#also I believe in short shadow supremacy

[holidaybrews]

obsessed with these two frames

[qisty89]

sketch page of the gayass mfers

I was gonna draw Shadow in a dress but I lost motivation for that weh

(also yes Shadow is slightly shorter than Sonic I'm a firm believer of Shadow short king supremacy)

[sweetthingshavesharpteeth]

@threefolddefencespeech's worldcon report inspired me to write up what I've been reading recently, so here's the books I've read in roughly the last year (at least, what i recall). Let's start with the Hugo-nominated ones:

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraborty

The blurb hooked me on this, and I wasn't disappointed. To be clear, it's not going to give great insights into the human condition or anything - it's a getting-the-gang-back-together heist movie, fun but not terribly deep. I do think "bad-ass older woman" is an underutilised protagonist archetype, though.

Witch King, by Martha Wells

This was not my favourite book by Wells - I enjoyed it enough, and the world and magic was interesting, but I think @threefolddefencespeech was right that the book sacrifices too much in character development to achieve its parallel-past-and-present narrative structure.

The Greenhollow Duology, by Emily Tesh

I actually read Silver in the Wood years ago on ao3, and when I saw that there was a sequel, I had to read it (after re-reading Silver in the Wood, of course). It has some great, and distinctive, characters, and some deliciously otherworldly vibes. I will have to read Tesh's Hugos-nominated novel (Some Desperate Glory) now.

Notorious Sorcerer and Shadow Baron, by Davinia Evans

Notorious Sorcerer is possibly my favourite book from the last year. It uses the trope of "outsider achieves what the indoctrinated don't even think is possible", but - in contrast to a lot of other examples of this trope - the protagonist doesn't magically stumble on the exact right thing to do the first time. He really doesn't know what he's doing, and uses a lot of trial-and-error. Evans sacrifices some smoothness of plot to demonstrate this, but I think it's worthwhile. It's also a book about corrupt power structures, but doesn't try to suggest that changing those structures is simple, or without consequences.

Shadow Baron is clearly the second book in a trilogy, and - as is typical with such books - doesn't really feel like it has a coherent plot of its own. I still enjoyed reading it, and I'm looking forward to the final book in the trilogy coming out.

The Archive Undying, by Emma Mieko Candon

This is exactly the sort of thing I love from SFF - it throws you in the deep end of a complex, alien world (for all it's ostensibly Earth), and you just have to trust that the author will make things clear in time. Stylistically, it felt a lot like the Machineries of Empire series by Yoon Ha Lee, one of my all-time favourite book series. I would highly recommend to anyone who liked that series.

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

I can't believe it's taken me so long to get around to reading this classic short story collection (that includes the story the film Arrival is based on). In some ways, I think short stories are the ideal format for sci-fi - they can explore an idea without being overly weighed down by the need to have an engaging plot. Chiang does a good job of wielding short stories in this way, and explores some interesting concepts.

The Adam Binder Novels, by David R Slayton

There are surprisingly few novels with queer male protagonists that are written by queer men. I actually bought these books for a pound each, expecting to get holiday-worthy trashy reading, and was pleasantly surprised. They're well-written, with some interesting worldbuilding, and were definitely worth the price!

Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien

I re-watched the films last Autumn, and followed up by re-reading the books. I enjoy seeing how adaptations change a story, and thinking about why those changes were made. Also, every time I read LotR I'm more aware of the white supremacy woven into the heart of the worldbuilding.

Bunt!, by Ngozi Ukazu and Mad Rupert

Ngozi has a fantastic grasp of visual humour, and thematic parallels, and knowing when to be silly and when to be serious. It's something I loved about Check, Please!, and it's on display here as well.

Into the Tower, by Hari Conner

Claiming I've "read" this is a bit of a push - it's a choose-your-own adventure book, and I've played a handful of different paths, but there are still many more to explore. I love the world Conner has built - the weird, metaphysical world of the tower is perfectly suited to this style of piecemeal exploration, where a linear narrative couldn't hope to encompass the breadth of strange goings-on.

The Simon Snow trilogy (Carry On, etc), by Rainbow Rowell

This was sold to me as "a massive fuck-you to JK". This was inaccurate. It clearly started as Drarry fanfiction - the characters that were formerly Draco, Harry, Hermione, Hagrid and Dumbledore are plain to see - but it doesn't really engage with the themes or flaws of that book series in any meaningful way, rather using it as set dressing. Instead, it attempts to take on the broader genre of Chosen One stories - digging into themes of manipulation, being used as a tool, whether a Chosen One is actually doing Good, and what happens after their part is fulfilled.

I think it does a reasonable job of this - better than several others I've read, at least - although I didn't enjoy it enough to want to re-read it, or to make a particular recommendation of it.

Books I failed to get into

Raising Steam, by Terry Pratchett

Lesser Known Monsters, by Rory Michaelson

[trashcreatyre]

I am once again pushing my short shadow tall rouge hc

Pls dont tag as ship art, thx

[crappyyuki]

Bryan with lava eyes :DDD

It’s been a while since I fully colored smth :,)

Here’s the Sketch and the one with a background!

I attempted to make lava. I’m not sure if it went well lmao.

I also don’t know how to draw or render muscles but BUFF BRYAN SUPREMACY!

HE IS SLIGHTLY TONED BUT HE CAN FLATTEN A STONE FUCKING COUNTER THATS CANON FIGHT ME

Honestly, I’m not sure if I can write this AU. With confidence I mean. I already got like a 15k word outline going on and it’s still going and it’s been like that for the past 3 years. Yeah. Pretty crazy. But if I can’t write this then I might resort into posting a bulleted list on what I should’ve written in the betterment of those 3 years instead of making a long ass outline to get it out into the world.

I love this AU, you have no idea, but it is so hard to write. So bear with me. I’ll give a bit of insight into it.

• This is a canon divergence of the canon timeline where instead of Bryan taking the hit, it’s Molten taking the hit. (My guy is not having a great time. Both of them.)

• This AU is canon defiant to the actual lore in Bryan’s series. A lot actually. This is a bit more canon compliant to the Fnaf storyline. Focusing more on spirits and souls than portals and portal magic. Soul juice produced from murdered children. All that good stuff. Don’t get me wrong, I love the series but I wish it focused on the souls of the kids and their stories if only a little.

• Let’s say there are a lot of hidden secrets in the old pizzeria that Bryan would carry to his grave. Most of them is guilt. The other is shame borderlining to self loathing.

• “No one would ever believe you.” :)

• This AU’s pov is also on the animatronics side. Mostly Freddy, Helpy (the old one), and maybe probably Foxy (the Rockstar one) I miss them, okay?

• Pat is around too. Watching over the animatronics while getting deathly afraid of them for a definite period of time before making friends with them because wow, those robots aren’t actually gonna force them into a Freddy Fazbear suit. Why did they listen to a pre-recorded message anyway?

• Jon is the one that stumbles onto the secret. But its not complete. He wonders where he should find the other pieces.

• You know OG Freddy? How he was repaired? Yeah. That part wasn’t the only thing that brought him back to life.

• And the monitor Lefty stole from the pizzeria? Maybe Egg Baby? Wonder whats that for?

• The book that Bryan gave to Twisted Bonnie also changed. Still has the blueprints of the animatronics but of different animatronics.

• “Hmmmm, I wonder what I can do for Baby’s birthday? How can I make it her happiest day of her shortlived li—wait, can I even say that?????”

• Also, does anyone know what happened to Twisted Freddy? Did he just become the wind or what? We’ll see.

• Since Lefty didn’t die, let’s say Shadow Freddy had other places to be. And Twisted Wolf? Honestly forgot about that guy hahaha I’ll think of something.

• Oh! EB (Evil Bryan) is there too! Like actually.

• It’s quite funny to have two short humans going on offense while literal monsters go on support and defense lmao. What a bunch of losers.

• “See you on the flipside!”

• Hey. What’s up with Bryan’s eyes?

That’s all for now. Maybe I’ll post another one or work on a chapter? Who knows…

I can’t promise anything. I can only promise that the next will take a whileeeeeeee, a post or a chapter.

I still have not named this AU and marked it as INSERT TITLE HERE.

And to those that recognize that title, I am so sorry. I literally redid the first 5 chapters, finished 4, then dropped it off at chapter 7-8. Chapter 1-4 are finished but 5-8 is a land mine. I don’t know how to keep it going lmao. No really, it’s a struggle writing this dang thing and I want it out of my head too. I can’t promise any chapters or that I’m working on it because I’m so busy but I did not forget it if thats what you’re thinking. It’s just hard to write. Like really hard. That’s why I focused a bit on oneshots.

One things for sure though. It’s either chapter 5, 6, or 7 BUT—

Minigames. Plus Springtrap.

ITH!Bryan: Oh joy.

Feel free to ask questions about this AU! I’d be happy to answer! (Most of them anyway. Can’t reveal everything.)

[lazysublimeengineer]

Umbrella Man

Summary: “My umbrella.” He intoned in a placid voice.

“Huh? Oh. H-here you go.” Takemichi stammered as he handed the umbrella to him, inwardly cursing himself for being a stuttering mess.

“I don’t wanna get wet.” Senju replied in a matter of fact voice as he studied silently the young, nervous man in front of him.

—Or how Takemichi is being a hotshot in the eyes of the other deities and wants to recruit him but Senju won’t let them get their hands off of this former 1st Division Captain of Toman and wants him to get him on his gang even if he has to be the one getting out of the shadows and recruit him himself.

Characters: Senju K., Takemichi H., Akashi T.

“I’m not here to deal with Rokuhara Tandai! The one I want to deal is…Hanagaki Takemichi! I’ve come to scout you.” Akashi announced with a confident smile on his face.

“M-me? Why me?” A look of surprised and incredulity crossed Takemichi’s youthful yet expressive face.

Takemichi had just been shot by Mikey three times earlier before he time leapt into the past. And now he just landed into the fray unexpectedly with the former Tenjiku members! Recruiting him out of nowhere? The worst generation were all assembled here! From this point forward, maybe shock and surprise should now be on his default facial expression on his face as the unexpected events kept ploughing directly at him. He already gave up questioning on why Kaku-chan was here as well.

He can’t really catch a break, does he?

With the addition of dangerous people and the onslaught of tension right now, a war was definitely going to break out on this place.

Nevertheless, Takemichi could only gaped and sport an awestruck expression on his face on the next turn of events as an umbrella suddenly flew towards Terano all of sudden to which where he barely managed to dodge it but a kick landed on the side of his face afterwards that knocked the wind out of him.

The umbrella fell down into the ground unceremoniously afterwards before a person shrouded in a thick hoodie landed gracefully in front of him. Under a close observation, it was a glimpse of a young man with a lithe frame and possessed a short yet wavy locks that seemed to defy the gravity upon taking down his hoodie to reveal his face. His thick, long eyelashes brought out the intensity and shape of his deep set of eyes that were trained on Takemichi’s frame.

Takemichi swallowed thickly as he could feel his penetrating gaze boring into his soul.

Was this Senju Kawaragi…? The gang leader of the Brahman and one of the deities?

“My umbrella.” He intoned in a placid voice.

“Huh? Oh. H-here you go.” Takemichi stammered as he handed the umbrella to him, inwardly cursing himself for being a stuttering mess.

“I don’t wanna get wet.” Senju replied in a matter of fact voice as he studied silently the young, nervous man in front of him.

So, this was the infamous Hanagaki Takemichi huh? The former 1st division captain of the Toman gang and the 11th generation captain of the Black Dragons.

Takemichi tried not to squirm under his intense stare. Why did it feel like he was being judged under a microscope? He couldn’t help but to shrink inwardly from his gaze and his heart beat wildly inside his chest.

What the hell was happening to him?

Senju continued to observe him with a blank expression on his face. There was nothing remarkable or interesting about the man in front of him except for his short, flaxen locks which seemed to glisten under the faint rays of the sun and his startlingly blue eyes which reminded him of the ocean. He was a scrawny, ungraceful lad who possessed a bundle of nerves that could make him easily topple down with a raised voice and sharp glare.

However, he could also see something beneath those azure irises. The lurking determination, resilience and sharp candor which could spring out wildly if ever the situation arises from it. So, this is the one that he’s been hearing about from Akashi and the others. That infamous battle against the Tenjiku in the past where he was the acting leader of the Toman for the brief absence of Mikey and the other powerhouse captains. This was also the man that made Taiju kneel in that holy battle inside the church.

It reminded him of an innocent puppy with sharp fangs underneath that harmless face. That thought made his mouth quirk ever so slightly before his features settled quickly into an emotionless face.

“Let’s do this.”

He’ll make sure to recruit him into Brahman to see and experience those skills of that young man for himself until his curiosity and intrigue is satisfied.

After all, it would be interesting to see how Hanagaki Takemichi could add value and advantage to his own gang by his valor and firm morality.

He can’t wait to see on what this promising young lad has to offer him.

(A/N: I don’t anything from this franchise. I still believe in the Takemikeyhina supremacy. But chapter 212 happened. And it was wild. I had to get these thoughts and ideas out of my head before they melted away from my brain. Apologies in advance for any grammatical mistakes as English is not my native language. I tried to keep all of them in character although I still had trouble deciphering the exact nature of Senju given that he’s the newest addition of the character from the franchise. So, I tried to connect the possibilities of his nature from the few panels of the manga. Reviews are amusing. So, let me hear them from you.)

[thetpot]

true power, the divine right to rule, is something you're born with 

azula says this to long feng when he tries to double-cross her in the season 2 finale. but far important more than the context in which it’s said is the way it shines a light on the legacy zuko has to dismantle. and the parallels between his and aang’s arcs (canon or not, romantic or not - although i’m talking about romantic here) after the end of the war. 

what does it mean for zuko to grapple with the concept of divine right to rule? is he a true believer in the idea? what does it mean for him to believe in this divine right, knowing that his forefathers also had that right and did what they did with it? how does it manifest in practice? and where is there room for conflict in between aang and him when it comes to this divine right to rule? and even azula using the words ‘divine’ there is interesting because sozin and azulon were spiritual but ozai decidedly was not (sourcing this from the avatar wiki on fire sages because I literally couldn't recall any of the previous fire lords’ positions on the matter). so discounting the real world baggage of the terms ‘divine’, did azula even personally believe that her right to rule was 'divine' or was the verbiage she used to justify the fervor of her uncomplicated belief: if she was strong, she had a right to rule.

when i think about this, i always think about the end of ‘smoke and shadow’ and how zuko publicly apologizes to his people. that always stood out to me so much. ‘smoke and shadow’, ‘the search’ and ‘the promise’ deal either peripherally or directly with zuko as a leader of his nation. and in some ways, i love what they did with the space they had but in others, i so badly want to see how this nation can accept a fire lord publicly apologizing to them after the century they’ve lived through and not immediately revolt against him even more?

clearly, there is a will among the people of the fire nation to change. that’s the natural explanation. simultaneously, ozai loyalists and other threats to zuko’s rule exist - namely people undermining his approach, baiting him into reacting strong-handedly and just overall, casting coordinated aspersions on his ability as a leader. 

how do you then, as a community, accept a fire lord that publicly apologizes when your grandparents and parents lived through azulon and ozai’s rule? every earnest move zuko makes would leave him vulnerable to further attacks.

all that said, let’s talk about aang for a second. with aang being the avatar and also an air nomad, the divine right to rule idea can’t possibly sit comfortably with him. after several years of being avatar and fire lord, as adults, what do aang and zuko think about each other and their responsibilities? how do their responsibilities differ from one another? zuko has a duty to protect his nation’s interests and while he is undoubtedly good, he also has to make sure his people are protected as they pay back what they owe to other nations. he is unavoidably partial. he has to be.

aang's duty however, is to the world. and that has to mean actively going against zuko’s interest sometimes, in order to funnel stolen resources back to the other nations. no doubt, both aang and zuko want that. but zuko is ruling a populace sustained by a hundred years of cultural supremacy, bolstered by the spoils of an unjust war that was instigated by fucking genocide. that populace may want to change and heal from the war. but how far would that will to change and heal extend when people are losing their jobs, their livelihoods, their children’s future prospects? when fire nation businesses based in the earth kingdom, predicated on stealing earth kingdom resources, are taken over by the people who rightfully own that land and you don’t have a job anymore, lee. 

if zuko wants to stay in power long enough to enact change, he has to play that balancing game. and sometimes, that has to mean acting against aang to protect his people to protect his own seat of power. 

aang is the avatar and his duty is to the world, but that doesn’t make him impartial. aang isn’t a dingdong like roku. he repeatedly shows a willingness to confront complicated situations and make the hard decisions. 

so take all that and add some zukaang goodness into it. even better if it’s unexpressed as of yet (we don’t cheat on queen katara in this house, so let’s say, aang and katara have had an amicable split sometime during the end of their teen years). how does aang handle this complexity while dealing with his feelings for zuko? 

what does roku think of it? he has to warn aang away from that nonsense, doesn’t he? he’s given aang plenty of questionable advice (in ‘the promise’, he full on advocates for aang to fulfil his promise to kill zuko if he goes down the ozai way). but what about this? he has to see the parallels between aang and zuko, and sozin and himself (romantic or non-romantic, it goes either way). but it’s just so much spicier if it’s romantic.

aang is a good, sweet nugget but that doesn’t make him perfect. what kind of mistakes would he have to make before he’s finally willing to confront that his feelings for zuko are a problem and he has to actually deal with them? would he course-correct too much and end up going even harder on zuko in dealings with the earth kingdom? i mean, the earth king would be a lunatic not to exploit any backfoot he could get zuko on. and hell, it wouldn’t even be immoral or unethical of him to do it, because he’s exploiting this human element to claim restitution for a hundred years of colonization. 

or would aang go softer on zuko and have to face the consequences his lenience would have for other nations OR the implications it would have for zuko, to be perceived as having the avatar’s special favour? 

hell, how does zuko, notorious maker of bad decisions and haver of short tempers, deal with this balancing act while also grappling with unresolved feelings? add to that the fact that sozin outlawed homosexuality in his time and zuko grew up in that milieu? whereas the air nomads were markedly more accepting and progressive in their sexuality and relationships.

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH HERE TO CHEW ON? someone please write this fanfiction while i grapple with roku and all his terrible life decisions. 

[loki-hargreeves]

Kylo Ren x Reader - You’re Mind-Controlled

Warnings: mind control, angst, mentions of death, (an attempt of fluff/comfort) Word Count: 2K (sorry it’s short!) Summary: When you attack your husband, Kylo Ren, during battle - even he is taken by surprise. Under mind-control, your only goal is to get rid of your target. Ultimately, Kylo Ren finds out about the root of the situation and he gets furious. Author’s Note: I had too many ideas to choose from and somehow I ended up writing this. Keep in mind I wrote this at 3am. It’s more of a drabble(?)

Third POV

Flames were roaring wildly, burning everything in their path and filling the atmosphere around the battle with thick smoke. The troopers were lucky to have masks, or else the smoke would’ve been more bothersome. A shade of orange was cast upon the sky, illuminating the dangerous area and alerting outsiders to stay away or provide aid for the inhabitants that were trying to defend their home. Too bad for them, the order didn’t carry much sympathy for them. They were a bunch of crooks, too greedy to simply hand over what was asked. Their greediness was now the reason why so many of them were dead.

 Kylo Ren stood by his ship, holding onto his lightsaber tightly. He was taking in his surroundings, feeling victorious. It looked like they had everything under control. Even a blind man could tell that this was a battle the inhabitants had already lost. It was why Kylo wasn’t battling anyone, at least not yet. He waited for his troopers to bring the commander of the city and finally, Kylo could get what belonged to him.

 He was so certain of a successful mission that he let his wife, Y/N tag along. Usually, he would feel better if she stayed in the safety of the Supremacy, but she was stubborn and a good fighter. Of course, Kylo was aware of that, but he was also aware of the danger that came along to her everyday life as his wife.

Kylo paced across the field, staying alert as he neared the now torn down palace. Only a few moments ago it had stood there proud, full of stolen goods. He pushed the burnt curtain aside and stepped inside the remains of the great hall. The stormtroopers followed closely, not letting Kylo out of sight just in case. “Where is it?” Kylo wondered, his tone cold and certain.

 “The commander won’t speak, sir,” informed a trooper that had followed Kylo closely, “We believe he’s trying to prolong us. He may have sent someone else off with our mission target.”

 It wasn’t anything unusual. They put on a tough act, some for longer than the rest. For Kylo, it meant he had to dig a little deeper, which was frustrating, but not an impossible task. “Where is he?”

“At the other end of this…er- palace, sir.”

Just as Kylo prepared to speak again, he heard footsteps nearing him. As Kylo turned around, whoever entered the pitiful remains had attacked the troopers.

 Kylo recognized her immediately - it was Y/N!

 He watched in shock as she killed the troopers with no hesitation, not even flinching as blood coated her unusual weapons, a pair of daggers. She never used daggers before! They stood no chance against her surprise attack and even if they did, they wouldn’t have dared to harm her in front of Kylo!

 “What are you doing?!” Kylo growled, confused to say at least. She stood there, breathing heavily, her expression showing no remorse of killing her own. It was something Kylo would’ve never imagined her doing, not even in his wildest dreams. He looked into her eyes and the sight sent shivers down his spine. Hers were dull. It’s like something had drained the light out of them and left behind only a shadow of what used to be there. “Y/N!” Kylo tried to make her speak. Even he got a nasty feeling when he watched her just standing there.

 Something was awfully wrong.

 Just as fast as she entered the palace, she leapt at him. Her hand raised with the bloody dagger and she aimed right at him. Kylo dodged her attack just in time and swiftly grabbed her wrists, letting his lightsaber fall on the floor while doing so.

“What in the stars’ name are you doing?” He wanted to know, angry and hurt because the woman he loved had just tried to stab him. If it was anyone else, he would’ve made them meet their demise by now. Kylo hated to feel things, let alone admit it. Right now, his feelings were a bubbly mess inside him, boiling in a mixture of a little bit of everything. Their eyes locked and all Kylo could see was anger and hatred. Facing Y/N like this was odd, almost ghostly. It fed his worst fears, making his gut twist in a sick manner. His heart was hammering in his chest and he could even hear it. The unthinkable surprise she brought made his mind and body rush, eager to conclude what happened.

So many questions ran through Kylo’s mind. Why was she doing this? Why did she hate so strongly? Had he done something?

No. Kylo knew this was something else, something that made his blood boil with rage. Someone else must’ve been behind this, it was the only explanation!

Y/N attempted to free herself by kicking Kylo with her knee, hitting his abdomen painfully. The impact hurt, but Kylo had taken much worse. He never let go of her as they wrestled. Instead, he pinned her against the wall that was surely coated by ash and dust. Kylo sensed another presence within her. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t her! He knew it! “Snap out of it!” He spat harshly.

She was fighting, vigorously trying to break free, but it was hopeless. Kylo’s grip was strengthened by the force, which meant he didn’t even have to use his own physical strength to hold her down. Keen to figure out exactly what was going on, he put his palm on her warm and sweaty temple, digging into her mind. His force made her scream, as if she was in pain and it broke his heart. He never wanted to hurt her, and he knew he did this for both of their best.

 “I’m sorry,” Kylo whispered, wondering if the real her could hear that. It was at that moment that Kylo found what he was looking for. A chant was repeated in her mind that had clearly made her succumb to it. The chant was powerful, which meant that the person behind this was a bigger enemy than Kylo could have anticipated. One of the city’s inhabitants, most likely someone in a high rank, had somehow taken control over her mind from afar and made her see Kylo as her enemy. Whoever this person was must’ve known who Y/N was.

Could it be the commander?

 “…Kill him! Kill Kylo Ren!...”

 It sounded familiar…

Hearing it over and over again was horrible, for both Kylo and Y/N. Kylo sensed pain. She was fighting herself within herself, but the control that was over her was too strong. Naturally, Kylo did the only thing that would free her. By using a force trick, he made her fall unconscious and her body fell limp against him. He caught her body in his strong arms and rushed out of the temple. He had to get her inside the ship and fast, before anyone would begin to ask questions. If anyone was to interrupt him now, Kylo would lose his grip on himself. Now that he believed Y/N would be safe, he let his rage control him. He was determined to find the person behind this and make them suffer for ever putting Y/N in danger’s way.

                       It was as fast as a blink. One second Y/N was on the battleground, aiding injured troopers while fighting off their enemies. She had been rushing towards a trooper that was yelling in agony. The next moment she was in an interrogation room on the Supremacy, tied down to the interrogation chair. Her heart leapt to her throat in fear as she realized she was trapped. “What?!” Y/N gasped in shock as she tried to free herself. Where was Kylo? What happened?!

The door to the room opened and someone walked in. “Are you alright?” It was Kylo.

“Yes! I’m fine. What’s going on?” She wondered, relieved her husband was there, but at the same time, she only had more questions.

He walked by her side and he seemed relieved. Why was he smiling? “I see you’re back to your own self.”

“And I would appreciate it if you told me why I ended up here in the first place,” She hoped to be freed. No more time was wasted as Kylo unstrapped her from the chair and pulled her body close to his. No one else was around to see, and even if there were others, he wouldn’t have been able to resist it. He was so happy that she was back to normal.

Y/N sensed that something was off. Whatever happened must’ve frightened Kylo, since he was acting this was. She hugged him back and soon relaxed in his arms. Just like she always did.

“You don’t remember anything?” Kylo asked her after a while. They parted from the hug, but his hand lingered on her body, cupping her cheek softly. He had to feel her, to touch her, anything. He felt as she shook her head ‘no’. It’s like what happened had been a fever dream. It was so surreal and terrible.

Together, they left the interrogation room and he walked the two of them towards their quarters through the long and dim corridors. “The enemy commander I told you about had your mind under control,” he revealed almost bluntly.

Y/N nearly stopped in her tracks. “Are you joking?”

The look on Kylo’s face spoke louder than words, he was not joking. “I didn’t know he was capable of such power. That was until he made you attack me. He wanted either you or me dead, perhaps us both,” he continued, leaving out the fact that the commander had made her kill stormtroopers. Kylo knew better than anyone that she would beat herself up for it.

“Oh stars…Kylo, I hope I didn’t hurt you!”

As odd as it was, her worry comforted him. It felt much better than the cold and hateful look that bore holes into his skull earlier. “I’d say you surprised me. But do not worry. After I figured out what was happening to you, I took you to one of the ships. I believe the control was broken after you fell unconscious.”

“Kylo-“ Y/N stopped him. She sounded upset, so he sealed his lips and faced her. They stopped in the middle of an empty corridor where Y/N hurried to hug him again, holding her husband close. She knew of his past. As many times as he said to let the past die, she knew it would always hurt him. She didn’t even want to begin to imagine what he felt like when she out of all people attacked him, despite it all happening under mind control. “I’m sorry.”

Kylo wasn’t sure why she was apologizing. He took a deep breath and pulled her closer. Once his face was close to hers, he looked her right in the eye, “Don’t be sorry. The only one who is sorry is the commander,” Kylo reassured her with a faint smile yet there was a dark message behind his words. Kylo had not only gotten the mission target, but he had gotten vengeance by killing the sorry old man. It was a prime example of what happened to those who harmed Y/N in any way and to those who dared oppose him.

“I can’t believe that happened,” Y/N admitted. It terrified her how easily someone had captured her mind and sent her after the man she was so deeply in love with. Could it happen again? What if it did happen again?

Kylo made a silent promise to never let her out of sight on a battlefield ever again. The universe was far too dangerous, especially during these times. After silently agreeing, Kylo kissed the top of her head. He sensed her relaxing into him as he did so, which was exactly what he wanted. Yes, Y/N could be vicious, a terrific warrior and even frightening at times, but to him, she was the utmost precious being he knew of.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything like that happen again,” Kylo promised her as they continued their stroll.This time, they walked even closer to each other. Y/N didn’t want to let him go. Despite knowing she hadn’t controlled her actions, she felt ill for what she had done.

 Yet Y/N found comfort in his words. Honestly, they were both weary and ready to rest. They both deserved that now.

 A/N: I’m so sorry it’s not as an in-debt story as many of my other stories, but I really wanted to write something and it’s 3am. I hope you could enjoy it nevertheless :) 

[justjessame]

Glorious, Before the Burden - The Comfort ~ 9

I was in my rooms, Sif had gone off to check in with her trio of Warrior friends - having assured me that Hogun was also among our people that had greeted Thor’s arrival home - resting and hoping that Loki and Thor would return while it was still early enough for my worry to stay firmly at bay.  

Sitting in a chair by the fireplace - empty of a fire since I was far too warm to make one necessary - with a book in hand and my hand cradling the gentle curve of my stomach, I felt it when the Bifrost flashed to life.  Humming, I whispered to the soft nudging of the little one inside of me that their father was home, but as I stood a chill that felt NOTHING like the comforting one that came when Loki was near danced down my spine.  

The shadow, the cloud, the darkness that had been hovering over the images and warnings I’d been seeing - were gone.  Gone because she was here.  How I knew her name, how I knew who she was - it was the same answer as how I knew what she signaled was on the horizon - magic and power.  MY magic and power.  Still growing and evolving, and sadly still lacking and behind when I needed it to speed up.

Hela.  Odin’s TRUE daughter.  His first born.  And the goddess of Death, as she fancied herself.  

“SIGYN,” Sif’s voice, from outside my door alerts me, and I rise from my chair.  Calling out for her to enter, she does and seeing me safe and secure, she gives me the news and tells me of the plans - since only she and Hogun remain.  Two of four Warriors - Thor and Loki have not returned.  

“How precisely do you plan to keep her from breaching the -” my hand falls to the clear evidence of the heir.  “Sif, if this fails -”

Her dark eyes meet mine and she nods.  “I know, Sigyn, my queen.”  She isn’t simply fearful because of my title or role, Sif and I have known one another since we were children.  While she did not stay in Frigga’s care, she and I were not enemies.  “If the worst seems to be on the horizon,” she let out a long breath.  “We will find a way to get you to safety.  I vow it.”  

It didn’t take long - nowhere near long enough for me to prepare for it - for Hela to gain traction and footing for her to close in on the kingdom proper and the army that Hogun managed to raise.  Sif wanted me to stay safe behind the walls, in my rooms, or better still cloaked further  and tucked where no one could find me at all, but I refused.  

“I AM Queen, Sif,” unwanted burden that the title was, without Loki beside me, without Thor hovering close at hand, and Valhalla knows that it shocked me to my core to think it, but without Odin’s clarity and confidence near the heaviness was almost too much to keep my spine straight.  Yet, with my head high and my chin raised, I left my rooms and the safety that Sif and everyone would have me stay in - for even the Asgardian people were fearful of this NEW entity - more so than the IDEA of Loki as King and I as their Queen.  

Sif was at my right, my pair of guards taking their new places since she’d joined them in guarding me, and together we went out to greet Odin’s firstborn.  

We arrived as she did, and I came up short - was it simply my eyes betraying me or did she bear a startling resemblance to Loki?  Sif’s gasp gave me strength and also assured me that I hadn’t gone mad, not yet at least.

“It's come to my attention that you don't know who I am. I am Hela, Odin's firstborn, commander of the legions of Asgard, the rightful heir to the throne and the Goddess of Death. My father is dead, as are the princes.” I saw the flinching, the eyes darting to where I stood opposite Hela, the full ripeness of my belly showing that NOT all heirs were dead.  This being wasn’t omnipotent at least. “You're welcome. We were once the seat of absolute power in the cosmos. Our supremacy was unchallenged. Yet Odin stopped at the Nine Realms. Our destiny is to rule over all others. And I am here to restore that power. Kneel before me and rise into the ranks of my great conquest.”

Hogun, careful not to draw attention to me, rose to challenge her.  “Whoever you are... whatever you've done, surrender now! Or we will show you no mercy.”  I watched as her face showed clearly how put out she was by his lack of immediate obedience and yield to her orders.  

Before she could speak, however, I did.  “I believe you are under the ignorant presumption that Asgard is without a ruler, Hela.”  Her eyes snapped to me, to my entire bearing and particularly to my very obvious state of maternity.  “You were Odin’s first born daughter, I have no doubts, but -” my smile grew as I stared into her face.  “I AM his lastborn.”  Her eyes narrowed.  “Married to Loki, carrying the heir to the throne, and I can well assure YOU and OUR people that the princes are most certainly NOT dead.”  

“Can you now?”  She looked across the space that separated us.  “And how can you be so certain -” she was at a loss, I knew HER name, but MY name was completely foreign to her.  

“SIGYN,” I offered, “My name is Queen Sigyn, Hela, and I know that they live because -” 

I never had a chance to finish - not because she attacked, although I could sense it was coming - her ire was as clear as the sun shining behind her.  No I didn’t finish because like a flash I was gone, pulled completely away from Asgard, Sif, my people and everything I knew and loved.  In a flash - and then darkness - nothing. 

[let-fans-be-fans]

STAR WARS Episode 8 - The Last Jedi

Only read after watching The Mandalorian s2 e8

Imagine a Lucasfilm Story Group that has actually worked as a group since 2015.  Chuck Wendig’s draft of the first Aftermath novel has been roundly mocked and pulped before ever being committed to print.  This isn’t about that, though.  This is the germination of the story seed that is planted in The Mandalorian, so join me as we explore one of the possibilities that could have happened within the Star Wars universe: What If Grogu (the Child/Baby Yoda) first appeared in TLJ?

Ahch-To, the steps.  Luke Skywalker regards his guest Rey with a quizzical expression, telling her simply but firmly “I can’t take that, but there is a place for it somewhere...” and the two move inside Luke’s little hut.  Passing by a large levitating pod, Rey (and the audience) experiences mental flashes of meeting Finn.  Smash-cut to Finn himself waking up in the recovery suit in the med-bay.  Finn/Rose/whatever sub-plot (this post isn’t about fixing THAT car-crash, let it marinate) ensues, does what it does.  This timeline’s Rian Johnson, however, is co-existing with LFL’s Story Group and especially Dave Filoni.  They’ve cooked up one hell of an A-plot, and it continues thusly:

Rey never sees what is in the pod, and begins to wonder if Luke is messing with her or starting to go a little peculiar from isolation, on account of how he talks to it.  In fact, something is starting to make her feel slightly more at ease.  Maybe even a little guilty when Luke’s mood turns sombre and he says, “I know.  About Han, and Ben...”  We maybe even get a little nostalgia-boost by Luke opting to use the training remote and blast-shield helmet to start training Rey.  It’s like poetry, it rhymes.

All through this time, Luke has not withdrawn himself from the Force out of shame.  He has always kept himself open to it, learning from the spirits of his teachers.  The night that Rey decides to leave and try to aid the Resistance (or to confront Kylo Ren for her own reasons) is the night that Luke receives a visitation from two very unexpected spirits.

That’s right, y’all.  The first Force ghost appearance of a non-Force-sensitive character in the Saga.  Padmé and Anakin show up to give Luke the news that some strange, dark figure has attempted to kill Leia by shooting at her private chamber on the Resistance flagship, only for Luke to not understand why they don’t know the attacker’s name.   “You don’t need to hide it, to protect him.  You know, as well as I do, that it was Ben!”  Anakin shares a concerned look with the spirit of his wife, and the next thing he says would absolutely blow the cinema audience out of every single seat in the house.  “Luke?  Son, listen to me.  Who is this Ben?”

That’s right.  Anakin Skywalker, the former Sith Lord Darth Vader, has absolutely no idea that our sequel trilogy’s Vader-like antagonist (his own grandson) even exists.  Even as the Force ghosts watching over Luke and Leia and their families for all this time, both Padmé and Anakin explain that from their perspective, something is bending the Force itself around Ben Solo, pulling him away from not only the Light side, but also from its Dark side.  “The boy, Ben Solo, is living his entire life surrounded by a wound in the Force.  This wound, it’s very subtly, slowly eating him!”

Luke is still in shock from hearing the ghosts of his parents telling him what is happening to Kylo Ren.  Rey is trying to keep him out but the villain is urged by his twisted Master, the Supreme Leader of the First Order.  Their telepathic communication is picked up on by Luke, who all at once sees what has truly become of his nephew.  Ben Solo appears to his uncle, surrounded by tendrils that look like animated cracks in a pane of window glass.  This is the wound in the Force, and its presence is felt most strongly by the eldest living Force-sensitive on the island of Ahch-To.  A short cry splits the cracked and bleeding image of Kylo Ren and Rey wakes with a sudden start.  Luke is frowning as he looks toward the floating cradle, then he makes his decision.  We (and Rey) are about to meet the 100 % physical in-camera puppet.  Cast and crew are made to sign an infinite supply of Non-Disclosure Agreements, Rian Johnson is talked into only letting Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley and the puppeteers onto the sets while everybody else is shooting their things.

The cradle pod swings back its protective lid slowly, and there he is making his debut before an audience that paid full movie theater (remember those?) ticket prices.  Exuding full fucking “Gizmo in the box on the coffee table” energy, the Child glances sleepily between Rey and Luke.  This is why the legendary Jedi Master left the civilized New Republic, he tells Rey.  The massacre of his first generation of Jedi students, the betrayal by his nephew, all of it would have been for nothing if he couldn’t save one very important life.  Rey is sworn to protect the Child, who is old enough now to speak his own name.   “Grogu?  Is that what he said?”  “One of his protectors told me it’s his name, right before telling me how I looked just like my father.  We had a pretty good laugh about that...”

Leia/Poe/Holdo subplot, and [THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH WILL ONLY INCITE SHOUTY BEARDO YOUTUBERS TO SCISSOR THE HEADS OFF ACTION FIGURES THEY BUY WITH THEIR OWN MONEY, THEREFORE IT IS CENSORED TO SHIELD THE AUTHOR FROM PROSECUTION]

Before the Holdo manoeuvre, the Hyperspace Karen or whatever you want to call it, Rey acts out the plan that she and Luke have concocted in secret so that Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon can safely evacuate both Luke and Grogu.  Rey hasn’t been told about the wound in the Force that swirls around Kylo Ren, but for some reason she can now see the same churning mass of tiny cracks in reality, and they spread out behind the Supreme Leader Snoke in much the same manner that Palpatine’s throne sat before the spiderweb-looking window of his tower on the Death Star.   This is it, we think.  Snoke is the wound in the Force drawing Ben away from his true self.  Even as the lightsabre that Rey brought with her ignites and strikes Snoke dead, the audience is thinking along with Rey that the wound is going to close up.

IT GETS BIGGER.  AND IT FUCKING CONSUMES SNOKE’S BISECTED CORPSE LIKE A SHADOW VERSION OF THE THING FROM THE 1982 MOVIE

So no.  Rey sees it happen, but Kylo remains completely oblivious as he takes up leadership of the First Order.  Something about the way he accuses Rey of the murder makes us think he really believes it too.  As Rey narrowly escapes, haunted by the sight of the living animalistic wrongness that ate Supreme Leader Snoke, General Hux is rather confused.  “Forgive me, ah, Supreme Leader.  But you are the first Supreme Leader of the First Order.  There was never a previous holder of that position, my Lord.”  I know!  Right!?

The Resistance’s last ships have limped along the supply line to the long-abandoned old Rebel holdout on the silicate world of Crait.  The wreckage of Snoke’s flagship the Supremacy, hangs in space, permanently suspended in the wake of the Holdo manoeuvre.  From the epicentre, a single pinprick of darkness begins to expand hungrily to devour the light from the hyperspace explosion.  The great wound left in the Force crawls across the destroyed vessel, the thinnest tendril of its immense darker-than-space form now separated from Kylo Ren.  Or, so it would seem, anyway...  Reunited with Rey, Luke gives her an understanding nod when she informs him of how the lightsabre of his father was literally ripped in half by the destruction of Snoke’s flagship.  Some of the elder members of the Resistance don’t have the slightest clue what Rey’s mysterious words mean.  As far as they know, Kylo Ren has been the brutal enforcer of the First Order, only recently declaring himself the first Supreme Leader of the faction.  Finn and Rose both speak up in defense of Rey, both of them surprised to hear that Leia also knew of Snoke’s death and the destruction of the flagship by her erstwhile friend, Amilyn Holdo.

Nobody can agree what happened, because a large subset of Resistance personnel share vague, half-formed memories of things as Luke, Rey or Leia tells them.  No droids, or Chewbacca, share their recollections, and uneasy looks pass between members of the post-war generation and the Skywalker twins.   It’s a quirk of the Force!  Every sentient born after the death of Emperor Palpatine, the unfortunately waylaid Maz Kanata informs them via hologram, possesses a significantly higher potential for Force abilities than the generation who grew up on the fringes of the rise of the Empire, the clamp-down on Jedi and suspected Jedi.

It would seem that this Force baby boom did not extend to First Order space (being mostly disaffected ex-Imperials, their families would be more careful to weed out any aberrations in the bloodline and try not to be of interest to the Emperor) as only Kylo Ren, their rightful Supreme Leader and master of the Knights of Ren demonstrates any ability to touch the Force.  That voice that only he can hear in the presence of Darth Vader’s ruined helmet tells him, its tone and pitch and cadence shifting (starting as the booming bass rumble of Vader’s synthesized voice before being joined by the harsh rasp of Snoke.  The low, menacing tone of Maul and the cackling, wheezing Palpatine.)  Power is the only thing worth holding onto.  Let the past die, kill it if you have to.   Cut out the weakness that keeps you bound to things like family...

“This is not going to go the way you think.”

Driven on by the maddening chorus of voices, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren has now managed to track his hated Resistance opposition to the deserted world of Crait.  Ships entering the vicinity of the mysterious hyperspace blackout are slowly consumed, vanishing into the great wound and becoming officially non-existent.  Alone against his crazed nephew, the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker steps out onto the crystalline plain before the bulkhead doors of the former Rebel base.  He cannot be hit by the guns of the lumbering walkers that his errant nephew orders to fire on him.  Kylo’s attempts to telekinetically barrage Luke with the salted earth of Crait simply do not phase the man.  As he calmly reminds Kylo: “The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi.” Kylo Ren’s dangerously unstable lightsabre blade harmlessly passes over Luke as he ducks out of its reach.  Finally, the angry young man seizes his moment and lashes out at Luke’s midsection.  Nothing?

The Jedi Master nods his head slowly, the camera pulling back to reveal him sat in a meditative posture atop a flat-headed rock just off the shore of his home island on Ahch-To.  Focusing his will through the Force, Luke appears not only in front of Kylo Ren, but also between Leia and Rey inside the base.  The two of them in turn are surrounded by a loose semi-circle of the younger, more Force-sensitive recruits of the Resistance including Finn and Rose Tico.  All of them, opening their conscious selves to the Force, are helping to shoulder the burden that Luke has taken on.  Proudly, Luke slowly rises from his seat and sends a mocking salute to Kylo.  “See ya ‘round, kid...”

The last supplies are loaded onto what few Resistance carriers and short-range fighters they have left, as well as the famous Millennium Falcon. Rey and Grogu both agree that their first priority is to properly re-establish contact with Luke Skywalker.  Furious, Kylo retreats to his ship-board meditation chamber, pounding his gloved fists into the ashes surrounding the remnants of Vader’s helmet.  Cursing the scavenger girl seems to spark some interest in the bizarre otherworldly whispers, the flash-image of Rey in the dark young man’s thoughts prompting the inner voice to remark, “We shall be re-united soon enough.  Yes, you will see what new powers I possess in time, sister...”

SMASH TO END CREDITS!

[normal-thoughts-official]

Ok so some of your content implies immortal Alec and I was wondering how you thought it would happen? I've read a few things where Clary creates a rune/uses the alliance rune to make him immortal (but I don't think you're a real big fan of her) so I wanna hear your thoughts and also maybe Magnus's reaction

hoooooo boy i am GLAD YOU ASKED because i have a whole ass au that i have like. basically all the plot down but my stupid brain can’t turn into a fic so i guess im gonna shove it here and GOODBYE FOREVER 

(also, about the clary thing: it’s complicated diaushduaih because i kind of really hate her in canon but i also accepted fanon clary into my life? mostly because i unfortunately can’t help but ship clizzy, but anyway, i kinda disassociate clary from canon. so i’m not really against the idea that she makes a rune or something, but i do think this idea is more interesting. or maybe it isn’t but then i guess that’s your personal problem because well, you did ask lol im jk btw)

okay so i have one word for you: seelies. hot diggity damn do i fucking love seelies or what

so you know how seelies are the offspring of demons and angels? and there’s this whole thing about demon blood and angel blood not mixing well at all? well, i was thinking, how the fuck does that work. and i came to the conclusion that whatever stronger parent they had’s blood would like, tame the other or whatever, you know? but then what if they had equally strong - or equally weak - parents? like a child of an archangel and a prince of hell, what the fuck happens then? or alternatively the child of some angel janitor and a minor demon, would they even have enough magic?

so i figured if that happens it’s like as if a seelie has an autoimmune disease - their body is fighting itself constantly. for those who have very strong parents, this means that they are decaying quickly, and usually won’t be able to like, survive for long if they don’t do something. for those who have weaker parents, it usually means they’re weak

so these seelies are actually born mortal, and for the ones with stronger parents, pretty much with a lifespan of like, a few days before they end up dying due to the autoimmunity. so what happens for those is, they have this Cool Ritual that makes them immortal and solves all their problems

basically what happens is: seelies are one with nature, correct? but they’re also, like, individuals. so they have their own magic, their own energy, their own life source. right? so what happens to these seelies is, they tie this life/magic source of theirs to that of the universe. they basically become one with the universe fully, instead of just guarding it and being connected to it, they are literally tied to it, so much so that their magic and the world’s magic is one and the same. basically their life is fed by the same source that feeds all life, even mortal ones, and that source is endless, so they become immortal. it’s not a cure per se, since it doesn’t really stop their blood from fighting itself, but it does solve the problem because it has endless energy to keep doing it. and after going through this magical ritual, they become basically the strongest seelies around, because they have access to very strong demonic and angelic magic and the like, natural source of the world. so that’s pretty cool

and this whole thing is like. absolutely top secret, no one but the seelies knows how it works or even that it exists. especially because the seelies used to be basically closed off to outside influences, besides the very few representants they had going to the realms (like meliorn)

meliorn is one of those super powerful seelies, a child of an archangel and a prince of hell, who has gone through this ritual. which is one of the many reasons they’re, you know, a super powerful and respected Seelie Knight, sent to deal directly with shadowhunters and the highest threats they have to deal with, all by themself. no one would be crazy to go against them, because they are extremely powerful. it’s also why they had, to seelie standarts, been given a slap to the wrist for taking clary to twi - i mean, they didn’t even lose their position in a super trusted and highly important job, really? like yes they were tortured and don’t get me wrong, that was fucking awful dude, but i feel like the seelie queen could have been a lot more cruel, could have taken away their job (it would make sense to since they basically committed treason by seelie law) or exiled them, or maybe even killed them. but they got “just” a physical punishment. that’s. weird to say the least

so that’s why, because meliorn actually has a lot of leverage and importance. they have a rare condition, a lot of power that most seelies can’t dream of, and they are extremely smart and have knowledge of the culture of our realm, which most seelies don’t since their realm is closed to outsiders. the seelies can’t afford to lose them. and they know that, too, which is why they went so hard to help clary and take her to twi in the first place - they knew that they would be punished, but that it wouldn’t actually risk their position, or their influence

anyway! with the previous seelie queen gone, i like to think that meliorn becomes the new seelie queen (random hc that no one asked for: since i refuse to believe that seelies have any concept of gender, i think the position is called “seelie queen” because outsiders took a look at the first seelie queen, who’s very cis female-presenting, and were like “ah, is that your queen?” and to seelies that basically translates to just “monarch” in whatever their language is, so they were just like yeah sure. and so the position is called that and they don’t even know that it’s supposed to be gendered and that to outsiders meliorn would probably be called seelie king, they are just like “i am the new seelie queen” and no one of course is going to fucking question why they didn’t gender the position, especially considering how fragile relations with the seelie realm are) or at least is given like, an important position or something. like tbh i don’t stan monarchy so :/ but anyway the point is, meliorn is super powerful, they are super smart, they have knowledge of the mundane, shadowhunter and etc cultures - and after the whole previous fiasco with the jonathan thing and the seelies having been basically kept from the other realms, despite the fact that as parts of nature, seelies should be able to wander between them as they please, i think they would want to start a radically new external policy, and who better than meliorn to help them do it? so yeah i think they would choose meliorn to be their queen. besides, they love the seelies more than anything. they might have disobeyed seelie law, but that was to like, save a whole ass realm lmao, but they’ve always had the seelies best interests at heart, hell, they were willing to be tortured twice for them. so i think they would be well liked, and want this new position, and treasure it not as a display of power, but as an opportunity to lead the people they love into better times

DISCLAIMER: i’m not saying that seelies bad or whatever, okay. tbh i do understand perfectly why they would want to close off their realm with the very real threat that shadowhunters presented, and i wouldn’t be dying to integrate with shadowhunter society either, especially considering that their idea of integration was just genocide and assimilation and the destruction of their culture. okay? but in the process, the seelie law and realm became cruel, first and foremost, towards seelies themselves, and the banishment of them from other realms is. very bad. and after the whole jonathan and valentine thing, the shadow society as a whole is being reconstructed, so what better time to try and create new alliances that won’t implicate into attempts of assimilation, etnocide and so on. it’s a new bet, basically, one that is only possible because shadowhunter society is also in shambles after the near destruction of the world, and this means that seelies have more leverage to try and build something new without yielding to them. and it’s a SLOW process, one that takes years and always has the seelies best interest’s, not the shadowhunter’s or anyone else’s, at heart, okay? and it implicates in shadowhunters giving them many concessions, and the strongest alliances between them are and will always be with the other downworlders - this is also something they are working on, making the different downworlder cultures closer and stronger politically, aiding each other mutually and helping each other reach their political goals. together, the downworlder societies are unbeatable, and the shadowhunters basically have no choice but to accept their demands, especially after so much destruction. plus, at least some of them are slightly more willing to. but it’s mostly a vicious political battle that takes all of them years, not to say decades, to settle

but the fact that the seelies are willing to do it and getting stronger relationships with warlocks and vampires and werewolves (and hoo here i come with my “maia and raphael start a vampires/werewolves alliance” hc because look that rivalry thing is STUPID and i want to see downworlder societies coming closer together and healing after being very obviously pitted against each other due to shadowhunter supremacy) is also what, well, allows the whole thing to happen. they are powerful, and the shadowhunters have no way of taking them on a war, much less now that their forces are well, fragile to say the least

in short! they have leverage now. and that makes it possible for them to try a new external policy that wasn’t in the table before, and their main interest in doing that is helping themselves, because seelies are tired of living in constant fear in a basically military state where they’re confined to the same realm despite them being supposed to be guardians of all of them. like that’s gotta affect their mental health, if they’re one with nature, wouldn’t being kept away from it be like being isolated from your loved ones? isn’t that deprivation? so like. this is about them, not the shadowhunters and how great their society is and how much they want to be a part of them, okay

anyway! so the seelies have designed a plan (because under meliorn’s rule everyone participates in political decisions because hmmm *checks notes* i said so) to make stronger alliances with the other downworlders. the first thing they offer them all is a little token of alliance. to vampires, they offer the possibility of becoming a dayligher - something they can easily do with their angel magic, not to mention, you know, blood -; to werewolves, magical amulets that help them keep their wolf under control, not turning without meaning to and being able to live a relatively normal life if they so choose; and to warlocks, knowledge of seelie magic

and of course magnus in particular eats that shit right UP because he’s a naturally curious person and a genius and a physichist and holy shit i love him so fucking much. seelies have so much more knowledge of physics and magic and their natural workings, so much so that it makes him dizzy because hell, the possibilities, and all the shit he can learn, okay. all this knowledge that was currently being kept away, and the warlocks get to learn about it (or well, part of it. obviously the seelies aren’t going to go around spilling EVERYTHING to them all at once before they even know if their token is accepted and whatnot. but they do teach those who are interested a lot of stuff, maybe create some sort of seelie-warlock magical school/course/programme/look you GET IT to strengthen their relationships as a whole?? boy i eat that shit UP). he’s just losing his mind here

super cute to think about alec coming home to find a very disheveled magnus surrounded by books and notes, hair and clothes rumpled and just a whole mess as he excitedly reads and writes and runs around to get a different book and draw parallels, okay. and alec smiles and has to be like “have you eaten?” and magnus looks up from his books all suddenly like “hm? oh hello alexander, i didn’t see you there”, “have you eaten?” “i don’t remember” “okay, i’ll make you something, you can keep reading” and magnus smiling all like “thank you” and diving right back into the notes in Super Hyperfocus + Hyperfixation Mode as he figures out, like, a thousand new spells (obviously warlocks can’t use seelie magic because they come from different sources they don’t have access to, but like, the knowledge is enough for them to create so much new stuff okay), btw. but anyway, ANYWAY

and to shadowhunters the seelies offer, i dont know, a soggy cheeto or something faiojdsajdasj look it’s not like the seelies owe them so they basically offer a truce and maybe authorization to explore certain parts of the seelie realm in small guarded groups? i dont know, in exchange for them and all other downworlders having a power and a vote in the new shadowhunter laws, and the whole proccess of reconstruction of their society. and the shadowhunters agree, after vicious infighting of course 

so anyway years pass and things are blossoming, downworlder societies are stronger than ever and phucking florishing dude, shadowhunters suck less, seelies finally get to wander around like they’ve been wanting to for centuries, there’s been some neato cultural exchange, magnus is still figuring out spells and shit at an alarming rate to anyone who doesn’t know what a goddamn genius he is. and shadowhunter society is- well, changing, but there’s a kind of cultural war going on, you know, with such a strong shift in paradigm so sudden. the changes in schooling and shit that were brought on by the new accords kind of ensure that the newest generations are getting a very different view and education, but there’s still a lot of infighting from shadowhunters who want to undo all that hard work, which is of course still fragile because it’s only starting

and alec of course takes a primary role in that fight, being the greatest representative of the progressive shadowhunters’ (?) and their downworlder allies’ interests, inside shadowhunter society. like don’t get me wrong it’s not like he’s leading the downworlders, the downworlders are doing all that hard work so they can get their own destiny back into their own hands and not be led by shadowhunters anymore, but within shadowhunter society, alec is a leader and their greatest ally slash eye in the inside, defending the policies that downworlders create and letting them know what is going on inside of the clave. basically preparing a cultural war. you get it

so naturally alec is a threat to conservative shadowhunters and they’re trying to strip him off his runes all the time, and there’s even been a few (quickly failed) assassination attempts, you know, the whole. drama. and he plays an important role for this whole game, and magnus has been studying the whole immortality ritual thing, and yeah, the seelies offer to put him through the ritual

it’s a matter of political leverage (and okay maybe a personal favor to meliorn’s dear friend magnus, but like, mostly political leverage). first of all, making alec immortal gives him a lot of power within shadowhunter society, not unlike meliorn and being the child of super powerful parents. second of all, no need to worry about assassination attempts, they can’t fucking kill him! third of all, clear message - alec has powerful allies, way more powerful than the shadowhunters can dream of, and if shadowhunter society is willing to create real, lasting equality with downworlders, they have a lot to gain. if not, they have a lot to lose, because the seelies have literal power over life and death. also, alec better watch his step, too, because, you know. he owes them that one. they are not stupid, they know alec has been looking for a way of becoming immortal for years now, know how much he desires this. it’s also about keeping his loyalty, and making sure he doesn’t forget, he’s supposed to be their ally too

and there are a lot of like, security things in place. alec will not be able to see or hear anything, he will not be taught how the ritual works (not even warlocks know that yet), he will not be taught about its forces, it will happen in the seelie realm and he will go alone, and no other shadowhunter will be granted that unless the seelies themselves offer at a later time, you know, etc etc. they list off things and precautions he has to agree to for like, half an hour, and honestly they could have added “alec will have to eat a piece of the moon” and alec would be like “okay fine great let’s do this”

magnus is fucking terrified

first, because well, they have never attempted to do that on someone who isn’t a seelie, and while they have figured out a pretty damn good understanding of how it works and are pretty sure it should go smoothly, there’s no way to actually tell. it might not work. alec might regret it. does he really want this? to become immortal? he doesn’t have to say yes, and magnus will not be upset, because he would never, ever demand such a huge sacrifice from him-

and alec’s like “nope i want this let’s go” which only terrifies magnus more because it feels like he’s being impulsive, you know? and he doesn’t know if there’s any turning back from this. but alec is like “magnus, when have i ever been impulsive? i’m not impulsive, i’m just sure of what i want, and there’s no reason to dwell on it because that’s already done.” alec is an expert at dwelling on things, and when he makes a decision, it’s because that part has already been thoroughly done, with every single possible argument being exhausted and taken apart minuciously and careful. there’s no room for doubt anymore, because if there had even a spectre of it, alec would still be ruminating. he doesn’t make a decision until he’s sure, but by god, once he makes it, he is sure, and nothing will stop him

so he reassures magnus of that (“hey, look at me. i’m not doing this on a whim. i have been looking for something like this for years. i’ve given it a lot of thought. besides, the seelies reasoning is good, too; i do want to have the time to dedicate myself to these changes, to building a new society, and with that, i can do it. there’s so much i want to live and see and do, magnus. and i want to do it by your side, yes, always, forever, but it’s not just about that. this is my decision. i’m not doing it for you. you won’t owe me anything because of it. you won’t have to make it up for it. because i’m doing it for myself. okay?”) and magnus kind of chokes up and hugs him and cries because he’s so overwhelmed by everything, the fear and the adoration and the relief of knowing that alec isn’t doing this just because of him, because if he had, magnus would forever feel like he was ruining his life, like he was indebted, like he would have to make up for it. but alec wants this. truly. and he doesn’t have to- worry anymore, this constant weight in his head, that tells him this has an expiration date, you’re gonna lose him. look at how much time you’re wasting with all of this, he’ll be gone before you even notice. there’ll be no turning back, and you’ll regret it forever. and fuck it’s just- so much, okay

so alec hugs him and they repeat to each other, i love you, i love you, i love you, and the next day, alec accepts the seelies’ offer. 

and magnus is- fuck, terrified, because he can’t even go with him, can’t even watch. there’s nothing he can do but wait

but everything goes relatively smoothly and alec emerges from the seelie realm exactly as before, no change to be noted, not even when magnus scanned him with his magic - it’s all still there. still a shadowhunter, still the same runes, the same face, the same hazel eyes, the same smile and voice, and when he hugs and kisses magnus, it feels like just the same

and then i suppose alec can now, like, talk to trees or something, since he’s connected to the whole force of nature and whatnot. i don’t think he would be able to use magic, because like i said, he’s still the same and a shadowhunter so it’s more that his angelic magic is stronger? but he’s fucking immortal dude, and he can like talk to trees, which is at the very least funny as hell (cracky images of alec discussing with some shadowhunter asshole and he’s like, even your SUCCULENT is tired of you!! but i digress)

anyway the point is, it works both in the sense of immortal alec, baby! and the whole political leverage thing, and they basically revolutionize all of shadowhunter society and alec lives to see the results of that besides magnus, and meliorn is the greatest seelie queen ever, and the downworlder societies are all happy and blossoming and getting their best life, and everyone is happy, and the bigoted shadowhunters die and are hated by their own plants. the end

[jennymanrique]

"Frontline workers have earned and deserve the path to citizenship"

With his first bill, Senator Alex Padilla also wants to honor his parents, who migrated from Chihuahua in search of the American dream.

Five million essential workers, who have put their lives at risk during the pandemic working in more than a dozen vital industries such as healthcare, agriculture, childcare and domestic service, could become citizens if the first piece of legislation introduced by Senator Alex Padilla, is approved.

On January 20th, Alex Padilla was sworn in as California ́s Junior Senator, the first Latino in that position in the state’s history. Governor Gavin Newsom appointed him to the vacant seat left by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Today, Padilla is the Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety and his first bill wants to honor not only the efforts of those front-line workers during COVID-19, but those of his own parents who migrated from Chihuahua, Mexico to the US in the 1960s.

“For 40 years my father worked as a short order cook while my mom was cleaning houses,” said Padilla during an exclusive interview with ethnic reporters hosted by Ethnic Media Services. “It was honest hard work in their pursuit of the American dream. With that work they raised three children and gave us an education.”

The Padilla siblings grew up in the working-class community of Pacoima, California. His older sister Julie works in education and his younger brother Ackley is chief of staff for Councilwoman Nury Martinez on the Los Angeles City Council, where Padilla began his political career. He then was elected as a State Senator and subsequently became California’s first Latino Secretary of State between 2015 and 2021.

“For more than a year now we’ve all been through this COVID-19 pandemic and along the way i’ve seen gestures of appreciation, Facebook posts and tweets of people thanking essential workers who despite the risk and despite the pain continue to show up to work everyday to help put our food in our tables,” said Padilla referring to a workforce that is mostly undocumented.

“I believe it’s time we honor them and their service with more than just our words… for me, COVID relief means not only addressing the health impacts of the pandemic, but also rebuilding an economy that is much more inclusive of all populations, and give our front-line workers a path to citizenship they have earned and deserve,” he added.

According to a 2016 study by the Center for American Progress, undocumented workers contribute $4.7 trillion to U.S. GDP. Immigrants without papers pay $11.7 billion in state and local taxes and $12 billion in social security revenues every year.

Last week Padilla and a bicameral group of Democrats sent a letter to President Joe Biden to include this bill as part of the infrastructure package. This package could be approved in the Senate with 50 votes plus one, through a process called budget reconciliation, to prevent it from being obstructed under the figure of the filibuster, which requires 60 members to finish the debate before going to a vote.

“We will consider all the options,” Padilla said. “I know there is bipartisan support for reform, the question is whether we do an individual piece of legislation with separate votes or as a package. That is the negotiation.”

Padilla acknowledges that although several of his Republican colleagues support regularizing the dreamers and agricultural workers, a comprehensive immigration reform that shelters the 11 million undocumented immigrants who have been living in this country “in the shadows”, requires more arduous commitments.

“We think there is a possibility to get 60 votes for some of these reforms,” ​​but “reforming or abolishing the filibuster will help advance other agendas.”

Vital issues like protecting voting rights, climate change, and addressing historic injustices like reparations to African-American communities, which are on Padilla’s agenda, could also pass if the filibuster rule were changed.

He said Republicans have agitated the migration crisis at the border -which in March received 172,000 people according to data from Customs and Border Protection-, to avoid discussing the regularization of the 11 million that are already here.

“Some of my Republican colleagues will easily conflate both issues as an excuse to not want to do anything,” said Padilla, clarifying that unaccompanied minors and new immigrants arriving at the border are not covered by his legislation.

At the same time, the White House and Congress seek more resources “to house asylum seekers more humanely and process them more quickly,” said Padilla. “The Trump administration left asylum seekers stuck in Mexico while their cases remain pending in U.S. immigration courts.

Hate crimes

Padilla also said he supports the Hate Crimes bill, a phenomenon that has alarmingly affected the AAPI community in recent months across the country.

“We have insisted to FBI Director (Christopher) Wray to prioritize the issue of white supremacy,” Padilla said.

The Senator reflected on his 86 days in office by saying that he is still adjusting to the “volume and magnitude” of his new job at a very unique time of his transition.

“We are still in the midst of a global health pandemic, we are still in the wake of the deadly insurrection of January 6, my first weeks in the Senate I participated in the impeachment trial (of former President Trump) and was part of the crafting and passing of the American Rescue Plan… It’s a lot, ” he observed.

“I hope we can do as much as we can as soon as we can, before we get too close to the 2022 election cycle,” he concluded.

Originally published here

Want to read this piece in Spanish? Click here

[katerynree]

Blog Post 10/14

1.       Is gender a social construct? Why is this a problem?

Yes, I do believe that gender, just like race, is a social construct created by people’s societal expectations. There are so many examples of why this idea of “gender” is toxic. For example, a girl wanting to dress “boyish” or act like a “boy” makes her a “tomboy”, instead of it just being a girl who wants to do what she wants. Or a boy doing “girly” things makes him a “f**got”. Or being a transgender or nonbinary (also many gender terms that I haven’t taken the time to list) is so harmful to people because these people believe that there are only two genders, female or male and you can only be the gender you were born to be. The problem with gender being so widely important to people is that it is invalidating people who do not follow the template of being a “girl” or “boy, “woman” or “man”. The idea of a gender was created by the people, and anyone who goes against that is automatically shamed for it or made fun of and it has to stop.

2.       How is gender being used to advertise products?

The biggest use of gender for advertising would be in videogames. Games such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Tomb Raider, and many more oversexualize women in hopes of getting more men to play. These games made avatars as women with big breasts, skimpy clothing, skin-tight suits, etc., sexualizing women and putting them on display in hopes of bringing in more players. Maybe their intentions were not to sexualize women, but it is hard to believe that when they come out with characters that follow the descriptions I have listed. Take Tomb Raider for example. The whole premise of the game was to show that Lara Croft was a strong woman, but they gave her big boobs stretching out her shirt and short shorts that would definitely not be good to wear when in action.

3.       What is the importance of online usernames?

Online usernames can sometimes reflect the users themselves. Whether it be their actual name, a show or game they like, or anything in general that the user may have in their life/personality. Take Daniels’ article for example. Men in white supremacist groups choose a name for themselves reflecting how they think about themselves. “Heroes” and “martyrs” they call themselves, so they obviously want a screen name saying just that. The article even said that research shows that screen names for men and women tend to follow the societal construct of gender, showing their sexuality or gender identity.

4.       How does O’Riordan’s “Gender, Technology, and Visual Cyberculture” relate to Ow’s “The revenge of they Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator…”?

I am sure we all remember Ow’s article about the videogame “Shadow Warrior” and its blatant disrespect towards women. Both O’Riordan and Ow’s articles have shown that videogames or digital media platforms may sometimes oversexualize women in hopes of gaining more of an audience. I have noticed that there are certain categories that a lot of male gamers tend to go for such as: “sexy women characters”, action, and nasty comments towards women.

Daniels, J. (2009). Gender, White Supremacy, and the Internet. Cyber Racism: White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights (pp. 61-86). Rowman & Littlefield.

Haraway, D. (1991). A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century. Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (pp. 149-181). Routledge.

O’Riordan, K. (2006). Gender, Technology, and Visual Cyberculture. Critical Cyberculture Studies (pp. 243-252). New York University Press.

[trashcreatyre]

some school doodles from the past few days<3

[elmidol]

Those Who Walk Skies Shall Fall

Three Blind Tooke Part Three Death is an Art

Read on AO3

Warnings: None(?)

Three Blind Tooke 

 Part Three: Death is an Art

 Chapter Fifty-Two: Those Who Walk Skies Shall Fall

 Careful now when you hunt monsters

Lest you become one yourself.

But for you I would give up my soul;

I place your life above all else.

 War was a mess with sights that you could not erase and sights that were blurs, the latter of which your mind supplied multiple renditions. It was fitting in some way that there was a storm on the planet. Lightning strikes scorched the sky, and thunder roared deafeningly. Stray blasts from starships belonging to the Resistance and Order of Ren were equally bright. It was the sight of the lightsabers clashing that drew your eye. The ever-familiar red mingled with green. Violent. Ferocious. Breaking apart as either wielder utilized the Force to push the other away. Then they would meet again. Perhaps tugged forward or else launching themselves at the other. More often than not it was the red that leapt towards the green.

 Your hands on the controls began to shake. You forced yourself to calm. Tore your gaze away from the battle. In the back of the ship, Finn, Rey, and Navrin were prepared to jump when you were near enough to land.

 There had been shadows visible because of the lightning strikes, sabers, and blaster bolts. Those shadows were unmistakably the Knights of Ren. They were watching the battle rather than joining. No doubt that this was because they had been ordered to not interfere. Unless Luke Skywalker began to make a retreat; you did not doubt that the Knights would pursue the object for which they had come to this planet. Finn and Navrin would engage the Knights while Rey aided Luke in deflecting Kylo.

 After landing, you found yourself no less bothered by the battle you had glimpsed. Many in the Resistance would hope that Luke struck a killing blow to his nephew. Nevermind what it would do to the man’s spirit. To anyone’s spirit. The idea of killing someone you cared for...a close friend...a family member… While slaying monsters, we sometimes become our own sort of monster. You hit the back of your head against the headrest of your seat. Rey could assist Luke so that this would not be necessary. They would wound Kylo if they could. Perhaps offer him a chance to rethink his hunger for power. And the funny thing was that Kylo would not outright refuse exactly; he would agree to entertain the notion since finding an area of gray was what would allow him to have Rey join him along with Finn and you. Because you would offer him an opportunity to prove that he was willing to change. Not only for yourself, but for the galaxy. War had to end somehow.

 If it did come down to it, if he had to die, you knew that you would mourn his loss. You had before, hadn’t you? You tried to tell yourself that if you had survived it once, you could survive it again.

 “There’s something wrong here.”

 Rose’s voice was quieted by your thoughts and the storm raging outside, as well as the dogfighting. It took you several seconds to process that she was concerned, that this was no simple matter. You blinked, flicked one of the controls to bring all sensors online. Just as you reached for another of the controls, your hand froze midair. It felt like a boulder had lodged in your throat. You coughed. Again, this time your entire body rocking forward before you surged up out of your seat. Rose was likewise on her feet. The two of you stared out through the viewport at the sky.

 The ship that was coming into view was larger than the other Super Star Destroyers that you remembered from the First Order. It was roughly the size of the Supremacy, if not bigger. A new class perhaps. Nothing you had seen before. Instantly, without anyone needing to say as much, you knew that this was how Hux had destroyed Naboo. The battle between Skywalker and Kylo would have summoned the First Order’s Supreme Leader here. Two of his main targets in one place. Three, if you took into account that Rey was there. Four, the Knights of Ren.

 This could hand him the war...the entire kriffing galaxy.

 You started to launch yourself backwards towards the exit then stopped short. Your boots skidded. Losing your footing, you dropped to one knee. Rose had had the same idea, although she followed through. The woman kept running down the ramp, turning to look over her shoulder without stopping. You nodded to let her know that she shouldn’t stop. You, on the other hand, had to grab your weapon. It would do nothing against the ship in the planet’s atmosphere. That’s not what you would use it on.

 Maybe it’s nothing more than a safety blanket, you thought grimly. The blaster fit perfectly in your hand, and you did indeed feel comforted by its presence.

 The Order of Ren and Resistance ships alike were splitting away from one another. Some of them turned to attack the TIEs spilling from the second First Order ship, which you had failed to notice until you had left the shuttle. It was not a complete joining of forces; you did not miss that the Order of Ren and Resistance pilots were firing at one another whenever they crossed one another’s path.

 You managed to catch up with Rose, who had slowed her pace so that she could speak into a comm device that she had brought with her. The warbled voice that responded was one you recognized. Poe Dameron expressed a mixture of frustration and relief upon learning that your party was on the planet. His worries mirrored yours. The First Order had toys that they had kept secret from, it seemed, even Kylo Ren. Recalling the games you had played in the redhead’s private quarters, you cursed yourself for not thinking of this possibility before. The signs had been there, and yet you had been too busy playing a different game. A single game. Armitage Hux had been playing several at once.

 A more deadly foe than Kylo Ren in that sense, you thought as you grit your teeth and picked up your pace. The blaster hit against your hip. That was a sign that you had allowed yourself to become too distracted. Your stance was sloppy. You were not focusing on breathing correctly, which would cause you to grow fatigued more rapidly.

 “It doesn’t matter whether or not Kylo gets off this planet. Let him go. Hux is the problem.” Rose’s confidence had grown, and you loved her for that. Poe was brilliant in an X-wing, but that didn’t mean he was infallible to poor judgment. Just as you were, just as anyone was. His history with Kylo also presented a bias. Not that you could blame him for this. He wanted to take care of the First Order and Order of Ren alike here. “Luke, Rey, and Finn are all here!”

 And Navrin, you thought without speaking up.

 Ships tumbled from the sky in fiery pieces. It reminded you so much of the day that Phasma had died. This line of thinking had you checking on the First Order’s flagship. It was now more in focus. Mini explosions peppered along its sides. Whatever projectiles were sent its way, those were hitting shields. You wondered just how strong those shields were and what sort of chance any of these starfighters had against them. Your finger inched towards the trigger of your blaster. You could fire at the sky to no avail. You carried with you a death that you could not deliver.

 One of the X-wings performed a rather complicated maneuver that allowed it to dodge the TIEs that had been pursuing it; it shot them down instead then, rather than seek more, it headed towards the planet. Even without Poe and Rose’s conversation, you would have known who the pilot was.

 “If you really think Kylo’s going to let you take his ship--”

 “What’s his is mine,” you shouted just as Rose opened her mouth to cut him off. She shot you a grin, her amusement clear. You smirked in return. It had been her idea; after dropping off Rey and the others, she had noticed the TIE Silencer when the two of you had been taking the ship away from the battle. Rose had suggested that you take it. You were, after all, a capable enough pilot. A great shot. The stormtrooper transports present meant that you would be outnumbered. Not to mention the Knights of Ren. Any edge that you could get, it was best to take it.

 “I’ll cover you, Supernova.”

 That was all that was said of the matter between the three of you. Poe fired at any of the First Order TIEs that noticed the grounded Silencer and pursued. You set the blaster that you had carried with you from the Resistance ship where it wouldn’t impair your flying. Rose squeezed into the TIE Silencer with you; you refused to leave her behind, and she had done this before with her sister. Crammed into tight spaces while Paige flew.

 It was strange, thrilling, how familiar the controls felt in your hands. This ship that you had never before piloted, it felt like it truly belonged to you. You found that it was similar to how you could sometimes know Rey’s thoughts through the bond that you shared with her. She had one with Kylo, you reminded yourself, and thus indirectly you had one with him. This familiarity could be from that. And it could be that the TIE Silencer’s owner wanted the same thing you did: Supreme Leader Armitage Hux’s death.

 You leveled out your breathing as the TIE closed, sealing you and Rose together. The vibrations from the engine proved to help keep you focused. The controls in your hands felt so right. Lifting off the ground, the Silencer wobbled unsteadily for a beat until you adjusted your grip. You would never claim to be as good a pilot as Kylo or Poe or Han. But you were plenty capable of doing this. Rose whispered encouragement. She, too, believed in your abilities. Poe’s voice came over the comm. He did as well.

 A wry grin began to spread on your features as the ship climbed higher in the sky. This weapon was one that you could use against the ship that held Hux. Maybe not much damage, but some. Except that was not your focus right now unfortunately.

 Poe’s X-wing did moved under the Silencer so that he was on the opposite side. You glanced at him, nodded, and then faced forward. Together, the two of you along with Rose headed in the direction that Skywalker and Kylo had been fighting. The storm had not subsided in the least. Lightning rippled through the sky at an increased volume. You swore without becoming discouraged. You’d flown in horrid weather before.

 Finn was engaged with a red armored trooper. Her helmet had fallen off, or else she had removed it prior to their fight, and that was how you knew anything about her. They pushed at one another with their weapons and each utilized the Force to assist them, albeit not in anyway notable when compared with what Skywalker and Kylo could do. The Knights of Ren took playful swings at Finn and Navrin. As for Rey, you could see her lightsaber locked with Kylo’s. Luke’s green blade had just been swiped aside, wrenched from the old Jedi’s hands.

 “Okay, I’ll do what I can to get Skywalker…” It would be a horribly tight fit. That was preferable to him dying. That it took a moment before Luke was able to summon his lightsaber back to him with the Force was enough proof that he was exhausted. By more than just the fight, you reminded yourself as you thought of what Rey and Finn had told you. “I just need to get him alone.”

 “I’ll take care of that.” Rose grabbed tightly onto whatever she could. You could have sworn that she was a mindreader. You increased speed and headed directly at the red and blue plasma blades that continuously clashed with one another.

 If this did not work, it could end up with you slamming a TIE Silencer into both Force users, killing them or else hurting them severely. Even though you were not a Corellian, you found that you were suddenly not interested in the odds when it came to whether or not this would work. There wasn’t time for that. You pressed forward more quickly, increasing the speed still more. Your heart was in your throat when the lightsabers met again. And then...through the rain, you could see Rey and Kylo reach out towards one another, shoving away from the other. Maybe pushing the other out of the way. The breath that you had been holding escaped through pursed lips.

 Poe would be given enough time to get Luke so long as the Knights were thrown off by what was happening. As for everyone else, the sight of the TIE Silencer would theoretically get them to look around. There was a part of you doubting they had noticed what had arrived, who had arrived.

 As you turned in the Silencer, you learned that the lightsaber battle had not resumed. You had decreased the speed, ready to fully land if it was truly wise to do so. Red and blue lit the two silhouettes. The owner of the blue was looking skyward. The owner of the red had his head bowed. Listening, sensing. His head snapped up as you landed the Silencer. The red plasma blade disappeared. Kylo Ren turned around and headed towards his ship. He made a gesture with his hand. The Knights of Ren turned away from Finn, Rey, and Navrin. The stormtroopers, each clearly capable of wielding the Force in some capacity, headed away.

 This was no truce. It was simply self-preservation for the Order of Ren. Time was the enemy as much as Hux. The more they wasted, the better the chances that Hux would claim the entire galaxy as his own.

 Your hands began to shake on the controls, which you had not released. Rose’s breath was audible. The two of you torn. Did you keep the Silencer?

 The stormtrooper that had been fighting Finn looked over her shoulder at him. Her long, curly hair blew in the wind. At the same time, Finn had spared her another glance while he moved closer to Rey. It must have changed things for him, seeing again that he was not the only stormtrooper to have been Force sensitive. Yet he had been the one to choose to leave the First Order behind. What did this woman think of him? There was conflict in her expression, much the same as the mixture of emotions you felt in regards to your future actions.

 Kylo Ren snapped you out of your thoughts. He gave a quick gesture in the air, and the TIE Silencer opened. Your hands jerked away from the controls, and you grabbed your blaster instead, pointing it at his chest. Finger on the trigger. Everything that your training had taught you to do.

 “Naboo is in my blood as much as yours.” The weapon shook. If you fired, the blast would still hit its mark, a portion of the man’s body that would wound him or kill him. You did not have it set on stun. If you shot, it would be to kill. “This is a suicide run.”

 It was true. The only outcome of pursuing a battle with the First Order at this stage would be to die. And if somehow you did succeed in killing Hux, there were many other serpents to take his place as head of the tyrannical order that would finish the job of enslaving all worlds in existence.

 “I’ll just be returning another weapon to you.”

 In this light, as he drew nearer, you noticed that he was amused. The slight lift on one side of his lip. That smirk. “Your heroes are falling off their pedestals. That is my greatest weapon.”

 You furrowed your brow and looked at Rey. Noticed that she had stopped looking at the sky to instead look over at the man that had trained her. You followed her gaze and felt sick to your stomach. Luke Skywalker’s eyes were not right. That amber left you feeling chilled to the bone. Poe Dameron was no less shaken than you. He had paused in his task to bring Skywalker onto his ship. His eyes were wide. Luke looked at Dameron then back at Kylo Ren. He appeared to ignore Rey completely.

 It felt so wrong. The chill increased, and you bent your body nearly in half while pulling all your limbs towards your abdomen. Your hands pressed to the area of the scar that Kylo’s saber had left in you once upon a time.

 No one had to tell you a thing for your mind to wander back to whatever item it was Luke had come to this planet for. It was to do with the Sith. Maybe he had come here to prevent Kylo Ren from getting his hands on it. Noble intentions cannot erase corrupt outcomes. The object--an artifact?--it had its claws in the Jedi. You knew that Luke hadn’t lost this internal battle yet. Just as you knew that Kylo Ren engaging him in battle meant that Luke’s focus had been divided. Kylo Ren was guilty of weakening Master Skywalker’s abilities to defend himself against the Sith power stored in whatever he had in his possession.

 “He hardly looked any different that night.”

 That night. The night that Luke had entered Ben Solo’s tent to strike down his nephew; the nephew that had been entertaining dark thoughts, you argued.

 Nothing made either of these things right. Luke and Kylo harming one another. Destroying one another with these toxic interactions. What forces had set these family members against each other?

 “He’s gathering power as we speak.” It took you time to understand that Kylo Ren was not speaking of his uncle, but of Hux. You tilted back your head. Rain fell on your face, making you blink. Through the water and your eyelashes, you watched the giant ship. “This is what Naboo faced.” Kylo Ren gestured to Luke Skywalker then the ship and then himself. “Which is the worst monster?”

 Which one was worse?

 His words suddenly registered.

 He hardly looked any different that night.

 Your eyes snapped to his. This was why you felt colder whenever you looked at either Luke or Kylo. Their eyes were the same. Amber eyes with reddened rims. Around each of their necks half an amulet that would make a whole.

 “He said he’d save my soul.” A sardonic grin. Kylo had arrived first to the planet. You had gotten it all wrong. Luke Skywalker had come here, but had it been to stop Kylo? Had it been to right a wrong by trying to save him? “Do you know what I see?” You jerked backwards to regather yourself and ensure your grip on the blaster was improved. Kylo Ren took two steps forward, closer to you. Maker, you should shoot him. “I see why the Sith and Jedi both failed. I will not make the same mistake. The dark and the light...I will have both. I am both.” You bared your teeth, at which point he waved towards Luke again. “And so is he. This is humanity.”

 The Force was in all things. The world wasn’t black and white with monsters and heroes. It was gray. And it was so terribly wrong.

[thewhyldeone]

ADOW like Reading Recs

For all my fellow fans of the All Souls World, but especially fans of Shadow of Night. Here is a reading list I started after i first finished the All Souls Trilogy, when I began to want more fiction set in that slightly alternate and very magical 16th century London Deborah Harkness created. This is a list books I loved and have to share.

Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon by Lisa Goldstein: 

Elizabethan London of 1590 is an intense city, overflowing with life and action, a city of spies and booksellers, alchemists and playwrights, poets, witches, plague and salvation. A series of strange events links the lives of St. Paul bookseller Alice Wood, the great writer Christopher Marlowe, the Faerie Queen as her court invades London to wage war amidst the intrigues of Queen Elizabeth I’s own court, as well as  in the streets and courtyards among the unseeing populace. They are in search of a boy claiming to be the reborn King Arthur. Marlowe must become in effect a detective, and Alice, strangely favored by the fairies, must become a heroine in a struggle against evil forces, culminating in a magnificent battle fought in the heart of London.

What to Love:

History

16th century London: 1590

Christopher Marlow and Thomas Kyd

St. Paul’s Bookstalls, book selling rights

Fae London, Seelie and Unseelie court intrigue and war.

Alice Wood, a female member of London’s Stationer’s Guild: rare!

Arthurian legend, alchemy, magic, poets, playwrights, dragons?

The Alchemist’s Door by Lisa Goldstein: 

Scientist, mathematician, and court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, John Dee is also one of the sixteenth-century's most renowned alchemists, he is driven by a passion to fathom the elemental secrets of the cosmos. But when his reckless assistant, Edward Kelley, succeeds in using a crystal sphere to summon angels, Dee is catapulted into an awesome struggle that may extinguish the light of reason forever. One of the spirits invoked is a cunning demon who takes possession of Dee's young daughter, Katherine, and shows Dee a frightening vision of his own future. 

Terrified by what has been foretold, Dee abruptly decides to close his house in London and flee to Europe with his long-suffering wife, Jane, and their two young children. Their desperate flight brings them at last to the city of Prague--a center of culture, knowledge, and learning, both sacred and profane, a gateway between the Eastern and Western worlds, and also, it is whispered, a door between our world and the world of the spirits. There, in the city's ancient streets, Dee encounters the mystic Rabbi Judah Loew, who enlists his aid in the creation of a Golem--a man fashioned from the clay--to defend the city's Jewish Quarter from persecution. And he asks Dee's help to avert a impending crisis that threatens to engulf the world. For ancient legends say that the fate of the world rests on shoulders of thirty-six righteous men. And if one of those righteous men dies before his time, the world will end and dark spirits will remake it in their own image.

What to Love:

History

16th Century London, Prague, and Krakow, Poland : 1582

John Dee, Edward Kelley, Empirer Rudolf II, Rabbi Judah Loew, Jane Dee

The Golem of Prague...PRAGUE!! 

Angels, demons, demon possession, conversations with angels, alchemy, mysticism, apocalypses.

The School of Night by Alan Wall:

BBC editor Sean Tallow has only two overriding desires in life. One is to step into the shoes of his glamorous friend Daniel Pagett, and the other is to establish the truth about the School of Night, a shadowy group of Elizabethans who clustered around Sir Walter Raleigh.

Tallow pursues the School of Night and its entanglement in the question of whether the man from Stratford-upon-Avon could really have written the plays ascribed to William Shakespeare. If he didn't, then who did? The harder he studies, the less light is thrown on this troublesome question, and the more his interest in the School of Night becomes a grim fixation.

Just when it seems Tallow is ready to give up the quest, day becomes night and everything he once believed is turned on its head as he enters a fearful world where there are no longer any rules except survival. Like the original members of the School of Night, he finds himself treading on the wrong side of the law.

What to Love: 

History

Theft

The School of Night

Sir Walter Raleigh, Thomas Hariot/Harriot, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare

Oxford, and Bradford England

A debate about who wrote Shakspeares plays.

The School of Night by Louis Bayard:  

In the late sixteenth century, five brilliant scholars gather under the cloak of darkness to discuss God, politics, astronomy, and the black arts. Known as the School of Night, they meet in secret to avoid the wrath of Queen Elizabeth. But one of the men, Thomas Harriot, has secrets of his own, secrets he shares with one person only: the servant woman he loves.

In modern-day Washington, D.C., disgraced Elizabethan scholar Henry Cavendish has been hired by the ruthless antiquities collector Bernard Styles to find a missing letter. The letter dates from the 1600s and was stolen by Henry's close friend, Alonzo Wax. Now Wax is dead and Styles wants the letter back. But the letter is an object of interest to others, too. It may be the clue to a hidden treasure; it may contain a mysterious and long-sought alchemical formula; it most certainly will prove the existence of the group of men whom Shakespeare dubbed the School of Night but about whom little is known. 

Joining Henry in his search for the letter is Clarissa Dale, a mysterious woman who suffers from visions that only Henry can understand. In short order, Henry finds himself stumbling through a secretive world of ancient perils, caught up in a deadly plot, and ensnared in the tragic legacy of a forgotten genius.

What to Love:

16Th/17th Century London

The Tower of London

The School of Night

Henry Percy aka They Wizard Earl aka Hal aka The Earl of Northhunbarland, Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe, Thomas Harriot/Hariot, Sir Walter Raleigh

A disgrace Elizaabethan scholar, mystery, treasure, alchemy, history, romance.

Veronica by Nicholas Christopher: 

On a snowy night in February, at the improbable point in Lower Manhattan where Waverly Place intersects Waverly Place, a 30-year-old freelance photographer named Leo meets elusive, strangely beautiful Veronica, a magician's daughter and assistant, she leads him into a world where illusion blends seamlessly with reality—a luminously transformed city where powerful underground streams crisscross beneath the streets, a city of dragonpoints and Tibetan mysticism where real time is magically altered. Ten years have passed since Veronica’s father, the famous magician Albin White, disappeared while performing a dangerous feat of time travel before a packed theater audience. 

White’s disappearance was no accident: he was sabotaged by his apprentice Starwood, who interfered at a critical moment and sent him hurtling into the past, free to explore other eras but with no means of returning to the present. Veronica and a small group of family and friends have spent the last 10 years preparing to bring her father back from his limbo, and the bewildered Leo will be an important part of their perilous plan.

What to Love: 

New York

Time Travel

The School of Night

Magic, magicians, Tibetan Mysticism, Illusion

The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman: 

A country divided. A newly crowned, desperately vulnerable young queen. Can one man uncover the secret that will save her throne?

It is 1560, and Elizabeth Tudor has been on the throne for a year. Dr. John Dee, at 32 already acclaimed throughout Europe, is her astrologer and consultant in the hidden arts… a controversial appointment in these days of superstition and religious strife.

When dangerous questions of Elizabeth's legitimacy arise, the mild, bookish Dee finds himself summoned before William Cecil, who tasks him with an important mission. Along with Robert Dudley, Dee's daring friend and former student who is also rumored to be the Queen's secret lover, Dee must travel to the famously mystical town of Glastonbury to find the missing bones of King Arthur. Once these long-lost relics, the embodiment of a legacy vitally important to the Tudor line, are ensconced in London, doubts as to the Queen's supremacy as the rightful Tudor heir will be dispelled.

But the quest quickly turns deadly—Dee and Dudley arrive in Glastonbury to discover the town mourning the gruesome execution of its abbot, and more death soon follows at the old abbey. Racing to uncover the secrets buried there, Dee finds himself caught in the tangled roots of English magic, unexpected violence, the breathless stirring of first love… and the cold heart of a complex plot against Elizabeth.

Sequel: The Heresy of Dr. Dee

What to Love:

16th century Elizabethan London: 1560

John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Dudley, William Cecil

Medieval mystery, murder, witchcraft, Arthurian legend, court drama, Tudor politics, magic.

Heresy by S.J. Parris 

A blending true events with fiction, this  historical thriller a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.

Giordano Bruno was a monk, poet, scientist, and magician on the run from the Roman Inquisition on charges of heresy for his belief that the Earth orbits the sun and that the universe is infinite. This alone could have gotten him burned at the stake, but he was also a student of occult philosophies and magic.

Bruno's pursuit of this rare knowledge brings him to London, where he is unexpectedly recruited by Queen Elizabeth I and is sent undercover to Oxford University on the pretext of a royal visitation. Officially Bruno is to take part in a debate on the Copernican theory of the universe; unofficially, he is to find out whatever he can about a Catholic plot to overthrow the queen.

His mission is dramatically thrown off course by a series of grisly murders and a spirited and beautiful young woman. As Bruno begins to discover a pattern in these killings, he realizes that no one at Oxford is who he seems to be. Bruno must attempt to outwit a killer who appears obsessed with the boundary between truth and heresy.

Sequels: Prophecy, Sacrilege, Treachery, Conspiracy, and short story The Secret Dead

What to Love:

16th Century London and Oxford

History

Giordano Bruno, William Cecil, Francis Wallsingham, Elizabeth I

Murder, espionage, mystery, philosophical debate, science history, scientists, poets

The Book of Splendor by Frances Sherwood

A historical novel about the most unlikely of lovers, interwoven with the mysticism of the Jewish occult. The Book of Splendor is novel that brings to life the experience of the Jewish community during a period of oppression and rebirth in seventeenth-century Prague. This is an adventure-filled romance stocked with court intrigue and political tension, including the machinations of the rival Ottoman Empire, the religious controversies of Protestantism, and the constant threat of violence to the Jewish community. At the heart of the novel is Rochel, a bastard seamstress who escapes poverty through an arranged marriage to the tailor Zev, but falls in love with Yossel, the Golem created by Rabbi Loew to protect the Jewish community. Meanwhile, Emperor Rudolph II puts the safety of all Prague at risk in his mad bid for an elixir of immortality.

What to Love:

History

16th/17th century Prague: 1601

John Dee, Edward Kelley, Rabbi Loew, The Golem of Prague, Mad Emperor Rudolph II

Alchemy, Jewish Occult lore, mysticism, court intrigue, political tension, romance

Descriptions mostly from Goodreads

If anyone else has any books they have found, please do share!!! These are just the ones I have found, loved and needed everyone to know about. This is a short list, and I do have more, but it’s a great start if you are hungry while waiting for more ADOW. Tell me what you think!