#nikartoirel

[redwayfarers]

Radiant

[i-mybrunettelady]

20 questions for 20 writers

i was tagged by @accidentallyadorable, ty for the tag friend <3

tagging: @archesa, @thevikingwoman, @scionshtola, @antariies, @anneapocalypse, @ghostwise and whoever sees this and wants to participate <3

q1. how many works do you have on ao3?

i don't post all my work on ao3, but on ao3 alone, 28!

q2. what fandoms do you write for?

guild wars 2, wayfarer, ffxiv, blood moon, infamous, the exile <3

q3. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

tales of the red wayfarer - a cassander character study

overflowing - intellis pining

somewhere after midnight - cassmel post-sex cuddling and pillow talk

ties that sever, ties that bind - an inteus family study, currently being finished

songweaver - more intellis pining (all wayfarer works lmao)

q4. do you respond to comments?

always! they're few and far between so i make sure i do <3

q5. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hard to say... i write angst, but i write hurt/comfort, so like. by that alone it's ties that sever because cass cries by the end of each one and is very much alone so like. ties that sever??? bonus points go for scenes of an arson site also.

extra bonus points go to on theokleia, my mother which is a part of the ties that sever series, but a piece that haunts me to this day.

q6. what is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

hm.. ones that gives me budging hopes are a flickering light, or a tale of two survivors (ffxiv) and my future will listen to me! i'm really fond of the endings of these two even if they're not typically... happy. i have happier endings but these two seem a different kind of happy to me. a wistful, hopeful happy as opposed to a typical happy.

q7. do you get hate on fics?

so far no and i hope it stays that way. i only recently hot my first hate ask lmaoooo

q8. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

yes! i write for.. pairings, moreso than one type. so far i mostly have mlm smut, and that's because they're cassander pairings and he is a bisexual/achillean dude, but i do want to write wlw smut if the inspo strikes, and i do wanna write some het scenes i have in my head (namely a crossover that's nyra/estinien atm tbh. i also wanna write nyra/mirka for that wlw stuff.)

i also have a nyra solo i'm very proud of :>

q9. do you write crossovers?

i wrote a wayfarer/ffxiv crossover (a flickering light), and i wanna write a gw2/ffxiv crossover (nyra and estinien!) i also wrote a wayfarer/gw2 crossover with mordrem!cassander (a story of how (not) to be a big head)

other than that i rarely write crossovers tbh

q10. have you ever had a fic stolen?

girl no god forbid :xxxx

q11. have you ever co-written a fic before?

a long time ago, yes, with @guildwarsgirl! it was a braham shippy one, and i wrote for braham <3

q12. what's your all-time favorite ship?

honest to god? i got a few ships i cherish and keep near and dear to my heart: cassmel (cassander and melchior, wayfarer), trammander (nyra and trahearne, gw2), elion (el and liv, gw2) and angelina and farro from blood moon! i may not write about all of them equally but i do cherish them deeply

q13. what's one WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i do have certain series i wanna finish, such as my nikartoirel apology trilogy, called trials and tribulations - parts 1 and two are out - and ties that sever <3 when ffxiv brainrot comes back, i'll probably finish the nikartoirel apology series.

one other thing i wanna finish but it's not high on my to-do list is nikartoirel bridgerton au <3 gotta love regency husbands

q14. what are your writing strengths?

character voice! on god i love character voice so much and it shows.

q15. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i technically am since english is my second language! so yeah, full speed ahead

q16.first fandom you wrote for?

gw2 baybee <3 back in 2021. my first fic was actually trammander <3

q17. favorite fic you've written?

please don't ask me that ;; but between us... my future will listen to me, ties that sever, ties that bind, say hi to yourself, scenes of an arson site, a gravitational pull !

q18. what are your writing weaknesses?

fighting scenes hands down

q19. have you ever had a fic translated?

not yet but if anyone wants to.. i owe you my LIFE,, i could also tecnically do it but translating your own work is hard as fuck

[redwayfarers]

You're riot dancin', but I just wanna fly

[redwayfarers]

one of my like, big romantic gesture nikartoirel ideas has been artoirel playing the piano and nika singing to the melody... music is truly their thing, their shared passion... artoirel being the only person nika trusts to correct and/or give opinion on what he writes, and to make suggestions...

if there is a piano somewhere in the game i will pose this but rn it's in my head only

[redwayfarers]

updated husbands

[redwayfarers]

happy monday, here's nikartoirel in the royal menagerie <3

[redwayfarers]

How easy do you find it to write romantic (or sexual) dialogue for your OC? If they are in a relationship with a canon character then how difficult is it to keep these interactions faithful to their established character and communication style?

hi! ty for dropping by! <3 since you didn't specify a dude i will do both of them!! @ubejamjar asked the same thing so here's the reply, with receipts like a true lit graduate :>

for both nika and cass, it's a funny thing. they are both kinda inexperienced in varying degrees, so it shows in their dialogue! but they do it in different ways. i will focus on sexual dialogue here, because romantic one could take forever, especially for cass! nika has one (1) romantic admission in comparison lmao

cassander makes sexual jokes and innuendos all the fucking time, but for strictly funsies purposes; he can't admit to himself that he likes calling his partner daddy in bed directly, so he has to mock it, like a brat he is. here are a few examples from my fic just desserts:

“You’re too old for that. Seen too much. I think I just make it juicier. More acerbic. I’m bittering this old lemon again.” I shake my head and laugh. “Or a blueberry? Are blueberries acerbic? Hold on, I have to google that now.” I look around to where my phone is, but end up hitting my cheekbone into his temple. He is a warm pressure against my back, and his hands are sliding up and down my sides. “I do think this particular blueberry has a case of… blue balls.” Pause. “Please don’t laugh at that. It’ll shame us both.”    (...) Mel shakes with laughter. “You’re a delight, Cassander,” he says between laughs, and warmth spreads all over my chest. Some days I can hardly believe my luck that I met the two of them, and that we’d be here, living together, cracking silly jokes in what feels like domestic bliss. Not that I have anything to compare it to, but still. Then, Mel’s voice goes low, though still chipper. “Do you know how you’d be an even more of a delight?”  It makes me swallow. “Tasting the blueberry?”  “Hmm, not quite yet. I don’t think you’ve been a good enough boy for that, with all your offenses against language in the last 20 minutes.”  I fight the urge to squirm. “You’re really not holding back, huh,” I whisper and he kisses my cheek. His hand slides to my belly and promises to dip lower, but doesn’t. I look down to where his fingers are toying with my shirt. “So, however will I atone for my sins, Daddy ?” I know, I know, I shouldn’t sound so derisive about it, but it comes out as a half-mocking. Oops. 

nor can he directly admit he's extremely virginal in his exile au and in yet another fic, two snakes, one bed:

On my end of things, I’m jelly. I’m boneless. Bonerless and boneless. I can hardly control my breathing and I don’t dare open my eyes. I just came like a fucking teenager. From a simple handjob. Embarrassment settles in and brings out its daily newspaper. There’s something fragile inside my chest that can’t withstand looking at him as he laughs. I can already feel my eyes watering.  I close my legs and turn to the side. “I haven’t,” I whisper. I can feel his eyes bore into my back.  “Never?” He sounds flabbergasted.  “Never. Zero fucking experience. I led armies and could turn into a giant snake but I never had sex. Only me and my good old pal, the hand.” I’m just digging my grave further at this point, but I don’t care. It hardly matters anymore. He’ll mock me regardless. Any second now. 

this is fairly easy to write - as it is close to my own way of talking sometimes - but it is charming in that he's extreme about it, even in his narration, which is always a treat to write for me :> i like pairing him with more experienced people for that reason, so his inexperience stands out. it isn't terribly difficult for me to write those interactions, if i'm in a mood for writing a smutfic, because most of my ocs end up in relationships where their respective communication styles play off nicely with their partner's!

nika on the other hand doesn't have the witty spirit that cass does, and his whole thing is denial about his own feelings, a lot of his sexuality too, even more than simple fact that he's bisexual. his overall communication style is very obtuse and confusing, and he rarely says what he truly means in this very direct way, and even when he does say it, it comes out well and truly.. weird. he is emotionally constipated after all, and very much full of shame. here are some examples of what i mean, from my fics (you) restless son and how unreasonably in love i am with (everything) you (do):

“Do I have something on my… throat?” Artoirel asks, confused, red in the face, and Nika looks at the glass in his hand.  “No,” he says and rubs the side of his neck. “I just think you look better without the cravat.”  “Such are the fashions of Ishgard, Nika.”  “Fuck the fashions of Ishgard, Artoirel.” Nika looks at his own shirt, open at the front, and the length of his white boots. Artoirel follows suit; his eyes linger on the exposed skin of Nika’s chest. “Some of them, anyway.”  “Not all of us can make that shirt look good,” Artoirel comments quietly. “You and Lord Stephanivien, perhaps. As for myself? The cravates are that much presentable.” “Bah, you’re too prim and proper.” Nika puts a foot down. The heels echo in the otherwise silent room like a battle trumpet. It may be the drink he’s had, but his next words come out offensively shamelessly. “I like the way your collarbones look.”  (...) “Let’s go play the piano,” Nika says. His voice is gruff, stuffed to the brim with need and anger and yearning and the drunkenness of the whiskey and the warmth of Artoirel’s skin. “Let’s go play the fucking piano or I’m pinning you down on these overpriced floor covers.” 

“You’re doing it again,” Nika says. “Looking at me so intensely. Like I’m.. Like you’re in love with me, or something.” He laughs, awkwardly. “Are you in love with me, Artoirel?”  Artoirel purses his lips and looks away. He stands up and runs a finger over the surface of the desk. “I am fond of you, yes. That much is obvious.”  “Being fond and being in love are two completely different things!” Nika puts his cup down on the windowsill and rubs his face. “Artoirel, I.. You are not like everyone else. You are dear to me, and I care for you, and–” He takes a deep breath. “I care for you more than I should. And twelve help me, everything else I’ve done feels like– fucking foreplay for the main thing. Which is–” Nika waves his hands around. “All of this.” 

nika and artoirel are a joy to write together because of their very kinds of communication vibes - artoirel being prim and proper, nika being very direct and downright rude, neither saying what they mean but saying it directly anyway. i often joke that they could talk for each other in therapy because of this, and they absolutely could. it sometimes feels like they're the only person who ever understands what the other guy is trying to say :>

[redwayfarers]

Halone approved hand holding

[redwayfarers]

Deep in Nikartoirel feels today. Nika and his tall, knightly, princely masc wife..

The story would read differently in this case but no less interestingly

[redwayfarers]

2, 13, and/or 24. Which ship is player's choice!

ty for dropping by! let's go with nikartoirel :>

2. If they could each describe each other in one sentence, what would it be?

for nika, artoirel is, first and foremost, a bastard. and he means this in a positive way too; he's very attracted to that kind of person, and he also means that artoirel isn't afraid to say it how it is, not to his face, which can be considered rude but nika likes and even needs that kind of relationship, alongside the more caring aspects.

for artoirel, nika is fragile. at no point does he doubt nika's capabilities, mind; he just thinks that nika is someone who deep down needs protection, whose sense of self and views of the world are malformed and brittle (and he isn't wrong) so his emotional fragility brings out the protective instinct. i think he's about the only person in eorzea aside from nika's moms who feels this way.

13. Name something they would never do for the other person. 

nika: drop his career. he cares for his career and his music and he'd never drop it for anyone, even if it goes against the image artoirel is trying to make for the fortemps family for example. not that artoirel will. he supports nika's career greatly. but nika isn't simply meant to be a consort, even if that's what he could be after marriage.

artoirel: go against his duty. he has duties to ishgard and the fortemps family as the count and he's been raised to fulfill them. he also has duties to nika - as his friend, his lover and eventually, husband - but nika knows better than to ask him to choose between ishgard and him, because he knows artoirel will choose ishgard and that it will break him.

24. What is something they have each had to forgive the other for?

nika: for the little murder attempt situation in early heavensward that he wasn't really all that angry for? but it wasn't nice, even if they laugh about it now. noteworthy mention: fights they sometimes have as equally prideful individuals with their own viewpoints on things, during which they say some truly awful stuff to each other.

artoirel: aforementioned fights.

[redwayfarers]

Nika is starting to regret his potential job change.

But encouragement of the girl you have a crush on helps a ton :)

[redwayfarers]

When I have more time to fuck around with editing I might just redouble my Artoirel appreciation efforts by maybe making a little Artoirel week challenge. If there isn't one already and I'm just a blind sprout tbh

I feel stupidly silly asking people what they think of him and looking at the game through my 'artoision' (ty @scionshtola for the shtola version, I'm stealing it and making it more french) so uhhh

Yeah if someone would let me know if there's been one before or something just so I don't make an absolute fool out of myself

[redwayfarers]

early heavensward nikartoirel simulator

[i-mybrunettelady]

1/ Who fell first, who fell hardest for all your kids? 🥰

all my kiddos!!! let's go

trammander: traho first, nyra harder <3 but roughly at around the same time!

elion: liv first, el harder (listen there's a reason why i refer to them as two sides of the same coin)

renila: ren fell harder. idk who fell first tho

branne: sanne fell first, braham fell harder

revecats: kosara fell first + harder. rytlock is... enjoying himself and also on his own slow ride to love.

shiverpeaks rose: mirka fell harder, but i'll let @moonlit-grove answer for fiadh!

eirene x isoun: eirene has a high chance of falling first, but i'll also let @antariies answer for isoun :) we really need a ship name for them

non gw2 kids

intellis (wayfarer): cass fell first, aeran fell harder

cassmel (wayfarer): cass fell first, but he and mel fell equally hard.

minka (ffxiv): nika fell first + hard. minfilia never did, not in the same way at least.

nikartoirel (ffxiv): artoirel fell first, nika fell harder

ange x farro (blood moon): farro fell first, ange fell harder :)

gisella x marcel (thicker than): gisella fell first, marcel fell harder

swan x orion (infamous): orion fell first, swan harder.

reyna x hadrian (the golden rose): hadrian fell first + harder! reyna just fell in love not long after tbh

[redwayfarers]

get to know me - nero

was tagged by @thevikingwoman, ty <3

tagging: @lavampira, @accidentallyadorable, @archesa, @just-eyris-things, @lilas and whoever else wants to <3

three ships

cassmel bc they're THE otp of all time

nikartoirel bc yeah they're also <3 to me (also viking i feel you on minor character hell lmaoo)

and since i recently played thicker than... let's go with my mc gisella and her vampy lover marcel medici (bonus points for my blood moon favs, angelina and farro)

last song

espresso by sabrina carpenter bc i'm that bitch i guess

last film

kung fu panda 4, it was so good ;;; plus the subs were well translated so the jokes landed in both languages

currently reading

nothing as i read my uni books at breakneck speed so now i'm on a writing spree and working on a little piece for the lesbian visibility week over on my main blog!

currently watching

nothing bc i can't make myself watch shit anymore, sadly

current obsession

gw2 + thicker than + wayfarer (cassander to be more specific)

currently craving

for my moon sickness to go away :pensive:

[redwayfarers]

I accidentally gposed a slightly spicy nikartoirel and I'm so thankful I remembered to remove Edmont in the last second 💀