Katamace

[katamace]

Regardless of how season 4 of the dragon prince comes out, at some point I’m going to need a time travel fic where season 1 meets season 4, particularly before King Harrow dies and everything goes to shit. Either season 1 character ending up in the future or season 4 characters ending up in the past, but either way Callum and Ezran getting to see their dad again in this context would just be perfection

[katamace]

Aftg hc that Neil hates when his hair is yanked (whether it be because someone grabs it or it gets caught in his gear) because his mom would alway do it, but he loves for his hair to be played with. Just the casual touch of someone running their hands through his hair or one of the girls “harassing” him into letting them do his hair. He absolutely loves it but will never admit it

[hatfordheadquarters]

Okay dark aftg headcanon but like hear me out:

What if when Neil was taken to Baltimore they didn’t just burn his knuckles; instead, they burnt his fingertips too so nobody could take his prints anymore.

And like in post-canon people gossip about it being for the purpose of committing crimes and not having fingerprint evidence connected to him, because you know, “omg that’s the mobster exy kid”

But the reality was that his father did it so that nobody would be able to identify him by his fingerprints after he died.

And Neil having to just live with that. Dang.

[katamace]

I love Agent Schmegan from season 2 in the same way I love Sherrif Boreanaz from season 1. I know they’re just going to bring trouble for our beloved players but my god will it be funny

[katamace]

I had this thought before but now with Normals full name being Normally you can’t tell me that the idea of Normal singing Love, Me Normally by Will Wood doesn’t just make you drunk with feelings with the amount of emotion he would put into each word.

Just imagine after everything that happened. At the dance, with his dad, with whatever Anthony has planned for the rest of season 2. Imagine the Doodler problem is fixed and everything goes back to some sense of normalcy (no pun intended). Normal and Sparrow talk about what happened and Sparrow explains that he loves Normal no matter what, nothing is going to change that, and he doesn’t care who he wants to be, as his dad he’s going to support that, and what he said was either the Doodler or something he thought so deep down even he didn’t know it was true, but it doesn’t matter what some chaos god thing says, he’s proud of his son.

Sparrow and Normal make up, they start having a better more honest relationship with one another. Normal forms a band (with the rest of the teens + Hermie Unworthy of course). Sparrow ends up going to one of their gigs because he truly does want to support his son and be invested in what he’s invested in. And he hears Normal singing Love, Me Normally. God, the heartbreak Sparrow would feel. The heartbreak we the audience would feel. Because no matter how much progress he thought they made over the years or how he thought he was being a better father, he still fucking traumatized his son. He’d let himself believe that was all in the past but clearly for Normal those emotions are still fresh.

Idk this kind of stuff kills me and I love it. If you know this song you get it. If you don’t, here’s a few lines that especially hit home:

“Cause a normal human being wouldn’t need to pretend to be normal”

“Well I guess that’s the least that I owe ya. To be normal in a way I couldn’t be”

“Is it courageous or escapist to leave quarantine when your contagious?” (Is it better to be yourself and risk others not liking it?”

“I want you to tell ‘em that you love the way that they don’t stick out like sore middle fingers… I want you to tell them that you love the way that they’re not maladaptive, not malcontent, not malignant or maleficent, but rather you love them exactly the way that everyone else is”

“C’mon, c’mon, yeah, I said c’mon, yeah, c’mon, c’mon, and love me normally” (literally begging to be loved, conditionally or not)

[katamace]

This is a reminder to all Dungeons and Daddies fans that in episode 36 Will Campos says that he checked tumblr to see how his show was doing, so while the chance is small there is a chance Will Campos will see your Dungeons and Daddies posts. 

[katamace]

Dungeons and Daddies: I came for the DnD, but I stayed for the bdsm

[katamace]

I want a fic where the Foxes notice the little quirks and habits Neil has from his shitty childhood and his life on the run, and Neil is super casual about it but then everyone else is like “what the fuck Neil, no that’s not normal and it’s actually super fucking sad”. Some of the headcanons I have for this include:

Neil eats his food really fast because when he was on the run with his mother he never knew when they would have to move suddenly or when they would be able to stop for supplies.

Neil doesn’t do hospitals or clinics. If he’s sick he’s running on store brand DayQuil (the mint flavor, not that berry shit). If he accidently cuts himself on something and it’s bad enough to need stiches, he is sitting in the bathroom floor stitching himself up while listening to some podcast. Abby is sometimes the exception and he might go see her if he thinks he sprained something (but only because he doesn’t want it to effective his game).

When Neil is around someone with a noticeable accent he’ll pick it up without meaning to. He used to have to pick up accents and dialects quickly when he and his mother changed backgrounds or need to blend in.

He’s initially really tense and freaked out when people recognize him in public out of instinct. 

This is actually canon, but I don’t think it’s talked about enough. Neil is hyper aware and nervous when he’s around men his fathers age. 

Neil has a go bag. It’s just a sling pack people use for casual hiking, but he takes it everywhere. Not because he plans to run or thinks he’ll need to, but because it makes him nervous to know that he doesn’t have something he might need in case of an emergency. It has things like band-aids, power bank, extra cash, paperclips, sewing kit, rubber bands, Tylenol, granola bars, etc. (Matt asks him for some gum one day, because “you carry this bag everywhere, surely you have gum” and Neil’s like “I don’t have any gum. I do have these smelling salts though.”

Anyway, this is what I have so far. Please feel free to add on to this with your own weird Neil habit headcanons 

[ianxgallavich]

just finished the All For the Game series. I read it within two days, does a book ever leave you feeling so empty?

also, Andriel supremacy

[katamace]

You may feel empty, but now you have a surprising amount of aftg fanfictions at your disposal. Fan fictions longer then the actually book series. Fix it fics, coffee shop au, post Kings Men fics. The world is your oyster. Go forth and prosper.

[katamace]

Good dad Lex Luthor

An AU that I've thought about a lot and have absolutely fallen in love with over the years is the idea of Lex Luthor adopting Dick Grayson after his parents die instead of Bruce Wayne. But here's the twist: Lex Luthor is not a villain and he genuinely is a good guardian to Dick.

Stay with me here: In this, Lex isn't a villain. He's not trying to find ways to kill superman, or take over the world, or whatever it is he actually does. He does however question the safety of the city when you have a hero as powerful as Superman "protecting" it. Does Superman do a lot of good? Yes, of course, he's over here stopping bank robbers and bomb threats, and the occasional supervillain that pops up. But has the number of these supervillains appearing in Metropolis increased since Superman's appearance? Yes, he attracts them like flies; everyone wants the credit of defeating him. As strong and quick as he is, when he's in the middle of a big fight can he stop every piece of rubble from falling onto the streets below and crushing the citizens below? No. He's a liability with good intentions.

Luthor's outspokenness about these issues with not only Superman, but superheroes in general, has put him in the position that the Justice League is overall just suspicious of him. When your as rich as he is and as outspoken and active in trying to bring awareness to the consequences of heroes, it's unlikely that you don't have something planned or your not going through some kind of back channels to get these things approved. (In reality, Luthor is a businessman. He's technically a genius. He doesn't need to take illegal means to talk to people, submit the right forms, take the appropriate steps to get the ball rolling on these discussions, etc.)

So, this is where Dick Grayson comes in. In this AU, the Grayson’s don’t die in Gotham. Something small happens (Batman busted Zucco’s operation a week before Haley’s Circus came to town, Haley went ahead and paid the protection money, Zucco got pulled over for a speeding ticket on his way to cut the ropes, etc.) that makes it so the Grayson’s aren’t killed in Gotham. Haley’s Circus performs in Gotham and they move on like they always do. 

Another stop on their tour is Metropolis. They go, they perform, everything is fine. Their last night in Metropolis, John and Mary Grayson decide to take Dick out into the city. They’ve been traveling with the circus for so long, tourist sites all kind of blend together, but Dick is still young enough to enjoy them. While walking through the city, they see Superman fly overhead and into a building.  Nothing new for people who live in Metropolis, but for Dick it’s amazing. That is until a few minutes later Superman burst out of the side of said building fighting a villain. Rumble falls to the streets, where the Grayson's are waiting to cross the street. They start to run, but it’s already to late. At the last minute Mary pushes Dick just a little bit farther and he isn’t crushed. Broken pieces of rumble scatter across the pavement around him, but the only thing he can see are his parents, laying on the ground, a small pool of blood forming around them. Superman is already gone, the fight continuing somewhere off in the distance. 

Lex sees this child collapsed, crying over his parents bodies. And this is it. This is what he’s been trying to prevent, and he’s failed. And this is where the main start of the story would begin, with Luthor taking Dick in after his parents are killed by Superman’s collateral damage.

Please enjoy the details and scenes I’ve already imagined happening in this AU: 

Luthor going over to Dick on the street and trying to coax him away from his parents bodies. Lex finally getting this sobbing child a few yards away from the all the rumble and squatting down to check him over. There are small cuts and bruises from the fall and all the tiny shards of glass and rock, but nothing major, so he puts his suit jacket around him and stays with him until paramedics arrive. 

Lex taking Dick in and making it very clear to the press and public that Richard will not be in the public if he doesn’t want to be and he will sue the hell out of anyone who thinks they can harass a 9 year old. It’s the talk of the town for a while (Lex Luthor, a single 30-something year old millionaire taking in an orphan), but eventually it just kind of fades out. If you do any research on Luthor you’ll know that he has a ward, but for the average citizen they probably don’t know (I mean think about it, unless your interested in business and the big names in business, are you going to know how many kids they have and their names and stuff? Does Elon Musk have kids? IS he married? I don’t know, cause I’m not super into business or millionaires personal lives.)

Dick having an accent from traveling around with the circus. It’s not necessarily a distinguishable accent, you don’t hear it and go “oh yeah that’s Romanian” or “Yeah, that’s Slavic”. It’s a mix of different accents that he’s grown up around.

Dick is smart. Like really smart. I know when you think of the different Robins, Tim or Barbara are usually the ones that are considered the exceptionally smart ones out of the bunch, but I headcanon that Dick is equally clever. His parents homeschooled him, he was able to pursue special interests he had and interact with people and places most people will never experience. He wasn’t pushed into the box public schools have ready for you to be “prepared for the real world”.

It takes a while, but eventually Dick settles in and relaxes. It’s definitely a huge shift with so many different things changing at once, but Lex does everything he can to help.

Lex is the CEO of a multimillion dollar company, but he’s not a superhero, or a super villain. Lex makes time for Dick. There’s no nightly escapades or unhealthy work schedule. He doesn’t have a problem with staying late in the office or the occasional emergency, but he took in a child. That’s his priority.

Dick speaks MANY languages. Romanian, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Latin. A lot of European languages because that’s where they traveled mostly, but the younger you start learning languages the easier they are to pick up, plus I think Dick would have just enjoyed learning new languages and being able to talk to people (especially when someone doesn’t speak the native language of the area they’re in and he can help translate).

Once Dick gets more comfortable and starts to get some nice bonding time with Lex he picks up learning languages again. He learns languages like Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin, etc. Languages that are especially useful in the world of business.

Lex already knows a couple languages like German, French, Spanish, but once he takes Dick in he starts trying to learn Romanian and Romani culture, so Dicks not completely cut off from his heritage.

Dick and Lex bond over their intellect. Canonically Lex has a higher IQ than Batman himself. Lex is an inventor (maybe not in the comics, I don’t know, but I headcanon he is), so they bond over trying to get this equation to work or solving an issue with new product they’re developing.

Dick is going to have a heck of a resume by the time he’s 18, because when Dick ‘consults’ on a something, even if it is just cause he’s bored and wants a challenge or wants to be helpful, Lex includes him in the patent and has an account for all the compensation he’s getting by for his work.

Lex by no means makes Dick attend company events, but at some point he just starts tagging along. This is where he meets the sons of Bruce Wayne: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and eventually Damian Wayne (I know depending on the media, Bruce takes in more kids, but these are the ones I know the most about). Like I said Lex genuinely isn’t doing anything shady or villainous, but other heroes don’t believe it because he so openly fights against them. I mean he has to be doing something under the table, right? For simplicity sake, let’s say they meet when Dick is 13, Jason in 12, and Tim is 9. Three years later, Damian comes to live with Bruce when he is 10 years old (I know the ages aren’t right, but whatever)

So, Jason and Tim meet Dick at a charity event and they’re like “This is Lex Luther’s kid? The guy that hates superheroes, this is his kid?” Because Dick is still his cheerful charismatic self. And like Bruce has told them about Lex Luther and they’ve seen the news reports. Dude hates superheroes and they’re superheroes, so even as civilians they shouldn’t like this kid on principle. But they keep seeing each other at events, and they’re like the only ones around the same age, so they end up spending it around each other and eventually they realize “Shit, we’re friends with him”. They exchanged numbers at some point. The rant about the downsides of being adopted by a millionaire with each other. They pull harmless pranks together at galas. They’re friends with Lex Luthor’s kid.

Damian eventually comes along, and is peeved that Todd and Drake would be friends with the son of a man who adamantly hates their alter egos. He meets Dick, and is begrudgingly like “yeah okay I get it”. So we still get big brother Dick trying to get Damian to loosen up and be a kid.

Also as a side note, Lex does NOT use Dicks past as a ploy to bring in sympathies for his cause. He never uses it in his arguments or speech’s, he never brings it up. You’d have to do some digging to find out how exactly Dick’s parents died. When the news covered it, they focused more on Lex Luther taking in a ward and less so on why the boy didn’t have guardians.

Dick kept up his acrobatics and aerial skills. He also picks up martial arts because he wants to be able to walk around the city and go places and that’s hard to do when your the son of a millionaire.

Lex takes Dick to Haley’s Circus every year when they’re in Metropolis. When Dick turns 16, he starts spending his summer break traveling with the circus as a special act.

Bonus points for Dick strongly disliking this reporter Clark Kent that is always on Lex’s case for every new project he starts, trying to find ulterior motives and is always insinuating how hard it must be living with Lex

Anyway, for the love of a God, please reblog this or comment with your own headcanons for this. I want more content for it, it’s been in my brain for years. Feel free to write a fic or draw fan art from this, I will love you forever.

[katamace]

I finished reading Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell (highly recommend! Amazing plot and I immediately fell in love with the characters). Anyway, I finished Winter’s Orbit and started listening to the audiobook, and let me tell you I have never been more mad in my life.

I read this entire book, over 400 pages, and then I start listening to the audiobook and I find out the main characters have accents!?! I was reading them with my bland ass American accent that entire time, and they have like a British and what sounds like a Slavic accent! It’s set in space so you aren’t just told they have these accents, she never even talks about how they have different accents at all, but listening to the audiobook it’s very noticeable. Everyone has a slightly different accent and I love it!!

Looking back there are so many scenes that would have just hit so different if I’d known to read it with accents!

[disenchanted2006]

I FUCKING BROKE MY BACK FOR THIS EDIT (from sitting hunched over lol)

based on the book “a little life” using clips from the 2021 performance of the play

willem and jude otp 😀😀😀

i acutally loved the play (not as much as the book but close) thank you sooooooooo much @eenkleinleven for the link

[katamace]

If anyone asks me why I’m crying I’m sending them a link to this post.

I love A Little Life, both the book and the play, and as much as I want more content for it (more fan fictions, more edits, more tumble posts about it) a part of me is relieved there isn’t because this is the first edit I’ve seen for it and it freaking broke me. It’s one thing to read a fanfic or read a post about the nuances of one of the characters. It’s an entirely different level of emotions to see the live action production edited together with sad music that relates to their lives.

Beautiful edit though. I will be showing it to all my friends who haven’t read the book or watched the play to try and make them feel what I feel for these characters. This post will be making a special guest appearance in my next therapy session

[katamace]

AFTG Headcanon

A big thing about Neil’s character is that whenever something happens that puts him on edge his immediate instinct is to run. He has that flight instinct. And we see him actively try and go against that instinct throughout the series. He frequently talks about how he’s done running away from his problems and how he’s gonna stand up to them. So we see that Flight response turn into a Fight response.

I don’t think those are Neils actual trauma responses. I have a headcanon that Neils trauma response is Fawn. Growing up with Mary he was forced to learn that flight response to not only survive his father but his mother as well. We know that Mary wasn’t the most loving mother, even if she was trying to protect him. Mary hitting Neil and pulling his hair is referred to multiple times, specifically when he doesn’t do what she says. So when we meet Neil later it’s easy to see that his fear response is to run. But he learned that behavior from his mother to avoid being hurt. From what we know of Neils childhood before he and his mother went on the run it makes sense that he had a Fawn response there as well, trying to do what his father and Lola wanted to avoid getting hurt more than they already had planned.

When Wymack comes to recruit Neil he’s still following his mother’s Flight response. He ultimately decides to go to Palmetto with the idea that when he thinks it’s going sideways he’ll split. But even through all that we still see Neil tiptoeing around people and trying to avoid their anger. His default is just kind of to do what he thinks other want to keep himself in a somewhat safe environment. I mean he’s still kind of snarky and rough around the edges but trauma responses don’t get rid of your personality.

Andrew convinces Neil to stand up and fight for what he wants and we start to see a bit more of his fight response for the rest of the series as they deal with Riko and Drake and the Moriyama’s. After all of that though, post The King’s Men when they don’t have to worry about the mafia anymore and they can live they’re normal lives (as normal as one can feel when you’re life is reliant on the success of your future career), I think that Neil would fall back into his fawn response.

Without all of those extenuating circumstances where Neil feels like he has to follow his mothers instructions and run away, start a new life, don’t draw attention to yourself. Without all those extenuating circumstances where Neil has no real hope of living past this next year so he might as well go down swinging. My headcanon is that without extenuating circumstances and other people influencing how he responds to a threat or an uncomfortable situation, his default response would be to people please (in his own Neil ‘You know, I get it’ kind of way).

When Kevin yells at him during practice about something, he’s not gong to stop practice until he gets that’s thing right. If he and Andrew get into a fight, he’ll give Andrew distance and check in every once in a while when things have cooled down. When Katelyn and Aaron get into a fight, he makes himself scarce cause he knows if he tries to interfere it’ll only make Aaron mad. When Matt and Dan get into an argument on the other hand he’ll walk into the room like he doesn’t notice and ask if they want to walk down the street to the coffee shop with him. They always say yes and by the time they get back the argument never seems as important. When Renee seems to be getting stuck in her own head, he’ll use everything he retained from that religious studies class he took and go into a discussion with her about the multiple misinterpretations and mistranslation in the Bible.

Long story short, i headcanon that Neil is a people pleaser and a problem solver. Whether that stems from years of abuse and neglect is a discussion for a later time

[katamace]

Raven!Neil a/b/o au

Literally just the Au that no body asked for.

Background:

· Mary is killed before she can get Neil out and he is sold to the Moriyama’s

· Neil spends 5 years in the Nest before presenting as an omega at 16

· Jean, who’s a Beta, wakes up to his partner presenting as an Omega and immediately goes to Tetsuji

· Tetsuji won’t let him go on suppressants because he doesn’t want the side effects to impact his performance, but Neil also knows the consequences of letting his heat and him being an omega effect his training

· I think the Ravens wouldn’t recruit Omega’s because their bigoted

· Tetsuji shoves scent blockers at him and tells him to take care of it

· Neil suffers through his first heat, while continuing his normal Raven schedule

· After his first cycle, Neil does everything in his power to block out any omega instincts, and everyone just assumes he’s a Beta.

· Jean tries to help him by scent marking in the privacy of his room, but Neil says that it just makes it harder to go back to suppressing everything in the morning.

· This goes on for 2 years (3 more heats – every 6 months) then Kevin leaves (they weren’t super close outside of the Court).

· Sidenote: my headcanon is that heats in the omegaverse aren’t inherently sexual, the omega is just driven a bit more by their designation. In a normal instance the omega will have the urge to make a nest, scentmark their friends and family, just generally indulge in their comforts. When they can’t do these things for some reason, it causes distress and makes them anxious, etc.

· After Riko takes more interest in tormenting Neil because he doesn’t have Kevin to focus on and it gets harder to hide his designation.

· When Neil turns 18, Ichirou comes to the Nest on business (I imagine just generally learning about the Empire for when he takes over) and Neil pleads his case to leave the Nest (

· Despite the punishments he had to endure, Neil slowly let his performance drop as time went on, so he wouldn't seem like such a valuable asset to the team. And so he pleads his case, knowing damn well that the Moriyama's and Ravens are biases against omegas and very traditional(1. He’s an Omega 2. His performance has been dropping since he presented almost two years ago 3. He could still go play for Palmetto State and give the Moriyama family 80% of his professional earning if he gets recruited)

· Ichirou refuses to admit it, but he has a soft spot for omegas and he’s low key kind of pissed his uncle knew this kid was an Omega and didn’t do anything to get him in a better environment. "I mean honestly, you can smell in the kids scent how consistently he’s been stressed over the years."

· Ichirou warns Nathan to stay the fuck away from him so none of that happens (b/c the ultimate goal here is to get Omega Raven Neil all the love and care he deserves, not to traumatize him more)

· And so Neil goes to Palmetto, talks to Kevin (who’s very shocked to find out Neil is an Omega) and Wymack and he’s on the team

· Andrew is so fucking ready to hate this Raven that’s coming onto their team, into their pack, but then he smells him…and fuck if his scent isn’t soaked in years of stress and anxiety, and paranoia

· So…Andrew keeps his distant and is his usual moody dark self, but he isn’t outright hostile cause contrary to popular belief he’s not a monster

· Cue Neil settling in, his scent starts to mellow out, and he stops taking the scent blockers cause his scent going back to normal means it doesn’t immediately make other people uncomfortable and anxious to comfort him and figure out what's wrong

· The foxes adore him and he doesn’t know what to do about it

· Seth doesn’t die, but also Seth isn’t as much of a dick. He’s still kind of an asshole, but he’s not outright cruel or malicious. Seth would be a ride or die if anyone tried to fuck with his pack other than him, and I will fight you on that (I've read enough redemption arc fanfiction for Seth that I've slowly started to like him)

· Andrew was never on his drugs. When he attacked those guys for attacking Nicky it was justified because they were trying to assault an omega and Andrew was just protecting someone he considered his pack.

· The events of The Kings Men doesn’t happen and the assault over Thanksgiving never happens. I guess you could still imagine that Riko still sets it up to get back at Neil and Kevin for leaving the Nest, but I don't imagine the assault happening or Drake getting as far as he did in the book, because a little angst is nice, but not that much

· Also, concerning Drake and how Andrew grew up, I think that Drake would always taunt him about how he would ‘make such a good Omega when he grew up’. I don’t think they ever mentioned what the age gap between Andrew and Drake was, but I imagine he was at least over 16 and presented

Designations

Neil: Omega

Andrew: Alpha (He would refuse to admit it, but he is super protective of every one of the Foxes)

Aaron: Beta (specifically because I think Beta Aaron and Alpha Katelyn would be cute, and you could justify that Andrew doesn't like Katelyn because he doesn't want Aaron to be hurt by an Alpha like he was.

Nicky: Omega (the first thing I knew when I started thinking about this au was that Nicky is an omega. He just has omega energy and I think he is the complete opposite of Neil. He is constantly doing whatever his instincts want him to do (i.e. cuddling, scentmarking, making nests, etc))

Kevin: Beta (Kevin was a walking anxiety disorder if I've ever seen him. He's kind of overbearing, but I don't see him being an Alpha for this au. Besides who needs alpha and omega instincts when you can just live and breath Exy.

Matt: Omega (I think Matt would be very comfortable in his designation and my heart absolutely melts at that thought of Dan and Matts dynamic in the omegaverse, they would be such a power couple)

Dan: Alpha (I think it makes sense for Dan to be an Alpha, it's mentioned a few times in the book that it's impressive that she's a female Captain and as fucked up as it is her being an Alpha would probably give her role as Captain a bit more credibility.)

Allison: Alpha (she's overbearing and protective enough for it to fit, I think)

Seth: Beta (mostly because he rooms with Matt and Neil and I think it would make Neil uncomfortable to room with an Alpha when he first gets there, so by making him a Beta we don't have to deal with that

Renee: Honestly, I think she could go any way, depending on how you felt about her in the books. I can imagine her any of the designations.

Katelyn: Alpha

Tilda: Omega (Andrew don't discriminate, he'll kill whoever fucks with the people he cares about, Omega or not)

Mary: Beta

Nathan: Alpha

Wymack: Alpha

Abby: Omega

Betsy: Beta (I think it's on track in the Omegaverse for therapists to usually be Beta's cause they're scents aren't as strong and Beta's are stereotypes for being peacemakers and calm or whatever - Seth is singlehandedly breaking that stereotype.)

Specific scenario that I think would be cute (and the idea that prompted this entire post)

- Neil and Andrew courting after the incident at Thanksgiving

- Neil going into heat for the first time after joining the foxes (preferable after him and Andrew have started dating/courting.

- Neil immediately falling into old habits. Wearing patches to cover his scent, but they irritate his glands and just make him more fidgety and uncomfortable. Practicing and running more to distract himself. Taking ice baths when he feels too hot. Isolating himself from the others. Fidgeting and picking and being anxious in general. Nobody knowing he’s in pre-heat, so he’s more vulnerable to criticism and praise, so Kevin being his normal overbearing self during practice making Neil feel like he’s having an anxiety attack but he pushes it down until he’s alone.

-Andrew comes back to the dorm after Neil takes a shower and before he can put his patches back on and immediately knows he started in heat and that’s why he’s been acting so weird the last couple of days.

-Cue Andrew being protective and Neil being defensive and trying to act like he’s fine. “You’re a walking disaster Josten. Let me help.” A pause as they look at each other. “Yes or no?”

- Andrew takes him to Neil’s bed and makes him sit there wrapped in his blanket while he goes and takes care of some stuff. Like 15 minutes later, Andrew is coming back with an armful of blankets and clothes. He tells Neil to come to the living room and he’s pushed together the couch and table into an L shape in front of the tv, so the floor in front of it is completely surrounded.

-Andrew drops all the blankets and clothes into the middle of the makeshift nest area and looks at Neil, jerking his head towards it. “Arrange it however you want” Neil being confused and not knowing what he’s doing cause he’s never done anything for his omegan instincts and no ones ever showed him how. Andrew giving Neil gentle prompting on what to do while trying to not get into the nest without Neils permission.

-“Do you need more?” Neil looking like he’s not sure and tentatively picking up pieces of clothing to sniff them and see where he wants them. “I-I don’t know.”

-Andrew nodding and telling him he’ll be back. He comes back with another armful of the foxes clothes and bedding. It takes over an hour, but slowly Neil makes himself a nest and burrows inside and muscles he didn't even know were tensed just immediately loosen and he relaxes.

-"I'll stand at the door and make sure no body comes in without your permission while you get settled." Andrew goes to leave and Neil stops him before he can go outside. "Andrew? Will you stay in the room?" It's so quiet and hesitant that Andrew almost doesn't catch what he says. When he turns around Neil is looking anywhere but his eyes and Andrew can see where he's started anxiously rubbing his fingers together again. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't open the door, just slides down it's frame and starts looking at his phone.

-When the foxes get back later, Neil is asleep and when Matt and Seth try and get into their dorm Andrew is blocking their way and he slips into the hallway and explains to them that Neil started his heat, and basically threatens them if they do anything to upset him.

-The other gradually coming out of their own rooms like "what the hell? Who took all of our blankets off our beds?" and Andrew tells them the same thing. The foxes immediately not giving a shit half of their wardrobe and linens are gone (maybe Aaron gives some shits, but he's not a complete asshole, he's not gonna say anything. He is a little surprised that his stuff got included his Neil's nest and not just put off to the side.

-Andrew goes back into Neil's dorm and kneels next to his nest to wake him up. Neil slowly wakes up, this being the best sleep he's ever gotten, and Andrew tells him the others are back and wanna make sure he's okay and if he needs anything. Neil's a little apprehensive about everyone coming in and Andrew reassures him.

-Matt and Seth come in first, cause it's their dorm and they need to put their things away. If they weren't in love and protective of Neil before, they definitely are now when they see Neil surrounded in a dozen blankets and half used hoodies (definitely don't say anything about the fact that Neil's put all of Andrew's things closest too him and has his blanket wrapped around his shoulders where's sat up. The others have similar thoughts when they eventually come to check in on him.

-Later that night, Neil tries to get ready for his night practices with Kevin and Andrew stops him like "Neil. You don't have to go out. No body is going to expect to see you out of your door for a few days."

Neil: "Matt goes out during is heats." Matt's heat had been a couple months ago.

Andrew: "Yeah, he does, because that what he prefers. Nicky stays home, because that's what he prefers. You have to figure out what your prefer, Josten. What you were doing before doesn't work." So Neil doesn't go to practice that night. Or classes the next day.

-They leave the nest set up in the living room and nobody goes in it unless Neil is there and he invites them in, but by the next day Neil feels settled enough that he's okay to leave that safe space for more than a couple minutes to use the bathroom.

- They bring him snacks and small meals: fruit salads and granola bars, curry from his favorite Indian place 30 minutes away, etc. Things that aren't too sweet cause they know he doesn't like them.

- The others taking turns picking up Neil's notes and assignments from his teachers and bringing them to him.

-Just generally, over the course of the next few days, Neil slowly becoming more and more comfortable with expressing himself and letting his instincts do what they want instead of pushing them down. He lets Nicky and Matt tell him about what they usually do during their heats. He sits next on the couch next to Renee while she's doing homework and tucks his feet under her legs. He briefly scents Kevin when he passes him in the hallway. He comes up behind Andrew while he's making a cup of coffee in the kitchen of his dorm and asks "yes or no" before winding his arms around his torso and burying his face into his back. It's just cute shit.

- Last, but certainty not least, Andrew sitting with Neil's head in his lap while he cards his fingers through his hair and Neil slowly just starts purring. He's never done it before, so it freaks him out and Andrew is just like "it's fine dumbass, put your head back down." but secretly he's happy that Neil feels safe enough with the to purr.

[andrews-left-nipple]

this deserves a lot more attention??? i absolutely love the idea that heats aren’t sexual cause that trope is a whole ass mess- the fact that ichirou was the one that ultimately agreed to allow neil to escape made me so happy because it really goes to show how much he cares about omegas in general and how he actually understands that omegas are meant to be protected and not treated like crap

and the purring omfh i love the purring

[katamace]

Yes exactly!! everything about the Omegaverse is up for interpretation by the author, but why would you want “omg I’m so horny and uncomfortable I can’t control myself” when you have the option for “my back hurts and I’m really fucking anxious right now so I’m just gonna steal all your clothes and cuddle you until I feel better”. I LIVE for those fics.

And with Ichirou, I know that he gave literally no indications of being a nice guy in the books but I’m nothing if not an optimist and I can give anyone a redemption arc. For this Au in particular I like to think he was actually really disturbed by how long and how well Neil could suppress his instincts. After their meeting he has Neil collect his things and puts him up in a hotel or something until he can get everything worked out with the Moriyama’s and Nathan. He handles everything personally to make sure it’s done right and everyone knows to leave him alone. Later on, after Neil is with the foxes and everything, Ichirou will still check up on him and make sure he’s doing okay. He is bad guy but that does not mean he is bad guy

And yes!! The purring! I love purring in omegaverse, especially when it only really happens when they feel really safe and comfy. Where the purring is just as comforting to the people around the omega cause it means they feel safe with them and it’s just the reassurance that they’re doing good that they didn’t know they needed.

[katamace]

Raven!Neil a/b/o au

Literally just the Au that no body asked for.

Background:

· Mary is killed before she can get Neil out and he is sold to the Moriyama’s

· Neil spends 5 years in the Nest before presenting as an omega at 16

· Jean, who’s a Beta, wakes up to his partner presenting as an Omega and immediately goes to Tetsuji

· Tetsuji won’t let him go on suppressants because he doesn’t want the side effects to impact his performance, but Neil also knows the consequences of letting his heat and him being an omega effect his training

· I think the Ravens wouldn’t recruit Omega’s because their bigoted

· Tetsuji shoves scent blockers at him and tells him to take care of it

· Neil suffers through his first heat, while continuing his normal Raven schedule

· After his first cycle, Neil does everything in his power to block out any omega instincts, and everyone just assumes he’s a Beta.

· Jean tries to help him by scent marking in the privacy of his room, but Neil says that it just makes it harder to go back to suppressing everything in the morning.

· This goes on for 2 years (3 more heats – every 6 months) then Kevin leaves (they weren’t super close outside of the Court).

· Sidenote: my headcanon is that heats in the omegaverse aren’t inherently sexual, the omega is just driven a bit more by their designation. In a normal instance the omega will have the urge to make a nest, scentmark their friends and family, just generally indulge in their comforts. When they can’t do these things for some reason, it causes distress and makes them anxious, etc.

· After Riko takes more interest in tormenting Neil because he doesn’t have Kevin to focus on and it gets harder to hide his designation.

· When Neil turns 18, Ichirou comes to the Nest on business (I imagine just generally learning about the Empire for when he takes over) and Neil pleads his case to leave the Nest (

· Despite the punishments he had to endure, Neil slowly let his performance drop as time went on, so he wouldn't seem like such a valuable asset to the team. And so he pleads his case, knowing damn well that the Moriyama's and Ravens are biases against omegas and very traditional(1. He’s an Omega 2. His performance has been dropping since he presented almost two years ago 3. He could still go play for Palmetto State and give the Moriyama family 80% of his professional earning if he gets recruited)

· Ichirou refuses to admit it, but he has a soft spot for omegas and he’s low key kind of pissed his uncle knew this kid was an Omega and didn’t do anything to get him in a better environment. "I mean honestly, you can smell in the kids scent how consistently he’s been stressed over the years."

· Ichirou warns Nathan to stay the fuck away from him so none of that happens (b/c the ultimate goal here is to get Omega Raven Neil all the love and care he deserves, not to traumatize him more)

· And so Neil goes to Palmetto, talks to Kevin (who’s very shocked to find out Neil is an Omega) and Wymack and he’s on the team

· Andrew is so fucking ready to hate this Raven that’s coming onto their team, into their pack, but then he smells him…and fuck if his scent isn’t soaked in years of stress and anxiety, and paranoia

· So…Andrew keeps his distant and is his usual moody dark self, but he isn’t outright hostile cause contrary to popular belief he’s not a monster

· Cue Neil settling in, his scent starts to mellow out, and he stops taking the scent blockers cause his scent going back to normal means it doesn’t immediately make other people uncomfortable and anxious to comfort him and figure out what's wrong

· The foxes adore him and he doesn’t know what to do about it

· Seth doesn’t die, but also Seth isn’t as much of a dick. He’s still kind of an asshole, but he’s not outright cruel or malicious. Seth would be a ride or die if anyone tried to fuck with his pack other than him, and I will fight you on that (I've read enough redemption arc fanfiction for Seth that I've slowly started to like him)

· Andrew was never on his drugs. When he attacked those guys for attacking Nicky it was justified because they were trying to assault an omega and Andrew was just protecting someone he considered his pack.

· The events of The Kings Men doesn’t happen and the assault over Thanksgiving never happens. I guess you could still imagine that Riko still sets it up to get back at Neil and Kevin for leaving the Nest, but I don't imagine the assault happening or Drake getting as far as he did in the book, because a little angst is nice, but not that much

· Also, concerning Drake and how Andrew grew up, I think that Drake would always taunt him about how he would ‘make such a good Omega when he grew up’. I don’t think they ever mentioned what the age gap between Andrew and Drake was, but I imagine he was at least over 16 and presented

Designations

Neil: Omega

Andrew: Alpha (He would refuse to admit it, but he is super protective of every one of the Foxes)

Aaron: Beta (specifically because I think Beta Aaron and Alpha Katelyn would be cute, and you could justify that Andrew doesn't like Katelyn because he doesn't want Aaron to be hurt by an Alpha like he was.

Nicky: Omega (the first thing I knew when I started thinking about this au was that Nicky is an omega. He just has omega energy and I think he is the complete opposite of Neil. He is constantly doing whatever his instincts want him to do (i.e. cuddling, scentmarking, making nests, etc))

Kevin: Beta (Kevin was a walking anxiety disorder if I've ever seen him. He's kind of overbearing, but I don't see him being an Alpha for this au. Besides who needs alpha and omega instincts when you can just live and breath Exy.

Matt: Omega (I think Matt would be very comfortable in his designation and my heart absolutely melts at that thought of Dan and Matts dynamic in the omegaverse, they would be such a power couple)

Dan: Alpha (I think it makes sense for Dan to be an Alpha, it's mentioned a few times in the book that it's impressive that she's a female Captain and as fucked up as it is her being an Alpha would probably give her role as Captain a bit more credibility.)

Allison: Alpha (she's overbearing and protective enough for it to fit, I think)

Seth: Beta (mostly because he rooms with Matt and Neil and I think it would make Neil uncomfortable to room with an Alpha when he first gets there, so by making him a Beta we don't have to deal with that

Renee: Honestly, I think she could go any way, depending on how you felt about her in the books. I can imagine her any of the designations.

Katelyn: Alpha

Tilda: Omega (Andrew don't discriminate, he'll kill whoever fucks with the people he cares about, Omega or not)

Mary: Beta

Nathan: Alpha

Wymack: Alpha

Abby: Omega

Betsy: Beta (I think it's on track in the Omegaverse for therapists to usually be Beta's cause they're scents aren't as strong and Beta's are stereotypes for being peacemakers and calm or whatever - Seth is singlehandedly breaking that stereotype.)

Specific scenario that I think would be cute (and the idea that prompted this entire post)

- Neil and Andrew courting after the incident at Thanksgiving

- Neil going into heat for the first time after joining the foxes (preferable after him and Andrew have started dating/courting.

- Neil immediately falling into old habits. Wearing patches to cover his scent, but they irritate his glands and just make him more fidgety and uncomfortable. Practicing and running more to distract himself. Taking ice baths when he feels too hot. Isolating himself from the others. Fidgeting and picking and being anxious in general. Nobody knowing he’s in pre-heat, so he’s more vulnerable to criticism and praise, so Kevin being his normal overbearing self during practice making Neil feel like he’s having an anxiety attack but he pushes it down until he’s alone.

-Andrew comes back to the dorm after Neil takes a shower and before he can put his patches back on and immediately knows he started in heat and that’s why he’s been acting so weird the last couple of days.

-Cue Andrew being protective and Neil being defensive and trying to act like he’s fine. “You’re a walking disaster Josten. Let me help.” A pause as they look at each other. “Yes or no?”

- Andrew takes him to Neil’s bed and makes him sit there wrapped in his blanket while he goes and takes care of some stuff. Like 15 minutes later, Andrew is coming back with an armful of blankets and clothes. He tells Neil to come to the living room and he’s pushed together the couch and table into an L shape in front of the tv, so the floor in front of it is completely surrounded.

-Andrew drops all the blankets and clothes into the middle of the makeshift nest area and looks at Neil, jerking his head towards it. “Arrange it however you want” Neil being confused and not knowing what he’s doing cause he’s never done anything for his omegan instincts and no ones ever showed him how. Andrew giving Neil gentle prompting on what to do while trying to not get into the nest without Neils permission.

-“Do you need more?” Neil looking like he’s not sure and tentatively picking up pieces of clothing to sniff them and see where he wants them. “I-I don’t know.”

-Andrew nodding and telling him he’ll be back. He comes back with another armful of the foxes clothes and bedding. It takes over an hour, but slowly Neil makes himself a nest and burrows inside and muscles he didn't even know were tensed just immediately loosen and he relaxes.

-"I'll stand at the door and make sure no body comes in without your permission while you get settled." Andrew goes to leave and Neil stops him before he can go outside. "Andrew? Will you stay in the room?" It's so quiet and hesitant that Andrew almost doesn't catch what he says. When he turns around Neil is looking anywhere but his eyes and Andrew can see where he's started anxiously rubbing his fingers together again. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't open the door, just slides down it's frame and starts looking at his phone.

-When the foxes get back later, Neil is asleep and when Matt and Seth try and get into their dorm Andrew is blocking their way and he slips into the hallway and explains to them that Neil started his heat, and basically threatens them if they do anything to upset him.

-The other gradually coming out of their own rooms like "what the hell? Who took all of our blankets off our beds?" and Andrew tells them the same thing. The foxes immediately not giving a shit half of their wardrobe and linens are gone (maybe Aaron gives some shits, but he's not a complete asshole, he's not gonna say anything. He is a little surprised that his stuff got included his Neil's nest and not just put off to the side.

-Andrew goes back into Neil's dorm and kneels next to his nest to wake him up. Neil slowly wakes up, this being the best sleep he's ever gotten, and Andrew tells him the others are back and wanna make sure he's okay and if he needs anything. Neil's a little apprehensive about everyone coming in and Andrew reassures him.

-Matt and Seth come in first, cause it's their dorm and they need to put their things away. If they weren't in love and protective of Neil before, they definitely are now when they see Neil surrounded in a dozen blankets and half used hoodies (definitely don't say anything about the fact that Neil's put all of Andrew's things closest too him and has his blanket wrapped around his shoulders where's sat up. The others have similar thoughts when they eventually come to check in on him.

-Later that night, Neil tries to get ready for his night practices with Kevin and Andrew stops him like "Neil. You don't have to go out. No body is going to expect to see you out of your door for a few days."

Neil: "Matt goes out during is heats." Matt's heat had been a couple months ago.

Andrew: "Yeah, he does, because that what he prefers. Nicky stays home, because that's what he prefers. You have to figure out what your prefer, Josten. What you were doing before doesn't work." So Neil doesn't go to practice that night. Or classes the next day.

-They leave the nest set up in the living room and nobody goes in it unless Neil is there and he invites them in, but by the next day Neil feels settled enough that he's okay to leave that safe space for more than a couple minutes to use the bathroom.

- They bring him snacks and small meals: fruit salads and granola bars, curry from his favorite Indian place 30 minutes away, etc. Things that aren't too sweet cause they know he doesn't like them.

- The others taking turns picking up Neil's notes and assignments from his teachers and bringing them to him.

-Just generally, over the course of the next few days, Neil slowly becoming more and more comfortable with expressing himself and letting his instincts do what they want instead of pushing them down. He lets Nicky and Matt tell him about what they usually do during their heats. He sits next on the couch next to Renee while she's doing homework and tucks his feet under her legs. He briefly scents Kevin when he passes him in the hallway. He comes up behind Andrew while he's making a cup of coffee in the kitchen of his dorm and asks "yes or no" before winding his arms around his torso and burying his face into his back. It's just cute shit.

- Last, but certainty not least, Andrew sitting with Neil's head in his lap while he cards his fingers through his hair and Neil slowly just starts purring. He's never done it before, so it freaks him out and Andrew is just like "it's fine dumbass, put your head back down." but secretly he's happy that Neil feels safe enough with the to purr.

[katamace]

What if Jude and Willem got married?

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara Headcanon

So the brothers at the monastery gave Jude his name, first and last, right? Well what if Jude and Willem got married and Jude took on Willem’s last name. Jude Ragnarsson. I feel like it would be really emotional for Jude because it’s just one more thing that separates him from the monastery and everything they did to him.

I feel like Willem would definitely be the one to propose and Jude would probably freak out, but they’d talk about it and decide that they wanted to be married. They’d talk about how it would effect their careers and lives: they’d talk about if either of them wanted to change their last name, how Jude would have to change his business cards and documents, the publicity that would come with an actor of Willem’s stature getting married, etc.

I figured this would happen closer to the end of The Happy Years after Jude and Willem have talked and they actually set real boundaries in their relationship. HOWEVER, I read a fanfic on Ao3 where Willem comes home early after the the first time Caleb hit Jude and Jude tells Willem the truth and Willem stops that shit before it really starts. It’s an amazing fic and ever since I’ve read it I’ve made all of my headcanons from A Little Life as if that happened and they started dating then instead of how it goes in the book (because it’s a lot less traumatizing this way and don’t we deserve that after reading this book??)

The fic is Happiness Starts a Bit Early by dreamerinheaven if you wanna check it out. I highly recommend it!

[midnight-mal]

I can’t stop laughing at this 😂

[katamace]

No. This musical was completely necessary! I don’t care if it reads like fan fiction, this musical brought me so much closure for the original. Erik deserves happiness!