Teslen + pirate AU and gamer/nerd AU ;D Sam/Jack + fantasy AU and BDSM AU ^^
Ok, so I’m not big into the pirate thing, so… bear with me. (Also, I’m concentrating on Helen because just imagine her in a stereotypical pirate’s outfit, with all her swagger? Hello!)
Helen first became a pirate under Captain Druitt. She had been kidnapped, but through grit and determination (and knowing her way around many weapons both the captain and his first mate - James, natch - kept aboard) she turned from damsel in distress to Captain Magnus, Scourge of the Seven Seas.
Her vessel was bequeathed to her by Captain Griffin, who wished to retire to an island with his bounty and his wife, so The Ruby Dawn may sail forever more. Nigel, in his haste to scarper to his island, neglected to tell his compatriot in piracy his plan, which is why Helen awoke one night to a knife to her throat and a growl in her ear asking, “Where’s the captain of the ship, wench?” With the ease of practice (one of the only women aboard ship made for an “easy” target in the minds of lesser men, made less by her steel), she had him on the floor, knife in her hand, the stranger between her thighs, his eyes flashing dangerously. “She is here. Address me as such, insolent dog.”
A tentative truce formed between the pair, slowly leading to shared raids (they both had small, but perfectly formed, crews but they both liked pillaging the larger ships) then private meets to “discuss plans”, in any place with a sturdy enough plane (wall, floor, ladder, door).
They don’t agree on everything (it’s Nikola and Helen, when do they?) and their fights are the stuff of legend not just for their own crews, but a fair portion of other crews too. They brawl, and sword fight, and throw things (insults first but it soon devolves to actual items) but the idea of, “I can fight you, no one else can,” is in full force with them. Another captain tries to fight either and they unite quicker than magnets.
More than once, in their haste to return to their ships after a “meeting”, they wear the other’s shirt/coat/hat. Nikola won’t admit it but he likes wearing her things (and seeing her in his).
(Eeep, one more for luck.) - They never married, but everyone knew he was hers and she was his.
Ok, gonna put the cut here because the post is long and the last one is (obviously) not for underage people. You have been warned.
Gamer/Nerd AU
(Ok, this is more my speed. I like computer games and stuff. XD)
They met on an MMORPG, which neither now plays as it sold out after the second round of extra content. She was a paladin, he was a hunter. They would sometimes join their guildies to do raids and dungeons, and everyone dealt with Nikola’s flighty fighting because Helen was an amazing tank.
They also play card games. They both applied to take part in a Pokémon card tournament, and both got to the final. Nikola won with his lucky Jolteon.
Helen tells everyone her favourite type of game is a puzzle action game, like Legend of Zelda or Alundra, but she really loves platformers. Nikola goes through obsessions, and at the moment its the Professor Layton games.
They have a YouTube channel, mostly for Nikola to show off, but his best rated videos are the ones with him and Helen playing games together, bantering and being themselves, and people actually tell him, when he does an end of year what should I do next video, that there should be more Teslen videos.
For birthdays/Christmas, they commission fandomy presents for each other. Nikola’s favourite is still the first present Helen gave him - an actual print of a fanart of his hunter - although the mint in box copy of Final Fantasy VII has pride of place in their home, next to her beat up Pokémon Crystal cartridge (her first proper Pokémon game that she bought with her own pocket money).
They have a room in their house for gaming/recording/various computer based things. All their special fandomy things are on display in there. They also have laptops so they can compare games between their super awesome desktop pcs and their pretty awesome laptops.
When they’re not gaming/editing/doing whatevs in the computer room, they curl up on the sofa, drinking tea and watching sci-fi, or playing board games. Helen wins at chess and Monopoly, but Nikola is a demon playing Snakes and Ladders.
Fantasy AU
(Sam/Jack!!! <3<3<3) Ok, not super into fantasy past LotR or The Dark Tower (I know, two different types of fantasy), so if this is trope-y, that’s why. XD
When they go on adventures, Jack is the leader, and a swordsman that only draws his blade to kill. He was a member of an elite squad until he lost his taste for death. Now he only fights/kills when he has to. Sam is a mage who tends to fight with fire/electric magic. She would have been a member of the same elite squad had she not fallen in love with Jack and he hadn’t fallen for her.
Sam is the daughter of an important lord, and had to keep her magic casting secret as women of the land were only to be healers or mothers. A woman caught transgressing would be put to death. Sam, therefore, dresses and travels as a man in her own country... Until she gets sick of it when she’s older. She starts fighting as herself, and her electric magic strengthens as she isn’t hiding a art of herself.
Sam hunts the food, Jack cooks the food (unless it’s fish, then Jack catches the fish himself).
When they aren’t adventuring, Jack does woodwork. Sam is a mechanic of sorts - fixing windmills, spinning wheels, things like that. Jack sometimes makes the parts to replace the broken ones.
An evil sorcerer placed a charm on Sam’s heart so that it wouldn’t beat with love for Jack. The sorcerer was paid to do so by a lonely toll house operator who had seen Sam with Jack and thought the sun rose and shone because of her. Jack for ages couldn’t understand why Sam was behaving so oddly, and for a while things looked bleak. He was about to let her leave for good when he kissed her, in front of the toll house operator, one last time. The charm was lifted. Sam was freed, as the operator had witnessed true love’s kiss. (Sam then punched the living daylights out of the guy because who the hell uses a charm like that in this day and age?)
BDSM AU. This one is kinda influenced by two Sam/Jack fics I read ages ago - Leather & Lace (it’s a series by Kimberly Jackson) and Trust Me by @amaradangeli. (I would heartily recommend both.) (And yes, this is probably just as trope laden as my previous head canons.)
Jack likes tying Sam up and torturing her (usually orgasm denial, but it’s dependent on his mood). He’s really good at that fine line balance of pleasure/pain.
Their D/s dynamic doesn’t always bleed through into their day to day dynamic, but there are times when Jack will say something a certain way and Sam’s eyes glaze for a moment. He always notices.
Sam likes the pretty patterns rope bondage leaves on her skin (Jack likes seeing them).
Jack gave Sam a box one birthday, and told her to come down to dinner in it’s contents. She ate dinner at his knee, naked except for the velvet choker around her neck.
They discovered Sam’s sub side sorta by accident - they were messing around one evening and Jack says he isn’t above spanking her. Its the way her breath catches, her big eyes wide and expressive, that tells him this is something they could explore together.
When they cuddle afterwards, it always feels like the place is glowing and warm, even if it isn’t physically. They always feel calmer after a session.
If you’ve made it to the end, well done, you deserve a prize! XD Not sure what sort of prize, but yeah. XD
I’ve been holding back from making choices today, that would seem inconsequential and tiny to most. But nothing ever feels inconsequential to me – as proven time and time again. It’s not just a feeling either, but an actuality. Everything is based on years of “data”, as it were, so it’s not just fanciful and unwarranted hesitation. It’s very draining though. I hate having to tip-toe where others blunder through without a care in the world. “This action will have consequences” ...for once could it not? Can that not just flash up for the big stuff?
