#darmas pollaran x smuggler

[sullustangin]

Happy Birthday, Eva

Well, I’m done!  I wrote something every day for the entire month of February.  I avoided some burnout by a) letting my weekly fic chapters count (unlike Fictober, where I was doing a prompt AND a 5k word chapter) and b) serendipity; February is a short month, and it’s not leap year.  I’ll add this to the pinned post soon(ish) with the AO3 links and all that jazz.

Here’s what I wrote/created over the last month. 

1.  The Corellian Whiskey and Sullustan Gin Timeline is a slight variation on the current official one; in sum, it avoids all the retcons made post-KotET.  It also includes some headcanon characters and ideas to help me plot the series. 

2.  Like Champagne -- a fan fic about two of Eva’s birthdays with two very different men.  Darmas/Smuggler and Theron/Smuggler

3. Fractured Alliances and the Taste for Spies -- @sarpndo asked about the series’ anticipated trajectory during the Traitor Arc, and I give a big answer!  Some spoilers abound.

4.  Efficiency -- a fan fic about the choice to spare Theron on Nathema.  This was for @thebreadtree.

5.  Domestic Bliss is the first weekly prompt for Fluffy February.  Essentially, Eva and Theron start to establish their private life after his arrival on Odessen. 

6.  Regularly scheduled chapter of The Planter of Trees and Other Tales from Yavin 4.

7.  Becoming -- a fan fic when @empire-at-war‘s Tal became the first person to meet Eva after she became the Captain of Virtue’s Thief.

8.  Home -- Corso meets Eva.  And Hylo Visz the Cat.

9. Name -- Darmas Pollaran will never tell her his name. A fan fic about the smuggler’s favorite bastard. 

10.  Make This Work -- a sort of sequel to #5, this is slightly less fluffy and deals with the headcanon I have that the Outlander didn’t come out of carbonite unscathed.  Fortunately, Theron Shan is a highly competent operations manger.  And a good boyfriend.

11.  Midnight in the Garden  -- six months after defrost, Eva disappears with Satele and Marr for a very strange camping trip.  Theron admittedly didn’t cope well.  When other changes come along, he does better.  Fluffy February prompt fill

12.  A dear Anon asked about Theron Shan’s reaction to Eva being lost at Eternal Fleet.  I provide his character’s trajectory until the point that Lana Beniko reveals intel that proves that Eva Corolastor is not dead. 

13.  Regularly scheduled chapter of The Planter of Trees and Other Tales from Yavin 4.

14.  "For When You Wake Up” is a fic that reveals Theron’s reasons for not being there at defrost for Eva. 

15.  @ayresis asked about one of my new characters, Kyllfria Whitcord.  I develop her biography here.

16. Death, Yet the Force --   The adventures of Fria Whitcord and her joining the Alliance... but she brings more than herself to Odessen.

17.  Brigs and Balyegs -- Eva Corolastor and Talos Drellik are undercover on date night in order to pull off a heist at the Sith Museum.  Date night?  You’ll see.

18.  A dear Anon asked about what makes Eva happy.  Theron clocking 1500 hours on her ship is one of those things.

19.  World Building for Corellian Whiskey and Sullustan Gin -- a post that concentrates all of the headcanon and also general analysis posts I make that aren’t fic, exactly.  This has been added to the menu.

20.  Regularly scheduled chapter of The Planter of Trees and Other Tales from Yavin 4. 

21.  Spite -- a fan fic explanation as to why Eva lets Arcann live.

22.  A dear Anon asked about the adventures of Hylo Visz the Cat, Eva’s pet.  I provide the overview of the cat’s life.

23.  The Death of Hylo Visz -- the joke that’s been slow burning in my head since the first fic of this series...

24.  Who is the Voidhound?  - a headcanon post about the character ‘the Voidhound’ and its manifestation in my series.

25.  Weather -- the week 4 Fluffy February Prompt, about the early days of Theron and Eva on a work-date in Coruscant

26.  Pictures at an Exhibition -- the Art  of Corellian Whiskey and Sullustan Gin has been compiled into a master post of art, artists, and their comm info

27.  Regularly scheduled chapter of The Planter of Trees and Other Tales from Yavin 4. 

28.  One More Birthday -- Eva celebrates one more birthday than her mother did....

[kingsroad]

❝ How can you shoot me down when I’m being this charming? ❞

[theniveanlegacy]

OC Masterlist

oc tag

(Color= color crystal)

Nivean Legacy: Primary Universe

Republic:

Jedi Knights

Mayyen Nivean (x) (x)

Species: Twi’lek

Age at class story start: 17

Gender: female

Love Interest: Theron Shan

——

Jedi Consulars

Khellel Junhai (x) (x)

Species: Cathar

Age at class story start: 19

Gender: female

Love Interest: Rass Ordo, Torian Cadera, Zenith, Lana Beniko, Theron Shan, Koth Vortena, Felix Iresso

——

Smugglers

Clabreo Aldin (x) (x)

Species: Human

Age at class story start: 21

Gender: female

Love Interest: Corso Riggs, Theron Shan, Lana Beniko, Koth Vortena, Darmas Pollaran, Skavak

——

Troopers

Iastia Jorgan (x)

Species: Mirialan

Age at class story start: 27

Gender: female

Love Interest: Aric Jorgan

——

Imperial:

Sith Warriors

Romiyya Ri’ka (x) (x)

Species: Togruta

Age at class story start: 22

Gender: female

Love Interest: Malavai Quinn

——

Sith Inquisitors

Bria Mor (x)

Species: Twi’lek

Age at class story start: 23

Gender: female

Love Interest: Andronikos Revel

+

Nazeara Ani’Bril (x)

Species: Twi’lek

Age at class story start: 20

Gender: female

Love Interest:

——

Bounty Hunters

Astoria Nexi (x) (x)

Species: Human

Age at class story start: 18

Gender: female

Love Interest: Torian Cadera

——

Imperial Agents

Fehnn (x)

Species: Chiss

Age at class story start: 22

Gender: female

Love Interest: Vector Hyllus

[depizan]

15 Day SWTOR OC Challenge, Day Eleven

Set One: Main Ficverse Trio

11. Canon divergence. Are there parts of their story that don’t line up with in-game information? Why? Where?

Jezari Solarin

I suspect she’s a bit older than the game expected the Smuggler to be, as she’s 30 when the events of the prologue begin.

In fic, I ran with the game’s wackiness of having the SIS periodically hire the player character to do jobs that seem like they should be being done by an actual SIS agent and not some random criminal, and made her a kind of unofficial agent of the SIS. An SIS agent hired her as transportation off planet, got themselves in trouble, and, when her passenger didn’t show, she went and rescued them. This got her more SIS transportation business, which branched out into more and more SIS agent type missions. To the point that the SIS would like to officially recruit her (despite her not actually being a Republic citizen…possibly…or possibly she is by way of her mother...she doesn’t know). So far, she keeps saying “no,” though.

I’ve done some minor tweaking of the prologue and chapter one of the Smuggler story, but, for the most part those are fic canon for her. It’s after that that everything takes a left turn at Albuquerque, as it were. (Okay, I have her prologue and chapter one stuff happening before everyone else’s, so that’s a bit of a shift too.)

In any event, shortly after the end of in-game Chapter One, Jezari, on a mission for the SIS, meets Kyrian (who was on a mission for Intelligence), rescues him, contemplates selling him to the SIS, and ends up working with him to rescue some people and trash a Sith Lord’s mad science lab. They continue running into each other, and eventually she rescues him from a fate worse than and including death (see his entry).

Besides the addition of a very weird Imperial into her story (not to mention her nearly life-long friendship with Savler), basically none of the rest of the Smuggler story is canon for her. Bits of it will probably end up being. I think I’m going to do something with Darmas Pollaran, for instance. But the story just doesn’t hold together that well, and it really doesn’t hold together for someone who’s actively working with the SIS. (And the Voidwolf just annoys me, so he’s definitely Grand Admiral Not Appearing In This Fic.)

Aori Savler

She’s definitely older than the game expected the Bounty Hunter to be as she is also 30 when the events of the prologue begin. (She’s a year younger than Jezari, but with Jezari’s story being off-set…)

She also has a family, and a best friend who’s a smuggler. And she works for/in the Republic as well as the Empire and independent space.

While I like the general outline of the Bounty Hunter stuff, there are a lot of places where I feel like the story either falls apart a bit or relies on a much more reckless or somewhat dimmer character than Savler is. There are choices she simply wouldn’t make, not so much because of morality, but because they’re incredibly unwise.

So, for the most part her career involves something akin to the canon story (at least Chapter One thereof), but not exactly the canon story. There’s a Great Hunt, and Braden hires her onto the team, and she meets Mako…and Tarro Blood is a murderous, cowardly, cheating asshole. She and Mako compete in the Great Hunt, and Blood will eventually be reduced to a messy smear of his namesake, but the targets and events are not necessarily the ones from the game.

And, of course, she’s also got a best friend to keep out of trouble. Or rescue from trouble. (She definitely made sure that Risha and Bowdaar have her personal comm number.)

Kyrian Nessar

Kyrian is every bit the young, fresh out of training agent the game intends. The problem is, even sticking purely to the game’s allowed light side options, he’s far too nice for his job. Not to mention going for a bit of a wade in the treason pool. Add in his fic shenanigans with Jezari and the fact that the Empire is not stupid (particularly not Imperial Intelligence) and his career had the approximate lifespan of a mayfly. And so, nearly, did he.

That brief career included events that approximate the Agent story from prologue through Tatooine, just with even more people left alive than the game allows. (Or alive for different reasons. In fic canon, he simply didn’t arrive at Watcher X’s hanger in time. Traffic was terrible. Most unfortunate. (He had neither desire for Watcher X’s bribe nor desire to recapture him.))

And in fic, he not only rescues Jezari from the Empire at one point, but helps her save someone he’s been given explicit orders to kill. When the Sith Lord they kept tangling with decided to take a close look at Kyrian’s career, there were no shortage of treasonous actions to uncover.

And so his incredibly short career ended with his arrest for treason and near horrible lengthy execution by Sith.

Jezari saved him before anything permanent…well… much permanent, anyway…happened to him. And he became a member of her crew. (Which is about as off from the game story as you can get!)

[tishinada]

I was tagged by @curiousartemis, thanks!

Relationship status: Happily divorced

Lipstick or chapstick: Chapstick. I never wear lipstick

Last song i listened to: Sound of Silence by Disturbed

Top 3 shows: Babylon 5, TOS, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Top 3 characters: Phryne Fisher from Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Delenn from Bab 5, and Rey from SW: TFA

Top 3 ships: F!Smuggler and Darmas Pollaran (SWtOR,) F!Smuggler and Lana Beniko (SWtOR,) and F!Sith Warrior and Malavai Quinn (SWtOR). I know, smuggler’s on there twice :D Andronikos Revel and the SI would be on there, but I’m annoyed with the marriage trap. And sorry, I love DA, but I can’t get that enthusiastic about the canon romances for my favorites, particularly in DAI. If I were to pick a non-canon romance, it would be Cadash x Adan or Cadash x Harding. A CE x Zevran match is the closest the canon romances come.

tagging: whoever wants to do this.

[sullustangin]

❤💖😢 for Eva Corolastor.... BUT : Eva from BEFORE she met Theron!

Thanks for the ask!!

❤ Have they ever been in love?

Yeah. Darmas Pollaran. He had her, hook, line and sinker. Until Voss, Eva had little inkling of any upcoming trouble. They didn't do the domestic thing, though. There was never any talk of marriage or more Pollarans.  Eva was going to conquer the underworld, and he’d manage Port Nowhere and any back office.  He was the first and only person she really fell in love with before Theron.  Eva loves a lot of people -- love is easy.  But falling in love -- that uncontrollable feeling that you can’t resist -- that’s only happened twice. 

💖 How do they say ‘I love you’ without really saying it?

Eva is pretty open with affection; she reads people pretty well as a pazaak player so she can gauge whether someone is chill with a hug or an ‘I love you’ or if she needs to be less direct about it.  Risha likes forehead kisses, personally, for example.  Broadly, Eva is good about remembering birthdays and anniversaries, making sure something special is arranged, if not pre-planned, for the person of honor.  A lot of the time, the people Eva loves can ask her for a favor, and she’ll offer up her services as a pilot and Virtue’s Thief without any questions (but she and the ship are an inseparable matched set). 

😢 Have they ever been cheated on by a partner?

Prior to Theron, Eva was only ever in one exclusive relationship; her other experience had been no-strings-attached flings.  So yeah.  Darmas Pollaran.  Fic series spoilers below the cut (may be upsetting).

Darmas was a sentient trafficker.  Eva did not know until Corellia.  When Eva was off Port Nowhere, he did business, including ‘quality control.’ There was more than one occasion he tried to coax Eva into having a threesome with some ‘stranger’ or ‘courtesan’ he’d found ‘somewhere.’  “Somewhere” was identified more clearly at his trial. 

The accusations against him at Corellia about the missing women stood, and they landed him an additional 300 years in prison. 

[sullustangin]

Name.

Time:  12 ATC/3641 BBY

Rating: T

Word Count: ~1500.

What had he done?

The night terror had seized him and shaken him awake.  He got out of bed and grabbed a robe, just as an afterthought.  He slipped out the door to his balcony and gazed out at Coruscant.

What had stung the most was that, initially, he’d just stared at the name.  It didn’t register on him.  He hadn’t used his name in so long, that he did not recognize hers.

The news of his mother’s death was barely more than a dull thump in his head.  He hadn’t directly commed with her in over fifteen years… since he began this long con for the Empire.

Darmas Pollaran wasn’t the name he was born with.  His mother didn’t know that was his current name.  She just knew – understood – he was away and would be –

For what was now the rest of her life.

He willed himself to keep breathing.  He was high enough and far enough away not to be smothered by then fumes coming off Coruscanti traffic.  He could see lights, including those of the Senate Tower.  

He’d vowed when he was young that he would see Imperial flags flying here and all throughout the galaxy.  He still believed in the cause.  He believed in order and law, in hierarchy and rewarding ambition.  Sentients should rise to a certain bar, not have it lowered to the basement of civilization to ‘accommodate.’

No, that was not the problem.

The problem was what he’d done to end up here.

The attack of conscience was simply a consequence of some – no, a lot of -- deep-seated guilt.  He hadn’t made it home to see her.  That was why the night terror came.  He could rationalize it.

Still, its bony fingers and long claws tugged at his mind.  Does she know now?  What had happened to her son?

Did she now know what he had done?

Yes, clearly, a night terror still had him in its grasp, as he wondered about souls and what cruel reward awaited them.  When they died, did the reward of being all-knowing come to them?

The impulse came, and he fought it.  No, he wasn’t going to look back through the balcony door.  He wasn’t going to look at the life he’d made here.  

He wasn’t supposed to feel this way.  He was never supposed to feel this way.  

He’d had the permission and approval to do whatever was necessary to keep his cover.  He did.  He had created several lines of business, multiple lines of distraction. He dealt in everything – cards, information, sentients, drugs, sex.

He sampled all of his wares as quality assurance and to ensure he was seen as nothing more politically threatening than a libertine.

He was embedded into the underworld to ultimately turn it to the Empire’s will.  The underdwellers wouldn’t care who their new master was – the markets would not change.  There was always a need for a black market, whether it catered to vice or otherwise.

Then came the opportunity to remove an ill-fitting piece to the puzzle and replace it with one that could be shaped, molded to fit perfectly.  He was critical for preparing a farewell to Kirill, who he could admire for his action and for his ambition… but could not tolerate for his smug impudence and coarse brutality that was excessive, even to him.

Even to him, after all that he done.

The replacement was currently warming his bed –

No.

Not anymore.

A light came on behind him, and then he heard her, swiftly moving to pull on a robe of her own and investigate where he’d gone.  

He tried to breathe.

“Hey.  You all right out here?”

“Just came out for some air, sweetheart.  Go back to bed; I’ll only be another few minutes.”

He listened for her to head back inside and do what he said.

Of course, she didn’t. She wasn’t the malleable youth he’d told Keeper she was.

Rather than a sculptor and his clay, he and she tested each other, trying their mettle and their minds against each other.

Yes, he sliced off some of the rougher edges and encouraged a certain cool detachment in business. Yes, there were obvious changes in how she presented herself and what precautions she took.  Her skillsets were enhanced.

What most didn’t see was how she was testing him, as a sword in fire.

“You’ve been upset all day. What’s up?”  

He finally turned to look at her, all legs and silk, her dark hair grown long over these last two years, since the first time—

It was supposed to be a dalliance, part of the greater cover – of course he would, with some young thing who wanted to ensure he’d help her.  Then she kept coming back around to the Dealer’s Den, beating him at pazaak and leaving him breathless when he let her stay.  Then opportunity came knocking from the Republic Senate.

Then, eighteen months ago, she asked him whether it was just Port Nowhere that was a safe harbor, right as a bunch of prototypes flew into the docks.

Nobody had ever exceeded his expectations like that, even before this cover.

Now Eva Corolastor watched him, worried, eyes reflecting the city’s glare.

She cared for him.  

Tell her.  

He smacked the thought away.

“Darmas?”

He cringed internally at the name.  That wasn’t his.

“Let’s go inside.”  He stepped past her into the bedroom, dimly lit by the bedside table lamp.

Give it to her.

He knew she followed along behind him, sliding the door behind them and locking it tight.  Always careful.

Not careful enough.

No.  That’s why this was happening.  He felt himself, as if guided by another force, reach for the knob on the bedside table drawer and slide it open.  A box.  The truth. “Received some news.”

“Bad?” she asked, curious as she settled back down into bed.  

“…. Not really,” he answered.  Honestly. “She’d been alone for a long time.” He ran his hand over the fabric exterior of the square box, wide and flat.  “My mother died.”

“…you never mentioned her,” Eva ventured cautiously.  Wise. Didn’t know whether the relationship was good or bad or …

“I haven’t been able to visit her for quite some time.”  That was true.  “…I was sent a few things she wanted me to have.  And… I think she would be pleased if you had this.”

It was all true.

Darmas passed her the box, so very old now.  In those long, thin hands, the wide box looked well-sized as she opened it up. He saw her brow crease, curious at the sight of the chain and the locket on it.  With a careful touch of her fingertips, she coaxed the holo to activate.

And there he was, age twenty-two (just as she was to be soon), standing tall, at ease, not a line on his face.  A second image appeared – someone who very looked very much like him now, dignified and calm.  ‘Dispassionate’ was how he remembered –

“Your father?” she asked.

“Eyes went straight to the old man, not my young strapping self?” he asked, teasing her (but not really).

She rolled a shoulder in an equally coy shrug.  “I’m consistent.”  Then her expression softened.  “But you were, as ever, very handsome.”  Eva tilted her head to look at the holos from all angles.  “She must have been so proud of you two.  And loving.”

“Yes, she was.”  

All truth.

Eva’s expression wavered slightly as a thought crossed it and popped out of her mouth.  “Empire must really have your number if you can’t even sneak in to see her.”

He felt as if he’d been shot.

The panic silently flared in him.

Too close to the truth.

He tried to keep his voice even and calm.  “What makes you think she was in the Empire?”  

Eliminate.  Compromised.  Eliminate.

“If she was here in the Pub, I don’t think you would have avoided your mother, since she was so proud and loving,”

Eliminate.  Now knows too much – secret compromised.  Kill.  Kill. Kill.

Even as she looked at the holo locket’s physical components, what was left of him went to war against his training and his instincts.

Tell her.  Tell her now.

He cleared his throat. “So… being Imperial by heritage --?”

“Not a dealbreaker,” she answered, not even looking up from the locket.  “I’m not a citizen of anything, as far as I know.  This is gorgeous work for its age.”

Tell her.  Dear God, Tell. Her.  Deal her in.  Make her a partner – a real partner.  Wasn’t that your mother’s advice to you in these matters?  Read her in.  Make her an official part of the mission.  

Tell.  Her.

Stop making yourself miserable –

Now Eva looked at him from her place on the bed.  “Darmas…?”

He rejected the name but hummed to signal his attention.  

“Do you think she would have liked me?”

Tell her.

Tell her your name.

He crooked a smile at her. “I’m sure she would have loved you.”   He let his hand cradle the side of her face and said no more.

What have I done?

~~

A/N: The locket story was first mentioned in the last chapter of "Parting of the Ways,” as Eva looks back on her relationship with Darmas.  The moment Darmas almost told her is indicated as the locket incident, and that’s in Chapter 15 of “The Grand Reveal.”  I originally intended to write the whole “the Nebulas come into Port Nowhere post-Balmorra, and it’s game on for Darmas/Eva”.... but this sang louder and is probably the more interesting story. 

[sullustangin]

SEND ME A CHARACTER AND I’LL DO THIS; Eva pls!!

@blueburds-but-swtor and @commanderlurker both requested Eva Corolastor, my OC smuggler. @commanderlurker also requested another character, so I'll do another post for that one. 

Sexuality Headcanon: Eva is an adventurous heterosexual that eventually relaxes into (still adventurous) monogamy. She's sex-positive in general; her mother had a very frank way of discussing 'issues' with her, and her 16th birthday present from Mom was a birth control implant. She's had good experiences being a third in an MMF -- not so much with an FMF. After the latter, not interested in moresomes thereafter (there's a drink attached to that story. Actually, both stories have drinks attached, but one is more "lol I need a drink" versus "I need a drink to get though THAT story”.  Both drinks are for emotional reasons).

Gender Headcanon: Eva doesn't think too much about gender as much as she does sex, honestly. She is who she is. Her parents raised her to be able to take care of a ship by herself and take care of herself, full-stop, so any idea of traditional gender roles went over her head. Initially, Corso just confused Eva with his hyper-traditional concepts of what men do and what women do, but she quickly made sure he got used to the division of labor on Virtue's Thief: what needs doing, needs doing, so get to it. Does she relish in dressing up in a short skirt, wearing perfume, and looking really pretty at a pazaak table? Sometimes. She also relishes getting up to her elbows in coolant and reassembling a starfighter engine and programming droids.

A ship I have with said character: Eva/Theron is the ship that dominates most of my writing, but there is also a Eva/Darmas ship that sailed at one point. Since the fic series I write is about the former pairing, I'll do the latter (but if you want more info about Eva/Theron, just ask!).

”Corso disapproves” doesn’t even cover the half of this mess...and he’s right.

It started as a one-night stand. The age gap was surprisingly a big starter for her (19 vs 47).   Eva got her ship back, spaced Skavak, and tooled around the galaxy with Corso, Risha, and Bowdaar for more than half a year.... and she saw Darmas whenever they swung by Coruscant. He brought enough money into the Dealer’s Den through sabacc that they comped him a nice room.  Darmas hooked Eva up with a few small jobs, such as stealing experimental engines and de-rigging Hutt casinos so people actually won fair and square (she loved that one).

Then came the rescue of Port Nowhere from the Voidwolf .... that was more than ‘kinda’ hot....and then he offered up Port Nowhere as safe harbor... That was an overture.

Eva made it a point to see Darmas as soon as her first privateer op was over.  They had to talk -- about business.  About where this partnership was going. 

Darmas and Eva watched the Nebula prototypes coast into Port Nowhere's hangars the next morning.  Together.

A BROTP I have with said character: In terms of the ultimate, platonic love ever, I'd have to say Risha. I used to say Bowie, but while he and Eva are close and it’s love, it's definitely ... more protective/caretaker on Bowie's part (not parental -- Eva had parents, it's not the same). Risha and Eva are peers, partners in crime, wingmen, and despite Risha being hardened and Eva pretending to be older, they're only about a year apart from each other in age. They are more 'bros' than Eva and Bowie are. Akaavi does join in the fun, but she's over 5 years older than they are; she's definitely big sister who looks after those two dumbasses when they have nights out (until she pulls that special person of the night; then it's 'bye bye don't die').

A NOTP I have with said character: I think a NOTP for Eva in my universe would be a crew romance; the way I write the smuggler crew, they’re too much like family: Eva, Corso, and Risha as siblings, Akaavi as the cool older cousin/young aunt, Bowdaar the doting responsible caretaker, and then weird Uncle Guss.  My original Star Wars OTP was Han/Leia, so I don’t have a problem with Smug/Crew ships in other folk’s fic.

Another NOTP is Torian. Torian considered my bounty hunter, Gronn, his ba'vodu -- his uncle. Gronn and Eva had this... thing. Not even a sex thing. Torian's like her nephew now in a Mando way. Hell, that connection is so familial, Risha considers Torian off-limits because if Eva is his aunt, and Risha considers herself Eva's sister, then he's like her nephew once-removed or something.

A random headcanon: Even though it’s the Smuggler’s Moon, Eva hates Nar Shaddaa.  It’s the last planet in the galaxy she wants to be on.  It’s where she met Bowie and saw him at his worst. It’s where she and Darmas did weekends.  There’s...nothing real there.  It’s all duracrete and neon lights and pollution. 

When Theron mentioned he “was not supposed to go” to Nar Shaddaa anymore, Eva was beyond thrilled to have yet another excuse not to go there.  She asked if saving it from the Star Fortress was optional.

General Opinion over said character: Eva is probably one of my most developed oc’s.  She’s partially a projection of what I wanted to be when I was younger.  That projection is now tempered by retrospect, as well as seeing other people live after a high-speed life. She still surprises me at times when I write her, which I think is a good thing.

[sullustangin]

Like Champagne

Rating: T

Word Count:  ~1500

Ships:  Initially past Darmas/Smuggler; finishes with Theron/Smuggler.

Summary:  Two birthdays: one dreamy memory, one better reality.  Not so happy at the beginning, very fluffy at the end.

CW:  Toxic past relationship; personal boundary pushing (there are some things you need talk about beforehand; bad surprises).

11 ATC/3642 BBY

Music wafted up from the main casino floor, playing in celebration of a woman who was no longer there.

The fireworks had started to go off for EC’s latest win at the tables.  Eva loved to watch the fireworks, preferably from the top floor of the casino – which is exactly where she was.  Right next to her was Darmas.  He was most certainly too … dignified was the wrong word, but it was the closest thing she could think of  when she thought of how inappropriate it was to call him her ‘boyfriend.’

The age gap had been a starter for her after all.  

Eva tipped back the last of her champagne and placed the glass on a passing waiter’s tray, grabbing another one.  Darmas sipped his first one of the night, surveying the casino as if he were a lord surveying his fiefdom.  “You look like you’re some stiff off Alderaan.  Relax,” Eva insisted.  “It’s my birthday – and it’s been a good one so far.”

“It’ll be better when we’re alone, sweetheart,” he murmured low in her ear, his voice hitting notes that sent a thrill right up her spine.  

Eva didn’t want to let him win that easily.  “What do you have in mind?” she asked, in the same tone she’d use if she was asking him how the weather was on Dromund Kaas.

“First, I have something new for us to try.  High quality. Not addictive.  Ever hear of sweetblossom?”

Eva nodded her head. “Yes.  Haven’t had the pleasure yet, so that sounds exciting.”  She cast a look over the casino floor one last time before leaning into Darmas and subtly suggesting they start moving toward their final destination for the night. “You did say ‘first,’” she gently prodded.

Darmas gave her one of his patented cocksure grins.  “Second, I did get the penthouse for the weekend.  All valet service, unlimited room service inclusive of the chef’s table – they bring him to us -- exclusive access to the spa, and I just so happen to know the masseuse assigned to us is one of the very best.”

Eva couldn’t help but give him a huge smile.  “Wow, I was happy with the free drugs.  Here you are treating me like I’m someone.”

Darmas’ eyes flickered, and something unreadable passed through for a moment.  “You are someone, EC.  Champion pazaak player.  My partner in our little venture with the Republic.  And … in other things.”  Then he reached for her hand and squeezed it tight in his.  

Eva felt like she was made of bubbles, like champagne.

“And, I wanted to expand our horizons a bit – so I’ve invited someone up to our suite for the night. She comes highly recommended.”

The bubbles popped.

Eva stopped in the middle of the large sweeping concourse, and Darmas walked a few more steps before his arm was stretched.  Eva didn’t let go, but she didn’t move.

“….I’m guessing my surprise isn’t well-received,” Darmas remarked, his annoyance on parade.

Eva tried not to act like a child.  She wasn’t as cosmopolitan as Darmas – maybe she would never be, since her parents were just subsistence smugglers.  Maybe her father being an ex-monk made her more of a prude than she should be.  Maybe her parents hadn’t given her a good of idea of what partners were really like – maybe they were oddities in the galaxy, and that irregularity was all she knew.

All the same, Eva stood as tall as her three-inch heels allowed her. They hadn’t talked about this. “That sounds more like a gift for you than it is for me.”

Darmas stared down at her.  “I paid well for her.  Do you –”

“I want you to send her away.” Her impudent chin rose up.  “I won a large purse tonight.  Surely that would comp you for your expense.”

He stared at her silently.

Eva repeated herself, even as her eyes burned, some mix of jealousy and insecurity and anger, and … her heart….  “Send her away.”

Darmas’ face was a cold mask, something that made his inner thoughts a mystery to her.  He’d been on the sabacc circuit for decades; he was pro in a way she only aspired to be at the moment.

And then he was all fire, mouth pressing a crushing kiss against her, and his hands holding both of hers when he pulled back. “You’re a strong, stubborn, fierce little thing.”

Eva felt no relief even as the crisis seemed to have passed her by tonight.  “I wouldn’t hold your attention otherwise.”

**

21 ATC/3632 BBY

Eva bolted upright from her dreaming sleep.  She drew in a sharp breath as she looked out her viewport to the moon.  Clear skies.   No light pollution.  Not like Nar Shaddaa or Coruscant.  No champagne, no fireworks.

Banging on her bedroom door. On her ship.  The back of her mouth prepared the hard ‘c’ that would call out for Corso, but no, that wasn’t right anymore.  He wasn’t here.  The front of her mouth knew it wasn’t right to call for Risha or Bowie either. Nothing was right.  Eva reached for her chrono on her nightstand.  What time?  

What year?

“Eva?”

His voice.  Theron.  

Her spirit lifted.  Yes, time had passed.  Yes, they were gone – but she’d saved them.  He’d seen them years after.  Then they disappeared, like all good smugglers did.  Theron promised he’d find them for her.  

Eva knew he would.

But what the hell was he doing here at 2 in the goddamn morning?

“Eva?”   The knocking and the voice seemed more frantic.  

“I’m awake.  And not armed.”

The door swished open immediately; he’d sliced it and had tried to wait for the all clear before charging in. He just barely managed that. Theron froze in the doorway.  By the light of the moon, she saw the moment he realized this might not have been a good idea.  

They stared at each other in the late night.  Eva waited, wondering.

Theron swallowed before stepping into her quarters. Then he sat on the edge of the bed, both feet on the floor, body turned to face her.  He let out a shaky breath.  “I  -- I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”

Eva blinked.  More than once.  She checked her chrono, again.  Yes.  It was. And yes, it was – “At 2 in the morning?”

Theron nodded, and then he winced.  “I know I’m bad at this.  I’m sorry.”

“But why at 2 in the morning?” Eva asked, running her left hand back through her hair, pulling it away from her face to see him better.

Theron turned away from her to face the wall.  His hands rested on his legs for a few moments before he let them hang down, his shoulders slumping.  The tiredness he’d been fighting started to win.  “We got a huge data dump from Asylum on the Eternal Fleet.  I’ve been working on it since it arrived yesterday.  And I finally looked up from my data dive, and I panicked because I thought it was 0200 tomorrow and that I’d missed it. I realized I hadn’t but –”  

Theron turned to face her again.  “This is how I screwed things up before.  With others. I’d remember, but then I’d get back to work, so damn sure I’d pull myself out of it again later.”    Theron reached for her left hand, the back of his glove sliding along her comforter.  As they made contact, he gave her functional hand a squeeze.  “I wanted to make sure I made it to you.”

Eva opened her mouth to speak, but Theron didn’t let her. “And, listen.  I’m sorry, but this is going to be a pretty crummy birthday.  I know you’ve probably had some wild, great birthdays, with your crew and all those credits you had.”  Another squeeze of her hand, another apologetic look.  “I might – might -- have a cake made from supplies we hijacked off a Zakuul luxury galaxy cruiser.  I’m still waiting to find out whether there was any sugar aboard.”  Theron sighed.  “But that’s all I have.  And there’s still a fair chance I’ll get back to work and forget to see you until tomorrow – like, tomorrow tomorrow, not today tomorrow.”

“At 2 in the morning,” she said softly, one last time.  

Theron’s haggard face nodded.  “I know. I’m sorry.  I love you.  Happy birthday.”

Eva had to bow her head, and she felt her shoulder shake, almost uncontrollably.

“Eva, I’m so – ”

Eva felt like she was made of bubbles, like champagne.

She had her arms around his neck before he could even register it.  “Theron, you’re the best. You know that?”  Eva let out a laugh then squeezed him tightly.  

She finally felt his arms wrap around her, after a stunned few seconds. “It’s not –”

“You’re enough.” Then his embrace became almost too tight.  “I love you,” she said into his neck.  

Eventually, she sat back on her heels.  “You done for the night?”

Theron sheepishly regarded her chrono and the moon outside.  “I guess I can be.”

Eva pulled back the covers of her bed and shifted over to what had, over the last few weeks, become her side of the bed.  “Stay?”

“Yeah.”  His jacket was already half off.  

Wrapped in warm sheets in the cool night, she drifted off to his heartbeat.

The bubbles never did pop.

~~~

@blue-starlight

[sullustangin]

Ok, so, I don't know how far you've gotten in the expansions, and I have no idea what your plan is for the expansions for Corellian Whiskey and Sullustan Gin, but.... What are your thoughts on the Fractured Alliances Arc because like, if I were Eva, I don't know if I could handle it happening twice!! And Theron Knows her history... Anyway, feel free to ignore this if it's too spoilery (and I hope it's vague enough to not spoil anything for you)

Day 3: Fractured Alliances and the the Taste for Spies

Thanks for this ask! I've played through Fractured Alliances twice (and will do so again shortly!), but I was fortunate enough to start playing the game AFTER it was resolved. In short, I didn't have to live through it live and miss Theron for 9 months. I’ve got general opinions about the arc under the cut, but I’ll speak specifically to the Corellian Whiskey and Sullustan Gin series first.

Talk about trust issues. In my headcanon, Eva and Darmas were serious; I'm working on a piece where Darmas finally has to make the choice as to whether to tell her about who he really is... or not.

The way the game goes, the answer is obviously "not" until Corellia. I've already written about how that has screwed up Eva in terms of her own self-worth; as far as her own future goes, she's a nihilist.

The problem with Theron knowing Eva’s history with Darmas was that they never talked about it again after that one time on Rishi -- before the carbonite freeze.  They did not talk about the ex. At all.  Ever.  For her, it was painful.  For him, he didn’t want to upset her. She was not who she was then, and Darmas was rotting in jail.  He wasn’t coming back for her. It was irrelevant to their relationship.  

Until that moment on the train.  When Theron did the villainous monologue and... she just stared at him.  After losing it all, coming back, and almost making it back to ... peace?... , Eva was back to being 22 and having her heart ripped out.  What was past was present.  It was all real yet not at the same time.  

Akaavi Spar delivered the line, “Your taste for spies isn’t for the weak” in “The Parting of the Ways.”  How right she was. 

How did Eva deal with Theron's betrayal? She did not.  After carbonite, she has lingering physical and mental health issues. Although she improved greatly over the last three years... Eva wasn’t strong enough to take this.

She was weak.

Eva dissociated at Umbara, and ‘she’ didn’t come back until Theron is in medbay on Odessen, after Nathema.  The Voidhound -- the alter ego she created to do the ugly business of Voidfleet and to preserve her 'self' and her crew -- essentially took over.

After Theron came back, Eva decided she was done with the Alliance and maybe Theron too, and so she and the crew of Virtue’s Thief took a three-month sabbatical... Eva’s first real break from the job, the life, everything since Skavak stole the blaster shipment.  She’d never stopped. 

Everything eventually ends happily (because I can’t stand a sad ending) but in my series, it will take longer than a frolick out in the field.

Longer-winded explanation and links to some fragments I’ve written about this below the cut.  Also, my general take on the arc. 

I've written Eva's experience of carbonite and beyond as a complete demolition of what she was prior. She was stripped of everything she had, including her family, her friends, her ship, and even her blaster skills. Unfortunately for Valkorion, the struggle for control of her mind and body was a war he always lost, much to his surprise and dismay. Canonically, the smuggler is mentally strong.

That doesn't mean invulnerable. After five years of fighting Valkorion in her mind, the shock of losing five years threw her into a dissociative state. Throughout much of the earliest days with Koth and Lana, Eva did not know what was past or present. What was real. This caused Koth, early on, to refer to her as 'the lunatic.' By the time Theron arrived on Odessen, Eva was far more stable, but there would still be moments he'd walk onto the Thief, and she'd be speaking to Risha and Corso... who have been missing for three years. Or even better, her parents, who have now been dead for fifteen years. Theron kept Eva in the present; he was an anchor to what was real and present-day. Her mental health improved from fair to good by the time Vaylin attacked Voss.

That was undone by the betrayal.  That reawakened the old issues with Darmas.  

Something had to take charge and keep her alive, if her crew wasn't there, if she wasn't the same strong person she was before carbonite. Get her off that damn train. That something was the Voidhound.  I’ve written a small piece about how Lana figures out what has happened to her -- courtesy of Guss, strangely.  (I will write the Fractured Alliances fic, as narrated by Guss, because otherwise I might not get through it).

I've always treated the Voidhound as more than just a call name or a reputation or a title. I plan on writing about that more next week. The Voidhound is Eva's alter ego, something she becomes; Theron honestly hoped it had died during the five years. The Voidhound survived the carbonite, and there were a few occasions where Eva dropped into that mode to deal with Alliance business. Nobody -- not even Kaliyo -- felt safe around it.

But that was who dealt with Theron's betrayal. The Voidhound.

Minus a short period when she first got back to Odessen, Eva was gone from the Alliance as long as Theron. I have a scene in my head where she sort of 'snaps out of it,' only to realize she has lived nearly five months in a sort of secondary capacity to this creature that felt no warmth, no affection, had no regard for anyone but its own aims, and made ugly, nasty choices in the pursuit of finding Theron.

Nobody was really sure whether Eva was gone forever until Nathema... and we'll see how that plays out later this week in a fic I've written. I have written the aftermath of the marriage proposal that Eva does accept from Theron, as well as Jace Malcom’s reaction to finding out Theron got married.

~~

In regard to the overall arc, in general, the big ideas were good.  Is it in-character for Theron to go off on his own to save the people and institutions he loves? Yes; his loner workaholic issues don’t magically resolve entirely over the years.  Would he not tell anyone because it would risk the illusion?  Yes; double agents often cannot tell anyone but the person who assigns them the mission.  Theron assigns himself this mission, which he has done in the past but not as a double agent (just ask Marcus Trant, who alternates between praising Theron and wanting to chuck him down the trash compactor). They even offer that explanation VERY late in the arc, during the Nathema flashpoint.  

The execution of the plotline was poor, however.  The speeches Theron gives on the train are particularly low-quality, especially if you played a super LS person who saved every civilian possible. (You can headcanon this as Theron pretending to be brainwashed... but even that’s a bit of a stretch and he immediately undermines the idea by his follow-up letters.)  They also plonk the code from Rishi into a listening post, which ‘exonerates’ Theron, but creates the difficulty of ‘why not write it down?’ or ‘isn’t GEMINI watching, which is why you couldn’t tell us?’  Again, Theron going rogue to save the galaxy is not out-of-character; how dumb everyone acts, including Lana and Theron, IS, and that’s a writing failure.  Too many plotholes.  Also, how far the conspiracy stretches -- involving Vanilla choices, some of which are super high up  -- reveals that the Republic and Sith Empire haven’t learned shit since the Revanites, another frustrating element. 

And that never comes up again.

This was also tied up into the elimination of the Eternal Fleet, a plot point left by KotET when there was anticipation of a third KotXX expansion; the Fleet would have been destroyed at the end of that.  Instead, because of the cancellation and the upheaval at SWTOR/Bioware, all of this was smashed into the Traitor Arc and rushed through, just like the Arcann redemption.  

And then they put in a petty kill option for edgelords (the execution of which degrades Lana to being a lackey rather than “her own woman”).  Sigh.

(I also got issues with the marriage proposal, and I got a whole damn fic about that.)

Fractured Alliances could have been so much better if the time, money, and execution had been there.  Those items were not, so it falls to fic writers to... make it work, to quote Tim Gunn.

[sullustangin]

Eva ❣💖

💖 was answered here

❣️ When did your OC first realise they were in love? How did they react to the realisation?

I think Eva had been in love with Theron for a lot longer than she let herself admit. She'd been burned before, so she'd rather not acknowledge it being anything more than finally getting in his pants. Because he's hot and principled and unreachable in some ways, and she wants that challenge.

But feelings -- damnable feelings.

I wrote the moment she consciously acknowledges it in The Grand Reveal in Chapter 25; it started as a drunk joke between my spouse and me, then I decided to go through with it. Basically, when I was writing a previous chapter, I had revealed that Darmas had 'encouraged' Eva to give up her pet cat, who'd been with her since she was 9 years old. That can be a red flag in a relationship -- your lover forcing you to give up the things you love, especially pets and other long-term friends. I decided to make it one of the signs that.... things were never quite right with Darmas and Eva. I also have two 12 year old cats, so the idea of giving them up --

So there I was, drinking and crying over a fictional cat when the ****ing Partridge Family came on -- "I Think I Love You." Spouse joked that I should have Theron being nice to a cat to make myself feel better -- and I'm like, "THAT'S IT.

Here's the resulting scene:

It was about half-way through her second of three planned cigarettes on the roof that she heard someone come into the alleyway below her.  She peered over the edge then consulted her comm unit.  Ten minutes ago, Risha had dutifully notified her that Theron and Lana had showed up looked for her, in response to the invitation.  Lana had gone onward toward the make-shift field.

Theron, on the other hand, had not yet eaten today.  When Bowdaar had picked up the sandwiches, he’d insisted the spy take one.

It seemed Theron was almost done and disposing of the scraps.  But he was having second thoughts about that.  Eva watched as he moved toward the trash can, but then reconsidered it and decided to try to finish the sandwich.  Bowie’s cooking tended to have that effect on people.  Eva licked her thumb and forefinger and squeezed the end of the cigarette out before tucking it behind her ear.  She didn’t want to give away her position yet.

Eva promised that she’d think of Beryl and Gronn again after he was gone.  Theron was alive.  They were dead.

Eva propped her chin on the roof’s ledge and looked down as  she heard a clatter below.  Theron had heard it, and he was quick to whirl around.  “Blizz, is that you?” she heard him say.  Blizz was long gone, she knew.

The reason for his question became evident.  A dark little cat slunk into view, body low to the ground. It warily regarded Theron.  From a distance, Eva supposed it could pass for Blizz’s sentry, but the presence of fur indicated otherwise.

Theron didn’t approach it.  He leaned back against the warehouse wall and watched the cat make a few laps around the alley, never getting close enough for him to touch.  Theron experimentally tore off the edge of his leftover sandwich and tossed it ahead of the cat.  It trotted over, sniffed it, batted at it, but didn’t eat it.  Then it looked at Theron, disgruntled.

Cats knew what they wanted and how they wanted it.  Eva had remembered that lesson from Hylo.

Theron knew it from somewhere too, apparently, as he crouched down and tried again.  “I won’t tell the Wookiee if you won’t.  Just don’t bite me.”  Now he extended his hand, the sandwich meat dangling from his hand.

The cat took its dear sweet time in deciding whether or not to trust Theron.  Five, ten minutes it took to approach his position, belly to the ground.

And Theron was patient.

The cat finally took its prize from his hand and darted away with it, wolfing it down without letting it touch the ground.  Eva heard a “heh” float up from the alley as Theron watched the cat and then rewarded its audacity with another offering.

Maybe it was because Eva had been thinking about her life before the Voidhound.  Maybe it was because she recalled the early days of having just Corso, Bowie, and Risha on the crew and how simple that was – no offense to Akaavi or Guss…it was just the time immediately before becoming a privateer …

And giving up Hylo.

Hylo was a living god on some lovely tropical planet and had just celebrated his sixteenth birthday.  It was the best life she could have given him, minus keeping him and dumping Darmas.

She really should have kept the cat.

Maybe it was that.  Maybe that was the tipping point for Eva.

Because watching Theron be kind to something so small and defenseless released something inside of her that she didn’t think she had anymore.

And when she realized what it was, Eva gasped.

Theron heard her and craned his head to look up at the roof, only to see her peering over the edge at him and his new friend.  Then he grinned up at her.

Eva was done for.