#over complicated polycules my beloved

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

Do you. Do you see it. The vision. Do yOU SEE IT-

[stari-hun]

Reverse 1999 Ships I Subscribe to and Why

✰ Verneider - Doomed yuri my beloved. Verneider is like someone coming into your life and falling for them when you only have the summer together before you never see each other again. They would've worked out so well too if Constantine didn't wanna ensure that Vertin would stay 100% loyal to stopping the Storm.

✰ Sonettilda - I have eyes and they see gay people. Plus I wanna root for Matilda since she has a puppy crush on the puppy herself.

✰ Druvis x Lilya - Lesbian aunts. They have such good chemistry too, they were def flirting in Book 4.

✰ Vilasong - Erm i have eyes

✰ 37 x Sophia - Codependency Yuri

✰ Medikaal - They're both very nonhuman in opposite ways, Kaalaa is like a star fallen to earth and Medpocket is a menace. Plus gotta love a good workplace meet cute. (Go check out @medikaal and their main acc for more content)

✰ 6Pockets - Complicated explanation here, but the short of it is

✰ Niablume - It's ENTIRELLYYYY cause of @salt6x5 art on here but they're so cute. Melania who needs all this information and uses it to force people to not be complacent about their security x the information lover who's job is security. Plus they really compliment each other well whether one calms down from the other or gets more energy from the other.

✰ Tennant, Kakania, and Dikke - PVP Polycule as Mocha would put it. I have a full post here but I just think they'd hate each other for different reasons and because of that I want them to kiss too.

✰ KaalaaSong (Kaalaa Baunaa x Windsong) - Lesbabs.. as the scripture (Bluepoch) encourages. Kaalaa and Windsong are both extremely burnt out researchers, while KB is in a fully accepted field she still has to work harder to prove herself because she's an arcanist, and Windsong struggles to prove herself capable because of the actions of her predecessors. They'd do so good at any kind of tired meet cute whether it's meeting in the breakroom and bonding over their workloads as new recruits to Laplace, or them being on the same field missing together and falling asleep on each other during the train ride there.

✰ NecroFlan (Necrologist x Desert Flannel) - "*talking about what she loves to do*" "Oh my god... you're such a freak... why am I so into that-"

[A certified @anonymocha sourced ship]

✰ Tittering Heart (John Titor x Sweetheart) - Very judgmental but expressing it in opposite ways. Also John Titor would help Sweetheart with the photoshoot where she has the outfit 210 designs for her.

[ANOTHER certified anonymocha sourced ship, hope you see the pattern forming here]

-

Platonic Friend Groups!

✰ Spirit Box (An-An Lee, Horropedia, Isolde, Jessica) - Isolde plus a group who understands her and accepts her for her differences. Jessica and another person who understands the struggles of pretending to be something you're not in order to make others like her. An-An who gets to talk to other people in contact with the supernatural and has interest in working with her. Horropedia with a group that doesn't judge him for his interests and genuinely appreciates his help.

✰ Identity Issues and Masking Support Group (Jiu Niangzi, Jessica, Isolde, and Bette) - They all struggle with masking in the past or currently which led to a lot of identity issues. Half of them are relearning what it means to be a person.

[immobiliter]

You know what, I want to send in some ❤️ but I want you to pick... 4 people to do it for. Yes Lottie, I'm making you do some of the work. Sue me 🤭

my god sae, you exist to make my life difficult don't you~

for @apocryphis

it wouldn't be a hyv love corner without me talking about ventium, the first person in the hyv fandom that i truly reached out to write with ( no sae, you don't count ), and who has blessed me with so many wonderful dynamics in the year or so that we've now been writing together. writing and plotting with ventium is such a joy, i feel like we clicked very quickly and i love that neither of us are ever able to keep anything short ( remember, discord character limits are a target, not a limit :D ) and that we're both slow but enthusiastic snails. i credit her with so much of my muses' development over the past year, particularly getting to delve into the dynamic duo that is furina & neuvillette and all of the worldbuilding that allows us to do about fontaine as a whole. and no matter how long it takes us, i know that we have so many exciting things in store, both for our ships and for our other dynamics, and to have that sort of longevity in plotting and writing together is wonderful.

for @mercysought

i can't not talk about skells, an absolute staple of my dash and my tumblr experience for years now. she is another rp partner who gets to be a slow but enthusiastic snail alongside me: that we started writing pairings like jamie & anora *checks notes* five years ago ( can you believe, skells?? ) and we're still barely scratching the surface of them both in their outlander and da verses, and then we added to that with the black sails stuff with flint, silver & maxima ( tempting you into black sails is one of my proudest achievements ) is incredible. skells is another individual that is always so, so up for all the wild ideas and crossovers i throw at her and that makes her one of my favourite people to be creative with. and that's before i talk about her genius when it comes to crafting her ocs, whom i adore like my own (non existent) children, truly <3

for @lorelodge

ace is another staple of my tumblr experience that i can't not talk about, someone who has been there since the very beginning and one of my absolute favourite people to worldbuild with. the fact that, without them, my most beloved soul muse jack would not have the intricate and detailed background that he has, is something that should not be overstated and that we have gotten to continue in that vein with all of the other dynamics we have thrown together since you made your multi is such a gift. i know i can throw a batshit insane idea at ace and they will somehow make it even more insane and brilliant, and i also know that i can really, truly delve into complicated and interesting dynamics without fear or judgement. our writing partnership started with an abusive parental relationship and now we're here with our vampiric polycule and i have loved every minute of that pipeline lmao.

for @polarnoid

rat !! my beloved. i will echo what they said the other day because honestly it feels like i've known rat a lot longer than we actually have known each other, just because we clicked so easily and writing together was so fun and easy to do right from the start and through the 234238 dynamics we have conjured since, which is such a rare thing and something i treasure so much. rat not only is an incredibly fun person to both talk to and plot insane, intricate universes with, but also someone who brings such a wonderful narrative voice to their writing. i always feel like i'm in the particular character's head when i read a reply of theirs, and it's a talent that i am always in awe of.

send ❤️ + a URL and I’ll write something nice about them/their blog! / @iniziare

[pikapeppa]

Year-End Writer's Round-Up: 2023

It’s that time of year, writer friends — time to take stock of what we’ve been up to this year! Tagging to literally ANY AND ALL WRITERS who would like to participate, but I’ll throw down some tags from the top of my head: @contrivedchaos @jadefyre @kittynomsdeplume @iamcayc @hollyand-writes @elveny @johaerys-writes @crackinglamb @mogwaei @alyssalenko @about2dance @cthu-boo @chloefraazers @fogsblue @lordofthenerds97, join in if you fancy!! If you're not a smut writer, feel free to leave out those stats, and feel free to add any accomplishments and "metrics" that are significant to you! 🥰

(Blank template at the bottom for convenience!)

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!!): 999 496 — ARGH IT WAS SO CLOSE TO A COOL MILLION. I did this calculation on the evening of Dec 31 and I was like DAMMIT I NEED TO WRITE A DRABBLE LMAO. 😂🙈 Honestly, I’m surprised the word count was so high this year — I could have sworn my word count had dropped because I wrote very little for a few weeks after BG3 first came out LMAO!

Smut scenes: 42 — I've done better LOL. I’ll blame the slow-burn BG3 ships I’m working on currently. 😂

New things I tried:

I started dabbling in M/M smut this year, in the context of my beloved Horizon F/M/M polycules (Aloy/Drakka with either Kotallo or Nil). Usually when I write F/M/M threesomes, the focus is on the men pleasing the lucky lady of the group, but I headcanon Drakka in particular as being very unapologetically bi, so it’s only fair and right that he get some sweet M/M action. I’m looking forward to putting this M/M practice use on Halsin/Tav/Astarion when my BG3 writing finally gets to that point! 

This was also the first time that I wrote an AU where I gleefully yeeted the canon deaths LMAO. I’m usually a stickler for adhering to significant plot points including character deaths, but the dastardly and darling @iamcayc nudged me into writing Here Come the Dreams, where Varl and Fashav both get to live, and it was a total delight to keep those darling men alive and happy. 

I wrote a smut scene in first-person POV for the first time, using the adorable voice of Karlach from BG3. This was a particularly interesting challenge because I feel that the first-person voice calls for a more urgent in-the-moment kind of narration, which means that I had to alter my usual way of writing smut in terms of phrasing/wording and pacing, so it was a fun challenge! 

With Astarion/Tav/Halsin, this is my first time writing an OC who falls in love simultaneously with two people, and it’s been… interesting trying to negotiate the polycule coming together. Of course I had to get enamoured with (arguably) the two most emotionally complicated male LIs in BG3 and make my own life difficult, LMAO. I’ve been struggling a little with bringing the relationships together and it’s been slowing my writing down over the past month or two, but I’m trucking on because I love both Halsin and Astarion and I really do believe in the dynamics of the OT3. SILVANUS GUIDE MY HAND AS I FIGURE THIS SHIT OUT.

Fic I spent the most time on: 

Even The Hardiest Desert Blooms! I really sank my focus into my beloved Desert boy this year and wrapped up his fic, which is always a bittersweet feeling when you adore the pairing. 😭

Fic I spent the least time on:

Burning Blue (Karlach/Dammon). I was bitten by a sudden bug of adoration for them, and that piece basically came together in a day and a half because I was on fire to get it out. I LOVE THIS PAIRING SO MUCH. 😭🔥

Favourite thing I wrote: 

Even The Hardiest Desert Blooms has always been my self-indulgent pleasure because I just love Drakka to the moon and back, so focusing a lot of this year on his fic was a treat. But Here Come the Dreams was also an enormously fun project because I just went ham and hyperfocused on it for a month and a half. I really wanted to see if I could finish it in a month just for shits and giggles, but AS ALWAYS it ended up being longer than anticipated so I didn’t meet that goal, but it was still a total ball to come up with a fun little project and finish it as quickly as possible. 

Favourite thing I read: 

Hands-down, without a doubt, What’s A Sex Tape Between Friends?  by @auntie-coagulant. I don’t read much fanfic, and when I do, it's only for the ships that I don't write. So when I saw this fic recommended in the Kotallo server and I was like “Travis/Lis?? You have my attention.” My eyes were popping and I was HOWLING by the first chapter, and I’ve been dead in the water for this fic ever since and procrastinating on finishing the fic because MY EMOTIONS ARE NOT READY FOR THE HEARTBREAK.

Writing goals for next year: 

Finish Coming In Like A Western Wind. I’ve been sleeping on this fic since September because Astarion and Halsin turned my head and I feel really bad about it… but I do mean to finish it! 

Just keep on keeping on with my BG3 fics for Astarion and Halsin! I’ve been DYING to write smut for Halsin for months, and I have images living rent-free in my head of Astarion enjoying some very tender sensate focus, so let’s hope I get around to writing these scenes before I explode. 

**************

Template time!

Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!)

Smut scenes written (if applicable)

New things I tried

Fic I spent the most time on

Fic I spent the least time on

Favourite thing I wrote

Favourite thing I read

Writing goals for next year

Enjoy, friends!!! And cheers to another fulfilling year of writing! 🥰🥂

-- love from your friendly neighbourhood Pika! xoxo

[siren-serenity]

Hi! I was hoping you could write something with my yuusona Minthe (she/they pronouns used interchangeably) for the battle of the restaurants event ^^ (here's their info!)

May I request, Minthe as a barista. She's trying to make Vil's order (which is a bit complicated) but Rook keeps distracting them with cute nicknames which only get weirder the more they don't react to it, and so they make a mistake?

Minthe, Rook and Vil are in a polycule.

Thank you, and I hope you have a great day ahead ^^

↳ *TITLE: HER LOVERS!* ༉‧₊˚✧

↳ *MINTHE X ROOK HUNT X VIL SCHOENHEIT!* ༉‧₊˚✧

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ OMFG??? THATS LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE FOR ME!!! bro minthe should be in heaven - i mean?? rook dedicating all his love for you? being vil's lover and being in the utmost care? that is honestly a dream!!! (Okay, as I wrote this, I made a HUGE mistake by deviating from the plot line…let me know if you want me to rewrite it!!! So sorry T-T)

↳ *𝘛𝘈𝘎𝘚!* ༉‧₊˚✧

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Taglist: @krenenbaker, @moonlitnyx, @azulashengrottospiano. @eynnwwyjth, @parad-ice-lostandfound, @officialdaydreamer00, @leonistic, @plutosring, @starsilluminateourgalaxy, @aceofsweets, @rav--en, @dowdos, @deathkat657, @escha-evenstar, @toffeeeez, @dearest-siblingtwst, @biromanticboba, @savanaclaw1996, @candlewitch-cryptic, @lowenergyallday

please reblog or dm if you wish to be tagged!!

Their presence in the cafe blinded the students. Who wouldn't be? It was the queen and his huntsman, Vil Schoenheit and Rook Hunt after all. Vil's appearance is as beautiful as ever; he truly deserves the title of 'the fairest of them all'. Similarly, Rook's wide grin made him glow with beauty.

"Ma cherie!" Rook crooned as he skipped his way to the barista counter. Minthe gave him a small grin and nodded. "Hey, Rook!"

"Forgetting somebody," Vil drawled playfully before reaching for her hand. He brought it to his lips, pressing a delicate kiss to her knuckles. "Morning, little dagger."

Minthe clicked the computer screen and sent him a loving smile. "Good morning, my fairest. What would you two like to order?"

Vil hummed under his breath. "Something healthy to start the day, I suppose. I haven't gone on my jog yet."

The huntsman nodded. "I'll have anything Vil takes! We're going on a jog later. Truly, Vil is the most dedicated to pursuing the path of beauty!"

Minthe laughed in agreement.

"That's why we love him," she teased. "Alright! Can I serve you two a fruit smoothie and chicken pot pie to start your day? Perfectly healthy and made with organic ingredients. No preservatives added."

The blonds nodded in agreement before having a small polite "squabble" over who would pay. Minthe could hear the quiet whispers as she went to make their smoothies. Vil would occasionally go "I'm your housewarden!" to which Rook would reply with "As your beloved huntsman, I should pay! It is but a small cost."

As she sliced the bananas, she could hear her senior, Melody Striker, approaching.

"Got the two fighting over you again?" The black-purple-haired girl snickered, gesturing to the two who were still arguing. "Ah, young love."

The strawberry juice covered her fingers and made them feel sticky, but Minthe carried on. "No, they're just arguing over who pays for both their meals."

She playfully sighed, switching in the blender with a flick of a finger.

“Honestly,” she yelled over the chaotic noise. “They should just take turns or pay for their own! I don’t see the need—“

“I think they just like showing off to you,” Melody smirked. “It’s probably a Pomefiore thing; I saw Ace and Epel doing the same a few days back. Peacocks, all of them.”

Minthe snorted as she poured the smoothie into the two cups. “I can see that.”

As the black-purple-haired senior walked away to the counter, she prepared the last of the identical dishes before walking towards her lovers. Her heart fluttered as she met eye contact with both of them and almost on instinct, a smile blossomed on her face.

“Your dishes, monsieurs,” she teased, setting down the plates. Vil looked upon the meal with a glint in his eyes and Minthe awaited with bated breath for his approval.

Vil hummed before gracefully taking a fork and taking a bite out of the warm chicken pot pie. Even as she stood, she could smell the tantalising scent of the meat, cooked to perfection and smelling utterly delectable.

“You’re not good at hiding your desire, little dagger,” Vil’s playful drawl snapped her out of her stupor. She felt him cradling her chin with one hand, lifting up the spoon with a piece of the pie on it to her mouth. “Have some, dear.”

Minthe felt Rook take her unoccupied hand in his, brushing a calloused thumb over her knuckles.

“Eat, mon amor,” Rook hummed, “I can sense your hunger and your yearning to have a bite of the pie!”

As if agreeing, Minthe’s stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl. With a sigh and a smile, she relented. She took a bite, her smile growing larger with the taste of the pie dancing on her tongue. With her eyes closed, she didn’t notice Vil and Rook exchanging a fond, loving smile between them.

[sequencefairy]

There’s a very fucked up part of my brain that wants to hear your theories about the alleged NYC polycule 😭 but it’s also…too much lmaooooo

Beloved, sweet, wonderful anon, you tempt me too much with your repressed desires to join me in the tiny closet off my office, where I keep my bulletin boards and my red string.

I should note, before we begin, that my contributions to these theories are but contributions, the true architect is a friend, who I will not publicly out, but they know who they are.

With that out of the way, let me paint you a picture, dear sweet anon.

It was late summer, I had watched six hours of TV over the course of three days, because my friend had talked about this TV show to me, and the characters therein, for weeks. I did not expect to like this TV show, I wanted to watch it solely so that I could participate fully in conversation, because I enjoy very much when someone I care about loves something and shares that with me. Despite my intentions to the contrary, I emerged from the six hours of TV wholly changed.

And so began my not-so-slow downward spiral.

(under the cut)

My friend and I had deep and complicated discussions about characterization and the narrative choices and depictions of mental illness and trauma. We shared vulnerabilities, as ways to expand our understanding of the depths that this show plumbs, but does not always reach with solidity. We thirsted. Oh, did we thirst.

I came to the conclusion that I did, indeed, want to climb Oscar Isaac like the compact, solidly built tree that he is. I wanted to bury my fingers in his hair, I wanted to see him smile. I wanted to see the characters he plays beaten, bloody, and miserable. I wanted to see them broken, but I also wanted them to heal, such as they were able, given their unique circumstances.

In short, I became obsessed.

My life has spun wildly out of control, I am sitting on roughly 50k of Moon Knight fanfic, currently unfinished, but being worked on feverishly. You are not here for that though, so let us move on.

We initially began our conversations regarding the NYC polycule on a fair evening in September, when my friend arrived in my dms to alert me to an item of interest. It was a photo, from September 9th, posted on Elvira's Instagram account, and in it, was Oscar, one of his children, and a man, tagged as Tim Nolan.

Further research revealed, of course, that Tim Nolan is none other than the long-time hair stylist for Oscar. We reviewed Tim's Instagram page, thrilled by the discovery that Tim seems to accompany Oscar on many filming trips, including during the filming for Moon Knight in Jordan.

Knowing this, and also knowing that the only other person who appears in photos in their house with their children with such familiarity is Pedro Pascal, we began to make certain assumptions about this relationship.

I won't spend too much time on Pedro Pascal, I think we all know that he's involved.

For now, let us continue along with Tim.

Oscar has been filming In The Hand of Dante in Venice, of late, and so we have been thrilled to see BTS pictures of him, on set, and etc. We have also been thrilled, most recently, by Tim's presence. Tim recently celebrated his 41st birthday in Rome, and the following weekend, was with Oscar being touristy.

Some things to note:

Elvira's comment under Tim's birthday photo, which was taken in Rome. This is not unusual in and of itself, she is very free with her affection for the people in her life, and her comment is correct, he is looking extremely good.

Tim touring around Rome with Oscar, on the weekend after his birthday, clearly not at work, just there to have fun.

The next photo is the one that sealed the deal for me. You have probably seen this one, because I reblogged it onto my blog, but here it is again, for posterity.

We know, from various interviews, and behind the scenes footage, and the way that Oscar is in them, that he is affectionate with his male friends, we know that he is happy to be close to them physically, but there's ... something about this picture. There's a familiarity, a casual intimacy, a closeness that speaks to other kinds of closeness.

All this to say that I believe that Tim Nolan is and has been in the polycule, just like Pedro Pascal is and has been. Perhaps not at the same time, perhaps there are others who move in and out, but the anchor is that Oscar and Elvira have a marriage with room for others, and I wouldn't be surprised, at all, if someday, someone made a mistake, and posted something we shouldn't be seeing, on a public account.

Alternatively, I am going to move to NYC with the intention of becoming another member of this small, loving group of people.

I'm sure my partner will understand.

[shipmistress9]

My headcanons on Elain's and Nesta's future…

Elain will become Lady of Spring. 

After Tamlin deteriorates further into insanity, he and the other High Lords agree that Lucien will lead the Spring Court in his stead, as his steward. He and Elain move to the Spring Court. Their presence, their love, their acceptance, the way they can argue without fighting, the freedom Elain has and how she is able to defend herself without being a warrior… it all helps Tamlin accept. Accept his mistakes, how it was his wrong doing and not some dark plotting that took Feyre away from him. 

He comes to terms with his life. He never fully recovers, leaves the official work to Lucien and Elain, but he gets better. Especially when Elucien get their first child, he becoming a beloved if eccentric uncle, and through some strange magic working, it's their child that inherits the power of the High Lord of Spring. 

Neste will become High Lady of the Autumn Court. 

This is a bit more complicated... You see, Azriel and Cassian have been lovers for centuries. Az's fixation on Mor was for his own sanity, to ignore that his mate was the man he loathed more than anyone else, and to prove to himself that he cared more about his friend than her tormentor. But his love for Cassian runs deep, true. A comradeship that doesn't end just because a battle is over.

This doesn't change when Nesta shows up. She might be Cassian's mate but that has no impact on the feelings Az and Cas share. And after the intense period of the mating frenzy is over, she welcomes Azriel in their bed with open… arms. 

Things get more complicated, eventually, when the political ties with the Autumn Court grow stronger. When they all are forced to interact with Eris more often, and in civil ways. Azriel can't avoid Eris anymore and the lure between Eris and Nesta grows, too. 

This gets really messy, complicated, lots of drama and potential before they can solve their shit. But eventually, they all move to the Autumn Court, with Nesta as the High Lady of the Autumn Court and the undisputed Queen of their polycule. 

[thespidersfrommarz]

This is what I like to call: Bluestar's Very Complicate Polycule. Headcanons and dynamics below

Bluestar - polyamorous bisexual, bigender, he/she

Oakheart - straight ally, he/him

Rosetail - rose lesbain, transfem genderdoe demigirl, she/they

Yellowfang - polyamorous asexual lesbian, nonbinary, they/them

Frostfur - polyamorous bisexual, she/her

Lionheart - omnisexual, he/him

Thrushpelt - straight, genderfluid, he/they/she

Bluerose - been mates since they were young warriors. Rosetail was Bluefur's bisexual awakening.

Blueyellow - old married couple my beloved <3. Bluestar helped Yellowfang realise that they were queer.

Rosetail & Yellowfang - not particularly close, but they bond over their shared relationship with Bluestar.

Yellowfrost - becames mates after Cinderpaw's accident, when Yellowfang started caring for them. Yellowfang considers Frostfur's kits as their adoptive kits.

Lionfrost - didn't actually become mates until later in their lives, even though they had been crushing on each other for ages.

Lionheart & Yellowfang - "Isn't our wife great?"

Blueoak - on-again-off-again kind of couple. Their relationship mostly centres on caring for their kits. Still care for each other deeply though.

Bluestar & Thrushpelt - queerplatonic partners and co-parents of Mosskit, Mistykit, and Stonekit.

Thrushpelt & Oakheart, Oakheart & Rosetail, Lionheart & Bluestar, Lionheart & Thrushpelt, Thrushpelt & Frostfur - acquaintances.

Thrushpelt, Rosetail & Frostfur - friends

Lionheart & Yellowfang - friends

Oakheart & Lionheart, Oakheart & Frostfur, Oakheart & Rosetail, Oakheart & Yellowfang - never met

[actualbird]

Oh god!

I really love the poly headcanons they are so sweet.... (or don't but that's part of it and i think the tot boys+MC deserve all the love the world has to give).

But, liking it or not, our 4 beloved boys are kinda complicated (that's what makes them perfect). Plus I never thought about how people get in poly relationships. So i was thinking, how do you think they all get into a polyrelationship together?

(I really have no idea of how that would happen)

hi, two anons!! im glad you guys liked my nxx team polycule stuff!! i'll answer these in one go, my "headcanon" (in quotes because i think this kinda turned into a character analysis/minific of sorts HAHA) being what first anon asked, How They Get Together.

heads up, wc of this is 1.9k words long so buckle up for a bit of a read jfsjdfkjbf

because first anon, youre right!!! the boys are stupendously complicated which i love so so much but canon has also shown us clearly that each of the boys' quirks and habits and tendencies causes a lot of (mostly played for laughs) friction. the bickering, the backhanded insults, the "im the best one here" preening contests. theyre all SOOOO RIDICULOUS and it is hilarious but yep! the boys r complex!! and that means this beautiful ship, imo, has a lot of phases to get to the actual romantic relationship bit.

how they get together, in my opinion, starts because of mc.

not in the sense that she matchmakes them all, but like.

phase 1 of the nxx team polycule is this:

through being in love with her (which we all know the boys 100% are), each of the boys come to terms with their own flaws and weaknesses. it's very apparent to me in all the story thus far that these boys are flawed as hell, it's very compelling but even more compelling to me is how all of them also do intense mental gymnastics to Not Confront Those Flaws. like, marius is a dickbag always teasing and toeing the line of insincerity, vyn is a controlling mf who always tries to sway situations to his benefit, artem is so repressed to the point that he has genuine trouble with emotions, luke is a self sacrificial bastard and also a huge hypocrite about how no, actually, hes the only one that should be hiding his pain and being dishonest, no dishonesty from other people!! in the beginning of the story, all the boys have their flaws and seem to have just kinda...not addressed how those flaws are harming them and the people around them.

and then mc rolls around and they all fall in love with her. and she sees those flaws and she doesnt let them slide. she challenges the boys in her own ways to see another side of the situation, to acknowledge what theyre doing. she doesnt want to get rid of flaws, thats impossible and also not cool. she just has this beautiful hope for like, all of humanity, that goodness can prevail with the right work. so when she sees her beloved nxx boys, she believes that for them as well.

which leads to phase 2 of the nxx team polycule:

the boys, more aware of themselves, become more aware of each other.

they werent Unaware of the others of course. it's just that they didnt like...truly connect on a personal level just yet. they saw the other teammembers with their emotional armor and flaws and saw a wall that wasnt worth looking past.

but after mc makes them realize that hey, flaws arent the end of the world actually, it's alright and the person behind them may just be worth it, the boys like. end up understanding the others. A LOT OF THIS BIT IS UNINTENTIONAL, ON THEIR PARTS KJDSBFS. like they stumble into understanding each other by accident, they didnt plan it, but over the course of nxx investigations, it's inevitable that they end up seeing the depths of the others. i delve into this a little bit in my fanfic "filler eps of the lost gold" where the boys are just going thru their actions and then trip over another boy's fears or desires and through that, gain a deeper understanding mutually.

and with understanding, sometimes, comes trust.

phase 3 of the nxx team polycule goes like this:

everybody in this team, whether they like it or not, whether they know it or not, has a heart that wants to give love so desperately.

marius lives in a world full of snakes so he cant have his heart on his sleeve for his own protection. vyn wants to be seen as perfect and the heart is inherently messy so he holds it back. artem for a very very long time was focused on work and success and achievement that he neglected his heart. and luke has been giving love all his life in a sense but in a way thats hidden.

all these tendencies that are brought upon their life circumstances results in this: they want to love honestly but they havent been able to do this

until mc. and all of them want to push back whatever fears or patterns their life has instilled in them because they see her and see somebody so unwaveringly good that all their hearts begin giving love to her to make her happy and to make themselves happy as well.

but heres the thing. the boys dont just see mc. by this point, they have connected and understood and come to trust each other as well, and the consequence of that is that They Can See Each Other Now Too, Truly.

and heres the thing. all of the boys are unwaveringly good as well.

one by one, each of the boys realize that what they feel for the other boys in the team starts to...change. yeah theyre all friends, they pick on each other a lot of the time, but the bedrock of the relationship is solid and strong now. but when marius is with luke, marius sees a light inside of luke so bright that he seems unaware that he gives off. when artem is with vyn, artem sees a goodness inside of vyn that hesitates to make itself obvious and known because vyn is scared of getting hurt thanks to it. all of them see the other and their goodness and, unbidden, their hearts want to give love to each other as well.

and because theyre all a bit stupid in their own way theyre like, huh, weird! wonder why this feeling is so familiar! and yet i cant seem to name it...and then they all independently compare these feeling with the feelings they have for mc, a feeling they do know the name of, and theyre like.

WAIT.

THESE FEELINGS ARE...VERY BASICALLY EXACTLY WHAT I FEEL FOR MC.

which only means one thing: theyve fallen in love with everybody else

marius: //goes to his studio to Think and sees that a bunch of his recent art actually had little crumbs of these feelings already, etched into the brushstrokes and scenes. has an emotional crisis about it

vyn: //records a 1 hour long entry in his audio diary to examine and gain control of his feelings but by the end of the hour all he knows is that he wants to hold these people and be held by them

artem: //quite literally just bluescreens, artem.exe has stopped working, sits at his study and slowly, slowly, thunks his head down onto his desk, valiantly trying to ignore the fast pulse of his heart

luke: //manically vents about it to peanut who, by virtue of being a bird, doesnt get it. just keeps talking at peanut to get a grasp of it all and then lies down on the floor, overwhelmed

mc, sitting in her apartment watching some netflix: ...why do i inexplicably feel as if something very, very important has just happened?

phase 4 of the nxx team polycule is basically:

pining: extreme difficulty level

because pining is already hard when ur pining for one person. what more for an additional 3 more people. and those additional 3 more people are pining back.

and all these boys are SOOOO OBVIOUS with their romantic feelings, in their own special way. the way they show their affection to mc starts to bleed into their interactions with the others and everybody can CLEARLY SEE WHAT IS GOING ON, LOL, but also all the boys are too chickenshit to confront it, because if they confront it, what will even happen??? being in love with each other, all of them, thats going to be such a complicated fucking relationship, holy shit. it's 2030, yeah, being a polyamorous group relationship isnt completely unheard of, but sue them, theyre scared.

but mc (who i forgot to mention already knows of the boys' romantic feelings for her, shes just hasnt made a move yet on any of them because SHES IN LOVE WITH ALL OF THEM AS WELL and shes been trying to figure out how the hell to make that work, she cant bear to choose just one of them, she'd be heartbroken over leaving the rest of them behind) sees that the nxx investigation team is now all pining for each other FULLY and she kinda wants to laugh when she realizes whats going on because like, what are the chances? that this would happen? that they all found each other and their feelings fell into just the right place for nobody to be left behind?

theyre all scared, she can tell. and she is as well, she wont lie.

but shes always had a belief that goodness can prevail with the right work.

and love is one of the greatest goods out there.

phase 5 of the nxx team polycule:

It's Time For Communication, Baby!!!!!

the exact scenes of how this happens is a bit vague to me. it could go two ways: mc going to each of the boys independently to talk about feelings, hers about everybodys and his about everybodys as well. OR they have a fucking meeting about it all together and artem literally schedules it in his google calendar, or something.

either way, they like, actually talk about this. starts casual, maybe over a chill date, maybe over dinner at a nice restaurant, maybe over a walk in the park as the sun is starting to set. but where ever it happens, the end result is the same: a heart is laid out bare and it is taken in gentle, grateful hands.

marius: OKAY, NOW THAT THE FEELINGS ARE OUT OF THE WAY, CAN I PLEASE KISS ONE OR ALL OF YOU, PLEASE, IVE BEEN WANTING TO KISS U GUYS FOR FOREVER

vyn, laughing fondly: has anybody ever told you patience is a virtue? we quite literally just talked it all out.

marius: //needy whining noises

artem, embarrassed: ive...never kissed anybody before

luke, embarrassed but trying to play it Cool: ....same here

mc: kissing is great, you two will love it!

marius: awesome, awesome, so is ANYBODY going to give me a go ahead or WHAT????

phase 6 of the nxx team polycule:

i dont want to say it's happily ever after, once they all get together. thats not really realistic.

they all have their quirks and tendencies and habits. and those will inevitable clash against each other. theyll have their arguments, theyll get upset, theyll sulk and be angry, sometimes. but also...

theyll see each other smile and feel like their love shining so brightly. theyll reach out for another's hand and be held in such a way that makes them think that their heart is in a safe place. theyll love each other and theyll put in the work to continue loving each other. because goodness will prevail.

and they all see each other as the most good people in the world.

so whatever happens, theyll get through it together.

[azems-familiar]

SWTOR characters masterlist (new and improved!)

so i know i already have one of these, but it wasn't exactly up to date with some changes i've made to characters, and i made it before starting my novelization, plus i have an entirely new canon with another person to talk about. so without further ado:

canon: start a war (with @ipreferfiction)

Lia Vhoss, Jedi Battlemaster + Commander of the Eternal Alliance

(more pictures to come as i get more)

Lia is my Jedi Knight and was Satele Shan's padawan from a young age. she's 21 at the start of the class story and along with her close friend and all-but-outright-stated queerplatonic partner J'lima (ipreferfiction's knight), she's thrust into the role of saving the galaxy time and time again. she begins a romantic relationship with Kira after Voss, takes Tau Idair as her padawan, and faces down Vitiate and Revan on Yavin and Ziost. she and J'lima are both captured by Arcann in the Eternal Empire's attack on the galaxy, but only Lia is possessed and locked in carbonite; when she's finally freed, she takes up the mantle of commander of the Alliance (and also starts a relationship with Lana, though there's a l o t of complications going on there). she's my beloved and probably could be considered, along with J'lima, to be the main character of start a war, although the rest of the cast is important as well.

Vreila Lanar, Jedi Master + Jedi High Councilor

Vreila is my Jedi Consular but is not the Barsen'thor in start a war the oldest of our combined pantheon, Vreila is the only one who outright remembers the Sacking of Coruscant: she was eleven years old and studying at the Coruscant Temple when the Sacking occurred and barely escaped with her life. Fifteen years later, she's a proud Jedi knight, formerly Syo Bakarn's padawan, and one of the most promising new diplomats in the Order. the resurgence of an ancient Sith plague nearly destroys her first assignment on Alderaan, but after she recovers, the Jedi Council places her with the Rift Alliance, first to keep the peace, then later to hunt down the Children of the Emperor. Vreila quietly marries Felix Iresso in a non-legally-binding ceremony shortly before the Eternal Empire attacks, and it isn't until after Felix is taken as a POW that she realizes she's pregnant. She and her by then four year old son end up on Odessen as a Republic emissary to the Alliance, in the hopes that the former Battlemaster now Commander will be willing to hunt down the Republic and Imperial POWs Zakuul still hasn't released custody of.

Kal'vaela Corrin, Commander of Blackout Squad

Kal is the youngest member of Havoc Squad. Ord Mantell is not her first deployment with them, but it is her last; she follows Tavus and her squadmates to the Empire without a second thought and joins in on the Imperial reorganization of Havoc Squad into Blackout Squad. when Tavus and Fuse begin to doubt their decision, Kal, not wanting the rest of her squad to get caught up in their disloyalty and seeing a chance to get a command of her own, comes up with a plan to frame them as conspiring with the Republic. after her plan succeeds and she's given command of Blackout, she turns her gaze towards destroying the Empire's enemies - and recruiting her ex-girlfriend and now commander of Havoc, Itharil Enaran, to the Empire where she belongs, as well as converting the undercover SIS agent Jonas Balker. when Itharil finally switches sides, she brings former Sergeant Jaxo and Aric Jorgan with her, and yes they end up in the most complicated horrible person polycule you have ever seen. we had to make a diagram for it

i'm not kidding. there's a diagram.

Vyl Kivan

Vyl my utter beloved. he's the youngest character in our combined canon, at seventeen when the class story starts - oh, and he's also trans. born into slavery on Ryloth then sold to a semi-powerful Sith family on Dromund Kaas, he's sixteen when his Force-sensitivity and powerful Force empathy are discovered, and after a year of training from his master, he's sent to Korriban in the place of her son, who is completely Force-blind. he's taken as an apprentice by Darth Baras for his impressive power and the ease by which he's manipulated, but treated as little more than a tool due to how he refuses to use the Dark Side of the Force no matter how he's pushed, and will only kill if it's a last resort. he learns to lie to Baras' face to protect himself as he frequently leaves targets alive, as he sends Nomen Karr back to the Jedi to heal and takes Jaesa as his apprentice, although really he's learning from her just as much as she is from him. he ends up being made the Wrath for similar reasons for why Baras took him in the first place. after some difficulty on Ilum and elsewhere in the galaxy, Vyl ends up defecting to the Republic and specifically the Jedi on Yavin after encouragement from Theron (his partner) and Master Orgus Din. he's one of the Alliance's founding members during the five-year gap and he and Theron end up bringing a very much alive Thexan Tirall into their relationship during the war with Zakuul.

Avaanla Ki, Darth Aedis + Sith Empress + Master of the Revanites

Avaanla was taken into slavery at a young age and ended up in a brothel for several years. raised and trained as a dancer, with a pleasure slave's brand on her wrist, her Force breakthrough occurs when she's fourteen years old, when she ends up killing a man for touching her. this becomes a not-uncommon occurrence over the next few years until she's finally purchased by a Sith who bargains training in exchange for work. at twenty, she's sent to Korriban, and she trains there for a while until stumbling upon a secret she wasn't supposed to find while exploring the tombs on a trial. she's saved by Darth Thanaton, who ends up taking her as an apprentice, and who enlists her in his desire to bring down Vitiate. after a mission on Dromund Kaas for another Sith, Avaanla finds herself hunting down the shadowy Revanite Master herself and taking the woman's place, and even breaks Revan free from Maelstrom Prison herself, in the goal of enlisting the powerful woman's help to take down the Emperor (and put herself in his place, of course - what's a Sith without ambition?). in pursuit of those goals, she ends up taking over the Sphere of Mysteries, gaining a seat on the Dark Council and an in to the Emperor's greatest secrets. after Thanaton's exile following his loss to Jana Vassi (newly crowned Darth Nox) in a Kaggath, Avaanla's plans are somewhat hampered, and after Darth Arkous goes rogue with a great deal of the Revanites she's forced into showing her hand early - but after it's all said and done, with Marr's disappearance, Avaanla finds herself taking the Sith throne after all, sharing it with Jana. she ends up in a polyamorous relationship with Jana and Andronikos, eventually.

Averr'iis'aloh, Cipher Eight + Legate + Keeper

Averr'iis'aloh, also known as Riisa, grew up on Csilla and joined the Csilla Secret Police at the age of fourteen. she was partnered with Tharel'elshe'reth (who later becomes Cipher Nine) and the two of them grew close (eventually starting a romantic relationship). when the two of them were in their early twenties, they stumbled upon an artifact on the Chiss world of Copero that the Empire didn't want being known - this was caused directly by Riisa's latent Force-sensitivity (just enough to get her into trouble). she and Elshe'reth were sent, reluctantly, to the Empire to join Imperial Intelligence, and the two of them worked as Ciphers to bring down Jadus and the Eagle's terror network. sent alone to infiltrate a particularly dangerous SIS spy ring, Riisa becomes drawn in to the way the Republic treats their agents, and takes the Legate role on in truth, partly driven by a complicated falling-out she has with Elshe'reth during this time. an ill-advised fling with Aristocra Saganu leaves her with a daughter (Miurani'var'ieth, Nivari) that she sends to be raised on Csilla, and Riisa ends up throwing herself fully into her role as a double agent for the Republic, getting named Keeper of Imperial Intelligence after she manages to bring down Dread Master Styrak. it isn't until sometime after the Eternal Alliance settles in as the major power in the galaxy that her deception is discovered and she's broken out of the Empire by Elshe'reth herself (now an agent for the Alliance). the two of them do, after much difficulty, end up back together and raising a family together.