite some time, but they couldn't stay in Twisted Wonderland forever. It's not as if they chose to leave their old family & friends behind in the first place. Homesickness had reared its ugly head when they thought about their loved ones both here and back there.

The smiles on their parents' faces, warm hands hugging them, their friends' cheers at their competitions...

"Myahaha! What's wrong, my henchman? Surely the great Grim can solve your problem! Is your stomach hurting?" The direbeast sauntered his way to Yuu who was currently curled up on the sofa in a blanket while lost in thought. One short breath in and one long breath out, maybe it was time to stop keeping it in...

"I-I'm scared, Grim. I know Crowley said he'd find a way...but what if there's no way home for me? I was dragged here by the Dark Mirror even though I have no magic. I...I'm so scared, Grim. I'm starting to forget things. I don't know if the overblot incidents got to me and jumbled up some of my memories. It's just- I can't stop this fear of forgetting my old life. There's probably something that can fix my foggy memories of my old life, but even if I do find a way home, what'll happen to my memories of you and everybody else here? Will you all disappear...just like a dream? I already lost my family and friends once, I don't want to go through that again when I go home."

Lips trembling and eyes watering, Yuu laid bare their worries which gnawed at their soul for quite some time now.

".......I'm sorry, Yuu."

Grim initially was laying down on the sofa next to them. He then rose up from his position to squeeze himself into their arms underneath the comfy blanket. He gave off strong purrs which provided much comfort to them.

"I don't know much about traveling worlds a-and I'll be real sad to see you go home but...MRAHHHH I DON'T WANNA BE SAD AND SAPPY!!!!"

Yuu couldn't help but chuckle at his outburst. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd want to be sappy ever."

"I don't know how much help I'll be when it comes to sending you back- n-not that I'm saying that I'm not powerful, that's not it! Hmmmm...if it makes you feel better, the idiots and I'll be by your side while you're still here!"

"Thank you, Grim. That does mean a lot to me."

A comfortable silence fell upon Ramshackle Dorm that night and Yuu was able to sleep well with Grim nearby. Being both exhausted in mind and soul, Yuu was rest assured with the promise of another tomorrow in Twisted Wonderland.

They say that home is not a place but the people whom you love.

If only words were enough to tell you how much I wish I could return to you.

I see you in the twinkling stars of another world, in the clear river bank that trickles alongside the passing seasons,

in the breeze that carries voices that I can almost hear, in the rays of sunlight that caress my cheeks with warmth,

in the magic of this world, if only all of this could convey how badly I miss you.

If fate were kind, my two worlds would meet together not unlike a gentle kiss, if only life could be fair...

Whether I'm here or back there, I'll always be thinking of home.

****This is my first fanfic ever and it was really fun for me to write even though I was still emotional over Book 7 (still am ngl) 😂 hope y'all enjoy it :3

[box-architecture]

I discovered that Communication Knife AweSamDrunz have Children Now today, and I’m loving everything I’m reading so far.

Also that they hang out with Sapnap, Philza, and Techno. Was not expecting that, but yeah, Dream would want to reconnect, wouldn’t he? Even if it make Sam Uncomfortable and Punz Salty.

aaaaaaaaa I'm glad!!! The kids are sort of separate from the main au in that they're not really the main focus, they're just something that occasionally makes me happy to rotate in my mind. Healed, happy characters who are extremely neurodivergent, with their weird neurodivergent children, able to exist contently.

also, yeah!!! I realized a while back that I haven't really talked about the relationships and conflicts or Anything with real consistency on this tumblr. I'm used to interacting with people in the discord who've already had to listen to me so many times yell and rant that I've forgotten that I. might need to give context actually to other people who have showed up to a person on a soapbox spouting nonsense.

short answer: yeah, theres a Lot of complicated feelings, but by the time the children are in the picture its been like a decade and peace has been made with most things. No one has forgotten, of course. Shit was fucked. But events keep happening, characters keep developing, and Dream cradles his happy ending with the people he got to keep so very close to his chest.

So its like! Techno will support Dream through thick and thin and be civil with his partners, Punz and Sapnap had some rough moments but are buddies, and Sam will never talk to Dream's friends about anything deep, but after years of him genuinely trying to be a good partner, Techno and Sapnap are no longer five seconds away from trying to murder him.

Long answer: I'm trying to pull together some posts that will give detailed explanations of this entire thing. Itll take a bit, but its infinitely easier than the full fic I was trying and failing to write. I'm pulling this timeline from an old post so it might not be completely up-to-date even with my edits, but this is some skeleton stuff I can give that will make things easier for Understanding probably. I'm very sleepy. Here you go.

Timeline for My Own Damn Convenience:

Shady Dubcon Prison sex w/ SamDream

Prison Escape

Gentle Recovery sex w/ Drunz

Dream decides he has major control issues and is going to fuck Sam to prove he isn't traumatized. Punz thinks this is a terrible decision.

AweSamDrunz sex, complete with a rulebook of things Sam isn't allowed to do (including giving or receiving kisses)

Quackity kidnaps Drunz similar to in the one cut lore thing, offers to let Punz go if they torture Dream (they stab Quackity instead)

Sam rescues them (without Q finding out) and then kidnaps them, where he ties up Punz and gets Dream kisses until they all eventually pass out (Dream gets mild medical attention)

Dream wakes up and unties Punz

SamDrunz has a talk and decides Sam is allowed kisses again

many kinks are discovered

Sam tries (and fails) to get a hobby

Sam builds +30 prisons/boxes/sex dungeons around the server, of various usefulness

Sapnap finds out about the Torture, sees the sex tape, assumes Dream can't consent to the relationship considering Sam was his warden and Sap thinks Punz betrayed him, and takes Dream to a cottage away from everyone to try to protect him. After Sapnap yells at SamPunz, Dream gently informed Sapnap he's going to continue the relationship, and they have an emotional reconciliation that leads to weeklyish meetings between Dreamnap where they can just sit and talk

The Snow Incident

Sam Recovery From The Snow Incident

Oh God The Egg Is Back (Sam locks up Punz and Dream in a bunker for a month out of terror, and doesnt tell them why because he knows it will stress Punz out and Dream could be an idiot and get himself Egged. Punz is pissed but can't argue with that) (Dream could have fixed this all with his admin abilities good god)

They actually deal with the Egg

An Incident Happens (but its like several incidents actually, including Tubbo finding out that Ranboo was working with Dream the whole time)

Failed Finale

Recovery

Eventually grow old and live in a nice little lush cave house called The Box that Sam made

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss AU: Goddess The Earthly-Mom (2024)

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[Note: it might be a good idea to click on this drawing to make it bigger. I also want to say that I plan to use this as a Cover for a future Chapter for either one or both the stories I'm working on over at Quotev, if I'm able to, I will have this drawing appear as a Cover for both "Falling For The Angel In Disguise" and "Spinelluva Boss: Home Is Where The Spinel Is", those two stories are for a Mature Audience Readers Only, and might be a bit 18+ but it's more of a I guess mild 18+ like some scenes are not as heavy 18+ I guess...I mean I might be starting to view myself a bit of a "Gray-Aroace" which might still will use the flux in there, but I can still try to write mature scenes, even if they might not be 100% perfect...and I'm okay if not many end up reading those two stories but I'm glad some do like them. the two stories will still be on hiatus until I can finally get around to work on the next chapters for them.]

Credit for Hazbin Hotel & Helluva Boss goes to Vivienne Medrano

Credit for Inspiring This Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss OC Alternate Version of The Goddess/Earthly-Mother, goes to A Piece Of Heaven/Voidseeker...and of course Nicholas Roerich's 1930 Art that is called "Queen Of Heaven"...

I learned about it from that "The Demonic Paradise" Fandom Wikia...

----------

anyway, I know that that version of The Heavenly-Father by Voidseeker, has four floating eyes....

so this version of The Earthly-Mother has Three, and she has eight wings, six of them are just floating on each side of her...

while the seventh and eight wings are on that crown type halo that has a Emerald in it...the whole "Omni-Family Bio" is possibly all the bio I could add for this, well besides having it say what inspired this Alternate Version's creation...

also if some have heard and learned about the Archeia, know that it could make sense that Lucifer's Feminine Counterpart would go Missing In Action, and I'm just guessing part of her name.

I mean even if I had started to self-nickname myself:

"Eveningstar Princess" but her and me would be separate, but she could be The Archeia [REDACTED] Eveningstar.

and the "Earth Angel Eveningstar Princess" that is added into the Omni-Family Bio thing, can be a different version of like a Ficto-Counterpart of myself...either one is fine, even if it is a OC version that is fully different from me....

yeah, still added that Cain is the 117th Great-Grandpa, Seth is also a a Grandpa too, but I'm not 100% sure about the number of Greats...

those two are still technically Grunkles as well...

you know, since Gran-Gran Eve is both their Moms, and at least it was only Cain and Seth's distant descendants that ended up together and not those who were a bit too close to the family tree...

also I would be insulted if Susan called me a "Blue Blood",

that's "Purple Blood" to you Susan, cause not all my Ancestors are Royalty....I mean yeah technically still blue blood, but I'm still gonna identify as purple blood, because of my non-royal ancestors.

is it weird to Fan-Headcanon that Sera from Hazbin Hotel, might really be Archeia Seraphina, but goes by "Sera" for short...

I mean I guess if it did turn out to be canon, the other Archeia wouldn't 100% agree with her on how she has been running things, and chose to leave with The Earthly-Mother to try to fix the balance between the Masculine and Feminine Energies, as well as keeping the barrier and quarantine in the Earthly Queendom up, because half of it got infected and later became what is known as The Seven Rings Of Hell, yeah it wouldn't be canon in Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, but that is what Fanon Timeline and Alternate Universes are for.

I still think that in real life, in The Celestial Realm...

because of the stuff that went down many centuries ago, with the whole putting the Patriarchy as the most important and the whole viewing the Matriarchy as beneath the Patriarchy and not very important at all...

but it isn't like many will accept the truth, plus if they did, they would need to do so by their free will and because they choose to.

I still want to give the Lucifer from this Universe, the cold hands to face punishment....I guess I could of added Jesus in this as well...

but he may have not been born yet, when that whole mess with the imbalance started up, plus it could be possible that The Heavenly-Father & Earthly-Mother are still technically together but at the same time, separated.....you know, like when someone's parents are still married but separated...though, at least some don't find out that during their parents separation, their Dad did freaking sleep with his ex-wife and got back together with her behind his current wife and the baby daughter he wasn't there to see the birth of...

there can be different type of Daddy issues, and well some can have Mommy Issues as well, or Renny Issues...you know, Nonbinary Parent who's pronouns are They/Them...

for Nonbinary Parents who are Nonbinary-Man or Nonbinary-Woman, the pronouns are both They/Them & He/Him (Nonbinary-Man) and They/Them & She/Her (Nonbinary-Woman)....

there are different types of Nonbinary, not just one.

I doubt Peepaw Adam (the Hazbin Hotel version) ever met Earthly-Mother or knows there is a Goddess as well.

if Zestial is as old as some characters make him out to be,

just picture Earthly-Mother is visiting The Pentagram City in the Pride Ring, and she spots Zestial who everyone is either running from or hiding from...and all of a sudden she yells out

"Little Zesty, is that you?!!"

if I'm going to call him by that cute nickname, than why not a Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss AU OC Ficto-Alternate version of The Earthly-Mother...

just picture him embarrassed being called by the nickname "Little Zesty" and at first he is really mad but then he sees who it is that called him that.

and the next thing we know, Zestial is being hugged and has his head being smothered into her bosom.

all while the Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss version of The Earthly-Mother is saying things like "it's been so long my little Zesty!",

"are you eating well...?", "no one is bullying my sweet little Zesty, are they...?", and "oh, I missed you my little Zesty!"

of course that idea is more in a Fanon type way...

The Earthly-Mother in this drawing, might look younger than Zestial but is in fact much older than him, so of course she is still going to treat him like he is still his younger self and treat him like he is a baby.

she could have herself appear in a smaller default form, so if she did hug Zestial to her bosom, he would be bending over while she has his head held hostage. XD

she would probably do that to Charlie's Dad as well...that should be funny to see.

and unlike Zestial, Charlie's Dad Lucifer is shorter than him...

so it is possible Charlie's Grandmother is taller than Charlie, and possibly being maybe around the same height (at least in her default form) as Valentino if not a inch shorter than him...but she could be much taller in her other form.

of course in a Fanon Timeline, where this version of Earthly-Mother lives in...she will be really happy to see Zestial, Lucifer and the others, who she views as her Babies....and it wasn't like she plan for them to end up in the quarantine part of the Earthly Queendom...

like it could turn out only some are allowed to go inside and well through the barrier, like some of those being The Archeia and Earthly-Mother herself.

and while in this universe, The Archeia & Archangel are in a perfect Masculine & Feminin Union that has to do with their different color twin flames....but as for their Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss Counterparts, probably not so much...

the Archeia in a AU/Fanon Timeline of both shows, have been possibly trying to fix what had been broken, well if Sera is one of the Archeia but also a Seraphim, of course it could be possible she hasn't spoken to the other Archeia in centuries.

plus they could of left things off in a bitter parting...

all the Archeia left with The Earthly-Mother to try to protect both Earth and Earthly Queendom, to try to contain what had caused the imbalance in the first place, which in a Fanon Timeline it was never really Lucifer, it was caused by the imbalance of The Masculine and Feminine...which for all we know may have to do with the Annunaki from those times...

Homo-Erectus came first before Homo-Sapiens, and it could be possible there could of been other Adams & Eves, but they were part of different sectors of gardens.

Adam, Lilith and Eve were from the Eden Garden Sector.

but I'm still gonna have that new theory that has to do with it being possible there were a Patriarch-Adam & Matriarch-Eve that came way before Adam, Lilith and Eve who are possibly the true Patriarch-Father & Matriarch-Mother Humans of Humanity, before the Annunaki came and possibly were involved with the imbalance happening and made the Patriarchy more important than it's Feminine Counterpart instead of being it's equals...

also want to say that even though Adam from Eden Garden, turns out to be white, doesn't mean that other Adams & Eves from different Garden Sectors wont come from different races, that goes with the theory that there were other Gardens...but I can't force others to agree or believe it may be true. they will have to want to believe it by their own free will and choice.

I do know that my Ancestors are all different, and not all of them will be the same, it is still awesome to learn that Lady Godiva is my Ancestor-Grandma.

yeah and it is funny to learn that the whole "Peeping-Tom" word came from that story which involves her.

also if "Hell Is Forever" like it is in the song that Adam sings,

I would so play the song "F**k You" by Lily Allen.

also give Adam & Lute the double birdy....meaning I want to flip them off.

even if that fan theory about Blitzo being Adam's Half-Reincarnation turns out to be true and canon, because Adam's Soul splits into two, one stays like the original him, and becomes a Sinner and the other half goes and gets reborn as a Imp that will end up being named Blitzo...

I wouldn't mind giving Blitzo a hug, I mean you know if I do feel like giving someone a hug then I will...

also it could be possible that while in our universe, Adam and Eve were Gray-Parents...they had to learn to be better throughout the years they were alive. meaning Adam in his younger days when he was first married to Lilith and then Eve, he was a immature jerk.

and who knows how many years it took him to out grow that part of himself...with how he was partly the cause of Lilith's Fall...

well him and those Three Angels, and once again that is still messed up...

that isn't love or any form of empathy at all, you can NOT force someone to go back to someone and just be okay with the Toxic-Marriage that isn't willing to fix and work out their problems the right way...

it could be possible that there will be slight differences from our universe and Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss Universe, and we don't know how much will be different...

I'm still going to fan-headcanon that Lilith never went to Hell, and switched places with Eve (after she had Cain, Abel and Seth...)

and part of Lilith's deal was that her appearance change to look like Eve, and Eve to look like her, and Lucifer doesn't find out about the switch until both him and Eve fully fall into what will be known as Hell...

and yeah, many years and centuries later Eve, who goes by the alias "Lilith" ends up having a daughter name Charlie...

even if this fan theory gets debunked, it can still work in Fanon.

anyway, I did the best that I could in on this drawing which once again was inspired by Voidseeker's God Design as well as the art by Nicholas Roerich.

so once again I will be using this over at Quotev in the future, but please respect the whole "do not reblog without permission" for this, and I will have this drawing for both here and for over there...

and I know it there is a very small chance some will find this design awesome enough to want to draw fanart of it, and I'm okay if not everyone ends up doing that...

anyway I'm going to check out some more art, and might do another post in a little while...and hope there is still some cheesecake left that I can eat with some strawberries...at least I hope there is still some.

[xoxoemynn]

You can delete if this is too personal, but I was wondering if Daphne is okay? I saw that maybe she wasn't well and was worried. I hope you are both having a good new years!

Aww, thanks anon. 💕

The short version is she has a new serious chronic condition, but it's currently at the very manageable stage and we just have to keep an eye on it for now.

Going to put the longer version behind a cut for anyone with sensitivities to pet illness.

Woke up the morning after Christmas to Daphne coughing incessantly and spitting up phlegm. She's done this exact thing before several times, and it's always been something relatively mild, so I didn't think too much of it. Still, given there's a canine respiratory illness going around, I still took her to the emergency vet just to be safe.

Turns out she has a heart murmur/enlarged heart. Her heart was pushing against her trachea, causing her to cough. The vet wanted us to get into a cardiologist within a month.

Which was all well and good, except I was calling every cardiologist in the area (by which I mean within a 90 minute radius, which was stressing me out because Daphne HATES the car and driving her that far with a heart condition made me feel Not Great), and the earliest possible appointment was February 20. Most were booking in March. Some not till April.

Of course it was around this time I started googling what the treatment might be, and saw a lot of talk of dogs only surviving a few months after diagnosis. To say I was freaking out was an understatement. (To add to this, I've had two good friends lose their dogs to heart conditions in the past 3 months so uhhhh REALLY did not feel great.)

MIRACLE OF MIRACLES, the veterinary hospital where she goes for PT had a cancellation and we were able to snag the appointment. The cardiologist confirmed her condition, and said it's very common with small dogs around her age. It's at the stage where it's a concern but not critical. She's going on a very good heart medication that apparently helps dogs with heart conditions live 1-2 years longer than those who don't, and I have to monitor her breathing. I also have some In Case of Emergency medicine on hand in the event she goes into respiratory distress. It's a progressive condition, so it's never going to get better. But it's at least currently not as bad as I feared.

So... I don't love the diagnosis. At all. BUT it's a lot better prognosis than I feared, and I'm REALLY glad we didn't have to wait for months languishing in the unknown because I would NOT have been well.

And that's basically it! Daphne and I are currently hiding in the basement from the fireworks, but otherwise are doing okay. I hope you have a very happy new year's as well! Sending you lots of love and well wishes. 💖

[battlemaiden13]

So sorry if this has already been asked, i'm only a few asks into MList 4 ;vv; but I had to get this out of my brain.

What if the skeleguys pets or their siblings pet(especially those who have a service animal), started trying to alert his SO ? Like just general pawing, nudging hand, trying climb into their lap or get their attention. Sometimes they make noises- like just general signs of " yo, take a break. Check yourself." The SO doesn't know whats wrong though and is confused. They listen to the pet and allow them to do their thing - however the pet tries to help. Maybe if they both decided to shrug it off, and he comes back later to see SO napping or just really mellowed out compared to normal with the Animal on them.

After a bit of confusion and checking they found out SO has general anxiety. (Nothing particularly triggering, just medical stuff) and SO's response is "oh... its not normal to feel that way?" Turns out, SO tells their bonefriend, they have felt that way (panicky and nervous) for literal years and thought thats just how life was lol. They just learned to suppress it.

Thank you so much for your time, I am loving your blog! (And sorry for the like spam ;-; i tend to get fixated on things)

-🦈☁️ anon

So currently Dog, owned by Sans and Papyrus, is the only service animal (not that the other skeletons don’t need or use Dog) but for the sake of this ask we’re going to pretend all of the skeletons own at least one service animal. 

Sans - Honestly not surprised you thought it was normal. He didn’t think much about his own anxiety until they got Dog either. He’s glad you’ve figured it out now though and he, Dog and Papyrus will all be here to help manage your anxiety going forward.  

Papyrus -He was wondering why Dog seemed less lazy then normal although he can’t say he’s happy to hear you’ve felt bad since forever. On the plus side Papyrus already knows a heap of ways to help with anxiety since he researched it for Sans and He’s a lot of help. 

Red - He can’t help but laugh at your response. Of course normal people aren’t going around panicking all the time. He has high anxiety all of the time so although he can relate he might not be able to help a lot here but he is very supportive . The two of you talk about it a lot and discuss what each of you can do to make things easier. His service animal is basically shared between the two of you although you try not to distract the poor animal. 

Edge - He’s honestly relieved to hear it’s just general anxiety. They have the animal for Red who is all kinds of messed up so yours is basically nothing in comparison. That doesn’t mean Edge isn’t going to take this extremely seriously. The two of you are going to learn together exactly what to do to help keep you calm. 

Blue - He’s fretting over you know but in the most reassuring and positive way ever. It is so clear he cares a lot for you and Blue is extremely good at helping you manage your anxiety. Even if Blue doesn’t see an anxiety attack coming he is always prepared with things to help calm you down, whether that's a fidget or just a good distraction. 

Orange -Well now that he knows you have anxiety he knows what to look out for. Orange is very observant and can see when you are beginning to get a tad overwhelmed, he also knows exactly how to calm you down and prevent a full on attack. You have never felt so relieved. Orange is just happy he and his dog could help you. 

Berry -It stresses him out. He is the one who has the service animal, not Syrup so having them alert to you makes Berry feel like he might have done something wrong or messed you up in some way before the two of you get an explanation. Berry tries to help you with your anxiety as best he can but sometimes he feels like he falls short. 

Syrup -He is very patient and understanding. The two of you learn about your mild anxiety together and how to help you with it. Syrup knows all your triggers and is super supportive. Whatever you need he will help you with and he is more than happy to do so. 

[sonicrainbooms]

for the ask game - W Q P and as many OOOOO’s as u want!

Hi, thanks for the ask! (game)

Sorry this took so long! I started to type and it ran away from me. It's VERY long. The rest is under the cut.

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

Hmm... this is hard HAHA I can't think of any atm! I always love Pokémon au's, so anything I love in the Pokémon universe will be fun! Oh, and the other day I watched Death Note right before I went to sleep and had a Light Yagami!Hemlock dream which was...an experience. Not sure how a Death Note Star Wars universe would work, a lot of stuff would need to be changed, but it would be funny as hell.

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why?

Another hard one, I don't really abandon fandoms, I just...stop liking shows as much and don't feel the "need" to interact with them anymore. I guess I still really enjoy Gravity Falls, but don't engage with the fandom at all anymore except when I'm feeling nostalgic. I didn't even know about the current countdown on the website until last night! I used to be ALL on top of that!

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom

I'm not sure if the question means fanfic tropes or au's or what. So I'll just list some stuff in general fandom spaces I don't like bc I'm a hater. If you like these, MORE POWER TO YOU! I'm sure there's HEAPS of stuff I like that you don't! Live laugh love <3

I don't like coffee shop au's, florist au's, the "omg they turned into a baby and the other/s have to look after them!" trope, honestly not a huge fan of soulmate au's, dont like a/b/o at all sorry.

I HATE it when certain characters (COUGH COUGH WRECKER, COUGH COUGH PINKIE PIE) get get infantilised/woobiefied despite being grown adults just because they're a bit silly. I DO NOT LIKE IT when grown adults are reduced to The Mum Of The Group™ for...no reason. Yes, that last point is about fanon Echo. I do not like fanon Echo and I am not in the mood to talk about why rn HAHA.

Anon, honestly there are more but saying the real heavy-hitting will get me assassinated by the fandom secret service.

Again, if you like these, I do not care. I'm so glad you do, honestly.

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

I don't really think of pre-existing characters or ships when I listen to music, to be honest! When I listen to music, I primarily see if it can remind me of one of my oc's. And you know, if I actually enjoy the song or not. So I won't be able to answer this question, either!

That being said, Brutus by The Buttress (I LIKED THE SONG BEFORE TIKTOK FOUND IT!) reminds me of Captain Rex. Not because of the "My name is Brutus, but the people will call me Rex" line, but because the theme and story of the song matches up with my personal headcanon of the clones secretly holding grudges against the Jedi for always, even if unintentionally, being famed and loved throughout the galaxy for being peacekeepers and fighting the war while it was actually the clones on the front line dying, with lifespans too short for the senate to seriously consider actually giving rights to. For most clones, it was a mild annoyance. For others, it was a real grievance.

I like to think, in my interpretation, the line "I don't want want you have, I want to be you" has two meanings. The first: Those jealous clones maybe didn't mind carrying out Order 66. Of course, it's wrong. The Jedi did their best. But if I were a clone...yeah. I might harbour some ill feelings towards the sect of people using me like that. I would want to be appreciated as more than a solider, I'd want the right to choose. I'd want to be them.

The other meaning I have relates more to Rex himself. I wonder how much pain and guilt he's felt since the ship went down with Jesse and the others still in it. He is one of few left to pick up the scraps and continue fighting what seems to be a hopeless battle without resources or assurance. He's the one people turn to, now. How often does he think of Jesse, or Cody, or Fives, or Kix? How many times has he remembered the total lack he had when he was trying to kill Ahsoka, and ordering his men to do the same? Watching his own body and voice act unable to stop it... I think it eats away at him. I think he has major survivors guilt. I think he sometimes, privately, secretly, wishes he were Jesse or Ridge or Fives. I think he wishes he were dead. "I don't want what you have, I want to be you". He wouldn't feel as horrible. He wouldn't feel anything. He'd see them again.

I know neither of these headcanons are popular, nor well-thought out atm HAHA but that's what I feel!

On a lighter not, Lynchmob by KMFDM reminds me of Wrecker <3

Thanks for the ask!

[bansheeoftheforest]

Hey lol, my power just went out and I'm having a moment, do you have any headcanons abt Hyde or Jekyll and his family dealing with storms and outages? Especially if outages and storms are stressful for them? -💙

:o I hope you are okay blue!!!! Storms and outages are scary af sometimes, please stay safe!!

I just woke up after having slept like. 10 hours but I tried my best, if you want more I'd be happy to give you some more hcs, though!

Henry has always been scared of storms and lightning, they had a lot of those growing up and Henry always heard his older siblings talking about the horror stories surrounding storms; campfire ghost stories, as well as the destruction that the storms brought to their city or the people around them. Henry was a very timid and easily intimidated kid so storms came high up on his list of fears.

He only "stopped" being so scared of lightning because of the Frankenstein plays, where the reanimation of the Creature was depicted as having used pure lightning from storms. Henry began to love the concept of lightning out of the context of storms but is still incredibly scared of them both.

Hyde will always deny being scared of storms, most of the time he claims he was brought forth upon the earth of mankind by Satan himself during the century's worst storm. The moment he hears lightning he will quiver in his boots. He is better at hiding it than Henry, though, as Hyde often is good at hiding his fears.

They didn't have to worry about power outages as electricity wasn't commercially available when Henry grew up, so most of the time they just waited out the storms. Most of the waiting out involved Mama and Papa Jekyll gathering all their kids in the living room, putting on the fire in the fireplace, and telling stories to distract them. While Henry was the only one downright afraid of the storms, his siblings also got nervous and needed some distraction too, even if they quickly began to look forward to the storms so they could spend some family time together.

Henry often spent those stormy days in the lap of one of his older brothers. Being 8 years older than him, the two twins were always incredibly protective of him and especially when bby Henry was quivering and sniffling. His sisters were, too, incredibly protective of him and always wanted to help comfort him-- whenever Angus and Ian weren't available, Blair and Lilith would have him smushed between them and they would try to distract him from the thunder by tickling or play fighting with him.

Once Henry got older and began to get into Frankenstein, his family's key phrase to distract him from his panic was to say "Remember Frankenstein? It was a stormy night like this that they created the Creature!". Probably not the best phrase, as his parents did not want to encourage him... To do what Frankenstein did, but it was enough for Henry's momentary panic to turn into a short moment of fascination. On good days, Henry would start rambling about science until the storm was over, on the bad days, Henry would start imagining the Creature outside their window and get even more scared.

Whenever their parents would be gone on business trips and storms would start, Henry's siblings were always prepared to make the best of it. Angus and Ian would try to cook food (they are good cooks, they just end up playfighting a lot), Blair and Lilith would distract Henry, while Freyja, Isla, and Peigi would set up the fire in the living room and get blankets. Chicken soup in front of a roaring fire, cuddled up next to his older siblings, and wrapped in his favorite blanket really helped Henry to deal with storms, and lose his fear of them... A little. He was still scared, but he felt a lot safer with them around him.

He has experienced his fair share of storms in England but the worst ones were in university, just because the classrooms didn't isolate the sounds of thunder and the dorms were quite thin-walled. He knew he was safe but the sweeping winds and lightning did nothing to soothe his worries. Luckily, during classes, he often had Lanyon right by him, and during the evenings he often had both Lanyon and Utterson. In the beginning, neither of them knew about Henry's fear of storms but as Lanyon observed how Henry's pen jumped over the paper for every hit of thunder, the way he trembled, and the way he started to cold sweat, it did not take long for him to scoot closer by their shared desk and put his knee against Henry's in hope of calming him. Storms during the evenings in their dorms were better because neither Utterson nor Lanyon was afraid of giving the physical affection that Henry needed. Lots of cuddles and lots of hugging. Neither were really scared of storms themselves-- Lanyon found them indifferent and Utterson found them fascinating, but neither wanted to see their friend hurting like that.

The Society is large and thickly walled enough for storms to almost be unnoticeable, however, the outages really are not. While most of the Lodgers found it as a mild inconvenience (or a large inconvenience for Tweedy, Pennebrygg, and Flowers), the realization that the storms could bring out their power for days really was not a realization that Henry liked, just because it made him feel so hopeless and defenseless.

A particularly bad storm brought their electricity out for, well, days, quite a lot of time before Frankenstein even stepped a foot into the Society. The Lodgers gathered each other (and Henry) into a parlor, lit candles & the fireplace, and decided to tell ghost stories. Henry tried his best to keep calm as the storm got worse and worse and the thunder and lightning, too, got worse and worse, yet the two Lodgers next to him quickly noticed his stress and nervosity. Quietly scooting closer and trying to distract him. After all, they were much friendlier with each other back then, so it could have been any lodgers.

Whenever Henry, god forbid, is alone during storms, he does his best to replicate the coping mechanisms his family gave him as a kid. Cuddling up in thick blankets and trying to block out the noise, trying to distract himself, or going to someone he trusts in hopes of comfort. Luckily, most of the time it works, even when he isn't sure of which persons he can trust. He has a reputation after all... But the storms sure as hell scare him enough that he does not give a shit about it.

Maijabi is one of the persons that Henry trusts the most, simply because he knows he won't judge him for his fears. Most of the time during storms, Henry scurries off to him for safety. Maijabi, of course, understands his fear perfectly. He lets Henry stay with him for as long as he wants to, and he brews honey and lavender tea for him as well <3

Hyde is not often allowed out during storms-- both because Henry is way too stressed to let him out and because Hyde is way too scared to actually go outside during them. In the few instances where he has found himself in control of the body during a storm, he spends the entire evening seated on one of Rachel's counters in the kitchen while Rachel herself bakes him cookies. Rachel, of course, does not have the heart to start teasing him about being afraid of storms of all things, she is just glad he trusts her enough to... Well... Be in the kitchen with her during storms.

Both Hyde and Henry are sensitive about their fear of storms, they "know" it's irrational and "childish" of them so they are very self-conscious about showing or playing into that fear. Lanyon once made the mistake-- during one of the first storms since Henry and he met-- to joke about Henry's fear for them, which really did not help Henry's self-consciousness about it. Lanyon quickly realized his mistakes and made up for it by comforting Henry a bit extra that evening.

Henry always having people he can trust with his fears and being able to cope with them my beloved <3

[thiswasinevitableid]

Okay well then!!!! I am very glad and excited to share my most recent idea I had while rereading Yeti Hunting again!! And the new Incubus one too!! They're almost exactly the same idea, just different flavors I suppose. Also Joe is trans in both the ideas but that's less to do with the ideas themself and more to do with just me projecting on him sgfjgsjfhsjdh

Okay so it's like a reverse au so Stern is some kind of cryptid, but as far as Barclay knows they're just two good human friends (but maybe they wanna be a little more than friends...). And then one day Joseph goes into heat and tells Barclay he's sick to try to keep him away, but Barclay being the sweetest man alive goes to his house with fresh soup to take care of him and Joe seems really panicked about Bar being there and tries to make him leave but he is CLEARLY unwell and Barclay is very stubborn when it comes to helping people he cares about and so he plants himself down on the couch and says he's not leaving until Joe tells him what's wrong and Stern tries to hold onto his human form but it's taking too much focus and energy and whoops Barclay finds out his friend not human and currently in distress and so horny it hurts and if he can help his friend and fuck him at the same time, well then that's just a win all around (bonus points if at the end Barclay is kinda sad because he thinks Joe just needed somone to fuck him, not nessacarry Barclay, but Joe frantically assures him that he is SUPER into him and if it were anyone else he would have kicked them the hell out and probably skipped town bc he couldn't trust anyone else with a secret like this).

Or!! (This is where the incubus part comes in) Joe is an incubus and currently hiding out in his human disguise at the Amnesty lodge and it's going fine for a while, but then he starts talking to and getting to know the really hot chef. And they slowly start growing closer and closer. And maybe in this world, the power an Incubus gets from sex depends just as much on their desires as it does the human's. And this has never been an issue for Stern before, but now he's falling for Barclay and wants him and no one else so he's getting less and less energy from his encounters and Barclay is worried about him because he doesn't seem like himself anymore. Almost as if he's... dulled? When Barclay looks at him the blue of his eyes seem muted and his general aura seems... gray. And it all comes to ahead when Joe finally stops insisting he's fine and after dinner one night he asks if he can speak to Barclay privately, and he comes clean about everything and Barclay, while a little shocked, rolls with it very well and cups Joe's face in his hands and kisses him softly and it like,,, you should have come to me sooner, I'd do anything for you,,, and yeah it's really tender,,,,

Okay that's it I'm sorry it's so long and probably incoherent. I tried to use at least little formatting to make it better but it's a tumblr mobile ask, I'm not sure even the new paragraphs will translate over. The general idea is that they're close friends and Stern is Not Human and Barclay finds out under less than ideal circumstances :3 I know these are far from original or unique but I just wanted to share my ideas with you bc you're the inspiration for a good 70% of my private writings, but if you like them enough and ever feel like doing something with them that'd be cool ;3

Here you go! I went with scenario one. Content Note: some “mating” talk and mild subdrop at the end (which is, of course, taken care of)

The two canvas bags are ready to burst. Barclay peers into them, contemplating the addition of another box of tea, in case Joseph doesn’t like the other two. Mama was cagey when he asked, he doesn’t know what’s ailing the other man, only that he’s sick. 

Joseph manages Amnesty Lodge, where Barclays’ been a cook for the last six months. Barclay was initially wary of him; his cosmopolitan bearing and clean-cut appearance is so out of place in the rustic mountain town of Kepler that the logical explanation is he’s one of those city types who fell on hard times and got stuck here. 

It took less than forty-eight hours for him to prove Barclay wrong. Polite and polished, efficient and stunningly good in a crisis, Joseph handles the day to day chaos of the lodge while Mama, the owner, took care of the big picture stuff. His friendly greetings and consistent compliments about Barclays cooking gradually turned to afternoons spent at a table with his work so they could talk during lulls in business. 

When Joseph leaned against the counter, sleeves rolled up, laughing as he helped Barclay tidy the kitchen, the cook rushed headlong into his crush and never looked back. He regularly dreams of blue eyes and a movie-star face, finds his day doesn’t really start until Joseph pokes his head in to say good morning. 

He’s been without that greeting for two days now. Joseph never misses work, and his sudden absence worried Barclay enough that he checked with Mama to be sure the manager was okay.

“Joe’s fine big fella, just under the weather is all.”

The one time Barclay got sick, Joseph brought him tea and soup himself, checked in on him every hour, and--if Barclay’s fever addled brain is to be trusted--fluffed his pillows. It’s the least Barclay can do to drop off snacks and be sure his friend is okay. 

It’s a short drive to cabin Joseph calls home; he used to live at the Lodge, but as it got more crowded, he moved to his own space so those who needed a cheap, safe place to stay could have one. 

His knock on the door is answered by a brisk, “Who is it?”

“Barclay. I, uh, I brought you a get-well gift.”

Joseph opens the door to the cabin and to an entire new universe of fantasies. His normally slicked-back hair falls, relaxed, across his forehead, his loosely tied blue robe shows a tantalizing V of skin, and the dreamy-sleepy expression makes his face even more kissable. 

“Hi.” Joseph takes a step forward, taking the bags and bringing his face achingly close to Barclays’. Then he freezes, reversing into the house, “I, um, it was very sweet of you to bring all this. But you need to go.” He takes another step back, then doubles over with a groan. 

Barclay hurries across the threshold, setting the bags on the floor and steadying him over to the couch.

“Fuck, do you need me to get you like a heat pack, or a puke bucket?”

“No, no I just need to lay down, and for you to g-” he shudders, curling in on himself and tipping sideways. 

“Joseph, you’re really sick, I’m not gonna just leave you here. I mean, fuck, what if it’s your appendix or something?” He sits down next to the shaking man, rubbing his back comfortingly. 

“It’s not, I promise. Oh lord” he whines, looks at Barclay with frantic eyes, “I hope you can keep a secret.”

“Of course I can. Whatever I can do to help, I want to.” 

“Careful with those promises, big guy.” The nickname comes out in a growl as Joseph stands, undoing his wristwatch. 

“Oh FUCK!” Barclay scrambles back, almost falling over the arm of the couch.

There’s a monster where Joseph just was. Years ago Barclay saw a Maned Wolf in a zoo, and he’d swear that’s what he’s looking at now were it not for several glaring issues. First, it’s standing comfortably on two legs. It’s paws are more like hands, able to hold the watch and adjust the collar of its shirt. And he’s never seen a wolf, maned or otherwise, with spines down its back and a whip-like tail.

The creature runs a clawed hand through the fur at the top of it’s head, the way Joseph does when he’s nervous,  “So. I can’t tell you everything, at least not right now. What I can tell you is that this is the form I was born into, somewhere far away from earth.”

“Okay.” Barclays brain grinds like a broken ice machine as a familiar voice speaks to him from a fanged mouth. 

“I, um, I’m what humans call a Chupacabra. To answer the usual questions: no, I’ve never been to Puerto Rico. No, I don’t eat goats. And no, I’m not going to eat you.”

“Okay.” His heart is still racing, but not from fear, which is the most confusing was this could have gone.

Pointed ears flick, worried, “Are you in shock?”

“Kinda, yeah.” He nods as Joseph sits next to him with a heavy sigh. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to find out this way. I took the next few days off to avoid this exact scenario. I figured I wouldn’t see you, but forgot how thoughtful and caring you are.” Claws gently stroke Barclays hair, “my wonderful Barclay.”

He’s about to bring his hand up, cup those strange fingers to his cheek and whisper “always”, when Joseph pulls away. 

“I, I’m sorry. Again. I always get too handsy when I’m in heat. That’s the second worst side-effect, after the fact that being in my disguise is untenable when I’m in the thick of it. It’s like wearing a wet, wool sweater made of nausea.”

“....Hold on, you had to take time off work because you’re horny?” 

“Almost. Heat doesn’t come that often for me, which means whenever it happens, it’s intense. I have a hard time eating or sleeping, I can’t focus, and I spend most of the week masturbating. Which is not as fun as it sounds; I’m not even at the height of the damn thing and last night I humped a pillow on the kitchen floor while dinner reheated.”

Barclay groans, tries to hide it when the ears swivel his way, “Uh, guess I’m glad I brought you lots of food so you remember to eat. Shoulda, uh, put some lube or something in there as well, huh?” 

Joseph chuckles, “My nose tells me you put molasses cookies in there, so I’ll let it slide.”

“There anything else I can do to help?”

“Well…” he shakes his head, “never mind, I can’t ask you to do that.”

“Do what?”

“My heat is more manageable when I have a partner. Fucking someone relieves things more effectively than masturbation does. But I can’t-”

“I can help with that.” The offer is out before his brain catches up with his mouth. 

“Barclay, my kind have a very, um, involved mode of, um, well, I guess you foreplay. As, as much as I’d love for you to be my mate” he winces, “see, that’s what I mean. I say things like that, most of them not even possible given the fact you and I can’t reproduce.” 

“Uh, does it help if I say hearing you call me that is really hot?”

Blue eyes widen, and a tail traces up Barclays leg, “Only if you mean it.”

“I do.”

A narrow, long tongue flicks into the air, “In that case, big guy, how about we have a little planning session over dinner?”

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

Barclay parks in the driveway, next to Josephs’ sedan. He heads past the house and down a short slope to a creek, the twilight sky casting the forest in eerie grey-blue. There’s a tire swing leftover from a previous resident, and he idly pushes it back and forth as he waits for the game to start. 

“It’s like hide and seek” Joseph wipes his mouth, cleans cookie crumbs from the table, “We start outside, move inside, and you go as long as you can without me catching you. After all, I want a mate who can hold his own.”

He stuffs his hands in his jacket pocket to warm them. A yip bounces out from the trees behind him. When he turns, he quickly spots glinting eyes and bared fangs hidden in the undergrowth. 

Sprinting towards the cabin, he realizes Joseph laid a trap for him from the start; by asking him to begin at the creek, he’s forcing him to run uphill to safety, slowing him down. He lets his lizard-brain, concerned only with the fact that something dangerous is chasing him, take over and drive his legs as fast as they’ll go. The back door is locked, he double-checked that on the way down, so he doesn’t waste his time trying it, races to the front of the cabin and slams the door shut just as something huge rounds the corner after him. 

The nob jiggles, his pursuer testing the lock and discovering the thrown deadbolt. Barclay uses those few seconds to secure the windows on the first floor, throws his jacket down into the cellar as a failsafe, and bolts up to the bedroom. His hammering heart insists that locking that door is not enough, so he crawls into the closet and shuts himself up among the meticulously organized shirts and slacks. It’s not enough space for him to stand, so he tucks his knees to his chest and waits. 

“What happens if I, like, completely outsmart you.”

A toothy smile, “I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you.”

Each of the downstairs windows rattle in turn. Then the scratching starts, claws on wood coming closer with each breath. Joseph is climbing the wall up to the bedroom window that Barclay knows for a motherfucking fact he did not secure. 

A shuff as the window slides open, the cryptid landing with remarkable stealth on the bedroom floor. Barclay tracks him by the light coming under the closet door, his mouth covered so his breathing won’t give him away. The shadow pauses, sniffs, and then the bedroom door opens and shuts. Barclay’s not moving until he hears the front door do the same. 

Just as his legs start to protest being smushed up against his chest, the door reopens. Snuffling signals Joseph closing in, and an instant later the only light coming in is from the far ends of the door. Slowly, his last line of defense rolls to the right, revealing the creature crouching on the other side.

“Not a bad effort, big guy. You actually confused me for a minute with the scent trail of your coat downstairs.” Joseph reaches for him and Barclay, remembering that he’s not supposed to give up until he’s pinned, leans away. 

“That’s how my mate wants to play?”

“J-just following your instructions, babe.”

An intrigued purr, “I guess you are. All the more reason you’re the perfect partner for me.”

The words Barclays dreamed of hearing for months distract from the claws closing around his ankles. He lets out an undignified yelp when Joseph pulls his legs straight out and drags him out of the closet. Once he’s free of the forest of clothing, the cryptid picks him up and drops him on the bed. He moans and Joseph snickers, joining him on the bedspread. 

“Fuck, Joseph, no one’s ever been able to do that before and it’s so, so fucking hot.” He arches his back and shifts his limbs to help Joseph undress him.

“It’s because you’re the perfect size; big and strong, large enough to give me a decent cuddle when I’m human, but still small enough to be an easily subdued mate.” He gets the humans’ jeans and boxers off, hesitates, and then tosses them on the floor with a pained expression, “I’ll fold those later.”

“Gonna hold you to that. Also, wanna point out that it wasn’t that easy to subdue me.”

Joseph nuzzles his cheek, claws caressing his thighs, “Barclay, I was jogging while you were sprinting.”

“You coulda caught me right awaAAy ohwhatthefuck.” Tingling heat glides down his throat as Joseph licks a stripe along the skin, “fuck, it, it feels like the time I tried hot wax.”

The cryptid sits up slightly to look at him, “Is that a...good thing?”

“Fuck yeah. I really fucking liked it but it was fucking murder with the chest hair.”

Joseph runs his claws through the hair in question, “I like it.”

“I know, I saw you eyeing me that one time I used the springs at the lodge.”

“You can’t prove anything.” Joseph leans back down, curling his tongue around Barclays left nipple. The sensation makes him buck his hips, which Joseph correctly takes as a signal for more. He moves to the other side, takes his time teasing it and licking down the sensitive center of Barclays chest. Noses his stomach, nips his sides, and slides the alien heat of his tongue into the crease of his thighs. 

“Y’know I, ohfuck, I assumed from all that talk yesterday you’d get right to fucking me.”

Joseph kisses the inside of one thigh, “I, um, I thought about it, almost ripped your jeans to shreds and took you on the floor. But I wanted to be sure you were turned on. You’re not just a warm body, Barclay. You’re my mate. That means your pleasure matters as much as mine.” He licks up Barclays’ cock, hardened from rubbing against the soft fur of his belly, and sighs, “and what a mate.”

“Fuck” he squeezes his eyes closed because if we watches that mouth saying everything he wants to hear in between sucking his dick, he’ll cum in ten seconds flat. 

A final lick to the tip and then Joseph hops off the bed, “Did you prep the way I told you?”

“Uhhuh.” 

“Good.” Joseph returns, sets several items he can’t see by his feet, “that’ll make things easier. First things first” he produces a cock cage, sliding it into place, “these are a few things I smuggled over from my original home. This is enchanted, so it can go on an erect cock but still prevent the wearer from cumming until it’s removed.”

“That’s just cruel, babe.” He sits up on his elbows to kiss Josephs snout, earning him a pleased yip. 

“If you cum too fast, I won’t be able to properly breed you.” He winces again, “sorry, I sound like one of Indrids romance novels.”

“Again, gorgeous, I find it really fucking hot.”

The spines on Joseph’s back ripple, “You think I’m gorgeous? Like this?”

“I do. Also kinda scary, but in a hot way.” Now it’s his turn to cringe, “see? I sound like cheap porn written by an eighth grader when I’m horny. The way you sound is fine.”

Joseph lovebites his ear, then retrieves the other two items from the end of the bed. 

“And how does this look, big guy?”

“Like it’s either going to kill me or make me cum like a dozen times.” He furrows his brow at the strap-on. It’s narrower than the average human dick, with a pointed, slightly up-curved tip. What’s worrying him are the spikes. 

The entire shaft is coated in short protrusions. They don’t end in points, thank god, but if they’re at all stiff this is going to be miserable. 

“Here” Joseph waves him over, “touch it.” He guides his fingers along one side and the spines bend fluidly under his touch, and now all he wants to know is how they feel inside him. Joseph also moans, bucking his hips so the toy slides along Barclays palm.

“It’s, ohlord, also enchanted so that the wearer feels it as an extension of their body and can cum with it. Also, please decide in the next thirty seconds whether you want to be on your back or your stomach.” Amber pre-cum drips down Barclay’s fingers. 

“Stomach is better for meWHOAH, ohfuck, okay we’re doing this.” Now flipped on his belly, he raises his ass. The cryptid kneads it appreciatively before holding it open and sliding his cock in with once, graceful thrust. 

He bottoms out with a groan, which is more articulate than Barclay is managing to be as the spines rub and glide inside him, finding every patch of nerves, every angle to drag against in just the right way. Joseph hauls him onto his knees and then he’s off, growls and yips filling the as he fucks him. Barclay only just registers the bed banging into the wall so forcefully the headboard is cracking when claws sink into his hips and Joseph pulls him all the way onto his cock and pulses into him. 

“Holy fuck that was fast.”

“I, I didn’t jack off once today. Didn’t want to waste it, wanted to save it all for my perfect mate.” He’s thrusting again, not as hard but twice as fast, “shit, you feel so good, big guy, please tell me Mama okayed your time off for tomorrow.”

“Wh-why are we talkingAHnnn, about this now?”

Hot breath tickles his ear, “Because now that I know what’s like to cum in you, I don’t plan on cumming anywhere else for the next day and a half.”

“Ohfuckme” Barclay groans happily into the pillows as Joseph empties into him, cries out when his tail whips across his calf.

“Shit, did that hurt?”

“No, no it felt good, fucking-A babe every fucking part of you is amazing.”

The cryptid whines, pleased, and wiggles his hips, giving Barclay an idea. 

“That’s, uh, that’s why I want you for my mate, because you’re so fucking goo-mmph” his face presses harder into the pillows as Joseph pins his shoulders down and fucks into him, snarling “yes” over and over again. When he finishes this time he hunches over, nipping Barclay’ shoulders and neck. 

“You catch on quick, big guy.”

“Thanks, babe. Uh, are we gonna switch it up at any point or am I staying like this until tomorrow night?”

“No, we can fuck however we want. After” a fuzzy hand rubs circles on Barclay’s abdomen, “I’ve cum in you enough times that I can feel it from out here.”

Barclay moans, tightening around him as his hips snap once more, already imagining being full and fucked out. Maybe it’ll take all night. He’ll be limp if it does, but right now nothing sounds better than melting into the bed while Joseph fucks his ass like it belongs to him. 

After forty-five minutes, his cock is aching, his mind holds only thoughts of how good it feels to do as Joseph tells him, and he’s been cum in so many times that wet, obscene sounds accompany the cryptids thrusts. Said sounds pale in comparison to Josephs’ voice, which is spinning increasingly impossible scenarios the longer they’re in bed. 

“I hope they take after you.” Joseph murmurs. 

Barclay just manages to turn his head, “Who?”

A muzzle playfully nudges his cheek, “Our kids.”

His heart seizes and shakes at the words; they both know that’s not what will happen. Joseph warned him he might say things like this, said he could tell him to knock it off if need be. 

“Maybe they’ll, ahnn, they’ll have big, beautiful brown eyes and bigger hearts, just like you.”

He doesn’t want him to stop. Every thrust hits deeper, every point where their skin meets buzzes brighter when he talks like this.

“H-hope at least one looks like you, blue eyes.”

A guttural whine, tingling heat as Joseph laps tenderly at the back of his neck, “We’ll just have to see, usually we’re born in threes so, soOH, oh I’m close, shitshit” 

“That’s it babe, fill me up, c’mon, c’mon I want it so bad, Joseph, baby, please.” 

There’s a howltrill as cum spurts into him, Joseph panting as he smooths his hand around Barclays side.

“There, that’s done it.”

Barclay whimpers as he pulls out, his mind and body pulled tight, certain that if he doesn’t cum soon he’ll propose marriage instead and that’ll be a fucking disaster. 

Joseph carefully rolls him over and unlocks the cage, “Do you want to cum?”

“More than anything. Oh!” he’s unprepared for Joseph to sink down on his cock, “oh fuck, yeah, wanna cum so bad babe please, I’ll be so good, be such a good mate if you just let me cum in y-fuuuck” A trio of sensations levels him as he climaxes; his vision whites out, his hips jerk more violently than they ever have before, and a line of cum drips down his leg. 

Somewhere far away, Joseph says, “I think we’ve earned a break.”

He nods, body limp as the cryptid climbs off him. Then he’s falling, spinning helplessly down in a pit of realizations. 

Joseph didn’t mean any of those things he said. His friend needed a mate and Barclay, lovesick fool he is, was eager for a chance to play pretend that he didn’t think about what would happen when the game ended. Even if Joseph keeps him here through tomorrow, the next time they meet at the Lodge he’ll act like nothing happened. 

Fuck, Barclay didn’t even get to kiss him during all this, and now he’ll never get the chance, never, nevernever-

“Shit, I should have put a towel or a spare blanket down. Now I’ll have to strip the bed before I can--Barclay? Oh, oh baby, what’s wrong?” A hand pets his face and he turns away from it, refusing to open his eyes. Joseph takes his hand instead, “it’s okay, I’m here, whatever you need I’ll-”

“Don’t. Don’t say that. You can’t give me what I need, it isn’t your fault I, I know I’m not really your partner and I, I…” he sniffles, wipes his palm under his eye. 

“Barclay, look at me please.”

Reluctantly, he opens his eyes just in time to see Joseph dip down and kiss him. It’s awkward, their mouths not made to fit together, but he savors it all the same because it’s Joseph, his Joseph, kissing him like he hoped he would. 

“My heat can make me say some ridiculous things. What it can’t do is make me feel affection where none exists. In fact, the reason I wasn’t able to keep my disguise on yesterday is because being near you meant being near the mate I wanted most in the world. I, um, suspected you might share my feelings, but I didn’t want our first interaction as boyfriend to be me asking if you wanted to spend a day or so with me while I was in a sex haze. But then you offered to help, and I wanted it so badly that I barreled ahead without making sure you understood that this was me declaring my feelings. I’m sorry.”

Barclay climbs into his lap, not caring about the mess he makes in the process. The cryptid laughs, hugs him close.

“I, I shoulda said something sooner too. Not that I regret how we spent our first date.” He kisses Josephs chin.

“Me neither, though I don’t think it quite counts.” He rubs their foreheads together, “can your boyfriend take you out to dinner on Friday?”

Barclay grins, looks into loving, blue eyes, “Yeah, he can.”

[feminaexlux]

Black Cats are Some Kind of Luck

Oh god this might just be a little bit of a crack fic but I had way too much fun writing this.

Rated M, probably? Iunno. LukaNoire!

∴

In most of the mornings Luka had in his life after toddlerhood he woke up alone in his bed. When Juleka was younger, maybe a toddler herself, she had dragged him out of his bed to hide under a blanket on the floor when she had nightmares. Anarka would find her babies in a tangled nest, since sleeping on the floor meant finding no monsters under the bed to very young imaginative minds.

This morning he woke up with… someone else snuggled next to him. Someone who looked a lot like Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

He hadn't gone to sleep that way. Pretty sure of that. He was and had been sober.

He had no idea what happened.

Gently he pried himself away from her, extricating himself carefully from her grasp. He took a quick look around his room and yep, this was his room in his flat that he shared with his best friend. His guitars were hung up against the walls, his music sheet paper was on his desk in random piles, his hoodie was thrown over his desk covering his laptop.

But it was Marinette. In his bed. Oh god, he thought, HOW was she here? Somewhere deep down inside of him he didn't find the idea of him waking up next to her unwelcome but… there was a natural progression to things. Sure, he'd been in love with her for years but she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng the up-and-coming fashion star and personal designer for Jagged Stone. He was just Luka. He hadn't ever given himself even the slimmest of chances when she was Marinette and she had her eyes on Adrien Agreste, the supermodel and son of Gabriel, who ran the most prominent design house in France. She was probably 2 standard deviations out of his league.

"Shit," he whispered to no one in particular. He checked himself over and double checked that he was sober and dressed (oh god we didn't… did we?). She was wearing her pajamas and it didn't look like they did anything so that wasn't going to cause an immediate meltdown. He should probably wake her up and… figure out what happened. He knelt by the edge of the bed and gently shook her by the shoulder. "Hey. Marinette?"

"Mnnng," she groaned, eyebrows furrowing as she frowned. She grabbed at his blankets and pulled them in toward her, then started opening her eyes. "Hi," she said, lazily smiling up at him. She must still have been waking up, but if she smiled like that to whoever she woke up next to he'd happily have them both go back to sleep just so they'd wake up together again.

"Do you know where you are?" He asked. Maybe there'd been an akuma attack and she got teleported here? He wasn't sure. "You're in my room. Do you remember how you got here?"

"Yeah," she yawned. "I cam--" Her eyes shot wide open mid-word and she slapped her hands over her mouth. "Th-there was an akuma!"

∴

Oh god, she almost said she came here on purpose, and not because she'd been high as a kite on whatever kitty hormones had coursed through her veins while she was Lady Noire.

Well, she couldn't blame it just on the kitty hormones. Regular hormones were bad enough. And if she was even more honest with herself she had wanted to wake up next to Luka Couffaine, the gentleman rocker, ever since she found herself thinking about blues more than greens, distressed more than clean and crisp, shy but warm laughter more than confused smiles.

So basically for a couple of years now.

She should have seen it coming. When she and Mister Bug decided to swap permanently she'd been informed by Plagg that should she choose it, she'd be able to tap into some latent powers with the side effect of being more like the animal the Miraculous represented. She didn't think it'd be a problem so she chose it. Cats just slept all the time. If she didn't have to worry about being Ladybug anymore she could afford more sleep, right?

What she didn't really account for (and she should have after a facepalm worthy moment where she realized Plagg had been teasing it all along) was the heat. Or whatever it was that made her way more… touch-oriented, and way less inhibited than usual.

She'd been alright with napping more often. She'd been alright about unconsciously licking her hands clean. It was convenient that she was the daughter of bakers and helped out making pastries. She was practically covered in flour and sugar all the time anyway (regardless, she always washed her hands after). She didn't have a tail to swish around whenever she was annoyed so nothing about her was more cat-like than usual. Though she was annoyed more often now that she thought about it.

The cat-ness also severely affected her sense of smell.

She wasn't alright with how good some people smelled, especially near her period. When she and Kagami were having a juice date Marinette legitimately drooled at how vibrantly citrusy the fencer was. Alya, Nino, and most of Kitty Section smelled pleasant. Her parents smelled… well, familiar, which was to be expected. Adrien also smelled familiar, which was unexpected.

Luka was the worst. She couldn't place the scent but she kept thinking of blueberries, sea salt, chocolate, ocean waves lapping at her feet, the warmth of a crackling bonfire with the cooling sea breeze, and how badly she wanted to curl herself around him and take in his everything. It wasn't just near her period. It was all the time.

It seemed like after the late-night/early-morning akuma attack she had nearly gone ahead and wrapped herself around him in her kitty hormone addled brain. God, he had smelled so good and her brain had still been fuzzy at the edges when he woke her up, but she had quickly gotten to her senses after he had looked a little panicked and she had noticed that she was detransformed.

She couldn't blame him for being panicked. If the situation was reversed she might have screamed and tossed him across the Seine.

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Luka," she said in her own panic. She looked off to the side and nervously played with the rose-gold ring on her right hand, wondering where Plagg had gone. She looked back at Luka when he blew out a relieved sigh.

"Hey, it was the akuma," he laughed. "You alright? Not hurt anywhere?"

"I'm alright, yeah," she answered, then suddenly frowned. Plagg, that little shit, what the hell was he doing? She found him laying on top of Luka's head, smiling a wide Cheshire cat smile.

"I don't know why the miraculous ladybugs didn't drop you off back home," Luka said, sounding like he was talking more to himself than to her. "Maybe it works differently for Mister Bug?"

Marinette could definitely fudge it and say that the Miraculous Ladybugs kinda… skipped her. "Haha, maybe I was too far from them?" Marinette forced a laugh.

Luka shrugged. "Still, I'm guessing you'd wanna go back home, right?"

Hmm, not really. And well, her ride back home was currently lounging in Luka's hair. She reached out a hand to try to catch Plagg but the kwami slipped out of her grasp. She ended up just… petting Luka. "Oh! S-sorry you had something in your hair," she said quickly, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

"Thanks?" He said, a deep blush rising up to his cheeks. He swept his hair back after Marinette reluctantly drew back her hand and for a long moment Marinette just stared. The younger Couffaines had a mild tendency to hide behind brightly colored bangs when they were feeling shy, but Luka had as much unconventional beauty packed in his features as Juleka did.

And Juleka could very well be a supermodel if she wanted.

"I'll give you a ride back on my bike. Is that alright?" He asked as his blush faded. He still looked a little nervous with his hand on the back of his neck.

"I'd love a ride," she said absently, another yawn overtaking her. Ugh, his bed was so warm and smelled so nice and she would most definitely like to ride him--ride with him, WITH him, WITH him. Yeah, she should go home now before she ruined everything.

At least, that had been the plan. They had gone down to the garage and chatted lightly after getting geared up one after the other, both more than thankful that Luka's roommate was dead asleep in the other room. The ride was smooth and relatively short so she hadn't been thinking about how she wanted to feel him under her the whole time, no, not at all. He parked nearby as her housing complex had like, no available spaces, and walked the block and a half to her apartment with her so she could get out of the borrowed gear without going barefoot in her pajamas.

As he was heading out with the spare gear over his arms, she stopped him. "Thanks for getting me home and… for everything. I'm… I'm glad I didn't end up anywhere else," Marinette said with a shy smile. She got up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

"No problem," he said slowly, mostly surprised with a blush creeping over his face. "See you later?"

She had a giant yawn escape her after she closed the door and started walking back to her bedroom. Plagg zipped out of her pajama pants pocket to float in front of her. "Yanno you kissed him on the mouth, right?" he snickered.

∴

Luka slowly leaned forward and rested his head against her door. Had she just kissed him? Had she just kissed him and he said "see you later" like a dumbass? He tried to stifle a groan and pressed his head harder into the door when the door swung open away from him with surprising speed. Three things worked against him as he tried to recover from stumbling forward: being caught off guard, his arms already carrying stuff that made him unbalanced, and gravity.

Good thing Marinette was there to break his fall. The bad thing was Marinette had some really amazing reflexes and honed self-defense skills because she guided his momentum into throwing him onto the floor, landing him on his back. She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands after realizing what she had done. "Oh my god! Luka are you okay?!"

"Don't know," he said, blinking up at the ceiling. He'd been dressed for the slide but definitely felt hit by a truck after she'd kissed him. "Probably," he said after a beat. "Was that an accident?"

"… Yeah, I don't usually throw you to the ground?" Marinette replied, confused.

"No, you kissed me."

She made a couple of noises that sounded like abortive starts at sentences. "I… guess I don't usually do that either," she ultimately sighed, pressing one delicate hand to her very red cheeks. She knelt down next to him and brushed his hair away from his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be okay if you kiss me again," he said, thinking he'd be able to get away with ha, just kidding if she wasn't into it but desperately hoping she would be. Something in her expression shifted and he almost felt his soul leave his body. He started propping himself up by his hands looking for the gear that got flung aside when he was pulled up the rest of the way to sitting by his jacket collar.

He got hit by another metaphorical truck. She pressed her lips to his, which was pretty great by itself but then it got more and intense and open and she unbuttoned his collar and zipped down his jacket. The temperature of the room instantly got stifling and he was sure part of his brain melted.

She pulled back a bit and they got a few breaths of air. He should have used that time to ask Can this be an every day thing but then she licked her lips and all coherent thoughts evaporated. He didn't notice that she successfully tugged his jacket off. Didn't feel it when he got pushed back down. Did notice when she sat on his lap and leaned forward to kiss him hard over and over again. He only heard the faintest buzz of his phone that had almost been drowned out by her tiny, breathy moans, and that had only sunk in and registered after she sat back up and growled at it.

She picked it up and nearly threw it against her couch except she caught a glimpse of something and said "Goddamn it."

It wasn't his finest moment. "Huh?"

"Akuma. Sorry, Luka!" She took his hands off of her ass and jumped up. Somehow she hauled him up to his feet and pushed him out the still opened door, pressing his jacket and phone into his hands. "I'll get the rest of the stuff to you later okay? I'm so sorry!"

"Wait. Hold on, what--" She cut him off by kissing him again, which was a surprisingly effective tactic.

"I'll meet you for lunch, but for now I gotta g--hide! Be safe! Sorry!" Then the door slammed shut.

The phone buzzed in his hand and he took a look at the notifications. They were all from his roommate, the bastard.

Just now Di © K: Hope ur ok where ever the fuck u r

One minute ago Di © K: Shit akuma

Two minutes ago Di © K: Oi whered u go

Three minutes ago Di © K: ? Di © K: Lulu Di © K: Heeeeey Di © K: Hey

… Didn't the whole thing with akumas mean he should have stayed indoors? With her?

He wasn't sure he could sit on his bike comfortably for the next little while anyway.

∴

Mister Bug swore almost every other akuma was some damned mind-control wizard. Of course it had to be one of those today, and of course today Lady Noire was especially pissed off so she was slightly more reckless than usual. Which was saying something, as Mister Bug had seen her go on a rampage not 8 hours ago and that had been one of the quickest akuma fights he'd ever seen. Seen and not participated in, as he'd been left nothing but cleanup.

Heatstroke or whatever had literally thrown the akumatized object at Lady Noire's feet after she had beaten and clawed the shit out of him. He was cowering in the relative security of a dumpster bin when Mister Bug found him.

She must have really loved her sleep. It'd been maybe 2am?

This latest akuma called herself the Directator. She'd been managing a movie set and of course something had gone wrong early in the day. So Hawky gave her the power to truly direct everything to her heart's desire or similar bullshit like that. Mister Bug and Lady Noire took maybe a few minutes to try to figure things out when Lady Noire skipped straight to the attack phase, beating Directator with the director's chair.

He should have noticed that she was ready to pounce when Lady Noire's ears were angled back and her electric green tail was whipping back and forth in a threatening fashion. She'd been way more actual-cat-like than he ever was as Chat Noir.

Directator panicked and commanded Lady Noire to 1) stop attacking her, 2) put the director's chair down gently, 3) be a nice kitty, 4) take off and go.

Mister Bug spent the next few minutes chasing after Lady Noire. When he finally caught up with her and stopped her, she put up her hands. He sighed with relief that she still wanted to work with him. He'd been relieved all up until she started slapping him with those hands and he fell back in surprise. She took off again.

It looked like she was heading in a particular direction so, after deciding to stay back a bit, Mister Bug trailed after her to see where she ended up. He didn't have to wait too long until she stopped running across the rooftops and dropped down to street level, where she seemed to chat up a dude in full riding gear next to a motorcycle. The next thing he saw was Lady Noire taking motorcycle guy by the waist and using her baton to propel them both to the roof of the tallest nearby building.

Maybe he should… do something about that? Especially since it seemed like Motorcycle Guy was screaming out a "what the fuuuuck".

Mister Bug went after them and found Motorcycle Guy sitting against the raised ledge of the building with Lady Noire curled up against him, sitting on his lap. Adrien coughed to hide and try to suppress his laughter. Motorcycle Guy raised his visor (oh hey, it was Luka) and asked "What's going on?"

Before Mister Bug could answer Lady Noire leapt up and stamped her foot in front of Adrien. "No! He's mine! Leave us alone!!" she hissed.

"I'm what?" Luka said incredulously.

Mister Bug backed up a few steps to placate her. "Yeah, okay," he chuckled. "You're being a nice kitty, right?"

She huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm always nice."

"You're right. So the nice kitty will let me talk to her friend for a minute, right? 'Cause you're such a nice Lady Noire?"

"Only a minute," she said unhappily. She was pouting.

"Great!" Mister Bug said cheerfully. He walked over to Luka and contemplated what to do on the way.

∴

(Just a bit earlier)

Where had Marinette disappeared to? Luka had knocked several times after she shut him out but she didn't answer. He pressed his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything but it was dead silent on the other side. She wouldn't have made out with him and thrown him out like this and ghosted him… would she? It didn't seem like a Marinette thing. Not that he was an expert in all things Marinette… one day he'd like to see if she'd let him become one though.

He had loitered around her place for probably 20 minutes trying to convince himself to not break in and find out what happened. He'd have to respect her privacy and he did, really, but the last akuma attack magically teleported her to his someone else's bed and his thoughts were slowly spiraling into dangerous territory, where he imagined her ending up in Adrien's bed and her realizing she had better people than Luka to roll around under the bedcovers with.

Be cool, man, he thought at himself. Not going to help anyone if he suffered a mental breakdown. There might be a non-zero chance that she ended up back at his place? Okay that seemed too optimistic but… he should probably let his flatmate know he was fine and that he was heading back anyway.

He walked out to his bike after putting his jacket back on and unlocked the rear seat off to get to his helmet. He'd been ready to get back on the bike and ride off when he heard more than saw someone plunk down next to him. He turned and Lady Noire was looking directly at him. "Hi Luka," she said. "I need you."

"For the akuma?" He asked. Maybe he needed to be Viperion again? "Okay?" She rushed in and threw him over her shoulder, then they were a hundred meters in the air. "What the fuck?!"

He got plopped down against the ledge of the building and then she sat curled up on him. It might have been his imagination but… she was purring? This was… not making any sense at all. Luka saw Mister Bug land on the roof and the spotted hero managed to get Lady Noire off of him for a minute.

Mister Bug walked over and sighed before talking with Luka. That was a bad sign. "I'm sorry to have to ask this, but could you… stay with her until I can deal with this akuma? I just needed to know she's safe and in one place."

"… What?"

"Mind control akuma. Lady Noire's been hit with some weird commands." Mister Bug paused and looked thoughtful. "Hmm, I don't know, actually. Seems like she's just doing whatever she wants to outside of being ordered to leave the scene."

"Can't you fix that? Or… maybe get me out of here?"

"It'll be fixed after I deal with the akuma. I don't know if you noticed but Kitty here has been pretty extreme recently. Might be safer for everyone, including both me and you, if she's here and not ordered to Cataclysm anyone or anything." Mister Bug dropped his voice to a whisper. "Never thought she'd be a loose cannon. She might just attack me again so I'm not going to tempt fate if she just wants to hang out with you." Mister Bug shrugged at Luka. "Hey, greater good and all that. I promise I'll fix this as soon as I can. Take care of her, alright?"

"Hey wait--" "Bug out!"

Mister Bug up and left them. Shit. Lady Noire came walking back and looked over the edge of the building to make sure Mister Bug was gone. She sat back down next to Luka. "Okay, good, it's just us!" she beamed, hugging him.

"Uh," Luka started uncomfortably. "Not… to try to make things any weirder, but… could you get off of me?"

She pulled back, looking hurt. "You don't like me?"

"I… don't know who you are. I mean as a person, not a superhero." Luka tried to say that gently enough to not set her off. "I might like you if I got to know you?" He backtracked, feeling unsure. "But I mean, I'm just not great with the touching. I'm… into someone and it feels wrong to have someone else be this close."

Her ears flattened out to the side. "Who's that?" she asked, half sad and half… bitter? He felt like he just waded into turbulent waters. He didn't want to throw anyone under the Lady Noire murder bus, least of all Marinette.

"I'll tell you if you stay here," he compromised, hoping that he didn't just sign any death warrants. "Besides, you know her already. She usually chases after you."

"Alya?!" Lady Noire was shocked.

"No, Marinette? She always runs out to--"

"But I'm Marinette."

"… You. You're Marinette? Marinette Du--"

"Dupain-Cheng, yeah. That's me."

Oh. "… I thought you weren't supposed to tell anyone who you were?"

She snorted. "I can do whatever I want!" She leaned in closer. "So does this mean I can touch you again?"

∴

It was just a few moments shy of Mister Bug letting the ladybugs set everything back to normal, so he ignored the notification on his yo-yo from Lady Noire. He checked it after and saw one line: "Taking Luka home now! ;)" Oh boy. Well, she should be relatively okay now. Luka would be fine.

Hopefully…

∴

Lady Noire started whining and that whine turned into a full blown scream in the middle of dropping from the roof, just as the Miraculous Cure worked its magic over her. Luckily she still landed softly enough while she held onto Luka, so it wasn't that she had lost control or anything. She immediately jumped away from him after setting him on his feet.

"Oh my god I am so, so, so, so sorry Luka," she cried, covering her entirely red face with her hands.

"Thank god you're back to normal," Luka sighed, leaning back against the building.

"Any chance you could forget all that?" Lady Noire asked nervously, dropping her hands back to fiddle with her baton. She looked like she wanted to leave Earth as soon as she possibly could.

All that included him taking his helmet off, her crawling back into his lap and grinding herself against him, her ripping apart his jacket and shirt (they were fixed now), peppering him with kisses and tiny bites everywhere, and doing all of this while she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng underneath it all. He did his best to keep up and reciprocate but she was superpowered. She barely let him breathe but he survived. And he'd enjoyed it. He had enjoyed the hell out of it. But at the same time he had gotten thoroughly overwhelmed.

He didn't want to forget all that, but… "I can if you want me to," he sighed. She'd been mind-controlled, after all. "It was all the akuma, right?" Too bad. "What… about earlier?"

She opened her mouth to reply but inhaled too quickly and started coughing. "Um, I…" She coughed again. "Er. Um…" She bit her lip and looked down, muttering something to herself.

∴

Goddamn it, Plagg. Plagg had mentally kicked her and the voice in her head said "Cat's already outta the bag, toots, you've been wanting to mount that guy for-e-ver. Don't you dare take it back." It startled her enough to cause her to choke on air.

"Um, I… Er. Um…" She kicked at the ground. She wanted this. She wanted this. No mind-influencing akuma had told her to kiss him, that had been completely her. "No, don't… don't forget anything. I wanted all that," she sighed. "It was all me."

He raised his helmet visor to get a better look at her. "Are you sure?"

She nodded and looked back up at him. "I'm sure. I… kinda want to continue, too?"

It sounded like he choked. "I… wouldn't mind that."

She glanced back at her apartment a few blocks away. "See you in a few?"

∴

(Some time later)

Luka hadn't completely gotten used to waking up with someone else in bed. He wasn't sure if he ever would, since every time he woke up next to Marinette it'd been nothing short of amazing and he'd felt like he was dreaming but no, she was actually there.

Occasionally he'd have to deal with waking up in the middle of the night because she'd leave for patrol, or had come back from it to snuggle back into his arms. It wasn't really a problem because they were together in the morning.

He didn't really miss waking up alone.

[sinsofafangirl]

Chapter Three.

"You're just a stupid little girl who has done nothing but ruin everything I've ever worked for - your father would be ashamed"

"I'm glad your father's dead, he doesn't have to see what a wretch and a cancer you've become"

"Police Academy?! Ha! Maybe I'll get lucky and someone sensible with half a brain will shoot you like your failure of a father"

Ava woke with a start, her body jolting upright, her eyes still heavy with sleep unable to focus on her unfamiliar surroundings as her heart pounded erratically and her chest heaved as she struggled to shake off the remnants of the all too familiar dream. Too caught up in regaining her composure she never noticed the bucket of water or the person throwing it until she was drenched and spluttering. Her hands came up to rub her eyes in an attempt to once again clear her vision before throwing a glare at the offending person "'bout time you woke up, almost thought you'd died and saved me a whole lotta trouble" a roll of her eyes indicated she'd heard him, she just refused to give him a reaction. Of fucking course it'd be Jacob Seed to get her wet in the frosty early morning air and not in the good way. "Fuck off, Seed" came her irked reply mentally slapping herself for actually responding to him "someone wake up on the wrong side of the cage this morning?" a question asked without an ounce of genuine care and a smirk so fraudulent it made her old Barbie dolls seem a hundred per cent real in comparison. Ava didn't reply and instead huffed in annoyance; she was exhausted and her entire body ached from having to sleep on the dirty floor all night so she was in no mood for being patronised by an asshole choosing to focus on trying to untangle the mess of brunette hair with nothing but her fingers - unsuccessfully I might add which only worsened her already sour mood. Refusing to give up her hands continued as best they could to untangle some of the easier knots and avoiding the still tender area of where she'd been struck a few hours earlier.

Cerulean blue eyes watched as she stubbornly refused to give up enjoying the small huffs of frustration he'd hear occasionally. If he was any sort of gentleman he'd offer her an extra set of hands but he found watching her struggle much more entertaining. Instead the former army marksman took the opportunity to study the young woman sitting awkwardly in his cage; always know your enemy he thought as his gaze wandered over her. Now that it was daytime he could get a good look at her; hair a chocolaty brown and even though it was currently a mess you could see she took care of it, she must have been about 5"2 and a hundred and five pounds if that which surprised him considering she put quite a bit of force into the kick to his face last night - not enough to hurt him too much but she still managed to draw blood. That didn't mean anything to him though, she was still weak and he looked forward to putting her through her paces and beyond but for now his studying continued now noting her eyes that were a sea green "you getting off on this, Seed?" then there was that mouth of hers always too quick with a smart remark and a sarcastic comment - that would soon change, he'd break that bad habit first. "You could have avoided all of this if you and your friends had just walked away" which was true but Ava wasn't about to admit that especially not to Jacob who currently sat upon a metal chair, his large arms folded across his chest whilst his legs stretched out before him crossing at his feet; dickhead came to mind as she finally gave up on trying to tame her unruly hair and turned her attention to the eldest of the three siblings. Easier to see him properly within the early morning rays of sunshine peeking through. The photos provided within the manila folder didn't give much detail; too grainy to actually make anything out but now in the morning light she noticed just how beautiful his eyes were and yes, she hated herself for admitting it and yes, she almost threw up in her mouth but she couldn't deny that they were strikingly beautiful and one of the first things she'd noticed. His scars and his burns weren't even on her radar as she casually studied him whilst his attention was momentarily elsewhere, of course they were noticeable and of course she was curious about them; how had he gotten such severe scarring? Did they bother him? Then she snorted realising what a stupid thought that was - it was Jacob Seed as if anything bothered him.

Her snort caught his attention and his eyes snapped back to her making her look away "somethin' funny?" completely ignoring his question Ava rose to her knees and shuffled until she was at the front of the cage "to answer your previous statement. If you and your freakshow of a family acted like decent human beings none of this would have happened" she spat venomously, her facial expression twisting into something that conveyed hatred. Within an instant Jacob's demeanor changed from one of mild amusement and boredom to that of white hot rage, his hands came up to slam on the bars of the cage as he shot forward making the young woman fall back in fear and shuffle as far back as possible - everyone knew not to slander his family in anyway but apparently Ava didn't get that memo and instantly regretted running her mouth as she saw the sheer anger in his glare and the way his hands gripped the bars hard enough to turn his knuckles white. She wasn't afraid to admit that she was terrified right now but her wide green eyes couldn't look away "don't ever talk ill of my family" his voice despite being low was filled with rage and a fierce protectiveness that almost sounded like a growl, it made a chill run down her spine. If making situations worse by running your mouth was an Olympic event Ava would get gold everytime, it was a talent and right now it was one she wished she never had.

His gaze lingered on her for a few more moments as if contemplating his next move and Ava just prayed to whatever higher power that existed that it didn't involve him opening the cage. Instead Jacob released his grip, stood swiftly from the chair and moved towards two of his Chosen; unable to hear what he was saying Ava closed her eyes and made a mental note not to mention his family again. When she reopened them she noticed Jacob had headed inside the Veterans Centre and the men he'd been talking to heading her way "time to get cleaned up little lady, brother Jacob's orders" cleaned up? Wonderful she thought knowing it wasn't about to be a warm bubble bath waiting for her. When she hadn't moved quickly enough the cage door was wrenched open and a dirty hand grasped her hair making Ava his in pain as he dragged her kicking and screaming across the compound "quite ya flappin' girly, it ain't doin' ya no good" she didn't listen and despite her ankle throbbing she managed to get a lucky hit on the shin of the second man who cursed loudly before regaining his composure and back handing her for the trouble making her head swing back, almost seeing stars from the impact.

Ava was thrown unceremoniously onto the hard floor of a dimly lit concrete room, her hands and knees stinging from taking the brunt of the impact, this made her glance over her shoulder and glare at her two 'knights in shining armour' but they'd already left leaving her to her own devices for the time being. Her mind wondered what their version of 'getting cleaned up' was because judging from the state of them and the smell she had to endure on the way over they hadn't bathed in quite some time; hypocrites.

Ava noticed the medium sized drainage hole in the middle of the room and the large hose pipe hanging neatly on the wall near the door but her muddled mind didn't put two and two together and paid no attention to it, instead she focused on the door and wondered if they'd been stupid enough to leave it unlocked. It couldn't possibly be that easy to get off here, right? As if she'd be able to just open the door and go? Seeing as she was cold, exhausted and hungry Ava didn't think she had much of a choice and even with a bad ankle she could suffer through the pain long enough to get away from this place.

Without hesitation she slowly pushed herself up off the unforgiving floor and hobbled towards the door; her ankle protesting every step she made but she wasn't about to let that stop her when her freedom was so close that she could almost taste it.

A shaky hand reached out towards the handle, her fingers brushing it gently but to her horror it moved and the door began to open making her recoil from the fiery haired brute who had just stepped inside "goin' somewhere, pup?" he asked, his face showed no emotion and neither did his voice which didn't bode well for the brunette now sat on the floor - the momentum of trying to move away quick enough meant she fell ass backwards and her ass had no padding so no doubt that would be yet another bruise for her.

"Strip" came his clipped demand, his gaze fixed and hard on the woman in front of him. His arms were folded across his chest again and Ava wondered if that was a natural stance for him or if it was to stop him from possibly murdering her. Her brows furrowed in confusion at his demand "what?" "you heard me, I said strip" again, his tone was short and clipped but that didn't stop Ava who scoffed and point blank refused. There was no way she was going to strip for him "and if I don't?" she asked raising an eyebrow as if to challenge him which with all things considered was probably pretty stupid on her part but up until this point her life had been a series of stupid events so why not continue?

It was then she realised her mistake and her eyes widened in absolute fear as Jacob stormed across the room and it was in that moment she saw that rage within his eyes from earlier and prayed that whatever death was coming it'd be quick. All of a sudden she found herself pinned to the cold, harsh floor with one of his hands around her throat, his grip hard enough to leave bruises whilst his other hand pinned both her wrist above her - she had nowhere to go because her legs were useless at this point and even they weren't she doubted she'd have enough strength to fend him off long enough to reach the door. His face was now right above hers, his breath hot on her face as she struggled to for air "you'll learn why I'm the best at what I do and you'll either play nice and fall in line remembering that you're nothin' more than meat that's expendable" as if to emphasize his point his grip around her throat became that much tighter that she'd started to squirm beneath him, panic mode had kicked in as her vision became cloudy. She truly thought she was about to die and in the back of her mind she found she was okay with that because that would mean she would finally meet her father. In her current situation she was completely powerless to stop him from choking the life out of her and snapping her neck like a twig but apparently he wasn't feeling that murderous today and released his grip just enough for her to gasp for air " - or you'll be culled, tied up and used as live target practice for my Chosen, so what will it be, princess?"

Ava gasped and spluttered again fighting for air unable to give him a physical answer Ava weakly nodded as much as his grip allowed making a cruel smirk replace the scowl he'd been wearing previously" good girl, you know what to do" within an instant he'd relinquished his grip on both her wrists and her throat and had returned to his previous position. His gaze hardened and cold as watched her pathetically regain her composure.

With no other option but to do as she was told the young brunette cautiously and fearfully began to slip out of her deputy uniform as shaking hands fumbled with zips, buckles and buttons. His never wavering gaze didn't help her much either and not knowing if he would strangle her again also didn't help but soon enough she'd managed to discard her uniform leaving her in nothing but her bra and underwear; surely I can keep these on, right? This made Ava look over towards him and in return he merely nodded making tears spring to her eyes as she tentatively reached for the clasp of her bra at the back to unhook it before letting it drop to the floor. Ava gulped down the feeling of nausea before scrunching her face in pain as she winced - her throat would be sore for a good while and no doubt the bruises he left will last weeks before they fade.

Refusing to let him have the satisfaction of seeing her cry, Ava thumbed the elastic of her underwear before tugging them down over her hips, thighs and legs before discarding them with the rest of her clothes. Every part of her was open to him, she felt extremely vulnerable wished she was anywhere but here. Her earlier bravado had been stripped from her and now she naked and exposed in front of him. A face full of cold, harsh water soon broke her train of thought as the force of the pressure slammed her against the nearest wall making her cry out but this only resulted in more coughing and spluttering from the woman. Not that she could see but she could already tell that her skin had probably turned a nice shade of red if pain was anything to go by.

No matter how hard she tried to cover herself from the onslaught of water it just never made a difference, instead she gave up and pressed herself against the cold wall waiting for it to be over.

After what felt like an eternity the water stopped and she was left sore, drenched and very, very cold if her shivering was anything to go by. It's the type of cold that works its way into your bones and then it's icy tendrils wrap itself around your core and you genuinely wonder if you'll ever feel warmth again. "Get dressed" a flurry of definitely used clothes that consisted of ratty dark jeans and a fade flannel shirt hit her but Ava was that cold she would have worn a garbage bag to get warm at this point so she hurriedly threw them on making a note of just how big they were on her, not that she was about to complain especially if it meant being stripped again.

By now Jacob stood in front of what he could only assume was a drowned rat, her hair now forcefully untangled hung dripping onto the flannel she wore as he grasped her jaw he noticed how she flinched but said nothing, his grip just hard enough to have her attention and possibly leave bruises "when you behave yourself you get privileges like clothes but if you keep running that mouth of yours and misbehaving those privileges get taken away and you'll get punished. I'm sure my men out there would love to see the sight that I just saw and I mean, who knows what would happen if I'm not around" his not so subtle threat was quickly understood; the possibility of getting raped wasn't something she wanted "have I made myself clear?" "y - yes" Jacob quirked an eyebrow and gripped her jaw that little bit harder; more bruises to add to the collection she thought as she painfully cleared her throat "y - yes, sir" her voice was hoarse and it hurt to talk but her answer seemed to satisfy him because relinquished his grip and strode to the door, an arm keeping it open as he glanced at the sorry state of a deputy.

"Time for your trainin', let's go, pup" Ava meekly nodded; too tired and too fearful at this point to put up a fight. Her stomach filled with dread as she made her way towards the door.

It couldn't get any worse, right?

[pentakillmaven]

The Nose Knows, Chapter 7 (NaNoWriMo 2018)

Hello again! Sorry for the delay on posting this chapter! I’ve actually written through Chapter 9 at this point but I was afraid to post with all the crazy stuff going on with Tumblr recently. However, I figured it’s been too long, so here’s Chapter 7!

Chapter Rating: T (Actually probably more of a G but want to be safe)

Chapter Warnings: Mild angst in this chapter, but we’re getting closer to the payoff!

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

Chapter 7

Marinette collapsed onto her chaise face down, groaning into the pillow. "Tikkiiiiiii… Do I have to go on patrol tonight?"

Tikki clicked her tongue rather unsympathetically at her holder. "Marinette, you're the one who scheduled this group patrol in the first place. It's not becoming of a hero to cancel something this important at the last minute.

"I know," Marinette grumbled as she rolled over to face her Kwami. "But I'm exhausted, and after what just happened with Adrien, I'm…" She didn't even know how to put her thoughts into words just yet. The way his wide green eyes met hers as he handed over her purse… the smell that had been tickling the back of her mind all week… It was all too much for her to comprehend in her current state.

"Well, the transformation will help a bit with the exhaustion, at least," Tikki reasoned.

"That's true… I've noticed that in the past. It's almost like an adrenaline surge, or getting your second wind while staying up all night."

Tikki nodded. "I think you need to go, but I'm sure your friends wouldn't mind if you did cut it a little short tonight."

"Yeah… good idea. But how am I supposed to face Chat, if he's…"

"You'll just have to do your best, Marinette. I'm still not entirely sure what I missed, but I believe you'll do the right thing."

"I hope so… Thanks for listening, Tikki."

"Any time, Marinette." Her Kwami gave her a peck on the cheek, smiling gently at the midnight-haired girl.

"All right, I guess it's time to go." With great effort, Marinette heaved herself to her feet. "Tikki, spots on!"

The quartet of Miraculous holders met up just outside of the Louvre that night. Seeing the exhaustion in her friends’ eyes, she could tell that they were all in the same boat that she was in--no desire to patrol, but feeling the obligation to do so anyway.

“Why don’t we split up into pairs? We can cover more ground that way,” she suggested, conspicuously not looking directly at Chat. “Réna, will you come with me?”

“Of course, Ladybug, but are you sure we can leave the boys to their own devices?” Réna Rouge winked at Carapace and Chat as she spoke.

“They can take care of themselves,” Ladybug replied, turning toward the north. “Réna and I will take the north; Carapace, Chat, you go south. We’ll meet back up here in two hours to debrief before we call it a night.”

“That sounds good to me," Carapace said. Turning to Chat, he asked, “You all right with that, dude?”

“Fine by me.” The black-clad hero was also unusually quiet, not quite meeting anyone’s eyes.

"All right then, let's get this over with. My bed is calling my name."

With a collective nod, the quartet split up, heading in their respective directions. As soon as they were out of earshot of the boys, Réna turned on Ladybug as they made their way across the rooftops of Paris. "All right, LB, you might be able to fool those two knuckleheads, but you can't fool me. What's going on between you and Chat?"

"It's nothing," Ladybug replied tersely. "Chat and I are just fine."

"Oh, please. You know I have three years' worth of video observations of the two of you. You never once looked him in the eye the entire time we were talking. You also stood as far away from him as possible without making it look obvious." When Ladybug leveled Réna with a flat stare, she continued, "I'm pretty sure Carapace didn't notice. I only did because, as previously stated, I've basically been stalking the two of you for three years. Not in a creepy way, but in a journalistic way."

"Right… Look, Réna, you and I both know you had an extremely busy day today, and I did as well, so I really just want to get this patrol over with. If you want to talk about something else, anything else, that's fine; but I am really not in the mood to talk about the current state of my relationship with Chat Noir, okay?"

"Okay, fine," Réna said, a little hurt in her voice.

Ladybug frowned. "I'm sorry. I'm exhausted and not acting like myself. Do you forgive me?"

"Of course. I didn't mean to pry so much. Force of habit, you know?"

"I know. You're going to make a hell of a journalist someday."

"You think so?"

"I know so. I believe in you."

Réna smiled, her eyes a bit watery all of a sudden, "Thanks, Ladybug. That means a lot, coming from you."

Pausing in their patrol for a moment, Ladybug reached over and wrapped her arms around Réna in a hug. "You're welcome." Réna returned the hug readily with a big smile.

Meanwhile, Chat and Carapace were quiet for the better part of half an hour as they started patrolling the southern part of the city. Chat, lost in his thoughts, barely noticed Carapace struggling to keep up with his blistering pace as he raced across rooftops and leaped over streets. It wasn't until Carapace practically yelled his name as he landed on top of Tour Montparnasse that he stopped, turning back to look at the other young man on a lower roof nearby. Wincing, Chat jumped down to rejoin his patrol partner. "Sorry, Carapace… I'm not exactly great company tonight, am I?"

Carapace waved him off, though he was bent double as he caught his breath. After a minute of deep breathing, Carapace looked back up at Chat. "You have something on your mind, dude?"

"Not really… I mean… yes, I do, but I'm not sure if I can talk about it. It's not something I'm supposed to discuss."

"Oh. Well, if you need help with anything, I'm here for you, dude."

"Thanks... " Chat thought for a moment, then remembered something Ladybug had told him back during the Heroes' Day incident. "Actually, I have a question."

"Shoot!"

"You know Réna Rouge's civilian identity, right?"

Carapace nodded. "Yeah, has Ladybug not told you who we are?" When Chat shook his head, Carapace frowned slightly. "Oh… Okay, well I guess I won't say it then. But yeah, Réna and I both know each other as civilians. Why do you ask?"

"Well… how did you feel when you found out?"

"How did I feel? Mostly confused, I guess. I mean, I'd never met Réna before that day, so I had no idea she was secretly a superhero. But she already knew, or at least had a hunch, that I was Carapace. I mean, thinking back on it, I guess it was kind of obvious. I was trying to keep her safe from an Akumatized villain, Ladybug saved me at the last second, and then like two minutes later she shows back up with Carapace."

As Carapace spoke, Chat nodded along, remembering the day that Carapace had helped Ladybug defeat Anansi. But hearing that day from Carapace's point of view made something click in Chat's head. "Wait… wait a second. Nino?"

Carapace gave Chat a weak chuckle. "Heh heh… hey, dude."

"Wait, so if you're Nino… Réna is Alya, isn't she?" Everything made sense now--like why Réna and Carapace already had so much chemistry together. They were dating! When Carapace nodded again, Chat flopped down onto the roof, unable to keep his legs under him.

"Okay, okay, so you're Nino, Réna is Alya… do either of you know who Ladybug's civilian identity is?"

"No way, dude. She hasn't revealed anything to us about who she is in real life. She hasn't told you, either, has she?"

"No, she hasn't… I've asked her before, but she insists that it's important for us to keep our identities safe."

"I mean, I can kind of understand why. Alya--Réna Rouge--and I haven't fought any Akumatized villains since that incident a few years ago, but I know that when I first got my powers as Carapace I was terrified that something would happen and Alya would get hurt. I can't imagine how much worse it will be if she gets attacked by a villain while she isn't Réna Rouge--especially if it's my fault that she is targeted in the first place."

"That's… a good point, actually," Chat conceded. "But you'll be able to watch each other's backs, since you see each other every day."

"True. I think I know where you're coming from--you think that you and Ladybug should reveal your identities to one another, don't you?"

"Yes! I'm glad someone else gets it."

"Yeah, I get it. I'm not sure I fully agree, but I understand at least."

"What do you mean, you don't fully agree?"

"Well… Look at it this way. If I didn't know Alya was Réna, then I would be concerned for her, sure, but I wouldn't be scared for her. You know? Like... hypothetically speaking, if a villain found out who I was, and went after Alya to get to me… I don't know how I would handle it."

"Oh…" Chat thought about that for a moment, picturing Marinette in his head, happy and smiling… and then picturing Hawk Moth standing over her lifeless body… just the mental image made him shudder with fear and tension. "Okay, I see what you're getting at."

"Good. I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing for you to find out, but I'm also not saying it's something you should rush into. You know?"

"Yeah, I understand. If it happens organically, that's one thing… but maybe trying to force her hand isn't the best idea."

"Definitely not. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

"Thanks for the advice. I needed that."

"Any time, dude! Now, let's get back to patrolling so we can finish up and head home. I'm completely wiped out."

Chat nodded in agreement. "Definitely. We have a lot of ground to cover and less than an hour and a half to do it in. I'll try not to leave you behind this time."

"Thanks. I get that you're more experienced at this than me, but you don't have to rub it in my face!"

"Sorry! That was claw-fully rude of me." At the pun, Carapace groaned and rubbed his temples with his hands.

"If this is what it's like to patrol with you all the time, I can see why Ladybug needed a break," he replied playfully.

"Hey! Don't you talk about My Lady like that!" Carapace laughed and darted off, Chat leaping after him, starting a game of cat-and-turtle that doubled as their patrol.

Finally, close to midnight, the heroes returned to their starting point at the Louvre. Ladybug and Réna made it just a few minutes before Chat and Carapace, waiting for the boys on the highest portion of the museum's roof.

"Where have you two slowpokes been?" Réna asked when Chat and Carapace joined them.

"Oh, you know, just off doing guy stuff," Chat replied.

"So, what, having a burping competition or something?"

Chat had the good sense to look scandalized at the suggestion, but Carapace laughed and nudged Chat in the ribs. "Dude, she's on to us!"

Ladybug giggled at Carapace's response. "Looks like you two are getting along well."

"Yeah, I think we're going to be good friends," Chat said, turning to Carapace and offering a fist bump. The green-clad hero returned the gesture readily.

"Well, I think it's about time I hit the road," Réna said, stifling a yawn. "I need to be getting back home soon or my family might realize that I'm gone."

"Actually, I'm in the same boat." Carapace stepped toward Réna as he spoke. "Let me walk you home?"

"I suppose," Réna acquiesced with an overly dramatic sigh. "But only because you're cute. Don't stay up too late, you two!"

"Good night guys! Great work tonight!" Ladybug called as the two headed off toward home. She watched them leave for a minute until they were out of sight, then turned to Chat. "So… looks like it's just you and me, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Chat replied, looking down at his boots intently.

"So… how was your trip?"

"It was fine."

"That's good… Did anything exciting happen while you were gone?"

"Not really."

Ladybug frowned softly, crossing her arms over her chest. "If you don't want to talk to me, Chat, that's fine. But did I do something wrong?"

Ladybug expected any number of things to come out of Chat's mouth--that he was tired, that he couldn't talk about it, that he was angry about something--but what she actually heard was something she absolutely never expected Chat Noir to say. "You stink."

"I--I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, you smell."

"I smell? That's the reason you don't want to talk to me? That's pretty rich coming from the guy whose Kwami eats so much Camembert it's practically oozing out of your pores."

"Oh yeah? Well, your Kwami smells like you've stuffed her full of cookie dough!" Chat raised his eyes to glare at Ladybug.

That settled it--there was no way that Chat Noir could ever be Adrien Agreste. Adrien would never say anything like that, especially to Ladybug. "Well, you smell like a… like a hobo who fell in the sewer!"

"You smell like burnt toast."

"Oh, you take that back!"

"Make me, margarine," Chat spat. With a roar, Ladybug launched herself at him, knocking him to the ground in an all-out tussle.

Somewhere deep in the back of her mind, Ladybug realized that this whole exchange was completely out of character for her--for both of them, in point of fact. But between the late night, the excruciating tests, and that strange tension between Marinette and Adrien earlier, Ladybug had been walking a tightrope of pent-up emotion. Apparently, the same could be said for Chat. All it had taken for the dam to burst was one exhaustion-fueled comment.

In her moment of introspection, Chat got the upper hand in the wrestling match, grabbing Ladybug's wrists and pinning her to the ground, straddling her hips. Looking up at Chat, Ladybug was about to try to buck him off when their eyes met, a strange frisson of energy coursing down her spine. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw how the moonlight reflected in Chat's luminous green eyes, turning his blond hair to pure liquid gold. Chat, too, seemed lost in Ladybug's eyes, his face softening and his grip on her wrists loosening.

"My Lady..."

"Chaton…"

Their faces slowly came closer together, their breath mingling in the narrowing space between them as Ladybug leaned up and Chat leaned down. Ladybug's eyes were glued to Chat's mouth, her own opening as she wet her suddenly dry lips. The movement of her tongue seemed to draw Chat's eyes as well, a soft groan escaping his mouth.

The sound snapped Ladybug out of her trance-like state--she turned her head away quickly. "I-I should go."

Nodding mutely, Chat clambered off of Ladybug, letting her get to her feet. "I'm sorry for what I said, Bugaboo… Still friends?"

"Of course, Chaton. I'm sorry too." Turning away from Chat, she bounded off, leaving him behind on top of the Louvre.

[wish-on-a-wing]

Man oh man you said it so well.

The thing is, I get why people would look after the crutch is gone and think that it's not addressed anymore, thinking the disability is ignored. But it's not, it's just lived with. Remember, people with prosthetics can drive, walk, work out, run etc etc, and sometimes do amazing things most abled people can't - like skater and stuntman Casey Pieretti or Everest climber Tom Whittaker. That doesn't mean their disability has disappeared or doesn't bother them in any way, it just means that it's effects are less visible.

Now, like op said, we can debate whether that should or shouldn't be the case in media, but personally I think it's nice to see such realistic representation. I suffer mild chronic pain myself (usually 2-3 with occasional 4-5) and most people don't even know unless I tell them. My sister is disabled, she uses crutches, but on good days she can go without them short distances. That caused a lot of problems for her growing up, people didn't know how to accept that. I like seeing someone disabled kick ass, but with his disability still not ignored.

That's just my opinion, of course, and we'll have to see how they handle things in s02 as well. They'll need to keep subtly adressing the subject. However, the most important thing to remember is that someone doesn't have to be constantly struggling for them to count as disabled. There's a lot of grey in this field, I'm glad we're getting the shades instead of something black and white.

How to Find a Balance in Representation?

Thoughts about Alex Manes being a disabled war Veteran

I’ve been thinking about writing this meta for quite some time now, but NYCC interviews and some reactions regarding disability representation and PTSD portrayal in Roswell New Mexico, gave me new angle to look at the subject.

This may be an unpopular opinion, I don’t know. I welcome discussion. I think, though, that Roswell NM is not-so-bad, actually. It’s not perfect, of course, but it’s a step in the right direction, compared to most shows. I’m not physically disabled myself, but I do have mental… let’s call it… issues (and leave it at that). But I also think that abled people can and should write (or make tv shows) about those problems and maybe at some point I’ll write why. Now, this meta is about Alex Manes though, so I’ll cut this too-long intro short. ;)

What is good disability representation, then? In my opinion, as a storyteller, good rep should do two things: 1) allow disabled people to see themselves in the character and 2) show abled viewers (readers) that the disabled are also people and normalize their participation in the society.

Perhaps it’s easier to point out what’s bad rep, then? Well, let’s see. Erasure. Magical (sci-fi) healing. Stereotyping. Labeling without actual content. Using as a prop. Using as a tearjerker. Romanticizing. Did I forget anything? Probably. Feel free to add in the comments.

Does Alex Manes fit any of the criteria above? I don’t think so and let me tell you why.

Keep reading

[adhd-ahamilton]

Lams, either canon era or modern AU, 1, 2, 3, 12, 14, 17, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30 (I'm so sorry, feel free to pick and choose from these haha!)

*cracks knuckles*(These are gonna be historical verse, in the context of my ficlets,unless I commit otherwise!) (Also sorry for the wait!! I actually had almost all of this done one the day I said it’d be done, it was just the last 10% that got me lol.)

1. Who is the mostaffectionate?

Alex. For obviousreasons, he’s usually the one to initiate things. (In fact Johnjust kind of straight up basically never initiates through the earlystages of their relationship, because while letting gay things happenis bad, willingly choosing and encouraging gay things is worse to hisconscience. This, uh, isn’t particularly viable of a relationshipin the long term, though.) But Alex is also just the more physicaland touchy of the two of them in general, and is the one more nervousof rejection and needing reassurance. John needs those things too,but not as much as Alex.

2. Big spoon/Littlespoon?

They both do iteither way pretty evenly! They both probably would have a sliiightpreference for being big spoon under normal circumstances, but it’sreally not a big deal and they’re mainly just happy to be close(and warm).

3. Most commonargument?

Heh, I’ve beenthinking about this kind of thing lately but I haven’t quitesettled on much? They definitely seem to be pretty similar people whounderstood each other really well so I feel like they’d be on thesame wavelength a lot. And from the letters they seemed to be prettygood at dealing with each others’ emotions, particularly Ham withLaurens’ depression. But, they both did seem to have various issuesgoing on with their emotions in general, and they were both verypassionate and hot-tempered people with a penchant for being blunterthan they really should. (Also, like, I always imagined Ham being theone to immediately go for the jugular in arguments, but Laurens isthe one who responded to a very mild and possibly imaginary farewell from a good friend by just fucking going off at him about every reason whyhis political views are terrible, so... IDK man.)

So I’m not toosure. Clearly, the situation they’re in as a couple is not an easyone - any people would have to work hard to keep it a positive thingunder those circumstances. Add in that there’s a war going on, andthey’re working day and night and regularly risking their lives,and everything else about the time period... there’s a whollle lotthat would make people frustrated and argumentative.

Though I do thinkthat they probably had at least a few heated discussions aboutpolitics, which may or may not have involved them actually agreeing,but not realising until half an hour in, because they both just takesuch staunch and antagonistic stances.

12. Who initiateskisses?

Alex, for thereasons above~ (Some of the happiest moments for him are the fewtimes John initiates one!)

14. Who kisses thehardest?

John, once he gets abit settled into the relationship. Alex has many reasons to kiss, andkisses in many different ways, but for John, Alex is the first personhe’s kissed who he actually wanted to kiss (with Kinloch it wasessentially handjobs and not much else), and the significance of thatis not lost on him. Kissing, to him, is important.

17. Who says I loveyou first?

Honestly, John isprobably the one who first uses the word in the broader sense ofloving his friend. Alex is definitely the one who uses it first in aromantic sense - aaaaand that’s something that’s gonna happen inan upcoming ficlet, so I shouldn’t say too much more. :P

22. Who cooksmore/who is better at cooking?

I don’t know toomuch about this, but I think that, historical verse, neither of themwould really cook? Like John wouldn’t, obviously, but IDK whetherHam ever really would, either?

So modern AU answer:John doesn’t cook. Has never cooked. Lacked, in fact, the kind ofearly exposure to cooking that teaches you normal common sensethings, like the kind of general temperature range you cook things inan oven at, or to put oil/butter in a pan when frying stuff. He findsthis very embarrassing, but doesn’t really want to practice,because it is very embarrassing and also he doesn’t want anyone toknow. He could give you a decent explanation of the effect ofclassism and the way privilege has allowed him to lack the knowledgeto prepare something he has consumed multiple times a day for hisentire life and needs to survive, though? Which is almost the same asactually knowing how to cook?

Alex DOES know howto cook because, of course, he lacked that privilege. I’m moreshaky on Alex’s background in Joy to the World verse but hedefinitely had extended periods of needing to cook for himself. So hecan mainly cook standard Western individual meals, as well as some traditional PuertoRican stuff he remembers learning from his mum. He’s not, like,super great at it, though? He doesn’t actually enjoy cooking allthat much. It’s just kinda boring to him. And he’s never greatwhen he has to work at someone else’s pace. So he mainly just makessimple stuff. And, y’know, hasn’t always eaten properly, becausea) it’s cheaper, b) he has ADHD and that’s just kind of a thingthat happens when you have that.

24. Who whispersinappropriate things in the other’s ear during inappropriate times?

A L E X. John canbarely bring himself to say normal relationshippy stuff, heh -there’s no way he could bring himself to this. Alex, on the otherhand, would definitely do it. And in fact, given his tendency ofmumbling to himself as he thinks, I feel like he’s the type whowould, if he lets his guard down, just end up muttering streams ofexplicit nonsense during sex.

But I also thinkhe’d do it deliberately? Their experiences with sex are very verydifferent. Alex has had a lot of experience to do it and figure outwhat he enjoys and how to have good sex with another person andexperience pleasure. John...hasn’t. So I feel like Alex would wantto talk a bit, to like, reassure him of the good aspects of it, andhow he’s enjoying it, and to give a lil bit of guidance.

28. What do they dowhen they’re away from each other?

Not very well, bythe sounds of it.;; Which, y’know, again: it’s war. Andcommunication is limited to sending letters back and forth. So it’spretty reasonable.

In general,though... Alexander tends to experience extremes in his emotions, andtends to get very anxious about the people he really cares aboutabandoning him, or not loving him as much, etc. So he tends to obsessa bit when separated from the people he cares about. Definitelycomplains to at least Lafayette and probably just to the peoplearound him in general about the unfairness of it all and how much hemisses him. But at the end of the day, he still has a hell of a lotof work to do, so he does still get on with things.

John, on the otherhand, is pretty much always fighting against rising tides ofdepression in him, and during the war is one of the worst periods forhim. So when things go wrong in general, his brain’s first responseis usually ‘oh. well, I should’ve known. Nothing good ever happensbecause I don’t deserve to be happy and this is just the way theworld is.’ It’s already deliberate work for him to be happy withAlex and in their relationship; when they’re separated it gets alot harder. So he mainly gets sad and distant. But, again, he’salso a very diligent person and he always manages to pull himselfinto working p much as normal, unless the worst of the apathy takesover.

29. one headcanonabout this OTP that breaks your heart

I can never stopwondering what Hamilton must have thought and felt post-Combahee. Wealready know that he was aware that Laurens was tempted by the ideaof suicide. I can’t imagine he wouldn’t have learned of thecircumstances of his death. I wonder what he thought about it. Did hewonder what impact he had on it all? Whether he should have saidmore, or said different things? Or left him alone altogether?

30. one headcanonabout this OTP that mends it

I’m glad that Hamilton didn’t die, then. There’s this strong temptation in all of us to romanticise death, especially in the context of romance - I mean, that’s part of the reason why the Achilles myth still affects people so badly today, right? But death isn’t honorable or glorious or romantic. It’s awful. I’m glad that as sad as he clearly was, he was still able to keep living and being happy and having a whole bunch of children he clearly loved. Even if Hamilton made a lot of mistakes in his life as well, and still died too young, I think Laurens would be really satisfied by how much he did even after his death.

And even before that, they affected one another so much. Who knows how much harder things would’ve been for Laurens if he hadn’t had Hamilton there, reassuring him that he was loved and good and helping him to manage his depression? And it’s so clear how much Hamilton changed by being with him - becoming so much more open to other people. They were so good to one another in their lives. Even if it was cut terribly short, it was still so important. And now, 200 years later, people are still learning about this relationship and being inspired and comforted by it. That’s really wonderful! I mean... in a way, it’s lasted for not just 5 years, but 200, hasn’t it?