#their council had a lot of problems but i still miss the order as a whole

[fandoms-are-my-friends-1321]

Drownin' in Poison

I am finally getting around to starting (and hopefully completing) this fic idea! I'm not really sure if it will go anywhere, but I am still really excited to make this idea a reality. I hope everyone enjoys it! This is based on the song Poison from Hazbin Hotel, and the story takes place after Vegeta comes back from Earth. Gifs are not mine!

Summary: Vegeta is informed by Frieza that he needs to relax more, and what better way to do so then with entertainment from one of Frieza's personal performers. Vegeta is reluctant but cannot say no, and he is mortified to see that the performer is a Saiyan like him. Will he choose to save them from their fate, or will he drown with them?

Warnings: sexual and suggestive comments from Frieza and his men, racist comments from Frieza, nonconsensual physical contact and choking, cursing, reader is wearing revealing clothing, mentions of injuries during a flashback, if I miss anything please let me know!!!

Vegeta was pissed. No, that was an understatement; he was absolutely infuriated. Vegeta had been working under Frieza's tyrannical fist for a long time now, so why in the hell would he interrupt a training session for a "lovely chat" as it was phrased by Frieza's dispatched henchman. Oh how he wished to see Frieza begging for his life as he made that wretched alien pay for his cockiness. Still, Vegeta was not a fool, and he knew that he would have to wait if he wanted to catch Frieza off guard.

Vegeta slammed the doors to Frieza's council room open, his lips raised in a snarl. "You've got a lot of nerve calling me in here while I was training, Frieza. I can not fulfill your orders properly if I become weaker than those you send me to destroy!"

Frieza, who was talking to Zarbon about the Frieza force's next mission, shooed the green-haired warrior away. Zarbon did not hesitate to follow his commander's wave, but not before shoulder checking Vegeta on his way out. The shove did not phase Vegeta as much as Zarbon wished. "Oh Vegeta, you know better than to use such a tone with me," Frieza quipped as he approached him, his pace smooth and calculated. "Even for a filthy monkey, you are quite strong, and I would not have kept you alive otherwise."

Vegeta's face was void of any emotions, and yet his eye slightly twitched at Frieza's remark despite hearing it quite often. "Why have you summoned me here, Frieza?"

Frieza's dark lips stretched into a wicked smile, his eyes glittering with joy and a hint of something else that Vegeta could have swore was eagerness, like a child who knew a secret but refused to reveal the whole truth. "I believe that you need a well-deserved break, Vegeta. You have done so much for my empire, and I want to repay you for your dedication to me."

Vegeta could feel his hair stand on end under his armor, his instincts flagging at Frieza's offer. If he still had his tail, Vegeta knew it would be puffed up and twitching with alarm. All Vegeta could do right now was clench his fist as he stood taller. "That is not necessary. You accepted me into your ranks when my planet was destroyed. That is repayment enough."

"But you need to loosen up is the problem. You are so uptight and it disgusts me. Luckily, you have earned an invitation to an exclusive party for the top elite." Frieza's chest rumbled with a high pitched giggle as his crimson eyes locked with Vegeta's. "I have no doubt that you will enjoy the show."

..............................................................................................................................

Vegeta pulled at the collar of his azure button up shirt as his dress shoes tapped on the metal floor. Frieza's servant left the shirt for him along with a suit jacket and dress pants the color of the onyx cosmos that he had explored for Frieza's conquests. The instructions to the club were tucked into the suit jacket, and based on the coordinates, the club was not meant to be found easily.

Curse Frieza and his damn orders, Vegeta thought as he realized just how uncomfortable and warm the outfit made him feel. His armor would have been perfectly fine to wear. Then again, Frieza must be hiding something if he wanted Vegeta to wear something that he felt was idiotic trash.

The hallway became darker and darker until the final curve led to two wooden doors guarded by none other than Zarbon and Dodoria, the magenta light from above almost creating halos above their heads. Vegeta scoffed as he stopped before them. "My, my, don't you two idiots make quite the pair. Are all the other qualified guards injured if Frieza had to resort to you?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow as the other two glared at him.

"Shut it, Vegeta," Dodoria barked. "You should feel honored to be stepping foot into this club. Where's your invitation?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Are you blind?! It's right here!" Vegeta shoved the piece of paper into Dodoria's chest, not even waiting for him to check it before shoving past the guards and entering the room. Vegeta could feel his breath catch in his throat at the sight of the room, his face flushing from anger and confusion. The whole club was decorated in white marble floors and purple wood stained walls, amethyst stones etched into the tables and the bar's counter top. Several of Frieza's top men were here, each one being served by various alien races that Frieza had conquered. It was the outfits that caught Vegeta off guard. Each worker had on tight outfits made from different styles and fabrics, but all of them were either a shade of purple or white to match Frieza.

To make matters worse, the tyrant in question had his own throne center stage to what Vegeta assumed was a performance area. The throne itself was a deep indigo with swirls of white stone dancing along the sides, and there were tables surrounding the throne for Frieza's favorite soldiers. Vegeta couldn't help but notice there was only one spot left.

"Ah there's the filthy monkey now~! We saved a special spot for you, Vegeta..." Frieza smirked as he swirled the wine in his glass cup, his dark fingernails tracing the edge as he took in Vegeta's rigid walk as he found his seat. "Not what you expected, hmm? I told you I would find a way to help you relax, and you better enjoy yourself. That is an order."

"Yes, Frieza." Vegeta mumbled as he took a few drinks from whatever the soldiers' had brought him. Damn rancid beer, Vegeta lamented to himself as he wiped his lips. Even with the loud music thumping throughout the club, Vegeta tried to address Frieza. "With all due respect, Frieza, I do not understand your motives for inviting me to this club. Places like this are not meant for high classes warriors like me."

Frieza laughed so hard that some of his wine spilled onto one of the soldiers below him, but he was too pleased with himself to notice. "You'll eat those words, Vegeta. I have a special guest that will make this place feel like home!"

Home? Now that made Vegeta nearly spit out his drink. What in the hell did he mean by home?

I'm not above a love to cash in

The music from the speakers faded until there was nothing but the eager energy from the crowd and a single lilac spotlight shining down onto the stage. An announcer stepped out onto the stage, a wide yet fake smile stretched across their face. "Good evening, everyone! Welcome to another show at the Violet Underground! Tonight, we have one of the club's top performers here for your entertainment. Without further ado, here is none other than Y/N!"

The person that stepped through the curtain and took the place of the announcer was clad in a tight purple outfit, a white heart decorating the opening near their chest and matching thigh high pearl boots that echoed through the room with each step they took. Their eyes and lips were expertly done up with purple and white makeup, making their dark eyes glimmer in the light despite the performer's discomfort with the makeup. It is true that they were beautiful, Vegeta could not deny that, but there was one part of their appearance that had Vegeta gripped with fear. It was their brown tail that swished as they walked that automatically revealed that this performer named Y/N was a Saiyan just like him. While Vegeta gritted his teeth and wondered how it was possible for another Saiyan to survive the desolation of their planet, Frieza's soldiers and the others in the crowd were already spewing flirtatious comments towards Y/N.

Another lover underneath those flashin' lights, Another one of those ruthless nights, yeah, yeah, yeah

As the tempo of the song started to pick up, Y/N's body moved to the rhythm with expert precision. Vegeta could not help but become mesmerized by the sway of their hips and tail, the way their Saiyan muscles flexed with each bend and step, but at the same time, Vegeta could still feel the anger building in the pit of his stomach. Vegeta could barely hear his own thoughts over the loud music and shouts from the crowd. How the hell did a powerful Saiyan warrior become a performer for such a beastly crowd?

I shoulda guessed that this would happen

Y/N was wondering the same thing. They did not ever see themselves performing in a skin tight outfit in front of soldiers that would storm the stage if not for Frieza keeping them at bay. This was not the job that they were promised. Before every performance as Y/N put on the outfit that matched Frieza's colors, the memories of their first meeting always flashed through their mind.

"You must be the filthy monkey that my men captured trying to flee from the rest. Still, you do appear to be quite strong."

Y/N kneeled before Frieza, who was lounging in his throne as the tip of his tail flicked lazily side to side. They were bloody and beaten, the cuffs digging into their wrists, and yet they couldn't help the growl that escaped from their throat. "When I get out of these cuffs, I will kill you myself! Just like the weaklings before me!"

Frieza tilted his head as he smiled and let out a sinister laugh. "My, my, you are quite a feisty one. My men have told me about the fight that you put up, and I believe that you would be the ideal candidate for a new fighting squad I'm creating."

Y/N's face relaxed slightly at the comment, but they remained hesitant at first. "What is this fighting squad you speak of?"

I shoulda known it when I looked in your red-hot eyes, Spewin' all your red-hot lies, yeah, yeah, yeah

"It's called D.A.N.C.E., and only the strongest warriors have learned to master it." Frieza had to take a sip of his wine to keep from laughing at his own deviousness. He knew that the younger Saiyans would always pounce at the chance to fight without knowing all the details, but to fall for something like this was astoundingly foolish. He slowly rose from his seat and walked to stand inches in front of Y/N. He bent at the waist so he could stare down at them. "So, do we have a deal, Monkey?"

What's the worst part of this hell? I can only blame myself

Not knowing any better, Y/N had eagerly accepted the deal that would allow them to keep fighting, and more importantly to keep living long enough to kill Frieza and make him pay for what he has done. Their eagerness and lack of questioning led them to here, where D.A.N.C.E. meant dancing for soldiers and doing whatever it took to keep them and Frieza entertained. At first the news made Y/N sick, and yet they knew that if they did not perform they would be killed, and so they did whatever Frieza ordered.

Vegeta let his eyes flicker over to Frieza who was sitting beside him, trying his best to not launch himself out of his seat and punch the pale alien in the jaw. He could tell that Frieza was enjoying the performance, despite his hatred towards the Saiyan race. Frieza's tail swayed back and forth in the same pattern as Y/N's hips, his blood-colored eyes appearing darker as he took in their figure. Vegeta even caught him liking his lips as he took another sip of his wine. The other soldiers were no better as they shouted and whistled, some of them even shifting in their seats as they resisted the urge to move and disobey Frieza. Y/N knew all of this was happening, and yet they appeared unbothered by it all. In fact, they were somehow relishing in the behaviors around them.

'Cause I know you're poison, You're feeding me poison

Addicted to this feelin', I can't help but swallow, Up your Poison, I made my choice, and

Y/N had accepted their mistake long ago, otherwise it would have torn their spirit apart. The only way to win this game was to play the role that was expected of them, or what Frieza expected from them. Whether that meant flirting with the Lord or his underlings, practicing new performances and moves until their muscles ached, or wearing these awful outfits that made their skin crawl: all of it worked as steps towards ending Frieza's reign. Y/N realized that if this was going to work they had to pretend like they were enjoying themselves.

Every night I'm living like there's no tomorrow

The beat of the song dropped, and along with it Y/N's body dropped to the floor of the stage as they seductively crawled towards Frieza. Y/N could feel a shiver as the cold stage clawed at their skin, but this new move was worth it as Frieza's eyes widened along with his smile, his tail flicking faster in a more predatory way. Frieza had never done anything to Y/N, but they were not naive to ignore the strength and power he had. All it would take is one word and they would be done for. As the soldiers became more rowdy and vulgar, Y/N tried to focus on only Lord Frieza, knowing that he would enjoy the attention. How could they have been diminished to such humiliation?

Frieza leaned over to speak to Vegeta, his voice reaching a higher pitch so he could be heard over the song. "Even though they may be a monkey like you, Vegeta, I would not hesitate to take them in this room right here and now. No one would stop me, either."

Oh-Oh, Oh-Oh, Anyway you want me, baby, That's the way you got me

I'll be yours, My story's gonna end with me dead from your poison

Someone new caught Y/N's attention. They had never noticed this soldier at Frieza's club before, and he seemed like he was hating every second of this act. Y/N swiftly moved back to a standing position as they swished their hips and moved to the opposite side of the stage while the song moved on to the second verse. They were curious to get a better look at this new patron, and there was something else that drew Y/N to them. Why did that dark hair look so familiar?

Then it hit them. Y/N recognized the man as none other than Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans. Y/N thought that all of the royalty from Planet Vegeta were dead, or at least that is what Frieza had told them. Y/N could find themselves smiling at Vegeta instinctually as the happiness of finding familiarity in one's own people returned to them. Despite the smile, Vegeta could barely look at Y/N, and any time he did look it seemed laced with infuriation. Was he mad at them for ditching their Saiyan heritage and fighting spirit? That was far from the case, and Y/N could feel this man's anger seep into her own movements. Y/N leapt down from the stage and strutted with purpose across the room, thinking about ways to prove this arrogant prince wrong.

I got so good at bein' untrue, I got so good at tellin' you what you wanna hear

Y/N had never left the comfort of the stage before, and it became harder to ignore the comments that were being thrown her way. "Why don't you come over here, doll?", and "I bet that Saiyan stamina would be great in the bedroom" were just a few of the comments that Y/N heard. They pushed the comments away and made it their mission to catch Vegeta's attention.

I disassociate, disappear, yeah, yeah, yeah

The dark-haired man noticed Y/N approaching, and they made sure to swish their tail more obviously for him. He was handsome, and Y/N made a risky move by running their hand along his jaw as they passed him. Vegeta curled defensively into the other side of his seat, but he could feel the warmth creeping up his neck at the attention. Y/N could tell that he had him in the palm of their hand now, so they gracefully stepped up onto Vegeta's table and grabbed his drink from him. Y/N smirked as they drank what little bit of the alcohol was left, shocking Vegeta and spurring on the others at the table.

So far beyond difficult, To resist another gulp

Y/N felt the moves come more freely to them as they danced on the table and never broke eye contact with Vegeta. This was a move that could cost them their life, and Y/N could feel the daggers that Frieza was staring into them. Y/N did not dare to look at Frieza yet, and instead they twirled around and showed off their tail with pride. Vegeta, on the other hand, could only sit back and watch. He wanted nothing more than to leave, but that would mean committing treason against Frieza and risking both of their lives. How could a performer, someone who threw away their self-respect so quickly, cause Vegeta's heart to skip a beat?

Yeah I know it's poison, You're feedin' me poison

I'm chokin' from the taste and I can't help but swallow, Up your poison, I made my choice, and

Y/N decided to spare a glance towards Frieza, and while they could tell that he was pissed, he also seemed amused. Was he getting off on the fact that two Saiyans were before him, predicting that they may team up in the future to escape? Y/N felt that deep down they should play it safe and return to the stage, but they were sick of being confined to a fake performance that was not who they were. They were a warrior, and they were going to show it through their rebellion. Y/N grabbed another bottle from the table, not even stopping as they took a drink and maintained eye contact with Vegeta. They knew they shouldn't be drinking while performing, but at the same time, they stopped caring about the logistics after the first sip.

Every night I'm wasted like there's no tomorrow

Vegeta, upon realizing what Y/N was doing, made the choice to have a little fun of his own. If Frieza wanted him to loosen up, or lose his cool due to the Saiyan performing for him now, then he would follow the orders to a T. Vegeta smirked as he leaned back in his seat, resting his arms behind his head and playing into the role that Y/N wanted him to set. Y/N watched Vegeta closely, seeing what else he would do. Vegeta raised his hand and made a slow twirling motion, and Y/N eagerly followed the signal to spin for him as their purple suit shimmered in the stage lighting. For once in the entire time that Y/N had been stuck on this planet, they finally felt proud of the performance they were giving. It felt natural.

Oh-oh, oh-oh, anyway you want me, baby, That's the way you got me

I'll be yours, My story's gonna end with me dead from your poison

The song reached its final cord, and Y/N struck a lasting pose as they remained on the table. Soldiers and servers alike clapped for them, but it was Vegeta's claps that felt like the best praise. Y/N smiled at him, a genuine smile not stitched with forced flirtations, and their tail happily moved from side to side. Vegeta offered his hand to help Y/N down from the table, and just before Y/N could reach out to him, something jerked them off balance.

Frieza had wrapped his tail around Y/N's waist, the pearl colored appendage coiling around their body like a python ready to squeeze the life from it's prey. Frieza lifted Y/N up with ease as they gripped his tail for fear of being dropped. Vegeta shot out of his chair as it clashed to the floor, the other soldiers pulling out their weapons and pointing them at the new hostile target. Frieza placed Y/N in his lap, his tail moving higher up their chest to curve around their throat and giving a light squeeze. Vegeta could tell that Y/N was not comfortable with Frieza's advances, but if he moved, he would be killed without hesitation.

Poison, I'm drownin' in poison

I'm filling up my glass but it's always hollow

Frieza tilted his head to peer down at Vegeta, loving how angry he looked at the thought of him stealing one of his own. Frieza's eyes narrowed as he chuckled and tightened the grip of his tail, causing Y/N to let out a gasp. "Easy now, Vegeta. A monkey like you should remember his place, and this monkey belongs to me~," Frieza turned back toward Y/N and licked a stripe across their cheek, the contact causing Y/N's nose to crinkle in disgust as they jerked their head the other way.

"If they are your property, then why do you waste their potential?! Why not put their skills to a better use?" Vegeta shouting at Frieza in front of the others could have been a death sentence, but the twinge of a feeling deep in his gut told him to protect his own. Afterall, Y/N did have the build of the Saiyan warriors he used to train.

Frieza perked up at Vegeta's outburst. He let his tail relax as it unwove from Y/N's body, but he kept a strong hand placed tightly on their waist. Y/N winced at the contact and knew it would leave bruises the next day. "Well, Vegeta, what better use could they have than this?"

Full of poison, I'm sick of the poison

Vegeta relaxed at Frieza's willingness to listen, something that he did not do often. "Let me train them for you so they can become another warrior for your ranks," Vegeta offered. Frieza waved his hand, and the other soldiers lowered their guns. Vegeta took that as a sign to continue. "You lost a lot of great soldiers on the last mission, and I have no doubt that Y/N here could do the work of all those soldiers if not more under my guidance." Vegeta swallowed as he quickly glanced at Y/N, whose eyes were pleading to be set free.

Frieza shrugged. "The idea has potential, but we will speak more on this tomorrow. For now, have a few more drinks and enjoy yourself. You'll know my decision when we meet again."

Y/N's head hung low, their eyes watering as they tried to blink the false hope away. They looked up at Vegeta one last time as he went to leave, and the look in his eyes seemed more certain than their own. If Vegeta is as strong as Y/N remembered, maybe he could set them free, or they would both die by Frieza's hand.

Wish I had somethin' to live for tomorrow

[tennessoui]

If you don’t mind Miss Kit, here’s a little morning AU Pitch:

In a galaxy where the Padawans aren’t allowed to become a knight without the getting the explicit OK from their Master, Obi-Wan has reached the ripe age of 25, becoming the oldest Padawan in the Order after getting denied YET again by Qui-Gon to become a Knight. (Reasons can be he either really doesn’t think Obi-Wans ready or he’s still scarred about his last failed apprentice (Xanatos)) On the cusp of the Clone Wars, his Master dies, leaving him a Masterless AND still a Padawan. The Council has thought he was ready since he was 23(or whatever), but could do nothing since Qui-Gon said no.

However, there is a freshly knighted Anakin Skywalker walking around who is in desperate need of a friend/guidance/partner and whose Master also conveniently just died. With the War just about to kick off, and frankly having little to no options when it comes to people who want an adult Padawan, they decide that the two are perfect for another. r(also they have to actually TRY and see why Qui-Gon wouldn’t let him become knighted, and actually let someone bond to investigate)

Not only will they be able to help each other past their grief while also (hopefully) becoming friends, but it’s not like Skywalker will want a 25 yr old Padawan following him around like a puppy for long. He’ll probably graduate Obi-Wan before the end of the day. Three birds with one stone; they’ll get another knight, Skywalker will get a friend, and Obi-Wan can finally stop having nightmares of still being a Padawan at 40. It’s perfect.

The only problem is it’s Anakin. And he’s had a crush on Obi-Wan since he was 9yrs old. With the Clone Wars about to start, why would he ever want Obi-Wan anywhere but by his side? And besides, now Obi-Wan will HAVE to notice him now. Will have to do what he says, listen to his commands, always look at him first for permission, call him MASTER…yeah, there’s no way he’s letting THAT go anytime soon.

That’s it! Anyways, thought it was cool idea that I saw in twt. Could be fluffy, could be dead dove or just dark or anything really. Like how funny would it be that Obi-Wan here, who is not only older, but calmer, and more level headed, leads a negotiation only to turn around and say ‘what do you think Master?’ The power trip Anakin would get is god tier lol

It’s been eating a t my brain a while now, and I wanted to see what other people thought of it lol

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Oh this is an interesting take! A master who is younger and by a few years and already has that crush on padawan obi-wan—who is no doubt grieving his dead master and also nursing a hurt and anger that he hasn’t been knighted yet

love the idea of the Council being like yeah knight Skywalker has been doing a lot of unhinged things he probably won’t want an older padawan dragging him down so he’s gonna knight him soon and we can take care of this oversight by the books

and anakin is like this is my padawan and childhood crush and love of my life and his name is obi-wan and I am never gonna let him go thank you for legally binding us together 💛

[marvelstars]

I usually like to talk about star wars in general and I don´t like to demonize any character be it one of my faves or not but tbh some fan takes really make me mad, takes like:

"Ahsoka wasn´t being fair in her judgment of the Order"

I am like "The Jedi Council, Obi-Wan and Plo Koon included" sentenced her to face a military trial that most definitely was going to end in her execution.

Again, a 16 year old whose only support/family/people she knew in her life abandoned her to be executed by the goverment she fought for three years as a child soldier.

Sorry but considering this, any take she has on the Order, the obvious love she still has for Jedi´s ways, people and life but also the criticism is completely valid on her part and she should say it, in fact I believe she was quite calm in her reaction considering all of that.

Same with her warm dedication to Anakin´s memory as her "older brother" you know given he was the ONLY ONE who thought about getting her a lawyer and solve the mystery to keep her from being executed by their own government, he was her master and treated her like actual family and didn´t break his links with her after the Order expelled her on circunstancial evidence or thought she was wrong for leaving after all of that like Obi-Wan did.

There´s Jedi unreasonable hate and there is reasonable, based in the story criticism and this is part of it.

Another fandom take that really gets on my nerves is:

Anakin was a child problem for loving his Mom, his Mom was like a Jedi and understood she had to "let go of him"

I am like: Shmi was a literal slave whose only way to keep Anakin from sharing the same fate as her was to give him up to a bunch of strangers, Shmi didn´t know anything about the Jedi but knew being free was better for Anakin than being a slave.

Anakin loving his mother and missing her isn´t attachment, it´s normal for a 9 year old to miss his mother, he also had a right to be mad with the republic for allowing slavery out of convenience and with the Jedi for supporting the republic on this instance because it wasn´t jedi bussines.

"Anakin was an incompetent leader"

Anakin was one of the best Jedi leaders out there in the clone wars, that´s why He and Obi-Wan got the harder missions dealing with Grievous, who killed a lot of Jedi or Count Dooku who also killed Jedi.

He got the moniker "hero without fear" out of the sheer victories he got for the republic and the many planets he helped free from separatist attacks, he also established training for what would become the first cells of the rebel alliance.

He wasn´t just a competent leader, he was a brilliant general, recognized by his enemies and friends alike.

"The clones are not a slave army"

The Clones were purchased with republic credits by a Jedi Master, that makes both the Republic and the Jedi Order their owners, this is canon in Attack of the Clones and in the Clone wars.

They dont get a salary because they are merchandise, property of the republic and the Jedi Order.

The Jedi Order didn´t know about the purchase but the fact they didn´t say anything post fact about the clones being slaves doesn´t give them a good look as "peace keepers to the galaxy" they were more, in this instance, supporters of the status quo.

And no, nothing of this makes valid Order 66, the Jedi Order didn´t deserve to be anhiliated for all of this but the Jedi Order definitely were a flawed organization made up of people with virtues and flaws who unfortunately supported blindly a corrupt system. The Republic was the mother of the Empire after all.

I feel like sharing some of my problems with fandom takes, rant over :)

[misguidedasgardian]

I want to steal the bride (4)

4. The Tull between man and maid

MASTERLIST

Summary: Aemond’s mission of showing you he is the right man for you is in motion

Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x BestFriend!Reader

Warnings: cursing, use of “stereotypes”, I don’t want to say “eating disorder” but I do will say inaccurate methods of dieting, extreme dieting even, sex toys! haha, Aemond is a slut, might miss some warnings, but you know what this is about

Wordcount: 4,7 k

Notes: sorry, this is a mess, I tried from my computer, the doc would download so I send it to my phone… IDKsorry

Aemond’s face twisted in so many hilarious ways

You had asked him if you could drive Cregan to the airport, of course you went with him, so, now, he was sitting in the car, waiting for you to say your goodbyes to your fiance, who was straight up eating your face

“That's cool”, he mumbled, again, if a policeman would be close, he would have detained you both for indecency 

“What's he gonna do, eat her?”, he whispered, trying to look everywhere but them, but it was impossible 

“Come on, come on, come on”, he whined, gripping the wheel so tight his knuckles were white. You were eating eachtoher’s faces! how could you breathe?.

You were hugging Cregan against you tightly, you didn’t want to let go of him, I mean, you were going to see him again in a couple of days, but still

“Okay, take a breath, take a breath, take a…”, you finally separated from him, as you heard the last call for his flight 

“Thanks, Aemond”, you thanked him sweetly, looking back at him

“Yeah, have a... great flight”, he said to Cregan, he couldn’t wait until he had you all to himself again

“Bye. Thanks, mate”, he said shortly, to turn back to you and give you a last kiss and a light squeeze on your ass 

“Come on”, Aemond growled, where you into that? according to that weird smile on your face, oh you were!

  

“I love you, Cregan”

“Bye”, he whispered against your lips, “I love you”

  

“Bye”, you said sweetly, and finally let go of him

Aemond hated the way you all smiley and giddy get up in the car again  

“Oh, God”, you whispered, like a teenager in love 

“Need some ChapStick?”, he said, bored, passing the little stick, you grabbed it quickly and put it in your lips quickly 

“Yeah”

  

“So, what church are we going to?”

  

“The Great sept on Rhaenys’ hill”, you said with a wide smile 

You were so happy, you didn’t want to let go of him, you had such an amazing night! Cregan had come back to your apartment all happy, and… motivated… after he learns how to… dunk? whatever that was it certainly spurred him on, and you were thankful for that 

  

“Thank you for coming with me to meet the High Septon”, you said back, smiling at you best friend

“Oh, it's no problem”, said Aemond, happy to have you all to himself again

“He is the sweetest man”, you continued

“Yeah?”, he asked, asking you to continue your story

“Yeah, he married my parents and insisted on coming to Winterfell in order to do my wedding”, you told him excitedly, and he got to sneak a peek at your beautiful face, that always lit up when you spoke about your parents, specially your father

You told him the story as Aemond drove skillfully into town, and sooner that he’d hoped, you were both getting out of the car in the great septon’s parking lot

“Why didn't Cregan stay and do this with you?”, he asked, hoping to find a weak spot

“Well, it was more important for him to go back to Winterfell to petition the Grand Council, so Cregan and I could get married”, you told him with an excited smile

“I don't know, what's a Gran… What's that mean?”, he asked, seriously conflicted

“Well, I'm not Northerner, and his family is kind of, like, you know…”, you said with a excited smile on your face

“What…?”, he asked, stopping in his tracks

“Royalty”, you giggled like you were a little girl finally turning into a real princess

“Royalty?”, he asked, pale as paper, “what is he, like a king?”, he asked then

“No, no”, you dismissed, and he could breathe more freely, “he's a Lord”, you finished before getting inside the great sept through the side door, he only stood there, mouth wide open

“A Lord!?”, he asked to the heavens 

He quickly followed you inside to see you hiding the High Septon

  

“Ah, (Y/N), darling”, he said, hugging you tightly

“Septon Eustace”, you greeted with a smile on your face

“And this must be the lucky young man who's marrying our beautiful (Y/N)”, he said looking at Aemond

“Oh, no. I'm not marrying him”, you laguhed, and Aemond didn’t like how quickly you responded to that 

“No”, he whispered, nodding to the man, greeting him with a handshake

“This is Aemond, my maid of honor”, you introduced, the man now looked at him with an arched eyebrow

“Maid of honor?”, he asked, a sweet smile appearing on his face

“Yes”, he said, embarrassed of his tittle 

“Well, how about that?”, to aemond’s and your surprise, the man hugged Aemond tightly then, patting his back, “we have many gay and lesbian members of the congregation”, he said lovingly, “welcome”, Aemond heard you suffocate a giggle with your hand, and didn’t corrected him, and well, he didn’t bother to either

“Thank you”, he said faking a smile

Fool

“Thank you, Septon”, you said with a smile, as he invited both of you into his office in one of the wings of the HIgh Sept

“So, let's talk about the wedding”, he eased, as he sat down in a long, old, wooden table and chairs

“Okay”, yous aid excitedly

“I need to get some details about you and, uh…”

  

“Cregan”, you fulfilled dreamly

“Cregan. Cregan, yes”, he corrected with a easy smile, “I want to work it into the ceremony”

“Well, it was such a whirlwind, really…”, you said nervously, Aemond watched you closely, aching an eyebrow

“Yes, well, enlighten me”, encouraged the Septon, “tell me about him…”, and you didn’t know what to say! Aemond draw a smile on his face, yours feel blank instead

“(Y/N), darling?”, he called, wanting to laugh, you looked at him wide eyed, not knowing what to say, but he calmed himself, he couldn’t gloat yet

This was his opportunity to explode the fact that you didn’y know thi guy, that you were ruching into things with him… this is it!

 “(Y/N), I think it's important to dig deep here for the vows and tell Septon Eustace all that you know about Cregan”, he said softly, going over the table and squeezing your hand reassuringly, “all that you love about him”, he said simply, “not just the obvious stuff, but those unique characteristics that are Cregan”, he kept going, sinking the knife deeper, “those things that… make you laugh and say, "That's so Cregan.", he said with a “sweet” smile, but you didn’t see the melevolence in it 

“Right”, you drawled, still nervous, like you were being quizzed 

  

“And then, you know, maybe you could get some information from Cregan and emphasize their unique bond”, said Aemond looking at the Septon, “Their shared history”

“Of course”, conceded the old man

“We could talk about love at first sight”, you offered weakly

After all, that’s what you felt with Cregan

When he tapped ont he window of your car, and you saw him for the first time, you truly thought you were done for, it only took one look, to know this man was there to stay, that is how you felt, maybe it was childish, but that is how you felt, but somehow, you couldn’t say it aoutloud, you looked at Aemond next to you, holding your hand, he was being sweet and patient, he was trying, but you knew how much of a cinic he could be, and somehow, you didn’t want him to see this part of you.

Love Slut

He had called you

  

“Well, that's always a crowd pleaser, but…”, muttered the Septon not quite convinced, but then he smiled encouragingly at you, “(Y/N), elaborate”, he begged softly, “tell me more about him. How you feel about him”, he tried, “where did you meet?”

“In Winterfell”, you answered, sneaking a glance at Aemond 

  

“That Old valyrian church”, whispered aemond, loud enough for the bot of you to hear, yours and the Septon attention were drawn to him

“What?”, he asked

“Your first summer in King’s Landing!”, Aemond said, standing up from his seat, “you were dating a guy who worked on the Citadel and he asked you to move in with him��, he said, and you remembered perfectly what he was talking about

“And I wasn’t quite sure”, you completed

“Anyway, that was around the time they were doing excavations outside the city, and they discovered this old Valyrian church with old paintings in them, perfectly preservated…”, he said excitedly, “you discovered the artist that amde them and became obsessed with his painting of this woman, a high priestest, with fire…”, he then turned to the Septon,  “(Y/N) said "That painting captured the essence of that woman better than any photograph”, he finished

“I can't believe you came to remember that”, you whispered, amrvelled, you barely remembred it until now!”

“I also remember that she freaked because she said she felt more passionate about that painting than she did about Mr.... Citadel”, he said triumpahntly, “and she wondered if she ever could meet somebody that could make her feel as passionate as that work of art”, he said looking and smiling warmly at you, you smiled softly 

“That's good. That's good”, the High Septon cheered, writing it on his notepad, “The painting of Old Valyria”, he scribbled, “Now I know why you picked him to be maid of honor”, he said smiling at you, you only laughed nervously

Oh gods…

You couldn’t believe he remembered that! the way you felt, you even thought it was silly, and Aemond remembered it all! how insane was that? 

Could he be possibly leaving his inmature side of him behind him? could he be growing into a more sinsitive… more caring person? 

. . .

“Come on. Who's ready to lose some money tonight? Because I'm feeling lucky”, said Criston entering Aemond’s appartement, with Adamm in tow, but what he found there wasn’t the usual friday night setup…

  

“You guys are late”, chided Aemond entering the common space with a colorful basket on his hands

“How you doing?”, asked Aegon, standing by the diningroom table that wasn’t filled with booze, cards and chips, but with baskets, colorful tuls, bath sponges, candles, soaps and lotions instead. Aegon had a pink scarfed wrapped silly around his neck, and a cool pack for the eyes around his head

“How you holding up, champ?”, asked Addam, entering the room like the sight didn’t frighten him like it did Criston

“I'm stressed”, warned Aemond, greeting his friend with a short hug

“What the hell is this?”, Asked Criston looking around terrified

“(Y/N)'s shower's in the morning”, answered Aemond simply 

“Where we gonna play?”, asked the Dornish man

“We're not gonna play until these baskets get done and everything else never gets done”, said Aemond with a wide smile, putting white colored shred inside a basket

“Don’t worry, we have this party mix to get this party started”, said Aegon, grabing a handfull of colored pieces of a bowl and stuffing them in his mouth

“That's potpourri”, said Aemond shortly as Aegon spitted it out, being choked by the strong flavours and smells 

To Criston’s horror, Addam got by Aegon’s side and started to help out in all the marital shower’s crazyness 

They started to fill the baskets with white chredded paper, and then filled them with soaps, face masks, and other things. criston shook his head, going to the kitchen to find something to eat or drink while his friends kept working

I mean how hard could it be? if he was in Aemond’s palce he would have gone to your apartment and fucked you stupid to make you forget all about that other random guy, Aemond dancing around this was idiocy, even when he had his best guy working on getting dirt on Cregan. He was going to find a smoking gun, and then he was going to be the one to free his best friend from this madness. With a scotch in hand he went back to the diningroom in Aemond’s apartment, to see that his three friends even more into the basket making things

“Oh, this is perfect”, said Addam admiring his first basket he put together, ribbon and all

Aemond and Aegon laughed

“How did you make that ribbon look like that?”, asked the oldest brother as he twirled his around the tull that covered the basket 

“Come on Criston, join in!”, invited Addam when he saw his friend standing there looking like he just saw a ghost

 

“No, I'm not playing with baskets”, said Criston, “It's poker night”

“You put bayberries with serenity”, said Aemond, ignoring Criston and talking to Addam

“You don't like?”, he asked back

  

“No, it's interesting, I always thought it was obvious that bayberry worked best with harmony”, he answered

“Really? I've been putting Bayberry with Sothyros Sunrise”, chimmed Aegon

“That, I like. That's Zen”, admited Addam

“Yeah. You know what I like? I like how you put the bath ball in the center”, said Aegon talking to Aemond

“I like that so much, I'm gonna see your ball and raise you another ball”, continued Addam with bath bombs on his hands 

“It's a Good idea, you should definitely have two balls”, mocked Criston

“Hey, Criston, come and curl some ribbon!”, invited Aegon, thrilling with opened scissors and pink ribbon on his hand

“I can feel my sperm dying inside of me one at a time”, he said angrily

“Shut up and grab a basket!”, Addam throwed it at him playfully

“Come on, it's fun!”, cheered Aegon, Criston threw the basket back and Addam, and grabbed his jacket from the sofa

“I'm going to a strip club to eat some meat”, he said mockingly, “then I'm gonna get into a fight”, everyone laughed as they kept organizing baskets, “Call me when you find your balls, Aemond!”, he said as he was walking towards the doors

“All right, tough guy”, muttered Aemond 

“Or maybe they're in the basket next to the Sothyros Sunrise!”, he said loudly

“Someone's afraid of his feminine side!”, mocked Aegon. Criston flipped them off before he closed the doors behind him

“Look at that... Oh, nice job with the fluffing”, admired Aegon as he put his first basket together

“Look at that, huh?”, said Aegon proud of himself 

“If shedoesn’t fall for you Aemond after seeing this baskets, I don’t know”, assured Addam

Aemond only had one thing on his mind…

All this wedding madness

He found himself wanting it to be your wedding, yours and his….

The thought didn’t scare him anymore…

He didn’t only want to be with you… he wanted…, he took a long breath when he realised it

He wanted to marry you…

So with a smile, and keeping the knowledge to himself, he kept fixing baskets with the help of his friends next to him, that then help him decorate and set things in motion for you and your closest female friends and family, tomorrow

“Get her tiger”, said Addam hugging him as he was leaving late at night, “youa re doing to right thing, proving to her you are changed and want to be with her”

“i know, I only hope it works, if it doesn’t I’m only making things easy for her to marry another man”

“She loves you Aemond, remember that”, he said before lekaving, and Aemond smiled, convinced

You loved him…

He knew this, he just had to make you realise he loved you back, romantically

The love was already there, he just had to ignite it

And get rid of the other guy…

He got only a few hours to sleep before he had to get up and dress to his best, nice pressed shirt in a color he knew it make his featured glow even more, perfectly fitted pants, and black leather shoes, no tie, no jacket, but everything perfectly casual, his long silver hair stylled in a relaxed lose braid that fell over his shoulder, two first buttons of the shirt opened… a cologne he knew you adored… 

He’s got this

  

“Hello, ladies”, he greeted at the door as he opened the door in a calm and welcoming manner, he had to be the perfect host, “you look lovely today”, he complimented as your cousins giggled and entered the apartment after greeting him 

“Aemond”, he heard his name being called and turned with a smile on his face 

“Ah, Walda, how are you?”, he asked warmly

“Good. Everything looks wonderful”, she said sweetly, “this is the best shower I've been to”, she admired with an excited smile

“Really, you think so?”, he asked, excitedly, but your firend only wore a loopy smile on her face, and Aemond frowned worried, “you know what, Walda? You should really eat something”, he said softly, but she shook her head

“No. Aemond, I'm fine”, she assured him, “I'm fine. I'm okay”

“Theres carrots and celery on that table, please”, he begged, she only nodded and walked away from him, as you appeared by his side with a wide smile on your face

“What you ladies go through to fit into a dress”, he sighed, wondering if you ever felt like you didn’t feel as beautiful as you were, wondering if you ever put your health in jeopardy to fulfill men’s and society’s impossible beauty standards,, he really wished you haden’t, you were perfect as you were 

“This pretty much blows your rule out of the water about no women allowed at your place”, you teased with that complicent smile he adored, he sorrounded you iwth his arm, making your body stick to his side

“What good's a rule if you don't break it every now and then?”, he leaned in and whispered in your ear, you only giggled

“I'm very, very impressed”, you kept teasing, “thank you…”, you said softly, looking up at him 

Anything for you

He thought, and he was about to voice it outloud, but he was interrupted by a loud bagpipe noise, breaking all the cool sweet ambiance 

The first part of his plan was in motion

“Listen to that. Bran the Broken party remix, just for you”, he said, as the bagpipes sounded like a seagul being strangled, “Hear the horn? Hear the horn?”, he said excitedly at your horrified face, “It's good, isn't it? Wait, let me turn it up for you. There it is”, he said with his smart watch controlling the gadgets on his house.

The “song” became unbearable, you knew this was traditional northern music, but you dind’t want to hear it right now, you covered your ears as the sound became unbearable and it was disturbing your guests

“It's a little loud”, you comlained to your firend

“What?”, he asked with a smile on his face

“It's a little loud!”

“Okay. I'll turn it down”, and he finally turned down the volume, just as a waiter was passing by witha  tray of the second part of his plan

“Look at this. Try this”, he said snatching a small tartalette. You thankfully received the small snack and took it to your mouth without thinking, but stopped in your tracks with a horrendous taste attacked your taste buds 

“Widow’s wail”, he said proud of himself, “It's pepper, cheese, chopped up baby lamb lung, and cow pituitary gland”, you threw it up in a napkin trying not to raise anyone’s attention, “It's a Northerner delicacy. Cregan recommended it”, Aemond continued 

You were about to say soemthing… eman… to him, when Cersei interrupted everyone   

“Ladies! Ladies1”, she said outloud, “look what just came for (Y/N)1”, she said excitedly, beigning quite a large box in her hands, you inmediatly smiled, as she stopped right by your side and in second you were sorrounded by your friends 

“It's from Cregan, everyone!”, and you laughed when you heard everyone’s “aws” and lovely sighs

“Wait, there's a card!”, chanted Baela, grabing the envelope from the box, “There's a card. There's a card!”, she said weaving it in the air, she opened it up quickly and you only hoped it didn’t have anything dirty on it…

Cregan was a very passionate man…

“It says "(Y/N)", she started witha  wide smile on her face, "(Y/N), my love, this is the extremely rare Northerner, winter rose!", she said as Cersei opened the box and showed it to everyone, and there it was

A beautikful icy blue rose

“A rose?”, asked Aemond, panicking

"They only bloom for four hours before they die.", Baela said, as the flower was indeed in full bloom

“He must have timed this out perfectly!”, admired Cersei as she was looking at Aemondmockingly 

“Oh, my gosh. When we first met, Cregan joked that he would roam the countryside to find me one, and he did!”, you said, finally receiving the box in your hands and admiring the beautiful flower, it was truly breathtaking, and you couldn’t believe cregan had actually done it!

“Sweetheart, that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard”, muttered your gmother

“Thanks, mom”, you whined as she hugged you tightly 

  

“Joan, good to see you. It's been too long”, greeted Aemond, “I think, Easter, wasn't it?”, he tried with a simple smile

  

“Yes. You slept with our maid”, she said with that cinic smile of hers, you looked back at Aemond, surprised 

“She told you? I didn't know she spokethe common tongue”, he said nervously 

You very old grandmother showed up then, with a smile on her face

“This is grandma Pearl”, you presented to Aemond, “You remember Aemond?”, you asked her

“How are you?”, asked Aemond

“Oh, yes. The fornicator”, she mumbled, forwning at him, “That's right”, she said pelased with herself as she walked away again

“Okay”, mumbled Aemond, completely embarassed 

“Aemond, this is awesome!”, congratulated Baela, “It's great”, she admired

“Good, thank you, i’m glas you liked it”, he said with a pelased smile, again, proud of himself

“I mean, This is even better than my sister's shower!”, she said with a wide smile

“Oh, really?”, he teased, this was better than he thought, “It appears to be going well”, he chanted victory, because he could, right?

Then he felt a poke on his choulder, he turned to see one of the waiters

“Yes?”, he said politely, still basking in his victory

“Missandei would like to know where to set up”, hhe said nervouslyl

“Who?”, he asked

“Uh, the entertainment?”, he seemed nervous and wavering, but Aemond paid no mind to him

“Ah, yes”, he said, this was going to be the icing on the cake, as your eyes sparkled with expectancy, “thank the Gods... I mean, good”, he said pointing at a corner of the room, “She-she should set up over there”, he commanded, nervous, this was going to be the hightest point, you were going to love this.. 

So you all gathered around this woman with exccentric red hair long to her waist, and exxagerated red dress showing her curves…

“Hello, everybody. Hi, I'm Missandei”, she said, standing next to a big coffer, “Good to see you all”, she said inviting everyone to get closer, and you did, with Aemond by your side, “Yeah, come on, right down front”, she said as you all took your places

You looked excited

And Aemond wanted to exploit that 

“This was my idea, you know”, he said, you looked up at him and smiled

“really?”

“Oh, I know you loved her from Baela's sister's shower…”, he said dismissively

  

“Before I start, I'd like for us all to take a deep breath”, you heard the woman said, and you took indeed a big breath 

“She wasn't at the shower”, you said with an amused smile, Aemond frowned 

“She wasn't?”, he asked, terrified

“No”, you said, now curious, Aemond felt someone was watching him and he saw Cersei smiling back at him, a sickening, evil smile 

  

“And now exhale slowly!”, the woman commanded as Aemond’s stocmach sinked 

“Really?”, he asked nervously

“Good job. Good job”, Missandei congratulated, “It's very important to reset our third eye and connect to the primal… inside of ourselves before I present the pleasure aids”, she said with her voice soft as silk

“Pleasure aids?”, he asked, wanting to laugh, but the smile got quickly erased from his mouth when he saw yours, and your horrified expression on your face, as the woman opened the box and you saw…

Dildos

Vibrators…

and things not even Aemond knew what they were for 

No, he thought

No no no no no

“Now… These pleasure aids are best used when in a tantric, meditative state, and today, I'm going to show you, ladies, how to reach your optimal, sacral chakra”, but of course the nightmare continued, “All of these aids are for sale, ladies”, she said looking into her box of horrors, “And... Oh, look what we have here”, she said taking a fabric that it revealed itself to be a… “We have edible panties!”, Aemond swallowed thickly, “you look hungry. Here, snack on these”, she said throwing them at Walda who received them eagerly

NO NO NO NO NO

FUCK FUCK FUCK

  

“Now, ladies, what pleasure party would be complete without… glow-in-the-dark thunder beads”, she chanted, taking out two very long silicon… chains?? what were does?

  

“These are terrific”, your grandmother was curious and she starting walking towards the woman without veing able to be stopped by anyone, to your horror, “and for you ladies today, two for one”, your grandmother receibed the beads, “Do you wanna try those out, princess?”, she teased

“Where do these go?”, she asked, and she put them together and palced them around her neck like a neckale, to your horror

In your bachelor party this would have been fine, funny even…

But no in front of your aunts, mother, grandmother and cousins!

“From casual right into evening wear. Gorgeous!”, chanted missainder as your grandmother seemed terribly happy. “You know what, why don't you keep those? Oh, and they match your earrings”

You couldn’t take this anymore, still tasting the horrible snack Aemond made you ate in your tongue, you walked hastly out of there, feeling ashamed and terrified, and so, so betrayed… You felt like Aemond had mocked you, turned this into a big joke…

He did all the decoratins and all of it just to prank you with this?

What was going on?

Aemond chased after you

“(Y/N), you okay?”, you couldn’t help but sniff, and he grabbed you softly 

“You know that I dreamt of my wedding shower ever since I was 10 years old?”, you said, now more angry than sad, he seemed surprised to see you in that state

“No”, he admitted sadly

“Strangely enough, the image of my grandma Pearl, draped in glow-in-the-dark thunder beads, wasn't part of it”, you accused, he wanted to laugh, and that angered you more, “It's not funny, Aemond!”, you said, and he got serious to see how upset you were, “do you have any idea how important this is to me? And the Bran thing, Widow’s wail?, dildo saleswoman?”

“We-well, just understand something, that Cersei set me up!”

“Oh, please”, you chuckled darkly, “there's always an excuse with you!”, you said angrily, “I never even should've asked you to do this in the first place, you don't even believe in marriage, for the gods’ sake”, he wetted his lips

“You know, I might!”, he said, “I might believe in it!”, you shook your head

“I gotta get back”, you said, walking away from him

Aemond had disappointed many, MANY, women before, but he never thought it was going to hurt like it did now when he disappointed you

If he was going to truly do this, try to win you over, over your fiance, he was going to go all in, he needed to do this for real

taglist! @snh96 @sagelovesreading @toodlesxcuddles @ammo23 @bananzaa @ttkttt @at-a-rax-ia @n4tforlife @spn-obession

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

👋😃

I’ve been wondering what is your thought about the farmer working with some kind of organization to stop any crazy events from happening because since kids going missing magic and stuff and must we not forget monsters and evil spirits keep happening I can see some kind of organization stopping this from happening or maybe even had a hand in stopping different species wars that lasted many years, and to be honest, just the idea of the magic council kidnapping kids to become wizards and sorcerer is something that must cause a lot of chaos and the stuff about the cult of the lady, while I like the idea of the farmer being a secret agent working with other species and having a double life in the dark while acting oblivious to all the magic And the stuff happening around and the only reason the farmer moved to the valley is because the reports of crazy things that keep happening there but there is a lot of thinking about it.

and if you want you can make a short story since I really like your stories.

Wow, I've never gotten that far with headcanons, but the idea is pretty interesting!

If I understand correctly, dear anon, your idea is that the reason for Farmer's arrival in Stardew Valley is to investigate strange magical occurrences, since Farmer himself is a member of a secret disaster prevention organization. Let's call it the "V" organization.

I think such an organization makes sense at least because humans (at least some humans) don't want to make the same mistakes as the elves, a race that lived before humans and destroyed itself because of powerful magic and advanced technology (Dwarf talks about this in his mature event). Then, the reason the Farmer came to their grandfather's inherited farm is just a cover.

Still not much is known about the Ministry of Magic, but I and others have had speculation that mages from the Ministry are doing rather questionable actions under the pretext of protecting people from monsters, malicious magic, and whatnot (the way the Morgan arrived in the Valley). Apparently, someone had a lot of questions about an all-powerful magical organization that does not obey anyone, but many obey it.

About the Belinda's cult, by the way...

_________________________________________

"So my gut didn't deceive me!" Jio took out his blade from its sheath and was already in a fighting stance, but the elf didn't have time to do anything because Belinda gave the command.

"Hold. All of you. Put your weapons away."

A few seconds of tense silence, and yet Jio dared not disobey the order. "Yes, my lady," a note of irritation and concern could be heard in his voice.

"Who would have thought, my dear friend, that your grandchild would go so far..." Belinda's expression softened for a second at the memory of Farmer's grandmother, but she became serious again as she approached Farmer for answers.

_________________________________________

In the case of the cult of the Lady with a Red Tail, I think Belinda will offer to cooperate. For both organizations that operate regardless of the rules of the Ministry of Magic/ Order of Pythagoras/etc., wish for the good of humanity... They share the same goal, so why not become temporary allies? Or at least not to kill each others.

It is not difficult to guess that the reaction of other adventurers and magicians to the truth about the Farmer (either they will tell it themselves, or the truth will come to light) will be, to put it mildly, unpleasant. Because if it turns out that the Farmer's organization is an official enemy of the Ministry of Magic, there will be a lot of problems, and not only for the Farmer.

[loksthegreat]

PLSSSS tell me more about miss cassella & her children … also Any other asoiaf ocs u have IM SO INTRUIGED!!!

Yes sure, I’d love to tell you more about Cassie!!

So as soon as Aegon XX hears that he has another daughter he publicly denounces her as a bastard, that can’t be his, problem is little Elaena has her fathers Valyrian looks and there is really no other male Targaryen around at the time to explain that and the queen is also very much known for her loyalty and piety sooooo… Aegon stays firm and demands Cassella leave and never cross his way again (bro wanted to set her aside (read as: westerosi divorce) so bad for not giving him a child, but the high Septon didn’t get his boy math, when Cassie was standing right there with the baby). Her sworn shield Ser Arthur Swann and the men of the small council beg her not to go, but Cassie’s done with this shit, just before she leaves, she says to her shield and the hand: “I can bear to set my dignity aside for the realm, for it is just I that must suffer the shame, but for my daughter I can not. I will not allow for her to see her mother so low. Mayhaps I had not grown to allow myself such indignity, had my own mother not. My Elaena will be queen and she will never have to suffer as I have, as his whore has and as his next surely will.”. So Cassella and her daughter are supposed to go to Dragonstone, but Cassie hates the foggy, wet climate, she misses her home in Dorne, but she knows that she has no place at sunspear where her cousin (Nellaria is still mad that she didn’t get to be queen) now is the ruling princess in all but name, after Cassie’s uncle Nymor fell sick after a accident with a horse and a snake. So instead they go to Godsgrace where Lord Antoras Allyrion welcomes them. The lord is very found of feasts and banquets and showers his guests in gifts, while his mother the elderly lady Ashana who used to serve Cassellas aunt as a lady in waiting, spends lots of time praying and reading the seven pointed star with Cassie. Everything’s great until one evening at a feast that last long into the night, Cassella leaves the hall to have a breather, a young lady with a veiled face and striking green eyes approaches her. The girl curtsies but as Cassella goes to pull her back up she strikes at her with a dagger dripping with poison, the two struggle with each other, Cassella manages to push her away but the girl trips over the railing of the open corridor their in and falls down into the yard. Caseload is sure she is dead and is guilt ridden, she runs to the sept and spends all night there, but in the morning she discovers the body is gone and no one knows anything about it… after this incident Cassella leaves Dorne for good, she goes to high garden where her trusted friend Lady Elinda rules.

However it is soon after that she is ordered to return to court, to witness the wedding of Aegon XX and Lady Beliana Blackwood, who Cassie finds to be a long faced, tall woman who seldom smiles or speaks, but her younger sister Jeyne strikes Cassella’s interest, she is pretty to look at, but nervous around company and easily frightened by men. Jeyne was fostered at Cider hall from a very young age and struggles to choose between the faith of her house and the faith she was taught all her live. Cassella and Jeyne strike up a friendship of sorts, and Cassella returns to politics though unofficially. Aegon has somewhat cleaned up his act, he drinks and whores less but he has grown cruel and resentful over the few years that have passed. In the following winter, Beliana gives birth to a daughter, a girl named Aelora I. The king is unhappy but his new wife was as little care for his feelings as she has for childcare, so when three years later Beliana is found cut open with to strikes from breast to belly, hanging in the weirwood tree of the godswood of the red keep Argon isn’t all that mad (some even say he had her killed himself for supposedly cheating on him with her friend and cousin, ser Brynden the black knight or even her own brother, lord Tytos), Jeyne however is heartbroken, she can not bear to stay in this place and Cassella feels much the same, she asks Jeyne to come with her to the Reach where Lord Wylan Hightower is offering them hospitality, however Jeyne wants to raise her niece in the ways of the old gods at Raven tree hall, Cassella can’t understand why Jeyne wants to spend her live preaching a lie, when she believes in the seven, they fight but ultimately go their separate ways. Cassella and Elaena return to the Reach and stay at the Hightower where Elaena and lady Meredyth Hightower soon become best friends. Cassella dutifully comes to both of Aegons following weddings, attends the funeral of her uncle and lives to see her daughter turn sixteen, before she dies in the company of Elinda Tyrell of an illness.

That would be Cassella’s live! Hope you enjoyed and let me know if you have any more questions!!

[managician-tls]

Basketball at Dusk - Physical Experience 1 (5/10)

Featured characters: Botan, Protag-kun, Asuka, Renren, Himari

Location: Classroom

Botan: Oh? If it isn't the transfer student. Why are you all the way in the third year classrooms?

Hmm... So you got told that 'The student council president is wandering about somewhere, so I want you to look for her'.

Must've been the student council... Mitsuru sure knows how to order people around, doesn't she?

She's both in the student council and the track club, so it's only obvious she's learned to do it, though.

Oh, me? I was just about to head home.

Yeah. Since I'm bored anyway, it wouldn't hurt to help you look for her.

I'd like to get rewarded with some sweets in return... ♪

Mm. I'll be asking for sweets a little expensive, though.

I'll find her for sure, don't you worry... ♪

So then, do we have a deal?

Mm. Negotiation success ♪

First off, let's start looking around the third year classrooms.

Huh... I look like I'm having fun, you say?

Is that so...? I hadn't really noticed.

But I'm not a genius at looking for people.

I might be enjoying this because of that. It's more fun to do things you don't do regularly, don't you think?

Mm. Routinary things — they're boring.

Just like a quiz that you already know the answers to isn't interesting.

Well then, let's go through trial and error for this. It's while we're young that we're still allowed to do mistakes, after all.

Speaking of that.

It seems there was a time when Momochi-san went through trial and error, too, to become friends with the ball...?

She might be doing basketball practice right now.

That sounds like fun. Maybe, just as she keeps failing over and over, she'll experience some growth... ♪

Asuka: HYAAAAAAAAAAH———!

Hissatsu technique! I don't really know what I'm doing, but it's a mix of my basketball and my Momocchi Dive!

Momocchi Combination!

Renren: To have perfected your own, original technique in such a short time — how impressive, ya!

But I won't lose, de! Whooacchoo!

This is my special technique-ya!

Asuka: W-WHAAAAAAT—! She broke through my Momocchi Combination so easily!

Renren: Ufufu... I'm sorry for you, ya! This is the legacy of China's history, passed down for four thousand years...!

I won't lose to a greenhorn like you, ma!

Himari: ...Have you two had enough yet?

I couldn't keep up with y'all's kooky shenanigans at all, so I went take a naaap...

Are you all set, Mochimochi?

Asuka: Hm? Set for what?

Himari: Komatsu Botan's feelings — do you understand them now?

Asuka: I've already got them down perfectly!

Komacchi-senpai overcame the fear in her heart by helping out various clubs!

You've got my whole respect, Komacchi-senpai~

Himari: So then, are we done here? I forgot I've got student council work to do...

'With this, problem solved!' ...Can I say that and go?

Asuka: Eeeeh—! Since you're already here, I'd like to hang out together a little longer!

Right now, I'm sure I'd even be able to land a dunk shot!

So! I want you to see the fruits of my labour~ ♪

Renren: Ooh! Are you going to show off that "Momocchi Combination" from earlier on a basketball court, ma?

If that's the case, I can't miss out on it, ba?

Asuka: Today's basketball practice isn't being held on the gym, though, it's outdoors!

Could we use the president's authority to get inside? Please~ ♪

Himari: T-That's absolutely a no go! That'd be a massive abuse of my authorityyy!

I have lots of people keeping an eye on me, y'know!

If I exercised my power here, I'd get dirty looks thrown my way for suuure!

Asuka: Can't you do something about it? Just five minutes would be enough, please~ ♪

Himari: Hey, stop pulling on me! You're straining my arm! It's no good if you take me away by forceee!

Fine, I-I get it, I've got it! I can walk on my own just fine, thank you very much! And I'll look over you!

Asuka: Yaaay~ ♪ It's a promise then~, student council president ♪

Himari: Geez. What am I gonna do with youuu?

You've gotta make sure to let Botan know all about this later, got it?

What's up with her anyway, leaving behind a junior who so clearly admires her...

◀ Chapter 4 • all • Chapter 6 ▶

[hellostarfleet]

hello i finished new vegas

wall of text thoughts. under read more bc sooooo many.

was kind of wishing by the end i'd known how much the game rewards rly picking and choosing what to make your stats... i didn't really appreciate this until i went from like 45 in energy weapons like this feels fine to 75 and was like I AM A PLASMA GOD!!!! so noted for next run (i did end with 100 in science and energy weapons I GOTTA be nosy and hack every terminal i see. or my courier will die.)

rly thought this about hour 5 but i wasn't expecting the legion to be so cartoonishly evil actually i knew they were bad but like. lol. CMON GUYS PUT SOMETHING BACK ON THE SHELF FOR OTHER BAD GUY FACTIONS... instead of the vipers/jackals/powder gangers/fiends just kind of being. free karma estate. (in retrospect i don't rly understand the point of karma as a system because after like level 5 i never even dipped to neutral karma. my courier was an angel. an angel who stole every cap, stimpak, box of ammo, and piece of scrap metal she could find from everyone and anyone in the greater mojave area. and killed. SO MANY PEOPLE.)

was kind of expecting the hoover dam battle to be like... bigger???? like just having more guys around. more chaotic. actually have a reason to go down into the hoover dam sublevels that they. built and modeled but i had no plot reason to go into and did wander into the first time i was there (mostly i was like "how much does this look like the real hoover dam" and then realized i don't really remember enough about the particulars of the interior to judge that kdjhdkdhdkj).

also maybe im just too much of a bioware kid but i also think it was kinda weird to not have all the little guys you recruited there but shrug. (also i wanted to see the superfortress. WHERE IS IT) anyway i did independent ending bc OBVIOUSLY the ncr has problems and OBVIOUSLY my courier could do better. i mean she has already almost single handedly solved every personnel and supply chain issue the NCR was having. she will definitely TOTALLYYYY set up some sort of council of local factions as soon as she's done having some portion of the securitrons clean up all the fucking rubble laying around in freeside bc it's bothering me. WHY HASN'T ANYONE EVER SO MUCH AS SWEPT MCCARRAN AIRPORT TERMINAL. i bet everyone would be slightly less miserable if you could walk down the street without the threat of tripping on rubble and impaling yourself on rebar. sorry what. you want local governance. citizen. pick up that can. then we'll talk.

anyway idk handwaving not storming through the legate's camp to the main part of the fort to get caesar with the securitrons was kind of weird. i wanna kill. which means i also apparently i missed my chance in life to kill vulpes. SAD. but i got to order yes man to throw a guy off the hoover dam. AND HE DID. so that ruled. (the duality of courier: last week she saved your president from assassination. this week she went hmm. i see. and tossed your top general off a dam.) also im sure yes man installing some updates to become more assertive will definitely not cause any issues. it's fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!!

ANYWAY despite all that i had a good time as evidenced by finishing it in the time i did oops. i had a good time. i actually didn't realize this game had a companion system i just thought it had a collection of pathetic men. which it does. but also i love having companions (although did get kind of tripped up on only being allowed to have one humanoid companion and one ed-e/rex. it was always ed-e btw bc rex was like continually under my feet im sorry boy.) i also travelled with boone for like 20 hours so it took me a while to realize like any other companion talks a lot more since im pretty sure stringing more than 3-5 words together causes him physical pain. i love that there's a scene for if you do give veronica a dress!!! i am still thinking about how hard arcade dissed me the first time i asked if he wanted to travel with my courier!!!!! i also asked if it could wait when i got his quest and he was like no actually im gonna keep talking and like. lmao. STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ENCLAVE DOES I FEEL LIKE THE ANSWER IS JUST "GO PLAY FALLOUT 3"??? kind of like how visiting jacobstown was just "go play fallout 1 & or 2"

misc briefer thoughts ig:

WHY IS THERE A SNOWGLOBE IN SARAH'S VAULT 21 ROOM. HASN'T SHE LOST ENOUGH TO MR. HOUSE. i did not sell this snowglobe. please clap bc $$$.

loved exploring the vaults in that i hated exploring the vaults man. i think vault 11 wins for most fucked up and vault 34 wins for most times i thought "i fucking hate this" while i was there (but that's a personal problem bc feral ghouls. ueueuueueueueueue cries in a corner while arcade and ed-e shoot everything. nice moral dilemma at the end though. i saved the groundwater but oof. oughf.)

why do the options with dealing with the great khans suck so much lmaooo.... shoving ncr soldiers up against the wall for being like HA we showed theM CHASED THEM RIGHT OUT!! like girl no i told them to leave bc UR COMMANDING OFFICER SAID SHE'D USE THEM FOR CANON FODDER IF THEY ALLIED WITH THE NCR

also honestly same for all the dialogue about neslon bc sorry WHOOOOO kicked the legion out. bc it wasn't you guys it was boone and i doing a sidequest and then just going fuck it kill them all actually -

ok but speaking of NCR guys sorry to the misfits bc i did not have enough explosives to teach u how to explosives and then u all deserted and were hung. skill issue but sorry but skill issue -

because i had done all the vaults i. did finish most of the brotherhood quests ig and honestly was probably going to leave them alone except then i triggered veronica's quest and they wiped out that followers station so. hot take maybe you guys shouldn't have had like three terminals of kill everyone dead. also maybe don't preface yay we can leave again with thoughts on going at it with the ncr again imMEDIATELY what is wrong with you guys.

i feel like some other run im gonna go all in on punching and sneaking that sounds fun. or lead pipe run. i hope primm appreciated me liberating their big hotel in town and didn't think too hard about the piles of guys beat to death with a lead pipe.

the powder gangers and guys in vault 19 rly didn't do anything to me but if it will get me better epilogue slides. well i did get this gauss rifle too late in the game to really use it (ENERGY WEAPON SNIPER RIFLE. IDEAL WEAPON!!!)

i can't believe i have to pay $5 to experience mormons. actually is it even specifically mormon bible thumping or am i just assuming bc it's utah. anyway im gonna do it. but. lmao. (i was also surprised how much man on fire stuff was mentioned in the game proper since it is apparently dlc.)

is the ideal dlc order release order btw

[talenlee]

Vox Maxima Story Spotlight 2 — College Days

What follows here is a discussion of what, if I had the means and writer tools to make my Custom Magic set have proper story spotlight material, it’d look like this, it’d be built out of this. This is basically about story mechanics underlying a game system, and I want to present it to you so you can have a handle on what it looks like when I’m trying to explain game narratives for the presentation of conventional narratives.

This second section is about the characters travelling through the Kraivh highways to the city that holds the Iacon College

Vox Maxima is a custom magic set created by Talen Lee. It’s composed of 187 cards, with 71 commons, 60 uncommons, 41 rares, and 15 mythic rares. Vox Decima is a custom Magic: The Gathering set, with at least one card spoiled a day, on Cohost, Kind.Social, and the r/custommagic subreddit.

WOTC Employees: This post in full presents unsolicited custom Magic: The Gathering card designs, which I understand current employee practices forbid you from looking at unsolicited. You shouldn’t be here!

Goals

The Iacon College is a place for information. They care about information in an entirely cold way. Fundamentally, they think that everything that exists is anchored in reality by information and therefore, all information that’s available to access in the world can be catalogued. Here, then is an opportunity to express a lot of technical information.

Express the Iacon character:

Demonstrate multiple attitudes towards information that all value information

Demonstrate a lack of emotional depth in exchange for informational proof

Demonstrate the heavy reliance on modularity – Iacon agents have servos integrated into themselves, pulling them out to do minor tasks while they leave them as they are

Demonstrate the problem they have with the Missing Decade: They started transhumanist projects to escape the Necrocalypse, but do not know if that event has been averted or not.

Demonstrate that the Iacon are willing to do something drastic in order to protect the entire empire from the Necrocalypse, and refer to the Great Distribution.

Give the Main Cast an opportunity to meet Inx and hear his story about something he discovered digging through junk. This should probably be something he tells one of them, separately, and reflect any later theme. Suggestion is that the person who hears the story is Primrose, because she’s socially inquisitive and less engaged with the more challenging mystery the rest are engaging with.

Guide the characters on to the next section of the story, where they’re going to push through Kraivh Territory to investigate the Jatku hives on the periphery of the Empire.

Highlight the main cast of the Iacon crew, notably Yndelle and Inx

Show that Cazas has met the Iacon Council and brought an official seal from them, suggesting the way the Emperor has kept the Iacon Council resurrected.

Characters

In the Iacon college, characters are mostly interested in staying in one spot and remaining working on their research. Characters in this section are best considered as setting up information or laying plans or themes for later pieces. Since most of the Iacon characters have mechanised and distributed their intelligence, they can do things like give communication drones or something like that to other characters.

The Iacon Council, a character in absentia. This is a body of administrative researchers whose magical runes keep the College isolated from the Kraivh assembly. At some point in the Lost Decade, these characters left the college and haven’t returned. They still send edicts to the college, but it turns out their orders to do things like repeal the separation of the college from the empire are just being ‘lost’ in the paperwork.

Yndelle, the interim rector of the College is the woman whose focus on her research has her pursuing the ends of the Great Distribution, but also keep the Iacon Council’s wishes for integrating into the empire from coming to pass. She’s driven and thoughtful but also extremely dispassionate: her greatest weakness is an inability to embrace sentimentality. Even in the context of the college, she feels no traditional import to the Council, because they are not present to argue their case.

Inx, a scrapper who hangs around the perimeter of the college, explores the desert ruins and finds magical junk to bring back to the college and sell it. He has all the hallmarks of a typical Kraivh cremains scrapper – it’s the discovery of the history of the pre-Iacon superweapons that mess with time that shake him up and push him away from the emotional indulgence of the emperor.

Ravite, a lonely cyborg guard who helps them travel from the Iacon perimeter to the ruins of a city destroyed by the Jatku Outcasts. She moves slowly and patiently, and seems to have a damaged perception of the current date – she lists years that haven’t happened yet, like they’re in the past. Despite this, though, Ravite is extremely reliable and very good at making enemies that attack the group crumple under their own weight. Think magical akido, but like, actually does something.

Carmine, an arrogant, self-impressed woman from the colleges who loves to deliver speeches and lectures, but who also, upon interrogation, reveals she’s a Planeswalker – she’s not from the Kraivh Empire. But when pressed, she refuses to explain more about what that means – beyond hinting she can’t leave. She does however, have a glow about her that Primrose mentions.

Scene

The Scooby Gang arrives in the Iacon college, after a long description of travel throughout the empire. Describe the Cremains Bazaars – which are places trading the remains of the billion dead, clean bones and other remnants from the lost decade.

When they arrive in the college, they experience its literal induction – servos and robots that try to guide them through the induction into the college, meeting different authority figures as they give their lectures and times.

During this time, they eventually meet with Yndelle who takes them down to the research stacks to find the servos that have been recording through the Lost Decade.

This gives them opportunity to see the legendary characters that aren’t quite people – like the quorum drone Chronx, that’s always trying to assemble a quorum for the Iacon Council. This is a hint that the Iacon Council cannot be assembled, because they’re dead.

Jatku II and Cura have an exchange in consideration of Ravite – they watch her defending the college from threats in the desert, and talk about why they’re driven to fight for protecting their friends.

This also leads to the group learning about the next possible hint for organic memory storage – the insect cult, the Jatku Outcasts, which are at the edges of the forest across the desert. This also shows a second use of the name Jatku, and gives Yndelle an opportunity to explain who Jatku was and how important she was to research, all without realising she’s talking to Jatku II.

This introduction inspires curiosity in Kraivh IV, who asks if she knows anything about Ynvei, her mother. Yndelle explains the strange and complex theory of Ynvei, the idea of the Grand Design as a sort of omniconspiracy that could be self-sustained by sheer complexity itself.

At some point here, Inx discloses his story about time-warping WMD spells, and Cazas learns about the Great Distribution. These two ideas influence the group to have different views of the empire’s enemies – Cazas sees them as just as bad as what they say the Empire might be, but whoever learns about the time-bombs considers that people can want to restore damage that’s been done.

The group, realising they can only get partial information from the Iacon, prepare to leave, with Ravite’s help.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[truckreincarnation]

Pound of Fluff || Trial 2

Everyone is yelling, everyone is threatening the king, but King Calum is utterly unmoved by their threats. What are they going to do to him? By the time they’re anywhere close to him, he’ll have them properly contained or crested, and it will be no problem. His problem now is that the pixie isn’t back yet with the girl.

“What is taking her so long?” he demands.

“She’s quite small, it takes her a while to get around,” Amber lies. And the king knows she is lying, because her precious little friend was famous for her speed. 

He huffs. “Get her down here already.”

“She’s almost here.”

“Then hurry her up!”

“One moment sir.”

There’s an odd energy between the two. Amber seems less scared and more irritated. It’s passive aggressive down to the bone. The exchange continues for a bit before Amber finally puts up a vine.

“Ah, Kali has returned. Behold, your Majesty, the culprit.”

Kali descends from the sky again, unlit, moving much more slowly than before. That fact can likely be attributed to her flammable cargo: her arms are wrapped around the Yuliya Fumo’s neck in a chokehold. “Blades still stained with the sacrifice’s blood, sir!” she announces, grinning smugly. “Weren’t for this gawping pillow, she’d still be alive. Glad you reminded us! Eye for an eye, that’s the motto I live by!“

“What is that?!” The king rages. “You were supposed to bring the Bound!”

“Unfortunately, we cannot do that.” Amber is all smiles as she explains. “You told us that no harm is to come to the Bound, so long as they are in our care, to avoid them deteriorating further. I believe this was in fact an Order.”

“And now I’m saying that they shall!”

“Unfortunately, the king’s word is absolute, even when it is the king objecting. Sadly, we can not execute a Bound.”

You can practically hear the king scowling. “Then bring the body!”

“By definition, a dead person can not be executed. As such, she is not eligible.”

“Then kill one of these fools.”

Here Amber takes a breath. “Is that really in your best interest, sir? Don’t you wish for the largest army possible? Killing one of them now will do nothing to strengthen the group.”

“I don’t-”

“And of course, if you admitted that you cared more about your entertainment than the war efforts, well, the council members there would be forced to declare you incompetent, wouldn’t they?” Amber’s voice grew sweeter and sweeter as she cornered the king.

“You…!”

“But, worry not. You shall have entertainment, and not a drop more blood will be spilled.” She reaches out to take the fumo from Kali. “Thank you, dear. Behold, your majesty, your pound of flesh. May her execution be enough to sate your bloodlust.”

Suddenly, laughter erupts from the other side of the magical connection. The council are intensely amused by this farce. You can almost hear the king flinching away.

“You…” he seethes. “Fine. Execute your doll. The next case had best offer up more than enough magical energy, tree, or I shall extract it from your core.” With that, the transmission is severed. You can feel the difference in the air. You’re still being watched, but it’s no longer a two way street. 

Amber seems to weaken a little, as soon as the call ends… “Miss Perry is not going to like what we’re about to do to her doll.”

Kali scoffs. “Course she won’t. But I’m sure she’ll agree: better this than one of her friends!” She turns, sweeping her gaze over the lot of you, arms and smirk both wide. “Don’t you think?” Alighting again on Amber’s shoulder, she looks immeasurably pleased with herself.

"Well, the doll should have thought of that before being weak enough to be caught for their murder. Unfortunately Perry chose a fool for a vaguely gay pillow choice. And that pillow will burn." Alvarie speaks clearly and coldly, eyes sharp and teeth as well.

[maeve-on-mustafar]

I've been thinking a lot about this post, and I want to bring up a few different points than no one else ever seems to mention. I've mentioned them elsewhere, but I want to bring them up again here. Also, I want to preface my response by saying I don't agree with Anakin's decisions, but I do think some of the situations are more nuanced than I see them portrayed as in Prequels discourse. TBH, I fully suspect that a lot of my contradictory opinions come from apparently having watched a completely different set of movies than everyone else.

I find it weird that people are using the scene between Anakin and Yoda, where Anakin freely goes to Yoda for help with his problems, as proof that Anakin doesn't use his support system. Because this scene literally is of him using his support system. True, he doesn't use the advice Yoda gives him, but . . . it's also really difficult advice to follow. It's simply unrealistic so expect someone who has lost a loved one to not miss them or mourn them. Grief is a very natural emotion when faced with loss. Yes, Anakin should have worked to prepare himself for the loss he was having premonitions of instead of committing genocide. But that still doesn't make Yoda's "10 lifehacks to get over grief. Step 1: don't miss the person and be happy for them instead" advice any more accessible for anyone, especially when the person in questionable has been fighting as a general in a war for three years and still struggles with the inability to let go of people despite constant massive death tolls.

2. When you consider that chronologically, this scene comes after Ahsoka has left the Order because Yoda and the rest of the Council abandoned her in her time of need, leaving Anakin and Padme as her only advocates, it's amazing that Anakin bothered to go to Yoda for advice at all. It is canon that Ahsoka chose to walk away from the Jedi Order because of how she was treated by its leaders. That is inarguable. Of all the ways the TCW writers could have had her leave--ideological differences, a decision that area outside of the Republic needed her more than the Republic itself, meeting some wandering Jedi and wanting to go hang out with them--the writers decided to characterize the Jedi as fully willing to believe Ahsoka is a traitor and kicking her out of the Order without a fair trial or even representation, and then Ahsoka being so shaken by the experience that she opts to leave, and not even Anakin, the only Jedi who fought for her all the way, begging her to stay is enough to convince her to come back.

Which means that despite Yoda's actions of driving away one of the people he loves most, Anakin still decides to go to him and seek his counsel. The scene between them cannot be anything else but Anakin using his support system, because it means Anakin decides that in spite of Yoda's massive mistreatment of Ahsoka, he's still going to see if Yoda can offer him a solution. And then Yoda can't. So if Anakin walked away thinking that Yoda's advice sucked, it's hard to fault him for it, because he's already lost at least one person thanks to Yoda's bad decisions.

3. Directly after the scene between Anakin and Yoda, Palpatine summons Anakin to his office, tells him he's the last hope of the Republic and that he needs to be on the Council to represent the Republic's interest, yada, yada. And then right after that, Anakin is told that he's been allowed on the Council solely for the purpose of being a triple agent and spying on the Chancellor, a job Anakin doesn't want and tries to object to because it's treason. Only to be told by Obi-Wan, another person he deeply loves, that hey, sorry, this is super important, you've gotta do this spying thing even if you don't feel like it, it could be the Republic's last hope.

So even if Anakin walked away from his meeting with Yoda earnestly willing to try his advice and prepare to lose Padme instead of attempting to prevent her death, now he's suddenly being faced with losing another person he loves. And even if you're taking the stance that Palpatine shouldn't be his friend, Palpatine is also the Chancellor. So now anything Palpatine says about the Jedi plotting against him seems more plausible, and anything the Jedi say, including Yoda's advice about loss, seems more questionable.

4. I know the popular mantra these days is that the Jedi were always there for Anakin, but Anakin chose Palpatine because the Jedi told him what he needed to hear whereas Palpatine told him what he wanted to hear.

The aspect of canon I never see mentioned is that the Jedi were the ones to allow Anakin to start meeting with Palpatine to begin with. This wasn't just a relationship that started when Anakin was an adult.

(I don't even like this retcon and have talked about why at length, but it is undisputedly canon.)

And even when books mention that other Jedi are concerned about Anakin's relationship with Palpatine, you know who they go to? Obi-Wan. And you know who doesn't listen? Obi-Wan.

No one on the Jedi Council had ever been comfortable with Skywalker's close relationship with the Chancellor--they'd had more than one conversation about it with Obi-Wan while Skywalker had still been his Padawan--and Mace was less than happy to hear Palpatine speaking for a young Jedi who seemed unprepared to speak for himself.

But Obi-Wan doesn't see the problem because:

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, frowning. "Palpatine's policies are … sometimes questionable. But he dotes on Anakin like a kindly old uncle on his favorite nephew."

Both quotes come from Stover's Revenge of the Sith novelization and establish that the Jedi were kind of uncomfortable about Palpatine's relationship with Anakin, but not enough to actually talk to Anakin himself about it.

5. Finally, I wanted to address this idea that "Anakin doesn't communicate/Anakin doesn't acknowledge his emotions/Anakin doesn't use his support system."

Because the issue isn't that he never does at all--he just does so selectively. But there is a difference between talking to people about your feelings selectively and never doing so at all.

In TPM, in Anakin's first scene with the Council (that a good portion of fandom faults him for because he didn't understand what being a Jedi was about when he wasn't an actual Jedi yet) he confesses to them right away that he misses his mom. Later, after the Jedi reject him, Anakin goes to Qui-Gon and tells him he doesn't want to be a problem. This isn't a kid who struggles to communicate as much as a kid who struggles with what to do when twelve strangers are sifting through his mind.

In AOTC, with the barest prompting from Obi-Wan, Anakin instantly confides that he struggles to sleep because of dreams of his mom. Obi-Wan doesn't seem that worried ("Dreams pass in time."), and Anakin hinting he might be into having a fling with a Senator evokes a far more concerned response from him. When Mace Windu assigns Anakin his solo mission, Anakin notes its obstacles and listens to the advice Mace gives him. Worrying transmission from Obi-Wan? Anakin comms Mace and the Council about it.

In ROTS, Anakin openly admits, "I'm not the Jedi I should be. I want more, and I know I shouldn't." When he has premonitions of Padme dying, he goes to Yoda for help. When he gets assigned the task of spying on the Chancellor, he tries to reject it and tells Obi-Wan he doesn't want the job, but Obi-Wan insists on it because of the urgent circumstances. When Palpatine reveals himself as a Sith, Anakin goes to tell Mace.

None of this describes a person who refuses to communicate whatsoever or isn't able to use his support system. Anakin's story is about a hero under pressure who keeps making bad choices, comes close to choosing the right one, still chooses wrong, but then finally makes the right choice and gives his life in order to make that choice.

But if the main films aren't enough for you, take a look at these canon comics:

Here he is at age 12 and able to offer fairly insightful commentary regarding his origins as a Jedi.

Here he is at age 9? 10? Voicing two deep insecurities to Obi-Wan, that he really was too old to start training, and that Obi-Wan didn't really want him as a Padawan. Which is a very difficult thing for a young kid that age to do, because in either scenario, with Obi-Wan or the Council, means that he is struggling with the anxiety that he is ultimately unwanted by the Jedi. Which, yeah, being told outright by a group of people that they don't want you, only for them to have them reverse course on that a few days later and decide they actually are okay with raising you, is going to create some anxieties for a little kid. But Anakin is still willing to bring them up here.

In conclusion, I do like the Jedi. I think Anakin made the wrong choices until the moment he sacrificed himself for Luke. But I feel like a lot of situations get oversimplified so that he can be the only one at fault or culpable for bad decisions. And like, no one but Palpatine or Tarkin ever commit atrocities on the scale that Anakin does? So IDK why we gotta pretend like no one else is ever capable for ill-advised choices, because it's not like they're going to compare.

And I do make these arguments in good faith, so if anyone wants to also engage with me in good faith and strike up a dialogue, I'm totally fine with it. I'm just tired of pretending large swathes of this trilogy or other parts of canon don't exist or have an impact on Anakin's character as they played out.

Everyone saying “boo hoo if only Anakin had a therapist” sure is forgetting that scene with Yoda where he was trying to figure out if Anakin was okay and he completely denied that there was anything wrong at all

[marvelstars]

While I generally enjoy reading and learning about Shmi and the Jedi Order on separate ways, I often get mad when I read fics where Shmi´s role in Anakin´s life is pushed aside or forgotten in favor of his relationship with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka or the Jedi Order, I believe that´s a diservice to her character and is also ignoring fundamental canon of the story so I prefer fic that don´t hide from this aspect of the story because when push comes to shove the fact of the matter is that the Jedi Council considered Anakin´s relationship to his mother problematic and that´s why they went out of their way to keep distance between both of them.

In Darth Plagueis novel by James Luceno Palpatine meet Anakin and Obi-Wan shortly after the battle for Naboo, he saw how hard their first days as master and apprentice were, with Anakin missing his mother and Obi-Wan not having the patience to deal with that because he was mourning Qui-Gon, he noticed right away how keeping Anakin separated from his Mom would affect his emotional balance and so giving him more oportunity to become his father figure in absence of his mother and how the guilt would eat at him and make him bitter which would make it easier for him to turn Anakin to the darkside.

In the Tatooine Ghost novel Shmi tried to contact Anakin at the temple twice because she didn´t have enough money to make more calls, even Watto gave her a little bit to help her do that, the answer was to confirm to her that Anakin was alright, that he was in his Jedi training and could not be in contact with her, that Qui-Gon died but that he had a new master and that was it.

When Anakin brought the matter of his mother and his dreams of her suffering to Obi-Wan on EP II he told him he made a compromise with the Jedi Order that wasn´t easily broken and Anakin changed the subject to Padme.

When the nightmares keep appearing, Anakin only felt suported in his search for his mother when Padme agreed to go with him to Tatooine and still he felt the need to ask her permission to do so. That says a lot about how the matter of his mother has been handled the last 13 years at the temple.

So I would definitely enjoy a fic that tackles this issue directly instead of avoiding the matter by pushing Shmi´s role away and bringing Anakin to the temple earlier as a baby, because imo this wasn´t the point of the story and even if Anakin was brought as a baby like Dooku or Barris or Kreell, he could still have fallen like they did.

Shmi´s and Anakin family relationship wasn´t the problem, the problem was the steps the Order took to keep them separated without considering the glaring issues this would create for Anakin´s development not only as a Jedi but also as a person and for Shmi as his mother.

I don´t know, I would like to read a fic where Shmi tells them her mind about that for once.

[desn2002blogsummary]

In my group we had Will Jackson, Tomas Trejdl, Hannah Brown, Olivia Blissett and Iyu Guanhua

Week 1-3

Within weeks 1 through to 3 I spent my time familiarising myself with design models. Unfortunately, I missed the week 2 and 3 tutorials, so I missed out on the initial formation of my group, but I still read through different design models and the readings for busy students. During this initial research period I was enlightened to how much empathy actually played a role in designing. Previously if someone were to ask me what a design process would look like I would just list off the steps to make a drawing, however, know I know that there are many aspects to designing and designing not just for aesthetic purposes but also for users in mind.

Week 4

In week 4 I got assigned to a group as I had missed the initial meetings in the week prior. In order to catch up on some content I did some independent research to present to the group about our wicked problem in class that week. I researched both intellectual and physical disabled people’s views of public transportation and found there was a general dissatisfaction for the services provided for them. My goal was to find specific statistics and quotes which represented firsthand experiences from disabled people on public transport. I found that many intellectually disabled people were uncomfortable using phones for trip planning as it was too complex for them to navigate, which was an issue that I hadn’t previously considered before. I also read about the extent of the impact that poor public transport has on disabled people as it is usually their main form of transportation due to an inability to drive and expensive taxi fares.

Week 5

For the first few weeks I was unfortunately struggling outside of uni so I was a bit more absent however after some really helpful zoom calls from my group in week 5 I was able to feel more confident in our presentation and my role.

Week 6

In week 6 we presented our slides to the tutorial. I was very grateful for my group but especially Olivia and Tomas as they took leadership and held everyone accountable while still being very kind.

Week 7

Good Friday

Week 8

I missed week 8 unfortunately.

Week 9

In week 9 our class activity was a process called thorns, roses and buds, which asked us to analyse and assign either a pink sticky note to represent something positive, a blue sticky note to represent something negative or a green sticky note to represent something that has potential to our prototype ideas. As we were torn between three different prototypes this generated a lot of group discussion and tested our ability to empathise not only with the users, we had in mind but each other’s perspectives. Using our teamwork skills, we assembled our sticky notes into a chart that better visualised the positives and negatives of our ideas and then proceeded to have a group vote. We decided on our prototype being a simple display and audio announcement system.

We then decided on what jobs we had to do for that week, and I was delegated with the task of interviewing someone from transport NSW that we could potentially use for audio in our video. Olivia helpfully scribed the interview questions I would ask.

Week 10

Week 10 involved starting to delegate individual tasks for everyone, so we created a a new google doc for this. We did a group call where Tom, Olivia, Hannah and I talked extensively on what our promotional video would look like. Hannah and I both volunteered to work on the animation portion of the video and we both suggested what the animation should look like scenery-wise and what materials we should work with. Both Hannah and I agreed paper stop motion animation would provide not only the most pleasing visuals for our target audience, but it would also be the most efficient technique to use due to our time restraints and other commitments. Hannah began working on animation, but I unfortunately was delayed due to my being sick and also missed out on attending class.

Week 11

Week 11 we as a group made a presentation to do plan document and we each volunteered for different tasks we would get done and by what date. Hannah also finished the animation all by herself this week which I was very impressed yet a little disappointed by. When we were all discussing what we wanted to do I had wanted to join in on the animation and I thought Hannah and I were going to do it together, but I was ultimately pleased as she had got it done on time so quickly. This week Tomas also sent through the first iterations of the bus screen display and Olivia did a mock up illustration of what that would look like on the interior of the bus which both looked fantastic. After the animation was finished, we were all in class together and decided it was missing some key components. I quickly talked through a storyboard with the rest of the group and proceeded to create an animatic so we would have a better idea of what our promotional video would need timing-wise. I created this based on the script Olivia wrote.

Week 12

Week 12 was less productive than our previous two weeks due to some other assessments due with every group member. However, Hannah was able to complete the additional animations needed from the animatic. I myself was asked to interview someone I knew with an intellectual disability, but I was having trouble organising a time to conduct it as my interviewee now currently lives in London. This week Tomas also made the official bus interface for the video which looked very presentable. I also revised the empathy map we worked on in assessment 1 and updated it with any new information we had discussed in classes.

Week 13

Once all the visual pieces were completed on Hannah and Tomas’s end, I was able to start editing the video. With all the pieces together, I started editing. I unfortunately had some technical difficulties, so I had to travel into university to use their computers for the editing. I completed the video editing without the audio and showed it to my group where we had a few discussions about the different visuals of the video editing. This was another part of our iterative process. Once I completed the changes, I then offered the group that if they needed help with anymore video or audio editing that I was happy to help. Later during the week everyone finalised their slides including me as I was finally able to get my interviews finished. I luckily had a transport NSW representative reach out to me the day before the presentation was due, so I was able to thankfully add that in the slides. We also did a final group call on the Thursday to do a practice run through of the slides. Olivia did the narration of the video and Will edited the audio that evening. I worked late that night and came home to see that y group decided the video and audio needed to be reedited. I was determined to get it done for them to show how grateful I was that they had put so much effort in, even though it was so late. So, I stayed up and created 4 different copies of the video editing with sound and without sound. I edited the audio just in case Will was asleep as I didn’t want to disturb him. Will luckily was awake and redid the audio as my editing job for the music wasn’t the best and the result was fantastic.

Overall, throughout this course I was able to get a good grasp on the importance of a design model while also keeping in mind you don’t have to follow a specific model. I feel that as a group we had a very iterative design model that heavily centred on user experience, but that at all stages we would jump between different ideas and planning, as working as a group doesn’t always follow a smooth route.

All my documents

[angelsdean]

✨angelsdean’s recent reads: JULY ‘22✨

So, I read a lot of fic. And I’ve been wanting to make rec lists but a problem with reading a lot of fic is that after a while I tend to forget what happened and fics blend together in my mind RIP. But I want to start at least rec’ing my “recent reads” so that’s what this is: stuff I’ve read throughout this month. Okay, let's do this! Divided into two sections, canon-verse and AUs, and listed by word count. 

💥Canon-verse fics💥

About Five Times The Distance by KelpietheThundergod [ 70k, rated E ] - It's been months since Michael unexpectedly let Dean go, but he's still dealing with the mental and physical repercussions, some of which have turned out to be permanent. This case fic follows Dean and Cas as they develop their relationship and establish intimacy. Dean is so clingy. I cried a lot.  

Darkest Roads verse by chaoticdean [ 63k, rated E ] - Dean and Cas go undercover as a couple going through therapy, in order to catch a monster that specifically targets couples dealing with issues, feeding on their distress, anger, and pain. Feelings left untold come to the surface, as they do. 

It's safe to sleep inside his skin by kathscradle [ 13k, rated E ] - Dean just really wants to get inside Cas, like burrow under his ribs and make a home there. Close is never close enough, etc, etc. 

The Council Of Charlie Bradbury by FallenAngelOfThursday [ 13k, rated T ] - Cas is back from the Empty, and Dean is struggling to accept that there's finally peace in the world. watching the camera footage of the dungeon scene on repeat probably isn't helping. Cas gives Dean space to heal, but is lonely. Sam decides to bring Charlie in to help these two finally get together. 

a sparrow with broken wings by Anonymous [ 11k, rated T ] - Cas dies, and Dean stops eating, and he keeps on dreaming. Dean’s grief over Cas’s death manifests as a severe eating disorder. It’s heavy but it ends happy. 

the motions by fidgetygirl [ 5k, rated M ] - The bunker has a christmas party. Sam gets dunked on. Dean tries to stay sober and just breathe.

take a sad song by foolondahill17 [ 4k, rated M ] - stanford era dean gets an abortion fic! it’s purely a coincidence that both me and @foolondahill17 were both thinking of this concept at the exact same time but it really did feel like this was dropped right out of my brain. 

the boy without a home by FallenAngelOfThursday [ 3k, rated M ] - A short dean studies on identity and his quest to feel like he belongs. 

3 hr 33 min (221 miles) by NightChanghes [ 3k, rated G ] - A little over a year ago, the Empty took Castiel. Nearly 5 months ago, it spit him back out. Dean is still mourning.

Chasing Feathers by junkyardheart [ 2k, rated G ] - The missing scene from Faith 1x12. Dean learns that he's dying, and ruminates on life, death and everything he wishes he had the time to fix. Faith!dean feels. Dying boy I love youu!

million reasons by casdoms [ 2k, rated M ] - oh dean’s mommy issues<3 anyway, set in s12, Dean’s feeling a lot about Mary coming back, and Cas comforts him. 

Time for a gay wedding by fellshish [ 2k, rated M ] - thee 30k dean fic ! Is Cas gay? Clearly there’s only one way to find out. Dean proposes. Truly chaotic dean energy that only @fellshish can capture.  

Sex Should Be Fun by things_renew_themselves [ 2k, rated M ] - Castiel and Dean speak about April and Castiel's sexual encounter. Years later, they speak about having sex with each other. 

hug-o-meter by Emeraldcas [ 1k, rated G ] - Dean wants to hug Cas because of course he does, so maybe he'll just ask him and see what happens.

until my darkness goes by CherryBlossomSprings [ 1k, rated G ] - Dean has been sober before. He was clean for a whole year in purgatory. Not that he had that much choice, liquor is unsurprisingly hard to come by in monster heaven. And he managed a few weeks when The Mark was at its worst. He can do it again. No, he has to do it again.

A Cat in Hell’s Chance by thesebrokenwings [ 1k, rated T ] - Dean adopts a cat and Cas has a hard time adjusting. Fellas, are you ever jealous of the cat?!  

💫AU fics 💫

Meathead by ValandraWrites [ 92k, rated E ] - Professor Cas and body-builder Dean meet at a gym. Dating and BDSM shenanigans ensue. **There’s one kink in the tags that might scare some off, it almost did for me but, it’s only in one scene and very minor. The story overall is really good.  

sons and daughters by foolondahill17 [ 77k, rated M ] - the sequel to Silver Linings, so you’ll have to read that first. Silver Linings follows a year in the life of Dean Winchester. Dean’s bi: sexual and polar. He’s got a string of hospitalizations under his belt. He’s a felon. He’s got a secret. 

A Judicious Application of Free Will by Annie D [ 57k, rated E ] - Dean lives the simple life in Lawrence, running the family business at Winchester Hardware. When Castiel moves into the neighborhood, they strike up a friendship that has the chance to become something more. But before that can run its course, the secrets of Castiel’s past catch up with them both, and their whole world changes. Truly a wild ride! 

put your money where your mouth is 'verse by kototyph [ 56k, rated E ] - A modern AU featuring Vegas, coconut bras, airplanes, Boston, cupcakes, prasinophobia, baseball, kittens, nor'easters, and men expressing deep emotion (in that order). Basically they get accidentally married, then fall in love. 

On Air by wincechesters [ 21k, rated E ] - Cas and Dean are radio DJs and best friends who own a house together but are totally just friends. But for some reason, a lot of their listeners and even some of their friends and family seem to think that they’re secretly in some kind of relationship. Which is ridiculous. Until an ill-fated on air game of Truth or Dare turns everything upside down. Literally idiots in love. 

Are @impala67 and @angelbeekeeper dating? by angelcaswinchester [ 3k, rated T ] - Mid-30s, single, with an obsession with vintage cars and cooking in his spare time, Dean wasn't prepared for anything to come out of signing up for a Tumblr account. But then Dean finds the blog @angelbeekeeper and maybe he develops a little crush on the blogger, Castiel. But there's no way Castiel would notice him, right?

[imharnaannesta]

Honestly it’s so vague that I’m really not convinced that Anakin believes there would be consequences for him for his relationship with Padme at all. Or at least not consequences he’s unwilling to accept.

Obi-Wan warns him off pursuing her but Anakin does it anyway.

When asked about love he says that he feels that Jedi are encouraged to love.

He doesn’t suggest keeping it secret until Padme expresses that she is unwilling to ask him to leave the order and that she is concerned about the consequences.

Anakin shows her affection very publicly and when she worries over people seeing them he’s unconcerned.

But the rules on attachment are vague so it’s hard to say what that says about Anakin.

Is he arrogantly assuming the consequences wouldn’t affect him or does he genuinely believe his relationship with Padme is entirely aboveboard and that the secrecy is entirely for her sake?

(Which makes sense from the perspective that it could definitely damage her political career to be seen as trying to essentially have her own personal Jedi at her beck and call. It maybe falls down a bit as a theory when he doesn’t tell Yoda because the Jedi Council clearly have no problem in years past giving politicians too much access to individual Jedi (see Palpatine) but they did just make Anakin their personal spy against Palpatine so Anakin definitely has reason to believe the council might ask him to betray Padme’s trust in similar ways.)

Is he trying to have both despite knowing it’s wrong or are the potential consequences ones he would be fully willing to accept under different circumstances?

Because the circumstances of Anakin and Padme’s marriage are extreme in ways I feel like aren’t always acknowledged.

They agree not to enter a relationship because Padme won’t ask Anakin to give up his goals for her and they agree that secrecy would hurt them both.

Then they are nearly executed and go back on that decision.

And then war breaks out, Anakin is seriously injured, and the political turmoil reaches new heights.

Padme absolutely cannot afford to be discredited now, too much is at stake for her to face that challenge or retire from public service.

And Anakin just fought a battle where several Jedi are killed. The people who raised him since he came to the Republic, his teachers and mentors and peers, are being called on to go to war. And a leading member of the other side of that war is a former Jedi who left the order and helped orchestrate the outbreak of this war.

Even if revealing their marriage wouldn’t have been a problem for Anakin on any level it would have been a problem for Padme. She disappears due to threats on her life, misses a hugely important vote, and comes back married to the Jedi Padawan who was protecting her? It’s not impossible to spin that positively but she really doesn’t have the time. And if Anakin was leaving the order to be with her, on the eve of war? That would be even worse.

And even if Anakin would leave the order for her if she asked (which she doesn’t and is in fact pretty opposed to) it is, again, the eve of war. Anakin doesn’t just have to be willing to give up being a Jedi. He’d be leaving his fellow Jedi to fight the war without him. His relationships with those fellow Jedi would likely be significantly strained, both by war and by Dooku’s turn to the dark side. And he would likely still have to be married in secret because Padme would still need it to be secret. If it’s going to be a secret anyway he might as well stay in the position where his training does the most good.

Obviously we can’t know what might have happened had the circumstances been different. But ultimately I think the circumstances are at least as important if not more important than what the rules on attachment actually are. And the circumstances are a lot more clear.

The "Star Wars" prequel trilogy films do not do a good job of clearly establishing and clearly explaining "attachments" within the Jedi Order (What is their definition of "attachment"? What are their traditions versus official rules surrounding the different relationships one might have with outsiders? What are the traditional consequences in each the cases where the "attachment" is considered a problem? What does it mean exactly to leave the Jedi Order?) and this confusion has caused many fandom arguments over whether or not this Jedi Order "rule" is inappropriate when few people can agree on what the rule is exactly, even as various additional materials (shows, comics, books, games) have tried to answer some of these questions for us.

This lack of clarity in the films specifically (and across various other installments) is going to keep causing fandom arguments forever, probably, especially when everyone is bringing their own interpretations and opinions to the party! But something that is absolutely not helping this dust cloud fight over Jedi Order political policy and traditional religious practices, in my opinion, is that both of Anakin's attachments are obviously extreme edge cases here! They're not typical!

Like, with Shmi Skywalker, the main issue here is NOT actually "Should Jedi be able to maintain contact with their families at all?" The problem is intentionally colored by the fact that a woman has been left in unstable SLAVERY on a dangerous planet, and it's perfectly reasonable for her traumatized child to fear for her life!

Thus the "attachments" conversation from this angle tends to devolve into heated arguments about how the Jedi Order as an organization's complicated ties to the increasingly corrupt Republic (a bloated, non-transparent "democracy" which apparently contains a variety of monarchies!) both permits them to do good on some planets and actively prevents them from doing good on others. The institutions are failing the individuals all over the place in this story. Which is, you know, part of the overall point of the prequels; the traditional ideals of this one particular religious order don't really mesh well with these various machines of politics, war, and capital stretching across a galaxy! In fact, they're actively in conflict! Palpatine is preying on this and laughing the whole time!

And on the other hand as an extreme case, Anakin's relationship with Padmé as presented in the films kind of gets treated as "Should Jedi be allowed to love romantically at all?" when Anakin is trying to have everything at once by having a secret marriage with a SENATOR without leaving the Order. If the Jedi Order is trying (struggling) to maintain some sort of separate and neutral position as peacekeepers within the Republic, then, uh, yeah, it doesn't seem unreasonable that they might at least have rules against their members being (legally?) bound in any fashion to Republic politicians or other similarly significant figures.

If the space paparazzi got a shot of Anakin and Padmé smooching, then it would be a SCANDAL. Regardless of what the actual rules on marriage might be within the Jedi Order generally, it's not unreasonable that to Anakin specifically the Jedi Council might be like, "Congrats on your marriage, but you cannot be a member and representative of our Order and the Senator's trophy husband at the same time. You have to pick one."

[unsettlingconclusions]

Persuasion

Pairing: Hana Lee x MC (Riley) Summary:  After a long while drowned in responsibilities, some persuasion might be in order. Set somewhere in The Royal Heir universe. Genre: Fluff. Rating: T Word Count: ~2,5k Notes: This is cheesy AF, not much my style, so if it weirds you out, know it weirds me out just as much.

There’s nothing wrong with the idea of feeling a certain level of urgency when it comes to thinking about someone you love, is there? That was the thought that had been intruding itself in Hana’s mind as of late. And there it was again, while she’s walking down the hallway towards the main bedroom she shares with Riley.

It was a nice Friday evening and she was ready to spend the next few hours in a much needed quiet solitude with her wife. Well, perhaps not quiet, but definitely solitude if she were to have her way. She had just tucked in Aurora, who had been surprisingly collaborative, fussed very little and embarked on what seemed a peaceful sleep. With all her heart Hana hoped this peacefulness would last throughout the night, or at the very least many, many hours of said night.

She had barely had a moment alone with her wife in the last few days. Riley has been working herself to the bones lately. She had begun taking the responsibility of running Valtoria very seriously, claiming she needed to know and really know the details of their livelihood. Hana suspected it had to do with a few recent encounters they had with some noblemen who Riley gracefully called “spoiled brats who can’t tell the difference between their asses and their ego” and then mumbled some more about how it must be nice to have daddy set everything up for them. All of that due to them having claimed it was their job to know how to spend their money, not to know how it arrived in their bank accounts.

It was endearing, Hana thought, given she never knew Riley to have a problem in leaving business entirely to a manager before Aurora was born. Heartwarming as it was, when added to their responsabilities as members of the Royal Council, it meant lots of classes and meetings, and many hours spent on the study, and on the playroom, so sometimes they ran short of time. Short of stamina too, if she was to be honest.

With that in mind, she tiptoes into the room. It was possible Riley was already fast asleep, although Hana fervently wishes that wasn’t the case. Hana herself was as tired as she could get, even if her air of grace and elegance wouldn't betray her. But she was also tired of missing her wife. Like a woman on a mission, she quickly scans the room with her eyes, finding Riley standing at the balcony leaning over the railing and staring out at the sky, still dressed in her day clothes. Hana almost sighs in relief.

"Aurora is down, hopefully for the night." Hana offers from the balcony door.

"Let's cross our fingers. Thank you for tucking her in on your own tonight." Riley turns her head around and flashes Hana a bright, inviting smile, gesturing for Hana to come closer.

“You're welcome. It looked like you needed some respite.”

Hana slowly approaches her wife, encircling her arms around Riley's waist, planting a kiss at the back of her neck and comfortably resting her head on Riley's shoulder.

“Ah, now this feels nice.” Riley sinks further into Hana’s embrace, enjoying the warmth of Hana’s body pressing against her back. “My night has just got so much better.”

"I’m glad to hear it. I’m sorry we haven’t spent much time together lately.”

“I'm sorry too. The past few days have been intense. Between running an estate, learning how to run an estate, royal councils and raising a baby, there are not enough hours in my day.”

“How can I help?” Hana asks while moving her hands up and down Riley’s arms in a soothing manner.

“Right now is helping very much. As for tomorrow, I don’t suppose agriculture was part of your courtly training?”

“Unfortunately no. I don't think my parents thought it to be very ladylike.”

"I happen to like when you're not very ladylike," was Riley's reply to that, offered with a smirk.

“I don't think whatever you're thinking about is going to be much help either," Hana says shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" Riley feigns indignation, "Imagining you unladylike is sure to help me with just about everything."

Grinning to herself and blushing a little, Hana shakes her head again. Riley always had a way of making her feel incredibly special and incredibly sexy. With that incentive, she tightens her hold on Riley, caressing her stomach over the fabric of her shirt with one hand and brushing Riley's hair away from her neck with the other, exposing some perfect sensitive skin for her to bury her face in. With a little prodding, this night seemed like it was going to turn around very fine afterall.

"What were you doing out here? You looked deep in thought.” She asks, peppering Riley's neck with small, lazy kisses.

“I was counting my lucky stars. Legend says one gets one year of marriage bliss out of every star one counts.”

“Uhum...” Hana hummed softly, not to be deviated from her task at hand.

“And it’s been going well so far, I’ve already counted 547.”

Hana laughs wholeheartedly. “547? Goodness. And it has not been enough?”

“Enough? Every star in the universe would not be close to enough. I want all of my lifetimes to be spent with you.”

“You do know how to charm a girl’s heart,” Hana said, as she turns Riley around and wraps her arms around Riley’s shoulder, “I might say you were born for it.”

“Your heart, Duchess Hana.”

Hana leans forward, involving Riley in a tender and sweet kiss, getting lost in the touch of Riley’s hands in her waist and lower back. She thought she’d never get tired of losing herself in Riley’s embrace and she wasn't planing to. In fact, her imediate plan was to do a lot of that losing herself business. But sadly, and many minutes too soon for Hana's liking, Riley takes a step back.

“I have something for you.” Riley says, and gestures for Hana to wait for just a minute, who was left with no other choice but to oblige. She goes back in the bedroom and reaches for the bottom drawer of the nightstand on her side of the bed, pulling two retangular packages. She returns to the balcony and hands Hana the largest one first, leaving the other one resting on a nearby coffee table.

After gently unpacking the wrapping paper, a hard-cover copy of Pride and Prejudice is revealed. Hana stares at it with a quizzical look, wondering why it would be so large and why would Riley give her this book in particular, given their library already had a copy of it.

Sensing Hana’s confusion, Riley offers, “This is a special edition. Every letter in the book has been replicated down to regency calligraphy style and post office manners, whatever that means”. She shows Hana a pouch inside the book, from which Hana pulls a folded letter. She opens it to reveal delicate period handwriting, post marks and even traces of wax seal.

“This is beautiful!”, Hana exclaims excitedly while examining the quality of the letter. She spends a few minutes perusing over a few others, admiring the different handwriting attributed to different characters. “So much attention to detail. It must create an incredible immersive experience reading the book through them.”

“So you like it?” Riley inquires, smirking slightly.

Hana launches herself into Riley, pecking her soundly on the lips.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” Riley laughs, tilting her head to the side and leaning forward to capture Hana’s lips in another sweet but brief kiss. “I remember coming across this once before we met and thinking it was the nerdiest thing. But after that letter of yours, you made me realize how letters can be intimate. I had to get this for you."

"Thank you, darling. I'm sure I'll enjoy reading these. But how did you find the time to go buying it? Have you been sneaking up on me?”

“Well, there’s this thing called the Internet...” Riley trails off smirking. She briefly reaches for the other package laying on the table and gives it to Hana as well. “I know I said before I could be your Mr. Bingley, but that was just so I could score some points with you. For you, I’d rather be Captain Wentworth.”

“I didn’t know you were a fan of Jane Austen.” Hana teased grinning, as her eyes come to meet a copy of Persuasion.

“I must keep some secrets to maintain my air of mistery”, Riley replies smiling. “Honestly, I had this assignment at school and had to pick something classical to read, so I picked the shortest one I could find.”

“Is that why you also know Pride and Prejudice by heart?”

“I refuse to answer that on the grounds I can’t incriminate myself.” Riley offers, her smile widening. “When the movie with Keira Knightley was released, I’d see all the girls fawning over Mr. Darcy, or even Mr. Bingley, but I always admired Wentworth more. A love that resists the test of time like that is something.”

“I could barely read it. It was all so sad the way Anne and the captain just kept missing each other.”

“Doesn’t that just add to the beauty of it? He didn’t waver despite being butthurt and came back even when he had no idea if there was anything left for him. He never took it well being told he should stay away from Anne. And I get that, I would never let anyone talk me out of being with you.”

Riley suddenly drops to one knee while flailing her left arm around and holding her right hand close to her heart, gesturing in a very exaggerated manner.

“Weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. Dare not say my love has an earlier death!”

The laughter in Riley's eyes is quickly replaced by a flaming adoration. She gets up reaching for Hana’s hands, her features showing nothing but tenderness and love, her gaze never leaving Hana’s.

“I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul, I'm half agony, half hope. For you alone I think and plan. I have loved none but you." Riley brushes a strand of hair off Hana’s face and cups her cheek, caressing Hana’s cheekbone with her thumb delicately, like she had all the time in the world and nothing more to do than worship the woman standing before her.

“I love you, Hana.”

Hana launches herself at Riley once more, only this time she had every intention of being as passionate as possible. It was only a natural response after what she had just heard. She was speechless, and thankfully so, for there were no words that could do justice to how she was feeling, so she’d better show it. She kisses Riley deeply and with such a fervor, her hands roaming everywhere, her arms never losing the hold they had on her wife. She missed Riley, and as much as she was good at acting the dignified lady all weak long through many meetings and events, there was only so much she could take when Riley pushed all the right buttons. She starts to move forward towards the bed, taking Riley with her, her resolve unbreakable. That is, as unbreakable as it can get when your child's wailing comes barging in on it.

“Nooooooo. No, no, no, no, no” Riley grimaces, completely unimpressed by their baby’s sense of timing. “No, honey, noooooo.” She adds dramatically now that it was Hana who took a step back.

It’s not like Hana was particularly thrilled either (quite the opposite, if she was to be inquired), but what could she do? She offers dejectedly, and panting a little, “I’ll go,” and adds with a hint of frustration, “Wait for me?”. Or at least she hoped it was only a hint and not the very loaded truck of frustration she was actually feeling at this point.

Instead of complying, Riley closes the space between them again, blocking Hana’s path. “Maybe it’s our lucky day. She’s a good girl, she’ll go back to sleep.”

“Riley...”

“Shhhh, just wait a minute.”

“The more we wait the harder it is for her to go back to sleep," was what came out of Hana's mouth, who felt slightly uncomfortable with voicing the rest of the sentence that was going through her mind.

“Have faith, she’s learning.”

Sure enough, the baby monitor goes silent. Riley approaches it and turns on the screen, triumphantly twirling on her heels and showing Hana the sight of a sleeping baby.

The look Hana gave Riley at that moment was such a mixture of longing, impatience, desire and relief that it filled Riley's core with warmth and mischief. She knew that look and knew that with little prompting she’d easily drag Hana’s wild side out. It always came when Hana got worked up, pun absolutely intended. She just needed to drag time a tiny little bit. With a whole new resolve within her, Riley returns the baby monitor to the nightstand.

“I’m going to buy her a whole new castle for this,” She says, resolutely calculating her next steps. If she played this right, the literal stars in the sky wouldn't be the only ones she counted that evening. “Now, where were we?” She adds as she slowly approaches Hana again, kissing her on the lips, “Was it here?”, then her neck, “Or was it here?”, and her collarbone, “Maybe here?”, lazily moving her lips from one spot to another, a stark contrast to the urgency they shared just a few minutes ago.

Hana moans softly. “Somewhere along this line.”

“You have to help me, it’d be a shame if I get lost.”

“We wouldn’t want that.” Hana answers all the while driving Riley's hands towards the hem of her dress. Riley gets the gist and removes it in as much of an unhurried manner as possible, making sure she'd slide her hands along with the fabric all the way from Hana's thighs up to her waist, the sides of her chest and neck, eventually leaving Hana standing dressed only in her underwear.

“You’re too gorgeous for this world.” Riley says, taking her sweet time to appreciate the sight of her half-naked, face flushed and disheveled wife.

“Like what you see?”

“I love what I see.”

“Well, I don’t love much the disadvantage I’m at right now.” Hana says, a little more hurriedly reaching for the waistline of Riley's slacks, tugging at the button. She wastes no time helping Riley out of her pants, then her shirt, and then an undershirt? “Why do you have so many layers of clothes on?” She groans.

“I can’t go walking around the house naked.” Riley offers with a sly grin.

“You won’t hear me complaining.”

Riley takes a step back, yet again, smiling widely. The opportunity to tease Hana a bit was just too good to pass up and what else could she do when Hana just hands it to her?

“Really? If I go barging orders to the majordomo, to the gardener, to the stable guy or the lady that tidies up our bedroom... completely naked... you’d just be okay with it?” Riley arches her eyebrows playfully. Hot and bothered Hana was fun to mess with.

“Can you please just come closer so I can properly make love to my wife?” Hana says exasperated. A flicker of something else pass through Hana’s semblance as she realizes Riley was playing her. Well, it's not like it was a bad move. She adds as she narrows her eyes defiantly, “Can you please just let me fuck you?”

And to that, there could be no objection. There could be only the most proper alacrity.

“Yes, ma’am.”