#and natia gets the last word

[wexhappyxfew]

well…it’s happened. Landslide has OFFICIALLY been entirely written and i’ve never been more emotional by an ending than this. more to come in the coming weeks and a big thank you hopefully soon after :)

[illusivesoul]

THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT MY FELLOW WRITERS

Was tagged by @timesthatneverwere Thank you :)

I'll tag @mtreebeardiles @starlightwrites @mxanigel @anneapocalypse and @marythegizka . Only if you feel like doing this, of course.

I'll post the questions here and my answers under the cut.

Last book I read:

Greatest literary inspiration: 

Things in my current fandom I want to read but I don't want to write:

Things in my current fandoms I want to write but I think nobody would be interested in them but me: 

You can recognize my writing by: 

My most controversial take (current fandom):

Top three favourite tropes: 

What’s your current writing mood (10 – super motivated and churning out words like crazy, 0 – in a complete rut): 

Share a random frustration:

.

Last book I read: Sapiens: From Animals to Gods by Yuval Harari. A really good and interesting book about the evolution of humanity and religion, societal developments, where humanity may be in the future, etc.

Greatest literary inspiration: Not sure I have any, to be honest.

Things in my current fandom I want to read but I don't want to write: I'd love to read a fic that centers around big events in DA history like the fall of the elvhen empire after Solas brings up the Veil, the fall of Arlathan, the Exalted Marches, etc.

For ME, I'd like to read fics set in what the me2 characters were doing before the events of the game. Garrus in Omega, Samara searching for Morinth, Zaeed looking for Vido, etc

Things in my current fandoms I want to write but I think nobody would be interested in them but me: I mean, I mostly write rarepairs, so that doesn't get much attention already. I'm currently writing about Leliana's mom, who I hc was a Carta dwarf that through the twists of fate ended up working for Lady Cecile.

I love writing about obscure characters and giving depth to characters who have 2 lines of dialogue in the games lol.

You can recognize my writing by: If you find a ME or DA rare rarepair on ao3, there's a good chance that it was written by me lol

I always open fics with either descriptions of scenery ("It was a busy day at the Grand Cathedral") or direct dialogue (“Shouldn’t be much longer now, Natia”). And my fics very rarely go over 2k words.

I think this is a common thing for writers, but I've always felt that most of my smut fics are quite similar to each other.

My most controversial take (current fandom): I have a lot lol. I'll give 2 for Mass Effect and 2 for Dragon Age.

As much as I enjoy them, I don't like how most of the squadmates don't ever stand up to Shepard and are pretty much just yes men and women who go along with everything Shepard does (it's also why Ash and Kaidan are among my favs)

I think curing the Genophage in me3 is a mistake (I prefer Mordin surviving and going to work on the Crucible and then continue working on a cure to be used later when the galaxy is more stable, as his ending slides show)

For Dragon Age, Loghain was right in retreating from Ostagar cause the battle was unwinnable, and (not sure if this qualifies as a controversial take) Vivienne is the best Divine imo.

Top three favourite tropes: Not sure if these are tropes per se, but I enjoy Fighting before kissing, reuniting after being separated for years,

What’s your current writing mood (10 – super motivated and churning out words like crazy, 0 – in a complete rut): 6.

Share a random frustration: My lack of a proper schedule to write. I always try to get a some words into wips each days, but sometimes I spent days without writing followed by a sudden burst of activity lol.

[syrupwit]

welcome to DADWC! How about "Okay So He Went A Little Overboard" for Alistair?

Thank you (two weeks later), and thank you for the very fitting prompt!

Under the cut, please find ~1400 words of disgustingly sweet Alistair & f!Brosca gen, with background f!Brosca/Leliana, for @dadrunkwriting.

-

“Is it that bad?” said Alistair. At his side, the dog whined softly.

Wynne’s silence spoke volumes.

He tried, “I mean, do you think Natia’s going to be… angry?”

A moment of hesitation preceded Wynne’s response. “I couldn’t presume to speak for her.”

Alistair turned to Leliana, trying his best to look pleading and well-intentioned but not pathetic, and probably inadvertently mirroring the dog’s expression. Leliana’s face retained the same courtly mask that had come over it when she first neared viewing distance of Alistair’s project, with a hint of some wild, repressed emotion about the eyes.

“Leliana?” he ventured. “You know Natia pretty well. What’s your opinion?”

Leliana’s mouth spasmed, and she cleared her throat before speaking. “Ah, well, Alistair, it’s obvious that much thought and care went into… all of this. And I’m sure she’ll recognize that, in time. I just wish you had approached me first.”

Despairing, Alistair at last looked to his least likely ally. Morrigan looked as smug as a cat who had cornered a very large beetle.

“I look forward to trampling your innards in the dirt after she guts you,” she said. Charming girl. Really lovely, that Morrigan.

Alistair put his face in his hands.

-

The thing was, it was Natia’s birthday. She had let it slip to Alistair a few days prior, right after they’d finished dealing with an ambush of darkspawn on the road. 

“I didn’t think I was going to make it to my 20th!” she’d said, and then she had frozen up like she’d said something wrong. Despite much prodding, she wouldn’t release another word on the subject.

Natia had had a terrible childhood. There was pretty much no way she’d had a proper birthday celebration before. Not that Alistair was used to elaborate festivities, but there had always at least been something for him, a pastry or a little gift or a song. Natia was his friend, and she deserved to enjoy something like that.

He’d tried to figure out if birthdays were really bad for dwarves, like if they were considered bad luck or if you got put in public stocks as a rite of passage or something. He had waited until Oghren was blackout-level drunk to ask him about it, and had received an excruciatingly long and rambling story about the (Oghren claimed) single time he’d forgotten his wife’s birthday, so… no. Then he’d asked Bodahn about Sandal’s birthday, and the merchant’s response had been so enthusiastic and hopeful that Alistair had regretted the question.

Nobody else seemed to care when he told them about it. Well, okay, he didn’t really tell anyone else. Sten and Morrigan—come on. Wynne—she’d get all weird and sympathetic about it, like she thought Alistair was actually trying to do something for himself. Zevran—Zevran could talk circles around Alistair, liked to imply things, and was an assassin, which Natia seemed keen on forgetting but which Alistair could not.

Oghren… come on. The dog was great, but he was a dog. And Leliana—

He should have told Leliana of his intentions. She cared about Natia, and she had all kinds of experience with parties and things. But if he told Leliana, Alistair felt, she would either take over the preparations or discourage him. So he settled for telling her, “It’s Natia’s birthday the day after tomorrow,” and restricted his confidences to the dog, Bodahn, and Sandal.

-

Food by itself wasn’t enough. Gifts, by themselves, were not enough. Decorations: not enough. An oversized, hollow clay bust of the Paragon Egon Wintersbreath, purportedly filled with imperishable dwarven sweets and a selection of interesting stones, and intended to be split open for entertainment—

“I don’t know about this, Bodahn,” said Alistair. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, of course, of course! Shatter-busts are all the rage in Orzammar these days. They have a similar custom with papier-mâché in Orlais.”

Alistair sighed and opened his purse again. “All right.”

-

So, yes, Alistair had gone a little wacky. Maybe he needed something to distract himself from all of the death and bloodshed and death and imminent doom and more death. Maybe he wished that someone had gone all out for him when he was a child, and here he was forcing his frustrated dreams on a comrade-in-arms whose feelings on birthdays he still didn’t actually know. 

But he also genuinely wanted Natia to have a nice birthday. Now he was out of coin, half the camp had a new depth of foolishness to mock him about, and there was a little clearing full of wasted party items he had to clean up before anyone else noticed.

“What are you doing, Alistair?” said Natia.

Alistair whirled around, losing his tug-of-war with the dog over a long stick. He had been hoping to use the stick to hook the shatter-bust out of the tree where it hung. “Natia! Get out of here! I mean, nothing.”

“What is this?” She frowned, taking in the fluttering fabric scraps tied to slender branches, the flat rock piled with wrapped gifts and the little pot of mushrooms next to it. Her face was dusted with some sort of glittering powder, probably a gift from Leliana. “Wait, did you do all of this for me?”

Alistair considered denying it. Then he sighed and hung his head. “Yes.”

To his horror, Natia crumpled into tears.

“I’m sorry,” he began, as her shoulders heaved and sobs issued into her cupped hands. “I didn’t want you to know. I’ll clean it up.”

“What are you talking about?” said Natia wetly, peering at him with red eyes. “This is the nicest thing that anyone’s ever—” She shoved her face into her hands again and cried more.

Alistair wasn’t sure whether to smile. “I didn’t think you would like it,” he said. “Everyone else said that it was, uh, too much.”

“That’s what I wanted,” she sniffled. “I didn’t even know, but that’s what I wanted. Thank you, Alistair.”

“Morrigan said you were going to gut me,” said Alistair’s mouth without his consent. Luckily, she laughed. “Uh. Do you want to open your gifts?” 

She wasn’t impressed with the hat or the cheese knife, but the jar of armor polish drew a little “ooh!” She smoothed out and folded the squares of fabric that the gifts had been wrapped in.

“Leliana might know how to make these into handkerchiefs.” She paused. “This isn’t a romantic thing, is it?” 

“No!” Alistair exclaimed. “I know you and Leliana are—I wouldn’t disrespect your—I mean, you’re great and all, but that’s just not—I don’t think of you like that. Well, there was a week or two, back when we first met, when—but no, I wouldn’t! No. Short answer is no.”

Natia was laughing at him now. He felt a great swell of friendly affection for her, and moved to hug her before he could think better of it.

“Er, sorry,” he said, trying to pull back, but she clamped her arms around his middle and squeezed with all her Warden’s might.

“Natia, you’re kind of hurting—oof!”

“Alistair,” said Natia into his abused ribcage, “you are the best male human friend a dwarf could ask for.” 

As soon as she said it, Alistair felt like it was true. Then the dog came back, wanting them to throw the stick, and he felt like it was double true.

Once Natia noticed it, she was very excited about the shatter-bust. He got another hug for his trouble when she opened and tasted the mushrooms. Shortly after, Leliana came by, and it wasn’t even awkward to be around the two of them while they flirted and argued about dwarven cuisine. They even expressed a not-unwillingness to hear Alistair's birthday song at some point.

“Should we go get the others?” he asked, moving the mushrooms out of the dog’s reach. “I don't know if maybe you want a real party.”

“Eh,” said Natia. “They’ll come around eventually.” She eyed the shatter-bust.

“It’s nice just being by ourselves,” said Leliana, also eyeing the shatter-bust with a hand on the hilt of her dagger.

“There’s supposed to be a ruby in that shatter-bust,” he informed them.

“When’s your birthday, Alistair?” Natia asked slyly.

“Get the ruby, and maybe I’ll tell you.”

Leliana was the one who ended up finding the ruby, and Alistair had fun whispering into her ear while Natia waved her hands at them and protested. Maybe he had gone above and beyond the call of friendship, but he couldn't think of a reason to regret it.

[sinsbymanka]

ooh for the femslash feb prompts- f!aeducan/f!brosca. sfw,your choice between 'Trust me, you don’t want to meet my family' or 'You’re right. I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m just making it up as I go along.'

Thank you friend! I've never written an Aeducan/Brosca before. Both of those work SO WELL for this pairing but I went for your first prompt: "Trust me, you don't want to meet my family." I’m submitting this for @dadrunkwriting!

Title: To Fall on Her Sword Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Words: 1523 Relationships: Female Aeducan/Female Brosca (Dragon Age) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multiple Wardens (Dragon Age), Warden Brosca (Dragon Age), Warden Aeducan - Freeform, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Post-Betrayal, The Aeducans are f’ed up, Brosca has had enough, Arguing, Kissing, Orzammar Culture and Customs, Femslash February ​ Summary: Natia Brosca knew that letter Gorim Saelac gave Sereda Aeducan was gonna cause problems. She just didn't expect the problem to be Sereda gaining a bit of a death wish. And, by the Ancestors, Natia has saved Sereda's life enough that if anyone is going to kill the princess, it's gonna be Natia.

Read on AO3

Natia knew that letter was gonna be trouble the second that warrior handed it over to Sereda.

Not that she could read it even if she got her grubby hands on it. Natia’s reading lessons were only brief moments snatched by the fire at night with Sereda, which meant she was just beginning to recognize the shapes of letters on signs in Denerim. She couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what they meant.

But there were other things Natia understood very well. She recognized the shocked relief on the warrior’s bearded face when he saw Sereda’s blonde braids. She knew the emotion choking his voice meant he was on the verge of tears when he fell to his knees in the marketplace before their exiled princess. She even recognized the way he stumbled to his feet, it meant a wound hadn’t properly healed and now never would.

She saw the way Sereda reached for him greedily, the way her eyes flashed with concern when he tripped on his aching joints.

More importantly she knew the parchment he handed over, rolled into a tight little tube, was the creamy, expensive kind that cost the same as a full meal in Dust Town. The expression on his face spoke volumes, none of it good. The wax sealing it shut had the crest of Orzammar embossed within it.

...And Natia knew that the tiny tremor in Sereda’s fingers was the only hint of emotion the princess would show as she took the paper and tucked it away with a brisk thank you.

If that was the last of it, Natia would be happy. But Natia also knew it wasn’t going to be the last of it. She just didn’t know exactly what kinda trouble it was gonna cause until they had Denerim at their backs and were heading deep into the Brecilian Forest.

Natia didn’t realize that Sereda had lost her damn mind.

The princess fought like a warrior, Natia always appreciated that about her. Ancestors, it had been the reason she threw her lot in with an exiled royal rather than risk imprisonment. Sereda had confessed once that she’d been meant to lead her father’s army, and Natia could see it. In another world, she’d have been a warrior queen fit for the ballads.

In this world, however, Sereda was a pain in the ass that was going to get Natia killed.

Sereda threw herself into battle with no thought for strategy. Her warhammer swung into one wolfman’s ugly maw, shield bashed into another. She didn’t pay the slightest attention to the monsters flanking her. She just drove onward in relentless, foolish pursuit of blood.

If Natia wasn’t there, Sereda would be dead. Again.

But nobody was gonna pin a medal on her Duster chest for keeping the Kinslayer alive. They probably wouldn’t even do it if she managed to help end the Blight and save all these surfacers. Sereda Aeducan could afford to go out in a blaze of glory - they’ll remember her regardless.

Natia Brosca didn’t have that luxury. So when the last wolf dropped, she turned her ire to the Princess.

She’d lost her helm somewhere, Stone knew where, and her blonde braids were askew. There was blood running down her cheek, but Sereda’s blue eyes burned with desperation.

Natia knew that look too. It was the look some of the Dusters got in their eyes when they’d made up their mind to find their last fight.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Natia asked.

“There were werewolves.” Sereda picked up her helmet and looked at the dented metal critically, pointedly not looking at Natia. “Now there aren’t. Problem solved.”

“Come here,” Wynne ordered Sereda, exasperated. “Your head wound needs tending.”

“Let her keep it,” Natia declared hotly. “She’s in such a damn hurry to get herself killed, may as well not waste the healing.”

“Natia,” Wynne scolded.

Notably, Sereda didn’t deny it. She simply glared at Natia across the battlefield. Not to be deterred, Natia glared back. The silence stretched between them until Sten finally broke it.

“Asala-taar,” he rumbled. “That is what my people call it. The urge to give up because the battle is too much. We cannot afford such an ailment now.”

We can’t afford it in you.

Sereda with her quick mind. Sereda who knew what to do, how to talk to these nobles, Sereda who was indomitable. If Natia lost her, she may as well walk up to the next darkspawn and kindly ask him to finish the job that the Joining had started because there was no way they could do it without her.

No way Natia could go on without her.

Wynne’s hands reached for Sereda and she flinched away. “I’m fine.”

“Like hell you are,” Natia challenged.

“I’m fine!” Sereda used her best princess voice. It rang off the trees with regal authority, silenced both Wynne and Sten in a moment.

Natia simply drew herself up to her full height and leveled her dagger in Sereda’s direction before whispering one word. “Bullshit.”

Sereda cursed under her breath and turned on her heel, vanishing into the trees despite Wynne’s sputtering protests. Sten growled in his own language and Natia moved without thinking.

“Stay here!” she called behind her, flying after Sereda’s retreat.

She did not lose this stubborn princess to the Deep Roads. Natia would not lose her here.

“Can I not have a moment’s peace?” Sereda called over her shoulder, sliding down the riverbank until her boots sunk in the mud. Natia clammored down after her easily, unencumbered by her leathers.

Her quick fingers twisted into Sereda’s chainmail and tugged. “What was in the letter?”

“What letter?” Sereda asked through clenched teeth.

“The one that made you decide to sodding end it all!”

Sereda whipped out her grip and turned, glaring at Natia. She could see herself reflected in those clear eyes, all frazzled orange hair and reddening face. “It is none of your business.”

“I saved your life twice, I’m sorta attached to it.”

“I never asked you to.”

“Well I did!” Natia yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. “And I’ll be the one that decides when it ends, thank you very much. So come out with it. What did your loyal knight give you?”

“My loyal- Gorim?” Sereda asked, momentarily perplexed.

“Yes! The one that looks like he’d throw himself on his blighted sword for you.” Natia sighed, exasperated. She understood that much better than she particularly wanted to. Sereda had that damn effect on people.

“Gorim was my Second. Before-”

The pain that crossed Sereda’s face was raw. Violent. Before. Before Sereda was banished, before they called her Kinslayer, before she almost died in the Deep Roads.

Before she picked the Grey Wardens, before she would ever have looked twice at Natia Brosca or the brand on her cheek.

“My father’s dead,” Sereda said quietly. “I’ll never see him again. The last time he saw me, he sentenced me to death.”

“So you wanna finish the job in his honor?” Natia asked. “He was a shite father. Lots of people have shite fathers, Sereda. You don’t have to please him, especially not now.”

“He knew I was innocent.”

That surprised her. Sereda reached up to her breastplate, touched the space over her heart. Natia wondered if that was where the damning letter was stashed. Sereda’s voice grew hoarse, but she kept talking. “He knew I was innocent, that I didn’t kill Trian, and he exiled me anyway to avoid the scandal.”

...well, lots of people did have shite fathers. But Sereda’s father was truly the king of shite.

“He ruined his only daughter’s whole life to avoid a scandal?” she asked dumbly.

Tears popped into Sereda’s bright blue eyes, but they didn’t fall. She nodded. “There’s no king now. He’s dead, but they won’t make Bhelen king. The other candidate, Harrowmont, doesn't have enough support. There’s no King, the throne is empty, my father is dead, and I am…”

She trailed off helplessly and lifted her arms.

“Better off,” Natia declared, crossing the distance between them to run her gloved fingers over Sereda’s bloodstained cheeks. “You’re better off. You don’t belong to them, not anymore.”

Sereda was hers now, and Orzammar could rip her from Natia’s cold, dead fingers.

“We have to go back, Natia,” Sereda whispered, tipping her face to nuzzle into the cool leather while her eyes closed. “I have to go back.”

They did. They both did. “I’ll be with you. I’ll be your new Second, watch.”

Sereda smiled. “Maybe I can meet your family.”

That startled a laugh from Natia’s chest. The beautiful, perfect Sereda Aeducan in her former hovel across from her drunk mother and ferociously cunning sister? It was too absurd. “Trust me, you don’t want to meet my family.”

“Why not?” Sereda asked glumly. “They can’t be worse than mine.”

Natia took Sereda’s chin in her fingers and guided it to her lips. “Not true,” she murmured softly, “I’m your family now. And I’m pretty sodding great.”

The smile underneath Natia’s lips when they crashed together tasted like sweet, sweet victory.

[heartslogos]

the declassified texts of the inquisition’s elite [164]

(615):  congrats on being the token straight people in our group. -

“So. Aedan hasn't responded to any group texts in about two weeks. That's not unusual,” Natia says, pressing her phone to her ear as she holds up an earring to the light. It's absolutely fake, but it’s a good fake.

Solona waits patiently for Natia’s verdict. This is where Natia can lie and say Solona did not get ripped off — again — or she can tell the truth and deal with Solona being incredibly depressed and ashamed about being duped — again — for the next month or so. Or Natia can stall and call up Elissa or Duran and ask them to swap it out for something real and they’ll just quietly take care of things so Solona never finds out.

Natia can already hear Faren complaining about how they’re babying Solona too much, though. And chances are Faren’d complain to Kallian or Theron, and one of those two is going to spill the beans and Solona wouldn’t just be ashamed about being duped, she’ll be embarrassed about being babied by her whole circle of friends.

“So why are we talking about it?” Daylen asks, sounding incredibly bored. Natia can hear the sounds of children in the background. The man’s entered the wrong profession. No one in their right mind should have ever let him get into child care.

“Hold on, I’m switching you to speaker, I need both hands.” Natia gently puts her phone down on her desk and switches it to speaker. “I’ve got Solona here.”

There’s a heavy, heavy pause on Daylen’s side. Natia can just imagine the man running the calculations in his head of why Solona is with Natia when it’s technically working hours. And because Daylen is quite clever he’s going to come to the correct conclusion that Solona is having something appraised. This, of course, leads to the natural conclusion that Solona has spent a sum of money on something that is most likely fake and she’s getting it appraised. And now Daylen’s trying to figure out how to respond to this.

“Neat,” Daylen eventually says. “Anyway, who cares if Aedan isn’t responding to the group texts? Either he’s blowing it up sending fifteen texts at once or he’s radio silence for weeks. It’s one or the other with that narcissist. Why are we talking about it?”

“Because,” Natia drags the word out as she drags out figuring out how to tell Solona this is fake in the gentlest way possible, “He’s not quiet in other chats. If he’s quiet in the group chat he’s quiet in every chat. He’s avoiding someone.”

“Or he could be working very hard. Leliana has him doing some side work for the Inquisition,” Solona points out. She fiddles a bit with a blonde curl as she worries her bottom lip. Her wide anxious eyes pin Natia with an unfair amount of optimism.

Ancestors. It’d be easier to kick a puppy.

“He must be very, very bored if he’s helping the Inquisition.” Daylen sighs. Natia and Solona turn to look at the phone, as though they could see him through it.

“Are you smoking again?” Solona asks, disapproval heavy in her voice as she puts her hands on her hips. It’d work if Daylen was present. Solona’s disapproving mom energy is something else entirely. Natia hopes she learns what it is someday, before she has kids of her own. It seems like something Natia’s going to need beforehand.

“Listen,” Daylen replies, “Sometimes I just need a cigarette to get through my day. You don’t know how hard it is working with some of these brats.”

“Why are you a teacher Daylen?”

“Because karma’s a whole bitch and I’m being punished for my terrible student career. Back to Aedan.”

“Has Aedan been texting you outside of the group chat?”

“No. I don’t text anyone outside of the group chat.”

“What’s the last thing you said to him outside of the group chat?”

“Congratulations on being the token straight.”

Solona makes a very disappointed motherly sound. No wonder Solona’s kids are little angels. If Natia’s mother was capable of making sounds like that Natia would’ve never ever had a single rebellious thought in her life.

“That’s very presumptuous of you, Daylen. You don’t know that.” Solona pauses. “I don’t think Aedan really swings one way or the other to be honest.”

“No, he’s got a thing with Mahariel.”

“Lyna?” Daylen starts choking.

“Chill — Theron,” Natia shakes her head, drumming her fingers on the edge of her work table. “It’s just rumor. Neither of them have confirmed anything and I’m not going to start asking questions to things no one wants to talk about. But rumors like that start with something.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Morrigan.”

“Theron’s ex?” Natia can hear Daylen’s eyebrows rising.

“Yeah. Ask Lyna about it, I think the two of them are trying to figure out what’s going on there. Because either Theron’s a deep closet case or it was an experimental fling gone awry.”

“Theron and Aedan get along like oil and water though,” Solona frowns. “I don’t think that’s healthy.”

“Probably why they aren’t together for real. Look, I don’t know. None of us know. We could ask Aedan about it. I’m sure if Morrigan’s got curious she’s asked Leliana. Maybe that’s why Leliana’s got Aedan working with her right now. The two get along really well, maybe he’ll say something about it if she asks subtly enough. Or just asks. You never know with those two. I used to think those two might be dating.”

“No, no, they aren’t each other’s type at all,” Solona shakes her head. “Either way, I think you must have hurt Aedan’s feelings, Daylen. No one likes being a token anything. And I doubt he’s entirely straight. He’s got a certain image going, I know, but despite all of that bluster he’s actually very — well. Natia, what’s the word I’m looking for?”

“I can assure you, Solona, I have no idea where you’re going with this.”

“Hm. You’re so clever Natia, I thought you would’ve.” Solona sighs ruefully. “I’m sure it’ll come to me eventually. Either way, Daylen, go apologize to him. Or I’ll tell Bethany and she’ll throw you under the Hawke bus.”

“Fuck, fine,” Daylen groans, “Got to go. Recess ends in five minutes and I’ve got to get rid of the smoke smell. Fuck I wish they’d let me vape instead.”

[rhyaxxyn]

(first draft. Click photos for better quality)

Natia stared at her, studying her expression. She couldn't imagine how it felt. Couldn't imagine what it was like to be trapped like this. Because that is what this was. Evangeline wasn't trapped by obligation, but her own stupid compassion. This was the toll of her kindness. One sided love and a marriage she wasn't ready for.

"So what are you going to do about that?" Natia asked. Evangeline's eyes softened automatically and Natia couldn't help but wonder if this was the first time she'd ever felt heard. At least in the way that mattered.

"I don't know," she admitted, but her eyes showed no despair. "I was hoping you might have a suggestion."

Natia laughed. "Why would I know anything about this sort of thing?" She readjusted the bag straps on her shoulder awkwardly. "If you hadn't already guessed, I never married a man I didn't love." Evangeline didn't seem to startle at her blatancy. Somehow she'd already known that was just... Natia. She supposed that was lucky.

"Do you want to be with Lily?" Natia wondered at last. She saw the subtle joy in Eva's expression.

"Yes." It was no more than a whisper, but the sincerity was real. Natia felt a smile grow on her lips.

"Then go get her."

"But Ascher-"

"Fuck Ascher," Natia blurted but she didn't regret the words. "He can't keep you in a relationship you don't want to be in. He can't keep you from Lily. Only you can do that, so go get her."

Evangeline leapt forward without warning and wrapped her arms around Natia. She stilled in her embrace, not used to the whole sister thing yet. Hesitantly, she hugged her back. Eva was short enough for Natia to place her chin on top of her head. The darkness she had from was practically gone now, but Natia did feel something strange stirring inside of her.

Deciding not to mention it, Natia hugged her for a moment longer before Evangeline pulled away.

"Thank you Natia," was all she said before she raced out of her dorm and down the hall.

"Of course," she mumbled, her voice distant. Natia raised her hand to her face and stared at it. For some reason it felt fuzzy, like the blood and sense had been sucked from it.

Natia looked back at the exit.

Something happened to Eva.

The Natural Orders

Taglist: @vviciously @callmeweeeh @yeraswifey @alexwillow

let me know if you'd like to be tagged.

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Dancing with Legends: Chapter 1

Summary: Professional dancers Rachel, Sam and Natia get the adventure of their live son day when they end up taking a trip though dimensions. Especially since Rachel apparently looks like someone called the Witch Quee.

Anything in italics is being spoken in a different language. It depends on who is speaking-

Sam speaks French.

Natia speaks Georgian.

Rachel can speak French to.

I may just slide words into the story if they are like one word only- oui, non, maybe some endearments- but other then that, italics it is.

The walk was long, made longer with Sam refusing to stop his flirtations with Iseul, the two not completely staying into the lewd territory but at the same time not remaining completely clean either.

Upon reaching the castle, Natia was looking murderous while August was looking pained and Rachel had continued to sigh for a minute straight.

“New record.” Sam says, grinning.

“Stop being happy you annoy me so much.” Rachel snaps at her friend who shrugged.

“It is amusing.” He makes a face suddenly and twitches his shoulders. “Back is hurting.”

“Binder bothering you?” Rachel asks. Sam shrugs.

“Kinda. Not to bad but I should take it off sooner or later.” Sam hums under his breath. “Ah! My fair sir?”

“Yes, my lovely sir?” Iseul asks back. Rachel sighs, again.

“My parts currently do not match my gender. Tomorrow they may, but today they do not! Is that a problem?” Iseul blinks but then laughs.

“Why would it be? If you are a woman tomorrow you will be the fairest woman I have seen, as now you are the fairest man!”

“Is there a moat or a pond I can shove them into?” Rachel mutters to August who looks to consider it before shaking his head. A pair of guards come forward to take the horse while August and Iseul lead them to a dungeon. They are all placed into separate cells, and Sam pouts at Iseul.

“My dashing elf, I pray to gaze upon you once more!” he bends over and flourishes his hand. Iseul clasps a hand to his chest.

“My dear guard! I pray to the gods to-“

“Come Iseul!” August interrupts. Rachel can’t help the loud thanks to August while Sam laughs.

“Oh, that was fun… so, know how to pick locks?”

“No, but the terror twins probably would.”

“Stop calling my adorable relatives the terror twins.” Sam says, moving around in his cell. Rachel rolls her eyes.

“Those twins are going to figure out how to take over the world one day.” Rachel says.

“That I don’t doubt. Maybe you should lead them, oh Witch Queen.” Sam mocks and Rachel scowls heavily.

“I am not the Witch Queen and you know it Sam!” Rachel sits on the bed in the dungeon with a huff, only for Natia’s shout to get her to stand up. “What?”

A man strides along the cells, mismatched eyes watching them with an intensity that makes Rachel’s hair stand on end.

“I came down here to see the Witch Queen,” the man remarks, staring at Rachel with a look his eyes that makes her shiver. “And I see she has more followers.” He sneers at Sam and Natia.

“I am not the Witch Queen,” Rachel snaps, her temper frayed from the trip to the castle. “Plenty of people can look like another person, doesn’t mean they are that person!” The man snorts and looks at her with an angry note in his eyes. Rachel grips the bars of her cell and glares at him.

“We shall see,” the man finally says before he vanishes.

“And Rachel proves again she can be terrifying.” Sam notes in amusement. “Hey, Natia, what do you think of this situation?”

The woman refuses to answer and Sam hums, loudly.

“I agree, it is very strange. Rachel can’t be the Witch Queen, her idea of royalty is Dairy Queen-“ Sam begins a rant designed to make people talk to him. Rachel has fallen for it before, and is immensely impressed that Natia appears unaffected. “…You have younger siblings.”

“დიახ.”

“I assume that means yes.” Sam sighs.

“Looks someone is immune to you.” Rachel chuckles as a strange pink light suddenly appears and gently floating to the floor a woman appears as well.

“…that is so extra.”

“You don’t get to talk.” Rachel shoots at Sam as the woman smiles at them.

“Hello, I am Altea. I believe you would wish to be free from the dungeons, no?” She smiles charmingly.

“Ten bucks she’s actually here to lead us to the lord or whatever.” Sam calls out. Altea blinks and looks confused.

“It sounds as if you are speaking my native tongue but…”

“Languages can be weird.” Sam says, shrugging. Altea hums and opens the doors to the cells, Sam stepping out and bowing with a flourish. “Ah, thank you my lovely lady for your timely rescue!” Altea blinks and then smirks, walking away from Sam who pouts.

“Stop it, you flirted with Iseul or whatever his name was enough.” Rachel sighs.

“He was fun. Hey Natia, think we’ll see him again.” The tallest person there again ignores Sam who ignores her ignoring him and natters on and on about how many more flirtations he would use and how many times his flirting got him what he wanted.

Rachel just rolls her eyes and turns to Altea.

“Alright, so leading us to see… Lord Reiner?” Altea blinks and looks a bit put out she hadn’t managed to trick them but nods.

“Yes, he wishes to see you for himself.” She eyes Rachel uneasily and Rachel sighs.

“Do I really look like this… Witch Queen?”

“Again, the only royalty-“ Sam begins but Rachel turns around to give him a death glare, causing him to throw his hands up. “Gah! Stop with the look, I’ll shut up!”

“Thank you.” Rachel hisses and Sam pouts again.

“I’ve known you since you were teeny-tiny and still you can scare me.”

“I was fourteen!” Rachel protests.

“And shorter then you are now. I bet if you both took off your heels, you’d be her height.” Sam nods to Altea who blinks.

“You have known her since her youth?”

“Yeah I was dating her brother at the time and I saw her dance, knew instantly that she was the perfect dance partner.” Sam grins wide. “We’ve been dancing in competitions since she was sixteen and still tiny-“

“Hey look, fancy door, is this where we’re supposed to go?” Rachel buts in, feeling relieved upon seeing the door.

“Yes.” Altea smirks and Rachel ignores her as the pink haired woman pushes the door open, letting them step in to find a tall red headed man in the room. He turns to them and studies the three dancers with keen eyes.

“Huh, Natia here is taller then he is.” Sam remarks suddenly. Rachel breathes out her nose in a huff as the man blinks.

“Sam…”

“I’m nervous, alright?” Sam says, though he doesn’t change his expression. Years of dancing and dealing with his own emotions had him able to hide when he was nervous, though his mouth had a habit of getting away on him.

“I am Lord Reiner Wolfson. My retainers tell me you appeared from the sky and…” his eyes lay heavy on Rachel who squares her back and glares at him.

“I am not the Witch Queen.” She hisses through her teeth.

“A likely story!” a familiar voice shouts. Rachel had been to focused on the lord, not noticing that August, Iseul and the strange man were in the room as well. “Lord Reiner-“

“Enough August.” Reiner says. He studies them. “Who are you then?”

“I am Rachel Archer, professional dancer and jewelry maker.” Rachel replies. “My partner in dance and in business is Sam Bellamy.” Sam waves, a big grin on his face. “I… don’t know her very well but I know she was our rival and competitor in our latest dance tournament. She won and we were congratulating her when we appeared here.”

“Her name is Natia and I’m not trying to pronounce her last name.” Sam offers up. Natia huffs, rolling her eyes, muttering under her breath in the language she had been speaking earlier.

“I see,” Reiner says, looking thoughtful. “…You must be aware that the Witch Queen caused untold destruction and misery. To see her face again is…” He looks haunted and Rachel bites her lip. Yeah, she gets it, a little. But still…

“The more time we spend here the more time I don’t think this is a prank or dream.” Sam mutters under his breath.

“…Keep to a language everyone gets.” Rachel sighs. Reiner looks amused as Sam pouts dramatically. “How can I prove I’m not this… Witch Queen?”

“…Allow one of my retainers to watch over you.” Reiner replies. Rachel hesitates and nods slowly. “Your companions may choose their own watchers as well.”

“Divide us up so it’s one on one.” Rachel says thoughtfully. “And we get to choose?”

“Yes.” Reiner agrees. Rachel blinks and then looks at the people in front of them, studying them for a second as Sam grins.

Who should she choose?

[elijahrosefanclub]

Hi, if you're still taking prompts how about Galaxy and Stardust sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g?? (but really anything with the space moms would be amazing since there's not much content about them /yet/)

here’s some anything! also wow this is long enough for me to justify making it its own fic on ao3 instead of just adding it to my ficlets. by which i mean it’s not actually that long but it’s got a lot of line breaks so who cares.

read it on ao3 here :)

5+1 things; or, five times Natia knew things and one time Tanis did

1

“I love you,” Tanis says one day. The pasta burned last time she tried making it, but this time she manages to turn the stove off and get the pasta on plates before any smoke appears.

When she turns around, she sees Natia with two forks. Natia’s eyes crinkle up at the corners and she says, “I know.”

Tanis laughs and trades a plate of pasta for a fork. This is the third day in a row they’ve had dinner at the kitchen island instead of at the table, but neither of them minds standing, so it just keeps happening.

2

“Something’s not right with my helmet,” Stardust says into her comms, landing on the top of a building so she doesn’t crash into the marshmallow monster. Not that it wouldn’t be a relatively good thing to crash into, compared with all the steel-framed buildings around her. “Vision’s messed up.”

There’s a crackle, then Grasshopper’s voice says, “Yeah, Galaxy sent me to cover your position. I’m almost there.”

“Thanks, Grassy. And Galaxy.”

“No problem,” Galaxy says. “Kevin and a tech are waiting in the usual place to fix your helmet.”

“Awesome.”

3

They’ve got pretty much everything on the list, but Tanis still hesitates by the cereal aisle, because she’s pretty sure they’re running low on—

“We have an extra box at home,” Natia says as she puts a box of strawberries in the cart. “They were on sale last time we were here, so we got two, remember?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tanis scans the list. “Okay, we’re done!”

4

“What’s the name of that one movie, you know, with the guy?”

“Pulp Fiction.”

“It fits.”

5

When Tanis and Zipper gets back from the latest intergalactic meeting, Natia is waiting for them in Zipper’s usual chair.

“Hi,” Zipper says.

“Hi,” Natia replies, and then she hands Tanis a bag. “Here’s your ‘bad meeting’ takeout.”

“Oh, my God, it was the worst,” Tanis says. “I can’t even believe—”

“I know,” Natia says when Tanis gives up on finding the right words for what a pile of bullshit those six hours of her life were. “I got you a smoothie too.”

“Wow. I love you.”

+1

They’re not really supposed to be talking while the officiant says whatever it is they’re saying— Tanis lost track about three minutes ago, but they’ll alert her when she has to do something, so it doesn’t really matter.

Natia doesn’t really look like she’s paying a lot of attention, either, and that’s confirmed when she looks over at Tanis and mouths, love you.

I know, Tanis mouths back, and she squeezes Natia’s hand. Natia squeezes back.

[glitteringconstellations]

Beacon Chapter 6: so eden sank to grief

“We should have never left the island.”

In any other situation, Masina thought, the familiar mutterings of her father would have comforted her. In any other situation, she would have rolled her eyes, a fond smile crossing her lips as her mother scolded him for being such a stubborn old man.

Now, it only served to frighten her more, because she could hear the tremor in her father’s voice.

She clung to her father’s hand as they were marched along, her mother’s arm tight around her shoulder from the other side. Even sheltered between them, Masina felt so terribly small. The alien soldiers towered over them, guns trained on the group at large. They even dwarfed her father, an imposing man of impressive height and girth by any other standard. They moved so mechanically that Masina wasn’t sure if they weren’t actually robots. That didn’t make them any less terrifying.

They’d been walking—shuffling, more like—for hours, as the aliens rounded up more and more people at gunpoint without a word. The town wasn’t very big, so Masina recognized most of the people in the crowd. Classmates, neighbors. All looking equally as scared as she felt.

“Where are they taking us?” Masina whispered, peering above the heads of the crowd in front of her. A massive purple ship loomed over the horizon, and as far as she could tell, the path they marched on led right to it. The crowd wasn’t silent, but everyone kept their voices down. No one wanted to be noticed.

“I don’t know,” her mother replied, her voice just as hushed. “It’ll be alright, darling. We just have to stick together.” She tightened her hold around Masina’s shoulders, offering a strained smile. It brought Masina a small amount of comfort.

Read on AO3

“We should have never left the island,” her father muttered again, his eyes flickering to the alien sentries that lined either side of the crowd. Masina looked up at him, and even she could see the fear beneath the mutinous rage on his face. “I told you moving to the mainland was a bad idea.”

And he had. It was an old argument, but one of the only times she’d ever heard her brother fight with their father. The thought made tears sting at the corners of Masina’s eyes now, hearing his impassioned voice in her ears as though the words had been said yesterday.

Hunk—laid-back, friendly, nervous Hunk—had never once raised his voice at his father, until that day. The day he’d dropped the manila envelope on the table like he’d dropped a bomb on all of them.

“I’m going to study engineering at the Garrison, Dad!”

Masina missed her brother something awful. Despite herself, she wondered what Hunk would do, if he were here now. Probably throw up all over the place. The thought might have made her laugh, once. Now, she just thought perhaps it was more merciful that he was spared all this.

“Life was simple on the island. Safe. None of this space invader alien business. But no,” her father continued. Masina whimpered as he squeezed her hand tighter, pulled her closer, to the point where it hurt. “My son had to go and complicate things for all of us, had to go and uproot the entire family—”

“Dear, this isn’t the time,” her mother chided softly, yet there was a tense edge to her voice. Her father kept on as though he hadn’t heard her interruption.

“—just had to go to that fancy school, and then what happened? He and his buddies went and got themselves blown up—”

“That’s enough, Sefa!” her mother hissed.

Masina winced in between them, drawing her shoulders in as though she could curl in on herself. It was bad enough that they’d lost Hunk, but she hated hearing her father blame him like the aliens invading were his fault. Her father drew his lips together in a tight line and said nothing more.

A hush fell over the crowd as they’d drawn closer to the great ship. Masina could see, now that they stood in the looming shadow the monstrosity cast, that the aliens intended to load them all onto it. There were different kinds of soldiers here, and Masina couldn’t stifle the gasp when she realized she’d been right about the sentries being robots. These new soldiers were flesh and blood aliens, tall and menacing with wicked yellow eyes, surveying the group like a farmer might his crops.

She couldn’t help it—she started trembling.

It started at the base of her spine and radiated out until she could feel it down to her fingertips. Her breath started coming in ragged spurts and her heart lurched unpleasantly somewhere in her throat. Fear pulsed in her veins and her feet stuttered beneath her.

Not now, not now… she thought fruitlessly. Now was not the time for a panic attack. Her mother whispered soothing words in her ear, keeping a wary eye on the soldiers they passed and a steady arm around Masina’s shoulder as they made the first ascent up the ramp into the ship.

“Just breathe, darling, breathe…”

Masina clenched her eyes shut tight, both to clear the frustrated tears that burned her eyes and so that she didn’t have to see the ship. She focused on her mother’s words, on steadying the inhale and exhale of her breath, letting her father’s grip on her hand ground her and guide her.

“Oho, what have we here?”

The voice was cold and gravely, and Masina’s eyes snapped open in terror. One of the alien soldiers was peering down at her, all eight feet and some odd inches with a terrifying grin on his face. He held a hefty weapon with ease, tossed carelessly over his shoulder. Masina could have sworn she felt her heart stop dead in her chest at the predatory look he focused directly down at her.

“Look, Arzok, the whelp is so scared it can’t breathe straight,” the soldier called over his shoulder.

She felt her father take a step in front of her and her mother, throwing an arm out protectively. “Stay away from my daughter,” he snarled with all the rage he could muster.

The laugh the soldier barked out made Masina’s blood run cold. “Or what? You intend to fight me, Earthling?” In a blink, the solider reached an arm out and backhanded her father with what seemed merely a flick of his wrist. Her father cried out in pain, the force of it sending him crashing to the floor yards away from them, taking several people down with him.

“Dad!” Masina cried, at the same time her mother shouted, “Joseph!” They both made to move to his side, but the soldier called Arzok moved swiftly, aiming his weapon directly at her father’s head. The people around the small family flinched away, clearing a wide berth around them.

The first soldier chuckled. “Pathetic.” Masina only saw him moving toward her out of the corner of her eye, and by then it was too late. She drew in a sharp inhale as the soldier knelt in front of her and took her face in one of his massive hands, claws digging painfully into her cheeks.

“You Earthlings are so fearful. It’s delicious,” the soldier said, turning her head side to side as though he were examining a particularly interesting specimen. Masina knew she was whimpering, but she couldn’t hear it over the rush of her own heart pounding in ears. She stared into those wicked eyes, wide-eyed herself and terrified, and she cringed back into her mother as far as the soldier’s grip allowed her.

“P-please don’t hurt her,” her mother begged behind her. Masina could feel her mother’s arm still on her shoulder, trying to pull her away from the threat. The soldier snorted derisively.

“You’re of no use to us dead. Can’t exactly use the quintessence of a corpse.” The soldier brought Masina’s face back to center, that wicked grin never leaving his face. “Though, it’s a pity we can’t use you for arena fodder.”

The soldier clapped his leathery hand against her face once, before he finally, finally let go. Masina sagged against her mother, her legs not having the strength to hold her up. The solider straightened and turned to Arzok.

“Separate the men and women from the whelps. If they resist, subdue them, but under no circumstances are you allowed to kill. We need to get them to the Druids alive. Am I understood?” Arzok saluted and uttered something in another language.

“Yes, Commander Korok.”

Masina looked up just in time to see one of the sentry robots grab her mother under each arm, dragging her away. She scrambled to her feet, reaching out for her as her mom writhed and screamed in the robot’s grasp. “Let her go, you creep!” Adrenaline fueled her as he pounded at the sentry’s arms, tugging and yanking.

“No! Masina! Natia!”

Masina wheeled around to see another sentry gripping her father by both arms, easily restraining him as he struggled. Desperate tears filled her eyes as the robots dragged her parents in opposite directions. A third sentry grabbed Masina around her midsection and she shrieked in panic and fear, thrashing as hard as she could as she was lifted off her feet.

“Let me go! Mom, Dad!” Her mother’s words from earlier echoed hollowly in her ears—they needed to stay together! It would be alright if they just stayed together!

Screams quickly filled the air as sentry robots filed in, dragging children from their parents and spouses from each other. Masina could feel the panic overwhelming her, but still she struggled, kicking and screaming and biting.

Something hard cuffed her over the head, and the cacophony was suddenly muted as darkness curled in around the edges of her eyes.

---

Three days.

It’d been three days since Julio found his mother in the mess of people that had gathered in the bunker beneath the military base in Havana. Cell phone reception had been all but annihilated, and the last message he’d gotten from his mother was that she was at the base and had gotten his little siblings on an evac shuttle.

For that, Julio thought, God was merciful.

Those who didn’t get a spot on a shuttle had been hastened into the nuclear bunker. Julio counted himself lucky, that his fishing vessel couldn’t set sail due to choppy seas that fateful day what seemed like ages ago. Luck and luck alone had him run into his father and sister, when they’d come to find him at the docks, that they had made it into the bunker before the bombs started falling and they had to close the doors.

Luck alone, that he’d found his mother at all, before the military had called for volunteers.

“Mijo, please, don’t do this,” his mother pleaded. She sat on the cot she’d been given, Isabel’s arm around her shoulder as she murmured comforting words. In her lap, she clutched a broken picture frame, the glass having fallen out in the chaos when Isabel grabbed it from their home. Julio had reamed her for risking her life for it, but in the end, he was grateful, if only because of the way their mother had latched on to it. “Luis, tell him not to do this.”

His father sat quietly on the cot opposite them, and his silence spoke more than Julio thought he had words for. The man had always been one of few words, and Julio knew without him saying that were it not for his age, he’d have taken up a gun himself to join Julio and the others.

“Mamá, I have to,” Julio said solemnly. The rifle they’d given him sat propped against the cot, a heavy elephant between them all. “We can’t just sit here and wait for… for them to come find us. We have to fight.”

Julio’s eyes flickered down to the photo in her hands, the ever-grinning face of his kid brother staring up at them from the broken frame. Julio was a terrible hypocrite—he knew Lance would be the first to take up arms against a planetary takeover, and yet if he was here, Julio would do the same thing to him that his mother was doing now.

If Lance was here… Julio shuddered. Even in his grief, he recognized small mercies when he saw them. He thanked God Lance hadn’t lived to see the fall of Earth. Lance would have been devastated.

“It’s a suicide mission! You don’t stand a chance against these things!” his mother cried, her fingers tightening around the frame so much so that her knuckles turned white. “I can’t… I can’t lose another child, mijo.”

Julio’s eyes softened. “Oh, Mamá…” He reached out across the space between them, pulling her into an embrace. Isabel kept rubbing circles on her back, looking dangerously near tears herself.

She knew that if they didn’t try, they were all doomed anyway, Julio was aware of this. He knew she knew that no matter how slim their odds were, they had to take the chance. He knew, in truth, she meant I can’t see another child die before me.

“I have to try,” Julio murmured into his mother’s hair. She wept quietly into his broad shoulder, tears staining his already ruined shirt. “We don’t know where Abuelo and Abuelita and Tía Alma are. Sissy and Al and the babies are somewhere out in space. We can’t find them and bring them all home if we don’t try.”

“Jules is right, Mamá,” Isabel said, her voice a watery shadow of her usual confident self. “And he’s strong. If anyone will come back, it’s him.” She managed a smile up at him, reaching her other arm up to draw him in for a half-hug. “If you don’t, I’ll find you and kill you myself.”

Julio huffed out a weak chuckle at that. Ever the firecracker, his sister.

There was an announcement over the PA, then, calling for all volunteers to rendezvous at the northernmost end of the bunker. His mother let out an aborted sob, clinging tighter to Julio. It broke his heart to pull away from her after one last hug, and one more for Isabel.

His father stood with him, placing a weathered, darkened hand firmly on his shoulder. “Vaya con Dios, mijo,” his father said. There was a telltale brightness in his eyes, and Julio couldn’t take it—he pulled his father in for a tight embrace, as well.

“Si muero antes de regresar, le pido al Dios que se lleve mi alma,” Julio whispered in his father’s ear. His father only whispered Amen in return, before pulling away, reaching down, and pressing the rifle in Julio’s hands. Julio took a bracing breath, squared his shoulders, and turned to leave.

“Give ‘em hell, Jules,” Isabel called out after him. Her voice was stronger, familiar. Grounding.

Give ‘em hell? Oh, he could do that.

---

In the days since she and Florence had been plucked from her storm cellar, Colleen had come to realize a couple of things.

The first thing was that the aliens clearly wanted them alive and able, for the most part. They’d let her leave out some food and water for Rover before forcing her to abandon him there, as long as she didn’t put up a fuss. And of course she wouldn’t—Florence couldn’t handle any roughing up, and she didn’t want to risk it.

Besides, she’d seen what’d happened to the ones who resisted. They’d live, she was sure, but perhaps it’d be more merciful to put them out of their misery by that point.

The second thing she’d gathered was that the aliens were waiting. For what, or who, she didn’t know. But she and Florence had been herded along onto some kind of massive ship, forced to strip, and given prison garments to wear. Indignant, Colleen had done her best to try and preserve as much of Florence’s modesty as possible, the poor thing. But then they’d been shoved in a cell and… nothing. For days, if she had to hazard a guess, but she couldn’t keep track of time with no light from the outside.

They were given water at regular intervals, and what had to be some kind of nutrient bar, if she could manage to stomach the taste of what had to be rancid garbage and roaches. They were allowed from the cell one at a time, once every three water cycles, to relieve themselves. And she didn’t think they’d left Earth, unless the ship was so large that she couldn’t feel it moving. There were about fifteen other people crammed into the cell with them, but no one seemed willing to make friends with strangers. She couldn’t exactly blame them.

“How are you holding up, Florence?” she asked quietly, shortly after the twelfth time they’d been given water.

“Oh, I’m an old woman. You don’t have to worry about me,” Florence replied, her eyes crinkling up in a small smile. Her voice betrayed her weariness, though, and it hadn’t escaped Colleen’s notice that she hadn’t been able to keep any nutrient bars down, either.

Colleen reached over and took one of Florence’s hand in both of hers. “I’m so sorry, Florence. You shouldn’t have gotten stuck in this mess with me.”

At this, Florence chuckled, squeezing Colleen’s fingers between her own gnarled ones. “I can think of no one I’d rather be stuck with in this mess, dear, except perhaps my late husband. You and Samuel always took good care of me.”

Colleen’s heart ached in her chest at the mention of her own late husband. But she was touched, truly, by the old woman’s words. She managed a smile of her own, feeling for the first time in a long, long while like she wasn’t truly alone.

But as the hours stretched into hours, the tension between the prisoners in their cell seemed to mount. No one dared asked the guards what was happening, when they appeared briefly to give them water. Until finally, after the twenty-sixth time they were given water, they received orders, as well.

“Form a queue,” a deep voice barked, and Colleen nearly leapt out of her skin. She wasn't the only one. Warily, the other prisoners formed a line, her and Florence somewhere near the center, and they were led to what seemed to be a courtroom.

At the center of the room was a single chair, behind which stood five tall, cloaked figures, their faces obscured by white, bird-like masks. Something about them sent ice coursing through Colleen’s veins, and her arms came up to hug herself unconsciously. They were just standing there, and yet she already feared them more than the alien soldiers.

“One at a time; sit,” the soldier ordered. The boy at the front of the line—Colleen’s heart ached again, seeing how young he was, thinking he looked like he might have been around Matt’s age—flinched back into the person behind him. The soldier grabbed the boy by the meat of his upper arm and dragged him across the room.

“No, no, no, please, no,” the boy stammered. He didn’t resist when thrown into the chair; instead, he shrank into it, like it would protect him from whatever was coming. The rest of them were lined up along the far wall opposite the hooded figures.

The soldier gave the remaining prisoners a menacing glare for good measure, a threat without words to stay put. He then turned back to the boy in the chair, procuring a data tablet.

“This is a gauge that will tell me if you are lying,” the soldier said, giving the tablet a brief wave. “You are to answer the questions honestly.”

The boy didn’t move. The soldier took it as acknowledgement, anyway.

“State your name.”

“…Aaron,” the boy whispered, at length. The data tablet buzzed loudly, and the boy sat up ramrod straight, fear in his eyes.

“Do not lie,” the soldier warned.

“I-I’m not lying! My name is Aaron! Aaron Michael Cox!” When the data tablet didn’t buzz this time, the boy sagged in relief bag into the chair. The soldier paused, considering the boy, before continuing his questioning.

“What do you know about Voltron?”

“I…” the boy looked wildly to the person who stood behind him in line. “I don’t know what that is.” The data tablet was blissfully silent, and Colleen let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. A hand brushed hers and she flinched, whirling around. But it was just Florence, behind her, reaching out a hand to hold. Colleen took it gratefully.

The line of questioning continued, something about “the Resistance” and different planets Colleen had never heard the names of. When, after ten minutes, the data pad remained silent, the soldier waved an arm and two sentries appeared.

“Take him to the arena. No sense wasting an able body. We’ll reap the quintessence from him later.”

The boy looked like he might faint. “Wait, please, I answered all your questions! I didn’t lie to you, why are you doing this? Please, stop!” His voice trailed off as he was dragged away, desperate pleas echoing until they faded to silence. Colleen has to swallow past a lump in her throat.

The interrogations continued, some being dragged off to the arena, and some being dismissed to a work camp, if the soldier’s commands were anything to go by. A handful were led into the next room by the hooded figures themselves. Colleen felt her heart racing faster and faster as the queue dwindled before her until at last, she found herself walking on unsteady legs to the chair.

From this angle, the soldier looked even taller and even more intimidating, and Colleen had to resist the urge to shrink into it like Aaron did. She still had some pride left in her, after all. So despite how she trembled, she sat up tall, her shoulders squared. From across the room, Florence gave her a reassuring smile.

“State your name.”

“Colleen Renee Holt,” Colleen replied, her voice as steady as she could manage.

The data tablet was silent, but the soldier was not. “Tch, another Holt,” he muttered, but Colleen heard it loud and clear. “Pains in my ass, the lot of them.”

The words left her lips before she could stop them. “You’ve met other Holts before?” Her heart still raced, but now it was for a different reason. She sat up straighter in her chair, gripping the arms so tightly she felt her fingers might break.

The soldier leveled her with a narrow gaze. “You were not permitted to speak outside of the questioning.”

“Please, I have to know! Where have you met other—”

“Silence!” the soldier barked, and Colleen recoiled like she’d been slapped.

“A moment,” said a quiet voice from behind her, and Colleen’s stomach lurched uncomfortably. She didn’t know how else to describe the voice but terrifying, the mere tone of it making her hair at the back of her neck stand on end. One of the hooded figures moved to stand before her, and if she believed in magic she would have been sure it’d cast a hex on her, so paralyzed by fear she felt.

The figure laid a spindly, clammy hand down on her forehead, fingers splayed open. Colleen sucked in a sharp breath as she felt the figure pulling at her mind, memories summoned forth like a slideshow. She felt her eyes rolling into the back of her head and she was helpless to stop it.

Calling Katie and Matt down from the roof well past their bedtime. Supper with her family on the eve of the big day. Meeting Takashi and his protégé, the day she sent Samuel and Matt off on the Kerberos mission. The memories seemed to pause on that last memory, her inner eye lingering on their faces against her will.

The memories flashed forward. News of the Kerberos mission failing catastrophically. Katie insisting she could find proof that it didn’t go awry. Her and Katie fighting about sending her to a girls’ school, that it was for her own good.

Seeing the missing cadets’ faces flash on the news, seeing her daughter’s picture there with the name Matt had given her beside her own maiden name. Seeing the footage of the explosions. There was a humming noise, like the figure found something curious, and the images shifted.

There was her boy, and her husband, and Takashi, forced to their knees before the same kind of aliens, still in their spacesuits. Her Matt, dressed in the very same prison garb she now wore, a knife presented to him. Takashi attacking him, a wild look upon his face. Matt, a gash clear from his temple and down his cheek as he writhed on the ground before a looming enemy. A poster of Matt, labeled enemy combatant, kill on sight.

When the hand withdrew at last, Colleen sucked in a gasp of air like she’d been drowning. Tears she didn’t know she’d shed streaked down her face. What little was on her stomach roiled, and with a heave she leaned over the side of the chair and retched.

“Curious,” the hooded figure said, no inflection in its voice whatsoever. It turned to the soldier, who scowled at it. “We may desire to use her.”

The soldier scoffed. “You Druids do as you please, regardless. Take her.”

Matt was alive. Her son was alive. They wanted to kill him, and they wanted to use her to do it.

“No,” she croaked, wiping the corner of her mouth with her sleeve. The soldier and the Druid turned to her, slightly startled. “I won’t do it. You won’t use me to kill my son. You might as well kill me now.”

The soldier merely quirked an eyebrow, exchanged a glance with the Druid. “You ought to be careful what you wish for, Earthling.”

Then there was excruciating pain. It was unlike anything Colleen had ever felt before—like every nerve in her body was simultaneously on fire and being electrified. A scream tore from her throat and she pitched forward, falling out of the chair to writhe on the floor in pain.

As soon as the pain had started, it ceased. Colleen was left panting on the floor, clenching her eyes shut. The Druid had scarcely lifted a finger.

Colleen gritted her teeth and fought for breath, summoning the energy to glare at both of them. “Come on,” she gasped. “Kill me. Do it, because I won’t help you.”

The pain came again, for longer this time, but Colleen was ready. She bit down on her lip, snapped her eyes shut, and clenched her fists so hard the nails dug into her palms. The Druid didn’t seem to let up this time, though, and the thought flit across her mind that maybe it would actually kill her.

“Stop it!”

In an instant, the pain stopped. Colleen could barely hear past the buzzing in her ears, but there was a muffled shout, followed by what could only be horrified screams from the few people left lined up along the far wall.

A thump came only a few feet away from her, so close that Colleen felt the whoosh of air as something hit the ground. Steeling herself, she braced herself up on both forearms and managed to lift herself a few inches from the ground before she opened her eyes.

A low moan escaped her lips. “No, God… please…” Tears sprung anew as she reached a trembling hand out.

Florence laid spread eagle on the ground between her and the Druid, her eyes wide-open and glassy. She was dead.

[wexhappyxfew]

Omggg hiii

About the director's cut... is there any part with Toye and Natia that you didn't keep in?😩 I love both of them omg

AH HELLO! [thanks so much for stopping by :D] Toye and Natia (cue me absolutely screaming bc these two are my tragic duo that deserved better). I am BEYOND ecstatic to talk about them (ESPECIALLY, scenes that I didn't keep in or conjured up!). Thank you for loving them :) they deserve it and I hope *somehow* with postwar I can achieve that for them!!

There were multiple instances where I had scene ideas for Toye and Natia together but ultimately, it never came to fruition (which I look back on now and I go 'darn I should've kept it in' or 'should have done it this way', anyway lol!). There were a multitude of scenes that I feel I could have added, but for the way I wanted to form Natia and her story, they just weren't needed I felt and I could form those types of conversations into later conversations ultimately [so that was sort of the thought process].

I'll be honest Toye and Natia came out of left field for me because I went into Landslide not even sure if I would have Natia even being interested in anyone; Natia's story [now that it has grown more complex] was ultimately the entire plotline and goal from day one that I wanted to write on and develop and so a *relationship* in some way on top of it was sort of just, if I can make it happen I'll have a stab. And so Toye and Natia really came from that, just to clarify it first LOL.

There are two specific spaces that I can envision in my head as places where more scenes could have existed: 1 being Bastogne mainly. Bastogne really gives a lot of open space to really create some scenes that are important for characters and such I feel. I found myself with a lot of open space in those Bastogne chapters and so I really tried to construct things that worked within that space and most importantly, were important to Natia's story. The 2nd place I feel goes to Holland (likewise to Bastogne). There were a few spaces of time I skipped that I kind of regret skipping - ie, Natia in Holland is one of my absolute favorite 'Natia eras'. So, most definitely, that was a space I wished I worked into a bit more (it's just one of my favorite bits of writing!)

So, specifically talking with Holland - I made an attempt at this at first, but I pulled it last minute because I couldn't get it to fit properly but - there was a specific scene from one of the multitudes of Band of Brothers books I've acquired that focuses on Joe Toye and how he goes out with a few Privates or something to capture some of the enemy (this is not at all correct, I'm going off of memory I'll be honest, it's been a bit) and he comes back with the captured enemy and it was sort of shown as this moment that really showed who he was and his character and I REALLY loved it, I really did.

Natia and Toye ultimately stepped off on the wrong feet with each other (and each had their reasons iykyk) and so that really was something to juggle and figure out and ultimately, push forward with and resolve. So having this sort of scene in the fic I feel would've aided with some of their conflict they had with one another in a way - Natia would better see Toye's character in a light that wasn't what she had previously scene and Toye would get to show who he was ultimately, and that was a good solider. I tested the waters with it, but I pulled it last second and might consider turning it into a deleted scene once writing for the entire fic is over!

As previously mentioned, Bastogne makes for plenty of 'openness' I've called it, with writing and making up scenes altogether. There were a few times I considered scenes with Toye and Natia; a possible two-person tag team patrol, where ultimately a few conversations existed, a possible encounter in the early morning where they run into each other, more foxhole sharing (possibly one or two more of scenes like that), and this sort of famed final spoken words before what happens to Toye was at first, going to be quite different. So really, I had a collection of ideas that never really fully came to fruition with Bastogne. [And these may also become deleted scenes in the future as well!]

My main thing with Natia's story though was really to focus on her - she has a whole lot of crap happening throughout and it is stuff that she has to deal with, she can't ignore it - and so I didn't really want to overcomplicate what her and Toye could have. I made it this sort of (not entirely simplistic) but somewhat simplistic, people figuring out who the other is and finding a connection in that, in a way. I wanted it to be drawn out, and I wanted it to take its time and develop as I felt it should. I didn't want to overdo it, I'll be honest, but I wanted to show that it was a constant that Natia had until Toye got hit. And I feel it was really represented in the way it was!

I am more than happy to continue talking about these two with any future questions you may have!! <3 They are quite honestly such a tragic duo that deserved better!! Thank you so much for sending in such a fun ask, have a great day! :D

[operator-ator-blog]

Do You Remember?

Do you remember?

As his eyes fluttered open Ator was greeted by a blinding light and the feeling of cold metal against his skin. Where was he? How long had he been asleep? No, the better question was why had he been asleep. Ator didn’t remember going to sleep, but now here he was.

“Looks like it’s awake,” an unfamiliar voice spoke out, it was somewhere off to his side, “should we put it back asleep?”

“Awake, asleep, it doesn’t matter. This void demon has no feelings.”

Who were these people talking? Ator tried to move his head to no avail. Was he restrained? So he tried to speak out, but something blocked his mouth. What was going on?

The light overhead dimmed, allowed Ator’s vision to focus. At first everything was a blur, but before long he was able to make out the ivory walls adorned with gold. It was an Orokin room, that was for sure, but it didn’t tell him why he was in it. Then THEY started to stand over him, human figures finally in his field of vision.

They stood over him clad in clean white, their faces were all covered by masks but he could tell they were looking down on him. Ator’s green eyes flashed from one to the other, taking in their details to try to get a grasp on the situation. They were Orokin, that was something he was sure of, and they all gave off an air of superiority. As his eyes moved from one body to another he was able to catch glimpses of metal tools in some of their hands, sharp instruments ready to use. What were they going to use them on? His question was swiftly answered.

A sharp blade dragged across his chest, a muffled scream tried to escape from the young Tenno. Warmth spilled out onto his skin, a contrast to the cold at his back which could be assumed to be a surgical table of sorts. These were Orokin doctors and they were performing some kind of surgery! Why? Another scalpel cut into his flesh and more blood spilled out. What had he done to deserve this? What were they doing? More and more questions, but still no answers.

The pain was intense and warm tears flowed freely down his cheeks. His body tensed with each new incision they made. Then the cutting stopped and all Ator could hear was his own frantic breathing as his heart pounded against his ribs. Then there were footsteps, almost like the sound of heels against the pristine floors, and they were drawing closer.

“Come to see our progress, ma’am?” Ator tried to focus his blurry vision when the male doctor spoke.

“I’ve paid you a hefty amount of platinum to make me the perfect Yuvan,” an older, female voice spoke now, “so of course I’m going to check your progress.”

“Is everything to your liking so far?”

Ator had to strain his neck against his restraints just to catch a glimpse of the woman that was speaking. She had to be middle aged, with green eyes that examined Ator that showed an unamused glare. Her skin was a dark color, as if kissed by the sun, and her face round. With a scowl on her lips and the way her black hair was set atop her head in a bun, she came off as very stern. She put off a regal air that everyone that Ator could see seemed to take note of, keeping their distance from her almost as if they feared her.

“Come here,” she motioned to the one of the doctors with her finger.

“Is something wrong, Madam Acantha?”

“This here,” she did a circular motion with her finger while pointing at something on Ator, “why is it still here?”

“You mean its genitals?” The doctor seemed confused. “The male genitals didn’t seem to-”

The doctor didn’t finish his statement before the Orokin known as Madam Acantha slapped him hard, sending the doctor to the floor. “Do I look like a man to you? Give my Yuvan the proper reproductive system, I do wish to have children some day. Do as you are told or you will find yourself strapped to a table and under my knife. Am I clear?’

A unanimous “Yes ma’am” came from all present in the room besides Ator. He could only look up at this frightening woman and when her eyes met his a deep chill went down his spine.

“Don’t waste any more of my time.” Those were her last words before she turned and left Ator’s vision.

There was an unsettling chill in the room after the woman left. Though it wasn’t long before the doctor’s got back to their job. Once more scalpels began to dance across his pale flesh and Ator’s body was wracked with pain. With each new cut his vision began to blur and he couldn’t focus much longer. Ator could feel tugging on his skin before it was cut and everything faded to black. So many questions left unanswered as the darkness consumed him and numbed the pain.

Ator shot up in a cold sweat, his eyes wide as he looked around the dark room. It took a moment for his vision to adjust but once it did he found himself looking around his room. No longer was he on a cold table, but in his own bed with Natia asleep beside him. As he began to calm down his eyes focused more on her sleeping form.

He reached out to her, wanting to make sure she was actually there; that he was actually awake. As his hand reached into the darkness he could see that his ring finger and pinky were missing, or at least his golden prosthetics. Natia always made him take those off before bed, she didn’t like the way they felt. So this was real, he was awake.

In her sleep Natia rolled away from his touch, revealing her bare shoulder to them. With what little he could see, Ator could make out the scar on her shoulder. The sight of him made him draw his hand back. It made him remember what he had done to her when he had lost control; how he had tore into the one he cared for so deeply like she were nothing but food.

Do you remember?

That voice rang out loudly in his head. Of course he remembered, how could he ever forget? The things he had done when he lost control. What he had done to those he called his allies; his friends. That wasn’t something someone could simply forget. Ator remembered all too well the monster her was, and it disgusted him.

He needed to clear his mind.

Ator had dressed to train, his normal tattered, red skirt clung to his waist and his golden cuffs that adorned both his ankles and wrists shined bright. Like a machine he moved between each training dummy hitting them each in a rhythmic pattern. As he moved blood flowed freely from underneath his cuffs. The voices had become too much and he needed the pain to help clear his mind.

Do you remember everything you’ve done to them?

All the people he had hurt in the past, all of the blood on his hands. So many people had fallen to him, his weapons, and his Saryn. Countless lives snuffed out without any hesitation, but the ones that haunted him were of those that had never deserved it. The lives he had snuffed out back on the Zariman all the way up to now. How many lives had he ended before they had reached their prime?

As the thoughts welled up inside his mind his movements became more aggressive. The training dummies were starting to crack with each of his hits. The look in his gold and green eyes became more intense as rage formed. It was starting to spill over.

Wasn’t their pain delicious? You enjoyed it so much.

“Shut up!” He shouted as he swung his hardest at one of the dummies.

The dummy’s head came off immediately and shattered against the wall by the entrance which hung open. Standing in the doorway was a thin female in a Red Veil suit. Her head was bald and two golden horns protruded from her forehead. She looked to Ator with a smile and only kindness showed in her blue eyes.

“I just walked into the room and already telling me to shut up? What did I do now, big bro?”

Ator looked to the female and gritted his teeth. Slowly his composure came back to him as he looked to the female. “What do you want, Vena? Are the Red Veil not sending you after any good targets so you feel the need to pester me?”

Without fear the female walked up to Ator, giving him a playful punch in the chest. “Would I be a good sister if I didn’t pester you that often? Besides, you seemed really troubled.” She stopped and looked at the dummies Ator had been beating on. “For the sake of the Shattered Court’s training dummies I feel I should intervene.”

“It’s of no matter to you, Vena. Matters of the past.”

“You’re having nightmares again, let me help-”

“I don’t need your help!” He flung his weapon to the wall, embedding it into the metal from the strength of his rage.

Vena looked to him in silence, looking him over as his breathing grew heavy. She moved towards the staff, pulling it from the wall with relative ease before giving it a twirl. The silence between them was intense, filled with negative emotion. To fill the silence she tapped the staff against the wall three, slow times. The sound alone seemed to stir something up in Ator, he looked to Vena with a look that said he felt at ease and held great sorrow.

“Do you remember that sound? What it meant to me on the Zariman?”

Ator balled his fist tightly until his nails dug into his flesh, fresh blood dripping down to the floor around his bare feet. “How can I forget? I will always remember, Vena.”

“Do you really remember, Ator? I honestly don’t think you do.”

“How could I ever forget my time trapped on that damned ship?!” His rage finally spilled over as his shouts echoed. “Though I saved you I am the reason you arm was ripped from your body! I could have killed you!”

Vena flinched at his words, her hand going to grip her left arm tightly. “WHat I’m trying to tell you, Ator, is that we all have nightmares that haunt us. Every Tenno does.” When her blue eyes fell on Ator once more, she looked deeply troubled. “You are not alone. You’ve built an entire organization around helping the Tenno, why not let the Tenno help you?”

Ator had to look away, his rage subsiding. “I don’t know how to ask for help…”

Vena let out a sigh before leaning the staff against the wall. “I’m always gonna be here to help you. Just come ask me for it yourself when you figure out how.”

WIth those words she left, leaving Ator alone once more. His mind was now wild with new thoughts, the demons at bay once more. For now at least. Now all he was left to do was to remember, but instead of remembering the atrocities of the past he remembered all the people who have joined by his side. Those that he called his allies, his friends.

His family.

[twdgfanfiction]

Chapter 39 - Cannot Wait For Death

When Lee walked back into the room that he left his friends in, nothing much had changed. Christa was resting, her chest falling and rising softly with each breath as she slept, Omid was sitting in a chair beside the bed with Natia in his arms, and a calm expression on his face. The whole scene felt really serene. Riley stayed close by Lee's side, staring at the baby nervously before glancing up at Lee, taking his smile as encouragement to keep going. With the door closed behind them, the noise alerted the inhabitants to the two survivors' presence, Omid glancing up whilst comforting the baby in his arms.

"Hey, guys." He greeted, keeping his voice down to avoid waking both baby and mother. "Christa was exhausted, so we told her to get some rest. Little Natia here is sleeping like a… well, like a baby." He chuckled.

"She's really quiet." Sarah piped up, sorting out the instruments on the medical tray for cleaning when she took them back to the clinic. Riley was silent, rather just standing there awkwardly as she continued to stare at the baby, turning her head when Sarah added. "You never would believe this, Riley. I delivered my first baby!"

"Holy shit, that's awesome. So… did you hold her?" the other teen asked, rubbing her lower arm with a small smile.

"Yeah, It was amazing. I mean, once the baby was cleaned and all that, before that it was kinda gross. Isn't she so adorable, though?" Sarah asked, turning her back to the medical tray and instead moving closer to her friend, a bright smile on her face whilst Riley nodded, glancing over at the sleeping baby. Suddenly, Sarah appeared thoughtful, waiting a few moments before approaching Omid, the latter staring down at his child as she asked quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping infant. "Can Riley hold the baby, please?"

Looking up to the waiting teen, Omid chuckled deeply and passed the baby over to her, whispering to her. "Yeah, just be careful with her, and be careful not to wake her up."

"I will, I promise." Sarah replied, taking the baby gently into her arms, before turning around to her friend. Seeing the baby coming closer clearly unnerved Riley, the young teen backing away slightly before Lee placed a hand on her shoulder, silently encouraging her to face her fears. Quiet, she took the baby from Sarah's arms, listening as the latter explained to her. "Hold her like this."

Copying her actions, Riley finally got it right, holding Natia close to her chest whilst staring down at the peaceful face. Lee smiled at the scene before him. Sarah was, for the first time since she came back, genuinely happy, and her friend was showing the shock and excite that he had hardly seen with the young teenager. Holding her finger out, Riley gasped quietly when the baby grabbed it, surprised with the grip the infant had, and she gleefully whispered to Sarah. "Sarah, look! She's holding my finger."

"It's a reflex, I think." She replied, moving closer to Riley. "She seems to like you a lot, though."

"You really think so?" Riley muttered. Lee stood there, recalling their conversation just outside the door, and was pleased to see that she was worrying over nothing. Leaving them to it, he turned over to Omid, watching the father leaning back in his chair with a glow to his face, glad that all the pain and screaming was done with and that he could spend time with his daughter, having waited for the nine months anxiously. He looked up at Lee when the latter started to approach him, glancing back at Riley and Sarah as they quietly gushed over the adorable baby.

"You know, my dad once told me just how hard it was to care for a kid, especially so considering that kid was me." He started, waiting for Lee to lean against the wall beside him before continuing. "He told me about the long nights where he got no sleep, having to go to work the next day so deprived of sleep that he didn't even realise when he fell asleep at his desk. He was a history teacher, you know? The main reason I went on this history car trip across the country."

"It sounds like you care a great deal for him." Lee imputed, watching as Omid just let out a quiet laugh.

"Yeah, I guess I do. Despite all the troubles he had raising me, he told me that he had no regrets. I wonder where he is now…" his voice dropped with the last sentence. Lee frowned deeply, feeling sympathy for his friend sitting in the pit of his stomach, and his gut only twisted painfully when he added. "Sarah certainly loves the baby, huh?"

"Yeah, she does. Riley looks like she's about to pass out, though." He pointed out, both he and Omid staring at the teen as she nervously stood there, the baby waking up in her arms as it squirmed, whimpers coming from the infant that caused her to completely freeze up. Sarah took over, taking Natia from her friend's arm and bouncing her slightly, muttering soothing words under her breath to calm her down. Slowly, the infant listened and quieted down once more, the two teenagers talking to each other whilst the adults watched.

"She was worried that the baby wouldn't like her. I don't know how long it's been for Riley since she was last at ease, not constantly on guard against the world. Maybe this will be good for her." Lee explained, pleased that Sarah showed a skill around babies, though the panicked look on Riley's face didn't make him laugh, rather it worried him. He didn't want her to become overwhelmed with it all.

"Hopefully." Omid replied, before falling silent as they watched the teens cooing over the baby. Sarah was explaining the whole birth to Riley, ecstatic that she had delivered her first baby, though her friend's face slowly got redder and redder as she continued to talk, the latter not noticing this change in colouring as she stared down at the dark, pudgy face of Natia, the bundled joy bringing a bright smile to her face.

After a few minutes of talking, she turned around to Lee, comforting the baby as she stared up at him, her voice quiet as she asked him. "You wanna hold her?"

"Huh? No, no, sweetie, I'm no good at holding babies. Just enjoy the time with her." He rejected, stiffening when Sarah ignored him, walking closer as she passed the baby into his arms. Unable to reject the pass, he took Natia from the young teen, though he verbally voiced his nervousness. "Okay, I guess I am now."

Sarah took a step back, watching as he awkwardly held the sleeping infant with a worried look on his face. After a while, it didn't seem as scary to him, in fact, he enjoyed looking down at Natia as she slept, wondering if this could have been him in a different universe. Staring down at his own child, he felt the pain hit him square in the chest at the remembrance that he could never have what Omid had. From behind him, he heard Omid reveal. "So, Christa and I have been talking… and we've decided that, you know, 'cause you've been a good friend to the both of us, we want you to be Natia's godfather."

Shocked, he turned around to his friend, staring down at Omid's smirking face with wide eyes, trying to think of what to say. Eventually, he spluttered out. "Woah. That's really kind of both of you, really. I'm honoured that you thought that I'd be a good godfather."

"Yeah, Christa thought that you were doing everything for the community, and for the group, and she wanted someone for the baby to aspire to be." Omid explained, chuckling softly as he added. "I thought Natia would want a badass looking godfather."

"Thanks, Omid." Lee shot back sarcastically, a smirk on his face as he glanced down at the whimpering baby. Rocking her gently, he whispered to her. "Hey, sweetpea… You want your daddy? Come on, let's give you back to him."

Moving closer to the other grown man, he passed Natia over, her whimpers growing more and more whilst Omid took her from him, trying to calm her down. However, she quickly began crying, her hands curled into small fists and eyes scrunched close, and her father was dumbfounded on how to comfort her. Sarah moved to his side, confused on what to do as she suggested. "Maybe she's hungry?"

Omid hummed at that, confessing to the young teen. "Probably. I just didn't wanna disturb Christa, she's been through a lot."

"I don't mind if it's Natia waking me up." Christa suddenly replied, slowly opening her eyes as she stared at her family, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips before she held her hands out, beckoning for Omid to give her the crying infant. "Pass her over here, Omid."

"Come on, honey, let's go back to your mommy." Omid whispered to the crying Natia, passing her over to Christa, the latter taking hold of the baby before she glanced up at Lee. Taking a hint, he coughed awkwardly, turning to Sarah and Riley.

"We should should give them some privacy. Let's go and take the stuff down to the clinic." He suggested, watching as Riley realised what was about to happen and, with a flustered expression, started dragging the tray out of the door, Sarah pushing the other end. Following after them, he turned back to offer the couple a small smile, Omid returning it brightly, before he closed the door behind him. Outside of the door, voices could be heard all around them, the laughter and chatter of children and adults alike as they went on their merry way, doing whatever they did during their free time.

Glancing behind him, he noticed Riley standing by the wheeled tray, staring at Sarah as the latter was wearing the beanie she just had, a smile on her face as she complemented her friend. "You suit that pretty well."

"Really? Thanks!" Sarah replied, adjusting it with a goofy expression on her face. "Where did you even get this from?"

"If you find a pack of cards, bet Joel one of his hats for some cigarettes and you'll get a new hat. He's really bad at poker." Riley smirked, directing the last sentence at Lee as he chuckled deeply, amused by the thought of Joel losing to a fourteen year old girl.

"I don't know how to play poker. Do you think you can teach me?" she asked.

Riley raised her eyebrows in surprise, before she just nodded with a warm smile on her face. "Sure. If you come to the restaurant after dinner tonight, it'll be me, Joel and some of the other scouts there."

"Sure, I'll be there!" Sarah replied, turning to Lee as she asked him. "Do you wanna come too, Lee? You've been working a lot lately."

"Be warned though, some of the guys will lose respect for their leader when he gets beat by a kid." Riley shot back. Lee smirked at that, crossing his arms as he stared down at the teenagers in front of him, pleased to be having a normal conversation for one.

"Alright." He agreed, noticing Riley's smirk growing larger as he added. "But you better be prepared to lose."

"We won't know until tonight." She retorted, turning to start pushing the tray again. Sarah took her cue, helping her by guiding the tray from the front, both of them walking over to the staircase to take the medical tools back down to the clinic. Lee just watched them, making no move to follow after them and rather just walked over to the window looking out over the outside world. He recalled standing by the window on the floor below with Alicia, back when Carver was still ruling. Watching the dust being kicked up by the walkers tied to the wall. It made him sick to the stomach even to that day, and looking at the people enjoying the sun below, children running around playing games, it made every day that bit easier. He knew he was doing good, no matter the problems lurking beyond their boundaries.

The sound of barking brought his attention away from the window, his head turning in the direction of the sound as he noticed Buddy running around, enjoying the time spent playing with the children. The dog was looking brighter, no longer depressed over the loss of his owner, and Lilly had taken to giving him a new look, replacing the collar with a navy bandana, a golden H stitched into the fabric to symbolise the dog's alliance with Howe's. Lee thought it was cute. Walking up the stairs behind Buddy was Lilly, the young woman looking brighter considering she had finished her treatment of painkillers.

Immediately, she noticed Lee standing by the window, making her way over to him with a smile on her face, though she nearly pushed a child over when they came running towards her right side. Pausing, she made sure the child was alright, trying to apologize to the parent whilst they were understanding, Lee watching with his pleased expression turning concerned. Lilly may have been coping, but it must have been difficult adjusting to one eye. Buddy seemed to have sense her distress at the incident, running up and nudging her hand, bringing her attention away from the situation and instead leading her over to Lee. He raised an eyebrow at this, unsure how the animal was able to know that Lilly needed to get out of that moment.

However, he pushed that concern aside when Lilly walked up to him, her voice quiet as she revealed. "I heard that Christa's given birth."

"Yeah, a little girl. They've decided to name her Natia." Lee replied, petting Buddy on the head as he sat there, panting away in the warm climate.

"That's good news." She smiled, appearing genuinely happy for the couple and their new baby, arms crossed lazily as she moved towards the other end of the window, glancing outside with a calm expression on her worn face. Lee just stared at her, eyes running along the scarred skin that was visible around the eyepatch, unable to meet her gaze when she looked at him, having noticed his stairs. It made him feel terrible, and he often wondered if he could have prevented that.

Slowly, she didn't bring his stares up, rather continuing on the topic of the baby. "It'll be nice having someone new around here. Someone… innocent, you know?"

"I know. I'm happy for Omid and Christa, they've been so worried about the baby. It's good knowing that Natia is healthy." He confessed, crossing his arms as he leaned against the windowsill. Lilly nodded at that, her hand being nudged by buddy when Lee stopped stroking him, displeased with the lack of attention, and so she began stroking his ear affectionately. He leaned into the touch, his head leaning against her leg as she glanced down.

"He seems to really like you." Lee pointed out, staring down at the panting Buddy.

She laughed softly at that, looking up at Lee with a smirk. "Jealous?"

"Well, considering it was my neck put on the line to save him, yeah. I'm jealous." He retorted, returning her smirk with his own. "I will give you this. You know how to dress him."

"Oh, do you like it?" she asked, surprised by his compliment as she moved her hand stroking Buddy's ear down to the bandana wrapped around his neck, feeling the soft fabric between her long fingers as she continued. "I thought he'd look cuter in this. I can't stitch for shit, though, so Kristina did the H for me."

"When did Kristina know how to sew?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"We all have hobbies besides our jobs, Lee." Lilly chuckled, crossing her arms as she pointed out. "Joel likes to gamble. Kristina sews. Gabriel is a big yoga fan. Hell, Riley is great at sketching."

"I never knew that." He admitted, surprised with some of the hobbies that his people enjoyed. Remembering the poker game he was invited to later on, he wondered if Lilly could do with relaxing, deciding to ask her whilst she was there. "Hey, Lilly?"

She said nothing, waiting for him to continue as he did, a smile on his face. "Riley's invited me to a game of poker with others after dinner tonight. I was wondering if you'd wanna join us?"

"I don't play poker. I feel like I would lose my dignity before I even sit down." She joked, though her voice took an appreciative tone as she nodded. "Alright, fine, but I'm gonna need someone to teach me."

"Team up with me. From what Riley said, we should be able to win a few hats from Joel by the end of the night." He laughed. Lilly joined in on his laughing, both of them falling silent after as he glanced out the window, listening as she spoke up again.

"I'll see you guys there, then." Her footsteps followed after the words were said, echoing through the floor as he continued to stare out of the window, a soft smile on his face with the thought of enjoying himself and being with friends looming just around the corner. It was a few minutes before he pulled himself away from the window, and he decided to finish up any work needed before he would wind down and enjoy himself. Dinner wasn't long after that.

With the spring arriving, the vegetables grown during the winter were being harvested, some spinach and leafy greens being more common in the meals. The change was mostly welcomed, though Sarah showed some hesitance in eating her greens, something that was not uncommon with the kids that were surrounding them. It made Lee chuckle under his breath. He would take Sarah being picky compared to her starving, though she eventually gave in and ate them. Christa and Omid were absent from the dinner table, the former exhausted from giving birth and so her boyfriend going down to receive some food, Gabriel offering his congratulations for their new arrival whilst passing the plates.

It surprised Lee when he saw Nick arriving halfway through the dinner hour, sitting down next to the leader with a tired look, though he started to brighten up a bit when Sarah explained her day to him, the help she gave throughout Christa's birth making the taller man beam with pride as he rubbed the top of her head, the beanie Riley gave her no longer there. Other than that, he was mostly quiet, and Lee couldn't stop the concern from creeping up on him.

The light coming through the open doors was slowly dying, the skies the familiar mix of oranges, pinks and reds, and it was starting to get late. Other survivors took that as time to put their children to bed, Alicia cradling a sleeping Kate in her arms as she passed Lee by, offering him a soft smile that he returned, his heart warming at the sight of the child's peaceful expression, drool staining her shirt as Kate rested her head against her mother's shoulder. Others followed, though some of the scouts, including Riley, moved over to the table Lee was sitting down at, the young teen sitting next to Sarah with a pack of cards in her hand.

"You ready, guys?" she asked, shuffling the cards with skill. Joel sat down next to Lee, a sour look on his face when Riley paused her shuffling, glancing up at the older man with a smirk on her face. "What, you ain't got nothing to bet? Or you too chicken after the last ass-kicking I gave you?"

"Shut it and just deal the cards." He grumbled, fishing out a carton of cigarettes and tapping one of them out the box, Lee noticing how little he has left. As soon as he placed the cigarette between his teeth and grabbed his lighter, Gabriel appeared with a stern frown, glaring at him until Joel sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine." With that, he stood up, walking over to the open balcony doors whilst lighting the end up. Lee glanced at Nick beside him, the two survivors flashing an amused smirk to each other whilst the guard had his smoke break.

"You joining, Gabriel?" Kristina offered, leaning back in her chair as she quietly groaned in pain, moving down to remove her prosthetic leg whilst Lee sat there in shock, completely forgetting that she was indeed missing a leg. Noticing his stares, she raised an eyebrow and piped up. "What?"

"Nothing." He lied, turning back to Riley shuffling the cards as he added. "I just forget about all that."

Kristina shook her head with an amused look, taking no offense to Lee's response to her leg, and rather propped it against the leg of the table, turning her attention back to the young teen as Gabriel sat down beside Sarah, a joking tone to his voice as he nodded. "I'll stick around for a few rounds. Long enough to see Joel lose even more of his dignity."

"Got room for one more?" a voice called out, some of the survivors at the table turning around to see Lilly standing there awkwardly, waiting for confirmation to join before she sat down. Gabriel was the first to reply, patting the back of the chair beside him as he offered.

"Sure thing, Lilly. Come sit here." She did so, walking quickly over to the empty chair and sitting down, flashing a smile at Lee as he returned it. He was glad that she came after all, it would do her some good to reconnect with friends after the incident. Finally, Riley started dealing out the cards, leaving herself out as she whistled loudly.

"Alright, guess I'll be dealer." She mused, turning to Sarah as she smiled. "I'll help you along with this first game, and then you can try on your own, alright?"

"Sure!" she replied happily, glancing at the others around her as Joel finally returned from his smoke break, coughing quietly as he took his seat next to Lee again. Leaning back, he took a peek at his cards, his face a blank slate as he glanced up at Riley, the teen helping her friend as she peeked at the cards, muttering something to Sarah that the others couldn't hear. After that, the dealer moved her face away, and leaned back in her chair as the others started betting.

Cigarettes, batteries, anything that the scouts found that was of any worth in their world, and Lee sat there as he betted a candy bar he found in his desk, watching with a neutral look. Riley dealt the first card, Kristina humming under her breath whilst folding her cards. "Nah, I fold."

"Already? Must have been some shitty cards." Riley joked, flicking another card out as she looked over at Sarah's cards, muttering something else to her as the other teen nodded intently, listening to her advice.

It was fun. Just sitting there, laughing and joking with friends rather than being cooped up in his office. As the cards were dealt, Lee glanced down at his pair of queens, noticing a third queen having appeared. Gabriel and Lilly both folded whilst he was lost in his thoughts, and all that remained where Lee, Sarah and Joel, Nick watching with a warm smile as he piped up. "You three have played this game before."

"No, not really." Sarah rejected, shaking her head before glancing at the cards on the table. "Have you, Nick?"

"A few times. My dad showed me how to count cards, won us loads when I was younger." He revealed, chuckling under his breath. "That mean old bastard was a useless father, but he did teach me a thing or two."

"Speaking of counting cards, Riley." Joel growled, glaring at her from across the table as she nonchalantly sat there, a fake surprised look on her face as he accused her. "I know that you did that last game."

"I don't count cards. Skilled people don't have to." She shot back, folding her arms on the table with a smirk. "Don't be a sore loser, and don't bet things you don't wanna lose like an idiot."

"Accept her victory, man. She bested you." Gabriel laughed, amused by Joel's blatant refusal to accept that he was beat by Riley. Lee chuckled along with them, watching as the younger man just narrowed his eyes, glancing down as Riley revealed the last card of the river. A King of Hearts.

Joel smirked at that, turning his cards over with a gloating tone. "I guess this one's mine, guys."

His hand was revealed to be a four of a kind, Lee frowning as he showed his two queens, narrowing his eyes when Joel's face brightened, a whistle coming from him as he chuckled. "A pretty hand, but it ain't pretty enough. Come to papa."

He made a move to take his loot when Riley stopped him, a smirk on her face as Sarah revealed her hand, her voice taking a humorous tone as she boasted. "Royal Flush. The loot's hers."

Dumbfounded, a flush crossed Joel's face as Gabriel let out a hearty laugh, Lilly and Kristina chuckling whilst Nick just placed a hand on the dejected survivor's shoulder, making him sit down again whilst Riley moved the look to Sarah. The latter was surprised that she won, picking up the candy bar as he mumbled. "What do I do with this?"

"You won it, kid. Enjoy it." Kristina explained, taking the cards from Riley as she added. "I'll deal this time."

"You alright there, Kristina?" Gabriel asked, suddenly appearing concerned when the woman's eye twitched in pain, her hand moving down to her amputated leg as the others watched her, all of them worried for their friend.

She didn't reply for a few moments, glancing around until her eyes settled on Gabriel, and she tried to excuse herself. "It's nothing. Just some pain in my leg, that's all."

"I got just the thing for pain." Gabriel smiled, standing up as he briskly walked over to the counter, disappearing whilst the others just sat there in confusion. Lee crossed his hands on the table casually, listening to the shuffles occurring behind the scenes.

Suddenly, Kristina spoke up, her voice guilt-ridden and nervous as she explained. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to head out with the others tomorrow, Lee. I-I'm sorry, it's just the pains have been flaring up again, and it's just… hard to deal with."

"Don't worry about it, I'll head out instead. It's better than being stuck in my office all day." Lee replied, understanding of Kristina's predicament. She was visibly relieved with his calm words, nodding gratefully before they noticed Gabriel returning to the table, a bottle of what looked like wine in his hand. The others looked around at the cook, surprised to see alcohol when he smiled warmly.

"I keep a few bottles around here. No need to hide them anymore." He explained, opening the bottle and passing the bottle to Kristina. "Nothing stops pain like booze."

Taking it from him, she glanced at the label and raised an eyebrow. "Barbaresco. Grazie, Gabriel."

"Can I have some after you guys?" Riley suddenly asked, watching as Kristina took a large gulp of the dark liquid. The question shocked her, causing the woman to splutter out of the wine, a dribble coming from the corner of her mouth as she wiped it.

"Riley, come on, you're only fourteen." Joel scolded, shaking his head as he added. "We gotta have some civilisation from before. It don't sit right with me offering alcohol to a kid."

"Hey, I can cover myself in walker guts and shoot a gun, but you're right to be unnerved if I want a sip of wine." Riley shot back sarcastically. Lee did agree with her, but he also thought about what he'd be like if it was an older Clementine in front of him, asking if she could have some wine. Mostly like Joel, in his opinion. Kristina, having regained her composure, glanced down at the bottle in her hand and, with a sigh, passed it over to the teen.

"Just a sip." She warned. Riley smiled at that, taking the bottle as she took a sip, being caught off guard by the burning sensation at the back of her throat as she coughed abruptly. Sarah laughed quietly at that, patting her back with a gentleness to the action whilst the adults found the situation amusing.

"May you ain't ready to start drinking." Gabriel chuckled, taking the bottle away as Riley nodded in agreement.

"Tried it, never again." She croaked. The cook took a large gulp of the wine, less affected by it than the teen, and began to pass it around the table for others to take turns, whilst Kristina started to deal the cards. Lilly paused when it was handed to her, appearing thoughtful before she took a sip, likely unwilling to get completely wasted like the others. After that, she passed it to Joel, the latter not even bothering to look at the bottle when he passed it to Lee.

"You don't drink?" Lee asked, taking the bottle from him and taking a sip.

Taking his cards, Joel took a peek at them, before he looked up at Lee and answered with a shrug. "Not a big wine fan. Prefer bourbon if I'm honest."

"You have good tastes." He replied, preferring that to the wine in his hands. It wasn't a bad brand of wine, in fact it was pretty good, but Lee would have given anything to have some bourbon after a long day. Turning his head, he noticed Nick not even looking at the bottle, and rather quickly passed it back to Kristina when the leader passed it to his friend, saying nothing as the woman just accepted it. Lee glanced over at Sarah, spotting a sad smile on her face before she turned her attention back to the cards.

"Right," Kristina started, taking a swig of wine before she continued. "Let's start then, huh?"

They carried on playing and drinking until late at night. Lee had rejected any more wine, wanting to quickly check on Christa and Omid before he retired to bed, and soon he stood up from the table, bidding goodnight to his friends. Sarah remained where she sat, wanting to spend some more time with the other survivors before going back to her bedroom. Leaving the restaurant, he made his way through the darkness up the stairs, taking care not to trip over any of the steps, rather listening to his footsteps echoing through the empty space. The guards on duty were scattered throughout the building, a few situating themselves on the top floor, wanting to keep close in case something happened to Christa.

One of the guards acknowledged their leader's presence, sitting down on the bench in the middle of the floor with their gun propped against it. He returned the gesture, before opening the door quietly in case the residents inside were resting. Glancing inside, he noticed Omid sitting in the chair, having fallen asleep whilst Christa sat up in her bed, cradling Natia in her arms with a tranquil look in her eyes. The movement of the door caught her attention, and a stern expression appeared quickly, before disappearing when she noticed it was just Lee. Calming down, she whispered to him as he walked closer. "Couldn't sleep. Omid's long gone, though."

"I can tell." Lee laughed softly, glancing down at Natia with a gentle gaze. "She's pretty peaceful there."

"It won't last long, she was crying so much before." Christa groaned, leaning back into her pillow. Lee remained silent, glancing up from the baby to the exhausted mother, and instead listened as she confessed. "I knew this was going to be hard, and I don't regret her birth. I spent nine months worrying. About her safety and about mine, but looking down at her face now… it makes everything we've gone through worth it."

"She'll be safe here, Christa, I promise." He swore. Everytime he looked down at Natia's pudgy, peaceful face, he felt a determination deep within, determination to protect that source of hope, of innocence. It almost reminded him of a time before Howe's, back at the motel, and on the road just after that, when he used to look at Clementine's face.

A sigh could be heard, bringing him back out of his thoughts as Christa murmured. "It might not be possible, but thank you."

Both of them than sat in silence, rather enjoying each other's company during this emotional time, and quickly Omid's snoring filled the room, causing the two survivors to chuckled quietly to avoid waking him. Lee decided to sit on the end of Christa's bed, unable to stop the thoughts of tomorrow from intruding into the mind. It was a supply run tomorrow, and with the bandits getting larger and bolder, he worried about when they would actually turn their eyes on Howe's as well. So far, they only occupied themselves with getting back at Wellington, but he would be a fool if he thought it would last that way forever. His friend seemed to have noticed the expression shift, her voice calm but somewhat nervous as she asked him. "Lee, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing to worry yourself about." He tried to excuse, though her face turning stern made him sigh and confess to her, noticing Omid's noring having ceased. "It's just a supply run tomorrow, but Kristina isn't able to go with the others because of her leg. I offered."

"Lee." Christa sighed, her next words something Lee knew she was going to say. "I get that you're just trying to be more active in how Howe's runs, but I don't like you putting yourself in danger like this all the time. There's gotta be a line we cross, and with the bandits being like this, I say this is the time you stay here. For your own safety if nothing else."

"I can go." Omid suddenly offered, startling both of them as Lee turned his head quickly, spotting the other man slowly sitting up from his slouched position in the chair, stretching his arms until there was a pop.

"Omid, it's fine." Lee rejected, glancing back at Christa and noticing her concerned look. "I can do it. There's people there to protect me, I won't be alone."

"Come on, Lee. Don't try and put me on the bench because you're afraid I might get hurt. I can do this." Omid pressed, glancing at Christa and Natia. "If it means we have more protection, and get those supplies that we need, I'm willing to risk it."

Lee was unnerved by the offer. He knew Omid was able to do it, the shorter survivor had proven that the whole time they were on the road together, but he just feared for his safety, and for Christa and their newborn baby if Omid didn't return. Christa glanced at him, her eyes narrowed as she adopted a more protective tone. "No. I won't allow you to risk yourself for this. There's people here who can do it, you stay here."

"I'll be fine, Christa." He replied, a smile on his face despite his girlfriend being in a less than joyful mood.

"If he wants to do this, then I'll go with him. I'll make sure he's safe." Lee promised, knowing that Omid just wanted to help his friend in these times of need. With both of them against her, Christa just glared momentarily at Lee, annoyed that he would take Omid's side in this argument, but his stoic face caused her to just sigh to herself, nodding slowly with a quiet tone.

"Alright." she agreed, turning to Omid with a soft frown. "But you better come home."

"I promise, honey." He smiled, moving forward to plant a kiss on her forehead, moving down to stare at their sleeping baby. Watching the infant rest caused exhaustion to fully hit Lee, a yawn building up in his chest as he slowly stood up, stretching his arms out similar to Omid just before.

Turning to them, he smiled softly, keeping his voice low to avoid rousing the baby as he bid farewell. "I'm gonna head off to bed now. We gotta be up early if we're to reach the rendezvous point at noon tomorrow."

"Same here. Likely not gonna get much with this lil lady right here." Omid joked, taking Natia from Christa's arms before moving back to his chair, sitting down in it with his daughter in his arms, the sight of them being peaceful the last thing Lee saw before he exited the room. With heavy footsteps, he made his way back to his office, and retired for the night, finding sleep harder to come by with the threats looming in the back of his mind.

The next morning came suddenly. Lee awoke with a groggy look on his face, his back stiff from sleeping in the office chair all night, and he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't gotten a room for himself, or even just a bed to put in the office so he didn't fall asleep at his desk anymore. Regardless, that was pushed to the back of his mind when he noticed a plate of food left by where his head was resting, a note left beside it with the writing looking somewhat cursive.

You were asleep, so I left your breakfast for when you woke up. Everyone is waiting for you downstairs, by the way. Good luck on the supply run!

Sarah.

With a warm smile on his face, he tucked into the cooked eggs with hunger eating away at his stomach, enjoying the taste of freshly cooked food compared to cold beans or whatever he could find on the road. Soon, he finished it, and glanced down at his watch, noticing that it had gone past half eight. Cursing under his breath, he jumped from his desk, leaving the empty plate behind as he exited the office, pausing when he noticed Sarah in the doorway of the restaurant opposite his room, chatting away happily with Gabriel. She didn't notice him, and he was on a tight schedule at the moment, deciding to talk to her when he returned from the supply run.

Rushing, he practically ran down the stairs, careful not to slip and tumble down them or run into the other survivors that were making their way up the flight of stairs. They gave him some strange looks, but held their tongues as they continued to walk. Leaving them be, he carried on his way to the loading bay. The doors to the large room were already open. Walking inside, he noticed the guards on duty for the supply run standing around, Christa and Omid talking in the corner near the tools that Nathan kept. Deciding to walk up, he overheard some of the conversation between the couple.

"I don't like this, Omid." He heard Christa whisper, her voice wracked with worry as her boyfriend stood there, arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"It'll be alright. Lee'll be with me, and our soldiers too. I ain't going out there alone, at least." He tried to joke. Christa just frowned even more at that, obviously not in the mood for jokes, and instead turned her head to the approaching Lee, staring at him with a mixture of concern and anger.

"I'm not happy that you agreed with him last night, so you better keep true to your word. Bring him home." The last sentence was spoken in a softer tone, and Lee couldn't help but feel guilty for agreeing with Omid last night. She was genuinely worried for his safety.

Nodding slowly, he watched as Omid just brought Christa closer, gently pecking her on the lips before looking down at Natia in the woman's arms, bringing his hand up to stroke the infant's face affectionately as he murmured. "Don't worry, I won't be gone forever. We'll be home soon."

"Okay. Be safe, both of you." Christa ordered, glancing at Lee again with a small smile. He returned the gesture, before gesturing for Omid to follow after him. Walking away from the woman and her baby, they stared at the truck, Joel standing there with a lit cigarette between his lips. Leaning against the front door, he noticed the leader and his friend coming over and stood up properly, turning to the other guards.

"Come on, ladies. Look alive." He chuckled, his words somewhat muffled with the cigarette between his teeth. Lee paused in front of him, noticing Riley appearing from behind the truck as he moved to point this out, only for Joel to beat him to it. "Riley's tagging along with us for today, just so I can show her what it's like on the supply runs."

"I thought you prefered to be a scout." Lee shot back, staring down at the short teen as she shrugged.

"I have other hobbies." She joked, a sly smirk on her face as she explained. "I do like being a scout, you see different places, and I never like being cooped up, but I can actually help get supplies into Howe's with this."

"Alright, then. Just stay close to us, it can get pretty dangerous on these runs." Lee instructed. Riley nodded at that, before she made her way to the back of the truck again, jumping in with the other guards. Joel, knowing his smoke break is over, plucked the cigarette from between his teeth and flicked it onto the ground, stomping it out with his shoe before jumping into the front of the truck, sitting in the driver's seat whilst Omid and Lee got in through the passenger door.

With his friend sitting in the middle, Lee sat by the window, watching as Christa stood there, comforting Natia as the baby started crying loudly. The truck backed out of the loading bay, the shutters slowly closing again once they were out. On their way to the meetup point, Lee just settled down in his seat, knowing that it was going to be a few hours before they met up with the people from Wellington. Omid was silent beside him, likely stuck in his own thoughts, and so they just sat there in complete silence. The hum of the engine was the only thing that could be heard inside the cab of the truck.

It wasn't long before rain started to fall. Drop after drop hitting the windshield, the windscreen wipers brushing them away with the squeaking replacing any conversation, and soon it was heavy rainfall, soaking the tarmac road that they drove on. The familiar highway they drove on showed the accidents that occurred between the supply runs, new walkers feasting on a fresh corpse as the truck drove by, Lee wincing when he noticed the face, half-chewed, staring up at the sky in a permanent expression of terror. Quietly, he heard Joel mutter to him. "That ain't the worst of it."

"You see a lot of that on your runs?" Omid asked, unable to look at the scene as they left it behind, continuing down the highway.

"Jesus, where do I start?" he retorted, glancing at Omid and Lee with a grim expression. "After a while, you just take it in your stride anyway. No use shedding tears for people that are gone."

"Shedding tears means we're still human." Lee shot back, somewhat unnerved by Joel's matter-of-fact way of handling the situations. He didn't respond to that, rather his gaze falling down to the hands on the steering wheel, his fingers gripping onto the wheel with a tight hold. Omid glanced back at Lee, both of them sharing a concerned look before they decided to let the conversation go, leaving the driver to stew in his own thoughts as they continued to drive down the road.

The trees swayed in the rough winds, the showers of rain washing away any dirt and blood from the incidents that occurred along the highway. The dull sound of the rain hitting the roof was the sound that Lee paid attention to, trying to fight the boredom that crept up on him, his face leaning against the palm of his hand whilst his elbow was propped up against the window, eyes half-closed as he daydreamed. Soon however, he was pulled out of his thoughts when the truck slowed, the sight of another truck and people standing in the middle of the road catching his attention. The symbol of Wellington painted on the truck calmed his nerves, and once they stopped, the first person to approach them was none other than Sam.

Opening the door, Lee frowned with the thought of getting soaked, but jumped out of the dry truck nonetheless. The rain soaked right through his shirt, making him wished he grabbed his jacket before he left. With a wide grin, Sam approached the leader, no longer wearing his thick russian hat, showing off scruffy brown hair, but still sporting his coat to protect himself from the cold rain. "You should of dressed a bit more smart for this weather, Lee."

"I didn't know it was gonna rain." Lee shot back, a smirk on his face as he glanced behind the other man. "Edith not with you?"

"Nah, she stayed back in Wellington. Told me that when I get back, she has some news for me." He explained, an excited tone to his voice that reminded Lee of a child. Pausing, he glanced past Lee's shoulder, looking at the guards that exited the back of the Howe's truck with an unsure look, appearing like he was looking for someone in particular. Lee turned his head, confused as to who he could have been looking for, and listened as Sam awkwardly asked. "So, erm, is Al with you guys?"

"No. She's on guard duty back in Howe's today." He replied, glancing back at Sam to notice his disappointed expression. Realising the intention behind his question, he couldn't help but smirk slyly as he added. "You like her, don't you?"

A blush appeared across the other man's face with his true feelings exposed, a nervous cough the first reply Lee got before Sam managed to stammer. "Well, yeah, she's pretty cool. Once you get past that awful temper, but that just reminds me of my first wife. Why, has she said anything about me? Did she tell you? What'd she say?"

"Calm down." Lee laughed, placing a hand on the nerve wrecked survivor. "She ain't said anything to me, but I don't know. Next time you see her, talk to her, see what's what. You guys have only met once."

"Hey, it's love at first sight. Don't knock it." Sam retorted sarcastically, turning on his heel as he walked back to the people standing around the truck, Lee noticing that they were already bringing supplies out of the back in boxes. Turning to his own people, he gestured for them to do the same thing, wanting to exchange their things and return to Howe's. The heavy rain was loud, and could mask any walkers coming for them, or worse, other survivors.

Riley moved closer to him, holding one of the rifles that the guards typically had, the weapon looking almost comical in her small hands. Pausing, she stared at Sam with a neutral expression as he came back from his truck, the older man smiling brightly when he noticed the teenager. "Hey! Riley, isn't it?"

"Yeah. You're… Sam?" she asked, appearing unsure who the man was as he nodded in response. "Sorry. You just look different without that hat."

"Well, you look different with that cool beanie." He pointed out, moving to ruffle it when Riley took a step back, a narrowed glare warning the man off. Holding his hands up, he apologized. "Shit, sorry. I should've recognized you with that angry look on your face. You ain't changed one bit."

"Thanks, it's what kept me alive. Looking constantly angry works well keeping walkers and assholes away." She retorted dryly. Her response earned a chuckle from Lee, his arms crossed as boxes of supplies were traded between the guards in the background, the three survivors standing there and talking. Soon, Omid joined the group, walking over with a smile on his face.

"You guys enjoying standing in the rain?" he joked, pausing between Lee and Sam as he turned to the Wellington survivor. "You're the guy that came to Howe's during Carver, right?"

"That's me. I'm Sam." Sam nodded, shaking Omid's hand with a grin.

"Heya, name's Omid." The shorter persian smiled, returning the gesture with a firm shake.

"Omid's been in my group for a long time. We've gone back even before we knew about Howe's." Lee explained, adding with a warm tone. "He's in my care today. Christa'll kill me if he gets a scratch or something on this run today, especially since he's newly became a father."

"Holy shit, dude. Congratulations." Sam grinned, patting Omid on the back roughly as he added. "I'll warn you now, your wife will make you get out of the bed during those night cries. The amount of times Christa woke me up…"

The mention of that name caused Sam to frown slightly, Lee and Omid glancing at each other as the former asked. "You mentioned that name back at the trailer park. Who's Christa?"

"She is… was my daughter. Lost her in the first few weeks, right after her mom died." Sam explained, trying his best to not let his grief show as he added fondly. "She was a tyrant. Miss her everyday."

"Sam." One of the Wellington guards called out, walking over to the group as they turned to her. Taller than Sam, she stood there with a pistol in her hand, a baseball cap protecting her eyes from the rain that was lightening up, and stared at the other survivors with hazel coloured eyes. Pausing just behind Sam, she gestured to the truck behind her, pointing at it with her thumb, and quickly explained. "All packed up. We should get going, if we're to reach Wellington on time. I don't wanna be the one to explain to Marissa why we were late."

"True. she'll have my head after last time if we're late." Sam sighed, nodding to the truck in a gesture, silently ordering the guard to return whilst he turned back to his friends. Staring at Lee, he grabbed the other's hand in a hard handshake, a smirk on his face as he bid his farewells. "Well, this is where we gotta split. It's good catching up with you, man."

"Same here, Sam, and don't worry." Lee paused, leaning closer to Sam as he continued in a sly tone. "I'll make sure Al goes on the next supply run."

The mention of the woman caused the blush to return, and Sam sported a more goofy grin as he rubbed the back of his neck, nodding as he turned and started making his way, waving goodbye to the group as they returned the gesture. The truck backed away slowly, before turning around and driving back down the road, returning back to the settlement up north with their needed supplies. Riley stood there, watching him go, before she smiled softly. Lee noticed the warm expression on her face, and jokingly asked her. "You getting a crush, Riley?"

"No!" she snapped, looking up at Lee with a glare as she explained. "It's just… this is nice. Being with others, rather than on my own, on those scouting missions. People watch your back, make you feel safe. I know I wouldn't be here if it weren't for people protecting me."

"You watch my back, and I'll watch yours. We're a team, Riley, all of us." Lee responded, placing a hand on her shoulder as she nodded, her smile widening slightly at his words.

Slowly, she shook his hand off, turning back to the truck as she made her way to the back, calling to the leader and his friend. "I'm gonna go back in. We should leave for Howe's, it's too quiet."

Omid nodded in agreement with that, glancing up at Lee with a smirk. "Yeah. God knows Christa is gonna be having a panic attack all the time we've been gone. We should head back if I don't wanna end up sleeping in the chair aga-"

Omid never finished that sentence. Over the loud rainfall, Lee could hear the sound of gunfire, panic taking over when he noticed people standing up from the forests, making their way forward with guns in their hands. Omid stumbled forward, collapsing into Lee's arms as he gasped in pain, and the leader was defenseless as Riley appeared.

With her weapon drawn, she shouted loudly as she fired her gun. "Get down!"

Lee managed to drag Omid over to behind the truck, the latter collapsing with a shocked expression on his face. Kneeling down, Lee couldn't stop the devastation from hitting him when he saw the blood pooling around Omid's upper abdomen, his hand shooting up to stop the bleeding whilst Lee shook his head in disbelief. "Omid, no. Fucking, goddammit!"

"F-Fuck." Omid swore, coughing violently as he rested his head against the vehicle, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth as he gasped. "I didn't e-even see them."

"Just hold on, Omid. I can get you back to Jack, he'll fix you up!" Lee begged, pressing his hands against the wound. The action caused his friend to gasp in pain, his own blood covered hand falling to his side as his breaths became ragged. Removing his hands, Lee knelt there, staring at the blood staining them with everything slowing down around him. He couldn't think. He didn't know what to do, and wasn't listening as Riley appeared out of nowhere.

Kneeling beside him, she noticed Omid's wounds and gasped. "Fuck, they got him!"

"I…" Omid stammered, trying to stand up when, with a cry of pain, he was forced to sit back down. Panting loudly, he stared up at Lee, and finished his sentence with a knowing tone. "I ain't going anywhere, Lee. T-This is the final stop for me."

"Come on, man, I ain't giving up on you!" Lee snapped, trying to help Omid up on his feet whilst yelling at Riley. "Riley, help me!"

She was confused, unsure what to do, and with the gunfire going off all around them, she jumped to her feet and tried to help Lee get Omid back on his feet. It was no use, no matter what Lee did, his friend was forced to sit back down again, his face paling with the blood loss. The young teen was forced to give up, staring down at the blood staining the arm of her sweater with a panicked look on her face. Glancing at Lee, he could clearly see the fear in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Eventually, Omid piped up, his voice cracking as he begged Lee. "Lee. I-I need you to promise me that you'll protect my family. Christa and Natia, they need you… please."

"I will. They'll be safe with me, man, I promise…" Lee nodded, his face fallen in heartbreak at watching a close friend dying in front of him.

"Go on, then. G-Get outta here." Omid ordered, staring off into the distance. "Tell Christa I'm sorry, okay? T-Tell her that I love her, and our daughter."

Nodding, Lee watched as Omid smiled at that, turning to Riley as he quickly added. "Riley? Natia's gonna need a-a mentor growing up. You and Sarah, you'll mind her… yeah?"

"I will. I'll teach her all I know." Riley promised, her voice cracking with emotion as tears pricked in the corners of her eyes. Lee tried to compose himself, rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm, and just knelt there as Omid nodded slowly. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly, and stared off into the distance with a glossy look in his eyes. Riley hung her head in sorrow, and Lee gritted his teeth in anger. The bandits had took his friend. He wanted revenge.

"I'm gonna kill all of them!" he shouted in anger, trying to stand up when Riley grabbed his arm.

"Lee, no!" she begged, trying to pull him to the truck. "We both want revenge for Omid, I know that, but that's for another day. Christa needs to know! We have to be alive to be there for her, and Natia! Lee, please!"

Lee stopped in his tracks, allowing Riley to continue holding his arm as he bowed his head. The guards on their side were trying their best to protect them, but it was evident that they had to leave, Joel running around the truck as he stopped in his tracks, noticing Omid's corpse propped against the truck. "Shit! They killed him?!"

"There was nothing we could do!" Riley replied, unable to bring her to look at the body. "We gotta go, now!"

"Lee, what do we do with the body?" Joel asked, looking up at Lee as the latter just stood there. Unable to think, he just stared at Joel with a broken expression, forcing the other male survivor to take control and nod, turning to Riley as he ordered her. "Riley, get in the cab, we're leaving!"

Shocked by the order, she gestured to Omid's body and begged him. "But what about-?!"

"We got no time!" Joel snapped. His sharp response caused her to flinch, before she obeyed his instructions and opened the truck door, climbing in whilst Joel turned to Lee. Placing a hand on his shoulder, the leader looked up at the other man, listening as he sadly instructed him. "Omid's gone, Lee. There's nothing more we can do, but we gotta go! Get in the truck!"

Saying nothing, Lee gave one last glance at Omid's body, before he too climbed in the truck, shutting the door as he and Riley kept their head down. Joel moved to the other side, firing at the attackers whilst the other guards made their way to the back of the truck, jumping into the driver's seat and slamming the door shut. The wheels screeched loudly as he backed up, spinning the truck around as he slammed his foot against the accelerator, the truck lurching forward as they escaped down the road. The bandits were unable to follow, shooting off at the truck before being forced to escape to the forests, likely running back to their main settlement. Out of danger, Joel relaxed, glancing sadly at Riley and Lee as they mourned Omid's passing.

"Hey," he started, his voice quiet with his eyes returning to the road. "I'm sorry about Omid. We couldn't take the body, but at least he isn't suffering."

"I should have never brought him along." Lee mumbled, leaning back in his seat as he stared out of the window, unable to bring himself to look at the others.

"You can't blame yourself for this, Lee. Omid made the choice to come along, and you stayed with him until the end. Not many of us will get that chance." Joel consoled. Lee didn't reply to that, causing the driver to fall silent out of respect for him, instead allowing the leader to mourn quietly. Riley said nothing, staring down at the bloodstained sleeve with a broken expression. The trees passed by quickly, the truck speeding down in a desperate attempt to get home sooner, and the rain continued to fall harshly. Lee felt empty. It was similar to how he felt back in Savannah, when he lost Clementine and Kenny, and he could feel worry gnaw at his insides, making him feel like he wanted to vomit.

He didn't know how he would tell Christa that Omid was not coming home.

[sarkastically]

tagged by @natia-rebmik

A - AGE: 34 (35 in October) B - BIGGEST FEAR: Abandonment C - CURRENT TIME: : 5:08PM D - DRINK YOU LAST HAD: Tea, black and peppermint blend E - EVERY MORNING STARTS WITH: The fight to get my cats off the bed so I can get out of bed. F - FAVORITE SONG: Again with the favorites. I can’t have actual favorites because there are too many options. “Earthbound Starlight” by Duncan Sheik is a song that I live with constantly. It is never far from me. “Walls” by Tom Petty. Just about anything by Jimmy Eat World. Almost everything by The Weakerthans.  G - GHOSTS ARE THEY REAL: Yes. I have had some experiences with this topic. I - IN LOVE WITH: Too many things to name, but it always comes back to words. K - KILLED SOMEONE: Only in fanfic L - LAST TIME YOU CRIED: Last week sometime because it was 3 in the morning, and I was being maudlin as normal. M - MIDDLE NAME: Beth  N - NUMBER OF SIBLINGS: 1 (half sister, 13 years older) O - ONE WISH: For people to realize how important it is to be kind to one another. P - PERSON YOU LAST TEXTED/CALLED: We’re counting Google messenger here I take it, which would be P. Q - QUESTIONS YOU ARE ALWAYS ASKED: There aren’t a lot of common questions that I get, but probably the closest is people asking how to/if they have pronounced my last name correctly. R - REASONS TO SMILE: Today or in general? Today reasons to smile include the fact that the sun is out, I finished a fic, I am working on crochet, my friends are okay. These can be general things, too, but the range is quite vast. S - SONG LAST SANG:  Oh man. Something on the eternally growing Baze/Chirrut playlist I made, but I can’t recall which one. T - TIME YOU WOKE UP: 10amish U - UNDERWEAR COLOUR: Black with red and white snowflakes V - VACATION DESTINATION: I have no plans to go anywhere at present. Dream destinations include: Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Finland, Iceland, Nova Scotia, Austrailia, Taiwan, Portland, Seatlle. W - WORST HABIT:  Apologizing constantly, touching my face X - X-RAYS YOU HAVE HAD: Ankle, abdomen, hand, teeth? I don’t really remember. Y - YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD: I have problems with “favorite” anything because I have so many moods. Food I will never say no to: crawfish etoufee, sushi, pho. Z - ZODIAC SIGN: Libra

I don’t really have anyone to tag, but feel free to grab it if you want it.

[coaldustcanary]

2016 Fanfic Masterpost

I’ve seen some posts from folks I follow in a number of different fandoms doing a bit of an end-of-the-year writing roundup, and I really like that idea, so here we are. 

I’ve been fannish for a long time now - over 20 years at this point, which is more than a little terrifying to consider, let me tell you. But my fannish writing has been very intermittent over those years for the most part, and my participation in fandom was relatively narrow, particularly when I was working on my PhD. Through 2014 I wrote, on average, one fanwork a year for the previous 5 years, as usually I could be counted upon to participate in at least one A Song of Ice and Fire and/or Game of Thrones fanfic exchange, but not much beyond that. I also wrote a smattering of fic prior to 2009, much of it lost to the ages besides some random pieces I managed to get up on AO3. (I really need to take some time to go back and properly back-date those older works, oof. And dig up a few more on LJ communities that I couldn’t find when I did my original looking, if I can.)

But in the past year and a half or so I’ve come back to fandom in a much more enthusiastic way than I have since I was a teenager, thanks to falling hard for the Dragon Age games and then faceplanting into Once Upon a Time fandom. And in the past seven months I’ve written if not a lot of fic, definitely more than I have in a long, long time. It’s been a trip, in both good and bad ways, but I’m glad to be doing it.

The master list in chronological order with brief commentary:

Always Already (Dragon Age: Inquisition) Incomplete Planned eventual M rating, nothing above T in the current chapter tumblr link, AO3 link, 6025 words The Academic Conference AU that started it all this summer. I just could not let this headcanon go until I wrote this first chapter. I haven’t touched it since then for a variety of reasons, but even if I never get back to it I’m pleased with the chapter that exists and it got me back writing. It’s meant to be a massive DA:I ensemble AU, with this particular multi-chapter story involving some eventual Female Trevelyan/Cullen Rutherford, but mostly I just want to finish this particular arc so I can just write snippets in the AU every time I need to say something cathartic about working at a university.

Hunger (Dragon Age: Origins) Rated G, Gen, Alistair & Female Brosca friendship tumblr link, AO3 link, 1835 words A short, introspective piece about one of my Dragon Age OCs. When you grow up without enough food, hungry all the time, what happens when the effects of blood magic make you even hungrier? Natia thinks about her life and her choices and finds common ground with her fellow Grey Warden.

Before a Fall (Game of Thrones) Mature, Yara Greyjoy/Daenerys Targaryen, GoT 6x09 post-ep scene tumblr link, AO3 link, 2698 words Written for the Game of Ships Seven Hells Challenge based off of the prompt “Pride”. I watched 6x09 on the Sunday night when it aired and swooned over Yara and Dany’s interaction. I wrote this intimate encounter the following Monday evening in one sitting. I ship Iron Dragon so very, very much. This fic took only about a month to become my most commented and kudosed fic ever on AO3, and I’m pretty happy with it.

Savior Fair - Princess (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, Captain Swan tumblr link, AO3 link, 2501 words My first OUAT fic, based on the August 2016 OUAT positivity challenge that tlynnwords put together. (I put all my pieces for this in a single work on AO3 called Savior Fair, since they’re Emma-centric.) Fluffy CS pillow talk set post-S5 before I’d much looked at S6 spoilers. I like this fic’s premise and flow, but I totally missed the mark with Emma’s voice in it. Her voice is tough for me, but I think I’m getting better.

Savior Fair - Smile (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, SwanFire tumblr link, AO3 link, 938 words My goal with the OUAT positivity fics was to focus on the best parts of Emma’s relationships with other characters. I think Neal is a fascinating character (and though I don’t ship SF, I’ve been a fan of Michael Raymond-James for a long time and I think he brings a lot of interesting nuance to the guy) and I think a lot about the time they spent together and what it would have meant to 17 year old Emma to have someone smile at her and mean it.

Savior Fair - Heart (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, Captain Swan, 4x12 missing scene tumblr link, AO3 link, 1274 words I needed a scene to bridge the gap between the conclusion to the showdown in the clock tower and Emma replacing Killian’s heart in his chest. Just a little feels-laden ficlet. (Apparently the original script had a line in the latter scene with Emma saying she felt strange holding his heart, and Killian replying that she’s already held it for ages, though I didn’t know that until after I wrote this bit, and it tends in a similar direction.)

Savior Fair - Trust (Once Upon a Time) Rated T, Emma & Milah, 5x14 missing scene tumblr link, AO3 link, 1647 words The last of the positivity prompts I got to (August is a tough time with the semester beginning, so much for my ambitions) and the one of which I’m the most proud. I have A Lot of Feelings about Milah and the way she’s treated in a many corners of OUAT fandom, and I’m still really mad about 5x14. Emma and Milah needed more time to talk. So they mostly talk about what they have in common. (And, honestly, Killian is only a small part of their similarities.) I am certain they would be friends, given the chance.

Steadfast (A Song of Ice and Fire) Rated T, Stannis Baratheon/Davos Seaworth, canon divergence/future fic AO3 link, 4071 words I did three fanfiction exchanges due in September this year, and I wrote this fic for thedevilchicken for the Game of Thrones exchange. Despite the name, this one is open to both book-verse and show-verse fics, and this one is an AU of the former. For some reason I seem to really like writing Stannis-as-king future AUs with a Davos POV, and nothing says Stannis/Davos loyalty than a retelling of a shockingly sad Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a broken toy that is loyal to his distant and unattainable love until he’s melted into scrap. (Spoiler alert: This version has a happier ending.)

Distracted (Dragon Age) Explicit, Anders/Karl Thekla AO3 link, 3094 words Smutty roleplaying with spanking written for green_sphynx for The Black Emporium, a Dragon Age rarepair exchange. Playful and porny PWP set sometime well before everything was terrible in Dragon Age 2.

Starstruck (Agent Carter/Doctor Who) Rated G, Gen, Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Peggy Carter & Angie Martinelli tumblr link, AO3 link,  3425 words Written for Grey_Cardinal for the Crossovering exchange. Ten and Donna cause a bit of a scene at the restaurant where Angie works. I quite like the premise of this fic and it was fun to write, though I really ought to have come up with more for Peggy to do in it.

Spectator Sport (Once Upon a Time) Rated G, Gen, Hooked Queen friendship, future fic tumblr link, AO3 link, 1063 words After having a really crummy day a few months back, I asked for some fic prompts (pairings and a word/idea) to take my mind off it and my lovely friends delivered. This is just a little vague future fic based on mryddinwilt’s prompt for Hooked Queen + parenting. However much they viciously snark at one another, I think they understand one another pretty well, too. And the mental image of them enduring discomfort to watch Henry’s high school soccer game was too good to pass up.

Wrapping (Game of Thrones) Rated T,  Yara Greyjoy/Daenerys Targaryen, University AU tumblr link, AO3 link, 1379 words Written for the Game of Ships “Until Hell Freezes Over” holiday/winter-themed event. I’m actually the advisor for a service learning club at my university, and those valiant students get run ragged as they try to finish up the term and also do good for their communities. Somehow I imagine that Dany would be that kind of overachiever, and Yara would just as clearly be her dubious but devoted girlfriend. I’ve been leery before of writing student AUs because I’m a teacher and it feels a bit odd, but I liked this AU a lot and might come back to it for writing more Iron Dragon because I’m sure canon is going to be a shit-show next season.

Clarity (Lucifer) Rated T, Gen, Linda Martin & Mazikeen friendship, 2x07 missing scene AO3 link, 2785 words I participated in Yuletide for the first time this year (yes, I know, I’ve somehow been in fandom for-freaking-ever and never done it before) and I matched on one of my newish fandom delights, Lucifer. Though this fandom is growing and probably won’t be eligible next year, sign-ups were before most of the season had aired, and my recipient, Lenore, requested Linda and Maze having a conversation about Heaven and Hell. Well, without getting too deep in to spoiler territory, canon pretty definitively implied that such a conversation occurred sometime between 2x07 and 2x08, so I decided it needed writing. Linda is my favorite character on Lucifer, and Maze is an utter gift. Writing this was a bit stressful (I was making last-minute edits the night before reveals from a hotel room) but I’m happy to have written it and received some lovely comments from folks, including the recipient.

So, all told, per my AO3 stats page I wrote 32,736 words of fanfic this year, which is far more than I’ve ever written in a year before. I also am starting to get a grip on what my strengths and weaknesses are as a writer, which is pretty wild but also motivating. My general approach to writing has long been “use deadlines as motivation, panic at the last minute, write frantically, throw it at the world like a grenade and take cover” and while I’m a good enough writer for that not to be as terrible as it sounds, I know I could be a lot better if I continue to change my approach to writing and write more frequently and steadily. Honestly, because I’m an academic by trade, this applies to my professional writing as well, and fanfic is good practice for me to refine my writing habits, which have vastly improved this year, even if they’re still not where I want them to be in the end. Here’s hoping I can keep it up in 2017.

[wexhappyxfew]

Landslide | Chapter 82 | Pity Won’t Win in Espionage

"Fire and water looked so lovely together. It was a pity they destroyed each other by nature."

― R.F. Kuang, The Dragon Republic

" Did you manage to see if a letter from my brother came in?" Natia asked him quietly, finding herself leaned back up against the wall opposite Captain Speirs' desk, her mind contemplating as she bit back her lip and let a familiar frown cross over her face.

" Not yet." Captain Speirs said; she noticed the used of 'yet' within those two words. He was still fueling the hope that she would get a letter in return - and it was something she hoped would still come true. Zofia's last few moments though echoed in her mind; they bounced off the walls and landed right in her brain and almost vaguely brought her back to that night, sobbing and yelling into the radio just to hear her voice. But she had remembered all these months later what Zofia had told her, what she had managed to say to her before the explosion. The camps.

Natia's heart managed to plummet as she stood there, and it caused her mind to race. If it were true, how was he able to even correspond? Her mind was caught in a disarray, a sloppy fashion of confused and loss nearly all at once consuming her. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears practically as she stood there.

[read the rest on AO3 + Wattpad!]

｡↷ ✧*̥₊˚‧☆ﾐ

HELLO FRIENDS! another friday has dawned upon us, which meant another early wake up for a chem lecture and another day to put out a landslide chapter, and especially one that i *thoroughly* enjoy writing! :) i won’t say much more on the chapter; i feel in this instance it tends to speak for itself, but i really love how it came out so i hope you all enjoy! thanks for sticking around, reading and enjoying; it has meant a ton! happy reading! <3

tags: @sunnyshifty @alienoresimagines @vintagelavenderskies @julianneday1701 @huenoclue @liebegott @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant @sunflowerchuck @tvserie-s-world @wecomrades @thoughpoppiesblow @pxpeyewynn @rogue-sunday @embersjanuary @jalapeno-peaches-andhersheybars @lovingunderratedcharacters @legally-devorak @sgtxliptons86 @alejodi0nysus @mrsalwayswrite @heffrcns @supervalcsi @xthefourthx @whoahersheybars @kryzes @papersergeant-pencilsoldier @whovian45810 @how-are-those-nuts-sarge @geniedocroe @holdingforgeneralhugs @martinsrestingbitchface @pipster4107 @mads-weasley @hinkel-im-home @ocfairygodmother @heirsoflilith

-> if you would like to be added/removed from the taglist, shoot me an ask or message! :D

[wexhappyxfew]

—— 1 year anniversary to Landslide [BOB FIC]

Wow! 1 year! I can’t even believe that just last year, I was sat in a lake house, in the late hours of the night, trying to figure out what idea was going to be my next for another Band of Brothers story! I remember the moment and where I had been sitting when the idea hit and looking back, I’m so glad it hit when it did. Landslide is far from that little idea I got in that lake house, but has continually developed, grown and changed in ways I look back and can’t even begin to think about how it even happened!

Natia Filipska has been a character that I will cherish close to my heart. Of course, I adore my other OCs and will always love them, but Natia holds an even more special place there in my heart because of the challenge in writing she has offered me. She gives me a challenge everyday - whether it’s having to rewrite a scene 5 times because “it’s just not her” or completely starting over a chapter because knowing Natia, she’d have a better way to get out of this situation.

I’ve also made one of my absolute favorite ships, coined “Fliptoye” by a few readers (you know who you are hehe) and it has grown to truly be a favorite of mine for so many reasons. There was no “love at first sight” or really anything like that. Just two human beings realizing they genuinely care for each other and enduring both the struggles and hardships that come along with realizing in war, you care for something that war can also touch. That for one of the first times it is not longer just about you or the buddy next to you. Natia Filipska and Joe Toye have been a joy to write!

And of course there was the month of disliking Richard Winters, the iconic nickname of “Mapkeeper” for Lewis Nixon, the Roman History nerd jokes that have now developed with Ronald Speirs, the slow start of some sort of friendship because of cracking a joke about Nix with Harry Welsh, and the comfort of a friend from Carwood Lipton.

Even Joe Liebgott and Natia Filipska have swiftly become a favorite duo and I can completely agree. Getting to see where they started and where they are now — from seeing their differences and arguments and heavy weighted disagreements to know finding ways to comfort each other even in the midst of war and making sure the other is okay and even eating. They’ve definitely been one of my favorite duos to go through that sort of character arc together.

AND OF COURSE, we can not forget one of the most important driving forces in the fic, Death, himself (alongside the sarcastic bits of War haha), most importantly the personification of Death. What draws me to a character like him, is more than anything the fact words can not be communicated between Natia and Death yet they hold such a strong willed connection, that you almost don’t need to worry about words. Each layer that builds with their connection, leads for an even darker end and makes Death even more fascinating in the end.

You can’t forget a guy like Agent Mortem! Without him Natia and Agent “Fidel” wouldn’t be here right? Right? Right….? Well…..anyway…..even with who he is and his partially uncovered past, Agent Mortem remains a heavy asset to Landslide as the leading cause for WHY Natia could possibly even be the way she is and to provide backstory on a multitude of other things, and for reason for Natia to have her redemption. There’s so much unexplored. And I’m so ready to talk about it! :D

Landslide has challenged me in ways I can’t even begin to describe both mentally and emotionally with my writing. I’ve had to rewrite, rework, edit over and over just to get it right but at the end of the day, it is always worth it. In some ways I don’t even know what else to say, and almost think the story can speak for itself! It is made for you to interpret it they way you wish to interpret it, there’s no right way to see who Natia is or what Landslide is about — whether for you it be about family, friendship, love in war, darkness and overcoming that, the struggles of mental health, finding your own inner peace or independence….whatever it may be, I hope it has possibly even helped you somehow in anyway :) Even with the MAJOR HECKING ANGST (LMAO💀) or the extremely sad parts (that honestly are probably just super sad to me LOL), it still is a fic full of lessons and stories equally about someone like Natia!

Landslide has challenged me in ways I can’t even begin to describe both mentally and emotionally with my writing. I’ve had to rewrite, rework, edit over and over just to get it right but at the end of the day, it is always worth it. In some ways I don’t even know what else to say, and almost think the story can speak for itself! It is made for you to interpret it they way you wish to interpret it, there’s no right way to see who Natia is or what Landslide is about — whether for you it be about family, friendship, love in war, darkness and overcoming that, the struggles of mental health, finding your own inner peace or independence….whatever it may be, I hope it has possibly even helped you somehow in anyway :) Even with the MAJOR HECKING ANGST (LMAO💀) or the extremely sad parts (that honestly are probably just super sad to me LOL), it still is a fic full of lessons and stories equally about someone like Natia!

I can’t WAIT for whatever else this story has to bring to the table! With still a bit of writing for the future to go, it makes me so incredibly hopeful for an end in sight on both Landslide and Natia’s character and peace for all those lost throughout the story <3

Thank you to EVERY single person who took a chance with Landslide and took a read, if you were from Day One, saw it while scrolling through Wattpad or AO3 or Tumblr, or even saw the Spoon meme! I appreciate each and every single one of you! Whether you voted, commented or left a kudo, or just even took a read! I appreciate you SO MUCH! I can’t even begin to describe the joy this story has brought me and the challenges as a writer it has provided. I’m hopeful for the rest of this fic and hopefully for one or two more to come!

Special shout-out to @vintagelavenderskies for being by my side with this project since like DAY ONE?!?! EVEN BEFORE DAY ONE?!? I don’t even know but just genuinely for so long, how could I not tag you! You always are just so excited to hype me up as well as Natia (the lil bean) and give me support and comfort for whatever I was doing (especially that support, there was some rough moments throughout the year and the fic lol!) I just can’t thank you enough for your friendship and joy you’ve brought to me! <3 Thank you my friend, so so much, for everything! :D

I’ll also shoutout a few more lovely people who have just been…..absolutely wonderful in providing both support, or insight, wonderful commentary or just sweet messages throughout writing this! @tvserie-s-world (thank you for all the moodboards!!)@wecomrades @stressedinadress (credit do you my friend for og fliptoye name!!) @pxpeyewynn @whoahersheybars @kryzes @holdingforgeneralhugs @martinsrestingbitchface @whovian45810 @geniedocroe @thoughpoppiesblow @how-are-those-nuts-sarge @alienoresimagines @alejodi0nysus @brichard-bwinters and just genuinely anyone else who even sent me a small ask or message, I appreciate it so much and your support or love or help in anything Landslide-related, helped me more than anything! <3

THANK YOU! TO ALL OF YOU! I don’t know what else to say except thank you. Thank you for letting me bring who Natia was, alive through this fic as well as her spirit and compassion of ending the war. Along with her friendships of Easy Company and hardships of both her past and mental health. It’s been an honor and privilege — here’s to many more! ✨

Happy reading! <3

tags: (because you’ve all been there for support and I simply adore you all <3) @sunnyshifty @alienoresimagines @vintagelavenderskies @julianneday1701 @huenoclue @liebegott @hellitwasyoufirstsergeant @sunflowerchuck @tvserie-s-world @wecomrades @thoughpoppiesblow @pxpeyewynn @rogue-sunday @stressedinadress @jalapeno-peaches-andhersheybars @lovingunderratedcharacters @legally-devorak @sgtxliptons86 @alejodi0nysus @mrsalwayswrite @heffrcns @curraheewestandalone @supervalcsi @xthefourthx @whoahersheybars @kryzes @papersergeant-pencilsoldier @whovian45810 @how-are-those-nuts-sarge @geniedocroe @holdingforgeneralhugs @martinsrestingbitchface @pipster4107 @mads-weasley

-> Feel free if you wish, to drop a favorite part that you really enjoyed from Landslide so far, a favorite memory or moment, happy or sad, a possible favorite quote or friendship if you wish too! If you feel even more inclined, questions are open as well! I have work all day but will be home to answer ;) THANK YOU ALL <3333 (mine has GOT to be the whole lone wolf thing lol!)