video games

I finally have enough in this category to justify breaking it out. maybe. sorta.

dragon age

aftermath of a war

Hawke was bone-tired, her own anger draining out of her, leaving exhaustion. When Fenris did not move to follow, she shook her head. Aloud, Hawke said over her shoulder, "Welcome to Kirkwall, Fenris. City of chains."
[97,300 words] Hawke/Fenris and Hawke/Varric, sort of Fenris/Hawke/Varric. ninety-seven thousand words of magic/steampunk detective!au.
this took about five years to finish. fml.

chance meeting

Ellana sighed; she was almost home-free for the day, almost ready to turn in and start her actual job of gathering intelligence for the Blades. She activated her mask, painfully aware that even with her grimy hood drawn to hide the Blades' uniform, she risked exposure. "All I have left is gorak," she called out from the kitchen closet.
[950 words] Vaguely VLD universe, Dragon Age: Inquisiton characters.

mass effect

to drink from the well of your grave

Garrus watched Hackett speak this second time, his tone gruff, military parade-rest a second skin like armor, describing Anderson's accomplishments, and remembered Wrex nodding to him down in the cargo hold when he showed up, just walking out of Ash's memorial. Wrex hadn't even pretended to show (not willing to feign concern when he had none), and the two of them had gone about their respective tasks in silence.
[3,700 words] Shepard/Garrus, post-ME3, major character death, #synthesisorbust.
my filename for this story for a really long time was just "synthesis, damnit!!". because, uh, given certain paragon actions, I don't think there could be any choice in the universe except to try and find a new world. Post-synthesis, canon-compliant (hence, character death).

star wars: the old republic

Frayed

Theron was going to break. Lana could hear it in his voice. Damn it all, but she didn't have time for this right now.
[2,750 words] Theron/Sith Outlander. Set early in the five year period between Ziost and Zakuul, Theron/Outlander (mentioned). Spoilers for KOTFE. A Chocolate Box Challenge 2020 treat for Llwyden!

the silence in between

When Nox had gotten a priority alert from Moff Pyron's personal security team about unauthorized access to shipping manifests, her first thought had definitely not been, oh, so a Republic spy thought borrowing my passcodes was a smart idea.
[3,052 words] Theron/Sith Inquisitor. Set between the Shadow of Revan events on Yavin, and Ziost: Nox runs into Theron accidentally. Basically a prequel to a half-written story that is much longer and set after Ziost.

how will I find all the traces you left

"Pull my life force," Nox growled, and abruptly sagged onto the floor, kneeling, head bowed to stare at the mossy stone. She could sense Lana wanted to argue, and she repeated, "do it." Lana didn't argue, didn't make another sound in the interim; Nox inhaled, exhaled, felt her teeth grind together and listened to the eerie silence until the heavy whine of the shuttle's engines heralded salvation.
[30,000 words] Theron/Sith Inquisitor. Darth Nox has to find a way to survive this. Somehow. Set directly after The Nathema Conspiracy, and huge spoilers for, like, the whole game.

star wars: knights of the old republic

to balance the weight we've swallowed

Atton recovers beautifully, even throws her a wicked grin. "The pinnacle of our working relationship, Surik," he counters. Just for a moment, he sways into a fighting stance, before casually slouching against the turret pedestal. Meetra watches his hands, his feet, as he flows from fighting form to slouch, and despite herself, is drawn in.
[4,400 wds] fem!Exile/Atton. Set during the game. For chidorinnn in yuletide 2016.

history follows

Few others in the galaxy know what it's like to be caught in the gravity well of a planet so deep and endless, you can't see the stars.
[3,700 wds] fem!Exile/Atton. Set after the game, sort of a sequel.