#this makes sense to approximately 4 people probably

[aufgrundlagedeinerlikes]

due to recent developments I need Lawrence Stroll to fistfight James Vowles on behalf of Logan

[avelera]

(Arcane Meta) The Staggering Timeline of the Hexgate Construction

The Hexgate timeline is insane, guys, it's actually insane.

So I'm writing a Jayvik fic set in the time skip between 1.03 and 1.04. Most people agree that time skip was about 6-7 years long.

During 1.04 "Progress Day" Jayce says "a few years ago", the Hexgates opened to the world. The year before, we learn from the Enforcer Caitlyn is talking to that Jayce launched a blimp "half way across the continent" which sounds like a demonstration of increased range for the Hexgates.

At some point, I would guess early in Jayce and Viktor's partnership, they also did the Distinguished Innovators competition where they needed to notch their own gears and, presumably, didn't have a lot of assistants or assistance. I only note this to point out that there was at least a year or so at the beginning where they weren't immediately thrust into limelight yet and they didn't have every resource available.

So just because Mel was buying into their vision on Day 1, doesn't mean the whole city had yet. They probably needed to prove an application for Hextech first before that happened and, likely, the Hexgates was what they came up with and that's the one all of Piltover bought in on.

So, mostly likely sometime in the first year or so, Jayce and Viktor had to provide a proof of concept for the Hexgates. Let's say for the sake of argument that by the first Progress Day of their partnership, they have one.

Progress Day / Year of Jayce and Viktor's partnership

(Let's go through the timeline)

Year 1 - Hexgate proof of concept developed and presented. Up to that point, Hextech exists and has Mel's support, but Jayce and Viktor still haven't proven themselves enough to get all the resources they'll need to build something like the Hexgates. The Distinguished Innovators competition takes place somewhere around this time. Maybe they presented the Hexgate proof of concept there (pure speculation on my part but you'll see why I think the first few years had to be laser focused on the Hexgates over anything else for any of this to make sense.)

Year 2 - Hexgates under development.

Year 3 - Hexgates under development.

Year 4 - Hexgates open to the world.

Year 5 - Hexgate distance capacity increased.

Year 6 - Events of Arcane

By the way, I say only one year to develop a prototype, it could have taken longer. But, the Progress Day post-time skip in 1.04 could be 7 years later. So all the approximations up there should be taken as "give or take a year".

Still, that means that within 3-4 years at most, Jayce and Viktor went from this proof of concept that Hextech is viable at all:

To this:

And can I say just as an archaeology nerd obsessed with stone crafting and material cultures, holy shit, do you have any idea how quickly they must have built the Hexgate tower to have it done in 2-3 years? The Empire State Building, which offers us a decent parallel for the technology available in the world of Arcane at this point, took a 1 year, 45 days, it was considered the fastest a skyscraper had ever been constructed at the time.

But the Hexgate tower is more than just a building, this thing goes all the way down into the bedrock, it is lined with Hex crystals. It has that giant globe on the top for pinpointing where to send the ship. It's not just a building, the entire thing is an engineering marvel. And it has to have been done in under 3 years to fit the most generous version of the timeline.

This would, realistically, require incredible buy-in by the entirety of Piltover society. We're talking multiple guilds vying for contracts, red tape being cut by the mile to secure the space, deep excavation beneath it, shipping to bring in materials, endless amounts of masons, metalworkers, and artisans. It's doubtful that Jayce and Viktor slept during those years. The sophistication we see within the Hexgates makes it even more mind-boggling.

Seriously, look at the base of this thing! This is the failsafe, it had to exist before they opened up the Hexgates to the world! It can't be an afterthought or a later addition!

And this Hex crystal-lined channel goes up for miles! (not literally but get my point) It needs sophisticated technicians to operate and switch out the cores!

Now, of course a Doylist explanation, the Hexgates are as sophisticated as they need to be and were built as quickly as they needed to be built in order to serve the plot, and Piltover is as technologically sophisticated as is needed for these to be built in the time required.

But, Watsonian, as someone who can't help but look at building materials and think about just how much time and effort it would take a society that looks vaguely 1880s-1920s (I would say the 1.04 Progress Day is deliberately invoking the Chicago World's Fair of 1893) it is utterly mind-boggling to me how much labor and materials and effort would have to go into building the Hexgates in a 2-3 year period. That's moon launch levels of an entire society mobilizing for one goal.

No wonder Jayce got framed as the Man of Progress, the entire city must have been working on or known someone who was working on making the Hexgates a reality in that time.

[accio-victuuri]

BURN AFTER READING. 🍭🍬

i have never made a post with this title before, but i have shared some cpn/speculation that deserve to be burned after reading. lol. this term is often used by cpfs for a candy or info related to the boys that may be “dangerous” — so you have to get rid of it after reading. but for my version of it, let’s describe it as something that is a level up from galaxy brain cpn. it’s the kind of cpn you will think twice or thrice before making up your mind about. 💫

we have (2) topics here and just a disclaimer that i am not confirming anything here. this content is for cpf only. don’t take it seriously!

(1) Who is An Huibo 安慧博?

fans noticed that there was a “stand in” credited for the we and life of us music videos and that is this person. think of it as a body double. it makes sense cause aside from that scene in WE, there are times that xz’s figure is against a backdrop so maybe they needed someone to do that. the clowning began when people were thinking about, what if the other xz in WE mv is actually WYB ⬇️⬇️⬇️

i can think of a couple of different reasons why this could be false but the strongest explanation for me is that xz will not allow wyb to so something like this. he is very superstitious. even if this is just acting, he will not allow them to act out a scene of betrayal. that for me is enough to shut this all down. but on the flipside, maybe wyb wanted him (xz) to play his first villain role opposite him in this music video.

now we have the reasons why fans think this is something worth looking at:

1. XZ and this An Huibo are the only 2 credited actors for both MVs. so it seems kinda special.

2. The director of this is LIN, the same one who directed WYB’s redmi advertisement. There are some CPNs both were made at the same studio. Which makes sense cause LIN has his own shooting studio. There is another separate CPN about this but the gist is we think this director is familiar with both of them. So XZ may be comfortable enough to bring WYB along and even include him in the video.

3. It may not be WYB himself, but he used that name to troll us. It’s so close, Huibo. Yibo.

4. I saw this explanation as well:

If "Anhuibo" is read according to the French transliteration as An Huibo, it would approximately read:

[ã чi bɔ]

·ã: similar to "ang";

·qi: similar to "wei" in Chinese, but lighter and soft;

·bo: similar to "wave", slightly shorter.

5. As a CPF, it’s so easy for our alarm bells to ring if you read that name. An alias of sorts for Bobo. some are saying he used this kind of jumbled name to combat the bad aura of their scene together. Since he is superstitious, this removes yibo’s name and identity as the stand in who stabbed XZ’s character. if that makes sense.

maybe we will know more when they release the behind the scenes video. that is if they show who this stand in is. let’s add this to the bjyx clowning vault in the meantime.

(2) XZ look-alike in the recent GRA

i was talking to @rainbowsky about this and my initial reaction was, cpn aside, i’m surprised at how people notice these things! which i actually should be used to considering turtle’s attention to detail, but still!

so here is the “evidence”

👀👀👀👀

like all other turtles, i’m someone who has stared at tons of photos of XZ. so i can totally understand why people would look twice at this person. i get i. i was staring at this photo for so long as well. however most of the cpfs comment on this is against this candy and they have valid reasons:

1. Why would he attend and be in the audience? XZ is someone lowkey so if he was there to accompany WYB, he will be backstage. Yes he is brave, but not like this — which seems almost careless.

2. There are names on the chair, so it’s not like anyone can just sit there casually.

3. Even if you believe in the probability, CPFs don’t wanna talk much about it cause it can be anti material. Saying XZ has to hide and can’t show his face in GRA. or why is he even there incognito when he doesn’t even have a project nominated. You all know how it goes, antis can twist the narrative. Plus we don’t want to accidentally expose them if this was true. We should not observe too much and post about it cause it will make it harder for them to do something similar in the future.

4. How did this person go unnoticed? Everyone had to get inside the security and there are cameras everywhere. He should have removed his cap and mask which — it’s impossible for someone to not notice XZ ( or is it? ). another thing is maybe he went to a diff entrance??

5. Some are washing it and saying it’s Yibo’s MUA.

Please take that last point i mentioned and carry it over to the reason why this look alike is sus. People are able to confirm that this is not WYB’s MUA because he was wearing a different cap. Even the hair and daresay the ears are not the same. and why would a MUA even be there? If WYB needs touch ups then they should do it backstage. If for some reason it has to be while the broadcast and recording was not on or was on a break, he should not sit there and act like a guest.

Yibo’s MUA, Wang Yiduo has been with him for years. He has years of experience being around celebrities and attending these events before WYB. So he knows the decorum. He will not sit there and act like a guest just because he feels like it.

I’m curious too, who is this person who can walk in— in an event filled with people that are dressed up and then come in with a mask and casual clothes. To be allowed to sit there. Who is special enough? Probably a celebrity? and that’s why some think it could be XZ. Even the staff and assistants during the event are dressed up which made this person stand out. As for the CPN explanation, it’s nice to think that XZ is so proud of Yibo’s nomination that he has to be there. He will find a way to be in the audience and witness this special moment. 💕

I think this can easily be analyzed more if we have the video but i don’t have time to rewatch the whole GRA and wait for this cut. Cause i wanna know if it’s even there, that’s how much we question things here! 🤣 It’s so sus to me that we only have the screenshots and no video when CPFs are notorious for having concrete evidence. personally, it reminds me of the SDC3 incident but this one is still pretty outrageous considering it is a public event.

take what you want with this information. and as always, when it comes to BJYX: ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

sources: one/ two

[elrielbaby]

I don’t understand what isn’t clear about elriels set up.

1. We have clear foreshadowing for elriel in the form of the dinner scene with the bat boys & the Archerons, and the comment from Feyre about Elain & Azriel as she removes arrows from Rhys.

2. In ACOWAR, we have Azriel carrying Elain from the house of wind, carrying her over the threshold of the town house and being so gentle with her, her calling his scars beautiful & them sitting outside together, where Azriel, the person we are told almost never relaxes, is observed essentially relaxing.

3. We have Feyre questioning mate bonds and the cauldron over them.

4. We have Madjas comment about a mate sensing what is amiss, and then having Azriel, not L*cien, being the one to figure it out.

5. On a smaller note, we have both males (Cassian & Azriel) go still at the sight of both Elain & Nesta, plus Azriel continues to take Elain out in to the garden and sit with her.

6. We have an approximately, 2-3 chapter rescue scene. All insanely romantically coded. From the Elain devouring the sight of Azriel to ‘you came for me’. From Azriel setting Briar down but continuing to hold Elain until he is taken from him by someone he trusts. To Elain kissing his cheek in thanks. I’m probably forgetting some stuff there it’s packed full.

7. We have Azriel offering Elain his most prized possession - a knife he has never let anyone else so much as touch, including the female he’s supposedly been in love with for centuries.

8. Literally all of ACOFAS. There are an incredible amount of scenes in that book, it’s really a whole post just on its own.

9. We have Azriel, in ACOSF, get visibly upset at the mere suggestion that Elain may be hurt in some way.

10. We have confirmation from Cassian that Azriel seems to have moved on from Mor.

11. We have Azriels shadows poised to strike in her defence.

12. We have a charged glance between the two of them, we have Azriel standing by the doorway because the smell of E*uciens bond is so upsetting to him that he needs to be able to leave if it gets too much.

All of that - without mentioning the events of the bonus chapters (the feysand one is very Elain heavy, and the Azriel POV let’s us know in no uncertain terms that they both have romantic feelings for one another and want to act upon them). I feel like I make a post like this periodically when I see someone say Elriel haven’t been set up to be a couple or that they see them as something other than a romantic pairing and honestly it feels like throwing my head against a brick wall at this point - these people will not see it until their book is announced and they get their happy ending.

[turtlesandfrogs]

Here's the actually* short notes for the course, "The Science of Well-Being" from Yale on coursera, which is available for free. Mostly focusing on the actionable steps.

Point the first: We/society at large is often wrong about what makes people happy/have a sense of well being. Unless you've been reading into motivation, happiness, flow, etc, already, in which case you're likely right on track.

We adapt to both good things and bad things, so neither one effects us as much as we think they will. Our brains adapt to, and filter out stimuli after a while. If we want to get the most enjoyment out of something/life, we should increase variety and take breaks. Like, drink a different kind of tea every day, or take breaks when listening to music. Also, practicing gratitude, savoring (pausing and intentionally appreciating the good moments in life), sharing experiences with others, and recalling past moments of joy. Also, you can practice negative visualization, when you on purpose think of how awful the world would be if you didn't have something that you do have.

A good job is one that allows you to practice your signature strengths and enter the flow state.

The income-increased happiness plateau is somewhere between $75k and $500k- but I found a recent article** after the comments to this effect, and "Yet is important to note that the relationship is weak, even if statistically robust. The correlation between average happiness and log(income) is 0.09 in the experience sampling data, for example, and the difference between the medians of happiness at household incomes of $15,000 and $250,000 is about five points on a 100-point scale. The flattening and accelerating patterns are even smaller modulations of a small effect. However, the emotional effects of other circumstances are also small. KD reported that the effect of an approximately four-fold difference in income is about equal to the effect of being a caregiver, twice as large as the effect of being married, about equal to the effect of a weekend, and less than a third as large as the effect of a headache." Which says to me I'm making the right move by going to a 4 day work week :P But seriously, that's great news.

We think in comparisons, and comparison is the thief of joy. You can reduce consumption of images of people who are richer, cooler, more skilled, etc than you, and that will help prevent mood deterioration. You can also reframe to compare to yourself in the past.

Being kind makes you and everyone involved happier. Buying things for others makes you happier than buying things for yourself. Giving to charity makes you happier if it builds social connection. (Why the focus on buying things to make you happier? Why not on actions you can take to make yourself or someone else happier? Probably because giving someone $20 is easier from a study's standpoint.)

Get 7 or more hours of sleep a day.

Move 30 minutes a day.

Meditate- look into mindfulness, loving kindness.

Social connection- doesn't have to be a romantic relationship! Just interacting with others, even strangers, makes us happier (still sounds fake to me, but I'm like a mega introvert). Spending time with people you like is good.

Having free time is important.

Create an environment that supports what ever change you're trying to make.

WOOP = Wish, Outcome, Obstacles, and Plan. "What's your wish for your goal? What's your best outcome? What are the obstacles? What's your if-then plan?" Really helps with actually accomplishing your goals.

*I realized I said short notes before, but then somehow that ended up being super long.

** Income and emotional well-being: A conflict resolved by Matthew A. Killingswortha, Daniel Kahnemanb, and Barbara Mellers

[malenjoyer]

I'm interested in reading tim's comics but I fear I may have gotten too many (general) spoilers about what happens to actually manage to enjoy it. if you've read his comics, how much did you know beforehand?

I knew the timeline of when he became robin, his general approximate meetings with characters like Steph, jason, Damian, and existence of Red Robin before. Who he loses.

The good thing about getting into reading character comics is that it’s impossible to know everything. It really is unless you’ve got around 10 years or so invested into it or you’ve got maybe 4-5 years of hardcore reading. Even then if you only read solos, you don’t know how the character exists in other people’s pov until you read outside of the main popular recommended comics. For example, in some comics Batman might the biggest broodiest saddest asshole, in others he’s a sopping wet cat broken hearted man, in some he’s really funny and beats people up.

Knowing things didn’t spoil enjoyment for me because knowing big events didn’t mean I knew how they were set up, which character interactions lead up to that part, and how the author weaves around elements for the build up. I don’t know about what happened in the timeline, in real life, that causes editorial to make those decisions specifically until I read the comics and I learn what happens in the background.

If you’ve got a serious detail obsessive brain itch like me, no amount of spoilers will ruin it for you, probably! You should read it anyways. Reading the comics yourself will feel good because you can feel the puzzles start to piece itself together- in a sense. And a bit of a hot take but if you are ever uncomfortable with a specific fanon depiction that ends up developing, which yknow is okay, we all play with toys. Reading the comics allows you to develop a sense of who they are in a…real way? I don’t know. In a way where they exist outside of shipping, I suppose. It allows you to enjoy the character better because he will exist for you, on a separate plane that will be hard to be ruined by any associations with fandom.

[midnight-in-town]

A future Shinigami revolt to destroy an unfair System ?

Part of my "let's explore Kuroshitsuji's main plot threads" masterposts ; the others can be found below :

Is the Phantomhive lineage the reason behind the Watchdog duty ?

Is the Undertaker "Cedric K. Ros--", aka the twins' paternal grandfather ?

The Fenian Brotherhood theory : Vincent was killed for being a political enemy of Queen Victoria

the RCMT : real!Ciel is an antagonist, partly to blame for what happened 4 years ago

Frances Midford is most likely the atypical "Mentor" character of this Shonen series

Let's dive right into this one (warning : long post ahead !) : in Kuroshitsuji, we have many examples of unfair situations. Case in point with the premise, our!Ciel had to choose between dying at the hands of a demonic cult, like his brother, or sell his soul to a demon he summoned to get his revenge.

Amidst that terrible event, Ciel even lost in faith in a higher deity like God, only for Seb upon his summoning to mock his lack of faith :

1) Premise : a system full of lies

The Shinigami organization is another unfair system based, in my opinion, on "punishing sinners who turned their back on God" when they gave up on life and chose death.

However, whereas Seb was rather honest and claimed Ciel's soul as the price for helping him get his revenge from the beginning, the Shinigami Organization is probably anything but.

In ch105, Sascha explains that Shinigamis are basically slaves who are overworked until "they're forgiven", but we've gotten no proof so far in the story about a Shinigami knowing an old coworker who managed to be forgiven (and we have met many Shinigamis).

However, currently working Shinigamis have all heard about deserters.

The most famous deserter, both to us readers but also to some older Shinigamis like Othello, is "the Undertaker" or former Shinigami #136649 :

While the timeline is currently unclear (because Othello mentions the destruction of HQ approximately 70 years ago whereas UT himself during the Campania arc said he was last called a shinigami since "at least half a century"), what's particularly interesting is that Shinigami #136649 was described by Othello as "the Epitome of a Grim Reaper", so exactly the kind of Shinigami you'd expect to "be forgiven".

So why would someone, who would quickly reach the end of his slavery days, turn against the Organization ? Probably because there's no forgiveness, just like there was no other choice for our!Ciel, who "spat upon God", to sell his soul or immediately die.

In Shinigamis' case, the people to blame for upkeeping this unfair system are probably none other than their higher ups, who were described by Othello to "oversee the human world".

Because, to oversee the human world and to gather the souls when humans die, they kind of need a workforce. Hence the overworked Shinigamis, who are supposed to earn their redemption for sinning.

How and why UT found out about the truth of no forgiveness is still unclear, but since he was so talented, it's possible that he was offered to become a higher up and the realization that he was lied to for many decades or centuries made him go rogue. That and the pursuit of freedom being significant to UT's character (see above), which would simply make him hate the notion of a "fated end" for all humans, after his own suicide.

After all, ch105 confirmed Shinigamis were once humans before they chose to die, so it would make sense to imagine that the Shinigamis' higher ups were once Shinigamis too (at the very least we know they're not demons, considering how Seb speaks of them with so much despite).

2) Most deserters are actually rebels, fighting against the system

First, I'd like to point out that, while older Shinigamis like Othello have heard about "the fugitive of legend" because they used to work with him, it's actually interesting that younger Shinigamis, such as Grell, haven't.

After all, if UT was just "tired of this job", like Sascha and Rudgar were guessing in ch105, why wouldn't they warn younger Shinigamis that some of their coworkers may go insane and leave ?

The answer is simple, the higher ups wouldn't want younger Shinigamis to investigate what could have led a brilliant Shinigami like UT to destroy half of HQ, aka "the truth".

So the events of 70 years ago were covered up : they weren't mentioned to younger Shinigamis like Grell or Ronald, and older Shinigamis like Othello were more or less forbidden from interacting with the human world about 50 years ago...

...until the higher ups "started to get serious" about the threat of the Bizarre Doll project and sent Othello on his old coworker's trail.

Secondly, while UT is the most famous deserter to us readers, we know that he's not the only existing one, despite being the only one we've actually met so far. So where are the others and what are they doing ? Well, I can't speak for all deserters, but repeatedly I've theorized that UT is actually not the only deserter working on the Bizarre Doll project.

Let's be clear, UT can have several motives behind the BD project : the most important one to him clearly is also a personal one, which is the revival of the Phantomhive family, as we know thanks to ch140.

But the BD project also threatens the natural balance of the human word between life and death, as Othello explained in ch147, which goes against everything Shinigamis stand for, since Shinigamis are "beings that (are supposed to) stand neutral between Gods and humans". In other words, the BD project threatens the natural order that the higher ups oversee.

And while UT's main motive behind the BD project is personal, other deserters enlisting their help to make it more threatening...

and gaining more sponsors, across different countries...

...are probably more motivated by making it a worldwide shattering threat to the Shinigami system directed by the higher ups.

Finally, as Queen Victoria once said :

And I'd add that the blue sect and blue revenge arcs encompass all 3: Bravat was the lead of a deranged cult for the star lords, the current BD project seems to slowly be growing to become a profitable business [x][x] and the Shinigami deserters are using all of it to wage war against the higher ups and their unfair system.

3) Who gets to decide what is the natural order ?

Another point I'll make to emphasize that the higher ups are shady is that they're also the ones who decide at what pace progress happens in the human world.

But same for life and death, actually. The list Shinigamis work with are distributed to them by the higher ups, as William explained early on:

So life, death and progress are all decided by the higher ups. I don't know about you guys, but I find it's a lot of power to have and the BD project is definitely one way to fight against all 3.

That's why I find it's so interesting that we've got many Shinigamis (Othello, Grell, Ronald, Will and another unnamed one at the orphanage) on the trail of UT and other deserters in the current arc : after all, if UT or other deserters were to spread the truth about how unfair the system is, if just for Shinigamis themselves, maybe it could lead to a Shinigami revolt in the future.

More specifically about Grell, since she's a fan favorite but also because of her actions during the JTR arc : she already went against Shinigami "law" by killing women who weren't on the list, so she'd be a perfect candidate for rebellion if she were to find out that the system she works for (and was punished by, post JTR) is actually full of lies, protected by a few ex-Shinigamis who like to play God and who want to keep the absolute control they have over the human world.

4) A Shinigami revolt against the current system would also be plot significant

And by plot, I am talking about Ciel's revenge. As a reminder, I am personally of the opinion that Queen Victoria and John Brown are the big bad our!Ciel and Seb are going to face and I also believe that JB is either a demon, like Seb is [x][x], or a deserting Shinigami.

However, what's mostly interesting is that Victoria is praised in universe for being a visionary...

...something that Brown being a supernatural creature would definitely be the explanation for, according to Othello. This is probably also the explanation behind her getting ready to launch WWI, 25 years early.

And while Ciel still has to figure out that Queen Victoria is his opponent and why, we also have UT who notoriously despises her :

The Undertaker is, for me, an interesting character because Yana said he "wasn't exactly a villain".

As explained before, UT works on the BD project for two reasons : the main one is personal and is the revival of the Phantomhive family, whose deaths he definitely holds Victoria responsible. On top of that, he also holds the Shinigami system and the higher ups accountable for arbitrarily deciding humans' "fated end" :

In other words, he holds both Victoria and the Shinigami system accountable for the deaths of Claudia, Vincent and real!Ciel.

That's why he "tolerates" Seb by our!Ciel's side, as Seb makes a perfect shield against both Victoria's own demon and the Shinigami system, until Ciel gets close to his revenge. At the same time, UT currently represents Ciel's strongest survival option, seeing as he's the only one so far who represented a threat to Seb in battle.

Don't get me wrong, bringing the dead back and killing the living to make them survive (aka the current arc) is definitely an issue that has to be countered by our!Ciel's side.

However, narratively, since the higher ups being all powerful is also bad because it creates an unfair system, for the Shinigamis enslaved by it but also for humans who have no control over their fate, I can't help but wonder : if UT and other deserters succeed in harming the higher ups' system, will it impact Victoria's war plans ? If so, how ? And what could it mean for the contract between Seb and Ciel, since it's another fated end born from an unfair situation (especially since the story thematically presents revenge as the wrong choice to make) ?

Lastly, we still haven't encountered in the story that one example Will mentioned in ch 35 of a human surviving their fated end, through a Shinigami's judgement, because "they have the potential to be beneficial for this world". So, unless Sensei is getting tired of writing this series, it's definitely something that should be useful later considering it's the only judgement that Shinigamis can make by themselves about life and death.

Hopefully it makes sense. Don't hesitate to add some insights, if you have any. :) Happy new year 2025, y'all ! :D

[beneathsilverstars]

Siffrin is like. 26 at the YOUNGEST to me. Most of them are in their mid to late 20s (early 30s maybe) besides odile who *I* think is mid to late 40s

I did hear the word of god descriptions before considering their ages, so my hcs are compliant with them, but the word of god does all seem right to me. Except ironically the one canon age range (preteen Bonnie) is the only one that seems off; if they weren’t called a preteen I’d assume them to be like 8. (As opposed to, I define preteen as 11 or 12, mayybe 10. aka the ages that would also be called “teen” if not for linguistics.)

But yeah Siffrin is soo 28 to me, definitely within 26-31. Old enough that they’re quite settled into their sense of self and the patterns of their adult life, but not so old as to be totally set in it (or desperately trying to change it). They’re sort of still just muddling along, but they’re very good at it by now! At the very least, they’re used to it, used to pretending it’s fine, but not yet quite so sick of it that they can’t pretend anymore. Not quite.

Mirabelle and Isabeau do have more youthful insecurity imo. I put Mirabelle at 22 because to me that’s the age where it feels like everybody you grew up with is graduating right now and getting job offers in their chosen field, but not you, because you’re a failure. Any younger and you’re all still in college together (or if not, then working 30-40 hours a week is almost more grown up of you than being in school). Any older and everyone’s doing different things anyway. But at exactly 22, being even just one semester behind feels like a huge difference, like nothing you’ve done matters in the face of the one thing you haven’t. (ofc, Vaugarde doesn’t have the same schooling system as irl modern USA, but it’s about the vibes okay.)

And then Isabeau’s 24 because that’s when everyone is doing different things anyway. You’ve realized that the social structure of school, the cliques, the competition, isn’t really how it works as an adult. You are out there in the world on your own and it’s time to figure out what makes you happy instead of your friends or teachers. And, a couple years into working, you might be realizing that the career path you were so sure of really doesn’t suit you at all! And it’s scary to change, and waste all that hard work you’ve done. But, at 24, it hasn’t been that long since you graduated high school, and less since you graduated college (or if not college, you still may have tried a couple different towns or a couple different groups of roommates). You’ve upended your entire life at least once if not several times in recent memory, so even though it’s scary, doing it once more doesn’t feel as impossible as it would for someone who’s been doing the same thing for the last twenty years straight.

Speaking of which, Odile! Admittedly half the reason I made her 43 was self-indulgent ship reasons. But! I also think it makes sense. She’s been out of school just as long as she’s been in it. She had been doing approximately the same thing for the last 15+ years, so leaving is a huge upheaval. But she’s young enough to still have the energy for travel — she sure feels old next to Mirabelle, and she is slower and achier, but she’s also still perfectly able to fight, hike, and camp. (ofc, many older people can still do these things, but I feel like once you get past 50 it starts being mostly just the people who have been consistently doing these things all along.) Also, 40 is just The mid-life crisis age, y’know? So at 40 she starts wanting a change, and then time goes so fast once you’re settled into adult life plus going to the other side of the world is a huge undertaking, so it takes a couple years. But by 43 she’s done it, she’s made the change!

Then I made Bonnie 12 because according to purely my own intuition, I think 4 is maybe the oldest age Bonnie could’ve been when running away that wouldn’t leave them with some solid memory of their parents, and even then it would probably take close to 8 years to have forgotten them to such an extent and grown to be relatively well-adjusted. And I went for the max running away age because oh my god Nille. And I put Nille at the top of her word of god age range - 21 - because oh my god Nille. Babies taking care of babies. At least this way she was a full teen and they were a preschooler!!

[jasper-the-menace]

I was looking at the Magic: The Gathering: The Visual Guide by Jay Annelli for fanfiction purposes and... Why are so many planeswalkers so fucking tall???

Ajani being 6'3" makes sense because that's a lion man. If anything, he should be taller. But Tezzeret is 5'10"? How?

Basri is 6 feet tall (and Samut is 5'8" so I dunno maybe Bolas just likes Amonkhet people being taller).

Bolas himself is, hilariously, listed at "approximately 35 feet tall" (and so is Ugin). Karn is 7 feet tall which is...fine? He's a big bulky construct guy. Teferi is listed at approximately 6', which is weird, because very few heights so far give us "approximately" right there in the profile. Liliana's 5'10" and that feels right to me.

Then you get to the Kenriths and Will is 5'10" while Rowan's 5'9".

Daretti is listed as being "6 ft in cogchair", which makes sense because those are his legs now, man.

Lukka gets neither his own page nor a canonical height, but based on the pattern so far, he'd probably be listed at 6 feet tall.

Sorin is 6'2" and that's a crime because somehow Arlinn is only 5'7". She should be so much taller than him.

Huatli is 5'2". Let that settle in and realize that the dinosaur warrior-poet is the same height as me.

Chandra is 5'6". This is the only one so far besides Liliana that feels correct. But Saheeli being 5'4"???

Tyvar is 5'8", which is on the shorter end of the men so far, which is utterly fascinating to me.

But then we get to the part that got me started on this tangent. What do you MEAN Kaito is 6 feet tall while the Wanderer/Emperor is only 5'3"??? Absolutely not. Oh, and for those interested, Tamiyo is listed at 5'10", though it's unclear if this is before or after being compleated.

Elspeth is 5'9" and that's passable. That's an understandable number.

Koth is 6 feet tall and that feels fine because this man is notoriously beefy. But it doesn't feel real that he's somehow shorter than Sorin Markov.

Kaya is listed at 5'7", Ral is 5'10", Vraska is 5'10", and Jace is 5'10". Of those, only Jace really felt shorter to me, but I understand that Jace is the ruler that every other character's height has been measured against.

Sarkhan is 5'11" and Narset is 5'8". Again, reasonable and understandable numbers. Sarkhan is a guy who walks around without his shirt and Narset is a martial artist who can kick nearly anyone's ass. These are understandable heights.

Gideon is 6'4" and, like with Ajani, this number feels correct but also not quite tall enough? Calix and Niko, like so many others, are also listed at 5'10".

Kiora is 5'7", Nahiri is 5'9", and Nissa is somehow only 5'2".

We get mentions of yet no height information about Mu Yanling, Jiang Yanggu, and Mowu (who I am counting; bite me) under the short profile half-page on the Plane of Mountains and Seas (before it was renamed to Shenmeng), and then we get into the miscellaneous planeswalker profiles.

Angrath is 7 feet tall (again, this feels correct), Ashiok is 6'10" (HOW), Davriel is 5'10" (he gives real short king energy for someone who is that tall), Garruk is 7'7" with the note that it "varies by around 1 foot depending on his mood", Kasmina is 5'10", Ob Nixilis is 6'6", Oko is 5'5" with the note that it's "variable" (probably because of the shapeshifting), Vivien is 5'10", Aminatou is 4 feet tall, Estrid is 5'6", Grist is variable because it depends on the size of the swarm, and Wrenn is variable because it depends on tree height.

Anyway, yeah, that's all of the official heights as of the Visual Guide. So many fucking giants. It's crazy to me, man.

[kerubimcrepin]

LIVEREAD: WAKFU, THE GREAT WAVE [TOME 1, Chapters 4-7]

Always some weird shit happening in this country.

I really wish they didn't make Grougalorasalar so fine because now putting him next to Joris feels like one of those "trying to give my cat body dysmorphia" memes.

EXCEPT JORIS ALMOST DEFINITELY ALREADY HAS THAT 😭

Some thought that it's quite cheap, to resurrect a character this way — however, killing 1k people is already established as a type of resurrection that works, within canon. And there is dramatic irony, considering at the end of the movie she kinda began to understand the error of her ways... It's like the universe is saying lol, no peaceful death for you, keep suffering, y'know? It's compelling.

SHUT THE FUCK UP. I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FEE-FEES. YOU ALWAYS CRY WHILE COMMITTING WARCRIMES. COME UP WITH A NEW GIMMICK!

Like literally — this guy will cry over his dead son, and act scared about being forced to commit more warcrimes w/ Joris in the movie... and then go on to commit more warcrimes for centuries. Is he for real?

I think that, of all the people he could have picked, Julith is the most befitting candidate to try and fight Yugo.

She hated holier-than-thou types. She was aligned with Brakmar. She was willing to commit mass murder and abuse her son to reach her goals. For the right reasons, she will be willing to do more mass murder and son abuse once more. It literally makes so much sense to me.

(ANKAMA PLEASE CHANGE HER MOTIVATION FROM REVOLVING AROUND THE MAN SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH. DO KEEP THE CHILD ABUSE, THO. IF YOU DON'T DO THESE 2 THINGS, THIS MANGA WILL BE UNREADABLE AND UNBEARABLE. THANK YOU.)

Once again, I really appreciate the irony. I hope she feels bad about this — I hope it's clicking for her that this is what she was going to do. (I love torturing characters I love torturing characters I love—-)

I really wish we got some more of a conversation here — like "it's been approximately 600ish years since you died" or "the world almost ended like 4 times since you died, and there was a huge flood and stuff".

I really wish to see the reaction of some random mortal character from Dofus era to all the bullshit that has happened since then.

(God, I hope her first thought after learning how long it has been is, "oh, I guess I won't know what happened to my son. It has been a long time. He died a long time ago, I guess. That's probably a good thing." It would be so funny so so funny sooooo funny to me. hehe)

Due to Atcham being an owner of one of these thins in the past, I sadly have an affinity for them.

(I like to think Atcham wishes he could get another one, but being able to own an animal like this was like, one of the things he had to sacrifice to become a Bontarian.)

Something wrong with her, for real.

Loving their resurrection of Julith not just physically, but in spirit too <3

Welcome back, Irredeemably Evil Female Character Driven To Kill Torture And Abuse Innocents (Including Children) By "My Husband, Who Is The Only Person The Writers Have Me Care About, Died"-Disorder And No Other Character Traits Besides Motherhood/Desire To Be A Mother (Despite Being Abusive To All Children Around Her) Given To Her. You truly are a classic, in Ankama media!

I wonder if Julith is being forced into this, or if the only lesson she got from dying is "Jahash wouldn't have wanted me to kill 1k Bontarians" and she is still as weird and horrible of a person.

I guess it's hard to judge what is happening, without knowing what 'Salar told her.

By the way, if she still has a grudge against Bonta for planning the perfect series of events to kill her and Jahash, it will be so funny. Lady you literally tried to killed a woman's husband <3 you have no moral high ground anymore <3 and she never Had a moral high ground to stand on, but now there's like, hypocrisy to it too, if she uses the "my husband and I were plotted against" card.

[giggles cutely] You see, , this is why I often bring up Joris while analysing child-parent relationships and immortality. Ankama loves reiterating on ideas and concepts.

For example, the most recent motif is poisonings and belladonna, especially when love and royalty is involved...

I know I roasted the hell out of Eliatrope for her bad ruling skills, but I don't think that calling a ruling queen "kiddo" and "the girl" is helpful in this situation.

Then again, Aurora said that her father spent most of his time holled up in a cave, in season 4. Maybe he usually doesn't do politics. Maybe he's more of a military leader, while others do all the work.

...Yeah, I know, I know. Ankama just didn't give a shit and I'm just making stuff up to make it make sense.

[dem-obscure-imagines]

I Know the End | Vol. 2

I Know the End

Poe Dameron x Reader

Fandom: Star Wars

Summary: You were one of the Rebellion’s greatest weapons in the Galactic Civil War, a Princess from a distant planet, a Jedi with wings. Now, you’ve found yourself in a new world, a new war, your old friends long gone.

When Poe Dameron was sent on a wild goose chase of a reconnaissance mission four systems out, he never expected to find the key to his heart…

Note: At long last, here it is. Thank you for your patience. I love you all. I honestly wrote this as a long-winded attempt to make Poe Dameron’s dumbest line “Somehow, Palpatine returned” into a gut-wrenching and emotional moment and it got way out of hand. I am no Star Wars expert, but I did a lot of research for this and consider myself waaaaaaay more of a SW nerd now than I was a mere two months ago. Could probably write a dissertation on it at this point (I say as I literally churned out a novel). It is my first time writing for the fandom, though, so, here goes nothing. I did make up a fair bit of stuff and a good handful of OCs for this. Let me know what you think!

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, lightsaber and blaster wounds, alcohol consumption, war and the implications of it, gets a little steamy but no smut, reader has nightmares, misuse of the Force, Rewriting the Rise of Skywalker a lil bit…

Word Count: 82.7k total (Split into four approximately 20k chunks)

Reader Is: 24, a Jedi, a Princess, has butterfly wings

Vol 1. | Vol 2. | Vol 3. | Vol 4.

Charms in Trees

A few small battles came and went. It was pilot stuff, mostly. They’d go, blow up a First Order transport, and be back in time for dinner. You always offered your help, but it was never needed. Still, you’d take any excuse to go see Poe, especially in that orange jumpsuit. You weren’t sure what it was about it, but you couldn’t get enough of it.

Sometimes you thought about taking it off of him.

It was a growing problem, your little unspoken thing. You’d forgotten just how all-encompassing a crush could be, especially when it was as attainable as the one sitting in front of you right now. You shared a base, lived just down the hall from him. Maker, you could feel that he felt the same way about you, but you still couldn’t bring yourself to shatter the normalcy.

Part of you wanted him to do it, finally take that leap of faith. You were patient. You could wait.

So you did.

Supplies began to dwindle, so you put on a utility uniform and went with some of the others to get more, lifting boxes with your arms instead of your mind. You helped Aspen and some of the other mechs with repairs. You spent time with Soren, both training and not. He was fun to hang out with, a funny guy. Had your sense of humor.

He told you that Laesynda had taken him out to Mariposas a few times when he was growing up. They’d leave flowers outside your pod, light a candle for a while and tell stories. It was haunting, almost, the funerals people held for you despite the fact that you weren’t dead.

Poe had been refurbishing an old X-Wing in his free time, which wasn’t very much to begin with. Leia had been upping his responsibilities, clearly bracing for something. Whether it was an attack or a defensive move, you couldn’t tell, but it had him stressed out.

On a beautiful afternoon, you looked for him in the hangar, armed with some baked goods. BB-8 chirped to welcome you and Poe kicked a shelf in shock, a toolbox teetering for a moment before it started its descent straight on top of him. You caught it in mid-air. The tools floated out of the box, your arm outstretched, heart racing. You set them all down gently, safely away from that pretty face of his.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, Dameron. Came here with a peace offering.”

“Peace offering?” He asked, rolling himself out from under the X-Wing. He peeled his work gloves off, dusting himself off as best as he could.

It looked pretty close to finished, you noted, looking it over. It would need a paint job, of course, but all of the major parts seemed to be accounted for.

“Finn said you’ve been in a mood lately…” You admitted. “Figured I’d bring you something to take your mind off it.”

He grinned, looking at the gift and then up at you. There it was, that infamous flyboy grin of his. “Sunshine, you’re all I need to take my mind off of it. But these are appreciated, too.”

Your heart fluttered at the nickname, handing him the container of sweets. “How’s it going in here? It looks good.”

“Thanks. Should be done soon.” He reported, busting into the box and biting into the sweet, berry-filled tart. “And then we’ll really be in business.”

“I’m sorry about your other one, by the way. I feel partially responsible for that.”

“It wasn’t my first. I knew it wouldn’t be my last.” He chuckled. “At least it got to go out with a bang.”

“And some flames, as well. It was on fire, last I saw it.”

“I am glad I got to take you for a spin in it, though. Think I could get you into this new one sometime?”

“I’m always down for a joyride.” You told him, eyes sparkling, words sincere. “Let me know when it’s done and I can try to fit you into my busy Jedi princess schedule.”

“You’re serious.”

“Always.” You nodded. “I’ve been wanting to spend more time with you.”

He pouted, gazing at you through those dark lashes, a little bit of fruit filling stuck to the corner of his stupidly pink lips. His tongue poked out to get it, but failed. “Wish I’d known that a week ago, I would have carved out more time.”

“Don’t worry about it, Commander.” You said, resting a hand against his chest. You reached up with the other hand, gently wiping corner of his lips. “I know you’re busy, too.”

He held your hand against his cheek, meeting your eyes. “Not too busy for you, your Highness.”

“Good.” You replied, thumb gently stroking his stubble.

He turned his face, pressing a soft kiss to the pad of your thumb. He met your eyes, gaze all innocent despite the way your cheeks were flushing. “Did you get it?”

“I did.” You nodded, making a speedy recovery. “Couldn’t let the best pilot in the Resistance walk around with jam on his face, could I?”

“Well, thank you, for the treats, for sparing my reputation, all of it.” His eyes scanned down your face as you finally removed your hand from the side of his. “You got anything going on today, (Y/N)?”

“Training.”

“Mmm. What time?”

“Soon.” You said, glancing at the watch around your wrist. It had been Luke’s, Leia had given it to you. “About fifteen minutes.”

“Could you move that panel for me real quick?” He asked, pointing up at the wing of his X-Wing, where a patch of machinery was exposed, a heavy piece of sheet metal leaning up against it.

“Oh yeah. Absolutely.”

He set his box of tarts on the workbench and rolled a ladder over to the X-Wing while you lifted the wing cover into place, arms out in front of you, the heavy piece floating in mid-air. He stopped and watched for a second, chuckling to himself.

“What?”

“Still getting used to it, is all.” He confessed, gently pushing the piece into place, where you held it until he started bolting it into place. “This thing weighs like two hundred pounds, and you just…You’re amazing. You know that?”

“You think that’s cool, you should see what I can do with some pretty hefty rocks.”

He glanced over his shoulder at you, the whir of his wrench stopping. “Oh I’m sure it’s phenomenal.”

“Anything else you need while I’m here?”

He shook his head. “I’m all set. Good luck with training. I hope you…you know, move things good.”

“I’ll certainly try.” You chuckled, turning and leaving the hangar.

Over and over in your head, you watched him turn his face and press the gentlest kiss to your thumb. You may have been the one with wings, but he was always the one that gave you butterflies.

***

Your final bits of training that day just so happened to be wing-centric. That morning, you’d flitted from tree to tree, hanging metal charms in the branches with lengths of twine. Rey had been given some other independent activities to work on, but it was clear you and Soren had some ground to cover, or…not cover, flight being the main objective here.

The two of you stared up at them. He looked at you for instructions, but you simply repeated what you’d already said.

“Go get them.”

“What, with the Force?”

“Nope. We’ve been using the Force for hours. Time to stretch those wings, little prince.”

He laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been up that high before.”

“That’s why I need you to be comfortable with it. If you go about it the right way, you can get some serious height. More, if you strengthen your wings with practice and exercise, and more yet if you use the Force for a little boost.”

“Could you…show me?”

You chuckled, hands on your hips, looking up, up, up at the charms. Yeah, that would definitely be a bit daunting if it was your first time flying. “Sure. I’m not gonna cut them down, though, because I’ll have to go up there and hang them all again.”

You spread your wings, shaking the accumulated dust and humidity collected on them from Ajan Kloss’ temperate ecosystem. And then you took off, running at a stump on the ground and using it as a springboard, wings carrying you to the first branch, where you hit the hanging charm sending it swinging.

You flipped from the first branch to the next, a few feet higher, touching that charm before heading to the next, and the next. You were like a dancer, graceful, fluid, gliding from branch to branch, using your limited flight to climb until you were near the top of the highest tree in your training grounds. You took a moment to look out at the camp, admire the Resistance crew bustling from building to building, doing their daily tasks to keep your movement up and running.

And then, doing one last somersault, you dove down, catching yourself with your wings and a burst of air, kicking up the leaves scattered on the forest floor.

Soren stared with wide eyes, Rey having joined him on the ground.

“And you expect me to do…that?”

“Not all of it.” You assured him. “That last jump is definitely something you’ll have to build towards. It’s a leap of faith. But that’s why I’m here, to catch you if the landing isn’t going so smooth.”

“Alright.” He nodded. “I can try.”

“Do or do not. There is no try.” You said, the words familiar, even if they weren’t yours. Sometimes the Force spoke through you; you could feel that this was one of those times. “Aim for five charms today. Any more than that and I’ll be impressed.”

Soren looked up at the first charm, on a low, sturdy branch, deceptively close to the ground. Like you did, he took off at a run, using his wings to get some height and land–somewhat shakily–on the branch, but he did it, youthful face breaking into a grin.

“There you go!” You encouraged, Rey smiling as she watched.

“It’s really great, what you’re doing with him.” Rey said, voice sincere. She reached for your hand and you gave it to her, just as you had that very first day you met. Long ago, you and Leia had shared a sisterhood, and now you shared that with Rey.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

“I hope so. He’s…well, he’s my first Padawan. After you, of course, but you had a head start.”

“I wish you had been here when all of this started,” she confessed, squeezing your hand. “It would have been…nice to know I wasn’t alone in this.”

“You’re not alone.” You told her. “A long time ago…I was meditating, trying to find other Jedi out there. Luke and I thought we were alone, too. I found someone, another Jedi, a young woman. The Force works in mysterious ways, of course, because…it was you. You wouldn’t be born for another, what, eleven years? But I know it was you. We were meant to be here. I was meant to help you and…I plan on doing that. No matter what.”

Rey smiled, words failing her. She pulled you into her arms instead, resting her head against yours. You hugged her back, rubbing comforting circles in her shoulders.

“You know, I’ve always wanted a sister.” She admitted with a laugh, tears in her eyes.

“Well now you’ve got one.”

“I got seven charms, Aunt (Y/N).” Soren said, dangling them from their strings when you turned to look.

“How was the landing?”

“A little shaky, but…” He shrugged and then looked back up at the next charm, even higher than the last. “I think I could get another one.”

“Go ahead. Round two.” You encouraged, motioning him up into the tree.

Finn and Poe walked over not long after, chatting animatedly about something, BB-8 rolling alongside them. It was clear, even from that distance, that Finn was teasing him.

You couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“She getting you up there next, Rey?” Finn asked, pointing up at the trees, where Soren had very clearly already gotten the hang of it, throwing a few flips and flourishes into his movements. You grinned, proud.

“Oh, no, I don’t think so.” Rey shook her head. “I will after you do.”

“Fair enough.” Finn chuckled. “How’s it going, ladies?”

“Good. Really good. Good, productive day today.” You said.

“Good view up there?” Poe asked, shielding his eyes as he glanced up at the highest branch, a glittering charm still hanging from a thread.

“Great view.” You said.

“I thought you said you could only cover short distances, that looks like quite a height.”

“You have to build up to it.” You told him, pointing to all the shorter branches on the way up to that point. “I can’t just fly straight up there. Maybe with some strength training, but these things aren’t what they used to be.” You gave them a flutter, noting the way his eyes caught on them yet again.

“Well, it looked great, from what I could see.”

“That’s high praise coming from you, flyboy.”

“Well, from one flyer to another…you’re a natural. Literally. You were born to be up there, doing that.”

You smiled, voice soft and sincere when you said, “So were you.”

“That means a lot, (Y/N).” He said, head turning downwards for a moment while he thought. “Anyway, uh, Finn and I were wondering if the two of you would join us at the cantina later? Rose’ll be there, too. Things have been so tense lately, we thought we could all blow off some steam.”

“I’d love to.”

Rey nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

“Just let me get changed into something more casual.” You said, flourishing the skirts of your Jedi robes.

“What, the robes aren’t fit for a night on the town?”

“The robes aren’t fit for…much other than looking solemn and kicking ass.” You said with a chuckle. “Unlike your flight suit, which is fit for any occasion.”

“Back to that, huh?” Poe grinned, letting out a laugh. “If you really like that thing so much, maybe I’ll wear it more often.”

You smirked. “I wouldn’t complain.”

“I would.” Finn chuckled. “It needs a good wash, buddy.”

“Alright, alright.”

You watched as Soren landed once again, wings powerful, stance strong. You gave him a nod, pride blossoming in your chest. He was getting there after all. Your training was working. You just hoped that, when danger came, he’d be ready for it.

You hoped you all would be.

Cards on the Table

You sat in your quarters with Rose and Rey, getting ready for your night out with the boys. You braided a few strands of your hair, tying them off with small gold rings at the end.

“This one?” Rey asked, holding the dress up against her frame, a sage green color. It was one of the ones you’d given her.

You nodded. “That color suits you. Brings out your eyes.”

Rey considered your words for a moment before beginning to change. Rose sat at your desk, looking through the accessories you’d pulled out. You plucked a pair of earrings from the collection, setting them in her palm.

“Are you sure? I’ve never worn a princess’ earrings before.” Rose said, staring at them. They were a pair of gold, dangling leaves. They’d go with the blouse she was wearing, a natural pattern on them.

“First time for everything.” You said with a shrug, turning your attention to your own outfit. A wine-colored top with a corset front, the back swooping just low enough for your wings. With it, you’d paired some dark brown pants with flared legs, a decorative gold belt made of metal hoops. You tucked your lightsaber into your bag, instead of displaying it at your hip.

“Oh this…” Rey struggled with the back of her dress. “I can’t get it to stay closed.”

“Here, let me.” You walked over and pulled ribbons from the sides of the dress, tying it closed above the large divot for where your wings went when you had worn it. “I sewed these in for Leia. She and I shared a closet during the Rebellion, more or less.”

Rey’s eyes scanned down her reflection, hands smoothing out the green fabric. “Thank you.”

“You look great.” You told her, words warm and reassuring. “You both do.”

“So do you!” Rose complimented.

A few minutes later, you decided you were ready, not that there was any pressure to be. This was just Finn and Poe you were talking about after all. But you had a feeling quite a few other members of the Resistance crew would be there.

The three of you arrived and it felt like time stopped. Poe and Finn were in a round booth in the corner and they both looked up, faces lit with anticipation at the sight of you. It felt good to be wearing something other than your robes or your standard Resistance gear, a luxury you did not take lightly.

They stood up and crossed the room, meeting you somewhere in the middle. Poe was wearing that leather jacket of his, the one you’d mistaken him for Han Solo in. Beneath it, a button-up that seemed to be missing a few buttons. You swore he was doing it on purpose.

“Hey, Princess.” He grinned. “Glad you made it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

Several Resistance folks milled about, dancing, playing games. A few droids manned the bar, where there were paper lanterns strung from the support beams, casting the room in warm, ambient light.

The five of you shimmied back into the booth, Poe going almost out of his way to make sure he got the seat next to yours, right on the end. His arm settled on the seat behind you, that strong sandalwood scent drifting from his pulse point. Maker, you could get lost in it.

When the droid taking drink orders came around, you each requested something, settling in for a nice, casual night.

A song you recognized came over the speakers in the corners of the room and you smiled. It was familiar. A place like this, people like these.

The more things changed…

“I requested some oldies for you.” Poe confessed, just about causing your heart to melt. “Thought it’d remind you of the good old days.”

“He put ten whole credits in the jukebox.” Finn tattled, earning a pointed look from the pilot. “Stood there forever picking out songs.”

“Well that was very sweet.” You said, leaning a little closer to him subconsciously. “Not to sound incredibly old, but the new music is still…growing on me, we’ll say.”

“How old were you?” Finn asked. “I’m sorry if that’s rude. I don’t think we’ve ever asked.”

“I’m twenty-four. I’ll be twenty-five in…well, I don’t know when my birthday falls now. Four months? Three months? Something like that. Give or take thirty years, of course.”

“You’re younger than me.” Poe murmured, almost in shock of the fact.

He’d taken it for granted, he guessed, just how young you were when they’d put you in that pod. But you’d existed his entire life, etched into legends and stories told by anyone who remembered the war. To him, you’d existed forever. But he was older than you, by eight years.

“Were you…alive when I was?” You asked, running the numbers in your mind.

“I’m thirty-two.” He said, meeting your eyes. There was an odd look in them, like he was asking permission for something. He chuckled, covering the flash of insecurity with a smirk and a quip. “I know I hardly look it.”

“You would have been really young, then.” You bit your lip, letting out a little laugh at the new information. The whole situation was ridiculous. You doubted your paths had ever crossed, so it didn’t matter, ultimately, but still. “That is a little weird.”

“It is.” Poe agreed, eyes still ever-searching yours for some sign that it was still okay, the feelings floating around his heart.

“That means you really are the Han of the group.” You said, in an attempt to diffuse the tension that had blossomed in his chest. It worked. You could feel it instantly. “He was like thirty and the rest of us were in our twenties.”

“Does that make you Leia this time?” Rey asked, catching your eyes, a spark of mischief in her gaze. She knew exactly what she was implying.

“I think it does. Which means you get to be me this time. Congratulations, you are now a princess. Use the title well.” You joked, sitting back against the cushioned bench, also, coincidentally, against Poe’s arm, which was still there, perched on the leather. Warmth emanated from him, both literally and figuratively.

Eventually, the drinks came and you took a few sips of yours, loosening up. You all chatted and joked and laughed. Eventually, Rey and Rose got up to dance with the mechs over on the dance floor. Finn followed behind them.

Jessika spotted you and motioned you over, a broad grin on her face. Beside her was Aspen. Snap was there, too. They were hanging out near the holodart board mounted to the wall.

“Wanna play some darts?” Poe smirked, following your eyeline.

“If you’re ready to get your ass kicked, sure.” You teased, getting out of the booth after him and walking over to where his friends were waiting.

“You look great, girl!” Jessika said. “Give us a spin.”

You did a little twirl, showing off the top, the pants, the accessories. Your wings fluttered behind you like a cape, folded down and out of the way, as they always were.

“Dameron said he was gonna try to get you out here tonight.” Snap said, jostling his buddy’s shoulder. “Glad you joined us.”

“Do you guys do this often?”

“Not often enough.” Aspen said with a laugh, perched criss-cross on a barstool. “But our schedules have us all wound up tighter than a drum. I think we all needed to let off some steam.”

“How have things been for you guys? Missions running smoothly?”

“As ever.” Jessika said. “Thanks, of course, to our fearless commander.”

“Stop, stop, you’re too kind.” Poe said, playfully brushing off his shoulder. “It helps that I have the best team in the galaxy at my disposal.”

Snap motioned you closer, handing you a glowing dart. “Alright, enough chitchat. I want the Jedi on my team.”

“That is not fair.” Poe protested immediately. “It’s only fair if she’s on my team.”

“Sorry, Poe, I’ve been spoken for.” You shrugged, throwing the dart and landing in the outer ring of the bullseye.

Snap’s face lit up and he high-fived you.

“That’s gotta be cheating.” Jessika said, looking to Aspen, who was serving, apparently, as the referee. Pilots took their holodarts very seriously, after all. “Ref, tell her she’s cheating.”

“No, if I was cheating, it would look like this.” You took a second dart from Snap, covered your eyes with one hand, and threw the dart, using the Force to pull it through an exaggerated loop-de-loop on its way to the board, where it hit dead on in the center. You lowered your hand and shrugged innocently. “I just genuinely have pretty decent aim, as hard as it is to believe.”

“She’s pretty and she’s got a sense of humor. You’re a goner, Dameron.” Snap said, elbowing him while you were distracted, laughing with Aspen and Jessika.

Poe chuckled, crossing his arms, eyes teeming with tenderness. “Believe me, pal, I know.”

***

The night went on. You had a few more drinks, toeing the line between tipsy and drunk, but not quite getting all the way there. You and Poe continued to dance around each other, but he didn’t make a move. Well, any further than he already had. But after watching him interact with some of his friends, you’d come to realize that he was a touchy guy. It was definitely his love language.

You sang some songs at the karaoke machine in the corner of the room, sharing the stage with Rose, who had a really good voice, as it turned out.

At the end of the evening, when the crowd began to dwindle, Poe walked you back to your quarters. You, somewhat clumsily, punched in your code, the doors sliding open smoothly. You lingered in the doorway, turning to look at him.

“Thanks for taking me out, Dameron.” You said, breaking the warm silence that threatened to swallow your moment. “I had a great time.”

“Thanks for coming. I, uh…” He reached for your hand and you gave it to him, letting him fiddle with your fingers. It was comforting, his touch. You doubted you’d ever tire of the feeling of those calloused palms against yours. “If you were serious about that joyride…I’m taking it up tomorrow. Little test-drive, checking perimeters. Two porgs, one stone, you know. It’ll still be a tight fit, if that’s alright.”

“Well we both know I have no problem with getting close to you, Dameron.” You teased, giving his hand a squeeze. “What time are you picking me up?”

“After breakfast? Or…well, whenever works. I know you’re busy.”

You nodded, eyes glimmering. “After breakfast works.”

You could feel it again, that warmth sweltering in Poe’s chest. That desire laced deep in his eyes. He was thinking about kissing you. The fantasy playing out in your mind, you weren’t sure if it was yours or his, at this point.

Him, grabbing you by the hip, burying a hand in your hair, kissing you fiercely, passionately, lips exploring every inch of your own. Hungrily. Like he’d been waiting for it. You heard the way his breath hitched, felt his large, warm hand wander further up your back, towards the base of your wings as he kissed you. Cards on the table, heart on his sleeve.

But he didn’t. Didn’t move, aside from giving your hand another squeeze.

You smiled at him, still reeling from the images that had just flashed through your mind, but doing your best to hide the way your heart was racing. “It’s a date.”

These Haunted Wounds

You woke with a start not long after you drifted off. An hour or two at most. Nightmares. Figured.

This time, it was about a different saber. A red one, two little offshoots on the side of the hilt. It looked dangerous. Poorly constructed, if you were honest. One wrong move and the wielder would slice their own hand off by mistake.

No, the scary part was the guy wielding it. Long, foreboding figure, black cloak that drifted in the wind. He wore a mask over his face, voice deepened by a modulator of some kind. It brought back memories in all the wrong ways.

Despite the fact that you hadn’t seen him yet, didn’t know what he looked like, you could just tell. This was Kylo Ren. Had to be. That type of energy could only come from someone who was trying his damndest to stand in the shadow of Darth Vader, an entity you were still all too familiar with.

Luke had made his peace with the guy. You had never gotten that opportunity.

Kylo swished his cape and from his shadow came Insidia, still haunting you after all these years. She plunged her saber into your heart, the pain scorching and real, a scream tearing itself from your throat, and that was when you woke in a cold sweat.

You sat there, hands shaking, heart racing, collecting yourself before trying to lay down to sleep again. Just as you were about to lay back down, there was a knock on your door. Eyebrows furrowing, you swung your legs out of the bed, crossing the room and opening the door with a click of a button on the wall panel.

Poe was standing there in his sweatpants, panting, armed with a piece of a pipe. It was clear he’d run there. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“Huh?” You asked, rubbing at your bleary eyes. You stopped, staring at his bare, toned chest for maybe too long before meeting his gaze. “I’m fine.”

He lowered the pipe. “Oh. I heard screaming.”

Had you screamed out loud? Maybe you had. Maybe you’d projected it on accident, through the Force.

“It was just a nightmare.” You reassured him. You chuckled when you looked at the pipe hanging from his grip. “Nice.”

“Hey, I could do some real damage with this thing.” He defended, giving it a test swing to demonstrate.

“Oh I bet.” You gave a tired smile, let out a sigh, that spot in your chest burning, where Insidia had stabbed you in this dream.

She’s dead. You reminded yourself. She can’t hurt me anymore because she’s dead.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Same old.” You shrugged. “Stabbed with a lightsaber this time. Right through the chest.”

He frowned, nodding. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I’ll be okay.” You promised him. “But thank you for rushing to my rescue. Very daring of you, Commander.”

“Any time.” 

You could feel that he wanted to stay. But you could tell he wasn’t going to ask. Ever the gentleman in the presence of a princess. It was kind of refreshing. You smiled at him. “Get some sleep, flyboy. See you in the morning.”

“You too. Goodnight.” He smiled. He held up the pipe in his hand. “I better go put this back.”

You laughed, watching as he walked back down the hallway. He glanced back at you, meeting your eyes before returning to the room he shared with Finn.

A soft smile pulled at your lips and you lingered in the hallway for a moment before closing your door and walking back to your bunk. You sat there, wondering what it would have been like if you asked him to stay. It wasn’t that you didn’t want him to, but…maybe there was a reason he was waiting.

Maybe he was waiting until after the war to get attached. That would be smart. You knew so many during the Rebellion who did just that. 

Some hashed everything out in the heat of the war, sure. It was hard to get comfortable. It was hard to know which base would be your last, which fight would end it all. Some people chased comfort, wanting to get close to each other while they had the chance.

But others wanted to wait, to make sure they were going to make it to see the peace after the war, and whatever relationship, whatever life awaited them after.

You rolled onto your side, staring at the wall. You wonder if he knew the way he had his hand wrapped around your heart, a little X-Wing orbiting it around and around.

Tomorrow, you promised yourself. Tomorrow you’d say something, up in the X-Wing with him. Arms around you, chest pressed against your back, legs tangled in the cockpit. And one way or the other, you’d finally have your answer.

This time, when you fell asleep, the only thing you dreamt of were his lips.

The Crash

The next morning, Poe met you and the others for breakfast, already dressed in his orange jumpsuit, the collar flipped open. You could not keep the smile off your face at the sight.

“I can’t believe this is really what does it for you.” He laughed, drunk off the look in your eyes.

“It suits you.” You said, eyes lingering on the collar, fighting the urge to reach out and fix it. You rummaged around your mind for some quip to fire back, but came up empty. He’d stolen the words right from your mouth.

The group of you finished eating and Poe cleared your plate, leading you towards the hangar. 

“I don’t have it painted yet, but the mechs checked over it yesterday and gave me the okay.” Poe explained.

“So we’re not going to crash, is what you’re saying.”

“Not with a Jedi on board.” He said, eyes meeting yours. “I still think about that transport you caught. I didn’t know you could just…do that.”

“Took a while to get to that point. Ships are heavy. It helps if I’m not fighting the trajectory. Laesynda’s ship was on its way down, I just…cushioned the fall.” You explained.

“You’re real humble for a Jedi, you know.”

“You think so?”

“More humble than I would be if I could lift spacecrafts with my mind.”

“Oh I’m aware, flyboy. If you were out here with a lightsaber, none of us would ever hear the end of it.” You teased, looking over his flightsuit, still enamored. “You’re already an ace pilot, you can’t possibly have all the skills.”

He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by the harsh blare of a distress signal. The two of you looked at each other before booking it to the strategy table, where Leia was, hand still over the button.

“It’s one of our settlements. First Order troops on the ground, TIE fighters.” She made eye contact with you, Rey running into the room right after. “Kylo is with them.”

She dispatched groups of fighters, sent you and Rey and sent out the Black Squadron. Poe marched through the hangar, yelling orders, getting his team ready for battle. You forced your eyes away from him as he loaded BB-8 into his X-Wing, strapped your saber to your belt, and loaded onto a transport with Rey and Finn.

Soren walked over, saber at the ready. You stopped him with a shake of your head, something akin to a maternal look in your eye. “I need you here. It’s just Kylo. Rey and I can handle him.”

“I’m ready.”

“I know you are.” You said, hands on his shoulders. “That’s why I need you here. Someone’s gotta protect the base.”

He nodded, understanding. He took a few steps back, standing with the others as they saw you all off.

You made eye contact with Poe, one last lingering glance before he climbed into the cockpit and took off into the sky, blasting off at lightspeed with the rest of his squadron to clear way for your transport.

The ramp of the transport closed and Finn looked at you. “He’s like you. Soren.”

“Reckless?” You asked.

He shook his head, eyes serious and warm. “Brave.”

You smiled at the thought and put a hand on Finn’s arm. “So are you.”

The ride was short, but shaky. You didn’t like turbulence, especially in a craft that only had thin, tiny windows. It left you uneasy. But eventually, you touched down, saber in hand, leading the charge with Rey.

There were dozens of Stormtroopers, opening fire on not only the scattered Resistance members, but any civilians they could get their hands on. You put yourself between them, deflecting their shots with a few swings of the saber. The fighters that had come with you ran out of the ship, assessing the situation and adjusting as quickly as possible.

In the air, a battle had broken out as well, X-Wings and TIE fighters firing at each other, as well as the ground below them. You tried to identify which ship was Poe’s. You could feel him up there, but it was hard to get a lock. All you knew was that it was a black ship, an orange stripe painted down the side. Black Squadron.

Another trooper shot at you you and you shifted into battle mode. You used the Force to mow over a row of troopers, pushing them onto their backs in the dirt and leaving them scrambling to get back to their feet. One came at you with a melee weapon, electrified, but you did away with it quickly, using the Force to throw him at a tank, the force of it taking out the canon with a loud explosion.

More troopers focused their aim on you and quickly met the same fate.

Overhead, an X-Wing twirled around, almost drifting through the air and taking out one, two, three TIE fighters in quick succession, firing at a cluster of troopers on the ground immediately after. That had to be Poe.

Another turret fired near the civilians and you ran towards it, using your wings to get some height and jumping up the length of it, burying your saber in the metal paneling on the side and riding it back down to the ground as it was destroyed in a cloud of fire and smoke.

Finn ushered civilians to safety, taking out any troopers that got close with a well-placed blast. Rey worked with you to take out the remaining turrets, keeping the troopers at bay as more of them unloaded from landing transports.

You heard a boom overhead and looked, hoping to see a TIE fighter on its way down, but instead catching sight of an X-Wing, black and orange, one of its engines engulfed in flames.

You reached up and caught it with the Force, directing it away from the thick trees it was aimed towards and turning the nose, bringing it down gently in a clearing of grass and dirt, away from the immediate violence on the sprawling battlefield. You didn’t have time to worry if it might be Poe climbing out of it. Didn’t even have time to think before you saw him.

Kylo Ren.

His saber glowed red, contrasting against the lush green of the planet you were standing on, his kyber crystal obviously damaged, the way its blade was flared. He’d forced it too hard, been too rough with it. Maybe that was why the offshoots were there, to redirect the excess energy.

He was dressed like a shadow, long and sleek, all in black, face covered up by that helmet. It was better that way. You were afraid of finding too much of your friends in his broken gaze. Leia. Han. In another life, you may have been something like an aunt to him. Now he stood in front of you, a monster. 

And he was headed right towards you, strides long and elegant.

“Mothim said you were awake, your Highness. It’s time to see if you really are the thing of legends.” He twirled his saber, voice distorted beyond anything human. An intimidation tactic, no doubt, in addition to the obvious imitation of one Darth Vader.

“Ah yes, my best friend’s biggest disappointment. I keep hearing about you, and I have to admit. You’re a lot taller than I expected.”

He raised his hand attempting to use the Force to…you weren’t sure. Grab you, choke you, but you had your shields up, always did, blocking out his attempt. “You’re good.”

“I have to be.” You replied, readying your saber, stretching out your neck.

He swung at you and you deflected, angling carefully to avoid the reach of the flares near the hilt of his saber. So that’s what they were for. One wrong move and it would be your hand he was slicing off. You countered, using your wings to spin into position, leveraging an attack that he dodged, his saber clashing loudly with your own.

“Tell me, did you really face Vader by yourself, or did you have Skywalker to help you?” He locked his saber with your own, mask uncomfortably close to your face. “Skywalker is dead now. I saw to that myself. I finished the work that Vader could not.”

You let out a cold laugh at that. “You’re not Vader. You’re not even close.”

That definitely pissed him off. He let out a strangled yell, running at you with full force. You dodged with a leap, spinning out of the way. He took the opportunity to take a swing at your wings, which flared in reply, flattening themselves out of his reach. Your foot swept through the dirt as you landed, breaking your somewhat clumsy fall.

That had been a targeted attack. Straight for the wings. Not your arm. Not your saber. Your wings.

Rey came over next, putting herself between the two of you, battling him with a rage you knew had to be personal. You could feel that they were connected. Always had been. There were layers here that you did not quite understand yet. But she still fought him, moves quick and deliberate and instinctual.

You jumped back in alongside her, red clashing against blue and pink, sparks flying. Some of the brush caught fire, but never fully ignited, instead filling the ground between you with smoke, partially obstructing the rest of the fight.

You landed a hit on his leg, slashing into the skin. Rey got him on the opposite arm and he let out a burst of Force energy that sent you both flying. You used your wings to recover, repositioning mid-air, an outstretched hand slowing Rey’s trajectory as well, just before the back of her head hit a tree.

“RETREAT!” Kylo screeched, his voice echoing through the trees, birds scattering at the loud, distorted cry.

You’d hurt him. Bad. You could see the blood pooling in the dirt as he stalked away.

The Stormtroopers and other forces retreated into the transports that hadn’t already been blown up. The remaining TIE fighters, few though there were, hopped to lightspeed. One of the X-Wings shot a few transports on their way into the atmosphere, but other than that, the fight was over.

You found Finn among the crowd, making sure he was uninjured. He was fine. There had been some injuries, but no casualties, even among the civilians, who were cheering and embracing, celebrating their safety for the moment.

You looked over at the crashed X-Wing, smoking at the edge of the field and ran over to it, wings carrying you farther and faster than you’d flown in years, just a handful of feet above the grass. You landed on one of the wings and used the Force to pop open the cockpit, the windshield cracked, the pilot still inside.

She tugged off her helmet, long brown hair cascading down her shoulders. Jessika. Not Poe.

You offered her a hand, helping her out. She looked up at you, awe in her eyes, her hand wrapping around yours. You used your wings to lower the both of you gently to the ground.

“Are you alright?”

“I swore I was going to crash. You…you saved my life.” She rushed into your arms and you held her, rocking her comfortingly. “How do I even begin to repay you for that?”

“You don’t. We’re all in this together.” You assured her, wiping some of the soot from her face with a gentle hand. “Now let’s get you back to base. I’m sure there’s lots of room for you on the transport.”

One of the Resistance members from the planet rushed over, putting out her smoking X-Wing engine with a fire extinguisher. “We’ll take care of this. Get it repaired as soon as possible.”

Jessika exchanged some words with the mech, arranging something of a plan to come get it before following you and the others back onto the transport.

“Are you alright?” You asked Rey, checking all your bases, counting faces and heads.

“I’m fine. Are you?”

“I’m good. He…I don’t know what he knows about Mariposans, but he was locked in on my wings.” You said, shivering at the thought. “Someone must have told him to aim there.”

“You think the First Order has a Mariposan?”

“Maybe.” You said. “He…he mentioned someone named Mothim. That’s…vaguely Mariposan-sounding.”

You watched the sky, the X-Wings rounding up. Jessika had her helmet tucked under her arm, which started talking, Poe’s voice coming through the headset. You could have cried with relief that he was alright.

“Pava, come in. Are you alive out there? We don’t have eyes on your X-Wing.”

“I’m alive, Black Leader. Boarding one of the transports on the ground. They hit me in the right wing, but one of the Jedi caught me on the way down.”

He chuckled and you could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “That is great news. We’ll see you back at base.”

You watched as the X-Wings took off, hitting lightspeed in rapid succession. Your own transport followed suit not long after, once everyone was accounted for and all the systems had been checked for damage. You breathed, focusing on the quiet until finally, the ship landed and the ramp lowered.

You walked out, surveying the crowd of celebrating rebels when you spotted BB-8 whirring at you at full speed, beeping a mile a minute. He looked you up and down and then sped away, straight to Poe, who looked down at him. His little head swivelled to you and back.

“(Y/N)!”

Poe sprinted over, pulling you into his arms the second he was close enough. He let out a long breath, his gloved hand cradling the back of your head as he held you. You wrapped your arms around him, resting your head against his shoulder, wings twitching before relaxing completely.

“You…you’re alright? I saw him go after you. I wanted to shoot, but I couldn’t get a clean shot.” He said, regret in his voice, guilt on his brow.

“I’m okay, Poe. Really.” You told him, pulling away for a moment to get a glimpse at his face, check him over for injuries. There was sweat dotted on his forehead, wetting the curls at the edge of his hairline. “I thought it was your ship coming down. I was so scared.”

He shook his head, taking a moment to peel off his gloves so he could touch your cheek with his hand, skin impossibly warm. He rested his forehead against yours, the movement familiar and comfortable. “You saved one of my pilots. I…just when I think you can’t possibly impress me more…”

You wanted to kiss him so badly. So, so badly. Just surge forward and collect his lips as he uttered his sweet, flattering words. You could tell he wanted it, too. That victory kiss.

“Poe…” You murmured, mouth impossibly close.

“I’m right here, baby.” He whispered in response, voice gentle, eyes soft. Sparkling with anticipation. “We’re okay.”

Your breath hitched at the petname, heart racing faster than his X-Wing. You repeated his words. “We’re okay.”

He nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. He took a long breath and then hooked an arm around your waist again, pulling you close as he pressed a long kiss to your cheek. He buried his face in your shoulder, inhaling what was left of your perfume, diluted, you were sure, by the smoke from the battle.

Mood lightening considerably once he’d processed that you were actually okay, that you’d won, that you and Rey had fought off Kylo Ren, he chuckled to himself, remembering your original  plans for the day.

“Sorry about our date, but…she’s probably gonna need some repairs before I take her up again.” He looked back at his X-Wing, untangling himself from you, but keeping an arm anchored around your waist, just beneath the base of your wings. It tickled, where his orange sleeve touched the soft tissue, but you didn’t dare move him.

BB-8 beeped up at him, agitated.

“I was careful, Bee, why do you think we’re standing here?”

He beeped something complimentary of your performance out in the battle.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” He grinned, proud. “Really, you were awesome out there.”

“So were you, flyboy. I lost count of how many TIE fighters you took down. Are you sure you’re not Force sensitive?”

He smiled that prettyboy smile, reaching over to wipe some soot from your face, thumb moving deliberately, focused on one spot. “Pretty sure. I’ve just had a lot of practice.”

You saw Soren, ready to approach you, but giving you a minute with your pilot. You nodded at him, a promise that you’d be over there soon.

“I better check on my team. Make sure everyone’s in one piece.” Poe said, looking back towards the hangar where the pilots and mechs were conversing, figure out what all needed to be fixed after the skirmish. “Will, uh…would you grab dinner with me later? You know, since our date got rained out and all…”

You nodded, smiled at him. You put a hand on his cheek and guided him closer, pressing a kiss just beneath his scar. “Dinner sounds great. But when that ship is fixed, I better be first in line for that joyride you promised me.”

He laughed, nodding. “Absolutely, your Highness.”

You went your separate ways, his hand lingering on yours until the last possible second until you were finally pulled apart. And yet, as you met with the other members of the Resistance, talking over the battle, taking stock of everything, he was the only thing you could think of, the feeling of his lips still lingering against your cheek.

Vintage Diplomacy

After the battle, you spent the coming days doing strength training for your wings. Your flight across the ground had opened your eyes. If you could cover ground like that regularly, it could be lifesaving.

You’d spend mornings up in the clearing on the hill. Artoo found you up there once and asked what you were doing as you hovered, wings fluttering impossibly fast. You started with five second bursts, then ten, then twenty.

Artoo timed you, let you know when to stop. And that was how Poe found you one morning before a strategy meeting with the General, as well as her Admirals and Commanders. You’d been hovering for nearly a full minute, kicking up a small breeze in your wake.

You touched down when you saw him approaching, wings folding down with record speed as Artoo gave you the breakdown. Your longest yet. With more training, who knew? Maybe you could be the first Mariposan to rediscover the power of true flight. You could certainly hope.

You stretched out your back, hands on your hips stretching both ways. You hoped the soreness meant you were building muscle, if that was how that worked.

“Hey, Princess. Thought I might find you up here. You eat breakfast yet?”

“Yeah, I had something before I came out here.” You replied.

“Good. Meeting starts soon.”

“Thought so.” You glanced at your watch. “Shall we?”

“Lead the way.” He motioned. He was wearing a leather jacket you hadn’t seen on him yet. It was brown, a rebel patch on the shoulder. Definitely vintage.

“Cool jacket.”

“You like it?” He asked with a smirk.

“Yeah. Is it vintage?”

“It is, actually. Good eye.” He rested his hands on his belt buckle. “Not as vintage as you, of course, your Highness.”

“Hey!” You elbowed him and he elbowed you back, both of you laughing as you strode into the meeting together.

A few eyes caught you, knowing looks exchanged between the other assembled people. You said some hellos, exchanged the necessary pleasantries. You greeted your sister, who smiled warmly when she saw you and Poe walk in together.

You were sure after your little, uh, victory celebration out in the middle of the base, that everyone there must have thought you were dating behind closed doors.

You wished they were right.

Poe sat with the pilots, but you could feel his eyes on you as you mingled with the folks filing into the seats around you. Rey, as always, took the seat next to yours. On your other side, Soren. There was always a certain energy to the room when the Jedi were all together. People paid attention.

Before long, General Organa started the meeting. The main topic of interest: Resistance allies, or the lack thereof.

Since the battle at Crait, Leia had been trying to get in contact with anyone she could think of, friends new and old, anyone the Resistance had helped, but responses were few and far between. The First Order had done their best to silence or…eliminate anyone who wasn’t loyal to them.

“What we’re running low on is hope.” Leia said. “The people don’t think we stand a chance against the First Order. They’d rather hide in fear than stand up and fight. And if we don’t find some allies soon…it’s a matter of time before they take us out. We’re already running on scraps here.”

Chewbacca roared out his support.

“More outreach.” Another Admiral suggested. “The people saw what we did for them in the Endor system, that we stand up for them when it matters. Hell, we got twenty new recruits from that battle alone. When people see the difference we make, they want to fight with us.”

“I think our next move needs to be diplomacy, General. It’s been a while since we’ve had representatives at any events raising awareness.” Your sister reasoned. “How are they supposed to know we’re still here if they never see us?”

“But who would go?” Leia asked, scanning the room. “Diplomatic training hasn’t been very high on our regimen, I’m afraid.”

“I can go.” You volunteered. The eyes in the room fell on you quickly, like they’d been expecting you to say it. “The First Order already knows I’m alive, our allies should, too. They think we have one Jedi, we have three. I think that would spark quite a bit of hope, General. Besides, I have the diplomatic training and I never get to use it.”

She smiled, eyes sparkling. “I was hoping you’d say that. I did catch wind of a gala. It’s…mostly safe. Former Rebel sympathizers, a formal event. It would be as good a place as ever to make a debut. You’ll need a pilot of course, to–”

“I’ll go, General.” Poe volunteered before anyone else even had the chance. “I’ll escort the princess. It would be my honor.”

Leia gave a small, professional smile that you could tell she was all she could do to keep from laughing at the sheer speed with which he offered himself up for the mission. She thought about making him fight for it, and she knew he would. Poe Dameron was nothing if not stubborn, ambitious. It was why she respected him so much.

And at the same time, she knew exactly what would happen if she sent the two of you there, together. Alone.

Maybe it was about time.

“Great. Get packed. It’s tonight, three systems out. Take the Falcon.”

***

After the meeting, you went straight to your quarters, shuffling through your closet for anything…formal. You had a lot of Jedi robes, that was for sure, which might have suited an event like this in the olden days, before even your time, but now…all it would ensure was that you would stick out more than you already did.

“Thought I’d find you here.” Laesynda said, standing in the doorway. “I might have something that’ll work.”

You followed her to her quarters. She opened her wardrobe and pushed aside some clothes, reaching for something specific. She pulled it out with a flourish. A long, midnight blue gown. Off the shoulder. It glittered like stars and truly did look fit for a princess to wear. With it, she had a silver circlet, some silver Mariposan cuff bracelets.

“Mom’s…” You remembered, a hand drifting down the sparkling fabric.

Laesynda nodded. “I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. Maybe I knew you’d need it someday.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Now, let’s get you dressed. Sounds like you have a flight to catch.”

Laesynda helped you into the gown, adjusting the flowing fabric so it sat just so, helping to slip your wings through the slot sewn in specifically for them. It was nice, wearing Mariposan garb again, something you didn’t have to adjust in order to wear comfortably.

She put your hair in a simple style, braiding the front pieces back, setting the circlet on your head. You put on the cuffs, put on a silver belt and strapped your saber to it, the final piece of the puzzle. The metal tones clashed, but maybe that was okay. It would stand out, at the very least.

“How do I look?”

“Like a princess.” She replied, a hand reaching out to touch your face. “And like Mom.”

You couldn’t help but tear up a little bit when she said it. She carefully tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear, giving a final nod. You were ready.

You stopped back into your room, packed a bag with some essentials. Among your things, you found your wooden box of Rebel memorabilia. Pins, cuff links, a pair of dangling silver earrings. You tucked it into the bag as well, along with another change of clothes for after the party. As gorgeous as the gown was, you doubted you’d want to be in it all night. You knew how these kinds of parties went. They were long and socially exhausting. You’d be longing for those Resistance standard sweatpants at the end of it.

There was a knock on the doorframe, your door still open. You expected it to be Laesyndra, having forgotten something. Instead, it was Poe, holding a garment bag that you assumed contained his formal wear.

“Tried to get the General let me take my flight suit out for ya, but she wasn’t having it. You ready for–” He stared, voice dropping off once he spotted you, dressed in a dazzling, midnight gown. “Oh. Wow…”

“Ready for…?” You raised an eyebrow, walking closer with slow strides.

“For takeoff?” He asked, Adam’s apple bobbing, eyes half-lidded. “Chewie warmed up the Falcon for us.”

You smiled warmly, nodding. “All packed, Commander. Ready when you are.”

“Perfect. Right. Well, let’s…” He offered his arm and you took it, slipping your arm through his, your bag slung over the other shoulder.

You gave his bicep a playful squeeze, laughter bubbling out of your painted lips. “Loth-cat got your tongue, Dameron? It’s just me.”

He let out a chuckle, meeting your eyes. “That’s the problem, your Highness.”

This Changes Everything

Your friends saw you off, complimenting you endlessly. Rey and Rose demanded you twirl around, showing off the look, which you gladly did.

“You look dazzling, Princess.” Threepio complimented, giving a little bow, arms poised at their odd angles.

“Thank you, Threepio. It was my mother’s.” You said, a sad, proud glimmer in your eye. Poe caught it immediately.

Artoo came with, but otherwise, it was just you and Poe in that big ship. He put in the coordinates, lifted off the planet, and put it into hyperdrive, with you in the passenger seat. Once it was on autopilot, you were free to move around the cabin.

Poe took his garment bag from one of the other seats and moved towards one of the Falcon’s tiny bed cabins to change. In the meantime, you found a mirror and put in a pair of earrings from your box of Rebel trinkets. They were the Rebellion’s symbol, silver and dangling from tiny chains. They completed the look.

Poe emerged a few minutes later, wearing a dark blue formal tunic, dramatic diagonal trim highlighting his shoulders. It was paired with matching navy pants, some black loafers with silver buckles.

“There was a hat, too, but I thought it would be too much.” He said, standing stiff while you looked him over, eyes roving his figure.

“Covering hair like that would be a crime, I think.” You told him, earning a chuckle and that dashing smile.

Your eyes lingered on the ends of his sleeves and you dug around in your box until you found a pair of cufflinks. You walked over to him, grabbing his hand and inserting one of the cufflinks into the end of his sleeve.

“Where’d you get this stuff?” He asked, watching your careful movements as you switched sleeves, putting the other one in as well.

“I’ve had it. Held onto it after the war. Figured we’d wear them to…charity events or something.” You shrugged. You rummaged around the box for a lapel pin, focused as you pinned it to one side of his tunic, straightening it with a quick movement. “Never thought we’d need them for war fundraising, but here we are…”

“My parents were Rebels, you know.” He confessed, voice soft, eyes softer. He’d been holding onto it, unsure why he’d never found the opportunity to tell you until now. Maybe he was afraid the information would shift your already teetering dynamic.

“Hence the jacket.” You noted, meeting his gaze, fingers still lingering on the pin. The wheels turned in your head and your jaw dropped, finally seeing it in his face. Those brows. That nose. Those eyes. “You’re…you’re Kes Dameron’s kid.”

He chuckled and nodded, eyes sparkling. “Yeah. I am. You knew him?”

“I did know him.” You laughed to yourself shaking your head. “Maker, I can’t believe I didn’t put those pieces together. He worked with Han and the pathfinders. I worked with Leia. It was kind of inevitable that our paths crossed. He was a great guy.”

“Is a great guy.” He said. “He still lives on Yavin. That’s where I grew up.”

You hummed, nodding. “That’s really good news, Poe. I’d…I’d love to see him sometime.”

“I’m sure he’d love to see you when all of this is over.” He said, eyes softening when he spoke of home, of family. “Mom was a pilot. Maybe you knew her. Her name was Shara.”

You gasped softly. “You’re…you’re Shara’s son? Shara Bey?”

Poe nodded, smiling. “I am.”

“Poe…I…” You teared up, studying him, dividing his features in your head, which had come from Shara, from Kes. You touched his face, laughed sadly, happy memories bubbling to the surface. “Shara was…so special. She was my bunkmate on Hoth. She and I kept watch together twice a week. We ate lunch together almost every day. We shared wine bottles at parties. I…I always thought there was something going on between her and Kes, but they kept it very professional. Didn’t know they were engaged until after the war.”

Poe got a little misty, nostalgia swirled in his warm brown eyes.

“We don’t have to talk about it, I’m sorry…”

He shook his head, taking your hand and kissing the back of it. “You were there. I always forget you were there. I can’t believe you knew them…”

“Maker, I could tell you so many stories…”

“I want you to. I want to hear all about them when we get home.”

“Okay.” You nodded, shedding a single tear that he was quick to wipe away, pulling you into a hug instead.

He pressed a long kiss to the crown of your head, arms tight around your shoulders, yours wrapped around his middle. You listened to his heart, hammering away beneath his tunic. You felt his lips on your forehead again, lingering for longer this time before he rested his head against yours, swaying slightly with you in his hold.

Eventually, Artoo rolled into the room, beeping to let you know you were getting close.

“Thank you, Artoo.”

He complimented Poe’s pin with a series of beeps and Poe grinned and thanked him.

“Here, I’ve probably got a magnet in here you can wear.” You said, rummaging through your box until you found one. You knelt down and he rolled forward, letting you stick it to one of his panels.

He beeped and whirred in approval, asking how he looked.

“You look very sharp.” You assured him. “You fit right in, now.”

Poe wandered into the cockpit, standing between the back row of seats, watching as the stars flew by at lightspeed. You stepped in after him and he wrapped an arm around your shoulders without a second thought.

He was your pilot, you were his princess. That was all that mattered. You rested your head against him, watching the stars.

***

The gala was being held at a nice hotel, chandeliers glimmering above, painted portraits hanging on the wall and abstract sculptures sitting on pedestals. It reminded you of home, in a way, if Mariposas had been colorless and stiff. There was soft music playing, a band tucked into the corner of the room. Poe took your arm, escorting you through the room of senators and leaders, former Rebellion members.

It was clear that this gala was pretending to be something it was not. On the outside, it had been bolstered as an academy class reunion, probably to drive off any First Order loyalists, keep them off the trail, inside was a completely different story.

You knew these people. A lot of them, wrinkled and graying though they were. Pathfinders, pilots, ground fighters, comm techs…these had been your brothers and sisters on base, and a decent amount of them, seemingly, had bloomed into important people in their own right.

What was holding them back from helping, you wondered, scanning the room. Maybe it was just the fear of the First Order, of making themselves vulnerable just to be eliminated without a second thought. But as the eyes in the room found you, the whispers picked up, speculating how it was you were there, standing there, living and breathing after all this time.

“How’s that for a first impression…” Poe murmured, just loud enough for you to hear, watching the way these legends reacted to seeing you.

“Time to finally use these stares and whispers to our advantage.” You said, leading him over to a corner where some former fighters were standing. You picked one from the crowd, calling his name to your mind. After all, it had only been two years since you’d seen him.

“Y-your Highness?” He asked, looking you up and down. He glanced at the others, as if to make sure you weren’t some Force Ghost standing there in front of him, that they were seeing it too. “I thought you were…”

“Dead? Lots of folks seem to think so.” You replied, offering your hand, which he shook vigorously. “It’s good to see you, Lieutenant. How’s Marsha?”

That was how it started. You navigated through the room, a walking myth.

Once you made your rounds, Poe at your side, chatting with the people gathered there, you felt a tap on your arm and turned to find him. Lando Calrissian in the flesh.

“I was wondering if I might steal a dance, Princess. If you’re not too busy with the Commander here.” Lando motioned to Poe, whose mouth fell open at his sudden appearance.

“Lando!” You all but jumped into his arms, captured quickly in a tight hug. He swayed back and forth, laughing.

“Maker, Leia was right. You really haven’t aged a day.” He said, taking a moment to look at you. He spun you around. “Can’t say the same for the rest of us.”

“You look great Lando. I was wondering when I’d finally get to see you. How have you been?”

“Oh, same old. Leia tipped me off about this…reunion. Thought I could help finally win these stuffy old guys over.”

“No such luck, I’m guessing.” Poe said, scanning the room.

“Not yet.” Lando winked at you. “That’s why she sent her secret weapon.”

“Not so secret anymore.” You said, trying to ignore all the eyes in your peripheral vision.

Lando introduced and reintroduced you to a handful of old colleagues. One of them, a senator now, stiffened at the sight of you, looking you up and down.

“Leia…dressed you up just like her. It would be convincing, if not for the fake wings.” He said with a sneer. “Almost had me there for a second.”

You chuckled softly, malice creeping into your eyes. “Fake wings?” You repeated, raising them slightly.

“I’ve seen them in action, Senator. I assure you, these things are the real deal.” Poe said, expression guarded, tone painfully casual.

Artoo beeped something at him, agitated, but the senator batted a hand. “I don’t speak droid.”

“I can’t translate what he said anyway, it’s hardly appropriate for an event like this.” You said with a laugh. “Do you need another drink?”

“That’s not–” He started to argue, but you held out a hand, using the Force to pull a champagne flute from across the room. It glided smoothly through the air and hovered in front of him. He stared at it, dropping the empty glass in his own hand. He looked up at you in horror as Poe laughed. “You’re her.”

“Obviously.” You replied, plucking the drink from the air and handing it to him. “I know it’s hard to believe. It’s a long story, but I was saved by one very daring pilot, a Jedi, and a fighter after a long time asleep. Imagine my surprise at waking up to another war.”

He shook his head, brows furrowed. “What war?”

“The First Order. The Resistance. Are you unaware of the conflicts, or just too callous to care this time, elevated position and all?” You asked.

“The need for fighting is over.” He said, shaking his head. “I had my war, I’m sure we can all just live in peace.”

“Senator, I don’t know if you’ve been out there, but it’s bad.” Poe said, eyes serious. “What they did to the New Republic…”

“Was a horrible incident, I’m sure, but that doesn’t mean we can all just…hop in an X-Wing and blow things up.”

You laughed at that. “You didn’t even do that the first time. You failed your flight test, if I remember correctly, Senator. Was it two times, or three?”

He scoffed, clearly offended. “Well, I–”

Poe’s eyes lit up, watching as you warmed up to take your shot.

“Don’t you remember what things were like? Under the Empire? Maybe it’s been too long for you. I know thirty years is a long time to hold onto memories, but…it’s only been two years for me. Two years since the Battle of Endor. Two years of quiet after. I remember how bad it was and this is worse. The weapons they have, the forces, the numbers. They have a Sith trying to outshine Darth Vader and Maker knows what else hidden on those Star Destroyers. They are taking children and ruining lives. One of our best friends is a former trooper. I wish he was here to tell you himself the horrors he’s seen aboard those vessels. They can destroy planets with a few button presses. Maybe you feel safe right now. Maybe you’re playing into their pocket, who knows, but someday, they’ll turn on you, too, and there will be no one left to protect you because you didn’t help the Resistance fight back.”

The room fell silent, every ear tuning into your fiery words. Lando let out a proud little laugh.

Someone across the room stepped forward, meeting your eyes. Wedge. Wedge Antilles. One of the best Rebel pilots there was. He’d been great friends with Luke, so you’d known him pretty well. It was good to see he was still around.

“Well, your Highness, where do we sign up?”

***

After a few more hours of networking, of Poe handing out tokens for further communication, taking pledges and handing out contact information for any people they knew who’d like to enlist in the Rebellion, the three of you–you, Poe and Artoo, that is–said your goodbyes and headed back to the ship.

As soon as the ramp was closed, Poe’s face broke into a victorious smile and he took you in his arms, lifting you off the ground and spinning you around. Laughter bubbled from your lips.

“That was insane!” A triumphant laugh escaped him. “You flipped that whole room in less than a minute! I…I…” He set you down, unable to wipe the smile from his face. “I can’t believe that just happened. This changes…everything. We’re gonna have so many new recruits. We’re gonna be able to get so many supplies…”

“New pilots?” You asked.

“New X-Wings. New ships. New blasters. Kriff, new uniforms, even.” He smiled, grabbing onto your arms, just above the flowing, off-the-shoulder sleeves. “Wow, I dunno, I had my doubts when Leia sent me four systems out for a shiny rock, but…I don’t know what we’d do without you here.” He met your eyes, took a step closer, dipped his head down. “I don’t know what I’d do without you here…”

You couldn’t do it anymore. You couldn’t dance around him and pretend your heart wasn’t on fire just looking at him.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and tugged him closer, lips capturing his easily, as you had in your fantasies so many times. He gasped into your mouth, arms winding around your waist and pulling you against him, lips passionate and experienced. Poe held you there with one arm, the other traveling up into your hair.

Your nose brushed against his as he twisted, getting an even better angle, teeth nipping at your lip. You reached up and cupped his cheek, thumb brushing through the stubble accumulated there.

He pulled back, forehead against yours, breaths ragged as his eyes searched your face, looking for some evidence that that had happened, that it was real this time.

“Say something,” you whispered, hand still anchored against his cheek, eyes sparkling with insecurity. “Please.”

“Give me a second. I’ve never kissed a princess before.” He murmured, kissing your forehead, then your cheeks, pressing another long one to your lips. Soft, but filled with so much passion. He let out a breathy chuckle, meeting your eyes. “Maker, you have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed of doing that.”

You bit your lip, a guilty little smile twisting your mouth. “Actually, about that…”

Poe’s eyes widened, jaw dropping before the shock melted into an embarrassed grin. “You…you could feel it, huh? The whole time?”

“More or less.” You confessed. You pulled him back into you and he didn’t resist, nose brushing yours as you whispered, “I couldn’t tell if they were your fantasies or mine, to be honest.”

He stepped forward, cupping your cheek as he captured your lips again, hungrier this time, lit up by your words, by your confession, that you had felt this way about him for just as long as he’d been drawn to you.

Another step forward and your exposed back touched the cold metal of a wall panel, one of Poe’s hands taking yours, fingers interlacing as he held it up against the wall. His other hand tugged your waist closer, closer, closer, like he was trying to fuse the two of you into one person.

You crooned, hooking your arm around his neck, keeping him there.

“Tell me to stop,” he rasped, lips trailing down your neck before crushing against yours again. “Use one of your Jedi Mind Tricks or something.”

“I can’t.” You laughed against him. “They wouldn’t work on you anyway and…I don’t want you to stop.”

“Well good, because I don’t think I can…” He said with a chuckle, nose smushed against yours. He kissed you again, movements tender and slow, smiling against you when he heard your breath hitch. “I thought Jedi weren’t allowed to fall in love. I would have done this so much sooner…”

You laughed. “That’s what was stopping you? I thought you weren’t afraid of bending the rules, Commander.”

Poe let out a breath, smirking. “Well yeah, but…you’re a princess. I thought you might not be so keen on rulebreaking.”

“Well the good news is, there aren’t any rules against Jedi falling in love anymore.” You murmured, resting your forehead against his, hands tugging on the trim of his tunic. “But if there were…I would break them for you, Poe Dameron.”

He grinned that flyboy grin, going in for one last kiss, then another, then one final, lingering kiss, stealing the breath from your lungs, the butterflies in your stomach flying loop-de-loops that rivaled any maneuver he could pull off with his X-Wing.

Soon, you knew you’d have to fly back to base, update Leia on the progress you’d made, return to your schedules and duties.

But now, you shared your breaths with him, heart racing as he cupped your cheeks, whispering sweet words against your lips, promises to steal away more time together as soon as the Maker would allow.

A Little Rebel Spirit

Poe slept in your bed that night.

Your mattress was hardly big enough for one of you let alone both of you, but he didn’t mind, changing out of his formal tunic, carefully returning your Rebellion trinkets to their special little box, and laying in your bed, watching you, hands folded on his toned tan chest, the chain around his neck glimmering against his skin.

You’d changed into some sleep shorts and a tanktop you’d modified for your wings. When you turned to face him again in the dim bedroom, he gasped, eyes falling on your thigh. More specifically, the large tattoo piece stretched across your skin.

“You have a tattoo?” He asked, almost scandalized. “Princess, I knew you were a Rebel, but I didn’t know you were so rebellious.”

“You wanna know what’s rebellious…Leia did this.” You said, fingers skimming over the artwork.

His jaw dropped. “No fucking way.”

“Yes way.” You nodded, walking over to the bed and sat beside him, propping your leg atop his so he could see better.

He ran a large hand over the tattoo, the sheer warmth of his touch sending shivers down your spine. “When?”

“Three years ago.” You answered, before correcting “Thirty-three years ago. We were on some planet, there was a market and she got a tattoo gun for like…twelve credits, which should have been the first red flag.”

“And you let her do that?” He asked, laughing.

“Well yeah. She’s my best friend. I knew it would drive my parents nuts, their second in line for the throne defiling her skin, but…I didn’t really expect to survive the war, to be honest. Besides, I was the spare, what were they gonna do about it? I knew I was never going to be queen.” You said with a shrug. “It’s not half bad anyways. She’s a talented artist.”

“This is…that tree, isn’t it. The one on Mariposas.” He said, studying the lines, the shading. It was a large, sprawling tree, branches thick, covered in flowers. Roots twisted down your thigh, headed towards your knee, and in the roots, were a few stray butterflies. Above it, three moons, their shaded crescents in various stages of their cycles.

You nodded. “The Monarch Tree. From which, all life on Mariposas bloomed, or so the legends go.” You guided his hand further down the art, to where the roots curled into a subtle version of the symbol of the Rebellion. “This was by special request.”

His features glowed with recognition and he met your eyes, reaching up to smooth the hair out of your face. “Wow, that’s…that’s really hot, I’ll be honest.”

You giggled, shifting your body towards him. “Yeah? A little Rebel spirit is what does it for you?”

“You’re one to talk. You’re into that silly orange jumpsuit of mine.” He teased, hand hooking your knee and tugging your leg to the other side of his hips, so you were straddling him, hovering inches from his face.

Your wings twitched behind you as you cupped his face with both hands, nose pressed to his. Tenderly, slowly, you inched in, grinning when he got impatient and chased your lips, hands wandering up to your waist to tug you closer.

“You know, honestly Poe, it’s not so much the jumpsuit as it is the thought of…taking it off of you. How easy it would be to just…reach out and unzip it a little.” Mischief glimmered in your eyes. “With the Force.”

He let out a broken groan at that, throwing his head back towards the wall. “You can’t just say that when I’m not wearing it.”

You smiled, coy. “Next time, perhaps.”

“Oh, there���s no question about that, sweetheart.” He had fire in his eyes when he pulled you towards him, crushing his lips to yours, tongue teasing at the seam between your mouths. You let him in, the taste of him rolling across your tongue, minty fresh from his toothpaste.

You threaded your fingers through his curls, letting out a whine when his lips left yours and started trailing down your neck, stubble rough against the sensitive skin. His hand ghosted up your back, finding the base of your wings, calloused fingertips brushing against the spot between them.

Tingles shot through your limbs like firecrackers and you crumbled against him.

He froze, the panic setting in. “Woahhh, sorry, sorry, is that not an okay spot?”

You took a deep breath, reaching up to cup his cheek, turning his face towards you as best you could from your spot tucked into his shoulder. You laughed sheepishly, cheeks flushed. “S’fine, Poe. I’m okay.”

“No, if it’s not fine, you need to tell me. Baby, I’ve never…touched a Mariposan before, I don’t know what I’m doing.” He confessed.

“It’s…that spot is the most sensitive spot on my whole body.” You said through laughs, pulling his face down to meet yours. “So we just went zero to a thousand all at once.”

“Oh.” He laughed. “So it’s a no-go zone.”

“It’s a ‘we have to work up to that’ zone.” You amended, pressing a kiss to his lips, adjusting yourself so you were a little more upright. “You can touch it, but…it has to be featherlight. Unless we’ve gotten there.”

“Okay.” He nodded, nose brushing against yours. “So, do they…have feeling in them?” He asked, hand hovering just above the crest of one of your wings, still a little afraid to outright touch them, despite the fact that he already had, that night in the kitchens.

“Mmhmm.” You spread one out for him, an invitation. “You can touch them. Just be gentle. Like before.”

Poe reached out, running the palm of his hand down the length of one wing, tingles running down your back as he did.

You let out a contented sigh, lulling against his chest as your muscles relaxed.

“Does it feel good?”

“Yeah.” You kissed his cheek, then the corner of his lips, hand resting against his chest. “It’s like…having your hair played with.”

He smiled at that, continuing the gentle movements while you were curled up in his arms. He kissed you again, lips impossibly soft, like silk, the fine royal satins your sheets on Mariposas had been made of.

“You’re the only one allowed to touch them, though.” You told him.

“Just me?” He asked, absolutely enamored.

“Just you.” You punctuated it with a kiss that he readily reciprocated. “It’s…seen as a romantic thing, on Mariposas. Wing-touching is…very personal.”

“So when you let me touch them that night…”

“I was making a move, more or less. I knew you wouldn’t take it that way, though. It doesn’t mean much to outsiders.”

“It meant everything to me, Princess.” He whispered, kissing your forehead. He basked in the proximity, of the feeling of you in his arms, the way you slotted perfectly against him, like you were made for him. “Should have done my research. Would have saved us both some time.”

You laughed. “I doubt Laesynda would have told you that.”

“True.” He went quiet for a while, thinking over something before asking, “Do you…miss it?”

“Miss what?”

“Just…the way things were, before you went to sleep.” He asked. 

You could tell it had been weighing on him. If you missed people from before. If you missed the relationships you’d had. If you missed Luke.

“Sometimes. I miss Mariposas a lot. I miss my family. I didn’t even get the privilege of losing them, really, I just woke up and…they were gone. Had been gone for decades. I miss Han. I miss Luke…but…He left me there. He just…left me there to sleep for thirty years, so…” You let out a breath. “I try not to miss him more than he missed me.”

He nodded, listening quietly, hand still gently passing over your wing, the sensation soothing in indescribable ways. It had been so long since someone had touched you like that. If he kept at it, he would lull you right to sleep.

“But I like this life, too. I like training with Rey and Soren. I like making a difference again, fighting for something important. And someday, when the war is over, I’ll get to figure out what that peace looks like for me again.” You reached up, thumb gently grazing the skin beneath that tiny scar on his cheekbone. You pulled him to you, locking in a slow, sensual kiss. “I like you most of all, Poe Dameron.”

He smirked. “You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not.” You shook your head, eyes earnest. “You saved my life. You found that pendant. You woke me up. And every day since then, you’ve been finding little pieces of my heart I thought I’d lost decades ago.”

His lips captured yours again, breathing into it. They wandered, down your cheek, past your jaw, down to your neck again. You laced your fingers through his curls, relishing in the burn of his stubble against your skin.

“Maker, I’m so glad we found you…”

He whispered against the sensitive spot he’d found on your neck, the words echoing off the caverns of your mind. That voice. Those words.

It was him. Obviously it was, but the realization still struck you to your core. You’d dreamed of this, dreamed of him for years, and now he was finally yours.

Your pilot. Your Poe.

Can’t Change the Past, Starlight

You and Poe walked down to breakfast separately the next morning. He slipped out of your room carefully, watching for any techs that might be walking by, and hurrying from your room to his to change into some real clothes, as all he had in your room was the formal tunic Leia had loaned him. 

You timed your exit about fifteen minutes after, and ran into Rey and Finn in the hallway.

“How did it go?” Finn asked. “I was kind of worried. I never heard Poe come into the room last night.”

“Oh it was great. I’m sure we’ll hash it all out in the meeting later. Lots of new pledges, hopefully lots of new recruits, too. Ran into Lando Calrissian. He’s…an old friend.”

Rey’s jaw dropped. “The Lando Calrissian. Is he joining the Resistance?”

“He’s thinking about it.” You said with a smirk. “He’s always been hard to pin down, but I have a good feeling he’ll come around. Maker knows we could use his help.”

The canteen was bustling with folks, starting their day. Poe was sitting at the usual table with Rose. You grabbed some breakfast and slid into the seat across from him. A calculated move. He slid you a cup of caf, just the way you liked it.

“There you are. I was worried you’d gotten lost on the way to our room.” Finn said, searching Poe’s face. “Where’d you end up last night?”

“I…slept on the couch down in the lounge. Didn’t wanna wake you, we got back really late.” Poe lied.

Alright, you were officially doing this. You were officially hiding your relationship. It was kind of thrilling, you had to admit.

“Mmm.” Finn nodded, not buying it in the slightest. “Well, how’d it go?”

“Fantastic. (Y/N) has a real way with words.” Poe said, eyes sparkling. “Flipped the whole room, had everyone all fired up. We got so many new pledges and allies. It’s gonna take the droids forever to get all the files sorted.”

“Like I said, diplomatic training I never use.” You said with a shrug, taking a sip of caf.

“How’d you sleep?” Poe asked, meeting your eyes.

“Slept alright. Like you said, we got back late, so I didn’t get much of it.”

“Mmm. Sorry to hear that.” He said through a grin that he hid behind his mug. “I slept great.”

You kicked his leg under the table.

After breakfast, the group of you filed into the meeting, where you were somewhat surprised to see Lando, chatting with Leia. Once she spotted you, she motioned you over, hugging you tightly.

“I never doubted you, (Y/N), but I have to admit, I didn’t expect results like these. This changes everything.”

“I’m glad I could do my part, General.” You said, eyes glimmering. You turned to Lando. “Didn’t expect you to head here so fast.”

“How could I not? You need help. I should have been here a long time ago.” He said, slinging an arm around your shoulders. Just like old times. “I’m here for whatever you need, ladies. Just say the word.”

“Well right now, I need someone wrangling the new recruits. They need to be rounded up from outposts in the Outer Rim.” Leia said.

Lando saluted. “Just give me coordinates and a ship. I can make it happen.”

You left the two of them, turning to sit in your usual seat with the other Jedi. This meeting was a little more broad, more of the operatives from the middle ranks present in addition to the higher-ups.

Laesynda walked past, letting her hand brush on yours as she passed, a knowing smile on her face.

You avoided Poe’s gaze purposefully, but you could feel it on you from across the table. Business as usual, you supposed. He was always giving you those lovesick looks, but now there was something more in those warm brown eyes of his. You loved the feeling.

Leia started the meeting, opening with words of congratulations, the numbers from the previous night broken down in the projection on the holo in the middle of the room. The team burst into applause, several congratulative whoops and hollers sounding. Snap jostled Poe’s shoulder and he finally met your eyes, giving you that charming flyboy wink, handsome features illuminated in the teal light.

Leia moved to the next order of business, the intel Lando had been hard at work gathering. About Mariposas.

“The attack on Mariposas…I believe it was an inside job.” Lando said.

Your heart dropped into your stomach, ears ringing. You looked at Laesynda and she shared the same grim expression you were sure was on your face. You felt Poe’s eyes on you, watching as the rug was torn from beneath your feet.

“I don’t mean to impede on our celebration, I just…With three prominent Mariposans among our ranks, I think it’s a logical conclusion that…two of them were the targets of the original attack. So whoever tipped off the Empire splinter cells, if they’re still alive, could be interested in…”

“Finishing the job.” You said, suddenly exhausted.

“Yeah.” Lando nodded.

He brought up some diagnostics, a map of the planet, a breakdown of the attack. He talked those who were unfamiliar with it through what had happened. You watched as red bloomed across the Healer’s Temple, right where you were, blaster fire taking out the Refuge, where the Healers had retreated. A light attack up front to scare them, a heavy attack on their hiding spot to finish them off.

Immediately, you knew Lando was right. It was an inside job. Only someone who knew the innerworkings of the palace would have known the Healers retreated there in the case of an emergency. Someone who had grown up there, perhaps.

You bristled, watching as the attack continued, further details selling his point further. This was an attack that had been planned and executed by someone intimately familiar with your home. And someone who wanted you dead. Or at the very least, didn’t want you to wake up.

“Maddox.” The name left your mouth coated in venom. “My brother. Had to have been. Only the royal family would have known all of this, to exploit every weak spot in order.”

“Why would your brother…” Poe started, finally daring to speak up.

“He was jealous.” Laesynda said, the memories of him weighing her down, too. “Always jealous. He was the oldest, the heir to the throne. It still wasn’t enough for him. He was jealous (Y/N) was the Jedi of the family. Wanted it to be him.”

“Couldn’t have been our parents. I was asleep, Laesynda was ten. It had to have been Maddox.” You laughed bitterly, shaking your head. “Maker, if he wanted me dead so bad, I don’t know why he didn’t just destroy my pod and kill me himself.”

“Because we were there.” Leia said, voice soft. “We were too late to stop the initial attack, but…Han and Lando got the shields up. I guarded your pod. Luke handled the cultists.”

You pressed your lips together, nodding. “Thank you.”

“By the time the fight was over, all of the Healers’ Pendants had been destroyed or…lost. We tried to use the Force to open your pod, but they were designed with that in mind. Only a healer could open it and they were…all gone.”

You took a long breath, nodding as she explained.

Lando looked at you, features apologetic. “And if he is indeed in the First Order, alive after all this time, it stands to reason that…he wouldn’t be happy that you’re awake again, your Highness.”

“Right. Do we have any…intel that he is? On either account, alive or currently working with the First Order?” You asked, adjusting your posture. Your wings twitched. Rey reached for your hand and you gave it to her, the touch comforting, albeit simple.

“Not yet, your Highness, but…We’re working to figure that out. I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.” Lando said, turning the holo off with a click. “Wanted to make sure we all kept our guards up.”

Leia ran the team through a few other things, mostly preparation for new Resistance members she was anticipating. New quarters would have to be prepared, they’d have to arrange supplies and prepare to train dozens, maybe hundreds, of rookies.

After the meeting, you met Poe’s eyes for a moment. And then, you walked back to your quarters, paces brisk. Uncharacteristic of you to just leave one so early with no discussion of meal plans, no chatter with your peers, to just…disappear. Anyone who knew you would know there was something wrong. And Poe knew you.

The door slid shut behind you and you sat on the mattress, letting out a strangled yell, head in your hands, knees tucked up into your chest and wings flaring out behind you.

Your heart raced in the silence after the scream. The force of it, the Force of you had rattled the trinkets sitting on your dressers. You took a few breaths, leaning back against the wall and staring at the ceiling panel, tears streaming down your cheeks.

The door slid open again and Poe slipped inside, closing it behind him. He melted when he saw you there, looking utterly pathetic, you were sure.

“Hey, baby. You okay? That was some heavy stuff.” He crossed the room, sitting on the bed.

You shook your head and reached for him. He pulled you into his arms immediately, a large hand cradling your head, the other wrapped tight around you, legs draped over his. You buried your face in his shoulder, sobs muffled by his warmth.

He started tracing comforting patterns in your back, letting you get it all out before attempting to talk you through it.

“I feel so stupid, crying about it. It happened so long ago…” You confessed, voice soft and broken.

“Not for you.” Poe reasoned, pressing a kiss to your hairline. One gentle hand found your cheek and he used his thumb to gently wipe your tears away. “Everyone here knows it’s still fresh for you. Of course you’re torn up about it, I would be, too.”

You nodded, sniffling. “I always knew he hated me, but…I guess I just never knew how much. I thought after Endor, everything would cool off. But it doesn’t sound like that’s the case. It was quiet for a while, sure, but…I wasn’t here when things started getting bad. I wasn’t here to help when things got worse…”

He listened, empathy rooted deep in his warm brown eyes. “You’re here now.”

“Yeah, but…”

“What happened, happened. We can’t change the past, starlight.” He said, readjusting his hold, one arm cradling you while the other nestled against your cheek, still gently dabbing at your tears as they fell. “I’m just glad you’re here now. For selfish and unselfish reasons. Rey needs you. I need you. You’ve got a lot of good to do here, and you’ve already done so much.”

You nodded, absorbing his words. He was right. He always seemed to be. “What do you have going on today? Is there somewhere you need to be?”

“It can wait. I’m needed here.” He promised, pressing a kiss to your nose, gentle smile turning mischievous with a quirk of his eyebrow. “Besides, they’ll never find me in here.”

You couldn’t help but laugh a little. Poe never failed to bring a smile to your face, even when you were feeling like this.

“It’ll be alright, baby.” He reassured. The name still made your heart do flips in your chest. You much preferred it to your stuffy royal titles.

You sat further upright, kissing his soft pink lips. He kissed back, hand tilting your face just so with passionate precision. “I know it will. We’ll make sure of it this time.”

Rise of the Resistance

It wasn’t long before the new recruits started showing up. Lando ran what was akin to a shuttle service for a few weeks, running back and forth in a tiny transport, trying to avoid as much attention as possible. So far, it had worked.

The new folks were a bright bunch. Among them, Wedge Antilles, who had left behind his flight school, taking most of his pupils with him to help the cause.

“You know, as weird as this sounds, I missed it, Princess.” He admitted, hands on his hips, looking around the base, where soldiers ran in neat columns for their morning workout.

“Missed that Rebel air?”

He grinned. “Exactly that.”

Snap walked over, hugging him tightly and that was how you found out Wedge was Snap’s step-dad. Maker, it was a small galaxy after all. You and the other Jedi took a break from training, trying to help everyone get acclimated. You helped with giving tours, showed rookies where to get their breakfast and sleep, teaching them emergency protocol.

You set up a meditation room in an empty storage shed. It left something to be desired, but it was dimly lit, had some soft music playing, various toys and activities for Force training, cushions on the floor for those who could not float in the air while they meditated.

Aspen led some of the new recruits through while you were organizing your books.

“And this is Princess (Y/N) (L/N) of Mariposas, one of three Jedi we have on base.” She motioned to you. “If any of you think you might be Force-Sensitive, this is who you want to come to with questions.”

“We are always looking for new Jedi.” You said. “But this room is for everybody. If you need to get away for a bit, feel free to come here, do some meditation, read. It’s here for you. It gets rough out there, you need to take care of yourselves.”

Hours later, you had a tour group of your own, leading them through the comms center, then the mech workshop, droid repair, where BB-8 was getting a fresh paint job and beeped and whirred at you excitedly.

You led them past the hangar, where there were pilots milling around, about to head out on a perimeter check. Poe was there, stretching in that orange jumpsuit of his. You couldn’t fight the grin that formed when he spotted you, lighting up. He walked over, introducing himself to the group.

“Any pilots?” He asked, scanning your recruits, standing right next to you, hands on his hips, but his elbow brushing your side.

Professional. So, painfully professional.

“Reggie there.” You pointed him out and Reggie volunteered himself with a proud hand in the air.

“That’s the spirit. Welcome to the team, Reg.” He looked at you, glancing at your holo to take a peek at your schedule. “They’re not giving you too much trouble, I hope.”

“Nope, I’m all set with these guys. Bright bunch.” You replied, meeting those warm brown eyes, where mischief always seemed to sparkle.

“Right. Good. So, you don’t have anything penciled in after lunch?”

“I do not.” You confirmed.

“Alright. Well, uh, I’ve gotta hop in that X-Wing for perimeter checks. See you around, your Highness.” He promised, eyebrow quirked. He turned to Reggie. “Nice to meet you, Reggie. I’ll make sure you get acclimated.”

“Thank you, sir.” Reggie replied, starstruck.

You gave Poe a parting smile. Once the group had turned away, you glanced back. He motioned to the zipper of his jumpsuit, then looked at you with over-exaggerated expectation. Your jaw dropped and you rolled your eyes, laughing. Here in front of all of these people was not where you intended to use the Force to unzip his jumpsuit.

Still, you pinched your fingers together, focusing for a moment as you tugged it down the tiniest bit, just enough to tease him. He gasped, clearly not expecting you to actually do it. The way his eyes lit up, though, you could tell he was into it. Perhaps too into it.

The group didn’t notice, too busy buzzing about their future roles. Some of them were buzzing about other topics, like how hot your boyfriend was.

You moved them along to the next spot on the tour, but one of them pushed.

“Who was that?”

“Who, Commander Dameron?”

“He’s a Commander.” She giggled with the girl beside her. They couldn’t have been older than nineteen. It was kind of cute, admittedly. Harmless.

“Wow, he is something.” The other one agreed.

“Best pilot in the galaxy, in fact.” You chimed, heart surging with pride at your overly casual words. “I do think he’s seeing someone though, ladies.”

They both let out dramatic sighs. “Well, whoever they are, I hope they know how lucky they are.”

You chuckled, watching as his X-Wing pulled off into the air, doing a barrel roll right above the group. Now he was showing off. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t do something to you. “Oh she does.”

***

You ate lunch with Rey and Soren, welcoming a few of the new recruits to your table. Finn was busy with tours, too, training people to do various upkeep tasks around the base, keeping everything running smoothly. Poe was standing in the doorway and Rey looked up at him, then glanced at you, then back at him again.

“I think he’s trying to get your attention.” She chuckled, stabbing at the remains of her salad with a fork.

“Oh, is he?” You replied through a smile, still trying to keep up the act.

“I think he’s into you, you know. Finn and I talk about it sometimes.” She said, tone encouraging. “And he is his roommate. And his best friend.”

“Are you implying Finn has some information I should know?” You asked.

She laughed. “I very well may be. Honestly though, you should just go for it. I’ve never seen him look at anyone like that. May as well give it a shot.”

“Yeah.” You smiled at that. “Maybe I’ll go see what his deal is.”

“Good luck.” Rey said, watching as you crossed the room to where he was waiting in the doorway.

You met him with a cordial, professional smile. “Commander Dameron, is there something I can help you with?”

“Actually, yes, there is, Your Royal Highness.”

“Woah, busting out the big title? What’s the special occasion?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to take a walk down the hall with me.”

“Down the hall.” You said with a chuckle, pushing past him and leading him in that direction. Once you were out of earshot of the canteen, you muttered, “How romantic.”

“Oh I’ll show you romantic, Princess.” He replied, tugging open a closet door and grabbing your arm, pulling you inside. He locked the door with a careful click and then he was on you, calloused hands on your cheeks, lips fluid and hungry.

“Poe,” you mumbled into his lips, taken aback, heart revving like an engine.

“You wanna unzip it the rest of the way?” He asked, the rasp in his voice alone telling you he had been thinking about it all morning.

“That did something to you, huh?” You giggled into his mouth as he latched back on, his steps pushing until you hit the wall behind you.

“Sure did.” He agreed, releasing you and holding his arms open, orange jumpsuit there and ready for you, zipped nearly to the top. “Do it.”

“You sure?” You asked, raising a hand, wiggling your fingers with a coy smile on your face.

“Quit teasin’ me, baby.” He warned.

You bit back a laugh, focusing the zipper. You pinched your fingers together and pulled downwards, the zipper falling at your will without either of you touching it. He stared at it for a long moment, that  dangerous spark in his eyes again before he surged forward.

“That is…wow.” He murmured, fire behind his words. One hand cupped your cheek, the other holding your waist as he stepped closer, closer, closer, slotting himself between your legs.

You grabbed the sides of the jumpsuit, pulling it open, working it down his broad shoulders to reveal the thin white undershirt beneath. On top of it, the silver chain he always wore, a simple silver ring threaded through it. A ring you recognized as Shara’s.

“Rey and I had a…conversation…at lunch.” You said between kisses.

“Mmhmm, ‘bout what?” He asked, tilting your head and kissing down your neck. His other hand roamed lower, brushing across one of your wings, sending tingles up your arms.

You let out a shuttered breath, head tilting back against the wall. “She thinks…” another sigh escaped you as he continued to kiss the spot, jaw movements clouding your vision with stars, “you might be into me.”

His lips curled, poised over the vein on your neck. He paused for a moment. “Oh she does, does she?”

“Yeah, she has it on pretty good authority, apparently.” You said, daring to look down at him, at those dark, sultry eyes.

“Yeah, well, she’s not far off.” He breathed, going back in for your neck, determined to leave a mark in the short window of time you had before you and Soren were doing your ground perimeters. “I’m fucking obsessed with you, starlight.”

You moaned at his passioned ministrations on your neck, fingers threading through those lucious curls and giving a gentle tug. His hands hooked under your thighs and he hoisted you onto his hips, your back pressed against the wall of the tiny closet.

You met his eyes, breathless, wings fanned out behind you. “I can’t believe I get to have you, Poe Dameron.”

“Believe it.” He asserted, nose brushing against yours on the way to your lips. You cupped his cheeks with your hands, kissing all over his face before returning. “Kriff, I still wake up every day in disbelief that I get to do this in a closet with a Jedi Princess.”

“We won’t be in closets forever.” You whispered, eyes locking on his. It was a promise. Someday, everyone would know. It wouldn’t have to be a secret anymore.

He nodded, grinned. “Yeah, but…it is kinda thrilling, right?”

“Can’t argue with that.”

His eyes drifted down to your neck and he pulled a plush pink lip between his teeth, Adam’s apple bobbing. “Hey, uhhh…you have a turtleneck you can wear, right?”

Your jaw fell open. “You did not.”

“I might’ve.”

“You might’ve?” You shook your head. “Poe Dameron, what am I going to do with you?”

He pressed his forehead to yours, eyes half-lidded, lips ghosting across yours as he whispered, “More of this, I hope.”

***

Another week came and went. More recruits arrived, but things had hit something of a plateau. Still, your numbers were excellent, a far cry from the shell of a Resistance that had been left after Crait.

Poe was giving the new pilots a walk around the base, all of them suited up in their bright orange jumpsuits, having been fitted for them for the first time. You and Soren were out and about, dressed in your Jedi robes, lightsabers clipped to your belts. You must have just finished some training, he rationalized.

He noticed how some of the pilots in his group stared, watching the two of you with interest. He figured many of them had probably never seen a Jedi before. Hell, he hadn’t until Rey had moved those rocks from the mouth of the tunnel they’d all been trapped inside on that blasted salt planet.

“Is that one the Jedi Princess or the other Jedi?” one of the new pilots asked, voice hushed, as though you could hear his very thoughts at that distance.

“That one is the princess. You can tell by the wings.” Snap explained. “Poe’s good friends with her.”

Good friends. He thought to himself with a chuckle. Just like you and Karé are “good friends.”

“Is she single? Could you put in the good word?” another asked, earning elbows and enthusiastic hollers from his teammates.

Snap laughed out loud, glancing over at Poe, who could feel his ears burn. Cheeks, too.

“Oh, uhhh, Jedi actually aren’t allowed to fall in love.” He lied through a charming smile. “Believe me, I asked her myself. Breaks some ancient Jedi code or something. Sorry, fellas.”

The rookie pilots let out noises of disappointment and Poe couldn’t help but laugh to himself. There. That’d keep them off of you.

“They’re not, huh?” Snap asked, voice quiet enough that the others couldn’t hear. He motioned to you with his head. “Might want to tell her that.”

Snap was right. Poe glanced over and you were looking at him with that starry-eyed gaze. So lovesick he lost track of his footing, tripping right over BB-8, who had been rolling in front of him.

“Poe!”

Bee let out a series of disgruntled beeps and buzzes and he chuckled, embarrassed. He scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, Bee. You okay, buddy?”

Bee beeped up at you, seemingly unharmed. He was a sturdy little guy, after all.

“I agree, he needs to watch where he’s going.” You said, hands on your hips. You offered one, helping him to his feet. “You hear that, Dameron?”

“Loud and clear, your Highness.” He chuckled, brushing himself off.

“No serious damage?”

“Not that I can find.” Poe blew the hair from his eyes.

You reached up and plucked a single leaf from his curls, handing it to him. “There. For your collection.”

“Thanks, I’ll put it with the rest of ‘em.” He said with a smirk. Poe turned to the assembled rookies, who were murmuring amongst themselves. “Pilots, Princess (Y/N), Princess (Y/N), our new crop of pilots. Get acquainted with her. If you crash in the middle of a fight, she’s the one that’s gonna catch your X-Wing.”

“If it doesn’t blow up before that.” Snap added, earning a few unsettled laughs from the group.

It was a dangerous job. You’d always known that. You liked to think that you helped protect them when you could. When it was possible to. But Poe was always taking a risk when he climbed into that cockpit, even for something as simple as checking perimeters. He knew it, too, which is what made him so damn brave.

“Right. That.” Poe agreed with a bitter chuckle. “How was training?”

“Good. Making progress.” You said, shrugging. You and Soren hadn’t done anything groundbreaking, just sparring. But still, it felt good, like you were both making habits, challenging each other and learning little quirks of battle.

“Good. Good. Well, see ya around.” He gave your arm an awkward little touch.

You couldn’t help but laugh as you returned to Soren, who had a knowing look on his face. You knew then that he knew. That that Jedi intuition had finally clocked what was going on. But he didn’t say anything. Saved you the trouble of explaining yourself, why you were hiding it. 

The Resistance had enough going on. They didn’t need the drama of one of the Jedi entangled with their ace pilot. Especially if something went wrong.

Tags: @cap-lu20

[1moreff-creator]

DR:OS CH1 Part 4 First Impressions + Initial Murder Theory

Investigation time! That means that while my first impressions through the chapter are going to be just as non-cohesive as always, there will be an extra, more well-thought out section at the end where I go in depth on the evidence to see what kind of murder theory I can come up with! Very excited to get into this, given how insane this case seems just from the Body Discovery alone. Let's get into it!

CWs here.

“Even if it contains a lie, I should still look at the Monoquin File first. I just know that Kennedy is gonna try to psychoanalyze it in court, and I don’t wanna be caught off guard.” Hell of a reason to review a piece of evidence xD

“The victim is Cassidy Torres. They died in the Upper Common Room at approximately 2 AM due to poisoning. She has been stabbed in the stomach as well.” She was poisoned! Or, well, I guess that could be a lie lol. The possible lies are location of death (her torso could have been moved), time of death, poison, or stabbing. Looking at the stomach should clarify whether that last one is the truth or not though. For right now, I'm leaning to the time or location being the lie, but who knows. In any case:

Truth Bullet Obtained: Monoquin File #1

“Mark: …Everyone. I know this is going to be hard, but… we have to do this, okay? Standing around isn’t going to solve the mystery.

Vivi: Right. Okay, listen up! I’m gonna ask that people help me round up all the pieces of the body in the Infirmary. I’m gonna take a better look at them there.” Interesting that Mark's the one who speaks up first. Are we possibly looking at an Ultimate Detective of some kind? Probably not lmao. Also Vivi moving such important pieces of evidence around sounds like trouble. I get that you're not experienced in this, but come on :v

I'm also seeing that a lot of the usual steps in investigations, like getting two people to guard the crime scene or arranging investigations in pairs, isn't happening. Cool!

“Despite Mark’s words, there’s something definitively crisper about the way they’re talking. I almost want to ask, “does this bring anything back for you?”, but that seems unnecessarily rude and accusatory.” Huh. Maybe I wasn't actually that off with the detective guess lmao.

“Mark: I’ve been looking through Cass’ e-Handbook.

They turn it so that I can see it.

Mark: There’s not really much to gain from it, though. Just the one message to Jeff, which we saw her send. No notes, no other messages, nothing.

Ellis: Wait. Where’d you get your hands on that?

Mark: …In the pants pocket. Of her legs.

Ellis: You found their legs??” Holy hell they move fast! They've been split for one second and people are already finding more body parts??? Damn. Also where?

“Ellis: No notes, though? Seems kinda weird, considering that it seems like they were looking into Antonia and the two of us as potential mastermind candidates. Maybe she was the type to keep things in her head?

Mark: Maybe. I’d definitely take notes, if I were them…

Mark wipes a smudge off the screen thoughtlessly. When pink appears on their white glove though, they furrow their brows.

Mark: Given the state of the body, it makes sense that there would be blood, but that doesn’t mean I like it.

Ellis: I’d have to imagine that chopping Cass’ body up like that would produce tons of blood.

But then, where did all that blood go…?” No notes is strange, I wonder if someone erased them? Then again, unless the notes can be restored somehow, I don't see how that would be brought into the trial. The blood thing is definitely important though. I do love how the blood is described as pink, btw, very funny :v

“Cass’ room looks pretty normal and undecorated. The only notable thing seems to be a laptop on her desk, which has some kind of device plugged into one of the USBs.” So she wasn't dismembered in her room, which is kinda what I'd been expecting. Unless the killer put a tarp under them or something. But that USB thing sounds interesting. 

“Ellis: What, like a tracking device? Is it something in here, or something outside?

Mark: I’m not sure. It’s tracking when something activates… some kind of sensor, maybe? It was quiet pretty much all night, but it just activated a bunch of times a few minutes ago.” Motion sensor? Where? Why? Was Cass tracking Ellis and Antonia's movements maybe? 

“Mark points to a small fleck on the wall. Upon closer inspection, though, it appears to be a tiny sensor.

Ellis: What the… How did you find that?

Mark: Uh… I don’t know. I guess I knew where to look…? I was just using logic.” Well that sounds like a motion sensor alright! Very interesting… Also yeah Mark definitely has a talent for this, be it Detective or Escape Room Master or Puzzlemaster or Logic User (?) but they've definitely have something going on.

“Ellis: So then, Cass was trying to track who entered the Upper Common Room?” That is very strange. Sounds like the question of why Cass was doing that is gonna be a pretty important point of this trial. {Hindsight: Maybe they were just doing the "neighborhood watch" thing actually :v}

“I march back into Cass’ room, and wait for the results of whatever the hell Mark is about to try. As I watch, I get more familiar with the display. Looks like there were two overnight triggers: one at 1 AM and one at 6 AM.“ So the 2 AM time of death looks… I don't know actually. It kinda sounds like Cass might have died at 1? Unclear for now. But that is a very long time. How early do these people get up again? If some people are already up by 6, then it'd be very dangerous to move the body around then. 

Okay let me finish this section before I speculate more.

“Mark: If you stand in front of the sensor and move around, it doesn’t do anything. And, if you’re trying to avoid the sensor, you can step over it.” This seems like it's very important. The fact Cass can avoid the sensor explains a few worries I had just thinking about it, so this helps. 

“Mark quickly heads over to the sensor and takes a pillow off one of the chairs. Though they throw it in the path of the sensor, nothing appears on the screen.” Huh? Alright, so it's not just motion, it's probably infrared looking for heat, would be my guess? 

Truth Bullet Obtained: Cass’ e-Handbook

Truth Bullet Obtained: Floor Movement Tracker

Alright, so what did we learn? Something very important, actually. I'm gonna assume the killer's the one who set the sensor off at 1 and 6 AM, because I don't have any reason to assume they weren't for now. 

There's two options here: either their room is on the fourth floor, in which case Cass died and was dismembered before 1 AM (time of death being the lie in the File) and the killer spent 5 hours during the night spreading the body around before returning at 6; or what I find a bit more likely, the killer's room isn't on the fourth floor, so the 1 AM trigger is them going up there, possibly waiting an hour for the poison to kill Cass (or the time is a lie), and spending 5 hours dismembering her before going to spread the body and return to their room after 6. More evidence is gonna be needed to say for sure what happened, though.

“Taylor: We’ve been messaging people. It sounds like the pieces were found here, in the Movie Theater, the Customer Service Area, the Infirmary, and the Casino.” Interesting, I guess? We still don't know why the killer did the dismemberment so.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Locations of the Body

I don't have much to say about this one for now. I don't see anything immediately meaningful about the locations, so.

“Grace: While Vivi was rounding up the body, I gathered these. They’re all identical, and pieces of the body were found in all of them.

Ellis: I assume it wasn’t just our box that seemed impossible to open at first glance?

Grace: Yes, that’s the general consensus.” What are these things, anyways?

“Grace: We didn’t do anything. All of the boxes opened at exactly 8:15 AM. I found timer mechanisms inside; they were all set to open at the same time.” … What? I guess that's to avoid an early discovery. Don't know why else that would happen, or why the killer would want breakfast to happen before the body was found, though.

“Ellis: Sharp timing.

Grace: I can respect that much about them, even if I can’t respect anything else.” Pfft. Grace's love of punctuality is really funny.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Timer Boxes 

“Vanessa: All the boxes opened at 8:15. That’s when the BDA went off.

Antonia: Obviously, Monoquin instructed everyone to arrive at our location, but I’m not sure if we can truly say that we three discovered the body. After all, everyone had a hand in it, didn’t they? I see no reason why the torso in particular would signal the discovery.” Well, there goes BDA based elimination of suspects. Shame. Pretty interesting way to go around it, though.

“But, would the killer really go to all that horrible effort just to dodge that one effect of the rule? I’m starting to feel like a sicko myself for even having the thought…” I agree with Ellis, dismemberment is the kinda thing that requires a little more justification from a strategic standpoint than just dodging BDA reasoning. And yes it always is a bit of a trip to think about such things from the perspective of the killer, but don't worry Ellis, you'll get used to it.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Body Discovery Announcement

Wonder how this is gonna come up in the trial lol.

[Jeff's Account] Well, they weren't lying about the Ultimate Absentee intuition, huh. Still, though, kinda huge that there wasn't anything in the Movie Theater at 2:30, because it gives credence to the idea that the killer was still in the fourth floor at that time. That would imply that my second idea for the tracker is more likely, that the killer came from a different floor at 1 and left the fourth floor at 6. 

Then again, the fact that the Movie Theater defaults to dark instead of lit is strange, wonder how that plays into it.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Jeff’s Account

Truth Bullet Obtained: Resort Lighting

[Dollies and Black Sheet] Well, that explains a few things, I guess. I wonder if the killer could ask staff to help hide the body…

Nope, Rule 12, got it. Still, this one's pretty straightforward, thankfully. Also, around this time I'm really getting restless for the autopsy for some reason lol.

“Ellis: Sucks to see you.

Aidan: What a warm greeting.

Ellis: Well, I was trying to trick you into complimenting me or flirting with me. I deserve it, after everything you’ve put me through.

Aidan: I don’t think you really do…” Pfft- Ellis, is this really the time? xD

“He hands me the list from the desk. Among lots of regular orders, there’s a section Aidan’s flipped to of several anonymous orders from four days ago: poison, five timer boxes, and a large black sheet.” Welp. Can't really get much more explicit than that with this one lol.

"Ellis: If anyone can stumble into something like this, then clearly their real talent lies somewhere beyond what Monoquin told us. Unless it’s Mark, I guess. That is the kind of move that would make me go ???.” How do you even pronounce triple question mark with your mouth??? 

“Aidan: Anyone could’ve been lying to us about what they do or don’t know. It’s not like anyone’s going to admit to knowing how to do any of this.

He pauses.

Aidan: Other than Vivi, anyway.

Ellis: Point taken.” Pfft.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Customer Service Order List

(Btw since this thing became a real Truth Bullet, I removed it from my personal non-canon Notes :p)

“Harper quickly leans down to pick up the poker chips. However, as ver hand touches the floor, ve pauses.

Harper: It’s wet.

Ellis: With water, or…?

Harper: It seems to be water, yes.” ??? Alright so this one's breaking all sorts of ideas I had. If blood was spilt here… What does it mean? I got nothing for now, I'll come back to it ig. {Hindsight: I realize it sounds like I think the liquid is blood and not water lol. I should have clarified that my first instinct was that blood was spilt on the carpet and got washed :p}

Also I wonder to what extent the fact that Noah accidentally knocked the chips down was affected by Ellis’ luck. I've always found it funny how any time Ultimate Luck is involved, you can easily write out plot convenience as Ultimate Luck business xD

“Noah: If [Staff members] break a rule, do they get executed…?

Harper: There are certainly a lot of questions surrounding this place…” Good question! Interesting to think about.

Truth Bullet Obtained: Damp Casino Carpet

“The pieces have been laid out on the Infirmary’s bed, roughly recreating Cass’ normal figure. Vivi looks over the body while Kennedy stands nearby. Robert sits on a nearby chair, looking decisively away from the body.” Bro get my boy Robert outta there, he probably wants to be literally in any other room ToT. 

“Vivi: Yeah. Stabbed in the stomach, then cut up into pieces. Sewed the seams of the pieces for transport, put them in boxes. Pretty simple, once you boil it down to basics.” Well. Cass sure was stabbed, so there goes one possible lie. Also "pretty simple” is wild.

“Vivi: I mean, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t done a few Vivi-sections before, but on a person…?

Robert: …Do you mean dissections…?

Vivi: …Yup!” Judging from that triple dot, Vivi's absolutely done actual vivisections hasn't she. At least they haven't done it on humans I guess.

“Kennedy: It was found in five groups. The arms were together, and the legs were together. Then there was one for the stomach, one for the torso, and one for the head.” Well… more info!

“Vivi: So, did you wanna hear my autopsy?

Ellis: Go ahead. It’ll be… music to my ears…

Ugh, even my lines aren’t faring well…” Yeah no xD

"Vivi: The stab wound, while it might’ve been fatal if untreated long enough, wasn’t the cause of death. The poison was.” So I was right last week about the poison being the murder weapon. Still heavily side-eyeing Paris because of the “Toxic” cover, because judging from… everything going on, it's the type of foreshadowing I could see this completely demented (/positive) writer pulling off :p

“Vivi: The time of death… It’s not really my specialty, and there’s only so far you can get with forensics. I think that Cass died sometime between 1 and 2:30, which could support the File. It could still be a little off, though.” Hm… I wonder how close to the actual time of death the file needs to get to be considered correct. But I'm starting to really consider the idea that the murder happened in the Casino… I'll come back to it.

"Vivi: The poison seemed to be pretty fast-acting… the stab wound happened before she died… aaand, I think it’d take any killer a few hours to cut up and sew the body, even if they did have experience with it. Though, given the time of death, that’s pretty achievable for anyone.” Stabbed before she died is actually quite huge. Again, more stuff to think about. 

Truth Bullet Obtained: Chopped Body

Truth Bullet Obtained: Vivi’s Autopsy

“Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun!” Yeah, it felt like it was coming. I'll finish the part, then really start thinking about the murder.

“To cut up the body like that, hemming their edges and scattering them about the resort like a cat with a bird… that’s fucked up!!! My first thought is clearly that someone like Vivi (...or, looking at the rest of the field, just Vivi, I guess) must have done the crime.” Bruh. Why does no one trust the clearly mentally unstable doctor with the evident ability to perform the murder? No respect for the classics smh.

Also I love the images in this section! Particularly appreciate the Cass one, I like seeing where she was cut because I'm insane! :D

“Or did the killer know something that could be used to target her that we didn’t?” Hey, I was kinda thinking the same thing!

Why is Paris still smiling like nothing's wrong is she crazy? I love her.

“Like, I had assumed that we were just gonna deal with a “Professor Plum with the rope in the kitchen” situation, and we’d figure out who didn’t have an alibi for 3 PM.” Okay so the professor Plum thing is apparently a reference to the board game Clue (or maybe the movie or something, idk I only know the board game), which I guess makes sense for Ellis to think about since it’s close enough to other luck based board games that are actually seen in casinos lol.

However, the fact Ellis chose to reference "Professor Plum” specifically worries me. Surely, he doesn't actually think plum is a good name for a color, right? Can't believe accirax would let her silly ideas of what colors are called seep into the characters she plays smh, that shit's purple call it what it is (/silly reference). 

“I’m gonna have to get used to this, won’t I? Now that brutal blood has been spilled and new motives are queued to the setlist, there’s no way that Cass’ death will be the only one. I hope they won’t all be just like this, but… yikes. Not to mention, all future killers will now have a better grasp of what these “Class Trials” are like. Sheesh. With a crime this bizarre, I kinda feel like I have to pitch in. Should I go grab a cheerleader outfit?

…I guess if I come up with something brilliant, I can speak up, too. Who wouldn’t want to hear my melodic voice?” Come on Ellis, you should have a little more confidence in yourself! You're played by a really smart person, after all ;) As long as no one asks you to name colors, you'll be fine. 

[CLASS TRIAL: START] Woohoo!

-

Extremely fun chapter! The investigation was very well paced, and has a great mix of answers and questions to raise! Cannot wait for the trial, it's gonna go crazy. 

But of course, now that the evidence is there, you know what we need to do.

Pre-Trial Murder Theory

Let's start by looking at the cause of death, because this is the quickest mystery to explain. There's obviously a few questions that arise just looking at how Cass died, especially taking account they died during the night. Mainly, how did Cass get poisoned that late in the night, when she'd probably not trust any food given to her? And, why was she stabbed if the poison was fast acting and the real cause of death anyways? Without knowing what the poison was and what the stabbing implement looks like, these are tough to answer.

I thought up a few different explanations (such as the stabber and the poisoner being two separate people), but what I find most likely is that, in reality, the stabbing and the poisoning weren't two different attacks on Cass' life. No, I believe Cass was stabbed with a sharp object tipped with poison. That would explain why the stab was necessary while still giving an explanation to how Cass got poisoned in the first place.

The next question would be the water on the casino carpet. This one has a pretty straightforward explanation, but it's important to mention now. Basically, at first glance, it seems Cass was actually murdered in front of the locked door in the casino (the place the water was according to E-Handbook text), potentially lured there by the killer saying they had a way to open that door (complete speculation, I don't really know). The water would come from the killer washing the carpet... I guess. As a result, the Monquin File Lie would be the location of death.

The other explanation is that the killer may have taken the carpet outside the casino, murdered Cass somewhere else, and used the carpet to soak up all the blood from the dismemberment, before washing it and putting it back in the casino. However, given we don't know of any other place where the murder could have happened, I find the first option more likely.

And believe it or not, that, combined with the floor movement tracker, potentially narrows down our suspect list... or does it? [cue Vsauce music]. See, assuming Cass avoids her movement tracker (which is a pretty big assumption, to be clear), the killer trips it once at 1 AM, and once at 6 AM. Assuming Cass died in the casino at 2 AM, that would mean that the 1 AM detection represents the killer leaving the fourth floor, and the 6 AM detection represents them going back into the fourth floor, presumably to leave the torso up on the upper common room. However, the sensor isn't tripped again until the next morning, meaning the killer must have stayed in the fourth floor. They probably couldn't have slept in Cass' room, because it was locked (see: "Mark walks over to the door to Cass’ room. After displaying the e-Handbook, the door unlocks") and Cass' E-Handbook was locked inside one of the 8:15 AM boxes. That means the only option is that the killer's room is on the fourth floor...

Or is it? Let me run through the proceedings, and see if you can spot the issue.

The killer goes up to Cass' room, and tells them they have something to show her in the casino. For some reason, Cass believes them, and goes with them. On the way, Cass avoids her movement sensor, but the killer trips it, generating the 1 AM reading.

Now, an interesting issue is that these two leave the fourth floor at 1AM, but Jeff was wandering around until 1:30 AM (again info from the E-Handbook, I don't think the guy actually says it), and didn't see anyone. I believe this is where the resort lighting comes in: Cass and the killer didn't want to be spotted (I guess?), so when they noticed Jeff was wandering around, they hid in the Movie Theater's darkness until Jeff finally went into the Lower Common Room (third floor).

In any case, they wait a bit more to make sure Jeff is actually gone gone, and finally get down to the casino around 2 AM. The killer stabs Cass with a poison tipped sharp object, and Cass dies very quickly.

Then, the killer does something that causes a noise at 2:30 AM that Jeff hears. I'm gonna be honest, I don't have a great answer for this one. My current guess is that the killer maybe went to retrieve the dolly from the Customer Service Desk (second floor), and somehow made a noise loud enough to be heard from the third floor? Possibly operating the elevator or rolling the dolly down the stairs if it's too big for the elevator or something. Both the elevator and the stairs down to the first floor are directly under the lower common room, so I don't find it 100% impossible. Maybe Jeff just sucks at identifying the direction sound comes from?

Yeah this is the weakest point of my theory imo.

In any case, after the noise is made, the killer dismembers Cass. I imagine they did this over the black tarp found in the Costumer Service Desk, so they could avoid soaking the Casino carpet with more blood than necessary. In fact, washing that carpet before the blood dried is probably important, but that's a minor point.

The dismemberment takes a while, but with no one around, it's easy enough to pull off before morning comes. The killer then distributes the body pieces throughout the building for as of yet undisclosed reasons. They return to the fourth floor, hide the torso in the upper common room box, and finally go back to their room. And because the sensor was only tripped once at 6 AM, the killer's room must be on the fourth floor, right?

...

Right?

...

Did you spot the problem?

...

That's right. The dolly's final location.

Indeed. The day after the murder, the dolly is found in the Costumer Service Desk, on the second floor. And since this dolly was presumably used to distribute the body parts (see: blood on the dolly), that means the killer would need to somehow go into the fourth floor to drop off the torso and back down to the second floor to drop the dolly off in a way that only set off the sensor once. That's a problem.

So, how do we explain this? I considered a few options. For one, I thought that maybe the killer could have killed Cass in her own room at 2 AM, or the upper common room at 1 AM (the lie in the Monoquin file being location or time of death respectively). If they went into the fourth floor with the dolly and tarp, they could have dismembered Cass then and there (presumably in Cass' own room to avoid other people seeing), put their torso in the box of the upper common room, and left to distribute the rest of the corpse at 6 AM. However, that fails to explain the carpet in the casino and the noise at 2:30 (not that I have a great explanation for the latter anyways, but y'know), and there are no signs of struggle in the fourth floor that could point to this possibility. Because of that, while I consider this possible, I don't consider it the most likely option.

Then, there's the other option. The killer did everything I described, but did something strange that caused the sensor to only go off once at 6 AM. For example, leaving the dolly in the CSD before dropping off the torso, and carrying said torso up to the fourth floor by hand. The problem is that the killer has no reason to treat the box on the fourth floor any differently than the others, so they wouldn't have any reason not to go into the fourth floor with the dolly.

That is, of course, unless the killer knew about the sensors.

It makes sense, doesn't it? Cass would need to trust someone very heavily to follow them out during night, and especially if I'm right about them going into the darkness of the Movie Theater together. Hell, she even said in Part 3:

"Mark: Then… what should we do?

Cass: The same things you’ve been doing. All you need to do is keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and engage in safe behavior. Stay in groups or well-lit areas. Don’t go out at night. Those sorts of things should keep you safe enough while we figure out the mysteries of this place."

So they're clearly aware of the dangers they took going out, but they still did it. If they trusted the killer this much, I don't think it's impossible that they might have told the killer about the sensors.

This is where the lack of notes in Cass' E-Handbook could come in. If Cass told the killer about the sensors, she might have written that down as a note. And since that note would have likely included the identity of the killer, said killer chose to wipe out all the notes to avoid being implicated through them. They likely did this with bloody hands, explaining the blood on Cass' handbook. In this process, they could have also wiped incriminating chat logs, if any existed. Assuming that's a thing they can do, of course.

In any case, the killer knowing about the sensors could allow them to easily tamper with the info simply by dodging detection whenever they wanted, as the sensors are easy to dodge if you know they're there. Keeping in line with the theory I was working with, they could have intentionally tripped it when they went up to the fourth floor with the dolly and the torso, and dodged detection on the way down (or the other way around, it's indistinct).

The big question, then, becomes "why?" What were they trying to accomplish by screwing with the readings? Well, to know that, we need to figure out what location the killer wants the cast to believe is the real death location.

See, if the cast thinks Cass died on the fourth floor and takes the readings at face value, they would arrive at the conclusion that the killer's room is on the third floor. Conversely, if the cast thinks Cass died on any other floor and takes the readings at face value, then they would arrive at the conclusion that the killer's room is on the fourth floor. Do the math in your head if you don't believe me. But if the readings were tampered with, we'd need to flip that. A fourth floor killer would want the cast to believe the killer's on the third floor, so they'd want the cast to think Cass was murdered on the fourth floor. Meanwhile, a third floor killer would want the cast to think Cass was murdered somewhere else.

Does that make sense? Sorry if this is hard to follow, I don't know how to explain it in any simpler way :v

And, well, where does the killer want the cast to think Cass was murdered? I think it's hard to say for sure, but given they hid evidence she died in the casino by washing the carpet, and that they left the dolly in the second floor (which would imply the killer wants people to interpret the 6 AM reading as the killer leaving the fourth floor), I'm gonna say the killer wants people to believe the killer lives on the third floor. Which especially makes sense if they want to frame Antonia, who was Cass' number 1 hater up until their death and happens to live on the third floor. With this, it's very possible the killer lives on the fourth floor.

The fourth floor room havers are Kennedy, Ellis, Vivi, Robert, Grace, Cass, Noah, and Harper. Ellis can't be the killer through protag privilege, Robert has been shown to be too queasy to pull this off, and I'm gonna go out on a limb (pun not intended) and say Cass didn't somehow dismember themselves. Crazy assumption, I know.

As for the others, Vivi can probably be eliminated due to how useful she's been, and Harper's the one who originally found the water on the casino carpet that the killer wouldn't want found. Noah's a weird case, because he originally thinks the water is unrelated, which could be a blackened play, but he flags down the staff member to ask about it, which suggests he genuinely believed that, which is spotless behavior. Finally, I can't really see Kennedy as the first killer, though I think she's the second most likely of the fourth floor just because I don't actually have any real evidence to clear them.

That leaves us with Grace- how has this happened again. I swear I don't have anything against Clockmakers, they just keep being in the wrong place, and ironically at the wrong time :v

However, just because I think Grace is the most likely to be the killer out of the fourth floor crew, doesn't mean I think they're the most likely overall. It's possible the killer didn't think about the implications of the dolly, and that there's an even more elaborate plan at play here.

Here's the idea I'm working with for a third floor killer. They'd effectively have two separate ideas at play during the trial. First, they'd try to convince the cast to vote for Antonia, because she's likely going to be the number one suspect due to her pre-existing beef with Cass. For that to happen, they need the cast to think the murder happened in the fourth floor, be it Cass' room or the common room, because there's no way Cass would follow Antonia literally anywhere else on the building. That's why they'd initially try to hide the blood on the casino carpet, so that the first plan doesn't fall apart immediately. However, if Antonia gets cleared somehow, they have another card to play. They can reveal that they "found" the water on the casino floor (or wait for someone else, like Harper, Noah or Ellis to do it), implying Cass was murdered there, and with the sensor readings, argue that the killer must live on the fourth floor. Of course, this assumes that the dolly's final location is an oversight by the blackened, and probably the mistake that would lead to the killer's downfall.

Now, make no mistake, this is fucking insane even for my standards, especially for a first trial, but I think it makes enough sense to maybe work.

This is how Paris!Culprit can still win, which if you don't remember, is born from the fact that Paris made Cass and Antonia's beef public (establishing motive for a potential frame job), that she could start talking to Cass with the excuse of getting help with the "Paris Pairs" idea mentioned in Part 3, and that she covered Toxic in Part 1. Though, admittedly, Mark being the one to find the sensor readings is suspicious in its own right, but I don't really think they're the killer, especially since they'd have the least motive to escape out of anyone. No one else on the third floor really strikes me as particularly suspicious, especially since third floor killers require fifteen more hoops to jump through than fourth floor killers with my murder theory.

Overall, I think Grace, Paris, and Noah are my main suspects, and if I have to lock just one in... I really don't want to say Grace because it'd just be ridiculous at this point (I already said they might be the mastermind someone save my pal T_T), so I'll say Paris and hope that the clinically insane mindgames I described in the third floor killer idea make enough sense to anyone else.

Of course, though, this entire theory is just that, a theory. There's a very high chance that I'm just completely off the mark, and that'd be perfectly fine! This is all just for fun, after all, and I'm just a silly Tumblr user thinking too hard about fictional characters. I'm by no means an expert in solving murders or anything lol. Extremely excited to see just how horrendously wrong I am next week, I'm sure the trial will be absolute peak!

If you made it this far, you've earned a complimentary poison tipped knife! Please be careful with it. See ya'!

Truth Bullets:

Monoquin File #1 - Cass’ E-Handbook - Floor Movement Tracker - Locations of the Body - Timer Boxes - Body Discovery Announcement - Jeff's Account - Resort Lighting - Customer Service Order List - Chopped Body - Vivi's Autopsy

Canon Notes:

Staff Members - Customer Service Desk - Monoquin’s Hands - Killing Game Explanation - Monoquin File Lies

Personal Notes:

Clockmaker’s Intuition - Kennedy’s Spiked Rings - Noah’s Earbuds - Robert's Queasiness

[markerofthemidnight]

lobcorp x hatchetfield au (i have no idea what hatchetfield is but it sounds cool)

Hey! I was just thinking of getting back to this earlier!

If you’re asking about the AU, honestly there’s not much to tell you. It’s just a weird AU where L Corp got into Hatchetfield and labeled some of its wackiest creatures as Abnormalities.

(Oh, and as for Hatchetfield itself: it’s a series of musicals on YouTube by Team Starkid. There’s three so far, as well as two seasons of a collection of short stories known as Nightmare Time, with a third on the way sooner or later.)

Speaking of Nightmare Time… I know it’s no Lord in Black, but how about my first Tool Abnormality for a nice palate cleanser?

T-09-30-A: “The Killer Track”

“We all live listening to an endless, horrid song, and the only way to make the noise stop is to reach your death.”

{Aberration of Singing Machine.}

The Abnormality takes the form of an old record player in the Containment Unit, dark brown-to-yellow and stained with a dark red substance.

Basic Information

-* Tool Abnormality *-

Tool Type: Single Use

Risk Classification: WAW

Log and Method

(1 Use)

The record within the player seems to be impossible to remove, no matter how hard we try. Any time someone tries to touch it or the player, it immediately starts up. The song it plays, although unpleasant to listen to, thankfully doesn’t last long.

Every time an employee uses this Abnormality, their Fortitude and Justice will slightly increase. However, their Prudence will slightly decrease.

(3 Uses)

It is discordant in a way beyond simple words, but employees who listened to it seemed more able to follow orders and focus on their work, so we decided it was safe for more people to use.

These effects stack with multiple uses, and carry on over multiple days.

(4 Uses)

However, as time passed, all those who listened to the song began frequently complaining that they could hear it again coming from certain electronics or people. Those incidents would get more and more violent as the days went by.

When the SP of an employee who had previously listened to The Killer Track reached 0, the sanity of every employee currently in the same department began to rapidly decline as well, as the song echoed throughout the halls. The same results occurred when they died.

(6 Uses)

Collateral damage became a regular occurrence during these events as its victims seemed like they’d do anything to make it stop. Eventually, all those who listened to it one-by-one died on the spot during one of these outbursts.

Once the song reached its end, all employees who had been in the same department as the original Agent when it started playing immediately died.

(8 Uses)

In a sense, I suppose that’s just the way things have always been. We all live listening to an endless, horrid song, and the only way to make the noise stop is to reach your death. Such is the burden of living.

When the energy meter was at approximately 50% during the fifth day since the employee had originally listened to the song, this effect would occur all by itself.

—

(Other Fan Abnormalities)

Yeah! There it is! Had to make a few adjustments to how it works as opposed to canon, but I like this!

I think seeing all your nuggets run around in a panic would really add to the chaos of listening to the Killer Track! (especially since it gives me MAJOR Second Trumpet vibes)

Now, let me be clear: How long the Killer Track lasts when it plays isn’t affected by the TT2 Protocol.

No matter how fast or slow the game is going, the song stays the same length and all your employees immediately die when it ends. In fact, speeding things up probably just makes things more chaotic since it gives your agents more time to beat each other to death.

Oh, and restoring an employee’s sanity before the track ends doesn’t do anything either. Once you listen to that song, you’ll be doomed to die once you hear it again, just like in canon.

I like how this came out. It’s like Behaviour Adjustment but crazier. Extremely dangerous to literally everyone, especially given how its effects seem positive until a point where you’ve already used it four times, but ultimately just another Tool and not something you have to get yourself involved with if you don’t want to.

[illegiblehandwriting1]

ok but is anyone ever going to talk about the fact that, to a Hero of Hyrule, the phrase "half-alive" or "half-dead" means that they're actually doing pretty okay? Like, just in terms of the games, too. At the beginning of most Zelda games, you typically have 3 hearts, right? So "half-dead" then would be 1.5 hearts, which isn't good.

But in an average playthrough, by the time you defeat the final boss and everything, you probably have, like, 13 hearts, if not more.

The AVERAGE HYLIAN would probably have the equivalent of, say, three to six hearts, right? Think about that for a second. That's an average Hylian. Don't come at me about this being wrong or something, it just makes sense to me. Normal zelda game, you start w/ three hearts. Usually you are a CHILD. SkSw you start with 6 and get full hearts of damage taken from a normal enemy. So 4-6 is a good ballpark for the average Hylian in my brain.

And a lot of Links have 13 hearts by the end. Or more. To them, "half-dead" is perfectly fine. They are completely functional. How many times have you looked at your health bar in-game, realized that you're at half-health, and brushed it off because you're not in danger? I don't know about you, but I do that all the time!! When I can't regenerate health, I don't freak out or anything, because I have at least 6 hearts, if not more. That's a lot.

That is the health (approximately) of an average Hylian.

Anyway I think we should all talk about that more. We should talk about the fact that over the course of their adventures, Link really just toughens up a whole ton, learns a lot of endurance, goes through a lot of physical exertion and comes out all the better for it. He fucking grows so much and I love him for it. He becomes at least twice as strong/enduring/etc as the average person in terms of in-game health and I think that's wonderful.

"Vibing" is a Link's version of "half-dead". (And we're not even going to get into the whole thing that every zelda player has gone through where you have a quarter-heart or a half-heart for a while and have to tough it out while you look for hearts, i could write another essay on Link's fucking spite-)

People don't fuck around when they say Link is OP, okay? They mean it.

Also yeah this came to me while writing S&A, what about it-

[starlit-clouds]

Been thinkin about a Poe, Ranpo, and Dazai trio friendship lately…

(Because I needed to bring some happiness to my life. Please I can’t read the manga I can’t find it online anywhere and I got my info through tumblr screenshots can someone please tell me what exactly tf is going on —)

Detective Gang™

They’re all so smart but also all dumbasses at the same

90% of the time, Poe has the singular shared Braincell of Common Sense

4% of the time the braincell is lost and Dazai is leading the investigation to find it. 4% of the time the braincell is still lost and Ranpo has to take over the investigation to find it

(2% is shared between Dazai and Ranpo. They’re smart, but they have no common sense at all compared to Poe. Who is also lacking in the common sense department btw, because a single braincell is still just a singular braincell)

Listen, working together they could solve ten cases in a second flat. But at the same time, them working together to shop at a store to get weekly groceries would result in a lifelong ban for all of them (at least until Poe bribed the store lol)

Any time the trio go anywhere, ever, Dazai is third wheeling in the background of Ranpoe and loves being dramatic about it. He constantly walks approximately five feet away from where Ranpo and Poe are hanging out to make his point more clear, takes his phone out, takes a pictures, and definitely captions it with something stupid to send to them later

Example:

Dazai: *sends an image of when they were all hanging out at the aquarium together. Ranpo and Poe are holding hands while standing in front of a touch tank, facing away from the camera and into the water. Dazai has the most disgruntled expression his face has the capability to create*

Dazai: Come to the aquarium, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

Ranpo: Shut up. You got to touch a stingray of course you had fun

Poe: plus I bought you that 6 foot squid at the giftshop

Ranpo: Yeah, Poe bought you that squid. Who couldn’t have fun after that?!

Dazai: excuse you, “that squid” has a NAME!!!! Her name is Squidwardette

(Poe, Ranpo, and Dazai def fight over custody of said 6-foot Squidwardette on the weekends)

((“I bought her. Isn’t that like bringing her into the world? I should have custody on the weekends.”

“HEY! YOU DO NOT GET WEEKENDS! That’s leaving me with all of the parent responsibilities on weekdays while you have fun on weekends! It’s not fair!”

“Well, me and Poe are a couple and can provide more stability in her life! What do you bring to the table? Being a sad single parent who can’t even get lai—”

“DON’T YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE!!!!!!”))

Despite the teasing, they all equally respect each other so much.

Dazai canonically respects Ranpo due to his intelligence not being dependent on an ability. He meets Poe and learns that A) his ability is not linked to his intelligence but to things he writes and B) he was almost able to defeat Ranpo. Dazai also canonically is not able to follow Ranpo’s thought process and keep up with him in certain parts of detective cases.

(He probably saw Poe as just another person to provoke and get a rise out of in the beginning since Poe’s so introverted around strangers. But then Dazai witnessed one of Poe’s… ahem. Passionate declarations of how great he is and how he's going to beat Ranpo one day and how he and Ranpo are the GREATEST RIVALS to ever exist despite being good friends and Dazai thought to himself. Oh. Cool. This one’s insane as well. Nice.) (Also, Ranpo has good taste in men)

(And then they were good friends ever since)

Ranpo just respects the two people who can actually keep up with him. And that he can get along with. Those are basically the two requirements for gaining Ranpo’s respect.

Poe respects anyone who Ranpo respects. His respect grew even more when, after Ranpo had finished solving yet another one of his manuscripts, Dazai asked to read one (because he wanted to make sure Poe was actually worth his salt and not just lying). Dazai of course solves it (though taking longer than Ranpo). Poe was probably a little bit upset at first since yet another person was able to best him, but quickly reassured himself it was just because it was a quick mystery he wrote up since Ranpo wanted one, and not the book he had spent 6 whole years writing like Ranpo had solved the first time. After getting over his shock, he definitely respected Dazai way more than before.

They would all help bail another of their group out if they got into trouble.

Poe: literally bailing them all out of prison

Ranpo: will literally bail from Poe and Dazai if he thinks their current weekend plans are too stupid. Don’t worry, he’ll come back later when they inevitably get into trouble with some sort of plan to get them out

Dazai: can talk his way out of almost any situation. If he can’t talk his way out, he can always turn to murder

Poe, Ranpo, and Dazai would all (and actually have) help each other hide a body, no questions asked. I will not elaborate.

[moonflower91]

I don’t hate the Five and Lila ship.

I don’t. He’s at the point they get together, 24-25 ish man with a 70 year olds life experience and she’s approximately 42-44. The two things I did hate about it is how much he hated Diego, his brother, after they got back and how Lila cheated on her husband. I don’t eff with cheating.

AND, there’s the fact he killed her mom and dad. But with that new timeline somehow making them alive, I guess she was over that? I don’t know season 4 didn’t address a lot of important plot holes.

But let face it, it makes sense why they fell in love. They have a lot in common, namely probably being unsuitable for stable 9-5 domesticity, and being chaos junkies and being stone cold crazy people.

It’s fair to not like it, 100%, but given they were stuck together for so long, it tracks.