#joseph ask

[gay-for-the-snz]

Hi Myles! 👋 I've caught up on some of your lovely fics and have become fascinated by Dr. Joseph Valentine 😍 I love how particular and stern he is. Was hoping to ask you ☀️🌩️🥀 about him for the ask game, if you'd like! 😊

☀️ What is a trait they like about themselves? That he is a man of his word and very honest. If he says he will do something, he will do it, come hell or high water

🌩️ What is a trait they dislike about themselves? I think he wishes that he was MORE in control of himself sometimes. He is deeply austere and restrictive, but I think he identifies those little things that do make him happy for leisure and recreation and thinks "I could be doing something more productive"

🥀 Who would they turn to if they hit rock bottom and needed to talk to someone? This is such an interesting question because he is so intentionally walled off from everyone around himself. I'm tempted to say his former fiance, because they're still friends, and exchange calls and cards and the like, and there's still that lingering intimacy, even if James is married and he is single

[gay-for-the-snz]

🍲, 🔪 & ❤️for Bolormaa and Erdeni since I enjoyed them so much in Silent Night <3

But also, if it's not too much to ask, 🍹 and 🍲 for Elliott, Joseph, and Florence?

Yayyy!! I love asks but getting to answer for them is fun :3

🍲 What's their comfort meal/sick day food?

Bolormaa: he generally loses his appetite, so he usually opts for something light and easy and more brothy than hearty

Erdeni: she passes cooking duties over to Bolormaa when she's not feeling well, and his go-to is guriltai shul, which is one of her favorites. It reminds her of home, and is comforting and hearty

Elliott: he likes to make chicken noodle (the classic) or, if he has the time and energy, he'll make himself erwtensoep. Thick and homey and comforting

Florence: whatever she can scavenge. She doesn't usually cook for herself, it's whatever she's got around, but if she had her choice of anything in the whole world, she'd probably pick a lamb stew

Joseph: he's a minestra maritata man for his sick day meal. Easy to meal prep in advance, stores well, has plenty of vegetable and protein to it

🔪 Do they like to cook? Are they good at it?

Bolormaa: he DOES cook, but it's not his favorite thing in the world. He's fine enough, nobody would starve if he suddenly became head chef of the household, but nobody, including him, would be thrilled

Erdeni: she LOVES cooking, so she takes on most of the cooking for the household, and she's a great chef

❤️ Does food/cooking carry sentimental value for them? Is it something they connect to an expression of love?

Bolormaa: when he does cook, it's usually because Erdeni's unable to for some reason, so it's usually an act of love or taking the burden off of her and letting her focus on whatever she needs to focus on

Erdeni: cooking is very much an expression of love for her. Making something to be enjoyed by people she loves, that will nourish their body but also their bond, is something really special to her

🍹 What is their alcoholic drink of choice or favorite mocktail if they don't drink?

Elliott: he doesn't drink terribly often because he's a recovering alcoholic (but feels he's in a much better place than before and can handle it more), but when he does, he loves a hot toddy, or something fruity that comes with a drink umbrella and a name like "flirting with the sunset" or something similarly twee

Florence: she makes an absolutely lethal jungle juice. Whatever you've got in a bottle, it is now in a tub with a ladle and some sliced fruit. Self serve, she's not your mom

Joseph: he is a cognac man through and through, and he generally takes it neat. He doesn't really like to mix it with anything because he's a snob who doesn't want to mix expensive alcohol and compromise its virtue of itself, but if he had to mix something he'd do an old fashioned

[gay-for-the-snz]

Ooh! 😖 for Joseph and Florence 

❤️‍🔥 & 🫦 For Elliott, Joseph, and Florence

For the OC snz asks?

Elliott: ❤️‍🔥 What’s something they would admit during a fever/illness they wouldn’t admit at any other time? How badly he wants to be held..

🫦 Do they have any other kinks? He's really boring for the most part, but he is VERY MUCH a praise kink girlie, and likes having his hair pulled (but not too hard)

Florence: 😖 What cold symptom is most bothersome for them? I think the coughing gets really irritating, because she's a smoker and already coughs at the best of times, and also thinks it's not super sexy of her

❤️‍🔥 What’s something they would admit during a fever/illness they wouldn’t admit at any other time? If she was SUPER feverish or miserable, she might admit to how fucking lonely she is, and that she misses her husband, and misses her daughter

🫦 Do they have any other kinks? Not particularly! She likes to be mean, but that's not a kink, so much as just that she's a jerk

Joseph: 😖 What cold symptom is most bothersome for them? Losing his voice. He does a great deal of talking in teaching, and he's much less intimidating when he's squeaky and hoarse

❤️‍🔥 What’s something they would admit during a fever/illness they wouldn’t admit at any other time? That's a really difficult question, honestly! He might admit to his revulsion to insects for the most part

🫦 Do they have any other kinks? He's into waxplay, and likes to engage in some light bondage and also the scene of a "oh, Doctor, I'll do anything to pass this class~ 😩"

[gay-for-the-snz]

21 and 42 for both Elliott and Joseph, please ? :D

21. What’s the worst thing a history book 100 years from now could write about them?

Elliott has been answered in a different ask!

Joseph: (answering for his canon era self also!) It would for sure be to be known for his cruelty, and perhaps cowardice. To be known for having saved his own neck at the expense of fellow aristocrats in Hell's Aristocracy. To be known for the ruthlessness with which he pursued his social climbing and the callousness with which he discarded his only child

42. Do they have too-high self esteem, too-low self esteem, or are they pretty in the middle?

Elliott: way too low. This man will tolerate any and all treatment because he just doesn't feel like he deserves better, and shoulders an unreasonable amount of guilt and anxiety about everything around him. He internalized that he's Just No Good and that this is an immutable fact of life, a consequence of something fundamental to him as a person that cannot be changed despite how hard he tries

Joseph: too high, probably. He feels he is above any and everyone, and will act accordingly. You are beneath him. He will not heed your opinion nor your concern unless you are of sufficiently high station and thus an equal, or you are useful to his goals (or, through connections or circumstances, a liability should he ignore you). He is wealthy and well-respected, and he DOES have the skills in his field to back up his haughtiness, but he's also just very self absorbed

[gay-for-the-snz]

13 and 17 for any/all of your main three?

13. What’s the worst insult they’ve ever given, and who did they say it to?

Elliott: in canon era he got his shit rocked in the middle of Mass for telling a friend(?) that they and their rage were the reason their brother-in-law was dead, which was Not Very Nice Of Him! Getting beat up for that one was pretty understandable

Florence: considering Florence has a mouth like a sailor and a temper like a wildfire, I imagine she's said some PRETTY RANCID THINGS in her life. She's definitely somebody who would tell someone they deserve whatever horrible thing has happened to them because they were too weak or cowardly to change it or fight for something better, so that might be it? nothing concrete jumps to mind

Joseph: I think he's definitely left performance reviews that included such thoughts as "I would not let this employee breed" and "she would be out of her depth in a parking lot puddle"

17. What’s the one trait they’ve worked the hardest to change about themselves? Has it worked?

Elliott: he's tried to change that he's fundamentally unlovable and a bad person. This hasn't been super successful, mostly because I think he suffers from scrupulosity and would benefit more from intensive therapy than anything else, and that he is locked in eternal conflict with himself over this

Florence: she is in an ongoing quest to remove the part of her that's still grieving. This has been largely unsuccessful, but if you asked her she would tell you it was very successful and she doesn't even think about him anymore. She is lying and refusing to acknowledge her feelings or do any introspection because that's for CHUMPS. Real winners let their emotions slowly fester until it kills them

Joseph: his deep aversion to company. He's managed somewhat, since it's a necessity as a professor and was as a medical professional, but outside of these necessary contexts he still struggles to just sort of...Deal With people being around him for extended periods of time. Having a TA occasionally feels like someone is very slowing taking a vegetable peeler and peeling off his skin, having someone in his space and doing things differently than he would do them, and just being ever present in a way he finds wretched

[gay-for-the-snz]

I'm thinking Florence has like full bdsm getup probably

Also that Joseph sleeps like a plank of wood, straight on his back, arms to the side, not moving. Because it's funny to me.

She definitely does, because this woman was born for leather and harnesses 💖

Also he BASICALLY does!! He sleeps flat on his back, fingers laced over his chest like a corpse (but not arms crossed like a vampire). The only reason you know this dude is alive is because he snores