#still having a good time honestly

[onaperduamedee]

Notes on The Path of Daggers

Oh, Shienar leaders reunion! Does it mean we will at last get some Lan content? They don’t seem to be ready to support Rand though.

Verin is the very definition of a bad bitch. She perceives so much more than she lets on and I love that she clearly has her own agenda. Black Ajah? Spy? I have no idea what her deal is, but she seems to be on a level with Cadsuane and Moiraine when it comes to acting as a free agent. 

Birgitte is smaller than Aviendha and Elayne? Lies! Lieeeeeeees!

"You can ask or demand anything of me, but never to let you die without trying to save you. The day you die, I die." I am in agony. The way this is both about Nynaeve and Moiraine, but in a different light, with the trust and love placed in Nynaeve and the acknowledgement of betrayal by Moiraine. Blood and ashes, this storyline is going to hurt.

Not liking Aviendha's thoughts on women and softness, all the more ridiculous that Birgitte is right here, with her love of dresses and feminity despite being very strong. I get this is Aviendha’s POV, but this is only the hundredth time we got such an angle and I am tired.

On one hand, I understand Nyn and Elayne not trusting the Aes Sedai with guarding the Black Ajah, because there has to be one or two BA sisters in their ranks. On the other, they don't have the best track records with decision-making and risk assessment, so I will be surprised if Ispan doesn't escape eventually, with casualties at that.

I am rooting for the Kin so hard. Please, let them be Aes Sedai and prove themselves, they are so cool. Like with the noblewomen and grandmothers being integrated into the Tower by Egwene later on, this storyline gives me so much joy.

Nynaeve ready to yell at the Aes Sedai despite them not doing anything for once is so funny. For all their flaws, Aes Sedai are no worse or better than other groups, especially with all the parallels to the Aiel. I’d say it was the most fun these chapters had been because the conflict between the four groups is getting repetitive.

I love Aviendha worrying about the gholam when we know for a fact Seanchan are invading at this very moment. She is a trouper though and I love her lion-heart.

Elayne and Aviendha giving strong "she is so smart and brave and beautiful" New Spring Siuan and Moiraine vibes. They legit have more chemistry together than either with Rand.

Yeah, still not a fan of Nyn and Elayne relying so much on their strength to intimidate or gain the upper hand on others. It's not something they picked up only from Aes Sedai either considering Verin's words at the beginning of The Dragon Reborn. It's just... You know the way people with power are terrified of weaker people enacting on them the same violence because they cannot conceive of a world without a power imbalance? Yeah that.

What I gather from all those new channelers being insanely powerful, even more than Nynaeve, is that as the Age comes to an end, more channelers in line with the Age of Legends will reveal themselves in different nations.

People with cloud dancing abilities and the Windmistresses are doing unaided what required ter'angreal in the AoL? Very interesting. As with the bonding weave, I love the nuance in picturing evolution as non-linear, with gains and losses, particularly in light of all the history and scientific advancement lost to time.

RJ's insistence that Aiel are tanned white people instead of the people of color they should have been will never stop being bizarre. I know they are fantasy Irish/Scottish people, but the fact they are uniformly described as tanned blond white Californians is throwing me off.

See, one of my issues with Elayne that is standing out this book is the way she often seems to me an Egwene stand-in: her arc about being Queen but having to prove it is too similar to Egwene’s at this point. They’re not the same obviously, but too closely related, especially considering how different the boys are from one another.

I am glad that Caire and the Sea folk took the helm with the Bowl of winds because otherwise, it would have been super White savioury of Elayne to lead. It will be such a bloody incredible scene on-screen, I cannot wait.

Alise in the long line of very competent working-class women without which whole institutions would crumble. Also described like an avalanche btw. Yes, I miss Moiraine.

The Seanchan attack and Elayne unraveling the gateway was so bloody epic. Elayne the mad scientist remains my favourite Elayne. I love the unease in the Seachan camp when they incorrectly conclude from this that their enemies have weapons of mass destruction (which they do, in the form of sa’-, ter’- and angreal, but this was an accident.)

Oh, Perrin is crossing paths with Morgase's party! I am digging this. This is going to be interesting, with Morgase hiding her identity and so many leaders traveling with Perrin, a rebel leader himself.

Here's the thing, if you send away Berelain and Anoura, gag Seonid and only use the Wise Ones as watchdogs, you're left with Perrin and Morgase and they just are not interesting enough by themselves to keep my attention.

Is Lini forcing Morgase to marry Tallanvor? Why are old women so creepy in these books?

I love Faile. I don't love that her presence prompts gender essentialism to worsen every time in Perrrin’s thoughts. I will never get used to it. I hate being yanked out of the story because of this.

Faile and her Cha Faile. Her being a shrewd politician and general, seeing the potential of eager and devoted young Cairhienins who are likely expert practitioners of Daes Dae’mar. She’s genuinely a good leader, like Berelain or Egwene, and I love her political acumen. 

In an ideal Lubitschean Wot Universe, Faile and Perrin are married, Aram is Perrin’s boyfriend and Berelain is Faile’s girlfriend.

Oh boy, Tallanvor and Morgase is almost as bad as Siuan and Gareth. Stop forcing women in a vulnerable mental state to hook up with guys they depend on for survival.

The Aiel and indentured servitude… There’s a whole discussion to have about making prisoners apprentices in this way, as opposed to willingly like Aviendha and Egwene. The Aes Sedai are not Aiel, this is not ji’e’toh.

About Alliandre: just another powerful woman pledging to a man, nothing to see here. 

That said, the discussion between Alliandre, Faile, Berelain and Annoura? So good. RJ writes bloody entertaining negotiating scenes, truly.

Ah yes, the four horsemen of the fantasy apocalypse :

Elayne - nepotism

Perrin - feudalism

Aviendha - indentured servitude

Rand - imperialism

Between the Cha Faile, the Rebels outside Cairhien with Darlin and Caraline, Mat's army, there is a strong recurring theme of Tear and Cairhien coming together under the Dragon's banner and it makes Siuan's association with Moiraine all the more thematically relevant, just saying.

Okay, maybe I should pay more attention to Moridin if he is Nae'blis. Who the heck is he? Also Cyndane? I love this game of whack-a-Forsaken.

I don’t say this enough, but the Forsaken are incredibly amusing in a Grand Guignol way.

Despite the initial Manicheism, the granularity of evil and good in these books is really fascinating: there are a million individuals on each side and in between, pursuing their own goal, or a common one but in a vastly different way.

Also, I can't bemoan the stupidity and lack of organization of the antagonists, particularly the Forsaken, without recognizing that most of the heroes are pretty incompetent themselves: they all have their own agenda and interest, their personality gets in the way all the time, they absolutely suck at communication and negotiation, and their plans rarely work as it should. The ta'veren factor does a lot of work here. Don't get me wrong, it is generally fun to read, on both sides, but yeah, sheer luck and lots of foolishness.

Aielman standing in the streets staring at the pouring rain and Cairhienin noblewoman laughing with her hood down under the rain, I send you paper kisses because that was charming.

A bit disappointed we did not get the first encounter between Sorilea and Cadsuane, but I really enjoyed their conversation. At least Sorilea is realizing the Aiel are as much help as the AS and that Rand needs a different kind of support than what they are providing.

Rand chapter finally!

And unfortunately it's one of those "group A disagrees with group B with the support of group C although group C hates group A while group D glares at group A sneering at C for agreeing with them, and B silently mocks group D for being so careless" chapters. It’s a lot of mannerisms and opposing POVs. It doesn’t really add much to the story beyond colouring and at this point in the conflicts, we don’t really need more colouring.

Adored the conversation with the Asha'man afterward though. They’ve gained a lot of individuality now that they’re away from Taim, which has to be intentional. Getting really worried about Rand’s symptoms and the possibility they are indeed starting to lose their mind.

I wonder if like healing stilling, healing the weather required both male and female channelers, and in their haste, the circle only fixed the weather partially because that’s a LOT of snow after a scorching summer. All the trees are going to die out of shock.

I love Egwene so bloody much. And Siuan. And Leane. I love their machinations, their mutual support, their chemistry, their strength, their flaws, their ridiculousness, their humanity, their everything.

Siuan knowing the history of the Tower by heart fills me with so much love. I feel so emotional about the contrast between the contempt some sisters hold her in for breaking the Tower and the devotion Siuan still has for the Tower, the love she has for who she is, an Aes Sedai. They get deserved crap for their stupid hierarchies, their arcane rules, their inflexibility and isolation, but the White Tower was created with laudable goals at first: preserving humanity and knowledge. They are not soldiers, they were meant to be custodians; seeing someone like Siuan, who embodied the Tower and broke it and herself in trying to push it in another direction… UGH. It reminds me of loving a country, a community, and hating it so much, hating what it taught me, what it broke in trying to preserve itself, and believing that maybe it would be easier to destroy it entirely, and still there is some good here and it deserves, perhaps, to remain and be changed. 

Yeah, I love Siuan so much. Egwene is right: Siuan is so incredibly strong.

Shit, Aran'gar killed Selame? Sheriam is spying? For who? Shit shit shit. The Salidar lot is in so much danger.

I knew Elayne and Nynaeve's bargain with the Sea Folk was pretty much BS. They promised the moon knowing it was near impossible for Egwene to fulfill the bargain. Knowing Egwene, she will rise to the challenge.

I would die if Egwene puzzling out Siuan is in love with Gareth became in the show Egwene understanding Siuan is not merely mourning a co-conspirator in Moiraine but also a lover. 

Talmanes feeling Mat needs him from hundreds of miles? Oh that's gay

Whatever possesses RJ to constantly interrupt charming bonding scenes or intense plotting schemes with the most childish romantic nonsense? Women and men alike lose braincells at the most inconvenient moment. It’s killing the vibe each time.

Everything about the way Egwene prepared and navigated the negotiations with the Andorans, and then the Aes Sedai? Phenomenal. I was on the edge of my seat.

I'm not gonna lie, going from blood-pumping Egwene chapters to mostly static Elayne and Rand chapters is underwhelming.

Still, there is an extremely uneasy and frantic energy to this particular fight around Ebou Dar. Perhaps it’s Rand’s extreme confidence in the Asha’man. Perhaps it’s the clear instability spreading through the male channelers. Perhaps it’s the grueling Guerilla approach to this battle. Perhaps it’s the oddness of the One Power in the mountains. I am really enjoying this tbh.

The Asha'man are much, much too eager to fight Aes Sedai and Taim has too great a hold on them. I don’t like that Rand’s distrust is caused mostly by LTT’s voice but he is right to suspect Taim’s influence on the Asha’man.

Are we ever going to find out what the deal is with the One Power for women and men near Ebou Dar? I love the concept of corrupted places where physics or magic doesn’t work as it should.

Liandrin?! In the hands of the Seanchan? What is going on?!?

Why is Lews Therin quoting that Prussian general? Is Prussia canon in the Wheel of Time univers?

THEY STOLE THE OATH ROAD And Pevara and Seaine discovered how to undo the Oaths? Oh, that is really interesting. REALLY interesting, particularly after Siuan’s discussion with Egwene.

Oh my god, if you order an Aes Sedai to lie under an oath, she can die choking?!?

OoooooooOooooooooOoooooh they are recruiting Salidar's spies to hunt the Black Ajah! This is so good. What an exciting development! 

I got chills when the last Aes Sedai who discovered Seaine and Pevara refused to swear she was not a Darkfriend. I suspect it can’t be that easy though. Still really hyped for this storyline.

As I said, Asha’man = incel army. Of course, they would capture Aes Sedai and use compulsion to make them love them.

"Maybe Elayne had taught him." In a week while making out in Tear? Rather than Moiraine who spent months with him in the Waste cramming his head with 20 years' worth of experience as Blue Ajah? Or Bashere who has been working with him to handle no less than 4 different armies begrudgingly working together? Or the Aiel who are the fantasy Sparta culture? Come on, Min, I know you're trying very hard not to get jealous, but you're being foolish and as Rand’s primary advisor currently, you cannot afford to be foolish.

Cadsuane joking she expects the Asha'man to juggle made me cackle. She is the definition of the bigger bully.

Callandor requires men and women to work? Nice, I was hoping to get a sa’angreal like this soon. Seeing Rand navigate people he doesn’t trust while working with them is also particularly exciting.

Oh, they killed Adeleas... Vandene crying out loud for her sister after the others were sent away was actually heartbreaking. I do like that DF are still a serious threat; not a given with the number of actors now at play. Elayne and Nynaeve were faaaaar too trusting of the dozens of strangers they took up at the farm.

Rand and the Asha'man... Man, that was brutal. The madness was bound to catch up to them, but this, coming right after a near defeat, deaths caused by Rand and a betrayal, is absolutely harrowing. I love that we got Rand talking about consulting Nynaeve to cure the taint beforehand, giving them some hope, and then Rand invokes Nynaene to provide the only cure available for now to Fedwin. It’s so bleak, I love it.

Not liking one bit the idea that women like Nynaeve and Faile need to be dominated by their husbands to have a happy marriage. Not one bit.

We didn't get unnecessary female nudity in a while and now we get it for ALL our ladies. Amazing. At least, my gal Berelain escaped. 

The finale was a little jarring in the sense that we needed to catch up with everybody suddenly and still got nothing on Mat and the Shienaran alliance, but before that I really enjoyed the bleakness on Rand’s side. Reminded me of New Spring. I do wish we spent more time on the aftermath of the attack Rand in the Sun Palace and the first mercy killing, but I suspect it will be explored next book.

Verdict: two books into the slog and I am cruising so far. My biggest complaint is the similarities in power struggles between Rand, Egwene and Elayne, the three big threads here: for several chapters, each is trying to handle groups at daggers drawn, with varied degrees of success. It’s obviously the unifying theme, but the story would have benefitted from a serious arc for Mat and Nynaeve for breathers, as both are generally entertaining wildcards. Nynaeve had practically NOTHING to do outside of her beef with Alise, which is frustrating because I’ve been unsatisfied with her arc for a few books now. Hopefully, she’ll get one with the research to clean saidin. 

Yet, as much as I absolutely see the slackening in the narrative, with several chapters depicting characters riding and disagreeing and nothing else, I appreciate the depths added by Egwene’s moves, Rand losing his grip and the overcorrection of the weather. It’s not much, true, and this book will likely be merged with another for TV, but it certainly wasn’t as slow as certain parts of TEotW or LoC. I was deeply moved by certain parts (the Asha’man, Siuan and Egwene, Vandene and Adeleas), which makes this book automatically better than others in the series.

[artist-rat]

Guys do not ask how this group is still together.. I'm too afraid to ask (the answer is magic of friendship and ✨Delusion✨)

[ashleys-doodle-corner]

ACT 2 "You're... me?" "That's right, stardust!"

You know I've been drawing Loop as their Siffrin form so much that it's got me thinking. I've read and seen so many fics and artworks of Loop eventually getting back to looking like their old self, but I don't think I've seen any so far of Loop already being a mirror copy of Siffrin. So uh, yoink?

ISAT AU where the game plays out the same way (plot-wise at least) but Loop looks like Siffrin the whole time and while Siffrin is extremely perplexed that there's another him, he's still gotta accept their help because how else are they supposed to escape the loops? Good ol' Loop is here to help, helpful friendly Loop!

Siffrin is going through it still but Differently.

[yuwuta]

olympics coming up…… athlete aus on the mind….. satoru as a swimmer….. unreasonably large wingspan…. huge hands..... thinks “official” competitions and tournaments are boring because he can’t use the goofy purple googly eyes goggles he likes to practice in…… practices at ungodly hours solely because he likes when the pool is empty because that means you’ll dip your feet in at the edge and be there to greet him with a kiss when he’s finished his laps….. they bring up the stats board and it’s just his name ten times before the next fastest person and he could still lap them, and even tho he’ll always put so much pressure on himself to be the best, it’s worth it to have you hold his face and tell him you’re proud of him... he’s gotten so much merch from events and sponsorships and he used to think they just created clutter but that all changes when you start to wear his clothes (esp the ones with his name on it… he’s not proud to admit that does Something to him)…. always looks up to the stands when he finishes a race and if he knows you’re not there, he looks right at the camera, draws an infinity sign with his fingers, and blows a kiss (which, some commentators routinely call “unsportsmanlike conduct” but he doesn’t care, and always, publicly says he’ll pay the fees if it means blowing a kiss to his girl at home)

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo standing up for his brothers in the things that really matter to them.

Like- Leo is the one who immediately pushes Mikey and Donnie into finding Raph the second it’s clear that their oldest brother is missing because he knows Raph can’t handle being separated like that.

Leo is the one who stands up for Mikey when Mikey wants to go on a solo mission, actively vouching for him and being the one to convince Raph into letting Mikey go, because being independent and proving himself just as capable of standing on his own two feet as everyone else means so much to Mikey.

And Leo defends Donnie’s honor in particular when his brothers’ intelligence is insulted because Leo is well aware of how important Donnie’s smarts are to him - and how important having those smarts valued and acknowledged is as well.

All this goes right into just how well Leo knows his brothers. For as much as he’ll tease or fight with them, he knows them, and he loves them.

[seagreenstardust]

“When toxic behavior is portrayed as romantic, it’s problematic. When problematic behavior is portrayed as a character flaw for a character to work through, it’s good storytelling.”

Katsuki Bakugou, my friends.

His behavior was problematic but never once portrayed as romantic at the same time. Katsuki said and did awful abusive things, and he also chose to be better when he was given the chance. If you’re still hung up on chapter 1 Katsuki now then I don’t think you’ve been reading the same story I have.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m not shipping Izuku with an irredeemable abuser. I’m shipping him with his most important person. His narrative foil. His childhood friend who made awful mistakes and then made it right when he saw he was wrong. The person Izuku looks up to and strives to emulate, despite their past struggles.

Bakudeku is so good because of how flawed these boys are, and how hard they’ve worked to get over it, and how much they matter to each other after it all

[unfinishedslurs]

The boy stops in his tracks. “I know you,” he says, tilting his head curiously. He’s not tall, but he’s regal nonetheless, dressed all in white. Something about him makes Leia’s hair stand on end, and although she hides it she feels a stirring in her own chest. I know you like I know my own soul, she thinks wildly, and wonders where it came from. Has she gone insane?

“That’s nice,” she says, and shoots him anyway.

He deflects it in a flash of light, a glowing blue laser sword appearing in his hand like magic. She’s only seen one of those before, and it’s Vader’s. If this boy is anything like Vader, she realizes, she’s in deep shit.

She’s smart enough to know when she’s outmatched. Leia makes the tactical decision to run for her life.

Later, as she’s getting the hell out of there, she wonders why he didn’t try to stop her.

She remembers being young and tugging on her mothers skirts, demanding to know why their guest was so sad. “Does he not like it here?” She’d asked, and then, trembling, because Kenobi always seemed saddest around her. “Is it…because of me?”

“Oh, Leia,” her mother sighed, lifting her into her arms. “It’s not that, I promise.”

“Then what is it?”

“Master Kenobi lost a child under his care, years ago.” Breha’s eyes grew deeper, darker. “It was not his fault, but he blames himself. You remind him of that child, that’s all.”

Leia had quieted at that, contemplative.

The next time she’d seen Master Kenobi, she had given him a hug. He didn’t seem to know what to do with that, so she resolved to give him more of them. “He’s lonely,” she’d told her mother. “No one should be lonely.”

Looking at Obi-Wan Kenobi now, the memory seemed so far away. He’d aged thirty years in the ten it had been.

He looks, Leia thinks with a small twinge of regret, very lonely.

“Leia,” he greets. “It’s been a long time.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Leia sees a glint of white.

Kenobi freezes in his tracks. “Luke?” He whispers, and through the distance Leia can hear it as if he’d been speaking directly into her ear.

Master Kenobi lost a child under his care, her mother whispers in her head. He blames himself.

In an instant, Leia understands everything.

Kenobi is still staring at the boy he’d lost so long ago when Vader cuts him down.

Later, as she’s pacing around on the Falcon to Han muttering darkly about Princesses and supernatural abilities, she rememberers the way the boy collapsed, as if all his strings had been cut. Vader was too occupied with him to even look at her as she shot at him desperately.

Luke. She hates him more than she hates herself.

“They know where you are,” he hisses frantically. “They’re coming for you. You have to run.”

“Wait!” Leia quickly pulls up their sonar. Nothing yet, but it would explain the distant queasiness she’d felt since they’d landed. She tended to trust her gut. “How do you know? How much time do we have?”

“Not important, and not enough,” he says. “I have to go, and so do you. You need to leave yesterday.”

“How do I know I can trust you? I don’t even know who you are.”

He pauses. “Call me Skywalker.”

“That’s not an answer, Skywalker.”

“Yes it is.”

She opens her mouth to argue, but there are faint voices on the other end, drawing nearer.

“Shit,” Skywalker mutters. “I have to go. I’ll be in contact, okay? Don’t ever tell me where you are, or where you’re heading. Vader and Palpatine aren’t shy about reading minds. Just leave as soon as you can, and figure out the rest.”

“But—“

It’s too late. The comm has disconnected.

She stares down at it, disbelieving. How would the Empire know they’re here? Why should she trust a stranger who somehow got her personal comm code?

Gut feeling or not, on paper this was a perfect location. Supplied, armored, and most importantly, extremely well hidden. There was no real reason to think it would possibly be found out.

It’s probably a trap. Almost definitely a trap.

Han sticks his head in the door, a sour look on his face. “Hey Princess, can you tell these idiots—“

She makes a decision then and there.

“We’re leaving.”

“What?”

“We’re evacuating, effective immediately.” She pushes past him, and he follows so close he’s nearly stepping on her heel.

“Why? I think it’s pretty cozy here. Actual sunlight doesn’t hurt, either.”

“Apparently too cozy.” She grabs the first person she sees, a pilot who stares at her with wide eyes. “Emergency evacuation. Spread the word to pack everything you can and leave, I’ll let you know where we’re headed when we’re in orbit.”

He salutes and scurries off.

“Woah, hey now.” Han snatches at her elbow until she turns around to face him. “What’s going on?”

“There’s a new informant. He told me the Empire knows we’re here. They’re coming for us.”

“And you trust this person because…”

“I don’t have a choice,” she snaps. Someone runs past them, holding three packs filled to the brim with rations. “It’s either he’s lying and we’re not in danger, or he’s telling the truth and we’re going to die if we don’t listen. It’s not exactly hard math.”

It could be a trap of course, but he hadn’t suggested any sort of direction or destination to follow, and Leia wasn’t inclined to share. Especially not after his tidbit about Vader and Palpatine reading minds.

He squints at her. “That’s not it.”

“What?”

“I don’t believe you,” he insists. He’s so infuriating. Leia doesn’t know why she hasn’t kicked him out yet.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do, and you’re either gonna tell me why, or find a different transport when we head out of here.”

“Who said I was riding on your hunk of junk?” She demands. She actually was planning on going with them, since the Falcon has more than enough room for all the supplies that can’t fit in the other ships and none of the trustworthiness of the other pilots, but Han doesn’t need to know that.

“Well?”

Damn him. Damn him for knowing how to read her. She doesn’t know when she let that happen.

“I feel it,” she admits, defeated. “Something tells me he’s trustworthy. We’ll wait and see if it’s right.”

He studies her. She holds her head high, but inside she’s jittery at the scrutiny. They don’t have time for this.

“Yeah, all right,” Han finally says.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” He rolls his eyes, like she’s not acting absolutely insane by putting all her trust in a random man she’s never even met. “Now come on, Princess, weren’t you the one who said we had to hurry?”

What is it about this man that makes it impossible to tell whether she wants to punch him or drag him into the nearest supply closet? They don’t have time to find out.

“So there’s good news and bad news.”

“Bad news first,” she demands.

“They know there’s a mole.”

“Shit.” Of course they know, how could they not? She should have been more careful, less obvious about the correlation of their movements with the Empire’s plans. “The good news?”

“They’ve tasked me with hunting down this ‘pathetic rebel spy,’” Skywalker says, humor in his voice. “That should buy me some time.”

Leia can’t quite stop the snort she lets out. “Seriously?”

“Yep. You’re speaking to a professional mole-hunter, here.”

“Well congratulations on the promotion, Skywalker.”

“Thank you,” he says grandly. Then, quieter, “It won’t last, Princess. They’ll find out eventually.”

“I know. Just hang in there, it will be over soon.”

“Will it?” He asks, suddenly sounding very young. She realizes that she has no idea how old he is. She doesn’t know anything about the man who has saved them more times than she cared to admit, and the idea rattles her until they sign off.

Later, she looks up the name Skywalker in their archives. There are a few results, but only one sticks out.

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight and hero of the Clone Wars. Killed at the hands of Darth Vader. There are gossip articles too, speculations on his relationship with the pregnant Senator Padmé Amidala, who died around the same time Skywalker did. The baby, it seems, died with her.

Unless he didn’t.

It’s ridiculous. It’s impossible. The idea is so ludicrous that Leia almost rejects it entirely.

But it makes sense. By the Maker, it makes sense.

The child of Anakin Skywalker, it seems, would be a powerful Force user indeed. Powerful enough for Kenobi to take the baby and run. Powerful enough for the Emperor to want him for his own gain. Powerful enough to send Vader after Kenobi and take the boy himself.

Maybe even powerful enough to shield his mind from Vader and Palpatine’s intrusions.

Powerful enough to hide the fact that he’s a spy.

Leia sinks into her chair, covering her face as she laughs.

Maybe Luke isn’t so bad after all.

“No, no, no,” she mutters, digging through the smoking wreckage of the TIE fighter. “Don’t be dead, please don’t be dead.”

“Princess…” Han lays a hand on her shoulder that she immediately shrugs off.

“No, he’s not dead. He’s not. Luke!”

A faint cough answers her, and she’s so relieved to hear it she could cry. Behind her, Han starts bellowing for a medic and, “Some damn help here, do you expect us to move all this ourselves?”

“Luke, it’s me,” she sobs. “It’s Leia. You’re at the Rebel Base. You’re safe.”

More coughing, and there’s a worrying rasp to his voice when he says, “You know…my name?”

“I figured it out.”

“Smart.” This time, the coughing is so bad Leia and Han both wince.

“Shit, kid,” Han says, moving another piece of rubble. “Don’t talk. We’re gonna get you out of here, all right?”

“Stand back,” Luke chokes out.

“What?”

“Stand back. Please.”

Han protests, but something in Leia knows they should listen to him. She drags him back, and motions everyone else to fall back with them. They do, albeit reluctantly.

“Clear,” she calls, hoping Luke can hear her.

The TIE explodes.

“Fuck!” Han goes back in, Leia on his heels with the terrifying feeling that she’d just allowed Luke to die, before they both stop in their tracks. Around them, the broken pieces of the TIE are floating.

And curled up in the middle is a man dressed all in white.

“Luke!” She pushes past Han to start dragging him out, and after another moment of staring around them, he helps her.

As soon as they get clear, the pieces fall to the ground with a clatter. Luke falls limp with them.

Han is still looking at the TIE. “Can you do that?” He asks quietly.

Leia pauses her examination of the unconscious man in front of her to glare at him. “Is that what you’re most concerned with right now? Really?”

“Excuse me for asking, Princess!”

“It’s white,” Luke grumbles, pulling at his hospital gown bitterly. “I hate wearing white.”

“Should I be offended?”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t even. You look great and you know it. I just feel like I never left.”

“Well,” she says gingerly. “I guess it’s a good thing you got sick of it. If we went around in matching outfits all the time, people might think we’re twins.”

He snorts. “Yeah, right.”

[felidaeng]

been thinking about it

[eggy-the-boy]

*poking my blorbos with a stick* 

[ink-the-artist]

so somehow it’s the first time I’ve seen your Dogs illustration from May. it’s very very cool and strongly reminds me of AI-generated art — did you use AI to inspire the shapes? or otherwise influence the piece somehow? interested in your process! very cool.

yes! some more directly reference ai images id generated than others lol

[puppyeared]

vincent voice claim!! hes auggie and anton's son ^_^

VA: Catbug from Bravest Warriors, voiced by Sam Lavagnino

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[acheemient]

R.I.P. Achievement Hunter

2008 - 2023

It was fun while it lasted.

[turtleblogatlast]

Something I like about Leo is that he’s honestly really chill? It’s easy to remember the moments where he’s being obnoxious or excitable but I feel like most of the time he’s incredibly “go with the flow” and has an overall affable demeanor.

[asteraws]

i wish crick was a permanent party member

[devildom-moss]

F*cking Idiots (and Barbatos)

[Lucifer, Solomon, Barbatos, and MC watching the brothers doing something stupid]

MC: You’re all fucking idiots.

Solomon: Well, technically, you’re fucking idiots, so…

MC: And you’re one of the idiots I’m fucking, so what’s your point?

Solomon: No point, I’m happy just to be included.

Lucifer: Are you seriously grouping me in with the rest of them? 

MC: Listen, I’m stupid-sexual: either you’re an idiot I have sex with or you’re not and I don’t.

Lucifer: Understood. So I take it you aren’t fucking Simeon?

MC: You’ve seen that man with technology.

Lucifer: And Diavolo?

MC: Sheltered + childhood trauma = reckless, idiotic behavior.

Lucifer: Well, what about Barbatos?

Barbatos: MC said I was special.

Lucifer, staring at MC, betrayed: Excuse me?

MC: Barbatos is special.