#⭒✧ — study » galen erso

[inebranlabl]

sw tags 3

⭒✧ — countenance » galen erso ⭒✧ — aesthetic » galen erso ⭒✧ — verse tbt » galen erso ⭒✧ — study » galen erso ⭒✧ — threads » galen erso ⭒✧ — inbox » galen erso ⭒✧ — wish list » galen erso

⭒✧ — countenance » duja ⭒✧ — aesthetic » duja ⭒✧ — verse tbt » duja ⭒✧ — study » duja ⭒✧ — threads » duja ⭒✧ — inbox » duja ⭒✧ — wish list » duja

[renegade-skywalker]

about me ~ my writing

my (old) poetry blog my cats🥰 ginger tabby: Kaito, 4 years old white&black: Chani, 7 years old white&grey tabby: Finn🌈2016-2022 (little love of my life)

Interview with the Vampire/Vampire Chronicles

In Her, I Had Eternity (Claudia/Madeleine, one shot, POV Madeleine)(AO3)

BG3/Gale x Tav fics (AO3 links)

Home is Wherever I'm With You

Another Night With You

Let Me Count the Ways

Experiments in Idle Pleasures

Forgive Me

Submission and Surrender

Sweetness of a Waking Dream

Heat of a Stolen Moment

A Soft Proposal

One of Many Mornings

Tav/OC Meta

Merit Meadowlark 1/2/3/4/5

Lyric/Durge 1/2

Kotor 2 / Atton x Exile fics (AO3 links)

On Call

A Fool's Wager

The Scoundrel and the Jedi

Best Left Unsaid

The Calm Before the Storm

Before You Go (Prompt: "I fucked up")

"You'd hate it here,"

"There are those who wage war, and those who follow them."

"Figured I'd find you here,"

Other Kotor 2 Fics

Out of the Abyss (my ~400k+ word still-ongoing magnum opus lol) (AO3)

A Curious Thing (this is Mira/Brianna but Atton/M!Exile is still implied; completed) (AO3)

Ghost in the Machine (rebuilding HK-47, Revan reveal) (AO3)

Dragon Age fics (older ones are on AO3, c. 2014)

What You Take With You (DA2, multi-chapter, in progress, Carver/Merrill)

The Rains of Highever (DA:O one shot, vengeful Cousland, POV Morrigan)

The Splendor of Lost Hearts (DA:I multi-chapter, completed. Blackwall character study)

more under the cut!

SW fics/meta/prompts (older, pre-2018) (AO3 links)

Warm (Finn/Rey)

Midnight Flight (Finn/Rey)(link is to the final chapter on tumblr but the post includes an entire fic directory and the AO3 link(s))

Fatal Flaw (Bodhi Rook/Galen Erso character study)

Like My Mother Before Me (Luke and Padme character study)

A Heavy Inheritance (Leia and Padme character study)

What I Meant to Tell You (Finn/Rey)

Free (Finn character study)

Random Kotor/SW meta posts

"Well he definitely gets that from me," (my most popular post for some reason...)

thoughts on kotor 2/TLJ/Atris and the Jedi

I'm a Mira/Brianna truther at heart

Vader recognizing Padme and himself in Leia

Luke Skywalker feels

Revan vs the Jedi Exile and the kotor-era Jedi Order

Kreia thoughts

Mical/The Disciple Appreciation Post

More Mical love

How Atton factors into Kreia's end game plan

Why Finn and Rey should have been co-leads in the sequel trilogy

My AO3 (all of my stuff is site-locked btw so you'll need to be logged in to see it all)

❤️ttfn :)

[liminalpebble]

Can… can I be interested in two wips?

Under Your Skin and The Other Side?

Thanks! 💖

Of course! Anything for you, sweet Lady. ❤️

Under Your Skin

Mira Erso (distant relative of Galen) is an archivist on an ambitious research mission to study and record the languages, cultures, and histories of different nations throughout the galaxy.

As the First Order's slash and burn attack decends upon her station, Mira takes a gamble to keep all their precious work from going up in flames, or worse, falling into the wrong hands.

After downloading the archives onto a drive, she implants it beneath her skin for safekeeping and subterfuge. Fleeing the onslaught of General Hux's ruthless army, she rushes to ferry the precious cargo to safety using her own anatomy to protect it.

Little does she know that the General already has her in his crosshairs, and is ready for a vicious game of cat and mouse.

---

The Other Side

After the battle with Vecna and his presumed death, Eddie begins his next life in the twilight world of the Upside-Down.

His wounds are miraculously healing, but at the terrible price of a strange and monstrous appetite. Before long, Eddie is changing into something else...something not quite human.

Soon, Eddie the Banished finds himself in a battle to remain the man he is, before the dark dimension can make a monster of him.

On the other side his, long-time friend and classmate, Mina, goes on with her life, mourning the metalhead she always loved (though he never knew how deeply). She assumes that now, he never will. Eddie had always taken her companionship for granted, but now, their memories together mean more to him than she could ever know.

Mina and Eddie rediscover each other through mementos of their past, their interdimensional presence, and the lost pieces of themselves, which the other manages to find along the way.

@sweetsigyn @lemongingerart @marcotheflychair @leelei1980 @hellfirenacht @fairyysoup

[jyndor]

Ooh I’d really like to see what you’ve written about Jyn meeting Cassian’s friends💕💞💗

i have more planned than actually written LOL but i can talk through the concepts first.

this is all going to be set in the early days after rogue one. pre-relationship as fuck lol. and it's as much a character study of cassian as it is about jyn and her dynamics with these different people who love cassian.

cinta - cinta and jyn partner up on an intel mission. jyn spends a lot of time observing cinta and notices that she's very similar to cassian. cinta says VERY little about cassian, she's a stone cold pro and isn't about to have that kind of talk with jyn about another agent.

i like the idea that cinta is who cassian is in the beginning of rogue one, except that she would have killed galen. not without thought, not because those are her orders, but because cinta would at least partially AGREE with the orders - galen erso is responsible for the death star in many ways, and she'd hold him to account by assassinating him. but she's also WHO CASSIAN IS IN THE BEGINNING OF ROGUE ONE so she'd also find jyn's fire attractive and inspiring, and she'd probably not let jyn die on jedha tbh. in the same way that she supports vel all through the aldhani arc.

i think cinta is too perceptive to just not notice cassian is a merc on aldhani. she believes that he's a rebel (because he is LOL), but she also wouldn't care if he wasn't (she's clearly more upset that vel didn't tell her than that cassian's being paid). i also think she sees a lot of herself in him.

i also want to amp up the queerness. cinta and jyn are both bisexuals obviously, no discussion needed it's canon. but anyway, i think they'd be attracted to each other but i don't do cheating oml. they'll get into some sort of accidentally sexy moment on the mission, jyn's probably down because she's in denial about cassian lol but cinta and vel are definitely not poly so they acknowledge the attraction but it's a non-starter.

cinta will probably say something about jyn having a lover, too, and jyn's like ? um no i think i'd know if i did. and then cinta's like there's no way these two hoes haven't fucked lol but she's wrong, fairly sure she's projecting onto cassian again but whatever.

but the main thing with this section is that jyn learns that cassian wasn't always a rebel - at least that's what cinta will say because whether or not she believes that he wasn't a rebel until after aldhani, she'll respect him enough to not just tell jyn all of her thoughts about how cassian was always a rebel in some ways.

this is gonna piss jyn off LOL that i know. vel will show up in this section but it's mainly about cinta.

melshi - jyn's already met melshi so this will be more about them getting to know each other. in my headcanon rue is an ex-boyfriend of cassian's. unlike with bix and cassian's s1 complicated dynamic (which i have a feeling is based on the relationship being on-and-off when they were younger and probably not having a lot of closure/not always being great about boundaries) they're really just very good friends, their romantic relationship fades more easily than with bix.

jyn and melshi end up as workout buddies. that's the storyline i have planned, jyn needs a spotter while she's lifting weights (what a hottie omg i bet she could lift me) and melshi volunteers. jyn notices that his nose is still fucked up from when she hit him with the shovel on wobani. she sort of apologizes (sort of, she's a tough nut to crack) and he's surprisingly understanding about it. so they end up working out together a couple times a week, and over time he opens up to her about his time on narkina. i'm assuming he was there for a LONG time. eventually he mentions cassian and jyn's like ??? the fuck??? and that's how she learns that cassian was in a labor camp like she was.

i don't think melshi would feel super comfortable talking about cassian's story but also a big motif in this fic is that everyone thinks cassian and jyn are fucking. how these different people handle talking to jyn about cassian is important in exploring these dynamics and relationships. he assumes cassian has told jyn things about his past because when THEY were together, they did a lot of talking about shit.

im not sure where i want to go with how jyn takes it. jyn doesn't trust easily and i think she'd understand that she doesn't know a lot about cassian yet - but something like that is so similar to her own personal trauma that i can't help but think she'd be upset.

bix, bee and brasso - bix works as a mechanic for the rebellion at this point (with her husband brasso and their dog droid bee because lol it's an everyone lives au except all parental figures they're all dead) and is working on the ship cassian and jyn are going to be taking for their first mission together since scarif (cassian is finally cleared to go back in the field, congrats major andor) and jyn finds out that bix and brasso do a lot of salvage work. she wants to find a new chassis for kaytoo so that cassian can have his friend back. ugh love her sfm. what a good thing the fandom has her doing in so much fic.

well, bix is like ? hmm why are you looking for a kx oh shit you're jyn erso. something like that. there's all kinds of rumors about jyn and cassian, and bix is like... yeah of course that tracks. hot, competent, brunette, bit of a smart mouth. and you know bix has been trying to get the tea from cassian for weeks, but he keeps telling her "lies" about how they're not together, it's not a good idea right now, etc.

but this time cassian actually shows up, clearly a bit unnerved by jyn and his old friends (esp bix) scheming together, which is the part i actually have written:

Cassian walks into the mechanic's bay (?) with a familiar unease building up in his chest. He wonders if he’ll always feel this way around Bix. Even before the shitshow on Ferrix, their relationship when they were teenagers always ran hot and cold. Fresh out of a war zone and a prison camp, he wasn’t in any state to love her properly, even if he loved her fiercely, in the way a boy loved his first girlfriend.

Too busy hating the Empire to do better by her. Or anyone. He can’t say he’d do anything differently. They would have always broken up, fallen out of love, grown out of each other. He can’t imagine himself in Brasso’s place, can’t even bring himself to be resentful towards his old friend for their marriage. He never thought about any of that back during their time together - commitment was sneaking around behind her father’s back, saving whiskey for her, keeping his head in the present while he was with her. 

But he doesn’t feel guilty about any of that. Romances end all the time. And he’s a very different man now, one who Bix doesn’t even particularly like sometimes - even if she still loves his sorry ass, exasperatedly and against her better judgment. Their friendship is shaped by trauma and loss and hope, like he is himself.

He doesn’t feel guilty about breaking her heart. 

Her torture, however, he carries with him everywhere he goes. It wasn’t his fault but he feels responsible. For the change in her very chemical makeup. For the hands that shake, the way she never quite trusts her privacy.

Still. She’s been a lot better lately. Since Scarif and the Battle of Yavin. He just hopes-

Jyn Erso is in the mech bay. Smiling with Bix over a large pile of black metal and wires. Jyn doesn’t just smile at strangers. 

The uneasy feeling grows.

[… blah blah some shit i haven’t written, jyn fucks off …]

Bix sighs, wiping her forehead with her rag. "You being… you-” Cassian crosses his arms. “Don’t look at me like that, of course I thought you fucked her. ‘Course I did.”

“It’s not like that,” he says. She rolls her eyes and pulls out another wire. “Jyn and I… it’s never been like that. Not even sure where this rumor came from, anyway.”

“She’s gorgeous and competent. Only issue is that she’s not in a long-term monogamous relationship for you to screw up-” Cassian glares at her. She laughs. “Are you serious? You disobeyed the kriffing Council for her!”

“For the Rebellion,” he corrects, and he’s mostly not lying.

“And I’m the Queen of Naboo, and Bras is secretly related to Wynssa Starflare. Who are you kidding?” Her smile fades. “But I believe you now,” Bix says. “Seeing you two together. It’s definitely not like that.”

Cassian turns away. “I’m glad that’s settled.”

Her eyes widen and she reaches for his arm, turning him back around. “No, I don’t mean- shit Cass. You know how sometimes things don’t come out right for me now.” She bites her lip. “You’re in love with her, and she has no idea.”

“She’s my partner, Bix.”

“You should tell her.”

He shakes his head. “We’re in the middle of a war. It’s really not a good time.”

“Brasso and I got married last year, you nerf!”

“I am a spy, Bix!” Cassian snaps. “I carry a poison pill in my jacket so that if I get caught, I don’t give up Rebel secrets. I’m already living on borrowed time.” He shuts his eyes. “She’s lost everyone who ever loved her, and you think I should tell her? I wonder how long it’ll be until I’m lying dead somewhere. Just another disappointment. Three, four months? A year?” He opens his eyes again and sees Bix shaking her head, stricken. “I’m sorry.”

[masterwcrk]

My Way in the Universe // Star Wars

tag: ☆ ❛ my way in the universe ❜ || verse. ( au. — star wars ) additional arcs for prequels/originals era, & chiss ascendency

sequels era (main).  sequestered away from even all but the highest levels of the resistance, clary is a force-sensitive human with a unique ability to imbue crystals with specific abilities through the force. what might take a jedi days, meditating over the crystals, she can do in a fraction of the time, but often at a great & terrible cost. ( more info on carrd or under the cut ).

prequels through originals era. Originally from the Unknown Regions, Jocelyn fled the Chaos before Clary was even born only for her daughter to be identified as force sensitive & spirited away yet again - this time to the ecumenopolis of Coruscant. Training in the Jedi Temple, Clay is unaware of her father's experimentations or even the fact she has a brother somewhere out there in the Outer Reaches. Instead, she busies herself studying the history of the Jedi & hunting down ways to fill in the surprising gaps in the Jedi Archives.

note: this is the only arc where Clary will actively carry a lightsaber - hers is a dual-phase lightsaber, utilizing two different kybers she's honed in her time. she's proficient in form i, having trained at the jedi temple on coruscant as a necessity after her gifts became apparent. the primary kyber she utilizes is a ghostfire crystal, producing a nearly translucent blade that leaves an afterimage capable of distorting opponents. the second is a blackwing crystal, as a callback to her time spent on dathomir.

chiss ascendency. Instead of leaving the Chaos, Jocelyn was captured by Valentine & Clary was left on her own. Even as young as she is, she found work with the Navigators' Guild & rapidly became a favorite trusted navigator for many of the Chiss looking to hire someone for sensitive assignments. There's a name for what she is in the Chiss language, after all - ozyly-esehembo, sky-walker.

note: options for interactions in these arcs found here.

Born in 8 ABY on the planet of Naboo, Clary planned to eventually follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, the handmaiden Rabé, & become prominent in the arts in her own right. With a mother who was known as a renowned artist & an infamous diathim father widely known in the political circles, it was little surprise when, at the age of twelve, she became elected to the throne of naboo. she would serve two terms, supporting Naboo from 20 ABY to 24 ABY before disappearing into the ether under mysterious circumstances after the transfer of power.

you see, she has a secret. In the days leading up to the coronation of her successor, each of her handmaidens had quietly reached out, searching for a way to hide her before the protections afforded to her as queen were stripped away. Mere days before, they found something that could work. Hiring a smuggler to move her off planet only hours after she had completed the transfer of power & before even clearing the last of the highly stylized makeup from her face, Clary was ushered into a ship & taken to dathomir, where she would spend the next few years honing her gift.

It was this gift that had landed her in his father's crosshairs, after all; Clary has always had a unique gift for working with crystals - not just the ones found in veins of pure kyberite, but others as well. she can imbue them with their own unique abilities, with a little effort, but this gift comes at a significant cost: this connection to them means she’s tied to them, & taking her away from them for too long drains the life right out of her.

Studying the work of Galen Erso, Clary was able to hone her signature ability - force transference - under the tutelage of yennefer of dathomir. Because of this ability, she's able to draw immense amounts of energy through the Force & transfer it in to virtually anything, but especially kybers of both natural & synthetic nature. She can do this at a rate far surpassing any other living being, but it comes at a steep cost. Separating her from her work can be lethal, so once she's set up somewhere, she can only be moved with either great care or very quick speed.

This is largely because of the symbiotic relationship between he force abilities & her crystals. Because her work has amplified her abilities, her abilities are now largely dependent on that amplification to sustain her.

and there's one other problem.

she's one of the greatest assets to the resistance, but she's a double edged sword - one that could be so easily used against them, as well. that's why she works quietly but quickly; if the First Order gets its claws into her, it's a one way trip & there's no plan for extraction.

[chamerionwrites]

Alternate Title Suggestions

Star Wars Episode I: Who Let The Jedi Take Care of Children

Star Wars Episode II: They Literally Made You People. To Be. Soldiers. Is No One Else Going To Say It

Star Wars Episode III: A Minor Change of Nomenclature

[pretty-with-andorian-shingles]

Ah finally... I can bother you again 😁

For the Star Wars asks:

10, 12, 14, 28, 30

Missed you 💙

You could bother me anyway!!! But I missed you too.

10. Generally the cranky ones that keep doing their jobs but are still cranky. Samakro, I guess mostly.

12. Galen Erso. I love him. He makes my heart hurt.

14. Using the force as an excuse for any character being exceptional. Boring.

28. Krennic from ruining Galen's life because that poor, sweet scientist just wanted to make science and study crystals and help people by offering cheap energy. Krennic is my mortal enemy.

30. I mean yeah I probably have headcanons. I like to think Samakro will become an Admiral and join Thrawn's fan club and that translates to what I write about him. I can't think of anything fun ones off the top of my head.

[debelltio-a]

@vicicus​​ : 💚 - ENVY because we know he's jelly

Sinday memes

💚 - ENVY - What is my muse jealous of?  Is it someone else’s power or privilege?  Is it something about their relationship?

In a word? Everything. Much of his anger and insecurity stems from envy. It’s a reflection of his upbringing, of being born from nothing. A majority of his life was spent disrespected, cast aside, and forgotten. At the very heart of it, he’s angry at the universe. Whatever divine creator ( headcanon post on Orson’s religious thoughts will be made someday ) up above was cruel and unkind to him. His mind, the source of his intellect and his gifts, also serves as his jailer. No matter how much titles or possessions he acquires, it’s never enough. He’ll always be that child who has nothing. I’ll highlight a few people in his life who he has felt envious of, along with how he handles them. The Erso’s     Orson is absolutely envious of the Erso family as a whole, although he definitely does not show it. To Galen, it’s one of intellectual and moral insecurity. Galen was effortlessly better than him in every single way. He was smarter ( though that was Orson’s own fault for not fucking studying ) but most importantly, he was happier. They come from a similar background ( both from poor, working-class families ) yet he could never wrap it around his head that Galen was content with who he was.     Onto Lyra — well, she has Galen’s attention and heart, ‘nuff said. Ahaha, whether or not this feeling is romantic or platonic will be kept ambiguous. But he is jealous and possessive of his friend.     Lastly, Jyn. Similarly to Lyra, she has Galen’s attention. Though in this case, how do I put it — it’s a feeling of being replaced. His best friend was moving on but Orson was not ready to let go ( something something attachments ). Additionally, he’s jealous of her childhood. Jyn was raised in a loving family while Orson was not. There’s resentment plus many other past problems ( warning: discussions of domestic abuse - see here and here ). Grand Moff Tarkin     This one’s relatively straightforward and a tale of ‘Did not unlock tragic backstory’. Orson believes that like every other Imperial officer, Tarkin is the epitome of privilege. Old money, influential, rich. It was everything he hated and envied. Though if you dig a little deeper than that, he envies the governor’s calculating calmness and bravery. Unlike Orson, he doesn’t fly off the handle with rage every time something unexpected happens. Additionally, he has seen Tarkin in action before ( and also caused a civil war on his jurisdiction but let’s not go there ) and secretly, he was very impressed. It does pain him that next to the governor, he looks like an incompetent buffoon wearing a silly costume.

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

Rogue One Coffee Shop/College AU Rambles

A/N: This is an AU that’s been living in my mind rent free for a while now. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get around to writing it, but I thought you guys might find it fun.  This also includes my OC Sera Darros, so be warned.

If you like this, talk to me about it! I’d love to have someone else to ramble with!

Character Breakdowns

Jyn Erso: College drop out whose father teaches engineering at the local university. She now works in a coffee shop owned by Chirrut and Baze.  She never picked a major before she dropped out and is looking for what she wants to do.

Cassian Andor: Grad student working on his masters in Political Science.  He organizes most of the school protest and is usually the one to start throwing rocks at the cops.  His veins are filled with more coffee than blood now and consistently needs to refill his supply.  

Bodhi Rook: Just transferred as a junior and working towards his piloting license.  He takes Galen Erso’s class and actually does really well.  He does tend to panic when it comes to test and psyches himself out even though he’s never gotten anything lower than a B-. He works in the coffee shop to pay for books.

Sera Darros: Cassian’s step-sister, she’s a freshman in the university following in her brother’s footsteps as a political science major, although she’s considering journalism.  She works in the coffee shop and gives Cassian discounts on coffee.  She also attends most of the rallies.

Kay: Cassian’s best friend.  He’s a computer science major and is one of the assholes who never has to study for anything, but still gets straight As in all his classes.  He helps Cassian with the protest when he can and is often with him in the coffee shop even though he’s not studying.

Chirrut: Baze’s husband he’s more the face of the business.  He makes sure everyone is comfortable and organizes open mic nights.  He also pays very close attention everyone’s relationship status and is always ready to shove someone in the broom closet for them to confess their feelings.

Baze: He runs the business side of things to make sure the shop stays afloat.  He also does the experimenting with the pastries and asks for second opinions from costumers.

Galen Erso: College’s engineering professor. He’s a good man who is disappointed his daughter dropped out, but is still trying to be supportive.  He, however, does not support her dating the angry, grumpy poli-sci major who got arrested last week.

Krennic: One of the political science professors who Cassian hates to the point where he might fail the class.

Saw: Another political science professor who is bat shit crazy with conspiracies, but has tenor so no one can fire him.

Tarkin: Runs the school board

A Plethora Of Scenarios

Sera, Bodhi, and Jyn all make a pact to slip Cassian decaf into his coffee when he’s gone more than 24hrs without sleep.

Everyone discovers Bodhi does illegal street racing to make extra money for tuition and they are confused.

Han, Leia, and Luke also go to the same college.  Han is the only one with a car and regularly arrives late to class with Luke in tow sipping on a Carmel Frappachino®.  Despite this, Han is somehow still passing with a B average and it is slowly driving Cassian insane. 

Leia and Sera are roommates.  Nothing more to add, I just think it’s nice.

Sera and Bodhi regularly hold hands at rallies...for safety.

Bodhi is regularly found sleeping on the coffee shop couches in the early morning hours.  If he’s the one to close up, rather than walk back to his dorm, he stays and studies and 9/10 ends up passing out.

Galen catches wind that Jyn is dating the guy that threw a brick at a cop last week and is...distressed.

When Bodhi and Sera start working together, Bodhi can't put two sentences together and spends most of his time clean up or doing dishes in the back.  Sera is, of course, still friendly and just figures he's not a big talker. It stays like that for about a month. Then, one day Sera is up front working, Jyn is not there for some reason and she messes a guy's order up.  So the guy starts yelling at her, Sera is trying to apologize and that's the moment Bodhi steps in and tells the guy off.  Sera just stares at him for a solid minute because that's the most she's heard him talk like ever.  The guy leaves and Bodhi immediately goes back to his slightly nervous self.  Sera is then hit with the "oh shit, he's cute, I must protect him" stick and immediately makes him her best friend.

Cassian gets arrested on an almost bi-monthly basis.  Most of the money Sera is making at the shop goes to bailing him out.

Chirrut regularly host karaoke nights, you cannot change my mind.

Bodhi regularly beats Han and Lando on poker nights.

Saw regularly calls for the literal execution of some of the school board members, but they can’t get rid of him.

[elopez7228]

Scenic Route 22/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774 

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

"What does that give us?" Leia asked, looking over Rose's shoulder as she typed.

They were working in what could only be called a basement. Daylight crept through a dusty air vent, struggling to illuminate the room. Inside sat several tables, all of which were covered with some combination of food containers, dossiers, loose leaf papers and computer equipment.

A third member, a thirty-something blonde woman named Kaydel Connix, was perched on the used antique sofa on the opposite side of the room. Every now and then she took a sip from a can of Dr. Pepper.

“Not bad,” Rose replied. “Our videos generated some buzz online but the articles weren’t too widely shared. Ecology did a blog post on the First Order’s building projects which was picked up by WWF and Greenpeace. It was shared on Twitter a couple thousand times including by a few celebrities. But that’s not enough. The donation petition circling among university faculty will only give us ten or twenty thousand dollars at most. It’ll barely be enough to cover litigation costs if the plan falls through.”

“We will win,” Leia assured her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. “And when we do, the damages that FORCE will be responsible for will easily cost millions, believe me.”

Rose turned to face her aging mentor. “Leia, what if we don’t make it this time?”

Leia resisted the urge to answer indirectly, preferably with a metaphor. She could tell that Rose needed something more, a moment of honesty from the heart. She closed her eyes briefly, centering herself.

“Then we start over, we seek allies elsewhere. We are the spark of hope, that will light the fire, that will burn the First Order down.”

Rose nodded, pursing her lips. The stakes were high. All their forces had been on the ground for months, setting the stage for the ultimate blow that would take this multinational corporation down. They were everywhere: reaching out to PR personnel, leading demonstrations in the streets, blasting their message on social media, speaking to local officials, and even doing international relations. Their entire strategy rested on the element of surprise and the high volume of media attention that the results of the trial would achieve. If the chain of events faltered even slightly, FORCE would have an unequivocal victory.

But as the big day approached, their little band of rebels looked ever weaker.

Their secret informant and metaphorical  coal mine canary, Galen Erso, risked his livelihood every day. His true identity was only known by the Skywalkers and their lawyer, Amilyn. He was at the mercy of Hux and Phasma. They ran a tight ship; Lord knew what means they had to control every aspect of operations within the First Order. They could have already decided to monitor his every move for suspicious activity.

The Earth Soldiers legal team, led by Amilyn, also consisted of Larma D’Acy and Gial Ackbar, who along with their assistants and paralegals formed a team of twenty four. In addition, a small army of volunteers around the United States formed the basis of their campaign. It was absolutely imperative that all eyes were on the California Supreme Court in San Francisco as the verdict came out. Leia and Rose were the primary mouthpieces in the media, appearing publicly to attract large crowds.

The final piece of their plan relied on the incriminating contents of a micro-SD chip that would once and for all obliterate the credibility of the First Order. It was currently in the hands of an English tourist, who had just finished taking a proper bath and playing fetch with a small orange dog.

“What about the documents?” Rose sighed in frustration. “Are you sure this girl is going to deliver them in one piece, on time? What if she misplaces them or something?”

“We’re definitely taking a risk here. But she doesn’t seem to have any ulterior motives. All she wants to do is to get from point A to point B. The rest is up to her, and honestly her lack of itinerary is perfect for avoiding traps.”

“But..what if Kylo and his cult are on to her? That haven’t returned to the headquarters in a while, have they?”

“They’re always on the field, just out of sight. They can interrogate her all they want, it’s perfectly safe. She knows absolutely nothing.”

“Safe, even for her?”

Leia’s face fell for a moment. She had picked this girl out herself. A troubled young woman who had trusted her easily, who had jumped so readily at the task. But she had been surrounded by Kylo’s team for days now, which was worrisome indeed.

Kylo had a reputation for being cold and shrewd—he could very well decide to end this little game of hide-and-seek by robbing the girl blind and leaving her on the side of the highway—or worse yet, in a ditch. Even if he didn’t realize  what she happened to be carrying, he could easily ensure that none of it arrived in one piece.  

Rose (ever the realist) wondered why he hadn’t done so already.

Deep inside, Leia felt a gnawing pant of guilt: she had thrown this innocent girl to the wolves. Whatever happened, it was her responsibility now. But whether out of naïveté or foolhardiness, she chose to ignore the direst possibilities.

She carried on as though both the girl and the micro-SD were going to arrive unscathed—she had no room for error.

Rose held no such convictions, and it occurred to the young woman that Leia, mother of the infamous Kylo Ren, could never truly imagine the horrors that her own son was capable of. Did she still think of him as the awkward child that she often sang to sleep? How long could she keep living in denial? Kylo worked for FORCE, for Snoke and Hux. He had chosen his side. He had turned his back on the shining enterprise built by his ancestors in favor of fame and fortune, accusing his mother of being a miserly harpie.

Ironically, Rose was sure that Armitage Hux or Syed Ren would agree with her assessment: the compassion, nay, the complacency, Kylo had shown when it came to Rey was beyond comprehension.

Did they suspect she was an Earth Soldiers operative? It would be easy enough to get her alone and talking. Perhaps they would even resort to more aggressive tactics if necessary.

What if they saw her as no more than a diversion? They could make sure she had a healthy fear of their field agents, catch-and-release style.

If the evidence was anything to go by, Rose suspected that the great Kylo Ren was in love. And he was capable of anything.

Hux remained silent as Syed went over the details of her proposal over the phone. He certainly had a card to play now—but which one?

He had known Ben Solo since university, almost back before he rejected his name in favor of Kylo Ren. But their relationship had always been volatile.

Armitage, despite being the son of a reputable military officer, had been forced to juggle multiple jobs to pay for a potion of his studies. It was humiliating, but his father was convinced that it was necessary to “build character”. His assigned roommate was a large, melancholic oaf, the preppy sort with a family inheritance and whatnot. An inheritance which was promptly spent by the boy’s parents on charity and frivolous ideas of changing the world.

Kylo lost his father—a subject he rarely discussed—and was raised in part by his uncle as well as his own mother, who served in the military. An outsider for the most part, he got in to Harvard thanks to the goodwill (or rather the strong will) of the new head of the Skywalker family enterprise. His mother’s last name, synonymous with his grandfather’s legacy, opened many doors for him.

Personally, Armitage had always wondered what debt Snoke was keen on repaying the Skywalker family by graciously taking their problem child under his wing.

The difference between the two classmates was clear from the start. Ben Solo hated his family’s lack of interest in his life, all while still profiting off of the success of the glorious Skywalker enterprise to pay for his studies. Meanwhile, Hux worked in various service jobs, cleaning floors, stocking shelves, and working behind restaurant counters to pay for food, rent, and various educational expenses.

They walked the line between friendship and enmity. Some days they were drinking buddies, other times they competed for the attention of girls, or for academic recognition among their peers and professors. No doubt they compared test scores.

Harvard diploma in hand, Hux was ecstatic to start working as a financial manager for the First Order. Snoke, at the very least, recognized his competence and his intrinsic value. But Ben Solo—now insisting on the title Kylo Ren like the capricious bastard he was—was almost immediately promoted to Director of Operations. A highly prestigious post that not only put him outside of Hux’s chain of command, and gave him nearly absolute freedom on the field.

Once more, Kylo Ren’s accursed heritage guaranteed him a better place, one that Hux deserved but could never hope to achieve despite his hard work.

Presently, FORCE hoped to generate massive revenue from a mine in the northern regions of Hoopa Valley. On paper, they would be mining for iron ore buried deep underground while producing thousands of jobs in the region. Behind the scenes it was all Hux’s team: they kept the corruption under wraps, signed deals with local providers, and privately represented FORCE in every dealing. But of course it was always Kylo Fucking Ren who appeared publicly before the cameras, with his wind-swept hair and cool-guy demeanor.  

Once again, it was Hux who had to face criticism and take the insurmountable legal risks when the matter was dragged into court, all while Ren continued to receive honors and congratulations.

But Snoke wouldn’t remain president forever. He was old and ailing, his liver jaundiced and his lungs weak from pulmonary disease. Following his termination, and the success of this mine, Hux’s achievements would eclipse the old brute, not to mention that of the prodigal son, Ben Solo-Skywalker, whose heritage would be annihilated.

Ben was a go-getter, as passionate as he was brutal. He detested strategy and calculation, preferring to jump directly  into the fray. It would be easy to clip his wings when Hux assumed total control.

In fact, Hux now had the perfect justification. Kylo had committed a grave error in his most recent bout of passion: he was enamored with this nomadic girl, and according to  Syed Ren, he would do anything for her.

He would lose everything.

“Syed, are you still there?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you for the intel. The photos were a particularly nice touch. I never doubted your loyalty, or your competence.”

Syed waited silently for Hux to gather his thoughts.

“Kylo Ren’s mission,” he continued, “is to determine Rey Jakku’s relationship with Earth Soldiers, and take action accordingly. Are you certain, after a mere seventy-two hours, that there is no connection?”

“Absolutely, sir. The girl is a diversion, driving the Millenium Falcon around to attract our attention while Skywalker’s team is plotting. We’re wasting time.”

“And did you inform Kylo Ren of your findings?”

“Yes. He chose not to take my advice.”

Hux closed his eyes, pausing. It was time to risk it all. While the loyalty of the Knights of Ren had proven unquestionable in the past, Syed Ren seemed to have a very exploitable weakness in the form of hate and jealousy.

“Who do you work for, Syed Ren?”

She hesitated, looking for a trap in his words. The answer seemed obvious but she struggled with it. “For Kylo Ren, sir.”

“Really, are you on his payroll, then?”

“Yeah...well—no! No, I work for FORCE. I work for you, sir.”

“Very well. Now I propose a new mission, one which will determine the very future of FORCE.”

“I don’t know if...”

“You don’t have to decide now. Just hear me out, and do what you like.”

“Okay. I’m...I’m listening.”

A few minutes later, Hux hung up. He ran a hand through his hair, his tell-tale sign of nervousness. If everything went to plan, if Syed Ren was as bitter and blinded by rage as he hoped, perhaps she would finally turn on her master and her precious acolyte friends. She would work for him—he had promised her money, a veritable fortune, but most of all, a chance to exact her revenge upon Kylo Ren. She would be able to smite him for rejecting her and turning her into an unwilling babysitter.

Her wrath would be glorious.

[scruffyhappaboreherder]

This is for @thereigning-lorelai, who supplied this prompt:

When your soul finds the soul it was waiting for When someone walks into your heart through an open door When your hand finds the hand it was meant to hold Don't let go

(from Demi Lovato's "Heart by Heart")

Content and other warnings

soulmate AU, with soulmarks caused by a virus

author knows very little about virology

among other issues the reasons for the creation of the virus were eugenicist and so there is some of that rhetoric

allusions to unethical medical experimentation

author quotes some canon dialogue and rewrites other parts

mention of characters from Rebel Rising

minor reliance on the novelization

~2k words.

----------------

Whatever I Do

At first, it seemed like a mild, ordinary skin condition.

The index case appeared on Coruscant.  A few senators and some members of their staff reported an itching sensation, followed by a rash, usually appearing on the arms.  Physicians and med-droids examined them, but the tests they ran were negative for all known pathogens.

After a few days, the rash healed.  In most cases, there was nothing left to show that it had ever been there.  In one out of a hundred cases, however, vividly contrasting marks remained even after the itching subsided.  It was only when one of the doctors attached to the Senate noticed that two of her patients had identically-shaped marks that it attracted any particular attention outside the medical community.

The two patients, a senator and a diplomat from planets in the Mid Rim, were married within a year.  Others found that they developed marks after months or years, and a few other such matches were made.

As the phenomenon spread to other communities on other worlds, some wondered if it was a manifestation of the Force.  Others argued against it: the marks only appeared on the arms of human couples.  Invariably, the couples comprised a male-assigned and a female-assigned member.  While there were no Jedi left to consult, the lore of most sects held that the Force acted upon beings of all races.

Still, those who ended up with identical marks on their arms seemed to share a romantic compatibility.  The marks were dubbed soulmarks, the couples who bore them were popularly referred to as soulmates, and the speculation about the cause of the phenomenon continued.

Almost no one noticed the disappearance of research scientist Galen Erso and his family shortly after the first soulmarks appeared.  Those who did knew better than to speak of it.

-----------------

As the child of a project member, Jyn Erso had been infected with the virus shortly after laboratory testing indicated that the latest version was stable and would behave as expected.  This had been done without her parents' knowledge, but soon after she was infected, her parents had fled Coruscant.  He wondered, as he had before, if they had absconded to keep their child out of the reach of the project, or because Galen Erso no longer wished to participate, and knew that resignation was not an option.

It didn't really matter, in the end.  It had taken years, but Jyn Erso was available to the project again.  They could question and study her.  They had questioned and studied the young man they had captured with her, but it seemed that there was nothing special about him; for Jyn Erso, he was the sort of partner choice that the virus had been designed to prevent.

------------------

"What have you heard?"  Cassian tried to keep his voice soothing.

"It's a virus."  Tivik's steps sped up.  "I have to leave."

"What kind of virus?"

"I don't know!  A cargo pilot defected.  He says it has to do with soulmarks.  That it's a virus that makes them."

"Soulmarks?"  What did soulmarks have to do with anything?

"The pilot said Galen Erso sent him.  An old friend of Saw's."

The sound of stormtroopers' boots approached, then paused outside the alleyway he'd drawn Tivik into.  "What's all this?"

-------------------

Jyn slumped on the bench in her cell.  The light was glaring, as it almost always was.  She'd lost track of how many days it had been since Hadder had disappeared from the cell across from hers.  Akshaya had been taken away weeks before that.

The door beeped as its reader granted someone access.  She didn't bother looking up.

"Stand up."

"You can take my blood without that."

"I'm not here for blood.  You need to come with me."

Jyn looked up.  It was a man she hadn't seen before, wearing an ill-fitting orderly's outfit.  "Fine."  She stood and let him steer her out of the cell.  When they were in the main hallway, she broke out of his hold easily and elbowed him in the face, and ran away, toward the emergency evacuation door.

She'd just flung open the door when something grabbed her by the throat and flung her to the ground.

"This is an extraction.  Please do not resist."

She stared up at the droid, unable to speak.

---------------------

The man looked at her like she was something he'd stepped in and needed to scrape from his boots.  "Jyn Erso.  Daughter of Galen Erso, known collaborator in Imperial biomedical research."

"Who are you?" Jyn asked warily.

"The Alliance to Restore the Republic," said the woman in white.  "We hope that we can help eachother."  Mon Mothma.  That was Mon Mothma.

Jyn snorted.  "Are you looking for some blood samples?  There are more of you than there are of me.  You'll get what you want eventually, one way or another."

The woman left her place at the table; Jyn watched her approach with narrowed eyes.  She pushed up the sleeve of her gown, and Jyn saw a mark shaped like a rough quarter-circle with three spiky rays issuing from it.  "The exposure of my connection to the Alliance wasn't the only reason I fled Coruscant."  She put her sleeve back into place, and glanced away.  No: toward the man who stepped from the shadows where she'd been looking.  

"We want to make contact with your father," said the man from the shadows.

"This is Captain Cassian Andor, Alliance Intelligence," Mon Mothma explained.

"I haven't seen him in fifteen years.  As far as I'm concerned, he might as well be dead."

"Better dead than an Imperial collaborator?"  He paused.  "When was the last time you had contact with Saw Gerrera?"

"Years ago."

"But he would remember you, speak with you.  If you came as a friend."

"We don't have time to chase stray nerfs, girl, so if you won't cooperate, we'll put you in another cell."  That was the disdainful man who'd spoken first.

"I don't know where to find Saw."

"We know where he is," said the captain.  "We need someone who he'll talk to, and not shoot out of hand."

"You're all rebels, aren't you?"

"Saw has refused to work with the Alliance since it was formed.  His extremism has rendered the Alliance illegitimate in the eyes of many.  But we have no choice, now.  He has crucial information about your father, and we need to find him."  Mon Mothma looked at her gravely.

"What does my father have to do with anything?"

"There's an Imperial pilot in Jedha who was captured by Saw Gerrera.  He claims the Empire is creating a virus that has something to do with the soulmarks.  The pilot says he was sent by your father."  The captain's sharp eyes watched her for reactions; she held herself still.

"We don't have a clear picture the Empire's motivations in creating the virus, but we know that it reduces freedom of choice in many areas.  We can't allow it to spread throughout the galaxy, especially if they've developed a more effective version."  Mon Mothma rubbed her arm.

"Captain Andor's mission is to confirm the pilot's story, and to trace your father, if possible."  As if I care, you sneering creep.

"Our intelligence suggests that your father is the chief designer of this virus.  We hope that you can persuade Saw to help us locate your father, and bring him before my colleagues in the Senate to testify."

"Why should I do it?"

Mon Mothma rubbed her arm again.  "We'll make sure you go free."

---------------------

Cassian shook his head as they took off.  He had Kay for backup, but he was going into a war zone with a woman who was clearly traumatized by medical torture.

He would treat her like any other informant: try to put her at ease and make her feel like she could trust him.  He brushed the thought of Tivik away.

He turned to look at her and saw that she was sleeping.  Well, if she needed rest, it was best that she get it.

----------------------

Once they were walking toward Jedha, he decided to start a conversation.

"I'm glad you can use a blaster," he allowed.  "You're right that we're heading into a war zone."

She shrugged.

"Thank you for proving Kay-Too wrong and not using it against me."

"I wouldn't have gotten very far if I did.  Your droid demonstrated that when your guy showed up to break me out."

"Kay has been good backup ever since I reprogrammed him.  I hope he didn't hurt you."

"I've had worse."

----------------------

Jyn shuddered involuntarily as the hologram of her father appeared.  She was frozen, immobile, as he talked about loving her and missing her.

"There is a countervirus," he was saying.  "And a vaccine.  Krennic's superiors insisted that I make one, just in case the virus was transmitted to someone who they thought was unworthy, or to someone who could insist on their freedom of choice.  The records exist, in the Citadel Tower on Scarif."

----------------------

"We can stop this," Jyn Erso insisted.  "They call it the Choice Virus.  But they have no idea that my father is telling the Alliance how to stop it.  You're wrong about him."

"He did create the virus."

"He knew they'd do it without him.  He made a choice.  He sent Bodhi with the information that there's a vaccine and a countervirus."

"Give me the message."  

"It was a hologram," she said desperately.

"You don't have it."

"You don't believe me."  Her voice was flat.

"I'm not the one who decides."  He's going to have to follow orders and kill her father.

"You said there was a countervirus," Baze Malbus observed.

"A countervirus and a vaccine.  The records are on Scarif.  You need to send word to the Alliance."

"I have."

"They have to know there's a way to stop the virus.  They have to go to Scarif."

"I can't send that.  We're in the heart of Imperial territory."

"Then we'll find my father.  And bring him back, and he can tell them himself."

----------------------

Jyn clambered up on the platform and ran to the motionless man.  "Papa.  Papa, it's me.  It's Jyn."

"Stardust."

"I've seen your message.  The hologram, I've seen it."

"The virus must be stopped.  For you ... for everyone."

"I know.  I know.  We will."

"Jyn.  Stardust.  I have so much to tell you."  He reached up, and his hand touched her cheek weakly, and then fell away.

"Papa?  Papa.  No!"  She shook him, but he remained still and mute.

A hand gripped her shoulder.  "Jyn.  Come on.  We've got to go."  It was Andor.

"I can't leave him."

"Listen to me.  He's gone.  There's nothing you can do.  Come on."  He pulled her to her feet, and she stumbled away from her father's body, following the rebel even though she didn't know where he was leading.

My father is dead.  My father is dead.  The volume of the thought gradually decreased, and her mind ground into motion, and she turned on Andor.

He tried to tell her that he'd been fighting and following orders since she was a child, as if she hadn't done the same thing and learned exactly what happened when you did.

Suddenly the Rebellion is real for you.

But was it?

It had always been real.  It had been a long time since it mattered.

She took a deep breath, and prepared to address the Council.

----------------

"They prefer to surrender," she told Baze and Chirrut.  A remark that "The Empire has the means of biological warfare; the Rebellion does not" and Mon Mothma's hollow apology still echoed in her mind.

----------------

She and Cassian exchanged glances as they went up the ramp to the stolen shuttle.  We're going to die doing this.  But we're going to do it.

Some of them do die.  But she and Cassian make it out.  They have the process for the countervirus, and the vaccine, and the virus itself.

----------------

Cassian sat next to Jyn in the makeshift isolation room.  They'd both been cleared to leave their individual cells once Too-Onebee and Harter Kalonia determined that he and Jyn had been unharmed by the vaccine and the treatment respectively, but it was fascinating to watch the little trickle of Council members stream in to receive their injections, starting with Mon Mothma.  The Alliance is synthesizing and stockpiling the vaccine and the treatment, in case of future need.

"Imagine if all the people who think that soulmates are romantic could see this."

Her hand closed around his.  "Oh, I think romance is still out there in the galaxy."  She brushed his shoulder with hers, closing the distance between them, and he leaned against her.  "And soulmates, too."

[ysalamiri-queen]

“What are you afraid of?”

Day one of @peters-pumpkin-day week is live! Available HERE on AO3 by JessKo.

Came Back Haunted, or four imperials working together to survive after crashing on an ice planet. Starring Wilhuff Tarkin, Orson Krennic, Galen Erso, and Brierly Ronan:

Orson Krennic shivered, glaring at the wreckage in front of them.

Galen Erso frowned, shuffling his feet and looking nowhere in particular.

Brierly Ronan huffed, glancing at the wreckage behind them.

Wilhuff Tarkin simply stared out at the icy horizon, assessing their frozen surroundings.

“I suggest we move this way.” Tarkin finally stated, pointing towards a valley between two of the tens of mountains seeming to cage the group in. “We have already salvaged everything we could from the shuttle.”

Erso nodded in agreement, taking a tentative step in the identified direction.

“Wait just a minute.” Krennic started, raising a gloved and shaking finger. “We don’t know what’s out there. I vote that we make shelter here.”

Ronan seemed to prefer this option, turning back to face the mangled Lambda.

Tarkin stood his ground firmly. “There is nothing left for us here. We need to move.”

Krennic’s lips twisted up into a sort of wicked smile. “What? Are you afraid of something?” Cupping his hands around his mouth, the director shouted into a strong and snowy wind. “Hello! Anyone out here looking to eat a fresh Governor? He’ll come right to your den door!”

Tarkin exercised much self control at not blasting the insolent director on the spot. “It sounds like you are the one who is afraid, Director. I simply have noticed irregular patterns in the snowfall and believe that camping in the lowest ground will put us in the path of an inevitable avalanche.”

Ronan froze from his tinkering with the frozen ajar shuttle hatch, then looking up at the mountains for confirmation of Tarkin’s observation. It was pointless, he soon realized, it all looked white and cold to him. Coming from a more temperate planet, ice was not exactly his specialty.

Erso, on the other hand, backed the governor’s statement. “I believe Governor Tarkin is correct, the rock formations and slope of the mountains would lend themselves to such conditions.” The cold slipped into his words, giving a stutter to his speech. The group had been able to salvage some outerwear from the emergency supplies on the shuttle, thick hooded coats and goggles to go on top of already decently insulated gaberwool tunics, but in near blizzard conditions it was still freezing.

Realizing he had lost, Krennic exhaled sharply and wrapped himself up in the cape that has just been blown behind him, white whipping out with the arctic gale. “Very well. Lead the way.”

With that settled, the group set out, using the last few hours of daylight the frosty planet gave them to make some progress. Ever the social animal, Ronan first tried to make conversation with Krennic, but only earned himself a hard stare from icy blue eyes. Quickening his pace, he caught up to Erso, willing to do anything but hike in miserable silence.

“You mentioned the rock formations, what did you mean by that?” He tried, hoping to peak the scientist’s interest. Instantly, the shorter man perked up, launching into an in-depth explanation that Ronan decidedly interrupted several times to add his own artistic thoughts to the matter.

The hours did not necessary pass quickly, but the slog felt slightly less impossible and as the sun's last rays stretched across the tundra, Tarkin stopped at the foot of a mountain.  

“Erso. Which way would we be more likely find a sort of shelter or crevice in the stone?”

Catching up to the group’s leader, Erso took a moment to more closely study grey slate. “I believe… That way.” He finally decided, pointing to the left. Tarkin nodded, trusting Erso’s judgement.

Beginning the turn, the group stopped when a new voice called out over the winds.

“You go that way and you die.” It said in an unamused, almost mechanical tone.

Four sets of eyes whipped around to find the source to be two glowing blue orbs, mechanical eyes attached to a nearly humanoid body. Wearing simple white robes that nearly blended in with the surroundings, the being lowered a hood and scarf. Their face was shaped like a humans, but made entirely of metal, like a more advanced and articulated protocol droid. “I am Z4N3, and you will come with me if you want to live.”

Krennic opened his mouth to protest. “I believe that we have the situation entirely under control, thank you.” Looking over to Erso, he asked. “You are certain that we will find shelter in that direction, yes?”

Erso hesitated. “Yes, well… One never knows what might be living in those shelters.”

“Smart one.” The being, Z4N3, replied. “I can not hurt you, my protocol forbids it. But the monsters can.”

“I think we ought to follow the… android?” Ronan offered, hesitant to call such a lifelike machination the same thing as an astromech or MSE.

Considering their options, Tarkin took a step towards the android. “What guarantee can you make of that claim?”

A wild roar sounded from behind them, a great lumbering beast’s outline barely made out against the snow storm.

“It is too late.” Z4N3 said more quietly. “Allow me to protect you against the monster, and then we will speak of trust.”

“By all means.” Orson called out, stepping out of the direct path between the android and what was approaching. Ronan stepped in line behind the Director, breaths stuttering from fear.

“W-what is that?” He yelped, pressing his back against the steep side of the mountain.

“We will know soon enough.” Erso muttered, joining the group.

Tarkin, however, drew his blaster. “I will fight alongside you, and stake fair claim to the fruits of the hunt.”

Sliding a pair  golden daggers from leg holsters, Z4N3 simply nodded, servos whirring in anticipation of an intense fight to come. A puff of hot steam escaping from his mouth, he took a defensive stance in front of the Governor. “You are brave. We hunt with honor in your presence.”

The creature coming into view, the time for talk is over.

Now, it was time for action.

[notbecauseofvictories]

Please rank Rogue 1 on the scale of who is best at hugging to worst at hugging. I've had a bad day.

6. Worst at Hugging: Jyn Erso 

She is, in fact, a feral wolfchild of the Partisans and ex-Imperial prisoner, who considers someone touching her a direct invitation to fight them. Cassian embracing her on the beach was the most physical affection she’d had in years, something that probably would have sent her spiraling if she’d had more time to think about it. (She’d been too busy dying to really think about how warm his hand was at the nape of her neck.) 

If she tried to hug you, it would be awkward, mostly elbows, and she’d break it too soon, probably saying something dismissive and looking angrily off into the distance.

5. Second Worst: K2

He doesn’t have any pressure receptors on his casing, so a human physically embracing him does exactly nothing. He does understand that humanoid well-being greatly benefits from the expression of physical affection by those in their immediate social circle—he has downloaded the relevant studies. This leads to a number of increasingly amusing situations where K2 smacks, shoves, and nearly crushes Cassian in an attempt to improve his well-being. Cassian bears this with grace, and no small amount of bemusement.

If he tried to hug you, it would be painful, too tight, and you might be in danger of having something vital bruised by the attempt.

4. Cassian Andor

Once upon a time, Cassian Andor was a loved child—he had a father and a mother, an older sister, grandmothers and uncles. More aunts than he could count, only some of whom were his family. And all of them would kiss his hair and hug him, feed him, call him little one, littlest Andor, little jewel. (His was a watery planet, and that’s how he pictures it still: a tide of affection, ebbing and flowing but constant as the sea.)

But that was a long time ago, before the war (both of them) and his memories of being a loved child have faded, or corroded—he’s spilled blood over most things he considered his, and it’s eaten away at the edges of those memories. There are many men he’s clutched to in his arms, only to fit a blaster to their side, and pull the trigger. (That’s how he excuses Jyn, there on the beach; it wasn’t him holding the blaster, but he knew how to cradle a body about to die.)

Probably could be a good hugger, if you could get him to calm down and ditch his deathwish long enough for it.

3. Bodhi Rook

Even frantic and jittery from betraying the Empire, Bodhi Rook gives the absolute best hugs in the whole of the Rebellion. (They didn’t have time to do a proper study, but trust me, it’s Science™.) It’s the enthusiasm, the lack of artifice—despite sharp elbows and a lack of general care, Bodhi throws all of himself into an embrace. Bodhi hugs sincerely, and for those not used to it, it can be disastrous.

He once hugged Galen Erso that way—just before leaving to find Saw Guerra, flung his arms around Galen’s neck and said, may the Force be with you too. Galen had stood there in the empty Eadu corridor for a minute more, staring after Bodhi and barely breathing. It’d taken a stormtrooper asking if he was all right to startle him out of it, and he’d walked the rest of the way to his rooms dazed, shaking his head.

2.  Second Best: Chirrut Îmwe

Technically, Bodhi gives better hugs, but Chirrut is better at hugging. Chirrut is the sort of man who will cup your face in his hands, say something disastrously insightful and affectionate in a profound way, before brushing a strand of hair from your eyes. His fingers will linger at your temple, and then he’ll—after hesitating just a moment—pull you into a gentle embrace.

He once managed to render Baze Malbus a blushing, silent mess this way. (Though Baze denies it, Chirrut insists this is why he has a husband.)

1. Best at Hugging: Baze Malbus

Incredibly rare. Does that thing where he puts his hand at the nape of your neck and then pulls you against him. Is always warm.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Doctor Strange

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Continue Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

By Talking About Marvel's First Dive Into The Realm Of Magic, With Doctor Strange...

This Film Introduces The Talented Neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange, Who After A Tragic Car Accident Must Put His Ego Aside To Learn The Secrets Of A Hidden World Of Mysticism And Alternate Dimensions. Once Learned Strange Realizes He Must Use His New Powers To Protect The World From A Deadly Enemy Who Is Out To Destroy It...

Will Strange Stop This New Enemy With The Help Of His New Allies?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Doctor Strange...

The Film Starts In Kathmandu As The Sorcerer Kaecilius (Played By Not My Hannibal Lecter) Enter The Secret Compound Of Kamar Taj And Behead It's Librarian So They Can Steal A Few Pages From An Ancient Mythical Text That Belongs To The Ancient One (Played By Tilda Swinton)...

Who Finds Kaecilius Inside Of The Library And Warns Him That The Ritual He Carries Will Only Bring Him Sorrow But Trying To Escape It Leads To A Short Fight With Kaecilius And His Followers Against The Ancient One...

(Start At 2:12, End At 3:44)

We Then Meet Doctor Stephen Strange (Played By Benedict Cumberbatch) Who Is An Arrogant, Wealthy And Acclaimed Neurosurgeon. However, After A Car Accident Severely Injures His Hands To The Point That He Can't Operate Anymore, Fellow Surgeon And Possible Ex-Girlfriend, Christine Palmer (Played By Rachel McAdams) Tries To Help Strange Move On With His Life As He Does Physical Therapy...

But Unable To Accept His New Reality, Strange Pursues Experimental Surgeries To Try To Heal His Hands And Nearly Bankrupts Himself In The Process. However, When He Hears About A Man Named Jonathan Pangborn (Played By Benjamin Bratt)...

Who's Probably Glad He's Not In A Comic Book Movie Involving Cats...

Anyway, Pangborn Is A Paraplegic Who Mysteriously Regained The Use Of His Legs And Despite Hating Strange For Not Helping Him When He Came To Him For Help, He Decides To Help Him By Telling Him About Kamar Taj, But Warns Him That The Price For What He Seeks Is High...

Travelling To Kathmandu To Find Kamar Taj, Strange Eventually Meets Mordo (Played By Scar From The Remake Of The Lion King)

And Yes, I Know I Forgot To Mention In My Civil War Review That Rafiki Is Black Panther's Father But I'll Probably Mention It Again In My Eventual Review Of Black Panther That Will Happen Sooner Than I Think It Will Be...

Anyway, Strange Meets Mordo Who Takes Him To Kamar Taj To Meet The Ancient One Who (After A Bit Of Riddicule From Strange) Demonstrates Her Power Before Him Which In Itself Is One Big Acid Trip...

Though She Refuses At First To Train Strange Because She's Worried That He Is Too Much Like Kaecilius, The Ancient One Eventually Decides To Train Him At Mordo's Insistence That Kamar Taj Could Use A Man Like Strange...

And So The Training Begins...Cue Training Montage!

After Months Of Training With The Ancient One And Mordo And Borrowing Books From The Library That's Guarded By Master Wong (Played By Benedict Wong) Strange Reaches An Advanced Level, So Advanced That He Secretly Reads From The Text That Kaecilius Stole Pages From And Learning To Bend Time With The Eye Of Agamotto...

Caught By Wong And Mordo, They Warn Strange Against Breaking The Laws Of Nature, Asking How He Did That, Strange Tells Them That He Has A Photographic Memory Which Allowed Him To Get His M.D. And Ph.D At The Same Time...

Realizing That Strange Was Born For The Mystic Arts, They Decide To Tell Him The Truth, That While Heroes Like The Avengers Protect The World From Physical Dangers, They Protect Earth From More Magical Threats...

Well, If That's True Where Were You Guys During The Avengers Battle Of New York? Is Loki Not Magical?

Strange Also Learns That The Ancient One Is The Latest In A Long Line Of Sorcerer Supremes That Take Care Of 3 Buildings That Are Called Sanctums That Are In New York, London And Hong Kong Which Are All Accessible Through Kamar Taj That Act As A Shield To Protect Earth From Other Dimensional Threats...

And They In Turn Protect The Sanctums, However As They Talk The Door To The London Sanctum Opens As The Protector Enters For Them To See Him Be Killed By Kaecilius, Who During Strange's Training Has Enacted The Spell And Gained The Powers From The Dark Dimension, The Home Of Dormammu...

Ok, I Realize That Some Of This Sounds Confusing But Dormammu Is The Ruler Of The Dark Dimension, A Being Of Infinite Power And Endless Hunger Who Is On A Quest To Invade Every Universe And Bring Them To The Dark Dimension...

Seeing Kaecilius, Strange, Mordo And Wong Are Unable To Stop Him From Destroying The London Sanctum But The Explosion Is So Powerful It Knocks Strange Into The New York Sanctum, While There He Looks Around Only To Eventually See Kaecilius And His Minions Enter The New York Sanctum To Kill It's Protector...

Fighting Them With The Help of His New Powers And The Help Of An Artifact There Known As The Cloak Of Levitation, Strange Manages To Capture Galen Erso For A Second So He Can Ask Him Some Questions And He Does Discover Kaecilius' Plan Which Is To Send The Earth To The Dark Dimension To Save It From The Greatest Enemy In The World, Time...

But As He Discovers This, Strange Also Learns A That The Ancient One Uses The More Powerful Magics For Herself To Keep Herself Young But As Kaecilius Continues Talking One Of His Henchmen, Stabs Strange In The Gut To The Point That He Has To Transport Himself To The Hospital To Ask Christine To Save Him...

But While She's Operating On Strange, He Passes Out But Defibrillating Him Gets Strange Out Of His Body And Into The Astral Plane So He Can Help Christine Save Him. But Followed By The Same Henchmen Who Stabbed Him In His Astral Form Leads To An Astral Battle Between Strange And The Henchmen...

Eventually Defeating The Henchmen With Christine's Help, Strange Goes Back Into His Body So Christine Can Finish Healing Him As He Explains Everything To Her. But Eventually Returning To The New York Sanctum, Strange Reunites With Mordo And The Ancient One Where Strange Reveals Everything That Kaecilius Told Him About The Ancient One...

Despite The Ancient One Denying This And Mordo Knowing The Responsibility That Rests Upon The Ancient One's Shoulders, Kaecilius And His Minions Return To Try To Destroy The New York Sanctum..

But When Strange Sends Them All To The Mirror Dimension, It Leads To A Scene With Great Inception Level Effects As A Fight Scene With Strange, Mordo And The Ancient One Against Kaecilius And His Minions Happens While Also Throwing In Our Stan Lee Cameo For This Movie...

Stan Lee Cameo!

As Mordo Discovers That The Ancient One Does Draw Power From The Dark Dimension, Kaecilius Stabs Her During Their Fight Which Forces Strange To Take Her Into The Hospital But As She Is Being Operated On, Strange Goes Into The Astral Plane To See The Ancient One Leaving Her Body And Headed Outside Of The Hospital...

There, The Ancient One Talks With Strange Telling Him That He Has A Great Capacity For Goodness But His Arrogance And Fear Of Failure Prevent Him From Learning The One Lesson He Needs To Learn: That It's Not About Him...

Then Why Is The Movie Called Doctor Strange?

Telling Him About How About How Pangborn Uses His Magic, She Tells Strange Before She Dies That He Will Need To Break The Rules In Order To Stop Kaecilius Even If Mordo Doesn't Like It...

Saying Goodbye To Christine, Strange Travels Back To Kamar Taj To Get Mordo, Who Blames This Entire Incident On The Ancient One, Stating That Because She Drew Energy From The Dark Dimension It Lead To The Creation Of Kaecilius And His Minions Saying That The Bill Comes Due Or In Other Words...

Least That's The Way I Like To Put It...

Asking Mordo To Help Him Fight Them, They Arrive In Hong Kong Too Late, Finding Wong Dead, The Sanctum Destroyed And The Dark Dimension Starting To Engulf Earth, Using The Eye Of Agamotto To Reverse Time And Save Wong, But Realizing He Can't Stop The Inevitable, Strange Decides To Enter The Dark Dimension To Take His Case To Dormammu (Voiced By Oh, What A Surprise, Benedict Cumberbatch)...

Seriously, Benedict Just Starting In This Film Wasn't Enough You Had To Lend Your Smaug Voice To The Bad Guy?

Keeping To His Promise, Dormammu Sends Kaecilius And His Followers To The Dark Dimension As Strange Breaks The Time Loop, But Comparing Strange To The Ancient One, Mordo Renounces His Sorcerer Ways And Leaves....

Returning The Eye Of Agamotto To Kamar Taj, Strange Decides To Take Residence In The New York Sanctum To Continue His Studies With Wong As Our Movie Ends...

We Get A Mid Credits Scene Where Strange Is Visited By Thor (Played By Chris Hemsworth) Who Strange Questions Why He Is On Earth With His Brother Loki? Which Is When Thor Explains That They Are Looking For Their Father, Odin...

Asking If They Will Leave Earth After, Thor Tells Strange Yes, Which Leads Strange To Offer To Help Them...

We Also Get An End Scene, Where Mordo Confronts Pangborn And Steals The Mystic Energy He Uses To Walk As He Claims That Earth Has Too Many Sorcerers Before He Walks Off...

And That's Doctor Strange And...It's Okay...

The Story Is Confusing At Times But The Effects Are Awesome And The Cast Is Great In Their Roles Especially Cumberbatch And Edjiofor So, I Guess I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[tuppencetrinkets-a]

@chokethelight - sith skywalker liked for a starter w/ encyclopedic references from galen erso.

               All Science Research Academy, Rafa, Imperial Command.

     It was easy enough to keep his expression sedate, or perhaps simply weary was the better term; with the hours that he had been putting into the attempt to complete the project on the timeline given by the Emperor -- and his own attempts to ensure a fatal weakness -- exhaustion was a welcome numbing state of mind.  He could not recall clearly the last time that he had been so bone weary; perhaps, he mused, his thoughts winding, during his studies at the All Science Research Academy that he had attended before being recruited into Imperial service.  Recruited.  As if he had been given the option to say no.  And then, when he had done his duty, he had left the Empire behind.  Or tried to.  

    But a mind such as his was a resource that the Imperial Command had been unwilling to let go and his wife had paid the price on Rafa --  his glassy eyes turned, pulled up towards the glittering, narrow gaze of the man sent to oversee the last of the preparations, the last details needed to secure the Emperor’s latest prize.  The Emperor’s lap dog.   

      Hardly the wisest description of Vader’s apprentice.

“I can assure you, Lord Skywalker,”  his voice was low, and tired, and gravelly, muted and bordering on flat.  Exhaustion did wonders to curb what might have otherwise shown as signs of anxiety, or guilt.  “My people are doing everything they can to ensure that the work we are doing here is completed, per the Emperor’s commands.”  

[meta-shadowsong]

On Moral Ambiguity in Fiction

And where it works and where it doesn’t (at least for me), using Star Wars and Harry Potter as sort of examples/case studies/what have you.

Couple sort of definition things to get out of the way--first, when I say ‘moral ambiguity,’ I’m talking specifically about characters and character arcs/dynamics, rather than overall situations/plotlines. Because the two universes, as a whole, are pretty firmly “there is Real Evil and we are going to Defeat It” type of stories. And both verses also have clear and obvious Evil Bad Guys Who Ruin Everything (Palpatine and Voldemort).

I should also say, as a sort of disclaimer before we get started, that I really like nuance, especially when it comes to characters and character alignments. I have a thing for double agents; for people who were once good but now evil, or were once evil but now good, or who are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, and exactly where they end up depends on the weather/time of day/what have you. Which is not to say that I don’t enjoy the Obviously Evil villains, or the True Good heroes. Honestly, I think that a universe that has variety going for it tends to work the best.

Last definition - there’s a few different ways to do a Morally Ambiguous/Grey Area character. There are the fallen heroes, of course, and the redeemed villains. There are also “technically on our side in the bigger fight against Evil but also really shitty people” or “Your Allies Can Be Assholes”; and “clearly our enemy but also in some ways a decent person with whom we can Empathize” or “Your Enemies Can Be Decent People.”

(Also, while I’m not really going to focus on them here, I should mention that there are also sympathetic villains, who are never redeemed or switch sides or anything, and remain entirely Villains throughout, but have enough character development/humanizing characteristics that you can at least somewhat empathize with them even as they’re Horrible People who do Horrible Things. I’m leaving them out primarily because characters in that category tend to need way more in-depth discussion/their own essays about where they fall on the good vs. bad line; and besides I’d rather focus on different kinds of Morally Ambiguous/Grey Area characters for the purposes of this essay. Also, while I think there are examples in both verses, characters in this category tend to be very much YMMV. Basically, there’s a sliding scale from “Pure Evil” up to “Your Enemies Can Be Decent People,” and I’m trying to pick my examples that sit further on the lighter end of the greyscale here.)

Right. On to the actual discussion. Star Wars, on the surface, bills itself as straightforward good-vs-evil/Fairy Tale Logic/“once you start down the dark path” etc., etc. Harry Potter, on the other hand, has that great line: “the world isn’t divided into Good People and Death Eaters.”

Of course, once you actually start digging into it, Star Wars is absolutely not what it claims to be, and Harry Potter, while not technically wrong, fails to deliver on everything that statement implies.

When I look at Harry Potter, there are certainly a lot of Morally Ambiguous characters involved. We have Dumbledore, who fits into “Your Allies Can Be Assholes;” Barty Crouch, Sr. fits into this category as well. You have Fallen Heroes, with Pettigrew being the primary example. You have people who are maybe not technically actively working for/with the Big Bad, but are still Truly Awful People; i.e., Vernon Dursley. And you have people who are maybe on your side and maybe not assholes, per se, but have their heads so far up their asses with their preconceptions/have so many blinders on that they move past useless into actively obstructionist; i.e., Fudge.

But what you don’t find is the flipside of that. I can’t think of a single person who falls under “Your Enemies Can Be Decent People.” And while I can think of a few “redeemed” villains, they’re either so badly handled they become Your Allies Can Be Assholes (Snape), exist entirely in Backstoryland and thus don’t really have personalities or anything to latch on to (Regulus Black), or are barely present in the narrative by the time they have their Heel Realization (Dudley).

And that’s...like...leaving aside all the other issues with Harry Potter that have been cropping up in hindsight over the past few years...I think that’s a large part of why I fell out of love with the franchise. Like I said, I have a thing for double agents and grey-area/ambiguous characters, and I think a lot of it comes from the way I read this series when I was younger. I mean, it comes from some other places, too, but HP was a big one (probably because HP was such a big Thing for a long time overall, in my life and in pop culture in general). But looking back, it’s...really not what I thought it was. And it’s such a bleak, crapsack worldview, you know? “The bad guys are Bad Guys, but gueeeeess what! So are a good chunk of the nominal Good Guys!”

So, no, the world isn’t divided into Good People and Death Eaters. Technically. But it’s divided into Death Eaters, Other Bad People, and A Few Trustworthy Friends.

When I look at Star Wars, on the other hand--yeah, there are definitely Your Allies Can Be Assholes characters running around. Saw Gerrera, at least in Rebels and Rogue One, is of course the primary example. But there’s also--like, Borsk Fey’lya in Legends. And, depending on the reader/writer/narrator, various characters could fall into the “so many blinders on that they move past useless into actively obstructionist” categories. Plus, characters like Hondo, and others from the seedier side of the galaxy who are Not Good and Only Occasionally Nice, but they’re reasonable allies against the True Evils out there. And of course we have our Fallen Heroes--even if we exclude Anakin from this conversation, we have at the very least Barriss, to say nothing of Dooku and Pong Krell (we don’t really see either of them in their not-fallen hero state, but we know it existed at some point).

But you know what Star Wars also has?

The other side of this coin.

Again, even if we exclude Anakin and Vader from this conversation. Redeemed villains and “Your Enemies Can Be Decent People” are all over the place. I mean, there’s obviously my best beloved Alexsandr Kallus, but there’s also Bodhi Rook and Galen Erso; there’s General Madine (another super-prominent defector); going to Legends there’s Mara Jade and Gilad Pellaeon; there’s Ventress, who was a good person and then fell and then slowly starts finding her way back; there’s my girl Bo-Katan, who joined Death Watch and probably murdered A Lot of people, and then realized Just How Awful things were and tried to fix it. (...side note, I kinda ship Ventress and Bo-Katan, anyone with me? XD). I’m still catching up on some of the canon novels/haven’t really played the video games, but I know through Tumblr/fandom osmosis there are examples there, too.

Plus, something that came up quite a few times in the Clone Wars was that, apart from Palpatine and Dooku and their inner circles, the majority of people on both sides of the conflict genuinely believed they were fighting on the side of Right; and the Separatists actually did have some legit points about the way the Republic government was messed up. (Which is one of the bits I had a slight issue with in Queen’s Shadow, that they seemed to be taking that away from Mina Bonteri a little bit by having her in contact with someone who seemed to be either Sidious or Tyranus, but I digress.) But the PT era in general is where ambiguity and complicated politics lives, and this also starts getting into some YMMV territory, similar to Sympathetic Villains, so I’ll leave it at that.

I think that what it comes down to, really, is that HP, for all it makes its moral ambiguity explicit/centers it/talks about it, leans hard into the Your Allies Can Be Assholes aspect, while Star Wars leans more towards the Your Enemies Can Be Decent People side of things. And, again, this is not saying that there isn’t a range of quality in how these things can be handled. Like, Your Allies Can Be Assholes, when handled well, can be really engaging/amazing. And Your Enemies Can Be Decent People can quickly go in all kinds of bad directions if it’s not handled well.

But overall, a story that leans more towards the second is more hopeful. One of the main arc words in SW is hope, and I think that’s why the grey-area characters work so much better there, because they support that thesis, so to speak.

I also think that Star Wars has a much more balanced greyscale than HP does. Like, the Your Enemies Can Be Decent People is more prominent because, again, the series’ watchword is Hope, but there's still quite a few Not Nice people on the side of Good, which adds its own layer of nuance/interest, at least for me. ...and, you know, the fact that Star Wars has both Pure Evil and more nuanced villains/antagonists probably contributes to that. It might be that this kind of Moral Ambiguity works best when there is a clearly defined Evil to compare it against. Both in terms of the greyscale good guys and the greyscale bad guys.

In the end, I think there’s probably a lot of things that go into it, but overall the ambiguity in SW works so much better for me than HP. And I think the distribution along that sliding scale is a huge part of it. Because HP’s version kind of boils down to ‘Life Sucks; sure there are a few Good People who try to make it suck less, but most of the people, even on your side, are kind of awful’ and SW’s version boils down to ‘there is hope, even if it doesn’t always pan out; yes there is evil in this world and there are some, even on your side, who might choose it and refuse to change--but there are at least as many people who turn their back on it, even if it takes them a while.’ Both acknowledge that there is Evil in the world, and that dealing with it isn’t always simple or clear-cut, but SW takes a broader, more nuanced look at that question. Even if it doesn’t outright say that’s what it’s doing.

(And, sure, the fact that HP promised things it didn’t/couldn’t deliver and handled a few of the examples it tried to provide really badly doesn’t help, but...yeah.)

So, there it is. A lot of Personal Opinion, obviously, but...I feel like I might be on to something here? What are your thoughts?

((Also, I’m aware that I didn’t talk about the ST like at all, but that’s because, at least IMO, the ST has fewer morally ambiguous characters in general, at least in the sense I’m talking about. That being said, there’s at least the one guy from the Phasma frame story who falls into Your Enemies Can Be Decent People; and I guess I technically could have mentioned Kylo Ren when talking about fallen heroes, on the same justification I included Dooku/Pong Krell, even though I personally find him much less interesting than Dooku, in particular...Anyway, what I’ve noticed in the ST is that, when people are working at cross-purposes, they tend to still be firmly on one side or the other, just with differently-aligned priorities. And/or are Hondo, who marches to the beat of his own drum and always will. I love that he’s still around XD.))