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I still love this

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"Light it up."

ANDOR (2022-2025) // ROGUE ONE (2016)

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i can hear "we are not responsible for missed departures" in my sleep

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I think a lot about DA2, because of course. My girlfriend is playing it for the first time, and we were discussing the tragedy that is Anders, and how you can’t save him.

It made me realize that you really can’t save ANYONE in DA2.

Except Fenris.

Anders goes without saying. Merrill faces grave consequences for her actions no matter what. Aveline doesn’t really NEED to be saved in the narrative sense so much as you sort of scratch each other’s backs. No matter what you do, your sibling either becomes a Grey Warden or goes to the Circle/Templars. Isabela changes, a bit, but never really stops being so self-interested; she just continues to attach herself to Hawke for personal reasons and Hawke happens to be affecting society, as far as she’s concerned. Sebastian also doesn’t need saving, not really, and if Anders lives he goes all villainous and invades a city where neither Hawke nor Anders actually is anymore.

But you get to save Fenris. Hawke gets to change the course of Fenris’s life with their friendship and their love and give him a brighter outlook, if that’s what you want to do. The Power of Love plays a huge part in his storyline if he’s romanced. Fenris’s personal arc is about healing after abuse and trauma, so it makes sense that he actually ends up the most changed and the happiest, relatively speaking, at the end of the game.

(It’s, like, SUPER relative though. Because reasons.)

Fenris’s romance is about as close to uplifting as DA2 was ever going to get, all things considered.

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I’m replaying the Jaws of Hakkon dlc and it really has me mulling over the sheer loneliness of our Inquisitor’s situation.

The Hero of Ferelden gained their title and status after they had already bonded with their companions and stopped the blight. Hawke is known for their dysfunctional polycule/found family. Rook is in the same boat.

But the Inquisitor became a symbol before they even had a chance to really get to know anyone. Every other protagonist leads a group of companions, meanwhile the Inquisitor leads a political and military force. Sure, they still become close with some of their companions and advisors, but everyone constantly reminds them of their status as a holy symbol and how intimidating and unapproachable it makes them.

You can literally tell Varric, Mr. Friends-With-Everyone, “I don’t need a disciple, I need a friend” and he’ll reply “If you knew how intimidating you are, you wouldn’t make it sound so simple”. Imagine how isolating it must be to keep hearing that.

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CLONE WARS GAMBIT: SIEGE | Karen Miller

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going insane over how hawke's tragedy is about losing everything inevitably. they lose their father. they lose their home and their little sibling. they find new friends and get a good chance to make things better and then lose their second little sibling — even if they don't die they will never come back home. they finally get money and some kind of stability and then lose their mother who wanted the life they got the most. they become a champion beloved by the city and then lose their home and the family they found once again and all the titles and fame have no weight anymore. they lose the battle against corypheus because he comes back. they lose the battle against meredith because she comes back too. no matter how much they gain it will be taken away. no matter how hard they believe they got things right this time they will be proven wrong

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commission for @freshmiraclecheesecake!

(commissions are open!)

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Looking back and going forward

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good morning to 40 year olds who act 80, bisexual terrorists, autistic empaths, insomniac assassins, and everyone else who’s got the spirit

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LEGO STAR WARS HAS ALL THE RIGHTS

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I know people are seeing the post credit scene and lamenting that Cassian and Melshi were forced to build the very weapon that will kill them (which is true and I am definitely also 'people') but... it also confirmation that the prison escape directly impacted the development of the Death Star.

Like, we know that turning off the facility meant that Narkina 5 couldn't be fully operational for months, and the loss of 5000 prisoners who were all assembling large numbers of pieces a day... all of that had to hurt the production schedule, not to mention any further damage from Melshi or Cassian's testimonies reaching people inside and out of the prison system.

How long did it delay production? We don't know - it could have been weeks or months, or even just hours. But knowing how little time the Rebellion has once they learn of the Death Star's existence, and how the Empire was closing in, even before then - Jyn and team escape Jedha with the message and means to destroy the superweapon by literal seconds - I just feel like it counted.

The Death Star will one day kill both Cassian and Melshi, but they, and 5000 other men, also bought precious time for the Rebellion. Just enough time to get the plans off Scarif. Just enough time for some desert farmer boy to make the crucial shot.

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sometimes I wonder how y'all are obsessed with specific characters and I'm like "why them" but then I remember that sometimes its literally not your choice you just look at them wrong and all of a sudden they're taking up your every thought forever

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In the business, we call this foreshadowing.

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But to the chancellor, Umate had a second meaning. A symbolism she would never voice, never speak aloud, as it went against the general spirit of optimism and hope and possibility that was a cornerstone of her government and indeed, the Republic itself. That meaning was this:

— Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi, Charles Soule

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thinking about how prequels are almost always tragedies. there cannot be honour. there cannot be happy endings. the hero isn't here. the hero isn't even born yet.