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star-ting-over · 3 years

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Fic: You were supposed to protect me.

Omega lives, Crosshair lives. Unfortunately, flying off into the sunset isn’t all it cracked up to be.

Second (2/2) possible ending to - You were supposed to love me.

Set 3 to 4 years after the end of that fic. READ THE WARNINGS

Read on AO3

Warnings - Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Major Character Injury, Permanent Injury, Head Injury, Grief/Mourning, Abandonment, Lack of Communication, Medical Inaccuracies

“You were supposed to protect me” Omega’s snarl hit Hunter right in the heart. Finding a retort or response of any kind was not going to be coming from Hunter, Omega scoffed, stalking back to her room. The biting words thrown in Hunter’s direction were a more frequent occurrence of late. Tech’s assessment that it was simply teenage hormones to blame was weak at best and didn’t really explain why it was Hunter that was almost always on the receiving end of the young girl’s ire.

Tech and Wrecker might just have been better at staying out of her way. They had undoubtedly become good at avoiding Hunter. Silence and pointed glances each time he entered the room were a clear enough message. At least they still had each other. Omega seemed to isolate herself more from them each day, retreating into her own world of cold and anger.

Thunderous words howled the tops of lungs he could have dealt with; he had grown up with Wreaker for force sake. Pain, fury, anger he could have endured, they burnt themselves out in time. But this, this was here to stay. Venomous and cold, cynical and cruel. The sweet girl they had found on Kamino was well and truly gone, killed by a blaster bolt to the chest. In her place, a ruthless shadow, one that Hunter recognised less and less with each passing day.

“Just like Crosshair”, Tech had muttered the words to Echo where he had thought that Hunter couldn’t hear him. The pad in Hunter’s hand smashed the display screen above Tech’s head before he had even realised that he had thrown it. Tech had kept these opinions on the similarities to himself after that, or at least he had gotten better at making sure that Hunter wasn’t around to hear them.

Not that they were all that similar anymore. If Omega had become a shadow after Miral, Crosshair had become a shell. He remembers nothing of his time with the Empire, not the way he hunted them across the galaxy, not the cruel taunts or the wounds inflicted, the torture he had put them through, nothing. Hunter couldn’t help but feel there was a bit of injustice in that. But, of course, Crosshair also couldn’t remember much before the Empire either, large gaps carved out of their lives together. Sometimes he would wake up, thinking they were still children on Kamino or wander into their living space and ask about some mission of other from a Jedi General they had completed half a decade ago. They would tell him the mission was over; the war was over; he would frown and nod and ask again a few minutes later. Hunter didn’t have the patience for it. He felt utterly cruel each time he snapped at Crosshair, but that didn’t seem to be enough to stop him the next time. Crosshair didn’t appear to hold it against him, though Hunter doubted he remembered.

Echo, on the other hand, had the patience of a saint when it came to Crosshair. Hunter found it strange more than anything, considering the two hadn’t exactly bonded in the time between Echo’s addition to the batch and the rise of the Empire. Maybe Echo preferred a version of Crosshair that wasn’t making snide comments about droids and experiments every time Tech paused for breath. Maybe Echo felt more kinship with the sniper now than he did with the rest of them. Hunter didn’t know; he thinks that perhaps it should bother him more than it does. It was a pity that Crosshair only occasionally remembered Echo’s name.

Echo had been the one to save Crosshair after all. Echo had gone back for his body, muttering something cutting about leaving a brother behind. Hunter hadn’t cared. Echo had run in 10 minutes later calling for Wreakers help; the ensuing screaming match and eventual departure of the pair hadn’t even registered to Hunter. Instead, he had stood back flat against a wall, mind screaming, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of Techs hands in Omega’s chest, willing the girl to live.

Wreaker had come back alone an hour later, despondent and eerily silent. It took Tech 3 hours to get Omega stable; Hunter didn’t move an inch in all that time. As Tech stepped back, Hunter had stepped forwards. Taking the girls hand in his, so small and delicate, Hunter’s world shrank down. He would never allow them to come so close to losing her again.

So, when Tech’s panicked voice came over the intercom, reporting that the Imperials were closing in, Hunter made the only call he had available to him. Echo had run out of time. The long pause from Tech after Hunter gave the order to take off stoked a rage that Hunter hadn’t felt before but would become his constant companion in the years to come. They left Miral and didn’t return until they were sure the Empire had lost their trail. It took about two months. Enough time for a wounded Crosshair to convalesce in the back of a seedy med-clinic and long enough for Echo to assume they weren’t coming back. Once the pair were back, they didn’t stay long.

Echo left to join Rex, determined to fight someone else’s war. Crosshair went with him.

Hunters last conversation with Echo had been entirely unremarkable, neither feeling the need to justify the decisions they had made. Instead, they discussed safe planets and Imperial procedure. Tech had muttered about the rebels possibly having the technology to help Crosshair. Echo hadn’t dignify that with a response.

Hunter didn’t manage much of a final conversation with Crosshair.

“How far out from Yalbec Prime are we?” It had just been Crosshair and Hunter, sat at the makeshift dining table, late in the sleep cycle. Hunter had to strain for a minute to remember when they had even been there. He tried to drain some of the irritation out of his voice before he replied. He did not succeed.

“We aren’t going to Yalbec Prime. The insurrection is over. The mission is over. The war is over.” Mentally readying himself to be answering with the same question for the rest of the night, the bang of Crosshairs fist on the table was the last thing he was expecting. There was silence for a while, the bang echoing in his ears, and his racing heartbeat began to return to normal.

“You did this to me”. There was no accusation or anger in the rasping whisper—just a simple statement of fact. There was a clarity in Crosshairs eye that hadn’t been there in a long time.

“Yeah, I did”. Hunters reply contained no apology, no remorse. The next morning, they docked at an unimportant port on some backwater world, and when they took off again, Echo and Crosshair were not on board. It struck Hunter with a sickening sense of deja vu.

It was just him, Tech, Wrecker and Omega now. Playing at being bounty hunters, pretending they were free. Shedding his bandana and running his hands through his hair, Hunter stood, back aching in a way he could never have imagined during the war, when they were young and fearless, with nothing to lose. No wounds to blame this time, except those inflicted by time.

Making his way slowly back to the gunner’s post, he paused before his hand to reach out to curtain.

“Omega?” He didn’t get a reply. He turned slowly, one heavy step after another, leading him back to his own bunk. It wasn’t that he couldn’t hear the quiet sobs from the other side of that ineffectual divide. It was simply that he didn’t know how to stop them.

#crosshair bad batch #hunter bad batch #echo bad batch #omega bad batch #tech bad batch #wrecker bad batch #the bad batch #tbb fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #angst

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hellowkatey · 3 years

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Febuwhump Day 9

Prompt: buried alive

Warnings: very brief mentions of panic attacks

Read on AO3

All That Remains

Anakin Skywalker was never claustrophobic, but maybe Vader is.

He thinks this as he is encased in a medical tank, flooded with oxygen and bacta. The procedure is not as gentle as when he used to get it at the Temple healers. It's rough and frantic, his limbs, or what remains of them, being tugged in various directions with no regard for his burnt, raw flesh.

If he could scream, he would. The oxygen mask only makes it sound like muffled gurgling, and it only makes his lungs burn and feel as though they are deflating. Maybe they are. Black dots dance in front of his vision, sweet Force will they please put him under a sleep suggestion or some kind of pain killer?

Eventually, he does fall into unconsciousness, but he can't even be given a break in sleep.

Vader sees his face, standing upon the lava rocks Mustafar. His wretched mentor who left him for dead. Through his tear-stricken eyes, he told him he loved him, told him they were brothers-- obviously he meant the man Vader used to be, but still. Obi-Wan Kenobi walked away as he asked for mercy.

You were my brother, Anakin!

Not anymore.

He wakes up in a new hell. Lying on a hard table, still in agony. It feels like someone is sitting on his chest, but when he tries to look at himself to see the perpetrator he realizes he is not just lying on a table, but strapped down. Panic courses through him, making it feel as though he is breathing through a straw. Vader sputters, gasps, and then something is thrust into his arm, coldness sweeping through his veins, and the darkened room blurs into a darker void.

He sees his padawan. Former padawan. He used to consider Obi-Wan as more of a father than a brother because if anyone was Anakin's honorary sibling it was Ahsoka. Strong and snippy. Her departure was one of his biggest regrets, but the young woman she came back to be turned out to be his biggest moment of pride. Ahsoka is a firecracker, cloaked in a blanket of the light despite the injustice the Order did on her. He will never be as strong as her. He will never forgive himself for their bond that now hangs tattered in his mind like an exposed wire.

Vader is glad she is dead though. He isn't sure what he would do if he ever has to face her.

A blinding light. Vader opens his eyes and finds half a dozen medics surrounding him. Implanting mechanical arms and legs and electric nerves to the tattered remains of Obi-Wan's handiwork. Someone at least had the sense to give him drugs so he doesn't feel their surgeries, but his consciousness isn't appreciated. He feels nothing. Not his body, not the Force, not even a singular emotion. Vader is drifting through the twilight, just feeling the seconds of time in their entirety as they pass. It's tedious. Almost meditative.

Long ago, his mother used to tell him that one day he would count the stars. He would visit so many places, see so much of the galaxy, that he would be the first to know exactly how many there are. But in order to do that, he must practice. So Anakin did. He would play games while he worked. Counted how many people passed by his window, or how many times Watto swore during a workday. He even tried to count every grain of sand one day. Then he would go home and tell his mother how high he made it.

"Oh my sweet, Ani," she would say. "Every day you grow closer to having the patience and diligence to count every single star. You made me so proud."

Of course, her game was a tactic to keep his young mind off the horrors of their servitude. It didn't work-- Anakin was well aware of his status as a slave, but it did give him something to do. And when he did become a Jedi, he would look into the sky and count as many stars as he could see. Just for her.

Now he doesn't count stars, as there is no sky to gaze at. So he counts the seconds as they pass.

When his surgery is over, they dress him. He's stuffed into a thick, compression suit with cutouts where the new cybernetic portions of his body are easily accessible. Vambraces, thick gloves, black boots that fall below his knee. When a heavy panel is strapped to his chest to control his erratic vitals he longs for the body he once had. Never again will he move with the same ease. He will undoubtedly have to relearn how to wield a lightsaber. Despite the time he spent in bacta, his skin has lost the ability to feel as it once did. Warm sometimes feels cold, and cold feels like his flesh is burning off all over again. Never again will he be able to feel the breeze on his skin, the relief of jumping into a cool lake on a hot day. Or the silk sheets of the bed he shared with his wife.

Padmé. Guilt riddles him at their last interaction. His anger took over him. She wasn't supposed to be there. She was never supposed to see him like that.

He looks up as the sound of hydraulics catches his attention. From above, a black helmet descends. They told him his lungs are too damaged to not be on a constant respirator. They assured him the helmet would protect his skin and improve his eyesight. He knows these things, but as he watches it grow closer and closer, Anakin can't help but feel like this is the lid of his coffin closing.

"Padmé," he whispers to himself as it encloses over his face. "Help me,"

For a few long moments, before the respirator kicks in, Anakin Skywalker lays in his final resting place. He is surrounded by darkness, both in a literal and in the Force. His new suit is suffocating, feeling like he is being lowered into his grave instead of being reborn into the Sith Lord is to be. Maybe death wouldn't be so bad. He wouldn't have to live as half man and half machine. He could see his mother again. Ahsoka. Everyone else who perished.

Then it dawns on him. They wouldn't want to see him. His hands are covered in their blood, and there is no way back. He betrayed the Order. His best friends. Everyone who trusted and loved him. There is nobody to go back to, now.

Vader breathes. The respirator makes an exaggerated whooshing noise as he inhales and exhales, pushing fresh oxygen into his lungs. The operating table tilts his body back to a standing position, and next to him stands his Master, wrapped in a dark hooded cloak.

"Lord Vader," Sidious croaks. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Master," he replies between heavy breaths. For so long he has been unable to say a word, and now he finally can ask the question that has been sustaining him through all of this. "Where is Padmé?"

The beautiful thing about non-Force sensitives is that they have no concept of their presence in the Force. The Force is everywhere, flowing and surrounding every living thing in a special way. Just as Jedi could sense one another through their signatures, and subsequently block their presence from others, non-wielders also have a specific signature. They usually have no grasp of reigning in their signatures, so they are easy to distinguish. And then there are some who manage to project those, shining brighter than the others.

And Padmé, oh... if there were a star at the center of the galaxy, it would be his Padmé. He can sometimes feel her worlds away, her bright presence like a beacon made specifically for him. Padmé is his home, his love, and he will give his life for her to live, as he couldn't do for his mother.

"Is she safe?" he asks when Sidious doesn't reply. "Is she all right?"

His master falters a moment, his chapped mouth opening and then closing. His pulse quickens at the hesitation. "It seems, in your anger, you killed her."

You killed her.

In your anger, you killed her.

"I? I couldn't have," he rasps, his knees feeling like jelly all of the sudden. "She was alive! I felt it!"

But when he reaches out through the Force, drawing on the raw strength of the dark side to amplify his request, he doesn't find a beacon. He doesn't find his home. Padmé's Force presence has been eliminated from every corner of the galaxy. She's dead. He killed her.

His wife and his child are no more.

Something within him snaps. Maybe it's the last remaining strand of light. Maybe it's his heart. Grief clouds him, pressing on every wound and burn that covers his body because all of this was to prevent her from dying. This entire plan, his devotion to the dark side, and the fall of the Jedi were for the light of his life who he didn't even manage to save. Now he truly feels like he is being buried alive in the thick ink of darkness.

The dark side feeds on his pain. It wraps around him, but unlike when he would bask in the power of the light, the darkness just engulfs him deeper and deeper.

Everything around him is shaking and crumbling as he saturates the Force with his despair. Durasteel medical devices crunch as though they are sheets of flimsy, syringes explode, and he smashes through the restraints that bind his hand to the table. Though it is Vader's power, he recognizes Anakin is the one who wails, both for the death of his love and the last moments of his own existence. Without Padmé there is no more Anakin. Darth Vader is all who remains.

#febuwhump #febuwhump2021 #febuwhumpday9 #buried alive #panic attacks #vader #darth vader #anakin skywalker #revenge of the sith #obi-wan kenobi #ahsoka tano #padme amidala #shmi skywalker

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spectraspecs-writes · 3 years

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Korriban - Chapter 95 (Bastila, Carth)

Link to the masterpost. Chapter 94. Chapter 96.

CW: Lime

@averruncusho @ceruleanrainblues @chubbsmomma @strangepostmiracle thank you for reading, you get a tag. @skelelexiunderlord thank you for support, you get a tag.

———–

“… so it’s pitch-black, right, I can’t find my pants anywhere, and there’s something growling outside my tent.” I recount the story to Carth, both of us sitting on containers in the cargo hold. Passing the bottle of Tarisian ale back and forth. Carth laughs, as well he should, it’s a funny story. In hindsight, anyway. “I’ve got my T1 unit’s head in my lap, I was trying to upgrade its sensors so it could get a more nuanced readout to find the exact thing that was outside my tent!” He laughs again, tears starting to come out of his eyes. “My tent mate is closer to the entrance, she’s sitting there in a panic, because she knows this is her fault --”

“Why the hell did she take that egg in the first place?” he says between laughs.

“I told her it was a bad idea, but did she listen to the ecologist? Noooo - God forbid Tania ever admit she was wrong about something. But I was like, you’re a freaking anthropologist, you should have realized how taboo it was in the local culture to take one of those freaking eggs! Screw your breakfast - you’re about to be dinner! And I’m sitting there like, you are not taking me with you. But we are both frozen until we see the tent flap open and this giant nose pokes in.”

“Oh, shit!”

“Right? And I panic, I just chuck the droid head, Tania screams and ducks, but now I’m sure I just pissed this thing off even worse so we’re both screwed. And now Tania’s screams have woken not only the rest of our team, but the Mandalorians who also made a camp in the ravine. You know, the same Mandalorians she had antagonized earlier? And I wasn’t about to save her ass again - if Arus wanted to fight her, at this point, I didn’t give a shit.”

“Man, you’re heartless!” he joked.

“This was the tenth time in half as many days she had threatened my life with her bullshit - even I have my limits! And by the way, this was not the last time we were in life-threatening situations on this mission. But after this time she was far more willing to actually listen to me. But anyway, so the Mandalorians were pissed and Arus was out for blood, but first he had to take out this animal, which was too huge for even a Mandalorian to take out alone. He gathered a few of his men and they took care of it in no time. I finally managed to find my pants so I finally get out of the tent to get a good look at this thing, and it is. Huge. Arus split the meat with us and there was still way too much. Afterwards he was still a bit thrilled by the kill so Tania thought it was fine, but then she got cocky and tried to play it off, got in Arus’ face again, but he was having none of it. He looked her dead in the eye with that Mandalorian intimidation glare and said ‘I should have known you were behind this.’ And her face drops. He’s like ‘Is it your goal in life to challenge as many combatants as foolishly as you can?’ Calling her out big time. ‘And for what, this time?’ So she goes into her bag and pulls out the egg. Arus takes it and smashes it on the ground. And you’ll never guess what happened next.”

“Tell me.”

“The egg? The one that almost got us killed? Was made of WOOD!” Carth breaks down hard, cannot contain his mirth. “A Sith scout team had been there earlier, a bit of a rival of mine, and thought it would be a fun prank on me to swap out one of the eggs with a wooden one. He told me about it later, but he had just planned to frustrate me. When I told him he almost killed me with that shit, he never stopped apologizing.” I take the bottle from Carth. “And that is my worst story. What have you got?” I ask as I take a drink.

“Nothing that good,” he says, “You’ve got me beat.”

“Oh, come on, no war stories where you got screwed over hard? No piloting lessons where you came out of a nebula upside down?”

“My life has been boring compared to yours, if that story is any indication.”

“Hey, I have plenty far more mundane stories - that planet was just a wild ride from start to finish. If Arus was here, he’d tell you the same thing. Albeit, he and I did have different definitions of wild.”

“I thought you had just crossed paths with him - did he hang around for the rest of the scouting trip?”

“That was the first time we met him, but he kept finding excuses to hang around our campsites. The shameless flirt that he was, I’m amazed he never just came out and said he was into me.”

There’s that face of his again. He gets so uncomfortable when I make off-hand mentions of former partners. “You don’t need to be jealous, Carth. The very nature of a scouting fling is that it’s temporary. The few times something has gone on longer than a single mission we quickly got sick of each other.”

“I guess,” he shrugs. Is there… something else on his mind?

But before I can ask, Canderous comes in behind us. “Hey, Rena,” he says. to get my attention.

“Something up?” I ask.

“We’re kind of in the middle of something, Canderous,” Carth says gruffly.

“And ordinarily I wouldn’t interrupt,” he says before looking back at me, “but Bastila wants to talk to you.”

Oh joy and rapture. I scoff. “If she wants to talk to me so bad she can come see me herself.”

“What happened?” Carth asks.

“Long story, I’ll tell you later,” I shake my head. “I’m not going to her, she’ll have to come to me.”

“She won’t,” Canderous says, “not this time, but I can tell if she doesn’t say what she needs to say she’ll never forget it.” Oh yeah? “She regrets that things aren’t working as smoothly as they could between the two of you.”

“Bastila regrets something?” Well there’s a shock. “Jedi princess admits a wrong?”

“Look, I get that you’re upset with her, I understand,” he says, trying not to get angry at me, “and you’re right, she needs to keep her nose out of your business.” At least he’s on my side. “But she’s as proud and as stubborn as you are and admitting something like this is hard for her. Would you just let her say what she has to say?”

I sigh heavily. “Fine,” I say and I stand up. I set the ale down on the container. “I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be here,” Carth says.

I follow Canderous to the port side quarters, where Bastila is sitting and meditating. When we cross the threshold she opens her eyes and sighs. “Canderous, you didn’t need to do that.”

“Like hell, I didn’t,” he says, “You’re not the only one who can read the tension in a room. Now, I don’t care if you two want to talk this out or use your fists, but I’m not letting either of you leave until that happens.”

Oh, for God’s sake. I’m pretty sure I could take Canderous in a fight but that’s the wrong way to go here. I idly look around the room before feeling Canderous’ glare on me and look at Bastila. “If you try talking to me about giving into my emotions again, I’m gonna throw up.”

“Our conversations on that topic have a tendency to end abruptly, so I wouldn’t be surprised,” she says.

“Well, it’s not exactly my fault that happens, is it?”

“No, you’re right. I do share fault for that,” she sighs, “I admit I have questions, and perhaps a Master could have addressed them all with the proper wisdom, but I never should have brought them up here. And not with you.” Canderous shifts behind me, and Bastila must be reading him. “It’s not solely about you, Canderous,” she says, before turning back to me, ”Or even about you and Carth. It’s… “ She stops, orders her thoughts, and starts again. “Part of my purpose on this mission was to guide you in the way of the light; to help you avoid the temptations of the Dark Side. But I fear I've failed in that task.” What makes you say that? I haven’t fallen to the Dark Side. I’ve done nothing but help people for the past two months, even before I knew her. “I don't think I'm the proper Jedi to guide you. I am no Master. You should have remained with the Council.”

“I have no idea where this is coming from,” I say, “Even if you take Carth out of the equation - and that’s an argument we’re not having again, because there is no way you can without being hypocritical and you know it - I haven’t fallen to the Dark Side.”

“The fact of the matter is that I have never possessed much skill at controlling myself,” she says, “With the bond that joins us, it seems I have even less. You have maintained the path of the Light Side, yes, but it has been in spite of my influence, not because of it. It is increasingly obvious I am unable to guide you properly.” She sighs again. She feels very anxious and upset. “I think… I think I may have made a very big mistake. I simply hope that you are not the one who pays the price, ultimately, for the fact that I can't help you enough.”

There was definitely an apology in there somewhere, even if it wasn’t in so many words. But we still disagree on a major point and if she — “This has nothing to do with our respective relationships, I assure you,” she says. Reading me again. “As Jolee is the closest thing either of us have to a Master, he has been kind enough to consult me on these matters, and I have come to the conclusion that we should both let the matter lie.” Hey, I’ve been willing to do that. But that means her concerns make even less sense.

“Honestly, I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” I say, “I mean, I already had impulse issues, so a lot of what you’re feeling might be me influencing you rather than the other way around. This bond works both ways, right?”

She smiles softly. “That’s a kinder response than I deserve,” she says, “And I can see there is wisdom in your words. Perhaps you can help me then.”

“On the impulse front? I’ll do my damnedest - so long as you don’t start building droids in the middle of the night. That’ll be lesson one - don’t do that.”

She laughs a little. “I will leave that in your capable hands,” she says, “Hopefully this will all work out, for the both of us. And for the sake of the mission.”

“Good!” Canderous says suddenly, “And with that settled, you are free to go.” He moves away from the door and lets me leave. Glad that’s over with, Carth and I really were in the middle of something. He seemed more bothered by the interruption than I was but that’s probably because he had something to say and Canderous broke his train of thought.

Carth’s still in the cargo hold, like he said he’d be. He’s taken his jacket off. Hot damn, he’s got some strong arms. It’s a good thing he keeps that jacket on all the time, otherwise I’d never get anything done. He’s also moved so that he can lean against the wall. He looks at me when I come in. “Everything all right with Bastila?”

“Yeah, she‘s agreed to stop being nosy in my personal life,” I say.

“Oh, because you’ve never been nosy in our personal lives,” he says sarcastically.

“Yeah, but I’m also not a hypocrite,” I say, “For weeks she’s been riding me about the Dark Side and my feelings for you, and the whole time she’s got the same thing going on with Canderous. So yeah, naturally I was quite pissed about that.”

“You’ve had feelings about me for weeks and didn’t say anything?”

I shake my head and sit back down next to him. “Somehow I knew that would be the part you heard,” I say, “In my defense, I’m not accustomed to making the first move. Every other time it’s been someone thinking with their crotch sick of beating around the bush with me. And it was different before anyway. This is different.”

“Good different or bad different?”

“At the moment?” I say, “Good different.” He smiles at me. I love his smile. He’s just so soft. When he actually gets soft, that is. “But anyway,” I say, “Before Canderous came in, you wanted to say something.”

“Oh, you could tell, could you?”

I scoff and take the ale from him. “It doesn’t take Jedi powers to read you, Carth, believe me.”

“Oh, yeah?” Oh, excellent, it’s play time. “Well, listen, beautiful, I don’t need to take this abuse. I get enough female Jedi bashing from Bastila, thank you very much.”

“Oh, I get it, there’s something between you and Bastila.”

He sputters, like I’ve caught him completely off-guard. “What? No! I mean… no! Don’t be crazy!”

“So someone would have to be crazy to like Bastila, huh? I’ll have to tell her that!”

“Oh, no, you don’t!”

“Or better yet!” Better idea! “I’ll tell Canderous! Oh, Canderous?”

“Don’t you dare!” he says playfully, “I’d have to shoot you down first, and I’m not kidding!”

“Sure, sure,” I say sarcastically, “You’re all talk, Carth, and you know it.”

“And just what would you do if I wasn’t?” I open my mouth to answer, but he stops me before I can. “No, no, wait, don’t answer that,” he says quite wisely, “I don’t want to know.” He shakes his head and smiles, sighing. “Anyway… as fun, uh, as this is, I do have to talk to you about something serious. Really serious.” It must be if you’re stopping the game.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. What has my Bunny Man in distress?

“I’m uh… I’m concerned about you. I’ve been keeping these thoughts to myself, mostly, but with this… if we… “ Find your words, Carth. “I think it’s time I say something.”

“What’s this about?”

“It’s about you,” he says, “I’m worried about what might happen to you.” Well, this is the second time that’s come up in conversation today, but somehow Carth’s concern feels more genuine than Bastila’s. “You have a lot of courage, and the fact that you’ve remained strong is amazing, but there’s even greater danger ahead. I think you might be setting yourself up for a fall. Maybe at the urging of the Jedi, I don’t know… but you’re definitely going to become a target.” I can feel a lot of pain from him. He tries to block it from me, I’m not sure if that’s an accident or on purpose, but I can feel it, anyway. “If, uh, if I’m going to find some purpose beyond taking revenge on Saul, then it’s going to have to be in protecting you.” Protecting me from what? He’s seen me fight - what does he think is out there that I can’t handle? “I don’t know why, but I think some terrible fate is waiting for you. I think the Jedi Council knows it, too. And I don’t want it to come to pass.”

“You think the Jedi have thrown me to the wolves?”

“Don’t call it up to my paranoia just yet.” I wasn’t. Carth has a good - and attractive - head on his shoulders and I trust his instincts. (Well… most of the time. His instinct to not trust me was obviously wrong.) “Something isn’t right. I blamed it on you, before, but I… I think the Jedi didn’t tell us everything.” Which is hardly out of character for them . “If I’m going to live past Saul, I need you to, as well. Let me protect you… from yourself, from the Sith, from… whatever, you have to let me try.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate it,” I say seriously, “but… you’ve seen me fight, you’ve watched me in action. I don’t need that kind of protection. Why are you doing this?”

“Because…” he says slowly, and with difficulty, “... because I never got the chance to save my wife and son. Because I didn’t stop Saul when I had the chance. Because I finally have the chance to do it right. You are an extraordinary woman… you make me think that maybe I might have some purpose beyond revenge. I don’t know whether it means anything to you… but it does to me.”

Oh, my God, this is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. ”It means a lot to me, Carth,” I say, “Thank you.”

He smiles softly. “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll do my best.”

I just… can’t stop looking at him. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. How much I love him. Ever since Taris. Ever since I woke up in that mangy apartment. He’s always been there for me. And it was only a couple days ago that I really realized that I love him. Maybe I just didn’t want to think about it. As a scout you get used to being part of a tight-knit group of people for a few months, a year tops, and then you split and never see each other again. The few times I stuck with someone for longer than one mission, we were dating, and like I said before we would always and very quickly get sick of each other. You start to notice little things that didn’t bother you before but suddenly they’re all you notice. Chewing with their mouth open. Feet that smell like death. A grating voice. And for whatever reason you just can’t live with it anymore.

I’m going to miss this group a lot when we split. Oh, they’ll say we won’t. I know one of them will say, “no, we’re a family, we’ll always be together.” But I also know from experience that it doesn’t work like that. Bastila will go back to the Council. Juhani has a lot to work through on her own. Mission is still a kid with her whole life ahead of her. Zaalbar has a government to lead. Canderous will go wherever Bastila goes. It’s anyone’s guess what Jolee will do. Leaving me and my droids. The way it’s always been. The way I’m used to.

But with Carth… Loving him means I’ll want him to stick around. And maybe he will, maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll want to, but he’s still a Republic soldier, he may not have a say in where he goes. And if he doesn’t want to stick around, it’ll hurt, sure, but it would hurt worse if he stays. Because I know what will happen then. We’ll get sick of each other. That’s how it always happens. We’ll have a few months of passionate sex and casual flirting before we each drive the other crazy. I don’t want that, I don’t want to get sick of him. But we have nothing in common beyond this mission. We‘re close due to circumstances. It’s happened to me at least a dozen times before. And I don’t want it to happen again.

But I love him. And as much as it could hurt me, I wouldn’t stop loving him even if I could. This feels so different than anything I’ve felt before. Like it’s… right somehow. And I don’t want to mess up a good thing. It makes me nervous but it’s a good nervous.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks me softly, taking another drink of ale.

“I’m… “ I start to say slowly, “… really glad I met you.”

He smiles at me. “I’m glad I met you, too,” he says in that same soft voice. He gets close to my face, just like before. His eyes close. And it doesn’t take a Jedi to know what’s going on, I’ve seen it all before. And I want it. He kisses me gently.

And he doesn’t stop kissing me.

One. Another. Another, pressing his lips into mine. Continuing what we started in the cantina. But no one will bother us this time - I reach out with the Force and close the door to the cargo hold. Carth notices but doesn’t stop or say anything. And I don’t want him to. I want this. He takes my head into his hand and I lean into it. His other hand brushes mine and I take it, our fingers locking together. And between kisses he whispers softly, “I love you.”

“I love you,” I whisper back. And he kisses me again, And again. And again. I unfasten my belt and my lightsabers clatter on the floor. He pulls me closer and I loosen my tunic a little. I can feel this. I want this. More than anything I want this.

Somehow, I know this is a bad idea. If this goes bad it could ruin our entire relationship, either as friends or more than friends. This is the point of no return. And hoping for shit has gotten me in trouble when things don’t work out. But this also feels so, so right, more right than anything has this whole time. He’s right, things have been a little off somehow since Taris. The Jedi adding me to the Endar Spire at the last minute. I’m an ecologist, why did they need me? The Jedi accepting me for training - Master Vandar said I was a special case? What did that mean? The Star Map on Kashyyyk seemed to recognize me, when I’ve never been to Kashyyyk in my life, much less down on the surface. There have just been so many little things that seem to add up to a great big something, but I’ll be damned if I know what it is. But as crazy as things have been, and as crazy as they might get, Carth will still be here. Carth will still be Carth.

I come close, wrapping my legs around him, and he holds me. Which is a great feeling and we haven’t even done anything yet. As he runs his fingers through my hair, I feel loved, so loved, more than I’ve ever felt before. Even if this doesn’t last, and I hope to God it does, it will still be the best I’ve felt my whole life.

--------

He holds me close after. Which is not only sweet, it’s also great because the cargo hold is a lot colder than you’d expect. I wrap myself up in his jacket and cuddle closer. “Have I mentioned how much I love this jacket?” I say.

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice,” he says, smiling. And then he sighs. “We should probably go to bed,” he says.

“You mean sleep here or go back to our bunks?” I ask, “Because that would be a horrible idea.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“For one thing,” I say, trying to look at his face, “I can guarantee you Bastila already knows about this because of that damned Force bond. If she’s spending the night with Canderous, she’ll hem and haw and stew about this despite her promise to shut up about it. But she won’t need to say anything because Juhani will also be there. She’ll be disappointed in me and go on and on about the Dark Side and Jedi attachments so Bastila won’t have to. Mission will try to be my girlfriend and goad me into telling her what happened like we’re two teenage girls at a slumber party. And she really doesn’t want to know.” I know these girls. I know all of that is exactly what would happen the minute I walk into the starboard quarters. “When you go back, Canderous will --”

“You’re right, that is a horrible idea,” he says before I can even finish, because he knows as well as I do that Canderous is going to be insufferable, as a man, as a Mandalorian, and especially as a matchmaker. He’s been trying to put us together since Dantooine. “But we can’t exactly sleep in here, can we? They’re going to come looking for us in the morning. Besides the fact that it’s cold as hell in here.”

“We can grab some blankets from the emergency supplies,” I suggest, “Or we could get dressed again.”

“Let’s grab the blankets,” he says quickly, and he starts to get up to grab them from the plasteel cylinder.

“You slut,” I tease, “If you wanted to see me naked you could have asked sooner.”

He comes back to me with the blankets and drapes one around my shoulders, over the jacket. “It’s not just that,” he says, “Or the fact that you look damn good in my jacket.” He spreads one blanket on the floor, sits down on it and pulls me close again, lying down. He kisses me, and runs his fingers through my hair, sending goosebumps rippling through my body. “I just…” he starts to say softly, sweetly, “…like how this feels. And I don’t want it to end.”

I curl in closer. “Me neither.”

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aquaquadrant · 4 years

Text

ravenous red

Star Wars: The Clone Wars fanfic Rating: T Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence, injury, blood, death Summary:

i heard you wanted a war funny, i wanted it more

~*~

So he says nothing, letting his gaze speak his hate as he relents, turning and walking away. It feels like disgrace, it feels like a failure, to go do her bidding- go cause some chaos, she taunts- but real victory lies in that which she does not yet know. Good at it, sure, he can admit as much, but the means to the end will be something she doesn’t expect. That’s how he’ll get her, collateral damage in this personal storm he directs.

At her request.

Lady Tano, you don’t know what you’ve just asked for.

A/N: I know I said my last oneshot was my tribute to the Clone Wars, but then I heard a song that fit Maul perfectly so I had to do a tribute to him too. It’s actually a song fic, I’ve been writing fanfic since I was 13 but this is my first song fic so hopefully I did it right. This is basically Order 66 from Maul’s POV, showing off how much of a spiteful, unhinged badass he really is. Hope you enjoy, reblogs/comments are appreciated! – Aqua

Song is Appetite for Destruction by Vo Williams

Click here to read on Archive of Our Own

Click here to support me on Ko-fi

~*~

ravenous red

It starts with a scream.

Ringing out through the force like a shot, chaos crashing in after it. Words pass in flashes, snippets he can’t quite decipher. The impressions of feelings brush against him; shock, betrayal, desperation. He feels the flicker of lightning, a bygone but familiar sensation. Someone somewhere has made a very poor choice, one that will echo for ages, one that he expected.

(He did try and warn them)

It’s not long before they come. Identical faces behind identical helmets approach without words. They are rigid, unflinching, as they move to lower the shield that protects him, ensnares him, with unspoken intent written plainly as anything else.

Any lingering sympathy he has for these beings, these clones that were raised to be tools- as was he- dissipates like mist in the sun. To think, they would kill him like this. Trapped and defenseless. A coward’s method of choice; it insults him, right to the core. Let him out, let him fight, he’ll give them a show. He’ll remove the spines they don’t deserve. They aren’t using them anyway.

The death in the air is a pulse in his brain, a constant crashing and ebb of bloody waves. It’s hard to concentrate, hard to mediate between what’s happening right in front of him and what’s happening lightyears away. The force is a furnace, thousands of bodies toppling into it to burn. It devours them gladly, wiping out light from the sky to leave nothing but smoke and ash in return.

He wants to join in, wants to destroy. Not a Sith, not quite, but he hunts like one still. The darkness beckons for him, a familiar cold, coursing through his veins. Yellow eyes glare through glass, burning with hatred and rage. He’d kill them, if only he could. He wants them to know it. He wants them to feel it.

If looks could kill, they’d already be dead.

this is the end of your days it's time we end the charades open the cage, i want to play time for the bridges to blaze

Blasters are raised- but cut down just as quickly.

His savior is a flash of blue. Unexpected but welcome (though he prefers red). Her hostility is unsurprising, her fear concealed well- but not completely. She feels the same death he does, but it frightens her, whereas it only strengthens his resolve. He will not fall as the Jedi do. He loathes the thought; there is too much unfinished business for him to perish now.

(Kenobi will survive this because Maul must be the one to kill him, no one else, he wills this with every fiber of his being- and will is a powerful thing, will allowed him to survive being cleaved in half)

Between the two of them, everything falls into place. His master’s plan, beautiful and deadly. Brilliant and artful. Cowardly and despicable. To strike them down with the men who were created to serve, to protect. They’re nothing but droids now, mindless droids coated in flesh. It doesn’t matter to him; he’d kill either way, but he knows that she won’t.

It’s good that she’s come to him, he’ll do it for her, do what must be done to get them out alive-

Except, no.

She rejects him. She wants to strike out on her own, condemn him to the same lonely fate. It’s foolish. So blinded by her lofty morals that she fails to grasp they’re both members of the same dying breed. The Padawan who might’ve joined him has retreated far beneath the surface, hiding under a cloak of denial at the vision he sees. Her attachment is strong, too strong, that she cannot accept the truth even when given freely.

How dare she? How dare she?! Dare to use him and cast him aside, as so many others before- always remember that you are nothing- this child in a warrior’s mask, thinking he’ll act as her pawn. No, not anymore.

Oh, he’ll kill her. He’ll kill her for that. So many ways to do it, weapon or no. Reach out a hand, reach for the force, strangle the breath from her lungs, crushing her throat in his grasp. In this moment, he hates so greatly he truly thinks that he could. Crush her throat, or crush her skull, he wants to, grab her head and smash it against the wall. Red dripping down lekku of blue and white, a striking image it’d make, to be sure. He always did have an eye for these things.

He wants to see it.

i'm slipping into a craze twisted images into the brain turn up the volume on the pain give me the feeling i crave

But no.

Logic and reason win out. They dictate he cannot waste time on the likes of her. She proved a difficult fight before and his chances are slim as they are. Save his energy, save his effort for the real battle to come, for the ones who march to the tempo of death and come for him next, they’ll come for him just as well as for her.

Neither of them are Jedi but he knows they will not see it as so.

In the end that’s all that matters, how they will see you, how they perceive you, all the words in the world make no difference at all. Words do nothing, only action can produce results, as he’s clearly been shown.

At her request.

Lady Tano, you don’t know what you’ve just asked for.

show me your villainous ways show me the killer's awake make me afraid that's how you bring me to life make the adrenaline race i want a taste

i feel my rage erupting feed my appetite for destruction blood rushing i love when you feed my appetite for destruction

Alone, he persists.

His path’s uncontested, legs of metal storming heavy and loud through the ship, not trying to hide. Let them come, he’ll be ready. This aggression needs somewhere to go, after all. It’s burning him up inside. He knows intimately what it’ll do to him, if he won’t let it out. The anger, the pain. It seeks to devour, a ravenous red haze flowing through him, taking control of his brain.

It guides him and he lets it. His stalk is a predator’s stalk, single-minded focus on the hunt. He’s not afraid. They’ll see they aren’t the only executioners at work today.

They find him quickly, scattered through the ship as they are, and greet him with a volley of fire. Metal bends to his will, peeling away like skin off of flesh. Weapons or no, he’s been given a task. He can be creative. The true measure of a warrior lies not in their blade. To wield power, he needs only to look within and ask.

The very walls of their ship become the instruments of their demise. He lifts without effort, advancing slowly but surely with an unbroken stride. Walls to deflect their shots, to smash them aside, to cut through armor, through flesh, and through bone. Two heads roll off with a thrust of his arm, slack faces concealed in their helms. Bodies crushed in between, crumbling limp to the floor. A sharp flick of the wrist pins one to the wall, sliced in half- the irony is not lost on him, but humor has no place here, in this tomb.

And finally, they make their retreat, aiming to seal him inside. But no, he’s not done with them yet. There’s something he needs and he’s not asking politely.

The arm comes off in the end, the vital comm-link still attached to the bracer. He slips it on, leaving the limb to bleed red on the floor, staining the armor- and he was right, what a striking image it makes. But he can’t linger long.

Chatter through the communicator gives him his next target.

Chaos… really, she should have been more specific.

i heard you wanted a war funny, i wanted it more here comes the "bang-bang" on your door it's time to back up the noise i've been ignoring the voice begging me seek and destroy it's eating my core feel like a time bomb in the eye of a storm

He makes it to the engine room without interruption.

It’s cavernous, the floor far below, a pit spanned by narrow bridges. It’s protected, as he expected, clones charge to stop him but they matter not. Their efforts are wasted. Over the edge they go; others fall to commandeered blaster fire, or to his fists. He will succeed by any means. It’s futile of them to resist.

(They can’t help it, he knows, but he doesn’t care- he wants their blood anyways)

The dark side has never flowed more strongly within him. It’s a wellspring inside his chest, filling him completely with inky black cold. Their will is one and the same; burn it all. He reaches out, power surging, fueling his rage as it takes hold. All around him, machinery falls. Sparks rain down from above as reactors are peeled off the walls.

He’ll tear them apart from within. Metal shrieks and groans as he pries it away. The ship’s hyperdrive core is his aim. Without it, they’re stranded. Him as well, but he’s not planning to stay. There must be shuttles, and nothing will get in his way.

The doors part, and another squadron advances to stop him- but they’re too late. He topples the reactors on top of them and down it all goes, crashing to the floor far below, sealing their fate.

And with that, it’s time to take his leave.

let all the chips hit the floor do everything that you want settle the score that's how you bring me to life that's when I'm feeling recharged i want it all

i feel my rage erupting feed my appetite for destruction blood rushing i love when you feed my appetite for destruction

The flight deck is a battlefield.

She’s here- but of course- attempting to hold off the rest of the forces, their volley of fire. Somehow, someway, she’s pulled one to her side. Her little captain fights bravely, but there’s too many, it won’t be enough.

He senses opportunity, another chance perhaps to make her see. Come to her aid now and she’ll have no choice but to accept. Offer survival; a joint escape from this wreckage for her and her dog (though he cares not for three). Two are better than one, even if two is the way of the Sith, which he’s not. Their chances are better together. He knows this. He feels this.

Except, no.

She already had her chance, she had three. She rejected him. She scorned him. She cast him aside. You lie, she told him. Your vision is flawed. Arrogant. Stubborn. He hates her. He hates her.

Within a second, his choice is made. He runs past, towards the ship that would be her salvation- now it’s his. She pursues, he deflects; a dangerous dance. The world’s falling around them, and still they cannot help but fight- it’s in her nature, in her nature as well as in his.

You wanted this chaos, he taunts.

Then, without mercy, he pushes her over the edge.

i feel the monster rising up inside and i can't hold it down i'm hungry for destruction pieces crumbling, fall into the ground

i feel my rage erupting feed my appetite for destruction blood rushing i love when you feed my appetite for destruction

She’s still alive when he leaves.

His ship arcs away from the crash, plowing through smoke and fire. The entire carrier is doomed, every last soul aboard sharing its fate. Escape pods destroyed, no more ships to salvage. Surely, then, this is their end- but not his.

(He did tell them they’d all burn; but while some burn in fire, others burn with it)

There’s no remorse in his escape. It’s a measure of strength; only he was enough to get out alive. He cares not for her, for how she will burn. She deserves it. In fact, he’d say out of all the beings on that ship, she’s the only one. The droids-who-were-clones cannot ‘deserve’ a fate either way. Every action is the command of somebody else, not their own.

A great victory for his master. The thought curls his lip. But he’ll count his blessings; he survived, and as the galaxy is reshaped, he knows that he has all the skills required to thrive. A tool he might be, but a sharp one. A deadly one.

His master saw to that. He should thank him. Maybe he will- before he kills him.

As for her... the possibility lingers that she might’ve survived as well. Resourceful. Determined. He sensed these traits in her. But he truly hopes that she hasn’t, that the firestorm has swallowed her whole. Not for his sake, but hers. Because if she survived, then the next time he sees her- and he will, if she has- she won’t be so lucky simply to burn.

He will kill her slowly, painfully. Unimaginable agony. Broken in body and mind. Enough to beg for death. Enough to understand what he’s felt, the culmination of all his suffering- truly, a fate to wish on no one.

Best to be taken in fire and chaos.

Lady Tano, isn’t that what you wanted?

i feel my rage erupting feed my appetite for destruction blood rushing i love when you feed my appetite for destruction

~*~

#star wars the clone wars #swtcw #clone wars season 7 #darth maul #tcw spoilers #my writing

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give-me-back-my-rhodey · 4 years

Text

The Trio is Back - AUgust Day 7

Title: The Trio is Back

Author: Purple_ducky00

Rating: Teen

Warnings: N/A

Relationships: Bucky/Nat/Tony, Bucky/Tony

Square Filled: N2: Didn’t Know They Were Dating Link: Read on AO3

Summary: Natasha, Bucky, and Tony have been friends since childhood. Everyone speculates that Natasha will have to choose between the two of them. Little do they know she might just choose both.

+++++++++

Tony, Bucky, and Natasha have been friends since toddlers. The Starks, the Barneses, and Natasha’s adoptive parents were a close-knit bunch who played bridge on Thursday nights, usually at the Stark mansion.

As children, the three would run through the house playing superheroes, Super Mario characters, jedi, etc. The Stark butler, Jarvis, always made sure nothing valuable was broken. They would often rope him into their play. As they got older, they calmed down somewhat. Natasha taught Tony to braid so he could braid her and Bucky’s hair. Both would push him to get more intricate braids. Bucky would recommend books for the others to read, and they had a book club group chat where they would discuss plots and theories. Tony lets them in his lab and teaches them about science.

When the three turned ten, the adults would joke that Natasha might have a hard time choosing between the two handsome boys. Natasha’s fathers said she should be able to do whatever she wanted. Natasha never paid them any mind because Tony and Bucky were her friends. Why did she need to choose?

The three were inseparable until middle school. They never had a falling out, per se. They just stopped hanging out. Maybe they were tired of everyone trying to figure out who liked who, or maybe they just wanted more friends. No one actually knows. Tony became close with his lab partner James Rhodes, who he dubbed Rhodey. He also roped Virginia Potts into his trio as well. She became known as Pepper almost overnight. Natasha basically adopted the “school nerd” Bruce Banner and Carol Danvers, the girl most of the guys hated because she was “too feminist.” Carol, an avid lesbian even at a young age, didn’t care. Boys were a waste of time to her. Bucky was fast friends with Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Sharon Carter. Every once in a while, all ten of them would hang out, but it seemed like the legendary trio was over.

As they reach puberty, the comments about them increase. Instead of being smelly boys, Tony and Bucky both grow into handsome young men. Both realize as they grow older that they were kind of into boys and girls. Sure, Natasha is beautiful, Bucky thinks, but so is Sam. He doesn’t know how Tony feels about Nat, and since one of them was “destined” to get her, he decides he will step back and let Tony ask her out. He takes Sam on a date, and they are steady for a couple of months. They split on good terms at the end.

Tony has the same line of thought, and he dates Tiberius Stone for a while. Both Bucky and Natasha hate him, but Tony doesn’t know why. Ty is cultured and handsome, a real catch. So, what if he verbally abuses him and guilt-trips him? That’s the way his father always treats him. Isn’t it normal?

Natasha doesn’t date. She doesn’t care to. If people want to speculate, she doesn’t care. She’s only sixteen, why does it matter if she doesn’t have a partner? Her fathers tell her to take her time, and if she never wants to date, that’s her say.

When they graduate, Tony goes to MIT. Natasha gets in at Stanford, and Bucky’s parents can only afford for him to go to NYU. Tony offers to pay for a better college, but Bucky won’t let him. They keep in contact and see each other every break. Tony finally breaks up with Ty in his freshman year, but he becomes a party animal. Rhodey does his best to keep Tony out of trouble, but even he fails sometimes. When he graduates summa cum laude, he takes his place at Stark Industries. Natasha studies to become a lawyer, and she passes the bar easily. Bucky graduates NYU and saves up enough to buy his own auto repair shop. All are successful and don’t have much time to spend with each other or anyone else, to be fair.

++++++

Jan, Tony’s stylist, sets him up on a blind date with a Jimmy because he “works too much.” He shows up at the restaurant she picks out to only find Bucky sitting at the table to which the maître d leads him. “Bucky?”

“Tony? What are you doing here?” Bucky stands.

“I’m as confused as you are.” Tony sits at the table. “Jan told me I’d be meeting a Jimmy. Who the hell calls you Jimmy?”

“Well, she called you Anthony. I can’t believe you let anyone call you Anthony.”

Tony shoots him a glare. “I don’t. Not sure why she told you that you’d be meeting an Anthony… unless she did this on purpose.”

“What? The parents figure that if Nat doesn’t want to date either of us, they might as well put us together?” Bucky’s eyes snap.

“I don’t know.” Tony shrugs. “But it all seems very suspicious, you know? What do you propose we do about it?”

“I think we should eat dinner and go have fun. We both go home to our own houses afterwards and never try to date again, just to screw ‘em.” Bucky smiles sharply.

“I like that. Deal.”

Tony wakes up in Bucky’s bed the next day. “Well, I guess that plan didn’t work out.”

“Yea… I’m torn up between kicking you out now just to fuck our parents or actually fucking you again,” Bucky comments. “Damn, Tones, you’re amazing.”

Tony colors. “Yea, I had a lot of experience in college. People still like to say they spent the night with me even though I haven’t slept with someone else for months now. I’ve just been busy.”

“Same. Who has time to date anymore?” Bucky shakes his head. “It’s a shame because I would love to have nights like last night more often.” He straightens completely and raises a finger. “I have an idea, and you may not like it, but here me out. What if we were each other’s booty calls? Just whenever we need a quick smash, we text the other?”

“James Buchanan Barnes, you are a fucking genius. I would kiss you right now, except my PA’s probably calling my dead phone, wondering where the hell I am. Can we rain check the next session?” Tony hops out of bed, pulling on his pants. Once quickly dressed, he heads to the door to leave and blows Bucky a kiss on his way out.

Using his watch to ping his driver, Tony heads home to get changed before going to work an hour late. Howard doesn’t berate him as much for being late for work, so Tony wonders if he knew something about his date with Bucky. The thought leaves his mind as he gets started on his day. He doesn’t have time to think about dates or meddling parents.

As the months go by, both Tony and Bucky text in claims to their booty call agreement. Tony is happy to do so, but he finds himself catching feelings for Bucky. He wonders if it’s because Bucky is the only one that he’s in close contact with, which he mentions to Rhodey when they get lunch on Rhodey’s first day on leave.

“I mean, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be fucking the only person you have a steady friendship with.” Rhodey steals one of Tony’s fries.

Tony pouts. “Don’t be like that honeybear. You and Pepper are my friends, too.”

“Yea, but I’m in the Air Force more than 80% of the time, and Pepper works for you. It’s different.”

“You’re just jealous that you’re not getting any.” Tony decides.

Rhodey just smiles. “Says who?” Tony begins to assault Rhodey for details, the topic of Bucky forgotten.

++++++

“Hey, Natasha’s moving back to New York, apparently.” Bucky informs Tony one morning. “My mom just texted me.”

Tony groans. “If this becomes another ‘Why don’t you date her?’ thing, I swear I’m going to move to Tahiti and not accept any long-distance calls. You’re welcome to come with if you’d like.”

“I think we should take her out to dinner one night when she gets settled, just to catch up.” Bucky muses. “Then our parents can’t be mad because we didn’t try.”

“Yea, I wonder how she’s been. We haven’t talked in so long.” Tony agrees. “I wonder if she got a partnership here or something. I hope so. That’d be good for her.”

“Nick and Phil will be glad to have her back. If only my parents were as supportive as they are. You should have seen my dad when I told them I was opening my own auto shop.” Bucky smiles that unhappy smile.

Tony laughs mirthlessly. “I’d be happy if my parents talked to me at all. But being that Howard’s always cranky anymore, I guess it’s best that he doesn’t.”

++++++ Natasha moves back less than a month later with a short, sandy haired man in tow. They move into an apartment on the Upper East side. Once she’s settled, she agrees to meet Bucky and Tony for dinner. About ten minutes in, she asks them, “How long have you two been together?”

“Did someone tell you that we’re together?” Tony demands. “Because they’re wrong. We’re simply booty calls to each other.”

She shakes her head. “No, you’re not. You might like to think that, but you’re in love with each other. No one told me; I can see it from here.”

The two men shift in their seats, not daring to look at the other. “So how have you been?” Bucky asks her.

“Busy. Jenn and I are setting up our own partnership. We’ve gotten a lot of cases lined up, and we need a secretary. There’re two lawyers working pro bono mostly down in Hell’s Kitchen. We might add them to our firm and pick up their secretary as well. I saw them in court for the Punisher trials, and she seems to have her stuff in order.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Sorry for not keeping up with you guys. I barely even talk to Bruce and Carol.”

“Mom told me you brought a man home with you,” Bucky says. “She didn’t seem too happy about it. Are you two dating?”

“Clint? No, he’s just a friend. I’m too busy to date, honestly. I’ve tried a couple times in LA, but it turns out I’m very selective of those with which I choose to hang out. Most men are idiots, and I’m tragically straight. You see my problem, right?”

“We don’t feel your pain, but we understand,” Tony says. “Well, what we should do is make sure the three of us hang out at least once a month. If we want to bring our other friends, I don’t care, but I’ve sorely missed you, Nat. And Bucky, maybe we should spend more time together with our clothing on.”

“You say that now, but what about tonight when…” Bucky begins but stops when Natasha gives him her death glare. “Okay, that is still as frightening as ever. Is that how you win all your cases?”

“No. I’m skilled enough that I don’t need to use that.” Nat flips her hair. “But I’m glad it works on you.”

Tony stick out his tongue at Bucky. “She’d never kill me. Who would give her those amazing scalp massages?”

“Now that you’ve brought it up, I demand one once we leave the restaurant.”

Natasha goes home that night realizing that she missed out on a lot of Tony and Bucky’s lives. If she were being honest, and she is, she kind of relied on their parents’ hope that she would one day marry one of the two. She always acted the way she did because she was equally attracted to both of them, and she would never be able to choose. So, she moved away and let them get on with their lives. She never thought once that they would choose each other and leave her out. She tells this to Clint when she gets home.

“Talk to them. Maybe they’ll share.” Clint suggests before he falls asleep on the couch.

She rolls her eyes. “You have a room for a reason.” Natasha knows he’ll still be there when she gets up to go to work the next morning.

++++++

The trio meets up at least twice a month. Per Natasha’s goading, Bucky and Tony start to actually date. She’s happy for them but seeing them sometimes is bittersweet. She just wants to go back to the times where they didn’t have to worry about feelings. All feelings have done for her were made her sad.

One night, they’re eating takeout in Tony’s kitchen when he says, “You can kill me if we’re wrong, but I want to proposition something with you.”

Natasha raises an eyebrow. This ought to be interesting. Tony proceeds. “So, Bucky and I are very happy in our relationship, but it could use one more thing… you.”

“Me?”

“Yea. We both really like you, and we kind of got the feeling that you like us, too. Are we wrong?” Bucky bites his lip worriedly.

“No, you’re not wrong. I really like both of you. I have since we were kids. I just never wanted to choose between the two of you. When you got together, I was happy for you. I never thought that you’d both want me as well.”

“Why wouldn’t we want you?” Tony asks. “We love you so much. Obviously, we’ll have to talk about how this is going to work. I hear communication is key to any good relationship. I should know.”

“Also, if we all date, that’s one way to make sure our parents don’t get exactly what they want. Instead of you choosing one of us, you chose both.”

Natasha grins. This is a fine arrangement indeed. “I would invite you back to my place, but Clint’s there. Would one of yours work?”

“It’d have to be Tony’s. I just moved in two weeks ago.” Bucky jabs his thumb at his boyfriend.

++++++

Natasha’s parents are overjoyed when they hear the news, Bucky’s parents don’t say anything, but Bucky knows they are a little wary of his relationship. Tony’s parents, on the other hand, are very vocal. Howard has a yelling fit, screaming at Tony until he loses his voice. Maria asks him why he vexes his father like that.

When Bucky and Nat try to comfort him, he shrugs them off, saying, “That’s the first real conversation I’ve had with either of my parents since I was a kid. Don’t worry; I always knew Howard would have a problem with it.”

“It still sucks,” Bucky tells him. “No matter what, you’ve got us.”

Tony knows he’s happy when both his partners cuddle around him in the middle of their California King bed. Throughout all odds, the trio is back together.

#winterironwidow #childhood friends au #au_gust_2020 #Starkbucksbingo2020 #i write!

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viktor-noctis · 4 years

Text

Harvest Moon

Anakin Skywalker wanted to kill everyone in the room. And then himself.

Even if they didn’t know who he was, because the chance they might find out was too terrifying to consider.

But they hadn’t. He knew they hadn’t. Because if they had, they would all have died of laughter before he could slice them into little pieces with his lightsaber. Which he didn’t have.

This night just keeps getting better and better.

He had completed well over two-hundred missions since he joined the Jedi Order, from escorting diplomats, brokering peace between nations, and fighting on battlefields the galaxy over. He had traversed forests full of dangerous, man-eating flora, ice cloaked mountains with beasts that could rip one apart in seconds, and even desserts. Full of sand. Which he believed was far eviler than the worms waiting beneath the surface of the dunes, ready to swallow one whole, or any of the previous threats combined. He would take any of them, all of them, even a dustbowl, over his current assignment.

On paper, it looked standard: use secured invitation to get inside of a party of ambassadors, senators, and potential members of the Separatists. Easy. Sneak past heavily armored centurion guards wielding plasma canons and ion missiles that may or may not have heat seeker technology embedded in them. Interesting, without a weapon, but not impossible. Find information regarding the movements of enemy shipments, containing stolen kyber crystals, and potential hostages of their side. Somewhat difficult… If one didn’t possess an encrypted pass code, capable of rapid copying the necessary data in record time. All-in-all, the usual kind of Jedi mission that included a bit of espionage on the side.

Except the teeny, tiny, minute detail of the invitation being formatted for a Lady Skylar Erie.

A woman from a small, noble house on Naboo. She was twenty-two years old, six feet tall exactly, and didn’t speak due to a childhood incident. Her hair was a light brown with touches of golden blond, possessing eyes the color of dark turquoise gems, and skin bronzed by the sun. Lady Skyler had full, dark lips, now shaded to a deep crimson, and high cheekbones. Her shoulders were broad, her legs long, and –

“Luckily,” the stylist had smiled at him in the mirror, “handsome young men make beautiful women.” Obi-Wan didn’t look like he agreed with that statement. His arms were crossed, eyes wide beneath his furrowed brow, and lips pursed within his beard… which he was stroking. Which meant he was looking for something comforting to say. Anakin was almost curious what sort of backwards, reorganized Yoda-phrase he would use, no doubt intended to distract him from that fact that he made a passable woman in a pinch. His former master opened and closed his mouth several times, forming nothing, and eventually just let a burst of air out behind his sealed lips. Which was probably the wisest thing he could have done.

The dress was another monstrous affair. The fact that Padma had been the one to gift the pattern to the tailor made him want to jump off the nearest bridge. Because that meant it was from Naboo, which was notorious for having so many hard to navigate layers, it was like trying to solve a puzzle maze. He’d overheat and die. Either that, or it would be a flowing slip of silk that would immediately give away the fact he was a man, and he could already see the billboard tagline all over the tabloid side of the holonet.

A form fitted, off the shoulder, obsidian gown arrived. There was a deep cerulean, satin sash that wrapped around the top, no doubt to hide his lack of cleavage, and draped down to curl over the low arches of his hips, falling down his buttocks like a tail. The entire thing was accented with ivory stones across the top, coiling in abstract patterns down his ribs, growing smaller till they faded at his thighs. Made from the finest silks, the whole thing had been custom fitted for him a week before.

“It’s a shame you want to destroy it.” Obi-Wan’s voice held six feet worth of lamentation that Anakin was ready to bury him in. “It’s rather beautiful.” One look from Anakin had shut him up for the entire evening. He had his word that when they made it back to the Temple, he was allowed to slice it to pieces with his saber until it was nothing but a smoldering, crumpled ruin of unidentifiable cloth and cracked stones. He was also not to take a single holo of him in it, no matter how much Senator Amidala plead or bargained.

However, he had quickly realized that the most dangerous part of his mission didn’t entail trying not to fall flat on his face while wearing three inch heels (how Padme managed the ‘dagger stilettoes’ that were over five he would never know, but he was going to bow down on his knees the next time he saw her), nor glaring at the men who gave his backside leering glances (he just about managed not to Force push that last one’s face straight into the buffet table), or even punching the last piece of kriffing, snorg-birthed, moose-goose snot brained –

I hate this, I hate this, I hatethis, IhatethisIhatethisIhatethis –

He almost tore his dress. Again.

No, the most dangerous part of his mission was none of the above. It was navigating the toxic snake pit filled with people he knew almost nothing about. Oh, some of them he had seen, certainly: thieves, murderers, drug dealers, and slave traders. They were up to their ears in nothing but filth and injustice, the lowest of the low, scum that he had to smile and play nice with like a mute, pretty girl with only three brain cells to her name would.

Anakin’s face hadn’t stopped burning the whole evening. He only prayed his embarrassment couldn’t melt away the layers of foundation and contour applied to his features. She’d even combed and fixed his hair, plating the strands into a short braid with ribbon that matched his dress, and flowers that curled into the elaborate cuffs around his ears. He hated the jewelry almost as much as the gown… the dainty chains in his lobes had snow drops on the ends, bearing sapphires so deep they appeared onyx. The choker around his neck was emblazoned with them as well, with diamonds that offset the ones on the dress.

He had to wear gloves. To cover up his mechanical arm, as if it were something to be ashamed of. Anakin managed to contain a growl, keeping his fan close to the lower portion of his face. He didn’t dare lower it, least someone find his jaw too strong, his neck too thick.

How can anyone believe this? Maybe everyone around him thought it was just as ludicrous, just as impossible that Anakin Skywalker liked to spend his Tuesday evenings dressed as a woman, strutting around some of the worst moss-pit vipers in the galaxy. He swallowed what remained of his pride.

Get the information. Get out. You’ve done this a thousand times before. Never like this he hadn’t.

He had the advantage of his height at least, his gaze straying over the facades in attendance, knowing his mark would favor a more private location. The mask they had given him was just insult to injury… It covered everything above his cheekbones, wrapping over the bridge of his nose. Carved from delicate ivory, with swirls and coils painted on in black at the top, fading to midnight blue around his eyes, and then a rich silver at the edges. The top of the brow split in a mane of feathers, mimicking the shades already present. According to Obi-Wan, it was meant to represent a delicate, blue bird found on a planet covered mostly in water in the furthermost reaches.

Anakin almost felt relieved when he saw his target in the throng of dignitaries. His mask wasn’t strapped on like his own was, dangling from his right hand, while his left arm remained occupied by a Togruta girl with red skin and yellow horns. He really did not need to be thinking of Ahsoka right now. What would she say if she could see him? She’d never stop talking about it. She’d probably sneak a holo or two just to save for future blackmailing purposes, because what sane Padawan would pass up the opportunity to have a picture of their Master all dressed up for the ball?

The man in question, with more gold than white or black in his mouth, was one Fren Pollock. After obtaining a hard-won pardon from the Republic – something that made Anakin’s teeth grind – he had somehow acquired a governorship on a small lunar colony. Drugs, munitions, and people, nothing was beneath him. Anakin found himself reveling in the notion of bringing him down, of dismantling his little empire into the dust, and taking all of his accomplices with him.

“Woah there, blondie.” A bodyguard. One of four. No armor, no weapons, as was the standard, per the request of the hosts.

[ I’m really terrible at writing scum bags, but Fren allows Anakin closer, only to drug him. Someone intervenes, of course, but after unmasking Anakin things go from bad to worse. Also, Dooku wears a Loth-wolf mask. - ]

“I believe the young Lady has had enough.” Anakin’s stomach dropped. He couldn’t breathe. His next whimper was stifled against a hard chest. Hands, warm and solid, one on his wrist, and the other on his back. Protective, almost tender, they held him steady against the taller man.

The chuckle that emanated from the Count tightened around his chest. The air left him, slipping free in a low, hoarse whimper. Dooku just laughed harder. Anakin didn’t dare raise his head to see the slice of his grin through his cheeks.

“My, my, this evening is just full of surprises.” Dooku’s sneer rippled through his already weak knees. They shuddered beneath him, leaving him to sway dangerously. “I didn’t expect to find you here, Skywalker, but considering this turn of events, I’m rather glad I did.” Red and blue. Anakin’s teeth clenched, jaw ringing with the pain, straight into his temples. He should jerk forward, smash his head into Dooku’s nose. Crimson and azure. Their sabers should clash, they always had, easy and familiar. Darkness and light, trading breath and edge, till one consumed the other. Mars and Venus. Planetoids too far to know, yet the tales of them were wreathed in the fantastical. The coin flipped, came down in a shower of sparks that were the shades of stars.

Dooku tasted like something bitter and yet sweet. It reminded Anakin of the grapes Padme had given him while they were visiting Alderaan, off a vine five years old. She said they were native to the planet, that they would keep the same fruits without dropping them for hundreds of years, but when they were plucked clean… they died. Those same plants were the reason the planet was known for its wine. She had challenged him to taste as many as he could, all the way up to the first century. They made his nose wrinkle, his vision darkening as his eyes squinted, then misted with tears he blinked away. He didn’t even get to twenty.

He still had the gift… the one Bail Organa had given him. He had winked at him, saying something about how even Jedi needed to have fun every once in a while. The crystal, ruby embossed bottle was hidden somewhere under his bunk, protected by his worn, old Padawan robes. He still didn’t know how a beverage made from fruit as old as Yoda was supposed to be a good.

“What are you doing?!” His head throbbed. His parted lips trembled, prickling with something he couldn’t name. Anakin’s cheeks were still burning, but a new heat had been added from the friction of the Count’s beard. Dooku’s hand gripped his bicep, the muscle throbbing beneath his hard palm. Anakin could feel the bruises forming, the pulse of blood beneath the surface. He’d torn away, smashing him into the wall, and he had… he had kissed Count Dooku, a known Sith Lord, and leader of the Separatist Systems Alliance. A tremble lanced through him, clinging to his muscles, till he felt as if he were going to shake straight out of his skin.

Anakin’s head twisted, turning away from Dooku, but his body wouldn’t follow as easily. His tongue clung to the roof of his mouth, thick with the ichor of whatever had been in his drink. He swallowed it back, trying to free himself of the Count’s hand with a sluggish, surly throw of his shoulder. He stumbled instead, pivoting dangerously close to the wall, but durasteel bands took hold of his waist. His body jerked, a whimper exiting his lungs as they compressed. The darkness crept into his vision, stifling him in the heat and musk of whoever held him.

“What have you done?” Far away, harsh and whispered. The syllables grated against his scorching ears. His throat ached with the sound that left him, high-pitched and terrible. His mouth contacted something solid and warm and smooth. He couldn’t help but rub his face into the warmth of that broad shoulder. Whoever held him smelled like heat and spice.

Padme and Obi-Wan sat across from him, laughing as his face twisted. He had grown up a poor boy on Tatooine, you didn’t just waste food, no matter how much you didn’t like it. Which meant swallowing down whatever you were given, which meant he was willing to try anything once. Even the boiled bark of a strange planet. It was not the taste, but the brittle texture on his tongue. Citrus and tang, almost metallic in its bite, sliding down his throat with the same viscosity of honey, and the viciousness of alcohol.

That was the smell that surrounded him now, sharp and distinct. There was something overtop, layered on to smooth the undercurrent of that wild, intoxicating aroma. Anakin almost thought it was… roses. Yes, roses. Extravagant and sweet, enough to hide the Loth-wolf’s true scent.

[ Dooku makes a strategic retreat, taking Anakin with him back to his room… Mistake. The drug is in him now, and inhibition is taking a nosedive straight into hell. He puts Anakin in his room, where he struggles out of the dress, tearing off the jewelry, and rubs at his face. The Count returns after a thunderous crash, effectively shattering every bottle in his private bar. Not good… He returns to the room, submerged in darkness, standing at the end of the bed… ]

Anakin trembled beneath his own pride.

The moonlight splayed over his shoulders, weaving through his white hair, curving over the hard edges of the right side of his face. His eyes, cheeks, lips, chin, his entire face lost to the shadows. Anakin could see nothing of him, but he could imagine the furrow of his brow, the pull of his mouth into that familiar sneer. Or would his cheeks ripple with a snarl? He almost wished he could see him, the revulsion of his features, the cruel amusement preferable to the void that stared back at him.

He could feel something though, intangible as the Force, but as palpable as its presence. Dooku’s gaze. Those hard, dark orbs, piercing his bunched shoulders, his heaving chest, the tremble of his stomach.

He lost.

“Please…”

[ And this is as far as I got because I’m terrible. I’m not tagging this much either, because its a WIP. ]

#WIP

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jnlnyaface · 4 years

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The Rise of Skywalker...Thoughts...

I finally bit the bullet and saw “The Rise of Skywalker” in theaters. I have some thoughts...

Spoilers Obviously!!!!!

My general review is that the whole time I was in the theater all I could think about was how much better it would’ve been if this movie and “The Last Jedi” were combined and divided in two. By that I mean, there were so many things in this movie that would’ve worked better if they were done in the 2nd movie and then built upon in this one. There were things in the 2nd movie that I thought would’ve worked great in this one.

Have you ever taken a creative writing class and the teacher gives you a sentence to start a story and 2 mins to write. When your time is up you pass the paper back and continue the story the person in front of you wrote on their paper. And you keep going until everybody in your row has written a piece of each story. Do you remember reading that story and how one kid turned it into a fairytale and then the next into a horror show? And the last kid was left to try to put a bow on it and call it one cohesive story?That’s what this trilogy felt like.

Here are some quick thoughts before we dive in:

1. Finn being force sensitive *chef’s kiss*

2. Poe-Finn-Rey relationship = actual gold

3. I can now understand why people ship Poe and Finn

4. Even though the story was all over the place the effects with Rey and the Emperor were creepy in a good way

5. Overall I wasn’t as disappointed as I thought I would be but there’s so much that could have been done to make it better.

More under the cut!

Ok guys! Here’s where we do the deep dive. I’m pretty much going to outline all the problems I had with the film, why and what I think they could have done to make it better.

1. The whole Rey Palpatine thing - even though I (and many other people) wasn’t the biggest fan of “The Last Jedi” (because it was just one long car chase where nothing really happened) I did like the idea that Rey didn’t come for a force sensitive family.

I thought it would be cool if the stronger Kylo got on the dark side, Rey got equally as strong on the light side to keep balance in the force. (Like the force itself chose someone to keep balance, someone random) I didn’t like the way it was handled, him just saying it in an offhand way, but I thought it was a good choice. To backtrack and have her be Palpatine’s granddaughter was more than a little ridiculous and way too rushed. If they would’ve introduced this possibly in one of the last two movies that would’ve been fine. But a third movie plot twist? Why?

2. Finn - There are some topics in my life that I feel like I could literally write a college level dissertation on and the treatment of Finn is this trilogy is definitely one of them. Finn was teased so heavily before “The Force Awakens” and ended up being a misdirect for Rey being the real hero/chosen one. I was ok with that because Rey and Finn were so intent on being together. That meant, to me, that throughout the trilogy they would be with each other. They became each other’s family and they weren’t going to let the other go. Then TLJ happened and they were seperated for most of the movie. Why would you separate characters with such great chemistry? (They actually separated all three of the main trio in their own storylines. The problem with this? They never got a chance to be all together and build up their bond (as a trio) before they’re separated.)

This would’ve been fine (ish) if Finn’s storyline wasn’t a side quest of epic proportions. He’s one of the MAIN CHARACTERS and he went to a planet to get a thing for reasons. WTF?! (I will concede he did have some ok character development but it didn’t happen until the very end of the movie) Then they hint that he’s force sensitive and do nothing with it. I’m with the group that believes he moved the rocks at the end of TLJ when he ran to Rey and that was the first hint of his force sensitivity. I was hoping he would be training with her by the time the 3rd movie started (it was a long shot but one can dream). It’s obviously more explicit in TROS but nothing comes of it. He doesn’t have some big moment where he uses his powers and saves someone. He doesn’t have some confusing moment where he’s wondering what’s happening to him. Nothing! He just senses some stuff and exists.

He really doesn’t even add much to the plot of the movie itself. He’s once again benched but they give him busy work to make it seem like he’s actually contributing. John Boyega is an excellent actor and their underuse of him is criminal.

3. The Knights of Ren - Soooooo..... What’s up guys? In the first movie they talk about Kylo and his Knights of Ren being amazing then in the second movie they are never mentioned. Now in TROS they are there lurking in the shadows and....doing nothing. They seemed like they would be these fierce badasses but they get beat while by Kylo while he pretty much has one hand tied behind his back. Wha...

4. Kylo and Rey - I have very many problems with Kylo and Rey. Like so so so many. My biggest one is the kiss. Not necessarily that it happened just that it made zero sense. Yes they had a connection throughout the trilogy but why would that have to translate to romance? Why is it that when a female hero tries to redeem a male villain (or anti-hero) it means she wants to smash? Rey should have been allowed to want to save Kylo/Ben without having to fall for him. I asked a question on here a while back (when I was still contemplating whether or not I wanted to go see the movie).

I asked why people ship/started shipping Reylo. None of the answers I got gave me an “aha” type moment. You know that moment when you’re like “oh I get it now” (not that it changes your mind about the couple just that you understand why that person likes them so much). I didn’t get that at all for the answers I got. Some people said “because of their connection through the force” and I’m like ok...and? Why does that mean romance?

I have never seen him as anything more that a homicidal villain. I always thought their connection was a way for the audience and Rey to get to know Kylo so he wouldn’t be some one dimensional villain. I never saw them in a romantic light. In my opinion that final kiss could’ve been a hug and it would’ve had the same effect. (Or he could’ve just died. I would’ve been fine with that too)

5. Kylo Redemption - My problem with his “redemption” arc is that he didn’t earn it. He literally started the movie taking out an entire battalion by himself to get the pyramid thing. In the first movie he ordered his troops to destroy a whole village of innocent people. After killing Snoke he didn’t disband the first order he just took over and reaffirmed his commitment to the dark side. He killed his father, tortured Rey and Poe and the only reason why he wanted to help Palpatine was to get the fleet he was offering. But then in the 3rd(?) act Leia dies, Rey almost kills him, he has a conversation with the ghost/memory of his dad and suddenly he wants to be a good person again? Kylo is dead and Ben is just back?

The thing is (in my opinion) every great redemption story starts with the person admitting they were wrong and asking for forgiveness. Then putting in the work to earn that forgiveness. Or at least acknowledging they were wrong and dying for the greater good. But Kylo/Ben never acknowledge the mistakes he made, he never asked for forgiveness, he didn’t do anything the showed he should be redeemed. (But he didn’t shoot on Leia’s ship in TLJ and he and Rey fought together on Snoke’s ship) wow he did one not terrible thing and fought with Rey so he could take over the first order. I’m not seeing how that creates a redemption arc for him.

I’m going to expand on this more in my next point but I think if he just fully embraced his villainy it would’ve been better. If he killed Palpatine and became the final boss I think that would’ve been more interesting than a last minute turn as a good guy then dying.

6. Finnrey - When I said I was going to expand on that what I meant was: I’m going to tell you what I think should’ve happened in regards to FinnRey and how they should’ve been handled. In no other movie/book/tv show/short story/play will you see the main female actress and the main male actor not get together. It was so heavily hinted that Finn and Rey had/were going to have romantic feelings for each other (they were supposed to be our Han and Leia) and this was just forgotten about so abruptly.

Even in the second movie, the first thing Finn thinks about is Rey when he wakes up. He wants to get the beacon as far away from the resistance’s ships as possible so when she gets back she won’t be in danger with the rest of the fleet. And Rey talking to Chewie before she goes onto the ship “tell him I said...” what did Chewie say? Who speaks wookie? This movie was such a great opportunity to expand on that relationship and what do we get? Nothing...again. They didn’t even have one full conversation. Ok but why though? Don’t even get me started on the whole quicksand incident. Why wouldn’t he be telling her he loved her? Why is that such an absurd possibility? This is what has been hinted at for 2 movies and now...? Sensing a theme when it comes to hints involving Finn? Yeah me too.

There was a comment or article that I read somewhere that talked about Finn getting knocked out in the first movie during the final battle. This person said it was unfair because of the bait and switch in regards to the trailers teasing Finn vs Rey being the force sensitive in the movie. And I thought “wouldn’t it be cool if Finn and Rey fought Kylo together?”. I don’t just mean that one battle I mean throughout the whole trilogy. Wouldn’t it have been interesting if Kylo and Rey were connected because they were the equals in the dark and light sides of the force and if Rey and Finn were connected because they were a force dyad? That way if Kylo was going to be the ultimate final boss Finn and Rey could train/fight/work together to beat him once and for all. I thought that would be much more compelling. They didn’t even necessarily have to become a romantic pairing.

I’m ok with subverting the, every series ends with a romance trope (even though it seems like the only time this trope is subverted is when a character of color is involved) but in this last movie Finn did little more than follow Rey around the galaxy and call her name when crap was going down. At least if you have force sensitive Finn, who has trained with and is connected to Rey he can actually help her instead of standing around staring the whole time. I, of course am a FinnRey shipper so I was disappointed when they didn’t get together but I’ve had plenty of other ships disappoint me in the past so this was nothing. I just wish they would have communicated for longer than two collective minutes in the 2.5 hour movie. They had such a great relationship/friendship. It was one of the best things about the first movie and it just evaporated in this movie with no real explanation.

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These were some of my thoughts about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. I didn’t write this to offend anyone so if I did I’m sorry. I just needed to get this off my chest. I really got into the Stars Wars fandom with TFA and it has been a rollercoaster ride ever since. I try to reserve judgement on a series until it is over, since middle movies can be kind of boring because they’re trying to move the plot forward. I like to wait until the story is done before I say whether or not I liked it and this well...I’m still not sure.

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inquisitorhotpants · 4 years

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okay let’s just get this out of the way.

i didn’t like it.

If you liked it, I am honestly jealous of you! I wish I did. But I am really uninterested in any attempts to convince me to like it.

TROS review, with spoilers, below the cut

So I walked out of the theater very “meh” on it. Almost everyone else in my friend circle seemed like they loved it, so I ruminated on it for a couple days and came to a conclusion.

I’m not meh.

I really, really don’t like that movie. I will likely never turn it on of my own volition.

These are not in any particular order, just as they come to me.

The pacing is absolute shit.

JJ’s “Lost” buddies got more lines and screentime than Rose, an established character they promised was getting a bigger more impressive role in TROS.

Everything important Rose did got cut. That lightspeed hopping Poe was doing? Rose worked it out. But I guess we didn’t need to know that.

There are more effective ways to communicate in a movie than having Poe stand around reciting exposition about things he shouldn’t know about, but clearly JJ Abrams is uninterested in any of them

So many unearned emotional moments that mean nothing to the characters but JJ slaps in there to mash the dopamine button because HEY REMEMBER THIS YOU GUISE

So just to be clear, Leia can fucking FLY THROUGH THE VACUUM OF SPACE but just mentally communicating with her shitty kid kills her, sure jan

Rey would have just fucking killed Palpatine if he’d just shut the fuck up but no

Someone banged Sheev Palpatine.

Who also managed to somehow survive the second death star FUCKING EXPLODING.

You had the chance to show a fucking sith cult and went with “have Poe recite exposition about a sith cult”

The universe shows up for Lando, but not Leia???

Do not get me wrong, i adore Lando! But I really feel like even Lando and Chewie would have been like, “what the fuck??” about this?

JJ Abrams is a fucking shit writer

Pretending everything in TLJ doesn’t exist - except for some halfassed R*ylo, apparently - is shitty

Rey felt grossly OOC this whole fucking movie.

SHE ABANDONED FINN ON THE GODDAMN DEATH STAR

In theory, the Palpatine thing could have been good in the right hands; JJ Abrams was not the right hands.

All it took for Kyle Ron to stop being a space fascist was thinking about his dad telling him to be nice? THAT’S IT? Well hell, why are we punching Richard Spencer when we can just ask his dad to tell him to be a good boy??

Why the hell did we bury the lightsabers on Tatooine? All Luke ever wanted was to get away from there. It meant nothing to Leia. It meant nothing to Rey. It was literally only there so that viewers could go OMG I LOVE ANH and get teary eyed

So after that frankly excellent acting where Rey tells Kyle Ron to leave her the fuck alone, we get heart eyes and “Ben!” and a fucking kiss?

When she doesn’t even know who the fuck Ben Solo even is??

Neither do we because he has no fucking lines??

Finn is the glue that holds this fucking trio together and he’s reduced in half the movie to running after Rey. Gross.

We seriously took the member of the trio with the most established backstory and most filled in timeline in canon, played by a Latino actor ... and made him a former drug dealer. really? not a single person went “hmm maybe this looks bad”?

Fic writers will do hours of research so they don’t get something wrong in a PWP smutfic, and you can’t research Poe’s backstory for four seconds?

please enjoy your three minutes in each set piece, keep all hands and arms inside the screaming traincar at all times, and ... nowwww we’re going to slowwwww dowwwwwwwn so Rey and Kyle can Force Skype for no apparent reason

there are no actual stakes

“Chewie died!” just kidding

“threepio is gone!” just kidding

“we don’t have a fleet!” just kidding

“kylo ren, head fascist, is dead!” just kidding

“Final Order” is dumb as fuck

so much finnrey baiting

this covers the part about unearned emotional moments much better than i ever could

Good thing Vader eliminated that galactic menace, amirite? oh wait

“closes the entire saga” hey jj you know there are NINE movies in the saga, right? cause there sure wasn’t fuckall about the prequels in there.

this “trilogy” doesn’t feel like one. at all.

it’s so checkboxy. “they want r*ylo, check! no r*ylo, check! use that leia footage - shit we’re out, give her the weakest death imaginable. twin suns! palpatine! let hayden say a couple words so the prequels fans shut the fuck up! ‘everyone’ complained about rose, cut her out! cameos out the ass!”

The Knights of Ren were boring af.

rey gets no character growth

Are we just gonna make all the black folks in the movies related? Lando & Jannah already are, so do we get a short in a couple months where we find out Finn is his son and they’re all related to Mace Windu?

It just felt very “i didn’t like your movie so i’m going to make 2 and 3 in one smashed together mediocre movie”.

I just cannot get past shit writing and shit pacing and a hack job at “homage”

Now i’m stuck looking at a hundred hot takes on twitter about how “this is ben solo’s trilogy! he’s the real hero! he’s the poor abused boy and no one else has ever had it worse in the entire star wars sagaaaaaaaaaaaa and how dare rey get everything while he was abused and neglected and had NOTHING” thanks jj

Y’all I love this cast and they deserved so much better than what they got from this trilogy.

I suppose there were a couple of things I liked.

the music was phenomenal, as always. Palpatine’s theme done in the style of Rey’s theme was great.

space horses!

FINN FINN FINN FINN FINN

FORCE SENSITIVE FINN

the bickering scene. I got my hopes up after that. They were quickly disappointed as Rey quickly went off into OOC-land

Dark Rey and that little snarl at the end

I thought the new force powers were cool af. It’s about time we do something with the Force beyond jumpy jumps, zoomies, and the jedi mind trick

I’ve only known D-0 for 4 days but if anything happened to him ... you know the rest.

i actually enjoy the theme of “you are not your bloodline” but it was done so much better by Claudia Gray.

Anytime the trio was together was good.

As much as I am super “eh” on Kyle Ron as a character, I appreciate Adam Driver as an actor, and the scene where Rey passes him the lightsaber and he does that little shrug with the smirk, that was good. I liked that quite a bit.

The problem is that cool setpieces do not a good movie make.

I started The Witcher the day after I went to the movie, purely to stop thinking about this shitshow of a movie, and that show is great. xD

#tros #the rise of skywalker #tros spoilers #tros critical

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if-weshadows-haveoffended · 4 years

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Harana - Padawan!Obi-Wan x Reader

A/N: Man I really sat on this wip for 3 whole ass years. OBI-WAN AND INFINITE SADNESS? I DON’T KNOW HER. I ONLY KNOW TEA AND MIST DIFFUSERS. There are some sneaky references to Casablanca in here and a section of Anne of Avonlea.

Harana in the rural Filipino tradition is the act of courtship by serenading (with guitar) and often has the serenadee to respond back in kind (also with guitar). Often your bros would help you woo a girl by being your back up players and singers. Imagine Romeo and Juliet balcony but with significantly more guitars and second-hand embarrassment. Also the wookiepedia entry on music is absolutely WILD. (Reposting bc tumblr hates me and the tags were broken)

Title: Harana Tags: @fangirltothe-end , @hellotherekenobi Words: 1650+ Masterpost: here (x) Prompt List: here (x) Mixtape Archive: here (x) The Obi-Wan Kenobae playlist (x)

Perhaps you’d foolishly consider yourself a hopeless romantic.

It just seemed one of those days: sunny and the breeze just a touch warm, the scent of Ithorian roses and Sachi blossoms drifting upon it as you spent a day idly reading upon the balcony of your apartment. Somehow it was as if nothing could go wrong. Not spilling your tea all over the counter, not making your bath far, far too warm, hells not even the dozens of unopened messages on your comm could ruin the quiet serenity you were feeling.

And you may as well enjoy it after all, this reprieve from the tedium of study would only last for a few more days. You’d spent enough time watching holo-movies and idly playing music upon your old guitar as it was. It was time to finally work through that pile of reading you had always intended to get to.

The sun was slowly descending beyond the rolling hills at the horizon and you were well into your bookchip now. A story you felt viscerally, had read and re-read so many times and yet you yearned and pined and loved alongside the protagonists of the story. You would always smile, feeling your soul alight as your eyes traced the words upon the screen. Perhaps that explosive, violent love was never for you. The ones they showed in holodramas where the lovers would dramatically meet at the docking bay for one last passionate kiss. A confession and a farewell all at once. No, you ached for something quieter. Something as constant and warm as sunlight.

‘Perhaps, after all,’ you read, ‘romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a Jedi knight flying down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music; perhaps… perhaps… love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship- ’

You were suddenly pulled out of your reverie at the sound of footsteps and the murmur of a voice.

“Who’s there?” Your hands gripped at a small blaster in the folds of your dress in reaction to the sudden sound, eyes frantically scanning the deceptively serene balcony. Datapad in hand, you slowly made your way to the wide stone ledge. Carefully brushing off fallen blush-coloured petals you precariously leaned over, checking for any assailants below the ledge. Granted it was a stupid idea, but it was worth a shot anyway.

What you hadn’t been expecting was a young man sitting on a balcony ledge below, quietly singing to himself as he stared out into the far distance.

Kriff abort mission, no, nooooooo….nah... nope can’t do this.

You really couldn’t, he looked far too peaceful with one leg tucked under his arm, the other lazily over-hanging his ledge as half-lidded crystal eyes stared out to the peaceful idyll of distant lakes and hills. And yet, you were still there, half-falling off your ledge and staring at this boy as if you’d been ordered to memorise his appearance in order to assassinate him in the marketplace tomorrow. But something tugged at the back of your mind as you took in his relaxed robes in a sort of cream colour, the brown cloak discarded carelessly upon the balcony floor and what appeared to be a braid peeking out from behind his ear-

Oh no, oh kriff… oh kriff, kriff.

You were unaware that the Jedi were even allowed to sing. You’d always been taught that they were a hermit-y sort that didn’t do the whole singing-and-dancing-and-women-and-drink-and-wine-and-merriment sort of thing. Probably spent their free time herding shaak and the like.

But clearly you were very, very wrong.

He was a wonderful singer. His voice carrying the romantic yet mournful tune that you must have heard somewhere before. Was it a play? No, it must have been one of those sweeping holo-movies that always seemed to make every being in the room cry as the battered cantina owner lamented the return of his lost love. What was it? He’d refused to have that song played ever again? And yet he did, drinking whiskey, a single tear falling down his noble features. They’d always have Correlia, he’d say, assuring himself that he truly was fine and not crumbling apart within.

And that young man was still singing the tune, and you… you were simply transfixed at his beauty and his serenity, wondering what other power in the galaxy had blessed him so with coppery hair that glistened just so under the blaze of the setting sun.

“Hello there!” He turned suddenly and cheerfully waved to you.

There were many things you would tell people in the future about that time you first encountered the famous General Kenobi; “The Negotiator”. His kindness, his laughter, his smile…What you wouldn’t tell them, was the absolute mess you’d made of yourself while you fell off your balcony ledge and onto your tiled floor.

Like a complete and absolute ass.

Oh and your pad had tumbled off the marbled edge and cluttered upon the tiles of the Jedi’s balcony.

But it was alright with the coppery-haired piece of shit, apparently. He was profusely apologising and bounding up with his magical force powers to stand upon the narrow ledge on the other side of the stone balustrade.

“Are you alright?” He tilted his head in confusion, padawan braid swinging against his chest. You felt your mouth open and close, but you doubted anything escaped. “It appears your pad has smashed itself into smithereens.”

“I-I,”

“You can speak Basic, can’t you? If not, I can translate into-” He offered very quickly,

“No, of course I can speak Basic, I was just…” Gingerly, you prised yourself off the floor, dusting down rumpled skirts and staring at the odd Jedi. “You’re a wonderful singer,” you blurted.

“Well thank you,” He replied, a little flustered, a hand moving to fiddle with his cute little nerf tail.

Cute. Cute? Kriff, you’d only been talking to the boy for the last thirty seconds. Surely this was a new record.

“I didn’t know Jedi sang,” You rambled on and you simply knew that heat would be pooling up in your face for the boy to see-

Oh no, it was fine, he was turning a rather charming shade of pink too. It only seemed to get worse, didn’t it? Oh of course, of course he was cursed with dimples. You really should have just cut your losses and fled.

He laughed, swinging a leg over your balustrade and sitting upon it. “Oh we sing sometimes, my master says it drives him up the walls. But I am sorry, I’ve been terribly impolite. I’m Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padawan learner.” He held out a hand and you took it, shaking it as well as you could given your dazed circumstances. You were pretty sure, however, that you at least managed to give him your name.

“Well, Y/N, however can I make this up to you?” He gestured to the mangled, metallic remains below. “It is more or less my fault and-”

He still had not let go of your hand, and despite all common sense, you found no reason to let go. How could you? Obi-Wan (you had the sneaking suspicion it would roll off your tongue) continued rambling and you merely stepped away, your hand fighting to remain in his until you were too far, finger tips brushing against a calloused palm.

“Wait here,” You said, placating the concerned look that had passed before his face. Your feet traced the path through your room, eyes frantically scanning for the sight of warm Kashyyk wood before hefting it into your hands and quickly returning to the waiting Jedi. You noticed with some amusement that he’d balled his hands into the sleeves of his robes. “That pad was old anyway,”

He raised a sceptical brow, “Your face certainly said otherwise,”

“It doesn’t really matter. I’d read that story enough times to recite it in my sleep.” Heart pounding in your chest you mustered the courage to sit beside him, transferring the guitar to his awaiting arms. “Do you play?”

“A little. It was an elective.” He responded, “I’m sure it’s nowhere near as good as you,”

“Flatterer.” You briefly met his gaze, transfixed by their colour. Like a lake mirroring a cloudless sky. And you knew that you were lost. “Well, I’ve been starved for someone else to play with.”

“Have you now?” His teasing was going to be the death of you.

“Yes, now go and be all chivalrous and play something wonderful.”

“Any particular requests?” He asked, focused upon adjusting his hands upon the frets, fingers outlining the ghosts of chords. “Well?” He found your eyes once again, the answer slipping from your tongue faster than you could have ever expected.

It didn’t matter in that moment that a bemused Jedi Knight sat a floor below, basking in the comfort of the living force and the gentle sound of singing above him. It didn’t matter that he should really be bundling that boy off into their ship and off to debrief a council that would be mildly irritated at his choice to delay their return by a day or two.

All you knew- all you were consumed by- was the feeling of your fingers sliding their way along metal strings to familiar positions, passing a well-loved instrument back and forth and exchanging laughs as you missed notes. And if your hands lingered for too long upon his as you performed yet another exchange, you didn’t care.

No, all that mattered in the universe right now was the sound of your voices carrying the half-remembered tune of a song you both loved. And perhaps, just perhaps, this was that shaft of illumination you had hoped for.

#obi wan x reader #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan imagine #star wars x reader #star wars imagines #prequel trilogy #ewan mcgregor

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audiogrizzly · 4 years

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Top 5 Games of 2019

It was a little tricky to construct a top 5 for this year, though there have been a couple of surprises. I wasn’t expecting the year to be a bit crap as we are no w on the cusp once more of a new generation. But 2012 wasn’t all that bad of a year (PS4 and Xbox One would release in 2013) and at the moment, everyone is doing alright. PS4 has sold through over 100 million systems, Nintendo are definitely on an “on” generation with Switch, Xbox has been able to get back into peoples good books with things like Game Pass (on both Console and PC, their PC side they seem to really be turning around), there’s even interesting things happening in the mobile space with Apple Arcade.

This won’t be the last year where my top 5 games are full of current gen titles, I am expecting the new systems to drop in around November, last time it was hard to find a top 5 specific to PS4 (as I listed each platform separately back then). It IS however, another list of mostly AAA tier games. If you want to know what smaller more “interesting” games I have been playing, check out my honourable mentions at the end.

Also, follow me on Melee. It’s this new image blogging service from Imgur which you can download now on the IOS App Store (its just on iPhone at the moment) and it has seemingly been built to help people share gaming related clips and images off of places like Twitter and Instagram (and err, here on Tumblr). I posted a couple of daft clips of me failing in Modern Warfare and Destiny 2 and it didn’t take long for them to amass a few likes and comments.

That sounded like a sponsored advert but ain’t nobody paying me for this. Let’s get into my top 5

5. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order

I was about to select Gears 5 to be my number 5 until I saw sense and cast my memory back to when I started playing Jedi (all the way back in November. I was impressed by its intense action, impressive visuals and great characters. I especially enjoyed the 4 armed pilot who always complains. I did feel that towards the end I got sick of managing large groups of enemies so I dropped the difficulty to get through it, but I still haven’t achieved 100% of activities on all planets so I can still go back to it one day.

4. Borderlands 3

We all knew this was coming but not even I had any idea that we would have been actually playing it in 2019 way back at the start of the year. For me, I look at the game. I don’t care about weird magicians or their insane sounding legal woes, all I’m interested in is the work of a team who deserved better for their last title, but am still glad returned to what they do best, looting and shooting. I enjoyed rejoining these characters I have followed over the last 10 years, all the referenced to older games, cameos from characters from Tales From the Borderlands and The Pre Sequel and was sad to see some people go. I still have about a year of extra content to go through and I really appreciate the efforts they have made to make the game last longer than just one playthrough through in the Proving Grounds, Circle of Slaughter and Mayhem modes. Though I have always tended to stick to Borderlands games and create builds for each and every vault hunter, so I will be doing that.

3. Mortal Kombat 11

It’s been a while since I last put a fighting game into my end of year round up. And I HAVE fallen off MK11 a little bit, but this entry reminded me of how impressive it is for Nether Realms to pack their fighting games with some many things to do and keep people playing outside of just going into matchmaking and fighting others. The Vault this year is basically another little adventure full of exploration and puzzle solving and the Towers of Time give you plenty of challenge and direction of many months to come. You also have to give the developer credit for never backing down on the brutality of the game, they must have all got their heads together after DC Universe vs. and vowed never again to make watered down versions of Fatalities. It is a game that keeps getting better and better.

2. Call of Duty Modern Warfare

I was debating whether or not to include this years CoD. I always get the same type of enjoyment out of it each year, people complain that it never changes but I’m glad it sticks to a formula. Of course they are not identikit games, there are new maps, new modes, new ways of building your loadout and new touches, like how in this year you can snap to edges to stay in cover while you shoot, there’s the new special equipment system where you can drop ammo or reduce your footstep noise. Having doors you can either peek through or smash open adds another level of strategy, there have been times where I have been able to escape being under fire by closing a door, re-positioning and then wasting whoever just wanders in.

The campaign this year, good to see it back, but whatever, the co-op mode is Spec Ops again, like it was back in MW2 and 3 but on a much larger scale, I have yet to complete one of these btw. But as always, it’s the multiplayer that does it for me and Modern Warfare deserves credit for being what must be the first AAA game to feature cross platform play, not just launch with it. I know that games like Fortnite are popular, but I don’t see that as a AAA title, it doesn’t have the full package, it’s just a mode and it started off small. Call of Duty is expected to be big each year, has a lot riding on it and allowing for cross play is a big step. I especially appreciate being able to play with a keyboard and mouse on PS4 and being able to matchmake only with people playing with controllers on PC, in fact, I have never really given the game much of a shot on PC before as I know people just fall of it, there has often been low player numbers reported on the PC versions of CoD and it looks like it won’t have that problem this time round due to cross play.

Modern Warfare still has to contend with Destiny 2 and Overwatch for my time as my main multiplayer game but it’s still as fun as ever.

1. Control

Put this down as my main “surprise” game of 2019. A game which was not on my watch list, though I was aware of it as you can’t ignore a game from the makers of Max Payne (I did skip Alan Wake and didn’t care much for Quantum break though). Bought it at the last minute before its release, downloaded it and was wowed by the sinister nature of the environment you run around in. This weird fictitious US government agency which looks into paranormal activity which you seem to have become in charge of because you picked up a mysterious weapon from the deceased Director while searching for your brother. What then follows is about 12 hours of wacky powers and odd video clips as you unearth what has been going on in this strange ever morphing building.

I especially loved how the game never holds your hand too much, the map of each floor is vague enough that you also have to rely on in-game signposting to move around, as well as a bit of memory work. There is also great humour involved too in some of the PSA posters on a lot of the walls, the antics of the caretaker and the videos you find of Dr. Darling throughout the game.

I did have a few weird technical issues with the game throughout playing, but still found it to be visually pleasing, there was this weird hitch that used to appear after coming out of the pause screen that always threw me, it would be followed by a few moments of low performance before getting back into the smooth action. But this didn’t stop me from having a great time with Control. Perhaps the game that will be the most prominent in my head when I think of 2019.

So there you have it, control is my best game of 2019. But let’s look at the other new games I played throughout the year in my honourable mentions:

Gears 5

The Outer Worlds

Days Gone

Apex Legends

Far Cry New Dawn

Trover Saves the Universe

Concrete Genie

Devil May Cry 5

Tom Clancy's The Division 2

And also a special mention to these old games that were rereleased/remastered/repackaged etc in 2019:

Borderlands Game of the Year Edition Remastered

Halo Reach

And now, a look at the games I have on my watchlist for 2020:

Cyberpunk 2077

Last of Us Part 2

Ghost of Tsushima

Halo: Infinite

Watch Dogs Legion

Phantasy Star Online 2

Gods & Monsters

Doom Eternal

Overwatch 2

Diablo IV

Minecraft dungeons

Marvel's Avengers

Carrion

Streets of Rage 4

Will they all even come out? Let’s find out, happy new year!

#mortal kombat #modern warfare #control #star wars #melee #borderlands

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barnes-dameron · 6 years

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Poker Night

*not my gif*

Poe Dameron x Reader

Summary: What started off as a friendly game of poker amongst friends turned into a bet between Poe and a new pilot in order to see who would be the one to ask out the reader.

Word Count: 1.9k

A/N: Saw this gif and got inspired to write a little story on it.

With everything in the Resistance and the First Order constantly on their radar, it was difficult to find some down time. Poe especially was a strong believer of quality time, to help boost morale was his excuse. With that in mind, he organized a poker game with the other pilots on his squad and Finn. It should be enough to bring spirits up a bit, and a way for him to get some extra money.

Sitting around a crate in the hangar and being slightly buzzed from the stolen booze that Jessika snatched from the cantina, everybody in the Black Squadron and Finn finally felt ready to begin playing. Snap began to shuffle the cards.

“What are we playing, Poe?” Snap said, hitting the cards against the edge of the crate.

“Let’s play- hey Y/N!” Poe said, waving you over.

You looked over at the huddled group of Resistance pilots surrounding a crate and a smiling Poe that was waving at you. You approached the group, smiling at the faces that were upturned towards you. You placed your hand on Finn’s shoulder, who was sitting across from Poe.

“What’s going on here?” you asked curiously, looking down at the makeshift table where a stack of cards laid. “Gambling in the hangar? That’s not setting a good example, Commander.”

“It’s boosting morale,” Poe replied while pointing a finger at you playfully. “Wanna play? We can use one more player.”

“I’m fine,” you said, giving a smile to Finn. “But Finn here is just as good as me. Take his money for me, bud.”

“Will do,” Finn said, returning your smile.

“Okay,” you sighed. “I’ve got to get to my shift at the med bay. You all have fun.”

You pat Finn shoulder, and looked over at Poe. He gave you a smile, and then blew a kiss to you. He’s been doing that for a while. Ever since his first visit to the med bay, Poe has been playfully flirting with you, causing you to feel both uncomfortable and a bit flustered. It was hard not to have feeling for the Resistance pilot, but you figured he flirted with every girl. So, you learned to brush it off. You shook your head at Poe, and began to make your way out of the hangar.

Poe’s eyes followed your receding figure into the hall, not listening to the conversation around him. It took a couple of shoves and a punch in order to get him to return his attention to the game at hand.

“By the Maker, Poe,” Snap said while handing out the cards. “As soon as that girl walks in, you’re common sense walks out.”

“Shut up,” Poe sighed, grabbing his cards in front of him.

“Common on, Dameron,” Jessika teased. “Just admit you have feelings for Y/N.”

Poe shook his head, continuing to stare at his cards.

“I don’t, it’s just purely platonic,” he replied. “Are we gonna play or what?”

So it went. After a couple of rounds of games, Poe gained two credits but lost five to Snap, seven to Jess, and twelve to Finn. He wasn’t bad at gambling, he was only playing bad that night because the thought of you kept replaying in his mind. He wasn’t able to fully concentrate.

He kept thinking about how soft you hair would feel in between his fingers, the smoothness of your lips against his. He wanted to ask you out multiple times. In fact, he kept getting himself injured on purpose just to see you. He tried to flirt with you, but it was too late to realize that his attempts are easily overseen by his past faults; playfully flirting with others. If he could go back in time, he would definitely change that, but alas no such technology was available.

“Dameron.” Poe looked away from the cards in his hand, and turned his attention to a newer pilot that joined his squad. He didn’t know if it was the booze or he just didn’t know, but Poe couldn’t seem to remember what the guy’s name was. “If it’s just ‘platonic’ between you and Y/N, would you mind if I ask her out?”

“Why?” Poe said, a bit more harshly than what he intended.

“She’s hot,” the pilot replied, shrugging his shoulders. “And I think we would get along.”

“Jealous Poe?” Jess questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” Poe said, returning his gaze to his cards in order to avoid the glances from the others. He shifted a bit in his seat. “She can date anyone she wants.”

“Even if it’s some low bag pilot,” Poe said underneath his breath.

“What was that, Poe?” Snap asked.

“Nothing,” he replied quickly. “I just coughed.”

“I knew it,” the pilot said. “You want her to yourself, you bastard.”

Poe leaned forward on his seat.

“Y/N can date whoever she wants,” Poe said defensively. “But she’ll probably rather date a Commander and leader of a squadron than some pilot who joined even when he had doubts about the Resistance.”

“Damn,” Finn whispered softly, watching the interaction between Poe and the other pilot.

“Fine,” the pilot said, leaning his forearms on the crate. “How about a little game? You and me. Whoever wins gets to ask Y/N out.”

Everybody held their breathes, watching to see what Poe would say. Poe leaned his forearms on the crate, narrowing his eyes a bit.

“You’re on.”

Snap quickly grabbed all the cards, reshuffled, and passed them out to Poe and the pilot. Everybody watched as Poe and the pilot thoughtfully made every move and decision like their fates hung in the balance. The pilot flipped over his cards.

“Three Jedi guardians,” he said, sitting back with a smile.

Poe looked down at his cards, then back at the pilot. He carefully flipped over his, revealing what he had.

“Full temple,” Poe said, leaning back to give everybody a good view of his cards.

“Holy shit,” Jess said, before taking a swig of her drink and handing over five credits to Snap.

“What are you doing, Poe?” Finn asked. “Go to her!”

“Go, Poe!”

“Hurry!”

“You have your chance, now go!”

Poe looked around at the drunk group that was encouraging him. Poe got up from his seat, and began to run through the halls towards the med bay. This was his chance. If he didn’t do it now, then he probably couldn’t gain the courage to do it in the future.

Poe dodged through the multiple nurses and doctors that were going in and out of rooms, desperately looking into every room in order to find you. Room after room, Poe zipped through the halls in effort to get a glimpse of you in his sight. Finally, he saw the color of someone’s hair that could only belong to you. He pushed past the people, letting out rushed apologies, as he made his way towards you.

“Y/N,” he exclaimed.

He was only meters away, and he needed to get your attention...which he did. You turned around to see his somewhat disheveled state, his chest raising and falling rapidly with his hair sticking up in different directions. How can a man continue to be handsome when he looked like he just rolled out of bed? You slowly approached Poe, holding a data pad close to your chest. Poe held his breath as he stared down into your gorgeous eyes as he pushed a lock of hair behind your ear.

“Y/N,” Poe breathed out, before grabbing your face into his hands.

Poe smashed his lips into yours, filling the kiss with all the passion and love that he kept bottled up for you. You were shocked to feel his lips on yours, so shocked that you didn’t respond immediately. Once you came to your senses, you dropped the data pad and threw your arms around Poe. You racked your hands through his dark curls, feeling the soft locks in between your fingers. Your lips moved in sync with one another, molding perfectly together. He gently swiped his tongue across your bottom lip, begging for an entrance to which you would have gladly obliged if someone hadn’t interrupted.

“This is the med bay,” Leia interrupted, causing you and Poe to quickly pull apart. “Where people come if they are hurt or sick. Not to gawk at two people who are close to devouring each other.”

Poe hurriedly stuffed his hands in his pocket and turned his gaze towards the floor, smiling to himself. You felt heat rise through your chest all the way to your cheeks, embarrassment evident on your face.

“Yes, General,” you whispered, bending down to get your data pad off the floor (Poe enjoying the view from behind).

“Sorry, Leia,” Poe said, a grin still stretched across his face. “I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”

“Keep it up, Dameron,” Leia replied, pointing a finger at him. “Or next time I’ll cut the brakes off your X-Wing.”

“Well said, General,” Poe said, holding his hands up in surrender as Leia disappeared into the halls. “So...”

“What was that?” you asked, holding the data pad to your chest once more.

“Leia? Oh, I think Snap did something earlier today to make her-”

“Not that,” you laughed, staring at his smiling face, knowing what he did. “I mean the kiss.”

“Oh that,” Poe said, stepping closer to you. “Well, I kind of did things out of order there.”

“Really,” you teased, stepping closer so you were chest to chest. You would never act this way towards Poe, but you felt bold in the moment. “What was the first thing you wanted to do?”

“To ask you out,” he said, resting his forehead against yours. “So Y/N, would you go out with me?”

“I’ll think about it,” you whispered. You lifted yourself up on your tiptoes, and pecked him on the lips. “Okay, I made up my mind.”

“And?”

“No.”

“What?” Poe asked, panic rising up in him.

“Kidding,” you laughed softly, hitting him playfully on the arm. “Man, out of all the people, I thought you would’ve found that funny.”

“Well, now I’m kind of laughing,” he said. “Tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” you said, before pulling him in another kiss.

“What did I say, Dameron?” you heard Leia shout.

Finn, Snap, and Jessika all stood at the end of the hallway, watching you and Poe. It was odd to watch, yes, but they had to come there to see if Poe did it. Finn stretched out his hands to the two Black Squadron pilots.

“I told you he would do it,” Finn said. “I believe you two owe me twenty credits each.”

“Dammit,” Snap cursed, reaching into his pocket.

“I thought he wouldn’t do it,” Jess said, while shaking her head. “I’ll pay you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, right,” Finn said, rolling his eyes playfully. He knew she wouldn’t pay him.

He looked on his two best friends. Finn knew from the start that you and Poe had feelings for one another, and he also knew that neither of you wouldn’t admit your feelings to the other. His plan did work. Paying off the new pilot to pretend to make a move on you to get Poe jealous was the best investment that Finn has ever made. Seeing his two best friends happy, well, that was more than enough for Finn. Finn also knew that you and Poe were more than enough for each other.

#poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron x you #Oscar Isaac #oscar isaac x reader #star wars #Star Wars The Force Awakens #star wars the last jedi #writing #fanfic

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superherotigerarchives · 6 years

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My Last Jedi review...

Now it’s finally time to talk about my opinions on The Last Jedi!

The short answer is: I enjoyed the movie for the most part, and I appreciate that it was able to subvert expectations and take a different route than normal.

Now for the long answer, one most of you probably won’t stick around for :P

(P.S Forgive me if I mention things out of order. My memory isn’t always the best!)

For a little background, I went to see the Last Jedi at the midnight screening with my cousin and 15 of his friends. I was dressed as Rey, keeping with the tradition of cosplay at midnight screenings as I had for the past two years at both TFA and Rogue One. I’m telling you this because every time I see a new Star Wars movie, I have the most amazing, awe-stuck experience, and hence, my opinion will be biased and faults that others may realise can be glazed over by myself as I had such fond memories of these movies. So no, my opinion is not perfect, but to me if I enjoyed a movie while watching it that’s all that really matters.

Now to the review!

Starting off, I really enjoyed the first space battle, and I felt it was a great way to start off the movie. I was a little jolted out of the Star Wars universe at first due to the different camera techniques that are not often seen in these movies, but I like that they’re branching out into more cinematic shots and willing to explore their techniques more. Seeing Carrie Fisher and her daughter on the big screen did make my heart throb for a moment, and I still love Leia as much as ever, especially the dynamic between Poe and herself. They were very much a mother-son dynamic, and I still love Leia’s snappy little “You’re demoted” with an equally sassy slap!

I enjoyed where they went with Hux. He wasn’t fleshed out, but he was able to be a comic relief in my opinion, one you often didn’t expect. Some people may not like this, but when both screenings I attended to laughed at the first scene between Hux and Poe, I know I’m not the only one that enjoyed the humour. I thought it landed well, and because of my twisted sense of humour I quite enjoyed Hux becoming the ragdoll to the powerful force users. Just a little light-hearted fun in my opinion.

So basically, the first space battle was great, and I think it was a strong start to a strong movie.

Now, I’ll move onto the Rey plot as Finn’s one wasn’t really explored much until after Rey’s started. Everyone expected this massive moment when Luke got his lightsabre, something huge, something spectacular! And to be honest, I really liked that he metaphorically and literally threw those expectations away. So often the passionate fans of Star Wars lose sight of the fact that we, the audience, do not have control. And we shouldn’t do! How boring would a movie be if it always went the way we wanted?

To the fans that lightsabre is important, something passed down through the Skywalker legacy. But to Luke, it’s a memory of that traumatising day when he lost a limb, almost fell to his death, lost his friend to a bounty hunter, and most importantly, found out his father was one of the most evil figures in the galaxy! To be honest, I wouldn’t want to hold on to something like that either! There must be so much bad energy surrounding that sword, and that’s not even mentioning all those younglings that were slaughtered to the blade.

So yes, I do think it was appropriate for Luke not to care about the sabre. I wasn’t expecting him to do it in such a drama queen fashion, but we’re talking about the Skywalkers here! When have they ever done something not over the top?

Now, I’m going to mention something really quickly, because I’m going to write its own post for this topic.

How the KRIFF is hyperspace tracking a new technology?! Everyone’s acting like it’s the most original idea they’ve ever heard, and people are mentioning that Rogue One hinted to it, but I’m like “Hey, how about that episode of Rebels where THEY WERE LITERALLY TRACKED THROUGH HYPERSPACE WITH A TRACKER?!?!?!” Is it just me, or did this just feel really off? I mean, if the Empire had already at least started that kind of technology, surely the First Order with all their fancy equipment would have that right? And how did the Rebels not know about it? Was the Ghost crew just all chill after that death defying attack and like “We won’t let the other cells know they can literally be tracked through hyperspace by the Empire and destroyed within seconds.” But that’s just me, a Rebels nut that tries to connect Rebels to anything imaginable.

Now that my little rant is over, we’ll move on.

After finding out the ship is being tracked through hyperspace, Finn tries to leave so that Rey won’t accidentally stumble into the battle and get destroyed in the process. Now, I REALLY love this scene between Rose and Finn. It’s great chemistry, and the part where Rose goes “I’ve had to taser 3 other people today trying to escape in this very pod!” and Finn’s all like “That’s disgraceful” *Desperately trying to shove his escape pack out of view*

Anyways, love it, it’s great.

One thing that confuses me is how Finn knows the layout of every First Order ship when he was just… a janitor? Like I get it, funny joke and all but how would the guy that presumably had only worked on Star Killer Base know the layout to Snoke’s ship? And how would Rose, who is supposed to be just an average resistance fighter who’s always in the background, know how to disable something like that? They obviously didn’t even know this technology existed, so how did they know all that information about the tracker and how to disable it? I imagine a hyperspace tracker would work differently to a normal respect in some way or another. But that’s just me.

Now, Kylo Ren in this entire movie was AMAZING! Adam Driver played him so well, I’ve never seen someone be able to express such conflict in merely facial expressions alone! Especially the scene where he’s in the elevator and his eye is twitching, and you can tell he can’t handle the literal roast Snoke just gave him and smashes his helmet to the wall. I love it so much, and just Kylo Ren/Ben Solo was portrayed so well in this movie! And yes, I am one of those people who believe Kylo Ren will get redeemed. Not in the sense that he will come to the light, but in the sense that he and Rey and will balance the force together. I’ll get more into that later.

Okay, now I’ll get to the part that really tripped me out. You all have to admit, that scene with Leia flying through space was pretty strange right? Now, it’s not impossible for a character to survive space. Actually, Kanan Jarrus survived being ejected into space twice, and he still lives at the time I’m writing this. But in those cases Kanan was either A) Saved by someone else as he was unconscious or B) Had things to cling on to and propel himself off long enough to get back into an oxygenated area. Leia on the other hand really surprised me, and not entirely in the best way. She just suddenly… willed her way into the ship? It looked very out of place, especially in a Star Wars movie.

The best way you could fix this while still keeping the theme is to have the TIE’s blow up the command room, but not let their bodies get like… flung so far out? If you kept their bodies floating within the area of the now broken and exposed command room, you could have Leia use the debris to get to the door and then save her. I don’t know, I just feel like that would have been a bit more believable. The force is strong and all but I don’t know if it can go that far.

Anyways, briefly mentioning Holdo, I wasn’t sure how to feel about this character at first. She was giving off a really shifty vibe so naturally I thought she was a spy or at the very least was trying to sabotage their escape, but turns out she was in the right. That’s great and all but it still doesn’t explain why she didn’t tell anyone this plan of hers? Like, if she had just told Poe from the start, he wouldn’t have immediately jumped onto Finn and Rose’s risky plan. Little bit of a plot hole but I can glaze over it.

So, this is getting super long and I’m going to go analyse each plot thread separately now:

The Finn and Rose plot:

Though I think the relationship sort of jumped out of nowhere, I did enjoy their dynamic, and I would like to see them get to spend more time with each other. The casino did feel a little dull on the Star Wars scale, but things like the water ship that became airborne when it left the water was awesome, and I like those animals that they eventually ride on. For those of you who’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I threw out the suggestion that DJ was Ezra, and at the time that seemed fitting as I was hellbent to get Rebels in there somewhere! But I’m pleased to say that I enjoy DJ as his own separate character. He’s quirky, and just really laid back and relaxed. I really enjoyed that, and not ever really knowing who’s side he was on was great. Like, you think he might be untrustworthy after asking for payment, then he gives Rose back her necklace, and then he ends up betraying them again when his life is put at risk. I love his character, and the little things like BB8 and him discussing who owned the ship was great.

Finn: This isn’t your ship, is it?

BB8: *Beeps*

DJ: *Laughs* He said I stole it. *Glances at BB8* We stole it together.

It’s just bits like these that are the icing on the cake.

I know people are saying this plot was unnecessary and all, but I really enjoyed it and I think if they had taken this plot out and only focused on Rey and Luke, it would have lost of a lot of it’s impact. The Rey and Luke scenes are great because they’re scarce, just like how Luke and Rey don’t actually interact that much. What would we even see? Rey practising stuff while Luke silently tries to figure out his own stuff? I think people forget that sometimes less is more, and I think it applies well to the Luke and Rey plot. I enjoyed the Canto Bite plot, and it was an interesting way to show how those outside of the Resistance and First Order stand in terms of the war.

Okay now to the Poe plot:

This was an interesting one. There wasn’t huge amounts of it from memory, but when it did show up it always made me think. After all, we saw this plot from Poe’s perspective. We love Poe, and even though we all know he can be reckless, everyone knows he has the best intentions and roots for him. We follow him as he tries to help Finn and Rose the best he can, while locking horns with Holdo, a character we don’t know very much about. That puts us in a position where we stand on Poe’s side because we trust him as a person more than Holdo, and it ultimately could have ended in all their deaths. It’s pretty interesting when you think about it…

Now to the meat of the story! The Rey/Luke and Rey/Kylo plots:

Luke and Rey have an interesting dynamic. You can tell there’s a part of Luke who’s curious who Rey is, and naturally wants to help her in some respect. But he’s held back by the fear of failure. That he will lose Rey the same way he lost Ben. So he pushes her away to protect her from himself, only to push her straight into the one who was pulling her to the dark. It’s such a brilliant dynamic, and I think that’s what’s so brilliant about the Yoda scene. My favourite line is “The greatest teacher, failure is…” because it’s so true! You learn so much more from your mistakes then you ever could from constantly being correct. Luke made a mistake with Ben, and he lost him. Now he could choose to wallow in that mistake, or use it to use advantage and learn how to stop it from happening next time. It’s a really good message, one I think should be encourage more often. It’s alright to do something wrong, it’s alright if you make a mistake. We shouldn’t be punishing kids for low grades, and instead encouraging them to learn and grow from these experiences.

The Rey and Kylo dynamic is even more interesting! I definitely found it the most interesting part of the movie by far. Basically, Kylo and Rey become connected through the force and are able to see each other and converse across the galaxy. I love how we see their dynamic go from ‘Immediately shoots at and fight of where Luke is again’ to,

“I’ve never felt so alone in my entire life…”

“You’re not alone…”

“Neither are you…”

AHHH! It was done so well. There’s definitely something awesome about these two characters getting to learn from each other. Rey can sympathise with Ben’s feeling of abandonment, and Kylo and sympathise with Rey’s feelings of loneliness. They are two sides of the same coin, and they compliment each other so well. I think it’s important to note that Rey cares about Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren. And even though Kylo Ren is saying to do whatever it takes to rule, Ben Solo is yearning for the compassion that Rey gives him.

Kylo Ren and Ben Solo are two different people. It’s not uncommon in the Star Wars universe to identify themselves as two different people. Darth Vader was considered different to Anakin Skywalker. Caleb Dume was not the same as Kanan Jarrus. And if you go a bit deeper characters like Count Vidian was different to his old former life before he decomposed due to disease.

It’s an interesting concept, but Rey and Ben work so well together, as seen by that AMAZING throne room fight scene! Seriously, best fight scene in Star Wars to date! It really displays each of their powers really well, and shows how much stronger the light and the dark are together than apart. Speaking of which, the idea of balance is pointed to heavily in this movie. When Rey is meditating, she says things along the lines of “Warmth, cold. Life, death. Peacefulness, chaos. Life, death. And in the middle, a force…” The force is the balance, and they’re using the concept of yin and yang in that one cannot exist without the other, and both are needed to be complete.

Rey is the light, and Kylo is the dark, as shown by Snoke’s quote of: “Darkness rises, and the light to meet it,” and also while speaking to Rey “I warned my young pupil that as he grew stronger, his counter in the light would grow too.” (Or something along those lines.)

I really like where this is going, and even though Kylo wasn’t redeemed in this movie, I do believe he and Rey will work together to start a new Order of Grey Jedi by episode 9. I’ll probably get more in depth about this stuff in another post, but I just thought I’d get that stuff off my mind.

And also, for those upset that Snoke was useless, let me tell you this. Snoke is just a stepping stone to exhibit Kylo’s power. No where was it explained that Snoke would be something bigger. That was just an assumption fans had imposed onto the character. Same with Rey’s parentage. No where did it indicate she was part of the Skywalker legacy, that was just something that was assumed because the saga is about the Skywalkers (even though Kylo is there as the Skywalker but that’s an argument for a whole other day). Basically, the Last Jedi reversed the expectations by making Rey a nobody (thank the force for that), and making Snoke just a tool for Kylo’s rise to power. And it does NOT make it a bad movie for doing that.

In my opinion, I think people had something they carefully theorised on for two whole years, a movie of their own, and were disappointed when they got something different. It’s alright to want to think things out guys, and I’m glad so many people are so passionate about something that they think out their own plan of events. Heck, even I’m guilty of it. But when you let those expectations grow so large that it’s impossible to please, the only person you are hindering is yourself.

Anyways, this post is so long, so I’m going to make a list of things I like and things I didn’t like about the movie to sum it up:

Dislikes:

-Leia floating through space like a wizard

-Luke milking a creature on screen, like wtf?

-Initial shot of Yoda when he appears. (Once the tree is burning and he takes on more of his original puppet behaviour than CGI it’s much better.)

-Finn knowing the layout of all First Order ships even though he’s just a janitor

-Hyperspace tracking being a new technology

-Rose somehow able to disable a technology that is supposedly new and never heard of.

Likes:

-“Well when you see Hux let him know Leia has a very important message… from his mother.”

-“I believe he’s tooling with you sir.”

-BB8 plugging the wires with his kriffing head

-Awesome yet sad sacrifice of Rose’s sister

-Carrie Fisher’s daughter on screen

-CARRIE ON SCREEN!

-Consequences to risky actions

-Big deal, Big Deal, BIG DEAL!

-“Finn, leaking, naked, what?”

-Luke throwing the lightsabre like a drama queen

-Chewie breaking down the door like hulk

-Rey literally reaching out her hand

-Luke using a freaking blade of grass to mess with Rey.

-“I feel something!” “Yeah? That’s the force!” “Oh my gosh I feel it!” “You’re really strong with it!” “Really?! I-“ *smacks her with said grass*

-PORGS!

-R2D2 and Luke reunion!

-“Hey holy grounds buddy, watch the language.”

-Force bond

-Rey, the whole way through

-Ben Solo, the whole way through

-Luke Skywalker, the whole way through

-Finn, the whole way through

-DJ and BB8, holy damn they’re like partners in crime

-Yoda sending a flipping lightning bolt cause Luke can’t finish the job

-“Page turners, they were not.”

-“The greatest teacher, failure is.”

-Hux being a kriffing ragdoll

-Crystal foxes!

-Throne room fight scene

-“Bring it on Chrome Dome!”

-“You were always scum…” “Rebel Scum?” *Mic drop*

-Holdo’s sacrifice

-Crait. Just the entire salty, little planet

-Luke and Leia reunion

-Luke brushing off his shoulder like the drama queen he is-

-Realising no footprints were left in any of the Luke battle scenes on Crait

-Rey lifting all those stones like a boss

-Rey and Finn reunion!

Basically, I love the movie, and you’re allowed to agree or disagree about it. That’s the brilliant part about opinions. We’re all allowed to have one, and no one should be disrespected over it. I doubt many of you made it through my analysis, and I’ll probably go into certain points in more detail in the future, but thanks anyways. Hope you have a great day, and may the force be with you always!

-Superherotiger

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londone-fog · 6 years

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The Light Will Guide You Home- It Star Wars Au

AO3 Link

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Darkness is on the rise. Darth Assem the Wise has begun gradually over taking the galaxy with his Neibolt Regime. As his power grows, so does the power of his apprentice, the fearsome Darth Fide. With the demolition of the Jedi, the public is quickly losing hope.

Meanwhile, General Marsh and the Rebel Alliance struggle to keep the Regime on a short leash. With the rumor of a hidden Neibolt base on the abandoned Sith planet Korriban, they have made quick plans to follow up on the intel.

All they can do now is hope the force is with them...

II.

MK- 0029 had never once disobeyed orders. He had never once questioned the Regime, never once thought of anything other than following the word of his leaders.

Never once.

He thought nothing of the news that he would be thrown into his first mission that very day. Until that point he’d been in charge of KP, nothing more than a janitor. He reveled in the thought of proving himself to his superiors. And that fateful day would have been his chance.

He stood smashed between his fellow troops, regulation blaster held tightly in his hands. It was times like this that he hated wearing armor. It was notorious for trapping heat, and in close proximity like this, he was practically sweltering.

Just then, he felt a powerful presence. A dark hooded figure pushed his way through the ranks, only his wide, rarely closed mouth visible under the hood of his robe. His feet barely made a sound against the metal base flooring. Every troop member present stood just a little bit taller, a little more attentive. MK- 0029 had only heard of this man, never setting eyes on him until now.

It was none other than Darth Fide himself, Darth Assem the Wise’s one and only apprentice.

“Anyone who looks like they might be important, bring them to me. Kill the rest,” Fide commanded them, a wave of understanding passing over the crowd. Only a few principal pilots would make it out of this battle alive, and they would not be alive for much longer regardless.

MK-0029 felt his insides clench slightly. An ugly, unfamiliar feeling.

They all began to march forward as the giant bay doors opened. He couldn’t help but blink at the searing sunlight and bright reflection off the red sand. The troop itself was small, only about twenty of the most basic stormtroopers the base had to offer. They moved quietly through the sand, approaching the small group of X-wings and their pilots. MK-0029 was unsure how the rebels didn’t notice them marching, with either the ship’s scanners or the naked eye. Fide, who still remained at the head of the group, had a single arm raised above his head, gloved fist clenched tightly.

Confusion was beginning to set in, but MK-0029 was in no position to say so. Stormtroopers didn’t think; they followed orders.

“Begin surrounding them now. Remember the mission.”

They began doing so as Fide lowered his arm, and suddenly the rebels became very aware of the approaching troops. They scurried around like a small pack of rats, yelling at each other as the blaser fire burst out.

“He’s cloaked them, he’s-”

The voice was rapidly silenced.

MK-0029 snapped out of his daze, steadying his gun and rushing into the throws of battle. He caught sight of a man to his right, and he didn’t hesitate to aim a well placed kick to the back of his knees. The man flopped ungracefully to the sand. He tried to back away, but MK-0029 was already raising his blaster, the man’s forehead at the crosshairs.

But then he saw something. Something that caused him to lower his gun.

Underneath disheveled brown hair, sat a pair of brown eyes. Eyes that were nearly identical to the ones that MK-0029 had glimpsed in the backs of spoons and the shiny metal floors of the base. They were the eyes of someone who had lived an entire life, an entire tapestry of experiences woven together, displayed in the dark irises. He couldn’t bring himself to cause an entire history, an entire being, to bleed out of those eyes. He couldn’t be the reaper of another life.

“Play dead,” he caught himself saying. The rebel man was quickly confused.

“What?”

“Play dead!” MK-0029 said again, a little louder. The man obeyed, laying back in the sand and closing his eyes. MK-0029 smacked a blaster a little, feigning technical issues, before aiming and firing right above the rebel’s shoulder. He forced himself to turn away and join the ranks.

Two of the other stormtroopers pushed forward, a rebel pilot struggling in each of their grasps. One was built rather stockily, with wide shoulders and large hands. His light hair glistened with sweat and grit. The other was more slender, his curly hair matted with blood and sticking to his forehead. Fide stands in front of them as they are pushed to their knees.

“Man, I really have to sit and admire the balls on you rebels. Sending barely half a dozen men to one of the largest Neibolt bases this side of the galaxy? That’s nearly as gutsy as it is fucking stupid.” He approached the curly haired man and snatched something out of his hand. His head lolled as he made an attempt to resist, but it was a fruitless endeavor. Fide fiddles with the small silver device before speaking into it.

“Oh, you rebels. Always sticking your noses where they don’t belong.”

MK-0029 only barely heard the device’s response through his helmet.

“This is General Beverly Marsh of the Rebel Alliance. Where is Commander Denbrough?”

Fide laughed heartily, like General Marsh had just said the world’s most hilarious joke.

“Eh, couldn’t say. Will you settle for a captain?”

He moved closer to the rebel pilot again, holding the comm out for him. He struggled against his captor, making a last ditch attempt to snatch the comm away.

“Stan? Stanley is that you?” the general asked, worry gently lacing her tone.

“Bev, run. It’s a tra-“

He never finished his statement, throat forcing a strangled cry out of his mouth. He appeared to be choking, but nobody had laid a finger on him. Fide was using the force.

He lifted the comm to his mouth again, voice ever light but dripping in an unplaceable venom.

“Well, General Marsh, he’s right. You just lead your team into a trap.”

He dropped the device to the ground, crushing it with the heel of his boot. He turned back to his captives, releasing his force hold on the curly haired man. MK-0029 thought it correct to assume this was the pilot General Marsh referred to as Stanley.

“Well, well, well, are we really being graced with the presence of the best pilot in the Rebel Alliance? The great, untouchable Stanley Uris? What a treat this is,” Fide called out to the troops, clasping his hands behind his back. Stanley looked down in possible shame. Fide then moved to the other captive, lifting his chin with a single gloved hand.

“And what might your name be?” He released his face, instead picking at his bright orange flight suit. He seemed to find what he was looking for; a name. “Hascom? I don’t know much about you.”

He paused, lips thinning impossibly in concentration. Hascom writhed uncomfortably, taking rapid shallow breaths as his mind was prodded with the force.

“Oh ho, you are gonna be super useful,” Fide finally shouted. Hanscom slumped, sweat beading at his temple. “You and good ‘ol General Marsh, huh? Oh, you like her. And I’ll bet my balls she likes you too. If she won’t make arrangements for Stanley here, she’ll definitely barter for you.”

Finally, he addressed the troops. MK-0029 felt his spine snap straight to attention.

“Bring these rebels in. This is going to really work in our favor.”

As they all made their way back into the base, he cast a final glance at the man he had spared. Turmoil roiled in his gut, his training fighting hard against the small, bubble of differing thought singing in him.

But, deep down, he knew he’d never be able to do what the Neibolt Regime wanted. He’d never be able to look another person in the eye, and kill them in cold blood.

His next step would have to be a large one, and a mostly unknown one at that.

#my writing #reddie #stenbrough #benverly #it 2017 #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #beverly marsh #ben hascom #mike hanlon #bill denbrough #stan uris #the light will guide you home #star wars

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greencardback · 4 years

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From Galaxy of Adventures to Jedi: Fallen Order Star Wars has had a banner year by the standards of any franchise – and that’s before we get to The Rise of Skywalker.

But that’s not to say that the last 12 months haven’t been a rollercoaster. With 2020 now just hours away let’s take a few minutes to reflect on how the year has gone for our favourite galaxy far, far away.

This is Star Wars: 2019 in Review.

January

Following the first December in four years with no new Star Wars film meant that January was a little quieter than we’ve gotten used to. Yet excitement for the franchise came in the form of Galaxy of Adventures, the new animated series on the Star Wars Kids YouTube channel.

These hyper-stylised short animations re-interpret key scenes from the Star Wars saga. They work perfectly as bite-sized chunks of the franchise and as trailers for an as-yet-unmade cartoon show and are suitable for kids of all ages.

If you haven’t seen it yet it’s well worth your time – here’s a sample to whet your appetite:

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Read More: Galaxy of Adventures: Star Wars Reboot in Waiting? >>

February

The mid-February weekend is hands-down one of my favourite times of the year – and that’s all thanks to the New York Toy Fair.

This year Hasbro caused a splash with a host of new Vintage Collection reveals including (among many other awesome things) the Jabba’s Palace Adventure Set. Collectors have been asking Hasbro for play set environments for years, so this was a great announcement. I very much look forward to showing you what it’s like when I get mine from In Demand Toys next month.

We also saw the amazing anniversary card backs for The Phantom Menace Black Series Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul, but the real headliner was something that we’ve all seen before…

The Retro Collection is literally repackaged reproductions of vintage Star Wars figures. Crazy, huh? Maybe so, but they’re also incredible sellers. Just goes to show that collectors know what they like.

Read More: Star Wars at New York Toy Fair 2019 >>

March

The big news for March was the update to Battlefront II and the introduction of the brand new multiplayer mode, Capital Supremacy.

Taking place in the Clone Wars, this update allows players to fight as either Republic or CIS armies across a selection of Prequel-inspired locations, with the aim of capturing all the bases on the map before taking the fight to the enemy cruiser. It can be fast and furious or long and entrenched, depending on how equally matched the teams are; I’ve even had matches last over an hour.

It was one of a number of fun additions to Battlefront II’s multiplayer selection this year. The new version of Ewok hunt is probably my favourite though. Yub nub!

April

Star Wars Celebration in Chicago was the big news of April, and there was nothing bigger than the drop of the first trailer for The Rise of Skywalker – which in turn revealed the return of Emperor Palpatine.

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There were a few choice toy reveals as well, including the Vintage Collection Luke Skywalker Jedi Destiny set. This fantastic three-pack, which I’ll be reviewing in 2020, shows just how good the modern Vintage Collection can be.

Read more about The Rise of Skywalker trailer drop here and read more about the Star Wars Celebration toy reveals here.

May

May started sadly with the passing of Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew. I met him once at a convention when I was a kid, and although I can’t remember too much of the encounter I’ve always recalled him as a friendly man in person. He may have passed the Wookiee mantle on to Joonas Suotamo in recent years but he’ll always be Chewie to me.

Beyond this sad news, May was dominated by the US 20th anniversary of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace.

Seeing stills from the movie all around the internet and Darth Maul everywhere gave me a great nostalgic buzz, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film again to celebrate.

June

The midpoint of the year marked the start of the promotional push for the new EA/Respawn game Jedi: Fallen Order.

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As well as the cinematic trailer Lucasfilm also dropped a game play trailer, a ton of concept art and a brand new limited comic series exploring key characters from the era before the game.

This barrage of reveals did an excellent job of hyping the fan base.

July

The big news for July was Hasbro’s turnout at San Diego Comic Con.

While the number of reveals was down on NYTF and Celebration there was the headline grabbing launch of the Galaxy of Adventures toy line. These stylized, articulated 5” figures use the same branding as the Galaxy of Adventures YouTube animated shorts and launched with a lineup that spanned the OT and ST eras.

The big collector-friendly news was the release of the SDCC exclusive Black Series Sith Trooper, which became the first toy from The Rise of Skywalker to hit shelves.

August

2019 saw the return of Disney’s bi-annual D23 expo, and with it the return of a name we’d not heard for a long time… Ewan McGregor! The Prequel Trilogy veteran joined the stage to tell us all about the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+.

McGregor returning to the Kenobi role for some adventures between the PT and OT is something that fans have been asking for ever since Disney announced new Star Wars content – and if the actors’ admission that he’d had to keep his involvement a secret for years is anything to go by, it was clearly in the works behind the scenes for just as long.

Beyond the exciting Kenobi news, we also got the first trailer for The Mandalorian, the debut Disney+ Star Wars live action show.

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And if that wasn’t enough, we also got a “D23 Special Look” at The Rise of Skywalker, featuring a glimpse of dark side Rey…

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September

After a flurry of activity over the summer September marked a brief period of respite for Lucasfilm’s busy marketers – well, at least until the end of the month…

Lucasfilm put together a worldwide online streaming launch presentation for October’s Triple Force Friday, with actors from across the franchise coming together to unveil a load of new action figures and Lego sets.

Was the presentation cheesy and a little bit awkward? Oh yes. But if this kind of free-for-all event is the future of audience engagement then I’m all for it.

October

As well as Triple Force Friday (which yielded more Vintage Collection figures than first revealed) October also gave us the last big conventions of the year with New York Comic Con, Lucca in Italy and MCM in London.

Read More: Star Wars Black Series at NYCC 2019 >>

These shows also gave us a few more Black Series figures from across the saga, including a 6” scale Wedge Antilles. Good to see more heroes of the Rebellion getting their due!

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October also saw the release of the then-Final Trailer for The Rise of Skywalker. It may have looked epic but it still wasn’t giving anything away…

November

November started off big with the release of Jedi: Fallen Order and didn’t look back.

An excellent addition to the saga, Jedi: Fallen Order gives us an engaging Imperial-era story with fluid and fun game play. I’ve almost completely beaten the game; as soon as I do you can expect to see a lot more about it up here.

Read More: Jedi Fallen Order on Green Card Back >>

Now, Jedi: Fallen Order is a big deal. Yet we were truly spoiled for choice in November with the launch of (almost) the biggest Star Wars event of the year – The Mandalorian.

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Available in the US and a few other territories from November 12th, The Mandalorian is the first live action Star Wars TV show and it proved an instant smash hit. The space Western vibes, man-with-no-name lead character and a certain zeitgeist-grabbing child made it a popular addition to the Star Wars franchise.

December

November was a helluva lot to top. Good job Lucasfilm had the ninth and final film instalment of the Star Wars saga locked and ready to go!

The Rise of Skywalker has dominated the fandom for the last fortnight. It’s still playing in cinemas now so whether you’ve seen it one time or ten, you’ve still got time to add to your tally – get down to your local multiplex to get stuck in!

Read More: 5 Thoughts on The Rise of Skywalker >>

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That’s 2019 in Star Wars, then. What are your highlights? Let us know in the comments below – and MTFBWY for the new year!

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It's finished just in time! This is #StarWars: 2019 in Review >> From Galaxy of Adventures to Jedi: Fallen Order Star Wars has had a banner year by the standards of any franchise - and that’s before we get to…

#Animation #Disney #EA Games #Galaxy of Adventures #Hasbro #The Mandalorian #The Rise of Skywalker

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