#her se could set her reasoning up as sympathetic and understandable and still not great

[the-owl-tree]

more thoughts from yesterday's discussion. what a waste of moth flight for the trial, she's a perfect antagonist for leafpool. they're both daughters of a clan leader, they both have a higher connection to starclan, they both discovered an important spiritual place, and they both, in some regard, had to give up their children.

however unlike moth flight, leafpool knew when to ask for help and she wasn't afraid to lean on her family, her children rejected her but she ultimately gave them a better life compared to moth flight, and while moth flight has defined her existence to protecting a cruel law, leafpool could've (and quite frankly should've) been the one to defy and ultimately destroy it.

[innocentimouto]

What do you think of the narrative's and the fandom's tendency to equate the Fire Nation characters' trauma to that of the victims of war, the way they do?

Both Zuko and Song have scars from the Fire Nation. Both Zuko and Katara lost their mothers to the Fire Nation. Stuff like that.

Both Zuko and Song have scars, but Zuko's is made more important to us. Both Zuko and Katara lost their moms, but people only complain about Katara trauma dumping.

Others have said this, but Western media tends to sympathize a lot with colonizers. I can't recall, but I have a vague understanding that I've seen some cartoons with people displaced from their homes trying to get it back and being painted as evil and crazy.

It's uncomfortable to acknowledge that everyone was once good, and every horrible person has the capacity to turn good and feel regret. And that's a strong message.

But media usually messes it up by portraying the villains as more sympathetic as the heroes or victims. It's good the Fire Nation aren't written as born evil and that evil runs through their blood---

Well except for that one scene.

So we get funny Fire Nation soldiers, and Zuko and Iroh get an absurd amount of funny moments, especially in Book 1, we meet Fire Nation kids, we get a whole episode to humanize the four Fire Nation teens, we get a lot of Iroh favoritism, the only female soldiers, we get the underdog Zuko from episode 3 and all his writing that came with that. We get an episode dedicated to explaining how firebending is life. We get Roku as a mentor figure. We get an episode humanizing the one who started the war. We get an amazingly complex villain, Azula. We get a strong girl trio with a different skill set.

These are the villains.

What do the other nations get?

Water Tribe.

Well they're sexist. Both the North and South apparently. This is only stated for them and no other nation. The season dedicated to them is barely even spent with the Water Tribe so that's nice. We get some cute kids at the beginning I guess.

We get sexist Pakku. There's Yue who is sweet. We get Hahn. Aang fights all by himself the first day of the siege because apparently after one boat, none of the benders are up for anything else. Also we see nonbenders but when the moon goes, they are nowhere to be seen.

The Northern Water Tribe never shows up again, despite I don't know, LOSING their princess to the Fire Nation and who knows how many others.

We also get Hama and her missed opportunity. And bloodbending which is only considered evil.

That's it. Roku's Water Tribe teacher doesn't get a name and isn't portrayed with much respect or attention like his other teachers. Aang has friends from everywhere except the Water Tribes. He's not even confused about the state of Katara's home, which was different as early back as Hama's time. And his temple is the closest!

Hakoda, Katara, Sokka, and Yue are great, but their nation could have used more attention from the writers.

Earth Kingdom.

We get Bumi who was funny to me as a child and still is, but he's kind of messed up and not a great leader. We get Toph's parents, an extreme general, Jet's portrayal, Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li, the bully soldiers for Zuko to look down at when he still hasn't changed, etc.

We get a lot of culture from the Earth Kingdom and a lot of kind or funny characters. This nation isn't so bad, except Toph, Jet, Haru, and Teo are all underdeveloped.

There are quite a few villains from here though and the only strong depictions of loss to war are Haru and Jet, and it's lacking for obvious reasons.

Air Nomads.

The way Aang leaves the Southern Air Temple with Katara and Sokka is how I wish the genocide was treated the rest of the show. It's barely mentioned after though. Aang is unrelatable to so many people who watch the show, and it doesn't help he never has episodes of crying over his friends or missing them.

The Mechanic destroying a temple is portrayed as good.

Their culture is brought up really only at the end of the series and we're supposed to believe Aang and the others haven't been killing soldiers all this time?

Aang not killing Ozai is great politically and morally, but he has killed before and it's not unreasonable to believe the Air Nomads allow killing if out of self-defense.

This whole thing has generated a lot of hate for Aang as a result of how little we were able to connect to his trauma and culture.

Aang being childish and wanting to have fun isn't him being immature or being unable to understand the trauma the other characters have endured. It's part of keeping his culture alive to bring joy and fun to others, and he did that naturally from episode 1.

(I think it's amazing thematically that Aang didn't kill Ozai, but we should have gotten an acknowledgement that all the kids have technically killed and Aang was just uncomfortable to end the war with death as it would be against his culture or to do it in cold blood. Something like that.)

[mikami]

What do you think fandom's hate on kiyomi takada. Most people I met criticize her saying that she is so stupid to get manipulated by light. Even though light is considered so charismatic that he can easily manipulate anyone. She isn't so stupid as someone like mikami who has high expectations called her shrewd and brilliant plus she got in to-oh University. I wonder why people never say kiyomi takada deserved better.

I think there's a laundry list of reasons for it...

You already pointed out that she isn't stupid per se. Most of the things she frequently gets insulted as apply to Misa just as much if not more than her. So then, what's up?

1. She's "The Other Woman". You know that specific brand of misogyny where the woman the man is cheating with is blamed entirely for the hurt inflicted on the main girlfriend? Yeah.

Misa's the established character so she gets the sympathy and Takada is perceived as amoral for stealing her man (despite Light lying to her about his relationship with Misa being over).

This isn't helped by the fact that the story itself frames it that way - Misa only ever gets mad at Takada, not Light, and their "catfight" about it is portrayed as "something women do". The story is actively inviting the reader to take sides, so of course readers pick Misa who is the more developed character who they have known for longer.

When in reality, Light is mistreating both of them and liking both Takada and Misa at the same time is not contradictory...

2. She's the "Not Like Other Girls" girl but not in the relatable subculture way. There's no talking around this, Takada herself has plenty of internalized misogyny to deal with. She also thinks 'stupid women' are the reason sexism exists, so she looks down on all 'stupid women' rather than directing her anger at the system.

This doesn't sit well with readers because it's just a shitty attitude to have and because - again - it is directed towards Misa, the character the audience has had longer to grow attached to.

... so instead of acknowledging Takada's misogyny as a part of a complex character, it is countered with MORE misogyny because clearly TAKADA is actually the evil bitch who gives women a bad name - people love to project people they hate irl onto her.

3. She is just not well-written. Like, I think the character we get in the text is interesting and I love her with my whole heart - but a lot of the implications are on accident. I don't buy that Ohba really set down and was like "here is how a career-focused woman in a male-dominated field would be ruled by internalized misogyny", he just kinda hates women and wrote shit that way. And yet, Takada turned out pretty consistent and very fascinating...?

Her story is sympathetic, too, but the framing just focuses so little on her internal life and so much on how 'stupid' she is for falling for Light (no thanks to Near who absolutely views her as a shallow dumb bitch and says so loudly) that the reader's view is directed there too.

And then most importantly...

4. "She killed Mello"...?! I see this one all the time and it drives me up the wall, like somehow Takada killing Mello is seen as this great malicious act against a beloved character?? And not an action of self-defense of a terrified kidnapping victim??? It's bizarre.

People regularly cite "he was nice to her, he gave her a blanket!!" as if that somehow makes up for kidnapping her and forcing her to strip at gunpoint... how ungrateful of her to still think of him as an active threat to her physical safety. How could she!

It's bizarre....

So tl;dr: I understand how the manga primes you to hate Takada but I also want people to rethink that bias because Takada Good.

[tsarinastorm]

Dreams Were Thunder-Adam Sackler/Reader-Chapter 2

No smut yet but it will be here next chapter. Enjoy the angst and sexual tension.

Words: 2.6K

Chapter 1

It had been five days since you last saw Adam, but you couldn’t keep your thoughts off of him. You found yourself wondering how his play was going, and wondered what his thoughts were on Jane Eyre. Hannah was packed up and ready to leave, now all she had to do was finish packing Grover’s bags. Before she got in the car with her parents, she turned and gave you a hug, “I’m going to miss you, Y/N. I feel bad leaving you all alone, but it won’t be for long. If you need anything call me.”

“Hannah, I’ll be okay. I promise. You go and have a great time. Be sure to facetime with me so I can stay updated on my little buddy here.” You say the last line in a cooing voice as you gently pat Grover’s head. You will miss Hannah, even though she drives you crazy, she’s one of your only friends in the city. And of course, you grew attached to Grover too.

               You need to be doing writing for your next manuscript, or preparing for the slew of final promotional work for your latest piece. Instead, you procrastinate by cleaning the apartment, that’s the only time cleaning really interests you. You work your way through the living room and have moved on to the kitchen cabinets when you hear the doorbell buzz. That’s unusual, you weren’t expecting anyone today and surely all of Hannah’s friends would know that she was leaving in the morning. You go up to the door, and are surprised by who you see on the other side.

               Adam is standing outside your door carrying two books, and dressed in athletic attire, as if he was just running. His chest was heaving and his brow was covered with the sheen of sweat.

               ���Did you seriously run here?” You finally ask, as you motion for him to step in your apartment. He follows you in, and sets the books down on the small table in the foyer as he took his running shoes off. He nods and answers your questions while stretching his long arms, “Yeah, it wasn’t that far. I enjoy my exercise.”

               You force your eyes to look at the table to refrain from openly ogling his muscular arms. You think about what those hands could to do to you, and what those arms would be like holding him above you. You will yourself to turn your attention to the conversation at hand before your mind goes further into the gutter. God, there was something about this man that practically haunted you, no matter how much you tried to ignore it.

               “I like to run too but not as extremely as you do apparently. Did you like the book?”

“I see what the hype is about. The characterization of the leads by Bronte resonates through time. I feel so bad for Rochester though. Stuck with a crazy wife and it costs him his deepest love for a while.”

“Rochester is sympathetic, but I understand Jane’s devotion to her ideals, and Rochester should have been honest with her from the start.”

“Good points. I don’t disagree with you. I brought you 1984, by the way.” He hands you the book, you take it and set it down near your favorite spot on the sofa. You’re shocked when Adam goes with you into the living area, and he sits down on the sofa like he lives there. You sit down next to him, but still keep a reasonable, respectable distance.

“Thanks, I’ll read it as soon as I get time. Did you come to see Hannah? She’s already left, she headed out this morning actually.”

“I didn’t come to see Hannah, I came to see you, Y/N.”

“You did?” His amber eyes bore into you as he nods his head yes. You spring up from your spot on the sofa and offer him some leftovers, then you offer to order takeout if he wants something to eat. He declines the offer and continues on with his own agenda, not at all bothered by your diversions.

“Are you seeing someone?” You can’t control your face as you process the shock from that question. Damn, he really gets straight to the point you think.

“No, I haven’t met anyone special yet and I don’t really have time. Why do you ask?”

“You know why I asked. I thought your reaction to me was because you had a boyfriend or something.”

“Uh, no boyfriend. And no girlfriend either.” You can hear the awkwardness in your own voice, and you know he had to hear it too.

“Do I make you uncomfortable, Y/N? Because you act like I do.”

“Not uncomfortable, per se. I just don’t know what this is.  I mean, we talk, and we have a lot in common, you then show up here to see me, but you’re roommate’s ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be dating her friend.”

“I don’t think Hannah would be that upset over it. We’re to the point that we’re friends now. Jessa and I were very tempestuous even at our best, and it’s over between us anyway. She’s left the city again. I’m single and you’re single, we like each other, what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that Hannah is my roommate and I can’t imagine a situation where me being with her ex-boyfriend doesn’t end up awkward and miserable.”

“You’re a good person, Y/N. You think of other’s feelings before your own. I guarantee that Hannah wouldn’t think twice about it if it were the other way around. She does whatever she wants and doesn’t give a fuck about the consequences.”

“Fine. I’m not having that conversation with you, let’s move on. So tell me about your relationships. I’ve heard Hannah’s side of events, I want to hear yours. And if you must know, I’m not particularly encouraged by your past.”

“If I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

               You now know more about Hannah’s life than anyone should. Adam talks about how intense he and Hannah were, but also adds how rough it was. He tells you how she said she’d be worried about paying the rent if he died. How she made the decision to go to Iowa without telling him. He gets to meeting Mimi Rose and how it felt so different and he felt he had to pursue it, and how it was mostly driven by his feeling of abandonment. You can’t hide your feelings about that part of the story.

“I’m sorry you felt abandoned or whatever but it was fucked up. You don’t move someone into your shared apartment without formally ending your relationship. Then you expanded the master suite that you and Hannah talked about with someone else. If someone did that to me, I’d likely be on trial for my first murder.”

“I’m assuming that you were a fucking angel in all your relationships, then?”

“No I fucked up too in the past, but I seem to understand the concept of basic human decency!” You yell without meaning to. You urge him to continue, “What happened after that?”

  “Things ended badly with Mimi-Rose, and I wanted to try again with Hannah. But she said that she couldn’t. I then realized I had some feelings for Jessa. Jessa didn’t want to do that to Hannah, but it ended up happening anyway.”

“Well, fucking and dating your ex’s friend is a low blow. I really don’t know how Hannah ever forgave either of you and moved on from that.”

“It’s clear who’s side you’re on!” He storms passed you to the door. You wonder if you should try to stop him, or apologize but you decide to let him go.

               You hadn’t heard from Adam since your argument, but you did finish reading 1984 in his absence. You had to text Hannah to get Adam’s address so you could return the book, and you were anxious to see him again. He probably had moved on to some other girl by now for all you know. You decide to run to his apartment to see what the journey is like. When you make it in, your eyes are drawn to all the construction all over the building. There’s also fluorescent yellow tape everywhere and you begin to wonder if Adam’s even here, because why would anyone be staying in this mess?

You cautiously approach what you assume is his door and knock. You hear some kind of shout behind the door and Adam bounces to the door shirtless but with pants on, thankfully. You stare at his chest and abs. He clears his throat and asks you, “What are you doing here?”

“I brought back your book. How long have they been doing construction here?” You say as you point to the obvious work that’s being done all around you. He takes the book, looks around as if he’s just now noticing it before answering, “A week or so, but it’s no big deal. Just some kind of structural shit or something.”

“Structural stuff is pretty serious. Are you still staying here?”

“Why would I stay anywhere else?”

“Because this building might fall down around you.”

“And you’d care if it did?” Well now you know for sure he’s still mad about your last encounter. “Adam, you shouldn’t stay here! I have an extra room that no one is staying in, and the sofa pulls out into a bed. Don’t put yourself in danger when you don’t have it. Jesus Christ.”

“Okay, I’ll pack a bag.” He says in an excited tone, clearly pleased that you offered for him to stay with you. You assumed you’d have to beg him not to stay there. He apparently liked that you were flustered over his wellbeing. You wondered if you would regret making that offer, but you would soon find out.

               You give him a short tour of the apartment even though he’s already seen most of it. You tell him to make himself at home, not to feel bad about eating any food, and if he needs anything to let you know. He sets his bag down on Hannah’s bed, and watches you as you lean against the doorframe. He has no problem making himself at home as he moves on to sit down the sofa and grab the remote to the television. He eventually chooses on some kind of mind-numbing show that mainly just provides background noise and little entertainment value.

               The two of you settle into a conversation that encompasses your life stories, bad date stories, favorite foods, things you hate, names that sound pretentious, and talk about belief systems. You weren’t expecting to go into that kind of detailed conversation so soon after he had left the apartment in a fuss. You stand up to get more popcorn, and you have to step across his long legs as they’re propped up against your ottoman-slash-coffee table. You straddle his legs and try not to think about how inappropriate it seems. At one point, your ass ends up right in front of him, and you can see he’s admiring the view. He breaks the silence and confirms your suspicion.

“Wow, Y/N, you have a really great ass. Seriously, it’s perfect and round but not fake-looking.”

“Thanks, it’s good to know that the squats pay off.” You can’t hide how flustered you are but you continue and fill the bowl with popcorn.

               You settle back into your spot on the sofa. After finishing the show, Adam stands up suddenly and announces that he is going to take a shower. You acknowledge his statement with a nod. Some time passes and you hear the shower head turn off, and hear his feet moving on the floor. You turn around to find Adam, fresh out of the shower with wet hair and droplets flowing down his chest, come out into the main room with only a towel hanging around his hips. He looks around for something and you can’t take your eyes of him. You think about how you want to run your hands through his luscious, damp locks, then think of licking the droplets off his chiseled pecs before removing his towel.

               He continues to wander through the kitchen looking for something. He finally pours himself a glass of milk, and takes a big gulp like it’s the most normal situation in the world. You think that having Adam as a temporary roommate will be interesting if he keeps torturing you like this. He smirks at you, obviously pleased that he’s flustered you yet again.

“See something you like, Y/N?”

“Not necessarily. You know my last roommate didn’t run around the common areas nearly naked.”

“Well sounds like your last roommate wasn’t as fun as me.”

               Adam has been staying in your apartment for a week now without a major incident, and it seems like the two of you had settled into a semblance of a normal routine. The one of you who was out later would bring back dinner, and the one who was awake first made breakfast. He did his fair share of the domestic duties, and didn’t do anything to get on your nerves, other than his insistence on running around with the least amount of clothes on as possible. You really wanted to jump his bones, but you felt like you couldn’t do that to Hannah.  And you knew that it wouldn’t be just sex either, you felt something real for him, and he felt something for you too. If you crossed that line, you couldn’t go back, and it could make your life miserable.

               It was a typical night for the two of you, you had brought home Greek takeout, and Adam had set the table. You sat there and ate dinner while carrying on the normal conversation about your day. You stand up and begin moving the dishes to the dishwasher as Adam finishes cleaning the table. You turn around after turning on the dishwasher, and Adam bumps directly into you. Neither of you move away, his hands are placed on your shoulders and your hands are placed on his chest. You can feel his fast, yet steady heart rate under your fingers, and you find yourself moving your hands on his chest as you gently tread the muscle there.

               He looks into your eyes then down at your lips and back up to your eyes as he searches for permission. You grant him permission as you move in towards him, you can’t take your eyes off his plush lips. His hands move from your shoulders so one is now wrapped around your waist as the other edges up to rest on your neck with his fingers pressing on your pulse point. Your hand moves up his chest so it’s now resting on his clavicle. In one quick motion, he reaches his head down and captures your lips with his. His lips are soft yet taut on yours as you wrap your hands around the back of his neck. He suckles on your bottom lip while you wind your fingers through his hair and pull him closer. Your body is pressed flush against his and his hand descends to your bottom where he gives it a light squeeze. You can feel the heat pool between your legs. So you kiss him back with every bit of passion in your body.  He pulls away for a brief moment to look at you.

“Bed?” He asks, and you nod in your respond as you jump and wrap your legs around his waist. His hands are steady as they hold you up. You press kisses down his neck as he carries you to your bedroom.

@misskitred

[emperorren]

(6) I guess I'm also not a fan of "Perfect Jedi Goddess Rey for whom Kylo has to crawl on his knees to be worthy of" (I can totally see why ppl like it tho), mainly because at this point, Kylo needs an equal, and not someone he'll always feel inferior too. I think the Throne Room proves that both of them still have some growing up to do in order to not only be together, but also understand each other better, bring out the best in each other, and being able to mature together in a healthy way.

Sorry, forgot to add this last part to the earlier post.

I think nobody wants Kylo to crawl. It was a popular concept like, 2-3 years ago, when Reylo shippers used to self flagellate (and flagellate Kylo) much more than we do now, half to deflect anti discourse and half because we really believed the best we could hope for was Rey not *completely* hating his guts by the end. Those days are gone. We know Kylo has his own reasons, because the narrative is showing them—it’s no longer a stretch or “reading too much into it” on our part. But the fact remains that Kylo is a villain and that, in order for this relationship to work, they’ll need to start being on the same page on something other than their mutual desire to be with each other. And I think it’s clear that, while Rey does have some growing up to do, her ethics are in the right place, while Kylo’s aren’t. It’s kind of unrealistic to expect Rey to move away from her heroic morals in the same way Kylo will have to move away from his villainous morals, so I don’t think it’s worth debating whether she should or not. 

The whole “meeting halfway” thing is still possible, especially if you consider that, so far, they’ve essentially tried to abduct each other into their world, and failed. They both need to acknowledge and accept the fact that they might never “have” the other—not in the terms they currently think would be ideal. But Kylo has objectively more things to make up for. Many of those things have nothing to do with Rey per se, but became Rey’s business the moment she started to care for him.

re: your new round of asks:

(Rey discourse anon here) The problem is that for me, it’s really hard to tell whether Rey pulling the lightsaber away from Ben was her being cornered and knowing that what she’ll do will hurt Ben deeply – and for that, all I’m going to say is that, well, no, she literally did not have to do that. Again, it makes sense that she’d react this way, but the issue is that by reacting on impulse, like Luke did so many years ago, just like he played a part in making Kylo Ren,she played a part in making the Supreme Leader. Yelling at him and making her intentions clear was entirely possible, would have resulted in a similar outcome, and she decided not to. Because reasons. (Seriously, what is Ben going to do if she replies “no” out loud, kill her? *eyeroll*) 

I’m not sure why you think yelling at him would have looked better in Kylo’s eyes, or what else Rey could have done to make her intentions clear, other than beg Kylo to stop firing on the Resistance, which she already had, loud and clear. Kylo perfectly understood what she was asking. He chose not to comply. Had his reasons. But chose to discard her plea.

Also, yes, she *literally* had to pull the saber. It’s her only weapon, and the girl needed one if she wanted to get the fuck out of the Supremacy alive. I think y’all forget she was in enemy territory, alone, unarmed, and in desperate need to get to Crait where there would probably be a huge battle within minutes. Yeah, she has the Force… but a lightsaber could help. 

And frankly, no, I don’t think being morally right gives you a right or even merely an excuse to strike right into someone’s trauma.

Rey really did not do that—not on purpose (unlike Kylo, who totally used the parents card i.e. Rey’s own trauma and repressed painful memories to convince her to accept his offer). Note that Rey never actually got to wield the saber against Kylo—all she did was try to snatch it away from him. They could have gone for a clear cut Luke/Rey parallel by having Kylo regain consciousness to see an armed Rey looming over him, conflicted on whether to kill him or not. But they didn’t. This is absolutely important—Rey could have killed Kylo as he was unconscious, but chose not to. And Kylo never got to see her seriously considering to kill him.

Her face could frankly also be interpreted as “you’re not doing as I say, so screw you!”, and since the next scene we see her in is her woo-hoo-ing on the Falcon and then getting reunited with her buddies, there’s no indication she’s really all that heart-broken. Her closing the door on Ben could be seen that way as well (although I obviously think their story isn’t over, of course). Like… I dunno, it’s hard for me to feel sorry for her.

Her face when she’s slowly lifting her hand in the throne room scene doesn’t scream of “screw you!” to me. Neither does the little gasp in the last force bond. But YMMV.

The story could have been set up as “Rey did nothing wrong and Ben better beg on his knees in IX”, but it wasn’t. Because in the end, both Rey and Ben made their own bed, which leads me to be more “GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER YOU IDIOTS”. But this said, I do believe Rey’s heart was at the right place. She was indeed the catalyst that pushed Ben to finally get rid of his abuser. But realistically speaking, what she pulled off could have gone horribly wrong as well.My point is not that following your heart is always bad – but doing that all the time isn’t exactly a good idea either. Heck, Luke’s heart was at the right place when he went to save his friends in ESB, and he got beat up and lost his hand.

It might be not “exactly a good idea” but it’s still better than the alternative. (in Luke’s case, that would have been leaving his friends to die; in Rey’s case, not attempting to do anything for Kylo at all). These heroes tend to have their heroism challenged at the end of the second movie: they learn that sometimes having the best intentions isn’t enough. It’s an important lesson in humility. But not one that teaches them to follow their hearts a little less. See: Luke in RotJ, doubling down on compassion and being ready to risk his life not only to save his friends, but to redeem his father too.

And for Rey, it’s more than being an outsider: she’s the only person who had, like, an actual human reaction to Ben’s situation and actually did something to help.(Well, so did Han, but it was indeed a case of “too little, too late”, even if it definitely had a huge effect on Ben and made him start to realize Snoke was a PoS) But where she also failed is that just like everyone else, she came to Ben with a clear agenda in mind (or you know, an agenda to convince herself she’s totally doing this for the great cause, not because she wants The Beefcake), and with wanting to be the hero so bad she lost sight of what Ben really needs – a friend.I guess one thing that kind of annoys me at this point is that, honestly, who the heck knows what Ben’s motivations are, at this point, because his speech in the Throne Room could be interpreted in many ways. But I won’t lie by saying about it that if it just boils up to “Ra-Ra-First-Order”, I’ll be bored to tears. It’s not even a matter of saying “Ben was right all along” (because he obviously isn’t), you know, just something like“Ben is right when it comes to the endgame, or the intentions, or whatever, but his methods of getting to that are terrible”. What Rey has in mind is “we’ll help the Resistance together and build a new Jedi Order”, while having no clue whether Ben really wants that or not. I mean, he’s probably already not big on the idea because Rey might think the Resistance is great and all, but he knows they won’t be so nice to him, for obvious reasons.And it’s not even a matter of ideological differences or not – heck, maybe even in the old days with Luke, he flat out didn’t want to be a Jedi. Both of them need to find an outcome that they both want – and they’re obviously not at that point yet. 

I don’t disagree with you on this last part, especially on the bolded. (See what I said earlier about meeting halfway.)  But I do have a couple objections:

I don’t think Rey was at all trying to play the hero by coming to the Supremacy. If anything, she hoped Ben could be, so she could be relieved from the burden of being the galaxy’s last hope. And yeah, Ben might be in desperate need of a friend… but so is she, and it’s not exactly easy to be the perfect friend when a war is raging and you’re on opposite sides of the conflict, ykwim? This isn’t a normal situation.

I wouldn’t really count on Kylo’s endgame being shown in a sympathetic or redeeming light. Politically, his ideas (judging from the little we know of them) are a mess. But most importantly, in politics, the “means” count just as much as the “end” does. If your plan to reduce poverty includes, say, mass incarceration and operates on a racist logic, then your plan is bad, no matter how noble your goal is. If Kylo thought the best way to create his “new order” was using a militaristic, despotic war machine whose goal is forcing the galaxy to yield to their dictatorship and raze to the ground any dissenter, then either his idea of a new order isn’t ESPECIALLY democratic in the first place, or he just doesn’t understand politics at all. He can’t simply give up on his means. He needs to give up on his intended endgame as well.

[whereshiphappens]

okay, 84/or 60 Colton...

Colton (IM5) 60. “Before you decide to murder me, let me explain…”

Canon Universe (lol that’s funny); Set somewhere in the summer of 2013

~1.4k

A/N: A BLAST FROM THE PAST, ahhhh this one was a bit of a struggle, not gonna lie, that’s why it took me a little while. hope i pulled it off okay for you! 

With someone shaking his shoulder rather vigorously, Cole wakes up and immediately thinks something’s awfully wrong. Because there’s absolutely no way any of the guys would have woken him up otherwise, after he very specifically told them not to, unless the house was on fire or something. 

He’s tired, so very tired, but the alarm he suddenly feels wakes him up for long enough to look around and see everything dark and hear no screams. Everything seems fine.

There’s just Dalton staring back at him with an apologetic expression on his face. Cole groans, rolls and closes his eyes as he feels the sudden urge to throw a pillow or the whole bed at the other boy.

Dalton puts his hands up defensively, “Before you decide to murder me, let me explain,” he whispers.

Cole sighs and lets his head fall back on the pillow, eyeing Dalton with eyes half shut and a pout, “what’s wrong?”

Again, Dalton looks at him apologetically and grimaces before he finally finds the words to explain himself. “Nothing- nothing’s wrong, per se,” he starts in a low voice, and there’s even a certain amount of regret on his face that has Cole raising an eyebrow at him.

They are staying at Cole’s house for a couple days, to rest but also regroup, and everyone is sleeping somewhere around the house - Dalton should be too.

“You know what, I probably got ahead of myself, you should sleep,” Dalton says.

“Dalton,” Cole drags in a warning tone, starting to get up. Cole has no idea what time it is even, but he’s sure it’s late. He’s also sure that neither he or Dalton will manage to sleep properly, if he doesn’t go and see or talk or do whatever the hell Dalton needs him to in order for both of them to go to sleep.

Still, Dalton eyes him apprehensively, probably realizing he acted too impulsively and there was no reason for him to wake Cole up - this probably could wait until morning; but Dalton wouldn’t be Dalton without the impulsiveness and quirks and impressive ability to completely disregard societal norms like, you know, what time are you supposed to sleep and let others do the same. Cole was more than used to it by now. Might even find it endearing in a way.

“I- uh, sorta finished a song that I was writing with Will,” he finally confesses, speaking lowly. Cole nods, raises his eyebrows impressed. “You did? That’s great, dude,” he replies.

Cole hasn’t heard the song yet - any of it. Will and Dalton were still working on it, wrapped up in their worlds very into it. He figured, whenever it was ready for showing, they’d show. He would just really love if it weren’t at unholy hours of the night when he was so tired.

“I’m not sure about it, though,” Dalton adds. Cole frowns and looks at Dalton, waiting for him to explain, “It’s-uh… it’s about...,” and he gives him a look. Realization hits Cole, “Oh”. Right. Oh shit.

“I figured you could give me your input on this bridge I decided to add and… I don’t know,” he trails off. Then he looks up at Cole again, “sorry, I know, it could’ve waited till tomorrow.”

Cole sighs and smiles at him, “Well, I’m awake now. Let’s go see that song, then.”

He stands up and Dalton does as well from where he was sitting on Cole’s bed. Trying to be as silent as they can, they go to the music room where a lamp is lit by the desk there and a bunch of papers lay around.

Cole sits, looks at Dalton as he hands him the paper with a clean up version of the lyrics and starts reading as Dalton sits by Cole waiting for his response.

It’s a serious song, like Cole was already anticipating it would be. It sounded like a balad even on paper and as he kept reading he could hear Dalton’s thoughts all over it. Knowing the break up he’s been through, knowing all that went down like probably very few people knew, Cole starts understanding why Dalton had woken him up and not anybody else - this was quite personal.

As he reaches the bridge he takes a deep breath, looks up at Dalton, “They say letting go is tough, but holding on hurts just as much. You think I can’t feel pain but I fell hard for you; did you forget that I’m human too?”, Cole reads.

They stay in silence for a bit as Cole stares back at the paper. It’s great lyrics, it’s a great song even if he hasn’t heard the melodies and harmonies of it yet. But it also speaks volumes on Dalton’s emotional state. “Dalton, dude…” he starts, “first of all this is amazing. The bridge is probably my favourite part and I cannot wait to hear how it sounds.”

Cole lets the paper drop on the table.

“I sense a but coming,” Dalton mumbles, squinting at the other boy.

“But,” Cole starts with a little smile on his lips that drops right away. “Are you okay?”

Dalton frowns like he wasn’t expecting the question. It’s a dumb question, Cole knows, he just read that Dalton is not quite alright yet, but he feels the need to ask. “Are you okay with sharing this?” he reformulates when Dalton can’t seem to find the words to answer him.

Shrugging, Dalton puts his elbows on the table and lets his shoulders sag with an exhale. He brings his hands up to his hair, “To be honest I feel like this is the only way I can process and get over it. I don’t know. Right now it certainly feels like I never will.”

“C’mon, of course you will. It might feel that way right now, but eventually you’ll forget all about her,” Cole reaches out to grab his arm, pull it from his head so he can see his face properly. “Eventually you’ll even fall for someone new. It’s how it works.” Cole smiles sympathetically, “this is just the hard part.”

Dalton seems to stop and think about his words for a second, before he scrunches up his face, “That’s the thing, it’s been weeks and she’s still so present, so in my head, it feels impossible. I just want her out of my head for a bit to let me think, you know?” He shakes his head, looking down at the table, playing with one of the papers on it.

“I know,” Cole mumbles. Dalton looks at him with his lips pursed and an intense look in his eyes. Cole smiles and feels like he should probably lighten the mood. “You’ll see, the second you find someone pretty enough for you, you’ll get all over her and Madi will fly right off of your head, trust me,” he winks at Dalton, still smiling. The other boy seems to be somewhat lost in thought, looking at Cole in silence, eyes all over his face.

Gradually the smile on Cole’s mouth fades and he’s about to ask Dalton where’s his mind at, when Dalton moves towards Cole on his chair, brings both hands up to his face and doesn’t give him any time at all to react before he kisses his mouth.

Cole’s brain stops. It feels like it stops and he can’t move at all. He realizes the confusion and shock coursing through him after a few seconds and with his hands on Dalton’s shoulders, he pushes him off a little, starting to stand up.

Dalton only follows, standing up right with him, kissing Cole’s still lips.

Finally, Dalton backs off, hands falling to his sides, but he the distance he puts between them isn’t much. “Dalton,” Cole barely manages to let out, eyebrows raised and lost for words. His mouth moves but no words come out. Dalton’s eyes are all over his face and he seems to get the general what the hell Cole wants to transmit, because he nods a little, like he shares the thought.

What the hell, indeed.

Bringing Cole’s face to him once again, he kisses him him again, catching Cole’s lips parted and using the gap to lick his bottom lip before sucking on it again, seal the kiss.

Cole pushes him off. The confusion is still coursing through him, but that’s about it. He doesn’t know what’s going on, what brought this on, what’s on Dalton’s head.

“This is… not what I meant,” Cole says, suddenly unable to properly look at Dalton.

The other boy nods, “I know,” he says, voice a little rough. “I shouldn’t have woken you up,” he finishes, and then he starts walking towards the door, disappearing into the dark corridor.

Cole sits again. He doesn’t think he’ll be able to go back to sleep.