#i want to kall this getting together

[offorestsongs]

Hihi! For your OC(s):

Which canon character does your OC respect a lot?

Which canon character annoys your OC?

Thank you!

hiiii hello!! thank you for the ask!! :3

im gonna answer these for all of my main boys because why not

Which canon character does your OC respect a lot?

Lysander -> hmmm most of the housewardens probably?? just because he thinks that's a lot of work to do and he himself wouldn't want to have so much responsibility (but also Lysander himself would say that "he respects everyone equally!! why would you go any other way!!" because respect is one of the concepts that are kinda weird to him)

Rosienne -> there's not many peope Rosie really respects but probably Lilia? since they're good friends and Lilia is one of the very few people Rosienne would actually listen to

Kalle -> Azul, but less because of who Azul is as a person and more because of his power/his place in the school hierarchy so to say. they remember Azul from middle school and they think it's kinda impressive how he went from a little bullied baby to somebody who other students actually respect

Eliott -> i'd say Trey, since he always was an older brother figure of sorts for Eliott and he supported Eliott a lot while they were growing up

Swallow -> Riddle!! he really didn't like pre-OB Riddle but he sees that Riddle is really trying to change and improve and he thinks that's really admirable!!

Which canon character annoys your OC?

Lysander -> i dont think there's anyone???? Lysander feels really bad whenever he dislikes people so he tries to feel at least neutral about everyone sjfjdj

Rosienne -> well, besides the fact that he couldn't STAND Vil for most of their freshman year — Cater. they're too similar in certain aspects which is why they can't stand eachother. also, Idia because sad introverts annoy him in general (because he too used to be a sad introvert and he doesn't understand why somebody wouldn't just,, get themselves together and try to change how they act)(despite his unique magic allowing him to literally feel other people's emotions, Rosienne is not a very empathetic person LMAO)

Kalle -> who DOESN'T annoy them is the question. but if they had to choose, it would most probably be Kalim. Kalle can't stand people who are all smiley and sunshiney, they drain their energy lmao

Eliott -> like Lysander, i don't think there's anyone, but that's mostly because he's the king of minding his own business ✌️ he has too many troubles which his home life too care too much about how others act if they aren't his friends already

Swallow -> again, so many people. Leona. Cater. most of Octavinelle. Leona. any other student who's rich and/or a royalty....

[winkle-pickers]

For Talk Shop Tuesday (IF ITS NOT TOO LATE!!!!), I have two/two and a half questions.

The first is that do you write chronologically (ie chapter 6 after chapter 5), or do you write some scenes early just to get them out of your head? And if so, have we seen an example yet?

Also, for TTYE, have there been any lore elements/enemies you just wanted to use, but ended up discarding them because they just didn't fit?

ABSOLUTELY NOT TOO LATE it's always Tuesday in my heart and you are always welcome in my askbox <3

I write in absolutely bonkers order. In fact, the scene that closed out the most recent TTYE chapter was one of the earlier ones I wrote! It changed a lot from when I first wrote it, but it's been kind of a guiding star in how I've been navigating Kaiba & Jounouchi's relationship and where I wanted to go with their sort of parallel arcs (using our favourite fail archer as a fulcrum of sorts). There's another one I wrote very early on involving Midna that probably won't show up until the last few chapters :) I do tend to write section by section, though. For TTYE I wrote Book 1 all together, then each section of Book 2 I wrote as a chunk. Basically I just vomit out absolutely all of my ideas and the scenes that I need to have happen, then I go through and put them in a reasonable order and edit! And cut some usually...

OH MY GOD YES. I was dying to use Kalle Demos. DYING. My favourite boss of all time and I'm crushed I couldn't find a good place to jam it in. I love that evil funky plant. Ditto Stallord, my beloved bone monstrosity :(

Answered for Talk Shop Tuesday!

[ahungeringknife]

365: March 31

Eido came around the central planning tent. Her father was bent over the holographic display with Esis and they were deep in talks of some sort. Braldos was nowhere to be seen but it was sunset, the Baroness had probably retired for the night. She sidled up to the display and cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Oh, Eido, we didn't see you there," her father said.

"It's fine. I see you two are busy planning good things for our people," Eido said cheerfully.

"Yes," Esis said, "Its a shame construction needs to be halted until we can run proper infrastructure through the roads."

"Better to do it now than dig up the roads later," Misraaks said.

"Yes and-

"Father it's getting late," Eido interrupted. She knew if she didn't they could early spend all night here talking about their plans. She'd seen and heard Viksiskal come down here scolding the both of them for staying up too late dreaming and not enough time sleeping to enact on those dreams. Eido always thought it was funny to watch the Kall scold her father. Almost like the Kell of Light was some misbehaving hatchling. She supposed the Kall had plenty of experience with that at least.

"Ah, you're quite right. We will pick this up in the morning. Apologies for keeping you Esis," Misraaks said graciously.

"Not at all. This is the most fun I've had in ages," Esis chirped and her lower hands clapped together.

"Perhaps you'd like to join us for dinner?" Eido prodded, keeping her eyes perfectly polite and was very glad her mask was on so they couldn't see the way her mandibles moved suspiciously.

"What? I wouldn't want to intrude," Esis said.

"Nonsense! You're a valued community member and this means you can carry on the conversation and I can force my father to take a break. I believe the Guardians have a saying for it? He is a 'workaholic'?" She used her lower hands to quote it as she had seen Amanda and other Guardians do before.

Esis's laugh was a sweet tittering sound and she put her hand under her veil over her mask to quiet herself. "Eido," Misraaks said with great gravity for the situation.

"If it is no trouble?" she asked.

"No trouble!" Eido cried before her father could say anything. "And perhaps you'll even spare me a moment over my father during dinner," and Esis giggled again. Eido could see her father was getting quite cross with the teasing but she knew he'd forgive her. Esis nodded. "Wondrous. Our tent is this way, if you'll follow me," and she beckoned Esis.

Esis followed her and Misraaks turned off the table and trailed behind. She could tell he was grumbling under his breath.

The Eliksni district had been raised and in its place Braldos' outfit had constructed a tent neighborhood for the time being for House Light. As Kell Misraaks had an especially large one for himself and Eido and was more or less a normal home, be it with fabric walls. The kitchen, so to speak, was communal but Eido had already gotten dinner for her and Misraaks and also Esis and laid it out on the low table for them to sit at. A helpful Ghost had fabricated the table out of pure glimmer and Eido had spent an entire day asking Ghosts about their ability to glimmer hack like that. The inside of the tent was also lined with a thin plastic polymer that allowed it to be about seventy percent air tight. Tight enough for the ether diffuser to keep the air breathable for a moderate amount of time. You still had to sleep with your mask on but one could live in the tent and only bring the mask up now and then to take a breath without suffocating.

She'd gotten dinner for the three of them already. It wasn't anything special. Just some half pigeons for each of them. She'd never had pigeon until coming to City but they were everywhere and delicious too.

Eido showed Esis their home and played it off that it couldn't compare to a Baron's ketch. Esis just said, "You don't live on your father's ketch? I see it all the time on my way here from the Lucent Dawn. It must be more comfortable to sleep without a mask on up there. And you are a Kell's daughter."

Eido played with her lower hands awkwardly. Misraaks was removing some of his Splicer regalia in his room so thankfully wasn't there to give Eido a look when she said, "The ketch is not pressured for ether."

Esis' shining blue eyes went wide. "Really?" and it was almost incredulous. Eido saw her visibly check herself. "Excuse me. I forget myself," she said apologetically. "House Light doesn't have the resources our outfit has," it wasn't a slight it was just the truth. "But we'll change that," she assured Eido.

"I certainly hope so," Eido said and removed her mask as her father came out of his room, dressed down. He no longer wore his Splicer gauntlet or great heavy coat and cape or his intricate mask. He just wore a simple rebreather around his neck but not over his face. Eido did not miss the way Esis' head tilted slightly seeing him. "Great you're ready for dinner," she said to her father. She'd already removed most of her own gear before going to get them and was just in her tunic and wraps, foregoing her helmet and hood and all her extra pouches and belts and things she carried around with her.

"Yes. And I find myself quite hungry after such a day of arguing with Baroness Braldos," he said gruffly. Esis giggled privately and Eido made a soft little trill of a noise. Misraaks went and sat at their table and the two of them quickly joined him. Eido was still waiting to see what Esis looked like under her veil and mask.

Esis removed her helmet as she sat and her veil and mask were one piece she just pulled down. Eido looked at her father for a reaction and was delighted to see him frozen, looking at Esis while she was adjusting her scarf and mask to make it easier to eat. Eido was quietly smug and finally also looked at Esis. Eido wasn't particularly interested in romance with others, or even sex, though she had engaged in both (a secret she kept from Misraaks) but she could still recognize when someone was attractive. And Esis was. She had blueish-purple flesh and carapace and without her helmet you could see all her edges were rounded and soft but not in the way of someone polishing their carapace. Even her mandibles were curved in such a way to appear that her head from the front was a perfect circle and the ridges over her large evenly spaced eyes were small.

Eido would surmise that in a way a human would say: Esis was 'hot as fuck'.

"Thank you for sharing this meal with me," Esis said, perhaps oblivious to Misraaks' staring. "My father said House Light says a prayer before meals?" she asked.

Eido kicked Misraaks under the table gently making him start. He coughed and cleared his throat. "Yes. To give thanks to the Great Machine and our friends here in the City," he said.

"I see," Esis nodded. "Do not feel you must change your ritual for my benefit. I will partake."

Eido offered Esis her hand across the table and grabbed Misraaks' as well. Esis delicately took Eido's hand and Eido's mandibles shivered back and forth in amusement to keep from snickering watching her father fumble just holding Esis' hand for the prayer. Eido closed her eyes and bowed her head when Misraaks said the familiar prayer, giving thanks to the Light, the Traveler, the people of the City, and (a new addition the past few weeks) the Baron's outfit for their aid. "By the Light," Misraaks said to end it.

"By the Light," Eido repeated and let Esis' and Misraaks' hands go.

"I hope this isn't a probing question Esis-

"If you say that that means it is," her father growled a warning.

She ignored him. "But you aren't a Light worshiper are you?"

Esis didn't mind even as she cracked the leg of her half a pigeon. "Not so much. Many in the outfit are machine worshipers. I was raised as such. As you can imagine my daddy is one," she said sweetly. "I did not grow up with stories of the Traveler like I'm sure you did, Eido."

"What about your other parent? The Kell?" Eido asked.

"Baron," Esis said as a natural correction but not upset Eido would call him a Kell. He should have been if everyone referred to Viksis as Kall. "Hmmm. Papa wasn't the religious sort if I am truthful," she said thoughtfully. "Or if he was it was something he did in private. But our outfit does have some Light worshipers and some who worship the Great Machine. But being so removed from it our outfit turned to machine worship."

"Makes sense seeing as your Kall is a Splicer," Eido said, barely touching her dinner.

Esis made a face. "Viksis didn't believe that until he met the Light Kell," she said and looked at Misraaks who was trying to look as dignified as possible while eating his pigeon.

"I don't know how," Eido said. "The first thing he did when he joined our House was learn the names of the Servitors; from them themselves!"

Esis giggled. "Yes. Daddy is a humble sort when it comes to his abilities."

"He says you out pace him but you are not a Splicer," Misraaks said.

"I'm not," she said. "I don't hear the machine speak he can or feel the change in electronics or manipulate the Vex Net like you Misraakskel. I'm just an engineer."

"Just!" Eido cried. "As if you didn't create a Prime Servitor. An extinct machine."

She waved that off. "Viksis helped a great deal in that creation though will downplay his intervention. I simply created the shell that the spark of a Prime could live in."

"If Viksis was the one who did it why did ours not spark?" Eido asked.

"I don't know. I haven't been allowed to look at it," Esis gave Misraaks the side eye.

"I thought the planning of our new neighborhood to be more important," Misraaks said. "And you have risen well to the challenge. You have quite the eye for city planning."

Esis chittered happily. "Thank you. I helped the other engineers plan all the ketches in the fleet for optimal space usage for our outfit."

Eido let them talk about the city planning for a while so she could eat her dinner. Listening to them talk about running sewer and water lines and trenching fiber optic wire was not what Eido would normally consider flirting but the way her father was sitting towards her, making direct eye contact, and using his lower hands to gesticulate was flirting. Especially with the how attentively he listened when Esis spoke. The only people she saw her father listen to so acutely were Ikorakel, the Young Wolf, and Eido herself. Her father was more guarded when talking with Esis while Braldos or sometimes Viksis or another outfit officer was around but in their home he was very open. Eido was glad to see her father getting out there. He'd never done it since he'd adopted her that she could remember but she knew many Eliksni in House Wolves lamented that Misraaks was too busy being a father and Mara Sov's 'stooge' to notice when anyone desperately flirted with him.

They all started when a strange shank appeared in the tent. "What-- where'd that thing come from?" Eido asked.

"Oh-- gosh I'm so sorry," Esis said apologetically.

"Is this your shank?" Misraaks asked.

"No? Yes? It belongs to my friend Fasik. He sends it looking for me when I don't return home at a reasonable time and I've stayed up too late working," she said, absolutely embarrassed."

"Fasik? I've not heard of him," Eido said.

"He's a tinkerer on the Lucent Dawn with me. A dear friend. What time is it?" she asked them. A flap on the shank's top snapped open revealing the time. "It's passed midnight? Already?"

"We kept you," Misraaks said.

The shank bumped gently against Esis' arm. "Yes yes. I know. I'll be back soon. Run along," and she shooed the shank away. It flew back out of the tent. "I had quite a lovely dinner don't think you kept me up," she assured Misraaks. "But I should be going. Tomorrow is an early day," and she leaned over to pick up her helmet.

"I'll see you out," Eido said and got up.

"Thank you," Esis said put her mask and veil back on as well.

Eido left the tent with her. "Esis," she said quietly before she could go.

"Yes?"

"I hope this isn't too forward. Do you have a family?"

"I assume you mean other than my parents and siblings?" Esis teased her. Eido giggled and nodded. "I have a child," she said and Eido's heart sunk a little. "But they're grown and work in the mechanics gang in one of the ketches," she said cheerfully.

"I see. And their father?"

"We're just friends," Esis shrugged. "We thought we were in love but after we had a baby we realized we were better friends than lovers," she sighed dramatically. "Thankfully we were friends or my papa would have killed her where she stood for leaving me right after we picked from our spawn," and Eido could laugh at that and Esis made an amused noise, eyes squinting in a laugh. Then in a kind voice she said, "Why? Did you want to know about Fasik?"

"Uh-- um-- well-

"Fasik is just my friend. I don't have a partner at this time. I'm usually too busy."

"Really I figured as the Baron's daughter you-

"Eido," she said, voice still gentle. "You're a good daughter," and Eido flushed realizing she'd been caught out almost immediately.

Eido leaned over close. "My father is also usually too busy," she told Esis as a secret.

"I know," Esis said and those two words spoke volumes. "Perhaps next time he'll invite me to dinner himself."

Eido's heart jumped excitedly. "I'll drop some hints," she said and they shared soft secret giggle of knowing something the Kell of Light didn't. "Safe passage back to your ketch, Esis."

"Thank you. I will see you tomorrow," and she bowed her head and walked off.

Eido threw the door of the tent open, startling Misraaks who was cleaning up the table. "Eido, you're letting the ether out," he scolded her.

"She's totally into you," Eido said, letting the flap close.

"What?"

"Father, don't play dumb with me."

"I don't have to. I don't know what you're talking about," Misraaks said, putting the chairs back properly.

Eido folded both her arms. "Of course," she said because of course her stuffy father wouldn't admit to something as base as wanting to court a Baron's daughter. Or anyone's daughter. "I'm going to notate what we talked about over dinner before bed," and she went into her 'room' in the tent.

[breninarthur]

happy dadwc friday! sending you “letters between two of your OC’s companions about them” for Kallian 👀

hi, thank you!! ^^ @dadrunkwriting

rated t. 517 words. alistair writes to zevran before he and kallian set off to tevinter. this is... some vague idea i have for the future, and it becomes less dysfunctional, i swear 😂

◌ ◌ ◌

Zevran,

It was surprisingly difficult to find some vellum and ink without somebody insisting on scribing for me, so even though I'm sure you'll be annoyed this isn't in some hard-to-crack code... appreciate that I'm being as sneaky as I can be.

Kallian is on her way to meet with you. I pray that Isabela reaches you with this letter before then. I also pray that she doesn't read this herself, and would like to remind her that I am in contact with her friend the Champion, who would... be disappointed, I'm sure. I suppose I can't think of a good threat, but Isabela, I will pay you if you stop reading right now.

Look after her. Kallian. Not in a fight, Maker knows it'll be the other way around there. But all this sneaking and spying and hiding you're going to do... you're the expert. So I'll be holding you accountable for anything that goes wrong, and praying that I won't need to. Just... get her out of there, will you? And be careful yourself. Tevinter isn't kind to elves, and I think Ferelden would resent me going to war.

I've thought a lot about whether I should be writing this letter. I think she might actually murder me if she knew. But I'm not entirely going behind her back? I floated the idea past her. She... I don't know, she's too focused on me. She thinks I don't mean it, but I do.

You know what, just show her this letter when the time arrives. Kall, please don't hate me.

This is all over the place.

Right. Here goes.

Right now.

I am running out of space.

Maybe I want to.

Anyway.

I truly hate to tell you this, but I trust you'll do right by her, if not me.

We cannot spend as much time together as we wish to, not now, not yet. Each time she visits the Palace feels more and more fleeting, and I fear it is my fault. It's... difficult to fit everything in. Weeks worth of a relationship; months; a year; all in one day, or a week if we're incredibly lucky. It's hard.

You two have always been close. There was a time, back then, when I thought she would choose you. When she didn't... forgive me, Zev, but I always knew that hurt you. The way you looked at her never changed. The way she looked at you did change... but I don't know. She still looks at other people differently.

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. That certainly wouldn't be anything new.

All I wanted to say was... you have my blessing. When I see her again, we won't speak of it. If you're there too, well... let's cross that bridge when we come to it.

Kallian, I love you. Sorry if this made things awkward between you. Just imagine how awkward it would be if I was there too! Ha ha!

Take care of each other. I want to see no new scars when you return, on either of you.

With love,

Alistair

[userkass]

hey, friend! it's ☃️ again and oh yes, i'm all for naming the cute snowman. i'm thinking we can keep it simple and sweet, like perhaps snowy and frosty are good names? but i'm open to suggestions if you have any!

and yes, i love getting to know new fcs so thank you so much for that list. i'll make good use of it. and you've sparked my curiosity, so can you maybe tell me about the current and favorite characters you write? i'd love to get to know more of them! -- yours truly, ☃️

hello!! <3 frosty is always a solid name for a snowman, in norway for some reason we call him kalle, likely has to do with the name fitting the song best. who knows? it's also close to our word for cold. we'll go for frosty, because it's a name i can remember. i also think my main blog is up and running again, even though it's fun having this blog as well!! you're very welcome! me too, though! hmm, this is tricky cause i write a lot of characters. not as many as i was a while back, but i'll try to list a couple of my current favorites that i'm writing over in an rp! i'll put them under a read more though as knowing me it'll get long.

charlie fortier ( mercedes morris ) - her fc has changed quite a bit throughout the years and though she originated in the hp universe which might give a bit of an idea as to how long i've had her lmao since i can't actually remember the last time i rp'd it, she has changed quite a bit since. she is the main owner of her an ice cream shop that has been passed down through generations and she loves concocting new flavors and will test out every flavor once. she's very gay and is currently happily dating bea...after the longest slow burn. together they have a few dogs. in this particular rp, she happens to be a water sprite fae.

evan rathod ( summer bishil ) - another one of my beloved muses that i've managed to revamp, evan is quite different in the sense that they prefer to avoid people. her story has changed quite a bit in this rp, but they are a fire dragon who just escaped years of captivity and are now trying to adjust to being free and find their footing once more. they have a younger sister whom they absolutely adore and would do anything for. in the rp prior to this one, that was slice of life, so no dragons, they fell in love with an oliver jackson cohen fc and it's perhaps one of my favorite ships to write.

jocelyn lao ( jessie mei li ) - my little wannabe jeff goldblum in jurassic park. josie is an archaeologist that is very much someone that walks to the beat of her own drum. she loves reptiles and dinosaurs and has managed to create their own sort of sanctuary in the backyard where she's drawn inspiration from the jurassic park movies with the few reptiles they have rescued. they are a delight to write.

silas sanguis ( pedro pascal ) - admittedly, his backstory is a little inspired by the mikaelsons with some twists, but basically he's an old af vampire with an older brother who happens to be the leader of the vampires on the island he's currently inhabiting. silas doesn't necessarily care for or even enjoy politics, but he definitely takes advantage of the perks. his passion is wine and he's spent centuries perfecting various types of blood infused wines.

obsidian kincaid coldwell ( thomas doherty ) - cade, oh cade. he's definitely my current villain, as i have a tendency to always write one. he comes from a line of wixen that have the belief that they are the superior supernatural species. he is the second oldest of his siblings, just after his twin essie ( who i also play ) and was the favorite up until his brother was born as his seer gift was seen as less than to his brother's necromancy abilities. this, alongside with his family being responsible for his first love's death has resulted in him becoming very much an asshole and someone that does what he wants for his own gain. he's also currently trying to figure out a way to make wixen immortal.

It was hard to narrow it down, because I do have quite a few, but this was fun. ( my current muse count is 35, so i will spare you )

[dapandapod]

How about 26 for the hug ask?

26. exhausted hug

YES! You absolutely may!! Thank you bestest @kuripon for betareading this, i literally wrote this at midnight and my tired ass is projecting on my lovely witcher. Please enjoy tired hugs!

Send me a hug prompt!

On Ao3 Hug collection here

The world is not so dark when there are toxins running through you. The shadows are not as deep, the night not as lonely. Everywhere there are little creatures, good and bad. Everywhere, they are watching him.

Geralt tries to step cautiously, tries to make no sound. He is good at it, usually, but the day has already been long. He has been tracking the Fiend for most of the day, and now he thinks he might have found its lair.

His sword lies heavy in his hand, his armor a solid weight over his shoulders. On any other night, he wouldn’t give it much thought. On any other night, he would tighten the straps and trudge on.

But tonight, his muscles are already fighting him. Tonight, the soft light of the moon is almost as bright as the sun, every sound loud to his potion-sensitive hearing.

He knows it will take him just as many hours to get back to the inn, back to his… his friend. Geralt is not used to having someone waiting for him, despite all the years they have spent together. Jaskier still being there baffles him every time, but tonight, oh, tonight he wants nothing more than to be with him back in their room.

He grips his sword tighter, fishes out one of his prepared oils and coats the blade quickly. He needs to be quick about it, he can feel Cat already draining out of his system, and with all the other things he has taken in preparation, he will feel like shit if he drinks more.

Geralt steps quietly, and inside, the Fiend roars.

The walk is fucking long. Geralt barely has the energy to return the sword to its scabbard on his back. He is not sure how to bring the fiend's head to the alderman. As it is, he can barely stand up. The potions are finally burning out, leaving his body a shaking, shivering mess. His muscles ache and there is a pounding behind his eyes and in his temples. His knuckles are white from holding such a tight grip. He is lucky the Fiend didn’t manage to cut through his armour, but he suspects he will have some heavy bruising over his back in the next few days, even with his mutagen-enhanced healing.

He could just sit down for a while and meditate. Just for an hour. He could.

He just doesn’t want to.

Before all this, before the bard, he might have. But now all Geralt can think of is a soft bed, a friendly presence, a hot bath.

He is trying not to think too much about Jaskier, but as he hoists his trophy over his shoulder and starts the long way back, he can’t help but let his thoughts wander.

Towards that brilliant smile when Geralt says something that makes him laugh, towards those strong arms that somehow manage to hold whatever Geralt throws at him. Towards those cornflower blue eyes that see so much more than Geralt even expected, toward that clever tongue that can cut or please with words alone.

He thinks about how on rare occasions, Jaskier would hug him. And once the thought has struck him, Geralt can’t stop thinking about it. He wonders if Jaskier would hold him tonight. That would probably be nice. And most likely filthy, considering today's activities. Maybe Jaskier wouldn’t care.

Those thoughts keep Geralt occupied as he finds his way back. He ignores his body's protests, his knees creaking. The stars are slowly replaced with the first light of day, the sky shifting and changing into the soft colors of morning.

Geralt has seen it so many times, and no matter how tired he is, he always has to take a moment and just take it in. He stops in the middle of a field, putting the Fiend head on the ground as he looks up and just breathes.

This is when he notices how close he is to the village. The forest and the hills are behind him, and only open fields lay between him and Jaskier.

Just a little further.

Jaskier actually meets him, just as the sun peaks up over the edge of the world. There is a light mist in the air as the ground fights off the night cold, and when Geralt spots Jaskier, he just stops.

He is not hurt in any way, he has just run out of energy. Jaskier comes towards him with a spring in his step, and the moment he reaches the witcher, he starts fussing. Geralt lets him, wincing when Jaskier touches the torn armor over his back. That is when he finally steps back. Grabbing Jaskier's hips, he pulls him closer and drops his head to Jaskier’s shoulder. He sighs. Finally, finally he made it.

Jaskier is silent, still for a moment. When it becomes clear that Geralt isn’t going to let go, Jaskier huffs and wraps his arms over Geralt’s lower back, mindful of the shredded armor and the apparent bruises.

They stand there for a long while, Jaskier only protesting when Geralt leans a little too hard on him.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, you big oaf. At least not here. Let’s go back to the inn.”

Jaskier pulls back and leads Geralt by the hand towards the village. They drop by the alderman quickly, meeting him in the door to trade the head for a bag of coins, and off they go.

Geralt fumbles with the straps of his armor, puts his swords and boots away. Jaskier only has to help him to remove the shredded pieces, and Geralt hisses when it puts pressure on the bruises.

There is a soft press of lips to the back of his shoulder and gone again, so soft he could have imagined it. He is too tired to comment now. It might have been his imagination, his wishful thinking.

Then Jaskier takes his hand again, and leads him towards the bed. They have two, but Jaskier follows him down into this one, laying on his back and placing Geralt atop of himself. They shift around until they both are comfortable, and Geralt ends up with his chin back on Jaskier’s shoulder, his arm resting over Jaskier’s chest, and Jaskier’s hand tracing gentle patterns over his sides.

The village wakes up outside, the sun rising higher and higher. But inside, behind a locked door in a soft bed with a bard in his arms, Geralt can finally rest.

[fics-n-stuff]

A Nice Christmas

Thanks to @gayhistorynerd for the prompt, see here (I kind of deviated from it a little maybe a lot but the story still stemmed from this prompt)

Pairing: Wilhelm × Simon

Summary: Wilhelm may have denied being in the sex tape, but that doesn't mean that the world has forgotten. The Christmas break proves to be difficult for both Simon and Wilhelm, one suffering from ongoing harassment and the other feeling completely isolated, and they find that they can't help but be drawn back to each other.

Word Count: 4.5k

A/N: This took me so long to write because I got writer's block right after I started it. This doesn't have a super happy ending because I wanted to try and keep it pretty realistic, but it is pretty sweet and wholesome.

Taglist: @probablyprocrastinatingrightnow @rika90 @angelwilhelm

Wilhelm had never felt more alone than he did being home for Christmas break. He spent as much time as was physically possible holed up in his bedroom, not wanting to see or talk to anyone, especially not his mother. He hadn’t turned his phone on for three days, he had bitten his nails down to the nailbeds and he hardly had any appetite. The ache in his chest was constant and unyielding.

He lay in the dark most of the time, his curtains closed throughout the day and only sometimes opened at night to let the moonlight in. Besides that, he didn’t have much idea of how time was passing.

He did know that it was Christmas eve though. And it must be the morning because nobody had come to drag him out of his bedroom to join the celebrations. A cursory peek around the curtain confirmed that, as Wilhelm saw that the sun hadn’t even fully risen yet.

A deep breath settled the stone in his stomach, and he reached for his phone with a shaky hand.

When the device turned on it immediately started going crazy with notifications, and Wilhelm felt his heart rate increase with every buzz.

5 messages from August

Ignore.

10 messages from Mamma

Ignore.

2 missed calls from Felice

Wilhelm paused in swiping away the notifications. Felice had called him twice and sent him three messages. He clicked on the message notification, sitting back against the wall and holding in a breath without realising it.

Felice: Hey Wille, how are you feeling being home?

Felice: I just wanted to check in but I can’t get a hold of you, I hope you’re doing alright

Felice: You probably don’t want to talk but you can call or text me whenever you do

Wilhelm sighed. Of all the people that he thought that he could depend on, Felice was the only one that he still had. He swallowed the lump in his throat and called her back.

It rang for a while before she answered, and he’d almost decided to hang up the call when it stopped ringing.

“Wille, good morning.” Felice greeted, cheerful but clearly tired. “Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah, merry Christmas Felice.” Wilhelm replied feebly. His voice was hoarse from disuse.

“Are you alright? Do you want to talk about something?”

“Uhm, I- I don’t know, I just... I don’t know.” He stuttered, wrapping his free arm around himself.

“Okay, well, what are your plans for today?”

“I’m not sure, I haven’t really been talking to anyone. What, uh, what are your plans?”

“Oh, you know, just the usual. We’ll watch Kalle Anka's Jul and play some games before dinner, then we’ll open presents.” She explained. The tinny sound of her voice through the phone was actually quite calming.

“What about for the rest of the break?”

“Um, I’m going to New York to see Maddie for New Year, so that’ll be fun. And I’m going back to Bjärstad on Boxing Day to see Sara. I’m gonna stay there just for one night.”

“So you’ve been talking to Sara a lot then?” Wilhelm questioned, moving to bite at his almost non-existent nails.

“Yeah, of course.”

“Has she said anything about Simon? Do you know if he’s alright?” His words came out more rushed than he had intended. Clearly, he was more eager for some sort of information on Simon than he had thought.

“Um, she hasn’t said much but I think he’s pretty okay.” Felice replied, but it was followed by a small sigh that let Wilhelm know that there was more to the story. “Sara says that things have mostly gone back to normal, but Simon goes out a lot less and she’s had to make her Instagram private. I think they’ve had a few people show up at their house.”

Wilhelm swallowed hard, a feeling of guilt crawling under his skin. Simon’s Instagram account had been private ever since the video had been leaked, so it seemed that now people had found Sara’s too. They had attention on them that they had never signed up for, and Wilhelm knew that it was his fault and he felt terrible for that.

“Okay.” He replied shakily. There was a short silence before Felice spoke again.

“How are you, Wilhelm? Really?” She asked.

“Lonely.” He answered. “Listen, I have to go. I need to take a shower before someone comes demanding that I take part in the Christmas celebrations.”

“Alright well, call me back whenever, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Bye, Felice.”

“Bye, Wille. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.”

Wilhelm ran a hand over his face, letting out a groan of frustration and sadness. Why couldn’t he just be a normal kid?

He stared down at his phone in his lap, gnawing at the nail of his right thumb in contemplation. With a shaking breath and trembling fingers, he picked it back up, opened his conversation with Simon and typed a short message. He dropped his phone in mild panic as soon as he hit send, and rubbed his hand over his chest as he took a deep, steadying breath.

+ + +

“Simon, wake up. Rosh and Ayub will be here soon.” Sara’s voice stirred Simon from his sleep and he rolled over to look at her. She was already dressed.

“What time is it?” He asked with a yawn.

“Nine o’clock. Get up and come help with breakfast.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m getting up.”

Sara rolled her eyes and left the room, and Simon reached out to his bedside table blindly until his hand landed on his phone. He squinted at the screen as he sat up, faltering when he saw the notification on the screen.

Wilhelm: Merry Christmas Simon

He felt his heart race as he stared at the screen, only snapping out of it when he heard Sara shouting at him from downstairs. He blinked, dropped his phone and set about getting dressed.

Every Christmas eve since they were ten, Simon, Sara, Rosh and Ayub would have breakfast together and then go for a long walk. It was tradition for them at this point, but Simon found himself unable to feel excited for it this year. It was all well and good to pretend like life was going on as normal, but it was hard not to feel uncomfortable when people stared at him everywhere he went.

Rosh and Ayub arrived just as he and Sara were finishing up making breakfast, and they exchanged Christmas well-wishes as they sat down to eat.

“You’re being real quiet over there, Simme. You alright?” Ayub asked after a while, and Simon realised that he’d been completely zoned out.

“Sorry, just thinking.”

“About Wilhelm?” Sara questioned. Simon pushed a bite of food into his mouth and shrugged.

“You have to move on, Simon.” Rosh said. “I know you care about him but he’s not worth all the trouble that he comes with.”

“I know. That’s why I ended things.” He replied. “It still sucks though.”

“You’ll get over him eventually.” Sara told him, putting a comforting hand on his for a few seconds before going back to her food. Simon smiled slightly.

He didn’t tell them about the text.

Despite all of that, he was in high spirits when they set out for their walk, happily joking and laughing with his friends, and they made it half an hour before he heard the first comment.

“That’s the guy from the sex tape.” Muttered a girl to her friend as they passed, and Simon felt the smile fall from his face.

“Just ignore them.” Sara told him, wrapping an arm around one of his. He nodded, but it had gotten to him. For the rest of their walk from that point, Simon felt like every person that they passed was looking at him and judging him.

They walked both Rosh and Ayub back to their houses before heading back to theirs just a bit past noon. They had almost gotten home when they were approached by a group of teenagers probably slightly younger than them.

“Are you the guy from that viral sex tape?” One of the boys asked unabashedly, the group coming right up in front of Simon and Sara and blocking their path.

“Uh, I don’t want to talk about that.” Simon replied stiffly, still trying to be polite.

“Oh my god, it is him!” A girl exclaimed.

“Was it actually the crown prince in the video?” Another chimed. Simon felt lightheaded.

“He already said that it wasn’t.” He deflected, trying to sidestep the group.

“Yeah, but there’s a lot of people that don’t actually believe him.” The girl laughed; actually laughed, as if this hadn’t been an earth shattering event for Simon.

“If it wasn’t Prince Wilhelm then who was it in the video?” A boy asked, and that was when Simon spotted the phone filming him and his stomach dropped.

“I’m not discussing my sex life with a bunch of strangers.” He scoffed in disbelief, shouldering his way past the group with Sara close behind him. “Please leave me alone.”

“You could just tell us if it was actually the prince or not.” One of them pressed, the group now following after Simon. “If it wasn’t him then you don’t have anything to hide.”

“Oh my god, did the royal family pay you off? Did they make you sign an NDA!?”

“Were you, like, boyfriends? Or was it just a hookup?”

Simon kept walking, keeping his head down and not answering any of the questions being hurled at him. He could sense that Sara was just as tense beside him. The group followed them for a full block before Simon finally lost his cool and came to a dead stop, turning to face them.

“I’m not going to answer your questions. The fact that you’re following me is not going to make me answer your questions. I’ve had my privacy majorly invaded once already and now you’re invading it again. I’m trying to enjoy Christmas with my sister and you’re chasing me with a camera, I’m sick of people harassing me.” He fumed, making sure to meet the eye of every one of them at some point. “Whatever you choose to believe is not my problem. It doesn’t matter whether you think that the crown prince is telling the truth or you choose to make up some type of theory, I deserve my privacy.”

He didn’t wait for any type of response before he turned around and walked away, thankful to find that they weren’t going to follow him anymore.

“You handled that well.” Sara said quietly once they had turned the next corner. Simon didn’t reply.

When they got home, he went straight upstairs without a word. He slammed his bedroom door shut and buried his face in his pillow, unable to hold the tears back any longer.

By that same evening, the video was viral.

+ + +

I bet that girl was right and the royal family made him sign an NDA

If he didn’t want people to think it was the prince he would have just said that it wasn’t so either the prince was lying or this guy is seeking attention

He’s literally a kid why can’t people just leave him alone??

I don’t care if it was the prince in the tape or not, this guy is hot

The way he said that people are making up theories makes me think that it actually wasn’t the prince in the video

I feel bad for this guy, getting followed around like that must suck

Wilhelm scrolled through the captions and comments on the seemingly endless posts of the video of Simon, feeling like somebody had a vice grip on his heart.

The first time he saw the video had been right after Christmas Eve dinner. He’d had a full blown panic attack and locked himself in the bathroom for half an hour. When he came out, his mother had tried to talk to him about the politics of the situation and he had immediately retreated into his bedroom once again. He missed Erik desperately.

He hadn’t been able to sleep, he'd only gotten about three hours of broken, fitful sleep all night, and now he couldn’t pry himself away from his phone. He knew that it was bad for him, he knew that it was making him feel terrible, but he wanted to know what people were saying.

He had been hesitant to text Simon, especially since he hadn’t received a reply to the merry Christmas text that he had sent in the morning, but in the end he mustered the courage to reach out. He had asked how Simon was doing and apologised for getting him into this situation. He wasn’t surprised when no answer came.

Christmas day was proving to be probably the worst day of Christmas break for Wilhelm. His chest felt like it was bursting open and like it was an empty chasm at the same time. He didn’t eat breakfast or lunch, he didn’t respond to the knocks that came at his door. He felt like he was trapped in a glass box and someone was shaking it.

Wilhelm didn’t know how long he had been scrolling through multiple different social media platforms when his phone buzzed in his hand and an incoming call appeared on the screen. He faltered, sitting up and almost dropping his phone, when he saw that it was Simon. He ran a nervous hand through his hair as he raised the phone to his ear.

“Simon?” He croaked.

“Hi, Wilhelm.” The reply came through the phone, and Wilhelm felt his shoulders relax at the sound of Simon’s voice.

“Hi. H-how are you.” He fumbled, and Simon sighed on the other end.

“I’m okay, I guess. As okay as I can be after... well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry for putting you in this situation.”

“This wasn’t your fault, Wille.” Simon muttered. “I just wish things were different.”

“Why, um... why did you call?” Wilhelm asked. There was a short stretch of silence that rung in his ears before Simon answered.

“I just wanted to hear your voice, I guess.” He confessed, and Wilhelm couldn’t help the soft smile that pulled at his lips. “Honestly, I was kind of surprised that you didn’t delete my number or something.”

“Why would I have done that?”

“I don’t know, I guess I just thought that you weren’t supposed to have any ties with me since you said that it wasn’t you in the video.” Wilhelm winced at that.

“It's not like my contacts list is available to the public.” He replied, trying to keep his tone light. “I’m not gonna let that kind of thing get in my head again.”

“Is your mum mad?” Simon asked, and now it was Wilhelm’s turn to sigh.

“I’m not sure, I kind of shut myself in my room so that I wouldn’t have to deal with her.” He answered tiredly. “How is your family?”

“Uh, shaken. Sara’s off in her own world with her sketchbooks and mamá can’t go for more than an hour without checking on us both, but we’re handling it.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise.”

There was a silence again. Wilhelm ran his hand across his leg, back and forth in a soothing motion, not sure what he should say but not wanting the conversation to finish. In the end, Simon spoke first.

“Did you mean it, what you said before you left for the break?” He asked softly.

“Yeah, I did.” Wilhelm answered without hesitation. “I know it wasn’t a good time to say it, and you probably didn’t want to hear it, but I just had to say it out loud. At least once.”

Silence again. Wilhelm heard Simon sigh, and pursed his lips nervously.

“I miss you.” Simon said.

“I miss you too.” Wilhelm replied with a nervous yet relieved chuckle. “I miss you a lot.”

Another pause.

“Where do we go from here, Wille?” Simon whispered.

“I don’t know.” Wilhelm mumbled. “But I... I want to fix this. Or at least just try to fix it. You don’t deserve to be harassed like this, and it’s my fault and I feel terrible.”

“It’s not your fault.” Simon reassured with a sigh. “It was everything else. We still didn’t do anything wrong, and that includes you.”

“No, I did. I promised we would be in this together and I broke that promise.”

“I understand why you did it. And I’m not mad at you. Honestly, having thought about it, you probably made the best decision for my sake too. I mean, I’m getting harassed enough as it is already. I can’t imagine what it would be like if you had told the truth.”

“I’m still sorry anyway.” Wilhelm said softly, and Simon chuckled. “So, um, Felice told me she was visiting Bjärstad tomorrow.”

“Yeah, her and Sara have gotten close. It’s nice, you know, that Sara’s made friends. And Felice is cool.”

“Yeah, she’s great.”

There was silence again, and Wilhelm bit at his nails thinking that Simon was done with the conversation.

“Are you alright, Wille?” Simon asked after a while. “I know this is your first Christmas without Erik, and I guess things with your mum might be a little... well, I just hope you’re okay.”

Wilhelm swallowed. He could lie, pretend he was fine and wave away Simon’s concerns, but he knew the lie probably wouldn’t hold up. Or he could tell the truth and admit how painfully lonely he was, how much he hated being home because the palace felt empty without Erik and how much he longed to be with Simon with every fibre of his being.

“I’m coping.” He sighed, settling for a middle ground of vagueness. “It’s lonely here. The ceilings feel too high.”

“Have you had stuff to do?”

“No, not really. I haven’t really been in the mood for Christmas, but I guess none of us are particularly festive this year anyway.”

“Would you - I mean, if you would even be allowed to, but maybe if you could – would you want to come down here for a day?” Simon asked, and Wilhelm could just picture him fidgeting nervously as he stumbled over his words. The image brought a smile to his face.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” He answered softly. “I’ll try and convince my parents.”

+ + +

Going to Simon’s house had been an absolute no go with his parents. “Just too risky” his mother had said. However, with enough persistence, he managed to wear them down to a compromise.

That was how he ended up in a car on his way back to Hillerska the day after Boxing Day. While Simon’s house had been absolutely off the table, it would be easy enough to get back to Hillerska without being seen. The only people who were there during the break were security and the people who came to take care of the horses.

He had been worried at first that the inconvenience of it would make Simon not want to bother, but when he texted to ask if it was okay he had been met with a quick agreement.

A security guard unlocked the door for him when they arrived, sworn to secrecy of course, and he headed up to his room to wait. He didn’t realise he was biting his nails until there was a knock at the door and he was knocked out of his anxious thoughts.

The door opened slowly, and Wilhelm felt like all of the air was knocked out of his body when he saw Simon step inside, dressed in his beloved purple hoodie under the coat that he took off and draped over the back of a chair that was within reach. The door clicked shut behind him, and silence hung in the air.

“Hey.” Simon greeted finally, and Wilhelm took a deep breath as if he was just remembering how to breathe at all.

“Hey.” He echoed. “How are you?”

“Better.” Simon nodded. “Did you get into a fight with your parents?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Wilhelm muttered. “It’s fine though.”

Simon crossed the room and took a seat beside Wilhelm on the edge of the bed, a good few inches of space between them. It felt like miles.

“You look tired.” Simon commented.

“I’ve been having a hard time sleeping.” Wilhelm replied weakly, eyes downcast, fidgeting with his hands. “I get that way sometimes. It’s fine.”

“Is it?”

He looked over to find Simon watching him, and he practically crumbled under his gaze. He took a very unsteady breath and shook his head.

“No, it sucks.” He mumbled. His hand drifted back up to his mouth and he gnawed on the nail of his thumb nervously.

“Wille, you’re bleeding.” Simon said, gently grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand away from his mouth. Wilhelm looked down at his thumb and saw a bit of blood pooling in the side of the nailbed, becoming aware of the taste of it on his tongue.

“Oh, I didn’t notice.”

“How much have you been biting your nails?” Simon questioned, pulling Wilhelm’s hand towards him to get a look at them. Every nail was jagged and uneven, bitten down to stubs. The skin around them had been bitten at too.

“I don’t know, I do it without realising.” Wilhelm shrugged. “Probably a lot.” He resisted the urge to curl his fingers around Simon’s hand and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

“You shouldn’t have to bottle everything in, you’re destroying yourself.” Simon murmured.

“I don’t have anyone to talk to.” Wilhelm’s voice broke halfway through his sentence, a single tear managing to fight its way from his eye. “I used to be able to talk to Erik about at least some of it but now he’s gone and I don’t have anyone, and sometimes it feels like the ground is falling out from under me and I just don’t know what to do.”

He didn’t notice that he was hyperventilating until Simon pulled him into his arms. Wilhelm’s chest was tight, rising and falling rapidly against Simon’s body. Simon's arms were wrapped around him tightly, and Wilhelm was suddenly overwhelmed with how much he had been craving a hug as his hands grasped at the back of Simon’s hoodie and he hid his face in the crook of Simon’s neck.

Wilhelm had always been told not to cry. Ever since he was a child, whenever he began to cry he was told to stop. The seed had planted itself in him when he was very young, but the fear of letting himself cry didn’t truly grow until he once saw an article in a tabloid. He was barely eleven and he had fallen and hurt himself at an event. He had hardly cried, just a few tears and red cheeks, but the tabloid had had plenty to say about it. He hadn’t let himself properly cry since, except for when Erik died. Even then, he had waited until he was completely alone before he let his weakness show. But now, with Simon, he felt an overwhelming need to let his tears fall.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered into Simon’s shoulder. He could feel the tears coming out of his eyes but they weren’t falling down his face, instead absorbing into the fabric of Simon’s hoodie.

“It’s okay.” Simon soothed, a hand moving up to stroke over the Wilhelm’s hair.

“I never wanted any of this. I never wanted to be a prince.”

“I know.”

“I just wanted to feel normal. Just for once.” Wilhelm said through his tears. “You made me feel normal.”

Simon furrowed his eyebrows, sympathetic. He loosened his hold on Wilhelm and leaned back, sliding the hand that was on the back of Wilhelm’s head forward to rest against his cheek.

“You made me feel normal too.” He replied softly. “At school I was a social outcast because I’m not rich, and at home I have to take care of my mom and Sara. When I was with you, I didn’t feel like I had to take care of anyone or watch where I was stepping. Well, except that one night.” Wilhelm huffed a slight laugh at the comment, lifting a hand to wipe the tears off of his cheeks. “I’ve never seen you cry before.” Simon commented.

“I’m not supposed to.” Wilhelm replied with an awkward chuckle, his head tipping forward in embarrassment. Simon sighed through his nose and lightly touched his forehead to Wilhelm’s.

“You have to cry sometimes, Wille. Everyone cries.”

“I’m not supposed to be everyone.”

“Okay, but sometimes you need to stop worrying about what you’re supposed to be.” Simon told him. “I know you know that.”

Wilhelm took a deep breath. This close to Simon’s face, he could feel his breathing too. He wanted to kiss him, but he didn’t know if that would be okay. He nodded slightly, covering Simon’s hand on his cheek with his own.

“Yeah.” He breathed.

When Simon leaned forward and connected their lips Wilhelm responded automatically, though it took his brain a few seconds to catch up. Once his brain did catch up, his hand took hold of the back of Simon’s neck and pulled him impossibly closer, holding onto this moment like it was his last. Maybe it would be the last time he got to kiss Simon; he couldn’t know. He hoped it wouldn’t be.

“Thanks for coming to see me.” Simon said when they broke apart.

“Thanks for wanting to see me at all.” Wilhelm replied. “I really missed you.”

Simon hummed, a faint smile playing at his lips. He watched Wilhelm for a few moments before kicking off his shoes.

“Come here.” He said, shuffling over the bed towards the wall. Wilhelm followed suit and allowed himself to be guided down to a lying position, Simon’s chest against his back and arm around his waist. “You need to sleep.”

“It’s the middle of the day.” Wilhelm protested, weak as the protest may have been.

“People have naps all the time, and you know that you need it.” Simon said firmly, adjusting the pillow under his head with his free arm and finding Wilhelm's hand to hold in the other. “It doesn’t have to be for long, okay?”

“Okay.” Wilhelm nodded, feeling suddenly very relaxed. He took a deep breath settling into the comfort and warmth of Simon’s body around his as his eyes fell shut. “This is nice.” He mumbled after a while.

“Yeah.” Simon agreed softly. “Go to sleep, Wille.”

It wasn’t long until he felt Wilhelm’s breathing change, signifying that he had fallen asleep. He smiled, fondly but with an edge of sadness to it, and pressed a light kiss to Wilhelm’s shoulder before closing his own eyes. They would deal with the rest of the world when they woke up.

[crystalas]

Instincts

Instincts

A one shot inspired by @purble-turble and @its-kall-the-clown Cos I love the two concepts and they need to be together. Secret relationship Pregnancy and the concept of nesting, this is also pure fluff.

 Red Son was feeling a conflict of many emotions at the moment and he wasn’t sure how to deal with it; on one hand he was elated that he was soon to be a parent and so happy to be going through this with the one person he has ever met that seemed to get him. He would often find himself day dreaming of what he and his little one could be doing as they grow up, hearing them say their first word, watch them take their first steps, the whole idea was exciting!

But he also felt a foreboding dread in his stomach when he thought about it too, there was the fact that he was indeed having a child with an enemy of the family. Even if his family doesn’t immediately kill his mate and child if they found out they would no doubt have plans for their grandchild given its heritage. Which is why they were hiding out till MK could safely defend himself and their baby from any harm without Red Son just in case his family tries anything.

The one thing however that had Red Son terrified whenever he thought about it was the child itself. The more research he did into pregnancy, birth and possible midwifery [there was a bloody good chance he was going to be the one delivering their child so he wanted that stuff memorised!] the more he realised how easily this pregnancy could go horribly wrong.

There was the factor of biology, MK was human and Red Son was a demon two beings that had vastly different life spans. Demon pregnancies lasted twelve to eighteen months while humans only lasted nine, would the child be born premature or be okay at nine months? Would the child be only ready at twelve and need caesarean to be born? Red Son balked at that idea it was scary enough at the idea of a home birth but he couldn’t imagine him purposely stabbing MK to get their child. Not to mention the difference in magic, the creation side of Monkey King’s powers and the destructive nature of his fire magic did not seem like a good mix, especially in a baby!

Red Son would wake up sweating after having nightmares of coming back home to find MK’s charred remains on the bed and their child innocently playing with the burnt remains of their parent’s entrails.

Although Red Son was feeling all these emotions and more, he planned on keeping them to himself. MK was going through enough as it is; seeing as he had to stay hidden from his family. MK wanted nothing more than to announce the news of their little bundle of joy but Red Son informed them that his parents had Bull Clones on constant surveillance of their hang out, there was no safe way for them to know without Demon Bull King finding them. He didn’t need Red Son telling him that he might have a flaming chest burster growing in his belly! So Red Son was going to be the best supporting partner and if that meant going on an ice cream run then so be it.

He came into the apartment and headed to the kitchen to put the ice cream away he froze when he saw the living room…

It looked like someone had tore up the sofas and then had been knocked over in a struggle. He couldn’t see MK anywhere so slammed the ice cream down on the table and searched the house. The airing cupboard had been opened and emptied out it looked like something had ransacked his house…Red Son’s heart started to pound and his throat was dry as he couldn’t bring himself to call out and was about to go into full panic mode when he heard something.

“Dang it!” MK groaned.

Red Son honed in and found himself bolting to the bedroom where he heard the voice and nearly tore the door off its hinges to find MK kneeling on the floor with what seemed every cushion, pillow, blanket and pile it up on the mattress that had also been pulled onto the bedroom floor. MK turned around to see Red Son staring at him.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for the mess…” he muttered, “I don’t know why but I really want to make a blanket fort but I can’t get it right which doesn’t make sense…and ugh this is so frustrating!”

Red Son stared at MK for a full minute before he burst out laughing both in relief and at the sheer absurdness at the situation.

“You’re nesting!” he chuckled once he got a hold of himself “I can’t believe it, you’re nesting!”

“What?!” MK cried “I’ve read that pregnancy scroll you showed me! That’s a demon thing, I’m not a demon!”

Red Son leant down and hugged MK from behind.

“Hate to break it to you Noodle Boy but you’ve got a lot of demon in you right now!” he laughed as he reached forward and put a hand on MK’s six-month belly. MK pulled a face as they recalled having an ungodly craving for wheat grass and charcoal during the early months, that had been embarrassing to be caught eating.

“So, want help me have another crack at this?” MK demanded as Red Son helped him up, the fire demon laughed again.

“Sure, but let’s try and minimise the use of material I would like to sleep in a bed tonight…”

After an hour of trail and error they finally created a nest that MK felt comfortable in, it was a sort of tent made from bedsheets, with the winter quilt as the floor with every spare cushion and pillow used to add for support. The edges of the nests were raised slightly by the cushions and pillows underneath as it was now sat on the floor in a corner of the bedroom.

“This is such a weird thing to feel compelled to do” MK muttered as they laid in their creation.

“Not really when you consider that most demons lived in caves or run-down buildings, I imagine wanted a safe soft place to have your young is a very practical instinct…” Red Son explained as he rolled over to face his partner. MK was looking thoughtful and rubbing his stomach gently.

“Does this mean I’m probably gonna give birth in this?”

“If you want, but if that is the case, I’m going to laid down some plastic sheets. No offence but I don’t want this stuff to get stained…”

MK took a spare pillow and smacked Red Son in the face with it.

[redrisingsun]

Swedish Holidays for all your Young Royals needs

Due to popular demand (by like five people) here’s a brief description of all the major Swedish holidays and how they’re celebrated because I can’t stand here and pretend as if we really celebrate Christmas the 25th. We have more holidays, I've only written about the ones we celebrate in my family. I come from a working class family and live in Southern Sweden, however I do have family in Stockholm. I'm not religious in any way and as far as I know, most families don't celebrate these holidays because they're religious, but because it's tradition.

yall better appreciate this, it took me literal hours

January

1: Dubbed as one of the collective pizza days in my household. It's the day after New Year, and most people either order in or eat leftovers.

Week 2 or 3: Most people return to their jobs, schools and other daily activities.

February/March

Fettisdagen ("Fat Tuesday"): celebrated 47 days before Easter. The actual date varies, all from early February to early March. It's an old Christian tradition where you'd eat fatty foods before the "before Easter"-fast and is supposedly a thing in other Christian countries as well. These days, most people celebrate by eating semlor with their family, and most don't fast before Easter.

The semla is a sweet bun with whipped cream and almond paste.

Våffeldagen (Waffle Day, 25th of March): I think this day stems from a Christian tradition, but these days the day is mostly to get together with family and eat waffles.

April

Påsk (Easter): Again, the date varies, but Easter is usually in April. Easter stems from Christianity and is celebrated to remember Jesus' death and resurrection. Easter spans over a week, but I personally only celebrate one of those days.

Påskafton (direct translation: Easter Eve, English translation: Holy Saturday) is the Saturday of the Easter week. In my family, the children get to look for Easter eggs (often filled with candy).

Some children also dress up as Påskkärringar (Easter crones) and I think this tradition has to do with the Witch Trials in Sweden, but I'm not sure. Chances are you won't need to know anything about this for your Young Royal fics, because mostly girls dress up.

Sometimes, we decorate eggs.

Later, we sit down to eat together and spend time with our families. Common things to eat for Easter is potatoes, eggs, herring and meatballs.

Valborgsmässoafton (Walpurgis Night, 30th): We burn a big bonfire in the evening to celebrate that spring is here. I live in a fairly small town, so mostly everyone gathers at one spot and burns the fire together. When the bonfire is burned, most people go home and that's it. It's also seen as a reason to have a party (mostly for teenagers and young adults, I think) and get drunk as fuck.

May/June

Sveriges Nationaldagen (Sweden's National Day, 6th of June): Most people are home from school and work. We hoist the Swedish flag. Idk. However, the Royal Family celebrates by getting dressed up in Swedish costumes. This year, the King held a speech and the family went to Skansen (which is an amusement park/zoo. You can read more about it here). There's music and the military does their weird little thing. You can watch the National Day Celebration on Skansen from 2014 here.

Midsommarafton (Midsummer): date varies, but is celebrated a Friday in late June. I'm sure there's a Christian explanation for this one, but I don't personally know it.

Midsommar (midsummer) means middle of the summer.

Again, this is a day to eat and spend time with your family (or drink, depending on who you are). We eat pretty much the same things for Midsummer as we do for Easter.

For Midsummer we also dance around a Midsommarstång (direct translation: Midsummer Pole, English translation: Maypole) and make flower crowns.

How Midsummer is celebrated depends a lot on your age (most teenagers and young adults again see this as a reason to party), where you're from and a million other things.

My personal favorite Midsummer tradition is probably more common in the country than in the city, for example. You're supposed to pick seven different flowers without saying a word. Then, you sleep with the flowers under your pillow. Supposedly, you'll dream of your future husband (or wife! But I think it's more common that women and girls do this). This tradition also varies. Some people say you need nine flowers and some people say you have to climb over fencing for it to count.

Some teenagers or young adults spend time with their friends to party, instead!

You can watch part of a Midsummer celebration at Skansen here.

The Royal Family usually celebrate Midsummer privately, but I think there's usually new pictures of the entire family around this time.

Day after Midsummer: Collective Pizza Day 2. Everyone either eats takeout or leftovers because no one can be bothered to make anything and like half of the population has the worst hangover they've had since New Year.

Summer Holiday Note: most people in Sweden have four weeks of paid leave each summer.

July/August

Kräftpremiär (Crayfish party) - date varies, normally early August. Basically people get together to eat crayfish and drink. You can usually get paper plates and plastic cups and whatever with ugly crayfish motives (which is fun), but I've never done this.

October

Halloween (30th): Halloween is nowhere near as big in Sweden as it is in the States. We just buy some lösgodis ("loose candy", where you can throw whatever kind of candy you want in a bag. See pictures). Trick or treat is so unusual in the town I grew up I've only ever had one kid ask for candy and when I celebrated Halloween with my grandparents (in a city not far from Stockholm), it was the same. I usually buy some candy and watch a horror movie, but that's about it.

However, Halloween is (again) a reason for teenagers and young adults to drink and party.

November

Alla Helgons Dag (All Saints' Day): Date varies, usually early November. It's a day to remember the dead and we usually light a candle at the grave yard.

December

Första Advent (First Advent): Date varies. Sunday four weeks from Christmas Eve. We mostly just light a candle, honestly. Then, each Sunday for the next four weeks, we light a candle. Here's actually the Crown Princess wishing Happy First Advent with her family! Unfortunately without English subtitles, but here's the translation: "Today is the First Advent. Advent means arrival and hope, something that feels extra important this year. (her husband lights the candle) We want to wish everyone a happy first advent!"

Andra Advent (Second Advent): date varies. We light the second candle.

Tredje Advent (Third Advent): date varies. We light the third candle.

Fjärde Advent (Fourth Advent): date varies. We light the fourth candle. In my family we usually decorate the tree this Sunday.

Julafton (Christmas Eve): Celebrated the 24th. YES, THE 24TH. Christmas Eve obviously varies from family to family, but there's a few things most people have in common. Usually, we get one gift in our sock (which hangs on our bedroom doors in my home, because we don't have a mantle) when we wake up. As kids me and my brother almost always got a movie or something to keep us busy until it was time to leave for our grandparents house.

For lunch we eat the Christmas dinner. It's the same damned food as our other holidays. Herring, meatballs, potatoes, sausages etc, but now, we also have julskinka (Christmas ham). Some people eat ham even for Easter, but we only really eat it for Christmas in my family. Obviously the food varies a little from season to season, but as a picky eater I always just eat potatoes, meatballs and ham.

At 3, Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) is on. Yeah, we watch the same damned stuff every year. It's tradition, alright? Anyway, Donald Duck lasts for an hour or so, and first you get to see Santa work in his workshop, then Disney characters wish you a Merry Christmas with scenes from their movies (original, I know). There's Lady and the Tramp, Donald Duck (obviously) and a million other things. Then there's also one or two trailers for movies Disney will release the coming year. I really couldn't be bothered to find everything on YouTube for you to watch, sorry!

After Donald Duck, we open the Christmas gifts in my family. Normally we just rip out gifts open lmao.

After opening the gifts, we usually eat a second time. This time it's time for porridge. Tomtegröt (Santa porridge) is sweet and often served with cinnamon. Usually, everyone is so stuffed at this point that you only eat because you "have" to eat porridge for Christmas (again, at least in my family).

The last thing we do in my family, is to get a puzzle out. My grandpa almost always gets a new puzzle for Christmas, so we'll put that on the dining table and work on it together until it's getting too late for us to stay.

The Royal Family usually release new pictures of the family for Christmas and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Day after Christmas: Not a collective pizza day! There's usually too much Christmas food left to be able to order pizza. Usually, we have Christmas food to eat for four-ish days after Christmas, and by then you're getting really tired of it.

Sometimes we watch something on television, but for the most part we just sit around and spend time together. I think the Crown Princess read something from the Bible this year? I'm not actually sure if the Royal Family go to the Christmas Service, but I don't think so.

Nyårsafton (New Year's Eve): last day of the year. We shoot fireworks, eat food and dessert and spend time with family. This day we normally eat something "fancy" or something you we don't usually eat.

At twelve, we go out to light some fireworks (or just watch fireworks). When that dies down, it's time for the cheese platter. My dad wants it, no one else ever eats from it, we still do it every single year because "it's not New Year's without it". When we've had the cheese platter, everyone go to sleep and that's that.

People obviously celebrate this differently, as well. It's not uncommon to go see your friends or have guests over, and some people party rather than have fancy dinner with their parents. I personally prefer spending time with my parents, because that's what New Year's is for me.

Some people give resolutions, but I think it's more common in the States.

Christmas Holiday Note: It's common for people to not work between Christmas and New Year's Eve where I'm from.

Some things you might want to know about the Swedish Royal Family and Sweden overall:

The Royal Family in Young Royals is not the real Royal Family (obviously).

The Royal Family usually spends time on Öland during the summers.

Chances are Wilhelm and his family live at Drottningholm Slott (Drottningholm Palace) and not Stockholm Slott (Stockholm Palace). Drottningholm is used as a home for the current King and Queen and is located west of Stockholm. However, the scenes where Wilhelm is home is shot at a palace called Stora Sundby Slott. I doubt Wilhelm and his family would live here if they were the actual Royal Family since it's used as a place for people to gather when they want to hunt for sport. However, if they truly live at Stora Sundby, it takes almost two hours to drive from Stockholm to the castle.

Bjärstad is AT LEAST two hours away from Stockholm.

Bjärstad to Stora Sundby Castle takes approximately an hour and a half by car, and between nine and twelve hours by bus. Which means these two boys can't just take a twenty minute bus to see each other.

Bjärstad to Drottningholm takes a little over two hours by car and four-ish hours by bus.

Bjärstad to Stockholm Slott takes over two hours by car and three and a half hours by bus.

Hillerska is shot at Kaggeholms Slott (Kaggeholm Palace), and is a hotel.

The age of consent in Sweden is 15, HOWEVER it's illegal to have sex with someone four or more years younger than you if you're not both over the age of 18. Let me illustrate: -Person A is 15 and Person B is 15. It's legal because both are 15. -Person A is 15 and Person B is 20. It's illegal, because there's a five year old gap between them. -Person A is 15 and Person B is 18. It's legal (but probably frowned upon), because they're both 15 or older and there's not a four year gap between them. -Person A is 18 and Person B is 30. It's legal, because both are 18 or older. Idk if this makes sense or if this is what it looks like anymore, but this is what it was like when I still went to school. Obviously people aren't going to run around and call you names if you happen to date someone four years younger than you (I know a girl who met a guy when she was 14 and he was over 20), but please, be mindful of this. Our age of consent doesn't give you a right to be weird and nasty to teenagers (yes, I'm talking about Edvin).

Also, the Royal Family have their own website, which you can find here. As far as I can see, there's more information on the Swedish page, but there's plenty translated to English. You can also read of the Swedish Royal Family and its history on the palaces's website, here.

All pictures have been taken straight from Google. I haven't used any sources, because this is shit I do every single year with my family. Feel free to correct me or add things you do, but keep it respectful, please!

Friendly reminder that I've simplified some parts of this to make sense, specifically the dates of the Advent celebrations.

If there's anything you don't understand or want more information on, you're welcome to contact me! I take pretty long to reply, but I'll definitely try to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!

[offorestsongs]

hi hi!! i’d love to know more about blueglass for the ask game!! pre relationship 4 and general 3 specifically 🥺 💖

hiii hello <33 thank you so much for asking about my stupid messy awful idiots (lmao) <33

4. Who felt romantic feelings first?

poor Floyd </3 what can he say, he likes his partners strong-willed and ready to fight him 💀 Kalle is complicated and unpredictable and smart and while at first Floyd was spending time with Kalle just because he thought it's funny to annoy them (Kalle always acts so stoic and calm, Floyd thinks it's incredibly funny when they drop the act and show all the emotions they usually hide), the more they actually were around eachother, the more Floyd started to like them. i like to think that he had his big OH moment when they were both doing some bussines for Azul and he saw Kalle at their most unhinged hfhhf meanwhile Kalle is very closed-off and does everything to distance themselves from people and not let anyone close, but the moment they allowed themselves to feel any fondness for Floyd, they were GONE. literally the "fell first/fell harder trope"

3. What was their first kiss like?

so you know the "you want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid?"/"you should be addicted to shutting the fuck up" meme? it was very. well. that. they've been dancing around their feelings for a hot second now but never really, you know, did anything about it, Floyd was being at his peak annoying, maybe doing some joke-flirting, Kalle was getting heated up until they finally pull Floyd by his tie to kiss him so he will finally shut up dfjjj Floyd's brain stops for a second. and then they're fully making out this is why Azul doesn't let them work shifts together anymore /j

[starsfic]

Random idea, but secret relationship Spicynoodles, except nobody's figured it out by the time S3 rolls around. So Red joins the crew somehow and he and MK have much more time together... except there's a ton more people around so they can't be too romantic otherwise questions will start coming.

A/N: I think @its-kall-the-clown got a similar prompt...

-_-

Footsteps were his only warning before a hand slammed into the wall next to his head. He couldn't help but yelp in surprise, dropping his book to flatten himself against the wall. "Nowhere to run, Noodle Boy."

Xiaotian looked up at the words, a fond smile tugging at his lips. "Why would I want to run away?"

Neither of them did. After all, this had been the most privacy they had gotten together, all alone in the small hallway. Red smiled back before moving forward to seal their lips together. Xiaotian let out a small sigh, leaning into the kiss.

Things had started small. Red Son had dropped by after DBK had been freed, just to make clear that the family owned the Monkie Kid a favor for his help. A week later, the two had bumped into each other at the hardware store- Xiaotian getting a gift for Xiaojiao, Red trying to replace a tool he had broken. Soon enough, the two had found themselves bumping into each other again and again.

Eventually, numbers had been exchanged. And then things had exploded, leading to them making out in the Inferno Truck. After that, their relationship had taken a turn.

And then everything with Lady Bone Demon had happened-

That doesn't matter right now.

The point was, Xiaotian was very happy to spend more time with Red. He just wished that it was in less crowded areas.

Like now, with footsteps just around the corner. Xiaotian pushed Red away, his little inner voice protesting that they'd only kissed for a few seconds. Tang walked past, not even looking up from his book. When he was out of sight, he let out a sigh-

"That's it!"

"What?"

But Red didn't answer him. His hair sparking, his boyfriend turned and marched down the hallway, soon disappearing around the corner. Xiaotian gaped at where he'd last seen his partner, worry and concern mixing together. The loud slam of a door didn't help.

He picked up his book and followed Tang.

Whatever Red was doing, he wasn't getting involved.

An hour later, Xiaotian had returned to his book. His lovestruck haze had died down and, for right now, he was at peace. Next to him, Tang was still reading. Xiaojiao leaned against the side tapping on her phone, a small tune audible from her headphones. It was quiet.

Peaceful.

And broken with an explosion.

Several yelps and screams rolled through the ship. His mind awashed with panic and he scrambled to his feet. Were they being attacked? Was the ship falling apart?

"It sounded like it came from downstairs!" Tang called, throwing his book aside. With that, the trio scrambled downstairs. Xiaotian pulled out the baton Pigsy had given him as they ran, prepared for a fight. They all turned a corner and came to a stop.

Pigsy and Red both wielded fire extinguishers and were currently batting back a fire in the latter's room. Xiaotian put away the baton to cross his arms instead, watching as the duo put out the flames.

Finally, whatever fire had been created had been put out. Pigsy took a look inside, hissed, and shut the door. "Whatever you were working on completely destroyed the room," he reported. "Sorry Sandy."

"It's alright!" the water demon said, patting the fire demon on the shoulder. "These things happen and I'm just glad everyone's okay. The only issue is that I don't have any spare cabins..." Unnoticed by anyone else, Red winked at Xiaotian.

Oh. Oh!

"He can stay with me!" Xiaotian held up his hand, waving it a bit to emphasize his volunteering. "I have plenty of room! It wouldn't be an issue."

Sandy gave a bright grin, clapping a hand on Red's shoulder again. Except, this time, it was apparently hard enough to make the demon wince. "Great! Glad that's all settled! You two can see what you can salvage from Red's room once it's cooled down in there."

With the excitement gone, everyone walked away, leaving the new roommates alone. Xiaotian sighed the moment he was sure everyone was gone. He turned to his boyfriend, raising a brow.

"Really?"

"I'll pay for the damages," Red said, slinging an arm around Xiaotian's shoulders to start leading him down the hall. "But, for now, I think we should go to our room. See what needs rearranging so I can fit."

A small smile tugging at his lips, Xiaotian couldn't help but nod in agreement.

[emberoops]

every 0dd number up 70 fif7y

1. how are you feeling right now?

eh. cycling. up and down. a bit nervous, a bit agitated, but very excited. i think im gonna [redacted] for the wedding. kris said it would be cute and not tacky, so.

3. are you impulsive?

uh. depends on if im manic or not, i think. when im manic, yes, but my anxiety usually stops me from being too impulsive the rest of the time.

5. are you self confident?

answered!

7. whats something you love about yourself?

i uh. i dont know. there isnt much i love about myself. but....i like that i give so freely to people. i like my generosity and how freely love comes to me. i dont quite love it.

9. do you have any pets?

yes! i have a spider named chelia, a duck familiar named gerald, and a ball python named snickers! i also have a mechanical nightingale from kall who is as-yet unnamed.

11. do you have any siblings?

not anymore.

13. what color is your water bottle?

i dont have a water bottle!

15. do you have any piercings/would you want to?

yes! my ears, right eyebrow, and septum are pierced. today im wearing gold. im considering more but i dont know what i would want next - but im thinking i might let my moirail, fex, pierce my tongue.

17. do you believe in ghosts?

yes, ive met them. i can open the door between life and death enough to let spirits visit.

19. do you believe in astrology?

i dont but i do notice the trends sometimes. my grandpa and i love the water, we're both pisces. but i dont think thats why, i just think its a neat coincidence.

21. what is/was your favorite subject in school?

answered!

23. how long have you known your longest friend for?

since i was 11. so....12 years?

25. what do you do under stress?

i either break shit, fight people, or cry.

27. spicy, sweet, or savory?

spicy and savory together ties with sweet, but i do have quite a sweet tooth.

29. what's your favorite cuisine?

answered

31 what are you wearing right now?

my suit. the maroon one, not my wedding suit, which is mulberry and gold. it just feels like an important enough day to stay in a suit, but i dont wanna stain the wedding 'fit.

33. who do you trust the most?

skulduggery pleasant. followed very, very closely by kallipides and artiifex.

35. would you ever want to get married?

i should hope this question isnt required, but YES.

37. do you have any allergies?

i have an autoimmune disease, so i could be glib and say im allergic to myself, but no. i do not.

39 whats your favorite color and why?

i have found i am recently falling in love with gold as a color. i dont pick favorites, but it does make me smile, and my association with two gold-themed lovers is likely linked.

41. what is your middle name?

answered

43. do you miss anyone right now?

yes.

45. do you believe in the death penalty?

as a legal institution? no, i think putting that on the books is a dangerous step towards authoritarianism, and i wouldnt trust any government with the power to make things illegal to kill people. because thats what that does. but i have killed people for their wrongs, and i do not regret it, so i cannot say i have no believe that death is a penalty which is sometimes fitting.

....still, i think many of the people i have killed could have, with time and effort, been reformed. i acknowledge that with their deaths, those opportunities were lost, and thats a shame.

47. growing up, what did you want to do in life?

so many things! doctor, astronaut, librarian, chemist, anthropologist, forensics, teacher, fireman, an unfortunate stint where i wanted to do policework before i learned more than copaganda, and, naturally, theoretical astrophysics. science, mostly, or helping people.

49. whats something youre grateful for?

this is something, not someone, so i think this beautiful home my soon to be husband built for us to live in together.

[imnotwolverine]

The marriage pact - Maple syrup dreams

Henry Cavill x OC Alice - multi-chapter

< Part 21 | Part 22 Maple syrup dreams | Part 23 >

Disclaimer: Just fluff

Author’s note: Do you know what I just can’t get enough of? Whenever I’m writing my fanfics I keep Tumblr open in the background and there’s nothing more fun than seeing you, the reader, pop up in my notifications every few minutes or so, liking yet another chapter of a long fic. At some point I even know when you’re having a tea break, or taking a moment to make yourself some food. It makes me, as a writer, feel all gooey with happiness (and I quietly enjoy the fun along with you whenever you’re reading my works, my mind bringing me back to when I was writing that particular chapter you just liked). Ugh! I’m such a sap today! I love you darling readers! ❤️

Word count: 2.042

(Link to my Masterlist)

Dear readers,

I am writing this blog from a far, far away place. My fingers a bit numb from the everlasting cold, the taste on my tongue remembering I had far too much Maple Syrup Taffy and my everyday schedule suddenly consisting off shoving snow and rubbing down snowy dog paws.

Me and chocolate cake are in Canada, where we’ll be for the next 2 months as he’s working on a movie here. A movie? Chocolate cake? Hold on, you may think. Tell me more about this mysterious chocolate cake that you seem to be getting serious with! Well dear readers, though many of you know by now whom my lovely chocolate cake is, I’d still like to keep our privacy a little while longer. So let us just say; talk, dark, handsome and a very practical human heater when sleeping together. Especially when you are staying in this freakishly cold country and the actual heater is broken.

Today I’ll be visiting the movie set for the first time, and thereby a part of a new life starts that may have seemed totally ridiculous had you told me I’d be here a few months ago. But alas(ka), here we go!

Ali

‘Morning love.’ Henry chuckled, watching me shuffle through the tiny hallway of the trailer, my body clad in probably every sweater and wool sock I could find. ‘Hmmpff..’ I grumbled, plopping down beside him on the small bench in the kitchen nook.

It felt a bit like my student days. Living on each others lip, this shared living space no bigger than some 24m2, the heating unit broken and the food..well..not great.

‘Need me to warm you up?’ He smiled, gesturing me to scoot over to his lap. Silently nodding I moved up to him, feeling his arms snake around me and pull me snug against his broad and warm chest. ‘Ungh..how can you only wear one sweater and not be cold?’

Henry laughed. ‘It’s called 4000 kcal a day intake and lots of exercising.’ He kissed my cold cheek, his slight stubble scratching my skin. I sniffled and shook my head. ‘Does not sound like my cup of tea.’ - ‘Doesn’t have to be. I’ll keep you warm.’ He hummed, pushing a warm hand beneath my layers of sweaters. ‘Besides, the maintenance team is going to check on that heater this afternoon, so with a little luck we get home tonight to a nice and warm trailer.’ - ‘Goooood.’ I hummed, then squealed, feeling him tickle my skin ever so slightly. ‘Very good.’ He smiled, sniffing my hair before placing a kiss atop my head.

‘Hmm..In case I haven’t mentioned it, I’m so glad to have you here.’ He whispered, nuzzling my hair some more. I chuckled. ‘Oh you only mentioned it about a hundred times or so.’ I leaned back a little so I could turn my face towards his, our noses touching.

He was SO warm.

‘I wouldn’t miss this for the world.’ I murmured, laying a pillowy kiss on his lips. ‘Besides I got some small tasks to help the team out with today, so I don’t have to wait for you to come home like the good housewife I am.’ I winked, making him snicker. ‘Very good wifey.’ - ‘I mean, I’m no wife..but..you know..housegirlfriend sounds weird.’ I shrugged, turning to steal a sip of coffee from his large mug and thereby missing the loving glint in his eyes.

He watched me for a few more long moments, enjoying his coffee and staring into the abyss of 6 AM nothingness, Kal still snoring quietly on his dog bed. He didn’t want to ruin the moment as it was, but there sure was a whole lot going on in his head.

I was his first girlfriend to join him for such a long movie shoot. And for the first time in a long time he didn’t feel so very alone. Didn’t feel like it was just another fleeting moment of a good life. This was going to last. He would make sure it would.

‘Oh are you going to finish that.’ I pointed at a leftover bite of his breakfast toast. He laughed aloud. ‘Go ahead. And, I’ll make myself a mental note to make double the amount of breakfast tomorrow.’

I blushed slightly as I felt his gaze on me, chewing that bit of toast. ‘Sowwyy.’ I gulped, quickly swallowing the toast. ‘You really don’t have to..-‘ - ‘No please Ali. You travelled half the world just to be here with me. The least I can do is make you breakfast while you wrap yourself in not one, not two..but THREE of my sweaters.’

My blush became even more fierce when I felt his chest rumble with mirth.

‘Mwu..they’re just really nice sweaters.’ I mumbled, pouting at him. ‘Hahah. Oh Ali-bear. I have missed you so.’

Ali-bear? I raised an eyebrow at him as my blush slowly faded. ‘Ali-bear?’ I asked with mild confusion. ‘Yes, since you call me Henry-bear and you ARE part of the bear pack now.’ He winked, nodding at Kal who was blinking open his eyes, the large Akita stretching out his paws with mild exaggeration. We both laughed. ‘A-ha..so I’m a bear now, too?’ I looked at him and he shrugged innocently, making me laugh even harder. ‘Oh Henry..you are un-BEAR-able.’  

—

The days on set were crazy long, crazy cold, but also crazy fun. After a week or so I got into a routine of helping for a few hours on set - moving and cleaning props, cooking meals with the cook, walking Kal -, followed by a few hours of working on my upcoming book and help out the Jersey Gazette with editing articles.

My life in Jersey felt like lightyears away, but I didn’t miss it as much as I had anticipated. All I really needed was Henry, silly as it seemed. Be it because we were crazy in love, or because we really had found great soulmates in one another. Even on 14 hour workdays we’d find the time to be there for each other, making life in general really rather pleasant.

Did I have a good idea for one of my stories? I’d pitch it to Henry. Henry needed to practise some new lines? I’d play his villanous counterpart. Did either one of us feel a little on edge? We’d have a quickie in the trailer.

Yes, life was good.

—

‘Hi mom..hello?..Mom? Can you hear me?’ The line crackled and my mom’s voice distorted in a wild flurry of screeches and blurred speech. ‘Let’s try again.’ I ended the call and waited for her to call me in turn, this time the line thankfully much more stable.

‘Oh! There we go!’ Mom exclaimed, hearing me giggle. ‘Hello Ali dear. Oh baby we miss you soooo!’

‘Hi mom. Miss you too! How’s everything at home?’

‘Quite exciting times over here..we finally adopted a dog! A four year old poodle mix, named Cookie. And she’s a lovely gal. Chewing on some shoelaces as we speak hahaha.’ - ‘Quite lovely indeed haha. So you truly miss me THAT much, hmm? Empty nest?’ - ‘Terribly. So how’s everything over there? Are you okay? Eating enough vegetables?’

Moms will be moms.

‘Yes mom haha. Plenty of vegetables. And I exercise everyday because it is crazy cold and there’s practically no other way to get warm..-‘ - ‘The things you do for love, hmm? I remember you experiencing your first snow. How you immediately ran back inside, not liking it one bit. And now you are living in meters of snow!’

‘Yes. The things we do for love.’ I heard the trailer door open behind me and looked over my shoulder, seeing two snowy bears enter, bringing with them a gust of icy cold air.

‘Close it..close IT!’ I exclaimed, waving at the door when Henry let it open, his arm filled with a number of plastic bags. Smiling, his nose also slightly red with cold, he bumped the door closed with his buttocks, Kal taking the moment to shake off the remains of snow in his fur and launching it at the both of us.

‘KALL!!’ I warned, the akita panting at me happily, acting as if he didn’t do anything wrong.

‘Shall I call back later dear? Sounds like you have some men to take care of.’ My mom’s voice sounded in my ear and I slowly nodded, my eyes tracking to Henry as he zipped out of his jacket and started rubbing Kal down with a towel, the dog continuing to circle away from him, thinking it was playtime.

‘Yea..call you back mom. Looks like Henry could use some help haha. Have fun with Cookie and send pictures!! Love you. Give dad a hug from me.’ - ‘I shall my dear. Kisses back!’ And that was the end of the call.

I quickly stood up and helped Henry dry off Kal, our smiles growing as the dog started to bounce up, licking our faces. ‘Who’s a good boy?!’ I cooed, rubbing him behind the ears, squatting down and allowing the dog to lean into me, going in for a big bear hug. The dog was more than glad to get all this attention, his head ducking down and pressing into my chest, eager to get even more pets. I laughed and looked up at Henry, seeing him get up and moving back to the bags that were now on the small kitchen counter, his hands digging through the contents

‘Whatcha got..-?’ - ‘Close your eyes!’ He stopped me mid sentence, looking over his shoulder with a mischievous glint in his ocean blues. ‘Ohhhkay..’ I said, slightly unsure, settling down so Kal couldn’t topple me over, the large Akita folding his large paws over my lap and also looking at Henry.

What was he up to? With a slow breath I closed my eyes, my hand continuing to trace languid circles through his fur. And then I felt something being pushed down on my head. Warm, soft. REALLY soft. A..hat? I wished to open my eyes but Henry clicked his tongue in warning, now picking up my hands and slipping them carefully in what probably were two mittens. My lips curled up in a smile, and I turned my head up expectantly.

‘Can I look now..?’ I asked quietly. Henry chuckled. ‘Almost.’

Then I felt something shift beneath my hands, Kal sitting up slightly.

‘Okay, now you can look.’

I opened my eyes and first saw Kal, wearing the cutest purplish blue knit scarf, and then the mittens on my hands. Also knit, but with a teddy-like material inside to keep my fingers nice and toasty. Reaching for my head I could feel a hat there. ‘With bear ears.’ Henry sniffled, nodding. ‘I know you don’t want me to get you presents. But it’s a bit of a special day.’

‘Special..day..?’ I quirked up an eyebrow, then smiled feeling the two small bear ears on my head. Slowly I lowered my hands again and gave Henry a studious look. ‘Special day.’ Henry smiled, sitting down beside me and Kal, his eyes glittering.

‘Did I ..miss..something?’ I gave him a suspicious look.

Henry chuckled. ‘Perhaps a calendar.’ He reached for my mittens and pulled me to his chest, noses nearly touching. ‘Happy half year anniversary sweet little icicle of mine.’ He said with a smile in his voice, his lips trying to brush against mine, but failing as I gasped in horror. ‘OOOH…I FORGOT.’

Henry laughed all the harder, shoulders shaking and Kal shifting so he could lean into the both us, head squeezed in between our chests. ‘That’s quite alright. Now c’mhere.’ He snickered, pulling my embarrassed face to his, our lips finally melting together.

And how hot and cozy that moment was.

Nothing big and outrageous. No hours of driving just to get to some half decent restaurant. It was just Henry, me and Kal. The three of us enjoying a first home cooked dinner in weeks whilst laughing at the extra warm clothes Henry had gotten me - he could not stand it seeing his girl be cold, and though he loved sharing his sweaters..he did need some of them for his own use too, especially when we went out for our morning runs.

It was sweet, thoughtful, simple and much of what I expected of true love. A maintenance kind of love.

And from here on any next steps in our relationship didn’t seem so scary. I had not even given the whole donorship thing a second glance since we had arrived in Canada. This? This might very well be it, you know? 

--

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[your-shield-of-love]

The disbanded Inquisition members looked out from the balcony, the last Inquisitor looking to the future and their family taking in the view.

"Leliana." A small voice called out to her, all the members recognised the voice but Leliana was the first to look at her. Kalle Sabrae, Hero of Fereldan, Warden Commander of Fereldan and the Warden who fixed the Wardens, stood in the middle of the doorway.

Her eyes warm and teary, only looking at her love. Before Kalle could open her mouth to say something, Leliana dashed to her, the Divine hat falling off, which Cole quickly caught. The couple embraced, Kalle lifting Leliana off the ground to spin her for a few moments. They kiss, having missed eachother since Kalle had visited Skyhold last - a year ago. "I missed you." Kalle breathed, smirking nervously, "Sorry I couldn't see you sooner."

Leliana has her arms wrapped around Kalle's neck, slowly loosening the grip and smiling, "I thought you would have at least written. Or I would have received reports on where you were."

Kalle laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck, "Well, your people wouldn't have been looking for a plain raven that wasn't theirs." She looked away from Leliana, smiling to the group and her eyes landing on Varric before she pulled Leliana back to them. "I would have wrote but you know me, always planning secret missions and going through with them with no warning." The couple stops at the centre of them, beside the Inquisitor.

Leliana laughs, shaking her head at Kalle, realising her hat appeared on her head without realising. "Thank you, Cole." Leliana smiles, Cole nodding to her.

"You're welcome. Would you like my hat?" Cole offers to Kalle who smiles, but shakes her head.

"No spoilers, but advise would be good?" She tilts her head to Cole, who she wrote to when she also wrote to Leliana, and was friends with him.

"The news they need to hear first, they can hear your happiness afterwards. It would hurt a bit if it was the other way around." Cole spoke to her, Kalle smiled at the advice and looked to the group. "I have someone I need you all to come see." Kalle let's go of Leliana's hands and guides the groups to the infirmary, the staff parting to let the group through and before the staff opens the doors, Kalle holds her hands up.

"Wait a moment, please." She turned to the companions, arms placed behind her back and they knew she meant business. "There are a few things you need to know."

Leliana tells the staff within the room to leave, when they do, she nods to Kalle.

"After defeating the blight, things that were like the rifts appeared." Kalle began,

"I'm sure we've had this conversation before." The Inquisitor teased.

Sera jumped in, "Aye we have, so just tell us quickly, no background stuff!"

Varric laughed, "Buttercup, a good story needs details. Continue." He waves his arms to Kalle, who smiles relaxed in return as thanks, which he hummed at. He also stepped forward to her, the two had gotten to know eachother pretty well since Kalle appeared in Kirkwall all those years ago and he knew she preferred friends close when nervous, Varric wondered if she'd consider coming to Kirkwall for a holiday? He had yet to show off how Kirkwall changed and he could imagine Kalle would be thrilled with how it was developing. She could maybe give pointers too, since she helped Fereldan rebuild. Though Hawke would have been more excited about how Kirkwall had improved, though they would have complained that there wasn't enough danger anymore or maybe they wouldn't?

Kalle continued, "Well, I'll make this short. I could close rifts and such back then but um, what I didn't tell you... Was that when I was on the way to Skyhold, I closed a rift..." she looked guilty, "I'm sorry I didn't say but, I had my duty to the Wardens." She bowed her head slightly and before she or anyone could say anything,

"Rain pouring, 'no one around to see or be be hurt if it goes wrong'. Foot raised like before, the kick that closes the rift. Fear, worry, happiness, responsibility but you already had those. It's okay you didn't say, the Inquisitor had already planned to close it. It's good that you don't have more weight." Cole spoke, standing beside Kalle and patting her shoulder, "Doubt, sadness, guilt. You could have done more but it would have been wrong. You would have become broken and you needed to keep together. You did good." Kalle smiles sadly but relieved at him, pulling him into a hug.

"Thank you." Kalle and Cole spoke, making her laugh. They pulled apart and she looked across the group to see if anyone else had anything to say.

"It's alright, continue." Inquisitor smiled, wondering where this was going.

"So um... After Hawke," she paused, "I wondered if I could," The air became tense, "Open a rift." Varric watched her, pain and hope sparking within him, "It didn't work." Her eyes dropped to the floor, "I was... really fucking upset and pissed. I thought about asking you," she looked to the Inquisitor before raising her head again, "But I knew if you could ... then you would have." Kalle sighs, "But my stubborn ass wanted to make sure. To check. But I had to return to my crew, they needed my information and thoughts. I also had to prepare for them to kick Warden ass when we got back. So I left, did all that but... 8 months ago I returned to Fereldan."

Leliana interrupted, "And you didn't say anything?"

A frown started on Kalle's face, "No, I was going to but... I knew if I did, you would stop me." Her face grew serious, determination blazing in her eyes. "I couldn't let you or anyone stop me, so... I went to Adamant." Varric had her full attention, he didn't want hope or bad news or... but what if Hawke was rescued? Recovering in the infirmary behind Kalle? He held himself back. He was afraid to hope, 'and kid, don't say anything'. Cole fingered at that. "I waited till it was early morning, just before the morning watch would have started and... turned back into myself. I stood where the rift was before. I thought of Hawke and..." she swallowed, "I opened a rift. For the first time." Her hands fidgeted, "I closed it behind me, don't worry."

Varric stood wide eyed at her, she turned to him.

"I spent, 7 and a half months looking." She looked grim at first, flinching at whatever she had went through, Leliana reaching out and was about to give her trouble when she laughs slightly. "The big demon you mentioned? Destroyed. No demon in sight for most of my time there... I started to realise as I went along, that there were markers, placeholder on areas. Bodies of demons and such, laying in a particular way. The fear demon was the centre point. So I followed along the signs, there were long paths and I could tell why the length of my hair that it had been 6 months by the time I reached the last path..." Kalle smiles warmly at Varric, another tear in her eyes.

"You found her." Varric hoped, Kalle nodded. Kalle had at least found Marian's body. And at best... He stared at the doors behind her. There was a reason she didn't just open the doors to them.

"Found her, sitting and speaking to Spirits. Definitely not demons, spirits who were to weak to possess her mind but helped her stay sane. When she saw me, she thought I was a demon, she almost beat the shit out of me." Kalle grinned, "The spirits intervened, saying I was real, in the fade with her. A took her about two weeks to be convinced and only believed me when I told her to kill me if she thought I was a demon. Time is different there, your body doesn't need sleep as much and well, as a mage I never ran out of energy... it was disorienting." She shook her head, a sign she thought she was rambling.

"You mean Red was ... fucking shit fuck!" Sera shouted, looking both angry and guilty. Her and a lot if the patrons that were at the tavern grew close to Hawke. Iron Bull grumbled about the fade shit and how he hoped she was alright.

"Well... We got out, about a month and half ago. We ended up a few miles from my safe house." She itched the back of her head, "Which was good because it meant Hawke and myself could recover there for a bit. Or that was the plan. Instead we stayed for a month, then travelled here. Hawke is... they sometimes just space out, break things or have a full breakdown when they feel they're still in the fade. She will struggle with this for a time, so... I think it's best if you want to see her, to do so in small groups. Not alone and not too many." Kalle pats Varrics shoulder. His brain couldn't catch up with his mouth, so much to say and shit... He wanted to see Marian.

"Kid," Varric spoke, "You're with me." Cole nods.

"I'm coming with!" Sera stepped forward, she turns to Iron Bull-

"The Iron Bull?" He looks to Cole, "They are.. the arishok has hurt them in the fade, more than enough times. You should be yourself, not careful or quiet." Iron Bull winked in surprise, before smirking.

Cassandra steps forward, "May I?" She asks Varric, he nods.

"Thanks, Cassandra." He says, making her smile and nod. The four opened the door together and Varric stepped in first.

Hawke always went with they and them pronouns. At first he and him, so that growing up without Malcolm, she could get more jobs but it didn't feel right. Eventually they became happy with being they rather than he or she, though if someone called her she it didn't bother her. Just didn't feel right. Like how you find a dress and realise, 'fuck it, waistcoats for life'. They stood at the window doors, looking at the view and wished they could go fo the balcony. But the staff, and herself worried she'd jump or... the doors opened behind her. Kalle told them she'd get their friends to come visit. They fidgeted with their long hair, they knew they had been in the fade for just over 3 years. Kalle didn't hesitate to tell her, Kalle never lied to anymore unless it was necessary, and even then Kalle didn't like to lie for too long. After defeating the fear demon, Hawke chopped their hair to be short. As they did everytime she felt lost, lost someone or something - like Kirkwall, or on the rare occasion, when she started her life anew. Like after a year of being in servitude, she cut her hair. Now it was long, pulled into a thick ponytail, Kalle had used her mana to make sure no bobble would snap.

They turned and saw, a wheeling Varric. Their gut told then it wasn't him. That this Varric would either be a desire demon again (after like the millionth fucking time), or a despair demon, taunting and using his face to try get them to hate the person they loved most. No despair demon dared after the mess and warning she left. They had to kill fake Varric's more than once and often times had other Varric's shoot at them. Though it wasn't the first time, the first time the actual Varric shot at them. Though he was under the influence.

"Sat by the fire, papers in one hand, quill in the other. Spectacles on and he smiles. Too warm, too hot. 'I'll burn. Is this it? Is this what Papa Dragon told me? When I think of him and think 'this is it?'." Cole spoke, appearing in the room, Hawke smiled subtly at the memory. A memory they forgot because they got scared. It was before the expedition, they had pushed the thoughts and feelings away because they didn't want to get hurt.

Hawke sighs, "You owe me 10 sovereigns." They held their hand out to the Iron Bull, a grin growing on their face. He let out a hearty laugh but Varric held the hand they held out. He stared into their eyes, Hawke looked to him. "I love you. I'm sorry I didn't say before. Not really, anyway." They pulled the dwarf into a hug, Varric pulled his head out from their chest to look up, he was shocked but he cried. Hawke rubbed at his cheeks, he let out a whimper, gripping onto her.

"I... You come back, I plan on giving you a lesson and you just say I love you?" They panic, hoping they didn't fuck something up again, they let out a shaky breath but before they can question anything. "Of course you would." Varric grins brightly, eyes open and tears falling. "I love you, Marian." The two hold eachother.

Iron Bull, after a few moments taps Marian's shoulder. They and Varric look up, he's holding out a coin purse. "Ten sovereigns for bravest way to go. Fucking demons." Hawke grins, swiping the purse.

"Told you, I beat Qunari everytime." They smirk.

"Tal-Vashoth." (Sp? I forget how to spell it sorry) The Iron Bull corrected, he said it the same way Varric spoke about being a dwarf, with not as must distain. There was a story there, one they couldn't wait to Varric to tell. They smiled down to Varric, pulling his teary face into a soft kiss.

~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed ;;

[islands-of-gay-deactivated]

It’s A Start

In this plot, Brooke starts talking to her father again and they make up or something like that. This story will also tap into another head canon I have for Brooke that has not been talked about, so that will be explained later, most likely in a separate post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She stared blankly at the piece of mail in her hands. She had no idea what the contents were, nor what was inscribed on the front. All she knew was that the letter was from her father. The man she had, up until recently, not spoken to for 48 years. She sighed and sliced it open, grabbing what appeared to be a letter from within the envelope. Written on the piece of paper was one sentence, which read ‘Meet me at the docks, 17:00, Nov. 14th’. One simple sentence that could change the last 48 years, for better or for worse. She raised an eyebrow at the message, unsure as to what he could possibly want. Most times when he needed something, he would go through one of her coworkers or siblings to get the info across. So for him to up and have a letter delivered to her house, which he did not have the address to, was rather suspicious. She looked at the time, ‘16:10’. She groaned at the sight of the clock. If she wanted to get there on time, she would have to leave at that moment, so that’s what she did. She threw on her coat and set off to meet her father at the docks, a place the two of them hadn’t been together in years.

Once arriving at the docks, she started to look around for her sperm donor, as she had been calling him around her sister. Brooke had no idea where she would find the man, but as she was looking around, she smacked into someone who was walking. She stumbled backwards, apologizing, not really looking up until a familiar voice spoke up.

“Long time no see, Brooklyn.” Her father said, voice mostly void of emotion. She frowned and stepped backwards.

“Likewise.” She said shortly. She was not looking forward to any conversation she would have with him. Mainly because the last time they actually spoke face to face, they had a blow up argument. They stood there in awkward silence before her father cleared his throat.

“Shall we walk?” He asked, sounding almost hopeful. All she did was nod as the two started walking. 

They walked along the docks, past the cargo ships and farther into the archipelago, leaving Beckholmen and wandering into a park on Djurgården. It was a rather serene location, as the birds were chirping, the wind was blowing softly through the trees and the water birds were resting on a nearby pond. They stopped at the first bench that overlooked the pond, sitting down...on opposite sides of the bench. They sat in silence watching the world go by before her father spoke up once more.

“I’m sorry.”

Brooke stared blankly at her father, as she couldn’t believe what she just heard. 

“What?” She asked, wanting clarification on what he said. He sighed and looked over at her.

“I said, I am sorry.” He reiterated. It looked like he was about to say more, but he held off as some joggers ran by. Brooke took the moment to speak instead.

“So, you are apologizing for what? Being an absent father? Leaving me alone with a psychopath? Choosing your boyfriend's affair baby over your actual blood? Allowing Elain to make me a weapon of war against my will?” She stated, scoffing.

“Brooklyn, I-”

“Nej, I am not done yet. To be honest, I am not sure why you are even bothering to apologize. It’s been 48 years. You chose your side by ignoring everything that Aaron had done to me. You chose your side long ago, when you would leave me with Lukas for long periods of time, or when you would let that devil woman whip Kalle and I for ‘not being good enough’, or my personal favorite, when you vanished for a year after the bloodbath. You left me all alone when I needed you most. You left me to Kalmar’s torture and went god knows where with Tino. Only damn issue is you forgot your children, ya know, the small humans you decided to raise? Although you didn’t raise us much. You left most of that to Lukas, who for as long as I’ve been around you all, has been more of a father then you have. He was there after the bloodbath to make sure I didn’t die after what Kalmar did to me. He was there when I would get hurt, or when I would need help. But where were you? No one knew. Not even Tino knew where you would run off to.”

“Fuck, you weren’t even around after we left the union. I would probably be more understanding if you even tried to make an effort after we left, but nope! You just pawned us off onto Elain who was almost as unavailable as you were.” She spat, trying her damned hardest to keep her composure, although it probably wouldn’t last much longer. “I tried...so hard, to get your approval, when it didn’t even matter. Why would it matter if you were never around? You weren’t around then, so why would you be around even if I was the perfect daughter. You never showed up to meetings, I had to jump through hoops just to get information from you and to make things worse, you married me off to the first man who showed any interest in me! It’s almost like you have purposefully avoided me since I was born.” She sighed. “So why, why now, almost 50 years later, have you decided to make up?”

“Because I regret the choice that I made. I realize that this most likely will not change anything, but I thought you should know. I regret choosing Aaron over you. I regret not listening to you when you tried to tell me about what he did. I should have listened, but I chose to ignore it for my own selfish wants. I regret not being around when you were growing up. It wasn’t right of me to force you onto Lukas nor was it right for me to just vanish like I had been doing. I will admit, I struggled after you were born. I was left alone with you after your mother ran off, with no support system as my family was back west and a job to try and keep up. Then there was the instance when I almost lost you, and I just couldn’t look at you after that. Every time I tried, I only saw your pale, cold face. It was traumatic to say the least, because at that time I had no idea if you were immortal or not. I know it’s not an excuse as to why I wasn’t around, but it played a part in it. I suppose I distanced myself from you in a subconscious attempt from getting close to you, for fear of losing you. I thought if I wasn’t around enough, and you did turn out to be more human, that I wouldn’t be as distraught if something happened. Unfortunately, that backfired on my part as my lack of being around seemed to push you into the danger I was trying to protect you from. I regret ever leaving you alone with Elain. I should have seen it early on that she saw you two as nothing more than tools for her conquests, but I was blind with power. I didn’t see what she was doing to you, the hurt she was causing and the harmful mentality she was instilling. I let Versailles marry you because I thought he could give you a better life. One better than what you would be able to achieve in our region. He promised me that you would be taken care of, and that no harm would come to you. However, knowing you, my hopes on that matter were not too high.”

“My deepest regret though, was leaving you with Kalmar. You’re right, I should have taken you and Kalle when I left, but you were in no traveling shape and Kalle wouldn’t leave your side. I was faced with a difficult decision, leave you and Kalle behind and go back to organize the revolution, or stay back and endure more years of suffering. I would have taken you, I truly would have, but after the bloodbath, you were in no shape to ride horseback for god knows how long. Your wounds were too deep and the motion of the horse would have caused the stitches to open up. That wasn’t something I was going to risk. And while it wasn’t the best choice in the long run, it was the best choice at the moment, as it let you heal up.” He said, sighing. “I never should have left you alone. Not with Lukas, not with Elain, most definitely not with Kalmar. I don’t expect this to fix our relationship, I don’t even expect you to accept it, but I would rather try late than never,”

Brooke shook her head and leaned back against the bench, looking up so he wouldn’t be able to see her cry.

“Well, you’re damn right about it not automatically fixing something, but I know it takes a lot for a man as prideful as you to admit when you’re wrong. You’ve got a long way to go in making it up to me, but….it’s a start.”

[calisotadreamin]

Chronicles of the Evronian war: introduction.

As a child, I loved Donald Duck. Instead of an allowance, my parents had bought me a subscription of the weekly comic book and the monthly pocket book. And perhaps coolest of all were the stories of the Duck Avenger, or Stål-Kalle. The very idea of Donald Duck as a superhero might be laughable to some who only know him from the cartoons, but it worked. The Duck Avenger fighting crime and bad guys in the modern comics were cool and his earliest adventures were even cooler. I knew of his past as a vengeful thief because of a hardcover book that collected those early stories by Guido Martina and Giovan Battista Carpi.

Like most European kids reading comic books, I wasn’t much for superheroes, except  The Phantom and the Duck Avenger. Whereas Spider-man and Superman seemed odd and unpleasant. But with the Duck Avenger, the familiarity of the duck characters made the superhero stories accessible to me. Maybe it is just that the incontrovertible fact that Donald Duck is cuter than Bruce Wayne.

The Duck Avenger of course only appeared in the pocket books. I didn’t know at the time that was because the pocket books unlike the weekly magazine mainly published Italian duck comics, and the Duck Avenger was an Italian creation. And about when I was born in the mid 1990s, new winds were blowing through Disney’s Italian division.

What was happening isn’t clear to me, there is a language barrier on top of the ordinary anonymity and secrecy duck comics creators were long forced to work in. What I have been able to piece together is that a group of young creators like Alessandro Sisti, Ezio Sisto and Claudio Sciarrone wanted to do something new with the Duck Avenger. They wanted to create a darker take on the character, far darker than anything ever published starring Disney ducks. They openly acknowledged being influenced by American superhero comics and wanted to merge that style with that of Italian duck comics. And the editors, accepted this idea, despite it being unlike everything they ever published before.

The Result was Paperinik New Adventures, a new comic entirely dedicated to these “new adventures” of the Duck Avenger. It was first published in 1996 and continued monthly until early 2001. And the results were strange and wonderful, as you shall see.

The comic ended in 2001 after about five years of monthly issues. The story was continued in 2001-2 by PK2, but that was replaced by a widely-disliked reboot, Pikappa. But the story was revived in the 2010s in the form Paperinik New Era, but we’ll get to them in time.

PKNA was soon localized and published in several European countries. My father occasionally brought home issues of this he bought in shops when I was child. It was random issues, from the middle of the series. Without context, they seemed like alien objects left by UFOs. The fact that they starred the Duck Avenger didn’t explain things, it was in fact that which made the comics so strange. The young me was confused, yet intrigued.

It wasn’t until much later that I learnt from the Internet what PKNA was, and the cult following it had. The scanlations made by Banker made it possible for me to re-acquaint myself with the comic. And it wasn’t until relatively recently that I read the entire thing in chronological order. I was very impressed.

Now I want to talk about it all, every issue. My plan is to read all 50 or so issues of PKNA and write down my thoughts. Try to analyze this weird thing. I will call this project “Chronicles of the Evronian War”. That might be overly pretentious, but it’s better than something utterly generic like “my great PKNA read-through”.

Banker’s scanlations are the main source of images in this series, unless noted.

I will probably also go into the continuation series PK2 and the 2010s PKNE stories. Although I’ll probably won’t do the Pikappa reboot, for availability reasons and probably reasons of quality as well.

My inspiration is things like Andrew Rilstone’s analysis of Ditko/Lee era Spider-Man stories, I’ll probably won’t reach these heights, it’s my sincere hope that whoever will read this will enjoy this series.