this blog isn't generally political but I need to say it. Americans. please. vote. it's going to be very important that you get out and exercise your democratic right. please. I'm Canadian. I don't have NEARLY as much riding on this election as you American folks, but I DO care for you and your wellbeing. and voting is going to be so incredibly important. so. with election day tomorrow. I'm begging you. vote. we are on the precipice of something big. and you have the chance to contribute. so please, for the sake of everyone, use it.

Whumptober Day 13

BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT

Delayed drowning | Chemical pneumonia | Oxygen mask

Panic flared within him.

Why was it that every time he went on a mission that was supposed to be simple it went sideways in the worst possible way? Missions that could be classed as “overly complicated” seemed to go off without a hitch, especially when they went in with the most far-fetched of plans. Did the Force just enjoy toying with the universe, flipping the expectations of all beings it affected just for the fun of it?

Luke was running, legs pumping as fast as they could, and his lungs began to burn. Just breathe, in, out, in, out… no. That didn’t help. It reminded him far too much of another unsettlingly familiar sound that insisted on haunting his dreams – and his waking hours, a sound that emanated from a being who was, in fact, here, as well.

Against all odds, defying all of their intel, Darth Vader was close – on planet, definitely, in the same locale, almost certainly, in the same facility, far too likely. Darth Vader was here, pursuing Luke, relentless to bring him in after claiming to be his father. (Even though Luke very well knew the truth of their relation, he chose to deny it, no matter how strong the Force sung in confirmation.)

Alarms had been blaring for several minutes now. Somebody, either on their side or the Empire’s, had hit something within the labs, and now it did not matter what side anyone was on, they all just needed to get the kriff out of this place. Poison was flooding into the air, some chemical gas under development in this facility, and it wouldn’t be long before the corridors were saturated with its potency. Many had been close to the exits, the majority of people already outside the building, but Luke had been deep within, extracting data. Artoo needed just a couple more minutes to get what they needed, minutes Luke was certain he could endure and be treated back at base for any damage he sustained, but then that blasted man had to show up.

Whumptober Days 2 & 3

IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY || MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY

“Pick who dies” | Collars | Kidnapped || Manhandled | Forced to Their Knees | Held at Gunpoint

The butt of the blaster connected with the back of his head once again, and Luke tasted blood. Not for the first time, he found his thoughts struggling against the fog that had settled over his mind, panic forcing his heart into overdrive. He was on the ground, kneeling before his captors, and the impact caused him to keel over and land in the dirt. Bound hands had barely stopped him from falling face first into the ground below, but he could feel the sharp bite of the gravel dig into his palms as he braced himself with weak arms.

“Are you an idiot? Answer the question.”

Question? He wasn’t sure he understood much, right now, the drugs still working their way out of his system. He remembered being captured. He remembered being dragged here. He remembered his friends being dragged along as well, screams and shouts and chaos. But he didn’t remember a question.

“I – I’m sorry, I don’t – what question?”

A different sort of pain shot through him this time, a pain that danced across his skin, radiating from his neck down towards the rest of his body. He was convulsing, now, unable to continue supporting his weight and tumbling forward into the dirt after all. The same gravel that had bit into his hands was now grinding against his cheeks. A ragged cry rung through the air, and Luke found himself sympathizing, dimly, with whoever was screaming like that, not realizing it was his own voice that was echoing so loud.

Flufftober Day 5

SPARKLE

The kid had dragged him up and up and up and up, seemingly forever, the corridors ahead of them twisting and turning and winding throughout buildings and bleeding into streets and then into other buildings. Han had long since lost track of where they’d begun and where they were going, but he trusted Luke. After all, there had been countless opportunities for the Imperial Prince to leave this lowly smuggler to the wolves. Given the drama of every royal he’d ever even fleetingly encountered, this seemed anti-climactic, so even if he didn’t know and trust Luke as he did, he still felt reassured, somewhat.

“Just a little bit farther!” That was another reason Han felt compelled to trust Luke; the kid was chattering away, a pure and genuine joy radiating off of him as he went. There were some scoundrels who were as good a liar as you could get, and Luke was no one of them. Sure, he’d managed to deceive Han and everyone around him for weeks when it came to his true identity, but everyone had always known something wasn’t quite right. That was the thing, though - everyone had a secret, and no one asked questions.

Smart kid.

But not a malevolent one.

So Han carried on after him, and as he did, he felt his heart grow light even as his lungs burned and his muscles ached. None of that mattered. The way Luke bounded forth was infectious, and it reminded him what had drawn the two together in the first place.

Luke skidded to a halt, suddenly, and Han barely caught himself in time so as not to crash into the kid. 

“Close your eyes.”

“Uhh...” Luke’s chipper, insistent tone caught Han off guard. “I donno about this, kid...”

“Just trust me!” 

He was just so earnest. Something in those bright blue eyes reminded Han of a lost Loth Cat or an eager Akk Dog; as stoic as he liked to act, there were times when he had to admit that he simply could not. “Okay, I trust ya, just don’t make me regret this.”

“Don’t you worry,” Luke chirped, grinning as he covered Han’s eyes and grabbed his wrist with his other hand, “you absolutely won’t.”

They stepped forward a few steps together, Luke guiding Han through a door, up a short set of stairs, through another door... “Okay. I’m gonna take my hand away in a couple of seconds, yeah? Now you can open your eyes as soon as I move my hand, that’s fine, but if you want the full experience... give it a moment. Just listen. Feel the atmosphere, let your intuition tell you when to open your eyes... Just. Whatever feels right, y’know?”

The pressure on his face disappeared and an orange glow replaced the obscuring darkness in front of his closed eyelids. Han had been certain his eyes would snap open immediately, but he found himself hesitating. The atmosphere grew thick, and his breath caught in his throat as he felt himself tense in anticipation. Everything around him was buzzing now, and then - 

As his eyes slowly fluttered open, he could sense Luke beaming next to him, but all he saw was the gleaming of the city sprawled out before him. Coruscant had always seemed almost obscene in its resplendence, the sort of world that would swallow you whole with one single misstep. But this... this seemed to radiate the same vibrant energy Luke himself did.

Each building appeared as an individual facet in an enormous jewel, making its own contribution to the sprawling metropolis below. The sun was sinking into the horizon, a select few rays peeking out through the buildings surrounding it, bathing everything in a warm glow.

“This is my favourite place in the city.” Luke’s gaze had shifted from enthusiastically observing Han’s reaction to staring out at the horizon for himself. “Well - I mean I know the whole planet is a city, but in the capital here... this one place seems to just make everything sparkle.” 

And it did. The ecumenopolis below them glittered incessantly. But Han found his gaze drawn elsewhere. “It is incredible to look at, I’ll admit,” he said now staring down at Luke, “but it’s not the best view around here by a long shot.”

“I - ” His face was beet red, and he was determinedly staring towards the setting sun. “Well, I brought you here to - I mean that’s not - Han...”

Chuckling, The Smuggler sidled up next to The Prince and draped his arm across his shoulders. “I like it when you get flustered.” Leaning against him, Luke sighed and leaned into Han. “This place is wonderful. Thank you for sharing it with me.”

 And, with the glittering lights laid out before them, Han and Luke sat in silence together, enjoying the peace that came with the still air around the two. Neither could say how long they stayed there, but it was pleasant, it was quiet, and it was for them.

Flufftober Day 4

WOUNDED

A hiss escaped Leia’s lips, and Luke instantly pulled his ands away, wincing and apologizing. “I told you it was gonna sting,” he offered, voice soft and light as he moved back to working at her blaster wound.

For a second, she looked like she was about to hit him, but the moment passed and she sighed out a soft chuckle. “Yeah... that you did.” She winced again and bit back another hiss as the disinfectant pad passed over the raw skin once again. “Doesn’t make it hurt any less, though - you just about done with that?”

“In the time I’ve known you, I’ve seen you handle much worse. A little bit of disinfectant sting too much for you?” With a mischievous grin, he gave it one last swipe then placed the pad aside. “There, I’d say it’s clean now.”

This time she did actually hit him. “You’re a terrible person, Luke Skywalker, you did that on purpose.”

“Who, me?” He spoke with false shock and did his best to look the very picture of innocence. “Now why would I do that? It needed cleaning, that’s all. It’ll be worse with an infection.”

Leia rolled her eyes. “Classic little brother move.”

“I’m older!”

Neither of them really cared. They were twins. They were the same age. But they both enjoyed the banter. It felt natural, the one thing that had since the galaxy had shifted so radically after the fall of the Empire. They had each other, the two halves of their souls coming together the way they’d always meant to be, and both were grateful for it.

They grinned at each other for a moment, enjoying their repartee, but Leia’s face fell as Luke began to bandage her arm. Letting out a sigh, she scowled at the dressings. “Are the bandages too tight? My hand’s been acting up, I think I need to recalibrate it...”

“No,” she sighed again, “no it’s not that, it’s just - well it’s like you said. I’ve handled so much worse before this. But... I guess it’s just... the fact that I got hurt at all. And - and you didn’t.”

Pausing his task, Luke frowned at Leia. “Is that - C’mon, Leia, there’s no way you’re taking sibling rivalry that seriously already.”

She shook her head. “That’s not it either. It’s more that, well, this is my first mission since you started training me. My first mission with a lightsaber. One that was supposed to be easy, and I fumbled. And for whatever reason, that makes this tiny little wound hurt more than it ever should. That’s what this is about. Pride to an extent, I suppose, but also... fear that I may not be cut out for this.”

Luke stared at her for a moment, blinking several times, before he burst out laughing.

“Wow, Skywalker, you’re really great at this whole comfort thing.”

“Sorry, Leia, I didn’t mean to laugh, but are you forgetting what I was like when I first started training with the Force? I was a disaster. You’re doing so much better than I was at the same point in my training.”

“Yeah, but you taught yourself - ”

“Even after I got proper training, I still didn’t know what I was doing.” He kept the smile on his face, but a pang went through him anyways at the thought of Bespin. “It’s normal to be frustrated, or to be afraid you aren’t good enough. We all experience it in our journeys and at several points in our lives. It’s when we let that consume us, though, that we start to run into trouble. You’ll get there, Leia. You will. You just can’t let this one experience stop you.”

Her deep brown eyes bore deep into Luke’s, swirling with dark depths that flashed several emotions at the same time, until finally the corner of her mouth quirked up. “Maybe you’ve got some Jedi Wisdom in you after all. Thanks, Luke. I know all of this, I do, it’s just nice to have the reminder.”

The two shared a silent moment of understanding through their bond, one that was warm and comforting and peaceful, and Luke wished it could never end.

It did, though, when Leia’s expression suddenly grew serious and she stared at Luke through narrowed eyes. “Not a word of this to Han, got it?”