#intheinkpot

A lot of Ves’ clothes are tailor-made to fit her body, so Lana doesn’t steal them cos they don’t fit right. But Lana loves using Ves’ robes. Her day-to-day Sith outer robes are thick and soft, great for spending the day in. Of course, Lana doesn't wear them in public while they're still in the Empire. On Odessen though... Agent Beniko doesn't care if you recognise Darth Avriss' robes on her shoulders. Mind your own damn business.

Oh, and Ves' night robes? All handwoven with the softest silk in the galaxy. When they slide over your skin, it’s like being caressed by your lover. It’s common to find Lana lounging in Ves’ night robes at day's end, drinking tea and pondering poetry.

Ael and Kira don't share clothes, but they do share accessories - gloves, belts, trinkets, etc. Their tastes in fashion are pretty similar, so they have a shared collection of accessories that they just pick from every morning.

It does cause some bickering now and then, cos 'I wanted to wear that today :((' but 'You didn't get up early enough to grab it first, nyehnyeh :3'

Cue pointed pouting at each other every time they cross paths in the base. then zealously ripping off said accessory and clothes off the thief at night

Some days (or when they depart on longer missions), they like wearing each other's favourite trinkets. Sort of like wearing a lover's token, keeping her close no matter how far apart they are. Think tying handcrafted bead strands on the sash, arm bands, that sort of thing.

How they worked together on Makeb - It was professional, but incredibly tense. Chukaem is your typical Sith, trampling on everyone else to reach her goal, arrogance made all the worse by her status as Wrath. By then, Ves had been tempered by her crew and Marr, and viewed Chukaem's outbursts and aggression towards their own allies as unnecessary and detrimental to their mission. They clashed, but never came to blows. (Ashara and DS!Jaesa did though. Ash won :3)

Though the mission was successful, they came away hating each other. Ves hated the Wrath for her callousness, blind reverence of the Emperor, and putting her lust for power above the stability of the Empire. Chukaem hated Avriss right back - for her lack of respect for the Emperor and his Wrath, her ostentatious vanity, her softer hand on their Imperial subjects that would 'breed weakness' in their ranks.

Funny story (to be included in fic): because of how badly Chukaem treats her crew, Ves managed to win over Vette by simply feeding her cake. Not that Chukaem knows about it. All she saw was Vette drifting over to Avriss' crew, willing to spend more time with them, and identified Avriss as a threat to her authority.

Why were they both assigned to Makeb - Ves could've handled it on her own, but Darth Marr wanted her to take the chance to assess the Wrath - would Chukaem be willing to work with Marr and Avriss to secure the Empire's future, out of the Emperor's long shadow?

Ves' answer is no, viewing the Wrath as nothing more than an attack dog with no guiding hand on her leash, and she's right. The Wrath is near fanatical in her loyalty to the Emperor - the one who granted her power above all. She did not support the Empire when it moved on from Vitiate, and went rogue when Acina took the throne, choosing to strike at the Empire's enemies from the shadows, on her own authority bestowed by an Emperor long gone.

After Tenebrae is slain in EoO, Chukaem goes off the deep end, unable to feel her Emperor's weight in the Force anymore. She turns into a killing machine, hunting down those she deems a threat to the Empire, and those who'd turned traitor. Aelirra, Vestra, and Lana are at the top of her list, but Ves gets the top 'Fuck You' spot thanks to their funtimes on Makeb.

How long does Chukaem hunt Ves and Lana - I'm not too sure! I have some lines for a showdown that references Ves and Lana's kids, but I feel like Chukaem wouldn't leave them alone for that long. To be decided later.

Does she ever get close to them - On a few occasions, which is what tips them off to the former Wrath hunting them. Haven't worked out the final showdown's specifics yet, but Ves will lure Chukaem to a remote location by herself (perhaps forced by circumstance), fire off a distress signal to Lana and the Alliance, and fight off the Wrath in the meantime.

I'm both looking forward to and dreading writing Ves and Chukaem's battle, cos it is very Epic in my brain and will probably end up as a stickman equivalent written down lmaoo. But Ves will feel a very primal fear for the first time in ages, and has to dig into the deepest, darkest depths of her power to face down a Sith who has immersed herself in the Dark Side for decades, turning into a nigh-eldritch being that makes the Force itself wither in her presence.

Here have a bite from the notes I've jotted down:

How do they get along at first - It's strictly professional. Ves recognises that, though she'd been key to the Alliance's creation, Ael is its Commander. The face of the Alliance that attracts most recruits. She treats Ael...politely (if very frigidly). Ael returns it with geniune warmth, patience, and an openness that makes Ves want to chew on rusted nails.

After some time, due to clashes in methods and beliefs, they'll butt heads more often. Ves argues, and argues, and argues - until one day (which kinda terrified everyone else), Ael snaps back at Ves in her first display of temper. Unfortunately, Ael's temper only delights Ves (i think she kinda fell in love tbh), and she keeps pushing Ael, whose restraint with Ves gets thinner and thinner, until they're barking in each other's faces.

That said, every storm comes to an end. They'll find common ground, learn from each other, and work in a way that accommodates them both. Even though they don't stop bickering and trying to shove each other into the dumpster. Yes, it's all Vestra's fault, and yes, Ael plays along cos she comes to enjoy it.

By the time they become friends, Lana's already floating face-down in the sea from watching her two besties fight all the time.

How does Ves feel about finally meeting the woman that Lana left her for left her to go hunting across the galaxy for for years - 'This is it? A golden retriever?? Lana, what the fuck??? What are you gonna do, ask her to fetch the sanity you obviously lost when you chose to LEAVE ME TO LOOK FOR HER?????'

She felt underwhelmed. She'd heard much of the Jedi Battlemaster who brought down the Emperor's Voice, then Revan on Yavin. She'd expected some equivalent of the Wrath, who radiated malicious potency in the Force from every pore.

Ael is the exact opposite of the Wrath, and much more subtle. Though her strength with the Force can't be denied, it is comparable to Vestra's own. All she saw was a Jedi, too calm, too detached from a galaxy that had suffered in the five years she'd spent locked away in carbonite. [We'll touch on this in fic soon! In um. The next...third chapter. ahahahha bye]

Then Ves sees Ael in battle, the unstoppable force that shatters Zakuulan shields, bright blue blades flashing as a beacon of hope in battle, and she understands Lana's judgement. If only part of it.

How badly does Aelirra's goodness get on her nerves - Let's just say it's a miracle that Ves' hands never find their way to Ael's neck.

Ves is immensely annoyed by Ael's determination to go out of her way to help everyone, to minimise collateral damage. She's even more annoyed when Ael manages to make it work, without compromising mission objectives.

We can psychoanalyse the hell out of Ves and her annoyance here, but tl;dr, she hates how Ael keeps proving her wrong and, on a deeper level, shows how Ves could achieve the same, without the brutality she'd internalised as Sith.

How does Aelirra react to Ves/Darth Avriss's dramatics

At first: calm, reasonable, accommodating. 'Let me understand you, Avriss, so that I can help you.'

Later, when they're friends: shut up shut up i'm so tired of your bullshit and your entire face

Although Ael does get angry and argue with Ves on occasion, she never cuts off all possibility of communication. After their clashes, Ves is always free to talk to Ael in private (which she never does). If she has the time, Ael will look for Ves and try to hash it out.

Sedoyin is Aelirra's oldest, closest friend. They met way back on Tython, finding kinship as two talented padawans whose fledgeling fame had formed a degree of social separation between themselves and others of their generation.

They kept in close contact through their class stories, and Sedoyin was devastated to hear that Aelirra was gone after Darth Marr's expedition ended in disaster. When word of the Alliance and its Jedi Commander spread, Sedoyin was one of the first to travel to Odessen with her Jedi students, and offer her aid.

As Barsen'thor, she co-leads the Force Enclave with Sana-Rae, providing guidance to Jedi and Sith alike, and training Force healers for the Alliance. A diplomat as well, she helps ease tensions between their Jedi and Sith residents, and cajoles more Republic contacts into supporting the Alliance.

Roziq met Aelirra years back on Makeb, where they worked together to evacuate the planet's population. They found mutual respect for each other as defenders of the Republic, and Roziq admired Aelirra's steadfast compassion for all - a reminder to herself that mercy is always an option even in the bloodiest war.

When she heard of the Alliance and its Commander, Roziq wanted Havoc Squad to defect on the sly, and deal with the real threat of Zakuul. Most agreed. M1-4X and Elara refused, staying back to serve the Republic as they had sworn. It left a bitter taste on her tongue, but Roziq left her wife behind with a steeled heart, and Aric by her side. (It's alright, the parting was mutual and they'll reunite after :3)

Roziq serves the Alliance as Commander of their Spec-Ops division, under Admiral Aygo. She coordinates precision strikes against key Zakuulan targets, and often takes to the field with Havoc to hit back against the Eternal Empire.

Uyomize had never met Aelirra or Ves - but she is a friend of Hylo Visz, who roped her into the Alliance. Though she balked at the thought of having to give her credits to the Alliance (instead of keeping that sweet dosh for herself), Hylo appealed to where Uyomize is weakest - her family.

Her mother is a renowned doctor on Coruscant. Her older brother is a Republic Commando. Her younger sister is a rising Republic bureaucrat. Her Republic ties are strong (despite her insistence to the contrary), and she is loyal to her family above all.

Working with Hylo, Uyomize pulls on her underworld contacts to scrape up credits, supplies, manpower for their covert operations. Often, she'll send people to...'relieve' pirates of their ill-gotten loot, and redirect it to the Alliance. Some of the 'pirates' maaay have been Imperials. cough.

Zhaste'varu'mir (core name Evarum, or Eva for short) had intimately studied Intelligence's comprehensive profile on Darth Avriss. She knows how to manipulate Ves in myriad ways, but chose the most straightforward method into the Alliance - poison.

She contacted Ves under a pseudonym, met in a busy Nar Shaddaa cantina for the 'entrance interview', and slid to Ves a poisoned drink - "I will work for the Alliance - if you have the answers I want to hear. If not, you will return to Beniko in a body bag." Ves raised Eva's brow by downing the rest of the drink, and winning over one of the galaxy's best spies.

Eva has a deep distrust for hierarchy after her time as Cipher Nine. She works for the Alliance as an independent agent, with Ves as her sole handler. She feeds the Alliance intel stolen from deep within Zakuul, and performs solo espionage missions. When the Alliance aligns with the Republic, she stays and volunteers as an agent for Task Force Nova, finally working on her secret goal all along - to find her lost Force-sensitive sister.

Chukaem knew of Aelirra, the Jedi who murdered her Emperor, and disdained the Alliance and its Commander. She served as Wrath until Acina threw in with the Alliance - which turned her away from the Empire, and led her to work alone in the shadows, executing anyone she deems a threat to the Sith.

When she learned that Aelirra had killed Vitiate again, she swore to end the Commander's life. But when the Alliance turned to the Republic - with Darth Avriss and Lana Beniko still within its ranks - her priorities shifted. Traitors first. Jedi filth next.

Ves is at the top of her shit list. They'd worked together on Makeb, and came away with bad impressions of each other. Chukaem sensed, accurately, that Avriss did not share her (zealous) loyalty to the Sith Empire and its Emperor. She tolerated it because Avriss served the Empire well as Councilor. Now that Avriss has turned... Chukaem looks forward to destroying her. Personally.

Djixas has met neither Aelirra nor Ves, and has no desire to. She is loyal only to the Mandalorians, and follows where Shae Vizla leads. When Shae pledged Mandalorian support to the Alliance, Djixas followed.

But where Torian was assigned as a representative on Odessen, Djixas led her brothers and sisters on offensives against Zakuul - be it on ground or in space, she planted the fear of Mandalorians in Zakuulan hearts with every battle. She is one of Shae's best lieutenants, and is almost always on the field.

I arranged the playlists to reflect their personal story beats first, then their romance beats.

Ael only has 4 personal songs :(( (i'm sorry bb u can go beat up ves in revenge) The best song that describes her is this:

Soft to be Strong - Marina Somebody hurt me long ago And though to heal a heart is slow It's just a consequence of pain There is no use in laying blame And I guess I've known it all along The truth is you have to be soft to be strong Finally, I feel the fear is gone I found out love has to be soft to be strong I choose to love you without fear No shame in being sincere

For her romance tracks, I'm going for a yearning, bygone days vibe to start, then searching (within herself and Kira) for a name to what they share, ends with 'I love you. Nothing will break us apart again.'

go to hell. - luhx I give more than I take pour love into all I do But there’s one thing I won’t quit If loving her’s a sin I’d go to hell for it Gladly go to hell for it I don’t need to be forgiven for being me I’ve been scared of who I’ll lose but in the end it all comes down to me

End of the Earth - Marina We're all living in the same universe Where the stars collide as the planets turn But I'll give my love, I don't care if it hurts 'Cause I'll love you 'till the end If we're torn apart then I won't let go 'Cause wherever we are, it feels like home And I'll love you 'till the end I'll love you 'till the end (of the earth)

And now...the Sith clown (derogatory)

Her personal songs end with 'Nox'. Romance stuff starts with 'Confident'. Each section reflects Ves as a character - strong, upbeat layers to peel through before getting to her softer core. If you hear a ballad, you're hearing a bit of her soul.

Personal stuff first! Starts off power-drunk (nigh narcissistic), then shows the steel beneath seductive velvet, finishes with soul-heavy sorrow.

Monster - PVRIS How could you let them do this to you? How could you let them turn you into a monster? Your bridge started to burn when you ran all across it I guess you never learn 'til you live and you lost it Live and you lost it Breathe No More - Evanescence I've been looking in the mirror for so long That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side All the little pieces falling, shatter Shards of me Too sharp to put back together Too small to matter But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces If I try to touch her

Her romance with Lana revolves around sex a lot in the beginning, then she realises she wants more, then she realises she's in love, and love involves the mortifying ordeal of being known??? Fuck!!!!

The romance tracks go: I want to fuck you - I want you - I...think I love you? - I love you with my soul.