#balgruuf x ldb

[hircines-hunter]

The Best View in Dragonsreach

For @umbracirrus

[umbracirrus]

Balgruuf getting a soft little forehead kiss from Elyse after a long day of meeting with people and paperwork <3

[never-shouldve-come-here]

Dad Rumarin has been rattling in my brain ever since I made that post so uhhhh here

[hircines-hunter]

Early morning sun ☀️

For @umbracirrus

[umbracirrus]

A last drawing WIP for the year-!! :3

Elyse giving Balgruuf a little kiss atop his head mid-work. I'm gonna try to work on this as a proper drawing, just.... at some point in the new year. But I am going to add colour to the sketch now.

Also thank you creation kit for letting me get reference pics of his little office part of Dragonsreach without being followed around being told 'you're not supposed to be in here!' over and over lol-

[umbracirrus]

slides a sketch of my idiots Elyse and Balgruuf doing cute nose kisses on their wedding day across the table

[umbracirrus]

God I hope that the link works, I had to copy the html for the link from a previous chapter update and replace that chapter's links with this chapter's?

A Balgruuf-centric chapter this time, with a lot of background character commotion.... :3

Fic rating: E (for future content)

Fic relationships: Balgruuf the Greater/Elyse Verne (Female Dragonborn)

Chapter title: Planning

Chapter description:

Balgruuf receives a letter from a fellow Jarl seeking aid after a harsh winter, resulting in a planning headache where he needs the input of his Thanes. Unfortunately, one of his Thanes, Elyse, is set to travel to Riften…

Chapter excerpt:

“Winterhold sounds as though it is struggling,” Balgruuf muttered as he entered his study, letter in hand with Proventus following not far behind him. The doors fell shut with a light click, before he placed the letter down on his desk and began to light the candles and sconces in order to give them both light to work with. “My first correspondence from Korir in months, and things sound to be bleak.” “Bleak, my lord? How bleak?” The jarl was silent as he took his seat, propped his elbow up on the arm of the chair and brought his hand up to his chin, before loudly exhaling through his nose. “Food shortages, insufficient building materials to repair damage to buildings that can withstand the weather, medical supplies running low, and I quote,” he took hold of the letter with his free hand, and sighed. “‘magical anomalies that continue to plague the remaining citizens of Winterhold which the College ignore, and instead tell me to discuss the matter with the Psijic Order and the Thalmor.’” Proventus frowned. “It sounds to be... Very tense. Precarious.” “Hm. I can think of another few words to describe the situation too,” Balgruuf muttered under his breath. In particular, ‘difficult’ came to mind – both describing what the people of Winterhold were having to go through, and the behaviour of his fellow jarl. Korir had always been a bit... Prickly. Not dissimilar to how his father before him had been in the few years he had known his predecessor. He did have to wonder though... Korir hadn’t originally been his father’s heir. He had an older sister who simply disappeared... he had to say almost thirty years ago, by that point? A few years give or take. Perhaps things would have been different If Ingja had taken up the mantle of Jarl instead.

[umbracirrus]

I lied when I posted the sketch of my drawing yesterday, this will probably be my last WIP of the year.... Beloved idiots Elyse and Balgruuf properly drawn and coloured, just the dreaded background/foreground to go.....

[umbracirrus]

Made a start on some background/foreground stuff for my drawing of my idiots and their forehead smooches :3

[umbracirrus]

Trying to post this again because. Tumblr was being tumblr.

@hircines-hunter's fault that I've drawn this after sending pictures of statues which they saved, because I saw this one statue (Adoration by Stephan Sinding) and it absolutely screamed Balgruuf and Elyse and their dynamics.

Under a read more alongside the reference picture of the statue which I used because they're naked.

And my favourite parts of it - their heads/faces!!

[umbracirrus]

Another drawing of my idiots Elyse and Balgruuf posing in the same way as a statue :3

Reference pic of the statue under the read more-!!

[umbracirrus]

Woe, a spontaneous weekend WIP be upon ye!

This is very much a spontaneous thing I started writing after doing one of my 'things Balgruuf and Elyse do as a couple' posts earlier and talking about what they do when they are apart... and it will very quickly turn into smut. But not in this WIP! This is just poor Balgruuf missing his wife and reading a letter which she sends to him whilst she is miles away in Winterhold...

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A quiet sigh escaped Balgruuf’s lips as he sat at his desk, took his circlet off, then slowly ran his hands through the braids in his hair to let them loose. That was soon followed by the furs over his shoulders being removed and draped over the top of his chair just behind him, and each of his boots being removed and knocked aside by his feet. He had kept himself so busy through the day, it was only now that he had started to unwind for the evening that the loneliness he had been trying to forget about began to seep in, and the glaring absence became so much more obvious.

It had been a week since Elyse had left Whiterun. She had been asked to visit the College of Winterhold for a few days, on the behest of the Archmage, and had left about two days later. He believed it had to do with her proficiencies in conjuration magic, and the tutor in that school of magic having recently taken ill. She had been willing to help out, saying that the Archmage, a man called Tolfdir, had always been nothing but kind to her and had supported her massively when she was figuring things out not long after she had learned she was Dragonborn.

Of course, he had supported her in her decision, he always would support her wherever he could… though that wasn’t to say that he was happy that she was gone. He always missed her when she wasn’t present in Dragonsreach. Everything felt all the more formal and tense without her around, her presence made the palace feel much more like home.

Silently, he picked up the letter he had been holding onto ever since its arrival earlier that evening, and took a deep breath. His name was written on the envelope in the familiar flowing handwriting of his wife, and a fond smile fell upon his face. He then took hold of the letter opener which he had in the drawer of his desk, and ran it across the seal. There were two sheets of paper in the envelope, one which seemed to have taken a lot of thought to write, and another which appeared to have been written in haste, or at least with a trembling hand. He placed the rushed-looking one down onto the desk, and began to read through the other.

My beloved Balgruuf, I miss you so much, I cannot believe it has already been almost a week since I left home at the time that I am writing this letter. I hope that you are doing well without me, because it is almost unbearable being here without you. There are times where I regret telling Tolfdir that I would help whilst Phinis recovers from his sickness, but there is only one other in Skyrim that I am aware of who has some level of mastery in conjuration magic and he has already turned the College down. I would not want to put them in a more difficult situation by saying no too. Phinis is getting better by the day though, so it shouldn’t be too much longer until I get to return home. I should have a better idea on timelines tomorrow, so expect another letter soon. I want to be home before the frost grows worse though, or else I will have to resort to flying home with Odahviing. I was fortunate enough to be able to get a carriage here as it was, whether I can get one home is an entire other thing. Getting couriers too, for that matter. But as I said, I shall be contacting you once more with a clearer timeline of when I can return. If possible though, please ensure that the porch is clear just in case I do have to fly. I’ve also settled with staying in a room in The Frozen Hearth. Dagur and Haran have been kind to me so far and offered me some extra blankets for my room. The room that the College offered me was functional, but far from comfortable. I would rather pay to be a bit more comfortable here for a time and get hot meals every morning and evening than remain in there. Also, I have been fortunate enough not to run into Korir and his family yet. Whether that luck will continue… Anyway, this evening’s meal is ready, so I shall sign my letter off here and go to eat. I have something else which I would like to tell you, but that shall be enclosed within another letter, and I shall write that when I have eaten. I would say that its contents… may well be best saved until a time where you are on your own. As I have no doubt said numerous times by this point, I love you and I miss you dearly. I hope to see you again soon. Yours always, Elyse x

[umbracirrus]

Things that Balgruuf and Elyse do as a couple (part 1) - Cute things

The first part of my collection of posts on things which Elyse and Balgruuf do as a couple! I'll be creating a masterlist after the first two are posted, and they will all use the tag '#Balyse couple stuff'! This is all sorts of cute little things that they do.

I may add to this in the future!

They will have tea in bed in the morning at least once a week, sometimes more if there are special occasions, and their schedules will be adjusted accordingly.

And speaking of their time in bed, as Elyse is more sensitive to the cold than he is, she loves cuddling up to him at night.

Balgruuf is the early riser of the two, and he could easily just lie there for a while in the morning watching her, the whole time wondering just how lucky he is to have her in his life.

Balgruuf will always take the day off for Elyse's birthday. He learns before they get together that she isn't the biggest fan of celebrating it, so he will try to do something with her, of her choosing, to fill the time and to give her something more positive to associate the day with (and this works, but it takes a few years. She really appreciates the sentiment from the first time that he does it though, especially with it falling in the middle of Whiterun's recovery from the battle that occurs there between the Empire and the Stormcloaks.)

A meal which they enjoy and will often have on the rare evening off/date nights is a rich beef and vegetable stew with some freshly baked bread (sometimes slathered in garlic butter), accompanied with either some Honningbrew Reserve or Colovian brandy (the latter of which being a particular favourite of them both, though the former they have much easier access to), followed by a warm mixed berry crostata. They will do the whole feeding each other little forkfuls of their food thing, and it will be candlelit in the privacy of their quarters.

They love to hold hands. If they can't hold hands at particular times though, if they can get close enough to each other, a fleeting touch of their fingers brushing together is just as good for them.

Balgruuf's hair is full of braids. In the evening, Elyse will carefully help him undo them and comb through his hair. If she is awake early enough, she will help him do them up too. As Elyse gets older, she starts putting her hair into a braided, tucked updo, and Balgruuf will return the favour. (Their daughter together, Aina, also does similar with her hair, and so they also have to help her with the same until she learns how to do it herself!)

They also have an almost ritual-like routine on evenings where they manage to go to bed together, helping each other with getting undressed and ready for bed. More time is spent helping Balgruuf, as his outfit is most often more intricate than hers.

Elyse takes on some of Balgruuf's burdens when she is completely settled in in Dragonsreach after they are married and is more familiar with everything that he does. She typically helps more with issues relating to the guards and security as she is out and about in the hold more often than Balgruuf is, but also works closely with Farengar. This allows for them to spend more time together and be all cute and sappy as they can handle two things at once, as opposed to him handling things one at a time.

Balgruuf will always smile when he smells lavender, as it reminds him of her.

Likewise, Elyse associates oak smells with him.

Elyse likes to wear his tunics and shirts to sleep in. She does have her own nightwear, but finds his clothes cosier.

Balgruuf loves how passionate Elyse is about alchemy when she has the opportunity to practice her hobby. He allows her to set up plant pots across Dragonsreach, mostly on their balcony and on the porch, to grow flowers for both decoration and alchemy purposes. He'll even go with her on walks outside the city walls to gather ingredients (usually with at least Lydia tagging along at a distance).

Elyse likes to buy books for Balgruuf, especially ones covering historical topics. She isn't as interested in those sorts of things herself, but she knows that he is. Sometimes she can just sit there and listen to him read aloud.

Balgruuf calls Elyse 'dear' and 'my love' a lot. Elyse calls him the same, but she much prefers to save the pet names for more private or intimate moments.

Balgruuf likes to rest his chin atop her head (she's 5'2, he's at least 5'10)

Elyse likes resting her head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat. She also likes to wrap her arms around him.

Elyse and Balgruuf take time off to go for at least one pilgrimage to High Hrothgar, to let him meet Paarthurnax. The Greybeards aren't the most pleased to learn that after the fact, but both Balgruuf and Paarthy get along well (Odahviing's word helps a lot in this, as he has met and properly spoke to Balgruuf by this point) - it makes Elyse incredibly happy (almost overwhelmingly so). That, and it gives the idiots a few weeks (mostly) alone together.

Balgruuf proposes to Elyse exactly four years to the day of their first meeting.

Their wedding falls on the day of the first winter snowfall in Whiterun of late 4E 205.

They both like sneaking out to the Bannered Mare at night to get a break from Dragonsreach. Their housecarls do not approve of this, yet they persist. Who could dare stop the Jarl and the Dragonborn, after all? Ysolda loves the money that their presence brings in so she won't rat them out.

Elyse mentions Balgruuf a lot when she meets with her closest friends in the city (most often Carlotta, Olfina, and Lydia), to the point that she gets teased about it. A stark contrast to the denial of her pining before they do get together. Elyse teases Olfina back about Jon, at the very least.

They love to steal kisses from each other when the opportunity arises.

Balgruuf makes sure that Dragonsreach always has at least some honey in its pantries for Elyse, on account of her sweet tooth. She doesn't know that he does that.

Balgruuf won't admit it, but he loves how cute she looks when something frustrates her - he just finds the way that her nose scrunches up, the curl of her lip, and the squint in her eyes endearing.

Elyse loves Balgruuf's nose and crows feet.

[umbracirrus]

WIP Wednesday! 💛

Hehehe, as I've been attempting this 100,000 words in 100 days challenge, I've actually been able to get the next chapter of The Perfect Storm finished, though I think I will wait before posting it given that I updated it on Saturday, stagger things out a little and build up a few completed chapters!

This WIP is a fun one, with Elyse having done a little bit of thinking and talking to Lydia about it... Of course it has to do with Balgruuf :3 I have posted part of this in the past (beginning of December, I believe?), but I've developed the scene quite a bit since then.

Tagged by @thequeenofthewinter and @skyrim-forever! Not tagging anyone this week, because beyond thinking about my idiots and writing, my brain has been a bit frazzled from the cold and returning to work.

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Elyse was quiet as she looked up through the canopy which covered the road which she and Lydia were walking along in The Rift. She had spent far too much of the journey since leaving Ivarstead silently contemplating anything and everything which dared to cross her mind. This was possibly the first time in ages in which she had properly taken the opportunity to just think, with something or another otherwise having taken up her time even when unwinding back in Whiterun.

At present… she was thinking about what Lydia had said days ago, back at Fort Greymoor.

The Jarl has eyes for you. He’s trying to court you. He acts different around you, in a way that he does nobody else.

Lydia… Lydia had never lied to her before, at least never maliciously or intentionally. And she couldn’t lie to herself either, she had started noticing these things too. But… was that simply to do with the fact that she currently lived in his home? That their lives were intertwined in such a complex manner, it was unavoidable for these things to happen? She was the only person who currently lived in Dragonsreach who wasn’t either a member of his family or under his employ, so her dynamic with him would be different to that of everyone else… or was it genuinely because of what Lydia suspected?

Pale leaves gently swayed in the wind, the early spring warmth breaking through the treetops as they moved and allowed sunlight to pass through. Quiet rustling and the occasional scampering of wildlife, as well as the faintly distant flow of water, filled the air which was otherwise only occupied by the sounds of their feet.

She soon took a deep breath, and momentarily closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she stopped in her tracks.

“Lyd...”

The housecarl took a few further steps, before slowing to a halt and turning around. “Elyse? You okay?”

“I’ve been thinking... About, um...” She silently started fidgeting before folding her arms over and closing the distance between the two of them. “About what you said. At Fort Greymoor.”

“Oh?”

“... He... I know that he treats me differently,” she whispered, taking in a deep breath “I try to tell myself that he’d do similar for any other Thane. Some days, I worry he does it out of pity. But... I don’t know, after what you said...” She exhaled, and began slowly continuing their walk. “I’ve started wondering whether what you said was true… or whether it’s just because the current circumstances that he acts that way.”

Lydia was quick to shake her head. “He wouldn’t do what he has done for you for anyone else, not even another Thane,” she stated, focussing on the road ahead of them. “Nazeem is one of Whiterun’s Thanes, and for a time, he couldn’t live on his farm. He asked the Jarl for a place to stay, and Balgruuf said no. So Nazeem took up residence in the Drunken Huntsman. When you made that hole in Breezehome’s roof, the Jarl could have easily told you to stay elsewhere during the repairs, or to relocate to Lakeview… but he chose to allow you to stay in Dragonsreach. For that matter, wasn’t that the first thing he suggested when he realised that Breezehome wasn’t in a safe location? He didn’t hesitate opening his home up to you. Not to mention that he continues to let you stay there, in spite of that argument you had, and even though things appear to have calmed down on the Ulfric front.”

Elyse bit at her bottom lip as she processed what she had just been told. She… hadn’t heard that story about Nazeem before, and realised that Lydia was right about how quickly Balgruuf had made that suggestion.

They remained quiet as they continued down the road, the silence only being disturbed by the snapping of a twig beneath her foot, and the rustling noise of birds quickly flying away as a result of the aforementioned breakage. At least until Lydia hummed quietly, and gave her a slight nudge. “You’re blushing.”

“No, I’m-“ She stopped in her tracks, then brought her hands up to her face and ran them down it as she groaned quietly. Her face was unseasonably warm.

[umbracirrus]

It has been a week since I posted the previous chapter, and seeming as I have finished chapter 27, decided to post it today 💛

Alternative chapter title - Elyse and Lydia talk a lot 😂

Fic rating: E (for future content)

Fic relationships: Balgruuf the Greater/Elyse Verne (Female Dragonborn)

Chapter title: Emotion

Chapter description:

On her journey to Riften, Elyse has had time to think, and has come to a realisation…

Chapter excerpt:

Elyse was quiet as she looked up through the canopy which covered the road which she and Lydia were walking along in The Rift. She had spent far too much of the journey since leaving Ivarstead silently contemplating anything and everything which dared to cross her mind. This was possibly the first time in ages in which she had properly taken the opportunity to just think, with something or another otherwise having taken up her time even when unwinding back in Whiterun. At present… she was thinking about what Lydia had said days ago, back at Fort Greymoor. The Jarl has eyes for you. He’s trying to court you. He acts different around you, in a way that he does nobody else. Lydia… Lydia had never lied to her before, at least never maliciously or intentionally. And she couldn’t lie to herself either, she had started noticing these things too. But… was that simply to do with the fact that she currently lived in his home? That their lives were intertwined in such a complex manner, it was unavoidable for these things to happen? She was the only person who currently lived in Dragonsreach who wasn’t either a member of his family or under his employ, so her dynamic with him would be different to that of everyone else… or was it genuinely because of what Lydia suspected? Pale leaves gently swayed in the wind, the early spring warmth breaking through the treetops as they moved and allowed sunlight to pass through. Quiet rustling and the occasional scampering of wildlife, as well as the faintly distant flow of water, filled the air which was otherwise only occupied by the sounds of their feet. She soon took a deep breath, and momentarily closed her eyes. When she reopened them, she stopped in her tracks.

[umbracirrus]

I finally managed to get chapter 25 of The Perfect Storm completed and uploaded!

We've also reached the 100,000 word mark with this chapter! <3 A whole 100,000 words of my idiots pining for each other-

Fic rating: E (for future content)

Fic relationships: Balgruuf the Greater/Elyse (Female Dragonborn)

Chapter title: Spring

Chapter description:

As spring encroaches upon Skyrim, Elyse is tasked with clearing out bandits from Fort Greymoor who have been causing trouble on the roads leading to Western Skyrim, and she asks Lydia for help. Meanwhile, a letter arrives for her in Dragonsreach… but not from the usual culprit.

Chapter excerpt:

“Why do they always seem to hole themselves up here?” Lydia sighed as she and Elyse stood at the split in the road leading towards the crumbling fort. She brought her hand up to her head and brushed some loose strands of hair from her face, before reaching up to behind her head and tying it up to keep it out of the way. “Added some not-so tasteful decor too...” Elyse pursed her lips together as she glanced at the cages which hung from flimsy looking beams just outside the entrance. There was no sign of life in any of them, but the bodies within looked to have been living and breathing mere hours ago. She had grown used to experiencing death in her time in Skyrim, but unease still settled within the very depths of her being. There was no dignity in being killed and used to send a message. “With luck... This will be the last time we clear this place out. I think that Balgruuf has plans to try and garrison Fort Greymoor with guards when we've finished here, with the repairs to the Western Watchtower still being a long way from completion.” Lydia glanced at Elyse, and gave her a playful nudge with her elbow. “Getting all of the insider information, living with the Jarl, hm?” Rolling her eyes, Elyse shook her head. “N... no, it’s because I’m-” “Well well... What’s goin’ on here? A pair of lovely ladies stopping for a rest? Looking for somewhere to put your feet up?”