Better Half 1 year anniversary | A Krennic x Kleya darksoulmate story available on AO3 💙

Summary: “We should have killed Krennic while we were up there.”

Although they both laugh, Kleya can’t shake the sinking feeling that dominates her entire being.

“That’s the spirit,” she replies to lighten the mood.

Because whether the prospect of killing her soulmate fills her with dread, sooner or later, she knows she will have to let her better—more likely worse—half go. Unless she wants to put Luthen’s life at risk—her life at risk, their work and the entire rebellion with it. [Kleya x Krennic | DarkSoulmate AU | Set after S2E06]

Chapter XV - What a peaceful confrontation is finally posted! Read here.

I can't believe it's been one year since I first posted Better Half!!! Time surely does fly when you're having fun! Thank you for everyone who has been a part of this journey and welcome to every new reader who decides to give my weird lil ship a chance.

The edit for today brings a few excerpts from some chapters that has some scenes I liked very much writing. Most of them are focused on the soulmate bond or the how it drives both Krennic and Kleya close to sheer insanity.

how i feel when im forced to take my meds

little reference thiu in the bottom there had his back turned to the horrors i was drawing the whole time...i love him and his stupid smug expression....he really had no idea, there is 1 braincell in that egocentric head of his

Hey!!! ♥️

Aww thank you for the kind words and no offense taken whatsoever! I know people look at the ship and think I’m batshit crazy (I kinda am) but I promise the story makes sense.

I’m super glad the rare pair tournament made people curious about my lil ship and stories. It warms my heart.

Chapter 9/10 is one of my faves so far and I’m super glad people didn’t give up when Kleya decides that Mon has to go. The bond leaves no room for compromises and Kleya knows that between Mon and her relationship with Luthen… Mon is not exactly at the top of her priorities.

In fact, I’m working on my reread of the story to write chapter 15. I know what I want to write, but some details are eluding me. So I decided to reread everything.

So yes. I intend to update. Better Half will turn one year this July 14th, so if not an update, at least an edit will show up here hehe

Once again thanks for reaching out and I hope you like the following chapter and what’s to come next.

Better Half + 🔎 What detail(s) in the story are you particularly captivated with? Is there any behind the scenes info or backstory?

Thanks for a change to yap about BH!!!

Although that wasn't my intention when I first started writing Better Half, because as I’ve yapped about many times it should’ve been an oneshot, as it became a full fleshed longfic, I could explore some details of this universe.

Some of them do show up in the fic. Some are only in my mind.

One I’ve talked about at length in the story is the use of suppressant shots. The Empire has tightened their hold over reproductive rights, as most totalitarian governments tend to do somewhere along the line.

Star Wars and Andor don’t talk about this, but I thought it made sense, especially with soulmate bonds and how suppressant shots are rendered useless without a mark.

So Kleya and Krennic have to navigate their aversion to kids with the fact that the bond practically shoves it upon them. And how acquiring suppressant shots is something that even someone with Krennic’s power can’t get his hands on without cheating on the system.

Also… chapter 9 or 10 talks about the prison system and how it works for soulmates, how they’re allowed some benefits that regular couples don’t. It’s not talked about at length, just in passing, but all these details shape how society works for bonded couples.

I also like how the bond is a curse, not a blessing. The whole point of Better Half is to show that having a soulmate is not a benediction. On the contrary.

And how both Krennic and Kleya suffer for it. With the distance. The headache. The bond turning against them. And how the only palliative is to stay close.

But close in this case is to the person you hate. At least in Kleya’s case. Or does she?

Once again, thanks for the ask!!!

Hello, friend!!!

I had only one goal when I first started writing Better Half and it was to have fun. And working with Krennic and Kleya despite the core theme of Better Half being pretty grim and dark (it is a darksoulmate after all lol) has been quite fun.

I was coming from a writer's block. Got a kinda successful Bleach story and tried to transform it into an original because some friends drilled this idea into me and it backfired spectacularly, not because the idea wasn't working. But I wasn't having fun with it. Because writing fanfics is what I LOVE to do. So it sucked the joy out of writing for me.

And Better Half brought that joy back.

So my goal was to have fun and yes, I totally have achieved it.

Thanks for the ask!!! I love yapping about this lil story!!!

Well...

Quite a lot would've changed if it was Mon x Krennic. Now, fun fact: my first idea was for a Monnic fanfic. A darksoulmate with these two does sound appealing. However, it didn't fit several conditions for the darksoulmate I wanted to write.

For starters, Krennic would have been onto Mon way quicker than he is onto Kleya. Mon is an accomplished Senator. They've faced each other at the Witness Stand several times according to 2x06. The buildup would've been totally different.

With Kleya it's different because he doesn't know her. She's just a plain gallery assistant.

Orson's hubris doesn't let him look at Kleya and see her as a threat. He underestimates her every step of the way. And Kleya... Kleya revels in it. Her whole persona is built on looking harmless and approachable. She smiles prettily at everyone, she is the thoughtful attendant who is there to please the clientele.

She weaponizes her gallery attendant persona against Orson whenever she's a chance and when she's confronted about it, she pretends she doesn't know what's being talking about.

Of course Krennic isn't that stupid. He notices some patterns and Kleya is a creature of habit after all. But his arrogance is also another one of his defining qualities. And to see that Kleya doesn't behave as her real self with him is one thing (she doesn't want the bond, neither does he, etc etc), but to see her as a Rebel is another thing altogether. It'd mean he'd need to recognize her as his equal. Which he doesn't. It's not to say he thinks Mon is his equal. He doesn't think it either. But Mon has accomplishments under her belt that he knows of. Kleya doesn't. She's also way younger than Mon, so easier to manipulate, or so he thinks.

The power imbalance and how Kleya plays with it to her gain is one of the core themes of Better Half that wouldn't be possible if I wrote it with Mon.

So yeah... it'd be VERY different if the story was Mon x Krennic to the point it wouldn't be recognizable. It's not change the characters and you still have the same story. To change the characters means to change the heart of the story.

Could I have made it work? Probably. Would I like it as much? I'm not so sure. The core themes would've to be way different and those core themes do show up in other Monnic stories that other talented writers have already discussed at length.

If your question is along the lines "Do you like the idea of Mon and Krennic together?", then the answer is Yes.

If your question is "Did you actually ship Krennic x Kleya because of their little interaction?" My answer is no and will always remain no. The appeal of Krennic x Kleya is NOT what's in the canon but what IT COULD BE.

Sorry it became an essay and thanks for coming to my TED Talk. Thanks for the ask and for giving me reasons to talk about Better Half at length here hehe