#Also yes Thomas is married and he was very happy with her. They are polyamorous

[dceuheadcanons]

"Thomas and Martha Wayne were monogamous" this and "Bruce's parents would be so disappointed about the bisexual playboy thing" that. Thomas Wayne was THE bisexual playboy. TO ME. With just a little more dignity. He started it guys give him his credits

[teamfreewill-imagine]

I Know Your Wife (She Wouldn’t Mind) - Part Thirty-One

Summary: You, Jared, and Genevieve finally release an article about your relationship and family. Words: 2.2k Jared x Reader x Gen, Dallas (OC) Warnings: mild angst Beta: @blacksiren

I Know Your Wife - Masterpost

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You’d been properly back on set for a few days before you had a reporter over to your home for the exclusive interview about Dallas and your family.

You were worried about it, nervous of what people would say when they found out the nature of your relationship, but Jared and Gen made you more comfortable as they sat beside you on your generous couch.

By the time that you’d got past the introductions with the friendly reporter, you felt a lot more relaxed.

The day that your article went public, you, Jensen, and Jared all had the morning off of filming.

You were told by PEOPLE that it was coming out the night before, so you woke up early to post the link.

Logging back into social media came with a rush of anxiety.

Unsurprisingly, your notifications were once again too many to count, with private messages coming through from pretty much all of your mutual followers.

Your follower count had gone up dramatically, undoubtedly from people looking for drama about an apparent lovechild.

Despite Jared and Gen telling you not to, you scrolled through some of the comments on your announcement post.

‘Homewrecker’ and ‘whore’ were a common occurrence, along with ‘cheap slut’ and ‘always knew she was a skank’ from some lovely commenters.

You tried not to let it get to you, knowing that they didn’t know the story, but a part of what they were saying was true at some point.

At the start of your relationship, that’s exactly what you were.

Gen noticed your change in demeanour when she found you in the kitchen, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as she took a seat next to you.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, kissing your temple.

You shrugged as you leaned into her.

“When I first joined the cast, I didn’t give a shit about you,” you admitted, just the thought of it making you want to cry. “I just wanted… All I wanted to do was fuck Jared. I didn’t care that he had a wife and kids. I just wanted him.”

“I know,” Gen whispered, her lips still pressed against your skin. “You were young. Things were different.”

“I was ready to be a homewrecker,” you continued, closing your eyes. “I was ready to make him cheat on you.”

“Alright, no,” Gen told you firmly, pulling back enough to make you look at her. “You didn’t ‘make’ him do anything. Jared was just as into it as you were. When he said no in your trailer, you backed off.”

Her gentle fingers held your jaw, making you look into her eyes as she spoke.

“Y/N, you are so loved,” she reminded you. “It doesn’t matter how we started this. You wouldn’t do anything behind my back now, would you?”

“Of course not,” you assured her, and she nodded.

“Because we love and trust each other,” she confirmed. “Everyone’s gonna know that soon. Today, even.”

You nodded and she moved her hand to cup your cheek, pulling you in for a kiss.

“We love you,” she murmured against your lips, kissing you again. “Now get over it.”

You laughed softly, nodding as she pulled away.

“You’re right,” you agreed.

“I always am,” she teased, looking up as Jared walked in, Dallas in his arms.

“I've made my post and shared the link to the online article,” he told you, grabbing himself a water from the fridge before handing it to you to open.

You twisted the cap and handed it back to him as he took a seat, your daughter still happy in his arms.

“I guess we should share it, too,” you sighed, holding a finger out to lightly stroke Dallas’ cheek. “Baby girl doesn't know how controversial she is.”

“By the time she's old enough to worry about that, it'll be old news,” Gen told you.

You nodded, smiling sadly across at your daughter and her father.

“I sure hope so.”

Padackles has a brand new meaning as Jared Padalecki and Y/N Ackles welcome their daughter, Dallas Elta, into the world.

The Supernatural co-stars, along with Jared’s wife, Genevieve, open up about their unconventional relationship in this exclusive interview with PEOPLE.

After months of speculation about the father of her child, Y/N Ackles, 20, revealed the first glimpse of her daughter along with the answer to the question on everyone’s lips.

‘It’s good to finally meet you, Dallas Elta Padalecki - 09/10/17’, she wrote on Twitter three days after the birth, after having previously disclosed that her baby would take its father’s surname.

Jared, Genevieve, and Y/N met with our reporter in Y/N’s Vancouver home - where the 11 strong ‘Padackles’ family is currently residing.

“It's great to have the whole family here,” the 35 year old Supernatural actor told us. “Gen and the boys are up for another month, as are Danneel and the rest of Jensen’s family. Having us all under one roof for the first few weeks has been incredible.”

Y/N’s adoptive parents, fellow Supernatural star Jensen Ackles and wife Danneel, along with Jared and wife Genevieve, all reacted to Y/N’s announcement post before the five of them logged out of social media to focus on their newest family member.

“We wanted to avoid all of the drama,” Y/N explained. “We know people will be confused so that's why we’re doing this.”

“We want to clear it up,” Genevieve agreed.

Genevieve, 36, also appeared in Supernatural back in season four, where she met Jared.

The pair married in 2010 and have two sons together, Thomas Colton and Austin ‘Shep’ Shepherd, born in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

“The boys are so excited to have a little sister,” Jared told us. “They were asking for a sister the second that we explained that Baby Ditto would be their sibling.”

‘Baby Ditto’ has been the family’s name for Dallas most of the way through the pregnancy, after JJ Ackles (Y/N’s four year old adoptive sister) coined the nickname ‘Ditto’ for Y/N back in May.

After the initial introductions and general family chatter, we got down to the questions that Supernatural fans were dying to know the answers to.

Firstly, the thing that’s caused the most confusion. Can you tell us the nature of your relationship with each other?

Jared: Well, Gen and I are still very much in love. Gen: But Y/N is a huge part of our lives, too. We love her like we love each other.

So the three of you are in a polyamorous relationship?

Y/N: We’re in a relationship, yes. I don’t think there’s really any need to define it further. Jared: I love them both, and they love each other. Gen: And we love Jared. It’s that simple.

How did it all start?

Y/N: You can take this one Jared: (laughing) Alright. As soon as Y/N joined the cast, I felt the same kind of pull towards her as I had for Gen back when she was on the show. I know she felt it, too. Y/N: I wasn’t subtle about it. I’m kind of embarrassed about how I handled it now. Jared: Things were different back then. There was an instant attraction, and I didn’t know what to do about it. I have a family, y’know? I wasn’t supposed to be wanting after this hot new castmate. Gen: We don’t have secrets in this family, though. Jared: Exactly. This whole thing is built on trust. I talked it through with Gen when we were home for Christmas, and she told us to go for it.

And Genevieve, you were okay with them seeing each other?

Gen: They weren’t seeing each other in that sense back then, but yes. Originally it was just a physical thing. When we realised it was more, we all adjusted. Jared: When we came back for a long weekend in February, it evolved into this. Gen: Y/N was totally unnecessarily apologising for everything when I noticed that she might be a little into- Y/N: You. I was a little into you. Both. Gen: (laughing) Yeah. And it’s all worked out for the best.

Do Thomas and Shep understand it all?

Jared: We explained everything we could to them in terms they can understand. They're only five and three, so obviously there’s some aspects that we can’t go into just yet. Gen: They know that we all share a bed, and they know that Mommy and Daddy kiss Y/N like we kiss each other. As they get older we’ll explain more if and when they have questions.

What do they call Y/N?

Jared: Tom started calling her ‘Auntie Y/N’ before they knew what was going on, so that stuck for a while. Gen: Now it’s ‘Auntie Y/N’ some of the time and ‘Y/N’ or ‘Ditto’ the rest. Y/N: I guess it’s confusing for them because JJ knows me as her sister but to them I’m more like a parent. Gen: But they respect you like a parent, no matter what they call you. Y/N for sure has authority at home, as it should be.

Does that mean that Genevieve will be like a parent to Dallas?

Y/N: Exactly. Dallas is a lucky girl. Three parents where I barely had one my whole life.

So is she going to call you both ‘mommy’?

Gen: No. Y/N is Dallas’ mama and she’ll know that. Jared: We don’t know what she’ll call Gen yet, really. We’re gonna let it happen organically. Y/N: Yeah. We thought about a lot of options, like JJ calls her ‘Aunt Mama’, but in the end whatever Dallas is going to call her will happen on it’s own; it’s not exactly something we can force.

Speaking of Dallas… where did the name come from?

Jared: About two hundred miles north of home. Y/N: (laughing) You’re a dork. Jared: (laughing) No, but really. She is named after the city. Y/N: Yeah, that’s true. The city means a lot to both of us, I suppose. My first trip to Dallas was the best day of my teens. Plus it’s Jensen’s birthplace. Jared: And the home of the Cowboys. Gen: Which is so important, obviously. Y/N: (laughing) Obviously. Actually, it kinda is important. She’s named after the city, but the team is a big part of mine and Jared’s lives, too. And Elta is Momma D’s [Danneel Ackles’] first name. Jared: We knew that Dallas was going to be a Padalecki, but it was important to both of us that she had a family name from Y/N’s side as well. Y/N: Yeah. Danneel didn’t know that was her middle name until after she was born. Nobody did, actually, apart from me and Jared. We wanted it to be a surprise. Gen: It was a great surprise. Plus, Elta is a gorgeous name anyway.

A gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl. Jared, Y/N; how are you finding it, being back on set with a baby in tow?

Y/N: Tiring. Jared: Very tiring. Y/N: But also rewarding, I think. I mean, we get to cuddle our daughter between scenes. Jared: Having a bunch of friends on set makes it a lot easier. If we’re filming for a couple hours straight, we know she’s well looked after with Misha or Jensen, or Frida and the rest of the make-up team when the rest of us are all in a scene. Y/N: They all love having a baby on set. Jared: Yeah, plus Dal is an easygoing kid. She eats, sleeps, and poops. Y/N: That’s the only issue, though. If she’s hungry in the middle of a scene, I’ve gotta take a quick break between takes to feed her before she gets cranky. They’ve had to edit Trinity’s wardrobe so I can quickly get out of the shirts for feeding so it doesn’t take too long out of filming time. If it’s a daylight shoot I’ll express because we can’t afford to lose the light, but we’d rather have skin-to-skin feeding than using a bottle for now. Jared: Everyone has just kind of adjusted to seeing Y/N standing in her bra in the corner of a soundstage, anyway. It’s a natural thing and we’re all surprisingly mature enough to not make a big deal about it. Gen: They’re really nailing this working parents thing.

They really are. Now, the most important question we’ve all been wondering: how are Dallas and Bailey [Y/N’s rescue dog] getting along?

Y/N: Bailey thinks Dallas is her own child, I’m pretty sure.

Jared: Definitely. She’ll lay down next to Dallas’ bouncer and get super protective if anyone but family approaches.

Gen: She’s growled at guests before. She’s the same with the twins and the older kids. She’s a very loyal girl.

Y/N: Dal is very safe with Bailey, and she’s definitely very calm around her. They make a good team.

Jared: Like us.

Y/N: (laughing) Yeah, like us.

For more from Y/N Ackles and Jared Padalecki on the new addition to their family, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.

tags are closed because this always takes me forever

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[bisexualpirateheart]

Written for @buildarocketboys because we both wanted to see more happy poly bi flinthamilton fic. 

                                  Your Laws Do Not Apply To Me

                                                       *  *  *

Saturday, late November, the dark already closing in even though it’s only a little after six.

The shops are busy and James is more than ready to be done and just be home already. He grabs a carton of milk and adds it to the cart. Cereal, bread, cream, eggs, orange juice, bacon. More butter, he thinks and continues strolling down the aisle. At last he finds Thomas in the biscuit aisle, studying a packet of Ginger Cremes with a studious expression.

“Ginger or chocolate?” Thomas inquires.

“Both.” James says.

“Mm, good answer.” Thomas drops a package of each into the cart and they start walking down the aisle together. “Did you get the cream?”

“Yes.”

“Is that all?” Thomas runs his eyes over the rest of the contents of the cart.

James procures the list which he wrote on his phone earlier because he knew it would it be like this if he didn’t. “Wine.” He remembers.

“Why don’t you go get in line and I’ll grab some?” Thomas suggests.

“Would you?” James asks gratefully. The sooner they’re in line, the sooner they can go home.

“Of course.” Thomas squeezes his hip lightly and goes off towards the wine aisle.

James makes his way to the front of the store, already feeling better. It’s not that he dislikes winter, but he’s ready for spring already. He wants it to still be light out when he’s done with work for the day. He wants to have time left in the day, damn it.

He has most of the groceries unloaded by the time Thomas returns with three bottles of wine.

“Here you go, my love.” Thomas says cheerfully. He sets them on the counter.

The cashier smiles at him. “You and your partner are very attractive together.”

James forces a smile while Thomas simply beams at her. “Thank you.”

                                                   “That still bothers you.” Thomas observes as they walk out with their bags.

“What?”

“When people simply assume you’re gay?” Thomas unlocks the car and they start setting the bags in the back.

Something flickers in James’s eyes. “No…” He doesn’t want to get into this again; there’s no solving it.

“Or straight.” Thomas amends because he knows it’s not that simple. “Admit it.”

James sighs. “It’s just…you know.” He never means to make Thomas uncomfortable but it’s true.

Thomas sighs as well. “I know.”

And he does, because while Thomas is also bi (and Miranda as well, for that matter) he does understand that out of the three of them, it frustrates James the most, all the assumptions people make when it’s just the two of them, or when it’s James and Miranda together, or the inevitable confusion and generalizations when it’s the three of them. There is always an assumption and either one has to go along with it, or one has to correct someone and it’s exhausting.

He’s lucky and James knows it. It’s rare to meet one person you fit with in this mess of a world. Two is extravagance, pushing the limits of what the universe will give him. Maybe he shouldn’t ask for more, but he still wants more, damn it.

He wants people to know that he’s with the Hamiltons. That they are his. They’re the married ones, yes, but that’s a simple legality. He’s Miranda’s and Miranda is his and he’s Thomas’s and Thomas is Miranda’s and his and she is Thomas’s and and they all fit.

It’s rare and he’s lucky and James knows he needs to accept this but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t still want more.

                                                 *  *  *

“Do you miss having a girlfriend?” Thomas asks one morning while they’re lingering in bed. James has already left for work, getting dressed in a rush for an early meeting before his first class starts. Thomas can still taste the toothpaste on his lips from the quick kiss James had given him.

“What brought this on?” Miranda murmurs sleepily, her eyes not even open yet.

“Nothing in particular.” Thomas’s fingers stroke her shoulder absently. “I just think at times, it stillwears on James…the assumptions.”

“That’s not your fault.” Miranda says consolingly. “We’re both just more used to the way the world perceives us.”

“I know.” Thomas sighs. “I just wish it were easier, you know.”

“I know.” She slips an arm around him, embracing him. “And to answer your question, yes sometimes I miss having a girlfriend, but I don’t assume I will never have another one, you know.”

“Of course, I never meant,” Thomas starts.

Miranda leans up and presses a soft kiss to his mouth. “I know, darling, I know.” She leans back against the pillow, smiling at him. "It’s just a matter of meeting the right woman.”

“Don’t I know it.” Thomas murmurs, leaning down to kiss her again.

                                                  *  *  *

Miranda had known she was bisexual since she was ten and a girl with glasses and short black hair in her class had asked to borrow a pencil. She smiled at Miranda, and Miranda had thought she had never seen such pretty lips before. She had always liked both girls and boys and it had been a source of consternation and constant problems with her parents so eventually she had stopped bringing people home to meet them. They weren’t appreciated, and they deserved to be appreciated.

She brought Thomas home because it didn’t matter that her parents assumed she was “choosing.” It didn't matter what they thought at that point. She had never thought she would marry a man, but Thomas was different and better and she fell in love.

And then one day she had met an auburn-haired man in the coffeehouse near the university where she taught music classes and her heart stopped again.

Sometimes the universe simply brings people to you and says, ‘here you are, you should be together, but you have to make the effort to keep them, show them they're wanted.'

Miranda likes listening to the universe.

                                                   *  *  *

It’s mid-afternoon, the gray twilight slanting across the windows of James's office. There’s been silence in the room for five minutes now while he waits for the student sitting across his desk from him to speak.

“Eleanor.” James prods. “If you don’t actually talk during your visit to my office, then I need to make my office hours available for other students.” Usually Eleanor has plenty to say during their meetings. She’s one of his best students (His favorite student, if he’s honest.) But something has been going on lately and he’s let it go on long enough.

At last Eleanor sighs. “I don’t know what to do.”

“That’s evident.” James says. “Judging from your work you’ve turned in the last few weeks. Now what’s wrong?”

She sighs again, fingers picking at the corner of her notebook sitting on her lap. “So there’s this girl.”

“Ah.” James says, and waits.

“I really like her.” Eleanor says, glancing up and off to the side, nowhere near meeting his eye.

“All right.” James says and waits.

Eleanor draws a long breath and then finally looks up at him. “So if I tell everyone and by everyone I mean my dad, you know, but yeah, everyone, they’ll be like 'so you’re a lesbian now then?'”

“And?” James asks when again the silence grows and grows.

“And I’m not…comfortable with that label.” Eleanor says finally, chewing on her thumbnail.

“Because…” James prompts when she’s been silent again for a while. He resists looking at the clock. Eleanor deserves all his time and attention and Thomas and Miranda will understand.

“Because I still like dick, okay?” Eleanor shoots back and then blushes furiously.

James snorts. “I see. So what’s the problem then?”

“They always want you to choose?” There’s a note of desperation in Eleanor’s voice and James finds himself flinching in sympathy. “They make you choose and I don’t want to, even though I really really like this girl, Professor, and if I thought for a second it was just girls forever, I’d say it in a heartbeat, but I can’t, cause it’d be a lie, you know?”

“I do.” James says, and whatever tone he has now makes Eleanor look at him a little sideways.

“You don’t have to choose.” James tells her, softening his voice just a little. “Society does tend to be unnecessarily confused by bisexuality, but no one can make you choose, Eleanor.”

“And you know this from personal experience, do you?” Eleanor crosses her arms over her chest and sinks lower in her chair.

“As a matter of fact, yes.” James says.

Eleanor sits up straight in her at that. “But your boyfriend!”

“What about him?”

“I mean, you are with Mr. Hamilton, right? You’ll break all the girls hearts if you say you’re not.”

“Rest assured, Mr. Hamilton and I are still very much together.”

“Oh thank christ.” Eleanor says. “But, what do you mean then?”

“For starters, like you pointed out, even if you’re with one partner, it doesn’t mean you’ve stopped being bisexual. It just means that’s the partner you’re currently with.” He hesitates. It’s always dicey saying things to students. It’s a fine line, being honest with someone who needs personal reassurance and another saying things of a personal nature to a student that could so easily be misconstrued as inappropriate if they were reported. If it was any other student, he might have hesitated further, but Eleanor would never...and sometimes it's worth taking a risk, to encourage a student.

“Are you saying you’re…” Eleanor pauses, and then almost defiantly, “bisexual too?”

“Yes.” James says after a moment. “I am.”

“So…”

“So I am very happily not choosing.” James says and then, what the hell. “Because not only am I that, but I am also polyamorous.” He wonders if there will ever come a time when he could ever just say that without second-guessing everything. Time would tell, he supposes.

“Do you have pictures of your partners?” Eleanor demands next.

James wavers. And then, what the hell, he’s already in this deep. He takes out his phone and tapes it. He holds it out for her inspection.

Eleanor stares at his background with surprise and delight. “So….”

“That’s Thomas and Miranda and me.” James hears the blatant affection in his voice. No wonder no one is surprised by his relationship. It’s openly nauseating, the sort of thing he would loathe in someone else. “We’re all together.”

Eleanor just gazes at the picture and then she hands the phone back. “Thank you.” She says quietly. “For sharing this with me.”

“You’re welcome.” James puts his phone back in his pocket. “I just wanted you to know, Eleanor….you get to decide what happens in your life. It doesn’t mean it will be easy, in any regard. And other people won’t always like it, but that doesn’t necessarily matter. What matters is you are doing the right things for you, making your own choices.”

“Are you happy?” Eleanor asks abruptly.

James pauses again, honestly considering the question. What would be encouraging, but truthful? What could he say?

He worries about the effects of the world, how the future is going to turn out. So much is discouraging from day to day interactions to politicians being less and less truthful every day…the state of the country, the state of the fucking planet for that matter. But at the heart of it all, he has two people he loves very dearly to come home to and they make the hardships of the world a little easier to bear, and more worthwhile to endure and his sheer existence is more real and more joyous and more wonderful because of them.

“Yes.” He says. “I am.”

“Good.” Eleanor says, finally sitting up. “You should be,” She heads for the door. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” James tells her, a little bemused. “Any time.”

                                              *  *  *

On the way home he stops and buys a bottle of wine.

Miranda is ensconced in the studio when he gets home. He can hear the sound of her piano, the delicate dance of her fingers upon the keys making him smile. The first time he had ever spent the night here Miranda had played while James had stood behind her and kissed her throat until she turned around and kissed him back.

The piano bench was wonderfully sturdy, James recalls with a faint smile.

He goes to the studio and pauses in the doorway. Miranda is lovely as always, completely lost in her music, concentration carrying her far away, her hair pulled back with little tendrils escaping to drift past her cheeks. She’s wearing one of his thick sweaters over her pajama bottoms and fuzzy socks and James knows exactly how soft it is against her skin.

“I love you to the ends of the world and back.” James murmurs.

“Then where’s my kiss?” Miranda says without looking up.

James laughs. “Here.” he moves to stand beside her and leans down to kiss her. Her skin smells like violets and he breathes in deep, suddenly overwhelming happy.

“Thomas is running a little late.” Miranda informs him, her fingers still moving gracefully over the keys. “It’s all right as that gave me time to finish up with one of my pupils who needed a little extra time this afternoon.”

“Which?” James’s fingers trails down her hair softly.

“Abigail. She’s really coming along. She plays beautifully, and she has such natural talent, of course, but her relationship with her father causes her such stressful periods it’s appalling.” She sighed. “I wish I could just explain to the damn man that harassing her and causing her stress about her talent doesn’t help.”

“I know the feeling.” James kisses the back of her neck, brushing his fingertips down to the collar of the sweater.

Miranda makes a wry face. “We all know that feeling.” She says quietly. “It’s a hard thing to escape.”

Miranda rarely talked about her own family. James knows that she had been glad to get away from them. His hand closes over hers as it pauses on the piano keys in silence.

“Anyway.” Miranda turns to smile at him. “You seem rather contented tonight.”

“I am.” James tells her. “I had a conversation with one of my students today and it just reminded me of a few things.”

“Such as?” Miranda inquires, loving the way the studio light catches the distinctive lines of his face. She loves those lines so dearly, how often she had kissed each and every one.

“That in the end it doesn’t matter what other people think. Oh, it would be nice if they didn’t assume things.” His fingers played over hers gently. “It would be nice if it didn’t bother me on some level, but I have you and Thomas and that’s what’s truly important in the end.”

“It’s not wrong to want to be visible, James.” Miranda tells him softly. “To be seen for who you truly are.” She cups his face in her hands. “I see you.” She says and kisses him.

“I see you too.” James breathes, kissing her back, his arms going around her. In the end, that was enough. To be recognized by the people you love.

                                                  *  *  *

Outside in the drive, Thomas puts the car in park and sits there for a moment, watching the people he loves embrace there through the studio window.

He smiles at the sight of them. It’s been a long day, but it had ended on a curiously optimistic note. His assistant had been late to her shift and then spent the entirety of it, mooning over her phone instead of helping Thomas with his research as she usually did.

“Max. Max. MAX.”

“Hmmm?”

“What on earth is going on with you?”

Max looks up from the page she had been doodling over, instead of checking for errors. “Oh. It’s a girl.”

“Ah.” Thomas says knowingly. “Say no more.”

Max eyes him. “You know how girls make you feel?”

“Yes.” Thomas says in mock indignation. “I know how girls make you feel.” He starts to open his mouth to explain and Max just nods.

“That’s nice.”

“…What’s nice?” Thomas says completely blindsided.

“That you’re bi, right?” Max blinks up at him with quizzical eyes. “So many people are really hung up on that you know, not knowing how to identify, afraid to figure it all out. It can be difficult sometimes.”

“Yes, I know.” Thomas says slowly. He waits a moment. “So this girl, does she return your affections?”

“She does.” Max says with a broad grin. “I think it’s gonna take a little while for things to get sorted..but I think it will be okay.” Her face holds a quiet glow and Thomas can’t find it in him to remind her again that she’s supposed to be checking the papers rather than drawing hearts on them.

“That’s very nice to hear.” Thomas tells her. “I’m glad.”

                                                       *  *  *

Sitting there now in the car, thinking about what Max had said. ‘It can be difficult’  is an understatement. There are so many confusing things to figure out all on your own, and when you add in other people’s ideas of how you’re supposed to be, what you’re supposed to be, it often simply adds to the confusion. Exploring the possibilities just made the world that much more interesting in Thomas’s opinion. The world is so much bigger and more wonderful than people want to believe and he’s happy to share it with his partners. He opens his car door and gets out, whistling slightly as he walks up the pavement towards their home, to the people he loves.

[othercat2]

fic: (they flow from form to form) 10/?

==>Karkat: be the knight errant; meet an abdicated Heiress

Karkat has a lot to think about on the way home. Finally being able to go home, (not being able to get away from the weirdness). Weird cult politics backed by history and feuds Karkat knew nothing about, that he and his Dad have been dragged into. Unspeakable horrors living outside of time and space who apparently want to marry him. (Sympathetic possible future co-Spouses welcoming him to the happy polyamorous fold.) Questions were answered, but they led to more questions that weren’t.

Space runs beside the bicycle and lets him think. She let the Spouses do most of the talking, content to rest Her head on Osiris’ shoulder while he and Kanaya answered questions. Eventually, She had retreated to Her dog form, and Karkat and Kanaya had played keep away and tag while Osiris played cheerleader. After the games, there was some more talking, Osiris and Kanaya teaching him remedial magic. (Osiris offered to be Karkat and Dad’s main magical teacher and Karkat found himself agreeing to talk to his dad about it.)

It’s early evening when he heads home. The ride home is uneventful except for glimpses of the crow, coasting from tree to tree. (He isn’t sure if the crow is watching him, guarding him, or just hanging out.) When he gets home and puts up his bike Space flickers into Her girl-shape with dog ears. “I had fun,” She says, Her attitude strangely shy. “Did you?”

Karkat doesn’t have to think about what to say. “Yeah, I did.”

She smiles, and it’s a little too wide, a little too pointy, but at the same time endearing. She swoops in and kisses him on the cheek. “Good! I’m glad!” She backs away, and vanishes in a flicker of bright green.

Dad is making dinner when Karkat gets inside. Dinner is barley lentil soup; mom’s recipe. “Hey kid,” Dad says. “You were out for a little longer than expected. I called your phone.”

“It turned out to be a picnic date and meet the brother-sister spouses,” Karkat says. He takes out his phone and sees that yes, Dad called and left a message. “Sorry I didn’t think to call.”

Dad is equal parts worried and curious. “Picnic date, huh?” He asks questions about the date, about what Karkat learned from Kanaya and Osiris. He doesn’t get any less worried, but the near-panic Karkat had been picking up seems lessened. “Ms. Pyrope has also offered to help with instruction,” Dad says when Karkat mentions Osiris offer. “I’d be willing to talk to him. Give me a minute to get my phone out.”

“Okay,” Karkat says. He gives Dad Osiris’ phone number.

Dad talks about his day, talks about getting back to school and asks Karkat if he’s ready to get back to school. Karkat doesn’t know how to answer the question. If he goes back to school, it’s going to be weird, he’s going to stick out even more than he had been already. The cult kids are going to know about him, and act accordingly. The “Outsider” kids are going to know something is up with him, and will act accordingly. He says as much to Dad.

“It’s only a few more weeks until school lets out,” Dad says. “It’s up to you if you want to finish out the year or keep being sent school work.”

“I don’t know,” Karkat says. “I need to think about it. I need to know how people are going to act around me.”

“Maybe give it a day or two, and then decide?” Dad suggests.

Karkat shrugs. “I guess we could try that,” he says.

They talk over dinner (Karkat isn’t really hungry, but he has half a bowl of the soup), Dad talking about things he’s learned from skimming the binders, about the crow which apparently made a few attempts at getting inside. (Dad: “At one point I could have sworn I was having an actual argument with it. A very limited in vocabulary argument, but an argument nonetheless; crows are intelligent but I don’t think they’re that intelligent.” Karkat: “That one probably is though.”) They talk about the possibility of “magic lessons,” and make lame, nervous jokes about whose houses they’d be sorted into if they were at Hogwarts. They talk about Sollux coming over to make whatever modifications necessary to the computer. (Dad: “I mostly spoke to his father, who mentioned that the cult apparently has its own instant messenger, which is apparently also going to be installed. It’s called ‘Pesterchum.’”)

The talk continues after dinner, with Karkat talking about things he learned while at Karen’s house, and Dad asks questions. Karkat can hear the worry going on in his Dad’s head. He doesn’t mention it. He wonders if Dad can see what’s going on in his head. If Dad can, he doesn’t mention it either. They end up watching a movie, and eventually go to bed.

Karkat dreams restless dreams about school, which for some reason is happening at the cave-temple. He goes to classes in vast chambers lit with lanterns, and sits at weird, elaborately carved desks that are inlaid with strange symbols in gold that are warm to the touch. History, Math, English and then he goes to lunch where Nepeta, who he’s only spoken to a couple times, is trying to get him to audition for the part of Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons. He would apparently be purrfect for the part because it was in his Blood.

“And they both lose their head,” a boy in blue with dark hair and an overbite says cheerfully. His eyes are a brilliant blue behind His glasses. “Hi Karkat!”

“Are we talking literal losing of heads here?” Karkat asks warily. “Or perfectly legitimate if figurative going ballistic losing of heads?”

“A little from column A, a little from column B?” the boy suggests. “But mostly in a historical sense. Blood has a temper and strong feelings about right and wrong.”

“And Breath talks in riddles?” Karkat asks. “Because I have no idea of what you’re talking about.”

“Actually I’m pretty plain,” Breath says solemnly. “I like to watch the clouds gather rain.”

“That sounds…weirdly familiar,” Karkat says.

Breath grins, wide and sharp. “You asked a lot of questions today.”

“Is that a problem?” Karkat asks.

“No, no, questions are good. But there are questions you didn’t ask,” Breath says.

“And you’re going to fill me in?” This was not at all likely; Karkat knew that much from previous conversations. (What he could remember of them; they had been surreal and about 90% bullshit.)

“Nope!” Breath says cheerfully. “I’m sending you on a quest, instead!”

“A quest,” Karkat says flatly. “Any rings you want thrown into volcanoes? Blue omnipotent rocks to be found?”

“Nah,” Breath says. “This is easy: talk a dragon out of her cave, and learn the answer to the question you didn’t ask.”

“Well, that makes about as much sense as anything else you’ve said,” Karkat says. Then he takes a quick step backward because Breath is very much in his personal space bubble, breathing his air. He’s surprised and not very surprised at all when Breath pulls him in and kisses him on the mouth. Karkat freezes for a moment, then relaxes, returns the kiss.

It’s different than kissing Time (of course it’s different). Time had been contained, barely. He had wanted to explain, give Karkat at least the appearance of some room, the option to explore.  Breath for lack of a better word bubbles. He’s happy and pleased with Himself and isn’t really holding back. Karkat gets this impression of wind, the world from high up; a spinning, dropping sensation that feels more real than the sensation of being kissed (which he’s also dreaming). He should be frightened, he should be very frightened, but what he gets is this sharp high line of pleasure that runs through him and shatters the dream into bits and leaves him gasping and staring blankly up at the ceiling.

“Shit,” he says, and blinks. “Holy fucking shit stubs. And there’s a wet spot. Jesus.”

He’s almost afraid to look, but it’s the pretty normal result of a wet dream, not weird ichor or wet squidgy frog eggs or anything. (In the back of his head there’s laughing that Karkat chooses to ignore.) He needs to take a shower, and maybe wash--or possibly burn--his sheets and pajamas. It’s about five a.m. which is about when Dad usually gets up. Right on time, he can hear Dad’s alarm go off.

The morning is very awkward. He doesn’t want to talk about it. He doesn’t want to think about it. He really, really doesn’t want to share. Dad knows there’s something up, but he doesn’t pry. (This is a relief.) Breakfast is quiet and Dad goes to work. Karkat pokes at his school work and washes his laundry and pajamas. It’s an ordinary day, except for everything else being weird.

Dad texts him about noon:

Hey kiddo. You were kind of quiet this morning. You okay?

YEAH I’M OKAY. I UH. HAD A WEIRD NIGHT.

If there’s anything you need to talk about, you know you can come to me, right?

Karkat stares at the screen for a moment. His face heats up. He really, really hopes that that’s just a general offer, and not because Dad heard anything last night. I KNOW, he types back.

Just wanted to remind you. Have you thought about coming back for the last couple of weeks of school?

He hadn’t really, but: I THINK I WILL. EVEN IF IT’S WEIRD IT WILL FEEL MORE NORMAL THAN JUST BEING AROUND THE HOUSE INSTEAD OF IN CLASS.

Mr. Captor and his son will be coming over this afternoon after school to make the upgrades to the computer and install “pesterchum.” We’ll order pizza.

OKAY.

Sollux and his Dad Mituna arrive at the house at the same time Dad does. Mituna Captor is tall and dark, with black curly hair and a weird, twisting scar with branches like lightning that covers most of his face and neck. He’s dressed in jeans and a t-shirt for a local band. His eyes are the same hazel-and-pale blue that Osiris and Sollux’s are.

(Dad wants to know about the scar. And maybe stares a little too much because Mituna says, “I am totally Harry Potter.” Dad apologizes, a little embarrassed, and Mituna laughs at him.)

Sollux and Mituna take apart Dad’s computer and Karkat’s laptop and start making updates to the computers. Some of the updates look perfectly normal others…not so much. (Little bees made of circuitry and wire, an ordinary piece of wood with lettering in what looked like gold nail polish, other, weirder things.) Dad asks questions, and then asks questions about the answers he receives.

“You’re running Windblows?” Mituna says when he boots up Dad’s computer. “You should let me put my custom o/s on it, it’s fucking awesome.”

“I’m fine with Windows, Mr. Captor,” Dad says.

“No but seriously, you could do so much better,” Mituna says. “And you totally suck at pronouncing ‘Mituna,’ man.” He grins.

Dad hesitantly returns the grin with a smile of his own. “Mituna,” Dad says.

“Awesome. So anyway, about my o/s--”

Dad and Mituna argue back and forth about the o/s. It’s good humored, and the conversation wanders to Dad asking questions about Mituna, his family, what he does for a living, those kinds of questions. Mituna does IT work for the town government, manages a database project for the Temple that Sollux helps with. “When he isn’t planning the robot uprising with that Zahhak kid.”

“I’ll totally be rewarded by our future robot overlords for my programming skills,” Sollux says as he installs PesterChum on Karkat’s laptop. “I will raise citadels of forbidden knowledge in cyberspace.”

[cephalopodCantor (CC) is pestering carcinoGeneticist (CG)!]

CC: hey

CC: hey kid

CC: you on yet?

CG: NEW PHONE WHO DIS?

CC: Pfft

CC: Meenah Peixes

CC: Fef’s big sister

CG: THE RAPPER

CC: Yeah the rapper.

CC: So I hear from my kid sister that there’s Blood in town and she don’t mean the gang.

CC: Though that would be kinda hilariously awful. Z Grade horror movie awful. I would watch the fuck out of it.

CC: Anyway I heard you got introduced to shitty Temple politics, and then whoops you’re Blood and the Gods like-like you.

CC: And I said, “I gotta meet this motherfucker.”

CG: WELL, CONSIDER ME MET THEN.

CG: WOULD YOU LIKE MY AUTOGRAPH? CAN I GET YOURS? MAYBE WE CAN DO AN AUTOGRAPH EXCHANGE.

CC: Heh. I’d totally do that kid, if I thought you were serious. Which I think maybe not.

CC: You got handed a shit deal, and it’s kinda my fault.

CC: Well okay, pretty much actually is my fault.

CC: Because politics.

CC: So I kinda feel obliged to check up on you.

CG: THAT’S NICE OF YOU I GUESS?

CG: I’M SURE SOMETHING WEIRD WOULD HAVE HAPPENED ANYWAY IF THE GODS LIKE-LIKED ME AND YOU WERE THE HIGH PRIESTESS OR WHATEVER INSTEAD.

CC: …

CC: Something weird yeah, but less with the almost dying because fucked up bullshit

CC: Christ.

CG: CAN I ASK A QUESTION?

CC: Shoot

CC: You can ask all the questions

CC: I can be your Eldritch Horrorpedia

CG: IF YOU LEFT BECAUSE OF FUCKED UP BULLSHIT. WHY’D YOU LEAVE YOUR KID SISTER?

CC: Shit.

CC: Blood don’t pull punches does it

CG: SORRY.  

CC: Nah it’s good

CC: Okay look

CC: Some bitch angling for my and Fef’s Dad convinced my Mom to run away from home when she got pregnant with me.

CC: Mom lived with me Outside til I was like eight and someone from town caught up with her and convinced her to come home.

CC: So for me, it’s fucked up bullshit that I mostly don’t give a fuck about except when I have to.

CC: It ain’t fucked up to her, even though Gramma Foster gave her a whole lot of Outside ideas

CC: Great-Gran preferred me for a lot of dumb reasons, but I was just waiting for my majority to get the fuck out

CC: Which I did

CC: Feferi knew what I was planning before anyone else did and was mad as hell about it

CC: Because she had her own thing she wanted, but she was okay with me going even though I was leaving a mess behind

CG: SHE SAID YOU’D BURN THE TOWN DOWN IF YOU CAME BACK

CC: Hell yes

CC: Those motherfuckers need to come out into the light of day

CC: And stop hiding shit under bushel baskets

CG: WHAT ABOUT THE WHOLE CURSE THING?

CC: Freedom of religion is a thing that actually exists, so fuck the curse

CG: BUT THE CURSE LITERALLY DRIVES PEOPLE CRAZY?

CC: Lots of things literally drive people crazy

CC: Wouldn’t believe the number of folks thinking they’re talking to the Virgin Mary

CC: Or think they are the Virgin Mary

CC: …

CC: Don’t tell Gramma Foster I said that

CC: I won’t ever hear the end of it

CC: Anyway, you want any help or advice, or questions answered, you can ask me.

CG: OTHER PEOPLE HAVE BEEN OFFERING TO HELP ANSWER QUESTIONS. OR TEACH.

CC: Yeah well, it’s a thing. I mean it’s more of thing with you since you’re kinda an Outsider. Who’s being offering?

CG: WHY DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?

CC: Cuz I can maybe help you find someone who is not gonna be a dumbass, that’s why.

CG: MR. CAPTOR SENIOR, MS. PYROPE, YOUR KID SISTER A LITTLE, YOUR GRAMMA.

CC: Si is Good People; the Captors are in general pretty cool. Latula is great and in charge of the restricted section at the library. Gramma Foster has that Outsider perspective thing.

CC: Fef’s cool, but please stop with the teasing cuz she’s been blowing up my phone.

CG: NO PROMISES.

CG: ANYONE I SHOULD AVOID?

CC: Good question

CC: I’m biased, but maybe the Megidos. You can probably get a better idea of the factions and who to avoid from Feferi.

CG: OKAY

CC: Cool. If you got any other questions, you can pester me anytime.

[cephalopodCantor (CC) is no longer pestering carcinoGeneticist (CG)!]

Notes:

--Yes, Breath is misquoting Blind Melon.

--The blue rock mention refers to Edding's Belgariad and also the Elenium, which both feature omnipotent blue rocks.

--I made a slight reference to another fic featuring Eldritch Horrors. (Of a more traditionally Lovecraftian bent.)

<==

==>

[shefliesaway]

just??? a random list of my relationships. from the earliest i can remember to most recent. for documenting purposes i guess. and to work through things. idk. 

Troy – I have no real recollection of this other than just telling him he was my “boyfriend” in kindergarten or first grade.

Austin B. – 4th and 5th grade “boyfriend”. First real memories of a “relationship”. We never dated for real or kissed or anything, we were just kids. However, it was when “sex bracelets” were a thing, and I told on him to a teacher when he tried to give me one. Thus ending our “relationship” and sending him to detention. Years later, when I had a high school class with him, he told me he still remembered that and that he thought he was gonna go to jail. We were able to laugh about it.

Tyler – In 6th grade he asked me to be his gf on a Friday and I said yes. Over the weekend, I freaked out because I didn’t actually want to date him. On the following Monday I acted like he didn’t exist and when he confronted me I said I “misheard” him and agreed to just being friends. Still one of my most embarrassing moments. No idea what ever happened to him.

Jake – Another middle school romance. No memory of how it began or ended, just that it happened at some point???? I think????

Thomas - First high school romance, first kiss. Very little recollection of how it began. All I remember is him cheating me out of my first kiss on the school bus by asking me to kiss his cheek and then turning his head quickly to catch my mouth when I did. The kids around us asked us if we were dating now and we both agreed due to peer pressure. Literally no memory of how it ended.

Adam H. – I was a sophomore and he was a freshman. He had long hair and I thought he looked like a Twilight character (long before the movies were a thing). We were in band together and were going steady, but never really went on a “date” or kissed or anything. He was very strange and clingy, and my naïvely aromantic ass had no idea why I didn’t like him back. I grew distant, and eventually my friend Annalynn broke up with him for me via a text message. Savage.

Josh – Oh my gOD. This poor kid. I liked him because he was “emo”, and I was just beginning to dabble in witchcraft. I cast my first love spell on him on a full moon whilst on my period with a crystal and a Zen garden. It worked. Too well. He asked me out the next day, and I said yes, ecstatic that I’d gotten what I wanted. He was my first make-out. From there, he became obsessive. He drew sketches of me, wrote me songs and poetry, borderline stalked me. I began to freak. He said he was gonna marry me, that I was his soulmate, that he’d kill himself if we broke up. I learned a very important lesson about the Rule of Three. When summer break began, I ignored him, even when he’d show up at my door, until he finally broke up with me over voicemail, clearly crying during the message. My bff and I were very mean to him after that, and I regret it. I’m glad the spell finally wore off. I still feel bad for him. He was also the first PoC I ever dated.

Austin D. – Last high school relationship. We were in band together and had begun flirting at some point. I vaguely remember him asking me out on the bus from a band performance. We dated for a while, went on a couple dates, kissed and made-out sometimes. But I was aromantic, despite not knowing it, and didn’t feel for him what he felt for me. I remember describing to him when I broke up with him that we were basically just “friends who kiss sometimes”. He agreed, the break-up was fairly mutual. We were still able to talk and stuff without it being weird for the rest of high school. Especially since a lot of our friends were mutual.

Felicia – Not really a relationship, but the first girl I ever kissed, I think.

Chuck – Bass guitarist for a local rock band. I was only 19, he was 30-something. We never kissed or dated or anything, but we did drunkenly share a bed one night and there was heavy petting involved. I was crazy about him, but he ended up coming to his senses regarding our age difference.

Lahela – My first relationship with a girl, first long distance romance that started online via RP. This was while I was living in Costa Rica. I thought she was the love of my life, I thought that I was going to marry her. I sent her orchids for Valentine’s Day, and she broke up with me for it. Saying I was too young (she was also 30-something) and that she’d let things go too far. It broke me. I spiraled into depression and finally sought therapy for the first time. She contacted me months later to apologize, and it triggered one of my first panic attacks. Haven’t heard from her since, but I know she’s now married to a man.

T.J. – Sweet man. He was also in this 30’s when we dated. We’d had a class together my freshman year of college, and we’d had a crush on each other but never voiced it. He finally asked me out once I got back from Costa Rica. We dated for a while, kissed a lot, shared a bed once. He was funny and I liked him. He left me for his boss at the time, saying the “distance” was too long for him. (I was literally a 2 hour drive from him, and only for a couple months.) I was jaded, so when he tried to get back together, saying his boss ended up “crazy”, I refused and was kind of mean. Which I now deeply regret after finding out recently that he died in July 2015. I don’t know what happened, but I regret how things ended.

Jayse – My partner of “firsts”. My first queer platonic relationship, my first time dating a trans person, my first time having sex, my first polyamorous relationship, my first *** relationship. Jayse was a great partner, despite being very ill and long-distance. But we made it work. We met each other’s families, flew out to visit each other, went on vacation together, etc. I imagined I would marry him and adopt kids with him. We also met via RP.              - Sayers: A few months into mine and Jayse’s relationship, we added a third, Sayers. We were a happy triad for a while. I kissed Sayers but never slept with him. While I was away in KC, Jayse texted me saying Sayers was behaving toxically. I took Jayse’s side and we broke things off with him. Jayse and I stayed happily together for several more months. When I began seeing Jon, Jayse was fine with it since we were poly and qpr anyway. When Jon said he wanted to be exclusive, I broke things off with Jayse despite the fact that he’d done nothing wrong. He didn’t talk to me for months after that. I didn’t care at the time. We talk occasionally now, and he’s much more ill than ever before. I deeply regret how things ended. I wish we were closer now and I wish I could be there to help him with his sicknesses and disabilities.

Jon – The greatest love of my life thus far. We met via RP and became close friends fast. A year later, we met in person and had an immediate physical connection. A month after that, we decided to be exclusive and I broke things off with Jayse for him. I was so in love with him. We were in a very happy, healthy relationship for 9 of the best months of my life. We were in a *** relationship on and off for a while, too, and got to explore different dynamics of it, which was very rewarding emotionally. I grew a lot with him. I thought for sure he was my soulmate, that we’d get married and have kids and live happily ever after. So when he broke up with me the first time, I was completely blindsided. I had no idea anything was wrong. Literally the day before I’d told my best friend that he was my “forever love” and that we were so happy together. I still think I’ve never been in as much pain as I was then. I regret how I handled it, but I was absolutely devastated. A couple of weeks later, we began talking again, trying to be friends. Our grandmothers died almost back-to-back, and we needed each other. We went on a much needed vacation to N. Ireland. We shared our first kiss since the break-up there. We made love again for the first time since the break-up one of the nights before I left again for the States. We decided we didn’t need to have a label, that we were happy just having each other. I was hopeful. I went to see him again a month later and things were more physical in those few days than they had been in a year of sleeping together. It probably should have been a warning sign, in hindsight. Just a few weeks after that, he broke things off with me again. I was once again devastated and reacted poorly. It’s embarrassing, but I felt like I was dying. I miss him. I’m quite sure he hates me now, but I don’t blame him. I wish only the best for him. I hope he’s doing well. I know I’ll love him ‘til the day I die.

Dozie – Fuck this guy. He found me at a diner a few weeks after Jon and I broke up the first time. We hung out a couple of times after that. After Jon and I broke up the second time, we hung out at the aquarium. He asked if it was a date, and I said yes. I even let him drive me (which was huge). I was beginning to trust him. THEN HE DECIDES TO TELL ME HE’S MARRIED WITH A CHILD AND HAD BEEN LYING TO ME FOR MONTHS AND NOW I’M FURIOUS WITH HIM, BLOCKED HIM EVERYWHERE, STILL MAD AT HIM. STILL PISSED THAT HE KNOWS WHERE I LIVE. HATE HIM. FUCK THAT GUY. SO GLAD WE NEVER DID ANYTHING, I NEVER EVEN LET HIM HOLD MY HAND. FUCK OFF. I knew better than to trust him, too, because when I asked my tarot cards about him, I pulled out “The Magician”. But my dumb ass kept talking to him anyway smh.

Adam S. – Current fling. Met when Ryan and I set up a troll profile for me on Tinder. When I sent him stupid trolling messages, he trolled me right back. He had me laughing the entire night. Before I knew it, I kind of liked him. I told him I was real before I deleted my Tinder, and sent him a SnapChat to prove it. From there we started talking regularly. We’ve been on lots of dates, despite being long-distance. He even came to visit me in D.C. He’s also the first cis guy I’ve ever slept with. Our physical connection is undeniable. We have a lot of differences – like a lot – and he’s unlike anyone I’ve ever dated. But he treats me well, and calls me every day, and seems to genuinely like me. He’s good to me. And I like him back. He makes me happy. We’re both too afraid of being hurt to make things “official” but that’s okay. We’re just enjoying things right now. He’s a good friend, and a good lover. He’s incredibly handsome and he treats me the way I deserve to be treated. Do I love him? Not in that sense. Could I love him like that eventually? Maybe. It’s unfair to him when I’m still hung-up on my ex. I’m trying to move on because I don’t want to hurt Adam, but it’s a slow process. Either way, he’s a great guy and I like him a lot. I’m excited to see where this leads us. He gives me hope after I’d sworn off relationships for good.  I doubt it will last, but it’s still fun and nice to have.