#like princess leia if she was written by a woman | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

starstwinkleplanetsshine · 1 year ago

Text

Twin Suns

Even though Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa are growing up millions of miles apart, the Force is watching over them as they find themselves in similar dire situations, and gives Beru Whitesun and Breha Organa some help with their two children of the Force.

This is my favorite thing I've ever written--I hope you enjoy!

If you prefer, you can read this on Ao3!

“Luke! Luke!” Aunt Beru’s voice carried on the biting wind into the vast Tatooine desert, and she prayed to all the ancient gods she didn’t believe in that her young nephew would hear her. She feared the swirling sands would cut through her words just as they were cutting into her skin, tearing them to shreds before they could reach the boys’ ears. She had told him he could play outside a while ago, but that was before the winds shifted and the sands started moving in that tell-tale way they only did before a storm. She knew how dangerous the sandstorms could be, but the five year old in her care did not. He had not been weathered by the dust and burned by the suns as she had, his spirit was still as naive and bright as the stars that lit the gentle night sky, lighting their only time of relief from the unforgiving suns. Sand had been woven into her being and etched into her bones, and she could feel its power rising as it threatened to display its dominance. Luke was too young to feel it now, but one day he, too, would learn. But until he did, Beru knew it was up to her to protect him.

Fear was beginning to rise in her as a wall of sand moved steadily toward their farm, little Luke nowhere in sight. She didn't know when her husband, Owen, appeared beside her, scanning the horizon for the boy, but his harsh voice cut through the wind.

“If he doesn’t come back before the storm hits--”

“--He will, Owen. He has to.”

“Beru, what if--”

“--Not another word. I won’t even consider it.”

Luke had been in their care since he was just days old, and although he was not of her blood, Beru loved him as a son. Protected him as her own. And not just because she remembered the broken boy who was his father and the kind woman who was his mother, not just because she wanted to keep her promise and honor their memory. Luke was her baby, he had been since the moment the heartbroken Jedi had placed him in her arms.

She promised Obi-Wan she would keep him safe, and that was a promise she was not about to break.

She shifted her prayers from the ancient gods of Tatooine to the Force, something she was only recently beginning to believe in, and she called out again.

“Luke! Luke!”

“Leia! Leia!” The voice that called out across the forest surrounding the Palace was not the voice of the Queen, but of a worried mother. Breha Organa could see the dark clouds brewing above, could feel the electricity in the air and hear the deafening cracks of thunder. Alderaan was a peaceful planet in every aspect except for its storms. When they struck, they carried all the righteous fury which lived in the hearts of all its citizens, the torrents coming down like the impassioned words that fly from the mouths of their Senators and leaders. Water was the lifeblood of Alderaan, and it could take life just as easily as it gave it. When Breha told the young princess she could play in the vast forest, her favorite place on their planet, she had no idea that within a short time the skies would turn violent and danger would threaten their peaceful paradise.

“Any sign of her, Dear?” The voice of her husband brought Breha out of her head and paused the worst case scenarios that were running through her mind. All she could do in response was shake her head no. She never had to put on any facades with Bail. She often felt he was the only person she could truly be herself around. Well, him and Leia.

Leia.

Where could she be?

“I have guards searching the entire palace and surrounding area for her, the last time someone saw her was about thirty minutes ago in the clearing near the palace doors.” Breha was only half listening to her husband's calm, soothing voice, her eyes still scanning the edge of the trees. Bail had an almost unsettling gift of remaining calm and logical in even the most dire and intense situations, a trait that not only made him a good prince, senator, and leader, but also a trait that made him a good husband and father. Breha was grateful for that gift at this moment.

“I would have never let her play by herself if I knew a storm would be coming.” Bail placed a loving hand on his wife's shoulder and spoke to her in a low, gentle voice, pretending not to notice the way her hands were shaking and her lip was quivering.

Breha Organa was not a woman easily shaken.

“No one knew, Dear. That’s what makes these storms so dangerous. There was no way of knowing, and we always let Leia play freely in this part of the forest. You cannot blame yourself.” Even though Leia was only five, and a Princess, it was common for her to roam around the Palace and a small area of the woods unattended, for someone always had eyes on her. All of the Palace’s inhabitants, and all of Alderaan for that matter, loved her as their own and had gotten used to seeing the small, giddy ball of sunlight bouncing about the castle. The servants liked to joke that you could keep track of where Leia had been by looking at how brightly people were smiling. Alderaan was a perfectly safe place for a young princess to grow up, perfectly safe, that is, except for when storms struck.

“What if we can't find her, Bail? What are we to do if--”

“--Breha, Dear, we mustn't even think of that. Someone will find her. We will find her. We still have some time before the storm hits in full, and by then she will be safely in our arms, and we’ll all be snuggled together on the couch watching the lighting dance across the sky as we always do. We will find Leia.” Bail placed a loving kiss on her cheek and took her hand gently, providing stability and safety that gave Breha the peace and security to brave a thousand storms.

Although, despite her husband's best efforts, Breha’s heart still raced for her daughter. For, since the moment little Leia had been placed into her arms, she was hers. In Leia, Breha saw the strength and the compassion of her birth mother and sensed the fire and power of her birth father. Every morning, Breha sent a silent prayer of gratitude to Padme Amidala and promised her she would keep her daughter safe, love her as her own, and honor her memory in the way she raised Leia. She remembered the young, wise, kind, beautiful woman Padme was and when she looked down into the big brown eyes of her daughter, she saw Naboo staring back at her. All Breha wanted was to protect Leia, the girl she loved as her own, the girl who was her own, and so as the winds picked up and she felt her tears mix with the first drops of rain that fell from the sky, Breha screamed her daughters name into the wind as she searched frantically through the trees.

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

Beru was now running, hoping that her feet could keep her ahead of the wall of sand that was steadily approaching. She had circled their farm twice, no three times, or was it four? Beru didn’t know, she had lost count, the only thing on her mind was finding Luke. He couldn’t have gone far, could he? His little legs could only go so fast, and he knew to never go beyond their property line. Although he was still young, Luke understood the dangers of the sands beyond. Every child on Tatooine did, knowing where it was safe and where it was not was a matter of life or death, and it was taught to them so young it was as if they had been born with the knowledge. Beru pulled her poncho tighter around her and tried in vain to shield her eyes from the sand as she strained to see into the haze, the ground beginning to mix with the sky and make the two indistinguishable. She was speaking out loud now, her voice once again lost in the wind,

“Please, Luke. Be safe. Come back to me”

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

Breha had been searching for close to an hour when she allowed herself to cry. Her clothes were now soaked to the skin, she refused to even stop for a moment when Bail offered to get her a raincoat, insisting they keep searching. Her husband gently took her hand in his and looked her deep in the eyes, wiping away the tears that were flowing down her cheeks like the raindrops falling from the sky. He didn’t say anything, he had already reassured her with words in every way he could think of, and he knew his wife enough to know what she needed.

And what she needed right now was to find their daughter.

And so he let her turn away from him, he watched as she began another lap, running the same course she had for the better part of half an hour. Bail took off in the opposite direction, scanning the trees so intensely he was sure he would have them memorized by the end of the day. The forest that was usually their safe place, a portion of them still technically on royal ground and patrolled by guards, a happy and beautiful retreat from the stress and demand of the palace, now turned into an arena of dread and uncertainty. He whispered a silent prayer to the Force, for although he could not feel it, he knew it was still there, still keeping watch over the galaxy,

“Please, Leia. Be Safe. Come back to us.”

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

The sands were furious now, whipping through the air and stinging anything unfortunate enough to be without shelter. Ripping through skin, blinding the eyes. A wall of impenetrable haze blocking out the searing light of the suns above. Beru was desperate now, a sinking feeling of helplessness forming in the pit of her stomach, overwhelming her and filling her eyes with tears, tears that turned to mud on her cheeks as they mixed with the sand in the air. The desert was always hungry, biding its time, plotting and waiting until it could devour. Growing up on Tatooine you know this, you know that at any moment the sands could rage or the suns could scorch or any number of dangers could claim you as their own. But Beru had made a promise, a promise to the broken Jedi who showed up on their doorstep with the helpless, beautiful, perfect child in his arms. A promise to the queen and senator who’s smile shone through her son every time he laughed. A promise to her brother-in-law who was lost long ago, but who she still remembered and wondered about. A promise, however faint and far away, to the distant Force. And now, the only thing she could think was that she couldn't keep that promise, that she was breaking it. She had failed. The weight of her guilt and fear sent her to the ground, her knees hitting the hard dirt and her hands going reflexively to cover her face from the barrage of wind and dust that was now beginning to pick up around her. It was over. He was gone. How would she tell Owen? How would she—

“Aunt Beru?”

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

The rain was coming down in sheets now, relentlessly pouring onto the soft earth. Drenching Brehas skin, stinging it, blinding her eyes. She could only see a few feet in front of her as the downpour raged and grew in intensity. The wall of rain blended with the dark gray mass of clouds above, becoming one, blocking out the sun. The only way to tell between the two was when the clouds would split open to allow a searing bolt of electricity through, lightning that could strike anywhere and ignite the forest below. Breha had passed worry, past panic, past desperation, and was now experiencing a fear and pain that she had never known and couldn’t name, as the deepest sense of helplessness she had ever felt began to take root deep within her. She had only felt this way once in her life, and now standing in the downpour she felt like that terrified and dying sixteen year old atop Appenza Peak all over again, her heart failing and her lungs no longer taking in air. Alderaan was a loving planet, generous and quick to give abundantly to its inhabitants. Taking was not in its nature, but there were moments, however rare, when the skies would rage or the seas would churn and everyone would be reminded just how severe their home could be, if it chose to. But Breha had made a promise, a promise to the wise Jedi who had long been a loyal friend to her husband. A promise to her own friend, a fellow queen and trusted ally to Bail in the senate, a role model to even Breha despite the woman being much younger than her. A promise to the fallen Republic itself, to keep the flame of hope alive, no matter how dim the ember may grow. A promise to the thing she knew held the galaxy together, to the Force that she trusted in to this very day. And now, the only thing she could think was that she couldn’t keep that promise, that she was breaking it. She had failed. The weight of her guilt and sorrow sent her to the ground, her knees hitting the damp earth and her hands, in vain, trying to wipe the rain and tears from her eyes. It was over. She was gone. How would she tell Bail? How would she—

“Mom?”

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

The wind was so loud Beru almost missed the small, quivering voice. And if it weren’t for the five-year-old placing his tiny hand on her shoulder, she would've told herself she was imaging it. There was no way this fragile, helpless, gentle boy could’ve found his way to her in the middle of this dust storm. Beru barely even knew which way the farm was at this point, how could he have found her? It seemed impossible, and yet there he was.

“Luke!” Beru screamed into the wind, but this time with joy and surprise. Her tears fell harder now, but they were no longer tears of fear and pain. They were tears of relief, flowing down her cheeks and she didn’t even think to wipe them away. In a moment the small child was wrapped in his Aunt’s arms, the woman instinctively wrapping her own poncho around his face to shield his eyes from the stinging sands. Scooping Luke up, she began to walk in the direction of her home, at least she thought she was going the right direction. The storm had not hit in full yet, thank the gods, or else the two of them would’ve been as good as dead. She could still see shapes and outlines of her surroundings, and before long she was stumbling against the wind into the safety of their home.

She set Luke on the kitchen table and cradled his face in her hands, examining the small boy for any injuries.

“Are you okay? Where were you? How did you find me?” The words poured out of Beru’s mouth as fast as the winds that had just been whipping around them, less asking the questions and more needing some outlet for all of her emotions. To her surprise, the small boy in her arms let out a small laugh, but she could see lines down his cheeks where tears had cut through the dust and told the whole world how scared he was.

“I was playing over by the canyon, I’m sorry Aunt Beru I know I shouldn't have been that far from home. Then the wind started picking up and the dust started to rise up on the horizon, just like you told me it did before a storm. I got really scared and started to run back home but then a man appeared from beside a rock and told me I wouldn’t make it back in time and that I should hide in a cave for a while.” At this Beru pulled away, confusion clearly written on her face.

“A man?” She did not like the sound of that. “What did he look like?” Owen had told her that he saw Obi-Wan Kenobi on occasion near the rocks that separated their land from the canyon beyond. And even though Beru didn’t understand why, she knew her husband had told the Jedi to stay away from them. She wondered if now he was the only reason their nephew had survived.

“He was tall, with long dark hair, and some of it was in a ponytail. He had hair around his mouth, he wore weird robes that I haven’t ever seen before, and he was very nice. I wasn’t scared of him at all!” Beru thought for a moment. The robes sounded like Obi-Wan, but she knew he didn’t have long hair or a ponytail.

“He told you to hide?” Was all she said.

“Ya, he pointed to a cave in the rocks that would keep me safe. He told me that you would come looking for me soon, and that he would tell me when you were close enough to run to.”

“He came into the cave with you?” Beru was getting more and more concerned now, her voice serious.

“No, he stayed outside. I told him the storm wasn’t safe and that he should come with me, but he just smiled and said he would be okay.” Beru didn’t understand. This didn’t sound like something Obi-Wan would do, he would’ve brought Luke back to the farm, she was sure of it.

“And then what happened?”

“I ran to the cave and waited, like he told me to. After a while I thought I heard you calling my name, and then I heard the man’s voice tell me to leave the cave and walk to you, he said that you were close.”

“So he was in the cave with you?”

“Nope, it was just his voice. His body wasn’t there.” Beru couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

“Luke, sweetie, that’s not possible.” The five-year-old merely shrugged his tiny shoulders.

“But that’s what happened, Aunt Beru. And he was right, I walked out of the cave and that's when I saw you kneeling on the ground!” Lukes face shifted slightly, and Beru saw a sadness flash across his eyes that seemed to belong to someone much older, “I’m sorry I scared you, Aunt Beru. I didn’t mean to.” Without thinking, Beru pulled Luke into a tight hug, remembering the feeling of hopelessness that overwhelmed her just minutes before as she stood calling his name into the growing darkness.

“It’s okay, Luke. It was an accident. What’s important is that you’re safe now. You’re home. Everything’s going to be okay.”

The two stayed like that for a long while, Beru holding the small boy in her arms, never wanting to let go again, until eventually Luke fell asleep in her arms. She held him for a few more minutes, knowing that these days of childhood would be gone soon, perhaps sooner than they would for any other child.

Because as much as Beru tried to forget it, Luke was not any other child. He was special, and just when she was beginning to believe that a normal life could be possible for him, the universe reminded her that she held a great responsibility in her hands. That night as she laid the sleeping child in his bed and watched his chest peacefully rise and fall, she whispered a prayer of protection over him. She wasn’t quite sure who it was to, maybe to the ancient gods of Tatooine that she stopped believing in long ago, or maybe to the Force which she could no longer ignore. And as she did, she got this overwhelming feeling in her chest that she was now a part of something much greater, this feeling that there were events that were set into motion long ago that were now intertwined with her destiny. No, intertwined with his destiny. The small, sleeping boy in front of her. He would not stay a boy forever, and she could not shake the feeling that someone out there, something, had great plans for him. Looking at the small, sleeping boy in front of her, she felt a hope, a new hope, rise in her chest that she couldn’t quite explain or understand.

But until the day where his future called upon him, she would hold Luke close, she would keep him safe, so that whatever his destiny was, whatever was waiting for him, he would be ready.

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

The rain was so loud, Breha almost missed the small, quivering voice. And if it wasn’t for the five-year-old placing a tiny hand on her shoulder, she would’ve told herself she was imagining it. Breha had told herself her little girl was gone, that she wouldn’t find her in time. That maybe in the morning, when the storm had passed, the Force and the gods of Alderaan would be kind enough to return her child to her, however dazed and damaged she would be by then. Leia finding her, now, in the middle of the wind and rain and thunder and electricity seemed impossible, and yet there she was.

“Leia!” Breha yelled her daughter's name into the howling wind, not in fear and desperation this time, but in surprise and relief. In an instant she wrapped her arms around the small girl, holding her tighter than she ever had before. In moments, the queen had wrapped her own rain poncho around the soaked and shivering girl who was clinging to her mother with everything she had. For a long while neither of them spoke, they just held one another and let their tears fall, mingling with the rain, before one of the royal guards stumbled upon their reunion and guided them back to the forest entrance of the palace. Bail was already waiting for them, pacing nervously and wringing his hands, when they entered the warm safety of their home. The senator let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a sob, overcome by the sight of his wife and daughter safe at last, and was by their side in a second.

“My girls, you’re home, you’re safe at last” was all he said as he wrapped his arms around them, sinking to the floor in a protective hug.

“Are you okay? Where were you? How did you find me?” Breha’s words came tumbling out of her mouth as soon as all of their tears had slowed and they had stood up from their hug.

“I was playing in the forest very far from the doors, I’m sorry Mommy I shouldn't have been so far away. Then the wind started picking up and the thunder got louder and louder and the air got prickly like you said it did before a storm hit. I got really scared and was about to run back home when I heard a voice telling me to wait and hide.” Bail and Breha shared a look of confusion and concern before kneeling down to their daughter.

“You heard a voice?” Breha asked gently.

The small girl nodded. “But not out loud, it was in my head.”

“You heard a voice in your head? And it told you to hide?” It was Bail’s turn to ask.

Leia nodded again, her face very serious. “I found a tree that had big roots that I could hide under. As soon as I was hiding, I saw lightning really close to where I was. I got scared again, but the voice told me that everything would be okay. It told me that you were looking for me, and I felt better.” There was silence again as Bail and Breha shared another look, a knowing look, one that said they both knew what the other was thinking, but neither one of them wanted to say it out loud.

“What did the voice sound like, sweetheart?” Bail’s tone was soft and kind, wanting to understand his daughter.

“It was an old man’s voice, and I don’t know who it was. And he talked really funny, all backwards. But he sounded nice, and I don’t know why, but I trusted him. When I heard it, I felt safe.” At those words, tears rushed into Breha’s eyes once more and Bail nodded slowly, seeming to understand. Neither of them asked anymore questions about the voice. The three were silent for a few moments, before the Princess broke the silence, “I’m sorry Mommy. I’m sorry Daddy. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Tears began to brim in her eyes again, and she looked down to her soaked shoes.

“It’s okay, Leia. What’s important is that you’re safe now. You’re home. Everything’s going to be okay.” Breha wrapped her daughter in her arms as she said those words, but she kept her eyes locked on her husbands. There was a look in his eye that she couldn’t quite place, but she knew he was trying to make sense of what their daughter said, trying to work through all of the emotions and thoughts, just as she was. The Queen and the Senator walked side by side, Breha carrying their daughter to her room, where they read to her and sang with her until she fell asleep. But after turning out the light and walking towards the door, Breha lingered for a moment, and as she felt her husband's hand on her shoulder, she knew Bail was doing the same. She stood in the doorway to the lavish bedroom, filled with all the comforts owed to a princess, and she watched the sleeping girl. She knew as soon as she left this room, her and Bail would have a long talk about the child in their care. A long talk about her past, about her future, about their role in both of those things. A long talk about the galaxy, about The Force. So she lingered, living in this moment where there was nothing but herself, her husband, and their daughter sleeping peacefully in their home. She lingered, knowing that soon these days of childhood would be gone, perhaps sooner than they would for any other child.

Because as much as Breha tried to forget it, Leia was not any other child. And not just because she was a princess of Alderaan. No, Leia was special, and just when she was beginning to believe that a normal royal life could be possible for her, the universe reminded her that she held a great responsibility in her hands. She thought of the world Leia was born into, one of tradition and politics and power. She thought of the gift and curse she inherited from her birth parents that the small girl didn’t even know about, and perhaps would never know about. She thought about the Empire that grew stronger every day, squeezing and constricting those they ruled over like a snake slowly killing its prey, biding its time until it could devour. Breha wondered what kind of future Leia would have, and her heart broke for her. She knew more than most that the life of a Queen was both a privilege and a burden, a great joy and a great weight that one had to carry alone.

Well, maybe not alone.

Breha looked at the peaceful, sleeping child in front of her and she got an overwhelming feeling in her chest that she was a part of something much greater, a feeling that there were events which were set into motion long ago that were intertwined with her destiny. No, intertwined with her destiny. The small, sleeping girl in front of her. She would not stay a child forever, and she could not shake the feeling that someone out there, something, had great plans for Leia. Looking at the small princess in front of her, Breha felt a hope, a new hope, rise in her chest that she was only beginning to understand.

But until the day where Leia’s future called upon her, Breha would hold her close, she would keep her safe, so that whatever her destiny was, whatever was waiting for her, she would be ready.

15 notes · View notes

theangelwithawand · 1 year ago

Text

Princess and the Scoundrel Thoughts

Spoilers ahead:

First of all, the title and cover of this book are ridiculous. The art is pretty, but the pose looks like a cheesy romance. I think they’re paying homage to Courtship of Princess Leia, which while that story is hilarious, is one of the worst Star Wars books ever. But we get the Dathomir witches so it’s fine I guess.

On the other hand, Princess and the Scoundrel, is one of the best Star Wars books. Despite everything, despite all of the obstacles this book had from the beginning, it succeeds as having some of the best and most subtle character work in the entire franchise. Which is hilarious, because this book literally only exists to market a hotel. But Beth Revis said, “yeah, but what if it was good and I actually tried?”

Now, Beth Revis has clearly read COPL. You can tell and it’s kind of hilarious. For example, in COPL, there is a really long scene where Han plays sabacc (space poker) during a bout of insecurity and wins a planet to give to Leia and he uses THE MILLENNIUM FALCON for collateral. Han Solo would never do this. Now in PatS, Han plays sabacc while Leia is working to help her out by gathering intelligence. One of the players mentions that he wants to kidnap Leia (not knowing who Han is), and Han almost murders the guy. It’s awesome.

Here’s the thing, you can tell when Leia is being written by a woman instead of a man. In COPL, there is one moment where it’s brought up that if Leia marries Isolder there will be a planet for the survivors of the Alderaani genocide, but it’s only mentioned a few times and not by Leia. So any opportunity for a duty vs love internal conflict is not used. Her conflict is “Han and I are distant and space Fabio is hot so…”. Then HAN KIDNAPS LEIA USING A MIND CONTROL GUN. And she doesn’t murder him. So…I don’t care about this relationship anymore because both of them suck and it isn’t even clear why Leia falls in love with Han all over again.

Beth Revis gives Leia a very multi faceted internal conflict. Part of it is her dealing with her feelings about Vader, about being part of a team, and her guilt over Alderaan. It doesn’t take up too much time, but they inform a lot of her character.

Now, in a different canon book, that came out previously, it was mentioned in passing that Han and Leia got married on Endor. Now, at that point in both the EU and Canon, Han and Leia have been forcibly separated for a year and only actually got together a little bit before that. So, that’s really weird. But Revis is stuck with this. So she says to herself, “Why would they do this? Why would they move this quickly?”

And she remembers that this is Star Wars. They are living through war, they all almost died, and just spent a year forcibly separated. And they’ve decided that they’re done wasting time. Han just kind of…proposes and Leia (in typical fashion) debates for a second before deciding to take a leap of faith for love. It’s genuinely very, very sweet. Despite the title and cover this is not a romance book. There is no “will they won’t they” bullshit. Thank. God. They just get married and it’s really happy and Lando pranks Han into dressing nice, and it’s great. Then it’s a Star Wars adventure featuring Han and Leia.

That’s not to say Han and Leia don’t have any tension between them. The difference is it’s interesting. Han and Leia, especially her, do not know how to fully let each other into their lives. It isn’t that Han forgets for a bit that he married a very driven woman. He absolutely knows. His frustration stems from the fact that they are literally on their honeymoon, and Leia keeps leaving to work, because that is all she knows how to do. It is how she has coped with her trauma for three years. On the other hand, Leia feels like she is solely responsible for saving the galaxy, and that Han doesn’t understand that. Both sides of this argument are understandable. The book switches between Han and Leia’s perspectives. There are no stupid cutaways to Luke or space Fabio, there are no space witches. It is a focused relationship/ character study of Han and Leia while they’re on a decently interesting mission.

And the build up to the fight they end up having, is great. It’s a slow build up, you can feel their mutual frustration, and once they have the fight it is very cathartic. They don’t fight for the entire book either. They flirt and tease and have real conversations too.

So, after this huge fight, Leia is trying to divert the cruiser they’re on to this other planet, and Han finds out and helps her. Together, they succeed, but Leia is confused. They haven’t made up from their fight yet, and she asks why he helped her fight to go on a mission that’s going to take up more of their time. And Han says, “You’re my wife. If you’re running a con, I’m going to help you.”

Now, this might just be one of my favorite lines. Beth Revis understands that Han Solo is very loyal to the few people he cares about. He loves Leia, it’s why he goes back for her on Hoth at his own risk, why he saves Luke at Yavin and on Hoth. (She also understands the little bit of dorkiness Han Solo has beneath the posturing, up to the point that she gives him a sweet tooth.) Neither of them are overly mushy, they just love and respect each other.

There’s this great symbolism with their wedding rings. They’re made of hardened amber by the ewoks, and their fragility is a constant reminder of Han and Leia’s issues. They crack under pressure, and have to be maintained carefully. They eventually end up breaking under immense water pressure, but Han gives Leia a new ring (the one she wears in the sequels) reminiscent of the amber ones, symbolizing that they’re coming out stronger. It’s so sweet, and while it’s a little bit on the nose, it’s a great literary technique.

He’s acknowledging that he recognizes this part of Leia’s character, Leia realizes she needs to also put him first. In the aftermath, they both feel bad, apologize, and resolve to work on their issues together. And when they make-up, it feels real. This runs through the entire book, and the way it ends is really satisfying. Now, we know what happens to them in the sequels, so we can see how this conflict may come back into play later and lead to their eventual separation in canon. But, it’s also easy to see a different path where they work through these issues and live happily ever after. It’s just ambiguous enough to be read as either a prelude to eventual tragedy or the beginning of a long, happy life between two complex people. (I prefer the first one, but whatever).

Other things I liked:

- Han proposing. It’s literally that “I want you” “For what?” “A really long time.” quote on the internet.

Han: I want you.

Leia: Me? For what?

Han: Forever. Marry me.

- Leia tells Han about her true parentage and he just does not care. Like, he’s sympathetic towards her feelings, but is like, “why would this impact my love for you?”

- Leia finally lets herself do something spontaneous.

- Luke and Mon Mothma ship it.

- This quote:

Leia: About time.

Han: For what?

Leia: You once promised me a good kiss. I’ve been waiting.

- The conflict on Madurs is also pretty interesting. Leia is unwilling to let another planet die, giving an insight into Leia’s feelings about Alderaan, especially since Madurs values art like Alderaan.

Honestly, I want Beth Revis to write the canon “trip to Bespin” book.

Also…

This book kind of implies that Leia is bi? There’s a scene where Leia is remembering a conversation with her mother. So, when Alderaanian royals get married, their parent straps the ceremonial Rhindon sword (also used during their coronation) around their waist before the wedding.

In the flashback, Breha specifically says “whoever you marry” and “your husband or wife”…

Some people may say that it’s just ‘forced inclusion’ but that’s boring. Now, in the EU, fanon, and canon, Leia always puts emphasis on how close she and her parents were. This is something that I don’t think is ever particularly well illustrated, especially in canon. In parts the Kenobi series (she gets better later) and Leia, Princess of Alderaan, Breha in particular comes off as really unlikable.

But, if Leia isn’t over romanticizing (and there’s no indication that she is), she was really close to her parents. So, it stands to reason that her mother would know her sexuality. They at least seem really accepting in this passage, so it doesn’t seem like something Leia would keep from them.

I have no other evidence, and as far as I know, Leia is always seen in romances with men in both canon and legends, but in this context, it is a very interesting hint of something new about her character.

#the princess and the scoundrel #star wars #han solo #leia organa #han and leia #leia and han #han solo loves leia organa #leia organa solo #leia loves han #star wars meta #original trilogy #hanleia #han x leia #leia x han #princess and the scoundrel

23 notes · View notes

alaynasansa · 2 years ago

Text

On this special day I wanted to share some of my favorite female characters in literature, cinema and tv

Sansa Stark (asoiaf)

Catelyn Stark (asoiaf)

Arianne Martell (asoiaf)

Elia Martell (asoiaf)

Brienne of Tarth (asoiaf)

Rhaena Targaryen (daughter of Aenys) (asoiaf)

Rhaenyra Targaryen (asoiaf)

Elizabeth Bennet (pride and prejudice)

Amy March (little women)

Galadriel (lotr)

Arwen (lotr)

Eowyn (lotr)

Leia Organa (star wars)

Shira Brie aka Lumiya (star wars)

Padmé Amidala (star wars)

Danni Quee (star wars)

Sabé (star wars)

Mulan (mulan)

Anna Marie Lebeau aka Rogue (x-men)

Lorna Dane aka Polaris (x-men)

Emma Frost aka White Queen (x-men)

Rachel Summers aka Askani (x-men)

Betsy Braddock aka Captain Britain (x-men)

Monet St Croix aka Penance (x-men)

Sue Storm aka Invisible Woman (fantastic four)

Sersi (eternals)

Joyce Byers (stranger things)

Kira (knights of emerald)

The Knights of Emerald is a heroic fantasy book series written in french taking place in a fictional medieval universe. Kira is the main female character. In short : She is purple from head to toe, with clawed fingers and toes, sharp teeth, and vertical pupils. She's half insect (her father is a giant ant, so what ?) half fairy and half elven. Her father is a megalomaniac emperor who raped her mother and wants to invade the continent where she lives. She is a crown princess but abdicates her throne because she knows nothing about politics and prefers to fight to protect her people as a knight. During the series the reader sees her grow from a toddler to an undisciplined nine-year-old child who does not yet have the maturity to understand why she is overprotected against her father's schemes and why she does not have the right to become a squire like her friends, then to a fifteen-year-old teenager who is insecure because of her looks, finally has the right to join the knighthood and experiments romantic love, then to an experienced adult who still goes through several trials before she can fulfill her destiny. I love this character !!

Bridgess (knights of emerald)

Bridgess is smart, straightforward and a born leader. She's kind of like a big sister to Kira and has been very supportive of her. She manages to stand up to the most stubborn characters of the series but sometimes she breaks down and fails because she is not perfect and perfect characters are boring

Swan (knights of emerald)

Swan is brash and has trouble obeying. She was born into an extremely sexist kingdom and continually feels the pressure of having to prove herself in order to be as respected as men are within knighthood. She's quite friendly and very tolerant, especially with her best friend Kira. Swan starts a family in the midst of war and struggles to deal with this new change in her life, fearing that she will not be able to fight with all her pregnancies, experiencing guilt and pain at not being able to be with her children and not seeing them grow up as much as she wants

20 notes · View notes

magnorious · 9 months ago

Text

Eowyn and the "Strong Female Character" debate

In the ongoing argument about Strong Female Characters (SFCs), the usual poster-women of “characters no one ever complains about” are the strong badass women from classic movies, like Elen Ripley, Sarah Connor, Princess Leia, and Trinity. Modern SFCs no one hates include Wonder Woman, every female character in Last Airbender, a handful of Marvel women like Gamora, Nebula, Agent Hill, Black Widow, and *some* of the heroines from teen dystopian fiction like Katniss Everdeen.

The attention paid to the women of Lord of the Rings goes, “Galadriel is a badass in her own right and the movies could have had more women, but the women we do have are great.”

And, yes, I agree, but I want to look at Eowyn in particular and answer this question: Would Eowyn, written exactly the same, in the exact same story, be criticized by today’s audiences? We’re looking at movie-Eowyn, not book Eowyn, for familiarity’s sake.

Eowyn looks a lot like the terrible so-called “strong female characters” modern audiences hate from modern movies. She’s strong, she’s skilled, she’s smart, she’s capable, and her whole story is about overcoming the stigma against women warriors and joining the battle in the end, and killing the great evil Witch King that “no man can kill” by virtue of having a uterus. She’s also one of… I think five named women in the cast, Arwen, Galadriel, Eowyn, Freida (little villager girl), and Rosie (the hobbit bartender).

She checks so many boxes, she’d have to fail in a movie written today, wouldn’t she?

I love Galadriel and Arwen and I love the argument around them—that SFCs don’t need to act like men to be considered strong. They don’t need to be physical warriors, they can champion their femininity and that in itself makes them strong. Their wisdom and compassion and wits, not just their muscles.

Eowyn, though, is a warrior through and through. She literally goes “I am no man,” as she stabs the Witch King, a line specifically and implicitly subverted by Wonder Woman in her debut solo film during the No-Man’s Land scene when it’s softballed to her with the line “It’s No-Man’s Land, that means no man can cross it.”

Surely, a 2024 Eowyn would be ripped apart…. Right?

—

Getting this out of the way first: Every character is written with depth and nuance, including the women, and, thus, no character feels like an agenda with a face taped to it. So already Eowyn has a leg up on so many other terrible releases lately. But let’s take it piece by piece here.

Eowyn is one of three prominent women in the cast

Yes, no arguing that. Why? “Because it’s fantasy and the author is sexist-” no. This is an author who lived through the World Wars, from a time period without women soldiers. Young men and boys being ripped away from home to never see their sisters, daughters, wives, aunts, mothers, best friends ever again is what he lived through and what this story is saturated with.

Could there have been scenes of prominent women nurses, or lady elves at the Council of Elrond or any member of the Fellowship? Yeah, sure, but it’s not at all a lack of women because Tolkien discounted women warriors. This cast is hefty enough, these movies are long enough, and they’re based on a book that’s almost 100 years old.

Eowyn is objectified by male characters and trapped in a love triangle

Yeah… the love triangle bit was weak. However! Eowyn was never bitter over Arwen and didn’t know she existed until Aragorn tells her basically, “yeah, I love her, but I’m guaranteed to never see her again,” so… can you blame Eowyn for holding out hope? It doesn’t at all define her character either, and she likes Aragorn not because he’s Protagonist Boy but because he’s a high-ranking, noble man who doesn’t bat an eye at her desire to join the war effort. She then gets Faramir, so, win-win.

Grima objectifies her, but Eomer, her brother, Aragorn, and Theoden, her uncle, all defend her. Eomer gets banished under punishment of death for standing up for his sister (among other things). She’s not the butt of jokes or slights or innuendos. No soldiers look at her with lust and desire. No one degrades her or belittles her or mocks her for being a woman. Nowhere do the writers get to satisfy their own sexism by writing in gratuitous insults and slurs against her.

Eowyn is repeatedly told to run from the fight and hide with the other women

Theoden has no living siblings and his only son dies off-screen. Eomer is (I think) older, but he’s busy being a general. Eowyn is Theoden’s best chance at an heir to the throne and he can’t let her get killed on the battlefield. Eowyn being told to hide is strategic, not sexist. Not only that, she may be competent enough with a sword, but she can’t have trained as well as the battle-tested soldiers to not be at risk in a nasty battle.

Also, at the rate men are getting killed on the battlefield, sending too many of your women off to war risks so much collateral damage.

Even putting strategy aside, Theoden loves his niece, loves her strong and pure and good soul, and doesn’t want to see it destroyed in the fog of war. All he wants is to see her smile again, so he can give her a world and a future worth smiling for. War is the “realm of men” not because they’re male, but because it’s a horrible, terrible, violent, depressing, scary place to find oneself in, and he’s trying desperately to protect her from it. Eomer tells her this explicitly in a deleted scene, that they’re only trying to spare her some horrific trauma.

When Eowyn does finally see real battle up close, she’s rightfully horrified and terrified and out of her depth during the battle for Minas Tirith. She’s not riding into war all smug and overconfident, and she’s not magically a better fighter or rider than the rest of the cavalry.

Eowyn constantly complains about being looked down on for not being a man

She’s not allowed to be a soldier, yes, but women of Rohan aren’t treated as lesser by the men. She’s not being teased or mocked, her station as the crown princess is uncontested, being relegated to the caves with the women isn’t seen as a time-out, but a necessity to make sure all the vulnerable non-combatants don’t get murdered and the entire kingdom of Rohan doesn’t get exterminated in one night.

She herself isn’t putting other women down for not wanting to fight, or putting men down to make herself look better. No one is telling her she can’t be a soldier because she’s weak and womanly. If she was Denethor’s kid, he’d be singing her praises right next to Boromir (within the context of movie Denethor, at least). She wants to fight, not because she hates her own femininity, but because “women of this country learned long ago that those without swords can still die upon them”.

Eowyn single-handedly kills the Witch King because Woman

Actually, Merry stabs him in the leg to distract him first, giving Eowyn a few seconds to breathe and surprise him. The legend goes that “no man can kill the Witch King,” but it’s not meant to be the fault of men and instead the arrogance of the Ring Wraiths. These nigh-immortal spirits are so cocky and overconfident they don’t even register women on the list of potential threats, to their own doom. The legend also didn’t specify no Elves, Dwarves, or Hobbits, since “Man” is a race, not just a gender.

The Witch King is the Witch King because he was seduced by a shiny ring and a lust for power by Sauron. The “power of womanhood” isn’t the point, it’s the overinflated ego of the Witch King that is his downfall.

So Eowyn’s “I am No Man” is as much a “yay feminism” as it is a dig at his arrogance. It’s the fulfillment of this line by Galadriel: “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” Frodo is small in stature and worldly presence, and Eowyn is small in prowess and authority.

*headcanon that Sauron also hates the Nazgul and wrote in that little clause for the Witch King so he could get the last laugh on these snot-nosed, so-called “kings of men”.

—

So would Eowyn be panned by today’s audiences? No, I don’t think so. Another well-written woman who wants to learn swordplay and join the men’s war, and kills an unkillable witch king is Arya Stark. That “victory” went over like a box of rocks and no one hates Arya for it.

You can write women warriors in a no-women-allowed fantasy land. You can write them championing feminism without cramming an agenda down your audience’s throat, or insulting the audience for presumed bigotry. You can write women who kill the Witch King through a prophetic loophole. You can write them in a love-triangle and give them all the “women empowerment” speeches you want.

She is still feminine. She’s still nurturing, still has her wardrobe of pretty dresses, still sings at her cousin’s funeral and pines after men she absolutely deserves. She’s also a terrible cook and independent and not afraid to put creepy men in their places. She has flaws, she’s humble, she’s shown having fear. She’s not built up by stepping on her male counterparts, and her big moment isn’t detracted by Merry going “Wow! A woman! Who’da thunk it?”

#lord of the rings #eowyn #strong female characters #female characters #feminism #retrospective

5 notes · View notes

shirleyfeeneys · 2 years ago

Text

Meeting Cindy Williams

I am still in utter shock at the sudden passing of Cindy Williams. So I thought it might help me if I tell the story in written form of the time I met her back in 2021.

It was a typical August, well maybe not so typical for me. My mom had been through a major health challenge and I had recently quit my job due to depression and suicidal thoughts. I even spent a few days as an outpatient in a mental hospital because of it. As all of that was slowly coming behind me, my favorite (and nearest) comic con, Planet Comicon, was about to occur in Kansas City, Missouri, a few hours away from where I live.

The guest I was originally looking forward to had cancelled last minute due to COVID travel restrictions (hence why I went as Princess Leia but I’ll mention that more later). But as I looked through the guest list another name caught my eye. Cindy Williams from Laverne & Shirley. Now I had seen Laverne & Shirley once before, the episode with Carrie Fisher which ironically didn’t even have Cindy in it. While the episode hadn’t kick started me into the series back in 2016 when I watched it I remember throughly enjoying it. So I thought I’d watch this show again and see if I actually like it without Carrie Fisher to tide my attention. I tried finding episodes online to watch, which was difficult but I did anyway and eventually found Pluto TV which at the time was only showing select episodes at certain schedules.

I enjoyed the show and decided I would meet Cindy at the con. It was a lovely Saturday morning at around 10:40ish am. I went up to her table. And she was so delighted to see me. As I mentioned earlier I was dressed as Princess Leia, hair buns and all, because of the other guest. I knew so little knowledge of Cindy at the time that I had no idea she had auditioned for the role of Princess Leia. But she wasn’t offended or anything. She genuinely liked my cosplay, and was impressed that I did the hair buns using my own hair, which was pretty long at the time. I noticed she had a Laverne & Shirley face mask, and I commented that I liked it. She offered to give it to me, if it weren’t for COVID safety. This woman was so sweet. If anything I want people to take that away from this story. So sweet, so kind, so caring. She did my autograph, inscribed: “Love, Peace & Happiness to Brianna.” She signed it and asked if I wanted her to include “Shirley.” I did, even though I didn’t realize the picture I had picked out wasn’t just a generic photo of her. It was from More American Graffiti.

Anyway, next it came time to take our photo together. Now I rarely look good in pictures. But this one came out really well for the both of us. It’s been my screensaver on my phone since late 2021. We then said our goodbyes and I told her I would see her later at the professional photo op and her panel. Later at the professional photo op she remembered me, not my name but my face and outfit. And she asked me again what my name was, and I told her. That picture is nice too but the one at her table is my favorite so it is the one I always share.

Later that evening at her panel she shared many anecdotes from her life and answered questions including favorite episodes (she said “Guinea Pigs” here). And she mentioned her upcoming one woman show “Me, Myself & Shirley. From that moment on I was determined to see it, buying tickets to four different shows over the past year and a half that all got cancelled. It just wasn’t meant to be.

My biggest regret from that day was not getting to tell her how much she and Shirley and Boo Boo Kitty meant to me. But I was so new to the show then and didn’t yet know that, so I guess my biggest regret is not getting to see her show and tell her these things. My most recent plan was to go to Austin, TX in May to see her show there. But again, it wasn’t meant to be.

I’ll always remember how warm and kind Cindy was to me. May she rest in peace.

#cindy williams #laverne & shirley #rip cindy #rip cindy williams

14 notes · View notes

the-obiwan-for-me · 2 years ago

Note

For the 40 questions.....

4-How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

15-If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

17-Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

Yay! More great questions!

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Honestly, I have 0 fic ideas right now. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. It's kinda sad, but also kind of a relief. Finishing "More Than Blood" was a huge undertaking and while I am proud that I finished not one, but TWO fairly massive longfics, I emptied the tank, so to speak, and haven't really had any big ideas since. I wrote one little canon-ish Bo and Korkie fic awhile back, and I just finally finished a little canon-ish Korkie and Dad fic this week, but that had been an ongoing project for literal years. I have some post MTB moments (and a few "deleted scenes, so to speak) I've written along the way that I may share, but they are moments. Not stories.

Wait, wait, fine. Here's a tiny bit from one of those moments.....

He stared at her, taking her in, pride swelling in him til he ached from it.

His baby girl. His orikih ad’ika. His little firebrand. Now standing tall beside her mother, resplendent in beskar’gram, her wily curls barely contained, her freckles dancing across her cheeks as she smiled brightly up at him, her green eyes blazing with mischief. In mere moments, she would recite the Resol’nare to her aunt, in front of their entire clan, friends, too, from near and far, and proclaim herself Mando’ad.

But she would always be his orikih ad’ika.

She had been tiny. At one time, though it seemed like both yesterday and three lifetimes ago. Taken abruptly from her mother’s inhospitable womb early, to protect them both. He’d barely needed two hands to hold her tiny body, and her first months she had often slept with her body cradled along his forearm, her tiny head pillowed in his palm. She had been tiny.

But at thirteen, her Kryze blood was becoming more and more evident every day, as she quickly sprouted into yet another tall, willowy, fierce Kryze woman, and he sometimes wondered how she could ever once have been that tiny. He often had to go back to holos and look at her as a newborn to remind himself.

15. If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I feel like the obvious answer is "She Said the Word." That would be so cool. It would probably need to be it's own trilogy (I mean, it does span from before the events of TPM through the end of the Clone Wars!), there are some really great moments, and my friends have done an incredible job fancasting my OPs (and, sorry, Katee, I adore you and your Bo, but SSTW Bo is Jessica Chastain and I would LOVE to see my girl play out the emotions Bo has in that story!).

Honorable mention, and I realize that because it is mostly an internal story, but I really wish we had had a moment like the moment I wrote in "Burn Bright." I am and always have been a little salty that Luke got to grieve, on screen, the death of Ben Kenobi and the loss of his home, but we never really see Leia grieve. I do know there is a comic with a very similar premise to this story of mine (which came out AFTER I wrote this, I think), and she had some really nice grief moments in Legends as well as "The Princess and the Scoundrel." But they were all years later.

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

Almost all my fics are written from start to finish. For one shots and shorter things, sometimes the idea builds from a particular scene or bit of dialogue, and the story may grow around it, with a start and an end placed around the scene to triggered it. But long fics are almost all start to finish. With some occasional deviations. Sometimes I get an idea of a scene that won't leave me alone, so I will write it down, and stick it in when the time comes. There were SEVERAL scenes in the later chapters of "She Said the Word" that were written MONTHS earlier than they were published.

Thanks for the awesome questions! More questions here!

#ask game #asked and answered #fic writing ask game #my fic #my writing

5 notes · View notes

madam-o · 10 months ago

Text

I grew up on characters like these and I love them with all my heart. Sometimes I'll hear people (usually women) complain about "poorly written" strong female characters who are just men in women's bodies and I'm like, what does that even mean? Not that there aren't some bad female characters in action movies, but usually they're written to be the sexy eye candy love interest. When I see a "masculine" female character I get excited because I know that people like that actually exist and rarely get representation. Some women are just not "girly" and never have been. Like, Princess Leia is very arguably not a girly woman. She just dresses up really nice sometimes for political reasons.

The point is that none of us should be expected to live in a fucking box. Isn't that what the current era of personal gender expression supposed to be about?

smthing i can just never believe when ppl (mostly twitter users) complain about a girl character being made to look 'mannish' or 'masculine' and talk about the death of femininity and every time i get excited and think 'oh okay cool did we get a butch character or-' and its literally jusg a regular fucking woman like you would see at the grocery store. like jusyt a normal woman

#women in media #not everybody is into insta

103K notes · View notes

yeonchi · 27 days ago

Text

SPPDM 20th Commentary Part C: In Subversion

(Arts by yoshicoonrdz, deli_jzp, philip.j_arts, b4mjo__, mura.in.artistland, Higor P. Matos, Reyiiart, Yo-Kai Benja, Mary EF)

As much as I want to highlight the other characters in the series and the OCs made by the fandom, it is inevitable that the focus will have to go back to the main girls. Okay, this part does balance the focus, but still.

Check out the story here:

Join the Discord servers as well to be notified for when each part has been fully published!

Server de Princesas del Mar

Salacia en Discord!

Chapter 11 starts off with some social commentary from the Kongming Army's generals. They talk about physical media, card surcharges and the environment in a satirical and political statement. Parker argues with someone over the phone about Time Vent happening again and that's all we see of him and the Drylanders in this part.

After that, the civil war arc goes into full swing. A lot of characters do get lines in this chapter, plus we also get some descriptions of the Liamverse OCs, which are also detailed in its own series. Then there's a little JoJo reference with Caton as his mother tries to get him to look after his sister Saula (seen in The Doll). Yes, we're doing a running gag with Caton's name because he is known by different names in different versions of the series:

Caton (English/Castilian Spanish)

Saulo (Brazilian Portugese)

Carlos (Latin American Spanish)

In the end, the Shark King defeats the Turtle King's rebel faction, but he is stabbed in the back by one of his right-hand men, Seretao. As Seretao is blasted back, he is taken away by his comrade, Duante (seen in The Healer).

Chapter 12 has the girls going to the Shark Kingdom prison to visit Shadow King Thorn, the antagonist of The Ballad of the Forgotten Princess, while also revealing to Polvina and Ester that Tubarina had gone to see Mr Chain in Chapter 4. Upon meeting with Thorn, it's revealed that he knows Seretao as he, Duante and Miss Marla arrive as well.

We get a bit of backstory on Seretao (which was also covered in Kamen Rider Decade) as it is also revealed that he was the one who orchestrated the events surrounding Thorn's insurrection in an attempt to get revenge on the Shark King, only for it to fail. Tubarina is confronted with the truth about her father and Ester comforts her while Polvina is more interested in helping Seretao retrieve the Staff of Oblivion and the Mermaid King's crown (which had also been worn by Thorn). This leads to an argument among the girls where Polvina calls out Ester and Tubarina for their bullshit. She decides to go with Seretao, leaving Ester to take Tubarina home.

In Chapter 13, Polvina's group manages to retrieve the Staff but the Mermaid King's crown is missing. We then segue to the Whale King Giddeon learning that he has tested positive to HIV, having likely gotten from his wife, Whale Queen Baleia, who has the laziest name that Liamasterink ever thought of. It's mentioned that Baleia is an escort for Salacian soldiers on Dryland and that's presumably how she got HIV in the first place.

Baleia was originally written as a "volunteer comfort woman", but after musing on the negative connotations of the term, especially given how most comfort women were forced into it by the Japanese instead of volunteering, I decided to change it so that she's a sex worker who volunteered.

Giddeon goes to the town his doctor told him about and discovers a conspiracy that his wife and the Shark King covered up involving the people of the town. After going down to the Abysmal Kingdom to retrieve the Mermaid King's crown, he confronts his wife at his palace and beats her up for giving him HIV. Leia and her friends return to the Shark Palace to witness Giddeon putting on the Mermaid King's crown and attacking his family.

Moving to Chapter 14, Ester and Tubarina are at the former's palace, reflecting over what happened with Polvina (and making a reference to Best Friends) before they get a call from Leia asking for help. They tell Polvina as well and they meet at the Whale Palace, where Seretao uses the Staff of Oblivion to knock down the Whale King.

Leia, Naimo and Baleia are taken to hospital while Seretao and Duante use the Staff of Oblivion to restore everyone's memories that had been erased thanks to the Shark King's use of Time Vent.

This storyline was also adapted from a couple of Liamasterink comics, namely The Death of the Whale King and the Birth of King Thorn and The Secret of the Whale Queen. In it, Liam implies that the Whale King became Thorn, something that I obviously disagree with because it was already established that Thorn was a minister of the Abysmal Kingdom. Although the impetus for this is his HIV diagnosis, Liam appears to prioritise Giddeon's motivations on the suspicion that Naimo is (somehow) not his son, which is weird because in the 80s, people were more worried about dying from this then-unknown disease (or being marginalised even further in the case of the gay community) and I would have thought that would be more of a priority. Plus, given Baleia's sexually promiscuous nature (that Liam wrote into her character), you'd think Giddeon would have been aware of it when he married her, hence his characterisation was written with all this in mind. The way I wrote it, the Whale King kind of becomes Thorn and doesn't at the same time.

Speaking of Liamasterink comics, I should talk a little bit about King Marcos' characterisation as well. Liam's take on Marcos is more ruthless and violent, particularly towards his wife Pietra and daughter Marli. In my case, I decided to make my take of Marcos as a somewhat neglectful joke of a man, resulting in Pietra having unfulfilled needs and Marli wanting to relieve herself from the stress her strict father causes her, hence why the two of them turn to promiscuity and sex toys. I'll tell you more about his rivalry with the Shark King later on.

Chapter 13 contains references to HIV/AIDS campaigns, particularly the Australian ones made in the 80's with the tagline “PREVENTION IS THE ONLY CURE WE'VE GOT”, which the chapter is also named after. Chapter 14's title, Memories Become Banter, is named after a line from Yang Shen's poem Linjiangxian (臨江仙), which is also used in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, both as an introductory poem and the opening theme to the 1994 TV series adaptation.

古今多少事，都付笑談中。

youtube

(I'm attaching the Cantonese version of the opening theme because it's more upbeat than the original Mandarin version)

As Polvina, Ester and Tubarina agree to head home and talk things out with each other in Chapter 15, they and other royals are attacked by clones of themselves, which were released when the Killer Queen Protocol activated. When the three make it to the Octopus Palace, Polvina calls out Ester and Tubarina's flaws before she lets the two do the same to herself. Since the three are already the Divine Princesses of Salacia (because of their adventures), they decide to call themselves sisters (harking back to Ester's character quirk in the books) and reaffirm their relationship as "best friends forever".

The reason why I did this plot point was for Polvina to call out Ester and Tubarina's bitchiness in the animated series while also showing that Polvina really isn't as perfect or flawless as the series makes her out to be. They've bickered with other royals and each other in the past, but nobody has really called them out for their attitudes that only lead to more arguments and bickering. In any other situation, they could hang out with another group and be done with it, but because they are royals, and Salacian royals at that, they need to work together with each other and the other royals. Also, as I said in the chapter, the girls have been through a lot together over the years, but they've never had a lot of time to sit down and reflect on all the highs and lows, so something like this needed to happen.

After this, we go between several groups of royals as they encounter the clones. Duante meets with the girls after the battle at the Octopus Palace to give his backstory that we were robbed of in The Healer and apologise to Ester for being a wandering asshole. Ester accepts his apology and Duante happily accepts her invitation to be friends. In case you haven't gotten it by now, I'm also hoping to fix some of the mistakes that the animated series made. Another significant mistake I fixed was the omission of Dinho in The Guardians, which I did a tie-in to last year.

Upon returning home, Tubarina is briefly spooked by the Shark King, given everything she had discovered. And this ends Part C, In Subversion, and with it, the main focus arc for the girls. The story gets wild and nonsensical as we move to Part D, Influencer's Requiem. Enjoy your weekend and have a good next week.

Tensions between Parker and the Shark King intensify... over the Internet? Outside their day jobs of being warmongering warriors, Parker and the Shark King are also influencers who beef with other influencers on social media. The arrows turn on the two of them in Part D, Influencer's Requiem.

(Arts by SomePkmn-LovingDude, jigglysama, starlightelectraglimmer2669, ‬Jack Jonny, Carnal Oficial, space_unicorns_2003, Liamasterink, María Cristina, Juanito CG)

#sppdm 20th commentary

1 note · View note

ramrodd · 1 year ago

Text

What are the merits and demerits of "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand?

The essential merit is the triangulation of Dagny Taggart, Barbie and the shower scene in Starship Troopers. The essential demerit is the glorification of the domestic terrorism of John Galt.

COMMENTARY:

The singular merit of Atlas Shrugged is Dagny Taggart. She is the most fully realized female character in literature. She is a masterpiece of characterization. If Ayn Rand had any useful capacity in objective personal inventory, she would have cut the novel by a third around her and written a third novel to complete a portrait of the “sense of life” at the core of her collage of sound bites and syllogisms she assembled around the Virtue of Selfishness. Dagny Taggart is the Princess Leia hologram her narrative created in my mind. Dagny Taggart springs in Technicolor from the drab industrial environment of Pittsburgh when its rivers caught on fire.

There is an important cultural consequence of Dagny Taggart in the popular imagination of the Boomer Generation at the moment birth control became safe, cheap, effective and legal along with Barbie and actual women like Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O and Lauren Bacall and a whole range of Hollywood women. Ayn Rand didn’t understand sex until she took what amounted to a straight Twink as a lover when she was in her 40s and married. She was married, but her marriage to Frank O’Connor was a desperate strategy to remain in America by marriage. Frank is one of the people she sincerely loved, but it was a very porcelain relationship, a sort of running New Yorker cover. But she was entirely submitted to getting fucked on her living room floor on a full length mink coat by Nathaniel Branden, a psychologist who isolated Self-Esteem as a significant structure of the ego when he was in his twenties and married to his college sweat heart, who was later murdered by post-hypnotic suggesting during a telephone conversation with Ayn Rand. Rand fucked with her mind in some way Rand knew Barbara was vulnerable to strobe paralysis, that thing that happened in Discos from people becoming dazzled by the light display like a deer in headlights. Barbara apparently was dazzled by light flickering off the water of an indoor pool and she checked out, mentally, and tripped into the pool and drowned.

And Dagny Taggart was who Ayn Rand was when she was fucking Nathaniel Branden Dagny was an active California Sport Fucker and Ayn Rand wouldn’t have know what that meant until the day she died.

Now, I need to go see Barbie. The connection between Barbie and Dagny and the Cosmo Woman is inescapable. The Sex in the City was the adventures of pre-Reagan Sport Fuckers in a Joffrey Ballet/Studio 54 Tucker Carlson-free Woodstock Nation play ground.

You see, the third of the book I would cut out was when John Galt appears and she becomes her BDSM dungeon master and all the Technicolor disappears and becomes the grubby industrial black and white of the dystopian universe of Donald Trump’s business culture.

John Galt is a domestic terrorist committed to dismantling the administrative state.

Now, everything about Atlas Shrugged is fantasy. When I first started to read it in 1962, I thought it was science fiction like Frank Herbert but with the promise of a lot more sex, with Dagny Taggart the literary come-on of a sideshow bait and switch. I had read Anthem before my sister had a paperback version of the book and encouraged me to read it because it had some interesting ideas. Her idea of interesting ideas were totally elusive to me over the years, but she was a serious campus intellectual and lived that way her entire life.

I don’t think it was her. Most of Women’s Literature is lost on me. There’s a real Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus thing going on for me in terms of women’s literature, but there it is.

So, I’m not sure what the interesting ideas were for her in Atlas Shrugged, but I wasn’t hooked and decided it wasn’t ever begin to work as an adventure story like, say, Robert Heinlein. And, except for Dagny Taggart, there wasn’t enough sex explicit for my pleasure. By and large, everything sexy happens off stage, sort of like Dezi and Lucy sleeping in twin beds. I mean, i figured out John Galt was the mysterious friend of Dagny’s brother. I quit reading in 1962 when I realized that the play date between Dagny’s brother and the mysterious stranger, was supposed to be a pericope of great subtlety and artistry.

I read it completely in 1995, during a market adjustment when Clinton’s economic policy shrugged off the speculative foam lingering from Vietnam and Stagflation and we almost became the Green New Deal. If his election hadn’t been stolen by the butterfly ballots, Gore would have extended Clinton’s sallt water economics another 4 years that would have completed the paradigm shift from the Military Industrial Complex to the Green New Deal and we would have a permanent lunar colony by 2010,

And during this market flat-line, I discovered that Alan Greenspan was a disciple of Ayn Rand and I was trying to understand what he said was goin on in the markets, which I now know was the Fresh Water economics of the University of Chicago. I could tell that he realized the Fresh Water models weren’t working and was trying to find the language for what was going on.

As a consequence, I had to read Atlas Shrugged. Her collection of essays describing Objectivism didn’t connect with any dots I could discern in Greenspan’s economic modeling. They didn’t share any map sheet with each other nor with anything I found useful. Paul Krugman’s Salt Water economics in the dynamical economies of scale in his Peddling Prosperity is pretty much what I was seeing in the NYSE in 1994 after the Triple Witching in March. Because of electronic trading, there is always a certain level of “chatter” in the markets that didn’t exist before 1979. Nixon’s banking and securities policies anticipated electronic trading and created the structures that created Silicon Valley. During August of 1994, virtually all the speculative and inflationary froth lingering from the financing for the Vietnam war was flushed out of the NYSE as everyone went to the beach and let the programs keep the markets open. In addition, Clinton’s salt water economics fixed a great deal of what Reaganomics had fucked up with the Fresh Water economics of Supply Side Free Market class warfare.

But people who embrace Atlas Shrugged as the operators manual for Reaganomics don’t have any more idea how the economy actually works than Alan Greenspan did in 1994. What no one saw coming was Newt Gingrich as Speaker of the House and the transfer of the legislative processes from elected constitutional officers to Grover Norquist, who began dictating economic policy to the January 6 Republicans-in-training as MAGA service dogs.

If Dagny Taggart had exposed John Galt as a domestic terrorist seemingly determined to dismantling the administrative state but actually enthralled by the enchantment of an evil cabal of Criminal Fascists and that she and Hank Reardon embarked on a quest to free John Balt from CAW, the evil cadre causing the social collapse of Atlas Shrugged . She could have ended Atlas Shrugged as a cliff hanger, as thy are bale to co-opt John Galt’s television address that stalls the CAW insurgency from achieving the constitutional overthrow at the end of Atlas Shrugged,

And the third volume in the Sense of Life trilogy would have Dagny saving John Galt and turning the whole world to Technicolor and ending in the Pink Dream House of Barbie, the Movie, on the beach at Malibu with a naked, coed beach volley ball court out the patio in the back. The subtitle for the trilogy would be “Escape from the Parable of the Cave”..

So, the essential merit of Atlas Shrugged is Dagny Taggart.

The essential demerit is is Objectivism is total Free Market, Fres Water Economics, Commercial Fascism crap. It’s the Harvard MBA program business model that the Studio Executives are trying to shove down the throat of Fran Drescher and SAG in opposition to the superior Salt Water Quality Assurance business model of organized labor.

But that’s another story.

0 notes

lindsaywesker · 1 year ago

Text

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday.

Stephen King's son is called Joe King.

Stressed men prefer big butts. (Stress-free men too!)

Only 28% of people know when they're being flirted with.

Men who vape are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.

The Merchant of Venice is the only Shakespeare play to mention Mexico.

In 2019 there were still 17 US States where it was legal to fire someone for being gay.

The revolving door was invented by a man who hated holding doors open for women.

Cutting people from your life does not mean you hate them, it simply means, you respect yourself.

Not only do mosquitoes bite you and suck your blood, but they also urinate on you before flying off.

The scrotum water frog of Lake Titicaca is on the verge of extinction due to its use as an aphrodisiac.

In March 2014, an Australian Python swallowed a chihuahua and found itself chained to a kennel.

‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers was the first 2000s song by a group to surpass one billion streams on Spotify.

According to astronomy, when you wish upon a star, you're actually a few million years late. That star is dead. Just like your dreams.

In 2021, an invisible sculpture was sold for $18,030. Artist Salvatore Garau says his work should, “activate the power of the imagination.”

Charles Darwin thought the menstrual cycle was evidence that early humans lived by the sea and synchronised their lives with the tides.

After King Charles II's wife is said to have caught him picking flowers to give to another woman, there have been no formal flower beds in Green Park since 1660.

In 2017, a Boston man got revenge on his high school bully by sleeping with his mum after he saw her profile on Tinder and hooked up with her for a one night stand.

As we get older, we often feel music used to be so much better because of the 'reminiscence bump', a preference for songs that were popular during our formative years.

Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia, and James Earl Jones, who provided the voice for Darth Vader in Star Wars in 1977, met for the first time on a 2014 episode of The Big Bang Theory.

In 1995, a man named Sonny Graham received the transplanted heart of a suicide victim. He then married the donor's wife and later killed himself, in the exact same manner as the donor did.

In 2004, Gary Webb, the California reporter who first broke the story of CIA involvement in the cocaine trade, was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head. His death was ruled as “suicide”.

Joe Metheny, the infamous serial killer from Baltimore, not only cooked his victims to eat himself, but he also made burgers with their remains and sold them to unsuspecting customers from a roadside food stand.

The marine biologist Joel Hedgpeth was the founder and sole member of the Society for the Prevention of Progress. He rejected all membership applications because “growth in members would represent progress.”

In 1969, Salvador Dalí, the Surrealist painter, gave a derelict castle to his Russian-born wife, Gala, as a present. She welcomed his generosity but also set rules for her new home in Púbol, a village in Catalonia. He could only visit if she sent him written permission.

In 2013, the town of Brunete, Spain instituted a new program to make dog owners pick up after their pooches. They recruited volunteers to watch for anyone leaving poop on the streets, and then mailed it back to the dog's owners.

Eric Idle rang George Harrison when they couldn’t find the money to get ‘The Life Of Brian’ made. George said “Well, when The Beatles were breaking up, Python kept me sane really, so I owe you one.” As a thank you, George was given a cameo as Mr Papadopoulos.

A new drug similar to Viagra can now be sold in pharmacies in the UK without prescription. Cialis, an erectile dysfunction drug will now be sold over the counter in UK pharmacies like Boots, after it was deemed to be safe to take without consulting a doctor or getting a prescription. The pills can last up to 36 hours!!

England is seeing record high levels of gonorrhoea and syphilis sexually transmitted infections, new figures reveal. People are being urged to practice safe sex to protect themselves and get tested if they may be at risk. There were 82,592 cases of gonorrhoea in 2022 - up 50% on the 54,661 recorded the year before, the UK Health Security Agency says. Syphilis cases increased by 15% from 7,543 to 8,692.

Okay, that’s enough information for one day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

#mixcloud #mi soul #dj #music #new blog #lockdown #coronavirus #books #democracy #brexit #cronyism #election #radio #tuesdaymotivation

0 notes

october-faye · 7 months ago

Text

I love you, Victoria St Clair. I can absolutely handle a woman's success. I get off on it, even. Please marry me after you're done divorcing your husband. 😍

Rachel agrees to help Victoria get her soon-to-be ex-husband to stop holding up the divorce. There's no pre-nup, so this is going to take some finesse. Rachel plans to sue the man's gambling problem and love of quick fixes against him.

Ingrid is eating by herself. She sees her mentee from the retreat laughing and joking with two friends. They look like a younger version of the Ingrid-Tyler-Rachel trio. It's sweet and a little sad. Her friendship group is one of the better things to come out of the show, so I miss it, even though I know the rift is temporary.

Dan shows up and is, once again, surprised when everyone hates him. Ingrid spots Jeff, and they're both called over to the boss' table over a work matter. They have a clever bit of banter on the way up, but I'm still leaning heavily towards 'eh' on this storyline.

Blah, blah, law talk. I didn't pay attention.

Rachel tricks Victoria's husband into thinking the property he hopes to get in the divorce is full of mould, bugs and slime. It works because the man's head is also apparently full of mould, bugs and slime. Rachel has Season 1 Veronica Mars energy. This must be why I like her so much.

Jeff and Ingrid finally get time to talk. They do this by the elevators at work because, as we've established, they're both kinda stupid. He opens by telling Ingrid she's right, which probably makes her instantly moist.

They have a thinly veiled discussion about Jeff needing to be more cautious and less flirtatious. Jeff apologises for his part in kissing Ingrid at the retreat. He tells her she makes him a better lawyer (and one day, maybe even a better man). It's touching, but I don't trust this man one bit. They part on friendly terms.

When Ingrid gets to the office, she's found that Nick has sent her a dress. It's not the pink one she asked him to send. It's lovely, but not her style.

Still, she looks great in it once she gets to the Gala. I love the hair - Princess Leia vibes.

Tyler loses his cool during his interview and openly calls his old firm 'racist'. Then he storms off.

Z turns up at the Parsons, Valentine and Hunt Diversity Gala. I missed that guy! He and Ingrid have some good banter before the event begins.

Marty gives Ingrid a special achievement award for her commitment and hard work. It's pure posturing and PR to divert attention away from their recent bad press courtesy of Tyler and their firm's culture of racism and exclusion. They've even written Ingrid's acceptance speech for her. In it, she has to refer to what happened with Tyler and Dan as a workplace 'kerfuffle' and not something that reflects on the firm.

Then they make her say that the firm is a great place for people of colour and that she's a 'proud Asian American female lawyer'.

I feel genuinely bad for her. The whole thing is so degrading. Z realises what they're doing to her, and he's not impressed. Nick and her parents coo over the award, but Ingrid storms out.

Tyler and Rachel have drinks at their favourite bar and hey make a point of checking out the friendly gay bartender and... oh, no.

Paralegal Justin comes in to drag Rachel to her interview. Tyler already guessed the two were hooking up. Heh.

Rachel and Paralegal Justin leave. The bartender sits with Tyler and you know where this is going. Damn it.

Ingrid has a nice scene in the women's bathroom with her mother. She admits that her life isn't what she thought it would be. She's wearing a dress she didn't pick and reading words she didn't write. When her back is turned, her mom spots the engagement ring box and just opens it. Her mother pretends she didn't see anything and encourages her to be true to herself.

I wish we had more scenes with Ingrid's family. Her sister has been pretty pointless to the plot, unfortunately, but I wish we could've seen more from the family Yun.

Paralegal Justin gives Rachel a pep talk outside her interview. I'm getting high off second-hand validation.

Tyler cheats on his boyfriend with the bartender. My feelings are mixed.

The cheating sucks. I don't think it's in character for Tyler, considering he's usually the voice of reason and the only one of the three in a stable relationship. Tyler is also the one who makes the first move. Are they maybe doing this to knock the character off his high horse?

On the other hand, the scene is well done. Props to Tyler's lovely singing voice. He plays piano and sings Stay by Rihanna (love that song) and I don't blame the bartender for being enamoured.

I also appreciate the show having a scene with two black, gay men kissing and getting all hot and heavy. Shows like this often include gay characters, but rarely let them be passionate and sexual with each other the way the hetero couples are in nearly every episode. Though, I do note that I don't remember Tyler and Anthony doing more than share the occasional peck, which is disappointing.

Episode 7 of Partner Track.

I'm okay. I am o-kay.

So, Ingrid said yes to Nick's proposal. Of course.

The engagement ring has been in his family for a century, which I suppose means his mother wore it. He mentions her in this scene, so I'd assume so. But his parents were apparently very unhappy and chronically unfaithful. I'm getting some foreshadowing.

Ingrid refuses to wear the ring to the office because she's worried it might hurt her chances of becoming partner. It's a valid concern due to the workplace discrimination experienced by women once they get married/have kids. But I do desperately want to see Jeff's reaction to that fuck-off huge diamond.

Ingrid is sad about the rift between her and Rachel and Tyler. It's even worse in the office, because Rachel is giving her the cold shoulder. Ingrid talks it out with her secretary, Margo. Margo knows about the engagement and about Ingrid's hot smexy tension with Jeff. Ingrid admits she isn't sure about Nick, but didn't feel like she could say 'no' to the proposal because he's so nice, and she was swept up in the moment.

Fucking Hell.

I love flawed characters, but she's an idiot. There is literally nothing to lose by asking Nick to slow things down, and everything to lose by letting this car crash play out. It's not even interesting stupidity.

Things are going better with Rachel and Paralegal Justin. She's planning to wear glasses (with clear lenses, her eyesight is fine) to her interview with the theatre company. Paralegal Justin encourages her to just be herself.

Tyler is trying to decompress at home. His Instagram Live where he quit the firm went viral, but he's had no job offers. His boyfriend Anthony has arranged an interview with the press on the subject of racist microaggressions at work.

Ingrid and Rachel have to work together on a case. Rachel is refusing to forgive Ingrid for her (admittedly small but still relevant) role in the firm screwing over Tyler. Rachel accuses Ingrid of being self-involved, (which... I mean yeah).

Rachel then blurts out that she's sleeping with Paralegal Justin just as the man himself walks in escorting Victoria St Clair. Victoria has a funny reaction, looking Paralegal Justin up and down, and telling Rachel she could do worse. LOL.

Ingrid leaves the office after giving Paralegal Justin some side-eye. Sit down, girl. Their office romance is only about 2% as destructive as what you've got going on.

#october watches partner track #i love you paralegal justin

2 notes · View notes

jennysparksandtheauthority · 3 years ago

Text

Seeing the lack of wlw fics in the Marvel universe is always depressing BUT since AO3 is celebrating the International Fandoms Feedback Fest Day 2022 and seeing mainly m/m slash and het ships in the recs, I’m gonna share some of my ALL TIME WLW FICS FROM VARIOUS FANDOMS, Marvel or not, just because, and focusing especially on BLACKHILL but with a touch of everything I love. Some of them are pretty rare pairs but bear with me. They’re awesome.

Let’s go…

Supercorp (Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor):

OATH OF OFFICE by UninspiredPoet — Awfully sexy President/Bodyguard AU with a perfect slow burn. This one’s fire.

SEMIDEUS by lostariels — Wonderful angst with an unplanned pregnancy setting that turns out to be a wonderful character study.

BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE by powergrapes — AU set in New York City. Real angst, real odds, a little frustrating at times but VERY realistic especially when depicting girls trapped in abusive relationships with your typical Nice Guy™️.

SO METHING JUST LIKE THIS by Helpbutton95 — A kid from the future comes through a portal.

LOVE LIKE ON A SILVER SCREEN by powergrapes — Another wonderful AU from the master. A Bachelerotte one. Yes. You read right. It’s engaging. It’s fun. It’s angsty when it needs to be. Sexy. So very well-written. And a wonderful ride. Do not miss this one.

Chlodine (Chloe Frazer/Nadine Ross):

RISK VS REWARD by Armengard — They’re both idiots. They’re both smitten. Bad flirting and sexting (kinda). Just the best.

SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE by wankernumber9 — Post game. Soft and perfect. It’s canon.

Pricefield (Chloe Price/Max Caulfield):

TEAR YOU APART by explosionshark —They have sex. Max finds out she’s into something new.

AN ULTRAVIOLET WAY by raycats — Max has PTSD. They can’t have sex. Until they figure it out and it’s hot and sweet and so them.

WE’VE ONLY GOT THIS HUNDRED YEARS by stiction — Five times Max rewound time to preserve the sanctity of friendship, and one time she didn't.

RANDIVOR (Eivor/Randvi):

MADDENING LOVE by Natterina. Randvi looks at the smirk on Eivor’s lips, the confidence in the line of her shoulders, and it hits her with all the force of being kicked in the chest. She married the wrong one.

MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA (Sara Ryder/Suvi Anwar):

WEAKNESS VERSUS STRENGTH by Rogue Solo. Listen here folks. This is A VERY SPECIAL REC. Of course Andromeda wasn’t as popular as the previous ME games. And though most people chose Peebee as the wlw option for female!Ryder, the romance with Suvi was super cute and wholesome. But this fic right here? This masterpiece?! OMG the angst, the pacing, the action, the plot, the love, the sex, the tension… even if you don’t know a thing about these characters just do yourself a favor and read some fandom wiki entries about them and deep dive into this story because it’s just magnificent. That’s it. That’s my gift to you.

Shiara (Commander Shepard/Liara T’Soni)

YOUNG by Angeli1_hp — In the two years since the Normandy was destroyed, Liara has found happiness in the darkness of Illium with the only thing she has left of Shepard.

FIVE TIMES (SHEPARD AND LIARA WERE INTERRUPTED) by RaeDMagdon — Five times Shepard and Liara were interrupted by their friends during private moments.

LIKE IT’S HALLELUJAH by montparnasse — At the end of the world, a woman walks into a bar… it’s sweet and heartbreaking at the same time but one of those stories that makes you smile for a very long time.

Star Wars Skywalker Saga (Kaydel Ko Connix/Rey - Leia/Holdo)

WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES ME by orphan_account :_( — Kaydel/Rey. A sort of rewriting of the new trilogy. Super sweet.

THERE SHOULD JUST BE ONE SAFE PLACE IN THE WORLD by buckstiel — if you wanna go down the Holdo/Leia rabbit hole this is perfect. References Leia: Princess of Alderaan (a pretty damn good book btw).

Shoot (Root/Sameen Shaw):

LIKE LOCKED HORNS by journaliar — Root and Shaw navigate their bond through snippets and feelings they can’t describe but they eventually make peace with it.

Danbeau (Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau)

FLYING HOMEWARD DOWN YOUR HIGHWAY by gdgdbaby — It was bad enough to be a black woman in the Air Force, they used to joke. Being gay made her a triple threat.

WHEN GRAVITY MEETS THE GROUND by buckyjerkbarnes — Carol and Maria- before, during, and after the events of Captain Marvel.

Terminator: Dark Fate (Dani Ramos/Grace Harper)

CALM BEFORE THE STORM by sliferthegaydragon — Tortured by their struggle and the fear of what lies ahead, Dani finds comfort in the arms of the woman who has never left her side.

BRING BACK THE GOOD by Vulcanodon — This is amazing just because of the “resurrect your gays” tag. Dani and Grace reunite. Somehow.

Blackhill (Maria Hill/Natasha Romanoff) aka the OTP

GONE TO THE DOGS by Avesnongrata and Woodface — The Blackhill bible. A perfect study on their dynamics and a wonderful read from start to finish that this fandom (tiny but so talented) holds dear to our hearts.

WHERE THE DEVIL DON’T GO by betts — In this cop AU nothing and no one is what it seems.

RED by waldorph — A wonderful study on Natasha, closer to the comics than to the MCU. Maria is also more comic-inspired. And it’s just so wonderful.

A HILL CALLED HOME by BadGoose — An unfinished retelling of the MCU with Blackhill, a lot of comedy, a wonderful and teasing slow burn and better plot than the MCU itself. Updates regularly.

WEEKEND PLANS by Avesnongrata — Another “Aves classic” of them getting together but being their usual emotionally unavailable idiots. One of my comfort fics.

FLAWED ENOUGH BUT PERFECT FOR A PERSON by Crimsoncat — The hottest “pollen sex” fic ever written with a tension and a build up between Maria and Nat that will make you bite your nails and scream for more. Not finished. But we don’t care. It’s a masterpiece the way it is and an instant blackhill classic.

THE WAY THAT IT GOES [WHAT NOBODY KNOWS] by sinandmisery — Natasha doesn’t know she’s dating Maria. Or does she?

I WASN’T EXPECTING THAT by Dancing_Bean — Alien tech. A freak accident. Cue Nat pregnant with Maria’s child. Sweet and fluffy.

MEANT FOR INDULGENCE by justanexercise — Before officially joining SHIELD, Natasha is given the luxury of a few days of R&R. What does an assassin with free time do? Roam around the streets, bored and find a willing body to have sex with, except with Natasha’s luck, she happens to sleep with a future co-worker.

BABY, ROUGH ME UP by leiascully — Sexy times with Natasha lying to herself because she’s not catching feelings. Sure.

THE COURAGE TO LOVE (LIKE A WOUND THAT NEVER HEALS) by Crimsomcat — Natasha and Maria end up with a telepathic link when experimental technology explodes. What could go wrong?

BABY, MAKING YOU JEALOUS IS SORT OF FUN by Perpetual Motion — What it says in the title. Natasha, you know you can’t help it.

LINE IN THE SAND by pumpkinnubbin — It’s just sex. Except Natasha catches feelings.

I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS STARVING (‘TIL I TASTED YOU) by Crimsomcat. Social media shenanigans lead to sweet, tender but mind-blowingly hot sex.

THE S.H.I.E.L.D. FILES series by writeratheart007301 — 150k words of amazing plot and Nat and Maria falling in love slowly but firmly. A new gem for the fandom.

BUFNAF: Break-up Fic Nobody Asked For series by BBKing — Ongoing. Breaking up because you can’t love yourself. Getting back together and trying to heal. Wonderful friendships the MCU didn’t give us like T’Challa and Nat. Food. Therapy. A special kind of series and, with time, a classic for its own merits.

Of course this is not the only classics/great recs one could find within these fandoms but these are just a few of my all-time favs. Go ahead and add yours here or in the Fandom Fest comments.

[And don’t forget to comment and leave kudos if you read any of these amazing works ♥️]

624 notes · View notes