Rescue AU where Natalie gets rescued later than all the others, so they all end up thinking Nat is dead at first. Lottie who is dragged kicking and screaming to the rescue helicopter - not only because she doesn't want to go, but also because Natalie isn't here and they can't go home without Natalie.
Lottie stops talking after being told "they didn't find anyone else out there, sweetie." Lottie missing learning Natalie is fine by just hours. Her father whisking her away, and Natalie being bought to the hospital soon after.
Lottie spending years thinking Natalie is dead (and that it's her fault because if Lottie hadn't objected to leaving in the first place then everything that happened after wouldn't have happened). Only to get out of the psych ward and look up what happened to the others and then she learns the truth.
so I wrote this wilderness cannibalism lottienat fic the other day, which I'm really proud of (but read the tags first!) ...
but I started writing a different lottienat cannibalism fic first, set in the adult timeline, and it's a lot more comedic (at least, I think it is?).
decided to post it here instead of ao3, if anyone is interested. there's no smut because I never got that far.
Lottie had been complaining about their mailman for a long time. Every day when Nat got home from working at the bike shop, it was the first thing she had to hear about.Â
âHe yelled at Flower again,â Lottie would say, meaning their two-year-old chihuahua, whom Nat refused to call Flower and had named Spike instead.Â
The dogâs name was only one of many long-standing disagreements between them. Lottie also believed that Pearl Jam had been better than Nirvana, that they for some reason needed a thousand useless decorative pillows on their bed, and that burning sage would rid the house of âbad energy.â Lottie believed a lot of things, in fact, that Nat could only shake her head at. Lately, it had been about the mailman.Â
âIâve tried to keep her in the house when he comes around,â Lottie would say next, lowering her chin in that way that said she meant business. âBut I swear that man is varying his route on purpose just to terrorize our dog.â
And every day, Nat would try not to roll her eyes, because she was almost sure Lottie had been exaggerating. They had lived in the same house for almost five years, and she had never once had an issue with Mr. Kowalczyk. He had always seemed like a nice enough man to her.Â
That only changed once she came back from her annual weekend trip to the motorcycle mechanics convention, and she finally saw proof with her own eyes. She sat her helmet down in its usual spot beside their front door and immediately saw Spike, looking pathetic in her fluffy purple dog bed. A tiny little chihuahua-sized cast covered one of her legs, and her pouty eyes shot up at Nat as she walked in the door as if to say, âWhere the fuck have you been, Mom? Lookit what they did to me!â
âLottie!â she called out, panic rising in her chest. She could smell something cooking from inside the kitchen, and the scent somehow seemed both familiar and not familiar at the same time. Definitely not one of her wifeâs usual dishes.Â
The kitchen door then swung open, and out walked Lottie, wiping her hands on an apron decorated by tiny moons. She smiled at Nat and said, âHi, baby,â but her smile quickly faded as her eyes fell down on Spike. âI told you our mailman was a menace,â she said next, shaking her head.Â
âJesus fucking christ, Lottie! Is she okay? Why didnât you call me? Did you at least call the police or something?âÂ
Nat didnât even notice she was swinging her arms around like a maniac until Lottie calmly crossed the room and took her hands, stilling her motions. âNatalieâŚâ she said.Â
âNatalieâŚâ was all she ever had to say, in that silky-smooth voice that sounded like the slow-drip of honey, and Nat immediately felt her limbs go a little weak. She looked up and found Lottie with a soft smile on her face, eyes full of tenderness and compassion.Â
âI promise you, Flower is fine,â assured Lottie.Â
âYou mean Spike,â corrected Nat, with a half-smile back at her.Â
Lottie let out a little huff, almost imperceptible, along with the quick eye-roll that ever-so-briefly gave away her true feelings regarding their on-going battle over the dogâs name. But as quickly as all that had appeared, her expression shifted back to monk-like status, and she was all kindness and patience again.Â
âOur dog is fine,â said Lottie, giving her hands a squeeze before dropping them. âThe vet said sheâll heal quickly. I didnât call you because I saw no reason to worry you when you were that far away from home. I didnât call the police because⌠well⌠since when have they helped anyone? Letâs be honest.â
âSo, what?â asked Nat, furrowing her brow. âHeâs just going to get away with it? What did he do to her anyway? Did you see it happen?â
Lottie seemed to cringe inwardly at the question, like just thinking about it made her angry all over again. âDonât worry,â she then said, cracking her neck reflexively. âI took care of it.âÂ
And something in her eyes changed. Something sparked behind them, like fireworks had gone off. Her voice deepened. Her smile went crooked.Â
Not a lot about her wife surprised her anymore. Shit, they had both seen each other at their best and their worst more times than she could count. But she hadnât seen Lottie get that look in her eyes for so long, it literally gave her chills for a second.Â
âWhat do you mean you âtook care of itâ?â asked Nat, not even bothering to mask her suspicion.Â
Lottie shrugged, feigning innocence and doing a terrible job at it. âYou really donât need to worry about it, I promise. Our dog just needs to rest, and weâŚâ Taking Natââs hands again, she flashed a softer smile and started tugging her toward the kitchen. âWe need to eat. You must be famished after such a long flight⌠and that ride home. Câmon.â
Nat had failed to notice beforeâ sheâd been too distracted by the sight of their dog in his tiny cast to even care. But, once Lottie turned around to open the kitchen door, her eyes were immediately drawn to the bareness of her wifeâs ass, covered only by apron strings and a purple lace thong. Nat heard herself breathe out, âHoly fucking christâ and dragged a wide-eyed gaze up her muscular back. The band of a matching purple lace bra was the only thing obstructing her view from the naturally tanned skin she had just spent three long days missing in agony.Â
âNice to come home to?â asked Lottie, who nonchalantly moved to the stovetop to stir some vegetables, knowing full well the answer to that question by now.Â
In the meantime, Nat sat down at their kitchen table, never once taking her eyes off her wife. âThree days is a long time to be away from you,â she agreed, smiling slyly. âBut you donât usually greet me dressed quite like⌠this⌠unless youâre trying to distract me from finding out about something youâd rather me not know.â
Lottie made a noise at that and turned to shoot her a look of disbelief. âI would never do such a thing. Name one timeâŚâ
âTwo years ago,â interrupted Nat, clearing her throat. âI came home from the shop, if you will recall, and you had set up a candlelight dinner âfor no reason at allâ. Sound familiar?â
With a warmer smile, Lottie leaned against the stove and said, âAh yes. The day I brought Flower home,â with enough nostalgia in her voice to power a period piece.Â
âYou mean Spike,â corrected Nat, trying to hide her amusement.Â
Another quick eyeroll followed from Lottie, but she turned back to the stove before Nat could see the rest of her expression. âWhatever,â she said. âSo I may have used my feminine wiles that one timeâŚâ
Nat chortled at that, interrupting her once again. âFeminine wiles? Really? Thatâs what weâre calling it?â
She was trying to rile Lottie up on purpose, of course. It was an on-brand part of their relationship that stretched much farther back than just their marriage. But it wasnât working as well this time. Lottie stiffened a little, but she otherwise appeared unbothered by the barb.Â
In fact, she even let out a smug little huff of laughter and said, âCall it what you will. Whatever you choose to call it will not change the effectiveness of the ploy.â
âSo, you admit itâs a ploy,â said Nat. She reached for an apple from the fruit bowl in the center of the table. As her arm stretched out, she noticed a small card. A recipe card.Â
Since when had Lottie collected recipe cards? She usually clipped them out of magazines, piled them in the junk drawer, and promptly forgot about them.Â
âMaybe I was just trying to make sure you had something to look forward to,â offered Lottie, still keeping watch over her pot of steaming vegetables. âI knew I would have to tell you about Flowerâs injury as soon as you came home, and I knew how much it would upset you. But I also knew we had nothing to worry aboutâ that she would be fine in a few weeksâ so⌠why not provide a distraction? What harm could it do?âÂ
And then she turned back around to face Nat with one eyebrow seductively raised and said, in a voice that sounded as smooth as expensive whiskey, âAre you saying the ploy doesnât work anymore?â
Now it was Natâs turn to let out a huff of laughter, becauseâ Lottie had her on that one.Â
It worked every fucking time, and Nat already knew it would probably work this time too, but that wasnât the point.Â
âLottie,â said Nat, her smile still twitching in amusement. âWhat did you mean when you said you âtook careâ of the mailman?â
âOh, are we still talking about that?â said Lottie, eyes widening in feigned surprise.Â
Nat let out another laugh and shook her head. She had two fingers on the recipe card. In one swift motion, she picked it up and showed it to Lottie. âWhatâs this?â she asked.Â
âA recipe card,â Lottie replied, looking at Nat like this fact should be obvious, even though Nat could see her trembling a little beneath the facade.Â
âThis isnât your handwriting,â Nat pointed out, glancing at it for dramatic effect before looking back at her. âItâs way too chicken scratch. You write with big loops. And I have never once seen you with a card like this. This is like⌠some serious housewife shit, Lot.â
âAm I not a housewife?â asked Lottie, who looked a little offended.Â
Nat tried not to laugh at that, shaking her head instead. âYou are a wife who spends time in the house. Iâll give you that much.â
Lottie grabbed the nearest towel and snapped her on the arm, saying, âOh, you!â But they both ended up laughing, even though Nat was still rubbing at the sting on her arm a few minutes later.Â
âI borrowed the recipe from Shauna,â Lottie then confessed, after their giggling subsided. âI⌠had never cooked a roast before.â
Natâs eyes shot up in surprise. âShauna? And⌠since when do you roast meat? I thought you said grilling was the only healthy solution to eating meat.â
âWell, IâŚâ
âWas Shauna over here?â asked Nat next, still fiddling with the card.Â
Lottie nodded, but she looked increasingly uneasy about this line of questioning. âYes, Shauna and Misty both came over to help me.â
âWait, Misty was here too?â
Another uncomfortable nod from Lottie followed. âYes,â she said, trying to play it off like it wasnât a big deal. âWe had a⌠girlâs night.â
âYou had a girlâs night.âÂ
âYes.â
âWith Shipman and Quigley.â
âYes, why should that come as such a surprise?â asked Lottie, rolling her eyes a little. âWe see them all the time.â
âBy choice?â retorted Nat.Â
âVery funny,â said Lottie. But she did not look the least bit amused at this point.Â
âLottie,â said Nat, as she stood up from the table with a sigh. âHow soon after I left for my trip did Mr. Kowalczyk break Flowerâs leg?â
As Nat crossed the small space to their refrigerator, she saw Lottie swallow a lump in her throat. She put her fingers around the handle to the freezer, but didnât open right away. She was waiting for Lottie to answer first.Â
âIt happened Saturday, right after you left,â Lottie told her. It was obvious she was being honest. She might occasionally use her so-called âfeminine wilesâ to distract Nat from the truth on a temporary basis, but neither of them could keep a lie from each other for long, and Lottie had a particular face she made when all her pretenses fell away.Â
She was wearing that face right now. That hangdog expression that made her eyes a deeper shade of brown and caused her lower lip to push out and tremble a little.Â
âAnd when did Shauna and Misty come over?â Nat asked next, still flexing her fingers around the freezer handle.Â
Nat opened the freezer, and her eyes met with exactly what she had feared. Stacks and stacks of neatly wrapped meat. It looked like Lottie had merely splurged at the deli, but Nat had a strong hunch this haul had not been store-bought.Â
She was pretty sure she was staring at Mr. Kowalczyk. Or, at least, parts of him. For a brief second, she wondered if Misty and Shauna had taken portions home with them to lighten Lottieâs load. It made the most sense, but she could only really deal with one horror show at a time. Whatever Shauna and Misty did in their own homes, she decided, was their business. This was her home, however. The one she shared with Lottie.Â
There was no way in hell she could just⌠let this drop without at least getting a few fucking things straight. Was there?Â
She shut the freezer door and spun around, but she didnât look at Lottie right away. She needed to be able to think without looking at that face. Lottie may have thought that standing half-naked in an apron would do Nat in, but she had to know that the sad-deer look was twice as powerful and even harder to resist.Â
âIs that our fucking mailman, Lottie?â she asked, flaring her nostrils.Â
Lottie hesitated. But after a few long seconds ticked by, and Nat still hadnât looked up at her, she finally said, âDo you really want to know?â
âJesus, please do not do that answering a question with a question bullshit right now,â groaned Nat, still avoiding her eyes. âAre you literally roasting our mailman in the same oven we bake pot brownies in?â
Lottie took a step away from the oven, closing the gap between them a little. âIf you really want to know,â she said, voice sounding solemn, âI will tell you whatever you want. Youâre my wife. I wouldnât keep that from you.â
âI know you wouldnât,â said Nat, and she either made the mistake of looking up or made the brilliant choice to look up, depending on oneâs point of view.Â
Lottie smiled at her, and it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud after weeks of rain. It really wasnât fucking fair, that someone capable of cannibalism could pull that kind of reaction out of people.
âIf you want to know, I will tell you,â Lottie said again. âBut you should know you also have the option of not knowing.â
âDid you at least consider calling the police? Or his⌠fucking boss maybe?â
Lottie nodded without hesitation. âOf course,â she promised. âBut when I looked into what that would entail, it became very clear what little effect any of that would have. At best, the postal service would have fired him, while the police did nothing. At worst, he wouldâve kept his job, while the police still did nothing. Could you really have expected someone like meâ someone like the wife youâve known all these yearsâ to sit on my hands while this man⌠no, this lunatic⌠was allowed to continue to roam the streets and traumatize other peopleâs pets?â
With each new level of passion she reached in her monologue, she took another step closer to Nat, until finally, she towered over her like a ten-foot goddess. Looking up into her earnest eyes, in fact, it was hard not to see flashes of Lottieâs former self. Flashes of other times she had towered over herâ both in the decades before they had crossed paths againâ and in the years since.Â
Nat had always found herself swallowing hard under that gaze. But she had also never allowed Lottie to get away with bullshit either, so she squared her jaw and gave her wife her best do-not-fuck-with-me look. âSo, youâre telling me, it was either this or no jail time for the creep who broke our babyâs leg?â
âThat was the consensus I came to with Shauna and Misty, yes,â said Lottie, with a simple but brazen nod.Â
Nat backed up a little, eyes wide. She pointed to the oven door. âWere you going to let me eat that, without even telling meâŚâ
âOh, no, baby, no!â Lottie promised, shaking her head. She took hold of Natâs arms and locked eyes with her. âThe steamed veggies are for you. I thought they would cleanse you after your trip. We both know you eat more sugars and starches when you travel.â
âOkay, so⌠more Mr. Kowalczyk for you then? That was your plan? Lottie, do you realize how much meat is crammed into that freezer? It would take you monthsâŚâ
âItâs just that⌠itâs evidence, obviously,â interrupted Lottie. âAnd itâs not like I havenât done this before. Itâs not like Iâm excited to do it again, butâŚâ
âBut it would take you months,â Nat repeated, flaring her nostrils.Â
âSo what if it does?â said Lottie with a shrug, having clearly resigned herself to this fate long before Nat had ever arrived home. âEven if it takes me all year, it will have been worth it to me to rid the world of that man. It was justice for Spike.â And with her last words, she raised her chin up to indicate how little she regretted her weekend choices.Â
âYou mean Flower,â corrected Nat, smiling sheepishly. âOr whatever. She can have two names. But, jesus christ, Lot⌠youâre not the only one in this marriage whoâs done this before, you know? You donât have to do this alone. Iâm your fucking wife, even if you do piss me off sometimes, and I wouldnât have exchanged fucking vows with you if I wasnât prepared to, you know⌠never let you suffer alone.â
And, as her eyes moved to the oven door, Nat did make a face of disgust. But she still meant every word. Who was even to say she wouldnât have done the same thing in Lottieâs place? She tried to imagine how she might have reacted, seeing someone hurt their precious dog, and it just kept turning out exactly the same as it had for Lottie: with a dead man hidden somewhere.Â
Nat would have just buried him, of course, butâŚÂ
Lottie had taken a different route, and now there was at least fifteen pounds of mailman meat in their freezer. There was really no easy path backwards at this point.Â
Nat nodded, indicating she had made up her mind, and she started shrugging out of her leather jacket. She draped it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. âWeâre going to need wine,â she said. âI love you, but I am not doing this sober.â
âYou donât have to do this at all,â reminded Lottie.
But Nat could only shake her head and smile. âHave you not been listening to a fucking word Iâve been saying, Lot? Next time you want to kill someone, please come find me first. I donât care if Iâm on a trip to Miami or on the goddamn fucking moon, you call me and get my advice before you call Shauna or Misty. I mean⌠are you fucking serious?â
âOkay, okay. Iâm sorry. Youâre right. I should have called you.â
âOr at least call Taissa or Van instead of Shauna or Misty. Jesus, Lot⌠I justâŚâ
âAll right!â laughed Lottie, throwing her hands up. âI get it. Perhaps this could have been handled with a little more⌠forethought.âÂ
âWell, it wasnât,â said Nat, with a resigned sigh. But she was still smiling, despite it all.Â
She was still smiling and shaking her head as she said, âJust⌠get the fucking wine and be ready to take that apron off. Youâre going to owe me. Big time.â
But Lottie merely laughed at that. âIs that a threat of punishment or reward?â she asked, reaching into the cabinets for the wine.Â
Percy Jackson type AU where their plane goes down because it was attacked, and the forest they land in happens to be a magically protected area of old, keeping the monsters out. They begin to quietly get claimed. They don't know anything about it. Shit just kinda starts to get weird.
Artemis Natalie. Apollo Van & Lottie. Nemesis Tai. Phthonus Shauna. Aphrodite Jackie.
Thinking about a YJ Scream AU where Lottie gets tired of people treating Nat like shit and just starts taking them out (whilst also pretending to attack Nat, to make sure that she isn't considered a suspect and if it means Lottie can comfort her well that's just a bonus), where in the end she gets away with it.
Plus sequel where GF starts targeting Natalie again and Lottie realises someone knows her secret (it's Shauna, Shauna getting revenge for Jackie). GF Shauna revealing Lottie's secret to Natalie before stabbing her, telling her that it's not Natalie's fault and she's sorry to have to do this, but she wants to hurt Lottie and nothing would hurt her more than killing Nat.
âVan said you were unoccupied,â Taissa starts, like itâs an apology, like her presence is unwanted. Her footsteps fall just short of the small clearing Lottie rests in, like itâs a sacred circle that she refuses to enter. âThis is the misthia I told you aboutâ"
âNatalie,â Lottie smiles. âI recall.â
Natalie is bound in leather straps and iron armor. Scale mail that accentuates the cording of her arms, white linens that flow around her knees in the brisk breeze, a leather cord across her brow that pushes her choppy dark hair away from her eyesâ she is everything Lottie has seen in her dreams a thousand times over.
I love that they both get teary-eyed in this scene. To me, it just shows how much care and respect is behind that anger. You can see the betrayal on Tai's face, she trusted Nat, had faith in her, and she canât believe she would lie to her. And the moment Tai exposes her and raises her voice, Nat bursts into tears. She knows sheâs disappointed Tai, someone she deeply respects, and sheâs feeling the weight of having let her down.
Forever thinking about Natâs line to Taissa in the adult timeline, âYou know I donât like it when you yell at meâ and how much truth there was underneath the teasing of it. Tainat sisterisms are so good.
I donât think either of them would react this strongly if it were anyone else. The scene just wouldnât work the same between any of the other characters. That kind of hurt, invested anger is specific to Tainatâs dynamic.
Itâs why Tai criticizes Nat for drinking in the pilot. Itâs why Tai is the first person Nat thinks of to call when she gets arrested, only to snap the second she hears her voice: âIt must be so easy for you to judge others with your perfect life.â Itâs why Tai says, âIâm not dragging you out of that toxic shit again,â even though they both know she always will. Itâs why she reminds Shauna, âWho does Natalie have?â and admits paying for Natâs rehab is ânot just for her, but for me,â and then, seconds later, greets Nat with, âThe fuck took you so long?â Moments of anger, criticism, and resentment between Tai and Nat will always be evidence of so much care and protection underneath.
ok so like. theoretically these could be magicats right
i mean they could be another type of hybrid (cuz there's obviously dog-based hybrids too) but below is confirmed to be a shot of the magicat homeworld so they DO have a variety of skull structures (which is incredibly unusual):
like the middle just looks like catra but the left is starting to be more into animal nose territory and then the kid on the right is totally different and looks more like the muzzle proportions seen on the image on the right above
and i'm pretty sure squall is a confirmed magicat? i mean she is exactly like catra where overall her skull is just a human with fluffy ears and cooler eyes. so it COULD be sexual dimorphism and the males get the muzzles
but there is at least some variety in how animal-ish a magicat's head looks based on just the homeworld shot, which gets into. my proposal