Thank you, @blue-means-stop. Your prompt was my favorite of the lot, and I had a blast working on this.
Characters: Edge, Rus, and Twist. With a side of Muffet.
Pairings: pre-Spicyhoney, platonic TwistedHoney
Tags: PTSD, 1920s Carnival AU, flashbacks, Rats, permanent injury, mental instability, mental disability, past head injury, period-typical racism, period-typical attitudes, “freak”show, disabled characters, disabled people being treated as “freaks”, different people being treated as “freaks”, disturbing imagery, war is hell, WWI, Hurt/Comfort, angst.
Special notes: If rats upset you, please brace yourself or skip the italicized, lined-out sentence written directly after the word “rats”. They never come up again after that, but it is pretty disturbing.
I have so much I could say about this, but I don’t even know where to begin. Well, for starters, this was just amazing worldbuilding. You already have a feel for the characters and their lives, as well as the societal setting. And there’s a very particular emotion at play here. I love the damp mood, but there’s a subtle thread of comfort in there too.
And the characters. They just mesh together so well. I absolutely love how you portrayed Rus here. Protective of his dragon, and slightly nihilistic, slightly laid-back. “hey, life sucks, may as well take what we can get”. He and Edge have a chemistry that’s very different from what you normally see for them (though at the same time, you can still see the elements of your typical Spicyhoney in there).
This was so beautifully written, especially for its short length. If you ever decide to pick up on this later, I’ll definitely be there for it!
Dragon Blog 