Rules: make a poll with five of your all time favorite characters and then tag five people to do the same.
Which of my favorite characters is your favorite?
Leliana (Dragon Age)
CJ Cregg (The West Wing)
Keladry of Mindelan (Tortall series)
Mariel of Redwall (Redwall)
Ender Wiggin (Ender's Game*)
Voting ended onJul 2, 2024
I tag... @abalidoth, @komekoro, @swamp-spirit, @exmakina, and @raezing
*Yes, I know. I promise, I know. However, I've also spent more time sobbing into a carpet about Ender than any other character on this list and it felt dishonest not to include him.
(Seriously, if you come at me for my complex relationship with Ender's Game and its sequels I'll just block you. Someday I'll write that essay, but today is not that day.)
I went for Kaladin and Adolin because, well, I love me some emotionally constipated boys. (technically one emotionally constipated boy and one extremely emotionally intelligent one who doesn’t want to push.) Modern AU because it lets me avoid the timeline difficulties.
3. Slipped under your tongue, twisted into something else. “I trust you,” maybe. Trust them to figure it out.
“Oh, for the love of - fucking shit!” Kaladin dropped the messenger bag from his shoulder and threw his hands in the air, looking up into the gray winter sky. “Really? Am I a joke to you?”
The sky gave no answer. When he looked back, nothing had changed - his bike, or what was left of it, still slumped in the rack in front of the clinic. The U-lock passed through the front wheel and the dented frame, but the back wheel… was gone.
It was the third time this semester. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised; the free clinic where he volunteered was in a difficult part of town, the kind of neighborhood that wasn’t a priority for the police unless they were here to rough people up. It was better to look the other way for things like petty theft, even if it wasn’t that petty to him.
With a grumble, he picked his bag back up and slung it across his body, then glanced up at the sky. Should have at least an hour of marginal daylight - if he kept a good pace up, he could make it back to his apartment by then. Nothing for it but to start walking.
Kaladin made it a block and a half, hood up and hands in his pockets for warmth, before a sleek blue car pulled up next to him and honked in a way that was almost… apologetic. He didn’t turn. He could see the fender out of the corner of his eye, and there was no mistaking it.
With a hiss and a hum, a window rolled down. The sidewalk ran right along the street - no extra green space here - and so it was close enough that Kaladin could feel a puff of warmth on his shoulder.
“Kal, c’mon. Let me give you a ride.”
Kaladin glanced over to see, as expected, Adolin Kholin leaning halfway across the passenger seat, holding the car steady with one hand and reaching out to him with the other. He was wearing driving gloves. Unbelievable.
“I’m fine,” he said shortly. “Walking’s healthy, haven’t you heard?”
“Gee, thanks, nurse,” the other man replied dryly. “I’d no idea. Seriously, it’s 40 degrees and dropping and you’re wearing a hoodie. Get in the car.”
Kaladin stopped and faced Adolin, who didn’t quite hit the brakes in time and slid a few feet past him. He waited as the car shifted into reverse and backed up to pull even with him. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards.
“What are you doing down here, anyway?” Kaladin’s pointed up-and-down took in the understated expense of the car, the driving gloves, the double-breasted coat that made Adolin look straight out of a Burberry ad campaign. “This isn’t exactly your part of town.”
“Tell you if you get in,” Adolin bargained, and flashed a half smile. Kaladin bit his tongue to suppress an answering expression. A gust of wind swept down the street and cut through the worn fabric of his hoodie, and he heaved a sigh that was only slightly exaggerated for effect.
“Fine,” he said, opening the door and sliding into the car’s warm interior. The temperature differential made his skin prickle briefly as he settled his bag against his feet and, slowly, leaned back into the seat. It was leather - soft and expensive, like everything about Adolin.
Hands moving with thoughtless grace, Adolin shifted the car into drive and pulled out into the street, rolling Kaladin’s window up as they went. Neither spoke until they paused at a stop sign. As Adolin scrupulously checked the empty cross-street in each direction, Kaladin said, “So?”
“So…”
“So, why are you here?” Kaladin glanced over and allowed himself a moment to appreciate Adolin’s profile. There was a small crease at the corner of those long-lashed eyes - the beginning of smile lines, he thought.
Adolin shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road. “The weather report said there might be snow. I know you volunteer at the clinic, so I figured I’d take a little detour and see if you wanted a ride. Pretty sure your bike can fit in my trunk. Where is your bike, by the way?”
Kaladin frowned, turning this over. “Back wheel’s gone again. Are you telling me you went out of your way to come pick me up because you were worried I’d be cold?”
“Something like that.” Adolin’s tone was light, verging on airy, and Kaladin knew him well enough to be sure that was fake, but he let it slide. They sat in silence for several more blocks, but it was a warm, comfortable kind of silence, and Kaladin felt some of the tension go out of his shoulders.
Adolin turned onto his street, and Kaladin realized that he hadn’t reminded Adolin of his address - hadn’t needed to give him directions at all. The thought made the back of his neck prickle in a not-unpleasant way..
“Here we are,” Adolin said, as he parked in front of the house whose basement Kaladin rented. “Home sweet home?”
“Yeah,” Kaladin muttered, wrapping his hands around the strap of his bag. He opened the door and ducked out, then paused and bent down to look back in. Adolin met his gaze with eyes the color of a summer sky and a half-smile on his lips.
“I-” Words stuck in Kaladin’s throat and he swallowed them back down, picked something easier, something simpler. “Thanks. For checking the weather report.”
Adolin nodded, then gave him a brief grin. “I always do.”
Tagged by @renarinkholin for a get-to-know-you thingy! Geez, it’s been so long since I’ve done one of these!
Rules: Answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better/catch up with. (Yeah, I’m not gonna tag anyone... I honestly am not really keeping track of who’s still active here anymore.)
Three Ships: I have Kalarin (Kaladin/Renarin, from the Stormlight Archive) on the brain as always, partly thanks to the several different people recently who seem to have powered through my entire ship tag (yes, I see you). Rlainarin has good potential, but I maintain that Renarin really is the healthiest possible partner for Kaladin, and I think I will have fondness and longing for what their dynamic could be until the series is long since over.
I’ve also been thinking about Dragon Age again, and specifically about Leliana/Surana - even more specifically with my Daine Surana, of course. I just... have a lot of feelings about that relationship and I’m a little terrified something terrible will happen to them in DA4. Also, it’ll always have a place in my heart for being one of the first contexts in which I explored liking women.
And finally, this is a platonic ship, but Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes from Elementary. For anyone out there who still thinks in quadrants - <>, obviously. We’ve been catching up/watching the rest of the show recently and I just... I care them. So much. Their relationship is so deeply affectionate and powerful, and yet the writers manage the trick of making it never even the slightest bit romantic... it’s amazing.
...and I feel like that list just FULLY regressed me to sophomore year of college.
Last Song: One of the ones from Mary Lambert’s most recent album - I think it was ‘Sister’. I was listening to a radio stream based on ‘Explosion’ by Zolita while at work and ‘She Keeps Me Warm’ came up, so I had to go see what Lambert’s been up to lately. I don’t know if I’ll listen to the whole album because it’s pretty heavy and I’m looking more for escapism lately, but I have nothing but respect for Lambert as an artist.
The song on my iPod I’ve been putting on most is ‘Summit’ by Avi Kaplan. Gonna be my summer hiking anthem.
Last Movie: I finally watched Parasite about two weeks ago! I... respect it but did not love it. I feel like it’s not a movie you ‘enjoy’, but it was very well-made.
Currently Watching: Mostly Elementary, as noted above; we just finished S5 last night. Also Star Wars: The Clone Wars (paused after the Bad Batch arc in S6 at the moment). And I am slowly creeping through S3 of Star Trek: Discovery. Listen, my gay little heart can only handle so much evil Michelle Yeoh.
Currently Reading: I just finished Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner and my next on deck is All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. I’m also simultaneously reading White Jenna by Jane Yolen and Fiddler Fair by Mercedes Lackey, but slowly.
Current Craving: Uhhh nothing in particular? Sorta the spinach-and-cheese stuffed shells I made last night I guess.
Tagging: No one in particular, but if you wanna do this, consider yourself tagged by me!
Both @squirenonny and @ladyknightradiant have tagged me to list 10 favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 more people, andddd I figured it was time to get around to it. In no particular order:
Claudia Jean “CJ” Cregg, The West Wing
Mariel Gullwhacker, Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker (honorable mention to Triss but Mariel was my original Forever Girl)
Ruby Elizabeth Daly, The Darkest Minds trilogy
Keladry of Mindelan, Protector of the Small quartet (but Kogi, not Daine? you ask; and the answer is I would steal Daine’s life in a heartbeat but Kel is my role model)
Jasnah Kholin, The Stormlight Archive
Leliana, Dragon Age
Helena Klein, Love & Legends
Signy Mallory, Downbelow Station (*whistles filk song*)
Valka, How To Train Your Dragon 2
Mako Mori, Pacific Rim
(the moral of this story is I like sharp women who could kick my ass)
((also there are no FMA ladies on here because I tried to choose between Hawkeye and Oliver Armstrong and I literally was incapable. Like. I typed a sentence and then had to delete it and typed a different sentence and couldn’t leave that one up either.))
Tagging: @swamp-spirit, @airred, @komekoro, @kaijuonmain, @dancyflammarions, @renarinkholin, and @raezing. Less than 10 but hey! normally I tag nobody.
How I feel about this character: honest to god life goals or wife goals crisis #1. I love her. I love her so much. I aspire to have Kel’s degree of determination, self-motivation, and integrity. I literally took Squire with me to the hairdresser once and asked her to cut my hair to that length. Just... I think Kel is for me a lot of what she is, in-world, for Tortallan girls: proof that you don’t have to be Gifted or a demigod to be a hero and defy expectations, just stubborn and willing to work hard. Also, she’s canonically buff af and I approve.
All the people I ship romantically with this character: Domitan of Masbolle. I know Tamora Pierce has said that Kel isn’t really interested in relationships, but... I like they idea of them having a little something - a ‘sleep in each other’s arms and kiss a bit’ sort of something, whenever they happen to be in the same place.
My non-romantic OTP for this character: the gigantic BrOTP that is Kel and her yearmates.
My unpopular opinion about this character: the original covers of her books are the best and y’all can FIGHT ME.
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: listen, Tamora Pierce’s books were the gospel of my adolescence handed down from on high and as such are not to be modified.
my OTP: saying Kel/happiness feels like cheating. Mmm... Kel<>Neal.
my cross over ship: this is not really a thing that I think about, so n/a.
a headcanon fact: had a baby queer crush on a pretty Yamani lady when her family was in the Isles, but didn’t realize that’s what it was until her squiredom. (y’all want to tell me the King’s Own isn’t accepting and also more than a little gay? pssshhh.)
Lab partner: Kaladin has medical training, so I feel like he’d be the best option here. Besides, you can have a perfectly functional lab partnership without a lot of conversation or even friendliness as long as you’re both focused and diligent, so that’d work out alright.
Broken elevator: Adolin. As a general rule, he’s very collected in stressful situations, and he’d be fun to hang out with.
McDonald’s trainer: Shallan would be the most hilariously deadpan minimum wage employee and it would be the only thing getting me through the day.
A sudden rustling and crash told Renarin his patient was awake, and he skidded across the sickbay to grab the man by the elbow, supporting and restraining him in equal measure.
“Who are you?” the stranger asked, wild eyes darting back and forth as he took in the room. “Where is this?”
“Starfleet,” Renarin replied. “I’m Starfleet.”
Those eyes focused on his face, wide and dark as the space between stars. Renarin hunched his shoulders, skin prickling uncomfortably, but didn’t look away.
