#and his background is a picture of luke and leia

[andrastesgrace]

Mara Jade + tooka cats

There are two Luke Skywalkers.

The farmboy-turned-flyboy in him is a crack shot, can diagnose a problem with her ship faster than any mechanic in the core, and is wickedly funny, when he wants to be. When he remembers he can be.

The Jedi, though - the one who is allergic to colors and smiling, the one who has apparently forgotten that he isn't even thirty years old yet - is a gifted mediator, a skilled warrior, and much to Mara's eternal annoyance, usually right.

He's also a little shit. She'd almost jumped out of her skin last week in her Coruscant docking bay when he just. Appeared. Behind her. Wearing that stupid passive expression and looking at her expectantly, as though she shouldn't have sworn in three languages and nearly sliced him in half with his own father's lightsaber.

"If only someone were willing to train you," he said with a completely straight face. "You might've seen that coming."

Mara called him a bastard, then, and he grinned. She threw a spanner at his head for good measure, but he just stepped aside and asked her if she was hungry.

They ate ribenes from a cart in the lower city, and didn't talk about his thinly veiled request.

He asks less, now, and she's not sure if she's relieved or disappointed. Since the beginning, he's always asked, even back when she wasn't sure if she still wanted to kill him or not. But now, as then, she's wary. Not of him, not really. She's run through every scenario in her head, and she doesn't really think he'd ever truly become a danger. But he also doesn't want to listen to her, either, when she suggests that perhaps, some Jedi teachings of the past should stay in the past.

Deep down, there's something that makes her uncomfortable about the way he can just. Switch off his entire personality like the press of a button. He would never hurt her, but sometimes he isn't him.

So instead of becoming his student, she devotes her time to becoming a pain in his ass. Annoying him is the quickest way to shake him out of it. At first it's just little things - mispronouncing the names of famous podracers, putting pepper in his tea, and once, conspiring with R2-D2 to play nothing but Nemoidian showtunes everywhere he went.

"You're doing this on purpose," he says blithely one afternoon, and she looks at him with an innocent. "Who me?" in her expression. After a while, she needs more ammunition. She means to ask Solo, but when she hunts down the office he never uses in the New Republic's shiny new military complex, Leia is there instead. "Tooka cats," says Leia after she explains her mission.

"Tooka cats?" "He can't even look at them without laughing," The corners of her lips turn up in a half-smile. "Something about the eyes." *** "Are you proud of yourself?" he says when she sees him later, the grin still lingering in his eyes as he lets himself onto the Jade's Fire.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She does. She watched it on the holos, the emergency channel on his datapad pinging as he stood in the background of some very important New Republic something-or-other. The first time, he managed to keep a straight face, but only just. But she didn't just have one. She wasn't an amateur. All in all, she sent him about thirty of the most ridiculous pictures of tooka cats that she could possibly find. They were naturally funny looking creatures - a little too creepy for her taste, with their beady eyes and claws, but something about them made Skywalker take one look at them and forget he was a Jedi at all. The sight of him bursting into giggles on live broadcast while Mon Mothma was trying to give a Very Important Speech is going to keep her going for *years.*

"You're a menace," he says, dropping down next to her where she's examining her ship's tractor beam manifold. Thing's been malfunctioning for months.

"I'm a delight."

Skywalker is quiet for a moment. His bright blue eyes catch on the faulty wiring she's been attempting to finagle into working order since she landed here, and he absently grabs a spanner and begins tinkering.

This close, she doesn't have to reach to feel the shifting current of his emotions. "You are," he says softly. A few twists of his hand and a couple of button presses, and the tractor beam's diagnostics panel is all green. Showoff. "I wish you'd let me train you," he says finally, setting the spanner down beside him. There are no accusation in the words, but she feels the lingering merriment in the Force give way to a dull loneliness. Mara knows why he keeps asking, and it's not because she's any great Jedi talent. She's...fine at it, she supposes, but Skywalker is asking for one thing when he needs another. "I'd be an awful student," she says finally, bumping her shoulder with his, and he gives her his own version of Leia's half-smile . "But I guess I should probably make sure you aren't dead from time to time." He chuckles, and shakes his head. "Yeah, you're my best friend, too."

[emilianadarling]

New ‘Warrior’ Cover Art - Chapter 3: Building Routine

Latest new/updated cover art for ‘only as strong as the warrior next to you’ -- this time featuring Luke and Grogu meditating together in the Observing Station in the training wing of the Executor. 💖🙏

This one was a fun challenge to make! (Bonus points to anyone who recognizes where the image of the metal frame with the circular viewport came from. 😉) The visual it depicts is a little different than in-text, which describes an entirely transparisteel dome that Luke and Grogu are lifted up into by hoverpod. This has more metallic components, but to me better visually conveyed the sense and scope of being in space. 

Within the story, I think this chapter stands out to me both for the stunning visuals I had to struggle and google science fiction words in order to parse into words, but also because it’s the first time we get to see more than off-hand mentions and glimpses of the canon divergence background that has laid the ground within which the story occurs. The chapter itself is a journey to the past, with Luke showing Din and Grogu the place where Emperor Vader trained him and his sister in the ways of the Sith. Where the years goner by are so tangible it feels possible to reach out and touch them. 

Getting to show Young Luke and Young Leia was such a joy and sorrow. Grogu and the meditation Luke leads him through was a lilting dream. 

And at the very end, it’s the first time we get to see the wild oscillation of Luke’s mood ‘on-screen’ in such a way that it actually affects someone that we as the audience -- and Luke himself -- care about. I like to think that there are moments in the story where Luke, raised by Vader rises to the surface, and so often it competes and strains against Luke, raised by Owen and Beru. Having him lash out at Din in anger here, and over something relatively innocuous, makes clear that this is something he is easily capable of -- an important seed to plant for later.

Huge thanks to @lovey-dovey-and-sad and @universeinorbit (CaroGolden) for their phenomenal input into this one! :D Excited for this chapter for finally have its own over art!

The top picture of Luke is from Star Wars: Crimson Reign, while tiny Grogu is actually a very sized-down, adjusted image of a real-life toy! The hero shots of Din and Luke are from a variant cover of The Mandalorian #1 and from the pages of Star Wars: Shattered Empire, respectively. The gorgeous spacescape background -- meant to be the asteroid and scrap-rich expanse of the Bormea sector -- is a free wallpaper with Chandrila and some Imperial ships layered on in the corner. 😚

[gc-appreciationweek]

❗Spoiler warning: this post will touch on some lore and plot points in the Star Wars universe, as well as up until the August update of Gladiator Chronicles (Season 2, Episode 4)

That Star Wars was an influence in creating Gladiator Chronicles is no secret. Dmitry himself revealed in one of his interviews that the very first episode of GC was a homage to Star Wars, as well as admitting that one of his all-time favourite characters is Kreia/Darth Traya from Knights of the Old Republic II game!

Star Wars is one of the most famous and beloved franchises in the world. Created by George Lucas, the movies tell us the story of the Skywalker family, beginning with the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker and his fall to the dark side – the prequel trilogy (1999 – The Phantom Menace, 2002 – Attack of the Clones, and 2005 – Revenge of the Sith), followed by his twin children Luke and Leia and their fight against the Empire – the original trilogy (1977 – A New Hope, 1980 – The Empire Strikes Back, 1983 – Return of the Jedi), and lastly the sequel trilogy that tells the story of Rey (2015 – The Force Awakens, 2017 – The Last Jedi, 2019 – The Rise of Skywalker). The franchise itself also has many books, comics, TV series, games and spin-off movies.

But what exactly does GC have in common with Star Wars? Let’s take a look:

Tatooine and Paitrum are very similar. Both are desert planets, whose major import is water, its cities are frequently hit by violent sandstorm and hold little to no importance on a larger scale in their universes. In Star Wars, Tatooine is the homeworld of Anakin and Luke Skywalker, just like Paitrum is the homeworld of our main character Rix. Moreover, it’s the architecture that both planets share in common.

First row: CG from S2E1 and the Lars homestead; middle picture: GC background from S1E1; bottom picture: Mos Eisley, Tatooine

* please click on the pictures to view them fully

While in New Rome togas are still in fashion, Paitrum´s fashion is very much inspired by the robes Jedi wear and clothes one could find the most famous smuggler in the world wearing.

First row: outfit options for Rix; second row: Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker; sixth picture: Han Solo; seventh picture is from the background of Orvon´s house, presumably his parents; eighth picture: Arcann from Star Wars: The Old Republic; ninth picture: Younglings from Revenge of the Sith; last row: Luke Skywalker in Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022) and Rey

Moving on from Paitrum, let’s take a look at the Empire. In Star Wars, the Empire was led by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, also known as Emperor Palpatine. The Sith are an ancient religious order of force-wielders devoted to the Dark side of the Force. For those who don’t know, the Force is an energy field created by all life that connected everything in the Universe and individuals who are able of consciously sensing the Force are called force-wielders. With this conscious sense of the Force comes the ability to use it. The two greatest groups of force-wielders were the Jedi – who channel the Light side of the Force – and the Sith – who channel the Dark side. Since the times of Darth Bane, who established the Rule of Two, there always were only two Sith – master and apprentice – but that doesn’t mean that there were no other dark side force users working for the Empire. The Order of Inquisitors were a group of dark side agents whose purpose was to hunt down remaining Jedi, political dissidents and retrieving any force-sensitive children. Sounds familiar?

First row: Clerics from GC; third picture: Imperial Inquisitors; last row: The Supreme Pontiff and Darth Sidious

Once Rix is able to contact Tori, she tells him that the Clerics took children and returned them with implants at the back of their heads a few days later. This reminded us of Lobot and Tseebo, who had the cybernetic device AJ˄6 cyborg construct at the back of their heads. What’s more, while it was designed to increase the user's productivity, it would often erase the user’s personality and occasionally cause their behavior to become erratic.

Tori explains what happened to the children, S1E9; Lobot (picture on the left) and Tseebo (picture on the right)

When we met Afiy on the slave market, he mentioned Scarium mines, which of course doesn’t have to be outright a reference, it did remind us of the Spice Mines on the Planet Kessel, where the miners consisted of slaves and whose life-expectancy was only a few years.

(Note: Spice itself in SW is inspired by the Spice from Dune. George Lucas was influenced by Frank Herbert’s work. About Dune we also talk in another post)

Afiy in S1E2; Mines on the planet Kessel

Lastly, RC in one of their arts on Instagram hid these Easter eggs:

Luke Skywalker, A New Hope (1977)

Commander Rex, Return of the Jedi (1983)

You’ve reached the end! Thank you very much for reading up to here. Do let us know in the reblogs or replies if we missed anything.

[aureutr]

I've enjoyed your recent asks answering background on BT! The Han and Boba background was especially illuminating; to be honest, my major confusion and issue with BT was that Han and Boba's interactions had read fairly non-consensual to me over the entire course of the relationship. So, in the end where Luke forces him back to them, I was surprised he would be willing to stay (even if it was just for Luke), or that it would be considered any kind of happy ending for him. Your answer to the previous ask puts a much different spin on how I'd seen their relationship and interactions!

(I'm kind of glad, too, because I'd sort of assumed Han was stuck in a pretty tragic and bad situation for him there at the end. I'm glad this makes it seem more likely he can find some measure of happiness or satisfaction.)

I really appreciate this ask, anon, because it gives me a vehicle to talk about some stuff that bothers me about BT.

I am grateful for everyone who reads my work, and even moreso for those who leave comments! But a lot of the feedback I get about BT bums me out because it reminds me of how poorly I did my job, especially the ending.

Neither Han nor Boba are characters prone to introspection or sharing their feelings. Even when things are told from their POVs, you don't always get the full picture. Everything that was "good" about their relationship happened in the past, and neither is eager to share details. In retrospect I absolutely see why people think that Han gets a tragic end in BT. But I don't see it that way.

Boba in BT is a huge asshole. Easily the worst not-Vader character present. And he thinks of himself that way, too. He'd never admit he had any interest in a clan. In family. In a stable home and children and a mate.

But his actions speak otherwise. He doesn't have to hang around with Din. He didn't have to pay off Han's debt instead of turning him over to Jabba. But he chooses to do those things anyway. He wants the connection, he wants the clan. But admitting that he needs anything, especially as an Alpha, means he's weak (in his eyes). So he blusters and bites instead of admitting it.

Han is scared of Boba, sure, but part of that isn't about Boba so much as it is about himself. He's still attracted to him, and he's ashamed of that fact. He's spent his entire life running from his designation and fighting tooth and nail to take care of himself, thankyouverymuch. Sure, he'll work with Chewbacca and let him pick up the slack, but a Wookie is different. Chewie isn't in the a/b/o dynamic, it doesn't mean as much.

Letting anyone else in would mean something. Han is perfectly capable of taking care of himself, but he pushes too hard when he doesn't need to. He tries to make it through through heats alone, he tries to carry burdens, he refuses to share what he feels.

But he would still like to be taken care of, a little bit. He doesn't want to be forever tied down to a single place, but always having somewhere to come back to? Even if it's not a physical place but a family of sorts? Han yearns for that. And though it would take a lot of time, he won't be under house arrest forever in the end of BT. They let Luke wander, after all.

Speaking of Luke…

He might not get much Jedi training in BT (mostly he figures stuff out on his own or Leia shows him the basics when he returns), but if there's one thing Luke's good at it's empathy. As in, he's literally an empath. Someone can lie to themselves and others about what they feel, but he can feel the truth of it radiating off of them. He can't help it.

So, ultimately, Luke wants Han to give the Alphas as solid a chance as he gave Leia and Han when they asked. And he knows that Han would never consider it if asked. That's more of why he does what he does, than a completely personality change. He feels awful about it, but he had secured a full assurance from Din (at least) that they would help Han back to the Falon if that's what he wanted.

And Din, of any character in BT, is the most straightforward. He is very clear in what he wants and feels.

I won't say anyone is a particularly good person, it is still darkfic. But there was so much behind-the-scenes characterization that I wish I had found a way to make more obvious. I understand why people read the ending the way they do, but it's meant to be dark-soft. Han is asleep in the end not because he would throw a fit awake, but because he's comfortable, he feels safe. He feels safe enough to toss his legs over Boba's lap and hold a baby while he's asleep. Han will never be all about kids, but he's a good dad. Damn what the sequels imply.

Ultimately, there wasn't a way to spring Han being dragged back as any sort of surprise without doing it the way I did. And I'm still not sure how to communicate in the fic what I wrote above without having a character start monologuing about their feelings. Maybe Han could share more about his and Boba's past with Luke before they're captured, but I still don't feel that he would. It's a weakness I have as a writer, and perhaps one I will overcome in the future.

But yeah, every time someone mentions it, Borrowed Time gives me a weird mix of "sincerely touched that someone enjoyed it" and "oh god I fucked that one up so badly" 😅

[grapenehifics]

Chapter 65

(Link)

At this point I'm kind of losing track of what I already said vs. what's in my head, so if I didn't say it, I picture Mr. Plo's shop as Roman Customizing from the 1990's Disney Channel TV show Brotherly Love (which is still very watchable, btw, highly recommend, if I could ever talk myself into writing platonic Obikin I would happily write Obi-Wan as Joe/Satine as Lou, Anakin as awkward middle brother Matt, and Ahsoka as sunny youngest child Andy, with very-much-still-alive Shmi as Anakin and Ahsoka's mom/Obi-Wan's stepmom).

I had a summer job at 14, and do not in fact recommend it. (The job itself was fine, but I look back now and was like, what the fuck was I doing, let 14-year-olds have fun, jesus.)

Obi-Wan's first response, after Ahsoka telling him she got a job, being 'congratulations!' and only *after* that asking which job it was, just tickles me.

Obi-Wan strikes me as a person who would be uncomfortable bringing a private family photo to work and uploading it to his work computer to make it his desktop background, so he printed it out and framed it and set it beside his desk instead, and his actual desktop background is, like, the plain blue screen that comes with Windows when you first plug it in.

Half an hour before my first high school orchestra concert was due to start, my high school boyfriend comes to me with absolute panic in his eyes and tells me he doesn't know how to tie a tie. I didn't either, so I think we fastened it with, like, safety pins and called it good. Afterward I went home though and asked my dad to teach me to tie a tie. (We can discuss, later, about gender roles and expectations, and why didn't my boyfriend go to HIS dad and ask the same thing, because it was his tie in the first place. But I was sixteen, what did I know. Anyway.) So, next concert, I'm like, give me your tie, I'll tie it on me and then hand it back to you. (This is the mental image I was going for with Obi-Wan and Anakin at Anakin and Padme's wedding.) I ended up with a *queue* of teenaged boys all asking me to tie their ties. And I continued to do this! For the next two years! Every performance! High school, man.

Originally I was going to do more with the Anakin/continuing education plotline, but it ended up morphing into Obi-Wan going to a conference (again; I know that already happened once) and that subplot kind of fell by the wayside.

Valley Technical Center is a real place and, last I checked, you could study airplane mechanics there.

Anakin being mad about his bus pass running out of funds and not getting refilled is a callback to chapter one. All the way back to chapter one! I posted that back in July! We were all such different people then!

Now I'm sad we never got a canon scene with Obi-Wan taking Anakin and Ahsoka to Dex's. That would have been fun.

When I used to have cable I swear there was a Golden Girls marathon on every Sunday. Not that I'm complaining, Golden Girls is great, but it was a lot of Golden Girls.

I might as well have put blinking neon lights at the top of this chapter, this is about me being sad about not being able to go to Sunday afternoon Dodger games during the pandemic. (I realize there were more important things to be sad about. But that was on the list, for me.)

Do kids still play with Tinker Toys, or am I dating myself, here? (Or maybe Luke and Leia's daycare still has toys from the 80's.)

This story, in a lot of ways, is meant to be about Anakin realizing that he has had the power to make his life better all along. That's part of the way I read his fall in canon - he's so desperate for love, respect, affection (from Padme, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, the Jedi) that he already has. He just can't see it. In this story, or this part of the story, he's starting to look at his life, realize he's unhappy...and then instead of wallowing in that and making it worse, he starts to take concrete action to make it better. And the journey to that, and learning the tools that lets him do that, is why this story is so fucking long. Ha.

I love the 'parenting by committee' Anakin does for Ahsoka's birthday in this chapter. This isn't meant to be an indictment on his parenting in the slightest - I think it is non-sarcastically great that he puts Obi-Wan in charge of cake and Padme in charge of dinner and himself in charge of taking her to the DMV and Mr. Plo in charge of finding her a loaner car. They all, individually, have enough on their plates. Breaking it up into manageable chunks is the way to go.

That first solo drive after you get your license - Ahsoka uses hers to go see Korkie - it's a great moment. I still remember mine. I drove to the supermarket and bought ice cream. I am a very predictable person.

[tennessoui]

hi all of your aus are amazing! pls what happens with divorced!obiwan and the twins?

hey!! sorry this took so long i had to think of an appropriate cliffhanger

this is a continuation of this ficlet and this ficlet, where divorced!obi-wan accidentally acquires a partner and a set of twins.

(2k WHOOPS)

The twins are not, and probably have never been described by anyone except their father, angels. They take to Obi-Wan as well as Obi-Wan takes to them, which is to say that all three of them watch each other suspiciously until one day Luke launches himself off the top of the fridge--how the fuck did he manage to get up there--and Obi-Wan drops his morning toast in a frantic bid to catch him.

After that, Leia and Luke apparently decide he is Another Anakin Who Is Just Around A Lot Less But Is Better At Reading Bedtime Stories and deign to treat him as such.

Obi-Wan decides that he’s going to have a heart attack by the age of fifty. Do all children see a childproof house as a challenge?

It somehow takes both a longer and shorter time to win over Anakin’s favor, mostly because Obi-Wan isn’t sure what the man’s thinking at any given moment. He seems to blow hot and cold depending on how he woke up or how the work day goes. Some days, Obi-Wan comes home from campus and Anakin and the twins have waited to eat until he’s there. Sometimes they’ve eaten and there’s a meal under foil on the stove just for Obi-Wan.

(“I don’t know how you do it,” Obi-Wan tells him one night after the children are put to bed. “I mean, work from home with your job, mind the children, and cook?”

“They made me head of the R&D department a few months ago,” Anakin admits, taking a sip of his second glass of wine. “So I’m doing a lot more checking through other people’s work instead of making my own. It just means I can do that and make something edible--no, really, you just can’t cook, Obi-Wan, I’m not the best either.”

“Do you miss getting to make something other than food?” Obi-Wan asks eventually, giving himself enough time to recover from the sound of the other’s giggles.

Anakin shrugs languidly. “It’s better salary, and I’m the youngest ever in the company to have the position. Means I’ll pay off my student loans quicker, same with my mom’s hospital bills. Doesn’t matter what I want.”

Obi-Wan’s chest hurts and he wants to lean across the gap between their chairs and place his hand on Anakin’s arm, but they don’t know each other like that. It’s only been a month and a half since they moved in. Still. “It always matters what you want,” he insists. “And I think you’re amazing.”

Anakin blushes bright scarlet and takes a huge gulp of wine, and Obi-Wan wonders if this is a throwing-yourself-off-the-fridge break through.)

(It’s not because the next day, Anakin doesn’t say a single word to him, which bothers him more than he’d like to admit.)

(“Am I in the wrong for wanting to get along with my housemate?” Obi-Wan asks Quinlan despairingly during their office hours that he should be using to grade papers. Instead all he can think about is Anakin Skywalker and the goddamn cold shoulder he’s been getting from the man for the past three days.

“Yeah,” Quin says absentmindedly, marking something with a red pen before looking up at Obi-Wan’s outraged intake of breath. “I mean, no. I mean, sorry, Obi, what are we even talking about now? Is it still your hot new roommate with the two kids? Because that’s what we were talking about an hour and a half ago.”

Obi-Wan crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. “I’m just not sure I appreciate--”

“And you said he’s not been hanging around in the living room when you get home? But he’s still leaving you meals in the kitchen? And you’re upset about the free food?”

Obi-Wan is upset at the lack of Anakin’s presence, but he thinks that’s probably not the right thing to say here.

“Maybe he’s just tired?” Quinlan puts down his pen and rests his chin on one of his hands as he looks at Obi-Wan. “From the kids and the job and putting up with your moody ass. C’mon, Obi, what’s really getting you worked up?”

Obi-Wan purses his lips and stares at the desk in front of him, but he had come to Quinlan for help. He should at least be honest about what’s eating at him, even though he knows how silly it will sound when given a voice. “...Satine always waited up for me,” he mutters. “Until she didn’t.”

Quinlan’s quiet for a worryingly large amount of seconds, before he reaches out to pat Obi-Wan gently on the arm. “Oh, Obi,” he says pityingly. “Repeat after me. You cannot make your new roommate your rebound from your thirty year marriage.”

Obi-Wan scoffs. That’s not the problem at all. “That’s not the problem at all,” he says, not defensively in the slightest. “I think I’m just worried about the children not having enough structure in their lives.”

“Right,” Quinlan says, not quite managing to hide the skepticism in his voice. “Then you should talk to him. For the sake of the children.”

Obi-Wan will absolutely not be doing that, but it’s a nice thought.)

The real turning point in Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship happens five months after the Skywalkers move in.

Anakin and Obi-Wan are in the living room. Anakin is trying to braid Leia’s hair while Obi-Wan tries to pretend he isn’t watching. From the kitchen, there’s a very, very loud crash and the sound of something shattering.

Both adults leap up from their seats immediately and run to the other room.

Luke is standing in the epi-center of disaster, little face scrunched up like he doesn’t know whether or not to cry. At the sight of his dad and Obi-Wan, he starts to wail, moving forward and reaching for Anakin.

Obi-Wan, who is wearing shoes inside the house (a point of contention between himself and Anakin), grabs Luke roughly and picks him up by the armpits before he can cut his feet on the glass. He hands him over to Anakin to soothe, stepping further into the kitchen to find the dustpan he keeps in one of the pantries.

It’s very obvious what broke, though Obi-Wan can’t for the life of him understand how Luke got ahold of Satine’s heavy cake stand. He can definitely understand how Luke dropped it, as the thing was ridiculously heavy.

It had been one of the only things left in the house that had been Satine’s. She’d left it, and Obi-Wan had been too bitter or petty to point it out to her. Yes, it had been her mother’s. No, keeping it had not made him feel any better. But it’s not like Satine ever baked anything anyway.

Good for Luke, actually, for doing what Obi-Wan never could bring himself to do.

He grabs the broom and dustpan and marches back to the pieces of shattered glass. Anakin has placed Luke on the counter, ostensibly to check to make sure his feet are fine if the boy would ever let go of his father’s neck. Leia is peering around at the mess on the floor.

When Obi-Wan comes back and starts sweeping everything away, she darts forward to pick up a rather sizeable chunk.

“Don’t touch that,” Obi-Wan says sharply, much harsher than he intended. Leia drops it instantly and scurries back to her father, eyes wide and sort of watery. Oh, fuck.

“Hey,” Anakin snaps immediately. “She’s just trying to help and Luke didn’t mean to break--whatever that is.”

Obi-Wan holds up his hand to cut Anakin off. “I’m not mad,” he promises all three of the Skywalkers. And he’s not even lying. He’s really not mad, hasn’t even thought to be mad at this last piece of proof of his relationship with Satine shattering on his kitchen floor. “I just don’t want either of you to cut yourself. Glass like this can be very dangerous and none of you are wearing shoes.”

“Promise?” Luke asks, untucking his red face from Anakin’s neck so he can peer up at Obi-Wan.

“I’m sorry I was a bit rough,” Obi-Wan apologizes, coming over and bending down a bit so he’s on the same level as Luke. “I was just worried about you. Promise.”

Luke sniffles but lets go of Anakin to throw himself at Obi-Wan, apologizing all the way.

“Hush,” Obi-Wan says as Leia scrambles up his leg, vying for his attention. With his hands full of children that aren’t his, he raises his head to look at Anakin who’s watching them with a very strange expression on his face. He tilts his head toward the broom and then down to the kids in his arms. “Come along,” he tells them both. “Leia, I’ll finish your braids if you’d like.”

“Braid my hair too!” Luke demands with a pull on Obi-Wan’s shirt.

Luke’s hair is floppy but awfully short. “I’m sure we can figure something out,” Obi-Wan says generously, leaving the kitchen.

“I suppose I’ll just clean this up then?” Anakin calls sarcastically behind them.

“Thank you, darling,” Obi-Wan responds.

There’s the sound of something else breaking, but it’s not Obi-Wan’s problem at the moment.

(A year later, Anakin mentions something over morning coffee about looking for a new apartment, now that he’s got everything straightened out. “We’ll get out of your hair,” he says, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’ll look today since it’s my day off.”

Obi-Wan doesn’t want to examine why that idea makes something curl tightly in his stomach, making him feel vaguely nauseous, but it does. On his way out of the house, he unplugs the router, and then after a second of thought, takes it with him just in case.)

(Quinlan laughs his head off when Obi-Wan sheepishly puts the router down on the desk in front of him. “It’s a bad market right now,” Obi-Wan says defensively. “I’m just looking out for him.”

“Obi, I mean this in the best way possible, but there are at least four professors in the psych department that would probably love to do a case study on you.”)

(Two years after the Skywalkers move in, Obi-Wan is running late for a meeting with the head of his department. The man is stepping down, finally retiring, and Obi-Wan thinks that perhaps he’ll be tapped as the new head. It would mean dropping some of his classes, but it would be worth it.

“I made you a breakfast wrap,” Anakin greets him at the door, holding out a paper bag. “It’s got that salsa you like in it.”

The salsa Obi-Wan likes is the mild version of what Anakin and the kids eat, but Anakin treats it as if it’s from another planet entirely.

“Good luck!” he says with a sweet smile, also passing Obi-Wan a travel mug of what’s hopefully fully caffeinated tea. Obviously Obi-Wan needs it. He got perhaps two full hours of sleep last night, tossing and turning and thinking about this meeting and now he’s running late and his tie is crooked and none of his favorite sweater vests were clean.

“Thank you, dear one,” Obi-Wan mumbles, mind somewhere else. If traffic isn’t too bad, he could still be on time.

“Text me how it goes!” Anakin chirps, following Obi-Wan out the door to stand on the front porch with his arms crossed in an attempt to fight off the early winter chill.

“Yes, of course,” Obi-Wan replies, turning around to brush an absent-minded kiss to Anakin’s lips before hurrying to his car. It’s a twenty minute commute. If he gets his preferred parking spot and runs to the department building, he won’t be late at all.

Is that too much to hope for?

He starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, looking back in the rearview mirror to see Anakin standing frozen on the porch. That’s strange, usually the other man can’t stand being out in the cold.

Obi-Wan gets to the first stop-sign out of the neighborhood before he realizes what he’s done. It’s lucky that he’s already slowing down, because he slams on the brakes. Did he--

Did he kiss Anakin? Did he really kiss Anakin as if he does it all the time? As if they were in a relationship?

Oh shit.

Frantically, he pulls out his cellphone from his bag and checks to see if he has any new messages. He doesn’t.

Oh. Shit.

[milfbailorgana]

My favorite genre of original trilogy is Lando posting aesthetic posts with his friends on spacetagram and in the background of 90% of them is just Han looking like shit

Lando and Luke with flowers in their hair and Han is in the background, having an allergic reaction to the pollen

Lando in a bar with Chewie and Han is in the background ugly crying, maybe over the falcon, maybe over a guy, nobody can tell

Lando and Leia talking politics, Han in the background icing a black eye from a fight he got in hours earlier

And Lando’s entire space Instagram is just like this and Han has given up on trying to stop him and claims he lets Lando keep the pictures up because “it means our enemies will underestimate me, Chewie, okay?”

[valenhell]

From the studio that brought you “I can’t find good Byler fics in the ao3 tag”, comes:

"The Definitive Byler fic rec list"

Literally no one asked for this but because I spent the majority of last year (...and 2019, and 2018...) reading byler fics and coping with life, I thought I’d make a list of some of my absolute favorites. 

The other day I was basically starving for some byler fics and the angel @magicalfairy provided me with some of her faves so I thought I’d do the same, because I love reading, and I love all of these fics and I appreciate their writers💗 And fic writers in general, come on!

- This is a mix of long works and one-shots/short stories. - Everything is mostly fluff with a tad of angst and a lot of internalized homophobia conflict.  - Every fic is completed, except for the ones I mention that they are not. - I try my best to lay out the stories in a way that I won’t spoil you the plot but also warning you of some stuff you might don’t like. Either way, all of these fics are correctly tagged by their respective authors/owners, so read at your own risk. For better understanding, in between brackets I denote Rating, Words and quantity of Chapters. - I feel like I should clarify, none of these are narrated in the singular first person. None of that “And I told him...”, no. 

Long fics

a dream always the same (T, 99k, 35 chapters) What happened in those few weeks between the Battle of Starcourt and the Byers leaving Hawkins. Literally a satisfying and very needed fill in of season three, with a good dose of Mike’s thoughts and conflict. Mike’s characterization is specially amazing in this one. The writing style is amazing and I know the author put everything into making it historically accurate, and it was really sweet. You probably read it, it’s by the amazing sevensided here on Tumblr🧡

Spring Break (T, 120k, 14/15 chapters) The slowburn of my dreams. Lots of internalized conflict and conflict with each other. Conflict within the Party (uhh kind of), conflict with Mike and Will. Byers family has moved and the kids are visiting! Chaos. Characterization is on point. Yeah, I know it’s unfinished, but the fourteenth chapter actually serves as a pretty nice ending. 

This is where it starts (M, 148.8k, 24 chapters) Aged up characters. The Party is in college and Will disappears again, but now it’s different. Mike knows he didn’t vanish from thin air, and the discovery he and the Party end up making is pretty insane. Mystery solving/fantasy/third dimension, throw in a bit of D&D and Mike realizing some shit, and you get this marvelous fic. It’s a breath of fresh air. The world building is definitely one of the elements that stands out the most, because it’s very nicely described, it sounds like a dream and it’s completely immersive. Absolute gem of a fic. 

there’s a Starman waiting in the sky (M, 30.6k, 8 chapters) Do I need to say anything? Will is out there living his best life and Mike realizes that wow, umm, maybe his best friend looks a bit too nice with that costume... and wait, is he getting horny? It’s actually really fun and sexy.

The Evening Speaks (T, 23k, 7 chapters) In where Mike is a late-night college radio host and Will is the art student that stays up till late to catch up with Wheeler on the Mic. They flirt through songs y’all, this one is really sweet. 

heads or tails? (E, 24k, 3 chapters) Aged up characters. I know most people don’t enjoy sex in fics and with specific characters but this one is insanely well written. It’s a slowburn that commits to the tension and with every word you are grasping and anticipating their next move. I think you can find the author here on Tumblr as yousaidyes🧡

The Man of Average (M, 56.7k, 5/? chapters) Aged up characters. No but you don’t understand, the writing here is absolute gourmet. The story is exciting as well, it’s super interesting. Weirdly enough, for being very aged up characters, they are well characterized but they don’t feel like teenagers. They are naturally Mike and Will. The author really captured Mike and Will’s essence. I know, it’s unfinished and it’s updated very rarely, but this is the typical fic you can’t believe someone just posted on the internet for free. I will say though, I think it’s definitely not for everyone. Read at your own risk.

Heartstrings (E, 82.8k, 24/? chapters) Aged up characters. By the same author of The Man of Average. A collection of memories, the road to Mike and Will’s happy ever after. And fucking hell!!!!! You’ll cry and get angry, you’ll cheer for them, then you’ll want to crash their faces together because god dammit you love each other!!! But yeah, same thing here. The writing and the way the story is laid out as a nonlinear narrative is brilliant. And I also think this is one of the best Will versions I’ve read. The author might as well be the og creator of this two characters tbh. You can find the author here as mylesimeblr🧡

Sinners behind the walls (T, 1.5k, 1/1) And because I can’t stop recommending this author, a little thing of Mike tormenting himself but also being too deeply committed to Will. 

The Red Envelope series (T/E, 167K, two completed works) Something happens that Will thought was impossible and from there, pure drama and romance. Anything by this author has the potential to become your absolute favorite fic, but this series in particular is amazing. I doubt that any of you haven’t read this, but it doesn’t hurt to put it in this list. I’m pretty sure the author is serendipitous-magic on Tumblr🧡

A New Fight series (T, 91k, two completed works, one WIP) And finally the Star Wars AU that we all needed. But this isn’t your typical “Mike is Han”, “Will is Leia” and “El is Luke”, it’s way more interesting than that, and the author has appropriated the Star Wars world like no other. I’ll admit I’m not a 100% fluent in SW lore but this is amazing to me either way. This author is also on Tumblr, tea-for-one-please🧡

- Yes, most of these are (if not all), in a way, canon compliant/canonverse/canon continuation into fanon. (In a way)

One-shots and short stories

Sundae for Two, Please (G, 4.8k) Steve being the supportive friend and older brother these kids collectively need. (not Jonathan erasure, we love him). Steve is very sweet himself, and this little cute thing through his POV is gorgeous. Yes, it’s byler.

Backstage (T, 10k, 2/2) Jonathan, you forgot to mention to Will how hot your new band’s guitarist is, dude. Now he’s hyperventilating and weirdly flirting with him in the corner. Background Stonathan because why not.

102 Peach Street (G, 3.8k) Established relationship, but not only that, they are married :’’))) PURE fluff. Extreme fluffiness. Diabetes. 

sweatshirts and bottled up feelings (T, 3.2k) Or, Mike thinks that the sweatshirt Will wears looks insanely good on him. And kitchens are for lovers. 

kiss it better (T, 16.3k) Basically one of the best character studies of a few precise moments of Mike and Will’s relationship and feelings. 

will wonders ever cease (T, 11.3k) #i ship will and happiness. Omfg what a beautiful piece of fanfic. Will centric, this kid really deserves all the good in the world.

The Calm After the Storm (T, 1.6k) Tooth rotting fluff, boyfriends in love. Boyfriends being lazy, cuddling, love words, kisses. Boys loving each other’s company... Basically, Mike and Will in their element. What more can you ask for?

neither of us ready to let go (T, 4.8k) That scene from season three, but a bit of a fix it. 

Still in love (G, 1k) Domestic, married life au fluff. Y’all, I’m a sucker for established Byler, even if I can’t find many fics with it. But this is very sweet. It takes place in 2020, but I don’t think there are any mentions of the COVID-19 crisis that I remember.

I Nver Find Out ‘Til I’m Head Over Heels (G, 12.5K) Classic 5+1 fic. If you haven’t read it, where have you been? This is your moment. In where Mike keeps inviting Will to the school dances and Will thinks it’s just a joke until he realizes it’s not. 

Before You’re Gone (T, 5.9k) Will is leaving Hawkins and Mike thinks this is a great moment for a confession. This one I discovered last friday, thank you friend @magicalfairy 💗

You’re weird Wheeler (M, 4.5k) Mike unintentionally starts a tradition of going to each other to talk about their sexual encounters just after they finish. Will keeps getting more explicit with the details he shares, and he makes his best friend interested. This one is really fun y’all.

Out-Of-Town Friends (N/R, 4.6K) It’s not rated. I haven’t re- read it but I’d say it would probably fall in a T rating. So cute!! Will has new friends and sneaks off every friday and the Party doesn’t know where he is going, so Mike decides to follow him and is surprised. 

Snowed Under (G, 1.3k) By the same author of The New Fight series. Mike is spending christmas by himself in college because a snowstorm hits Chicago and Nancy can’t drive to see him, but then he has a surprise visitor. Ahhh just a lil sweet holiday fic. Super cute. 

you love me anyway series (T, 7.1k, three completed works) Literally just the cutest thing ever. Established Byler. Will loves to take pictures and he loves taking pictures of Mike. It’s adorable. 

you wanna be friends forever (i can think of something better) (T, 9k) This one is so amazing. So. Amazing. From Will’s POV, my kid deserves the world and he gets it. 

okay not to be okay (T, 4.9k) Mike is a bit sad but then everything is okay. 

can’t hold out forever (G, 18.4k) Y’all!!!!! 5+1 sweetness. Mike has been falling in love since kindergarten. And it’s long af, you’ll enjoy it. 

even if it takes forever (G, 1.3k) College short AU, they miss each other, they love each other, they promise all to each other. It is sappy y’all.

clear as day (N/R, 18.4K, 4 chapters) It’s not rated, but I’d say it falls in the T category. Strangers to friends to lovers. And also, everyone is pretty gay; we have our dynamic trio Mike, Max and El as disaster lesbians (and gay). Will works at the library and he is also gay. Lucas and Dustin and Will are the best friends we needed. It’s very sweet and the Party is kind of formed here!

I went overboard with the one-shots, so you must have realized how much I love long one-shots and I favor them over long works lmao but they are all amazing!!! If it’s on this list, I probably read it at 2 am, sobbing in my bed. So. Hope you enjoy it☺️🧡

[willowcrowned]

What's a ship or character you haven't written yet, but really want to?

So technically I’ve written a short Leia and Qui-Gon drabble, but I’ve not written more than that, and there’s something really intriguing to me about the conflict that happens when you stick the two of them together.

They’re really similar in a lot of ways, not just in terms of character traits (hello stubbornness) but the way those traits manifest. They both have a tendency to steamroll anyone in their way (hello stubbornness again), both have a staunch devotion to their ideals that they refuse to compromise on (even when it would be better for them to listen), and they’re both big-picture thinkers (sometimes to the point of not being able to see the littler but equally important things).

Part of my philosophy for writing Qui-Gon is that he should always be forced to cooperate with people who challenge him, but challenge him in a way he can push back against. He doesn’t grow as a character when he gets stuck inside his own head and becomes totally set in his own opinions, but to be able to argue, he has to be working on a similar wavelength. It’s why it’s hard to write him and, say, Luke arguing—Luke is operating on a totally different level, with a totally different understanding of how the galaxy works and a very dissimilar ideological background. Leia, on the other hand, is a perfect opposing force for Qui-Gon.

Leia also needs someone to push back against—there’s a reason she doesn’t go for nice men—but in addition to that, she sets a standard for the people who love her and want to be around her to live up to. Han actively has to work to become a different person if he wants her not just to love him back, but to see him as an equal. Leia knows what she needs—a true partner—and she doesn’t settle for less. But sometimes she goes too far and falls into the same trap as Qui-Gon—thinking everyone has to meet her on her terms—and that’s not good for her either.

For me, that’s where Leia and Qui-Gon could get really interesting. Qui-Gon has a tendency to believe that he’s got the full picture—that he can see everything because of the way he is. He’s not going to believe he needs to change unless something drastic happens. But Leia won’t take him as he is. To see them together—to write them actually in love as a couple—would take figuring out what gives him that push to change, what makes him admit that he loves Leia, and furthermore, that he’s not the person he wants to be. And, in turn, writing them would mean figuring out what makes Leia realize that maybe he’s not so wrong about everything after all, and that maybe she has some growing to do too.

[gffa]

So I cannot remember if I asked this or not but do you have any HanLeia fic recs?

Hi! I could have sworn I'd done a list before, but honestly it probably wouldn't have been very long--Han/Leia is a strong OTP for me, but I don't end up reading much fic for them. But I do have a few to shove at you that I remember being significantly focused on them (rather than as a background ship)! ✦ A journey of a thousand miles by greyathena, han/leia & luke & cast, 149k      Relationships have to start somewhere. Or, once you’ve jumped into a garbage chute with people you kind of either decide to like them or you don’t. ✦ Identity by madame_alexandra, han/leia & cast, 353.9k      A distress signal reaches Coruscant after the Empire's demise, claiming to be the beacon of Bail Organa. what would the reappearance of Leia's adoptive father mean for her life in a post ROTJ context. What would he think of Han Solo, and what could he tell her about the dark shadow of her heritage? ✦ Fast, Thorough, and Sharp as a Tack by igrockspock, han/leia, 2.9k      Leia knows how to fire a blaster, survive an interrogation, and escape from the Death Star, but she’s still missing a few essential survival skills – like how to apologize, how to accept help from a friend, and okay, she might not know how to wash her own clothes or cook a real dinner. ✦ Any Scar You Give Me (I Will Endure It) by igrockspock, leia & ben & han/leia & luke, 15k      Leia and Han had escaped from Imperial assaults, been captured by Jabba the Hutt, blown up the shield generator on Endor, and helped to found the New Republic. After all that, raising a child together couldn’t be that hard, right? ✦ Minor Counterintelligence Operations by igrockspock, han/leia & ben, 2.5k      Ben Solo knows three things: he loves his parents, they are weird, and they have a lot of secrets. He intends to find them out. ✦ Drive It Like You Stole It by victoria_p (musesfool), han/leia, 1.2k     Sometimes she feels like she’s nothing but wanting, and these stolen hours with Han are the only thing that satisfy her. ✦ drink up, dreamers (you’re running dry) by 31_rabbits, han/leia & luke & ben, 2.6k      She’d expected her tears to be cold, too. But they are hot, and they are bitter. Salt from a vaporized sea. ✦ In Tandem by nymja, han/leia & ben, 1.2k      Leia tries to picture Han as a father. She envisions her infant son being asked to hold a plasma torch as dad attempts to weld a coupling that’s come undone for the fifth or sixth time. – Han tries to picture Leia as a mother. He sees his kid, with tons of hair. Just. Lots and lots of hair. ✦ Up in the Sky by ambiguously, han/leia, 3.4k      Han attempts to take Leia out somewhere nice. ✦ Five Ways to Stop Being a Princess by igrockspock, han/leia, 3.5k      1. Spend a night in the smuggling compartments of the Millennium Falcon ✦  the last princess of alderaan by songstress, han/leia & luke, 5.4k      Leia always considers herself a citizen of the galaxy. She never knows how Alderaanian she is, until Alderaan is gone. ✦ Song for a fifth child by Deputychairman, leia & han/leia & poe + references to pairings, 5.9k      The Force isn't the only kind of power ✦  no one can stop me, not even gravity or nasa by magneticwave, han/leia & luke & obi-wan, 8.5k   “Fuck you,” Leia says. “Who said anything about getting married? Did Luke say anything about getting married?” “Luke is not involved,” Luke says, not looking up. “Hey, Luke is not involved,” Han says, pointing at her. She’s going to bite his finger off, then they’ll see how much pointing he can do with it. “This is about you and me, princess.” ✦  but for the cause by newsbypostcard, han/leia & kylo ren & luke, 6k   The dark side takes its damned share, but it can never take from her the cause. (Or: five things Leia Organa has lost; something she keeps; and something she gains back.) If anyone else has recs to add, feel free! 💕

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from the Lost Tomb, part 5.4

I swear folks once I get this and the last part up I’m gonna condense it all

But yeah couldn’t resist some <3

Zhang and Wu Chat

Wu Xie: Um. I’m all done with the shower if you want a turn.

Zhang Qiling: I’m alright without one.

Wu Xie: sooo are you pissed at me still?

Zhang Qiling: ? I have not been angry with you since the ladder incident.

Wu Xie: you’ve barely said anything since the necklace thingy

Zhang Qiling: I believe it is a long-running joke amongst my friend group that I do not, in fact, say much.

Wu Xie: okay but there are multiple gouges in the tea house walls that would suggest you had somewhat strong feelings today

and I kinda caused the events that sparked said feelings

so just checking in you know

Zhang Qiling: I was not angry so much as I was afraid. More afraid than I’ve been in a long time.

Wu Xie: ??? But it has worked out fine??? Everyone made it out alive and Uncle Erbai gets to feel morally superior to the Zhang family for a while so today was a win overall

Zhang Qiling: I heard you scream. I didn’t know what had happened. I couldn’t get to you right away. Therefore, I was afraid.

Wu Xie: ohhhhh. oh, Xiao Ge. It’s alright now—hey the necklace was actually helping u look out for me:) It’s not like those ppl were actually trying to hurt me, really. Your family isn’t so bad, at least you don’t have any uncles you know of

today was just some big misunderstandings wrapped in some poor life choices. Tbh my memoir title

I feel kind of stupid for screaming but when a glowing necklace wraps itself around your neck it’s a little uhoh moment lol

I did like the design tho def my aesthetic.

Zhang Qiling: I am pleased that it was able to protect you when I was not.

Wu Xie: Uh no you are not allowed to get all emo abt this it’s only like 3pm

damn time flies when it’s flashing before your eyes lol

Are you on the roof? You’re def on the roof. I thought I heard the tiles moving over my head. Come down or I’m coming up.

Zhang Qiling: I will be down in a moment. Do not come outside, it’s cold and raining.

Wu Xie: you know, Zhang Rishan said he thinks the necklace might be linked to you, somehow

something from long ago, even though you wouldn’t remember it.

It’s lucky that it liked me, huh:)

Zhang Qiling: Yes. Quite lucky.

Babysitters Club Chat

Wang Pangzi: AWW LOOK AT HIM NAPPING ON YOUR SHOULDER SO CUTE. BEBES HAD A BIG DAY. YOU TWO ARE PRECIOUS. BE GOOD AND POSE FOR THE PICTURE NOW.

Zhang Qiling: No. Also, I am considering what steps I should take with Zhang Rishan. Regardless of his concern for the Zhang family line, his actions were unacceptable.

Wang Pangzi: HES DROOLING A LITTLE ON YOU WHICH IS LESS CUTE BUT I CAN CROP THAT PART

LOOK I KNOW YOURE STILL PISSED. IM NOT EXACTLY CALM MYSELF, I JUST HAVE WAYS TO SKIRT AROUND TIANZHENS BULLSHIT FILTER THAT YOU LACK

GET ON MY LEVEL

WU ERBAI WILL HANDLE IT, THINGS HAVE SETTLED I THINK

BUT ABOUT THAT NECKLACE

SO INTERESTING HMMM

Zhang Qiling: I am the patriarch of my family. The necklace behaved as I would, apparently, to protect a vulnerable family member. Wu Xie’s bad cold last week activated it, and it responded to a perceived danger to him today. Simple enough.

Wang Pangzi: UH HUH

A FAMILY MEMBER

THE NECKLACE REALLY SAID LOVE WINS

TOLKIEN COULD NEVER

Zhang Qiling: It protected him on a technicality. But I will not allow him to bear the burdens of my family ever again. It has taken so much from him already.

Wang Pangzi: YEAH SURE BLAH BLAH DESTINY BLAH BLAH ANGST

“A TECHNICALITY” WOW WHO SAID ROMANCE WAS DEAD

ANYHOO IM SCREENSHOTTING THIS FOR UR WEDDING RECEPTION SLIDESHOW

YA KNOW DURING MY SPEECH

Friends of Wu Xie Support Group Chat

Hei Yangjing: you’re welcome for everything today<3 I accept PayPal, although of course it is always my honor to assist my friends:)

Wang Pangzi: WE ARENT PAYING YOU SHIT

Zhang Qiling: You did absolutely nothing.

Hei Yangjing: whoa whoa maybe I wasn’t threatening family members or busting up load-bearing walls like some undying divas I could name but I totes helped

or at least I was there for moral support maybe?

Zhang Qiling: The only reason I knew you were there at all was that as I lowered my blade from Zhang Rishan’s neck, I heard the camera click and saw you were taking a selfie making a peace sign, angled to have the two of us in the background.

Xie Yuchen: I saw it on social media just now. The caption is “#greatdaycatchingupwiththelads #blessed”

Wang Pangzi: TBH KIND OF JEALOUS I DIDNT THINK TO DO THAT

Hei Hangjing: okay yeah you see Xiao Ge that is a modern kind of help I should’ve known you wouldn’t be aware

It’s called performance, you wouldn’t understand

it’s a ‘Gram thing

Also it means I’m a great person

Bc letting you handle the situation was my gift to you

Zhang Qiling: Wu Xie mentioned there is something called “blocking ppl” that gets them out of my phone.

Hei Yangjing: nah

Can’t trust that Wu Xie, bae can’t tell a coffin from an urn amirite

it’s not a thing, blocking

Xie Yuchen: It is a thing. I’ll show you later, Zhang Qiling.

Wang Pangzi: YOU BOYS GO GET CLEANED UP AND COME BY AROUND 9 I SNAGGED SOME OF ZHANG RISHANS BOOZE ON THE WAY OUT

Bonnie and Clyde Chat

Hei Yangjing: you looked pretty comfortable in those handcuffs earlier ;););)

Xie Yuchen: Go to sleep, idiot.

Hei Yangjing: You’d have to do something to tire me out ;););)

Xie Yuchen: Are you like this around Wu Xie? Not that I care, I’m just asking.

Hei Yangjing: uh that’s a big nope

First off all Idk when I’ll die but Id prefer it to be on my terms and not at the hands of those other two

Secondly there is a part of me that remembers how adorable he was when he was younger and that makes it weird

(No offense but u were not adorable. He was bebe luke skywalker, you were bebe princess leia I am obvs Han Solo 4lyfe)

Also I’m a little scared that if i flirted with him and he flirted back he’d be better at it.

Xie Yuchen: All valid concerns.

Hei Yangjing: as cute as he is I don’t really wanna tap that.

Xie Yuchen: I see.

Hei Yangjing: do you tho

Main Chat

Wu Xie: okay folks who wants cocoa to top the evening off? I picked some up today:D

Wang Pangzi: UH YOU SPENT YOUR DAY BEING KIDNAPPED AND PLACATING A SENTIENT NECKLACE WHEN DID YOU HAVE TIME TO GET GROCERIES

FRANKLY THATS INTIMIDATING

Wu Xie: the tea house gift shop:)

Wang Pangzi: …YOU BOUGHT COCOA FROM YOUR KIDNAPPERS. FROM THEIR GIFT SHOP. DURING YOUR KIDNAPPING.

WU XIE

WU XIE WHY

Wu Xie: I mean we were there the whole day, it felt impolite not to buy anything.

Wang Pangzi: OH RIGHT GREAT POINT ID HATE TO BE RUDE TO THEM AFTER THEY WENT TO THE TROUBLE OF ABDUCTING US

LISTEN WHEN PPL STEAL YOU IT BECOMES FREE REIGN ON THEIR SHIT

UGH YOU PROBABLY GOT A RECEIPT AND EVERYTHING

WAS UR LITTLE SHOPPING TRIP BEFORE OR AFTER THEY STUCK U IN A DUNGEON TO EXPERIMENT ON YOU

WAIT NVM I DONT WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT

Wu Xie: look, let’s focus on the positives/ we are all okay, and we learned something new, that necklace is still active! It’s really quite nice-looking when it isn’t moving of its own volition.

Wang Pangzi: YOU AND YOUR RELENTLESS DUCKING OPTIMISM

ZHANG QILING ARE YOU SEEING THIS

Zhang Qiling: I would love some cocoa. I’ll come to the kitchen.

Wu Xie: I have special marshmallows for you!!

Wang Pangzi: I SEE

WE ARE SUBSCRIBING TO THE PRESTIGIOUS “FUCK IT WHY NOT” SCHOOL OF THOT TONIGHT

LOL SURE LETS GO COCOA IT UP

IVE GOT SOMETHING STRONG TO POP IN IT

Wu Xie: Still thinking about that design… I’d love another chance to examine that necklace under less Zhangy circumstances.

Kinda sad we couldn’t borrow it to use for illnesses and dangerous missions :/

ah well it’s for the best, a family heirloom should be treasured, preserved and protected<3

Zhang Qiling: I put it on your dresser.

Wu Xie: ???????

Wang Pangzi: AND THATS WHY YOU AND I ARE FRIENDS, XIAOGE <3

Wu Xie: I—

Zhang Qiling: Are those bunny-shaped marshmallows for me?

[darthskys]

Okay we need more release date accurate modern AUs. Or, mostly accurate, since the Original Trilogy is 70s and 80 and we progress from there.

I’m gonna need Chewie and Han on the couch watching 21 Jump Street and arguing over Nixon’s scandal while Luke and Leia groan. I need Uncle Luke with little Ben and Rey wreaking havoc at a 90s Taco Bell. I want faded pictures of Padmé and Anakin at a diner dancing to Little Richard and Elvis with Obi-Wan shaking his head in the background. I want Finn and Poe making plans with Rey on shitty 2000s BlackBerrys. I need these things actually.

[deniigi]

SO i've been reading your mando/luke series (which is brilliant by the way) and am so excited for when leia inevitably finds out about the marriage. i mean, can you just picture, tiny leia organa getting in din's fave like if you hurt my little brother i will kill you, and han just making apologetic faces in the background.

anyway! sorry to subject you to my ramblings, but i just wanted to say that it's really fantastic and you're an amazing writer.

Hi Anon!!

I think this was sent a while ago, before Leia became aware of things in the FTL Verse. But since then I wrote a cute little bit about her and Din bonding that I think you may enjoy.

Title: Flight School

Summary: Leia’s a shit pilot. Din’s her newest choice of flying teacher. Luke tags along against his better judgement and mounting anxiety.

--

About eight or so years ago, Han had tried to teach Leia how to fly, and coincidentally, about eight or so years ago, Han had banned Leia from the cockpit of every craft he had access to.

Luke hadn’t believed him when he said that he was done with trying to teach her for good and forever. He had thought, like a fool, that he’d have better luck.

Maybe it had been too much faith in their twin bond. Maybe it had been hubris.

The result was the same.

If Leia thought that she was putting so much as a toe over the cockpit threshold while Luke was sat at the controls, she had another thing coming.

The closest he’d let her to the console was the back right seat. That was it. That was as far into a corner as he could feasibly get her while still allowing her to see what was happening.

And so was established the present the order of operations that occurred on every family trip off of Yavin:

Step 1. Gather in front of the chosen vehicle.

Step 2. Board.

Step 3. Strap in Ben.

Step 4. Locate, disarm, and manhandle Leia into the seat next to Ben.

Step 5. Proceed with all other preparatory measures as usual.

This order of operations worked fine--great, even--until the family expanded.

Din and Grogu had their own pre- and in-flight procedures. They were haphazard. They were chaotic. They bore next to no resemblance to the word ‘safety’ and instead an alarming resemblance to a duck and cover drill, but you know what? Luke was willing to look past that because Din was a good pilot.

For all crafts? No. No, Din could successfully pilot about seven different types of ship before he started literally winging it.

Thankfully, his version of winging it was at least informed.

Sort of.

Kind of.

Alright, maybe Luke had more faith in Din’s natural ability to improvise than he did in his piloting, but that was not the issue at hand.

The issue at hand was Leia. Leia who had one single time seen Din take the controls from Luke so that Luke could go talk to her in the main cabin. That tiny misstep was enough to remind her that she wasn’t allowed to take the controls when she flew with Luke.

The jealousy had crashed over Luke like a seawall in a tsunami, which was how they’d gotten here. Right here. With Din waving Luke and Han off dismissively, saying that he’d teach the lady, no problem.

Luke snatched Grogu from his arms right after he finished that sentence. There was no way in hell he was letting the child on board alongside the toxic combination before him.

Din asked Leia what she knew about flying.

She said that she knew which way was down and that crashing was not optimal.

Din cleared her for takeoff.

“Relax,” he said while Han and Luke and Chewie crunched together and tried to practice deep breathing as one single body. “I got stuck on Paz’s first flight post-helmet and let me tell you: nothing will ever top that.”

Han told him not to underestimate Leia’s abilities. Whoever ‘Paz’ was, his record was sure to be beaten.

“I dunno about that,” Din said, giving Leia boost up into the ship’s entrance. “It took Paz twelve times to figure out how to land. The only thing that saved him was our oldest guy finding the mechanic’s pre-written homicide confession before the thirteenth try.”

With every little nugget of Din’s covert childhood came a new bout of indigestion. Luke was starting to regret having ever asked him to open up about it.

“Maybe shoot for a slightly higher goal, then,” Han suggested as Din hauled himself up into the Rust Bucket after Leia.

“I’ll take it under advisement,” Din said before closing the hatch.

 --

 Luke was rattling, rattling, rattling out here on the ground. If he looked up and squinted, he could just see Leia through the cockpit’s hazy windshield. She was pointing at things and talking. Presumably, Din was answering her.

God, what a way for those two to meet in person.

“Should we clear back?” Han asked Luke and Chewie.

Luke looked up at him and then back to the ship. He looked up again and then back again.

“Luke,” Han drawled. “Luke, buddy, let’s not. Just this once.”

Luke shoved Grogu into his arms.

 --

 Din told him to stop breaking into the ship for the eighth time, but Luke ignored him to scramble into Grogu’s usual seat.

He strapped every strap he could strap and gripped the sides of the seat as tight as his hands would allow.

His knees wanted nothing more than to bounce into oblivion.

He was aware that Din was looking back at him while Leia asked where the brake was. He did not look back. He trained his gaze out the windshield at Han. Han met his eye and then shook his head sadly. Chewie pulled him back. Han set Grogu down and followed him. Grogu turned around and gave a little wave.

Luke felt a tear threatening to fall.

He pried a hand from the side of the seat and waved back.

“Alright, I’m ready,” Leia said.

--

[rise-above-the-grave]

[smashes down door] who is Bail and why do you like him? I could look it up but I'd rather you gush over him

OH BOY.

So first off, a quick (canon) history lesson: Bail Organa was the Senator and Viceroy (aka Prince Consort) of Alderaan. If you don't know what that means (because old titles are Weird - I'm not judging the only reason I know this is because of this very character), it means that Breha, Bail's wife, is ruling Queen of Alderaan and was the heir to the throne. She married Bail, making him a ruler by marriage, though technically she still held the crown. He, at some point, was also elected Senator of Alderaan, and was Senator leading up to and during The Clone Wars (and after, but we're getting to that).

So Bail, we come to find out, became (best) friends with Padmé Amidala. We see him in a couple of scenes in Attack of the Clones with Padmé, just kinda vibing and making the occasional commentary. We know he stood with her on the Opposition bill (the bill Padmé was nearly killed over at the beginning of AOTC, which was against the formation of a Republic military), though we don't learn much about the rest of his politics until later.

So he's kinda...there, but obvs isn't the focus of the story, and is really just a minor background character. The first real insight we get into Bail is, actually, a really tiny character moment right at the end of AOTC, when Palpatine and some of the Senators are looking down at the Clone troops loading up onto the ship, watching their new military gear up for war.

Bail looks away. While everyone else is staring down at the (slave) army, some of them smiling (like Sheev), some of them just serious, Bail looks away from them and makes this tiny little hand gesture: a simple, closed fist knocking against the banister of the balcony.

It's this, I think, that first piqued my interest in this character. He was the only one not triumphant in that situation. He was the only one who saw things for what they were: a tragedy, and a horror, and that this wasn't something to celebrate but to mourn.

Then we come to Revenge of the Sith, and boy howdy. The man may have like 10 minutes of screen time, but does he make those 10 minutes count!

A quick bullet point of the Important Things Bail Does in ROTS:

When the Jedi Temple is burning, what does Bail do? He flies to it to figure out what's going on and see if he can save anyone. He then watches as a youngling is shot and killed by Clone Troopers, and manages to escape because he's a fucking badass.

Please note, to our knowledge, Bail is the only one who actually goes to check on the Jedi Temple.

As soon as he escapes the Temple, Bail immediately - like immediately - takes his ship and goes to find any surviving Jedi. He is almost certainly the reason both Yoda and Obi-Wan don't walk into the trap that is the Jedi Temple, or are captured - and even if that's not true, he most definitely is the reason they manage to sneak safely onto Coruscant and figure out what happened.

He's the one who rescues Yoda (again) after Yoda's failed duel with Palpatine in the Senate. Which, let me rant about the SYMBOLISM of that for a second please. Because holy shit, the entire duel between Yoda and Palpatine takes place in the Senate, with the Senate building and pods. Here Palpatine proves to Yoda that yes, he is the Senate, he controls it, the new Empire is under his control and no one can stop him. But then - but then - Yoda escapes, and who saves him? Bail. Bail sneaks in with a speeder, saves Yoda, and gets him back to safety. Which is such a huge fucking metaphor for the fact that Bail will be the one who, ultimately, is responsible for Palpatine's defeat. But, more on that later.

Bail is there when Padmé (remember, his best friend) gives birth to Luke and Leia. Bail is literally one of 3 sentients in the galaxy who canonically knows about both Luke and Leia.

Bail instantly offers to adopt one of the children, saying "She will be loved with us." (And then she absolutely is.)

And he does all of that in line 10 minutes of screen time.

He shows up again briefly in Star Wars Rebels, and again in Rogue One, but I'm going to take a trip down a side alley here into a territory that is grossly unused in the SW EU: the founding of the Rebellion.

So we don't actually know much about how the Rebellion got started. What we do know is that Bail was one of the (if not the main) Founders. Bail was the mastermind behind the Rebellion, by all accounts knowing...everything about it: who was who, who did what, where they were located, etc. He knows (and controls) Fulcrum in Rebels, as just one example, and Fulcrum is considered by that text to be one of the most powerful Rebel operatives at the time. In Rogue One (regardless of whether you liked what they did with the Rebellion which, side note, I did not), we see he certainly has a position of great authority and power. People respect him, and listen to him, and he's on an even footing with Mon Mothma (or Mom Mothma as my autocorrect tried to say) who is canonically one of the most powerful people in the Rebellion, according to ROTJ.

More than what he did, though, we can look to his character as a reason I love him. He is a good, kind, honorable man who does (or at least tries) his best. We see again and again, throughout all of SW media he's in, that he consistently chooses the right path, regardless of whether or not it's the easy one. He fights corruption, fights for justice, fights for freedom, fights against tyranny.

He is also, canonically, an amazing father and (according to EU content, since Breha literally doesn't have a spoken line in any media content) an incredible husband. We know he's well-loved by his people, and by the Rebellion, by the extraneous texts and mentions about him in the wake of his death on Alderaan. He's also respected by many Senators during his time in the Clone Wars (Padmé makes a comment in a TCW episode about how he's the best and most respected speaker and Senator she knows), and regardless of how people felt about him after the Rise of the Empire (which is, unfortunately - or fortunately maybe, because I don't trust Disney to do it right - up to headcanon), the fact remains that Bail played an incredibly tricky position as an Imperial Senator, having to balance fighting for his people, the people of the galaxy, and setting up the Rebellion, with not making himself too much of a nuisance, or too much of a traitor, that Palpatine straight up had him executed.

Which, speaking of that, can we also take a moment to appreciate the fact that Bail knew almost every single secret that Palpatine and Vader wanted??? He knew where Obi-Wan was, and possibly where Yoda was. He knew where both of Anakin and Padmé's children were. He knew everything about the fledgling Rebellion. Like...that man, had he been captured and interrogated (and had he broken) would have damned the entire galaxy. Yet he never was. He played his cards perfectly, and was either never suspected, or was able to somehow hide all of the information they wanted to know from being found. Personally, I suspect a mixture of the two.

Furthermore, Bail Organa is a great father and husband. He is directly responsible for Leia being the amazing woman we know and love. The one shot we get of Breha, you can practically see and feel the love and adoration Bail has for her radiating off of him through the screen. Literally the most unproblematic ship in Star Wars. I have never seen a single person say they aren't amazing (unless they just want to break them up to make Bail gay? Which, come on, bisexual and polyamorous people exist, y'all. But that's a talk for another time).

If you're still not convinced, the only thing left that I can say is: I'm a raging lesbian and like, while I definitely wouldn't fuck him, Bail/Jimmy Smits (his actor) is handsome. Have some pictures that I have saved on my phone for when I'm feeling sad.

Tl;dr: Bail Organa is singlehandedly responsible for putting into motion the events that secure the galaxy's freedom, not only by being one of the founding fathers of the Rebellion, but also by reaching Yoda and Obi-Wan before the new Empire can, and getting them safely to Coruscant. He is a good, kind, and noble man who does his best in shitty times, and even if he has to make hard choices, he always makes them for the right reasons. He is a loving father, husband, and ruler, who does right by his people and his family. He fights for what's right, even when that fight is nearly impossible. He's a badass, and arguably a literal genius (you'd have to be, to do the kinds of things he does in canon).

Anyway, Bail Organa is great and I love him - and you should too.

[fathcrlike]

                         ☆   ━━   𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗   𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚜     𝚕𝚞𝚔𝚎   &   𝚑𝚒𝚜   𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎   𝚘𝚗   𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝     ¸

there   are   a   few   things   about   lukes   portrayal   ,   especially   in   new   media   ,   that   rub   me   wrong   and   i   simply   refuse   to   accept   as   canon   for   my   portrayal   .   since   i   am   familial   with   most   of   his   legends   background   that   got   redconned   /   altered   for   the   recent   trilogy   ,   i   want   to   express   how   i   see   his   stance   on   attachment   and   relationships   .   we   all   know   that   ,   in   the   jedi   order   ,   it   was   not   allowed   to   have   a   romantic   partner   or   be   attached   to   another   person   in   that   way   .   no   ,   jedi   were   no   monks   .   they   had   intercourse   and   made   their   sexual   experience   ,   yet   marriage   or   an   actual   deeper  ��bond   on   that   level   was   forbidden   .   in   the   book   of   boba   fett   we   see   how   luke   urges   grogu   to   decide   between   yodas   lightsaber   and   his   father   /   din   djarin   .   let   me   get   to   both   of   these   points   real   quickly   . luke   does   not   see   emotional   attachment   as   a   bad   thing   .   he   has   a   deep   love   for   his   family   ,   for   leia   and   han   ,   for   chewbacca   .   he   grew   up   with   loving   foster   parents   ,   he   loved   his   homeworld   ,   despite   the   pull   he   always   felt   ,   the   voice   in   the   back   of   his   head   that   something   was   not   as   it   should   be   .   yes   ,   he   became   a   jedi   knight   after   being   trained   by   yoda   ,   he   assisted   his   sister   in   her   training   and   he   is   building   a   temple   /   new   school   for   students   who   are   force   sensitive   and   intend   to   follow   the   path   of   light   .   THAT   IS   THE   CUE   .   despite   studying   the   old   ways   ,   the   books   and   scrolls   he   was   able   to   get   his   hands   on   ,   his   wish   is   to   find   BALANCE   .   to   luke   ,   the   most   important   thing   is   to   find   your   place   in   life   ,   to   be   one   with   the   force   and   understand   that   there   is   a   deeper   meaning   in   existance   than   selfishness   .   he   would   do   anything   to   protect   those   he   cares   for   ,   as   we   have   seen   ,   to   prevent   other   force   users   to   become   as   lost   as   his   father   was   .   attachment   is   not   wrong   .   jealousy   ,   greed   and   mistrust   are   .   in   terms   of   partnership   ,   luke   would   need   deep   trust   in   another   being   to   allow   them   as   close   ,   yet   it   is   not   off   the   charts   .   he   knows   HIS   OWN   PLACE   ,   where   his   path   leads   him   and   what   he   can   /   has   to   do   to   play   his   part   in   the   bigger   picture   .   having   someone   to   confide   in   ,   who   accepts   his   views   and   shares   them      -      in   terms   of   choosing   light   over   darkness     -       would   have   a   huge   impact   on   him   ,   yet   never   change   his   beliefs   .   THE   BALANCE   OF   REMAINING   YOUR   TRUE   SELF   and   GIVING   YOURSLEF   TO   SOMEONE   ELSE   ,   to   be   able   to   do   both   .   this   is   what   a   healthy   attachment   ,   what   a   fulfilling   relationship   should   be   like   .    now   back   to   grogu   and   din   .   in   my   portrayal   ,   or   as   i   see   it   ,   luke   did   not   mean   harm   to   the   relationship   between   these   two   with   his   words   .   he   offered   him   a   choice   .   training   to   master   the   force   takes   a   lot   of   a   person   and   usually   they   bring   whatever   baggage   they   have   into   that   .   he   wants   to   help   grogu   ,   who   carries   a   deep   conflict   within   himself   .   he   is   ,   despite   his   age   ,   just   a   child   who   survived   mass   slaughter   .   he   has   been   hunted   down   most   of   his   life   ,   treated   like   bounty   ,   like   something   OF   USE   rather   than   a   living   being   .   given   that   ,   luke   would   never   doubt   the   importance   and   depth   of   the   bond   between   grogu   and   din   .   he   is   aware   of   how   much   they   mean   to   each   other   ,   but   also   of   the   fact   that   din   djarin   is   not   without   his   own   story   ,   his   own   baggage   .   in   order   for   grogu   to   become   a   jedi   ,   he   needs   him   to   focus   on   training   .   at   least   for   a   certain   time   .   he   needs   him   to   WANT   TO   BE   A   JEDI   out   of   free   will   and   not   because   he   once   belonged   to   the   old   order   .   why   ,   in   my   opinion   ,   luke   thinks   he   made   the   wrong   choice   in   leaving   ,   in   taking   the   shirt   and   not   the   saber   .   this   is   not   a   one   way   ticket   .   he   would   be   willing   to   still   help   the   child   ,   yet   it   has   to   be   his   own   desire   ,   his   own   way   .   LUKES   SCHOOL   WILL   ALWAYS   BE   A   REFUGE   TO   THOSE   WHO   SEEK   OUT   THE   PATH   OF   LIGHT   ,   balance   and   companionship   .   belonging   .   attachment   is   nothing   wrong   ,   as   long   as   lived   and   practiced   in   a   healthy   flow   between   give   and   take   ,   between   remaining   yourself   and   giving   a   piece   of   yourself   to   another   person   .   but   this   is   just   my   take   on   it   .   

[tennessoui]

KUWSK is killing me with cuteness like I literally feel my heart clench with every one shot. I was wondering if you could maybe do a lil one shit on the aftermath of the aftermath of the router incident 😭 after obi-wan clarifies he does in fact love the kids and doesn’t want them to leave…I just need anakin to tell obi-wan he wants to stay… love this sm

oh bless, i'm happy to hear you like them!!! this is a bit sappy and also um definitely unedited so 🙈🙈but i think this includes the most obikin content of them all so far which is wild seeing as how my google doc for KUWSK is literally 15k at this point.

(here is the aftermath of the Router Incident, for context)

(1.6k)

Comforting and calming the children, that’s the easy part. Children forget grievances like water rolls off a duck’s back. Adults are trickier.

Adults don’t just forget and forgive.

Obi-Wan finishes the book he’s been reading to the kids. Last night, they had been on Chapter Two. Tonight, the kids are asleep by Chapter Four, but he keeps reading, all the way through the denouement at the end of the book. He knows he’ll have to go back to Chapter Four tomorrow night, knows that he may have bought himself some time but not enough time to make a difference.

But if Anakin really wanted to leave, there was nothing on God’s green earth that could stop him.

He places the book on the nightstand between the two beds and quietly stands, adjusting his glasses.

Finding and signing a lease can happen very, very quickly. He suddenly wants to wake the kids up, just to read another chapter. There are so many books left to finish, but finding and signing a lease can happen...can happen very, very quickly.

How many more chapters do they have left?

The entire time he spends walking down the stairs, he’s hoping that Anakin will have already gone to bed. But the light in the living room is still on, which means Anakin doesn’t want to keep ignoring the elephant in the room, which means in turn that either Obi-Wan can continue down the hall at the bottom of the staircase to his own room and just pretend that he doesn’t know Anakin’s waiting up for him, or he can confront the situation and perhaps even act his age.

He goes to the living room. If he only has a certain block of time left with Anakin in his presence, he’s not going to waste any of it hiding in his room.

Anakin is standing with his arms crossed, looking at the mantle of the fireplace and the photos lined up there. His face is hidden from view, but his posture is stiff.

“The children are asleep,” Obi-Wan says, mostly to announce himself. Which he knows is stupid, seeing as how Anakin most definitely heard him come down the stairs. But suddenly he wants Anakin’s eyes on him quite desperately. He will, in fact, do most anything to have the man look at him. His eyes are so expressive. His eyes are so beautiful.

Obi-Wan shakes the thought from his head and reminds himself of what’s very quickly become his mantra over the past few months. You will not make your housemate into your rebound.

It had sounded so logical when Quinlan had suggested it. So easy to agree to.

“Thanks,” Anakin says, turning to face him. It’s awkward. Anakin hasn’t thanked him for putting the children to bed for months.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan replies, coming into the room completely. “I--”

“I--” Anakin starts, but cuts himself off when Obi-Wan speaks. “You go.”

“Ah,” Obi-Wan stutters. “Well. I. I meant to say. That I...I understand. Obviously. If you were to. Want to leave. You must have had time by now to...have found a place that could. Better fit your needs.”

Anakin clears his throat. “I guess,” he says. “Yeah. I’ve. I’ve looked.”

“You have?” he asks, much too quickly and with much too much painful interest dripping off the words. “And have you? Found a place?”

Anakin hesitates and looks askance at the frames on the fireplace. “No,” he admits. “Not a place that’s. That’s anything like here.”

Obi-Wan’s smile feels so forced on his face that it actually hurts to hold. “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, Anakin.”

Anakin looks at him as if he’s lost touch with reality. “Obi-Wan, come on, you have to know.”

Obi-Wan stays quiet. He doesn’t know anything. Just a day ago he had wondered absentmindedly how they were going to deal with a teenaged Luke and Leia both wanting the singular second floor bathroom in the mornings before school.

And now--well.

“You have to know,” Anakin insists in the face of Obi-Wan’s silence. “I would stay here. If it were up to just me.”

“If not you then who is it up to, Anakin?” he begs and then tries to pretend that he isn’t begging by rubbing a hand over his beard and turning away. He’s faced immediately with a picture of the twins on Christmas morning, passed out in the foreground as Obi-Wan is in the background trying to put together one of their new toys.

It had been one of the most frustrating mornings of his life. He wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“Do you...do you really think...that I don’t--that I hate the twins? Anakin, you have to know I love them--”

“No, I’m sorry,” Anakin quickly says. “I never said that, Luke was just--he--”

“He made his own conclusions,” Obi-Wan finishes.

The other man nods gratefully. “Obi-Wan, I know you love the kids, I know you do. It’s not. It’s not the kids.”

“So if it’s not you, and it’s not the children, it must be me,” Obi-Wan concludes dully. Of course. Of course it’s him.

Anakin doesn’t immediately say no, and that pause is enough of an admittance that Obi-Wan has to pause to take several deep breaths to regain his composure.

“You’ll get tired of it,” Anakin finally says quietly. “You never signed up for us, for this for this long. I don’t want to impose. I--” he turns away to stare at the mantle, where a picture of the four of them after one of the twins’ school plays sits proudly in the middle. “I don’t want to see you growing to resent m--us. You shouldn’t have to tell us to leave. It’s your house.”

“Anakin, if you think it’s just my house still, after all these months, then I don’t know what to tell you,” Obi-Wan scoffs. “Other than to look around. “There’s stains on the ceiling I didn’t put there, we never managed to get Leia’s crayon drawings fully off the walls in the hallway, and I can’t walk twenty paces without tripping over some sort of mechanical part I have no idea what to do with if I try to pick it up off the floor. I haven’t thought of this as my house in months.”

Anakin ducks his head, as if he’s being scolded. “I’m sorry,” he says, barely louder than a whisper.

“I’m not,” Obi-Wan wants to yell, but he’s mindful of the children asleep just a floor away. He walks closer to Anakin instead, and speaks with a quiet sort of intensity. “I’m not, Anakin. And if you leave, it will still not be my house. It will just be--”

He purses his lips and sets his jaw.

“What?” Anakin asks, coming forward to meet him in the middle of the room. His hand twitches as if he wants to reach out and touch Obi-Wan, but he doesn’t.

Obi-Wan shakes his head and swallows, but he figures he’s already committed to this sort of confession. There’s nowhere else to go from here. “A house I live in,” he admits quietly. “A big, quiet place that I’ll dread coming home to.”

Anakin looks speechless, and Obi-Wan tries to smile. He can’t--he shouldn’t pressure Anakin. He’s said his position. If Anakin truly had only been afraid of overstaying his welcome, surely Obi-Wan has assuaged those fears.

But the fact that he hasn’t said anything must certainly mean that Anakin harbors other reservations. Ones he doesn’t want to share with Obi-Wan.

Very well.

“I will not...pressure you,” he tells the man. “I understand. I do. I--”

Anakin cuts him off and grabs his shoulder. “Obi-Wan, I want to. The children want to. I don’t want to leave. I’ve never had…”

Obi-Wan waits on tenterhooks for the end of the sentence, as Anakin searches for the words.

“...a home that feels like this,” Anakin finishes quietly, his hand slipping off Obi-wan’s shirt. Obi-Wan misses the muted heat of the touch immediately.

“Then don’t leave,” he pleads, crowding forward into Anakin’s space. “Anakin, stop looking. Would it help...would it help to quiet your fears if we were to draw up some sort of lease?”

“A lease?” Anakin asks, sounding strange as he looks down at Obi-Wan.

“Just something that says we’ll talk about this every year. To check in and make sure we both still want to live here?” Obi-Wan knows his answer won’t change. Probably won’t ever change. But if it’ll help calm Anakin, he’ll sign whatever.

Anakin seems to think about this for a minute, mouth pursed and eyes downcast. Obi-Wan wants to thumb at the moue of his lips, wants to press against his wrinkled brow until the skin smooths out.

No.

No.

“Alright,” Anakin finally agrees. “We can draw up...a lease tomorrow then. But it won’t be legally binding, alright? As soon as you want us out, tell me and I’ll start looking. Please, Obi-Wan. That’s my only condition.”

Anakin’s only condition to stay is that Obi-Wan will tell him as soon as he wants him to leave?

Does the other man know the extent that Obi-Wan would have tried to go to convince Anakin to stay?

“Alright,” he says, instead of anything else he’s thinking. “Of course. Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Anakin repeats. “Okay. Um,” he backs up. “Goodnight then, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan reaches out and grasps his wrist as soon as he turns to leave. He doesn’t know why. He just. He wants. He doesn’t want to see Anakin go yet. The idea of being alone right now terrifies him in a sort of undefinable way.

“Sit with me?” He says, instead of what he really wants to say, which is thank you, thank you, thank you.

Anakin gives him a sort of half-smile that’s impossible to read. “Sure,” he replies. “I’d like to hear about your day.”

Obi-Wan winces, thinking about how much of his day was spent fretting in Quinlan Vos’ office. “Oh, I’m not entirely sure about that, dear one,” he laughs self-deprecatingly, and Anakin’s smile grows, and Obi-Wan knows that everything is going to be okay.