#story: written in the stars

[wileycap]

AITA for striking my (M43) son (M20) when he rejected me as his father?

I understand that the title might have you thinking the worst, but please hear me out.

I didn't have a relationship with my son for basically all his life. This was due to my circumstances at the time: I went through a major personal tragedy and was severely injured, to the point of being on life support. To this day I have a lot of issues with my health.

I recently reconnected with my son. I immediately invited him to meet my boss (M92), in hopes that I could set him up with a job opportunity. I feel that this is significant. As far as I know, my son has been working in menial jobs in agriculture, but then apparently chose to leave that life and - to my shock - join a criminal syndicate.

I felt as if getting a good government job would be a way to turn over a new leaf in his life, especially given his past. However, he immediately became combative. I attempted to give him some guidance in managing his emotions, but he rejected that as well.

I'm sad to say that the argument became physical. Some blows were exchanged, but in the end, I was angry enough to strike him. I immediately felt very bad, and decided to offer him the government job on the spot. He rejected me again, and chose to leave very abruptly. I haven't had any contact with him since.

So, AITA?

Edit: Yes, I admit that to call it striking him was an understatement. To clarify, I cut off his hand.

Edit: However, I feel like it should be stated that I myself am a quadruple amputee and we have excellent healthcare.

Edit: I did not immediately identify myself as his father when we met. I think this was my mistake. I think he would have been much more receptive of my message had I done so. As it stands I only told him of our relationship after I had struck him.

Edit: My wife is not in the picture. To my knowledge she passed before his birth.

[msmoiraine]

the way that carmy made the best meal sydney has ever had and he just had a feeling on a whim to make it his own instead of the sanitized, stripped down and "othered" version that was basically stolen from him by his boss ("you know this is my dish now right"). he said "fennel allergy" when we know from the very first time that sydney cooked the family meal in the pilot episode and she made a fennel salad that he just made it up! the whole episode builds up how his boss has been insulting him and stripping his individuality away from his dish and you can tell he doesn't like it and you can tell that he thinks something is missing from the stolen dish and you can tell that he doesn't like serving what he's serving. so the one time that he follows his instincts and makes it how he wanted it and has it served that way is for sydney? and it was the best meal she ever had?? the bear is a love story!!

[ollyrewind]

The stars tell us of a great king. They rise, the pole star will ascend the heavens with the constellations of the king's namesake upon the higher cycles of the Earth, foretelling his rise and the golden age that he will bring. His age will go on and on and reach its peak in the far future when the pole star comes to occupy the truest central position in the heavens.

Like Every Tree Stands on Its Own by wonderful @mightybog

[punnifullife]

sorry i haven't posted in awhile! work started back up. here's some old sketches from June.

[whollyjoly]

hot in the day, hot in the night, hot as the coal coming to tread, light on your bed, here we go oh, listen whistle roll (baby the, the sun is getting low)

the bucktommy cowboy au nobody asked for part two (part one) (part three)

(song insp.)

[fear-is-truth]

this is my astrology chart.

credit: @/evanlicious via instagram

[entropyvoid]

So anyway my hot take about the bit where Sunday is taking you on a guided tour through a dramatic play about the history of Penacony is that the confusion of him narrating over the story so you can’t parse what’s goin on is that it’s actually an EXCELLENT creative choice in interactive storytelling actually, because that whole scene isn’t really about Penacony’s past, present, or future, it’s about cult programming. Sunday’s goal is not for you to witness a dramatization of Penacony’s history and form your own thoughts and opinions about it, his goal is a last ditch effort to get you to share HIS specific perspective.

He talks over the story to tell you what’s happening, giving his conclusions from the get-go and sometimes even saying things that seem to directly contradict what he’s speaking over, but by the time you can even parse it, it’s gone and you’re left with little to do but move on. It’s overwhelming and makes it very difficult to form a coherent thought about it, much less a proper refutation to his arguments. It is a tactic intended to melt your brain and repeatedly hit it with a hammer of his view - the only reasonable view. So reasonable that it doesn’t even seem to occur to him that someone might have an opposing interpretation that’s logical, (more on this later,) he’s not open to new ideas, he is so completely and utterly set in his philosophy that he takes a chance in trying to hold your hand through it and explain it to you because he believes that if he just talks you through it, you’ll see the light. He is trying to convert others into to accepting the Order. Inducing mental exhaustion combined with repeating a specific philosophy, backed with an narrative to make it feel credible over and over again until your brain is too fried to do anything but accept if is a pretty common brainwashing tactic. For the devs to actually manage to induce that direct feeling in the players within the safety of fiction is actually a really impressive feat.

And he probably isn’t even really taking the specific approach he does consciously, rather, he is likely repeating some of the tactics that Gopher Wood put him through. Gopher, probably the closest thing Sunday had to a parental figure after his mother’s death, is an entity with no physical form that’s practically nigh omniscient and omnipresent within the dreamscape, is able to take over the bodies of anyone within the Oak family (possibly without their knowledge or without them remembering it?) and has been looking after Sunday from a young age. Firstly, we see them employing very similar (conversational? Argumentative?) styles. From the scene about the rehabilitated bird, we see Gopher giving a very scientific but ultimately leading explanation of natural selection (and the inherent cruelty of nature that Sunday heavily internalizes and repeats further down the line,) then poses a question that seems very open: what do you want to do about it? What do you want to do with this fucked up little fledgling that can’t fly? In his inner world, Sunday presents you with this, and several other personal experiences intended to lead you to a particular answer, then calmly asks you what decision you would’ve made in his place, in a way very reminiscent of how Gopher himself spoke to Sunday and Robin.

Sunday’s answer, to build a cage for the bird so it could live”no matter what,” happens to have aligned pretty well with the philosophies of the Order, and the quick unfortunate end the bird met when it was later released solidified his desire to protect via control, and proved to be a very formative experience for him. I think it’s highly plausible that this an early illustration of Sunday’s cult grooming already taking root, or at the very least, of Gopher fishing for a kid who’s open and susceptible to it. Gopher, seemingly being Sunday’s sole direct conspirator, is almost certainly the one who guided him on the path of worshipping the Order, while also making Sunday feel like it was his idea.

We don’t see too much in the way of interactions between Gopher and Sunday beyond that, so we’ll have to fill in the gaps - but Gopher is shown to be constantly watching over the schemes Sunday is involved in via possession of birds long before we actually learn who he is. He is always there, always watching, he can instantly overtake the will of others (so long as they’re in the Oak family - but that’s abt 1/5th of Penacony’s population and the group Sunday is a part of and thus most surrounded by,) and despite seeming very calm and reasonable, he’s clearly not above shutting people down through direct metal suppression if their questions start to pose any kind of a threat. When Welt’s questions became too direct and poignant, leading to him and Robin realizing that Gopher and Sunday were followers of Ena rather than Xipe, Gopher quickly commands Sunday to use his own mental suppression powers on them (since they’re both outside of Gopher’s control,) and Sunday does not hesitate. I have to wonder - how many times has Gopher potentially used this on Sunday, or any of the people around Sunday who got a little too close to presenting him with ideas that challenged the Order’s philosophy? It would not only be extremely easy for him to isolate Sunday intellectually while retaining his status as the sole voice of reason, but also likely, given that protection through control and domination is kind of the whole theme of the Order. (Or at least - Gopher and Sunday’s interpretation of it.) We can thus extrapolate that Gopher may’ve likely used other tactics of manipulation and control on Sunday that we haven’t seen, but which Sunday may imitate, such as in the segment with him narrating over the play about Penacony’s history.

And Sunday, clearly, is extremely isolated, long before he tres to pull his little stunt that ends in him as the lone awake person in an eternal dreamworld. Aside from Gopher, who can’t really be called on and only shows up when he feels like it, the only person he has to confide in is his sister Robin, but Sunday has long since internalized his whole “the strong protect the weak, and they protect the weak through control” bit to the extent that he tries very hard to shelter her from the things he sees as dangerous and painful. He doesn’t tell her about what happened to the bird (though she figured it out on her own anyway,) he doesn’t tell her a damn thing about his lil Ena cult, and he most certainly does not tell her about his doubts, his troubles, or the emotional weight of hearing about the worst of humanity (like that guy who sold his kids for a ticket) through the confessional booth day in and day out with a script that just says “Xipe forgives you.”

And Robin is, frankly, way stronger and smarter than her brother seems to give her any damn credit for. She’s left Penacony to tour the universe, and she headed into a warzone to help in the process, got shot in the throat, and kept singing after recovery. She’s experienced so much more of the universe than Sunday has, she’s had actual conversations with people about their problems that were not one-sided and driven by some sort of ulterior motive. She’s been the first to pick apart his faulty logic or catch on to him hiding something every time, (whether she mentions it in the moment or not,) she was the first to realize something was wrong and wake up in the end, and she ultimately rallied everyone to save her brother from himself. Had Sunday confided in her, talked about deeper life philosophies with her, shared his thoughts and feelings with her, not been isolated or isolated himself from her, treated her like she was just as strong as he was, things may have turned out very different.

Who’s really more sheltered? Robin, or her brother who tried to protect her from it all?

[jay-wasreblogging]

At first I was like 'LMFAO HE FUNNY ASF WHY HE DOING ANGELS VOICE!!' cause bruh ain't no way he devious like that 😂

Then I got confused because ??? Wait is he fucking around or being serious right now? Huh?? Like I genuinely did not process that it was anything mentally/psychologically related until Watson started pleading. 😐

[lilvoyagercomics]

A couple of weeks ago, the Doctor and Seven had run an anonymous ship-wide efficiency survey. The survey, meant to solicit views across the ranks and departments on how to streamline efficiency and improve the operations of the ship, had quickly become - as Tom Paris called it - a “job satisfaction” survey.

“As I informed the Doctor when he drafted the questionnaire,” Seven had said, when she reported the survey results to senior staff, “The questions were too imprecisely drafted.”

The Doctor huffed, but something told Kathryn that he had known exactly what he was doing. In any case, instead of learning about where resources could be diverted from or shared between departments, the survey had revealed that just over 64% of the crew thought Neelix should take cooking lessons on the holodeck (Kathryn had expected that number to be much higher) and 82% wanted the ship to be fitted with a physical gym so they didn’t have to rely on the holodecks for their workouts (Kathryn should have thought of that herself).

What had come as a surprise, was the feedback that Seven and the Doctor had shared with her and Chakotay after the rest of the senior staff had been dismissed.

“Feedback on the command team is generally positive.” Seven began dispassionately.

“Only generally?” Kathryn teased. Chakotay glanced at her sharply and she knew that he could tell her humour masked real apprehension. Sure, Voyager operated under a hierarchy which meant that she could take, or leave, the crew’s feedback, but the wellbeing and happiness of her crew mattered to her. Heck, most - if not all - her decisions were driven by those very factors!

“Generally.” Seven confirmed with a nod of her head, oblivious to Kathryn’s discomfort. “89% of the crew think that the command team strike the right balance between exploration and journeying home. The remaining 11% are largely compromised of the original Starfleet crew.” Seven looked between Kathryn and Chakotay. “As opposed to former Maquis,” she clarified.

Kathryn snuck a glance at Chakotay. “We don’t need to draw that distinction, Seven. Please move on.”

“It is an interesting observation,” Seven pressed on, keen to justify herself. “Logic dictates that the Maquis would be most dissatisfied given that they did not sign up for a life of space exploration.”

Kathryn snuck another glance at Chakotay. “Let’s move on, Seven,” she repeated more firmly, leaving no room for doubt that this was not a suggestion.

“Very well. 94% of the crew are uncertain if they are permitted to pursue interpersonal relationships with one another.”

“That’s a very high number.” The Doctor chimed in and Kathryn had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “Surely you can see how this would be a problem. We have another 40 years left in our journey and skilled as I may be, I cannot keep you all alive for that long. This needs to be a generational ship.”

Kathryn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, hoping that Chakotay would jump in. “Interpersonal relationships?” she asked, stalling. “You mean romantic relationships?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a smirk on Chakotay’s face.

“You are correct, Captain. The crew believes that you and the Commander would not approve were they to enter into romantic relationships onboard Voyager.”

Kathryn crossed her arms and glanced over at Chakotay once more. He was staring at a spot just beyond the Doctor’s right ear, a neutral, if not slightly bemused expression plastered on his face. Big help he was. As far as she was concerned, interpersonal relationships fell squarely within his purview.

“The crew doesn’t need our permission to enter into interpersonal relationships. The rules don’t prohibit this, they just ask that those relationships be disclosed so that conflicts of interest can be monitored and managed.”

“But neither you, nor the Commander, are in a relationship.”

Kathryn stood and moved to stand behind her chair. She felt the colour rising in her cheeks. This time, she couldn’t bring herself to look at Chakotay. “I don’t see what that has to do with this.”

“The crew follow your lead, Captain,” the Doctor explained gently. “They look to you to establish the culture onboard the ship.”

“So you mean to tell me everyone on this ship is single and celibate?” Kathryn asked, her voice sounding shrill to her own ears. “All because the Commander and I…”

“That’s not what they’re saying, Captain.” Chakotay spoke up at last. “They’re saying that the crew don’t feel like they can be open about the relationships that they are in.”

Kathryn scowled at him. Whose side was he on, anyway? “I find that hard to believe. Tom and B’Elanna are open about the status of their relationship, as are… are…” Kathryn sighed and sunk back into her seat. “So what you’re telling me is that we need to force ourselves into relationships for the good of the crew.”

“Why can’t you just acknowledge that you are already in a relationship?” Seven asked, confusion clearly written on her face.

“I - I - What?!” Kathryn spluttered.

“The characteristics to identify whether two or more people are in a romantic relationship,” Seven began and Kathryn got the sense that she was reciting from one of her recent social lessons with the Doctor, “include: one, body language - a noticeable level of closeness not shared with others, such as leaning toward each other when talking, maintaining eye contact, and being more relaxed when together. You and the Commander often walk unnecessarily close given the size of Voyager’s corridors and are more attentive when the other speaks.

Two, frequent physical contact. I have observed, Captain, that whilst you are a tactile person, you are 74% more likely to touch the Commander if compared to other crewmen. Gestures such as the squeeze of a shoulder, grasp of an arm, or cupping of the cheek - all of which I’ve observed between you - indicate a comfort level beyond commanding officers and friends and desire to maintain physical contact in spaces or situations where it may not be appropriate to engage in a more public display of affection.

Three, shared spaces. You and the Commander spend most, if not all, your free time together. If I’m not mistaken, unless one of you has alternative plans or in the event of a ship-wide emergency, it is given that you will have dinner together. You attend ship functions together and when one of you is injured, the other spends most of their off duty time by their bedside.

Additionally, I have observed, Captain, that you tend to hesitate for an additional 12.7 seconds when determining whether to send the Commander on an away mission, if compared to other crewmen. You are also more agitated when-“

Kathryn held her hands up. “Enough, Seven! I get the picture.” She felt the colour rising to her cheeks. Whilst Seven’s evidence wasn’t exactly damning, taken in the round it certainly had the potential to be incriminating and Kathryn wasn’t sure how to proceed. Deliberately avoiding looking over Chakotay, who she knew would be no help whatsoever, she pinched the bridge of her nose and gathered every ounce of authority she could muster. “The Commander and I have a very close working relationship. He is my best friend. And I don’t appreciate you, or the crew, speculating about the status of our relationship and how we choose to spend our free time.”

Her eyes fell on the Doctor. “And you,” she said, even more scathingly. “Should know better. Dismissed.”

As Seven and the Doctor all but scurried out of the briefing room, Chakotay turned to Kathryn with a wide grin on his face. “Honestly, Kathryn, you have got to learn to keep your hands off me when we’re on duty.”

[jone-slugger]

As someone who got into science fiction later in life, I find it quite comforting to see that there are still a lot of people obsessing and discussing about tv shows that were on the air 30 years ago.

It makes me feel much less alone, and connected to a whole group of people who, like me, find some of these stories and characters so compelling they can't not talk about them and share their love for the narratives.

And that's the power of fiction, of stories that make us feel closer to our humanity and to humanity in general.

[marlynnofmany]

Stars and the Slapping Thereof

If the last spaceport had been a flat parking lot kind of place, this one reminded me of a hollow skyscraper made for birds. I don’t know how the whole thing stayed up, honestly; the walls were more open air than anything else. Spaceships parked at every level. Elevators and gravity tubes zipped around vertically, while moving sidewalks spun in opposite directions.

From where our ship sat, I had a fine view of a mixed-species group in teal uniforms all trying to crowd onto the inner sidewalk ring at the same time. They moved off to the right with only minor awkwardness. Behind the ship, I heard the unmistakable sound of a human falling over and swearing about it, most likely after stepping on the other ring accidentally.

Not that I’ve ever done that, mind you. Nooooo, not a bit of personal experience with undignified pratfalls.

“Is that— No, that isn’t them,” Paint said, paying attention to something completely different. “I hope there will still be a spot near us when they get here.” She rubbed her knuckles together in agitation, orange scales clicking.

Zhee flicked an antenna. “Kamm is always punctual,” he said. “It will be fine.”

I leaned out of the ship’s shadow to count the empty spots. “We can always go stand in one to reserve it for her.” I reconsidered. “Right? Or do the pilots land too quickly here?”

Zhee was saying something disparaging about the general population’s safety awareness when a hoverchair separated from the crowd and whirred up to us. The driver was a pale human with glittery star crystals in his dark hair, thin legs that clearly didn’t get much use, and bare feet. The toenail polish was even more galaxy-patterned than his hair. Stylish. He called out as soon as he was within polite speaking range.

“Is this the Unflattenable?” he asked, pointing at our ship.

I looked up and back. “Oh! No, but it’ll be here soon. We’re waiting for it too.”

“Ah,” he said. “Sorry. Your ship looks a lot like it.”

Zhee didn’t move, looking in both directions with his big bug eyes. “Same manufacturers,” he said.

Paint was more enthusiastic. “We haven’t seen them in forever!” she told the man. “They’re going to help us deliver a bunch of stuff in one trip.”

The man nodded. “They’re bringing cargo for me. I hoped they’d be here by now.”

“Should be soon,” I said, peering around at the many directions a ship could approach from. No sign of another lemon-looking craft with solar sails.

He nodded again. Everyone was awkwardly silent for a moment. A distant ship landed with a thump of faulty thrusters. Pedestrians on both sidewalks held loud conversations as they slid past.

“So what’s your ship called?” the man asked.

Zhee straightened up. “This is the good ship—”

Paint beat him to it. “Slap the Stars! Isn’t that a great name?”

The man burst into laughter, then apologized at the angry tilt to Zhee’s antennae. “Sorry. I love it. I’m not much of a spacer, and I keep being surprised by some of the names that ships have around here.”

“That is a perfectly normal name,” Zhee told him with an abrupt motion of one pincher. “Strongarm manufacturers. It is human ships that have the truly absurd titles.”

I grinned at him. “You’re still not over the droid jousting ship Hold My Beer, are you?”

Zhee’s tone was extremely dry. “I will never be over that.”

“I saw some great ones earlier!” Paint said, unfolding a screen and connecting to the port’s public information hub. “Let’s see, there’s the Glorious.”

“A fine Mesmer name,” Zhee put in.

“The Deep Thrum; I like that. Might be Frillian? Oh, and there’s the human warship Funwrecker.”

I laughed. “Yup, definitely human.”

“And the Better Than You.”

“That could really be either human or Mesmer,” I said with a look at Zhee.

Zhee flexed his pinchers, looking haughty. “It all depends on whether it is true.”

Paint kept reading. “What about the Solar Flare? That could be anybody.”

“Heatseeker,” Zhee said. “Solar flares are hot.”

Paint, a Heatseeker herself, scoffed quietly. “Not everything is about heat.”

“Don’t most Heatseeker ships have food names?” I asked with a glance at the other human, who was following all this with open curiosity. “Pretty sure Captain Sunlight has family with a ship called the Worm Jerky.”

“I guess they do,” Paint said thoughtfully. “It’s a good luck thing. I didn’t realize it was that common.” She looked back at the screen. “Oh, and that might explain this other ship called the Raw Flesh.”

The human spoke up at that. “The what?”

I held up both hands. “It’s got to be a translation issue. A food thing. Some specific uncooked dish. Like sushi?”

The human just shook his head and made a face like he’d tasted something unpleasant.

“There’s also the Conqueror of the Next Ocean,” Paint offered. “That one’s probably Strongarm.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” I said. “They’re so proud of crawling out of their first ocean.”

“Strongarms are the ones with tentacles, right?” the human asked.

“Right,” I told him. “They look kind of like an octopus or a squid.”

“You said your ship was designed by Strongarms? What was it called again?”

“Slap the Stars,” I said. “Strongarms do slap a number of things with those tentacles. It’s a fun bit of sass in a ship name.”

“It’s not sass,” Zhee said scornfully. “It’s an intent to master all things, whether the things want to be mastered or not. Very admirable confidence.”

Paint looked up in distress. “I thought it was a game!” she said. “Something with pebbles on a table, right? Isn’t that a thing?”

The door to our ship opened to admit the scaly yellow form of Captain Sunlight. I turned to her for answers. “Hello, Captain! Can you tell us what the name of our ship actually means?”

Unflappable as ever, the good captain barely quirked a browridge as she walked over to join us. “Something about slapping stars, I imagine,” she said. “I always thought of it as a nod to the way damp tentacles can put out sparks of flame without getting burned.”

I threw my hands skyward in mock exasperation.

Captain Sunlight kept talking. “But then, I’m not a Strongarm. Let me ask one.” She spoke into her communicator, addressing the pilot on duty. “Wio, what is the Strongarm association with slapping stars?”

Faint and tinny, Wio’s voice said, “Pretty sure it’s something about gathering food. Spiky ones. I don’t know; I’m from a different planet.”

The human was chuckling quietly to himself at this point, while Zhee looked grumpy and Paint scrolled through more names for clues. Captain Sunlight glanced at me.

“Looks like we’ll just have to ask someone who was actually there when the ship was named,” she said, nodding toward the next dock. “Here she is.”

A bright yellow ship with folded solar sails came in to rest beside ours, remarkably stealthy when I wasn’t paying attention. The other human said a quick goodbye to us before scooting over to wait for the hatch to open.

As eager as we were to see the crew again after long last, we kept a professional distance while they did business. A pair of Heatseekers brought out the human’s crate — a fancy model with its own hover engine — and a Strongarm tactfully proffered the payment tablet.

Then Captain Kamm herself appeared, in all her deep green glory, with a polite greeting for the human and an enthusiastic wave of several tentacles toward us. “Hello over there! It’s been too long!”

“It has!” Captain Sunlight said, strolling over while the human handed back the tablet and hitched the crate to the back of his chair. I followed, with Zhee and Paint right behind. Captain Sunlight continued. “We’ve got a burning question for you. What was the original meaning behind our ship name? We seem to have come up with several. I’d ask Pockap, but…”

“But he’s far away, and also an idiot,” Captain Kamm finished, speaking about her cousin with complete honesty. He’d only been in charge for the very beginning of my time on the ship, and “idiot” was generous.

“As you say,” Captain Sunlight agreed.

“Well, if I recall correctly, it was actually inspired by a human thing,” said Captain Kamm.

“What?” I blurted. In my peripheral vision, the other human paused before going on his way.

“That thing you do,” Captain Kamm said, waving a tentacle. “Slapping each other in camaraderie.”

“We what?” I repeated, sharing a baffled look with the other guy.

Captain Kamm waved the one tentacle again, then flopped two against each other, making a wet sound. “You know,” she said. “You slap hands. Very friendly. The idea was to bring that kind of cheerful energy to the stars.”

I held my hands apart, thinking of applause, then it hit me. “Oh! Do you mean a high five?” I turned and demonstrated; the other human matched it perfectly.

“Yes!” Captain Kamm said. “That! That’s what your ship is named for!”

I laughed; I couldn’t help it. Zhee made an opinionated hiss while Paint exclaimed that that was much better than the game explanation.

“Glad I could be a part of this,” said the human. “See you around! May you slap many stars.”

“The same to you!” I said, waving as he steered onto the walkway. “Hooray for solving a mystery that we didn’t realize needed solving.”

“Those are the best kind,” said Paint, and I had to agree.

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come!

[obessivedork]

Once again thinking about a Castelss Brosca kid gnashing and clawing and fighting and half the reason the blight ends as fast as it does with as many people intact as it does is because they've had to learn to be tough and fight as a casteless street nug so they've got an endless amount of tenacity and spite in them to get shit done. Also they can't fucking read.

[inquisitor-apologist]

Out of all of the MANY missed opportunities and shit in the Ahsoka show, I think one of the biggest was not exploring the really unique time period that the galaxy is in at all.

Like, think about it. The Ahsoka series takes place in ~10 ABY. The Rebellion is gone. The Galactic Civil War is over. The New Republic has established itself. The last Imperial remnants have been driven all the way out into the Outer Rim. People are rebuilding. The First Order and Imperial resurgence is still pretty far off.

The galaxy in Ahsoka is about as peaceful as it ever gets in the main timeline. And they do nothing with it.

What does peace feel like for Ahsoka, who was forced to fight literally every war in the past ~35 years just for being force-sensitive? (Drafted into the Clone Wars, fighting for survival during the Imperial and Rebellion Years, probably returning to the fight in the Civil War because she’s one of the last Jedi/trained force-sensitives) How does she deal with not having a fight she needs to help with? How does she move on from an entire life of exhausting, terrifying war? How does she look at the Jedi coming back, knowing that they’ll never be the Order she chose to leave at 16? Does she want to come back, but not know how? Is she afraid of returning because she knows that there’s no one left to recognize her?

What about Hera, who dedicated her entire life to a war that’s won? The ongoing struggle that defined her childhood, her teenage years, the first two decades of her adulthood is… over. The Republic she fought for, the Republic she gave everything to restore, is restored. How does she adjust to serving in peace? Does the reality of the New Republic compare to the ideal she did it all for? How does she look back on a whole life as a soldier, knowing that it can be over now, if she wants it to be? Is she even able to accept that it’s over, or is she constantly looking for the next threat, the hidden, upcoming war?

And Sabine, who sacrificed her teenage years to the Rebellion, probably her 20s to the Civil War, how does she deal with living on a Lothal that’s long since moved past the need for a protector, in a galaxy that’s completely unrecognizable without a battle to fight? Does she look back at the Rebellion, the Rebels years, as the good old days? Does the rest of her life feel empty and dull without the constant rush of a desperate, uphill war? How does she reconcile a New Republic without Mandalore? How does she feel about the future she always envisioned missing the people she rebelled for in the first place?

But no, Felony was like: Ahsoka sad :( and unemotional bc Vader. Hera smart and 💯% justified about Thrawn. Everyone else just stupid and hates her. Sabine conflicted bc Not Jedi & misses Ezra. Whole family dead 💀 but let’s not focus on that.

Like, come on.

[soularsss]

your local angsty jedi beats up social outcast (brief one shot under tha cut)

I haven't drawn Mei in a while! Her and Law are currently going through a bit of an overhaul and Im also trying to place the story, open up below the cut for the brief story of how this happens :D

In all fairness, she did not want any part in the mission. The rebels had it in their minds that an infiltration of a meeting between the Crimson Dawn and the Pykes was a brilliant idea! A transfer of goods what going to be discussed and they wanted to hijack the information so that they could steal some weapons or supplies or something... to be honest Mei had stopped listening at that point.

They didn't seem to quite grasp who was at the top of the food chain, she tried suggest that they err on the side of caution, but even Mei didn't think he would actually be there himself. So when they went through with the plans anyway, she thought tagging along would be the safest thing for everyone.

"When shit goes sideways, she will be the one to pull us out" Law had said when the others asked why she was tagging along (they'd gotten used to her staying at base and keeping a broader eye on things)

-----------

"You seem a little out of your depth" Maul sneered as he looked over the group of rebels he had cornered in one of the long dark hallways of the Crimson Dawn hq

"Meh" Law offered, "Don't think we've ever been in our depth"

Maul paused, a little taken aback by the immediate yield from his opponents, something seems off though, the air had gone cold, and it was almost as if he could hear the growl of a lightsaber behind him-

"fuc-"

[alrightbuckaroo]

love and lizards: a collection of tarlos stories that delve into their love/hate relationship with their scaly friends.

you, me, and the lizard makes three

While TK is away in New York City for a short trip, Carlos is left to care for Lou II, feeding him mealworms and all. What starts as something that feels akin to pulling teeth ends up becoming an exploration into just how much love Carlos realizes he has to give. Even if he didn't realize it, at first. or A story in which Carlos goes through the "dad with the pet he never wanted" to the "dad with the pet he can't live without" pipeline.

all's fair in love and lizards

Love comes in many shapes and forms; and sometimes, that form is a stuffed novelty toy at a carnival game

hooked on you

“Nancy,” Nancy looks up at the call of her name. TK is standing in front of her, both hands on his hips. Nancy releases a thin sigh. “Oh no.” Nancy knows what that pose means. TK’s upset. After finishing off the last sip of her coffee, Nancy asks. “What’s wrong?” “I’m upset.” TK announces as he takes space in the empty seat next to her. or Carlos is hiding something from TK and that secret might just include crochet hooks.

[chaosk1ng]

I like the idea of Isaac Clarke constantly being on edge for different crossovers cause there’s no way in hell he would be okay with seeing aliens, military or “magic” in any universe after the whole thing with necromorphs and markers.

I can’t lie and say that I don’t think of this every once in a while. I do and usually it’s because I think of scenarios that are hilarious to envision. One of the most recent ones is a Star Wars one. I can see it at any point in time in Star Wars (I’m ignoring the Sequels because I forget they exist and couldn’t care less about them) and see it as the end of the remake since it was the only one I’ve played so far.

I like the thought that people would assume he’s a Mandalorian Jedi or something. The man only has his suit and weapons that aren’t even meant for combat, and is surrounded by planets and beings that he knows nothing about. Not only does he have this going but he can slow down areas and move objects seemingly with a flick of his wrist to anyone who sees him use the stasis or kinesis modules by chance. He would have to wear his suit whether he likes it or not but would probably prefer it since he would be on edge because of his most recent experience and would want to be protected from any harm.

Anyway, he would likely travel around in confusion, fully suited, and may only take off his helmet when in the ship he used to get away from Aegis VII. Depending on where on the timeline he is placed, people will either think he’s a new type of mandalorian, Jedi, both, or something inspired by them, I’m thinking this one for pre empire. If this is during or after the empire then he could be seen as a new version of mandalorians or someone who is like a weird amalgamation of both, or trying to be both. I don’t think a lot of people really know what qualifies as a mandalorian or Jedi since in the Mandalorian, Din is told to go to Mos Pelgo because there might be a mandalorian but ended up being Cobb and Jedi are pretty much seen as myths and are essentially extinct.

This ties into the post empire line of thought. I know that there are ways to get him to interact with characters from Star Wars but this is one of the only ones that feel kinda natural. For this one I can see him meeting Din because of the reason I mentioned before. He could be seen around enough that people think he might be a mandalorian, Jedi or both. I see it taking place during the first or second season of the Mandalorian when Din is looking for both a Jedi and Mandalorians. Something could happen that leads him to finding a lead to another mandalorian, who might be a Jedi, traveling alone.

He could eventually find Isaac after much difficulty because there is no way in hell Isaac would spend much time around aliens, he would probably only do some jobs here and there to make some money in this new universe to survive. Isaac could get used to the new species over time as he does more jobs which are probably based on engineering or maybe a little bounty hunting but not as much since he wouldn’t be that good at it. The engineering jobs would get him familiar with the technology of this universe, he could probably use some of his skills and use them to adjust certain things to be operated kinda like the tech of his universe.

On the topic of Isaac experiencing his new universe, he would likely still use the tools he uses in Dead Space. He would only have experience using his tools and not any other type of weapon so he likely wouldn’t use weapons of any kind. He would probably get a blaster just in case but never really use it, maybe reverse engineer it or try to understand how tech in this universe worked. Maybe because of his weapons and modules that people start taking note of him, aside from his unique suit.

Anyway, Din would hear about this somehow and would eventually find this dude who is barely seen. Depending on what part of the series this takes place, he can either think Isaac is another type of mandalorian if he’s already met Bo-Katan, or think he’s another person posing as a mandalorian if it’s after Cobb but before Bo-Katan.

Both Din and Isaac would be confused as hell regardless, this is a good way for them to learn about each other and become acquaintances. This could either lead to the two talking every once in a while or become partners of sorts with Isaac joining Din on his mission and using any ties he may have created to try and help. Either way, Isaac would be a good ally for Din to have and could help him a lot in situations like with that spider thing when he’s transporting the frog woman, or something as important as Din fighting Gideon. On the note of the spiders, Isaac by now has a lot of experience shooting off legs and tiny babies that can climb and shoot things at him. Maybe he tells Din about that fact and both confuses and concerns him if Isaac doesn’t really tell him about the Ishimura and the necromorphs.

I think that Din would be interested in Isaac’s weapons and how his suit works since they have nothing like them or the RIG he has. They could learn more about each other this way and about their respective universes. Isaac can learn about things like beskar, blasters, tech, Mandalorians (Mostly, if not completely, about Children of the Watch), and maybe some tips or stories Din has collected during his time bounty hunting. In turn, Din can learn about Earth, RIGs, how Isaac’s weapons work, and eventually things like the Ishimura, Necromorphs, Nicole, Unitology, the Marker and such. Either way, these things would happen as they get closer and more comfortable together.

Sudden thought, Grogu can get two dads by the beginning of the show and gets spoiled like hell by both, can’t convince me otherwise. Both Din and Isaac would probably just co parent rather than see each other in a romantic light in the beginning if anything. Isaac would’ve just come to terms with Nicole’s death and would be grieving or repressing it so it would be too early for that type of relationship. Regardless of where in time the two meet, Din likely wouldn’t feel ready at all for that type of thing since he was mostly occupied bounty hunting before he got Grogu. They don’t have to get together but honestly it would be kinda cute to see now that I think about it. The two would probably get together sometime during or after season two since season one can be used to get them close enough to be comfortable enough to be kinda reluctant to stop traveling together.

Another thought was if the two met right after Din gets Grogu and has the Razor Crest stripped. Isaac is confused but decides to help the man and the weird child out so he can find someplace to get supplies. Once they get to Navarro, the two part and after Din decides to go back for the child, he could run into Isaac and get his help getting the child back or run into him as he’s trying to escape. Either way, Isaac would be stuck with Din cause he would follow him to his ship and help get the child out. Regardless of how and when they meet, I can see Grogu getting two dads.

Instead of a clan of two it would be a clan of three. I can see Isaac being extremely happy about this after everything since he now has people he cares for and will fight for in this new universe. In turn, Din would be happy to have a family, a child he cares for but is willing to give up for the child’s wellbeing but willing to go to great lengths to protect and a partner that is more than willing to go the same lengths for the child and can fight with weapons no one else has. The three of them would be a good family for each other and would be heartbroken to eventually let go of each other when Luke takes the child.

Luke doesn’t have to take the child but if he does then both Din and Isaac would have each other to help ease the pain and would be there for each other. Din can still get the N-1 or they can use Isaac’s ship if they still have it. It would be useful because it’s pretty much untraceable since it’s not from that galaxy and could have parts added at this point to have parts normal ships would have. It has enough space for the two of them and the child when they get him back in bobf.

Speaking of, Boba and Fennec would have some opinions about the two. I see it as mostly judgment, both Din and Isaac would probably think it’s because of their choice in partners or something but in reality be because of their lack of knowledge about a lot of things. Imagine the four of them in Boba’s palace and maybe someone mentions Jabba and Isaac is like, “how did this jabba dude die?” and Din saying something like “not sure, heard he got killed by a slave girl or something. Don’t know, wasn’t really important for my bounty at the time.” But yeah, I think the four would get along but the judgment is real but they care for their idiot friends.

I don’t think Isaac would become a mandalorian, even if he ends up with Din. He would acknowledge that he’s kinda like them but he couldn’t commit to something like that, not even to Din’s way. I think the whole thing with Unitology, his mom, and Nicole kinda ruined any chance he would follow something like that or anything that might resemble a religion, cult, or a certain way of life. I think he would be like Boba, he is kinda like a mando, looks the part and acts it but doesn’t commit himself to it or follow any way, just respects it.

I think the Armorer wouldn’t really care if Din ends up with Isaac if he is already part of his clan but Paz would need convincing and would probably judge Din for getting with an outsider. I can see Paz challenging Isaac in a fight or seeing him do something that might gain his respect. If Isaac helped Din rescue the child and helped get him out of Nevarro then I can see Paz already respecting Isaac and being satisfied with Din ending up with Isaac since he’s already proved himself to him and the others that day. I can see Isaac coming with Din and when he finally finds the two but he doesn’t have to be there.

It’d be funny if at that point they weren’t together and both the Armorer and Paz are both judging and disapproving how long he has been with Isaac but not even trying to get with him. They would already know about how good of a choice Isaac would be as a partner and try to make him realize it. This could be a way that Don realizes he likes Isaac romantically. I know Paz probably wouldn’t be interested in Isaac but he’d probably help by saying or implying that he would go for Isaac if Din didn’t.

Maybe Din doesn’t realize right away, he can get upset at the thought of Isaac ending up with someone else or Paz. He could question why he’s so upset at the idea and thinks that he should be happy for Isaac if that happens. After that Paz can try to hit on Isaac if they meet or send gifts that he knows would upset Din, maybe tell a few childhood stories of the two when they were younger. Din gets upset and starts to think about what would happen if Paz or someone else did succeed in getting with Isaac.

He would lose another presence that he has gotten used to being around, he would lose the last of his clan of three, regardless if Isaac is a part of the clan or unofficially a part of it. If he and Isaac are using Isaac’s ship then he would likely have to get a new one and move out. If Isaac got with someone, he would talk to him less and would eventually stop completely because he no longer has any reason to be around him, Isaac was only with him to help with the child and he’s gone. Even if he didn’t get with anyone, he likely wouldn’t get with Din since he probably would’ve mentioned Nicole at this point and likely wouldn’t be interested in men if he doesn’t really respond to Paz’s courting.

When Din thinks of this, he thinks about how it would affect his future and realizes he wouldn’t know what to do, just like now, because he couldn’t see a future without him or the child anymore. He has grown used to them to the point that losing both of them would tear him apart, he would be listless, a shadow of what he used to be. Din would be even more lost than he already was and didn’t really realize how much he loves Isaac and now thinks he has a chance of losing him forever if he can’t get him to stay. He would probably feel stupid for not realizing it earlier and try his best to woo Isaac, even if he’s not interested in men, not knowing that he already loves him.

He would try his best when it comes to it but he wouldn’t be good at it since he lived in the sewers and doesn’t know how people in Isaac’s world court each other so he’s just fumbling, Isaac thinks it’s charming. Isaac probably realized he loved Din long ago and tried to flirt with Din or express his feelings by giving him little trinkets or weapons and try his best to court him in a way a mandalorian might like but, like Din, he doesn’t know how courting works for them. He probably tried a few times and got no response cause Din didn’t know he was trying to hit on him and thought he was being friendly. Grogu probably knew, he was either told by Isaac or felt it from the force and tried his best to help but Din was dense and didn’t realize. He probably gave up on it and decided to cherish his time with the two of them until Din found someone he would want to settle with. He just hoped that if Din kept the child he would still be able to visit the two.

Isaac would find Din’s new behavior charming but would be saddened because he would think he’s either trying to let him down softly, make him feel better after his attempts, or softening the news of Din possibly leaving. He would probably confront him about it before Din confesses and would think he’s trying to make him feel better but hope it’s true. He would tell Don straight that he stopped going after him because he thought he wasn’t interested when he was trying and didn’t want to pursue something that would lead to nothing.

Din would probably feel like a bigger idiot and lets Isaac know he is more than interested, that he couldn’t see his future with anyone else, he couldn’t see it without him in it and that he didn’t realize it until after Paz and the Armorer let their opinions about it known and when Paz stated he would court him. The two would get together and eventually get the child back. I feel like this would happen but I can see them getting together before the end of season 2 as well.

That aside, Isaac meeting Ahsoka would be interesting. She’d be very confused about why this Mandalorian’s friend can slow people down and move objects despite not being force sensitive. He might give a brief explanation to her about the stasis and kinetic modules but not a lot of details since he tries to keep them hidden. Isaac would probably explain that he has a limited supply that he can use since that universe doesn’t have the shop options there. He would’ve had to make something to replicate the ammo for his weapons and would’ve taken longer for something to replenish the stasis to be made.

Luke and Isaac meeting would be interesting but not even Din really meets him, only sees him when he takes Grogu. Luke learning about Isaac from Ahsoka would be interesting. She only knows a little about Isaac, has seen him fight and knows a little of what he’s capable of but something is off about him. He’s close to the mandalorian and child but the force is off about him, he’s completely null in the force. The force doesn’t touch him, it’s like he isn’t there but they know he is, Ahsoka has seen him kill people, interact with them, she knows he’s there but he just isn’t force-wise. He’s an anomaly, and both Ahsoka and Luke are curious but will leave him be.

I forgot about Cobb, Cara and Greef so imma speed run. If Din meets Isaac before Cobb he would be a big help when it comes to dealing with the Krayt dragon since he defeated things like the Leviathan, the Leviathan Remnant and the Hive Mind. This is to say that Cobb would like Isaac. Cara and Greef would like him since he can handle both the child and the Mandalorian and see him as their wrangler. Maybe when Grogu force chokes Cara he steps in instead of Din and stops him and teaches him a little he knows from his kinetic module and how to tell friend from foe, when something is serious or not. Greef would only really know Isaac from the glimpses of him he sees but likes him since he is close with Din and Grogu and shows how he would go to great lengths for them both. When they do properly meet, he likes him since he helped him against the Imps and chooses to stick with Din despite being offered a place like both Din and Cara. He thinks the two are a couple people should be scared of with how well they work together and how protective they are of each other and their green child. Overall, all three of them like Isaac and all think they're already together at that point and probably laughed their asses off when they did get together.

I can’t do anything past bobf since I stopped watching the Mandalorian after season 3 episode 3. My rant had spilled and now I don’t remember my original thought process and now I’m shipping Din and Isaac. Goddamn it, I need to stop thinking.