#(it's not the main characters it's Galen and they just talk about it but i'm still. i'm sorry the story really wanted to go this way)

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

Post hoc ergo propter hoc - The West Wing AU, Chapter Two

in which we get away from fun Sorkin-esque banter and into the honestly deeply awful reason for the breakup because this fic decided US politics wasn't fucked up enough I guess??? anyway new chapter 😬😬

“You’re right. I’ll go show my face.”

“You should. You have the suit on and all.”

“… Want me to bring you something from the buffet? I won’t stay long.”

“Yeah, a drink,” she says, joking, but he shrugs.

“Sure. Still vodka?”

“Whatever you’re having,” she says, and can’t believe she’s doing this. Don’t, Jyn. You’re making this weird. There’s no room for any of this between them. Not in these jobs, and certainly not after she broke his heart so thoroughly the president knows about it.

Still, she hears herself call after him, as if she’s actually expecting him to bring her a nightcap to her desk: “But not champagne, I get –“

He turns back, hands buried in the pockets of his dress pants, and finishes in a far too gentle tone: “Headaches. I know.”

He smiles, a dubious, melancholic thing that underlines all the reasons why whatever the fuck they’re doing here in the middle of the night is a terrible idea – and also reminds her how much she would give for Mothma to be right, for any chance to fix this, to go back to sitting shoulder to shoulder on his dorm room floor at three AM, passing a bottle between them and watching old horror movies.

[read on Ao3]

[jyndor]

Ooh I’d really like to see what you’ve written about Jyn meeting Cassian’s friends💕💞💗

i have more planned than actually written LOL but i can talk through the concepts first.

this is all going to be set in the early days after rogue one. pre-relationship as fuck lol. and it's as much a character study of cassian as it is about jyn and her dynamics with these different people who love cassian.

cinta - cinta and jyn partner up on an intel mission. jyn spends a lot of time observing cinta and notices that she's very similar to cassian. cinta says VERY little about cassian, she's a stone cold pro and isn't about to have that kind of talk with jyn about another agent.

i like the idea that cinta is who cassian is in the beginning of rogue one, except that she would have killed galen. not without thought, not because those are her orders, but because cinta would at least partially AGREE with the orders - galen erso is responsible for the death star in many ways, and she'd hold him to account by assassinating him. but she's also WHO CASSIAN IS IN THE BEGINNING OF ROGUE ONE so she'd also find jyn's fire attractive and inspiring, and she'd probably not let jyn die on jedha tbh. in the same way that she supports vel all through the aldhani arc.

i think cinta is too perceptive to just not notice cassian is a merc on aldhani. she believes that he's a rebel (because he is LOL), but she also wouldn't care if he wasn't (she's clearly more upset that vel didn't tell her than that cassian's being paid). i also think she sees a lot of herself in him.

i also want to amp up the queerness. cinta and jyn are both bisexuals obviously, no discussion needed it's canon. but anyway, i think they'd be attracted to each other but i don't do cheating oml. they'll get into some sort of accidentally sexy moment on the mission, jyn's probably down because she's in denial about cassian lol but cinta and vel are definitely not poly so they acknowledge the attraction but it's a non-starter.

cinta will probably say something about jyn having a lover, too, and jyn's like ? um no i think i'd know if i did. and then cinta's like there's no way these two hoes haven't fucked lol but she's wrong, fairly sure she's projecting onto cassian again but whatever.

but the main thing with this section is that jyn learns that cassian wasn't always a rebel - at least that's what cinta will say because whether or not she believes that he wasn't a rebel until after aldhani, she'll respect him enough to not just tell jyn all of her thoughts about how cassian was always a rebel in some ways.

this is gonna piss jyn off LOL that i know. vel will show up in this section but it's mainly about cinta.

melshi - jyn's already met melshi so this will be more about them getting to know each other. in my headcanon rue is an ex-boyfriend of cassian's. unlike with bix and cassian's s1 complicated dynamic (which i have a feeling is based on the relationship being on-and-off when they were younger and probably not having a lot of closure/not always being great about boundaries) they're really just very good friends, their romantic relationship fades more easily than with bix.

jyn and melshi end up as workout buddies. that's the storyline i have planned, jyn needs a spotter while she's lifting weights (what a hottie omg i bet she could lift me) and melshi volunteers. jyn notices that his nose is still fucked up from when she hit him with the shovel on wobani. she sort of apologizes (sort of, she's a tough nut to crack) and he's surprisingly understanding about it. so they end up working out together a couple times a week, and over time he opens up to her about his time on narkina. i'm assuming he was there for a LONG time. eventually he mentions cassian and jyn's like ??? the fuck??? and that's how she learns that cassian was in a labor camp like she was.

i don't think melshi would feel super comfortable talking about cassian's story but also a big motif in this fic is that everyone thinks cassian and jyn are fucking. how these different people handle talking to jyn about cassian is important in exploring these dynamics and relationships. he assumes cassian has told jyn things about his past because when THEY were together, they did a lot of talking about shit.

im not sure where i want to go with how jyn takes it. jyn doesn't trust easily and i think she'd understand that she doesn't know a lot about cassian yet - but something like that is so similar to her own personal trauma that i can't help but think she'd be upset.

bix, bee and brasso - bix works as a mechanic for the rebellion at this point (with her husband brasso and their dog droid bee because lol it's an everyone lives au except all parental figures they're all dead) and is working on the ship cassian and jyn are going to be taking for their first mission together since scarif (cassian is finally cleared to go back in the field, congrats major andor) and jyn finds out that bix and brasso do a lot of salvage work. she wants to find a new chassis for kaytoo so that cassian can have his friend back. ugh love her sfm. what a good thing the fandom has her doing in so much fic.

well, bix is like ? hmm why are you looking for a kx oh shit you're jyn erso. something like that. there's all kinds of rumors about jyn and cassian, and bix is like... yeah of course that tracks. hot, competent, brunette, bit of a smart mouth. and you know bix has been trying to get the tea from cassian for weeks, but he keeps telling her "lies" about how they're not together, it's not a good idea right now, etc.

but this time cassian actually shows up, clearly a bit unnerved by jyn and his old friends (esp bix) scheming together, which is the part i actually have written:

Cassian walks into the mechanic's bay (?) with a familiar unease building up in his chest. He wonders if he’ll always feel this way around Bix. Even before the shitshow on Ferrix, their relationship when they were teenagers always ran hot and cold. Fresh out of a war zone and a prison camp, he wasn’t in any state to love her properly, even if he loved her fiercely, in the way a boy loved his first girlfriend.

Too busy hating the Empire to do better by her. Or anyone. He can’t say he’d do anything differently. They would have always broken up, fallen out of love, grown out of each other. He can’t imagine himself in Brasso’s place, can’t even bring himself to be resentful towards his old friend for their marriage. He never thought about any of that back during their time together - commitment was sneaking around behind her father’s back, saving whiskey for her, keeping his head in the present while he was with her. 

But he doesn’t feel guilty about any of that. Romances end all the time. And he’s a very different man now, one who Bix doesn’t even particularly like sometimes - even if she still loves his sorry ass, exasperatedly and against her better judgment. Their friendship is shaped by trauma and loss and hope, like he is himself.

He doesn’t feel guilty about breaking her heart. 

Her torture, however, he carries with him everywhere he goes. It wasn’t his fault but he feels responsible. For the change in her very chemical makeup. For the hands that shake, the way she never quite trusts her privacy.

Still. She’s been a lot better lately. Since Scarif and the Battle of Yavin. He just hopes-

Jyn Erso is in the mech bay. Smiling with Bix over a large pile of black metal and wires. Jyn doesn’t just smile at strangers. 

The uneasy feeling grows.

[… blah blah some shit i haven’t written, jyn fucks off …]

Bix sighs, wiping her forehead with her rag. "You being… you-” Cassian crosses his arms. “Don’t look at me like that, of course I thought you fucked her. ‘Course I did.”

“It’s not like that,” he says. She rolls her eyes and pulls out another wire. “Jyn and I… it’s never been like that. Not even sure where this rumor came from, anyway.”

“She’s gorgeous and competent. Only issue is that she’s not in a long-term monogamous relationship for you to screw up-” Cassian glares at her. She laughs. “Are you serious? You disobeyed the kriffing Council for her!”

“For the Rebellion,” he corrects, and he’s mostly not lying.

“And I’m the Queen of Naboo, and Bras is secretly related to Wynssa Starflare. Who are you kidding?” Her smile fades. “But I believe you now,” Bix says. “Seeing you two together. It’s definitely not like that.”

Cassian turns away. “I’m glad that’s settled.”

Her eyes widen and she reaches for his arm, turning him back around. “No, I don’t mean- shit Cass. You know how sometimes things don’t come out right for me now.” She bites her lip. “You’re in love with her, and she has no idea.”

“She’s my partner, Bix.”

“You should tell her.”

He shakes his head. “We’re in the middle of a war. It’s really not a good time.”

“Brasso and I got married last year, you nerf!”

“I am a spy, Bix!” Cassian snaps. “I carry a poison pill in my jacket so that if I get caught, I don’t give up Rebel secrets. I’m already living on borrowed time.” He shuts his eyes. “She’s lost everyone who ever loved her, and you think I should tell her? I wonder how long it’ll be until I’m lying dead somewhere. Just another disappointment. Three, four months? A year?” He opens his eyes again and sees Bix shaking her head, stricken. “I’m sorry.”

[pussywiki]

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

👓 What helps you focus when you write?

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written? - hi alvi hope you're having a good day :D

Hi Reo!!! I hope you're having a good day too!!

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

Honestly all of Slave to the Elements, it's my favorite child. Also (from a wip) "Kim can hear the record scratch in his brain" because I feel like that's so much of Kim's character?? Just *record scratch* *freeze frame* while he does the most insane shit TRULY

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

Okay I've consulted the counsel (vikki) and I don't have any particularly wild hcs, however I DO have opinions that either differ wildly from fanon or just arent widely talked about. I think the main two are like Prapai lita being a sub (he is), and then Kim and Big having hooked up at some point (they did). I dont know the general consensus on whether or not Tankhun is actually crazy so I can't tell you if that's a wild hc but it is something I have opinions about

👓 What helps you focus when you write?

this is so specific but Galen Tipton's music shhfsdhf its my autism music. also sometimes when I'm struggling with the structure I just record myself talking it out and send that to a friend and ask them if it makes any sense

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

as previously mentioned, Slave to the Elements is my favorite child, but also Every Line I Write Is Something About You took forever and I love her despite her flaws (said while white knuckling my bathroom sink and thinking about every single flaw in that fic)

Send me a fanfic question!

[friendlyneighborhood-writer]

Good evening, Laurie! I came to ramble about one of my favourite fics in exchange to hear about yours! Ballad of Empires is the one dearest to my heart. It just gives me comfort.

It is a fantasy book (possible duology). The plot is that a usurpator named Danaham had overthrown the ruler of Elyria and the queen had had to flee with her infant and unborn child, leaving her children in secret with relatives after birth. 21 years in the future, Danaham has established a regime of terror and threatens the neighbouring kingdoms with war if they support the rebels. Among the rebels is Griffin, who, along with companions, is trying to restore kingship and overthrow Danaham. To do this, however, they must first find the sword of the rightful king. They are pursued by Skerils and soon find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, betrayal, friendship, death and love.

This is a really rough summary but what else can be said about some out of the thirteen main characters?

We have Griffin who is reluctant to become king of Elyrien. We have Griffin's brother Obil who has become a ghost which only one can find. We have Xiani who is dragonborn, has anger issues and is a morally grey character. She is a member of the Imperial family of Calvaera. She would burn down the realms to keep the ones close to her heart save and is an half elf.

There is Suzy, a healer from one of the twelve tribes of the Roîniscen-Desert. She trusts in friendship and good. There is Cadan who is a commander and in love with Obil. There is Aedion, a warlock who tries to keep the companions alive.

There is Va'Niah, the leader of the resistance who is someone who might surprise the reader with some arcs. There is the dwarf healer Galen who is in the resistance instead of being with his own kin in the dwarf realm.

There is the dwarf prince Cadeyrn who is witty and a friend of an elf. That elf is called Wymond and together with Cadeyrn, Obil and Xiani they are a group not to be crossed. Xiani and him are friends longer than one can count. A fun fact about Wymond is that he is based of Riven from Winx Club (I loved watching this as a child) and now Winx Fate.

As for tropes you may say it is high fantasy, friendship, found family, adventure, love, betrayal, treason, magic and more.

~ love, Leia

I am in so in awe about your worldbuilding! I'm going to take a wild guess and say Griffin and Obil are the queen's long lost children, but I do wonder what happened to the queen. Is she still on the run, or did Danaham get to her eventually? Or maybe it's something else entirely?

I love that Wymond is based on Riven (I used to love Winx Club too! Who was your favourite character?), because I would not at all be able to look at Riven and think "this guy, but make him an elf". I bet he's an interesting character to write!

I'm fresh out of WIPs that I haven't already talked about, so I'll share a story that I never finished instead!

It was a paranormal horror story titled Follow The Signs, about a girl who's three friends go missing in the woods around their sleepy little town Creekwood (fun fact: I wrote this entire thing just because I wanted to make a pun on the name Creekwood by calling it CreePwood lol). The girl, Layla, joins the search party alongside the twin brother of one of her missing friends, and promptly discovers that she can see omens of death that no one else can, and uses it to try and discover where her friends are and if they're alive or not (spoiler alert: only one of them survives lol). I got kind of stuck while trying to figure out what exactly was haunting Creekwood and the entire thing got derailed for 20 pages, so I just called it quits with the intention to start over. Which I never did. Oops.

[taggerbug]

ok so like. they made colonel kubritz a discount angor? she's built up as a terrible person who represents prejudice in the worst way and blindly deals with morando because she can't see past her ambition and convictions, but at the last second once she's FINALLY in a position to kill Aja (having shown to disregard the safety of human citizens in the process, adding more depth to her character) Aja just says 'hey what if u didn't do that' and kubritz IMMEDIATELY goes 'I'm sowwy :(' shoots morando once and immediately dies. like ok. if u wanted one of the 2 main villains of the entire series to have a redemption arc maybe don't cram it into five minutes of screen time. I felt like angor was a much more developed villain and his redemption was more gradual and ended in a close, powerful visual shot of his sacrifice and betrayal. meanwhile kubritz is crushed under a car and never mentioned again. :/

then there's morando. I was really excited when they started talking about the legend of Seklos and Galen because, hello, the main characters have been swearing with those names the whole series and they're established religious icons. turns out Galen went mad with power and was vanquished by Seklos in order to protect the universe. that's badass. and the spiritual resurrection of Galen - and the corruption that caused his downfall - in the form of absorbing his core and all that power was a fundamentally really cool idea. But when morando actually went and did that it was super underwhelming. they only mentioned "planet destroying" and "literal god-emperor" about five thousand times. but when the powerup comes it's just. he gets bigger. and a different color scheme. what the fuck

like maybe I'm wildly misinterpreting akiridion religious history. maybe the legends were over exaggerated and Galen was more of a "divine right" emperor rather than an actual god. fine. So why is he just Bigger. did there use to be a Bigger form of Akiridions and once they'd all but died out Galen used that to claim authority over the small akiridions? but Seklos was the only other giant one left and therefore the only one who could kill him? Is that why the royals are so special - they're direct descendants of the Bigger Akiridions? Stuart did specify that only two royal cores could supply enough power to defeat Galens strength, which means there's something physiologically different that separates royal Akiridions from the common joe. hmm.

Lastly. Eli and Aja went back but Krel stayed at the last minute?? Huh?? The whole series was hyping up how Aja and Krel could cope with the legacy left behind by their parents by working together and complementing each other's strengths and the end just throws that away?? like?? Krel decides at the last minute "my friends are here :(" and Aja doesn't even argue?? Or anything?? Krel just LETS her go back to a planet in the dregs of a REVOLUTION to deal with that entire mess as the SOLE HEIR to the RECENTLY OVERTHROWN CROWN?? AND SHE GOES WILLINGLY?? SHE HATES POLITICS.

also the entire series was focused on how different Aja and Krel were in the OPPOSITE sense. Krels strength is in manipulating akiridion technology. He fucking hates the outdoors. why would he stay on earth. it doesn't make any sense. Aja was the one who "fit in" better - she was much more comfortable on Earth and formed much deeper relationships with other humans. but she goes back to akiridion-5 without krel?? just like ok here we go :) can't wait to assume the throne, demonstrate my political power, consolidate and repair the previous government, hunt out insurrection, and try to fix the massive dumpster fire of social and political unity that was just ripped to shreds by a massive coup. also I hate politics. ?????

finally, eli. This is more of an afterthought but this dude has been a supporting character since day 1 of trollhunters and has slowly been developing his character and building the Creepslayers Brand(tm) with his former bully who he is now great friends with and he once again abandons all that because....why??? he's a nerd and can't resist frolicking off to a more advanced alien planet???? what the FUCK

I'm so mad about the ending of 3below