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[moncalas]

you're owen lars. your father has fallen in love with a woman and she's enslaved. you and your father aren't rich, but eventually you manage to free her. this one woman. one woman on a planet full of injustices.

you're owen lars. the woman you call mom had another child once. it doesn't make her love you less, but she talks about him in a way that makes it clear that she loved him, too. he's off to be a jedi now and she's very proud.

you're owen lars. your mother's been kidnapped and you have to assume the worst. a man and a woman step into your home and the man announces himself to be that kid who went off to become a jedi. he knows you less than you know him and before anything else can happen, he takes off to bring back his mother, a feat you think is impossible.

you're owen lars. anakin skywalker brings your mom's corpse to your doorstep. her funeral is interrupted by a message of utmost galactic importance.

you're owen lars. your brother is dead. you never saw him again after that first time. there is another jedi on your doorstep, with a baby in his arm and you know what it means and you can't bring yourself to face him as he hands your nephew off to your wife.

you're owen lars. obi-wan ben kenobi is a pain in the ass. he was more your brother's brother than you ever were and he doesn't understand your particular kind of grief, is drowning in his own. you don't even know the full story and kenobi will never tell you all of it. but you have a child to care for so you tell him off and get back to work.

you're owen lars. you didn't know your brother, but you know your nephew and your nephew wants out of this place as soon as possible. you know he won't be safe out there but in the end you're helpless to stop him. and you know the stories, you remember the one time you met him, the days your mother died. and you do this for her and you do this for your father and you do this for your brother and you do this for your nephew.

you're owen lars. your last act is to protect your brother's child. your child.

[sunderwight]

Thinking about how Luke basically saves the galaxy with heartfelt diplomacy, and Leia gets to strangle a Tatooine crime lord to death with a giant chain, and given their respective backgrounds probably no one would have correctly guessed which of them would go on to do which deed.

[mylordshesacactus]

I don't think I'll ever be over the way that the thesis statement of OWK is represented, more than anything else, even more than Reva's plotline honestly, in Haja.

Like.

Genuinely? The one "twist" I wasn't emotionally prepared for was that Haja was legit, and he really was trying to help, and there really was a massive grassroots shadow-network underground railroad evacuating Jedi survivors and Force-sensitive kids across the galaxy, and he really was part of it.

Because the thing with his whole setup--the magnet tricks, the motion-controlled windows, the cold-reading, the crowd-working kid identifying obvious offworld marks, the "audience plant" stormtrooper playing along over the comm? Yeah, they're cheap tricks, but it's a SOPHISTICATED setup.

This guy is a straight-up conman. He really is every bit the sleazy grifter he appears to be.

That matters. That's important. Haja is not an angel. He's a mid-level fake psychic, callously cashing in on the Jedi's legacy to do, like, bullshit fortune-telling. It's--it's the way you can see this guy's whole backstory in a few minutes of screentime. Because we DO see him identify a Force-sensitive kid....and the escape he offers them is genuine.

So: Haja. And the story we can see in him at a glance.

He's a scam artist! He's dressing in knockoff porn-vid robes, waving his hands, and babbling half-remembered vague tropes before murmuring generic platitudes and sending rubes on their way. The Jedi are dead, right? It's not like they're around to be offended. He's not even really lying, right? He gets people what they want! The Jedi stuff just lets him upcharge! He's just skimming a little, a man's gotta make a living.

And then, one day, someone came to him who'd used all their hope just getting there. Someone with a Force-sensitive child, and the Empire on their heels, stumbled terrified into his little den of cheap tricks, because they'd heard a whisper of a rumor that there was still a Jedi alive on Daiyu.

And in that moment, Haja learned that he was a better person than he'd ever realized.

They must have staked everything on reaching him, and then they found him, and what they found was...Haja. Just some guy in a cheap costume. Just some guy, and not a particularly great one. How much is the bounty on a Force-sensitive youngling? Enough to retire on. Enough to set you up for life. And Haja is just some guy, who had just been slapped in the face with the reality of what he was capable of doing in the next five minutes.

There are moments when you learn who you really are, and sometimes you surprise yourself.

After all that time "acting like a Jedi," when given the opportunity--he chose to act like a Jedi.

Ultimately, the thesis statement of OWK is: There is a galaxy full of Hajas. And that's hope enough to keep going for.

[hanleiacelebration]

2025 Han x Leia Holiday Exchange: The Reveal (part 2)

That's a wrap!! ✨ As of today, everyone has received their gifts and has hopefully had a chance to read them and thank their mystery writers... so it's time for the big author reveal!

💜 Check out the 2025 Han x Leia Holiday Exchange Collection HERE

We continue to run this challenge every year to offer a creative outlet and a fun, safe distraction to our fellow Han/Leia shippers no matter what else might be going on. So we hope everyone had fun coming up with ideas, getting to know others in the fandom and seeing your stories come to life. Thank you to everyone who participated: our writers, betas, cheerleaders, readers and our generous pinch hitters!

Everyone, please check out the wonderful stories we got this year if you haven't done so yet, and remember to leave kudos and a comment if you liked them!

Writers, you’re welcome to promote your fics and repost them anywhere you want now!

If you haven’t done so yet, please remember to read your gift and leave a comment thanking your writer!

Without further ado...

The masterlist

a glass poured written by @ahsokatanoss for @diplomaticprincess

All mixed up written by @walkawaytall for @barelydaisy

A mission to remember written by @nocturnalgremlingiant for @phoenix-downer

And you're a disaster written by @joybirdsworks for @cowboylikesolo

At rest written by @bookishbrigitta for @nocturnalgremlingiant

at the edge of my consciousness is where the grass grows written by @soloorganaas for @swappingsongswithswallows

By anonymous written by @diplomaticprincess for @dreaming-of-epiphanies

don't go (i'm holding onto you) written by @snipsnipsnippy for @joybirdsworks

every day I add another stone to the walls I built around you written by @otterandterrierwrites for @walkawaytall

Eyes shut, hair unbound written by @kintsu-tai for @snipsnipsnippy

Future Days written by @maggzblair for @kintsu-tai

Gambler's Fallacy written by @dreaming-of-epiphanies for @ahsokatanoss

More like resting than running written by @lajulie24 for @otterandterrierwrites

Rebel intelligence written by @lajulie24 for @soloorganaas

Showing our hands written by @phoenix-downer for @lajulie24

to face unafraid the plans that we've made written by @bb8mangoes for @bookishbrigitta

Value of the heart written by @cowboylikesolo for @bb8mangoes

[rotzaprachim]

the unhinged thing about bail organa is that compared to saw and mon he was incontrovertibly the best rebel leader at actually being a parent and taking care of his daughter and they have a good relationship because of that! And also it was precisely because of the fact that he did NOT abandon her or cut her off from his life while he was double dealing the most evil emperor of the entire galaxy and kept being her dad and having a Loving Family Life everyone knew about that he put her in the direct line of fire to be tortured (which did happen) and killed (which did not happen but only due to an unhinged series of circumstances he could not possibly have forseen)

like! The theme of rebel leaders and their daughters and how NONE of them - not Mon or saw or bail - actually manage to protect them makes me unhinged! The series basically shows there is NO way to be both an entry level Good Parent who protects your child AND a rebel leader! Mon saw and bail each try something totally different and all of their children end up suffering in horrible ways! Mon cuts her daughter off from the rebellion, which means raising her in a web of lies that on a day to day level fucks her daughter over so she doesn’t trust her anymore and then physically trades her daughter for the rebellion! Saw Guerrera raises his daughter in the partisans but when he realised his own people might kill her cuts her out of the rebellion and then she ends up in an imperial concentration camp and THEN super dead! Galen Erso collaborates with the empire to try to protect his daughter and then she ends up killed by HIS weapon. And then bail, by far the best parent, raises her as his friend and ally and then accomplice in rebellion and puts her on the same gallows he’s about to hang from. Like the overall thesis of this entire side of the rebellion is that there is both no way to stand against the empire and systematically do the baseline minimum to protect your child from suffering and death and they’ve shown us this four (4) times!

[dzgrizzle]

[awed-frog]

Okay, you need to make sure you play this game at some point. Maybe not today or anything, because you’ll need about thirty minutes and a serious willingness to understand how it works, but - it’s so worth it. It’s basically an answer to our occasional frustration - why do assholes always come out on top? - and the beautiful thing about it is that not only does it explain how that happens, but also how we can change it.

“In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it’s us players who define the game.”

[youngnoblewoman]

This is fascinating if you’re into math or sociology or computer programming or all of the above.

[skeptictankj]

Everyone, everywhere, without exception, should play this thing through.

[anathaeum]

Don’t check just this - check out all of Nicky Case’s work. They’re a brilliant creator and I heavily recommend checking out at least one of their projects.  Their website can be found here.

Parable of the Polygons - an interactive experiment that shows how tiny individual biases can collectively cause segregation on a massive scale.

To Build a Better Ballot - an interactive experiment that shows the alternatives to the voting systems we currently use and how they can be more representative and democratic, along with their faults.

Coming Out Simulator - a short interactive story/novel about coming out, based off of Case’s own experiences. Not one I’ve played myself but still one I can recommend.

Loopy - a very simple but useful tool to show how systems interact with each other and how things can self-propagate.

We Become What We Behold - “ a game about news cycles, vicious cycles, infinite cycles.“ A short five-minute game about news and media. Warnings for violence, blood, death and stress.

[imtoobiforyou]

OH MY GOD THIS IS FRICKING AMAIZNG WOW WOW WOW WOW YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS YES INTELLECT 

[this-acuteneurosis]

I freaking love your DLB series! Leia is awesome. I’m reading through the asks you got and I snorted so loud when I read the Leia x Obi ship. So funny! Are there any legit characters in your story that think this, because that would be even more hilarious. I kind of get the vibe that Cody thinks Obi might have a thing for Leia because of how protective he can be and his previous comment that she was pretty. I could also see Padme maybe misconstruing what Leia said about rescuing the ones she loved in regards to Obi wan. I’m just tickled by this… on a serious note you’re an awesome writer and your story is like dessert for my brain. Love your creativity!

Thanks for the compliments!

Frankly, there are a lot of characters that either assume Leia and Obi-Wan are in a relationship, or that they could be. Padmé and the handmaidens aren't just joking when they tease Leia. Cody is worried about Obi-Wan because he knows how much Obi-Wan cares about and for Leia, and that he finds her attractive. Darsana and Shea have noticed. Anakin has technically noticed and is deliberately ignoring it. Shmi definitely knows, but also knows Leia will have a hard time acting on any feelings if they grow, because Trauma. It's gotten back to Palpatine, but he hasn't caught anything more substantial than rumors. Bail's noticed, so Breha knows at this point. Several members of the Council know and some other Jedi that have seen the two of them together. Jar Jar knows. It's not a secret.

Ahsoka's going to notice, although she may have pick up more easily because of Cody.

[ambrosiadarling]

every since i acquired my duck in the mug my coffee drinking experience has elevated full of joy every morning

duck in the mug my beloved <3

[anneapocalypse]

People think "gray morality" in fiction is about Both Sides Are Partly Right Actually but so much more often it's about choices having inescapable negative outcomes that have to be weighed against the benefits, or it's about having to choose between a series of bad options, or it's about making hard decisions about what you are willing to sacrifice to achieve the outcome you believe is good.

So often, I seem to see people angry that a story in a video game didn't present a Good Option with no collateral damage and no negative outcomes whatsoever, and if there are any downsides it's seen as the writers punishing you for the decision, because they see the primary purpose of stories to be moralizing rather than exploring the complexities of human experience. Or they argue that the collateral damage didn't really happen, or that the negative outcomes weren't really that bad actually, and thus miss the point altogether.

And I feel like it's important to remember that a narrative telling you a decision is difficult is not the same thing as the narrative telling you it is wrong.

[hyydraworks]

Working on some chicken variations. Might be a little while till I get them in the shop, but if you have chicken breeds you desire let me know. It’s hard with my color palette, but I’ll try my darndest.

[phoenixyfriend]

AU where someone mucked up Vader's daily chemical cocktail and due to a series of hallucinations of his dead mother, dead wife, various dead friends, and dead savior (Qui-Gon is not actually a hallucination, he's a ghost, but Vader thinks he's not real) and the new weirdness to his impulse control and all such things...

Vader kills Tarkin, hijacks the Death Star, and blows up Nal Hutta and Nar Shadda

Obviously the remaining Hutts declare war back on the Empire, which currently doesn't have its big fancy superweapon, and the two tear each other apart as Vader blows up the Death Star behind him and goes careening back to Coruscant on what appears to be an accidental sithmeth-fueled rampage.

[neil-gaiman]

My friend the brilliant author Rachel Pollack is coming to the end of her life. She won the Nebula, World Fantasy and Arthur C Clarke awards. She is a world renowned expert on Tarot, and her books on Tarot are still regarded as the gold standard. She created the first trans superhero, in Doom Patrol in '93. I will miss her very much when she goes. I am writing this at the request of her wife Zoe, to let her friends know that the end is soon, and to let the obituarists know too. (I saw her yesterday and hope to see her again before the end.)

[neil-gaiman]

Reblogging to add a photo of Rachel.

[gollancz]

Our love and thoughts are with this incredible woman and her family. We are so proud to have her works on her list, she embodied everything we aspire to be here.

[neil-gaiman]

Reblogging because I just discovered that publisher @gollancz has a tumblr, And to correct something in that first post -- Rachel was nominated for the Nebula, Tiptree (twice!) and Mythopoeic Awards, but won the Arthur C Clarke and the World Fantasy.

[loveoaths]

imagine maul somehow getting leia as an apprentice. like. instead of (or after!) the stupid kidnapping thing in kenobi, maul kidnaps her (yes kenobi “killed” him on tattooine, yes he’s back somehow like palpatine, no he doesn’t explain how) for some criminal plot then quickly realizes this upstart little tart is force sensitive, powerfully so, in a subtler way than he’s used to. of course maul’s greedy ass is like MWAHAHA YEEEEES I HAVE YOU NOW, MY NEW APPRENTICE! and then proceeds to get his entire ass emotionally bitch-slapped by a ten year old girl, repeatedly, for the next ten years until ANH happens.

secondary pitch: maul is captured by the empire. he meets reva, a young inquisitor in training, and quickly realizes they share the same burning hatred for the emperor, vader, and kenobi. he convinces her that vader likely already knows her tricks and that she won’t get vengeance through compliance, but if she frees him he can help her. she breaks him out of jail and they become master-apprentice (except not really because she won’t accept being his apprentice). somehow they wind up kidnapping leia for some reason but again, realize she’s force sensitive too, and decide that the cruelest thing they could do to kenobi is to use her against him. they train leia and try to turn her to the dark side, but leia is leia and she ain’t doing nothing for nobody if it doesn’t match her morals/isn’t something she believes in. idk where this goes from here but i’m obsessed with these three going on the galaxy’s worst roadtrip feat. yelling about kenobi being their enemy, only to get DBT therapy from a ten year old who tells them actually it sounds like they’re projecting blame onto someone convenient and punishable (ben) whereas their real problems are with the empire, vader, and the emperor. leia manages to somehow get these two ornery dark siders to return to alderaan and pseudo-join the rebellion. tbh this was supposed to be a story where leia goes dark but i really think she’d wind up half-converting reva and maul instead

[miadoesntwantyoutofollowher]

[sophiamcdougall]

@jennhoney :#is that Black Phillip ass Turkey trying to live deliciously with a cross country skier?View post

Seriously, this is somehow adorable and goofy and also a close encounter with something very eldritch. You can stop romanticising spooky deer; there’s spooky grouse now.

[voidartisan]

It occurred to me the other day that Yoda is only a hundred years younger than the Jedi Order. His is probably one of the only lineages that you could follow from beginning to end without getting lost somewhere in the middle due to record-keeping issues or confusion or what have you. There are probably only like. Thirty people between Ahsoka and the very first master in the lineage.

That’s insane.

[maykitz]

i wonder if french people ever look at england and send a silent prayer of gratefulness to heaven for having gotten the revolution out of the way before the whole institution turned into a beloved novelty tourist attraction to view the world's largest hookworm

[despazito]

And their dead royals still bring in more money lol