#specter of the past

[holonetwork]

Specter of the Past by Drew Struzan

[emperorsfoot]

I really love how there is a niche in the older Star Wars fandom that basically is just “Timothy Zahn was the best writer for Star Wars and we’re gonna WILLFULLY disregard everything made by Disney”

[starplusfourletters]

I read specter of the past (hand of thrawn book 1)

This turned into a liveblog srry

Me, reading the Thrawn trilogy: Okay obvi Mara/Luke is a slow burn

Me, skipping to the duology set 10 years later: GUYS YOU’RE LOSING DAYLIGHT

Oh no they have a passive aggressive “may the Force be with you” / “good luck” thing oh no I might ship it

Also the small existential crisis that ensues every time I remember Luke is (checks Wookieepedia) THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS OLD. I cannot picture Luke Skywalker a day over 22 I think my brain would explode [actively represses the sequel trilogy]

This book is absolutely crawling with badass female smugglers and I’m living for it

Oooh proto-convor! [two pages later] OH NO PROTO-CONVOR DEATH ☹

Mara Jade, Force sensitive specializing in precognition, former Emperor’s Hand, second-in-command of the most powerful information dealing organization in the galaxy: Runs into a wall and spends the rest of the book knocked out

Lando “Could I Please Get Back to My Day Job It Has Been Two Decades” Calrissian. Just let the man mine in unlikely places it’s all he’s ever wanted

I got way too happy about the implication that the Imperial whose name I've forgotten figured out the tractor beam thing. He solved Science! Good for he!

Loving how everyone’s opinion on Karrde is basically “nice guy; sus that he insists on getting paid, though.” Like yes this is still a capitalist economy and he runs a business with a large number of employees

We interrupt your space fantasy to bring you a “Chicken Fried” music video with clone sleeper agents

Okay everybody place your bets is Car’das a secret brother, secret father, or ex-boyfriend (hype for some Karrde backstory and realizing the extent to which my brain has decided he and Kaz Brekker are the same person is Extensive)

Legit starting to feel sorry for Gilead “Sad Fascist Grandpa” Pellaeon. Somebody give this guy a peace treaty and a hug. Also more and more irked about No Prisoners why did that need a retcon

Really enjoyed the book’s interrogation of the premise “how do we actually make a galactic organization that includes cultures with mutually exclusive legal and ethical codes WITHOUT being fascist.” Felt very Trek. Actually went further toward radical inclusivity than Trek usually does; the Federation does have an element of “you must be this close to 20th-21st century American values to ride” which is its own kind of cultural imperialism and in this essay I will -

I simply cannot get enough of these books’ “protagonist stumbles, Kramer-like, into the Site of Maximal Galactic Importance Du Jour.” I will let you know when it stops being funny to me. Also really like how the villains are starting to learn to use it to their advantage; like yeah it DOES look like a conspiracy when you think about it

[doctorwenqing]

trying to explain any of wedge’s plotlines in timothy zahn’s legends books

[bornitereads]

Specter of the Past - Timothy Zahn

Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology Book 1

Read: Sep 2023

When I was in my first era of collecting Star Wars books I picked up the second book of this duology first. There was some context missing but I read it anyways. Now finally I have the first book and I dove in to get the missing context. Although it's really not like I remember anything from the second book anyways haha.

There are a lot of interwoven plots in here. Luke, Han & Leia, Lando, Shada, Disra & Tierce, Wedge, Mara, Pellaeon. Like a lot. They all form the story though. How Zahn had so many moving pieces in order I do not know, but he did. And it was great! I really like how the story was told from all these different POVs. I especially like Force Detective Luke, which becomes more relevant in next book, but I digress. It's hard to look at just this book with out considering its sister. The Hand of Thrawn is a story spanning both books very gracefully. And while I read the second and conclusion first it made more sense I think because it was the end. I wouldn't think the same about this one. All the set-up and no ending. They definitely need to be considered together. Not that I'm trying to say Specter of the Past is bad! It's good, but the story needs both it's halves.

Info: Bantam Spectra; 1998

[harveyscrinklytie]

:(

[thebramblewood]

The Full Moon Revelry wasn't as rowdy as promised, but it was still illuminating.

Beginning / Previous / Next

You can read more about Naomi and Micah's grandmother's sacrifice (and their mother's quest to revive her) here!

Naomi: It's not too late to turn around. I can already tell this thing will be full of freaks and weirdos.

Micah: No one forced you to join me, you know.

Olive: Spellcaster! Welcome!

Micah: Magic may run in the family, but I've never really called myself a-

Olive: Let us bask in each other's presence.

Micah: Oof. Um. Okay.

Naomi: Awfully touchy-feely for a stranger.

Olive: Your grandmother always spoke so highly of you both.

Naomi: [snorts] Yeah, right.

Micah: Wait, you know Grandma?

Olive: The dead and the living of Ravenwood owe her a great deal. If the Magic Realm had fallen all those years ago, the Netherworld would have shortly followed.

Naomi: Right. She sacrificed herself for the good of all Simkind, blah, blah, blah. You know what else runs in our family? Tall tales. Now, who the fuck is this ugly hunk of granite?

Olive: Why, naturally, that’s the Ancestor!

-

Ekade: Oh, yeah, I’ve got one of those cards. It’s yours for a small favor. Attend Afterlife Anonymous and report back to me. I’m doing a PhD on what makes ghosts choose to stay or leave. My working hypothesis: love.

-

Naomi: Can we go yet? This crowd is fucking lame.

Micah: We have to stay for the swim, at least.

Naomi: Oh, right, the exhibitionist parade. Yippee.

-

Naomi: Hellooooo! I thought we were all getting naked.

God, it’s freezing in there. Someone could have died!

Olive: Indeed. It’s rather a shame no one did.

Naomi: Lady, what’s wrong with you?

-

Micah: [softly] Another one of Alice's.

-

Micah: Naomi, wait! There's something buried here!

[dr-wormman]

waugh waugh waugh

[halflifebutawesome]

you used to be such a baby.

[alicenpai]

Baccano rewired my 14 year old brain fr (true story) 🍾🗽🚂💰🔫

i made a sticker sheet for one of my favourite animes ever, for anime north 2023 this month! One of the drawings I did for my first ever con was Baccano, so I wanted to pay tribute. It makes me overjoyed the fandom is alive and kicking in 2023. if you can’t get to AN and you want the sticker sheet, keep an eye out this summer for my online shop!!

A lot of the media I first experienced when I was a teen was so formative for me as an artist, Baccano was one of them - and I love inputting vintage aesthetics in my art whenever possible (unfortunately not possible half of the time). I've watched the anime many times, and I'm almost done the 1st book, unfortunately I learned theres 22 other books (DW voice: I can't read!!! 💔) Planning this sheet took a LOT of work - each individual sticker composition, trashing and reworking sketches, research and visual reference, drawing inspiration from the art nouveau and art deco periods, as well as film noir era posters. 

There were countless times where I regretted my choices and thought, "Oh man, why did I do this to myself?! I think I should have drawn chibis of the characters instead!!". Planning and drawing this took so long that I couldn’t envision it being complete for my deadline. But with the power of god and anime I pulled through. I'm quite happy I went with this more graphic design approach! I definitely want to try more graphic design stuff in the future, it’s a lot of fun 🤔🤔

I ended up with a completely NEW pinterest board of 125 art deco related pins over the course of drawing this... help

the flames in the “The Grand Panacea” poster were inspired by these two posters

[brekitten]

The Therapist

There's a new therapist at school.

Normally this wouldn't really bother Peter at all, since he's never gone to see a shrink in his life and doesn't ever plan on it, but there's something... off about this woman.

She seems unassuming enough at first glance. Red hair, green eyes, bright red lipstick. But there is something in her eyes, something that Peter can only describe as a predator looking at its next prey, when she looks around the school at all of the teenagers milling about. Heck, even the way she walks makes her seem as if she is a predator stalking her prey.

It could always be some kind of power move, Peter reasons. He's met people like that before, who try to intimidate everyone around them into thinking that they are superior, that they are the apex predator and anyone who dares to cross them would pay for it dearly.

But his Spidey Sense went crazy around her.

He tries to brush it off as paranoia. He'd pulled an all-nighter last night in the lab with Tony because neither of them had been able to sleep, and he hadn't been sleeping well even before that. (Funny, how it had all started the night after he first bumped into the new therapist in the halls.) So his Spidey Sense is probably out of wack because he's tired. Simple as that.

But it seems like everyone in the school is depressed. Even Ned, who can't even muster up the energy and enthusiasm to talk about Legos or Star Wars or even the weather. It worries Peter.

Because it all started when that therapist came to the school.

He can't ignore it forever, he knows that. There is only so long his Spidey Sense can tell him that she is danger danger danger before he finally listens. He has to do something to help everyone.

So he researches.

And he falls into the rabbit hole of ghosts and ectoplasm and secret government organizations and the little, unassuming town of Amity Park, Illinois.

He doesn't sleep that night.

When he comes to school the next morning, Dr. Penelope Spectra looks him dead in the eyes, and smiles.

[blackashbluephoenix]

I just realized that if you're watching Suits for the first time on a streaming service you may not be aware of the webisodes.

So here is a masterlist of the first set with working links.

Class Action: Day 1 Kicking the Bucket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2J0MAl5S-Q&list=PL7vxz9gFg3p9RHx0Z-xAthuTKhdvBcm-N&index=1

Class Action Day 2 Donna and the Case of the Missing Button

Class Action Day 3 Quote Unquote

Class Action Day 4 Rules of Football

Class Action Day 5 : As If

Class Action Day 6: Office Politics

Class Action Day 7: The Better man

Class Action Day 8 El Matador de Amor

Class Action Day 9 Please Hold For Mr. Litt

Class Action Day 10: Waiting for MJ

[figures4fun]

Probably too obscure of a reference, but this scene in Vision of the Future was all that 10 year old me was waiting for

[neoyi-backstreetback]

First pic: Finally got brave enough to do some full colored sketches of Past Resh'an and Aephorul. Not sure how set in stone I am with these, but getting there.

Second pic: Concepts for the next comic I wanna make whenever I don't feel lethargic and exhausted from being Fucking Sick. It involves Specter Grim Reaper Man taking Resh'an on a field trip, a lot of souls, and Resh'an's cell phone.

[ambivalentmarvel]

not to a:tla post on main but is anyone else clocking that based on timelines iroh absolutely could’ve served tea to people whose lives he fucking destroyed during the siege. especially when he and zuko were living in the outer rings. like there’s no war in ba sing se but the city accepts refugees en masse. it almost definitely accepts veterans as long as they keep their mouths shut. the kindly old man serving you your tea commanded the troops that killed your brother. father. son. you got discharged for a burn during the siege and it hurts every day to walk and the guy in charge of the entire thing is teaching his nephew what a customer service voice is and asking you if you want ginseng or oolong and you have no fucking clue. can anyone hear me.

[swtechspecs]

Empire of the Hand Nssis-Class Clawcraft

Source: The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Del Rey, 2003)