#what we see is clearly just snippets of a a much longer scene

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Even if I don't end up loving it, I still need the new Superman to be a big success in hopes of shutting up all the annoying idiots out there who think that it is weakness to show emotion and affection and the only way to show strength is to be a stoic, emotionless muscle man.

Give me a Superman who is passionate, who feels things strongly because he cares so much, who isn't afraid to get emotional.

[dekariosclan]

Oh, wise oracle!

I remember reading somewhere that Early Access Gale says or suggests he'd only been with Mystra. Did I hallucinate that?

Ah, Anon! I so appreciate the ‘wise oracle’ greeting, but I do have to protest—I am definitely not the wise oracle of EA Gale! I showed up well after EA, not knowing who this ‘Baldur’ person was or why he felt it necessary to have a gate installed on his property. I then pulled a wizard out of a rock and well…here we are 😂

That being said: thank you for your ask anon! After I received it, I was curious myself as to what EA Gale might have said and if there was more dialogue about his relationship with Mystra. I was able to find this video on YouTube, and it’s a great watch for anyone who hasn’t seen it! It’s really interesting because you can see that originally, a huge chunk of Gale’s Act 1 scenes and his Act 2 romance were lumped together into the Tiefling party. There’s the flirty talk, the Art of the Night, lovemaking, his relationship with Mystra, him getting on his knees and showing Tav the orb, and even a snippet of the morning after conversation where Tav can ask if he still loves Mystra, etc.

This was the first time I ever saw footage of EA Gale’s romance, and I have to say I think almost all of the changes Larian made to it and to Gale’s character for the final game were the right call. Breaking up the scene into more fleshed-out portions and spreading them out over Act 1 and 2 flows much better, making the romance a slow-burn fits Gale’s situation much better, and making him less cocky (though I do enjoy the occasional dashes we see in the video 😂) and more vulnerable were, imho, all great choices that crafted the perfect pixel husband we have today.

But—the one thing I wish they hadn’t changed was EA Gale’s dialogue explaining what happened with Mystra, because it makes it very clear how Gale was manipulated and emotionally abused by her. And even though the essence of what he describes still remains in the final game, the fact that the dialogue was changed to be less direct and more subtle has led to some people incorrectly interpreting Gale’s actions as manipulating/gaslighting Mystra (???) even though one of the main themes of Bg3 is how each origin character is a victim of abuse from someone with power over them.

So I’m going to go over the Mystra portion, not only to answer your question, but also to discuss the dialogue a bit more in-depth.

First, your question: Does EA Gale suggest that he’s only been with Mystra?

When Gale tells Tav that his talents earned him the attention of Mystra, Tav asks what that felt like. Gale responds that it felt like “love,” and then says:

This, I think, is what your question was referring to. This definitely indicated that Mystra was Gale’s first love, and the fact that he was ‘a very young man’ at the time would also suggest that it was his first romantic relationship as well.

I have to say I’m glad that Larian changed this in the final game, with Gale clearly explaining that Tav is not the first mortal he’s been with. I personally think it makes the romance sweeter, because it proves that Gale loves Tav because they’re Tav, and not just because they’re his first mortal lover.

Also, the current game makes it clear that Gale is no longer in love with Mystra (though again, some people seem to misinterpret the fact that he still talks about their past relationship to mean he still loves her?) whereas the EA dialogue had him less certain about being over her. Again, I’m glad Larian changed that and made it clear he only has eyes for Tav.

Now, here’s where it gets very interesting and where I wish they had kept the dialogue the same:

Tav asks if Gale is saying he made love to a Goddess. Gale confirms, then continues:

Tav asks what happened next, and Gale says:

Tav says: “Let me guess: he proposed?” and Gale replies:

Gale then goes into the full backstory of the orb, which is essentially what we see in the current game.

But my god, the Mystra dialogue was so much better here! In the current game, the seduction/manipulation aspect is most clearly explained when Gale says, ‘I was an amusement to her, a mortal to be trifled with, amused, and eventually discarded.’ That line perfectly describes everything that happened, but to also have the EA lines about Mystra’s actions would have, I hope, left a lot less people confused in regards to who was in the wrong:

Mystra sought out Gale because of his talent and because he could be of great use to her

She seduced him, and did so easily because he was an innocent young man and powerless before a goddess’s charms

She toyed with him, let him fall in love with her, then spurned him and broke his heart

She cast him out to die alone after he tried to win her back by proposing to her an with impressive, but dangerous, gift—even though she knew he’d had no idea what he’d done, and he’d only made this mistake because he was a lovesick young man whom she had seduced

And all of that is not even taking into consideration the fact that she later tells him to kill himself in order to ‘earn her forgiveness.’..

Mystra, when I catch you—

So, yes, I do wish they would have kept all of that dialogue in, and for one other reason, too: it makes it even more poignant when Gale attempts to ‘propose’ with the offer of Godhood for Tav in the Act 3 boat scene. Because this dialogue would have made it very clear he’s repeating the same ‘folly’ he made with Mystra, by proposing with an offer of power, because he assumes that’s all he has of worth to offer his beloved. So to have Tav say I don’t want/need power—i just want you—it’s even sweeter after everything Gale has gone through.

And finally!

I loved seeing that Gale is still the cutest cutiepie in EA, just like he is in our final game version:

🥹💜

(Edited to add an important note: If you’d like to read some excellent meta from a true EA expert, please check out @galedekarios’s blog which has a ton of info! She also has a great post on this same subject with a more in-depth analysis of how/why the Mystra dialogue was changed.)

[merlyn-bane]

hi hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii if you're still doing foelu prompts i would love to see cody and helix and the baby just being soft dads <3333

or really anything helix-centric tbh

So uh,,,,this one got a little tiny bit out of hand and is much longer than the other fills have been, whoops 😅😅 I hope this is Helix-centric enough for you, my love<3 There's a little bit of everything, from fluff to humor to spice!

Without further adieu, I present to you Baby Part Two: Electric Boogaloo.

[Requests for Foelu missing scenes, future snippets, and extra vignettes are STILL OPEN. Please submit any requests you might have to my ask box. They will all eventually be cross posted on AO3 as well 🥰🥰]

~~~~~~~~

By the time Obi-Wan brings up the possibility of having another child, they’ve all pretty much accepted that it likely wasn’t going to happen. It’s not something they’d ever really discussed, after all, and none of them had really wanted to be the ones to bring it up for fear that Obi-Wan might feel in any way obligated to carry again just to give them another child. Especially given that—regardless of the fact that he’s made it very clear that he has no regrets about it now—the first pregnancy wasn’t exactly his choice to begin with and had been fairly traumatic from start to finish to say the very least. Helix had frankly assumed that Obi-Wan would want nothing to do with gestation ever again as long as he lived, and personally thought that would be more than fair.

Besides, just him and Kai-Tal are—so much more than enough. More than any of them ever thought they’d have. 

He thinks it must have been either Waxer or Rex that had held out hope the longest, but after a decade passes with the Jedi giving no indication of even considering having another ik’aad, it becomes a little difficult even for them to think that he might change his mind eventually. 

But then one day, he just…does. Helix couldn’t even say what could have possibly prompted it. They’re all just…settling in for bed one night, following a day just like any other, and then Obi-Wan’s sitting up and folding his hands in his lap all prim and then asking them if they might, perhaps, be interested in having another child. If they might like, even, to get a child on him themselves, in the standard natborn way. 

Cody recovers enough to actually respond first, even if he’s still slack-jawed. “We’re—the Kaminoans made us sterile, cyare,” he murmurs, and it sounds like it breaks his heart to do so. It probably does. Who among them hasn’t thought of what that might be like, to have a child that’s part them and part Obi-Wan? “You know that.”

Obi-Wan considers Cody seriously, clearly taking the time to carefully mull over what he wants to say next. “Do we know that for certain,” he asks finally, “or is that just what you all were told?”

The five of them glance at each other with wide eyes. “I don’t think anyone’s ever checked,” Helix allows finally, the words sounding halting even to his own ears, “but I can’t imagine why they would lie to us about something like that.”

“Not lie,” Obi-Wan corrects, his brows furrowed thoughtfully. He strokes absently at his beard and Helix finds himself—rather surprisingly—having to work to suppress a small fond smile at the tic. “It is not a large leap, I feel, to think that Jango Fett himself might have been sterile, given the trouble he went to himself in order to have a son, and it’s feasible that the scientists didn’t think to ensure that you all would be, too.”

“But we’re…clones of him, mesh’la,” Waxer frowns, “isn’t that the sort of thing that usually gets passed down?”

Obi-Wan grins, suddenly, looking oddly conspiratorial. “Not if he became so as the result of an accident or illness rather than genetics.”

“Prime had spmumps as a youngling,” Helix whispers, feeling his own eyes widen a fraction further. “I saw it in his medical file. He—it’s—not impossible. In theory. It might…actually be worth looking into.”

The Jedi’s grin broadens. “Excellent,” he says. “And after that, we can have my contraceptive implant removed, and you all can come inside me one after another until it takes.”

“I vote we start practicing right now,” Boil growls playfully, yanking Obi-Wan into his lap by his hips and kissing his laughing mouth.

~~~

They aren’t…they aren’t sterile. 

Every single vod in their polycule gets tested, and then a few of the others that they're closer to across different batches just for a larger sample size. There is some variation in their counts and other factors which doesn’t actually surprise him—even cloning to the sort of strict perimeters adhered to by the Kaminoans, some variability is inevitable—but it’s all consistent enough that Helix feels comfortable putting word out to the Vode at large.

It’s only then that Helix comes to his next concern.

Obi-Wan had not exactly been young when he’d carried the first time, not by natborn humanoid standards, and that had been a little over a decade ago. Helix by this point has done a fair amount of study and penned no small amount of papers on reproductive biology in a frankly somewhat surprising and entirely inadvertent specialization—has somehow become known as one of the foremost experts on the subject regarding the Stewjoni people within the Republic, much to Eil-Idh’s seemingly unending amusement, even—and is very much aware of the increased risks that come with pregnancy as a being gets older. Things like gestational diabetes or preeclampsia, not even to touch on the risks to the potential child themselves. 

So Helix sets up a conference call with himself and Vokara with Eil-Idh to determine if such a pregnancy would even be truly feasible—because Helix isn't willing to risk Obi-Wan’s health, and he knows the others won't be either—and tries not to feel too much like he's been caught in a time loop. 

The first words of of Eil-Idh’s mouth are “What has that damned fool managed te get himself into now?”, which Helix finds much funnier than he probably should and which garners snorts from him and Vokara both. 

“That is about what I was wondering as well,” Vokara says dryly, raising a brow at Helix, and Helix sighs before scrubbing a hand down his face.

“Obi-Wan is thinking about carrying again.”

Eil-Idh blinks at him. “Aye? That's a surprise. I half figured the lad had mind te have his womb removed entirely by the end of the first one. How is yer wee one, anyhow? She was quite a precocious lass, last I heard.”

“Let’s just say that I'm glad we have so much help,” Helix replies wryly, smiling fondly despite that. “And that's about what I'd thought, too. He caught us all of guard when he brought it up, especially since it's been so long.” 

“Aye, he's certainly nae spring nuna.” Eil-Idh drums her fingers on her desktop. “But then, I'll wager that's exactly what ye're calling me about. He's approaching fifty now, isn't he?” The midwife shakes he head, pursing her lips. “I've little doubt he could do it, stubborn and hardy as he is, and it wouldnae be te first I've seen, but it wouldnae be my preference.”

“I think this is where I come in,” Vokara grins, sitting forward and folding her hands together. “As Jedi, our relationship with the Force affects the impact that the passage of time has upon our physical bodies. As younglings we age on par with our Force-null peers because that relationship is still new, but the longer we have communed with the Force, the more that aging slows. Many Jedi that are not lost in the field  live much longer lives than even other members of their own species.” Vokara turns an even more excited grin onto Helix. “And our observations over the last  ten or so years have suggested that that effect may even be seen by those nulls that do spend enough time in proximity to us.”

 Well that would explain a lot, Helix thinks. Even with the gene therapy that's long since been rolled out to them all to address their advanced aging, he's pretty sure his back should bother him a lot worse than it does. “So you don't have any concerns?”

“About his age? No. I wouldn't recommend that you go for a third, probably, but especially with Obi-Wan spending so much more time in the Temple now with access to the full breadth of our medical resources and what we learned from his first pregnancy, his age isn't what I'm worried about.” Vokara tilts her head a little. “I would be more worried about the potential of the advanced aging gene being passed down. It's dominant, isn't it?” 

“It is.” Helix swallows. “You're worried it would double the rate of gestational development and put it past what his body could support.”

Vokara nods seriously before glancing over at the midwife. “What do you think, Eil-Idh?”

“I think I'd rather not find out,” she replies, blunt as ever. “How sure are ye that's how it would work?”

“Not very,” Helix answers truthfully. “That hasn't been my area of focus. But I can touch base with Kamino and see what they know; Bones is still out there last I heard.”

“Do that,” Vokara says. “We'll go from there.”

~~~

“Don't tell me our Jedi's gone and fuckin’ sprouted again,” Bones answers without preamble once the comm. connects, glancing up from a datapad. The other medic seems to be in the temporary office he's held for ten years, which reassures Helix that he's probably not interrupting anything critical. 

“What, no ‘Hello, Helix, how are you’?” Helix mocks, “No ‘Been a while, vod, I'm surprised your sanity's still kicking’? ‘How's your ad'ika’? You're just going to jump straight in to asking me if we're having another one?”

“My bedside manner will improve when yours does,” Bones drawls. “You don't make social calls, Helix, you send me a text comm. every quarter and ask if my riduur has finally had enough of my attitude and fed me to the strill yet.” 

“And I am continually disappointed.” Bones's Mandalorian wife seems to actually like him for some reason, despite his perpetual grouch and the fact that they're still on Kamino when Helix is near certain they'd been supposed to have a successful curry shop in Little Keldabe by now. Helix squints at him. “Obi-Wan wants to have another baby,” he tells the other man bluntly, “but he wants to do it the standard natborn way this time. I'm concerned about how our advanced aging would affect a pregnancy.”

Bones snorts. “We're just going to ignore the other glaring issue with this plan?” 

“I've already run that part by Che,” he says irritably. “That's not what I asked you.”

“You didn't actually ask me anything,” the other medic points out. He folds his arms over his chest and leans back, raising an eyebrow. “Do you really think that over the span of a decade, none of our siblings have managed to knock up a natborn, Helix? Really.” 

“Then how come this is the first I'm hearing about it?” he snaps. “We all still thought we were sterile until Obi-Wan made the suggestion that we check.” 

“Well I suppose they must have wanted their privacy. You know we don't publish that shit publicly because the Republic media likes to turn any developments with the Vode since the war ended into a shitstorm of feel-good porn to soothe their own guilty consciences.” His brow raises a notch higher. “And I'm a little busy advancing our scope of knowledge to notify you personally. It's all on our private medical servers if you'd thought to look.”

Helix ignores the dig. Bones isn't actually wrong. “So it can work, then? Obi-Wan could carry our biological children safely?”

“Safely? If Che's comfortable with him gestating at all at his age, sure.” Bones taps his fingers against his bicep where his arms are still folded. “Comfortably? That's subjective. It's only the one molecule that actually causes the development rate to double; with the kid getting one modified gene from you and a standard one from the other parent, the development rate lands somewhere in the middle. From what I've seen gestation will probably last about seven and a half months and he'll feel more or less like he's carrying twins. His symptoms'll be worse and you'll want to monitor everything more closely but if you're asking if I think it'll seriously jeopardize him, then no. And since I know this'll be the next question: the kid would be able to receive the same gene therapy the rest of us did once they're born. We even already have the dosages figured out. They just can't receive it in utero.”

Helix frowns, mulling that over. It's beginning to sound doable, at least, but Helix would really prefer for his partner to not have to be miserable for seven and a half months if it can be avoided—even though he knows that such a thing would never be enough of a deterrent for Obi-Wan. Maybe even more so because of that. “What about IVF? Then we could edit the genes in the embryo stage like you all did for that first round of tubies after you got the gene therapy figured out. Get rid of the advanced aging factor altogether ahead of implantation.”

“Sure,” Bones agrees jovially, “if you think you can get Obi-Wan Kenobi to agree to leave the Temple for three weeks to undergo a series of medical procedures here on Kamino when his other option is getting fucked in his own bed.”

Helix groans, burying his face in his hands while Bones laughs at him. “I hate it when you're right,” he grumbles. “Genuinely.”

~~~

Helix lays all of this information out in front of the other members of the polycule once he has it so that they can make a decision together, because that's how they do things, and he'd been pretty sure going into it that he'd already known the answer, but Obi-Wan of course manages to catch him off guard regardless. 

“So, you're telling me that if just have you all get me pregnant the old fashioned way, the baby's advanced aging can still be treated postpartum and I only have to be pregnant for seven and a half months?” 

“Why are you saying that like it's a benefit?” Helix stares at the fucking madman he'd somehow managed to fall ass over bucket for, aghast. 

For his part, Obi-Wan only shrugs placidly. “It certainly sounds like one to me.”

“Di'kut, did you miss the part where I also told you that your symptoms are going to be worse? It's going to feel like you're carrying twins, Obi-Wan.”

“Well Padmé managed it well enough,” the Jedi sniffs. “And I get to evict them a month and a half early. I'm failing to see the downside here, darling.”

Helix groans and buries his palms in his eye sockets, long-suffering. Cody pats him on the shoulder. The others just chuckle. “Why do I bother,” he mutters. 

Obi-Wan grins, unrepentant. “Would you like to go first?”

~~~

Not all of the research that Helix does in the lead-up to Obi-Wan’s second pregnancy is quite so serious or unpleasant. 

In fact, the fruits of some of it turn out to be quite fun. 

For instance, Helix has read extensively about the ideal conditions for conception. The best diet for his partner in the lead-up, the most opportune timing, the optimal positions, et cetera. There's little truely empirical evidence for most of it, but if it might help and there aren't any major drawbacks that he can see? Helix sees no reason not to give it a shot. 

There's also the fact that Obi-Wan has left the planning of all of these details in the conception of their second child in Helix's hands. He has allowed the careful scheduling, allowed Helix to direct things more in the bedroom (despite some mild teasing from the others, who have seemed happy enough to play along regardless), has even allowed Helix to plan out the majority of his meals for him—all with a considering gaze and a barely-there quirk to his mouth, as though the Jedi knows that some part of Helix is enjoying all of it more than he'd maybe expected. That he's getting off on the control and the willing submission of a man that Helix knows is one of the most stubborn motherfuckers in the galaxy when he wants to be. It's... heady. Very heady. 

That man's head is in his lap right now, a pillow under his hips to support the angle they've been propped up into and Helix's fingers carding through the sweaty strands of his hair in an almost parody of a soothing touch while Cody feverishly ruts into his cunt—the cunt where Helix has already left his own spend. “Been a while since we've just run a train on you, hasn't it, Obi-Wan?” Helix croons, smirking at the hazy blue eyes that flicker up to his face when he speaks but don't quite focus. “You've gotten a little too used to just getting everything you want all at once, I think. Just look at you, ner jetii, you've only taken two of us and you're already out of your poor little head. Cody hasn't even come yet, you've still got four more loads to go.” 

Obi-Wan chokes on a moan and the former commander swears viciously, readjusting his hold and shifting his knees a little and then picking up the pace even more, somehow. “Kriff,” Cody growls through bared teeth, a sentiment that seems to be echoed by the rest of them—Waxer, Boil, and Rex all staring slack-jawed at the sight that they must make. Rex in particular looks like he's just barely reigning himself in until it's his turn; but then, Helix wouldn't expect much else from the vod that frequently enjoys licking his own come out of the Jedi's hole only to fuck more into him in an endless cycle until Obi-Wan cries from the overstimulation.

Not that any of them had really been less affected when their partner confirmed that he'd had his birth control implant removed. 

They all fuck him one after another until the Jedi's poor cunt is puffy and red and overflowing and then they leave him like that, with his hips propped up and laying back against Helix barely conscious and grinning like a dolt while they give their seed its best chance to take. 

And then they do it all again the next night, just in case. 

~~~

Helix is hovering. 

Just a little bit—or maybe a lot, possibly. He knows he is. But with his partner approaching the halfway mark of  his shortened pregnancy and every bit as miserable as Helix had feared, it's hard not to. He hasn't developed any signs of complications or any serious conditions, mercifully, but Helix is poised to catch it immediately if that changes. 

“I hardly need an escort to the ‘fresher, darling,” Obi-Wan grits through his teeth as though he is not actively using Helix's arm to hold himself steady, clearly making an attempt to modulate his tone into something less biting but not quite managing. Helix barely notices at this point; the Jedi's hormones have been downright torrential, and the physical discomfort has been no help to his moods. If he is not waspish, he is weepy, and if he is not weepy, he is horny enough that Helix isn't certain they could've handled it with any less than the five of them they have. 

He'd all but cried all over Kai-Tal when she'd earned the first bead of her padawan braid, and then again when she'd earned the second. 

They are all managing as best they can. 

“I don't want to see you fall over again, Obi-Wan,” Helix argues, though he's careful not to let the words sound accusatory. Obi-Wan scoffs anyway. 

“You take one little tumble—”

“Your entire center of gravity is off and you know it,” Helix reminds him firmly. “Worse than the first time. I told you—”

“And I stand by my decision,” Obi-Wan snips, scowling. “Now would you very much mind either shutting up or fucking me?”

Helix snorts softly. “Yeah, alright, Master Kenobi. ‘Fresher first, then maybe we'll talk about it.” 

~~~

Helix gets to be the one to deliver their son.

Obi-Wan’s labor goes much, much smoother the second time around—the exact way he’d wanted it to back then, even. The contractions begin in the morning just after firstmeal, and they all have plenty of time to reschedule any obligations they may have or delegate any responsibilities that can’t wait before things progress enough for them to walk down to the Halls of Healing, where they are met by Vokara and Bant.

If anything, with the absence of the stress and adrenaline that had kickstarted Kai-Tal’s delivery, Obi-Wan’s labor this time is slower than the Jedi would like. He spends a fair amount of time bouncing on an exercise ball and harassing his créchemate before things really start to kick off, and by then, Bant is more than ready to give him his epidural. 

They all remember his feelings on that matter.

It’s Cody that Obi-Wan holds onto for support once it’s decided that it’s time for him to start getting into position, gripping his hands as he squats down. Assuming that Bant will be the one handling the delivery, Helix stands off to the side with the others and tries to fight the urge to pace until the Mon Calamari healer snorts at him and tilts her head. 

“What are you doing over there?” she asks him, her voice all gentle teasing as she folds her arms across her chest. “You’re a medic too and it’s your baby.”

Helix swallows. “I—are you sure?”

“Oh for Force’s sake,” Obi-Wan snaps, pulling his head back from where he’d been pressing his forehead against Cody’s just enough to glare up at them. “Get down here. Bant and Vokara will be here to assist if needed but you are perfectly capable of catching our son, Helix.”

Helix will deny the goofy smile that takes over his face as long as he lives but is totally unable to help it as he moves into position, kissing Obi-Wan’s cheek along the way. “Alright, Obi-Wan,” he murmurs. “We’ve got you.”

“I know,” the Jedi grunts in response. The pushing starts not long after, and the next two hours pass in a blur of everybody working to help support Obi-Wan through the process in any way they can. 

Helix has never been more in awe of their Jedi. It had been one thing to know, in theory, what he had gone through to bring Kai-Tal into the world. It is another thing entirely to actually watch him go through the process now and know that this time he’s doing it in a proper medical facility with the support of his partners and access to painkillers he hadn’t had then. 

Their son comes into the world at seven pounds and eleven ounces just in time for latemeal at seven and a half months on the dot, screaming his fury at them all for the egregious crime of removing him from the quiet warmth of his father’s body and already looking…just like his buir’e. There’s a little bit of Obi-Wan in the shape of his eyes and chin, but other than that…

“You were right,” Helix tells his partner once they all finally have a moment to breathe, his voice unmistakably hoarse and wobbly as he stares down into their son’s perfect face. “Someone’s going to think you kidnapped him, one of these days.”

“It’ll serve me right, I suppose,” Obi-Wan snorts, looking tired but happy in the biobed he’d been helped into as he holds his arms out for the boy. Helix lays the baby on his chest—only a tiny bit hesitant to relinquish him—and Obi-Wan hums quietly as he smiles down at the boy before glancing back up at his partners, the five of them all crowded close. “We are still calling him Keeli, I presume?”All eyes go to Rex, who hasn’t bothered to wipe any of the moisture from his face as he stares down at their son. Keeli had been his batchmate, after all; Obi-Wan had insisted that they chose the child’s name this time since he’d chosen Kai-Tal’s, and they’d all been at a loss until Rex had quietly asked if they could name him after his vod that hadn’t lived to see the end of the war. None of them had had the heart to tell him ‘no’, and besides, there were much worse names in the galaxy than Keeli Kenobi. “Yeah,” Rex whispers, reaching down to stroke his thumb through the baby’s thatch of dark curls. “Keeli Kenobi.”

[repressionmd]

3 7 and 15!! :DD i love question #3 bc it always tickles me to know what people hate, petty style

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

this is such an interesting question sfgjk because i actually read like. a lot of stuff 😭 and i guess i wouldn't necessarily say that i hate it but i do instantly switch off when like. piss kinks r involved i really don't get it i get the control element but 👋(>_<)

although i think i hate homophobic house i'll be so fr he would Not say that. i don't care i just don't see him digging up deadnames to dig at people with absolutely no other prongs to the attack ??? like there has to be some kind of reason with it idk + when people remove that in favour of "oh he's just being his regular brand of asshole" i rly don't like it

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

i can't believe you've made me do this 😭 but ok this snippet from this thing is supposed to be give-and-take:

"You would have come at any time, even if it was worse, even though it upsets you, because you like me." House knew it upset him? He still called? Wilson held every muscle in place. Stayed silent, held the eye contact. Held House's arm that he'd finished bandaging already but didn't want to let go of. Waited for the inevitable joke. House's eyes widened, shone with a new light. "You like me!" For one aching, fleeting second, Wilson thought House was about to kiss him, but Wilson jerked back, letting go. He ignored every instinct in his mind telling him to move in closer. He was intimately aware of the heat of House's thigh against his, the ghost of House's arm on his hand, the memory of House's head on his shoulder. "House. Shut up." House was high. He was drunk, he was exhausted and in pain. He didn't know what he was doing. They couldn't do this.

because there's just SO MUCH FUCKING TENSION!!! wilson in this fic has been pushing back his own memories to compartmentalise and take care of house - and his first reaction to "you like me" is skipping that bit and going Back to feeling like house called him because he doesn't care about wilson's emotions. the reality is ... complicated. the reality is house trusts wilson intimately, trusts him to do what needs to be done, and house doesn't know the extent of wilson's trauma. "even though it upsets you" isn't supposed to mean "i purposefully called you to trigger you", it's supposed to mean "im sorry i hurt myself because i know it freaks you out"

and then wilson realises that house is serious about the confession (!!!) but he can't Deal with That. he wants it he wants it so bad, i think house is realising his crush for the first time but wilson has been repressing his feelings for months if not longer. so he tries to convince himself its not real and runs away <3 made even more poignant by wilson having previously made the observation that house was 1. coming down from being high, 2. not that drunk, 3. probably has had a nap and 4. not in any more pain than he's used to. he's thinking clearly for once, and wilson can't.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

ough this is hard because 2 out of the 4 fics im thinking of (my 3 posted ones + kutner lives) are fix-it? i'd absolutely love to see the kutnerfic filmed though i think you could do so much with the opening sequence in that way that the show makes certain scenes have that air of delirium and panic. you could do so much with colour and lighting and sound and aughhh plus we could see more kutner!!! yay!!! also hilson are married in there. so that's always a bonus <3

[away-ward]

A completely random, self-indulgent thought based on a snippet from our conversation about Damon's character... But I'm now really curious about how you'd rank the DN boys based on their attractiveness levels in canon. Personally, I always saw Damon as the most physically attractive, even if he's not my favourite, just because the context in DN points to Damon being very handsome. Though a personal headcanon is that I always saw his looks as close to a dark, fallen angel rather than classically rugged handsomeness.

I've never ranked them in order, but saw them as being attractive for different reasons. That's why the idea of ranking them took me by surprise! So, this isn't my official ranking, but more of what features I think of when I think of them.

I see Kai as the more classically handsome, with his clean hair cut and mixed features. He sticks out the most because of his Japanese features, which draws a lot of attention. We know his mom is gorgeous, and that he got some features from her, such as his lips and smile. He's swoon-worthy, for sure. Along with that, I imagine he has kind, warm expressions that are inviting.

-

But speaking of smiles, Will's got the best one, hands down for sure. His smile makes you smile and you don't even know why. I do picture him having dreamy green eyes, which probably goes a long way. He's attractive, but somewhere between boyish and handsome. In the first chapter of NF, Emory mentions his scruffiness. Because of this, I headcanon he looks much younger when he's clean shaven, leaning in those boyish features, and more of a rugged manly type of handsome when he's growing a beard. In the bonus scene, Kai mentioned him having a nice voice, which is an interesting thing to note, so that adds to his attractiveness.

-

Michael is the most average, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Still, there's something about him that is still captivating. Obviously being attractive, he meets the typical standards of facial symmetry, having good skin, and being naturally athletic which keeps him in good health. However, I think most of what makes Michael attractive is what's behind his eyes. It's unspoken, unexplainable, just something about him. People wouldn't be able to put their finger on why exactly they're drawn to him other than his features. That and he's the tallest at 6'4, which wins him points regardless of what his face looks like. His good looks are a bonus.

-

Like you, I see Damon as not being the typical rugged handsome type. There's something about him that's slightly off, and yet. . . What sticks out right now is that part of the bonus scene from Michael's section, where he comments that the longer Damon makes them wait, the more they want him. Sometimes I wonder if Damon really is that attractive or if people are building him up in their minds (keeping in mind that I see most of their peers as being above average in terms of attractiveness, just on the basis that they're all rich and can afford the best of the best. That goes a long way in being considered physically attractive). Regardless, Damon's undoubtedly, undeniably the most captivating to look at and watch. All the appeal of a dark, fallen angel, as you said. Whether he's the most "attractive", I think most are attracted to him for one reason or another, even if their personal preference is one of the other three.

A lot of it is influenced by personal preference. But like you said, Damon's probably the most attractive even though he's not your favorite. To me, I wondered how the other girls felt about them. You have girls like Arion, who clearly had a thing for Damon, but probably would have settled for one of the others if they'd given her a chance. But were their girls who were only interested in one of them and none of the others, even if they could admit they were good looking. There had to be, right?

Sorry I can't give you my official ranking. I agree that Damon is made out to be the most attractive, but I have no idea where the other three would land. All four are tied in my head.

Thanks for the question though! I'll be interested in hearing your answers if you feel like sharing!

-Ko

[datwheatleyboi]

Orbo in Nirmata

Oh yep gotta make this a thing now because I thought it would be an interesting topic to look into. I wanted to address right away that I am a big Orbo enjoyer. I love the character and do not consider him an antagonist towards Scarab or anyone. PLUS this is also an excuse to talk about how much I loved writing and exploring each character in Nirmata. For now I will bring 3 major points in understanding Orbo's role in Nirmata. A quick warning I will be spoiling chapter 1, 2, 4, 8, 9 of Nirmata, so read at your own risk.

As I said in one of my earlier replies, no character in Nirmata is good or bad. There is no antagonist in the books and I hope this can be clearly seen these many chapters deep into the fanfic. Every character is flawed at their core. Some are more flawed than others but that's what makes the story even more interesting. I want to uncover the truth behind Orbo just because he is a character that has less screentime in Nirmata, therefore his character is hard to be deduced from his actions. 1. Nirmata is mostly a Scarab POV story.

Scarab is undoubtably the main character of the story. We experience Nirmta mostly through his perspective, therefore it is important to understand that Scarab's perspective towards Orbo can be extremely biased, especially from his view of the world and constant victimizing of himself in each situation. The periods where we receive a different POV Orbo was never referred to as a bad boss or bad character. The only thing he is to blame for is the wings and antenna incident. One of example's of Scarab's bias in perception of the situation is in this scene in chapter 4 (here's a snippet from it):

Scarab looks at the attached clocks to his and Prismo's wrists and thinks of them as a threat. As a doomsday watch leading to his and Prismo's downfall. It is constantly emphasized throughout the story that Scarab clearly takes this situation too seriously. He thinks of the watch not just as a helpful tool in understanding the passage of time with the Time Giants being destroyed, but also as a ticking timebomb. This is Scarab's POV and analysis of the situation. Keep an eye on what Orbo says in chapter 2 about the watches:

This is just the first analogy about Scarab's biased POV that we see throughout the fanfic. There are many more examples of how his interpretation of a situation contradicts to what is actually happening but if we're talking about Orbo in this post, than here is an example with my big boy. I think of Nirmata as a story, where you have to pay close attention to what the characters say, rather than deduce their motivations from Scarab's POV. 2. Orbo is also a living being.

Imagine you're the right hand of the Boss, just hanging around, doing your job, when suddenly time stops existing. And then BOOM! all the multiverse starts getting consumed by a supermassive blackhole. Anyone will be scared from that and Orbo is no exception. He stabilizes the multiverse knowing that he won't be able to hold it together for a longer period of time. This makes him stressed out and more on his nerves and Orbo acts accordingly. His actions, his words, his overall attitude and behavior. The poor guy has so much pressure on his shoulders that he even confronts Prismo for being incompetent in preserving the Time Core from potential nasty guys. And no threats or pressure solely towards Scarab. Here are several examples of showing signs of this clearly stressed behavior:

Despite being referred to as the right hand of the Boss in the fanfic, his reaction to the situation can be understandable. Despite the whole future of the multiverse being questioned, Orbo does not let the emotions get the best of him. He listens to Scarab's suggestion and agrees with it, regardless of this duo not being the most effective when put together. 3. Orbo is an understanding being. As I said in the end of my last point, Orbo offered Prismo and Scarab a chance to redeem themselves and gave them 3 days to find the hammer despite the multiverse clearly barely keeping itself together. He entrusted Scarab and Prismo with the most important mission ever, while literally seeing them claw at each other's throats 5 minutes ago. That is some insane level of faith my guy got. Or probably because he just doesn't want them to be fired from their positions. Here's him accepting Scarab's suggestion, while still having his doubts about the successful completion of this mission:

Also, later he provides the two cosmic entities with even more information in regards to the ongoing search for Betty and the Hammer, despite not being obligated to do so. He really wanted our favorite roommates to succeed in their mission and, if it weren't for Betty's interference with the order of her world, they would have received even more tips and reports of the alterations in the fabric of space and time. This is emphasized in chapter 9 when instead of receiving threats about the couples and the Hammer's whereabouts, Orbo just provided Scarab the coordinates of 2 other signals of reality altercation. Although it was never specifically stated that my bro Orbo was the one who sent the messages about the signals, it is heavily implied throughout the plot that Scarab has no way of locating new signals without "multiversal interference". 4. The Wings. But what about Scarab's wings and antennas? Didn't Orbo rip them out of him? Yes, but it was done a very-very long time ago when the poor guy still was learning about his capabilities and limits to his powers, and Orbo clearly experiences guilt from committing such a terrible act on one of his most productive workers. This is seen in Prismo's speech in chapter 9 and given that he and Orbo are good friends, this is probably true and not an attempt at trying to justify Orbo's evil nature:

To further prove the point of Orbo ripping Scarab's wings not out of pure hatred towards the bug, it was hinted way back in chapter 1. We know that from reading chapter 8, Orbo was terrified of someone betraying the company or starting a revolution. He had a hard time understanding how to properly run a company, so it was logical he would be on the verge of panic when a strange moth decided to nuke a great chunk of the multiverse and resided in one of the destroyed worlds. Yes, it was never implied that Maura was a real being and not always a disguised fire elemental, but back in my analysis for chapter 8 I did hint at this being the case.

Anyways, this is the end of my character analysis of Orbo. Since this is a hot topic in the pwish fanfic community, I wanted to toss my own interpretation of Orbo's character in Nirmata. I might have left out some key points since I am still very sick, but I hope this makes sense. I'm always open for your ideas and speculations on Orbo's character but otherwise...

As a famous thinker once said:

leaves some crumbs and runs away

[likesunsetorange]

one more snippet for the one time 😭

you ask, i deliver! this part made me laugh so much like she truly cracks me up lmao (im trying to post the same scene so i dont spoil the others lol)

“Well, at least I know you know how to do your job,” she says nonchalantly, her apathetic attitude returning. “Back to the questions, though—we keep getting sidetracked.” She narrows her eyes before she speaks, her tone getting to a level of sincerity Eren didn’t know she could reach before she asks: “You don’t do drugs, do you?”

“Excuse me?”

“What? I had to ask,” Mikasa shrugs. “I’m gonna take that as a ‘no’ then. Okay, next question: Any hobbies?”

“Umm, no? Not really.”

“Okay… do you have a girlfriend or something I should know about?”

The breath in his throat gets stuck, and he feels himself almost choke, the question catching him off guard. “What? I can’t tell if you’re being genuine with these questions or you’re just fucking with me,” Eren says bluntly, leaning back in his seat while crossing his arms. He can’t deny he’s partially amused at how brazen she is, but he’s also somewhat curious about the inner workings of the mind of Mikasa Ackerman. 

Somehow, this offends Mikasa, which only earns Eren an overdramatic eye roll in response. “I’m not just asking you these questions for shits and giggles, Eren. There’s a reason behind them, clearly. The drugs—obviously, I have to make sure you’re not bringing that kind of thing into my house. The hobbies—if you like to work out or something, that means you’d be leaving the house, which is something I think I should know about. And if you have a girlfriend, I think I should know if you’re gonna be bringing another stranger into my house—I already got one of those thrown onto me, so it’s not all that unreasonable for me to ask, don’t you think?” Mikasa lets out a huff, staring at him, waiting for his response, clearly unamused by his incomprehension. 

Eren stares at her in disbelief, mostly because her reasoning is, well, justified; he can’t dispute her for being rightfully curious about the man whom she’s being forced to be roommates with. She’s a Columbia graduate for a reason, he thinks to himself.

“Well, you have a point—” 

“I know I do, I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t know it was right,” she says matter-of-factly.

Eren’s gathered that Mikasa is not only borderline bitchy and downright mean, but clearly, she has no issues being a smartass as well. He lets out a deep breath, one he didn’t know he was holding while rolling his eyes, no longer bothering to care if she sees at this point. “To answer your question, though: no, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

There’s a glint of something that pans across her face, but before he can try and decipher her expression—one of her many, he’s learning—it disappears. She raises her brows, nodding. “Hmph, well, good to know, then I guess.”

[lonesome-witching]

heya! :D

here from the get to know your fic writer post, i chose quite a few questions, so you can pick and choose from these if it's ever a lot hehe <33

1, 2, 4, 13, 17, 21, 28, 39, 45, 61, 62, 77

hope you have a good day/night! :>

Oh my God, thank you so much for this insane amount of questions. I love you for sending this!!

Okay, I will answer all of these, just because you asked.

If anyone else wants to send me questions, you can. Here they are.

Do you prefer to write one shots or multi-chaptered fics?

I think probably one shots. I like writing something I can finish and multi-chaptered fics take a lot of time and effort and I often end up abandoning them or losing interest in them over time. The exception seems to be the unnamed fantasy au I'm writing but I haven't posted any of that yet so we'll see.

2) Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

I actually recently started to plan ahead. Probably not each chapter, except for with the fantasy au, but at least an idea of how the story needs to evolve. I still also write as I go because I cannot think of certain plot twists or certain scenes until I'm fully in the story. Also my stories tend to get out of hand and lead somewhere different than I intend at first. Miscommunications Lead to Places is a great example of this, that ending was supposed to be very, very different.

4) Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Pretty much everywhere. Miscommunications came from a tiktok i saw. I wrote I Can See You, clearly based of the Taylor Swift song. The fantasy au was something that evolved through conversations with a friend. So, everywhere. I think music helps a lot, sometimes reading, and dreams. I have a lot of vivid dreams that help with scenes for my projects. And of course I do prompts so then the idea comes from other people.

13) What's a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

I don't really follow writing tips. I think the only one i usually follow is to just write. Even when you think you don't have inspiration, because writing something shitty is better than not writing at all. But mostly I just do whatever the hell I want to do.

17) What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

Other than complain to anyone who will listen, I mostly try to find inspiration in the small things. Usually when I get stuck in my writing it's because I'm too close to it. So, I listen to music, I read a book, I go for a walk or go to the gym, just anything to not focus on the writing. One way or another something will end up happening that gives me inspiration. A certain song will come up on my playlist that throws be back into a new scene for the story or I'll see something on my walk that reminds me of one of the characters or I'll read a book and see a word that I didn't know and I look it up and it makes me think. So, yeah, a lot of things but I try to not do anything that is related to the story. Sometimes it's good to step back and get some perspective.

21) Would you ever collaborate with another writer for a story?

Oh hell yes! I think it would be super cool. Would I advice other writers to work with me? Hell no, I'm very stubborn especially when writing. But I do think it would be super cool and I even suggested as much to one of my friends but they refused. So if anyone is interested just let me know.

28) On average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

Right now, not a lot. I have been a bit lazy when it comes to writing. But if we take my average over a longer period I would say somewhere between 250 and 750 words. So, let's say 500 words. Although some days I'll write 2,000 and others I don't write at all.

39) Share a snippet from a WIP

Of course. I will share a snippet from the fantasy au, because we all know I'm obsessed with that one.

The sand turned into cobblestones under Nancy’s feet. She didn’t really like the feeling. The stones were cold and pressed into her skin in an uncomfortable way, as if her feet were meant to fold over them. Robin didn’t seem bothered by them nearly as much. She just kept walking and kept talking and Nancy followed. It was all she could do. Her eyes scanned the houses built in bright colors and odd shapes. The buildings nearly jumped out at her from both sides of the road, the higher levels covering the small sidewalk that Robin refused to walk on. Instead, they were walking in the middle of the road, where the buildings couldn’t hurt them, and Nancy was glad for it. Even if there were carriages and horses waiting behind them, who for some reason did not complain.

45) Do you want to break your readers' heart or make them laugh?

Honestly, at times both. I think a great writer can find a good balance between the two but I'm leaning more toward making them laugh. Something you might doubt when you see where the fantasy au is heading.

61) Why do you continue writing fics?

I've never thought of that. Should I stop? Just kidding, you're not getting rid of me that fast. I continue writing fics because I continue to be obsessed with ronance and somehow I can't stop them from possessing every idea I have. And also because it is great practice. I used to hide my stories with my life, this is a way for me to share them without too many repercussions. Oh and of course because of all the nice comments.

62) Thoughts on cliffhangers?

I love writing them but I am surely shit at them. Something I should practice in my next multi-chapter fic.

You might notice I did not answer question 77. That is because I didn't know if you were referring to a specific fanfic or not and because 99% of my favorite scenes are part of the fantasy au. I clearly have a favorite story and it's that one.

[serenityscribes]

WIP --- Dreaming Snippet

[This came out a while ago. I'm not sure where it is going to fit in the longer narrative I want to create around soul connections that transcend the 3D. Like something that has a 5D component that needs to be sorted before a (re)union can occur in the 3D... And then there are the ideas that I have about love stories that span centuries and reincarnations, but then I worry it's been over done. My mind comes back to Kit, it's always been Kit since I started tooling this weakly back in High School. Mystery man reappears, they've been in love before but something has kept them apart. All that to say, here's a scene that I couldn't get out of my head.]

Laurie was stuck, backed up against a stone wall with a group of demonic dogs in a semi-circle around him. He waved a flaming torch to keep them at bay. He’d twisted his ankle running from the beasts and was facing the consequences for his clumsiness. He was facing the consequences for a lot of his actions. And now the sword she had him with was far across the cavern.

He had to face facts, while he was fairly certain this was a dream, he also knew that he was cornered and alone.

The leader of the pack sensed his growing defeat and leapt at him.

Only to be immediately deflected by an electric purple burst of light that formed an orb of protection around him. The light was patterned into a stunning mandela, reminding him of a shield.

“Wait…” he murmured, taking it in.

Across the room he saw her in silhouette, hands glowing bright with an electrified magic.

“You look like the Scarlet Witch.” He quipped, breathing heavily and still warily waving the torch despite the canines being unable to breach the wall of energy. 

“I’d say it's more of a lavender.” 

The demon hounds took notice of her as she spoke and growled in unison in her direction. 

“Now, now, we’re busy.” She snapped her fingers and the crazed look slipped from their eyes. You’d have sworn these animals had always been docile creatures who now curled into a literal dog pile and went to sleep.

“What are you, some sort of Deus Ex Machina? Coming in to save the day?” She walked through her barrier like it was nothing, he made a mental note that she didn’t let it fall. Perhaps the trick with the dogs was not permanent. “Kit, I told you, this wasn’t your fight.”

“Can’t a gal just be on a passing wavelength and intuitively know when a certain someone needs a blast of my light?” She asked casually. She noticed his sword laying out of reach and brought it to him. He winced briefly in thanks then let himself fall to the floor, unable to bear standing on his injured ankle any longer.

She looked at him for a moment. “Right. You clearly don’t need any help.”

“It could be worse, I could have a mortal flesh wound. This is just an inconvenient sprain.” He shifted himself into a position where he could look at her and not simultaneously send daggers up and down his leg. She looked rougher than the last time he’d seen her and yet somehow brighter, lighter. Free. He could use some of that. 

“I know you don’t like it when I try to help.” She was looking anywhere but at him and his injuries.

He knew she was just bursting to offer her assistance, and yet she was holding back. He winced, “It’s nothing, Kit.”

“And while I’m sure that’s true, Laurie, it’s that we both know this light show is more than just pretty and protective.” She lit a small ball of light in her palm, snow white with wisps of green. “Any chance you’ll actually let me see the injury? I’m fairly certain that my specific set of skills could be useful.”

He sighed and stayed quiet for a moment, considering his options. And since hers was the only one that involved him moving without audible curse words he muttered, “...fine.” 

To her credit she didn’t even smirk, she just set to working on his ankle. She murmured a few words he couldn’t hear that turned his skin much colder than he expected. Which quickly settled into a warmth that felt like sunshine after rain. A warmth that felt like Kit.

Who had always been his light, rain or not.

She was close enough that he could touch her, so he reached out and grabbed her chin. He brought her mesmerizing green eyes to meet his deep brown ones. 

“Thank you.” 

She blinked at him, even blushed slightly. “It’s nothing, I couldn’t exactly leave you like—“

“No, I mean, thank you for always coming back.” He couldn’t break his gaze with her even if he tried. She sniffed, looking almost tearful.

“It’s what you do,” she said softly, “for the people you love. The person. The You. I’ll always come back for you.”

“Even though I don’t let you in.”

“You have reasons, I assume they are valid and threefold. And wrong. I can move on and check in without losing face. In my opinion anyway. But I also know that the time is coming that you’re going to let me in for real. Not just when you’re being faced down by demon dogs.”

He looked over at the dogs who were snoring loudly in their heap beyond their energy orb. “Do I want to know what you did? Or more importantly, how?”

“Dreamscape, darling. Yours to discover if you know how to see through it.”

“You think so?” A deeper female voice echoed through the cavern that caused Kit to turn still as a statue in front of him.

“Crap,” she whispered. She turned, palms igniting with a yellow glow.

“Who’s that?” He asked, shifting to a standing position, testing his renewed capacity for weight bearing. Instinctively he pulled the sword into his hand and readied for an attack.

“Me.” Kit sounded grim, but determined. “Laurie, your shadow is still in beast form. Mine does the walking and talking thing. You’re lucky babe.”

“What?” he started at the endearment, not expecting it from her after all this time.

“You get to wake up.” She smiled at him sadly and pushed him into a flash of white light.

The next thing he knew he was upright in bed, sweating, and knowing what he had to do next.

[moviemunchies]

We’re doing another TV series review!

Some things about this season were spoiled for me by YouTube recommendations and a thumbnail for a clickbait comic news site, so I’d recommend doing your best to avoid those as you watch the season.

Young Justice is one of my favorite superhero shows, and I think it’s one of the best comic adaptations I’ve ever seen. So when it was canceled after two seasons, because Cartoon Network decided they didn’t get enough toy sales, I was pretty torn up about it. But then it was brought back! On a streaming service I didn’t have any intention of getting. So it was a while before I got to season three (got it on DVD), and even longer before I got to season four (which as far as I know isn’t on DVD, but I got it on iTunes).

This season has a different structure than the ones before. There are clearly defined arcs, centering on characters from the original Team (except for Wally, of course). This is a really cool idea, especially given how massive the universe for this adaptation has become, and lets us separate the story arcs into ways that they’re clearly delineated from each other. The season won’t run together in your head, because there are obviously separate chunks of the story as it goes on.

Split attention also lets the series show off more corners that it wouldn’t have the time if it had a more focused story. If you wondered more about the structure of Atlantis, or what was going on in the mystical side of the DC universe, this season has got you covered. I appreciated that we got to see so much of the world developed in this season, outside of brief snippets that we got before.

The downside to this, however, is that there are arcs that don’t really have much to do with each other, all kind of vaguely leading up to a finale. I really liked Zatanna’s arc, but so many of the characters there don’t really add much to the overall story and don’t do much for the rest of the season.

There’s also the frustrating pace of the series, which hasn’t changed. Yeah, the overall storyline of the season moves along well enough. But since the end of Invasion we’ve been gearing up for war with Darkseid, and spoiler alert, that doesn’t happen in this season. By the end of the season, important developments have happened, and it’s kind of cool that the series is taking its time to build up. At the same time, it’s also frustrating because it seems like things are barely going anywhere, and this series keeps getting canceled. You’d think that would motivate the makers to speed things up, apparently not.

Overall though, I think the story is pretty satisfying. It pulls focus back on the core Team from the original season, which is a nice touch because it means that the makers haven’t forgotten where it all started, or where they plan to go with it. Even Raquel and Zatanna, who did not get as much development in the original season as they were late additions, have more to do in their own arcs this time around.

I don’t remember if the credits scenes were as meaningful last season, but I appreciate how they’re used here. I don’t think any of them are necessary to understanding the Plot of the season, but they’re cool little tidbits that feel nice to watch (it’s a shame HBO Max urges you to skip them with a timer).

Also, hey, there’s more blood this time around? Outsiders had some blood, but here? Especially in Zatanna’s arc, there is a lot more blood and guts going around. It’s definitely the result of the showrunners deciding they don’t have to hold back now that they’re not on Cartoon Network. Be aware of that going in!

So if you loved Young Justice so far, it’s a must-see, but if you’re just getting into the show, this season is an excellent continuation. Of course, I’d like to see even more, but that’s not much up to me as it is to whoever is in charge at HBO Max and DC Entertainment–and lately who knows where their heads have been.

[recurring-polynya]

Do I mind if I ask how you approach writing longer fic? I've always struggled to write anything more than maybe two chapters long and I'm curious if you have a particular method to how you approach such stories.

Thank you so much for this ask! I absolutely love it when people ask me for writing advice because it makes me feel like a Smart Person Who Knows Things.

Before we start, here is one grain of salt to take all of this with: I have a naturally long-form brain. It is very hard for me to write something less than 1k. Short fiction is great, and there is nothing wrong with sticking to short things if that's what your brain likes to do.

So. You have decided to write a story. This is going to focus on "stories". Some people write fic that's more freeform or whatever, I am not going to cover that. What I mean by a story is this:

It starts

Some stuff happens

It ends

It is highly probable that your story contains a change of state, which could be that a villain is defeated, or a goal is reached, but it could also be that character falls in love with another, or someone learns to like broccoli.

I like to start out by completing the sentence, "This is a story where _______". This is basically like coming up with a summary for an ao3 post, except that it doesn't need to be catchy. Lots of different kinds of things could go in that blank! It could literally be what happens: This is a story where Ichigo goes back in time and punches young Aizen in the nose. It could be about what you want to explore: This is a story where Hitsugaya gets a better understanding of his zanpakutou. It could be about the vibe you want to achieve: This is an AU where everyone is in a punk rock band and has cool hair and outfits. The idea of this is to clearly define what you, the author, is interested in writing. Make sure it feels right! Maybe you pick the first one, but when you say it out loud, you say, "You know, I really just want Ichigo to go back in time so he can horse around with young Renji and Rukia and punching Aizen in the nose is just an excuse for that." That may sound dumb, but it's fine, actually! Most people don't read stories strictly for the plot, they read stories for the implications of those plots! Will my favorite two characters kiss? Will there be funny interactions between these two groups of characters? Will there be sick fights? Stories are excuses to have scenes. Sometimes, you will have a story where the interesting sequence of events is the draw, but the point is to know what you're about.

Once you feel happy with your "mission statement", you need to decide the bounds of your story: where it starts and where it ends. It may be easier to start with the end. In some cases, it may be obvious from your mission statement: everyone gets home, a villain is defeated, Kenpachi realizes the meaning of friendship. On the other hand, let's look at that punk rock AU. You've picked a vibe, but you don't really have a natural story arc. It has to have a destination, though, otherwise, it's not really a story, it's a recipe for 3 chapters of an abandoned fanfic. So brainstorm a little: Maybe they get a record deal? Maybe they win a Battle of the Bands? Maybe Byakuya accepts that the band is actually good and tells Rukia he is proud of her. Do not settle for a plot just because it works. Pick something that makes you excited! You're the one who is gonna have to write it!

I said that we needed to pick a beginning point, too, but I'm actually going to skip that for now. The next thing I do is think of all the Big Scenes I want to write, the ones you are hype to write, the ones that pop in your head as you think about the premise. Make a bullet list. They don't need to be in order. The descriptions don't need to be super detailed, but write down anything about it that is important to you. If there's a mood or a snippet of dialogue or a joke you want to make, go ahead and jot that down so you don't forget it later. What you're doing now is putting broad blotches of color on a canvas, filling in space and leaving the detail for later.

Once you are pretty happy with what you have down, try to arrange it in chronological order. Put your end at the end (if it wasn't one of your big scenes, add it now). The next task is figuring out how to traverse your scenes. You've already picked out where you want to spend the majority of your energy. The rest, I regret to tell you, is your slog writing. Now, it often happens that you will find joy in some of these scenes and your best writing may occur there, but that's serendipity. These are the scenes that you are gonna have to make yourself sit down and write, so you honestly want to limit them to just the ones you need.

So how do we do this? Look at the first thing on the list. Can you start there? If so, congrats, that's your beginning. If you can't, what needs to happen to get to there? Where can you start so that you can get to your first fun scene as soon as possible? There. That’s it. You’ve picked your beginning, good job! Now, go through the rest of your list, and add in things that must happen, even if you don’t particularly look forward to writing them. The characters need to travel from geographic point A to point B. Shuuhei needs to say something that Izuru hears and misinterprets. The Central 46 makes a new law. If you have a good idea of how these things happen, go ahead and write them down, but it’s okay if you don’t know yet. Fill in all the blanks so that if you think of each bullet list as a scene, you could read it as a story, start to end. Once you get writing, you might add more scenes, or move things around or whatever, but you should have a thing that functions as a story.

If you struggle with this, an alternative is a story with a very strong structure that is going to guide you though what you have to write.Here are two examples from my own stories Hold On, Hold On (which is only one chapter, but the principle is the same) is structured around the 5 stages of grief. Not Broken, Just Bent takes place over roughly a week, and I just decided what happened every day of the week. See You on the Other Side takes place in the middle of a bunch of canon events, which worked at mile markers.

Congratulations. You’ve just made a rough outline!

Special note for avoiding burnout!: I am a slogger. I will drag myself through the broken glass of an interminable plot to get to a single thirsty scene. That's why, at this stage, I try to look at the ratio of what I want to write to what I must write. It's gonna vary for everyone, but this is a hobby, and if looking at this proto-outline makes you feel deeply tired, maybe this isn't a good story to be devoting your time to! Can you carve it down? Can you chuck two scenes you really want to write and get rid of 80% of the slog? Or maybe you can't! In that case, just write that thirsty scene as a standalone drabble! Or just go work on something else! Maybe in the future, this one will come back to you and you’ll have a fresh idea or a renewed enthusiasm for it.

Another thing I sometimes like to do at this point is to write out some notes about my characters and their motivations and moods. Character A is homesick. Character B is so determined to defeat the enemy that they are having a hard time being sympathetic to Character A. Character C cares for both A and B and is trying to support them both. This is sort of background info that you want to keep in your head as you are writing. Depending on the type of story you are writing, this might actually be the main plot, or it might be happening subtly, but adding to the emotional impact of the story. It’s very easy for me to write these sorts of emotional arcs, but if you struggle with that, you may wish to go ahead and made a more detailed outline for that, too.

Now, it’s time to start writing! I am great at beginnings-- it is very often the case for me that the opening scene was one of my Big Tentpole Scenes. (Before you hate me too much, I make up for this by being double horrible at endings; just let me have this) Usually, I will start at the beginning and write linearly for as long as I can until I get stuck. Then, I will look forward on my outline and do the next chronological scene that I feel like writing. In general, if I sit down to write and there is something I have an urge to write, that trumps everything else. Inspiration is a precious commodity, and you should embrace it when it hits! You can slog any day. I will occasionally hold off writing a scene that I really want to, because I am saving it, like a prize for myself for getting that far. This is a very personal process of figuring out what motivates your brain and then giving your brain what it needs to be its most productive.

Eventually, you will run out of things you are excited to write, but the good news is, you’ve got a bunch of story now! Odds are that what’s left is going to be a lot of those connective tissue scenes, and you’re just going to have to do them, except that now, because you’re connecting two concrete points instead of two abstract points, it will be a lot easier. You can continue running jokes you’ve started. Maybe you invented a cafe in an earlier scene where your characters hang out and you can have them return there. Try to think of ways to make these scenes more fun, both for yourself to write and for your reader to read. 

Around this time, I like to start refining that rough strokes outline into what I will call an “as-built” outline. (This is an engineering term where you update your plans or models for something to reflect any changes that had to be made along the way). This is a great activity to do at times when you feel like you have writers block. I write down every scene I have written as a 2-3 word blurb, in order. I break the scenes into what I think makes logical chapters, and I will do a word count on those prospective chapters and write it down. As you do this, you will realize that maybe you can move a scene from here to there, which will make it 1000% easier to write. Things may be happening too much, or you’ve got the characters eating three times in the same chapter. If you have subplots and dangling threads, this is where you make sure they get closure. I know this sounds very headache-y, but you are so far along in the story at this point that it’s really not-- it’s a way to look at the problems you have left. Use some sort of formatting (I like to bold things I haven’t done and sometimes I put them in red) and it gives you a very visual to-do list.

You specifically mentioned multi-chapter fanfics and I admit that I don’t tend to think in chapters, I tend to think of the story as a whole and just break it up where it feels natural. The as-built outlining I described is very helpful in making sure that my chapters feel balanced. They don’t necessarily need to be the same length, but I like them to have the same amount of stuff in them. One chapter may basically contain one long scene, and other may contain many short ones. I don’t tend to, but you can certainly have a fanfic that varies between short and long chapters, that can actually be an interesting effect. But like I said, I always like to know what I am doing, and so having it mapped out, you can say “welp, this is what I’ve done, how do I feel about that?”

Polynya, you may be saying at this point, do you write the whole fanfic before you post any of it? and I regret to inform you, the answer is yes. A lot of people write as they go, and I have made one attempt at this and I didn’t like it. I don’t like locking myself in, I just need to be able write out of order and go back and change things. Here is the story of a little in love: someone gave me an AU prompt and I got mildly obsessed with it, and wrote 5 snapshots drabbles in that universe, ending with a slight cliffhanger ending. I probably should have stopped there, but I decided to keep going. I wrote out an outline of 5 acts where the first act was detailed to the degree of each chapter being specified. The chapters here were much smaller than I usually make chapters: 1-2k. I wrote act i and ii and it was actually great, and then I hit act iii which required a lot of set up for misunderstandings and a mini romance arc. I couldn’t wing it, but nor could I figure it all out with outlining. I write dialogue in almost sort of an improv “Yes, and...?” style, so until I do it, I don’t know what’s going to happen. So, what I did was treat the second half of act iii as a complete story in the process I describe above, wrote the entire rest of it, and then posted it. One might notice that the chapter lengths grew to 3-5k each. I have two more acts to go, and I haven’t decided how I am going to do them yet, but I suspect I will treat each of them as their own mini-stories.

(I will admit that in Heart is a Muscle, I tend toward chapters that are about 10k long, and this is honestly too long, someone should smack me. If you like punchy chapters, 1-2k is good. I think 3-6k is probably an ideal chapter length. Is this how long the chapters are in my latest fanfic? Absolutely not.)

Okay, so there’s one more step, which is quality control. I am habitual re-reader-- I read my fanfics-in-progress over and over and over while I am working on them. I understand that not everyone does this, but I am usually the primary audience for my own writing, and this is the actual fun part for me. Nevertheless, you should re-read your work at least once, to make sure it hangs together.

This is purely optional, but I recommend it: get a writing friend (if you don’t like re-reading your work, I recommend this even more strongly). If you can get a full-service beta reader, that’s great, but if you can’t find someone, or if receiving that level of critique stresses you out, it’s perfectly valid to just find a friend who will read your stuff and a) shower you with compliments, b) reassure you about parts you aren’t sure about (or suggest ways to help) and c) point out any huge problems you missed. When I am writing a long fanfic, it is a huge motivational factor for me to be able to send my beta chapters as I finish them. If you are already an established writer, and you have people who consistently comment on your fic, they might be overjoyed to get a sneak peak at your work.

And that’s it! That’s the way I do it, anyway! Some people are able to sit down and write a very detailed outline and the write it start-to-finish. Good for them, I say! I have tried this and it doesn’t work great for me. I will admit that some of my fics (especially my early ones) I just sat down and banged out whole-cloth like an insane person and they are generally better than the ones I actually plan out, but that’s not a reproducible process.

As one final mechanical note, I usually write in Google Docs, which I can access on multiple devices (I used to write a lot on my phone), has convenient sharing functionality, and I use the ao3 html formatting script add-in. I generally have two documents for a single story-- one is the outline, and any other notes I want to have handy. I’ll usually put a trashcan space at the bottom for scenes that got cut but I don’t want to lose. The other is the fanfic itself.

I hope this is helpful! Please feel free to follow up with other questions and good luck with your writing!

[teletraan-meets-jarvis]

Hello I just binge read all ur clone fics and I’m sobbing so much ur writing is so good. Can I request more codywan pls i don’t care what it’s about ur just my fav author and that’s my fav ship ok bye 😭

Hello there!

This has honestly made my day! Thanks so much kind anon 🥺💕. Never thought someone would refer to my writing in such a way so cheers!

As for a codywan fic, I've got a fair bit on at the mo so my writing time is a bit of a shambles, but I don't wanna leave you hanging, so how's about a little snippet from way in the future of my Wolffe/Issa Straun (OC) fic called Pieces 😊.

Muffled shouting caught the pair's attention. Issa stopped their rounds through the corridors of the Negotiator to peer through the windowed door where the noise originated from. Standing in the room were Obi-Wan and Cody, the men clearly in a strong disagreement. Obi-Wan’s shoulders were tense, his posture defensive as Cody shouted at the man, his hands gesturing wildly as if to help get his point across.

“Kriff Kote,” Wolffe whispered, he was gobsmacked to see his textbook brother speaking so out of turn to his general.

“This seems private, maybe we should go,” Issa offered, her eyes still glued to the scene before her.

“Yeah maybe.” Except neither of them made any move to leave, the tension in the room drawing them in.

Cody had turned his back to the Jedi, running a hand through his dark hair out of frustration. Obi-Wan piped up again, what was said they weren’t sure, but it made Cody freeze before he whirled back around to face the man and storm over. Obi-Wan stood up straighter as the Commander entered his personal space, finger pointing at the Jedi as he spat out whatever words he thought the moment required.

Wolffe and Issa stood there hardly breathing, the tension between the two men was so thick it almost stole the oxygen from the entire ship, or so it felt like.

Finally, the shouting had stopped and the pair just stood there gazing intensely at one another. Anger and frustration still evident in their features while their chests heaved from the exertion of voicing their thoughts. It was like time no longer existed, the moment lasting for almost an eternity.

Cody faltered, his creased eyebrows softening ever so slightly. He no longer looked like he wanted to throttle his General, but instead a strange sort of reserved contemplation took its place. Obi-Wan’s frown had also dissolved into something smoother, his expression matching Cody’s.

Neither Wolffe or Issa moved, the scene unfolding before them like something out of a holovid. They watched as Cody’s throat bobbed, while the Jedi’s eyes flitted down to grace the soldier’s lips for a split second. The two people peering through the small door window couldn’t believe their eyes.

As if there was an unstoppable gravitational pull between them, finally their lips met and Cody’s gloved hands made their way into his General’s fair hair, holding him as if he were the most precious material in the galaxy. Obi-Wan’s hands found their way across Cody’s back, pulling the man as close as he could be while they continued their passionate embrace.

Eventually they broke apart, foreheads resting against one another as small smiles broke out across both their faces. Soft words were exchanged but the two onlookers weren’t privy to what they were. Finally they managed to tear their eyes away from the private moment and looked at each other. Shock evident as they tried to process what they just saw.

“Did you have any idea?” Wolffe hissed.

“How could I have known? They didn’t even know themselves by the looks of it”

[kachuusha]

why I think isayama did itend to hint some romance between levi and hanji

this is kind of a ranty post because I am tired of being told to not ship levihan because apparently "it ruins their friendship"

ever since the beginning of aot isayama had shown us snippets of levi and hanji's closeness and how well they know each other. yes their bond that was portrayed in the earlier stages of the series does not necessarily have to mean that they have romantic feelings for one another. yes it is valid to interpret some of those interactions as romantic but they could also be just purely planotic. but this is where chapters 115, 126 and 132. those are the chapters that I think solidified the fact that levi and hanji. what happened in chapters 126 and 132 are things you cannot simply brush off as platonic.

one does not simply ask someone to run away and live with them. people would always counter this with "but hanji only said that because they are tired!", yes hanji is tired that is an undeniable fact given what hanji was put through in that month alone. but if isayama's only intented to show us that hanji is tired so they wanted to run away, why did he go for a dialogue that may have romantic implications? why did it have to be "maybe we should just live here together right levi?" and not hanji directly stating that they are tired and they want to run away? another thing to note is that this was not the first time isayama implemented this narrative. here is a compilation of the amount of times the living together plot was included in the story. also why would isayama bother drawing hanji blushing? yes hanji does blush a lot but the context of the scene is important. why did hanji blush this time? because levi heard what they said which sounds a lot like a proposal. again I would get countered by people claiming that levi rejected hanji. but did he though? levi wakes up to hanji already fixing a cart that can transport him, this is a strong implication that hanji was not going to stay in the forest. maybe for a brief moment they had really considered of just staying there with levi. hanji actually admits to mikasa and jean that they had thought of abandoning everything. but doing that would he very uncharacteristic of hanji. maybe hanji said that because for a moment they wanted to be selfish, to have something for themself. to be able to say something that they desire which is a life of peace and with levi safe by their side. but deep down hanji knows they couldn't abandon the people who need them and waste the sacrifices their comrades had made. that's why levi tells hanji that he knows them. levi knows that hanji wouldn't be able to bear the guilt of leaving everything and everyone behind. and to that hanji agrees with levi that yes they can't. so where is the rejection? all I see are two people who have decided to walk on the same path. to me, levi's words felt more like an assurance that he is on the same page as hanji and is affirming their decision. another thing is that when levi asks hanji where will running get them. that felt like an implication that they cannot run away yet not when they have responsibilities to bear. because by simply running away they cannot achieve true peace.

by now I am pretty sure that most of you by now are aware of levi's unrequited love dialogue in 132. I also discussed this in a separate post so check it out if you want. why would isayama insert something like this in the dialogue? levi implies that hanji's love for titans is unrequited but there is a mutual feeling with someone. I've seen people say names of other characters but that doesn't make much sense considering hanji just practically confessed to levi a few days ago in their universe. whose mutual feelings is levi going to naturally confirm them? wouldn't it make sense if it was with him?

and of course levi saying dedicate you heart for the very first time and he said it as a farewell for hanji. this isn't something you can simply brush off because levi has been in the survey corps for 10 years and this was the only time he says it. not only that but he couples it with the gesture of striking up his left fist over hanji's heart. why couldn't he just do a standard salute and hanji would salute back to him? why did it have to be something that looks so personal? and the focus on their eyes and hanji's quivering lips is just something so powerful.

then we even get isayama uploading a photo of that levi panel saying see you hanji in 132 but without his bandages so we could clearly see levi's sorrowful expression. for what reason did he upload this? and first of all he really had to take a photo of it because covering levi's face in bandages.

just recently, 138 was released and it practically confirms eremika as a canon ship. and the thing about that? there are numerous parallels with levihan with the dialogues and how some panels were drawn. also made another post on it so here is the link if you are interested.

so if isayama only intended for levi and hanji's bond to be seen as platonic then why would he bother inserting hints that are romantic in nature? like I said in the beginning, some can be taken as purely platonic in context but the other ones are blatantly romantic. and them having parallels with a ship that is strongly hinted to be canon is just something you can simply brush off.

this became a bit longer than I thought. if you made it until the end then thank you. there are some things about 115, 126 and 132 that I still did not say in this because I am planning to make separate posts about them when aot ends. so basically this concludes my rant on why I think isayama was indeed inserting romantic hints in levihan's dynamic.

[noxsoulmate]

👀👀👀 okay, but like you know which one I want to ask about! Even though it’s mine. Mwahahahhaa!

Okay- but if you consider that cheating, I’ll ask about… cut scenes and persuasion au

Pretty pretty please?

Lol, you dork 😂 you know everything about the neighbor AU. But okay:

It's based on prompt #24 from @actuallysara's list of Tarlos AU's. I don't have much yet but here's a little snippet:

“Hey, so please don’t freak out–”

In the next moment, he could hear a thud, followed by a curse, and he was pretty sure the guy had just hit his head somehow. Carlos winced in sympathy.

“Sorry! Sorry, it’s just your neighbor here…”

“Dude,” came the reply, the voice sounding rough, probably from all the crying. “Way to give a person a heart attack. Also… creepy much?”

“My apologies. The walls here are basically paper with some paint on them.”

There was a long moment of silence and Carlos thought about just going ahead and asking if he was okay, but the guy beat him to it.

“So you’re saying… you’ve basically been listening to me crying myself to sleep two nights in a row but decided a third night would be too much?” 

There was a little sniffle and a hiccup and Carlos’ heart went out for his neighbor before he realized that he’d been asked a question. Shaking his head, he quickly clarified.

“No, sorry, of course not. It’s the first night in a week that I’m home.” He thought for a moment about adding that he worked night shifts and that he was a cop but all that seemed a bit too much information for a conversation like this. Instead, he said, “I just heard you cry and… I kinda just wanna ask if you’re okay. I mean, clearly, you’re not okay okay but… yeah. Just making sure you’re physically okay, I guess.”

Closing his eyes, he leaned his head against the wall. God, that had sounded more terrible than he’d thought it would. Like a creepy stalker. The guy would probably file a complaint against him or just move out again. To his surprise, he got a reply instead.

“No, to be honest… I guess I’m not okay.”

“Wanna… wanna talk about it?”

So, the cut scenes... I honestly had to open the doc to see what they even were 😅 it's scenes I took out of my fic Goodnight My Love. That fic was originally supposed to be an entry to the 911 Begins week but that never happened. So to be part of that week, it originally had some flashbacks to TK's life in NY - stuff that didn't even really fit the fic. Once it was no longer an entry to that week, I cut out those flashbacks and posted the version it was actually supposed to be. Thing is, I also liked the flashbacks in their own right, just not for that fic... so I didn't just delete them 🤷‍♀️ who knows, maybe I'll use them someday for a TK begins story or something like that.

As for the Persuasion AU... I was trying to come up with an idea for Day 4 of the AU Weekend (free choice), so I was talking to @tailoredshirt and somehow we ended up raving about Jane Austen and how amazing a Persuasion AU with Tarlos would be. Naturally, me being me, it didn't happen for that day 😅 but I'm still determined to write that one day...

Come and play the WIP game with me, ask me about any WIP that catches your interest 😊

[flightfoot]

Nullius In Verba Ch.7

AO3

Thanks to ArtEngine for betaing!

-----

Alya sat in what she and the other akumas had dubbed “the living room” - which was really just a cordoned off area with some cushions that had been delivered. Methodically she brushed Animan’s fur, using a dog hair comb she’d managed to snag before being taken over by the butterfly. Maybe that wasn’t the ideal thing to use, but he’d been complaining of mats in his fur for weeks, and specialty panther combs were hard to come by. 

“Gotta wonder why Hawkmoth decided to do the big-head butterfly thing again only now,” she said absently. “Like, he’s been active for ages, what was so special about the last akuma that he needed to make that thing? And  how did he make it? I mean, I know he can control butterflies, but I didn’t think he could do that many at once!” 

Seriously, if he could do that, why not send butterflies to infect every person in Paris? Could he only give the butterflies the corruption stuff one at a time? Or were all the butterflies created with the corruption stuff? 

When she was out of here and actually able to investigate without Hawkmoth breathing down her neck, she was gonna track down every snippet of information and every possible theory on how his powers functioned. She’d pieced together what she could from the news she caught and her own observations, but it was a painfully incomplete picture.

“I dunno,” Evillustrator said, shrugging. “It was really weird. He was really insistent on me making that thing, even told me what to make it say, but when I was actually puppeting the thing? Nothing! Not a peep from him! Usually it’s hard to get him to shut up, but this time? Nada!”

…What?

“You made that?” she asked. She’d been on the scene at the time, sent to attack Gabriel Agreste for who-KNOWS what reason. It would’ve been better if Nino had been with her - he had a grudge against Gabriel for reasons he couldn’t properly articulate, but was sure were justified - but sadly, Hawkmoth had decided to leave her friend at the warehouse this time.

Evillustrator nodded. “I mean, I don’t remember it all that clearly - you know how it is - but I don’t think I fought for the rest of the battle?” He looked at her questioningly.

“I don’t remember seeing you, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said, trying not to let her roiling thoughts show on her face.

Taking an akuma out of the battle wasn’t normal, especially one as versatile and powerful as Evillustrator. 

Something else nagged at her. “Did Ladybug and Chat Noir seem to be acting strange at all?” she pressed him.

He blinked. “Dunno, I wasn’t anywhere near them, plus I really don’t remember much after making that giant butterfly thing. Why? Did they do something weird?”

“It’s nothing,” she assured him. 

He eyed her skeptically, clearly not buying it.

“Oh hey, would you look at the time!” She said hurriedly. “Animan and I promised Puppeteer that we’d help her fight against King Fang Bloodlord and help save Princess Rainbow Kitty. We can’t keep her waiting!”

Evillustrator quirked an eyebrow, but before he could say anything, she and Animan were out of the room.

“What was that about?” Animan demanded. “I’m always happy to play with Puppeteer, but we hadn’t made any plans. What did you figure out?”

“I managed to hold onto myself for longer than normal this time,” she said. “It seemed odd, but I didn’t feel as much of a push to attack, as much pressure on my mind as I usually do. It was still there, but I just… pretended to give in, went along with the vague compulsions without giving into them, and was able to keep my mind for the entire battle. I already thought that was odd, but on top of Hawkmoth having Evillustrator make that huge butterfly head, and trying to hide that Evillustrator made it? There’s a reason for the strangeness, and I think it’s connected to Ladybug and Chat Noir’s weird behavior.”

“You’ve mentioned that a few times, but you haven’t said what they did,” Animan observed. 

She sighed. “Chat Noir seemed really downcast and serious, even angry at times. Ladybug as well, but it wasn’t as pronounced of a change with her. Chat didn’t crack a single joke. It was actually kind of scary, especially with him coming after me. But when I took Gabriel hostage and the butterfly head went up he seemed almost… happy? Or maybe relieved. He cracked some jokes after that.”

“You have a theory, I’m guessing?”

She hummed. “Maybe. I’m gonna lay it all out to Nino first, see what he thinks, before I give my guess.”

------

“Gabriel is Hawkmoth! I knew it!” Nino said, as soon as she’d finished telling him what she’d learned.

“I… probably should have figured you’d come to the same conclusion I had,” she said. More because Nino was convinced that Gabriel was an awful person for reasons even he didn’t know, than because of an objective analysis of the evidence, but hey, whatever got them on the same page.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Nino said. “Ladybug and Chat Noir were on to his real identity, and he needed to throw them off by having Gabriel and Hawkmoth appear at the same time - but since he can’t actually do that, he used Evillustrator’s skills to make it seem like Hawkmoth was active, even when he wasn’t!”

“And what do you think of Chat’s strange behavior?” she asked. That’d been bugging her. Gabriel trying to throw people off from suspecting him of being Hawkmoth made sense under the circumstances, but why would Chat be relieved when it appeared that Gabriel had an alibi? If they’d managed to actually nail the guy, they could put a stop to all of this - so why did it seem like he was happy with the theory seemingly being disproven?

Nino shrugged. “Hell if I know. I hate Gabriel, but some people must like him. Maybe Chat’s really into fashion and was upset at the idea that someone he looked up to was a massive turd? Not that Gabriel needed to be Hawkmoth to be a piece of crap,” he said disdainfully. 

“Maybe…” She shook her head. Something about that didn’t seem right, didn’t seem enough for how Chat was acting, but she’d figure it out later. 

“So, now that we have a prime suspect for Hawkmoth’s identity, one that even Ladybug and Chat Noir think is off the table, what should we do about it?”

[puckwritesstuff]

So do we all agree that we need Loki and Thor in a good brother moment scene? Haha! King Thor AU where he feels jealous of the relationship that Sigyn and Loki has. Because he's been pressured to find a queen that benefits Asgard that he's troubled that he won't find real love. Loki comes to the rescue with love advices and shares how his relationship with Sigyn works.

There are a lot of things that Thor has to consider when choosing his bride, now that he's King. The politics of it have become murkier. Loki and Sigyn are of the opinion that he should find some happiness instead.

Thank you for the ask!

---

Loki had invited Thor to one of Stark’s parties and Thor, despite something telling him he shouldn’t, decided to show up. Thor hadn’t seen his brother since he’d left for his self-imposed exile from Asgard, and from what Thor could see, Loki was in fine health. Thor stuck with him for most of the evening, having the odd experience of being more of an outsider at an event. Loki seemed to know everyone in attendance, and would share snippets of information with Thor, some more apocryphal than others. Thor and Loki had retreated to the bar, and Loki got a glace at Sigyn across the room, talking with some of her friends. She smiled at Loki, and he grinned back.

“How’s the wedding planning going?” Thor asked.

“You’d know better than I,” Loki said. “Mother is doing most of the work, I’m told. My job is to show up, say ‘I do’, and look pretty.”

Thor snorted. “It’s a little more than that.”

“I know, but not much,” Loki said. “It’s been made very clear to me that this is her event.”

“Well, that is fairly accurate,” Thor said.

His smile faded slightly as he watched Sigyn with the others.

“You’re a lucky man, Brother,” Thor said. “There are times I truly envy you.”

Loki blinked. “Sorry, I think there was something in my ear, you envy me?”

“You have found a woman you love and want beside you for the rest of your life,” Thor said. “You are free to marry her and have no expectation of any duty to produce an heir. Sigyn doesn’t have to be fit to be queen, though she would be an extraordinary one. She just has to love you and be loved by you.”

“A trying task most days, I assure you,” Loki said. “You can’t tell me you never expect to find love.”

“Love, perhaps,” Thor said. “But in a marriage? I’m not certain I can afford it.”

“The treaty with Vanaheim,” Loki said. “Thor, is Mother no longer Vanir?”

“She is still Vanir,” Thor said.

“And Grandfather’s Vanir war bride,” Loki said. “She was Father’s mother, yes?”

“Yes,” Thor said. “Loki, I know where you’re going with this—”

“If Freyr and Freyja cannot accept your Vanir heritage, that’s their problem,” Loki said. “You are king. You are of Vanir blood. That fulfills the terms of the treaty. Do not concern yourself with what they think you should do.”

Thor nodded.

“Still,” Thor said. “Politically, it’s difficult to separate.”

“I understand,” Loki said. “I’m certain Freyr had a minor aneurysm when he learned that I went from his son to Sigyn.”

“He does not have the kindest things to say about your bride-to-be, I’m told,” Thor said. “Not that he says anything to me, of course.”

“I think he’s trying to convince the entire court that she is unfit,” Loki said. “A bit difficult after the years of Father saying that she would make an excellent queen.”

“She would,” Thor said. “In case you’re looking to claim the throne of Jotunheim.”

Loki paused. “They told you.”

“They wanted you to be there, but you left so quickly,” Thor said. “I don’t think I’ve fully processed it, really.”

“Do you think any different of me?” Loki asked. “Not to just ask, but…”

“I think a few things have come into focus,” Thor said. “I know Father was always more distant to you, more harsh. I don’t think it was out of malice, he clearly loves you, but I think he felt guilty about what he had done to your people.”

“He wanted distance?” Loki said. “Perhaps.”

“Did you really think I would think less of you because of it?” Thor asked.

“Both you and Sigyn,” Loki said. “In truth, I have no idea what you should think of me. But that is my concern— not the concern of the King of Asgard.”

Thor nodded. “I understand.”

Loki looked Thor over.

“Look, I never expected Sigyn to return my feelings,” Loki said. “When Mother and Father told me what I was, I thought she would run, as far as she could. The last thing she needs is to be in love with another monster. I can’t tell you what it is I do to keep her, just that she stays. It’s patience, and loving no matter what. That’s what she does, and I do my best to reciprocate. But first, you know, meeting someone helps.”

“I’m sure,” Thor said. He pulled out a flask. “Whisky?”

“A taste of home,” Loki said, grinning. “I must say, the mortals’ brew a decent table wine, but nothing to make a good party.”

Sigyn took one of the women she was with by the arm and dragged her over to Thor and Loki.

“Hello, darling,” Loki said. “Jane.”

“Hey,” the woman, Jane, looked between the brothers.

“It’s so wonderful to see you, Thor,” Sigyn said. “Are you having fun? Stark demands that everyone have a good time.”

Thor barely registered what Sigyn was saying. He was looking at Jane, who had a wide smile and nervous laughter.

“Sorry, yes,” Thor said. “A welcome diversion.”

“Oh, I should introduce— this is Dr. Jane Foster,” Sigyn said. “She’s an astrophysicist. A friend of Bruce’s.”

“Hi,” Jane said. “It’s just Jane, though.”

She offered him her hand to shake. He took her hand and kissed it. She gasped softly.

“She had some questions about Yggdrasil and the Nine Realms that you’re slightly more equipped to answer,” Sigyn said. “Being King of them and all.”

“I can certainly answer any questions,” Thor said. “But Sigyn is far—”

“Loki, Secretary Pierce has been asking after you,” Sigyn said.

“I should speak with him, yes,” Loki said. “Shouldn’t be too long. Brother, Dr. Foster.”

Loki and Sigyn left. Thor shook his head.

“Subtle,” Jane said.

“Not particularly,” Thor said. “But I don’t think they were trying to be. Buy you a drink?”

“It’s an open bar,” Jane said.

“Even better,” Thor said. “I don’t exactly have Earth money.”

“Just a golden palace and more power than anyone in this room,” Jane said. “I actually have some questions about the hammer, to start with…”

Loki and Sigyn watched from the other side of the room.

“How did you know?” Sigyn asked.

Loki shrugged. “I know my brother.”