Strange bird.

K. (she/her) The themes. The motifs. “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” AO3 | Art Blog

[steepleowl]

I bring a sort of “we owe it to each other to engage with or abstain from media in ways that make us (1) more compassionate and (2) less likely to perpetuate harm, because the content we consume can influence our attitudes and behaviors” vibe to life that the Internet doesn’t really like

[luke-shywalker]

I think some of you could beat me at trivia about my own story LOL

[luke-shywalker]

This post predicted @steepleowl

[steepleowl]

Losing some corners.

For @luke-shywalker. Comments under the cut.

Flat colors (left) and inks (right).

Slightly embarrassed by the dimensionality gap between my Bannie and Bennie tributes; the forms are forming so much harder here.

Anyway. This piece is very much in dialogue with the previous one, so I’ll probably post them together at some point for ease of comparison. Caption pulled directly from ABS, this time. (Bonus points for finding the source!)

[luke-shywalker]

I’M SCREAMING I’M SCREAMING I’M SCREAMING I’M SCREA— *immediate deadpan* anyway, many thoughts

Because I am also An Artist (although less-experienced than thou art in my regard…wowowowowow holy smokes) I had my guesses about how this was gonna turn out, based on the knowledge it was gonna be a foil to your Bennie piece, and the teaser you showed. I guessed since Fannie was facing out, Ben would be facing out too, that since she was asleep and Kalm he would be awake and Not Happy, and that since the previous piece had a warm tint to it, this one would be cool. And I was Right! I Am Good At Understanding What Opposites Are™

“Losing some corners” “Oh, interesting, does that mean he’s like, losing his mind a little?” “Direct quote from ABS” “GOSH DANG IT—uhhhhhhhh oh yeah…uhhhh…something something…square peg round hole can’t push it through (pauses, thinks about that, does not comment) without losing some corners” GREAT CHOICE OF QUOTE THAT I DEFINITELY REMEMBERED. Most obviously it refers to all the ways Fannie has had to compromise and give up dreams/desires for him, but Ben has had to compromise and make changes and work with her too, and that could refer to a few different things…but based on you saying “this gives me an idea!” to my freaking…[redacted] post I’m gonna assume this one is primarily about marital relations

The dimensionality: Well first of all, this piece looks way more advanced to me than the previous one. Maybe it’s that more of the bodies are visible in this one, probably also the increased folding of the sheets. The lighting/highlighting is more complex as well. Looking at it, I do think Fannie’s body would need to be overlapping/“closer to the camera than” Ben’s where they’re touching, since it’s Ben’s back shoulder (touching the bed) next to Fannie’s front shoulder (towards the ceiling). That said, it would be harder to tell then that they’re touching, and not just an inch apart, so I don’t mind the angle-bending.

Re: their backs touching: YES YES YES YES YES! I wondered if that was gonna be the case when I saw the teaser, and I’m so thrilled that it is. Since I figured they’d be facing away from each other, I worried about Ben and Fannie appearing further apart from each other than Ben and Pennie were, but since the space between them is closed, it makes up for that. Ooooh they are melded TOGETHER

The setting: I was curious which bed you were gonna stick them in. It couldn’t have been their bed(s) at home lol (since they sleep in two separate twin-sized beds in Ben’s teenage bedroom, y’know, normal married sleeping arrangement), so it would have had to be either the Motel 6 where they spent their wedding night, or Poe’s bed in Ben’s old apartment (“Is that…not…weird to you, Poe? ‘Cause…you know…we’re probably…gonna…” “Oh, don’t sweat it, you have no idea what that bed has seen” “…Well now I don’t want to sleep in it”). Judging by the plain white sheets and the maroon-and-gold-striped duvet, which tickled me with how much it immediately signified “every hotel ever” to me, I’m gonna guess it’s the Motel 6. Which would mean this is their first night together awwww

The contrast in their poses is so good. Fannie’s so sprawled, her arms and lekku are loose, she looks so relaxed, and Ben is all rigid. Also he’s got his hands under the pillow again like in the other piece, which makes me think it’s a Thing he does. As much as I wanted to see his ring (!!!) or his friendship bracelet, I like the stiffness of his pose, and despite my selfish disappointment, the fact that those elements are hidden kinda symbolize that he’s not really thinking about her right now. They’re hidden under the bedding, and that’s what he’s thinking about.

Ben’s design: YOU DID IT YOU DREW HIS STUPID MULLET YOU DREW THE STUPID MULLET ohhh that tickles me. He’s got the earrings in this one too (which he was in possession of during the other piece, but given he couldn’t even consistently perform basic hygiene due to The Depression earlier, I figure that checks out). I like the difference in his appearance between this one and the other one. (When I first saw the other one, I was like, “shouldn’t his hair be longer?” but I just now remembered he was supposed to have given himself a bad haircut lol) ALSO. His body composition is different here!! Which I hadn’t even thought about, but in the previous one he was in his Depression Era and had stopped going to the gym, and Pennie even made some comment about that to him LOL…but here he is more defined, now that he’s locked in and gone back to Ben Swolo-ing.

Fannie: I’ve already gushed at length about how much I love the way you drew her body but—OH I LOVE HER ALL HER CURVES AND FOLDS SHE’S BEAUTIFUL SHE’S BEAUTIFUL SHE’S BEAUTIFUL SHE’S GORGEOUS A LITERAL ANGEL. “I’m afraid to let you see me—” SHUT UP MY JAW IS ON THE FLOOR SHE’S THE MOST BREATHTAKING WOMAN TO EVER EXIST—anyway

Fannie and Ben are more exposed here than Ben and Pennie were in the previous piece. Ben and Pennie never got to a point of full self-revelation with one another (physically for Ben, emotionally for Pennie), but Ben and Fannie have decided to bare themselves to each other (not just physically). They pretty much are fully naked, besides the artist’s modesty for Fannie, and her mercy upon us all for sparing us the sight of Ben’s behind. Ben is comfortable with Fannie, as suggested by the way he is pressed up against her, but that closeness comes with other things attached to it, that he is less comfortable with.

I mentioned about Ben’s ring/bracelet not being visible. I was minorly disappointed to not see Fannie’s ring (not because of you, but because I am rabid about them finally being married), but I think that having just her bracelet visible carries some symbolism (or maybe she just takes off her ring to sleep and for…other things). Fannie has fixated on the “marriage” aspect of her relationship with Ben, even to the detriment of the relationship with him as a living, breathing person, but to have just the bracelet visible suggests that she has remembered with affection the man she both fell in love with and made the choice to love.

I don’t want to write ALL my comparison observations here; I want to save some for when you do the side-by-side post, but…whatever I’ll just end up repeating myself probably. I was worried at first that this piece would be less visually interesting than the Bennie piece, because the background of the first one is so opulent, and I figured that if they were gonna be in a generic hotel room, there wouldn’t be a lot of color in this one. But you know what, I kind of like it. Pennie’s bed is all gaudy and showy because…that’s Pennie. She masks herself with opulence and showgirl pizzazz to hide her vulnerability, and to avoid having to be vulnerable in the first place. Even during sex, I doubt she’s ever being truly authentic. But in this piece it’s all simple and bare, the focus is them, there’s no show. (Contemplates making a comment about the color white and them having been virgins [Ben being one on a technicality]; chooses not to go into that)

Again on the bedding/background: in neither piece is Ben in his own bed that he feels at home in (that bed being his stupid sunken-in twin mattress from high school, and now a twin air mattress on the floor). In both pieces he’s thrust into an unfamiliar setting that does not belong to him. The sterility (pauses, thinks about that, says nothing) of the generic hotel bedding works for this too; it’s not lived-in, it’s foreign, it’s a space in which he does not feel at home. Which is also how he feels about… *gestures broadly* …you know.

The first piece was about craving closeness and commitment in a relationship that was kiiind of very obviously likely to be temporary; this one is about having the closeness in a relationship declared to be lifelong, and all the anxiety that comes with that.

In your last piece, there was a ray of light shining down on Ben’s face, suggesting how Pennie viewed him. In this one, Fannie is mostly lit while Ben is in shadow. Fannie is in peaceful bliss, Ben is…not. Having a normal time, we might say.

The duvet being more on Fannie’s side and less on Ben’s makes me think perhaps he’s been tossing and turning. (Idk I just wanted to read into where you placed it real bad)

Not really related to anything but…the booty dapples…I’m just thinking now about how probably no one knows Fannie has those (except her mom; maybe even her sisters don’t remember since they’re younger than her and it’s been years since they took bubble baths together or whatever), and only Ben has seen them, and whether he was surprised to see them because he didn’t know there were still things he didn’t know about her, and now he’s the only one who knows. YOU KNOW WHAT, visual design aside, I think now I have to keep them just for that.

In conclusion: AAAAAAAAAARGGGHGGHHHGHHHHHHHHHGGHHG KKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S BEAUTIFUL IT’S BEAUTIFUL IT’S BEAUTIFUL I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU MWAH MWAH MWAH

[steepleowl]

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love to fudge an angle. Perspective? Never heard of her.

In all seriousness, though, I eat these dissection reblogs up every time. Never change, Shy. Never change. (Though I do hope this reblog means your tummy troubles have abated.) You hit all of the nails on the head, here, from it being Very Important to me that Ben and Fannie are voluntarily physically close/touching, here, and mutually so, even as they’re facing away from each other, to the visibility (or not) of the friendship bracelets, to Ben’s hair and body comp changing during and after The Depression. I had a blast drawing his mullet, but I draw the line at goatees.

I’m so much happier with this piece than the Pennie piece that I may have to revisit her; I don’t want the lady feeling shortchanged, especially after how Fannie turned out. (She really is lovely. What a character design!) Related comment on the beds, actually—yes to Pennie’s showgirl tendencies, and my underlying thought there was: “Pennie receives so little comfort from the people in her life that it’s likely she finds comfort in surrounding herself with beautiful objects, which can neither abandon nor betray.” Also. Hey. What was that. Why did we linger on the “sterility” bit. Maybe I just wanted to give our newlyweds the spotlight…

Bonus commentary on the Every Hotel Ever duvet: I used a very specific image to pull the colors from, which informed its placement in the corner of the frame. Less obvious now that I have one million Overlay layers at work, but a fun little detail all the same.

[steepleowl]

Losing some corners.

For @luke-shywalker. Comments under the cut.

Flat colors (left) and inks (right).

Slightly embarrassed by the dimensionality gap between my Bannie and Bennie tributes; the forms are forming so much harder here.

Anyway. This piece is very much in dialogue with the previous one, so I’ll probably post them together at some point for ease of comparison. Caption pulled directly from ABS, this time. (Bonus points for finding the source!)

[darthnostra]

I am having fanfiction ideas but am out and away from my laptop god damn it

[steepleowl]

[darthnostra]

And where is your 🫵 Hux mouse droid fic prev?

[steepleowl]

ACK! 🫪 It’s in the WIP folder…I swear…

[darthnostra]

I am having fanfiction ideas but am out and away from my laptop god damn it

[steepleowl]

[gremlininho]

looking. at you

[loveridden1999]

when england lose, women bruise

[3liza]

and this isnt even an english phenomenon, it is worldwide

The connection between football and domestic violence isn’t uncommon. A study shows that police receive increased calls reporting domestic violence every Sunday during football season [iii]. Researchers analyzed over 700 cities and counties using data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) of police reports, revealing that these spikes are linked to teams losing a game [iii]. In fact, domestic violence incidents rise by about 10% on days when NFL games are played, usually occurring in family homes and most of the time affecting women [iii].  This shows that the outcomes of football games can have a real impact on people’s lives off the field. It’s important for fans, teams, and communities to recognize these patterns and work together to raise awareness and prevent domestic violence from happening, especially during football season.

NFL games bring people from all over the United States together to show their love for the game, creating an atmosphere where diverse cultur

when i say the sports-industrial complex should be destroyed im not indulging in goofy hyperbole

[steepleowl]

pspspspsps @luke-shywalker… 👉👈

[themarchingbeetle]

[starlightxraven]

Nobody needs AI to search the Internet, court says in ruling against Google

Google AI Overview court loss in Germany could spell doom for AI search industry.

[appalachian-werewolf]

"Google AI Overview court loss in Germany could spell doom for AI search industry."

It fucking better.

[mrsjdavis]

Like to charge, reblog to cast?

[newbarktownalumni]

[valtsv]

really love a corruption arc where the character is trying way too hard to make it work but they're in over their head and it's uncomfortable and embarrassing and they're swallowing their own puke every time they do something awful and damp with sweat and trembling but insistent that they can do this, they want it, they're not a child, but it's like they're playing dressup in clothes that are too big for them and trying to convince their own reflection in the mirror that they fit and it's just no fun to watch at all

[valtsv]

+ then they find inside them a capacity for cruelty far more upsettingly vicious than anyone could have imagined and decide that because they enjoy how unafraid it makes them feel for the first time in as long as they can remember it must have been their true nature all along instead of something that had to be starved in the dark until it grew desperate enough to claw its way out 🙂‍↕️

[steepleowl]

Since hux was kind to a kid in one of the novelizations, do you think he is actually fond of kids and may want to have kids? Or is he too focused on the first order/doesn’t want any due to his own childhood?

Thank you, anon, for this opportunity to blather. I’ve broken your ask down into two distinct questions, for the sake of organizing my thoughts:

How does Hux relate to children?

Does Hux want children of his own?

Let’s dive in.

HOW DOES HUX RELATE TO CHILDREN?

Since your ask alluded to the transport scene in Delilah S. Dawson’s Phasma, I’ll open with it here:

When faced with a traumatized young woman (Phasma, eighteen) and a terrified little girl (Frey, six), Armitage Hux (twenty-four) neither scolds the little girl for her outburst nor admonishes the young woman for her inaction; instead, he handles the situation with startling gentleness—and a clear aptitude for communicating with children.

Armitage’s motivations in this scene are opaque to the reader, but I see his attempt to soothe Frey as an attempt to spare everyone on the transport the ire of Brendol Hux. After all, who understands better than Armitage the dire consequences of disappointing his father? Or the fear and confusion of being torn from a homeworld at a tender age?

It’s not unreasonable to assume that Armitage sees a bit of his younger self in Frey, here, which is why I like to read this scene in light of the following passage from Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Empire’s End:

Funnily enough, the passage above is the second time child Armitage is packed onto a transport in as many books. We’re not shown the Huxes’ escape from the Arkanis Imperial Academy in Aftermath: Life Debt, but imagination can fill in the gaps; in the midst of a siege, perhaps under the cover of night, Brendol Hux rounds up his illegitimate son (Armitage, five), an attendant droid (DDM-38), and a few essential belongings before traveling with bounty hunter Mercurial Swift to join the Imperial Remnants on Jakku.

How well does Armitage remember the chaos of that flight? And how desperately did that redheaded boy want to hear words of reassurance from the adults around him? Very well and very desperately, I’d wager. So well and so desperately that his first instinct, when faced with a child in parallel circumstances, is to offer the comfort he was denied.

It’s hard to square this behavior with Armitage’s role in the First Order’s stormtrooper program unless we consider the idea that Armitage believes some of his own propaganda: that the life of a stormtrooper is a better future for the children absorbed into the First Order’s ranks than whatever might await them on their impoverished homeworlds. The First Order may be brutal, but its ordered brutality—contrasted with the “savagery” of the Unknown Regions—is virtually all Armitage has ever known. For all that it’s obvious to us viewers that abducting and training child soldiers is evil, Armitage genuinely believes he’s doing right—which isn’t all that surprising, if we consider the hand he’s been dealt.

One of the core tragedies of Armitage Hux’s character is that his sincere drive to “cure” the galaxy of its ills (to borrow verbiage from Kwame Mbalia’s The Last Order), combined with his upbringing in a military cult, grooms him into exactly the sort of zealot who can adopt a legitimizing narrative for geocide. While I doubt Hux has any personal desire to inflict cruelty on children, and I suspect he feels protective of them in a manner he considers shamefully revealing, he’s either unwilling or unable to let his suppressed empathy interfere with the Order’s purpose. In this regard, I find him an interesting foil for Andor’s Luthen Rael.

DOES HUX WANT CHILDREN OF HIS OWN?

My knee-jerk response is no.

Hux, at least in his private thoughts, canonically expresses a desire to build a legacy, but at no point does he connect his desire for a legacy with a desire for children. He’s too preoccupied with the war to take proper care of himself, let alone a child, and even in a hypothetical future where the First Order conquered the galaxy with Supreme Leader Hux at the helm (a Pax Ordinata, if that’s legitimate Latin), I doubt he’d be able to spare the time and attention a family would require while juggling the responsibilities of governance.

Also, as you pointed out, the specter of Armitage’s traumatic childhood looms large, and I suspect he’d prefer a childless existence to the possibility of becoming his father. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe Armitage would ever treat a child the way Brendol treated him, but that fear would be difficult to shake.

I could see Hux fulfilling a paternal role to a child somewhat against his will—that is to say, if the child in question chose him, somehow, or he was meaningfully attached to a single parent—but I find it unlikely that he would agree to have children of his own. Precisely because Hux would care for them, they would be a weakness others could exploit.

[tupik-the-officer-k-fan]

Me : I love characters doomed by the narrative AND their own thoughts or actions!

Me the second a character is doomed by the narrative AND their own thoughts or actions:

[darthnostra]

I’m sure there are First Order droids specifically built for polishing the officers’ boots, but I think when he’s feeling particularly stressed or anxious Hux likes to do it himself. It’s something he can focus on without having to think too much, and it calms him down a bit.

[steepleowl]

Hi!! Do you have any hcs on insecurities general hux might have?

Hi, anon! I’m guessing you also submitted this ask about Hux’s body insecurity, so I’m going to dedicate this answer to things I didn’t mention there.

Three (3) headcanons for you:

Hux is extremely sensitive to accusations of hypocrisy. He considers himself one of the few true believers in the First Order’s cause, having been raised without the “excesses” of the Empire or the “frivolities” of the New Republic, so the notion that he makes political decisions purely or even primarily for personal gain is anathema to him.

Hux spent very little time with the Commandant during his early years at the Arkanis Academy and was instead looked after by DDM-38 and his stepmother Maratelle’s* ladies-in-waiting, all of whom belonged to the Arkanisian upper class. Because the bulk of his early childhood was spent around native Arkanisians, he developed a slight accent, which his father was quick to “correct.” Though Hux has now spent the bulk of his life speaking “perfect” Galactic Basic, he still takes great care with his diction.

Hux occasionally catches himself wondering whether his birth mother considered him a blessing or a curse—and what she might think of him now. He tells himself the answer doesn’t matter. (He’s lying.)

*Virtually all information I post about Maratelle Hux is headcanon, as she barely exists in canon materials. #JusticeForMaratelle

[steepleowl]

having a normal one