my take on a pre-spawn Astarion, looking very imposing o^o (and yeah, my hc is that his eyes were hazel! and also he had a Mulan moment where he sliced his lil ponytail off post-turning)
I decided to be extremely brave and try out a different brush than my usual, to better-emulate the actual painting, and I don't hate it actually! bit of a learning curve but Procreate's painting brushes are actually really cool :3
also also, his outfit is based on actual judiciary clothing from I think the 1800s? very cool robe, as soon as I saw it I knew it was for him <3
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Hey I thought you would like to know that there isn't any navigation links on this post from season 1
https://pushing500.tumblr.com/post/755690582509256704/drama-in-the-colony-what-in-the-world-could-be
making it a little hard to read your comic in order
It was a bit tricky to see in the mode the links go to because the "keep reading" line doesn't work, but the links were there, just before the last picture!
I've changed them now, though, so hopefully it's easier to navigate. Let me know if you find any more posts that need editing for an easier reading experience! Thank you! <3 <3
Summary: An awkward fresh-out-of-a-relationship woman and an orc that owns a sex store enter an adult theater together. She, intent on pushing her own boundaries. He, just looking to give her some sense of safety. Well, that and he wouldn’t complain about having a bit of fun himself.
After they inevitably get interrupted, Jek deals with the problem while Heidi flees. Resigned, he believes he’ll never see her again.
Thus begins Jek and Heidi’s sporadic interactions until, eventually, they find themselves fumbling around each other daily at the very place it started: Strictly Pleasure.
Part 1 - Masterlist - Part 15
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A sudden knock resounded on the door. Heidi jumped, eyes widening. There was no way Jek had managed to get to her apartment that fast. They had barely closed out of the video chat! Grabbing a more appropriate robe from her closet, she made her way to the front door as another set of rapping knocks sounded.
Peering through the peephole, the cozy heat Jek had stoked suddenly drained away. An elven police officer stood at her front door.
Her stomach sunk, her mind a swirl of sudden tragedies. Was Malachai in trouble? Had he skipped out on school? Or did something happen at his school?
With a flurry of fear swarming her thoughts, she flung her door open and stared up at the officer.
“Is something wrong?” Her words came out as a gasp as her eyes bounced to the tag on the officer’s chest. Officer B. Thaybore.
“Miss Heidi Harris?” Officer Thaybore’s tone betrayed no sense of urgency. In fact, they seemed bored. Which was utterly ridiculous given how fast Heidi’s heart thrummed in her chest.
“Yes, that’s me.” Heidi’s eyes fell to the clipboard in the officer’s hand.
Holding up the clipboard, offering her a pen, Officer Thaybore pointed to the form. “You’ve been served. Sign the form to indicate delivery, please.”
Numb, Heidi followed the instructions without a second thought. Once the officer looked over the signature and nodded, they handed Heidi a sealed packet. When the officer turned to leave, she remained in the door, staring at the packet.
She couldn’t imagine who would be serving her legal paperwork. Was this always a bad thing? Swallowing the lump in her throat, she ran her finger under the flap and tore the seal. Sliding out the sheet, her stomach dropped, reading the header.
PETITION TO ESTABLISH PATERNITY, CUSTODY, VISITATION AND SUPPORT
ARTUK GRAWL
Petitioner
The name felt like a rather corporeal ghost slapping Heidi across the face. The paper crinkled at the edges as her fingers tightened on the sheaf, only half-reading the rest of the content. Something about establishing paternity at a particular lab. Something about getting legal counsel.
What was this about custody and visitation? When she revealed to Artuk she was pregnant, he nearly left skid marks on the ground when he left! On top of her confusion, sudden fears slammed through her thoughts.
This was going to be expensive. Did she have to force Malachai in for a paternity test? It had been over a decade! How did Artuk have a legal foot to stand on? Her stomach lurched as more and more thoughts careened through her head. She’d have to find a lawyer. Did she know anyone who could give her a recommendation? Where did she even begin?
In Heidi’s emotional upheaval, she didn’t see Jek’s slow approach. Even from a distance, he could see she looked pale and her expression strained. His worries intensified when she didn’t look up as he stood before her.
“Everything alright? I saw an officer leaving.” He nodded toward the exit, his thumb jerking the direction the cop went.
Heidi blinked rapidly fighting back tears as she tore her gaze from the legal papers. She didn’t realize it was Jek who had been talking until she looked up.
He startled seeing the tears at the edges of her lashes. Refraining from reaching out to touch her, he could only think to say, “What happened?”
With a sniff, she shook her head and turned to disappear inside, waving for Jek to follow after her. Anxiety had her throat constricted and, with all the thoughts tumbling about her head, she couldn’t find the words to answer him.
~ ~ ~
The two soon found themselves sitting at the kitchen table, next to each other. Heidi quickly briefed Jek on the whole turn of events, but soon found herself explaining far more than just the papers. The quiet attentiveness Jek gave her just made the words flood out.
“We dated in high school and lived together when going to college for a time. Looking back, it wasn’t a great relationship.” She shook her head, recalling what life with Artuk had been like. Typical growing pains for young adults, but there had been quite a few fights, retaliation – admittedly from both sides – and ultimately him abandoning her. Something caught in her voice as she bitterly added, “When I told him I was pregnant, it was like he couldn’t leave fast enough,”
Despite the mask of calm he managed to affix, something in Jek bristled. At the back of his jaw, his teeth ground together, thinking of a younger Heidi navigating single parenthood alone simply because another man didn’t want to step up. That’s how she met Travis. Had to be why she even humored his degradation as long as she did. She needed someone.
Of course, if this Artuk had stuck around, Jek realized he may have never met Heidi. Where would she be now? Not that he could thank the fuck for it. The whole thing obviously affected her deeply.
When Jek spoke again, his voice managed to remain calm with no indication of his inner boiling rage. “And he hasn’t been paying child support this whole time?”
“I never asked him to! I figured if he didn’t want to be there, I’d just do it all on my own.” A foolish thought Heidi realized soon after having Malachai. Her family had misgivings about her relationship with an orc, but when she ended up pregnant, they cut ties entirely. Heidi never once regretted it, but she did wish she had someone to help.
Believing she could handle parenthood alone seemed all the more foolish now that Artuk was pursuing legal actions. She never thought he’d rear his head again. He made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with her or her child when he left her.
With a heavy sigh, Heidi collapsed onto the table, still sniffling. “I’m an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” Jek was quick to reply, a sternness in his voice he didn’t often use. “You didn’t know he was going to come back and do this.”
“It doesn’t matter what I thought, because now he’s going to take me to court.” Propping herself up on her elbows again, she didn’t even bother swiping at the tears trailing down her cheeks. “And it’s going to cost a lot of money. Oh, and I work at a sex shop! Mother of the year right here.”
“Do you not want to work at the store anymore?” He tried to keep his shoulders from hunching, familiar with the socially construed stigma of his business. Part of him flinched at the very prospect of losing her, all the same.
“It’s not that! I love working with you and Gnadi. It’s a little unconventional, sure, but I’m enjoying my time there.” She instantly sat straighter, waving her hands, aware of how her words could be construed. She couldn’t ignore how her occupation would reflect in court, though. “It’s just now every little thing I do is going to be scrutinized and I just started working again.”
Heidi’s stomach lurched, wondering just how deeply the courts would have to dig to verify her Good Mother status. Was she even a good mother? She didn’t know. Malachai was struggling after Travis bounced out of their life, but he was struggling before… usually thanks to Travis.
She had worried his struggles had something to do with being an orc but not having family tied to the culture. It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried, of course. But there were things orcs could do and provide and tell him that she couldn’t. And he was too shy to engage with strangers.
Had she failed him? The familiar thought made woe bubble up in her chest and she blinked back a new slew of tears. Only then did she realize Jek still sat quietly, watching her. A wave of foolishness crashed down with the misery in her chest, remembering why he was even here to begin with.
Shaking her head, Heidi tried to wipe the tears off her cheeks. “I’m sorry, you came all this way and this happens. You can leave if you want.”
“It’s fine, it’s not your fault,” Jek rushed to say, caving into the urge to touch her by grabbing one of her forearms and gently pulling her hand from her cheek. He leaned toward her as he raised his hand to her cheek, using his thumb to swipe softly over the tear trail. “Do you want me to leave? I’m happy to stick around if you need anything.”
His touch nearly undid Heidi. Something about the gentleness, the warmth, pierced through her. She ached to feel more of it, to feel more of him. She absolutely did not want Jek to leave. His presence alone held off the worst of her reaction. His touch… well, it reminded her there were other ways to burn off her surge of fear-fueled adrenaline.
The looming threat that Artuk presented made her stomach swarm with uncertainty. Could she really act on hormones with this matter looming? Hells, what if the courts found out about her banging her boss? Would that completely ruin her chances to be seen as a proper guardian?
Closing her eyes, frustration licked over her. How could Artuk, a man who never wanted to be in her child’s life before, do this? How was he allowed to make her second-guess every single decision she was making? It was like Travis, in a way. He always questioned her motivations.
Gods, she was so tired of second-guessing everything she did. The mental energy to stoke her confidence and make a decision was waning, though. Fully aware of Jek’s hand still on her cheek, Heidi opened her eyes and met his gaze.
His eyes flickered to her mouth as she licked her dry lips. Excitement jolted through her at the simple attention. It took effort to force her next words out and, even then, they came out soft and unsure. “Would it be terrible of me to say I still want to have sex?”
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