#(i still love the alien verse we have too obvs!! but now we can have both more properly)

[respondedinkind]

❝ there you are. i was getting worried. ❞

last of us (show) starters || accepting

"I apologize. I should have informed you about... my absence."

Pain keeps pulsing through his veins, inside his head, in rhythm with a steady heartbeat; Khan is still standing, he won't budge, he won't break under whatever the Admiral is doing to him - not until he's freed his family, including Vega, and himself from that old man's grasp.

A pair of nostrils flare as Khan inhales, then exhales, slowly so, with his bright blue eyes focusing on the massive screen in front of him. This room, existing outside of their prison cells, is accessible to both of them; Similar to an observation deck on board of a starship, it offers a seating area as well as a massive screen to show off the night sky for them to look at in the late evening hours.

It's ironic, in a way - Marcus uses them to his advantage, causes pain both mentally and physically, tortures their minds and bodies... and yet he's offering them this room within what is the designated zone they're allowed to roam freely in, a place to recuperate, basically, until it's time for Khan and Vega to get locked up for the night once more.

He blinks, his head finally turning as he does to have his gaze linger on her instead now, an ocean meeting emeralds. A few seconds pass as silence stretches between them, accompanied by a throat working as Khan swallows; He can still taste copper at the back of his tongue, but his injuries are healing well.

"I needed a moment to..." A moment of hesitation, to form a thought. "---Reflect."

[spacejew]

Doctor who spoilers, beware

Okay holy fuck that episode

also so so sorry for all the typos, not used to their keyboard and too sleepy to correct them all

Some quick comments (and then my THEORIES)

- first of all very fun episode I was SO INTRIGUED

- good ass vfx

- absolutely adore the gang and their irl consequences of doctor travels. Maybe this season they have to rethink their "easy" choice to travel with her?

- I was loving the mystery but. As soon as master reveal I'm now very worried that the explanation to these mysteries won't be as satisfying? I was so pumped for a brand new, totally original serious threat , and suddenly the master being involved kinda dampens that. You know? I hope it still ends up being super creative and cool and satisfying

- the last five minutes left me confused straight up. Where'd the Vor guy vanish to? The house ourside the plane? Did they like. Teleport? Was it like, evidence of a weird simulation type of thing? Just a little lost, I need to rewatch. (Edit: OH the house was flying, probs the Masters TARDIS then, got it)

- must reiterate, GREAT ACTING AND DIALOGUE, I love team TARDIS holy fuckkk my babes. Ready for some juicy juicy conflict.

Okay theory time bitches

- they are Inside the Masters TARDIS!! Too many references to our beloved TARDIS being insanely gigantic on the inside. Karaoke buses? Water slides? Rainforest?? Chibs is hitting the audience over the head with "the TARDIS contains multitudes". It would make sense as a reminder or foreshadowing that either the whole episode or some portion like the evil dimension being actually inside the Masters TARDIS, all part of a simulation of some sort. Hence weird happenings, and a dampened sonic, and things breaking into thirteens TARDIS. "Everything is a lie", so everything may or can be fake and simulated by the Masters TARDIS

- alternate universes, an obvious one based on that alien code decyohefing projection bit. Like, duh, multiple Earths means multiple Earths, doc.

- the master is either: from an alternate universe himself, or at least a master before Gomez . I loved Missy and her character development was a real emotional journey for me. I would hate it to be neglected or retconned. An earlier master would be interesting, and respect Missy's death.

- the Light Aliens exist in some kind of computery way. All that talk about Vor and data and technology? They say they blipped around those windows like lights on a server or visual code computations? That evil dimension Yaz was in being full of stuff that could either be DNA strands or Data cores or like giant neural pathways? With the light aliens manifesting as electrical pulses running through them? Very evocative of brains/computers. Either they're projections of code, or exist as energy and have a computer hivemind going on, I think it's their big "thing". Also lends well to the simulation bit.

- obviously parallels to The Army of Ghosts, Cybermen, alt universes, etc. But personally, really hoping it's completely unrelated aka definitely not Cybermen. Even though the shaped do fit? But A. Don't act like Cybermen B. Their head shapes are also reminiscent of that Raknos looking aliens from the trailer. So hey. Maybe it's those?

- when Yaz came back from the evil dimension, she was like downloaded to their computer thing, and when she was re-uploaded to our reality, she may be augmented with extra "code" -- just like The Vor ceo guy, she may not be 100% human. 7% not human can mean there's not totally rewritten dna, but just extra dna, from the aliens, full of code. Like a sleep agent almost?? As SPY?????? HMMMMM????? trust nobody!!!! Yaz could be a sleeper agent or unwitting spy with extra alien stuff in her now, is what I'm saying.

- going off of that, that's what happened to all the dead spies - the aliens were experimenting with getting their own spies onto earth via human spies, but they accidentally rewrote too much of their dna, totally killing them. They've perfected it now?

- aliens are obvs from a diff dimension entirely. Lie the Boneless were! I hope maybe they're relayed? Would be sick as hell I loved that episode

- here's a fuckin Longshot! Last seasons thirteen mentioned scary stories she was told as a child. Referring to the Frog Universe, what was it called? The Anti-verse or some shit? Y'all know what I mean. What matters is that my fav Chibnall episode, The Power of Three, set up another "scary story told to gallifreyan children" that the doctor couldn't believe was real, and seemed to be coming from like another dimension? The Tally!!! It was never followed up on even though I thought it was an amazing setup, so maybe The Tally is involved somehow. Or, god willing, they'll come back later this season in an unrelated plot.

- trust nobody! Everything you know is a lie, says the master. Maybe Yaz was replaced entirely? Who else is a fake? Alternate universes? So many ways things could be totally faked. No concrete theory here but, I'm going into the next episode literally not trusting shit. All a simulation? Simulated time travel? Who knows.

- Masters TARDIS is one of the cool sets we saw in the trailer that was tardis-like

- Vor ceo guy is actually a good person trying his damn best to help stop the aliens and assist the doctor, but cannot let anyone know he's actually helping. So he just lets them get away with snooping, investigating, but really needs to keep his distance. Also he probs thinks he's helping with some technology trade with the aliens? Y'know, in a capitalist way lol.

- oh yeah duh, the aliens could all literally be made up by the master as part of a totally unrelated plot to take over earth, as he does. Killing spies is just part of the misdirection and to draw in the doctor. I'd be a little bummed by this tho

----

Im honestly nervous it may be a let down, but, I'm really hoping everything that was set up this episode was important and relevant and will pay off with a really cool villain, new concepts to play with, and the master being a real good threat and an enjoyable version of himself. (I'm not sold and I'm a little sad after seeing him play it so.. cringey? It's like a Simm impersonation but a little hokey idk. But we only had five minutes of him so I'm excited to see how it goes!!! Maybe I'm legit just salty that it's not Missy or a lady or something. I'll give him a chance!!! I'm hoping for the best. I WAS legit totally surprised, even tho I knew something had to be off about O... Good reveal!)

Hopefully I get time off work this weekend to see Part 2 in theaters and have a grand ol time. Legit very pleased and hooked by this premiere. So fun

[morethanonepage]

Poe - 10 and 25, Cassian - 22 and 33?

10. ART

Oh man what a question for the Star Wars verse! I think there must be such a beautiful rich cultural history and field of study on What Is Art and who produces it and thousands of essays about Imperial Aesthetics vs Old Republic vs New Republic, and that’s just like….paintings and sculptures and stuff. But broader art like plays and music and television and film….

But anyway: Poe based! Because the way I picture Yavin IV, it’s at such a weird intersection between ancient history (so,the art was a lot of representational murals in the temples, etc) and modern New Republic mythology (the Cradle of the New Republic, seeing as it’s where some of the earliest victories of the Rebellion happened). Like there’s probably so much iconography about that medal awards ceremony alone! So I assume Poe’s been exposed to a lot of really laudatory, beautiful, inspirational art about The Glory of the Rebellion and The New Republic and all of that. But he’s also growing up in a place with really, really ancient depictions of the Massassi people, who were apparently warriors themselves, and who were defeated by the Sith thousands of years previously. 

So there’s those two different perspectives on war and even Poe’s identity, which could’ve been shaped by the art he found himself surrounded by: we know there’s a lot of ancient Massassi stuff still around Yavin IV (the giant heads, the temples obvs), PLUS there’s all the New Republic stuff (like I just cannot imagine that Base One has not become a museum, full of murals about the victory of the Rebellion and all the brave soldiers who fought for freedom, in the interim). And that’s probably why his place in the struggle is so obvious to him and why he sees himself as part of that legacy – he saw it depicted around him in the most emotional way. 

Plus also generally I assume Poe’s a nerd and loves going to museums on other planets and learning what their residents consider beautiful and artistic. 

25. RELIGION

I had a line in the travelogue about Poe not finding much use in religion past the age of eight (which is when Shara died) and I think that’s about where I am with it – Shara uses “may the Force be with you” at least once (maybe twice?) so I picture her as a little bit more of a follower in that regard, but something about the Dameron men makes me think they’re both more the functionally agnostic type. Partly because I’m resistant to the knee-jerk “oh they’re latinx, they must be space catholic devout” thing, and also partly because Kes especially seems like such an earth bound, simple person in the best of ways: he doesn’t have the time for the big spiritual questions or living up to some imposed metaphysical standards, he has a son to raise and a farm to run and a life to live, all of which he has to deal with after the love of his life died so brutally young. It’s the kind of thing that’ll make you lose any faith you might’ve had, y’know?

And Poe, well. I think he partly takes after his dad (and looks up to his dad) on that respect, and also probably heard “the Force works in mysterious ways” too much as a child after his mom died, and was like fuck it. 

22. FAMILY.

AHHHHHHHHHHH you have opened up a real can of worms here.

Ok so: based entirely on my personal feelings and the fact that Cassian’s father was killed during a protest at Carida Academy over the rise militarism of the Republic, I have concocted this idea that Cassian comes from a line of progressive academics Festejanos (I waiver about what the communal noun for Fest natives is but Festejanos is where I’m at with it right now) and that they’re all vaguely socialist lecturers or students for the most part.

Fest in general has been known as a troublesome kind of planet for CENTURIES, like, they’re always protesting something (Republic interference in local affairs, lack of representation in the Senate, the continued existence of slavery, taxes, the misuse of those taxes, educational reforms, etc, etc), but it’s a planet-wide city full of the potential for urban guerrillas + mountains with occasional secret villages + volcanoes + a death cult religion, so they mostly get left alone. The public universities are especially well known for a) providing excellent educations and b) encouraging rabble rousing, and the Andor family has a long lineage of both. But they’re predominantly academics: they like to debate and argue and make speeches, plus teach literature and say snarky things in class about how the Republic isn’t really a republic or whatever. 

And Cassian’s dad is like, a typical Cool Professor type, with glasses and corduroy jackets and curly hair – all his students love him. Cassian’s mom is a science teacher – maybe she’s in engineering and imparts in Cassian some of the kind of knowledge he’ll need to reprogram a droid later on. 

Cassian’s an only child but has a big family in terms of uncles and aunts and grandparents – everyone around him is so clever and talkative and has so many opinions and Cassian learns to be smart and cheeky because everyone thinks that’s hilarious and at first his childhood is really bright and happy and fun: he’s the only child of that generation, mostly be accident, but he’s so so beloved. But he’s born right on the cusp of change, and – like the rest of the galaxy – neither he nor the rest of his family seem to realize just how fundamental that change has been. 

Protests that used to be de rigueur and ignored by the Republic start to be cracked down on in earnest, with people getting arrested and disappeared – political leaders start dying in mysterious accidents. Cassian’s mom dies in one of those; Cassian’s dad dies at Carida Academy. Cassian gets bounced around from family member to family member, as they’re imprisoned or lose their teaching positions, as the planet of Fest, always so independent and bold and strong, begins to feel the pressure of the Republic’s growing military force. By the time the Empire is established, there’s almost nothing left of the Fest Cassian knows – the buildings might be there, but the heart is gone. The people are cowed and quiet and careful, and he’s not even sure if he has any family left. 

He joins up with one of the early resistance movements, gets off planet, and never looks back.

33. SAFE

So there’s a large, sprawling park in the center of Fest – not far from where Cassian’s paternal grandparents used to live – that’s full of museums and artifacts from the millennia of civilizations that came before. Big stone heads like are found on Yavin IV, representations of gigantic alien creatures that no longer roam the planet, crystal space snakes – that sort of thing. There’s always food vendors and fresh fruit juices for sale, and ice cream, obvs. 

There’s also a huge lake in the center – supposedly this calls back the heritage of Fest, because the original, oldest part of the city was settled on an island in the middle of a vast lake (which no longer exists, because, urban sprawl). So this man-made lake was put in, with canals feeding into it. And The Thing to do, when you’re there, is rent out one of the many colorful boats, and take long trips around the lake and up and down the canals – they charge by hour and sometimes they even have little grills on them so you can cook a meal, make a full day of it. 

Cassian’s grandparents would take him to the park every time he came to visit, and on VERY special occasions, they’d take him on a boat ride – and lil Cassian would lie back, looking up at the thatched canopy that covered the boat, seeing the park float by around him, feeling the ripple of waves beneath him, as his grandparents debated politics and art and gossip. 

Those are the happiest memories he has – of his home, of his family. Of being loved, and of being safe. 

Send in a character and a number from this list and I will write a headcanon based on the word