#it's the place to theorise and be free of it all. ti add your own 'yes and' for nothing more than satisfaction

[ramenwithbroccoli]

hello dear mutual! i noticed that you forgot to put tags on that wonderful post of yours - do not fret, i know exactly what to do in this situtation! *posts an entire essay three times the size of the post in your tags*

[greenygreenland]

Wannabe Chapter 5: Star Wars x Reader

-pt five of this ongoing series! -pt 1 '𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱, 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲, '𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜'𝗺 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆.' -𝗨𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝗫 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿𝘀

The rest of the flight was spent in a tense silence. When the skyscrapers of Coruscant came into view, a sense of dread settled in (Y/n)'s stomach. Something bad was going to happen, but to who and why? 

Nothing seemed to add up no matter what she theorised and thought. Not only that, but as she exited the ship with Nala Se and Fives in tow, she thought she might've passed out. "You look sick." Shaak said. (Y/n) swallowed a lump in her throat and continued onward into the medical facility. "The evidence can wait if you do not feel well, (Y/n)." 

"The med bay can wait. This...is far more important."

They entered a circular room where only a single light shone in the centre. It illuminated the one figure (Y/n) did not wish to ever see again: The Chancellor. He smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes as he greeted Shaak and (Y/n). For a moment, it was as if he were looking at prey. His eyes seemed to shine with an amber-y red while his lips curled into a scowl. 

Shaak briefly explained the situation, every now and then motioning to Nala Se or (Y/n). 

"I trust you've kept this matter extremely confidential." the Chancellor said. (Y/n) wanted to laugh. She had in fact not kept it 'extremely confidential'. Every bit of information she knew sat in a little box in her closet on the planet called Kamino. "Of course Chancellor." Shaak replied.

He offered another plastoid smile and folded his hands together. "Ah, good." He kept a trained eye on Fives. "So this is the clone that has caused so much alarm." His personal guard hauled Fives onto a table that stood horizontally. "No," Fives groaned, "you've drugged me. She..."

The Chancellor held out his hands as if to soothe him. "There, there soldier, don't strain yourself." He motioned to his guard as (Y/n) subtly glared at him. "Let him down." The restraints receded back into the table. Fives cautiously stepped down and rubbed at his sore neck. He looked almost sober, but the way he fought to stay on his feet said otherwise. "Now soldier," the Chancellor said, "what brings you before me?"

"The chips, sir." Fives firmly answered. The Chancellor raised a brow. "Chips?" Shaak took a step forward and held out the transparisteel slides. "These were removed from both clone troopers. Clone trooper Fives and Padawan (L/n) claims they are the cause of the problem." The Chancellor gladly took the slides from Shaak. For a split second, (Y/n) could have sworn she saw him sneer. "Those are inhibitor chips." Nala Se said. "Which are placed in clones to make them less aggressive and more compliant to orders. I've tried to explain to this clone that they are placed in him for his own good, but he removed his chip nonetheless."

There was a spike of anger in Fives's aura. "Our 'own good'?" he demanded. "This thing they put in us malfunctioned in clone trooper Tup. I removed his and analysed it; there were signs of rapid decay." (Y/n) placed a hand to her head to soothe an incoming headache. "I agree with Fives." (Y/n) slowly piped up. "We cannot rely on faulty technology."

She knew she was fighting a force to be reckoned with. It may not have been smart to push the Chancellor's buttons, but she couldn't stand around and silently accept a fate where every clone had a malfunctioning chip. The Chancellor folded his hands, a look of false concern plastering on his face. As he paced and acted like he actually cared about the chips, he said, "And we're positive this has nothing to do with a virus?"

"No." answered Nala Se. "We still do not know for sure what caused clone trooper Tup to kill. We only know that his chip failed and now this clone has removed his own chip, which makes him a risk to himself and others." (Y/n) had to remind herself that she was a Jedi. "Fives is not a risk." she flatly said. "You simply cannot make assumptions based on information you yourself do not know to fully be true."

The Chancellor worriedly looked between Fives and (Y/n). "Sir," Fives said, "they're covering something up, I know it. If it's not them, it's a Separatist plot. They used this chip against us to make us more violent than less. That's why Tup killed General Tiplar." Fives wasn't telling the Chancellor what happened anymore, he was asking him to open his eyes and understand what others could not. He was desperate."

A Separatist plot from before the war even started? That seems unlikely. Don't you agree Master Shaak Ti, Padawan (Y/n) (L/n)?" Shaak Ti placed a hand to her chin in thought. "It does Chancellor. It seems very unlikely."

"And what if it isn't?" (Y/n) inquired, knitting her brows together in frustration. She didn't feel sick anymore, nor did her shoulders feel heavy. Everything was clear now, she had the Force was guiding her. "In war, there are no winners or losers, only survivors. We cannot take a leap of faith and hope that this is a virus rather than a plot to, say, kill all the Jedi." That seemed to tick off the Chancellor. His nostrils flared and for a moment, (Y/n) thought he'd order his guard to arrest her. 

"That is impossible." Nala Se interjected. "What we have here is a simple malfunction to a clone's inhibitor chip caused by the virus, Separatist plot or not." The Chancellor composed himself and took place of a mediator. "Perhaps it would be best if clone trooper Fives and Padawan (L/n) discuss this without your presence." Shaak Ti knitted her brows together and placed a hand on (Y/n)'s shoulder. "Chancellor, I must object. (Y/n) is not well and is in much need of rest." 

"Please, Master Jedi." the Chancellor insisted. "We will be done before you know it. I want this soldier and Padawan here to feel they have a fair say in the matter." Shaak looked down at (Y/n) and gave her shoulder a good squeeze. "Once this is over, do you want to talk about anything?" she quietly inquired. (Y/n) pursed her lips together before nodding. "Yes. I do." 

And so Shaak Ti exited the room with Nala Se in tow, leaving both (Y/n) and Fives to face the Chancellor alone."Now," the Chancellor said, "where were we?" An unsettling grin rested on his lips. (Y/n) inched towards Fives's side and closer to the nearest exit. His lips suddenly moved, but it was as if (Y/n) were stuck under a churning sea again. The waves lashed and pulled her under the bubbling blue before regurgitating her back on the shore. 

"Execute them."

The Chancellor's confession finally settled into her bones. (Y/n)'s hand landed on her lightsaber as Fives tackled the Chancellor to the ground. "Let me go!" he cried. (Y/n) focused on the Force. With a wave of her hand, she pushed the guards into a pile against the wall. As Fives snatched a blaster off the ground, (Y/n) ignited her lightsaber. A sudden thought crossed her mind. 

If I kill him now, the war will be over.

Her grip tightened around her lightsaber.

I can kill him now. 

(Y/n)'s knuckles turned white.

I can kill him now.

She couldn't. It wasn't the Jedi way. With a loud whoosh, the doors slid open. No words were exchanged as Fives seized (Y/n) by the wrist and took off down the hall. He pushed past a few guards and continued pulling (Y/n) along with him. She deactivated her lightsaber, clipping it safely on her belt. 

"They tried to kill me!" the Chancellor shouted.

The duo elected to ignore the shouts of 'stop!' from behind. Nothing else mattered besides getting the heck out of the facility. (Y/n) spotted staircase that seemed to go on for miles. If this weren't such a serious situation, she would have smiled. "Don't scream." (Y/n) threw out her hands, running down the staircase as Fives free falled. With the help of the Force, he landed safely. (Y/n) jumped down, landing by his side. "Just like Skywalker." he grumbled. "Come on!" 

(Y/n) sensed her master on her tail as they plowed through medic workers and protocol droids. "Close the blast doors!" Shaak shouted. (Y/n) picked up her feet faster than she had ever done in her life. Fives followed her example, speeding ahead until he hopped through the closing doors. 

"Come on!" She was almost there.One step, two steps, three...Just one more...She hopped through the blast doors, rolling to save herself from a terrible fall. They continued down the front steps, this time towards the glowing sights of Coruscant, where trouble would inevitably await.

[lordeasriel]

oakley street during his dark materials

let’s talk about oakley street. as if I needed a reason to do that, but it’s mostly curiosity plus some headcanons, you’re welcome to add your thoughts to it. BEWARE SPOILERS FOR THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY, LA BELLE SAUVAGE & THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH. there is no way I can write this without spoilers, so, sorry about that.

What we know of Oakley Street is fragmented at best, but there are some facts that we can use to pinpoint their moves during the events of His Dark Materials. For that I am using some basic concepts that we learn from both books of The Book of Dust.

They have members all around the globe, from different social classes and careers. Some of these members aren’t even British, despite the official sanction that Oakley Street is part of their secret service (which would be weird in different circumstances; can’t have a foreigner in your secret service). Examples of this are Bud Schlesinger and his wife, Anita; they’re both New Dane (essentially Americans, according to maps and their accent in the audiobook, but I’m bad with accents, so take this with a pinch of salt) and Bud states to Lyra he isn’t a full time Oakley Street agent. He is a diplomat, a position that is quite beneficial to their practice and he helps them under this banner; during La Belle Sauvage, it is known he visited the witches of the North to learn more about the prophecy surrounding Lyra. In Smyrna, he mostly works as a diplomat and reports his findings to Oakley Street. We do not know for sure that Anita is a member, but she is a journalist and she is aware of their work.

A great deal of their members consists of scholars, academics and free speech advocates. Hannah Relf and Malcolm Polstead are just two of the many members that belong in Academia. As a government agency, though, Oakley Street is often headed by a member of the Privy Council, as Nugent used to be and they have plenty of government employees, because once they’re dismantled in The Secret Commonwealth, most of its official members will be reassigned to other departments. We also know they do employ people without connecting them to the agency, like they did with Malcolm when he was young. They also have agents amongst the Gyptians, which is a natural thing, given that the gyptians suffer the most under the CCD. It’s unclear whether Asriel was a full-member or an ally like Bud Schlesinger, but he did have ties to them, enough that Nugent was in charge of protecting Lyra and had contact with Asriel. His address was also in Chelsea, the same place where the actual Oakley Street is. (This isn’t exactly an argument, but I thought it was cool fun fact).

Their efficiency depended on the current government. When they were first founded, they were meant to be a direct opposition to the Magisterium forces during the Swiss War, with full backing from the King; during The Secret Commonwealth, Oakley Street was struggling because the current king wasn’t happy with them and eventually they were officially dismantled. Their funding came from the Defense department, meaning they could be concealed from public knowledge as most Defense fundings go with no disclosure.

Their operations are mostly from the shadows or happening in the background. We know that they’re acting because we have their POVs, sometimes, but essentially their work is from the shadows or behind the scenes. Malcolm and Alice are never aware that they are being sought after by Oakley Street and if not for their intervention, Lyra would have been captured or killed. That means whenever something important is happening, Oakley Street is likely countering it or promoting it.

With that in mind, the first thing we need to remember is that His Dark Materials is the original story and Oakley Street’s first appearance is on the new trilogy. That means we have absolutely no hard facts when it comes to them, but it’s possible to guess and theorise and that’s what I am doing now.

Lyra in Oxford: We know that the gyptians, according to Ma Costa, watched Lyra as a favour for Lord Asriel - they even had a half-gyptian man, Bernie Johansen, reporting on Lyra from inside Jordan. I don’t think the reports on Lyra reached only Asriel, in fact, I think the reports went through Oakley Street to get to him. Given the gyptians quarrel with the CCD, it’s easy to assume they might have spies with Oakley Street (other than Coram, of course) - we know they had spies of their own - and those spies mostly reported what the gyptians knew about Lyra. Asriel is often abroad too, so learning about Lyra’s welfare through Oakley Street agents is much more suitable and reliable. They had agents everywhere, people that could give him telegrams and the photograms he required. We need also to remember he forbade Marisa from getting anywhere near Lyra, so I imagine any time she set foot in Oxford, Asriel was quickly warned.

Oakley Street’s interest in Lyra was beyond appeasing Asriel, though; she was a target of the Magisterium, so protecting her was in their best interest. During her youth, stuck at Jordan and protected by Scholastic Sanctuary, they didn’t have to bother themselves, but as soon as Mrs. Coulter takes her away, they now have to find Lyra and protect her.

Adèle Starminster: This is probably the easiest thing to guess. Adèle infiltrates Mrs. Coulter’s cocktail party and is in the company of an unnamed scholar, who has some sort of interest in her. She is approached by Lyra, who then speaks of the gobblers and catch her attention. Adèle even questions if Lyra is Marisa’s daughter, before being interrupted by Marisa herself and quickly leaves the party. There are some possible scenarios here:

Adèle is just a journalist trying to write a piece on Mrs. Coulter. Marisa has a social life, but in general, she is quite the mysterious figure. Ignoring inconsistencies, most people don’t even know she had an affair with Asriel; she’s also known to be the director of the Oblation Board, it’s public knowledge, at least in some circles. So, if Adèle wanted to write a piece on Marisa, infiltrating the party would make sense. A good way of knowing Mrs. Coulter, by talking to friends, associates and of course, her young child assistant. This scenario is, without the second trilogy, essentially the original scenario.

Adèle is a journalist who was paid by Oakley Street to investigate Marisa and act as an informant. Oakley Street had dozens of agents and they also used informants, like Malcolm, to reach places a formal agent couldn’t go for various reasons. In Mrs. Coulter’s case, her guests were unlikely to be related to Oakley Street; the members are often recognisable people from academia, people Marisa would be familiar with; so Adèle is a good pick because she is unknown. She might do this for various reasons: interest in writing a good piece about this unreadable figure, doing for noble reasons or simply because she needs the money.

Adèle is actually part of Oakley Street. She’s either a member or an ally, like Bud. As a journalist, she probably had to deal with the Magisterium’s censorship and everything, so people in her profession had cause to fight them, they fit the profile. She was probably assigned there, officially, so Oakley Street could find out more about Lyra (maybe even rescue her) and about Marisa. A quick reminder that, despite fighting the Magisterium, Oakley Street prioritised the CCD given that they were one of the most violent of the groups, but they certainly kept tabs on Marisa, especially because Lord Nugent knew who she was, at least, as Lyra’s mother and a threat to her. Adèle asks Lyra several questions about Marisa and before that, she asks if Lyra is related to Marisa. This could be Adèle trying to figure out what exactly Lyra knew about herself. Had Mrs. Coulter told her the truth or not? Then she asks about Marisa’s nature, to know how Lyra feels and if she’s being well cared for. This was information valuable to Oakley Street, given the nature of Marisa’s business and Lyra being the Magisterium’s enemy number 1. (There is some plot holes in this scenario because this book can’t have possibly guessed the existence of Oakley Street, but I like it, so I’m keeping it.)

Adèle is forced to leave the party early, but the impression I have is that Marisa eavesdropped on the conversation or was tipped off, because she knows Adèle is a journalist, yet she does not know her name. And Lyra’s first impression of her is that she might be a student, so there is nothing on Adèle that shows she is a journalist. The scholar with her is escorted out as well, as Lyra sees it happening. The implication is that the man brought Adèle with him; he doesn’t look like he has a secret agenda, so I suppose Adèle convinced him to take her to the party or she was picked for that infiltration based on an invitation she already had.

On the run: After Lyra escapes Mrs. Coulter and ends up with the gyptians, she’s back on the Oakley Street radar. Marisa and the CCD have pretty much every authority in England looking for Lyra, but the gyptians evade them by hiding Lyra. To pull that off, they had to have help from Oakley Street, and probably needed it, because the gyptians suffered a lot under the Magisterium rule and had almost no rights when it came to the CCD. Oakley Street could have helped them by interfering in multiple ways, such as misinformation or obstructing their messengers in land, while the gyptians did their best to avoid docks and ports on their way to the Fens, where a treaty protected them from the Church.

When Lyra is with the gyptians, Oakley Street can worry about other matters. The gyptians use their own men to spy on the Gobblers; it makes sense for Oakley Street not to care so much about the GOB because their sole focus was to disrupt the Magisterium and the GOB was privately funded, and it wasn’t tied to the Church publicly. My guess is that they had their eyes there, mostly because Marisa was responsible for it, and the rest of their efforts were elsewhere. Other agencies of the Church were rushing against time to learn about Lyra and capture her, so it makes sense that Oakley Street would stick to tailing the College of Bishops and the violent CCD.

It’s possible that Oakley Street was aware of what was happening during Bolvangar and Svalbard thanks to Farder Coram. So, 1) They knew Lyra had gotten capture and likely brought to Bolvangar and 2) They also knew Lyra escaped Mrs. Coulter again by going to Svalbard in an air balloon. That is where their information source pretty much dies. Lyra is left with Serafina and Lee Scoresby, and Iorek, and as far as I know, Serafina and Lee stick together after the events of NL, so no one goes back to warn Oakley Street; it’s possible neither of them knew about it to begin with.

However, we know Marisa had alerted the CCD or at best, she forgot to hid her tracks, so they knew where she was headed and assumed there was where Lyra was too. It’s safe to assume Oakley Street had eyes in Magisterium ruled places, so when the Muscovite Army was assembled and sent to the North, they probably knew Lyra was there with Asriel too. It’s also possible that they knew that before it happened, given that spywork is mostly about avoiding things rather than actively countering them.

They likely knew Asriel had been captured way before Lyra went to him, so the fact Asriel remained in prison is intriguing. Main scenarios for this:

Oakley Street knew about Asriel’s plan. They kept him there because even if he failed, the chaos he would cause was enough to disrupt the Magisterium for a while, the sort of moment Oakley Street could use to cause a lot of damage, even take down important agencies of the Church. If they knew exactly what he planned or not, it’s difficult to say, but Asriel at some point said to Lyra “I did not send for you.” That means he had means to communicate outside of Svalbard and that he had someone to contact when he needed a child. We know it’s not Marisa, she clearly wouldn’t give him a child because she was trying to stop him from doing his thing. So, his most solid allies have to be Oakley Street. At the time of Northern Lights, Thomas Nugent was director, and he is ruthless, so if Asriel came to him with a proposition that could shake the very core of the Magisterium, he wouldn’t hesitate to allow it or even help him.

Oakley Street couldn’t help Asriel. Going to Svalbard would be a challenge, let alone break him out of an armored bear prison, especially because Iofur was supporting Marisa, and by association, the Church. They also had better things to work on, and Asriel was not captured on a mission here, he maybe wasn’t even an actual member of Oakley Street to begin with. There is also the chance they contacted him and he was like “No, I’m good. I even have a fireplace here.”

As a spy agency, Oakley Street wouldn’t have exactly frowned upon Asriel’s handiwork. He was a man of greater good aspects and the agency was used to work from the shadows and resorting to not-so-noble means to achieve their ends. They were small in numbers, weak by the ageing of the members and very desperate, each day struggling against the massive force of the Church, so I wouldn’t put it past them to help Asriel. However, whether they knew about it or not, they definitely took advantage of whatever chaos came from Asriel’s deeds.

After the Bridge to the Stars, we know that Asriel eventually builds an Army and a fortress, but we know that no one in Lyra’s world is aware of what happened. They know he fucked up the sky and the weather and that he was on some sort of heretic rampage but that is all. His fate isn’t even known by Lyra and many others; people think he and Marisa disappeared, including Oakley Street, who at TSC has very little knowledge of Lyra’s importance or so it seemed based on Godwin’s request to hear more about it. That probably indicates that the agency took no part in Asriel’s war, but they likely kept fighting the Magisterium as they began to build an army themselves to follow Asriel.

There isn’t much happening in the Subtle Knife for any speculation, I think they’ll mostly stick to doing their average procedures, investigating the Magisterium’s army, checking what they’re doing and why they’re doing and sabotaging what they can. If anything, I think Grumman could have been associated with them, he was a Scholar and then as a shaman, he could provide valuable information about the state of where he was living. They also probably kept tabs on Marisa, but maybe lost track of her when she went to another world; Lyra was still a person of interest for the CCD, and Oakley Street was likely looking for her, but there is also the chance that they assumed she was with Asriel, so they chose to focus on the other matters.

The thing about Asriel’s war is that it was very focused in one point; the world still kept on existing after he went to fight the Kingdom, it continued to exist normally. The weather was crazy, but that was about how people perceived the change. So, saying Oakley Street still maintained their objectives is appropriate I think. Under the chaos, there was room for a lot of damage to be done.

In the Amber Spyglass, Asriel has his own spies, so Oakley Street’s work here is a bit more clouded. I haven’t read this book enough to actually break it down to this level, but maybe when I do, I will do it in another post.

This was fun! If you guys have any theories or corrections, feel free to add them!

[skruttet]

I wanna do some season 2 speculation (aka ramblings that don’t actually reach a set-in-stone conclusion lmao)!! I’m gonna assume that all the sneak peak visuals and audio from this video are from season 2 episode 2 and are all gonna be in the final cut (even though really we don’t actually know that), just to make theorising a bit easier for myself!

Please feel free to add your own thoughts if anything I say makes the cogs in your head turn! :D

Alright, so the first thing we see is four animatic frames of Snufkin holding a red, flame-like object. In the first frame, it is partially hidden by what looks like a cloud (or mist? fog? a wave? but I’m personally going with cloud), and through the cloud there is still a faint spray of the red colour, therefore we can assume that the object glows, the red colour being its light. Snufkin seems to be happily talking in this first frame, then has stopped in the second but is still slightly smiling as he lifts his head to look at Moomintroll, who we next see look at the object in shock, then up to Snufkin. As I have said in the past, my only theory as to what this object could be other than a normal flame is the King’s Ruby - here is a description of it from Finn Family Moomintroll: “At first it was quite pale, and then suddenly a pink glow would flow over it like the sunrise on a snow-capped mountain - and then again crimson flames shot out of its heart and it seemed like a great black tulip with stamens of fire.” If this is truly what Snufkin is holding, then we know that the King’s Ruby is a symbol of Thingumy and Bob’s queer love - beautiful, precious, something that is all theirs and that they only show to those they trust. So is this tableaux the creators sneaking in more Snufmin subtext? Or am I being too hopeful?

We know that we will be seeing Thingumy and Bob in episode 8, The Trial - so why would Snufkin be holding the King’s Ruby this early on, and in what appears to be a dream or vision that Moomintroll is experiencing? In Finn Family Moomintroll, Moomintroll actually hears about the King’s Ruby before Thingumy and Bob are on the scene - from Snufkin (who in turn heard it from the Magpie), who tells the gang about the Hobgoblin, ending with how unhappy the Hobgoblin is until he finds the King’s Ruby (”It’s almost as big as the black panther’s head, and to look into it is like looking at leaping flames.”). Therefore, it’s possible that Moominvalley Snufkin has also told this Moomintroll about the King’s Ruby, although episode 2 is still super early on and it seems like Snufkin isn’t actually in the valley yet in this episode (based off of the lines in this video where Moomintroll is clearly pining for him). Perhaps this vision doesn’t explain what the King’s Ruby is yet, only shows it, and we find out in a later episode what it is and start putting the pieces of the puzzle together then? Who knows.

Onto the audio that plays on top of this storyboard; assuming that it is in fact what should be playing during these frames, it seems to support the theory that this scenario is playing in Moomintroll’s head, and at sunset (which is super romantic imo). Unfortunately for us, we don’t get to hear the end of the sentence as he gets cut off by Little My presumably kicking him, telling him that she is trying to sleep. Moomintroll appears to not have even realised that he was thinking out loud, making this situation seem even more gay, as if he was thinking something very private (like, say, imagining a romantic date with your best friend?). The fact that Little My is sleeping is interesting - is this daytime, and she’s just napping somewhere near him, or is it nighttime? In which case, she never slept in the same room as him in the first season (to our knowledge - I wouldn’t put it past her to have crawled into a nook or cranny without him knowing lol), so where could they be? We know that 3 episodes of season 2 take place on the lighthouse island; are they there already? It seems a little too early in my opinion, though I can’t imagine where else they’d be.

Moving on, we hear the end of a Moomintroll(?) line: “...amazing adventures”. There isn’t really much we can go off here - he could be referring to anyone’s adventures (his own, his father’s, or Snufkin’s seem to be the most likely), and at any time, past or present or future. We also hear Pappa say something but I cannot for the life of me figure out what it is, it may even be the end of a line again (sounds like “killjoy” or “old boy” but I’m probably completely off). Then there’s laughter that at first I thought was one of the creators watching but I think it might be one of the characters, probably Little My.

Then, we get a male character saying “well, at least there’s some use in that old volcano.” I assume it’s Moominpappa saying this, as in Moominsummer Madness it seems to be only he and Moominmamma who know about the volcano. I’m not sure what this “use” is they’re referring to - in the book, he wishes he could have a paperweight made of real lava from it, though the volcano itself is mainly referred to as a “nuisance”. The volcano is located on a “black little island [off the coast] where nothing grows”, so theoretically they could be mashing it up with the lighthouse island but I doubt it. In Moominsummer Madness, the volcano and the ash it spews are the early warning signs for a storm and flood - will there be a flood in Moominvalley season 2? Obviously it can’t be the same as the one in season 1, but there are at least 3 floods in the Moomin books & comics (The Moomins and the Great Flood, Moominsummer Madness, and Moomin Falls in Love). It wouldn’t be the flood from the Great Flood so that would leave Moomin Falls in Love, though nothing else we see here seems to come from that story, and neither does it seem that another natural disaster happens, so I’m crossing “flood” off the potential plotlines list. But then, there must still be a reason as to why the volcano is mentioned, mustn’t there? I still haven’t quite figured that out, though.

Whilst these “volcano” lines play in the video, a few more frames of animatic are shown - depicting Moomintroll in the foreground, and Snorkmaiden slightly behind him with her hand on his shoulder. He looks back at her before she walks away. I’m not sure whether these frames are actually the ones that play during the volcano lines, since I just find it strange for Snorkmaiden to be all “volcano!?” but then immediately walk away from the conversation. Though I guess I don’t know the full story of what’s happening in the scene (ofc my shipper mind tells me that maybe Moomintroll gives her a “please don’t touch me” look and is the start of them realising they’re not cut out to be a couple but there’s nothing standoffish about their behaviour at all so that’s clearly not what’s going on lol).

Finally, we get the last pining line from Moomintroll: “we’ll soon be cutting the long winter grass by the stream where he pitches his tent”. This seems to be referencing, yet again, a line from the beginning of Moominsummer Madness: “And then summer came, and long grass grew all over Snufkin’s camping place by the river, as if no one had ever lived there.” This is another indication that Snufkin is late to the valley for at least the first two episodes of season 2, which I find a little strange for him to do considering the soul-searching and self-realisation he did in the season 1 episode The Spring Tune. Maybe the volcano mentioned earlier has something to do with his delay?

Before Moomintroll says this, you can hear a female voice sighing; it sounds like one of Little My’s rolling-her-eyes huffs to me, and during his line it sounds like someone is sniffling and/or sneezing?? Again, it’s hard to tell which noises are from the characters and which are the people in the room watching, but if it’s the former, then that’s quite interesting. Is it cold wherever they are? Is the person crying? Or are they huffing still at Moomintroll’s pathetic longing for his best friend?

As a summary, it seems that this episode will definitely be at least partly based on Moominsummer Madness, with perhaps a sprinkling of Finn Family Moomintroll, and Moominpappa at Sea if any of it ties into those episodes. I haven’t caught anything I recognised from any of the comics, though.

Whatever happens in this episode, clearly at this point, Sophia Jansson was NOT happy with it, and judging by the phone call she has with Marika, it seems that she felt as though the characters’ motivations/emotions/problems were not clear enough or there hasn’t been enough development for those things to make sense yet. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how different the final result is compared to these snippets!

[paganinpurple]

Miraculous Hogmanay

I got a ko-fi request from miraculousstuffwotifound: “hey could I possibly request a drabble of the miraculous class celebrating Hogmanay? bonus points if Luka (who is theorised to be Scottish) is the first footer and everyone is super confused by the Scottish custom. <3 I love your writing!”

 I didn’t quite use the whole class but I did go with our fav four. Enjoy the Adrinette and Lukanette teases!

Marinette stared at her phone in confusion for a moment after reading the message that had drawn her attention with a sharp ping.

“Everything okay M?” Alya asked her from her place on the couch, watching the Parisian celebrations on the television while Adrien and Nino sat on the floor, having the latest bout in their thumb war over the table. They looked dangerously close to knocking over the bottle of Champagne.

“Uh, fine,” she said, glancing up briefly before looking back at her screen, “Just didn’t expect to get any messages. I thought the network would be overrun.”

It was already 11:47 pm on New Year’s Eve and when she had heard her phone chime, she had expected it to be an early celebratory message from someone who knew they’d be too excited to send one later. She’d already done the same, sending out messages to her whole class minus the three her parents had encouraged her to spend new year with. New Years was supposed to be spent with friends after all. It was why her parents had gone out with their own friends for the night.

Returning to her phone to reread the message before her, Marinette nibbled on her lip awkwardly as she scanned the screen.

Are you at home for new years? Luka x

She briefly wondered where he had gotten her number from before her common sense caught up to her and she realised that he must have asked Juleka, so he could contact her himself. Despite the text sounding perfectly innocent and friendly, Marinette felt her heart pick up its rhythm and risked a panicked look across the room to ensure no one else had noticed.

Yeah, I’m home. U?

She agonised for a few minutes before adding a kiss of her own on the end. Giving it one last glance to proofread, she quickly hit the send button before she could overthink any and every possible undertone of the message. The reply was fast and frustratingly cryptic.

Not quite 😉

She stared at the message for a minute or two. “What is that supposed to mean?” she eventually asked aloud.

“Marinette! Quick! It’s the countdown!” Adrien shouted suddenly, full of endearing child-like excitement.

Dropping her phone in her haste, she dashed across to her friends, Alya’s arm slinging over her shoulder as they began to chant.

“5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Joyeuse année!”

Fireworks exploded in the skies over the bakery and Marinette found herself jumping on the spot with her best friend before launching herself at her for a hug. Nino soon tapped her on the shoulder and tilted his head towards Alya, a silent request to kidnap his girlfriend away from her which she quickly complied with.

There was a moment of brief awkwardness when she realised why and turned away from their public display that they were attempting to pass off as a simple new year’s kiss. As she did, her eyes met Adrien’s and they both blushed profusely as they tried to work out how to broach the topic of the same tradition.

“Um, we don’t have to-”

“Would you like to-?”

They both gave a small chuckle before Adrien placed a gentle peck against her cheek.

“Happy new year, Marinette.”

Marinette simply stared, cheeks darkening further as she slipped into another of her fantasies. Adrien had kissed her. Just on the cheek, but still -he had kissed her! Maybe he’d lean back in and they’d share a far more intimate moment?

She sighed deeply and might have remained frozen there forever, eyes glassy and Adrien beginning to worry that she had zoned out, but it was at that exact moment that the doorbell rang, and she shook herself free long enough to furrow her brow in confusion.

“Is that your parents?” Nino asked.

“It’s far too early,” she said, opening the door and turning to make her way to the downstairs entrance. She had locked up earlier and no one would have been able to make it up to the front room like normal, so she’d have to traipse down to let whoever it was inside, “And they have keys.”

Bounding down to the door quickly, she took a quick glance through the marbled glass and took in the view of dark hair ending in obviously teal tips. Wait, it couldn’t be? Could it?

She flung the door open so swiftly it almost bounced off the wall and only her quick reaction time saved her having to explain a dent in the plaster to her parents later. “Luka?” she gasped.

“Hi,” he said, standing before her, a bottle of something amber coloured in one hand and a simple wave coming from the other. “Can I come in?”

“Of course!” She stepped back for him to enter, closing and locking the door again once he was inside before leading him up the stairs to the front room.

As they made their way up in a strangely comfortable silence, Marinette eyes were drawn to Luka’s outfit. He wasn’t dressed unusually for him -just jeans and a t-shirt- but the writing across his chest caught her attention. It was hard to get a good look without openly staring but she was pretty sure the words weren’t French, and it was frustrating her that the cursive font made it difficult to tell.

They quickly made their way into the living room, alerting the others to their presence when the door clicked closed behind them. “Look who I found,” she announced, as the others ceased their dancing.

“Luka?” shouted Alya, her eyes flicking towards Adrien briefly before she moved forward and enveloped him in a hug, giving Marinette a pointed look over his shoulder.

“Nice T-shirt dude,” Nino said after she had pulled back, his face equally confused looking as Marinette had felt when she had tried to decipher it. “What does it say?”

“Oh. It’s English,” Luka said, “or rather Scots. It says, ‘Happy Hogmanay.’”

“Hogmanay?” Marinette asked.

“Oh, wait a minute!” Adrien suddenly burst out, “That’s the Scottish flag in the background isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Well spotted.” He turned to face Marinette. “Hogmanay is what we call New Year’s Eve in Scotland. Just like it’s called La Saint-Sylvestre here.”

“So, you’re actually from Scotland too, not just your maman?” Alya asked.

“I was born there. Maman brought us over here just before Juleka came along.” He smiled softly and Marinette’s tongue suddenly felt far too large for her mouth. “She’s determined to make sure we remember everything she can tell us about Scotland.”

Marinette had almost forgotten about the bottle he was carrying until he lifted it, passing it over to her and placing his hand over hers as she reached out for it.

“Here. For you and your family. Guests too,” he said, glancing at the others.

“Oh no! I c-can’t accept-” She cut off unexpectedly at the sound of his gentle laugh once again, a soft sound that made her feel like she had swaddled herself in a fleece blanket -fluffy and warm and impossibly comfortable.

It’s Scottish tradition Ma-ma-marinette,” he chuckled, “I’m your First Footer. I was the first foot to come in over the threshold after midnight. I have to bring you a gift.”

Glancing down at the amber liquid, she noted with a little uncertainty that it was Whisky. Real Scottish Whisky too, from the look of the label. That was kind of…intimidating actually.

“You’re meant to pour out a small shot into a glass and sip it straight -it’s called a dram,” Luka was telling Adrien who was peering over her shoulder at the bottle for a look of his own, “but it can be too strong if you’re not used to it. I take mine with water and ice.”

Feeling her face heat up from the proximity of the only two boys to have ever set her heart compass spinning, Marinette quickly moved away to get glasses for everyone, struggling at first to reach the ones furthest back on the top shelf until Adrien leaned over to help. His chest brushed her back as he did so, and she had to force down a squeak at the contact.

Dashing to the counter, she attempted to pour out small measures of the precious liquid but soon found her hands shaking to do much more than splash the liquid towards the glasses, almost coating the counter while she tried. Luka reached out and steadied her hand helping her to pour first the whisky before topping up one with water from the jug in the fridge to show them all how much to add.

“You should all try it straight first. Just to see what you think,” he said whilst Marinette tried to regain the strength in her knees.

He smirked then began to laugh as they all made a unique assortment of faces at the taste of the strong liquor before adding water and ice, making it only marginally more palatable for them.

The fun of the night continued again soon enough and the longer it went on, the more Marinette seemed to relax – most likely aided by the glass of whisky and multiple glasses of champagne she had drunk.

Turns were taken dancing with one another to the music playing from the TV and anecdotes were shared. Nino became disgruntled for a while when Marinette told a particularly embarrassing story about him tearing his jeans in école and attempting to hide it with his coat tied around his waist until someone had grabbed it from him, but he soon warmed up again when Marinette squawked at his threats to tell everyone of her own childhood adventures.

Luka even convinced them all to attempt singing Auld Lang Syne, something which failed so hopelessly that the girls collapsed to the floor in giggles while the boys attempted to continue with the dancing. Their circle was far too small to allow them to move in and out and Nino kept uncrossing his arms as he tried to concentrate on the lyrics.

“This isn’t fair!” he snickered when the boys too finally gave up, tipsy and slumping to the ground in fits of laughter, “I’m good at English! Some of these words are made up, I’m sure of it.”

“They’re Scots, not English,” Luka explained, scooting across the floor on his knees to sit on Marinette’s right, “There’s Scots, there’s English and there’s Scottish-English. And I haven’t even mentioned Gaelic yet.” He burst out a snort of laughter when Nino flopped onto his back with a grumble.

“So, what does Auld Lang Syne mean then?” Adrien asked from Marinette’s other side, making the girl jump at his sudden appearance.

“Old long ago. Basically, it means ‘the good old days.’”

“Hey! Describe me in Scots!” Adrien said leaning his chin on Marinette’ shoulder and speaking with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm for a boy who didn’t realise the girl beside him was slowly combusting where she sat.

Luka watched him for a second as he thought before finally- “Bricht easy chuffed. It means you’re excitable,” he snickered.

“What about Nino?” Alya asked watching her boyfriend purse his lips from his spot on the floor next to her before losing her balance and slumping down beside him.

“Leave me out of this!” he complained before rolling over to snuggle into Alya’s side.

“He’s definitely crabbit,” Luka said with a teasing smirk. “Grumpy.”

“And me? And Marinette?” Alya’s slurred and muffled voice asked from Nino’s shoulder.

“Well, right now you’re steaming, blootert, pissed. And puggelt” He hadn’t dropped that smirk. “Drunk and tired.” He only received a soft snore in reply and turned back to where Marinette sat beside him, Adrien also starting to doze lightly on her shoulder.

The sensation of his breath on her neck combined with the intense look Luka was giving her, she began to wonder if a person could actually melt into a puddle, and if they could, would Adrien notice that his pillow had disappeared before or after she started to evaporate from the heat in her face?

“As for Marinette,” Luka said, glancing at the half-asleep boy on her other side before his eyes found hers again, holding her gaze, “I don’t think I’m the only one here who thinks she’s an extremely bonnie lass.”