#Anton would probably find it kind of comforting but Saracen would be terrified

[silverior968]

More sillies I made

[Image ID 1: A doodle of younger Anton and Saracen. The first doodle is of the two walking side by side. Saracen, aged around 11, is looking at Anton, who is nonchalantly saying "Willow trees get up and follow people at night btw". The next doodle is of Saracen, looking at Anton in abject horror. / End ID]

[Image ID 2: A doodle page of younger Anton and Saracen, set up like a comic. The first doodle has Saracen, aged around 15, with a small moustache going on, smiling cheerfully with the speech bubble "The best way to get people to trust you is a charming smile". In the next doodle he is smiling with his eyes closed and sparkles all around him, with the speech bubble "Like this!". In the next doodle Anton is looking stoic, with Saracen's speech bubble "Now you try it!" next to him. In the fourth doodle he is trying to force himself to smile, accidentally grimacing threateningly instead. The text "*wood creaking.mp3*" is placed next to him. In teh fifth doodle Saracen is looking puzzled, with his hand under his chin. The last doodle is the same, except Saracen is now pointing with one of his fingers, and has the speech bubble "We're going to have to workshop that". / End ID]

[bubblemoon66]

what the dead men think about having kids:

Anton: Claims he's not interested in having kids. He'd never try for a baby or go through any kind of formal adoption process. However, he is absolutely the type of person to accidentally acquire a couple of orphans because they need someone on their side and he's got the space. Then they leave the nest, and would you believe it, there's a gaggle of children whose abusive bio parents definitely don't deserve them. So, he steps in again and again and before you know it, the Midnight Hotel is being converted into a home for runaway teens and Anton's run out of flat surfaces to put all the father's day cards he gets every June.

Dexter: Probably wants kids? It's not a strong feeling, but he's heard it's a fulling experience and they are pretty cute when they're young. He's just got to find the person to have them with and settle down somewhere nice first... Which will probably happen in the next couple of years decades centuries? For now, he's happy taking life as it comes. If he did accidentally knock someone up, a sense of obligation would make him stick around. He’d try his best to step up to the role of a father but it wouldn’t come naturally to him.

Erskine: Likes the idea of having kids in theory. In practice, it's more complicated. The idea that he was building a better world for his potential offspring probably helped him sleep at night when he was planning his coup. He likes the idea of leaving a legacy behind. And, in the abstract, fatherhood appeals to him. However, he'd be reluctant to bring children into a politically unstable world. He'd be terrified of them being used as leverage and having to choose between his family and his ideals. So, he's a long way off planning a family. If he accidentally fathered a sprog, he'd support them but keep them at arm's length for their own safety. The fact that he does not know how to change a nappy and has no desire to learn is coincidental.

Ghastly: Adores the idea of being a father. This is the kind of man who fantasises about owning minivan a big enough to comfortably carry him, his spouse, their dog, 2.3 children, a large picnic basket and a bunch of sporting equipment to the park. Unfortunately, he feels that these kinds of domestic fantasies are unrealistic. Even if he does find a partner who wants kids with him, he worries his appearance would prevent the family from living the suburban dream. If he did have kids though, he'd be a fantastic dad. He'd emulate his own parents and teach the kids how to box and sew.

Saracen: 100% doesn't want kids. He'd never plan for any. If anyone claimed he'd fathered their child he'd deny it. Any child left in his care would be pawned off to the first non-murderous-looking stranger he came across.

Skulduggery: Naturally has some complicated feelings around fatherhood. Despite what happened, he doesn’t regret having a kid, because how can you regret the best thing to happen to you? That said, he won’t plan on any more. Partially because he doesn’t deserve that happiness and partially because he’s terrified of having a weakness that obvious. How he’d react to an unplanned child would depend on who got pregnant. His relationship with the mother is the key to whether he’d stick around. A genetic connection to the kid isn’t important to him but being around the kid in their early years is.

Valkyrie: Has a vague notion that she might want kids, one day, maybe. However, when anyone asks she claims she's too young to think about it right now. This goes on well into her three-hundreds. There is some innate desire in her to have a family, but she has doubts she's a good enough person to be a good parent. Her lifestyle isn’t exactly suited to having kids either. And the idea of going through what Skulduggery did or reliving what happened to Alice is enough to prevent her from trying for a baby. If an unplanned pregnancy happened, she’d be terrified but she’d fall in love with it the moment she felt it kick. After that, she’d turn into a feral mama bear. Paranoia about anything happening to the sprog would lead her to go overboard with home security and house rules. It won’t be pretty.