#ebkwips

I'm writing everything out of order as I figure out these stories, so I thought it would be fun to post how my outline/drafts work. A lot of it is just figuring out what's going on hahaha.

A glimpse from the solavellan post veilguard fic.

My Lavellan commits to protecting the veil by also binding herself to it, heh.

'somethingelven' ahahaha I need to invent a name but haven't thought about it yet!

Rambling under the cut

Ava/Nate/Detective; a snippet from Ember Days, and the polymance we deserve:

--

...Nate re-emerges shortly from the hall brandishing a bottle of red wine, two pewter goblets threaded between his fingers. He retrieves another from the windowsill. "And this,” he says, pouring out glasses on the desk with no further ado — although careful to do it away from the books — “is from Sicily. 1724."

"Good choice," Ava says, turning away from the bookshelves at last.

Nate’s expression is affectionate and bemused as he hands over hers. "Yes, if only because it was yours."

Ava’s smile curls the corners of her mouth. "Yes, it was."

Dinah crosses an arm across her chest, trying to hold back her laughter. They are just— so very— “You dragged books and wine up a mountain?"

Ava blinks, unconcerned, and Nate smiles, and she loves them, like this, she loves them. "But of course."

Dinah is building quite an image of the two of them here, of the time they must have spent in this chalet together. The quiet of the countryside, the shelter of the alps — peace and space and time.

The pewter goblet warms in her hands as she raises it to drink. The wine is red and rich, and tastes ever so slightly of oak.

--

Read more here:

I'm considering myself tagged again by @crownleys - looking forward to your antiquity Thursday!

A little Adam and Tobi for the soul:

No, I don't know where this is going to go, I just had to write this conversation. Breaking the Yearlings verse, I think, which is much softer than the A route in the books.

Also asked by @nat-seal-well @ejunkiet and @serial-chillr YOU ALL HAVE GREAT TASTE ...it's the final Breaking the Yearlings chapter. It's taking me a long time, and I'm not sure if it's necessary, yet I can't seem to let it go either...! I've already teased sections of it before (here), so this time, have a conversation that I cut because it didn't fit with what I was going for...

Considering myself tagged by @ejunkiet

Gonna do this a little differently today, as I just finished 'what power thou art' for @fujinstorm as part of the Wayhaven secret santa. Have a few snippets that didn't make the cut:

--

Cute extra details about the office goodbye party:

Sung being Sung and staring contemplatively at golfing green photos:

And then the full story of why Nat is so into ornithology (it just didn't fit!!)

(and I was talking a little to @thee-morrigan about this, but Natalie did indeed order all 16 volumes of the Handbook of the Birds of the World, each one individually as they were released, costing over $2,000 in all, and Ava had the great pleasure of watching each arrive at whichever agency facility they were staying in at the time. "Truly, Natalie? Another?")

<3 <3 <3 and here’s the other three - thanks again, @grapecaseschoices​!

OTP asks (still open <3)

Do they have any hobbies they share?

Ava and Nate share a lot, haha! Cultural appreciation, although it is Nate that organises and makes the time for it, drawing her away from her work (willingly-unwillingly) to a play or a concert. She does not accompany him to many things, and does not need society or social company as he does. She does enjoy reading, but not to the extent that Nate does, and it is much farther down her priority list. He will give her books, and eventually, she will read them. Their tastes differ though (something Nate will account for in the recommending of literature, haha). Her ability to suspend her disbelief is far less forgiving than Nate's. She will enjoy a romp of an adventure book, but often they take too many leaps or get something wrong and that will throw her out of it. I can see her reading and enjoying John le Carre, though.

Otherwise, yes, their hobbies differ, and my ideas surrounding Ava and her hobbies have very much been developed with a great friend of mine, so all kudos to her and her galaxy brain. Because Ava is much more in the body, physical; she boxes, spars, enjoys sports, competition and challenge. She likes to win; likes horses and fast cars. I'd say she went to horse races (when it was earthier and not as corporatised), she maybe had her own stables, she likes contact sport (but rarely has anyone to truly compete with - although I swear that there were and still are in this dystopian world still some place where a supernatural community can live safely - and there is a potential place for Ava and Nate to retreat to someday).

Nate supports her in her interests, but will not participate, haha, but he doesn't need to. Nate is competitive in other ways; he is a fiend at cards, reads up on chess, and their chess matches can go on for days. When he can tell he is losing, though, he will outrageously cheat rather than surrender, which makes her indignant and makes him laugh, but eventually he will let her have her victory, insufferable as she becomes about it.

Dinah likes to run listening to podcasts. To read, to travel, to experience new things - she has a kindle but struggles to make the time for it; she picks up boxing after everything with Murphy, picks up physical training as a way to feel like she is regaining control over her body (after that was stripped away). She likes cheesy romcoms from the 80s and 90s, and still has a DVD player, and a growing collection of DVDs. When she was very young, she wanted to be a dancer, but that dream died out quickly.

The move to Wayhaven, tiny as it is, fits in with her career path. She tells herself that she will transition back to the city, she is here but she hadn't intended to put down roots. This is the town she grew up in, though, and she found herself drawn back.