#they'll go into battles or rescues or missions over and over...

[my-animeandmanga-journey]

He did it! He pulled her out!

[sonic-fankid-showdown]

Poll 26, Round 1.

About Nova: (by @pastelspindash) Nova was created by Eggman from Sonic and Shadow's DNA in an attempt to perfect the ultimate lifeform. She was created at the age she is now, 19, and was rescued from Eggman's lab by the pair. However, they weren't very good parents, often neglecting their duties as parents for their duties as heroes. (they say it's to protect her, but really they're just not ready for that responsibility.) Because of this, Nova is a lot closer to Amy, who looked after her until Eggman returned one day. He convinced her to rejoin the Empire, and now she works with him, as well as seeing him as her father figure. She fights Sonic whatever chance she gets, and seems to revel in the fight just like him - maybe they'll even start to bond over their regular battles... Despite working for Eggman, under her hard exterior and resting angry face is a very kind and rather lonely girl. Her hobbies include skateboarding and parkour.

About Bean: (by @sonic-the-werehog) she was made by chaos energy and is in the new team chaotix,her mission is to become the greatest teammate ever!,she likes reading, going on missions, running,her gf kasumi(espio and silvers daughter) and her chao yogurt! She hates losing, not going on missions,water, standing still,and loud sounds !

[drawingdroid]

The Unknown Regions V

A Din Djarin x Fem Plus Size Reader Fic

Summary: Grogu is gone and Din Djarin, surprisingly, needs your help. As an astrophysicist, you haven't seen a lot of action, but you're onboard the Razor Crest without a second thought. Flying to the Wild Space together will be a life-changing experience for both of you. In more than one way.

The Unknown Regions Masterlist | Read it on AO3

Warnings: Expect conversations about weight, body dysmorphia and internalised fatphobia that may be triggering, so read at your own discretion; reader is AFAB and user she/her pronouns; no use of y/n; smut; the bucket stays on; naked female clothed male; fluff and smut; hurt and comfort; Sad Din :(

Word count: 3,136

A/N:  I've taken so long to close this chapter since I was having a major episode of autistic burnout bothering me. But slowly I'm recovering and finally forced myself to do the things I enjoy like writing fics! So I'm back with this story! It keeps getting longer so I initially planned 5 chapters but they'll end up being 7. This one is longer and then 6 will be pure filth ;) and 7 will serve as a kind of epilogue. Strap on for some confessions and feelings in this one! Also, keldabe kiss if you catch the reference in the chapter end!

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“Hi sweetheart”, you cooed, your tone soft and quiet.

The kid was poking his little face behind the doorframe, looking at his dad and you alternatively. The first day after rescuing him, he didn’t want to eat anything and Din was crazy worried. Normally, he said, he had quite the appetite. The boy just napped on his father’s chest, sometimes waking up weeping from nightmares. Your heart ached for him. What had he possibly gone through on that planet to be like that? Din and you decided that waiting for you to be introduced to Grogu was the best since he wasn’t feeling safe. But for the last hours, he seemed like he was recovering, eating finally some food and looking better. 

As Din expected, the whole plan was aimed to lure him into a trap. An act of revenge from some pirates that, thankfully, didn’t know anything about the kid’s powers and just abducted him as bait when they couldn’t defeat his dad back on Tatooine. He came all hurt from the battle. You had been anxiously waiting for him, feeling powerless to stay back, but accompanying him would have been a liability. To keep yourself busy, you run some diagnostics about the planet. It wasn’t the moment to be excited, but landing on a planet you had just discovered was something any scientist would dream about. So you were distracted by studying the atmosphere and taking some samples from the soil when you saw him limping through the forest, you left your tools to run towards him. You were going to ask when he put his pointer finger where his lips would be in a universal signal. Silence. Then, he looked between his arms and you followed. Between his strong arms, there was bundled the most precious creature you had ever seen. His son. The baby was snoring softly under his blanket and you nodded in understanding.

After entering the hull, his arm over your shoulders, he didn’t let you give him treatment. His one and only goal was to be sure of the kid’s health. He took his temperature, listened to his tiny lungs and tried feeding him. Shortly after it was clear the only damage the boy had suffered was psychological. He didn’t rest nor sleep, and you accompanied him the whole time. Watching the baby rest on Din’s breastplate, and how the warrior caressed the little fuzzy head, made your heart go wild. The love and devotion he demonstrated to his kid only made you fonder of The Mandalorian.

After the incident that had interrupted your heavy make-out session, you didn’t touch again. Din was laser-focused on the mission, especially when you landed and he had to recover all the information possible about the enemy’s base. For that, it was useful to have brought your little drone droid with you, the type that was launched to unknown planets to retrieve information. Din frowned at the little droid at first, but when it proved its worth he became more accepting about it. It was the droid that provided a map of the underground base, checked if the air was breathable and let Din know how many enemies were stationed there.

When he didn’t start the take-off protocol upon his arrival, you were worried about your safety but didn’t say anything. Later you’d learn he had killed them all. How that information should have felt? Frightening, probably, disgusting. But the fact that he slayed more than twenty pirates just to avenge his son and ensure his safety was kind of incredible. You only admired him more for that. 

Before arriving on the planet, you had lamented the lack of intimacy. Your rational self told you he was having complicated feelings, that he was preparing himself for the mission and didn’t have time for that. In fact, he was making an inventory of his weapons and cleaning them regularly. But the thing was that your feelings were hurt and you couldn’t stop overthinking about your past intercourse. He had been so vulnerable it had broken your heart. He had cried in your lap, and you had held him until he calmed down, caressing there where the beskar didn’t protect his flesh. You knew it wasn’t about you, for kriff’s sake, but that little voice inside your head said the contrary. That he had thought it better. That he felt repulsed by you. Like a mantra, you repeated his praise words in your head to keep the overthinking away when you were trying to sleep.

The intimacy didn’t return, but the boy did, and he was feeling better every day. Grogu was a curious and energetic kid and it took a lot to keep up with him. His appetite returned eventually, and you could see how Din was relaxing little by little. The day he introduced both of you, the baby had toddled towards your boot and hugged it, and then started to babble incoherently. It turned out to be a good signal because from that day you became buddies. With any spare part, cloth or scrap, you made him toys and invented little games to let Din rest from time to time. You grew very fond of the kid, he was a charmer and you liked children. Often, his dad observed you both, normally after waking up from a much-needed nap. He stated immobile, looking at both of you, and you’d flash him a smile. Maybe he didn’t want you anymore, maybe it had been just a desperate moment of need, but something about the way his hands twitched when he looked at you gave you hope.

Eventually, you needed to refuel and buy supplies on your way to Tatooine. You didn’t want to think about the day all of this would end. You tried not to. But the shadow was there. The fact was that you didn’t miss your workplace. All the return trip, you had been working on your data about the new planet and sending it to the observatory, discovering further about the chemistry of its atmosphere and soil. You’d been researching about the moon you saw when you were in orbit, a satellite you didn’t notice from the observatory. It was real, it was tangible. It wasn’t only numbers and abstract calculations, a part you enjoyed, but now you had discovered it wasn’t enough.

The planet you had landed on for your supply run was a safe one, so you accompanied Din through the market. Compared to Tatooine, this place was so lush and colourful, so you were enjoying yourself a lot by asking vendors and looking through things.

“Do you like this carpet?” Din surprised you with his question while you were checking some shawls.

“What?” He just pointed to a beautiful and fluffy carpet hanging on a stall.

“It’s lovely! It’ll warm the Razor Crest for sure, the kid can play on it…”

“It’s for you.” He cut you, changing his weight uncomfortably.

“I ruined your carpet back on Tatooine. By bleeding.” 

Your laugh took him by surprise apparently. After everything, he was thinking of replacing your carpet? He was so, so sweet and your heart ached a bit.

“You don’t need to buy me a carpet, you have already given me more than more than I could dream of.” You didn’t intend to sound that deep, it was only a carpet for maker’s sake! But the truth was that you felt so grateful for the opportunity Did had given you by travelling with him. He tilted his head and crossed his arms. The kid started to play with the carpet’s tassels, but all of Din’s attention was on you.

“I don’t understand. You left everything to help us. The least I could do…” He looked to both sides, noticing all the vendor’s eyes were on them. There wasn’t a place to have that conversation. “Let’s go back to the Crest.” You nodded and followed after untangling the kid from the soft tassels. It was a beautiful carpet, to be honest.

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After spending the day in the market, full of new and exciting things, the kid was snoring even before arriving at the Razor Crest. Both of you stayed silent to not disturb the baby, so your conversation was postponed for the moment.

Din had landed on a quiet forest clearing, and the only sound was the humming of the nocturnal birds. The temperature was nice, so silently you both agreed to light a campfire to cookdinner and luckily, hang out a bit. He went to put Grogu in his little hammock while you looked for firewood, so you had some space for yourself to think.

“Don't go too far,” he'd said seriously, and as other times you noticed his gaze lingering more than necessary in you. You'd smiled and rolled your eyes playfully. He was worrying too much, this was a safe planet after all. But you couldn't deny that his concerns about your safety warmed your heart a little too much.

While looking for the most promising branches in the surroundings of the clearing, you thought about the carpet event. It made you think about your home. You felt ashamed about how little though you had put on the fact that you'd be in your cabin again, soon. The little space you had worked hard to get, your sanctuary. And you didn't miss it a little bit. Well, maybe your bathtub and scented candles. But that was it.

The fact was that flying in the Razor Crest felt like home. And it didn't have anything to do with the old hunk of metal and its barren, utilitarian interior. It was Din, who made you feel safe, your unspeakable connection. How he had held you, as the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. And the addition of the child only had made the sensation grow. The little critter was beyond adorable and you loved the humble routines the three of you had established. And observing how his dad took care of him, so gently and patiently, only made you grow fonder of the Mandalorian.

But everything had to end. Something too similar to grief started to grow inside of your chest. You pressed the firewood harder against your body. There was enough to light a nice bonfire so you decided to return to the Crest. After all, you had a pending conversation with Din.

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Together you started the campfire and prepared a delicious meal with the fresh produce from the market. You insisted on cooking something from your birthplace since the ingredients were available, and Din indulged. Since you were flying together, he would always wait to eat after you or eat in the cockpit, but the stew was ready and he wasn't moving. You didn’t know what to do.

“I'll go change, tell me if you like it!” Din looked at you and nodded slowly. It was strange, he was even more silent than normal.

Putting your night clothes on, you felt relieved. With what you had been wearing, although cute, your thighs had been burning after some hours of walking in the warm weather. You refreshed yourself a little and checked if the kid was still asleep and well.

“Are you visible?” You asked before going down the hull, hoping he had had enough time to have dinner in peace.

“Yes, you can come out.” You descended the ramp eager to have your homemade dinner, but you had to stop a moment to admire the sight. He looked beautiful under the flames, reflecting them in the beskar he always kept impeccable. “What?” He asked, catching you mesmerized by him. Your heart instantly spiked, feeling caught.

“Nothing just…your beskar looks…beautiful.” Your cheeks warmed, and you activated again your legs to sit beside the campfire. He passed a full bowl of the stew to you, still steamy and you thanked him.

“It was delicious,” he commented casually after a while. “I even had a second serving.” You lifted your eyebrows, knowing how rare that was for him. He ate the bare minimum, even less than a man his size needed, you suspected.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” you responded, finishing the last drops of your meal. “My mother used to prepare this when I was feeling gloomy, it's…a comfort food.” You smiled, remembering how your mom would pace around the kitchen while you whimpered about your last teenage drama and how after a while, she'd produce the delicious stew that shut you up and made you feel much better. 

Din looked at the empty pot as if it contained all the responses to the secrets of the universe. 

“Did it work?” You asked out of nothing, feeling brave after the magic stew. Din looked at you, pot still in his hands.

“What?”

“The stew. Something is bothering you, right? Did it make it better?” You bite your lip, worrying about being intrusive. But was it a dream? The closeness you experienced with him? Deep in your heart, you were craving that vulnerability again. So you had to try.

Din sighed deeply and put the pot away. Intertwining his gloved hands, it looked like he was picking the right words and your chest tightened with anticipation.

“You've been…so kind. To me. To us. I don't know how to repay you.” His voice sounded husky and he looked troubled, you even felt bad. Bad because this good, caring man, felt like kindness was some type of currency and what that implied. 

How harsh has your life been, Din Djarin?

Carefully, you sat a bit closer to him. “Din, hear me out.” his helmet turned so fast when you said his name it was almost comical. “I didn't help you looking for something in return. First, you were wounded and I couldn't just let you die on my carpet.”  You grinned mentioning the blasted carpet again. “And then we were in Mos Espa and I saw a father in need who had lost his child.”

Remembering his sorrow then was almost painful. It had hurt watching him navigate the fear, the loss.

You waited, almost able to hear the gears of his brain, thinking about the possibility of disinterested kindness. 

“Before…in the market…you said I've already given me more than more than you could dream of.” His voice was quieter now and he was observing the fire. A question lingered in the air. 

You inhaled sharply hearing your sappy words in his mouth, feeling utterly ashamed. You were referring to traveling to the Unknown Regions, to the planet you had discovered, but it was more than that. It was the quiet intimacy of your day to day with them, his little thoughtful details to you, how he was determined to teach you to fly, or the weight of Grogu when he napped on your chest. 

Would you be brave? He had opened the door, but it was your decision to cross. You were afraid: if you opened your mouth, there wouldn’t be a way to come back. The point of no return.

“I’ve never felt like this before.” You confessed, trying to have the courage and looking at his visor. “I've never been further from home but with you… I feel safe to navigate even the Unknown Regions.” 

You twisted your nightgown in your hands, feeling like you could die from the embarrassment. Lucky for you he was going to leave you soon in Tatooine, because you'll never recover if he didn't feel the same. But once started your brain didn't stop to run all the things you wanted to say to him, like a dam breaking.

“I don't want anything in exchange for my help because being with you is the reward.” It was cheesy but it was also the truth. Now that you had bared your heart, you felt relief, but also like you were going to throw up. 

He had listened to you still like a beskar statue and your anxiety was spiking. The initial braveness had faded and now the overthinking was waiting for its moment to torture you.

But then he moved. Grabbed your hand, wrapping yours in his bigger palm. Like that first night when he told you about Grogu and you comforted him.

“Mesh’la.” All his body was now turned to you like he wasn’t only listening with his ears but all of him. “Is that true?” The emotion that his modulated voice transmitted, close to breaking, was a rare thing for him. It made you shiver as you squeezed his hand back.

“Yes Din, everything of it. I know I  should find myself wanting to go home after all these weeks, but I already feel like home here, with you.” Now even your ears felt hot and you had to look elsewhere or you’d combust.

Din sighed heavily. “You love your job, and you’re great at it.”

“That’s true,” you admitted, a pinch of sorrow fiding your chest, but also hopeful because he hadn’t rejected you yet. And because of what he had been implying.

Din looked at the Razor Crest, and then his gaze returned to you. “I haven’t felt at home for a long, long time,” he confessed, and something in you ached at the confession, “but since you’re onboard…” The Bounty Hunter looked at his boots and then cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I’m not good with words” At this point, your eyes were glossy and your lower lip was trembling.

“You’ve said plenty, Din.” He inhaled sharply and then gathered the courage to wrap your waist in an embrace. You happily curled against his cuirass, nesting your face against the crook of his neck. His right hand hadn’t left yours for a moment. The warmth you felt was incomparable with nothing you’d sensed before. It was like being so full of affection that you were in danger of spilling it. You wanted to smile and cry. 

“We’ll figure things out, mesh’la,” he said softly, tracing shapes in your back.

Goosebumps formed in your skin and inevitably you remembered the last (and first) time you were intimate. You were longing for another moment like that between you. The commanding but kind way Din had spoken to you, his adoring yourds and hands exploring your supple flesh? You sighed against his covered neck and his masculine scent filled your nostrils. It had an immediate effect on you, and soon arousal started to pool between your thighs.

“Din…,” you started, voice a little thick from desire.”...would you touch me tonight, please?”

His whole body tensed and his grip on you tightened. There was a knot in your stomach. There was a limit to how forward a girl could be on the same day.

“As you wish, mesh’la.” And before you could protest, he was carrying you to the belly of the Crest.

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 103 - Spirits of the Blue Forests

Star Trek: Discovery - Season 1 Episode 8 - Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

Oooh, Latin title! Running it through translate, it appears to mean "IF you want peace, prepare for war" which is a bit ominous!

We open with the Discovery launching a surprise rescue mission of another Starfleet ship under Klingon Attack. The Mission is however a failure. The other ship is lost, and Discovery has to Spore Jump out of there. Despite the Spore Drive's great speed abilities, the Klingon invisibility ships are just impossible to target until they make themselves visible, which is an difficult problem that I can't wait to see how they think around.

Meanwhile, Paul seems to be having some after effects from being plugged into the Spore drive. We know from last episode that Ripper's DNA had some weird time effect on him, and now he appears to have a bit of confusion, and accidentally refers to Sylvia Tilly as Captain. A hint at the future perhaps? Well, later in the episode we get some more details about what he's experiencing, but I can't figure out if it's time related, or multiverse related or just entirely in his head. I need more to go on.

After the aforementioned battle, we find out that Starfleet Command has asked discovery to go to a planet called Pahvo. Saru, Michael, Ash make up this the ground team, and the plan is to study the planet's unique vibrations to make a SONAR system for detecting the cloaked Klingon ships. I'm not 100% sure how a Sonar System is supposed to work in the vacuum of Space, surely the vibrations would need matter to be carried across. Either way, the planet is absolutely gorgeous. I love the blues.

I actually really enjoy this trio working together. Now that Michael and Saru have made up, they bounce off each other pretty well, they have some fun banter with eachother across the scenes of them exploring the planet, and have a really nice balance of personalities. They encounter some Ethereal creatures, and now the team are required to make official first Contact. Michael mentions that there is an official protocol for that now, which is certainly going to make things a lot easier than in the days of Archer making it up as he went along. While Saru is off trying to communicate with the creatures, Ash and Michael have a moment of bonding by the fire. They want to be together, but as long as there is a war, they'll be kept busy and as soon as the war is over, Michael is going back to prison. It's a very important problem for Michael's future, and we get an interesting look into both her Ash's moralities in this scene. And also a kiss, which is also nice.

The Pahvans initiate a telepathic communication with Saru, who then crushes Michael and Ash's communicators and goes mad at trying to keep the team on the planet. Ash takes command and decides to distract Saru while Michael tries to contact Discovery.

Also, throughout the episode we keeping cutting back to the Klingons. The Klingon leaders are trying to torture Admiral Cornwell, but apparently the Torturer has other plans. The Torturer wants to defect to the Federation, and launches a plan to escape with the Admiral. They move to assassinate the leadership as they escape, but are caught in the process and end up in a faux fight with eachother to avoid recapture. The torturer knocks Cornwell unconscious, and uses it to feign her death, and dumps her unconscious body in with a bunch of real Klingon bodies. I'm not sure where their arc is going, but I will say it's first time in Discovery that the Klingon side of things has properly held my attention enough to fully work through my difficulties with subtitles.

We're left on a cliffhanger of the Pahvans summoning the Klingon Flagship, because they don't understand the reality of war and want to bring harmony, and Discovery is left to protect them.

I really liked this episode. The Pahvo stuff was really nice, I love delving into these characters. It was a lovely episode for Saru, and how he's entirely motivated by keeping the Pahvans out of the war is beautiful. Apparently, this was the first time he had lived without fear, and his reaction to having that taken away is heartbreaking. The character development on Michael and Ash was amazing too. I love this kind of character focus episode.

[icy-watch]

Alright. Episode 13, the final episode of the season.

Garmadon has taken off with the weapons, Lloyd needs to train, dragons are back, Wu is alive, the Great Devour is gone.

I don't think they'll jump right back into the Garmadon vs the Ninja storyline with the next season. It's going to be a hot minute before that gets resolved.

The Serpentine are still an issue, so something has to be done there. That might be what they decide to tackle in the next season, but I feel like they'll step away until the last few episodes of season 2.

I'm genuinely surprised that I predicted that they would end the season with the Great Devourer creating an Ouroboros, while the Ninja played Snake. I actually laughed out loud at that. I don't think I would have predicted that if I didn't have some knowledge in alchemy and 80s arcade games. My childhood was weird but it pays off in the weirdest ways sometimes.

If you're interested, I'm going over what I predicted correctly and incorrectly.

Incorrect

Learn more spinjitzu to save Nya. I actually thought they would drag out the "saving Nya" plotline a little long.

Nya will join the bad guys. She will realize that she's being mislead during a big moment of betrayal. I was so wrong with this. So, so, so, so, so wrong.

Garmadon will attack a village to kick off the main series. I am disappointed with myself on this one.

The Serpentine will work with Garmadon. I could not have been more incorrect about this one if I tried.

The dragons will carry the boat around or they'll get to sea somehow. I was not expecting the boat to be able to fly like it would in Peter Pan if it had been made by Nicholas St. North from Rise of the Guardians (2012).

The boat will be important. It was the ninjas' home but not as important as I thought it would be.

The rescue mission for Lloyd will be the next episode. It actually took a couple of episodes.

Kai won't reach his full potential until the final battle. He reached it by saving Lloyd.

Getting the last fangblade will be a challenge for Pythor and the Serpentine. They managed to get it without the ninja interfering.

Correct

Sibling rivalry and tensions will be pervasive throughout the whole series. I haven't been wrong about this one yet.

Lloyd is the green ninja. While Nya was definitely in the top contenders -- even Wu thought so at one point -- Lloyd was always right there. He made sense.

Lloyd will join the group. He did. As the green ninja.

The samurai is Nya. This was very obvious to be once I saw her bangle on her arm. The only other person it could have been was Nya and Kai's mother, who hasn't really been mentioned at all in the show so it was doubtful that it would be her.

The boys won't get the next fangblade. They only managed to get them because they infiltrated the secret hideout and escaped with Garmadon and the Skulkins' help.

Pythor would raise the Great Devourer. With as much hubub as they made about bringing the Great Devourer back, I should have known there'd be a big battle.

Pythor gets eaten by the Great Devourer. He did and everyone celebrated.

Something bad will happen to Wu. He got eaten as well, but he's fine now.

Partially

Lloyd and the Serpentine will be the big bads this season and the next as well. I'm giving this one a partial correct. Lloyd started out being not so great and then grew as the season wore on. The Serpentine were bad all the way through. We don't have any confirmation right now whether or not they'll be the bad guys next season.

Cole being controlled by the Serpentine will be revealed at the worst possible moment. This one gets a partial bc it was at the worst possible moment, but I thought it would be later in the season. Not the very next episode.

Lloyd will free all of the Serpentine. He technically released 3 of the 5 tribes.

Pythor will either take the fangblades from them or they will manage to destroy the fangblades in Torchfire Mountain. I wasn't sure which way this would fall.

[fantasyinvader]

I just finished Unicorn Overlord. All 176 quests complete, funny how the post-game mission is far, FAR easier than the final map (where you actually have to pay attention to unit layouts and prioritizing their skills. It's like the game offering a final test on everything it was about, like a good final boss should, but considering stuff like Galerius no-selling the first 6 times he's hit in combat or how the map has a part II where the item restriction carries over. It felt like bullshit until I could put together a party that actually worked, which involved grinding.

But, as a whole, it felt like a RTS version of Fire Emblem and not just any Fire Emblem, it was Fire Emblem as I remember playing it on the GBA. Part of that is the more flowery language because the localization, but it did fit the setting so I don't think it was to the game's detriment.

That said, the ending did remind me of Houses. Spoilers ahead.

A lot of games want the player to project onto it's protagonist, making their journey the player's. And as such, people put a lot of emphasis on player choice. We've even seen this in Houses, with people arguing in favor of Flower by virtue of the player needing to unlock it and choosing to side with Edelgard. If left to their own devices, Byleth won't have any of Edelgard's shit and side with Rhea, which people try to spin as being a bad thing.

Unicorn gives the player many options to recruit former enemies, though some join a few hours later, or have them punished for their actions. It gives the player this choice, but the former option is the one the game's themes champion. At the end of the day, after knocking Galerius off his high horse, the player is once again offered such a choice (though the default option is on kill this time).If they keep with the game's themes of forgiveness, it's revealed that Galerius was possessing Alain's long-thought-dead mother and the player can fight the true final boss. If the player rejects those themes, Galerius tries to possess Alain but is defeated. However, this ending let's the true big bad get away and the souls of the enemy empire do not get salvation.

In addition, the player can unlock the final battle really early in the game, they'll do so before finishing the first country. If the player doesn't rescue Scarlett, she'll be possessed by a character we otherwise would never see or be aware of. But to have the tools available for the good ending, the player MUST go around, freeing the other countries and restoring power to the Ring of the Unicorn. Each country the player liberates makes the final fight a little easier, especially considering the player would only be around level 14 if they were to go this route. If the player does manage to defeat Galerius without the power of the Ring of the Unicorn, then Alain ends up being possessed and the Empire rules the continent forever.

The ending talks about how Alain's journey will be celebrated and embellished, that of the Unicorn Overlord, but it just smacked there. The game took it's themes of forgiveness and how that can lead to redemption seriously, as well as emphasized completing the entire journey. Failing to do so only leads to worse endings.

And then, we compare this to the Black Eagles route. The player is given options that are framed as "changing the story." The devs talked about how the theme of Flower is believing something different from the other routes, something the worldbuilding the player was supposed to immerse themselves in doesn't support, and how it ultimately leads to military rule. It's meant to be the bad ending, but since the game only reveals that through text rather than directly showing it during gameplay, Treehouse was able to downplay it's true nature. They erased themes to make it come across as a more heroic route, making the game more morally grey rather than the more straightforward morality it was intended to have.

You could not do that with Unicorn Overlord. Unicorn Overlord baked those themes into player choices in such a way the player can't ignore them like the player could in Houses. Doing so prevents the player from fighting the final boss, and while players don't fight the Agarthans in Flower they are still taken down in the character endings so it doesn't land the same way. Unicorn Overlord, as basic as the story is, is still well-written in a way Houses never was.

[wdxghosty]

Victory AU

I've been thinking about this for the longest time, but what if there was a AU where the Gelfling won the garthim wars?

After watching their loved ones be drained and murdered, and watching their towns burned and destroyed, I feel like the Gelfling would start playing by skeksis rules and beat the shit out of them.

I have a couple of head cannons but let me list the biggest ones.

The castle of the crystal has been destroyed.

During the war I feel like the dousan warriors would ride their flying things (I forgot the name) over the castle and bomb it. After thru captured all the Skeksies the would take the crystal and bomb the castle.

General Seledon

I'm a really big Seledon x Gurjin fan and I thought this up while thinking about them. So Gurjin was a very high ranking General, and Seledon would've planned out they're battles. (She would've read some books about war and battles strategies in Faras library) So one day Gurjin was positioned in ha'ra because they had a big battle coming up. Seledon was alone in the citadel because all the guards were on the front lines or ded, and Brea was in the dessert, so she let gurjin stay with her. In the middle of the night the citadel and all of Ha'ra was attacked by garthim, so gurjin went to protect the people and in the process was severely injured and in a coma line state. So Seledon decided that she could fight as the commander as Gurjins Substitute, and I feel like she would wear Fara's crown into battles to feel as if Fara is still with them. ( and she's obviously wearing Gothic armor on the battle field)

Captured Skeksies

Because of course some of the Urskeks need to go back to there home world, instead of executing the Skeksies they would have them locked up in a different part of thra, and they would be watched by their ur counterpart. (Like that one guy in the caves of grot) I feel like after the Gelfling started to win more Skeksil would get SkekSo to call all the other Skeksies back to the palace for protection, but that would lead to their down fall Because it was easier to get them all when they're in the same place.

Hiding spots

So we all know they used the crystal bat's to find where the gelfling were hiding, but if the garthim can't get to them they'll be safe. I feel like the safe spots in thra would've been,

- the Caves of grot (they got the nurlocks, Arathim, and a bunch of hiding spots)

- The drenchen swamps (of garthim can't swim they'll just sink into the water, the swamp could be hard to get through and once you get off the hiding spot all the Gelfling would be gone)

- Any island they can find (if they can't swim you are good! And the mermaid mystic can protect you)

- with the Sifa on boats (war ready cruise ships, they would take you to the island)

- In the valley of the mystics (the mystics can control the garthim so they would just leave)

Of course only childlings and care takers would be sent to safe zones with gaurd just in case.

Positions

Obviously all the Gelfling would have different roles in this battle that would contribute to their victory.

- Brea, Seledon, and the rest of the Madruas would making battle plans and think of ways of persevering their race throughout these terrible times. (Brea would go on rescue missions from time to time)

- Rian, Gurjin, spider Tavra, Hup, would be generals and on the front lines of WARRRRR. spider tavra would lead the arathim while chilling with onica on a boat from time to time.

- Deet, Hup, and Brea would be rescuers. Brea and set would have their own group of soilders to assist them, and the majority of them would be women because wings. They wound attack the garthim that captured Gelflings in the safe zones and fly away with them in hand.

- Nia, and amiri, would be the heads of the medical department.

- Kylan, and Rek'yr, would be clan representatives. And I feel like the sprinton and Dousan would work together the get everyone food. (and the sprinton area would be most protected because they have the best soil)

All Madrau Seledon

This one is also for Fara. After Fara died Seledon would try to be a leader just like her, and after gurjins sacrifice she would lead her troops into battle just like fara. And she would learn how to use weapons but her favorite was an axe because it reminded her of Fara. Because of Seledon being a, Goth, warrior, Madrau, she would've wore Goth makeup and clothes onto the battle field, and she also would cut her hair (shoulder length in the front, below ears in the back with triangle bangs.) I also feel like it was seledons idea to storm the castle of the crystal, and they did it in the middle of the night to make sure that the Skeksies would be off their guard. Seledon may or may not have tortured Skekso into telling her how to control the garthim, and after they Skeksies weren't a threat anymore the could start on rebuild the destroyed villages.

Rebuilding Gelfling society

- The first thing Seledon would declared as the new All Maudra is that its 100% Legal to mate and marry out of your clan, (because of her love for gurjin) and Maudras aren't allowed to discriminate against or exile anyone who dose.

- I think they would've had the most battles in Stone in the Wood, and after the forest had been destroyed by the garthim the Stone in the Wood clan would have the biggest city. Because Skekmal isn't in the black forest anymore anyone can now live there, and they expand the city alot. IDK if Maudra Fara had any kids but if she didn't O think they would have a group of people running the city. (They would've the they first democratic clan in thra, and obviously Rian would've been the leader of this group)

- after the Skeksies are gone it still takes awhile to get over clan racism but while rebuilding the cities together it fades away, (after a bunch of manual labor, and a war you stop caring about where another person is from)

Fun ship head cannons

-Brea and Rek'yr would go on a date to the well springs. During the war there were some grace periods when you can just live, and Brea was in the dessert alot so during the grace periods they would go on dates. Rek'yr would've taught her how to fly one of the flying fish.

They would have two houses one in the dessert and one in Ha'ra. Every six months they leave one horse and head to the other, the Ha'ra house would get summer and spring, while the dessert house would get winter and fall.

- Seledon and Gurjin would really like pressing flowers. Seledon was really stressed with everything falling into her, and gurjin taught her how to press flowers to blow off some steam.

Seledon fell in love with gurjin because he was always so happy and it helped her get through her depression. So when she saw him laying unconscious on a bed she couldn't help but feel rage. With her mom and Tavra she was so helpless and mortified, but with gurjin she was basically engulfed in the flames of unnatural fury. The Gelflings were losing because they refused of actually murder the already dead garthim, but seledon decided to start playing the the Skeksies. She is constantly compared to the Skeksies by some soilders, so she would actually start to act like one. She didn't care if it was unethical she was gonna win the war by any means necessary, she told Gelfling if they didn't destroy the garthim they would be punished and soon there were that many left. Not after long everything fell into place and they won the war, Seledon believed the Gurjin was gonna die and if it went for Brea she would fallen into the puts of despair but two months after the end of the war Gurjin woke up. (He was asleep for 10 months) but after he awoke she acted as if nothing had happened, but he was shocked by her hair.

- Onica and Tavra continue to be the best ship.

Thank you so much for reading please tell me if you liked this AU and please like this post. Luv you bye ♡♡♡♡♡

[tending-the-hearth]

Fives and Rex give the best hugs out of the entire 501st.

Everyone, even Anakin and Ahsoka, knows that they do, so whenever something major happens in a battle, or someone's just not feeling 100%, they know exactly who to go to. Even if it's just a quick, one-armed hug during shift changes, or a tight, crushing embrace after a particularly nasty nightmare, they're the ones to go to.

Shinies just back from their very first mission? Everyone points them towards Fives and Rex, who are absolutely ready to hug their younger brothers.

However, if you ask Fives and Rex who gives the best hug, they'll both automatically respond with the same answer.

Echo.

Fives knows his twin gives the best hugs, and has known since their days on Kamino. Echo was safe, he was home, and Fives had very fond memories of sneaking into his twin's bunk and getting wrapped up in his arms.

Rex gets his first Echo Hug post-Rishi, when he finds the twins sitting together quietly in a hall. He sits beside them, and Echo latches onto him, and Rex can't help but hug him back.

Echo's hugs were grounding. He didn't let go until the person he was hugging made the move to let go. He didn't care about how long he spent hugging someone, he let them hold on as long as they needed to. Sometime's he'd say comforting things, but more often than not he'd be silent, offering his support and comfort.

When Fives found out about the chips, there was nothing more in the world that he wanted more than one of Echo's hugs. He needed that strength, the reassurance that everything would be okay, As Rex held him, the last thing Fives thought about was that he was finally going to be able to get an Echo Hug again.

Rex cried the first time he and Echo really, really hugged after Skako Minor. He couldn't bring himself to tell Echo what had really happened to Fives, and Echo could sense there was something bothering his older brother. He knew Rex, though, and knew how stubborn he could be, so he just walked over and pulled him into a hug, and the two stayed together until it was time to bid farewell to the Bad Batch.

Echo doesn't really hug someone until Omega comes along. He exchanges affectionate pats on the back, the occasional group hug that Wrecker pulled all his brothers into after a particularly successful mission, but Echo doesn't hug.

Until the night he wakes up to Omega padding across the floor of the Marauder after Hunter's taken. He follows her, and as soon as he sees her red eyes and wet cheeks, all he can do is open his arms to her. Omega's surprised, of course, since the only one of her brothers she's full-on hugged is Wrecker, but she wastes no time in throwing herself at Echo, clinging to him, and trying to burrow as close to him as possible. Echo's immediately reminded of his twin, in their cadet days, after a particularly difficult day of training, and he just pulls Omega as close as he can, wraps his arms tightly around her, and rocks her back and forth, tucking himself around the little blonde as if he can shield her from the world.

The next person who gets an Echo Hug is Crosshair, who resists for all of ten seconds before melting into his older brother.

When the Batch meets up with Rex once they rescue Crosshair, and he sees the sniper with them, standing close to Echo, he can't help but smile, because he knows better than anyone that Echo's hugs are the closest to magic healing that you can get.

[staringdownabarrel]

I feel like one of the things a lot of fans--especially newer ones, or just those who find the more militaristic aspects of Starfleet particularly interesting--get caught up on is that fighters really aren't that useful in Star Trek.

The reason for that is that the sensors are too good and the weapons are too accurate. This has always been canon: in The Man Trap, Kirk mentions the Enterprise's sensors are accurate enough to find a pin on the surface of the planet they're orbiting. This might be hyperbolic, but also, it probably isn't too far from the truth, given that they're regularly able to transport people up and down from planets with billions of people on them.

This idea carries over to weapon targeting, too. Throughout the franchise, with the exceptions of when one ship or another has plot armour, weapons fire tends to be pretty much dead on in ordinary conditions. The hero ship might miss once, but they'll rarely miss twice.

The best demonstration of this, at least in my mind, comes from TNG's Conundrum. In this shot specifically, the Enterprise-D is able to shoot through a bunch of unmanned fighters like it's nothing. The Wounded demonstrates that the average Starfleet ship has a pretty long range, too.

Really, the only effective counters to this in canon tend to be times when an adversary has a new cloak (The Undiscovered Country, Nemesis), they're making use of a local phenomenon that limits the effectiveness of the sensors (The Wrath of Khan), or they're hacking the sensors or exploiting some other limitation of them (the Picard maneuver in The Battle, a lot of what Riker was doing in Peak Performance). There isn't a whole lot of times when a fighter would be able to do that more effectively than a regular starship.

Most of the time when fighters are being used in canon, it tends to either be as part of a major fleet operation (like how Starfleet used them in the major battles of the Dominion War) or when it was a very minor power that was strapped for resources to the point hit and run tactics were a necessity (like the Maquis, the Talaxian resistance, or the Bajoran resistance).

I feel like this is one of the aspects that Discovery represents reasonably well, either by accident or by design. In Into the Forest I Go, the Discovery was able to defeat the Klingon Sarcophagus ship by spore jumping faster than the Klingons' sensors could keep up. This is a strategy that's actually pretty similar in concept to the Picard maneuver. Later on, in the Such Sweet Sorrows two parter, the ships being used as fighters are refitted shuttles, not purpose built fighters (though admittedly, this is a really borderline example in my mind, because I think the writers might have just done it because they think fighters are cool and didn't really understand the lore well enough to know why they weren't a thing in Star Trek).

I feel like this also helps explains why ships like the Akira-class, which is nominally meant to be like a fighter carrier, never really seem to be used like that. Having the ability to store that many fighters doesn't mean you'd actually do it. Having that many shuttles, however, could be of use to some science missions or some search and rescue missions, depending on local phenomenon and local conditions.

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

Mother

Natasha Romanoff X Adoptive-Daughter!Reader, eventual Peter Parker X Romanoff!Reader

Summary: She's your mother, you love her there won't be another place like her again that you call home.

Warnings: aliens, mentions drugs, child abandonment, mentions a group home, fluff.

Song: Mother by Sugarland

A/n: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

She'll take you in, feed your friends

Her open arms are welcoming

"Mom?" You hollered walking into yours and your mother's shared floor in avengers tower, your friends following behind you.

"Hi sweetheart." Natasha smiled at you.

"Mj, Ned, this is my mom nat." You introduced.

"Your mom is black widow!" Ned said starting in awe.

"Sup." Mj gave your mom a smile.

"Nice to meet you two. Good to see ya pete." Nat nodded at the boy right next to you.

"You too Miss. Romanoff."

She'll rub your back all night when you're crying

She'll listen to you tell your story

"It was crazy! Pete was too busy ogling Lizz and she almost fell!" You rambled on. Nat listened concerned, she saw what happened in Washington on the news and knew you were in the elevator when it happened. Tony was watching assuring her that Peter would rescue you and your classmates. "Luckily Peter caught her but it was so scary!"

"I'm glad your okay." She pulled you into a hug once you were done with your story.

"Yeah just a bruise cause Flash pushed me out of the way to get out." You rolled your eyes but relaxed in your mom's arms.

Hold your fear and all your worries

Help you find the truth when they're all lying

Even when it's hopeless, she keeps trying

You sat in front of the group home playing with a ratty teddy bear by yourself. 11 years old and this has been what you've know for the last two years. Your dad is in jail while your mother was somewhere caring more about drugs than her daughter. You looked up from your bear when you heard screams. Seeing an alien coming your way. You scream running down the street stumbling a bit before you hid behind a car hugging your teddy bear.

"Romanoff help them." Steve said, the battle with loki was done he was in custody but now Steve, and Natasha were helping make sure citizens were accounted for.

"Okay cap." She headed toward two women who were checking on a group of kids. "Everyone okay here?"

"I think so. We're just making sure all the kids are here." One of the women explained.

"Y/n is missing!" The other woman exclaimed.

"I'll find her." Nat promised before going off to look for the young girl.

Back with you. You hesitantly stood up from your hiding spot to see your home city destroyed. Because of that you had no clue where you were or how far you ran. Hugging your teddy tighter you began walking in what direction you hoped to be to the group home.

"Hey kid!" You looked around seeing a woman with red hair making her way toward you. "Is your name y/n?"

"Yes Ma'am who are you?" You whimpered.

"I'm Nat, I'm gonna help you home."

"Thank you!" You smiled taking her hand as she led you back to the home.

Neither of you knew that, that would be the day your lives changed for the best.

She's your mother, you love her

There won't be another

place like her again that you call home

She stands here to help you

"Y/n come here I have to ask you something important." Nat said ushering you over to her.

"What's up?" You asked your foster mom smiling. It's been two years since you met.

"I got some news... Your freed to be adopted." She smiled. "I wanted to know... Would you like me to adopt you?"

"Yes!!!" You screamed tackling her with a hug.

She stands here to help you

there's nothing she won't do

As long as she's alive

you're not alone

you've got each other

That's your mother

"Hey mom." You smiled sitting down on the couch next to her.

"Hi." She smiled back at you. "I have mission today. But bucky and Sam aren't coming on the mission so they'll be checking in on you." She explained.

"Okay! I love hanging out with them. Bucky let's me put magnets on his arm!" You said happily. She shook her head laughing.

She fixes all the broken things

When you're in love, she's got a ring

To give to you, she hopes you'll give away

She don't care who you give it to

Where they're from, if they pray like you

As long as they are good to you, that's enough

First thing she taught you was love is love

"Mom?" You hollered in. After no response you looked back at your boyfriend. "Coast is clear come on." You smiled pulling him in and going toward the hallway that leads to your bedroom.

"Who's he?" Nat smirked from her spot on the couch with Steve and Sam.

"This is Evan... My uh boyfriend." You said nervously shuffling on your feet. "Evan, that is my mom Nat, and her friends Steve and Sam."

"Hello nice to meet you." He smiled.

"Hi." Nat smiled.

"Oooh tiny romanoff has a bOoyfriend." Sam teased laughing when your face flushed.

"Hey kid." Steve gave a small wave.

"Okay we're going to my room. Let's go." You dragged him out behind you.

"Leave the door open!" Was called out by the adults you call your family.

She's your mother, you love her

There won't be another

place like her again that you call home

She stands here to help you

there's nothing she won't do

"How was school?" Nat asked you as you climbed into the car. She just adopted you three months ago.

"It was great nat!" You smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah mom! I got an A on the test!" You said not noticing you had called her mom, for the first time. She noticed, and she was so happy.

"That's great!"

"Yeah and I got invited to a party this Friday... Could I go? Please?"

"Whose house? Will parents be there?" She threw out questions.

"Caleb's. And yes."

As long as she's alive

you're not alone

you've got each other

That's your mother

"Mom!" You said excitedly as you saw she was home from a long mission.

"Hey sweetie." She smiled hugging you.

"Hi! How was the mission?" You asked.

"It was good? Were you behaved?"

"Yes I was!" You said proudly.

"That's good."

When you fail her, when you're afraid

And crying in the careless mess you've made

She'll make you clean it up yourself

and offer you a little help

And dry your weary eyes when you let her

But she'll look at you and know you can do better

You sighed trying again. Punching the bag harder this time. Today was rough. A breakup never was easy. So you were in the gym of the avengers tower, when you moved into the tower she taught you to take your anger out on a punching bag instead of another person. So you've done it ever since you were 11. You only came in the gym for this reason.

"Sweetheart?" You heard but ignored it. "Y/n." She said louder. She sighed watching you punch the bag harder. Friday had alerted her that you were down here.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." You grumbled letting your hands fall to your sides. She immediately wrapped her arms around you putting her hand on the back of your head.

"Please tell me what happened? We'll visit your cousins if you do." She tried to bargain knowing how much you loved hanging out with Clint's kids.

"Evan broke up me." You choked up hiding your face in her shoulder.

"Oh baby." She whispered.

She's your mother, you love her

There won't be another

Place like her again that you call home

She stands here to help you

"Y/n Romanoff." You began walking down the stage. The cheers of the avengers was all that could be heard. You looked up and saw your mom standing up clapping for you.

You met up with them outside after the graduation. You immediately hugged your mom. She's your rock. You were more than positive that if she hadn't adopted you your life would've been so different.

"I'm so proud of you." She smiled.

"Thank you Momma."

There's nothing she won't do

As long as she's alive

You're not alone

The secrets in your heart she's always known

"Mom! I have a new boyfriend." You told her feeling giddy.

"Really? Tell me all about him!" She said from her spot on the sofa.

"I want to know too!" Wanda agreed.

"Well... He's super sweet! And polite. And his so cute!" You gushed. "He has a messy mop of brown hair! And he makes me feel safe."

"Aw." Wanda gushed at how you looked like a love-sick puppy.

"I have to meet him!" Nat told you.

"Well you kinda have... It's Peter."

"I knew you had a crush on him!!" Nat exclaimed.

"A crush on who?" Peter asked walking out of the elevator.

"No one."

She's a beacon, a harbour

A lighthouse, her armour

A promise and a blanket when it's cold

You'll understand it more when you get older

You've got each other

That's your mother

You've got each other

That's your mother

A/n: my first Nat fic what do you think?

[queen-susans-revenge]

Star Wars Rebels Season 3 recaps

“The Last Battle”

I'm up to Chapter Six in @gondalsqueen's accompanying fic, Fade to Red. Just left comments there, and here's the notes I took rewatching the episode. Rex fights old ghosts, bad memories, and some all-too-surviving clankers; Ezra learns some respect for veterans of old wars; and Kanan quietly looks out for both of them. But how will Kanan deal with the memories dredged up here? Well, that's what the fic is for :)

We open on a question from Hera ("You sure you don't need help?") and backhanded reassurance from Kanan: "I'm sure everything will go horribly wrong." (Subtext: As usual. And as usual, they'll handle it.)

Ezra jauntily reassures her that they'll be fine cause they've got Rex the Clone Wars veteran with them. In fact Rex does seem to be falling right back into old patterns, calling Kanan "general" and talking about clankers. They're visiting the wreck of an old transport in hopes of salvaging munitions.

Ezra makes the mistake of saying the old droids don't look very dangerous, and Rex blows up at him. "Rex has been through a lot," Kanan counsels. "Battles leave scars. Some you can't see."

They let the old soldier do the recon and are rewarded with a cache of proton bombs. Unfortunately, some rusting battle droids are also still around! They're still fighting the LAST war. "Roger roger!"

Ezra: "Wait, who's Roger?" Lol.

The Rebels fall into an old ray shield trap and are disabled. Rex starts having flashbacks. The group is hauled before what both Kanan and Rex pretty immediately recognize as a "super tactical droid," a fancy one with three glowing eyes and artsy designs on its chassis. Wookieepedia assures me super tactical droids are a real thing that were first introduced in season 5 of The Clone Wars. Totally forgot about them, but okay, sure, fine, whatever, makes sense. The name is dumb but I buy the concept.

So we got a bunch of our regular stupid droids being led by a Super Tactical Droid (STD? For sure. It's an STD.) It was smart enough to save their little group from the original shutdown command spread after Order 66, and has been pursuing the original mission ever since. Which I guess mostly meant guarding the proton bombs.

And now we have two vets who never quite left the old war in their heads, trying to convince a "clanker" that it is actually over. The STD doesn't care, it's gone full GLaDOS and wants nothing more than to run some war games with authentic vintage Clone Wars soldiers.

Ezra doesn't take the threat seriously and volunteers them all for the scenario: Jedi Rescue. (The STD amusingly notes it's a recurring one.) Zeb is assigned the role of hostage. The terms are agreed: if the Rebels succeed, they get Zeb and the proton bombs. It's not specified what will happen if they lose? I mean death presumably, but nobody seems to feel the need to ask.

Chopper, meanwhile, has so far evaded capture and is VERY SMARTLY working on getting a shuttle operational so the Rebels will have an exit plan when they manage to escape. Chopper is so good! I have to pause the episode because I get a little emotional for a second about Chopper, and how Hera is the only one who could ever possibly deserve him, because she's perfect too.

SNiff. Okay we're moving on. Hera and Sabine are pinned down under fire and Sabine lampshades the fact they won't be able to get to Agamar soon. OH! OH MY HEART! They THEN proceed to have a little conversation about how great Chopper is:

"If Kanan needs help, he'll call us."

"Since when?"

"Fine. If Chopper's over his head, he'll hide and call us."

"That's more believable!"

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 #droidrightsnow

Ooh it's time for a spooky Imperial scene. Kallus is playing a dangerous double-agent game at Governor Pryce's shoulder. Both of them are informed that Chopper's distress signal from Agamar has been intercepted, and Pryce orders the nearest Imperial forces to respond instead. Fun, how will the droids respond to a new faction joining their wargame?

As the scenario begins, Kanan defers to Rex's battlefield experience. Rex counsels a blitz attack to gain surprise. As the droids deploy, Rex calls for "a sword and shield maneuver"--and Kanan knows exactly what he means.

I like this scene because Kanan had so much trouble working with clone troopers again after the trauma of Order 66. But we see here that he has really resolved that. He is able to calmly access his memories, his experience, and use it to TRUST Rex rather than doubt him. This is again showing a Kanan who has really "leveled up" in Jedi wisdom. He knows where he needs to go, and what he needs to do. Sometimes--often in fact!--he knows that the thing to do is to ask someone else what to do.

So he asks Rex, and does what Rex says, and makes sure Ezra does it too. "We block, he fires," he explains to a confused Ezra. The three of them work in sync to defeat an oncoming army of clankers. Action! Inspirational music! Kanan surges forward, slow and steady, but Ezra dashes out front. Rex calls him back. "Ezra! Form it up! We've gotta stay together!" Again underlining that what Ezra needs to learn from Kanan now is not lightsaber shenanigans, but patience and restraint.

We get yet another note in this theme as they get inside the hangar. Ezra wants to charge forward: "The hangar looks clear! Let's go."

But something's off, and Rex the old soldier twigs to it. "Waiiiiit. That's not how it usually goes...The droids usually keep coming, wave after wave."

Kanan trusts Rex's gut. "That tactical droid has had a long time to think about this. And remember, he wants to win."

Rex gets a couple poignant lines of dialog comparing the clone army to the clanker one: both, he says, were programmed to ceaselessly fight. Kanan moves them all along with a clap on Rex's shoulder, and doesn't correct him when Rex calls him "commander."

The inevitable trap is sprung: oh no, destroyers! No way to breach their shields! But Ezra swiftly comes up with a plan. No surprise--it involves Ezra rushing into danger alone. But it's clever, and takes the environment into account, and this time the two vets are inclined not to hold him back but to support the kid as he's deployed. They both counsel him to be quick.

"Ah, the Jedi have split up, as they do 76 percent of the time," STD observes from his command center. Wookieepedia is telling me STD has a name and his name is Kalani. I don't understand this or remember when it was established so I'mma keep calling him STD. But still #droidrightsnow

Chopper makes contact with Ezra, delaying him on the anti-destroyer mission. Now it's Rex's turn to be impulsive and mistrustful! Not knowing what the holdup with Ezra might be, he ignores Kanan and surges forward, only to be immediately gunned down. Kanan takes up a defensive position over his fallen form.

I really like this for Kanan. He's no longer the one out in front doing flashy shit--that's Ezra now. But Kanan is, quietly, the one ensuring the success of all their missions. He compensates for both Ezra and Rex, at different points, and ensures that neither of their worst mistakes become catastrophic. He is the one who holds back until the moment where all hope is almost lost, and then steps forward to stave that moment off.

Meanwhile, Ezra is still very much in it to win it. He completes his part of the plan, and Rex gets up to cough and brag about "generation one armor." Ezra wants to brag too but Rex rounds on him. "That plan was based on timing and execution. And you took too long!"

Ezra protests about Chopper. Rex isn't hearing it. "This is not a game! This is life and death! Every move you make affects the rest of us. If we're gonna survive this, we're gonna do it with strategy! And discipline!"

It was interesting focusing on what Kanan was doing in the background during all this. He was focused on Rex, listening, and he paced forward. Closer. But he let Rex get the whole thing out, and only then went to offer Ezra reassurance and a literal pat on the back. "It's not you. He needs to finish this battle, his way."

"Just like that droid," Ezra murmurs, IN CASE YOU MISSED THE PARALLELS EARLIER.

Ezra and Kanan sandwich Rex protectively as the destroyer droids move in. Kanan calls a maneuver to deal with the shields: "Push and fire! Now!" in a nice callback/mirror of the same moment earlier when it was Rex calling plays that they both remembered. Then they get a lucky break when the old droids' shields overheat.

Rex busts in to the command center, all "Well. Looks like we win!" Ezra gets a very nice moment to shine then, when he blocks Rex from firing on STD and points out that the group didn't cleanly "win" the wargame scenario, due to the overheating shield malfunction.

"If they hadn't, we'd be goners!" Ezra protests, which does two things: a) it shows us that Ezra has learned to respect the threat these old forces represent. He was scoffing at the clankers at the beginning of the ep; he's changed his mind. And b) it allows Ezra to finally fill the role that the Jedi should have, all along, in that old war: not as soldiers, but as peacemakers. Ezra points out that the Clone Wars weren't won by any of the armies that actually fought in it.

And so, although none of them will ever realize it: if the purpose of wargames is to refine strategy, then the final victor in this ultimate scenario is...Padme Amidala. It's her viewpoint that's vindicated in the final analysis. Ezra wins "The Last Battle" through diplomacy.

Helped along by the fact that Imperial forces show up, and everyone suddenly realizes they have a common enemy. So in Act III, our Rebels team up with the antiquated Separatist droids to resist the Empire. Again, Ezra pitches this alliance: and Kanan merely smooths his way, quieting Rex when he would have interrupted and reassuring STD when he seems to falter.

There's a cute moment when Kanan and STD talk strategy: "What about the bombs we came here for?" Kanan asks, to which the droid replies:

"We have no cannon to fire the shells. Otherwise, I would have used them on you."

I just really like the way Freddie Prinze Jr. delivers Kanan's "Oh thanks!" riposte. It's funny, and the old sardonic Kanan is definitely still around.

They come up with a plan to have the droids fire on Kanan and Ezra, who will redirect the bolts with their lightsabers to hit the proton bombs as they're rolled across the hangar. Oh...kay? This feels unserious somehow but sure. The idea is that the droids are not precise in their targeting, and the Jedi are. But Kanan and Ezra could ALSO just shoot at the bombs? It's not like they don't use blasters themselves when they want to attack at range. So I guess we are simply being told that a Jedi can achieve a more rapid, more accurate rate of fire while deflecting a barrage of bolts with their lightsabers than they could using blasters directly. Sure, fine, I buy it, I guess. It's an elegant weapon for a more civilized age, if your idea of elegance involves filling the air with superheated plasma.

Pew pew, explosions, big music, and we get the themes of the episode restated a few more times. Did you GET that Ezra just did what an army of Jedi and the full Senate could not? Rex says he ended the Clone Wars! "Rex, all I did was point out that none of you were meant to win. You couldn't," Ezra says. And then everybody claps! Not literally, but emotionally they do. Okay, okay, it's good that Ezra took the Light Side path here and he deserves to bask in the moment.

STD takes his surviving droids off...somewhere. Ezra has a new respect for Rex's war stories and Rex is delighted to tell more. And Kanan... Kanan just wants to hear about Hera's day. Awww.

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SWTCW- Fix it AU

I recently re-wrote an old AU of mine, one where Ahsoka is adopted by Padme and Anakin, and eventually finds out that she is a big sister. You can read it here.

@captainadwen reblogged it, and added this comment in the tags:

Fix it AU? You got it.

.........

Ahsoka is adopted by Anakin and Padme. Ahsoka and Anakin practically clear out their entire living space at the Temple so they can move in with Padme. Ahsoka gets her own room; the walls are soon covered in notes and drawings and photos. Regardless of how awful the day was, the three of them get to go home and make dinner together, laugh together.

On one such night, after a horrible mission that kept them apart for weeks, Anakin has an epiphany. He's sitting on the couch, arm wrapped around Padme's shoulders. She's leaning into him, resting her head on his chest, reading from the book on her lap. Ahsoka is on his other side. She fell asleep some time ago. Thanks to faulty intel and a split second distraction, there's a bandage covering most of her back and right lekku. She shakes a little, mumbles something, but a gentle pulse along their training bond is enough to quell the nightmares. The dinner dishes are stacked in the sink, there's three mugs of tea sitting on the table in front of them. And he realizes, in this moment, this is what he wants. All he wants. Forever.

The next morning, Anakin tells Ahsoka he's planning to leave the Order, as soon as the war is over. There's an argument, Ahsoka doesn't want to leave Barriss, Obi-Wan, Plo-Koon. The Order is all she's ever known. Anakin tells her that he's insanely proud of her, but she wasn't raised to be a Jedi. She was raised to be a soldier. Ahsoka shuts down, stunned. She doesn't want to believe it.

Anakin leaves her alone with her thoughts. After a while, she goes and hugs Anakin, apologizes for yelling. He apologizes too, tells her that she'll be a great Jedi, that he'll stay until she's Knighted. Padme says she doesn't want to be a Senator forever, but that Ahsoka will always have a home with them, that they'll support her no matter what she wants.

Ultimately, it's Ahsoka who leaves the Order first. She spends time in the Underworld of Corusant, learning from Rafa and Trace. She learns more about what it means to really be a Jedi. She's reunited with Anakin shortly before the Siege of Mandalore, and ends up going with him to rescue the Chancellor.

Upon their return to Corusant, Padme tells Anakin she's pregnant. Anakin is so excited and terrified at the same time. He doesn't tell Ahsoka right away, only that he has to leave the Order, has to go to Naboo and he'll be back as soon as he can. She wants to know what's going on, but Anakin asks her to trust him. And she does.

So Anakin resigns from the Order and leaves with Padme for Naboo. Ahsoka asks the Council if she can return to the Order, and they eagerly accept, still reeling from Anakin's departure. But she has two conditions: that she be promoted to Knight Intiate, a long forgotten rank marking the transition from Padawan-hood to Jedi Knight. She also asks to be assigned to finish her training under Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their relationship is still healing following her trial, but she knows that Anakin would want someone looking after him.

Obi-Wan accepts, believing this whole thing to be another one of Anakin's wild schemes. The Dark Side makes him feel heavy and clouded. The path forward is uncertain, and he is struggling to find a direction.

Anakin is now far away from the influence of the Chancellor. So Palpatine's attention turns to what he believes to be the next best thing- his renegade student, already suspected of treason, thinking it'd be easy to turn her raw power into a tool to be used by the Sith. If he gains her trust, he can easily get Anakin back under his control.

Or so he thinks. Ahsoka is no longer a youngling, worried about being expelled from the Order if she steps out of line. She does digging of her own. With Rex's help and Echo's information, she's able to uncover Order 66. Using her contacts in the Underworld, Ahsoka has an assassin take out the Chancellor. Bail Organa is temporarily put in power, and the Empire is destroyed before it's even begun.

Ahsoka becomes a full Knight within a year. She is Knighted at sunset, the reds and golds of Corusant's sky making the entire chamber glow. As she kneels before him, Anakin removes her Padawan braid, the one he's carried with him since that awful day the Jedi abandonded her, the one she wears to take her Trials. She rises as Ahsoka Tano-Skywalker, Jedi Knight of the New Republic. Obi-Wan and Yoda are teary-eyed, seeing their child born of innocence and raised in war come through strong and smiling. Padme is there too, so is Plo Koon. He's holding Leia, while she holds Luke. And a dozen or more members of the 501st, the 212th, and the Wolfpack that crowded in cheer her on. Their vod'ika finally achieving her dream.

With the Council's blessing (not that she gave them much choice), Ahsoka leaves for Naboo and establishes the New Dawn Jedi Temple. She takes in Force-sensitives that want to develop their abilities but not formally join the Jedi, and Jedi that don't subscribe to the traditionalist values of the Code. Jedi are welcome to marry, have children, leave and resume their service as they wish. Obi-Wan is eventually coerced into joining them, taking the role of Grand Master. Qui-Gon appears to him often, and never leaves without telling Obi-Wan he's proud of him.

Padme and Anakin are allowed to rest, without the pressures of being Queen or a Jedi General or a Senator. Anakin enjoys being a husband, a father, helping others as a volunteer mechanic. He stops having nightmares so much. Luke and Leia grow up learning from their big sister, from all of their "Uncles" in the GAR that move to Naboo or find their own paths across the galaxy.

Five years after Ahsoka's trial, she returns to Corusant to visit old friends. She stops by the Senate, the New Republic is the definition of transparent. The farthest reaches of the Outer Rim no longer feel ignored. While there, she formally petitions for Barriss Offee's release. The new judicial committee are hesitant, naturally, but Ahsoka insists that she will assume complete responsibility for her actions.

Luminara, battle-weary and uncertain, agrees to help Ahsoka. They take Barriss to Naboo, under strict supervision, and Barriss gets the help she needs, learning of what Ahsoka has done and how the Jedi were manipulated into needless destruction. Ahsoka and Barriss repair their relationship, slowly, taking tiny steps. Barriss dedicates herself to healing, and raising the younglings that are brought to the Dawn Temple.

Padme wakes up one morning, finding Anakin's side of the bed empty. She wanders out to the backyard. Sitting there, she finds her husband holding the twins (now 6) in his lap. They're still squirmy, trying to meditate like their Dad. Ahsoka sits next to them, holding one of his hands. Their bond fully open, they begin each day like this, immersed in the Force, in the love that has held their family together. Padme goes back inside to start breakfast. The sun continues to rise, a new day begins. Trouble still remains, as it always will in the galaxy, but for the first time in a long time- there is a new hope that stands uncorrupted.