A/N: You asked for lore?

L O R E.

————————————

Skeeter covered their ears, staring at the floor. "... This might be my fault."

It had all clicked together in Skeeter's mind. Surely, somehow- this was their doing, whether it be subconscious or unintentional.

"..your fault? How?"

The redhead couldn't form a sentence for a long moment, they just stared at the floor. "Some form of makeshift in the dimensional planes. My mind is like... a whole other reality- if they can pass through it- then surely there's a way between that reality and this one- if the gate to my mind palace is flooded- then surely they'd begin falling into here- into our realm-... That should be impossible- but everything is possible- god why can't I be normal!?" They shouted, scurrying upstairs, spewing curses. "I need to fix this- but how? How would I be able to fix this!?" They punched a wall, their form fading in and out as they stumbled into their room.

"Skeeter, wait up! What's wrong!?" Sofia yelled, following behind Skeeter.

"Surely it's the fabrication of my mind that is tearing," Skeeter remarked, sitting on their bed, staring around their room. Decorated it themself to look like an old tavern, one that provides comfort. Though, it wasn't much help at the moment. They ran their hands into their hair, staring at the floor. "... I can't fix this, I can't- how would I be able to?"

Willow followed them, and sat beside them. "Hey, hey- it's okay-.. I'm sure there's a way to undo all.. This-" she sighed, rubbing their back gently to try and soothe them.

"You'd think it'd be that easy- god, no. It's not." Skeeter whispered, looking over to Willow. "This isn't the first time, but I don't remember how I fixed it last time."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're telling me this happened before!? Wh- Why did you not tell us?" Sofia asked, moving over to where Willow was standing.

"It was before we lived together- I was alone- I needed someone to talk to and someone just appeared- I think it was Alexander- and he just disappeared one day- back into my mind where he was formerly- I know I did something- I just couldn't remember what is was-"

"... Well, uh, I don't honestly know what to say- Fridging hell... I'll be right back, just... Gotta check on who fell into the house this time." Sofia said. "Willow, you wanna uh, come with me?"

"I can't, I'm trying to comfort them," Willow mumbled, pulling Skeeter into a hug.

"... Why can't I remember?" The redhead murmured, looking around at the floor, though absentmindedly returning the hug.

"I'm sure you will remember eventually.."

"It's like it's been erased..."

Hearing the commotion, Marquis excused himself from the other men, moving his way upstairs. He knocked on the open doorway, looking between the three. He froze for a second, tilting his head. "I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your names... What are they again...?" He questioned quietly, though concern laced his expression.

"Willow," She mumbled, pulling Skeeter closer, and continuing to rub his back gently.

"Willow, alright..." Marquis took mental note of the name, turning to the other girl in the room. "And you?"

"Sofia." She smiled, moving closer to Willow.

"Sofia, a pleasure." The Marquis bowed momentarily before straightening his posture and moving over to the other side of the redhead. He sat on the bed, looking at them. "And you? The gentilhomme (gentleman) who stole my sword?"

Skeeter lifted their head, staring at their hands. It seems almost one hundred answers flew through their mind as they shook their head. "I don't know... I don't know who I am... I don't remember who I was before I wanted to look like this. I'm not... me..."

"I... Don't you have a birth certificate or?..." Sofia asked.

"... Not on me... And I fell out of contact with my family..." Skeeter whimpered. "I'm... Skeeter...? I have to be. My dad gave me that name... a nickname, but it's who I am..." They whispered weakly. The Marquis signaled the two girls to the side, and he pulled Skeeter to his chest.

"Hey, monsieur, look... You need to calm down, alright? You're freaking out and causing yourself to go into more panic..." The Frenchman explained. "You're acting more panicked than a soldier with a lead ball in his hip," he tried to ease. Skeeter laughed a bit, squeezing their eyes shut.

"I suppose..."

Sofia sighed. "I'm going to see who fell into the house this time, I'll be back." She walked out of the room.

"Be careful, Sofia," Skeeter spoke softly, though Marquis was focusing on getting them to calm down. They offered a smile to the Frenchman, still shaking a bit. "Thanks, Marquis..."

"After you're the dad of three children, you're going to know how to calm even the most sour moods," The Frenchman laughed. He looked over Skeeter's shoulder, signaling Willow to follow behind Sofia. "A soldier should never travel by themselves."

Willow followed behind Sofia, to where the person was.

He was now sitting up, looking around. "Where am I?"

"New York. 2022. Congrats, want a cookie?"

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but who the freaking hell are you?" Sofia asked, staring at the man.

Arnold scoffed at the behavior of the two women, much too prideful to look past it. He stood, only nearing five-nine. "I'm Benedict Arnold..." He explained, arms crossed behind his back. "I would wish you two pleasantries, but it seems more like I've been captured than welcomed..."

"You're more than welcome to leave. The door is downstairs."

"I'd beg your pardon, miss..." Arnold hissed, tilting his chin up. "You're not one to back talk me... I am a general, and you're a mere-" He bit his tongue. "Whatever you are."

"It's 2022, things have changed, man." Sofia said. "Now, I'll be right back, I think I heard multiple crashes, not one..."

"Pathetic," Arnold muttered, moving out the door, though halting when he saw Lee. "Charles Lee... the cowardice traitor." He spoke, walking over. The man merely growled at him, moving down the stairs, uninterested in making conversation.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Sofia was dragging Willow to another spare room, where 3 women were scattered on the floor.

"Well freaking fricking frick."

"We are literally running out of space in this damn house."

One of the women slowly rose, rubbing her head as she stared at the girl. "Oh- sorry miss, we don't mean to intrude... Would you know where the hell we landed... or how we even got here?"

"I honestly have no idea... If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" Sofia asked.

"Angelica Schuyler. Daughter of General Philip Schuyler." The woman answered, shimmying to get to her feet. "A pleasure to meet you," she curtsied.

"Hm. Pretty name."

"Thank you," The woman offered her a smile. "What's yours?"

"Willow," She smiled back softly.

"Lovey name for a fine young woman like yourself... And your friend?"

"I'm Sofia!" She smiled. "So, I assume those are your sisters?"

"Yes, they are. Elizabeth is..." She walked over, helping her sister up. "This one, with the pretty brown hair, and... Margarita..." She helped the other up. "She is this one, in the pretty dress."

"Oh! Uh, Long Story Short, you are currently in the year 2022."

Eliza's eyes widened, and she looked at her sisters. "2022? How?"

"Have things changed for women?" Angelica asked quickly. If she couldn't change things while she was alive, surely someone did.

"Yeah! Things have changed a lot. Women now have the right to vote, women can get jobs that they previously couldn't have gotten before and so much more!" Sofia said. "Although, some things still aren't fair for us. In some sports and jobs, women don't get as much pay as men do. It's annoyin-"

"-But! Women can go to school, graduate, and even teach others," Skeeter added, finally walking into the room. "Schuyler's daughters... A pleasure to be your acquaintance," they smiled, bowing. They laughed a bit, looking at Willow and Sofia. "Marquis managed to calm me down enough that I could walk... So I joined you."

"Well that's good to h-"

"Oh, there are others here too. Downstairs."

Skeeter looked at Eliza, offering her an arm. "Including your husband," they smiled. Eliza smiled warmly, joining them, walking from the room and downstairs. "Alexander!" Skeeter chimed.

The Carribean man turned, eyes widening. "Betsy?" He breathed out, raising up. "You're here?" He cheered, hurrying over, wrapping the woman in a hug before lifting her and spinning her. "Oh my god!"

Laurens stared for a long second before turning back to where he could stare at the table, talking quietly with the Marquis (who had just recently joined him back). He laughed a bit at something the Frenchman had said, soon continuing to conversate, blocking out what he felt.

"Questo è troppo salutare per essere gestito dal mio cuore-" (Translation: This is too wholesome for my heart to handle-) Sofia said, squealing.

Skeeter stared over at Laurens, shoulders drooping a bit. "Wholesome to some, a pain to others..." They muttered quietly.

"Since when did you speak Italian?..."

"I know the word wholesome in Italian." They reasoned. "Just used context."

"Oh- Makes sense. I wonder who'll be falling in next."

"King George? That'd be funny."

"I love King George," Skeeter whispered. "He was incredibly intelligent and very considerate." They explained, walking over to Laurens, patting his back while reaching for a box of pizza that was still full, stealing another piece.

"Willow, I think you got too much pizza."

"I wanted to make sure there was enough for everyone.. And any new people-.."

"Yeah... You may have to microwave the pizza a couple of times though, you bought like... 15 damn boxes."

"I also like pizza so this is fine," Skeeter grinned. "The obesity rates in America aren't fine- not to be that person- that should really be handled in a more mature manner. Perhaps some more strict Health rules-"

"I'm an Australian so this does not apply to me." Sofia said, smiling.

"Fair enough," Skeeter laughed, looking around. "But, with all consideration, hopefully this is everyone who'll fall into here... Truly- I don't know how many more could..."

"Oh! Not sure if anyone else has brought this up - but I'm sure it'll be rather interesting but, Gay Marriage is now legal."

"Gay had a different meaning back then," Skeeter quickly reminded.

"I know, I know,"

"Should I pull out a random bisexual and gay flag I have in my pocket to explain it to them-" Sofia asked, reaching into her pocket.

"Feels like you're targeting a couple individuals here..."

"..you just casually have that with you all the time? Why-"

"... Why not?"

"Never mind, we need to focus on explaining. Uh..." Skeeter casually lifted Sofia into the air. "This! This is a homosexual. She likes men and women both- really, anyone of a preferred gender range (probably a more simple way to explain this but). Pansexuals like anyone despite gender."

"SKEETER WHAT THE FUCK- THE ONLY REASON WHY IM NOT PANSEXUAL IS BECAUSE I'VE NEVER LIKE, SEEN A NONBINARY, TRANS, ETC PERSON IN MY LIFE- I THINK-"

"Seen-? As in dated? Or???"

"Seen, as in, interacted with, like, conversations and all-"

"Oh-... I mean... I go by mainly they/them pronouns, to be fair." Skeeter shrugged, nearly dropping the other. They caught her quickly, apologizing.

"... Please put me down-"

"I'm sorry-" Skeeter gently put Sofia back on the floor, still apologizing.

"It's fine, uh- let's pretend that never happened. I hate being so short-" Sofia sat back down on the couch.

"I can lift my six foot father and he weighs two-thirty... pounds..." Skeeter mentioned, moving over to the table. "Regardless, back to explaining. Same-sex marriage was permitted in 2014, during Barack Obama's terms of presidency. He, shockingly, was the first black president the United States had. Which, I say shockingly because, you'd expect we have one sooner... seeming how slavery ended in 1865... almost one-hundred years after people's earliest attempts to end it in the United States."

"But of course, there are still people who disagree with it. Though it doesn't really harm them in anyway, yet they're still pissed about it."

"And we still have people who are racist... It may be worse than it was during your time to some extent."

"Yeah.. I swear, these people have nothing better to do with their lives."

Laurens slowly looked up. "So... You're saying that, despite everything these people have gone through... People still hate them?" He questioned, brows furrowed.

"Mhm. It's honestly ridiculous."

Skeeter sighed. "A lot has changed, not everything was for the better..."

"Yeah..." Sofia sighed. "But hey, most serious issues have been solved, so that's good."

"Mm-hm. But, now they're beginning to take away rights, and... It's scary to see. Some states won't teach about orientation and racial issues, others are taking away women's rights to safe abortion... It's messed up."

"I don't know much about what's going on in America, as I only came here a year ago, but back in Australia things were MOSTLY fine."

"The cultural differences in countries are odd, however. Some people are more accepting than others."

"Sort of unrelated, but, I went to a Catholic school while I was still in Australia, and most of the people there were actually an ally. They just kept it a secret from the teachers."

"For their own safety, that's alright. I'm highly argumentative, and many times have been compared to Mr. Hamilton," Skeeter laughed softly at the groans that sounded through the room. "But, I would express displeasure in how people see sexuality... And further try to reason. I've learned quite a few bible verses, I'm the grandchild of a preacher... But, alas, not everybody is willing to listen."

As Skeeter went to continue speaking, a sudden crash was sounded. From right outside the apartment. They opened their mouth, but furrowed their brows. "Did someone appear or was that a car accident-?"

"Hopefully the former option..."

——————-

A/N: THIS IS ALMOST 2300 WORDS WTH-

HOW DID WE WRITE SO MUCH?