#bob writes

**Here, @yukiwrites, I finally finished it! I’m not sure how good it is, but hopefully this can be of reference for you in future prompts! (;v;)b**

Breaching the Hoshidan capital had been an incredibly difficult feat. The Hoshidan army, which had been led by Sonja’s sister, Hinoka, put up an intense fight, it was almost a miracle that none of her comrades had sustained any serious injuries—she had the healers, especially Elise, to thank for that. It was a hard-earned victory, and the hardest battles were yet to come. Despite this, it felt appropriate to hold a celebration to boost morale. Only if for a night, the mead and ale would allow them to selfishly indulge in the rare opportunity to feel human before having to wear the mask of a soldier once again.

Sonja glanced around the mess hall and took a swig of mead from her mug, enjoying the sweet flavor of honey that accompanied the raw burn of alcohol as it went down her throat. It was the most lively she’d seen anyone for what felt like months. She looked over to where Camilla was standing and was not surprised to see Odin standing right with her. He was very animated, most likely telling her fantastic tales of grandeur in his own signature way, while Camilla listened to him with a loving smile, occasionally sipping alcohol from her own mug.

On the other side of the room, Elise was sleeping comfortably against Effie who blushed softly, their fingers intertwined even with the young princess was out for the count, and the more Sonja looked around, the more people she saw together. Leo (unsurprisingly) was gazing at Azura with what could be described as an uncharacteristically gentle look in his eyes, which Xander had of course caught onto, evident by the humored smile of an older brother. Charlotte, who had chugged about four pints of ale over the course of 30 minutes, took the matter into her own hands and essentially carried her less than pleased brother-in-law over to the blue haired songstress while her husband watched the scene, almost surprised.

It seemed the only person who wasn’t celebrating with everyone was the former thief with a sharp tongue, which didn’t surprise her. He was most likely somewhere outside, gazing at the moon with a bit of booze in his system. Sonja smiled fondly, her heart filling up with warmth, and quietly left the mess hall. Perhaps it was time that she retired for the night, but not before going to the bath house. It did not occur to Sonja that there would be someone waiting to speak with her, or that this encounter would open doors that she had kept locked for so long.

..*@*..

Though appreciative of the free alcohol and time to “celebrate,” Niles himself was not necessarily a fan of interacting with others. He went to the mess hall as soon as possible to snag some alcohol, and quickly left before the rest of the army overran the establishment. He was quite fine with staring up at the sky—for the longest time the moon had been his constant companion. But then she waltzed her way into his life. It was completely absurd that he could develop such a close friendship with another person, but Sonja wasn’t necessarily “another person.” She was peculiar, which fascinated him to no end. She was witty, and able to dish it right back at him (which was, to him, incredibly refreshing). There was an unspoken form of mutual respect with Sonja, something he thought would only be unique to his liege. There was something more to it all, but Niles wasn’t willing to explore the possibility. The thought of damaging such an important relationship, tacky as it may sound, was truly the only thing he feared in this life.

So why was he here?

..*@*..

Under the light of the moon, Sonja snuck to the bath house. No one was ever here at that time of night; she would be safe from peering eyes. Though absurd, Sonja refused to bathe with others, she could not risk it. No one had ever questioned her, even if they had some suspicions. She was confident, however, that no one was actively looking for her—they never did at this time of night—which is why she just about screamed when Niles casually hopped out of a tree with a stupid smirk on his face.

“Watch your step milady, I’m quite confident Keaton threw up right where you’re about to step.”

“Niles!” Sonja clutched her hand to her chest. “Gods, you scared the shit out of me!”

He took a step closer to her and shrugged. “My apologies, but you know,” he gestured to the patch of grass in front of her, “I wasn’t kidding about Keaton.”

Sonja looked down and gagged, before composing herself. “Ah . . . well, uh, thank you.” Sonja shuffled nervously looking for a way out of the current situation. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the fact that was obstructed from using one of the baths, or if it was just his presence. His curious gaze from his one eye made her shiver—it had become increasingly difficult to be alone with the archer. She valued his friendship more than anything else, but she could no longer deny her strong feelings towards him. It frightened her.

Niles cleared his throat—he had no idea what he was doing until he glanced over to the bath house.

“Say, Princess, let’s talk.” He meandered over to an area with long grass, directly under the night sky. He looked back at her and spoke teasingly. “There’s alcohol, and it’s absolutely average! A connoisseur’s dream if you ask me.” Sonja snorted in response and followed him; it was music to Niles’ ears.

The two talked for what felt like hours, drinking as they laughed about trivial things. It felt natural, an almost foreign concept to the both of them.

“And Charlotte carried Lord Leo to Lady Azura?” Niles chuckled and closed his one eye. “You jest, milady—that’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard!”

Sonja laughed and pushed him teasingly. “I’m telling the truth! He looked as red as a tomato—it was hilarious!”

Niles shook his head and smiled. “Alright, alright . . . I trust you.”

That sat quietly, staring up at the sky. The heavens were stunning, the stars gleamed brilliantly like diamonds, and the moon was truly serene. It was a scene out of a dream, and neither Niles or Sonja wished for it to end.

They had been silent for several minutes, before Sonja took a deep breath and sat up. She looked into the distance and sighed. “You . . . want to know why I go to the bath house when no one else is around.” Sonja smiled bitterly and ran a hand through her soft hair. “I never actually thought I would share this with anyone. I had planned on taking it with me to my grave.”

Niles sat up and looked at her. “You are in no way obligated to share anything, Sonja. If I’ve pressured you or anything—”

“No, it’s okay. I trust you, and . . . I think it’s time to not be silent.” Sonja plucked a blade of grass and began to fiddle with it. “I don’t remember much about my childhood in the Northern Fortress, other than my education. When I learned I was a Hoshidan princess, I was finally able to understand why my instructors were so cruel.”

Niles listened carefully and watched her face in silence.

“When I was abducted by Garon, it was imperative that I quickly fit into the role of a Nohrian princess. He had hired tutors to help in my cultural assimilation. Any mistake on my part led to punishment—it was not limited to beatings, lashes, or even knifes . . .” As she continued, her voice became shaky. “They would torture me—they left scars on my back from everything they did! I refused to let anyone tend to my back; I refused to let my sisters bathe with me. I lied and told them being in the bath with them made me uncomfortable . . . I lied b-because—!”

Sobs wracked Sonja’s body; her hands shook violently, reaching for anything to grip to provide a sense of security. Niles had never seen her in such a vulnerable, and his heart was in pain. He too had suffered an abusive childhood filled with physical torture—his eye was a testament to this. Both he and Sonja were haunted by the appalling trauma of the past, and Niles felt he could no longer deny the feelings that resided within him.

He hesitantly reached out to Sonja, not knowing how else to comfort her, or if he should even try. Without hesitation, Sonja gripped his hand tightly, and he instinctively pulled her into his arms.

They sat like this for a while, Niles stroking her soft hair tenderly, and Sonja with her face nestled against his chest, until her tears had ceased.

“I’m sorry,” she sniffled, “I’ve ruined your shirt.”

“I’m not against stripping,” he teased lightly, wiping away her tears with his thumb in a tender fashion.

Sonja chuckled at his comment and leaned closer to him. She could no longer contain what was in her heart.

“I don’t want to leave your arms,” she said softly.

Niles paused, and looked at the woman in his arms thoughtfully, before speaking.

“I’m going to start calling you Little Bird.” Sonja gave him an incredulous look and opened her mouth, most likely to call him something incredibly vulgar for ‘teasing’ her, but he cut her off. “When I see you, my heart . . . flies. It’s quite cliché, I know. I don’t pride myself on being a romantic.” He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled nervously. “I’ve never felt this way about someone, and quite frankly, I’m not sure I could let you go from my arms even if I tried. What I’m trying to say is—”

He was silenced by her lips on his. They were soft and tasted like the sweet honey from the alcohol they had indulged in earlier. She was absolutely divine, and he couldn’t help but to give in and return the kiss. Time itself had stopped, yet the moment felt like it was over too quickly. The two away from each other slowly, entirely breathless and just a bit flushed. Niles squeezed her hand gently, a stupid grin plastered on his face as he did so.

“What’s so funny?” the princess breathed.

“Oh nothing,” he began nonchalantly, “other than the fact that we both seem to reek of alcohol.”

Sonja’s eyes widened. Her bath! She hastily stood up, only to fumble into Niles. It was then that the poor woman realized she was absolutely wasted, causing the white-haired man to cackle.

“I tell you what,” he began, “I’ll make it up to you—the next bath is on me.”

Sonja said something about him being a smartass before kissing him once more, Niles happily obliging. This man loved her; her broken past and the marred flesh that adorned her back wouldn’t change that. There was nothing more she could ask for, and when Niles pulled away and cupped her face in his hands, she knew in her heart that she felt the exact same way. Under the light of the moon, both swore that they would be there for each other, no matter what the future held.

These headcanons are related to a series written by @bosstoaster and done for Day One of blackpaladinweek - Time/Space. These headcanons are set both before and after Shiro’s return. Thank you very much for writing such a wonderful series Boss, and I hope you enjoy these headcanons! 

Before

Shiro’s room was left exactly as it was. At first they left it like that because they wanted it to be exactly the same for when he came back. As time passed, and they began to lose hope of ever seeing him again, it was left because none of them could bring themselves to touch his things. Because packing them away would make it real.

Because it had been such a chaotic time when  they had been fighting Zarkon, there hadn’t really been time to do anything like take pictures. This didn’t bother the Paladins much until they realised that they were slowly beginning to forget what Shiro looked like.

AYYY WADDUP ITS FINALLY GON BE OUT ON FEB BUY N PREORDER THAT SHIT YALL ITS GOOD QUALITY ART AND FANFICTION U WILL NOT REGRET

ANYWAy heres the preview for The Wolf’s Gambit that you might’ve seen in the sample here for @bsdtales’ fractured fairy tales zine

Special special special thank you and kisses to all the people who helped me with the zine and brainstorming thank you kura, sodium, stan, mom, maman catargo, thais! im too lazy to tag accs orz but yall kno who u r thanks a lot my dudes

Once upon a time there was a little girl who was called little Red Riding-Hood, because she was quite small and because she always wore a red cloak with a big red hood to it, which her grandmother had made for her.

A little girl, no more than five, made her way through the dim hallway, bleary eyed and tired from the bout of nightmares that had woken her in the first place. She did not notice the slim figure slipping out of her father’s bedroom until she’d stumbled into its legs. All bleariness gone, she lifted her face to the stranger’s, cut in shadow and moonlight from a window someone had forgotten to draw the curtains over. The figure bent to face level, knees resting in the plush carpet, and in the new light the girl could tell it was a man--perhaps a friend of father’s? He smiled an easy grin, and the girl relaxed; no friend of papa’s would hurt her.

She removed her thumb from her mouth.  “Are you papa’s friend?”

“No,” replied the man, still with the same easy smile. He pointed to the framed portrait above them, a hand-painted depiction of a family of five. “Can you tell who are they? Who’s that, to the left?”

“Oh oh--that she’s my elder sister, and the one over there? That’s my second favourite sister, and that’s papa and mama, holding Asako-chan--she’s always crying, but she’s cuter than the others and likes me the best,” the girl’s words were eager, running together in excitement--it was clear she loved to talk about her family.

“And who’s your first favourite sister? Asako?” the stranger gave a playful tug at her braid. “Or do you prefer brothers?”

“Oh no, brothers are horrible. Asako doesn’t play with me a lot, though, so my first favourite is that one over there. She makes dolls for me and plays with me the most.”

“She sounds sweet, Hana.”

“How-how do you know my name?” Hana gaped, eyes wide.

“Oh, I know the names of all the children. I know your favourite sister’s Chiyoko, and your eldest is Hanami. Don’t you know that I live under your beds and basements?”

“So what mama told me--it is true! You don’t look like a monster, though.” the cold fingers of fear had began to grip her one by one. Monsters were cruel, horrendous, and yet the stranger was beautiful, eyes warm and amiable--

The next time he spoke, the stranger’s voice was soft, a silky lull no different from how mama’s was when she had tucked her into bed. “Tell you what, Hana. If you tell anyone that I was here, the monster will know and put Mama and Asako to sleep. You don’t want them asleep forever, do you?”

Hana shook her head in silence, felt her knees knock together as the stranger made to rise. “Go to bed, Hana. Pretend as if I’d never been here, just a little nightmare, off you go.”

No Winter Lasts Forever

Summary:

“You have to keep running Geralt. Don’t stop for anything! Promise me!”

Or: How Geralt escaped the Wild Hunt and ended up running in the woods near Kaer Morhen at the beginning of the first game.

Excerpt:

@noisypaintersong:  Lance for 14. Hunk for 22. And Pidge for 18. :)

Lance + 14 - Ingrained Habits

Lance has a habit of talking to fill a silence because silence always feels awkward to him and he feels obligated to fill it. He also has a habit of making jokes during serious situations to try and break up tension. However, though these things can help at times, sometimes they may not appreciated and may have the opposite effect of annoying people instead.

Hunk + 22 - People who have influenced them greatly.

His grandparents who ran a restaurant together. They ended up babysitting him a lot when he was younger and that was where Hunk got a lot of his cooking knowledge and gained such a passion for it (Hunk’s cooking at Vrepit Sal’s was just too damn restaurant worthy okay).

The Paladins have influenced him greatly, as often in his life he’s had people assume that he’s stupid because he can come out with some ditzy comments sometimes, that he’s a coward because he prefers to think about a situation rather than just rush into it, etc. The Paladins however, he’s found that they truly believe in him and his skills, and believe that he’s a useful member of the team which he didn’t expect to happen. Combine this with the fact that Yellow trusts him enough to be the Yellow Paladin and it’s been one hell of a confidence booster for him.

Another influence? Shay. Definitely Shay. Shay showed him just how bad things were in the galaxy. That people were suffering and dying under the Galra. He had heard about the things that Zarkon and the Galra were doing but it didn’t impact him nearly as much as coming face to face with someone that really was suffering under Zarkon’s rule. Meeting Shay made him more understanding of what was at stake, and gave him a reason to fight, to free people like Shay across the Galaxy.

Pidge + 18 - Things they’ll never admit

@noisypaintersong:  Shiro for 1, 3

Sorry this took so long, been pretty busy with collecting data for my dissertation :( But I finally got one of them done! Hope you enjoy! :)

Shiro has multiple scars all over his body that can start to hurt pretty bad when its cold. Nobody else has caught on yet as it doesn’t particularly negatively effect his day to day life or how he functions as a paladin, but the pain when its cold has become a reminder of all of the things that happened.

His nose is kind of a weak spot because of the scar. He finds it very hard to breathe through his nose because let’s face it, with how the Galra are, its incredibly doubtful that they thought to treat the injury when it happened to make sure it healed right. He can have trouble catching his breath sometimes, and can sometimes end up feeling quite dizzy due to the sinus problems created by the damage. He’s found that he can get colds pretty easily and when he does, they can be pretty bad.

Another weak spot is his arm. Not the prosthetic in general but the connection point. The Galra would hardly be concerned with the comfort of a prisoner/lab rat and so they didn’t take much care when putting it on. The arm is pretty much fused to his skin and there are heavy scars around the connection point. That’s bad enough, but the prosthetic was really hard to get used to due to it’s heavy nature. This is an arm that can punch right through the Galra druids, the damned thing has to be pretty damned heavy. The continuous heavy weight on his arm both pulls at the scars and can leave him with an aching shoulder and some bruising from the strain. Due to it being fused to his skin, its also likely that any swelling resulting from the strain would have nowhere to go, which would just make the problem worse and wow druids what the hell were you even thinking when you designed this arm, you fucked up.

Balance became a bit of an issue when he first got the prosthetic too, as he suddenly had to get used to a heavier weight at his side that tended to drag him sideways or almost make him fall over.

Was struggling with ideas for a fic but my brain was quite happy to throw headcanons at me so here you go:

—————–

Shiro doesn’t admit that he’s sick for ages because really it’s not that big a deal! He’s had worse! He can so handle this!

Until he can’t.

He collapses in the middle of a training session and the castle almost explodes because oh no Shiro’s sick! And what is this illness? We never had anything like that on Altea!

Pidge has a notebook full of notes for a lecture for when Shiro is better. Because seriously Shiro? Not telling them he’s sick? He’s going to regret that later.

Keith isn’t all that experienced with taking care of sick people but he knows that staying hydrated is a thing and so is keeping warm so here Shiro have 50 blankets!

Lance has more experience with taking care of sick people but it’s usually his younger siblings so he’s all gentle voice and hair stroking and Shiro is like ‘Um, Lance but I’m not actually a kid? Actually never mind, the hair stroking is nice…’

Hunk makes about 5000 gallons of chicken soup and they end up eating it for weeks after but hey, Hunk’s cooking is great and at least it’s not food goo.

Allura does her best but she’s mostly preoccupied with trying to keep the Paladins in line while Shiro is down. But she manages to dig up some pretty awesome teas that make Shiro’s sore throat feel better so she’s definitely in his good books.

Coran ends up being the best at taking care of Shiro which isn’t all that surprising because it’s pretty much his job to care for them all. He keeps his voice at just the right level so that he doesn’t make Shiro’s headache any worse, takes some of the 50 blankets away when Keith isn’t in the room so he doesn’t overheat, makes sure Shiro takes medicine when he needs to even though it tastes horrible and doesn’t even blink when Shiro panics in a fever induced nightmare or starts hallucinating Haggar.

Allura is the most relieved when Shiro is better because Quiznak these Paladins are hard work!

Pidge’s lecture lasts almost a full hour. She learned best from her parents after all. Shiro can tell. It feels almost exactly like a dressing down from Commander Holt.