#we belong to the stars sequel

[summahsunlight]

The Light of a Thousand Stars, Ch. 6

Rating: T

Word Count: 2437

Pairing: Poe/Skywalker!OC

Summary: Commander Dameron and Black Squadron’s continued search for Lor San Tekka brings them closer and closer to danger and exposing the First Order as a sinister threat. A new pilot on the team threatens their tight dynamic and although Poe is trying to desperately keep them together, he knows that at some point Evelyn and Kaleb are going to have to go their separate ways–to find their father and bring him back to the Resistance. Sequel to We Belong to the Stars.

Finally getting around to updating my fics!

"Are you allowed to be seen with me now that your girlfriend isn't hanging around?"

Poe straightened his shoulders. The implication by Suralinda that he was controlled by Evelyn was somewhat unnerving. "I just came to see how you were doing."

Suralinda smiled at him, sarcastically. "I've been regulated to janitorial duties--you tell me how I'm doing, Commander." She pushed her cleaning bucket away with the tip of her boot. "I'd be doing better if I could actually pilot something."

He shook his head. "You know why you can't."

She scowled at him. "I've seen how depleted your ranks are, Dameron. You need me."

"Nobody trusts you, Sura. I can't put you in a cockpit if no one trusts you."

"Do you trust me, Poe?"

Poe stalled; he knew that he shouldn't trust her after what happened on Pheryon, especially since she so easily put Evelyn's life in danger, but there was all their history flying together before that. He couldn't just forget about all the times she did have his back. "It doesn't matter what I think," he said, softly. "Final say comes from the General."

Suralinda sighed, angrily. "Which means I'll never do anything more than push a mop around this place. Sad, because if you had just come alone like I had asked of you, and not brought the Jedi princess along--I might have been able to gain the General's trust eventually." 

He bristled, unable to cover up his protective nature of Evelyn or his anger. "That Jedi princess is essential to the survival of the galaxy; without her we might all be imprisoned at First Order labor camps for the rest of our lives," Poe snapped. "I don't know about you, but that's a future I don't want to be a part of."

"Did I strike a nerve?"

"Yeah. You did."

"Realize that girl could slice you in half with a lightsaber."

"Sure. But I'm not worried; she hasn't used it in so long."

Narrowing her eyes, Suralinda stared at him. This intrigued her; a force user as powerful as Evelyn that didn't use her lightsaber. She had not encountered very many Jedi in her life time, mainly because they had been wiped out by the Empire, but she knew how much they did cherish their weapon. "Why not?"

Poe took a step back and leaned against a bulkhead, recalling Kaleb coaxing Evelyn to let him have her saber--after he and Poe had stumbled upon her attempting to dismantle it and destroy it.  "Hasn't used it since the Knights of Ren killed all the Jedi on Yavin."

Suralinda felt some anger melt away. It had been right before she mustered out of the Navy, but she'd seen the intel holos, the death and destruction--she had been told just like everyone else to keep their mouth shut and that it was a band of pirates looting the old temples that slaughtered the Jedi. What a load of shit that had been. "That was almost six years ago."

"To her, it might as well have been yesterday," he responded.

"Lucky for us she had the weapon on Pheryon," she said.

It was lucky for them; but Poe had noticed Evelyn carrying the weapon long before they had traveled to Pheryon. He just knew that you didn't talk about it with her. "Maybe it was some instinct she had to bring it with her."

Brow furrowed, Suralinda glanced at him. He knew more than he was letting on; she had already pressed him enough--for today at least. As luck would have it anyways, he was being paged to report to the command center. "Sounds like the General's got a mission for you."

Poe would be surprised by that since they had not assigned a replacement pilot for while Evelyn was away. "Sounds like it. See ya around."

Suralinda frowned as he turned his back and walked away. "See ya around, Dameron."

****

Evelyn always preferred the challenge of flying a ship like the Falcon over her aunt's state of the art yacht. However, the bunks were much more comfortable and the cockpit wasn't as cramped. 

C3P-O certainly didn't whine as much on the Mirror Bright. 

Kaleb was the one doing the most whining that Leia had sent the protocol droid along with the Skywalker siblings. "Tell me again why you're here, Threepio?"

"Princess Leia thought I might be able to help you translate any ancient Jedi texts."

"Our dad taught us that."

"Then the princess must not have been aware that Master Luke had already instructed you in those skills."

"Probably not; the Jedi wasn't a subject of conversation when Aunt Leia and Uncle Han came to visit. But we're looking for Dad, not Jedi texts."

"I am not sure why the princess sent me with you then."

"Neither am I, Threepio. Which is why I asked in the first place!"

Laughing to herself, Evelyn eyed the navicomputer. Unlike Poe, her brother always deferred to letting her fly; according to Kaleb she was the better pilot after all. She made an adjustment and turned in her chair towards her brother and the protocol droid. "We should be pulling out of hyperspace in about fifteen minutes. Maybe you can make yourself useful, Threepio and tell us a little bit about the planet."

Kaleb threw her a look as C-3PO launched into a history lecture. "Of course, Mistress Evelyn! Jedha is actually a moon, known for it's natural abundance of kybor crystal--which is the entire reason that the Jedi--and then eventually the Empire--took interest in it. I do believe that since the destruction of the Holy City by the Empire, the moon has remained vastly unpopulated. Not many survived the destruction, sadly. It wiped out any religions that still followed the teachings of the Jedi and the Force."

Evelyn leaned back, recalling something her father had once taught her. "The Guardians of the Whilis?"

Threepio enthusiastically acknowledged her. "Yes! One of the religions anyways, there were also followers of the Church of the Force in the Holy City. Again, many of them were killed when the Empire destroyed the city with the Death Star."

"Didn't know the Death Star could just destroy cities."

"Grand Moff Tarkin was just waiting for the more opportune time to demonstrate it's full fire power."

"Hmmm...Alderaan was indeed a bigger statement."

"I have traveled to Jedha before," Threepio stated, matter-of-factly.

"You did?" Evelyn and Kaleb asked at the same time.

"Yes, with Master Luke, Captain Solo, and Princess Leia. We went to convince fighters to join the Alliance."

Beeping from the navicomputer pulled Evelyn's attention away from the conversation and back to piloting the Mirror Bright. She guided the ship down to the surface of the moon, touching down just outside of the massive crater that once was the Holy City. Shutting the engines down, Evelyn stared at the destruction the Death Star had once caused. The reign of terror didn't stop at Jedha, the Imperial base on Scarif, Alderran...and it didn't stop with the death of the Empire, Sela had warned just before Ben's fall to the dark side. 

Kaleb unlatched his safety harness and climbed out of the co-pilot's chair. He pat his sister on the shoulder; he too also remembered what their mother had told them. Sela had known that the First Order was a threat, she'd always known they were a threat--a separate fraction amongst the most evil of the Imperial leaders. Before her death, she was anxious that her warnings were going unheeded. She was right. "Let's go take a look around," he whispered.

Evelyn followed suit, unlatching her safety harness and following her brother. She stood slightly behind him as he lowered the hatch and ramp; bright sunlight flooded the cabin and she had to shield her eyes, briefly. When they adjusted to see the barren landscape before her, she muttered, "Not much to look at."

"That's because you're used to the vegetation of D'Qar."

"You'd rather live in a desert?"

"I'd rather not stand here and debate it."

"Fine."

Leading the way, Kaleb headed down the ramp and they in the opposite direction of the massive crater left behind by the Death Star. The maps they had suggested that there might be ruins of a temple nearby. Peering down the edge of steep hill, Kaleb looked over his shoulder at Evelyn and C-3PO. "You might want to sit this one out, Threepio--looks pretty treacherous."

Threepio glanced at Evelyn and then back at Kaleb. "I was under orders from Princess Leia to help you. I assure you Master Kaleb, I will not slow down your descent into the canyon. I have been to this planet before."

Kaleb shrugged. "Okay, suit yourself, but one wrong step and you could be nothing more than a pile of parts at the bottom of this canyon."

Evelyn peeked over the edge herself. "A pile of parts that will not be salvageable." 

"I think I will stay with the ship," C-3PO stated.

"Good idea," Kaleb replied with a faint smile. "Come on, Evie."

"We'll be back," Evelyn told the droid before the two Jedi carefully began the descent into the canyon.

In what felt like another lifetime ago, Luke had taken a very young Kaleb and Evelyn on a similar trip--to the canyons back on Tatooine. Sela had not been thrilled with the idea that her husband was taking her children hiking in dangerous canyons, but Kaleb recalled Luke assuring his wife that he'd grown up in those canyons and everything would be fine--Evelyn had come home with a scraped knee.

At the age of five she hadn't been very agile. A far contrast to now, as she adeptly navigated the rocks and ledges inside the canyon they were hiking down. Scrape knees were the least of their concerns right now. Desperation among the Resistance was mounting as spies revealed more and more First Order plans, strongholds, and the rumors circulating about the weapon of mass destruction they were building.

Kaleb made it to be bottom of the canyon first, turning to see if he his sister needed any assistance. As her feet hit the sandy, dusty bottom of the canyon, something screamed at him through the Force.

There was barely time to react as the steal clad knight emerged from behind the rock. Evelyn, not opened to the Force, startled and it was just the right amount of time the dark side user needed to slash his sword across her abdomen. She managed to unlatch and ignite her lightsaber, but the strenuous swing of the blade that followed barely made a dent on the Knight of Ren's armor. 

"Hey!" Kaleb shouted, snapping his own lightsaber to life. He reached out and called Evelyn's weapon to his free hand. "Get away from her!"

Turning towards him, the knight charged and swung his massive blade at the young Jedi. Kaleb met the blow with his lightsaber, throwing out Evelyn's lightsaber in an attempt to cut off the warrior's legs.  To his surprise the Knight of Ren was quick and pulled his blade away from his, meeting the blow he had thrown out with Evelyn's. 

Pushing his blade down onto Kaleb's, the knight attempted to push the Jedi backwards, to throw Kaleb off balance and the pressure it caused nearly snapped his arm.  Quickly Kaleb pulled Evelyn's blade back and slashed at the Knight of Ren's head with both lightsabers.  The massive dark warrior threw his blade horizontally into the air, meeting the two weapons head on. In order to ward off the latest onslaught, Kaleb pushed upwards, hitting the knight in square in the chest with his knee. 

Stumbling away from Kaleb, the knight cursed. Kaleb clutched both weapons in his hand, knowing that this was far from over. Force, he wished he had Evelyn on his side right now. He was strong, but he wasn't sure he was strong enough to fight the Knight of Ren on his own. However, not wearing heavy metal armor gave Kaleb a slight advantage. He was much nimble in a fight without it and could easily keep up the attack. He was wearing the knight down--and both of them knew it. "Tired yet?" the Jedi mocked. 

“Jedi brat,” the knight hissed, raising his sword.  “My brothers should have killed you five years ago--I will finish the job now!”  The massive knight crouched down into a defensive position, his eyes narrowing on Kaleb's face, unaware that Evelyn was moving behind him.

Kaleb however saw his sister.  “I had other plans besides dying that night--your brothers should have made sure I was good and dead before leaving me behind in that jungle. Not my fault they're that stupid.”  He was happy to see the knight bristle with rage, moving in to lunge at the young Jedi.  Kaleb struck first, swinging his lightsaber out forcing the warrior to meet his blow.  As the weapons crashed together, the lightsaber screaming and squealing against the metal of the sword, Kaleb snapped,” And I'm not about to let you easily finish the job now."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaleb could see Evelyn get to her feet, her hand reaching out and he let go of her blade.  It soared through the air towards her open palm, startling the knight. Kaleb didn't hesitate, he stretched out to his sister and they connected, two minds becoming one.

The Knight of Ren was overwhelmed.  While he would have been able to fight each of the Skywalker siblings on his own fairly well, he was not prepared for the coordination of Kaleb and Evelyn's attack.  He found himself stumbling and blocking more than striking, something that he was not used to.  Kaleb would throw one blow at him and pull back leaving room for Evelyn to throw a blow.  They had backed the Knight of Ren into the rocky wall of the canyon.

In a futile attempt to escape, the knight swung the hilt of his sword at Kaleb, catching him in the Temple.  The young man screamed in pain as the blade cut into the thin, tender skin and stumbled backwards.  Confident that he was only facing Evelyn now the knight went to pull back his weapon and attack, when he felt something hot pierce his stomach. 

With a grunt Evelyn pulled her lightsaber from the Knight of Ren's stomach. The dark side warrior stared at the young woman with lifeless red eyes through the slit in his helmet, clutching his stomach as he fell over, dead.

[stephstars08]

Hidden Feelings

Jack Champion x Actress!Reader

Warnings: Some Angst but mostly Fluff, Insecurities, One year age gap (Reader is the same age as Bailey), and Rumors.

Summery: Y/N L/N and Jack Champion are apart of the young cast for the long waited Avatar sequel, Avatar The Way Of Water. Jack has had feelings for Y/N since the day he met her of set while Y/N just started having feelings for Jack when the press tour began. Their co-stars Jamie, Bailey, and Trinity know about their co-stars feelings for one another but both of them are too shy and scared to admit it to each other since both have reasons why they are keeping those feelings to themselves. Will Y/N and Jack ignore those worries and admit their feelings or will they stay hidden?

Word Count: 3,422

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a good Friday so far! I am so happy I am finally able to release something to you all since I am so behind on my writing due to many reasons that I am not going to get into. I am almost done writing a mini Ethan Landry series so I will be typing that up soon! I hope you all enjoy this one shot and I will hopefully be able to be more active on here while you all wait on my next series! I hope you all have a wonderful and day and wonderful weekend! Love you all!

Y/N has just arrived at the studio where she is doing interviews with her co-stars for the new movie Avatar: The Way of Water. Y/N plays a Na’vi who belongs to the Metkayina which is an oceanic group of Na’vi. This isn’t Y/N’s first movie role since she’s been acting since she was eight years old but this is her biggest role so I guess you can say that this is her big break.

Y/N had just got her make up done and was following a director down the hallway to one of the lounge rooms. “Here you go, Ms. L/N.” The director said, opening the door for her. When Y/N walked in she only saw her one co-star Jamie. “You can stay in here with Mr. Flatters and we will let you both know when it’s both of yours turn for the interview.” The director told her with a kind smile. “Thank you.” Y/N said returning the kind smile. “You’re welcome.” The director said and walked out of the room closing the door behind them.

Jamie was doing something on his phone as he sat down on one of the couches. “Well, it’s about time you showed up.” Jamie said to her in a teasing tone as he looked up at her from his phone. “Oh, shut it! For once you aren’t the last one here.” Y/N told him walking over to one of the chairs and took a seat.

This is the fourth day of interviews. Tomorrow is the last day of interviews since Saturday night is the world premiere for the movie. There are multiple premieres since this is a long waiting sequel to one of the best movies ever made.

“Where is everyone else?” Y/N asked him in a curious tone referring to their other young co-stars. “Jack and the girls are already on set doing their interview.” Jamie answered, putting his phone into his pocket. Since Y/N’s character and Jamie’s character are love interests they are partners for interviews while Jack is partnered with Bailey and Trinity. Y/N just gave him a nod.

“Were you worried about your boyfriend?” Jamie asked her as his lips curved into a teasing grin. “Jamie!” Y/N hissed shooting a glare towards him. Y/N has the biggest crush on her other male co-star and best friend Jack who plays Spider. The young cast members basically grew up together on the set and Y/N has a strong bond with everyone including Jack. She didn’t start to have feelings for the brunette curly haired boy until they started doing the press tour for the movie. They have been spending so much time together that she can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be more than friends with Jack. The only person that she has told is Jamie since he figured it out himself, but he did blab the secret crush out to Bailey and Trinity since he couldn’t resist plus Trinity pulled it out of him.

“What the hell is up with you today? Is it annoy Y/N Day or something?” Y/N asked him in annoyance. Yes, Jamie loves to pick on her, but he usually isn’t this annoying. It may be strange since they play love interest on screen but her and Jamie have a brother and sister bond. Jamie sees her as a little sister, and she sees him as a big brother. “No.” Jamie said as he shook his head. “But it is convince Y/N to tell Jack her feelings day.” Jamie added which made her roll her eyes at him. She should’ve known that was coming.

“C’mon Y/N! You need really need to tell him!” Jamie told her wiping the teasing look in his eyes away as they changed to serious. “What’s the point when he most likely doesn’t feel the same way!” Y/N told him with frustration in her tone. “And why do you think that?” Jamie asked as leaned up in his seat on the couch. She was sitting across from him. “Well, for starters I’m one year older than him.” Y/N said looking down at her hands that were resting on her lap. “That’s not a valid reason.” Jamie told her in a stern tone. “C’mon, what’s the real reason?” Jamie said reading his best friend’s mind like a book. Y/N just stayed silent as she avoided Jamie’s strong gaze.

Jamie let out a sigh as he stood up and walked over to her. “It’s okay Y/N, you can tell me.” Jamie reassured her as he squatted down in front of her so he could look into her eyes. “What if I tell him and it ruins our friendship because he doesn’t feel the same way.” Y/N told him looking at him with soft eyes. “I think that’s a chance you should take. You never know unless you give it a shot.” Jamie told her with a soft smile. Jamie may love to get under her skin sometimes but when it comes to stuff like this, he’s always there for her to give her good advice but then again it does make sense since he’s the oldest out of the young cast. Before Y/N could say anything back a different voice spoke.

“Give what a shot?” Trinity asked, walking into the room with Bailey and Jack behind her. “Oh, this new tea that Jamie has been telling me about.” Y/N said quickly standing up and finally able to change the subject. “Right, Jamie?” She said as Jamie stood up. “Yeah, I’ll have to tell you all about it later.” Jamie said giving her a side glare for lying.

“Hey Y/N.” Jack said to her with a smile that just makes her heart melt. “Hi.” Y/N said in a shy tone which made her curse at herself in her mind. She spent two years filming a movie with this guy, why is she being so damn shy?

“What took you so long to get here? We thought Jamie was going to have to do the interviews by himself.” Bailey said to her with the same teasing smile Jamie gave her when she first got here. “It was my mom. She made me try on like a hundred outfits till we both agreed on this one.” Y/N explained with a heavy sigh. Don’t get Y/N wrong, she loves her mom but when it comes to what she has to wear, her mom gets very bossy. “Well, I think you girls picked right since you look beautiful.” Jack told her which made her cheeks turn bright red. Bailey and Trinity shared a knowing look while Jamie couldn’t help but cringe at Jack’s comment. He really needs to teach this boy how to flirt.

Before Y/N could thank Jack, the director called her and Jamie’s name saying it’s their turn to do the interview. “We’ll finish this conversation later.” Jamie said taking Y/N’s hand and following the director to the set with her following.

Jack let out a sigh as he walked over to the couch and plopped down on it. “You are such a lovesick fool.” Trinity told him with a teasing grin as Bailey giggled. “Trinity!” Jack hissed with frustration. “You know she’s right! You need to tell Y/N that you have liked her ever since the day you met her.” Bailey told him in a stern tone as she put her hands on her hips. “Why should I? Just tell her just so she can shut me down, yeah, no thanks.” Jack said as he folded his arms over his chest. “And why would she turn you down?” Trinity asked in a curious tone walking over to him and flopping downright next to him which made him let out a groan.

“Because she obviously likes Jamie!” Jack answered which made Bailey roll her eyes. “In the movie! They are just best friends!” Bailey told him for like the hundredth time. “That’s not what the internet says.” Jack mumbled but the girls heard what he said clearly. “Okay, so you rather believe the internet than your friends who actually know Y/N!” Bailey said starting to get annoyed with him. “Ugh! Can we not do this! Can we just please drop this topic and talk about something else.” Jack said with a groan of frustration. “Fine!” Both of the girls said at the same time.

Jack doesn’t want to believe the rumors that are flooding the internet that Y/N and Jamie are dating but at the same time he can’t help but think they are true. He sees the way they are around each other. The way they mess around with each other and how they bicker like an old married couple. How can people not ship them in real life?

--------------------

Y/N and Jamie were sitting next to each other answering the interviewer’s questions about their characters and the movie. “Okay, I have just one more question that of course I have to ask.” The interviewer said with a big smile on their face. “Here we go.” Jamie whispered to Y/N since they both knew what the question was.

“Online there are a bunch of rumors going around that you two are more than friends. Are those rumors true or false?” The interviewer said to them in a curious tone. “Even though I can see why people are saying that I have to say that those rumors are completely false.” Y/N answered the same question with the same answer every time. “Jamie and I do have a strong bond since we spent the most time together to build the chemistry for our characters but off screen, we are just best friends.” Y/N added to her answer. “Also, she has a crush on someone else.” Jamie added in with a devious smirk. “Jamie!” Y/N hissed looking at him with a glare giving his arm a smack.

“Oh really! Would you like to say who the mystery person is?” The interviewer asked in a curious tone as Jamie tried to hold his laughter in. “Not really since I would rather, the person find out from me in private not from an interview.” Y/N answered as she tried to keep her cool and not rip Jamie’s head off. “Okay, I understand.” The interviewer said with a nod of the head which made Y/N relax. She was scared that the interviewer was going to pressure her into telling who her crush is since some interviewers are very pushy.

“Thank you so much for answering my questions.” The interviewer said to them with a kind smile. Both Y/N and Jamie said you’re welcome and thanked the interviewer for being nice and kind. The interviewer closed the interview by saying when the movie will be out in theaters. “And we’re out!” The director shouted. “Okay, we’re going to be taking a thirty-minute break so Y/N and Jamie you free to go back to the lodge room you were previously in.” The director told them which earned them a nod from both of them. Before Y/N and Jamie left they thanked the interviewer again and walked out of the room together.

“I hate you.” Y/N hissed at him folding her arms over her chest as they walked down the hallway. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” Jamie said wrapping one of his arms around her shoulder.

--------------------

It was the next night and the cast had just finished doing their last interview and were back at the hotel resting for the world premiere tomorrow. Y/N was hanging out with Bailey and Trinity in her hotel room. They were just having a girl’s night in which they have had many of.

“Y/N, do you have a crush on Jack?” Trinity asked her, which took her by surprise. It also took Bailey by surprise, but she was also confused because she already knows the answer to that question. Y/N was going to lie but to be honest, if she doesn’t tell her about it, Jamie will tell her since he’s such a blabber mouth. Why does she tell Jamie stuff, she has no clue. “Yes, I have grown a huge crush on him for a while now.” Y/N confessed answering the question. “Great because he has a crush on you too.” Trinity told her which made Y/N’s heart rate speed up.

“Trinity!” Bailey said taken by surprise since she wasn’t expecting her to just tell Y/N that. “What? She deserves to know!” Trinity said to Bailey who knew she was right since Jack is too shy to tell Y/N his true feelings. “Jack, likes me back.” Y/N said still in complete shock. “Yes, he’s actually liked you ever since we started filming the movie.” Bailey told her which made Y/N’s eyes go wide. “Holy crap! That long!” Y/N said in a surprised tone. “Why didn’t he tell me?” Y/N asked. “Because he thinks you like Jamie even though we told him like a hundred times that you two are just friends.” Bailey explained to her. “Stupid rumors!” Y/N hissed with frustration.

“I need to go tell him.” She said standing up from her seat on her bed. “Wait, Y/N!” Bailey said quickly standing up from the couch she was sitting on with Trinity and grabbed Y/N’s arm. “Jamie may have told us that you wanted to tell Jack in a romantic way so how about you tell him at the premiere.” Bailey told her. There is going to be an after party after everyone sees the movie. There will be lights and music so that could be a romantic place to tell Jack how she feels. She knew it would be perfect. “Okay, I’ll tell him tomorrow at the premiere.” Y/N said with a smile on her face which also made Bailey and Trinity smile as well. Y/N was excited for tomorrow night but was also a tiny bit nervous as well.

--------------------

It was finally the night of the world premiere of Avatar and Y/N was getting finishing touches on her make up. She was getting ready with Bailey and Trinity. They were both already to go but they wanted to wait with Y/N so they could head downstairs into the lobby together.

Bailey was wearing a stunning puffy purple dress and Trinity was wearing a strapless black dress. She also had long black gloves that go with the dress. Y/N was wearing a hi-low black and white dress. The top of the dress was black and had off the shoulder sleeves and the hi-low flowy skirt was white.

When Y/N’s make up was done the girls made their way down to the lobby where Jack and Jamie were already waiting at. When the girls met up with the boy’s Y/N and Jack’s eyes immediately locked. They were both starstruck at each other’s appearance. Y/N thought Jack looked extremely handsome in his suit and his black bowtie was so adorable since he is more of a bowtie guy than a tie guy. Jack was completely blown away by Y/N’s appearance. She looked like a beautiful princess to him. Bailey and Trinity shared a smile because of Jack’s reaction. Jamie gave Jack a little nudge which made him step closer to Y/N.

“Hi Jack.” Y/N said with a soft smile looking up into his brown eyes. “Wow you look just… wow.” Jack said, trying to find words. Y/N couldn’t help but giggle. “Thank you!” Y/N said as her cheeks turned a shade of bright red.

When the limo arrived, they all packed into the back of the vehicle and of course Y/N and Jack sat next to each other. On the way to the premiere the friends talked about how excited they were. Y/N took one of Jack’s hands which took him by surprise, but he didn’t let go. He actually gave her hand a light squeeze.

--------------------

Right when the whole cast got to the premiere, they started taking photos on the blue carpet. Of course, the carpet is blue instead of red because well Avatar. Y/N took some photos of just herself. She took some photos with the whole cast and just the young cast as well. In all of the group photos Y/N made sure she was posing right next to Jack. After photos the cast started to do their own separate interviews. Y/N was telling a reporter about her character and gushing over her character since she is so in love with her character and was honored to be playing a character with so much love and kindness.

“Now we know you have been working on this movie for more than two years, so you basically grew up on set. What was it like growing up on a movie set?” The reporter said into their microphone and then leaned it towards Y/N for her answer. “It was actually pretty fun! I mean growing up on a movie set isn’t for everyone, but James made it really fun and memorable. Plus, I grew up alongside really great and amazing people.” Y/N answered the question into the microphone.

“Who do you think you were the closest to onset?” The reporter asked into their microphone and then shifted it back towards Y/N. “Um, I don’t think I was the closest to just one person since I have grown close to everyone and developed a tight bond with everyone.” Y/N answered into the microphone obviously not being able to pick just one of her cast mates.

“Okay, last question. Who do you think of the young cast members had the biggest glow up or who has matured the most?” The reporter asked into the microphone and then leaned it back towards Y/N again. Y/N’s cheeks turned bright red. “Jack.” Y/N answered with a big smile. “Wow, no hesitation.” The reporter said with a smile. “He grew up very handsome. He’s the one that I think had the biggest glow up and he’s just so fun to be around. He’s always there when you need him to be.” Y/N answered into the microphone as her cheeks got redder and redder with every word she spoke. She looked over to the side and saw Jack doing an interview as well. “He’s the best person to be around.” Y/N said as she looked at him with awe.

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When everyone went into the theater to watch the movie Y/N sat next to Jack. When a romantic scene would come on, she would take his hand and hold it tight just like he did to her hand in the limo. The reason why Y/N has been holding his hand any chance she gets is to drop a hint that she feels the same way about him so that when she tells him it won’t be a complete shocker.

Right when the movie ended everyone headed to the after party to celebrate the launch of the long-waited sequel. Y/N was talking with Bailey when a slow song started to play. She looked over and saw Jack talking with Jamie and Trinity. She knew now was the perfect time to tell him her feelings. Bailey wished her good luck and watched Y/N walk over to Jack.

“Hey Jack! Wanna dance?” Y/N said to him with a sweet smile on her face. Jack couldn’t get any words out, so he just nodded his head. She giggled as she took his hand and walked out onto the dance floor. As they slow danced their hearts were beating out of their chests. “I know you have a crush on me.” Y/N blurted out which took Jack by surprise. “Y-you do?” Jack stuttered since he was in shock. “Is it that obvious?” He asked as his cheeks turned a bright red. “No, um Trinity told me.” Y/N told him. “Damn it! Of course, she did!” Jack said with frustration in his tone which made Y/N giggle. “Jack, I like you back.” Y/N confessed which made his eyes go wide. “You do? But I thought you liked Jamie.” Jack said in a surprised tone. “We’re just best friends and that’s it.” Y/N reassured him. “Oh well, in that case…” Jack started finally getting the confidence he needed.

“Would you like to go out on a date with me?” He asked her. Y/N smiled as she leaned up and connected her lips with his which took him by surprise, but he returned the kiss. When they released themselves from the kiss, they rested their foreheads against one another. “I would love to go on a date with you.” Y/N answered his question with the biggest smile on her face.

*Tags* 

@athenalive  @rhiannonhippiegirl @netey6m

(IF YOUR NAME IS CROSSED OUT FOR SOME REASON TUMBLR WOULDN’T LET ME TAG YOU! SORRY)

[galactic-rhea]

in regards to your padme post, what if padme WAS put into the space monk order and groomed by the literal devil alongside anakin? How do you think she would've turned out?

#you can't put tags in asks #but I'm doing it anyways #padme and anakin are some of my favorite star wars characters

The galaxy is fucked. That's it, thanks for your ask. /hj

The thing is that Palpatine is so...insidious (lol) that I fully believe he could groom anyone to be a Darth Vader if he has the opportunity.

Look at Luke, with Luke it didn't work because he didn't have years of manipulation and Luke did have more stable relationships and less all-consumming insecurities compared to Anakin, and a much less dogmatic understanding of bieng A Good Jedi (tm),,,AND LUKE STILL ALMOST FALLS.

Even if you want to take the sequels as canon...He also didn't have the time to groom Rey for years, and still almost succeds.

Padmé saw Palpatine as a sort of political mentor but could realize she was being played, but Palpatine didn't warp her into world-changing views.

But regarding your question, I think it would depend a lot and there's a lot of factors playing, like: Do she and Anakin bond? Why did Palpatine pick her? Or is this a reverse situation? Was she also brough as an older kid or was taken as a baby?

If we simplify it to "She was the one super strong in the force so Palpatine picked her for apprentice", yeah, I think we would have had Darth Amidala, perhaps less ruthless and murderous than Vader, more subtle and way more cold, but...idk, look at the other people Sidious got his hand into (Maul, Dooku).

If Padmé and Anakin had bonded, and Sheev had wanted Padmé as his apprentice, then I bet he would've find some way to get rip off of Anakin and anyone close to her, isolating and cutting away any ties to love or comforts is first and foremost.

Even if Anakin had been another apprentice to Sheev, then Palpatine was in for just some fun games and see how to get one of his apprentices kill, betray or in some way get out of the picture so only the best one remains.

Sheev is an incredible villain because he's always playing 4D Chess and he adapts his plan on the go.

When it comes to AUs like this, I think we're talking about the very human and sad nature that is being vulnerable to manipulation, no matter how smart.

Sometimes we want to think "oh if it hadn't been Anakin, if it had been -insert goodie good character-, things would've changed", but the fact is that no one is infalible. Groomers change their game and attack the weakness they see and adapt to their victim needs, and Palpatine is terrifying in that regard. And is a supporting system what helps people to get out.

Padmé is brave, smart and competent, but guess what, so was Anakin. And I think Palpatine would have exploited her weakness if he had chosen her as a victim instead of Anakin. But so would have anyone else. If Palpatine had chosen Obi-Wan, or Ahsoka, or Quilan, or Ayla, whatever, then we would have ended with a sith apprentice anyways; with their own particular personality and quirks, of course, and less unhinged perhaps because one of the biggest things in Anakin/Vader's views is that he was a slave and he sees the world in a very particular way, but yeaaaah.

If I must think of how could an evil Padmé would be...I think she would be very methodical and unlike Vader, she wouldn't be submissive to her "master" at all, she would plot against Sheev and harbour lots of hate and very little loyalty to him. She has the mindset of a queen, not a slave. In a way, that would make her more dangerous.

And I think she would ha v e some sort of…possesive views? Like, idk how to explain, kinda like how a queen sees a bestiary? Awesome, scary and cool beast to keep in a nice sanctuary, but they belong to her. I get this idea because of that bit from one of the novels, where she thinks that Anakin is like a vine tiger, dangerous and capable of murdering anyone else "but that runs to put his cheek against her and pur.r"

But like Anakin, then anyone can turn back as well and get away from the manipulation, and a sith Padmé could as well!

aLSO, before anyone says something because I'm starting to know how this fandom works... no, I'm not absolving Anakin of guilt, because victims can become abusers and should be held accountable. However, I am praising how terrifying Palpatine actually is when you think about it, literally any other character could've become what Anakin became had Sheev (or any other groomer, tbh) decided to play the cards that way.

Sorry for the long rambling I thing i sidetracked a lot, I hope at least it's a good answer nkljgndfjkgdfg

[dalishious]

The Dragon Age Fandom’s New Favourite Charming Slaver

There is nothing wrong with appreciating and enjoying villainous characters, especially when they are done so well. Everything about Rezaren Ammosine makes a him a remarkable and fascinating villain. He’s very intelligently depicted; all aspects of his character matter to how he presents in the story. His design is that of a handsome young white man. He is animated with a graceful and gentle flow, not just in how he casts spells but literally how he carries himself. His voice has a soft and soothing tone, and he uses that soft tone as part of his powerful charisma and sway he has over the people around him, like Tassia. In fact, Rezaren uses all of these characteristics for his benefit. Because just like in real life, abusers do not always wear “I’m a shithead” signs on their chest. To the outside world, they are charming and gentle people who couldn’t possibly hurt a fly, could they? But make no mistake. Rezaren Ammosine is a villain to his core. And treating him as anything other than a villain is a grossly disrespectful interpretation to fans of colour, given the nature of his villainy.

From his very introduction, we see that Rezaren is used to getting his way, and becomes easily frustrated and angered when his will is denied. When he summons a spirit of memory to interrogate about the circulum’s creation, the spirit warns him that answering too much would be unwise. Rezaren ignores these warnings and orders the spirit to continue, to the brink of turning the spirit into a pride demon. This is called back into further example when Miriam refuses his plans for her. Again, he becomes easily angered and physically lashes out, using his magic to flare up the pain in her wound. Then to solidify the power he has over her, says “You live because I will it.”

Rezaren explains to Tassia, “Her name is Miriam. She's my sister. My mother owned her. She was to be my personal spy, assassin. Whatever was needed. My left hand, as it were. But she raised us as siblings.” Except we see how Miriam and Neb were really raised in flashbacks. We see how they were beaten for Rezaren simply tripping while playing with them. We see how they were forced to do hard labour, and told they were not allowed to own anything. And we see how Rezaren’s mother sacrificed Neb so that Rezaren would not become an abomination during his Harrowing, sending the demon into Neb’s body instead. And that raising has obviously shaped how Rezaren views this so-called siblinghood, because while he may call Neb and Miriam his brother and sister, make no mistake, he still views them belonging to him. Rezaren has no respect for their autonomy. Even in death, he defiles Neb’s body by using blood magic to put a demon inside it and controlling him. And Miriam? He cannot bare to accept that she refuses to submit to slavery again, no matter how pretty a picture he paints of them being like family. But you don’t own a sibling. “Selfish bitch! You and your ungrateful brother. You were mine!” he shouts at the very end, before Miriam fatally stabs him.

So, Rezaren is a villainous slaver. Why is it, then, that people are writing reviews praising his character while calling Miriam and her party the real baddies? Why are people saying he “deserved” a redemption arc? The only assumption I can come to is simply that people are so not used to the white guy being the one to lose in the fantasy genre, that they’re willing to bend over backwards to try and paint the only white person in the show as a victim of the #mean brown woman. Think about it. How many stories are out there where the hero is a white man? White people are conditioned to always be the centre of attention, so when they’re not for a change, they need to seek it out by shining a spotlight on whatever white man they can find. This is of course nothing unique to the Dragon Age fandom, but rather a disease found in fandom spaces as a whole. Hell, look at the Star Wars sequels, and how the bizarre love for and babygirlification of Kylo Ren was so strong it led to ruining the second and third films. This is why it’s such a relief to me that Rezaren dies in the end of Absolution, because otherwise it would truly end up a fear to me that the writers would try the same with him.

When you’re pushing Rezaren into the spotlight, you are pushing Miriam out of it. And Miriam is such a treasure of a character, it’s a crying shame to see her get so much disrespect. I have nothing against people who like Rezaren, but if your like for him goes to the extent of putting down Miriam in order to put him up, then we have a problem.

[darklinaforever]

Remove a doubt from me, but there are not many who have already discussed the fact that in reality, at the time Disney canceled The Acolyte, they were in fact not in the capacity as far as we know to really see the numbers regarding views on the show... ? 😑

And then, when we see the number of people who signed the petition, we see that there are actually a lot of people who watched The Acolyte and want a sequel...

Oh and when I see this kind of person, I can completely put him in the toxic fan box. Literally making this kind of anti The Acolyte post and deliberately placing it in the tag dedicated to those fans of The Acolyte or in the tag dedicated to the character of Osha, is proof of belonging to the toxic Star Wars fan club, congratulations !

[not-poignant]

Hi! I am usually a lurker, but I have been following you for about a year or so (found from r/MM_Romance AO3 recs search) and my first read was Deeper into the Woods. -- Do you have any recommendations for "realistic" portrayals of sadists? (AO3 stories or MM romance but also open to non-fiction recs/other) -- I do not have any real-life experience with people who identify as sadists or the kink community in general, so I wonder how exaggerated the fiction is sometimes. Thank you for your time!

Hi anon!

I'm going to rec two of my own fics - Spoils of the Spoiled (especially tracing a young sadist who has to figure out where the lines are between reality and fiction in his own life), and Falling Falling Stars (which depicts an experienced genuine sadist who is quite frank/open about talking about it and is comfortable in himself about it).

You probably have a lot more experience with real life sadists than you know, since most of us are just regular people! (And quite a few of us are also masochists as well). Honestly it's possible to see people with sadistic tendencies in every walk of life. From massage therapists who enjoy working the knots out of their clients (including the 'good pain' it results in), to the professional manufacturers of boutique hot sauce, who like nothing more than watching someone suffer through what they created.

(And same with masochists - you need only look at the people who enjoy that hot sauce and the pain it causes them, lmao.)

You might also like the published m/m romance series by Lisa Henry and JA Rock known as the 'Boy series.' It starts with The Good Boy and the sequel is The Boy Who Belonged. It is, imho, a great and realistic depiction of an experienced sadist and a newbie masochist, as well as a trauma recovery story with an age gap, which realistically addresses the age gap, the sadism, lateral ways of being sadistic with someone who finds impact play triggery, and more. For me it's still one of the gold star versions of published m/m which shows the perspective of both characters, so we get to see what they're both thinking, and - imho - it's pretty realistic!

I'm also gonna rec one of my fanfics, The Beast that Chose Its Own Bridle, since a lot of the chapters are from the sadist's perspective, and while the setting is fantasy, the actual thought processes behind setting up scenes, the intention, riding the line between too much hurt and the right amount, what kind of pain is sexy and what isn't, etc. is - I feel - quite realistic. It's one of the things that fellow sadists have praised my work for (that the sadists feel like real sadists, and not just wish fulfillment sadists, who are otherwise apologetic for enjoying someone's pain), and while I still have a lot to learn re: writing in general, it's one of the reasons I write what I do!

[mountttmase]

Masterlist

- . - Loz - London - Mason Mount enthusiast - . -

Requests are open so please feel free to send anything in, I’ll try and get to them when I can or if you just want a chat that’s fine by me 💚

Fics are below ⬇️

Smut

An Unexpected Visitor

An Early Christmas Gift

A Deal’s A Deal

Morning Glow

I Won’t Tell If You Don’t

Let Me Try Again

Don’t fight it

Blueberries

Am I Doing It Right?

You Drive Me Insane

Don’t Do This

Show Me How

Seeing Stars

Smutty blurb

Not Yours

Every Second Of Everyday

Someone You Can Trust

Fluff

Under The Weather

You Make Me Nervous

A Little Miracle

Three Little Words

You’re Playing Dirty

Where I’m Supposed To Be

Cherry Earrings

You know I’ll always be here

Ships In The Night

Five Minutes

Angst

Cold Hands Cold Heart

A Night To Forget

Worth A Shot

Until I Found You

I’m Yours

The Mixup

Lost And Found

Be Bad For Once

Are We Okay?

Damage Is Done

My Priority

Where You Belong

If I Lost You

What I Need

I Bet You Miss Her

Catch You

Dad Mase

See You Soon

My Everything

Play The Game

Don’t Get Caught

Mummy’s Got One Growing Too

In Awe Of You

I’ll Fix This

Always There

Safe Place

Still Be Mine

Not Your Fault

Blurbs

I’ll Keep You Safe

Happy For You

Little Bean

Sweetheart

Tell Me Now

Number One Fan

Insta AU’s

George’s First Easter

MTC: Get Hitched

The Babies Turn One

Multi Part

The Do-Over - Part One Part Two & Part Three

A Little Problem - Part One & Part Two

Brave - Part One & Part Two

MTC Christmas - Part One & Part Two

Baby Thea - Home Is Where The Heart Is & Always Meant To Be

Like Magnets & The Way You Love Me

Series

A Mountain To Climb

A Mountain To Climb: The Sequel

Winter Sun

Change Of Heart

[thestarwarslesbian]

Fan Fic recomendations!

Only One of these is mine and the rest belong to the wonderful people who deserve love for these amazing fanfictions!

Top Gun: 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41356602/chapters/103704861 no one can find the rewind button - FabuMazX

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41326977/chapters/103624791 We can build a family that will always show you love - MarchForOurGays

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42070563/chapters/105626418 - Daddy Rooster Makes Life Interesting for Gorgeous Sub Hangman By Renai_chan (Link to her tumbler! Go check her out!)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43487037/chapters/109325985 - speak softly, love By The lovley renai-chan

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46015801/chapters/115831405 - lend me your hand and we’ll conquer them all By LetPeteBeMaverick

Star Wars - Prequals:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28338954/chapters/69431268 - alpha vs Alpha - Artemis_Neardos

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46834783/chapters/117970084 - Hide and Seek - Obligatory_Trope_Insert

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28863927/chapters/70805004 - a map towards honour - galateaGalvanized

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23375449/chapters/56009104 - How The Jedi Being Slightly More Chill Saved The Galaxy - rosemarysprigs8

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43904343/chapters/110389539 - tion'ad cuy' Ni meh ner mirshe cuyir nayc or'atu (who am I if my mind is no more)? - foreverchangingfandoms

Anything by the wonderful @yukipri!!

Their art is amazing and so is their fanfiction the Prime Override!!! I really recommend going to their blog and supporting them!! I must have read the Prime Override about 10 times since I found it. It's that good.

Star Wars Original:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44465236/chapters/111841804 - Star Wars: The Age of Rebellion - @buffshipper8490!!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44355001 - purple silks and warrior princesses by whenfireanddarknesscollide

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37906186 - Take You Like A Drug (I Taste You On My Tongue) by @bisexual-cryptid.

I will praise this Fic till the end of time.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46322359/chapters/116625832 - Bonds Beyond Enemy Lines - Secretly_a_Dinosaur

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30916499/chapters/76345193#workskin - Just Business, Nothing Personal - chamomiletea (airandangels) @chamomileteainabuttercup here on tumbler!

If I’m only on chapter 5 and I’m recommending it to you. Then it was truly be amazing!! It’s such a good read and a underrated ship.

Star Wars Sequel:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45161344/chapters/113608708#workskin - A Galaxy of Colour and Darkness - UFOxMulder! (My Fic!)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/5698945/chapters/13128244 - The Fallacy of the False Choice - Davechicken + Shadow_Side

PLEASE GO AND GIVE THE LOVE TO THE CREATORS MENTIONED ON HERE!!! THEY ARE ALL TRULEY AMAZING STORY TELLERS AND HAVE COME UP WITH THESE AMAZING STORIES FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY!!!!

[eagna-eilis]

Ach-To and Irish Archaeology

The sequels were my entry into Star Wars and I never would have gone to see The Force Awakens if I wasn't an archaeology nerd.

During the production of Episode VII, a decent number of people with an interest in our archaeological heritage here in Ireland were quite worried about the impact of filming on one of our only two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the island known as Skellig Michael down off the coast of Kerry.

I went to the film to see if any potential damage was worth it, or if they'd do something unspeakably stupid with it in-universe. I wanted to see if it was respected.

And holy hell I was NOT disappointed. I think I walked out of TFA sniffling to myself about how beautiful the Skellig looked and how it seemed like its use as a location was not just respectful but heavily inspired by its real history.

See, Skellig Michael was a monastic hermitage established at a point when Christianity was so new that the man who ordered its founding sometime in the first century CE was himself ordained by the Apostle Paul. The fellah from the Bible who harassed all and sundry with his letters, THAT Apostle Paul. This is how old a Christian site the Skellig is. It predates St. Patrick by at the very least two hundred years.

The steps we watch Rey climb were originally cut NEARLY TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO. They have been reworked and repaired many many times since, of course. Still, the path the camera follows Daisy Ridley up is as much an ancient path built by the founders of a faith in real life as it is in the movies.

A hermitage was a place where monks went to live lives of solitude and asceticism so as better to achieve wisdom. The practice is common to many of the major world religions, including the myriad East Asian faiths which inspired the fictional Jedi.

It is said that the hermitage and monastery were originally built with the purpose of housing mystical texts belonging to the Essanes, one of the sects of Second Temple Judaism which influenced some of the doctrines of Christianity. They also, according to what I have read, characterised good and evil as 'light' and 'darkness' and were celibate.

As such, the use of the island in TFA and TLJ does not merely respect Skellig Michael's history, it honours it. It is framed as somewhere ancient and sacred, which it is. It is framed as a place where a mystic goes to live on his own surrounded by nature that is at once punishing and sublime, which of course it was. It shown to be a place established to protect texts written at the establishment of a faith, which it may well have been.

This level of genuine respect for my cultural heritage by Rian Johnson in particular is astonishing. I don't think anyone from outside the US ever really trusts Americans not to treat our built history like it's Disneyland. Much of the incorporation of the Skellig's real past into a fictional galactic history occurs in TLJ, which is why I'm giving Rian so much credit.

It's Luke's death scene which makes the honouring of Irish archaeological history most apparent though.

Johnson takes the archaeological iconography back a further three thousand years for his final tribute to my culture's beautiful historical temples. This time, he incorporates neolithic passage tomb imagery, specifically that of Newgrange, which is up the country from the Skellig.

I think if you understand what the image represents then it makes a deeply emotional scene even more resonant.

The scene I'm referring to is Luke's death.

As he looks to the horizon, to the suns, we view him from the interior of the First Jedi Temple. The sunset aligns with the passageway into the ancient sanctuary, illuminating it as he becomes one with the Force.

As for Newgrange, every year during the Winter Solstice it aligns with the sunrise. The coldest, darkest, wettest, most miserable time of the year on a North Atlantic island where it is often cold, wet, and miserable even in the summer. And the sun comes up even then, and on a cloudless morning a beam of sunlight travels down the corridor and illuminates the chamber inside the mound.

You guys can see this, right? The similarity of the images? The line of light on the floor?

Luke's death scene is beautiful but I think it's a thousand times more moving with this visual context. Luke's sequel arc isn't merely populated by a lore and iconography that honour the place where the end of his story was filmed, I think that incorporation of that history and mythology honours Luke.

We don't know for sure what the Neolithic people believed, religion-wise. We know next to nothing about their rituals. We know that there were ashes laid to rest at Newgrange. There is some speculation that the idea was that the sun coming into the place that kept those ashes brought the spirits of those deceased people over to the other side.

It's also almost impossible not to interpret the sunlight coming into Newgrange as an extraordinary expression of hope. If you know this climate, at this latitude, you know how horrible the winter is. We don't even have the benefit of crispy-snowwy sunlit days. It's grey and it's dark and it's often wet. And every single year the earth tilts back and the days get long again.

The cycle ends and begins again. Death and rebirth. And hope, like the sun, which though unseen will always return. And so we make it through the winter, and through the night.

As it transpired the worries about the impact of the Star Wars Sequels upon Skellig Michael were unfounded. There was no damage caused that visitors wouldn't have also caused. There also wasn't a large uptick in people wanting to visit because of its status as a SW location, in part I think because the sequels just aren't that beloved.

But they're beloved to me, in no small part because of the way they treated a built heritage very dear to my heart. I think they deserve respect for that at the least.

[ncfan-1]

I’ve largely avoided news about the upcoming Star Wars movie regarding Rey. Anyone who was around when TROS comes out knows how I feel about it, and since I can’t remember if I ever said it out loud, I’ll say it now: TROS tainted my experience of the entire Sequel Trilogy. I have never watched any of the ST movies again since I watched TROS in theaters, not even TLJ, which in my frank opinion is stronger than TFA and TROS combined. I… I’m not sure how to feel about the Rey movie.

Just based on my memories of TROS, I can’t view the Sequel Trilogy as anything but Rey’s villain origin story. By the end of TROS, she is immensely powerful, most likely the most powerful Force user left alive in the galaxy, and on the same token, intensely isolated. Her relationships with Poe and Finn seem markedly strained; she doesn’t seem especially close to either of them. The one person she felt understood her is dead, and moreover, he died saving her life, which is such a can of worms where guilt and trauma is concerned. Who does she have who she can really confide her troubles in? Who does she have whom she can really lean on? She seems almost totally unmoored from the community she is ostensibly a part of, her ties to her friends superficial at best.

Moreover, she’s reverted back to a more extreme version of her getup from TFA and kept it at the end of the movie, suggesting that she’s regressed emotionally in some way. She certainly seems to be in deep denial about all of the traumatic things that have happened to her and all of the traumatic revelations she’s learned over the course of the three films. The fact that she latches on to ‘Skywalker’ as her new identity signals that she isn’t at peace with her own past and heritage, that she hasn’t addressed and resolved her own feelings about where she came from and who she is. She hasn’t addressed or resolved anything.

And then, to top it all off, we end with Rey in a spiritual wasteland, where her only companions are ghosts and a droid with the emotional maturity of a young child, and the movie leaves it extremely ambiguous as to whether Rey is only on Tatooine to visit, or if she intends to set up shop and live there. It all gives me an extremely ominous feeling about where Rey’s journey is supposed to go next. Maybe she doesn’t become a full-on villain, but unless her upcoming movie devotes a huge chunk of time in the beginning to having her actually work through everything that happened to her and everything that she learned, instead of just sinking further and further into denial about everything, Rey being remotely well-adjusted in that movie is going to come off as so tonally dissonant to me.

Like I said, she doesn’t have to be a full-on villain, but where I would naturally expect to see Rey next from TROS is to see her as a liminal figure, someone who doesn’t really seem to belong anywhere, morally ambiguous, at least somewhat perilous. I could see her as something like a trickster figure. I could see her as an antagonistic force. But as prospective grandmaster to a new Jedi Order? Nah. That makes no sense tonally, based on where we last saw her. Yeah, I know there’s supposed to be about fifteen years between TROS and this film, but the huge time skip isn’t going to be enough to make up for the tonal gap. Not for me. I’ll watch it when it comes out, but I’m not sure how well it’s going to sit with me.

[summahsunlight]

The Light of a Thousand Stars, Ch. 5

Rating: T

Word Count: 2208

Pairing: Poe/Skywalker!OC

Summary: Commander Dameron and Black Squadron’s continued search for Lor San Tekka brings them closer and closer to danger and exposing the First Order as a sinister threat. A new pilot on the team threatens their tight dynamic and although Poe is trying to desperately keep them together, he knows that at some point Evelyn and Kaleb are going to have to go their separate ways–to find their father and bring him back to the Resistance. Sequel to We Belong to the Stars.

Here is the next chapter! Enjoy!

Evelyn had walked into the briefing with Leia fully prepared to turn her aunt down and offer Poe up to go in her place--Leia of course had other plans. Thirty seconds into the briefing, Evelyn knew her aunt wasn't going to take no for an answer. Even after she had argued, adamantly, to not join her brother, her aunt had ordered her. "You're ordering me to go?"

Leia glanced at Kaleb and then Poe before answering her, knowing full well that she was only going to make her niece angrier. "Yes, I"m ordering you. In this situation, Evelyn, I'm not your aunt, I'm your general."

"So now, after all these years, you're going to pull that card out?" Evelyn shot back, accusingly. 

"The needs of the galaxy outweigh your personal feelings," Leia stated, sternly.

"Haven't they always? Ever since I was a child!"

"I know you're angry and I understand--"

"No! I don't think you do understand, Aunt Leia, or should I say General. If you did--you wouldn't be sending me on this mission."

Poe quietly watched as Evelyn stormed out of the situation room, near tears, refusing the itch to follow her.

Kaleb sighed, heavily. "That went well."

Leia shot her nephew a furious look. "Your sister needs to learn it's not about her."

"I think she knows that; she made it clear she knows that."

"I am not going to argue with you as well, Kaleb."

Kaleb fell silent; Evelyn's words had affected his aunt. It wasn't like his little sister to burst out in such anger towards Leia. "I'll make sure the ship is prepped to leave in the morning," he said, instead. "That should give Evie enough time to cool down before we go."

Poe let out a slow breath. "Or...she'll jump in her x-wing and disappear for a few days," he offered up what was in the back of all their minds. "She isn't military, General; disobeying orders mean nothing to her."

Leia's brown eyes snapped up to meet his. "Disappointing family does though."

"Maybe we should leave as soon as I prep the ship--that way we don't give her enough time to run," Kaleb said.

"Agreed," Leia replied, rubbing her temples. "Poe, we need to talk about who takes her place on Black Squadron while she's away." 

When he didn't answer, she looked up at him. Judging by the look in his eyes he didn't want to talk about that--he wanted to make sure that Evelyn was alright. In a way, Leia couldn't blame him. He was probably the only one that Evelyn wasn't angry with at the current time and he might be able to calm her down before she left with her brother.

Licking his lower lip, Poe didn't move from his spot, not until he saw Leia give him the silent okay and proceeded to go after Evelyn.

Sela Skywalker had been buried on Yavin IV--not far from her home. She had been memorialized several weeks later in the Senate. 

Evelyn had worn the most lavish, black dress that her aunt's staff could find; the family had distinctive roles to play. Grieve, but don't look weak. Always stay a step behind Leia and your father. Hands clasped, chin high. And absolutely not one word about Ben. Behind a lace veil she had watched as person after person spoke about her mother, her contributions to the Rebellion, her bravery for leaving the Empire at the age of sixteen--her sacrifice of her life to protect her children. When they were done speaking, Evelyn carried a wreath made of flowers from her mother's home planet, resting them at the foot of a memorial to fallen Rebellion heroes.  She was supposed to get up immediately, head held high, and walk back to her seat--seeing her mother's name etched in stone, froze her in place.

Tears filled her eyes, a rage boiling inside of her--absolutely not one word about Ben--she was supposed to pretend that Ben had not been the one to murder her mother, had not been the one to destroy everything. All in the name of reputation. Poe had been the one to get her to her feet. Evelyn had ran from the memorial--damn appearance, damn reputation.

She ran until her lungs burned, dropping to her knees in a garden in the middle of the capital city. This time she didn't run until her lungs burned, although she ran with the same amount of rage and pain. She ran until she couldn't anymore, when she arrived at the shore of the lake. 

Poe found her there, at the edge of the lake, aggressively tossing rocks into the water. He stood there, silently, for a few moments, letting her get out her frustration. However, when it became clear that she was only getting more escalated, Poe stepped up, reaching out and clamping down on the wrist that held a rock firmly in its grasp. "Evelyn," he whispered, "stop."

Shaking, Evelyn dropped the rock in the sand and turned towards him. Her eyes were puffy and swollen from crying and Poe immediately was brought back to after Sela's funeral, when he found Evelyn amongst the ruins of her past life.

"Why did he leave me? I needed him! And he just left!"

"I don't know why he left," Poe answered, calmly. "I wish I did. I wish I could take this pain away."

"I just want to run away! I can't be what the galaxy needs me to be!" Evelyn sobbed. "I can't be what my family needs me to be!"

Poe moved towards her and pulled her into his arms. She curled into his embrace, her body shaking with violent sobs.  He let her cry, holding her tightly and stroking her hair.  When her body started to settle and her cries diminished, he softly said, "I would miss you if you ran away."

Evelyn knew that this was his attempt to make her laugh but instead it just made her cry. Then come with me, she wanted to say, but she had asked him that five years ago and he had walked away from her--surely he would do the same now. The circumstances were much dire. "I never asked for this," she cried.

His eyes closed as his fingers glided through her hair. "No one asked for this, Evelyn," he said, firmly. "It's just the unfortunate circumstances we've been handed."

She pulled away, shaking her head. "No, that's not what I meant--I never asked to be force sensitive, a Jedi--a Skywalker."

"We can't chose the family--the legacy--we're born into."

"I know that, but I'm not strong enough for this legacy." You're nothing but a disappointment--a failure.

"Sure you are; you've been through hell and still remind kind--that shows strength."

"Why do I feel so weak?"

Poe smiled, sadly. "It's not weakness, princess--it's exhaustion."

Evelyn closed her eyes and swallowed a sob. "Poe--I'm being serious here! Can you not make everything into a joke?"

He didn't need to be Force sensitive to know how tense she was or how conflicted she was; Poe could just sense it. He knew her so well. Taking a deep breath, he ran a hand through his hair. "Fair enough; listen, Evie...I told you a while ago that no one expects any of us to do this alone. We're stronger together."

She sniffled, wiped the tears from her eyes on the back of her hand. "Maybe then that's why I feel so weak, Poe, because right now I feel absolutely alone."

"You are not alone."

Before she could even say anything, Poe stepped forward and grabbed her hands in his own. Giving them a reassuring squeeze, he whispered, firmly, "Evelyn. Look at me." When she did he felt his heartbreaking at the look in her eyes. Wiping the tears away, he promised her, "You are not alone; you have me, you have your brother and your aunt. I don't want you to ever feel like you're alone, because you're not."

Closing her eyes to stop herself from crying all over again, she leaned into him. "Poe. Hold me, please."

Poe didn't hesitate; he enveloped her into his arms and held her tightly. If he could take her place on this mission--he would--in a heartbeat. The reality was that she needed to go; she needed to make peace with her past. Staying here would be avoiding it, bottling it up inside, and he was concerned that she was bottling too much already. At some point she would explode. His commlink buzzing broke the sudden peaceful quiet, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he fished it out of his pocket. 

"General Organa says the Mirror Bright is ready to take off."

Can't we just give her a couple of hours? Poe cleared his throat. "We'll be there in five."

Evelyn moved away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Everyone was afraid I was going to run, weren't they?"

Poe ran his tongue over his lips. "Yeah," he said, honestly. "Your brother and aunt didn't want to give you the chance." She didn't say anything for a moment, and he stumbled over his words, "Listen, I can call them back and tell them you need more time..."

Shaking her head, Evelyn sighed, heavily. "No. I just need to stop by my quarters before I go. Let's not keep them waiting."

Leia had once told her doing the right thing wasn't always the easiest. In Evelyn's case the right thing wasn't just hard--it was painful. While she understood the importance of finding her father that didn't change the fact he'd just disappeared six years ago. As the galaxy fell apart around her, Luke had just walked away, changing everything she once believed about him.  The man she had grown up adoring, loving, would never have just walked away or so she had believed. Jaw clenched, she clipped her lightsaber to her belt and pushed the anger deep within her. She wasn't doing this for her father--she might be angry at both of them, but she was doing this for Leia and Kaleb.

Fixing her jacket, and with CB-2 following behind her, Evelyn left her small quarters.

The sun was just starting to set on D'Qar; there was hardly anyone on the flight pad--but everyone on base knew where Kaleb and Evelyn were off to that day. It was hard to keep secrets around this place, even if they had wanted to keep it a secret. Leia and Poe--along with BB-8--were the only ones to actually see them off.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Leia asked her, giving her an out if she really needed it. "If not I can send Poe."

"Kaleb and Poe will kill each other if they go alone," Evelyn replied, glancing at her brother.

"What? No we won't!" Kaleb protested.

"We rescued you without bickering," Poe added.

Evelyn tossed him a gentle look. "You won't be rescuing anyone this time," she said. "You'll bicker and kill each other. I would know this would be the outcome; I grew up with you. Everything was one, big competition between you two."

Kaleb scowled at his younger sister. "Come on, Evie. I think we've grown up a little bit since then. If you really aren't up for this Poe and I can manage."

She knew that everyone was concerned about her mental state--she'd be lying if she wasn't concerned. However, Evelyn was aware that there were just certain things that only her and her brother could handle. Finding her father was one of them. "I'll be fine."

He tentatively glanced at his aunt but Leia simply shook her head, silently telling him not to argue anymore. Kaleb sighed and grabbed his bag. "Okay--then I guess we better get a move on."

Leia gently gestured for her niece and nephew to come closer to her so she could hold them--tightly--for a brief moment. "Stick together," she whispered. Pulling back, softly she touched each of their cheeks with a delicate hand. "Stay safe. We need you to come back here with or without your father."

"We'll be okay, Aunt Leia," Evelyn assured her.

"Yeah," Kaleb agreed, smirking at Poe. "We're not taking Poe with us."

"Your sister was right--I would have killed you," Poe snapped, glaring at him.

Evelyn suddenly wished that Poe was coming with them--his snarky presence around her brother felt oddly comforting--but she knew he was needed here. Poe could sense her unease and moved to grab her up in his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her temple. Evelyn closed her eyes tightly, thinking what if I never see him again? 

Poe let his lips linger near her ears and whispered. "I'll be right here, princess, when you return. Promise."

This gave her the strength to let go of him, to affectionately scratch BB-8 on top of his domed head, and follow her brother onto the Mirror Bright. As the door closed, Evelyn and Kaleb glanced back only once at the place they had called home for the last six years.

[harrowscore]

to take your mind of the foreboding WH movie adaptation disaster: Are there actually some non-English gothic titles you would like to recommend?

ohhhhh, what a good ask!

now, i'm actually not that well-versed in the gothic genre as i'd like to be, and if anyone has more recs they're welcome to add them to my list. but still, let's begin with:

gaston leroux, le fantôme de l'opéra (+ andrew lloyd webber's musical - which is hugely popular, as it should be! - and i'd also recommend the 1925 silent movie with lon chaney. it's probably the most faithful film adaptation of poto... too bad for that ending tho. there's also a prequel/retelling book by susan kay called phantom, which is very good - but not flawless - except i heavily dislike christine's characterization in this one; you can always read until the counterpoint section and call it a day)

victor hugo, notre dame de paris + the musical adaptation by riccardo cocciante. it's in french, but i also enthusiastically rec the italian version - you can find both of them on yt!

so, besides these two super famous classics, there's the poem the demon by mikhail yuryevich lermontov. you can find an opera rendition of it by anton rubinstein.

speaking of opera, béla bartók's bluebeard's castle - aka a gorgeous adaptation of the fairy tale by the same name. this version is particularly excellent, and there are also a lot of good album recordings on spotify. musically-wise, tho, it's maybe not easily accessible to people who aren't already familiar with opera...?

charles gounod's faust (again, an opera!) and various non-english versions of the story, like goethe's. by goethe there's also the poem der erlkönig. here a beautiful musical rendition by franz schubert.

panna a netvor aka "the maiden and the monster", my favorite beauty&thebeast movie adaptation. it's a 1978 czechoslovak film, you can find it here on yt with eng subs. and idk if i would say it's gothic but there's also the jean cocteau 1946 film + another french one filmed in 2014 starring léa seydoux and vincent cassel.

fyodor dostoevesky, the double

carlos ruiz zafon, the shadow of the wind (which i enjoyed, but i wasn't personally crazy about, though)

it's not gothic - it's magical realism, actually - but fans of the genre would possibly like gabriel garcia marquez's one hundred years of solitude for its themes

again, not gothic (i've seen it labeled as "dark academia" but. for some people anything is ~dark academia, including dostoevesky and the picture of dorian gray, for some unfathomable reason), but i'd rec vita nostra + its sequel, assassin of reality, by ukrainian authors marina and sergey dyachenko. there's an english translation and an italian one for my mutualiani, plus a third and final book coming out in, maybe, 2025.

the cabinet of dr. caligari + the man who laughs starring conrad veidt (😳😍) - the latter is an adaptation of the victor hugo's novel by the same name

for other movie recs, the original nosferatu + dario argento's suspiria (which has also a more recent remake by luca guadagnino of challengers fame)

fosca by igino ugo tarchetti. didn't read the novel, but i watched the musical adaptation by stephen sondheim, passion, here (and that's in english). again, idt if it's gothic or even gothic-adjacent but fosca's character has been compared and contrasted as a female version of the phantom of the opera by musical theatre fans, so. here it is.

now, for things i didn't personally watch/read so i can't vouch for them, but they seem all well-written/made nonetheless and belong to my unending list(s) of books to read/films to watch:

vampire hunter d. (anime)

john ajvide lindqvist, let the right one in (novel + movie adaptation)

marina enriquez, our share of the night + things we lost in fire (novel + short stories collection)

(mind you that these recs conflate a lot with the horror department. but i still think they could be interesting for gothic fans)

two book series that are written by english authors but i think they deserve more attention:

mervyn peake, gormenghast

jonathan l. howard, johannes cabal (which contains huge references to faust, dracula, and works by poe and lovecraft. the protagonist has also become one of my favorite characters of all time, i've fallen in love with him at first... page, i guess lol)

and that's it! again, if anyone has any other good rec, please feel free to add them!

[artist-issues]

The characterizations for those first two Star Wars Sequels movies were Plain Good. Poe, Finn, and Rey were delightful to get to know! They were likeable people! It’s so nice to rewatch them and relive the fun of when Star Wars was coming out in theaters again.

Poe - In The Force Awakens, he’s a cocky hotshot who keeps making the hero-move against impossible odds. Sending his defenseless droid into a desert so he can take on the bad guys single-handedly? No problem. Fly a ship he’s never flown before with a Stormtrooper he just met to escape capture? Totally calm about that. He’s comfortable living in the moment and taking big risks. After all, he’s serving directly under Leia, Savior of the Galaxy, champion of the free world; he’s walking with giants, he’s got to act like it! And then in The Last Jedi he has to learn to stop doing that. Be a leader. Leaders look at the big picture, and focus on how to move forward instead of just saving the day in the moment. He can’t keep being cocky and reckless. Taking a stand against a Dreadnaught and facing down the First Order with cocky quips? Easy. But letting others make the sacrifice play while you live to lead, so the galaxy can go on hoping, and fight another day? Not so easy for Poe.

Finn - In The Force Awakens he’s a Stormtrooper who wants to run away from fights. He’s got a compassionate streak, sure; he doesn’t want to kill, and when he escapes, he likes to do it in the company of people who talk to him like he’s more than a number in an army list. But the point is, he’s out to save his own skin, and the skin of anybody who’s good to him. Then he learns to stop running and start fighting for something worthwhile. He starts to learn that by the end of that first movie when he’s running into danger and fighting for Rey. But it’s not until The Last Jedi that he understands: fighting isn’t the point. (And how great is that in Star Wars?) After all, even when he’s fought, it’s just to escape. He doesn’t really believe evil can be defeated—just escaped or sacrificed against. But in The Last Jedi, he learns to stop looking at it negatively, and start looking forward; don’t just fight for things that you love, or to hurt what you hate. Fight to save what you love. Actually focusing on what you love is what helps you to accomplish keeping it safe. It’s a stormtrooper learning about hope.

Rey - UAGH she’s a lonely soul who’s dedicated her whole life to having faith that her family will come back for her when you meet her in The Force Awakens. She hangs all her identity on that; she’s nobody, from nowhere, hoping that someone will come back and tell her who she is and that she’s loved. It doesn’t matter if a brave Resistance Hero believes she can help him, or if THE Smuggler Han Solo believes she can be part of his crew, or if a thousand year-old wise woman believes she could be the heir to the Luke Skywalker Legend—Rey can’t settle for their belief in her. She thinks she needs her parents’ belief in her to be somebody. But she learns that, even though her family isn’t with her, The Force is. And she needs to find belonging ahead, not behind. So her faith dips it’s toe into a new object—The Force— by the time you get to The Last Jedi. Then she’s still hoping to find out that she’s somebody who’s loved; maybe The Force can be her key to finding out about where she belongs and how she fits. She thinks it’s led her to remind Luke Skywalker of who he is by doing what he did; redeeming the bad guy. But she fails. And that’s all she really learns: that it’s not about her, and it never was, just like it was never about Luke. She doesn’t need to find her identity in where she comes from or who believes in her: she just needs to do the right thing for the future.

And we could talk about Kylo Ren but he gets a post of his own.

Point being, these movies had characters and a direction that were Plain Good and going somewhere, and if I go back and watch them, I remember how fun it all was

[chaotictarlos]

Lone Star Season 4 Fics

m a s t e r l i s t

An ongoing collection of season 4 Fics that I'm writing. I hope you enjoy them! Please reblog if you enjoy my fic's and leave some comments! If you would like to be tagged in any Coda's or Season 4 Fics let me know!

This entire series is dedicated to @kiloskywalker who has helped me come up with so many of the ideas.

4 x 01: The New Hotness -

where do we go from here? - TK POV Coda

Summary: TK finds out Carlos' secret and they talk about it.

how did we (i) get here? - Carlos Begins

Summary: A look at Carlos, from when he was younger to present.

Or, in which I meant to write a Carlos POV Coda and wrote a Carlos begins and so much more.

And in your hands, is all of me - the parts I never let you have - Carlos POV Coda

Summary: Carlos has a secret he needs to tell TK, and it's killing him to get it out. Sequel to how did we (i) get here? Carlos POV coda to 4 x 01

4 x 02: The New Hot Mess -

All Night Long

Summary: TK has some feelings about seeing Carlos in plaid.

4 x 03 / 4 x 04 Speculation Fic -

Searching for my heart

Summary: Carlos goes missing.

4 x 03: Cry Wolf -

Waiting up for you

Summary: After the 126 gang goes home, TK waits up for Carlos who never comes home.

do you still want me like i want you?

Summary: TK can't get Carlos words out of his head. He can't help but feel maybe this is all a mistake and that Carlos is regretting saying yes to him.

4 x 03: Abandoned -

"It's yours"

Summary: “TK,” he says softly.

The two syllables of his name falling from Carlos’ lips is enough to get TK to move his feet and push into the room. 

Carlos reaches out and TK immediately grabs onto his hand, clinging to it desperately. When he feels Carlos’ warm skin under his, he lets out a sigh, his body relaxing. 

Carlos is alive.

4 x 05: Human Resources -

Let me be your shoulder

Summary: Carlos struggles to let TK help.

4 x 06: This is not a drill

beneath your hands, i come apart

Summary: TK gets his dessert and shows Carlos how much he loves him.

4 x 07: Tommy Dearest

in the quiet with you

Summary: “We had the craziest call tonight,” TK says as he sets the table for dinner, freshly clean from his shower.

“What was it about?” Carlos asks where he’s finishing up at the stove, dinner almost ready.

“This man came in with his wife on a refrigerator dolly, hanging upside down, claiming that if she’s not upside down then she dies.” TK chuckles slightly, still amazed at the memory, setting out the various sauces and toppings for the tacos that Carlos has made.

4 x 08: Control Freaks

you're all i need

Summary: TK and Carlos finally get a night to themselves to reconnect and relax after some hectic wedding planning.

4 x 09: Road Kill

these moments with you

Summary: A soft moment between TK and Carlos

4 x 10: Sellouts

off duty

Summary: Carlos is at home when he hears about an ambulance exploding.

after gala fun

Summary: Carlos and TK have some fun after the gala

4 x 11 Double Trouble

Dreamy Officer Reyes and his Nincompoop

Summary: Carlos and TK have some roleplay fun.

4 x 12 "Swipe Left"

A future without you is no future at all

Summary: Carlos and TK talk again later that night about kids and Carlos tells TK more about the fears that he has.

4 x 13 "Open"

Lost in You

Summary: TK comes home making wife jokes and Carlos reminds him who he belongs to.

4 x 14 "Tongues Out"

Pudding Punishment

Summary: Carlos faces some fun consequences to stealing the pudding.

4 x 15 "Donors"

after work conversations

Summary: Carlos ices TK's face while they talk about their day.

4 x 16 "A House Divided"

in sickness and in health

Summary: All Carlos has ever wanted is to love TK and live a life by his side, now that's threatened by yet another thing that he can't control.

4 x 17 "Best of Men"

Words left unsaid

Summary: Carlos deals with his grief after his father's funeral

4 x 18 "In Sickness and in Health"

Vacation Eyes

Summary: TK and Carlos start their honeymoon.

The Loft

Summary: TK and Carlos decide that they're going to stay home for their honeymoon instead of going someplace else.

Other Season 4 fics (not set with any particular ep)

mine oh mine

summary: After things settle and Carlos heals up, TK and Carlos finally have a moment to reconnect. TK takes the time to remind Carlos who he belongs to.

total word count: 76,401

[arkus-rhapsode]

Video game hot take of the day or really more like a video game hot discussion because I know I'm opening myself to a discourse and I want to give an actually though out and decent take on something that's kinda always on my mind involving Smash Bros and frankly the perception of Nintendo franchises as a whole.

So I think it is fair to say that for better or worse, Smash Bros as a series has drastically altered people's perception of certain video game characters. I know it is essentially a gateway for many to be introduced to this cornucopia of franchises both belonging to Nintendo and not belonging to them. Hell, factor in competitive players who might not ever purchase another Nintendo game in their life will know who guys like Fox or Captain Falcon are from this game alone. And because of the level of success as a franchise has reached, there is a certain prestige that comes from being in that roster. People who are deep in the wool of Nintendo fandom and the casuals can all recognize them from this simple to learn hard to master game.

I've said in a previous post a lot of people view Smash Bros as a video game hall of fame or a celebration of video games as a whole. You make it there, you are synonymous as a pillar of gaming. But the truth is its not really. Oh sure we treat inductions into smash as a big event, but this wasn't some independent committee of adjudicators decided that this character has to be in Smash Bros, its ultimately up to Nintendo and the deals they can crave out in back rooms we aren't privy to. I'm sure Sakurai and co try really hard with getting guys like Banjo and Terry into the roster, but ultimately it comes down corporate negotiation. At the end of the day, Smash Bros is a Nintendo product. with a goal of selling many units and creating enticing additions to the game that may also coincide with deals they have with other companies or even advertising plans for themselves.

And with that in mind, if we decouple that prestige, we are left with something else. That ultimately characters and the franchises they are from in Smash Bros are not all the pillars of Nintendo. Now that sounds harsh and I really want to make it clear, I'm not at all saying these are bad games. However, I am not under the perception that just because Ness is in every Smash game means earthbound is a franchise that Nintendo needs to keep in perpetuity alongside Mario and Zelda.

And before I continue, I really want to stress this. I get it. It sucks to lose a series that you love. It sucks that art, characters, worlds, stories that you are invested in can just cease to be because they don't sell enough to justify sequels and the company that owns them have no interest in taking that risk to continue making them. I am a Fire Emblem fan, I know what it is like for your franchise to be on death's door and potentially getting shelved. We were lucky we got Awakening which was a game that appealed to old fans but also made a bunch of new fans. And there is no denying that some percentage of new fans learned what Fire Emblem even was because of Smash Bros.

So I am sympathetic to the plight of people who want series they love to return. I understand that if you are a Star Fox or F-Zero fan you are literally dying for new content. To be given that same shot at second life that not only satisfies existing fans but also grows the franchise into something sustainable for many games. But the truth as it is, is that Nintendo as a company don't see that as a viable new stream of revenue and there isn't really an incentive to take that risk at this time. They may just be too niche of a game without the strength in sales to justify investment into future titles.

I have heard this take before, but there are people who do genuinely believe that the first ever roster of smash characters from the N64 should always have a game. That these are Nintendos all stars. The Justice League of Nintendo characters. But once again, set the prestige to the side, you'll realize that's not even what the original Smash Bros was about. Like Captain Falcon? He's just here because his model is similar to the rough prototype of Smash, Dragon King. Jigglypuff is just here because their model is similar to Kirby. And I'll be honest, that's not really convincing me that we should always have a new F-Zero every gen or have Jigglypuff in every Pokemon game. At its core, smash was about making a fighting game that you already recognized the characters then invest in the gameplay and like any game that develops, it needed to make good within the limitations that it had to release a fun and satisfying product.

However, for many people they see this as the symbol of Nintendo IP. The showpiece of their iconic characters. Yet a good chunk of these guys are from games that are unavailable? Heck, for some people smash is the only time they'll see some of these franchises because Nintendo isn't doing anything with them.

So again, this isn't about "Stop whining! Your thing doesn't sell get over it!" My thing is that I do not believe that just because something is in Smash Bros means it is owed a new game or to constantly get entries. And that just because it is in Smash Bros means it is a priority for Nintendo to honor. At the end of the day, corporate interest will dictate that choices made in what games they make. And Nintendo is thankfully one of the companies that has way more than like 3 blockbuster IP is makes every year. I do have faith that fans can show an interest in something financially and that will get people to take notice. I do think seeing how massive a positivee reception people are giving Golden Sun being put on Switch Online may actually spur them to make a new one.

Nintendo has brought back some lesser known IPs of theirs, so I think it is disingenuous to say that Nintendo never tries to bring things back like some like to say. We have remakes of Advanced Wars, Another Code, Famicom Detective Club. These are safe but still a form of chance that goes beyond just making the millionth Mario game because Mario is guaranteed to sell. But the truth for some is that because they're not in Smash Bros they're not recognizable iconic character who haven't gotten a spotlight. When people say they want Nintendo IP revived they mean the popular stuff that they can recognize as Nintendo IP that was around before but is no longer like F-Zero and Star Fox and EarthBound. Which is thanks to the power of something like Smash Bros. Meanwhile Advanced Wars gets announced and you don't see people recognizing it as "The game Andy is from."

Now I never want to say never, I don't know what the future holds, perhaps we will see Nintendo put some serious weight and investment in a Star Fox game and its a game that's more than like a mid level indie team remake of it. Its an actual honest to god new entry into the franchise that not only does well, but also growing the fanbase beyond its passionate fans. And there isn't a shadow of doubt in my mind, that some people who have never touched a Star Fox game will recognize who Fox is and give it a try because he's in that fighting game with Mario and Zelda.

So yeah while there is a lot hype and bluster and something really cool about seeing all these video game characters under one roof and a lot of going beyond just the company of Nintendo, it really makes smash almost this institution. But I do think when we talk about games and choices Nintendo makes with the games they decide to make, we should set aside that sort of mythologizing that smash has done for some characters and franchises. And ultimately remember that this is a business.

Again, one last time for the road, this is not me saying your love for these franchises and characters is invalid. And neither is the desire to see them return. We will see waters tested. Look at F zero 99. It might not be GX 2, but it clearly shows they do care. They do want to preserve and introduce this game to people. Maybe it is that one small step towards F zero’s Metroid Prime/FE Awakening. But it’s still a calculated risk, there’s a reason nintendo doesn’t just make more games because it’s nice to have or because they’re obligated to.

[controlvariable]

myth's game writeup of 2023

i waited until the new year to finish this in case i managed to beat a game during december. i did not. ANYWAY.

this will contain new games as well as games i only got around to in 2023. light on spoilers but be warned

Octopath Traveler II (2023)

as far as i remember, this was the first new game I played this year, and god did it deliver. I've been a fan of octopath since the first one came out on switch in 2018, counting it as my favorite game of all time, so to have a sequel after all this time was thrilling. it did almost everything octopath 1 did and better. new path actions, day/night system, branching stories, fucking boats?? incredible.

my biggest gripe has to be the new hidden classes. I started with throne so getting inventor 10 minutes after my chapter one did definitely fuck up the progression a little bit. I think I preferred ot1 hidden classes. while the dungeons were underwhelming, the boss battles really make you fight for these secret techniques, something absent in 3 out of the 4 hidden classes of octopath 2.

overall: 4/5 BP.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed (2023)

xenoblade 3 as the end of the klaus trilogy really didn't sit well with me, for reasons that don't belong on my review of its dlc, but future redeemed fixed nearly every problem i had with base xc3 — both story and gameplay wise. it ties every xenoblade game and even some of gears and saga into a neat little 40 hour bow, and is truly a love letter to the entire series. I can only think of one problem I still have with it. the fucking menu music.

where do i even fucking start with this one really. relatively speaking, I'm a new xenoblade fan, having started xc1 in march 2022 during a harrowing experience with adhd meds, and since then it had kinda consumed me. I finished it in about a week, went on to watch xenoblade 2 because I had heard the gameplay wasn't great, and got my hands on xenoblade 3 day of release.

overall: 5 dance apples.

Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

as someone who was not immune to the hype surrounding botw, I had high hopes for the sequel. hopes that were painfully, slowly, fed into a trash compactor over my playthrough. this is another game I got on release day, lining up outside gamestop in the heat, and lets not forget that it's the only first-party switch game with a price tag of seventy bucks.

the game plays like a tech demo. I have a lot of love in my heart for it. the story was better that botw, the world was more expansive than botw, but the problem here is that everything it does is directly compared to breath of the wild. it doesn't get enough time to shine, because we're in the exact same world as 6 years ago, but instead of pinkish black malice we have blackish pink gloom. i much prefer the runes to the zonai abilities, and the sense of wonder that permeated breath of the wild is replaced by a sense of nostalgia that just doesn't appeal to me much.

all of this isn't to say it's a bad game. I think it's a great game, honestly, but a great game that wasn't meant for me. I've seen the insane shit people do with ultrahand, but it just... isn't my style.

overall: 441/1000 korok seeds

Pikmin 4 (2023)

it's pikmin. i dont have much to say about it. it was a lot of fun, loved that part where i bulborbed all over those guys. im not a gameplay reviewer, at heart i mostly talk about story, and a game like pikmin doesn't have much for me to comment on. good fun. lived up to expectations. probably wouldn't replay.

overall: 7500 sparklium

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood (2017)

oh, stormblood... the rage you still fill my veins with. I'm not going to spend too long on this one because I have better things to do with my life than shit on an expansion everyone already hates, but let me make it clear I actually do have reasons for disliking it.

having ala mhigo built up since the very start of a realm reborn, only to have half of the ala mhigo expansion take place halfway across the star, was very disappointing. the monotony of the three areas in gyr abania compared to the three far east areas was very disappointing. the treatment of the people of the steppe and honestly that entire segment in the main story quest was very disappointing. hien, as a character, in his entirety, was very disappointing.

I will say it had strong parts. the 61-70 quests for several jobs were the strongest in their entire story (see: dark knight). the dungeons started to get more interesting. it gave us the quest Child Labor, which is hilarious and I'll never be finishing it because I want it there forever.

overall: 1/3 WHM Lillies.

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (2019)

ffxiv immediately got better the second 4.0 was over. even the patch quests instantly shot up in quality. it's not even funny. the lead up to shadowbringers was the most fun I had had with the game since a realm reborn, and all of the first was heartbreaking to go through even though I was spoiled on That Character's Identity.

the duty trust system (is that what it was called?) made dungeons much more fun. getting to go through hell with alphinaud alisaie and thancred made everything 10x better, even if it was a lot slower. the story, again, heartbreaking — ryne's arc in particular felt like being stabbed by thousands of little needles while trying to play. in the best way, of course. and amaurot... amaurot. getting to quote our favorite knight in there was my 8th umbral calamity.

shadowbringers also marks when a lot of your job's functionality is really unlocked, so doing the level 80 raid series was genuinely a ton of fun. and again the thousands of little needles. i cried at least 7 times during the main story.

overall: 85/100 kenki gauge.

Katana Zero (2019)

possibly my favorite game this year. the protagonist, zero (or as i like to call him, katana from zero,) ticked all the boxes for a character I'd be absolutely obsessed with. true enough, i fell in love. the fast-paced gameplay, the diegesis of gameplay elements which would typically go unquestioned, and the care that seeps through every dialogue choice all solidify katana zero as one of my favorite game experiences ever. I'll leave it at this, because I encourage everyone to at least give it a try.

overall: Yes, that should work.

Fire Emblem Engage (2023)

this is one of the few 2023 releases on this list that I didn't get on launch, because at the time I had relatively little interest in fire emblem as a series. then I made a lot of friends who enjoy it, and in october, bestie sen decided to buy it for me as an early birthday present. everyone say thank you sen.

considering this is my first fire emblem game, i have absolutely no deeper insight into how it matches up compared to the others, and plenty of people more eloquent than me have already talked about that. what I do know is that the gameplay was surprisingly fun as my first tactical rpg, and the story was passable. all the characters were appealing in one way or another, and I'm still mad I had to choose between marrying kagetsu or fogado. they're both my husbands at heart.

overall: I didn't internalize enough of this game to come up with a clever rating.

Fire Emblem Engage: Fell Xenologue (2023)

I was expecting the dlc to continue the main story, so I put it off until I had finished the base game. in hindsight, I regret it, because I'd love to have brought the winds and twins with me to fight their evil versions and alternate universe dad. the story was... alright. I really liked all the small battle interactions between fell characters and our party members which they would've known. I instantly recognized fogado in chapter 1 because I am in love with him by the way.

overall: i dont know. 1¾ dragonstones

with 2024 upon us, I'll probably be writing reviews for games as I play them. I'm trying to use tumblr more as a social platform instead of just reblogging. we'll see how that plays out. if you like any of these games (yes, even tears of the kingdom) please talk to me about them! that's all for now. look out for my mangled thoughts on SANABI and Nier: Automata next :)