#samiel tremark

[ladyinbooks]

Since Jason still tends to be overly self-reliant, how has he learned to deal with Samiel's hovering when it gets too much?

Hello lovely anon! This is a great question, and I think honestly Jay struggles with it. A lot. Especially when they're both settling into their new life on Elysium.

I suspect he eventually develops coping strategies (they both do), where sometimes they need a little breathing space from one another (even if they're not really apart, given they can feel one another in the bond). What that results in is the occasional Banshee trip for Samiel (he and Hird go off to cause chaos somewhere), or a politicking trip for Jay (possibly with Venndred, possibly with the Medusae depending on how he feels). In smaller terms, I think Jay spends some time with the neighbours, and Samiel goes for walks around the ruins near Idalion.

As for actually handling Samiel... I think it starts with Jay tolerating Samiel's hovering until he snaps, but over the years they both start to learn the warning signs, until Samiel will pre-emptively (and grudgingly) take himself off when he senses Jay feeling particularly stifled or that he needs to handle something on his own.

[seihar]

Sketch compilation of Jay and Samiel from @ladyinbooks ‘s original book ‘Icarus, Burning’ that I absolutely adore and I recommend everyone to read! These two will always have a very special place in my heart  🥹 ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

[ladyinbooks]

@matchoaa sent me this, and added:

Venndred wrote this

And yeah. I can see it. XD

[ladyinbooks]

What's the longest fight(s) Samiel and Jay have had after they got together, both serious and non-serious ones, and how long did they take to make up (Also how they made up and how many people Samiel harrased in the meantime 😂)

Oooh good question lovely anon!

I think the longest fight (excluding Mas-Hain 🤣) is probably not long after they both settle on Elysium. This is because they're having to learn how to live with each other, not just lurch from one crisis to the next, and both of them struggle to slow down a little. What that means is that there's a period where, despite the love - probably because of it - they irritate one another spectacularly.

I think the longest non-serious row comes after Jay leaves clothes scattered all over the floor again (he can be untidy), and Samiel just snaps. And of course it's not really about the clothes, it's about the fact he's struggling to find his place in this brave new world, and still discovering things about living with Jay, and he's anxious and stressed and a little terrified that in spite of everything, now they're together, Jay will find that actually he doesn't really like Samiel and he'll leave him. And Samiel is trying to work through all of that, and Jay just wont pick. up. his. damn. clothes.

They spend a week not talking to one another (with Samiel passively aggressively tidying things away so Jay can't find them). They make up because Jay starts to put his clothes away, and then Samiel has a little bit of a breakdown, and there is a lot of cuddling and some firmer boundaries around talking to one another.

As for the longest and most serious - I think it comes when Jay consciously politically meddles a bit too much when he shouldn't have, and ends up in trouble when he didn't need to be. Samiel is apoplectic about the situation, and after he reassures himself that Jay is alright, he needs space. So much space. So he can be angry and hit things and pick fights without it causing permanent damage to his relationship with Jay. So he goes to Hird (who immediately takes his side and spends the next three weeks sending increasingly hostile messages to Jay for upsetting her best friend Samiel temporary tenant).

Ultimately they reconcile because Samiel calms down enough to have a rational conversation, and Jay (in spite, or perhaps because, of Hird's messages) spends some time actually self-reflecting and realises that maybe, just maybe, he should be factoring in the fact he is one half of a pair now, and even if he wants to meddle, putting himself in danger also puts Samiel in danger. (Hird doesn't let him see Samiel the first two times he asks, and when he tracks the 'Banshee' down, she spends the first ten minutes glaring so hard at him it's a surprise to everyone that Jay doesn't spontaneously combust.)

[ladyinbooks]

What are the things Samiel is bad at? Both the serious and the hilarious answers, please 👀

Noooo! Lovely anon! Making me badmouth my beloved child! 🤣 (It's ok, I'll get over it! 🤣❤️)

Samiel is bad at:

Cooking (to start with, he eventually learns).

For quite a while after moving to Elysium, he struggles a lot with civilian life in general. He can't switch off the part of himself that constantly looks for threats, and it takes him much longer than Jay to start socialising with the neighbours properly.

Polite conversation (what's the point of it? Samiel isn't interested in someone's new kitchen if he doesn't have to be...). He gets better at that too. Eventually.

Decorating (both he and Jay are so bad at pretty much anything related to decorating - when Hird sees the state of their living room it pains her so much that she enlists the rest of her crew and Team Banshee spend a week renovating rooms on Elysium).

Staying put. Sometimes, he just needs to move and be out in the universe doing something. Luckily he has a Jason Lane to accompany him or - when he wants to create a particular brand of havoc - a Kate Hird.

Board games. He is so bad at them. He always loses, and then he sulks about it. And then he has to go again because he believes one day he will win.

[ladyinbooks]

What would have happened if Samiel & Jason had not been interrupted on Mas-Hain / if no one had realized what was going on between them until the bond was already in place? It feels like things would either have been markedly worse or markedly better & I can't decide which.

Oooh lovely anon, this is something I've rambled about before (and it's one of my favourite AU headcanons), so thank you for asking about this!

In short: what happens is we get what I term the 'Mas-Hain Vigilante AU'.

Basically, if the whole bunch of them had had more time together to build friendships and forge a better understanding, things would have gone very, very differently for the Mas-Hain crew. Samiel and Jay would - of course - have slowly fallen into their soul bond (much to the horror of... pretty much everyone else). However, it wouldn't have been reported to Deneira, and it's generally seen as a positive thing because they are all meant to be learning to work together, although... perhaps not quite that closely. More importantly even than that, when humanity's kill order comes through, the other humans in the project would have basically gone 'So, this seems... more than a bit fucked up. Let's talk to Jay, because he's probably the only one who can explain this to the Lenians without being murdered on the spot.'

So they do.

And Jay goes to Palek (who is, in fact, a rational Lenian), closely shadowed by Samiel. And then they all get together and have a bit of a think about why the humans are suddenly being asked to kill all the Lenians except for Samiel, and what that might mean.

They come (rightly) to the conclusion that there is an unpleasant conspiracy, and instead of any of them doing as they're told, they team up, flee Mas-Hain and start trying to get the word out that both the humans and Lenian seem to want to prolong this war.

It's not a popular choice. They get hunted across the universe. But they all trust one another, and as time goes on they start to recruit more and more people from either side who aren't happy with the status quo either. Eventually, they accidentally recruit a very angry Wing Commander who has been sent to capture them, and in turn she manages to pull a very obliging Psyke over to Team Vigilante.

There are a lot of shenanigans, and Samiel and Jay are quite frankly an embarrassment to the team (Palek literally cannot look Samiel in the eye any more after the one time he walked into the mess room without knocking.)

Things happen and there is a happily ever after.

(I would write this fic, but honestly the attention it deserves is like 200k, and I do not have the time right now... 😭)

[ladyinbooks]

"I think we'd have a sensible discussion," he says to Hird, tearing his gaze away. She sips her drink. "No you wouldn't. There'd be a lot of shouting and then he'd crawl after you and beg, until you gave in." Jay shoots her a look. "You think he tells me what to do? Blackmails me?" "Oh no." She pulls a face. "I think you tell him what to fucking do. I've watched that man. If you told him to fling himself out of the nearest airlock, he'd only pause to check which airlock you meant."

...oh Samiel 😂

And as always, we've got Hird stating facts.

I'm so happy you talk about this section, lovely anon, because it was one of my favourites to write. I like to think Jay is standing there going 'Yes, yes, I get your hyperbolic point'. Hird is just sipping her cocktail, a dead look in her eyes as she goes, 'There's no hyperbole here. Go find an airlock, and we'll prove my point...' 🤣

[ladyinbooks]

The Lady is back in the house, baby! Let's party!

From time to time, I enjoyed reading about Samiel and Jay because they're such compelling characters!

With that said, can we please have some headcanons about them? Maybe about their domestic life? Is there anything new happening with them? Do they wanna have kids sometime in the future?

Yes, I'm lowkey obsessed with them kfnksdjfnds

Awwww, thank you! 🤗❤️🥳

I'm so glad you still enjoy reading about the disaster dynamic duo from time to time! (They still sit in my head pretty much constantly, so I'm glad someone else still enjoys them too! :D)

Headcanons, headcanons, hmm... let's see...

Samiel is the neighbourhood's resident babysitter. The kids love him and he's the cool next door neighbour. The parents love him too, because he's the only babysitter on Elysium who has a sword and will use it if anyone upsets the children.

From time to time (and for their own sanity) Jay and Samiel have to go and meddle in something. This is often framed as a favour for Hird, but really it's an excuse to get back out into the galaxy. They can't sit still forever. (And sometimes Samiel just goes off to find Hird, so the pair of them can get into some kind of mischief.)

Jay and Venndred are the scifi equivalent of pen pals. To the surprise of both of them, they actually enjoying discussing culture, politics and the state of the universe.

Freya (Venn's sort-of adopted daughter) has two uncles that dote on her. The last time an ex-boyfriend upset her, said ex-boyfriend discovered three days later that he'd mysteriously made it onto an intergalactic watchlist for no reason. He was also threatened by a very beautiful man, who held a sword to his throat and very calmly told him with utter sincerity that if he got within 100 light years of Freya again, he would be skinned slowly.

Daimion makes frequent visits to Elysium. He and Samiel rebuild their relationship over the years and now have a strong bond. (He also sometimes calls Jay up to vent and/or talk through political advice and planning.)

Samiel and Hird have been banned from seven colonies, two military bases, one planet and at least twelve bars.

As to whether they would have kids... I leave that up to the readers! I've always thought Samiel would want them and Jay might not, but I'll let you decide if they meet in the middle and do think about adoption (and if they adopt, I think they'd have one human and one Lenian child).

Thank you for letting me ramble about these two - I have missed them! ❤️

[ladyinbooks]

HI!! I just started reading Icarus, Burning while on a hunt for original works on AO3 and I love it sooooo much already; I'll be reading your other works ASAP hehe! Anyway, I was wondering if you have any particular writing inspirations for Icarus, Burning? And, if it's okay to ask, do you have any tips for an aspiring writer who wants to post their original fic online (AO3 as well?) Thank you so much for your time and I hope you're having a good day!!

Hello lovely anon! Thank you so much for your message (and I'm so sorry for my slow response - life has been very busy).

I'm so pleased you are enjoying IB, and I hope you enjoy my other fics too! ❤️❤️

In terms of inspiration for writing IB, there were a couple of things. It originally spawned from me messing around with the idea of mythological sirens, and how I thought it'd be funny to make them an utterly repressed, politely murderous society (as opposed to their scantily-clad Greek mythological counterparts). Then I desperately wanted to put them into a scifi world and have them engage in cross-cultural politics with humans.

Over the course of a couple of years, the fic slowly evolved (with lots of mythology/Classical Greek inspirations along the way), but the truth of the matter is, that originally the whole of IB was actually meant to be about Hird and Venndred and it was a very different story. Samiel and Jason were side characters, and neither were meant to have a relationship with the other. (Jay was meant to be much more of a 'Lault' figure to start with.)

However.

As I was plotting out their backstories (because I love thinking about secondary characters), Samiel came wandering up to me and very politely made it known that actually, he was in love with this human diplomat. And oh, by the way, his backstory was far more significant than I'd originally thought.

And honestly? That was the moment I realised I had to write about the pair of them instead. I won't say Samiel sprang fully-formed in my head, but the more I thought about him, the more he had to say for himself, and I realised very quickly that if Samiel Tremark was in love with Jason Lane, then really that was the story that needed telling. And the more I thought about Samiel, the more I thought about Jay, and who he was - really was - and how actually, his story had to mirror Samiel's in a whole host of ways, and what that meant for his character, and the way he develops in IB.

All of which is my very long-winded way of saying: Samiel Tremark bullied me as I was sitting thinking about him on a bus one day, and he and Jay haven't left me alone since. 🤣

I hope you are having a lovely day too, anon! ❤️❤️❤️

[ladyinbooks]

So, I am finally done with all the spin-offs and side stories and generally spread around facts XD

Now I am really interested in how Samiel transitioned from barely being able to call and think of Lord Athannus as Father, to "Papa"?

Also... they got married, he asked Jason to marry him... I wanna detailzzzzzz!

Hehe, yes there is quite a lot for Samiel and Jay. XD (To be fair, they lived in my head rent-free for about five years, and, uh, quite honestly they're still there and I haven't got the heart to evict them at this point!) Thank you for the lovely questions! You've given me a shameless excuse to ramble about them! ❤️❤️

Ohh gosh, one day I want to write a oneshot around this (probably from Daimion's point of view), about Samiel's slowly evolving relationship with his father. I think it's a long, long process, with healthy doses of resentment from Samiel (some of which are irrational, some of which not), and a lot of soft feels. I like to think they build their way towards a relationship as father and son in the in-betweens. Between missions. Between visits. In scraps and messages and letters along the way. I think sometimes Samiel visits Daimion with Jay, and sometimes he comes on his own, and both of them occasionally need a third party (*cough*Venn*cough*) to act as a balance.

And it takes time, it all takes time. Because Samiel hasn't had a parent, and Daimion has desperately tried to have a son in the only way he can: by never letting him know who they were to one another. And they struggle to let go of that together. But they keep trying, and slowly Samiel becomes more interested in what Daimion is attempting to do on Lenia, and Daimion is fascinated by every aspect of his son's new life on Elysium, until one day, one day -

On a perfectly normal visit to Elysium, on a perfectly ordinary morning, at a perfectly ordinary breakfast, Daimion hands a half-distracted Samiel a cup of his favourite tea, and Samiel says 'Thanks papa,' without even realising it.

And Daimion has to go and find a corner to have a quiet cry about it.

All of which is my long-winded way of saying: it gets better, and it blossoms, and it's slow and so very worth it.

I have so many feels about these two.

As for Samiel asking Jay if he will marry him? You *know* that it was meant to be a perfect moment; that Samiel had planned to the finest detail. And yet it all goes horribly wrong because Samiel can't shut up, and so rather than making a romantic speech, when the big moment comes he just blurts out 'Marry me!' and then spends the next thirty seconds panicking, because Jay hadn't been expecting this, and is still mentally trying to play catch-up.

(It's the longest thirty seconds of Samiel's life, and he spends it plotting all the ways he can burn down the universe if Jay says no.)

[ladyinbooks]

When Jay and Samiel argue/have fights, who wins most often?

Ooooh, this is a really good question! Thank you Anon!

I think the problem when those two fight is that Jay goes coldly logical, and Samiel goes passionately hot-tempered, and both of them wind the other one up further. Couple that with the bond (and the fact they're basically chucking emotion at one another) and I think if they argue - truly argue - it makes for an epic fight.

I almost want to say that actually, Samiel wins the most often in the 'little' fights (the petty squabbles about who last did the dishes), mostly because he's usually right. But Jay tends to win the bigger fights, thanks to his ability to pick apart problems (even if he has to switch sides to win the debate).

Overall, I think they're the kind of couple who go to bed angrily holding hands when they argue. 😂

[ladyinbooks]

please do the kid questions again, but this time with samiel and jay 👀

No problem, lovely anon - here they are! ❤️

Who is better at playing with the kid? Hmm, I actually think Jay is better at this. I think some of the play is structured so they learn, but some of it is just plain fun. He comes up with some surprisingly creative ideas for the kids for games, and is also a strong proponent of taking them somewhere and letting them loose to play using their imaginations. Samiel is... ok at play, but he struggles more with it, because his childhood was much more regimented, thanks to Deneira. (But I'd like to say he's better at actually joining the kids in their imaginary games, especially as the villain they have to defeat.)

Who can always get the baby to sleep? Samiel. He's surprisingly patient about it!

Who is the one who the kids ask for in the middle of the night? I think it's both of them. Samiel, because papa has a sword and he can stab things, so anything scary in the dark is not going to survive papa! Jay, because he's actually steadily reassuring and good at talking things through logically with them. Both Samiel and Jay are pretty firm about the kids going back to their own beds, but they're very happy to stay with them until they're asleep again.

Who is more overprotective over the kids, and who is more laid back? (Assuming either of them are going to be normal about this) Hmm... I think Samiel is more overprotective, because at heart he's a bit of a worrier, and I think it also feeds into his need to protect the things he loves. He's not a helicopter parent, but I think he tends to leap in to defend the kids more quickly than Jay, because otherwise guilt that he's not protecting them starts to eat away at him. Jay is less overprotective (he believes kids should be able to make some safe mistakes and learn from them), but they would both absolutely be those parents at school parents' evening who want to know exactly what is happening with their children, and what they need to do to make sure they are thriving.

Who is the disciplinarian and who's the fun parent? Ooh, interestingly I think the answer is both to both. I think given their backgrounds, they're very conscious of not being too strict with the kids, but they both believe there needs to be boundaries. I suspect there's a 'three-strike' rule: 'I am asking you to stop doing something. Now I am telling you to stop doing something. Now there will be consequences.' In contrast, I also think they have to limit themselves from spoiling the kids too much!

Who is more likely to lose their child in public? Hmm... this is a tough one! I'm going to say Samiel may be slightly more likely, but only if he's too busy assessing to make sure there are no threats, and misses his child slipping away (but he finds them again very, very quickly). Jay watches them like a hawk (because he loves them, but he also knows they get up to mischief!).

[ladyinbooks]

Is Samiel taller than Lysander and Retvja 😂

If I remember correctly (and I may be wrong) I think he's as tall as Retvja (although of course I want to say he's taller, because I'm biased🤣)!

[ladyinbooks]

how did jay even realize his tea was poisoned? was it before or after he drank a bit? i imagine samiel's reaction would be apoplectic even if all it managed to do was make him sick...

Hi lovely anon!

Oh he definitely drank a little bit of it, realised it tasted weird and then realised even more quickly that he didn't feel so great. (Luckily for the entire universe, he hadn't drunk much of it at that point...)

I think Samiel's immediate reaction was panic, fear and worry - he spent the next two days hovering over Jay and lunging for the nearest medic if Jay so much as sneezed.

I think after two days, the anger set in. And Samiel when he's angry is a very dangerous creature indeed. I suspect (although we don't touch on it) there was perhaps a lot of interrogation that several people did not walk away from...

[ladyinbooks]

I highkey miss Hess and Daniel 😭 What are they up to right now? Just wondering if there are any new developments or stories about them?

Now for the insane question:

What happens if you throw Hess and Samiel into a locked room? 👀

Lovely Anon, I miss them too! ❤️ (And I really need to finish up the half-written AU sequel and the mini P2P sequel, both of which have been sitting on my hard drive for, ahem, two years.)

As for what they're up to right now...

I think Hess is currently decorating the Christmas tree (and enjoying himself thoroughly), while Dan is utterly appalled that the literal Antichrist thinks Christmas is a wonderful time of year. They are also squabbling over the last mince pie, and Angus the puppy is trying to eat wrapping paper (and being firmly stopped).

In the background, Abi has been delegated to In Charge Until the New Year, and Hess has threatened to string up anyone who disturbs him by their entrails (everyone believes him; they all saw what happened last Christmas when Beelzebub accidentally broke one of Hess's sets of tree lights). Hess has also made it widely known that if any heavenly forces attempt anything at all, there will be a literal angel corpse at the top of the Christmas tree. (Dan knows none of this. Yet.)

What happens if you throw Hess and Samiel into a locked room? 👀

Hehe, I love this question! I think Hess would probably develop some kind of immediate crush (if only of the 'OMG I desperately want to recruit this dangerously competent man to my cause' variety). Samiel would be... grudgingly impressed, I think, at the lengths Hess would go to for Dan. I actually weirdly think they might come out of it as friends, albeit both of them think the other is just very slightly too odd. 🤣

Or would they kiss? 🤔

[ladyinbooks]

i really want to know what was going on through samiel's head when he was thinking of taking on lysander/hiraeth with his fucking salzon like i love you samiel but what do you think that toothpick (affectionate) is going to do against a goddamn dragon? is this just a case of samiel being samiel or does he actually stand a chance?

Anon. Lovely Anon. You have no idea how hard I cackled when I read this ask, and in particular the sentence is this just a case of samiel being samiel, because you have absolutely nailed it. This is Samiel being Samiel. He wants to see if he can fight a goddamn dragon because, well, why not? He's confident. If he can stab Lysander/Hiraeth quick enough, that will solve the issue, right?

(I think this is why I sometimes say Hird and Samiel are more similar than they'd like to admit - they both want a challenge, and sometimes that challenge is finding the biggest thing on a planet, and seeing if they can fistfight it.)

As to whether he might actually stand a chance... I'm honestly torn. I sort of want to say 'Of course he could! He can do anything!' (because I am biased). However, Lysander is a dragon. One that breathes fire. I am also pretty sure that if he was having a bad enough day, it might be a very one-sided kind of fight, and Samiel would not win...