#give me more backstory dammit

[all-mirth-no-matter]

“Different. But still beautiful. Just like the rest of you.”

Talia Hale deserved more. More backstory, more flashback, more representation, more respect. The whole Hale lineage did.

[mo-ok]

Buckle in folks i'm gonna talk about Lost Galaxy doing a shot for shot recreation of my favourite Gingaman scene and why i think PR missed the mark.

FIRST THINGS FIRST this scene goes for about 2 and a half minutes in Gingaman but is stripped back to about 50 seconds in LG. Gingaman gives this scene time to steep in its apprehension, it makes you hold your breath and WAIT. LG on the other hand is a rapid fire shot to the conclusion that leaves very little time to actually build up the emotion.

The first big cut we see is in how much time the big brothers are given to come into frame.

We LINGER on Hyuuga coming up over the hill (where as Mike gets about 0.5 of a second). He's blurry, out of focus, framed by his brother and BullRiot as he stumbles over the hill. I'd love to tell you what Mike is doing, but the way Leo is holding the Magna Sword is just not working for the shot. It obscures Mike for too long, in a moment where him appearing is meant to be the reward for everything we've just been through.

Both these guys have spent months being possessed/controlled by a vengeful alien and have only just regained control of their own bodies. Hyuuga's still getting used to walking again, every step a struggle but he's not stopping. Meanwhile Mike is walking slowly through the sand like a triumphant action hero, which is FINE, but this scene is meant to be bitter sweet. Magna Defender DIED so Mike could be here, its not meant to feel triumphant.

Gingaman then gives us a great shot of Hyuuga, empty scabbard on his back (!!!), doing his best to keep staggering toward his team (very sad that LG cut this one out tbh)

I dont have an issue with this shots recreation - in fact i think it kinda nicely shows the differences personality wise between the two characters. Hyuuga is apprehensive, he KNOWS what he's put everyone (particularly Ryouma) through. Mike is relieved - its over, he finally gets to be home. Where I DO have an issue with Mike's reaction though -

is the complete disconnect between him and Leo. Leo missed his brother every single second that he was gone, he's still processing what he's seeing, and Mike just kinda... doesnt seem all that phased. It feels more like old friends seeing each other after some time apart, rather than brothers finally being reunited. Something else PR stripped from the scene was the camera angle differences. Ryouma is looking UP at Hyuuga, still not quite believing its really him - Mike and Leo are both on the same level.

Again, Gingaman gives us time to linger, it makes us hold out breath just that little bit longer before finally breaking the tension (I had to cut out a significant portion of the build up to Ryouma's sprint/the amount of time spent on their hug). Whereas this is all Mike and Leo get - a nice moment, but overall lacking in emotional weight.

Thats the crux of the issue really - the lack of emotional weight. There is a Hyuuga shaped hole left in Gingaman. Every character has history with Hyuuga, he means something different to all of them, everyone misses him. Him coming back was a DREAM to them, something they all wanted but assumed they couldnt have. Meanwhile half the Galaxy Rangers barely know who Mike is, he means literally nothing to them outside of "guy who pulled out the Quasar Saber and then died". Like can you honestly tell me Mike coming back meant as much to Damon and Maya as Hyuuga's return meant to Hayate and Hikaru??

What sucks is this scene COULD have been just as impactful in LG, but they didnt do the groundwork or give Mike the build up he needed. I love Leo, I wanted to see him get his brother back, I wanted him to get that closure, but instead all he got was a hollow, lackluster recreation of one of my favourite scenes in the whole franchise.

[rosenclaws]

Hi again lol 👋

Here's the leopold idea I had:

The reader is a shy baker who lives next door to Stuart. Her and Stuart are friends, and sometimes she'll bring meals/baked goods over to make sure he's eating (she's soft like that). She also has a cat, Appa, who likes to visit Stuart. When Stuart takes Leo home, they get introduced to each other due to her cat coming over and finding Leo instead.

Leo and the reader build a friendship, and she introduces him to all the different cuisines/baked goods the 21st century has to offer. Over time, they start to develop feelings for each other but won't say anything to the other because they don't think the other likes them in that way. Stuart, our awkward wing man, informs Leo that the reader definitely likes them due to how much time they spent with them and may have overheard a conversation that the reader has with a friend about him.

They admit their feelings in a fluffy way and throw in a kiss and maybe like a timeskip into the future where they're married, and they're telling their kids how they met and all that fluffy goodness.

I'll leave the ending up to you. I was running out of creative juice on how to end it, lol.

Made With Love || Leopold Mountbatten x Reader

warnings: fem!reader, fluff, a little messing with the Kate & Leopold canon, me making shit up about Leopolds past, leopold is a girl dad

a/n: I love this request and it actually ended up being longer than I thought haha. I have also crafted this total backstory to Leopold's childhood and parents in my head so now that's gonna be a running theme in my leo fics i think. Anyways I hope you like it!! Also i made some little divider in canva in like 3 seconds im sorry its not very original sdfalkj

wc: 2.9k

The sun shines through your balcony windows as another day begins, well for you the day had began at 4am. Preparing dough for the large order of baked goods you had to deliver today. It's a very small business, one that you run from your apartment but you love it.

"Good morning Appa, finally decided to wake up huh?" You wipe your hands on your apron and scratch his head softly. He stretches happily before heading towards the window. Appa is a very spoiled cat so you have no worries of him running off. He often travels to your neighbors, seeing if they're free to give him even more attention.

"Okay pretty simple order today." You check your list over before giving yourself a little time to rest.

A loud yowl makes you jump as you hurry towards the window. That's definitely Appa and you've never heard him make a sound like that. Peeking out the window you see him standing outside of Stuarts window, back arched and ears flat as he hisses.

"Appa what has gotten into you!" You climb over and pick him up.

"Sorry Stuart I have no..." When you look into the window it's not Stuart you see. A strange man is on the couch looking disheveled and confused and wearing really strange clothing.

"You're not Stuart." You hold your cat closer, debating if you should run and call the cops or not.

"I'm afraid not, he'll be back in just a moment." You slowly inch back towards your apartment.

"Um, okay. Who are you? Exactly?"

"Leopold. Do you know the man that lives here?" He gets up and walks towards you making you take a step back. Appa jumps out of your arms and scampers back to your apartment. The door opens and you spot Stuart and Bart.

"Stuart! What the hell did you do!?" You shout. Leopold stops in his tracks when he notices the nervousness in your voice.

"Dammit!" Stuart hurries over to the window.

"Now is not a good time, I'll explain later." He abruptly slams the window in your face.

You slam your fist against the window but the blinds go down, locking you out. You knew Stuart has had some, interesting ideas before. He's shown you but you never believed they could actually do anything. Just a work of science fiction.

Climbing back into your apartment you check on your baked goods. Taking a few sheets of cookies out of the oven you decide to grab a few and put them on a plate. Stuart could never resist your homemade chocolate chip cookies.

"Stuart! Let me in! I have cookies." You hear shuffling behind the door before it swings open.

"Not fair." He opens the door to let you in and you smile happily.

"So, who is he?" Stuart explains as much as he can. That he traveled back in time to 1876 and accidently brought back his great great great grandfather Leopold and now he has to get him back or else he'll disappear.

"You're kidding right? This is some elaborate prank?" Stuart shakes his head as he takes a bit of a cookie.

"I swear on my life." Your eyes drift to Leopold who was currently looking through some magazine.

A look of utter bewilderment on his face. He throws the magazine down and lets his head fall into his hands. To him this must be a nightmare. Not that you fully believed Stuart but you were willing to entertain the idea. You take the plate of cookies and place them in front of him.

"You want one?" He lifts his head to see you standing there. You actually start to feel bad. He looked stressed, upset, and genuinely lost.

"What is this?" He reaches out and turns it around in his hands.

"Have you never seen a chocolate chip cookie?" You ask with a laugh, though it quickly dies down as you realize he hasn't.

"Try it, it's good." He hesitates but takes a bite.

"This is marvelous. Did you make these?" He stands up abruptly, startling you just a bit.

"Yeah, have you really never had this before?' You ask in disbelief. Leopold finishes the cookie quickly, savoring every bite as the flavor takes over his taste buds.

"Never, I've had shortbread before but never something this rich and delicious." He compliments. You're slightly taken back, yes people like your baked goods but they aren't usually this forward about it. Or this charming

"Oh it's nothing, I make these all the time."

"Nonsense, the work of a baker is like art. Crafting such succulent breads and goods with your own hands is no easy task." The way he speaks is enchanting, maybe it's the accent but you've never met a man so well spoken before. Maybe he really was from the past.

"I can show you how I make them, if you want." You offer.

"It would be my honor."

“Hey wait a second,” Stuart interrupts.

“You said the next chance to get him home is Monday right? Well thats a week away so we have time. Bye Stuart!” You grab Leopold’s wrist and take him back to your apartment. He’s met with the smell of fresh bread as he steps foot into your place. It’s comforting, reminds him of his childhood.

“I have a couple orders that are getting picked up today, so can you help me roll out some dough?” You don’t hesitate to put him to work as you prepare the pie filling for your order. Leopold takes off his coat and rolls up his sleeves. You hand him five separate balls of dough for the five pies.

“You mentioned orders, do you run a bakery?” He questions as he watches you weigh ingredients.

“Not quite, I wouldn’t really call this a bakery. More of a small business.”

“A businesswoman?” You raise an eyebrow and stop mixing.

“What? Hard to believe?” You tease.

“Not at all. I find it very fitting.” You hum in response, finishing up the filling for the order. You turn on some music to fill the air and time goes by quickly. Leopold is a great help, the pies getting into the oven ahead of schedule.

"Now we wait." You say with a sigh as you stretch your arms above your head.

Appa jumps onto the counter and rubs his head against your side. He stares at Leopold for a moment before cautiously sniffing his hand. Leopold reaches and pets Appa's head, scratching his chin and smiling when Appa starts to purr happily.

"So, tell me Leopold, how did you get here from the past?" He sighs and leans against the counter.

"I haven't the faintest idea. One moment I'm about to announce my engagement and the next I'm falling off a bridge and waking up here." He looks around, staring out the window to look at what is supposedly New York.

"Engagement?" You say shocked, I mean he's a good looking guy so it's not too shocking but that's quite the information to dump. His face shifts to a look of annoyance.

"My uncle had decided that it was time to get married. We were running out of money and marrying a wealthy American was..."

"A means to an end?" You finish for him.

He nods, he smiles but there's sadness in his eyes. You couldn't imagine what it must be like for him. Having to marry for money instead of real love. Without think you start to play with your necklace.

"That's a beautiful necklace. May I?" He reaches out but waits for your okay. You nod silently and he gently holds the stone in his hands.

"It was my grandmothers, real diamond so she claimed." You joke, real diamond or not it belonged to her and you loved it.

"My mother had a ring like this. A beautiful ruby at the center." He gently places it back down against your skin. You suddenly become incredibly aware of how close he is. Your timer rings out through the apartment making you take a step back. You clear your throat and move to check on your pies.

"Tell me more, about your life before you came here." You ask, wanting to know everything about this man. He's like a magnet that you can't help but move towards.

"It's a long story." He says gently. You glance at the clock and shrug your shoulders.

"We've got time."

The week passes by too fast. Way too fast. Leopold was over almost every day. Helping you with your orders and telling you wonderful stories.

He was a natural in the kitchen with you. For that he gave credit to his mother. His mother wasn't born royal, working in an orchard for her family. She was a wonderful cook according to Leopold. His father was the one with royal blood, like Leopold he was meant to marry for power, for status but he didn't. He fell in love with Leopold's mother, love at first sight. Soulmates that were destined to be together. Their love story is what made love so hard for Leopold. Love is a leap, that's what he said. Yet there has been no one worth jumping for.

You understood, there hasn't been anyone like that for you either. Well, not until Leopold showed up. You used to scoff at the idea of love. It feels impossible to find love these days, no matter what you tried there never was this spark. So you stopped caring for now, focusing on your business instead.

Then Leopold fell into your life and ruined it all. You want to tell him, to kiss him, to save him from a loveless marriage but the deadline looms over you like a cloud and the fact that he's told you he's never been in love suppress any real chance of you saying something. So you decide to enjoy your time with him now, hoping its enough to last you a life time.

Sunday night comes too quickly. He has to leave tomorrow. Leopold stares out at the city he's gotten to know. The lights are on in your apartment but he can't bring himself to go over. He has to say goodbye but he doesn't know how. He hears the window open behind him.

"She's home. I can hear her through the walls." Stuart nudges Leopold's shoulder. He glances over but stays put.

"I...If go now, I don't think I would leave. I love her." He looks down at his hands.

"She loves you too. I know it. I've never seen her light up around someone like she does with you." Stuart rests a hand on his shoulder in an attempt at comfort him.

"I'm sorry, I wish things were different." The light in your apartment goes out and he feels his heart clench.

It's too late. He sighs and heads back inside, laying on Stuarts couch as he stares at the celling. At least he's gotten the chance to know what love is.

Even if it's a fleeting moment, he knows.

You knock on the door, a plate of fresh cookies in your hand. You want Leopold to have them one last time. You wait and wait but no one comes.

A pit forms in your stomach as you leave the cookies at the doorstep. You hurry through your apartment to the window. Your heart stops as you see a letter with your name on it sitting on your window sill.

Hello my love,

I apologize for not seeing you in person before I have to leave. The truth is I am a coward. I knew that if I had said goodbye, if I had seen your face that I would not have had the strength to leave. Though I return to my time, I must tell you that my heart is yours. It will always be yours. I love you.

Yours truly,

Leopold.

You wipe the tears that are forming in your eyes with the back of your hand. He can't be gone. He can't just leave like that. You love him. You love him so much. You fold the letter and tuck it in your back pocket.

"Appa!" You grab your cat and run out the door.

This is stupid, this is so stupid. You race down the street towards the Brooklyn bridge as fast as your legs could carry you. Appa clings to your shoulder as you weave through the people.

"Stuart!" You shout as you spot him across the street. He looks at you confused as you run through traffic, dodging cars to get to him.

"Is he gone? Is it too late?" You ask desperately.

"I...what?" Stuart asks in disbelief.

"Is it too late to go back?" Are you really going to do this? Go back in time to be with him? This is crazy, absolutely crazy. But Leopold told you that love was a leap and for once you want to jump.

"Are you sure about this?" Stuart asks as you both race towards the bridge.

"Yes, for once in my life I am sure." You stop on the edge of the bridge.

"I just have to jump right?" You hold Appa tightly as you peer over the side.

"Don't look down, it's going to be okay." You take one last look back.

"Thank you Stuart, Thank you." You give him a hug before take a deep breath and jumping off the side.

You feel the wind rushing past your face, you're falling and falling. Until you're not. Everything seems to stop. As you open your eyes you see cobblestone streets and people dressed in old clothing.

"We made it!" You look around for any sign of where to find Leopold.

Racing down the streets towards his home, he told you about it once. Pointed it out, he was shocked it was still there. You sneak your way past some people dressed in fancy clothes. Head's turning your direction as you stick out amongst the crowd. Your breath stops as you see him steps above the crowd.

"Sorry, excuse me." You push past a crowd of people to get his attention.

"Leopold!" His eyes dart around the room, searching for your voice. Perhaps it's a trick of the mind.

"Leo!" You push to the front, not caring that everyone is staring at you.

You're here, you found him. A look of pure shock on his face as he steps down. For a moment he doesn't think you're real. How could you be? You set Appa down and walk towards him.

"How could you leave me without saying goodbye?" You take the letter and shove it against his chest. He stands there, still stunned by your presence.

"I love you Leopold, I love you." He leans in and kisses you passionately.

One hand cupping your head and the other resting at your waist as he pulls you as close as he can get you. Your arms wrap around his neck, his nose brushes against your cheek.

"I love you." He says breathlessly. Without hesitating he gets down on one knee, taking his mothers ring from his pocket.

"Will you marry me?" You don't wait a second before saying yes. He slips the ring on and pulls you into another kiss. Nothing else mattered as you held Leopold in your arms.

You were home.

"Tell it again!" Your oldest daughter pleads. She puts on her best puppy dog eyes. You laugh and brush the hair out of her face.

"Yes please!" The younger one joins in the begging.

"You've already heard it a million times." You say but they don't care.

"But it's such a good story. You're like a princess!"

"Actually, she's a duchess." Leopold says as he walks through the door. Your girls jump from your lap straight into Leopold's arms.

"How are my darling girls today?" They start to babble on about their day and you watch happily. Appa sits on the window sill, lazily sleeping in the sun.

"Alright go wash up for dinner." He gently sets them down and watches as they go running. You stand up and kiss him gently.

"How was the bakery today?" You ask as Leopold wraps you in a warm hug. He smells like bread.

"Busy as usual." When you got married it's safe to say his uncle was not amused.

So the two of you left and much to Leopold's dismay you sold your necklace. He tried to get you to keep it but you were set on it. With the money you opened up a small bakery. You tried not to mess too much with the past but somethings slipped through as your bakery became the biggest hit in New York. Now you live a nice life. Two kids and a loving husband. What more could you ask for?

"The girls say we're soulmates," You hum happily. Leopold kisses you again, and again, and once more for good measure.

"We are my love,"

"Through space and time." You add.

Looking back maybe it was crazy that you left everything behind so quickly. To leave everything you knew to be with him. But you loved him. It felt like there was this string pulling the two of you closer and closer, through all of time. You built a life with him. There's no regrets, no worries. Just Leopold.

He was yours and nothing else mattered.

[mamashenanigans]

I REALLY want the anime to add more to AFO’s backstory as they have been doing with various story points so far in Season 7.

I want to see more of the twins’ life on the streets. Did those guys beat up Yoichi before AFO attacked? A baby AFO crying out from an alley while people run by “No matter how much he cried and screamed no one paid attention”.

I want to see that startled look on his face when Yoichi’s blood splatters on him. Him frozen in place with his hand outstretched long after Kudo and Bruce escaped. Falling to his knees in the filthy water then Yoichi’s severed hand floating towards him. Him frantically embalming the hand. That morose look as he studies his hand at fucking dinner, a place set for Yoichi by his side.

I want to see Izuku’s realization of what AFO really is: a lonely man that was never a demon king. A flash to a scene he saw within the mindscape of AFO and OFA. A young child AFO sniffling and hugging Yoichi close to him in the gutter as the chaotic scene in the city goes on around them.

Give me extra dammit!

[the-anime-enthusiast]

I miss 2020 fanfiction where I could find the BEAUTIFUL AND SATISFYING fluffy, loving, full backstory, slowburn, gorgeously written, FULL LENGTH one could ever find. Now all I find is straight smut LIKE DAMMIT GIVE ME THE SLOW KINDLING PLEASE SLOW BURN IS ALL I ASK. I WANT A BACKSTORY DAMMIT NOT JUST

"looked into ur e/c orbs while he thrusted-"

LIKE JESUS FFKCKKCKKCK

AO3 is not what it was, I have more luck on Wattpad finding a good full length fanfic now

ITS NOT FAIIRRR 😭😭😭

[guywrestlingaddiction]

Humbled Hunks: Lon Dumont v Eddy Rey (bgeast.com)

You got to hand it to the guy, Lon Dumont has had the honor of facing off against quite a few hunks in his day and while challenging a hunk is one thing, it's another thing to humble a hunk, take for instance Eddy Rey.  

Lon Dumont v Eddy Rey (bgeast.com)

SPOILER ALERT: I highly recommend viewing this match in its entirety before reading this post.

The Backstory

We open with 6 foot something Eddy Rey(band) staring down the much shorter Lon with a challenge.  

"I will make you flex" spits out Eddy in both a challenge and a promise.  The big muscle hunk is both cocky and looks like he has the power to back it up, in other words, the perfect man to be humbled.  

Now we all know that Lon, professional body builder that he is, is used to taller men underestimating him and we are right about ready to see another titan of muscle become humbled and humiliated. 

The Action

Mighty Eddy is leveled within minutes of the match.  Sure there are a few comebacks here and there sprinkled in, but it's clear Lon will not let up and give him any ground.  Following a time tested strategy, Lon simply will not let his opponent get to his feet. 

Oh you thought you could use that height advantage? Nope.

Oh you thought your knee couldn't bend that way? Well it can. 

You thought reaching for the ropes would save you? Not on your life.

Then you thought cheating with a low blow would get you out of this mess...But sadly you were wrong cause you only enraged the tiny titan.

And finally, you thought that all those hours in the gym, all that dieting, all those heads that you turn were worth something? Nope, in the ring, they don't mean shit. 

The Moment

Now I enjoy seeing a tall muscular stud trashed more than the next guy but we all came here for one thing, the humbling of our hunk and in this case, no humbling would be complete without humiliating your opponent by forcing him to flex for you. Not only does this show his submission but it makes a mockery of all that wasted muscle being flexed for your benefit.

Eddy: *Groan* I submit... Lon: That's not good enough. Flex for me! 

Lon: I already saw that one - something else!

Lon: Ahhhh, there we go. 

Eddy: [Flexing] please... I give up.

Now all of the pain and humiliation inflicted during the match, all leads up to the perfect flex in my opinion.  Making the drenched big man push himself up off the sweaty mat only to subdue him and force him to flex those jaw dropping Traps and Lats. 

Lon: Come on. Show me those Lats dammit!

If this were ancient Greece, we'd all be writing an epic about this day.  You see it's only when that rough muscle hunk, that sweaty glistening god is your personal plaything, is that hunk truly humbled. 

[ogh-rambles]

Rewriting Fate - Chapter 1

prologue > chapter 1 (you're here!) > chapter 2

word-count! 1.1k

warnings! none unless u count heart-wrenching angst as one

tag-list! @shizunxie , @sam-screams , @swivy123 , @thenyxsky

“... Who’s there?”

His raspy voice echoes around the room and you wince, head against the wall, barely hidden underneath the window.

You wonder how painfully long he had been crying for before you had found him.

Just a few seconds ago, you had ducked down after making direct eye contact with the one… character? Person? Person, you had dedicated hours of your time to.

Levelling him up, ascending him, pulling for his damned weapon (even after losing it to Itto’s claymore), maxing out said weapon… You practically gave him the luxury Genshin treatment. Your face falls with a thin-lipped smile, knowing how much real-world money you had to spend for this man. 

However, ‘this man’ was also currently on the other side of this thin wooden wall. Your mouth goes unbearably dry.

Heartbeats thud deafeningly in your ears as you hear a shuffling of fabric and then an abrupt thud. Shoulders jerking, your poor heart leaps to your throat at the sound.

Hearing nothing but stillness and the sound of your unsteady breaths for the next few moments, you begin to grow worried. What if he fell over? Hurt himself? You remembered that since he's only just been 'let free to roam' by his creator — that was but a small while past his initial creation.

At this thought, you find yourself nervously making your way into the darkened hallway through a rickety old sliding door. 

Sure enough, he lay there, albeit in a more crumpled manner than you last saw him in. Dark indigo hair splayed out around his head like a halo, his veil discarded beside him. Alarmed, you rush towards him, kneeling at his side as your hands hover over his limp form. Did your appearance break him already? Oh god--

A cold hand grasps blindly at your clothes, tugging at your shirt as the prototype lifts his head. You jolt in surprise, not making any noise or movement as if he were a cat you were coaxing.

A few mumbles of inherent words leave his lips. You frown, leaning in a bit closer to hear what he's saying.

"...Why are you here?" He finally speaks, voice thready and weak. 

Pausing, you let the silence linger for only a second before responding, just as quietly as he had. "Well, I heard someone crying and I..."

You trail off. What did you even think to achieve, in following his cries, in walking into this domain?

"I wanted to help...?"

To your horror, it comes out more like a question rather than an answer because, to be frank, even you didn't know why. You hope that he doesn't ask you to elaborate because you don't believe you could give him a proper answer.

His eyes meet yours again, miserable and confused. A look, much too innocent for who he will become... and what he will go through in the future. Unsettled by your darkening thoughts, you fidget under his unyielding gaze.

"Why do you wish to help... me? I don't even know who you are."

Your heart sinks at his very reasonable question. Dammit, what were you meant to say? 

‘Oh, it's nothing! It’s only because I know your entire backstory, and character and have read through your character stories an unhealthy amount of times.’

You'd rather eat your foot.

Reluctant to scare him once more, you attempt to smile at him as you gently take the hand that is so tightly gripped at your sleeve.

"You don't have to know someone to want to help them." You explain, making yourself comfortable in front of him. "Plus... Who says we can't get to know each other now?"

Looking down at him with kind eyes (or so you hope it comes off that way), you tilt your head. "What's your name?"

Kunikuzushi? Scaramouche? Wanderer? He pauses, his eyes wavering and breaking away from yours. Your heart drops at his crestfallen expression.

"I do not have one." His voice breaks, along with your flimsy heart.

You have to physically restrain yourself from spilling what his mother had wanted for him, that she never left him with the intent of abandoning him, never wished upon him the life he was destined to experience.

Barely concealing a frown, you quietly sigh. Fate can be cruel but Gods can be even crueler, you felt.

"That's okay. I don't need to know names to get to know you." You lightly squeeze his hand in yours. "Is it alright if I ask you what happened?"

The forlorn expression swiftly morphs into one of pure heartache as his eyes go glassy. The hand that barely clutched back in your hand tightened ever so desperately around your own, and you narrowly held back a wince at the pain.

You almost forget that he was made with the hands of a God. It was reasonable for him to rival the strength of one.

"My creator... My mother left me without saying a word." He croaked. "She didn't stop to look back at me once."

Your brows furrow as you watch him fruitlessly attempt to hold down his tears. Tears that had led a god to deem him too vulnerable, too fragile, too emotional to uphold such a title as 'The Raiden Shogun's Puppet.'

Reaching over, you place your unoccupied hand on his shoulder. Feeling it shudder and quiver with every concealed cry, you see his teary eyes flick over to you, wide and lost.

"It's okay to cry once in a while." You say. "It's only human."

He looks down at himself, confused.

"But," He spoke in hushed tones, his unoccupied hand reaching up and resting on his chest. "I am not human. I do not own a heart like you."

You knew well of that. But at this moment-- you think he feels nothing but human. Now that he sits in front of you, bearing his sorrow, you can’t help but see this character that you had watched develop through a screen, as a real being. 

"Well, I think... you seem to be very human." You give him a lopsided smile. "Maybe even more human than me." 

(The dam floods and shatters, taking him along with it but he holds onto you for dear life and... and you let him. Your warmth is a sharp contrast against his cool hands and face-- but it is ever so comforting as you wrap your arms so tenderly and kindly around him.)

He feels safe.

You decide to give him a name. In your head, of course, you didn't wish to give him a name that he did not choose.

In the end, you end up with the name: Kuni. For now, anyway.

Speaking of whom, Kuni had stopped sniffling quite some time ago and was now sitting up-- studying you with blatant curiosity. You sweatdrop under his fixed gaze but you're glad he looks much calmer than when you first found him.

"You never told me your name." He suddenly spoke, making you jerk.

"Ah... Did I not?" You laugh nervously. He simply stares at you with wide shining eyes, expecting you to answer. Obviously.

Sighing deeply, you decide to tell him your name with a twinge of reluctance. 

You know you probably shouldn't interfere with his past, despite how badly you long to push him on a path to a better... happier, content life. You also know that it most definitely would change a lot of things in the future. You didn't want to risk that. For both of you.

He echoes your name, looking more content as time passes. 

"Now, we know each other!" You grin despite your inner turmoil, pleased that he’s feeling better than before.

Kuni timidly smiles back at you. It's one so small and gentle, so out of character for his present self as ‘Scaramouche’, 'The Balladeer, the 6th of the Fatui Harbingers' and 'The Wanderer'.

You think could die happy knowing that you made him smile, you think to yourself giddily, not noticing his stare.

There is nothing but pure wonder in his eyes. "Yes."

[naehja]

Imagine if the OOC lock stayed.

Shen Yuan has to he must find ways to help Luo Binghe, while staying In character. It's really hard.

For the manual, he lies, pretending that he wants to see LBH's manual and say "the one you have is wrong. Probably a bad joke of someone from another peak" and say "i don't want people saying that i give fake manual to my disciple when it's not my fault" literally throwing the manual in LBH's hands.

When he faces Liu Qingge in the caves, he's sure that the system will stop him from saving him, will maybe force him to kill him but no.

He let him save LQG.

[Congratulation User!!]

"wait it means that he didn't kill Liu Qingge in the canon?"

[no he tried to save him and fails]

"why he didn't tell it then?"

[he thought that nobody would believe him anyway]

He still saves LBH during the demons invasion and is surprised to not have penalty or OOC warnings.

[saving his student is the minimum for a peak lord, User :/]

He can't spoil LBH or let him live in his caban (but manage to bring him back to sleep with the other disciples)

[OOC Shen Qingqiu wouldn't sleep near of another man! Even a disciple!]

He can't accept food from LBH, except the first. But with penalty.

[OOC -100]

"ho shut up Shen Qingqiu wouldn't waste food, right?"

[…fair]

And for the other disciples.

[OOC, Ming Fan is the first disciple, Shen Qingqiu wouldn't change that to name Luo Binghe]

"And Yingying, i hope i'll not be forced to…"

[ewww User! You're the one who is disgusting! Shen jiu treated her as a daugther!]

"wait it already two accusations who are wrongs"

[It has never been showed that they were right User! The accusations were made by Luo Binghe who hated him, his followers, the old palace master and the girl from the Qiu family.]

"And now, you'll way that the accusations to have kill the Qiu family who freed him from his slave statut was wrong and that they were not nice with him?"

[….]

"They treated him badly, right? -_-"

[Would you want to unlock Shen Jiu's full backstory for 5000 points?]

"i don't have enought point system"

[you have 5010 points user]

"EXACTLY"

When the first sex scene with Binghe is about to happen.

[ALERT ALERT ALERT!! SHEN JIU WOULD RATHER DIE THAT HAVE SEX WITH A MAN]

"What?"

[ALLLEEEERRRRTTT! SHEN JIU IS DISGUSTED BY SEX. HE WOULD NOT HAVE EMOTIONALLY RECOVER FROM THAT (again) AND WOULD NEVER FORGIVE THAT NEITHER]

"WHAT?"

[HAAAAAAAAA oOo OOC OOC OOC -All the point you still have except one]

"wait…hat do you mean by again?"

[you didn't want to unlock his backstoy. Have you changed your mind?]

"i don't have enough points! è_é"

Later

[OOC warning, SQQ would never interact with a man who has forced him. He would rather try to STAB him. And would castrate him like he did with his former master Qiu from when he was a slave]

"Binghe has not forced me…"

[-_-]

[-500….except you can't lost any more point. Dammit]

[I know your a luo binghe's fanboy user but please open your eyes. This whole scene made me deeply uncomfortable! And i'm sure i'm not the only one! Shen Jiu would be TRAUMATIZED by the event!]

"HEY!"

"…."

"WAIT YOU SAID SQQ DID WHAT?"

Later

[OOC SQQ wouldn't fall in love with LBH. Wouldn't marry him and have sex with him again. He rather die! What didn't you understand in "he's disgusted and afraid by sex and is afraid of men?"]

"but i want.."

[OOC OOC OOC]

[Penatly -10000]

"i have not enough point, i'm in the negative now!"

So Shen Yuan is forced to reject Luo Binghe, pretending feeling like a father for him at best.

[OOC…]

"Ho shut up, let me find a good excuse to reject him at least"

[-_- ok i let you that]

"....Can't i return in my old world like if i wasn't dead? If i'm not authorized to do anything ooc?"

Prompt that i'll never write so feel free to take it if you feel inspired =)

[twasbrillig71]

UPDATE; JUST FINISHED GOTHAM UNBURIED. IT RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE, YALL SHOULD GO LISTEN TO IT

hey guys, i just got to episode 5 of batman unburied! so uh. what the Fuck is Happening

[cringefaecompilation]

dorian storm or caleb widogast?

dorian

First impression

instantly liked him in exu and loved his story with the spider queen. thought he got a major downgrade in the main series when he came back with fearne and orym though :(

Impression now

robbie daymond i am so sorry i ever doubted you, thank you for bringing back your exu energy my man. i love him even more now

Favorite moment

ooough fuck. the moment with the crown and orym, the moment where fy'ra gives him a pep talk, every single interaction he has with laudna, his speech to his dad...

Idea for a story

dorian storm growing up in the silken squall backstory novel NOW MISTER MERCER

Unpopular opinion

asides from me thinking his 14 episode stint was noticeably weaker than his exu intro, i'm still so vindicated in my theory that dorian would return with problems of his own and not be bh's therapyboyfriend.

Favorite relationship

exu trio. him and orym alone doesn't hit the same if fearne ain't there. also him and laudna and him and chetney is funny. and whatever the fuck he has going on with ashton (🏳️‍🌈?)

Favorite headcanon

immunodeficient dorian and him growing up sick and kept away from everyone currently has my brain in a chokehold

caleb

First impression

assumed he was going to be my favorite character because i was under the impression he was a way more funny guy and the campaign was far more lighthearted than it actually was. dammit fandom. also scared the shit out of me when liam dropped the accent and used his normal voice for the first time

Impression now

i still like him! not my favorite but i think his story is the most well developed and satisfying in all of cr so far, but we'll have to see how campaign three ends because imogen may overtake him depending how it shakes out

Favorite moment

okay weird pull but him puking on the floor after veth screamed at him that "it was your people that did this! fuck them and fuck you!" and being consoled by caduceus is one of the most overlooked moments in campaign 2 to me

Idea for a story

um. idk put him in a walmart or something

Unpopular opinion

his accent reads way more austrian than german to me. also i sort of disliked how his backstory with the solstryce academy completely overtook fjord's desire to go there and that they never really did... anything with that?

(imogen and fearne kinda have the same problem with being ruidsuborns but at least matt's making sure fearne has a horse in that race with ludinus and zathuda trying to steal her away as of recent)

Favorite relationship

widobrave still the best 2024

Favorite headcanon

he's on good terms with astrid, she and essek just have really petty beef with one another that they keep hidden from him

[randomfanner]

Shadowheart Headcanons

I love Shadowheart, I love being her friend and I do plan on romancing this poor Sweetheart as a Selunite. But right now we are romancing the vampire(and bear) as a Moon Druid.

Going to be her friend in every play through though goddammit. Even the one I make everything go horribly, horribly wrong! (I am not excited for that play through but gods damn if I don't know exactly what kind of character I am going to play!)

Anyway, onto the headcanons!

TW: Religious Trauma, PTSD mentions and general warning that go with Shadowheart's backstory.

So there is not a person in this group who is not extremely touch starved and Shadowheart is the second most desperate to be brought in for some snuggles, right behind Karlach.

Shadowheart cannot and does not remember the last time she got a hug in her life. If you ask if she wants a hug she will deny it at first but "Wait actually it.... doesn't sound horrible I suppose."

(I want to hug everyone, I want there to be an option in friendships where you can ask if they want a hug. You can only do it after certain of their plot but god dammit let me hug them all. After I tell Shadowheart I think she did the right thing I want nothing more then to give her a hug every damn time.)

Shadowheart falls for puppy eyes so easy. Shadowheart will be eating her dinner and Scratch and the Owlbear will sit, stare with their big soft eyes and Shadowheart just gives them both some of her food. She vows it will be the last time.

It never is.

You can also pull this trick to get anything you want from Shadowheart. Whether it be a kiss when she is busy or to completely drag her away from other things, all you have to do is flash puppy eyes and any will she had to tell you 'no' breaks.

Shadowheart had a horse when she was a child and has a natural talent for horseback riding. It is something she long forgot about and her childhood horse did pass of old age, never knowing what happened to his rider. If you are able to save her parents, they tell her all about him.

It makes her cry, but she is glad to know this is something she used too. Shadowheart begins to learn how to ride as soon as she can and gets good at it instantly. It is like riding a bike and she begins to do it to clear her head.

After you both settle down she comes home with two horse calves and she is going to rise them and make it so you can go horse back riding together.

Shadowheart has begun to make a real effort to not pray to the Lady of Loss, however it is hard to stop doing something you have done in years and that has been ingrained into you. It is not as if she means too, and whenever she notices she utter her name, she instantly corrects them to try and follow Selune's prayers.

Isobel and Aylin are actually very good helps during the transition. Aylin knows what sort of disgusting habits the Wench of Loss instils and how hard it can be to shake off. She had seen it first hand after all. However Aylin does er... sometimes overdo it. Isobel is there to tone it down.

Isobel and Shadowheart become drinking and gossip buddies. I have nothing else to add here.

Shadowheart is bad at emotions and sometimes has no idea how to define how she is feeling. Even if it is a good emotion she doesn't always know the exact word for it... and she might begin asking you about it.

Talking about emotions is so beyond new to her she is nearly uncomfortable at first, but she likes to do it. She also begins to want to understand how you feel and hear how you are doing. She is bad at helping you if it hard times but she is going to try her best!

Content Warning for Below!

Shar brought back all the memories of suffering she had inflicted on others. And well Shadowheart doesn't think about it, she tries to not get lost in it... those memories plague her in her sleep. There have been multiple nights she has woken up screaming from memories.

She tends to hold onto your hand for as long as she will let her. She isn't sure if she wants to talk about it or not, sometimes she will sometimes she won't but whatever it feels like that night, by Selune is she glad you are there for her.

It means everything to her.

[talkaboutanythingcuswhynot]

Wondering about kuni’s backstory

I mean, I’m sure it is traumatizing cus it’s asagiri we’re talking about and dammit we can’t have nice things in this house-

I’m not sure about it, and didn’t think about details but feel like he grew up in strict household.

Like, not good strict, more like “there are consequences for every action(even though he’s child and learning)” and “I’ll give you a reason to cry for it if you keep crying” etc, etc. yk, thee toxic household where parents claims “we were just strict!” “If we hadn’t, he wouldn’t have succeeded like this!”

I think he learned to make schedules in his early stage of life because not following and forgetting things meant consequences for him.

Like, he thinks how he acts is normal. Yeah, it’s different, but in this agency we have “genius child-like detective” ranpo, “ex-assassin” fukuzawa, “child soldier” yosano, “demon prodigy” dazai, “f*cked up childhood” atsushi&kyoka and…tanizaki siblings(at this point I gave up trying to understand them)

He’s like, no, y’all had f*cked up/traumatizing times. You don’t count.

I feel like he doesn’t hide anything but also doesn’t actively talk about it.

Like, when he’s asked, he’ll be like “my parents are strict. I learned to make schedules to get everything right.” And everyone’s like, sure, makes sense.

then someday, when they’re talking about childhood, he just drops traumatizing(may not be most traumatizing, but still enough to make them horrified) story from his childhood, and just goes what? Why’re you looking at me like that? To everyone’s baffled face.

I mean, sure, ranpo would’ve known, but he never even thought about it! He just thought he had strict parents and stopped deducing at that.

The point is, I feel like he’s the person who doesn’t understand that his childhood wasn’t great. He thinks it was normal, and nobody corrected him cus he never shared his story this much before.

I mean, I would be happy if he has normal, happy childhood. But can you be sure that asagiri will give his character normal, happy story? *squint*

Eh, this was just my rambling, so if you have something to back up your opinion that I’m wrong, you’re probably right

[fanvoidkeith]

sooooo i may have. spent my day binge watching dungeon meshi and here are my Opinions, having never read the manga ever (very MINOR ANIME SPOILERS ahead! nothing too in-depth but, y'know, for laughs):

laios is my autistic blorbo son boy and i love him and i want him to be happy. go find your sister, dude, but also eat monsters for fun and research reasons. this is the one context where i would say "eat monsters" like... ever

laios is also 1,000 percent a freak for wanting to eat monsters and study them the way he does. absolutely insane man. stop trying to be a martyr, you dumbass, and also stop poisoning yourself. both of these opinions coexist at the same time and i don't know how to feel about it because feelings (and social cues) are difficult

marcille is a lady who is so so SO smart and cool, but has absolutely ZERO street smarts. (babygirl you are JUST like me, except for the whole "being a woman" thing.) she's a "gifted" kid who now has burnout and needs to feel useful or else she feels like a failure constantly kinda girlie. she doesn't want to be abandoned. relatable. i'm concerned at how much i relate to her. stop being so relatable, dammit!!

chilchuck is INCREDIBLY emotionally constipated. lmao. he also has chronic young-forever face, which means he probably gets mistaken for a twelve-to-sixteen-year-old constantly, which... same, dude, same. i've heard (from the manga readers) that he's divorced with several children, but i don't know if that's true. i hope it is. i really want that to be where part of his issues come from. i want more angsty moments with his character. he'll be my new emotional punching bag when i finish all those other unrelated one-shots i'm planning on writing :)

senshi is a sweet man who just wants to feed and protect his new friends. i think food and acts of service are his love languages. he has a really fuckin' strong pot and knife for some reason lmao

i love falin. she's kind of a freak too, but she knows social cues better than her brother from what i can tell. sure hope nothing bad happens to her- oh gods. well, i sure hope nothing ELSE bad happens to her- OH GODS OH FUCK-

uhhhh. i like that the kobolds in this anime are dog-people. i love dogs. dogs are cool. very cute. 12/10 decision honestly

this anime made me so hungry but i still forgot to eat for most of today. rip. the food in dungeon meshi looks goddamn delicious though, so it's fine

sometimes these characters act just like a D&D party would. like. damn. this is just like that ONE TIME in dungeons and dragons when our party did [X action] and then [Y consequences] happened-

oh my goddddddssss there's ECOSYSTEMS IN THE DUNGEONS??? DUDE I LOVE THAT. CRAZY CONCEPT. FUCKING LOVE THAT. ADVENTURERS AND MONSTERS AND CREATURES (and senshi, who is his own category) ARE PART OF AN ECOSYSTEM. I'M CLIMBING UP THE WALLS AND GOING INSANE RN

oooohhhh shit politics. oh shit background politics that our main characters ignored. no wonder they focused on this other party lol

OH SHIT OTHER CHARACTERS FROM THEIR BACKSTORIES RRRRRAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

oh yeah i guess this is about whoever gets the big treasure at the bottom of the dungeon or whatever if they defeat the Big Bad or something? okay dude. it's only relevant to me when it's relevant to my New Blorbos honestly. but i WILL jot that down though :eyes emoji:

look. i am NOT calling it "delicious in dungeon". i KNOW that's the creator's intended english translation, but personally i think that title sucks. so DUNGEON MESHI it is, for me personally

PLEASE give me the second season right now i need MORE. i'm slurping up this show like soup and i'm fucking HOMGRY!!!

okay that's it that you for comjng to my ted talk

[vampiritea]

since my sister @werewolfsmile made me guess Leverage episodes based on their titles the other day (and the result was pretty funny), I decided to make her do the same for 9-1-1!

Me: Heartbreaker Her: Something to do with Eddie because he's a heart breaker. It's gonna totally be season 2. Me: sips tea

Me: Alright I'm gonna give you an easy one. Me: Chimney Begins. Her: Gee wow I wonder what that could be about! It's where Chimney begins!! We get backstory, Kevin, it's beautiful. Isn't he also bleeding out at the same time? Me: Yep Her: Beautiful

Me: Fight or Flight Her: Ohhh I know that title. It's totally something to do with Eddie. Me: lol. No. Her: Dammit. So it's not a tsunami episode then? That would be like sink or swim, wouldn't it? … idk then. Me: It's an episode that you're always surprised by how early on in the series it happens. Her: Shannon dies?? Me: No, but someone dies. Her: Who else is there? Me: It happens in the snow Her: When are they in the snow?? All I can see is TK falling into that frozen pond now but that's not the right show. Me: There's BLOOD on the snow. Her: Oooh, I like that. Blood on snow... MADDIE!!! Me: Yes! Her: Yeah that is surprising it happens that early.

Me: Capsized Her: Oh gee I wonder! (If I get this wrong now…) That's where Bobby and Athena are on a cruise and the ship goes 'whoopsie'!

Me: Careful What You Wish For Her: singing 'cause you just might get it'. Is THIS the one where Shannon dies? Me: Yes Her: YES!! ... Now I'm sad for Christopher Me: As you should be

Me: Hero Complex Her: ….. Is that the one with the guy – steals the firetruck? And Eddie has to talk him down? Me: No. Her: No, cause that's Jinx isn't it?? Cause we watch that one all the time!! Ughh. [later] Her: Um. All I can think now is Izzy Chains. Can't think of anyone else who has a hero complex – aside from all the main cast. So it's Buck-centric then!! Me: 😂 No. Her: Are you sure?? Me: I'm positive. Her: Give me another clue! Me: It focuses on a character who doesn't stick around. Her: ... OH MONDAY!! He would hate me so much cause I don't remember his real name 😅

Me: The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1 Her: Oh that's when Josh's nasty ex boyfriend comes in and is like 'surprise bitch I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me'

Me: Red Flag Her: ?? Nope, the bull is in lone star as well... It's not like an online dating one or something? What season? Me: 6 Her: I don't remember what happens in season 6... Me: It's a Bobby episode Her: A Bobby episode? 😍 The only Bobby episode I'm thinking of is when he gets high on brownies… Is it the one where he and Michael are spying on the neighbours through the telescope?? Me: No. Her: Damn. That's a good one. [later] Her: OH MY GOSH WENDELL!!

Me: The One That Got Away Her: Ummmmm. Is this like where Buck gets concerned about his sexual performance and so he calls up all his exes? Me: 😂🤣 Her: If I'm right I'm gonna be shook. Me: YOU'RE NOT 🤣 Her: Is it an Abby episode? Me: No. Her: Okay yeah cause I thought I'd remember the train episode title. [later] Me: It's one of the episodes where an old man dies to teach Buck something. Her: Not Red?? Me: Yes 😢

Me: What's Next? Her: Me: That's the title of an episode. Her: oH! Is this where Buck is suing the city or something and Eddie gets all grumpy cause 'Chris can't even see you 😭'? Me: No. [later] Me: smugly It's the train episode. Her: WHAT!!! Isn't it called something really cliché like derailed?? My life is a lie 😭

Me: Future Tense Her: ….. is that the episode title? Me: Yes Her: Oh boy. [later] Me: It has a funny Eddie scene. Her: Is this where Eddie's dating Ana and he has a panic attack? Me: YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY???????? 😂 Her: NO BUT HE'S THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE AND PANICKING. Me: Think less about the distant future and more 'the future is now'. Her: The Hildy episode!! 'We got him'! 😊

Me: Alright are you ready for the next one? Her: Probs not but let's go Me: There Goes the Neighbourhood Her: dramatically drops phone and frowns into distance Athena says that at one point. Is it s4? Me: Yep Her: There goes the neighbourhood... Like, I know it but I can't remember it. Me: It's one of your favourites. Her: Wow. Great. Me: ... You mentioned it earlier. Her: panicked laugh [later] Her: Something to do with Buck and Eddie Me: Incorrect [later] Her: You're gonna have to give me more clues. Me: There goes the NEIGHBOURhood. NEIGHBOURS. Her: I AM AWARE! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO THINK! [later] Her: OHHH IT'S BOBBY AND MICHAEL. I LOVE THAT ONE Me: I KNOW YOU DO! 😂

Me: Alright I'm gonna give you an easy one. Me: Treasure Hunt Her: Ravi! Gets there first! And then he's like, I'm not even with these guys. And they're all like 'probie say WHAT?'

Me: Under Pressure Her: Episode 1 of season 2 where Eddie arrives 😎

Me: You Don't Know Me Her: All I can see is that vine 'you don't know ME. You don't know ME!!' and that's not helpful T_T

Me: Defend in Place Her: That's what you do when there's a bushfire and you're like naurr I got this. Me: 💀

Me: May Day Her: A plane. Me: Hehe, no. Her: ...but??? What?? That's what you call if the plane's going down!! Mayday mayday!! Me: lol no. [later] Her: Another clue please. Me: May Day is two separate words. Her: oHHHH THEN IT'S ABOUT MAY. GRRRR Her: The one where the call centre is on fire and Bobby and May have that beautiful "I'll protect you my daughter" scene?? Me: Yep! Her: It's a good title for that episode!

[crime-soncloud]

I was recently introduced to, and downloaded, Limbus company, and I've decided to detail my current thoughts on the story and some of the gameplay per Canto. I had decided this in the middle of Canto 2, so I didn't do this for the first Canto, but I'll probably give my thoughts on it at some point in the future. This should go without saying but NO SPOILERS

Now first, I've got a pretty good team (2 star and 3 star identities) and so obviously I didn't struggle at all, and totally did not have two of them die on a single fight, after taking a big risk, and so couldn't fully engage with what I was probably supposed to do (/sarcasm) and also I was so close to winning the roulette event thingy, dammit don quixote you couldn't win just one last round

Firstly, this entire crew is so dysfunctional in yhe best way, I love how quickly the plan went out the window because half of them fucked it up. Between Don Quixote, Ryoshu, Heathcliff, Dante themself, and also Hong Lu and Rodion to a lesser extent, I am amazed they even managed to get the golden branch

Speaking of, I actually thought that the group would fail again, but based on what we saw I expect we'll get both the Sinners and rival(?) group swapping victories.

Now into the actual story. Firstly, I am really engaged with Sonya and the Yurodiviye, I think seeing a group actually trying to improve the standard of living, and essentially being communist revolutionaries is so cool! The theme of Action via words and policies Versus Action via... Well action, violence in this case, is done so well. The fact that both sides are shown as having advantages and disadvantages is really well done, and I think it's interesting seeing how Sonya and Rodion will go from here, especially since it appears the Yurodiviye are working with Hermann and the others. I assume the next Canto is about Sinclair since there seemingly was some ✨ foreshadowing ✨ for what is about to come.

This made Rodya very interesting to me, I was previously fairly neutral but now I'm interested in this. Her singing voice slaps, I think it was the same song that Gregor sung, and from a cursory Wikipedia glance I think I can see the parallels between her and her namesake

Overall really fun, loved getting to see some more stuff, and as for theories I'm not really sure. Dante is clearly important in some way, the characters at the beginning haven't showed up again, and I'm getting curious about Ishmael, i know she's the focus character in a future canto, and we saw Her make several references to spending half her life on a boat, if her backstory is as tragic as Rodion then I will be READY.

(@flextapeyeehaw and @zebrashork If you want to see my thoughts I'll post them here, thanks for the help in understanding this)

[silverwings22]

Moth Fixes It: The Sequel Trilogy

This is a very long rant about the sequel trilogy, based on a conversation I (Moth) had with my husband (Mr. Moth) and my best friend (Lamp) who was more a victim of my yapping than anything else. My plan for how to fix the sequels below the cut!

MOVIE 1: The Force Awakens

This is our introduction movie. Let's start with our big bad: it should be Captain Phasma. The comics (according to Mr. Moth, I have not had the pleasure of reading them) says she grew up poor and found that chromium for her armor off Palpatines' old personal Nabooian yaht. So lean into that. She's obsessed with Vader/Anakin. She's obsessed with the idea of the poor slave kid who became the Fist of the Empire. She's the one fixated on Ben Solo, and seduces him into being Kylo Ren. (Give Gwendoline Christie more screentime, and let her be sexy. Dammit, I love her.)

Speaking of Ben Solo: I want him to be a doe-eyed dumbass the whole movie. She's molding him and manipulating him, he's trying to be the shadow of Vader she wants because he thinks he's in love and he's young and stupid. Show him jerking him around. Let her be the femm fatale and he's the halpless dolt trying to make her happy. Show him hesitate until she urges him. Show him with hickies and bruises on his wrists. Fuck that man up.

Keep Finn's backstory. A defected stormtrooper is INTERESTING. Lean into it. He was kidnapped as a kid? Show him questioning who his family was. Show him wondering if he was thrown away or if they had no choice. Let him be angry, let him be sad, LET HIM BE HUMAN because that's what his whole character is. He's human, despite what the First Order wanted him to be. Then let him defect because he's afraid, as he should be. And let him run straight to Rey.

Rey, however, needs MORE backstory. Gimme more than a nightmare or two about parents she can't remember the faces of. And start introducing the concept of the dyad early. She pops up in Kylo/Ben's bedroom right after a fight with Phasma where he's nursing a black eye? They share dreams? Whatever it is, scrungle him TF up so he looks good and pathetic, and she offers to help him. Give me an open hearted sugar cookie of a soon to be Jedi, despite everything she's going through on Jakku. Let her offer him some of her depleted little bacta stashes.

When she meets Finn, same thing. Let her offer him one of her measly little food portions. Let her be protective of him immediately. When they dip for the Rebellion together, let him confess who he is quickly, and her be the one to offer up that people can change for the better. Give her some unyielding hope to hold this being-found family together.

When they meet Poe with the Rebels, they quickly click. Finn and Poe make besties, they both adore Rey, the trio is born.

DO NOT have Han Solo and Leia just be talking again after years of being estranged. Han's whole character arc in the original trilogy is becoming the guy that STAYED. You expect me to believe he ditched his wife and Luke and went back to being the scruffy looking nerf herder he was 20 years ago? No, fuck that. He's been with Leia all the time. He's not Han Solo, he's Han Organa cause he took HER name. And they're running this shit show spectacularly, General and Captain. Rey and Finn can still turn up on the Falcon, he just sold it to help fund the Rebellion or something and the old girl found her way home anyway.

During their introduction to Han and Leia, let them meet a couple people who wear less orange jumpsuits and more brown with a couple funny looking braids in their hair. Leia can explain they're former padawans from Luke's temple who escaped and survived.

While the new trio is getting acquainted with the finer art of war, Kylo is being toured around his awful, hot, evil girlfriend's laboratory she's funding with her shiny chromium credits. None of this "somehow Palpatine returned" bullshit, he returned because Phasma got ahold of Hemlock and Pershing's research and she's cloning things. Throw in some sniffly looking little genius chained to a lab table for good measure.

We learn what a dyad is from Kylo’s research, and figure how that’s how he and Rey are connected. Throughout this Rey keeps trying to get to Kylo, as she learns more about who he is and gets to know his parents. She tries to help him, to hold the door to the light open for him to be brave enough to run through. "I'll help you. Just take my hand. Please." He answers this in typical shithead behavior by attacking the rebellion, injuring (BUT NOT KILLING) both his parents. (Can't reconcile if your parents are dead. The Jedi are about forgiveness, I need them alive to forgive.)

The movie ends with Palpatine coming out of the tank, not old and decrepit but young, in his prime, and pissed at the entire Skywalker lineage. He's not about to make Kylo his new apprentice, he's going to take Phasma as his new Fist of the First Order and focus on immortality instead of training a new Sith. He'll be his own apprentice, with blackjack and hookers. He tells Phasma she can keep Kylo as long as she keeps him in line, but if he so much as looks in the direction of Anakin-level drama Palps is gonna use lightning to turn him into Mongolian BBQ.

And I want doe eyed dumbass Kylo to be standing just outside the room, back to the door, listening in terror and with a recently bloodied lip, as he realizes that Rey was right. Phasma doesn't love him, and he's in fucking danger.

MOVIE 2: The Last Jedi

This is the BIG PLOT points movie, with the action. Start with Kylo fucking bailing on Phasma, running for his life pursued by angry giant pretty ex girlfriend. He has NO IDEA where he's going, and the dyad snatches him and Rey together on some poorly inhabited planet. (Bonus if it's cold, so they gotta cuddle). Build a believable romance starting there ala Zeb and Kallus from Rebels, where they gotta work together to survive. Poe and Finn, in all their bravery, find them because they'd never give up on Rey.

Kylo tells them how Palps is back. Poe calls Leia, who tells them the last person to defeat him was her brother Luke, who's been living in shame in the ruins of his Jedi Academy. She decides to go find Luke, so she can train to defeat Palps. Kylo goes with her, cause he's gotta start a galactic apology tour.

Finn meets Rose during a Rebel battle (I love her, such a wasted character, the actress deserved better and I'm giving it to her) and she obviously doesn't trust the ex stormtrooper. But he's been mulling over Rey going to fight, and parses the idea to her: let's steal their troopers. These two go on a harrowing adventure posing as Storm Troopers, getting into the barracks, inspiring other troopers to rise us and fight back. To take back their autonomy, and show them they're not just pawns. They lead a mutiny, they steal a ship, then they decide to do it again with a bigger ship. And a bigger one. Fuck it, they're stealing a goddamn fleet. Fuck the fathier races and the knife quest, they are inspiring people to take charge of their lives. (Have someone mention clone troopers that fought back for a callback to someone like Howser on Ryloth in TBB, maybe?) He's stepping into Han's shoes as the runaway who's learning to stay and find his place.

While this is going on, Hosnian Prime takes a Death Star to the face. The New Republic's seat of power is gone. Let's NOT act like it's not a big deal, and instead have the rebellion splintering at the seams because their two main leaders are injured and down for the count. Poe is the one who's pulling them together, forcing them to remember their on the same side. No contrived, unnecessary fight with Vice Admiral Holdo. She can be beefing with another leader or something, but a valid beef instead of "the script says I'm a bitch on a powertrip but I got no real reason." Poe gets all of them to pull their heads out of their collective asses. Let him step into Leias shoes as a military leader.

Now for Rey. You still want sad Luke, okay. He's ashamed he failed to protect his nephew from Phasma. He's ashamed he couldn't keep his students alive. Show him in the graveyard of the Academy, talking to the headstones. Have Rey show up with an apologetic Kylo who gets on his knees and begs Luke for forgiveness. Then let Luke 'There is still good in Darth Vader' Skywalker... forgive him. Cause that's who he is. Then Rey gets training. Actual training, not just with Luke but with Mara fucking Jade. Show him a path back from the Dark side from Auntie. And let them learn to control the dyad together.

Meanwhile, Rey’s still burning to know about her parents. So she and Luke finally sit down and delve into the Force, turning up a Force ghost nobody’s seen in a while. And fuck the “Rey is a Palpatine” angle. She’s Korkie Kryze’s kid, who’s Obi-wan and Satine’s. (This is where Lamp started cheering at the idea. She’s a Obi-wan Kenboneme girl.) Confirm that lineage. (And get a fun tie in to the Mandalorian too, making her have Mando heritage. It gives you more to work with on future projects if you want, too.)

Then give me a Kenobi and a Skywalker synergy, and the dyad making sense. Anakin and Obi-wan were two halves of a single warrior, and their grandkids took that shit literally.

MOVIE THREE: The Rise of Skywalker. (Let’s rename this. The Rise of Kenobi? The Rise of the Light? Something.)

Kylo/Ben and Rey are ready to fight, together. Luke and Mara Jade lend their sabers to them, but can’t leave to go with them because their place is here at the Academy. They literally pass the torch (but without dying. Mr. Moth is violently opposed to this trope and I’m inclined to agree) and the two go to leave. When they do, Luke turns around and goes to the equivalent of their Archives, and activates a beacon/sends a comm message harking back to Obi-wan’s “do not return to the Temple” from Revenge of the Sith but this time telling the scattered escaped Jedi that the time has come to return. We see comms blinking on wrists all over the galaxy, from the First Order stolen ships Finn and Rose are on to the Rebellion and everywhere in between. At least one woman is standing next to Lando Calrissian. Leia and Han see it too as they recover together.

Rey and Kylo send coordinates to Poe, but no one can get through to Finn. (Perhaps comm damage, out of range, etc. Gimme some juicy arguments. Holdo etc thinks it’s too dangerous with the Rebellion being so scattered. Poe demands to ask Han an Leia, there’s delays because ‘they’re still too weak, they almost died’ (we gotta fill 2 hours, lets get some emotional depth to this). Maybe they confer with another general, a graying blonde woman with a heavy tan and very distinct clone accent perhaps? (General Omega, General Omega, General Omega!) Or Hera Syndulla and a grown up Jacen? You can’t tell me they wouldn’t be there.

The argument is interspersed with Han and Leia doing what all older people who’ve seen some shit do: do it their damn self. They’re sneaking on the Falcon to bang on the long range transmitter, acting like they’re still twenty because they know their son is alive, well, and back on the right path. They’re so fucking proud. And while they’re attempting percussive maintenance to get a message to Finn and Rose, they get found by someone and then the whole arguing body is now in the Falcon.

They eventually decide to press the assault.

Meanwhile, Ben and Rey hand on whatever ship/planet Palps has made his evil base. Exegol is fine, we’ll go with that for the example. They’re dealing with young Palps and Phasma, along with tons of First Order, a fleet in orbit, and those Knights of Ren assholes. Cue EPIC lightsaber fight, I want this to rival Obi-wan vs Anakin on Mustafar. John Williams will do us proud with the score, he never disappoints. The battle is hard, but they take down the Knights of Ren and ground troopers. Phasma’s still trying to battlefield seduce Ben, but he finally gets to stand up for himself. He protects Rey from his former abuser. It’s very clear she’s got nothing on him, and we see the absolutely unhinged rage you get when a narcissistic abuser loses power over a victim. As she loses control, she finally makes a mistake and is taken down. The Rebellion turns up, and they’re getting it handed to them in orbit. We can keep that moment of despair Poe has in canon, where he thinks they’re going to lose and he apologizes while still fighting.

And then the stolen fled Rose and Finn had turns up full of pissed off former storm troopers with a lot of anger to work out. Let’s see good guys in TIE fighters (these are Mr. Moth’s fave SW ships, they deserve a little love.)

Let’s see my favorite line in all of Star Wars not get wasted this time. Rose’s “This is how we win, not by killing what we hate but by saving what we love” put to good use. Let her, Finn, and the fleet dive to put themselves between the First Order and the Rebellion, protecting them with the better and newer ships as shields. Flash cut to Rose and Finn’s hands gripping each other as they do this together. (I wanna ship it so bad and canon gave me nothing to work with!)

Rey and Ben face Palpatine, full dyad powers working together. He’s raging that he’s the most powerful being in the galaxy, all the great bad guy monologing. Let him reference the folly of the Sith Law of Two, because of how Vader betrayed him. How he’ll live forever, he needs no one, they’re weak and cowards because they won’t face him alone.

And then let them show what Star Wars has always been about: that you’re never alone. That doing the right thing will bring you to your people, and you’ll stand together against evil that seeks to divide and conquer. They are the Two that are One, and they whip his ass and destroy him, once and for all. (How many times to we have to teach you this lesson, old man?)

And they return, victorious, the First Order defeated, back to the Rebel base. Ben can apologize ot his parents on his hands and knees, and get hugged and forgiven. Maybe even a few of those padawans wave in his direction.

And the last scene should be Rey and Ben landing back at the Academy, with a couple other ships full of those same Padawans, and handing Luke and Mara back their lightsabers before Luke smiles and says “come on then, padawan. We have work to do.”

This fixes the GAPING plot holes, I think makes better use of the characters we got (they gave me great people and did NOTHING with them) and sets the stage for future projects while tying in some stuff that wasn’t put to great use either.

So if you read through all this: thoughts? Do you like it? Did I fix SW, or do you have better ideas? Yap with me, my friends.