#we're all fine here now

[atomiccollectionanchorme]

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), directed by George Lucas

«We're all fine here now. Thank you. How are you?»

Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) Dir. George Lucas

[egophiliac]

was this anyone else's first thought, or

[ricky-mortis]

Hatchetfield @femslashfortnight Day 1: Make It Sapphic AU

[trilobitepunch]

*just puts this here and walks away slowly*

[bowtiepastabitch]

Happy almost-new year! Here's my last piece of art for 2024, figured I'd finish things off with a bang. Scene from chapter 1 of @ineffabildaddy's wouldn't it be a lovely headline, thanks for all the reading material and good vibes this year, sam, the pleasure has truly been all mine;)

[elvisqueso]

"Alright...let's go talk to your father."

Pocahontas (1995)

[hurglewurm]

me: we are Not going to worsen our life while in a minor depressive episode

the brain: :/

[thevioletcaptain]

as someone who normally reads a script over on the tv writing site every day while eating breakfast like it's the morning paper, but who didn't have time today because i'm trying to meet a deadline on my own script that i've been slow to work on due to an assortment of fire related stress as a resident of los angeles this week........ i am experiencing some severe fomo over these new spn script drops

[welcometogrouchland]

Noticing that TV and film will often have a character either have had an abortion in the past that isn't showcased on screen (and just used as part of the character's ~fucked up and twisted backstory~) OR contemplate getting an abortion in the present day but not to through with it. Just once I want to see someone delete that fetus within the events of the plot and not be like. Extremely majorly punished for it and/or be in the wrong

[amelikos]

Exchange between Lucius and Gibeon in the most recent trailer.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

now that I've had some time to think about Book Three's cover/description, here are some bullet-point thoughts

The art style has vastly improved from Book One. It feels like Tillie's finally comfortable with style, and the characters here don't have same face syndrome here. Also the color palette here is my favorite of the three covers. From everything that I've read from Tillie, the way she works with color is a strong point of her work... which again, makes me wish the entire comic was in color but nooooo...

It looks like Ricca has her own cane now, which makes sense given a bit point of her character through the series is her worsening vision like... even with her glasses, she's practically blind.

Clementine has a new hat. Y'know... because her iconic hat got left with AJ... y'all still remember AJ, right? The comics don't.

Dr. Barnwell the cat made it onto the cover.... you know I'm in too deep with these damn comics when I see some random person be like "Clementine's getting a new cat" and I say, out loud, "That's Dr. Barnwell, you dingus, he's been around since the end of Book One." AS IF ANYONE ELSE CARES!

I know too much about this series, y'all

In my defense, I'm a little snappy about stuff like that after Book Two came out and people were just making shit up about what happens, going as far as to fake screenshots, and tell people it's "just like fifty shades of grey" when uh NO? it's not? People were deliberately trying to deceive others over certain elements and it still makes me mad whenever I think about it.... ANYWAY

We also see Fen and Olivia featured here, too. Fen's one of the more interesting side characters we've gotten, and I'm glad she survived Book Two, and Olivia.... I notice the way she's drawn with the front of her body hidden. I know that's probably to not show spoilers for Book Two since that reveal's a big deal, but still.

"Clementine finally has it all–a safe place to live, a girlfriend, and even a cat…but nothing lasts forever. And when Clementine suffers a loss unlike anything she’s ever faced, a new mentor called The Gardener offers her a new family, and a new way of living… but at what cost?" This is the description we were given.

First of all, Clementine had it all at Ericson, and it didn't make her happy. In fact, it made her so miserable that she left... I kinda hope this book does something with that by giving her everything she wants [as in, the safe home, a romantic partner, friends, a cat, etc] and she's STILL unhappy...? And it ends with her leaving again? But something tells me it won't.

Clementine's going to suffer a loss "unlike anything she's ever faced"? Ehhhh, press X to doubt. I played the games, I lived through all of her losses. I don't think anything will ever top seeing her parents as walkers and then losing Lee right after.

I mentioned before that the obvious direction here would be for Olivia to lose her baby, or for Olivia to die after giving birth, but uh... Clementine's been through both of those things with Christa and Rebecca... but we have to keep in mind that we're so far removed from the games at this point that it's never going to bring those up, y'know?

Real talk though? I'm very intrigued by the idea of a new mentor character called The Gardener who is apparently offering her a new family and a new way of life... but at a cost. What cost? What new way of life? What new family? Are we joining a cult now?

Listen, we missed out on the opportunity for a cannibalism plot in Book One, and Miss Morro left a lot to be desired in Book Two, so like... go extra dark this time. C'mon, Tillie, do it.

Also, Amos is definitely coming back as a twist villain, I feel it in my bones. We didn't see a body at the end of Book One okay!

I'm mostly joking but also NOT JOKING AT ALL!

My offer still stands, if Amos comes back, the book is an automatic 5/5 stars, no questions asked.

Anyway, I'll keep y'all updated on this, and when it releases next year, I'll write my in-depth review... "I read it so you don't have to" and all that.

Just as a final reminder, and allow me to make it extra big so that everyone can see it:

Leave Tillie Walden alone. I don't care if you hate the comics or think they're an insult to the game or whatever else. You want to express that, then do it on your blog. Don't send it to Tillie. We have enough pricks harassing her as is, and you're the bigger asshole here if you think it's okay to send her shit like that, so don't.

Seriously, it's the last book and then Tillie's done with the series, and I doubt they're gonna sign her on to make more. The games still exist, you can still go play them, these comics aren't taking that away from you... and if you feel like they are, then don't engage with them, period. It's not hard.

I cover the comics in-depth for people who don't want to read them but are curious about what happens. They don't bother me in that "they ruined the games" way that they used to, so I can handle it. If you can't, then do yourself a favor and just don't. Just don't!

[feline-evil]

Dick or no dick confirmation Pickles was always going to be trans to me anyways; if he's swingin' somethin that's phallo babes, if he's not then his t-dick fat. What's not to get.

[levi-venn]

Cross and Crow

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (Final) Available also on AO3

The Mount Tantiss cell where they kept Crosshair had a window, fortified with durasteel bars and a view that showed an indifferent blue sky with thin, half-hearted clouds.

The bastard scientists said the window was a show of kindness.

Crosshair found it cruel. 

The view told him very little of his surroundings. He was facing North, two levels above ground. There was a docking bay to the East. No air traffic besides the occasional Imperial freighter carrying supplies.

He hated the view.

His eyes would snap to any movement outside, his heart betraying him with painful lurches, hoping that one of those damn supply ships would be the Marauder. His brothers swooping in to his rescue, forgetting every cruel thing he had said and done to them. End his nightmare. Take him back.

After two weeks of false hopes and bitter heartache, he sacrificed his thin blanket to cover the window.

Fuck them, he decided. They abandoned me first, anyway.

On that first blanketless night, his sleep was broken. He shivered through fractured dreams of a remote outpost, Mayday in his arms, staggering towards the warm light in the distance that seemed to drift farther away the longer he walked. 

“Almost there…” He lied to his brother. “Hang on…Just a little farther.”

***

The next day, sunlight burst into the cell with laser precision, blinding him with thoughtless cheer. Crosshair snarled awake, squinting at the window. 

There were holes in the blanket. It looked like the cheese he’d pull off his sandwiches and toss to Wrecker, only to have Tech point out the importance of calcium in Crosshair's diet.

He pulled back the blanket and peered out the window. The sky was empty. Even the clouds had abandoned him. 

Still…something made these holes. 

Breakfast came soon after. They fed him generously. Wanted him healthy for the experiments that came at him every three days. 

He collected a piece of bread, a few bits of whatever the Empire considered "sausage", and a clump of egg whites. He placed the offerings on the sill. 

At worst, ants would come.

At best...

The crow swooped in immediately, soundlessly landing, but cawing bombastically in Crosshair’s face. He nearly fell backwards into his cell. 

He growled back at the corvid.

The crow ignored him and pecked at the food experimentally before accepting the eggs, knocking the bread and sausage back into the cell. 

On training missions off-world, Crosshair would birdwatch through his rifle's scope. First out of boredom, then out of fascination. Birds didn’t thrive on Kamino so any chance he could, his scope would search for these creatures that took for granted the stormless skies.

More often than not, Hunter would toss something at him, pulling his brother’s focus back to their training. Once Crosshair deflected the pebble Hunter threw at him and it pinged Wrecker in the head. Wrecker turned and slapped the datapad out of Tech's hands. Tech, fuming at being wrongfully accused, tackled Wrecker and Hunter dove in to break them up. Crosshair sat in his perch, pleased with himself at the chaos below while above him two territorial hummingbirds fought over a tree too big for either of them.

The squad got black marks on their record that day. It was worth it. 

After eating the eggs, the crow tilted its head left, then right, thoroughly examining Crosshair in every direction it could turn its large, midnight head. After its studies were complete, it flapped noisily away, leaving two black feathers behind. 

Crosshair kept the feathers hidden under his pillow.

He didn’t know why.

The crow didn’t return for the rest of the day.

But Crosshair started looking out the window again. 

Three days went by. 

A full day of experiments. Poking. Prodding. Gassing. Drugging. Restraining. Isolating. Breaking. Rebuilding. 

By nightfall he was dragged back to his cell without being told why they did any of it. They owed him no explanation.

And if I knew, would it be better? Worse?

They gave him stew. He could barely stomach smelling it. 

Fighting the tremors in his hands, he plucked a piece of potato, shredded meat, and a few beans from the bowl and climbed onto his bed to the window. He placed the offering, then passed out onto his mattress, dead to the world.

The next day he awoke to a shrill caw. 

His heart leapt in a dangerous way. He didn’t want to feel this. He didn’t want to experience a reprieve from this nightmare, a joy that could be ripped away at any moment. The crow was just a scavenger, a hungry opportunist. Eventually, it would move on and Crosshair would be alone again. 

The crow looked at him and he scowled back. 

It ate a bean. 

It ate some meat. 

It rolled the potato back into the room and onto Crosshair’s bed, which- 

Wait...no...

Crosshair blinked. It wasn’t a potato the crow had give him. 

It was a pinecone. Young. Unfurled. A little green. 

When he looked up again, the crow was gone. 

He hid the pinecone under his pillow, next to the two feathers. 

He didn’t know why.

***

Dreams were more dangerous than hope. On nights after an experiment, he was usually too exhausted to dream. But this night he had pulled the pinecone from beneath his pillow. He clutched it as he slept.

And he dreamt of an ocean. 

Loud waves crashing against the sturdy pillars of Kamino’s science facility. Crosshair and his brothers, too young to be soldiers and old enough to know better, sat preciously on a ledge overlooking the endless sea. They snacked from a tin of biscuits Tech and Hunter had stolen as a “stealth exercise”.

Crosshair balanced the tin lid on his finger and spun it for Wrecker, who giggled and clapped, getting biscuit crumbs everywhere.

Hunter said something to Crosshair, but the words were lost under the roar of relentless waves. Crosshair tried to shout back, but his words turned into a shrill-

Caw! Caw!

Crosshair snapped awake, his cheeks cold and wet. 

He hissed and wiped the tears away, squinting up at the crow who was waiting for breakfast, beak pressed through the bars impatiently. 

Breakfast came in the form of pastry discs, eggs, strips of meat that weren’t bacon. 

The crow seemed to like the eggs best. Crosshair added more to the sill.

They ate together. 

And the crow rolled another trinket onto Crosshair’s bed.

A piece of white plastoid. 

It joined the pair of feathers beneath Crosshair’s pillow.

The pinecone stayed with Crosshair as he slept at night. It helped him sleep. It kept nightmares away. 

He didn’t know why.

***

More experiments. Suffocating. Burning. Freezing. Breaking. Rebuilding. 

When he was dragged back to his cell, he saw food was waiting for him. Some sort of egg hash, leftovers from the morning. 

Egg will be pleased.

He left his offering on the sill for Egg, then he and the pinecone slept.

Too exhausted to dream, Crosshair woke to the sound of two loud caws. Always two.

Good morning.

Crosshair added more eggs to the sill and a piece of the terrible bacon. 

Egg pecked at the bacon suspiciously, letting out a little disgruntled cluck that made Crosshair’s lips to twitch unexpectedly. 

He didn’t smile. But he wasn’t scowling.

The tense knot of hopelessness was loosening in Crosshair’s chest as if Egg had been pecking at it each morning, fraying his sanity, giving him false peace. 

Throw the tray at the window, he begged himself. Bang the cup on the bars. Shoo Egg - shoo the crow - away before reality kicks in. You’re in here. Egg’s out there. One day, he won’t come back. 

Crosshair stared at his tray. It shook in his hands.

Do it. Get it over with. 

But then something clattered on the tray.

Crosshair stared at the object. 

Too late. Sanity gone. This isn’t real. It can’t be. I want this too much. 

A piece of crudely crafted wood, a message carved in. 

[Look down]

Crosshair stared at the words, struggling to keep his hope smothered.

[Look down]

He knew that handwriting. Meticulous. Precise. By a hand that taught Crosshair how to write, that comforted him when the thunder was too loud and the lightning too bright, that would ball into a fist when regs teased him about his hair, his lankiness, his uniqueness.

Crosshair climbed onto his bed.

Both he and Egg looked down together.

Crosshair hadn’t spoken in months, but there was no one else in the galaxy he wanted to speak to more than his brother at this moment. 

With a raspy hiss he asked: “Where the hell are your goggles?”

Part Two: Tech and Crow

[aphel1on]

you know something i find really funny. every time there's a popular "bad boy" ship/character, yknow, like a sympathetic villain that has a reputation for having hordes of fangirls or whatever- people will be like "oh so you think you can fix him huh🙄" and other people will be writing these thinkpieces about how fixing a villain with your love is also a kind of power fantasy

meanwhile i'll be over here like. take a good look at the barely restrained mental illness on my account and maybe you'll realize i am projecting onto the villain and not the love interest (if any) in this situation. maybe MY fantasy is someone/thing miraculously having the power to fix me did you ever consider THAT

[speedy-beans]

is there like. a way to tell what kels sensing or do i just have to wander around until i find it

[verndusk]

Re-drawing a screenshot from The Bad Batch everday until season 3 comes out: day 44