#*gives bal a hug*

[xandriagreat]

Everyone needs comfort and love.

Even the "bad" guy.

Ballister villain (or not) au

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

another Nimona fic, are we really surprised?

Nimona doesn’t know what to make of Ambrosius. 

Of course she knows who he is, everyone knows the golden boy, the descendant of Gloreth. Her first instinct is to hate him, to snarl and growl whenever he gets close. And at first she does. But that makes Ballister upset, he wants her to like him, even though she can’t see a single redeemable quality in him. 

So she keeps her glowering to herself and snarls at him whenever Bal can’t see it. Plus it’s fun to see him jump when she breathes fire a little too close to his hair. 

Eventually, she gets more used to him, but she doesn’t like him. It’s hard when they’re all living in the tower together, but she still finds ways to let Ambrosius know that he’s on thin ice with her. 

The first time her opinion of him shifts is when she is a cat walking through the tower. She can hear Bal talking and follows his voice, fluffy tail swaying behind her. She pads down the stairs and peers into the makeshift living room.

Perched where they can’t see her, Nimona sees Ambrosius and Ballister sitting on the couch. Bal is curled against his partner’s chest, tears visible on his cheeks as his whole body shakes. Ambrosius holds him tight, murmuring softly words that Nimona can’t hear.

“I feel so useless,” Ballister says softly.

“I’m sorry,” Ambrosius murmurs, running his fingers through Bal’s thick hair. The look on Ambrosius’s face is what gives her pause. In addition to love, there’s clear guilt. It sits in his brow and in the tension of his jaw. 

Nimona’s eyes fall to the metal arm sitting on the coffee table. It doesn’t take much to understand why Bal is upset, the robotic arm has been glitching more and more recently.

Nimona watches them for a long moment, she watches how Ambrosius wipes away Ballister’s tears and the strength in which he holds him and the way his comfort seems to diffuse all the tension in Bal. If Ballister feels so safe and comforted around him, maybe he’s not so bad after all.

Things like that start to happen more and more. Nimona notices how gentle and kind Ambrosius is with Ballister, even with her. He’ll touch Bal’s back or her head as he passes behind them, he learns how to make her favorite foods. But more than that, he is accepting. 

Every time she shifts in front of Ambrosius, she expects him to look at her in fear and disgust. Instead he smiles, and far too seriously says, “Metal.” She and Bal are rubbing off on him apparently. She can’t say that she doesn’t like it.

When Ambrosius is making dinner, he’ll always let her steal some of the ingredients, he won’t even snap at her, which takes away half the fun. Ballister will hug him from behind and kiss the back of his head. They’re so mushy together, it’s gross sometimes. 

But her feelings about Ambrosius change completely one night. 

She’s in the middle of a nightmare, rapidly shifting between animals, curling smaller and smaller in on herself. And suddenly she’s shaken awake. Expecting Ballister, she barely even opens her eyes before throwing herself against his chest.

Ambrosius lets out a soft, “Oof,” but holds her nonetheless.

When she realizes who it is, she freezes and tries to pull away. Ambrosius lets her, but looks down at her with a concerned frown. His hair is braided back out of his face, allowing her to read him more clearly. His voice is almost unbearably gentle as he says,“You’re okay, Nim. You’re safe.”

She swallows thickly and pulls her knees to her chest, shifting into the younger version of herself almost instinctively. She’s not sure why, but being like this makes it easier for her to accept comfort. 

Her hair falls into her face and Ambrosius reaches out and smooths back her hair with a soft touch. “Want to talk about it?”

She shakes her head and asks him, “Why are you here?”

“Because you were having a nightmare,” he tells her gently. “I got up to get some water and I heard you. Is that alright?”

Nimona’s heart clenches in her chest. He came to wake her up, to comfort her even though he used to hate her, even though he called her a monster. He cares about her, he must or he wouldn’t be here. Maybe he’s not so bad.

Ever so tentatively, she leans back into his chest. Just as slowly, Ambrosius embraces her again, pulling her into his arms. He’s warmer than Bal, she realizes, but not as soft. But just like Ballister always does, he cradles the back of her head. Despite herself, the gesture brings her an immense amount of comfort, chasing the nightmares all but away. 

Maybe, she thinks, she could be his sidekick too.

[sunshine-zenith]

This is kinda a part two to this post here, about Ballister’s scar. Specifically I wanted to speculate a bit on Ballister’s relationship with Queen Valerin when you consider the fact that he was a mistreated and vulnerable child when he met her

Like. Look at this moment here

She’s reassuring him. She genuinely believes in him, and it’s clear from the knighting ceremony, when she specifically lowers her voice to tell him how much she’s been looking forward to this moment that her intentions around him a pure. She wants to change things, she wants to give this kid a chance, and she’s killing two birds with one stone by making him a knight

But like Nimona herself says, question everything

Look a little bit closer at this image — the queen is well dressed and already had a statement prepared. Ballister is dressed in rags and looks like he hasn’t even been given the chance to wash his hair. He looks surprised and a little scared when the media erupts with questions. And I don’t think this was the Queen’s doing, necessarily — odds are the Director was the one who was supposed to prepare Ballister, and chose not to, because she probably knew that while the Queen wouldn’t judge him for looking like the homeless kid he was, the media would. Still, it shows that while the Queen has overall say on Ballister’s future, she doesn’t have a lot to do about his present

Ballister says he loves the Queen, but it’s hard to tell if he meant he loves her like you’d love a family member, or if he “loves” her like someone who has been raised to not question authority “loves” said authority. He took a deep breath and looked to Ambrosius during the knighting ceremony, not to her. She realistically probably wasn’t super involved, even if she wanted to be — she had an entire kingdom to run, other knights to knight, and likely spent her days making progressive decisions that were controversial with the conservatives in her kingdom. Plus, if she had been super involved, it could’ve increased bias against him, like she was favoring him above everyone else — Ambrosius seemed overall not sure popular among the knights, and while they respected his authority when he was put it charge, there was definitely a vibe that they resented him for being the “Golden Boy” descendant of Gloreth.

Let’s compare Bal and Queen Valerin to Comic!Ballister Blackheart and one of the Queen’s inspirations, Dr. Blitzmeyer (the other was the king, who was a basically prop that was referenced heavily in relation to Ballister as someone he should kill before dying off screen).

Blackheart and Blitzmeyer end the comic opening a lab together, working as co-scientists. Blackheart clearly thinks of her as a friend, but she thinks of him as a fond colleague for most of the comic — she’s happy to offer help in the form of exposition, and she helps him save the day by giving him a McGuffin That You Just Gotta Read The Comic To Understand, but part of her is worried he’s a rival scientist that wants to steal her ideas. She still welcomes him in her home and offers him team. When he’s at the end of his rope and needs a comfort hug, she awkwardly indulges him

She’s surprised when he puts her down as his emergency contact

Dr. Blitzmeyer is a quirky scientist that hangs out on conspiracy forums and probably practices witchcraft for the sake of scientific study. Queen Valerin is a warm and progressive monarch who makes controversial decisions. And they make big decisions regarding helping Ballister

Remember the reluctant McGuffin handover?

She’s weighing the odds of him lying to her and stealing/tampering with/destroying it, hesitating before trusting him. If she had said no, a lot more people would’ve died in the comic, but she had no way of knowing that. She was barely interested in looking out her window and just worried the thing she spent years on would be wrecked

Now, the Queen — we don’t see her weigh the pros and cons of letting Bal become a knight, but she had to. And consider what she was presented with: a homeless kid with either no family or an abusive one judging from his scars and bruises. He had no adults in his life to protect him. No one to tell her no, making him essentially a child soldier might not be in his best interest. And he jumped a fence into the middle of a knight training session declaring he wanted to be a knight, basically coming to her — essentially the perfect candidate for her semi-social experiment

I can totally see her in another world letting this kid into her home and giving him tea and comfort, but I don’t think she could here. While she meant good, she took in a kid with nothing to lose and gave him everything to lose (a home, education, likely his first friend, safety), while also putting him under unavoidable social pressure. And she did it while the only adult figure other than her in his life, the one who would actually be involved in his upbringing — the Director — openly and defiantly failed him from the get go, and protested letting him join the knights to her face

Y’all I adore Queen Valerin, even if we only got her for like five minutes. Even if it’s in a speculative sense I like that she’s a good person while morally gray actions. She very much improved Ballister’s circumstances by giving him a home and the opportunity to pursue his interests. She clearly cared about him. She’s also a politician who, even if unavoidably, lowkey set him up to be a scapegoat without a backup plan and no outside support

Like. Y’all.

[thisblogisaboutabook]

Bound for Hewn City

Balthazar x Reader, Azriel x Reader - Angst- One Shot

Azriel owes a debt and fate has its own plans.

“He fought for his life but finally fell captive, certain he'd come to the end of his days. His fight was over, his fate was sealed by the will of a leader of a rogue war band.”

TW: character death, alcohol, language

“Promise you’ll be careful?”

“Of course love.”

A small smile battles against the dread I fear each time he leaves. Eight years, now. Eight years since he defected from the Illyrian army, tired of the backwards ways that were too slow to change, and decided he’d be the change in his own way.

The night he’d found me tied down, my father’s merciless hands pinning me down, moments away from making that life altering incision, robbing me of flight for the rest of my days.

We fled and never looked back.

Balthazar’s hand reaches my face, his palm a warm, comforting touch molded perfectly to the rounded curvature of my cheek. I lean into it, never growing tired of his touch.

My lashes flutter involuntarily at the connection. As I look into his eyes, my heart squeezes. “Sure you don’t want to go for one more round in the bedroom?” I tease, knowing very well that our girls wouldn’t leave us alone for a moment to do such a thing. In fact, said little girls, are peeking around the corner now, giggling as Bal gives me another kiss.

“Hurry back, okay? I’ll be waiting patiently.”

“You? Patient? I never knew you to be a liar, love.”

I roll my eyes at the jest. Patience isn’t exactly my strong suit.

Balthazar crouches down, the girls running to his arms. “Daddy!!” Celeste’s little voice is pleading as she gives him the biggest eyes possible. “Can you bring us back lolli’s this time, pleeeeaasseee?”

Balthazar pretends to contemplate the request, as if there has ever been a time he hasn’t brought them back for the girls.

“If you promise to be super good for momma, I’ll bring some back for you, yeah?”

Celeste looks to her little sister with a grin, they both cheer gleefully practically knocking him over as they swarm him for one more hug. He presses a kiss to their foreheads, mussing their hair with a broad palm playfully. “I’ll be back soon.”

His strong form raises up from his crouching position, wings tucking in tight as he moves swiftly forward, pulling me into his arms, peppering my head and cheek with kisses, before bringing his lips to mine, with a warm kiss, full of promise. I relax into his grasp, reveling in the kiss. “And Bluebell seeds for my wildflower.”

I smile at the gesture. Flower seeds aren’t necessities like the vegetable ones for our gardens, nevertheless he knows what joy they bring me.

And with that, he’s on his way to fetch supplies in the Hewn City. I watch him as he walks through the wards surrounding our home. They’re not the best, but we’ve learned to weave magic over the years, they’re enough to help keep our quaint little cabin out of view. I don’t miss the misty eyes of the girls as they watch the empty space where he’d been.

——————————————

It was the middle of the night when they came.

The girls were sound asleep in bed with me, as they always were when Bal was away.

The first sign was the unmistakable boom of Illyrian wings, of several wings, there was no hiding that sound from even the sleepiest of ears.

“Girls” I whispered to wake them.

I signaled in the candlelight showing them where to hide. The loose floorboard under the bed with a shelter big enough for the two of them.

I geared up as quickly as possible. Suiting up with my leathers that Bal had worked tirelessly on for months. Our first taste of freedom after leaving the war camp, our first “fuck you” to the patriarchal bullshit that had oppressed me for so long. On our fifth anniversary, he surprised me with my very own siphons. He’d worked hard in obtaining those, crafting wood carvings, cultivating our property, and selling our goods whenever it was safe to, and was able to discreetly have a set made for me.

My heart sung when he’d presented them to me in a hand carved box of his making. The meaning was not lost on me. Yes, they would allow me to channel my power and defend myself- but they also represented exactly what we’d left Illyria for, equality. They signified that I was indeed, Bal’s equal in every way.

My siphons glowed brightly, he’d chosen a blue to match my favorite flower, the Bluebell.

I held my head high as I exited my home, my wings flaring wide in a show of defiance as I greeted the rogue band of Illyrian warriors at my door.

My siphons glowed brightly under the moonlight. Twelve towering males stood before me.

Many had fought them.

Many had died.

The leader, the largest of the males took me in, eyes catching on my siphons. In the dark his gaze was calculating and something like admiration shown in them as he took in the female he was was about to overtake- the only female Illyrian to ever don siphons.

His low, gravelly voice finally broke through the night. “Where is your husband?”

I was going to die.

I unsheathed my weapons and my siphons flared brighter.

But I would not die without a fight.

“I wait for a man who is bound for Hewn City, flying alone fetching seeds and supplies.

Leaving behind his home in the canyon wife and two children with tears in their eyes.”

———————-

Azriel was exhausted. Between Rhys and Feyre being too busy ruling the Night Court while simultaneously juggling parenting and all the joys that come with it, Mor still playing Courtier and Cassian dealing with the Illyrian war camps, helping with the Valkyries when needed, and preparing for the arrival of he and Nesta’s little one, it left Azriel taking the brunt of top secret missions.

Which brought him to the gods-awful Hewn City.

The Moonstone palace, at least, was a reprieve.

And as much as Azriel hated the Hewn City, there was a particular pleasure hall serving ale that rivaled even the best that Velaris had to offer.

And gods, he needed a drink after dealing with Keir all day.

After a stupid amount of time trying to flag down the bartender Azriel noticed another Illyrian male enter the bar.

“Fantastic.” Azriel muttered to himself. His disdain towards the Illyrians and their backward ways was not unknown among their kind.

Between Azriel’s dislike of his own kind and the fact that this male was in the Hewn City, the “probable threat” analysis was not boding well for the newcomer.

Alas, Azriel remained seated at the bar, sipping his brew and listening for any alert from his shadows.

To Azriel’s surprise the male had kept his distance instead of making the usual insults toward a “scarred bastard” of Illyrian upbringing. The male simply sat, ordered a light fare for dinner, and minded his own business.

It wasn’t long later that Azriel’s head started to feel… off. His usual stoic public demeanor became aloof, woozy.

Some of Keir’s brutes entered the bar, seating themselves beside Azriel. He bristled, knowing that this would end in a fight. Azriel threw back the rest of his ale and braced himself for the inevitable brawl to come.

His siphons sputtered as his head spun. Gods, what was in this drink? The males only smirked as they watched Azriel’s pathetic attempt to summon his power.

“Ahhh looks like the Illyrian bastard can’t handle his alcohol.” One of Keir’s darkbringers sneered.

Az tried to brush it off, pushing himself up to leave. He had no interest in a messy drunken brawl.

“Bet he didn’t even taste the faebane in this ale.”

Red flags immediately went off in Azriel’s head. Fuck, he had been so bothered by the day that he didn’t even consider his drink.

The bartender’s voice boomed “Did you tamper with my ale!?”

Azriel was too bleary to register the sounds around him. And then a darkbringer brought his fist to Azriel’s face.

Azriel threw a fist back desperately trying to take on the brutes surrounding him but in his intoxicated state and his missing powers, he was out numbered.

As Azriel became bloodied, the other Illyrian male in the bar stepped in, his siphons flaring. “Where is your honor?” his deep voice inquired.

The largest darkbringer sneered “Honor? An Illyrian dares speak of honor?” before throwing a punch at the male. The Illyrian caught the punch and twisted his arm and managed to take down multiple darkbringers as Azriel fought for some semblance of composure.

It seemed that Azriel and the Illyrian stranger would win before several more darkbringers entered the bar. Az and the Illyrian fought hard but when a knife met the strangers heart, Azriel knew the male’s Illyrian healing powers wouldn’t be enough.

The bartender quickly tossed a tonic to Azriel to counteract the poison and it took affect nearly instantly as Azriel’s powers began to come back. The darkbringers saw the siphons flare and knew they stood no chance. A few fled but Azriel managed to take down several on their way out.

Azriel fell to his knees beside the stranger who had helped him but it was too late. The male’s final breaths were approaching.

“Why? Why did you help?” Azriel asked.

The male only murmured something about the Valkyries in the rite and the Shadowsinger that helped give voice to the voiceless.

Azriel had never been taken by surprise in such a manner by another Illyrian. “You mean Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie?”

The male attempted to nod in recognition as Azriel’s attempts of stopping the male’s bleeding were failing.

“Find…. My wife.” The male stuttered. “Behind wards, in the Night and Day borderlands”

Azriel was caught off guard. An Illyrian living outside of the war camps was unheard of.

“Your wife, is she Illyrian?”

The male sputtered a “yes” before his body gave out.

Azriel couldn’t help the tear that slipped free as the male’s heart gave way, his soul returning home to the Mother.

The male had no reason to defend Azriel and yet… he gave his life in his aid.

He would find the male’s wife. It was the least he could do.

The bartender approached with bandages he’d found but Azriel signaled that it was too late.

The bartender shook his head in mourning. “He was a good male. Simply passing through for supplies, bluebell seeds for his wife, and lollis for his daughters. Came through here once every so often.”

The pang that ran through Azriel’s gut had nothing to do with the lingering poison in his system and everything to do with the fact that the male who gave his life had a family. One that he loved dearly.

“Lying there's a man who was bound for Hewn City, flying alone fetching seeds and supplies

Leaving behind his home in a canyon, wife and two children with tears in their eyes”

———————————

Azriel ignored the lingering effect of poison that the tonic hadn’t fully remedied and trudged out into the night. He would find this female and her children and pay his debt to the male who lay dead in the Hewn City.

He trudged through the night and into the early morning searching the borderlands of Day and Night for the male’s family.

As he fought through the tiredness, the hangover, the aftermath of the poison, he didn’t even notice the sounds of Illyrian wings. He fought through his daze against the rogue band of twelve but fell captive.

One of the most powerful Illyrians in history, felled twice in twenty-four hours. And now, he’d die not only with his debt unpaid, but the Illyrian who had saved him in the Hewn City died for nothing. He refused to beg or plead, not to the Illyrians. He fought as they administered faebane, taking away his powers once again.

So much for calling out to Rhys through the mental bond.

The males forced him along for some time, arms and wings bound with a sack over his head. This was humiliating in every way possible.

As the morning sun rose fully the males pushed Azriel to his knees, ripping the sack off his head.

Azriel couldn’t believe it when he opened his eyes to find an Illyrian female standing before him outside of the cabin, with her own set of Illyrian siphons.

“You’re not Balthazar…” she spoke softly yet with an air of confidence and concern. “Who are you?”

Two little girls stepped out from behind her. “Mama? Where is papa?”

Azriel choked up as he took in the enigma of a female before him, whispering, “I’ve… been looking for you”

To Azriel’s shock the band of Illyrian males only gave the female a respectful nod and took to the skies.

“Where’s Bal?” She asked, her lip quivering as if she already knew.

Azriel looked at the little girls clinging to their mother and could only manage a shake of his head.

The mother sent the girls inside, keeping a brave face and letting them know she had to speak to the male, to Azriel.

As soon as the door closed to the house, she fell to her knees with a guttural cry for her love that was lost.

Azriel gave her time before he told her the story of the male he owed a debt to, the family he would care for in gratitude for the life that was sacrificed for his own. The woman was broken. She was in pain and Azriel’s heart couldn’t take it. He embraced the female as she cried into his shoulder, comforting her for as long as she needed it.

“I'm in debt to a man who was bound for Hewn City flying alone fetching seeds and supplies

Leaving behind his home in a canyon, wife and two children with tears in their eyes.”

When she finally settled and looked into Azriel’s eyes, he knew he couldn’t tell her. Not yet.

Not that fate arranged this star-crossed meeting.

For now, he would pay his debt.

And someday, he could tell her what happened when he saw her step out of the cabin today.

About the moment that his soul found its match.

————————————————

A/N I’m a sucker for cowboy ballads and when I heard this song, I knew I needed to write a fic based on it.

Tags

ACOTAR General: @lilah-asteria @thecollegecowgirl @mochibabycakes @nickishadow139

Requested tags based on excerpt I posted a couple of weeks ago: @acourtofbatboydreams @nocasdatsgay

Special apology tag to @st4r-girl-official

[starrycassi]

Ballister's been through this many times. Ambrosius comes into his room, hysterical, to announce him of some ridiculous upper crust rule or ball or challenge that he's got to participate in. He knows the drill by now; listen to him, reassure him and help him get ready, be it brushing his hair or co-writing a speech for him to give.

The Goldenloin family puts up an act for people to show off Ambrosius and his many qualities every so often. He doesn't really care, not anymore. He used to panic alongside Ambrosius, when they were thirteen. He's seventeen, now, and the novelty of it has worn off — it's just kind of funny, really, to see his boyfriend suffer through hours and hours of whatever bullshit he's supposed to do now.

This upcoming event, however, is doing a number on Ambrosius's nerves. He's pacing back and forth the room, and he hasn't even looked at Ballister yet. His tic — the one in his left eye, is back, and his lips are red and swollen in the places where he's been bitting them. It's barely five am, and Ballister knows that this is going to be a long day.

"You're going to get nauseous if you keep spinning around, Amber" he tries to start the conversation, voice soft and words slow. Between them, Ambrosius has always been the worst when it comes to keeping his emotions under control. Ballister's learnt, by now, that sometimes it's just better to give him space.

"I'm nauseous already. Some spinning won't hurt, I'm sure" he snaps back, almost screaming. Ballister decides that talking to him won't be possible right now, and goes back to the project on his table, making sure to hold the screwdriver at the right angle.

After fifteen minutes or so, Ambrosius finally stops. He whines, letting his body weight drag him down on Ballister's mattress.

"What is it, this time?"

Ambrosius's silent, only whining a bit more after the question, like a wounded dog. That's new. He usually loves to go on rants about how everything is going to go wrong and how the whole world hates him in secret. Ballister puts down the tools, quickly scribbles down what he's supposed to do next to avoid future mistakes, and sits down next to his boyfriend, threading a hand through the other teen's hair.

They stay like that some minutes, Ballister working his way through the blond strands and Ambrosius simply lying there. Ballister's starting to think that he's fallen asleep, when Ambrosius finally speaks up, face still buried in pillows.

"They're marrying me off, Bal"

The world stops spinning.

Ballister goes static. His whole body freezes, and his heart stops beating. He can feel the blood on his veins going cold, so cold his bones feel stuck, too.

This was a expected situation, kind of. Captain Gloria, Ambrosius's mom, had been married off, too. She didn't like her husband in the slightest and they never talked to each other. Ambrosius told him all that.

She had also promised to keep her son away from that predicament. But Ballister knew better than to trust mothers. His own had abandoned him some years ago, after all.

"What... How? What?"

Ambrosius sits up, criss cross, hugging a pillow. He's such a kid. His eyes are already watery, and he's got a red nose, probably from slamming his face into the pillows.

"Not- well, not actually marrying me off. Mum doesn't want that, y'know" He shrugs, looking at his own hands. "But she can't really... just go against tradition, I guess. So, uh, there's going to be a tournament, figths, you know? And I know I'll probably win, she chose combat because she knows I'm good at it, but what if I don't win?"

He takes a deep breath, grunting. Ballister's brain is struggling to catch up, so he can't do much more than nod, encouraging his boyfriend to keep talking.

"It's not going to be like here, only us, cadets and students, where I know I will undoubtedly win. Actual grown ups could get in there, Ballister. My mom's been screaming to anyone and everyone about how ridiculous everything is, but- I guess rules are rules. I haven't slept. We stayed up all night on the phone, she tore down the whole family's library, called all of our lawyers, we tried every single article and law ever written. Nothing. The best we can do is... hope"

"The Captain's right. This is ridiculous, Ambrosius. What do you mean grown ups? Why? That's fucking creepy. Can't you guys just... say no? You're a Goldenloin, surely you-"

Ambrosius grunts, again, tugging at one of his hair strands.

"It's not that easy!" He screams, shutting Ballister up. "I've been getting proposals for... for forever! It's not really a matter of love as it is a matter of money, Bal. I've been getting proposals even from before I was actually born. Political alliances and all that. Mom's been doing her best, I know she has, but when a heir has said "no" enough times, then a duel or something can be called up, and an actual tournament would be way easier than just fighting every single idiot that wants to get my last name!"

Ballister's never been happier to be an orphan commoner than right now. His only worry when it comes to marriage is whether or not he can afford a pretty ring.

It's not like commoners don't marry for money. Arranged marriages were a pretty common thing around him, young kids marrying older people to try and get their families ahead, forced by their parents, their "spouses" or their economical situations. He just... never really had to worry about it, ever since he became a knight.

"That's incredibly fucked up, Ambrosius"

"I know ! I am well aware of how weird this must be for you, Bal. And I have absolutely no backup plan. My mom's confident that I'm winning, because Goldenloins never lose, but I'm not her! She can still beat me when we spar together, what am I going to do if someone else wins? Just... get married?"

Trying to come up with a solution, Ballister stutters and stammers his way through a sentence.

"You could, uh, get married and have a divorce, right?"

"No! Totally no! You don't get it! Whoever wins gets to ask whatever they want from my family, money, land, my hand- whatever, and then that's irrevocable!"

Stressed out, Ballister screechs. Of course he doesn't get it. No one ever bothered to explain this to him. He knew that parents could force their kids to marry (Captain Gloria once told him the story, very drunk and very mad at her departed dad) but not that a whole fucking event could be staged even if the family said no.

"It's not my fault I don't get it, you twat! Do you think the knigth training automatically gave me political marriage bullshit training, too? Well, no, it didn't! I'm so sorry for not knowing you weird ass nobility traditions, Ambrosius, I didn't realize I was supposed to!"

Getting up from the bed, mad at the world for being unfair and at himself for snapping, he runs his hands through his hair, with the impulse to simply rip it all off. It quickly gets replaced by guilt. Ambrosius has done nothing wrong, and here he is, being an asshole instead of helping.

"Amber... Shit, I'm sorry. This is just-"

Chuckling humorlessly, Ambrosius waves his hand in the air. He looks up at Ballister, and shakes his head.

"You're right. Sorry. I just forgot. I always do"

They already went through this, too. Ambrosius is good at keeping Ballister up to date, always happy to explain the situation, but sometimes things just... slip his mind. It isn't anyone's fault, but it's still annoying when it happens.

"Sorry, too. For calling you a twat"

Ballister leans down, tentatively. Ambrosius doesn't hesitate to lift himself up, and they share a quick kiss. All is forgiven.

"So... what now?"

Silently, they both try their best to think. Ballister's mind is blank, just screaming at him to get a sword and go decapitate however wrote the fuckin rules. He ignores that voice, per usual. The fucker's probably dead, by now, anyway.

Ambrosius is the one who gasps, and smiles all of the sudden, so bright that the sun should be jealous. He bounces on the bed a couple of times, clapping to get his boyfriend's attention.

"We're both idiots!"

Ballister frowns, confused. An awkward smile is all he can offer Ambrosius, wondering if his man finally went crazy.

"I see no correlation between our supposed idiocy and the problem at hand, Amber."

"Come on, Bal! This is easy. I have the best plan" he giggles, like a kid that just got a new toy. Ballister can tell that this plan probably will suck and get them in more danger than necessary. And he's so on board. Always on board, when it comes to Ambrosius.

"Which is?"

"You!" Exclaims Ambrosius, rolling his eyes. "You're my plan"

"Excuse me?"

"You're going to compete and win, Bal"

Perhaps he never should've become a knight, that way he never would've fallen in love with this absolute trainwreck of a man. Is it too late to go back to being a random kid and forget about all this? Probably.

[wellthebardsdead]

I haven’t got the time to actually commit to making a custom follower mod.

But I’ve had an idea of a friendly Dremora or Xivilai follower. The player would meet him by an old shack and a stack of stones marking a grave. He’d be injured and cornered by a few vigilants of stendarr trying to banish him back to oblivion and failing, all the while wondering why he’s not attacking them or fighting back in anyway.

The player kills them and heals him. He explains he’s lived here for 200 some years with his high elf wife before she passed away. He can’t return to oblivion because he pledged his heart and soul to her and now spends his days tending to her decaying home and keeping her graveside company. He’ll ask if the player has need of him and if you say yes he’ll remark how his wife would want him to help others as he did her.

He’s very soft spoken despite his rough exterior and inherent nature and will tell the player about how he was made for the oblivion crisis and was taken in by his wife when he was severely injured. She taught him how to see his existence as more than just pain and bloodshed.

He likes flowers and would remark about what ones she’d grow to make medicine. Hed have a surprisingly witty and yet silly sense of humour too. Openly giggling as he remembers the stories of the whoopie cushion on molag bals throne incident.

Over all he’s very sweet until it comes time to charge into battle, that’s when he’d scream something like “ILL GUT YOU ALIVE!”

After which the player can tell him it was surprising to hear him scream so aggressively after seeing how gentle he truely is. To which hed reply something like “I’m a daedra made for war. I may have been out of commission for some 200 years, but I still know how to intimidate my enemies with a good battle cry. Im hardly going to run at them and yell ‘come give me a hug’… though, actually that might be scarier than openly threatening them.”

After said interaction he’d occasionally charge into battle screaming “COME GIVE ME A HUG!” To which one of the enemies would run away screaming in terror.

[fanfictionbymimnim]

Nimona-Ambrosius friendship headcanons

Bal was really worried these two wouldn't get on at first, but he didn't need to worry

After they got over the initial "if you hurt Bal I'll end you stage," they get on really great

Ambrosius actually really loves Nimona's shapeshifting ability, and one of the first things he asks is "Can you turn into a bear? I've always wanted to hug a bear but I can't hug a wild one,"

Ambrosius is a cuddle bug, and loves lying on the sofa squished between Bal and a massive Shark

Ambrosius is also neurodivergent, and meeting Nimona gives him the confidence to stop masking all of the time

Nimona suddenly finds herself a little overwhelmed with how she's a "hero" and everyone loves her and wants to thank her for saving them, so she and Ambrosius commiserate about how people always swarm them in public spaces

Nimona and Ambrosius painting a mural together. Idk why, they just both seem very artistic

Nimona and Ambrosius trying to cook Bal a nice meal, and Bal comes home to find the house in chaos with spaghetti literally hanging from the ceiling

[foreverchangingfandomsao3]

te gehat’ik be kar’taylir darasuum bal echoyli (the tale of love and loss) (1,936 words) by foreverchangingfandoms Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody Additional Tags: Whumptober 2024, Whump, Obi-Wan Kenobi Whump, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Emotional Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Angst, Character Death, Obi-Wan Kenobi Dies, Pay attention to that tag, He is dying and he's not coming back to life, Purge Trooper CC-2224 | Cody, Clone Trooper Inhibitor Chips (Star Wars), Blaster Wounds (Star Wars), Worried CC-2224 | Cody, CC-2224 | Cody Needs a Hug, Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine Series: Part 20 of Whumptober 2024 Summary:

Cody finds Obi-Wan on Tatooine but the former Commander isn't quite who he used to be.

My fill for whumptober day 20 - Emotional angst (shoulder to cry on | giving permission to die | “it’s not your fault”)

[echoing-locations]

Ok so more of prince Ambrosius au cuz I think it’s neat

(Also thank you to @goldenheart-supremacy for all your amazing ideas ❤️❤️🥰)

Now I’m this au I’m thinking that Ambrosius is the type of prince who was constantly sneaking away from his guards and he became so good at it that only one was able to keep tabs on him at all times (that being Ballister)

I would say Ambrosius and his parents have a good relationship, they’re just busy cuz their basically running a country

Ambrosius is a master at manipulating the media, he’s been doing practically since he was born, he nows how to be seen by the media only when he wants to be seen

That didn’t stop the media tho, they were convinced the prince was a open book, Ambrosius’s favourite headline being ‘is the prince secretly married!? His guards tell the story!’

Ambrosius and Ballister laughed their asses off at this considering it took place when they were both 16 and Ballister being Ambrosius’s only guard at the time

Ok now back to some main plot things!! Nimona still finds ballister in the tower and still forcefully becomes his sidekick

Although this time Ballister didn’t have any leads on who messed with his armour, so it took him longer to come out of hiding, but it did give him and Nimona time to get to know each other and build that trust

He would probably be on the run and in hiding for like 2 months at least,

Meanwhile the Director woke up at least a day after she was shot, the queen come to visit her and she goes and a rant about “oh how grateful I am that it was me to get hurt and not you or the prince!”

Another meanwhile, Ambrosius begged his father to let him be involved in the search for Ballister. He told his father “this gives me a chance to show my leadership abilities!” The head knight was then told to report to Ambrosius with anything having to do with the search

What Ambrosius really wanted to say to his father is “look I love this man and I would rather not see him with a sword in his chest or a arrow between his eyes, so please let me be in charge!!”

After a bit ballister decided to sneak into the institute to check the security cameras of the armoury and of course Nimona tagged along

They then find the video of the director taking Ballister’s forearm piece and replacing it with the weapon one, they download it to post later

They don’t leave the institute right away because ballister wants to find his armour pice just to be sure, so they sneak into the director’s office and Bal does find the pice

Then the director walks in, Nimona shifts into Todd (cuz yes) and Ballister ducks under her desk

“Sureblade what are you doing here?” “Well..uuhh— I thought heard some one in here and wanted to uhh um- punch them..?” *continuous looks to ballister👀* “Surebalde what are you looking at?”

After the final look to Ballister is made the real Todd walks in to say he lost the prince again and for a second it’s the Spider-Man pointing meme until Ballister jumps over the desk grabbing Nimona and booking it out the door

After running from the kinghts they both hop the wall to the Institute, thinking it’s the one facing the city, when in reality they just hopped the wall to the castle

(I like to think the castle and institute are right beside each other)

“Oh fuck” “wrong wall 😐”

Ballister knows where they are and knows a way out (Ambrosius wasn’t the only one who knew how to sneak away)

On the way out they run into the Prince in one of the more private gardens in the palace.

Ambrosius stands there in shock for a minute, “Ambrosius I uh- please-” “UHHH BOSS I DON’T THINK WE HAVE TIME FOR CHIT CHAT!!!”

And they don’t palace security is approaching fast.

Ballister runs to Ambrosius to give him a ‘hug’ when in reality it’s to give him the armour piece “please believe me, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I didn’t mea-” “OK BOSS TIME ITS TO SKEDADDLE!! LOVELY MEETING YOU!!!”

And Nimona grabs Ballister and runs

Ok that’s what i got for now, again feel free to add your own little additions and such I’d be happy to read them!!

[goldenheart-supremacy]

Nimona-verse but it's slightly altered Disney dialogues...

The Director: I only had this one shot. The Director: Two to three entire decades worth of planning to get rid of that commoner, knight wannabe. The Director: And it all went up in smokes BECAUSE YOU WERE WEARING. HIS. MERCHANDISE Diego, chagrined: His... Official, certified armor actually... The Director: GAAAAAAAAAAAH!

-Hercules

Ambrosius: Bal! Will you get over here and give me a hand? Ballister, throwing his prosthetic at him: Ambrosius: Ambrosius: That's cute, and I really love you... BUT THIS IS SERIOUS!

-Toy Story

Ambrosius, taking deep and calming breaths: I am more than a descendant of Gloreth... Nimona: Nimona: If you start singing, I'm gonna throw up.

-Moana

Ballister: You might survive longer if you stop shifting. Nimona: I don't want to survive, I WANT TO LIVE!

-Wall•E

The Director: THAT THING... Ballister: Her name is Nimona. The Director: What? Ballister: She has a name. The Director: It's not supposed to have a name, a name makes it more relatable... The Director: NOW PUT THAT THING BACK TO THE SHADOWS FROM WENCE IT CAME, OR SO HELP ME!

-Monster's Inc

Ambrosius: You... Ballister, grinning expectantly: Ambrosius: You fight good. Ballister, deflates: Oh, uh, thanks. Queen Valerin, clearing her throat: While red roses are absolutely divine and at times, the obvious choice, there's an enchanting beauty to a black rose that may appeal to you more. Ambrosius and Ballister, confused: Your majesty? Queen Valerin, speaking plainly to Ambrosous: If you choose to give Ballister Boldheart, formerly Ballister BLACKheart, your heart, then redo that entire thing and TELL HIM.

-Mulan

The Director: You can talk to me. Ambrosius: [Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the Gloreth descendant they want you to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let her know! Don't let her—] Ambrosius: No, I'm fine.

-Frozen

Ambrosius: Bal, I know we had our... Issues the last couple of hours, but I'm ready to hear you out and be a better boyfriend to you. So, how about we just grab some nachos and... Hug it out? Ballister: Hug. It. Out? Ballister: You chopped off my arm. Ballister: You were going to have me arrested without hearing me out. Ballister: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!

-Encanto

The Director: I should've known a filthy commoner like you would foolishly decide to befriend a monster. Ballister: Nimona's no monster, director. YOU ARE!

-Beauty and the Beast

Ambrosius: And after years of planning, planning, and planning for the asking... He finally said yes. Ballister: Ambi~ Ambrosius, groaning: Fiiiine~ He asked me. Ballister: And he said yes, so we're living happily ever after and working on adopting Nimona. Nimona: Yes, yes they are.

-Tangled

[allhaildownwallydarling]

Wally Darling AU'S with a Mitsuri S/O

Jenna's note:I do not own any Wally au nor do i own Mitsuri every character belongs to its creator and also i suck at writing so sorry if this sucks

TW: kissing,flirting,cussing,perverted,lovesick wally,inapropiate touching,no smut,no lime,teasing

OG Wally darling:Well when he saw you at first he thought you were kind,but oh boy you were too kind,you'd alway's offer him cookie's apple's ect.And let me tell you that this man puppet is on his knees worshiping you,wally at first didnt understand what he was feeling until you hugged him accidentally burring his face on your cocomelons,he swore to himself that he would sleep right then and there lets say he thought that your cocomelons were soft and squishy he has his new personal pillow,you even impress him by how flexible and strong you are dont get me wrong everyone in the town are puppets and then can bend over like a snake,wally found out that you were very strong becuas you managed to pick up barnaby with little strength.Wally would always feel shy around you but he would ask home if he should tell you about his feelings but if home declines then you have to wait for another year or probably for ever..

Opposite Wally:This mfker is rude af when you introduce yourself he just scoffs and walks away breaking your heart,but if he's in his house he will think about you and how nice you are this dude is a total tsundere,when you went to visit him he was surprise how nice you were while he was rude to you,your even lucky he lets you touch his hair but you only touch it as long as you give something in return,he'd often lay his head on your chest just to tease you he finds it adorable on how you blush yet he keeps it to himslf,this motherducker gets easily jealous if you hang out more with someone other than him he will get a little...messy...if he needs to,you managed to surprise him with how big your appetite is,he dosent judge you but finds it funny and cute but if anyone talks bad about you lord have mercy,your flexiblity is also another thing that impressed him and also how strong you were,this boy loves you too much that he'd give you small gifts becuas he's probably not into PDA but hey he's a tsundere and your friend...for now.

Lovesick Wally:He heard about you but home never let's him go out so he had to beg hme to let him out untilhome finally did an let me tell you when he saw you he was already on his knee's he saw you as a pure angle sent from heaven just for him he adores your kindness but he wants you to get sick so you both can be together for ever,he personally osent care if you eat alot he only cares about you,he'd often fall asleep on your chest or thighs,he finds it amusing how easy you are to tease,he is surprise by how strong you are he'd always imagine himself as the princes and you as the knight in shining armor,this mfker is obssesed with you.

RF Wally:You are lucky to be his assistant and not bieng thrown in the grinder,well at first he thought on throwing you in the grinder but when he saw how smart you are he decided to let you live,now if you do everything correct he may talk to you bit by bit untill he starts falling in love with you,the cold hearted person falling in love again is this a miracle? yes pretty much you have this man in love with you but he hides it very well,he gets surprised by how flexible you are not to mention how much you eat ill explain,you had were eating in your office a whole bowl of sakura mochi and when he needed to give you more papers he walked in on you eating 3 bowls of sakura mochi.Now RF wally did loose his duaghter buthe managed to keep her soul to bring her back now you bieng the good ol' person you are try to help him so he can be reunited with his adopted duaghter?,one thing he didnt know was that his feelings for you were growing by the second until he finally had the bals to confess.

Mafia wally:Welcome to the family when he saw you he thought that it was love at first sight,he'd often give some of his members some difficult task but to you some easy task becuas he has a soft spot,he'd often tease you becuas he finds it cute how flusterd up you get,he adores your kindness and innocence,whenever you drop something and bend over he gets the chance to smack your ass (smack my ass like a drum)he'd often "acsidentally" put his hand on your cocomelons or thighs imean this man drooling over for you,you have him going crazy for you,he will kill anyone who touches you in anyway becuas he dosent like it when someone touches whats his so if you dont see that person the next day you know why.

[deancasbigbang]

Title: Ready To Run

Author: Inkblooded Witch

Artist: CrzyDemona

Rating: Explicit

Pairings: Jimmy/Balthazar, Benny/Meg, Bobby/Ellen, Sam/Eileen, Ishim/Naomi, mentioned past Dean/Others.

Length: 114500

Warnings: Cannon-grade violence, dub-con.

Tags: Western AU, Omegaverse, Set Primarily in 1875, Angst with Happy Ending, Dean Has Anger Issues, Slow Burn, Fluff, Smut, Collar AU, Alcohol Consumption.

Posting Date: October 27, 2023

Summary:   Castiel and Jimmy have always been close, on opposite sides of a single coin. While Jimmy’s rebellions have been loud, blatantly throwing every indiscretion in their father’s face, Castiel’s have been quiet, easier to hide, less publicly embarrassing. For this reason it’s no surprise when he is slated to be married off first. Something they’re informed of right as Jimmy has decided he wants to marry Balthazar, an Alpha he’s been courting on the sly for some time.    Neither of them have been optimistic about their fates should they be left to their father’s tender mercies. Castiel knows that once Jimmy is gone, he will be next. He likes Balthazar, and sees no reason why they should both be condemned, so they hatch a plan. While Jimmy elopes and boards a steamer to Europe, Castiel boards a train to Nebraska as his twin.    Knowing your life will never be the same is one thing, but Castiel never could have predicted what chaos would come of him getting on that train. Starting when plans to slip away before he reaches his intended destination quickly go awry.

Excerpt:   “I’m marrying Balthazar.”    His brother’s teacup froze halfway to his lips. “You’re what?”    “We’ve been planning it for weeks anyway, we’ll just have to hurry things along. I won’t stay here, brother, I can’t. You know that as well as I do.”    “Why didn’t you tell me Balthazar asked you to marry him?” Castiel protested, setting his cup down.    “Actually, I asked him,” Jimmy admitted, smiling sheepishly. “Bal took it rather well. He did ask that he be allowed to propose with a ring he gets to surprise me with.”    Castiel beamed, rising to come around and embrace his brother. Despite their mutual turmoil, Jimmy cracked a smile of his own, rising to return the hug. When they parted, he smacked Jimmy in the arm, hard.    “Ow! Hey, why- ”    “That is for not telling me,” Castiel informed him, retaking his seat. “Some brother you are. Now, how do you expect to get away with that. You’ve pulled some impressive stunts before, but this will be a true trick.”    “Bal knows where we can get a quick wedding, all we have to do is tell them I’m pregnant.”    “Are you?”    Jimmy gave him an insulted look. “I’m brazen, not foolish, brother. No, we just have to tell the priest that and he will get us married very quickly, complete with legal documentation. Which we will then take on a steamer to London.”    Castiel considered that. “I suppose you have always wanted to travel.”    “Yes, and Bal intends to show me Europe, maybe Asia. But he did promise to introduce me to his family first.”    Balthazar Grace was British by birth, the son of a rich family that allowed him to indulge in a lifestyle Jimmy also participated in. He had been seeing the Alpha for nearly a year now. Castiel had met him, and while he found the man to be…much, he clearly adored Jimmy, would give him the world if he asked. For that alone Castiel approved.    “I am happy for you, truly. But how do you expect to get away for this? You know father, he won’t trust you, he will put you on that train personally.”    “I don’t know, I just found out about all this.” Jimmy gestured vaguely with his liquor bottle, still gripped by the neck, which he began drinking out of directly. “What if he puts me on lockdown? How will I tell Bal about this?”    Castiel stared into his own cup, worrying his lip. “Father never cares what I do. I can liaison with him for you if need be.”    Jimmy paused mid-gulp, cobalt eyes sliding over to him. Slowly lowering the bottle’s mouth from his lips, tone thoughtful, he said, “You.”    “Me?”

DCBB 2023 Posting Schedule

[little-cereal-draws]

Nimona Stim Headcanons

Nimona: She likes to chew on things in most forms. Wolf, mouse, human, shark, cat, you name it. The problem is her teeth are very sharp and she often breaks whatever's in her mouth. It's been a struggle to find something she can bite without breaking it or hurting herself but Ballister's confident he'll find something eventually. She also likes to shred things as a cat; there are different sensations between shredding paper and cloth but she likes both. Bal gave her a pack of tissue paper once and that entertained her for hours; she was smiling and giggling the whole time. Her shifting itself can be a stim and sometimes she'll rapidly change shape while listening to someone talk to help her focus. Unfortunately, it's usually pretty distracting to the person talking to her. She also likes to listen to music and tap along to the songs. She uses her fingers but also things like pencils and silverware to make different sounds.

Ballister: This man bounces his leg like there's no tomorrow. All- every- all the time. He doesn't even notice he's doing it until someone asks him to stop shaking the whole table. He chews on the back of his pencils/pens while he thinks too. Also doesn't know he's doing it until he looks down and it's covered in bite marks. When he's anxious about something, he'll repeat words and phrases to calm himself down. For example, before he went into knight training evaluations, he would whisper "helmet, sword, chest plate, boots" over and over and over to himself like his life depended on it. Ambrosius asked him if he was ok and he said he was fine, he just wanted to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. For physical things like that, he'll also touch the object each time he lists it to make sure it's still there.

Ambrosius: He strikes me as a flappy hands kind of guy. When he's super excited or stressed he starts flapping his hands to regulate some of that emotion. He's only started doing it freely recently but he's always found subtle ways to express it. Like doing jazz hands/waving his hands around while talking excitedly or shaking his pencil during stressful meetings or tests. He also really likes soft textures/things. I can see him rubbing his hands over a nice fabric for as long as he can until someone pulls him away. Whenever they watch a movie on the couch, he likes to hug a pillow even tho Bal's right there. I can also see him really liking stuffed animals; he probably had a bunch when he was a kid, had to get rid of them bc he "was too old," but now has a bunch. They're soft and he can hug them and they're shaped like little friends. What's not to love? Bal is the big spoon, Ambs is the middle spoon, and then all of his stuffed animals are the little spoon lol

Dr. Blitzmeyer (bc yes she is a part of this family and I want to include her): This isn't technically a stim but her most important possession is her goggles. As long as she's wearing them there are no bad lights, no eye contact, and a constant reassuring pressure. They started out as a lab safety precaution, but she realized how much they helped and wears them 24/7 now. The only time she takes them off is for showers and bed. But on bad days when she's too anxious and the world is too much, she won't want to take them off and Ballister has to coax her out of them so they won't bruise her face. She also likes pulling on her purse strap while taking to people in public to give her hands smth to do. She likes to chew on things while she thinks too but has a few stim toys for that so she's not putting lab equipment in her mouth like Ballister. She also likes to bite people she feels comfortable with, like a quick soft bite on the shoulder, but you have to be level 3000 in friendship to unlock that so it's not a super common stim. So far she's only done it to Bal and he was pretty confused after, not upset, just confused.

[yourimagines]

Recognised part two

* English is not my first language I apologise

* Gif is not mine

* Triggers: swearing, lying,

- Summary: part two 😉

Y/N POV

I was waiting for Marc to pick me up from work. “Hello.” Steven walked up to me. “Waiting for someone?” He said while sitting next to me on the bench. “Yes, your brother and I have a date later tonight.” He nods as he fiddles with his hands. “I don’t think he will show up tonight.” He quietly said. “What do you mean?” I looked at him while he just shrugged. “Did you say something to you?” “No… he’s not here in town tonight, he’s gone for work.” I felt my heart break in thousand little pieces. “Why didn’t he say anything.” I stood up and walked away. “I can go with you tonight, if you want… I understand that am not him but who knows.” I turned around. Steven was smiling brightly. “Sure if you don’t mind.” He waved his hands. “No…No I don’t mind at all.” I smiled back at him. “Okay, let’s go then.” “Okay, lead the way.”

Steven POV

‘What are you doing Steven!’ Marc yelled in our head. I ignored his yelling and went on a date with my co worker Y/N. We went glow in the dark mini golfing and she was winning. “Oh look at that.” She hit her bal in one strike in. “Not fair.” She was laughing and patted on my shoulder. “I’m sorry that I’m just better than you are.” I tried but failed, losing again. “I don’t think this game likes me very much.” I signed. She smiles at me and wraps her arms around my torso. Almost hugging me “You know what Steven, I think it’s time to stop this game and eat something.” “That’s a great idea.” We both went for some food, sitting down at a small restaurant. “What do you think from our date.” She looked up from the menu. “I like it, thank you Steven.” My heart skipped a beat. ‘ of course she’s likes it, this date was mine idea Steven.’ “Good, I like it too.” I smiled at her as I looked down at the menu. ‘We have a big problem, you can’t not just take over Steven.’ ‘Marc let him be.’ ‘No, your not sticking up for him Jake.’ They where bickering over this date and it’s driving me crazy. “I know what I want.” I said, placing my menu down. She looks up and smiles “me too.” An ober came up to us and we order our food. “So….” I placed my hands on my lap. ‘You are an real idiot Steven, let me do this.’ I signed and shook my head. “No.” I said quietly. “I’m sorry, did you say anything?” She looks at me, watching me very closely. “No.. I just had something in the back of my throat.” She nods. ‘Give me the body Steven.’ I placed my hands on the table and grabbed my glass of water, taking a sip from it. “Steven your okay?” I placed my glass down and nodded. “Yes I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be fine?” I looked around me, feeling a bit anxious. She carefully grabs my hand. “Steven look at me.” I looked at her, she softly smiles at me. “It’s alright to be not okay, I’m here I’m not going to judge you.” She gently squeezes my hand. “Thank you, but I think I’m just a bit hungry.” She nods. “I understand that feeling too well.” She softly let’s go of my hands. Before anything got get even more awkward the ober came to our table with our food.

——— After the date———

“Thank you Steven for tonight.” We both walked out of the restaurant. “No thank you.” “No Steven, you where my knight in shining armour today because your brother is an ass.” I chucked ‘Don’t you dare Steven. Don’t make it even more difficult for me to fix this.’ “He is an ass sometimes but he’s also an idiot just like me.” She laughs. “Well lucky for your guys that I like idiots.” She gave me a small push against my shoulder. “Oh so your calling us idiots now?” I pushed her slightly back. “No.. you said it first I’m just agreeing with you.” “That’s the same.” “No it isn’t.” We both laughed and got super close to each other. “Steven…” “yes.” “I hope we can do this again, I really had a good time with you.” I was surprised, she wants to see me again. “You do?” “Yes of course, Steven I know people at work find you a bit odd, but so am I. I like history, reading books, travelling to extraordinary places. I like you.” She said it, she likes me. She looked at bit shocked and embarrassed. “I’m so sorry…. I didn’t mean…” I felt getting shy and started to blush. “You like me?” Her face was red from blushing. “Yeah.. I do.” I smiled wildly at her. “You think am weird, I know people think that, I talk to much when I’m nervous…” i shook my head. “ No your not weird at all, I like you too.” She shyly smiles. “You like me?” “Yes of course I like you, your the only person that accepts me for being me.” I fiddled with the strings from my jacket. She closes our distance. “Steven.” “Yes darling.” She blushes at her nickname. “Are we a couple then, if we like each other, you know dating and stuff.” “If you want too, than yes.” Her hands grab mine. “Than we are dating.” My heart exploded. Dating her, beautiful smart woman, from a crush to calling her mine. ‘Don’t think this is over Steven, she is going to find out about us,’ “let me walk you home.” She agrees, both walking hand in hand through the streets.

[wellthebardsdead]

Kaidan: *waiting in the abandoned house nervously watching the pool of blood in the altar of Molag Bal* should we go in after them?…

Lucien: I want to, but I know for a fact I’m going to die in there…

Inigo: Have faith in our friends. They’ll retur-

Serana: *suddenly launches out of the pool squeezing her way out gasping for air* OH GOD IVE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY TO BE AMONG THE LIVING! *flops onto the floor*

Kaidan: Are you okay?! Where’s-

Dragonborn: *climbs out pulling two, very frail aldmer out in their arms* Help!

Everyone: *pulls the three of them out*

Inigo: My friend you’re alive! And- eww what are you covered in?

Dragonborn: ectoplasm.

Kaidan: *hugs them* My love! You’re alive I-… *blinks as one of the aldmer weakly grabs his sword and tries to kill the other* Woah there! *grabs it from him*

???: LET ME KILL HIM! YOU FUCKING IDIOT! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU RELEASED?! *points at the dragonborn in justified anger*

Dragonborn: I know, but he made a contract with me to be set free. He won’t cause harm to anyone without my permission unless he wants to go back… *gestures to the elves* Everyone this is Vanus and Mannimarco. Say hello.

Everyone: *looks at the dragonborn in shock and horror before looking at the elves in equal levels of unimaginable mind boggling fuckery*

Vanus: *still glaring at the dragonborn*

Mannimarco: *literally traumatised into being good after centuries of violent torture, shakily hugging his very naked body as he lays there getting air into his lungs for the first time in so long*

Inigo: … *pulls a blanket out of his bag and lays it over him* If my friend is willing to give you a chance, then I am too, welcome back to the world.

Vanus: YOURE ALL FOOLS! *moves to swing his fist at mannimarco and just falls over being equally as weak as him* FUCK!

[whitegoldtower]

Some Gwalchmai Lore:

He was never turned into a vampire with Sanguinare Vampiris, nor is he a spawn of Molag Bal, nor did he make a pact with the aforementioned daedra.

His vampirism comes from Lamae’s bloodline, and he contracted Noxiphilic Sanguivoria instead, from Lamae herself, after he was banished to Coldharbour, and the Blood-Matron became inspired by his vengefulness.

Because guess who fucking sent him to Coldharbour? Mannimarco. Mannimarco’s worm cult sacrificed him to Molag Bal. He was one of many Vestiges. Gwalchmai HATES necromancers. Best believe he doesn’t hold back one bit in Wolfskull Cave, and comes out of it like “UHHN THAT HIT THE SPOT”.

Gwalchmai would not have escaped Coldharbour, were it not for the Blood-Matron’s favour, so he is very rightfully devout in his worship of her.

As a result, he is not damaged by sunlight, and merely becomes much stronger at night (so bringing him anywhere after sunset gives him a significant bonus in his attacks), and he is no weaker than a normal NPC in the day (you will actually be able to ask him about how he feels about sunlight). He also does not worship Molag Bal and actually actively encourages the player to profane him, or - if the player is adamant on following daedra - to use Boethiah against him, for he has inherited the same hatred Lamae had for Molag Bal. He also has a hatred for Arkay, for his betrayal of Lamae when he abandoned her (so praying at a shrine of Arkay can earn you a snarky comment / disgusted sigh from Gwalchmai).

If the player bows to Molag (or calls him ‘Lord’) in the House of Horror’s quest, Gwalchmai will have some rather stern words for YC (kids these days! I’ve actually been to coldharbour you little shit, I was trapped there!! 👹), however if YC decides to accept Harkon’s gift, Gwalchmai accepts your decision, though not without a level of sadness; he despises the notion that you will become spawn of Molag, but he respects that it is a sensible and powerful decision to make, as it makes taking Harkon down from the inside much easier and means that you will not have to harm anybody else in the Volkihar court (he’s got a fat crush on Vingalmo, remember, and is rather fond of Feran Sadri / Garan Marethi).

If you contract Sanguinare Vampiris, he will offer YC potions of cure disease, and if you really want to become a vampire (though not by Harkon), he will begrudgingly turn you himself, giving you Noxiphilic Sanguivoria instead, and as a result, you will get all the perks of being a vampire, just without the massive drain on your stats during the day. And your stats will temporarily go up at night (If I can figure out how to do that).

He is thus not a Vampire Lord, but a Scion. He and Serana have very unique experiences of vampirism, in that Gwalchmai’s vampirism was a saving grace, and Serana’s was a traumatic expectation. Hence why Serana doesn’t particularly like the idea of you becoming a Volkihar vampire, and would rather that you get sired by Gwalchmai instead.

(They’re gonna have a convo and I’m going to figure out the mechanics of making Gwalchmai and Serana hug each other)

Also is Gwalchmai a former Psijiic? Maybe???? Would explain his proficiency in magic and speech… and why he feels most comfortable advising / teaching someone else, whether it be the Jarl or YC 👀

And I’ve already established that he was around during 2E (and slept through most of the Great Anguish / Oblivion Crisis) so ya boi is old af