probably crying about poetry!

stay close to people who feel like sunlight she/her | 24

[lillibetgrace]

Hi ! It’s been six years on this damn website and I just realized I never made an introduction post !

I’m Lillibet ! But you can call me Lillz. Or Lizzie. Or Lilly ! Or Liz ! Or literally whatever — I don’t care ! I respond to any/every variation of my name (plus a few other names because my parents can’t always tell me apart from my sisters and I’ve amassed so many nicknames. So many. I love them all). Also I’m bi and I use she/her pronouns :)

I did my bachelors degree in biology/pre-med, with a minor in theatre & drama (specifically script analysis and costumes). I’m applying to masters programs and medical schools right now. Yeah, I’m… probably insane. It’s fine !

I have two little sisters, two cats, a boyfriend, and the best friends in the whole world, and I love them all desperately. I work in surgery at a local hospital and I also bartend at a theatre downtown. I know, I know. I promise, I’m aware that I’m insane.

Anyway, I love to make new friends. If you’re passionate about… literally anything, I’m probably also passionate about it. BBCs Sherlock, Merlin, musical theatre, Star Wars, the MCU, the BCU (Barbie Cinematic Universe) classical music, One Direction, Disney movies, The Pitt, BOOKS (!!!), fanfic about any/all of the above… you name it, I’m probably (definitely, 100%) down to yap about it.

This is getting long. Oops ! Sorry. But seriously, ask me anything — like I said, I love making new friends and I love chatting about things I love ! Talk to you soon :))

Love,

Lillibet Grace <3

[puppydogwhitaker]

so imagine you’re dennis. you’re alone in this city, you don’t seem to have any major connections to anyone, you’re literally starving, and you have no real home.

then you step into this place and it’s a weird, dysfunctional family. you’re having people check in on you, giving you nicknames, really seeing you and your strengths, and literally throwing food at you. they talk about people in your situation with compassion and understanding, without even knowing your history. you meet someone who reminds you of your childhood, who wants to give you a home cooked meal. and then to round it all off, you get offered a home, a real place to stay with someone who understands what you’re trying to achieve.

wouldn’t you imprint like a little duckling on this specialty?

maybe dennis is uniquely predisposed to liking emergency medicine. maybe he does like the diagnoses and the pace and the opportunity to support people. but also, how would you not fall in love with the place that saved you without even trying? of course he wanted to match to the pitt, he had nothing and then he suddenly had everything he needed within sixteen hours of walking through those doors.

[islanddlost404]

i love how in santos and whitaker's conversation, whitaker makes it seem like it isn't about her when deciding to keep living with her.

because in episode 12 he joked around, trying to make her admit she liked having him as a roomate. but that didn't work, and she withdrew.

so he learned, and in episode 13 he tries again from a different angle. he makes it seem like no big deal his staying, so that santos doesn't feel like a burden/guilty for wanting him to stay.

i just love how well they understand each other, and in sync they are with one another. its just such a subtle thing, but it shows how attentive whitaker is towards her, when earlier in the season she was so attentive towards him. we really get to see how their friendship functions and that they have each others backs.

[lillibetgrace]

People I want to get to know better!

I was so honored to get this tag from @winterdaphne2 (and now from @weaponised--soul, omg thank you ?!) !! it’s just occurred to me that I don’t actually have an intro post on my blog at all (oops sorry) (update, I just posted one) but this was so sweet and gosh I might cry actually I love making new friends !!!

last song: unfortunately i’m obsessed with harry styles, so kiss all the time. disco occasionally. has been in my ears since it came out, and I’m addicted to “coming up roses” from the album. the strings are so gorgeous.

favorite color: hot pink or emerald green :)

currently watching: the pitt (noah wyle when I CATCH YOU !!!)

current obsession: oh boy, i have had the same four obsessions since high school LOL !!! ummm the BBC’s Sherlock, the BBC’s Merlin, marching band, and Musical Theatre. Just. All of it, I fear. Like every show ever. I love to sing and music is so important to me, especially since I graduated college and don’t have marching band in my life anymore. The newest addition to the list of (potentially unhealthy) obsessions is The Pitt, and that’s a semi-academic obsession on the account of my literal major and intended life path. Right ?? don’t tell me otherwise I can’t handle it !

currently working on: a mini-meta based on @winterdaphne2’s beautiful full-length meta about S2E3 of BBC’s Sherlock ! Oh, and my grad/med school apps. Those are important too, I guess. God, I miss writing for fun.

last google search: chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe (my coworkers are fantastic people and we had a long day today so I’m bringing them to work) (I used this recipe, and the cookies are so delicious. I recommend that you brown your butter first !)

I’m sorry to say that I don’t really have anyone to tag — I’m newer to actively using tumblr (I used to be a lurker I’M SORRY DON’T SUE) — but I was so honored to be included in this ! If you see this, I guess, tag someone new and start a new chain :) have fun !

[blueangelbby]

My controversial opinion is that some of you don’t have enough lived experience and maturity to be watching a show like The Pitt.

You don’t know what it’s like to have systems working against you systematically, to be caught in situations where black and white don’t exist, where there is no saving someone, where you can be the victim but still be perpetrating your own misery, to know that no matter what you do, you’re still incapable of fixing something perfectly.

You want clear lines drawn in the sand of this is the bad guy and this is what mental health should look like and this is what should be done in XYZ situation when the reality of it is so much more difficult and shaky and impossible. You want characters that are Good and ones that are Bad and the Bad ones don’t get to redeem themselves or fix themselves or have rocky reconciliation.

You shouldn’t be able to form hard opinions because this show constantly tells us that the real world is so much messier than that. People are messier than that. You think you understand characters perfectly but you show that nuanced and complex characters with flaws AND strengths are beyond your level of comprehension.

If you want a happier TV show where people aren’t hurt, aren’t hurting themselves, hurting the people around them, where people are the villain from the beginning to the end with no chance at redemption, go watch a cartoon or something.

[lillibetgrace]

@blueangelbby

As someone who works in healthcare, this take is so important to me.

Real life isn’t like what’s on TV, not even in this show. But this show is pretty damn close. You might not like a character, or a character’s reaction to a situation, be it a patient, or a doctor, or a kid, or the kid’s parent. You might not enjoy gray areas. God knows I don’t (then why did I pick healthcare ? …God knows.). But the fact is that these things happen in real life. These patients pop up. Bigots, racists, addicts, Doctor Googles, even good people who are just going through a bad thing, who can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel yet… the list goes on. Same goes for shitty coworkers who break rules or make decisions you wouldn’t have made in an emergency or are just. fucking annoying.

The reality of healthcare, of life, is that the world doesn’t care about your moral compass, about your guidelines or requisite actions, about what you think should happen in a given scenario. Simulations and hypothetical ethical debates can only take you so far. People are sick. People are dying. People are mean about these things because they’re scared. In my experience, it’s best to try to be kind. If you can’t be kind, be civil. If you can’t be civil, find a coworker or friend who can. Apply this to everyone — patients and coworkers and people in general. However, no matter how much you wish it might, your kindness can’t change the way the world is. The gray areas and moral discrepancies won’t just disappear because you don’t want to see them. And there’s nothing you can change about that. You have to work through it anyway. Because people are sick and people are dying and you have to be their last hope.

Yeah, okay sure. Maybe your coworker stole drugs from the hospital. He’s in recovery now, and he’s trying to make amends, and you still don’t want anything to do with him, and that has to be fine.

Yeah, your sister didn’t tell you about her sort of long-term boyfriend (even though you’ve been prioritizing her life over yours for as long as you can remember, and fuck, it hurts that she’s not telling you things you thought she’d always tell you first), and that has to be fine.

Yeah, your best friend told your attending about your time at the farm and now you’re being scolded for “not setting boundaries” by the same man who also asked you to house-sit while he’s on his sabbatical. Plus, he said you could keep the house if he didn’t come back (definitely not a suicide mission, though, don’t worry!), and that has to be fine (actually, idk, I feel like you should maybe ask a friend on this one, we don’t need another person dying) (is that crossing a boundary?) (does anyone care if it means Robby lives??) (oh look, another gray area).

Yeah, your boss just yelled at you in front of a bunch of people while you were having a panic attack because your fucking mom won’t leave you the fuck alone and you’re at a loss because this has never happened to you before and you just want to do your best, and that has to be fine.

Yeah, you’re having a terrible shift because of course you are, of course this is happening right as you’re about to k*ll yourself leave and you’re shouting even though you don’t really mean to, and that has to be fine.

Even the lines you’ve drawn in the sand aren’t permanent. They’re washed away in the next swell of the tide and there’s nothing you can do. Because real life doesn’t care. None of it fucking matters. Real life is so short, and it is so precious. You can’t afford to lose your mind about things that won’t matter by the time your next shift starts. Someone said their goodbyes to a loved one four minutes and thirty-eight seconds ago, and you had to watch tears slide down their cheeks, to stand there supportively as they felt the hand of your patient go cold, and oh god you just can’t think about anything else, but a new patient just got rolled into that room and you have to go help them.

Petty grudges don’t hold water against things like that. Stupid conflicts about being handed the wrong size gloves or someone poaching a patient from you are nothing compared to the way you can’t breathe listening to someone whisper, “I love you, thank you, I forgive you, please forgive me.” Nothing, compared to the adrenaline rush of having been almost strangled by a patient who’s lost all semblance of patience and humanity because they’re scared and tired of waiting for answers. Nothing, compared to the way your heart seizes in your chest because you’re already overwhelmed when that damn bell rings again but then, “Louie got his wings!” and suddenly the air is gone from your lungs and oh, you’re crying (me too, it’s okay).

Trinity can hate Langdon for what happened the day of PittFest. Langdon can know what he did was wrong, and he can be in the process of recovering, and he can be trying his best. Mel can be angry that her sister didn’t tell her about Adam, and Becca can be angry about Mel trying to control everything for her. Mel can also be mad that she’s put her life on hold for her sister, only to realize that she’s been “wasting” time. Samira can be irritated with her mom for being insane and with Robby for being a dick, and she can be a damn good doctor who really, truly cares about her patients, despite all of the external pressure she’s feeling. Whitaker can care about Amy and still know that he’s crossing lines he probably shouldn’t be. Robby can be cruel and snappy even though he knows he’s supposed to be professional and he knows that it’s his own fault, but he’s just so angry and he just can’t stomach talking to anyone about it in a meaningful way so he takes it out on others. Real. People. Are. Messy.

The practice of medicine, of saving lives, is just that — practice. There’s no consistency, no one-size-fits-all solution, no absolutes or perfection. Not in your patients, not in your cases, not in your coworkers, and certainly not in yourself. To be human is to be unique and flawed and complex. You have to let these characters have their humanity. Let them be real. And then, you have to let the compassion you discover for them become compassion for everyone else, no matter who they are or where they come from or what they’ve done. Let yourself have compassion and hope, too, while you’re at it. These standards we’re holding ourselves and each other to aren’t always reasonable.

I know, I know — “but Lillz, what about—“ I don’t care. I can’t. Real life is too fucking short. There is nuance and there are flaws and there are angry words exchanged and there are bad decisions made. But there are also lives saved. Families restored. Love and light and healing and hope. Do you get it now? People are sick and people are dying and you get to try to give them hope. Isn’t that the most important thing? Isn’t that the point?

Let yourself hope that the human condition is naturally good. When it isn’t — when people are mean and angry and scared — let yourself hope you can heal that part of them. Let yourself hope that you can find a gray area and shed light on it. Let yourself hope for better. Sometimes, that’s all you can do. I promise you, it’s enough. You just have to have compassion and hope. Everyone else will catch on. I promise.

And as for The Pitt, and other shows like it, when characters are real enough to have flaws and strengths and darknesses and lights, let them. It’s so important to know that this is how the world is. How else can we have hope for what the world could become?

(edited for a typo!)

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

reblog if you would never let ai write fanfics for you

[synergy27]

Me at 13: “god I can’t wait to go home and read fanfic”

Me at 17: “god I can’t wait to go home and read fanfic”

Me at 21: “god I can’t wait to go home and read fanfic”

[lillibetgrace]

Me at [insert age, until i literally die]: “god i can’t wait to go home and read fanfic”

[thesefallenembers]

the problem with reading and writing leading to a strong vocabulary is that you tend to know the vibe of words instead of their meanings.

if I used this word in a sentence, would it make sense? absolutely. if you asked me what it meant, could I tell you? absolutely not.

[brionysea]

figure out what the word means from context clues while reading -> use the word in a sentence while writing -> realise you're not actually certain what the word means -> panic about your sentence not making sense even though it hasn't been pinged as grammatically incorrect -> look up the definition of the word because You Must Know -> it means exactly what you thought it meant -> oh, good! :) -> immediately forget the definition -> repeat forever

[glorious-spoon]

anyway the thing about fanfic is that it's not essentially bad or good; it's essentially amateur. some people are absolutely out there writing award-worthy prose (some fic writers ARE award-winning writers IRL!), but that's not the point. the point is that we're all telling campfire stories. it's a community, and it's a way to spend some more time in the worlds and stories that we love.

[lillibetgrace]

fics as “campfire stories” is a fantastic analogy, and i will be crying about it for the next 5-10 business days ! thanks !!!

[kosmogrl]

I love going to bed early

[kosmogrl]

I also love staying up late and going to sleep at 5am

[kosmogrl]

I don't know what I'm doing with my life

[sskyguy-blog]

                   the tragedy of anakin skywalker (x)

[luckyjak]

#no but really#why wasn’t anakin a crechemaster#why did they let him major in stabbing?#star wars#queue (tags @cadesama)

OH GOD NO BUT THAT WOULD BE PERFECT. how did the jedi not think of that?

what is anakin’s biggest weakness? attachments.

you know who needs lots of attachment? babies. small children.

anakin should not have been made to study murder: he should have been put in charge of Small Things. He would have bonded with all of them instantly, and it would have given his life Meaning and Purpose.

He’d bond with the kids, but he’d be able to move on because they are Bigger now and they have to go to the Big Kid Class but he still sees them around all the time, and it finally teaches him how to let go of his attachments??? He’d find a kid that he’s particularly fond of and go to Obi-Wan and say “I have found your newest padawan.”

this could have fixed so. many. things. ;_____;

[angelqueen04]

Heh, and Anakin would keep picking Obi-Wan’s padawans for him, and it would be annoying but damn if he wasn’t right every single time.

[ialreadyreadthatfanfic]

BUT CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE HOW ANNOYED PALPATINE WOULD BE his life would be never-ending string of trying to get a hold of Anakin (I mean, would Anakin give him a time of day if he can spend it with small kids who absolutely adore him instead?)

he keeps comming over the years, but it’s always like

BEEP

“Anakin, my boy, we haven’t seen each other in a while—“

“I’m sorry, Chancellor, now’s not the best time. I’m tutoring a class.”

BEEP

“My dear boy, I wonder if we could meet for a chat—“

“Well, it can’t be this week, we’re going to Ilum, but maybe later…”

BEEP

“Anakin, I’d like to—“

“I’m terribly sorry, Chancellor,” Obi-Wan Kenobi answers. The apologetic tone might be just a tad exaggerated. “Anakin is on a trip with younglings, he must’ve left his comlink behind accidentally.”

BEEP

“You’ve reached Anakin Skywalker’s private comlink. Leave the message after the tone.”

BEEP

“It’s such a shame that Council doesn’t consider sending you on this campaign, considering the lightsaber skills you demonstrated when I was last visiting the Temple, Anakin.”

“Thank you, Chancellor, but this is precisely why I need to stay behind. In fact just the last week, the Masters decided I should take over some advanced lightsaber classes, considering senior Padawans accompanying their Masters on the frontlines need the training. I might take the Bear Clan along, make it a learning opportunity for the young ones—“

Palpatine closes his eyes slowly. He knows this from experience; Anakin won’t let himself be budged from the topic of little monsters for at least another half an hour.

BEEP

“Ah, Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin left his comlink behind again, he’s in class—“

BEEP

“Anakin, I hoped you—“

“Oh! Chancellor,” the voice on the other end is distinctly female, and Palpatine recognizes it after a second. Kenobi’s second Padawan. He barely restrains the urge to gnash his teeth. “Um, Skyg—I mean, Master Skywalker can’t pick up now. I can tell him you called? It’s just that he was helping me with forms, and he forgot his comlink, and he’s probably already in crèche…”

BEEP

Then there’s that one time when an actual youngling picks up the call. The less said about his reaction to that incident, the better.

BEEP

“—fortunately, they were all right in the end. But in my opinion, this should never happened in the first place, Chancellor.”

Palpatine snaps awake. Was that… was that anger? Finally, the hours of listening to worthless drivel about Jedi younglings paid off.

“My boy, I absolutely agree,” he begins slyly, but before he can continue, Anakin steamrolls on.

“I think Jedi Order is too deeply entwined in the conflict! I honestly don’t think even senior Padawans should be anywhere near battles, not to mention in command of GAR, but now even younglings are acceptable targets for Separatists and pirates! Master Yoda and I were talking about this lately, and—“

Palpatine swallows a scream of rage with some difficulty.

BEEP

“Forgot his comlink again, Master Skywalker has. With younglings, he is.”

Slaughtering younglings moved to the top on the list of things Darth Sidious will do after taking over galaxy some time ago.

[grand-duc]

this post keeps getting better and better

[suzume42]

More please! Tagging @systlin, @beautifultoastdream and @karama9

[karama9]

That is what the Council would have done if they were smart. Seriously. Here’s Yoda saying Anakin should not be taught because he senses too much fear in him, and it’s fear for the people he cares about, something everyone present realizes fully because when it comes to his own safety, Anakin couldn’t be more reckless. Then Qui Gon announces he’s training him anyway, someone points out he might fulfill the prophecy and bring balance to the Force, and nobody, NOBODY, thinks that MAYBE giving him a job that’s more about caring than killing might be an idea. Nope. Okay, we’re training him, let’s foster the loose canon aspect of his personalities, make him a war general and keep pushing him into vicious battles to the death. Sounds perfect for his mental health. The Jedi Council were a bunch of idiots with their head so far up their own asses even a lightsaber shoved up there to the hilt would not provide them enough light to see further than their own noses.

I think I got lost somewhere in this metaphor. You get the point.

[beautifultoastdream-deactivated]

After ten years, Palpatine loses his patience and decides to change his plans. Fuck it, Skywalker has kids now–two adorable little moppets who can be captured, broken, and twisted into twin powerhouses of the Dark Side. Torture one while the other watches, convince them Daddy doesn’t love them, easy-peasy.

Unfortunately, he fails to reckon with the fact that not only is he going up against Anakin Fucking Skywalker, but that Anakin Fucking Skywalker is the surrogate father/big brother/best friend/cool teacher of ninety percent of the current Padawans and young Knights in the Order. And while the Council might make decisions and talk about the Will of the Force and stuff, those Padawans and Knights only care about the fact that the man who scared away the monsters under the bed–made it feel less lonely and frightening to be away from home when they were small–is now hurting and scared for his own children.

Just like Palpatine always wanted, Anakin ends up leading an army. An army of young Jedi who smash the ever-loving shit out of everything “Darth Sidious” can throw at them, rescue the terrified Skywalker twins, and drag the Chancellor hisownself before the Senate with conclusive proof that he’s an evil Dark-Side-wielding bastard who kidnaps adorable kids.

Attachments FTW.

[systlin]

God, YES

[systlin]

Luke and Leia would have grown up with 500 brothers and sisters of assorted species.  Whenever you see Anakin there are 10 kids with him, occasionally actively hanging off of his arms or riding on his shoulders. (Anakin looks downright gleeful about this). Padme thinks it’s the most adorable thing ever.  

20 years later by the time “A New Hope” would have begun, Anakin is 45. Padme is the new Chancellor. Luke and Leia are finishing their own Jedi training. 90% of the current young Jedi order calls Anakin ‘Dad’. He has amassed the galaxy’s largest collection of refrigerator art. After that incident with Chancellor Palpatine 15 years back, Yoda was forced to admit to Qui Gon’s very smug force-ghost that he was right. Everything is right with the galaxy. 

[dreamer-wisher-liar]

I am so sorry this ate my brain and then things ran away from me. I AM SORRY.  So. Anakin leads an army to retrieve his children and it’s this twisted version of everything Sidious ever wanted and he’s prepared for that.

But Sidious always underestimates how love changes things. And while he’s prepared to fight Anakin’s devoted army of former crechelings, he underestimates how that’s changed the rest of the Order.

Because Obi-Wan is quieter about whom and how he loves but doesn’t make it any less strong. When Obi-Wan loves someone it is unconditional and unyielding and he has never loved anyone as much as he loves Anakin Skywalker. Then the twins are born and Anakin is bashfully about it but he’s not ashamed and of course Obi-Wan has to know, he can’t imagine Obi-Wan not knowing his children (Obi-Wan totally already knows, he has been rolling his eyes about this for months and waiting for Anakin to come to him so he doesn’t spook him or for Padme to knock some freaking sense into him, which she does, because not-dying Padme is scary post-pregnancy and not willing to deal with the stupid anymore) and then Padme hands him Leia and everything stutters to a halt for a moment because oh, oh no, Anakin has found him another padawan.

There is no one Obi-Wan will ever love as fiercely as Anakin, except for Anakin’s children, who may as well be his own children. And he knows from the moment he first holds her that Leia will be the greatest Jedi he ever has a hand in raising.

(It becomes a joke among the Knights and Masters at the temple after the Skywalker twins arrive. If you even think that you might like to take Leia as your padawan, you can feel Obi-Wan glare at you no matter where he is in the galaxy.)

And when Sidious kidnaps Anakin’s children – his future padawan – Obi-Wan is the only Jedi in the galaxy who can put a hand on Anakin’s shoulder and say we need a distraction to do this safely, trust me to bring them home for you. Anakin will lead the frontal assault and tear down all of Sidious’ carefully constructed plans. Obi-Wan will sneak in and safeguard their children and bring them home.

That’s the plan, anyway.

Here’s what none of them expected:

When Luke Skywalker came screaming and red-faced into the world, an ancient, meddling, troll of a Jedi Master who had vowed never to take another padawan felt it and thought: fuck.

Whereas Leia is, even as a child, stubborn and willful and silk hiding steel, Luke is twin balls of sunshine. Raised among Jedi, he is so bright a presence it hurts. Even raised among Jedi, he wears his heart on his sleeve and has absolutely no guile and he pouts when the cafeteria doesn’t serve his favourite dessert but will cheerfully walk across the room and give it to someone else if he senses that person is still hungry. The first time Luke sees Yoda he stares at him, all big blue eyes and pudgy baby hands, then grabs his ears and won’t let go. Everyone is horrified. Yoda harrumphs at him and tell him, “Patience, young one.” He toddles after Yoda from the time he can crawl and no matter how grouchy Yoda seems he never actively dissuades him from it.

After the twins enter the temple, Anakin always knows not to worry if Luke is missing from the crèche. Yoda will escort him back sooner or later.  

(He’s always much more worried when Leia disappears because, yes, Obi-Wan will bring her back but they’ll have always gotten into trouble in the meantime.)

Yoda does not confront Darth Sidious. Yoda does not lose his duel with the Sith lord and become diminished because of it. Yoda is with Obi-Wan, sneaking into his stronghold to see the twins safe. Yoda cannot go Sith hunting when Luke is in pain and gently clinging to him, his arms around his neck, bruised and bleeding and smiled at Yoda when he saw him because Luke knew he would come.

(Sidious cannot win, with them. Leia would risk her home being obliterated rather than betray her righteous cause. Luke would willingly walk into flames rather than give up on those he loves. It hurts, oh it hurts, to see the other in pain, but Leia can watch Luke being hurt and know there are more important things at stake than the two of them and Luke can watch Leia being hurt and trust that they will be saved.)

Sidious escapes but his Empire falls before it solidifies. He will never be as powerful as he needs to be.

(It’s Anakin who notices there is something wrong with the clones. He’s not their General but Obi-Wan is and Obi-Wan is a good general. When Obi-Wan is hurt, they’re all nosey and worried and Anakin – all but glued to his former Master’s bedside when it’s really bad and first and foremost a mechanic – can tell that something is wrong. He’s not always with them so it never becomes familiar, it never becomes normal, and it niggles at the back of his brain until he’s sitting in front of Obi-Wan’s bacta tank –  old training bond humming between them because Obi-Wan hates drugs and hates being sedated and he stays quieter and heals faster if Anakin is there to keep him calm – and Rex walks in to check on the General and Anakin turns around to look at him and he sees it.

The Jedi Order quietly deprograms the clone army. They trace the chip back to Palpatine. Padme and Bail Organa and Mon Mothma start quietly amassing information against him and his allies – enough for criminal charges, pushing Sidious to show his hand and try to kidnap the twins.)

Obi-Wan takes Leia as his Padawan the second she’s old enough for it to be proper. They are scarily well matched. If he was the Jedi’s best hope to keep planets from succeeding during the war, together they can talk whole systems into rejoining the rebuilding Republic. 

Yoda leaves Luke in the crèche until the day before his thirteenth birthday. Everyone is worried except Luke (who knows he is meant to be a Jedi and knows Master Yoda is meant to teach him and trusts this, since he was raised in the Temple. It’s easier to have faith when you’ve always had it and it’s never been wrong). Fourteen Jedi have tried to ask him to be their apprentice. Yoda bashed twelve of them over the head with his stick before they could and Luke turned two down himself, the last three days before his birthday. He spends his last day as a twelve-year old following his dad around, both of them a little clingier than usual. Anakin has always thought that Yoda intended to take Luke as his Padawan but he’s literally hours from aging out and he’s seriously considering comming Ashoka and begging her to come act as backup, when Luke suddenly hugs Anakin hard and quick and Anakin looks over and sees Yoda waiting in the doorway.

Anakin hugs Luke back very, very tightly and then he lets him go. Luke already has his few things packed and waiting. Yoda harrumphs at him. “Ready, you are, padawan mine?”

Luke’s smile is blinding. “Yes, Master.”

Leia talks star systems into rejoining the Republic. Luke returns the Fallen to the Jedi. Dooku is the first and most fleeting (having not been killed by Anakin) – having been betrayed and split from Sidious – Luke finds him when he’s dying and gets Yoda to him in time for him to pass them information on Sidious’ new schemes and die a Jedi, with his old master at his side. There are others, after that, who Fell during the war and didn’t think they could ever return from it. Luke, bright and shiny and full of faith, sees them, thinks, I can fix this, and brings them home one by one.

After the second Return, which is unavoidably public, Leia and Obi-Wan look at each other and enlist everyone they can to begin working to make Luke the new poster boy for the Order. Luke is intensely embarrassed by this and a bit bumbling and shy about it, which just makes it more attractive to everyone. It also keeps the spotlight well away from their rebuilding efforts, which are way easier when there’s less press exposure.

Sidious, who would still like to capture and corrupt the twins, eventually stops trying with Luke because there’s only a 50/50 anyone he sends after him will come back and between years of Yoda’s training (ie dodging his stick), Luke’s innate Force sense and his dumb luck he’s practically impossible to kill.

(Sidious dies ignobly at the hands of a new apprentice, one of the Fallen who Luke has been trying to save. His defeat was always going to be someone else’s redemption.)  

[ialreadyreadthatfanfic]

#I HAVE SO MANY FEELS ABOUT THIS META#GUYS#LUKE GETTING TO BE YODA’S PADAWAN PROPERLY MAKES ME SO HAPPY#OBI-WAN AND LEIA ARE A DREAM TEAM#THEY ARE FRIGHTENING TOGETHER#PADME IS SO PROUD#LUKE IS A LITTLE BALL OF WHINY SUNSHINE AND YODA JUST DELIGHTS HIM#MACE LAUGHS AT YODA FOREVER ABOUT IT#UNTIL BEN FUCKING SOLO COMES ALONG AND MACE IS ALL MOTHERFUCKER#I AM ALSO GOING TO HAVE TO WRITE THAT PIECE OF META BECAUSE BEN AS MACE WINDU’S PADAWAN ARGH#I WANT TO WRITE ALL THE STORIES IN THIS VERSE (via dreamer-wisher-liar)

You people need to tag me when you write, I keep missing good stuff like above!

[scribblebunnys]

Oh GOSH!

Everyone predicted Leia would eventually leave the order to follow in her mother’s footsteps but the SCANDAL that erupted when she married a former smuggler had the gossip rags going for years. Because circumstances sometimes change, but the Force will always find a way for certain absolutes. They have one son, and adopt several wayward young people along the way. 

Anakin is delighted by his grandson for all that he’s sad that he couldn’t share him with Obi-Wan, who passed just before he was born. Ben would follow his grandfather around like a baby duck and hated sharing him with the other younglings. He’d get so angry when he felt Anakin was giving the other children more attention than him. Anakin would gently explain that he couldn’t play favorites, but Ben would still react with anger and find a place to pout alone. 

He is five when he finds a nice secluded spot in the gardens, barely visible from the main path. A fountain sits in the center and Ben lets out his frustration by throwing small stones into it. He doesn’t notice Mace until he sits down right next to him and says “I like to come here too, when I’m angry.”

Ben is startled at first. Though he’s still small and largely untrained, no one has ever really snuck up on him before. He’s also never heard a master admit to being angry before. When questioned, Mace answers that everyone gets angry sometimes. The Jedi way isn’t the eradication of emotion, but the control of it. He brings Ben back to Anakin, who apologizes to the aging master for troubling him, but Mace dismisses the apology and tells him it was no trouble at all. Anakin glances sideways at Mace; they don’t always agree on things, but he can’t help but smile. It has been decades since Master Windu last took a padawan. 

As Ben grows older he excels in his lessons. He’s smart, persistent, and so, so powerful in the Force. He’s the very top of his class, and the only one who has yet to be chosen by a master. He still goes to the fountain when he finds himself at war with his emotions. Usually he meditates alone for a while until he is able to calm down, but sometimes, when he feels particularly lost, Master Windu will show up. At these times Ben will often ask for advice, but sometimes they will simply sit together in silence. 

Ben is desperate the day before he turns 13. He doesn’t understand how he could work so hard and not be noticed by a single master in the entire temple (which isn’t true, nearly everyone knows Ben Solo and can feel the pull of the Force around him. They also know they were not meant to guide him). He almost, almost comms his uncle and begs to take him as his padawan, but ultimately doesn’t because he knows how Luke follows the Force and if he were going to take him, he would have a long time ago. (Luke is busy anyway; a small girl in the outer rim is about to turn 3.) 

He goes out to the fountain to watch the sun set. The next day he’ll go before the Council of Reassignment to be placed into a division of the Jedi Service Corps. He supposes it wouldn’t be so bad to be placed into the Exploration Corps, he’d see much of the galaxy that way. He sits and plans and wills himself to not cry. After all, the Jedi way isn’t the eradication of emotion, but the mastery of it. 

Master Windu is still able to sneak up on him even though he’s doing so with a cane these days. Ben once held the hope that maybe the old master would take him as a padawan, but everyone knows Mace doesn’t take padawans anymore. His work on the Council is too important and he can’t give his precious time to a student, no matter what sort of strange bond has formed between them over the years. They sit for a moment before Ben breaks the silence. “What do you think my chances are of being assigned to the Exploration Corps?”

Mace seems to ponder the question for a moment. “Your scores in xenolinguistics is very high. You’ve also done very well in your survival field tests. You’d be a credit to the ExplorCorps.” He pauses for a moment. “Is that what you want to to do?”

Ben doesn’t give a straight answer, “It’s an honor,” he swallows the lump in his throat, “to be a part of the Service Corps.”

Mace sighs. “For someone who feels the Force so acutely, you have so little faith in it.” Ben winces. “Your patience leaves a lot to be desired. And you never really let go of anything.”

Ben is shaking. Of course. It doesn’t matter how well he does in his studies when the fundamentals of the ways of the Force is where he has always failed. He could never be a true Jedi. But it feels like the rawest betrayal when Mace says, “You can’t go into the Exploration Corps, Ben. Being left to drift through the galaxy unguided would be disastrous for you. You’d be very susceptible to the Dark Side if left alone.”

Ben’s eyes feel wet. He knows that too, though he’s never confessed to any of the masters about it. He was stupid to think he could hide it, though. The masters probably felt the Dark Side around him and rejected him outright. A bitter voice inside him resents them for dragging it out for so long. 

Then he feels a warm hand on his shoulder. “I’m not afraid of the Dark, Ben. And you shouldn’t be either.” In spite of Master Windu’s gentle tone, Ben can’t bare to look at him. “Self mastery is a life long pursuit that no one ever really accomplishes. You have to take it day by day, even I’m still learning. You have everything you need, you just have to remember that it is a choice you must make and commit to every day.”

Ben sniffs. “Yes, Master.” But when Ben looks up at Mace, he doesn’t see the cold face of a stern teacher or the disappointment of an unsatisfied elder. He doesn’t even see the sympathy that everyone has been directing towards him as he got closer and closer to his 13th birthday. Instead there is warmth and fondness.

“However,” he continues, “it’s not a path you need to travel alone. At least not at first… if you’ll have me as your master.”

Ben lunges at Mace and hugs him tight. “Do you really mean it?” 

Mace huffs a short laugh and ruffles the boy’s hair. “I’m too old to say things I don’t mean.” He pulls away. “But Ben, are you sure? I’m not the easier teacher.”

Finally able to hope again, Ben gives his master (his master!) a grin. “I’m not the easiest student!” 

Mace gives an actual laugh at that. “Good!” He pulls himself up. “Alright, lets go make it official. I know that grand-daddy of yours is dying to start gloating like the gossiping old hen he is.”

[anthonybourdainpartsunknown]

@inkalypse

[oceanshex]

[takashi0]

Beautiful

[countess-sandwich]

No one’s quite sure where the little boy originally came from. He was found in a far-off system on a small icy planet, their names erased and replaced by code numbers, in a facility run by former followers of the late, unlamented Sheev Palpatine.

Most of the children were adopted out, but this one boy wasn’t. The reviewers found him to be strong in the Force, but some of the Council were worried about him - he was easily distracted, because he was constantly afraid of what was going to happen to him.

That first night, he lay in his bunk, in greater luxury than he’d had at Starkiller Base, and cried in terror after lights out. It was the first time he’d been alone in a room for, as far as he could remember, his entire life. He was alone, and terrified, and wondered what he’d done to be punished like this.

The door slid open, and the Training Master looked in. “Excuse me,” Anakin Skywalker, aged but smiling, looked in. “I sensed you in the Force. What’s wrong?”

The boy, who had been FN-2187, and named Finn, curled up. “’m scared.”

Anakin entered the room, closing the door, and sat down on the floor. He drew on the floor for strength and relief in his creaky joints, and smiled the smile that fifty years of younglings had learned to trust. “It’s okay. It can be scary.”

“Jedi don’t get scared.”

Anakin laughed, softly. “Oh, no, we do. But it’s not being scared that’s important. It’s what you do when you’re scared. A Jedi knows how to focus past the fear, and what fear does to you, and listen to the Force. Let me show you.” And in that moment, Anakin hears the voices of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn and Mace Windu and Yoda in his mind, all of them saying the same thing: “There you go again, Anakin.”

When Finn is thirteen, he becomes Anakin’s padawan, because of course he would, after Anakin’s first lesson, and then his time teaching that first meditation exercise to the new younglings, helping them the way he was helped, showing the compassion that was at his core. If Anakin is Dad, now they have their big brother Finn, who knows how scary it was and how one good moment can help you feel not so alone, not so scared, and how to find where you fit in.

When the time comes that Anakin must step down from active duty because he’s too old, too frail, to keep going, Finn is gobsmacked to be told he will take Anakin’s place.

And he always, always, has a bit of candy hidden in his belt, because he knows a dozen ways to calm a crying child and believes a little bit of candy is a good distraction while he figures out the best one.

And to the next generation of Jedi, Finn is the one they call “Dad”.

[ultimategaydisaster]

@deadcatwithaflamethrower

[deadcatwithaflamethrower]

Ya had to go and make it more heart-wrenching, didn’tcha?

[lillibetgrace]

This makes me want to CRY. Man I love Star Wars fans sometimes.

[lillibetgrace]

Whoever said, “The number of hours we have together is actually not so large. Please linger near the door uncomfortably instead of just leaving. Please forget your scarf in my life and come back later for it,” was absolutely onto something.