#jolly erik

[operas-phantom]

Mid-performance photos will always be strange to me.

I sang a combination of Music of the Night and Silent Night to @angeliquedaae and @aurelio-the-propmaster and @eddiekaspbrak-official (daily notice, Eddie; your performance in Christmas Carol was beautiful and we would love to have you here at the opera house) and @an-american-songbird-in-paris and @maggiemelodies09 (truly, I am thankful for having THIS MANY friends somehow.. and many more that I wish could have came), and someone took this photo of me mid-song.

I am sharing it with you all because Aurelio and Christine said it was nice because I looked so happy. Lovely on them having noticed; I AM happy.

[dross-the-fish]

"If you turn the scorpion round, that will mean to me, when I return, that you have said yes. The grasshopper will mean no.'... And he again laughed like a drunken demon and left me. Oh, his last words were, "The grasshopper! Be careful of the grasshopper! A grasshopper does not only turn: it hops! It hops! And it hops jolly high!'"

How not to propose to the woman you want to marry.

take two of my phantom doodle. I felt like the first one wasn't dramatic enough and Erik really needed to look more...ratly. I'm much happier with the second try.

[pastlivesandpurplepuppets]

“He was a very jolly man,” Jacob remembers of Ron. “He was peaceful. He didn’t seem to be weighed down and he had no ego. Grandpap could be stern, but in a gentle way. He would give you a look to get a message across. That look came right from the bottom of his soul. You could tell just from looking at him that he was tough.” That strength was exhibited whenever there was a family crisis. When Jacob was bitten by a family dog named Bear, Speirs put the dog down without hesitation. But so too was there room for compassion. When a grandchild once went to squash a large spider, Speirs intervened. “We don’t kill Black Widows,” he advised.

~ Jared Frederick & Erik Dorr

[not-the-phantom-of-the-opera]

HO HO HO!🎅

Hah! It was quite troublesome getting down here, my boy! I hope you don't mind me driving my reindeers through your catacombs😄 (I parked them by your boat port👍🏻) Anyhow, for the longest of time, dear Erik, you were in the naughty list. However, this year I was pleasantly surprised to see you on the other face of the coin! HO HO HO! That makes me a jolly Santa!

And with that, Santa gives you a present!! Here is some facial moisturizer from the North Pole, my boy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

HOHOHOHOHO!

🦌✨

...Quite frankly, Erik would have preferred the coal at this point.

[yr-thisisnotfake]

[Fic] Jolly Time Of The Year

Art by @loren91

Instead of making the final preparations for Christmas in Drottningholm, 21-year-old Prince Wilhelm is forced to spend the day in a Christmas Village to help out. Angry at the world, he reaches Bjärstad, where he meets the grumpy Christmas elf who is supposed to look after him. Maybe the day won't be as bad as he expected.

AU ~ Wille never went to Hillerska, Erik lives

A big thank you to @simonsapelsin who delivered the prompt and allowed me to use it.

Follow the white rabbit

[pencilofawesomeness]

Pencil's 2024 Art Summary

It's that time of year again where I look back on everything I've done and go "wut" with varying levels of impressed and horrified. Anyway, I discovered that I really did not draw much at all this year.... o_o Especially in the second half. Whoops. (I think I did way more writing though, especially come Whumptober season, whereas in the beginning of the year it was more being socially dead and some drawing.) I'm calling this my Colored Lights year for the time being.

May I draw more things in 2025~

-

January: oh baby bird [Gojo Fanfic Scene]

Feburary: I had been lost to you, sunlight [Gojo Fanfic Scene]

March: Never take me lightly, silly fool [Lilia Fanfic Scene] (and an honorable mention to the Team Erza Sleep Pile, but Lilia looked cooler in the preview)

April: Sound of Silence Jellal [FT Manga Redraw]

May: Red, the Color of Life [Erza Color Event Piece] (!!! and it won best Canon Artwork in the Guild Awards!!!)

June: Dual Mode: Toxic Sky Dragon [Wendy & Erik Unison Raid]

July: I never posted any art?? Actually? I just slept on that month, but I was doing some personal sketching. Nicest/most polished one that I am 90% sure was from July was a color experiment/sketch for a scene in a Sukuna fic I've been working on all year. I'll do a nicer version of it one day.

August: Ghost King Danny Phantom

September: Shadow Chaos Spear

October: Deception (An Outrage) [TFOne Megatron]

November: TWST x HSR Smoothie Meme

December: Jolly White Boi Wednesday [FT Screencap Redraw]

[deviltakesthehindmost]

Rogue saw him from across the tower, laying on the floor with dust and havoc of what had been great buildings. She watched as he tried to stand, only to fail and fall back again, holding his hand against what should be his stomach. Magneto was hurt. Without thinking at all, she averted the lasers shot from the enemy, hearing her comrads fight him as she flew towards the fallen man.

He struggled to breath, had difficulty to keep his eyes open, barely making it as she stood beside him. "Rogue...?"

She quickly went down on her knees. "Magneto, you're hurt... let us go somewhere safe. You can't stand, can you? Let me take you..."

"Non... nonsense. You... leave me here. Go help your friends..." between every word, he coughed. Rogue felt herself tense when he spilled blood.

"Leave you? Are you out of your mind? Look at you, your state, Magneto..." she held his other hand, gloved, as hers were bare, have lost her own gloves sometime between that battle. He squeesed it swifly.

"Silly girl... then go and save yourself. Don't worry about me... leave me here."

"I can't leave you, you are going to die here, old man. Stop being such a pain in the ass." he let out a sort of laugh, blood dripping from the corner of his lips, "this isn't time for this. Spare your breath. Now, come on, let me take you..."

"My dear, leave me to die, then." his words left Rogue open mouth, scandalized. She, that intented to stand him up, stopped immediatelly, staring at him. "you can leave me here, Rogue. It's okay. Even if it means for me to die, It's okay. There is nothing left for me. I lost everything. But it isn't the same for you. You have friends. A family. Remy. Please, save yourself and forget me here, my dear."

Her eyes were filled with tears, they rolled down without her permission. "Are you out of your damn mind? What the fuck are you asking me to do? I'll ignore it because its an weaked old man gibberish, but don't you say it again. Now, come on." she barked at him, Magneto could see how enraged he got her. Once again she tried to hold his shoulders in an attempt to stand him, but his free hand grabbed her wrist.

"You can also see how weak I am right now, I will only get you late. Go girl, just listen to me."

"You know I hate when you tell me that." her grip on his shoulders weakned, she felt his hand caressing her wrist.

"I do. I know how you hate anyone telling you to listen and do as you are told. You never do that. You listen to your heart and the gospel of Miss Jolly Parton."

Rogue felt like really crying that time. He remembers. Why did he? Magneto held out his hand to wipe away the tears that escaped her eyes. Rogue let go of his shoulders to grab each side of his face.

Except that this time Magneto was weak enough not to have his magnetic field protecting him from her powers. And then, when the tip of her fingers touched his skin, she saw.

And she saw everything.

His mother playing with him when he was five. His father flying him around. His father hed him up his shoulders, playing as if he was the knight and his horse. His mother cooking dinner and then telling him a story to sleep. His father making new pieces of jewelery, Max learning from watching him manipulate each piece. His uncle, Erich, giving him woman advice. Happy family moments.

And then, the camps. The corpses. The gold. His family gone. The threats. Magda. His promises to her. They finally free from the nazis. Their marriage. Max staring at her, so happy, as she caressed her belly. The first time he saw Anya. Her laugh. Her cry. Her voive. The last time he saw Anya. The things he thought while trying to find Magda. He giving up. Erik acknowledging his powers. Learning from it. Practicing. Meeting Charles for the first time. Saying goodbye to Charles many times.

Getting to know Wanda and Pietro. Lorna getting into his life. A lover or two. Caos. Destruction. Losses. Wins. Broken hearts. Deception. Happiness. Life. Death. Over and over again.

And the, she saw her. The first time they saw esch other. He choosing her life by the time they were at Savage Land. He making a vow, secret to himself, that she would not suffer as Anya and Magda had before. She would not die because of him. He wouldn't allow anything happening to her, may God punish him before anything even tried. He was always looking at her, from afar. She learned to control her powers, only to unlearn again, but she never gave up. She had lived. She had laughed. She had cried. She had lost. She getting married. She with Remy.

So, she felt what he felt. Pain. Suffering. Hurt so deep ot had reached his soul. Had he had a soul yet? Heartaches. Aches everywhere. But also happiness. Desire. Deception. Broken heart as she said 'yes' to Remy. But also, love. Love so deep, love so intense. Love so great as he saw her so happy laughing in the arms of someone else. Relief. Love that lighted up his body and soul. Love that kept him strong, ready to go on. To build a better world. To bring peace over the mutantkind.

Love he felt for her that kept him pretty much alive.

"I am sorry, Rogue... I couldn't... keep it up. You saw everything, didn't you?" he found some strength to at least push her a bit off of him. She drained some of his energy, not that he had much left. He felt worse than before.

Her eyes were waterful, intense gaze upon his own.

"I did. I saw everything, Erik. Everything I needed to see. And for that, I'm not going to let you die here. You're not dying any time soon. You are staying here. Right here, with me. I need you here, Erik. Please, I cannot let you go. I know its selfish of me to ask more of you, but I do. Please, Erik, stay."

Rogue just bended over and covered his lips with her own. Erik felt her tears mix with his as he closed his eyes, letting she kiss him.

"Anna, I love you. I always have. I would never say 'no' to you." he said when they parted lips, she still close to him, their foreheads near.

"I love you, Erik. I know you are gonna say that, this time, you are going to say no, so I can go save myself. But if ain't coming with me, then I rather lay here with you and wait for death to come get us. There is no life for me if you are not here."

"Very well then, my love."

[mosneakers]

[🔉]

Dearest Morgana, Please accept my apologies for the delay in my reply. These little ones keep me perpetually occupied, and with Erik at work during the day, finding a moment of respite can be quite the challenge. I am endlessly grateful for the second chance I've been granted with my husband and the gift of our two beautiful daughters. I often find myself pondering the mysteries of fate, wondering why such blessings have been bestowed upon me. In these years, I've learned that human understanding often pales in comparison to life's unpredictability. Hold onto hope, dear friend, for life has a way of surprising us when we least anticipate it.

With that being said, while I thank my lucky stars every day for my blessings, reading your letters is like reading a novel I can't put down. You have managed to move two striking men -brothers!- into your estate with you, the very same one you shared with that wretched Thornton? Oh, tell me more, I beg of you!

The Darling sisters are thriving! Baby Persephone Prudence can be quite fussy at times, but Gwendolyn is as jolly as can be, in the company of her father, often glued to the television. Though I would much prefer to see her with her nose buried in a book, like her mother, her happiness is paramount. I must acknowledge the blessing of that modern invention—the television. Yes, Gwendy-Louise is making remarkable progress with her potty training, and Persey has uttered her very first word just recently, the same as her sister: "Da-da," of course! They seem determined to ensure their first words are reserved for their father, despite myself being the one that tends to them most of the time. Erik often jests that it's simply how things are meant to be, given that they are his daughters. He insists that we will need a son if I ever wish to hear my child's first word be-

Seymour raises his shaking hand, and allows it to plop onto the letter, interrupted Kirsten's reading. "...Mom."

With a gasp, Kirsten spilled the old photo albums and letters onto the floor and brought her hands to her mouth in shock, as if she's just seen a ghost.

Kirsten: [Stuttering] B-boys... did you just hear that? Your grandpa... he just... spoke... He just said "mom." Charm: Wait, that wasn't you, Grandma? I thought you just took up chain-smoking!

Kirsten: No! It was him, you guys! He really did it! The first time since his accident, he said his first word!

The Darling brothers sprung from the bed, flailing around in a frenzy, panicked with excitement.

Brick: Bro what? I can't believe it- We gotta tell mom! Charm: And Dad! And all of the Aunts! We gotta tell everyone! Yesterday! Be faster dude!

Kirsten: Oh, Sy. I thought I'd never hear that voice again. My sweet darling!

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[fipindustries]

jennyffer episodes that wont see the light of day

these are some ideas i bounced around in my head and even went so far as to doodle some scenes or write some bits of dialog but i ended up deciding not to do, either because the idea just didnt have legs or because i had to cut this project a bit shorter so as not to take me decades to finish.

the crush

a younger trans girl, recently come out of the closet has an unrequited crush on jenny, the younger girl was supposed to be a bit of a satire of me just before coming out of the closet. shy, nerdy, a little too clingy. just the naive crush of a little girl for someone else who is like two years older than her. the girl idolizes jenny and thinks she is the coolest person ever, jenny has no idea how to deal with this.

*the boy

jenny meets the only other trans person in the entire school, a trans boy that we see fleetingly in episode 4. erik. a character that i recycled from other projects. jenny thinks that she should probably try to get to know the guy since they are the only trans people in the school but when they try to hang out they find out they have nothing in common and not much to talk about.

*the hospital

this one i wrote with my gf, jenny has to go to the hospital to get a new prescription for her hormones, there she has to deal with a new edocrinologist who seems nice and sweet at first (jenny finds her annoying) but then turns out to be surprisingly a hardass.

*theatre

peter wants to join theatre club at the school, but the president of the club, a flamboyant gay boy who is a parody of the theatre kid, doesnt want him there so jenny and peter have to hatch a scheeme to get peter in

*the bully

there is a specific kid who is jennyffer's bully, except the joke is that he is actually in love with her and also he is too shy to actually openly bully her so he stalks her at a distance, tries to do mean pranks and bits of sabotage without her knowing but they keep backfiring and help jenny instead.

*the conversion

jenny finds out about circumcissions but terribly misinterprets what they are about so she tries to convert to judaism so that she can get free bottom surgery. this one in particular would have felt like too much of a south park joke for me to be honest.

*the terfs

jenny gets harrassed by a group of teenage terf radfems in her school. at first she tries to do her regular bit of being shocking and offensive and sarcastic ans sassy to brush them off but they are completly undeterred by this, eventually jenny snaps and actually becomes incredibly violent and menacing with one of them to the point that she successfully scares them off, but it comes at the cost of everyone else in school being too scared of her.

*the grandpa

cutting this one out is the one that hurt the most since it was the one i had the most carefully developed, i had basically the entire script written out. but i had to cut it for various reasons.

it was about jenny and her family visiting her paternal grandpa, who at first seems a kindly old man who loves jenny and jenny really likes this guy as well, this would be the first time we see her happy and respectful even. but slowly its show that the guy is too pushy, and disrespectfult and condescending an genuenly a bit busive towards jenny's dad, but he hides it beneath a veneer of jolly cheerness.

eventually this comes up to a head in the dinnertable where it comes to light grandpa doesnt see jenny as a girl. she at first tries to explain it carefully and patiently but he cuts her off and lets her know that he doesnt and will never accept her as a girl at all no matter what.

this leads to the dad finally exploding and going on a huge cathartic rant against the grandpa where he finally lets him know how he felt all this years about him and how much he hates him. then jenny and her parents leave as a happy family singing in the car.

i decided to cut it off, first due to time. i wanted to finish jennyffer once and for all and doing one more extra chapter simply wasnt in me to do it.

the second reason i decided to cut it was because it would have been just too bitter and not very funny, satisfying as it might have been. it would have been another episode about someone going on a huge angry insult filled rant right after the vivian james episode. it would have been an episode about an uncomfortable situation ending on a really aggressive note, and my main objective is that jennyffer is meant to be funny. it would have been just me venting, and not in the funny way.

so i got it out.

[hcpefuldreaming]

@hxlcycnx continued from x

“a stupid decision, really.” erik replied with a snarky grin. he really didn’t think himself a logical candidate for being responsible with someone’s life, but that was her problem he supposed. in any matter, he didn’t hate the other as much as he hated most people. “tell me, why in the world do you spend so much time in this abandoned opera talking to me when there is a whole world much more exciting out there?” he asked curiously, fixing the stage lights as he conversed.

"I never said I was smart." She teases with a grin. "No, I know that I'm rather intelligent, however, it isn't a stupid decision to trust you." Hope says as she sighs and looks around for a moment. "Believe me, I would spend more of my time on the Jolly Roger than anywhere else, but that beauty isn't here and I'm far too inquisitive for my own good so here I am."

[operas-phantom]

Merry Christmas Eve from the opera house and I.

[erisperitas]

Erik, Himbo Tempest Cleric of Talos~

I finished this painting of Half-Elf Erik (distinct from Firbolg Erik), who's been my tav for my solo run of Baldur's Gate 3 ~

Super jolly and helpful for a cleric of a god of chaos, but Talos followers aren't monoliths-

[ Carrd | Portfolio Site | Patreon | Ko-fi ]

[dross-the-fish]

"New management? And M. Debienne and M. Poligny didn't think to inform their most important staff member?! Outrageous! What bad form! BAD FORM I say! If only Erik had known! He'd have sent a jolly little welcome gift. Alas! I suppose I should find something to throw together. Awfully difficult at the last minute but one doesn't wish to be rude!"

[jules-has-notes]

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2017 — VoicePlay live performances

For their third and final year of residency at Disney World, the jolly fellows of VoicePlay returned with all the holiday favorites. The recordings below are from a handful of nights across the season, and all happen to feature J.None in the baritone spot. (They were getting very close to annoucing his official membership in the group by this point.) If you're missing Erik Winger, though, he and the other backup guys took the stage together early in the run.

Even though the boys only alternated between two setlists, it's fun to watch each performance to see and hear the little differences, particularly in the banter between the songs.

.

setlist: "Here Comes Santa Claus"; [3:30] "My Two Front Teeth"; [7:25] "What's This?"; [10:10] introductions; [10:50] "Frosty the Snowman"; [13:15] "Santa and I Know It"

performance date: 12 November 2017

.

setlist: [0:20] "Here Comes Santa Claus"; [3:35] "My Two Front Teeth"; [7:40] "What's This?"; [10:27] introductions; [11:11] "Frosty the Snowman"; [13:25] "Santa and I Know It"

performance date: 14 November 2017

.

[Here's another recording from the other side of the stage with the banter removed.]

setlist: "Deck the Halls"; [2:05] "Holiday Road"; [4:45] "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"; [7:25] "Christmas Don't Be Late"; [10:35] "Most of the Songs" medley

performance date: 14 Novemer 2017

.

setlist: "Here Comes Santa Claus"; [3:10] "My Two Front Teeth"; [7:27] "What's This?"; [9:57] introductions; [10:55] "Frosty the Snowman"; [13:00] "Santa and I Know It"

performance date: 14 November 2017

.

original song / performer: "Holiday Road" by Lindsay Buckingham

performance date: 7 December 2017

.

original song / performer: "Christmas Don't Be Late" by Alvin & the Chipmunks

performance date: 7 December 2017

.

original song / performer: "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" by Bing Crosby as Jim Hardy and Marjorie Reynolds as Linda Mason in Holiday Inn (1942)

performance date: 7 December 2017

.

title: "Most of the Songs" holiday medley

original songs / performers: [0:19] "Mele Kalikimaka" by Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters; [0:27] "Pat-a-pan", French / English carol; [0:33] "Deck the Halls", English carol; [0:39] "Frosty the Snowman" by Gene Autry; [0:43] "Carol of the Bells", English carol; [0:52] "Coventry Carol", English carol; [1:06] "Welcome Christmas" from How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966); [1:20] "Hava Nagila", Jewish folk song; [1:27] "I Have a Little Dreidel", children's Hannukah song; [1:33] "Angels We Have Heard on High", French / English carol; [2:00] "Up on the Housetop" by Gene Autry; [2:03] "Dominick the Donkey" by Lou Monte; [2:24] "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry; [2:28] "Jingle Bells", American carol; [2:31] "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker; [3:03] "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", English carol

performance date: 7 December 2017

.

setlist: J.None setting up in the control booth; [5:14] "Deck the Halls"; [7:15] "Holiday Road"; [9:50] "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"; [12:30] "Christmas Don't Be Late"; [15:40] "Most of the Songs" medley; [20:05] J.None signing off

guest performer: Max Herskovitz (percussion)

performance date: 25 December 2017

.

Trivia

The custom lyrics for "Christmas Don't Be Late" this year were: ♫ "Wanna eat some pumpkin pie" / "Tickets to The Last Jedi" ♫

Artist and fan Leon King made a visit toward the end of the run. He posted a fun clip from "Holiday Road" on Instagram. The sound got blown out because he was a little too close to a speaker, but it's still fun to watch the boys dancing and goofing around together.

J.None and Max had been in the American Music Machine cast together at Epcot until it closed earlier in the year.

.

Additional photos

[elskiee]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for the tag @justhallucinating!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

currently i have 2 works! 1 completed and 1 wip

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

50,450 words (and counting!)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

as of right now i only plan to write for peaky fandom (shipping tommy with, like, every man in the show ever), but who knows!

4. Top five fics by kudos

i only have 2, so... it's daylight that gets the most kudos

5. Do you respond to comments?

oh if you comment on my fic not only will i respond but i also will be planning our spring AND fall wedding, as well as preparing our brand new house and farm by the countryside

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

no fic of mine will have angst ending bcs i take things too seriously sometimes so angst ending will absolutely traumatize me <3 no angst ending in this household !! (and also bcs like i write fics abt my comfort characters so i want them to always be happy and jolly)

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

all of them!! guaranteed!!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

thank god i haven't got one! and pls refrain from leaving hate comments on any fics possible... it's okay to leave constructive criticism, but plain and borderline hate???? baby let's take some fresh air for a little bit shall we

9. Do you write smut?

i try to... :'D

10. Craziest crossover?

not like a whole crossover but i definitely plan on getting other characters from outside the peaky fandom (who were working in the same movie as tom hardy and/or cillian murphy) into my tofie fics... for example MAYBE i'd get someone blonde, British, great with cameras, loves physics, and whose name probably rhymes with gistopher molan to be one of tommy's exes... or i'd get someone brunette, slender, very into the concept of lucid dreaming, whose name rhymes with barthur to be alfie's love interest before tommy... who knows right... 😶

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i haven't and let's keep it that way!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope, i don't even think my fics r worthy of such dedication :'')

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no, but i'm open to do it!!

14. All time favorite ship?

tofie, definitely. but i also LOVE cherik (charles and erik from x-men). and i love every ship that has cillian murphy's character in it 🤷🏻‍♀️

15. What's a wip you want to finish but you doubt you ever will?

i'm the type of writer that HAS TO finish all WIPs before even picking up other ideas, so hopefully none! hopefully I'll get everything completed!

16. What are your writing strengths?

frankly speaking, i don't think i have any.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i rush and i unintentionally create plot holes. i make mistakes with grammar too (i only write in English, and it is my third language). there are a lot of things that i need to work on :'D but I'm trying every day!

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

i'm cool with it!

19. First fandom you wrote in?

ever? definitely one direction LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL but on my current ao3 account so far i wrote my first fic for peaky

20. Favorite fic you've written?

based on how much it's challenging me and how it brings me joy, daylight

[lokislynx]

First time ever I saw his face. And he saw mine.

It was a cloudless night. The moon and the stars shone brightly above us. The night had been a quiet one. Only the night-creatures giving us their concert weither we wanted or not as we sat by our campfire.

I had drunk some rum. Fine, a fair amount of rum. He had had only a taste... no thanks to me. Ever since we met, which was five days ago, I had been driven by a devilish desire to corrupt him somehow. He was just too nice, too honorable. It had to be a lie; a mask.

The rum slowed me down a little, made slightly clumsy but no less deadly. It was the reason why one of the robbers was able to pull the mask off my face. He screamed the minute he saw what the mask was hiding. The robber, not my new persian friend who was fighting with a robber of his own.

I leaped like a dancer to the one threatening my persian companion and snapped the robber's neck. Nadir hit a perfect right hook on the face of the one threatening me and the man fell like he was hit by a brickwall. Impressing. I felt an unfamiliar heat inside of me as I went and finished the fool.

Nadir said nothing about my murderous instinct. I didn't see his expression, as I was trying to hide my maskless face from him as best I could but he was calm.

His voice was a little out of breath as he asked the strangest guestion: "Are you alright, Erik?"

"See my mask anywhere?"

I heard him move around, then say with a calm... low... velvety sound: "Here."

I can't explain it. His voice filled me with irresistable need to... see...

I swallowed hard and turned to face him. The man who had just fought by my side, moved with me in perfect harmony as if we had been dancing together... practising those moves for ages... together...

He didn't scream. He showed no fear.

He smiled! He smiled the strangest, battle weary smile as if he was just happy to see we were... I was... unharmed.

And then the moment I realised I was seeing him without his stoic mask for the first time... his expression changed as if he had just understood what he was looking at. But even then there was no fear, no loathing just... endless wonder as if I was the... No, that's absurd! And still.

He looked at me like I was the most mysterious creature he had ever seen and he wanted to unravel me... to see me and all of my... beauty.

I felt. Drunk. And not because of the rum.

I took the mask from him and covered my face with it but for the first time not because of the eyes looking at me but because of only myself.

I had not expected to find such a rare creature but here he was. I sat down by the fire. He sat beside me and all I could think of was calming myself with a silent, slightly drunken shanty before dragging the corpses further from our campsite.

I had never meant or feared a song more.

"My heart is pierced by Cupid... I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me..."

But my persian prince bold...

"But my jolly sailor bold."

My god... if there ever was one...

For the first time in ages I couldn't finish a song. He didn't mind it seemed.

"That was pretty."

"Just a sea shanty."

"Because of the rum?"

"Oui."