#I'm not forcing anyone to ship it or anything but just let people ship whatever the hell they want

[lulughoul]

"Stop shipping Wenclair friends can be friends!!" ok but if Enid was a boy everyone would be shipping it hardcore and have no issue with other fans pairing them together

#Wenclair #I'm not forcing anyone to ship it or anything but just let people ship whatever the hell they want #I don't even like the show but that won't stop me from enjoying Wenclair's dynamic. Stay mad. #Love how some people just can't live with the fact that gay people do exist on this planet just like straight people

[itsgrimeytime]

The Nurse (Part Two) || Rick Grimes (TWD)

Part 1, Part 2

Taglist: @strnqer, @1985bitch, @curlycarley, @imaginemyfavoritefics,

Summary: Before all this, you were a nurse. A nurse who had patients, one of which was a man in a coma. A sheriff, you think, it was all kinda fuzzy now. When it all went sideways, you set up what you could for the man - but had to leave. You'd always wondered where he'd ended up; until in your search of shelter, you run into a familiar face.

TWS: Blood, gore, hospital mention, mentions of death, gun violence (just violence in general), swearing, all things typical of TWD.

[[A/N: Let me know if you want to be tagged! And this time is loosely based on S3, E5, where Daryl and Maggie go to get baby supplies for Judith. I will not be following the story to a T though, and will kinda carve out my own path, it's been ages since I've seen it so, any weird story omits or things I don't mention are just not happening here lol. And I know this is kinda fast, I'm just writing as I feel like it, so don't expect super quick updates all the time, but here's a treat. Thanks for reading!]]

You stopped, hand resting on a tree, just for a moment. Taking some deep breaths, you scanned the area, looking for anything familiar or anything that you could, at least, stay the night in. You were practically running on less than an hour of sleep, the pure adrenaline of surviving being the only thing forcing your eyes open.

Currently, your plan was to use some old lipstick you'd found in a purse - somewhere along the road - to mark trees. Leaving a trail, so you knew where you'd been and where you were going. It was simple, and would probably wash away in the rain, but it was enough for now.

With an exhale, you kept moving deeper into the forest - a hope for a cabin, deep in your heart. An unoccupied cabin.

It's not that you didn't want to help people. You truly did. And if you found anyone who needed it, you would - other straggling groups with limps and cuts and bruises. You'd give them advice on how to clean wounds properly, some regular items they could use. If an injury was more serious, you'd stay with them just for a while to watch the person, keep an eye on whatever you had to.

It never stuck, though. You found it easier to be alone, to be on the move. You could help more people that way.

Plus, there were... others. Driven to madness by the tragedy, brutally ready to kill at first sight for whatever fucked up reason they came up with. Some of them had used you for a while, providing you food and shelter, just to ship off wounded soldiers to you - ones they wounded themselves. It was eerily familiar to your previous job, and you almost fell into a rhythm - even thinking about it now, it snuck a knot of guilt in your stomach. One too many threats, and you found yourself back to traveling.

The scrubs you still wore stuck to your skin, hair matted and blood soaked - you imagined this wasn't one of your best days. But it honestly probably wasn't your worst either.

And then, you heard it. The snap of a twig.

"Fuck," you whispered barely even a breath, pulling your duffel over your side and readying your fire axe. (You'd grabbed it back at the hospital, all that time ago.)

There was something to be said about a single snap of a twig because the dead were noisy.

They were unaware - would continue down the path, crunching leaves and snapping more twigs, dragging their feet through the dirt. In different circumstances, they could sneak up on you. With the soft grass under their feet and the hum of the animals in the forest mixing in with their own tones, sometimes you had to rely on the quietest of noises.

But this forest? No.

Without thinking a second more, you spun behind the nearest tree, the red of the lipstick - grazing along your fingers.

"What, so-" a voice spoke, "-we just give up?"

"No," a gruff tone responded, hair a little overgrown, and what seemed to be a crossbow on his back, "-Just means we got some extra work to do."

The woman, who had short brunette hair and a pistol in her hands, said, "Yeah, and we're gonna do it. We... have to. She deserves a chance."

"Of course," the man responded, a little bit upset she even insinuated he wouldn't care.

You watched carefully, eyes following the pair as they roamed through the woods - before stopping in front of one of your trees, your marked trees.

"Fuck," you muttered, so soft, the wind could’ve whisked it away, exhaling carefully and turning around to face the other way.

"What's that?" the woman asked, a tone of mixed concern and curiousity.

There was a scrape, and you could only assume the man touched the lipstick mark, as he hummed, "Not blood."

"I think..." the woman muttered, the slight slur of her accent becoming stronger, "-I think it's lipstick."

The man huffed, his accent strong, "What for?"

There was more leave crunching, and the woman replied, "Maybe a path? I don't..."

"Hello?" the man spoke, and you heard the click of metal, like he'd moved his gun up, "Is anyone there?"

The woman seemed to keep moving, leaves crunching getting closer and closer to your ears, you knew they'd notice an end of the path.

You needed to do something quick.

"I'll give ya 'til a count of 3," the man spoke, the metal clicking once more, "-one."

Your breaths shook, as you debated your options, based on what you'd seen the gun the man had was long range. So, running was out of the question.

"Two," his accent lilted.

Your feet were almost rooted in fear, what if it happened again? What if all you were surrounded by was death? What if they used you and then killed you next? God, you couldn't die, not now. Not after everything you'd done.

"Three," he added, tone more aggressive, and the click of the metal once more sending fear down your spine.

You couldn't wait any longer, squeezing your eyes shut, you spun around, "Wait!"

Expecting the blossoming pain, you flinched. Yet, after a moment, nothing happened.

You cracked open your eyes, and saw two guns trained at you, the woman and man now in clear sight. Noticing now, the bags full placed at their feet, you wondered if they thought you were here for their supplies.

Without hesitation, the man straightened his gun and asked, "Are ya bit?"

"No," you answered quickly, flourishing your arms forward as if to show the lack of teeth marks, "-no, I'm clean, you can check."

"What's your name?" the woman spoke, tone solid and unmoving.

"Y-Y/N." you stuttered out, looking down the barrel of two guns wasn't exactly calming.

The man, a bit distant, replied, "What are you doing out here?"

"I..." you exhaled, trying to calm your shaking hands which were still caked in blood (as the rest of you were), "-I'm just looking for shelter for the night. Look, I don't mean you two any harm, just leave me be and I'll-"

The woman faltered, her green eyes flickering with emotion -just for a second, "You need shelter?"

"Uh, yes," you spoke, a bit bewildered that they were listening but too tired to question it, "-I haven't slept in 3 days, I just need some rest and I'll be-"

"Maggie," the man spoke stern and low, and you weren't sure you were supposed to hear it.

The sun was setting now, and if they had some shelter, this was your last chance for the night and you were just so tired. What else could you do?

Maybe you could bring something to the table.

Interrupting their hushed conversations, you began, "I... I heard you say a 'she' earlier, is there something wrong with her?"

The two stopped talking, the man's icy glare set on you, "Why you askin'?"

"I-If she's sick, I can help," you beckoned, "-I come from a hospital, I have all kinds of medical supplies. I-I can show you if you want. And-"

The man interrupted again, as the woman, Maggie you now knew, carefully watched you, "You a doctor of some kind?"

You paused, waiting for a moment before responding, "Y-yes. I'm a nurse, er well, I used to be. I... I worked at Harrison Memorial Hospital when it all went down."

The woman started this time, "And you're willing to help us?"

"Yes," you asserted, "-as long as I have a place to stay for the night. That's... that's all I ask."

"But you'll stay as long as we need ya?"

You furiously nodded, "Of course. I won't... I won't leave someone I know I can help behind."

The two turned to each other, before slowly pointing their guns to the ground. You exhaled a big breath of relief as your heartbeat slowed, muttering out, "Thank god."

The woman, held out her hand, "Maggie."

You hesitated for a moment, at the current state of your hands, before accepting it with a quick shake.

"Daryl," the man added, hand extended as well. You shook his, and began to follow in their footsteps -leading about west of where you were headed just earlier.

"Are you with a group?" Maggie asked, strolling along the woodlands.

"No," you replied, "-I... I come and go. Sometime people need a doctor so I help, but-"

The two looked at you, still watching you to say something wrong. They were still heavily armed afterall. The thought made your hands shake.

"I ended up in some shady places," you continued, "-because I stayed. So, I don't really stay anymore."

Daryl hummed in response, and Maggie simply looked at you with eyes of hesitant trust. Like she wanted desperately to trust you, but it seemed hard. You didn't blame her. Not really.

The last time you trusted someone, it hadn't gone well then either. This world is not one of trust, you knew that.

"We have a group," Maggie continued, walking in step with you as Daryl scouted ahead, "-it's small but we don't trust too well."

"Right," you murmured, expecting as much.

Daryl hummed, "We have a leader too. You'll have to meet him. You gonna be alright with that?"

Before you could even respond, Maggie interjected -an unsettled look in her eyes, "Daryl, is he even... in the space to do this?"

"Don't have to be," he responded, a little coldly, but you figured that was just kind of his tone at this point, "-he's gotta. I'll talk to 'em."

You furrowed your eyebrows, a question on your tongue, but found the following silence was not one to be interrupted. Without thought, you simply adjusted your bag and continued along. Their path was set as if this happened often, and the knowledge that you were going to a very settled camp irked you just a little.

A dynamic that felt substantial in this post-apocalyptical world usually wasn't the kindest. Oftentimes, it was 'kill or be killed'.

You knew that well, staring down at your hands (which had definitely dried by now) -you wished you had a way to wash them off. But the water was too precious to risk anyone's supplies, frankly. It reminded you of before, when veins would rupture, when hearts wouldn't beat, and everything felt like it was on the line.

An exhale, and you scrubbed your hands on your pants.

It felt immoral, as you held a fire axe in your hands. Weren't you supposed to save people? Wasn't that in the oath?

Shaking your head, you glanced ahead at the pair wondering how exactly this group operated -where they had a protocol for finding people. That wasn't... You hadn't seen much of it.

"This group," you questioned, "-how long have you guys been together?"

"Long enough," Daryl answered, curtly, "-prove yourself and you might just have a spot with us." Maggie hummed in agreement, pulling her pistol close to her chest, as a large barbed wire fence came into your view. And... were those... watchtowers?

"Is this...?" You trailed off, eyes taking in the surrounding concrete and the few stragglers either slowly trudging to the group you found yourself in, or mindlessly clawing at the tall fences as if it would do anything.

"Our base," Maggie finished, pulling her pistol to attention and shooting one of the dead just ahead of you -right in front of what you assumed was the opening gate.

"And it's a..."

"Prison, yeah," Daryl finished, pulling out his bow and killing the other one without a flinch.

"Right," you responded, a bit astonished, "-have you guys cleared the place?"

"Almost," Maggie answered, as the three of you stood directly in front of the gate. There was a watchtower to your left, and you could see the familiar glint of a scope shining down from the top.

"Glenn!" Daryl shouted, you watched as the dead stirred toward the noise, "-Let us in!"

There was a moment of hesitation, a breath of air catching in your lungs as the corpses made their way to you -slowly but surely. You knew a few weren't a threat, not with a group the size you currently were in, but you still felt this buzz of fear under your skin. Normally, you would be gone by now, vanished into the dust -not wanting to waste durability on a fight that would only bring more opponents.

Without warning, the door swung open and you assumed they had silenced the mechanism because no sound other than the screech of metal moving across the concrete filled your ears.

Which was not pleasant. At all.

The crowd there wasn't particularly large, but still seemed odd. Maybe you had been alone for too long.

A man quickly approached the group with a warm smile, rushing up to Maggie and scooping her into a hug. This figure hardly even noticed you or Daryl, now that you thought about it, but you doubted you would have either.

Daryl spoke, with a taste of disgust (you couldn't tell if it was playful or not) "That's Glenn, Maggie's boyfriend, you'll get used to it."

You nodded, pointing to a few stragglers around what looked like crops, "Okay, and... who are they?"

Without answering you, Daryl called out, "Rick out here?"

The older man who was tending to the crops looked up, eyeing you for a second, before answering, "I think he's inside, clearing out block F."

Maggie responded, "Daddy, can you see if you can get him out here?"

You blinked, absorbing the new information, Maggie's dad, right. The old man sighed, standing and brushing off his hands on his knees.

"I'll try."

Daryl nodded, not leaving your side, and it would've been comforting had you not known it was because you weren't fully trusted yet. Maggie guided you to a table, assumedly brought out from the cafeteria, and sat you down with a calm gesture to a chair. Glenn followed close behind, and Daryl merely observed.

You doubted he'd even blink while you waited for the mysterious Rick. He seemed the type to take his duty seriously.

"I'm Glenn," he held out his hand across the table, sitting just beside Maggie with curious but cautious eyes. It seemed he trusted Maggie's hesitant judgment of you.

"Y/N," you replied, accepting his hand, "-this is a lot, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Glenn continued, looking around the courtyard, "-finding the prison has been life-changing for us."

"I imagine," you laughed, a little in disbelief at the mere size, and looking over the two's shoulders to see the dead staring in through the fence. There weren't that many at all, but it still trickled in some of your solo senses.

Which were mostly bashing their head in before they get too close.

Maggie caught your eye, inquisitive almost like you were in an interview, "How familiar are you with the walkers?"

"You mean the dead?" you clarified, fingers trailing along the blood in the creases of your palms, "More familiar than I ever wanted to be, that's for sure."

Glenn opened his mouth to say something, but something bumped into your ankle and you were immediately on your feet. Prepared for the worst.

Instead of what you expected, there was a ball... An old deflated basketball probably from the court somewhere around here, you stared at it a bit incredulously. Like you'd almost forgotten it was a thing. You picked it up, brushing your finger along the bumpy texture.

"Sorry," a voice spoke. Squeaky and... familiar.

Your eyes snapped up and were met with those eyes 'You have to save him, please.' Breath caught in your lungs, your mouth moved but nothing came out. He was a little older now, with hair a touch longer and a sheriff's hat on the top of his head. But that was-

Daryl grunted, "Play somewhere else-"

"Carl?" you interrupted, tilting your head and dropping the ball to the floor; what were the chances?

Maggie stuttered out, a tone of protectiveness in her voice you'd have yet to experience, "You know him? Carl, do you know them?"

He paused, tilting his head in the same way you had just seconds before like he was trying to get a good look at you, "I..."

He looked into your eyes, eyeing your scrubs for a second -probably the same he'd seen you in so long ago. And the blue eyes that were so achingly familiar seemed to light up in recognition, he questioned, "Nurse Y/N?"

It was like a pin could drop, as the boy's gaze settled on you curiously, and every adult in the vicinity watched you like you were the most dangerous criminal in the world. A tension settling within the air that gave you uncomfortable goosebumps, and desperately made you want out of the spotlight.

Slowly, a grin slid across his features, his tiny finger pointing at you, elated, "You saved my Dad!" And before you could even react, the little boy had scurried up to you and wrapped his arms tightly around your middle - almost knocking off his hat at the force.

You blinked, a little stunned at the current predicament, but shook yourself awake. Completing the hug, you exhaled a sort of relief you hadn't known you needed. Seeing this little boy surviving such a terrible world gave you a spark of something. Like you'd been waiting to hear this.

"I promised I would, didn't I?" you hummed with a very soft smile.

Just as he let go, you crouched down and fixed his hat on his head, suddenly much more comfortable in a known presence, "Cool hat, kiddo."

He grinned even wider, but before he could even say another word, another voice echoed through the courtyard. Tone hardened and deep, this one could not be missed.

"Carl?" a breathy southern drawl -that you knew- interrupted, and your stomach flipped.

The tone was accusatory, dangerous even, so you stood quickly. A distance now established, you looked up into the figure. That couldn't be-

The blue eyes had burned into your head, so clear, so decisive.

"Rick Grimes?"

#rick grimes #rick grimes x reader #its griming time #stuff n' thangs #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x y/n #ricky dicky doo dah grimes #twd #twd rick #rick grimes x y/n fanfiction #the nurse #nurse!reader #doctor!reader

[zootopiathingz]

Genuine question: Why do you ship Radiobelle? I've seen a lot of people doing it, and I'm curious as to what the appeal is!

The real question is, why do people ship anything? Why do we all see two or sometimes more characters interact with each other and imagine how cool it would be if they both had deep-seated romantic feelings for the other?

Answer: cuz we can!😌

Idk about the rest of you, but I don’t exactly have much control over what I ship and don’t ship😅 I just see the characters together and my brain randomly decides either “yes I want them to make out” or “nooo I don’t really see it”. (I am in no way a pro shipper though cuz no)

But as for Radiobelle specifically, there’s just something about them that my silly fangirl heart can’t resist. While I am fairly new to the HH fandom, I did watch the pilot around the time it came out and a small part of me did ship them back then. But I never really allowed myself to indulge in it and I just wasn’t that into the show anyway so I didn’t bother. Now, after actually watching the episodes and engaging in fandom content, I finally embraced the cringe to the full extent and let myself be consumed by the radio demon and his charming demon belle! :P

Now I’m aware that the majority of people don’t like Radiobelle, or even full-on hate it for multiple reasons. Sure, whatever. You don’t have to like every ship, nor does anyone expect you to! I can understand it’s not for everybody. The main thing that bugs me, though, is when people try to start arguments about why it’ll never be canon and why you shouldn’t ship it. “Charlie is with Vaggie and Alastor is aro/ace!” People ship Alastor with a multitude of other characters and nobody bats an eye,, why is it only when you see him being drawn with Charlie that you lose your shit and get offended about his sexuality being ‘erased’? (That’s a topic for a whole other post tbh). And people can ship Charlie with other people. Hell, they DO! I’ve seen numerous art of her and other characters.

Then there’s also the “Alastor thinks of her as his daughter!” See, I want everybody to actually watch episode 5 again and come back to me on this. No, he fucking does not. The only reason he was saying any of that was to get under Lucifer’s skin. That’s it. That was his whole intention. He doesn’t like Lucifer and wanted to rub it in his face that he has been a lousy father to his daughter, in comparison to all the ways he has helped her, with the hotel and whatever else.

Phew, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way! Onto why Radiobelle has stolen my heart!

I just love their dynamic and it all really started with the pilot. Alastor—this mysterious force of nature who can kill anyone and anything, is capable of unimaginable power and torture—randomly showing up on the doorstep of a hotel to help out. And literally no one else trusts him (reasonably so) but Charlie, the good-hearted soul she is, lets him in. She’s cautious, of course, but she’s giving him the chance to do some good because that’s what her dream is all about!

Now while I do wish they had some more interactions in the actual show, what we have so far is scrumptious✨ Alastor may have been giving an abundance of praise to Charlie to piss off her dad, but I don’t think he was lying. Deep down I’m sure he is enjoying the time they’ve spent together—even if he doesn’t fully realize it. Charlie defends Al’s sadistic behavior to her dad because he was doing it to defend the hotel (and bc he’s a cocky mf lol but it’s endearing to her in a way).

Oh and don’t even get me STARTED on episode 7 bro,, omfg the content!! The way he’s extra touchy with her even after they’ve made their deal. Her being nervous and stressed out but he encourages her anyway and verbally admits that he had faith in her the whole time. Him giving her his microphone—which is likely the main source of his power as shown in episode 8 (where he let her use his mic AGAIN!!!) which just shows how much he actually trusts her,, UGH it’s just 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 give me more!!

Now, do I expect Radiobelle to become canon? No. Would it be fucking awesome if it did? Oh absolutely. But I know it won’t, and I don’t care! I’m having the time of my life shipping these two hell-dwelling idiots and I don’t care what anyone says about it!😋

#gotta love the ‘I can fix him’ ‘I can make her worse’ dynamic they got going on #anyway shout out to my fellow radiobelle shippers✌🏻 #we have impeccable taste and we know it #and uh sorry if this rant comes across as me being petty or rude #I really wasnt. I was just stating facts lol #long post #radiobelle #charlastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel ship #charlie morningstar #alastor the radio demon #asks #anon ask #lady luxo asks

[illuminatedquill]

Ghost Stories #01

Feat. Sabine Wren & Hera Syndulla

Story Context: Sabine tells Hera about her decision to be trained as a Jedi and is met with a cold reception.

"You're going to do what?" asked Hera, her voice almost a shout at the end.

Sabine blinked, taken aback at the Twi'lek's response. It was certainly not the one she had been expecting. They were sitting in the Ghost's communal area; outside, the constant buzz of machinery and maintenance tools from the ship crew could be heard as the old freighter underwent some much-needed repairs.

Feeling uneasy, Sabine leaned back in her seat and folded her arms. "I thought you'd be supportive," she said.

Hera massaged at her temples, grimacing. "And why would you think I'd be supportive of you being a Jedi?"

Feeling defensive, Sabine countered, "You were supportive when Ezra did it. And Kanan, too, when he decided to take up that mantle again. What makes me so different?"

"That was then. This is now," Hera replied. "This is not a good idea, Sabine."

Sabine narrowed her eyes at Hera. "Ahsoka seems to think so. You know, the actual Jedi."

"Former Jedi," Hera corrected. "And believe it or not, Ahsoka thinking so doesn't make me more convinced."

"What, you have an issue with her, too? You guys always seemed friendly to me."

"That was before Malachor," Hera shot back. "Where has she been all this time during the war? She hasn't said anything to anyone. She's different now. Less . . . I don't know, just less of herself, it seems."

Sabine couldn't argue with that. Talking with her master sometimes felt like trying to conversate with a rock. Whatever happened at that Sith Temple seemed to have robbed Ahsoka of her spirit; she seemed listless on some days, adrift from herself and others.

Desperately casting around for a change of subject, Sabine asked, "Where's Jacen?"

"With his grandfather on Ryloth," said Hera. "Don't try to change the subject, Sabine."

"Fine," Sabine snapped. "I don't understand why you're so hostile about this. It's my decision. I'm an adult. What are you going to do when Jacen starts showing an interest, huh?"

"I don't know!" Hera shouted, throwing her hands up. "I'm not - I'm not strong enough, okay?"

Sabine cocked her head at her friend. "What do you mean, 'not strong enough'?"

Hera hung her head. Hands clenching into fists, she suddenly banged them on the table. Sabine jolted in her seat from the abrupt display of anger.

"Hera?" asked Sabine quietly. "What's going on?"

"Kanan. Ezra. Ahsoka. And now - you," Hera muttered. "Maybe someday, even Jacen. I'm so sick of losing people. I'm not strong enough to lose you, too."

"Losing - what? You're not going to lose me like you did with Kanan, Hera. I promise. Ahsoka came back, too, even if she's not the same as before! She's still fighting! And Ezra's still out there."

Hera turned her face back to Sabine. The younger woman felt her heart twist, seeing the cascade of tears on the Twi'lek's face.

"You're already gone, don't you get it? I've lost you. Once you decide to take that mantle - when you add 'Jedi' to your name, it's over," Hera whispered miserably. "That's the truth of this galaxy, Sabine. Jedi die."

Sabine shook her head. "Kanan died. I know that still hurts for you. But I'm still here and I promise Ahsoka isn't going anywhere either. Neither is Jacen. I'll make sure of it myself. And I will bring Ezra back," she added fiercely.

Hera smiled bitterly. "It's better if you leave him out there. Even better if he's dead. Because if Ezra isn't dead, then that means the Force isn't done with him yet. That means Ezra is destined for more suffering. For more sacrifice and heartbreak."

The Twi'lek leaned forward, her eyes glassy with bottomless pain. "Leave him be, Sabine. Don't go looking for him anymore. If you love him at all, you'll let him go."

Sabine was silent. Then, in an icy tone, she replied, "You don't mean that, Hera. I know you don't."

Hera looked away, blinking rapidly. Then, quietly, she said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

She didn't know what to say to comfort Hera. It's clear her friend had been harboring some deep conflict over the fate of her Jedi loved ones. Sabine belatedly realized that her deciding to be a Jedi was, to Hera, probably adding to that conflict.

To that buried pain.

Jacen was destined to follow in his father's footsteps someday. Maybe Hera saw Sabine as a safe option - that she would never take up the mantle and responsibility one day and could be relied upon to never break her heart the same way that Kanan and Ezra did.

Sabine wondered if she ever had nightmares about burying her one day. Or Jacen. Or Ahsoka. Outliving them all.

She wanted to hug Hera in that moment so badly. But something in the Twi'lek's demeanor told her that it wouldn't be welcome.

She stood up and made to depart. "I'll let you get some rest, Hera. We'll talk later."

Still not looking at her, Hera gave the barest of nods in acknowledgement. Sabine turned to go -

"Sabine."

She paused at the hallway leading to the docking bay.

"Follow your heart. I'll always believe in you, no matter what."

Without turning around, Sabine said, "Thanks, Hera."

"Don't thank me," came the sad reply. "You're going to be a Jedi now. Just like Kanan and Ezra. I don't get to keep you anymore."

Sabine was quiet. Listening.

"You belong to the Force now. I know you'll do well. You always have. It's in your nature to rise and meet whatever challenges come your way."

Sabine felt touched by Hera's words, yet there was a chill in her blood from the solemn way she uttered them. Finally, she worked up the nerve to turn around and face her directly.

Hera just gazed at her, but not seeing her at all - seeing through her, was the better term.

Like she wasn't there.

Like she was already a ghost.

"You have an important role to play now, Sabine. And, just like the other Jedi I loved, you'll play it . . . to the very end."

*Author's Note: Hello! So, this is just a seed of a story. Sometimes, when I'm brainstorming ideas for Sabezra fics, I'll have these conversations/scenes between characters pop up in my head, out of context. I don't know if I'll ever include these in future fics but I've decided to just start writing them down and posting them here just to keep track of. I always have ideas bouncing inside my head for stories regarding Sabine, Ezra, and the Ghost crew in general, so there will be more of these little fic-lets, I guess the term is? Except these aren't really full-fledged stories. Just short scenes.

Anyway, the genesis for this is pretty simple: I've always been interested if Hera feels conflicted about all the Jedi in her life, seeing as though they've all been met with terrible fates. I find it odd that Hera in the Ahsoka series seems all onboard for Jacen training to be a Jedi, considering what happened to his father and Ezra (and Ahsoka, to a degree). As a mother, she has to feel some trepidation about encouraging Jacen to be a Jedi - especially in that day and age. And now with Sabine - someone who is like a daughter to her - resolving to take up the mantle of a Jedi, I wanted to write out a scene where all those buried negative feelings bursts forth. I'm realizing that this is probably veering Hera into out-of-character territory, but it makes for a really good, dramatic, and angsty conflict between her and Sabine.

#sabezra #sabine wren #ezra bridger #hera syndulla #star wars rebels #ezrabine #star wars #ahsoka show #sabezra fanfiction #ghost stories 01

[antianakin]

Is there a specific pro Jedi tag on AO3 that can be used to filter out anti and criticals? Cause I keep searching for Luke and Leia time travel fics where they save the galaxy and give Palpatine a headache (saving Anakin is potentially a bonus to those other two), but the vast majority are Jedi critical at LEAST.

... Speaking of, do you know any good time travel Luke and Leia fics where they save the galaxy, give Palps a headache (and maybe save Anakin cause Luke kept asking and Leia just decided to help on behalf of her own sanity)?

The main tag I was able to find seems to be "Jedi Appreciation" which includes things like "Jedi Order Respected", "Jedi Culture Respected," "Jedi Culture Appreciated", "Jedi Positive", "Jedi Order Positive", "Pro Jedi", and "Pro Jedi Order". I also found tags more specifically related to the Council, like "Jedi Council Appreciation" and "Good Jedi Council." I'm a TAD suspicious of the second one since the wording of it seems to lean more towards having adjusted the Jedi Council in order to BE "good" as opposed to recognizing they're ALREADY good, but it's potentially worth a look through to see (I found one that claimed to have some Yoda bashing and another saying "they are not the assholes in this story", as just two examples of why this particular tag might be suspect).

There's also the more basic "Jedi Culture & Customs" tag which is likely more of a mixed bag and doesn't necessarily promise POSITIVITY about the Jedi, just that it's EXPLORING Jedi culture and customs, so, you know, take it with a grain of salt.

Some other tags I found just in a basic search: "Jedi as Found Family", "Love Doesn't Equal Attachment", "Clone Troopers and Jedi as Found Family", and "Protective Jedi."

I will also say that it is critical for you as a reader NOT to blindly trust any of these tags. People can and do tag their fics with "Jedi Positive" or "Jedi Appreciation" and then it ends up with plotlines where the Jedi change their culture so that members can marry or they go the grey Jedi route where they realize they should be using both light and dark to find balance or whatever. As I mentioned above, too, it can sometimes mean they just rewrite the Jedi to be closer to what the WRITER thinks the Jedi should be and is now "positive" or it's being positive about the Order at the expense of specific Jedi like Yoda or Mace who are still bashed and vilified. Keep an eye out for other tags on the fic that might reveal more anti or critical elements and just be aware when reading the fic that there is no tag that is guaranteed to filter out EVERYTHING you don't want to read and be ready to hit that back button.

I don't tend to read a lot of time travel fics just in general and the ONLY fic I have read that involves Luke/Leia time traveling is there was a spring of storms by blackkat where Leia's grief in the moment of Alderaan's destruction causes her to reach out in the Force instinctively and propel her, Bail, and Luke back to shortly after the start of the Clone War. It's only 2 chapters in, however, so the story has barely started and I cannot guarantee anything about saving Anakin. With these two chapters, though, I can say that it is absolutely pro Jedi and probably not very Anakin positive. I personally really love this set-up and while it's remained unfinished for quite a while, the author has said in the past that if the fic is still up on AO3 then it's not abandoned, so I am still hoping for the day they come back to this one because it looks INCREDIBLE.

If anyone else has some pro Jedi recommendations for Luke/Leia time travel fics, feel free to let us know!

EDIT: The reason I had to search for tags is because I have never personally used them for myself to LOOK for fics. I usually have a ship or a dynamic that I get invested in and start looking for, find some authors I really like, and then go through all of their fics and bookmarks because if an author WRITES fic that's Pro Jedi, chances are they READ fic that's Pro Jedi too. And then you just rinse and repeat from there. Sometimes there'll be a tag like "X character needs a hug" or something I go through if I notice it pops up enough. I primarily use tags like the ones above as more of a screener when I'm looking through someone's bookmarks or a general ship tag search. I start by looking at the summary to try to figure out the actual premise of the fic and then once I decide I might be interested, I give the tags a scan to see if anything comes up that gives a better idea of what is in the fic that'll make me more interested or immediately back out. Like I said, many a fic has had "pro Jedi" or "Jedi positive" tags and still ended up in what I would consider to be closer to "Jedi critical" these days. A better guarantee for me is knowing that someone bookmarked this fic that has written fic I personally find to be pro Jedi, so that's the method I use.

#star wars #luke skywalker #leia organa #fic #fic rec #jedi #pro jedi #pro jedi order #jedi order respected #jedi order appreciation

[fandomgamersimp]

I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed, but like, why the shipping fandom is so "no fun at all" on tiktok (and kinda on Pinterest too)? Maybe I've been too often on tumblr, maybe the contrast of this social media app and any other is so big, but like, have they always been so boring on there and I just didn't know?

I've gotten into Ghost x König for example, I've seen some cute fanart, read some cool fics, also they've been appearing on my feeds more often than other characters; and I see comments like "they hate each other" and "they don't know each other", etc.

... and? Like, since when this has stopped anyone? 😭 Do people not know/remember how big the whole "Elsa x Jack Frost" was? Do they forgot "enemies to lovers" exists? I feel like I've seen some crazy ships when I was in middle school and high school, and literally no one cared, unless the ship was genuinely problematic.

Not to mention that I feel like people say "they hate each other" to literally anything while it's not even actual hate. Do you not know how hate looks? 😭😭 The characters gave each other one kinda mean look or bickered once? Hate. Characters were nasty to each other, but then developed a healthy bond and worked on their relationship? Nah, character X was really rude 438534985 years ago, they still despise each other. Opposing teams/forces/bands/whatever else? They would TOTALLY slaughter each other upon meeting (no they wouldn't). No media literacy, no comprehension, no energy to actually use the search engine, not to mention think critically.

It just makes me sad that anything that may be "cringe" or "weird" is apparently something that has to be immediately obliterated, becase God forbid someone else doesn't find what you enjoy fun; or God forbid they feel the need to debate you on it. Again, I fully understand having a conversation about actually problematic ships and fetishizing/romanticising something that should not, in any way, be portrayed in a positive light; or just not liking what other people like. But I've seen people treating it like you murdered someone?? Let people have some spice in life 😭

The only silver lining/ reason to laugh about all of this is the fact that these people would go apeshit on/ not survive tumblr. And if they're already on here- bro, they DO NOT know what kind of site this is, lmaooo.

#call of duty #modern warfare 2 #ghost x konig #konig x ghost #bakudeku #because damn did i see some bad takes about them too #anime #manga #movies #comics #films #shipping #ship #fandom culture #fandom things #personal #rant #rant post #shipping discourse #edited because i had some stuff to add

[tiny-maus-boots]

Queen of Hearts pt 18

A/N: It's been awhile for this one. I was a little bit kinda sorta life threateningly sick so I had some time to complete this. Thank you as always to @chloes-yellow-cup and @kimmania for listening to the hcs that eventually become real stories. i love you awesome nerds.

18 Aggression Factor

“Jesus, this is a fucking nightmare.”

Aubrey nodded her agreement at the thought and leaned back in her seat. The leather creaked softly, the only counterpoint to Beca's soft comment. They had gone to the docks, and on the surface in the full light of day everything appeared on the up and up. But just a little digging after business hours had uncovered a nest of nastiness that she didn't yet know what to do with.

“We have to do something Aubrey. We can't just let all those women suffer. Some of them were just girls…”

Aubrey didn't say anything for a long time. She was sickened by what she and Beca had seen. But it all made sense now. Everything that Weston had been involved in was suddenly and disgustingly clear. Weston had been using his connections with the Russian mob to traffick women as play things for the rich and elite.

“We can free them all tonight. But then Roman and his crew close down shop here and open up somewhere else.”

“They're going to do that anyway now that they've killed Grant's kid. The kid was nothing to them or his father. By morning all those girls will be shipped and held somewhere else.”

And if Beca were to go to her superiors now she would sidelined by the wheels of bureaucracy before anyone could save those women. Her thumbs tapped lightly on the steering wheel as she turned the problem over in her head. She couldn't see any way to help the innocent victims immediately that would stop the operation entirely. She had to choose. Save who she could now or let them and countless others suffer until she and Beca could maybe find a way to dismantle an entire organization and see that justice was served to the people behind it all. 

“All those rich pricks are going to get off scott free from this, aren't they?”

Detective Mitchell looked away and sighed deeply. It bothered her as much as it bothered Aubrey. When they had started this working arrangement it had been because Aubrey wanted someone on the Force that was in her pocket. In truth it could have been any cop, and quite a few that had less compunction about taking her money to look the other way. But she had needed Beca Mitchell in particular.

It had been late when Beca had pulled into the big bay doors of the abandoned warehouse. But dead of night seemed about right for whatever was about to happen. She pulled the rusted old Nova into a cleared space and got out of the car warily. 

Happy and Lilly were stood menacingly and armed to either side of a seated figure lost half in shadow. Somehow Aubrey managed to be the most terrifying of them all, calmly waiting for Beca's arrival with the patience of a large predator. Smoke curled in a lazy tendril around Aubrey’s head and she casually dropped the butt of her cigarette to the floor and ground it out with her shoe as she rose.

“Did you bring him?”

“In the trunk. It'll be a miracle if he survived carbon monoxide poisoning back there. I think the catalytic converter fell off this bucket somewhere on Imperial.”

Aubrey nodded and Happy and Lilly moved to pull their guest out of the trunk of Beca’s unmarked police car. She put a hand into her suit jacket and pulled out an envelope of cash and tossed it to the Detective. Beca caught it and counted the cash half distracted by the none too gentle way her cargo was being dragged and strapped to a dusty work table.

“So look. I know the deal here. You make moves and I follow them. In the end I make some money and really shitty people get what they deserve. I'm oddly on-board with meting out punishment in non legal ways when its due. But this guy? He's nothing. Some B&E, some minor theft. A bar fight. On paper this guy is no one.”

And she had looked. Beca might be okay with playing things a little loose with the law for Aubrey but she wasn't going to do it blindly. She had pulled Mervin Evans’ jacket and read through his past charges before she picked him up and shoved him into her trunk. He wasn't a great guy but he wasn't horrible either.

The blonde glanced away from Mervin and pinned Beca with a cold stare. She wasn't afraid of Posen exactly, but she was a fan of exercising caution around an unpredictable variable. Asking too many questions could easily land her on the table next to Mervin.

“On paper you're an officer of the law and I'm a hardworking, law abiding, businesswoman.”

“Touche.”

Aubrey slid the suit jacket from her shoulders and hung it neatly from a hanger. There was a deliberateness about the way the other woman removed her cufflinks and watch and placed them in the pocket of her jacket. Beca swallowed hard when Aubrey rolled up the sleeves on her shirt and strode to the table with echoing steps. 

“You can leave now, Detective. The kitchen is gonna get hot.”

Beca narrowed her eyes at the subtle challenge. Okay sure watching Aubrey tug on leather gloves before picking up a thin steel bar and hefting it lightly in hand was alarming. But if she left now without questioning this was she really the person she thought she was? 

“You implying I can't hack the job?”

Aubrey chuckled softly and placed the bar on the table near Mervin's head. For the most part he had been sort of out of it, too many bumps in the road on the way over. He groaned and his head lolled to the side. He just stared at the bar for a moment in dazed confusion before recognition dawned on him and he started to struggle. Happy slapped him hard a few times to settle him and Beca shifted uncomfortably.

“I'm not implying anything. I'm out right telling you. You ain't got it, kid. Now beat it before you realize how dirty your hands really are.”

Whether she meant to or not Aubrey had issued a challenge that Beca couldn't ignore. She had to take a stand one way or the other. Even if it might get her killed.

“I need to know what he did, Posen. He's too small of a fish in our great big pond to deserve whatever it is you're planning.”

Aubrey picked up a torch striker and gave it an experimental squeeze to text the way it sparked. She nodded in approval before using it to point at a wide eyed and gagged Mervin.

“You're right. He's a little fish, but he's no Nemo. He's a remora.”

“Wait. Like those fish that eat shark leftovers or whatever? Where the fuck is this going?”

Aubrey lit the acetylene torch standing at the head of the table with the striker. Mervin jumped and tried to struggle but the straps around his body held him fast. She was methodical about the way she heated the end of the bar, leaving the fire on the tip until it glowed a white hot.

“Hm. Something like that. Remoras feed on shit. And this little shit eating fishie is feeding from a shark I don't want in my water.”

“I'm guessing we aren't talking a cute friendly reef shark.”

Aubrey inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for a moment. Beca was used to seeing the action and knew that the person she respected most was about to do something that she felt needed to be done. Aubrey was violent and practical to brutality but it was never without a reason. When she opened her eyes and looked at Beca there was a hollow void where most people had a soul. 

“Someone is taking women from MY streets. Teenagers, Mitchell. Young women are being stolen and sold and this stronzo, this oh so little fish, is the one finding them for his master. And do you know what he does to them? He brands them so they know who they belong to. And now I'm going to mark him.”

Aubrey raised the brand and moved to bring it close to Mervin's arm. Only Beca's shaking hand on her wrist stopped her. 

“Wait…wait…”

Whatever was going on in the Detective's head was a struggle Aubrey did not envy. Her job was simple. She did what she needed to and she didn't have to play by anyone's rules but her own. Mitchell on the other hand lived with a foot in two worlds, there were lines she couldn't cross with the same ease Aubrey did. 

Lines she shouldn't cross because she had people in her life that would never understand. Detective Mitchell had a family. Brothers and sisters and two of the most loving people as parents that chose Beca and saved her from a life in the system. Aubrey had done her research on Beca long before she ever approached her. She knew all her triggers and all her secrets. She knew them all and played on them to get what she wanted. Just like she was playing on that now. 

“Are you asking me to spare him? Do you think he spared those girls he stole and hurt? Do you think if I let him  go now he'll stop and change his ways and never touch another person's daughter…or sister?”

The look in Beca's eyes was terrible to behold. A leviathan of disgusted rage rose in the deep blue depths and if Aubrey were being honest, she was proud to see it and bothered that she had to be the one to invoke it. Hate boiled beneath the surface when Beca gripped the brand in her own hand and pressed it down with a scream on Mervin's forehead. 

Aubrey felt nothing as she watched him writhe and howl in pain behind his gag. She felt nothing when Mitchell flung the brand away and staggered drunkenly to the door outside to retch on the hard black macadam lot. She gave Mervin a disinterested look and nodded to Happy and Lilly to finish the work. They would without question or conscience and she appreciated that.

But it wasn't what she needed.

Aubrey stepped outside and knelt by Beca heaving on all fours. She reached out a tentative hand to rub the other woman's back soothingly and wasn't surprised to be shrugged off. She had pushed too far. Beca tried to scramble away, tears running down her face freely but Aubrey gathered her as easily as a child and held her while she struggled with what she had just done.

“I'm sorry Mitchell. Sorry I goaded you into it because I didn't like being questioned. Because I felt like a point needed to be made.”

“I'm gonna hork again.”

Aubrey eased away and let Beca rise on shaky feet. The way the Detective looked at her would haunt her at night when she was alone and the horrors of her life replayed themselves on repeat. Anyone else would have looked away from the accusation and revulsion. Aubrey stared back, evenly, accepting who and what she was now. She hadn’t always been this. Once it had affected her too.

“I threw up my first time too.”

“Jesus Christ, Posen. This work is fucking evil. The people that do this are fucking evil.”

You're fucking evil.

Beca didn't say it. She didn't have to. Aubrey rose and brushed the dirt off her neatly pressed slacks. Yes. She was. She nodded at the unspoken statement and smoothed her tie.

“I'm no saint, that's true.”

Something flickered in Beca’s eyes and she looked away from Aubrey. The blonde slid hands in her pockets and considered for a moment.

“I might be the devil.”

The detective turned to eye her quickly. Measuring her worth with a skill that only cops had.

“You're not the devil. You're fucking awful sometimes but you're not the devil Posen. You're trying to do a job with the only tools you have and its sick work but maybe some of it has to be done.”

“I'm a weapon, Detective. My purpose is pain and order and I am very good at it. Who I inflict pain on is how I sleep at night.”

Beca nodded and turned away to stare at the moon above. Her voice was raw and tight as she struggled to contain her emotions.

“Lesson learned. Don't question you if I don't want to become an unfeeling weapon.”

Aubrey hesitated and looked up to the moon as well. No one questioned her. Ever. Even before her father had passed and her work was new, no one had questioned the way she handled business. And perhaps that was why she was the monster she was today.

“I need you to keep questioning me, Mitchell. Even if I hate it.”

Beca glanced at her quickly again, eyes wide with surprise. Aubrey sighed deeply.

“There are lines even I shouldn't cross and I don't know if I recognize them anymore.”

“What are you asking here? You want me to be your Jiminy?”

Fatigue set in making her shoulders hunch with the weight of so many misdeeds. Seeing Detective Mitchell break down, seeing her feel something, had shown her how far removed she was from humanity. And it scared her.

“I don't flinch, Bec. Humans should flinch when they do terrible things. They should feel it in their soul. I feel nothing.”

“Jesus. You're really asking me to help you be human?”

Her lips quirked in a quick grin. If anyone could help her find her humanity again it was Beca Mitchell. Perhaps the only person alive not afraid to tell her to fuck off. 

“I just want to be a real girl.”

“Great, fantastic, maybe you can start by taking a crack at that work life balance thing. Take a night off…and don't fucking call me.”

She had taken that advice to heart and gone to a poker game hosted by a friend. Aubrey smiled softly at the memory of spending four hours letting the most gorgeous creature she had ever seen win every single dollar she had brought and her heart to boot.

Beca had been right then and she was right now. Aubrey inhaled deeply knowing she was going to end Roman and his business but Weston's friends would still be safe to continue doing what they wanted. And she wouldn't be able to do a damn about it. 

“I need to make an example of Ekzarova and make it very costly for his organization to run that line of business.”

“Too costly to be worth the effort.” Beca watched her careful nod of agreement before speaking again. “Richie Rich's friends are a lost cause aren't they?”

“For now. Yes. They have more money and resources than I do. So for now, until I can find out the right leverage on them, they skate on this.”

“We still have the proof on those drives.”

“If you thought that was enough to nail them for this you would have used it a long time ago. We both know it'll get buried and you'll find yourself out of a job.”

“And Alice?”

Alice Alice Alice. Aubrey hadn’t allowed herself to think about her ex girlfriend. She was afraid the rage would overwhelm her good sense and she would do something sloppy enough to get her caught.

“For her part in what happened to Happy? For putting her hands on Stacie…”

She gave Beca a look that didn't mask the well of darkness in her soul at the thought of ending Alice.

“She needs to be made an example of too or they'll send another just like her. But you know. Competent.”

“You asking me to cross lines Jiminy?”

“No I'm outright telling you we are going to cross lines. A lot of them.” 

“Bec…”

“Don't Aubrey.”

“You're a cop.”

She felt it bore a mention. Beca was rapidly approaching a point where there would be no turning back. She had a life and family she could easily lose.

“For what though? Did cops stop my alcoholic father from beating my crackhead mother to death in front of my face? Did cops take me out of the foster system and put me in a safe home where I felt loved for the first time in my life? I'm sorry was it the cops that found the gang banger that murdered my older brother for trying to protect a store clerk? Are cops doing anything at all to protect any of these women? No. Man…fuck the police. They are part of a system of abuse and I'm done Aubrey. I'm fucking done. You know who was there to save me? People. Just fucking good people. And a goddamn murdering mobster might be the best one of them. So don't fucking tell me what I'm losing. The answer is nothing. I lose nothing but the shame of being part of the problem.”

“Okay.”

What else could she say? Aubrey reached out a balled fist and held it steady. Beca looked at her and bumped their knuckles together. 

“I don't think I'll ever be a real girl if I lose myself in this, you know that right? What I'll have to do to end this whole thing…”

Beca's tone gentled and she looked at Aubrey with something the blonde had never seen in the Detective's eyes before. Pride.

“Aubrey, this only makes you that much more human and real.” 

They sat there a minute longer while she let that sink in. Somehow, somewhere, she had changed. Because of Beca.

“So you gonna be my best man or what?”

Mitchell was right. Fuck the police. If they were going scorched earth then it wouldn't matter who stood by her at her wedding. And she really couldn't think of anyone she wanted more at her shoulder.

“Do I get to bang hot bridesmaids?”

“No guarantee but there is an open bar and a hot doctor among the guests.”

Beca sighed heavily as if she were making a huge sacrifice at not being able to sleep her way through the wedding party. But Aubrey could see she didn't really mean it.

“Yeah alright. I guess I can rock a suit for a day. Maybe I can pass out and Doc Beale can give me some mouth to mouth.”

Beca winked at her and slid out of the car with a chuckle. The door slammed, leaving her to sit in the quiet car park alone. She had a lot to prepare and she needed to do it quickly. But right now the only thing she could focus on was getting back to Stacie to find a little peace before she burned the world to the ground.

#beca mitchell #aubrey posen #staubrey #pitch perfect #pitch perfect au #tdc in a tps with bde #the debt collector series #maus writes

[thepenultimateword]

okay so:

I had a dream about this one idea where everyone makes fun of villain for whatever reason. Villain starts to believe all those things, still feels terrible of course, but finds it easier to deal with it all when they just accept those "jokes" as truth.

But well, since I'm a sucker for villain x villain stuff, Supervillain swoops in to help them out of their misery

Thanks a lot in advance and have a wonderful day ❤️♥️

*Me reading this ask*

My villain x supervillain heart can’t resist. (May just be my favorite ship, even more than hero x villain. Just something about two crime-hardened people being soft for each other)

CW: Bullying, panic attack

"Smile~," the hero said, the big black eye of their phone camera reflecting Villain's queasy face.

The colors were muted, but even so, their skin was far too pale. Their lips seized somewhere between a grimace and a glare. A scribbled line of a mouth that gated off the burn rising in the back of their throat and anything else that might let it loose, even their own words of defense.

They didn't even know who this hero was. They were just some start-up who jumped them in one of the back allies. What was worse was this wasn't the first time. Not even close. Every hero seemed to have eyes on them these days. Even some civilians got the courage to gang up together and get in on the fun.

"Come on," the hero insisted, pouting their lips like they were talking to a baby. "Just one little smile."

Villain swallowed hard on the bile, wincing at the way it scalded on the way down, and shakily rose the corners of their lips. This was fine. It was just a stupid trend. People would forget about it soon. And maybe it was funny. Villain certainly had never met anyone else with such an...interesting reaction to fear. People liked it because it was weird. It was just a joke.

Villain's eyes burned. They'd been wearing these contacts for too long. The wetness pricking in the corner of their eyes stung like salt in a wound.

Wait. Wetness? Were they crying?

No, please. Not now. Not here. Not with their hands bound to a back alley waterspout and this vigilante nobody putting them on their live stream for the whole world to laugh at.

"Aww, why are you crying, buddy? You're just fine. I mean, I've barely touched you aside from those bonds. You're not actually frightened already are you?"

Logically, Villain should be fine. They'd won against stronger heroes than this idiot. So why couldn't they move?

“N-no…” Villain choked weakly. They had meant to shout it, but as soon as their mouth was open, they felt any force on their stomach muscles would be their doom.

Their heart pounded in their ears at this point and it was hard to get enough air with their mouth clamped shut. Dark spots flecked their vision, but the alternative seemed much worse.

No, Villain wasn't frightened. They were terrified.

This hero might be a rookie, but Villain didn't know them. They didn't know what they were going to do to them. Whether this joke extended further than their humiliation. What their limits were. And it was the same story with most of their attackers these last three months. Ever since a reporter caught Villain puking on video in response to Other Hero pinning them in a corner and nearly killing them. They should be somewhat thankful for that; Other Hero's shock had given them the few seconds needed to escape. But in this moment, with so many people talking, so many people watching...it was hard not to see that as a catalyst for a nightmare.

It wasn't the only thing of course...there were also the tics: handwringing during monologues, giving up on schemes when it turned out none of the heroes they were used to were coming, etc. Half a villain the media called them. Because some part of them must be a hero for how much they foiled themself.

Yeah...maybe that was funny. Maybe Villain just needed to understand the joke better, and they would stop being so scared. Maybe if they just went along, things would get better.

"Alright, viewers," the hero said cheerily, "what do you say we spice things up a little."

They moved in closer, and Villain huddled back against the brick wall behind them.

"Now, now, don't freak out. I'm just going to ask questions, and you're going to tell us some things. Things we've all been curious about. Like why you do it."

Villain squeezed their eyes shut as if doing so could hide them from the hero's prickling smirk. They didn't want to talk about this. They didn't want to talk about this. They didn't want to--

"Get that phone out of their face before I choke you with it."

Villain wasn't sure who said it, but there was a yelp and the scrape of two pairs of shoes scuffling in the gravel, and then the pounding of one pair running away. When they opened their eyes, the hero was gone. In their place stood a face they'd only seen on television. Well-dressed, unnaturally attractive, and sharp, diamond-cutting eyes boring into their soul: Supervillain.

Villain gaped. People like Villain didn't just run into people like Supervillain. Maybe they were both criminals, but they were in completely different classes. Supervillain was untouchable. They didn't even bother hiding when they went out because not even the heroes had developed a good protocol to stop them. The media compared them to a cat swatting at flys.

And now they were right here. This...this was...

They doubled over and vomited into their own lap.

Nooo.

The shame blanketed them in a hot haze, and their upper lip went cool with a gathering sheen of sweat. Villain twisted away from Supervillain's face before they could see their disgusted expression. "I'm sorry. I--" They scrunched small and pressed their forehead against the cool brick, swallowing the sour taste trapped in the dry of their mouth several times before mustering up a few more words. "Thank you. Thank you, but... Please go."

"That must hurt." Gentle fingers touched their raw wrists where the ropes pinched and scraped. Something cold and metal laid across Villain's forearm and pressed through the small space beneath the bonds.

Villain flinched and whirled their head back around just in time to see the rope slacken and flutter to the gravel. They stared at the mess of frayed cord for several moments before forcing their gaze toward the master criminal.

Supervillain twirled the long blade back into a holster on their side. A moment later, they unclipped their cape and swept it around Villain's shoulders, fussing with the folds a moment before bundling them up in their arms.

"N-no," Villain protested gripping awkwardly to Supervillain's arm through the fabric as their feet were taken out from under them. "You shouldn't touch me. I-I'll ruin your cape."

"I get it dry cleaned twice a week," Supervillain said, voice vibrating low and even in their chest. "It'll be fine."

Their arms squeezed a little tighter around Villain's form, and with a rush of air, the dark alley shrank and dropped out of sight. It wasn't even that Villain lost sight of it as Supervillain jumped; it was like the world literally folded it out of existence, leaving them sailing through dark nothing. Villain tried to make sense of it, but they were already in a daze, and their lurching stomach wasn't making cognitive functions much easier. Most of the journey was a blur. So it was rather sudden when they found themself on their own two feet again in the middle of a bright, cream-colored living room.

Villain felt like a newborn deer blinking in their first surroundings. It was beautiful. Like something from a home decorating show. Suede sofa, plush rug, tall ceiling...

Supervillain stood to the side, steadily drinking them in, and Villain pulled the cape tighter around them, as if it could shield them from Supervillain's view and hide their obvious displacement . One worn shoe tread halfway over the cream rug and when they edged onto the hard floor, it left an ugly, gray smear.

Villain's eyes leaped up to Supervillain's in a panic, but the master criminal simply looked down and up again. They smiled.

"Why don't you take a shower? Make it as long as you want. I'll leave some clothes outside the door. We'll talk when you're done."

Villain stared.

"Bathroom is straight down this hall. Use any of the products you find; I have a lot."

Villain nodded numbly and unsure what else to do, followed Supervillain's pointing finger into the master bathroom.

It was beautiful too. The bath looked more like a hot tub and the shower was like a walk-in closet. The mirror covered nearly the entire wall and only then did Villain realize how truly pathetic they looked, especially beside the rich, deep blue of Supervillain's cape. Hair a mess, eyes sunken, dirt all over their face, lips bloodless, and just overall small.

Villain broke eye contact with themself and began stripping away the dirty clothes, carefully folding the vomit stains inwards before gingerly piling them on the toilet. The air conditioning from the overhead vent sent a shiver down their spine, but it was nothing compared to the goosebumps still prickling their skin from the incident.

They turned the faucet up to nearly the hottest setting and let all that cold fear and alley grime wash down the drain. Steam gathered comfortingly around them in humid lavender and mint as Villain busied themself with lathering their hair.

It took a long time for their uneasiness to fade, but once it had, they wrapped themself in one of the bathroom's plush towels and peeked outside the door to find a neatly folded pile of clothes: a fleece long-sleeved shirt and a pair of baggy drawstring sweats, all roughly their size.

They dressed quickly, and a little poking under the sink led them to a bottle of mouthwash that rid them of the sour bile taste lingering in their mouth.

Feeling significantly better, Villain padded out to the living room, clenched hands sunk deep into their pockets. They found Supervillain sprawled out across the sofa, a book pinched between thumb and forefinger. They looked up at the sound of Villain's footsteps.

"Ah," Supervillain swung their legs to the rug and waved Villain toward the pillow-covered arm chair across from them. "Please, sit.

Villain did so, hunching their shoulders and staring at their knees. "Um, so, thank you again for um…well…all this, but...what did you want to talk about?"

Why did you bring me here? That was the real question knocking around in Villain's head, but they didn't dare say it loud.

"I haven't introduced myself," Supervillain said, tone as if they'd truly only just realized. "Excuse me, I'm--"

"Th-that's ok," Villain interrupted peering up from under their lashes. "I know who you are."

Supervillain smiled, even looked somewhat flattered as they leaned their elbows on their knees. "Good. I'll be blunt then. I can change your image. That is, if you want."

Villain swallowed. “How?"

"The media is fickle," Supervillain said. "They drop the old for whatever's hot. It may not be exactly what you want, but if you present them with another story, one that overshadows your current image, it will be like all this other stuff never happened."

"And...what would that other story even be?" Villain asked, trying to feel out Supervillain’s angle. There was no way they were doing this out of the kindness of their heart.

Supervillain scooted onto the very edge of the sofa. They clasped their hands, unclasped them, laid them flat on their knees. "Perhaps your new relationship with me?"

Villain choked on their own breath. "My... my what?"

“Think about it! It’s the perfect solution! I’m the biggest name in villainy this city has ever seen, and that’s not my ego talking. No one would dare touch you knowing that you’re associated with me. And with a presence as strong as mine, after a few months, you’ll only be thought of as my partner. This ‘half a villain’ nonsense will fade away.”

Villain had a lot of things on their mind but the first thing that burst out was, "What if it backfires? What if I ruin your image?"

Supervillain chuckled like Villain had something silly. "Not gonna happen."

"So...we'd pretend to date?" Villain said slowly, still trying to figure out why Supervillain was doing this.

"Oh. Oh, no, no, I was thinking more of the real deal,” Supervillain said quickly. “I'm not really into confusing personal feelings with work. But hey, if you're not comfortable, I can see about giving you a job instead. It may take a slower course, but it should still do the trick."

Their smile remained pasted on, but their forehead creased and the nonchalant wave of their hand seemed stiff. They preferred the relationship idea. Not a fake one. A real one.

"Why would you want that?" Villain said.

"Um, because you're adorable?" Supervillain said without hesitation. "We have the same ideals, same job, there must be tons of other things we have in common. And you've got this defenseless vibe around you that I can't resist. I saw you in that first video, and I knew right away: that villain is going to be mine."

"I don't get it."

Villain’s voice cracked without warning. They clenched their fists, but they were already trembling. Was Supervillain in on this too? Was there a hidden camera somewhere amongst all this finery? Ready to broadcast Villain's gullibility? That had to be it. It was the only thing that made sense. There was no way Supervillain—Supervillain!—was interested in them of all people.

“What about that video could have appealed to you? The whole city saw what happened, maybe the whole world. Everyone saw what a joke I was. It's hilarious how bad I am at being a villain. And all those weird things I do, fidgeting and throwing up and all the rest, they must be funny too because I'm a trend now. Why would you involve yourself with that? I'm a total embarrassment!"

Without warning, Supervillain's warm hand slid over their cheek and cupped the left side of their face. Villain wasn’t sure when they crossed the room, but here they were crouched in front of them. They tipped their head up at them, and those shiny eyes drilled earnestly into their eye sockets, maybe saw right through them. Their faces were still a couple feet apart, but it felt as if Supervillain was whispering straight in their ear.

"I want to protect you."

"W-what?"

"Let me protect you," Supervillain said.

Villains mouth had gone completely dry. This whole situation was strange, but a part of them wanted to believe it was true. They were just so tired of hurting.

"Prove that you really want to,” they finally said. “If you can…then ok.”

“That should be easy enough,” Supervillain grinned. They leaned in closer, hands bracing on either armrest. The heat of their breath ghosted against their cheek.

Villain squeezed their eyes shut and tried to steady their trembling. They weren’t prepared for this!

Supervillain’s forehead knocked against Villain’s, the tips of their noses just shy of brushing and… And then they stopped.

Villain cracked open their eyes. Supervillain stared straight through them, irises alive with a deep fire. Gone was the sharp, measuring look they’d maintained most of the night. This was hungrier, more destructive. Without breaking eye contact, they gently rubbed their forehead back and forth against Villain’s.

“I’ll start with the one who hurt you tonight.”

Part Two

#villain x villain #villain x supervillain #writing snippet #hero x villain #villain #creative writing #heroes and villains #fiction #heroes and villains community #superheroes and villains #hmmm does this ending feel too close Big Bad or Date or Die? #beginning to worry that all my supervillain x villian stories are the same

[lovelyherruins]

omg sometimes I forget team black ARE real people and not just mindless bots.

half the issues in hotd didnt even involve alicent, if anything they already existed before she entered the picture. antis says she should've minded her own business but then not mention Harwin, Larys, and Joffrey.

If Harwin just kept it in his pants instead of becoming the crown princess' side hoe (because that's what he is) then the whole Strong boys and arguements wouldn't have happened.

Do I have to explain Larys??

I brought Joffrey up for one reason and it's this:

it wasn't necessary but did it cause the riot that happened? no, you know what did tho? Joffrey openly talking about his and Criston's "relationships" with the people getting married. was that necessary for him to do? no it wasn't because it what world WOULD it be needed for some guy to talk to Kingsguard's secret relationship with the princess?

Those three MEN should've minded their business not alicent. when she asked Rhaenyra questions it was her job or her being a friend which leads me to :

perhaps alicent wasn't but the same thing could be said about Rhaenyra (lying on her mother's grave anyone?? just being over all Brat when Alicent TRIED to fix them??). the thing is they were both in bad situations in which they had little to no control in. Neither can be blamed for how they tried to help themselves or how they acted under pressure as KIDS. people seem to forget that alicent was also a child and always say "she was older in the books!" tell me when you ever picked up that book. the show is clearly different to the books why keep bringing up alicent's age? to justify hating her as a child.

HER PROBLEMS WAS CAUSED BY THE MEN IN HER LIFE!!!!

who forced her to go to the king's chambers and wear her mother's dress? Her dad. Who had the power to NOT marry her but did it anyway? Viserys. Who mistook her (understandable) missing of her father as a reason to kill his father and brother? fucking Larys. Who impregnated her and when she had sons, did nothing to support her or to fix the problems arising with the birth of male heirs? Viserys.

"they were friends not lovers"

friends not lovers, guys!!

friends not lovers.

of course it's never openly stated that they were in love but considering that the actors (who know the characters best) said there was an underlying romance between them and it was purposeful... you can't blame others for shipping them because as they said it was THERE.

while it was a big jump that alicent took with his words, I prefer to see what she did as less of a cunning act and more of an act of desperation. a way to avoid the incoming fighting that'll happen when the word gets out.

I'm not sure if the commenter is blaming the dance on alicent but can we for a second remember that alicent was going against her dad to bring back aegon? the council already had plans to sit aegon at the throne, alicent's misunderstandings did nothing to change that.

if rhaenyra ascending the throne wouldn't have cause a civil war, then Jace ascending it definitely would have because let's not forget being anti-bastard was not a thing Alicent created, everyone was against them.

Team black stans will call themselves feminists and say they support women's rights but when Alicent is shown to them, they scream internalized misogyny and call her a cunt. are you a feminist or do you just like seeing women agree with you and your views? to fit into the mold you made for feminism

alicent is a great example of the oppression of women in any time period and the greatest show of WHY women need feminism, and antis don't even give her grace

they uplift and praise the women who already have power and freedom and put down everyone else who doesn't have those things. that tells me more about their character and beliefs than whatever color they identify as.

#house of the dragon #alicent hightower #anti team black stans #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenicent #i cant believe im making apost before the 2nd season even starts

[zucest-week]

What are the rules for Zucest week?

The list I have on my mind is not really rules rules but guidelines and clarifications, but anyway, here you go anon.

1) Must contain Zucest. I think that much is obvious. It can be pining without relationship, it can be the process of establishing the relationship, it can take place during the relationship, it can be past Zucest after a nasty break up if you want some angst. Any type of Zucest, as long as it's there.

2) If somebody wants to, they can add a different side ship, but don't forget our main focus is Zucest. Fics that focus on different ships and toss Zucest to the sidelines will not be rebloged or associated with Zucest Week. Don't making a Maiko fic that happens to mention he fooled around with Azula once in the past.

3) Threesomes/Foursomes/Orgies are allowed. But it's essential that two out of the people in the gang bang will be Azula and Zuko and that they will be each other's primary focus. Zuko can have a harem, but Azula must be his favourite.

4) The threesomes/foursomes/orgies from "rule" number three can of course be incestuous. Let the Fire Family fuck their differences away, I don't mind. I won't be policing anyone's incest in this event, it's all about incest. But, as mentioned in rule three, Zuko and Azula must be each other's main focus. All fire family incest is glorious, but Zucest is the star of this show.

5) The following list of kinks had been deemed too sinful and disgusting for my tastes, so as the primary figure of morality of this world and as the center of the universe, I decided that anything containing the following kinks will not be associated with my event:

Literally, just do whatever the hell you want. I'm not kink police. It's fiction. We don't need kink police. Write whatever disgusting, sinful, twisted, illegal pornography you want. I'll still reblog it. This is an event for the people. I'm not restrict said people from having fun writing and reading whatever type of fic they want.

6) Smut is allowed and encouraged (Duh)

7) If for whatever reason, something happens, and you don't manage to post your work the day the drabble you used is meant for, that's okay. I'll still reblog even if it's one or two days late. If for some reason, you don't manage to complete all the works for the week, that's fine, I'll reblog as many as you've managed to post. If for some reason you complete a couple of works after the week is over, that's fine, I'll still reblog (I'll just need you to notify/tag me, because I won't go searching for fics in the tags after the week is over). I'll always reblog anything you guys write, at any time you write it.

8) Tag everything you post as "Zucest Week" or "Zucest Week 2024" or both. This helps everyone who's interested find your fic, and it helps me track it down and reblog it.

9) If, for whatever reason, you want to post works, but you don't want me to reblog them, let me now.

10) Some other event planners don't want the audience to suggest smutty prompts, because they don't want a day of the week to end up being filled with only smut prompt and force somebody to either write smut when they don't want to or not participate. Personally, I have found a different method to organize and select prompts, and that way I've managed to eliminate the possibilities of that happening, so write whatever prompt ideas you want, it's fine.

11) Yes, you can write a prompt idea even if you don't plan on writing. Not everyone is good at writing, and you don't have to write to participate to the event. You can also participate with drawings, poems, honorary posts or just by reading, enjoying and boosting fics of people that wrote something. And anyone who participates has the right to suggest a prompt.

Now, I got a couple of asks from a couple of anons asking for advice as to what they should do if they want to write for Zucest Week anonymously, so that they won't be associated with it and won't have to deal with the rage of some haters and antis. I get that not everyone is able to put up with that type of negativity. So this is how I can accommodate those people:

For Ao3

I recommend either publishing a fic as an anonymous author or publishing it normal and orphaning the work. In those cases, you won't be able to post your own fic on Tumblr without revealing your blog, so those people are free to send me an anon ask with a link for their anonymous/orphan work and I'll spread it around Tumblr for you. You can also privately message me and I'll spread around the work without revealing who wrote it and send it to me.

For Tumblr

If you write on Tumblr instead if Ao3, or if you write on both, but don't want to make a Tumblr post with your work to avoid the hate, you can type out the fic in an anon ask or a submission, and I'll reply to it with a simple dot/period/(.), so that it can be posted in the Zucest week blog without the author having to reveal their identity

For prompts

When I share the document for suggesting pronptsy, I'm certainly not monitoring who logs in to write something. So you can type out a prompt and still be anonymous, even to me.

#zucest #zucest week #zucest week 2024 #anon #asks #zucest week rules guidelines and clarifications

[loonyrose]

thoughts on Ahsoka ep8

Spoilers!!! You've been warned!!!

*

Morgan being given "the gift of shadows" by the night sisters was so cool. And then her getting mother talzin's blade thing!!

Kanan reference!! A more in depth one this time!! I was already crying by this part 😭

And Ahsoka talks about Anakin so much in this show I'm not well. Ahsoka and Ezra holding up the ship with the force was epic btw.

"For Dathomir". Chills.

I love how thrawn is so scared of anakin and anyone trained by him in this show it's an awesome reference.

I knew the night sisters were reanimating some of the troopers with magic! I knew it!

No no guys don't split up please haven't you learned your lesson

Sabine using the force properly for the first time in the same way as Luke >>>

Didn't expect Sabine to stay behind and help Ahsoka, honestly. But now I see that it was the same choice she had to make earlier. First it was either leave behind Ezra, or risk releasing thrawn back into the galaxy, and this time it was help Ezra defeat thrawn, or save her master and friend. Sabine still can't let go of the people close to her, even when it has terrible consequences.

"one wonders, just how similar you might become" anyone else been picking up a bit of dark-side indulging Ahsoka vibe in this show? She definitely channeled the dark side during her fight with baylan on seatos, and she sith eyes for a moment in the world between worlds (which is more likely symbolizing the dark side in her of course).

Also thrawn calling Ahsoka a ronin!! Can we all just say ronin or Jedi ronin now instead of grey Jedi it's so much cooler.

Sabine and Ahsoka literally swapped places with Ezra omg 🥲 but now they're friends with snail turtles now yay ig

I really do feel bad for shin at this point tbh. Whatever path she's on now isn't good for her or anyone else, she needs her master back.

The statues of the mortis gods!!! I literally screamed when I saw them!!! I wonder if the fact that the sisters head fell off and it's the most damaged statue has to do with anything? And I think Baylan standing on the father statue really symbolizes that he isn't partial to the light or dark side, he's fairly balanced. Also I really have no idea where his character is going, he's too mysterious and the actings too good. RIP Ray Stevenson.

EZRA IS BACK! FOR REAL HE WAS ON HOME ONE! I love how chop immediately knew it was him. "Is it you? Is it you Ezra?" 😭 and also DAMNIT DAVE WHY'D YOU HAVE TO CUT THE SHOT THEY WERE ABOUT TO HUG

I can't wait for Ezra to find out about jacen! I really hope jacen doesn't go to Luke's academy that would not end well.

"thrawn got away"

"and thanks to you, Ezra got home"

NOBODY TALK TO ME IM HAVING A BREAKDOWN

Sabine sensing her force grandpa. Grandfather in training? What exactly are we calling this?

His smile. HIS SMILE. IM SO HAPPY.

UNFORTUNATELY no zeb Kallus or rex, but hey we still have season two perhaps?

#Also I didn't mention but morai the owl being in the end #We're one step closer to Ahsoka becoming the embodiment of the light side officially #Ahsoka #ahsoka spoilers #ahsoka show #ahsoka series #sabine wren #ezra bridger #grand admiral thrawn #Anakin Skywalker

[a-fragile-little-teacup]

i wanna talk about the bear

THIS IS MY OPINION! THIS IS NOT ME CLAIMING THIS AS FACT OR DIRECTLY ACCUSSING ANYONE OF SHIT! IF YOUR INSTINCT IS TO INSULT ME BECAUSE OUR OPINIONS DON'T LINE UP, THEN I WOULD ADVISE THAT YOU JUST SCROLL AWAY! I AM OPEN TO DISCUSSION, NOT BULLYING.

Hi.

So.

I love The Bear. I think it's a great show with interesting characters and well done directing and cinematography. It's great.

However, that doesn't mean that I have no critiques. And there is one that I feel a need to mention on the internet.

I am very worried about how the show is portraying Claire.

When the newest season came out and I started seeing some... interesting things being said/made about Claire, I assumed it was the fans getting a little defensive. That commonly happens when a show introduces a female romantic interest. To put it simply, I didn't think that it was something being pushed by the show's creators.

I was wrong.

First of all, let's talk about Claire and what I've seen said about her.

She was introduced this season as a love interest for Carmy. Interesting plotline for this show to explore, honestly.

Once the newest season came out, I saw a scary amount of viewers either pushing for the show to simply be pitting Clarie against Syd or they were blaming Claire for Carmy's actions.

two women of similar ages can exist in connection to a male character without them needing to fight over that male character. It dismisses a lot of both Syd and Claire's characters to only see them as being romantically tied to Carmy.

Carmy is responsible for his actions. Don't let his status as a pretty white boy distract from the fact that he's really kinda shitty as a person. He's unreliable and commonly dismisses a lot of accountability. It is not Claire's fault that Carmy didn't show up when he needed to.

I truly thought that this was just the fanbase, so I wasn't going to talk about it. I don't really enjoy being part of fandom culture at all. It is not usually great for my mental health. The cost of my well-being is almost never worth whatever I get as a result of being in that world.

However, I think the creative team on The Bear played a major role in the opinion forming around Claire, even if it wasn't intentional (which I obviously can't prove either way).

And I wanna explain why I think this is happening.

Carmy name drops her a lot. Especially when discussing the restaurant and the menu, he will push her name all the time. This is often around Syd because Syd's his business partner. This helped form an association.

Claire came up with a lot of ideas for what the two of them did. This made it easier for people to claim that she was forcing him away from the restaurant but I'm going to argue (a) that she didn't know all of the details around the restaurant's opening for most of the season and (b) that it was Carmy's responsibility to say no or explain that he was busy. If he hadn't said anything at all and was simply dragged around, then that would be one thing, but I don't personally believe that's what was shown throughout the season.

The panic attack scene in the last episode. Claire is shown in tandem with Carmy's family, which is largely seen as a source for Carmy's anxiety and panic attacks before it cuts to Syd seeming to be the reason that he calms down. This was such a wild fucking thing to throw in during the last episode. I don't know what the true intention behind this scene was, but I don't think it played as well as it could have.

I don't give a singular shit about who you ship with who or what you want to happen in the next season. That's not what this post is about.

Regardless of any of that, it is not fair to make Claire into this twisted almost-villain when she simply isn't one. She was described incredibly kindly by every character that talked about her (Richie, Michael, Carmy, Sugar, Fak).

She clearly has a personality beyond Carmy, which doesn't always happen when writing a female romantic interest (a discussion that I could write a whole separate post about and tie back to The Bear).

The way her character has been treated is worrying and if she is to return for season 3, then I'm equally as worried about how the writers will treat her.

#the bear #hulu #the bear fx #carmy berzatto #syd adamu #claire the bear #molly gordon #jeremy allen white #ayo edebiri #sydney adamu

[nobodysdaydreams]

My Reaction to the First Six Episodes of Wolf 359 (Because my mutuals have enticed me)

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs

My curiosity got the better of me. Will I do these for every episode? Will I listen to the full podcast? Who knows, but I hope you like this💕

My Live Reaction to Episode 1:

At first, an ad played for a way more upbeat story podcast involving Greek gods, rainbow magic, and teenagers, and I was very confused because none of this was mentioned in any of your posts.

Yes, yes, Eiffel. Hera forgets what's necessary to sustain human life and accidently made the cabin too cold, hahahaha...foreshadowing.

"Whatever you're up to Dr. Hilbert, best of luck!" Dude is your whole job ominous foreshadowing? Sorry guys, I get half the characters from your posts confused, I just know that Hera is the AI, but Eiffel dude, there's no way Hilbert's not up to something.

"It's not like if she let me have a cigarette, I'd light it and set the station's air supply on fire" Bro, stop.

"The people on the station have serious trust issues." I mean, fair. You knocked over acid, you're lighting cigarette willy-nilly, I still don't know what your job is man.

"Let's see if we can actually get some work done." -Well I know I'm not.

Ooohh... they're looking for intelligent life! 👀 This sounds like a good plot.

Dude I don't think coffee will solve your problem. I'd focus on getting rid of the ominous piano music.

Oh good at least he got his coffee. Oh ew never mind.

Oh no more on the Doctor. I don't trust him.

Wow Eiffel is a terrible employee and now I gotta listen to his training.

1,001 survival tips? That's actually a pretty low amount for space. These tips are also some wonderful foreshadowing though, and very cheerful too. "Failing to remain calm could result in your ✨😍 grisly 🌈💖gruesome🍭 🦋death🥰!" I love that.

Hilbert. Dude.

"A man's life is at risk". Are we sure it's just one man's life?

Okay Douglas. That's his first name.

Wait...is that....the Entertainer? Is the alien transmitting the Entertainer? Something about old timey music...I think that's also the song they play in Westfield after a massacre in the old west (I stopped watching after a while).

Well that was a musical transition. Oh wow the same guy did Douglas and Hilbert? Good voice acting. Yes it was the Entertainer! Alright not sure if the episodes have post credit scenes, but I might just skip to the next episode.

My thoughts on Episodes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (semi-live reaction because I'm listening to these while I'm working now, but it's really good. Let me know if you want me to split up by episodes or include time stamps in the future):

Okay. They can't shut Hera off. That seems ominous. I'm not sure if it's ominous because the time will come when they want to shut her off, or ominous because the time will come when a bad guy finally figures out how to shut her off. Either way not good.

This also seems like a lot of effort for toothpaste. How did Douglas get hired? He seems like a huge liability. Also, why are they running out of supplies? Shouldn't they have a ship coming to restock them at some point or a return date? They mention "Earth", but so far I don't think anyone has mention loved ones they left behind, a return date, or anything like that.

I like the captain though (I can't spell her name, I'm so sorry).

Why does Douglas (and apparently everyone) hate physical examinations? They're in space. It's not like they can force them to run a mile...right?

I love Hera. "The report was a fabrication! 🥰". "You place too much judgement on the concept of lies... it's only sticks and stones that can break a human's feeble delicate flesh." I love how everyone just accepts this is how she talks.

Big plant? Roots? What is this Little Shop of Horrors now?

Um... what on earth is this physical examination? Why is there so much pain? Why can't it be stopped once it starts? Is this a meta thing where this is the physical examination?

Nah, the one thing I agree with Douglas on is that Hilbert is up to stuff.

Okay. Don't like it. Don't like the plant. It's either a crisis or a lie that's going to eventually be a very appropriate metaphor.

Oh my gosh why does Hilbert want their spinal fluid? Like...why do they need to do this? I get that they're in space but normalize providing reasons for serious medical examinations.

Kill it? What if it's not hostile? But then again what if it is? How does it have an eye? Teeth? Oh never mind it is hostile.

Oh it's still on the loose...Douglas what the heck. A good day? A plant wants to kill you. Have you seen the musical?

...wait. Is that a theme? First the Entertainer plays, now we got Little Shop of Horrors references...is this a theme of season 1? Space musicals?

And...now Douglas is in space. What happened to the plant? Why is that not a priority?

I do love the commander's "No Tomfoolery" clause.

Hey! More music! 🎶It sounds faster and more urgent now. You can probably use music to send coded information. A shame there seems to be no codebreaker on board.

I wonder if Hera understands what it means.

Oh dear. Here goes Douglas. Well, he was a nice character while he lasted. 🫡 And by nice, I mean he was entertaining, but very underqualified for his position. Scarily underqualified in fact, in terms of his ability to cooperate and work with a team. How did he even get this job?

He was blinded by the flare? So is he blind the rest of the show or can they fix it?

Oh dear...Hera...drown in space? Of all the ways to go. And still nothing about that killer plant. Did I listen out of order or something? I feel like I might have.

I like the Commander. Hilbert on the other hand? The worst.

I'm also wondering when/if other characters show up. Are there really just four characters? I swear I saw people posting about more.

I still want to know why they are in space. If this is a research mission, then why isn't anyone giving them supplies? Why don't they have a return date? If it's a survival mission, why aren't they acting more urgent?

Also does...does Douglas or another character nearly die at the end of every episode?

Hera: "Because I missed you."

Also Hera: "I lie 🥰"

And...more ominously cheerful piano music🎶🎹🎵🎹🎶. Which honestly fits Hera's aesthetic pretty well.

Okay Douglas has a clear nicotine problem.

Also. While he deals with his illness, I just gotta add something I noticed: the AI on the ship is called Hera. The ship is called Hephaestus. Isn't... isn't there a Greek Myth about Hephaestus being the son of Hera that she rejects and throws off Mount Olympus? Don't like how that sounds...

Hilbert. Hilbert. Why have you tied him to the bed and left him with nothing but his nicotine? That sounds like a major consent and health code violation. He's not violent or at risk of hurting anyone! Well, I mean, at least not any more than he normally is.

Huh. Hera's not here. And yet she said she couldn't be shut off "even if they wanted to". Weird.

Well at least Hilbert is feeding him. Oh my gosh Douglas is fake taking the pills? I'm not saying taking them is a good idea, but not taking them isn't great either. Why do they have this one guy doing all science stuff? Like he's the medical doctor, but he's also the guy running all the technology and experiments. They couldn't have a different guy to be their medical doctor? Maybe someone slightly less crazy?

Hilbert. Once again, he might trust you more if you didn't tie him to a bed, drug him in his sleep, and say things like "some people need to be dragged kicking and screaming towards improvement".

Yeah what on earth does "Big Day Tomorrow" mean? I'm not sure, but once again does Douglas nearly die during most episodes?

Also tying someone to a bed with a killer plant on the loose seems like a pretty bad idea.

WHY DO THEY HAVE TROPICAL FLU ON BOARD?

What sort of ship is this? And why do I feel like Hilbert might be a supervillain?

500th day around Wolf395 you say Douglas? Okay, so they've been in space for about a year and a half. Still not sure what they're doing up there. Also Hera's "I don't know what I want, but I know how to get it" quote. Very ominous coming from an AI.

I don't like the way Hilbert talks to Hera. Apparently Hera doesn't either...oh dear.

Hilbert you foolish liability, what did you do?

PFFT- Douglas imitating the captain.😂

Ooohhh...mysterious audio recordings!

Uh. Why can only Douglas hear the mysterious sounds? I don't like that.

Ah yes heading down to Engineering. Does the ship have an engineer?

Ugh I wish I could make out what the audio is saying. And I wish it would get louder Douglas. Then maybe I could hear it.

Oh now this is interesting! Wonder what the voices mean?

Have these voyages or experiments happened before?

I suppose we'll find out. Oh that is not a solid explanation from Hera. And again, why are Douglas, Minkowski and Hilbert the only people on the ship? Don't they need anyone else? And what happened to the killer plant? Did I skip an episode? Are we suppose to just pretend that never happened? Is it gonna come back later? Find out I guess.

Anyway, great podcast, thank you for recommending, I had fun listening. I might do more of these later if you enjoyed this.

#Wolf359 #wolf 359 #Wolf 359 reaction #Bods Wolf359 Reactions

[gwyns]

I read a post from a while ago that said the reason why Elain gave Azriel ear plugs was because she might have an inkling that he might be near a lightsinger. One thing I’ve noticed some E/riel’s do is when Gwyn is brought up about being a lightsinger they say she’s evil, but if there are theories that Elain herself might be one, then lightsinger’s aren’t bad (I’ve actually seen some E/riel’s come up with Elain being a lightsinger theory I’m dead serious). That Elain can sing to or call different things like people, animals, shadows and life/death. It’s like they’re picking and choosing what benefits their ship. How her seer abilities are letting her see this, and not to say that can’t be true, and she avoids Lucien because she sees that they’re not meant to be.

Another post somewhere said Elain might have accidentally thrown Bryce into Prythian while trying to scry for a Dread Trove object or Gwydion and that to get back to Midgard, Bryce will need Elain’s help (this post & theory came out before HOFAS so I’m curious to know their thoughts now🤡). I’ve seen a lot of e/riel’s say that Elain is a spy (and she’ll help Azriel search for the Dread Troves), but if she was then wouldn’t her sisters know or have some inclination? I feel like most E/riel’s only care about self inserting themselves in Elain, for whatever reason, and don’t really care about her. I don’t think Elain will be evil, but I just wanted to share this; there was an evil Elain theory someone had. She gifted Az the headache powder (we don’t know how it works) and earplugs to secretly numb his senses.

i've seen the earplug theory before and my god did it make me laugh like the desperation... but elain being a lightsinger? HUH?? do they not remember the description of them in acosf? they lure people and kill them. they're not beloved by animals or something like wtf??? i can't anymore 😭

if anything i think it'd be more accurate that elain avoids lucien because she sees a happy life for them. like put yourself in her shoes, she was in love with a man who rejected her coldly because of something she had no control over and she's tied to this man she barely knows because of fae magic and now her fae magic is showing her they're going to be perfect together?? i wouldn't be surprised if she thought the bond was influencing her seer abilities somehow

ok look i love elain, she's my soft baby girl, but not everything is about her omfg. clearly their hofas theories were wrong (who's surprised? not me) but it's insane how they shove her into every single plotline. she'll get her own story whenever sjm releases it, relax

i've said before that i don't agree with the "evil elain" theories, it's not something i see sjm doing at all lol she writes her antagonists/soon to be antagonists a certain way and elain doesn't give off those vibes. plus she confirmed her book years ago so yeah, elain is safe. not saying you do, anon, since you said you don't think she will be either. i'm just talking about others i've seen over the years who, for some reason, can't accept that women can be kind and polite and soft without ulterior motives. anyway, moving on... do i think elain could somehow be manipulated by other forces? maybe, but it wouldn't be with the intention to harm anyone else. so i don't think she gifted him those things for any other reason than the fact that they're gag gifts

#antielriel #anti e/riel #asks #anonymous

[moodymisty]

Okay here I'am! You said I should just do it, don't come crying to me ;P If you feel up for it. Maul pre losing his lower body x Fem!Reader with 1/3/19/45 of your kink list, all in one package. Consensual aswell as Dub-Con is fine with me, whatever is more comfortable for you to write. If this is too much or Maul is someone you don't write about, that's okay. Just thought I should try :)) I think he is the perfect cadidate for those kinks.

Damn girl you had an idea and you WENT FOR IT I salute you

OK, fair warning I've never written for the Maul the Big Red Sith before, so this was quite the exercise XD (aka please have mercy on me I'm nervous. Also I probably could've reread this forever, i'm still very not happy about it but I feel horrible for making you wait so long LSDJFLDJ)

Relationships: Darth Maul(pre-choppening)/Fem!Reader

Warnings: NSFW, Darth Maul's general existence, light predator/prey dynamics, Dub-con, but very light dub-con if that makes sense, (unrealistic please use lube)Anal, Begging, A single bite, Probably Stockholm syndrome and just general unhealthy relationship dynami-IT'S DARTH MAUL

It's not often in the galaxy you find people who can heal. Whether it's by the force or by bacta, it's a rarity, compared to the leagues of people holding blasters and lightsabers.

So when Separatist forces inevitably took over what little town you had called home, your resume had served as an almost instant target on your back.

It ended up landing you employed on a Separatist starship; And of course one currently transporting a Darth.

In your first days aboard it had been a nightmare, constantly hoping, praying you’d never see him. And when you had, it had become praying you didn’t come into his attention. Maybe it was that display of attempting to be a wallflower that ended up doing the exact opposite, and brought him right to you.

You don't know if you should be terrified or flattered that you managed to catch the gaze of a Sith. Being around Maul is such a wild cocktail of emotions you can’t really describe, and while anyone on this ship would tell you to keep as far away from him as you possibly could, there’s just, something that keeps you from entirely doing so. Even through any fear.

But you can't say you still haven't debated the idea of trying to find your way this flagship; However compared to everything else you’ve seen, it was far too risky and most jobs were far more dangerous. Safer than being on The Malevolence with General Grievous, at least; As seeing that flagship’s name on any transfer notice was an ill omen.

Your interactions, you’ll call them with Maul however, are tempting as much as they are dangerous.

He doesn't linger around you too often, but it's enough that you're used to seeing him more so than you aren't. Even if he isn't directly interacting with you; As sometimes you'll be somewhere and just feel eyes on you. You won’t see him close by, but you swear there’s some sort of feeling that’s telling you you’ve crossed his mind. In what way, you don’t know.

He’s crossed yours more than a few times, enough so that sometimes you have trouble thinking of anything else.

"Trying to hide away from someone?"

You almost drop the container of bacta you'd had in your hands, only just managing to grasp it before it topples to the floor, turning to look up and spot Maul looking down at you. The container rolls in your hand, as you put it back into the small box and grab the entire thing. He’s looking you with that same expression again; Thinking and watching your every move. Being under it sends an intense feeling down your spine, but you can’t quite tell if you like it or not.

"No, I just needed to get some things to stock up the infirmary."

You dared to look up into his eyes for a moment, before glancing away and letting out a small laugh. "I don't think I'd much be able to hide from you anyways." Maul lets out a one note chuckle. You've gotten a surprising amount of those from him; He seems to get a decent amount of entertainment value out of you.

The entertainment might almost be more so of a predator swatting at it's meal before it takes the killing bite, but it also might just be because his entire being is so naturally domineering.

"You are right that you wouldn’t. I would delight in your trying, however."

The way he stares at you could boil your blood, and holding the box of bacta containers in your hands you quickly move to scuttle by him.

"I, I have to get going."

Quickly you snuffle around the giant Zabrak and out of the storage room, attempting to make it down to the main medical bay where your tiny, private office resides. The box of bacta containers is gripped tight in your hands and you think you're almost home free, until people start looking in your direction and quickly begin peeling off as far to either side of the hall then can get; Almost stricken with fear. You realize why when you look over your shoulder, and see a swaft of black flowing fabric standing out from the legions of grey uniforms. A small amount of red skin with brilliant black tattoos stand out against the billowing cloak, giving no doubt as to who it is.

He's following you.

And there’s that feeling again, that you always get that tells you he’s close; You’d have known he was behind you even if you hadn’t turned your head.

It makes you move faster, walking as fast as you can through the minimally busy hallway. But you just know he’s getting closer; Your heart thumping against your chest. It seemed he was right that you had no chance in hiding from him, because you didn’t have the chance to start.

Once he gets within your reach he claps a hand on your left shoulder tight, and instantly begins guiding you. You can't do anything but follow, into exactly where you'd actually been heading. The medical office is unsurprisingly empty, and you'd never been so thankful for such a thing as the box of bacta containers nearly spills as you sit it down on a table, only for Maul to push you against it.

"I don’t recall ever dismissing you."

He was right; you’re never supposed to leave without being dismissed when in the company of someone of a higher station.

“I’ve seen many harshly punished for less insubordinate behavior.”

Your stomach presses into the edge of the table, feeling the heat of his body through your clothing. It makes you take a breath in, unable to let it out from how tight your chest feels.

This isn’t the first time things have become this, close. Each time has been farther and farther, wearing you down. Maybe it’s his way of flirting, maybe it’s him seeing how fast he can get you to crumble underneath him. At one point you stopped being petrified at not knowing; As while you can still feel how your heart is racing from fear, it’s also racing from the feeling of his body against yours.

“I’m sorry, Lord.” He almost laughs at your apology, clearly amused by it.

“So obedient.” His hands are rough and unforgiving, but not as painful, as you might’ve expected.

"Do you treat all your superiors with the same impeccable manners?" If he was someone else you'd have blindly said yes; But with Maul you dare to be honest. In your previous interactions he hasn’t seemed to mind when you slip up, so this time you dare to do it on purpose.

"No." He gets amusement out of it, for sure. Laughing as he presses on your shoulder enough to force your body to fully bend over the table. You don’t know why you’ve let your body be so malleable, having to cough to avoid letting out a less than un-approving noise as the way your feel his hand between your shoulderblades.

"Good. I think I'll keep it all to myself." One of his hands grips the waistband of your pants and begins moving them, scraping against your skin as they get pulled down; A rarely degree of mercy, as you felt he wouldn't care if it came off in one piece or not. Your underwear come off with them, cinched around your thighs.

You don't know exactly when he'd adjusted his robes but at some point he clearly had, as the shape and hotness of his cock against your ass is more than instantly recognizable. The motion is enough to make your body even hotter, feeling the way your cunt becomes slick with your own juices as he grinds between your outer lips. He’s not gentle; His body is rough and hard the table creaking underneath you as he presses against you, feeling his nails against your skin as he grips your clothing for leverage.

He grinds on your cunt for a short while longer before pressing his cock against your entrance and slowly pushing inside, listening to the way you gasp as your cunt tightens around him. He’s fucking you deep and slow, burying his cock inside of you before feeling your tight pussy fight his attempt to pull from you.

But once his cock is entirely slick with your juices he suddenly pulls entirely from you, cunt fluttering from the feeling of suddenly being empty. It surprises you and for a split second you almost fear he’s had his fun and was going to leave, until you feel him pressing against your ass. Your hands grip tight against the table as he ever so slowly pushes his way inside of you, unbeknownst to you keenly watching the way your muscles tighten and back arches.

He’s slow, almost agonizingly so and letting your body ever so slowly adjust to the intrusion. The moment he bottoms out inside of you again it feels like you're stuffed to the absolute brim, swallowing a knot in your throat and trying not to moan as he begins pulling your ass on and off his cock. Quickly you feel your stomach twisting in knots again as he fucks you, feeling the juices from your cunt leak down your thighs. But there’s a little part of you than can take more, mewling at the way you feel his nails leaving scratches on your skin.

Part of you might feel a little bold demanding something of a Sith but then again, you think the chain of command is more than a little bit broken here.

"Harder," You call out to him, listening to him let out an amused chuckle.

“Whatever happened to those impeccable manners?”

He says, wanting you to beg. It’s obvious, in his voice and the way he slows down enough that your senses aren’t as overwhelmed as they were. The feeling of knots in your stomach and the throbbing of your clit starts fading away, only coming back when he moves and dares to give you a taste of what he’s no longer giving you. You can’t hold out for long, not when he’s edging you like this and forcing you to beg.

“Please, I-, Please Lord harder,”

He listens to your request, the sound of his hips against your thighs louder as he batters your ass. It feels like he's going to shove you through the table if he keeps this up, thrusting into you as your muscles tighten around him.

Even as your cunt aches for something to fill it tightening around nothing you still feel yourself leaking against your inner thighs, feeling your stomach in knots and lower body jolting as he grinds against every single nerve. It feels absolutely overwhelming as he fucks you, like he's setting your body on fire as you moan and bite your lip.

You’re whispering profanities under your breath only seems to spur him on harder, and looking over your shoulder, you notice the way his eyes are slightly hooded; Looking down at the way your ass bounces on his cock. His robes are disheveled and you can see the way his chest is somewhat heaving, as his lips are parted slightly.

Even if you'd love to stare at the way his aloof facade has left ever so slightly in just your company, you instinctively move to look forward as your thighs press together and another loud moan gets just barely caught in your throat. Your knuckles are tense as you grip the table tight, mewling as you cum ass tightening around him.

In your mind for a moment you thought about being quiet; That anyone could walk by and hear either of you, but in the end it came of nothing. Not even a hand over your mouth, letting out a shameless moan now as you feel his hands gripping your hips hard enough you'd swear it'll bruise.

It makes you shiver when he removes one hand from your hips and slowly his nails trail up your thigh to your ass, leaving scratches on your skin. It's not enough to bleed, but it is enough to leave noticeable marks and make you gasp. Then his hand wraps around your hip again, body leaning forward as if trying to thrust as deep into you as he possibly can, and even deeper. It feels like his cock is in your stomach as his body presses on yours, skin feeling hotter than it should be.

He freezes in place cock throbbing inside of you as he finishes, sharp nails leaving marks on your skin. He’s throbbing and you swear you can feel the way he cums so much inside of you, heat pooling in your gut.

You don’t even think he’s finished when a hand comes to your neck and moves your clothing, before you suddenly feel your lips and teeth against your neck. He bites down hard enough to make you take a sharp inhale of breath, but you don’t feel any blood. It still stings when his mouth moves away from your skin, and he leans to stand upright.

When he pulls out you can feel cum leak down, trailing onto your thighs and cunt. It feels hot but not as hot as your skin does, entire body flush and stuffy beneath your clothes. Your body twitches as he trails one finger up your thigh and cunt, wiping alone the cum he'd just left moments ago. It would be a pity to waste, he thinks.

As much as you’d like to lounge and enjoy a breather, perhaps try and process what’s happened and how you’d manage to get from one thing to here, this is a busy flagship; You have duties and superiors hounding you. You can’t relax, as much as Maul might be an incredible temptation to do so.

You can barely gather your wits about you in a normal amount of time, trying to desperately at least pull your clothes into order. Quite obviously you'll have to clean up, once Maul takes his leave. The supplies you grabbed are still just haphazardly placed aside, almost falling off the table.

Much to your surprise however when you stumble attempting to fix your pants Maul actually catches your by the bicep, keeping you from tripping completely over. He's silent about it, and you finish getting dressed somewhat normally. The sterile lights in the room are hideously bright, and you don't think you've even seen Maul in a room this lit up. They shine against his skin in such a way that the red of his skin is even more vibrant, as well as the gold speckles in his eyes.

It's more than enough to distract you even while Maul eyes you more than a little confused as to why you seem almost dazed, before suddenly you're jolted out of your trance.

There's the sound of the door opening and your name, and quickly you attempt to look over yourself and make sure you're presentable before one of your superiors, who is entering the room after a short knock and you speaking a sentence of acknowledgment before his entering cut you off. Your superior wastes no time clearly, and instantly begins reprimanding you.

"You were supposed to be at your post an h-” He stops, recognizing the red skin and black fabric instantly. It's with that he gains significantly more formality, going ramrod straight and clearing his throat.

"A thousand pardons, Darth. But I have need of-"

"She is busy."

The commander visibly stutters for a moment at the harsh declaration, directly in opposition to his own, before attempting to continue speaking.

"I understand that believe me, but she is needed in-"

"Are you going to make me repeat myself?"

You can't help but glance up at Maul, watching the way his tense jaw moves muscles stretching his tattoos. Quickly with his tail between his legs your commanding officer nods and takes his leave, once more leaving you and the Sith on your own.

“It seems your superior has a temper un-befitting of their abilities.” Maul says, and you shrug.

“It’s not like I have much a choice in the matter.” He hums, and starts walking while you stay put. When he realizes you have he looks at you as if waiting, and in your trot to move up, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror.

There is no way you’ll be able to hide the bite mark he gave you with the clothing you have on now, as it’s so high up your neck and bright red. With a sigh of defeat, you leave it exposed and go on to follow.

#Me when I first looked at this ask: 👁👄👁 #a woman who knows what she wants #Have I ever thirsted for Darth Maul before? No. Did writing this convert me a little? Yes. #darth maul x reader #Darth Maul/Reader #the clone wars x reader #mywriting

[adragonsfriend]

Do or Do Not, There is No Try

I have seen, I think, the full gamut of misinterpretations of this phrase, so, I'm going to take a crack at breaking down its meaning, and also look a little at its impact on Luke, because someone once tried to tell me that Sidious couldn't've conquered the galaxy without Yoda, and I'm here to say that that's *so funny*, because actually Luke couldn't've saved Anakin without Yoda's teachings.

Let's look at another, simpler example first, to establish my method of analysis. Pretty much, it's about context. Lets take the sentence,

"Hey, don't cry, don't cry."

Let's ask some key questions:

Who would might be saying this and who might they be saying this to? An adult or older child might say this to a young child.

When might this be said? When the child is distressed, and either crying or potentially about to start crying.

What might the older person's intention be in this scenario? Comforting the child.

What is the cultural context? Crying can be caused by a wide variety of intense emotions, but (in modern western culture at least) it is most strongly associated with sadness or pain, negative emotions. There are sometimes negative attitudes about crying being a sign of weakness, but that's not a uniformly held idea, and young children generally get a pass on this.

We can debate about whether saying "Hey, don't cry, don't cry," is the best way to comfort someone who is crying and whether it does or doesn't reenforce negative ideas about crying, but phrased the way I've phrased it, and said in a generally comforting tone and accompanied by other comforting actions, it doesn't literally mean, "I command you to stop crying immediately."

It means, "I see that you're sad/hurting. I wish that you weren't experiencing those negative emotions that are causing you to cry, because I care about you and how you feel. You're going to be okay and this is a situation that we can handle."

(If anyone has, like, specific trauma around this phrase, please note I'm not saying you're not valid for having whatever feelings you have about it, I'm looking at it in the situation described above where intentions are all around pretty positive)

See? Context.

Now let's look at our phrase,

Do or do not, there is no try.

First, a list of common misinterpretations, some of which (I believe) come from people trying really hard to make sense of this phrase but coming at it from the wrong lens, some of which take it very literally, and some of which are cop outs:

it's not just advice about how to use the Force

it's not saying that effort doesn't exist, or that trying really hard is stupid

it's not saying that putting in your best effort is worthless if you don't succeed

it's definitely not saying to only do things you already know you can succeed at

it's not a meaningless platitude, and it's not totally open to any interpretation you'd like

So, context questions:

Who is saying this? Yoda, a life-long teacher of the Force, of lightsaber dueling, and of philosophy. Also a life-long leader, humanitarian, and warrior. He is also a Jedi.

Who is Yoda saying this to? Luke, his student, who aspires to face defeat a terrible evil--the empire--and generally help people where ever he goes. He intends do so by becoming a Jedi.

What is Luke doing when Yoda says this? He is talking about how he really needs his X-wing to not sink into the swamp so he can get off the planet, at the same time as he's saying, "But I don't really know if I can do anything about that so I'm gonna half-try and then give up," and, "My X-wing is very important but I can't have it but I need it so I'm not going to seek out any other solutions to my problem either." In this moment, Luke is whining, and not facing up to his problems (he got it from his dad).

What is Yoda doing when he says this? He's lifting Luke's X-wing out of the swamp with the Force, thereby solving Luke's most obvious outward problem--his dependence on his ship for transport. He's a teacher showing his student the capabilities of the Force, addressing another of Luke's outward problems--his lack of knowledge of the Force. He's also, because this is how both movies and teaching work, addressing Luke's main inward problem: his lack of perseverance and conviction. In this moment, Yoda is helping, and teaching.

So it's a phrase that, along with Yoda's demonstration, is meant to teach Luke something about conviction and effort. Well, we probably already knew most of that, so let's ask some more questions:

Is there a larger context of this phrase? Yes, this phrase is being said in a movie, and so Luke isn't it's only intended audience, and Yoda isn't the only one saying it. The other audience is us, the literal audience, and the writer is George Lucas. All the cues in the movie tell us the audience that Yoda saying this is an important moment we should be paying attention to.

What are his opinions of/intentions for Yoda and the Jedi? Extremely positive. He does not say they are perfect--the conclusion of RotJ says that Yoda and Obi-Wan were wrong about something--but he does say that Jedi are people striving very actively to help others and to be their best selves. These are characters through whom a lot of his beliefs about what goodness is and how people should live are being transmitted. So as this idea of Yoda's is not the one challenged by the conclusion of RotJ, we can assume it is meant to be interpreted positively.

What were George Lucas' cultural inspirations for Jedi culture that relate to this phrase? A combination of christianity, buddhism, and his own unique ideas. To oversimplify: Christianity gives us the light vs. dark, true evil and true good both exist and we should strive for goodness part, buddism gives us the mastery of self, non-attachment, and meditation parts. I am not an expert in any religion, and definitely not in buddhism--I was at least raised christian--but even I know enough to know I'm about to make some sweeping generalizations, so grain of salt, if you please. But disclaimers aside, I believe his phrase, and the way it is phrased, are and indication it is being inspired more by the buddhism side of things. The way christian texts, specifically the Bible, are written typically goes "here is a story/parable about some people doing something, and here is how big G god and/or Jesus reacted to that." There are plenty of metaphors sprinkled in, but they are mainly there to clarify points for readers. Buddhist texts on the other hand (and lots of other easter belief systems as well, like daoism, hinduism, etc. It's an important note that these belief systems don't necessarily conform to the western idea of what a religion is, and often their original languages don't even have a word which is equivalent in meaning to "religion") use metaphor and poetic language in often deliberately contradictory ways, to both express and make the reader/listener (lots of these "texts" were (and still are) oral traditions before they were written down) think about things which are considered impossible to fully express in words and which defy description in other ways as well. The ongoing, unresolved struggle to reconcile contradictory descriptions is the point. Importantly, this doesn't mean those texts can be interpreted however a reader would like. There may be more than one right interpretations, but there can also be wrong, or lacking, interpretations.

Our phrase has a positive/useful message (you can debate whether you agree with that message later, if you'd like), it can't just be about the Force since a very non-Force having audience it meant to gain something from hearing it, and it's not meant to be taken entirely literally.

From here, it's me taking the context and running.

Do or do not, there is no try.

Yoda is making a statement about being decisive, about commitment, and about the unexpected power that can be found when you really put all your effort towards a goal.

Yoda is giving a lesson much more important than 'How to lift things 101,' and much more relevant than how to use the Force.

He's telling Luke to stop whining and make a decision about what it is that he really wants to do, and telling him that when he does know that that is, he needs to put all his effort behind that goal.

Star Wars is telling all of us to stop whining. To decide what we believe in and to act on it.

(If there are any Doctor Who fans who've made it this far, there is a really similar theme across Doctor Who, especially for the 12th Doctor--my personal favorite. Yoda and the Doctor would make wonderful chaos friends.)

And guess what? Luke takes this advice to heart. He decides he's going to redeem his father and he puts aside all doubt, all hesitation, everyone--Yoda, Obi-Wan, Leia, all of rebel leadership--who would tell him it's impractical or foolish or not worth his time.

Do or do not?

Luke is going to do this.

He's not going to say, "Eh I'd really like it if my father redeemed himself, but I don't know if I can do it or if I should try or how I should go about trying."

He makes the decision that he's committed to that path and then stakes his life on succeeding.

He may be going against Yoda's specific opinion on Vader, but he's absolutely doing so in accordance with the commitment which Yoda helped to teach him.

#star wars #sw rant #luke skywalker #yoda #do or do not #jedi philosophy #religious philosophy #literary analysis #star wars yeeteth