#I feel like jedi would be very very big on consent and honestly

[daincrediblegg]

hello, egg. i have arrived to bring horny thoughts upon ye >:)

if you’re still taking smut emoji prompts… how about a little 🎤🙈🍷 for a mr. obi-wan kenobi? heheh i am totally normal about him heheheheheheheheh

Obi- Wan Smut Emoji Headcanons 2

a/n: Why, yes my friend. I think I can arrange that...

🎤 how loud they are He's fairly quiet, actually, but most certainly not silent. His moans tend to be more breathy and warm, a melodic baritone best served directly into your ear on a warm Tatooine evening on his bedroll in his cave, where his moans (and yours, which he much prefers to hear), can bounce off the walls with reckless abandon.

🙈 something they’re shy about asking for Honestly... there's lots of things. Listen the sex thing wasn't such a big thing for him for a very long time, never really thought he'd have a partner with which he'd want to do any of these things with, so a lot of just... very average stuff he feels like he needs to ask to make sure, but with you at least he feels safe enough to ask in the first place, and that's HUGE for him. First, he's shy about using the force to either lift you to aid in some more complicated positions that would be a pipe dream for anyone other than a Jedi. It's mostly a consent thing for him just because he doesn't want to startle you by suddenly using the force to lift you or stimulate you, but trust me if you let him it's worth it. Second, he'd be so shy about where to cum it just feels so filthy whether coming on you or even (be still his beating heart) IN you, but with some reassurance and/or enthusiasm this is one he will feel less ashamed about much more quickly.

🍷 tipsy sex headcanon So granted, this is a very rare event to see Obi-Wan tipsy even in the slightest... but oh my god he gets extra cuddly. Like for real. All it takes is a few shots of spatchka and what might have been subtle touches become... not so subtle. He will be constantly burying his face in your shoulders, your chest, your tummy, your... anything. And his hands and body will absolutely not leave you for the rest of the night. Might not even leave when he's sober he thinks. Now I warn you: he might just pass out during the act if he's tipsy and might accidentally stay inside you the whole night despite his better judgement.

SMUT EMOJI PROMPTS

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[phoenixyfriend]

Vader Tries to Help

People encouraged me to share the dead dove concept! Yay! It’s a horrible concept with an undertone of comedic absurdity in the sense that you keep waiting to see what awful, incredibly stupid thing Vader is going to do next. Like it’s horrifying but it’s also very dumb.

By moving forward into the fic, you acknowledge that this is intended to be dark and liable to be upsetting, and that you are taking responsibility for your own engagement with the material.

This AU was helped along on discord by several parties but tbh I’m not sure how many of them actually want to be named.

Warnings: Mutual Extremely Dubious Consent (forced by a third party), drugging, irrational behavior (Vader), nonconsensual body modification, forced pregnancy, imprisonment, threatened torture of a child (not followed through on)

----------

Vader captures Obi-Wan a few years into the Empire. Because Vader is Anakin, but even worse on the emotional bullshit, he decides that he needs to keep Obi-Wan safe but harmless. Vader also got Luke in the whole 'capturing Kenobi' situation, so part of what Vader's thinking about all this is that Obi-Wan tried to protect The Baby and so Vader kind of owes him, obviously.

Palpatine lets him keep Obi-Wan "safe," because threatening Obi-Wan is a convenient way to make Vader shut up and do what he's told. Palpatine can kind of tell that threatening the toddler would make Vader lose his shit and attempt to kill good ol' Palps, so threatening the middle-aged depressed alcoholic being kept in Vader's guest room with Force-nullifying cuffs is pretty good. It's an additional layer of emotional torture on top of the electrocution of Vader himself!

Vader has Obi-Wan taking care of Luke, mostly, because Vader has Obligations and A Job, and Obi-Wan wouldn't hurt Luke, duh. He might try to escape with the kid, but he won't be successful, and Obi-Wan will definitely put Luke's safety first, so that probably won't happen.

This is all fairly normal for a variety of AUs, granted, and not very dark.

But see, Obi-Wan behaves. He's aware of how tenuous the situation is for him and his charge, so he plays nice. And Vader decides to reward that.

By giving him Cody.

There's an implied thought process there that Obi-Wan was fond of Cody, and Cody was fond back, and now that the Jedi aren't around, they can follow through instead of worrying about some silly Code. Vader's nullified the orders to kill all the Jedi, of course, possibly dosed their food with an aphrodisiac so they don't try to talk themselves out of What They Obviously Want.

Now, we’re going to make it a little darker, because why not make things worse by having Vader try to make things better?

Vader somehow twisted himself around to encouraging them to have a baby. This is accomplished through a combination of Sith Magic and nonconsensual surgery, and lots of questionable drugs.

Obi-Wan just wakes up in a hospital bed with a womb one morning, and is informed of the surgery then and there, after it’s already happened. The droid telling him about it is just like "in the Lord Vader's infinite kindness--" and Obi-Wan just.

Anakin.

What the fuck.

What in the actual fuck made you think this was a good idea.

(The Sith Chemicals, probably.)

I feel like Palpatine would maybe even order the pregnancy induction just to torture them by proxy because that's like eight levels of Fuck No and he barely has to do anything except tell Vader that he'd like to see what kind of children a Jedi Master like Obi-Wan has.

Luke needs friends, doesn't he?

Obi-Wan is having some very complicated emotions about all of this because Vader is, in his own absolutely insane way, trying to help.

Anakin wanted babies and Padme wanted babies so clearly, if Obi-Wan and Cody are in love, then they also want babies!

Cody and Obi-Wan very well might not be in love. Anakin definitely could have misinterpreted. It’s probably more angsty if they're just friends who ended up in this bullshit together.

(He's taking baby fever to new and somewhat horrifying heights, because... he would adore Obi's kids.)

(His family button is suprisingly large for a mass murderer.)

Vader Kindly Informs Bail That Obi-Wan Is Alive And Unharmed. Bail was a friend of Obi-Wan's, telling him this is only helpful and will keep Alderaan from getting more rebellious out of personal insult. Obviously.

Vader is almost offended when Bail implies he might hurt Obi-Wan. He kept his son safe, he owes him. Speaking of, don’t you have a child? How old is she, again? It would be Good for her to make friends, wouldn’t it? :)

Palpatine is just like... sitting back and eating evil popcorn as Vader runs around, ruining people's lives by trying to be less of The Worst than before.

Palps barely has to do anything, Anakin's fucking it up on his own!

Could have been just a sly "Kenobi is so attached to young Luke, but now that you've been reunited with your son, perhaps he'd be happier with a child of his own?" Come at it from both "make Obi-Wan happy" and "protect your relationship with Luke" angles.

Vader: I can't have babies anymore due to what you did to me on Mustafar. Obi-Wan: So you're punishing me by forcing me to have them instead? Vader: No! Children are a gift that you have been cruelly denied by the Order that held us in its chains! Obi-Wan: ...oh, right, you're insane. Forgot about that. Somehow.

Big dramatic speech about how the Jedi Order spent so long making them take lives, he’s giving Obi-Wan a chance to create it! To put something good and bright into the world!

Poor Cody is like. "General, I am very fond of you but I'm having a million panic attacks at the same time because of the mind control, and also Vader is under the impression that we're in love and I need to be your stud? I wasn't aware you could have children--" "I can't. Or at least, I couldn't, but Anakin is... creative." "...what."

I don't want to actually objectify Cody in the narrative past the point that Obi-Wan himself is, because nnnnngh racism and clone stuff, so I'm going to say Cody was in love with Obi-Wan, and would have been okay with at least discussing the whole baby schtick if not for the absolutely horrible circumstances.

Like if the war had ended normally, and Obi-Wan had expressed a desire to retire, unlikely as that was, then Cody may have suggested a dinner, and they could have gotten married and then eventually adoption...

(Cody had a lot of fantasies he didn’t let himself think about too hard.)

But no. It's this... weird Vader-inspired bullshit.

I'm just so invested in Vader trying to help but making things legitimately a million times worse.

He wants to help :) Oh god, he wants to help.

Why aren't people more appreciative of how hard I'm helping them? - the Anakin Skywalker story

With less time to stew and also getting handed what he wants, Vader could absolutely flip on a dime the second he saw Luke being protected, and go from “I hate you” to remembering that Obi-Wan said he loved him, and now he must keep Obi-Wan safe out of debt and he just... he’s playing house. 

Vader throws Obi-Wan a baby shower after the pregnancy is confirmed. Bail is invited, because Obi-Wan doesn't have a lot of friends still alive. Vader decides Bail is top of the Obi-Wan’s Friends List.

This is the first time they've seen each other in two years. Obi-Wan is heavily pregnant despite Bail knowing full well he didn't have the plumbing for that before the Empire rose. Cody is there and emotionally exhausted but more lucid than most troopers. Luke is running up to Leia because New Friend!!!

....there may be MORE of the 212th and 501st at the baby shower, with “kill all Jedi” orders revoked, of course. But it will keep the children safe!! And Cody and Obi-Wan can see their surviving friends!!

Cody: I'd be much happier to see my surviving troopers if they didn't all still have chips in their heads. Obi-Wan: I feel much the same. Vader: [404 error]

Bail and his family might be there at blaster point, but aren't you happy to see them, Obi-Wan??

Obi-Wan's endless trauma is honestly somewhat curtailed by the incessant need to facepalm at Vader’s bullshit

Obi-Wan and Cody both outwardly have a very "there are much worse people I could be stuck with in this situation but obviously I wish I'd had a choice, no hard feelings" attitude at each other.

Internally, Cody is suffering because this is NOT how he wanted his crush to be realized, and Obi-Wan is just suffering, period.

Cody: How did he even choose which of us ends up pregnant? Obi-Wan: He thinks I need to be protected, and that he needs to keep me safe. Cody: ...he does realize that you're better at-- Obi-Wan: Cody, he's completely lost it. No! He doesn't realize!

I feel like over the course of the year or two this plot unravels towards Palpatine getting murder-deposed and Anakin getting locked down, part of the driving force to Vader not being Vader anymore is that Luke actually really loves Uncle Obi and always starts fussing and going "Ben's sad" whenever Vader dismisses what Obi-Wan wants in favor of what Vader thinks Obi-Wan wants, and Vader can't deny his child anything.

Luke cries because Palpatine Feels Wrong like, once or twice, and Anakin goes “oh, okay, assassination time.”

[unolvrs]

But the Jedi are based off of Buddism not Christianity though bc Lucas is a Buddist. For the force-sensative kids that don't have parents/guardians, I'm assuming that the Jedi would bring them somewhere safe bc force sensitive kids are valuable bc of how incredibly rare they are and ppl try to traffic or hunt them for sport. For most force sensitive ppl, if they dont train to use the Force, they can't really use the force for anything major like levitating boulders or influencing minds and instead only have vague feelings that something might go wrong, faster reflexes, ect but nothing big like levitating boulders or influencing minds see Leia. But you have others like Quinlan Vos who has a very strong psychometry so if they were not trained they would have blinding migraines so they had to be trained so they wouldn't be in pain for the rest of life. These are very rare cases. Also, they emphasize to the members can leave at any time without judgement as seen where Yoda is talking to the young kids about the Jedi who left the Order and how the being a Jedi isn't the only Path you can take. Count Dooku left the Order but they still viewed him fondly before finding out that he's creating a war. Quick question, why do you think that the Jedi Order is corrupt?

oh, dw! i’m well–aware that the jedis are based on buddhism; i only said christianity because because i used it as an example of why religion is flawed. from the lack of materialism to their codes, it’s easy to pick up that it’s based on buddhism ^^

as for the corruption of the jedi, take note, i’ve been part of this star wars thing for less than a math, and i’m understanding thing as a sociology student (and i literally woke up just now, 7:22AM).

the whole thing with the jedi order is that they are always held accountable. canon said so itself — the jedi order have been peacekeepers for thousands of generations and because of that, their position / roles have become quite flexible. the jedi order’s problem is not the ‘standard’ form of corruption but another lesser known form: neglect of responsibility.

this is a good answer to your q: link, link

i’m not dissing the jedi order at all. in fact, i love them a hundred times more for portraying a flawed but realistic organization. an organization can’t solve everything at once but the problem is that is what they promised — peace and order. the core of their beliefs, and why, in essence, they exist, hence the neglect. it’s honestly very, very realistic.

as for my whole comment about the kids thing, i get that they can leave whenever they want, and they mostly protect them and all. still can’t get the image of children get taken away from parents (even with consent) out of my head though. kids and parents / adults who think that they know the best thing for their children make me defensive.

anyway, the jedi schtick isn’t black and white at all. i really like cute some of the sith can get because they can just up and leave like that. I MEAN — like, come on. it’s cute how most of them can be honest. they can’t hide it at all but they can be quite honest with what they want.

[swtorpadawan]

#5 for corellan and the hurt/comfort prompt thingy please and thank you ☺️

Limits

Author’s Notes: OC Response Meme – Hurt / Comfort – “Please don’t beat yourself up.” Thank you @amlovelies​ ! Sorry this took so long! Reader Warnings for sexual and / or highly sensitive content. This story takes place sometime before the start of Knights of the Fallen Empire.

Kira Carsen snuggled into Corellan Halcyon’s arms, tucking her head into his neck as they lay in bed together.

She hadn’t felt this guilty in a long time. Not since that time Vitiate had possessed her on Darth Angral’s flagship, maybe.

No. she reflected. This is worse. This is all on me.

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered.

Corellan shifted and leaned in, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Don’t be.” His fingers caressed her hair. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for.”

“I wasn’t thinking.” she sniffed. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“We were trying something new. That’s all.” His voice was calm and comforting, like always.  

Kira didn’t want to feel comfortable at this moment.

Kira bit her lip.

“I hurt you.”

“You didn’t.” Corellan said firmly, then he paused, looking up at the ceiling. “Well, okay, I am a little sore, but I’ll be fine.”

She harumphed; he was missing the point, she could tell.

“But you didn’t like it.” Kira insisted. “And I didn’t realize it immediately. You’re my partner. You’re my… everything. And I didn’t realize it wasn’t good for you.”

He just chuckled.

“Well. I probably didn’t help with that any. I was doing my best to… find a way to enjoy it, I guess.” He sighed, like he was disappointed at himself. “I don’t think I got there. Maybe I’m not very good at this thing?”

“That’s… what?” Kira looked up at him, shook.

Corellan looked down at her.

“I mean, I’ve enjoyed everything else we’ve tried. I guess I just assumed if I wasn’t enjoying something, it was because I was doing something wrong. Honestly, I’d be willing to try it again… though maybe not for another day or two.” He added reluctantly.

He’d said it all the way they might have been discussing some lightsaber maneuver.

“We’re never trying that again.” Her voice was hard, even if the rest of her was quaking. “You were letting me take advantage of you.”

“How? I consented. I didn’t totally understand it, but I consented.”

Kira bit her lip as she felt her brow furrow. How can I explain this? He’d do anything for me.

“But you know I would have stopped if you had said anything?” she pressed him. “We agreed on that ‘word’ for a reason.”

“Of course.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“I thought if I kept at it long enough, I’d figure out what I was doing wrong.”

She groaned in aggravation.

“You always want to test your limits, don’t you?” she shook her head. “How are you not angry with me right now?”

“I can’t get angry with you.” He countered, gazing at her serenely. “You can’t make me angry with you. Confused? Sure. You’ve been throwing me off since the moment we met. Frustrated?” he smiled thinly. “Once or twice. But I’ve never been angry with you.” He smiled at her reassuringly. “And I never will be.”

Kira looked down, burying her face into his chest as her cheeks started to flush in embarrassment.

“Why did you agree to it if you didn’t get it?”

“Well, you seemed to think that having me like… that would be something we’d enjoy. And you’ve always been right so far.”

Kira let out an exasperated huff, still not looking at him.

“You’re just so big and tough, you know? The greatest hero in the galaxy. I… do kinda get turned on occasionally when I’m in control. And it’s not that I don’t love it when you do things to me; I do! It’s great. It’s just that every once in a while, I like to have you all to myself.” Kira blinked; her eyes were starting to water. Dammit. I don’t want him to see me cry. “But I’d never want you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with.”

She felt him reach down and take her by the chin, gently tilting her head so he could look into her eyes again. As she looked up into his own icy blues, even in the minimal light, she could see the reflection of her own pain and guilt. But she saw nothing but trust and affection in his own. Corellan drew her in, softly kissing the tears from her eyes and cheeks.

“Don’t beat yourself up, okay?”

She felt his confidence. His complete certainty in her, and what they were to each other. It felt like she was leaning up against a duracrete wall. Or something stronger than that, given that she had seen him go through a couple of duracrete walls over their time together.

“Okay.” She nibbled at her lip again. “But can you do me one favor, please?”

“Anything.” He promised her without hesitation.

“Will you promise me that if I’m every doing anything that you aren’t comfortable with… that doesn’t feel good… you’ll tell me right away?”  

Corellan eyes flickered and then he nodded.

“Of course. I’m sorry I… well. I’m sorry I didn’t handle that situation well.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She scolded, processing everything he’d said. “Are there other things we’ve done that you… didn’t like? Or are there some things you’ve liked more than others?”

“Well.” He turned and looked up at the ceiling again. “I think I’ve liked everything. Maybe not … what we did tonight. But everything else has been good.”

She softly kissed his chest, her deep blue eyes never leaving his.

“Anything in particular?”

Corellan smiled again, looking down at her tenderly.

“I do love looking into your eyes when we’re together. Its… reassuring. I feel like I know exactly what I should be doing. Everything feels so… right. There’s a lot of things I don’t understand at first, Kira. A lot of things I’m not completely sure about. But I am sure about you. And us. I always have been.”

Kira felt overcome with tenderness for him just then. She pulled up and pressed her lips to his, gently pushing him onto his back as she straddled him. As their lips pressed together, she felt a familiar warmth growing within her.

“Listen.” She broke the kiss and looked down at him. “I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t blame you for not being in the mood, but… can we do something? Right now, I mean? Whatever you wanted? Just to make me feel better?” she bit her lip. “I just want to take care of you.”

“Whatever I want?” he quirked an eyebrow down at her. “Honestly?”

“Yeah.” Kira looked up at him, swallowing whatever doubts she’d felt. They trusted each other completely and the chemistry was perfect. She was prepared for anything he would want to do.

Except for what he did.

Corellan took her in his arms and gently turned her around, pulling her back against his chest before turning them both onto their sides. He drew her in closely, his arms wrapping around her waist and his chin coming over her shoulder, allowing their bodies to touch from her head all the way to her toes. She sighed in surprise as she felt him ‘spoon’ her.    

Here, there was no limit in how close they were.

“I love all of it, Kira Carsen.” He whispered into her ear. “Every moment we’re together. Everything we try. But the only thing I need is you. Out there, we have our duty. In here, you always have me to yourself. There is no place I would rather be than right here.”

Kira sighed as a comfortable fatigue washed over her. There was no place she’d rather be, either. 

Author’s Notes: FYI – The safe word Kira and Corellan use is ‘Teeseven’. Insert your own joke here.

Tagging people who liked my teaser - @swtorshipping , @the-raven-of-highever , @tishinada , @jeverest00 , @taraum , @the-jedi-knight-enjoyer , @j-the-jedi , @a-muirehen , @itstheelvenjedi , @ask-an-andalite , @blueburds , @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond ! Oh - and @swtor-writers-guild​ !

[thesummerstorms]

Rev Recaps Hard Contact (Chapter 18)

CW: Violence. “Joke” that references inebriation/ date rape (kinda sorta). 

TL;DR Recap: Niner gets worried because Darman and Atin are taking too long and might get blown up. Fi refuses to follow orders. Etain helps. Hokan makes a run for it.

Beginning Kal Count: 35 Ending Kal Count: 37

This chapter opens with a Kal quote. Fog of war and rattling sabers, etc, etc. Whatever, Kal. Kal Count is now at 36.

This chapter is incredibly short: barely 5 pages. We still manage to squeeze in some Jinart and two different Skirata quotes.

Niner calls off Majestic’s orbital bombardment and waits several minutes before moving, because you can’t stake your life on the accuracy of orbital bombardment.  Specifically, he calls off the bombardment with ... the check, check, check order that Etain will get in trouble for using on Ordo..

I already had a discussion with freckledmccree and tiender about this on the dash that you can probably find if you look for their usernames on my blog, but essentially the “check” command being used to halt an orbital bombardment as a legitimate command puts the fiasco of Etain using the same command (having heard Kal use it) in a weird place.

Triple Zero treats check as Kal’s super secret code word to drill into his trainees that they need to stop in an exercise that’s unique to him and that they’ve been trained to automatically obey, which makes it a big deal when Etain uses it on Ordo because it forces him to automatically freeze and she hasn’t earned the right/the trust to completely override him at such an instinctual level.

But that’s ...weird if Omega is using “check” to call off an orbital bombardment. What if Ordo had been on Qiilura and was engaged with the enemy when Niner had to call out a “check” on Majestic, perhaps because the orbital bombardment has gotten too close as the squad engaged targets. Him freezing from Niner’s “check” would be a very bad thing, and also makes that word just... not make sense. Tiender even looked it up and it’s part of brevity code.

So the two options that you’re left with are that Kal was incredibly stupid about his safe code or that Etain picked up on the terminology to call cease-fire as a Jedi officer, used it, and Ordo was upset because he didn’t trust Etain’s judgement and personal control over him.

As freckledmccree points out, from the narrative framing/narrative intent & KT’s long, long history of inconsistencies and plot holes, probably what happened is KT forgot herself that check was more generalized and made it into a specific word for Kal, making this an author failure. And honestly, even Kal isn’t going to do something that dumb. 

So when/if we ever get to that part of Triple Zero... insert a safeword of your choice I guess?

Moving on.

Niner still expects Kal to come out and call for endex (Kal Count 38) and he notes that Fi has a sniper rifle trained for “anything insane enough to walk out” of  Uthan’s complex, and that he doesn’t think Fi would think long enough to hesitate if they came out with raised hands.

Niner talks to Dar and Atin about their expected evac time and location (neither are good) but we get... this really terrible, out of nowhere what the fuck line:

CW: Joke that sounds like a very thinly veiled joke to date rape, or at least consent issues due to inebriation. 

Like. What the fuck.

I don’t know why Atin is setting this “joke” up, much less how Niner, of all people, is answering with ... that line, which reads a LOT like me to either “woman is so drunk she’s biddable and can be dragged out of bar for sex” or “woman has been drugged and is being dragged out of bar for sex”.

As I said earlier on this blog... my Watsonian explanation has to be that Kal is a really shitty teacher who has made a lot of really shitty jokes that Niner internalized as a young clone sergeant trying to imitate the training sergeant. (Though that doesn’t explain Atin.) My Doyalist explanation has to be that Karen Traviss is a terrible human being.

Moving on.

Darman and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day continues.

Niner’s super concerned by the amount of time that it’s going to take Darman and Atin to rendezvous with everyone, so he tries to send Fi and Etain ahead to the evac zone and singlehandedly cover Dar and Atin’s escape.

Niner isn’t going to press it and some part of him is probably glad not to be left alone, but Fi, I really don’t think you’re allowed to do that.

Etain and Jinart show up, Niner explains the situation and asks if Etain can help. Etain offers to try and part the soil with the Force if Jinart will find a shallow point and Niner will explain what’s needed so she can visualize it. 

I really, really think based on the last chapter that KT just forgot that Atin gave Etain an array blaster already, because it’s magically disappeared from the narrative. And I haven’t checked, but I don’t think Etain ever gets to use Fi’s blaster, which I have to assume is his sidearm if it’s going on her belt. The most mention it gets after this is clinking against Dar’s armor when she hugs him.

That said, please imagine tiny little Etain currently kitted out with an exotic shot gun, her lightsaber AND a commando’s pistol. Does the heart good.

We even get to switch to her POV next. 

a) Etain’s Force-sense is already Darman-attuned, which fits with the opening of Triple Zero. That happened fast, though.

b) “Are you following scent?” Etain panted. /”No, I’m listening for echoes.”/ “With your nose?”/ “Where I keep my ears is my own business.” Okay, I hate Jinart, but that line never fails to crack me up.

I don’t really have a comment, I just needed that line here.

We don’t really get detailed descriptions of the Force from Etain’s point of view super often. That I can think of, there’s this scene, there’s her describing how she perceives the troopers around her at the Dinlo extraction. To a much lesser extent, maybe a little tiny bit about the fetus that will become Kad. Otherwise it’s typically really vague- she had a feeling, or she knew, without the sensation behind it. I really love getting descriptions of how using the Force actually FEELs is what I’m saying, I guess.

This is the only time Jinart is complimentary of Etain in the entire series, I think.

Okay, so

a) ewwwwww. Dar was covered in raw sewage two chapters ago, if you’ve forgotten.

b) Still she rushes in to hug him without even noticing. She doesn’t stop because he smells bad; she stops because she’s a Jedi Padawan and an officer, neither of which should be so emotional, so she’s embarrassed. 

c) Darman “all guilt” Skirata is apparently clueless, but Atin isn’t- “are you going to stand there all night posing for the commander?”

They work out a plan to carry Uthan in shifts, Etain worries about the sedatives, and Jinart, finally, finally takes a hike.

Whatever other weirdness happened in this chapter, I feel like I won the lottery with this scene.

We briefly go back to Hokan who is working with Hurati to evacuate Uthan’s remaining staff, and decides to personally help evacuate the only remaining woman, telling her to hold on to him. Unfortunately, his plan is “kill the lights and then run real fast out the door”, which makes that line about Fi earlier ~foreshadowing~.

I, too, would take comfort in protecting my head from projectile weapons.

Anyway, that’s the official end of what’s probably the shortest chapter in the book, excepting the prologue.

[tachiisms]

SHIPPING INFO !! ANSWER THE FOLLOWING FOR YOUR MUSE SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPPING WORKS ON YOUR BLOG.

WHAT IS YOUR OTP FOR YOUR CHARACTER?: canonically Siri x Obi-Wan is a good otp, but the best otp is Siri x getting to see Ferus as the leader of the Eleven

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO WRITE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING?: I’m willing to write every aspect of a ship -- the good, the bad, the fluff, the angst, the happy endings, the struggles to make it work... even the ships where it didn’t work romantically and the relationship ended and/or changed. My set in stone limit though is that I will not write, or engage with, Master/Padawan ships. 

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE?: for Siri specifically, age gap isn’t as big a deal for me as power dynamic gap, so long as both parties are consenting adults, of course. That does tend to keep ships with her somewhat close in age, but not always. (for example, Siri tends to be uncomfortable shipping with clones, because there is a very clear and distinctive power dynamic between her as a General, and clones as lower ranking soldiers.) 

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING?: hmm... yes and no? I tend to see myself as more ‘hesitant’ than ‘selective.’ Partially because Siri does have a canon ship, and I always try to be really careful to not make Obi-Wan rpers ever think that I require or would force shipping on them (nor do I want to feel like I’m obligated to ship with all of them) so I can be hesitant to bring up shipping. And just kind of generally I can be hesitant to bring up shipping because of an irrational worry about coming off as pushy. It also does have to factor in that Siri particularly can be kind of difficult to ship, because of her personality as much as because she’s a Jedi.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY ARE CONSIDERED NSFW?: I usually start tagging as nsfw once the clothes come off beyond what you can see on most network television shows or a pg-13 movie scene. And I exercise personal preference if I need to start tagging as nsfw sooner. 

WHO ARE OTHER THE CHARACTERS YOU SHIP YOUR CHARACTER WITH?: currently? I don’t have many active ships with Siri. (I did say she’s difficult to ship!) I do currently ship her with Obi-Wan. I also ship her with @skymma‘s John Constantine, which is a super fun ship dynamic. I also ship her with @interphrase‘s Dan Torrance, which is more of a friends-with-benefits ship but still gets a shout out. And...is that it?? Am I forgetting anyone?

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU?: you don’t have to ask as you do just kind of communicate with me that you want to ship? (Otherwise I may not pick up on it and that’s no fun for anyone.)

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS?: meh? It depends. When I have a ship, I’m ship obsessed and I really enjoy exploring that dynamic. But when I don’t have a ship that doesn’t bother me either, so I guess I’m sort of both but more ship more-or-less? Here’s the deal: romantic ships are fun, but only one very small percentage of a person’s relationships in life. I am way more friendship and found-family-ship obsessed, honestly. 

ARE YOU MULTISHIP?: always.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM?: uh, the space husbands. Full stop. Olin/Lands? Favorite ship. Listen, even Palpatine shipped it. Basically the entire galaxy shipped it. Close second is Bail and Breha Organa though, they are the most adorable space parents. Bonus points that you know Ferus and Roan ship the Organas and you know that the Organas would have shipped Olin/Lands.

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU?: come talk to me about it! Yell in all caps, or come whisper ‘hey I ship a thing.’ Send a carrier pigeon. Smoke signal. Morse code. Basically: just let me know!

TAGGED BY: @owncreator TAGGING: the dash! this is a good one to know/read about everyone. so if you haven’t done it yet, or haven’t done it in a while, you should do it.

[sl-walker]

Maybe you’ve done this before, but can you speak to how you came up with all the Blackbirds’ personalities and/or goals? Like what inspired them and such. I think we know the story behind a few, like Raze, but I’m curious about all of them!

Oh gosh.  I probably have in pieces, but I’m totally down with answering it. XD  Thank you for asking it, too!  This’ll get long-ish, so under the cut it goes.  But the easy answer is that all of them actually evolved very organically; aside a few notes, I didn’t really plan any of them.  They just kind of happened in the best way.  But for more detail, read on.

Shiv I stole from a short comic where he was actually fridged at the end on Orto Plutonia.  His habit of writing to his dead brother charmed me and broke my heart, and his own end was just a big ole nope.  Maul needed a sergeant, I wanted Shiv, so I grabbed him.  Even in the short span we saw him in quasi canon, he displayed a dry sense of humor and a quick wit (and some skill at words), so I just built on that limited framework.  He would have had to have been highly trained to be an advanced scout like that, he would have had to have been level headed, and beyond that, he really just grew into his own person organically.  Him wrestling with losing his twin, him having to process that while coping with the burden of leadership, with a new squad on one side and a green CO on the other, all of that just kind of happened as the story went on.

Tally's definitely been my answer to the habit of people writing mean, snarky medics.  I wanted one who was kind to the people in his care, who believed in consent and autonomy.  Beyond the fact that the squad was built around Maul -- who would need someone like Tally if he was ever going to learn how to be a person -- it’s just enjoyable to defy the trope.  Originally, he was going to be older, more along Husk’s relative age, but it was clear right off that he wasn’t.  Of all of them, I think I most end up projecting my ‘politics’ onto him; his open cynicism, his belief in solidarity, his subversiveness and distrust of the establishment.  But Tally, no joke, grabs the reins every single time I write his narrative.  All of the Blackbirds feel really real when I write them, but he’s the one who often surprises me.  I don’t so much think I came up with him as that he ended up with some part of me and then went on to totally do his own damn thing.  And if that sounds crazy, I’d love to see someone else try writing him organically and find a different result.  LOL!  He’s just a really strong personality.

Smarty is a total geek, except not.  Because unlike the stereotypical geek portrayal of like, the 1980s, he had no trouble getting laid.  He wears graffiti on his battlefield armor. He’s skinnier and softer looking than most of the others, but he’s also kinda fearless and badass.  He’s apt to go on and on, but he’s also sharp as hell.  I loved the idea of a clone who self-studied everything because 1.) he was intensely bored on Kamino, and 2.) because he has a genuine, enthusiastic passion for learning.  Like-- honestly, most of the Blackbirds are subversive not just in narrative, but also outside of it, because defying tropes is a lot of fun, narratively.

Castle’s personality is partly because I love engineers.  Scotty from Star Trek is my hero, has been my whole life, and Castle is kind of a sideways homage to him.  His skill and talent at building or repairing things, his steadfastness, but also his occasional struggles understanding what’s going on with people internally speaking.  Scotty’s his own thing entirely -- don’t even get me started there, the Arc of the Wolf can be googled -- but Castle shares some traits with him.  Castle is also a bit more like the clones we see portrayed in canon, which makes him an interesting perspective in this group of odds, ends and eccentricities.

Husk also serves that; of all of them, he is in the mold of Rex and Cody.  I wanted someone who was older and had been around for damn ever, who got the full load of indoctrination, both Mando and Kaminoan, and who would offer a more ‘traditional soldier’ perspective on things.  One thing is absolutely sure, though, is that I never, ever wrote Husker to be villainized because of that.  His view of things -- though it’s evolving now thanks to experience and kinship -- has always been just as legitimate a take as the other Blackbirds and I never wanted him to be portrayed in a bad light because of it.  I also wanted him to be 501st originally because that would be an interesting bridge between Skywalker and the Blackbirds, and an interesting conflict Husk would have to work through.  His personality kinda grew around all that; his fierce love and loyalty to his brothers, his unique place trying to balance who he was raised to be while being surrounded by the other, more subversive Blackbirds.  (He was named in homage to Bill Adama in BSG, too.)

Your boy Misty is kind of the most normal of everyone, honestly.  He’s the one who’s managed to not be traumatized by war, or by their upbringing, or by anything else.  He’s actually incredibly resilient in that regard.  It’s not that he doesn’t feel things deeply, but he seems to have kept from letting those get hooks into his brain, and that’s no small feat in their galaxy.  His genuine love of the water was the first thing I knew about him, and it’s remained kind of a constant in how his personality develops.  His ability to be a fair leader when put to it, but not enjoying the role, for example; his absolute confidence when he is in charge of something like a water rescue.  I’m really looking forward to doing more with him in Year Two and highlighting just how good a specialist he is in that, as well.

Brody was always going to be a slicer, but like the others, his personality just happened over time.  I knew he’d be a bit cynical because he already has more exposure to the wider galaxy than the others, but I didn’t anticipate a lot of the nuances.  Like his idealism finally getting stoked by Radio Anarchy.  That was a lot of fun to see, and brought home that he, too, is a young guy and not immune to hope.  The Llanic arc was a big one for Brody, not only in terms of development, but in terms of his entire life after this.  His mischief at the Viable ad was also a Moment(tm), but if you asked me what his actual defining arc would be, it’d be Llanic, and it happened kinda on its own.

Raze, as I’ve said, ended up being homage to my son; the ADHD, also the introduction of meds and how those made his life easier, also his cuddly nature and kindness and generosity.  His artistic lean, however, is in homage to my oldest kid.  I knew he’d be kind of distractable, never on time to meetings, hyper competent in his field, always down for a hair-pet and someone to snuggle up to, and oddly enough, Raze is the one who doesn’t surprise me often.  LOL!  I guess because I live with his inspiration.  His being ace just-- was.  I didn’t intend it, but it happened; when I was writing the camping fluff back in the day and Tango was lamenting, Raze was just like, “Nah, not interested.’  He’s just a wonderful, positive presence, and while he’s having an awful time with survivor guilt right now, he’s still wonderful.  And I honestly don’t know of anyone who doesn’t love him.

Tango ended up being one of the most complex of the Blackbirds!  Like, there is part of him that is definitely me -- “HDU write about this person I love inaccurately, I’ll just have to do it better than you!!!” -- but most of him is actually not.  Like-- his actually-pretty-inaccurate crush on Maul. LOL!  He loves the idea of being in a relationship with Maul, but doesn’t quite grasp what that would entail realistically?  The crush and literally everything else about Tango happened in the course of the story.  I knew early about his fanfic leanings, but not how he would get there; I knew about his superstitious streak, but not that he would end up slowly losing it piece by piece in favor of something he can control, namely his writing.  His feelings about Rabbit and what happened to Rabbit are more added layers to his complexity.  And while Raze is the teras kasi protege, it’s actually Tango who’s probably a bit more Force sensitive than the norm.  Nothing to Jedi levels, but there’s something there.  His future’s going to be an interesting one.  (And Etah and Adao will be a running thread through the whole series.)

Rabbit was always going to be Rabbit.  I knew his name and Rancor’s before I even wrote the first chapter.  And I knew he wasn’t going to see the end of Year One.  I knew that he and his twin were both brand spanking new, and would therefore have to develop on their own, over time, and they did.  I had no real personality traits in mind for either, beyond their desperate attachment (and in fairness, co-dependency) with one another.  So, he happened.  And I wanted him to be a person, even knowing his fate.  I didn’t want him to be cannon fodder.  I didn’t want the audience to suspect what would eventually happen.  And when the time came, it was absolutely, critically important that when I wrote his end, I was sobbing on my keyboard.  I had to love him, and to do that, I had to write him well.  (And I cried so hard I could barely type, then I cried for hours after, too.)

Rancor is the least developed, but that was by design?  I still don’t know him as well as the others.  I know he’s Rabbit’s twin and some things about him now, as an individual, but Rancor himself has always been defined by his proximity to his twin.  He’s never thought for a second to step out into his own so far as to lose sight of Rabbit, and so he hasn’t.  We get hints of it -- his vote on Bravo-984, his punching a clone in the teeth at the climax of that training mission, his possessiveness and anxiety, his basic quiet competence when put to it -- but it’s only really going to be over time that he gets to figure out who he is.  He’s always going to be Rabbit’s twin, but now he has no real choice about becoming his own person, and we’ll see how that goes.

Thank you again for the ask!  I hope these answers work.

[alexsprincessparty]

Oh Boy, What a Week

Disney is a lot like Survivor in the way that "just when you think you know what's going on, you have no idea what's going on." (Shoutout to Sebastian from Survivor: Ghost Island...) A company can campaign all it wants about inspiring young girls to Dream Big, Princess while its men (both in the company and within its fandom) get away with belittling women and girls of all ages. Just this week, it was announced that John Lasseter would step down from his role of Principal Creative Advisor, following allegations of sexual misconduct from numerous women he's worked with. Earlier in the week, newly-minted Star Wars star Kelly Marie Tran disappeared from Instagram following overwhelming harassment from angry male Star Wars fans. As this is a Disney blog that discusses gender-focused issues (especially surrounding females), I feel compelled to discuss these issues as a kind of break from Princess discussion, as Disney Princesses are just one facet of so-called Disney Feminism. What happens in our films is one thing, but we still need to focus on what is happening around us, behind the scenes and off the page.

Monsters, Inc, or, the Scary Stuff Behind Pixar's Closed Doors

Let's begin with Lasseter. John Lasseter is best known as one of the co-founders of Pixar Animation Studios, the studio that brought us Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Cars. Up until recently, he was Chief Creative Officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios (Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Moana) as well as DisneyToon Studios (DuckTales, Planes), as well as Principal Creative Director of Walt Disney Imagineering. So, naturally, we all associate Lasseter with his achievements and creations (as well as his trademark Hawaiian shirts). In late 2017, just days before the theatrical release of Disney-Pixar's Coco, Lasseter came under fire for sexual misconduct towards several female employees. Numerous women came out in protest of Lasseter, claiming the 61-year-old Disney head had repeatedly tried to kiss other female employees on the mouth without their consent, give very lengthy and inappropriate hugs (particularly with the actresses of the Disney Fairies franchise), touch inappropriately (one employee stated he would rub her leg under the table at meetings), and make comments about employees' appearances. This led to an apologetic statement from Lasseter, who subsequently took a six-month sabbatical from Disney, after which he will take on a lesser role before leaving for good this December. As I said, Lasseter is renowned for his art and his leadership, as well as his innovative contributions to the animation medium. Rightfully so. 1995's Toy Story, directed by Lasseter, was the first-ever feature film to be animated completely in 3D animation. Pixar specialized in this medium, but Walt Disney Animation Studios would not give it a shot for itself until 2005's Chicken Little, just before Lasseter took over WDAS. Today, nearly every Disney animated feature since 2010's Tangled has been animated in CGI. Lasseter and Pixar blew the door wide open on CGI animation, which dominates the animation industry today, Disney or otherwise. Add that to the work he's done as a writer or producer on films as early as The Fox and The Hound, through the Disney Renaissance, numerous Studio Ghibli classics, all the way up to the upcoming sequels to Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, and Toy Story--the film that put his company on the map. These are all great accomplishments, but are they really worth putting over the basic needs of security and safety for women in the workplace? Should we really excuse habitual predators and violators based solely on the fact that they're great artists, actors, athletes, musicians? Perhaps it's best left to an individual basis, as some people are better at separating art from artist. For example, I love Toy Story. It is indeed a revolutionary film, a well-written one, and incredibly memorable. In fact, I love a lot of the work Lasseter has done with Disney, and Disney-Pixar. That said, while I cannot put myself in the shoes of the women he affected, I won't simply forgive him because of how much I loved WALL-E. It doesn't work like that. So then, why are so many supporters of the #MeToo movement quick to initiate boycotts of someone's work after these allegations come out? Great question. It's as simple as cutting off a supply, so to speak. Since the allegations against Lasseter came out just before Coco's release, some had planned to boycott the film in protest of Lasseter (which I don't recommend, because 1. a loooooot of other people worked on that film, and 2. it's the only feature film Disney has produced around Mexican culture that also features Hispanic voice talent). What it says is, "if you hurt or violate other women, we will no longer support you." The accused no longer have that supply. It could be a financial supply, an emotional supply of "but you're still so great though!" or "it's okay because I'll still be up at the Oscars/Golden Globes/Annies this year anyway." That, again, is probably best left to an individual basis, that is, you do what you feel is right. 

For example, T.J. Miller very quickly lost favor with me after he came under fire for numerous actions (including violence, transphobia, and also calling in a fake bomb threat! A piece of work, this one), yet still, I saw Deadpool 2...mostly because Ryan Reynolds and Zazie Beetz. And Yukio. (Hi, Yukio.)

If Disney wants to continue to promise a safe workplace environment for women, then it has to commit to punishing violators within its doors, no matter how high on the food chain they are. Nobody should be "too big to fail." Misogyny: A Star Wars Story

You could argue that Star Wars has declined in quality since Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in the early-to-mid 2010s. Perhaps it got too...you know, Disney. Too soft? Maybe. Too predictable? Yeah, sure, I could see that. But the most common scapegoats for this tend to be not Disney, and not Lucasfilm. Not even J.J. Abrams, or Rian Johnson, or Ron Howard.

Nope. It's the women. Earlier in the week, actress Kelly Marie Tran suddenly disappeared from Instagram amid a flurry of hateful comments from angry Star Wars fans. Tran made her Star Wars debut in last year's polarizing eighth installment, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as Resistance tech Rose Tico. Since the film's release, many have criticized and questioned the need for Rose, as well as Tran's talents as an actress, in addition to her appearance. I know. Surprise. Granted, a lot of post-Disney Star Wars has seen its fair share of criticism, and it's normal to criticize cinema, regardless of how much you like it. However, I have to point out a glaring pattern with some recent Star Wars gripes. A lot of issues, particularly with male Star Wars fans, are with its new streak of female protagonists. Rey. Jyn Erso. Rose Tico. Maz Kanata. Captain Phasma. Qi'ra. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo. These are just a portion of the cinematic female characters introduced by Lucasfilm since its acquisition by Disney, many of which have been panned by the saga's male fanbase not only as "useless" or "boring," but also "pandering to women because representation/SJWs/libtards/[insert buzzword here]!" While I think all those characters invite their own well-deserved criticisms. However, simply blaming the new films' failures on the fact that they have female protagonists? Sounds fake, but okay. "Rey is the hero? But Finn was holding the lightsaber in the trailer! WTF is this?" You didn't complain about Poe Dameron essentially being the new Han Solo. "Captain Phasma is a waste of space! She didn't do anything!" Boba Fett though? "Rose stole Finn's heroic moment, what a bitch!" BECAUSE WE'RE NOT FIGHTING THE THINGS WE HATE, WE'RE SAVING THINGS WE LOVE, KEVIN "Jyn Erso is such a flat character, why is it all about women now?" Because maybe, just maybe, it would be awesome for female fans of Star Wars to see other females in Star Wars. Sounds pretty novel if you ask me. This seems to be a long-running problem with Star Wars. In fact, Tran is not the only Star Wars lady bullied off Instagram by overzealous male fans. Only a few years ago, Rey herself, Daisy Ridley, suffered the same fate and still hasn't returned to the website (honestly? Probably for the best). You can't claim that just because Emilia Clarke, Gwendoline Christie, Lupita Nyong'o, and Laura Dern haven't buckled as well, that Tran and Ridley are "sissies" and not oppressed. Believe me, they are (Clarke and Christie probably deal with this crap as Game of Thrones stars as well so they're probably just used to it). "But we didn't harass Carrie Fisher!" You reduced Princess Leia to a metal bikini until Disney intervened and conveniently forgot about it when it came to merchandising.

Again, you can argue that Disney is ruining Star Wars. I might even agree. But it's not because they keep utilizing female protagonists. In fact, Disney's only Star Wars film with a male protagonist, Solo: A Star Wars Story, has been the least profitable of the Disney/Lucasfilm era. That's not to say the male protagonist was to blame, of course. Personally, I think the problem is Star Wars fatigue, that is, Disney oversaturating us with Star Wars to the point where we just can't take it anymore. But yeah, go ahead and blame the women, sure. Clearly it has been an interesting week for female Disney fans. Some good, some bad. But, hakuna matata, I guess. The world still sucks. But remember the Fairy Godmother's words: "Even miracles take a little time." (I don't remember if she actually said this, but there's a lot of cute Tumblr gifs of her saying it, so she must have said it, right?) I'll be swimming back this way soon for The Little Mermaid, so hang tight. I've just got some bigger fish to fry at the moment. Dream Big Princess!