#ceres was right he's really hard to draw

[elysianasterism]

Finally drew Johannes too!! yayy

(Aarni | Jonttu)

[wrencatte]

i haven't really liked anything i've tried to write recently, but here's a wip i started...an hour ago. the goal is to get Cal buried alive but idk if im actually gonna get it maneuvered in that direction. please ignore any spelling mistakes. it's 540am and i haven't slept yet.

Cal reaches for the ware at BD-1’s insistence. The droid is endlessly fascinated by organic-made designs and this one is especially interesting. He’s smiling, laughing even, as he goes to pick it up, only to have his arm snatched up in a crushing grip and yanked sideways. Cal’s too shocked by the suddenness to react properly before the large, imposing alien lifts his arm to their eye-level, puling Cal all the way to his toes. BD-1 screeches as he tumbles off his shoulder.

“I knew I recognized that ident,” the alien snarls, then lifts Cal even higher until he’s not even touching the ground, his shoulder protesting holding all his weight. “Scrapper Guild. You lookin’ to steal some ships? Scrap them to the guild to claw yourself outta that hole you shoved yourself into?”

Reality reasserts itself at Scrapper Guild and Cal finally shouts, clawing at the grip on his arm and kicking out a foot, shoving it against the alien’s chest with a boost of the Force, but his focus is twisted around itself, a cold panic in his chest and a pain in his bones as the grip turns bruising. The alien grunts, rocking back, but he just rights himself and shakes Cal like he’s prey in a rancor’s mouth – and with the same amount of strength. It dazes Cal enough his ears are ringing and his stomach rolls.

“I ain’t lettin’ you take our hard-earned ships and squander them like whatever the kark you did with your own money to end up with the Guild,” the alien says – and Cal can only think you don’t know anything about me before the guy grunts, “Shut that droid up. It’s karkin’ annoying.”

Cal twists enough to see that the alien has friends. And one of them has two hands around BD-1 and another set holding his legs together to keep him from activating his electro prod. “Don’t touch him!” he demands, tries to put some of the Force into it, like he’s felt Cere do sometimes. Tries to gather and probe and turn the thoughts around, but he doesn’t actually know how to do it, and the Force fizzles out. “Let me go!”

It’s embarrassing to be trapped like this. Feeling half like a fish on a line and half like a misbehaving child. He’s a Jedi Knight for void’s sake. Cal renews his struggle, but he can’t get the right angle to use the Force to shove the alien off him, and it becomes a pointless because something sparks in the background and BD-1’s beeps increase in both pitch and frequency. The hairs on the back of Cal’s neck stand on end before an electro-prod is shoved point blank against his spine.

Cal arches, mouth opening in a silent scream as his nerves are set on fire and his muscles contract, contorting his body in unnatural angles. The hand holding him up lets go with him still in the air and he drops like a stone, the only relief is that the electricity stops, and he can curl up in a pathetic ball, limbs still twitching with aftershocks. It feels like there’s a vice around his lungs preventing him from drawing in a full breath. A boot kicks him over onto his back and then settles on his chest. Cal lets out a painful wheeze at the pressure. His vision is blurry, but he can still see the way the guy leans over him, applying more of his weight onto him. He scrabbles, grabbing a thick boot incase ankle, knowing he’s powerless to relieve the pressure, but needing to act in some way.

“What do you wanna do with him?” someone asks, sounding very, very far away.

“Could report him to the Guild. There’s no branches around here. Sounds like someone’s trying to duck out of their debt.”

Cal’s lip curls before he can really stop it. The only debt he has is what the Guild’s been piling on him for years for every little thing they can think of. He was twelve years old and didn’t have a roof over his head or food on his plate or even a change of clothes, so the Guild graciously lent him the credits, putting his debt incredibly high right off the bat, but what could he do? Say no and let himself die to exposure or starvation? He didn’t meet Prauf until months after, didn’t move in until even later after he was sure he was someone he could trust. Any debt he has was for survival only.

“Oh ho ho, do you see that?” Cal chokes on a grunt when it feels like his chest is caving in, the weight becoming unbearable. “This one’s got some fire in ‘m. Check the bounties first, I bet he stirred up some trouble to get all the way out here with an intact indent.” The weight suddenly disappears, and Cal draws in a desperate breath, hand dropping to his tender chest as the boot moves to settle next to his head, mud squishing under the sole. “I got the perfect place to keep ‘im until then.”

[quibbs126]

*sigh* screw it, I just want to complain more

So I’ve been trying to draw Menos (he is said favorite character above) yet again today, but it just keeps not working. I don’t really even know what I’m doing wrong, though at the same time I don’t really know how to do it right either

He’s just so difficult for me to draw for some reason. Actually no, I know the reason. It’s because he’s big and buff and has a different body shape to the rest of the main cast, and I don’t really know how to draw that. Also, there’s that godforsaken neck chain of his, that for some reason is impossible for me to draw

It doesn’t look that hard to draw in the game’s concept art, hell he doesn’t look hard to draw, especially considering his clothes are awfully simplistic compared to his companions and other characters

It’s literally just that he’s buff, I swear. But I just can’t draw him!

And this summer, I actually did somehow manage to make a sketch of a character with his body type this summer, and I keep looking at it for reference, but it just ends up looking trash

I don’t know how I did it that first time!

I know you people don’t really see my art of him that often, mostly just Ceres (though in all honesty I have been drawing a lot of her recently), but that’s because I either keep deleting it or I don’t post the never to be finished page that I drew him on, and only my Discord server that’s for Cookie Run and not this gets subjected to it. I have been trying and failing to draw him so much, including today

Speaking of today’s drawings, I actually did manage to make something halfway decent today, that being this

I’ve previously mentioned being at the dentist today, and drawing this while waiting (not entirely sure what I was waiting for, other than the thing to fill my cavities I guess? Since we were finished drilling holes in my teeth. Ah well, not important). I wanted to recreate the style drawing thing I had done above, while also maybe attempting to give them eyes closer to their canon designs

And quite honestly, I think they turned out pretty well! Maybe not the best, and I really don’t know what Ceres is doing with her arms, but it’s still not horrible

Then later today, I was trying to draw Menos similarly. And it crashed and burned (I’ve already erased what I was drawing, so I can’t show you). I’ve also been kind of trying to draw something else on the page, but it just isn’t working

I think I can only draw decently when I’m not at home, like when I’m at the dentist. Because it just isn’t working for some reason. I mean, I guess I won’t have much longer to wait, since I go back to school one week from now, and I always do my best work during lecture. Which isn’t great since I need to pay attention in lecture, but I at least will be able to draw outside of my house, and presumably do better

And yeah, I was able to draw that Dark Cacao and Choco picture yesterday, and it turned out pretty fine. And also, I’m a Cookie Run artist, I should just stop complaining about all this, making it a bigger deal than it is, and just go back to what I can do relatively well

But for one thing, I’m still stuck on this quest to draw Menos good, and I still haven’t gotten there, because I literally don’t know how to achieve it

And second, quite honestly it’s those Cookies’ fault I can’t draw these guys anymore!

I tried to learn how to draw the Cookie Run characters in a style similar to how they’re officially drawn. It took me a while, but I can pull it off I think pretty well, or at least decently (it just depends on how lazy I feel with the designs). But in the process, I have forgotten how to draw human characters properly/other beings with similar proportions. I may be able to draw them and it look semi decent by the end, but I don’t actually know what I’m doing in the sketch layer, and it feels like far more of an ordeal than it should be, and that quite honestly, I don’t have the skill anymore. I’m sure you can see it with how limited the poses of most human-ish characters I’ve drawn recently tend to be. Or at least, I’ve noticed it in drawings that I’ve done but haven’t posted because they weren’t done or I didn’t like them

And I struggle with applying what I’ve learned from Cookie Run to these human designs, because in my mind at least, they aren’t applicable here, because the proportions are all different and they have hands and necks now, and it’s all completely different so how do I apply it? Not to mention the fact that I’m semi-remembering how I used to do it and trying to copy what I used to do, but not knowing how I’m supposed to actually do it, so everything becomes a jumbled mess, and I get something that might look decent out of pure luck. I want an actual stable process for drawing human characters that looks good, but because of Cookie Run, I don’t have that anymore

And I can’t just draw in the Cookie Run style, because that’s basically like a Chibi art style, and that just wouldn’t look proper when it’s entirely different from the actual art of the game. Cookie Run you can get away with since that’s the canon art style and also just what the characters look like, being living gingerbread people. But I can’t do that with Evoland 2, it’s just not true to the game and quite frankly would just look embarrassing

What was I talking about again? Right, being unable to draw Menos. Well, that’s why you have to deal with this right now, because Cookie Run is in some way the reason that I am having this problem. Also, I really like Menos and want to draw him, but I can’t and it’s so endlessly frustrating

Yeah there’s the other characters, but I want to draw him specifically, since he’s the one on my mind most of the time, along with his family and also Velvet. It’s mostly Fina and Kuro who aren’t on my mind that often. But even then, I struggle with drawing the other characters too. Though that might be because I run out of steam by the time I decide to draw them, and so I just don’t want to draw them. I don’t know

I hate that I’m an artist who’s whole purpose is to draw, and yet I cannot draw my favorite character, who frankly isn’t that difficult to draw, all because I currently lack the ability to

[kirchefuchs]

(I may or may not have some asks I need to get to rn, but shhhhh)

I'm just gonna throw an idea out here.

What if I established a sort of "brand"(?) on my blog here?

You see, when I first made my sona Ceres Coelacanth he was, as you might imagine, a coelacanth. The fish. He was just a fish. But not any fish, he was a fish that would interview ghosts. Because why not, you know?

So over the years I've become more and more attached to Ceres and he's kinda usurped Kirche as my main sona, so I've been wanting to rebrand here and switch to being Ceres.

Now I was thinking, it could be really cute to really go hard into the concept and make you guys 🫵🫵🫵 my dear asks, the ghosts. Mostly just as a fun way to draw you guys, but also maybe for some fun role play ideas.

So uh, I've got three little concept doodles here

I believe most of you will be little tiny ghosties. But if you decide to create a persona for yourself like 🅰️non, I will probably make a larger ghost form for you.

These are all vague ideas right now. But I am really wanting to play with it, so I guess this also counts as a little head up that I'm going to be changing a lot of things around here somewhere in the near future probably.

Anyways. Thank you for your time ♡♡♡

[breakfastteatime]

The comm system beeps. Finally, it’s Cal. Kid’s been cut off for way too long, despite all of Cere’s technical wizardry. Greez can tells she's been worried, no matter how serene she pretends to be. Looks like there was no need for worry after all. He turns to hear what kept Cal off comms for so long.

Except Cere isn't talking.

And neither is Cal.

Greez knows something’s gone horribly wrong the moment Cere looks at him, eyes wide with horror. She flicks a switch, and a voice that is distinctly not Cal’s hits the air. And there’s a visual to match, shining from the holotable. Greez leaves the cockpit on wobbly legs to see a figure he’d hoped to never encounter again.

“Why, if it isn’t my old buddy Greezy Four Arms! Thought you’d got away from me, huh? Alas, I never forget a debt.”

Absolute panic rips through Greez, and yet somehow he finds his voice. “Sorc, hey, uh, how’s it going?”

“Well, I’d say it’s going pretty well, seeing as I’ve got a friend of yours on his way to me." Sorc flashes a toothy grin, his alabaster skin lit up with a sickly blue hue. "We’ll have to thank him for uniting us again, oh, not that he’s really able to hear you right now. Not to worry, I'll be sure to fill him in later.”

Greez might actually pass out. He can barely draw the breath needed to talk. “Not sure I’ve got too many friends,” he says, as nonchalantly as possible as Cere steps closer.

“Sure you do. Although, I’m not sure where you found this one. A real, live, breathing Jedi! Who knew the Empire missed any. Y’know there are plenty of folks out there who’d pay a sweet, sweet price for this one.”

The holo-projection changes, Cal replacing Sorc. He’s slumped on his side in some unknown ship’s hold, unconscious and bound in cable, blood clumping his hair together where he’s clearly taken a hefty blow. BD-1 is next to him, a restraining bolt visible on his chassis. Cere’s intake of breath echoes across the lounge.

"My bounty hunter's not taking any chances," Sorc says, his voice overlaying the image. "Never could trust a Jedi."

Sorc’s got Cal. He’s got Cal and he’s hurt him. Greez drags up something to say. He has to. He owes Cal this much at least. “Don’t hurt him, Sorc. The kid’s got nothing to do with anything.”

Sorc delights in this. The image flicks back to him as he chortles. “Ah, so you do know him. And his little droid friend too, I’m guessing. I did wonder what you’re doing in such a backwater part of the galaxy, but you were always good at finding the strangest of holes to dig yourself into, Greez.” He shakes his head as though in despair. “One of my bounty hunters found him. They got a little heavy-handed, sure, but we all know the stories about the Jedi. Can’t ever be too careful, huh?” His is a smug smirk. “Here’s hoping he puts on a good show when he comes around. He’ll need to, to pay off your debt.”

There’s nothing Greez can do or say to convince Sorc otherwise. “Leave him out of this.”

“I could, but I won’t. Heard he put up a good fight too before he was put down. I wanna see what he can do against some of my favourite beasties. If he survives that, maybe I’ll hand him back over to the Scrapper's Guild, earn myself a nice little finder’s fee. I’m guessing you’re not the only one with a few debts hanging over him.” Sorc bursts out into greedy laughter. “Yep, I can tell, this is gonna be a good day!”

The holotable goes suddenly dark. Greez looks, sees Cere already at her station, working hard to trace the signal. Her face is blank, emotionless, and somehow that’s more terrifying than her shouting at him. Not that Cere’s ever done that, but somehow rage would be easier to handle. Cal, through no fault of his own, has been caught up in Greez’s old mess.

Whatever it takes, they’re getting that kid and the droid back.

Greez knows where Sorc will take him. He’s been there plenty of times, lost a whole mess of bets on the fights. He races back to his chair and grabs the controls. “We’re going in fast and messy,” he says.

“You’re damn right we are,” Cere says.

[eiseryn]

"You're stupid. I like that in a man."

I had to redraw this meme as soon as I found out Vail's INT is a 50 XD (for reference, Lei's INT is 80)*

I love them together so much 🥺🥺🥺 I used to clown Lei for having bad taste in men (Vail LOL because he seemed super flaky due to him having 0 screen time but it turns out he's really good to her??? He's just a very very busy man 😔😔😔). I also like how he's a short king BUT IT TURNS OUT HIS SIZ IS 65 and LEI'S SIZ IS 50 XDDD but since the DM said he's only a few cm taller I will believe in the Vail short king canon-ity (I'm going to estimate he's like 165cm though XD -- Lei is 158.5cm which she justifies is basically 159cm which is basically 160cm XD. She wears lots of heels for a reason XD) This was supposed to be a quick little sketch but y'know I haven't had much time to draw so after cleaning up the sketch for the lines I started the flats... and then I started rendering.. .and then for some ungodly reason I decided to draw a cyberpunk cityscape for the background WHICH MEANT OF COURSE I HAD TO DO THE APPROPRIATE FILTER + LIGHTING FOR IT 😭😭😭 SO HERE I AM LIKE 5 HOURS LATER 🤡🤡🤡💀💀🤡🤡🤡 I'm clowning too hard I have no time to draw nowadays... man...

Details I am proud of here: Lei's hand!!! I always struggle with hands but I spent a lot of time + effort this time and looked at a bunch of refs! Of course putting the effort into the lighting/BG is another one! BUT a very cool detail I included is that Vail's ear tips are red 😳😳😳 cute, right? They're so cute together 🥺🥺🥺 *80 is the usual max, but for some strange reason, her doctor friends Elise and Ceres have INT of 85 and 90 respectfully! This is very sus!!! (But there's apparently lore reasons why which have yet to be revealed...)

[silent-sentinels]

Plural Asking 100 Questions: Part 4!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

31. How do Members pick face claims? uh we. we don't i guess?? hgkj songbird just draws us until we Look Adequate Enough and then that's us! its hard to actually depict us, we tend to be formless hkjhg but the drawings are approximations that feel sorta correct at least!

32. Do you have any Introjects of popular sources? & 33. Do you have any Introjects of unpopular sources? as of now, no introjects! unless if you count that we were first conceptualized as personal disco eIysium skills, in which case, i guess we all come from a relatively popular source!

34. Do you have nonhuman Members? i think all of us need to have some kind of nonhuman/supernaturaI trait in our designs or else it doesnt feel right hkjhg moms got the half-statue/deer antlers and ryan's got the bunny ears and cottontail and juli's got the heart antennas and wings and scottie's got a wholeass fox form hkjgh i think most if not all of us are non-human :]

35. Do any of you use Typing Quirks? a lot of our typing quirks mush semi-cohesively when typing together (thanks blender), and a lot of these have exceptions, but:

Maestro, Archer, Elle, Harlowe, Expertise, Oath, and Burden all tend to talk with proper capitalization, syntax and punctuation, but this is often discarded when fronting with blender (aka masking) or someone who uses lowercase.

↑ Archer also uses arrows for nuance (<- like this)

DEADSPRINT USUALLY USES ALL CAPS, and Hackles will use caps to EMPHASIZE ANGER.

whimsy and juliet are probably our most prominent as our socializers!! whimsy usually adds our :3 :] :P smiley emojis and exclamation marks!!! :D and juliet adds the hearts <333 (on their own, whimsy also uses silly word shortenings, "da" for "the" is first example i can think of, and juliet uses more ^^ :> :o emoticons)

scottie's actually p similar to whimsy but with a lot less of a filter and more gremlin energy lol >:3c

songbird likes using ~ as punctuation when applicable and likes using french sometimes? otherwise, mostly lowercase

[faucet talks like this because it feels safer(?).]

chamomile will fuck up spelling as we get more tired, but otherwise keeps to all lowercase and minimal punctuation. jaded is also all lowercase and minimal punctuation

memo, mom, sharps and debby all talk in lowercase with appropriate punctuation.

lili is baby. also she really likes using emojis hkjhg??

blender tends to copy any of these as xe sees fit :3

36. Do all of you front, or only a selected amount? i think a majority of us front!! we all have our moments where we're needed, or just There

37. Are there any Members who can't or prefer to not speak? faucet hates talking, and hates us talking. distance speaks, but hates speaking to others other than scabbardmates. ceres and lookout rarely talk or can't talk(?)

38. Are most of you short or tall in height? uh. hard to say!! i think short seems to win out as the majority (12-ish out of 25), though we've got some real outliers (whimsy, obligation, dad being pretty tall) hkjh

39. Is there a Member that is collectively loved by all in the System? Core. everyone loves core a lot, our collective main who we all orbit and help and blanket. we hope she knows she's loved...

40. Do any of you struggle with being front-stuck a lot of the time? Core does! Core is kinda. part of front, in a way? don't know how to explain that hkjhg but yeah, they're stuck in front forever really, i don't know if there's something we should do about that, i think we need her there to? function? :']? but i don't think he minds being frontstuck so hkjhg??

[whatanoof]

Morning

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Cal Kestis x Reader

Word Count: ~1.25k

Content: oral sex(m! receiving), cum swallowing, cursing, smut, fluff

Summary: You’ve learned to appreciate your time with Cal. Especially in the early hours of the morning, when no one else is awake and his morning wood is poking your back.

Mornings on the Mantis aren’t really mornings. There is no time in hyperspace, no specific star or method of timekeeping other than the old clock that Greez keeps running above the table, and that’s mostly there to remind people to eat. Greez refuses to skip meals. Either way, that little clock controls everyone’s circadian rhythm, because what else would you use?

You’d had a small timepiece when you’d joined the Mantis crew, and that had been synced to the food clock since. It has conveniences: you’re able to time Merrin’s speed and agility in her relic magic practice, Cere would come to you to wake her from meditation after a set amount of time, you could track the amount of time until hyperspace drop, etc. But the one thing the timepiece couldn’t track was how long Cal would be away from you. 

That was a inconvenience, to be sure. But the biggest advantage would have to be now, waking up in Cal’s arms and seeing that you have hours left until you reach Dathomir. BD-1 is powered down and charging in the bedside port, Cal’s lightsaber is laid carefully on the table, and his clothes are slung messily on the floor for when he’ll have to wake and dress. If only you could get him to stay like this, you might be happy for the rest of your days.

He’s too responsible for that, you know, but it’s nice to dream sometimes. 

The blankets are so warm, and you’re comfortable in your little nook away from the rest of the crew, and you can feel yourself being dragged back under towards sleep. You wiggle your hips slightly as you sink further into the warmth, completely ready to savor these few hours with Cal. Until you feel a telltale hardness against the small of your back that gets you completely ready for other things.

Cal is human, though it’s often hard to remember that when you see him training with his lightsaber or meditating for hours on end. But the erection sitting in the small of your back is a perfect reminder of it. 

A wicked idea occurs to you, and you carefully worm out of his arms, sliding down to rest between his legs. It’s almost ridiculous how your mouth waters when you pull his cock out of his pants. Maker, you’re craving this, though you can't really believe it’s taken so long for an opportunity to present itself like this.

You drag your tongue up the shaft from base to head, wondering if maybe you should let him rest. He’ll need the strength. But the heaviness of his cock in your hand and the growing arousal in your core chases away all responsible thoughts. You want to make him feel good, even better than sleep could. He’ll wake up soon enough.

“Wha--What?” Right on cue.

“Good morning.” Your fingers curl around his shaft, relishing the warmth of his skin and how he absolutely throbs in your hand for you.

“Mornin’?” His voice is so adorably raspy right after he wakes up, grating in all of the right places to create sparks of heat between your legs. “Oh--” You run your tongue over the head, and his thigh goes rigid under your hand, almost as deliciously hard as his cock is in your mouth. The rest of his body follows suit, and he arches off of the bed, “What’re you doin’?”

Oh. That’s right. He’s probably never had anyone go down on him before. It sends a thrill through you, knowing that you’re the only one who’s ever made him feel like this, that you’re the only one who knows his taste, that you’re the one who’s about to show him just how good it can be. 

“It’s called a blowjob, Cal.” You plant a quick kiss on the underside of the shaft, revelling in how it twitches at the touch and Cal’s back arches. Fuck, you want it in your mouth now. You sink down on his length, careful to avoid scraping your teeth against it while your hand slides over what you can’t fit.

“Fu-- stars, babe.” You smile at the almost slip-up. You’d never heard Cal swear before. In fact, you’re pretty sure he hadn’t heard much of any swears before you joined the crew. You would forever cherish the confused, wide-eyed look on his face the first time he’d heard you cussing out one of the sharper corners aboard the Mantis while cradling a stubbed toe.

“How--ho-- much… Dath’mir?” You almost roll your eyes at the question. Only Cal Kestis could try to think about an upcoming quest while he’s getting his dick sucked.

You pull off with a pop, “I can stop.”

“No!” He gasps, shaking his head frantically against the pillow, “Please don’t.” Maker, he sounds so… wrecked right now. All because of you. You can’t resist the grin that spreads over your face at the thought. You’re painfully aware of the other crew members on the ship, and how the only thing separating you two from discovery is an unlocked automated door that could be breached at any investigation into the noises. And yet, that somehow only makes you want to drag more of those noises out of him.

“Okay.” You plunge back down, relishing in the little aborted thrusts of his hips as he fights to keep still for you. He whines against the back of his hand as you fondle his balls. Fuck his moans sound good right after he’s woken up. Before this, there had only been quickies, steamy makeout sessions that ended with dry humping in bed before he fell asleep. But this, this is so much better.

It only takes a few more minutes until he’s grunting with every stroke of your hand and his voice is raw, like he’s solely drawing air from the back of his lungs in an effort to stay coherent. His thigh is rock solid under your hand with how hard he’s tensing, and you quicken your pace.

“Babe--” His hand slaps weakly on your shoulder, and you understand. Drawing in one last deep breath, you push forward until your nose meets the curls at the base of his cock. You inhale carefully through your nose, fighting the urge to gag as Cal lets out one last shaky moan before he’s coming hard down your throat. You tongue him clean before tucking his softening length back into his pajama pants and crawling up to snuggle into his side.

The Mantis is dead silent, the only sounds around you coming from the quiet whir of BD-1’s charging pad and Cal’s heavy breaths slowly calming into their normal rhythm. Cal turns so that he’s spooning you, arms curling around your waist as he presses forward into your back. The peaceful content, along with the pleasant reminder that Dathomir is still hours away, lulls you into a drowsy wakefulness where all you know is the bed beneath you and the warmth of Cal at your back. Finally, he breaks the silence, “Could we do that more?”

You snort and wriggle around to face him, “Only if you return the favor.”

Stars, now his face matches his hair. He blinks shyly down at you, “I--uh--I’ve never done that before.” 

You smile and peck him on the nose, “I’ll talk you through it.” You snuggle back into his arms, “Stay with me Cal?”

He sighs deep into his chest, and you feel the gentle rise and fall of his body, “I’ll stay as long as I can.”

[ubemango]

7, 29, 56 tts! couple pls 👉🏼👈🏼

7.  “That’s it, that’s a new kink I never knew I had.” + 29.  “I’m going to die if you don’t let me cum.” + 56.  “You better muffle yourself with a pillow then, because I’m not stopping.”

+ pre-marriage tts. literally. warnings: (an attempt at) orgasm control, squirting

Yoongi blurs the line between cruelty and mercy with every hard drive of his fingers in your pussy. He only uses two because he knows you’ll come too quick with three. You race right into thick heat, feel it spiral to the final surge—

—and then he stops.

“Oh fuck you,” you cry, “Yoongi no—”

He grinds the heel of his palm where you pulse heat to tease that slow build again. “Yoongi yes,” he mocks. He’s not sorry at all.

“I’ll—I’ll be so angry with you and I’ll tell everyone we called the wedding off because you’re being so mean to me.”

“You can do better than that.”

He’s not playing fair. It’s been an hour of one long dizzy spell, fucking you to steep levels of an orgasm but denying you the pleasure eight times already. Begging has never been off the table but it pisses you off knowing he’ll enjoy it even more now that you’re desperate enough to resort to it.

“I’m—I’ll die—I’m going to die if you don’t let me come.”

He curls the tips of his fingers as an evil reminder. “Now you’re being dramatic.”

“You see what it’s like to almost-come eight times!”

“But it’s so hot,” he coos. He’s not wrong. There’s a you-shaped print of sweat on these sheets. “Watching you squirm like that. You think you’ll squirt?”

Your cheeks burn high. “Do you want me to?”

“Only if you’ll scream.”

Oh you’d scream alright. Bark any command till he finally lets up, drills your pussy till you blank into white. You’ve both got a long day ahead. One that starts in approximately seven hours but Yoongi likes to drag things out at the most inopportune times. “Yoongi I’m tired and we’re literally getting married tomorrow so you’re not even supposed to be here much less finger-blasting me to no end!”

“I know you’re tired. Is this getting your mind off things?”

"I wanna come!” You bellow.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he confirms. He bends over to bloom kisses on your pelvis, little apologies. “Just trust me, okay?”

You resign with limp defeat. He’s got you in his hands—literally—and he knows you’re reaching levels of frustration even an orgasm won’t fix. So he starts up again: the gentle pump of his fingers in your slick, molding your walls with all the heat of his loving.

Your eyes roll back. It’s your favourite part. The barely-there sensations, craving the intense satisfaction but he won’t give it to you just yet. Yoongi drags it out, doesn’t go for your clit but for the tiny moans you’ll grant him if he curls inside just right.

“Love feeling you like this.”

“Hm?” Yoongi grazes soft lips along your stomach, kisses your heaving chest. He prods deeper with a stroke when he circles your tit with a slow tongue. Your hand curls an automatic grip on his hair. “Oh god…”

“So… good. Letting me do this to you. Makes me feel important.”

“I-I’m glad,” you laugh. Trust Yoongi to confess that having his hands coated with wet pussy is a good confidence builder. If anything, you’re just happy to provide.

He comes up for a kiss. He’s easy with it because he doesn’t want you getting carried away. You’ve always had a thing for your tongue on his. “You’ll look so beautiful tomorrow,” he whispers.

“Oh don’t get sappy on me now.”

Not when he’s got your legs open to blatant exposure and he’s still got all his sleepwear on. His words don’t work to turn you on but to ease the anxiety you’ve got churning in your stomach. All your exhausted efforts coming to matrimonial fruition tomorrow, and Yoongi was nothing if attentive to your need for recourse after the busy rehearsal dinner today.

Yuri would kill him if she knew he snuck out his room across the hall just to fuck you. Bridal superstitions and all. But you’re too far gone to chide him for breaking rules because you’re the one being taken care of right now.

He picks up to steadier movements, dragging that sticky sound louder till you’re blushing. He still won’t touch your clit. Probably deciding if he wants to give in and finally let you come, so you moan just for the preview. A little incentive to promise him you’ll make it worth the ache of his wrist come morning. “Fuck—please—go faster.”

“You wanna come?”

“Yes!”

“What if I don’t want you to?”

But he doesn’t tease another quick stop. He heeds your earlier request, lets himself indulge in harsher fucking, scissoring those fingers, curving till your nerves are set on fire. You’re tempted to close your thighs from how hard he’s going but Yoongi distracts you with a pink tongue behind your teeth, swallowing your heavy exhales like he wants to consume you whole.

“Oh fuck yes. Just like that, mm—!”

He challenges your desperate stare, watches you dwindle into whines because you’re already so close again. “You gonna come for me?”

“Please,” you mewl. “Don’t stop ple-ease—”

“What if I do? You gonna beg me like a good girl? Gonna kick and scream till I give you what you want?”

“Yoongi—Yoongi!“

Your panting eases into half-sobbing. You’d accuse him of being a sadist but you love the chase just as much, succumbing to the ache of submission. Creaming his knuckles wet, feeling that throb build to an unbearable fever.

Then he stops. Again.

You shiver. “Yoon—!“

“Sh.” You’re positive his fingers have pruned up, coated diligently in your essence. He won’t lick it yet because he knows you like the stringy feeling.

“Yoongi I need—“

“Promise I won’t make you wait now. Just breathe for me.”

“Y-You better,” you sniffle. You don’t want to admit defeat, don’t want to give him the satisfaction of driving you to tears from one more stolen orgasm. When he said he wanted to take your mind off things you didn’t think he’d mean to replace every single thought with mind-numbing desire. It’s bordering on painful at this point—heart, soul, pussy.

He sates your crumbling sanity with a soft kiss. “I love you. Really.”

“Love you too. Even though you’re being horrible.”

Yoongi takes it as a nice compliment. Opposite to the nasty rubbing he starts teasing your hole with, almost like it’s a gift. “Think you’ll squirt for me?”

“Mm… We’ll see.” You grind into his palm.

“I really wanna see you squirt.”

“Then you better make me fucking come or I’m making sure I’m two hours late to the cere—h-ah!”

Yoongi promises no pretence of evil when he dives right for the spot that curls you at the spine. He claims it, claims you—shoves those knuckles deep till the heel of his palm rubs perfectly on your clit. You grab at his hair. Grip tense, body tenser.

He leans down, mouthing love on your neck. “Feel it coming?”

“God yes,” you squeal. “Fuck that’s so good, baby.”

“Yeah? You like it when I fuck your tight pussy like this?”

“Mhm—!” You hug Yoongi to your chest as if you were slipping, slipping, slipping—finally coming, head first into rapture, unravelling with a loud shriek. “Oh fuck yeah, yeah, ngh—!”

Yoongi takes all those near-highs and pulls taut at the heat where he thrusts. And he gets what he wants, too: drawing out thick splashes till it wets his wrist, the bed; watching you shake with every intense pulse. You’ll tip double to the housekeepers changing the sheets later.

“Holy fucking shit,” you breathe. You think you’re still coming. Yoongi strokes with lighter touches, gets you twitching into the feeling.  

“That’s it,” he whispers, kissing you softly into the comedown. “That’s a new kink I never knew I had.”

“Wha-what? What is?”

“Pre-marital fingerbangs.”

You flick at his forehead, bask in the sight of his dewy face in the dimmed lights. “Now your fingers are all wrinkly. Pussified fingers.”

“Ah.” He brings his hand up to marvel at his handiwork. Flexing at the soaked middle and ring fingers, and suddenly you’re reminded of the fact that you’ll slide a ring on him tomorrow. “I like it. Almost like they’re battle scars.”

“I leave no one unscathed.”

“How dare you wound me,” Yoongi jokes. He doesn’t expect you to grip his wrist next, bringing him closer till your tongue tastes the remnants of his hard work. His gaze zeroes in on your puckered lips stretched along his knuckles. “You...”

“Taste good.” You pop your mouth. “But I bet you taste even better.”

He laughs abashedly. “I think I’m blushing.”

“C’mon big boy, roll on over for me.”

He does. He’s very obvious with the way he stares at your tits when you crawl over him.

“Now I could be mean and do the same thing to you.” You drag his sweats down, stare at the bulge between his thighs. “Or… I could be meaner, and do the opposite.”

Your hands are cold on his skin when you pull at his briefs. “What?”

“I’m gonna make you come. A lot.”

It doesn’t sound like a threat. But you make it dangerous when you keep your eyes on him, bending over to lick at the tip of his dick. Yoongi stutters a gasp.

“Mm. Y-You gonna make me scream for it?”

“Would you do it if I asked?”

You watch him struggle. To submit, to enjoy the way you suck on him. Probably realizing neither of you will get good sleep tonight for the sake of drawn-out highs.

“Maybe,” he decides.

“Good.” You slobber through one mouthful of cock till his hands seek refuge in the sheets. “You better muffle yourself with a pillow then, ‘cause I’m not stopping.”

[jaigeye]

16 with finn!

30 multipurpose prompts. ( finn & cere junda. ) 'small birds, dry grass.' | read on ao3.

One day, Finn stands in the torrential rain and watches a figure in a cloak come trudging over the mountain.

He sits her down in the shelter of the temple with warm tea and a fresh blanket.

She is old, wrinkles carving rivers into her face, and her gray-white hair is a shock against the warmth of her brown skin. She is tired. Her name is Cere Junda, and she came alone from far away.

"What brought you here?" He asks. She doesn't look threatening, not in the least, but his guard is still up because this is a temple, and there are children and friends here who trust him. "Do you know what this place is? What we- what's done here?"

"It's a Jedi temple," she says matter-of-factly. "A place to stay in the winter when the weather gets bad elsewhere."

He squints. "And how do you know that?"

She shrugs and slurps her tea loudly. "I stayed in the room with the blue window frame."

His room. She stayed in his room. Finn reels, closes his eyes, and regains his composure in the overwhelming span of ten seconds before accosting her with more questions. "You're a.. a.."

"It's nice out," she interrupts. "Why aren't the students training out front?"

He swallows. "They're down by the sea. Learning to swim."

"What's your name?"

"Finn."

Cere looks appraisingly at him over the edge of her cup before setting it back down on the saucer with a sigh. "Why aren't you down there with them, Finn?"

"I already know how." He swallows, his mouth suddenly very dry. "Learned it in basic training."

This gives her pause. "You're a soldier?"

Finn swallows down the fear that lodges itself in his throat. He's not a liar and he's not an imposter. His past, he has long since decided, is better left known to everyone lest they feel betrayed upon learning what he was. Finn doesn't like to break people's hearts, so he's outright with the truth.

"I was a stormtrooper once."

She looks halfway to suspicious before she just looks sad. "I was a Jedi."

"I want to be a Jedi." Finn considers her use of the past tense. "Do you want to be a Jedi again?"

Cere grasps her fist with her hand and twists the spinning ring she wears on her thumb. "Mostly, I just want to do well by other people."

Holding out his hand like an offering, a peace treaty, Finn smiles and says; "Why don't you stay here with us for a while?"

She accepts the offering very calmly. If she's half as alone as she looks and sounds, Finn is sure that the relief of shelter and company meant more than she let on.

Cere minds the children with sincerity and patience. Poe thinks she's funny; Cere seems surprisingly at ease with his antics, taking every joke in elegant stride. She tells Finn that she knew someone a little like him once. She regards Rey with respect, shaking her hand ever-so-firmly and gently correcting her stance, her statements, her lessons. The input is taken with a mixture of indignance and gratitude.

Rey asks one day why Cere doesn't join her in teaching the younglings; surely she would make a much better teacher to them, seeing as she's classically trained- but Cere turns the offer down very firmly.

She asks very few questions about his time in the First Order, but he tells her freely what spurred his defection. Cere clasps his hands, says he is brave, and disappears for hours.

Halfway to two weeks of her living there, Finn finds her doing her morning stretches in a grassy field and decides to ask her the question that's been weighing him down for years.

Little birds hop across the expanse of dry grass. Spring will be coming soon. "Would you train me?"

"Your friend is a Jedi," she replies smoothly. "You've got other resources to turn to."

" One resource." He points this out with a slightly upturned nose, because Finn has earned some pride of his own. "If I have choices available to me then I want to choose."

This draws her attention. She stops walking and turns to him, pushing her long gray locs out of her face to regard him. "I suppose it wouldn't be…. entirely out of the question."

Finn's heart soars for a second, overzealous with glee, before the cold stone of reality drags him back to earth. Dejected, he watches a bird peck at an insect.

"But Rey says that Jedi are meant to be trained from when they're really young." He thinks about the sounds of endless laughter, as well as the chant they cry while training. He clears his throat. "Children. They're all children."

Cere sighs. "Yes. Most are taught from just after they learn to walk."

"I'm- how old do you think I am?" he scoffs in mock offense, looking her up and down.

"Too old!" She claps him firmly on the shoulder and he rocks from the strength of it. Graying or not, she's made of sterner stuff than looks would betray. He wants to laugh, but then a distant look washes over her. "But I-- well. My first padawan was classically trained, and it ended in pain for both of us. Maybe it's better that this time be different."

"I can do different," he declares, trailing behind her as she leads them to two boulders at equal distance. He complies when she gestures that they sit. "Is that a yes, then?"

Cere tucks her legs up beneath her and rests her hands on her knees. It's hard not to gawk; in his eyes, she cuts the perfect image of what a Jedi should be.

"Tell me why you won't let your friend train you."

"I-- uh-" This particular question leaves him a little distraught. He can see a knowing glint in Cere's eye as she watches him rifle through viable responses, chewing on his thoughts til he can't think straight anymore. "Hm."

Finn clears his throat and his mind and exhales slowly through his nose.

Whenever Finn pictures Rey in his mind, she is always walking the other direction. He only ever sees her back. Broad, strong, her lightsaber staff slung across it, off to see the stars with Rose, or tending to her many loving students. Far away from him.

It's not her fault. They love one another, but this is how he sees her, and one cannot take tutelage from someone who is always going away from you. She's off to see the stars. He's still on the ground just trying to make sense of them.

"I can't train with her because we're too close," he finally manages. "She's like my sister but she's distant, too. It's not bad. I just.. I want to rely on someone who.. who's done more than me."

"She's your equal in every way." Cere concludes. "You want someone who can guide you, whose focus won't stray from what you want to learn, is that right?"

Finn feels his heart wrench and shrink in his chest. "Is that bad?"

"No." The response is immediate. Cere's expression is unflinching. "There's no fault in wanting something for yourself."

He takes from that what he will, nodding, before turning the table again. "Tell me why you won't train me."

They sit in amicable silence for several seconds. The wind blows softly through Cere's hair, the beads in her locs clicking softly together.

Cere Junda looks at him with a sincere earnestness in her tone and says, "I have done a terrible thing."

And Finn, who lived in a world of plastoid and fear just nods. "I have, as well."

"But you refused to kill anyone," she refutes, "in the village where you strayed."

He thinks about the blood on his helmet for a second. Sometimes when he touches his face at night he can still feel that handprint there like a brand on his soul.

"I didn't have to kill anyone to do something terrible." Finn looks at his palms, calloused and worn, and admits what he has told very few. "I believed in it once."

When he says it, he means it - the Empire, the ideology, the First Order and all the beliefs its cruelty required.

Again, Cere is awash with the distant, sad look that so often clouds her eyes and keeps her quiet. "It's not your fault, Finn."

He blinks. When did he start crying? Finn gently shoos away the little bird hopping around him and inspecting his shoes. Warmth burns behind his eyes and makes his head feel heavy; his eyes water until some tears slip free. He nods and wipes at his eyes.

Cere- warm, kind, remorseful Cere, so close to the end of her own life, leans forward to grasp his hands and give him her presence in her final years. "I'll do it, Finn. You're strong in the Force, and you're so good. You don't even have to think about it. Goodness just comes to you. Will you be my Padawan, Finn? Will you trust me?"

He squeezes her hands tightly in his own. "I will. I'll make you proud."

"You already have."

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (anime heat 2)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. Now, I present my favourites! And really, they were ALL favourites. Mmm, headcanony goodness.

Oh, special shoutout to this unattributed one, which I suspect fell prey to someone submitting early, but as phrased, made me snort laugh: “one of my longest held headcanons is that ami“

SAME, FRIEND

Anyway, If your answer is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

—

Q: Senshi headcanon time! Intrigue me, humour me, crush me, FEED ME.

* Michiru actually did have a guardian cat, once. It was silvery grey with dark blue eyes. It did not speak, but it was always there to provide support and comfort in a life which had little of either. The first time Michiru had a strong vision, which left her cold and senseless on the floor of her room, it was the small warmth from her cat that brought her back to the world of color and light and solidity. The cat was a friend and confidante in those early days, when Michiru was unsure if this experience was real or the beginnings of schizophrenia. The fact that her mother could see the cat, and regularly make comments about the uncleanliness of such creatures, was proof of Michiru's new reality. So when the cat entered the fray to distract a youma, saving Michiru, but being killed in the process, it became one more thing that the Moon had given her, only to steal away. Michiru promised herself to never rely on another again, or to allow the Moon to have her heart again. And she had done fairly well at this. Haruka, for all her charms, was a plaything, and not something to sacrifice herself for. But pausing outside the Marine Cathedral, Michiru found herself looking into dark blue eyes, so different, but so similar, and knew that she would do anything and everything in her power to keep from having to watch them close, again. -- @incorrecttact  [YOU ARE ALSO KILLING THESE QUESTIONS. This hit me right in the kokoro, and I welcomed its sweet sweet pain.]

~~

*  Mako teaches Hotaru, Chibiusa, and the Amazon Quartet to cook and bake as a bonding activity. Hotaru LOVES making cakes and decorating them. Chibiusa likes cooking with noodles and even making her own; it doesn’t sound special, but the food she makes is DELICIOUS. Ves, the red one, finds cooking easy, but doesn’t like it and so never does outside of being coaxed into it. Jun, the green one, finds baking easy, but also doesn’t like sweet things, which limits her repertoire. Cere, the pink one, has no natural talent, but she very much WANTS to be good at it, so she turns out to be the best cook of her Senshi group. Palla takes to neither, but she is very enthusiastic about eating their experiments.  --  Jules  [I am an absolute slut for Mako and moments with the kids, and including the Quartet was a brilliant stroke.]

~~

*  A Serenity is not supposed to be reborn. They are born, they live, they die, and they are done. They are not like the Senshi, whose souls reincarnate, carefully bound to Serenity blood. They are not supposed to be reborn, so when Queen Serenity sees everything fail and decides to send their souls to the future, the Senshi are easy. Serenity is not. In desperation, Serenity does something she would have never considered in any other circumstance: she ties Serenity's soul to the Senshi. What was once a one way tie, has now become an equal bond, and so everything changes.  -- @madegeeky  [Ooo, this is some lovely twists on my own reincarnation headcanons, while still keeping the “this is a mistake” flavour. IT TASTES GOOD.]

~~

*  How about more Rei whistle antics? You headcanon Usagi would use the whistle for every mundane thing and Rei would come. Usagi would do this at 2 AM in the morning too and Rei would still be woken up and still come even in pajamas if she need be because Usagi had a spooky nightmare or "Rei-chan I fell off my bed and now my face hurts". Knowing Rei whistle antics can be funny for us and maybe aggravating for Rei at times because "Usagi you blew the whistle because you fell off the bed?" what if we can make it a pinch sad? Like what if Rei can tell what sort of peril Usagi is in by the way she blows the whistle in tone? Like when it's a sad somewhat weaker whistle, even if it's just a tiny subtle tone, Rei can IMMEDIATELLY tell "USAGI IS SAD AND NEEDS ME" and she will RUSH over in 5 seconds like in her Rei way, she might even have the mind to bring snacks, cocoa and plush to hug for the comfort.  --  Mrs. Duckling  [HOW ABOUT INDEED. I hadn’t thought about the different ways the whistle can be blown and what it might say, what a wonderful addition. THANK YOU FOR CATERING DIRECTLY TO ME AND MY NEEDS]

~~

*  PGSM!Sailor Mars - [REDACTED] Oh. Right. You're not there yet. Awkward... Anime!Minako is a huge fan of romance manga, but for all the wrong reasons. She tried drawing doujinshi of crack ships before realizing that A) she's not really a writer and B) she's REALLY not an artist. She plans on using some of her rich idol singer money to commission really bizarre romance stories. The sort that make you go WTF?! Of course, step one is "become a rich and famous idol"... Meanwhile, Rei also buys the romance manga that Minako gets into, (partially so she'll shut up about it) but mainly just analyzes them for mood and the characters, and gets frustrated when they inevitably devolve into nothing but sappy kissing and mooning over each other. She's trying to see why Minako gets so obsessed, but doesn't want to flat out admit that she doesn't get it and have to ask. -- Peter "Pigeons!" Svensson  [I had nothing but fun with this, fantastic. ps: THANK YOU FOR THE PIGEONS NOMINATION]

~~

* If these four* Senshi were to meet you, I think they'd each also be meeting some of their best qualities: Usagi is love, and that love is infectious as HELL. Much like a certain blogger who has amassed an international following on the strength of her love for her favourite media, wouldn't you say? Ami is very impressed by your office set-up! But when she sees you re-enter the room with a sprightly little black cat riding on your shoulder, she knows she has discovered a kindred spirit. Where can Rei-chan possibly begin? From your passionately informed and encyclopedic knowledge of their interactions ("She has RECEIPTS, Usagi!"), to your, let's call it tenacity ("She stirred that sugar for TWO HOURS, Usagi!!"), Rei finds so much to admire. And while no one could ever possibly love Rei as much as she loves herself, she magnanimously allows that you are a close second. As for Haruka, well! World Shaking? More like Toilet Breaking! You wrecked that shit and unleashed the sea. She can certainly relate *eyebrows, eyebrows* *would that i had time to write out blurbs for the others! but we're heading back into lockdown today, and i need to get to the post office to mail you a package. PRIORITIES! xo  -- @rasiqra-revulva​  [Okay look when I said “crush me” I didn’t mean WITH NICENESS. Also thank you for the huge laughs. *eyebrows, eyebrows*]

~~

*  Minako manages to write a tell-all book (anonymously, of course, and with names changed to protect the relevant,) about their first few years as Senshi in the lull between Stars and Shit Escalating Again. Even more astoundingly, she manages to get it optioned as a film and play Sailor Mars without blowing her cover! Rei seethes. Minako’s annoyed because she tried out for Usagi. Usagi’s just happy Minako’s successful. The film manages to pick up nominations come award season, and Michiru even arranges for the rest of the Senshi to attend. Minako loses to some film from a really overrated director that manages to out-award bait her reenactment of D-Point. She’s silently fuming through his acceptance speech when he’s Burning Mandala’d mid-sentence. And that’s how the Senshi discovered that Jadeite survived getting run over with planes, joined the entertainment industry after Beryl’s defeat, and had been using it to drain energy ever since! Sailor Mars’s speech about how he disgraces the passion of filmmakers everywhere and her comrade’s hard work goes viral. -- Regalli  [LOVED THE TWIST ENDING, also Rei basically stealing the awards show stage, as we all know she would]

~~

*  Not Senshi, but cats! One day, when Usagi is queen, she's going to decide to knight the cats. Luna thinks it's silly and figures Usagi is just acting on a whim, but Artemis has his chest puffed out and is glowing with pride. They're given tiny medals made by Endymion. -- RibbonFinale  [Oh I DID want this. I wanted this very much, THANK YOU.]

~~

*  Makoto can't culture bonsai trees. It's not a matter of ability, or scale — she can work with tiny tools with equal facility as large ones — but she can't bring herself to push the things down, to cut and twist and bind them to grow the way _she_ wants, not the way it wants to grow.   The tiny pine she bought to try it out, years ago, is in a pot in the corner of her apartment; it's just now grown taller than she is. -- Taperwolf  [I didn’t expect this one to hit me as hard as it did when I started reading. Love it, love it, love it.]

~~

*  You know those 'meetings Usagi doesn't know about'? the ones where the girls dive into the nitty gritty about being senshi, the ones where they decide who will take up being the Disguise Pen Decoy if Minako is killed? Usagi knows about them. it was one of those 'character A eavesdrops and hears character B talking about them' setups, but instead of hearing Ami call Usagi a ditz, she hears Ami saying 'I'm the weakest fighter, if Minako is assassinated and we need someone to be decoy it'd be easier to explain away my absence than Rei's or Mako's' In these meetings they speak very coldly about themselves, Ami is always first to call herself the weak one, Minako calls into attention her showboating, Mako will openly remind people she doesn't think things through on the battlefield, and Rei derides herself on her inability to keep her cool (heh) and they all come up with contingencies to cover for eachother to the minutest detail. Usagi only ever evesdrops on one of these meetings, but now she knows they happen. and she can't un-know.  -- Vega  [OOOOOOOOOOOOOO.]

~~

Manga Sailor Pluto has picked her nose 2,013,417 times. -- too ashamed to say  [WHY THE SHAME THIS IS CORRECT  AND NOW RIGHTFULLY CANON]

---

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

[capricornus-rex]

A Legacy Begun (10)

Chapter 10: The Advent of an Alliance | Cal Kestis x Reader

Summary: After a long time of running and fighting, you and Cal decided to finally settle down after all these years to raise a family. However, it was never a life of peace whilst the shadow of the Empire looms over your heads.

Prompt/s in play: Anon prompt (found in Chapter 1 link) + fic idea

Also posted in AO3

Tags: Scruffy! Cal Kestis, Daddy! Cal Kestis, Adult! Cal Kestis, Jedi Family, Jedi Offspring, Force-Sensitive Offspring, Settling Down, Rebel Alliance

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 | Previous: Part 9 | Next: Part 11 | Masterlist

10 of ?

Cassidy darts out of the quarters, her precious unignited saber in hand, and kept announcing the words, “I did it!”

Everyone turned to the scarlet-haired child. She wanted to make sure everyone got a closer look of the saber that she has constructed all on her own, she was three times proud of herself than her parents combined. Her quirky disposition somehow reminded you and Cal individually of your childhoods—the medley of thrill and anxiety at the Gathering, the accomplishment of constructing the saber down to the last component all by oneself, and the satisfying hum of the saber blazing out of the emitter that cements their being a Jedi.

“Ooh, it turned out quite beautifully, Cassidy!” you grinned, leaning closer to get a look of the overall design.

It was neat and sleek, simple yet elegant—you strongly believed that the lightsaber reflected her, not just by personality, but also her fighting style.

Two years prior this Gathering, it was too soon to figure out what lightsaber form Cassidy was inclined to using. However, it was vital that she’d be exposed to all seven forms—you and Cal have made it clear that it wasn’t a hard requirement for her to master each and every one. Although her capabilities appear to drift between Form I: Shii-Cho and Form III: Soresu—the latter is the most prominent.

“You think so, Mom?”

“Of course. I never doubted you for a moment, my girl,”

She rung her little arms around your neck, naturally, you hugged her back—wrapping your arms around her small back and playfully shaking her in the middle of it.

“Go ahead and play now, if you like, but we’ll get clean up in a bit, okay?”

“Okay,” she nodded and then turned to BD-1 sitting on the sofa. “Come on, BD!”

“Trill, bee!”

The two friends scampered along, the droid followed wherever the girl went—fetching her three favorite toys: the Binog named Nog, the Bogling who’s been called Bog ever since her infancy, and the Shyyyo Bird she fondly referred to as Shy and then placing them all in the lounge.

While Cassidy played away with BD-1 and her stuffed animals, you headed to the bathroom to draw a warm bath. You politely interrupted Cassidy’s playtime to clean her up—starting with taking off her snowflake-covered poncho, you brought her to the bathroom and cleaned her there: wiping her face clean of frost and snow until the freckles and the pinkness of her cheeks stood out more, rinsed and lathered her head well enough to make sure the snowstorm hadn’t hardened her hair into a red, solid sheet.

Finally, she sported a dark green jacket and black pants—an ensemble that nearly looked identical with Cal’s, spare the armor. She returned to her playtime and kept her saber close, even though it’ll be a long while before she could actually use it. Eventually, in the middle of the trip, exhaustion has taken over little Cassidy until she had fallen asleep in the middle of her playtime—BD-1 didn’t want to disturb her so he set himself to sleep mode as well, sitting with his legs tucked underneath his body on the table, along with the toys, and her arms crossed together acted like a pillow but her saber was trapped in her hand. You’re endeared by the sight—you first pulled away the saber in her hand and then carried her to the couch where she’ll be comfortable, you replaced the saber with the Binog as the child continued to dream

“Sleep tight, baby,” you whispered and leaned to forehead to plant a kiss.

You retired to Cal’s former quarters and found himself busy against the workbench. He turned around to acknowledge your presence.

“She and BD are taking a nap,”

Cal paused from his handiwork, “Oh?”

“Yeah, I just tucked her in on the couch in the lounge,” you leaned casually against the door with your arms crossed and a smirk traced all over your lips.

“You’re not too busy, I hope,” your husband purred as he started pacing towards you.

The smirk on your face extended, chuckling through your nostrils as you play along with the act. You rolled your eyes in a thoughtful manner and then shrugged your shoulders seconds later.

“I don’t think so,”

“Good,”

A single flimsy wave of his two fingers and the audible crunch of a button clicked right next to your ear. He maintained that smug look in his face, you smiled off the growing tension ripping between the gap that he’s closing with every step closer to you.

“I’m afraid the door’s jammed,” you jokingly point out the obvious.

“How unfortunate,”

He planted his palms flat against the wall on both of your sides, trapping you between his arms; he’s surprised that you’ve kept your demeanor steady for this long. You slid down while keeping his eyes on him, giving him the false hope of you submitting to him, but you only did so to slip underneath his arms to retreat to the workbench.

“So, what is it that you’ve been busying yourself with?”

He sighed and then went after you, “I’m recalibrating the Mantis’s shared-line transponder, Cere thinks that it’s taking a few seconds before the signal reaches our home.”

“Any luck so far?”

“Haven’t tested it yet,” his warm breath blew over your shoulders, goosebumps crawled all over your arms. His hands slithered down to your thighs and dug his fingers deep into your flesh.

“Do you plan to?”

“I have other things in mind,”

His fingers clawed their way up to clutch your waist; he goes on to leave a trail of kisses on your neck—gradually bruising them as he gingerly nips away at your skin—you crane your head up, giving in to his lips. You absentmindedly put aside the transponder to the far side of the worktable. He quickly lifted you up to the surface of the table the instant you turned to face him; he denied you a chance to speak or react using his lips, his tongue slithering into your mouth and exploring your taste.

Even with your eyes closed, you managed to unzip his jacket, pale skin popped out of the clothing and he shook off the sleeves until he was bare—he did the same to you and rucked up your tank top. A chuckle rumbled in your throat, it rang seductively into his ears as his lips ghosted over the groove between your breasts.

Cal hooked his arms around your thighs while his tongue flicks your nipple inside his mouth, a squeak escaped your throat—keeping yourself quiet amidst this heating ecstasy was a struggle, you didn’t want to wake Cassidy with your screaming Cal’s name. He pulled away for a moment only to shush you and then rested you flat against the white, narrow bed.

“Hush now, we wouldn’t wanna disturb Cassidy’s nap,”

“I’ll be good then,” you mewled.

He brushed his lips to yours to silence you, his tongue tracing along the line of your bottom lip while you prod yours into his mouth.

Hours later, both of you cuddled in your former bed, truly reliving the old days but feeling like you’re still back to the time where all of you were just wondering where to go next. You opted to take a shower and wore your jacket lousily until you found your way to the bathroom. While you bathed, Cal stepped out of the quarters to fix himself a glass and spotted Cassidy already up and about.

She stood in the very center of the ship—just in front of the lounge’s table—testing out her saber, waving it around the same way she would with the practice saber back home. Cal watched her from the dining table, making stances of her own mixed with the standard ones taught to her, he smiled to himself when he saw her attempt a flourish spin.

“Be careful when you do that, sweetie, we wouldn’t want Greez to find a slash on the ceiling,”

Cassidy spun around, startled by her father’s remark. She was so absorbed with her solo practice session that she wasn’t unaware of his presence; a bright red colored over her freckles as she realized this rookie mistake.

“Sorry, Dad, I… I figured you were there,”

“I guess you concentrated a bit too much on your saber,”

Unable to respond, she was guilty of that claim, she averted her eyes from her father—slightly embarrassed—and then turned to her saber, examining the smooth black hilt rolling in the palm of her hand.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, I’m not mad,”

“I should’ve really known your presence seconds ago,” she mumbled disappointingly to herself.

Cal walked away from the dining and towards his daughter. He knelt down to her level and plants his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s easy to get lost in emotions—especially excitement—but that doesn’t mean you’re less of what you’ve become. That saber is an extension of you; it’s only natural that you’re taking your time with it. Just remember to be mindful of your feelings and your surroundings, we’ll learn more on that when we get home. Will you be ready by then?”

Cassidy’s soulful, dark eyes lit up and her mouth stretched into a wide smile on her little face.

“Am I ever!?”

“That’s my girl,” he tussled her hair and leaned in to brush his beard against her cheek. “Itchy kisses!”

“Aaaagh, no! Not the itchy kisses, Dad!”

It was too late for Cassidy to run away from the clutches of her dad, he had already locked her in his arms at the mercy of his beard tickling her cheeks and neck. Her laughter, a voice that’s sweet and silky like honey, chimed across the entire ship. Eventually, she slipped away from her father’s grasp and snatched up both Nog and Shy—as protection, she pecked Cal’s head using the little Shyyyo Bird’s cotton-stuffed beak.

“Oh no, the Great Shy has attacked me!”

Cal’s baritone laugh mingled with his daughter’s high-pitched giggles. You were attracted the sound and led you to the galley as soon as you stepped out of the quarters after getting dressed. The sight of father and daughter instantaneously warrants a smile across your face. You discover Cassidy splayed like a bird, with her Shyyyo Bird in hand as if mimicking its flight, while being carried in Cal’s arms—your husband gently swerved and bobbed your daughter up and down.

You sneak up on them, picking up Bog along the way and bounced the toy across Cassidy’s back.

“Hey, you forgot to bring little Bog on the trip with Shy!” you cooed.

“Oh, that’s right! Bog always loves to go higher than he can jump!” Cassidy concurred.

BD-1 joined in on the game when he used his little turbojets to give Nog a joyride flight along with the Kestis family.

“Alright, BD! Glad you brought Nog with you!” the child yipped. “Now everyone’s joined in!”

The four of you have lost yourselves in the dreamy, imaginary world where Boglings can ride Shyyyo Birds and a droid can carry a Binog on top of its head as it flew—a fantasy world that your little daughter had created. The parents had a bit too much fun playing with their daughter that they didn’t realize the Mantis had already finished its landing cycle.

“Uh, didn’t wanna interrupt your fun time there but we’re back at Zera now,” Greez announced as he awkwardly put himself into the scene of the Kestis family bonding.

“Oh, we’re home!” Cassidy squirmed away from her father’s arms, she couldn’t wait anymore for him to lower her to a safer height. She speeds out of the ship, ultimately forgetting about her backpack and only brought her lightsaber with her.

“Well, kid’s been homesick after being in that snowcone of a planet, huh?” Greez pointed the empty space over his shoulder with his two right thumbs.

“Yeah, I think she’s become more comfortable with the climate here in Zera,” Cal chuckled.

The two of you collected your possessions from the quarters and the rest of the crew accompanied you to the door.

“We’ll see you soon!” you bade.

“Don’t be a stranger, you two. After all, this is still your home,” Cere added.

—–

FIVE MONTHS AFTER CASSIDY’S GATHERING

The parents’ shifted in where they stood, watching Cassidy with great interest with her change of tactics; the question of what she’s planning to do next buzzed with anticipation.

The droid repeated its attack pattern, and Cassidy was about to put her plan into play. It would appear that her free hand acted as some sort of anchor to balance herself in her stances, her knees were buckled, and her movements were quite lively—matching up to the pace of the droid’s current pattern.

It was apparent that Cassidy had become more adept in fighting with her own lightsaber, compared to using only a plain prototype. The theory that having one’s own lightsaber amplified a Jedi’s skill lingered in your minds together, but the thought was immediately brushed off, returning your attention to the child.

The floating sphere suddenly became more aggressive, but that didn’t faze Cassidy. She’s delved in too deep with her one-on-one with this ball in the air, the sight of her parents were nothing but a mere blur in her vision now. The sphere zoomed in a quite abrupt speed, Cassidy’s head jerked to follow it, and sprang to its direction; affording only a second, she bounced off of her heels, planted the soles of her feet against a tree trunk—banking more air so she could make a jumping attack against the training droid, which looked up too little too late.

Two halves of what the droid was made out of plopped to the bed of earth.

“So-Sorry, I got carried away there,” she stammered while having the kick of adrenaline still in her blood vessels, it confused her parents why she was so apologetic about that.

“Not at all,” Cal rebutted. “For a moment there, you looked like you planned it all by yourself—at the expense of only a few seconds.”

“That’s quite impressive, to think fast within such a small window of chance,” you added. “That’s a remarkable trait that you should hone, Cassidy.”

“Really?”

In reply, you flick your eyebrows up while Cal busied himself with something.

“Let’s try something else—it’s pretty much the same as our daily instruction, but you can’t improve without a challenge in the way,”

Cal places a helmet with an opaque visor that covered her eyesight.

“Uh, how am I supposed to see the enemy—or the training sphere, in this case?”

“The eyes can deceive, but if you trust the Force as well as your instincts and emotions—letting it guide and flow within you, only then will the lack of sense of sight not be such a disadvantage. Let’s begin.”

There was no room for Cassidy to argue on that. She positioned herself in a stance, her yellow blade hummed lowly next to her ear and the hissing of the replacement training remote drowned out the sound of the insects and critters lurking amongst the trees.

Her anxiety was very evident—the calm exterior that she demonstrated while she still could use you eyesight had been reduced to a hunched, shaky demeanor.

“Relax,”

She rounded her lips to release the air that she had been keeping in her lungs, readjusted her fingers’ grip around the sleeve of the hilt; her ears twitched at the hiss of the training droid—indicating that it had moved, but to where?

Fair enough that her blade mirrored where the sphere had hovered to, though it was tricky to predict the timing of its attacks. Cassidy allowed herself to loosen, giving a part of herself to the Force.

One. Two.

On your left. She mentally coached herself, but it felt like she was only repeating the words the Force was telling her.

Three. Four.

Top.

Five!

The droid’s aggressive attack patterns were denied of a target from the young Padawan. The child never ceased to surprise you and your husband. For the next two waves of attack from the sphere, she was only hit once in total of three rounds against the hovering ball.

“Very good, Cassidy,” he affirmed. “Now, let’s change instruction.”

Cal produced a bipedal training droid into the scene, perhaps standing about 5’8, compared to the child who was a solid five-footer; its body was coated by its own shield generator, a single contact on any part it will automatically disable by itself—indicating success to the wielder who has tapped the shield with their weapon. This was a design that Cal took pride in—it was both efficient and innovative, without needing to harm either the droid or the live wielder.

The humanoid droid wielded an electrobaton, similar to the Scout Trooper’s weapon. The towering height may have taken the little one aback, but when her hand tightened, her nerves remembered the feel of the saber hilt.

Bringing both of her hands around the sleeve, she stood in front of the droid, holding a lunging stance with the enemy at the point of her blade—she anticipated the nearly-sentient being’s next move. It thrusted its baton towards her and quickly went out of its line of fire. However, the droid was quick to deflect her overhead strike. They traded strikes—the sunshine gold blade parrying against the indigo lightning crackles contained at one end of a stick.

“Cal, do you read?”

Cal’s comlink rang and he replied to acknowledge Cere.

“I’ve picked up a signal that came in. It’s a gunship, but not Imperial. I think it’s Mari Kosan,”

His eyebrows furrowed. What would she want to do here?

He asked Cere to verify if it was really her vessel and if it really was her aboard it; no doubt about it, the ship that just arrived is the partisan.

“Did she transmit anything?”

“She only asked where you’d be,” Cere received the coordinates of the Kestis homestead’s area coordinates from Cal in reply.

You sensed the distant growling of a ship’s throttle—distinctively different from the Mantis’s—and glanced to the side, to your husband for some enlightenment.

“It’s Mari,”

Your reaction was the mirror image of his own mere moments ago when Cere connected to his comlink. He noticed that your eyes have trailed away for a second, and he’s sensed it too—the gunship has touched the forest moon’s soil. There was a wordless exchange between you and Cal, he marched out of the clearing and you stayed put in watching over your daughter’s training session.

Cal personally met with Kosan, her ship had docked a few miles away from the homestead’s vicinity; he had already spotted her reaching halfway of the house. Mari immediately noticed Cal coming from the other direction and shifted there, she was flanked by four more soldiers.

The distance was now close between the Jedi and the partisan. They exchange greetings, simply by mentioning their names.

“It’s been a while,” Mari followed up.

“A few years or so,”

“How are you and [y/n]?”

“We’re holding up quite well—better than Ilaro, actually,”

“So sorry to hear what happened there,” she hung her head low. “It was your home albeit for a short time.”

“Yeah, it took us by surprise. Neither of us imagined that the Empire would get there, but at this kind of time, it shouldn’t come off as such,”

Mari Kosan hummed in reply, an agreeing tone at that. A brief moment hung between man and woman. Then in the silence, Mari had sensed Cal’s question coming on, so she beat him to it.

“Ever heard from Saw?”

“Not lately, why?”

“The last time my contacts found him, they told me he was close by this system,”

Cal flung his arms, gesturing the wide nothingness except for the green plains where they stand.

“And then they told me that the two Jedi who helped us in Kashyyyk lived in the said system.” Mari finished.

“I didn’t even know Saw had been close to us, geographically speaking. Ever since we got here, it was just the people in the Mantis, my wife and I, and—”

Mari spotted you coming out of the forest, catching a glimpse of his daughter holding your hand, Cal immediately followed where the partisan’s eyes were. You joined his side in front of Mari, standing behind your hip—almost as if hiding herself from the strangers—is Cassidy.

“Your daughter, no doubt. She has your hair and her mother’s eyes,” Mari pointed. “She’s a beautiful child.”

“Thank you,”

“Hello there,” Mari’s expression warmed to meet the child.

“Hi…” the child’s voice was barely inaudible, still shy of these armed people whom she’s seen for the very first time.

“Mari, it’s been a while,” you greeted.

“Yes, too long if I may say so,” she greeted back, speaking for the fine lines etching across her cheekbones and jaw.

“What’s this visit all about?”

Your inquisitive tone slightly shook the aging partisan, but she smiled the assumed tension away and answered directly.

“There’s a base in another moon, Yavin IV, where it’s safer. The rebellion. It’s been established a year ago, the growth is slow, but we have good people there—some of the partisans from Kashyyyk have already been moved there, either by their own volition or they’ve been scouted or endorsed. When I heard that you two were here, I knew I had to seek you out,”

“And you want to recruit us—as fighters? Just like back in Kashyyyk years ago?”

Your hold around Cassidy’s shoulder slowly reeled her in closer to you, imaginings of skirmishes flashed in your mind—back then, it felt like an honor to fight; but now that you have a family to take care of, second thoughts always followed behind.

“That decision lies with you alone. But I’d be lying if I said you won’t be fighting or encountering any danger. Still, it’s better than hopping from one planet or moon to the next just to elude the Empire without anyone but yourselves—that’s not exactly the most ideal lifestyle for a family.”

Husband and wife traded questioning glances, still not biting into Mari’s pitch.

“Think of it this way, you’ll have good people—some of whom you may know—surrounding you in a safe place. These people are fighting for the same thing—freedom, for all of the systems that the Empire has robbed of opportunities and own choices. Everybody’s tired of the suffocation, we’re just the handful of people who wanted to do something about it.”

Cal looked to you, he had sensed you’d been deliberating with yourself ever since Mari started pitching. Your eyes rolled down to Cassidy, she had been listening even though she barely grasp the concept of what this older woman is trying to pursue.

When she was received with silence and pensive stares, she collected her breath after that speech.

“The offer still stands, I’ll be in touch with you—Cere has a hold of my signal. Think about it, Cal, [y/n]. For your child’s sake,”

She turned face, she and her soldiers marched their way back to their gunship. You and your husband watched the group disappear from the glade. Cal shepherded mother and child to the homestead as night fell.

For hours, Cal felt your uneasiness, he had caught the shudders in your arms and hands whenever the two of you touch—accidentally or otherwise. That night, you had just finishing bathing Cassidy in time for bed, the sheen of her hair shone against the lamp’s light as you brushed her in neat, smooth strokes.

“Mom, who was that lady earlier?”

“That was Mari, a friend of ours. We fought bad guys together,”

“Why did she say that the other place is safer?” she turned around to face you, unintentionally moving away from the brush. “Are we in trouble here? Because I don’t sense any trouble or anything. It’s been really nice here.”

Her dark irises gleamed in the lamplight. For you, it was like looking back in a mirror—but it felt more like looking back and talking to your younger self of that exact age.

“What Mari means is that the other place, called Yavin, is much safer because we’ll have our other friends there,” you continued to brush her hair in that angle. “Unlike here: it’s just you, me, Daddy, aunts Cere and Merrin, and Greez.”

“Well, if the bad guys ever find us, I’ll help you and Dad in fighting them. I got my saber right here!” she extended her hand, pulled in her saber from the nightstand to her hand using the Force—proving her conviction.

“My, what a brave girl you’ve become,” you crooned, gently taking the weapon away from her hand, putting it back down on the nightstand and then cupping her cheeks. “I’m so proud.”

“Is our little girl ready for bed?” Cal popped into the room, joining you on Cassidy’s bed.

“I was just about to, Daddy,”

“Well, time to tuck you in, little champ!”

“You should’ve seen her earlier with the droid—evading its attacks like a Jedi Master,”

“Did she now?”

“Yeah, I went like this! And then that!” the child towered over her parents, standing up on her bed as she reenacted her movements from the training session earlier.

Cal caught her before she could get carried away and hurt herself off the bed, but he still encouraged and affirmed her, boosting her morale on her Jedi training.

“Any more training and you might beat me!”

“Yeah, I sure am!”

“Aww, I can’t let that happen—not until my scruffy kisses have something to say about it!”

Cal attacked Cassidy with his stubble, tickling her with his fingers wiggling across her sides while pricking her cheeks with the ends of his beard. Laughter squeaked out of the little girl’s throat, kicking and pushing away her dad but to no avail. Only when she had called you for her rescue did Cal ceased to attack her with tickles.

“Alright, alright, more tickles to come if you don’t go lights out now,” you playfully scolded.

“Okay, Mom, good night!” she leaned closer, wrapping you in a hug as she kissed your cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetie. And Daddy?”

Cassidy jokingly hesitated and wagged her finger at Cal, “No scruffy kisses?”

“No scruffy kisses, I promise,”

That was good enough for Cassidy. She threw her arms around Cal and aimed for his freckled cheeks to which he kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her as well. Over her shoulder, Cal exchanged glances and small smiles with you.

“Alrighty now, my little Padawan, good night,”

“Good night, Daddy, I love you,”

“I love you too, munchkin,”

You switched off the lamp on her nightstand, leaving the bedroom together with Cal. You stopped yourself in your tracks, turning around to see Cassidy falling asleep peacefully, warm in her bed under her wool blanket. Cal stood behind you, watching your daughter.

“When we had Cassidy, I never imagined it to be like this,” you shake your head, arms crossed while leaning against the door frame. “Yet somehow, I’ve always known such a time like this would come.”

Cal rested his chin over your shoulder, wrapping his arms around your waist while thoughtfully looking at your baby girl, “It’s not an easy childhood, but it’s the lengths that we do to keep her safe. To keep our family safe. She’ll understand when she’s older—we’ll help her understand.”

You peered to your side, Cal flashes a small yet fond smile. He inched closer, kissing your cheek; he takes your hand and spirits the two of you away from Cassidy’s bedroom.

[astroismypassion]

Hi I'm the June 17th birthday. I couldn't respond to your message on Kofi but I am totally fine with you putting my reading on your blog. Thank you for doing your best to work around the messages issue!

Hi!

Thank you for buying me this delicious hot beverage. I drank irish cream black coffee with rice milk while writing your interpretation. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing! I listened to some old George Ezra while writing. ;)

Your dominant planets are: 1. Sun, 2. Jupiter and 3. Pluto. Your dominant signs are: 1. Scorpio, 2. Gemini and 3. Leo. Your main mode is Fixed. You are Water dominant.

FAMILY, SIBLINGS, EARLY LIFE

You have Aquarius IC. You had an unconventional, unique upbringing. Your 4th house is in Aquarius and Pisces. You like to play on your own. Or you created an imaginary world for yourself. Or you could have escaped through music, arts, TV series or film. You were sheltered from what was really going on around you. You might have a hard time establishing healthy boundaries with your family members. They seem to completely merge with you and rely on you emotionally or be completely cold and detached. There were many traditions and superstitions in your family that might have been passed down through generations. If you have any siblings, they are Capricorn, Aquarius or Pisces. In your elementary and high school years you might have been drawing a lot during classes you didn’t find stimulating. Or you daydream often. You were a mature and responsible student. You seemed a lot older than your peers. You might have viewed your schoolmates as weird sometimes, but they viewed you the same back. You might have often asked yourself if you’re the “weird one” or they are. You have Uranus in the 4th house. You may have changed residence or moved around often, even change schools. There were a lot of unpredictable, sudden changes and events in your early life that were hard to control (and to grasp). You have Sun square Moon. Your mother and father have different personalities and traits. They did not agree on the parenting style, how to raise you. They might have had different views. You have Sun conjunct Mercury. Your father emphasized the importance of communication or that you keep good relations with your siblings. This is also a writer’s placements! You can flatter or cut deep with words. You know how to appeal through words and find exactly the right words. You can sometimes think you “feel” words, because some words would be funny to you or have a “weird” sound to it. You might visualize a lot in your mind. Words, think in imagery and pictures and you have a strong, vivid imagination. You have Sun conjunct Mars. He probably met your open emotional expression with resistance.

PARTNERSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS Your friends are Pisces, Aries, Cancer, Sagittarius, Libra and Virgo. In your romantic relationships you attract Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Virgo and Aries. You have Taurus Venus in the 7th house. You desire, respect and value (also attract) stable, loyal, stubborn, highly opinionated people. Those who like to debate with you. People that have “go to” phrases and are polite, kind, have good manners. You might easily sense fragile egos, self esteem and weak points of other people. You have Gemini Mars in the 8th house. This is how you take action. How you approach your crush. You like to play mind games a bit, use a bit of world play and double entendre. You like to know everything about them and how their mind works. You wonder how they are thinking, what their thought process is. You like to have shared learning experiences with potential partners or dates where you go to an escape room or take a cooking class together and learn a new skill. You like to constantly evolve, expand and regenerate. You need a mental connection and great mental rapport to introduce physical intimacy into a relationship. You have Aries Moon in the 5th house. You have the potential of a serial dater. You need some passion, excitement and playful energy to get the connection started. But even in the early stages of your love affairs, you need a great deal of emotional comfort. You have to feel safe and secure around the person, like they are your family already. You know what you like and you might cut off people instantly when you notice red flags or just something that you don’t like. You know you can’t save people, so you understand the person needs to help themselves first. Otherwise, they would become another one of your problems. You have Venus sextile Jupiter. You might be very generous when you’re in love. You like to spoil your partner and take them out for dinner often. You might be over generous or over loving. With you money, time, affection, attention, praise and compliments. You have Venus square Uranus. You might like some odd, quirky, hard to figure of people. You are fascinated by those. You might have a long distance relationship at some point. Or you could date your friends or online date. You might even have a platonic connection with someone before it being romantic. You have Venus trine Neptune. You might idealize your partner or they do that to you. You might view them through rose tinted glasses. You are attracted to musicians, artists, singers, creators and people who play instruments.

CAREER, PROFESSIONAL LIFE, PUBLIC IMAGE

You have Pluto in the 2nd house. You fear poverty, homelessness and being hungry. You are very private when it comes to your financial matters. You don’t discuss it openly or ever. It’s a weird topic for you. Sometimes you fear it, it’s like you’re scared of what it can do. You are very passionate about gaining financial stability. Sometimes your dreams scare you or you might think “too big” or see just the bigger picture and forget to focus on the now as well. You have Sagittarius and Capricorn over your 2nd house. You might be over indulgent and flashy when you have money to spend. But with Capricorn there you also work hard for it. You have Leo MC. You might gain recognition for your accomplishments. You could also be attracted to film, theatre, drama, modelling. Or politics, governmental jobs, administration. Even publishing, media, public relations and public affairs. You could be a representative for a company. You might like to post on your social media. But you perfect your image, caption and you check for grammar errors. You like to be seen as creative, funny, healthy, bright and hard working. You have Virgo North Node in the 10th house. This indicates your life purpose. In this lifetime you are called to organise, to establish healthy boundaries with others, routine, daily habits. To take care of your daily duties, responsibilities, your health and even your pets if you have any. If you don’t. You’d benefit from owning a pet greatly, so that it calms down your Virgo mental restlessness. You could work in accounting, counselling, therapy, even health fields, such as nutrition, dietetics, nursing etc. You could be interested in physical and mental wellbeing. You could be into fitness and wellness. You might like communication, publishing, bookkeeping or even library work. You could use your keen eye for details. You have Leo and Virgo over your 10th house. You will shine and be in the spotlight, yet you’ll have to learn humility as well. Sometimes you might feel underappreciated or undervalued by authority figures, such as your parents, mentors, teachers, bosses. You might feel like you are putting much more effort in your responsibilities and work than you get credit for it. You have Aries and Taurus over the 6th house. This means you like a stable job, because it means stable income (Taurus in the 6th, Capricorn in the 2nd). But at some point in your life, you might desire to be your own boss, be self employed or become a businessperson, since it gives you the freedom of expression, expansion you value (Aries in the 6th house, Sagittarius in the 2nd house). You might even do something athletic or sporty daily or even as a part of your job! You have Cancer Mercury in the 8th house. You need to communicate a lot with your intimate partners. You like to think about your family, siblings, your home, your comforts and safety. You like talking about deep, occult and taboo topics. You might entertain the idea of conspiracy theories as well. You have an excellent memory. You can remember scents, colours, how people made you feel like no other. You have a long term memory. You have Mercury square Jupiter. Sometimes you might be a bit judgemental or be prone to overthinking and overanalyzing. You might also read between the lines. You have Mercury sextile Saturn. You have great power and focus to concentrate for long periods of time when you have a tunnel vision.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS

You have Pluto, Jupiter and Saturn currently transiting your 3rd house. You might spend more time alone and less with your friends, siblings and family members. You might have to work hard daily or commute to another city for work or just travel daily to a different part of the city. You might reevaluate and reconsider, rethink and transform your attitude to the local community, neighbourhood, city, to your siblings, peers, schoolmates. You might meet some new people, some new friends too, when Jupiter enters the scene since it’s a one and a half to two years long transit. You have Scorpio Chiron in the 1st house. You might not like your own name, or there is a visible spot, mark on your face, body that you don’t like. Or you could have been picked on by others for that. You might not like your physical appearance and you’re self conscious about it. You often nit pick it. At some point in life you might have had an identity crisis or just really doubted your personality, ego, self worth, character and traits. You might have been bullied or the power was taken away from you. You often felt powerless. Or scared of your own potential and power. You have Taurus Ceres in the 7th house. This represents how you wish to be nurtured and how you nurture others. You like to cook for them, buy them food, share meals with them and buy them little gifts. You like to listen to them. You might be a therapist for many. I’m sure you received compliments as “you’d be an excellent therapist”. You might empathize with them and really try to understand the other’s perspective and where they are coming from. You like to put yourself in others' shoes. You have Virgo Juno in the 11th house. This indicted your “ideal soulmate”, ideal partner, be it platonic or romantic. You like someone friendly, intelligent, who isn’t afraid to discuss social issues, society and question it all. You like someone who is clean, smells nice and grooms themselves. You like platonic, friendly connections at first. You need a lot of mental simulation. You have Libra Lilith in the 12th house. You might have been accused that you lack ambition. But you just don’t like competition that much or participation in the rat race. You value the inner core and being. You have rich inner workings. You have Leo Part of Fortune in the 9th house. This is where you experience good luck and charm. You might be praised for your views, beliefs, opinions on life. How you choose to constantly expand your horizons. You are at your happiest when you travel, even when you get lost in a good book, TV series or a foreign film. You like to constantly learn something new and you’ll be a life long student.

CHART RULER

Your chart ruler is Pluto. The chart ruler of the 1st house is in the 2nd house. Your ego is directly tied to your self worth, financial status, your talents. You might develop your personality, character, ego, self esteem through 2nd house topics, such as working on your talents and pursuing new skills, earning money and becoming financially independent, self care and developing your own set of values.

HOUSE RULERS

The house ruler of the 1st house is in the 2nd house. The way you look depends on your self-esteem. Life is oriented to discovering personal values and creating self-esteem. Appearance is a source of security issues. The house ruler of the 2nd house is in the 5th house. You use your money for artistic projects. You are possessive of creative projects. Financial security depends upon your personal creativity. The house ruler of the 3rd house is in the 6th house. Daily conversation revolves around work and health. Your mind is oriented to daily life. Thoughts are oriented to daily routine and work. You are curious about diet and nutrition. You have an efficient mind. You take information and organize it. You have an actively curious mind. The house ruler of the 4th house is in the 4th house. You want a home of your own. Private time is spent with family. Home and family bring up strong core feelings, for better or worse. You want a family for the sake of having a family. The house ruler of the 5th house is in the 3rd house. Creative talents and gifts are hidden. Hobbies revolve around the taboo or occult. The house ruler of the 6th house is in the 8th house. The daily work environment must serve your need to form deep relationships. You use your knowledge of diet, nutrition and exercise to help other people transform. You want an intense work environment. The house ruler of the 7th house is in the 7th house. The partner needs to be willing negotiate and cooperate with you. Marriage partners are business partners, business partners are marriage partners. You want to be with someone who is cooperative. You want a partner who is a good negotiator. The house ruler of the 8th house is in the 8th house. You enter sexual relationships for sex. You get emotionally entangled with other people to form deep connections. Your attitude to life and death affects your ability to deeply connect with other people. The house ruler of the 9th house is in the 5th house. You are philosophical about the way you raise children. You find meaning through the creative arts. You like to take romantic getaways. You enjoy the artistic expression of other cultures. Traveling is for leisure and pleasure. The house ruler of the 10th house is in the 8th house. You bring a professional approach to depth psychology. You find your true vocation by exploring occult subjects. Your career revolves around the need for intensity of experience. Your career involves working with other people’s emotional baggage. Your true vocation involves depth interactions with other people. You achieve recognition as a researcher. You receive awards for your work with people on the fringe of society. The house ruler of the 11th house is in the 8th house. You associate with people who are involved in the occult. Your friends have emotional baggage. You keep your group involvements hidden. You don’t talk about your long term hopes and wishes. The house ruler of the 12th house is in the 7th house. Your partner desires to escape from reality as much as you do. You lose your boundaries when it comes to significant relationships. Your grief and sorrow affect your relationships. The desire to escape reality affects your ability to maintain a serious relationship.

[quibbs126]

I was just drawing this concept, I’m still not sure if I want to do much with it

So basically, it’s been an idea semi percolating in my head to make another kid for Menos and Velvet. Specifically, this came from the fact that I’ve noted that Menos’ kids look so little like him, so the idea was to make one that just looks like a smaller Menos. The genes just came in at full force. But then later, when I made the post about forgetting that Ceres is half human, I realized that I should probably add in some non Demon features too

I only made him yesterday because I was bored at work, and I couldn’t think of what else to draw. And I thought he turned out pretty good, so I translated him into digital drawings

I would show you the original picture, but it was drawn exclusively in pencil, and it’s on a darker cardboard sheet, so it’s practically impossible to capture on photo. I just really liked how the pencil sketch came out (my manager came in during my break and sharpened my pencil, so it was darker and less blunt), and I didn’t want to potentially ruin it with my somewhat shaky pen, and I had bright light so I didn’t realize it wouldn’t show with a darker lighting

It also kind of screwed me over when I was trying to translate into the digital sketch (that would be the top left), since it was night time, and I only had my lamp light. So it looks weird, but I had the basic appearance down, and I could refine it now, which is what I did on the top right

But yeah, I guess we talk about design things

So his hair style mostly comes from one of Velvet’s concept hairs, and I thought it works as an in between for Velvet and Menos

But I do wonder if it looks too different from Velvet’s final hair, and if I couldn’t have came up with something more unique for him. But moving on

The non Demon features I decided on are him not having horns, as well as having shorter ears than Demons, though they’re still pointed. Also I had the pink nose originally, but I took it out to make it less similar. I also wanted to give him black sclera, but make his eyes blue like his mom. Though I made it brighter because the regular color didn’t feel right

I also wanted to give him the bicolor, but I’m still working on what his secondary color should be. I asked on Discord, and the pink he has in the top right was what we settled on, but Velvet has pink secondary hair color already, so I debated going back to the dark blue, which is what I did on the bottom. I still don’t know which I should stick to honestly

I’m also not sure if I should give him glasses or not. I think it looks fine, I just haven’t decided on it. He does for now though, and I made it a different shape from Velvet’s as well

Overall, I think he succeeds at looking like Menos while not being a complete clone. I was drawing him, and I think he’s like a softer Menos

But I also wonder if I’m playing it too safe

With the kids in Evoland 2, while I may say that Reno and Ceres don’t look like their dad, I think the designs really succeed in having them look similar to their parents, but while being very much distinct. They are not copies of their parents, they’re their own people

Ceres I think is an excellent example of that. You can tell who her parents are by her design if you look hard enough, but she’s different enough that she looks her own person. It may be in part to aid in the twist about her heritage, but the final product really does exemplify this

And it’s like, by comparison, I feel like I’m not doing enough, like he looks too similar, too obvious who his parents are, and that I’m not being creative enough

Maybe I'm being too harsh on myself, considering the point of this character is that he's supposed to look super similar to his dad, but I feel like I'm not doing enough

It also doesn't really help that I don't know what to do with his character. I have an idea of him being more book smart, and/or he deals more in politics than any sort of fighting, but I feel like maybe it's still too similar to Velvet or something. Like he should be something entirely unique, but I don't know what

And by proxy, this goes for his outfit. I can't really make an outfit without knowing the general idea of the character (at least most times), so I don't know what'd be good there. I just slapped something together on the bottom left

I know this character likely wouldn't feasibly ever exist (I mean, maybe he could, and he was born right before Ceres was taken or something, but it's unlikely still). In my head, he'd exist in some alternate timeline where we had another ending after the canon ending, where we destroy the Project, the timeline no longer loops, and everyone can go home or something, with Velvet and Menos getting together and living in Demonia with their kids (still unsure if they'd be going to the Past or Present, since Fina and Kuro would be going to the Present). Also, the Ceres we know died, but she was born again in this new ending and doesn't get kidnapped. So, like, this kid would in context be the 3rd kid of Menos, 2nd kid of Velvet's, and a prince in Demonia, or what remains of the country as Menos tries to rebuild it, and his life is mostly normal outside of that

I also really don't know what to name him. Maybe I give him a Roman god name like his sister? Or make it a Greek god maybe? Or a mythical king like his dad and grandpa? I'm not sure. A concept in my head is maybe he's named after his grandpa, being Arthus II, but that feels uncreative

Note as I'm finishing this, the name Janus popped into my head. Maybe that could work?

Hmm, I don't really know what else to say honestly. I think I had other points, but I don't know how to work them in

I guess the point of this was, here's this concept I've been working on, I want to show off completed work but also I don't really know what I'm doing with it

He probably needs more refining in his character, but I don't really have ideas to work with either. It'll be a struggle, and that's if I choose to continue with him

[metalgearkong]

Jedi: Fallen Order - Review (PS4)

11/24/19

Developed by Respawn Entertainment

Up until now, Electronic Arts has taken the wrong direction with their exclusive Star Wars license. So far they created not one, but two awful Star Wars: Battlefront games, both overstuffed with microtransactions and unethical loot boxes. Sure the graphics, sights, and sounds of Star Wars were present, but when the entry fee was $60 and the base game had so little to it, I wasn’t a fan. Jedi: Fallen Order is an answer to all the rightful criticism EA has taken, and they have finally funded developer Respawn Entertainment to make a dedicated single-player, offline, action/adventure game that Star Wars fans have wanted for years. Jedi: Fallen Order is an enormous step in the right direction with the Star Wars license, and shows the potential on what a lot of money and talented people can create when backed by passion.

This is yet another game taking place place between episodes III and IV, a few years after Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi Order. I don’t know if the Force Unleashed games are still considered canon, but I certainly hope not. We play as Cal Kestis, a young Jedi Padawan who survived the purge, and has been hiding out for years as a scrapper taking apart old ships from the war. The Empire has established itself firmly as the dominant superpower of the galaxy, equipped with all the classic Star Wars stuff I love, such as AT-ATs, AT-STs, Stormtroopers, and TIE fighters. A few additions include the Inquisitors, apparently Dark Jedi not following the "rule of two,” who seek out and kill the remaining Jedi in hiding. I guess they come from a TV show or something, but I’ve never watched any of those. Accompanying them are Purge Troopers, who use electro-magnetic melee weapons and can be a struggle to take down. I think the Purge Troopers should have just taken the role of the Inquisitors because I think it would be way cooler to know that the only experienced Force-users left alive now are Obi-Wan, Yoda, the Emperor, and Vader.

The gameplay could be described as a combination of Uncharted exploring, and Dark Souls combat (although it more so reminds me of 2018′s God of War, also inspired by Dark Souls). I didn’t give this game enough credit in the beginning. I decided to play the game on the hard difficulty option, but a few a few hours, I bumped it back down to normal mode. I underestimated the combat and how tough even simple enemies could be. Encounters involve locking on to one enemy at a time, and timing attacks, parries, and dodges. Even low level bad guys can take down your health, especially because they usually appear in small groups. I quite enjoyed fighting members of the Empire, especially basic Stormtroopers, but fighting creatures was much more annoying. Space bugs, space rats, and space crabs feel like a chore to kill as they leap backwards and avoid your lightsaber strikes, and its often harder to read their telegraphs. 

Coming across a squad of Stormtroopers is always where I had the most devilish fun. I appreciate how the game gave the troops a lot of personality. You can hear them chatting to each other before a fight, and they make sarcastic comments as you slowly dwindle their numbers. Laser bolts can be reflected back at the shooter, making ranged combat pretty easy. It’s when the game mixes melee enemies and ranged enemies where it gets a little more tricky and engaging. Every melee trooper is a Scout Trooper and I found that a little hilarious and inconsistent compared to a Scout’s role and ability levels from the films. I didn’t realize they can stand toe-to-toe with a Jedi using their electric sticks and block plenty of lightsaber strikes before being killed. I also liked the detail that when an AT-ST is defeated, you then get to brutally execute the pilot as he scrambles out and fires his pistol as a last ditch effort before his merciless death.

Bosses range from the aforementioned AT-STs, as well as large indigenous creatures found on different planets. Each world, from what I could tell, also has an optional, semi-hidden boss. These didn’t draw my attention much because they’re basically clones of other tougher creatures, only with a greater damage output, higher speed, and more health. You do get experience points for defeating enemies, but I lived happily without taking down these frustrating side-bosses. The most blatant rip-off of the Souls-like formula is the fact that when you rest at meditation spots (save points), it resets all the enemies in the level. This makes more sense in a game with tighter gameplay, such as Hollow Knight or Dark Souls, but there’s not as much of a need for experience points, and the gameplay isn’t reliable enough to warrant farming XP from regular enemies over and over again. I nearly gagged when the game warned me that meditating resets the enemies around you. I’m sick of seeing this mechanic, especially if it isn’t necessary.

I wish the gameplay was a little tighter and snappier. Enemies telegraphy their attacks well enough most of the time, but if an enemy is about to do an unblockable attack, the game doesn’t let you react quick enough to go from blocking to dodging. Many times I’d be blocking or trying to parry, and when an unblockable attack was coming, I couldn’t quick-step to the side fast enough. This means your reflexes not only have to be good enough, but you have to give the game a head start because it takes some time to go from one thing to another. This would happen often enough to get me frustrated. Another annoyance was Cal falling to the ground when the block meter isn’t depleted, and getting hit repeatedly as he’s trying to get up. I get that you can’t block forever, but you shouldn’t be “stunned” when the block meter isn’t empty yet. I don’t know if some of the clumsiness was intentional, but I would get pissed off during tougher fights because I felt like I was fighting an enemy as well as the mechanics.

This all has to do with combat, but I found the traversing to be more reliable. Respawn Entertainment definitely borrows heavily from the Uncharted and rebooted Tomb Raider series. Cal can’t do a lot at first, but as he remembers powers over time, you unlock more abilities such as Force push, Force pull, wall running, double jumping, and more. Sliding down icy or muddy slopes is always fun, especially when combined with other traversal obstacles such as gaps and the need to wall run at the beginning or end. If you die in combat, your brought back to a meditation point, but if you die while adventuring, the game resets you quickly and with a small loss of health. The animations were great as well. I really did feel like a character in the Star Wars universe climbing rocky terrain, jumping over ledges, climbing, and all sorts of stuff like that. It gave the game a cinematic feel even during gameplay. Same goes for combat which can be a little imprecise, but at least looks great. It’s funny, however, that a lot of what prevents Cal from going to new places is the game, is him simply not “remembering” how to do something, especially when he will recall one of his skills out of the blue.

One of the greatest strengths of the game is also it’s greatest weakness: the level design. Each planet you visit has its own interconnecting environments, of which short cuts can be unlocked so you can loop back around easier in the future. The map is also extremely helpful as it gives you a 3D view of the environments, shows where you haven’t explored, shows where places are locked, and shows things like meditation spots. But there isn’t one bit of fast-travel in the game, so when you find yourself deep in a tomb or canyon, you have to hike your way all the way back to your ship. Granted, the developers have tried their best to make the way back interesting with new enemies or new ways to get back to the start, but when some of the environments are as large and twisting as they are, it can be a grind to get from A to B sometimes. Regardless, I’m impressed with how big and detailed each location is (my favorite being the lush jungles of Kashyyyk). It also gives you reminders of places you can re-explore once new abilities are unlocked.

The story itself is one of the worst aspects of the game. While the settings and storytelling itself can be quite good on regular occasions, the overall plot is extremely basic. When Cal is forced to use his powers to save his friend during an industrial accident, he draws the attention of the Empire and the Inquisitors. The game becomes a race between you and the Empire to find a hidden list of Force-sensitive children left in the galaxy. This list (Holocron) has been hidden by a former Jedi who simply has put it in a difficult place to get to simply as a test, so that anyone who finds it would be “worthy” or something. We don’t necessarily see the Empire taking steps to find this list, but they pop in and our during cinematics when it’s convenient for the game. It’s basically an excuse to hop between a handful of planets and get slightly further and further as we unlock new abilities (a la Metroidvania). We spend a vast amount of time in deep tombs, putting Lara’s recent adventures to shame. It got old after a bit, even if the graphics and designs were gorgeous. I also think the game had one or two many giant ball puzzles.

The acting can be hit or miss as well. The most annoying character was Cere (Debra Wilson), one of the members of your small crew, who is a former Jedi Master, but has cut herself off from the Force. I think on a technical level, Wilson plays this character like a seasoned actor, but I found Cere’s character to be like one of those teachers or supervisors who is more dramatic than she needs to be. Cere comes off as condescending and a bit self-important, making excuses for herself while holding Cal to a very noble and high standard. She just comes off as endlessly melodramatic, and I don’t see a lot of need for her to have been a former Jedi, especially because she’s nothing but a co-pilot, quest-giver, and expositioner.. Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) is a very vanilla hero who isn’t too bright, but is very altruistic. He has to have everything explained to him, even though I think he could have easily been telling other characters information, rather than being so clueless as a Jedi Padawan. Monaghan does a pretty good job playing him, I just thought the character itself was a little bland and typical.

Instead of the main Inquisitor chasing you around (called the “Second Sister”) I think being pursued by Darth Vader would have been way more fun. How much cooler would it have been to be hunted by THE Darth Vader, him doing exactly what his job was during this time period? Another inconsistency that irked me was that Cal is a Padawan, yet he’s proficient in single blade, staff, and double lightsaber combat. I know this makes the game more “fun” but it doesn’t make sense to me that a teenage Padawan is an expert in three forms of lightsaber combat, each of them needing nearly a lifetime to master. I was annoyed I could switch to a lightsaber staff at any time with no background or explanation for it. I would have liked it much more if the story and game stuck to single blade combat, and not felt like it would have been too basic or boring for most players. But I think the larger thing to blame is the Star Wars canon and Force-using, lightsaber-using people don’t get much of a technical explanation on how much the Force aids you or how much training you need to do on your own.

It may not seem like it, but overall I am actually pretty happy with Jedi: Fallen Order. Not only does it eschew the practices EA has become notorious for, but it’s a game in a genre I really enjoy. Aside from some combat imperfections, flat story, and average characters, I had a lot of fun exploring this game at every turn. Finding chests with cosmetic collectibles and playing with the Force powers kept me going from one corner to the next. I also enjoyed the music which was done by composers Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab, instead of relying too much on the famous John William tracks (although they are heard far and few between). They evoked a Star Warsy tone and atmosphere without outright copying existing works. I loved moments like my first AT-ST fight, or climbing and piloting an AT-AT. Most of the set-piece moments were exciting and unique for a Star Wars video game. It certainly has its blemishes, but definitely not things that couldn’t be ironed out in a future sequel. I really hope Respawn Entertainment and EA continue on this path of coming up with semi-original stories with their Star Wars license and make single player driven experiences.

7.5/10

[rebelsofshield]

Panels Far, Far Away: A Week In Star Wars Comics 10/9/19

The journey to The Rise of Skywalker begins, Darth Vader makes the hunters the hunted, Tarkin gets in touch with his inner Peter Cushing, and two Jedi navigate a turf war in a strong and crowded week of Star Wars comics.

Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader’s Castle #2 written by Cavan Scott and art by Francesco Francavilla and Kelley Jones

One of the thousands of charms of Star Wars is how it has been haven for cult and genre actors since its very start. Last year, during Tales from Vader’s Castle, Cavan Scott finally tapped into Christopher Lee’s past as Count Dracula to deliver the Dooku vampire tale we have always wanted. Keeping that same spirit alive, Scott channels another horror icon with Star Wars roots in Peter Cushing’s Tarkin. Yes, we get a Tarkin Frankenstein story here and yes it is a lot of fun.

While the stories told in this Adventures spin off are never particularly intense, Cavan Scott has consistently managed to draw from classic horror tropes in fresh and fun ways that are creepy and unsettling in all the right October vibes. This episode which plays out like a Frankenstein horror tragedy sees a stitched together monstrosity made by Tarkin attempting to exact revenge on the man who ruined his life. In traditional Mary Shelley fashion, it’s the monster who gets the most sympathetic play here and Scott really seems to be enjoying himself as he restructures this seminal scary story for a Star Wars setting.

Art wise, this issue is once again a little uneven. The frame sections by Francesco Francavilla are dependably great. Vanee remains a suitably creepy antagonist and by issue’s end the series has taken a turn that will hopefully ramp up the tension. Kelley Jones’s Tarkin story is fairly disappointing though. Environments feel bland and ill defined and character’s faces often feel blurred or lacking in detail. It’s not particularly clear if this is decision made by Jones or the issue’s colorist Michelle Madsen, but the result is a visually bland segment for what is otherwise a really fun tale.

Score: B

Star Wars: Allegiance #1 written by Ethan Sacks and Luke Ross

Turns out we are getting two weekly Star Wars comics in October! In addition to Vader’s Castle, the Journey to The Rise of Skywalker begins in Star Wars: Allegiance.

The First Order’s invasion of the galaxy marches on. With the Resistance still recovering and the Republic practically obliterated, few stand in the way of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren’s advancing forces. When the neutral planet of Tah’Nuhna is bombarded by the First Order fleet, General Leia decides that the time has come to take more direct action. Taking a team including Rey and Rose, she leaves to find allies among her old friends on Mon Cala. Meanwhile, Finn and Poe attempt to locate a key weapon stash, but may have attracted attention from dangerous parties.

As much as I enjoy the sequel trilogy, one of my biggest frustrations has been that the secrecy surrounding these films means that the time between films is often low on tie-in media for its characters and stories. I grew up with the Clone Wars multimedia project telling the story of the galaxy spanning conflict set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and it’s hard not to wish that something similar could have unfolded between 2018-2019 with the invasion of the First Order. As a result, there is a certain novelty to a story like Allegiance. This is still a mostly uncharted year for the Galaxy Far, Far Away and getting to check in on pretty much every major character from the Sequel Trilogy still carries a special thrill.

This issue proves to be mostly set up though. The idea of Leia reconnecting with the Mon Cala and other allies during this new war is an interesting one and it ends on a cliffhanger that hints towards some intrigue in the future. However, as a whole, nothing much of consequence happens here. Much of the issue is writer Ethan Sacks setting the stage for the next three issues, which feels misguided given the relative shortness of this comic’s runtime. It is still fun to read, but it is hard to not leave wishing for a little more meat on what has been presented. At least the wait is only one week for more.

Luke Ross’s dark and shadowy pencils at first may seem like an odd fit for a script that is at times fairly playful and silly, but it does work to create a larger feeling of dire straits and desperation. Our heroes are in a tough spot in this story and it could really get worse at any time.

Score: B-

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order-Dark Temple #3 written by Matthew Rosenberg and art by Paolo Villanelli

Dark Temple continues the trend of being the most “Star Trek-y,” Star Wars story in some time. Luckily, this plays to the narrative’s benefit. The idea of the Jedi functioning as a sort of monastic Star Fleet is not a bad one and seeing a Jedi trying to navigate intense planetary conflicts is a great conceit for a story.

This has been Dark Temple’s best storytelling feature since its first issue and it only continues here. Cere has unwittingly gotten involved in a land war between an ancestral people and the encroaching forces of a galactic corporation. Writer Matthew Rosenberg improves on his characterization of Cere here. While she has yet to really distinguish herself as an individual, Rosenberg can mostly get by with making her react to the dramatic circumstances around her. It is hard not relate to her plight as a young woman stranded far away from friends and resources and attempting to navigate such a complex situation with the potential for deadly violence.

Rosenberg adds a nice wrinkle to this conflict that comes as a genuine surprise and complicates things even further for Cere and the people she is protecting. While the exact nature of the titular temple remains a mystery and it is still unclear what exactly the Second Sister prologues mean, this series continues to entertain and intrigue on its own merits even without being a tie-in to the upcoming video game.

Art wise, Paolo Villanelli continues to knock it out of the park. With his vibrant colors that shine both in moments of peacetime and in violence or his creative character design, Dark Temple continues to be the best looking Star Wars comic on the stands.

Score: B+

Star Wars: Target Vader #4 written by Robbie Thompson and art by Stefano Landini

From day one, Robbie Thompson’s Target Vader has always promised one thing: bounty hunters facing off against Darth Vader. Finally, this moment of reckoning comes as Beilert Valance and his team conduct the final step of their plan, and the result is the best issue of this series so far.

Target Vader delivers some simple, violent pleasures. Thompson jettisons the bland uninteresting mystery and forces these colorful but undeveloped characters into a life or death battle royale. In an inspired move, Thompson peppers in brief moments of backstory for each hunter, often times just before their untimely demise. It doesn’t do enough to really make up for the shortcomings of the first several issues, but it adds an emotional punch to the blaster shots and lightsaber swings.

Thompson keeps this battle a suspenseful ebb and flow. Neither Valance’s team or Vader remain on top for too long and the circumstances are often upended from page to page and the end result feels refreshingly inevitable. For the first time, I am genuinely excited to see where this comic goes from here.

Visually, this issue is also a step in the right direction. Stefano Landini draws a mean Darth Vader and in general he nails the fight scenes with some impressive panel to panel choreography. The kicked up dust of battle and movement of character distracts from some of the shortcomings of past issues and the result makes for enjoyably action packed chapter.

Score: B+