#it was basically a happy ending!! that never happens in star wars!!

[saturn-sends-hugs]

ok, this has been burning a hole in my notes app and i’m just gonna send it out there:

Why (i think) the Finale was Like That:

to preface, if you liked the finale, good for you!! that’s totally valid and i’m not trying to bash that. but i know a lot of people were left wanting more, and i’m one of them. anyway, to my point:

as silly as it sounds, this show is not written for us.

we’re fans. the producers already know we’re gonna watch the show. they don’t need to convince us to give them our attention, they already have it. why waste time digging into random side characters in the larger Star Wars saga when the average person doesn’t even know who that is?

their real job is to convince outsiders to watch. to get hooked. to see an element they like, probably from the main movies, and tune in, even for one episode. if they can get them hooked with fennec or ventress or hell even rex, that’s a win for them.

the plot lines wrap up in such an unsatisfying way because honestly? they cant waste time focusing more on these characters than they have to. the people writing and designing the show might love them and want to include more meaningful resolutions, but that takes too long and costs too much money. you know what’s cheaper and will satisfy the average viewer? kill the mystery clones, cut off the “trauma hand”, and wrap it all up in a nice little “look, she’s joining the rebellion, guys!” moment because the more bland and broad the ending, the more people will understand it.

i mean, remember the Fives mention? Echo didn’t react, he didn’t even stutter, he literally moved the conversation along like they were talking about where to go for dinner like HELLO. we already know they cannot be bothered to show real important emotional scenes because that would take too much spotlight away from the whole star wars politics plot or whatever were supposed to care about. (honestly, who is watching bad batch for the og trilogy implications? woah tarkin and a couple other empire dudes are talking about project stardust definitely gimme more of that and not any meaningful connection between these characters i love)

it’s scummy, it sucks, it especially kills me that the story is basically lost to corporate greed but let’s be honest, this is Disney’s Star Wars. i could literally just leave it there. meaningful moments will always be sacrificed for shock value and character cameos because the random guy seeing an ad is only gonna watch the show if he thinks “oh cool, tarkin, i didn’t know he was in that show, maybe i should see what that’s about.”

and yes, i know, there absolutely is a ton of love and care poured into this show. i appreciate the effort that went into it. i’m just sad they didn’t have full creative freedom under Disney to give us the story we wanted.

but you know who won’t sacrifice story for money? you know who’s guaranteed to have the fans’ interests in mind? you know who does have full creative freedom and is equally pissed about bad show moments and want to do them better? FANFIC AUTHORS. Fan artists, theorists, even roleplay accounts and every other type of dedicated fandom blog is here for that shit and will reshape things however they want a million different ways because that’s the point. the show simply cannot give us what we want, but we can make it ourselves.

your support, your creativity, and your determination to give these characters what they deserve is how we can solve the problem.

i didn’t really mean to turn all “we’re all in this together” here lol but yknow what i really do mean that. i think supporting the community around you is the best option we have for truly enjoying all of this show’s potential.

tagging a few people cause i value your input!! and let’s be honest i’m probably leaving a few things out that you might be able to expand on: @the-bi-space-ace @inkstainedhandswithrings @phantom-of-the-501st

[namelessdumbass]

Rite Here Rite Now

It was amazing and funny. Copia girlies and boys fucking won!

I expected different outcome, tbh. Tobias managed to surprise me and also made me a tiny bit sad (reasons will be explained in the spoilers below).

The film consists of like 95% of concert footage and 5% of off stage/plot stuff. The quality of sound and editing is just 🤌 I expected the live of Twenties to be good and gosh Ghost delivered. And Mummy Dust...Tobias let Mary Goore out! But i honestly prefer Terzo's version (CaD) better. Sorry not sorry haha. Ghouls/Ghoulettes footage. Everyone who loves them will be very veeeery well fed!

Dance Macabre live...i was'nt wrong when i called it a satanic gay party 😁

The movie is worth watching and i do hope Ghost releases it as soon as possible for all those who were not able to go.

The spoiler free review ends here. Don't read further if you don't want to spoil it for yourself. And please, don't copy them and paste it everywhere for the sake of ruining other people's fun! Seriously, don't fucking do that!

If you accidently clicked here, don't worry! spoilers will be below and you still have a chance to avoid them :)

Alriiiiight:

Movie starts with Saltarian who tells fans to record for the first 2 minutes, to show how happy they are etc and posted a qr code for fans to upload those recordings. I guess it will be put up on RHRN website. We'll see. There were also photos of fans who attended LA ritual. I fucking loved the person who showed up in a giant Plushia suit. I LOLed! Then fans were asked to put down the phones and enjoy the movie. The beginning was narrated Star Wars kinda style (a little bit) with the small recap of the chapters and about Copia's worries that he might die. And yes, it literally began in space lol. The movie is basically is like what we saw in small snippets Ghost posted earlier. Plot mixed with a really good show.

And the plot: -Short footage of Copia and Ghouls arriving. ALmost the whole set was the same as any other concert from Re-Imperatour + a few awesome exceptions. -Dews does that annoying thing with guitar, Rain stops him, takes his pick and throws it into the crowd and Dew...he freaking showed him YouSuck sticker on the backside of his guitar. Peak Dew moment! -Copia asked the right question about the Clery. He also does not quite understand what it does, why and where it goes. I suppose Tobias decided to thicken the Ghost lore a bit and will have more clarity in the nearest future. -Remember when Copia jumped at the end of the Watcher in the Sky? He ended up in one of those stage boxes (for equipment or something) and is taken to the stage B. While he's carried to it by Kevin he has a chat with Nihil's ghost. Nihil says he recorded not 2, but 3 songs. That probably means that we'll hear a new one. (UPD: the new song we heard during the credits, "The Future is a Foreign Land" is Nihil's 3rd song! Confirmed by Tobias himself in a new interview). He also tells Copia to breath in deep and then farts. -On the Stage B Copia sings "If You Have Ghosts". 3 Ghoulettes played piano and violins and the 4th one did the haunting ghost-like opera vocals. It was beatiful. Copia kissed her hand. -He then wore boxing robe and went next to crowd. Almost the whole scene was shown in the trailer. -Btw, remember that silly moment when Nihil's eyes were crossing? Well, Kevin was also included in that staring contest. -Twenties live. The skeletons, the performance and one of those skeletons who crawled between Dew's legs...that's hot. -Nihil calls Copia "son". Copia calls Nihil "Dad". Cardi will insult him later, don't worry. -Nihil/Seestor cartoon during MOAC. Yes, that's when Sis hit him with the car. Basically it's what happens after "Kiss the Go Goat" mv. Sister leaves and Nihil runs after her. "I'll never let you go". They end up kissing in a coffin on a graveyard , later Nihil wakes up naked in a bed in a motel and we see Sister leave. -There was a moment in a movie when we see Ashley (stage crew) bring Copia a new pair of shoes and put the on on his feet. Tobias, goddammit what the hell was that? :D -Seestor was a in wheelchair all the time -She and Nihil encouraged Copia throughout the whole movie and gave him a piece of advice. -About the baloon from the poster. Copia flies on it after finishing the set...or he imagined that because a few moments later after Nihil/Seestor flashbacks he ends up on the floor and watches Seestor die. All of the Ghouls and Ghoulettes also stood right next to her. -Copia has a twin brother -Copia didn't die and became the head the Clergy (Father Imperator or something like this). He found out about his new position from a letter Seestor left for him. -New song during credits (credits show dictators, assassinations, wars and the use of nuclear war). Years 1984 and 2024 mentioned. The song is not heavy. -Ghouls/Ghoulettes real names mentioned in the credits -Funny post credit scene with Copia. He had no piant on and had a new cool drip (with black jacket and red and black cross). Seestor is also a Ghost now. Tobia's children cameo. They're also Ghosts. -Papa V is teased the same way Copia was teased in a chapter 1. They even used the same music (Pro Memoria). No face reveal. Either he will be revealed in new Chapters or at some point during the new tour???

-aaaand my biggest disappointment: no footage of Primo, Secondo and Terzo. Literally ZERO.

I mean, Nihil is a Ghost, Seestor also became a Ghost, even Tobias' children made a cameo as Ghosts, but nothing for previous Papas? Really?! The same could have been done for them, but i guess Tobias doesn't care about them anymore :( And it hurts. I know that's my fault that i had so many expectations and hopes, but holy shit :( As a newbie who never saw previous Papas, i'm so sad i'll never get a chance to see them and there won't be any new footage of them. Being Terzo widow is so hard. Guess that's why i'm a bit salty Copia lives (sorry, guys, i like him, but i also hate him haha)

And yes, as it turned out the twins theory from Square Hammer was true...but not for Terzo 😭

I enjoyed the movie nevertheless. It's fun and kinda gives you an opportunity to see the band "live" if you've never been to a ritual before. And yes, the movies was'nt just about Papa IV and his fate, i believe it was also Tobias' message for us to enjoy the life rite here rite now! As i said, Copia's girlies and boys truly fucking won. Congrats, lads, your Papa lives and will live! I bet that feels amazing. Thanks for reading! P.S. since you know the plot, don't spoil it for the others please.

[blorbocedes]

i kinda have a basic idea Brocedes lore, like the timeline and everything. but were there moments post Monaco 2014 till the end of 2016 where Lewis and Nico had some nice and genuinely fun moments or were they all awkward and distant with each other?

the answer to this is complicated. well, my header gif happened months after monaco 14, in Abu Dhabi 14. so this is nico congratulating lewis for winning his 2nd championship (1st with merc) and its way after lewis said "we're not friends." so like all things brocede they're.. Like That (whyre u holding a man you're not friends with by the nape of his neck 😳😳😳🤨)

Ladies and gentlemen, a short look into the not so distant past...

obviously every year as the silver war progressed, tensions arose but that didn't mean they couldn't stand to look at each other. those 3 years of early merc domination era HAM-ROS were on every podium, and they were pretty happy spraying champagne on each other as I've documented here, and here

this is a video from December 2015 stars and cars where they're being very playful and teasing each other

this is them wishing each other happy birthday in 2015

this is nico on lewis' snapchat

this is nico playing football on lewis' snapchat (you can hear lewis snicker)

this is lewis lowering nico's chair on purpose in 2015

this is nico umm pretending to hold a bottle for lewis to pee in while DR live slug reacts Hungarian Grand Prix 2016

this is them giggling together at a sponsor event in 2016

this is them teasing each other about being old in 2016

there's definitely podiums and cool-down rooms where things are Tense and they're Avoiding Eye Contact/Talking to each other, depending on how the race went. but there's also them amused and laughing together such as mexico 16 and aus 16

we all remember the iconic nico throws cap at lewis but the crazy part is this was them hugging moments before,

and this is them partying together after that

this is AD16 and lewis is saying he likes presscons when it's just him and nico 🥲

this whole press con is ahhhhhh. pain

lewis' own words on how they were:

this isn't an exhaustive list, there's many more, but rather so you have an idea that although the popular narrative is once lewis said we're not friends post monaco 14 they never looked at each other again it's not exactly true. things never was like they're childhood besties again, but they also didn't outright despise each other despite what fandom might speculate. but that doesn't mean things weren't awkward and tense too, esp in merc meetings post race! cause it was! but they also had some sweet and fun moments in between :) such is the bittersweet nature of brocedes

[maimingaffairs]

hiiii! i just had an idea in mind while i was listening to daylight by taylor swift. haha! can i request a fic that is based on daylight? wherein aleksander plans on expanding the fold but his whole plan changed when he met the reader who happened to have expressed her enthusiasm in tearing the fold down to him; like how she wants to finally be able to live somwhere safe with her lover. and when Aleksander thought of her words, he somehow imagined himself together with the reader. basically, just him being madly in love with the reader that he's willing to change every evil plan of his for her. and can they meet while the whole seducing alina thing is going on? i know it's kinda of unclear, you can change some parts if you're willing to write it! anyway, good day!

hi oh my gosh it’s been a minute. i’m so sorry for being so inactive!!! i’m trying to be better about writing! i hope this is what you were looking for my sweet anon. if not… please let me know and i’ll be happy to rewrite it. i love u all so bad. i’m almost to 300 followers and that’s not really a huge milestone in the grand scheme of things but it makes me so happy and i appreciate every single one of you angels more than u will ever know. kisses and hugs <3

word count: 1.4k

warnings: none! mostly soft

All of You, All of Me, Intertwined (aleksander morozova x princess!reader)

“That’s the world I’d like to live in.” You finished, smiling over at the Darkling. 

He stared at you, fighting the urge to let his mouth fall open in the slightest. He’d just listened to you tell him in detail for nearly fifteen minutes about how you wanted Ravka to be safer. Free of the Fold, free of the war. Free of hatred and evil. It wasn’t unbelievable to him that you’d want this, saints bless your gentle soul. 

No, what became unbelievable to him is that he was actually considering your point of view. 

“You look taken aback, was it something I said?” You asked and eyed the man in front of you suspiciously. 

He found his voice finally and shook his head at you, “No. I just think that what you said was lovely, Princess.” He stated, more honestly than he’d like to have admitted. 

You smiled contently at him and sipped your tea before turning to look out the window, a comfortable silence surrounding the two of you. 

You were the Princess of Ravka, and while Aleksander had known you practically all your life, he’d never really spoken to you until the day he had returned to Os Alta with Alina. It had nearly been two months since then, and every single day, he fell a little bit more in love with you. You came around often. At first it was for Alina, then it became less for her and more for Aleksander, and then it became just for him. Your walks and chats with Alina Starkov became teas and deep conversations with Aleksander. 

Looking at you now made his heart ache deliciously. The way the sun illuminated your profile and made it look as though you were emanating your own light, like his very own little star. Or his sun. Alina may have been the Sun Summoner, but she was not you. You were a breath of fresh air, a ray of sunshine, golden, like daylight. 

You cleared your throat after some time had passed and you turned your head towards Aleksander, “Do you think it’s possible? With the Sun Summoner here?” You asked him with hopefulness in your bright eyes. 

Aleksander clumsily nodded along to your question, “My Princess, you will get your happy ending. One way or another, I’ll ensure that.” He found his promise to be much more truthful than he’d expected it to be, and he was unsure of how to feel about it.

You, however, looked as content as you could have ever been. There was an excitement sparkling behind your eyes that made him believe that he would earnestly do whatever you asked of him. He probably would. 

He rose from the table before you and he held his hand out for you to take, giving you a gentle smile. 

“Let me escort you back to the Palace, yes? You have your lessons.” He offered. 

“I don’t wish to go to them today.” You sighed and gently took his much larger hand. He pulled you to your feet gently and then he chuckled. 

“Your parents will have my head if I keep you through another.” He stated. 

You simply sighed and then nodded towards the doors, “Lead the way, Darkling.” You teased. 

You seemed to have missed the little smile that danced upon said Darkling’s lips. 

-

Aleksander stood with his hands down against his war table, his teeth grinding down against each other as he clenched his jaw impossibly tight. 

He shouldn’t want this. He shouldn’t want to halt every single one of his hundred year old plans for something so silly as a little Princess’s wishes. But alas, here he was, considering just that. The conflict between him and his darker half raged on in his mind and he let out a grunt. Anger flared his nostrils and curled his hands into fists, and he was about to send everything flying off of his war table, until he heard his door open. 

Your tired little voice pulled his attention elsewhere and he turned towards you, jaw still tightly clenched. 

“I apologize for the intrusion, sir. I just… found myself awake, craving your company.” You explained shyly, looking anywhere but his face. 

His face, seconds ago twisted with anger, softened dramatically with your words and he brushed his hand through his hair slowly, letting his jaw relax. 

“You should be asleep in your bed in the Grand Palace, Princess. Your parents will boil over if they catch you here.” He said in a gravelly tone. 

You didn’t seem to care about what he had to say, and instead walked forward towards him, “You seem distressed.” You noted, arriving at his side. 

You grasped his arm as gently as you could with your hands and you pulled him a bit closer to your side. 

Your touch seemed to bring him some form of comfort, you thought, because when you pulled him closer, his muscles relaxed and he tipped his head downwards to look into your eyes. 

“War does that to men.” He answered vaguely. No need to mention that the war in question was between him and himself. 

“Well, I have full faith that you’ll put a stop to this incessant conflict.” You said sweetly, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to the side of his arm. 

He gaped at you as you pulled away from him and leaned back against the table. Aleksander had his suspicions about you perhaps returning his affections, but never once had you been so brazen on how you displayed it. Though you’d kissed him over his thick kefta, he felt as if something warm was searing through his clothes and heating his skin like sunlight would. 

You didn’t seem to mind his stare, much less his visibly racing mind. 

After a moment of his pleasant bewilderment, he cleared his throat and then stepped closer to you, “You have too much faith in me, Your Grace.”

“You’re wrong.” 

“There is only so much I can do about our current state.” He replied and leaned closer to you, his hand rising to find itself holding the side of your face. 

“Yet I have full faith in you bringing peace to this country.” You whispered and then smiled up at him, nuzzling your cheek into his cold palm. 

He didn’t say anything further, he only stared down into your eyes. He didn’t even know what he could say to you. He wanted to tell you of his plans with The Fold, how he meant to expand it. And then he wanted to tell you how he wanted to dismantle it for you. 

How he would dismantle it for you, he decided. But it’s not like he could admit to all the wicked things he’d planned to do before you began to infect his every thought. He couldn’t even begin to think of what to say to you at that very moment. 

So he kissed you instead.

-

As you slept next to Aleksander that night, he stared up at the ceiling. You laid contently with your head against his shoulder, both of your arms wrapped around one of his. Eventually, he grew bored of trying to make out patterns on the ceiling and he turned his attention to you. 

Even in sleep, you were just as lively and bright as you were during the day. He wrapped both of his arms around your body and pulled you flush against this side. 

You were so peaceful, so calm. His heart seemed to jump from its place in his chest and he leaned down to press a little kiss to your hairline. 

The war, he could not guarantee would stop. Men will be men. They will fight and they will burn. But The Fold? He could guarantee that it would fall, he decided, staring down at your sleeping form. 

He’d tear it down with ferocity, with determination. He’d give you the family you wanted. He’d be the lover you deserved, in a country safe and free of such vulgar darkness. He’d spend every waking moment fighting off every single thing that came and worked to undo the world he’d swear to build for you. 

Because you were golden. 

Like daylight. 

[diegothemenace]

(source — behind a paywall but using the reader format in Firefox worked for me… I will include terrible auto-translate behind the cut for anyone interested with apologies for any errors)

Diego Luna has high expectations for the new government that will be headed by Claudia Sheinbaum starting next October, as she is the first woman president of Mexico, but he also knows that as a society there is a lot to rethink.

The actor of "Y tu mamá también" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is at the International Film Festival that takes place in this city, where he will not only receive a tribute tonight, but also presented the documentary Estado de silencio, which he produces and which deals with the violence suffered by Mexican journalists.

"(The first woman president) We do not owe it to any political party, that is a fact to celebrate and I do find it very exciting to be living it, I am very grateful that I have to live it. That excites me and I also have a lot of expectations to see what is going to happen, because I think we are living in very complicated times, a little bit of the interest of that reflection is reflected in State of Silence," says Luna.

"I think that the violence, the impunity that the journalistic profession experiences and the total absence of justice is a clear example on a scale of something that happens in this country," he adds.

But he points out that he always has hope for the future, something that reaffirmed the public's response to the documentary, which contains the experiences of journalist María de Jesús Peters, EL UNIVERSAL's correspondent in Chiapas, as well as other journalists who face similar risks.

"When things happen to me like the ones that happened to me yesterday after the presentation of the documentary, I do wake up with hope, it is nice to see when people connect and when they care about the other and manifest it, yesterday that meeting was beautiful and those expressions, moments, give me illusion and hope," he stresses.

Recently, Luna finished the last season of the series Andor, the prequel to Rogue One, where it was directed, among others, by the Mexican Alonso Ruizpalacios, with the cinema photograph of Damián García.

"I'm grateful for the format that let me enjoy it until the end, I've never done television for more than two seasons and I, as I'm old and I like cinema more than anything, I live it as long movies (laughs) or eight short independents, it's not something that has been carrying for years," he says.

He indicates that the installment ends where the film, released in 2016, begins, when his character is the one who helps steal the plans of the Death Star, the central theme of Episode IV.

" (Cassian) A lot has to happen to him to throw that mission and for someone to give it to him, he still has a lot to prove," he says briefly.

What he's also happy about is the new version of The Kiss of the Spider Woman, in which he plays a political prisoner who shares a cell with a gay man in the 1980s.

Bill Condon (Beauty and the Beast and Mr. Holmes) is the director, with a cast that includes Jennifer Lopez. "We shot a piece in New York and a piece in Montevideo. It's basically a tribute to the musical work that was done on Broadway in the early '90s."

Today, the actor will be honored. And if some like the late Jorge Fons (Red Dawn) said that he didn't like these ceremonies because he seemed to be being fired, Luna sees it differently.

"I've had to live long enough to know that no, that I can take away that fear, these days have been beautiful, a reminder that I'm part of a community."

[vodika-vibes]

Hey! I know he's a bit of a rare clone, but would you consider writing for maze? he's from the repcomm books and is endearingly (Imo) professional and surly 👉👈

Not That Hard

Summary: When one story ends, another one begins. Maze, formerly a Republic Soldier, is now a bounty hunter. He’s used to things being orderly, everything has a place, and everything should be in its place. So when he ends up locked in a small cell with the woman he’s been searching for, a woman who’s been missing for three weeks, he knows that everything is about to be turned on its head.

Pairing: Pre Maze (Alpha-26) x F!Reader

Word Count: 1722

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: So, I've never written Maze before, but I'm always happy to write any of the Alphas, or any star wars character. His page on Wookieepedia wasn't the best, but I did the best I could. I hope you like it! Also, I've been watching a lot of Numb3rs, so that's where the basic idea of this came from.

Maze leans back against the stone wall, his gaze drifting from the woman sleeping on the singular cot in the cell to the door, and then back again. He’s glad that she’s asleep. He wasn’t sure that she would fall asleep, honestly.

He leans over and tugs the thin blanket a little higher over her shoulders. The blanket won’t do much to keep the cold out, it’s too thin, but it’s enough that she can sleep.

Three weeks ago the University of Theeds reached out to him, telling him that one of their Teachers had gone missing. They said to him that someone had broken into her home, torn the place to pieces, and taken her.

The University hired him to find her since he was something of an expert on finding people.

The fact that she’s alive is a damned miracle, in his opinion. After three weeks, statistics indicate that he should have found her in a ditch somewhere.

He’s never been so glad to be wrong in his life.

Still, the fact that they haven’t killed her suggests that they want something from her. Maze shifts so that he’s sitting on the cot beside her, tired of sitting on the ground.

He needs to think.

Why would someone want a University Professor?

Absently, Maze brushes a strand of hair off her face as he thinks about what he knows about her.

She’s young, barely brushing 25 years old. She’s an only child. Her mom died from heart disease when she was a child, her dad recently retired to a lake house. There’s no other family.

She’s single, and her only friends are people who work at the University with her. Honestly, it sounds like a lonely life to him, but according to her colleagues and friends, she’s seemed lonely or unhappy.

He can respect that.

Maze’s eyes snap to her face as she releases a quiet noise and shifts on the cot, seemingly to curl into his warmth while also opening her eyes. “You should go back to sleep, Professor. It’s early.” He says quietly.

She sighs and shakes her head, “No point. They’re going to be coming soon.” Slowly, she sits up and shifts so she’s able to press her face against his shoulder. 

“What do they want?” Maze asks, mentally kicking himself for not asking her earlier. But then, her injuries were pretty severe. It makes sense that he would put that aside.

“I’m a Bio-Engineer.” She replies tiredly, “They want me to tell them how to break into BioGen.”

“Why?”

“BioGen’s biggest thing is weaponizing viruses.”

Maze stiffens and his gaze snaps to her face, “BioWeapons are illegal. Even in the Empire.”

“They weaponize them so that they can try and develop cures for them. It’s all legal and above board.” She reassures, “Even in the Empire.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“A Tenured Professorship at the University of Theeds is a great honor, not to mention it pays very well.” She replies, “It made sense, career-wise.”

“Only there’s a lot less security at the University compared to a Biomedical facility.”

She huffs out a laugh, “Yeah, there is that.” She shifts her head slightly, “But this has never happened before. Ever. People leave BioGen all of the time.”

“And you’re the first one kidnapped?”

“That I know of.”

There are heavy footsteps from the hall and Maze shifts so that his body is shielding hers. The door slams open and three men step into the room.

They’re not big men, if Maze were to stand, he’d tower over them. It burns him up that he allowed men like them to capture him so he would be able to find the professor. 

“Professor,” One of the men stalks towards Maze, and he feels her shrink down behind him, “Come on, girl. Are we really going to do this? All you gotta do is give us the information, and then you’ll both go free.”

“Don’t lie. We all know that the moment she tells you what you want to know, you’ll kill her.” Maze growls out.

The man laughs, “Well, it’ll be a quick death, rather than this slow, dragged-out death.”

Behind him, the Professor trembles. 

“Is this all of you? Just three men?”

“We still caught you, clone.” One of the other men sneers, “Grab the Professor—”

The first man reaches to grab the Professor, only for Maze to move, swiftly breaking the man’s arm, and slamming his head against the wall, causing him to crumple to the floor.

“Get low, Professor.” Maze orders as he stands and advances on the two remaining men. He doesn’t wait to see if she’s following his direction, as he suddenly has two furious men to contend with.

Unfortunately for them, he’s an Alpha Class clone, and they’re unarmed.

The fight can’t even be called a proper fight. The two remaining kidnappers go down with several well-placed hits, and Maze tosses them into the cell while motioning for the Professor to join him.

“We’re leaving,” Maze says to the woman as he holds his hand out for her.

Nervously she nods and takes his hand, “Where are we going?”

“Well, it was the University who hired me.” Maze replies as he peeks into the hall, and then leads her out of the cell as soon as he notes that it’s safe.

“Um—”

Maze stops and looks at her, “What’s wrong?”

“Just…did they seem smart enough to come up with this on their own?”

Maze stares at her for a long time, and then he sighs, “No. They didn’t.” He’s quiet for a moment, “Alright, there must be something here to indicate who hired them. Follow me.”

Maze leads abruptly turns down a side hallway and leads her into a much larger room. There are computers, though they seem largely untouched. It looks like the kidnappers were more concerned with the games that were playing on the four holos lined up next to each other than the computers.

There are three couches, each other them surrounded by empty bottles and empty pizza boxes. 

“Well,” Maze notes as he steps around a pile of trash, “Criminal Genuises they are not.”

The Professor peers at a holo-board next to the couches, “It looks like they have a gambling problem.”

“Lucky for us. It means they probably didn’t delete anything.” Maze walks over to the computers, “Stay close, Professor.”

“Ah…Sorry.” She hurries to his side and peeks around him at the monitors.

Maze flashes a small smile at her and then focuses on the computers. “Hey, Professor?”

“Yes?”

“How’d they grab you?”

“I was heading home from a day of classes, and they ran me off the road.” She replies.

“You were driving yourself.”

“Yeah.”

“Does anyone know your route home?”

“I mean, there’s only one road off of the main campus,” She replies, “But I generally don’t know what route I’m taking home until I get in the car. It depends on the traffic and if I need to go grocery shopping.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone your plans for the evening when you were taken?” Maze asks as he scans something on the screen.

“No. No one.”

“It looks like our violent friends were hired by Levi Kelley. At least, that’s who paid them.”

“Levi Kelley?”

“You know him?”

“Yeah, he’s the head of the Biology Department at the University. I thought you said the University hired you?”

“Yeah, the Dean hired me. This Levi person, is he your supervisor?”

“No. I mean, he thinks that he is, but we’re on the same level.”

“Are you friends?”

“I’ve always been a bit…ambivalent towards him. He’s a good teacher, but he’s kind of a terrible person. Racist, sexist, the whole shebang.” 

“And he works at a University?”

“He’s a very good teacher. But he lost his tenure last year.”

“For what?”

“Academic misconduct, according to the rumors.” She leans against his side, exhausted, “The only person who knows the truth would be the Dean.”

“So it’s revenge.” Maze murmurs, “Use you to get an incurable virus, and release it on the school. Did you tell them anything?”

“No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t.”

“They tortured you, Professor. No one would blame you if you did.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t. I left Biogen two years ago, Maze. I don’t remember any passwords or door codes. And they removed my biometrics from their system on my last day. I swear it.”

“Okay.” Maze lightly pushes some of her hair out of her face, “So they need someone else, a current employee.”

“Yeah, it’s the only way to get inside.”

“Alright. Let’s get out of here and alert the authorities. And get you some medical attention.”

“Yes please.”

Maze lightly presses his hand against the small of her back, guiding her towards the door, “I have one more question, Professor.”

“Go ahead?”

“When my brothers and I were decanted, we were given enhanced aging.”

“Yes, it was the only way for the Kaminoans to get a viable army in 10 years.” She replies.

“Yeah, you think you can reverse it?”

“Reverse it?” She repeats, sounding more thoughtful than surprised. Maze watches as she absently scratches at a deep gash on her cheek, “I don’t know about reversing it,” She finally says, “but I might be able to cure it. With enough blood samples.”

“Really?”

“Well sure, it’s not that hard. It’s just gene manipulation.” She frowns at him thoughtfully, “Look, all the information I need is here,” she lightly taps his chest, “The more of your brothers I can get blood samples from, the easier it’ll be to make a cure.”

“Can you do it at the University while also teaching?”

“I mean, sure. But the University of Theeds is funded by the Emperor. I’m guessing you don’t want the Empire to know about it.”

“No, I don’t.” Maze replies.

She’s quiet for a moment, “Find me a place to work, off of Naboo, and I can help you.”

“If you can cure this, I might just kiss you,” Maze says with a sly smile.

Her face heats and she won’t look at him, “Well, that seems a bit excessive,” She mumbles.

She squeaks when he lightly drapes his arm over her shoulder and tugs her against his side, “No. It isn’t. Come on, Professor. Let’s get you safe.”

[voidcat-senket]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JEDI SURVIVOR!

Please enjoy a collection of Cal Kestis/Bode Akuna fanworks to celebrate! Find the AO3 collection here!

tear down the planet for the hype

FIC AND ART | 4.8k | Teen and Up

“only my friends can call me by it. well, and my masters.” kestis shrugged before stepping back to sit on a stool that seemed randomly in the middle of the room. “but, we are engaged, it would be pretty weird if you were calling me by kestis.” “if it helps, my name is bode,” the jedi shadow said as he stepped forward, holding his hand out for kestis to take if he so inclined. “calling me knight akuna would be too formal for a marriage, whether or not it’s political, and—well who knows, maybe we can become friends?” [jedi shadow bode is given a mission that will end the war—marry sith prince darth kestis. that is, if he survives the first meeting.]

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Order 66 Didn't Happen, Arranged Marriage, Jedi Shadow Bode Akuna, Sith Cal Kestis, First Meetings, Marriage Contracts, Negotiations, Bode Akuna is a Mess, Fluff and Humor, Pre-Relationship, Stewjoni Cal Kestis

FIND THE FULL ART PIECE HERE

Paper and Stone

ART AND FIC | 7.4k | Teen and Up | includes Bode/Tayala

Cal goes to Nova Garon to confront Bode, but he finds the man's quarters full of echoes that show him a side of Bode Cal never thought he'd see.

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Psychometry | Force Echo (Star Wars), Cal goes to Nova Garon but finds more than he expects, echoes upon echoes upon echoes, SpyScrapper, if you wanted more of Bode and Tayala's relationship here you go

FIND THE FULL ART PIECE HERE (and a secret bonus here~)

love is death, love is dying; love is steel, a silver lining

FIC | .5k | Teen and Up

Cal is wary of the blaster Bode has given him. Bode teaches him some basic gun safety.

Tags: Guns, Canon Compliant, Sort Of, Maybe - Freeform, You Decide, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Missing Scene, Implied Relationships, Angst

Second Date! An Ode to Visual Novels

VIDEO | 1hr | Teen and Up

Tags: visual novel, time travel fix-it, time loop, simulated dating sim, Bode POV

fire still burns in a vacuum

FIC | 1.6k | Teen and Up

It's been a year and Cal returns to the observatory for the first time. He hadn't expected someone else to do the same.

Tags: Grief/Mourning, Character Study, Relationship Study, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Author Welcomes All Interpretations, This Is a Study On Cal's Grief With a Twist at the End, Post-Canon, Canon-Typical Dark Themes

FIND THE FULL ART PIECE HERE

Roots in Place of my Heart

8.8k | Mature | includes Bode/Tayala

When Bode saw the date, he had to swallow down a mix of blood and bile. There’s something growing in Bode’s chest, filling out the space that was left vacated when Tayala died and took his heart with her. They say the only cure to grief is life. Or death.

Tags: Hanahaki Disease with my own twist on it, Angst with a Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Blood, Body Horror, Love Confessions, Pretending you’re fine even though you’re very much not, Grief/Mourning

Lights Glow in your Wake

FIC | 5.4k | Teen and Up

Cal gives Bode a gift for their anniversary. The trouble is- their anniversary isn't for another three weeks, Bode is sure of it.

Tags: Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Canon, Domestic Fluff, Anniversary, Established Relationship, Planet Tanalorr, POV Bode Akuna, POV Third Person Limited, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Jedi Culture & Customs

Blue Skies Over Bad Lands

FIC | 18.6k | Mature

Bode looks up and Cal’s gaze snags his immediately, drawing him in. The rebel Jedi is a remarkable combination of wariness and vulnerability, like no matter how hard Cal tries to steel himself against the pain, his grief and longing and love are too strong, too pure to be contained. They shine through the cracks like a ray of blazing light. (Or: Bode and Cal fall in love. It complicates things.)

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fix-It, Mild Sexual Content, Dubious Consent Due To Identity Issues, Pining, Confessions, Secret Identity Fail, Canon Rewriteish, Cal Kestis is a Force of Nature and Bode couldn't get off this ride even if he wanted to, They're In Love Your Honor

I Don't Wanna Say No to This

FIC | 4.1k | Teen and Up

Bode is not actually looking for Cal Kestis when he trips over him on his way out of the bar. He’s looking for work, actually— he needs to fix up the ancient freighter he’d wound up buying for Kata and himself, that first awful week after finding Tanalorr and feeling it clutching at him in the Force, the planet a near-sentient thing, clawing, greedy… He shakes off the sensation, hopes it’s only a memory, and looks down at Kestis. He’s unconscious, his face a single bruise, and there are four beings surrounding them. None of them look like anyone he’d leave alone in an alley with anyone, even someone who most likely wants him very dead.

Tags: Bittersweet, Angst, Miscommunication, Reunions, Forgiveness, Rescue, Implied/Referenced Slavery, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Bode was not ready to face his past, Cal's not emotionally capable of facing his past, Together they make like one entire functioning person, Past Relationship(s), Established Relationship

FIND THE FULL ART PIECE HERE

a soft place to land

FIC | 3.8k | Mature

A hot day on Koboh leads to a shared shower and a realization - sometimes it's nice to be taken care of.

Tags: Smitten Bode Akuna, Bode Akuna Lives, Hair Washing, Making Out, i still don't know how to tag these things, Fluff and Mush, Near-Human Cal Kestis, Again, sharp teeth sharp teeth sharp teeth, Body Worship, Smitten Cal Kestis, Soft Cal Kestis, POV Bode Akuna, soft intimacy, Light Angst, showering together, Not Canon Compliant, Post-game, We call this "fluid dynamics" with the way Cal and Bode keep switching

[kiddbegins]

I Can’t Lose You. - Brian ‘Otis’ Zvonecek

Requested: yes

Word count: 810

Warnings: arguing but it ends happy so 🤸🏻✨

A/n: I couldn’t get the linking a gif to work but this is @winchesterszvonecek ‘s gif from this post.. actually i got it (thank you laptop) but bff this is still for you

Masterlist

“I can’t lose you.”

You and Otis didn’t fight a lot. In fact it was super rare and usually not even a fight. Just an argument . The difference being the arguments were always silly. What flavor skittle was the best (the green one.), your favorite Star Wars movie (Revenge of the Sith), which kind of soda was superior (Dr. Pepper.)

But this was a fight. Like actual yelling, crying and all. Your obliviousness was your achilles heel. You weren’t used to, well, people most of the time. Growing up you didn’t have many friends, you didn’t go out places most of college.

The only examples of the social life had been since you started seeing Brian a couple years ago and he basically swallowed you into his friend group who were truthfully always together.

Not that you complained because you loved them but still, everything was new to you. How were you supposed to know the guy that came up to you at the bar was flirting? “Bri, you know I don’t pick up on stuff like that!”

He wanted to believe you, but his own insecurities in himself more than anything picked at his rational, shoving it out the door. “You picked up on it when I was the one doing the flirting. When I was the one passing you drinks ‘on the house’ which you knew meant I was buying for you.”

“Yeah because I liked you! I wanted you to be flirting with me. I didn’t pick up on it, I just gave you my own googly eyes back.” You ran a hand down your face. “Look I’m not arguing with you over this, Brian. Either you believe me or you don’t. Pick.”

Your eyes darted over his, the anger and honestly, the fear, fighting against one another inside of you. You weren’t a liar. And you wanted to yell that at him. Force him to believe you. Because you hated this. All of this. But the other part of you was worried if you pushed him too much he just wouldn’t forgive you at all.

Otis wasn’t like that but truthfully this was also your first real fight. How did you actually know what he was like in them if you never got into one before? “Please believe me.” You couldn’t bear it in yourself to keep up the shield of anger. Not when the one thing you hated most was not being believed.

Instead, your previous emotion was fully replaced with fear. Undoubtful fear. “Please believe me because I can not lose you.” By now there were tears actively sliding down your face. You loved him. God did you love him. Every little molecule that made him had you swooning, always.

He had your attention the second you ran into one another at a cafe, literally. Your coffee down the front of his work shirt and everything. One of the most stereotypical meetcutes you could ever have but with how sweet he was when it happened? How could you not agree to hang out more?

Were you meant to turn him down? “You swear you didn’t notice?” Otis asked, his voice softer than before, the anger seeping out when he saw how your face twisted with sadness. You were his soft spot just as much as he was yours.

“I swear, Bri. I love you. Nobody else could even get me to pull my eyes away from you.” Hesitantly you stepped closer to him, grabbing his hands in yours. “You’re the love of my life, okay? If that guy was flirting, I didn’t realize because I didn’t care enough to. I care about you. Only ever you.”

Your words admittedly brought tears to the man’s eyes, nobody had ever been as sweet and caring as you were with him. Most of the time he was the second, even third choice. Half of him expected you to drop your attention from him to one of the ‘more attractive’ first responders the first night he brought you to Molly’s.

But you didn’t. Your body was glued to the edge of the bar, talking to him for the entire night. You were his before he even knew it. “Alright,” He let out a sigh, pulling you into a big bear hug. “I’m sorry. I really am. I just couldn’t bear the thought of losing you to some guy.”

“You won’t lose me. Ever. I’m here for the long run.” You took a pause, “And I’m hoping that you’ll figure that out soon enough and get moving.” Otis pulled away with a look of confusion on his face.

With a soft laugh you lifted your left hand, wiggling the fingers on it. “By the end of the year I’m really hoping this finger won’t be bare anymore.” You teased, leaning up to kiss his cheek, just happy that that crisis was easily averted.

JOIN BRIAN'S TAGLIST HERE!

[ceilidho]

Twenty questions for fic writers

thanks @kneelingshadowsalome !!!! @ohbo-ohno @charliemwrites if u guys wanna do this go ahead. or anyone else that feels like it

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

47 LMAO

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

a staggering 583,382

3. What fandoms do you write for?

call of duty basically exclusively now, but i used to also write for star wars, shadow & bone, spiderverse, rings of power, and the last of us (may write more for tlou in the future)

4. Top five by kudos.

dead ringer, take me home country road, red dawn, ghost prompts, and landscape with honey.

5. Do you respond to comments?

god i used to all the time ages ago, but now i don't. i truly just get so overwhelmed and it exhausts me. i will respond to the odd comment now and again though, and i read them all obsessively.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

"the terrible nature of ghosts" for sure

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

i guess "landscape with honey" ended on a sweet note. or "birdsongs". i like writing fics that have endings that feel neither happy nor sad; i'd like to think that most of my fics end on a note that make you feel mildly uneasy but overall good.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i have blocked an UNTOLD amount of people, so not anymore. but every now and then i'll get the stray "you're evil and the shit you write is fucked up" comment. people tend not to do that when you moderate comments though.

9. Do you write smut?

well now, that's my bread and butter

10. Craziest crossover.

i'm with salome on this one - i'm a purist. not interested in crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

ages ago when i was younger sure. not since then thankfully.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

maybe?? i know some people have asked and i've given them permission but then they've never come back to tell me whether they did it or not.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

yes!!! i wrote "dead ringer" with a friend and it's my most popular fic lmao. i love love love co-writing with people, but i rarely do it because your style kind of has to match the other person's in order for it to work.

14. All time favorite ship?

god reylo was really it for me for the longest time. i'm not sure any non x reader thing will ever top that. i do LOVE abby/ellie from the last of us, but there's hardly anything for them.

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

any reylo incomplete fic, im so sorry. it's just not gonna happen.

16. What are your writing strengths?

detailed descriptions. introspection and character analysis.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

DIALOGUE. i don't know how the fuck people talk sometimes. also longer plots. and i'm not amazing with visualizing how houses and places look for some reason so i really need to get better at that (i'll be honest, i still don't FULLY know what the town in "country roads" looks like so i try to describe it very vaguely).

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

i really only enjoy it when it's used effectively - when the audience is supposed to be aligned with the main character in not understanding what's being said.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

teen wolf!

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

"saltwater" my beloved. or "auribus teneo lupum" from my reylo days.

[spiralsublime]

G13 with an innocent reader? Or maybe a reader who seems innocent but who won’t fall for his presumably manipulative behavior AT ALL.

(ps I’m really happy you’re doing dimension 20 x reader you made my day!)

(of course this is so fun for me, i'm glad that other people seem excited for it lol, i could probably do this for so many of their seasons lol)

but i love the idea of G13 and someone who matches him in not being played by his dumb shit! look, this lanky, greasy tech nerd is terrifying conceptually to these government organizations and these big realms of space. but to a normie who is not involved in the underground and has a basic job?? oh, this is just a dweeb, who is handy with fixing things.

The Beginning

G13 is so invested in the underground that I think he forgets that he is actually a person existing. So he is just locked into his laptop, headphones on, typing away. People are assholes, he is an asshole, this is how the world works.

I think he would have an immediate issue with people he thinks are attractive, assuming that everyone thinks they are attractive and thus they must be assholes who get everything for free.

But obviously, that's not fair. I think kindness would be the beginning and end of it.

Imagining those goofy animatic of you smiling and his glasses fogging over as he blushes.

G13 solves some (painfully basic to him) tech issue for you and after he deep dives on how sweet you are.

The Not So Good Middle

Look, this motherfucker is a hacker bad guy who owes nothing to no one. He jumps through tech hoops to learn your schedule and more information about you to try and make sure to set up a good meeting situation.

I do think you notice, but it is normal to see people around the city. Likely a joke or two about a small world or maybe you thank your lucky stars that a tech wiz happens to be around because your dog shit tech is always breaking.

He is focused on trying to just be in your presence. Maybe he is talking around trying to basically take you on a date without ever asking.

I think the first show that his manipulation bits won't work, will be in this moment where you call him out. ("You know, you could just ask me out instead of trying to make me ask you or hoping we cross paths.")

Boundaries Made By Flat Acknowledgements

Look G13 is used to talking in code and dancing around realities. This is not how normal people expect to have to interact. I think he isn't used to hearing simply "No".

Just him pushing for you to hang out alone with him more instead of previously made plans. "Aw, baby, thank you for wanting to hang out with me, but let's do that tomorrow." A kiss to the forehead and the man is SPUTTERING.

He tries to be shitty and you grab your bag and stand. "Sorry, it looks like you are pissed with work and taking it out on me. I'll let you cool down."

Just deftly keeping your own space and boundaries. But also you are expicit with helping to find his own boundaries to make sure you are doing right by him and it is INSANE for him.

Miscellaneous HCs

His other hacker friends do Not believe that you are real. For sure they think that G13 made you up.

G13 may understand tech to an insane degree but this man is helpless at basic games. He does not understand how to do crosswords or solitaire and he gets pissed when he tries.

The first time you kiss him he literally panicked and dropped his glasses with how fast he moved back. He then fumbled when you apologized for scaring him. (The second kiss was better.)

He does know how to cook the bare minimum, but only in his own kitchen because he modded all his appliances. (Your microwave was never the same after the first time he slept over.)

Even after dating for years, he blushes when you kiss his cheek in public. He is overly smug about holding your hand in public.

He does bitch about you not having enough security measures in place.

He is always super cold (this man is anemic, I just know it) so he is always shoving his cold ass hands under you to warm up. Big cuddler unless he is focused on a job.

Only you are able to coax him from work so he can remember to eat during projects.

I think I'll pause here, but GOD, I have so much more with more specific things. -- see my other x-reader things

[hyperactivewhore]

In your opinion who is the best mother in the TVD universe? I think it has to be Hayley. She had made a lot of mistakes, but at the end of the day, Hope has never once doubted that her mother truly and unconditionally loved and supported her. Hayley practically raised Hope by herself. All Hayley wanted is for Hope to have a normal, happy childhood. And unlike many people I don’t think she ever abandoned Hope. Yes, she sent her away to the Salvatore school - but I think that’s because she knew that Hope couldn’t live a normal life in New Orleans and she thought that the best chance of Hope having a semi normal childhood is if no one knew who she was. And in legacies, it’s said that she still visited Hope at school frequently.

Hayley Marshall without a doubt was the best mother in tvdu, especially considering the events regarding her pregnancy, daughter and her daughter's family.

Hayley loved Hope from the very beginning, don't bring up how she tried to abort Hope because that's just rubbish: she wanted to do it because it would be better for both of them, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it. Claiming Elijah was the first person to care about Hope is so wrong, he didn't give a damn about the fetus but what it could mean to Klaus and his fucked up family at the beginning, he only saw his niece as her own person when she was fifteen years old.

Motherhood was forced upon Hayley and she had no other choice but to accept it, Klaus and Elijah made that very clear and it sickens me how people brush over Hayley herself saying how terrified and scared she was during this period of her life. She was barely an adult, thrown into the most dangerous family to ever live just because she happened to carry a baby and was killed twice because of that same family.

Saying Hayley was a bad mother is crazy, she loved Hope and put her above everyone almost always (I won't praise her for this, though, loving your child is the bare minium a decent parent should do) even if it was above people she cared about. People always bring up how she "stole" Hope in season two to try to put her in a bad light and it's embarrassing every time.

Was it a dangerous and risky choice? Obviously, yes, but Klaus, the father of her daughter, was jeopardizing Hope at the time with his paranoia and refusal to trust his family, and at the time everyone believed he had killed Aiden, a member of Hayley's pack, of course she would panick and run away with their kid. It was wrong nonetheless because she was putting in danger her whole pack, her husband, her daughter and herself, but I'll never blame her for it considering how much shit she went through only because of the Mikaelson.

Like Klaus, Hayley was scared too and this is often "forgotten" by the fandom: like him, she never had any good parent, but this didn't make her stop talking to Hope suddenly. The fandom often justifies Klaus abandoning Hope because he had daddy issues and because of The Hollow, but was it that hard to write letters, answer her phone calls? He ghosted his own daughter when she was nine because she saw him murdering someone, but somehow Klaus is the better parent in tvdu and the one Hope loved the most. Make it make sense.

Caroline was away too from her daughters, but she didn't ghost them the way Klaus did. Hayley was co-leading New Orleans, a whole city full of supernatural creatures, but she didn't abandon Hope either: as you said, Josie herself said she used to come to Mystic Falls frequently just for her daughter. Sending Hope away to school after nearly dying and losing her father was too soon, and while Legacies made everything they could to make these women look like bad mothers (Hope being basically depressed as a child, wanting to belong into the Saltzman family, her line in season three "my mom and dad will come back for me" - though I'm not sure if it should consider it proof, considering it was a weird Star Wars episode -, Lizzie feeling neglected by her mother, etc) they simply weren't.

Caroline and Hayley were both forced to be mothers and both proved to be better than everyone in the series. People should start criticizing the actual bad parents in this show instead of them.

[berlynn-wohl]

okay here we go, aziracrow honeymoon at disneyland

Crowley after exiting Mr. Toad's Wild Ride: "Alright, I have some notes."

In New Orleans Square, Aziraphale remarks, "You know, I've actually never been to New Orleans. Is this anything like the real Bourbon Street?" Crowley replies, "Sort of...? Except it doesn't smell like sweat and piss and there's no one staggering around in a toga asking if I want to see his cock and balls."

Aziraphale sees the bride and groom mouse-ear hats and considers purchasing them. He lingers at a stand where they are being sold. The hat for the bride is white, and the hat for the groom is black. Aziraphale dithers over this dichotomy of gender and color, because he wants Crowley to be happy with the hat he will wear, and he understands that Crowley of course prefers black apparel but also that he has a complex relationship with gender presentation. Aziraphale is not sure either hat will work for Crowley. At last he turns around to ask Crowley directly. Crowley is not there. He left ten minutes ago and went to California Adventure so he could order booze.

They get stuck in the darkest segment of Pirates of the Caribbean. They're in the back row of the boat so Crowley starts getting fresh to pass the time. Aziraphale begins to get suspicious the third time this happens on a ride.

Crowley anticipates some bafflement on Aziraphale's part, because many of the parks' rides and attractions are based on recent manufactured, profit-seeking pseudoculture which he assumes Aziraphale is not familiar with. When they're in line for Star Tours, Crowley begins explaining the basic premise of Star Wars, but Aziraphale interrupts him: A: That's not necessary, my dear, I haven't seen the films but I have read their novelizations. C: ...Why have you done that? A: Oh, I read everything by Alan Dean Foster. (He never elaborates on this.)

Aziraphale actually recognizes quite a lot of things in the park, such as the William Tell Overture on the Silly Symphony Swings. These moments delight him to no end, and make up for his occasional bewilderment.

But Aziraphale's favorite thing about Disneyland is of course the food. Every imaginable confection in novel shapes and colors! Food that is designed to be comically large or small! Perfectly ordinary traditional Earth foods that purport to be from a faraway galaxy! Foods whose names are delightful puns! Aziraphale waits in line for beignets with the same frenetic anticipation that other visitors wait in line to ride the roller coasters.

They catch people staring sometimes, and they wonder if it's judgmental gawping because they are usually holding hands. It becomes clear that actually people are just trying to figure out if they're cosplaying when someone comes up to them and says, "...Are you act one Alexander Hamilton and ginger Bono?"

While they are visiting the park, the janitorial staff have an easier day, because somehow, some way, no other visitors spill their popcorn, no one drops their ice cream, and no one urps after riding Space Mountain.

[tljisthegoat]

Rey building a New Jedi Order makes NO FUCKING SENSE especially AFTER LOSING BEN SOLO (who would've been the best option for that specific task...)

I really hope they at least touch on the fact that Rey's basically doing this to cope & avoid dealing with her self-loathing & pain after what happened with Ben.

I just really can't help but laugh like Palpatine at Disney's desperate attempts to get money & fans after they sabotaged their own chance at a healthy, thriving cashcow instead of a dead one.

Star Wars deserves better. We all know that. In all our hearts their exists a vision of Star Wars going far beyond it's ending in ROTJ.

What's so heartbreaking is that we were denied a chance to end happily with Reylo. THAT caused a pain so indescribable that I thought I'd never be able to be happy about Star Wars again.

It wasn't just another ship. It was a chance to FINALLY see this war-riddled galaxy healing from the pain of the past.

Rey's story is truly a tragic one. I fucking hate that. But that's what we've been left with.

Dark Rey is the best future for her character being salvaged out of the abysmally bad position they've shackled her to.

[inthe-afterglows]

A Court of Thorns and Roses Review

A Court of Thorns and Roses - 3 stars -Was boring and repetitive for the first twenty chapters, second half redeemed it but overall I didn't really get the hype. Tamlin lovers ... I will never understand you. Feyre was in that place for three months and Tamlin only attempted to see/speak to her alone once and they didn't even talk. They just made out after she'd been traumatised for months. How about some words of encouragement? How about trying to get her out? How about sending someone to heal her after Lucien was injured? Rhys played the villain to help her and you know what? It worked. She's only alive because of Rhys.

A Court of Mist and Fury - 5 stars -Was actually really good! Romance was 10/10, fantasy and action was 10/10. Chapter 55 really did live up to the hype and I loved Rhys and Feyre's banter and tension leading up to it -- they had so many good moments in this book and Rhys gatecrashing Feyre and Tamlin's wedding will forever be iconic. The last 100 or so pages had me so hooked with every plot twist gagging me. Also why is Tamlin pretending to sleep whilst Feyre is vomiting her guts up every night due to PTSD so funny and yet so sad? The ending of this one really cements him as a piece of shit. TBF he is not THE villain but he is Feyre's villain and I hope she makes him pay.

A Court of Wings and Ruin - 4.5 stars -Was really good, Feyre really delivered on her threats to Tamlin and I lived for it. Rhys and Feyre were both in top notch form in their final novel and all the action was great. And again to Tamlin lovers who say Feyre went to far in destroying his Court, let's not forget that when given the chance to be civil to Feyre, he double downed and basically called her a slut in front of all the High Lords in Prythian after thinking of her as property he could bargain for. I personally lived for Feyre taking down the Spring Court, it really showed how far she'd come since the last time she'd been (trapped) there and shows how worthy she is of being High Lady of the Night Court. Just remember, Rhys built her up whilst Tamlin tore her down. Again, he's not THE villain but he is the villain in Feyre's story.

A Court of Frost and Starlight - 3 stars -I liked the insight into their 'quieter' lives after the war but this was essentially a Christmas special. Nothing actually happens in this book plot wise and I actually really begin to loathe Nesta in this one. Kinda sad in this one that Rhys and Feyre weren't having their own little adventure like they talked of in acowar. I would've enjoyed it more plotwise if they had taken a week off to hunt Bryaxis or something (low stakes but still action-y) and they could have cute moments/convos whilst camping on the hunt.

A Court of Silver Flames - 3 stars -It made me understand Nesta more but I still don't really like her as a person. I think there was a bit where someone said she didn't fail Feyre and I wholeheartedly disagree. Elain and Nesta BOTH failed Feyre as older sisters when they were living in that cottage. They were both happy to sit at home and spend the money Feyre earned whilst Feyre was the one who went into the dangerous woods and kept them fed and clothed. I also didn't love the romance in this one because it wasn't a romance. Nesta and Cassian fucked and were friends but there was hardly any romance. Another issue I have with this one was the lack of anything really happening. This was more a mental health journey than a fantasy action / adventure romance which isn't really what I was looking for from a series like this. I think this one might've been improved with a Rhys or Feyre POV or even a Mor POV so we could have at least seen more of the politics going on in the NC at the time and with Nesta's mental health journey / training being contained to the first 30-50% of the novel instead of the whole thing. I would have liked to see her being involved more in missions and making amends more because her hating on her sisters and Rhys for over 80% of the book was really getting old and she really did not have a leg to stand on so it was infuriating to read. At one point I was really only reading for the Feyre x Rhys crumbs.

Overall: As a series this is really average for me. Out of 5 books I only really liked 2 which is less than 50% so I really didn't understand the hype for this series which was really sad because I really wanted to like it. I will say the world building was fantastic. I think the world SJM created was done so well but unfortunately the plot or lack thereof in a few of these novels really bumps it down for me and the pacing novel to novel really sucks. I also would have been more invested if the books following the first four still had Feyre and Rhys as main characters. As it stands, I feel SJM has mostly sidelined them from a storyline perspective for future books. I would have enjoyed seeing more of their adventures that they spoke of at the end of ACOWAR before they started having kids.

As for the Fourth Wing vs ACOTAR debate .... FOURTH WING all the way! I am convinced that people only like acotar more because it came first. To me Fourth Wing has the better romance and overall books (it certainly had the better first novel). This could change as more books from Fourth Wing come out but as it stands, in my opinion, Fourth Wing has given us 2/2 really good books (rated 4+ stars) so far, and acotar 2/5 so y'all do the math lol.

[antianakin]

@theneutralmime

Based on your example I'm going to assume you mean "fix it" as in a happy fix-it AU and not "fix it" as in how I would make the movie better.

Doing a fix-it where the actual fix has to happen within the plot of AOTC is harder than it seems. TPM and ROTS are a lot easier because they're the beginning and end of the story so one small change can make a really large difference, but AOTC is the middle of the story so it's a little harder to make changes that really make a difference.

I dunno, I mean, they could've sent more Jedi off to fight Dooku when he tries to run from Geonosis which could've overwhelmed him enough to be defeated which would have garnered them an early prisoner of war AND kept the Death Star plans from Palpatine. Obi-Wan and Anakin also could've just brought in more of those clones who were on the transport with them which might've helped to distract Dooku long enough for him to be defeated. They mention that capturing/killing Dooku might even stop the entire war from happening because it removes the guy who's primarily going to be RUNNING IT from the Separatist side. Dooku's already revealed a small piece of information to Obi-Wan that they could attempt to pressure Dooku into revealing more about, potentially. The main problem with capturing Dooku here is that it's pretty easy for Palpatine to find a way to free him, he's clearly got plenty of resources he can try to reach out to on the Separatist side, he can just hire Cad Bane if he needs to or something like that.

Maybe Obi-Wan doesn't lose the fight against Jango on Kamino and captures Jango so they can interrogate him about everything HE knows which could potentially lead to not just the revelation of Dooku and the droid army and the planned war, but also maybe the trap that is the clones. It's possible that Dooku and Palpatine do what they can to remove Jango from play either by finding a way to assassinate him before he can reveal what he knows or freeing him (personally I feel like they'd just try to kill him, he's not useful enough to expend the effort to free him when it's easier to kill him). I imagine Jango would be willing to exchange information for protection from Dooku at the very least. Maybe. He's ruthless and entirely without morals if we go strictly by the movie version of him, but he doesn't seem like a complete idiot either and can probably recognize that Dooku isn't going to save him and is very likely to try to kill him now that he's been captured.

It's possible that you could try to go for an AU where, instead of following Jango, Obi-Wan stays on Kamino to investigate that, but then he's kind-of making the same mistake Anakin does in this film by abandoning the mission he's SUPPOSED to be on in favor of something he decides is more important. Obi-Wan's mission is to find and apprehend Padme's assassin and while it's pretty clear Jango was INVOLVED in the assassination attempt on Coruscant, it's also pretty clear that it goes deeper than that and THAT'S what Obi-Wan chooses to pursue. He makes his report about the clones to the Council and then leaves uncovering that particular mystery to them rather than continuing to investigate himself and letting Padme's killer go free. As far as Obi-Wan is aware in that moment, they can always come back to Kamino to investigate the situation with the clones, but they may never get another chance to figure out who is behind these attempts on Padme's life and who hired Jango in the first place. And by the time they DO figure that out, it's too late and the war has basically started and the Jedi no longer really have much time to investigate anything.

By AOTC, the "fix it" relies less on someone making a different choice and more on who the good guys can capture who will provide the most relevant information to prevent a war from starting and expose the true perpetrators. Dooku can reveal Palpatine in a way Jango cannot, but Jango is more likely to make a deal and reveal what he DOES know and he seems to know enough that it could really make a difference. At the very least I think Jango would be able to reveal that this war is a sham, that the same people are running both sides of the war, and that the clones are a trap, all of which should be able to do enough damage to the Sith plot to keep something like Order 66 from happening and ultimately still lead to Palpatine's exposure and defeat.

[cosmics-beings]

What if Starscream faked his death during the War, to join the Autobots as a ‘different’ person + finally escape Megatron?... What if Optimus/Ratchet helped Star, by Optimus pretending to ‘destroy’ Star with Megatron watching + Ratchet gives Starscream a different body/face afterwards... Would Megatron or anyone in the Decepticons, miss the ‘Dead’ Starscream? (Platonic or Romantic Megastar Headcanons?) 💖💔 (IDW + TFP + EARTHSPARK)

OOh this would be interesting for everyone involved, and it would be interesting seeing Starscream's change as well. as someone who left because of both megatron but his own lust for power, actually going back on his own ideals to become an autobot.

I think that at first, him leaving would really just want to get away from Megatron and also, find away to seize power on his own, but spending time with the Autobots would change him. Seeing how much care there is between Ratchet and Optimus, and seeing how much they love one another would make Starscream change his mind about what side he’s on and I think he’d agree to it. No lust for power, not wanting to kill Megatron, he just wants a better life.

During the war, I don’t think that Megatron would care. Starscream is a useless asset to him that he can care less about. I do think some people would miss him like Soundwave and maybe Knockout—but Knockout would probably be happy that Starscream was gone because of how awful Starscream treated him. I think that yeah, some would miss Starscream but for the most part, no one would think too much of him. Well, at least not at first.

I think Megatron’s opinion on Starscream would change as the war came to an end. While Megatron is getting tired of fighting and ends up seeing the end of the war is near, he’d reflect on how he treated Starscream. I’m taking more of a TFP stance here, like the whole Predacon’s rising narrative instead. What if Starscream was an autobot before that, and what if he was always working with the Autobots and Megatron happened to find him again during Predacons rising (well after the events).  After Megatron goes into exile Starscream finds him. In his disguise that is, his Autobot disguise and they can talk. Megatron has actually been reflecting on Starscream a lot—he misses him, he’s sorry for how badly he treated him, he’d hurt.  In his own exile he thought that Starscream was dead, and he wanted to say so much to him, so to see him alive makes Megatron happy, and from there, they’ve got a lot of work to do.

Starscream and Megatron basically make up. Megatron apologizes for his treatment of Starscream and Starscream brings up how they are the same. They were both abused, both clung to power because they didn’t want to be hurt again. If it’s something they can both recognize, and make a deal not to hurt others or themselves, then they can be friends and perhaps more—so happy ending. 

IDW is kinda similar. Like, Megatron of course for a while doesn’t ponder on Starscream. After the Spotlight Megatron issue, I’d think Starscream would defect to the Autobots and fake his death. I think he is still secretly running the neutral bots, and he is still elected as Chancellor but anonymously. Things go as planned; there is a trial but Starscream isn’t ready to face Megatron yet, for obvious reasons. He still wants to keep himself a secret, and Optimus tells him for the best. Part of Starscream doesn’t know whether or not he wants Megatron to be executed, but stays silent. Like canon, Megatron goes off on the Lost light and Starscream runs Cybertron in silence. He thinks of Megatron from time to time. Meanwhile, Megatron thinks of Starscream as well.

Megatron has family, he has a second chance, he gets the love, support and redemption he needs. While he’s getting all of these amazing things, he can’t help but think of Starscream, the hell he put him through, and how Starscream himself never actually got that chance at happiness or family. Megatron knows that Starscream started off somewhat rotten, but he also acknolwedges that he contributed to so much of that, so he starts to feel guilty. He enjoys his life but he feels guilty. He misses him a lot, and starts to think about him every day. He writes letters to him that will never be sent, and just, wants him to somehow know how he feels. He knows it’s too late, but he still wants to tell him how sorry he is.

Little does megatron know that the chancellor who secretly runs Cybertron and who expunged all his crimes was Starscream, because Starscream also wants to see him again.

EarthSpark omg…I have so many thoughts on how this would work in Earthspark. I like the idea of of course, Optimus knowing and probably breaking Starscream out of prison earlier on. In my version of this, Starscream is the anonymous Deception leader on Earth, and it’s him who helps Decepticons break out of GHOST facilities and smuggles them from Earth to safer planets. In Megatron’s mind, Starscream has been dead for many years. Anyway, at first, Megatron didn’t care. He thought Starscream was an awful person and is glad he’s dead. But he starts to learn from him through others, Optimus specifically, who I sleeping Starscream’s whereabouts and current status a secret. But during their talks, Megatron starts to not just see a different side of Starscream but he misses him. Megatron also starts to realize just how similar he and Starscream were. Both victims of violent abuse, both took it out on others. Megatron realizes that if he himself has been forgiven and redeemed, then Starscream deserved that as well. But in his mind, Starscream is dead. of course he wants to talk to him, of course he wants to apologize to him, but he can’t find him. And then…on the other hand, Starscream wants to see Megatron again as well. But he doesn’t think megatron will want to see him. And he has so much he wants to talk about, but it’s too much to ponder on so he holds his tongue and keeps to himself.

WHEW, SORRY THAT WAS LONG.