#ponr asks

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Ezra and Cee working together on a birthday gift for Clara is the story I didn’t know I needed. Their relationship has grown so much since they came back home and I hope this isn’t the last we see of it. Do you have inspo for the flowers? I’m trying to picture them in my head but it’s hard

Hi anon! Hope you’re having a good day and that you’re doing well! It makes me so flippin happy to hear that you enjoyed that little check in with Ezra and Cee. It’s been a while and I’ve missed the PONR family very much.

I can promise you right now that this will certainly not be the last we see of them.

I mean, I have to at least tell the story of how Number Four joined the crew, right? 😉

Ezra and Cee’s relationship has definitely grown a ton, and I look forward to showing some of that as I fill in the timeline between the end of Point of No Return and where they are now.

To answer your question about the Novalilies, I did look for some reference pictures as I was writing and thinking about them. I imagine the archway leading to the Conservatory (as it exists in my head, for this universe, anyway) to look something like this:

But instead of yellow strands of flowers, they’re white, trumpet-shaped blossoms like these:

I hope this helps you get a clearer picture of them! Thank you so much for sending this, and thank you SO MUCH for reading my work. I appreciate it endlessly! 🌾🌸

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Abe is going to get a friend! I can't wait to find out Cee's nickname for him and to revisit Ezra and Clara!

Hi Michelle! 👋🏻 hope you’re doing well!! Thanks for dropping in!!

Friend might be a strong word… Abe gets an annoying little sister who tries to steal his window seat is probably closer to how he feels about it 😹

Meet Number 4:

Her name comes directly from this little nugget that I am so mad didn’t make the cut in the movie:

“In the absence of your given moniker, I will call you channel rat.”

“If you call me that even one time I will shoot you.”

“… number 3 it is.”

———

Cee found her in the barn when she heard a muffled but frantic yowling sound coming from under a pile of empty burlap sacks used during the harvest. When she went digging to find the source of the sound, she was greeted by a scrawny little floof with huge eyes. Here we can all see that she is a gray cat… but Cee didn’t know what color her fur really was until after (much to young number 4’s dismay) she gave her a bath, because the kitten was absolutely covered in bright pink Thulian dust. 🌸

I am SO GLAD you’re excited about this crew coming back. I am, too.

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Okay. The playlist makes me wanna read Ezra, but I’m a colonial dumpsterfire who knows nothing about anything

Please give me your elevator pitch for Point of No Return so I know what the flip is going on?

Please and thank you

The Point of No Return soundtrack is probably my best playlist work to date, so that a melophile like you would be attracted to the story based on the songs is not at all surprising.

In terms of what you need to know before you decide whether or not to read, here's the quick & dirty deets & tails:

(under the cut because there are spoilers for Prospect)

The action starts right after Ezra & Cee get off the Green Moon. She is newly orphaned (though one might venture to call it "emancipated" when considering the dynamic she had with Damon). He's fighting a bad fever from a nasty infection, has recently been stabbed, and has lost his right arm. He's in a Bad Way™ and Cee is a Nervous Wreck™. (reminder that she is all of 14 years old and Ezra is basically the only person she knows in the entire galaxy)

Enter Clara, my absolute new favorite OC. She is a Thulian farmer (that's a tall, pink grass like plant that is harvested for its pollen, which is then used to create dyes and flavorings. i made it up, roll with it.) on a fictional planet called Kamrea that was only mentioned one time in the movie and I completely just R A N away with it. (no seriously there are seasons and holidays and a whole backstory and...)

ANYWAY- we start the story on Clara's farm during the height of the Thulian harvest, and learn pretty quickly that she has not seen Ezra in 5 years, but that the two of them were VERY much in love and had been together for 3 years. Something happened though, and he left.

"Kevva" is used in this story as a stand in for a deity/mythic being. I HC that Kevva is the goddess that Kamrean culture is based on. (which is significant because Ezra isn't from Kamrea, but its undeniably his home.)

aaaaaaaaaand that's all you really need to know. i think? other than this all takes place in an entirely science fiction centered universe so you just have to suspend reality and accept the pink fields and purple tea and ocean planets and expedited space travel and such.

So yeah. This is hands down my favorite story that I have ever written and I am happy to discuss it all the time. If you choose to read it I hope you enjoy!! Thank you for asking, TE QUIERO MUCHO!!!

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Do you have any images or descriptions of what Clara looks like? I'm very curious! 🌸

Hi anon! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I hope you’re having a nice morning or whatever time of day it is for you when you see this!

Thanks for asking about Clara!! It makes me so happy to know you’re curious about her, because I adore her.

As far as having any images, I am probably the actual Worst at choosing a faceclaim for a character so I have none. I would make a truly shitty casting director. Along the same lines, I feel like my characters’ physical description- especially for OCs- isn’t always super clear.

But here’s what I can tell you about what Clara looks like:

She’s roughly 5’6”

She has wavy (not curly) dark brown hair that is currently cut to shoulder length and it’s usually down unless she’s working.

She has hazel eyes that lean more towards brown

The end of her left eyebrow has a short scar running through it horizontally from an accident when she was a kid

She has freckles over the tops of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose that are more prominent during harvest season. She also has a large splotch of freckles on her left shoulder.

Oh and because she’s in her late 30s she has like a few grays and she gives no fucks about them.

THERE SHE IS! 🥰 I hope this helps satisfy your curiosity and gives you more to go on when you’re picturing Clara! 🌸

[the-blind-assassin-12]

The new ponr was so welldone. I feel so bad for Cee and everything she's gone through but I love that Ez and Clara are trying to help her in their own ways. Is Ezra really hurt though? his breathing and pain at the end of this chapter has me worried

Hi anon!! 🙋🏻‍♀️ Hope you’re having a great week!

And- THANK YOU! 🥺 it honestly makes my heart glow to hear that you are not only reading PoNR but that you’re enjoying it. I’m smiling like a fool.

Cee is such a tragic character, isn’t she? The teen years aren’t easy ones no matter who you are, but with the things she’s been through? Losing both parents, having to grow up so fast, never getting to really have a childhood, getting thrown into very adult situations all the damn time… she needs a break and a hug and a dozen crater-apple turnovers. And a cat.

The way that the movie ended left so many questions, but one of the biggest I had was What is going to happen to this girl now? The fact that she seemed to know no details about her mom or where they come from made me think that she has no other family- no grandparents or aunts and uncles, no cousins or siblings- at least that she knows, because if she did, I imagine that she could have asked them things or that they may have told her stories about her mother or what she was like as a small child. She’s just been alone with Damon for so long, and while yeah, he’s kept her alive, he’s done absolutely nothing to nurture her spirit or encourage her to aspire to anything more than his obedient assistant. He actively discouraged her from doing the things she enjoyed. So one of the things that felt very important to me when planning and writing this story was giving Cee the support and comfort she’s been lacking, a place where she felt safe, and a chance at being really happy and being herself- because I don’t think she really knows that person, and she deserves to. Ezra and Clara are well-versed in how hard and cruel life can be, but they also both know how good it can get, so they felt like the best candidates to help her on this journey.

As for your question about Ezra…I can’t say much but what I can say is that recovery is often two steps forward and one step back. 😬🤭🤐

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and dropping by with your comments and questions! I promise you’ll get a more definitive answer in part 12.