#td older au

[zuureleena]

profiles of the main characters of the adult roommates total drama au i'm working on!! where every1 is around their 30s and the story focuses on heather, noah, and cody :D [this is subject to change btw!! depending on what i think'll work better for the plot]

soo quick premise of the story (w/o spoiling too much):

noah recently broke off a 10-year relationship with emma after a fight that resulted in him being kicked out of their shared house all together — for reasons neither of them are ready to disclose, not even to themselves.

thus, after a series of unfortunate events, our failure of a fantasy novelist ends up rooming with cody, now a lanky man who not-so-gracefully fell from stardom, and heather, a cat mom doing her PhD in psychology and is displeased with having to share a space with noah and cody of all people.

with both men broke and heather barely having enough time or energy to carry their collective finances on her own, the three are forced to get their shit together and navigate through the turbulence of living in a bustling city, deal with domesticity, and face the complexities of their respective minds as they make their way up in life (again).

[courtney does play a role but i won't spoil!!]

---

there'll be more characters involved but i'm thinking that these are, at the very least, the main cast: the trio being the protagonists while emma and courtney are secondary characters

BUT!! i'm struggling between making this into a comic or a fanfic 🥲 bcs obvs the former will take much longer than the latter, but i can immerse ppl sm more with the comic ihwkebwksb idk we'll have to see where this story goes because i am still structuring it!

it's supposed to be slice-of-lifey, sooo a good amount of fluff and angst cuz i rlly wanna make it realistic and relatable to the majority :D since so many older aus are rlly intense and trauma-heavy 😭😭🙏??! LIKE yes my story will obvs explore the trio's personal problems but i'm really trying not to make it be smth off-the-rails and batshit insane 💀 ykwim??

SO UH SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT YA IF U HV ANY QUESTIONS, PLS COMMENT HAKSHJA

[nocofamilyau]

An alternate timeline where Gwen and Trent reunited and had a child together

——————————————————————————

oh hey look it’s Ella

[apleijuic]

okaky it's been too long since I posted art so YIPPEEEE!!! FINALLY! some.more redesigns but they're. more detailed than my last posts ^_^! i'll be incorporating these specific designs in my next posts

[totaled-drama]

I already love the Little League AU! What will MK and Wayne's dynamic be? As well as Svetlana and Lightning's? I wonder why Millie looks the way she does in the sketch too, is she anxious about this whole thing?

Thank you for the questions!!

Millie was nervous because she only joined the team because Priya did!! Priya’s the captain for the Flying Fish so Millie feels like there’s some pressure there since she’s her best friend.

Wayne and Raj follow MK around like lost puppies!!

Svetlana and Lightning are besties in this AU!!

[madmanwonder]

Ask

Crossover

After her reaction, Cody decides to dirty flirt with Chichi? What is one or two stuff that Cody can say that will be her blush?

He put special emphasis on her name and how he’s a great teacher of intimate physical education

[s0fti3w1tch]

I MEAN, IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO SAY "BOTH TRAINED BY THE FOOT CLAN?"

It sounds weird when you shout it without context like that, guys 😭

@s0fti3w1tch’s Leo on the left, mine on the right, @trubblegumm’s boy in the background

[havenshereagain]

DPxDC Idea

Danny working at Wayne Enterprises as some sort of engineer, uses the in-house app for all his blueprints and stuff

He starts getting notes from a coworker in-app, and assumes its this annoying older guy in his department who constantly undermines him because of his age, despite his education and past achievements (i feel like in this AU the Fentons react well to the reveal and they work together on a number of non-lethal ecto inventions that have Danny's name attached to them)

Except one day his coworker mentions never using the app, and Danny suddenly realizes there's only one other TD he could've been arguing with in the notes of the app

[oooo-leanderies]

Have some (unfinished) total traffic island (can you tell i love spicing up jimmys design) (hes kinda got that lindsay in him ngl)

+ Bonus Martyn confessional and some older art where I inverted the au by life series-ing td

[s0fti3w1tch]

Tentative Devotee AU (TBC Soon)

Leonardo is a Foot trainee, raised and trained by Lieutenant and Brute since he was 9. Life before then is fuzzy at best. — In the past several months, he's been going on his first proper missions, quickly aware of a persistent threat against the Foot Clan: 3 mutant turtles and a human who've foiled them time and time again.

What he wasn't aware of was that they were 4 siblings who never gave up on finding their missing brother.

CONTENT WARNING! This AU will explore: Mourning of family / Mourning of a child (who isn't actually dead, but believed to be). Violence is canon-typical up to the standards of the movie— That is also a reference point for the tone of this AU. There will be cult themes and dips into the topic of cult trauma, alongside family issues.

Main Comic:

Enemies || [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ tbc... ]

Baby Blue || [coming soon]

[TBA]

Minisodes/Mini-Comic:

Donnie's Apology Gift

First Mission Mishaps!

PSAs: Triggering Content, Why Leo will not have a "Dark Side," Cult Parents

More content below the cut! ♥︎

Scrapped/Changed Ideas or Scenes:

"Maybe this is the lowest point of my life" / Severing Ties

Usagi's first design + role

Mona Lisa first design

Reference Sheets:

Leonardo's Room

UPDATED LEO FULL REF

Leo's Outfit Change + Sorta-Timeline

Hand Marking

Scarf

Leo's Guitar

Eyes (outdated)

Nail Polish

Butterfly Charm

Future!TD!Leo

Usagi WIP

Doodles:

More Lore/Story Heavy = ♥︎ / Just More Fun = ☀︎ / 💬 = answer to an ask

Leo Solo!

"Keep it together, Leo"

"What I know about family?"

He/They/Xe of the day! / Speed-Color ☀︎

Scooter Boy! ☀︎

He's Writing Fanfic ☀︎

Guac Baby ☀︎

"Yeah, of course! But also..." ☀︎

Animation Test

No Sleep

[ i was listening to sonic music while drawing this ] ☀︎

disillusionment

Cook :P ☀︎

3 Swords?! ☀︎ 💬

Peepaw'd :) 💬

Head Empty + Leo kinda mad ♥︎ 💬

Blep! 💬

Feelings Down ♥︎💬

Multi POV

TD Spoilers Over Memes [1]

Trust in the Foot ♥︎ 💬

"Keep your brother safe" ♥︎ 💬

Big Sisters ♥︎

Turtle Sister to Turtle Sister 💬

Foot Clan Family

Motorcycle Theft! 💬

Shell Cracks + A Small Moment ♥︎ 💬

Trans Sibs!!! ☀︎ 💬

Hamato Clan

Not Growing With Us ♥︎💬

Recognition? 💬 ♥︎

"Donnie, stay out of this"

Unknown Tension

Protective Older Twin 💬

"Can we be brothers?" 💬

Donnie's hope (colored ver: here)

"Donnie, whatcha got there?" ☀︎

Drawing for Donnie 1

Yōkai Connections

Hueso's First Encounter With Leo 💬

+ All my AU Crossover Content linked here~!

Separated Leo Crossover : Bathtub Arc ☀︎

Preview Comic (Test)

TMNT AU Competition Basketball Saga ☀︎

DOUBLE-HANDED BACKHAND SWING

Nail Bat Recieved

Leo Hype Squad!

No PomPoms

I didn't intend for this AU to be that big, but I realized I did want to give this a go and make at least something. It's my goal to finish this project eventually.

The AU will be told in segments, comics of various points of the story.

Bonus! Miscellaneous info that doesn't play big into this AU but matters enough to me:

Leonardo is transmasculine, uses he/they/xe pronouns and is referred to with primarily masculine terms.

A version of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo comics exists and it's Leo's second favorite comic series in this AU.

'Tentative Devotee' is the name of the fanfic I was originally going to write. It was just gonna be a 2-shot fic and a way to navigate some feelings as someone who was born and raised in, and eventually left, a cult.

The initial tone/direction of this AU was much different, Leo ending up in the Foot Clan under different circumstance (i.e. direct kidnapping from Lieutenant and Brute). I found this didn't quite work for me.

[total-drama-brainrot]

TD World Tour AU, where Noah doesn't tell Owen that Alejandro is an eel in London... In Area 51, Noah is accidentally splashed with an alien truth potion (which wears off after a few days) and he talks to Owen... Owen asks Noah what he truly thinks about Alejandro, and Truth-Potion Affected Noah says this: "I have mixed feelings for Alejandro. He's a brilliant, interesting guy and I like him, but I don't trust him. He's like a slippery eel dipped in grease, swimming in motor oil. Basically, Heather with social skills. Wait a minute, why am I telling you this?!"... What if Alejandro secretly heard Noah call him all those conflicting things + Alejandro also learns that Noah is affected with an alien truth potion? 👽

Alright, you got me. I'm an absolute sucker for truth potion plots, especially when the character(s) effected by them are usually either pathological liars or incredibly secretive- of which Noah absolutely falls into the second category, given he shares so little personal information.

I'll gloss over why Noah declined to shit-talk Alejandro in London (though there's so many ways this change in behaviour could be justified) since the focal point of this hypothetical centred around their time in Nevada, so let's start from the beginning of the Area 51 challenge.

Area 51:

Before we start, it'll have to be established that no one was eliminated in London. Let's say that the majority vote went towards Duncan (team CIRRRRH voted him out immediately because they found his re-admission to the competition unfair, I guess. I imagine he'd also vote himself, if not as a plan to escape the competition he'd been actively skiving from, then just as an act of spite) but Chris instead claimed it was a rewards challenge- much like he does in Greece- because he doesn't want to let Duncan slip away again so soon.

I see no reason to alter the first part of the challenge- the sneaking into Area 51 portion- since team CIRRRRH's course of entry is fairly straightforward. Noah's presence doesn't make much of a difference to how it would play out; the majority of them throw their rocks and run, Owen gets lasered over the fence and Owen-napped, ect ect.

When both teams have managed to make their way into the Black Box Warehouse, Noah immediately suggests they should prioritise rescuing Owen. Tyler's quick to agree, since he's a firm believer in the "no man left behind" mentality (and he probably makes a not-so-subtle jab towards Noah for his chance of tune compared to London, where both he and Owen did leave Tyler behind) leaving Duncan and Alejandro to split from the group- Duncan in search of Gwen, and Alejandro just takes the opportunity to finally be free from his 'incompetent teammates' and prioritises finding an artifact.

Noah and Tyler come across the contraption Owen's trapped in, Tyler punches it in a futile effort to break it open, and the face hugger cube drops into Noah's hands. This is where the point of divergence comes into play; Tyler has his E.T. moment with one of the face huggers, but Noah- who's a tad bit more observant than Alejandro, and used to dodging surprise attacks from his various older siblings (and Izzy)- anticipates his own face hugger attack and promptly starts a game of cat-and-mouse with a taser alien hot on his heels.

The commotion of which attracts the rest of his team. Alejandro and Duncan arrive on the scene to see Tyler being electrocuted by an alien and Noah running in circles evading another.

Duncan attempts to rip the face hugger from Tyler's face, finding success at the cost of sending Tyler trampling into Owen's captive contraption (essentially taking Alejandro's canonical place in this scene) and inadvertently freeing Owen.

Meanwhile, Alejandro swipes up the nearest box he can find and snags the alien chasing Noah, who's still very loudly panicking as he flees, and succeeds! The alien is swiftly captured into the box, netting team CIRRRRH their artifact, and Noah promptly goes careening into the nearest tower of junk in his face hugger-fuelled hysteria. This causes another box to topple from the peak of the tower, landing directly on Noah's head and spilling its contents onto the bookworm- glass vials filled with a mysterious, luminescent cobalt blue liquid shatter into pieces drenching Noah in whatever they contained. (i.e. truth potion.)

Owen has his false-amnesia moment, characterised by his Joker makeover, and Alejandro enacts his revenge post-hypnotic suggestion after being addressed as "Al" one too many times.

Noah, understandably, swiftly objects to Owen's treatment and demands that Alejandro snap him out of it. Alejandro concedes, and Owen's brought back to himself. At least, for a moment, before the fatigue of having his mind messed with sends Owen into near-catatonia (the same as canon), meaning he has to be ferried through the Warehouse and back to the Jet by Alejandro and Duncan.

Things carry on canonically from there; Noah's just sort of there for the most part, though there'd be a minor hint to his newfound proclivity for honesty. Something along the lines of him giving an uncharacteristically honest answer to Owen as to who he's voting- Tyler, of course, since he was the one who ultimately threw the challenge for them... and also because Tyler still holds some resentment towards Noah for what happened in London, and Noah feels guilty about it every time he looks at the jock. Wait, why did he say that?

Sometime between this and the elimination scene, Noah wipes the truth-goop off of himself, but not before the effects have already started.

Tyler's voted out, yada yada yada.

The Jet:

Thus begins the start of "Picnic at Hanging Dork". Team CIRRRRH, consisting of just Alejandro, Duncan, Owen and Noah, are slumming it up in the Economy Cabin. Alejandro tries to rally his team by asking how to break apart Courtney and Heather's tentative co-operation. Owen suggests having Alejandro seduce Heather, since it worked for both Bridgette and Leshawna. Duncan makes his "Babe Olympics" comment. Noah pipes up that playing with someone's feelings is pretty scummy, even for someone competing for a million dollars.

Alejandro takes Noah's reluctance towards his methodology poorly; he hadn't spoken up before, when Alejandro had utilized the same strategy against other girls- and even Owen noticed that, so surely Noah did too- so why was he to outwardly against him using the same tricks? Duncan agrees, and offers ''his'' idea of having Alejandro flirt with Courtney to throw both her and Heather off their games (since Heather has an obvious crush on Alejandro), and things follow canon.

Then, the scene between Alejandro and Courtney happens. Noah scoffs at the display from the side lines, prompting Owen to ask him why he's so against Alejandro's plan.

"I mean, you never said anything before, when he flirted with Bridgette and Leshawna." Owen comments, light-hearted in nature but with an underlying questioning tone.

Noah's eyes flicker with a cobalt glow, easily mistaken for a trick of the light, and he speaks without even thinking.

"Yeah, because I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Bridgette was happenstance, and Leshawna's whole deal could've been a coincidence, or some massive misunderstanding. But this?" Noah extends an accusing hand out towards a smug looking Alejandro, then pans it over to a flattered Courtney, "He's outright toying with Courtney's feelings after she was cheated on in front of an international audience. It's scummy."

Owen nods in understanding, momentary contemplation evident in the pouted curve of his lips, and he chimes in.

"Does that mean you don't like Al?"

"I never said that."

"Well, how do you feel about him, then?"

Again, a flash of blue light against the hickory backdrop of Noah's eyes, and he responds thoughtlessly.

"I guess I have mixed feelings about him. On the one hand, he's slippery, like an eel dipped in grease, swimming in motor oil. He's like if you took all of the worst aspects of Heather, wrapped them up in a pretty package, and gave them social skills..." He holds his hands out before him in a scale-like manner, with the left tipped downwards and tie right raised by his chin. Then, the two hands swap positions.

"And on the other hand, he's brilliant. I've never met anyone as talented as Alejandro; he's smart, he's athletic, he's funny. It's almost unfair just how perfect everything about him is- even his face is perfect. It's ridiculous! Infuriating, even. It's so hard to dislike him, even when I know he's bad news, but that doesn't mean I trust him."

Owen stands slack jawed beside his best friend, both impressed and stunned at the raw honesty of Noah's tirade. Noah, now a little more aware of himself, realises that he's said more than he intended to- more than he thinks he's ever spoken in one go throughout the entirety of Total Drama. He's not usually one for speeches, after all, let alone honest ones.

He's always been the type to play his cards close to his chest, so why...?

"I, uh, didn't mean to go off like that."

And he also didn't mean to admit it, either. What was going on?

The look Owen gives him is, in a word, vivid. The blonde has a shit-eating grin stretching across his face, a sort of elated smugness practically glowing from his features.

"Sounds like someone has a cruuuush!~"

What? No? No! Not at all, where would Owen even get that idea?!

Noah splutters to correct Owen's assumption (to disastrous results, because he does sort-of has a crush on Alejandro, so the truth potion doesn't allow him to outright deny it), and in his preoccupied state he misses how a calculating pair of sage green eyes never seems to stray from him.

Alejandro has a lot to think about in regards to a certain cynic, it seems.

[noahspaperairplane]

hii cld u do hcs for cg alejandro, noah, sierra and duncan w little reader?/nf

gotchaaaa 🫡 these r unorganized and random/unspecific but in the future i’ll set a template :> enjoy for now

i headcanon most of these characters as flips funny enough (cough cough team chris au cough)

alejandro

- protective father type cg

- id say he’d handle littles of any ages but i feel he’d suit younger regressors well (baby-kid headspaces)

- probably didn’t understand regression and thought it was weird at first but he warmed up to it over time and eventually agreed to becoming a cg

- he’s NOT letting you stay up past bedtime

- would put you in the shopping cart at the grocery store

- always has the radio on in the car (he lets you choose the station)

- he’d know how to cook. you would eat very well (he Will make sure you eat your vegetables)

- would carry you around all the time and would probably rock you to sleep while he’s at it

duncan

- lenient fun uncle type cg who would teach you how to shoplift

- mostly handles older kid/teen regressors (i wouldn’t trust him with a baby im sorry)

- probably had never heard of agere before he’d been told about it. claimed to not care. (he really does)

- will never admit but his personality switches up so quickly when around a little that he can’t deny anything either

- “i’m NOT SOFT” (cuts to him tucking you into bed with a stuffed animal and kissing you goodnight)

- he does have a few rules, but that’s because he’s experienced the consequences for not having any (sugar right before bed was never a good idea)

noah

- i don’t have a specific type of cg for him )-:

- mostly handles toddler to teen regressors.

- knew about regression for quite a while before he was asked. he’d never been a cg before, but no harm in trying (it has been great)

- he’d play video games with older regressors. whether he lets you win or not depends on how nice he’s feeling that day.

- defo a bedtime story reader. chooses the really long ones on purpose to make sure you fall asleep

- to contrast alejandro’s cooking, he’d probably be into baking instead. he will NOT let you eat the batter (he’s a hypocrite and he’ll have a taste when you’re not looking)

- always has a first aid kit on him at all times knowing how often rowdier regressors get injured

sierra

- older sister/fun babysitter type who gives tons of hugs and advice (that advice being useful or not)

- mostly handles toddler and kid regressors, can handle teens occasionally. i think she would be a bit too loud for some babies

- would replace swears with random nonsense words because “THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!”

- she seems like the type to draw and color with you (even if you color out of the lines)

- if you’re a younger little she wouldn’t let you handle scissors. she’s cutting those little pink hearts out for you.

- great at playing pretend too. she makes the craziest dramas with legos. plot and all

(random as hell but would sierra watch total dramarama or is she like. personally above that as a td superfan. just a thought)

[saccgiriangel]

WHAT ARE THE SHIPS/FEIENDSHIPS FOR YOUR TD SWAP AU????

Good question, my anon buddy!

(I have to clarify that the AU is still in process so these are some ideas I have so far)

(This will be a very long text lol)

friendships:

Alejandro + Geoff: Same relationship as Cody and Trent, with the difference that at first Geoff was suspicious and jealous of Alejandro but realized that he was not the person he thought he was and they became friends.

Noah + Harold: Polar opposites that complement each other in some way, they would begin to interact during TDWT (not in the same context as Gwen and Courtney) and develop a lasting friendship. I don't have much to explain this friendship because it would be similar to the one Courtney and Gwen have in the series.

Sadie + Katie: I like to think that the two started talking and interacting when they were on the Playa Des Losers.

Eva + Justin + Heather: Team Escope 2.0, not much explanation for this.

Lindsay + Ezekiel: Ezekiel would be interested in Lindsay (not romantically, he would just find Lindsay's sports skills cool) and Lindsay would find Ezekiel funny, they would probably have sleepovers with each other while Ezekiel does Lindsay's make-up and Lindsay plays with Ezekiel's hair.

Duncan + Ezekiel: two silly and stupid guys doing stupid but fun things, I can see them being those friends who constantly go on outings and always end up making a mess or end up accidentally getting into trouble Duncan probably likes to tell Ezekiel about his "intellectual interests" and Ezekiel just listens to him while asking him a question every 8 seconds

ships:

Bridgette 💔 Geoff: Theyre exes, they already knew each other outside of the program and had had a quick romance that ended on "good terms" (according to Bridgette). Although I can see Bridgette trying to flirt with Geoff again and Geoff would just avoid her or make it clear to her that he doesn't want to have something with her again.

Duncan ❤️ Harold + Duncan 💔 Trent (I love both ships ngl):

With DunHar, Harold initially had no interest in interacting with Duncan, he didn't hate him but at the time he didn't care for him. On Duncan's side, Harold automatically attracted his attention and consequently began to develop feelings for him as the challenges progressed, Duncan tried to interact with Harold more often and draw his attention with compliments and positive comments or interest. Harold is no fool and noticed that attention he was getting from Duncan so he started to play along in a joking mode but he wasn't being so joking after all, which made Harold realize that he had feelings for Duncan (and surely his mind was like "why did I have to end up finding a guy like him attractive?" But in a good way). The rest I think is obvious and they both ended up in a relationship, then the vote-swapping thing would happen causing Harold to be voted off but they would both continue their relationship even outside of the show.

With DunTrent, in the au they are childhood friends, they already knew each other outside of the show and upon learning that they would both participate in the same season they were happy. Trent despite spending a lot of time being friends with Duncan, as he grew older he began to develop a thing for him, this was interrupted when Trent began to notice that Duncan had an interest in Harold and his feelings were becoming more noticeable. Trent had trouble accepting that and felt some jealousy internally but pretended not to care about the details, not that it made him sad but disappointed that his crush with his childhood friend didn't have a chance of happening. Trent decided as an act of desperation to change the votes and kick Harold out of the competition, something that made Duncan not feel good and Trent felt some regret and action for this action. The good thing is that Trent decided to talk about it all with Duncan before being eliminated and Duncan accepted his apology and they both returned to their usual friendship (of course Trent had to suffer Harold's fury when they arrived at the Playa Des Losers but later they managed to make peace and pretend that nothing of the above had happened although Harold would still feel a little bit of resentment for the situation)

Gwen ❤️ Courtney: I feel that at the end of the show it would be revealed that all this time they were a couple and everyone would not be surprised knowing how close they were during the competition.

Geoff ❤️ Noah: Gwen x Trent but this time it ended well and nothing strange happened to ruin their relationship- 😭

And so far those would be all the couples and friendships, as I said before, the AU is in process so some things may have changes and different ideas.

[nocofamilyau]

I love this au sm omg do mike,dave, and raj still compete in td when they get older? If they do how do you think noah and cody would react

probably not, at this point, Total Drama's been cancelled for years now, with a close to zero chance of coming back. sure, there's been rumours of a possible reboot, but that's all just speculation.

but let's say hypothetically if TD was still airing, Noah and Cody would probably try to go to the ends of the earth to not let their boys audition for something like that (though Cody's really doing it more for Noah's sake)

[totaled-drama]

Just curious, how old are the kids supposed to be in the little league AU?

Hi :) thank you for the question!!

The kids are all 9-10!! It’s based on real hockey age groups for younger kids.

Here’s a list of their ages!! It’s in order from oldest to youngest, with Ripper being the oldest and Millie being the youngest.

[perpetualexistence]

Sea Monster AU: First Meetings

I'm still getting a heehoo giddy feeling with all the interest for this AU! I haven't even properly written things yet and you're all being very welcoming! I'm seeing likes from people I've been following in the TD fandom! I got my first reblog from someone else who understands the joys of big monsters and monster x human tropes! Aaa! It sparks joy in me.

I promise to use this joy exclusively to give Noah a Bad Time. He's one of my favorites, so he must suffer. That's the rules. (Don't worry, Alejandro will get to suffer too, we just haven't gotten that far yet.)

I'm going to start with how the two meet and their relationship up until Alejandro decides to reveal his true colors. So no real content warnings for this part except for manipulation and intimidation, especially regarding size. Given the premise, and the fact that Alejandro is Alejandro, this is going to be true of most of this AU.

Now let's see if I can properly use the Read More button to get into the juicy deets.

<- Start/Prev | Next ->

Noah lives in a small town on the coast of Lake Wawanawka. In days long past the town was a major shipping port. It was fighting with a rival city for dominance in the region. A massive storm set the town back, and now it only exists as a place to stay that's cheaper than the big city up the coast. The town government has been trying to revitalize the town by turning it into a tourist trap, but that's only resulted in tourists trashing the place at night while they spend most of their time and money in the big city. Still, money is money, so the townspeople have little choice but to put up with it.

Noah's recently been accepted to the one community college in town that's kind of helping to keep the town afloat. He plans to coast through an associate's degree with ridiculously easy classes. Then he's going to use his intelligence to get a scholarship to a private university and will never look back on this town. Only exception would be to come visit his family, though at this point only a few of his older sisters still live at home. Some have already left the nest just like he plans to.

Noah doesn't have many friends, so he tends to go off on his own. He's managed to find one spot on the beach that's inaccessible to most. It requires a tight squeeze through rocks. It's the one thing his wiry frame is good for. Tourists don't know about it so they can't ruin it. Townspeople who do know about it typically don't bother. He's taken measures to make it look as unappealing as possible. Can't have people taking away his best spot to get away from a rowdy house and read in peace.

That is, until a particularly bad storm hits. He returns to his reading cove, ready to complain as he has to either deal with or ignore the debris that's sure to be littering the place. It's while he's kicking away debris that his foot comes across something soft, small, and....tan? He moves the debris away to see something that would look like an eel if not for the top half being a human that looked around his age.

He reacts calmly when this thing groans and looks directly at him asking "¿Qué pasó?" He takes a second to breathe, and think rationally about what he's seeing in front of him.

He certainly doesn't scream like a bitch, fall on his ass, and attempt to crab walk away.

Once Noah actually calms down and accept the fact that this is not a psychotic break on his part, he and who he learns is Alejandro get to talking. Fortunately in English. Alejandro reveals that he swam too close to the surface and got swept in the storm. He doesn't know where he's ended up. He took a really nasty blow to the head too because he doesn't even quite remember where he came from. Alejandro would greatly appreciate if Noah could tell him where he is.

Noah's got some questions about all this. Ignoring the fact that merfolk apparently exist (a phrase he never thought he'd utter), Alejandro's an eel. Literally. Eels aren't native to Canada. So there's no possible way he could be from Lake Wawanakwa. Noah suspects he's an electric eel, which would place him somewhere in South America. When he points this out, he swears he sees a spark of electricity in Alejandro's tail. It confirms Noah's suspicions. It also confirms that Noah's not about to touch Alejandro with his bare hands. Alejandro commends him for being smart enough to help jog his memory. He remembers humans referring to the name 'Peru' in the waters he comes from.

He reveals that magic does exist in this world, as is evident by his very existence. There must have been magic in the storm that brought him here. Sadly, he doesn't know how he can use it to get himself back home. Not that it matters much, he can adapt to living here. Still, he begs for Noah not to tell anyone else that he's here. Noah has been so kind to him, but Alejandro isn't quite so sure how other humans will react to seeing him.

Noah's still quite suspicious about Alejandro. But the alternative is either A) a townsperson finds Alejandro, sees him as their ticket out of this town, and does who knows what to him for fame and money. Or B) a tourist finds Alejandro, and either does like the townsperson, or flips out and calls the cops, leading to who knows what kind of military experimentation assuming the cops don't just shoot him on sight.

So curse Noah's bleeding heart, he tells Alejandro that if he's going to stay in shallower waters, he'll be better off staying here. He warns him about the tourists and the townspeople. If he's going into deeper waters, then he's going to have to watch out for the fishermen, the cargo ships, and the ferries that go across the lake. Alejandro just grins and promises to repay Noah's hospitality in full one day.

And thus, Noah begins to meet Alejandro in secret. Mainly because he refuses to concede his favorite reading spot. Noah does some research on electric eels, and comes prepared with rubber gloves any time he wants to get close with Alejandro just in case. Alejandro isn't always there, but when he is he insists on interacting with Noah. He gets interested in the books he sees Noah reading and reveals that he doesn't know how to read. Noah can't just allow for that, so he teaches the Peruvian how to read English. He tries to teach him how to write too, but that's more difficult given the size difference and Alejandro constantly being wet. Noah will take to reading aloud to Alejandro, and when Alejandro learns how to read, he takes to slithering his way in between Noah and his book so he can read along, taking care not to touch Noah's skin.

Their relationship continues to grow as they talk about their respective lives. Noah tells him about humans, and Alejandro will tell him things about merfolk. When Alejandro goes to deeper waters, he comes back and describes the old shipwrecks he's found closer to the bottom of the lake with a certain wonder in his eyes. He'll even start to bring little treasures back from them, first for himself, but eventually for Noah as well. They get to make fun of tourists together and watch them from afar. Noah's dog Ark comes in at one point, and Ark loves Alejandro. Alejandro doesn't feel the same way about Ark and complains about the slobber. At a different point, a stray cat makes its way to the beach and Alejandro learns that he loves cats. And that cats don't feel the same way about him. To them he smells like a fish and looks like a snake, so they'll either try to claw at him or flee on sight. This saddens the Alejandro. He vows to one day successfully pet a cat.

Then, things take a turn seemingly out of the blue. Alejandro reveals that he has a surprise he wants to show Noah. It's a skill he'd lost for a while due to the nature of his arrival. He's been practicing it in private, but he thinks he's finally recovered it fully! He begs for Noah to indulge his theatrics by covering his eyes. It will be the last time he asks like this. He promises. Noah rolls his eyes, but begrudgingly agrees to do so.

Noah hears a lot of shifting. Of rocks. Of waves. He hears something scraping the ground around him. He feels the air around him grow charged. The hair all across his body is standing on its end. He can't help but remember those initial doubts he had about Alejandro.

"You may open them now." a familiar voice rumbles. The accent is as thick as ever. It's louder than a tiny body should be able to produce. It's coming from the wrong direction.

It had been so nice to be wrong. If he keeps his eyes closed, he can keep being wrong. Schrödinger's idyllic beach life. He's smart, and he has a friend with no strings attached. He's smart, and he knows patience is not one of Alejandro's virtues.

Noah opens his eyes to gaze at the massive beast staring down at him.

Were his teeth always so sharp? Alejandro spoke of hunting, which implied he needed teeth sharp enough to rip into flesh. Noah had never really paid attention until he was looking at a full set of teeth, each the size of his hand. They grinned in a facsimile of a warm and inviting smile he was accustomed to.

Noah forced his gaze further upward to check if Alejandro's smile met his eyes. He recognized those eyes. When Alejandro had first started bringing his treasures, he would talk about them nonstop. Noah had tried to grab one of them to get a closer look. Alejandro had immediately retreated to the water, holding onto his treasure as if his own life depended on it. He'd felt an odd sense of something he later recognized as jealousy. Which was strange because it was jealousy over an object. But it was an object that had commanded Alejandro's full attention, full protection, full possession.

What a fool he'd been to feel jealous of something he was now the target of.

"What do you think?" Alejandro asked like a dog that had just brought home a dead cat and was now begging for praise. He closed the distance between them by bending down and slithering back to meet closer to Noah's level.

Noah's throat closed. He felt his face betray him as his ears and cheeks began to flush red. This is fear and a confused and conflated mixture of adrenaline and oxytocin brought forward by an intense situation, nothing more.His feet remained loyal. He backpedaled, only to be stopped by a soft wall that hadn't been there a second ago. He pressed a hand against the wall while maintaining eye contact with Alejandro. That was what you did with wild animals wasn't it? Certain ones at least. He didn't if it would work with eels. An electric eel will wrap itself around its prey, ensuring that there are at least two points of contact for maximum effectiveness. Once established, it will send a shock to incapacitate its prey before consuming it. If he wheels through facts he picked up about eels to prepare himself for this situation, he doesn't have to acknowledge that the wall that dwarfed him from behind was a hand.

"Noah, por favor." Alejandro purred. "We're amigos. I haven't forgotten the times we've spent together. They've been delightful! And so very informative."

Noah had been too concerned about protecting Alejandro from humans. He taught him how to read. He warned him where the people frequented. He taught him how modern ships run on electricity. Alejandro shared that he wished he could have met the ships he'd visited before something else had sent them to the bottom of the lake. All of these red flags only served as the pins and needles holding Noah in place.

"And more importantly, I made a promise to you! A Burromuerto never breaks their promises. Not even to humans." Alejandro suddenly tilted his hand forward, forcing Noah to stumble backwards into a cupped palm. He pulled Noah closer until his face engulfed the entirety of Noah's vision. He let out a breathy sigh right onto Noah. "It truly is a shame that you're a human in my new hunting grounds. I could allow you to simply stay if you weren't. I have no doubt you would enjoy literally ripping apart los estúpidos turistos with me just as you enjoy verbally ripping them apart."

Noah felt an index finger ruffle the top of his hair. On instinct, he moved his hand up to smack it away. His eyes widened as he realized what he'd just done, but Alejandro only chuckled. "See what I mean?" he continued. "But, sadly for both of us, I can't let it be known that I let a human go without a fight. I have a reputation to uphold. However, I will reward your hospitality with something I will never offer to another human again. Porque eres tan precioso para mí."

Alejandro carefully placed a thumb under Noah's chin to keep his gaze focused on the former. His claw rested against Noah's right cheek. The sharp tip faced away from him, but that could change at a moment's notice. "You have the privilege of convincing me why you deserve to live."

And Noah knew he would have to choose his next words very carefully.

[33max]

In your TD au does Max ever regress to a slightly older age? I'm just curious how Daniel would handle that and if the would be any kind of behavior shifts he isn't usually used to from Max while he's little!

I think he does but not often! If he does it’s most likely to be tween Maxy, and he’s funny, sensitive and always craving affection! He tells a lot of jokes, always waiting for Daniel’s reaction 🥺 and he likes to rope Daniel into playing on the switch with him.

Mr Roar is still his comfort item, but he doesn’t like to use his binkie or blanket (even though Daniel has told him it would be fine if he wanted to) but he does suck his thumb when he’s falling asleep 🥺 a habit Daniel will never try to break with him. Max is allowed comfort however he feels he needs it.

They play a lot of football in the apartment too, creating a goal between two sofas… it’s chaos!!! Daniel pulls Max into a big bear hug every time he scores a goal and Max is exasperated like “daddy we’re on different teams!” ♥️