#or maybe Han and Leia's!

[iwillpunchyouinthenose]

I think we as a fandom should unify and pretend is the pre (and during) TFA era, back when we all were happy

#rey is definitely luke's daughter! #or maybe Han and Leia's! #it's so obvious guys! #wow this finn character looks amazing he is so badass! #look at that poe dameron guy! #omg Han and Leia are back! #where is Luke! what's the big mystery! #wow this kylo ren sure is a cool bad guy! #so many new things! #star wars #finn star wars #rey star wars #poe dameron star wars #sw #star wars sequel trilogy

[girlrandomstuff]

do you ever think about leia getting to see bail and breha again at force heaven/afterlife?? cuz i do and i cry every time

#star wars #leia organa #breha organa #bail organa #leia princess of alderaan #a new hope #obi wan kenobi #kenobi series #the mandalorian #revenge of the sith #han solo #darth vader #alderaan #the organas #the force #rogue one #eclipse #from a certain point of view #facpov: a new hope #i know that maybe that's not how the force works but i have always question about that #you know with leia actually getting to feel them after their death and with anakin getting to become a force ghost #i would like to know more about how that aspect works #the princess and the scoundrel

[snipsnipsnippy]

Organa-Solo my ass. You can’t tell me Han isn’t begging to take Organa as his name. Think of the stunts he could pull, the places he could get into, the fucking swagger this man would have as Mr. fucking Organa.

#I mean he is Mr fucking Organa #but not officially #honestly it’s probably why Leia didn’t give it to him #or maybe she did and he stopped using in the separation #bc as cool as he tries to play he’s kind of a drama queen #Mr throws a tantrum bc his fwb isnt sad after their breakup #was thinking about this #totally not for a new wip after abandoning two wips #are you team Organa-solo or Organa or Solo? #leia organa #han solo #hanleia #snippys headcanons no one asked for

[kazoosandfannypacks]

i think the best ship is the girl who's always trying to get stuff done and complete her mission and the guy who helps her know when to take a break and have fun and not crack under the stress of it all.

#shipping #captain swan #new dream #kanera #snowing #outlaw queen #han solo x princess leia #lizzie x gordo #channy #canderemy #i know a ship probably came to your mind but imma level with you: #i realized i love this while i was watching camp rock two #mitchie is just like 'we gotta work really hard to save the camp!' and shane is just like 'okay but hear me out: we're having a picnic' #and they just balance each other so well and i love them! #OH ALSO THIS IS WHATSHERFACE AND WHATSHISFACE FROM STARSTRUCK #(i know because I've watched that movie a LOT with my mom) #tiana x naveen #(almost forgot about them!) #then again maybe this is all inspired by me on more than one occasion being frantic or stressed about planning and stuff #and one of my guy friends would just. say my name. distract me. close the planner. remind me that my stress isn't helping me. #it happened once at college i was like 'ahhhhh this is such a big schedule for after graduation it's so much' #and my guy friend was like 'i can make it all easy for you.' and then closed the planner. #i need friends like that. #another time i was frantically loading the car for a friend group road trip and a little stressed #and a different guy friend just #said my name. and held his arms out. and then gave me a hug. it was so soft and safe #so maybe I'm just projecting and manifesting my dreams onto them #kazzy overshares in the tags #just an upper right looking for her lower left 🤞 #OH ALSO. scarlet queen

[otterandterrierwrites]

How about

33

19

14

14 Days of Scoundress 2024 ♥ February 13th

Making amends

‘I don't know what you want me to tell you, Han, you know I’m busy—I need to get this done today.’

She barely looked up at Han when she spoke, which more or less confirmed what he feared. Still, he persevered.

‘C’mon, you’re sayin’ you can’t take some time to have lunch with me? The galaxy ain’t gonna be saved in ten minutes, Leia.’

Her jaw tightened in clear annoyance. 

‘You know lunch doesn’t take ten minutes. A protein bar does, which I have right here,’ Leia said, patting her desk drawer.

‘Sweetheart,’ he tried in a softer tone, leaning back on her desk, ‘you’ve been livin’ out of those things for the past week. You need a proper meal, and to get outta here for a bit. I’ve barely even seen you home. What do I gotta do, make an appointment with your secretary?’

Leia slammed her stylus down on her desk, eyes flashing up at him under a frown.

‘I’m really sorry I can’t prioritize being your girlfriend the week before we’re supposed to put war criminals on trial, Han,’ she told him, her voice like burning ice. ‘I thought you’d understand more than anyone that I might not be able to do a dinner date—’

‘You don’t have to patronize me.’

‘Oh, I’m patronizing you?’ she hissed, an effort to keep her voice from spilling out of her office. ‘I think I don’t need you to take care of myself!’

Han grit his teeth. 

‘No, ‘course you don’t, what was I thinking. You’re perfectly capable of lookin’ after yourself. I’m sure you even find time to brush your teeth if you put it down on your calendar.’ He knocked down on her desk. ‘I’ll get out of your hair now, Your Highness.’

He stormed out of her office without looking back. There were often a million and one things on Leia’s plate, and people still believed they could fit in a million and two, so she did, too. Han remembered that Leia well: for three years, he’d watched as she wrapped herself up in her work so nothing and nobody could get through, convinced that she could work herself to the bone and still keep going. Rebuffing, then grudgingly accepting Han’s attempts to keep her alive as a person, not just a cog in a war machine. So he wasn’t hurt by her words—he was worried. He hadn’t seen that Leia in a long time. And he understood that the trials would be the one thing to bring her back out, but—he didn’t have to like it.

For now, he figured he’d give her some space, and hope that she came around in her own time.

------------------------------------------------

Leia found Han catching up on the Agrilat swoop races at home. After he’d left her office earlier in the day, she had stewed in her annoyance as she worked, blaming him for the distraction that would slow her down. As evening fell, she’d felt depleted. Her brain had replayed every one of her words to him—words he hadn’t deserved. She’d suddenly felt like she was back in the war, staving off feeling with action. The trials hadn’t even started yet, and she was already letting them take their toll on her and her relationship, just so she didn’t have to face all the emotions they were bringing up.

She wasn’t the same person she was during the war, though. Didn’t want to be. That person had been too angry and scared of ever feeling a pain as big as Alderaan again, so instead, she’d tried to numb herself down. If it hadn’t been for Han, maybe she would have succeeded. This time, it was on her to make the choice to break out of her shell.

Han looked over his shoulder at the sound of the front door opening, then turned off the viewscreen and waited as she sat down next to him on the sofa, tucking her feet under her.

‘I’m sorry,’ she started. ‘I do need you, it turns out. It’s just been so… so…’

‘I know,’ Han interrupted her, saving her from having to put all the overwhelm she’d been feeling into words. ‘But you don’t have to let it kill you. Don’t let ‘em have that kind of power over you.’

Nodding, Leia leaned forward, sealing their reconciliation with a kiss. Han wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap, and she settled in comfortably, fingers threading through his hair as she tilted his head back and deepened the kiss.

‘Do you have to go back to work tonight?’ Han asked, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the length of her body as he trailed his fingers down her throat. ‘Or can I request Her Senatorship’s presence for a meeting about stress relief?’

‘Mm… that wasn’t on my itinerary today,’ Leia told him, pulling his bottom lip lightly between her teeth. ‘But… yes, I think I can fit you in, hotshot.’

******* Prompts:

33: as an apology

19: “That wasn’t in my itinerary today.”

14 swapped for 15: [bite] a playful kiss that involves some light biting

#asks #Anonymous #hanleia #han x leia #han solo #leia organa #star wars fanfiction #2024 #ficlet #rated t #period: post rotj #14daysofscoundress #14 was swapped because i already used it! #this could be better if i had more time. maybe. #only one more to go and then i'll be free lol

[spring-dust-sillythoughts]

Yall i just finished of watching for the first time the first trilogy of star wars and i loved it so much!! There where awesome movies and i loved the practical effects, especially all thr puppets they looked so good

I really liked the characters, they were really fun and with a lot of charisma, i really liked Darth vader now i can see why he's so iconic and ofc i luke tenderness he's such a sweet protagonist

I loved leia and han chemistry heheheh they are so silly i love them leia is such a beautiful character i loooove her sm

and i love C3P0 and R2D2, i watched in Latin American dub and i didn't find annoying the localization, actually i find it cute how R2D2 is called "arturito" in the dub hehehe

I wanted to watch these movies since forever for their cinematic legacy and influence and now im very happy i did :3 i rlly liked them soon I'll start the prequels soon, im not mega excited for them ngl but I'll be open bcus i don't want to watch them in bad faith, (same for the sequels srry im very invested in star wars original style and influence) but for now im very happy with the ending, i loved vader and luke resolution and the ending in general

#Star wars #My crap #Idk which was my favorite tbh i rlly liked all of them #Maybe vader i liked his redemption #Damn this was long srry #luke skywalker #leia organa #Han solo #Darth vader

[queenlucythevaliant]

My hand is ungentle

When she woke to the sharp scent of Kingsfoil, Eowyn realized that she would have to watch the darkness fall. It was Aragorn’s fault, she decided. He had called her back, and insodoing he had forced her to face this.

If she had died on the Fields of Pelennor beside her uncle the king, Eowyn would have fallen in the dry grass. It would have grown over her bones and left her numb to the fact that the darkness could not be stopped. Not by a sword, not by a heroine. Not by anything.

Yet Eowyn did not die; her bones were here and the flesh around them was living. Eowyn woke in the Houses of Healing to the sight of Aragorn and Eomer standing over her with their shoulders touching. There were sounds filtering in from the hallway: heavy footsteps and the tinkle of instruments. Something like a jar being opened. Voices, high and low.

Why was Eowyn alive? Perhaps it was because she was a shieldmaiden, sword-sharp and stubborn as an ornery mule. Perhaps her will to fight had overridden her will to be a martyr. That would be very like her.

Or maybe it was just her doom to survive. The thought didn’t frighten her. She had faced down her doom before. She had done it in her uncle's halls. She had done it in armor.

Leia Organa did not die either.

Leia watched as her planet was gouged out of the sky. She grabbed her rescuer's blaster, fired blind at Stormtroopers, and escaped to Yavin with the plans to the Death Star. She was the last one out of the base on Hoth.

Now, limping to Bespin at sublight, she almost resented it. It wasn’t that she wanted to die, not really. It was only that most mornings, she woke up feeling like she might be halfway there.

They were running low on caf and were diluting it to make it stretch. After she got up, Leia would sip a cup of murky caf-water and imagine that her skin was flaking away, then her muscle, then her bones, all of it flaking away like old paint and floating through space to intermingle with what remained of her family.

If she'd ended with Alderaan, Leia wouldn't have to learn to live this way. If she'd been buried in the crumbling base on Hoth, she wouldn't be facing down the might of the Empire alone with only Han, Chewie, and her own grief for company.

Grief was the one burden that could never be put down. Sometimes, the bravest thing in the world was just to sit still in the cold of a new morning.

"I do not desire healing," Eowyn spat. "I wish to ride to war."

She couldn't, no matter how she wanted to. They had left without her. Aragorn had instructed them to leave without her, and that knowledge made her even more furious at him than the fact that he had called her back to life.

Give me my sword back, she wanted to scream and scream. When she’d fallen from her horse in the battle and risen with her sword in hand, she’d been bouncing on the balls of her feet for the joy of it.

"I am a shieldmaiden," she told Faramir, "and my hand is ungentle."

Eowyn waited for his look of reproach, but it never came. Faramir only studied her, an expression on his face that felt utterly foreign. His eyes were wide and crinkled at the edges, his mouth a little crooked and the lines of his brow smooth. He looked at her like singing, soft and melodious.

"You are beautiful," he had said. He didn’t take it back.

Funny, to be called beautiful now. She wasn't beautiful; she was at war. Eowyn had bound her yellow hair beneath her helm and only released it once, when her enemy was before her. Leia plaited hers like her dead mother had taught her, in tight Alderaanian styles that were practical for action.

When Han cornered Leia in the bowels of the Falcon, she was still thinking about Star Destroyers. She was never not thinking about Star Destroyers these days, or TIE fighters, or AT-ATs. Leia was sharp and mouthy and she never took off her blaster, even to sleep. She itched for it when she showered and left it sitting on the 'fresher counter.

"Stop that, my hands are dirty," she said when Han touched her.

"My hands are dirty too. What are you afraid of?"

Leia looked up, right into his eyes, and there weren't any Star Destroyers there, just kindness and a challenge and something almost like love.

In Bespin, desperate and out of time, Leia finally allowed herself to name it. "I love you," she said, and there was a soldier’s certainty in her voice.

"I know," answered Han. He tossed his head back and vanished into the cold.

On the city walls of Minas Tirith, with darkness billowing in the East, winter passed away and the sun shone down on Eowyn. "No longer do I desire to be a queen."

Faramir tossed his head back and laughed. "That is well," he said, "for I am not a king."

It was Eucatastrophe: the darkness was passing. Everything sad was coming untrue. A lot of things seemed possible now. She could be sharp as a scalpel, stubborn as a garden weed.

Faramir kissed her then, in sight of the whole city. He kissed her, and she knew that she loved him, and then both of her hands were on his face. Their hair intermingled like dancing and Eowyn tried to imagine a world in which she was a healer and a gardener. With this man, in this world, maybe it was possible.

Eucatastrophe: Leia's family was not all dead. She had a brother. Luke was her brother, and somehow in all the great wide universe they had met and become friends before they even knew.

In all the systems and all the planets in the galaxy, Luke and Han had met in a lousy Tatooine cantina, and then they'd come to find Leia. They'd become friends: Leia and her brother and the man she was going to marry.

It wouldn't have made sense to her if she'd been told it two years ago, but Han was gentle. She was learning to be gentle too.

Han had his arms around Leia now, and her head was on his chest. With the wreckage of the Empire falling down around their heads, she imagined a future where she could put her blaster down and train herself to use weapons of peace.

A sword, a lightsaber. When she was finally ready to heal, Eowyn put it down. Leia picked it up. The Jedi academy on Yavin IV was very green and in Ithilien, flowers bloomed.

#yeah hi i was coming up with parallels while watching star wars w my roommate #surprise! #i have no idea what the structure of this is even but i rather like it so there ya go #incidentally this is why the characterization for leia and han in the sequel trilogy ticked me off so much #bc they made it so han stops being kind and gentle and leia never stops fighting #hence the lil eu nod at the end here #eowyn and leia would get along maybe too well #han and faramir would probably not but i don't think they'd hate each other either #tolkien legendarium #a star wars fan like my father before me #i will not say the day is done #leah stories #pontifications and creations

[stillsolo]

GET TO KNOW THE WRITER

BOLD OR COLORIZE WHAT ALWAYS APPLIES TO YOU, ITALICIZE WHAT SOMETIMES APPLIES TO YOU, AND STRIKE THROUGH WHAT WILL NEVER APPLY TO YOU.

I RUN: lots of blogs || A FEW BLOGS || just this one

I FOLLOW BACK: muses in the same fandom || only muses who interest me || fandomless muses || FRIENDS OF MUTUALS || only members of a closed rp group || EVERYONE

I AM ACTIVE: more days than not || as often as not || some days here and there || DEPENDING ON MY school SCHEDULE || rarely || I'm often lurking even if I seem inactive

I LIKE TO WRITE THESE THEMES: FLUFF || ANGST || ACTION || casual interactions || INTENSE INTERACTIONS || CRACK || FIRST MEETINGS || PLATONIC RP || SHIPPING/ROMANTIC RP || THREADS || ASK MEMES || PROMPTS

I PREFER ROLEPLAYS THAT ARE: one-liners || single-para threads || MULTI-PARA THREADS || NOVELLA || different lengths depending on my mood

FOR SHIPPING, I AM: MULTISHIP || single ship || poly ship || no ship || plotted ships only || OPEN TO NEW SHIPS || not looking for new ships || mostly or exclusively looking for high engagement ship partners || mostly or exclusively looking for casual or low engagement ship partners || not picky about ships || SOMEWHAT PICKY ABOUT SHIPS || extremely picky about ships

I LIKE TO PLOT: everything || most interactions || some interactions || first interactions || nothing || threads || everything except memes and crack || ships || family relationships || HISTORY/BACKSTORY FOR OUR MUSES

TALK TO ME OUT OF CHARACTER: ANYTIME || TO PLOT || IF YOU'RE CONFUSED OR HAVE QUESTIONS IN GENERAL || to remind me to reply || sparingly || only if it's really important

I GIVE ALTERNATIVE CONTACT METHODS (discord / social media) TO: FRIENDS || mutuals || anyone who asks || PEOPLE I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING TO ALREADY || SHIP PARTNERS || members of a certain rp group || no one

`➠⠀:⠀⠀ ACQUIRED FROM :⠀⠀@valorums thank you for thinking of me!!

TAGGING : @techniiciian @desiccation @sgterso @strcngered @forcenexus / @magikborn @alootus @vibraea @desireandduty @jundlcndwastes & whoever wants to do this!!

#( . i had to resist the frantic‚ obnoxious part of me that wants to clarify everything in parenthesis so no one gets the wrong idea lmao #( . ahem anywAY im a very easy-going guy who is definitely too shy for how long i've been around tbh #( . i normally wing it through threads but i dont ever mind plotting! #( . i LOVE crossovers/alt verses/canon div threads !! han has fully constructed alt/modern/canon div. verses #( . even a prof. solo (indiana jones) verse!! and a verse in which he has ben‚ matt‚ kylo‚ and ren as his four chaotic sons!! #( . verses in which he's married to leia‚ luke‚ or lando!! does han have a thing for the letter L?? IDK MAYBE #( . there's something for everyone!!! well it's all mostly crack but why not give it a go!! #˒・*。◞ ( tag meme ) *･ﾟ✧ ⎸ ᴀ sᴍɪʀᴋ ғᴏʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ‚ ɴᴏᴛ ᴄᴀᴍᴀʀᴀᴅᴇʀɪᴇ. #˒・*。◞ ( ooc ) *･ﾟ✧ ⎸ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ ᴄᴀʀʙᴏɴɪᴛᴇ.

[myothertardisisonthemun]

Star wars character: makes a reference to another planet, or object that appears one time (the writers want to make sure their dialogue seems star warsy)

Me: that thing only exists on the one planet as far as we know. The star wars galaxy is supposed to be huge, how would they know about it

#Star wars #i dont think Hoth is a notable planet. it's habitable which could be argued to be rare except that we rarely see #people visitng barren planets or exotic life planets #but it gets referred to in fannon and extra things more than makes sense #also banthas. i thought they were tattoine native but maybe they're more common and imported across the galaxy #ewoks? no one in the galaxy should know what a ewok is. luke leia and han probably don't know what an ewok is #they we're just some fury guys on that one moon they were on for a bit

[fandomsandfeminism]

Can I just point out that-

Solo supposedly takes place 1 year before Obi Wan.

Which really emphasizes the...weirdness of this age gap.

Keeping in mind that Harrison Ford was 35 and Carrie Fisher was 21 here when they *actually had a relationship.* so I think the characters in- universe age gap is actually...smaller than the actors real world age gap 🤷‍♀️.

#im not saying han and leia is like... problematic #well ok maybe I am a little #at least at first their dynamic is really... tropey and uncomfortable but it does improve #but anyway just seeing little baby leia here makes it stand out to me how much of a gap they have

[keldabe-kiss]

If I felt more confident in writing SW characters, I would prob write a novel worth fic of the Bounty Hunter Leia AU that lives in my head.

Leia Skywaker was raised on Tatooine by her aunt and uncle, who tried their hardest to sway Leia into NOT being a Bounty Hunter. Unfortunately for them, she cannot be stopped, especially considering she met got saved by a mandalorian at age 9 and thought they were the coolest person ever. Most of the money she makes from bounties, she sends to her aunt and uncle, she never uses her last name in travels (doesn’t want it to possibly get back to her family) and she never takes bounties for the Empire although she has been tempted, but only to beat Boba Fett.

Meanwhile Ben Kenobi is trying his hardest to get this 16 year old to stay on Tatooine for more than an hour to talk to her about the Force.

#leia organa #Star Wars #Leia Skywalker #Star Wars Au #twins swap #mando leia #it’s a whole thing in my head. #she takes a bounty on Han and so she goes back to Tatooine to get him #there she finds out that her aunt and uncles house is burned down. she has no idea why #she runs to the closest neighbor (Ben) to ask if he knows anything #meanwhile Ben has just finished watching the recording of Prince Luke Organa #Ben: god this isn’t how I wanted to get Ty to sit down. oh well #*get you #anyway Ben trying to get Leia to use the force and lightsabers and she’s like ‘okay but I have 4 blasters and 7 different explosives on me. #Leia: I think I’m good Ben #but they do go try to save the prince. #for plot reasons her ship is unavailable. imps? maybe. #so they GOTTA get Han #Leia: how about instead of that insane amount of money. I don’t take the bounty I have out in you #Han looking at the second best Bounty Hunter in the outer rim: what if I only get half and you Never take one out on me #Ben: Deal #y’all. I have it all in my head #oh also. final thing for now. it needs to be known that Boba Fett and Leia are frenemies in this #I’m on my hands and knees ask me about my bounty Hunter Leia au #also #consistent art style? I don’t know her #my art #🪐

[brotherskywalker]

This is an AI generated base that I photoshopped a bunch to maybe be art? Anyway, Luke and Leia finally getting married. Someone write me the fic?

#lukeleia #luke/leia #luke x leia #my fanart #my shitty ai fanart #han wasn't invited #or maybe he doesn't exist in this au #or maybe he's taking the picture #your choice

[rotzaprachim]

very funny to picture jews of the extended sw universe having a passover seder together because like. you’ve got leia (modox-y girl About Town with a super popular tzniut fashion blog WHITE IS THE COLOR THIS YEAR but also hardcore orange-on-the-seder-plate cup of water for miriam) (kippah? maybe one of those wire ones with the beads) you’ve got cassian andor (unbranched deassimilationist sephardi who refuses to bow to ashkenormativity or anything that’s not hebrew during services, undoubtedly the guy who Leads the seder and it is at least four hour long) (kippah: classic, embroidered, orange or rust colored i feel) you’ve got din djarin who spent his formative years in an orthodox yeshiva before falling in with some hippies and now wants to interrupt proceedings so everyone can admire his baby (kippah: one of those black velvet jobs. you know the ones) you’ve got han solo whose been passed out on someone’s couch for the holiday. (he and jyn are both taking random bulk-buy kippot from the box at the front of the shule.) you’ve got ezra bridger, who brought the blunts. 

#leia and cassian are sephardi han and jyn are ashkenazi hope this clears things up anyway #i know very little about rebels except ezra is jewish HIS PARENTS ARE EPHRAIM AND MIRIAM #leia organa #cassian andor #din djarin #ezra bridger #ok this isn't that many people but i was running out of kippot jokes i am SURE there are more #ok further details: ezra brought the blunts #han thinks he's a major stoner but ends up passed out on the couch within thirty seconds #cassian did in fact smoke and then somehow KEEP ON HOLDING THE SEDER because he's just a baddass like that #and maybe a rebellion-ordered therapist told him it might help with his anxiety

[marionstheme]

peepaw come back i miss you

#star wars #han solo #the force awakens #sequel trilogy #we were robbed of peepaw han think of what we could have had #maybe this is leia’s internal monologue hearing about some smuggler up to some crazy shit in the outer rim

[frustrationinexcelsis]

So, I just finished The Last Command, and boy was this a ride.

I’m going to use this post for my thoughts on both the book and the trilogy in general -- and, fair warning, heavy spoilers ahead.

I really enjoyed these books. I tried to pace myself through the last one, but towards the end I just tore through it.

More specific thoughts include:

Luke. Luuuuke. This is how you write Luke Skywalker -- like, if there’s one thing that should stand out from Return of the Jedi, it’s that this man is forgiving to an almost pathologic degree. This is a man determined to see the best in everyone, even if he has to dig through mountains of badness to get to it, and Zahn definitely understood that. It’s especially notable in regards to Joruus C’Baoth -- like, this man is a dangerous, evil lunatic, but what Luke sees is a sick man who needs help. Until the absolute last moment, Luke keeps trying to reach to him and get him to accept help -- for the simple reason that C’Baoth needs help, and Luke can give it to him. It’s obvious to everyone, Luke included, that it’s a long shot, but he keeps trying until C’Baoth’s final breath.

Seriously, this is an ideal to aspire to. If someday I’m quarter as forgiving and empathetic as his version of Luke, I will die happy.

(Some may wonder if I’m a little salty still about how Luke was portrayed in certain works I won’t name.)

(Some may be correct.)

Leia was also great. I love how quickly she saw through Mara’s denial, and seeing her get to show off her Force sensitivity is always a treat.

I also love that Han’s reaction to suddenly finding himself face-to-face with a master of the Dark Side is still to pull out his blaster and try to shoot him. No hesitation, just draw, aim, fire. It didn’t work this time either, but hey -- credit for the attempt!

Mara. Mara. She was wonderfully written. There’s some real interesting writing there in her struggle with her sense of identity and indoctrination by the Emperor. What I found especially interesting is that, between having spent her entire life as the Emperor’s servant and having his last order echoing in her head for the past few years, she has some real trouble with distinguishing between her own desires and the Emperor’s orders -- she’s spent so long with the latter in the former’s place that she’s never had the chance to actually explore her own desires and autonomy. Luke and Leia see through this a lot sooner than she does, but towards the end I think that she’s also in denial -- the impression I get is that, after the life she’s led, starting to think of herself as her own person is alien and intimidating enough that she’s reluctant to make the jump.

Also, going in generally aware of Mara’s status as Luke’s primary EU love interest, I was kind of worried that there’d be a rushed romance arc, and was very glad to find those fears unfounded. There is not so much as a whisper of romance or romantic feelings, or at least nothing that’s explicitly that. The majority of Mara’s page-time is given to establishing her character and working through her narrative arc as she works past her indoctrination and obsession with vengeance, and showing how she comes to eventually like and trust the other protagonists. There is, by the end of The Last Command, clearly some kind of bond between her and Luke -- but there’s nothing really indicating that it’s anything beyond the comradeship that you get between people who have gone through hell and back together. Obviously more is going to come in later books, but Zahn evidently chose to use the series to introduce Mara as a character and build a foundation for whatever future developments may come, and that was absolutely the right call.

(Like, seriously, it takes some good writing to make something like Luke giving Mara his own father’s lightsaber seem like something he would logically do with or without the presence of romantic feelings, but here we are.)

Fey’lya’s part was also unexpected. It does help impress the situation’s gravity when the last book’s shallow, selfish politician stereotype is suddenly so terrified of what Thrawn could do with Palpatine’s old toys that he’s suddenly all business, no political games, just get that mountain destroyed right fucking now.

Thrawn was a memorable villain, for sure. What I found especially interesting about him was how Zahn is careful to build him up as a hypercompetent figure, always in charge, with a plan, and three steps ahead of everyone else -- but partway into book two the reader is shown a major variable, Leia’s relationship to Vader, that Thrawn does not know, a vulnerability he doesn’t plan for. For the entire later half of the trilogy the reader is given a pretty good idea of how exactly Thrawn will fail and of the primary gaping flaw in his carefully tailored grand strategies -- that he’s a genius but not infallible, and that this, this right here, is how it will all come crashing down. I find that very interesting.

Also, in the last few chapters you can practically feel Rukh’s frustration seething through the pages -- he knew exactly what he was doing in that little “stealth exercise” he sprung on Pellaeon. Continuing to stand guard over Thrawn after learning the truth must have been infuriating -- but the Noghri needed vengeance over the Empire, not over Thrawn personally, and he had to wait until he could truly screw the Empire over.

Joruus C’Baoth is... interesting. The impression I got was that he was doomed from the start, in the end -- he was powerful and dangerous, sure, but also unstable, erratic and deluded, too blinded by his ego and delusions to truly understand his enemies, his would-be servants and the world. He was always going to self-destruct or overreach and doom himself some other way; the only questions were the when, the how, and how many people he was going to take down with himself.

C’Baoth is also an interesting exercise in the concept of villain redemption or lack thereof. A hero being willing to offer redemption is all well and good, but it’s only half of the equation; the villain must also accept it. Darth Vader was willing to accept Luke’s hand in friendship when it was offered to him; so was Mara. C’Baoth was not -- he rejected every offer of reconciliation made, and in the end his death was of his own making. The only thing that makes a person truly irredeemable, I think, is their own refusal to accept redemption.

Now of course I’m going to have to deal with my usual depressive mood after finishing a great story, but talking about it always helps... and it was so artistically done.

#star wars #star wars legends #star wars legends spoilers #thrawn trilogy #the last command #luke skywalker #leia organa #han solo #mara jade #borsk fey'lya #grand admiral thrawn #rukh #joruus c'baoth #frustration reads #now there's the question of where to go next #I'm thinking probably the jedi academy trilogy as a logical followup #but then I might head back in time a little to tackle the x-wing books #then maybe I Jedi and then the hand of thrawn? #we'll see

[devilishly-stupid]

Say what you will about star wars but the people who do the casting never miss

#i would have liked to include shmi #and maybe even venture into han and ben #but that would have gotten a little too long #star wars #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #leia organa #luke skywalker #it baffles me that every pair was in their movie before the younger one was born