I will take a moment to reply to all the vocal readers who have provided their views regarding how the last 2-3 chapters went.
First of all, I would to address the importance or non-importance of the scene. I consider it to be a vital part of character dynamics that evolves between Ezra and Vasha, but one thing I would still like to focus is that this is a about space wizard magic innovations and kicking ass of fascist empire. (or sometimes getting your ass kicked when Empire Strikes Back)
I have written the story as more character driven than plot driven. And being an 8 year boy with the mind of an 27 (did i say its 23 anywhere? cuz more than 1 people used that age) living with an women who is in the peak of her adulthood awkward moments and encounters like this are prone to happen.
I am not even calling it to be a fantasy happenstance, its happens in reality too with actual chidrens, and far too often, especially in second and third world countries.
Another thing that brought this plot point (which wasn't there in first drafts) is when I started to view Vasha's own circumstances and individuality. She is an romantic interest in the story (surprise to readers who saw her just as maternal or older sister figure), through I had intially written her as a platonic one in mind, as I let the story run by itself rather than create definite plans, and as such something like one-sided romantic tension developed because of that. (Like ngl, if you read the original draft scene, through they are trash in terms of quality compared to current one, you would find an totally different Ezra and Vasha)
Vasha, as an lady in her prime, she would be inclined to pursue romantic aspects of life, espesially as she has gotten more stress free and economically better.
And Ezra at age 11-12 is already going to be embroiled in wider galactic matters, and even canon wise, 90% or even more events of star wars happen before he even reaches the age of 18. Rebel starts when he is 14 and events of Kenobi series & Jedi survivors happen when he is 11. Events of Han Solo happen when he is 9 smth.
all of this, if I wait for him to grow up(which is kinda ridiculous to say cuz by all means he is 27+ mentally, and I am not showing him engaging in any s*xual content before he reaches teenage body), it would be really unrealistic for Vasha to keep her romantic life on hold for when Ezra would reach legal age.
Vasha isn't a static character waiting for MC, she is an independent women in her own right with dreams & anticipations of romantic life. If there is no seed/trigger event, she would definitely be dating someone etc while Ezra grows up, and people would start screaming NTR and spamming 1 star ratings. (I don't delete reviews cuz its just so undemocratic to silence voice, but as an hypocritical human, I am not disinclined to say that I might be looking at skies when my hand starts moving of its own volition and clicks buttons it democratically shouldn't)
This scene, was meant to create the seed for the scene which would create the seed I mentioned above. (seed for the seed, lemme see your seed jajajaja).
The explict-ness of the scene might have been more than many people expected and I hear that. I am not someone who says no to improving my baby of a book if that means mutilating it, so I have cut off all the explicit details from the last chapter and only left in the part that was absolutely needed as context for further scenes. I have moved the original chapter to auxiallary if you are intending to get the full experience.
Sorry to you if you were expecting Ezra to be an one dimensioned character who would just be obsessed by power and improvement while ignoring everything that happens when you are living in a situation right out of some wierd-ass rom-com.
Sincerely,
Abstracto