For the quote prompt, "we're both stubborn I know" for nana and Dee maybe? 👀👌
It’s Sunday of cleaning the prompts in your inbox. So here’s some blond babes talking about their feelings.
Romulus is @sunsetsorcerer‘s.
* * *
Dee rubbed her hands together again — clammy and too warm for her comfort as they were, it was an unpleasant sensation, and yet she kept rubbing them together. She spoke again, still derailing the topic, and when she noticed she was about to rub her hands again, she sat on them, almost toppling her coffee cup over.
Anatole swiftly caught it.
“That was quick,” she said.
“Fencer’s reflexes. They’re trained. Otherwise I would have shit reflexes,” he snorts, then focuses on her again. “Dee, are you sure you’re alright? You know when you tell someone that you want to talk, and you look like you’ve killed a person and have to fake your death and move to Vladivostok to evade justice, it doesn’t make them feel like it’s ‘not a big deal’?”
Dee laughs nervously.
“Dee, did you actually kill someone?”
“What? No!” Dee exclaimed, her nervous laughter dying at her throat. Anatole thinks that can’t be good, not if his statement is something that would normally make her laugh. He takes her hand, his eyes encouraging and gentle, and squeezes the hand in his.
“Dee, what is it? You can take your time, if you can’t say it now, there’s no need to tell me immediately, but I am here for you, and I’m honestly starting to worry.”
Eventually, Dee exhales.
“Do you promise not to get mad?”
“Uh, I suppose so?”
After a beat or two Dee finally begins speaking. She explains how she has been talking to this guy, how much she likes him, even if he thinks he’s out of his league, which Anatole tells her he doubts. He speaks of his kindness, of his artistic sensitivity, of how caring he is and how much he helps her around the animal shelter.
The more he listens, the happier Anatole is for her — he reassures her she is fantastic, thoughtful and compassionate, hard-working and drop dead gorgeous, so no one is ever out of her league, but despite his positive words, Dee still looks like there’s a problem. Anatole asks if there is.
Then the name drops. “It’s Romulus.”
“Oh,” he pauses, “okay... wait, how is that a problem?”
Dee looks as if someone had just told her the most stupidest statement possible. “What do you mean how is that a problem?”
“Is it because you’re friends?”
“No, Nana, it’s because he’s your ex. You went together for so long, and I know we don’t care about that stuff between us, but I know Rom means so much to you, and you mean so much to him, so I thought what if I don’t ask and I hurt your feelings because you used to go together.”
“Dee, believe me, that is not a problem. If you want to go out with Romulus, go out with Romulus. I can tell you his favourite take-out place if he hasn’t mentioned yet.”
“But— are you sure, sure? Like sure, sure?”
“Dee, for the love of fuck, go out with him, he looks at you like something he really, really wants, and won’t let himself have, and believe me I know what I’m talking about here.”
“What?!” Dee’s exclamation is high pitched, and loud enough that the people near them at the café their in, turn to look at them. Dee’s face goes pink, and she apologises. “But he’s so out of my league.
“Dee,” Anatole says, his tone sarcastic.
“How do you even know that?”
“Because that’s how he used to look at me, it’s not entirely the same look, but it’s awfully similar.”
Dee looks thoughtful for a second, before crossing her arms. “If you put it like that, then I’ve decided it’s not okay to date your ex, that was yours.”
“Oh, Dee, listen, I love you, but you’re being incredibly obtuse — and I know we’re both stubborn here, but one of us gotta give. Dee, we’ve all slept together, of almost all of us, most people we know, and people we don’t know, think our group of friends is actually a polycule relationship. Go. Out. With. Him.”
Anatole keeps speaking, he knows that if he lets Dee say something, he will lose. So he moves his chair closer to him, as he takes both of his friend’s hands, all hints of past exasperation gone. Instead, there’s kindness in his eye, but determination too. Dee was like a rosy afternoon, like a beacon of kindness in the middle of an unforgiving world.
He tells her as much.
“So, no, I do not mind if you date him. Before being my ex boyfriend, Romulus was and is my friend — we didn’t break up because we don’t love each other, we do, and all I want is to see him happy and safe; we broke up because we wanted different things, and that’s perfectly normal. I know for a fact you’d be jumping into the arms of a good, caring person. If I was actually uncomfortable, I would tell you I am.”
Dee’s lip trembles. “You would?”
“Dee,” he exhales. Then he speaks, his tone long suffering and matter of fact: “What about me makes you think I would not.”
She thinks about it, and then laughs, finally feeling a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. “You’re right, you’re right... I should talk to him.”
“Why don’t you text him now, I’ll be here for moral support.”
“You know what?” Dee says, a nervous, but hopeful smile on her face. “I think I will.”
"Overpriced" Y'all most artists charge less than minimum wage for the time they put into their work. And whether you like it or not, art IS a luxury item (definition: you dont need art to live 🤷🏼♀️). Dont buy it if you dont like the pricing. Jesus christ what part of this is hard for yall to understand.
Ari is the happiest when she’s surrounded by people that she loves and cares for. It could be a simple get together, but she’s always happy when everyone is all together and having fun. She also enjoys nice relaxing morning when she doesn't have to get out of bed and can just laze the day away.
Rom is happiest when he’s with Bigby. It doesn’t matter where they are, as long as he has his best friend, he’s happy.
Would they be a good parent?
I think both would in their own ways??
Ari would give her child all the affection that they could ever want or need, but also allows them the freedom to make their own decisions. She’ll support them no matter what they choose as long as it’s not hurting anyone.
Rom is a helicopter parent and he’s trying not to be, but he’s always had anxiety when it comes to people that he cares for. He will always be there for his child whenever they need him and they know that they can always come to him. He’s awkward with affection because he’s not used to receiving or giving it, but he tries to show his kids that he loves them in little ways.
Have they lied about anything they regret lying about?
In canon, Ari regrets telling Asra that she’ll be fine when they leave on another journey. They’ve been all that she’s known for as long as her memory would allow and when they leave she feels like there’s something missing besides her memories. It confuses her and makes her feel anxious.
Rom’s done a lot of things that he regrets and a good amount of them are lies to people that just wanted the best for him. He knew that they were just trying to help, but it’s better if they just stay away from him.
12 and 72 for the character development questions??
12. What makes your character embarrassed?The short answer is “not much.” The true answer is that, in the proud tradition of loving parents everywhere, his moms absolutely can embarrass him, especially if they ask/share things about him to a love interest he’s brought home.
72. In a Dungeons & Dragons game, which class would your character be? (wizard, fighter, bard, priest, ranger, etc.)This was a tricky one! I think he’d probably be a wizard for his divination/seer skills but he does have a bit of a bard-ish personality.
Bugs, any kind – can’t stand them. He’s doesn’t dislike them,just the thought of them crawling on him, biting him, just being anywhere nearhim makes him kind of extremely squeamish. He won’t admit it but he’s just abit scared of them too.
(Vlastomil’s estate would be his definition of hell)
97. What upsetsthem the most?
Probably raised voices/arguments. He is not a fan of being involvedin one or even witnessing them
in anatole’s case you have to hm, Tire him first, bc he doesn’t really nap, but cuddling counts as a date in his mind so. he appreciates anyone who can manage him to relax.
leonore is partial to basking in the sun and sleeping in more than napping.
medea fully believes in napping as self care and would constantly encourage you to take a break and take care of yourself, and hey, if you can be gay while doing it, double win.
sabine likes afternoons for quiet, private gay moments, and they don’t care if that means napping, cuddling, talking or something else.
24. have you ever been heartbroken?
all of them have at some point, either because they thought something would work or didn’t, or because they realised the people they were with weren’t the best for them. sabine and medea are the first kind, leonore is the second. but i don’t think that with them it’s as formative as it’s with anatole, except perhaps with sabine who shares his Existential Fear of always being an option and never a choice.
with anatole heartbreak is so formative or such a significant wound because of how he conceives self realisation. to him self realisation is very tied to his work and leaving his mark in the world, and while he would never give this up, at some point he realises that the choices he has made, the choices he has to live with, have lead him to a point where everyone around him go home to someone or something other than... their work. anatole has a big case of Loneliness which can make him very melancholic (which he transform into further working or occupying himself with something). anatole has a ‘list’ of previous people he’s been involved with later that have marked him in some way, namely:
decimo vittoria, the son of a vesuvian aristocrat and his first ‘official’ boyfriend. taught him aristocracy would try to tokenise him because of who he was related to.
in some case’s @thelazaretmakesmesad‘s vishal vissente, who is always part of anatole’s backstory as that one childhood friend that vanished without a trace.
in some cases, julian devorak. there’s no timeline where he does not love julian, it’s IMPOSSIBLE for them not to be at least friends, but sometimes their relationship doesn’t work, namely because someone gets accused of murder.
the child of a diplomat, one year older than anatole. their involvement had an expiration date, but if it hadn’t had one, they would’ve made it. alas, timing.
a vesuvian painter of enough renown. anatole would’ve loved to love him, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. the painter called him venus and sapient eros.
anatole rarely talks about any of these. this is one of the things from anatole that ran out of my control, like it’s something that the character came with more than something i put into him, sometimes characters acquire a mind of their own like that.
also in modern au he has an affair with a uni professor (not any of his professors) but he doesn’t make it to the list.
21 for Nana and 34 for Leo for the romanticized asks? :0c
21. an evening in the forest with elves, a night in the caves with vampires or a morning in the garden with fae?
“My distinguished wants to say an evening in the forest with the elves, I feel it would be a very enlightening experience. My thot wants to say a night in the caves with the vampires, because of Reasons.”
— Anatole 🌞
34. if you could have any magical item, what would it be?
“Asra’s compass. To follow my heart desires and explore the world around me sounds like the perfect magical item to me.”
