#farah deserves all the love and im so glad shes getting it

[skylordgrey]

Asker from the other blog. Why do you like them?

I'll put this as a long post since well, it's gonna be long. You don't have to agree with how i word things. I struggle a lot at it, especially since im sick rn :') Contains spoilers for newer MW, or just MW in general

MW SECTION

Price - I thought he was pretty cool. Obviously he aint changed much between Classic and Modern, maybe a bit more humanity between the two, but I genuinely liked his character! He seems like the guy who tries not to care, but is the most caring of them all. A captain who wants to bring everyone back home if he can. (Made me sad when he was upset he couldn't bring Sandman and his crew back after rescuing the russian president)

Soap - He's a dork, and a smart one at that. I love how in the Classic he's like "im a hard man >:(" but god damn he cared, and in the Modern he's more care free, but still capable of his work. I love he's the go-to for explosives, and I hate how he was done dirty TWICE! He better be alive in the newer one, just saying. I also love his relationship with everyone. Just the guy you look up to.

Ghost- First of all, who doesn't love Ghost? He's adorable! Just wanna give him lots of comfort hugs. Like price, he doesn't seem like he cares, but is also the most caring of them all (The fact he could have left Roach behind but kept him going is just HFGHDGH). I hate how he and Roach died, but I'm glad Ghost got another shot in the newer game, and he's extra bad-ass (and tall, holy shit dude, cut those shins off).

Roach - The little bug is my favourite. I love how theres so many headcanons of how he looks (In my eyes, he's short, but to each their own. I love every version of him!) Though we don't know fuck all about him, I like that he was featured in that one live action movie with the fellas! I'm annoyed they never added him to Modern MW, but there's still time I suppose? I would have loved to see him in action. Not much to speak about with this guy besides the head-canons, and how he (we make him) act in the games, the guy who goes in first.

Nikolai - I liked him in both games, but I love how he was more active in MW1, and that he just went "nah Gaz is dead" in MW2 like, sir, have faith in him. He was pretty cool in the Classic games too, giving pointers, and helping Yuri and Price as much as he could in the endgame of the classic.

Yuri - Despite his rocky start, I actually liked him. He deserved so much better, but I'm glad he died doing what he thought was right, though I wish he had survived. He didn't have to help the team, but he did his best despite being looked down on by Price. I'm glad he had a friend in Nikolai, and I assume Soap as well.

Sandman - Dude was fucking cool. I love how he genuinely cared for his team. When Frost and the others in the truck fell into the hole that opened up in the parking lot, he didn't need to come down to check on them, but he did, and stuck with them. I'm so mad about the way he died. He deserved to see it through until the end, but he was more worried about getting Yuri, Price, and the President out than himself, and his team stayed by his side. That man is a damn hero.

Frost - I love the headcanons about this guy too (especially being mute). Not much to say about him since he's less fleshed out unlike Roach, but I just think he's neat

Farah - Fucking boss lady who deserves all the help in the world. I absolutely love her and she's just so bad-ass. I hyped when I played MW2 and saw her on the motorbike. Like damn girl, you go get Laswell. Brain can't think much for her, but I just like her a lot!

Alex - Absolute badass of a man, sad he didn't appear much after MW1, but he was just so cool, and the fact he was willing to sacrifice himself? (Glad he did survive). Just, absolute cool fella.

Laswell - Another boss lady who, god damn, I bet she could fight an entire room by herself if you annoy her enough. I love how she has an air of authority, but god damn, she loves that little 141 team and their silliness.

AW SECTION

Mitchell - An absolute dork, not too smart, but he's super loyal and I love that about him. The fact he kept fighting for what his friend believed in despite losing his arm, and then being betrayed by his boss. Like, damn? At least he got to work with the people he worked with before.

Gideon - Dude is a badass, and I adore him. When I first played the game, I loved his name, and his arrogance. But god damn, if he ain't leader material. A lot of headcanons out there were about him being a descendant of Price, and if it were true, I would not be surprised. He's like, the nicer version of Price. The fact he risked everything to betray Irons and join Mitchell and co, just because he did begin to have doubts but needed extra proof. He's rescued Mitchell on so many occassions, and I just love it dhgfdugh. Fun fact: There's only one mission he isn't in, and that's when you infiltrate the party at Irons' home.

Ilona - She's so cool! She's always got a plan until things go haywire, then she looks to Cormack or Gideon for advice, because she trusts them both wholeheartedly. I'm sad she wasn't part of the final mission, but I like she was the one guiding them.

Cormack - He deserved better, and so did Knox. They died horribly for what they believed in. Even his death upset Gideon, and that goes to show how much this man meant to everyone. He didn't like Gideon at first, but I'm happy he grew to respect him, and vice versa. I love how he sincerely cared for his crew and tried to keep them safe, and he wasn't afraid to tell Irons what he thought.

Joker - Dude only appears for a few missions, but his name absolutely fits him. He's hilarious, and I love that he listened to Gideon when being told to stand down. I do wonder what happened to him when Gideon left, though I love to think he joined too, and worked in the background to find loopholes in Irons' work.

IW SECTION

Reyes - Dudes cool, and I like he had an idea for everything. He might not have been the best captain of the Ret, but he was the best captain for the crew on board. He wanted to bring everyone home, and he was going to die trying, and I love that about him. The way he went out was sad tbh.

Ethan - Who doesn't love a sassy sentient robot who thinks of his captain as a brother? I love that he didn't mind being used a few times, because he's a robot, near indestructible. The fact he tried to keep Reyes safe while in space was really sweet, and that his joints locked so he wouldn't let Reyes go until they were both found. The way he died was bittersweet, and I'm glad it was Reyes that sent him off.

Salter - She doesn't get enough recognition, and I'm mad. She was the same rank as Reyes, and basically became second in command for Reyes. Like Ethan, she wanted to keep Reyes alive, and hell, she got on with Ethan too. I'm sad she didn't get much extra in the game.

Mac - She was stern and definitely brutal, but that's what makes her special. She tried to get Reyes to see her point of view, and the fact she was a Captain before? But I'm glad she learnt to see his way slightly in the way, even if she didn't like it. The fact she sacrificed herself to protect the people in the hallway while also destroying the drone dropper was badass, but sad. Also cried during her little speech you get at the credit scene.

Gator - Absolute dork. Dorkiest dork. and I fucking love him. He didn't get much either, but he was so brave in the final few missions. He died horribly, and I hate it. His end credit speech made me cry too. He seemed so proud.

Griff - Dude has a mix of Alex and Soap vibes. Love his name, love his attitude. We didn't get to see his death, but his end credit speech was depressing but sweet. Just a guy who wanted his dad to know he was happy to join up and hoped his dad was proud. He sounded so awkward, but who wouldn't? I love he always gave Reyes weapon recommendations.

A lot of these repeat themselves, but that's how I feel. All in all, all of them are badasses, and a lot of them deserved better. I work on Au's a lot, so you bet your ass all of these guys are still alive and well.

[hhuta]

Oh my god you watched Dirk gently???? Yes!!! I rarely see people posts about it anymore and it was my favourite show for so long I'm so excited youve watched it!! Please share your thoughts 👀👀👀 I'm a starving man 😔 idk what to ask do I ask about your favourite character?? Your thoughts on the stuff that was gonna happen in s3??? Should I ask if you prefer s1 or s2??? Idk please thoughts

cooonnooorrrrrr u know the showwwww!!!!! aaaa!!

mY THOUGHTS ARE: dirk is my child and i will protect him forever.

literally all i can think about. i got so attached to him, i cant believe theres literally nOTHING ELSE OF HIM FOR ME TO WATCH. LIKE. ITS OVER??????? IM GONNA HAVE TO READ THE BOOKS THAT ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE SHOW TO FILL THE VOID????????????????????? THIS IS WHY I STOPPED WATCHING TV SHOWS I HATE IT HERE

anyways. as u can see hes my fave character by far. i fell in love with him so fast :( hes so funny and dumb but also very smart 😔😔😔 and he suffered so much!!!!!!!!!! oh my god i wanted to fight everyone who was mean to him!!!!!!!!!! i only respect hobbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love him too! i also love estevez and zimmerfield andnnnddd dodontnttt eveeennnn!!! getttt meee stARARTETDDDDD ON THEIIRRRRRR ENEDNDNINGGGSSSSS Because it doesnt exist. i dont acknowledge it. pure bullshit. i was truly close to te a r s during zimmerfield [redacted] scene???? did u??? did u see that shit????? THE TENDERNESS? WHAT THE F U CK WAS THAT ABOUT IM. im ok.

ah i love bart too so i fucking hATED HOW S2 ENDED FOR HER. WHY DIDNT SHE STAY WITH PANTO IN THE FAIRYTALE LAANNDDDDD OH MYGOODDDDDDD their dynamic was so good... and speaking of him, of course i love a gay icon, love his boyfriend too, another dumb gay!!! so many dumb gays. so much representation. im sad we didnt get to see a lot of them. i was so fuckign afraid they were also going to fucking die no i would riot!! i was ready to say "sO GLAD THIS GOT CANCELELDLDLD!!! OF COURSE THE GAYS GOT KILLED !!! NOT EVEN FICTIONAL FICTIONAL GAYS ARE SAFE!!" KJljdslklk i really was prepared for the worse after what happened to my other kings...... ill never get over that

and to be honest i was not vibing with the second season at first (probably, for sure..ly bc of what happened to my kings in s1. all these new characters were being introduced, i felt like pure shit just wanted them back. i couldnt properly enjoy it) also the whole.. fantasy thing.... is not my thing... idk... from the start, when i saw the fucking wand i wanted to scream dlkjas i knew it wasnt going to be for me. but i think it got better as it went on, it just didnt captivate me like the plot from s1. i didnt follow it as well? i enjoyed how i could easily pick up the little clues in s1 but tbh i think that just reflects dirk's state cuz we sorta follow his pov... he was v e r y lost during s2 and that rubbed on me!!! i didnt enJOYYYY ONE BITTT SEEING HIMMM SO FUCKING SAD... he was just sad and freaking out and he just needed a friend >:( and todd ugh he pissed me off a lot of the time dlkajskl........... ill never forget him saying dirk deserved to be alone 🚶‍♂️being a dirkette isnt easy.

but anyways its not like s2 was bad and dumb (im editing this and i just remember them trying to make todd/farah a thing. absolutely loathed that. that was bad and dumb. faratina for the win), the weird stuff did make sense in the end. of course thats what a child would imagine, even the scissors as weapons made sense. aND AMBOOLENTS. IDK IF U REMEMBER THAT BUT GOD IT MADE ME LAUGH SO MUCH. also suzie was a good villain and tina and hobbs were amazing 🥰aGAIN I WAS SO READY FOR ONE OR BOTH OF THEM TO DIE.... no this fear really ruined things for me lkdjalsk.... oh mona !!! lOVE HER TOO! shes so pretty, first of all. when i saw her glowing eyes in the first ep i was like heyyyy 💕ANyways her character???? like?? so interesting??? not knowing who shes supposed to be?!?!?! i got hooked right awayyyy when she said that

oh my god i wish s3 existed and it was about heeerrrr. mona and dirk would be great besties 😔 and he would finally have his actual detective agency :(((((( but do u mean what i want to happen or this that might have happened? cuz im only looking at dirk/assistent romance lkdjakls mister sir lieutenant assistent was funny and so brave for putting up with friedkin so hes prepared for dirks intelligent dumbness and i want to see dirk happy its a win win. TODD BEING A ROCKSTAR AGAIN YES! all the other stuff yes too except bart teaming up with ken idek why she would do that after he 1. became a dick and 2. betrayed her (PLUS he shot dirk, im resentful, therefore i hate him forever and i dont want bart near him ever again)

sooooooo unfair that the show only has 2 seasons..... its such a rich universe with good characters.... all of them.. amanda and farah got great character development.. i already miss it im so sad..... im strongly considering making a sideblog to reblog stuff..

but what are your thoughtssss? tell me anything !!! do u have a fave episode? since i just finished s2, i remember loving S2xE6. the concert aftermath was really funny also dirk in pink <3

fashion icon <33

[duskastormgrove]

SSO February Prompt Day 14: Your Valentine

something different for this prompt, i decided to write and post something for the first time in 6 years!

this is a oneshot about my oc making a gift for ydris, i had intended for it to be able to be interpreted as platonic but uhhh that didn’t happen! anyway don’t razz me too hard im out of practice.

This was not nearly enough bee balm. Duska had thought her crafting larder well stocked but while she had flax coming out of her ears her supply of bee balm meant the dye would not nearly be purple enough. She had a full day of stutching, crimping and brushing the flax and spinning it into thread, there was no way she could spare the time to grab more. However, Duska was lucky enough to have very loyal (and very bored) friends, and her first instinct was to pull up her chat with Alex.

D: girl help

A: what you need bb

D: bee balm

D: as much as you can carry

A: can I ask what for?

D: valentine’s gift I’m making

A: :o

A: omw

True to her word, Alex was in Valedale and jogging to the workshop within the hour. In her arms was a bundle of bee balm and her fingers were faintly green from furiously yanking up the stems.

“You’re a lifesaver Alex,”Duska groaned in relief, immediately relieving her friend of her burden and starting to strip the blossoms from the stems.

“Least I could do considering you helped me ask Maya out last Christmas!” Alex hoisted herself up onto the only uncluttered workbench to watch Duska work. She was silent for all of thirty seconds before the prodding began, “sooooo, who’s the lucky person?”

Duska pointedly ignored her and threw the flowers into a boiling pot. She stirred and hummed in a satisfied way when the violet colour began to bleed into the water. She didn’t look up when Alex came to stand behind her and look into the pot as well. Eventually Duska banged the spoon on the side of the pot and dropped it onto the bench.

“You’re thinking too hard, I can see the smoke coming out of your ears,” she snapped, jabbing a finger at Alex’s forehead.

“It’s just- the colour looked familiar but like, I don’t want to assume or anything but uh… it’s circus bae, right?”

“Please. Never call him that again I feel part of me die when you do,” Duska moaned, rubbing her temples. “But yes, I’m making a new ringmaster’s jacket for Ydris. I felt bad I scorched his usual one.”

“When he was keeping Concorde prisoner and turned you into a 5 carat Lusitano?”

“You know it wasn’t out of malice, Alex. It’s hard to explain but when he talked about Pandoria under threat from Garnok he seemed so hopeless and scared. I really think he was desperate and taking desperate measures.”

Alex was quiet for a while and sat herself back on the workbench. Duska put the lid on the pot and waited until it started rattling before she turned the heat down to a simmer. Another hour or so and she could start straining the colour away from the flowers. In the meantime she could stutch more flax and get it ready to be spun on the wheel. She might even have time to make cloth on the loom today!

“Is this the part where you beat the shit out of the plants?” Alex asked, swinging her legs in excitement, “Can I help out? Please? I’ll beat it up so good I promise!” Duska sighed but laid the stems over the board and showed Alex how to beat the fibres out properly with the stutching stick. Soon the Lightning Circle Rider was happily smacking the flax and Duska could sit at the wheel and start spinning lengths of thread from the flax she’d stutched, crimped and brushed out earlier. The sounds of the wheel turning and the steady thumpthumpthump of Alex working away were almost soothing to Duska’s ears. Alex was a chatty type of friend, moreso than Lisa or Anne but there was no such thing as an uncomfortable silence with her, simply working in the same room was enough for her, especially if she thought she was being helpful.

“All finished!” Alex proclaimed as she ran the last of the coarse flax through the brush, “Can I do anything else Dus?”

“Nothing that I can think of,” Duska said regretfully, “thanks so much for today, I really appreciate it.”

“Eh, that’s what pals are for!” Alex said, slapping a hand on Duska’s shoulder and went to leave the workshop, “I’ll see you at the Galentine’s trail ride!” Duska waved fondly and rolled her shoulders before hunching back over the spinning wheel, just an hour or so more and she could move to the loom, another backbreaker.

“Oh and Duska?” Duska looked up from the wheel, to see Alex’s face, smiling but with a worried crease to her brow, “Be careful alright?”

 ---------------------

“Sorry I’m late Daxton, took forever to load these screens onto Clover’s back, nearly dropped them in the Hollow Woods too!” Duska hipchecked the door to Daxton’s shop open and sidled in sideways with the two enormous screens she had prepared in advance. Silk, for the inside of the jacket, had a fairly straightforward dyeing process that would lead to a nice pattern. For this one in particular she only needed two screens but she also needed dye baths and a silk dyeing setup she simply didn’t have. This is where Daxton came in. The anxious tailor had a delightful array of fancy tailor tools and was willing to help her in return for all the deliveries and favours she’d done for him in the last two years.

“Don’t worry, things are slow today,” Daxton reassured her as he grabbed the other side of the screens and helped Duska carry them to the back, “Give me a second I want to clean these up, go check those fabric samples on the desk and make sure they’re the colours you want.” Duska did as instructed, while Daxton polished the screens off with a cloth that reminded her of a cloth she used to scrub the dust off of her horses before a show.

“All good, these are exactly what I’m looking for,” Duska said, laying the fabric down and grabbing a roll of silk material to lay across the rack. She taped it flat and Daxton lay the screen over it, double-checking the placement before he grabbed the bottle of dye. The purple dye went on first and Daxton dragged a large squeegee across the screen to spread it evenly onto the silk. When he moved the screen to the next spot Duska could see the purple pattern, with white blank spaces waiting for the next dye.

“Oh fuck yeah this looks awesome Dax!” she exclaimed and the tailor shushed her.

“Please! I need to concentrate or something awful might happen!” Not willing to take a chance on whether or not this was Daxton’s paranoia at work or an actual possibility, Duska kept silent and simply hovered over his shoulder and watched until the fabric was covered in purple dye.

“Next screen,” Daxton said, wiping sweat from his forehead. Duska hurried to remove the old one and set up the new one. She felt strangely useless here, with Daxton in his element and blasting through silk like no one’s business. This time the gold dye was poured on, and it filled the blank spaces the first screen had left. By the time Daxton reached the end of the roll it was filled entirely with the repeating pattern and Duska was waiting anxiously with a glass of water.

“Aideen’s light, Dax! This is perfect!”

“Okay, we’ll wait until it dries and then you can take it home!” Daxton readjusted his thick glasses to admire his handiwork and gratefully took the glass, “What are you making with this anyway?”

“Oh it’s a Valentine’s day gift.”

The colour drained from Daxton’s face and the hand holding his water began to tremble.

“Jeepers, glad you didn’t tell me it was so important, I would’ve messed it up for sure!”

 -------------------------

It wasn’t unusual for Farah to find her chief apprentice clattering around in the workshop before dawn. Duska was a hard worker and liked to get the orders done and delivered early to free up the rest of her day. She was a busy woman from what Farah saw of her zooming around on various horses and doing chores for residents of Valedale. What was unusual, was the amount of swearing coming from down by the river.

“Everything okay here?” she asked cautiously. Duska looked up, several pins hanging from her mouth and fabric aggressively clutched in her hands.

“It’s fine. It’s… swell.”

“Not sure I believe that one,” Farah laughed, feeling it was safe to approach her apprentice, “Let me in there, I can help out, are we doing a jacket?” She might have felt bad for intruding but Duska’s immediate look of relief assuaged those worries.

“It’s the lapels, I’m stuggling with them, if you could fix them I could finally start the epaulettes?” Duska asked hopefully.

“No problem, it’s a beautiful jacket so far, I love the silk pattern!”

“Thanks, Daxton helped me out with it, it turned out exactly how I wanted,” Duska explained as she went around the back of the mannequin to start sewing the golden fringed epaulettes onto the shoulders, “This is the first time I’ve made a Valentine’s gift, I’m… admittedly a little stressed about it.” Farah raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a lot of effort for a Valentine’s gift.”

“Well, he doesn’t celebrate Christmas, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have a birthday.”

“He… doesn’t-”

“Don’t worry about it. Just know this is the best time for a gift.” Farah didn’t quite know how to respond so she simply continued on with the lapels in silence. Well, almost silence. Her grandmother always sang while she worked so Farah had picked up the habit too. If she listened carefully after a while she could hear Duska quietly humming along. The two of them finished their respective tasks fairly quickly, and stood back to look at the whole piece together.

“Looks good! Just the cuffs and buttons left yeah? I can help with them if you’d like?” Farah offered, but Duska shook her head.

“I want to do the finishing touches myself, feels a bit more personal that way, if that makes sense?”

“No, no, I get it. Best of luck with it, whoever the lucky person is he’s sure to love it!” Farah turned to go back to the request board, she’d cover the orders today, Duska deserved the day to herself to finish her work. Farah couldn’t help but wonder who such an extravagant ringmaster’s jacket would be meant for.

 -----------------------

February 14th. Now or never. Duska had been tense all morning, and now as she was carefully packing the box into her delivery satchel she almost felt queasy with nerves. This wasn’t such a big deal, the jacket was nice! Ydris wasn’t going to blast her to dust because she gave him a gift, was he? At worst he’d treat it the same as Isebell’s Yule gift and simply not open it. That would almost be preferable. It was still early in the morning so maybe she could simply drop the package into the delivery box and take off before she was noticed. That was a pretty solid plan, she’d have to leave straight away though.

“Duska?”

There goes that plan.

“Sorry Duska, but if you’re heading in that direction could you deliver this herbal tea to Mrs. Holdsworth?” Farah looked contrite enough that Duska loaded the tea into the bag without a word. She was taking Cinder, her beloved soul horse, if any horse was going to give her the confidence she needed it would be the silver dapple mare. With a pat and a cluck of her tongue, Cinder ambled towards the woodland road to Silverglade Village and beyond. A short detour to Moorland wouldn’t add too much time to her journey, not with the way Cinder liked to gallop down the trail leading there. Speaking of which, the warmblood began to toss her head and pull at the bit when they cleared the woods.

“Alright lady, let ‘em have it,”Duska acquiesced, letting the reins go long. Cinder took off with glee, mane flapping, hooves pounding, and nearly jostling Duska right out of the saddle. This pace would definitely keep them on time!

 “I have your tea leaves Mrs. H,” Duska greeted her favourite neighbourhood witch.

“Thank you darling, sit down and have a cup with me why don’t you?” Mrs Holdsworth patted the picnic bench and Duska was sorely tempted to delay the inevitable by having tea and a chat with her.

“Sorry but, I kind of have an important delivery to do, maybe tomorrow?”

“A gift for a paramour?” Mrs. Holdsworth guessed, a little too accurately and with a glint in her eye.

“Ugh. Who told you?”

“Alex is never a great keeper of secrets, but to give her credit she only confided in me because she was worried,” Mrs. Holdsworth propped her cane against the bench and sat down, “Let me have a peek.” Duska reluctantly dismounted and let Cinder graze while she carefully unboxed the jacket and displayed it to the wise old woman.

Mrs. Holdsworth took her time examining the jacket, turning over the sleeves, peering at the stitching over her half rim glasses and rubbing a thumb over the silk lining. Duska almost felt like she was being assessed for an exam. She wanted to get a good grade on the ‘Old Woman Critiques Your Lovesick Tailoring Exam’. A totally fine and normal thing to want.

“Hm!” Mrs. Holdsworth finally proclaimed. She shuffled over to the base of one of the cherry trees in her yard and bent down, grabbing a handful of grass in the shadow of the tree. “Show me the front again?” Duska flipped the jacket and came closer, careful not to let the coattails drag in the dirt. Mrs. Holdsworth threaded the grass through one of the button holes and tied a knot in the stems. She put her hands on her hips and nodded approvingly. “There you are dearie, now off you go, Valentine’s Day waits for no one!”

Duska repacked the jacket cautiously and looked closer at the grass. Instead of simple blades, Mrs. Holdsworth had put a small bouquet of clovers into the topmost button hole.

------------------------

Time was now of the essence. Duska slid off Cinder’s back as soon she skidded to a halt at Nilmer’s Highland and sprinted to the delivery box. Any courage she’d built up on her exhilarating gallop to get there was rapidly deserting her and she wanted to vault back onto Cinder and scamper back to Valedale as fast as humanly possible. Still, ‘fast as humanly possible’ wasn’t enough to outspeed a leisurely Pandorian stroll, as to her horror, the door of the wagon swung open just as the delivery box lid swung closed.

“Little dove!” Ydris boomed, “to what do I owe the pleasure? I don’t recall making an order at Ms. Farah’s quaint little workshop.” Duska couldn’t do anything to intervene as Ydris flipped the lid and dipped his hand in for the box. “Oh?” He hummed, gently tugging at the ribbon, “a gift for the amazing Ydris? I appear to have an admirer, my dove.”

“Sure seems so,” Duska managed through gritted teeth. He smirked at her and started to prod and poke and shake the box, holding it to his ear and tapping a rhythm on the side. “I know you’re not from around here,” Duska intoned heavily, “but it’s considered rude to look at the box and not open it.”

“Silly me! Let me unravel this mystery!” With one yank on the ribbon the knot fell apart, somehow, and Ydris discarded it over his shoulder. He opened the lid, casting that to one side and too khold of the jacket by the lapels, letting the other half of the packaging fall too. “What do we have… here...?”

Duska held her breath as Ydris fell silent. Silence was unnerving with the ringmaster, as was the look he was giving his gift. His face was carefully expressionless as he turned the coat over, gently brushing his hand over the eggplant purple linen. He drifted up to the golden epaulettes, twirling the fringe between his fingers. Finally he opened the jacket, revealing the purple and gold repeating pattern of-

“Panda rays,” he breathed. There was something almost reverent about the way he traced their shapes and Duska felt almost like she shouldn’t be watching him.

“Yeah they’re one of the nicer things I’ve met from Pandoria, sweet little guys,” she responded, looking to fill the awkward quiet. Ydris looked over at her, seeming surprised at her presence, like he’d forgotten she was there. He shook his head and his smirk was back in its usual place.

“One of? Should I consider that a compliment?” Ydris held the jacket out to her and a horrible swooping feeling in her stomach made her hands shake as she took it, but she was quickly relieved of it again as he whipped his old coat off and traded it for his new one in one fluid motion. He pulled the jacket on with a flourish and twirled in a circle to make the tailcoats flare outwards. ��How do I look, little dove?”

“I’d trust you to run a circus looking like that,” Duska smiled weakly, feeling relieved that the ringmaster seemed to like it.

“Ah,” Ydris’ twirling came to a stop and he looked suddenly thoughtful, “but I cannot accept this, I have nothing to give you in return.” Duska began to stammer that there was no need to return the favour but Ydris shushed her. “All I can offer, temporarily, is this.”

He took her hand, softly, gently, like a breeze gently tugging it upwards. He leaned forward, all two metres of him, and when she could feel his breath on her skin he snapped his eyes up to meet hers.

“May I?” Thrown by his question Duska just nodded, and he gently pressed his lips to the back of her hand. Her skin tingled and when she dared to look a soft pink mark was glowing on her hand. “Anytime, anywhere, press here and call me, and I’ll come and find you, no matter what, that is a solemn vow, my dove,” Ydris murmured, in a tone far softer than she’d ever heard from him before.

“T-thank you, Ydris, this is… it’s… I’m honoured you’d trust me with this.” Ydris stood upright, straightening his jacket and looking almost flustered.

“Yes well, maybe wear gloves around your druid friends. It’s a one-way ticket to the druid jail under that quaint summer house.”

“Well if that happens you’ll have to come and rescue me like a dashing knight, won’t you?” Ydris smirked but Duska didn’t miss the faint blush that appeared on his cheeks. It almost glowed like the mark he’d left on her.

“I suppose I shall, and I shall do it looking quite splendid, little dove.”