#palps is the worst

[musewrangler]

Myra sighed and ducked back inside the house, looking swiftly to see if any of her mail was from Max. No such luck. She set it on the side table and moved to put away the meat and the veg before she got the kettle going on the burner and returned to sit for a moment. She sat in Max’s chair, getting a second hand embrace from the leather and touched Zev’s picture on the table beside her.

She opened the telegram first. She knew it couldn’t be bad news as the boy would have given her that look. The one reserved for telegrams starting with ‘we regret to inform you…’

She scanned the brief message in some confusion, her brain refusing to process for long, frozen seconds.

All my love.

The code words.

All my love.

Her hand shook.

Because the terrifying part was that it wasn’t signed by Max.

Firmus .

There was only one Firmus she knew of and he was also the only one who would know about this warning.

And that meant….oh sweet heaven, that meant…

She placed a fist to her mouth to keep in the sob.

Her Max of the broad shoulders and rare smile. The steady grey eyes and warm embrace. Right now, this very moment, what could they be doing to him?

[miraclepoisons]

always-a-sith anakin au

first meeting with obiwan

[mwolf0epsilon]

Superhero AU - Keeping Sane while in Hell

Keeping the Superhero AU pain train rolling!

This time, we discuss some occurrences during training & the families of the abductees trying to find their loved ones through various means.

Previous Posts: [X] [X] ---

For the most part, the troops are kept in a single building that's been converted into high security barracks/prison cells. There's a few exceptions who are confined to windowless cells (Alpha-17, Dogma, Hardcase, etc...) because their powers make them harder to control/contain, but otherwise the situation is honestly quite communal. Which, at the end of the day, is what keeps everyone relatively sane.

They form a support network, with some of the abductees taking others under their wing and becoming protective of them (Fives immediately just pulls Tup into the Dominoes unit because the kid is considerably younger than everyone else and has no idea what happened to his twin, Cody and his gang of childhood pals take a shine to Rex really quickly, Fox and Wolffe form their own groups, etc...), while others gravitate towards the more assertive/calming presences in their shared space.

It makes the intense training bearable to be able to endure all of whatever their captors have in store for them, only to then have someone there to comfort and listen to you. Someone that can relate to your plight.

After all powers have been gauged and rated, and Palpatine has decided which troopers belong in the Hero group and which are better suited for the Villain group, the training becomes more combat intensive. A schedule is set up that consists of "learning modules" about controlling their newfound powers, hand to hand combat, weaponry training and then bringing all of it together.

They start off with training dummies. Then sophisticated battle robots. And then the beasts that were created during earlier experiments with the concoction.

Overtime, people who's powers were more unstable are integrated into the group. But Tup has still not been reunited with his twin. The reason why becomes obvious during a test.

One of the first conclusions Palpatine makes when presented with the more unstable abilities some troopers have, is to find ways to forcefully suppress them to better control them.

The two clone babies that were created in the first version of the super-soldier experiments (Boba and Omega) are by the time of current events already 10 years old (these experiments have been taking place for years, with Hemlock's version only recently yielding positive results), and through the use of specially designed harnesses their slowly developing powers can be suppressed.

This method is ideal for Hardcase (the harness considerably mellows him out to the point he's a little sluggish) and Alpha-17 (it prevents him from being able to build up magmatic crust to create a construct body), but not so much for Dogma who has been stuck as a kaiju for a very long time. He's too scared to change back, and far too large to be so easily controlled. On top of that he's so frightened he lashes out. In Palpatine's eyes he's only good for one thing, and it's to make his group of heroes look good. The city has seen kaiju activity before, it wouldn't be strange to have one attack out of the blue.

All he really needs is to keep the kid terrified. Which he succeeds in a rather brutal manner.

By gradually teaching the group to fight beasts, Palpatine slowly conditions them to attack anything remotely monstrous without a thought (It doesn't matter if this used to be someone's beloved pet cat, now it's a ferocious sabertoothed tiger with two heads and a spiked tail. It doesn't matter if this used to be a stray pup, it's become a slobbering ravenous beast that is starved enough to eat a whole person). The only one to hesitate at all when Dogma is thrown at the group (still unaware of what is going on, or where he is, or what's even happened to him) is Tup, and that's because he knows his twin is the kaiju. Sadly his cries for everyone to stop fall on deaf ears and Dogma gets to experience the full force of everyone else's powers.

It's only when the poor kid falls unconscious and finally changes back out of exhaustion that Palpatine's deceit comes to light (You can guess how everyone reacts to the thought of having attacked and beaten up a 12 year old, the twin of which is besides himself with anger because none of them listened to him). But the damage is done. Dogma is terrified of the group, so it doesn't take much to activate his power at all. The only thing keeping him human is medication (that he has a specific schedule to take, unless he's 'needed' in which case he's essentially a walking time-bomb) specially made to keep his transformation at bay.

Until the day they are deployed, training gets no less brutal. Palpatine intends to break their spirits, but he never quite manages. Because, even though they all go through unspeakable horrors in the facility and comply with most of his whims, the troopers still do what they can to keep the hope of their eventual freedom going.

After Dogma's first "session" it also became easy for Slick to track down where he's being kept, so both he and Tup take to sneaking through the vents to at least comfort their brother and try to lessen the damage of his isolation. In due time, others join him. Some are welcomed more easily... Others Dogma cannot stand to be near out of sheer terror (Rex is unfortunately someone he's perpetually scared of, because he's the one expected to beat the kaiju anytime Palpatine decides the city is due for a monster mash).

There's also the matter of Boba and Omega becoming curious of the captives and sneaking off to either observe or engage with them (Boba is a little more distant and prefers to not talk to anyone, while Omega takes a liking to CF99 and openly talks to them and asks them questions).

Outside of the facility, the families of the abductees are not staying idle. Some (like Slick, Tup and Dogma's mom) were injured when the powers first manifested themselves and cannot look for answers more actively due to said injuries, but still maintain in contact with others who they have discovered are on the same boat. The ones who did not sustain injuries try to make sense of what little they know or saw (no one knows the military took their loved ones, but they saw strange vans, helicopters and other vehicles with some kind of logo on them), and try to keep everyone else informed.

And then there's those who don't even know if their loved ones are alive...

The Lawquanes live on their farm in the countryside. They have no idea what's happened to Rex. All they know is that one night the news showed something calamitous happening in the city, and their "daughter's" (remember, Rex hadn't had the time to even come out to them as trans) apartment was one of many buildings destroyed. They haven't been contacted by Rex since then and they believe he's one of several casualties. They still want answers.

To top it all off, Cut's older brother and nephews have also not been in contact, so there's no real way to get those answers than to go to the big city themselves. They don't know what they're getting themselves into at all...

[jetcorax]

*rotating the parallels between thrawn's arc and anakin's downfall* *frothing at the mouth*

[leadon-illfollow]

That feeling where you have something abnormal happening with your body and you're like am I dying or am I just freaking out over nothing ™

[forthechubbies]

Puppy Treats I

Alpha! Hybrid ! BC (Daddy Bangchan )X Omega! Human! Chubby! Reader🤒

⚠️Fluff, Slight nudity ( I.N), Kdrama Vibes *Chef's kiss*, cheeky Bangchan moments.

Your new neighbors are often noisy so you finally get enough courage pay them a visit..... with cookies.♡

Bam! Boom! "What in the world is happening upstairs?" Your heart races with worry about your new neighbors' noisy behavior. The never-ending thuds, crashes, and barking drive you insane, disrupting your peace and tranquility. It's beyond belief that they've only been here for a few days, and you're already at your wit's end.

Your heart was pounding as you frantically dialed the emergency number, ready to report the worst. But before you could hit the call button, your mother's voice cut through the panic: "Why don't you go check if everything's alright?" Her words shook you out of your fear-induced daze, and you realized that maybe, just maybe, there was hope yet.

You are standing at their door with a dish full of freshly baked sugar cookies because of her.

you noticed the door was slightly ajar. your curiosity was piqued, and you couldn't resist exploring further into the apartment. The silence was deafening as you crept slowly, searching every room for signs of life. you could feel your heart racing in your chest, your mind racing with questions. And then, just as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The apartment was empty. But how? Where had they gone? your mind was reeling with possibilities as you tried to make sense of what had just happened.

You carefully placed the cookies aside and took a step forward, only to find yourself wandering deeper into the unknown. As you sauntered down the dimly lit hallway, It was then that you stumbled upon a series of family photos, each one more captivating than the last. In one particularly striking image, you saw a proud father standing tall, his face beaming with pride while his sons surrounded him. It was a moment of pure joy and love, The sons were so caught up in their playing that they didn't even notice someone was taking their picture.

As I scrolled through the photos, my eyes were suddenly drawn to one particular picture that left me completely breathless. The dense forest in the background, the faint outline of snow on the ground, and the boys gathered around a towering, live Christmas tree being carried by a man who appeared to be their father. But something caught my eye - the glint of an axe resting on his other shoulder.

As you took a step back from the picture, you unexpectedly collided with something solid. A gasp escaped your lips, but before you could react, a massive hand clamped tightly over your mouth, silencing you.

The intruder, with a furious expression, bellowed, "Stop screaming!What are you doing?!" It was a total surprise when he revealed his fluency in Korean, but unfortunately, you don't have the ability to translate. He firmly held your wrist above your head, while your hand fought to create some distance, trembling against his chest. However, he disregarded your struggle, as if you were not deserving of his complete attention.

It dawned on you that this was the very son depicted in the photographs. His nose and certain areas of his face had acquired a rosy hue due to the unforgiving weather conditions.

Your heart raced as you struggled to free yourself from his grasp. His strength was unbelievable, and you started to panic. The hallway echoed with your loud, muffled screams before someone charged around the corner, surprising you with a dramatic rescue.

It was a moment of intense adrenaline and fear, but your rescuer's arrival brought a sense of relief and safety that washed over you like a wave.

"Lino, Stop it! She's our neighbor!" He growled fiercely, his voice echoing through the corridor. He snatched you away from Lino, his eyes filled with anger . As he turned to you quickly, he felt your trembling body hyperventilating on his back. The fear in your eyes was palpable, and he knew you were about to faint. He stood there, his body tense.

"Oi..oi!" His voice boomed in your ears, causing you to snap out of your dazed state, and you took note of his worried expression as he looked you over. "Listen, listen…" You could feel your heart pounding in your chest as you tried to steady yourself, but the warm, sweet aroma that filled your nostrils helped to ground you. "Breathe for me. Can you breathe for me, miss?" You did as he instructed, focusing on your breaths as you looked into his puffy, chocolate-colored eyes. It was as if time stood still as his large hand gently stroked your head. "You okay, sweetheart?"

"I can help with her," Binnie said,placing his hand on his father's shoulder. "Felix is already getting the blanket and Hannie is getting water. "

Lay down?!..."Oh no, no! I assure you, I'm perfectly fine." You attempted to rise, but your legs betrayed you, forcing the man to bear your weight in his sturdy embrace.

Lino’s scoffing earned him a scowl from his father. “Oh come on, Chan, She’s faking for sympathy-”

In an instant, a wolf burst through the door, its transformation into a naked man leaving you stunned and vulnerable.

"Appa! Appa!!" The young man cried out. "I rushed here as fast as I could." He stood defiantly, his hands firmly planted on his hips. “ You’re scent smelled like shi-“

Gasping for air, you crumbled into Chan's embrace, your legs trembling with each passing second.

"Hannie! Get water! Water!" Chan's voice trembled with fear, as it seemed like he was on the verge of losing you.

Han settled on your right side, handling the glass to Chan before fanning you with one of Hyunjin's fan.

"YAH! There's a lady here!!" Binnie shouted, blocking Jeongin body with a blanket.

With a gentle touch, Han lifted you up and carried you to a more comfortable place on the couch. He propped your legs up on his lap and spoke softly. "Rest here with me,honey." His accent was distinctly English, unlike his father's Australian lilt. Though you knew you should correct him for using such familiar terms, you felt too weary to protest. A serene warmth washed over you as you drifted into unconsciousness.

Soft tickles brushing your cheek caused you stir and you fluttered your eyes open to find the father sleeping with his arms against his chest and his shoulders relaxed as snored away on the floor by the couch.

You slowly sat up but hesitanted after slightly smelling the aroma coming off of him. You found yourself leaning closer to his shoulder. Honey? Brown sugar. It's definitely honey.. Whatever it was it puzzled you , your body felt...safe and warm..even bold enough to inch closer eyeing his beefy hairy arms and.....honestly pretty side view.

With audacious courage, you dared to caress his cheek, defying all expectations and embracing the thrill of the moment.

Without realizing it, your gentle touch glided across his face, as if it was meant to be, and his head found solace in the cradle of your hand. A surge of emotions overwhelmed you as he peacefully slumbered, his snores echoing in the silence.

You melt as the sudden rush of euphoria come in the form of a sweet musk you sat up beside him gently not to interupt his slumber.

You were careful of your leg close to his arm; You took note of a crimson string laced around his bicep. You eyed the lace and you wouldn't believe it if you didn't see it but the lace latches itself around your ankle.

You let out a piercing scream, thrashing your feet in a frenzy, jolting the slumbering father awake. Despite his grogginess, he swiftly caught you just in time, preventing you from crashing onto the cold, hard floor. "What the heck? What's going on? Are ya alright?!" His eyes darted around the room, scanning every corner, ready to defend you from any unseen threat.

“ I-I have to get home.” The sweet scent of his musk intensified as he grinned, his dimples causing my heart to flutter. But something felt off...really off. I grabbed his bicep, trying to push him away, but I could sense his resistance. "Excuse me...I need to-"

"OF COURSE! Of course.." Chan's voice was shaky as his hands. Calm down calm down what the fuck is happening here?

The abrupt chill from the absence of his body warmth nearly earned a small whimper out of you but you cleared your throat to cover it.

In the couple of inches, Chan moved; you took a moment to let your eyes linger around his beautiful features. Kiss him ♡ He'll take good of us. Just look at those biceps and sweet smile. ♡♡ Your eyes widen. What the heck are you thinking?! He's a stranger.

[padawansuggest]

Obi-Wan: *wakes up confused, a lil hungover, in someone’s bed but unsure who’s, doesn’t even recognize them by force presence* Um, hi?

Fox: *found him trashing the late Palpatine’s office after the celebration party after they officially killed all the Sith and helped him before they both got taken pity on and dragged back to Chancellor Organa’s apartment* Hi. Are you still belligerent?

Obi-Wan: Always, why? Did I do something?

Fox: Trashed Palps’s office. I joined cause it looked fun.

Obi-Wan: Cool cool. Have we met before? I’m afraid I don’t remember your name. Must have been blackout.

Fox: Nah. I’m Fox.

Obi-Wan: Awesome. Listen, idk if this is your room or whatever but I have to pee and then I wanna catch a bit more sleep.

Fox: Same.

Three Months Later

Obi-Wan: -and that’s when Fox and I decided to get married.

Cody: *acearo, ugly crying because his bff is marrying his worst enemy* I can’t even kill Fox now. It’ll make Obi cry!

Fox: :) that’s my favorite part.

[bethanythebogwitch]

There's been a distinct lack of invertebrates on my Wet Beast Wednesday posts so let's fix that by adding sea spiders. These arthropods are notable for being probably the creepiest things i've features on this series. Like I'm not afraid of actual spiders at all, but these things give me the heebie-jeebies. And I'm exactly the kind of person who loves to spread the things that creep me out, so let's combine thalassophobia with arachnophobia for the worst of both worlds! The first thing to know about sea spiders is that the name is a lie. They aren't spiders but instead members of their own class: Pycnogonida, meaning that a more accurate name is to call them pycogonids. Another alternate clade name is Pantopoda, which means "all legs", a pretty accurate description. They are traditionally classified as chelicerates, putting them in the same subphylum of life as proper spiders. However, this may change as a few genetic studies (Regier, et al., 2010 and Sharma et al., 2014) instead place them as a sister group to all other extant arthropods. Sea spiders occupy every part of the ocean with around 1,300 documented species.

(Image: a collage of many sea spider species, courtesy of ye olde Wikipedia)

The first thing you'll likely notice about sea spiders is that their legs are much larger than their bodies. In fact, the body is so reduced that many of the internal organs have to extend into the legs because they otherwise wouldn't fit. Sea spiders have a wide range of sizes, with the smallest having a legspan of 1 millimeter and the largest having a legspan of 70 cm (2.3 ft). That is larger than my sister's dog. Most species are pretty small, with the very large specimens being the result of polar or deep-sea gigantism. Most species have 4 pairs of walking legs, but some have 5 or 6 instead. The body consists of 2 segments: a cephalothorax subdivided into a cephalon (head) and trunk, and a very tiny abdomen. The cephalon contains the first pair of legs as well as a smaller pair of legs called ovigers that are used to handle their eggs, for grooming, and courtship. Every sea spider has a proboscis on the cephalon that is their feeding appendage. Depending on species, they may also have a pair of palps and/or chelifores, smaller appendages used to manipulate food. Some species lack both the palp and chelifore and their proboscis is instead flexible and muscular. Many species have a structure on the cephalon called the ocular tubercle which contains the eyes, but some deep-sea species have lost their eyes entirely. The trunk contains the remaining legs. Finally, the abdomen is extremely reduced and almost completely vestigial.

(Image: a diagram of sea spider anatomy)

Sea spiders are carnivores, using their proboscises to pierce soft-bodied invertebrates such as cnidarians, sponges, and some worms. They have no respiratory organs. Instead, dissolved oxygen diffuses into the body through the legs. A small and long heart beats at 90 to 180 beats per minute, circulating hemolymph (bug blood) through the central body and giving them a high blood pressure. Oxygen in the legs is transported through repetitive motion called peristalsis in the parts of the digestive tract that extends into the legs. Sea spiders can move both by walking and swimming, which they achieve by beating their legs in a motion similar to opening and closing an umbrella.

(image: a sea spider riding a jellyfish)

Birds do it, bees do it, and weird underwater spider-beasts do it. With the exception of one known hermaphroditic species, all spiders are dioecious, which is a fancy way of saying they have distinct males and females. During mating, the male will climb on the female and they arrange themselves until their reproductive gonopores (which are eon the legs of course) line up. The female them releases her eggs, which the male fertilizes and catches with his ovigers. The male carries the eggs until the larvae are born, with the female providing no further care. Larvae are very simple, consisting of a head with the only appendages being the ovigers, palps, and chelicerae. The trunk, abdomen, and legs develop as the larva grows. Instead of growing the legs all at once, they will grow in during sequential molts. Some have suggested that the development of the larvae parallels the evolution of the ancestor of arthropods, starting out very simple and gradually evolving more complex structures. Scientists have observed 4 types of larvae: the typical protonymph, atypical protonymph, encysting, and attaching. Typical protonymph larvae are the most common and become free-swimming after hatching. Atypical protonymphs are similar, but will eventually find another animal to live on or in. Encysting larvae will find a polyp colony and burrow in. It then encases itself in a cyst and will not leave until developing into a juvenile. Attaching larvae remain attached to their father's oviger until developing into juveniles.

(Image: a male carrying his eggs)

(Image: a larva)

[425599167]

The thing about The Force Unleashed is that while there are some pretty stupid things in it, there are also many things I love which are clearly separable from the stupid parts, and that makes it emblematic of Star Wars, and it’s disappointing how much scorn it gets.

Vader saw a kid, his weird paternal instincts got activated, he stole that kid, and proceeded to be an abusive, neglectful deadbeat. I have no notes.

Galen playing a pivotal role in the Rebel Alliance’s formation because I guess everyone else was sitting around for ~18 years? Stupid.

Spending the second half of the game revisiting planets Galen (and Vader) wrecked during the first half, forcing Galen to confront the effects of his devotion to Vader? Brilliant.

Palpatine planning out Galen’s role of exposing rebels from the start, which all seems time-consuming and inefficient because Palps has genuinely loyal people who could’ve done that job? Stupid. Let Mara Jade do it. She would fail because I don’t believe she could convincingly pretend to be antifascist, but at least this sort of thing is closer to her regular job.

The horror of Galen’s only friend being a droid programmed to kill him, contrasted with the genuine friendship he and Proxy form despite that? Beautiful. Adorable. Please give Proxy minor antagonists to kill, he deserves treats.

Maris Brood’s outfit? Stupid. The other female characters also have bad outfits, but Maris got the worst.

“I hate being him.” “I think he does, too.” OUTSTANDING. You did it! You broke Vader down to a single dialogue exchange!

Please hate my guilty pleasure game for the correct reasons.

[spiralingemptyness]

clone wars (mainly guard) hc pt. 3

sinker and hound are batch mates 

Thire is youngest command officer on coruscant guard

Yoda kinda adopted coruscant guard

Amidala and thorn are best buddies

Amidala dresses up the corrie guard that have to guard her at galas

Monnk has a monthly drowning (despite having scuba equitmnent and being the best swimmer in the whole gar)and Kit always teases him (after making sure he’s safe)

Depa and Grey have a platonic co-parenting to Caleb (Grey is aroace)

Fox cares for all his corrie guards and they make sure to return the favor by taking care of him, his work and just giving him the best hugs

Reasons palps has died

Fox

Corrie guard cmo

Plo koon

Windu

Other Jedi

Corrie guard CO’s

Zilo beast

Grizzer

Falling out a window

Heart attack

Snapping his neck

Plo koon gets the worst color choices for vod pile blankets but they’re the softest and the 104th love him so they don’t tell him

Despite being the most carefullest of the guard, Thire gets hurts the most (he can rival Fox in the number of injuries they’ve received)

Thire has been reconditioned the most

love how I end it on angst :)

I have a shit load of mk head cannons sooooo yah

[vaguely-concerned]

I’m on a Star Wars books roll so here we go with my — unhinged thanks for asking! — thoughts on Dooku: Jedi Lost, specifically the audio play. Short version: I fucking loved this one! For maximum emotional devastation, pair with Master and Apprentice and Padawan the way my stupid ass did and then be sad about it forever I guess that's what I’m going to have to do.

 Long (LONG oopsie) version:

- So. First of all, let’s get the most important thing out of the way on this here old man yaoi website. We all agree dooku and sifo dyas explored each other’s bodies right. Or at least definitely would have if not for the laws of this order etc., potentially. That’s not just me. Good. Thank you. We can now move on 

- Secondly. Well. Guess I’m just going to be inconsolable about Sifo-Dyas forever now. I miss the days in which he was just a throwaway line in AotC spawned by a random misspelling to me, rather than an eternal raw aching wound in my heart

- poor poor ventress just reading through all the proof that dooku absolutely does have it in him to be a good dad I mean master and just — idk got tired of that and went the force lightning route with her. I love the move of having her dead master hang out with her all that time as well (having her slip up and refer to ‘us’ did something to me, god this is so sad. Is he actually there in spirit or is it just her grief dreaming him up because dooku is awful and cold as a cliff  wall and she needs some kind of attachment figure even if she’ll have to reinvent him herself, rebuild him word for word, gesture by gesture. Pain. sorry about your terrible track record with father figures asajj) 

- Lene: (About Averross): He hasn’t changed. 

Dooku: (In the warmest fondest voice you ever heard) And I hope he never does

WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH MYSELF? MUST I SET MYSELF ON FIRE TO ESCAPE THE PAIN???

Another strong showing for Rael in general, btw. He’s so warm and charming as a presence even though he’s also a little chaos gremlin. (He’s quite similar to how Sifo-Dyas was when he was young in some ways, I can definitely start to see what Dooku responds warmly to in terms of character traits.) 

- the fact that good ol’ sheev showed an interest in rael, dooku and anakin… interesting huh! He’s just got a soft spot for the disaster lineage I suppose, maybe there’s an element there of luring yoda’s most direct lineage into the dirt with him without yoda even noticing for the longest time. Also cackling at the idea that he looked at qui-gon ‘too fucking stubborn and insufferable to fall to the dark side out of sheer spite’ jinn and went ‘...not that one tho’ fhdskjfa. And obi-wan is more like ‘that one blorbo all my little guys seem wild about but I just don’t get it guys’ 

IF rael’s refusal to join dooku at the end of ‘master and apprentice’ is the last word (which I am not convinced of ;___; be safe cowboy jedi we never see in mainline canon so far), then he’s the only one who has dodged palpatine’s attentions. Wonderful if true love that for him

ALSO rael is one of the few people we know to be on (or at least to consider himself on despite what palps might think lol) first name basis with palpatine. Hilarious. I concur with dooku never change rael 

- Sifo-Dyas: That’s insane. 

Dooku, deadpan: Yes.

Sifo-Dyas: The worst plan I’ve ever heard.

Dooku, somehow even more deadpan: Most probably. 

Sifo-Dyas: I’m in. 

Crying… weeping and dying………… what if someone could have helped sifo with his unfortunate prophecy propensity and they hadn’t drifted apart. Clone Wars averted methinks if dooku still ended up leaving the order he would have been too busy having tender gay sex with the love of his life (and only person who can call him out on his shit and have him actually listen) to be a war criminal (I am being extremely facetious of course this is very much a ‘time traveler killing baby hitler’ situation where the underlying forces causing this point in history are way too powerful to avert the catastrophe in one move. but at least palps would probably have had to pick someone else to wreck the galaxy through and sifo-dyas would be kissed & held instead of going slowly mad. A net plus some (I, me) would say) 

- I just wanted to applaud both the writing and the voice acting for the characterization of Dooku in this, from his young self trying so hard to be haughty and self-possessed but also being like, y’know, twelve and a dweeb and easy for Sifo-Dyas to pull into trouble, to the dry wit and warmth he shows with Rael and Qui-Gon or his sister later. It took me a little while to get into the voice acting specifically (the actor makes no attempt at going the full Christopher Lee, which in hindsight was probably wise), but now I love it. It gets a bit goofy in places but you know what, I am a long time lover of audio plays, that’s part of the charm 

- “Master, have I done something wrong?”

My heart is clenching… do you think… that master yoda’s deal with leaving his student to try fucking everything to have some kind of relationship with him until he just breaks down in tears of despair… is the kind of thing that maybe started a little bit of a generational trauma cartwheel through the ages. The point that bb!dooku is arrogant isn’t without merit and he strikes out incredibly ungracefully about it (in fact I would be a lot more worried than yoda seems to be that he decides to try to kill a tree about it, ‘I felt like destroying something beautiful’-style)  but I just don’t think a… fourteen year old? A teen anyway, Is going to learn what you think he learns from this. I simply don’t believe that silent treatmenting kids will teach them emotional intelligence I guess especially if they already struggle with that naturally lol 

(It is exactly the same mistake (in my opinion) that Qui-Gon makes with Obi-Wan, too, just leaving the kid completely alone and forcing them to come to you every which way for comfort or guidance instead of meeting them or reaching out to them. Especially once you see that really Dooku’s prime emotion/big core wound right from the beginning is loneliness. And that doesn’t only come from a feeling of superiority (which to be sure is also a big factor), because he has no idea where he comes from until he meets his sister. I don’t think the jedi as a whole were unsalvageable by any stretch of the imagination, but Yoda specifically… you are on such very thin ice with me at this point you little green fuck. You’re very funny and moving in yoda dark rendezvous and that’s all that’s keeping you in my somewhat good graces.)

- Okay, coming back a bit later I think I’ve found the right words to say this. more precisely dooku has two big issues which you can later see haunting all the way down his lineage — loneliness and control. (and not incidentally the intersecting elements of the two haha.) We see from his relationship to sifo-dyas that he’s not incapable of having close mutual relationships with an equal, but that kind of crashed and burned for reasons neither of them could really help and after that it seems quite telling that he has the easiest time with deeper connection in a teacher-student sort of form. I think his affection is unconditional and real, but you can’t get away from the fact that he also has the most control in that relationship structure by default, he gets to dictate what form it takes to a big extent. He doesn’t trust other people — the underlying idea ‘Only I can do this’ that eventually leads him down the Separatist path is there the whole way. It speaks both to a sense of superiority and an utter lack of faith that other people can or will help him. And then that echoes down through the master-padawan line: 

Qui-Gon with his self-righteousness and utter refusal to compromise leaving him isolated among the jedi (only he is right. Yeah the Force told him so. Don’t worry I’ve got a permit *insert parks and rec I can do whatever I want meme here*), Obi-Wan with his anxiety and perfectionism and incredible sense of shame and responsibility that he should be able to carry the whole world on his shoulders alone and beating himself up for failing, all feeding into not knowing what to do with Anakin and his complete lack of control of himself and his desperation to gain and maintain connection and love (which earns him the title of ‘Dooku’s least favorite family member’ fhdsa his immediate disdain for him is so funny and so in character. Repress and go slowly mad like a normal person anakin the way you’re carrying on is just undignified and that is much worse than being evil)… 

- Rael gently telling Dooku to take on another padawan soon… so sweet, so sad, local cowboy jedi looking out for his dad. Also highlights something about Dooku I think is true: that he does much better and seems to have an easier time holding to the light when he’s responsible for someone else. Again, I do feel like Dooku’s core problem is loneliness, but it seems like raising kids is the one point where that relaxes somewhat. Maybe if Sifo-Dyas had stayed in a better mental place and they kept in touch it could have been different.

- Lene Kostana is SUCH a character! Charismatic and deeply fucked up, when it’s revealed how her and Sifo-Dyas’ relationship remains long after his padawan stage is done I felt a little bit sick, to my surprise. Because that could just be kindness on her part, of course, it’s good that he has someone he trusts to look after him when he can’t himself, but also there’s something… queasy about the way it keeps him continually young, in a way. (Notably he still calls her ‘master’ even as an adult, when they’re working together. Not uncommon in Star Wars, of course, but together with everything else going on vibes-wise… hm.) The inherent unreliable narration of this story really worked for me in this regard especially — do we know that young Dooku was entirely wrong when he sensed the dark side in her? She certainly is willing to go to lengths that are… worrying! in her fascination with sith shit, she tempted children into a dangerous place they didn’t understand and couldn’t know the consequences of and she continually puts sifo-dyas in situations that are implied to be a risk to worsening his condition. Run of the mill incredibly irresponsible at best, sincerely sinister at worst. Did she choose Sifo over Dooku because he’s more vulnerable and shapeable? There is an undercurrent of something icky and emotionally incest-y going on with how she relates to Dooku and Sifo-Dyas in general (right down to the ‘NO, no one can know about this’ intensity after the… evil moss cave. I can’t believe I’m this emotional about a book with an evil moss cave). I don’t think she’s a proper sith in any way and I also believe there is real affection there on all sides, but idk something about the whole thing makes me deeply uneasy. Yoda where the fuck are you your son is out there with his irresponsible mom again they’re looking for dirty needles in haystacks and they’re not even wearing any gloves

- dooku telling sifo-dyas he can come back to haunt him if he likes as a joke… well well well I’m sure that doesn’t ring with some dramatic irony at some point down the line lmao

- honestly looking back at master and apprentice after reading jedi lost makes qui-gon's apparent lack of reaction to dooku leaving seem — let's call it highly suspect haha. rael asks him if he's spoken to dooku after and qui-gon is like 'no. why would I. it's literally fine. anyway this topic is done now'. (and rael seems to just go ‘*older brotherly knowing* uh-huh’) meanwhile he's thinking about dooku *all the time* trying to figure out his role as master to obi-wan, thinking about being a padawan himself, the parts of his life he shared with both dooku and rael. The jedi doth protest too much methinks  

ALSO how much of qui-gon thinking the council was too lenient with rael after he had to kill his padawan is about that actual situation, and how much is a ‘our family still likes my older brother more than me even though he Fucked Up so bad and breaks just as many rules as I do’ sort of deal mixed with his own neuroses about how he’s failing obi-wan (to which rael’s situation symbolizes the worst possible outcome, i.e. the kid dies and it’s basically your fault). Many thoughts. 

- moment of silence for jenza of house serenno. Girl your only sin was being surrounded by asshole male family members and I’m so sorry I think you did all you could with what you had to work with here.

Not… entirely sure how dooku’s claim to the title supersedes hers — is he a year older than her? (she’s eleven when they first meet, he might be twelve or older at that point I don’t remember haha) Does she just give up her place in the inheritance order? Are primogeniture and male heir preference factors in Serenno inheritance law? Not the most important thing honestly it works anyway thematically but could have been clarified quickly!

- interesting to see that the council’s restrictive policy against engaging with prophecies had a surprisingly big impact on how things went down. Kostana has a lot of responsibility in Sifo’s fate for insisting he keep it secret, but there is genuine fear for what might become of him if the rest of the order finds out he’s got 24/7 futurevision hovering over him threateningly… listen it’s not like the poor guy can help getting the future constantly pumped into his brain at nightmare resolutions, I think maybe if there had been more willingness to at least engage curiously with the concept of prophecy and how it works, even if you don’t put your faith in the particulars of what the prophecies say, this wouldn’t have had to be such a shitty isolated secretive life for him. hearing him slowly fall apart over the years considering how bright and lovely he started out... oof is all I can say 

- when dooku was a good jedi he was such a good jedi!!! The scene where they’re saving the kids from the collapsing hospital, every time he teaches his students anything…the impulse of someone has to do something about this! that made him so good at saving lives turning dark with the tarnish of frustration and rage over the years… nooooooooo problematic grandpa why did it have to be like this :(

- …do you think infant jedi can sense what’s going on around them in the Force. Because it makes a very sad kind of sense if dooku on some level remembers bodily or in the Force that he was not only abandoned but rejected in disgust as one of the first things he discovered in the world. Oh boy. With all the ways attachment relationships can go wonky in the first few years in real life I don’t even want to consider how much more wrong it can go when the baby is fucking psychic lol

- vaguely related: the way dooku seems to find the very idea of being truly reliant on anyone, emotionally or otherwise, personally offensive, terrifying and humiliating lol. Yoda saves him from being crushed by rubble and he is outraged because that means he can’t save himself (and his newfound sister) without anyone’s help like he thought for one glorious moment he could. The fantasy of perfect emotional self-sufficiency, doing away with all the messiness and risk of interpersonal relationships and cutting off the possibility of really being abandoned again. It’ll get ya every time. This is also a thing you see reflected in his lineage — they’re all quite inward-turning that way until you get to anakin, to different extents and with varying presentations but it is there I think. Qui-Gon turns to the Force, Obi-Wan to perfectionism and shame and rumination, Rael to the bottle and depression and hedonistic apathy, but they all struggle hugely with letting anyone in to help them. Dooku’s line are all much more comfortable being the helpers rather than the helpees, as it were.  

- “Thank you for everything, Lene. Tell Rael and Qui-Gon — tell them… tell them the Force will be with them, always”

Emotional terrorism against me specifically and personally. You asshole you just excused yourself from the non-attachment rules there’s literally nothing in the world except you to stop you from reaching out and telling your children you love them yOURSELF why are you like this

- the recurring theme of dooku seeing something beautiful (the tree in the temple, the tirra’taka as a child and an adult) and ending up lashing out to destroy it… but the tree was old and mighty and he was young and new and couldn’t truly harm it, so he was saved from his own impulsivity. And then when he sees the tirra’taka as an adult he loves it immediately. And in the end he still mangles and destroys it. He didn’t mean to, but he did. He woke it up and hurt it just by existing as a child and then he had to kill it as a mercy because he was too powerful at that point for anything to buffer his mistakes. The parallel with the bird he loved that he also couldn’t protect. He starts out with an aching loneliness somewhere at the core of him through no real fault of his own but by the end it is entirely his own fault that it’s worse, because he starts wrecking everything he loves in an almost absent-minded but definitely intentional way, like it’s a nightmare he’s listening to through the door as it happens in the next room over. He really IS the ‘I just felt like destroying something beautiful’ central of the jedi.

at the end qui-gon is dead and through dooku’s own influence, however indirectly. Rael has had to turn away from him. Sifo-Dyas is dead on Dooku’s own orders and so is his sister, he might as well have done it with his own hands. (though I think it’s very interesting that in each case he didn’t do it with his own hands, he consistently uses a middleman.) He lives within the coldness of his sterile empty castle and horrifically mistreats the one person he might have found something like connection with the way he did with his students before (Ventress), deliberately trapping her in a similar state of utter desolate isolation and telling her, essentially, ‘We’re like this as people and nothing can be done to change it. We can’t escape, we’re already doomed, stop trying, it’s too late. You are just like me (and if you aren't already I'll make you like me)’. And that’s the closest thing he gets to love anymore. When he accused Ky of using her ‘as a salve for his own loneliness’ and you’re like well well well mr projection man how’s that working out for you. He is completely, shatteringly alone and he is so entirely as a consequence of his own actions and he's too far gone to understand or care. I’m howling you useless fucking FOOL dooku  

- dooku 🤝 john gaius

“Hm. I have observed that there are in fact many flaws in our society and the government is deeply corrupt. So if I kill a few billion people here and there in order to fix it, is that not basically okay when you really think about it” 

Dooku making salient points about the political and ethical failures of the Republic and then, just when you think he’s onto something, he goes and makes The wildest fucking decisions about what to do about it. Sure. dark magic and genocide are probably the only ways out of this you’re so right bro. If we make enough minuses to add together surely we’ll end up in plus sooner or later

- *head in my hands once more* I can’t believe I am genuinely emotionally invested in someone called Count Dooku with the looks of a knockoff dracula and ultimate moral character to match right now this is terrible. hey. hey dooks. what you have to go and fuck everything up so bad for huh I’m so incredibly sad now

there is something to be said about how getting to see glimpses of what dooku looked like in the light makes it so much more heartwrenching that he never came back. he could have, a thousand times. and every time he chose not to.

[shootingstarpilot]

2, 5, 20 for the ask game🥰🥰🥰

Eyyyy thank you anon!!

2. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Honestly? Jango Fett, and the Mandalorians as a whole.

I didn't have much of an opinion of Jango when I started, except admiring how neatly Mace decapitated him. I don't have much exposure to Legends, either, so I was relying almost entirely on Lucas's canon. Now, though- with Jango Fett being portrayed as a wonderful father and this warring culture being held up as the one that takes in all the poor :( orphaned :( children (hey who made those orphans I wonder), this one that puts such a good and pure emphasis on family- and always being held up as superior to the Jedi- I simply cannot stand them.

I tend to steer clear of fics that have Jango and/or put a lot of emphasis on how amazing Mandalorian culture is. No thank you. I'm a cripple. I have no patience for fetishizing a culture where your worth is entirely determined by how well you can fight.

5. Worst blorboficiation?

Anakin fucking Skywalker.

He's a fascinating character! Absolutely he is! But, notably, he also slaughtered thousands of innocent sentients, was entirely responsible for one massacre and played a key role in another genocide- (I think Palps would've unleashed Order 66 with or without Anakin by his side, but that doesn't change the fact that Anakin willingly helped him.) Reducing him to a wee babe who was stripped of all agency and was merely buffeted by the winds of fate - simply tripping into committing genocide - makes him so much less interesting. Let him have agency! Let him be a horrible murderous bastard! That makes the bits where he's not hit all the harder!

20. Could anyone have fixed Anakin?

No.

Other people have put it much better than I have- @gffa, @antianakin, and @david-talks-sw all come to mind- but... yeah. Not even Ahsoka, regardless of how much Certain People might like to think she could have. But only Anakin could've fixed Anakin- other people could've helped along the way, but he would have needed to choose that path for himself, and he... didn't.

It was there for him. But he chose not to. And that makes his story all the more tragic- that he had every opportunity to choose differently, and instead fucked himself over, again and again and again.

The Choose Violence ask game

[ireallyamabear]

Ok im caving in... what the fuck is peedy and why do you ship it?

Peedy is the only het ship i like. peedy is the horrible love story of Eedy Karn (worst mother in Star Wars according to her son Syril) and Emperor Paplatone Palpatine. peedy is actually the old people also have desires representation we need (? not sure on that one). the introduction of eedy karn into the sw universe and the implication she and Palps were a thing maybe since he was a senator is so funny to me. The implication is NOT textual evidence or anything, it's actually just a stupid discord joke. but to me, that's the way star wars is supposed to be consumed

[drafthorsemath]

The Empire is a Cult

I’ve wanted to write about this for awhile and I guess The Bad Batch kicked that feeling into high gear. I started writing and kept going, so the grammar is probably not great.

Some context: I was raised in a cult.  I started the process of questioning and leaving in my mid to late twenties.  It took me four years of being a POMI (Physically Out of the cult, Mentally In) to really take the last step of leaving it behind me and becoming a POMO.  Since then I have learned a lot about cults and what happens to someone under undue influence. 

TW: mentions of a cult, physical abuse, mental abuse, death, undue influence

The Empire is a cult.  Whether we look at the BITE Model developed by Dr. Steve Hassan (https://freedomofmind.com/cult-mind-control/bite-model/) or the definition given by Dr. Janja Lalich (https://janjalalich.com/blog/definition-and-explanation-of-the-word-cult/), the Empire fits the definition. There is a charismatic leader who makes demands on their followers so that the followers must do as they are told or be expelled from the group.  In the case of the Empire that usually means death (all those Jedi that were killed under false pretenses, for instance) or indefinite servitude (Andor anyone?).  Cults control the behavior of members, the information they have access to, they make demands on the kind of thoughts members should have, and they make demands on the emotions that should be felt.  Cult leaders view their followers as resources to be depleted.  They often look for ways to point out imperfections (real or not) in their followers.  Anything that goes right is thanks to the glorious leader and anything that goes wrong, any bad feelings you have, that is all on your weakness as a follower.

And let’s get one thing straight.  Born in or not, no one joins a cult.  We might use this terminology, but really cults recruit people using lies, manipulation, and sometimes love-bombing.

The leader uses manipulation to get what they want, but they do not start out with the highest demands.  They work their way up to those demands.  For instance, Palpatine did not ask Anakin to murder the Jedi and join him immediately.  He spent a decade whispering doubts at Anakin, pretending to take him into his confidence so that Anakin would feel special, and built up trust.  At the end of Revenge of the Sith we see Anakin on his knees crying and saying he’ll do whatever Palp wants as long as he can help him save Padme.  This is a classic example of bounded choice.  A bounded choice is one that is made using only the information the person manipulating you wants you to know (part of information control).  Anakin believed the only way to save his wife was with Palpatine, and while we know that’s not true, Anakin’s choices are muddled with this undue influence.  Anakin makes his choice because he sees no other way.  Because, surprise, he’s in a cult now and Palpatine has constructed it this way.   Once he takes those first steps to turn to the dark side, he’s really in it now, so like most cult members (particularly those given leadership positions) he digs his heels in for years.

Often people like things to be black and white and that’s part of the appeal of cults actually!  They offer answers and it ends up being very us versus them.  Anakin isn’t totally evil or else he couldn’t be redeemed.  There is still good in him.  Yes, Anakin made a choice to join Sidious, but that choice was the result of manipulation.  It’s not cut and dry.  It was awful and lots of people died and the entire galaxy changed for the absolute worst, but ultimately Sidious was using Anakin just as he used anyone else he could.  (I’m not saying this totally absolves Anakin.  I’m just saying it’s complicated.)

Speaking of using people, let’s talk about the clones.  These precious individuals were created so that one man could start a war and he used them as if they were trash to be thrown out once they served their purpose. (Truly, I hate that guy.)  Literally created with chips in their head to control them and cause Order 66, The Bad Batch has given us a chance to see what they’re like when the chips are partially effective and then what the clones have to face when the chip comes out and they have to make a choice.  Obviously I’m thinking about Crosshair.  At this point (Season 2, Episode 5 has aired) we know that he believes his chip has been removed but we don’t know for sure if it has.  Did something happen after Bracca but before Ryloth?  Anyway, we know Crosshair’s chip was turned up to 11 in the beginning of Season 1 and then he goes after his brothers.  Even if his chip is removed at this point, he’s still stuck in the Empire and surrounded by that culty influence.  Even without a mind control chip, that does things to the human brain.

While Wrecker does eventually have to deal with his chip activating, his chip is removed in short order and the whole time he was surrounded by his brothers and sister.  It’s important to note that Crosshair spends relatively little time around his siblings after his chip activates on Kallar and from then on, he’s surrounded by the Empire.  Cults always, always, always separate their members from non-members.  They make you feel important while simultaneously giving zero shits about you.  The only thing the cult cares about is what you can do for them.  They will bleed you dry.  Literally the top leader of a cult will let the lower-level leaders do whatever they want as long as the cult isn’t imploding and the leader is thriving.  Shaming, punishments, physical violence, whatever, are all used by cults to various degrees to keep members in line while telling these same members that this abuse will make them stronger, is for the good of the group and, in many cases, ultimately good for mankind.  The Empire is no different.  Crosshair is initially surrounded by a bunch of clones saying yes to everything told to them, he’s immediately put in charge post Order 66 so feels he has some special status, and he doesn’t have anyone around him really disagreeing.  He’s later spending way too much time with Rampart who is a classic low-level cult leader and a shitty influence.  By the end of Season 1, we see Crosshair back with his siblings, trying to send Omega off world for her own good while trying to recruit his brothers.  Despite the Empire’s best efforts, Crosshair still cares about his family.  This is really the first time he gets to talk to his siblings for any real length of time since his chip was activated.  I am 0% surprised that he did not follow them off that platform after Tipoca City was destroyed.  He has his doubts about the Empire and he’s torn, but it’s still not enough to counter the undue influence he’s endured since Order 66.  Remember, he’s been saturated in the Empire’s messages and it’s hard to undo that quickly.

Hey this kind of thing happens to cult members a lot.  You make contact with someone outside the cult, someone you love and who cares about you and they can be the most open, kind, awesome, loving person toward you, and it’s still hard for you to take that step and walk away from the cult in that moment.  Most of us have to be able to sit with that knowledge for awhile.  In my case, I had spent the first 25 years of my life, that’s right, a quarter of a century, preparing for the end of the world.  We had a date, we knew the reasoning, we were certain, no questioning allowed, and then it didn’t happen.  And when it didn’t happen, I didn’t reach out to people outside the cult. I didn’t immediately wake up and drop all my beliefs because they were that engrained.  Cults can do this in relatively short order too.  You don’t have to spend 25 years in something to have those beliefs engrained.  According to cult expert Rachel Bernstein (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/opening-the-cult-vault-w-kacey/id1373939526?i=1000595229657) even during positive interactions and interventions, it often takes cult members time to process what’s happened, to start to question, and then eventually leave if they are going to.  Like a good cult member, Crosshair waits 32 rotations for the Empire instead of getting on the ship with his family.  (Granted, he didn’t know he’d have to wait that long.)  Upon his return he is not allowed to be in charge by Season 2 Episode 3 and this is also a culty tactic - the Empire is so incredibly culty - because they’re trying to make him prove his loyalty again for practically no reason.  They are putting him on the defense in the relationship.  The Empire (like any cult) and its leaders must always be right and those who serve must have their loyalty questioned at least once in a while to keep them on their toes.  

Then we see Cody make some really pointed statements to Crosshair.  Cody is out and it’s important for a quietly questioning Crosshair to see that.  And can’t this guy get some lunch? He’s not sleeping.  Look, I know what it’s like to be alone in a group that claims to have all the answers. A group that only offers power to certain members once it sucks them in and then fucks over everyone else trapped in the cult.  I know what it’s like to be in a group that surrounds you by people serving the same purpose, and yet feeling so empty and lonely that you want to sob on the daily and worse.  Oh but you don’t have the energy to sob because you aren’t sleeping or eating.  And then there’s the letdown of things not being what you thought they would be hopefully followed by the immense work of trying to get out and rebuild your life. It’s a process.  

I’ll say this though: I am rooting for Crosshair.  I am cheering for him to have the courage to leave the Empire and reunite with his family.  Because it takes courage.  There is still good in Crosshair.  He still tries to protect his family in his own way.  He’s lost in a maze of lies, but that doesn’t mean he can’t come back.

[commanderfoxdeservesbetter]

I’m Done Running part 1

It was supposed to be easy.

Fox’s eyes glance to Cody’s, feeling as though it was miles between them when it was just a couple feet.

He was just across the room.

His Ori’vod is just across the room…and he can’t help Fox.

Fox’s breath hitches when the heat of the lightsaber gets closer to his throat. He doesn’t dare swallow the saliva that’s pooling in his mouth, afraid that even the slightest gulp will cause him to touch the weapon held against him.

His heart speeds up when the other Jedi in the room power down their sabers in contrast to his batch who still have their blasters aimed at the newly turned Sith.

Obi-Wan raises his hand up, speaking in a soft tone. “Let him go, Anakin.”

The pressure on his heart hurts, the squeezing phantom pain and Fox grits his teeth as he feels the hate pour from Anakin to him through the unconsented bond Palps forced on them both.

A tear drips from his eye, trailing down his cheek and why didn’t his batch see? Why couldn’t they see him in pain and in the dark and why couldn’t they see the signs of Palps sooner and that he was being manipulated - Fox did everything he was asked to. He followed orders and look where that got him.

Anakin pulls him closer, the blue blade dangerously close to Fox’s face.

Cody aims straight at Anakin and Fox knows if the word was given, Anakin would be dead in less than a second.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says, pain and grief and disbelief on his face. “He isn’t a threat. Palpatine is dead.”

The mastermind behind the war - the one who created Fox for no reason other than to use him for his new Empire - the reason Fox could barely remember his time during his job due to blackouts - Anakin’s mentor - the one whom Anakin trusted since he was a youngling, who was supposed to guide him and help him and and be his friend and not betray him!!

He lies dead on the floor, his desk hiding his decapitated head from sight. He stood no chance against the Chosen One on a mission.

Fox was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and as Commander, it is his job to protect the Chancellor but that was the worst thing he could have done and now they’re bonded.

Whatever Palps did before he died got Anakin and him intertwined and Fox never knew what it was like to feel so much and it’s intense and overwhelming and completely differs from his locked up emotions.

Is it healthy? Probably not but he can barely talk about healthy emotives.

“He’s not your enemy, General,” Rex says, his hand steady despite his clear unsureness of the situation.

Fox wonders if Anakin would listen, if he can even hear past the anger that he feels so intensely.

Anakin lowers his head, his hair brushing against Fox’ neck and he whispers so softly it almost takes away the cruel statement. “You don’t deserve to live.”

Fox knows the truth behind that statement. How often has he told himself that? From the nights he filled out recon and decom forms to the missions he partook in that costed innocent lives to the orders he obeyed? There wasn’t a second after the first year into the war that he didn’t believe that to be true.

It was a constant mantra in head and to hear it spoken out loud steals his breath.

Because he doesn’t want to die.

He doesn’t deserve to live but he doesn’t want to die and how selfish is that?

But Fox has never been one to go down without a fight and if Anakin is pulling the trigger, Fox is damned if he goes out alone.

“Neither do you,” and Fox takes a step back, forcing Anakin to follow. The saber burns on his skin and Cody’s hand twitch ever so slightly and Anakin’s confusion paves a way for Fox to do the unexpected.

The window was broken from the fight, and maybe it was arrogance that had Anakin standing near the edge. Either that or ignorance but Fox won’t give Anakin the chance to analyze that.

He puts all his body weight against the Sith and lets his feet step back and tip them over the edge.

It’s risky and stupid and terrifying and Fox has no time to second guess his decision before they both go free falling.

[phantomchick]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

Naruto

Hear the silence by EmptySurface the self insert fic that got me to start giving other SI fic a chance, continues to be great

the name of the game by a_sassin Follows the story of a civilian shogi player in the Naruto world and all the shinobi trouble she gets dragged into.

If You Give Me A Sword by TakaGang Ichigo (from Bleach) is the firstborn of the Uchiha mainhouse and Itachi is relegated to middle child.

Senju Of Wave by TheBeardedOne Naruto raised by Tsunade au

With Friends Like These by RecklessWriter sasuke time travel fix it

BNHA (can't believe the manga's ending in 5 chapters? Time flies)

The Democratic Republic of One for All by featherlessquill (CinnamonScribbles) All Might tells Izuku he can't be a hero, the echoes of One For All vote and decide they think he can and give Izuku the quirk

Harry Potter (disclaimer: I'm not a terf/transphobe fuck jkr)

Encounters of the Future Sort by CalmlyErratic The fifth marauders + Lily and Snape travel forward in time to Harry's fifth year. Chaos and angst ensues.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Snake by gonzoclock James and Lily baby trap Voldemort without his knowledge, Harry is Lily and Tom's bio son.

Fascist ideology in the Harry Potter Fandom. [Or, for real everyone, we are in the middle of a global rise in fascism please *think* about the things you're reading and the ideas they're platforming.] by skeli666 excellent meta is excellent

Star Wars

Biting His Own Tale by ADragonsFriend Anakin time travels, this does not make stopping Palpatine's plans magically simpler. Cathartic for those who wanted Darth Vader to actually do the work to atone after Luke redeemed him and for those who find prequel fix its unrealistically easy with just knowledge of Palp's identity/the clone chips sometimes.

Batman

Wings over Gotham by icarus_chained platonic abo my beloved, divergent from no man's land on, one of my favourite series

straight back by TheResurrectionist That oliver gets mad at batman on his friend bruce wayne's behalf fic. If you follow my tumblr you've already seen me reccing this but still can't leave it out

let the light in by TheResurrectionist that other great platonic ollie & bruce fic

Chronicles of Narnia the seas of all i knew by softtooth_jpeg edmund/caspian, I love the way this fic goes into Edmund's psychology and why he acts the way he does at the start of the lion, the witch and the wardrobe, top tier writing

Four Thrones by shinealightonme A short but great fic that shows the Pevensie's transition from the end of the lion, the witch and the wardrobe to kings and queens.

A:TLA

Waiting on that morning sun by DustOnDaydreams

“To the Generals, Admirals, Officers, Soldiers and Sailors of the Fire Nation, Halt your advance. Pull back to your nearest military stronghold, and await further orders. Do not engage any forces unless absolutely necessary for your own defence. Put out any fires you come across. Sign it only with the full list of the Fire Lord's titles." “Your Majesty, do you not want to put your name to the missive?” A young pimpled scribe squeaked out to the shocked silence. “No. I want them to obey the order.” Or Zuko's transition from child soldier to young monarch in charge of a corrupted nation

MARVEL

(Un)Fortunate Circumstances by lomku au where Tony and Steve meet differently

Or how Steve wakes up from the ice in the SHIELD facility, runs into Tony, and kind of kidnaps him in his bid for freedom.

Even the Score by Sineala for phoenixmetaphor stony oneshot, Tony high in the hospital panics and attacks Steve. Super good.

Sucker Punch by Sineala Angst. Angst. Angst. Oneshot. Steve never quite warms to Tony Stark, Avengers benefactor. The Molecule Man never strips Iron Man out of his armor. Life goes on for the Avengers, but as disagreements split the team -- and Shellhead and Winghead -- again and again, Steve wonders why Iron Man always picks Tony over him. And when Steve finds out, it happens in the worst way possible. Captain America was a good man by ElnaK inspired by Sineala's work this is Tony's side of the fic, "Sucker Punch". IT'S SO GOOD BUT PREPARE FOR ANGST.

yugioh

Legally Insane by Xparrot continues to be my fave yugioh fic

Percy Jackson

ATLOP: Trial by Fire by WardofWinters (QoLife)

Percy was having a normal day at the beach, until he decided to try to waterbend like Katara from his favorite show.

Nothing to make a song about but kings by iwillpassthis

It’s a fortune that Poseidon has a mortal son, because when an ancient curse hits his kingdom and all the sea gods disappear… well, someone must rule.

Original work

The Gift of Perfect Knowledge by BookmarkBookworm