#and I promise I am still thinking about all the multiverse questions haha!

[ask-ursa-tonypeter]

[fic: double-blind] what might it look like if Peter had taken Extremis? What sort of personality traits, morals, abilities would be respectively amplified or suppressed? What might SIM!Tony and Extremis!Peter's relationship have looked like (would there be mutual attraction or would they hate each other, or something else)? What might non-Extremis Tony (meaning, he had never taken Extremis) and Extremis!Peter's relationship have looked like? And what would the relationship between post-Extremis Tony and Extremis!Peter look like, meaning that Tony has the knowledge and memory of what he/SIM Tony is capable of but no longer the capacity?

This is such a long and complicated meta question, so thank you for your time, whenever you get the chance to answer this!

[[🐻ursa interlude🐻

Extremis!Peter: hmmm well, like Tony's megalomania still filtered itself through the self-serving excuse of an "altruistic" desire to ~take care of people~ I think Peter would still want to be Spider-man and "help" people! But his intentions would become a lot more wrathful, with more focus on hunting down and "punishing" criminals than genuinely being about preventing/mitigating harm.

Basically, if faced with the classic "nyeheheh spider-man, you can either save allll these people and let me get away, or let them die and catch me!" situation, he would catch the villain rather than save the people, lmao. He would also be a lot more confident/self-assured as Peter as well as Spider-man– I think the outward changes would be a lot more obvious for him than Tony, just because Peter suddenly being a confident-to-the-point-of-arrogance live-out-loud type would be a much bigger shift!

SIM!Tony and Extremis!Peter: oh this is the ideal for SIM, haha. (And was his actual plan, though he wouldn't have anticipated the changes to Peter's personality– until he found out that Peter already had a healing factor as Spider-man, he was going to inject Peter with Extremis to keep him safe from the compound released into the water supply.)

Peter would have the same "everyone else is inferior 💖except my dad💖" mental loophole that Tony does about Peter, and he would totally buy the "short-term crime for long-term utopia" plan once they knew each other's identities! (I'd say that things would get potentially very nasty before that point, but honestly egotistical Extremis!Peter would probably not be nearly as careful about safeguarding his identity, so Tony would figure it out before they had the chance to fuck each other up too bad lmao.)

So following that… their mutual obsession with each other would dovetail very nicely, haha. SIM would 100% get his "ruling the world from the shadows with my son-lover-queen at my side" fantasy and they would have a great time. There might be some bumps in the beginning when Peter's own ego rankled under Tony's paternalism but if anything I think Tony would come around to seeing this version of Peter as a legitimate equal, so they would get it sorted out pretty quickly. Happily ever after in awful toxic tooth-rotting villainous love!

Extremis!Peter and normal Tony: WOOF. Well, again, I think Tony would figure out Spider-man's identity pretty quickly, since even as non-Iron Man he would have reason to be curious about the vigilante causing just as much collateral damage as he was fixing, and he would have already noticed the changes in Peter's behavior.

Their interactions would be a mess. Peter would initially be enthusiastic about Tony knowing (because he wouldn't think he was doing anything wrong, obvs!) and would be disappointed and put out when Tony was horrified instead. I could see things going a couple different ways– Peter begrudgingly agreeing to be more careful if it would smooth things over with his dad, Peter forcing the point by challenging Tony on what he was actually going to do to stop Peter if Peter refused to change his ways (I don't know the answer to that question and neither would Tony lmao,) Tony cottoning on quickly that something had to have changed Peter for him to be acting like this and essentially deciding to play nice/supportive while he investigated what it was…

It would be a whole THING. And yes, I do think Peter's obsessive feelings towards Tony would take that sexual/romantic bent even without Extremis!Tony there to put the thought in his head just because, well, when you only accept one other person on the planet as being your near-equal…!! Which would be its own fucked-up dynamic that Tony would have to navigate once he caught on. Yikes!

Extremis!Peter and cured!Tony: if anything this would probably be easier for Tony to manage on the Peter side of things if not on his own "coping with what he did under the influence of Extremis" side of things! He would be able to better anticipate how Peter thought/worked to be able to manipulate him into a position where he could administer some kind of cure. But then, you know, he would have to contend with all the original consequences of SIM!Tony's actions on top of the new horrors of what he and Peter would've gotten up to as a team, so… still yikes!!

(A THOUGHT: I don't know that Tony would allow things to happen this way but it's hot to think about: reverse of the original fic where Extremis!Peter comes on to either normal or somehow-cured Tony, Tony plays along as a ploy to get into a position where he could inject Peter with a cure, but… Peter's enhanced and Tony's not, so Tony is too slow for Peter not to catch him in the act, Peter gets rid of the cure, and then he keeps right on going with the sex. 🥰)

tl;dr: yikes all around]]

[kiwibirdlafayette]

Aitheaca: About Flash’s clothes, are they reflective? Is it made to look like gold (with gold embellishments) or is his jacket like actually gold (assuming it’s something similar to gold leaf but for fabric and lightweight)?

If his clothes are reflective, I think combat with him could be really fun, because he just causes blindness on the battlefield on sunny days. It’d also be fun with someone on the crew didn’t realize who they were talking to upon first meeting him because looking directly at him is hard. So, they don’t know the danger they’re in until it’s too late.

Also! What’s crew dynamic looking like? I saw you mentioned Spark was on the crew a while back, but just to confirm, who’s officially on the crew?

Out of all the Aitheaca designs, who’s your favorite?

Thank you so much for the questions!! I appreciate it a ton, it means an absolute lot that you're interested in my sillies :D

With Flash's jacket, hell yeah! I wasn't specifically going for a reflective surface, but I did want his jacket to appear as if it was weaved out of fibered gold (that Im assumin would be like gold leaf in texture), that is yes lightweight man's gotta be able to move fast... like a flash of light haHA-

When light reflects off it in certain ways it could absolutely be used like a flashbang to blind enemies during battle, I'm imagining AND YESSS the crew would have zero idea, like in the plot I have in my head so far, Tom, Sonja and Spark are the first ones to encounter Flash, they just see a shape of a man in the sunbeam ahead, too bright to tell who exactly it was. Initially they think it could be Jordan, but its actually Flash, who was tipped off to their location based on Tom's Mecha-Dianite quintessence (that still puts off a pretty strong signature despite the cloaking sigils Wag had given him). Like you mentioned, he's really hard to look at, because while he's standing in the sun he's not creating a shadow, he's reflecting it. And its in this time they don't notice him pull out his weapons and BANG

Mer and co. end up having to come in to come in to help them out-because they don't exactly have experience fighting someone who is wearing basically a mirror for a jacket in direct sunlight- wearing wearing some kine specialized obsidian sunglasses because yknow this is isn't their first rodeo with this yellow dipshit (Merina's not as affected as Will and Cass but she's gonna wear em anyway for the bit)

I think of the designs, probably either Merina, Cass and Ianite are my favorite! Ia because I just had a lot of fun designing her armor and coming up with a darker color palette costume design that wasn't just dark purple, and working with different armor styles to get the specific celestial warlord look I wanted her to have :D Cass was just a fun design to do overall because his aesthetics have been something I dont get to work with much, a very patchwork vintage kind of thing, which is supposed to be a callback to Inter Amorem et Timorem , a short screenplay I wrote for school where- aside from it being a Tom reference- he was named Cassell because his emotions were spoken through cassette tapes C: But Merina's design might just be my favorite, I am a sucker for nautical designs and trying to figure out what a coraldragon hybrid might look like compared to a typical merling was a ton of fun :D Also trying to work in the color palettes of the Watchers was how I landed on the blueish purple scheme, because initially she was going to be teal and orange to call back a little to Sonja across the multiverse

(I promise I also love William equally but too much of his design was me making jokes about Joel/Pix/Bdubs)

And the crew! Currently as I have it, the peeps that end up in Aitheaca are Jordan, Tom, Capsize, Sonja, Martha, Spark (Tucker I was thinking about including, but I'm not sure how to work him back in, but basically they would find him in a different SMP prior to this; where the reconciliation between him and Sonja starts) Its very interesting to have 3 different Sparklez variants in the same timeline, surely nothing could go wrong /hj, but the dynamic can best be defined as "a group of people who desperately just need to figure their shit out because damn they have not really had a proper chance to rest and feel safe doing so"

While Tom and Jordan had their reconciliation arc during Isles (source: just trust me m8), Capsize, while having gotten a hang on being undead is carrying a lot of resentment and unresolved issues she's not sure about because she can't clearly remember the entirety of (specifically towards Jordan) and Sonja kind of holding a little resentment towards Tom, but more importantly her decision to choose to stay Mianite's champion despite her post-S2 not being sure and owning that choice. no longer even after Tucker he drifts away (and then how that comes into play when Tucker rejoins them, basically the stuff I allude to in the mini animatic) its essentially Embersduo and Zombiecaptains but they have trouble getting along, not because they're sick of each other, but more like damn We all Went Through a Ton of Shit and we're not good at talking about it or working through it together,but goddammit we're still gonna try to get along. That being said I do think they have moments where they can be their silly shenanigan selves :D

Martha's her own ballgame, in the sense that she's very endgoal oriented in trying to problem solve, and her reaction to Aitheaca!Ianite is very drastic as well, it just must be really weird to see a basically evil version of your mother. She and Sonj aren't great friends, but her and Capsize have caught on pretty well, and she doesn't mind Jordan (Tom's iffy, but at least they can connect over being new gods in a way) Spark's just along for the ride, he was supposed to get back home to help out Dia, Mot and the Wizards but the portal fucked up lowkey :] He's not exactly overjoyed to be parading about the multiverse but he's fine with Martha, Sonj and Capsize so he mostly hangs around them. It'll be interesting that's for sure, but this is the main chunk of the post-series stuff I want to do so yeeeee

[1-800-marvelswhore]

Ot7 x Y/n Scenario: Crack Chat pt.2

Chat Warnings: Futile attempt at humor(?), BTS being weirdos (some more than others), Namjoon has had enough(What else is new?), A shit ton of movie references ;), Strong language!

You: What's been popping hopping?? (sent 00:04am)

Hobi: ?? (sent 00:06am)

Kook: I am confusion... (sent 00:08am)

Joon: Nothing is new. Except my newfound adoration for the multiverse :) (sent 00:10am)

Jinnie: You've got to stop watching so much Marvel. It's making you lose your marbles.. (sent 00:12am)

Yoongles: The real question is why are all of you texting this shit at 12 in the goddamn morning. Did we all not say our goodbyes and goodnights like 10 mins ago?? (sent 00:14am)

You: We did, but I missed you guys :( My apartment is lonely while you guys aren't here and it's making me sad.. (sent 00:16am)

Jiminie: Y/n you know all you have to do is text or call and we'll be there.. No reason to be sad :( (sent 00:18am)

Tae: Yeah because 9 times out of 10 I'm as bored as you are when watching Brokeback Mountain. Which is still blasphemous to me by the way. (sent 00:20am)

You: That movie gets relatively more boring the more you watch it.. It's overwatched. (sent 00:22am)

Jinnie: Yet you've watched Rose let go of Jack about 2000 times and still cry every damn time you watch that movie. (sent 00:14am)

Joon: I'll never get over the fact that Iron Man is dead... In my mind he's still alive... (sent 00:16am)

Kook: WHAT?!! Iron Man is dead?? (sent 00:18am)

Hobi: Kook where the fuck have you been since 2019. He died almost 3 years ago now... (sent 00:20am)

Yoongles: We knew this guy's life is quite literally his his videogames he doesn't even care for cinematic experiences. (sent 00:22am)

Jinnie: Factual. (sent 00:24am)

Kook: I- my feelings are hurt :( (sent 00:26am)

Joon: You get hurt, hurt em back you get killed? Walk it off. (sent 00:28am)

Jiminie: Definitely one of the best Captain America quotes. (sent 00:30am)

You: Taehyung I want you to paint me like one of your French girls. (sent 00:32am)

Tae: WHAAT??! That oughta start something you can't finish and we both know it. (sent 00:34am)

Jinnie: Don't get all giddy yet Tae, she's quoting Rose Dewitt Bukater rn (sent 00:36am)

Tae: Kill my vibe, why don't you? Not like my happiness matters at all to you. (sent 00:38am)

Hobi: That is precisely why he told you. You get too excited about such things. (sent 00:40am)

You: OKAY... maybe I was quoting Rose Dewitt Bukater, but I do intend to have a nude painting of myself made within the next 10 business days. (sent 00:42am)

Kook: Well, give me a paintbrush and call me Van Gogh xD (sent 00:44am)

Jiminie: So do you have an anger problem? (sent 00:46am)

You: Damn right I have an anger problem (sent 00:48am)

Joon: Do you think you're entitled to said anger? (sent 00:50am)

You: That's like asking me if I'm entitled to being hungry.. (sent 00:52am)

Kook: I understood that reference (sent 00:52am)

Yoongles: W movie. Taraji P. Henson can act her ass off!! (sent 00:54am)

Jinnie: That was Acrimony right?? (sent 00:56am)

You: Nah it was "What Men Want" Seokjin. (sent 00:58am)

Jinnie: Jeez, no need for the sarcasm dudette. I was just making sure. (sent 01:00am)

Tae: Now you know how I feel. I didn't even know you guys were quoting a movie. (sent 01:02am)

Kook: HAHA! You were lost like I was when everyone was talking about Encanto. Which indeed is one of the best movies ever! (sent 01:04am)

You: At your big age you haven't seen Acrimony @ Tae (sent 01:06am)

Tae: I'm only 26! What gives??! (sent 01:08am)

Yoongles: What gives is you've had almost 4 years to watch that movie... Kook's seen it and he's younger than you. You should be ashamed of yourself. (sent 01:10am)

Hobi: Yoongi, I've got to say your newfound appreciation for cinema is definitely a breath of fresh air if I do say so myself. (sent 01:12am)

Jiminie: Agreed. It's good to see you expanding your horizons. (sent 01:14am)

Yoongles: It's Y/n's pussy juice I promise!! (sent 01:16am)

You: WHAt in the FUCk did you just say?!!! (sent 01:18am)

Joon: Be in a poly relationship they said, it'll be fun they said... (sent 01:20am)

Kook: LOL!! Yoongi you not lying there hyung. xD (sent 01:22am)

Tae: Y/n I just want to say I have the utmost respect for you and I'll never talk about you in such a derogatory way. (sent 01:24am)

You: Thank you Taehyung. (sent 01:26am)

Joon: Once in a lifetime means there's no second chance - Troy Bolton, High School Musical 2, "Everyday" (sent 01:28am)

Jinnie: Joon how in this universe was that even remotely necessary???? (sent 01:30am)

Hobi: JEON JUNGKOOK!!!!! (sent 01:32am)

Kook: Oy vey, what now ?! (sent 01:34am)

Hobi: Now I'm all for embarrassing the shit out of any of you guys, but I feel you will NEVER live this down if I shall expose this shit!! (sent 01:36am)

Jinnie: Spill. (sent 01:38am)

Yoongles: Spill. (sent 01:38am)

Joon: Oh no. (01:40am)

Jiminie: Spill. (sent 01:40am)

Tae: Spill. (sent 01:42am)

You: Spill. (sent 01:42am)

Kook: I'm shameless so I really don't care.(sent 01:44am)

Hobi: Oh? (sent 01:46am)

Hobi: Wanna explain to Y/n & everyone else why you have 5 pairs of Y/n's underwear in your sock drawer?? (sent 01:46am)

Joon: OH FUCK (sent 01:48)

Jinnie: MY FUCKING (sent 01:50am)

Yoongles: FUCKING FUCK (sent 01:52am)

Jiminie: FUCKITY (sent 01:54am)

Tae: FUCKING (sent 01:56am)

You: fuck. (sent 01:58am)

*Kook has left "7 men and 1 woman"*

Hobi: Anyway. (sent 02:00am)

Joon: Is there an out of this relationship? (sent 02:02am)

Jinnie: Well then. (sent 02:04am)

Yoongles: I am sleep. (sent 02:06am)

Tae: Sheesh. (sent 02:08am)

Jiminie: The sky is quite the sight. (sent 02:10am)

You: I'll be taking my leave. (sent 02:12am)

[fialleril]

replies to the DAV Mara snippet

Instead of reblogging that post endlessly, thought I’d collect my replies here.

@bookwyrmie said: I remember the ask about including Mara in the DAV AU, looks like that turned into yet another thing that was not going to be written and then happened anyway.

Is there anyone that Anakin hasn’t adopted yet? There is the Free Droid Network with Kaydee and friends, the nicer imperial officers and the OBV-Squad, Leia once she becomes a senator, and he is probably keeping an eye on Pooja as well. Now here is a young force-sensitive child, who desperately needs someone to help her learn how to be a person without alerting the Inquisitors. Guess it’s about time he adopted an actual child as well.

Ha ha yeah, I was just waiting for someone to comment about that lol. It’s true I once said I wasn’t going to write Mara in DAV, but three things happened to change that:

1. I promised @astudyinimagination a pick-me-up fic and I knew Sky really wanted a fic about Mara. So I was damn well gonna write one! (The moral here is that you should always make friends with your writers, because then we will happily write you things by request!)

2. I’d been thinking for a while that I needed to somehow address the question of what happened to a Force sensitive kid who was picked up by the Inquisitors before Anakin became a double agent.

3. I’ve said a couple of times that I’ve always liked the concept of Mara, but I’ve always hesitated to write her because I dislike and discard the vast majority of Expanded Universe material and I didn’t particularly want to deal with the inevitable hate I’d get if I wrote my own version of Mara, since she’d essentially be an OC. But eventually I just decided that I get enough hate for not using EU canon anyway, so I might as well just fully embrace my multiverse theory of Star Wars canon and do what I want.

So there you have it! :)

@aeneasoftroy said:# DAV Anakin is a mix of mysterious old wizard and troll dad humor  # and it suits him so well

This is one of my favorite things about writing OT Anakin. Not that he can’t be a troll in PT AUs, too, but just...there’s a kind of settledness to his character in the OT, partly a result of everything he’s lived through but also partly just because of the fact that he’s older now. Though there’s also a bit of tragedy to the fact that he can and absolutely does carry off the Mysterious Old Wizard trope in a fic in which he is (although Mara doesn’t know it) only 32 years old.

@hyratel said: #I am Nobody is CLASSIC   #and delivered perfectly

It is indeed classical. ;)

@elf-kid2 said: This is beautiful and excellent and fantastic, and I love it. Thank You for writing this. 

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

@katharkness said: I like this very much, and would love to see it added to the Double Agent Vader series. I also wouldn’t worry too much about your Mara not fitting with the Legends Mara, because everything the rebooted EU has added, the Inquisitors and such, doesn’t really fit with the original Legends Mara. I suppose this is more like a rebooted Mara.

Thanks! I’m not so much worried about Legends canon, though, since I never am lol. I’m more worried about people who do like and care about Legends being unhappy with the ways I’m...basically beating up the EU in a back alley and rifling through its pockets for loose change. But you make a good point about this take actually kind of working as a rebooted Mara!

I mean, tbqh I actually don’t think the Inquisitors fit in with film canon at all. But I’m working on the multiverse theory here, and they do work really well with the story I’m telling in DAV, so I’ve basically borrowed them from Filoni ‘verse and created my own canon. So I suppose borrowing Mara isn’t a step much further.

@shadaras said: I always forget how much I love Mara as a character  she's the best EU character and so much of that is because her arc is just   'I was brainwashed and then Luke's refusal to believe I wasn't a person made me able to be a person and I chose good once I could'  this AU version is delightful because it stays true to all the essential aspects of her character   it just places them in some new-EU elements (because yes that's what the shows are tbh)  and also within a great AU context that is already all about what Mara's arc always was  it just changes the Skywalker who saves her from the Emperor's brainwashing   and that isn't a big change at all really  anyway the intro implies there will be more of this eventually and that delights me  because that last line is FANTASTIC and so true to the kind of story this is  excellent job perfect story   

Yeah, that bare bones essential aspect of her character arc is why I’ve always really liked the idea of Mara Jade - she basically hits all of my trope buttons. And the themes of her story when distilled like that are a perfect fit with the themes of DAV.

Also I’m delighted that you recognize Filoni ‘verse as EU because it absolutely is!

@figmentera said: I love this fiercely and cannot wait to see the rest! Mara is such a cool character and I love any permutation of her relationship with Vader. I feel like it's barely ever explored but it's such fertile ground. Plus there's some great glimpses at the rest of this universe, I always love that! 

Thank you! I’m having fun exploring their relationship, though because it’s me and this story seems to keep growing, it may be a while before I have it finished. I’m kind of envisioning it as a side story to the main DAV storyline. It’s going to span pretty much the entire timeline, almost from the beginning of Anakin’s double agent career all the way to the death of the Emperor, but Mara’s story line is really running in parallel with the rest, rather than intertwining.

@frostbit-sky said: I still have to catch up, or really I should start again and binge read DAV, but I love 💗  the inclusion of Mara and encourage you to add this to actual fic. 

At this point I’m pretty sure I’ve talked myself into including it, so you will likely get your wish. :)

@clockworktea said: people who care Very Much except they have no idea how to express this even to themselves! finding allies and immediately adopting them as Family! kadee the ex-torture droid turned fiercely overprotective aunt gives me LIFE and ''yes master' she whispered' just OUCH mates the levels of mindscrew (is he her slaveowner or is she his padawan or apprentice) (haha jokes on anakin the answer is up to you as long as it's painful) anyway yes good fia is back MORE ANGSTY GENFIC FOR ME MORE PLATONIC DEEPLY MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS TO ENJOY MORE CHARACTERS WHO ARE TRYING THEIR BEST TO GET HEARTBROKEN OVER ...... hang on a second this was all a trap wasn't it 

*Megamind goattee stroking face* You’ve fallen right into my trap!

In all seriousness, though, I’m delighted to see people getting excited about genfic! I still remember the days in fandom when writing genfic was like releasing words into the void.

Damaged people trapped in horrible circumstances and being insistently human to one another in spite of that is kind of my brand at this point, so I’m glad that’s holding up I guess.

I think basically everything Palpatine does in relation to Vader is a mindscrew on at least one level, but calling him the “Master of the Inquisitors” is definitely a master stroke on his part (if you’ll pardon the pun).

[niuttuc]

Fourthcoming Interviews #1

(Context: The Fourthcoming is the Dimir newspaper local to the Fourth district for which my fanwalker, Anedia Kosel, works. After her file on the War of the Spark, she got another weekly column writing about planeswalkers and other planes. As she keeps her status as a planeswalker herself secret, they’re written with the help of “reliable planeswalker sources” that also help her check facts that she “couldn’t” verify herself. One of the parts of her column is, each week, an interview of a planeswalker, anonymous or not, that I might put up here. The first one I’ll publish here is an interview of a planeswalker that preferred to have their identity omitted from the interview itself, but is @land-ofthebooty‘s Medea. If you want your own fanwalker to be featured in one such interview, you can always contact me via tumblr or discord.)

Where are you from? How would you describe your home world? My home is called Theros. And hmmm...I would call it divine, something from a storybook. It is a place of gods, monsters, and heroes. Where the boundaries between the waking world and sleeping world are but a thin line.

What do you mean by that? Do people fall asleep easily? Dreams and beliefs have quite an influence on the physical world, to put it simply without going into too many details. It is a special quality to my home that I have never seen anywhere else yet.

Should they be a planeswalker themself, what would be one tip you would give to someone visiting Theros for the first time? I think the best thing is to not anger the gods… And not announce your presence too loudly. Theros has a harsh relationship with planeswalkers.

Care to tell us more about that? A few of the gods know about planeswalkers and are not too welcoming of them. [The interviewee mimed a throat being slit] They are powerful and easily displeased.

And why would they not like them? Is there anything our readers should know? Some planeswalkers cause a lot of trouble, and Theros has experienced a few in the last decade. I'm sure after a few centuries things might calm down.

I think after what happened in the Tenth, most of our readers can relate to that. How much of your time do you spend on Ravnica? I might stay for just a few days, while other times I've been here for years at a time. It depends on if any business requires me off-plane. The longest I've stayed is a little over ten years, and the shortest is ten minutes.

Ten minutes? What happened, you arrived in the middle of a rakdos party? Well, unless that'd be something you would enjoy. Honestly, it was my own fault. I had left in a hurry heading to Ravnica to see a friend… But I realized I had forgotten the gift I had planned to give them. I had to go back home to fetch it.

Haha, well, being a planeswalker doesn't absolve you from day to day life troubles! It is very true!

Would you say you're spending more time on Ravnica than other planes? Yes, I would say I do. I take a bit of time on other planes, but Ravnica is like a second home to me. I enjoy it quite a lot.

So why here rather than stay at home? Is it because of those gods disliking planeswalkers on Theros? Oh no. It’s nothing like that. I find it to be a wonderful experience...living a normal mundane life. On Ravnica, no one bats an eye or pays mind to me or what I'm doing. It’s freeing.

A mundane life? Are you someone of great importance back home? I wouldn't say great importance. I'd rather say I have a lot of responsibilities that I must tend to. My name or deeds are not well known, so nothing like that.

So you're avoiding your responsibilities by living in another world? I'd like to tell our readers that despite them being anonymous, our guest today is NOT our former Living Guildpact, Jace Beleren. [Laugh] It is true. I am not a young male human planeswalker with a fancy for the color blue.

Aren't you worried that you have those responsibilities for a reason, and that by living here there could be problems because of your absence? I would get more sleep if I did slack my responsibilities, but sadly no. I always finish in a timely matter what has been asked of me. I take pride in honoring my promises. It’s not quite that I am running from them. I just enjoy the feeling of no expectations and having a space separate from them. If that makes sense?

That’s for our readers to decide. So you have a life here. Friends, maybe even family. How many of them know of your other life? No. None of my associates are aware of my planeswalking. I prefer to be private about that.

What made you pick Ravnica specifically? I'm sure there were other worlds where you could have been anonymous on. Ravnica sort of grew on me. I've passed through many times, and found myself enjoying it every time I came. That's when I ended up getting an apartment, since I was passing through more often.

Anything specific about our city? The diversity. So much in such a concentrated space. I have never seen a world structured like this. The guilds are quite unique. Also... I enjoy the fictional books.

You're not the first one to remark on our world's uniqueness in this column. It's apparently the only city around and I, and many of our readers, still have a hard time imagining what else there could be. Would you care to show us what Theros looks like? If one ever has the chance to visit Theros, the Seasonal Nexus of Setessa is quite the sight to see.

(Art by Adam Paquette)

And now thousands of Ravnicans will get the chance to experience a fragment of it. There is so much out there. So many great unknowns to discover. I hope the people Ravnica ponder on this mystery.

They're certainly gonna have more to talk about! Is there another world beside Ravnica you particularly like? I would say a place called Lorwyn is another place of interest. I also find that I appreciate a plane called Valla as well. I think I have a preference for strange places. [Laughs]

Strange? How so? Would you put Ravnica in this category? Perhaps strange is the wrong word. Extraordinary maybe? Lorwyn has no humans, which is something that you don't see very often. And Valla? I... [The interviewee hesitated and stopped to think.] I actually don't know how to explain it. It is almost like trying to explain a color that you cannot see. It is difficult to describe.

Maybe we can have someone familiar with Valla as well in a future interview. How long have you been a planeswalker for? Yes, that is probably for the best. At this point? I would say I have been walking the planes for 30 years. Still quite young comparatively to others.

How did it start? It started with an ordeal, and blossomed from that revelation. I won't say more. I still have my secrets. NDR: In case newer readers don’t know, most planeswalkers discovered they were one through a great trauma, which is why we prefer to not push them further on the subject

What's something you learned about planeswalkers you didn't expect, or that our readers might not know? I would say that not all planeswalkers “walk” the same way. It seems when we travel to and from a place, it appears differently for different planeswalkers. I have seen some that fade away, others might teleport in a flash, while others might glow brightly before disappearing.

Do you want to share what happens to you? I am wrapped in a blanket of nyx (NDR: Nyx describes a sort of glimmering night sky) and fall into the blackened grasp of the blind eternities. If I had to describe it in a poetic way.

And in a more approachable way, how does it feel? Like you are falling, or flying. It is akin to both.

Last question... A planeswalker was responsible for the disaster only a few weeks back, and all to get back at other planeswalkers. Many here feel like planeswalkers are responsible and dangerous. What would you want to say to those people? The Multiverse... life is full of so many uncertainties. So many things that can cause pain and suffering, so many things that can do wrong. What happened to Ravnica is horrific and a tragedy. However, a truth was learned. And all the people of Ravnica have grown in a way that would have never been possible before. I see a united Ravnica, and one that has stepped forward like no other plane I've seen before. You have all uncovered and experienced a great mystery of existence itself. The people of Ravnica, you are strong, and you have so much life in you. You fought alongside each other, with those that came from other worlds. You all banded together to protect what is most precious. And that is truly beautiful.

So I ask of you, do not fear the unknown. Do not fear the unforeseen. Do not fear what you do not understand. Planeswalking is a force not of good or evil, but simply of what you make of it. Make it into something special, and use it to continue growing as a plane and as a people.

Thank you for answering my questions today, that will be enough for this week. And thank you for listening!

[queercapwriting]

Alex’s Turn for Trivia and Maggie’s Gift

“maggies dad not ruining the party? alexs turn for trivia, what was in the present, lenas there” prompt from @prettyprettygirls and “maggie opening alex's lovely gift instead of being interrupted by her father making a scene also that trivia i'd really like to know how alex went” from @rnsmari and “just a happy wedding shower.” 

She knows the card is from Alex just like she knew all the answers to trivia.

Winn starts with the easy ones -- she says “blue” instead of “black” for Alex’s favorite color because she knows the difference between what Alex is willing to admit in public and what Alex really loves deep down -- and she eggs him on, encouraging him to go deeper, make it more difficult.

He murmurs to her that he can’t make it that difficult in front of Eliza, and she laughs, because god, this feels amazing.

She knows the card is from Alex just like she knew Alex would get all her trivia questions right.

And -- even though she protests her entire way into the hot seat -- sure enough, she gets every question right.

“Just treat it like a polygraph, Danvers,” Lucy encourages, and as the other Superfriends groan and laugh, Lena leans in to ask Lucy what she means.

“That woman can beat a polygraph without breaking a sweat,” Lucy tells her, and Lena arches an eyebrow and ponders ways to make the technology more accurate. Not for military use. Just... for fun.

She knows the card is from Alex just like Alex knows tiramisu (”favorite food?”), bonsai trees (”random passion?”), getting crushed by a vending machine (”weirdest fear?”), Captain Kathryn Janeway (”nerdiest television crush?”), and “f Lucy, k Kara but only because she couldn’t if she tried so there’s a loophole, and no offense Lena but she’s only marrying me” (”fmk Kara, Lena, and Lucy?”).

She knows the card is from Alex because only Alex would give her a homemade card -- well, a DEO-made card, courtesy of her design ideas and Winn’s gorgeous execution -- dressed up to look a storebought one.

“I think I know who this is from,” she teases, because who else would photoshop their heads onto the bodies of the Doctor and Clara Oswald and edited the whole thing further to look like a Victorian snowy winter’s night... in space?

Only Alex Danvers.

She reads the card in Alex’s adorable scrawl before opening her gift.

She swore she wouldn’t cry at this damn party.

She breaks her promise to herself, and she really doesn’t mind.

Because inside the blank card, Alex had written the most beautiful words she’s ever read; because they were all, lovingly, painstakingly, for her.

“Maggie,

I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. I’ve never touched anyone -- been touched by anyone -- like the way we touch. And I don’t just mean... you know ;) I mean... Babe, from the moment I first laid eyes on you, I felt my entire multiverse shift. I didn’t understand it then -- baby lesbian, I know, haha -- but Mags, my center of gravity suddenly became... well, you. 

After I came out to Kara, she asked what you’re like. I told her you’re smart, and tough, and beautiful. So beautiful. And I was right. But I was also wrong.

Because you aren’t just smart: you’re brilliant. I would say you’re going to save the world with that mind of yours, but baby, you already do.

You aren’t just tough: you’re courageous enough to be vulnerable and steel enough to be unbreakable.

You aren’t just beautiful: you’re beauty defined, inside, outside, every side.

I am honored to be your friend, your girlfriend, your fiancee. Soon, your wife. I smile every single time I say that. Your wife.

Here’s to you, my soon-to-be wife. Here’s to us, and to our lifetime of firsts.

After Always,

Your Alex.”

The gift, next to that card, Maggie thinks will seem frivolous. Because that card is... that card is everything.

And so are the photos that James takes of the kiss they share -- the long, intimate, nobody-else-in-the-world exists kiss they share -- when Maggie finishes reading that card.

But that’s for later. 

Because now, Alex’s eyes are gleaming as she urges Maggie to continue opening her gift.

Because, just like the card, it’s completely customized to her.

Maggie snorts when she sees it, and then she gasps, and then she nearly shrieks. She covers her mouth and her eyes fly wide and the box with the gift tumbles off their laps as she launches herself at Alex. Again.

Winn goes to pick it up for them, and promptly drops it like it burned his hand on contact.

“Seriously, Alex?” he squeals. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you two are still my favorite couple, but is this even...” He leans in and whispers. “Authorized?”

Alex grins and shrugs as Maggie swoops down to pick up her gift like it’s the best thing anyone’s ever gotten her.

“J’onn left me in charge of the DEO,” she offers, and Lucy groans, and Kara groans, and Winn groans, and James groans, and Lena and Eliza lean forward to see what everyone’s groaning about.

“Maggie, is that a...” Lena asks delicately, and Maggie doesn’t even look up at her as she looks down at the thing in her hands, holding it like it’s alive, like it’s precious, beaming down at it, caressing it, like it’s a small puppy.

“It is,” she breathes.

“I am so, so, so in love with you, Alex Danvers,” she kisses her fiancee again, and again, and again.

Because at long last, she’s finally been gifted a flash grenade.