#But given who that OC was I am going to save her for later

[ashilean]

"I believe that mask belongs to me."

It has long been my intention to--if not actually becoming active here again--at least keep this place relatively up to date. So here is the last of BIONICLE month from 2020, most of which is now very old or out of date but still nice to have all in the same place. I believe the remaining prompts were for a toa of water, toa of air, turaga, matoran, adversary, and titan (which is the Hydraxon piece above).

I'm fairly certain at this point all of the custom masks were designed by KhingK and the cordak blasters are my attempt to ape BobtheDoctor27's really slick stud shooter ones. Hopefully get to posting my modern projects here soon!

[kurthorton]

oh twitter bookmarks, facebook saved, instagram saved, tiktok bookmarks, tumblr likes, my beloveds (i will never ever open them again)

[dolce-cavill]

wish you were here

captain syverson x fem!oc

12.8k words

summary: after an unexpected phone call from her best friends brother, not even thousands of miles of separation can stop new feelings from developing

🎧 Click here for the fic playlist

warnings: mentions of war/deployment (idk if that needs a warning), language, fem!oc but no physical description given, small age gap (6 years), use of pet names (mostly darlin), mentions of alcohol/drinking, angst, implied smut, if i missed anything let me know!

i headcanon his first name to be travis so that is the name i will be using

closing my book and tossing it onto the nightstand, i rubbed my eyes as i flopped backwards onto the bed. glancing to the left, the red glow of the clock stared back at me displaying 1:57 am. i’d always been a night owl, but i’d recently fallen into the habit of staying up far later than usual, sometimes being chased by the sunrise by the time i finally got ready to sleep.

swinging my stiff legs over the edge of the bed, i padded down the hall to the bathroom. after brushing my teeth and washing my face, i switched off the light and began to walk back to my bedroom, when i heard my phone ringing. i thought it was odd, as it was seldom that anyone ever actually called me rather than just texting, nevermind the fact that it was two in the morning, and immediately worried that the strange occurrence meant something was wrong. moving faster towards the ringing phone, i noticed the number wasn’t saved in my contacts as i picked up the call, bringing the phone up to my ear.

“hello?” i greeted the unknown caller, pacing nervously around my room.

“hey…layla?” the voice was familiar, but not one i had heard in years, nor expected to be on the other end of the call.

“…travis?” i asked. travis syverson was my best friend beths older brother, who was currently (at least as far as i knew) stationed in iraq; perhaps one of the last people i would’ve guessed to be calling me at this hour, if at all.

“yeah,” he laughed. “sorry- i …. beth didn’t answer and yours is the only other number i could remember, ya know, from you an’ her always hanging out,” he explained. it had been about six months since i had last seen him, at one of the going away parties beth insisted on throwing every time travis was deployed.

“no need to apologize,” i assured. we had never been super close but we did spend a lot of time together considering how growing up i basically lived at their house with how much i hung out with beth. “it’s nice to hear from you.” i admitted. “how are you? is everything okay- i mean all things considered.”

“i’m alright- you know me. same old same old here; we’re tryna help and we’re getting shot at for it,” he sighed heavily. “sorry, i don’t need’a scare you with that crap.” the anger in his voice leaving as he spoke. “what did you get up to today?” i laughed lightly.

“i’m gonna bore you ta death,” i teased, thinking of how mundane my day had been.

“darlin’ lemme tell you somethin’- i am surrounded by nothing but sand for fuckin miles,” he insisted, and i laughed again.

“okay okay,” i surrendered. the nickname probably would’ve made me blush if we weren’t from the south; it was just something i’d gotten used to him calling me. “i did the dishes, i went to the grocery store-“

“what’d ya buy at the store?” he asked.

“uhh just cereal.. coffee creamer… fruit. do you regret asking yet?”

“no- over here things are so crazy it’s kinda nice just to hear about everyday things ya know?” i smiled sadly.

“i hadn’t thought of it like that.” i admitted. there was a comfortable silence for a moment before he spoke again.

“shit i didn’t wake you up- did i?” he asked, as if he had just considered the almost ten hour time difference between us. “what time is it where you are?”

“it’s around two in the morning,” i laughed. “but no you didn’t wake me up; “remember beth used to always fall asleep first at sleepovers and i’d just be stuck sitting awake by myself.”

“yeah i remember- you’d come bother me, wanting to see what i was doin,” he laughed.

“you make me sound like an annoying little kid,” i replied, and he laughed again. i pictured him in my mind, at least how he had looked when i had last seen him, his hair cut short since he was shipping out but his beard still intact. i thought about how his blue eyes crinkled when he laughed, and imagined they were doing that now.

“you were; you and beth,” he snickered. “you grew up to be tolerable at least,” he teased, and i could tell he meant nothing mean by it.

“yeah well you’d stopped bein’ fun to bother when you stopped playing video games and started working out all the time,” i countered.

“yeah but ain’t i more fun to look at now?” travis had always had an aura of confidence to him that i admired, and i had to admit; he was damn good looking. around the time i was 17 i had started developing a little crush on him. nothing too serious, but i definitely noticed that he had been putting more work in at the gym. however, if the fact that he was my best friend's brother wasn’t enough for me to never mention it, the fact that he was 23 at the time and probably thought of me as his little sisters friend and nothing else was.

before i could agree or disagree, he spoke again.

“hey i gotta go- other people gotta use the phone, but it was nice talking to you, layla.” i found myself feeling slightly disappointed that he had to go so soon, but i understood.

“yeah; it was nice to hear from you,” i admitted. it wasn’t a long conversation, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. “if beth ever doesn’t answer again…”

“i’ll call you,” with that the line cut off, leaving me wishing i could’ve told him to be safe at least, although kind of redundant considering where he was.

i sighed contently as i set my phone down, switching off the light and crawled under the covers. thoughts of travis flooded my mind as i tried to fall asleep, secretly hoping that i would hear from him again soon.

-

it was only a week or so before i heard from travis again, this time around 9pm as i was getting ready to leave work. there were only about 15 minutes left in my shift when my cell phone started to ring in my pocket, and i glanced at my coworker who was stood at the counter next to me. she nodded as if to say “take the call,” and i gave her a smile as i walked to the break room so customers wouldn’t see my on the phone.

“hello?” i answered as i shut the door and sat down at the small table.

“hey darlin,” travis’s voice drawled through the phone, and a smile spread across my face. “how was your day?”

“it was alright, i’m just finishing up at work. how about you? are you having any luck winning over the locals yet?” i teased lightheartedly, knowing he wouldn’t take offence to it. he laughed deeply on the other end of the line.

“na- no such luck just yet,” he admitted. “we’re tryin though, that's what matters. is now a bad time? if you’re at work i don’t wanna keep you-“

“no it’s okay- you’re more important. we’re just about closed up anyway.” i answered honestly.

“i’m flattered,” he chuckled. “you still working at that cafe- the one on main street?” i was a little surprised he’d remembered.

“yeah- it pays the bills. they’ve expanded the menu since you left to have some deli sandwiches and stuff so i even got a pretty good raise earlier this year.”

“i’ll have to try them when i come home,” he replied.

“you talk to beth lately?” i asked, wondering if she ever answered his call after last week. i hadn’t told her that i had talked to travis; there was no specific reason- it just hadn’t come up when i saw her last.

“yeah i called her yesterday and she actually answered,” i could hear the smile in his voice as he teased his little sister. “you see her recently?”

“i saw her the other day- she’s picking me up from work any minute now actually,” i explained.

“she doing okay? i mean- she tells me she’s fine, but i know it’s always been hard for her when i leave,” he asked, in a sincere manner; as her older brother he had always been protective of beth, and me as well by association.

“she sure does know how to worry. but she’s good-honestly. she got her hair dyed the other day; it’s kinda of a copper colour now,” i smiled. “and we both worry about you when you’re gone.”

“you worry about me?” he teased mischievously. i felt heat rise to my cheeks.

“of course i do.”

“i appreciate it but i’ll be fine- always am.” he said, trying to reassure me; but as much as i wanted to believe him i couldn’t shake the anxious feeling in my chest. i thought of how last time we spoke he had to hang up rather quickly, so i decided to say what i wanted to say before i missed the opportunity again.

“just- stay safe okay? as much as that’s possible i mean?” i pleaded. he chuckled softly.

“i will darlin’ - since you asked so nicely.” he promised, and my chest tightened again knowing that it wasn’t something he could really guarantee. i didn’t have many people in my life that i cared about, or that cared about me, and i couldn’t bare the thought of losing any of them. “i gotta go- i’ll call you soon.” he said, and once again i found myself wishing we had more time to talk.

“i’ll look forward to it,” i replied.

“goodnight darlin,” he said, before hanging up the phone. i set my phone down on the table and ran my hands over my face, letting out a sigh. my eyes snapped open at a knock on the door, and my coworker lisa, peeked her head in.

“i’m locking up- can you come count the till?” she asked. i nodded, putting my phone in my pocket and following her back to the front of the store. she locked the front door and closed the blinds as i counted the cash in the till, making sure it had the correct amount and taking out any cash we received today.

“not that it’s any of my business, are you seeing someone and you haven’t told me?” lisa asked playfully. she was one of the nicest people i knew, and wasn’t someone to pry, so i knew she was only trying to make friendly conversation. i shook my head, slightly confused.

“no- what makes you think that?” i asked, curious as to what gave her the idea that i, who had been single the entire time i had known her, was dating someone.

“i was just wondering, since your eyes lit up when you got that phone call earlier. i thought maybe it was someone special,” she explained. i blushed- had i really seemed that excited? of course i was happy to hear from travis, but i hadn’t realized it had been written all over my face.

“just an old friend. we reconnected recently,” i answered truthfully.

“mhm.” she hummed teasingly. “if you say so.”

“lisa-“ i protested, although i knew she was only joking. “he’s just a friend.”

“i’m sure he is.” she smiled. somehow, even though she was only a few years older than me, lisa always seemed to know more than me, her few years of seniority she had over me making her wiser than i was. “it’s nice to see you happy though.”

“you say that like i’m usually not,” i laughed.

“i didn’t mean it like that.” she defended, and i think she was worried she had offended me. “i just meant i’m happy for you if you’ve found someone, and even if they’re just a friend, they must be something pretty special for you to look that happy just to hear from them.”

“i know- it’s okay lees.” i smiled. “and yeah- he is pretty special.” deciding that i needed to stop thinking about him, i tucked the now counted cash into an envelope and carried it back to the office. when i returned to the front of the shop, i saw beth’s car outside, and glanced at the clock- 9:02pm; perfectly on time. i grabbed her a muffin from the display case (they would be thrown out tomorrow anyway) and said goodnight to lisa, as we both left the shop.

“you can tell me more about this mystery man tomorrow!” lisa called as i opened the passenger door to beth’s car. i silently wished she hadn’t said that, since i knew beth would ask me about it if she heard, which to my dismay, she indeed had.

“hey- how was work!” she asked enthusiastically as i shut the car door and did my seatbelt.

“it was good- not too busy but not slow enough to be boring. the last hour was pretty quiet though,” i answered. it had been a pretty good day, even if i wasn’t sure i wanted to tell her what made the last 10 minutes so enjoyable. i knew she wouldn’t mind me talking to travis- that wasn’t the issue, since deep down i knew lisa was right- and my teenage crush had never truly gone away. how was i supposed to explain to my best friend that i thought i might have a crush on her brother? and that he had been calling me from across the world instead of her?

“what’s this i hear about a mystery man?” she teased, and gone was any false hope i had that she hadn’t heard was gone. i shook my head.

“nothing- i was texting my cousin and lisa got the wrong idea,” i lied, and she seemed to believe me.

“nathan? is he asking for money again?” i laughed at her. it would not be unusual for my cousin to ask for money, but i didn’t want to throw him under the bus and have her call him out; i would get too caught up in the lie and not be able to dig myself out.

“no, not this time actually.” thankfully she didn’t ask anymore questions, and the rest of the car ride was spent listening to her talk about her day. i didn’t mind, but beth tended to talk more than she listened. i tried to pay attention, but as i stared out the window, looking at the stars whizzing by as we sped down the road, my mind couldn’t help but wander, thinking of a different syverson sibling than the one sat next to me.

-

three months went by, with travis calling me almost once a week, as he still called beth as well. a few weeks after he first called, it came up that i hadn’t told beth that we had been talking.

“i haven’t mentioned it either, now that i think about it.,” he replied when i told him it hadn’t come up. “maybe for the best- she might think i’m tryna steal you from ‘er.” i wasn’t sure what he had meant by it, but regardless, it made my stomach flip with butterflies, and i was grateful he couldn’t see that i was blushing.

“are you trying to steal me from her?” i decided to tease him a little, our conversations having become perhaps the slightest bit flirty recently.

“if i wanted to i think i could, don’t you darlin’?” i laughed. yes, you could, i thought, feeling slightly guilty that i had spent more time lately talking to him than i had my best friend.

“i don’t know, you know how protective she is,” i argued.

“you think i’m not? i’m worse than she is.” that shouldn’t have made the blush on my face darken, but it did. “remember when you were dating that guy- what was his name?”

“ben?” i groaned, remembering my first boyfriend from high school. he ended up being a total arse who dumped me after i wouldn’t sleep with him.

~ flashback ~

beth and travis had been throwing a party since their parents were away, and i had brought ben as my date. we had been together for about a year, and when i wouldn’t go with him to one of the bedrooms upstairs he flipped. the alcohol in his system made things worse, and when travis heard him yelling at me, he had threatened to kick his ass.

“oh look, layla, your boyfriends here!” ben yelled, shoving travis, which didn’t even make him stumble.

“what are you talking about?” i asked, tears threatening to fall from my eyes, the liquor making me a little more emotional.

“oh come on, i’m not stupid, you’ve obviously got a crush on him.” ben spat. “i bet you’d fuck him if he asked, or maybe you already-“ travis swung his fist into bens face before he could finish his sentence, sending the smaller man crumpling to the floor.

“travis what the hell?!” beth yelled, not having heard the conversation, only coming in from the backyard in time to see the fists start flying. travis picked ben up off the floor by the front of his shirt, slamming his back into the wall.

“you shut the fuck up- you don’t talk to her like that. get out of my house before i really kick your ass,” travis threatened, and ben sniffled, a trickle of blood coming from his nose as he huffed, before turning and leaving with his ego bruised to match the one that he would surely have on his face tomorrow.

“are you alright? what happened?” beth asked, coming over and wrapping her arms around me. i nodded, looking at travis who still stared towards the door after ben.

“thank you,” i said, and travis finally looked at me, with an anger in his eyes i had never seen before. his gaze softened when his eyes met mine.

“i’m gonna get some air,” he said, before walking out of the house, the door slamming behind him.

“what happened?” beth asked again. i sighed.

“ben was being a dick, and travis punched him,” i explained, leaving out some of the details since i was embarrassed. “i’m okay beth- i promise. i’m just gonna go check on him.” she let me out of her grip, quickly getting pulled away by some of the other guests as i went after her older brother. i found him sitting on the front step, and cautiously sat beside him. he glanced toward me to see who it was, and seemed to relax a tiny bit. his eyes locked on something down the street, and i looked to see ben drunkenly stumbling down the sidewalk, not having made it very far from the house yet, but far enough that any conversation had wouldn’t be heard.

“what are you thinking about?” i asked. travis sipped the beer he was holding before speaking.

“i’m thinkin’ about whether or not i should go after him and beat the shit out of him for what he said to you,” he answered, and i appreciated his brutal honesty.

“he’s not worth it,” i said, trying to convince him not to get himself in trouble, especially on my behalf. “is your hand okay?” i asked, gently grabbing his large hand in mine and inspecting his knuckles, a layer of red forming over them already.

“you’re worried about my hand?” he laughed. i couldn’t help but laugh with him. “are you okay?” he asked more seriously. i nodded, placing his hand back in his lap and tiredly leaning my head against his shoulder.

“thank you,” i hummed, my eyes closing, suddenly exhausted, and the alcohol starting to give me a slight headache. his arm pulled me closer and i felt his press a kiss to the top of my head.

“anytime.”

~ flashback end ~

“yeah i remember- he turned out to be a dud, huh,” i joked.

“i’ll say.” there was a hint of anger in his voice, as if he was remembering the same night you were.

“i’ve never seen you as angry as you were that time you punched him in the face.”

“he deserved it,” he said, defensively.

“i don’t disagree, travis.” i assured him, worried i had given him the wrong idea. i’m not sure if i was just feeling vulnerable, but what i said next was something i never thought i would share. “he was right though- i did actually kinda have a thing for you back then.” that seemed to change his demeanour for the better, his voice no longer angry, now more surprised.

“you did?” he asked. “shit, that would’ve been nice to know at the time,” he mumble the last part, so quiet i barely heard him, and assumed i heard him wrong, and decided not to ask him to repeat it.

“yeah, i mean i was like 16 and you were my friends cool older brother,” my face was red as a started to regret mentioning it, but thankfully he didn’t make a big deal of it.

“are you saying i ain’t cool anymore?” he laughed. “oh shit, times up darlin’- i’ll call you soon,”

“okay- stay safe, travis.” i said. it had become a habit of saying it every time he had to hang up, as pointless as it was to say.

“will do.”

as i set my phone down on my dresser, i realized just how deep of shit i was in. i was falling head over heels for my best friends brother, who was halfway across the world; with no idea when (or if) he would be home again. the thought of travis never coming home, of getting the news from beth that something bad had happened to him kept me up at night. what made it worse was that no one knew how much i had grown to care for him in the last few months. what had started as friendly conversation had quickly developed into playful flirtation, or at least i thought it had. maybe i was delusional or maybe he was just bored, and he would come home and pretend it had never happened, or he’d tell me i got the wrong idea all along.

these thoughts kept me up most of the night, and i surely had dark circles under my eyes when i walked into work the next morning. lisa, never one to miss anything noticed right away and gave me a worried look.

“honey, have you been sleeping alright?” she asked, pouring me a coffee from the pot she had already made for the morning rush. i knew it would be useless to try to lie, as it was quite literally written all over my face.

“not really. i’ve just had a lot on my mind lately,” i answered honestly, just leaving out any details. i sipped the coffee, clocking in on the till and tying my apron around my waist.

“i won’t pry, but if you want to talk about anything you know i’m here for you,” she offered. usually i would’ve brushed her off, but considering the person i would usually talk to about this kind of thing was beth, and i couldn’t tell her, i actually thought about asking for lisa’s advice.

“thank you. i really appreciate it, lees. maybe after work?” i think she was surprised i actually wanted to talk about it, but she smiled and nodded.

-

after we closed down the store, the door locked and the blinds closed, lisa took off her apron and carried two coffees over to the table i was sat down at. i thanked her as she placed one in front of me and sat down.

“what’s on your mind, layla?” she asked. i took a deep breath.

“you remember a few months ago, i said i had reconnected with an old friend?” i asked, not sure if she would’ve remembered. she nodded, paying close attention.

“well, we’ve still been talking all this time, and i think maybe it’s becoming more than just friendly,” i explained, omitting details once again. she didn’t know a ton about my friends outside of work, but i didn’t want to reveal too much and have her figure out who i was talking about; it was unlikely but i wanted to be careful nonetheless.

“is that a bad thing?” she asked.

“not necessarily, except we have a mutual friend who … i’m not sure how they would react if things became romantic between us,” i explained. “and this person is also far away, so it would be long distance, at least for now.” lisa nodded, considering what i had said.

“i see. this mutual friend- don’t you think they would want the two of you to be happy?” she asked. i thought about it. beth was one of the most understanding people i knew, she could be feisty at times, but she always seemed to want the best for others around her. however, i still wasn’t sure if she would like the idea of me being romantically involved with her brother, especially after we’d been talking behind her back for months.

“i do- but the circumstances make it… difficult. this friend doesn’t know we’ve been talking again.”

“did the person you’re talking to do something to hurt your friend?”

“no- nothing like that,” i sighed. “i don’t know how to properly explain without you knowing all the details.” i admitted.

“you can tell me as much or as little as you want, i promise i won’t judge you and it won’t leave this room. i won’t pressure you for more details but i agree- it is difficult for me to understand the situation completely without knowing more.” as much as i didn’t want her to be right, i appreciated her honesty.

“you swear you won’t tell anyone?” i pleaded. she promised again, and i took a deep breath.

“okay. so the guy, he’s… beth’s older brother,” i admitted, my eyebrows scrunching together as i winced, saying it out loud made it worse i decided.

“i see,” she replied. “is that all?” i laughed audibly.

“isn’t that enough? i’ve known beth since we were 5, and now i maybe have feelings for her brother.”

“did you ever have feelings for him before now? or is this completely new?” lisa asked.

“i mean i had a crush on him as a teenager but it was nothing serious- he was too old for me at the time. but things are different now and - ugh i don’t know talking to him just makes me feel so warm inside. is that weird?” she giggled.

“no, it’s not weird. how did you two start talking again? you said he’s far away?”

“he’s stationed in iraq,” i explained. “which means that i worry about something happening to him all the time,” i sighed for the millionth time; it did feel good to finally get some of this off my chest. “he called me one night a few months ago. he said beth didn’t answer and my phone number was the only other one he could think of - from when beth and i would hang out all the time and call each other. that was about a week before he called me here that day and you asked about it.” i felt a weight off my shoulders, now that i wasn’t keeping all of this inside, and i knew that i could trust lisa not to tell anyone. she seemed to be taking in all the information for a moment before she spoke.

“layla, i think you’re worrying too much about this. worrying about his safety is understandable, and unfortunately there’s not much i can say to make you feel better in that regard. however, i will say- i don’t know beth very well but from what i’ve seen and from what you’ve told me about her, she loves you very much, and i think she would be happy for you. can you think of any reason she wouldn’t want you to be with him, other than the fact that he is her brother?” i considered what she said.

“no, i can’t. if he was just a guy i’m sure she would be happy for me. he’s funny, protective- and i think i’m really falling for him, lees.” i admitted.

“does he know you feel this way about him? and does he know you’re so worried about beth finding out?”

“no- i mean maybe he knows i’m interested. the last few weeks we have definitely been a little more flirty when we talk, but we can never talk for very long, usually just 5 minutes or so. i told him last night that i used to have a thing for him and i thought he said something like it would’ve been nice to know at the time but i may have just heard him wrong,” i sipped my coffee again. “then after we got off the phone i couldn’t stop thinking about the likely possibility of him never coming home-“ i choke on the words as i said them, and tears fell from my eyes.

“oh honey,” lisa said, getting up and coming to my side of the table, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. i cried into her shoulder, as she held me in her arms. “i can’t imagine how hard this is, but i think you need to tell him how you feel. keeping this inside isn’t good for you, and as much as i appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me, there isn’t much i can do to help, that’s up to you and him; and beth.” i nodded.

“you’re right, of course.” i laughed, as she once again proved she was wise beyond her years. “what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”

“that’s unfortunately a risk you have to take, but from the little bit you’ve told me, he sounds like a great guy, and i’m sure even if he didn’t feel the same way, he wouldn’t be a dick about it.” that didn’t make me feel a whole lot better, but i knew she was right; if travis thought it was weird for me to have a crush on him, he probably would’ve said something last night when i mentioned that i had a thing for him before. at least, that’s what i was telling myself.

“thank you lisa, i feel better now that i’ve talked to you about it,” i admitted.

“you’re so welcome, layla. feel free to keep me updated if you want, but i think you’ve got this.” she smiled. “do you need a ride home?” she asked. i shook my head.

“no, i drove today. i’m supposed to hang out with beth tomorrow; maybe i’ll work up the courage to tell her. i think it might be better to wait until i know for sure what’s going on between travis and i though.”

“he has a name!” lisa teased playfully. i giggled.

“if you ever need to talk, i’m here for you layla.”

“thank you. the same goes for you- but i think you’ve got your life together way more than i do.” we both laughed, and i hugged her one more time before heading out to my car and driving home.

-

three weeks went by with no word from travis, and it was safe to say i was losing my mind. the endless possibilities of why he hadn’t called had me pulling my hair out; had something happened to him? did i freak him out when i said i used to have a thing for him and now he didn’t wanna talk to me? any confidence i had gained from talking to lisa had dwindled away as i sat waiting for the phone to ring every night.

beth had invited me for dinner tonight, and as much as i didn’t want to go, i knew i needed to get out of the house. i finished getting ready, not putting too much effort into my appearance, but enough that it looked like i had been sleeping like a normal human. i drove the short distance to her apartment, and after she buzzed me into the building, ai took the elevator up and knocked on the door, a bottle of wine in my hand.

“hey! come in,” she greeted with a smile on her face. i shut the door behind me as beth took the wine from my hand so i wouldn’t drop it. she pulled me into a hug, as she always did, and i reciprocated it happily. “how have you been?” she asked.

“i’ve been okay,” i answered. i couldn’t really tell her that i’d been stressed about her brother for the last few weeks, so i decided not to elaborate. “how about you!”

“i’ve been good- just working as usual. i finally got a huge project finished at work this week, so we’re gonna celebrate!” i smiled as she opened the bottle of wine and poured each of us a glass. “the project at work was a nightmare- i’m so glad it’s finally over. what’s new with you?” she asked, sipping her drink. i shook my head.

“nothing, just working as well. there’s one regular who keeps trying to ask me out, he won’t get the message that i’m not interested.” i rolled my eyes. he wasn’t an unattractive guy, just not my type; besides the fact that i was interested in someone else already.

“maybe a date wouldn’t be a bad idea,” beth said, which took me by surprise.

“he’s not my type-“

“no i didn’t mean with him- but when was the last time you went out with someone? or were even interested in somebody?” she asked. she was right, i had been single for a while. there were a few guys i had dated in my early twenties, but never anything really serious, all of the relationships fizzling out after just a few months, if not less.

“i don’t know- i don’t know if i’m really looking for that kind of commitment right now,” i tried to brush off the subject.

“i didn’t say you had to marry someone, i just thought it might be nice for you to meet someone,” beth clarified.

“i know. i’m just not really looking right now.” i answered honestly, leaving out the tiny detail that the reason i wasn’t looking is because i had already found someone i wanted.

“what about you? how are things with you and jacob?” i asked, once again thing to change the subject from me to her; which with beth, always worked.

“things are going well actually. he’s really sweet, and he’s a good listener, which we both know you need to be to put up with me,” she laughed at herself and i smiled, happy that my best friend had seemingly found a good guy. they had been seeing each other for months now, and i had met him once or twice before, but never had any extended conversations with him. “i’m gonna order pizza- i think i have a coupon somewhere,” she said, as she got up and began to dig through one of the kitchen drawers.

“sounds good,” i sipped my wine again, not wanting to rush through the glass as i still had to drive home and i didn’t plan on drinking more than one.

it was around 20 minutes later when the phone rang, and beth got up to grab it off the counter.

“it’s probably the pizza- i told the guy to buzz this suite when he gets here,” she explained before greeting the person on the other line with a simple “hello,” a surprised look came over her face, before she spoke more cheerfully. “hey! god it’s really good to hear from you, i was starting to worry,” she said, and my heat skipped a beat. “i’ve been good, how about you?” i couldn’t hear the person on the other side of the call, but i was pretty sure it wasn’t the pizza delivery guy. whoever she was talking to, they carried on a short conversation before beth’s phone buzzed in her hand, signaling that she’s received a text. “oh shit, i ordered pizza and the guy just texted that he can’t buzz up to get in the building since the line is busy- i’ll have to run down and grab it.” she said, after glancing at the message she had received. “sorry to run away on you travis- i would make him wait out there but it’s cold outside. layla is here, i know you guys aren’t close but do you wanna talk to her?” suddenly i was being handed the phone as beth called over her shoulder that she’d be right back, before running out the door with her keys in hand.

“hello?” i answered, putting the phone to my ear.

“hey darlin.” travis’s voice sounded through the phone, and i felt the butterflies in my stomach again.

“hey travis. it’s really good to hear your voice,” i said honestly.

“yours too. i’m really sorry i haven’t called, baby, things got a little crazy over here and we had to go silent for a few weeks.” he explained, and i was so in shock to hear from him i almost didn’t catch the nickname.

“i’m just really glad you’re not hurt… or-“ i trailed off, not wanting to say it.

“i’m sorry to put you through all this. i hope you haven’t been too worried,” he sighed. “what have you been up to?”

“just working mostly, nothing too exciting. beth and i were just having a girls night to celebrate a project she finished at work, but i’ll let her tell you about it when you talk to her next.” i didn’t want to steal her thunder, since i knew how excited she was to have done it.

“is she back yet?” he asked, lowering his voice a little.

“not yet, but i’m sure she will be any minute now- why do you ask?”

“does she know about us yet?” he asked, and i froze.

“us?” i asked hesitantly, not sure if i was reading too much into his choice of words.

“layla, i really like you. i’m sorry if that’s weird but-“

“it’s not weird.” i assured him, feeling like i was on cloud nine. “i really like you too, travis.”

“that’s a relief.” he said, laughing slightly. “believe me, i am so happy to hear you say that, but i don’t think we should tell beth, for now at least.”

“i agree- i don’t know what she would think,”

“i think she would tear me a new one, for stealing you from ‘er and all, but i think eventually she’d come around,” he joked. i could see that, but i still worried about how she would react. “i mean it though, layla- i wanna give this a try,” he said seriously.

“so do i, travis,” i heard the door opening down the hall, and beth walked in with the pizzas. “your sister is back, i’ll let you say hi to her again.” i said, getting up to trade the phone off to her. she was still far enough away that she wouldn’t hear travis on the other end of the call, which i was grateful for as he spoke softly.

“alright, darlin’. i’ll try to call you tomorrow,”

“okay,” i smiled, as beth turned the corner into the kitchen and i handed her the phone, taking the food from her as she used up the last minute or two travis had with the phone.

“i hope you didn’t bore her while i was gone.” i smiled to myself as beth teased her older brother, my back thankfully turned to her so she couldn’t see the blush creeping over my face. i tuned out the rest of their conversation, before she said goodbye and set the phone on the counter again, as i turned around with plates from the cupboard.

“sorry to leave you stuck talking to him, but he doesn’t get to call very often, so i didn’t want to just hang up.” she joked, and i couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty. i was part of the reason he didn’t call her as often, and i wondered what he had told her if she had asked why his calls were less frequent. i knew he used to call her almost every week, but now that usually i heard from him once a week, i wondered if he still got to talk to her as well.

“it’s okay- it was nice to hear from him actually,” i said honestly, although she didn’t know just how happy i really was to talk to him.

“it’s been a few weeks since i heard from him actually, i was starting to worry a little.” she admitted, putting a slice of pizza on her plate. i felt the guilty feeling again, wishing i could tell her i knew how she felt. it was kind of funny, in a sad way; here i was sat next to my friend, both missing the same person, and i couldn’t talk to her about it. i wanted to comfort her, and tell her i understood, but i knew that it was for the best to keep what travis and i had a secret, at least for now.

“i’m glad he’s okay,” i agreed. “do you have any idea when he’ll be back?” i asked, but she shook her head.

“not really. when he left they said anywhere from six to eighteen months, so it could be tomorrow or it could be a while longer. i guess we’ll just have to wait and see. he’s been gone almost a year now.”

“that’s a long time,” i commented, not knowing what else to say. she nodded.

“enough talk about travis though- i don’t wanna be bummed out all night. i’m just glad i finally heard from him. and it’s nice he got to talk to you- i think he gets bored of talking to me sometimes, which is fair. sometimes we don’t have anything to update each other on when he calls.” she laughed. i smiled, feeling a little better knowing that she was happy with the idea of us talking; without the romantic feelings at least.

we both finished eating our pizza and chatted about our lives, just catching up and joking around, until i had to get going.

“you’re sure you don’t wanna just stay over? i don’t mind.” beth offered, and i considered it, but eventually shook my head.

“i would, but i have to work early tomorrow and my uniform and stuff is at home. next time.” i promised. she smiled and hugged me goodbye. i drove home, feeling conflicted. i was very happy with how things were between travis and i, but i felt even worse now about lying to beth, since i had now done it straight to her face. i sighed heavily as i pulled into the garage of my apartment building before heading up to my suite.

i crawled into my bed, still in my jeans and sweater, and started to cry. i cried because i missed travis, and i cried for my best friend, who was also missing her big brother, and for how awful i felt for keeping secrets from her.

-

my eyes were puffy when i looked in the mirror the next morning, my makeup from last night in streaks down my face. i hopped in the shower, the hot water helping me relax a little. i washed off the traces of makeup that the shower didn’t, the cool cloth thankfully taking down the swelling of my eyelids at least a little. i managed to cover the rest of it up with some concealer and mascara, before grabbing my gab and heading out the door.

lisa thankfully didn’t comment on my appearance when i arrived, just said a friendly hello as i walked to the back to get my apron on and wash my hands to start working.

it was pretty steady with customers for the first few hours, and i didn’t notice one of the regulars lingering around the counter even after getting his order. i looked up to see that it was the guy who kept asking for my number, and i sighed.

“was there anything else i could get for you today?” i asked, in my best cheerful customer service voice.

“actually, i really want to order your number, but i don’t see it on the menu….” he trailed off, and i had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

“i guess you’ll have to order something else then,” i would usually politely decline, but i particularly wasn’t in the middle to entertain his advances today.

“damn… i was really craving a date with you.”

“i’m flattered really. but i’m not interested.” i said finely but still polite enough to hopefully not piss him off too much. lisa seemed to notice him not leaving, but was with a customer and couldn’t come check on me, so she gave me a glance as if to ask if i was okay. i nodded at her, and turned back to the customer, who was still trying to convince me to go out with him.

“again i’m really flattered, but i’m just trying to do my job. and not that it’s any of your business but i have a boyfriend.” i told him, getting annoyed with him at this point. he looked a little shocked at how stern my voice was.

“you could’ve just said that at the start.”

“me saying no should be a valid reason, i shouldn’t need to be with someone for you to accept that i’m not interested.” i defended. he seemed to finally get the message, and took his coffee and left, shaking his head as he walked out. the store was basically empty now, as lisa wrapped up the transaction with her customer, who thanked her and dropped a small handful of change into the tip jar.

“why don’t you go on your break? the store’s quiet enough and you deserve a breather after having to deal with that guy,” lisa suggested, walking over to me. i nodded, grabbing a cookie out of the display and heading to the break room, sighing heavily as i sat down. with impeccable timing, my phone started to ring in my pocket, and i saw travis’s name flash across the screen.

“hey!” i answered cheerfully, my mood improving greatly just from his call.

“hey baby, how is your day goin?” he asked. i smiled at the nickname once again, deciding that i liked the way it sounded coming from him a lot. my smile faltered slightly as i thought of how my day had been so far.

“it’s alright; i’m just on my break at work after one of our regulars kept asking for my number.” i sighed.

“do i need to come back home and kick his ass for you? because i will if you ask me to,” he said, and he almost sounded serious.

“no- it’s okay. i told him i had a boyfriend and he finally got the memo that i wasn’t interested.”

“boyfriend huh? what’s he like?” he joked, and i could tell he knew damn well that i had meant him, and i was grateful he didn’t make it weird that i had called him that. we hadn’t officially put a label on things yet after all, having only confessed our feelings last night, but i don’t think he minded.

“he’s tall, very handsome, built like a tank- but he’s very far away right now,” i replied, and travis laughed.

“he sounds like a keeper,” i could hear the smile in his voice. “and i’m sure he can’t wait to get home to see you. did you have fun at beth’s last night?”

“i did. i definitely didn’t expect to hear from you while i was there. we talked about you afterwards- she really misses you. i wish i could tell her i miss you too.” i admitted. i didn’t want to make him feel bad for keeping our blossoming relationship a secret, but i also didn’t want to lie to him and give him the impression that i enjoyed lying to her.

“i know darlin’- i want to tell her about us too, i just don’t know how or when. i hate lying to her too.” he said, and i felt a little better knowing he felt the same way i did. “i have some news- and i don’t know anything for sure yet so i don’t want to get your hopes up, but it sounds like we might be finishing things up here soon. maybe just a few more weeks to fix the pump station and then the village’ll have water again.”

“that’s great, travis!” i exclaimed. “does that mean you might be coming home soon?” i asked hesitantly.

“it’s possible- i don’t know anything for sure yet, though.”

“keep me updated?” i asked.

“i will, baby,” he assured me. “i really miss seeing your face. i know things were different before- i mean things are different now, but…”

“i really miss you too,” i confessed.

“i gotta give up the phone now, but i’ll try to call soon, okay? and if that guy gives you anymore trouble you tell me okay?” he added, causing me to laugh.

“i will, i promise.”

“good girl,” he said, before hanging up. i couldn’t help the smile that was plastered to my face. travis had a habit of calling when i needed to talk to him most, and he definitely cheered me up. i quickly ate the cookie i had grabbed before heading back out into the store, which was still pretty quiet thankfully; i would’ve hated to leave lisa on her own during a rush.

“hey, you look like you’re having a better day already- was the cookie really that good?” she asked as i joined her behind the counter again.

“i talked to travis-“

“that explains it,” she smiled. “you finally heard from him?” she asked, knowing that i hadn’t heard from him for a few weeks.

“yeah, i actually talked to him last night too. i was at beth’s and he called her, but she had to run out so she passed him off to me. she had no idea how happy i was to talk to him, and we kinda confessed our feelings for eachother.” i admitted.

“that’s great- does beth know yet?” she asked, and i shook my head. “that’s okay; one step at a time, right?”

“exactly. and travis knows how i feel about lying to beth, he feels the same way i do. i’m sure we’ll tell her soon,” i explained. “i called him my boyfriend,” i blushed.

“what did he say!” lisa prodded excitedly.

“he didn’t seem upset about it,” i smiled, and she hugged me.

“oh layla, i’m so happy for you,” she insisted, and i couldn’t stop smiling. i felt like a teenager again, talking to her friend about her crush at a sleepover or something, and i had to admit, it was kinda fun. “now hopefully he comes home soon, so you can introduce me to him.”

“yeah, hopefully he does.”

-

two more weeks went by, and i was counting the days obsessively, since i had received the news from travis that he would be coming home in a month. that meant i would only have to wait three more weeks until i would get to see him. he had told beth as well, and she had told me, not knowing that i was already aware.

“what kind of cake do you think we should get for the party this time?” beth asked. i was at her apartment, helping her plan the welcome home party.

“hmmm - what kind is travis’s favourite?” i asked.

“i think just vanilla- he kinda stopped eating junk food and stuff when he started working out to join the military,” she recalled. i remembered when he had first mentioned it, beth and i had thought he was joking, or at least wouldn’t actually go through with it; we realized pretty quickly he was actually serious about it. we were about 19 when he actually left for the first time, and it was really hard for beth, and it was difficult for me, even back then.

“i think that’s a pretty safe choice. there won’t be too many people, right?” i asked. usually when beth threw going away / homecoming parties it was only a few close friends, and i was hopeful that would be the case again this time. i was nervous about having to hide the fact that travis and i were dating from more people, and i knew that the fact that i would have to act like we weren’t together was going to be a little difficult. regardless, i was still looking forward to the party, and i had offered to help beth with it this time around. thankfully she was happy to have my help, and wasn’t suspicious of why i was interested.

“no, the same as usual. i’m considering inviting jacob, but travis doesn’t know him, so i’m not sure if it would be awkward,” she admitted.

“i don’t think he would mind. have you told travis about him yet?” i asked, knowing that i had mentioned that beth was seeing someone to him, but i wasn’t sure if she had told him herself.

“yeah- he gave me the whole ‘if he hurts you i’ll kill him’ speech,” she laughed. “i swear i’ve never met anyone as protective as he is. i wonder what he would do if you started dating someone,” she said. i puzzled look crossed my face.

“what do you mean?” i asked her.

“well he’s always been just a protective of you as he is of me, maybe even more. he never punched any of my boyfriends in the face to defend my honour.” she said lightheartedly.

“i’m sure he would’ve if they deserved it,” i laughed, kind of surprised she remembered that.

“ya know, i actually kinda thought maybe he had a crush on you after that night, but i guess not; i’m sure he would’ve said something about it if he had.” my heart was beating incredible fast, and once again i was happy to be turned away from her so she could see how warm my face was getting.

“i doubt it- i’m sure he was just being a good friend,” i tried to brush it off.

“regardless, i know he cares about you.” she said. “and i hope he finds someone someday, i know his job makes things complicated, but i want him to be happy, you know?”she said genuinely, and i smiled at her.

“i’m sure he will; he’s a great guy. any girl would be lucky to have him.” i replied.

“you will find someone too, layla. i know you said you’re not looking right now, but one day i mean, when you’re ready,” she assured me, and i pulled her into a hug.

“thanks, beth. i hope you’re right.” she wiggled out of my grip and continued looking at the website of the bakery she had found online, at the various cake options.

“hey, if you both get really desperate, maybe you and travis could get together,” she teased, and i tried to just laugh it off. “you guys might actually be a good couple, now that i think about it.” i was more than relieved to hear her say that, and at that moment i really did think about telling her about travis and i. i ultimately decided against it, not wanting to let the secret out without asking travis first. i’m sure he wouldn’t have been mad, since we both wanted to finally tell her, but i figured better to be safe than sorry.

“you think so?” i laughed.

“yeah actually,” she said, more serious now. “oh! look how pretty this cake is!” she said, thankfully changing the subject as she pointed to a cake on her laptop screen.

“that is really pretty- wow,” i agreed. it was a white cake with plain white frosting, but there were cherries on top and space to add writing if you wanted to.

“i think i’m gonna order it,” beth stated, and i nodded.

“i can help you pay for everything- i’m sure with all the food and everything these parties can get quite expensive.”

“you don’t have to do that-“

“i want to, beth. what can i pay for?” i insisted. she seemed to think for a moment.

“actually, there is something you could do.”

“for sure-“

“my boss wasn’t able to give me the day off for when travis gets home, so would you be able to pick him up from the airport? i know it’s a lot to ask-“

“it’s not a lot to ask beth. i’ll do it.” i smiled.

“thank you so much, layla. it’s only about an hour drive so it shouldn’t be too bad.” she explained, although secretly i was happy that i would be getting at least a little bit of time alone with travis. it would maybe make it easier to pretend we were just friends if i got to see him one on one first.

“i’m sure it will be fine,” i assured her.

“you’re the best,” she smiled.

“anything for you,” i replied. little did she know how happy i was with the task i had been given.

-

it was a few days before i heard from travis again, and i got to tell him that i would be picking him up at the airport. i would’ve kept it a surprise, but i hate surprises, so i decided not to just show up when he was expecting his sister.

“hey baby,” travis’ voice sounded through the phone, bringing a smile to my face.

“hey you,” i replied, sitting down on my bed.

“what are you up to?” he asked. i always appreciated how he was interested in my day.

“i was just looking through my closet for something to wear for when you come home.” i answered honestly. i wasn’t planning on dressing too fancy or anything, but i obviously wanted to look nice.

“yeah? whatever you choose you’ll look great, darlin’. what are the options so far?” he asked, and i was surprised that he sounded genuinely interested.

“i’m trying to decide between a dress or jeans and a sweater. did beth tell you the slight change in plans?”

“she didn’t; should i be nervous?” he laughed.

“no need to be nervous. she wasn’t able to get the day off when you come home so she asked me if i could pick you up from the airport,” i explained. “if that’s okay with you- i mean.”

“of course that’s okay, darlin’. in that case, as much as i’d love to see you in a pretty dress, you’d probably be more comfortable driving in jeans, yeah?” i blushed, and agreed.

“you’re right. thank you,” i replied. “beth and i had an interesting conversation the other day actually.”

“you’re scaring me again, layla,” he teased.

“we were talking about relationships and stuff; she’s worried about bringing her boyfriend to the party when you get home- since you don’t know him,” i explained.

“i’ll have to ask her if she’s bringin’ him, then she won’t feel weird about it.” he noted. he really was a good big brother, and i could tell he really cared about beth having jacob there if she wanted to. “was that all?” he asked.

“no, actually. she started talking about how she hopes both you and i find someone someday, and then said if we don’t we should just get together- she’s decided we’d make a good couple,” i smiled.

“that’s great- maybe she won’t be too upset when we tell her we’re already together then. unless you already told her?” he asked.

“no, i thought about it, but i didn’t want to without asking you first. i didn’t think it would be fair.”

“i appreciate that. she’ll find out soon enough; i don’t know how i’m gonna keep may hands off you when i get home,” he admitted, and i felt my face getting warm.

“yeah? well, we’ll have an hour in the car on the way from the airport….” i trailed off.

“you’re killin’ me, baby. i don’t want you to get the idea that that’s all i care about, but you’re not making it easy to not think about,”

“don’t worry, i’m thinking about it too.” i confessed. i wanted more than anything to be able to kiss him, to touch him, just to have him close to me.

“how many days we got left?” he asked.

“seventeen,” i said. “sixteen if you don’t count today,”

“the longest sixteen days of my life,”

“i know,” i sighed. “i can’t believe it’s almost been five months since you first called me,” i admitted.

“has it? best decision i ever made. in a way it feels like longer, but shorter at the same time,” he said.

“yeah, i know what you mean.”

“but hey, if four months can fly by, so can two weeks,” he said, and i tried to be as optimistic as he was.

“you’re right. i just really miss you,” i admitted.

“i miss you too baby,” he said; and i decided i would never get tired of hearing him call me that. “i gotta go, i’ll call you soon, okay?”

“yes, sir,” i replied, to which he was silent for a moment.

“lord, you really are tryna kill me,” he groaned, and it sent a shiver up my spine.

it was gonna be a very long two weeks.

-

it was finally the day, travis was coming home. i had talked to him the night before, and he let me know when and where to meet him at the airport. his flight was supposed to arrive at noon, so i was out the door by 10:30 in the morning to make sure i was on time to pick him up.

getting dressed in a pair of comfy jeans and a dark red sweater, and just doing some casual hair and makeup, i had breakfast and got on the road. i had spent the majority of yesterday stress cleaning my apartment; as travis and i had decided that after the party we would sneak back here, since his house had been empty the whole time he was away, and wouldn’t be in a state to host guests; not that i cared.

my hands hurt from gripping the steering wheel so tight as i parked at the airport, about 30 minutes before travis’ flight was supposed to arrive. i sat down outside the baggage claim area and checked my phone to see a text from beth.

let me know when you’ve picked him up! and thank you again! 💖

i smiled, replying to let her know that i would, and that once again, i didn’t mind. i tried to calm my nerves as the minutes ticked by, travis’ flight now only supposed to be 10 minutes away. i had to remind myself that while things were different between us now, he was still the same travis i had known almost my whole life, and i didn’t need to be nervous around him. it helped a little bit, and i managed to turn my nerves back into excitement; finally i was seeing the person i dreamed of being near for months.

when finally about 20 minutes later he came into view, his large backpack over his shoulder, i felt my eyes start to water. i had promised myself i would try not to make a big scene in public, and i intended on keeping that one. when he was finally within reach, he set his bag down and pulled me into his arms, picking me up off the ground, and my arms looped behind his neck.

“hey baby,” he said softly, and i found it incredibly hard not to cry; finally being in his arms after so long. it felt like home.

“hey,” i replied, not letting go of him for a solid minute. he finally set my feet back down on the ground, and pulled away to look at me. i’m sure i looked like a mess by now, my eyes wet with tears that i was trying desperately to keep in. his hands went to the sides of my face and the pads of his thumbs gently wiped the droplets from my eyes.

“don’t cry darlin’- im here.”

“im just really happy to see you,” i confessed, hugging him again, this time my arms around his torso. his large biceps almost fully encased me against his chest, as he kissed the top of my head.

“i love you, layla,” he said softly into my hair, and i could’ve melted on the spot.

“i love you too, travis,” i spoke, my voice muffled by his muscular chest, but i could tell he heard me, since his arms tightened around me. he loosened his grip on me enough that i could look up at his face. his eyes were even more blue than i remembered. his beard was longer than when he left, but it looked like he had trimmed it recently, probably before flying home. his hair starting to grow out as well, no longer buzzed short, and i could start to see the start of his curls coming back in. “can i kiss you?” i asked timidly, and a smile broke out on his face.

“of course you can, baby,” he answered, and tilted my chin upward with his finger gently, until my lips met his. i had kissed people before, but it was never like this, and i realized that i had never felt for anyone the way that i felt for travis. when he kissed me it felt like i was breathing air for the first time, like our lips were perfectly molded to fit together. when we separated, travis placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.

“ready to go?” i asked. he nodded, swinging his backpack over his broad shoulders and taking my hand in his. “i have to text beth and let her know i found you.” i said remembering that i told her i would message her once i had picked him up.

“any chance you could tell her we can’t make it to the party?” he joked, and i smiled, hitting his chest playfully. “i’m only joking- sorta.”

“there will be plenty of time for just us later. your sister and your friends missed you too, ya know,” i teased. the guest list for the party included beth, jacob, and a couple of guys travis had been close with in high school and stayed in touch with after graduation.

“i know, darlin’,” he said, dropping my hand as we got to the car in the lot. “can i drive?” he asked.

“you don’t wanna just relax? i don’t mind driving.” i assured him.

“i haven’t gotten to drive a normal car in over a year, and you already drove all the way up here. you get to be the passenger princess from now on,” he smiled, extending his hand for me to give him the keys. i smiled, placing them in his hand and letting him open the passenger door for me to get in, making sure i had all my limbs in the vehicle before shutting the door. he adjusted the seat to accommodate his height and got in the driver seat, quickly adjusting the mirrors before placing the key in the ignition. “ready?” he asked, to which i nodded.

the drive was nice, an old lynyrd skynyrd cd playing quietly through the speakers, as travis drove with one hand on the wheel, the other placed on my thigh just above my knee, occasionally giving it a gentle squeeze.

“have you thought up a lie for why you need to take me home yet?” i asked him. “do you think people will be suspicious if we leave together?”

“not since you picked me up, no. we could just say you’re driving me to my own place. no one’s gonna check if i’m actually there or not.” he suggested.

“we run the risk of beth offering for you to spend the night at her place though.”

“that’s true. we could tell them the truth,” he suggested. that was always an option.

“it’s up to you. i’m fine with what you want to do, but if we tell them there’s gonna be a million questions… meaning we’ll have to stay longer…” i let my sentence trail off. “which seems like a shame, when there’s other things we could be doing instead.”

“fuck- yeah we can’t tell them-“ he decided quickly, and i giggled. “that’s the most beautiful sound i ever heard.” he stated, looking at me and smiling. i kissed him quickly, so he could turn his eyes back to the road. we were nearing beth’s apartment now, and i realized it meant for the next few hours, travis and i would have to act like we were just friends. it was definitely doable but that didn’t mean it was gonna be easy, especially since now he was looking at me like he was about to pull over and tear my clothes off, which i honestly wouldn’t have minded.

“ready to pretend to be platonically acquainted?” he teased, as if reading my mind, and i sighed.

“yes- but not looking forward to it.” i admitted.

“we’ll tell them soon, i promise. okay?” he said, i knew he wasn’t happy about it either.

“okay,” i said, defeated. i finally had him and now i had to act like i wasn’t head over heels for him.

“good girl,” he hummed, squeezing my thigh again. okay, that definitely didn’t help, i thought. we pulled into the parking lot at beth’s apartment complex, and travis kissed me softly before we got out of the car and headed inside.

-

the party was now nearing an end, and as happy as i was to see beth and travis reunite, it had been as anticipated; very difficult to act like we weren’t together. the food and cake had been great, and i was feeling the tiniest buzz after the wine cooler i had earlier, but i had to pretend i was too drunk to drive home so travis had an excuse to give me a ride. we had decided that was the best option to get us both out of here.

“you okay, layla?” travis asked, walking over to me, where i pretended to sway a tiny bit where i stood. i nodded.

“yeah, i’m okay. i think i’m gonna head home though. it’s really nice to have you back,” i said, which was the truth. he gave me a friendly looking hug, and i walked toward the kitchen to say goodbye to beth. i found her tidying up some of the snacks left on the counter.

“hey beth, i think i’m gonna head home - it’s been a long day,” i said. she smiled.

“thank you for coming! and for picking travis up for me, you’re a life saver.” she pulled me into a hug, which i returned; i truly loved my best friend.

“it was no big deal,” i assured her. i turned around to see travis walk into the kitchen from the other entrance and leant against the doorframe, smiling. “he insisted on driving on the way back here anyway, so i only did half the work.”

“i appreciate it regardless, darlin’,” he laughed. i said goodnight to the siblings, and pretended to stumble a little as i walked toward the front door to put my shoes on.

“are you okay to drive, lay?” beth asked, and i assured her i was, but bumped into the wall lightly to sell that fact that i was supposedly a little tipsy.

“let me drive you home, layla.” travis offered. i started to protest, but he interrupted me. “it’s the least i could do, after you picked me up today.”

“thanks travis,” beth said, deciding for me that it was a good idea; thankfully she didn’t suggest me staying the night like i worried she might.

“ready to go?” travis asked, sliding his boots on and taking the keys from my hand. i nodded, saying goodbye to beth as travis led me out of the apartment, a gentle grip on my shoulder as we walked down the hallway. once we got in the elevator, travis barely waited for the door to shut before pressing his lips to mine, and i returned the kiss eagerly. my back hit the wall with a soft thud as he stepped toward me, effectively pinning me in the corner of the small elevator car.

“i swear, that was the longest 6 hours of my life,” he breathed, forehead resting on mine as his hands fiddled with the bottom hem of my shirt. “you’re a pretty good actress, you actually looked tipsy for a minute there,”

“i’m motivated,” i answered, pressing my lips to his again, only separating when the elevator beeped to say the we had arrived at the main floor. the door opened and he led me to the car, before driving to my apartment with the help of my directions, his hand on my thigh once again, this time higher than before, causing my heart to beat quickly. after the longest 15 minute drive ever, we pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building, and travis parked the car before walking around to open my door for me. taking my hand, we walked to the front door, his lips dancing across my neck and shoulders as i fumbled with the keys trying to unlock the front door.

“you’re very distracting,” i chastised, finally unlocking the door and leading him inside. it was just a single flight of stairs up to my unit, and i quickly unlocked that door as well, before we tumbled inside. i dropped my purse to the floor and travis shut the door, my body positioned between him and it as he locked the door and kissed me again. my hands found his chest, sliding his jacket off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor, and pulling him closer by the belt loops of his pants. he groaned into the kiss, before pulling away slightly.

“you’re not actually drunk, right? i don’t want to-“

“no, i’m not. i only had one when we got to the party.” he nodded, before his lips found my neck, leaving lazy kisses up to my ear, as he toyed with the bottom of my sweater again, silently asking to remove it.

“travis…” i whined as he gently nipped at the skin on my jaw, his tongue soothing the sting of his teeth.

“are you sure? it’s been a while, darlin’- i can’t promise i’ll last very long..” he hesitated, his hands at the button of my jeans, waiting for permission to go further.

“i’m sure travis,” i reassured him. “i need this.” with that he kissed my lips again, and let me guide him to my bedroom.

-

i laid next to travis, our legs entwined under the sheets keeping our bodies covered, my head on his chest that rose and fell quickly as we both caught our breath. his arms wrapped around my waist as i moved to face him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

“i love you,” i said softly.

“say that again darlin’” he smiled, his eyes closed.

“i love you,” i repeated, and he looked at me, before kissing me deeply. i laid my head back down on his chest, and one hand gently caressed my hair, the other delicately drawing patterns on the bare skin on my hip.

“i love you too baby,” he replied, and i felt more content than i ever had; in the arms of the person i loved most in the world after being apart for so long. a thought crossed my mind, which made a sinking feeling grow in my chest.

“do you know how long you’re home for?” i asked him quietly, afraid of what the answer might be. he sighed.

“you really want to talk about that right now?” he asked.

“i knew going into this that your job wasn’t gonna make this easy. i want us to be honest with each other. and i want you; that means everything that comes with you,” i explained. he held me tighter.

“i don’t know for sure, but usually 3-6 months.” he said. i obviously wished it could be longer, but i was just happy to have him home with me for any amount of time. “we can worry about that later though. we gotta worry about something a lot scarier first-“ i looked at him, my eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, not sure what he meant, but he just smiled.

“we have to tell beth about us.” he said, his tone serious as if he had said we had to climb a mountain.

“i think that’s doable,” i laughed, the happiest i had been in a very long time. “but not tonight; i want you all to myself for one night.” travis kissed me, and i smiled against his lips as his arms held me close to him, and i could feel his heart beating against mine.

“you’ll have me for as long as you want, darlin’”

[that-fanperson-meg]

I wanna hear twilight knight lore >:}

oh…

I am so happy that you said that :]

the lore’s really long so ima just put a cut here :]

TLDR: Sad Moth Boy is traumatized, gains the powers of god, gets adopted by the most powerful warrior in the galaxy and the king of a planet, and becomes an older brother to a lot of other Kirby OCs

Ok so I’ve already kinda answered an ask like this but I’m going to update it now lol

Ok to begin there’s a bit of world building I want to touch on just so things make a bit more sense: I lifted elements from Kirby Right Back at Ya (such as Nightmare being the main antagonist, and the GSA) but twisted them quite a bit!

first up! The GSA has fought Nightmare one time before TK was born, in what I refer to as The First Dark War. Most of my characters were around during this time such as both of TK’s parents, Nicova Volans (who will come up later) both Jerca and Lady Garlude, Meta Knight, and Sol (she’s basically Nicova’s partner but they get separated during the war :[)

The main goal of the GSA was to find the Star Rod so they could defeat Nightmare but nobody knew where to find it. So they divert plans to make their new objective to find the Triple Star which could slow down Nightmare’s conquest and hopefully give the GSA more time to find the Star Rod. Though during the war, Lady Garlude & Jerca fall to Nightmare and die, and Sol gets gravely wounded trying to save Nicova. But the Triple Star is found and Nightmare is stopped for the time being. And now there’s an era of peace and reconstruction that gets ushered in for about twenty years and this is the time that a bunch of things happen. 1) Raymond and Estelle get married and move in together, on a quiet planet called Cosmos Cliffs (which Estelle’s family just so happens to own)

2) Nicova takes up Raymond’s offer to settle down on Cosmos Cliffs (because they were close friends)

and 3) Raymond & Estelle’s marriage starts to fail so Estelle prays to Void for a child which it gives her

and now finally, TK enters!

TK’s (or Twilight Knight if you wanna be formal) original name was Lycia Racheia however from an early age they knew that his name wasn’t right for them and so he started going by Lycio and had dreams of becoming a Star Warrior like their idol Galacta Knight. However Lycio’s mother, Estelle, grew resentful of her ‘daughter’s’ dreams which led to her being both physically and emotionally abusive to Lycio.  

Though fortunately out of the blue one day, Lycio’s father, Raymond, came back home for the first time in 15 years and Lycio decided that this was the perfect time to tell his father that they wanted to be called Lycio and wanted to be a knight, and surprisingly he was cool with this and ended up calling up his buddy who just so happened to be cool with teaching Lycio how to wield a sword and stuff and then Raymond left.

Time passed and Lycio’s mentor, Nicova Volans, basically became a better father than Raymond ever was, but oh no, Nightmare had awoken and was starting the war against the GSA back up again and so there was a huge demand for Star Warriors. 

Lycio really wants to join and Nicova’s on board with this, but Estelle isn’t and when Lycio tries to tell her that they’re gonna be leaving to fight in the war she flips out and attacks him and gives them a scar. So Lycio gets the hell out of there but not before stealing what is essentially a magical makeup brush that can make illusions. They proceed to run to Nicova’s house where they use the makeup brush and makes him look more like how they want to look like (this is when he gets the purple and yellow eye lol) and before leaving for the Star Warriors Nicova gives Lycio a mask, sword, cape, and gloves as a parting gift.

A lot of things happen when Lycio joins the Star Warriors, but mainly; he’s finally given the name TK, they meet his best friend and roommate Dusk Knight (@/aesthetically-meme) and most importantly they meet Meta Knight who TK thinks is super cool and someone he can look up to.

However one day during a battle, Dusk shields TK from an attack from Dark Matter and gets pretty injured. Feeling overwhelmed with guilt and not knowing how Dusk’ll react, TK switches to another Star Ship along with a couple more Star Warriors (most notably Meta Knight)

Everything’s actually going ok for awhile, but then suddenly Nightmare attacks the Galactic Council (basically the space government) and all nearby Star Ships are sent to go help, though unfortunately, TK’s dad is on the Galactic Council and is apart of the list of victims. 

So now they have that trauma to work through!

After that tragedy, the GSA decides to kick it into overdrive and now everyone’s looking for the star powers so they can wish on a Nova Star to know the location of the Star Rod so they can finally defeat Nightmare.

The Star Powers are gathered and the Star Warriors learn that the Star Rod is on a small planet called Planet Popstar which Meta Knight just so happens to be childhood friends with the king of Popstar.

Once again everything is actually going ok, but when TK and the rest of the battalion of Star Warriors he’s with arrive in Dreamland they’re visited in his dreams by none other than the grim reapers (Morpho Knight & Papillon/Papi from the light novel lol) where they’re told that the Star Warriors aren’t gonna live the next battle unless TK gives up his afterlife and is condemned to one of silence without any chance for reincarnation. 

TK agrees without a second thought.

The next day, the Star Warriors arrive at the fountain of dreams and just as they remove the Star Rod from the fountain, Nightmare appears.

Everyone starts freaking out but they gotta fight, when suddenly, TK hears two voices in their head; Morpho and Papillon. They both give him a part of their power and TK essentially becomes a puppet for them and use TK to defeat Nightmare (this has the unintentional effect of turning TK from mostly heart matter to almost completely Soul Matter btw-) 

So Nightmare’s finally dead thanks to TK, Meta Knight, and the rest of the GSA!

It doesn’t get better though.

Because right after this the GSA decides that Void-Astrals aren’t cool anymore and are actually dangerous and must be turned into the GSA before they can be mind controlled by the lingering NME monsters and forced to hurt people. (An event that is definitely not caused by Cosmic- no what are you saying?)

However Meta Knight’s having none of this and starts bringing all Void-Astrals in his forces back to their home planets, all except for TK who literally can’t go back to his home A) because of Estelle and B) they’re afraid that Nicova will hate him for what happened to their father.

So he comes to Planet Popstar!

Over time, TK becomes friends with the Meta-Knights and joins them! 

TK also becomes close friends with Sailor Dee who pretty much asks Meta Knight if he’s gonna adopt TK because she sees him as an older sibling. 

Meta Knight considers this and is on the fence about it, though after spending more time with them he decides that TK does need a parental figure and asks them if he wants to be adopted.

TK agrees. 

A lot more things happen but mainly; TK now has 10 siblings (Selene @/moon-mage, Fylass @/george228732, Dolly @/ilikesillythingswooo, Pleiades @/loaflovesdoodling, Dusk & Skipper Knight @/aesthetically-meme, Kirby, Sailor Dee, Bandana Waddle Dee, and Iris @/seaslug-enjoyer who all have lore that I definitely recommend you go look at!!!!) and joins the most chaotic family tree ever-

[darsynia]

Upside Down and Backwards | Oneshot

I'm glad I worked out the angle that made this story less a rehash of Animate Objects, because I enjoyed writing it and wanted to share! I wanted to add I am deeply honored that you suggested that I write one of your OCs. I was so touched I kind of blocked that out the first time, my dear @sobeautifullyobsessed, because I didn't know what to say, and I feel like that was a disservice to you.

Summary: Stephen understands why the best place to train new devotees to the Mystic Arts is Kamar Taj when he impulsively saves the life of a young woman. It turns out he trained himself on all sorts of mindfulness-- except for the kind where he sees someone he wants and steals her from fate's grasp without thought to the consequences.

Length/Warnings: 2,544 / rated T for swearing

UPSIDE DOWN AND BACKWARDS

The problem with having access to actual magic is that in the real world, you’re not instantly granted the discernment to use it un-chaotically.

In retrospect, that was probably why the Ancient One and her predecessors trained people in Kamar Taj: to keep large mistakes at a minimum.

It’s not that Stephen thinks of himself as a novice, it’s just that he’s recently gone through a sequence of life-changing events, and that kind of thing changes a man. Enough to make him incapable of watching someone else go through a life- ending event without intervening.

The moment had been simple enough; one second he was standing in front of his favorite cafe with a to-go cup, the next he was sending you into the mirror dimension with a sweep of his hand. The old man’s sedan didn’t hit you, instead crashing into the building across the street with considerably less energy than it would have without Stephen’s interference. Everything happened fast enough that he was able to jog across the street, enter the mirror dimension to find you standing dumbstruck and confused. He’d led you out through a portal back to a nearby alleyway, and before you could say anything, Stephen had portaled back to the Sanctum.

It wasn't until he went to take his first sip of his coffee that he noticed it was gone.

A mysterious stranger saved your life. He’d also given you coffee.

It’s days later, and you’re still bemused. You’d gone home and looked up ‘Avengers’ in an incognito window, but none of the pictures had looked familiar. Statistically speaking, those particular heroes are unlikely to be the only ones who exist, but you’re understandably obsessed by how and why you were saved. 

The only other clue you have is the coffee he’d handed you, and since today is your day off, you head down to the cafe it came from, seeking answers. 

You’re in luck: the barista recognizes your description of the man (you’re not surprised. He’s distinctive and handsome, certainly memorable), remembers the drink he usually gets, and only then thinks to tell you that he’d been there ten minutes ago.

“Do you know where he came from?” you ask, and the barista gives you a sly look. “He saved my life,” you explain, feeling oddly like that should be a secret between yourself and the stranger, somehow. “I ended up with his coffee-- I just want to return the favor.” --and ask him a million questions, confront him about how in the heck he did what he did, where he came from, where he’s going, whether he’d maybe like to have coffee WITH you sometime--

This seems to earn you the young woman’s trust, and she points out which way to head. You don’t think you can catch up, but it’s a nice day, and you don’t know how else to find him.

Five minutes into your hurried pace, though, you suddenly find yourself in a garden, with no idea how you got there. You catch a glimpse of golden sparks in your peripheral vision, and alarm floods your senses. Determined not to go down without a fight, you take the lid off of your piping hot coffee, tossing the liquid at the tall figure that’s approaching you.

“Aurghhhh!” the man hollers, as you drop into the kind of fighting stance you’ve seen on tv shows. He moves his hands in a strange way, and an odd blue light flickers to life, bathing his body in its glow for a few seconds, before he straightens and frowns at you. “I suppose I deserved that.”

It’s your handsome (somehow dry and un-stained) stranger.

“What do you want?” you say, snatching your keys from your pocket and trying to arrange them between your knuckles like you’d seen in a YouTube video once. The man is silent, and you look over to see his skeptical expression, complete with expressive eyebrows. “Just because you have magical powers doesn’t mean I give in without a fight!” you grumble.

“No, no, I’m impressed,” your captor says.

He sounds anything but. You try to take in your surroundings in a way that won’t reveal your next move, but he gestures to the courtyard that borders the small garden you’re standing inside.

“I thought the garden would be soothing. A non-threatening space.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Are there mountains in the distance? You back up a little bit, adjusting your stance so there’s a column in the way of the view you refuse to believe is real. The man before you is similarly unrealistic; handsome, clearly powerful in a mysterious way, and confident. Your fatal weakness.

The man is nodding. “All right, in retrospect, kidnapping you after wordlessly saving your life using inexplicable means is the opposite of reassuring. I swear, when I planned this, it wasn’t supposed to turn out this way!”

“So you’re admitting to premeditated kidnapping? Smooth, real smooth,” you say, sidestepping to stand next to instead of in front of the plant you’d been cowering near. There’s a wooden sign on a stake planted in the ground next to it, and you intend on grabbing it in a minute. Unfortunately, you’ve telegraphed your intentions.

“Will you just--” he says in an exasperated voice-- and suddenly, you’re being lifted in midair in a haze of golden magic. “Listen to me?”

“You’re really used to getting your way, aren’t you?” you blurt out. For some reason, the man’s bizarre blunders and frustration are reassuring in ways his grandiose displays are not. Not that you’re going to tell him that. He’d probably look smug and then you’d really be in trouble.

His brows are furrowed. “Yes, actually.”

“How long has it been since you’ve needed to say please?” The man’s hands drop to his sides, consequently dropping you to your feet. You’re rather proud of the way you manage to keep your balance, in the face of all of this. To press your advantage, you say, “Well, I don’t know about you, but I was taught the golden rule. Do unto others, and all that. So: please explain what the everliving heck is going on?”

He should be angry. He should be affronted. Instead, Stephen’s captivated. You are uncowed, unsoothable, and somehow undaunted in the face of everything he’s done. Hell, he’d almost accidentally dropped you on your ass, and you’d landed on your feet.

“‘What’s going on?’ I thought I saved a damsel in distress, but it turns out I’ve abducted a wildcat instead!” he says, just to see what your reaction will be. 

“Exactly what would you expect a person to do in this situation?” You are incredulous, but even so, you seem to be looking around for a weapon of some sort.

All of a sudden, it strikes him that you might be unconsciously ramping up based on his own vehemence. Taking in a deep breath, he connects with the mindfulness he’d only touched lightly back in his surgeon days, the kind he’d perfected in his first months at Kamar Taj. You’d been tensing up like you were about to run, maybe grab hold of something nearby, but you let out a breath of your own and watch him.

“Frankly, I’d expect you to be afraid of my power,” he says quietly, sliding a casual hand into his trouser pocket. “I’m not in the whole sorcerer getup today.” Stephen leans forward conspiratorially, adding, “I feel certain if I were, you’d have been a little cowed.”

“I do recall some kind of blue contraption,” you muse.

Contraption! He almost, almost gets upset, but as Stephen circles you to slough off some of his frustration, he sees a bit of a twinkle in your eyes. You do seem attuned to him-- but that doesn’t mean you’ve ceased fighting back.

You’re just doing it in a different way.

“All right, Java Joe the All Powerful, what do you really want? I could have plans you’re disrupting with this, you know.”

Java Joe? You fight dirty, it seems. He stops in his tracks to slowly turn toward you. For a long moment, the two of you look at each other, and he watches the signs of embarrassment rise in your body language. Even so, you don’t look away despite starting to shift your weight from foot to foot, and he feels something stir deep inside.

Right as your hands start to jitter at your sides, Stephen raises a single eyebrow.

You burst out laughing.

Stephen grits his teeth and waits, but not because he’s annoyed. Oh, no. It’s worse than that. He grits his teeth to prevent a smile. You’re a handful, and he’s been alone a long time.

“Well played,” you finally say, lifting your chin. “I’d ask forgiveness for the shitty coffee nickname, but I don’t think your dignity suffered a whit there. I just have to ask: have you ever looked at yourself when you lift an eyebrow like that? It’s just the most--” 

“Go on.”

You angle your head sideways at the tone of his voice, your eyes narrowing, and Stephen’s breath catches. Is there a way you can sense his inner turmoil?

It seems that you can, because you step forward. “I was going to say it was very dramatic, maybe even villainous, but I’ve changed my mind about you. You’re no villain.”

“Am I meant to be disappointed?” Stephen can’t help but ask.

Your smile is lovely, sending another tremor toward his heart’s hastily-erected sheath of armor. “Not at all, because I think you know that heroes are still dangerous. I can rephrase, if you like.” With a regal dignity that makes him mentally dress you as some kind of Roman empress, you bow before him, pulling yourself back up to a stand as you say, “All Powerful one, tell me why I’m here?” You meet his gaze and brazenly raise a single eyebrow of your own.

In that moment, Stephen understands why he’d saved you. He wants you. He’d somehow known that in the split second your paths crossed-- but would he have done it if he’d realized that by saving your life, he might end up being responsible for it?

“Hardly ‘all powerful,’ but close,” he says smoothly, walking closer. Only when he’s inches away and you’re still standing tall and unafraid does Stephen speak again. “I wanted to know what you thought happened that day. Then I didn’t want you to lash out before I got to--” he breaks off, surprised at himself. The things he wants to say, the things he wants to do, they’re not ‘day we met’ kinds of things.

They might be, though, if your time is short.

“What is it?” you murmur, looking worried again.

Stephen smiles, feeling the sweetness along with the bitter realization that his gut is usually right. If it is, he might have a fight with fate on his hands.

“I stole you away,” he whispers. It’s been forever since he’s done this, snatched someone from death’s grasp. Usually he puts them back together better than nature had. He’s never put someone back together with magic before. “I suppose I’m afraid I don’t get to keep you.”

The words fall out before he can stop them, but you drift forward rather than back, as though the seismic sway he’s been feeling might have harmony to it.

“Before I react to that, tell me what you mean?” you say, your eyes searching his.

“I hadn’t meant to say--” Stephen starts, but shakes his head decisively. “I’ve saved lives before, with skill. I don’t know whether there are different rules for lives saved with magic.”

Your eyes widen, but with awe, not fear. “So you really mean ‘keep,’ don’t you! You think some sort of Cosmic Conservator will come and fix the glitch?” Stephen nods. “Who says you’re not the Conservator?”

With the same split-second impulsiveness that he used to save your life, Stephen reaches out and draws the back of his fingers across your cheek. The touch is electric, stunning his vocal cords to a deeper register. 

“Would a Conservator do this?” he says, right before his lips brush yours.

You’re delighted by the shocking heat of his touch. There’s an instant yearning that takes over both of you after that first testing press, as though it could be possible to attune to a person’s charge within seconds of tasting them.

Somehow, without knowing his name, you trust this man, both as a function of seeing his frustration (something almost as intimate as feeling the prickle of his beard as the kiss goes on), and knowing he’s saved you at least once. There’s something desperately moral about him, almost arrogantly so, and you tug him closer, hoping to spark more frustration and thus another thrill.

From across the courtyard, there’s the sound of voices, of many feet, and you slide your hands down from clutching his collar to press on his chest, reluctant to stop but unsure of your surroundings. The man gentles the kiss so sweetly that you’re left reeling when he does pull back.

“My name is Stephen,” he whispers with a thin, vulnerable smile. “I’m doing this all out of order, and I have to make you angry with me again, because--”

Breaking off without explanation, Stephen pulls you to his side and swings one hand in a circle in front of you, drawing up the golden electricity you’d seen more than once before. It leads to the very spot he’d kidnapped you from.

“You left me with a coffee, last time. Is the kiss more valuable, do you think?” you say, clasping your arms around yourself to bolster your stung confidence. 

Stephen’s response is another unexpected kiss, brief but heartfelt. He leads you through the sparking archway right afterwards, his expression stern but earnest as he takes your hand.

“Why do I feel like I’m already in danger of leaving my heart behind?” he whispers, shaking his head as though he’s as stunned at the possibility as you are. It feels right, though, and you want to tell him that, but Stephen stops you. “Hold still, I--” 

His hands are already moving, generating neon runic symbols in the air that hover for a few seconds before rushing towards you to disappear in splashes of magical light.

“Protection spell. I have to go, but something tells me you'll subsist on curiosity and fury until I can step away again.”

“That’s a given,” you manage to say through the spinning of your heart and head. Things like this don’t happen to ordinary people like you, but you suppose that no one is ordinary, once Stephen takes notice of them. “Stephen?” you blurt out, after he steps back, obviously about to leave. He lifts his eyebrows, and you say, “Take care of it, will you?”

“Of?”

“The part of my heart you stole away. We still have to find out whether it belongs to you or Death, right?”

Stephen’s grin is blinding. “Right. I’ll, ah…” he steps back into the halo of his portal and lifts his chin, a picture of utter confidence. “I’ll pull some strings.”

His smile is the last thing you see as the whirl of the portal closes between you.

[squarebracket-trickster]

OC Recipe Tag

Thank you, @touloserlautrec for tagging me way back in November shhhh

In my defense, I was waiting to do this tag until I got to a particular scene in draft 3 and was forced to research medieval English/French recipes.

Rules: Share a recipe your OC would make, either one passed down to them or one they found all by themselves. Bonus if you have an actual recipe to link! Some OCs can't cook to save their lives, but let's talk about the ones who can! :D

I think I am actually going to share a passage from my WIP instead of just a recipe. I don't think just sharing a recipe alone does justice to explaining how these foods were eaten, why these particular foods on a given day, as well as Isolde's relationship with these dishes.

A few other things to note about this passage:

At the time this particular scene takes place Isolde does not know how to cook a few of these dishes but she will learn later in her life, after the events of the story end.

In this particular scene Isolde did not cook the meal. However, much earlier in the novel it is mentioned that she "is not very familiar with cooking meat" but she manages to do it anyway. We can assume from this that she can cook if she has to, albeit very poorly. She is at least familiar with how cooking works.

Isolde is a princess, raised from birth to marry a king. She will not have done a lot of cooking in her life but she will have a very good understanding of what ingredients are needed for what dish, approximately how long a dish takes to prepare, and she will be familiar with enough the materials required for some processes like marination and fermentation.

Lastly, this passage needs trimming. But that's a draft 4 problem. I should shorten some of these ingredient lists but I really don't want to ahhh

Without further ado:

It’s a fast day so our meal is light and without meat. There are few lakes as high in the hills as Aubemote and though the sea is near enough by horse it is still too far for fish. We fill up instead on rique-menger, a Diac recipe of apples and eggs parboiled in butter, and on pickles of white cabbage, parsley root, carrot, radish, turnip, pears, and currants soaked in a juice of honey, vinegar, mustard, and white wine slopped on a bread trencher. Saffron, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, anise, fennel, white sugar, and salt garnish our foods – the lord and lady of Aubemote spare no expense on food, just as on their tapestries it seems, even on fast days. After our meal a pageboy brings a plate of breney to our table– hard, unleavened bread dipped in a fruit compote of currants, dates, and pine nuts steeped in red wine, vinegar, mace, and sandalwood. Another refills our cups with clarrey – white wine spiced with cinnamon, galingale, and white pepper. We share the brass cups, two ladies to each, though Lord Aubemote’s wife, of course, has her own. I am not sure which part of the meal takes more courage to eat. The rique-menger and pickles are new to me, as lovely as they are, and leave my tongue with a sour, homesick flavour. These are the dishes I should have to grow accustomed to should I have decided to go through with my marriage. I don’t know if I could ever get used to eating apples and eggs like this. But the breney and clarrey are foods like home, and their taste is all the more bitter for it.

I love when the people I tag @ me and/or link back to my post. I love it when you reblog my post with questions, compliments, words of encouragement, about my WIP, or even no comment at all. But please make your own post to complete this tag. Please do not turn my post into a reblog chain.

Ever so delicately tagging: @fayeiswriting, @sleepywriter00, @boundedsea, @writernopal, @scribbling-stardust, @winterandwords

[shions-new-blog-of-stuff]

"A Future with You?"

Canon x OC

Previously On...

Catherine, Leon, Claire and Sherry had just barely escaped the horrors of Raccoon -- they were a hairsbreadth away from being consumed by Birkin, who had been transformed completely by his own virus. Sherry had been given the vaccine to cure her infection, and was sleeping in Claire's lap.

The four had hiked a mile or so before catching a ride. They sat in the truck, trying to process what has just happened. All of them could still hear the screams and moans of the infected and their victims.

"Any ideas where to go from here?" Catherine asked quietly.

The driver of the truck called out, "I can getcha to a motel, it'll be nightfall by the time we get there."

Leon nods, "All right...we could definitely...stay a night or two. Get some food in our bellies..."

Sherry slept peacefully the whole ride, and everyone thanked the driver for taking them to the motel.

Catherine raises her hand. "I'll cover the rooms and order some pizza. How's that?"

"Thanks," Claire and Leon replied.

Catherine and Leon decided to stay in the same room, each taking a shower while waiting for the pizza. The motel owner graciously gave all of them some donated clothes from the bin outside, after hearing what happened.

Leon steps out of the bathroom, in fresh sleepwear and a new bandage over his gunshot wound.

Catherine smiles weakly, pointing to the pizza boxes, "Feel better?"

Leon sits on the bed with her, "Yeah. You okay with sharing a bed?"

"I'm alive after all that... I'm okay with anything now..." she replied taking a slice of pizza.

Before taking a bite, Catherine placed a hand on Leon's, "I can't...I can't thank you enough for saving me."

"Just doing my duty," Leon says, looking at his RPD uniform hanging on the chair.

They ate the pizza, making small talk, trying to keep their minds off of Raccoon.

"Catherine...after this, do you know where you're going?" Leon asked.

"I'm gonna call my grandfather. He has a place...my childhood home, actually," Catherine replies after finishing her third slice.

"Your Grandpa raised you?"

"Yeah. Long story but basically my grandpa won custody of me when I was young."

Later that night, it began to rain. Leon tossed and turned until Catherine gently woke him up.

"Bad dream?" she asked, getting up to find a washcloth. She pats his face, as he's drenched in sweat.

"It still feels like I'm there," Leon says, breathing heavily.

Catherine gasps softly when Leon sits up, wrapping his arms around her.

"I came too close to losing you," Leon continues, "but...you're...you're here."

Catherine slowly returns his hug, "I am. Maybe...you can come with me. Meet my grandpa. He makes a hell of a fish stew..."

I'd like that, Leon thinks.

@mishwanders @xxcyberhexx @baldursbasics @notrattus @the-resident-vampire

[elephant-in-the-pride-parade]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I have been tagged by @timetravelbypen, yayyyy!! :D

1. How many works do you have on AO3?:

53

2. What's your total AO3 word count?:

1,521,662

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sailor Moon, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Prodigy, And one Harry Potter story, the xover.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Parent Trap (301)

Sailor Moon H: Order of the Phoenix (283)

Sailor Moon H: Half-Blood Prince (217)

Out of Reach (currently taken down) (150)

Eden's Deception (149)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always try to respond to comments. I especially love when people have questions or want hints about what comes next.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

HAHAHAHAHA oh boy. Um... you... you want me to choose just one? hmmm... Alright so honestly I think while Afterimage and What Even is Three Minutes did numbers on the J/C crowd, nothing tops the cliffhangers at the end of Sailor Moon H: Half-Blood Prince in terms of how much angst they induced in readers. The double whammy: (1) the youngest senshi getting turned into a horcrux and taken hostage by Bellatrix Lestrange and (2) Morgana Avery, the OC whom I had carefully crafted to be a character you loved burning up her boyfriend's shop with dark magic and then casting the Dark Mark in order to infiltrate the death eaters as an undercover spy... My betas and I were taking bets on whether I'd get readers coming after me with pitch forks for that one.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

There's a few contenders but I don't think any happiness quite compares to Captain Kathryn Janeway in The Captain's Secret Santa, getting a puppy for Christmas.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

A smattering of memorable flames which I try to save to reflect back on when I need a good laugh.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

*opens trench coat* Smut you say? Well gosh golly gee. What in the blazes could that be? SMUT. Funny word. Hmmm. I'm not sure I know anything about that.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have written exactly two. Sailor Delta is on hold for the moment because the other one Sailor Moon H has one story to go. And i think if there were an award for craziest crossover I would submit that one and have a good chance to be in the running. It would win on craziest word count and probably on shenanigans too. And then it had the nerve to give itself a real plot. I started that as a crack fic and it got a mind of its own. And I am still writing it 8 years later XD.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I had all of my unlocked works on AO3 gobbled up by the initial crawl that Open AI used to build Chat GPT and that SUCKED. Not because it's been reproduced wholesale but because they'll use my hard work to make millions of dollars and all of the writers who were included in that dataset are both uncredited and uncompensated. I don't think I've ever had a fic stolen by another human. But if you do see what looks like my fic anywhere fishy, kindly let me know!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No one has but I would be open to it!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've co-written a few!

One for a challenge with @magdalenejaneway,

one with Dawn47 when I was there as a Shakespeare assist.

memorable live-writing adventures with @trekflower. (one of my favorite people to write sexy fic with.)

And the longest one, which I am still so impressed we finished (and still one of my favorite things to reread) was the big Threshold AU Season 7 with @jellybeansarecool

I've talked about cowriting with @theredheadedcaptain but we both agreed that given our penchant for massively long fics that combining both of those tendencies was a very dangerously large project to contemplate XD

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

J/C is very near and dear to my heart but so is the Outer Senshi OT3 and I could never choose between them.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I am determined to finish all of my WIPs. Yes even SMH. Yes I know its been going on for 8 years. I am SLOW, okay. SLOW. Not lost. I know precisely how I want that thing to go.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't like tooting my own horn but okay... I feel confident in my ability to plot a long fic and see it through. In my ability to write something that brings you to your knees with emotion. And I do a damn good villain speech.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Time management. Word Count management. Oneshots.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Depends if it's there to be understood in context or there to stand out as not understood. I'd write dialogue in another language if it was there to be understood. I'd gloss over it if the intention was that the character and reader shouldnt understand it. I also wouldnt do it for whole lines of dialogue unless it was for a very good reason. Would prefer to throw in only the untranslateable words or to use greetings/honorifics and other smaller phrasal cues to indicate which language is being spoken.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

W.I.T.C.H. in 2009-2010

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Two:

I fell in love with writing The Universe to Mend this year and I've already re-read it once since finishing it in October. It brought me so much joy. It was such a fun challenge. and I think it was some of the best character work I've ever done.

While I wince when I re-read some of the typos, Pax Lunae was still the first ever story that I felt proud of and that remains true today. It was a challenge to dive into the lore of Sailor Moon and create something that could be canon. It was also the first fic I could hold up and say "Hey! I wrote something the length of a novel. I could write a novel" And I like to reread it to remember that feeling. Someday I'll have a chance to clean up some of the spelling too..

Alrighty let's see. I want to tag @theredheadedcaptain @divinemissem13 @jellybeansarecool and @curator-on-ao3 if they'd like to take a crack at it. and anyone else who follows me and wants to - go for it!.

[akatsukitrash]

*awkwardly slides into your askbox with my toothpick limbs*

Anyways, just dropping by to say I love your Drag My Dark Into The Dawn universe and everything in it, could I request you tell us a bit more of Mikoto, Konan, and your OCs Genki and Kiyomi in your AU? 👀👀👀

Yes, thank you! Oh well, for Mikoto, she's going to go through a lot of development, Her first appearance is next chapter actually (chapter 9), from Kushina's pov, but there'll be chapters from her pov eventually and she'll become a main character. Right now, where she is, she's wearing a mask. She pretends to be the perfect Uchiha daughter, training to become the perfect shinobi, so she can later on marry the perfect Uchiha man and make him the leader of the clan (she's unable to become clan leader despite being Raijin's only child because she is a woman, which is perfect for both the clan and Konoha bc they don't want Madara's descendants to be leaders anymore). The reality is much different. She's proud, angry, and so, so confused. Her being mixed race, a woman, and a descendant of Madara have isolated her a lot, and made her unable to build a proper identity as she struggles to figure out her place within the clan. Instead of trying to do anything to change things or carve a place for herself, she dreams of having a daughter who'd save her and change the clan. She hides her fascination with Kumo and her Kaminari heritage, and fears awakening the Ranton kekkei genkai as much as she hopes for it. Much of her character development will be about her learning about and accepting all aspects of her identity, and rising to become an important figure in the Uchiha clan and in Pein's revolution. Darui will play a big role in it ! So I'm especially stoked for her chapters due to all the changes she goes through.

Konan I'm still working on ! I've already got the skeleton though, as she will be the leader of Amegakure in my AU (while Nagato fully commits himself to leading the Akatsuki). Her rôle as leader of Ame will be vital for the progress of the whole country of Land of Heaven (the name I gave to Ame's country, which is unnamed in canon), the safety of the Akatsuki (they will be based in Ame and live communally), and for certain clans in the future ;). Won't say more to avoid spoilers. Overall she'll definitely get more attention and development that's not Yahiko/Nagato's support.

Oh Genki, Genki is just a little baby. He may make himself sound more mature (you've read the first chapter where he appears already), but you should be able to tell from his outbursts and black and white thinking that he's much younger. He's actually only 18 years, which makes his being ready to become a nukenin and raise Akemi even sadder. He's barely 14 years older than her. Much of his worldview is shaped from his being part of the Lost Generation, the name given to the people who were kids or born during the 2nd Great Shinobi War, as it's during it that the rates of Senju murders and kidnappings were at an all time high, starting with the hunting and disappearances/deaths of Hashirama's eight children. More than half of his generation is gone, which is why the Senju clan calls it the Lost Generation. He himself lost much of his family to the black market and hunter-nins, and it's Mito who took him under her wing, hence his attachement to her. She even taught him Hiraishin, as he's an innate sensor. He'll stay a secondary character, but he'll appear more in upcoming chapters ! Especially around Raijin, and in the future, Mikoto and Akemi.

Kiyomi is a character who, if I may say so myself, is larger than life, but somehow always ends up as a secondary character lmao. She's literally got a Hero personality, but it's just- it's not enough. Having good morals overall and being a good person is not enough to change the world. She understood this when her coup d'état against Hiruzen failed. So she takes a page out of Tobirama's book, and decides to compromise. Settle for what she can do. So she starts a nukenin organization (think like the Akatsuki but bigger) specialized in saving people (especially kids, especially those with kekkei genkais) from traffickers and the black market. However, when Akemi shows signs of having the Mokuton, she sees it as THE opportunity to change the world. Her Katon expertise earned her the nickname Kagutsuchi (Shinto god of fire), and she thinks it is fate that her flames should burn down the old system, so Akemi can grow a new forest out of its ashes. Whether everything will work as she expects is unclear, and she will have a big impact on Akemi's personality and goals.

I can't say anything more abt any of them without risking spoiling events that will happen in FBWD and also I'm afraid I just infodumped a whole lot lmaoo but thank you for this ask !!! It's really fun to answer

[bumblewarden]

So!! I've been wanting to do this for a while, but life got in the way, so now I'm here to take that thing up again because!!! Fun!!!! This is about the relationships between OCs, and I don't want to impose anything but. Regarding how Novhen and Astala would get along:

What if they HAD grown up together? Maybe not in the same family (although, it would be fun 👀👀👀👀👀👀 they are very similar and very different from each other in different aspects. For example both are very loyal and community oriented, but also Astala is loud and boisterous while Novhen is quieter and more underhanded), but definitely the same Alienage. They'd know each others' quirks and habits. Maybe Novhen got frustrated with Astala because she'd always hide in these really obvious spots when playing hide and seek and Astala in turn would never be able to find Novhen? Maybe Novhen would at some point have stolen a plum tart for her and maybe Astala would've helped him against another kid who made fun of Novhen? Maybe, if we wanted them to meet up later during the Blight, Astala had to move away from Denerim at some point. I think she's a bit older than Novhen; maybe she got married elsewhere. Or, if not, now we gave more elves storming Vaughan's estate, which is alwats fun. I think Novhen would get to lead that one operation until Nelaros's death, because before that, stealth does seem to be the best option.

I think these two would get along well, differences aside. Astala would make an effort to lower her if needed, and having a familiar face to lean on during the Blight year would probably be a big comfort to them both. I think they'd be comfortable enough with each other to talk about the recruitment and how it didn't exactly happen willingly; they could gripe about nobles and politics; they could just. Sit in silence after Broken Circle and try and digest Sloth's nightmare. They could kill the slavers at the Alienage together!!! I think having a like-minded person from the same cultural background would help enormously.

One thing Astala probably wouldn't be on board with is the Cult of Fen'Harel. She'd let Novhen practice alright and defend him if accusations about this were levelled against him, but I think she would either have fallen out of it if she'd ever been introduced to it (it didn't save Adaia after all, so...), or never warmed up to the idea of this elvhen trickster god

These are my thoughts as far as they go. What do you think? Also I hadn't thought of it, but if you want to move this conversation to DMs, they're open ^^

(And if this doesn't tickle your fancy anymore, feel free to ignore ^^)

👀👀👀👀👀 I am eating this ask up like breakfast. Or, er, ramen. Which is the thing i am actually eating atm. But yes yes yes to all of this, i love it so much

Full response under the readmore for length, but i'm realizing now my response is mostly about them as kids 😅 Oops

[Ask Game]

The way i play with companion!Novhen, i'd assume he and Astala are probably either siblings or cousins (i waffle), except this time on their mothers' sides. I don't know Astala's exact age, but Novhen was born in *pulls out notes* Wintermarch of 9:7 Dragon. If we try to stagger them based on Adaia's death, that's probably close to a decade between them which seems a tad bit higher than it should be. We'll just have to dance around that matter

Even if Astala isn't significantly older, there's probably never a single moment where he's taller than her XD Add onto that that girls tend to hit puberty first, there's gonna be quite the height difference around age 10

But yes, their personalities go in very different directions but are probably pretty compatible, especially if given the benefit of a shared childhood! They're both very sociable, but i suspect most people like Astala more, especially authority figures. She's much less of a troublemaker, and Novhen definitely took a while to come into his own as a social mastermind. (This also would make her the ideal candidate for a distraction whenever Novhen’s a-scheming. That’s gonna do her a lot of favors when trying to get him to steal plum tarts for her XD These two are the real blight as far as anyone in the alienage is concerned XDD)

Oh, actually! If they knew each other, i can imagine pretty well him practicing with or studying Astala to get better at social situation! And clearly it worked! (A: "Ok now make an angry face... You just look like you can't find a chamberpot. You have to scrunch your eyebrows like this." *jams her thumb down his forhead*)

Astala seems to prefer her hair shorter during the Blight, but how was it as a child? Because if it were in some sort of puff, i can imagine her child-level object permanence resulting in her hiding in an empty barrel with the puff still peeking over the top! (Artist's Rendition Below)

I don’t think he’d be too frustrated with her poor stealth outside of team games at least! (If they’re partnered is another story…) He does sometimes tease her that she’s not going to be a very good criminal when she gets bigger. Idk, how would she respond to that? Because how does she feels about the fact that she's not going to follow in her mother's footsteps (or how aware of that she'd be as a child) or maybe she would retort about how she’s already bigger or something else? Definitely a lot of ways to take that one lol

But also the idea of Novhen as alienage king of hide and seek is kinda cute. He's usually the last one left (all that damn thief training), so it’s not unheard of to see a parade of Astala, Shianni, Soris, and whoever else they've wrapped into their game (which with Astala could be quite a number) turning the alienage upsidedown to find him. There's probably at least one time he gets found in the first minute, and he thinks he's going to die of embarrassment. Because of that, they almost never let him be a hider in the first round. Sometimes when he’s hiding, they'll accidentally pick up seekers who weren't even playing along the way because they want to see him knocked down a peg XD That's what happens when you win too much!

Astala probably has him beat at wrestling tho! And the game where i imagine they’re most evenly matched would be arm wrestling. As an archer, Novhen has insane upper body and especially shoulder strength, but Astala has insane everywhere strength

On the less competitive side, imagine them as dance partners as little kids ☺️ Astala’s probably the more enthusiastic one about it, but i’d imagine she could drag him into it Easy whether through blackmail or Ole Reliable (puppy dog eyes). There have to be lots of events in the alienage that call for dancing, so it’s good to have a go-to dance partner! And if they ever get a Silly Urge while dancing, the one thing that i’ve found little kids most reliable to do is spin so fast they nearly make themselves sick, and when there’s two of them spinning each other, there’s no stopping them until the centrifugal force throws them both to the ground. At least they’re having fun lol

The Cult of Fen'Harel thing makes sense. I wouldn't expect Astala to be into that. I imagine in this case that Cyrion and Adaia agreed to expose the children to both sets of beliefs, so they could choose once they got older

It's a good thing Novhen's good at keeping matters hush because otherwise Astala would likely get stuck constantly mediating between Novhen and Ilanlas on matters of religion 🤭

Tbh Novhen would slightly begrudge her for choosing the Chantry, but i don't think he'd ever let her know if he could help it. It's just not worth it, and you can't talk about that without talking about Adaia's death which nobody is excited to talk about. Still, it's a potential source of drama, esp as the politics of DA:D are winding up

Back in the present day, if the endgame configuration is one where they live in the same location (which i think could only be the case if they were both companions), Novhen would offer her once for him to educate her child/ren in the way of the Cult of Fen'Harel and/or the Vir Banal'ras fighting style, probably get denied at least on the first one, and never bring it back up. He knows she's Andrastian and also wouldn't expect her to teach them that fighting style herself (too rogue-based), but if he had permission, he'd want to at least try to expose them to their family's traditions, so they could make a choice themselves like Novhen and Astala did

And honestly, if he's present for the origin, once Nelaros dies, Novhen would more than happily hand leadership of the mission over to Astala. Stealth only goes so far, and she has first dibs on revenge #SupportWomen

And with Unrest in the Alienage! As soon as Caladrius is dead, Novhen is scampering over his corpse to pick the lock on Cyrion's cage. Doesn't even wait for someone else to pilfer the key. Astala is free to react to that little scene however she wishes, and we get the whole Tabris family reunion after

Whoever’s Warden, i imagine those two leaning on each other a lot for emotional support during the Blight because not only are they the only alienage elves in the party, they’re family (or at the least childhood friends). Once we personalize the Broken Circle dreams, they get upsetting fast. If either of them get sent into that mission (or Maker forbid both of them), they’re definitely going to need to share a blanket by the fire for a minute

EDIT: the paragraph looks like it's been eaten but also! Novhen would be very cautious about Astala's Zevran romance at first. ("Yes, Stala, he's very dreamy, but let's not forget he's only here because he was hired to kill you.") We know he's very protective, and they're both so eldest sibling-coded

[nightrazor3242]

Decided to finally post Nightrazor's lore on here! It's not too detailed, I wanted to keep it short but I might add on to it as I go. If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to let me know!

Introduction:

Nightrazor is a long-thought-out OC of mine, originally I created her back in 2019 under the name Wildfire, this was during my Transformer Prime obsession, and her name would later change to Nightrazor after I discovered IDW. Since then I have given her a complex lore, including a book I am still writing as of now. This essay is a much simpler lore, made for people who are interested to read. (None of my friends or family are Transformers fans so I'm super hyped to share!)

Basic Info:

Name: Nightrazor (initially Nightwing)

Gender: Femme/ Female (She/Her)

Faction: Mercenary

Age: Around the same age as Megatron (IDW)

Hight: Same height as Drift (IDW)

Skills: Combat Proficiency, Survival, resourcefulness, Tactical Planning, Stealth, and Infiltration.

Weaknesses: Short temper, impatience, lack of empathy, refusing help of any kind, and vengefulness.

Personality: Nightrazor comes off as stoic and cold. Small talk? Unnecessary and annoying. Bonding? How about no. She refuses to let her walls down even just a little, no matter who it is. She tends to blow up when agitated often resorting to violence depending on her mood and who you are. Deep-seated hatred for both Decepticons and Autobots.

Hobbies: She enjoys working on her ship, experimenting with modifications, or fine-tuning her own systems in her spare time (This includes her combat training). Being a flyer she heavily enjoys zipping around in her alt mode, high in the skies. She also keeps a log of all of her missions, each log is very detailed, and even Ultra Magnus would be impressed.

Moral: Loyalty to oneself.

Deepest fear: Loss of autonomy, anything threatening her independence such as being captured, controlled, or experimented on (She refuses any medical attention, she will tend to her own wounds).

Nightrazor

Before the war:

Born during the golden age of Cybertron, Nightwing of Vos transported cargo along with her fellow consignors, she took care of the orders and helped organize the cargo for send-off. Although she was just a simple transporter she prioritized helping others in need, on several occasions she helped fellow Cybertronians out of poverty and gave them a job aboard her ship, because of this she made several close friends. One of these friends was named Echo (This is my friend’s OC that I am currently redesigning) Nightwing had saved him several eons ago, and since then the two had been inseparable. Overall Nightwing was a sweet and outgoing bot, going out of her way to help others but still taking no shit, she taught many bots how to navigate through life with a clear mind and strong spark, and many looked up to her as a mentor.

Beginning of the war:

During the fall of the golden age, Nightwing and her crew became very paranoid, the fear of a civil war plagued everyone, but as it was they all still had work to due. Soon the Decepticons began to take over Cybertron and with it, the Autobots fought against them, finally, the war broke out. Nightwing and her crew were off-world when the war broke out, unable to reach her commanding officer they turned back to Cybertron to see what was going on, a detrimental mistake. Upon arrival, the ship was instantly targeted and fired at by Decepticon troops, during the panic Echo had managed to steal the ship's only escape pod leaving his friends and mentor to die. When the ship finally crash-landed it killed nearly everyone on impact, but amongst the rubble Nightwing held on to her life by a thread. Decepticons soon scavenged through the wreckage taking anything of value, eventually, they stumbled across Nightwing, and due to her showing signs of life, the troops took her in. Nightwing was initially relieved to be rescued not knowing the horrors she would soon face.

Nightrazors Genesis:

When Nightwing was brought to a Decepticon medical ward she was fixed and repaired, during the repair a few scientists noticed her abnormal spark patterns, and after further investigations, they discovered Nightwing had outlier abilities. Something she had hidden very well, was her ability to blend into shadows and completely shut off her spark signal making her undetectable. Because of this discovery, Nightwing was handed over to the science ward, where they did numerous tests, and experiments, wanting to harness outlier abilities for the Decepticon cause. At the start of this torture Nightwing was horrified, why were they doing this to her? Were they going to kill her? Was anyone going to save her? Would she die here? Over time Nightwing came to accept no one was coming for her, she was alone, and this angered her, greatly, after building her life around helping others and taking in those in need, when she was the one who needed help the most, no one came. Days turned into months, and eventually, Nightwing escaped, stealing a small Decepticon ship she fled Cybertron. She rebuilt herself, not only physically but mentally, changing her name to Nightrazor she vowed no one would dare hurt her again without the consequence of death.

Later on, Nighrazor became a mercenary, originally the job was going to be temporary, she just needed the money to fix her ship and buy some weaponry, but over time the job stuck. Nightrazor was well hidden from other bots, no one knew what she looked like or where she was, they just knew she was a mercenary, effective and deadly.

[storiesundercandlelight]

In The Eyes Of Priwen - Chapter One

My first chapter of my Geoffrey x OC fic! I decided to write it for an OC in the end! I hope you guys don't mind! This fic takes place a few months before Jonathan comes into the story of the game! PS. Sembene is 100% inspired by Sembene in Penny Dreadful! He was amazing in the show and I basically imagined him right into this fic!

Geoffrey hated London, the wet streets becoming worse with everyday that the epidemic continued to plague the streets. Barricades blocked so many paths, it took months for him to secure a pass for each member of the guard to get through them without a fuss.

He scoffed to himself as he made his way through Whitechapel and towards Pembroke Hospital, if only they knew how much Priwen sacrificed to save their miserable city from Skals. God if only they knew about Skals in the first place, maybe he could actually put his feet up for once.

The hospital was busy as ever, the few nurses they had dashed past Geoffrey without so much as a glance in his direction. Not that he wanted the attention, in fact he only came her because Edgar was useful for information. Well...when he wanted to be or Geoffrey made it clear bad things would happen if he didn't help Priwen. The wooden stairs of the hospital were study under Geoffrey's boots as he quickly made his way up them to Edgards office.

Just as he'd made it to the large wooden doors he stopped, hand mid air reaching for the door knob. There were voices coming from the office. Geoffrey gave it another moment before deciding his time would not be wasted because Edgar was running late or forgot their appointment. Especially given that he was the one who insisted they have them. Pushing the door open Geoffrey walked in, his eyes finding Edgars who looked surprised by his unannounced entrance and then finding the pale blue eyes of the woman stood in front of his desk staring back at him. He hadn't seen her before, her clothes were plain enough on her elegant figure but of a decent decent quality so Geoffrey suspected she came from money, her light ashen hair fell freely in loose waves, unusual to see given that most women wore their hair up.

"McCullum! Gosh is that the time I apologise, however your timing is most convenient, Evelyn here-"

"Does once again not need help" She was well spoken. From money then.

"Evelyn please McCullum here can help I am sure"

"We do not need help. I would appreciate it if you kept your always over reaching and prying nose out of our business" Geoffrey's eyebrow quirked up on its own accord, perhaps he was wise to have come in and not miss this show. Evelyn turned and began walking towards McCullum who was still holding the door open. He moved to the side to allow her past, their eyes meeting as she moved passed him and out the door.

Geoffrey's gaze flicked back to Edgar half in curiosity but mostly in his usual annoyance at being in the same room as the man. "By the Stole she is stubborn, come in McCullum lets hear your reports"

Geoffrey let the door close behind him as he made his way over to the desk, he never sat down. He didn't want Swansea getting the impression that he enjoyed of was remotely comfortable being here. "What exactly was I supposed to be helping with there?"

Edgar sighed dramatically before turning his attention fully to Geoffrey. "Evelyn Cooper, her parents were patrons of the hospital, they have passed sadly but Evelyn was good enough to keep the donations going, her father left her everything. Anyway she has a brother, a twin, Thomas. He went missing. Then a fortnight later Evelyn is rushed in here by her servant man Sembene - wonderful man, you know he came from-"

"I'll have the short version of this"

"Very well" Edgar sighed again, rolling his eyes. "As I was saying she was rushed in here, her back torn to shreds - poor girl it's rather unsightly- by what I can only imagine were the claws of a vampire!" Geoffrey attention was finally capture at this. "Once she came to I obviously asked her what happened, in her partial lucid state she admitted it was Thomas, that he had returned home but wasn't himself. When she recovered - only a few weeks ago mind you, she told me that she wanted no one to hear of this"

Geoffrey allowed himself to lean back against one of the side units adorning Edgards office, his arms crossing over his chest as he continued to listen to Edgars story. "I told her to meet with you, that I would arrange the meeting myself. I told her that you could help us track Thomas down. McCullum I don't think the poor girls slept a wink since she returned home"

"She doesn't seem to want my help"

"She doesn't know what's best for herself, we as men must make this decision to intervene, her parents were dear friends" Geoffrey felt himself grimace at Edgars entitled opinion before pushing himself away from the sideboard he was leaning against.

"I don't go begging toffs for work, if she doesn't want it, I won't be giving it. Now get on with the reports I have better places to be"

_______________

McCullum was tired, irritated and itching for a drink by the time he left Edgards office. His feet carried him without aid to the Turquoise Turtle where some of his men were waiting for him. Philip his second in command was waiting outside with a few other lads.

"Took you fecking long enough" His deep Scottish accent almost sounded harsh to Geoffrey after listening to Edgar waffle on for the better part of an hour. "Got ya a whiskey in"

"So kind" Geoffrey took the drink without any complaints, settling himself against the low wooden railing that lined the outside of the pub. The scent of sticky spilled beer and old bar stools filled his senses as he sat listening to the banter between his men. Only occasionally joining in himself. But this wasn't a bad way to end his night at all. In fact it felt like a luxury given how run down they'd been recently.

"So the reports with the ol' toff went alrigh' then?"

"Aye, he's as fucking annoying as anything but sure what else is new" Philip chuckled as Geoffrey took a sip of whiskey, his eyes narrowed suddenly as he noticed a young lad hovering near them. He couldn't have been older than thirteen maybe younger, but the way he stood so close to them told Geoffrey he was after something. "You got something to say lad?"

Geoffrey's men hushed at the sound of their leaders voice, all of them turning to look at the boy in front of them. "Yeah I got a message for a McCullum? Was told he was the leader" The boys cockney accent suited the way he tried to make himself look taller now that the attention was on him, a show of bravery Geoffrey supposed.

"Come on then hand it over" The boy hesitated for a moment, his eyes tracking over every one of Geoffrey's men before he gave in and walked between them up to Geoffrey, handing over the folded up note. "Thanks" The boy nodded before walking off quickly leaving Geoffrey and the note the most interesting thing for his men to look at.

"Got an admirer we don't know about?" Philip smirked, elbowing one of the lads as they giggled like girls. Geoffrey rolled his eyes before opening the paper, a neat handwritten note inside.

If you are interested in helping me, please visit at your earliest convenience, I am aware you work late, this won't be an issue for me. You will be compensated for your time. My address is...

Geoffrey read the address, he knew it was in the west end. So he had been right. Evelyn Coopers name was signed at the bottom of the note. "So?" Geoffrey's gaze flicked up to his men who were watching him, waiting for some insight.

"A job perhaps. I'll look into it" That was all they needed to return back to their drinks and banter, only Philip kept his attention on Geoffrey.

"Don't usually get hand delivered notes, we going up in the world?"

"Perhaps" Geoffrey smirked, another gulp of whiskey burned it's way down his throat. "Or it might be that we're no longer invisible to the public eye"

"Aye that too, not sure I like the idea though"

"Me neither, I'll see what comes of it anyway" Knocking back the last of the whiskey Geoffrey nodded to Philip before setting off back to Priwen's current base. He would follow up on the note tomorrow after he'd gotten some sleep.

[witch-from-a-block-of-flats]

UMM have you ever written about/can you talk about Solveig's backstory?? I am SO intrigued by what you mentioned in the tags of that post about what she might see if the phantasmal killer spell is cast on her!

There is something everyone with OC dreams of receiving one day and it's a question about their backstory. My life is kinda crazy right now (that's why your previous ask is still in my inbox, I'll answer it soon I swear 😭) but I can't resist writing about my beloved Solveig.

It's going to be a longer post and English it's not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes in advance.

Buckle up!

TW: Domestic violence

Solveig comes from a wealthy family. Not patriar level of wealth but money wasn't much of a problem for them. Her mother, Vibekke, is a retired adventurer and treasures she gathered in her youth were more than enough for a good life. Solveig had a happy childhood despite growing up without a father (that's a story for another time). She spend her time mostly playing with other kids and her twin sister Linn who unfortunately lost genetic lottery and didn't inherit sorcerer magic. The girls were given a proper education. Solveig discovered her artistic talents and Linn was on the right path to one day study in Waterdeep to become a wizard. Everything was lovely.

Until it wasn't.

When Solveig was 15 her mother's health got worse. Her condition was treatable but the cost of medications and proper care have quickly consumed most of the family fortune. Sisters were trying to earn some money but who is going to employ two teenagers and pay them well enough? Two years later when her family was on a verge of poverty, Solveig started to pray at Stormshore Tabernacle regularly. And that's where she had met lord Ruadhan Heffernan, who offered her solution to all her problems.

To say Heffernan was rich would be an understatement. His family's wealth was impressive even among the nobility of Baldur's Gate, he had everything - title, money, respect, authority. But nobody is perfect in eyes of high society and people have found something on Ruadhan - he wasn't married. People started to gossip, calling him a miser or an impotent (sometimes both, depends on who you would ask).

He presented himself to Solveig as a man who needed to save his reputation and honor but who also was such a kind soul that wanted to help a poor girl in need. He was reliable, calm, sensible - everything Solveig needed at the time. She needed money to save her mother, he need a wife to save himself from judging eyes of patriars. And he wasn't even much older than her, and was quite a gentlemen... And she agreed.

Couple months later, the day Solveig turned 18, they got married. Solveig suddenly had to remember all those strangers who attended her wedding because they were important and know the complex etiquette. Maybe it wasn't the happiest day of her life but now she had enough money to provide a good care for her mother and she could even put her sister in a good academy in Waterdeep. Her own happiness didn't matter, the family had to come first.

For the first couple of months things were fine. Solveig didn't notice small signs that something was off - her letters would go missing, she couldn't leave her new house alone and she didn't really know where her money was. Before she knew, she became a prisoner and Raudhan's mask started to fall. He wasn't a mere noble. He was a cleric of Tiamat and had a high position in an enclave of Cult of the Dragon in Baldur's Gate (Tiamat is an evil dragon goddess, her cult tries to bring her to the material plane every now and then to take over the world basically).

But he wasn't satisfied with a high position. He wanted to be a leader and even more - a chosen of Tiamat. Solveig had a missing piece of his puzzle - direct connection to draconic bloodline. He blackmailed her into cooperation, saying her mother and sister were at his mercy now. So Solvieg gritted her teeth and agreed.

He was showing her to other followers as his trophy - daughter of metalic dragons, now corrupted in the name of their Queen. He was using her and her blood in rituals for Tiamat. Solveig still remembers how it felt to be a part of it. Stench of dark magic. Sensation of something being taken from her. Overwhelming presence of something far greater than her, ever watching, ever waiting and never fully satisfied.

Solveig tried to find an excuse why she couldn't be a part of Cult's activity. In the first few months when she still had some sort of contact to outside world, she was using meetings with important people (sometimes meetings that didn't even exists). "It will greatly benefit you as well the whole church, my lord. I will expand our connections and gather new allies" - she said that so often only to get out of the mansion for few hours (even if it was under constant surveillance). She tried to subtly get help and inform someone that the cult of chaotic evil goddess had it's temple under her house. Everytime Heffernan's servant interrupted and inform his master about Solveig's little treason.

Sometimes Raudhan mocked her for even trying to do something against him. He often tried to make her feel bad for betraying him. "I've given you everything a woman can dream of. You were destined to rot on the streets when we met and look at you now - a lady of a noble house. You could also try be a noble wife, you know? But you've chosen to hurt me and everything I've worked on for years. Is this your way of saying thank you? Don't you think I deserve more than a dagger in the back? What would your poor mother said about this?".

But one time she made him furious.

Someone from the Flaming Fist had sensed that something was wrong with the Heffernans and one day an elf showed up at the door, young investigator named Kalar. Solveig wanted to tell him everything and beg him to free her but Raudhan was watching and he knew that the Fist was here because of her. That day ended in tears, screams and Solveig getting locked in the room with a silence spell casted on it. She still doesn't know how long she's stayed there or what exactly happened to her during this time. All she remembers is a nearly empty room, bathed in total silence and a window too small to even jump through. Solveig was ready to die there until one day a crow tapped on her window. The bird had a short message: "I can help you".

Kalar got suspended after he visited their house but he didn't give up on his investigation. He wanted to help her. Solveig was suspicious and careful at first but she quickly started to plan her escape with him. Before she could start thinking about anything else, she needed to get out of this bloody mansion. They figured out almost everything - how to get out and the shortest way to the temple of Ilmater where someone offered to hide her - from there she could try to get Raudhan arrested/killed or at least get a divorce. There was one little problem - she couldn't leave the room she was locked in.

So she decided to wait.

One day Solved had finally heard a sound for the first time in gods know how long, as the door to her prison opened. Raudhan was standing there with a wide smile on his face. He told her in the most gentle and sweet tone she'd ever heard that the previous leader of the Cult was dead. Killed by some warlock who caught him by surprise during a failed attempt of summoning Tiamat. "This could be our moment. That is, if you finally understood your mistakes". Solveig nodded and played her part. She will give Raudhan what he wants for now. She will let him think he broke her spirit, wait for him to let his guard down and then she will have her freedom.

She started to participate in the rituals again. Eventually she started to fell sick. Magic the cultists were using drained her and effects of it started to show. She's became paler, weaker, lost weight. She had to escape and quickly before the rituals kill her. Luckily for her Raudhan gave her a bit of freedom around the house. Most doors where still locked for her but she wasn't watched all the time.

On one rainy night she finally got an impulse to escape. She had overheard Raudhan's conversation with another cleric of Tiamat. They were discussing interpretations of some sort of prophecy: "... you need to combine her bloodline with yours, Heffernan. You've waited long enough. You may not earn our Queen's blessing but your heir... think of the power they will wield".

An heir? Over her dead body.

She rushed to Raudhan's rooms, she had to find something she could use in court. Or to blackmail him. And then she found it - unsended letters that contained information about the Cult of Dragon and it's activity in Baldur's Gate. Perfect. Now all she had to do was to follow the plan and...

"Lady Heffernan, what are you doing?"

A servant saw her. Panic and will to survive overtook her body. She will either escape today or die trying. For the first time in years she used her magic for herself. Blood of her ancestors was singing in her veins when she covered the room in flames. After that she jumped through the window and while the adrenaline was keeping her going, she run. She left the burning mansion behind her, not looking back until she was in Rivington.

She was free. She had the letters.

For the first few days, she stayed hidden in the temple disguised as one of the monks. Kalar came to her a week later to discuss their next moves. Solveig was almost free at this point, she just needed a piece of paper with a court seal to prove it. She also had to reach out to her family, throughout the years she totally lost contact with them.

Linn was in Waterdeep - far enough from Baldur's Gate and Raudhan Heffernan- or at least that's what claimed an old sailor who was at the same ship as her. Vibekke was at her own house with a healer taking care of her. She was still weak but definitely felt better than all those years ago. It only took a few coins to bring them safely to Rivington. Solveig was finally reunited with her mother. You can only imagine happiness and tears of joy shed by a woman who wasn't allowed to see her family for, as it turned of, a whole decade.

Once she had her family back, Raudhan could no longer use them against her. With the help of Kalar, gold, connections she had made and a little blackmail Solveig was finally able to get a divorce papers signed. She had a feeling the power-hungry cleric of Tiamat won't be stopped so easily by a piece of paper but she could wait a couple more days before putting the rest of the plan in motion, right? Simply enjoy life and catch up on important matters with her mother, contact Linn and maybe try reaching out to her grandparents before going to war with the church of Tiamat.

She had time, right?

And that's when mind flayers attacked...

[decadentenemyturtle]

Undying Love

Part 7

Pairing: Thorin x Reader, Kíli x OC

Words: 1 318

Warnings: A little angst, mention of death

All chapters of Undying Love

Kíli tried to breath, but in vain.

He felt like a prey to be hunted down, and with this many people around he didn't know who was the predator. It might have been Nimue, but Kíli knew she wasn't the only dangerous person in this world. So who was it? And where were they?

People around him were restless, but none of them didn't seem to note him or give any dangerous aura. Kíli tried to find the mysterious person, without being spotted, but after some time he gave up. There were just too many people there, and it could have been anyone. They could've been even somewhere where he didn't see nor dare to look at, like in one of the buildings or... still in the crime scene, somewhere. Kíli was about to move out of the crowd, when the tall man Kíli had locked his eyes earlier burst out of the coffee shop and shouted towards him, them, the crowd.

"EXCUSME! You, shorty with messy brown hair, wi... YES, you! C'm'here, NOW if you'd please!"

Kíli stared at him with wide eyes. He.. had he... Had he just gotten himself in trouble, without meaning to? Kíli turned, lifted the ribbon and slid under it, walking as calmy as he could towards the tall man. He didn't rush but neither tried to take his time. At halfway to this man part of Kíli questioned, if this man was the predator his mind tried to warm him, but as Kíli looked at this stranger's eyes, he noted how he stared daggers and death somewhere behind him. So, it wasn't him. Who ever Kíli's predator was, was somewhere behind him, in the crowd, or further of them. Oh how Kíli prayed that this mystery person was further from the crowd and wouldn't hurt any of these curious people.

Kíli could feel his heart beating faster in his cheast as he reached the man and he opened his dry mouth to speak, but this stranger grapped him by shoulder and pulled him inside.

"You bloody trainee's are always late" he exlaimed loudly before they stepped inside and the door shut behind them. Second after the door clicked close, this stranger pushed Kíli towards the back room where he had seem employees go the other day. A woman, the same one Kíli had seen outside with this man, joined them and she glanced at him.

"And who is this?" she asked. Kíli wasn't sure if he should introduce himself or not, fight in the situation or not, or what he should do. Neither of them seemed dangerous, and now that Kíli tought about it, maybe they were policeofficers Merlin had mentioned to him and Thorin, given the fact that they were in on a murder scene.

"This, dear detective, is one of the dwarves who came from the portal I mentioned you yesterday" this strange man answered. Kíli felt his heart drop. Someone outside of their small circle knew that they had come through the portal?! Well, someone else that Nimue. The second they went through the door to back room, Kíli broke loose from strangers grip and turned to glare up at him, ready to fight.

"How do you know who I am or where I am from?" he hissed, not giving any chance for these two to continue their conversation. They could continue it later, when Kíli was not here. And if they were still alive. This detective seemed nervous and looked up to her friend, who sighed and put his hands in pockets of his pants. Then he glanced somewhere behind Kíli, and he turned to see a young waitress sitting on a stool, blank look on her face. Her hands, chest, stomach and her lower part of face were covered on something red. Blood, most likely, as it had been her co-worker who had been killed and who she most likely had tried to save.

"That is my little sister, Rebecca" the strange man started and Kíli paled. Mahal, he thought and turned back to this strange man, blank look taking over his facial feature. "She and I are friends of Merlin. And we know of Nimue, the dark witch, who owns this Starbucks. My sister was keeping an eye on her, untill... well... Untill she killed that other waitress for aiding the visitors from other world and then ran off somewhere"

Kíli felt everything in him and nothing at the same time. His eyes bulged, his breath hitched, everything plurred....

"Aurora..."

    "I received a message from Merlin" Lindir said, stopping next to a table. He felt a little bad for not knocking and letting his lord to know he was here, but this was urgent and Lindir knew that Lord Elrond would understand. Elrond lifted his eyes to the younger elf, the question already in his eyes. Lindir had no paper on him, which wasn't strange when one was talking about Merlin, for he didn't trust written messages.

"He..." Lindir began, and then he frowned before continuing. "He said that the situation has escalated faster than he thought it would. He fears that Nimue has grown more desperate these past decades. A young female from Earth 666 has died because of this situation, so Merlin will be opening the gate as soon as he gets everything ready. It should be in... 21 hours and 47 minutes from now, if I am not mistaken, but still less than 24 hours" Lindir reported, then staying quiet so lord Elrond could think. And he took some time to take this all in, to think. Lindir did not blame him, this was all sudden and a lot to take in.

"I assume Nimue still cannot enter in Merlin's shop?" Elrond asked.

"No, she cannot. Her strenght hasn't grown in that kind of level yet" Lindir confirmed, a little reassured for this information. Nimue was not something they wanted to add in on their list of black magic and dark witches and wizards, among other dangerous creatures that had started to arise recently.

"Good. Then, we will welcome king Thorin, (Y/n) and prince Kíli, and then we shall keep the door closed untill we can be sure that Nimue is not a threat to our world anymore. Or forever, if needed" Elrond gave his order and was ready to return to his duty with this dull paper work he had to finish before dinner with his family.

"Actyally... There is a slight problem with that... Merlin did mention, that the three of them wouldn't be coming back together. And he did mention, that they all would be coming back to Middle Earth but... Just not at the same time. 'tis was said in his sight" Lindir said, a little nervous. Elrond sighed and covered his eyes with other hand.

"Do I dare ask, how long we should wait, before the other party would come through the portal?" Elrond asked, still holding his hand over his eyes. Lindir looked down, before shaking his head even when lord Elrond did not see this.

"He didn't give any specific time. He only mentioned that they would arrive here safely" Lindir answered, feeling uneasy. Elrond lowered his hand and turned his eyes to Lindir. He nodded and thanked his advisor, looking after the younger elf as he nodded and left. Elrond couldn't quite place his feelings, but one part of him said that he had made a very, very bad mistake for letting (Y/n) cross the portal to her home. He should have seen it, known better of it. Her side of the story was only a half of the truth, and then there was the dwarven side of the truth, and dwarves, as Elrond well knew by now, were not ones to give up, especially on their one's.

And especially on their queen.

He had seen it before, a long time ago.

[umbracirrus]

Here is the start of a little oneshot which is based within the same verse as The Perfect Storm, my Balgruuf/Dragonborn OC Elyse fanfic, but can also be seen as standalone - I'm not involving any of the plot elements from that or writing anything which spoils that beyond the fact that the Elyse is a temporary resident of Dragonsreach instead of Breezehome (though she still uses it for storage!).

It's inspired by an in-game conversation in which Irileth gives Balgruuf a telling off.

The sun was beginning its descent in the skies above Whiterun at the time that the doors to the Dragonreach palace creaked open, its aging hinges clearly indicating that they needed tending to sooner rather than later as a figure confidently walked in with shoulders held high with what appeared to be a slight spring in their step.

In the bright oranges of the dimming light, the woman’s steel armour was clearly covered in grime, mud, and blood (whether it was her own blood was a question for another time). She also had a triumphant smile across her face, the blue in her eyes looking as though it were the Sea of Ghosts set ablaze. The look would have been almost terrifying and disconcerting for those who were unfamiliar with the behaviour of the Dragonborn, however, the denizens of Dragonsreach very much were used to her ways and knew not to think much of it.

Of those in the palace, however, it was the Jarl himself who was most pleased to see her return. She had been gone for little over two days, but that in itself felt an awfully long time given how used he was to seeing her dotted about the palace doing this, that, and the other. The reason for her absence was a simple one – a report had come in from a guard who had been assigned to patrol along the road between the Whiterun proper and Rorikstead to keep an eye out for any attempts from either the Stormcloaks or the Imperials to take claim to any land in the hold for their own purposes. Instead of news on the civil war, however, the guard had reported back on a dragon which had been terrorising the hamlet.

Elyse had overheard the report, and within minutes, she had been armoured up and declared that she would handle the dragon. Balgruuf had been planning on asking her whether she would be able to do so, but clearly it would have been redundant if he had done so. So she had left, in the mid-afternoon of the just gone Middas, to defeat the dragon. It was now early evening of Fredas, an awfully quick time to get to complete such a task, leading to the presumption that she had saved time through travelling on horseback.

A quiet humming could be heard as she made her way up the stairs before the throne, skipping every other step. That humming stopped as she found herself before him. “The dragon which has been hassling the residents of Rorikstead is now dead, you will be happy to know,” she grinned as she addressed him, though her attention was quickly diverted upon the sight of the steward. “Proventus, you’re just the person I was wanting to see - do you know when Adrianne and Ulfberth will be back in town? I promised them that I would bring them some dragon bones and scales a few weeks back, but their store was shut.”

Without so much as a chance to acknowledge her initial statement, Proventus had already started responding to her question before he could talk himself.

“I do not know, I am afraid… I may be Adrianne’s father, but she does not tell me of her every coming and going. All that I know is that both she and her husband will be away in Solitude for a time – take of that what you will.”

“Ah. That’s a shame. I’ll keep them stored at Breezehome for now then, and wait for their return.”

Before there could be too much of a distraction, he stood up from his seat as he cleared his throat, she let out an audible gasp which came with the realisation that she had been distracted, and turned her attention back to him. Proventus took this opportunity to back away, and return to looking through some documents which he had put aside earlier.

“It is good to see you safe and well after your task, Elyse. I presume that the dragon was not too difficult to handle, given that you neglected to take even Lydia along with you?”

With a contemplative hum, she brought her hand up to her chin as she thought. “Well, it was definitely one of the easier dragons which I have handled, though I did need some help with taking it down. I must admit that I forgot to even mention it to Lydia and only realised once I was halfway there. Luckily, there were some people on hand who were willing to help,” she explained, tapping her foot in the process. “The town guards helped quite a lot, but the surprising hero of the day was the son of the Frostfruit Inn’s innkeeper – his name is Erik, and he really could hold his own in battle. It’s a shame that he didn’t have the best equipment for handling a dragon, but his heart was really in there – I’d say he might even have the potential to join the ranks of the guard or become a sword for hire if he managed to get the right equipment.”

That was certainly food for thought, though something which he would certainly consider in the near future – a commendation from the Dragonborn was not something to be taken lightly after all. Right now, he was focussed purely on the fact that she was back and had done something of great import for his hold and seemed to be ignoring her own role in it all – after all, had she not been there to take in its soul, the dragon would simply have returned and sought to destroy Rorikstead once more.

“No matter who was involved, you have the gratitude of both myself and Whiterun for keeping the hold safe yet again. I will ensure that you are appropriately compensated as soon as possible.” He then approached her, and placed a hand on her shoulder as he leaned into her ear. “Meet me alone in the kitchens about an hour after sundown. I would like to personally thank you for all that you have done – particularly with defeating that dragon and returning to the city so hastily,” he stated with a smile, before returning to a much more respectable and decorous distance and nodding at her. “Now, why don’t you go and clean yourself up and take a rest – I don’t doubt that dragon slaying is a tiresome task.”

Returning his nod, she let out a surprised “O-Okay, I will,” before taking a deep breath and heading towards the stairs leading to the Dragonsreach private quarters, letting her hair loose from its tightly coiled updo as she did so. The previous confidence which she had been giving off had all but melted away, it clearly having been a façade which she had put on for when she was ‘on duty’ as Dragonborn, as opposed to simply being herself. That… was a feeling which he could greatly relate to, and in a way, he was glad that she was able to start winding down there, in front of him and everyone else present in the main hall of Dragonsreach, as opposed to waiting until she was in privacy to do so.

Now… he simply had to wait until nightfall, and find a way to get Irileth off his back for a few hours.

[doublegoblin]

Get To Know My OC

Well thank ya kindly @gummybugg, first time I've been tagged on a game by someone who I hadn't followed/followed me (not to say I'm against it or offended just it has happened before!)

So I've done a couple of these for ocs from Rituals and Red Tape, I think it's time I covered the other bigger WIP: Abnormal Analytics.

>1 new message<

[Good evening Rico. With an influx of newer members it would ease incorporation for all parties to have a general understanding of each other. I am aware that these types of employee interaction are generally frowned upon, however please see to it that you fill this to the best of your ability; it is also best to write as if you would be speaking. -T]

1. Are you named after anyone?

A real head scratcher to start with! Well like most everyone else here at wonderful AARI I got to choose my own call sign. You know, you never really think much about a name until it's your turn to pick one ha ha! To tiptoe around any sensitive information, let's just say I'm trying to channel a certain role model. As far as out of work name, I'm named after my Uncle's Half-Brother, who also just so happens to be my [REDACTED]. That'll maybe be censored for publication...oh well, think of it like a fun mystery!

2. When was the last time you cried?

Oh dear, why do I feel like X had a hand in this? Well, to the best of my honest ability, it was about three weeks ago to the hour. It had been a long shift of [REDACTED] and [EXPUNGED], so needless to say I needed a nice pick-me-up. So after cleaning my area up I made my way through [REDACTED] and stopped down to the cafeteria. I had such high hope and then they were out of my favorite flavor of cake! Now Rico is man enough to not be ashamed of shedding some frustrated tears. Thankfully I had a secret angel watching me and juuuust as I had given up hope a fresh, and I mean steaming fresh, batch of cinnamon rolls was brought out. It really is the little things!

3. Do you have kids?

[Redacted]. But, that's not that important.

4. Do you use sarcasm?

I try not to. The folks that work here don't often have the best grasp of it. So all it really serves to do is make a lot of folks upset and more of a headache later on. A couple of my buds have came a long way though...still need to make it obvious I am using sarcasm, but they catch on and we have a great laugh.

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

It's gotta be their sense of humor! In a humdrum employment you really have to understand who you can and can't crack a few jokes with, and how best to let the jokes fly. Made that mistake once with T. Great boss by the way! The man can not joke around to save himself though. I don't think I've ever even seen him smile...here to put it into words I [EXPUNGED].

6. What's your eye color?

I was blessed in the genetic lottery with these deep blue peepers. They look black most of the time, but in the right light, I've got a couple of sapphires in my face.

Scary movies or happy endings?

An ending so happy it scares you! Ha ha, I joke. I'm a bit of a softy, so I want something that will make me feel all warm and cozy at the end. Something you desperately need sometimes here, what with all the [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and blood. You get used it, but like, not over it?

8. Any special talents?

I can roll my tongue! Also I'm a little rusty but I can still play a pretty mean harmonica.

9. Where were you born?

Toledo, Michigan!

10. What are your hobbies?

If the sun is high in the sky, you can catch me fly...fishing. Really most outdoorsy thing: Kayaking, swimming, and I'm even learning to scuba dive in freshwater. My dream is to one day go out to Lake Superior and see some of those underwater shipwrecks. You know? The ones with the bodies so perfectly preserved from the cold that they still look alive. Gosh, what an experience.

11. Have you any pets?

I have a short-hair calico name Susan. She is my pride and joy. I found her as a kitten outside my house one winter. The poor thing was so thin. I didn't have any hope of saving her, I figured I could at least make her last moments not horrible. But, that little fighter would not give in. That was almost three years ago. I think she has a little siamese in her, she is one vocal misses.

12. What sports do you play/have played?

Whatever my folks wanted me to do to stay active. I played ice hockey for a few years, did some cross country, tried my hand at tennis which didn't last long, and some other more odds and ends. Right now I'm part of the company softball league. Go Pencil Punchers! Now the team name has quite a story. But, I'll keep that to myself for now. Can't go spoiling all the surprises.

13. How tall are you?

1.8 meters. Though I like to tell people 2.0 meters for a little confidence boost.

14. Favorite subject in school?

You would never guess by looking at me, but I was really passionate about biochem. Can't recall a lick of it anymore though. Maybe I can get a study group going with X and their teams. They're always happy to teach...or perhaps boast about their own intellect.

15. Dream job?

No fooling, where I am right now. I've got some amazing coworkers and work on such interesting things! I know everyones name here, or at least their call sign, and they know mine. Sure we bicker and snap at each other but what workplace doesn't? Heck I even get along just peachy with D, and he's the king of sourpuss castle! Don't tell him I said that. I couldn't ask for a better crew. And believe you me, I've been through quite a few in my time. Now I'm so glad you are here to join us...whoever you are, and I hope you'll stop by the studio once in a while! My door is always open! See ya!

Tagging in coach (no pressure): @asterhaze @hallwriteblr @ethaeriea @lola-theshowgrl and anyone else!