#oh hope these don't need spoiler tags and are vague enough~

[siluriforma]

The fact that Ashe in few3h can't support almost anyone outside of his house kinda echoes how Felix in fe3h epilogues has way unhappier endings when recruited outside of his house.

Especially in SB Ashe is just so defeated with his situation that you just see him moping around the camp lamenting his situation it's just really sad to see you reflexively start to pity him. He can't even find a connection or peace in fighting on the same side as Lonato, his adoptive father who he loves and respects. Ashe just looses his identity when he is stripped from his ideals of knighthood and serving his country. He becomes a husk of himself and same happens to Felix in fe3h.

Despite the fact that Felix keeps shitting on Dimitri, knights and Faerghus ideals, ultimately when he leaves Dimitri there's just no hope for him he goes the exact same path as Ashe and is unable to find peace within himself and committing his life to fighting seemingly forever. Like despite hating it he kinda ends up perfectly encapsulating Faerghus knighthood. There's a few endings where there's a happier twist but still the fact that his first response outside of BL is to start wandering around until someone willfully stops him.

I think they really represent the Faerghus in it's core.

[reachfolk]

24, confession for Alexi!

💛 from @korvanjund

prompt: alexandria silver-blood + “confession”

summary: alexandria is easier to talk to that lucien ever expected her to be.

tags: lucien flavius, first kiss, TOOTH ROTTING FLUFF, alexi is so whipped pls

warnings: some spoilers for his quest but i tried to keep it vague !!

word count: 1.5k (this was supposed to be 500 words IM LKDFLKJ)

author’s notes: TYSM FOR PICKING THIS ONE, i've been wanting to get this scene out of my head for approximately 87 years lol. i kept the spoiler-y part of it as vague as humanly possible. all you need to know is that lucien asked the ldb to escort him to a dwemer ruin for his research, then he did A Thing behind their back, and they have every right to be Very pissed at him

As the pair waited for the lift in Dumzbthar to carry them back to the surface of Solstheim, Lucien shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He watched Alexandria nervously beside him, though the Reachwoman didn't seem to pay him any mind.

She was all too occupied with the ingredients she'd picked up from the daedra infesting the ruins—namely the hearts. If it was anyone else, the sight of someone grinning maniacally into a sack filled with loose hearts while muttering excitedly to themselves would be horrifying, but he'd spent enough time with her to have entirely gotten used to it.

No, that wasn't what made him nervous at all. This was quintessential Alexandria behavior. What made him nervous was what she would say after the high of getting herself some rare ingredients would wear off, and she went right back to being just as mad at him as when they'd entered.

The elevator halted to a stop, and the cold chill of northern Solstheim's air hit them. Alexandria never took her eyes off the bag of ingredients as she walked forward blindly. Lucien had to grab onto her arm and hold her back to make sure she didn't trip on the stairs and fall down the side of the mountain while lost in her own thoughts.

The motion must have caught her attention, and she finally looked up. "Huh?" It was then that she finally noticed the icy stairs. "Oh! Right, oops. I'm just so excited!" She bounced slightly in place before finally tugging the sack shut and attaching it at the belt on her hip. "Anyway, what should we do next? I'm thinking we should start heading back to meet Frea."

"Uhm," Lucien said, hesitantly. "Don't you think we have some things to talk about first?"

She blinked, as though expecting him to elaborate.

"About what just happened?"

"Huh? Oh." She snorted a laugh. "Yeah, that was messed up, wasn't it?"

Alexi had always been known to be easily distracted, but this was throwing him for a loop. "Are you not mad about it anymore?"

She gave a shrug. "I got it out of my system, I suppose. It worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so." He wasn't quite sure if he ought to be relieved yet, still confused by her reaction. "So that means you do want to keep travelling together? Even after what I did?"

The mere idea of it seemed to alarm her. "What? Of course I do! Do you not want to?"

"No! I mean, yes. I mean—" His panicked answer left him more confused, and he opted to start over. "Travelling with you has been the time of my life. I'd hate to cut it short."

"Then we're in agreement," she said, giving him the same bright smile she always had. She stepped closer, taking his right hand in both of hers. "Why are you so worried, then?"

Looking at her now, the idea that she'd hate him felt inconceivable. "You trusted me," he answered, "and I betrayed that. I did something stupid then I hid it from you. I'm so—"

"Don't say you're sorry again!" She chuckled. "You've said that a million times already."

Her smile was infectious, and despite the anxiety he felt, he found himself smiling too.

"Look, Lucien," she said, tightening her grip on his hand, "I'm not mad at you for what you did. I was... upset, that you thought you'd have to keep something like that from me. I had hoped you'd know that if something was on your mind, we could work it through together. Even if I didn't agree with you, I would have been there for you from the start, you know."

He kept his gaze lowered, watching Alexi rub little circles into the back of his hand. "I know," he said. "I should have known I could rely on you. You've given me more than enough reason to."

It didn't seem to satisfy her, however. She brought her hand up to his chin and lifted his head, forcing him to meet her gaze—as gentle and loving as ever.

"I'm not reprimanding you, you know," she said. "I'm saying this doesn't change anything, and I hope it helped you see just how much I love you. Remember that next time there's anything weighing on you that you want to say."

His heart beat suddenly tripled at that. It wasn't the first time she'd told him that; she could hardly go a half hour without telling her friends she loved them. But it was the gentle way she looked at him. The way she stood so close the cold puffs of their breaths mingled together. The way she held his hands, and cradled his face, and—

"Can I kiss you?"

The little puffs of steam wisping between them dissipated as both of them stopped breathing for a moment. Alexandria stared at him, dumbfounded, as the request slowly sank in, and the full force of his words suddenly hit him.

"'M s'rry!" The words jumbled together, practically falling over each other in their hurried effort to leave his mouth. He repeated, more coherently this time, but no less panicked, "I'm so sorry! I—I didn't think—! The words just came out before I could even think! It was stupid, and selfish, and embarrassing, and—"

"Please?"

He blinked. "Pardon?"

"Please," she repeated, eyes wide and hopeful, "kiss me?"

Oh.

Oh.

Okay. No big deal. The most beautiful, kind, powerful, talented, and intelligent woman he's ever had the pleasure of meeting was asking him—pleading for him to kiss her. He was totally emotionally, spiritually, and physically prepared for this to happen. He just needed to pucker his lips and lean in. Easy enough. Right?

Suddenly, a little laugh bubbled up from her, despite her obvious efforts to hide it. "'M sorry," she said between laughs. "You're just so cute. I won't bite, I promise."

He found himself giggling along with her in spite of the embarrassment. It shook him out of his daze, and he found his body capable of responding to his commands, and he lifted his hand up to the back of her neck, drawing her in.

The kiss was sweet and chaste, but he found her lips pulling back all too soon. Then they dove back in for another few seconds before once again pulling back.

It took him a moment to realize that she was smiling too much to properly kiss him back. It made him laugh, leaning back to look her in the eyes again. "I don't think this is working out very well."

"I'm sorry!" She said, trying and failing to get her smile muscles to answer to her. "I can't help it. I'm just happy! Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?"

"I didn't think you wanted to do that at all," Lucien admitted.

"Really? I thought I was so obvious about it."

In hindsight, maybe it wasn't so out of the blue. She would often find any excuse under the sun to compliment him or be near him. Several times she's sat on his lap even when other seats were available for no reason but to fluster him. And she always seemed to light up whenever he said a kind word to her.

"In my defense," he said, "you're like that with everyone."

"Okay, fair point," she nodded in agreement. At least she was self aware. "But I do like you. A lot. Not just as a friend. Well, of course we're friends. But I also like you, uh, in the... Dibellan way, if you will."

The phrasing of it sent the two of them into another fit of giggles. The whole situation was rather bizarre, but in a way, it was all too familiar. Alexandria had always had an uncanny ability to make him comfortable, and the fact that it even applied to this situation was a pleasant surprise.

"I've been wanting to tell you how I've felt for months now," he confessed. "I built it up in my mind to this terrifying thing, and I'd convinced myself it was impossible that the feeling could be mutual. Now I can't believe how easy it was."

"That's what I keep telling you!" She said. "You shouldn't ever be afraid to tell me what's on your mind."

"I'll remember that from now on," he promised. The big grin was still on her face and showed no signs of stopping, so he opted instead to lean in and give her a kiss on the little dimple just beside her lips.

It only seemed to make her even more pleased, and the smile was complemented with a pink tint in her cheeks. If something as simple as a cheek kiss could make her so happy, he couldn't wait to see what else he could do to make her light up even more.