#this war spanned a whole fucking galaxy

[princesssarcastia]

bold of you to say "draft dodger" like it's something derogatory?

Satine Kryze should not be a sympathetic character.

A complex and tragic one? Sure. Every day of the week.

But she did not 'have a point', neither in-universe, not outside of the sw framework. She isn't a hero, neither of her own story, nor of someone else's. There is no way she wasn't a tool. You should not look at her and think 'this woman has done nothing wrong and what ultimately happened to Mandalore was to no part her fault'.

Because guys. Friends. Strangers on the interwebs.

Pacifism doesn't work.

And it certainly wouldn't have worked in motherfucking Star Wars – the 'wars' is literally in the title – for a system or series of systems who wanted to stay neutral.

YOU DON'T STAY NEUTRAL FOR LONG BY JUST SAYING 'YEAH, NO THANKS <3' TO A LARGE-SCALE CONFLICT.

source: I am Swiss, we've looked at this in history class. Extensively.

Satine was a dreamer (thanks Obi-Wan) who was allowed to keep her delusions because they actively benefitted Palpatine's plans. And that's something you can quote me on. There is literally no other reason (apart from supremely bad writing but we'll leave that aside here) for her and her little friends' 'Alliance of Neutral Systems' or whatever to be allowed to exist.

Not that they were neutral in any way, shape or form, by the way.

So yeah sorry to the Satine stans, but you're idolizing a character that was written exclusively and specifically for Obi-Wan's manpain and who, in-universe, was a supremely bad politician. Because the level of mental dissonace needed to factually be a Republic System, have a seat in the fucking Republic Senate, rely upon their military for aid while actively proclaiming that All Violence Is Bad And Barbaric one sentence later AND THEN CLAIM TO BE NEUTRAL IN THE WHOLE CONFLICT – it's just mind-blowing. Even moreso that people actually look at this character and see something aspirational in her.

Again, I'll gladly dissect her character any day of the week. She is fascinating because of all the implications her existence as a head of state carries with it, as well as her deeply complicated family history and her relation to mandalorian culture.

But it just grates on me personally that that all gets ignored in favor of her being some sort of icon of white american saviorism (bc that's literally what she is) and her objectively bad political takes being treated like they are the only correct stance to be taken during the Clone Wars/Mandalorian Civil Wars.

If you think pacifism works and actually lets you stay neutral, I desperately urge you to open a history book. Because those two are mutually exclusive. Especially in the scenario that Star Wars paints.

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

One of my favourite things about Deep Space Nine is imagining how Sisko's superiors must have been reacting to his shenanigans behind the scenes.

I mean just imagine it.

You're an admiral or something in Starfleet. You belong to an organisation that spans half the galaxy, has access to unimaginable (to many civilisations) levels of technology, and contains numerous different cultures.

You are well aware that the power and technological advancement of the Federation makes you inherently dangerous to less technologically advanced peoples. Like the moment any group is introduced to you, the development of their species is basically going to be changed forever. A single individual fucking around can, if careless, negatively impact an entire world.

Avoiding this kind of thing is therefore one of the core values of your civilisation. Your Prime Directive. There are huge lists of rules and regulations over when it is an isn't appropriate to intervene. People have literally died rather than break them.

And then there's this one world, whose people have only just overthrown an oppressive regime and are looking to join your Federation. You and your colleagues vote to help them rebuild, while steering clear of interfering with any of their politics, of course, and send some of your guys over to help administrate.

One of those guys then goes and DECLARES HIMSELF A GOD.

Like, we, the audience, know that Sisko was chosen by the Worm-Hole Aliens to be their Emissary. We know that he struggled with accepting the role at first and that he had visions and eventually came around to whole-heartedly believing in the Bajoran religion.

But Starfleet doesn't know that! Starfleet isn't inside Sisko's head!

From Starfleet's perspective the most logical explanation for all this is that they sent some guy to the back of beyond, the local people got him involved in their religion and then he either went crazy or saw an opportunity to gain power, and now he can impact the entire planet's political decisions on a fucking whim and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

I mean, this has to be every higher-up's worst nightmare, right? This is the sort of extreme scenario they'd come up with in school textbooks to explain to children why the Prime Directive is necessary.

If the Dominion War hadn't happened, Sisko's main legacy in the Federation would have been "the reason why we have all these extra regulations about interfering with non-Federation worlds, and why all Starfleet Captains operating in the vicinity of such worlds have mandatory psych evaluations every couple of months."

And they can't even do anything about it! They can't remove him and replace him with another Officer, because the local people are 100% on board with this 'Sisko's the Messiah' thing and won't work with anyone else. You can't back away from the situation entirely and give them a few years to repair the damage because it's super critical for the war you're currently fighting.

You can't even really control Sisko, because although he makes a show of being The Good Starfleet Captain, in practice there's always a risk that if you say something he disagrees with too strongly he'll just go off piste and do something else entirely and justify it with: "the Prophets told me to".

Which, again, the audience knows is a very real thing that is actually happening to Sisko, but from Starfleet's perspective could be anything from "Sisko is hearing voices" to "Sisko is legit just pulling things from his ass and trusting that we won't risk pissing off the Bajorans by contradicting him."

Just saying, from the perspective of the Federation, Sisko is probably as well-known a cautionary tale as he is a hero.

[luescris]

Everybody buckle up and to those of you who follow me: I am sorry.

But I have acquired the Images and I must yell about them.

Because there are two things that always gets to me when it comes to shows: Imagery, and symbolism. It is not often where both are done well or right. Sometimes neither even exist. So I would have never expected a "what if" funny haha Lego star wars show that has a million meme refs in it to put such thought and care into how both are EFFORTLESSLY presented. And then slap on a whole layer of emotions and meaning.

Let me show you what I mean.

This. This was like the second thing that had my jaw drop to the floor. Glass shattering imagery combined with sick as hell lighting and a hint of symbolism in it???? Are you kidding me??? Like look at these; they're gorgeous!! I could stare at the quality for HOURS.

And don't even get me started on Dev and Sig's whole relationship. Cuz I have a MILLION things to say about it. For example.

Yes. This image is similar to the glass shattering one. But it's also so very much different because of the lighting and position of the two brothers. Dev being high above and Sig looking up from down below. This could also be a clever way to reference the, “I have the high ground” scene, but with that crack on the wall behind them?? Literally separating them apart while the bridge is already physically doing so??? There's so much to look at, so much to inference. The creators of this show paid so much attention to placement and meaning it's actually insane. 

Dev's whole point was to be devastating. He's more than just a villain with a temper, he has been hurt and was alone and was angry. His intro scene had him going, “If I didn't have you..” With a look of despair. He shook, he yelled, he was on the verge of tears. Like.

This. This? Sig's face. Dev standing over him like that. The freaking. Placement of where the characters are I don't know what the word is but dude. This was on purpose.

He doesn't even have the yellow Sith eyes! Sig knows he's not going to hurt him and he's so right and Dev hates that he's right. 

How can you sit there and hate after being given a face like that. A face so trusting and open and it's proving what Sig already knows. There is still hope left for Dev. There's still hope for everyone. Sig is just that beacon.

All his life Dev was alone and out of nowhere here Sig comes to ruin everything all because he cared. And the voice acting just sells it. It SELLS it. Sig whining whenever he was scared, Dev's “shut up.”, Jedi Bob being a sarcastic Master. Actually Dev's va work entirely like who IS that guy god-

I loved the chaos and ridiculousness of this entire show, but it combines the elements of Lego humor with the serious and heartbreaking stories of Star Wars and it's been a long time since I've seen that for this franchise. And to top it off???

It's all about grief. About moving on. Jedi Bob lost his whole galaxy, Sig has to learn how to live in this new one, Dev is struggling with the idea of how unfair it all is that he never got to be happy. Like at this point I don't even care if I'm looking way too far into this there's still so much meaning. 

How does Lego nail it in the head so many times. They're plastic toys meant to sell toys and it is working. 

One last honorable mention image that I just find absolutely sick as fuck for the road:

Another purposeful shot. Absolutely amazing. I'm gonna fall over and die. They're just legos..,,..,..,,,

This all happens in the span of the last episode and it is only four eps long, 26 min each. But it is so worth it.

Tdlr: Go watch Rebuild the Galaxy so we can get More of this please and thank you.

[dingodad]

why can their only be one mother grub

okay there actually isn't that much to this one it's just that the comic pretty explicitly only ever refers to her as "THE mother grub" and the reasons i tend to hear for why there should or could be more than one are always based on shaky logic.

first and foremost that it "doesn't make sense" or "isn't practical" for all trolls to be born from a single cave when i think it's pretty clear that the strangeness and impracticality of one mother grub is basically the point. what we know about troll reproduction is that it is by its very nature incestuous, and that despite being in control of an empire spanning across a galaxy, once their home planet was gone the whole race was fucked. reproductive strategy - as demonstrated by Sburb, the reproductive strategy of universes themselves - is a key theme in Homestuck, and in that respect the reproductive strategy of the troll race a) starkly contrasts the reproductive strategy of humans on earth and b) fits in perfectly with Lord English's strategy for rising to power. almost all humans are capable of creating their own young (with some help) and therefore live independently from the colony, and in the same way, a widespread beta release of Sburb allowed humans lots of chances to recreate their race anew after the Earth's destruction. but English is the god of the inevitable, and of putting - in this case very literally! - all of his eggs in one basket. trolls all come from the one place, bred for one purpose, so they can play one single session of Sgrub and ensure Lord English's one, singular favoured outcome.

to that effect, by having a single brooding mother the trolls' life cycle reflects their social structure. the Alternian empire is an insect colony who, despite having spread across an entire galaxy, have only one queen; and while it is true that in the troll culture the roles of brooding mother and ruling queen are split across two individuals, that there is only one of the latter clearly demonstrates the methods of consolidation and control at play. while it would be more practical for the condesce not to slaughter the members of her bloodline who could be put to better use helping her control such a vast empire, one empress means only one voice to listen to. and when you're trying to keep a clean gene pool like the trolls are, having only one source of offspring to keep an eye on is just commonsense. this is another thing clearly indicated at in Act 6; when the condesce took control of earth she decided that it would suit her purposes better for humans to all donate their genetic material to a central cloning lab rather than be allowed to reproduce freely.

another suggestion i used to see a lot but i guess not so much anymore is that the trolls could, or perhaps would even need to, establish reproduction on the planets they've colonised, which I think stems from a misunderstanding of the whole reason adult trolls are sent into space. it seems to me like some labour under the presumption that, prior to the summoner's revolt, there were no trolls in space, and that the reason the adults were all sent away was to conquer a new frontier. but this isn't the case: we know that when the Signless was alive - which was many centuries before the Summoner could even have been born - he was part of a war "across the planet and throughout the galaxy." so when the condesce "fully decentralized the race from the homeworld [by scattering] all but the children throughout the galaxy", the purpose can only have been to separate adults from children, specifically. if there are more troll children being born on other planets in the empire then not only are the adults and the children no longer separated, but Alternia stops being a planet of any significance at all. it's just one planet where some trolls are born. we should also keep in mind that, as above, the relationship between parent and child holds thematic significance in Homestuck. the separation of progenitor from progeny should always be thought of as a more important motivator than simply expanding Alternia's empire - which, it should be noted, isn't even a goal that furthers English's plans for the trolls! turning the young into emotionless killing machines, on the other hand, does further those plans.

and in the same vein as the clown thing, am i really just the only one who finds the idea of Alternia's subterranean regions being wholly dominated by this one huge overgrown bug - of a scale no living troll could ever comprehend in its entirety, pumping out offspring on a galactic magnitude - really cool. like why do you think trolls talk about this thing like it's a god. why do you think there needs to be a highly specialised and deeply secretive coven of vampire nuns looking after it 24/7

[skellymom]

"THE PLATFORM"

THE BAD BATCH CROSSHAIR FICLET

ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ 18+ ᴅɴɪ

Word Count: 628

Background: The story we didn't get of Crosshair's trials and tribulations while being left on the Kamino platform. (This ficlet may eventually be included as a future installment to my long running TBB OC series "Vagabonds". To read it:

https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/738467105361494016/vagabonds?source=share

Warning: Swearing, fear, physical pain, starvation, dehydration, Star Wars Canon violence.

(Credit: Cool moving star dividers by @4ngelic-wh1spers )

Crosshair opened his swollen, burning eyes to the intense Kamino sun.  The sea spanned for miles around the platform.  The ruins of his home poked out of ocean.  It had stopped smoldering days ago.   

There had been NO rain since his brothers and Omega left him behind. 

No fresh water to quench his thirst.  Only his urine.   

Did his brothers DISPISE him so much as to NOT leave at least a canteen of water and some rations??? 

An exhausted, deep HATE rose in Crosshair.  He should have shot Hunter square between the eyes when he had the chance...except the kid would have seen it... 

...and his squad would have killed him outright.   

I deserve it...I’M A FUCKING FAILURE.  My brothers are gone...forever... 

He’d cry...if he could produce tears... 

Crosshair’s hunger was only abated after shooting down the occasional sea bird, feasting upon the body and drinking its blood. 

Fishing was impossible...as he was constantly being watched... 

...by the Saber Jaw trolling around the platform in the waters below. 

It’s large eye, the only thing poking above the surface, keeping tabs on ole Crossy. 

He initially watched it swimming around the wreckage, looking for bodies left after the Empire bombed Kamino City. 

Now it was coming for him.  Crosshair closed his eyes and wished for a quick death soon.  Baking in the hot Kamino sun until he died of dehydration was excruciating. 

Hours later a distant hum had Cross open one dry eye.  It was difficult to see.  Everything was a blur. 

The sound, now louder, slowly become a roar. 

His eyes strained to look skyward, but the glare blinded. 

A shadow fell over him, as the craft descended onto the platform. 

About KRIFFING TIME the Empire showed up...   

Although Crosshair was unsure if it truly was a ship...or mirage. 

The platform shook slightly as the craft landed.  Then the engine died.  Sounds of a gangplank opening.  Footsteps... 

Please make it ANY other officer.  I can’t STAND Forcedamned Cockstain Rampart’s uppity-assed voice. 

An image flashed across Crosshair’s mind: mustering the last of his strength to blast Rampart to bits AND have the stormtroopers shoot him out of his misery...at the same time. 

Crosshair smiled and giggled dryly.  

The footsteps stopped. 

“Would give the WHOLE galaxy if that smile were for US” 

Crosshair’s eyes popped wide open.  He jerked up on one elbow swinging Firepuncher up to sniper’s position. 

He attempted to swallow nervously...but he had no saliva... 

...Hunter stood meters away, intensely staring at Crosshair.  The words didn’t match the action.  Instead, Hunter emanated anger and hurt. 

He’s FUCKING with ME!  Coming back to torment!!! 

Echo and Wrecker flanked each side of the Marauder’s gangplank.  Their weapons weren’t raised but they held them ready just in case. 

Cross could barely see Tech’s head inside the Marauder.  Everything far away was a blur.  

Hunter turned them against me!  All for that kid... 

...AND THERE SHE WAS! 

Omega had slipped out of the Marauder, following Hunter. 

Crosshair growled and ground his teeth in rage.   

“I TOLD YOU TO TAKER HER AWAY SOMEWHERE!” 

Hunter blinked at the sound, his teeth on edge. 

Omega stopped in her tracks; eyes wide. 

“AND YOU BROUGHT HER BACK HERE AGAIN!” 

Crosshair kept on spewing more anger, hurt, and delirious vitriol.  While Hunter was intensely hurt and angry at his brother, there was concern.  Cross’ high emotional stress, severe dehydration and starvation drove his eyes to roll back...causing a loss of bodily control. Crosshair fought unconsciousness... 

...causing his finger to pull the trigger. 

Firepuncher jumped in Crosshair’s grasp.  It jerked him back to consciousness. 

Hunter barely had time to duck.  The bolt flew past his temple, shearing free the bandana from his head...and a few locks of hair. 

Crosshair stared in horror at what he just did... 

PLEASE like, comment, and/or REBLOG!

IF YOU WISH TO BE ADDED OR DROPPED FROM MY TAG LIST, PLEASE MESSAGE ME! Don't just comment as I might miss it. Thanks!!! <3

[sirpuddingcup]

Before I get into it

SPOILERS FOR THE END AND THE DEATH VOLUME 3

Holy shit this book is great! It genuinely is everything I wanted and more. Volume 3 ties everything up so well that even though I knew the plot outline already just from lore it had me gripped from cover to cover. An emotional and bloody ending to the to the galaxy spanning series.

First off I really enjoyed getting the little updates on what some of the other players are doing while it all goes down. Bobby G and his endless strategy meetings as he tries to figure out how to get to Terra. Lorgar pulling a jonestown as he arrogantly misinterprets prophecies. Perturabo wallowing in self pity as he destroys his room like an angry teenager (the image of him pouting in his broken chair as the room lies devastated around him gives me life). Finally Eldrad and the others arguing over shoulda woulda coulda as they realize this is way worse than they thought. It was nice to check in with everyone before we dive into the trauma of it all.

Speaking of trauma let's talk about the black rage! We see sanguineous's mangled corpse in the lupercal court as the psychic shock sends the entire ninth legion (minus Zephon) into a berserk rage. I really can't think of a better word for it than traumatic. After all they've been through together during the siege to have the blood angels turn into actual monsters against their will is just twisting the knife for the loyalists. From Rans desperate fight for survival against a man he idolizes to Amit waking up dazed and confused at the end of a trail of corpses ("why do the bodys end here?" "That's as far as you got" kills me), it's safe to say nobody is having a good time.

Scratch that you know who is having a pretty good time? Rogal Dorn. Fresh out of the desert of endless boredom Rogal finally gets to let loose a little as he fights his way to Valdor. I love their dynamic and I wish we got more of them hanging out("damn you!"(frustrated) "damn you too."(affectionate)).

We check in with Fo and the genocide crew which ends predictably. I saw him completing the Terminus sanction then getting killed trying to escape a mile away. I did not see him making a fucking clone body and replace Xanthus! I love me a devious old scientist causing problems on purpose! I really hope he comes back in a big way.

The library crew didn't do a whole lot other than Ariman being a creepy magic man. It is buck wild that the archivist turned out to be Lilean Chase at the beginning of her career she goes on to found the fucking Cognitae so get it girl I guess.

The did my boy Loken so dirty in the end but fuck me was it good. They planted seeds earlier on talking about how a demon is made, a reaction in the warp to a traumatic event in real space, how in the warp effect can come before cause. But fuck me I wasn't expecting this. After the dust settles and Loken almost convinces Abaddon to give reconciliation a chance Erebus (fuck Erebus) stabs him in the back dooming the galaxy to endless civil war. And why did he do this? Because Samus is the man beside you, Samus right behind you, Samus is the guy she told you not to worry about, look out it's fucking Samus! The abrupt murder of Loken gives birth to the Demon Samus kicking all of this shit into motion. It truly is all Erebus's fault.

I saved the best for last. The showdown on the vengeful spirit. This is where Horus really gets tho shine. I haven't loved his character like this since the first couple of books. He's a fucking mess and I love it this is the man who's daddy issues burned the galaxy to the ground, and as someone who has a difficult relationship with my father fuck me I get it. Dan Abnet is so good at making fights feel intimate, Horus isn't a one dimensional avatar of evil hes a son confronting his abusive father. Horus doesn't want to kill his father he wants to be better than him, and not just stronger but a better person. He needs the Emperor to acknowledge that he had hurt Horus. Horus loved his father and wanted to reach out him on an emotional level so badly, but the Emperor was simply no longer able to do that. When the Emperor purged himself of the infant god the dark king his kindness and empathy went with it ( going on to create the star child). This emperor is nothing but power and cold fury. He enters the room having already written Horus off as dead. It's such a tragedy from top to bottom because we know from Malcador in his all knowing position on the golden throne, that there is a version of this confrontation where they both walk out alive. That does not happen.

The actual physical fight is nothing to write home about besides the fact that different people see it happening in different ways Dusk sees it as a clumsy slugfest between two lumbering giants while LE2 saw it as the greatest display of skill he had ever seen. In truth it was both. The psychic battle had them tossing each other across time and space and fighting through the sites of each other's greatest sins. They use the settings to try and undermine each other emotionally holy shit. Then the do the next logical step AND HAVE A FUCKING TAROT DECK YU-GI-OH DUEL! I need an imperial tarot card game right now GW take my fucking money. It ends with the cards predicting the fall of cadia (the despoiler unlocking the silver door) and the emperor loses. It has become obvious by this point that the Emperor can't beat Horus. Horus outclasses him in every way but Horus doesn't want to kill his father he wants acknowledgement. So what we get is several desperate attempts by the emperor and several others to fight back as Horus beats his father bloody. But nothing works until Oll and John show up having magically teleported much closer than they ment to. They stand right in front of Horus. Horus is bemused at best giving John just enough time to use the word he learned from the tower of Babel directly in Horus's smug face. The resulting blast nearly kills everyone in the room, but it's the first thing so far to actually damage Horus. While her recovers John makes a run for it but Oll goes to the Emperor gives him the athame (stone knife used to commit the first murder) and tries to wake him up. Only for Horus to wake up first and turn poor Oll to a fine red mist.

Finally Horus stands there triumphant and who is there but his own favorite son Loken. Loken is the only one who tries to reason with Horus to make him see the the chaos gods are using and manipulating him. It was a great touch to frame Horus pov in 2nd person as if someone is telling Horus his thoughts. Loken convinces Horus that he's not really in control anymore and the only way Horus can take back control is to give up the power that the gods gave him. The moment he does back on Terra Keeler uses the power of millions of praying souls to relight the astronomicon and and give the Emperor a font of power to tap into. The emperor rises as if from the dead. Horus at first tries to pull the power back but the gods hold onto it as punishment for spurning them. Then Horus looks at the Emperor empowered as an avatar of humanities faith and he finally understands. The gods panic and try to force their power back into him and Horus begs his father to kill him now while he can resist. Then it happens a father murders his son. The emperor tells Horus "I forgive you and I'll wait for you". Excuse me Dan Abnet what exactly does that mean? Horus returned? Ghost Horus? Reincarnated? What the fuck? From there it's mostly just wrapping up they teleport home and we get the last gasp of Malcador as they place the Emperor on the golden throne.

If you read this thank you this was mostly for me because I needed an outlet for my feelings and I don't want to bother my friends to much with Warhammer. It's been a wild ride and I can't wait to see where it goes from here (especially the third Bequin book).

[jedi-enthusiast]

Debunking the "The Jedi are Evil" Theory Made by The Film Theorists PT 6

Point 6 - The Jedi Left Shimi in Slavery

Continuing on, Matthew says this:

"In fact, the Jedi care so little about the relationship between parent and child, that in the Prequel trilogy Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan literally leave Anakin's mother on Tatooine to continue living in slavery in Episode 1. We're told that they take Anakin, but not his mother because they don't have the money to buy her freedom from Watto."

WRONG!

And, what's funny is, he plays the exact clip that shows this is wrong right after he makes this statement.

They didn't free her because Watto refused, likely because he didn't want to lose both his slaves in one day, but not because they didn't have enough money or wouldn't pay the price Watto set.

---

Matthew quote, continued:

"But then a decade goes by without him ever following up. At no point during the 10 year period did anyone bother to think- 'Hey, maybe we should, you know, go check on Anakin's mother to make sure she's alive or, I don't know, maybe go back to buy her freedom since we have the money to do it, and we've won the war, and her son happens to be the most powerful Force-user in history.'"

First of all, Qui-Gon fucking dies like the day after freeing Anakin--so he can't follow up--and Obi-Wan, for a nice chunk of time afterwards I'd say, is a little too busy dealing with the grief of losing his Master (or his "parent," since obviously Matthew thinks parental relationships are the only ones that matter), the mental turmoil of killing a Sith, and also the sheer whiplash of "holy shit I'm now responsible for a whole other human being, what do I do???"

Like, there's literally a whole thing in a book where Obi-Wan is like "does Anakin know how to swim???" so I think there were some more pressing matters on his mind than worrying about Shmi.

I will also say that in another video Matthew says that Shmi and Anakin were just fine as slaves because Watto is shown to "treat them well," so he can't really use both arguments in this situation. If Shmi was "just fine" in slavery, then why should the Jedi go back to check on her or free her?

Either she's fine and the Jedi have no reason to go check on her, or she's not fine and the Jedi need to.

One or the other, buddy.

Plus, only Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Anakin knew about Shmi. Qui-Gon dies, Obi-Wan is juggling enough things as is, and Anakin clearly never tells anyone else about his mother--so what was anyone else supposed to do about someone they didn't even know existed?

Second...you're getting your movies and also literally everything that happens mixed up.

The Jedi do not "win the war," a war fucking starts--which spreads them thin across the galaxy to the point that they can barely take care of the problems right under their noses without another fire starting somewhere else that they need to get to, so I doubt they'd have the time to go searching for Shmi. Plus, at the end of that war, the Jedi get fucking genocided...idk what you want them to do while they're getting murdered in the halls of their home.

Now, if you're talking about the mess on Naboo, that is over at the end of TPM--not in the "10 year span" you're talking about. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that, if Obi-Wan did go back to try and buy Shmi's freedom, that Watto's answer would be the same, and what would be the point of Obi-Wan going back a day after Watto already refused to ask the same question again?

And why isn't Padme held to the same standard?

Why aren't you asking why she--with more money, power, time, and resources--didn't go back to free Shmi?

Interesting double standard there.

---

Matthew quote continued:

"What makes the death of Anakin's mother all the more tragic, is that all of it could have been prevented. He reaches her just as she's in her dying breaths. Had he arrived days, or even hours earlier, his journey to Tatooine might not have ended with him having to bury her. The only reason that Anakin even knew about her is because he could sense her suffering."

Yeah, it could have been prevented...if Anakin had actually told anyone about his dreams.

In AotC Anakin mentions to Obi-Wan that he's been having dreams about his mother, but he doesn't elaborate. And when Obi-Wan tries to talk to him about those vague dreams that Anakin is telling him fuck-all about, Anakin switches the subject to Padme and doesn't bring it up to Obi-Wan again.

The Jedi are shown again and again to be extremely empathetic and, as I said before, they don't bar people from visiting their biological families if that's what they choose. If Anakin had actually told Obi-Wan "I've been having dreams of my mother dying on Tatooine and I can literally sense her pain and suffering," odds are that Obi-Wan would have encouraged him to go and check on her.

And it's made clear that Anakin was having those dreams for a while. His mother was gone for a month. If, at any point in time Anakin had actually told someone about his dreams, he probably could've gone to check on her earlier and would've been able to save her.

The only reason that Anakin wasn't supposed to go later on in the movie was because he was literally the sole person responsible for the safety of a very important Senator who people were actively trying to assassinate.

[adventure-showdown]

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

ROUND 2 MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

Anachrophobia

Synopsis

Imagine a war. A war that has lasted centuries, a war which has transformed an entire planet into a desolate No Man's Land. A war where time itself is being used as a weapon.

You can create zones of decelerated time and bring the enemy troops to a standstill. You can create storms of accelerated time and reduce the opposition to dust in a matter of seconds.

But now the war has reached a stalemate. Neither the Plutocrats nor the Defaulters have made any gains for over a hundred years.

The Doctor, Fitz and Anji arrive at Isolation Station Forty, a military research establishment on the verge of a breakthrough. A breakthrough which will change the entire course of the war.

They have found a way to send soldiers back in time. But time travel is a primitive, unpredictable and dangerous business. And not without its own sinister side effects...

Propaganda

YOU THINK MIDNIGHT IS SCARY? YOU THINK MIDNIGHT IS HORROR? TRY READING ANACHROPHOBIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! imagine. there is a war that has been raging for centuries between two groups - the plutocrats and the defaulters (YEAH THIS IS ALSO A COMMENTARY ON THE FUTILITY OF CAPITALISM AND WAR ECONOMICS!) - and both sides have developed time technology that allows them to either Speed Time Up (which can age someone to dust in the span of a few seconds) or Slow Time Down (trapping someone in a single second for millennia). the doctor and his friends are trapped in a military base that is studying time travel. they send a pod into the past, but when it comes back it brings Something With It. something that makes people Lose Their Whole Past and relive moments again and again. and also turns their faces into clocks. read this fuckkng book (@eightdoctor )

ANACHROPHOBIA ANACHROPHOBIA ANACHROPHOBIA ITS SO GOOD ITS SO GOOD YOU DONT UNDERSTAND YOU DONT UNDERSTAND. IT DEALS WITH THE TIME JUST AFTER (TWO BOOKS AFTER) THE DOCTOR HAD HIS SECOND HEART REMOVED AND IT DOES IT SO WELL. ‘‘LIKE A MAN WHO HAS LOST AN ARM STILL BEING ABLE TO SENSE MOVEMENTS IN HIS FINGERS. LIKE A MAN WHO STILL SOMETIMES FEELS THE BEAT OF A SECOND HEART’’ ARATFTFY ITS SO GOOD IT CHANGED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY. THE LAST TWO BOOKS (MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN + HOPE) DIDNT MENTION MUCH ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF LOSING AN ENTIRE FUCKING HEART BUT ANACHROPHOBIA IS ALL ABOUT IT. THE DOCTOR IS SICK, WEAKER THAN USUAL, FITZ AND ANJI ARE CONCERNED, SO CONCERNED THEY’RE WONDERING IF HE CAN LIVE WITH ONLY ONE HEART. THEY GET OXYGEN CANNISTERS AND A MASK OUT FOR HIM JUST IN CASE!!!!! AND OH THE BODY HORROR OH THE BODY HORROR. IT'S GOOD ITS SO GOOD. AND SABBATH IS IN IT AND HES DISGUISED AS A GUY (ISN'T REVEALED UNTIL THE END) AND HE PRETENDS TO PANIC WHEN HE REALISES HIS COWORKERS ARE DEAD AND IT MAKES ME FEEL SICK SO SICK WHEN I REALISED HIS EMOTION WAS FAKE. ITS GOOD ITS SO GOOD ITS SO FUCKING GOOD (nix)

Alien Bodies

Synopsis

On an island in the East Indies, in a lost city buried deep in the heart of the rainforest, agents of the most formidable powers in the galaxy are gathering. They have been invited there to bid for what could turn out to be the deadliest weapon ever created.

When the Doctor and Sam arrive in the city, the Time Lord soon realises they've walked into the middle of the strangest auction in history — and what's on sale to the highest bidder is something more horrifying than even the Doctor could have imagined, something that could change his life forever.

And just when it seems things can't get any worse, the Doctor finds out who else is on the guest list.

Propaganda

Doctor ends up at an auction for his own dead body (anonymous)

One of the most notable Eighth Doctor books, the first by Lawrence Miles and the beginning of Faction Paradox. Generally very good. (anonymous)

Banger of a story where 8 goes to an auction in order to purchase 3's dead body. Then the weird shit starts happening. (@eighthdoctor )

[foxssleeplessness]

Hello there! I’ve been going through your list of codywan fic recs from when Kenobi aired and was wondering if you had any others! All have been so wonderful so far!

Hi!! I am SO sorry I took this long to respond. I entered new fandoms and lost contact with Codywan for a bit but I'm back! 4 fic recs and one shameless self-promoting just for you :)

Codywan Fic Recs Part 2

Pave Your Way with Stones Well Chosen by TrickyTricky (18 899 words) Mature

Summary: Cody has always been a man of singular focus and exceptional skill. When he suddenly finds himself loosed from the chip’s control, after years of service to the Empire, there is nothing to be done but to use every resource in his arsenal to carve out a new life for himself. He will free what brothers he can. He will find the Jedi his hands were forced to betray and make things right. He will build them all a haven to shelter from the cruelties the galaxy has never stopped inflicting.

And perhaps, somewhere in the midst of all that, he can find a way to make peace with himself again, as well.

One of my all time faves. It's very Cody and Vod'e centric, which I absolutely adore. I also really liked how Tricky handled and wrote Cody and Obi-Wan's reunion seeing as they are traumatised people who have lived through and done horrible things. Graphic Depiction of Violence, so if that's not your thing, I suggest skipping this one.

Next three (3) are Sith!Obi-Wan AU

different kind of danger in the daylight by Serie11 (29 202 words) Explicit

Summary: The Clone Wars are hurtling towards their third year when a new actor enters the field – a Sith with mysterious goals and an even murkier history.

Cody leads the 221st, and reports to General Jinn. But when he finds himself entangled in a dark plot that spans from one edge of the galaxy to the other, the only thing to do is cut the knot at the centre – no matter the cost he will have to pay.

Obi-Wan hates war, hates what it does to people, hates the Jedi, and hates himself. Qui-Gon’s Commander was meant to be a means to an end – but when Obi-Wan falls too deep, trusting Cody might just be the only way out.

I fucking looooove Sith!Obi-Wan. I'm picky about how it's handled tho. I like when there's a background with Qui Gon and a whole moral dilemma for both Cody and Obi-Wan. Their interactions are filled with ''I know I shouldn't but I love you oh so dearly'', yk?? It is well used and represented in this fic, Serie is an amazing writer who uses everything to make their stories flow slowly but 120km/h at the same time. IN PROGRESS

I Got My Head Checked by frostbitebakery (75 010 words) Mature

Summary: Below the observation deck, the Marshal Commander of the Third Systems Army is being divested of his armor and weapons, shackles heavy on his wrists. He doesn’t struggle, only a mulish stubborn twist to his jaw showing his displeasure at the situation.

Obi-Wan opens his eyes, steps back from the observation window. “I need a week.”

OR: In which Cody wasn’t trained for a Sith sliding into a moral dilemma because of him

IGMHC is the first Sith!Obi that I read and I cannot stop returning to it. It's got a tractor beam locked on me 24/7, I swear. Again, loved how the dilemmas and morals are handled, you can see both characters' thought processes throughout I absolutely cannot get enough of it. 1000000/10

Name of the Game by esama (40 088 words) Mature/Explicit

Summary: There's a new Dark Sider on the battlefield, one who has it out for Cody's General.

SIMP OBI-WAN!! That man has whole plans made to achieve his goal and all it takes is one, ONE, millisecond of attention from Cody and he's caught. He's gone. Whole plan needs to be adjusted to the new circumstances. Can't get enough of it from my screen, I need it in my veinsss. 1000000000000/10. Masterpiece.

AND A SHAMELESS SELF-PROMO

thunderstorm stories by foxssleeplessness (aka ME) (5027 words, Ik, short compared to the others) Gen

Summary: During a humanitarian aid mission on Kashyyyk, a thunderstorm hits. Cody absolutely hates thunderstorms. Sharing stupid stories about your ''childhood'' with your general is a pretty good distraction.

You get to meet briefly my OC Kosand maybe Tonedeaf, I can't remember.

ANYWAY!! Hope you enjoy these like you enjoyed the first ones, Anon! Have a lovely day :D

Part 1

[fortunelowtier]

So since people have basically 100% turned on JKR and Harry Potter as a whole can we as a community fight to bring back Animorphs, a series that goes into the struggles of PTSD, the horrors of war, a character whos a walking transgender allegory (90% of the series they spend “in the wrong body”), at least 2 bisexual characters, and a story that spans over the course of 4-6 in-universe years following an intergalactic conflict to stop a race of mind-controlling space slugs (who become addicted to instant maple oatmeal and yes this is an integral plot point) from taking over the galaxy

Featuring a cast of:

-Kid whos straight ballin and also has a kill count in the 10s of thousands due to an incident of mass genocide on the aforementioned brain-controlling slugs

-A girl who has the bloodlust of the fucking Doomslayer and has stated on multiple occasions that she actively loves the thrill of combat and hates herself for it

-a boy trapped in the form of a red-tailed hawk with depression who is also in a relationship with the previously mentioned warrior girl 

-horse girl who works at diet sea world and is also the one brain cell of the group

-comic relief who ends up using his violent PTSD and crippling nightmares to tell stories to kids and becomes an actor 

-and a blue centaur horse alien with a bladed tail who fucking loves eating Cinnabon and cigarette butts because hes never had a mouth before no i will not elaborate

For those wondering, the author of the series (K.A. Applegate) is based as fuck and fully supports those who choose to read her books for free and you can find the links here to the individual .EPUB files which is supported by most E-readers (there are EPUB to PDF converters for those who need that also)

fuck jkr and fuck harry potter, all my homies love K.A. Applegate and Animorphs

[dogopower]

Omnicron Lyrics

I told them of the Hale Bop comet 7 years ago...

It is running if you will notice on our sensors

We have picked up a ship beneath it... of great dimensions...

All we are trying to do, us humans, so that we shall not die so soon

Over the Earth I hover spinning whirlwinds in Wheatfields

While my force fields repel four winds from broken seals

Numbered seven

Embedding my brethren, breaking bread with Yeshua

In Bethlehem

The last tribal star soul the alien Seth Alam

The devil bears the pentagram, a horrible hologram

My body slams man with the heavy grams

Lay the beat down

Make big connections to the Son of Sam and Uncle Sam

So Sam-I-am keep ya fucking eggs and ham

Performing alien brain scans and spiritual exams

While the mothership lands on holy land

My mental expands with plans to span through the galaxy

I land in farmers crops spelling out the name 'Apathy'

Speaking my name is blasphemy, so call me your majesty

Majestic phonetics begin affecting reality

Religiously, I mystically chant and recite on mic's

At astronomical heights

Guided by the northern lights

Poltergeist, masquerade as Christ, entice like Heidi Fleiss

Trying to put the righteous on ice

You're a holographic device, and simply see through

Robotic like R2D2, I'm original like Hebrews

And 144,000 people

May the Lord bless you and keep you

Formin' gargoyles like Tin Foil they sit upon ya steeple!

Will space probes in the next century discover extra terrestrial analogue?

Biophysical Biosphere;

Witchdoctor unlocked the cobra spitting venom I adhere!

I stand here with the hearts of the Meek

I bring pain, camel clutch, Iron sheik

Order of the Golden Dawn

I have warned of biochemical implants

In heads of the unborn

Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David

Five Tibetan rites are rejuvenation

A sacred Master Yehi, All die under the staff

Or get burned like Betty Shabazz and I will laugh

Demons at dimensional doorways come through this

But I will have you hanging from a tree like you was Judas

Violent Buddhist

The hierarch decaton

Revelations of the Metatron

I form Voltron;

With elements of Tai Chi

Doing battle with seven heads and ten horns is me!

The hologram!

Travel I through space portals

My soul cannot be imprisoned or trapped by mere mortals

Torture them!

With the pain of scorpion stings

Spitting lightning

'Lord of the Rings', I brings

Diagrams, of hallways and pyramids of the pharaohs

Tribe Green

Mecca's warrior holding arrows

Contorting; polymorphing and aborting

The souls of the MC's who I've made ghosts to do my haunting

Will space probes in the next century discover extra terrestrial analogue?

Scientifical madness

Eliminating masses with mathematical tactics

Strategic, electronical, weaponry fucking up your anatomy

Insanity, inviting thee

Atomically bombing the fraudulent MC

Escorting he, with battle strategy

Confusion weaponry cause fatality

Intergalactic tactics shine like metallics

With mathematics, I leave your whole clique splattered

Pharaoh's a savage (The Verbal War)

Causing comatosis

Transporting dope shit through sleep way (hypnosis)

Try to approach this, I stalk-prey like vultures

And feast on the carcass of any lyrical artists

I'm sick with this, scientifical madness

Pharaoh the seventh sign causing word disaster

Cerebral master, Iron Killa Guerrila

Verbal Flames I spit them through your chest like Tequila

Constructing ya Art of War like Sun Tzu

Death becomes you as I run through

MC's like Battering rams, you overstand

Sun Pharaoh and the motherfucking Hologram!

[ralfmaximus]

The Niven contribution to Trek lore really pisses me off.

His Known Space is a fine, stand-alone universe. It is coherent & logical. There are many good and interesting stories & novels set in that framework, and even today Ringworld stands as a masterpiece [if you ignore the casual misogyny & horniness Niven is also famous for because yes, Larry Niven is a shitty human being].

HOWEVER

Niven should be convicted of war crimes for trying to smash-fit published Known Space IP into Trek. Thanks to him, we got half-digested lore such as:

the Kzinti, a sentient warrior cat race

who are every bit as smart and dangerous as humans

the Man-Kzinti wars(?!!) which in Known Space are apocalyptic, span the galaxy, and nearly destroys the human empire federation three separate times

a billion-year-old secret alien progenitor race that enslaved the whole galaxy at one time before getting overthrown by their slaves, the Thrint

no not THAT billion-year-old secret progenitor race

it's a whole nother different secret progenitor race

Slaver Stasis Field boxes with neat surprises inside

that everyone knows about and hopes to find one someday

And why oh WHY did Larry Niven do that?

Because he's a lazy sack of shit. In 1972 or so, when DC Fontana contacted him to submit a script for the Animated Series, instead of writing something new & interesting he reached into his moldy old 1960s era grab-bag of published stories and dusted off The Soft Weapon.

"Nobody will ever see this," he chuckled to himself, while cashing his paycheck, thinking this saturday morning kiddie cartoon show would fade quickly into obscurity.

Fuck you, Larry Niven. Just. Fuck you.

“Arena” was a story from 1944 where Earth was about to have an apocalyptic final war with a hideous, unseen alien race known as “the Outsiders.” On the eve of the titanic battle, advanced alien artificial intelligences teleport one human and one Outsider to a planet to fight it out, man to man, and the loser will have their entire battle fleet and planet destroyed. 

It was very common in the 60s to turn an award winning scifi short story into an episode of the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits (as Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson can attest), but “Arena” was adapted into an episode by none other than the famous Star Trek, in one of their most famous episodes (aka the one where Captain Kirk fights a big lizard by the famous Vazquez Rocks), with Frederic Brown paid and given an author credit on screen. This is one of the only times that Trek would adapt a non-Trek short story.

[other-peoples-coats]

look I know the chips are a retcon to make the tv shows etc more child friendly and also to get around the whole 'all these characters we hope you like (so we can sell merch)? guess what, they're secretly plotting to kill Our Heros :D!' thing, but on an in-universe level.

how the fuck do the chips work. what the fuck. I'm not even talking about how they make 3m+ people all suddenly mind controlled zombie murder-bots, I mean on a purely mechanically level, how the fuck do they work. what in the goddamn fuck kind of latency prevention do they have.

Skeevy sheevy calls Cody*, who is on the ass end of the fucking galaxy, and is like 'execute genocide.exe, toodles'. Cody then, presumably, somehow immediately transmits genocide.exe to every clone around him without saying shit - so the chips presumably have a short wave blutooth sort of ping capacity, all clones are wifi-enabled all the time - and then also presumably somehow transmits the genocide.exe order to like. the rest of his command? which is like half the GAR?? fast enough that it beats, presumably, jedi to jedi communication about 'what the fuck I'm getting murdered???', aka the whole wave of death in the force thing. Skeevilicious also (maybe?) calls other high level commanders - unclear if everyone gets the personal touch vis-à-vis names or if cody is just the Most Specialist Boy --fast enough to, again, beat the reply-all via the force that RE:Hey Rancid Vibes And Death Mostly Death. One has to assume the other commanders are also on the ass ends of the galaxy, but like, different ones, because of the whole galaxy spanning war thing.

Like the lag has to be approaching nothing. Instantaneous deployment across the entire fucking galaxy, or close enough to not really matter, plus some level of short wave chip-to-chip ping that requires no verbal component, given we see cody take the call from ol' mate skeev and then immediately successfully order the 212th to merk their general without a moment's hesitation from anyone.

what the fuck kind of magic ass tech runs the chips. forget the force, the real scifi magic is the communications capabilities in the GFFA.

*also side bar, moment of hilarity that the skeev-meister knows cody's name and uses it. Like lets be fucking real, our pal friendpatine does not think of the clones as people, but also, chances are that he's spent so fucking long pretending 'oh yes the clones need rights anakin soon as the war wraps up the terrible senate won't let them but not me I'm not like those other politicians' that it's just fucking habit at this point. Bro might not even fucking know cody's damn cc number to start with. which is actually funnier than it being habit to use his name - diversity win, the sith lord turning you into a zombie-muder machine to genocide a whole ass culture uses your chosen name, purely because he doesn't know how else to call you!

[david-talks-sw]

I’m just thinking about how pathetic Sidious is, when you really look at the big picture.

He spends 13 years getting close to Anakin, pretending to be his friend, preparing him to be his next apprentice. The second he reveals himself to be a Sith, Anakin draws his lightsaber and gets ready to kill him. Palpatine needs to resort to using Pamé’s life as leverage.

He wipes out 95% of the Jedi Order! Hell yeah! Yoda just walks into his office and shoves him across the room, humiliating him.

He wears a mask for most of his life, spends 40 years pretending, trying to orchestrate the Jedi’s downfall and build the foundations of an Empire. And he finally made it! He’s the king of the world! He’s Napoleon! It takes the Jedi just 3 years of being genuine, being their kind selves and helping people to plant the seeds that’ll bring that Empire down. Hell, they did that without even trying, it was just a happy byproduct!

Palpatine's Empire lasted over 20 years! The Republic that the Jedi defended lasted for 1,000 years. Palpatine couldn’t even make it to a century.

He’s got Ezra Bridger in front of his parents, no way he doesn’t unlock the door to the World Between Worlds... Actually, Ezra is stronger than Palpatine gives him credit for, and lets go of his attachment.

Palpatine has his Death Star. It blows up whole planets, it is impregnable, the galaxy should tremble in fear. It gets destroyed by some rando farm boy who learned the term “the Force” the day before.

But it’s cool, right? He’s got a second Death Star. He’ll make it look defenseless, but actually it’s not. He puts the shield generator on a moon, with barely any defenses, because the only potential threats are the natives, who are fucking teddy bears. The teddy bears and, like, 20 rebels, blow up the shield.

He’s had a tight grip on Vader for the past two decades, there’s no way that Luke, this boy, can turn him. He’s not trying to kill Vader? Seriously? Then, what’s he gonna do? Love him to death? Pffft. Please. Luke’s love teaches his father to act out of compassion, and Anakin kills Vader and the Emperor.

Who cares? He awakens in his clone body, he got the last laugh-- Fuck! The body wasn’t ready and is rapidly aging and decaying! Anakin just condemned Palpatine to 30 years of pure agony!

After years of attempting to get a son/clone of himself, he finally manages to make one...! It’s not Force-sensitive. FuuuuuuUUUUUUU--

-- Whatever, he’ll bide his time. Let the Rebels and their “New Republic” think that they are at peace. He’ll come back! He’ll show ‘em! He’ll take back control...! The whole Sequel Trilogy takes place in the span of 1 year. The reign of the First Order over the galaxy is essentially a parenthesis in galactic history.

Screw it! He absorbed a dyad’s life force. He’s almost as powerful as the goddamn Mortis Gods! He’s wearing a sexy red & black Hugh Heffner bathrobe! Who’s gonna stop him? Huh? Some scavenger girl from nowhere? She can barely stand! And the Jedi are dead! The dead Jedi empower Rey, she kills Palpatine for good. The Final Order’s reign lasted less than a day. TROS is the Star Wars equivalent of Waterloo.

Sidious is so pathetic, I swear :D

And I’m glad LucasFilm keeps this character trait consistent, even in the Sequels and Rebels.

For all his power, for all his cunning... he keeps overlooking things like love, compassion, bravery, kindness and it keeps. screwing him. over.

He fails like all Sith do… by being arrogant.

Every single time. Cuz being evil is for morons, being good is where it’s really at.

I love it.

[littlemisspascal]

Ezra’s Journal Entries #1-3

Fandom: Prospect / Pedro Pascal

Pairing: Ezra x Female!Reader

Word Count: 1,269

Summary: You and I were made from the same star, you said with such conviction it stole the breath from my lungs, bound to each other for eternity by the Currents of the universe. 

Warnings: angsty fluff, Ezra’s dealing with the aftermath of the Green, language, 1st person POV (Ezra), dialogue in italics because that’s just how I chose to do it, no beta so all mistakes are mine

Author Note: I know I said Death and Angel would come out next, but I got such a inspiration high and the words came out so quickly I just told myself screw it and decided to share what I have. If anyone thinks this is a series worth pursuing, let me know. If you don’t, well, just be gentle please 💖

Cross-posted on AO3

Entries #4-6

Look for additional notes at the bottom.

My name is Ezra. 

I have my mama to thank for that. Time has erased her face from my memory, but her voice is ingrained into the tissue of my brain the same way these words are inked on this parchment. She was a bonafide believer that the meaning of a child’s name influenced the course of their destiny. When I was no taller than the height of her waist I learned my own name’s denotation: help.

It’s just a tick too ironic, isn’t it? To be destined to help others when I can’t help my own self. I gave the Green far too little credit. It didn’t just pilfer my arm to satisfy its ravenousness, it greedily stole my sense of purpose too. 

Every night I thank the deities you didn’t accompany me there. If the Green had taken you...

I know how worried you are about me, little love of mine. When I look at you, I find you already looking back, a sweet smile gracing your lips even as concern burns in your eyes as an eternal flame. From day one you’ve always been looking at me, seeing every disgraced flaw and scar—even the invisible ones carved into the darkest edges of my soul. Kevva knows I’ve never been capable of concealing anything from you, but fuck if I don’t wish I could sometimes.

You’re asleep now as I write this, tucked against my side in the vacant space my arm once occupied, drooling on my shirt. I love you so much it hurts. A black hole in my chest perpetually aching to be filled by your presence. And as we venture once more into the starry sea, our ship gliding past the imaginary wings of Noctua, I find myself recalling a theory you once told me many cycles ago about humans being made in the womb with stardust infused in their bones, linking them to the universe. You and I were made from the same star, you said with such conviction it stole the breath from my lungs, bound to each other for eternity by the Currents of the universe. 

And it’s undoubtedly selfish, but all I could think of in that tender moment beyond kissing you was how I didn’t want an eternity spent together with our cosmic bodies intertwined. 

I want longer.

Soon after we awoke and each consumed a slice of bush bread bought during our recent docking at Kamrea, you fiddled with the channels on the ship’s radio, hoping to hear news from your homeworld but cursing when you only heard static. Then, without an ounce of forewarning, music burst out with an almighty scream through the speakers at full volume, flooding the whole compartment with a woman’s warbling. It was the same crusted Vayok song that merc Inumon blared in my ears during my last night on the Green, every note an individual needle piercing my skull, impossible to ignore.

Reality deserted me, leaving me to sink to the depths of the abyss within my mind where all I could see was Cee’s pale, disturbed expression as she looked to me for guidance. I remembered how my tongue felt clumsy in my mouth as I tried my damnedest to negotiate our transport, thinking if I could just piece together the right sequence of words, if I could just get their lingering eyes off of her, then maybe, maybe we’d have a chance at salvation. 

The memories coalesced, overlapping and blurring and mixing out of order. Each one was drenched in spilt blood.

Then your pinky wrapped around mine. The touch was soft yet firm, the action childlike in its innocence. It was such a jarring contradiction to my mind’s violent narrative, my consciousness was hurtled back into the living quarters of our ship as a result. You didn’t say anything when you saw I returned to you. Instead, you swallowed down the questions lodged in your throat and led me by our entwined fingers back to our bed.

There’s a plant back home called a dandelion, you told me with my head resting in your lap, a far better comfort than any pillow could provide me. It’s the only plant in the galaxy you can see the sun, the moon and the stars when you look at it. That’s not why it’s my favorite though.

I asked how it had won your heart’s favor if not due to its resemblance to the celestial bodies, then immediately found myself mesmerized by the smile that lit up your face as you peered down at me. My chest cavity tightened as I was filled with the profound longing to be able to suspend time, if only so I could stretch this moment to match the length of our separation, if only so I could erase the old and replace it with the beautiful new.

Dandelions grant wishes, babe. Anything you wish for with your whole heart, it will be yours to have.

I told you I wouldn’t wish for anything—nothing else in the galaxy could compare to the prettiest, wisest soul I’d ever encountered in all my years traversing it. You saw right through that lie with the same confident ease you see through all my masks and diversions, but—for the second time in the span of an hour—you held your tongue.

This journal’s as good a place as any to admit the honest truth. So here it is: I wish with the entirety of my bloody, beating heart I could be the man you deserve, little love of mine. 

When you read, whether it be a book or the flight manual, you have the precious habit of mouthing the words. I don’t think you have the faintest notion you’re even doing it, which makes it all the more endearing to watch.

My brother had a similar habit, always nose deep in the yellowing pages of classic literature, except he had a proclivity to spoil the plot when he talked in his sleep. I remember there was one particular novel he returned to often, sometimes reading from beginning to end, other times seeking out specific segments he’d underlined in bold, black pen. It was a rather dreary tale about war and rivalry and the process of determining one’s own identity. I became so exasperated with my brother’s obsession I considered shredding it on more than one occasion, only to immediately hate myself for entertaining the thought.

It was only after his death—twelve whole cycles, in fact—that I summoned up the will to open the front cover. Seeing his name scribbled in the corner, cursive and neat and so utterly him, nearly had me tearing the book in half, overcome with a vicious rage I had never known prior nor have I encountered since. But by the almighty grace of Kevva I reigned it in, chaining it to the agony and fear imprisoned within the confines of my rib cage, and turned the page.

There was one segment underlined not once, but three times, nearly bleeding ink onto the page behind it. When I close my eyes, the words are tattooed on the backs of my eyelids, as haunting as they are comforting.

So the more things remained the same, the more they changed after all. Nothing endures. Not love, not a tree, not even a death by violence.

The author lived and died centuries before my brother’s inception, that is an inarguable fact. 

But I know those words were written for him all the same. 

Notes: 

There is an actual theory humans are made of stardust ✨

The Sater within Prospect mention the Currents as being responsible for bringing Ezra and Cee to them, so I imagine them as similar to the Fates/Moirai in Greek mythology.

Noctua is a real life, extinct constellation that is Latin for owl. I thought within this Prospect universe it could exist as a type of landmark or coordinate. Plus I love owls 🦉

Crusted is a term from Prospect Ezra uses. Equivalent of damn. I think there’s something funny about how they use creamy as a positive adjective and crusted as negative.

Vayok is the alien language Inumon speaks within the movie, so I decided to write the song she blares as being sung in the same language

Bush bread is referenced in a deleted scene by Ezra, but a google search revealed to me it’s also a real life type of bread too

In the same deleted scene Ezra references that he has a brother. I haven’t decided his name yet/if he will have one

The book and quote Ezra refers to in #3 is John Knowles’ A Separate Peace. One of the few required reading books I liked back in high school.

The quote about dandelions being the sun, moon and stars is based on the legend of how dandelions came into existence. I always thought it was beautiful.

Series Taglist: @insomniamamma

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[eddardsharpe]

Gideon the Ninth is so 40k sometimes that it Hurts. The aesthetic is 100% there. The galaxy spanning war is lead by the emperor's Legions the Cohort, and yes he's a God Emperor, and the Resurrection Beasts act a whole hell of a lot like a Tyranid hive swarm, complete with their shadow-in-the-warp

I absolutely wouldn't say it's in any way a knockoff of 40k, it is absolutely it's own, glorious, wonderful thing, but there sure as hell are plenty of parallels. Are the Emperor's Lyctors that different from Primarchs, in a way? etc etc etc

I'm not sure which god emperor is shittier, but at least Jod keeps looking at emaciated, sleep deprived, would-probably-be-dead-by-now-if-she-wasn't-functionally-immortal-now Harrow, and going "Holy fucking shit, kid, PLEASE go get something to eat and get some sleep"

aint gideon the ninth just warhammer 40k for lesbians