Star-crossed

I have not talked a lot about these two characters yet (because I don’t want to spoil things, welp there goes that idea) but they have a rather long and complicated history of being on-again, off-again lovers due to the resets that plague Exos. But their thing is that their love for each other is not bound by time or death, and they will always find each other again. Usually it’s only one of them at a time that endures it, so the other is left with the collective memory of their relationship, while the other is a blank slate… I’m still mulling over the idea that the Exo were human before they were created (see the “Ghost Fragment: Exo″ Grimoire card), that humanity created them to transfer its consciousness and live forever. If that is the case, then it’s entirely possible that these two were lovers when they were still human, and they will be repeatedly drawn to each other because it’s etched right into their basic programming, like Destiny (thank you jencforcarolina​ for making me realize my own unintentional cheese).

Anyway, I mentioned it before but this time around their wipes were too close together, and Merric fell for Laila long before she considered him as a romantic interest… and then they were only really together for a very short period of time before her next reset.

My initial idea for this was actually just going to be a silhouette with the reflected light, but I got carried away with the sketch and it became this. I still stayed close to my original idea though- I wanted to imply an intimate moment while still maintaining the feeling of privacy. The blue and yellow light to imply her light and his (Bladedancer and Gunslinger), the dark purple tone being their shared light (Nightstalker). Laila took to the Nightstalker class like a fish to water, but decided it wasn’t really for her; she’s a natural Bladedancer, but she can easly thread a needle from half a mile. Merric on the other hand can connect with the bow, but isn’t too great with it because let’s face it, a gun when properly tuned and well taken care of is more reliable than a bow; he misses his targets more often than he hits, even from ten feet away. 

If you want to see the detailed sketch without color, you can find it here.

Tumblr: knorfka.tumblr.com/post/129829…

Fics: 

Past LivesMars was the last place they had expected to run into trouble.
Mars was a wasteland inhabited only by the Cabal and the Vex. The orange dunes stretched on for miles between clusters of collapsed, half-buried Golden-age architecture. Once in a while you’d come across an Imperial land tank or a Cabal warship, and the vex had no interest in patrolling the hills, but if you kept a sharp eye and skirted the areas of activity, avoiding confrontation was easy enough. Only time Guardians really had to watch their backs was when they infiltrated controlled zones to gather intel or clear out the enemy.
It was supposed to be a simple clear and sweep mission, something Merric and Dee had done hundreds of thousands of times, something they could have done in their sleep.
But the enemy had other plans.
Merric’s ghost had nearly finished pulling data from a Vex conflux when their thick, black aura clouded the area, cutting off their escape route. The only way out was up, and Dee was alrea

GhostsHe never forgot her.
There were plenty of times that he didn’t think about her --- missions, bounties, work in general --- but in the silences and the downtime between missions while cleaning his weapons and sharpening his knives, the memory often snuck up and caught him off guard.
It wasn’t so much a hindrance as much as it was a welcome distraction. He enjoyed replaying the memory and focusing on the little things- the pitch of her voice, the hum of her speech unit when she giggled, her coy body language… she haunted him like a ghost.
Merric had been caught lost in his thoughts many times by Dee and Wylynn since the incident (which felt invasive although he couldn’t place why), but fortunately for him, both other members of his fireteam were fairly reserved and generally wouldn’t ask questions about his odd behaviors. Dee might have if he could speak, but Merric had never known him to. What he got instead were a lot of questioning looks and judgme

Cataclysm, pt. 1It didn’t take long for her to become his new favorite person.
After they'd met that night, Laila's presence around the tower was suddenly much more noticeable. Like most other Exo, she ran like clockwork, and he took note of where he found her during the day when they crossed paths.
Early in the mornings, just before the sun rose, she'd perch on the ledge just outside the Hall of Guardians and take a moment to herself to look down over the city as it stood another day in spite of the dangers outside its walls and far, far beyond. She'd wait for the sun to rise, close her eyes, and bask in the first rays of the new day. It was her ritual, her way of grounding and taking control of what lay ahead. It made him wonder what she’d endured if she felt the need to be so ceremonious.
At daybreak she’d head indoors to check in with Cayde for daily tasks, then with her Warlock friend Rue (Rue, he learned, had once led a fireteam of three that consisted of Laila, herself, and an

Cataclysm, pt. 2Merric quickly crossed the room, picked her up in both of his arms, and moved her over into the light where he could get a better look at the damage. Laila was awake, though dazed and confused. He could feel the way she leered at him weakly from behind her mask as he carried her, but he ignored her display of pride; he was just as annoyed as she was.
“Minnie, Nyx- get to work on that console,” he instructed with a hiss as he nodded toward the circular console in the middle of the room projecting a hologram of the Traveler. “Grab what we came for… and find out what they were doing here.”
The ghosts hesitated, glanced at one another, then retreated in subservience, leaving them alone.
He set her down on one of the crates near the skyview window and leaned her back against the pillar it was stacked next to, then crouched down to get a better look at the damage. Merric’s fingers traced the deep gash from the upper right side of her stomach, through her b