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Polar Explorer RPF - Prompt Post 1
This is for prompts for all things general Polar Explorer RPF.
If you've filled (or started filling) a prompt, please make sure to link it in the comments of the Fills Post. And if you would like to cross-post your fills on AO3, here is the collection!
Under this umbrella you can prompt:
Prompts in line with adaptations of Heroic Age stories can also fit here, for example if you want to specifically prompt Hugh Grant!Cherry from The Last Place On Earth getting wrecked (which someone really should).
No blorbo too obscure for this post! EXCEPT: NO PEARY ALLOWED. God I hate that guy.
Rules:
Regular view: https://coldboys.dreamwidth.org/925.html
Regular view, last page: https://coldboys.dreamwidth.org/925.html?page=999#comments
If you've filled (or started filling) a prompt, please make sure to link it in the comments of the Fills Post. And if you would like to cross-post your fills on AO3, here is the collection!
Under this umbrella you can prompt:
- Historical versions of Franklin Expedition(-adjacent) guys (Rossier, Gore/McClure, etc)
- Madhouse at the End of the Earth/Belgica Expedition
- Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration - Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen, Mawson
- Andrée Expedition
- Karluk Expedition
- etc
Prompts in line with adaptations of Heroic Age stories can also fit here, for example if you want to specifically prompt Hugh Grant!Cherry from The Last Place On Earth getting wrecked (which someone really should).
No blorbo too obscure for this post! EXCEPT: NO PEARY ALLOWED. God I hate that guy.
Rules:
1. Be fucking nice. YKINMATO/KINKTOMATO at all times.
2. This meme is CNTW (Choose Not To Warn) but warnings are highly encouraged.
3. Prompts should use this format in the subject line: [SHIP], [DESCRIPTION]
e.g.
Mertz/Ninnis, sex crying
Solo gen can be prompted as well alongside (a) character name and description
e.g.
Gen, Emil Racovitza, discovering a crazy new fish
4. Fills should use this format in the subject line: FILL: [TITLE], [PAIRING], [RATING], [ANY WARNINGS]
e.g.
Fill: The Very Next Day, Cherry/Birdie, E, cw self-harm
5. One prompt per comment please.
6. Multiple fills for each prompt are welcome!
7. You don't have to be anon for your prompts or your fills but we do encourage it because of the vibe. You're also welcome to deanon your stuff by posting on AO3/Tumblr as you please!
8. Feedback on prompts and fills is AWESOME; please take longer conversations to the discussion post.
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Cherry/Birdie, kissing
(Anonymous) 2022-11-30 10:37 pm (UTC)(link)FILL: Grown To Outlive Their Season, cw death
(Anonymous) 2023-01-01 08:39 am (UTC)(link)1. En route to South Africa, August 1910
Cherry runs out of the crew mess as fast as his legs will carry him, with Atch and Titus hot on his trail. As a shy, awkward child with poor vision, Cherry rarely had the opportunity to enjoy sports and silly games. On the Terra Nova under Evans’ command, though, he makes up for lost time. Their days may have been filled with exhausting, backbreaking labor, but every evening was spent engaging in rowdy activities that more often than not left them naked, sprawled out on the floor, and weeping with laughter. This level of camaraderie and closeness between men is new to Cherry, but it feels natural and soothes an ache he wasn't aware he had.
Atch lunges at him, but Cherry evades him and squeals with delight when Silas catches the doctor’s leg and brings him crashing down in a hailstorm of laughter. Cherry takes off his shirt and throws it in Titus’ face, hoping to buy himself more time to escape, and fails to notice that his glasses also come off in the process. Birdie appears and somehow tackles the much larger Titus to the ground, and as Cherry takes in the scene before him with amusement and awe, he fails to notice that Uncle Bill is beside him and poised to strike until it is too late.
The four of them lay on the ground for some time, breathless and hysterical. When they finally regain their composure, Bill winks knowingly at Cherry, then rises to go search for his next victim, taking Titus with him. Cherry is still down, frantically running his hands across the floor looking for his lost glasses. He sees a shape approach him-- it is Birdie, of course, who gently slips his glasses back onto his face and offers him a hand.
“Didn’t want these to get trampled,” Birdie says with a grin. “Our adaptable helper won’t be very helpful if he can’t see!”
“My hero,” Cherry chuckles, letting out a sigh of relief. Birdie helps him to his feet, and Cherry plants a loud, exaggerated kiss on the tip of his nose. “Now let’s go find Titus and Uncle Bill and pay them back”
Birdie’s ruddy skin flushes an even darker shade of pink.
2. Dunedin, November 1910
"Cherry, you simply must try this!"
Birdie appears next to him and offers him a chocolate confection, only slightly melted by the warmth of his large hand. Cherry pops it into his mouth, the first burst of sweetness soon giving way to a sharper flavor on his tongue.
"Do these have *alcohol* in them?"
Birdie nods, a small laugh escaping his lips. "Uncle Bill said you would love them!" Cherry looks past his friend at the tower of confections across the room. The party is in full swing around them, a glittering gala of rich food and lively music and beautiful women who glance his way despite his lack of appropriate dinner attire. It is everything a man of his station is supposed to want… and yet.
Cherry looks back at Birdie with a knowing smile. “Fill your pockets and meet me in the west hallway. I’ll sneak around the back and do the same.”
Some time later, they find themselves sitting beside each other in the hallway outside the ballroom, pleasantly drunk and lighter than air. They already inhaled the chocolates and gossiped about the news of the day, ranging from shock at the row between the wives to delight at Omelchenko’s unconventional dance moves. As the conversation tapers off and they sit in companionable silence, Cherry is more content than he has been in ages, a feeling that only intensifies when Birdie leans his head ever so slightly on his shoulder. “It’s a lovely party,” Birdie mutters, “but wasted on me. This is much nicer.”
Cherry smiles, his face flushed almost as red as Birdie’s. Maybe the alcohol is making him brave, or maybe this was inevitable, but he looks over at Birdie and notices him, really notices him, for the first time. Birdie is his closest friend and one of the best men he's ever known. He is the only person Cherry wants to see when he's in a dark mood, because Birdie knows just how to cheer him up. He’s kind, compassionate, and brilliant. He's also… beautiful? Cherry takes in his strong features, his hair the color of the late afternoon sun, and his radiant smile. Yes, Birdie Bowers is beautiful.
Everything becomes clear in an instant.
“Cherry? Is everything alri--”
Birdie pulls out of the kiss after only a second, the shock registering on his face, and Cherry is sure that he has made the biggest mistake of his life.
Then, Birdie looks into his eyes with awe and reaches up to stroke his cheek.
The second kiss is everything Cherry dreamed it would be. They press their lips together experimentally at first, but they quickly find their rhythm. Neither of them are experienced, so they take their time, learning the contours of each others’ bodies. Birdie puts one hand on the back of Cherry’s neck to pull him closer and runs his fingers through his dark hair. Cherry parts his lips to accommodate Birdie's questing tongue. He does not expect Birdie to be this gentle, but his kisses are soft, softer than a girl’s, and they take his breath away.
The party would continue on for hours, but Cherry and Birdie celebrate with chocolate flavored kisses until the sun comes up.
3. Hut Point, January 1911
“Shhhh!” Cherry hisses at Birdie, giggling through his grin. “Everyone will see!”
Birdie grabs his hand and guides him through the hut, then pulls him close and kisses the corner of his mouth. “I don’t care who sees,” he whispers breathlessly. “I’ve been waiting for this for weeks. I can’t wait any longer
They timed this perfectly. The Tenements are empty, with Titus, Meares, and Atch outside the hut and unlikely to return for hours. Amazingly enough, their entire part of the hut seems to be empty. They cannot see into the Owner’s room, and Lord only knows what goes on behind the curtain in the cubicle that Deb, Griff, and Trigger share, so there are no guarantees. They still have to be careful, but for all intents and purposes, they are alone.
Cherry grabs Birdie’s shirt collar and drags him toward the Tenements. They shed their outerwear in between kisses, kicking it out of the way as they make their way toward Cherry’s bed, which offers slightly more privacy than Birdie’s top bunk. Cherry falls into bed first, dragging Birdie after him and pulling the blanket on top of both of them. Finally, they are in their own little world.
Birdie wastes no time snuggling in, and it feels good, so good, to have him close. Cherry rakes his fingers down Birdie’s broad, muscular chest, then leans over to stroke his face. “So,” Cherry says softly, waggling his eyebrows ever so slightly, “tell me more about how you’ve been waiting for this for weeks.”
Birdie climbs on top of Cherry and kisses him with ferocity. Their previous kisses had been nothing like this-- passionate, yes, but quick, stolen moments of joy carved out of a grueling workday. This kiss is slow, deliberate, and all fire. This is a kiss that could bring the empire to its knees. It’s taken long enough, but Cherry finally, truly understands what the poets have been going on about for millennia.
Birdie breaks the kiss and whispers directly in Cherry’s ear. “You don’t know what you do to me, Cherry. Not being able to touch you has been torture, because all I want to do is touch you. You’re perfect, and I want everyone to know that you’re mine.”
Cherry cannot believe what he is hearing. Does he really bring Birdie such pleasure? Having this kind of power over anyone is incomprehensible to him, but to have it over Birdie? The thought of it is intoxicating and incredibly arousing. Cherry lets out a pretty little moan at the thought, and it makes Birdie go mad. They’re both hard now, and Birdie kisses him again, bringing his knee between Cherry’s legs and slowly rutting against him. Cherry squirms beneath him, trying desperately to stay quiet and succeeding about half the time.
“Birdie?” Cherry says, more a sigh than a whisper.
“Yes, love?”
“...keep talking."
--------
Next door, in the bunk he shares with Con and Teddy, Dr. Bill Wilson hears a few hushed snippets involving Birdie taking Cherry to a hotel when this is all over and seeing to him proper, as well as the unmistakable sounds of pleasure. He smiles to himself-- Cherry and Birdie are good men who are well matched, and Bill is happy to have encouraged them. All love that is freely given and shared is a blessing, and if God has seen fit to bring them together the way that He brought Ory and Con to him, then what right does he have to complain about being woken up from his nap? He closes his eyes and returns to his dream.
4. Near Cape Crozier, July 1911
There are truly no words to adequately convey the horror of the Winter Journey. After losing their tent on the return journey, Cherry, Birdie, and Uncle Bill cower in the frozen tatters of their bags and listen to the blizzard rage above them. Cherry is sure he will die here, nestled down into a snowdrift, but he cannot imagine the same of Bill. And Birdie? Simply impossible. He is too vibrant, too relentlessly cheerful to succumb to something as common as death. He will tell their story when Cherry is gone. This thought is the one that finally breaks him.
“Things must improve,” Bill exclaims over the howling wind. “They simply must!”
Cherry almost believes him.
Birdie senses Cherry’s despair in that way that only a lover can. He removes one arm from his bag and stretches it across Cherry’s shivering body. Birdie runs hotter than other men; the cold barely affects him and he freely shares his warmth with Cherry.
“Don’t give up, Cherry. I need you.”
Bill takes this opportunity to turn away and offer them a modicum of privacy. He pulls his bag over his head and quietly sings a hymn.
Cherry rolls over to face Birdie, who strokes his frostbitten cheek with his gloved hand. “We have unfinished business,” Birdie proclaims. “Remember the hotel?”
If Cherry could move his face, he would smile. “Of course I remember. You owe me.”
Birdie leans over and gently kisses Cherry’s lips, ever mindful of his broken teeth and the fact that their mouths will stick together in these temps if they aren’t quick about it.
“We will survive and we will get there. Don’t forget.”
Cherry never did.
5. Beardmore Glacier, December 1911
Cherry is disappointed but not surprised to be turning back to Cape Evans. He knows that the others are stronger sledgers, and he’s honored to have made it this far. The hardest part is knowing that Birdie is going on while he is turning back, and that he will be deprived of his company for months. Cherry and Birdie are practically joined at the hip, a state of affairs that the others tolerate with fondness, and life without Birdie is unthinkable.
There is no time for drawn out goodbyes, so Cherry pulls Birdie aside and offers him gifts, a pair of good finnesko and a handkerchief, which he receives with gratitude.
“Thank you Cherry, truly.”
“It’s nothing at all, I wish I had more to give. I… love you. I suppose you know that already.”
Birdie beams, his smile warm enough to melt every glacier in Antarctica. “Of course I know. I love you, too.”
Cherry looks around cautiously to make sure no one is watching (and no one is, except for Uncle Bill, who has always known), then places his hands on the back of Birdie’s neck and kisses him like he means it.
“How long will you be gone?”
“I imagine I’ll lead the next returning party. Bill is for the pole, probably Teddy, and either Lashly or Crean. Maybe a couple months.”
“The Owner would be a fool not to take you to the pole.”
Birdie chuckles at this remark. “I guess stranger things have happened, but the sooner I get back to you, the happier I will be.”
Cherry squeezes Birdie’s hand one last time. “Come back soon. Be safe.”
Birdie walks on toward the pole, Cherry’s heart beating inside his chest.
6. Eleven miles from One Ton Depot, November 1912
“It is the tent.”
Cherry knew. He’d known since he made the journey to One Ton himself months ago. He made peace with it, and he grieved. Now all that remained was to see what horrors awaited them in the tent.
Atch insists that each man should enter the tent, so there can be no confusion about what happened to the Polar Party. When it is Cherry’s turn, his eyes are immediately drawn to Scott and Wilson, frozen in an eternal embrace. He is glad they had each other at the end.
He folds back Birdie’s blanket and sees his ruined face, sallow and rigid. Cherry loved Birdie’s pink skin, the way his entire body would blush with pleasure. How cruel that death has robbed him of it.
Cherry knows that the man he loves is not here anymore. He is in Heaven, he supposes-- Birdie was always religious, and if anyone deserved eternal reward, it was him.
The air in the tent is stifling, and Cherry is ready to go, but there is one more thing he must do. He bends down and places a gentle kiss on the tip of Birdie’s exposed nose.
“Rest now, beloved.”
He will tell Birdie’s story now that he is gone.
Re: FILL: Grown To Outlive Their Season, cw death
(Anonymous) 2023-01-01 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)Re: FILL: Grown To Outlive Their Season, cw death
(Anonymous) 2023-01-01 09:20 pm (UTC)(link)This is where I started bawling. They were so sweet!!! They had plans!!!
this is fine dot gif
Re: FILL: Grown To Outlive Their Season, cw death
(Anonymous) 2023-01-06 12:50 am (UTC)(link)