#syrenpan

97. Cooing

Vimes was uncomfortable. He’d never liked green spaces much, and while he was more than willing to take Young Sam for a walk around Hide Park, he would have preferred to do it without strangers staring and whispering the whole time.

He glanced at the nearest ones- two women, sat on a bench and not being particularly subtle about watching him. He turned, ready to start shouting.

“Is there a problem, ladies?”

They blinked. “…No?” one of them said. “We were just saying how nice it is to see a man of your standing spending time with his son.”

“What?” said Vimes.

“Well,” said the other lady, “you must be so busy with the Watch, it’s amazing you can even find the time.”

“Madam, I make time,” Vimes said, not quite sure whether to take offence.

“How lovely! And he’s such a sweet little boy too, such a credit to you.” The ladies waved at Young Sam, who was much happier to be fussed over than his father was. Vimes very nearly relaxed, until he heard his son returning to one of his favourite subjects.

“-and then Uncle Havelock’s doggie did a enormous poo!”

Thank you @sirenpan for the coffees!

Funny thing, I started writing with the ship that would have been perfect for “friends to lovers” -- shakarian, and what did I do? Wrote it as “sex first, love second”. I think I’m writing all pairings as friends first because I think it’s most important that people are friends when they start a relationship, I don’t even understand how you can do that differently. I actually have a scene prewritten for the upcoming part of my shakarian where Shepard points out to Garrus that love is not what will save them but the choice to be better for each other.

“Oh no, just one bed!”I see the fun in this trope but -- probably won’t write it. Because people have sex because they want to, not just because they happen to lie close to each other. I have actually lived this! I travelled with a guy I met in New York and we slept in one bed for like ten days and nothing happened. When did we have sex? When we actually had a room with two beds and looked at each other over the gap and said “You wanna?” “Yeah.”. That ‘s why you have sex, because you want to.

Thanks for the ask!

A. Otto was one of the first vampires to join the Temperance League and was encouraged to take up iconography by Lady Margolotta herself as a replacement for, well, you know. Ze b-vord.

B. People constantly ask Otto if it’s true that Vetinari is a vampire, because “well, you’d know, wouldn’t you?” Even though he knows they usually mean he’d know because of his job at the Times, he’s not above (rightly) calling them racist for assuming all vampires know each other and look a certain way.

C. Otto regrets a lot of the things he did before he became a Black Ribboner. He’s tried to tell himself that he didn’t know better, and that the reason he feels bad about it now is that he’s become a better person since then, but he still feels like he caused a lot of unnecessary pain and death and that it’s his responsibility to try and make up for it by being polite and friendly all the time.

Sam had always hated having to coach the hockey team right after the figure skaters had been on the ice- it always felt like they were looking down on him for what he did, as if it wasn’t as skilled or important just because it wasn’t decorated with music and glitter. But he couldn’t help feeling sorry for the man coaching them; Havelock Vetinari had been at the Olympics back in the day, and then there had been the Incident, and he hadn’t been able to skate at all ever since.

Continuing my quest to embarrass Sam Vimes as much as possible:

36. “Will you just hold still?”

@syrenpan replied to your post “Fluff Prompts: Open”

Any Dragon Age pairing - but would love - Alistair/Morigan : "Made you smile at me."

“So, this is awkward,” Alistair said afterwards, clearing his throat and tugging the blanket a little higher. In contrast, Morrigan stretched languidly, arching her back sinuously. Alistair blushed, averting his eyes.

“‘Tis only as awkard as you make it, is it not?” she replied, eyeing him with a grin. “My, how pretty the virgin blushes.”

“I’m not- That is- I didn’t-” Alistair stuttered, dragging his hands over his face and willing the heat in his cheeks away.

“Eloquent, as always,” Morrigan commented with a little laugh, turning onto her side and propping herself up on her elbow. She surveyed Alistair haughtily, one brow arched. “‘Twas not that awful, much to my surprise. And remember, after tomorrow, you won’t have to put up with me any longer.”

Alistair frowned, turning to face her. “You mean, if we survive the Archdemon.”

“There is that,” Morrigan conceded.

“And you’ll just... what, vanish into the night while everyone is busy celebrating?”

Morrigan hummed, letting herself fall back to stare at the ceiling. “Perhaps. What does it matter to you? It’s done, and you get to keep your lives.”

“Well, maybe I’m just worried about the mother of my child,” Alistair threw out there, trying to sound lighthearted. Morrigan turned to give him a disbelieving look. “What? It’s a valid concern. You being a Witch of the Wild and everything. The world’s dangerous.”

“You worry too much,” Morrigan said, shaking her head. She flinched back, surprised, when Alistair reached out to brush her hair behind her ear.

“Maybe. But just know that if you need help, I’m here for you okay? We might not get along well on most days-” Morrigan snorted. “-but at least allow me that.”

She stared at him and his earnest face for a long moment, before a smile tugged her lips upwards. He smiled back at her gently.

“I’ll consider it,” she promised vaguely, resting her hand on his.

“Well, that’s something,” Alistair sighed, before grinning boyishly up at her. “At least I can say I achieved something in my life, even if I die tomorrow.”

“Oh? And what would that be?” Morrigan asked teasingly. Alistair’s grin softened.