#killing his masters escaping slavery

[linecrosser]

Febwhump 2024 - Day 10 - Killing in self defense

Shen Jiu, killing his masters, escaping slavery.

#febuwhump #febuwhump2024 #febuwhumpday10 #killing in self defense #svsss #shen jiu #original shen qingqiu #killing his masters escaping slavery #whump #whump art

[spacebarbarianweird]

Hi! Can I request either a fic or headcanon of romanced Astarion and a good aligned, Human tav having a fight about him doing the Ascension ritual (Tav being against it, and trying to gently make him see reason), then Astarion gets incredibly angry and shouts something awful (maybe the 'I hope you die screaming' or the ' the problem with what cazador did is that he did it to me' when she says ascending will make him a new cazador). She's hurt and shocked and retreats from the fight. She starts leaving Astarion in camp etc. given she thinks he hates her and she also is angry at him for still thinking lives are expandable. Then one night he gets kidnapped by his siblings and when he wakes up in the kennels he is sure he lost her forever now, and never see her again cause why would she save him? Only for her to come and save him from Cazador. Sorry for the long request! Could it be from Astarion's pov as well? Thank you!

Hi! It has been a long time sice I wrote reader instead of OC Tiriel! And sorry for making you wait for so long!

It's Over

Tags: hurt/comfort, angst

Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading!

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

It's over.

Astarion's wrists bleed and he's been staring at the pool of blood for what feels like an eternity.

The tadpole took away his instant regeneration and now his torturers can enjoy the most peculiar spectacle ever.

Opening Astarion's wounds.

His skin is flayed, his face is covered in bruises. Pain is already numbed—the tadpole doesn't like its host being killed.

Maybe he can finally die?

A kick in the stomach forces him to vomit blood. Punishment. Yes, it's his punishment for tasting freedom. For breaking the rules.

The taste of love.

His siblings are watching the execution with undisguised gloating. Astarion is getting what he deserved. He never helped with their plans to escape—but it was him who slipped from their master's hands.

It was intended to be a lesson. Instead it's the best show they've seen in years.

A silver dagger is touching Astarion's face. He can feel the heat of the cursed metal. Marks left by silver are permanent.

It seems like his master is going to take the last thing Astairon owns.

His face.

Astarion silently weeps. His appearance is the only thing he has. His body, his face, his hands. The master needs them, doesn't he? Who will seduce the victims, if not the perfect- looking elf?

The master expects Astarion to beg.

He doesn't. The pathetic whimpers are stuck in his sore throat. He won't give them this pleasure.

Two months of freedom compensated two centuries of slavery. Astarion has self-dignity. He can say 'no'. He can stand for himself.

You taught him that.

The torture continues. And Astarion breaks down.

He screams. He yells. He begs.

The answer to his tears is evil laughter. They wanted a show—he is giving them one.

It lasts for hours. For days. And the two months of freedom fade from Astarion's memory.

It wasn't real. It never happened. It all was a feverish dream.

But Astarion knows it wasn't.

Your face, Your touches. Your love. 

The way you hugged him. The way you touched him. The way you supported him.

You were everything... and he betrayed you.

I hope you die screaming.

At first, you promised to help with the ritual, and he even dared dream about you by his side as he became a vampire overlord. But then, you started backing off. 

Bad idea. No one should make deals with devils. Who knows what Cazador promised in exchange for power.

Astarion cursed you, said every toxic word he had in mind. It was easy to hurt you—you were so vulnerable to him and he even felt sadistic pleasure in doing so.

He expected you to throw him away from the camp, but you just stopped talking to him. Left him alone with his thoughts and anger.

And then, his siblings came to take him.

Astarion was back in the dungeons. Beaten and humiliated without any hope of escape.

"Leave him," the master says. "We have things to prepare"

Astarion is finally left alone. He crawls in the darkest corner and curls there in the fetus position. He couldn't care less about his naked body.

He thinks about you.

He closes his eyes and tries to remember the moments you were together. Cuddles. Yes, cuddles. The thing he expected to like the least. Just two bodies intertwined with each other. No sex, no movements, no words. He could stay like that for hours wrapping around you like a weighted blanket and enjoying your warmth.

The treasure he lost.

Astarion smiles bitterly. You must be in someone's else's arms. Probably the wizard. Yes, you've chosen him because he will never hurt you. His body is warm and he doesn't harm your neck...

He enters the reverie hoping he will see you there.

The only thing he has. The only thing his master can’t take away.

"Oh for fuck sake!" he hears your voice. "What have they done to you?!"

Warm hands hug him and then he feels a cape wrapping his bare shoulders. "Gods, Astarion? Are you alright?"

"You ... You are back..." he mutters.

"Of course, I am!" you hug him. "We are in this together, remember?" you kiss him. “Drink!”

The scent of blood pierces his nostrils as you cut your wrist. He grazes in your skin and the divine essence gushes down his throat. 

You are here.

You are back.

You are real.

He pulls away feeling how his wounds slowly heal. “I am sorry,” he mutters.

You kiss his bruised lips. “Well, it did hurt. We need to find your clothes and weapons.”

**

Astarion collapses on the stone floor and weeps. He weeps two centuries taken away from him, his memory, his mind, his soul. His beating heart. He mourns his innocence, his body and his cries echo through the chambers.

Soft hands caress his shoulders. “I am here, I am here with you. You did the right thing.”

“It is all over, isn’t it?” he sniffs.

“Yes, love,” you kiss his cheek. “It’s over.”

--

Tag list

@tugoslovenka @marcynomercy @wintersire @vixstarria @not-so-lost-after-all @ashiro20 @theearthsfinalconfession @herstxrgirl @starlight-ipomoea @micropoe10 @astarion-imagine-archive @veillsar @elora-the-slutty-songstress @fayeriess @lumienyx @tallymonster @caitlincat-95 @tragedybunny @valeprati @lynnlovesthestars @marina-and-the-memes @waking-electric @ayselluna @connorsui @asterordinary @darkarchangel96 @locallegume @brainfullofhotsauce @coffeeanddonutscafe @my-queen-rhaenyra-targaryen @queenofthespacesquids @ednaaa-04 @dajeong

#astarion #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion bg3 #astarion romance #baldurs gate 3 #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #astarion angst #astarion drabble #astarion short fic #spacebarbarian fics #baldurs gate 3 astarion #astarion hurt

[ironunderstands]

Explaining why I think the notion that “Jade did nothing wrong and if you hate her then you are a misogynist” is incorrect 

Disclaimer: I don’t actually hate Jade, I find her compelling because she seems like the first true villain we might get in the game, and her kit looks really fun, so for that I can respect her. However, to say that she did nothing wrong, or that the people who dislike her are somehow in the wrong or are misogynists is very stupid, which is why I would like to clear up this misconception.

Let’s start with the “she did nothing wrong part” because that’s straight up not true. 

‼️This post will contain leaks of Jade’s eidolons and lc, it will also contain mentions of slavery and sexual violence so be careful‼️ 

I think the scene Jade fans go to point to when trying to argue that she does nothing wrong is the one that depicts her conversation with Aventurine. They state that she “saved him” and that the notions of her being a slave owner/having ties to slavery is incorrect.

However, at the very least the first part of this assumption is wrong, as in no way shape or form did she “save” Aventurine. 

1.Aventurine saved himself. 

He is the one who set up the scheme to get the IPC’s attention, he is the one who killed his master, and he is the one who fought for his freedom. Attributing his hard work to Jade’s “benevolence” erases that, and it pretends as if she’s the one who did all the work, when in reality Aventurine wouldn’t have even had a chance if he didn’t bet on himself.

2.What she offers Aventurine isn’t much better than what his life was before. 

In a sense, Jade just gave Aventurine golden chains, and if she was really interested in saving him, there wouldn’t be a trial, and she would just let him go. “But the scam” the IPC has an uncountable amount of money, they literally control the currency in the galaxy, and are working on taking over the whole universe, a scam ran by one person on one planet will not damage them for long. What Aventurine did really only matters because the IPC made it matter, and even if Jade doesn’t have complete control over all the goings on on the IPC, if she could make it so Aventurine could join them, there’s really no reason she couldn’t just let him free without any strings attached (which is what a normal person would do in this situation, because, well, empathy).

She knows how bad his situation was, as she remarked on how he killed his master, and the average person would struggle to find fault in his behavior at all, let alone have there even be a debate of whether she should let him live or not. 

Like, imagine yourself as Jade for a second, and you are sent to judge this kid (we don’t actually know how old Aven was in that scene, but I’d wager he was a late teenager/young adult) who just escaped slavery but also scammed the organization you are a part of, the organization that is what caused him to be enslaved in the first place (I’ll get into it*). At the very least, if you are like me, you would have a very hard time getting mad at this kid because well who wouldn’t do what he did in his circumstances. That’s why Jade still focusing on her self interests disgusts me and likely disgusts a lot of people who saw this scene, it’s not some equal transaction of sorts, she quite literally has his life on her hands and is toying with it to suit her own ends. 

Now, this situation is complicated, as Aventurine does actually want to join the IPC, but only because he believed that would be the best way he could try and save any remains of his people, the Avgin. We know this for two reasons a) the IPC took everything from him, and he has absolutely no reason why he would want to work for them if they can’t offer him anything b) the first thing Aventurine asks Jade when he becomes a Stoneheart is what happened to the rest of the Avgin, meaning that was likely his goal from the start, as even before becoming enslaved Aventurine had a ton of expectations of being the one to save the Avgin. 

However, from Jade’s perspective, likely

she doesn’t know any of this (unless she can read minds who knows), all she does know is that she holds a position of power over a very brave and intelligent person who owes a debt to the IPC for their crimes against it, and will die if she doesn’t save them. Therefore, she takes advantage of Aventurine’s inferior position, offering him a job not out of the kindness of her heart, but because she see’s his moneymaking potential and knows he can’t decline her offer, since his options are IPC or death. 

This is textbook exploitation, and it honestly disgusts me when people try and paint their relationship to be a mother/son one, when she so clearly views him as nothing more than a tool to achieve her own ends. As someone else puts it, Jade cares for Aventurine like one might care for a gun/weapon, ie she finds it useful and would like it to not get destroyed, but ultimately it’s just a tool that can be replaced. 

Aventurine’s banner name is called “Gilded Imprisonment” for a reason, and Jade offers him nothing more than shiny new chains. 

*sidenote: the IPC aren’t just the ones who broke their promise to help the Avgin, they are also likely the ones who enslaved Aventurine. This is because as Kakavasha, he referred to them as “the men in black/the men in black suits”, aka the IPC. Which is why when first enslaver says he bought him from “the men in black”, he’s also likely referring to the IPC, considering that the exact same phrase in used, in fact, he’s probably mocking the way Aventurine referred to them due to how specific it is. So yeah, I don’t know why people pretend Aventurine is over what the IPC did to him, or even like they saved him, bro probably wants to kill all of them and I fully support him in this endeavor.*

Speaking of treating him like a tool 

3. Dehumanizing Aventurine 

Her first words to him in this scene are pointing out his biggest insecurity.

“What pretty eyes. Tell me, do they shine in the dark?”

Out of context this might not be bad, but oh my god is it horrific in context. The Avgin’s eyes aren’t just a defining feature of theirs, but something they have been sexualized and abused for. Sparkle in her conversation with Aventurine implies that Sigonian’s use their attractive features (including their distinctive eyes) to get people to let down there guard and trick people, and in the same breath she also implies he did that to convince Sunday as well. Aventurine also hides his eyes with his tinted glasses because people automatically judge/discriminate against him for it, so Jade continuing that pattern is gross in my opinion.

Let’s also not forget that Aventurine is Romani coded, and a large proportion of both enslaved Roma in the past and free Roma have experienced sexual violence, as well as being treated as exotic and having other fetishized stereotypes attached to them. Calling his eyes pretty isn’t just some compliment, it’s also an extension of that, especially considering that it’s heavily implied that Aventurine did experience sexual violence when he was enslaved. 

This is what makes Jade IMMEDIATELY going to talking about his eyes creepy as hell to me, and something I dislike her for. 

However, I don’t think she meant it in a sexual manner, rather I think she was trying to get a reaction out of him, as well as demonstrate her position of power over him, which is just, ugh. Like I’m sorry to say this, but if Aventurine was a woman and Jade was a man, Jade would never be beating the p3do allegations for this comment. What do you mean the first words you say to someone involve taunting them for a feature they get sexualized and mistreated over, someone that is likely a minor or a very young adult,  someone that you hold a very clear position of power over. At the very nicest this is insensitive as hell for her to do, but considering she did not at all apologize to his very obviously negative reaction makes me think it was deliberate targeting. 

Also, the next part of that opening.

Yes, Jade is somewhat impressed by Aventurine, but objectively, this phrase doesn’t really come off that way, especially considering her tone in the scene. Seriously, rewatch it, it’s less of her being impressed, and more of her being surprised at him breaking the status quo, one which she doesn’t seem to view negatively. Also, keep in mind that in the CN (aka canon) version, the word is “slave” instead of servant, however I don’t know how the lines are delivered in CN, so she might sound kinder.

Regardless, having this neutral, almost detached perspective on slavery is very uncomfortable, at least to me. Because well, slavery is really bad (shocker), and you can’t really be neutral about these kinds of things. Commenting about how resisting his master would put Aventurine in danger in a clinical and detached manner gives the impression that Jade does not care about the existence of slavery in the slightest, and is perfectly happy with knowing it’s going on and doing nothing about it. Something which gets 10x worse considering the organization she works for is the one doing the slavery, which makes me wonder if she’s seen it before and been like “eh, it’s part of life” 😭

I’m aware dismantling an entire institution is difficult, but her sheer apathy rather than inaction is what I feel is wrong in this scene, as again, a normal person wouldn’t talk about slavery like this. They would probably phrase it like, “resisting your enslaver would put your life in danger, yet you did it anyways”, with none of that neutral tone in there, which kind to implies that Aventurine resisting the person who abuses him is in any way wrong or unusual for a person to do. Honestly I can understand a little bit why people don’t have problems with this line, as understand why people see it as just her doing her job as a judge. However, there’s something so disturbingly off with it that makes me really not like Jade for it, and hopefully I conveyed that well enough, if you have a better way of phrasing it please tell me.

Annnd this is why I say she doesn’t view him as a person. Jade literally tells Aventurine that his name, the remainder of his identity, the one part of his culture and his family and his life, quite literally the only thing he has left is destined to be buried and abandoned. She knows how much it means to him, and she wants him to cast it aside and pick a new identity, as the only thing Jade cares about is what value Aventurine can bring for the IPC. 

Also, she does refer to him as “child” there, so yeah, he likely is a minor or at the very least they have a very significant age gap! Yay! Taking advantage of people significantly younger than you! And if he is somehow close to her age, then well, she views him like a child in comparison to her, which is dehumanizing. There’s really no winning with this one huh 😭

She also refers to him in the same way his old enslaver did! 

Hound and dog are synonyms, so yeah, ew. Narratively, this is meant to be a parallel from Aventurine’s time enslaved to his time now, which demonstrates how nothing really changed, as Jade refers to him in the same way his old master/enslaver did.

4. However, that’s not all to be concerned about for Jade, at least in terms of morality, so let’s look at her eidolons.

Each one of her eidolons questions a good quality, let’s take E3 for an example.

“Honesty?” She questions why people, more specifically she would be sincere, and answers it with “Soon Mortgaged”. 

Now in this context, her honesty is likely seen as being convienent in order to get a deal off, if meant as a noun. As a verb it’s used in a similar manner, with Jade only behaving honestly because it’s part of her duty as a debt collector/contract maker.

Either way, this pattern for her eidolons, of her questioning a good quality then providing a selfish reason for why she exhibits it sets up a vicious implication. It makes it seem like any an all seemingly kind, benevolent behavior from Jade is really just a means to further her goals, making her seem untrustworthy and selfish, like well, a snake, which is a motif prevalent throughout her design. 

Her lightcone description also doesn’t make her seem much better.

Oh how lovely, giving a future to innocent children, I sure do hope this description doesn’t end badly!

“A philanthropist with a hidden agenda, a villain who mortgages souls… She was given various identities by the world, but only she understood the morality behind these actions.”

Jade what are you planning… 

This tells us two things:

1) She engages in philanthropist behavior for reasons we don’t know of yet which is concerning because philanthropy is centered around helping people, why do you have ulterior motives for helping people. What are you planning with those children, Jade?

2)”A villain who mortgages souls” oh! Sure, these two identities were apparently given to her by the world, but like, mortgaging souls??? I’ll get into her biblical (specifically satanic) references next, but like, you need one hell of a good reason to justify buying and selling PEOPLES SOULS. Whatever hidden agenda Jade might have must be like unfathomably good to justify this, because well, this means she owns (or at least helps other people own) people. PEOPLE. 

Jade fucking OWNS HUMAN BEINGS. Unless those people are like a dictator reincarnated or something there’s no good reason to justify owning the essence of someone’s being. It’s straight up evil and I’m glad the game calls her a villain for it. 

5. Satan is that you???

The snake, her contract thing as her skill and in her splash art, her job being “Jade of Credit”, her relationship to withered fruit, and the apple in her splash art, the man at her feet in her splash art, her MORTGAGING SOULS. Look, I’m not a Christian, but like, these are all pretty blatant references to satan who’s, idk, the embodiment of evil. Sure, you could say she’s more like Eve, but she’s not being tricked by the snake, no, in fact, the snake works for her.

Now I don’t literally think Jade is meant to be the devil or something, but she sure as hell seems like she’s meant to be narratively like an agent of Satan/ a demon, which is fascinating. Interestingly, this also paints her interaction with Aventurine as a deal with the devil, which just makes it seem even worse than it already is. 

Well, for now that’s all of Jade’s questionable behavior, and I feel confident enough in saying that at the very least she’s meant to be read as morally grey, so acting like she does no wrong is strange. However, it’s not a crime to like villains at all, and I feel like if Jade’s hardcore defenders just accepted that part of her character, everyone would be way happier, because people do have legitimate reasons to dislike her for the shit she has done, especially rroma people for how she treated Aventurine. 

Not everyone has to like your favorite character, and downplaying and lying about her lore and character because you can’t handle that is annoying as hell and does the character you are defending in the first place a disservice. Jade being a bad person is what makes her interesting, and honestly the idea that women can’t be bad people is misogynistic as well, which is a nice way to transition to the other part of this post:

For the love of god people don’t dislike Jade because of misogyny. Please shut up and stop throwing words around that you clearly don’t understand, as you only end up diminishing actual misogyny. 

I’ve already gone over the valid reasons why people dislike her, so let’s go over all the other stupid shit people bring up in trying to pretend like Jade hate is misogyny.

“But Boothill didn’t get complaints when he was randomly drip marketed, people complaining are only misogynistic Sunday fans!”

Jesus Christ.

Boothill has been leaked for several fucking months prior to his drip marketing, and people had been waiting diligently for when he would finally show up for a while, so obviously they were happy when he did.

He’s like, the most fanservice-y character (in a good way) ever. Boothill is a fucking long-haired cyborg space cowboy outlaw who physically cannot curse and has the cuntiest animations known to mankind, that’s like the most appealing combination of traits known to man. So appealing in fact, that people outside the fandom were making posts about him. Big shocker that the character designed to make everyone love him has everyone love him, act surprised 

Jade’s only scene so far had been her one with Aventurine in 2.1, which as I mentioned prior, has problems. This also doesn’t help that she’s just as slimy in his character stories and their interaction in 2.2, which compared to again, the character designed to be as appealing as possible, isn’t a good look. 

For the love of god Sunday fans have the right to complain. They have also been waiting MONTHS for him, so they would have been disappointed at any character that isn’t Sunday getting marketed, as that means they have to wait even more months for him. He’s highly anticipated, in comparison to Jade, whose had crumbs so far, so of course some people got upset (I didn’t see anything more than disappointment tbh)

People did complain about Boothill’s marketing! Like I know everyone clowned on them, but there were Firefly stans genuinely upset that he got marketed over her, and someone even started a “boycott Boothill’s banner” campaign 😭. It’s just the other reasons compounded why more people complained about Jade than they did about him.

I’m sure there’s some people out there who hate her because they hate women, but like, everyone? Really?

Genuinely, it is so tiring to see misogyny get thrown around like it doesn’t mean anything, and people complaining about misogyny where it doesn’t exist, and ignoring it where it does. Like I’m sorry SOME Jade stans, but yall cannot call this misogyny, then proceed to compare Jade to other female characters like Firefly, and call them flops and trash in comparison to her. THATS unnecessary hating on women for no reason, so don’t be a fucking hypocrite.

Also if a goddamn fictional character is the hill you die on for women’s rights issues, when there’s actual women being genocided right now, please reevaluate your priorities and support the women who actually need your help and assistance right now. Dogging on random Sunday fan #365 for being “misogynistic” because they said they wished he was marketed instead of Jade when there are women being murdered as we speak is dumb as hell. Like yes, these two problems can coexist, but for the love of god pixels are not as important as actual people, and if you really cared about women this would not be the one issue of misogyny you seem to talk about. 

Well, this post was kinda a mess, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter, and personally I’m very interested to see where they go with Jade in 2.3. Please keep making her evil and don’t try to hit us with the sad backstory Hoyo, I’m fine if it’s meant to complicate her, but please don’t try and redeem her. Hopefully they go with the Dottore route, but considering they are planning on selling her, they might throw everything interesting down the drain for her which is sad. Let women be evil! And I hope you have a good day :) 

#honkai star rail #hsr #We must pray she gets done justice #jade hsr #jade honkai star rail #aventurine #aventurine hsr #also the whip was um #The racists found it unfortunately #Prepare for the most tiring jokes ever when her banner drops #Ik people are already doing this but still #ARLAN AND AVENTURINE GET BEHIND ME #also please support the people in Gaza right now #They are the ones who really need peoples help right now #It’s so tiring seeing people complain about nonexistent misogyny towards pixels when they don’t even care about it irl #There are actual women who need your help rn and Jade is not one of them #Ugh anyways

[marvelstars]

Anakin and Slavers

"His undoing is that he loveth too much"

George Lucas

One thing that I always liked about George´s work in relation to Anakin and slavery is how out of the left field he and Dave Filoni wrote Anakin´s relationship to the people who owned or saw him as a property at one point or another and yet it makes total sense for his character.

For example kid Anakin has no doubt that Slavery is horrible and at 9 he is actually working towards developing technology to help free his Mom, friends and himself from it. He hates with capital H the fact those people have control over the life and death of other people but at the same time he has great compassion and kindness which his mother helped nurture. This along with the fact that Watto was the only adult male figure who was around during his early chilldhood, this complicated his feelings towards slavers in a very tragic way.

Anakin feared Watto´s violence and didn´t for a moment doubt he would have been willing to sell off his mother or him if the customer got to a big enough price but at the same time he listens to his advice when he travels to the dune sea to do his work with the jawas and his pov is almost as important as his Mom´s, in the novelization of TPM Anakin remembers not to talk to strangers or to get close to Tuskens Raiders camps thanks to Watto´s advice.

So in Anakin´s mind, Watto is someone he fears but also someone he takes advice from, respects to a point, sometimes gets sassy to and actually listens to almost as a father figure BUT at the same time he has no doubt he would activate the killing chip if he tried to escape.

Pain/abuse/fear mixed with care/advice(sounds familiar?) Anakin knows slavery is awful but he can´t help but see Watto as a person because of who Anakin is, Annie is a kind and understanding person and to point may justify Watto as a "Man of bussines" and "Not as bad a other masters" "It could be worse" but he definitely doesn´t trust him in the same way he does his mother, she is blood, she is family. He and Mom are a team.They shared their secrets.

The first time Anakin saw Watto again after being freed, he was a Jedi with training, almost a knight and the first thing he does to the guy who beat him and his Mom some years ago is to ask him if he can help with the ship parts Watto is working on because he noticed Watto is struggling and his bussines is falling down compared to how it was when Anakin was a kid. When Watto noticed who Anakin was he didn´t reject him and accepted his congratulations but keep himself appart, hoping to learn about his mother whereabouts.

When Watto told Anakin he sold Shmi, Anakin doesn´t have a reaction, he takes Watto´s justification of "I am sorry Ani but bussines are bussines and anyway the person who bought her freed her and married her" Anakin doubts it´s as good a picture as Watto is talking about but he takes his justification and leaves.

When he meets Owen, Beru and Cliegg he sees they are indeed nice people and the reason for his mothers suffering is something completely different that they were not able to stop so he doesn´t blame them for her fate. When Anakin lost his mother it was only natural for him to seek a family, someone he could share how he really felt and his secrets, he could not be part of the Lars family but Padme was willing to love him so she became his new confirmed family, right along with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka but while he had to show himself different to them, he didn´t had to do that with Padme, just like he did with his mother.

In the clone wars Anakin shows again this complex view of slavers with Queen Miraj Scintel, the cartoon goes out of it´s way to show she looked at him as pretty property and he didn´t let her forget that and actually it was strongly suggested he may have been raped by her at some point to keep safe Obi-Wan, Rex, Ahsoka as well as the people they wanted to save while he got enough soldiers to stage their rescue. Anakin had a plan the whole time just as he did as a kid so he keep his cool even when he saw another slave choose suicide over keep being under the control of Scintel. Yet in the end when the Queen was killed by Count Dooku Anakin felt sorry for her, he could not help it.

So this mix of rejection/anger/hate/disgust towards slavers mixed with pity/understanding which is something that was part of what made Anakin a good person gets used agaisn´t him in his relationship with Palpatine.

He first shows himself as the father figure Anakin thought he could find in Qui-Gon before he died a better father figure than Watto had been, a father figure that didn´t reject this title like ObiWan did, Palpatine did this to get his trust as a young child and later young adult and then he showed himself as the real sith master he actually was, Palpatine knew that Anakin wasn´t a stranger to be treated as property by people who showed themselves as good advicers or somehow not as bad as others despite their actions. So Anakin´s initial compassion, kindness and understanding for people that abused him is played agaisn´t him to make him fall to the darkside and chain himself again to another worse master who didn´t just seek to use his skills and body but who wanted his soul as well.

And the same reasons why Anakin justified Watto at first when he was a young kid also applied to Palpatine, he may be a sith but he ran the Republic better than those corrupt politicians, he isn´t a perfect Emperor but in Padme´s absence he is better than the alternatives. He isn´t as bad as a master and anyway I deserve this because I fell to the darkside and nobody can come back from that, if he abuses me I got this coming because I choose this and he still teaches me the ways of the force, he rescued me from Mustafar when Obi-Wan left me to die and he didn´t have to, he is all I have left.

So once Anakin´s voice died down Vader was left with many reasons to say to Palpatine "What´s your bidding my master?" because in his mind master isn´t a word that contradicts father and Palpatine became his father in all but name, this makes George´s words about Anakin fatal flaw being the fact he loved too much make complete sense and it´s a tragedy.

#anakin skywalker #darth vader #george lucas #shmi skywalker #palpatine #star wars #slavery/rape mention #anakin meta #The tragedy of Anakin Skywalker

[formula-nyoom]

Stars Racing Past-1

Summary: Dispute between the Republic and Trade Federations had not been going well. Sent to try and negotiate, Jedi Masters Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen end up crash landing on the desert planet of Tatooine. The last thing they expect to find is a young girl that may be prophesized to bring balance to The Force

Warnings: Violence, Minor character death, mentions of/implied abuse, slavery

A/N: This got away from me, fast. Like I thought this would be one single thing but it’s multiple chapters now and I’m not upset by that.  This is inspired by @fangirl-dot-com Across The Universe fic. Go check them out, they have written some amazing fic series. All relationships in this fic series(except for one) are meant to be platonic and going off this fic's inspiration the reader is meant to be female. Happy Star Wars Day and I hope you enjoy this first chapter in my new series!

~~~

Seb always prided himself on being a master negotiator. But to say the Trade Federation wasn’t willing to negotiate was an understatement.

It was a simple task. The Supreme Chancellor of the Republic had requested that Seb and his fellow Jedi Master, Master Kimi Räikkönen, try to negotiate with the leader of the Trade Federation in hopes of stopping their blockade of the planet Naboo. He told Kimi the negotiations would be short. Seb expected them to come to a mutual agreement and settle things peacefully. What Seb didn’t expect was for the leader of the Trade Federation to try and kill them.

 ��You were right, Seb. The negotiations were short.” Kimi said as he and Seb deflected blaster fire with their lightsabers. 

“I didn’t expect them to resort to violence.” Seb told his companion as he sent a blaster bolt back at a battle droid. The two continued to back up down the hallway as the battle droids continued to advance.

“Unless you think they’ll be open to talking again, I think we should head back to the ship and get out of here.” Kimi said, outstretching his hand and using The Force to send a couple battle droids toppling over.

 “Agreed.” Seb nodded, doing the same before the two Jedi took off towards the direction of their parked ship. 

Elsewhere, the Trade Federation’s Leader watched from the control room as the two Jedi made their way to the docking bay. He let out a frustrated yell.

 “They’re going to escape!” He exclaimed, before turning to a projection displayed on his navigation table of a floating head with a hood covering the person’s face. “You said they would be easy to kill!”

“I never said that they would be easy to kill. I expected the Chancellor to send someone else for such a trivial matter.” The hooded person said, though he did not seem shocked or frustrated at the current circumstance. He actually seemed to smile. 

“Send out my apprentice then, if you simply can’t handle two Jedi.” The hooded man said. The Trade Federation Leader looked over at another hooded figure that was in the room with him. A shiver ran down his spine as he stared at them but swallowed it down with snarl.

 “Go after them and make sure they don’t escape!” He ordered the hood figure. The hooded figure silently got up and left the room. The hologram let out a chuckle.

 “Why so frustrated? I assure you, you will get what you want.” He said. The Trade Federation Leader ignored the hologram, focusing back on the camera footage in front of him. 

Entering the docking bay, Seb and Kimi quickly made their way to their ship, with Kimi making haste on getting them out of there. Moments later, Kimi was navigating their SF-16 out of the docking bay and straight towards the stars. But their escape attempt did not go unnoticed, as almost a dozen enemy fighter ships launched after them. Kimi did his best to navigate the now oncoming fire from the fighters.

 “Remind me why we didn’t take the ship that had weapon artillery with it?” Kimi asked

“Because we were tasked with a diplomatic mission. I at least thought our ship wouldn’t have to resort to violence.” Seb shot back. He lurched to the side as Kimi made a sharp left to avoid an oncoming fighter. It was easy to tell that these fighters were being manned by the same battle droids they had previously encountered. Despite them being robotic, they weren’t very smart when it came to ship navigation or artillery, as they missed the SF-16 multiple times and Kimi was able to navigate their ship in a way to lead the enemy fighters to actually crash into one another. 

 “Besides, who really needs weapons when you’re behind the wheel, Räikkönen.” Seb smiled. Kimi didn’t even spare Seb a glance as he maintained concentration on getting them out and away from all the fighting. There were only a few fighter ships left, enough to where Kimi could make the jump to lightspeed safely and not have to worry about being followed. But one fighter was giving him difficulty, causing him to have to constantly dodge its incoming fire.

The ship didn’t move in the same way others did, no it seemed to move like it was being operated by a humanoid instead of one of the Federation’s battle droids. 

 “I’m having difficulty trying to shake this one.” Kimi said as he swerved the ship again to avoid the fighter’s incoming fire.

“Do you think we can jump to lightspeed and deal with them if they follow?”

 “It’s possible but it’s risky.” The ship suddenly jerked forward as it was struck by a shot from the fighter chasing them.

“Well we either keep going until they lose interest or we jump to lightspeed now and hope they don’t follow.” Seb said, lurching again as Kimi tried to avoid another hit. He was unsuccessful. 

Wordlessly, Kimi began to chart their lightspeed jump and entered their desired destination of Corusant. Just as Kimi hit the switch for lightspeed, their ship jerked as it was hit by more oncoming fire. Lights were now flashing and warnings were blaring on various screens. The ship continued to shake and it soon became very clear that their hyperspeed jump was going to send them somewhere that wasn’t their desired destination. The stars in front of them began to blur and stretch out before the ship gave one final shake and disappeared from the current star system.

But not without taking another ship with it.

~~~

The air on the desert planet was hot and dry. That was what Seb was met with when he first stepped out after the ship’s crash landing. Seb wouldn’t say crashed exactly. Kimi was able to land the ship in one piece and everything seemed to be fine, but Kimi was still looking over to see what exactly was damaged. Seb had decided to see what their surroundings were like or see if he could spot anyone nearby to help.

“The ship’s hyperdrive is busted.” Kimi said as he stepped out to join Seb in assessing their surroundings.

 “Is there a way to fix it?”

“Not with anything we currently have. The good news is that our navigation still works so we know which planet we’re on. Tatoonie.” Kimi told him. Seb looked at the sand dunes that seemed to stretch for miles and miles. It was just sand for miles on end.

 “Well I suppose we could pick one direction and go until we find any form of civilization. From what I’ve heard of Tatoonie, it’s not a complete desert wasteland.” Seb told Kimi.

“Do you think that’s wise? Tatooine is on the edge of the Republic star system. Whatever civilization we may find may not be welcome to us.”

 “I think as long as we stick together and trust in The Force, we’ll be fine.” Seb told Kimi as the two set out.

It took roughly an hour of walking before Seb and Kimi came across a settlement known as Mos Espa. Not many people gave the two men glances, either accustomed to travelers coming in and out or they didn’t want anything to do with the two men. But others gave them glares or simply just stared at them. Maybe those people were looking for a fight. 

 “Do you think we should ask around?” Seb asked Kimi

“I don’t know if the locals would be very welcoming to us.” Kimi said as he made eye contact with a particularly rough looking man, who sneered before going about his business.

Something in Seb started to stir as he and Kimi moved further into town. It was very faint, as if pricking on the edge of his senses but too far to fully grasp. But he welcomed the feeling, for he thought it may be helpful. And it was, as it led Seb and Kimi to a shop that may have the ship parts they needed without them having to ask anyone for help. 

The feeling that faintly stirred in Seb’s gut seemed to triple the second his foot crossed the shop’s threshold. This feeling seemed to only be felt inward, but also seemed to hover around his arms, legs and head. It was a very familiar feeling, one that he spent his life channeling. The Force. Seb felt it around him, but also that it was somewhere farther in the shop, he just couldn’t hone in on exactly where it was coming from.

 “What can I help you with?” A woman said as she stood behind a counter polishing a piece of metal. Seb hadn’t even realized she was there til she spoke. Kimi nudged Seb's side, obviously wanting him to do the talking. 

 “Hello.” Seb greeted the woman with a smile. She didn’t look up at Seb, a scowl forming on her face. “Me and my compatriot’s ship has a broken hyper driver and I’m wondering if you may have the parts necessary for us to fix it.”

The woman sighed.

 “(Y/N)!” She yelled for someone, as if ordering an employee, still not looking up from what she was polishing. As the moments passed, Sebastian felt the presence of The Force increase, as if it was getting closer, before a curtain was swept aside and a young girl stepped into the room. The presence of the Force was now almost overwhelming. It radiated from the girl as if it made up almost every fiber of her being. 

“Yes?” The girl quietly spoke.

 “These men need new parts to fix a hyper drive. Get the parts for them.” The woman ordered, motioning her head in the direction of Seb and Kimi. The girl nodded before looking at the two men. She stared at them, but Seb couldn’t tell if she was sensing them same thing that he was.

 “Follow me.” She said before turning around and heading behind the curtain again. Seb and Kimi glanced at each other before following the girl. They entered a room lined with rows of crates filled with various mechanical parts. Whether it be for a ship or droid, this room seemed to have it all. 

“Do you need a completely new hyper drive or just certain parts to fix it?” The girl asked as she grabbed an empty crate.

 “Just a couple of parts. The hyperdrive isn’t completely destroyed, but the main parts are non-functional.” Kimi explained. 

“Did you overload it or get into a scuffle? Some of the scrappers around here talk about getting into ship fights with pirates.” The girl said as she grabbed a part from a nearby bin and placed it into the empty crate.

 “We did get shot at by a ship if that gives you a good idea of the state of our hyperdrive.” Seb said. The girl grabbed another part before glancing at the two men again.

“Are you guys pirates?” She asked

 “We’re peacekeepers. My name is Sebastian and this is my friend Kimi.” Seb said. At that, the girl turned around to get a full look at the two men. She looked at them curiously before her eyes landed on the lightsaber peeking out from under Seb’s cloak.

 “Are you two…Jedi?” She quietly asked.

“You’ve heard of the Jedi?” Seb asked. Trying to hone back in on the feeling, Seb could feel the girl carry an air of nervousness as she fidgeted with the crate in her hands.

 “Stories of the Jedi make their way out here from the people that come by. The depictions of the Jedi differ from person to person.” She said, now looking at the floor.

“What have you heard?” Seb asked. The girl turned around, focusing on grabbing a part from a high shelf.

 “Some say they’re mystical people that fight with laser swords for the good of others. Others say that they can make people and objects float with just a thought.”

The girl stood on the tips of her toes as she tried to grasp at the part that laid on a shelf much too high for her to properly reach. Kimi was about to assist her when the part suddenly flew into her hand. Both Seb and Kimi felt a wave of the Force emanate off the girl as she placed the part into the crate. She turned back towards the two men. 

 “What was your name again?” Seb asked.

“(Y/N).” The girl said. Seb walked closer to the girl, kneeling a bit to be eye level with the girl.

 “Do you know anything about The Force, (Y/N).” Seb asked. The girl hesitated before nodding her head.

“Yea. It’s the main reason Mr and Mrs (L/N) bought me.” (Y/N) said, continuing to look at the floor. Seb was shocked. 

 “You’re a slave.” Kimi said behind him. (Y/N) glared at him.

 “I’m not a slave. I’m a person.” She said, there was now an air of defiance around her.

  “(Y/N), what do you mean The Force is the reason Mr and Mrs (L/N) bought you?” Seb gently asked.

“The…the trader who originally owned me, he only supplied people with ‘force sensitive’ kids, that’s what he referred to us as. Mr and Mrs (L/N) wanted me because I would make it easier to help around the shop.” (Y/N) explained.

Seb took in the girl’s appearance. The clothes she wore seemed to be a bit too big. A mixture of dirt and bruises littered her arms. Seb looked at her face and saw how young she was. She couldn’t be more than 11 years old.

 “Are they nice people?” He quietly asked. (Y/N) now gripped the crate tightly and was about to speak when-

“(Y/N)! Hurry it up! There’s repairs you’ve got to help with!” The woman at the front of the store, Mrs (L/N) as Seb and Kimi now knew as, yelled. (Y/N) flinched.

 “I’ll be right there!” She yelled back. She tightly clutched the crate full of parts, heading over to another shelf and grabbing one more part before heading back to the front. Seb and Kimi watched her as the curtain fell back down.

 “You felt it too, right?” Seb asked Kimi.

“Yes.” Kimi said.

 “Do you think she could be The One?” Seb asked.

“It’s very much possible. The Force seems to flow through her like a running river.” Kimi said. “But she could just be very in tune with it too. That prophecy is centuries old. It could still just be fiction.”

 “But we’re both in agreement that this is a terrible environment for her to be in, right?”

Kimi nodded.

“Do you think you’ll be able to negotiate to convince the woman to let (Y/N) come with us back to The Temple? Or will we have to use a different method?” He asked.

 “Always negotiate first. I don’t want to have to resort to tricks like that unless absolutely necessary.” Seb said before drawing the curtain back and stepping back into the front of the store.

The woman was still at the front counter, now taking parts out of the crate (Y/N) had previously carried and jotted down numbers on a pad of paper. (Y/N) now stood at a repair table that was in the corner, next to a man. (Y/N) briefly glanced at Kimi and Seb as she held a pair of wires for the man to solder together. Seb walked up to the counter.

“How much for the hyperdrive parts and the girl?” Seb asked. He hated the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Referring to a living person as just some object to buy disgusted him, but it was necessary in hopes of being able to get (Y/N) out of her current situation. He needed to use his negotiation skills to the best of his abilities for this to work. Everyone’s eyes seemed to be on Seb now. 

 “She’s not for sale.” The man said, putting his tool down and placing a hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder, gripping a bit too tight. Seb wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for the wince of pain that showed on (Y/N)’s face. 

 “I have the credits. To pay for both the parts and the girl.” Seb said calmly, turning his attention to the man. The man walked over to Seb.

 “The parts are for sale. The girl isn’t.” The man said, getting into Seb’s face. 

 “I employ you to reconsider.” Seb adjusted his cloak to reveal his lightsaber.

“You’re threatening me, Jedi." The man spat. “You may think you hold authority but your kind aren’t welcome here. Now either make your purchase or get out!”

Negotiating wasn’t working for Seb for the second time today. There was something else Seb could try, but he knew that if it backfired then he and Kimi wouldn’t get the girl or the hyper drive parts. And Kimi and him sadly knew which one was more important at the moment. Kimi was right that it could just be some prophecy collecting dust back at the Temple. Seb glared at the man before sighing.

 “We’ll take the parts.” Seb said, he turned around and placed an amount of credits on the counter. He didn’t dare glance at the woman as she handed him the parts. As him and Kimi left, Seb turned around to get one last look at the girl. He looked at the girl, heartbroken, as she wore a look of both devastation and resignation. The only other way to get her out of this situation were not the ways of the Jedi. He knew that the only other peaceful option he had was to leave without her and hope that he could find a way to come back and get her out of there properly.

 “May the Force be with you, (Y/N).” Seb said. He then turned around and left the parts shop.

Seb trusted that The Force would allow for his path to cross with the girl again. 

~~~

(Y/N) couldn’t tell if the stars were brighter or dimmer tonight as she glanced up at the night sky. She hoped they would be brighter, considering the encounter with the two men she had today. They were a nice change from the regular people she encountered on Tatoonie. They were nice. Something about them made (Y/N) feel safe. And Sebastian asked if he could buy her, but (Y/N) could tell it wasn’t in a malicious way, he wanted to get (Y/N) out of her bad circumstances. But it didn’t work and Sebastian and Kimi had to leave. 

(Y/N) looked from the stars to the speeder she was repairing as she continued to think about the two Jedi. She had heard stories about how the Jedi fought to bring peace and good to those around them. She wished Sebastian had fought a bit harder to allow her to leave with them, either with words or the weapon strapped to his belt. But then again, (Y/N) never expected anyone to stand up for her. She was just a slave to two cruel people. (Y/N) looked back up at the stars. They were definitely dimmer tonight. 

“We’re closed!” (Y/N) heard Mr (L/N) yell from inside the repair shop. (Y/N) went back to repairing the speeder. It was probably just a late night traveler who needed their ship fixed. (Y/N) knew they would unfortunately need to wait till tomorrow to get any type of part or repairs. Mr and Mrs (L/N) were strict with their business hours. They were strict with a lot of things. 

“I already told your two buddies who came in here earlier that your kind aren’t welcome here!” (Y/N) turned around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash. Did Sebastian and Kimi come back for her? She quickly placed her tools down and headed back inside the repair shop.

 “My husband already told you, we’re closed!” Mrs (L/N) voice drifted from the entryway as (Y/N) peaked her head out to see who they were talking to. A figure dressed all in black stood at the entrance, a hood covering his face. He held a weapon in his hand. It looked similar to the one Sebastian and Kimi had, but more sinister. There was one other thing about the figure that (Y/N) could sense. His presence was like Sebeastian and Kimi’s, but it didn’t seem friendly at all. It felt dark and sinister like the weapon he held in his hand. He reminded her of a phantom.

The figure ignited his weapon, casting a red hue over the dark room as a bright red blade made of light appeared out of the end of the weapon. (Y/N) felt a chill run down her spine.

 “You think that scares me?” Mr (L/N) asked, walking over to the figure. “I told you we’re clos-”

The bright red blade skewered straight through Mr (L/N)’s chest as the figure cut off the man speaking. (Y/N) let out a gasp as Mrs (L/N) let out a scream. The figure withdrew his weapon from the man’s chest and the body fell to the floor. Mrs (L/N) continued to scream but was quickly silenced as the figure advanced on her and struck her down with his blade. Her body crumpled to the floor next to her husband. (Y/N) stood frozen in shock and fear as she stared at the two bodies. Even if they weren’t good people, (Y/N) would have never wished them to be dead. But now they were. She was brought out of her thoughts as she made eye contact with the figure. Sinister yellow eyes stared back at her (e/c) ones. 

Run!

(Y/N) felt as if the universe was screaming at her but she didn’t need to be told twice as she turned around and bolted in the direction of her speeder. She had no doubt that the figure was following behind her and she tried to send various shelves crashing down behind her in hopes of slowing him down. Some of them she didn’t even touch and yet they fell anyway. 

Scrambling onto the speeder, (Y/N) didn’t have time to worry about if it was fully repaired or not, she just continuously turned the key and pleaded with the universe that the speeder would start. On the third turn the speeder’s engine sputtered and roared to life. (Y/N) quickly looked behind her to see the figure shove a fallen shelf out of the way and advance towards her. Adrenaline rushed through the girl’s body as she desperately pushed down on the gas pedal and started to speed away from the figure and out into the desert before her. (Y/N) didn’t have time to worry about not having goggles, or gear or anything for that matter as sand dunes barrelled past her vision. She only focused on trying to breathe and getting far away from the phantom that was chasing her. 

On top of the mixture of fear, adrenaline, and panic, (Y/N) felt something else. Something pulling her in a certain direction and (Y/N) decided to trust it, hoping it would lead her to help or safety. 

~~~

Kimi had hoped he could get the repairs done before nightfall, but the sun had set long ago as he continued to fix the hyperdrive. Seb on the other hand had managed to contact the Order back on Coruscant and update them on their current situation.

“Unfortunately, the Trade Federation was not up for negotiating and we ended up crash landing on the planet known as Tatoonie after they tried to shoot us down. Kimi’s currently fixing the hyperdrive and we should be able to depart shortly.” Seb explained. In front of him was a small hologram of an older gentleman wearing similar robes to Seb and Kimi’s as he sat in a chair.

 “I’m sorry the negotiations didn’t work out but I’m happy to hear that you two are alive,” The man said.

 “There’s something else, Fernando.” Seb said. “Do you remember that prophecy? About one that will bring balance to The Force?”

The man nodded, but shrugged his shoulders.

 “Yes, but that prophecy hasn’t been spoken about in a long time.” He said. Seb’s eyes glanced out the ship’s front window, staring out at the sand dunes before shifting his attention back to Fernando.

“I believe that me and Kimi may have found them here on Tatooine. A girl who’s about 11 years old.”

 “And how can you be so certain?” Fernando asked.

“Her presence with the Force is something I’ve never felt before. And she used it with such subtlety and ease that not many untrained in The Force could manage” Seb said. “Unfortunately her “owners” wouldn’t let her come with us. I hate the idea of leaving her behind, especially with her current living circumstances, but The Jedi don’t hold much authority here on Tatooine.”

Fernando started to explain something about Tatoonie not having much of a government for the Republic to warrant sending Jedi to help with the planet’s matters, but Seb’s eyes and ears were more focused on the sand dunes outside. There was a distant roar from something Seb couldn’t identify, but as he squinted he saw something appear on the horizon. It seemed to get bigger and bigger as Seb realized it was heading in the direction of their ship. As it continued to get closer and closer, Seb felt the same feeling he felt when he and Kimi first entered Mos Espa.

 “Fernando, I need to call you back.” Seb said, ending the call before the man could respond as he hurriedly exited the SF-16. 

By now Seb could make out what was coming towards the ship: someone on a speeder. He didn’t need to wait for it to get closer to identify who was on the speeder. He knew it was (Y/N). But as her speeder got closer, so too did something else as Seb noticed another speeder chasing behind her. (Y/N) seemed to be miles ahead of the person chasing her, but Seb knew that miles could turn into seconds quickly.

 “(Y/N)!” Seb called out to her, waving his hands in hopes of encouraging the girl to go faster. (Y/N) didn’t need any encouragement, pressing her foot harder on the throttle as soon as her eyes landed on Seb. But as her speeder got closer, the person chasing (Y/N) threw out his hand in front of him. Suddenly (Y/N)’s speeder took a nose dive into the sand, sending the girl flying and crashing into the sand.

By now, Seb’s yelling had caused Kimi to step outside the ship to see what warranted the commotion. He noticed the girl in the sand and then the speeder with a black robed figure getting closer and closer to her.

 “Seb, get to the girl and get back to the ship. I’ll slow the other one down.” Kimi directed before taking off towards the two. Seb didn’t have time to question his friend as he took off towards the girl.

(Y/N) wiped the sand from her eyes as she tried to get up, but the daze from being sent flying off a moving speeder did not shake easily. She managed to find her bearings and sat up but then remembered why she was all the way out in the middle of the desert in the first place and quickly looked behind her to see the speeder that was chasing her come closer and closer. (Y/N) tried to scramble up into a standing position, but her franticness made her feet continually sink into the sand. Just as the figure was getting to be seconds away from the girl, his own speeder took a nosedive. But instead of being sent forward, he was sent flying backwards. The figure managed to plant his feet in the stand and skidded back, still standing.

 “(Y/N)!” A hand landed on (Y/N)’s shoulder and she looked to see Sebastian next to her. (Y/N) felt relief flow through her at the sight of the man.

“Sebastian! He’s after me! I don’t know what he wants but he killed them! They’re dead!” (Y/N) exclaimed as she clutched Seb’s arm. 

 “Come on. We need to get you inside!” He quickly helped her up and ushered her towards the ship as Kimi unclipped the lightsaber from his belt and slowly stalked towards the figure, who ignited his red bladed lightsaber. 

 “Here, sit down.” Seb ushered the girl to one of the seats on the ship once they were inside. “Take some deep breaths. Are you hurt?”

The girl shook her head.

 “Ok. That’s good to hear.” Seb gave the girl’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze and then regretted it when the girl winced and quickly let out an apology. Seb looked over his shoulder to see that Kimi was now engaged in combat with the phantom figure. Seb focused on the red lightsaber that swung and deflected Kimi’s attacks and he knew that they needed to get away quickly.

 “Buckle up. We’re getting you out of here.” Seb said to the girl before heading over the console to power up the ship. Seb hoped that Kimi had finished fixing the hyperdrive because they were going to need to use it very soon. 

(Y/N) fumbled with the seatbelt before managing to click it into place. (Y/N) chanced  a glance out the ship’s open door and saw Kimi fighting the phantom-like figure that had chased her. Kimi’s blue lightsaber clashed with the figure’s red one as he swung and easily dodged the phantom’s incoming attacks. (Y/N) was in awe at the Jedi’s combat abilities as Kimi feinted his attack in time to almost land a solid hit. But the phantom seemed to be just as quick and was able to side step out of the way.

By now, Seb had fully powered up the ship and got it ready for take off. He ran to the open door and called out to Kimi.

“Kimi! Come on!” Seb yelled. Kimi deflected an incoming slash from the phantom and thrusted his hand out in front of him, sending the figure flying backwards before he turned around and ran towards the ship. Seb was already in his seat, buckling himself in by the time Kimi shut the door and got into the pilot’s seat. 

 “Did you fix the hyperdrive?” Seb asked.

“We don’t have time to worry about that right now.” Kimi said as the ship lifted off the ground and Kimi piloted it towards the night sky. (Y/N) clutched the edge of her seat tightly as she felt the effects of G-Force caused by the steady ascension through Tatoonie’s atmosphere, her heart still hammering in her chest. The ship rose higher and higher until it was far enough away from the phantom and Tatoonie’s own gravity as the ship now floated amongst the stars.

(Y/N)’ stared ahead and leaned forward in her seat. Stretching out into the vast infinity of the universe, she’d never seen this many stars in her life. Tatoonie made the stars feel so far away. But now, as she sat in this ship, with two men who just saved her life, (Y/N) had never been so close to the stars until now. It was beautiful

Sebastian looked at the awe struck girl as she took in the view in front of her and he couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s breathtaking, isn’t it.” He quietly said. “I marvel at it every time I lay my eyes on the stars.”

 “They’re so much brighter from up here.” She whispered, her eyes still filled with stars. There was peaceful silence between the three for a couple of moments before Kimi placed his hand on the hyperdrive accelerator.

 “Moment of truth.” He said, pushing the stick forward. (Y/N) watched as the stars began to bleed together into lines, stretching faster and faster as the ship dipped forward and everything felt like it was being pulled before the SF-16 blinked out and away from Tatooine.  

#formula 1 x reader #f1 x reader #sebastian vettel x reader #platonic grid x reader #f1 x y/n #stars racing past #formula 1 star wars au

[fuckmeyer]

Jasper as a character is so interesting because he ends up a Confederate because he can't actually empathise with the slaves and because he simply accepts cruelty around him, and then when he becomes a vampire he literally can't ignore others suffering because it hurts him, but even decades after he becomes a Vegetarian he still can't get a hang of it partially because he still can't see humans as *people*. Idk there's smth to be said about him becoming a vampire because of his own cruelty and then being eternally in horrific pain because of said cruelty that fucks.

Jasper's whole life is a curse & i love to see it

here we have a Confederate supposedly so empathetic that he acquired a "gift"... yet not so empathetic as to recognize he was fighting for the enslavement of an entire race. despite seeing the consequences of slavery literally every day. now, the man who spent his last human days denying the humanity in others is forced to spend his immortal life being slapped in the face with their emotions. forever. hueeueueueu-

yeah, i would call that "gift" a curse, actually.

if Twilight weren't a horror story, we might see a discussion between Jasper/Bella about how immortality forces you to confront the darker side of your nature (e.g. "there will come a day when the societal beliefs imbued unto you leaves you standing on the wrong side of history"), & Jasper's journey with finding love & humanity. OR, y'know, he could've just had ONE (1) line where he says "yeah i'm not proud of my service." simply, if Twilight weren't a horror, Jasper could see the error of his ways & change for the better.

HOWEVER. Twilight vampires are "mentally frozen" when they turn, so Jasper is likely still a racist who does not regret his service. no matter how many times he is confronted with his cruelty, he won't change. meaning whatever life he chooses, his gift dooms him.

wow! eternal curse!

we see evidence of this frozen mental state in his decision to go vegetarian. he doesn't switch bc he feels bad about killing humans:

"I could feel everything my prey was feeling. And I lived their emotions as I killed them. [...] You've experienced the way I can manipulate the emotions around myself, Bella, but I wonder if you realize how the feelings in a room affect me." (Eclipse, Ch 13)

note the dehumanizing term "prey" & the focus on himself. he laments not that the human lives he's taking have value but that their dying moments harsh his vibe.

the irony! trapped as an empath while never possessing the ability to be an empath! CURSE CURSE C-

herein lies a bigger, juicier curse: Jasper is, himself, (hot take) enslaved in the sense that he will never know freedom, philosophically speaking, due to the choices he made in life. the series tries to paint him as a master tactician & competent leader; fanon often paints him as a free-thinking amoral black sheep. in reality, he simply obeys the commands of higher authorities & abides by their worldview regardless of how toxic it is to himself or others.

in the beginning, he had María.

he entered the Southern Vampire Wars not by his own volition but stayed because he was content not having a choice. however one feels about María, the fact of the matter is 1) as a newborn he was stronger, bigger, & faster than her & could have run away or overpowered her, 2) had the "gift" to identify emotions & could KNOW when/if she was malicious or manipulating him, & 3) could have escaped by influencing her emotions to make her disinterested in him. at any time in the 100 years they were together, he could have left. he talks about never knowing a life outside the war & discovering "options I'd never dreamed I had." ok???? run 100 miles in any direction & you would have seen a life outside of war. BOI-

instead, he took comfort in being submissive & adopting someone else's ideology. not only did it remind him of his past, but it meant he had no need to reflect on his actions or beliefs. he prefers others dictate his worldview & order him around even if it means being unhappy. he only left because he was going to be assassinated, & even then, it wasn't until someone else told him another life was possible that he "realized" another life was possible.

notably, the period where he's most free— living with Peter & Charlotte— is his rock-bottom where "the depression got worse." but, again, not because he realized the value of human life: "I was so wearied by killing [...] even mere humans."

then he meets Alice.

Alice, who has visions of being vegetarian & converts him so they can live with the Cullens. Alice, who dictates how her family should live their lives to the point where she manipulates them. Alice, who goes so far as to dress the Cullens, who orders Jasper to wait in the car while she & Bella go shopping, who Jasper refers to as "truly [...] one frightening little monster" because for all his experience she can still beat him in combat.

his eternal soulmate is authority.

despite being unhappy with his vegetarian life, as it makes him feel weak & coddled & a liability to everyone around him, he follows the lifestyle because Alice tells him to.

then there's the Volturi, another authoritative body. "We owe the Volturi for our present way of life," says acclaimed bootlicker Jasper Hale, who in the same moment shudders at the atrocities they committed, yet strangely sees no other way for a governing body to keep the peace... so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

but, since Carlisle outranks the Volturi as an authoritative figure in that he more closely aligns with Jasper's new worldview, Jasper sees no problem deposing the vampiric governing body if it means his sister-in-law of like 2 months can keep her demonic spawn. so i guess we don't really owe the Volturi that much

to his credit, we see glimmers of him questioning his leaders: 1) his decision to leave Maria, 2) his considering switching diets to defeat Victoria, & 3) going against the Volturi. but, again, these decisions are all just a result of his self-preservation & submitting to the higher authority du jour.

in the end, he has the perfect storm of conditions that would allow him to escape the prison he's created, to find freedom & to love humanity unconditionally... but he won't. Jasper's ultimate curse is that regardless of whether he realizes the enslavement of his own self, he will never leave his cage because it's cozy & easy & allows him to never think for himself.

AAAANYWAY Jasper's life sucks & he's trapped in an eternal prison of his own making. lol

#twilight #twilight renaissance #the twilight saga #jasper hale #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #you're right there really is something to be said about jasper the shitfuck confederate ending up in this situation!!! #like it would be tragic if it wasn't so comedic and if he didn't display a modicum of self-awareness!!!! #you make a great point about how he accepts cruelty his whole life and even when he's unable to ignore it he just is forced to accept it fo #ever #the absolute *chefs kiss* curse. smeyer coudlnt have written a better curse if she tried #in fact i do believe ALL the cullen gifts are actually curses in their own way #and it's so delicious to think about it that way #god i just love thinking about twilight as a horror #you're right riote- It Fucks #thanks for sending this my way! #cheers~

[whumpsday]

3 whumpy anime to check out this spring!

Go Go Loser Ranger is a heroes vs. villains anime where the villains are the good guys and the heroes are downright evil. Having wiped out all the powerful monsters more than a decade ago, the heroes keep the weakest monsters captive, to parade around and torment on a weekly basis while the public believes otherwise. Because they're immortal when hit with most weapons, they'll always reform to be hurt over and over again, despite feeling all the pain.

Footsoldier D is one of those weak monsters, an immortal shapeshifter made of dust, called a "duster". After escaping the heroes' arena, he forms a plan to kill the heroes and steal the few weapons they have that can permanently kill dusters, freeing the rest of his kind. Given that he has the constitution of a porcelain doll, he can't use strength to fight: he has to rely on wits, stealth, shapeshifting (despite knowing very little about humans or the outside world), and a shaky alliance with a double-agent ranger who seems to be taking advantage of him for her own gain.

Whump tags: villain whumpee, hero whumper, immortal whumpee

Watch it on Hulu, Disney+, or any unofficial anime site.

And if you don't have time to check out a whole anime, the Go Go Loser Ranger opening theme video is also really good, with fantastic visuals symbolizing D's struggles!

An Archdemon's Dilemma is a romantic comedy stuffed to the brim with popular whump tropes. Zagan is a demonic sorcerer who attends an auction for the possessions of another recently-killed sorcerer, when he sees that one of those "possessions" is an elf slave, Nephelia. Having had a destitute, harsh past himself, he feels a rush of sympathy and buys her way out, vowing to ensure her safety. However, Nephelia is terrified, believing she's about to be used as a sacrifice in a dark magic ritual. And unfortunately for both of them, Zagan is a socially awkward loser who sucks at communicating.

It's surreal seeing something that looks like it could be a caretaker-new-master whump fic as an actual, fully-realized anime. It definitely doesn't take itself too seriously despite the premise, leaning heavily on the "comedy" part of romantic comedy, and is mostly just a silly time with lots of whump-adjacent stuff thrown in. Fanfic-y to the point of "there's only one bed" being an actual line.

Whump tags: fantasy slavery (very pet-whump-esque in its tropes), caretaker new master

Watch it on Crunchyroll or any unofficial anime site.

The Grimm Variations is an anthology of horror retellings of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. With each episode being written and directed by different people, it varies wildly in quality, with episodes ranging from laughably bad to incredibly good, but I'm here to talk about episode 2: Little Red Riding Hood.

The Little Red Riding Hood takes place in a dystopian future where the upper and middle class use virtual reality technology to augment their reality. One man, Grey, is tired of this and craves the real: specifically, the feeling of real blood spraying him as he murders countless women, his wealth and connections protecting him from consequences. But when this serial killer makes the mistake of targeting a woman called Scarlet, he finds himself on the other side of the knife. This episode is a complete and utter gorefest with multiple onscreen torture scenes.

This isn't even my favorite episode of the series, it's like my 3rd favorite. But episode 2 is the one with the gruesome torture scene, so it's the one that goes in this post.

Little Red Riding Hood whump tags: whumper-turned-whumpee, torture, gore

Little Red Riding Hood warnings: sexual assault, eye gore, fingernail gore, violence against women, major character death

Watch it on Netflix or any unofficial anime site. Orrrr if you just wanna watch the big torture scene without any of the context, it's on Youtube.

that's all I have for now :)

(P.S: Dungeon Meshi, while not really whumpy as a whole, is also currently airing and very very good and I might write whump fanfic for it at some point in the near future. Netflix or any unofficial anime site.)

#fandom

[3rdeyeblaque]

Today we venerate Ancestor & Hoodoo Saint Nat Turner on his 223rd birthday 🎉

King Nat was a Seer, prophet, preacher, & Freedom Fighter who used his intuitive gifts to spearhead one of the greatest slave rebellions in U.S. History; one that would shift the trajectory of Black lives under Maafa for decades to come.

King Nat was born enslaved on the Benjamin Turner plantation in Southampton Co., VA. He was a highly intuitive and gifted child. He could easily recall events that took place in his life as early as 3 or 4 years old. He also foretold of events that occurred before his time. His grandmother was a deeply spiritual elder and nurtured his spiritual development. His mother and many of those enslaved on the Turner plantation knew that he would become a prophet & was surely destined for a higher purpose.

For his "uncommon intelligence ", Nat learned to read & write at a young age at which time he was also indoctrinated into Christianity. His interpretation of the Christian bible convinced him that the Christian God condemned Slavery. This inspired him to become a preacher.

By age 21, King Nat was a prolific Seer & was known as, "The Prophet". Nat received many visions & Divine messages over the course of his life. Much of which guided him to avenge slavery & free our peoples from bondage. He had a series of 3 visions that would set him on course to fulfilling his highest purpose, thus forever impressing his name upon in U.S. history.

The 1st vision came as he was following in his father's footsteps, fleeing the plantation. To everyone's astonishment he returned of his own volition after spending 30 days in the woods because, “the Spirit appeared to [him] and said [he] had [his] wishes directed to the things of this world, and not to the kingdom of heaven, and that [he] should return to the service of [his] earthly master.” One year later, the devil died.

On May 12, 1828, Nat he received a 2nd vision, as he witnessed a solar eclipse. He “heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit instantly appeared to me and said the serpent was loosened, and Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the serpent, for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first.” This, he believed to be the sign he had been promised.

On, August 13th 1831, Spirit delivered a 3rd message; in the form of lights across the night sky. At which time, an atmospheric disturbance across the sky in the aftermath of an eruption at Mount St. Helen's (3,000 mi away) caused the Sun to appear bluish-green in color. Nat prayed to learn their meaning. For Nat, this reaffirmed the work that he'd been called to do; to move forward with his mission to avenge Slavery & free those he could. From then on his plans were set into motion.

At 2am on August 22nd, King Nat led his peers & allies into rebellion. They struck their slaver's household first; slaughtering the entire family. From there they went from house to house, killing every single devil in their path. By noon, they marched toward the neighboring town of Jerusalem where a White militia of 3,000 men lie in wait for them.

Most of the rebels were either captured or killed - except for Nat. He managed to escape & eluded Virginian authorities for 2mo. He hid in the woods just miles from his former slaver's plantation. He was discovered on October 30th by an armed farmer who stumbled across him hiding in a foxhole. Emaciated and weak, he surrendered willingly. After his arrest, Turner was taken back to Jerusalem where he stood trial & was convicted, then sentenced to death by hanging. Nat was killed on November 11th.

To our deepest disdain & no suprise, he was denied a formal burial. Instead, his body was taken to doctors for dissection, to be distributed among affluent White families. He was skinned to make their purses. His flesh was turned into grease. And his bones were divided up into trophies. These became heirloom souvenirs to be passereceive among these affluent White families for generations.

Although King Nat did not end slavery as he had hoped, he & his allies avenged those who wronged them, and they did, ultimately, achieve their freedom from this world. Nat became immortalized as a symbol; of warrior strength (for us) & a catalyst of White fear. King Nat single-handedly shook the institution of Slavert at its core. So much that it stretched the divide between Pro-Slavers & Abolitionists. Pro-slavery advocates began calling for greater restrictions on "Freefolk" & demanded that Abolitionists cease their interference with Slavery. In Virginia, politicians saw Nat's intelligence & education as a major threat, thus outlawing the practice of teaching enslaved Peoples how to read or write. Abolitionists' efforts to end Slavery only intensified. This set the stage in U.S politics for the Civil War.

"I had a vision - and I saw white spirits and black spirits engaged in battle, and the sun was darkened - the thunder rolled in the Heavens, and blood flowed in streams - and I heard a voice saying, 'Such is your luck, such are you called to see, and let it come rough or smooth, you must surely bear it." - Nat Turner; "Confessions of Nat Turner".

Let us remember that it was more than bravery, nerve, & standing ten toes down that drove King Nat's rebellion to success. It was, first and foremost, leading with Spirit & trusting in our intuitive/Ancestral gifts.

We pour libations & give him💐 today as we celebrate him for his gifts, Divine trust, bravery, and sacrifice. May we lift him up in prayer & offering in gratitude & lace toward his elevation.

Offering suggestions: prayers toward his healing/elevation, a Methodist bible, libations of water - especially on the battlegrounds of rebellion in Courtland, VA/Benjamin Turner plantation/, read & share his confessions

‼️Note: offering suggestions are just that & strictly for veneration purposes only. Never attempt to conjure up any spirit or entity without proper divination/Mediumship counsel.‼️

#the hoodoo calendar #hoodoo #hoodoos #atr #atrs #ancestor veneration #nat turner #Nat Turner day #hoodoo heritage month

[gendrie]

Arya drew back from him. "He killed the slave?" That did not sound right. "He should have killed the masters!" (Arya, AFFC)

we don't talk about this moment within the context of arya's own experiences enough because arya has been a slave. she was taken prisoner in the riverlands, marched to harrenhal where, under the threat of violence, she was forced to perform manual labor. thats slavery.

She spent the rest of that day scrubbing steps inside the Wailing Tower. By evenfall her hands were raw and bleeding and her arms so sore they trembled when she lugged the pail back to the cellar. Too tired even for food, Arya begged Weese's pardons and crawled into her straw to sleep. (Arya, ACOK)

every day arya had to perform numerous tasks: cleaning, fetching, delivering, serving, ect. she worked until her hands bled. she endured physical and mental abuse from those she served. she saw countless acts of violence committed against her fellow prisoners. arya rebelled against her own master when she gave weese's name to jaqen h'ghar.

When Weese found that she hadn't asked about the clothes, he yanked down her breeches and caned her until blood ran down her thighs, but Arya closed her eyes and thought of all the sayings Syrio had taught her, so she scarcely felt it. (Arya, ACOK)

slavery is "outlawed" in westeros so arya is never referred to as a slave in the text, but that is what she was. she received no wages for her (child) labor. she was not allowed to leave. those in charge beat her and could have killed her without any repercussion. it was slavery and nobody stopped it. arya had to kill to regain her freedom.

"So Gregor took Harrenhal?" Sandor said. "Didn't require much taking," said Polliver. "The sellswords fled as soon as they knew we were coming, all but a few. One of the cooks opened a postern gate for us, to get back at Hoat for cutting off his foot." He chuckled. "We kept him to cook for us, a couple wenches to warm our beds, and put all the rest to the sword." "All the rest?" Arya blurted out.(Arya, ASOS)

if she had not done so arya and her friends wouldve been killed themselves when the mountain retook harrenhal. its as simple as that. you don't escape slavery by asking nicely.

and that is what makes this such a good quote to apply to a potential arya and dany dynamic.

"Unsullied!" Dany galloped before them, her silver-gold braid flying behind her, her bell chiming with every stride. "Slay the Good Masters, slay the soldiers, slay every man who wears a tokar or holds a whip, but harm no child under twelve, and strike the chains off every slave you see." She raised the harpy's fingers in the air . . . and then she flung the scourge aside. "Freedom!" she sang out. "Dracarys! Dracarys!" (Dany, ASOS)

dany's fight against slavery isn't just something for arya to, potentially, admire in the abstract. arya was one of those slaves once. and just like dany hasn't forgotten what it felt like to be afraid neither has arya.

#asoiaf nonsense #if they meet in twow i will die <3

[abbyfmc]

Yandere Master of Ceremonies! x Freak! reader Headcanons:

Hey! How are you in the middle of all this heat? I hope you're okay.

For a long time I have been attracted to yandere stories (well, that has always been XD), but also to circus/fair/carnival themes with creepy touches, so I made a decision.

Yandere stories or headcanons with themes of circuses, fairs and creepy carnivals, making obvious mention of the "FreakShows" Obviously changing to a few years ago, since today they are considered unethical, and in most countries they are even illegal, or slightly common.

Warning: Yandere behavior, obsession, kidnapping, mention of probable selling of people (slavery), as well as inappropriate treatment, etc.

Now, enjoy it!

He could have met you when he was just forming the circus; when the circus was already fully formed; He met you around your town/city; or you were simply sold to the circus as a freak.

Whatever the case, he saw something in you that attracted him and he liked it deeply.

Whatever your physical condition, you seemed, seem and will continue to seem beautiful to him.

He would hate to see you coexist with the other freaks or with some normal civilian.

Whatever your talent or ability, he will like it and love to see you whether during shows or during a rehearsal.

He would gladly introduce you during shows, with compliments and praise disguised as formality.

He would get angry if another employee or one of the freaks noticed you, which would put that co-worker on his blacklist.

He would leave you flowers, gifts and even notes in your dressing room, cage, etc.

If in that case you have been sold to the circus, and he finds out that your sellers (who may or may not have been your parents) did not treat you well, he would make them pay dearly for hurting you.

Do you have friends or a partner? Well, not anymore! They are dead or were kicked out of the circuses.

Whether you rehearse; sing, dance or act during the shows; whether you sleep, bathe, etc., he would always watch and harass you from a distance.

Yes, he would be able to kill the other freaks who have other intentions with you. He could also miss the rehearsals and acts of his rivals.

If he is very macabre, he would secretly spoil the functions of his rivals, or those he dislikes the most, causing them humiliation and accidents.

He would be deeply bothered by your rejections of him, and as revenge, he would "accidentally" ruin your rehearsals and performances.

If you see him murdering a co-worker (freak or not) and he finds out, he could threaten you with your family, friends and perhaps partner; chase you, harass you, watch you and convince you that what he did was "for your good," according to him; or he would kill you both out of love and to silence you and thus save his reputation.

If he could, he would spy on you while you prepare for some show.

In case he has kidnapped you when you were a normal civilian and tried to escape; He would punish you with confinement, physical and also psychological and then ask yourself: -Why would you like to leave us? Why do you want to leave the circus, and why do you want to leave me?-.

It is also likely that he has kidnapped you while you were a common civilian, and then he has ended up forcing you to be a circus phenomenon, either amputating you or costing some limbs; dye your hair or burning your face or some part of your body. -The end. What do you think about this?

#yandere #yandere oc #cw yandere #yandere love #yandere x you #yandere male #platonic yandere #tw yandere #male yandere #yandere x reader #yandere circus #yandere freakshow

[theladyofbloodshed]

I found it ironic that every opressed and victim in Maas book is considered as lesser/second class or villain. Like jurian. It so funny Maas and we can not realize this is zionism and woooo long live the High Fae. Pity the High Fae that human wants freedom. Pissed off the human for trying to escape slavery.

We are meant to hate Jurian for tricking and killing a general who was slaughtering his people???? because he pretended he loved her?? Give that man a medal.

Seriously though the humans are considered wrong for wanting freedom, but the high fae who do help them to be free are heralded as being the greatest ones who lived. Not the actual humans fighting for their freedom, but the benevolent masters who let them go. What does Rhys say as to why they let them go? That they bred too fast to keep track of and couldn't be trusted.

#anon asks

[adragonsfriend]

Cultural relationships to Pain: Sith, Jedi, Amavikka

Writing This Story can Kill You, I finally managed to articulate why I think Dooku seems so surprised to be betrayed by Sidious in ROTS, despite the whole 'betrayal is the way of the Sith thing,' and in the process I wrote a smol essay. Anyway,

So I think Dooku’s understanding of the Sith is incomplete not just because he fails to realize that the apprentice is always a slave never a partner of the master, but because he sees the Sith ways of gaining power—drawing from pain, rage, suffering, humiliation (your own and others)—as a means to an end. To him that pain is to be endured on the path to power.

But Sith doctrine properly understood is that the pain has to embraced, and continue to be embraced even when power is achieved. You have to want pain of all kinds to be a part of your being and part of the world. This is the difference between a regular darksider and a sith, the difference between drowning and diving in. A regular darksider falls because they have pain of some kind they can’t escape and can’t deal with, so they reject their experience of that pain so deeply that they project it outward. A Sith has a different relationship with pain. They are not coping with pain by refusing to acknowledge it, but instead by reveling in Pain in all its forms.

‘Passion’ in the Sith Code doesn’t refer to the modern meaning, eg, “I found my passion, and made it into my dream job!” It refers to passion like ‘the suffering and death of <insert your prefered martyr here>.’ They are saying, essentially, Pain is good, Pain is a natural part of the universe, Pain is an end in itself. This is something Dooku fails to understand, and I think it’s what allows him to be surprised that Sidious betrays him: he fundamentally doesn’t understand the paradigm in which Sidious is operating.

Anakin does understand it, and it’s part of what he rejects when he becomes Ekkreth in Shape Changer. I think he absolutely continues to draw on the darkside after that—he really couldn’t get away with not doing so under Sidious’ observation—and his storm-shield is the front of still embracing Pain the way a Sith should, but it has become a lie. In Fialleril's Trophies, Sidious thinks about how it’s disappointing that Vader doesn’t show much spark anymore. He's observing Vader apparently giving in to his depression instead of reveling it, and that’s a disappointment. Just like for Jedi, it’s not really about what the world does to a Sith (eg how much pain you’re in), it’s about how they react to it.

Ekkreth (the spirit) is fundamentally about freedom and an end to suffering. In fashioning himself after Ekkreth, Anakin rejects the Sith relationship to Pain (btw as does cannon Anakin in return of the Jedi by killing Sidious to save Luke, thereby, in George Lucas’ own words, ‘ending the horror’ for the rest of the galaxy). Notably, he also doesn’t embrace the Jedi relationship to Pain, which is that it isn’t an inherent or necessary part of the world and that if you can let go of your attachments, Pain will cease to exist. He says Pain is real, but I am going to end part of it (Sidious). This is the Amavikka relationship to Pain: Pain is always going to exist (Depur always tries again no matter how often Ekkreth frees the people), but it can and should always be fought (Ekkreth) or endured (Leia), not embraced. The Jedi and Sith developed in opposition to each other, while Amavikka culture developed in opposition to slavery.

To be clear: Jedi and Amavikka views are about a thousand times more compatible than Amavikka and Sith. Amavikka is not any kind of middle road between Jedi and Sith, it’s a different paradigm.

#star wars #fialleril #double agent anakin #sith philosophy #Biting His Own Tale #SW rant #tatooine slave culture #jedi philosophy #count dooku #anakin skywalker #star wars yeeteth

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Sword gays showdown preliminaries

Propaganda:

For Aki Hayakawa:

Aki is literally the goat of Chainsaw Man. Always acts like he doesn't care about others and then proceeds to put his life on the line for his angel boyfriend who could literally kill him just by touching him.

For Stede Bonnet:

learning how to be better at the blade but also being better about his gay feelings.

For Fenris:

Fenris is an elven warrior who twirls around (barely two handed) a greatsword that's like. as tall as he and then some? He's a mean, brooding bisexual who studied the blade (and some more) to escape slavery and magic that had marked his skin, and yet one of the options of the game he's from is to be a mage and rock his world about it. Can at one point wield a "blade of mercy", which is, in fact, even bigger than his original blade. 

He has a REALLY big sword and the deepest thinnest voice any anime elf looking boy has ever had. He can rip people's hearts out of their chests but mostly he swings his giant sword and cleaves them in twain. He is bisexual and broody. He freed his family from slavery but doesn't remember doing it. He freed himself from slavery and (unless you're EVIL) kills his former master after living alone in the guy's vacation home and drinking all his expensive wine for six years.

#sword gays showdown #aki hayakawa #stede bonnet #fenris dragon age #dragon age #chainsaw man #our flag means death #dragon age 2 #ofmd #csm #fenris

[marvelstars]

So I was thinking about a post I saw a while ago and it made me realize that I believe it didn´t really occur to Anakin that Padme was too young as a 14 year old Queen because he was a 9 year old slave and already making adult decisions, like:

Sure, I will risk my life to give you the ship parts you need new friends.

I will sacrifice the pod I built with many sacrifices that I wanted to use to escape with my Mom once I got her and my slave chip out of her body with my self made slave chip detector.

I know exactly how to cheat on my owner, I have know him all my life actually and he loves gambling.

Sebulba, leave Jar Jar alone, you could kill me instead but then you would have to pay for me so go away.

I built a droid to help Mom around the house and I am also looking after grandma Jira here, fixing her things so the heat doesn´t get too much for her.

Do you need the droid army that is invading Naboo stopped? No problem, I will just destroy their main star chip and I didn´t even get out of place as Master Qui-Gon Sir asked me to.

Then Anakin became a padawan and was send to missions in which he had to use his lightsaber to get out of "negotiations"

So of course he defended Padme being a Queen at 14, to him her words about being happy for being relieved of so much responsibility sounded as if she thought she was doing a bad job with her planet, that´s why he told her he heard people were so pleased with her they wanted to keep her more time as their Queen. He thought she was selling herself short.

I believe the whole, "too young to be doing this" only beat Anakin in the face when he was send Ahsoka in the middle of a war zone.

I mean, he called her a "youngling" not even a padawan, he most definitely didn´t want to be training a 14 year old youngling in the middle of a war zone and he only accepted because he saw how sad Ahsoka looked when she thought he didn´t want her.

Ahsoka just had to invoke a little bit of tears and she already had him grapped around her little finger.

Anakin: Sure I am supposed to be your Jedi master and you should call me master but we are in the middle of a war zone, we both could die tomorrow, your situation sucks Snips and you are too young yet to notice it so of course you may call me skyguy to your heart content.

He is actually worse with Luke, honestly, it didn´t matter to him his little boy already destroyed the death star in ANH and his Master was calling for his head because he could become a Jedi and try to kill both of them, to Vader he was just "a boy"

In ESB Vader was at the parenting stage of thinking about Luke like, that´s my baby, nobody can touch him or his friends until I say so ok?

So he can recognize when someone was too young to be send to war, slavery or fight his Sith Master and he was right most of the time, except when it´s about himself and his perfect Queen Padme, they were veteran kids just doing their jobs.

Love him honestly :D

#anakin skywalker #padme amidala #ahsoka tano #luke skywalker #anakin has oppinions about ages #anakin“protective brother/father” skywalker #tpm #sw aotc #empire strikes back #star wars #anakin: childhood trauma what childhood trauma?

[demonic-dorito]

I know many people immediately hate Varania for betraying Fenris, but I think in her eyes, it was the best she could do for him.

When Fenris kills Hadriana, he says that Danarius must know that Fenris knows about his sister. Could there even be a world in which Danarius is monitoring Varania constantly? Checking through all the messages she got, having her followed, reading the messages she sends to Fenris, using his influence as a magister to make sure Varania’s work was never quite successful- keeping her desperate for a way to have a decent quality of life. Like if she straight up said no to his proposition he could literally just have her blacklisted from whatever line of work she wanted to be in, so she’d be forced to come back to him, groveling. “””Best””” case scenario is Varania gets to Kirkwall, hangs out with Fenris for a few days, Danarius captures Varania and tells Fenris that if he doesn’t come back, he’s gonna torture Varania. With this in mind, Varania’s best play is to go along with Danarius from the get go. And the sad part is, that’s also the best for Fenris in Varania’s mind. If Fenris returns to slavery with his sister as his masters apprentice, she would be in a position of authority- one she could use to help him, ease his struggles. And think about the way Varania reacts to seeing her brother again. She isn’t cackling maniacally and twirling her stick-on curly mustache- she sounds devastated he actually showed up. This, to me, doesn’t read like she was power seeking. It feels like she genuinely cared for her brother despite the resentment she felt toward him due to her struggles of being a free elf in a slave society.

Now, do I believe that Danarius would hold up his end of the bargain? Absolutely not. I think he’d plot to have to disposed of the second the three of them landed on Seheron to replace her with a respectable (read:human) apprentice. At that point, it’d be far harder to Fenris to escape.

I truly don’t believe Varania ever had a real moment of agency in the situation. She, like many of those whose misfortune lands them in Kirkwall, is a tragic character. I hope she was able to find work in the Free Marshes.

#Varania #Fenris #da2 #da analysis #dragon age #my post #if she’s not featured in future content I will die #Danarius

[alpaca-clouds]

Okay, let me explain!

Okay, you know what? Given that at least one person (hey there, @vengencefilledwriter) say after my shitpost yesterday, that they wanted to read about this... let me talk about how I very randomly started shipping Astarion with Themberchaud.

Because, yes. It is a crack ship in many ways. However, I will maintain that it actually totally makes sense.

And yes, Themberchaud is the chubby dragon from Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I kinda talked about him a bit before (but tumblr search cannot be assed to show that to me), so...

See, me shipping the two arose from Wishing Well, the Astarion-centric longfic I am writing right now (which is also the sequel to Voice of the Voiceless). The story takes place about a year after the end of BG3 and centers around Astarion and Tav finally visiting the other vampire spawn, who in this have simply settled the Grymforge, after it was abandoned by the duergar.

Given the story takes place completely in the Underdark and features a conflict centered around the duergar, I thought it would be a fun little thing to have Themberchaud show up at some point as a cameo.

Yeah, I thought wrongly.

Because then I started the research on Themberchaud, and oh boy, let me tell you guys, this dragon is actually such a poor little blorbo who in truth just needs a big ol' hug!

Yes, yes, I see you there, muttering: "But red dragons are chaotic evil." To which I just say: "Sssssssh! Listen!"

Themberchaud...

Okay, even if you play DnD there is a very high chance that you never really encountered Themberchaud, because he is kinda locked into one place: Gracklstugh. The duergar city in the north of the underdark. And while the movie kinda plays his fatness as cute and funny, actually it is in his case super tragic!

See, Themberchaud is a slave. Because the duergar's masterful weapons can only be created in dragonfire, which is why for so many hundreds of years they have held themselves a dragon slave. The current one is Themberchaud.

Of course, given that dragons by nature have a rather big ego, they know well enough to not let him know that he is a slave. He has all the servants he wants, gets gold for his hoards and unlucky adventurers to feast on, and all they ask of him in return is that he keeps their forges running.

Well, and just to make extra sure that he plays along, they use some of the psychic powers they have gotten from their millennium of illithid enslavement to keep him content.

The fact that he got fed so much without having to hunt for it, is what made him so fat. And in fact that came as a bonus for the duergar, because the fact is, that Themberchaud has become so fat that he could no longer leave his hoard and hence very unabel to flee or fight back.

But dragons get stronger as they age and as such it becomes harder and harder to keep him controlled. Which is why he was supposed to suffer the same fate as all the other dragon slaves before: Get killed.

Something went wrong however. We just do not know what. Only that for some reason by the time the movie takes place, Themberchaud has somehow managed to escape Gracklstugh. But something is very clearly wrong with him. Because for one, he does not seem to have any capacity for reason in the movie - and also... his dragonfire somehow does not work. And remember: The duergar kept him for his fire.

Now, maybe his mind got just melted away by the psychic magic. Who knows. But yeah, that is the backstory there.

Okay, did I successfully get you invested in the story of the poor dragon? Yeah?

Hopefully. Let me just talk about why I ended up shipping him with the sad vamprie boy. Which kinda brings me back to why Themberchaud did not just remain a cameo in Wishing Well. Because I was planning the story and hence researching, I realized something: Astarion and Themberchaud are weirdly similar.

They both were slaves for around two hundred years and barely know anything but slavery.

Their respective masters used mindcontrol of them, which would logically lead to them both having trouble to even know who they are. Were they begin and the mind control end.

Both of them were abused by their masters through food. While Astarion was starved, Themberchaud was overfed. But both is still abuse through food!

Their enslavement ended through some circumstance (which for Themberchaud is still unknown) the plan of their respective masters to kill them failed.

Throughout their enslavement they were kept from the sun. (Note: While it is not explicitly said for Themberchaud that he wants to escape the underdark to see the sun, there is some implication for that.)

Like, those are actually fairly strong parallels. Something that undoubtedly was not intended by anyone, because I kinda doubt anyone at Larian even had Themberchaud in mind, when they were creating Astarion.

Never the less: Those are parallels.

And those parallels made me decide against the Themberchaud cameo......... in so far that instead of being a cameo, he literally becomes the sixth ranger in Wishing Well. Because he and Astarion pretty much talk to each other for like 1 hour and instantly are like: *scream* "BESTIES!!!" With Astarion afterwards being very unwilling to abandon the big dragon once more.

I will spare you the shenanigans that happen afterwards, but let me just put it like this: When they get granted a wish, Themberchaud gets turned into the more handy form of a dragonborn, which allows him to travel to the surface world. Because, you know, see the sun for himself.

Yes, yes, I hear you once again: "But that is just what happens in your fic!" Which, yes, sure. You are right. But you know what?

I still totally think that the two of them would totally at least platonically hit it off if they were ever going to meet. Because they just are so darn similar in their dramatic backstories as runaway slaves whose masters were trying to kill them.

Like, just look at all the bonding potential there!

What I love about it too, is that it has Astarion in the role of a caretaker for someone. Like, people (well, mostly Tav) took care of him, when he needed it and now he is capable to support someone else who has lived through similar shit.

You understand me? ALL THE HURT/COMFORT POTENTIAL!!! JUST LOOK AT ALL THE POTENTIAL?

And yes, in case you are wondering: No, Astarion does not break it off with my Tav in that stuff. Because polyshipping is a thing xD And that polycule is already just a bit bigger.

And, just... Look people. I JUST WANT MY BLORBOS TO BE HAPPY TOGETHER, ALRIGHT?! *feral*

#baldurs gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #crack ship #astarion #astarion ancunin #themberchaud #astarion x themberchaud #astarion x tav x themberchaud #polyamory #dungeons & dragons #dnd #dragons #shipping