#I had to majorly adjust the colors so you can actually see anything

[encounteratnearpoint]

THIS being how Geordi sleeps… I need him so bad

[sfb123]

Stealing Moments

Book: The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir

Pairing: Liam x Riley

Summary: The Royal family spends the afternoon taking part in some pre-Easter (or preaster, if you will) activities.

Rating: G - I’m not going to sugar coat it (sugar is the last thing this story needs), this is some majorly fluffy stuff here. Even for me, and I’ve produced some pretty fluffy work.

Word Count: 1,947

A/N: So this story is a triple threat:

I am participating in @wackydrabbles prompt #88 “I meant every word.” Which will appear in bold.

I am also participating in the @choicesaprilchallenge2021, day 3 teal. That prompt will appear in italics.

I am also participating in @trraw, day 2 Liam. That prompt will appear in the form of a handsome and charming King.

A/N 2: This is an idea that I thought of while I was writing my upcoming Uncle Drake fic (you’ll see that one on Sunday), so I decided to write it up as a little prequel to that. Thank you to @jessiembruno for encouraging me to take my crazy throw away ideas and make them into something, and also by contributing this adorable moodboard. You are a Canva master. To think, not too long ago you hated it and cursed it out on the regs!

Tags: You know the drill, they’re down below. I hope you get it! If you want to be added or removed, let me know!

Liam sat in his study, wrapping up some paperwork before his next meeting when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

Bastien entered the room and shut the door behind him. “Sir, Lord Neville is demanding an audience with you. Immediately.” 

“Of course he is. Tell him I am unavailable, and to make an appointment with my assistant before he leaves.” 

“I did. I explained to him that you have an important afternoon meeting that could not be rescheduled. He didn’t appear to care.” Bastien chuckled to himself. This wasn’t the first time Neville had tried to weasel his way into an urgent meeting with the King.

Liam let out a deep breath as he stood, scrubbing his hand over his face. “Of course he didn’t. That’s fine, I need to get to my meeting anyway. I will tell him myself.” 

Almost immediately upon exiting his study, Neville was in his face. “Your Majesty, I have an urgent matter that requires your immediate attention-”

Liam held up a hand, silencing him. “I’m sure you do, Lord Neville. Unfortunately, I am on my way to a very important meeting, so I am unable to sit with you right now. Please see my assistant on your way out, and she will be happy to book you for my next available appointment.” 

“With all due respect Your Majesty, that simply won’t do. It won’t take long, perhaps I could walk with you to your next meeting?”

Liam internally rolled his eyes at the suggestion. He knew just how to stroke his ego to get him to back down. “Lord Neville, as one of our most valued members of court, I couldn’t possibly do you the disservice of giving you anything but my full attention on what I’m sure is a crucial matter. That is all I would be doing if I allowed you to continue at this time. I will make sure that my staff adjust the schedule to provide us enough time to examine the issue thoroughly. Please send me any documentation as soon as possible so that I may review it before our meeting. That way, we can hit the ground running when we do meet.”

Neville stood tall, a smug expression quickly spreading across his face. “Very well, Your Majesty. I appreciate your assistance in the matter. I will leave the documentation with your assistant.” He bowed, and Liam nodded in response before exiting the area and moving on to his next meeting. 

“If I may say sir, the way you handled that situation was truly masterful.” Bastien commented as they walked through the palace. 

Liam chuckled and patted his security guard on the back. “All in a day's work, my friend. Everything is in place for this afternoon, I trust? I will have no disruptions for the remainder of the day?”

“Yes Your Majesty, the staff has been fully alerted that you will be unavailable. I will be at the door to ensure that you are not bothered.” Bastien replied. 

Once they arrived at their destination, Liam crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him. He was the last to arrive, so the sound of the door caught the attention of those that had already gathered. 

“Daddy!” Eleanor jumped out of her chair and ran straight for Liam, leaping into his arms. 

“Hello Princess.” He chuckled as he held her close, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Are you ready to decorate some Easter eggs?” He carried her through the livingroom area of the royal quarters, returning her to her seat at the kitchen table.

“Yep! I helped mommy mix all the colors together. It was so fun!” She gestured to the cups of coloring spread out across the table. 

Liam couldn't help but laugh at his daughter’s enthusiasm as he approached his wife, who was standing at the table making the final preparations for their afternoon project. “Hello, beautiful.” He leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on Riley’s lips. 

“Hey handsome. You made it right on time. I’m impressed.” She teased. 

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world. No matter how hard Neville tried.” 

“Neville, yuck!” Eleanor chimed in, causing both of her parents to burst out laughing. 

Riley turned her attention back to her husband. “Alright, you go get changed. I don’t want you ruining your fancy king clothes with egg dye.”

Liam kissed his wife and daughter before going into the bedroom to put on some more casual clothes. He returned unnoticed as Riley explained the egg dying process to Eleanor. He stood for a moment and watched them, his girls, his world. He couldn’t help the smile that quickly spread across his face at the sight. 

“Daddy, come on, we can’t start without you!” Eleanor called out to him from the other side of the room, breaking him from his thoughts. 

He returned to the table and stood between his girls. “Alright, I’m here. Where do we begin?” 

Not only was this Eleanor’s first time decorating Easter eggs, but Liam’s too. He was told that as a Prince, there were more productive ways for him to spend his time. It was just one of the many childhood experiences being royalty simply didn’t allow for. He was so happy, not just to have this experience for himself, but to share it with his daughter. Another way to give her the childhood he never had, but always wanted.

Once Riley explained the process, they got to work; since she was the seasoned professional, she let Eleanor and Liam take the lead and do most of the work. She marveled in the similarities in their gestures, the concentration on their faces as they placed their white eggs in the dye, and the excitement when it would come out dyed a bright color. At one point, Riley couldn’t help but laugh when they pulled out their eggs at the same time, and looked up at her with identical expressions of joy, showing off their creations. 

They had gotten down to the last egg, Liam turned to Eleanor, “Ok Princess, we’ve got one left. You get to pick the color.”

A thoughtful expression overtook Eleanor’s face as she surveyed the colors that surrounded her before turning to her parents and confidently announcing her decision. “Teal.”

Riley and Liam locked eyes and shared a confused expression. There was no teal, they had only prepared basic colors, blue, green, yellow, pink, and purple. “Baby girl, we don’t have teal. These are the only colors we have.” Riley explained. 

Eleanor’s lip started to quiver as her arms went across her chest. “I want teal. Please.” Her parents had been teaching her the importance of manners, so she figured if she said please, they had to give her what she wanted. 

They both knew what that lip quiver meant, they were going to need to move quickly to avoid a total meltdown. Liam approached the princess and started rubbing her back to keep her calm. “It’s alright Eleanor. Why don’t you tell me why you want a teal egg so badly?”

“It’s my favorite color.” She looked up at her father, a pleading expression etched in her face. Her eyes glistening with unshed tears. 

There was no question that Eleanor had the King wrapped around her finger, and when she looked at him like that, there was absolutely no way he could deny her. “Alright, let me go talk to mommy and see what we can do for you.” He kissed her on her cheek and returned to his wife. “Riley, there must be something we can do. I can send someone to get teal coloring. We have unlimited resources at our disposal, there must be some way we can make this happen for her.” 

Riley shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Man, you really are a sucker when it comes to her. Aren’t you.” 

“For both of my girls, actually.” He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed them gently across her knuckles, while giving her a hopeful expression. 

She sighed deeply, as much as she tried to fight it, she was also a sucker for her family. “Alright, I guess I can try to mix the blue and green together. Maybe I can get the right ratio to make a teal dye.” 

Liam turned to Eleanor and gave her a thumbs up, she clapped her hands and cheered in response. Riley got to work carefully mixing the two dyes into a third cup, occasionally dipping a piece of paper in to test the color. She smiled to herself when the fourth test paper emerged from the cup. Mission accomplished. “Did somebody want to make a teal egg?”

“Me me me!” Eleanor raised her hand and jumped up and down in her seat. 

Riley placed the cup in front of Eleanor and handed her the egg. The pair worked together to color the final egg to the princess’s exact specifications. 

Liam watched as the two of them completed their family project. His heart was so full at that moment that he felt weak in the knees. He reached behind him and laid his palms against the kitchen island to steady himself. He stood there as his wife, the love of his life, sat with his daughter creating memories in their home. In that moment, he wasn’t a King, he was the luckiest man in the world. 

With the help of her mother, Eleanor pulled the egg from the dye, her smile growing exponentially as she proudly looked up at her father to show off her work. “Daddy, we did it! It’s teal!”

Liam chuckled at the sight in front of him. “I think it’s the most beautiful egg I have ever seen, Princess.”

Riley looked up and noticed Liam’s expression before leaning down to Eleanor. “Hey sweets, why don’t you go wash up for dinner while I put all of this away.” Her daughter looked up and nodded before rushing down the hall. Riley approached Liam and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Love, I can honestly tell you I have never been better.” He placed a hand on her cheek. “Do you remember our first date? During the social season?” She nodded. “You asked me what my dream was, and I told you I wanted a real family, one that was close and listened to each other.” He paused, staring deeply into her eyes. “I have that, because of you Riley. You’ve made my dream, my heart’s desire, come true. Going into my social season, I had all but given up on falling in love, and assumed I would simply marry for duty. Then you uprooted your whole life to give me a chance at happiness. I will never be able to tell you how truly grateful I am for all that you have given me.” He placed a lingering kiss on her lips.

“Liam, I did it for me too. That night in New York, I had never felt like that before. I was not that girl, the one that drops everything to fly around the world for a boy I just met, but I knew there was something there that was worth exploring.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“Really?”

Riley laughed gently. “I meant every word.” She leaned in to kiss him, and he pulled her close. 

They pulled apart just as Eleanor bounded back into the room. She ran straight for her parents and jumped into Liam’s arms. He held her against one side, and pulled Riley into the other. He was sure that life couldn’t get better than that very moment. 

Tags:

Permatag- @anjanettexcordonia @athena-penrose @cordonia-gothqueen @cordoniaqueensworld @gabesmommie1130 @gkittylove99 @hopelessromanticmonie @iaminlovewithtrr @jessiembruno @kat-tia801 @khoicesbyk @kingliam2019 @lucy-268 @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @mile9213 @mom2000aggie @pixie88 @queenrileyrose @secretaryunpaid @sweatyrysconnoisseur @theroyalheirshadowhunter @twinkleallnight @txemrn

One Shots- @darley1101

Liam x Riley- @jared2612

@choicesficwriterscreations @wackydrabbles @choicesaprilchallenge2021​ @trraw​

[thespianhauler]

So I saw a Homestuck item for sale recently that might actually be a problem[?]

Not 100% sure on whether it is a problem but I’ma post all the info I have here and let y’all decide.

So it has to do with a pack of Homestuck Midnight Crew playing cards being available for purchase from several different Ebay sellers as well as a few third party online sellers of novelty trading cards [the only reason I saw it is because I collect novelty playing cards].

I did go ahead and grab a pack so that I could compare it to the authentic Midnight Crew Playing cards.

I’m gonna come back to The Felt Playing cards a little later for a different point, but first I just wanna show the box art for them.

The authentic deck box has the suits on it, nice ribbon, all 4 weapons from the crew against a bloody spade backdrop, very nice.

This is one side of the deck box art of the “new” Midnight Crew playing cards. I ain’t saying anything about the art, the art is really nice, this isn’t a complaint about the art, this is me being unsure of how legit these cards are.

This is the art on the other side of the deck box. Also my second point of confusion, if I wasn’t clear my first and main point is the legitimacy of this item, my second point is why is Snow on the box of a midnight crew deck?? She’s not party of the crew, she absolutely does not belong on this box my dudes.

Decks are the same size [2.45 inches by 3.5 inches], an average playing card deck, so nothing majorly changed there

Now admittedly this has messed me up since I got the cards, cause the backing of the authentic cards does not match the deck box art. And on one hand I can understand why, the deck box art is usually symmetrical, that allows for the plays to shuffle the cards as much as they want and always have them remain right side up cause the cards, if split through the middle horizontally remain mirror images of each other.

The deck box art is asymmetrical, and buddy you’d look real dumb holding your cards upside down. But I still feel they could have made the design asymmetrical with some adjustments, but that’s a complaint for a different day. The authentic midnight crew playing cards have the same backing design as the felt playing cards.

For the “new” deck the Snowman design is actually the backing. not only is it asymmetrical and the back of your hand is gunna make you look silly, but again it should have at least been the Slick art cause that makes SENSE

This part made me really feel like the new deck was just milled from a printing company that is open to taking any orders for a deck of cards. It made me feel pretty sure that the deck was a bootleg/knock off.

The left most card is the only bonus card that comes in the authentic deck, giving credit to the artists involved in creating the deck, by name and tumblr blog.

The middle and right most cards come from the new deck, they’re the sort of cards that you sometimes get in regular old playing card decks, poker hands and a how to play x or y game.

Left is the authentic, right is the new. Now this far from the card the camera doesn’t really pick up any differences.

The art from the authentic deck, the colors might look a little washed out I had to brighten my camera to get a clearer picture.

The new deck, between the 2 decks there’s no real difference in art used for the cards. And the colors are identical, the no adjustment in brightness or hue between the 2 sets [any differences seen in the images are probably due to my camera].

This is as close as I could get to a card from the new set, without it going blurry on me, and you can see the little crossing lines on it. That’s the biggest noticeable difference; material quality

The authentic deck is made of card stock with a smooth finish

New deck is card stock with a linen finish [linen while a nice tactile feeling also can make the edges of an image a little blurry; I’ve noticed this the most on the cards that have clocks on them].

The new deck has a very strong plastic smell, but I blame that on the thin plastic the cards were in [but man is it STRONG]

Authentic deck smells of card stock, which I’m hoping this deck smells like when it airs out

They feel about the same thickness

The boxes on the other hand; authentic box feels thicker, sturdier, the print job is sealed, more likely to last

I’ve only just opened the new deck and the box feels much flimsier, there is no sealing on the colors on the deck; which is evidenced by the fact that I’ve managed to scuff it just by opening it

The last thing that bothers me is the copyright information on the box [I don’t know what else to call it]

Now this leaves me confused, The Felt playing cards have the Homestuck and Whatpumpkin logo on the bottom copyright Andrew Hussie bla bla bla you know the rest. But the Midnight Crew cards don’t have that anywhere on the box [and I know damn well they’re authentic]

Yet the new deck has it on the bottom, except it’s being created under the For Fans by Fans, copyright 2019

Which just leaves me confused as fuck all. I, may not be the biggest fan of FFBF as a third party selling site, but I visit it fairly often to keep an eye on what’s going on with the homestuck stuff [I also follow their tumblr and get email updates from them] so like, did I miss something here??? Am I wrong and this is a reprint that was made and sold out hella fast on FFBF??

The last thing I’m gunna include is the description and details that are [literally identical] found on every selling post about these cards

“A playful version of classic playing cards by Homestuck, with art by NightMargin. This deck features the Midnight Crew members: Spades Slick, Hearts Boxcars, Diamonds Droog, and Clubs Deuce, with weapons and objects that they use throughout their missions.

Details:

54 card deck

Card size:  2.5" x 3.5"

Card finish: linen

Box dimensions: 3.59" tall x 2.56" wide

Art by NightMargin

Great for Homestuck collectors

See if the cards are bootleg it means that all those people listed up on the card crediting the artists involved means they are absolutely not getting their due payments for the art provided on the cards, nor is Hussie or for fans by fans getting any money back on these decks.

It also means 1 to a few people had to come together, have really good images of the cards to provide a template for the printing company, pony up the dough to get x amount of decks printed, and then make bank on letting third party sellers on ebay or online sell them [or even they’re the one’s directly selling them online] it’s hard to say.

All I know is this feels real fishy to me

[frostskader]

To The Moon, To The Sun & Back {Frost Nurse}

Just two girls getting friendship tattoos. Nothing Special but always fun.

@sweetheart-minnie

PERI

Peri was still working on the designs when Minnie came into the shop. It had to be perfect if Peri was designing Minnie’s first tattoo. She needed to make sure it was perfection. The petals, the lines. The dots.

“What do you think?” Peri eventually asked. “You know you need to tell me where you want it too. We can get them in the same places or different too.”

MINNIE

It hadn’t taken Minnie long to reach the shop and she was glad to see Peri already there musing over the design they had thought up of together. Truth be told, Minnie was very excited of the prospect of a first tattoo, especially it being a best-friend tattoo.

She walked up to wear Peri was seated allowing her line of sight to scan over the tattoo design.

“It’s beautiful! I love it! How are you this talented?”

The brunette teased even though she also meant it as a compliment. It was extraordinary the things Peri could create, but at the question Minnie found herself pausing getting lost in thought.

“You know… I actually hadn’t thought about that. Maybe the back wrist area? Isn’t that where best-friend tattoos normally go? Oh, but maybe I should find somewhere where I can cover it too because of work… but then I don’t think I would want to cover it all.”

PERI

Peri grinned but shook her head at Minnie. It wasn’t that fancy, but it was still something Peri was of course proud of. She didn’t want anything on their bodies that they weren’t proud of or happy with. Too many friendship tattoos she had seen weren’t well thought of. A sun and a moon, both supporting one another, something you couldn’t have without the other. And they didn’t always need to be out at the same time but they were always there.

Peri loved it.

“You can, it’s no big if you have to cover it when you’re at work. Maybe inner elbow it might less likely to show. Or your ankle too. I’m thinking my forearm.” Right above her scars.

MINNIE

Even though Peri was fine with the idea of Minnie needing to cover it, she still didn’t know if she wanted to. The design was absolutely beautiful, almost as beautiful as the meaning behind it, and she wasn’t so sure that should be something that should constantly remain hidden under some piece of clothes.

Besides, Swynlake General didn’t really have terrible restrictions concerning tattoos, and she hoped that the school didn’t either.

And it wasn’t like it was a provoking tattoo.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to see it a lot if it was done on my inner elbow. It probably would look very cute on my ankle, but then again I’m constantly wearing shoes… I want to be able to see it often. Maybe I should do it on the back of my wrist. I wear long sleeves most of the time to work anyways. Both the school and the hospital are always freezing for some reason. Am I choosing a spot that’s going to be very painful?”

The brunette couldn’t help but to smile when she heard the spot Peri chose. She knew the significance behind choosing such the spot.

“And I think that spot is perfect.”

PERI

"If you're up for it then I think the spot is perfect." Honestly it was kind of cute that Minnie did want it somewhere that she would see if always. Sometimes she assumed Minnie meant more to her than she did to Minnie. But that was mainly because Peri needed a lot of help sometimes.

"It can be because the bone is there and the wrist is so narrow. Inner elbow is probably worse so because of how thin the skin is." Her newest one hurt like a bitch though peri was going to avoid those areas again for awhile.

MINNIE

Minnie took a moment to look at the spot she was thinking of choosing for her tattoo, moreso to wash away any doubts before she made the decision permanent.

“I really like the spot. I’m going to go with it and thankfully I’m not afraid of needles.”

Would be rather ironic if a nurse ever was.

“So, do your worst or well Pascal can in this case just as long as it comes out as beautiful as the design looks on paper. I think I want it on my right side. I wear my watch on my left and it’s almost always on me.”

She plopped her arm back down looking over the design once again.

“I wonder if my co-workers would freak when they see it. I don’t think the lot of them ever pegged me as someone who would get a tattoo. I’m practically a saint to them.”

PERI

Peri grinned at that swiveling in her chair to make the final adjustments now that she knew where it was going.

"Well they have to imagine you've got a little but of a bad streak when your best friend works at a tattoo shop and owns a club." Peri wiggled her eyebrows at Minnie with a laugh.

"It will have to be the size of your palm for the details or we can size it down and make the flowers a little simpler."

MINNIE

Minnie let out a little snort of a laugh as she shook her head.

“Oh please, you’re hardly a bad influence. You’re one of the kindest people I know, if anything Lily is worse and even so my co-workers get shocked even if a bloody curse leaves my mouth.”

It was something Minnie never understood, especially because she had made some questionable choices in her life. It was also something she never truly minded either. There were worse things people could get teased about being saint-like was light.

“Little do they know that I have an exceptional talent for picking locks.” She laughed a little fuller now. “I don’t know if that’s something I should be that proud of.”

Getting her mind back to the topic at hand, the brunette took another glance at the design trying to picture if she would like the flowers to be simpler.

“Would it still look as nice if the flowers were simpler?”

PERI

“Yes but visual appearance is everything and I look like a bad and tough girl.” Peri teased. “I look like i’m the one that would know how to pick locks. Which I know how to frost and break locks probably.” That was just assuming she was correct and knew how those worked but she imagine it could happen. Oh well.

“It would, it would be flatter instead of the shading since we don’t want it to blow out. I can draw it up smaller though?” Peri offered.

MINNIE

Minnie gave a small whiny pout before slowly nodding her head.

“You’re right. I can’t pull off looking bad or tough to save my life. I can barely say no half the time. I’m not even sure how my patients listen to me when I’m being stern. Actually, I distinctly remember one laughing at me. It was during my first years of nursing, but still it was very rude.”

If she had to sit back and recall all of her old nursing days, she would probably end up choosing an entire new profession for the present.

Upon hearing how the design would only appear flatter, Minnie made a bit of a face automatically shaking her head.

“No, don’t bother. I really don’t want to take anything away from how it looks now.”

PERI

“Let me cover you with tattoos, we’ll get you in some black, add hair dye and piercings and you’ll rock the look.” Peri teased before spinning back. If Minnie wanted all the detail and the size then they were all good.

“Well then Pascal is all ready for us. I just have to put the stencils on and make sure you’re good to go. Are you good to go? There’s no going back after this. It’s permanent.” Peri teased.

MINNIE

“You’re already starting the process because here I am getting a tattoo. This is it for me now, I’m on my way to being bad and tough.”

Minnie should’ve barked into a straight laughter right now because she knew even with everything she would still manage to not pull it off. Besides, it wouldn’t last long, she wasn’t much of a fan for the color black and always loved some red or pink on her. She’ll just stick to her secret pick locking skills.

“And yes, I’m good to go! I have no plans of running and I also didn’t sign myself up for any hospital shifts these next couple of days just to give myself some healing time so I definitely cannot turn back now.”

PERI

Peri couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped her at the thought of Minnie looking all bad ass. She would be hot that was for sure. But she wouldn’t be a badass in appearance. But Minnie was a badass in general and people needed to recognize that.

“That’s perfect! Especially in a hospital wouldn’t be the best place for it to heal.” Fixing the stencil on Minnie’s arm, Peri pulled it back for Minnie to tell her if she wanted it higher or lower before Peri put it on her left forearm before deciding she wanted it higher and had to adjust it.

MINNIE

Minnie gave Peri a mock glare as she watched the blonde laugh.

“See! Even you know that I wouldn’t be able to pull that look off. I think it’s best for all humanity if I stay with my hair color and keep the piercing to a minimum. Plus, I really like how red looks on me over black. I can live with the saint teasing.”

She placed her arm now so that Peri was able to do what she needed to do with the stencil. She moved it just an inch higher as she didn’t want it directly under her palm.

“That’s what I thought. I’m always grabbing different things and running about that I would ruin the tattoo. I probably wouldn’t even realize that it was ruined until it was too late.”  

She shrugged and stopped midway realizing that moving her arms probably wouldn’t be the best thing when Peri needed it.

“Plus, I probably could use a bit of a break too.”

PERI

Minnie could always use a break, the girl worked too hard but Peri couldn’t ever really say anything about it because she worked just as much. They both needed a chill pill. Majorly.

“Well you wouldn’t ruin it like that, more if something you wore pulled at the skin while it was peeling or it got infected. Those are more of the concerns when it’s healing.” But just like that both of them were set up.

“Pascal! We’re both ready if you are.” Peri called out nodding her head for Minnie to follow her into Pas’ tattoo room.

“Do you want to go first?”

MINNIE

“I’m actually relieved to hear that because now my tattoo has a shot in life. I couldn’t take off from school, but I’ll just make sure that none of the kids go poking at it.”

Her school nursing job was less heavy than her hospital one, so Minnie figured that she should be okay. There really was a rare chance that something completely out of the norm would end up happening. If she were in the hospital however, that was something she couldn’t guarantee.

Minnie began to follow Peri into a different room and gave her hellos once she spotted Pascal.

“I’m leaving the mercy of my arm to you Pascal.” Minnie teased. “Don’t let me down.” Turning to Peri now she took a moment to maul over whether or not first was best.

“You know what, yes, let’s do this. I’d rather go first and witness less.”  

PERI

Peri laughed but gestured for Minnie to take her seat. Pascal wouldn’t let Minnie down and their magic would just make it look so much cooler than Peri could every do which was sad for her but cool because this would be her second colour shifting tattoo.

“Just remember to breathe and try not to tense up. I’m right here obviously and if I can get one right under my boobs I believe in you to handle this one.”

MINNIE

Minnie took the seat suggested and waited for Pascal to do what he needed to do as she looked over at Peri.

“The one under your boob wasn’t your first one though, you already had previous experience.”

This was Minnie’s very first tattoo, ever. She never had any done before and even when it came to piercings she had the basic one piercing per ear, so this was all very new for the brunette. Even so, she felt remarkably calm maybe because she was always around needles so the thought of another one didn’t shake her.

“It’s funny, I tell my patients the same thing when I have to poke them.”

PERI

"Well true and technically behind the ear is one of the more painful places and I got my first there." Peri shrugged and laughed. "You'll be fine I promise."

Peri knew minnie could handle this. It wasn't some girl who would scream everytime the needle hit her skin even though there was no reason for it.

"And you better follow your own advice then."

MINNIE

“I’m taking you for your word on this.”

At this point Pascal had begun and true to Peri’s statement it actually didn’t feel too terrible. If anything Minnie has felt worse pain before, so this fell in comparison. At the same time, she was never one to be frightened or whine over needle pain.

She took a couple of minutes just to simply watch Pascal work. He was very concentrated in what he was doing and so the brunette figured that she probably shouldn’t stare too long.

“Distract me. Talk to me about something because I’ll just sit and stare at Pascal work just to stare and that probably isn’t very comforting for him.”

PERI

Peri grinned just as much watching Pascal as Minnie was. She could always watch her boss work. The way they worked was magical. The colours they could use. It was perfect. “Okay okay. Um how about our next trip. We have to go somewhere other than London. Maybe somewhere we have to go on a plane to. That would be fun.”

Unlike the last time Peri’s life changed she didn’t dive into alcohol. She of course drank a little more but she was determined to be moving and doing and experiencing as much as possible. While drinking and partying.

MINNIE

Vacation was definitely a welcomed distraction, especially since Minnie was one who hardly ever took any. She was surprised that she even knew what it was. She has been devoted to Sywnlake General Hospital from the time she was hired.

“Yes! We do! I love my hometown but I think we need a little break away from it. Didn’t we want somewhere tropical?”

She could have sworn remembering them speaking of that, and besides, who wouldn’t enjoy a nice time under the warm, bright sun, especially when the sun didn’t show it’s face too often in Swynlake.

“It could be Carribean-like. There is Jamaica, Bahamas, any of those islands really. We could enjoy the sun! We honestly don’t see enough of the sun here.”

PERI

“We can somewhere warm sounds wonderful.” Which was always a funny thing when considering Peri was a frost fairy but she really did love being warm. “And we deserve it.” If there were two people in Swynlake that deserved a warm holiday it was Peri and Minnie.”

“I always hear good things with Bahamas.”

MINNIE

“I will definitely be happy with the Bahamas. I have never been there before, but a least this way we can now find out if what everyone has said about it is true. I’ve heard that the beaches there are beautiful.”

Minnie was very thankful that her mind was currently occupied with thoughts of a vacation rather than the tattoo that was currently being worked on her. It wasn’t hurting her terribly per say, but if she would’ve been solely focused on it, she knew she would've felt worse then what it really was.

“Clear blue water and you can get served alcohol for a change instead of being the one serving them, probably right on the beach too. We can even go scuba diving. I’ve never done that either.”

Minnie paused a moment before letting out a small soft laugh.

“Apparently there is a lot that I have never done before.”

PERI

“I’ll be thinking about the club the entire time though.” And that idea sucked but Peri had built up a really good team too and being served instead of the one serving sounded like a great time. Peri just wouldn’t know what to do with herself.

How could they stop moving. Stop doing. It was a weird idea.

“I’ve never scuba’ed either. Though I’m not really a strong swimmer so I might need to fix that.”

MINNIE

“No.” Minnie immediately reprimanded.

“You will not be allowed to think about the club and I will not be allowed to think about the hospital or the school. The only thing we will be allowed to think about is beautiful blue clear water.”

Minnie hoped that will be the case, that by some miracle she will be able to pull herself away from her job.

“And just to be safe we will take each other's phone because I have a problem ignoring the hospital’s phone number when it appears on my cell phone screen so I’m going to need it taken away from me.”

There, problem solved. They could both do this. They can have a vacation without going through work withdrawals.

“It’ll be a fun thinkless free vacation with scuba diving and pina coladas.”

PERI

"We're a mess arent we?" How was it that both of them wouldnt ignore their phones even across the ocean and they would be checking in on Swynlake.

They had a problem.

"That sounds like a deal though. We can lock them in whatever safe is there and then we cant do anything about it." Glancing back at Pascal's work Peri nodded. It was clean. No surprise. It was beautiful. No surprise. And it was almost done.

"What do you think?"

MINNIE

“Oh, I’m not admitting to anything. I just call this having a nice strong work ethic. Nothing wrong at all.”

Of course, Minnie couldn’t keep a straight face while saying all of that but she still wasn’t going to openly admit it. It would mean she had to give an honest effort to learn how to say no and that was a lot.

Her eyes now fell over Pascal’s work. She was surprised to see that it was already almost done! It looked beautiful!

“I love it! It looks amazing! I can’t believe it’s already almost done.”

PERI

“They are amazing. I learned under the very best.” Peri grinned getting more and more excited by the moment to get her own done. She hadn’t ever gotten two tattoos so close together but she loved it. Both of them meant so much to her.

“We’ll have to find someone to look after Figgy and Nova.”

MINNIE

“Figaro! I hadn’t even thought of him. I’m horrible!”

Minnie really did forget all about her precious Figaro and she immediately felt like the worst person on earth. Figaro had been the only male that had never hurt her.

Goes to show how her boyfriend history looked like.

“You think Ollie would look out for them? He’s someone Figaro has seen a lot so he will feel most comfortable with Ollie. You know how Figaro is, he isn’t the most pleasant with just anyone. He has scratched before.”

PERI

“Yeah I don’t see why not. Let him stay at our place him and Isa can have the place for the week if they want.” Peri wiggled her eyebrows at Minnie all while giggling at it. “Let teens be teens it will be fun!” And if Peri could cause trouble and excitement in the kid’s life that would be fun.

“And you’re not bad forgetting him it happens. No big deal.”

MINNIE

At Peri’s eyebrow wiggle Minnie couldn’t help but to give a bit of a face.

“Now I just have disturbing pictures in my head on what Ollie and Isa could do with a flat all for themselves.”

Not that she didn’t trust Ollie, she did, she absolutely adored him, but hormones were very wild at their age. Minnie was once their age before so she knew.

“And it is bad! Figaro has been the only male in my life who has never hurt me and that is how I repay such faithfulness by forgetting about him. Did you know that he would always cuddle me more whenever I cried over an ex. It’s like he knew.”

PERI

 "You should have some disturbing images I'm your head." Peri laughed, working with Ollie now she got to know him more and teasing him was adorable. She was pretty certain he was still a virgin too if that truth or dare game had anything to say about it.

"He knows you, he loves you and he will always be there and one day someone will be there for you too." Peri was just sorry she thought that guy was Marzel.

MINNIE

Minnie immediately shook her head. “Peri! No! Not that I’m against it all.” She actually wasn’t. Ollie was of age and he has been with his girlfriend for a very stable amount of time, hell she approved.

“I just don’t need to be thinking of that in my head. It could remain in his head.”

Pascal was done with their work and so of course Minnie had to pause in her conversation to take a proper look at it. She even lifted her arm and everything.

“Oh, I love it!! Pascal, it’s perfect and so beautiful! Thank you so much!” Minnie even proceeded in giving them a hug, being careful of her tattoo of course.

“Your turn now, Peri.” Minnie purposely didn’t mention anything again about their other topic. She didn’t want to say out loud how she started to believe that love simply wasn’t in the cards for her.

PERI

Peri laughed nudging Minnie now that the tattoo was finished, she didn’t have to worry about messing Pascal up. Peri moved quickly into Minnie’s spot as Pascal disposed of everything and sanitized it before starting on here as well.

“Now it’s your turn to distract me.” Although Peri wasn’t worried about the pain at all.

MINNIE

“Like you need one. You are a professional at this point.” Minnie teased.

Even so, she grew quiet a moment to think of a topic to bring up. Peri may be a professional but she was nice enough to distract her so it was only fair that Minnie repaid the favor.

Finally, something popped up in her head which took a little longer than usual because she was still looking down at her tattoo.

“How was that party you went to the other night? I forgot the bloke’s name who was having the birthday.” She hadn’t gone because she was pulling a night shift at the hospital that night.

PERI

“Probably but talking is fun.” She couldn’t talk at all during her chest piece which kind of sucked. But she had music to listen to at the time.

“Oh gosh that thing it was hilarious, a little awkward since Lou was there too but it wasn’t bad. Danced a bit, drank a bit got dared to switch shirts with a guy and dance in a circle but that was about it. Saw Dodger and Lou kiss.”

MINNIE

“Lou kissed Dodger?!”

Minnie was kind of surprised to hear that Lou even went to a house party. She didn’t think that it was his type of environment, but then again, Lou was someone Minnie was never able to fully understand.

But all in all, Minnie was glad to hear that Peri had a decent time. She deserved it.

“Maybe it was a good thing I was working. Truth or dare was never really my scene.”

She never did well in house parties, unless drunk but Minnie avoided getting drunk because she knew the type of drunk she was. It was best for herself if was drunk as minimally as possible.

“Did you end up coming home with that bloke’s shirt?”

PERI

“Lou kissed Dodger. He was dared to kiss the most attractive person in the room and of course he found that insulting and choose Dodger. Which is very weird.” Peri could only assume Lou didn’t know Dodger and Peri were friends. Or maybe he didn’t care.

“And yeah, the guy I switched with was a total perv kept daring girls to take off their shirts he def wanted to keep them if he could,”

MINNIE

Lou was dared to kiss the most attractive person in the room and he chose Dodger? Minnie found herself to be very upset at the fact that he hadn’t chosen Peri. Obviously, he had to be obscenely drunk, or he did it on purpose.

Minnie simply rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Then again maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t chosen Peri with all that had happened. There was no need to blur lines.

“Well, at least you had a decent time and that’s what counts. That guy wanting to keep all the girls’ shirts though, very disturbing. Who else went?”

PERI

“Ollie and Isa were there, um I think his new roommate. Um some of the Triton girls. Marzel. There was a lot of people. If they hold another one you should come with me.” Peri offered letting out a small sigh. She was fine so far with the crowd there and if she could keep avoiding Lou then everything would work out.

“It was a fun night over all.”

MINNIE

It did sound like a good turn out. For the most part, parties in Swynlake had a very good turn out rate and that could be because it was a small town. People did whatever they could find when living in a small town.

“It sounded like a fun night. Maybe next time I won’t be working.”

She wasn’t sure if she would’ve been a super fun company anyways, so maybe it was a good thing that she went to work. Minnie never minded going out, she liked going to Pixie’s but home parties never seemed to be her type of crowd.

“And you all played truth or dare?” 

PERI

“Well if you aren’t and you want to come that will be a lot of fun. We can go and stay together. We can leave whenever you want.” Peri didn’t mind if Minnie wanted someone to have her back then Peri was going to be that person.

“A lot of us did yeah. And if that happens again you don’t have to join either.”

MINNIE

Minnie gave Peri a smile as she walked closer to her to give her a side hug, her head even leaning over the blonde’s. She was very careful with the gesture so as to make sure Peri didn’t move and mess up Pascal’s concentration.

“Thanks, because I’ll go if you go. By myself, not so much.”

Minnie was super grateful to have a best-friend who always looked out for her, even in the simplest of things. Peri knew she would prefer company even without Minnie having to say it outloud.

“And this way you can keep an eye on me and make sure that I don’t drink too much. Horrible things happen when I drink.”

PERI

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to but if you ever do I’ll be right there with you. They never have anything strong enough to get me drunk unless I bring my own stuff. So as long as I don’t do that you’re in good hands.” Peri grinned nudging her friend.

“I’d keep you safe.”

MINNIE

“No, I think I should for the next one that comes around. I need to go out. Get out of work for a little bit. It should be good for me, right?”

Minnie knew she was buried under all of her work. A break at some point would be beneficial for her.

“I would appreciate you forever for keeping me safe. I get very flirty when I’m even a little drunk.” The brunette then looked at Pascal for a quick moment. “You aren’t allowed to judge me for this okay?”

Now looking back to Peri she bit at the inside of her cheek.

“And when I officially pass the line of good and drunk it gets worse. The last time I was drunk, drunk I had a one night stand and I barely knew the guy and it was at his place not even mine. Not very proud of it, so I have to keep myself safe from myself.”

PERI

“Only if you want to, it’s no fun if you don’t want to go. We can always just party at Pixies. I want to plan a new event soon so we can really have some fun with that.” Peri grinned laughing with Pascal but as they finished up Peri admired her arm and the shimmer of colour.

She wasn’t hiding her scars anymore. Anyone would see them now if they looked at the moon tattoo but there they were. A sun and moon together.

“But I promise if you do come out. We’re both heading home to our place that night. No one allowed.”

MINNIE

“Pixie’s would be fun too! I do always enjoy Pixie’s and I will hold you to that promise! Will even let you choose where we will go for next time.”

Pascal was done with Peri’s tattoo and Minnie hunched over a bit to take a good look at it. It looked just as beautiful as her’s did! She was definitely excited with the results.

Minnie then looked at her own and smiled. Sun and moon, it was perfect. Always what the other needed. She thanked Pascal with a hug and everything for their work and then looked over at Peri.

“You can tell me all about what I’m going to need to do to take care of this tattoo on the way back home.”

[writehardwhumpharder]

Fluffy OC drabble Carson gets a concussion and Daniel takes care of him.

Carson laid across the armchair sideways so his legs dangled off one end and his head leaned against the other armrest. Most adults wouldn't attempt such a position but Carson was pretty good at fitting in small spaces. He stared at the ceiling, seemingly entranced by it.

"Wow." He muttered, reaching one arm up to swipe at the empty air.

"Carson, buddy, stop staring at the magic before you hurt yourself." Danny warned. It was never good to use his senses like this for so long. Technically magic was always visible to him but he was blind to it unless he really tried to see it, sort of like an extra sense, or another layer over the world.

Carson's eyes tracked the little beads of light floating through the air like dust. Trace energies swirled around in faded colors, just echoes of their original source. Normally he wouldn't do this recreationally but right now he was just too out of it to care. Whatever walls in his brain that kept him from seeing the energy all the time had crumbled away along with most of his brain function.

Danny grabbed his hand out of the air and put it back down in his lap. "Stop that." He instructed, sounding like he was talking to a small child.

"But it's so pretty." Carson whined, reaching his arm back up to touch the energy as soon as Danny stepped away from him. His fingertips tingled faintly and his head started to spin. He slouched deeper into the chair suddenly, trying to ground himself. Curling inward, Carson tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling radiating from his head.

"Don't you dare throw up on my chair," Danny warned, reading the look on Carson's face. He'd seen him piss drunk plenty of times and this wasn't all that different.

"What do you take me for? An amateur?" Carson slurred slightly, sounding genuinely offended, "I'll throw up on the floor where it's easier to clean up and as long as I'm conscious, I can take care of it myself," Carson said, which was probably true.

Daniel rolled his eyes and settled down on the couch across from him. He pretended to be annoyed that he was stuck babysitting Carson after he went and got himself majorly concussed but let's be honest, he'd do anything for him. With everything that had been going on in his life lately you'd think he got hit in some epic battle, but no. Carson hit his head when he tripped walking up the stairs to the apartment building. Daniel knew because he had the pleasure of witnessing the whole thing. Five steps, there are only five steps up to the main door and he still somehow managed to fuck that up. Though to be fair, it was very early in the season for ice to be a problem and he hadn't expected it. Carson probably would have gotten off with only a scraped hand or knee but he had been holding his phone at the time and apparently keeping the screen from shattering was more important than protecting his own skull.

What had humanity come to? Daniel wondered as he kept an eye on Carson, who seemed to be asking existential questions of his own.

"Don't my abilities kinda prove that fate doesn't exist? I mean if illness and death can be avoided with a little soul rearranging then destiny can't be very strong... or, or maybe fate is a thing and I'm just pissing it off. Oh my god, Danny, what if the universe is mad at me?" He asked, turning his head to face him without actually lifting it off the armrest. To be honest, Carson wasn't sure he even could. His head might as well have weighed 50 lbs at that point.

"Ugh, I don't know man. I don't think you'd be given the chance to heal people if the universe considered it cheating," Danny sighed, "Aren't you supposed to be tired or something?"

This time Carson did manage to lift his head. His uneven pupils gave him a sort of crazed look.

"Nah, I am wide awake," Carson said as he slid out of the chair and onto the floor, "so awake."

"Mhmm right, well I'm getting tired so how about you drink some of that water and try not to kill yourself." Danny said as he got up from the couch to go get ready for bed. Carson gave a lazy thumbs up from where he sat on the floor next to the coffee table. Daniel came back a minute later and started to move it out of his way so he could pull out the couch for Carson to sleep on since he still didn't feel confident letting him go back to his own apartment.

"Noooooo, not the pullout couch. Anything but the pullout couch." Carson whined. Daniel rubbed at his forehead with frustration.

"Well it's either this or you gotta bunk with me, I'm not letting you go home yet, you can barely stand." Danny explained, only Carson had no intention of walking all the way downstairs anyway. He seemed to think about it for second then shrugged.

"Okay," Carson said, attempting to stand. He wobbled and had to lean on the chair to fully get on his feet but he managed. Surprise flashed across Danny's face leaving a pink tint to his cheeks which thankfully Carson didn't notice.

"What? That wasn't an offer," he stammered.

"Too late. It's decided," Carson said weakly, he closed his eyes and swayed slightly. Daniel dropped the decorative pillow he was holding and leaned awkwardly across the coffee table to grab Carson's elbow.

"Easy there Car," Danny said urgently, lunging to keep Carson from falling over.

"m fine" Carson slurred right before his legs folded under him. Luckily he didn't actually pass out because then they'd have to go back to the hospital. They'd been told that general weakness and disorientation was normal. Danny stared down at him sharply, his hold on him the only thing keeping Carson up. "I didn't fall, I just forgot where the floor was."

"Sure ya did," Danny hoisted him up and lead him the short distance to the bed. His apartment wasn't split into two rooms so he had more space for an actual bed, you know, the kind adults have.

Carson fell face down on top of it with a groan. Daniel took a deep breath to steady his nerves and sat down on the other side. He looked over to see that Carson was already asleep, probably passed out the second his head hit the pillow. Slipping into his pajamas Daniel turned off the lights, plugged in their phones, wrestled the blankets out from under Carson who fell asleep on top of the covers, and when he couldn't stall any longer he got into bed next to him. They were friends, best friends, so why did this feel so weird? Daniel turned over, sneaking a look at Carson. God he looked so cute when he was sleeping.

"Stop. Stop thinking about it." He scolded himself, turning over again to face the wall. Only because he really was tired did he manage to fall asleep thirty minutes later.

***

Daniel wasn't sure exactly what woke him up. No screaming so it wasn't Carson, or... He suddenly remembered that Carson was sleeping in his apartment tonight and looked over to find that Carson was still there but he was sitting up, awake.

"You okay, Car?" He asked groggily. Carson made some kind of non-commital sound which only added to Daniel's concern. He sat up and flicked the lamp on, immediately noticing how pale he looked. "Carson?" He asked again, setting a hand on his shoulder, finding that his skin was also oddly clammy.

"I don't know... I just feel kinda weird..."

"Weird how?" He asked. Carson leaned forward suddenly and gagged, hurriedly getting off the bed to get to the trash can. As soon as his feet hit the floor he staggered and fell hard on his knees. The trash can was still full but it was better than nothing as he pulled it toward him, barely making it in time before he started coughing up water and bile. Daniel was up in seconds rushing around the bed.

"Sorry," Carson croaked between heaves.

"Don't worry about it, the doctor said this might happen, it's fine." Daniel assured him, placing a tentative hand on his back.

"Doesn't... feel... fine," Carson breathed, slumping against the wall. His eyes fluttered closed and gravity pulled his limbs down into a graceless heap. Daniel's eyes widened in fear and he patted Carson's face desperately.

"Carson? Carson wake up!" He continued, shaking his shoulder as well. "Shit, shit shit!" He looked wildly around the room for his pants and phone. He called a cab and got dressed as quickly as possible before he returned to Carson to get him ready. Luckily he was already wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants so it was only a matter of sliding his boots on his feet and draping his coat over him. Carson didn't so much as stir as Daniel threw on his own coat and lifted him into his arms. It was a bit of a challenge opening the door without dropping him but he managed. Even as a dead weight in his grip Carson was shockingly light.

The cab rolled up outside a few minutes later and the driver got out to open the door for them. Daniel put Carson in first then got in after him, guiding his head into his lap. He kept track of every minute he was unconscious.

"Hospital, please." Daniel said urgently.

"Is your boyfriend okay?" The cabbie asked. Daniel's heart literally sputtered to a stop at that.

"He's just a friend, and he should be alright. Just a concussion, I hope..." he said a little too quickly. He guessed it was good to know that his driver had such an open mind to even make that assumption. Daniel looked down at Carson's pale form resting in his lap. His body jostled as the car went over a few bumps but he showed no signs of waking. Daniel told himself that he was doing the right thing taking him to the hospital straight away, that nothing bad would happen. The cab driver drove as fast as he deemed safe, and with the roads pretty much deserted that time of night, ended up being 20mph over the speed limit. They got to the hospital in no time and Daniel struggled to get out of the car, pulling Carsom out under his arms.

"Hold on, I'll help you." The driver said, throwing the car in park and jumping out. He grabbed Carson's legs and eased them out of the car. Settling Carson's coat back around his shoulders Daniel adjusted his grip and lifted Carson again, pulling him close to his chest.

"Um, can you... left pocket." Daniel asked, trying to figure out a way to pay to the man without setting down Carson.

"Oh, no that's not necessary it was only a few blocks." The man smiled, getting back in the car before Daniel could argue with him. Carson's breath was warm against Daniel's neck, his head lolled against his chest and it was somehow comforting, knowing he was still breathing steadily. The doors to the ER opened automatically and he headed straight for the front desk.

"Hi, we were here earlier today. The doctor said to come back if he lost consciousness. He's got a pretty bad concussion." Daniel explained.

"What's the patient's name?" The nurse asked, already clicking away at her computer.

"Carson Hall."

"I see, someone will be right with you if you want to go sit down." She said nicely.

Daniel turned to go sit in the waiting room, trying to think of some way to prop Carson up in the meantime. There were only two other people there, a mom and a baby, so hopefully they would get called soon. Gently lowering Carson down onto one of the longer benches, Daniel stripped off his own coat to lay over him. Suddenly Carson's face scrunched up in confusion.

"What's... where are we?" He asked, finally starting to come to.

"We're at the hospital." Carson's eyes snapped open and he made a feeble attempt sit up.

"Why?" He asked.

"Do you not remember waking up, throwing up in my trash can, then promptly passing out? Any of that ring a bell?" Daniel laughed.

"Uhhhh," Carson's face grew pink with embarrassment, "sorry about that."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're awake now, you were completely out for closing in on 30 minutes." Daniel said, glancing up at one of the many wall clocks. It was almost 1am now. Carson groaned and slowly sat up on the bench, resting his arms on his knees.

"Is this really necessary? I'm tired, my head hurts." Carson complained, running a hand through his messy dark brown hair.

"You just have to get checked by a doctor then we can go home." Daniel rationed. He didn't like hanging around the ER in the middle of the night either but it was pretty scary when Carson just collapsed like that. He might as well get some peace of mind since they were already there.

"Can't I just, you know, fix myself?" He asked, just now remembering that he was a soul magician.

Daniel gave him a pointed look, "You're too concussed to be doing any kind of magic right now."

He was probably right. Carson sighed. The woman sitting near them in the waiting room seemed to perk up at the word magic and she glared at them as she moved to the farthest seat away from them, clutching her baby to her chest protectively.

"Bitch," Carson thought to himself. In a better state he probably would have offered to heal the baby of what was likely to be a minor ear infection so the two could go home and get some sleep.

"Carson Hall," a young male nurse called out, looking at his clipboard. Carson lumbered to his feet and walked over to him shakily. Daniel hovered close next to him just in case he slipped. Within the next hour Carson was looked over and cleared to go home. He fell asleep as soon as they got in the cab Danny had called. Only this time he rested his head on Danny's shoulder instead of his lap. Needless to say, he didn't complain.

[paladin-andric]

WIP Prep Tag Game

Tagged by @corishadowfang! Thank you, this is pretty big, but I liked it a lot!

Rules: Answer the questions, then tag as many people as there are questions (or as many as you can).

As usual, I’ll be doing Blackheart.

FIRST LOOK

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

Demons invade the world, decimating a city and casting the land around it in a dark fog. A knight pierces through the blanket of darkness, in an effort to find the demons’ source and destroy it.

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

Single book. The ending’s VERY conclusive. Though the world itself? I think we’ll be seeing more of it...

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

Oppressive fog, monsters, lone figures walking down the road, ruined cities

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

The game Demon’s Souls inspired a lot of the setting (a ruined city full of demons wrapped in a fog), while D&D inspiring much of the world, with the various fantasy races throughout.

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

Once again, inspirations make themselves apparent.

MAIN CHARACTER

6. Who is your protagonist?

Sir Alexander, of House Angelus. The youngest child of a large family, estranged from his noble family, who has forsaken any possible rulership for a life of knighthood. While he has prepared well for his mission, he still struggles. He’s not superhuman, nor does he know any magic, which puts him at a disadvanage against inhumanly powerful demons, well versed in unholy arts of magic. He IS determined, however. He can take a lot of punishment, and he never gives up.

7. Who is their closest ally?

Since he doesn’t really favor one of his group majorly over the others, I’ll just put the rest of the heroes.

Senci, an excitable young kobold raised by humans. He dreams of becoming a famous hero one day, and traveling the land to help people in need.

Leianna, a cleric who tends to stir up trouble. She always speaks her mind and throws jabs, even when not wholly appropriate. Despite this she cares deeply for others, it’s why she volunteered to journey to the shrouded city, and risked her life saving Tourthun.

Lexius, a quiet and unassuming priest. Unable to stand by and watch people vanish into the fog, never to be seen again, he used the last bit of money he had on basic equipment and set out, leaving only a note explaining himself to the rest of the monastery. His powers may seem lacking at the moment, but he’ll be pushed to his limits down the line...

Tourthun, a young, red dragon who was nearly captured by the demons. Borderline pacifistic and bitter over his past, the fall of Palethorn, the city covered by fog was an extremely trying time for him. Finally forced to fight, he finds himself lacking in this respect, his own disdain towards killing making it even more challenging. While he carries a deep love for humanity and the rest of the small races, his inexperience makes his support less decisive than it might normally be. Still he fights on, driven by a desire to save the others...

Razorwing, a birdman archer. Very much a classical hero, he is famous and beloved for his various exploits throughout his life of adventure. His ability to fly and pinpoint accuracy makes him a deadly adversary.

Paul, a bounty hunter. Cold, calculating and decisive, he is well versed in the art of killing, though demonslaying is something he’ll need to adjust to, his usual target being man. He hides both his face and his emotions behind a mask.

Charles, a young half-dragon magician. Most unusual for his kind, he’s shy, timid and often easily flustered. He shows extraordinary potential for magic, and already is quite strong. He has a ways to go before he’s a master sorcerer, however.

Andric, an aging paladin. Having raised Senci, he’s become something of a tutor in his older age, though he’s still incredibly powerful from decades of battle and honing his holy powers. Extraordinarily powerful, and a huge boon to the heroes’ efforts.

8. Who is their enemy?

Demonkind at large. Several demons, varying in power, have entered through the portal to the underworld. They have left corrupted in their wake, those who have fallen to demonic corruption and lost their minds, becoming thoughtless beasts bent on slaughter. They have to destroy the portal, no matter the cost.

9. What do they want more than anything?

To be left in peace, able to relax at his manor inbetween military campaigns.

10. Why can’t they have it?

Alexander has been honored as “Geralthin’s Finest Knight” for his heroics in war. As such, whenever a problem arises, or a crisis is revealed, the kingdom always sends for him right away. He’s constantly pulled from his quaint homestead out in the countryside, and thrown at the head of an army. He just wants a bit more time to himself, and slightly less overwhelming responsibilities.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

Alexander thinks of himself as bland, plain, boring and uninspiring. He doesn’t understand why he’s so often wanted to lead armies, seeing as zealous speeches and raw charisma aren’t his forte. The truth is that his unshakable courage and willingness to always be in the thick of the fight with his men is why the soldiers flock to him. He fights and risks dying alongside them, as opposed to most generals who lead from the back lines...and while he may order a retreat, he’ll always be the last to pull back, to ensure no one else is left behind.

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

This is technically cheating, as my friend drew this, but I can’t draw for the life of me. He’s gonna refine this and color it at some point, but he’s a very busy man.

Ah, and here’s a version done by the wonderful @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword!

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

While the story’s mainly focused on the actual conflict, there’s some growth and character development throughout.

Alexander learns that non-humans aren’t as wild, barbaric and evil as he’s been led to believe, and understands that he has to trust his new, inhuman teammates.

Senci, for the first time, gets into real, actual fights. While he’s always wanted to be a hero, he is quickly forced to learn just what that entails.

Leianna is fairly static, though she does learn that there’s a time and place for jesting. While she may use humor to hide anger or fear, she eventually understand that it’s time to get serious, and that it’s okay to show those feelings sometimes.

Lexius is just a priest. He’s a weak and outmatched in almost every respect. Over time, he will find his courage and resolve when he needs it most.

Tourthun has to forgive the most grievous of crimes, and is forced to come to terms with the horrors of his past. In addition, a final enemy within himself will be the final challenge...

Razorwing overcomes the one part of his past that fills him with anger, hatred and fear.

Paul learns how to express his feelings, and that not everyone is out to get him.

Charles, timid and self-doubting, sees that he’s more valuable than he thought.

Andric is forced to trust Senci on his own, and see just how well he’s prepared his protege...

14. What is the external conflict?

The heroes journey through the ruined city of Palethorn, and seek out the source of the demons, the Blackheart, a great portal that allows demons to travel to the world. Along the way, many corrupted stand in their way, and demons plot against them. Finding the source of the Blackheart itself proves a challenge...

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?  

Failing his quest, unable to destroy the Blackheart, until demons overwhelm Geralthin and plunge the entire world into darkness. Just like the city, the entire would would be destroyed, the last specs of humanity surviving by hiding deep underground, praying that the demons above don’t find them.

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

A twist I’d rather not reveal. I think it’s going to hit you VERY hard, though.

17. Do you know how it ends?

Yes, and once again I’d rather not spoil it.

BITS AND BOBS

18. What is the theme?  

Trust and understanding. In the human realm, many non-humans are looked upon with suspicion, disdain, fear, hatred, or sometimes several at once. Notable examples are the wolfmen, feared and loathed for their violent tendencies, kobolds, looked down on with disgust for their pathetic and barbaric actions, and half-dragons, feared and hated for their frightening appearance and their great strength. In this ruined city full of corrupted beasts however, Alexander is forced into an alliance with the survivors, nearly all of them non-human, as this city is where the kingdom had exiled them to. Over time though living among these creatures, the knight learns that these preconceptions are very often wrong, and that just like humans, they’re not some predictable hivemind.

Forgiveness and redemption. Through several revelations, Tourthun has to make peace with his past, and though he’s been so horribly wronged, and he would be completely justified in never forgiving those that wronged him, he comes to understand hatred is a repeating, unending cycle of misery, sending suffering unto another, and making them hate and cause suffering to other innocents in return. He thus decides to break the cycle. In addition, corruption, no matter how powerful, is not all-encompassing. Not all who fall to the demons are lost forever...

Determination and hope. Though things are so horrible, the heroes seem so outmatched, and the end of the world looks to be drawing near, everyone works hard against the demons’ plot, never falling to apathy or stoic acceptance of the end. Every person that falls to the demons only furthers the convictions of the heroes. It can’t happen to the rest of the world. No more must die. This far, and no farther!

19. What is a recurring symbol?  

Ruin. The city, unmaintained due to the crisis, is starting to fall apart. It serves to emphasize how horrid the demons are, and just what’s in store for the rest of the world if the heroes fail.

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description!)

The Kingdom of Geralthin, ancestral homeland of humanity, once the heart of an empire that sprawled across all of the continent of Deaco. Through destruction at the hands of dragonkind, the empire was destroyed, and collapsed into city-states while the other races reclaimed their independence. Centuries of struggle, advancement and the discovery of magic allowed humanity to cast the dragons out of their cities, though many still roam the countryside. Afterwards Geralthin unified and become a powerful kingdom. Once a melting pot and the heart of trade in all the known world, Geralthin has become homogeneous as the most recent king decided to outlaw non-humans from the kingdom, rounding them up and forcing them into the city of Palethorn. This was a wildly unpopular move and led to uprisings, riots, and traitorous sentiment in many corners of the kingdom.

In the city, all was finally starting to calm down when the demons arrived. Now cut off from the outside world through the dark fog, no one knows what goes on inside, for all who enter the fog never come back. This dark, corrupted city is crumbling and abandoned, filled only with the husks of creatures that were once citizens, stumbling through the streets, seeking out any survivors to kill for their masters. Deep in the sewer systems that were never finished before the attack, the last remnants of the city hide out in an underground encampment, a few scavengers often traveling to the surface in a desperate bit to gather what the group needs to stay alive. It is here the heroes plot out their mission, and bring their wounded to rest and recover.

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already? 

Yes. I’m pretty interested to see what I can do with them.

22. What excited you about this story?  

Mixing dark fantasy with high fantasy, knights and dragons with evil and darkness. I’ve always been massively interested in fantasy, particularly magic and monsters, and how they effect what would otherwise be a mundane medieval world. How does castle design and city defenses have to adapt when you need to account for dragons? How much do numbers count for in armies when the opposition can call down lightning, or teleport? How do monsters like griffins and drakes affect hunters, and villages out in the deep wilds? How would society see people who exchange their humanity for power?

Seeing this new, strange world, and forces like dragons and demons clashing is incredibly interesting to me, which is why I enjoy writing about it so much.

23. Tell us about your usual writing method! 

Eh. I put on some music and just...go, I guess. I have a basic framework for the plot, and I know the ending, but aside from that I just...write. I guess I’ll look more into the flow of everything after I’m done, editing and altering from there. Also upon rereading the chapter after I post I notice like 20 typos, whoops.

WOW. This was really long and tiring, but I really enjoyed blabbering about my book. Thanks again!

I’ll be tagging @oceanwriter, @lady-redshield-writes, @homesteadhorner and @sheralynnramsey. Honestly this is pretty insane, I’m not gonna tag that many people, and if you don’t want to do this I totally understand.

[mckinnonkate]

all that i am; all that i hope to be

a lil more soft babyfic simply because it makes me happy 

tagging @today-in-fic

At 4:06, she went into labor.

At 5:13, the doctors rushed her into an emergency C-section.

At 5:16, they had a daughter.

She stays knocked out through her transfer to a private room, the anesthesia’s grip on her holding strong, and it’s not until two hours have passed that the fog starts to lift. She wakes somewhat disoriented. Unable to recall the last few hours, she slowly peels her eyes open and squints to adjust to the light from the rising sun. The first thing she’s aware of is Mulder’s slouched form next to her, his head laying by her hip and his body in a chair by her bed, reminiscent of a hospital stay they couldn’t wipe from their memories if they tried.

She starts to shift her body closer to his and the pain in her abdomen is immediate. It rips through her, reminding her, once again, of another injury in her colorful past. She inhales sharply, letting out a soft whimper, and as soon as she does, Mulder’s head jerks up.

“Hi,” he starts, fumbling for her hand. “Don’t move.”

She nods, breathing out through her mouth and exhaling through the pain. Suddenly, the memories come flying back.

Contractions. Fetal distress. A baby crying. Where is the baby?

Cognizant of the fresh wound in her stomach, her eyes frantically find his, all effects of the drugs dwindling the longer she worries.

“Where is she? What happened? Is she okay?” she demands, panic evident in her voice. As a doctor, and a rational human being, she knows the baby can’t be far, since Mulder wouldn’t be dozing peacefully with her if there were a problem, but she’s having a hard time getting that part of her brain to take over. He stands, then, and gently shushes her, holding the hand that has his in a death grip to his chest while the other brushes her hair back from her face.

“They took her a little while ago to check her out some more. They wanted to see where her lungs are at, see if anything is majorly underdeveloped. She’s perfectly fine, Scully. She’s so beautiful.”

She’s visibly relieved, closing her eyes and letting a sigh escape, but she can’t help but feel a bit jealous that he’s presumably gotten to see and spend time with the baby already. She’d curse modern medicine if she weren’t fairly certain it’s what saved both her and their child.

Their child. Hormones have her firmly in their grasp and she’s at once a little giddy that they’ve created a tiny human being together. Another tiny person who is half him, half her, completely reliant on the both of them. They have a baby, they have a baby girl, and she’s getting more and more restless every second she stays separated from her. She looks up at him, tears filling her eyes against her will.

“I just want to hold her,” she all but whines as he lowers himself back down to the padded hospital chair. “Even seeing her would be enough – I have to look at her. I have to make sure.”

The familiar instinct is crawling back to the surface, tossing aside the years of repressed emotions and urges in its path, and she remembers the moments that followed giving birth the first time. The relentless need to care for a squirming, helpless little thing. The overwhelming desires to protect, nurture, and provide. She feels like a junkie chasing the next high.

Maybe not that extreme.

On second thought, absolutely that extreme.

She’d really love to have their daughter in her arms right about now.

As if able to sense her emotional turmoil, a nurse gently opens the door and pushes a bassinet into the room. Mulder and Scully follow it, their gazes intense, as the anticipation grows in both of them.

“Here she is,” she quietly announces, bringing the baby to the side of Scully’s bed Mulder isn’t next to. “Sorry to keep her from you so long, we just didn’t want anything to slip under the radar.” She pauses, noticing how they both seem to have zeroed in on the pink bundle and haven’t so much as acknowledged anything else in the room. “You should be good to go to try breastfeeding, so let’s see if we can get her to latch on.”

Before now, the pain in the rest of her body had masked the discomfort in her breasts, but now she’s overly aware of how much they ache. She gingerly slides down a shoulder of her hospital gown and holds out her arms. The nurse picks up the baby and leans over the side of the bed to set her in her mother’s safe, warm grip.

“Here you go, Mama,” she says, slipping her arms free and depositing the child fully into Scully’s. The baby, clearly taking after her father, latches on in an instant and starts sucking.

Mama. She’s a mother. For the second time, she’s a mother. She’s a mother to a baby girl and she gets to actually be a mother this time. The full effect of that is instantaneous, and before she knows it, tears are slipping down her face and falling onto the blanket in which their daughter is swaddled.

There it is again. Their daughter. They have a daughter.

This isn’t the first time in the last eight months that she’s recognized that she and Mulder are going to be mother and father to a child. Every doctor’s appointment, her OB commented on the need to check up on “mom and baby.” Every time she and Mulder talked to her belly, they referred to each other as “Mommy” and “Daddy.” Even strangers and casual acquaintances, once they recovered from the initial disbelief that a woman Scully’s age would be pregnant, wished her luck for motherhood.

It pushes her over the edge, though, to hear the affirmation that she is this baby’s mother while said baby is being placed into her arms. For seventeen years, she’d had a child, but she hadn’t been a mother. It overwhelms her to think that this time, as overdue as it might be, this time she gets to raise the child she spent nine months creating. For the first time in such a long time, she’s euphoric at what the future holds.

She’s scarcely paying attention to what the nurse is saying (something about the baby being on the smaller side but incredibly resilient for being a few weeks early) – all she can focus on is the solid weight of the baby against her chest. She runs a finger over her tiny nose, her chubby cheek, her prominent chin. She really is a beautiful baby.

She looks up at Mulder and finds him just as enamored with the little being as she is, watching in awe as the baby eats. Unbeknownst to them, the nurse has crept out of the room and they’re finally alone, together, as a family. She drags her eyes away from their daughter as Mulder sidles up to her and takes her lips in a tender kiss. They come apart with a smack, and he mouths “I love you” before allowing both of them to return to watching their offspring. Taking a break from nursing, the baby’s eyes open and she seems to peer up at Scully.

“Hi, little one,” she croons, smoothing the peach fuzz on the top of her head.

“I’m so excited to be your mom.”

[askcorruptedbaldi]

//Mun: So for those who wanna read the fanfic I wrote, it’s just underneath the cut so yeah...if you want to you can read it, just know that I’m not the best writer and went to at least two websites for grammar mistakes and stuff-

So yeah, enjoy-

It was cold and quiet, it was dark and I could barely move. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed at this moment. I couldn't feel anything, just a numb sensation throughout my whole body. I couldn't understand where I was, or how I got there, but all I remember was that I was scared. I was scared of where I was and I didn't know how I got there. I could barely breathe at all, I was practically gasping for air every moment.

Then, I felt everything at once, it was unbearable. The pain I felt at that moment is something that I can never forget, no matter how many times I try. I could feel something underneath me, but I didn't know what at the time. A warm feeling on my face and the rest of my body. I opened my eyes and I was blinded. I put an arm in front of my face, shielding the light away from my eyes. I didn't understand what I was looking at, I didn't understand anything at the time. I slowly brought my body up and off of whatever I was laying in. I let my hand graze across the floor. It was soft and moist, it felt nice against my skin.

I blinked a couple of times before I was completely adjusted to the light. Once I was, I lowered my arm and looked at what I saw. A green floor was surrounding me, a darker green in the distance, and a blue ceiling. No, it wasn't a ceiling; it was the sky. What I was on was grass, fresh, real grass. Those dark green blobs in the distance? Bushes and trees. It was amazing.

I slowly stood up, taking in everything I saw. I found it beautiful, I've never seen anything like it before. I couldn't believe it; I actually almost didn't. It felt so surreal yet I was experiencing it for the very first time in my life. It then came to me, was I just like what I was seeing? It was stupid, I know, but at the time, I didn't know anything about me or where I even was.

I looked down and was shocked. I was a dark brown color, my legs becoming an almost black in tone, my feet becoming just stubs at the end. I was wearing this sort of black bodysuit, but it wasn't on either my legs, my hands, and my face. A dark brown blob came into my vision. I went up to reach it and found out that it was attached to my head. I felt it with both of my hands. I was soft, unlike the grass, and there was so much of it on me. It was my hair, but I didn't know, I didn't know anything.

I felt a breeze pass by, making my hair move slightly. It wasn't cold, and it felt nice against my skin, it gave me a tingling sensation throughout my whole body. I looked at the sky once more, seeing the clouds slowly drift by. A flock of birds flew by, chirping and landing in the trees in the distance. I started walking to the trees. The knowledge of how to walk already impeded into my brain. Each step I took, I felt the grass underneath me flatten, at the time, it felt like I was walking on a cloud on the ground. I eventually made it to the trees, hearing the birds chirping to themselves. I smiled and looked at them.

They were small and brown, like me. One seemed to have spotted me and stared, quickly tilting its head. I spread its wings and flew to me, gently landing on my head. I hadn't realized until it started chirping. I reached up to touch it, I gently grazed its head, feeling its soft feathers. I was completely amazed that this creature was even able to exist.

Everything was fine, I gently pet the bird on my head and had a smile as wide as possible. Until... "HEY!" A voice shouted. The birds, being startled, quickly flew away, including the one on my head. I was upset and turned to see who was the owner of the voice. "HEY, YOU!" I saw a tall man in the distance, just standing there. I squinted to get a better look at him. He had on a hat and wore a long sleeve shirt. He was too far away for me to even know what color they were. We stared at each other for a while, until he started moving forwards.

It took me a while to realize that he was coming to me. I didn't know what to do, and I was scared, I didn't know what he was or what his motives were. In the spur of the moment, I ran. I just ran, I didn't know where I was going but it didn't matter. "HEY, GET BACK HERE! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" I heard the man call out, I could hear that he started running after me. I felt my heart race in my chest, and my breathing quicken as I ran across the field of grass. It felt like this went on for hours, but it was only for a few seconds. While in the moment, I managed to trip on something hard. A rock. I fell down into the grass, sliding across it. It was so wet and so soft, but everything in my body ached. "Hey!" The man yelled, now closer than he was before.

I could feel him looming above me, casting a shadow on me. "Are you okay?" he asked, taping my shoulder. I came back to reality and quickly sat right, my face no longer on the grass and now looking at whoever this man was. He had on a green shirt, buttoned up only halfway. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans with some light brown camping boots. He reached out his hand, offering to help me up. Hesitantly, I grabbed it and stood up. I soon realized that he was majorly taller than me, maybe by at least a head taller. I stared at his blue eyes, taking in everything about him. I also noticed that he didn't have any hair on him, at least on the top of his head. "Are you okay?" He repeated, staring straight at me. I slowly nodded and held onto his hand tightly. It felt nice in mine, his soft skin rubbing against mine. I noticed he had much larger hands than I did, I didn't understand why.

"What's someone like you doing out here?" He asked me. I didn't know how I got here, nor where I was. I simply stared, not responding. He sighed and let go of my hand, letting it drop down. "What the hell are you wearing? What's up with your legs?" I looked down again, seeing my strange legs. I then noticed that, even though he had on pants, they looked quite different from these guys legs. They didn't end in stubs like mine did, there were feet, ankles, they were more...human. He was staring at my body and forcibly turned me around, now looking at my back. "Oh, that makes a whole lot more sense." He stated, looking at my face once more. "You're from there."

I didn't know what he was talking about, I unknowingly tilted my head. "Here, let's get you someplace better than out here." He grabbed onto my hand and started walking in a direction. I didn't question it, but I was slightly suspicious of where he was taking me. I didn't even know his name or where he came from, or even why he was here in the first place! But, I strangely felt as if I could trust him, put my life into his hands. I didn't know why, but I didn't question it. I smiled, feeling protected by him. "By the way, my name's Bernard." He stated. Now, I knew him as Bernard, yet I didn't know my own name. What was it?

He dragged me until he found our way to a street. It was black and looked nothing like the field I was in. On the side was a vehicle parked there. A small black car stood there as other cars seem to drive by. Bernard pulled out something from his pocket and the car made a noise. He let go of my hand and opened the door to the passenger seat. "Go in." he motioned his head towards the seat. I slowly got in and sat down on the seat. The inside of the car smelled different from the outside. I couldn't describe it, but I had a neutral feel to it. Bernard came in on the other side, sitting in the seat next to me. "Sorry about the smell kinda forgot to throw out the bag." He said as he held something in his hands. They were keys. He shoved one of the keys into a small hole and turned it, making the car turn on.

I jumped in my seat, not expecting the sudden sound. He grabbed onto the wheel and pushed on the petal, making the car move forwards. I watched the world move as I stood still in the seat, it was amazing. I pressed my face against the glass, watching so many colors pass by. I have never seen anything like it and I was completely amazed by it. I could tell that Bernard took a few glances at my way, giving a small chuckle as I practically acted like a child. He could tell I've never been outside before, never been in a car before, never even interacted with someone before. He sighed before putting his eyes back on the road. Everything beyond that point...well...I can't really describe it fully, but I've never felt that amount of happiness in my life! I didn't know what was being hidden from me until now.

This world is just so beautiful.