#erak

[ppickles4]

Well That Happened

Created by @bunnymermaidsblog and @ppickles4

Halt: Will is saying something stupid... i can feel it

He has a sense for when one of his apprentices is being an idiot

Modern au

Gilan: (at college) (says something dumb in front of a crush)

Gilan: hold on, my phones ringing. Someones calling me... (picks up his phone)

Its Halt

Halt: Gilan what did you say this time

Gilan: HOW DO YOU ALWAYS KNOW?!?!

The question is does gil feel when will says something stupid

XD

Gilan: (hasnt been informed that Will has been adopted yet)(isnt aware of Wills existence)(calls Halt) Halt, its happening! I felt someone say something stupid!

Will: (in the background from Halts call) whos that?

Halt: ... you're on your own (hangs up)

Not modern AU

Halt to the other craftmasters: Pro tip! Never let your old apprentice babysit your new one! Ever!

Horace: Is it because if you do, then the new apprentice gets kidnapped to Skandia?

Halt:

Kidnapped Will:

Everyone:

Gil:... I'm just gonna... go bury myself in the dirt

Halt: Gilan don't- (sighs)

Gil: I'M BURYING MYSELF! I HAVE SHOVEL

Halt: (confiscates shovel) you can bury yourself when Will is back, alive and safe. For now? No shovels.

Gilan: (pulls out small toy shovel when he thinks Halt isnt looking)

Halt: Gilan, that better not be a lavender and periwinkle colored plastic shovel from the toy store

Gilan: actually I'd say its more of a light indigo than periwinkle

Halt: Periwinkle *is* light indigo!

Gilan: (looking at the shovel) oh i thought you were referring to the handle-

Horace: (interrupts) shouldn't we go save Will?

Halt & Gilan: (pretending none of this conversation happened) Yes, lets go save Will

Meanwhile on a skandian wolfship out at sea:

Will: this is fine :) (suddenly senses something, laughs quietly to himself)

Evanlyn: (mutters) whats funny?

Will: they think the "someone said something stupid sense" goes only one way

Evanlyn: what?

Will: so, thoughts on periwinkle?

Evanlyn: Will we are in the middle of the sea, what are you on?! ... can I have some?

Erak: Ah, I belive he's suffering sea madness! Should we put him out of his misery?

Ev and Will: NO

Meanwhile back in Araluen:

Horace: Why did you both just freeze?

Gil and Halt: The "Will's about to die" sensor is going off!

Meanwhile on a skandian wolfship out at sea:

Will: (serious tone of voice) Erak do you think periwinkle is light indigo?

Erak: (blinks) um

Svengal: (scratching his beard in deep thought) i think periwinkle is slightly more desaturated than light indigo

Erak: oh Gorlogs beard! Its spreading!

Meanwhile back in Araluen:

Gilan: (grabbing for the shovel) I killed Will! 😭

Halt: (holding the shovel out of reach) hes not dead yet! If the "Wills about to die" sensor is still going off that means hes still alive!

Horace: WHAT SENSOR?!?!?! 😭😭😭

Rodney: (sighs) | leave you alone for one kidnapping and you invent a shared near-death stupidity detection network.

Crowley: its a ranger thing, don't worry about it.

Horace: what is happening?!?!

Meanwhile the horses:

Abelard: (biting on Tug's reigns to prevent him from trying to swim straight to Skandia)

Tug: Abelard, they can't understand me. Can you ask them to wrap this up so we can get going already?!

Abelard: You think anyone listens to me?

Ranger horses only can sense when *their* ranger does something stupid or is about to die

Rangers just can sense all of each others. The sense grows stronger the longer you hang out with them during the ranger gatherings.

(Leaning into Will is a wild gremlin)

Cassandra/Evenlyn: (gets home from skandia) Father can I keep him? (holds up will)

Duncan: absolutely not, he will ruin our carpet

Cassandra: I'll clean up after him

Duncan: (sighs) Rangers are *wild* Cass, he needs to be free. Let him go back to his dad

Cass: (grumbles) fiiiiiiiine

Halt: (takes back Will)

Cass thinking to self: I taught him to come when I call. So hes not gone forever

years down the line:

all rangers "Will said/did something stupid" sensors go off

All rangers: What did Will did this time?

A week after that: in the mail they all get a letter that starts with, "I can explain"

Rangers: WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!?!

Will: Gilan

Crowley: No, Will, we were asking rhetorically

Will: oh... well the answer is Gilan... and Halt.

Crowley: (to Halt) Hes even worse than you

Halt: but is he worse than Gilan?

Crowley: touche

Gil: I'd argue that he has more near death experiences

Crowley: this is Will we are talking about. The only one with more near death experience than him is Halt

Will: I shall surpass him one day

Halt: bet

Crowley: this is *not* something we are competing for!!!

Will: *You* might not be-

Horace: (picks will up by his cape)

Will: (wiggles) (drops out from under the cloak no longer wearing it) bye! (Runs)

Horace: He got this from you

Halt: (glare)

Halt: I need Tylenol

Crowley: (hands him coffee)

Halt: (accepts it)

Alyss: thats not- nevermind

Gilan: (already has caught Will, coming back dragging Will by the legs) You can't run from this conversation! (Glances at the rest of them watching) was no one going to come help?

Horace: I grew up trying to catch Will, Ive learned my lesson

Will: (upside down because Gilan is so tall) lemme down bean! (Shirt falls over his face, exposing his belly button)

Gil: No, you're safer like this

Will: But are *you* safer like this?! >:3

Gilan: Will what are you-?

Will: (at the perfect height to easily reach up and undo Gilans belt)

Gilan: (drops will to grab his pants before they fall down) I taught him too well!

Will: I'm free!!! (Runs off)

Halt: (stands up) *now* I intervene.

Will got dropped on his head and still managed to run... HALT CATCH YOUR SON

[owl-lover013]

I’m rereading the RA series for the first time in a long time (and I’m having a ball over here) and I’m on book three right now.

I’ve always found the development of Erak to be interesting in this book and overall in the series. He goes from the one capturing Will and Evanlyn and giving them as slaves to becoming a friend of Will’s to the point that Will and co. travel to Arrida to help rescue him in Erak’s Ransom.

After a decade of reading the series I’ve gotten some quotes and scenes stuck in my head and think about them repeatedly over the years. Some scenes include the ones during the third book where Erak and Will are thinking of the other and having thoughts of mutual respect and understanding. Both characters understand why the other has done what they have done and respect them for doing that. And, they respect each other as warriors. Cool scene, but now on this reread, I’ve been struck with a thought:

Did Erak know what was to happen?

Chapter three, Erak is looking at Will and Evanlyn interacting and thinking about how much they’ll need each other when they arrive at Hallasholm. He thinks “they’d be sold as slaves and their life would be hard physical labor, with no respite and no release. One grindingly hard day after another, month in, month out, year after year. A person living that life would need a friend.”

What got me thinking was the “year after year” part.

I don’t know if this is said later in the book (I’m only on chapter three in my reread right now), from other online discourse about the books, or a fanfic, but I remember hearing somewhere that most of the yard slaves don’t survive long at all (unless of course they’re a part of the Committee) and after a brief peruse through the book, I did find some quotes that support this idea being canon (when describing the Yard, Will thinks that being a slave in the yard is “downright dangerous” and Erak, when talking with Evanlyn about helping her and Will escape, says “no one survives the yard”—which does answer my earlier question of yes, Erak did, in fact, know what was to come).

Surely, and as the “no one survives the yard” quote suggests, Erak knew Will wouldn’t make it to being a slave “year after year.” He has expressed respect for Will being a warrior and surely he would’ve thought “huh, he’s a warrior, he’s athletic and muscular, I wonder if they’ll put him in the yard then. After all, the yard typically takes the athletic and muscular people as slaves.”

And I suppose that’s just his character. I think connecting Will’s physique and where he will be as a slave isn’t something he could do because it meant thinking through it and connecting it together, something that I don’t think he wanted to do.

I think emotionally, he couldn’t connect those things together. He’s devastated when he sees Will’s condition and what warmweed has reduced him to. I think on some level he knew that Will’ll be a yard slave and that “no body survives the yard.” But he couldn’t know know it, not consciously. And not because the plot dictated it but because of his character at this time.

At the end of chapter three, right after the scene I discussed earlier and quoted several sentences from, is the scene I mentioned earlier about Erak respecting Will and understanding his actions. And he thinks about how hard the future will be for Will, but not too far into those thoughts, for Erak tells himself “getting damn maudlin!” and stops thinking about that anymore.

At least until he runs into Will later on in the book and sees what has happened to him. When he has to confront it head-on. When what he has known sub-consciously (“no one survived the yard”) becomes something he knows consciously.

And it is at that moment that Erak makes a choice to help Evanlyn and Will, to give Will a chance to live, and ends up saving them.

A very, very long post, but it’s just a reminder to me of why I love Erak’s development so much. Such a cool character with such interesting development. So yeah, love Erak, I think he’s neat and thank you for listening to my long ramble.

[mouse02]

What to say abt this 🥲

[midnight-lauherondale]

Can we please talk about the fact that Erak and Svengal have a normal conversation while waiting to be executed?

"'Nice control, Svengal. The man's got good wrists. I'd like to see him with a battleaxe in his hands.'

Svengal frowned, not totally agreeing.

'I'd like to see him with a battleaxe in his head, chief,' he said and they both guffawed again, totally at ease, totally unafraid."

-Erak's Ransom, page 386-387

[bunnymermaidsblog]

Halt going on a recon mission with Erak:

Halt: *sneaks unseen as a ranger should*

Erak: *loudly humming spy music*

[bliz-lol]

Guys. Why do I very rarely post art? Because I really liked the Russian object show, and I think my audience will not be particularly interested in it. But I’ll still post something on them (I’ll do an experiment) :_)

[swordanddreamcatcher]

Thorn: Today I realised I'm old.

Erak: What happened?

Thorn: I fell in the kitchen and instead of laughing, all my kids came running to see if I was okay.

Erak:

Thorn: I saw fear in their eyes

[lestealtmanandlautreaty]

kiss marry kill

Erak, horace, and gilan

LesteAltman:

Marry: Horace

Kiss: Gilan

Kill: Erak

LauTreaty:

Marry: Gilan

Kiss: Horace

Kill: Erak