#because otherwise there'd be no stories at all
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I have to write this next chapter from scratch. I threw out everything except a small part of dialog and the outline of three points that need to happen.
Staring at a half blank document. The beginning I managed to draft out yesterday and this morning. Part 1.
Part 2 faces me. It's fragments in my mind. I think that's how it's going to read too which may not be bad considering the situation. The character doesn't see everything, so why should the audience?
Everything in Part 2 happens quickly. Maybe 100 words. I will have to be precise, aware of pacing. Not my strongest ability. Also I don't want to give away a certain fact about her in this chapter. It needs to be revealed later in a part I already wrote.
Part 3 is going take a long time to draft because I need to write it emotionally.
#scheduling failures#writing is one of the most challenging things I've ever done#thankfully we have people who are gifted storytellers#and writers#because otherwise there'd be no stories at all
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the thing that annoys me the most about the bullying claim among the stark sisters is that they talk about how much it affects Arya that she thinks she’s ugly and such and like she does, but she’s so much more worried about being “bad” she killed a boy. She’s also going through poverty and war and starving and being introduced to cults/bands of “justice” by murder
but nooooo she totally is more affected by being called horse face despite being compared to SOOOOOO MANY PRETTY PEOPLE AND THAT MEANS SHES GOOD (never mind that good looking=good person should NOT BE YOUR BASIS)
I think most people, and especially girls, know exactly how it feels to worry about your appearance and feel ugly and unattractive, and I get that this is a particular pain for Arya, who apparently has never been called pretty except by her dad one time in AGOT, in an offhanded comparison to her aunt Lyanna. I don't think attractiveness is the most important thing to validate in any child, but I do think that it is good and nice to affirm to your child that they have their own beauty, so that they can then negotiate their relationship with that word from a safer place in adulthood.
It's not about telling your child they don't look a certain way (e.g. no good telling Brienne she's a normal height and her nose is hardly crooked at all), but that the way they look is something unique to them and something they should take pride in, regardless of what others say. Like I think it's an OOC moment in the show, but I think it's sweet when Olenna tells Brienne she looks 'marvellous' or something. She's not saying 'you look like bella hadid', she's saying 'I love the way you look!' to a woman who has received nothing but insults (despite looking like fuckin. Gwendoline Christie lmao). that is nice. it's not the most important compliment anyone can receive, but it embraces divergence as positive.
as it goes though, Arya is a pretty girl and it's just weird that the adults found countless compliments for Sansa and none for Arya. and that's why I find it so bizarre that everyone wants to pin Arya's self-esteem issues on Sansa, a prepubescent child!! like, would Arya have taken these insults so hard if Cat had stepped in and said 'don't listen, you're a lovely girl and your father says you look just like your aunt Lyanna! sansa i am telling you off for calling people names'. children are always going to call each other mean names! it is one thing that is practically guaranteed to happen in any sibling relationship, and anyone who says otherwise is an only child or lying.
but it is much harder for a child to manage that hurt if they're getting called those names, and society seems to be reifying to truth of them at every turn! Septa Mordane is calling her ugly! Cat is calling her a mess! Ned has never complimented her till AGOT! etc! she has never received a compliment before! so how on earth can you say 'and Arya's self-esteem issues can all be traced back to the playground bickering between she and Sansa and Jeyne' when Arya is obviously getting the same message from what seem like far more authoritative sources! is it not worse that those sources are all complimenting Sansa all the time and never Arya? does that not make it worse when Sansa acts like a child about it? like!!
and yeah I agree that there are other more painful insecurities Arya is struggling with. I do think at least part of the reason that this argument keeps coming up in fandom is that people keep trying to claim that Arya's story is similar to Brienne's, in that she IS ugly according to society's standards and that's ok! which isn't true, Arya is canonically a pretty kid with a dirty face and unbrushed hair. that's all it is. so if we could just accept that, there'd be no excuse for the insistence that this is an important aspect of Arya's story.
because it isn't. like im sorry but the ugly duckling means nothing when there are plenty of people who don't grow up to be swans. they get called ugly as children, and they get called ugly as adults. look at Brienne: she has suffered far, far worse prejudice as a result of her appearance in childhood, and she doesn't get the catharsis of growing up pretty to show them all how wrong they were. Brienne has been treated like a fucking monster for how she looks, all of her life. this is a character for whom her appearance IS actually an important theme, and it will be meaningful to see her realise it's a strength, and find love etc. I'm sorry but Arya growing up to be beautiful doesn't mean shit to me lol. I fully accept it's canon, but it is not a meaningful story beat, in a story with people like Tyrion, Brienne and Sam. Arya's story has so many more fascinating themes about identity, trauma, justice, war, friendship and family. if Arya was pretty all along, why should I care?
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Daily update post:
I heard a report that every day, Hamas steals at least a few aid trucks with food, and as we've seen in multiple pics, vids and testimonies from angry Gazans, the terrorists don't hesitate to use force against civilians to do so. A few days ago, a Hamas "policeman" shot and killed a young man trying to get some humanitarian aid. The young man's family was angry enough to burn tired outside a Hamas police station in the city of Rafah.
The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, published a letter to his terrorists, in which he lies about how well Hamas is doing in the war (Israel estimates that at least 8,000 of its members have been killed, and that there is no organized Hamas command in northern Gaza anymore), while promising he won't surrender.
Just a reminder, that if Hamas surrendered, the war would be over immediately, and there'd be not one more Palestinian, civilian or otherwise, killed. What Sinwar is saying, is that despite being painted by certain westerners as a Palestinian liberation movement, it refuses to save any Palestinian lives. Same goes for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second strongest terrorist group in Gaza after Hamas.
Sometimes, the terrorist puppets and their financial masters disagree on what false excuse to give, regarding why they jointly made sure Jews would be massacred. Iran said it was one of the responses for the assassination of Iranian military senior Soleimani (by the US, in 2020), while Hamas denied this claim, and said that the massacre was to protect the Al-Aqsa mosque... (right, 'coz Jewish babies murdered in their crib in the south, born to the most left wing, peace seeking families in Israel, were SUCH a threat to the mosque in Jerusalem. This is the same false excuse Islamists have used repeatedly, like in May 2021, going all the way back to its invention in 1929 by the Nazi collaborator Amin al-Husseini, at a time when there was no State of Israel). Apparently, even the worst of terrorists, and the biggest financiers of terrorism, don't think the west will respond well to the more truthful, "We just want to kill all Jews."
There was a blast next to the Israeli embassy in India, and now Indian news outlets report that there was a letter found nearby, which tied the attack to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Dawn Lev and Matan Peretz, two funny Israeli Jews, answer some very serious questions, that were the most searched ones on Google when it comes to Hamas.
youtube
If it helps Dawn, I laughed. XD
While Iran is funding the attacks on Israel from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, the cyber attacks on Israel (including on Israeli hospitals), and has reportedly attacked an Israeli-related ship at least once directly, it has also increased its levels of Uranium enrichment, which is what they need to build nuclear weapons. We should all be VERY concerned.
Here is an op ed, with yet another testimony regarding the systematic rape, torture and abuse carried out by Hamas on Oct 7. I found it hard not to post all of it, but if I did have to highlight only one part, this would probably be it:
This is 26 years old Shaul Greenglick:
For the Eurovision fans, he was a very talented candidate for this year's contest in Sweden, who auditioned on Dec 3 to represent our country. He was on leave from the army, so he performed while still in uniform. He was killed yesterday in Gaza. This is his audition, where he got to show off his stunning voice:
youtube
This is 33 years old Maor Lavi:
Two days ago, he was interviewed on Israeli TV, because he had an urgent mission. While fighting in Gaza, they found a Hanukkiah in one house. As there are no Jews living there, it was most likely stolen during the Oct 7 massacre. Maor wanted to share the story, so he could find the family that owned the Hanukkiah and give it back to them. Yesterday, he was killed in Gaza, too. This is the Facebook post that Maor published in the hope of finding the rightful owners:
May their memories be a blessing.
(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)
#israel#antisemitism#israeli#israel news#israel under attack#israel under fire#israelunderattack#terrorism#anti terrorism#hamas#antisemitic#antisemites#jews#jew#judaism#jumblr#frumblr#jewish
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Not really getting why people are so desperate to have Felix somehow be behind the murders when I think this episode alone is pointing to very different circumstances.
Very long thoughts on how I think this could possibly be playing out and also just my thoughts on Felix in general:
To begin, we all need to realize he confessed. He went to the police and the Waltens and told them that there was a crash and that Edd and Molly had disappeared. It may not have been the full truth, and he's still a gross coward, but at the end of the day, he didn't pretend like he didn't crash his car or that he wasn't responsible for the kids disappearing.
You could argue he's hiding the fact he buried the kids, sure, but even then, I still do not see any reason as to why Felix would be murdering people for that. He owned up to crashing the car despite knowing the Waltens would hate him. There was a funeral held. It's believed the kids fell into the river because Molly's backpack was found. Why would he have to kill everyone to hide what is already known?
People say he killed Charles and Susan because they knew, but I personally interpret them saying Felix's story is "bullshit" more about the fact they think the crash was because he was drinking, not because they think he's hiding the kid's bodies. I honestly don't think anyone suspects Felix of that because why would they.
The police statements say nothing about Felix admitting he was drunk when he crashed, and considering he went to the cops the morning after, he'd be sober by then. There'd be no way to test him anymore since alcohol leaves the bloodstream after about 12 hours.
He was getting away with it. No one had any evidence against him otherwise. Charles and Susan even specifically say they're staying out of it. So why in hell would Felix, who's already had to deal with the law over the kids going missing, start murking employees as if that wouldn't make him look worse? Why would he draw attention to himself and his business by killing those kids' parents and his other two friends?
It makes absolutely no sense that Felix is behind it, and regardless of that, it's just very boring and cliché. It's so much more interesting to think that "Bon" is utilizing this tragedy for his own gain, that Felix is just a pawn. You can argue, "Well, Felix is complacent in the murders!" but I'd like to go into that as well.
Firstly, we don't know at all that he is. That's just what is theorized. We know Norman is very much an asshole and uncaring about what's going down at Bon's. He only cares about how it's affecting the company. Cyberfun is what funds Bon's, and with Felix on his own and not really mentally fit anymore, who knows how much Norman is using Felix's vulnerability to hide what's happening there.
Also, what's he gonna do? Tell Bon to stop? His 5'7 traumatized suicidal self is gonna march over to Bon and tell him to stop? Even if he witnessed one of the murders he'd be too terrified to even acknowledge what he saw. We already know he couldn't handle the car crash. Imagine if he does know the animatronic rabbit built for his children's restaurant is tearing people limb from limb. I mean, after all, he did do something. He locked them in K-9. People say that was to hide bodies, I personally think that was to keep Bon locked up. If he wanted to hide bodies, why wouldn't he just....actually get rid of them? There's a reason K-9 is an underground bunker. That's to keep something in, not to just hide a few bodies.
And on top of all that, who would believe him? Like I said earlier, he's already known to be responsible for two kid's disappearances. He already has a track record with the cops for being a known drunk since he's had his license revoked for multiple DUIs. How would he even begin to explain this to the police?
#this is very much a ramble and I'm waiting for someone to misconstrue this as me defending felix in some way lol#cause that is very much not my intention here. this is me saying everyone gives felix way too much credit as some sorta criminal mastermind#anyway#theories#the walten files#twf#felix kranken#🥃.txt#feel free to talk to me about this though if you want further thoughts or wanna debate or whatever. i love discussing twf.
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Round VII of Excerpts from The One True School Master of Vault 41
Someone has “revenge” on the brain. I thought the first excerpt might be funny and could stand on its own out of context. The actual context makes it funnier, in my opinion, but I unfortunately can’t spoil it because it involves possibly the most insane shock in the entire fic.
Admittedly, I’m slightly proud of myself for managing to not burst and to hold back on revealing the plot twists, particularly with major events #2, #3, and #4. Otherwise, there'd likely be zero surprises left.
Though, plot twist #1 is sort of foundational to the premise, so I gave it away! (Sophie is nominated for the position of School Master.)
Also, a strange observation about my own plot occurred to me: contrary to what I or others might think, the plot is actually quite simple. Or, at least, from my view at the moment, it is. I’d originally thought it was complicated, but no. Actually, it’s simple masquerading as complex because there are complications thrown into the story, like wrenches, via a few different elements/events. So, that’s something, I guess?
If I could summarize the plot in one sentence, it would be: three souls enter a crystal ball, and some of them emerged scathed, changed, or both at once.
That’s probably the easiest way to put it, without spoilers.
Anyway, here are the excerpts (from two entirely different sections of the fic):
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That was it. To say it irked her was to put it mildly.
Assuming they were both alive by the end of it, the first moment she got after all these crises were over with, she was taking him for a haircut, whether he liked it or not!
She would march him directly over to the finest salon she could find in the Woods, posthaste, like a prisoner if he resisted—all for the sake of a nice, neat trim.
So be it if it ended up botched. His Doom Room had done the same to her. So what did it matter?
⸻
Rafal glared at Agatha as if to signal: don’t let on that you’re hurt.
“Why are you both limping?”
Agatha stole a quick glance at Rafal who found himself turning to stare intently at a Stymph on high.
He shook his head with the slightest motion. She couldn’t know what it had cost them, or she would intervene.
The movement caught Sophie’s eye, and she turned her attention to Agatha for the truth.
Agatha shrugged wordlessly.
Sophie narrowed her eyes. “Well, it certainly wasn’t bird-watching, that much I can gather.”
Agatha shuffled, and Rafal observed her shove one foot behind her other ankle, but in her gaping, oversized clumps, one sock slid down to reveal an inflamed, red welt.
Unfortunately, Sophie traced his sightline to Agatha's foot. “Agatha? What happened?”
#school for good and evil#rise of the school for good and evil#sophie of woods beyond#rafal#rafal mistral#agatha of woods beyond#sge#sfgae#the school for good and evil#tsfgae#rotsge#rotsfgae#one true king#sophie x rafal#rafal x sophie#raphie#rophie#sofal#safal#my post#my fics#my writing#snippets#the one true school master of vault 41#totsmov41
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"Luke's a mass murderer because when he blew up the Death Star, he killed a bunch of innocent workers there." :(
I was going to ignore this bad take, because I thought it was just something that internet memesters shared as a punchline, but the Acolyte's own cast repeating it has forced my hand.
1: Luke didn't have any other choice.
The Death Star has already been used to blow up a planet of billions of people and is currently bearing down on a moon packed with some of the only people left willing to oppose the Empire. If the Galaxy was ever going to be free the space station had to go, and it did. Otherwise it'd just go on to kill billions of more people and intimidate the rest into submission.
2: They had it coming.
To date the only character I've ever seen on the Death Star who wouldn't have it coming are Candance, Baljeet, and Buford from the Phineas and Ferb Star Wars Crossover. And they aren't canon.
First off Palpatine probably packed the thing with his most fanatical soldiers. Ones who were probably ecstatic about the idea of blowing up rebel planets.
But secondly, if there really were any hapless engineers, conscripted soldiers, sanitation workers, etc, who simply didn't know what the purpose of the Death Star was. Lucky them they get a perfect demonstration when Tarkin nuked an entire planet from orbit! No confusion now.
Any employee who remained loyal to the Empire and didn't immediately try and jump ship after seeing that probably had it coming.
3: But don't they have families?
I wonder if any of them were on Alderaan?
4: That's not how you're supposed to think about stories like this.
This idea of hyper realism in stories, to the point your fictional armies are supposed to follow the Geneva Convention, is a VERY new idea. It used to be that you viewed this type of things in a more detached lens. Where, rather than go "but the Death Stair maintenance workers :(" audiences would simply cheer when the evil super weapon was destroyed.
Sure if this were the real world, maybe realistically there'd have been a Rebel spy or prisoners aboard who got caught up in the explosion. But within the bounds of the SW narrative itself you're supposed to simply assume there wasn't. Because the story isn't some depiction of a realistic war but a heroic tale of a farmer rising to greatness and saving the Galaxy from oppression by destroying the planet killing space station.
Unless we want fiction to get to a point where every hero's story is bogged down by an ill-fitting trauma plot line or where we can no longer have space stations blow up because "the maintenance workers!!!" we have to learn to distance ourselves from this hyper realistic view of fiction.
Or else all of fiction will consist of "military aged and trained men fighting with realistic tactics and then dealing with PTSD afterward." Because that's the most realistic scenario to occur.
#Star Wars#Luke Skywalker#A New Hope#anti the Acolyte#the Acolyte critical#The Death Star#The Original Trilogy#The Galactic Empire#sw
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(the Gerald anon)
No worries, I am also dramaticising things a bit: but my thoughts indeed stemmed from the post that Gerald did not allow Maria to call Shadow his brother (came across it this morning), interlinked by my memories of other posts that (head)canoned about Shadow getting tortured on the ARK and not treated as a being worthy of respect who maybe only got loved in private and certainly not public, was only seen as important for giving Maria a cure and nothing else, etc.
And like... Yes, Gerald did cave to the president's wishes for a research on immortality to hopefully find a way to cure Maria's NIDS. Shadow was indeed created with that purpose in mind. But to me, that does not at all mean Gerald didn't love Shadow, or automatically just had to mistreat him because "of course every artificial creation doesn't get respect from the people who made it." I truly cannot recall a single indication in the games that Shadow's time on the ARK was nothing short of just... happy! I feel like the angst of Shadow's creation hits way harder when said happy, almost idyllic life got torn away so suddenly and the person who loved him was driven insane and turned him into a tool of revenge, than when said life already was one huge shitshow and this was just yet another thing that came on top.
I really need to replay Battle one time. Love that game and Shadow's story!
(I just saw your reblog... Sorry for sending you into the rabbit hole, oops😅)
(Gerald anon again) I forgot to add, a reasoning for Gerald being a cruel scientist that I've seen be provided before is the fact you can see incomplete models of hedgehogs/Shadow in I believe ShTH if you use a camera hack somewhere. Make of that what you will.
This is one of those "appeal to emotions" analyses other people were talking about the other day. It's angst for the sake of angst. Poor Shadow, not allowed to be considered a person, part of the family, except for Maria who is literally the only person who ever loved him.
It was stated in the manuals that Shadow and Maria had a "sibling-like" relationship. This doesn't mean they saw each other a literal siblings to the point that Maria had to fight for her right to call Shadow her brother. Nothing about Gerald indicates that he'd correct Maria over this: for what purpose? Just to remind her that Shadow is not a "real" person?
Gerald gave Shadow a soul like Maria's. To me, this means that he really cared about him as a person and wanted him to be good; otherwise he would have only focused on his powers and healing properties. Yes, he then used him as a tool after Maria's death. He literally went insane with grief: that is not an indication of his usual personality.
Shadow was happy on the ARK. He and Maria literally played games:
such torture. many pain.
That Shadow was experimented on is a perfectly reasonable conclusion to reach: they needed to check his stability, his progress, his powers, etc. That those experiments were awful or dehumanizing is a reach. He already has trauma from getting his life ripped out of him: why add more? And as you said, him being perfectly content on the ARK makes the loss even more devastating.
Also what do the Shadow embryos have to do with anything? Of course there'd be Shadow embryos. Do you think my man went from creating the Biolizard to creating Shadow in one night? He tried again and again.
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I’ve been reading through your PolyGhostface tag like a woman possessed! You are the first writer I’ve encountered who captures the dark side of these two and perfectly balances it with the good, silly and often endearing traits they displayed in the movie. I’ve never been much of a Stu and Billy fanfic reader but I’m completely hooked on your stuff! Thank you for writing it!
If you’re still receiving requests and if it interests you at all, could you tell me how Stu and Billy would take a reader who was plus size? Given their preoccupation with masculinity and perception and the toxic diet culture of the 90s, I think even if they liked the reader and were attracted to her this could be a struggle for them. Or/and how they would take a reader who writes horror fiction. As interested in scary movies as they are but in the realm of short stories and literature. Maybe a bit more cerebral. Given how you describe Stu in particular as feeling superior to you, I’m dying to know your take on him having to deal with a love interest who is blatantly smarter than him or Billy. (not that movies are less intellectual than literature but just in addition to that)
Either way, thank you so much for posting your writing! It’s fantastic!
having to deal with a love interest who is blatantly smarter than him or Billy.
If you flaunted it,Stu would hate it, you'd be subject to a lot more of his bitchy side, there'd be more digs at things he knew you were insecure about, smothered in OTT affection so you dont get to upset that you want to break up. Otherwise I don't think he'd care, his ego would win out. you're smart, so what? He's smarter.
Billy would be kind of turned on and impressed with how smart you are. if you have to same or similar interests/knowledge/opinions he's going to love you even more, because you just get him, you know? but again, flaunt it too much, correct him, prove him wrong or disagree with him too much and he's going to sulk.
Neither would be able to admit you were right. You'd get a dismissive "yeah whatever" and a distraction or a change of subject.
how Stu and Billy would take a reader who was plus size?
I think Billy might have more of a problem with it than Stu.
Billy cares deeply about his image, so I think there might be some embarrassment there, maybe some dickish encouragment to not wear certain things, or ordering for you if you ever went out to eat together. The level of control he wants over you would probably increase so that you don't embarrass him.
I think Stu has that 'more cushion for the pushin' mentality, but would absolutely be a dick about it. if you were insecure about your weight/figure he'd use it against you. Definitely loves to grab and grope you, loves to feel you squish in his hands. I don't feel he'd care as much as Billy would. Except as a way to knock you down if he felt like it.
If the relationship is still secret, they're not going to defend you outright to any bullying. I don't think they'd join in, (well Billy wouldn't, but depending on the level of teasing Stu might.) But they're not going to speak up for you in public.
After hours, in the dark, when that person is alone, 🤷♀️ they might get some revenge for you.
#scream 1996#billy loomis#stu macher#poly!ghostface#stu macher x reader#billy loomis x reader#scream
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so curious about all of these but ill stick to asking about the among us au for now. im intrigued
okay among us au would be a multi-chaptered fic and i have about half of chapter one written and a tiny bit of chapter two. unfortunately a big part of it is a character i no longer want to write. fortunately, i wrote up a lot of backstory notes that don't involve him. some things will be kind of awkward because i haven't fixed the absence yet
i'm just going to put all of this under the cut because it's quite long but quickly i'll say that this is using a very basic framework of among us and i have kind of expanded the universe/politics from there. i think this is what a lot of among us aus do, too, but yeah the actual story of the fic is not inherently based around the gameplay--that's more backstory stuff if anything
(please keep in mind there will be spoilers here, but i will try to keep them minimal. also keep in mind i have no plans to write it out fully right now, but i may come back to it later)
Felps: actual imposter. Doesn’t really kill. prefers to just kind of watch the chaos but doesn’t want to work for it. Became friends with cellbit and hid + kept him safe from other imposters and now just smuggles him around on every ship he gets sent to. He’s the pilot of their ship in the plot
Cellbit: Human. was on a prisoner transport ship when he met felps (10 years ago). Cannibal and murderer. Happy to murder people on behalf of felps. Throughout their years of doing this he’s become more adjusted than at the start and he's mostly now just killing to keep cucurucho off of felps. On the side working at ways to get out from under cucurucho's thumb
Tazercraft: engineers for the current ship. First people to find out about felps being an imposter (and make the connection that cellbit must be too) but keep the information to themselves because pac is queer--love wins \o/ Mike as an anarchist is going to be important but i need to figure out the politics more (helps him connect with cellbit a little)
Bagi: officially she’s here on government business. Unofficially she’s continuing her investigation into finding her long lost brother. Not sure whether the amnesia is going to come into play or not but she can’t recognise cellbit as the person she was tracking down. Knows her brother disappeared in an imposter attack and is trying to follow that lead
I'm uncertain entirely of the politics with both the humans and imposters but to mimic the regret arc: cucurucho is part of the imposter government--they are not aligned at all with the human government
fuga backstory:
Pac e Mike were on a prisoner transport ship (8 years ago) at the same time as Cellbit and Felps (imposter duo) (not the one where cellbit and felps met). Tazercraft + JV + Guaxinim were trying to use the escape pods to escape--not because of the killings originally just to get out of going to jail. Cellbit and felps try to hang out with them a bit for marination reasons. Cellbit kills JV because he gets too suspicious lol. Felps falls in love with pac and when cellbit goes to kill pac he only manages to get his leg before Felps stops him. It was dark so pac doesn’t know it was them (otherwise there'd be no mystery in the actual plot oops). Tazercraft + guaxinim manage to escape and cellbit kills the rest of the people on the ship
this fic would have three povs for the three different "factions". Bagi's for the government/investigation side of things, Felps for the imposter side of things, and then either mike or pac for tazercraft's side of things--not sure yet
i don't want to spoil the entirety of the actual plot so i'll leave it here! also someone else asked about among us so i might try and clean up a snippet of the wip to post for them so keep an eye out for that if you're interested \o/!
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Since the conversation seems to be somewhat shifting towards AI, look at this gem I found today! https://twitter.com/elizabethminkel/status/1665857285531238401
Tech bros are the plague of mankind, I swear. They strip of beauty all the arts because they want a "hands on" experience, as if they're constantly wearing a VR headset.
No, I don't want to fucking chat with a character. That's not why people enjoy fics to begin with!
Not to mention that this crap would just be roleplay: you play one character, the AI plays another. I used to do that with fandom friends on Facebook, back when Ao3 was at its beginnings. Except that, with an AI, there'd be no twists and turns, and no personality whatsoever, because AI can't come up with original ideas. They harvest and remix the stuff that was put into them previously, but they can't offer anything new.
This crap thinking also stems from the "stereotypical" view of fanfics: that they're all about self-fulfilling fantasies and that the main character must be a self-insert of the author, while the other part of the ship is someone you wish would bend you over.
Sure, plenty of fics start off from "I would love to be in this situation" or "I find this very specific kink to be hot", but like... not all? And definitely not the majority. But saying that a fic is just self-fulfilling fantasy is so, so stupid, because then all writing, even that of traditionally published authors, must fall under that category because they included whatever topic interests them or because the story is based on one of their past experiences/a place they visited.
This whole AI shit, and how strongly it's pushed, really shows that we truly live in a capitalistic hellscape: people see no value in the arts, not even if they're done for pure personal enjoyment. Literally a culture sculpted in the "rise and grind" mentality, the one that wants people to constantly work to earn money and nothing else, and in which all experiences must be lived in first person or are otherwise useless.
--
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Aang didn't ask permission at the invasion, okay and aladdin never asked to kiss jasmine, flynn never asked to kiss rapunzel, Ron never asked Kim if he could kiss her, Danny never asked Sam if he could kiss her. I could name a million couples that never ask if i can kiss you. because i dont think most people do. this gives off the same vibes as Ariel didn't want eric to kiss her during the kiss the girl despite her body language/eyes saying otherwise. Do people not understand how romance works in stories? The audience doesnt want to hear a character ask if they can kiss them and i dont think most couples ask either. Katara was playing with her hair and giving Aang flirty eyes some people are just too deep in antikataang land to care that this girl was in love with aang and im tired of it. im tired of zutara fandom ignoring katara interst in aang and calling her his mom so tired of it
"The audience doesnt want to hear a character ask if they can kiss them and i dont think most couples ask either" LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!
If instead of simply saying "I'm confused and need some extra time to figure out if I really want to date you, but I definitively don't see you as just my little brother" Katara had said "Sorry Aang, I'm not into you at all, please stop trying to get with me" and then he kissed her - or even worse, if after she pulled away he tried to physically restrain her so he could keep kissing her - then yeah, that Ember Island scene would be in a completely different context that would make Aang look REALLY bad.
But that's not what happened. They were in an ambiguous situation, Aang tried to make it more clear-cut immediately, it didn't go well and he stopped pressing the issue.
The only reasons why people pretend it was far more serious than it was are:
1 - Zutara fans trying to make Aang look bad by pretending he's inevitably going to become an abusive rapist, in the hopes that this will make their own ship look better (and make people forget said ship only exists because of fanfics of Zuko raping Katara when he and the pirates captured her).
2 - People nowadays cannot wrap their heads around the concept of "Characters screw up sometimes - yes, even the good guys - because that's how stories work. If no one ever did anything wrong there'd be no conflicts to resolve"
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physical or emotional characteristics you would like in a human husk
Sorry for sitting on this for a bit! I'll admit, part of me was being autistic and overthinking this. Is this about what I'm personally attracted to in Husk, or what I think would be best for his story in canon? Is this about what he was like before he died, or what he'd be like if he could be human again after everything that's happened to him in hell?
I'm going with "how I see him as a human on Earth before death, and who I thought he was regardless of my own personal attractions and biases". (Well, a little bit of my own biases. No such thing as unbiased fiction. But accuracy is my priority on this one.)
First and foremost - human Husk is black. I will die on that hill until canon tells me otherwise. There could be other pieces of heritage in there somewhere - I don't think I'm qualified to speculate on that too hard - but as far as skin tone goes, he's black. I also like when art gives him dreads, it just looks right, though I'm not as much of a stickler on that matter. Gotta have some scruffy facial hair, though, I demand that much.
As for why... is it all the good fanart that made other options look wrong in comparison? Is it because he's voiced by Keith David and I just can't imagine a white guy sounding like Keith David? Those are definitely pieces of it. I know it's not canon and I'm not out here attacking people who lean otherwise on Husk's race, but as for me, he's black, end of discussion. On the shorter end of the average as far as male heights go, but he's not noticeably short in isolation. Definitely taller than my short and stout self. Weight probably fluctuates depending on his situation - his finances as a gambler would be all over the place, and so would his diet, varying between lavish meals in overpriced steakhouses, and dinners at home consisting primarily of cheese puffs and bottom-shelf beer. I do like him with a gut, though. Maybe he's just naturally predisposed to having a gut, even when he's starving. (Told you there'd be some bias.)
I'd definitely want to put decent thought about what it was like for him as a black man growing up in early 20th century Las Vegas, but without being 110% certain that anything I'm saying makes any fucking sense, I'm biting my tongue on that one. Definitely a topic I'm interested in, though.
I should also probably mention that yes, I know it's a common headcanon for Husk to be a trans man. It's interesting! I have no actual reason for not writing it myself. Not sure what to do with it, I guess? If it was canon I'd of course pay more attention to that aspect, but for now, whoops. You guys have fun, obviously! Just like with the popular ship, if anyone ever took "Irk doesn't write this thing" as "Irk thinks that thing is bad" I'd cry, don't do that
I like the name Oscar for him while alive. Saw it in a post on here once and it just felt right. Thank you, random Tumblr user I forgot who you are whoops again! Until canon tells me otherwise, he's Oscar in my heart.
I think his dress style while alive would match a similar trajectory to his Overlord-to-servant transition - a snappy dresser when he can afford it, would never be caught dead looking the least bit disheveled. Button-up shirts, freshly ironed suits, the finest colognes! But after he's a washed up divorced drunk, who gives a shit. His clothes are a lot more tattered now... but honestly, living in a place like Vegas where half the population are various flavors of downtrodden, washed-up addict, he doesn't stand out. At least he has that going for him.
Personality-wise, I think as a child and a young man, he was a big dreamer, even a bit of an attention whore. He's wanted to be a performer for as long as he can remember, ever since he started seeing magic shows and jazz bands as a kid. He may still be introverted in the sense that putting on a show is exhausting and he needs his space, but when he's in the right frame of mind, the stage is where he belongs. He worked so, so fucking hard to be a performer! He really could have been something if Vegas didn't chew him up and barf him out...
That dreamer attitude also made him a serious romantic when he was younger. If you accept a date from that man, he will spoil you. Flowers, fancy dinner (if he can afford it), a personal serenade... he doesn't fall into actual honest-to-god love very often, but when he does, he falls hard and puts everything he has into showing the person he loves that he cares. He does lean toward monetary gifts = affection, though... please, Husk, sometimes your partner really would be happiest with a hug and a song. But he doesn't see it that way, he has to keep gambling to be able to afford the lavish lifestyle his lover deserves. Fucking Vegas.
As an older man on Earth, after a turbulent divorce and decades of addiction and depression, he's a lot like the version of himself in the hotel. Doesn't give a shit about much besides where he's going to get his next drink. He does miss his dreams and wonder what could have been if he didn't screw it all up... but there's no point thinking about wasted opportunity. It just hurts. Drink it away instead. He spends his last few years alone, gambling and drinking and just waiting to finally fucking die.
Death was supposed to be a second chance for him, you know? He could pick himself, become someone again! Too bad for him that "someone" was once again a gambler, and that addiction is always going to catch up with him...
This is a rambling mess. I apologize! I just hope I answered the question correctly! Sorry if I messed it up!
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Remember when the SMA article came out and ppl were dissecting how he was talking about slowing down and focusing on creating a family, wife, kids, etc.? This paired with the lazer focused stuff on finding a partner, stepping away from the industry...
And then a day or so later the editor of People mag said that when he was ready to date, he'd be "seen with her, and he'd talk about her?"
I think it was these three elements that really riled ppl up when he went public with AB a day later.
First: "he was seen with her"
Second: "talked about her" - do IG stories count?
Third: He's "slowed down" on projects, nothing really new announced.
But then you take another look at all of this...
"seen with her" - besides that public pap walk? Virtually no real sightings, no organic out in the wild together. The first time anyone's "seen" them together in real time was at the beginning of the premiere, and only caught by that one tik toker who edged around to the back of the car to catch that 10 second interaction. He didn't take any photos with her on the red carpet. Nobody actually saw them at the premiere together.
"talked about her" - except, in all of his public press since Nov 22, he's not mentioned her in any direct form. If it weren't for his IG stories, there'd be no real acknowledgement otherwise. But what's more, even in those stories where they're actually interacting - do you ever hear him say her name? During ghosted press, they must have done 50 interviews about ghosting, romance, dating faux pas, first and perfect dates...not one answer about a current gf or relationship.
"Slowed down" - he just filmed 3 movies in a year. He just finished promoting the first one, with two more down the line. During ghosted press, he's mentioned the gene Kelly project directly more than once, and even went into detail about the premise/storyline, talking about how he's still tweaking it but he really wants to do it. Dexter caught in another interview saying he's "allegedly" playing the role and he'll be showing off his dancing skills there. The fact that they're actively speaking about the role - and not just as a throwaway comment like they did with LSOH after Covid hit and film development halted - it really appears that CE might be putting all of his efforts to making this happen. Which could explain the "slow down" of taking other projects, because his plan is to keep his schedule open to let this one manifest. And not to mention the Scott Pilgrim series that's coming up. Another project - albeit smaller, but still a project.
So yes, in a way, the SMA cover did "foreshadow" all that was going to happen. Putting out the narrative of a long time bachelor finally "settling down" once he found "the one." But then you look again, and you start to realize, yeah, but - there's cracks to this picture they've painted. There's intentional holes that don't add up. And you start to wonder, maybe someone's not so accidentally sabotaging this narrative. I mean, I'm no insider. But it makes you think, doesn't it?
It sure does. You've done a great job of articulating what I've felt.
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Honestly you’re not the only one worried about dream teams story. Flynn is not a bad dude, but he just doesn’t get or understand sonic at all, he understands Archie sonic. We already seen him insert tangle and sticks in the frontiers script and his other flynnisms in frontiers, plus the fact that this mobile game may not have a bigger oversight than sonic team, so yeah very nervous, just wish the dude would move on and do something he actually wants to do, instead of complaining.
Flynn might not be a "bad dude" in the sense of being an outright criminal or anything similar, but I do think some of his traits are fair to legitimately dislike, such as harboring the same kind of ego that gave us Penders (no matter how much fans will claim otherwise), and how he keeps setting up SEGA to take the blame for everything, intentionally or no.
If him and the rest of the Archie leftovers went away to do what they actually wanted to do elsewhere, there'd be no issue. But because Sonic is the only thing they have to their name apparently, they have to keep holding on to him. Which makes the recent implications that they're tired of Sonic all the more rich. Aw, what a shame, poor them, how tired do they think I am of them?
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for the dnfies parents:
I feel like dream would absolutely want kids but maybe not really bring the topic up in a way that's like WE should have kids to george but kind of like an in general thing like their marriage talk was of like the pros and cons because he would think george wouldn't want kids But I feel like george someone who needs to think things over and then he's all in
I also feel like he'd be the more nervous parent in general and maybe more in his head about accidentally messing up but he'd also grow into out so nicely like idk we joke that he is our kindergarten teacher but I feel like once the kid is older he would looove story time with them like imagine the kid sitting in georges lap and him doing funny voices 😭 I feel like he'd also be the goofy parent that would find it funny to mess with their kid but obviously in a lighthearted way like teasing them like "well if you don't have room to finish your plate I GUESS I'll have to have your dessert for you, yeah a real shame"
oh and dreamieee whenever I think of him as a parent I just think about that one time george and sapnap were running after each other and killing each other and he's just in the background like "boys BOYS it's not roughhousing time" or something like that like I feel like he'd be a naaatural at it if not a little soft hearted when it comes to discipline I feel like there'd be times where he could just not commit to the punishment fully because a sad face and big eyes would make his heart crack
Dream would hint at wanting kids but waits for George to confirm and talk thru THEYRE so SWEET GRRRR BARK
George would be a cool dad for sure he totally is always in on the kid trying to prank Dream and would play along with their kid a lot he would also I think be more laid back than dream (unless it’s like something serious) like the kid wants to eat some snacks during the night in a sleepover? Fine I guess I’ll just close my eyes and pretend it didn’t happen kind of dad.. he would be more protective or a bit anxious about teaching the kid and raising them well tho and dream assures him Everytime that he’s doing an amazing job and they hug and kiss and and
Dream would be worried and anxious and first but slowly shows that he’s a natural (that clip u mentioned + that clip where droncert crowd is throwing the green balls around and he’s acting like a kindergarten teacher fuck that clip makes me explode + that story time where he said he went out to eat breakfast and met a kid who recognized him there and so he went and ate breakfast with the kid and their family like?? He’s so nice he’s totally a natural)
Ok so george would usually be laid back with more funny non harmful jokes and stuff as I said before but if he does have to be strict or teach something he can be serious and usually does the punishing stuff but Dream does get disappointed and tell their kids not to do stuff (like eating snacks late) but is easily convinced otherwise or easily convincable if the kid does a pouty puppy face and does their pretty pleases
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A Flicker of Light Chapter Twenty-Four
Story Summary: A canon divergent AU in which Luke Skywalker is raised within the Empire to be either his father's heir as a Sith Lord… or his replacement.
Chapter Summary: Mara confronts Luke about his time on Jedha and Palpatine makes an unexpected power play.
FFN II AO3
She had been moving through a fog of questions whose answers only produced more questions. The Alderaanian security in Organa's ship hadn't taken Mara long to bypass once she'd dealt with the angry little droid. She'd hoped to find communications with known rebel cells or perhaps dealings with other connected individuals that the Empire suspected, but hadn't found proof against yet. What Mara hadn't expected was an encrypted communication with an old Corellian freighter. One that she herself had been on.
She'd followed the threads of information because that was her job. Unravel the senator's lies.
From Jakku she had found that the Millennium Falcon had landed on Jedha. She'd moved carefully from there, only barely talking herself out of physically going to see if she might catch them. She wouldn't. Her instincts told her she wouldn't, so she had to rely on sources on the ground.
There were plenty to choose from, she found, and more secrecy surrounding a project there than she would have expected for yet another dust ball planet. It took her time to track down a contact she could trust - time she spent moving back towards the Core - and she had been just hours away from Coruscant when the vid was transmitted.
Sand kicked up by wind left the images grainier than they would have been otherwise and some angles were entirely useless. She caught sight of a golden protocol droid first, then the petite princess second, a tall figure that she was certain was Solo, and a smaller man next to him. He had a hood pulled up around his face, the sand-coloured cloak leaving her blind at most angles. Then he turned and she caught a glimpse of his face.
For just a moment, Mara Jade had forgotten how to breathe.
It was possible that Luke was simply on a mission for the Empire, though something deep inside of her whispered that wasn't true. The fact that there'd been some kind of accident at a classified dig site on Jedha in the time he'd been there was either a very strange coincidence or he had helped the Rebel princess destroy an Imperial mining facility. As little as she believed in coincidences, she might have tried that day just as she knew she'd been trying for years now. All those moments - the early morning questions about leaving to all of the times he'd spoken as if his father and she were his only true allies within the Empire they all supposedly served - and the actions surrounding them. Padme Amidala's sister and the Rebel pilot he'd asked Mara to release for saving his life. Even the more recent incident of the intelligence they'd been after and that had been lost along with what should have been two high-level prisoners.
There were too many coincidences, and if she'd been tracking down these threads of information linked to anyone else, it wouldn't have taken her nearly this long to come to the truth. Luke had betrayed the Empire.
And Palpatine would kill him for this.
If he knew. Only if he knew.
By the time Mara's boots met the permasteel where she'd landed on Coruscant, a plan had formed. Those same boots carried her into the palace, through winding halls, and to the large doors the Red Guard opened for her. She steeled herself and her resolve, refusing to think of those three dangerous and unspoken - at least on her side - words that might be the death of her if this went wrong.
Mara felt the beckoning even before she heard her master's voice. "Come, child. What news of Leia Organa do you bring?"
I love you, Luke had said. I'll protect you.
It wouldn't be enough to simply look the other way this time, not if she wanted him to live. And Mara couldn't - wouldn't - imagine a galaxy without him. She could protect him.
"My Emperor," she greeted, bowing lowly. "I tracked the Senator's movements to the planet Jedha. The lies you spoke of were more dangerous than we thought."
They spoke, and Mara reported the half-truths as confidently as if it had been the whole. He waved her through points he cared little for until she reached the dig site. Mara admitted to not knowing why the site was important, but the princess' arrival, the timing of explosion, and her exit left her at the right place at just the right time while she'd received high-confidence reports that she'd been seen with Jedi sympathizers while there.
"And where is the Senator now?"
"I put a tracer on her ship. Its trajectory was taking it towards Alderaan."
"You've done well, my child," Palpatine said, those Sith-gold eyes peering out from beneath his hood. "Very well indeed."
With the dismissal she turned, pushing back at the guilt. It wasn't as if the princess was innocent, but she'd never knowingly shifted blame in her time serving as the Emperor's Hand. She'd served with honestly and dealt fairly until it was his life on the line.
There was no fair outcome with the choices Luke had made, and now she'd find out why.
With each step, the rage built. She kept a careful lid on it through the halls and finally to his apartment that he'd slipped out of to go on a treasonous trip with a princess. She waited. And waited. If her calculations were right, it'd be close to morning before he sauntered in there. Going back to her own quarters would have been a waste of time, though. There'd be no sleeping until she had answers.
The sun wasn't quite peeking up at the horizon when the door finally slid open and the lights motion-triggered lights snapped on at his entrance. She felt the briefest flash of surprise for him, even as he covered it with a smile. "Hey, Mara."
She should have played him. Led him down the path and let him hand her the information she needed. It was a tried and true method - one that he knew well as both an observer and a co-interrogated over the years - but that would be as pointless as his attempt to act so utterly nonplussed by her presence when he returned. "Luke," she greeted tightly. "How was Jedha?"
His façade broke with the question, surprise flashing across his features. He didn't deny it. Instead he stood there, blue gaze studying her and she felt the barest probes against her mind. She shut him out. Hard.
Luke raised his hands, palms outward in mock surrender. "I'm just trying to get a feel if I need to be ready for the Red Guard or not."
So much for keeping a cool head. The anger exploded faster than she could keep control of it and it physically pushed Luke back against the door as she burst to her feet. "You bastard," she hissed, her voice low and dangerous, and she gave him an intentional shove for good measure. "I have always been on your side. Through every questionable action and every treasonous murmur, I've kept it to myself. For you. To protect you!" She watched the words slice through him like a lightsaber. Good. He could feel a fraction of what she was feeling right now. "And then you go behind my back with her and you betray everything we've helped build!"
The words hung in the air between them and Luke loosed a soft breath. "I was trying to protect you."
"Look where that's gotten us."
He flinched at that and moved further into the apartment. He was limping, the bad break of his leg in the final stages of healing, but clearly overused on his little adventure. She watched him as he made his way slowly past the couch, shrugging his cloak from his shoulders to toss over the back of it and unclipping his lightsaber from his belt. He set it down on the table and took a heavy seat, toeing his boots off as he did. There was a long and heavy silence, her rage mixing with his indecision. He pursed his lips together and, finally, turned to look at her. The next words rang in her mind rather than out loud.
Is it safe?
"Of course it is. I used a loop on the listening devices."
He nodded, accepting that without further question, though it didn't alleviate the deafening silence as quickly as she would have anticipated.
"I know how you feel about him and about his Empire," he started slowly, his voice soft. "I know how you see him."
Mara crossed her arms where she stood. "He raised me. Trained me."
"I had to be careful. Not just for me, but for you. He's more dangerous than I think even you know, but….he's the closest thing to a father you can remember." It wasn't an accusation or even a simple statement of fact. There was something deeply personal in his words, and as he continued, Mara felt her chest tighten. "I know that asking you to choose isn't fair."
"Then don't." The words escaped her despite the pang of guilt. Wasn't that the task Palpatine had given her: force Luke to choose between his own father and the Empire? Or, perhaps a bit more realistically: between her and his father. She'd pushed it as far as she could because she didn't want him to have to face that pain. Choosing to be Palpatine's apprentice rather than his father's would be the most difficult decision he'd have to make, but what decision was there, really? The Emperor Saw things in a way few others could. Even Luke wasn't capable of seeing the future as Palpatine did. If the Emperor wanted him, he'd Seen it, and that meant it would come to pass. That, or he'd no longer be alive to fulfill that destiny.
"Mara," he breathed her name like his world was ending. "You don't know what I do about him."
She wasn't sure when she'd crossed the space between them, but she was close enough to lean down and press her lips against his. He reached up, finger tracing against her cheek and she didn't move away even as they parted. "If you go, he'll kill you. I can protect you here."
"And where will that get us?" he murmured similar words to her own spoken just a few minutes before. His eyes flickered up and his gaze held hers. "If we can't leave, we're not free."
"You could choose to stay. With me. I believe in the future we're building." She would find a way to help protect Vader if that was the way to keep him there. She could convince Palpatine to let him live.
"And if you didn't?"
"What do you mean?"
"Let me show you what he's built - what he plans to do. If you still believe in what the Empire has become…."
"You'll let this go?"
"Yes."
She nodded, feeling no true relief in it. But there was hope that they could put this behind them. That had to count for something.
—-
If he thought he'd get away with it, he would have taken his time putting a plan together. Quiet, subtle moves that would ensure that he and Mara were the only people of note that would have known they were there.
But Luke knew he didn't have that kind of time. Less than a full rotation later he'd secured a shuttle and hoped that he'd sense the danger in a more concrete way than the anxiety that was quickly taking up residence if any real trouble lay ahead. He had no choice now. No time to wait for the perfect moment. Mara had to understand why he was making the moves he was making and she'd have to see the corner he was backed into. If she didn't… Well, he didn't know what would happen. She wouldn't leave, that was for certain, but he also wasn't certain that she'd turn him in, despite his immediate questions. More likely she'd get caught in the middle and get herself killed. No. That wasn't right either. If she stayed, he would be the one responsible for getting her killed.
Which left him with little time and a lot of urgency.
He'd gathered what he needed and had clipped his lightsaber to his belt as he started out of his apartment. The doors slid open to reveal two red-clad guards. Luke could feel their gazes on him from behind the masks and he forced the surprise firmly behind a mask of irritation. "Yes?" he snapped, even if he knew they wouldn't - perhaps even couldn't - give him a verbal answer. Instead one motioned and they both turned. The message was clear with or without words. The only reason the Red Guard would come unbidden to his rooms was if Palpatine himself had sent for him. Great. Just great.
As they walked silently down the empty halls, Luke pulled on every lesson he'd learned over the years to bury his thoughts and feelings and fears as deep as they would go. By the time they reached the throne room he was the outward picture of calm, and not even the Emperor would know what had been spinning through his mind for the last rotation. The doors swished open and Mara straightened just a little from her place next to Palpatine. Her presence wasn't abnormal, and not necessarily a cause for concern, but seeing his father standing there without even knowing he was on planet was enough for a flicker of surprise to make it through the calm.
And in turn, a satisfied look flashed through Palpatine's shrouded, gold eyes as he turned that strange gaze on Luke. "Ah. Young Lord Natus," he greeted.
Luke wasted no more time dropping to a knee by way of greeting, his own blue eyes focused on the dark permasteel beneath him.
"Rise, my boy. I trust the medical staff has taken good care of you."
"Yes, my emperor," he answered easily, pulling a chuckle from the old husk of a Sith as Luke straightened.
"Your father too holds little regard for them." Interesting. Palpatine wanted him to know that he knew how little the younger Skywalker thought of Coruscant's best. But did he know that Luke had slipped out and where he'd been? Force knew there were layers to every word he uttered. It kept people guessing as to just how far his visions took him, just how much he Saw, and if they could truly get something past him. Just because he hadn't been hauled out for the first public execution didn't mean that he was in the clear. Or Mara. Or his father.
"I fear I don't have the patience for medical staff in general," Luke answered and that seemed to amuse his father's master.
"Or for protocol."
Luke found gold eyes focused on him and he felt his father touch his mind over their bond, looking for what this might all be about.
Palpatine's focus remained solely on Luke though. "Did you not think I would discover that you have been making moves to undermine Grand Moff Tarkin?"
There it was. He had two choices: grovel and beg for forgiveness or stand firmly by his decision, protocol be damned. Not that anyone in his position would have been fool enough to choose the former. Few found forgiveness from the Emperor.
Luke squared his shoulders and tilted his chin a little higher. "Tarkin's own hubris was delaying your weapon, my Emperor." Palpatine motioned for him to continue as he studied him intently. Any word could land him in an early grave and everyone in the room knew it. "He wants the credit for a project that he doesn't have the technical knowledge to scrape the surface of what's been created. Krennec knows that, and knows that once the project is done that Tarkin would toss him away for the glory."
"But not you?"
Luke shrugged as nonchalantly as he could manage. "I convinced him that I see his worth. He'll complete the weapon with confidence that he'll receive assignments following its completion."
"And if he does not?"
"The decision is ultimately yours, my Emperor. My intention was simply to move a project that Tarkin had stalled forward."
Palpatine flashed a smile of rotten teeth and nodded. "Good. Very good," he offered. "Come closer, Natus. Lord Vader."
The two men moved closer and Luke caught Mara's gaze very briefly. She didn't seem to have any more insight than he did.
One thin, bony hand reached out and a Red Guard approached, setting a device down for all to see. As the robed figure moved away, Palpatine's fingers twitched and the device whirled, an image leaping up from it to show the bridge of the Death Star. Tarkin stood waiting, Krennec sulking behind him, but it was the scientist that the Emperor spoke to. "Director Krennec, Lord Natus speaks very highly of the weapon you have built for me. Are you prepared to prove its worth?"
A startled expression was shared by both the Moff and Science Director, but the latter stepped forward, bending in reverence as he spoke. "At your command, my Emperor," he answered, his voice trembling ever so slightly.
"You may fire when ready."
The image flickered out to provide the same view the Death Star showed through its own viewing port, giving all four in the throne room a clear view of the planet Alderaan. Luke felt like he'd been punched in the gut.
"You seem ill at ease, Lord Natus," Palpatine said quietly.
Luke clamped down on his emotions with everything he had in him. Not only did his, his father, and possibly Mara's life depend on it, but Leia and her adopted family's too. "Confused, my Emperor," he answered. "Half of the palace is furnished with goods exported in large part from Alderaan and the minerals found in their forests are used to power comms and control panels across the galaxy. Not to mention how much of the trade moves through their ports. Destroying the planet -" he felt Mara tense at the phrase - "would throw entire systems out of balance."
"Adjustments can always be made. They are far from irreplaceable."
"Forgive me. I'm just… trying to understand why Alderaan specifically was chosen." He tried not to cringe as the crew on the Death Star counted off the steps until utter destruction.
"Of course. You have been healing from your injuries," Palpatine murmured in a way that left Luke questioning if the Sith believed that or not. "Their young senator has been discovered as a traitor. An example will be made of her with the very weapon she'd hoped to cripple." He turned to Mara as if she'd spoken to him through their connection. "Billions may die to save trillions more, my child," he answered her out loud.
Luke opened his mouth to argue - to beg, if that's what it came to, but the firing sequence commenced, and if the thought of it had felt like a punch, the act sent him reeling. Billions of voices screamed out through the Force and for a fraction of a moment he could feel all of them. The utter terror ripped through him like lightning, burning through his veins and threatening to shatter his heart. And then nothing. Billions of lives snuffed out on the word of one man.
And now the whole galaxy knew what Palpatine was capable of.
Focus, his fathers voice broke through the all-engulfing silence and Luke swallowed down the bile in his throat. When he looked up, he found those thin lips spread wide to show off rotting teeth while Sith-gold eyes bore in as if their owner was looking to take hold of his very soul.
Luke's fingers twitched at his side, his lightsaber tugging lightly on his belt. He had the element of surprise. If he moved fast enough, he could kill him.
"Good," Sidious murmured, closing his eyes and breathing deeply as if he were inhaling a scent. "Your rage, their fear….. Let their cries fuel you until you no longer hear them. I have Seen how strong they will make you."
Surprise pulled him to the outer edges of his murderous rage. "You Saw this?"
"Of course, my boy. There's nothing I do not See."
And then he lost it. The element of surprise along with the drive to act on it. Instead he felt only pain and he turned, not bothering to wait for a dismissal as he stormed out.
Just before he hit the door he heard Palpatine speak. "Let him go. You've done well in raising him, Lord Vader. He will be…"
What the Emperor Saw him to be didn't matter. Nothing did. His sister was dead and his father or he would be next. There was no stopping Palpatine now. They had lost.
—
There are no fair trials in Palpatine's Empire. That was what Los had said to her. He's been so certain that she'd been fool enough to assume that a Rebel had fed him a plate full of lies to turn him. She'd never dreamed that he could be right.
But Leia Organa hadn't received a trial, only an execution along with billions that had dared to share a planet with her. If she hadn't seen the Death Star's capabilities and hadn't witnessed her master's command, she wouldn't have believed it. She wasn't sure she agreed with the way Luke had gone about this, but she was starting to understand the reason behind it at the very least.
It was everything she could do to remain where she was after Luke left the throne room. The Emperor continued to shower Vader with praise for his son's actions in supposedly pushing his project forward to completion. Both would be rewarded, of course. They would be reassigned to the Death Star to ensure that they had everything that they needed to continue. Whatever Luke and the Organa girl had destroyed on Jedha didn't seem to phase Palpatine's expectations. Everything was moving forward… just as he's foreseen it.
Mara wasn't dismissed with Vader, much to her frustration. She buried it down and didn't dare allow her mind to wander — either to what she'd seen or what that truly meant.
"You have done well, my child," Palpatine said once they were alone. "Young Natus' trust in you grows by the day. The time has come to make use of that." Gold eyes slipped closed for a long moment. "Should he stray, it will surely mean his death."
She took a moment, weighing her words carefully. "You seemed… pleased, my master. With his anger towards you."
"Do you think that Lord Vader always followed my commands without doubt? Such loyalty is forged through trial and fire."
Mara swallowed the questions born out of his answer, nodding instead.
"And until he has reached true loyalty to me, he will have you to guide him. Go."
The sudden dismissal added a bit of surprise to the fear his predictions brought, but she didn't dare linger.
—-
The Senate chamber was empty, just as he'd known it would be. The silence weighed heavy on the large room that had once been the center of galactic democracy. From what he knew - from what Leia had told him - few Senators had attended the sessions in recent years. Luke wagered even fewer would now. Palpatine had never cared to hear the will of the people he ruled over, but until now he'd needed a clever way to keep them in line. For those willing, he bought off their representatives with lavish homes and expensive gifts. For those less willing, well… that's what he, his father, and Mara had been for. To dispense Imperial Justice. But with the Death Star not only operational, but on open display… no one would dare go against him for fear that they'd cost the lives of an entire planet. The Rebellion was essentially over, as was any hope Luke had had to escape with the people he loved.
A familiar flicker in the Force warned him of Mara's approach. Luke didn't bother to look back, but instead ran his fingertips along the dusty permasteel of the pod that hadn't been used in some time now. Anger flashed through him, twisting up with guilt and helplessness that were both much less useful to him, but seemed determined to burrow deep into his chest. His fingers tightened as she stepped closer. "Now's not the time," he bit out.
"Luke…"
He spun, his words clawing up his throat and off his tongue before he could stop them. "What did you think he'd do, Mara? Arrest her? Put her on trial?"
"I didn't think he'd kill an entire planet with her," she murmured. She was still in shock. Still reeling. Luke didn't care.
"She was my sister!"
Green eyes blinked in confusion. "What?"
"My sister," he repeated, his own voice threatening to break. "We were separated when we were born. I don't know the details, but I know who she is. Was." He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to swallow back his emotions.
"I… had no idea."
"Would it have changed anything?"
"It would have made more sense."
He snorted. "What did you think it was, Mara?"
There was a beat before she answered. "I did what I could with the information I had. It was her or both of you, and you're not the only one that gets to protect the people you love."
The confession took a moment to break through the next sharp retort that was piecing together in his mind. She loved him. He'd known it even if she never actually said it, but he couldn't even revel in it now. Instead of joy, all it did was deflate his anger and leave him feeling hollow and exhausted. He caught her gaze and saw fear tangled up with her own flared temper.
Somewhere below, one of the lower chamber doors opened, the sliding door scraping across the permasteel with an unmaintenanced squeak. Luke loosed a breath. "I know," he admitted after a long, tense moment. "But right now I have to go find a way to tell my captain that his family, friends… his entire planet was just destroyed. By us."
He turned to make his way down to the lower levels and Mara caught his wrist, but she couldn't seem to say whatever it was she'd stopped him to say. So he leaned in, pressed a brief kiss to her forehead, and squeezed her hand. "I love you too. I just need time."
Mara nodded and released him to move towards a conversation he wasn't even sure that he knew how to have.
----
TBC
Notes: This took a bit different turn than I expected at the end of the last chapter, but I'm glad it did. It's funny, while I know where this story is going, I can't always predict how it's going to get there. Makes it fun ;)
Next Time: Luke and Vader find themselves under scrutiny overseeing the Death Star project while Mara makes a discovery that will change the course of their lives.
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