#eletaniia

(Send me a number and I’ll write a micro story using the word or phrase)

35. Filthy

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"Ugh. This is absurd, you know," Astarion grouses, lifting his foot and fastidiously placing it down on what seems a safe area at the edge of the wetlands. Immediately his boot sinks a good inch into the muck and he groans. "Humid, full of midges, and filthy. Oh, and there's a trap over there, Karlach--"

"OW! Fuck!"

"I told you." Astarion pulls his foot back out of the mud and examines his boot disconsolately. "I just cleaned these, you know."

"Kainyank. Maintain your focus," Lae'zel snaps at him. "We have greater business here than the state of your--"

"Another trap there, darling," Astarion points out placidly.

"Agh! Kaincha zharn'ek'a!"

"Quite so." Astarion sighs and takes another squelching step out into the bogwater. "But I ask you, what's even the point of trying to maintain appearances if we're rooting like pigs in the muck every moment of the day? This never happens in the Upper City."

Wyll snorts. "The city would be better off if it did. Anyway, Astarion--"

"Trap."

"OW. Hell's fires..."

"I see you found it." Astarion sighs dramatically, stares into the water for a moment, then picks his way carefully to the far side of the stagnant muck. "All I'm saying, in any event, is that I will be far happier when we can be done with all this scurrying about in nature. I swear I'm not built for it."

Thank you!!!!!!!! What really makes this meaningful to me is that this is something I work very hard at, and lean on Real Life Romance Option for a lot of help, because it's not an inherent strength.

Biotics, in fact, help me cheat a little. I have taken one very specific building block of this universe and gone wild with it, which makes the world feel lived in (hopefully) enough that when I play fast and loose with other details, you are less likely to notice.

This is one of my favorite biotic moments, from Cantata, Your Mess Is Mine, Part 1:

~

Familiar stars glitter out the window. The bed is Kaidan's old bed. The space opera adventure series he’d read as a kid over and over again still sits on the shelf over his dresser. Hell, it’s entirely possible that his old clothes are still in the drawers.

None of it feels like his. He remembers his life here. But he can’t picture it. Not anymore.

The hairs on the back of his neck rise as Shepard’s biotic field washes over him. He looks at the door with a start, but it’s still closed, and no one knocks. Heart beating wildly, he lays back against the pillow in confusion, then chuckles. Shepard’s bed is right there on the opposite side of the wall.

He breathes deep and relaxes into the soft, wisp of static under his skin. On a whim, he lifts a finger and gives the gravity well a swirl.

Shepard swirls it back.

Oh crap. Sam is up and posting about life and death and the frailty of man. I suppose that means I should probably saunter on towards bed and not, you know, write another 800 words, read another chapter, or make another art.

I mean, there does come a point where bedtime is futile and you go out the other side, but yeah...I hope you are napping :D 

dreamwaffles replied to your photoset “DAAAAD! [Description: Polk is lying on my duvet in both images. In the...”

your daughter is a noodle

She’s the softest, fluffiest noodle! Like a stretched out gnocci, really. 

Man, gnocci would have been a good name for her. I could have called them Gnocci and Bolognese. 

wdlwbt replied to your photoset “DAAAAD! [Description: Polk is lying on my duvet in both images. In the...”

I wouldn’t go for the belly. I would however go for that chin!

She does love a good chin skritch. She doesn’t normally ask for belly rubs, but when she stretches out she gets them anyway :D 

memprime replied to your post “One of the documents I prepare as part of my job is a “Meeting...”

I'm waiting for you to forget that one day, and someone is going to get a bio with a cat as the profile picture.

There have been a couple of near-misses over the years tbh. My last job, for a while one of our documents had Wonder Woman as the default image and a couple of Wonder Woman documents almost went out....

miss-kitty-fantastico replied to your photoset “DAAAAD! [Description: Polk is lying on my duvet in both images. In the...”

I think you put your kitty together incorrectly, did you follow the instructions properly?

I mean, you always screw up once when assembling IKatEA furniture, right? 

eletaniia replied to your post “One of the documents I prepare as part of my job is a “Meeting...”

I recently used Baby Yoda as a placeholder when I didn't want to go digging for stock photos, and then someone shared the doc *without warning me.* The next morning I woke up to a comment notification from my BOSS'S BOSS'S BOSS... who has the word 'chief' in her title. ...Thankfully it was a hearteyes and a cry-laughing emoji.

:D

fireside - if you had your dream wardrobe, what would it look like?

what a GREAT question!!! i actually very recently watched bestdressed’s video about how to find your style (and the confidence to wear it) and i found it so, so helpful!! 

32!

GOOD CHOICE

Poker and Demons, honestly my favourite fic hands down. I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever written. 

Written for @worstcommander for the 2016 Rare Pair Fest, this James Vega/Iron Bull crossover is ridiculous, but in the best way. I had been reading A LOT of the Expanse and James’ crew took inspiration from that.

Published: 14 August 2016 

Words: 19,024 

Kudos:38

For Rakha: 🥀 What is something your OC blames themself for and is it really their fault? Does it keep them up at night and is there any lingering trauma?

Eyyy ty for the ask! I think this is the first Rakha prompt I've gotten. :D <3

🌿 What is something true about your OC that they refuse to admit about themselves? Is there any reason to this besides embarassment?

Hmm. I think it actually takes Hector QUITE a long time to be willing to admit that he has learned to be brave as the game goes on. I think one of the more subtle minor lessons that was significant to his arc was that being brave does not equate to not being afraid. He had this impressed upon him by Karlach several times (both in banter I wrote and in actual game dialogue) but I think it takes him quite a while to actually believe it. I think this is less about embarrassment and more about holding himself to an impossibly high standard (he does this in a lot of ways in terms of his self-discipline and altruism also). There's also just the fact that he has never been in a situation like this before and has no base of comparison for how he should feel or act. So he's definitely most of the way through the game before he's really ready to acknowledge that he is more than just a terrified mess.

I think there is also probably a small part of him that resents (prior to the end of the game) that he is being railroaded into conceivably avoidable heartbreak because Karlach would rather die than go back to Avernus. But he would never admit this even to himself and definitely not to her, because while understandable, it is ultimately a self-centered feeling and not his decision to make, and he loves her far too much to make her want to feel guilty for what she decides is right for her.

🥀 What is something your OC blames themself for and is it really their fault? Does it keep them up at night and is there any lingering trauma?

This one is kind of interesting for Rakha. She's actually kind of insanely confident in some ways, or at least self-assured; so far she doesn't seem to spend a ton of time looking backwards. When she's in control of herself, she does what seems necessary to her at the time and then stands by it without shame and if you have a problem with it that's your issue, not hers.

The exceptions of course are the points when the Dark Urge co-opts her violence for its own hungry purposes. There are two moments, as of right now (still early in the game), that stick out to me.

One is that she totally would have killed Mizora if Mizora had given her a few more seconds to do so. This was based on the Urge taking advantage of her rage on Wyll's behalf to do something that absolutely would have fucked Wyll over completely. Even though she wasn't successful, she is aware of the failing and it adds to her worries about the Urge's influence.

The other is, honestly, that damned squirrel. Even Alfira's death took place while she was fundamentally unconscious, so Rakha wouldn't exactly say that she blames herself so much as the thing that took control of her. With the squirrel, she was fully conscious the whole time that it happened and witnessed every moment of the Urge breaking through. And that rattled her more than a little and was a scenario where that line between her and the beast felt much more blurred.

(30 questions for your Tav!) (and Durge :D )

1. What would your Tav’s greetings be (at different levels of approval)?

Hector:

"Are we there yet?" (very deadpan) (negative approval)

"Make it quick." (negative approval)

"What new madness to deal with?" (low approval)

"You look like you want something." (low approval)

"Name what you need and you'll have it." (medium approval)

"Sorry, let me mark my place-- there. Something I can do for you?" (medium approval)

"My sibling in moonlight. What can I do for you?" (high approval - Selunite)

"Always glad to see you. What can I do for you?" (high approval - others)

"I swear you can tell when I'm feeling lonely. Hello, darling." (romanced)

"My love. Tell me everything." (romanced)

Rakha:

"..." (negative approval)

"What?" (negative approval)

"Say what you must." (low approval)

"Go on, then." (low approval)

"Who needs killing?" (medium approval)

"I have more questions. But you may speak first." (medium approval)

"My blade is ready. Speak your need." (high approval)

"Something troubles you?" (high approval)

"I wish I could show you what I see. How the Weave dances around you." (romanced)

"It calms when you are close... I thank you..." (romanced)

"Please... come back later. The blood is... distracting." (random, when spoken to while bloodstained from battle; conversation cuts off immediately)

5. Describe their idle animations!

Hector:

Rapid-fire punching attacks on the training dummy at his tent.

Meditating, cross-legged with his wrists resting on his knees.

Prayer at the small shrine in his tent.

(Night only) Curled on his side on his bedroll, reading.

Rakha:

Polishing her dagger and examining her reflection in it thoughtfully.

Eyes squeezed shut, holding her temples.

Sitting cross-legged and summoning dancing lights around her head.

Thank you!

Edgy OC Ask Meme

7. What's one way your OC has changed since you first came up with them?

Not a whole lot about Sam has changed, but he’s taken on a lot of layers as I’ve worked my way through Opus. One of the questions I didn’t have an answer to for a long time was, why, if he was so dead set on winning his mother’s love, did he want to be a soldier so badly instead of a pilot, like she was?

The answer showed up in a one-shot about Sam and his dad, and took me out at the knees with a bat:

He lifts Sam off of his shoulders and sets him on the ground, but takes hold of his hand. “It’s not safe out there, Sam-I-Am. The Payne-Gaposchkin was just a resupply carrier. But your mom wanted…” He catches himself, and takes a deep breath. “They deployed your mom to a frigate, and they wanted to put me on a cruiser. Those ships don’t take wounded ships away from battle. They are the wounded ships. What happens if our ship gets attacked?”

Sam contemplates the question for maybe a nanosecond, then raises his chin in defiance. “I’ll fight ‘em.”

Of course you would. Daniel sighs in frustration, trying not to let his imagination take him somewhere dark.

The more pissed off the batarians get, the braver they get. According to David Anderson, reports of all the creative ways they board ships and subdue crews has changed what they’re teaching Ns at the Villa. He shudders. “It’s dangerous, Sam. My job is to protect you. That’s why we’re here.”

Sam falls deathly quiet, gears turning again. When he looks up at Daniel, there’s actual fear on his face. Daniel’s heart lurches.

“Who’s gonna protect mom?”

17. What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

I’m getting to it. Soon. Just going to leave this here without context: