Ncuti Gatwa Has My Favorite Doctor Intro. No Sadness Of A Fan Favorite Departing Hanging Over Him.

That's not an ad, that's a threat, and a scary one by the way

Star Wars Headcanon:

When Leia makes her light saber, she styles the hilt to look like the Rhindon sword.

TMMM Series Finale Review:

- Midge…WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST GO TALK TO LENNY?!?!

- I love Abe

- Stop cutting to Joel!

- Aww Susie!

- Aww Rose!

- Chinese Restaurant Scene broke me and she keeps the Fortune!!!

- The ending with Midge and Susie is great

- This is still a disappointing season overall.

Princess and the Scoundrel Thoughts

Spoilers ahead:

First of all, the title and cover of this book are ridiculous. The art is pretty, but the pose looks like a cheesy romance. I think they’re paying homage to Courtship of Princess Leia, which while that story is hilarious, is one of the worst Star Wars books ever. But we get the Dathomir witches so it’s fine I guess.

On the other hand, Princess and the Scoundrel, is one of the best Star Wars books. Despite everything, despite all of the obstacles this book had from the beginning, it succeeds as having some of the best and most subtle character work in the entire franchise. Which is hilarious, because this book literally only exists to market a hotel. But Beth Revis said, “yeah, but what if it was good and I actually tried?”

Now, Beth Revis has clearly read COPL. You can tell and it’s kind of hilarious. For example, in COPL, there is a really long scene where Han plays sabacc (space poker) during a bout of insecurity and wins a planet to give to Leia and he uses THE MILLENNIUM FALCON for collateral. Han Solo would never do this. Now in PatS, Han plays sabacc while Leia is working to help her out by gathering intelligence. One of the players mentions that he wants to kidnap Leia (not knowing who Han is), and Han almost murders the guy. It’s awesome.

Here’s the thing, you can tell when Leia is being written by a woman instead of a man. In COPL, there is one moment where it’s brought up that if Leia marries Isolder there will be a planet for the survivors of the Alderaani genocide, but it’s only mentioned a few times and not by Leia. So any opportunity for a duty vs love internal conflict is not used. Her conflict is “Han and I are distant and space Fabio is hot so…”. Then HAN KIDNAPS LEIA USING A MIND CONTROL GUN. And she doesn’t murder him. So…I don’t care about this relationship anymore because both of them suck and it isn’t even clear why Leia falls in love with Han all over again.

Beth Revis gives Leia a very multi faceted internal conflict. Part of it is her dealing with her feelings about Vader, about being part of a team, and her guilt over Alderaan. It doesn’t take up too much time, but they inform a lot of her character.

Now, in a different canon book, that came out previously, it was mentioned in passing that Han and Leia got married on Endor. Now, at that point in both the EU and Canon, Han and Leia have been forcibly separated for a year and only actually got together a little bit before that. So, that’s really weird. But Revis is stuck with this. So she says to herself, “Why would they do this? Why would they move this quickly?”

And she remembers that this is Star Wars. They are living through war, they all almost died, and just spent a year forcibly separated. And they’ve decided that they’re done wasting time. Han just kind of…proposes and Leia (in typical fashion) debates for a second before deciding to take a leap of faith for love. It’s genuinely very, very sweet. Despite the title and cover this is not a romance book. There is no “will they won’t they” bullshit. Thank. God. They just get married and it’s really happy and Lando pranks Han into dressing nice, and it’s great. Then it’s a Star Wars adventure featuring Han and Leia.

That’s not to say Han and Leia don’t have any tension between them. The difference is it’s interesting. Han and Leia, especially her, do not know how to fully let each other into their lives. It isn’t that Han forgets for a bit that he married a very driven woman. He absolutely knows. His frustration stems from the fact that they are literally on their honeymoon, and Leia keeps leaving to work, because that is all she knows how to do. It is how she has coped with her trauma for three years. On the other hand, Leia feels like she is solely responsible for saving the galaxy, and that Han doesn’t understand that. Both sides of this argument are understandable. The book switches between Han and Leia’s perspectives. There are no stupid cutaways to Luke or space Fabio, there are no space witches. It is a focused relationship/ character study of Han and Leia while they’re on a decently interesting mission.

And the build up to the fight they end up having, is great. It’s a slow build up, you can feel their mutual frustration, and once they have the fight it is very cathartic. They don’t fight for the entire book either. They flirt and tease and have real conversations too.

So, after this huge fight, Leia is trying to divert the cruiser they’re on to this other planet, and Han finds out and helps her. Together, they succeed, but Leia is confused. They haven’t made up from their fight yet, and she asks why he helped her fight to go on a mission that’s going to take up more of their time. And Han says, “You’re my wife. If you’re running a con, I’m going to help you.”

Now, this might just be one of my favorite lines. Beth Revis understands that Han Solo is very loyal to the few people he cares about. He loves Leia, it’s why he goes back for her on Hoth at his own risk, why he saves Luke at Yavin and on Hoth. (She also understands the little bit of dorkiness Han Solo has beneath the posturing, up to the point that she gives him a sweet tooth.) Neither of them are overly mushy, they just love and respect each other.

There’s this great symbolism with their wedding rings. They’re made of hardened amber by the ewoks, and their fragility is a constant reminder of Han and Leia’s issues. They crack under pressure, and have to be maintained carefully. They eventually end up breaking under immense water pressure, but Han gives Leia a new ring (the one she wears in the sequels) reminiscent of the amber ones, symbolizing that they’re coming out stronger. It’s so sweet, and while it’s a little bit on the nose, it’s a great literary technique.

He’s acknowledging that he recognizes this part of Leia’s character, Leia realizes she needs to also put him first. In the aftermath, they both feel bad, apologize, and resolve to work on their issues together. And when they make-up, it feels real. This runs through the entire book, and the way it ends is really satisfying. Now, we know what happens to them in the sequels, so we can see how this conflict may come back into play later and lead to their eventual separation in canon. But, it’s also easy to see a different path where they work through these issues and live happily ever after. It’s just ambiguous enough to be read as either a prelude to eventual tragedy or the beginning of a long, happy life between two complex people. (I prefer the first one, but whatever).

Other things I liked:

- Han proposing. It’s literally that “I want you” “For what?” “A really long time.” quote on the internet.

Han: I want you.

Leia: Me? For what?

Han: Forever. Marry me.

- Leia tells Han about her true parentage and he just does not care. Like, he’s sympathetic towards her feelings, but is like, “why would this impact my love for you?”

- Leia finally lets herself do something spontaneous.

- Luke and Mon Mothma ship it.

- This quote:

Leia: About time.

Han: For what?

Leia: You once promised me a good kiss. I’ve been waiting.

- The conflict on Madurs is also pretty interesting. Leia is unwilling to let another planet die, giving an insight into Leia’s feelings about Alderaan, especially since Madurs values art like Alderaan.

Honestly, I want Beth Revis to write the canon “trip to Bespin” book.

Also…

This book kind of implies that Leia is bi? There’s a scene where Leia is remembering a conversation with her mother. So, when Alderaanian royals get married, their parent straps the ceremonial Rhindon sword (also used during their coronation) around their waist before the wedding.

In the flashback, Breha specifically says “whoever you marry” and “your husband or wife”…

Some people may say that it’s just ‘forced inclusion’ but that’s boring. Now, in the EU, fanon, and canon, Leia always puts emphasis on how close she and her parents were. This is something that I don’t think is ever particularly well illustrated, especially in canon. In parts the Kenobi series (she gets better later) and Leia, Princess of Alderaan, Breha in particular comes off as really unlikable.

But, if Leia isn’t over romanticizing (and there’s no indication that she is), she was really close to her parents. So, it stands to reason that her mother would know her sexuality. They at least seem really accepting in this passage, so it doesn’t seem like something Leia would keep from them.

I have no other evidence, and as far as I know, Leia is always seen in romances with men in both canon and legends, but in this context, it is a very interesting hint of something new about her character.

Good Omens S2 Incorrect Quotes 1

Police: You’re under arrest for trying to carry three people on a single motorcycle.

Nina, with Muriel and Maggie behind them: Wait, what do you mean THREE?!

Police: Yes…three.

Nina: Oh, my God— What the fuck!?

Police: Wha-

Nina: Crowley FUCKING FELL OFF!

§

Crowley: *coughs blood*

Nina: Don't die, Crowley!

Crowley: Don't tell me what to do!

§

Aziraphale: We have to plan, we have to figure something out.

Crowley: Aziraphale, when have any of our plans ever actually worked? We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose.

§

Crowley: I’m a masochist, not a loser.

§

Muriel: Hello, I'm Muriel. I work at a shop now. Here to help. Look, they gave me a badge with my name on it in case I forget it. Very helpful, as that does happen.

§

Jim: Do we have any orange juice left?

Crowley: *pours the remaining juice into their cup*

Crowley: Sorry, we’re all out.

§

Aziraphale: Okay, but what if we went to dinner not as friends this time?

Crowley: AS ENEMIES?!

Aziraphale:

§

Maggie: One time I went to hand Nina a bowl of soup. I wanted to say “Careful, it’s hot!”, and “Here’s your soup!”, so instead I blurted out “Careful it’s soup.”

§

Crowley: I’m gonna mix a can of Red Bull with seventeen shots of espresso in a fishbowl and then chug it while Kids by MGMT plays in the background so I can perceive twenty-three spatial dimensions and fight my own soul.

§

Aziraphale: That sounds like a terrible plan.

Crowley: Oh, we've had worse.

§

Muriel: Where are you going?

Crowley: To either get ice cream or commit a felony. I'll decide on the way.

§

Nina: Are you drinking enough water?

Crowley: Sometimes my tears get in my mouth.

§

Maggie: Why are you drinking?

Crowley: I drink when I'm depressed.

Maggie: But you're always drinking?

Crowley: *smug grin*

§

Crowley: I’m not mad, I just need to know why you two had a fake ID.

Muriel: *Incoherent mumbling*

Crowley: Huh?

Muriel: …You need to be 18 to hold the puppies at PetCo.

§

Crowley: My gender is in a constant state of flux.

This was originally titled “Tying Cherry Stems” however, I have combined it with the sequel, added to it, and heavily restructured it. I love reviews, so please let me know what you think! I need feedback like Midge and Lenny need each other.

Head canon: When Midge and Lenny get married, he has the numbers from her fortune cookie engraved on her wedding ring. She has “I’ll always bring my umbrella” engraved on his.

This head canon comes features in “Two Comics Walk Into Temple…” part of my “Domestic Burlesque” series on ao3. Please go check it out and review!

Writing using genAI is a special kind of lazy. You couldn't even be bothered to plagiarize the old fashioned way, noooooo, you had to use the Planet Killing Water Waster 3000 to do it for you. Incredible. Truly.

@iswear-imnot-12 did some gorgeous fan art for a fic of mine over on Ao3. It is gorgeous, and I wanted to say thank you!

I just read this amazing good omens fic by @theangelwithawand and had to make a fanart!

This is a 1926 flapper Crowley;

Here are some of my favorite parts:

And my references:

If u liked, please go read it!

I can’t with these reviews:

- “Indulgent, Romantic, and an Ineffable delight”

- “The Sweetest Love Story This Side of Heaven”

- “A lovey-dovey shipper’s delight”

Like, these last hours are killing me!!!!