#i can hate the father and love the children..

[tossawary]

Brushing off some of our older gaming stuff to finally play "The Force Unleashed" (do not spoil it for me) and found myself immediately compelled by this presentation of what Luke Skywalker's life might have been like as "Darth Vader's son". (Or Leia's life, of course.)

Like, obviously, Darth Vader would not (and will not, I presume) have the same degree of attachment to his assassin here as he would/will to Luke, but the parallels are immediate and not subtle. Vader has killed a LOT of Jedi children by this point, but he sees a child powerful in the Force holding his own red lightsaber and something in him apparently snaps. And in the similar circumstances of 1) raised in secret away from the Emperor, and 2) trained to be a weapon against the Emperor, I suspect that Luke would actually have had a very similar quality of life to Starkiller (slightly better overall perhaps, but still similar), because I highly doubt that Sith Lord Darth Vader, who is held together by rage and spite, who is super traumatized by war and haaaaates being confronted by his own mistakes, would have ended up being even a half-decent parent if permitted to actually raise Luke as a Sith apprentice.

I was reminded of these games because I saw someone talking about how Galen Marek (protagonist of "The Force Unleashed") and Mara Jade (Luke's love interest from the Extended Universe) have very similar backstories and arcs, though they felt Galen's was better executed. So, I started up this game wondering to myself, "How old is Galen compared to Luke? A romance between Luke and his father's assassin / apprentice seems compelling... At worst, I bet it's comparable to the age difference between Luke and Din..." And yep! It looks similar and could also be fewer years than that. Galen could be 19 in this game for all I know.

I'm already enjoying an AU premise where Darth Vader somehow finds and captures younger teenage Luke, but he's panicking because 1) his son already hates him for injuring or even killing Obi-Wan (let's say that Owen and Beru are spared somehow, and also already calling up the Rebellion to fight the Empire to get their nephew back), and 2) Vader reeeeeally doesn't want the Emperor to find out about his son. But he doesn't really have a convenient place to stash his secret son! Palpatine is already calling demanding to know why Vader hasn't already completed some urgent imperial business.

So, Vader has to call his Ventress-in-training, Agent Starkiller, who happens to be nearby, to temporarily take Luke into custody. Vader says that no harm is to befall Luke and if he dies, then so does Starkiller, before he has to run off to answer the suspicious Emperor. Galen is, like, maybe 18 or something. (Ahsoka was kicking ass and getting traumatized on the battlefield at 14ish, so I assume that Galen's childhood under Vader was demanding and terrible.) This Sith teenager wants to be doing cool shit to prove himself, not shoved into a Bodyguard AU with some whiny brat who bites and has way too much of Darth Vader's attention already.

Cue some adventure that causes Luke and Galen to bond somehow. I'm not thinking about anything romantic at this point, I'm mostly thinking about angst, as Darth Vader tries to train Luke as a Sith apprentice through brutally cruel methods. Which give both Luke and Galen a lot of intense and complicated feelings about their own and each other's situations. And probably culminates in Darth Vader being shocked and angry when his son and not-son have run off and unionized against him.

The earlier that Vader nabs Luke, the longer you can shove him and Galen together. I'm leaning more towards a "The Worst Summer Teenage Romance Ever (During Sith Apprentice Boot Camp)" setup, even if it means bending the ages around a little, but I think that a "Childhood Friendship Forged Through Trauma And Desperation For Affection While Being Raised By A Sith Lord Who Is Playing Favorites" setup has great potential as well.

I like the potential humor of Luke initially being utterly unfamiliar with the Force and being unable to do anything with it, he doesn't even know how to lift a rock, while Video Game Protagonist Galen is like, "Okay, this soothes some of my terror about being replaced, but seriously, how are you this helpless??? You are like a Tooka kitten to me, what the hell is this???"

I also like the potential angst of Luke and Galen being forcibly separated somehow, so that Luke can escape and meet up with the likes of Han Solo and Princess Leia somehow, and he's all sad because the guy he liked is probably dead or else hates him. And then I like the potential humor of Galen showing up again as a real freak of nature, a human hurricane, just throwing everything around with the Force, waving a red lightsaber around. Luke has hearts in his eyes, while Han is like, "So, uh, this is the dead boyfriend, huh? Yikes."

[ghitathepanda]

Dragon Ball Daima brought back the "Goku bad dad" thing so lemme put in my two cents on the whole thing.

I had recently re-read the entire Dragon Ball manga, finishing the last chapter the Sunday prior to episode 7 of Daima. I didn't really come across moments that made me think of Goku's competence as a parent, with his trust in Gohan for Cell while misunderstanding his drive to fight being his one big mistake. But I specifically pointed out the misunderstanding instead of everything else people think of with the Cell bit because that mistake is what lead to those decisions. If you take into consideration everything that lead up to Goku placing his trust into Gohan, like how Gohan actually WANTS to train with his father, both during the time gap for the Androids/Cyborgs AND for his Super Saiyan training for instance, I think assuming Gohan has BOTH the goal of being a scholar and the drive to fight to better himself (the best way I can describe Goku's drive to fight) is fair on Goku's part. Also, unfortunately, Gohan himself is aware of what Goku had planned for him but was too passive to protest (and also the Earth is at stake so he cannot afford to be selfish). Goku still makes mistakes, yes, but people love to pin the "bad dad" label on him without examining the context, probably because it takes too much time for these people to properly check and it's "funny".

Point is, if you read the original manga and then jump straight into Daima without any knowledge of the "bad dad" discourse, at worst, you'll go "huh?" and probably just think of how he was dead for a good chunk of time and Panzy, having zero context, just assumes the worst out of him. Let's be fair, for someone who grew up in the mountains alone with no knowledge on what is supposed to be normal, marrying a girl who locked in on her desire to marry him because he went pat-pat on her crotch and wants to live her fantasy of a "normal family life" and doesn't count martial arts to be part of that "normal family life", he was going to struggle at being a parent. But here's thing I noticed in retrospect: Goku had always been aware he's not great at raising kids and being a parent... especially under Chi-Chi's definition, but whenever the opportunity to spend time with his children comes around, he does his best to try. If we're to assume the specific phrase "raising a kid", as Panzy said in episode 7 of Daima to be accurate and not a paraphrase on the translators part, Goku was most likely downplaying his contributions to parenting.

TLDR: Goku is aware he isn't great at parenting but dammit he tries whenever he can and also Chi-Chi can be demanding with her desires of a "normal family life"

P.S. Don't take this as me hating on Chi-Chi. I just didn't want to add on to this whole post talking about how I view her as a mother.

[lousylambsblog]

watch me yap about my ocs ( my friend proofread this thankksss )

tw: death, blood and child neglect

Neyora was born out of a fling between her payan mother and talpian father. Her father was absent for all her life and her mother was emotionally unavailable. She was raised by her payan mother who was ashamed of Neyora’s heritage, she refused to call Neyora her daughter, she had seen her as a disappointment the moment she bore her. Her mother had isolated Neyora from other children, she was kept under strict rules that she wasn’t allowed to go outside, unless she wanted society to see how hideous she was. 

Her childhood left her bitter, growing deep resentment toward her mother. At a young age, she began practicing magic, unbeknownst to her mother. Neyora dedicated her whole life to magic, to prove that she was something more than an inept half-breed. Her talpian genetics are more dominant than her payan blood, missing the third eye and the ability to foresee the future, but she did inherit the magical potential of Payans. After years of honing her magical skills and becoming quite the powerful sorceress, she had grown to become more confident in showing her abilities to her mother. All she wanted was the approval of the only person she had, she wanted to make her proud despite her hate,,,, but all she was met with the all-to-familiar look of disgust plastered onto her face. 

She belittled Neyora throughout her entire life, but this was the final breaking point. She had thrown away her own childhood, spent sleepless nights perfecting herself,,, just to be met with the same degrading words. Neyora snapped at the woman who bore her, a fervid hate running through her blood as she strangled her mother to death. She watched as the life in her mother’s eyes slowly disappeared, but she felt no sympathy, blinded by her own emotional rage. She only tightened her grip the more strangulated noises her mother pathetically spat out. Her grip slacked when her mother ceased her feeble fighting. Once she realized what she had just done, Neyora felt a pang of terror shoot through her as she saw her mother’s lifeless body on the floor, leaving her trembling with dread. She had fled her home in a panic, the Payan Chiefdom, Neyora was afraid that they would discover what she had done to her mother, that she had killed her.

On the mainland of Stolla, Neyora continued to live alone,,, isolating herself from the outside world, fearful that people would recognize her and know of her crimes. She continues to practice magic up until the fault, where she is forced to flee from her hiding place. Neyora deals well with the mimes at first, but they pursue her with a bloodthirst as the fault drags on. After a week of being relentlessly hunted with no opportunity to replenish her energy, she succumbs to magical overload. Neyora is proficient at magic, but her talpian side slows down her ability to prolong and stabilize her magic for a period of time. She can cast powerful spells, but it can make her incredibly burnt out. 

( Magic overload happens due to the body acting as a sort of resistor when trying to manipulate energy. The more energy is channeled and manipulated, the more residual energy remains in the caster’s body. This can have a number of effects: Diminishing the effectiveness of one’s spells, requiring more focus in order to properly control the energy, other effects being added to their spells or happening at random, and increase in the body’s temperature. * p.s i know this isn’t canon but im so interested in this concept* also credits to BelicCat from 5yrs ago on reddit,,,,,, love you bro, wherever you are,,, )

Unfortunately, she was caught off guard during a supply run in a ghostly town,,, a gash to her stomach. Neyora suffered a slow and excruciatingly painful death, she could’ve used her healing magic to mend her wounds but she had fallen unconscious due to the stinging pain. She met a pathetic death for someone who held so much power, she was never able to see that she was more than a hideous half-breed. She died believing that she was a disappointment. 

[godsofhumanity]

Fenrir: Quick! Give me something blunt! Jormungandr: You have a hard time trusting people due to your experiences with Tyr and our own father. Fenrir: Fenrir: An object, Jormungandr!

[wisebeth]

why does the pjo series have to unnecessarily villainize goddesses (hera & athena) or show them as silly ladies (aphrodite & demeter) BUT posiedon and apollo are somehow shown as the coolest/most likeable gods, even though arguably, they're right after zeus on terms of corruption?

ares shown as the worst god after zeus and hera amuses me. last time i checked, he was the patron god of amazons and literally killed a man for attempting to rape his daughter but guess who cursed women for rejection? apollo. guess who raped women when they said no (aside from zeus)? posiedon.

[judahlux]

I'm still thinking the baby was rlly unnecessary

[thehauntedmarionnette]

Mha chapter 426 releases on July 1st and I swear if Horikoshi makes Izuocha canon the day after pride month I’m gonna riot

[imaginarianisms]

🖤 (from desmond!!)

attractiveness:

repulsive / hideous / ugly / not attractive / unappealing / not unattractive / meh / no preference / ok / mildly attractive / nice looking / cute / adorable / attractive / pleasant on the eyes / good looking / hot / sexy / beautiful / gorgeous / hot damn / would tap that / perfect / godlike / holy fuck there are no words.

personality:

grating / irritating / frustrating / boring / confusing at best / awkward / unreasonable / psychotic / disturbing / interesting / engaging / affectionate / aggressive (when necessary in order to protect her as her sworn sword) / ambitious / anxious / artistic / bad tempered / bossy / charismatic / appealing / unappealing / creative / courageous / dependable / unreliable / unpredictable / predictable / devious / dim / extroverted / introverted / egotistical / gregarious / fabulous / impulsive / intelligent / sympathetic / talkative / up beat / peaceful / calming / badass / flexible.

how likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending / fuck no! / never / no way / not likely / not sure / indifferent / I’m asexual / maybe / probably / it depends / fairly likely / likely / yeah sure / yes / would tap that / hell yes / fuck yes! / wishing that could happen right now (the Pain of being married & being a queen & wanting to be a good role model for your children & ur sworn sword is a kingsguard) / as many times as possible / we are already having sex.

level of friendship:

never in a million years / worst of enemies / enemies / rivals / indifferent / neutral / acquaintance / friendly toward each other / casual friends / friends / good friends / best friends / fuck buddies / bosom buddies / practically the same person / would die for them / true friends / my only friend.

first impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

current impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

send 🖤 and my character will answer about yours; specify. || ALWAYS ACCEPTING.

[evelynpr]

No one did "a Father's tough love" like Arlecchino

You KNOW she wants to tell her children how proud she is of them. How she wants to know what they're up to and what they like. How she wants to be a real caring father. How she wants to always ask "are you okay? Do you need help? What can I do for you?"

But she can't care. Caring is a lie, and being cared for makes you vulnerable. She has to be strong, because she must protect her children. She must protect her children, so she cannot feel cared by them. However, the children must care for each other, so they can be strong.

They cannot care for me, because they must be strong without me. They should not care for me, only fear me, for that is how they will survive without me.

[bibleofficial]

wallpaper is insane like u find a product w an ugly print ? wallpaper it. just multiple uncoordinated things put together ? wallpaper it. ugly door ? wallpaper it. ugly wall ? landlord won’t let me wallpaper it

[atopvisenyashill]

if i did a reread of the walking dead and wrote an essay on how aegon ii and carl are doomed to be the last man standing by their narratives, and what starts out as a sort of cool & nifty super power of always surviving turns into this horrific curse where everyone they know is dying around them & sometimes it’s their fault & sometimes it’s not but either way they can’t ever stop it until they’re sitting at the ending with nothing but their lone daughter to protect but so broken they can no longer connect to her and then their story abruptly ends-

would that be like the Most stupid, nerdy thing i have ever done in my life or

[allieinarden]

I'm surprised they DIDN'T explore the Nelson and Marge pair up more later on, especially because I don't think they're really done an episode where Homer and Nelson are a duo causing mayhem and that almost writes itself (wait did they have them in like a Big Brothers plotline or something but even if they did CRIMINALLY underutilized)

As a matter of fact they actually did have them in a plot like that because the show has been on so long that not only did Marge and Homer separately foster the same kid who also dated Lisa and befriended and unbefriended Bart repeatedly, but Nelson is not even the only character you could say this about.

[bauliya]

if I have read zero Batman comics but am interested solely in the batfam because of your posts would u recommend starting with Wayne family adventures

i don’t like WFA because it very quickly gets into saccharine quality but it’s really good in short doses! my bestie @iphigenaiya is very well read when it comes to comics.

edit: just found out there’s a terrifying batman comic where dick is batman SO I’M GONNA READ IT :3

[spring-lxcked]

wait coming back just to add that i was thinking abt the generational element of the af.tons just being a fucked up family line and i'm. fine. i swear i'm f

[silverwhittlingknife]

very important announcement: new @birdchildsnest fic!!!

[quietwingsinthesky]

okay like the thing is. if i was going to write actual real marie fic with plot and consequences and everything. even in the hypothetical fic with lucifer being released from his rewritten character back to factory settings (s5) he’s still like. he’s not a good person. it’s important to me that if this was a real fic and not just me shitposting, that lucifer does not magically become a good person this way. or a good parent. in fact, he’s probably worse because he now has empirical evidence to back up that God will, when convenient, erase who he is, make him worse, make it so that there’s never any choice but for him to get worse. And who’s to say it isn’t still happening. who’s to say lucifer is “back to normal” because nephilim baby interference and not because God thought it would be more interesting to see him spiral down from a higher place rather than fall over already at rock bottom.