#and the loss of a/b/o instincts would be very confusing to people

[artemis-red-hotd]

a lucemond a/b/o curse + arranged marriage concept

(mostly sfw. cw: loss of primary genders, loss of fertility, potential body dysphoria but non explicit)

A flip + exploration of the fics I've liked where someone from non-omegaverse finds themselves in omegaverse and suddenly presents & has to adapt to having an a/b/o gender. This is the reverse idea, where in an a/b/o universe, everyone loses their primary gender hormones and most people become an intersex beta essentially, with male/female reproductive capabilities becoming dominant. I had a world-building brainrot going but a chunk of it will be hand waved. ====

Westeros is in omegaverse. Lucemond have been married for a year and have been told to have a child to remove the still lingering tension between the two sides of the family due to the conflicted relationship between Lucerys and Aemond. It would be good for the realm if two of its princes' were not on the brink of murder at every turn. Queen Rhaenyra, as an alpha, took power mostly uncontested.

Then, one day, a magical curse sweeps over the land, and people lose their a/b/o gender. Those who were carrying a pregnancy make it to term, but have to watch the world change around them, knowing that a ticking clock will catch up to them once they give birth.

Lucerys and Aemond have been sharing the marriage bed, but have not had a child after a year as they have been taking moon tea in secret, not wanting to be parents so early into the marriage. But, following this curse upon the lands, they, and everyone else, finds themselves to be betas. Or something close.

Their mating bites no longer tingle, the heats and ruts no longer bond alpha and omega. Their primary gender hormones have stopped producing. There is no more slick to ease the way, and no more knots to keep mated pairs tightly bound together, murmuring to each other in the moonlight after their passions were consummated. The world shifts. Their second gender hormones kick in, bringing upon slight changes in their physiology. It is a struggle for all, but no one is going through it alone. The betas guide them through the change, being in the best position to lend their expertise.

It will take a while for people to understand that secondary genders now dominate and determine who can carry children. Female alphas find themselves unable to breed their female omega lovers. Male omegas find themselves able to impregnate others.

Lucerys and Aemond navigate this new world, in horror, knowing that a civil war between the Queen and Otto would be the last thing the realm needs right now, as Queen Rhaenyra’s reign goes on, formerly unquestioned as she was an alpha. What changes now that she's essentially a beta?

Since everyone is a beta, people thankfully look up to the Queen, as she goes through the same event as everyone else.

Lucerys, in secret, prays for his omega to return, so that his husband may feel the mating pull towards him again. So that he has a reason to spend the nights with him.

Aemond, in secret, misses the scenting most of all, misses the honey and ash scent of his omega. It's different, being around him, without their fated bond keeping them together. Sex doesn't feel the same. It requires lubrication now.

That is one industry that booms after this curse.

Its more than politics. They have mated. Quite happily, for the most part. They were compatible, as alpha and omega. Passionate.

But without their scents intermingling, without their bodies slotting together easily like puzzle pieces, without that mating bite chaining them to eachother, its just different.

They look at each other across the table, as they listen to their Queen talk about how things have changed across the Realm. The maesters have concluded that male pairs, regardless of their previous genders, cannot have children with each other. It is a shock to the system. No combination of former primary genders with the secondary male gender can have children?  How bizarre, to lose all of those pairing combinations. To have this one trait dominate.

Jace, a beta, is the only one unperturbed at the news. Aegon, his ex-omega, already has two children, so they may remain together for their family. Lucerys eyes his brother’s exhale of relief in jealousy, glancing across the table.

Aemond would surely want to be remarried to a female now, so that he may continue his line. It would make their alliance more tenuous, they were the biggest danger to the family, after all. Lucerys took his eye, earning his ire, and Aemond attacked him with Vhagar, killing Arrax. The pair was at each other's throats, unable to be in the same room together, before they were betrothed to marry to avoid war between their families.

But that was two years ago. Lucerys curses himself for taking moon tea in that first year now, before the thought of carrying Aemond’s child didn’t turn both of their stomachs in disgust. Things had been different, recently. But then the curse stole their alpha and omega.

But the Queen wants them both to be released from their forced marriage. They should have a chance at children, if they so wished, she says.

The Queen had never been opposed marriages between infertile pairs before the magic came of course. With so many combinations of genders, how could it matter, when the hormones and mating bites brought people together regardless?

Two beta males were always allowed to marry of course, though it was a rare match, almost unheard of. There weren't that many betas to begin with. Why marry if you have no inherent hormonal compatibility, no scents to attract each other, no mating bite pulling you together even against your will?

Marriage between female and male betas had been more common due to the chance of pregnancy. Lucerys had tried to imagine how different it must feel to be a beta. Definitely more free time, without the heats and ruts. But he enjoyed those moments of unending passion with his husband. Now, he knows.

What would be left, between them? Lucerys feels tears well in his eyes. He could still have children, if he remarried. As their alpha sire-… no. Their father. A strange thought. He could try. But he would have to separate from Aemond.

“No, sister,” says Aemond, cutting through the terse silence at the dining table. He hastily corrects himself. “Your Grace.”

“You do not wish to remarry, Aemond?” says Rhaenyra.

“What of the alliance, your Grace,” says Lucerys. He was never one to be quiet about politics, even with the omega hormones in his system, making him sweet and submissive to his alpha. Only for his alpha.

That was one of the biggest changes. He had argued with Aemond the night before, and they were not able to scent each other to calm down. They had slept in separate rooms instead. It had stung.

“I release you two from it. I trust our family has healed enough for this. That you are both wiser now. The realm does not need your marriage,” says the Queen. “Besides, keeping you together without the mating bond and the chance to sire children… it might make things worse.”

Lucerys swallows the lump in his throat, watching Aemond take in her words across from him, only an arm’s length away. He wants to grab him. Pull him close into a hold like a cage. Afraid, suddenly.

“It would set a bad precedent,” says Aemond carefully “to immediately disintegrate a marriage alliance just because our secondary genders have overtaken our primary ones. What of the stability of the realm? Of the lords? The curse might reverse itself yet. I believe it is best to keep our marriage alliance, as an example. When the realm is stable again, considerations may be made for future weddings.”

Lucerys exhales, in relief, watching Aemond’s eye as it stays fixed on his mother, not looking at him. The only tell is that Aemond’s hand is trembling, just a bit, on the table top. Lucerys feels his heart swell in hope.

“Lucerys,” says the Queen, eyeing her half brother in suspicion. “You should also have a chance to remarry and sire children if you so wish, as your secondary gender allows it. Your former alpha should not have the only say in the matter.”

Lucerys can feel Aemond’s eye, the one he had left him with, bore into the side of his neck, where his fading mating bites are imprinted. The hormonal possessiveness is taking longer to fade in the former alpha, it seems. Lucerys wonders why.

“What Aemond says is true. We need to set an example. Do you want all alphas to put away their omega spouses, when our society has afforded different roles to omegas and alphas their whole lives? Different expectations and opportunities? Even if you have fought against it, mother. It would be chaos. No, we must do this slowly. Aemond and I should remain married to show that stability and harmony can remain, even amongst former alpha and omega pairs,” says Luke.

Everyone at the table stares.

“We heard the shouting, last night,” says Jace, breaking the silence. “It generally devolves into mating, but this time wasn’t the case. We are worried that you two will kill each other some day. And we assumed you would prefer to separate, given the chance. You are both Targaryens. You may do as you wish.”

“I have made my wishes clear,” says Aemond, finality in his voice. He ignores the looks of disappointment from his mother and grand sire.

“And I, mine,” says Lucerys.

That is the end of it. Lucerys feels sick with relief, but he isn’t sure why.

He and Aemond's politics were in agreement. But Lucerys' motivations had been personal. He was no longer compatible with Aemond, in the way fated alpha and omega pairs were. Their pull was different. But…

But.

That night, they layed in their bedchambers, side by side, speaking softly to each other in the dark space between them, hands roaming over flesh, gently, as they had always done, back when they had to wait for Aemond’s knot to deflate.

Aemond presses his face into Lucerys’ chest, and Luke feels a tug on his heart, as if they were mated once again. But it wasn’t that same pull, it was a different one, present before but muted under the inferno of need that was their primary gender hormones.

Lucerys lets his fingers comb through Aemond’s hair, and whispers into the crook of his ear, telling him about the future they could still share together. A different one. They would have to adopt their children, but they could do that, they were not in line for the throne. Aemond tightens his hold around Lucerys’ waist, telling him that he would like that. He still wanted that one day. He just wanted Lucerys.

When they kiss in the darkness of the room that night, illuminated only by the soft moonlight dancing across their bare skin, they whisper reassuring words into the space between them. Some things were different. But they would make it work. They were meant to be together. They would fight for it, when the time came.

When their bodies meet and their hearts swell for each other, singing the same song that has always existed between them, they hear it clearly, even without the haze of heat or rut fueling the intimacy between them.

A song without words that they both know the melody of: no matter how much their world changes, in every universe, as long as its the two of them, some things will always be the same.

[djinmer4]

It’s Weird Dream Season Again

Genshin Impact in a Modern A/B/O AU.

Starts out pretty sad.  Alpha Zhongli and Omega Venti are together and Xiao’s their kid.  When Xiao’s about around 10-12, Venti gets mugged (Khainri’ah?) and goes into a coma.  He spends about 5 years that way.  Zhongli and Xiao visit him fairly often and keep hoping that he wakes up one day.  They do end up putting away all his pictures and stuff at home because it hurts too much to look at that stuff every day.

Venti finally does wake up but possibly in some of the worst conditions possible.  The hospital is in the middle of a crisis, no one’s there to reorient him and he’s lost a large chunk of his memory (including ever meeting Zhongli).  So he’s wandering around the hospital dazed and confused, and gets tagged as a victim of whatever disaster the hospital is dealing with and shuffled off somewhere else.  And eventually gets released as being relatively healthy but Venti still has no clue about how he got there or what’s going on.  Fortunately he meets up with Jean, Diluc, Kaeya and other Mondstadt people.  Jean’s and Diluc’s Team Parent instincts kick in and they take him in with the promise to help him figure things out.  He pretty much gets informally adopted as another brother by Diluc and Kaeya.

Nota bene: Due to the memory loss and Venti’s baby-face, they vastly underestimate his age.  This is relevant later.

In the meantime, Zhongli, Andrius, Dvalin and Venessa have discovered Venti’s disappearance and are freaking out.  Based on security cameras, they know he didn’t die in the hospital but the last they see of him is leaving the hospital with a group of random teenagers/young adults and they have no idea where he went from there or if he’s alright or if he’s even alive now.  Zhongli has to break it to Xiao that his mother is missing.  There also may be some background suing of the hospital because everyone’s all ‘How could you lose a patient?!?” (which in real life happens more often than you would think) and Zhongli seems like he’d be vindictive about that.

3-4 years pass and Xiao’s now in college.  He’s majoring in Business/Accounting/Finance of some sort (he’s Zhongli’s heir after all) but he’s also taking some sort of performative music minor as a way of remembering his mother.  And in his classes he runs into Venti!  And first he can’t believe it, thinks it’s some sort of identical stranger situation, but they get partnered up for a project and as they spend time together, the story about the memory loss comes out.

Xiao’s delighted to find his mother again, sad that Venti doesn’t recognize him and highly weirded out by Venti acting like he’s the same age as Xiao.  He really wants to tell Venti about his real identity and all that, but 20-something Venti was definitely against marriage and bonding and having kids and Xiao feels that breaking the news to him might cause Venti to run away.  Xiao has memories of his mother loving his father and loving him as well, but the situation is just so strange that he’s not confident that Venti would like the life he had before the coma.  So Xiao keeps quiet, becomes really good friends with Venti and waits for a good time to spring the news.

He has informed Zhongli and the others that he’s found Venti but that the Omega has no memories of any of them (maybe he remembers Andrius but that’s it) and that contacting him out of the blue might go badly.  (Especially if Diluc gets suspicious of them.)  So they are waiting until Xiao’s thinks his relationship with Venti is strong enough to handle the fallout.  And for Andrius and Venessa to have time to come back to the area since they’ve moved away in the past 3 years.  (Not together, Andrius is very anti-social.) 

Another note on Xiao’s situation here.  Xiao’s an Omega and currently bonded with the Traveler (dream did not say whether it was Lumine or Aether so take your pick).  The Traveler and their sibling are also going to the same college and they are rooming at Zhongli’s and Xiao’s house.  Venti and the Traveler have not met due to bad luck, but Venti does know that Xiao and the Traveler live together, though not the circumstances.

Anyway, at some point it’s a dark and stormy night and Venti’s heat just hit.  Usually, unmated Alphas and Omegas have very mild ruts and heats, but for some reason Venti’s always had heats that are like those of a bonded Omega, being very painful and debilitating.  He’s pretty much alone in his apartment (Kaeya’s got some sort of sports meet and Diluc’s . . . probably out murdering Fatui agents) and really wants some comfort.  So he schlepps off to Xiao’s home.

He’s not looking for sex, just someone who can make him soup and rub his back and commiserate how much heats suck especially when you don’t have a partner or your partner is not there.  Xiao’s not the one who answers the door though, instead it’s Zhongli.

Since Venti has no idea who Zhongli is, he assumes the strange Alpha who answers the door is Xiao’s partner.  Xiaos’ not home (late night lab? maybe Xiao’s also into astronomy), in fact, no one other than Zhongli’s home.  But he’s not going to kick out Xiao’s friend to go back home in the storm, especially when he’s feeling bad.  So Venti gets to come in and have soup and watch a stupid romcom (or action movie?  I don’t know Venti’s movie preferences in this dream) and Zhongli might not be able to empathize with the pain but he gives a very good massage.  And internally Venti is freaking out because usually he’s fairly indifferent to Alphas even during his heats, but now he’s very attracted and horny and this IS HIS FRIEND’S BONDED!  What the fuck is wrong with him!?!  Queue Venti spending the time alternatively melting into Zhongli’s touch and trying to pull away from it.

Zhongli, of course, knows exactly who Venti is.  But he’s also aware that Venti has no idea who he is, probably wouldn’t want to have sex with a complete stranger, and that this is no time to drop the bombshell about Venti’s identity.  So he’s trying to remain discrete and chaste and only go as far as a normal, non-pervert, compassionate stranger would.  But it’s just been so long, and his bonded Omega is right there, smelling so very willing and fertile and looking exactly like he did whenever he wanted something from Zhongli and so he just . . . gives in.  First a kiss, and then Venti reciprocates so Zhongli goes a little farther and a little more until eventually they do end up having sex on the couch.

Queue Venti waking up the next morning freaking out about having seduced his friend’s Alpha and being a terrible person.

And that’s when I woke up.

[phoebehalliwell]

Yo imagine Wyatt being raised by the cleaners and coming back as an adult but time moves differently in the void (idk where they live) and it’s only been a few minutes. THE DRAMA tm I mean imagine Piper’s outrage! It could encompass a whole freaking season!! And then just because I’m a sucker for Phoebe’s baby living, like they could have stolen this child too! Twice!Blessed Wyatt & Source!Touched Dency as Cleaner siblings 👀

i feel like this would be like the Quintessential like network tv drama move tho like bc like. child actors? who wants em? they’re not that good, there are a whole bunch of rules about how long they can be on set for, you gotta bend over backwards trying to film a scene of theme fighting a demon w/o actually having them be in the room with said demon bc they get scared. bc they’re a child. when instead of having a child actors,,, you could have a grown human actor. amirite lads? i feel like this is definitely like a thing i swear they did this on ouat with belle and rumplestiltskin’s baby bc like. who wants a baby as a character when you can get the abc equivalent of kylo ren i guess? like who wants a baby wyatt when you could have a full grown adult wyatt who is still trying to get a hang of being in a human world bc he’s grown up in like. a void. and i Love the idea of dency being with him too especially bc i think they would form this sibling bond without ever actually know that they’re cousins (bc i don’t think the cleaners would like tell them of their lineage) and i also think powers are like augmented in the void i think both of these kids powers would be dampened probs like to that or a normal witch (and the cleaners would know any better bc uhh quite frankly they don’t host witches very often) so once dency and wyatt go out into the real world and find out they have like powers like a god that’s also gonna be a trip. i also think it’d be like inch resting bc i think obvi dency and wyatt would be drawn to the manor in one fashion or another bc well a) the plot needs it but b) it’s like their ancestral home it’s the nexus they feel the pull and the charmed ones would like equally feel this connection to wyatt and dency bc like you know That’s Their Children but they don’t know that. bc like piper’s been wiped of the idea of wyatt but it’s still something that you know she always mulls over that feeling when you lose a tooth and you can’t help but poke and prod at the lil vacancy where it once was and i think she feels like this really strong connection to wyatt bc she’s like if i had a son i would want him to be like you and i think like the more time she and wyatt spend around each other the more she’d really get echoes of y’know having wyatt but she just thinks they’re like he mind constructing fantasies of what it would have been like to have a kid besides wyatt’s like twentysomething so clearly like they can’t be related but like They Feel Related but it’s probs just the fact that she regrets never having kids latching onto her. leo will occasionally pop in but he doesn’t like spending time around wyatt something about him like puts leo in pain and he can’t figure out why so he thinks it’s just like Instincts and he goes to do some like digging into exactly who this dude is meanwhile piper’s been having this whole crisis about the fact that she never had kids blah blah blah which is specifically dredging up memories for phoebe about her own pregnancy that only last like two months but was still like a very formative time for her (the cleaners got a hold of dency when the source/seer/whatever was vanquished and the found the essence of the sources heir left still imbued with the power of the source of all evil and a charmed one and then went zoinks shouldn’t leave that just lying around that’s way too much power and it’s definitely not be used responsible we’re gonna take this back to The Void™ just to make sure it doesn’t go haywire well much to their surprise within a couple months that essence has now taken the form of a Human Child and they’re like a child but y’know they can’t Kill It because then it’s just release the essence in a less tangible form (also it’s a baby) so they’re like word well okay what if like we raised the kids and another cleaner is like what and the first cleaner is like okay well the whole reason we brought the essence back was so that it didn’t go haywire and destroy everything and make our jobs all a lot more difficult so like what if we raised the kids and taught them the ways of the cleaners! and cleaner two is like what ew no let’s just trap it in a giant ice cube and call it a day and the eldest cleaner is like no cleaner one is onto something so blah blah blah by the time they have to vanish wyatt and entire baby they’re like hey we’ve got another one now we can give dency a sibling!) so like blah blah blah (oh also fun fact in this au dency has the same haircut as the cleaners) and phoebe’s just sorta like she feels like the has this connection to dency but she thinks it’s just cuz she’s like a young witch who like loves her powers and like has a close bond with her sibling and phoebe just thinks she sees herself in dency blah blah blah oh cole’s spirit who is like fuckin creepin around the house or whatever in a very disturbing manner Also Sees Dency and is like hey. hey what’s up with that. blah blah blah leo has done his digging and confronts wyatt like why don’t you exist and wyatt’s like what and leo’s all like aggressive & upset bc he’s trying to protect his family and wyatt’s just like really confused like i was raised in a void with my sister?? like normal people???? and blah blah blah dency gets involved which gets phoebe involved and then piper’s showing up like what’s all this then and leo’s like accusing wyatt of lying and saying like the two of them are trying to infiltrate the family and get closed to the charmed ones to like you know learn magic straight out of the book of shadows something or others and then the cleaners themselves actually show up like okay kids this was fun and all but like it’s time to pack it up like let’s go home and like dency and wyatt are both like hey no we like being like here we like being out in the real world and the cleaners are like okay but you have to think of what’s best the real world just isn’t safe for you you’re too powerful to ever fit it you’ll always be ostracized and made out to be villains it’s better with us it’s safe with us just come home and like you know now paige has also shown up and the charmed ones are like who the hell are you and leo’s like what the actual fuck is going on right now Are Those Cleaners and wyatt and dency are like standing strong with each other and they’re like we can live here we can be safe here like please just give us another chance and the cleaners are like i’m sorry we can’t it’s just too dangerous and wyatt’s like i’m not letting you take me away again! and dency’s like again? and piper’s like yeah again? and phoebe and paige are like what does that mean? and like the gears are turning in leo’s head and like for once he really leans into the emotions that sorta y’know know double double toil and trouble underneath the surface whenever he’s around wyatt bc he always ran from them, they were painful and he figured it was because wyatt was well like evil but now he’s not running and he’s leaning into it and really trying to figure out what he feels and it’s this insane loss and fear and longing but underneath that is like joy and elation and absolute happiness and unconditional love and he remember the time wyatt was born meanwhile phoebe the empath has basically been knocked off her feet with the tidal wave of raw emotion that just shot out from leo and she has the same realization and leo’s like I’m Not Letting You Take My Son Again. and wyatt’s like what and piper’s like what and phoebe like also takes a stand and she’s like dency and wyatt are our family. and you can’t take them. and wyatt and dency are looking at each other like ????? but they’re like game they don’t want to leave and the cleaners are like you know what no No absolutely not and they take dency and wyatt and they wipe the halliwells’ memories and fuck off back into the void but now the ball is rolling and dency and wyatt are like no who are we who were they that was our family and the cleaners are like you don’t have family and dency and wyatt are like that’s not true and you know it and wyatt like piper’s my mother isn’t she and the cleaners are like don’t ask stupid questions and wyatt’s like she is!! i knew it! i fucking knew it!!! and dency sorta sitting there and she’ll totally you know go to bat for wyatt and she believes the halliwells are her family but she just doesn’t feel this connection wyatt has like wyatt Knows piper’s his mother but dency doesn’t feel the same way. she doesn’t have the same connection that like wyatt has. but blah blah blah they aren’t able to argue long bc they’ve sense a shift in the void meaning someone’s out there exposing magic and they go and it’s the charmed ones fucking up things and the cleaners are like word we can get rid of you too and wyatt’s like if you do i’ll go & destroy everything and paige is like yeah love the energy not actually necessary bc you guys aren’t allowed to get rid of us bc well not to flex but we’re the charmed ones and the cleaners are like yeah big whoop and phoebe’s like how familiar are you with the cosmic balance and the cleaners are like . and phoebe’s like yeah though so and paige is like you can’t kill us without drastically tipping the scales. and the cleaners are like fine what do you want and they’re like we want dency and wyatt and the cleaners are like well shouldn’t it be their choice whether or not they want to go with you and the charmed ones are like fine ask them i’m not worried and wyatt’s like i’m going with the halliwells period end statement but then like cleaner one the initial cleaner who was like let’s care and raise dency is like talking to her like please. it’s safer with you here. wyatt feels his connection with them. what do you feel? we raised you, we care for you, we love you, we want to see you safe. we’re your family. and dency’s just like who am i. and the cleaner’s like nothing they would like. and dency’s like that doesn’t answer my question. and the cleaners are like you’re the source’s heir. and the charmed ones are like She’s The What. and dency’s like i’m what. and the cleaners are like you are the daughter of the source of all evil. you are the epitome of power and destruction. but we can keep you safe, we can keep you from hurting anyone. and phoebe’s like are you gonna tell her the rest. and dency’s like tell me what. and phoebe’s like you may be the daughter of the source of all evil. you’re also the daughter of a charmed one. you’re my daughter. and dency’s like What. The Fuck. and the cleaners are like oh don’t be so generous you carried her for all of two months she is not your daughter and dency’s like What. The Fuck. and like paige and piper and in the background and like the gears are turning in their heads like cole’s kid??? and the cleaners are like when we found you you were barely an essence all that was left over from a brutal vanquish and dency’s like WHAT. THE FUCK. and phoebe’s like you took my kid from me! and the cleaners are like you vanquished her! and phoebe’s like we vanquished the seer! we stopped the source of all evil! and it cost me my child don’t you dare say i did this to her and dency’s like you know what actually no and she flames out and piper’s like well i guess you have your decision feel free to get the fuck out of my attic now and the cleaners are like like you guys are assholes and there’s a reason we let prue die 😗✌ and dip and piper’s like if a see another cleaner ever again i’m gonna vanquish that motherfucker So Quick he won’t even have time to ruin yet another one of my family photos. blah blah blah wyatt’s like At Home he’s reunited with his family and they’re so happy to have him back and piper’s like let me cook you a really nice dinner the last time i cooked for you it was just pureed carrots i’m hoping you’re palate’s gotten a little more refined and wyatt’s like thanks mom that really means a lot but i can’t stay here i can’t turn my back on dency she was my family before i even knew i had one i have to go find her so of course the let him go blah blah blah he finds dency blah blah blah heart to heart blah blah blah they all reunite blah blah blah happy ending : )

[poppyknitt]

Bio-Bots- A JSE Egos Fanfic

Android!Chase AU

-Post explaining how the hell i came to make this beautiful, blessed, but also cursed au in the first place

-Canon developments in the story as of writing this

[April 11th, 2017, our time]

Schneep and Jackie knew Chase wasn’t going to make it. His head was shot clean through, and his brain was damaged badly. Even if it did heal, he’d be in so much tremendous pain that he’d probably be begging to be “put to sleep”, as they call it in the veterinarian world. They stared hopelessly at the heart monitor next to Chase’s bed, which had a relatively steady pace at the moment, but, on occasion, faltered.

“... What should be done, Jackie..? He only has a little bit of time left. You and I, we-.. we both know this.”

“... I say we work together on blueprints.”

“Blueprints? What-Whatever for?!”

“... An android, of sorts. One that works and looks totally human. It may take a few weeks, but we’ll make it happen.”

“And what would I do? You are the one with the technological know-how; I, on the other hand cannot configure even a Raspberry Pi for the life of me!”

“You’ll help me make him look human. You’ll help me pull this off. We can do this, Henrik. Nothing is holding us back. No one will have to know that he died.”

“... Alright, then. Just give me heads up, yes?”

Jackie smiled sadly, “Will do, ‘doc’.”

~~~

[April 24th, 2017, our time]

Chase woke up groggily, his head spinning as his vision flooded with blindingly bright light, and he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. The heart monitor on his left beeped steadily, and his head was wrapped in bandages.

“Chase! You- You’re awake!” A voice, similar to his, cried out in joy, and next thing he knew, he was being glomped by a man in a black cape and strangely colored cat mask.

“Wh..Who..?” He slurred, taking a moment to figure out that this was Marvin, “Oh! ...M-Marv..?”

“Yep! That... That’s my name! Don’t.. wear it out!” Marvin said, putting on the best cheerful face he could, thought, Chase knew it wasn’t sincere, even as he laughed wryly in response. He could tell that the magician was distressed greatly by his attempt to kill himself.

~~

“Okay, so, he’s gotta be good at reading people, right? I mean, come on, even if we are just doing this to prevent further heartache, then why not take a few creative liberties that chance making social interaction and stuff like that easier?”

“Is up to you, Jackie. I for one did not know him very well beforehand, so you may wind up on your own for the programming part of this.”

“M’kay. Cool. I’m gonna do it.”

~~

[April 30th, 2017, our time]

“Stacy? Hi... It’s me, Chase... I was just calling to ask when you’re gonna let me see the kids next... I really miss them... S-Sorry for bothering you... I’ll... just go now..” He sighed, and hung up the phone.

“She still being petty?” Marvin asked, his face reading nothing but slightly amused sympathy.

“Yeah.”

“Damn. Well, cheer up, pal! She’ll have to listen to ya some day!”

“Maybe...”

~~~

“Greetings, Chase. I’m Jackieboyman! But, uh, I’d prefer being called Jackie.”

“... Uh... hey..? Good to meet you!” As the android spoke, his face lit up, as if he were just registering the name, and felt like he recognized it. Or something. Either way, it seemed like a good thing that he showed recognition, because it meant that at least one of the features he’d implemented into the android was working.

Jackie grabbed his clipboard, and checked off “Name recognition” from the list.

“What is that?” Chase asked, peering over his shoulder from behind. Jackie hadn’t even noticed him move! Weird. But cool!

“Um, it’s a list of functions you’re supposed to have. I have to make sure you function like a normal human if we’re gonna get the others to believe there’s nothing wrong.”

“Oh. Is silent footsteps one of them?”

“Not intentionally, no. I think it’s a byproduct of the materials we used.”

“Cool.”

“Hey, not to change the subject or anything, but how’re your tricks for the bro average channel going so far?”

“Pretty good! I can do a triple flip now! Wanna see?”

“Heck yeah, man! That sounds epic!”

Chase grinned cheerfully, and, going a fair bit back so he didn’t risk bumping into his older brother. He jumped up several feet, backflipped, landed on one hand, and did it twice more, landing on both hands the second, and on his knees the third. Jackie watched, eyes wide in awe, and applauded him excitedly when he finished.

“Wow! That was awesome!”

“Aw, shucks, Jackieboy! You’re too kind! Too kind!” Chase grinned, bowing humorously.

~~~

[Sometime in August, 2017, our time]

“Seán... Please... I-I don’t know if you can hear me, but... please... wake up.. We need you now, more than ever...” His voice broke as he pleaded for his old friend to wake up. Between the loss of Henrik, and Jack’s coma, he didn’t know if he was gonna be able to keep it all together.

~~~

Jackie watched Chase from a ways back, his heart breaking at the sight of his youngest brother melting down by the side of their creator’s bed in the hospital. He was about to go hug him and tell him it was gonna be okay, but Marvin ran in, pushed past him, and practically glomped poor Chase. The magician was clearly upset about the loss of Henrik and Jack, but he seemed to understand that the best they could do about it right now was help each other keep it together. Chase seemed shocked by the sudden hug, but he quickly returned it, appearing to be holding back tears.

~~~~

“Hey! Jackie! Look over there!” Chase exclaimed gleefully, hoping his brother was gullible enough to fall for it.

“What? What am I looking for?” Jackie asked in confusion as he looked where Chase had pointed. Chase grinned mischievously, and ran up to him while he was distracted, grabbing the hero’s goggles and yanking them down so they covered his eyes. Jackie yelped in surprise, and scrambled to adjust the goggles so he could see, as Chase made a break for it, darting away from him as fast as he could. Jackie yelled at him, and gave chase, catching up to him quickly, and tackled him to the pavement.

“Hey! No fair! Let me go!” Chase yelped, surprised by the strength of Jackie’s grip.

Jackie grinned, and stole his hat, letting go of him as he spoke, “Fine! But you’re still gonna pay for that”, and shot up, darting off in the direction of home. Chase laughed, and ran after him, yelling for him to give his hat back.

~~~~

[October 2018, our time]

Chase clutched onto his abdomen, coughing every now and then, as a strange, orange-ish liquid oozed around his arm. He didn’t understand why his blood looked so unnatural, but he didn’t think about that, as he let himself sink into a blind rage, and ran at the foreign glitch that was attacking Marvin.

“Chase, no!” Jackie screamed at him, desperately trying to drag himself after him, but the hero collapsed, his own wounds making him too weak to hold himself up anymore. Chase’s instincts screamed at him to go back for Jackie and flee this place, but he had to save his other brothers, too. Everything he knew about biology told him he shouldn’t even be able to run right now, but he didn’t care; Obviously, he could, which meant he was the only one able to do anything right now.

He tackled the glitch to the ground, and started throwing punches at his face, glad he was able to take him by surprise, since he probably wouldn’t have been able to pull that off if he hadn’t. The Anti screamed in anger, violently throwing him off, and stood up, as Chase caught himself. The vlogger stood as well, his eyes burning with hatred.

“Chase..! You..! You’re hurt! Wh-What-?!”

“He’s an android, Marvin.” Jackie wheezed.

“W-Wh-?! S-Since when?!”

“Since April...”

“W-Who else knew?!”

“... Henrik knew. He helped me create him...“

“Where- What happened to the Chase we knew?!”

“... He didn’t survive. The day Chase woke up was really just... the day after he had died..”

Chase listened silently, his heart heavy. He’d always had an underlying suspicion that he wasn’t as human as they’d said, but he didn’t realize he wasn’t human at all. He sighed, and opened his mouth, interrupting the conversation, “Marv, take Jem and the doc, and run. Don’t go home. Just... run. Make sure you never look back, and most importantly, don’t stop running until we meet again, okay?” The order came out dry and empty, his hate-filled gaze never leaving the glitch as he spoke.

“B-But what about you and Jackie?!” Marvin yelped, eyes wide, as tears began spilling from his eyes in small streams.

“... We’ll be fine. We’re gonna fight this guy off, and then we’ll run, too. I dunno how, or where, but we’re not stay here. Our world might as well be toast.”

“Chase..” Jameson’s speech slide appeared, and Chase gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut as he, too, began to cry.

“Go, god damn it! Go before I do something really fucking stupid!” He sobbed, not paying any mind to the sadistic grin plastered on the glitch’s face, as his voice cracked and broke. At that, Marvin didn’t take another warning, and, as he helped Schneep up, he cast a spell. Soon enough, it was just him, Jackie, and the monster that had invaded their world.

Speaking of the damned, the glitch began laughing his mentally unstable laugh, and held up his knife, which was stained with orange, “Oh̶,̧ ḩo̧w҉ a͟do͝rable̢!́ You real̴l̷y ́t̀h̨ìnk͜ ͜they̶ ̴c͢a̕n ͠ęsc͟ap͜e̡ me f̨o̵r l҉o̡n̢g͢ ̨j̀ust ̶bec̸ausę ̷y͘o͞u ͢tol͟d́ ̸t͡he̵m to҉ r̷u͏n?! ̨Oh, ҉d͢e͏a͏r͞ ̀r͡ób̶ot̛, ̕I ͞h҉àte to ̡say ̀ít,̢ b͘u͘t́ ̡as͜ ̢s͡o͜on͠ ̢as̵ I͏’m done ͟w̵i҉th̀ ́yo҉u? I’̀m̛ g̷o͏i͡n̴g straight for ͡t͏h̀em̸!̛”

“That’s why you’re not getting a chance to do that.” Chase said, smirking a little. The Anti paused, looking utterly dumbfounded by his statement. They stood there quietly for a moment, until Chase subtly signaled to Jackie, and the hero yelled at the glitch.

“Hey, doofus! You forgetting someone?!” Jackie taunted. The glitch growled in annoyance, and turned to him. Chase took the chance his brother had given him, and used his soundless footsteps to his advantage. He sprinted at the glitch, and withing moments, he was on top of him once more, punching the ever living hell out of him once more. It took until Jackie yelled for him to stop for him to realize he’d knocked the Anti unconscious.

He got off of the demon, and ran to Jackie, picking him up in an almost-bridal style fashion, despite his brother’s adamant protesting, “Shut up, dad. You’re too weak to walk.” He joked, knowing Jackie would be embarrassed by the spontaneous new nickname.

Without looking back even once, he used a little spell Marvin had taught him a while back, and opened a portal to another world.

———————————

Help i’ve been writing this story practically nonstop for like 8-9 hours and i’m already attached to Android!ChaseSo, yep! This is basically all of the super major parts in Android!Chase’s story that I’ve made yet! Also, random note, but uh, the Anti that came in at the end was indeed Monitor (the anti from one of my other aus, if this is the first fic of mine that you’ve read), and he most definitely destroyed the universe they came from. Whether Chase & Jackie ever reunited with Marvin, JJ and Henrik is currently unconfirmed, but don’t loose hope, because I’d absolutely love to be able to expand upon their stories later on! Though, I think my favorite part of this au is Jackie and Chase’s QPR father/son dynamic-

taglist:

@antis-loyal-puppet @tiny-septic-puppet @chaoticcrimsonrose (yes i know you hate the angst but this is only like 50% angst) @rorald-spooks @septic-dr-schneep

Additional tags:

@hotcocoachia @insaneangel18-blog @aquaticember06

[iworeheelsforthis]

Miss Americana

I just watched the Taylor Swift documentary Miss Americana on Netflix. I actually enjoyed it. She bugged the shit out of me for years and as it turns out she bugged the shit out of herself, too. I really respect people who can see their own weaknesses.  

Since we're on that topic and I am vulnerable AF these days, here are some of my weaknesses.  Aside from chocolate, reality TV and sexy men.

I am incredibly hard on people.  Mainly myself but also everyone else. It has led to me to have a very small group of friends, only ones who can withstand my wrath of judgement or ones who are similar enough to me that I have no business judging. 

This doesn't stem out of nowhere.  Anyone who is insecure about themselves projects judgement onto others.  I have questioned myself my whole life.  Am I smart enough?  Pretty enough? Funny enough? Skinny enough? Good enough? Most of the time the answer has been no, in my own head at least. 

Again, this doesn't come out of nowhere.  My dad (RIP and today is his birthday so RIP times ten) probably should have had sons.  We were incredibly close when I was little and also before he died, when I was in my 20s.  All those middle years were tough.  He didn't know what to do with me and I kind of get it - it's probably really tough to navigate females in their tween and teen years as a male. 

I was always a very right brained kid and won the spelling challenges weekly in my class.  I'll never forget the day when he picked me up from 2nd grade and I was so excited to tell him that yet again I had won the 2nd grade spelling bee.  I couldn't wait for his reaction.  He responded with "and how did your math test go?" knowing that my answer would be nothing to brag about.  It's a memory that is ingrained in my head forever. I remember the street we were driving down and the loss of breath in my lungs.  I was terrible at math, as hard as I tried to be good at it because he reminded me frequently that he was a math major in college.

Every year of my school life I was punished with math tutors on top of my school days, homework, endless sports schedules, chorus group practices, whilst trying to maintain a social schedule and dedicate songs on the radio to my middle school crush Michael. My go-to was "(Everything I do) I do it for you" by Ryan Adams. I had just seen Robin Hood with Kevin Costner and this was the theme song.  So hot. Michael, I hope you were listening!

It wasn't until my senior year of high school that my parents finally had me tested for learning disabilities to find that I have basically a full blown non-existent math brain.  I had tested terribly in my PSATs and they were confused because I was generally a B student.  So they hired a fancy SAT tutor who promised my score would raise when they were done with me, but it declined significantly. It finally dawned on them that maybe I wasn't a moron and I had an actual issue, much like my little sister who had been diagnosed with multiple learning disabilities several years prior.  Granted, she is adopted so I get it.  They likely assumed their prodigy child was perfect.  Which clearly I am ;) 

Once my less than perfect diagnosis came through, which is that I literally cannot do math or take multiple choice tests (it's called executive processing and let me tell you that menus are an absolute nightmare for me which makes dating me super fun), I felt free.  Kind of.  I felt less stupid than I had in the 17 years prior but also realized that for 17 years I had felt stupid.  That's a hard pill to swallow.  

I took it upon myself to use this disadvantage as an advantage when writing my college application to the University of Oregon.  

I had visited 10 schools up an down California and back East.  No school had caught my interest and I never considered Oregon until my mom suggested we go visit. And when she did my plucky teenage Californian self said "Ugh, who goes to school in Oregon, Mom? I mean really?!" What a twerp.

Our flight was delayed (shocking SFO!) and we missed our campus tour but when I laid foot on that campus something shot through me like a lightening bolt. I had to go to this school, and this school only.  It was my first real gut instinct that this was my place.  I went home and threw my other college applications away.  Oregon or bust!  Also, ballsy AF! 

In my essay I acknowledged that my SAT scores would far from land me an admission into the school but took them through my journey of discovering that I had undiagnosed learning disabilities and during it all had powered through, overcompensating on extracurriculars to make up for always looking and feeling like an absolute idiot.  

One of the best days of my life was the day I was accepted to U of O. I was finally being accepted, despite the shortcomings of my brain.  It was the first time I ever felt truly worthy, in a scholarly way.  

It wasn't a picnic once I arrived on campus. I spent 4 years navigating professors who would test me orally (no, not that way you pervs!) or written essays, instead of with multiple choice testing. Many would not and I would have to drop that class within a week and find a new one - it would have taken a lot of extra time for them to give me that individual attention so I do understand to an extent. But I am so grateful to where it landed me - a broadcast Journalism degree where I could write and speak while proving I was smart and worthy.  A group of my friends and I started a TV show that was on public access TV and still runs to this day.  

I guess the point of this story is sometimes your weaknesses help you find your strengths.  And that's a blessing.  

I'm still an amazing speller and I as a recruiter, I never have to do math unless it's calculating how much I'll make off of a placement.  I'd say that's a full circle silver lining.

[izumisays]

Dear creator,

Thank you so much for reading this and signing up for this wonderful annual conspiracy!

I hope you have a lovely time, and that this letter can contribute to it. If any of the fandoms below pique your interest, I’m delighted already, and very interested to hear your thoughts on them. 

Fandoms: Nimona, In Other Lands, Captive Prince, Machineries of the Empire

As for reading preferences, I’m happy with a wide variety of tones and genres, from lighthearted shenanigans to dramatic casefics, and pretty much all ratings, but the core of all stories I love is always character interaction. How they play off each other and bring out their best/worst, how they would react to a divergence of events, how true would they stay to their selves in a different setting - these are the kind of questions I’m all chinhands for. POV games, a missing scene, a casefic, canon expansion, backstories and what-ifs are all fair game, so choose your weapon!

I would be very grateful if you could avoid a/b/o and similar kinktropes, played-straight soulmate fic, and character interpretation that runs contrary to their core values. If in doubt, please reach out to me on anon - the askbox is open!

NIMONA (any characters)

It is no mystery at all why I completely imprinted on this book. What is a mystery, however, is how I survived to this day and age without having loved Nimona for years - how did I even live unaware of its existence, up until an impulse purchase a month ago? WHAT A TRAVESTY.

Anyway, I massively adore Nimona to bits: a perfect fusion of story and pictures, chaotic evil Nimona (CHOMP!), Ballister of the big heart and stoic love for strays and SCIENCE, Ambrosius of awkward good instincts and poor decisions  - I just want to pinch everyone’s cheeks and hug them to my chest. For six hours. Approximately. It’s open for negotiation :’)

I’m requesting any characters because I’d be honestly delighted by seeing each one of them <3

A day in casa de Blackheart with Nimona and Ballister! Hatching evil schemes or having a pizza night - or both. BOTH IS GOOD. A flashback to Ballister and Ambrosius’s younger days (that christmas special *clutches heart*). A future with Nimona infiltrating Ballister’s lab and his & Ambrosius’s couch with popcorn and underhanded science! Nimona grumpily acquiescing to Goldenloin’s presence in Ballister’s life! Generally ANY AND ALL HIJINKS feat. heartwarmth and unapologetic monster girl love and fierce protectiveness of each other, much in the spirit of the lovely, lovely source material.

IN OTHER LANDS (Luke Sunborn)

Elliot is a spectacular narrator. Novel-shaped case in point: In Other Lands.

Having said that, what I really, really want to see is a story that makes Luke a narrator, or otherwise puts him at the center. I have it on good authority that he makes one fucking adorable narrator (novella-shaped case in point: Wings in the Morning), but why stop there, right?

Luke/Elliot, either post-canon or slightly amending canon, is always a delight. Luke crushing on Elliot for years in a resigned, semi-unaware (or aware!) manner - he gives Elliot Dale’s name only as a distraction, to get Elliot off his back, and watches with horrified eyes how every member of his family is suddenly out there to set him up with the wrong boy! Luke handling the thought of Elliot the boyfriend with awkwardness unbefitting a Trigon champion (granted, Elliot is kinda more prickly than an average glass ball). Luke having 110% confidence in Elliot and admiring him sass people into submission from the sidelines.

A look at Luke’s friendship with Serene - completely compatible with Luke forever crushing on Elliot, just saying ^^. I suspect lack of Elliot’s Serene goggles could do marvels to building nuance to her character: a little less reverse gender comedy just for the sake of comedy, a little more someone who is clever enough to balance multiple things, connect the dots, and learn, and stand by what she believes is right.

Competence kinkkk. Forever admiring the bookish people, refusing to stop trying to catch up, and zero time spent being conceited about own achievements while fully embracing his role of a champion and defender - that’s the Luke I love <3 Luke’s brand of leadership & charisma - an introverted champion, well-loved by people and easily tired of company of not his people.

Figuring out life after graduation! Casefic of them solving a mystery and preventing a war breakout! Getting assignments and storming the castles! Building cross-cultural competence by throwing Elliot at new people and watching him sign up new pen friends and treaties!

Sunborn family fic! A holiday get together? Drunken exchange of family stories? Another terrible competition that Elliot boycotts? Rachel reading Luke’s letters from year one and with great amusement observing the progression of his “THAT ELLIOT” feelings. God I love the Sunborns <3

I’m not particularly fond of Dale, on understanding that he got enough screentime as is already I’d be grateful if you didn’t center the fic around him. Obviously no objections to him as part of class ensemble, whose names Luke will never bloody remember.

CAPTIVE PRINCE (Damen, Laurent, Auguste, Jokaste)

You would not have wanted to see me at the peak of my CP obsession - dignity readers for miles around were in the red zone for months, I can tell you that. Even my bitter disappointment with many things in the third book didn’t survive the onslaught of feelings that overcome me every time I turn my thoughts to this series. R e g u l a r l y. (If you don’t think Prince’s Gambit is the high point of modern literature, f i t e   m e)

Things that make me happy:

Laurent/Damen endgame, always.

Auguste! Alive and well and fiercely proud of Laurent and quite possibly giving young Damen - his admiring bro - confused boners. Which he manfully swoonstruggles against, because see above.

Clever, competent Damen that drives Laurent up the wall of his fervent refusal to admit any of it affects him

Laurent POVs in general. There is nothing more delightful than a well-crafted narration of acerbic denial of hearteyes, self-crafted personality, hardwon competence and utter self-awareness.

Did I say competence porn yet? Hearteyes, motherfucker, hearteyes!!

Jokaste-Laurent queenbee friendships - vipers united!

Consider this: FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS arrangement for a CERTAIN AGENDA feat. Jokaste and Laurent - preceding or purposefully leading to Laurent/Damen endgame. Benefits as imagined by Damen, the poor cookie? Fake dating for purposes of short-circuiting Damen’s brain with the blonde ratio? :DD

Mafia/noir AUs *swoon* In fact, a variety of modern or historic AUs would be an a+ sandbox to play in and watch the chemistry unfold.

On another note, I have the soft spot the size of Delfeur for Nicaise and particularly Nicaise & Laurent spiky sibling-like affection, so if you think your story could benefit from that, please don’t hesitate to include it <3

I’m absolutely okay with fic that would not include all four - it’s just that I couldn’t omit either Auguste and Jokaste from the list of happy things. You are most welcome to include only one of the two, or none, if you want to concentrate on Laurent and Damen only.

Canon divergences, what-ifs and AUs are super-welcome for this canon. Please feel free to play to your heart’s content!

MACHINERIES OF THE EMPIRE (Shuos Mikodez)

I didn’t know how to request what would essentially be just heartfelt sobbing of PLEASE WRITE FIC FOR THIS AMAZING MEME ART (“please send help my family is starving!!”) - but if! By any chance! This is what you want to do, please disregard everything from math rules to heretic calendrical rituals, and go for it :DD i keep shoving this picture into all of my friends’ faces and get vaguely upset that they don’t immediately agree with me on how brilliant it is; maybe I should revise my strategy and give them the books to read first, hmm.

I’m fond of most of the cast of the books, especially of how competent and done with nonsense they are 99% of their screen time. Mentor relationships were amazing - Cheris and Jedao in Ninefox Gambit was a thing of true beauty, Zehun and Mikodez continuously delight me, and I’m looking forward to what book 3 will bring on this front, too (Nija? Please say Nija!). But as I need to choose something that won’t be guaranteed to make the matching algorithm cry, let me center it around a character that delights me and makes others cry instead.

Mikodez in his younger days! Zehun, I’m so sorry for your loss of sleep and possibly hair, teenagers are the worst, teenage Miki is the worst best Miki, and I am dying to hear all about his notorious Academy heroics.

Mikodez, Zehun, Nija and Cheris, the most terrifying parental equation of this calendar <3

Mikodez and his Questionable Alliances. Kujen “I had a friend once and then the leash broke” Nirai. Jedao - how does Miki’s view of the man change with Cheris in the game, and her (literal) insights about the dead mad general?

Mikodez throwing endless shade on all other factions, especially Andan. (Sorry, Andan. At least you’re pretty.)

Mikodez and his secret humanitarian agenda that he will politely deny forever, get fake-distracted by one of his bazillion hobbies and miss whatever sleep time he had scheduled in the day because he will inevitably get genuinely carried away. Every. Fucking. Time.

As a sidenote, I’m terribly fond of Vahenz <3 Bring her back! Let Vahenz have her fun! Let Mikodez meet his true competition for world domination and in the race towards diabetes.

I really liked Istradez, and would be happy to see him among the army of Mikodez’s high powered babysitters, but am not really in the market for Mikodez/Istradez shipfics.

Thank you very much for reading the letter! Please be assured I’m super excited to read everything you write already <3