Again fot the OC's Background Relationships Ask Game, 🌶, 💢, 🗑️ for Siavash.👀
@the-raging-tempest I put these together because of your great minds! thank you both 💕💕 Really made me have to ponder.
🌶️ - First intimacy / 💋 - First kiss
Setting aside young teen experimentation and horsing around – he even kissed a couple girls just to see if there was a spark (there wasn’t) – his first real kiss was with a Desnan boy whose caravan camped on the outskirts of Almas. Jinn was the image of everything romantic young Sia dreamed of – a wild boy who had already traveled across Avistan, who seemed to know the secrets hidden in the constellations and claimed he’d fought kobolds and robbed a rich banker’s carriage. Sia packed up his guitar and tried to join the Desnans, but it turned out Jinn was more flattered by his attention than truly interested. They only kissed once. It was kind of magical. A memory Sia holds onto.
In early adulthood, Sia was unfortunately in a rush to be initiated into acts of a more intimate nature and wasn’t as selective as he should have been. His first time was awkward and underwhelming. Just some guy he wasn’t all that into. Extremely forgettable. The first real time when it meant something and it was actually good was on one of his first diplomatic missions in Absalom, with a Katapeshi Pathfinder-in-training he truly vibed with. They wrote to each other for a while after Sia went back to Almas.
💢 - Person they can't stand
Literally had to make one up for this. You really have to show a ruthless lack of heart and zero desire to change to get on Sia’s bad side.
Since we did that “OC’s type” bingo card, here’s his anti-type: treats others like tools and those who aren’t useful as worthless, ambitious at others’ expense, cruel, closed-minded, humorless, joyless, compassionless, judgmental. (Congrats on the bingo, Hulrun, but you’re not background.)
In his diplomatic functions Siavash once had to deal with Chelaxian negotiators in a legal dispute over halflings smuggled across the border by an Andoren lumber company. Turns out it was the Andoren lumber company guy who was the actual worst. Basically stealing cheap labor by making the halflings think they’d be enfranchised. Same guy another time hired mercenaries to terrorize the fey and chase them out of the forest – Siavash was sent to try to smooth things over with the fey but then found out what was really happening and reported the guy. However! Mysteriously, both times he reported him to the Andoren authorities, the guy got off scot free. Luckily Sia covered his tracks well enough not to be on a hitlist, but this is a real blemish on his usual patriotism. All I know about the evil lumber baron is that he’s a nepo baby.
🗑️ - "It's complicated"
Got hung up on this one because honestly Sia has very few complicated relationships in his life. The only complicated one is Areelu after ascension, but that’s not background. There are other asks for his ex and his family and those aren’t really complicated complicated.
The most compelling case would be someone, probably not romantic (but?), who’s not a good person but whom he holds out hope for despite all evidence to the contrary. Kind of like Camellia (also not technically background) – he gave her so many chances and tried so hard to reach her that he almost ended up getting himself killed.
You might think having someone like this in his backstory could change his attitude in some ways, like make him more wary, but I’m not sure. He’s a true believer in the better azatas of our nature. I mean, there are some people he does give up on in this lifetime (Hulrun for example, or Mephistopheles, or even to some extent Regill) but that doesn’t change his conviction that they’re only bad because they’re deluded.
Thank you! 🧡 I did the original 2nd pov earlier so you get one if the rewritten 3rd pov snippets for variety ✨️ I have. So many version of this thing. Help.
Wip Asks
"Asshole," Julia mutters as Valya reproaches her. Needle in one hand and bar of soap in the other, the latter they press against the back of her right ear. They doubt she knows why this one, a stupid little secret for their own enjoyment. "So ready to typecast me," there's a beat before she continues speaking, worried, Valya thinks. Her voice is barely a whisper but lacking in her usual confidence. "You really did all of those yourself?"
"Duh." Stupid question. Strangers, needles, closeness, and touch. No fucking way Valya was about to subject themself to any of that. Horrible combination. "Hold still." It's not a suggestion, it's a command. Spoken with bravado and sharp edges, firmness and a grin that's borderline predatory. They're hit with another surge of thrill as the needle pierces her skin. Julia doesn't flinch, not that they thought she would, just hums a little as they push the needle through.
Valya's still smiling, wide, and with more teeth than reasonably necessary. Wicked and wanting. It's not very often they look her in the eyes, but right now they can't get themself to look away. Fixated on her. It's fine. They don't need to see to finish this. Their still shaking hands move up to their own ear, and with a frustrating amount of fiddling, successfully remove on of their own earrings, tossing it into the pot on the stove.
It has to be theirs. Hers now. Symbolic in a way that makes Valya feel sharp and warm. It's still theirs. She's theirs. All theirs.
Some time ago I was crying dramatically into my pillow talking with @wonda-ch about Ryder's PR team (me) failing miserably while building his image and that there's more to him than the confident and horny asshole act.
There's soft and insecure side too, confused and full of doubts, side not many know.
Thanks to my fantastic friend @wonda-ch, who took upon herself making it publicly known, everyone can read about his other side here (yay!).
Thank you wonda! You're the best and this is the sweetest gift. I still scream with delight ^^ <3
21 - collapse and 40 - pet for Kadira, Lann and Daeran?
Send me a number and I’ll write a micro story using the word or phrase - 43: undone (10 sentences)
21 - Collapse
The words on the page become unfocused, the light not quite so bright as the tiefling fights off a yawn despite not wanting to put down her pen from her work. Between one yawn and the next, she finds her head tipping down to the expanse of the Hall's meeting table, her forearm as a pillow and her lashes drifting lower and lower.
The commander nearly jerks to full consciousnesses when someone lifts her out of the chair to carry her princess style out of the room and through the hallway. However, it's only for a moment. The weight of her lashes feel so heavy and the warmth of the body feels so good, she doesn't fight.
Fingers brush over a warm scaled shoulder and the tiefling smiles and continues to smile as she's carried to her room, to her bed, and finds herself placed in the middle of it. It's almost instantly a body presses to her right side, seeking her warmth, an aasimar's face pressed against her neck.
The last thing Kadira remembers before falling asleep is the shift of weight in the bed, and a second body is pressed to her left side, touching her face gently with warm human hands as covers are drawn over them all, soft and safe.
40 - Pet
Their sleeping arrangement settled into two variants: Kadira or Daeran occupy the middle of the bed (Lann won't because he's worried about his horn).
Tonight it was Daeran's turn with Lann pressed against his form and Kadee curled up besides him, her tail tangled between their legs.
The count keeps his vigil despite twice the comfort and intimacy surround him, when suddenly a shape lands on the bed with a thump, causing his heart to leap to his throat.
He watches in the darkness as that delicate shape crawls on top of Kadira (who snores so softy) to survey the room.
The shape meows.
Without hesitation, Tiger pads off the tiefling to sit on Daeran's chest, turning once, then twice, in a circle before curling on top of the blonde man and begins to purr loudly.
Sourly, the aasimar finds he would rather deal with his otherworldly parasites in this moment as he stares ruefully at the cat.
In response, Tiger tucks his head under Daeran's chin, continuing to purr for the rest of the night.
Yay an OC's Background Relationships Ask Game. 🧸🌹🐾 for Raqim pretty please. 👀
Ah Wonda 💕 thank you my friend, good ones for him. Important backstory stuff.
🧸 - Childhood friends
Bardia and Sami were two kids he forced into being friends with him when he first arrived in Rahadoum and barely spoke Taldane. At first they didn’t know what to make of this fierce, skinny little Qadiran kid who kept angrily playing with them, but when they decided he was funny they adopted him. The three stuck together joining the Pure Legion and moving to Azir together. He misses them so much.
🌹 - First relationship
A chance to yap about Maryam (rubbing my evil little hands together)
When Raqim was a young man he was immature about women and deeply concerned with proving to everyone around him in Rahadoum just how Rahadoumi he really was. (Being Qadiran he had a lot to prove.) So he chose the most obvious woman for his first crush: Maryam, a student at the Occularium, very conventionally beautiful and very Rahadoumi. She was not impressed. Even by his expensive gifts and grand gestures. His friends begged him to stop. I suspect she was a bit xenophobic actually and just didn’t see him as a potential paramour. (She didn’t deserve him.) They fell out of contact when he moved to Azir with the Pure Legion, to everyone’s relief.
🐾 - Pets
Raqim was raised a goatherd and that stuck with him in many ways, but as much as he loved and cared for his goats, he never saw them as pets exactly. His brother Amir was the one who gave them names.
As a Firewarden Ranger he doesn’t have an in-game pet and I haven’t written about Tiger, but I imagine him being one of those “that’s not my cat” guys who feeds the cat and lets it sleep in his lap and talks to it and misses it when it’s not around. Still not his cat.
For the otp ask. 14 and 30 for Raqim and Seelah, 21 and 23 for Siavash and Zrise. Only if you like them, ignore the rest.
Bold asks Wonda 😆 Thank you, these have been so much fun. Kicking my feet 💕 and tagging Dolly @the-raging-tempest for her little guy
OTP asks
Under a cut because it's long
Raqim/Seelah
14. What would be a dealbreaker?
Not to spoil too much but Raqim will come very close to breaking the deal for Seelah by being stubborn and inconsiderate when she’s at her lowest. He does it because he likes her, and he thinks she’d be better off without Iomedae. And that kind of thinking, that you know better for other people... not great. Luckily he realizes it before it’s too late.
Otherwise they’re very in tune when it comes to values and outlook, so I can’t see anything serious coming between them.
30. Write a short exchange of dirty talk between them.
OMG WONDA THIS KILLED ME
Taking it into territory I have not given much thought to yet. The dynamic is cute but I’m at a loss. This is all I came up with (for now).
Raqim: “Want to go for a dragon ride?”
Seelah: “Oh, is that what we’re calling it now?”
---
Seelah: “You ok down there?”
Raqim: thumbs up
---
Siavash/Zrise
21. How have they changed each other for the better/for the worse?
Answered here!
23. Write a ~300 scene between them with no dialogue, only body language.
The Citadel is quiet at this hour. The silence is broken only the echoing click of a guard’s boots and the crackle of the dying fire in the command room hearth, where Aivu is curled up dreaming.
Siavash comes out of the study, stretches and looks around for Zrise. He’s not in his usual seat with a stack of paperwork at the war table. A whiff of tobacco smoke draws his eyes to the balcony.
Sure enough, Zrise’s dark silhouette blots the light of the street lanterns below. He’s leaning on both elbows but his chin is raised, not looking down into the city but up above the battlements.
As soon as Siavash starts toward the balcony door, Zrise turns an ear. Silently his inky shadow moves out of the angle of sight but the ember of his cigarette leaves a bright trail among the flowers.
Siavash stops and looks down at his boots. His body is still full of momentum, leaning toward Zrise, but he checks himself. He waits. The clicks of the guard’s heels recede down the distant corridor. Zrise remains out of sight. Siavash sighs and turns to go.
Then another sound catches his ear: the click-clink of Zrise nervously popping his match safe open and shut. It might not be a summons, but Siavash makes up his mind.
Outside the night is crystal clear and cold. In the starlight he can hardly see his face but Zrise turns it away anyway. Makes a little huff of surprise or maybe relief. Takes a deep drag and looses a cloud over Drezen.
Wordlessly Siavash trails a hand along the flower box and moves into shadow alongside him, close enough to sense his mass in the darkness. To hear the whisper of fabric when he moves. Almost close enough to listen to his heart.
The match safe pops shut and is pocketed. Zrise flicks his cigarette and it arcs out into the street below. His hands hang limp over the balcony.
Siavash waits. Finally Zrise steals a glance his way. Moisture clings to his lashes. He sniffs. The scent of smoke is pungent as he lets his shoulder come to rest against Siavash’s and they stand together in silence, eyes turned to the stars.
If you need more, i would love reading about 3, 15, 23, and 32 for both couples :)
Thank you so much for indulging our blorbo thoughts Wonda 💕💕💕
Couples questions
Answers under a cut because this got long
3. By contrast, what was the moment that first made their ~heart~ Soft for the other person? Not necessarily a conscious realization of “I love this person,” but a moment that had them like “Oh…I adore them…”
Answered here for Zrise/Siavash
Raqim/Seelah:
For both of them, dancing at Daeran’s birthday party makes an impression. You might not think it, but you get a glass of wine or two into Raqim and the right kind of music and the guy is fire. (Dabke style – he’s best with a bunch of friends.) (In that scene in the game you can get Daeran to talk Seelah into dancing to distract him. It works.)
For Seelah there’s going to be a moment after the mission to help out Yaker when Raqim’s childhood trauma is brought to the surface. The incident demonstrates how much their values align even if they disagree on religion. Basically Seelah’s bingo card is filling up. Cute. Lost puppy vibe. Brave. Heart in the right place. Too bad he’s such an ass.
For Raqim the vision in Areelu’s lab is the catalyst for a talk with Seelah about regret. Seeing how she deals with regret helps him quit spiraling about his own. (He still has a lot of work to do.) At that point she becomes not just this impossibly beautiful, strong woman and a good friend, but an inspiration.
15. What, for them, constitutes a level of intimacy that they would only rarely share with someone? This can be physical, emotional, etc.
Siavash/Zrise:
For Siavash who has no hangups about nudity or physical intimacy, it’s showing his doubts and insecurities. King of deflection. He’s terrified of facing or showing any doubt about his dreams, because the point of it all is keeping hope alive. He inspires people by making them believe. If he shows doubt, the whole thing collapses—not just his façade but the whole Fifth Crusade.
Zrise is just the right person to confide in, because when they get to this level in their relationship, his devotion is so complete—both to Sia and his dreams—that it gives him the courage he needs to start facing those doubts head-on and beating them.
Raqim/Seelah:
For both it’s emotional intimacy. For Seelah I think it would be admitting that sadness and regret do sometimes get to her. Asking for comfort and accepting it. For Raqim it’s admitting he might be wrong. Or admitting he can’t carry it all.
23. How comfortable are they talking about, and openly communicating during, sex?
Siavash/Zrise:
Sia’s a smooth talker and he’s not shy, but communication is tricky because Zrise has so much trauma and literal baggage (like a trunk full) that Sia knows he has to step carefully. There are some things he’s not asking for that he might otherwise. But he’s pretty vanilla and easy to please, so it’s not a real sacrifice. Aside from that part, he’s very open and unbothered. Like before they’re together there’s this one insane conversation where Zrise brings up certain Calistrian practices and Sia is cracking up and making immature jokes, and they’re both crushing on each other but they can still talk about this stuff without the slightest embarrassment.
Raqim/Seelah:
I can hear Seelah just straight up going “You’re doing it wrong. Here, I’ll show you.” And by the time they get to that level of intimacy Raqim might even be ready to admit when he’s got it wrong. He’s more of a prude than she is but he’ll get over it.
32. How do their friends react to finding out they’re a couple? Do they have lots of mutual friends? Did their friends know, perhaps before they themselves did?
Answered here for Raqim/Seelah
Siavash/Zrise:
Siavash has a reputation for doing crazy things. Giving the Thieflings leeway in the Crusade. Letting Nurah and Minagho go. Recruiting mimics. It’s basically his brand to do stuff that’s extremely likely to go wrong, and that somehow then pays off. So when they find out he and Zrise are together, most people are surprised but not surprised. They’re more surprised down the road when it starts looking like it’s working.
I imagine all the companions are aware of Zrise’s crush. Maybe even Nenio. He’s not subtle with the flirting at first. But he flirts with everyone who seems useful in some way, so only the more perceptive companions like Arue would know when crush becomes serious. People are also aware that Sia cuts Zrise a lot of slack, but again that’s his brand, so most do not see this coming.
Reactions to the news are not positive. Especially Regill, Lann and Woljif. In the Crusade I’m afraid the consensus would also not be charitable. The Knight-Commander and his Calistrian boytoy/rabid guard dog. A lot of cringing on Sia’s behalf.
As a chieftain I think Ulbrig would take a stern, paternal attitude to Zrise. There’s always one – the troubled guy, the bully, who needs to be straightened out (in Ulbrig’s view). And even though he and Sia get along, I don’t think Ulbrig would ever 100% see Sia as a proper warchief. Too much oglin nonsense in his crusade. In the end he might see it as a positive because it does seem to bring Zrise back into the fold, but a negative because Zrise could be a chaotic influence on the warchief he doesn’t need. Overall wary of the whole thing.
The only reason Seelah doesn’t threaten to beat the crap out of Zrise is because by this time she trusts Sia’s instincts. She’s always in favor of redemption, but Zrise never struck her as someone who would want to work for it, so she’s surprised in a good way. Arue is totally on board too.
Sosiel is confused. This does not fit the model of what he would have imagined for Sia. In his naivete he would picture him with someone like-minded like Ramien. It takes some maturing in his views for him to see how it could work between them. Luckily by this time he’s got Trever back and has grown up a lot.
My feeling is that the only one who is neither surprised nor disturbed is Lariel, but I asked Dolly and GOOD NEWS 💕 she had lots to add:
Zrise is not a guy with many friends. Hasn’t been for many years. And he liked to keep it that way. Attachment makes his job harder.
So before anyone knows I think the closest to friends he has are Greybor and Nenio. Though I’m certain neither of them would say they are Zrise’s friend. I think these two in particular are quite indifferent to his romantic relationship.
For Zrise at least it’s more like he gets friends, or at least more people willing to see that potential, after people know. I think some of that edge in conversation is lessened. I think the kind of companions who have a certain faith in Siavash start to treat Zrise a little differently and do see he responds better than expected. Though he will be very confused.
Lariel knew before Zrise was aware he treated Siavash differently. And though she’d never seen her brother develop feelings for someone, she could see the soft spot easy. So when Siavash somehow convinces Zrise to stand up to their family she is quite sure that Zrise must be fond of Siavash.
Then as she pays attention the crush he has starts showing up bright and impossible for her to ignore. So she would be relieved when the word got to her. Haha
I think Lariel is quite happy. She has her own reservations about Siavash. Not with her brother’s heart, but Siavash’s destiny. She can’t deny the good he does. She too would adore him but also worries for him. There’s a part of Zrise that only Siavash seems to see now. He is much more like the brother she used to know, but a lot has happened between them, so she understands that maybe this is where he feels safe. That fills her with some melancholy, as their sibling relationship can never go back, but she’s happy to see Zrise is free from his burdens of the past and that he has someone to walk the path with him.
Yay, an end of the year ask :) what about 5, 21, 25? 👀
Thank you Wonda! 🥰 these are fun. Nice to look back. (from this ask list)
5. most popular fic this year
Harder to answer than it seems! In terms of hits, kudos, comments, Tumblr notes, vibes?
Because my one fic from The Other Fandom, which is a large and scary fandom, got very few hits/kudos/comments for a fic in a large and scary fandom, but it got the most kudos of any fic I posted in 2024. A flop actually (but I'm really not complaining, I don't want to be perceived).
So I’m going with Tales from the Merry Crusade, because it's old but that’s where I added the Owlcatober prompts as they appeared, and lots of my PWOTR fandom friends engaged either on AO3 or on Tumblr or both (I love you I will fight for you), and that's the kind of "popular" that truly brings me joy.
21. most memorable comment/review
Oh easy: that first comment on the Lann/Daeran fic The Tide Turns from @theory-of-the-crows. It was so thoughtful and insightful that it started a long conversation and we both made a new fandom friend! Especially grateful for that one 🥰
25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read
There are so many by my incredibly talented friends around here. I started to list them but got scared I would forget one. I need to make a full fic rec list...
So for now I’ll just pick one that I’m always excited to get an update on: Iron Maidens by @undyingembers. It’s a crossover AU between Rogue Trader and Iron Widow, neither of which I know anything about, but featuring many familiar & dear characters (hehe) in an exciting original story.
