freedomliveson

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Haha! I like how Ari is like "horse around harder!". Oh be careful what you wish for, my dear xD

Gotcha! I'll put renso in the next post.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

So, I don't have very much to add...was going to add a couple of things here and there, but then realized you addressed them already. Sweet! Don't mean this to be a cop out, but that all...yes. Yes let's do this :D

By the way, I've already come up with the workings of one of our main villains for us. I want to introduce her first before jotting down thoughts seeing as I think she'll evolve as we go. Fair warning; where Bracknell was tactful, precise and controlling, she's...well, very much like the lore you built. Brutal, vicious, tenacious, violent and borderline psychotic. I'm REALLY looking forward to getting her in there.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

As he stepped into the shower, he asked:
Who was it? One of the youngsters, I presume?

When Aria said it was Manso, he laughed, rubbing his scalp and allowing the water to cascade over his fatigued muscles.

They do that, don't they? Grow. Apparently you forgot to grow when you were younger. He KNEW that was going to come back to bite him in some way, shape or form, so he would savor the victory while he was alone and not within tickling distance. Out of all the things Aria had come up with to get back at him for his teasing, tickling was the worst. It wasn't like he could swat her away because he was afraid he would hurt her. Instead, he was forced to go into a fetal position while trying not to die from laughter as she clambered on top of him and proclaimed herself the victor. That wasn't too bad of a position...

Jolting himself from the potential train of thought that could have gotten himself in trouble, he simply told his partner:

I'll see you when you get home, then. AND I won't be a sweaty wreck! Won't that be something?! And yes, before you ask, I'll make sure the dogs get walked. As if they could hear their unspoken discussion, Chwuq's snout poked through the bathroom doorway, a knowing snort breaking Yerbol from his once peaceful shower.
"Hey, hey, you don't see me trying to harass you guys when you want your private time, right?" Silence.
"Yes, I'll walk you both! Just let me finish my shower, for Force's sake!" A grunt of affirmation before another snout cracked the door, a groan that resembled "waaallkkkk?" coming from the other. Head hanging, Yerbol muttered:
"So lucky that you two have grown on me."

__

After changing into a fresh t-shirt and shorts(Taris was experiencing a brutal summer), he opened the back gate and escorted the Tuk'ata up the path that wound towards where he and Aria had first proclaimed their feelings, but instead of heading all the way up, he shifted left to a wooded area that extended beyond the village. As the creatures bounded, played and used the bathroom, Yerbol kept one eye on them with another on his personal datapad. Logging into his messaging platform, he found a couple of links for strength workouts from Bex, who also attached a couple of snapshots from Zinuthra which featured some of the repairs that had been done on base.
"Gettin it done, Bol!" and "Get your lazy butt over here!" were the captions, Yerbol chuckling at the exhortations. He and Bex had run several operations together and had instantly hit it off, spending time outside of operations getting to know one another and bonding over their mutual interests. He flipped past the message from his friend, noting some of the headlines that scrolled across the top of his screen from the holonet, one of which caught his attention.
"Alliance Parliament coming together, Saresh choosing cabinet."

He didn't click on the link to the article, but was comforted to know that Saresh's promise to stabilize the extremely vulnerable Alliance was working. With Bracknell out of the picture and what looked like a defunct government in play, some officials just abandoned their posts, fleeing in any direction their money could take them. Others chose to stay behind and work with Saresh, seeing as without this Alliance, government would be non-existent in the Core Worlds, a thought that chilled those in power. From what they had seen on the Holonet while planetside, there were heated debates, threats of secession from former Republic and/or Imperial diplomats that tried to stand on the pedestals of tradition and even a couple of attempted bombings on Coruscant and Dromund Kaas, but the overriding desire for one governmental body seemed to crush most open attempts at defiance. For now, things were taking shape, showing promise for the galaxy. He hoped it would continue.

While in the midst of sending a reply to Janika(who had proudly sent him a picture of her bearing her lightsaber, the caption reading "I'm a Knight!", her tanned face beaming next to Ethan, another youngster they had rescued a couple of months back), the Tuk'ata came back, eyeing Yerbol expectantly.
"Right, so we're through now?" He knelt down and patted them both on their flanks, a smile forming.
"You two must know that I think you've grown quite a bit. Almost like you're not vicious beasts that could tear someone's throat out." Their eyes were closed, humming coming from their throats.
"You want me to keep doing this?" The humming continued, eliciting a laugh.
"Come on, you goobers. Let's go get dinner."

___

With dinner and conversation out of the way, Yerbol was content to go to their room. removing his shirt before laying on top of the sheets, hands behind his head. When he heard Aria come in, he looked her over with a teasing smirk.
"You know, you ought to wear that top more. It's very...flattering."

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Oh for sure. Their adorable-ness is too cute to spoil with Renso right now. Mind if we keep up the cuteness for the next set of posts, then I can introduce him in the posts afterward? I want to keep this up for just a bit longer xD

(So basically we can just have them talk about stuff going on/be mushy together for the next posts, then that night they can be in bed together and WHAM, Renso wakes them up?)

Also, you rock at lore building! Will post thoughts on characters tab/post later today :)

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

YES. Oh man yes. Had SO many of those at my old place of employment. Thankfully the people here are very respectful of our time.

I'm sure! Can't wait to read what you found!

Also, no pressure, but posted...and it felt so good to not have to write about them getting shot at for once xD

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

His heart soared in his chest at her declarations, almost threatening to burst out of his chest when she embraced him and reciprocated his feelings. He gently pulled a couple of inches away before bringing a hand to her cheek, stroking it lightly as he told her:
"Then it's settled. We take this life on together." He leaned in a bit, lips barely grazing hers.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way." Completing the initial lean, he planted a kiss on her lips, a long, passionate one that seemed to contain the essence of his feelings towards her. As he pulled away after a while, he chuckled.
"I've been waiting to do that for a while. SO worth it. Mind if I have another?"

-End Act I-

____

-Two and a half months later-

-Act II begin-(for my own reference)

"Ari?" Yerbol called out, slightly winded by the simple act of walking back to his parent's home. To be fair, the young man had been employed in rather tedious and difficult manual labor which involved constructing similar looking walls to the one around the Brell settlement(where his parents were located). This would be wall number three that he had participated in the efforts on and each successive time he hated showing up, but loved the feeling of seeing the work he and the other settlers had invested pay off when the final stones were melded together by cauterizing units brought in by Alliance construction teams. Yerbol was thankful every single day for Alliance crews, seeing as they worked hand in hand with the local settlers to not only fortify existing settlements, but build new ones as well as scout out wild areas of Taris for the terraformers to shape. Thankfulness also extended to the fact that there were no troopers hounding he and Aria to oblivion, no corrupt regime to gut and cleanse from the inside out, no insidious True Sith Lords attempting to deconstruct their very way of life and the list could go on. They were normal, working people...or so they portrayed themselves to be over the past couple of months. People KNEW who they were from their exposure on the holonet, which created a mixed bag of reactions. Some still thought Force users were blights on humanity, which was all too clear when a couple of settlers decided to throw rocks at the duo when coming back from a scouting trip(Yerbol had scared them off by picking up a chunk of earth with the Force and having Aria infuse lightning into it. The pair cackled gleefully all the way home.) Most accepted them for their heroic actions and felt even more apt to endorse them when realizing that Yerbol was Volgorl and Tabitha's son. With the prevailing attitude towards Force users positive, the sanctuary settlement being built on the ruins of Taris' former capital city got support and volunteer efforts from settlers who agreed that galactic peace couldn't occur unless "we worked together, regardless of affiliation, race or creed"(Saresh's words, often quoted by settlers who remember her efforts as head of the Tarisian restoration effort). Yerbol and Aria had gone to see the initial construction efforts, lending a helping hand to those who were sent to start the city, which included Voldon and Kira, who were all too happy to see them alive and well. They had wanted to help the Battlemaster and his wife with setting up the city, but the duo encouraged them to take some more time away from the situation, Voldon reminding them that there would "always be work for you once you're back on your feet." Kira's sideward, knowing glances at the pair was also a large hint that not only had she figured out their new romance, but told her husband to go easy on them.

New romance didn't necessarily feel "new" to Yerbol, however. Their relationship only grew in depth, Yerbol appreciating his partner so much more every passing day. They had a new dimension to how they interacted(the kissing and other romantic gestures were very nice), but as Yerbol pointed out to Aria on multiple occasions: "You're my best friend. Shouldn't it be natural for me to love you?" A couple of times they had disagreements about how to proceed with a mission or how to properly cook something, but those minor conflicts normally ended with giggling, kissing and/or hugging(which, again, Yerbol would never protest). His parents were all too happy for the duo, cheerily sharing many meals together along with stories, life advice and overall good company, Tabitha and Vol attempting to spend as much time as they could with both of them. Tabitha especially enjoyed Aria's company due to their mutual ability to not only take their romantic partner's jests, but fire back with their own teasing that was just as good, if not better.

In their spare time alone, they talked. Talked so much about the past, their future together, shared memories, read books, played games and did other fun activities that were normal for two twenty somethings in love to do. That was key for Yerbol; to just BE a couple. Not a couple dedicated to eradicating evil, not a couple that was on the run from death, just...well, two people in love.

His love, at the moment, was nowhere to be found on this particular late afternoon. When they had gotten up in the morning, Aria had mentioned something about heading out with Vol to Echo Base for supplies, but that shouldn't have taken this long. Maybe they stopped somewhere to eat? Snorting a laugh at the thought of fast food on Taris(Rakghoul burgers?), he made his way to the bathroom and shed himself of the sticky clothes that threatened to impinge all movement before tugging on the bond that they had sharpened rather nicely on their hiatus, asking:

Ari, honey, where are you? Did Dad drag you out on an unplanned expedition? Cause you know he'll do that.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Well that stinks! Thanks muchly though for the help.

Also, my meeting was MUCH shorter than expected and my brain needs a break, so post incoming shortly!

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Oh for sure. There's going to be closure on that front...my fault for not developing it as much as I'd like, but their relationship was...complicated. Too complicated to go through when trying to fight off the True Sith xD

and BLESS YOU a thousand times over for reading up on lore. Things just got SUPER busy here.

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Yahoo on both accounts! Would you mind terribly in reading up on lore and seeing what you can do with these "Chiss ancestors"? I've got work meetings and kids banging down my door, so I don't know about squeaking out a post today. I can read what you find out/tweak about what I proposed, then post tomorrow?

You never see it coming[Freedomliveson/The Elvenqueen]

Skipping forward would be fine by me. We can do what we did for our six month time skip, inserting little memories and creating ones as we go. Also, it might be kinda cool for them to visit the sanctuary on Taris and meet up with some of the Council in order to let them know that they're heading after Renso. I would assume the Council would frown upon it initially, but would understand their reasons...somewhat xD(I'd assume they would want the duo to stay behind to help out) That would, of course, be followed up by a larger reunion on Zinuthra as you alluded to.

Zinuthra would then naturally be the site for the new academy? Or at least, the makings of one. That way Force users can have a place to train.

And actually, I don't know much about the Chiss myself, but methinks it would be kinda cool to explore their backstory. Maybe tie it into the True Sith? Cause the Chiss seem to have an attraction to the former Sith order, so why wouldn't their ancestors have the same...WAIT, WAIT. This may sound crappy, but I just got an idea:

With the Renso about to die, he warns Aria and Yerbol about the Chiss forebears, who were once crushed into submission by the True Sith. The Chiss ancestors were wild, uncontrollable warriors that lusted for power and held a strict hierarchy that punished those who were ruled underneath it. Years of subjugation created a dependence for those scant Chiss survivors to cling to the True Sith for survival, said survivors working in secret to preserve whatever of their race they could in stasis chambers mainly used for Masters of the True Sith to meditate in. When the True Sith's realm collapsed, these pods were forgotten about until an Alliance expedition uncovers and awakens them. Rife with power, these Chiss ancestors begin to wreak havoc on the galaxy, attracting all sorts of unsavory characters to join their cause in "throwing the galaxy into total anarchy".

What do you think?