#regency au

i'm writing a lifesteal regency era au and i'd like to find some beta readers please! i've written a few fics under this same user on ao3 but none of those were even proofread by me. i have a few chapters of this one drafted and a whole outline done already because i want it to be fully revised by the time i post it.

I know it’s hetero and cringe….. but I do like that stupid cartoon “cats are girls and dogs are boys” relationship dynamic.

Probably what the other high society people say about the two of you— that you get on like a cat and dog. And whether it’s cute and amusing or vile and pitiable is the subject of much discussion.

He’s always been of a carefree sort. A son, but not a first son— never subject to any real responsibility. No, all he was expected to do was marry well— and he could take as long as he wanted on that front. No one much cared what he got up to in private.

Meanwhile I imagine reader is a daughter and only child. All your family’s hopes and dreams of continuation pinned on you. Yes, you had their attention and their devotion, but you also had their scrutiny. You have a somewhat antisocial, manicured image as a result.

Also, Johnny was definitely in love with his stern, iron-fisted governess when he was young. And damn if you don’t remind him of her. That fiery, intolerant gaze. The sort of firm countenance no one would expect of you.

thank you!!! and the new chapter of ruin the friendship was sauuuurrr good!!!

THANKS SO MUCH AND I ALSO THINK ABOUT THOSE AUS ALL THE TIMEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

for the bet au (bed of roses)

i was thinking that, before entering society, mikasa actually wanted to become a governess. she'd been training for it and, because her father was never particularly strict with his children, she probably spent a lot of time teaching the younger children in her village as well. she's always loved books and learning, so becoming a governess felt like the natural path for her. then her father dies, and everything changes. she and her brother (i'm thinking falco for now, although i haven't completely decided yet, but it's important that she has a younger brother in this version) become wards of the duke of ackerman, uncle levi. levi has no intention of letting mikasa work for a living, especially not as a governess. as far as he's concerned, she's a lady now, and ladies don't earn their own income. so he basically gives her two options: marriage... or marriage. poor mikasa. 😭

for eren, i don't want him to be a rake. i don't even want him to be particularly charming at first. i want him to be... kind of an idiot. or, at least, that's what everyone thinks. my idea is that eren has dyslexia, AND PLEASE KEEP READING I BEG, obviously nobody in the regency era would know what dyslexia is, so throughout his childhood every tutor he's ever had has simply labelled him incompetent, slow, unintelligent, or lazy because he struggled to read the way everyone expected him to. after hearing that his entire life, eren has basically accepted it. he leans into the reputation because it's easier than constantly trying to prove people wrong, so everyone thinks the marquess of shiganshina is a complete fool.

then mikasa comes along. because she's trained as a governess and enjoys teaching, she's one of the first people to notice that eren isn't stupid at all. he understands complicated ideas incredibly quickly, notices details other people miss, and thinks in ways that are genuinely clever. his problem has never been intelligence; it's simply that words on a page don't work for him the way they do for everyone else. she becomes fascinated by that. she starts talking to him more, giving him little exercises, trying different ways of helping him read, partly because she enjoys the challenge and partly because she genuinely wants to help him. so while the bet is the reason they initially spend time together, that's not what keeps them together. they're actually getting to know one another. eren slowly gains confidence because, for the first time in his life, someone believes he's capable instead of treating him like an embarrassment. which is exactly why everything falls apart when mikasa discovers that eren only approached her because of the bet. by then, she's convinced herself that what they've built is genuine, and finding out how it started feels like a complete betrayal.

and yes!! mikasa is absolutely a bluestocking in this fic. she loves books, learning, and teaching, and she's much happier discussing literature or natural philosophy than gossiping at a ballroom!!!!!!! i think it suits her perfectly.

for the arranged marriage that then is not an arranged marriage but then is a marriage nonetheless...

ooooooooh well... hmmm... would i get hit if i said i really, really want to explore a storyline where mikasa loses a baby and it's up to both of them to find their way through that grief together? i know it sounds incredibly heartbreaking but i honestly think it fits this au so well. everything between them starts off on the wrong foot, then, little by little, they become each other's safe place... and then, bam. a tragedy like that completely shatters the life they've finally managed to build together. i also don't want it to be there just for angst. i want it to change them. i want to explore how they grieve differently, how they accidentally hurt each other because neither of them knows how to cope, but ultimately choose each other anyway. i feel like it could become one of the defining moments of their marriage rather than the thing that destroys it.

another idea i've been playing with is putting eren in some sort of life-or-death situation later on. i don't know exactly what yet, but i want mikasa to be faced with the possibility of losing him, too. because that's the moment i'd love for everything she's been trying to suppress to come crashing down, when she realises she never actually stopped loving him. not once. no matter how angry she was, how betrayed she felt, or how much she'd convinced herself she'd moved on.

so... i'm basically plotting emotional devastation over here. 😭

stay in my arms if you dare (or must i imagine you there?)

- hollanov regency au

- arranged marriage

- trans!shane

- ongoing :)