#it's the xanatos gambit of fighting games

[bleaksqueak]

I've shared this before, I'll share it again, and in the future I'll share it again and again! But this is absolutely my favorite fighting game track ever made. Let it get going, too. Holy shit the parts that play during Critical Health and High Combos are amazing. Ofc despite being a big fighting game fan my other all time favorite is from the same series. Sorry everyone else, sorry sorry. You're all great but you're not a Hammer Horror pipe organ masterpiece that has no business being a fighting game track but THAT DIDN'T STOP IT.

[laylainalaska]

I watched Foundation S1-2 this week and really enjoyed it, for certain values of enjoyed, copying over my write-up from DW, now with corrected character names since I've looked them up rather than spelling them from vague osmosis from the show.

(Blacklist the Foundation tag if you don't want to be spoiled from gifs, as I plan to promptly go seek out the least hinged gifs from this entirely unhinged show and bombard everyone with them.)

This show is a bonkers SF soap opera with gorgeous production values, Lee Pace hamming it up in crop tops, and a series of increasingly off the rails holographic versions of a dead chessmaster mathematician deploying his 9999-step plan to save the galaxy. I've literally seen nothing about this at all in my social circles, to the extent that I didn't even really know about it until the spouse started watching it. I was kind of halfway glancing at the screen now and then, if I happened to be in the room, for the first half of season one (and have only the vaguest idea what happened in the first few episodes, based on later events), then got invested and eventually completely hooked in season two, which also picks up after a 100-year timeskip so the cast has changed a lot anyway. Although between stasis pods, cloning, and holograms, it's mostly the same actors. (We have a running joke that by season 3 the cast will be at least 50% Cleons and Hari Seldons by volume.)

Anyway, so it is good? Hard to say! It's sort of like if Expanse and Game of Thrones had a (somewhat more optimistic) baby, in which the budgets are huge, the planets are beautiful, the spaceships are shiny, and lots of Big Feelings happen. The Evil Empire is run by an endless series of clone emperors played by Lee Pace in Romanesque armor and capes with massive amounts of scenery-chewing and an immortal robot bodyguard he occasionally has sex with. They have All The Clones in storage, so if he gets killed, they'll just transfer his memories and activate another one! Meanwhile the rebellion is being orchestrated as a 4000-step multi-century Xanatos gambit by a guy who started by having himself killed and activating a digital copy. Interestingly though, there is so much going on, and it's taking so much time for his plan to come to fruition, that it never really feels like the two of them directly pitted against each other (at least not that much), it's more like all of the stuff that happens along the way, the planets and the pretty spaceships and the people we meet who struggle and fight and save each other along the way.

I have to say that while I'm occasionally reminded by certain plot points and tropes that this is a series based on books from the 1970s, they did a good enough job with racebending, presumable genderbending, and so forth that it rarely feels like it. (Also, though I only know the books from general osmosis, I'm fairly confident the plot has gone way off-book anyway.) In season two there are no less than four young female characters of color in major plot-defining roles, there's a central gay couple whose loyalty to each other in the face of the Empire is a major plot point, and in general it's just a pretty, pretty show full of pretty people and pretty planets (and occasionally some really dazzling space-operatic SF stuff). It is definitely the most OTT and operatic thing I've watched since probably the MCU, and I'm really enjoying it.

Under the cut, out-of-order and largely out-of-context comments on various things I had a reaction to (mostly season 2 since that's where I got invested).

This show is an emotional roller coaster of the highest order. How many different instances of presumed dead and identity-switching can we pack into a single episode?

CONSTANT MY BELOVED. Season 2 in general gives great female characters, I already loved Salvo (;__;) and I also really enjoyed the ladies from the Cloud Dominion, but Constant!! She's just so funny and fun and so absolutely deadpan about everything from conning randos on some backwater alien planet to kidnapping a guy. I was so glad she lived through all of the half-dozen times she almost certainly should have died.

I was surprisingly upset about formerly-trapped-in-the-Radiant half-crazy Hari's death, "surprisingly" because, well, Hari being Hari, and also, it wasn't like this leaves us entirely without Hari Seldons, there's still Creepy Monolith Hari and who knows how many other copies out there. But that one had been through enough with Gaal and Salvor that he really felt like a different person. He's still a manipulative sack of dicks but I liked him! I was sad, but at least hoping he was backed up somewhere! And then two episodes later the most excellent reveal that he and Gaal faked the whole thing! I thoroughly loved all of that. Gaal hugging him! <333

"Don't trust the planet of the creepy utopian space psychics!" Orion and I were chanting at the screen, while they proceeded to not listen to us and it was, predictably, a bad idea. Seriously, when in all of sci-fi was trusting the creepy psychic utopia a good idea?

I had guessed/hoped that the guy with the whispership (can't remember his name) was going to warp into the plaza and save Constant from execution, but I really wasn't sure, and even with an inkling it was going to happen, that was an AMAZING entrance, A+++, no notes. Especially after Constant gave her speech and everything seemed to be setting her up to be a martyr to the Foundation, I was less and less hopeful she was going to get out of it alive somehow. Excellent rescue, very pleased.

I really enjoyed the entire subplot with the Evil Empire Honorable Space Admiral (can't remember anyone's names here either) and the scene in which he justifies his continued loyalty to the Empire is really a good scene. I mean, it's awful. But you can see his reasoning. He can't overthrow the Empire, if he refuses orders it won't change anything, he and everyone he loves will die, and someone else will be put in his place and follow the orders anyway. But then the whole thing with Constant's rescue points out that it may not be possible to change the entire Evil Empire, but you can make a lot of difference for just one person.

But I still wanted him to make better or at least different choices on the blowing up the planet sequence! I guess it all worked out according to Hari's 9999-step plan (my death is only the beginning! the death of my planet is only the beginning!) but that hurted.

Between Honorable Space Admiral and his fighter pilot husband, I was absolutely *not* expecting the husband to be the one of the two of them that survived. However, Honorable Space Admiral and whispership guy got a dynamite final episode (the fistfight with Cleon! never has a man deserved so much punching! the airlock switch!) and they both got to go out in an excellent death scene.

The entire thing with Terminus getting blown up! And then Deus Ex Monolith! And Constant's dads and Space Admiral's Space Husband are alive after the whole exploding planet fell on them! (I was SO happy Constant's family got reunited, I was so afraid she and Space Dads were going to go down each thinking the other one had died.) I think this episode gave me emotional whiplash.

SALVOR NO. WHAT WAS THAT EVEN. She just randomly died at the end there?? Come onnnnn. We already got like 12 death fake-outs in the last couple of episodes! Why'd that one have to be real?!

If time passes differently in the monolith, does that mean the entire rescued Terminus population are still going to be around after the second 150-year timeskip? I have questions!

Speaking of time passing differently in the monolith, best dialogue: Whispership guy: Whoa, it's dark. How long was I in there, anyway? Constant: Three years. Paulie: More like three hours. Constant: We agreed we weren't going to tell him! I love them. <3333

That sure was A Lot with the Cleons. And now I guess there's an entire Cleon/Cloud Dominion dynasty out there somewhere just waiting to cause trouble.

So yeah, I'm really enjoying my bombastic sci-fi soap opera! Season 3 when pls.

[hellowkatey]

kenobi kafé new year's exchange fic roundup

thanks to all the participants in our first server exchange and to @calltomuster for being an amazing co-admin (and power-hungry tyrant<3), per usual.

39 FRESH FICS HAVE GRACED THE OBI-WAN AO3 TAG SO GO CHECK ALL OF THEM OUT!!!

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here are my contributions:

and with stranger aeons ~ 5.8k. By all literal definitions of the word, Obi-Wan is blind. Kamino's stormy topside and the depth of his plummet into the ocean have blocked out most light this deep. Were these seas he knew anything about, he might not be so stressed. But somewhere in the murky waters, keen eyes zero in on his location. A chill spikes up his spine. Obi-Wan isn’t alone. [or, Obi-Wan isn't able to catch himself from falling off the flight platform in his fight with Jango and learns the truth about Kamino's mysterious existence]

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after the war ~ 1.9k. Cody doesn't know how to process it at all. All these years— his entire life has been devoted to training and preparing and now... All around him, brothers remove their buckets in similar disbelief. There are no words exchanged between them, only this shared hesitancy that settles in a thick fog over them. The war is over.

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one call away ~ 2.3k. “Good morning, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan says with an unavoidable crack in his voice. “I am afraid I need to ask a favor of you.”

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here & now ~ 3.4k. Owen and Beru Lars are not home. There are no life forms in the general radius of his homestead, actually. Obi-Wan finds himself more relieved than he should be. He looks down at Luke still sleeping softly and smiles. "The Force has overruled me, young one." [or, Obi-Wan and Luke go into hiding on Alderaan instead of Tatooine]

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hand over hand ~ 3.3k. There is a piece of crumpled flimsy in his pocket with a list: 1. My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi 2. The man who found me’s name is Qui-Gon Jinn 3. I am a Jedi Padawan 4. My memory was erased by the Syndicat 5. I am safe. The last is more of a reminder whenever his heart starts beating too fast for one who is sitting still. - - -

The Count's Gambit ~ 2.5k. "Sit," Dooku says, extending his hand to gesture toward the opposite seat.

"I don't understand." Dooku has gone through the trouble of capturing and containing him. Give it a few more hours and the Count very well may have the brunt of the GAR. All this effort and he wants to play a game of chess?

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long nights and longer mornings ~ 1.9k. Obi-Wan has a bit too much to drink, and Qui-Gon is there to take care of him (and poke a little fun at him, of course)

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and special shoutouts to the incredible fics that I was gifted in this exchange--

but it is youth who much fight and die (by fangirlfromtartarus) is an AMAZING time travel au of Anakin and Ahsoka meeting Padawan Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon right after the events of Melida/Daan. Read it. Read it right now.

going away to come home (by @calltomuster) ANOTHER time travel au (i have a type obviously adshks) where Obi-Wan is yote back 15 years and meets Xanatos. This one has me SCREAMING

fight the tide (by @catboydogma) hurt Obi-Wan trying (and failing) to hide his injury. protective Cody. what more can you want?

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL COLLECTION!!!

[thelreads]

Off topic and this might be unpopular, but sometimes I'm tired of the absolute "killing is always wrong" that pops up in some superheroes stories. Life has more nuance than that and I'd prefer superheroes who are less close-minded to grey areas or less-than-perfect resolutions. What about self defense, what about defending others, do we need to consider the subjectivity of morality and ethics across cultures/species/dimensions, is killing always counter to valuing life or can it be an extension of that value in extreme situations?

It's easy to say "slippery slope" and default to an absolute "killing is bad and we're good" to cut short debates and avoid the possibility of plots with messier ends than most would prefer, but absolutes are just as much an answer to the implied nuances behind these questions and I sometimes wish there was more space for those messier uncertainties.

That's an interesting point of debate right there, and honestly I agree with it. Sure, not every single situation needs to descend into murder, but honestly, there are points where it not happening is the most stupid decision possible, and it only sets more problems to happen later on in the story.

I'm particularly not fond of the "If I kill you I'll be just as bad as you" trope, because holy shit that's the most idiotic thing possible. Even worse when it happens AFTER the protagonist mow down hordes of henchmen without batting an eye to get to the villain, it pisses me off.

One moment that needs to be mentioned about this is the All Might situation against AfO, because I liked how it was handled. All Might did try to kill AfO, and he really thought that he had succeeded in doing so, but the second time he let him live, but it made sense. The first time it happened in a secret battle, the second time it was in front of the whole world, and although he wanted to rip his head off, he knew that the symbol of peace killing a villain like that would completely destroy everything he worked years to build; in that particular case, killing AfO would led to his victory, the trust in heroes would be shattered, the Symbol of Peace would die with him.

That was one of the situations where I agree that although killing the villain was necessary, it would be a terrible option, because it was a Xanatos gambit. If he died, AfO would've won, and although he's in jail, but we know he'll break out of it eventually. He set the game so he would win, but not killing him when he had the chance gave All Might a chance to fool his plans, by giving the next generation the passing down of the mantle, and inspiring them to continue their fight.

[gffa]

I was asked by @grasswatcher for fics that explore STAR WARS’ Jedi culture and this is one of those subjects that’s dearest to my heart, because I constantly crave more exploration of what it must be like to be a Level 100 Space Psychic in touch with an ancient, unfathomable energy field that creates feedback loops in your head and connects you to all living things and can overwhelm you so easily if you don’t have your shit together, just as much as I want to know about Jedi traditions and Jedi artwork and Jedi philosophy and Jedi stories and Jedi language and all of it. There have been some pretty stellar ones out there, sometimes deep dives, sometimes just weaving bits into the background and I love them all and want a thousand more immediately! STAR WARS FIC RECS - JEDI CULTURE: ✦ The Mathematics of Repair by panharmonium, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 4.6k   For raw teachers and rough-edged students building in the rubble: tiny steps are enough, provided they carry you in the right direction. Immediately post TPM, in short snippets. ✦ In All The World by Ammar, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 76.6k wip   The story of how Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi tamed each other, from Naboo to Anakin’s early days at the Temple. ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & ahsoka & palpatine & cody & cast, ~30k wip   or: “Obi-Wan’s Life Gets Worse (Though It’s Not As Bad As It Could’ve Been)” ✦ Cataclasm by dendral, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & waxer & cast, 51.9k wip   For reasons unknown to all but himself, Obi-Wan Kenobi has left the Jedi Order in the midst of the Clone Wars, taking with him a single clone. Anakin Skywalker has been unofficially tasked by the Order to find Obi-Wan and bring him home. Unfortunately for Anakin, it seems his former master is always ten steps ahead of him. ✦ Remedial Jedi Theology by MarbleGlove, obi-wan & anakin & mace & palpatine & cast, 51.3k   Let us consider the fact that the Jedi Order is a monastic religious organization based out of a temple, with five basic tenets of faith. ✦ We Will Abide by naberiie, plo & shaak, 10.3k   Light. Dark. Balance. Beneath the Jedi Temple, far below the chaos of Coruscant’s Galactic City, ancient halls and corridors sleep in silent darkness. Padawans Shaak Ti and Plo Koon are determined to explore them. ✦ The Living Force; Parables for Padawans by glorious_clio, obi-wan & cast, 6.1k   Since infancy, younglings are taught the Jedi Code, “Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.” Obi-Wan Kenobi learns these tenets backwards and forwards again. But even as a child, he is interested in nuance. And so his teachers tell him parables. ✦ Lineage by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & xanatos & cast, 35.9k   AU!Jedi Apprentice. Book I: In which master and apprentice meet for the first time, enjoy a disastrous adventure courtesy of Xanatos DuCrion, and reap the fruits of patience and fortitude. A fanciful retelling of the original. ✦ Lineage II by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 40.9k   A year or so has elapsed since the last time we saw our heroes. BOOK 2: In which master and apprentice investigate an evil brainwashing plot, attend a boisterous wedding, and battle the enemy within. ✦ Lineage III by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & dooku & xanatos & bant & cast, 49.4k   AU!Jedi Apprentice. Book III: Master and apprentice face an important rite of passage, grapple with a traitorous plot within the Temple’s walls, and discover the limits of obedience and intuition. Appearances by Bant Eerin, Xanatos DuCrion, Yan Dooku, and others. ✦ Lineage IV by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & siri & adi gallia, 39.3k   Master and apprentice endure a stint with the Agri-Corps, and find that trouble has a way of coming home to haunt them. Featuring a pile of bantha poodoo, a tentacled carnivorous plant, a desperate escaped convict, and a highly provocative young woman. ✦ Lineage V by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & tahl (& some qui-gon/tahl) & dooku & cast, 50.7k   An evil scientist wreaks havoc when she captures Jedi Knight Tahl Uvain for purposes of obscure research; Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan rush to the rescue, only to be embroiled in further trouble; and Master Dooku joins in the hunt with characteristic aplomb. ✦ Lineage VI by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 66.2k   Master and apprentice undertake a risky undercover mission to expose conspiracy in a far-flung sector; a comedy of manners abruptly transforms into a nightmare when their cover is blown; and a desperate escape gambit strikes deep at the foundations of trust. ✦ Lineage VII by ruth baulding, obi-wan & qui-gon & siri & adi gallia & some obi-wan/siri, 74.5k   Sent to the aid of their fellow Jedi on a disastrous mission to New Apsolon, master and apprentice contend with brainwashing, genocide, conspiracy, and the perilous realm of the heart. ✦ What Is My Heritage? by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda, 7.7k   Qui-Gon, age 13, tries to find a place to belong. ✦ Coming Home by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda & dooku, 18.1k   A story telling how Qui-Gon comes to be Dooku’s apprentice. ✦ Snakefic by esama, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & yoda & cast, 6k   It was only the matter of time before the egg hatched. ✦ Shadows of the Future by stormqueen873, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cast, 129.3k   ObiWan lost the duel on Mustafar, but instead of dying, he finds himself on a ship leaving Tatooine, with his old Master and a familiar young boy. As events begin to unfold, can he stop the future he knows from occuring? ✦ The Ice-Breaking Game by sharkcar, padme & ahsoka & rex & cast, 7.1k   After contracting the Blue Shadow virus, Ahsoka Tano is quarantined in Theed, along with Senator Amidala and Captain Rex. They are three very different people, but they all share a restlessness that leaves them unable to endure their confinement. To pass the time, Padme suggests they play a question game, each telling stories about personal experiences. As all three share a humorous discussion, they learn about compassion and the importance of knowing perspectives different from their own. ✦ When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place by IllyanaA, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & kanan & ocs & cast, 94.9k wip   After killing three of the Jedi Order’s best and brightest, Palpatine’s fight with Jedi Master Mace Windu goes shorter than expected. Afraid he’s lost his chance at recruiting a new apprentice, Sidious unleashes Order 66 across the galaxy, but, per their programming, the Clone Army is not to harm Anakin Skywalker. After witnessing the most painful loss he’s ever experienced and injured at the hands of his captors, Anakin is ready to die like the rest of the Jedi, though not before getting his vengeance. ✦ A Long, Long Time Ago by ruth baulding, dooku & qui-gon + qui-gon & obi-wan + obi-wan & anakin + anakin & ahsoka, 5.8k   A wisdom tale handed passed down through the generations poses troublesome questions for a line of masters and Padawans, from Dooku to Ahsoka Tano. ✦ Adi Gallia, Master of the Order by Perspicacia, adi & obi-wan & anakin & mace & cin & ahsoka & riyo & rex & cast, 7.2k   Ashes in her heart, she had left the younglings and the elders and the wounded for her duty to the galaxy, choosing to stop the Sith instead of protecting her people. ✦ The Apprenticeship by Nny11, ahsoka & yoda & anakin & cast, 31.4k wip   The doors only open when a Master opens them for their Padawan, a subtle reminder to them that a student needs a teacher’s guidance and that teachers must let them go. The force thinks it’s rather funny when it alters history by forcing Master Yoda to take on a very young Ahsoka Tano as his Padawan. ✦ Goreblood the Terrible by BloodyMary, jedi & cast, 1.7k   It has occured to me that so far we lack any sort of folklore/storytelling tradition for the Jedi. So I set out to remedy this. Behold, for Goreblood the Terrible was the result. ✦ “The Padawan Chooses The Master” by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 3.6k   prompt: AU - The Jedi say “The Padawan Chooses The Master” Qui Gon lives, Obi Wan is very preoccupied, and Anakin is put into the creche as an Initiate to learn what he can until Qui Gon wakes up from his coma and gets yelled at by the Council. In the meantime, Anakin meets other Jedi Masters and when the Council asks him who he wants to be his teacher, his answer isn’t Qui Gon. Instead it’s *insert your fav Jedi here* ✦ Brothers (working title) by Charity_Angel, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & padme & shmi & yoda & cast, 22.7k wip   In which Qui-Gon has a very near miss on Naboo, Obi-Wan is very stubborn, and they end up breaking a lot of rules accidentally as a result. All because of that kid they picked up on Tatooine. ✦ Under a purple sun… by Perspicacia, obi-wan & ahsoka, ~1k   Ahsoka hadn’t been happy when Skyguy had left her with Master Kenobi for this mission, but it was still good to spend time with her Grand Master. ✦ Hondo Kenobi by StarWarsSyl, obi-wan & hondo & cast, 2.6k   It’s not every day the pirate Hondo calls Obi-Wan in to give him a baby. ✦ Duet by Silver Sky 1138, oc & cin, 2.3k   Asha Scarsi, the Jedi Padawan who feels the Force through music, isn’t half as good at lightsaber combat as she is at singing and mindtricks. So she’s a little nervous when Battlemaster Cin Drallig calls her to the training room after class. ✦ The Only Home We Know by ReneeoftheStars, katooni & petro & ganodi & byph & gungi & zaft & cast, character death, child death, 2.4k   The Jedi Temple is under attack. Determined to fight for their home, younglings Katooni, Petro, Zatt, Ganodi, Byph, and Gungi make their way to aid the Jedi Masters in defense of the Temple. But the situation is far graver than they expected. ✦ The One Where Anakin Tries to Be Serious by GirlwithCurls98, anakin & ahsoka, 1k   Even though they’re fighting a war, Anakin finds the time to lead his apprentice through one of the Jedi’s sacred ceremonies. ✦ Obi-Wan and the Force by AwayOHumanChild, obi-wan & cast, ~1k   One of the first things Jedi Initiates learn is that everyone experiences the Force differently. ✦ All That I Have Seen by Felilla, ocs & ahsoka & anakin & obi-wan & yoda & cast, time travel, 35.3k wip   She died in the Temple, staring into the face of a man that she once looked up to, a man that she once thought to be a great Jedi. She awoke in the Temple, years before that event took place. Years before everything went wrong. And she decided to make it right. ✦ Knightrise by Deviant_Accumulation, obi-wan & ahsoka & satine & rex & cast, 19.4k wip   “Strong enough to fight the Sith Lord, you are not.” “And you are?” ✦ Markings by wabbajack, plo & ahsoka & bultar & cast, 1.6k   In which it is revealed that Master Plo Koon has always had a difficult time putting his foot down when faced with his Little ‘Soka. ✦ Night Shift at the Temple by ReneeoftheStars, oc jedi & cast, 1.8k   A Jedi Temple Guard sees all, speaks to few, and has attachments to no one. One must be prepared for any threats that may arise, especially at night, while most of the Temple sleeps. ✦ Jedi of Light by Sannah, obi-wan/anakin/padme & mace & yoda & plo & even & jocasta & cast, 9.4k wip   Out of irritation with the war and with permission from the Council, several talk show hosts create a show that airs weekly about the Jedi. They name the show *Jedi of Light,* and go around following Jedi and asking them questions. ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & palpatine & bail & cast, 29.2k wip   By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. ✦ The First Trial by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon, 2k   Accompanied by his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, young Obi-Wan Kenobi undergoes his first trial and rite as a Padawan Learner on the frozen planet of Ilum. ✦ Arrival by CJinn, obi-wan & yoda & cast, 2.6k   Little Obi-Wan was only a few days old when he was brought to the Jedi Temple. His arrival caused some confusion among the Jedi. ✦ Found Clan by silvergryphon, boba & ocs & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 18.4k wip   After the Battle of Geonosis, a Jedi Healer discovers young Boba Fett mourning the loss of his father. Not about to leave a ten-year-old boy on his own, she promptly adopts him with the full collusion of her Padawan. ✦ Tipping Point by Ria Talla (ronia), adi gallia & finis valorum & eeth koth, 3.3k   “I believe that if what’s happening on Naboo is allowed to continue, the other member systems will wonder what they owe to a Republic that can no longer protect them.” ✦ A Personal Touch by DragonHoardsBooks, obi-wan & anakin, 6.2k   New jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker realizes that there is more to being a jedi then he tought. Discovering a completely new culture will take time and effort, but maybe he’ll make some friends along the way. ✦ Master by CJinn, obi-wan & anakin, 27.5k   Obi-Wan Kenobi had always wanted to become a Jedi Knight. What he didn’t expect was to become a Master merely days after his own Master died. Adapting to his new role as the mentor and Master of the quite unusual Padawan Anakin Skywalker became a bumpy road. ✦ The Orchards by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.6k   When young Obi-Wan Kenobi is injured on a previous mission, Qui-Gon Jinn refuses to accept further off-planet missions until his Padawan’s recovery. Yoda assigns the pair an in-Temple mission of utmost importance while Obi-Wan heals. Master and Padawan welcome the change of pace. ✦ Starrunner by rinzukodas, obi-wan & jedi & oc, 80.2k wip   In what would have been the year 17 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine is found slumped over his desk, dead to rights and emitting a foul odor. The coroners declare the body victim to a heart attack and the smell a result of a lack of a timely embalming—a bit of bowels humor, the head coroner says with a nervous laugh when interviewed by the Galactic Enquirer. ✦ The Spire by skatzaa, obi-wan & ocs, 2.4k   The galaxy was on the brink of war, and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been assigned a new room. ✦ Room Arrangements by skatzaa, obi-wan & anakin, 2.2k   Anakin has some concerns about room arrangements at the Temple. Obi-Wan does his best to reassure him. ✦ Swimming Lessons by devilinthedetails, obi-wan & anakin, 2.1k   Obi-Wan decides Anakin must learn how to swim. ✦ The Uses of a Sandwich by Laura Kaye (laurakaye), obi-wan & qui-gon & oc & cast, 17.6k   A few months after being taken as a Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi faces a challenge: meeting his Master’s first apprentice. FULL DETAILS + RECS HERE!

[jq37]

naddpod ask! 6 (please include the guests too! they've had such great guests) 8, 19. I can't wait for Alanis to show up again and we can learn what is going on with her!

6. Well Emily Axford is the Best D&D Player Ever(tm) so it’s hard to pick anyone but Moonshine. The way she took what could have been a pure joke character and turned her into the heart of the team was just masterful and she made it seem absolutely effortless. 

And, for Guest PCs, as a perpetual GM who hasn’t gotten to actually play an rpg in like 3 years, it was very gratifying to watch Brennan be a PC for a change, rocking in with his extremely broken character and his lingering third-person narration. But I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that Zac totally won my heart with yet another very good but very stupid boy with Mavrus.

8.  AHHH, come on don’t do this to me bro! OK, gun to my head, the entire series of events at Shadowfell was probably the most epic. There were revelations, big story consequences, touching moments, new and returning characters. It was very much Peak D&D. Likewise, Tales From The Crick was also Iconic. Finally getting down to the bottom of Crick Rot which was Moonshine’s whole reason to become an adventurer, all the Crick lore, plus it moved the story with the Chosen along. And both of those arcs had amazing Boss fights. Marabelle and her mind games and then her redemption. And Hardwon’s crazy roll to get his mom on his side almost immediately, “You saved the child, Ma.” And then busting out of Galad’s sword to murder him again? AHHHHHHHHHHHH.

HOWEVER, if I’m being really really honest with myself, the arc that I’m most likely to listen to again (which is absolutely how I pick favorites; objective quality is very secondary) is the Mage Madness arc. It’s short. It’s got a great hook (wizard tournament!!!). It’s got Mavrus and Lucanas--two of my faves. There are some hard hitting moments like Bev’s temporary banishment. Mav gets so many clutch counterspells. They have to get through some clever puzzles. And the ending--Moonshine on the throne with the thinking cap and everyone--high elves included--going absolutely buck wild--is truly one of the most joyful moments in anything I’ve read/watched/listened to all year. It may be my favorite Naddpod moment ever, and I know that’s like ranking rainbows against each other but that’s what my heart says right now.    

19. When Hardwon got reincarnated as a Half-Elf I actually cheered out loud. It was the perfect option and I hadn’t even considered it. What a clutch roll. 

Runners up are two moments I would have cheered if I hadn’t been on the Subway: The B.O.B. (plus Mavrus) winning the Wizard Tournament and Moonshine lawyering her way out of her soul contract (and then the electric guitars kick in in the background, so sick). 

And I wanna know about Alanis so bad too! She has to have something up her sleeve, right? What are you up to, girl? What kind of crazy Xanatos Gambit are you setting up? 

[biot08]

Warcraft: Rise of Plot

Yesterday I posted about some Warcraft ideas we’ll never see but could be neat. Here’s the promised follow-up.

REDEMPTION FOR A BANSHEE

This one I like a lot.

So, Sylvanas has been a bloodthirsty anti-life blight banshee for a hot minute now. Ever since she became a banshee, she has been a proper bitter Machiavellian person, but from my recollection, she hasn't been blatantly anti-life the entire time.

That seems to have happened after she died in the events of Edge of Night. The short summary is after the WotLK expansion, she tried to commit suicide. Some Val'kyr found her in unlife, showed her some unpleasant possible futures, and proposed a deal. They would bind themselves to her, and trade their fates for hers. Basically, if she died, a Val’kyr could and would take her place. Finding the void of the afterlife thoroughly unpleasant, and wanting to ensure the future of the Forsaken, she took the deal.

After this, we see her become incredibly anti-life. She develops and refines the blight from Wrathgate, using it pretty liberally, and hiding such use from other members of the Horde. She also uses the Val’kyr to make more Forsaken, and oh yes, nice side-effect, also keep herself alive.

This is important, because I would like to put for the idea that she did not go to a true afterlife. She instead went to a corrupted one, and was revived by corrupted Val’kyr. Her desire to avoid the unpleasantness of the place and her care for the Forsaken spurred her to take the deal the Val’kyr offered her. The deal now made, Sylvanas has been being slowly corrupted, becoming darker - a popular enough motif in the Warcraft universe.

Enter this business with N’Zoth and Xal’atath.

In the final raid, we do not actually have to face off against Sylvanas. We have to save her from the corruption that’s been eating away at her for years now. Vol’jin sweeps in and helps us from the spirit realm, and our big raid is dealing with rescuing Sylvanas. Once we’re done, either we get an uncorrupted Sylvanas, or both her and Vol’jin serve as powerful spirits.

This won’t happen. But imagine if it did?

OKAY NOW TURN IT UP A BIT

But what if the delay in helping Sylvanas causes us to miss a window into stopping N’Zoth. What if distracting us with Sylvanas was part of N’Zoth’s plan, in a heads-I-win tails-you-lose Xanatos gambit. If we did not stop and redeem her, she would kill all life on the planet, N’Zoth win. If we do, however, the delay in dealing with her results in… N’Zoth winning.

What if, basically, the players lose the expansion. The planet, actually, no kidding loses.

We get some nice happy story beats for doing the right thing for the right reasons, and maybe preserve the Horde, and maybe restore a Sylvanas who, while not nice - never nice - is at least not a scourge on the planet and is interested in making this all work. We get a Vol’jin who is a powerful spirit ally, perhaps even a loa in his own right. The allied races have rallied with their respective factions, and been proven in battle, against each other and for a greater cause.

So it doesn’t feel completely awful.

But we still lose. The rest of that could all happen, and I’d be very satisfied with it, but I do want to add on, that I think having the players lose overall could be exciting and great.

The next expansion could then be about us overcoming our failure. N’Zoth has risen, and the black empire has been restored. There are weird islands all over Azeroth now, and the corruption is everywhere, but it’s not irreversible. And Old One has risen up, sure, but this is not the end of Azeroth, no, it is just the beginning of the resistance. And as a bonus, Azshara could get the expansion she deserves. She could be present for the entire thing, her forces everywhere. We could get used to her taunting us personally.

It would also be a great way to reset the assumptions the game has made about the player character up until now. Being a great hero and speaker of the Horde or champion of the Alliance doesn’t mean anything, now. We’re all fighting as hard as we can to survive, and anyway, if you were that great, wouldn’t you have stopped this? Sure, you’re a hero, but we need more than heroes now. We need everyone, fighting together. We need everyone to step up to the plate. No more fancy titles or preferential treatment. This is the fight to survive, and we are all in on it and for it.

And it would make a lot of sense for N’Zoth. The other old gods we have met up until now have been generally inscrutable, trying to brute-force their way and will onto Azeroth, just murmuring madly in the wrong ears. N’Zoth, however, being the youngest of them, seems a little more familiar with how people work. More willing to work with them, to make deals, to bargain. N’Zoth is a little more personal, and I think that could make for a stronger presence in an expansion. And since it is not just brute forcing its way to victory, that makes it victory more satisfying and more reasonable.

Unlike the other two, it did not just try to force its will. It put pawns into play. It bargained, it connived, it was -clever-. And so its victory, however temporary, would feel a bit more earned then it would otherwise. It could be a great villain, working through its queen, Azshara.

Their partnership could sunder the planet.

That’s a game I would love to play.

[sumigakure]

Winter Wishes 2017: Wish List

We’ve got a list, and we’re checking it twice! 

Prompts cannot be claimed until Dec 1st. See the Event Post for all Rules, Dates and Info.

@arrowsbane:

Wish: In an AU where Orochimaru never took Danzo up on his offer for labs, Sarutobi dumps a trio of genetically-altered brats on him and hands him a ‘Teaching for Dummies’ book, which is not appreciated. Turns out, Orochimaru is pretty good with kids, but thinks he isn’t. Nobody else is buying that lie though.

Likes: Snakes being awesome. And Orochimaru being awesome. I blame @blackkatmagic. She did this to me.

Dislikes/Triggers: I’m pretty chill, but not keen on sexual abuse or non-con. It just feels like crossing a line, even if they are essentially paid assassins. Like, murder is one thing, but it’s just… nope.

Bonus for: Danzo trying to steal Oro’s brats and getting curb stomped.

Porn/No Porn: I do like porn on occasion, but I don’t think this wish needs it - unless Sakumo is alive in this AU, and has seduced Oro. But don’t strain yourself if you’re not comfortable.

Claimed

@modernart2012

Wish: Pacific Rim AU. Preference for MadaTobi, but I’m open to any pairing, romantic or otherwise. Doesn’t have to follow the movie, can follow the comics.

Likes: ghost!Drift (specifically to Pac Rim, anyways)… I’m pretty game for anything not in my “Dislikes”?

Dislikes/Triggers: No incest or pedophilia (not even allowed in this collective, but gonna state it anyways); Abuse - physical or emotional; if this gets porny, no noncon or dubcon or bloodplay, emetophilia, or scat. HARD NO On COCKROACHES.

Bonus for: background Xanatos Gambit, not necessarily for the kaiju, but someone else and doesn’t have to be evil. Morton’s Fork will similarly be accepted.

Porn/No Porn: Either is good. Writer’s choice.

Claimed

@sanjuno

Wish: I would like to see Madara taken from post-death (whichever of the 3 canonical instances best suit your narrative) and dropped into an AU, either replacing his otherself or having his otherself be dead/missing. It can be a trope influenced NRT world, (i.e. Soulmate Marks, ABO) or a crossover-fusion world, (i.e. NRT characters in a Star Wars or BNHA setting) or just switching out ninja for mainstream scifi or steampunk or magic. Cue Madara flailing and being overly dramatic.  I would prefer a happy ending. Gen is fine. I basically want to see Madara screaming about how little sense the AU rules make while simultaneously snuggling his little brothers. B/c Madara is the Most Extra.

Likes: TobiMada. Effective Communication. Madara oblivious to (Tobirama’s) flirting. Fussing over baby brothers.

Dislikes/Triggers: Character Bashing. Non-Con. Unaddressed Dub Con.

Bonus for: n/a

Porn/No Porn: Sure, if you’re feeling it or the story calls for it. ^_^

Claimed

@definitelynotaminion

Wish: Sasuke really, stupidly likes being fingered. Team 7 obliges 

Likes:  healthy polyamory, kinking the fuck out of Sakura’s super strength, and gentle ribbing/teasing the fuck out of Sasuke/poking fun or dirty talking to embarrass him a little

Dislikes/Triggers:  uh the normal squicks, you’re probably good. Dislikes non-bi all of them. Dislikes feminization of Sasuke

Bonus for: Sasuke totally gets off a little on being embarrassed/dirty talked to/them talking about him. Also he’s stupidly in love with them.

Porn/No Porn: Porn, pls. Obvs

Claimed

@dimancheetoile

Wish: NaruSakuSai, their first time. Sakura is coming home from a mission where she almost died and the boys need to make sure she’s doing fine. Featuring lots of fluffiness, some worship and praise kink because Sakura deserves it.

Likes: Honestly, everything that deals with their respectives issues would be great. Sai probably doesn’t like being touched much, but loves touching them, Naruto needs to show his love, Sakura enjoys the praises and attention.

Dislikes/Triggers: non-con, in any way, shape or form. As long as the characters are mainly true to their canon selves, I’m good.

Bonus for: Naruto putting on lipstick to leave marks on Sakura and Sai + morning after cuddles.

Porn/No Porn: Porn. Lots of porn, pretty please with a shinobi on top.

Claimed

@fineillsignup

Wish: At some point in the Chuunin Exams arc (post-Forest of Death, but pre-Tsunade’s arrival) Sakura travels back in time to Kakashi’s attempt to rescue jinchuuriki Rin. She’s not much good fighting at that point but her sudden appearance causes enough confusion to allow a few crucial seconds such that Obito arrives while Rin is alive. And then…?

Likes: ObiSaku would be nice, no pairing is also fine.

Dislikes/Triggers: Cannibalism or humans being eaten generally.

Bonus for: 13 y/o Kakashi being a better teacher than 26 y/o Kakashi.  

Porn/No Porn: Not unless you put in a big timeskip

Claimed

@will-zeke-thomson

Wish: I’d like to see a story about how Tenzou fathered a bunch of kids (doesn’t need to be from one woman or be romantically involved with one at all) because he wanted his wood release to be carried on to future generations. Just him as a father training and raising a bunch of kids which some (if not all) have his wood style.

Likes: I like family fluff and maybe a little angst but nothing too heavy.

Dislikes/Triggers: I dislike character bashing and any general cruelty but I’m not Triggered by anything but I don’t think that will be something for this type of thing to worry about.

Bonus for: Tenzou just being a good dad and doing his best and maybe Naruto helping train the kids and maybe even passing on the start of how to do the rasengan to them or the shadow clone to help them train.

Porn/No Porn: No porn for this please

Claimed

@pwnie3

Wish: Everyone in Konoha lost something on the day of the Kyuubi attack, and Genma Shiranui is no different. But not everyone can say they gained something. All of seventeen years old, he finds himself with a dead sister and her daughter Tenten to care for. Let’s hope he doesn’t screw this up.

Likes: Family fluff, obviously. Also Genma freaking out over how to parent.

Dislikes/Triggers: Just don’t be too gross I guess???

Bonus for: the Talk and Tenten’s first date.  

Porn/No Porn: No porn please.

Claimed

@rezelis

Wish: Time travel with Kakashi peferably during the warring clans era or some form of supernatural creature thing.

Likes: dork!Madara, Gai. Angst in moderation. (Kakashi)

Dislikes/Triggers: Overly emberassing moments, like the level of romantic comedies. It can take me months to read such things.

Bonus for: troll!Kakashi

Porn/No Porn: No porn please.

Claimed

@stormwind13

Wish: Sakura is sent on a long term mission with Team Eight. What the mission is is up to the author. What I want is Sakura and Team Eight being awesome.

Likes: Sakura/Kiba, Hinata and Sakura friendship, Shino

Dislikes/Triggers: Non-con, dub-con, A/B/O

Bonus for: Sakura/Kiba

Porn/No Porn: No porn.

Claimed

@miss-fandoms-shakespeare

Wish: Genma and Raidou+the desk chuunin have many late nights in the tower, to make it better they play some music, one things leads to another and suddenly it's a dirty dancing competition! And it's all fun&games until a jounin coming in from a late mission walks in. The chuunin are embarrassed, but the jounin ends up joining in too???

Likes: Side-characters, dancing to cheesy early-2000s pop music, random fluff, multi-pairs/poly pairs (if you are up to writing it)

Dislikes/Triggers: Character hating, non-con, daddy kinks, etc

Bonus for: The jonin who walks in is Kakashi.

Porn/No Porn: Either is fine for me, it depends on how the story is going for you.

Claimed

[undertheory]

Why did Sans fight us at the end of the genocide run? A theory

I feel like this is a question that doesn't get explored thoroughly enough. The usual argument for this is, oh you're the worst you can possibly be at this point, so he should enact judgement. Oh, he's got nothing left to lose, there's nothing else he can prove or wait on. But he's a time traveler, who through either pure experience or through connected nightmares can feel the pain across everything. Why is he making the ridiculous effort to try to fight us in the genocide run? More importantly, if he's fighting the player, why does he not use any time shenanigans in the fight? Why does the fight function identically every time you try it. The dialogue, naturally meant for us, adjusts with save usage and previous games played. The fight itself? Doesn't budge. This becomes more interesting when we consider that we as the player do not win the genocide route.  Yes, both the karma and the dodging are unique to the fights, but that's not bewildering us, certainly not after the first few tries. That's bewildering the person who's quietly watching a human kill everything they know and love. Chara is the person for whom each experience within this fight is unique, and I'm convinced Chara plays a key reason in why this fight happens.  By this point in the game, Sans is certain that we're not intending to turn back. That our goal is unrelenting and precise slaughter. This is unique of any other run of the game, where while killing may be a big part of it, full dominance and control are not visibly our intent, and we would not have the power by that point to make full use of it. In a genocide run, we do. So, Sans presents us with a brilliant Xanatos gambit. Either, we as the player who has to sit through tons and tons of instances of reloading against an immensely tough and brutal boss, on which many people will consider dropping the game and resetting, OR, he makes Chara realize they can take control. Up to that point, the only times we have lost control have been in individual actions. The action of killing has always been us. After Sans' fight, after Sans' demonstrates to Chara that the only way that they'll proceed is by taking control, every kill, including of the player and of the world, is done by Chara.  Sans must have recognized a long time ago that if someone went through and slaughtered everything, they'd have the power and the intent to destroy everything, and he puts his effort into stopping exactly that. Nothing else need be stopped, no matter how horrifying it is. And so he created the perfect countermeasure; a fight so intense and exhausting that it'll either make the player completely stop, or make Chara take control away from us.  This way, it makes sense to keep the fight from involving time shenanigans but keep the dialogue varied, it makes sense why despite beating him we lose all our control, and it makes sense why we aren't even given lighter versions of the judgement beatdown in other runs of the game. It makes sense that he warns us about not liking the outcome of what we're doing, because we don't know what he's pulling. It makes sense why he warns us so much to accompany this, because he wants to be absolutely sure any time he gives the control to Chara that we don't deserve to have it. Sans is there, both in warning us and in fighting us, to make sure the game is immune to our violent control, no matter how we wish to proceed. And he knows it.  And that kind of job requires a lot of union regulated breaks.

[ladyvialana]

a few more initial thoughts on vld s3:

First, I must reiterate: sniper!Lance!!!

Second: NEEDS MORE CORAN!!! (I mean, all the seasons need more Coran, but still)

Third: Sven! I am still cackling. ohmigod, that accent was the best, and pairing him with Slav?! I am convinced that every version of Shiro and Slav together must be amazing.

Fourth: I was not expecting Zarkon feels! Like, that was not at all on my radar! Goddamn.

Fifth: Blue paladins are always awesome (and queer)

Okay, so, slightly more initial in depth character thoughts and reactions next under a cut because this accidentally got really long:

Allura:

- best character story arc in the season, imho

- her scenes with blue in ep3 were amazing

- kind of wish we got more on her connection to magic/quintessence, especially now we have a backstory regarding the evolution of Haggar and (potentially) druids/magic in general

Pidge:

- loved her and Hunk bonding

- really hoping that season 4 has more to do with her search for Matt/the rebels since it was introduced and then kind of dropped

- her character arc really is kind of a waiting game, unfortunately, until the plot catches up, so while there were nice team moments with her, nothing major happened, so I’m expecting lots of awesome stuff later on

Hunk:

- we had a return of smart!Hunk moments! yes! I am so here for that! As well as the (somewhat) reduced food jokes (they’re actually kind of funny when used sparingly as opposed to every time he opens his mouth!)

- like Pidge, some great team moments, but no major character development, though, considering that Hunk and Pidge were the only two to keep to their original lions, it does make sense even if I’m not totally happy about it

- though, I do want to see more of his awesome piloting skills (that Shiro taught him!!!) since he’s so close to Yellow (I love that, I do, the scene where he basically refused to fly Black because he loves Yellow so much warms my heart)

Lance:

- he’s grown so much since the start of the series, I’m still crying (god, that scene in Black, and breaking up with Blue and then pragmatically taking himself out of the equation because he doesn’t think he’s the best soldier they have ... I’m gonna need more tissues guys)

- he’s just such a perfect XO - especially for Keith - like I genuinely love this dynamic (I fucking wrote about this dynamic because I wanted to to see it so much and here it is, playing out on screen, I am in heaven!!!)

- Lance and Allura’s developing friendship is everything I didn’t realise I needed until it happened. I need more of these two bonding, stat!

Keith:

- Keith’s struggles with leadership and living up to Shiro’s expectations was everything I needed from his storyline. Like, I love that he’s conflicted, that he realises he’s screwing up but also that he’ll do what he can to make things better (and he does! I genuinely like leader!Keith). He’s trying and he’s improving and, just as he starts to get the hang of this leader thing and maybe get his feet under him: wham! Shiro’s back (which he’s so happy about) and the team dynamic - their personal dynamic - has shifted so much that the friction is driving a wedge between them. 

- Seriously, I am living for this emotional drama, all the contradictory things he must be feeling (thrilled at Shiro’s return, upset that everyone is ignoring his decisions again after being unwillingly thrust into the leadership role, guilty that he’s resentful about Shiro’s return, so fucking insecure because the minute that Shiro does return it’s like everything feels like it’s running smoother and he had to struggle so much for every win, relieved that maybe he doesn’t have to carry this burden any more, but also maybe a little angry because he earned this, okay and maybe he’s a little proud of himself, but it just feels so wrong when Shiro says it because Keith feels like he’s nowhere near as good enough for this as Shiro, but Shiro’s not okay and the guilt is just drowning him!) ... damn, I need to write fic about this, I have too many thoughts and feelings

- I mean, I love everyone in this season, but Keith is due for a breakdown and it’s going to be messy and ugly and so many people are gonna be caught in the crossfire (and I can’t wait! ... I need this angst guys, it’s been building for so long)

Shiro:

- I am so fucking worried about Shiro, like you have no idea

- So there are two options here:

1. This is the real Shiro and he just went through another terrible ordeal with the Galra experimenting on him and potentially has put his team (his family) in danger just by existing and this is going to end horribly for everyone

2. This is not the real Shiro but he is clearly unaware of this and has all of Shiro’s memories and so he believes he has just been through another terrible ordeal with the Galra experimenting on him and potentially has put his assumed team (his assumed family) in danger just by existing and this is going to end horribly for everyone either when shit goes down or they stumble across the real Shiro

- both of these options are heartbreaking and (working with scenario 2 here) even if it’s not the real Shiro, I am already inclined towards sympathy because this is gonna end in tragedy and there’s probably going to be even more loss of autonomy and major trauma involved and it just makes my heart break for him (and episode 5 just broke my heart and, whichever Shiro it was fighting to survive, I’m rooting for him)

- regardless of what is going on with Shiro (real or not) he didn’t deserve this and is clearly so done with life and needs to rest and I firmly believe that Black recognised that Shiro was on the edge of breaking down and could not bring himself to pilot Black again and intentionally didn’t respond and Shiro feels so guilty about being relieved about not having to fight again (honestly, that final fight with Zarkon had to be traumatic, whether he is the real Shiro or not, those memories not being there is a very worrying sign about his mental state)

- did I say Keith’s breakdown was going to be messy? ha! Shiro’s is gonna be bad enough to destroy the castle and maybe a few nearby planets. That look on his face when he was in bed and Keith just assumed he was fine to go again? I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. That was not the face of a man who is in any way okay!!! (#giveShiroallthehugsandwarmblanketsintheuniverse2k17)

Other things of note:

- everyone’s going gaga over Lotor and the Generals and while I do think they make interesting characters, I haven’t seen enough of them to make much more of a judgement - though, I am definitely more of a fan of the Generals than Lotor (Zethrid’s my fave, she likes blowing stuff up and has smart ideas like killing your enemies while they’re helpless - she’s clearly read the Evil Overlord list unlike her fucking boss who does things seemingly for #aesthetic)

- seriously though, Lotor’s kind of bland and generic and the plot kind of twists itself up to be a little convoluted to make him seem mysterious and cunning, maybe he has a really awesome Xanatos gambit up his sleeve for the later seasons that will make up for it (maybe we will have actual depth to his on-screen persona later as opposed to just using his Generals to prop him up as interesting, who knows) (seriously though, what’s his genuine motivation? what was his relationship with his father actually like? can we actually see him interacting with the rest of the Galra empire/fleet? Haggar kind of has a point about his priorities)

- despite my complaints, I was genuinely excited by the plot of this season. Yay for exciting sci-fi!

- loved seeing the original Paladin backstory

- again, I was not expecting Zarkon feels - I was definitely not expecting Zarkon/Haggar feels (or that their pre-evil relationship would actually be quite sweet?!)

- Alfor’s a darling and such a nerd, I love it

- baby Allura is the cutest ever, I imagine that Coran was completely smitten the first time he laid eyes on her (the entire universe was, tbh)

And finally, one of my favourite aspects of the season - the development of Keith and Lance’s relationship:

- aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- they’re just so supportive of each other, and they look to each other for guidance, and they pay attention to what the other is saying, and their teasing is kind of fond now, and they had actual scenes about emotions together

- I’m just ... I’m fine, completely fine, I’m always so happy I float near the ceiling when the two of them interact on screen, this is totally normal

- (*whispers* season 3 reaction fics! *squee!*)

In conclusion: Whoo! Bring on season 4!

(I am now going back to rewatch the whole season again before bed)

[mittensmorgul]

(side note to say regarding the post I reblogged earlier today suggesting Dean– possibly with Sam in cahoots– might be running their own Xanatos gambit this season a la Crowley’s “ten steps ahead” game on Lucifer, that this certainly does seem to play into that theory. As does 12.06, but I’ll discuss that in a separate post so this one doesn’t get completely derailed >.>)

That’s from two posts down my dash, and I need to talk about this some more.

Yes, s12 is attempting to ensnare us in tangles of red string, but 15 episodes in we’re getting a better idea of which strings only lead back to the past and which are the Main Strings all those other smaller strings are connecting to, and I think a few big ones tie in to this “ten steps ahead” theory.

-Dean’s not only an excellent liar, aside from a few VERY NOTABLE SITUATIONS (i.e. desperately wanting to believe in Cas in 6.20, and desperately wanting to believe in Mary in 12.03), Dean is also EXCELLENT (possibly to a supernaturally ridiculous level) at detecting lies.

-Yes, Dean has a tendency to run straight at problems while lacking preparedness, but on this side of 11.23, I think he’s sincerely tempered that urge and is far more willing to play a “long game.”

Because we’ve seen numerous iterations of this theme so far this season. Notably in 12.01 we had Sam  “outwit” Toni with his faked suicide despite being compromised by a mind control drug. Then in 12.02 we had Dean outwitting Toni by knowing the mind control technique she was using on Mary. Yes, these were tiny victories, but I think they count as “teachable moments.”

I’m not sure yet if Sam is actively learning the same lessons as Dean here, because he has tried to keep things hidden, but I definitely believe that Dean has been learning lessons here. Especially since he was paired with Crowley in 12.15, who stated his machinations flat out. In an episode that textually compared Dean to Crowley, 

Dean: I mean, a few years ago, who'd have thought you'd be helping us save the girl of the week? Crowley: Or a few years ago, who would have thought you'd be working with the King of Hell. Maybe you rubbed off on me. Maybe I rubbed off all over you.

AND outlined at least the beginnings of Crowley’s secret agenda:

Crowley: That's not what I said. I'm glad you've had a little taste of freedom. What I said was, I'm always ten steps ahead. I said you cross me, and I crush you. You hit me, I hit you back twice as hard. You make me your dog, I make you my slave. That chain around your neck was nothing. A stylish accessory. This vessel, that's your true prison. It's been warded with runes and spell-work from the Cage carved into every molecule. In there, I own you. I'm just getting started. So, I'm gonna put you back in your hole and then I'm gonna go find your spawn, and I'm gonna rip him a part while you watch. And then... I'm still just getting started.

It’s nearly impossible to dismiss the notion that this level of plotting and planning should apply to Dean, at least as a theoretical possibility here.

But going back to 12.06 (which I just rewatched), there were some key moments that I think nicely summarize some of the big points of s12.

FIrst of all, the Villain Speech from Jael:

Jael: Oh, I have heard so many stories about you Winchesters. And... I desperately want the Lucifer thing to be true. The idea that he left a meatsuit alive is just so deliciously weak. As for the rest of you, I have been inside your heads. I know all about you! For example, the twins -- too frightened to tell anyone that they actually came to say goodbye to their daddy. Or the grieving mother who hated the fact that her son was a hunter so much, she'd hide his gear, she'd sabotage his jeep, anything to keep him from hunting. Not that it worked. Could've tried harder, huh? And this... Meatsuit that you all seem to care so much about, she actually fantasized about a life with Asa. Can you believe that? Like that worthless man-

I’m gonna break this one down:

Derisiveness over Lucifer leaving a meatsuit alive-- yet now after 12.15 we know that Crowley’s specifically “rebuilt” one of Lucifer’s apparently dead meatsuits and turned it into a mobile imprisonment unit. Even dead meatsuits can be a weakness if you just plan well enough...

the “secret family” family secrets thing with the twins being Asa’s children, yet nobody else ever knew that. Family secrets can prove toxic later on down the line, but they can also prove to be cathartic and healing.

A mother hating the fact her son was a hunter so much that she attempted to sabotage him in order to “protect” him or stop him from hunting. Jael’s “could’ve tried harder” here is actually chilling considering Mary’s motivations in working with the MoL...

And finally, romantic love. Jody wanted a relationship with Asa, another hunter, someone who understands the life >.>

But the biggest revelation of them all was the betrayal by Bucky, that he was actually responsible for Asa’s death, and yet he’d tried to blame Jael for it. A lie, a betrayal, that earned him banishment from the hunting community.

Hunters gone rogue, as it were.

But another aspect of that episode absolutely fascinates me. Dean showed up to the fight fifteen minutes late with Starbucks, assessed the entire situation in like 15 seconds, and proceeded to formulate a plan. He was the only one truly PREPARED for the fight. Everyone else pulls out flashlights, and Dean pulls out a knife that can kill demons. I mean, he’s clearly got his priorities in order, more so than everyone else combined.

Mary: All right, uh, but how are we gonna lure it inside? Dean: We’re not. We get in. Everybody’s in, everybody’s clean. If someone won’t get in… Mary: They’re the demon. Dean: That’s right. Mary: Smart. Dean: Thanks.

Dean thinks in ways that other people just... don’t, or can’t. He’s a strategist. This is not new.

We see a lot of these things resurface in 12.09 (because if I can avoid talking about 12.08, I will...)

Dean Winchester: Well, what we have here is a failure to communicate. 'Cause we're not trapped out here with you. You're trapped out here with us.

That’s not false bravado, there. We watch Sam and Dean lay out an unbelievable series of traps and take out an entire army unit without a single fatality. They are efficient and thorough without being cruel or excessively violent. They do just what they need to get the job done.

In 12.11, we see Sam put in the position of solving the mystery alone, and while he eventually did get to the bottom of the mystery, he struggled in small ways where Dean (in a similar circumstance way back in 2.14) essentially followed a straight line through Sam’s “lost memories.” It’s one of the reasons I doubt Sam is in on any sort of current Xanatos gambit plan as of yet. If there’s something that big in play, I think it’s still Dean’s plan alone.

I mean, that could clearly change over the next few episodes, and it’s possible they’re already jointly plotting something larger, but I can’t help but see Dean’s progression from starting off at a disadvantage at the beginning of the season, gradually getting his feet under him, and now beginning to overtake everyone else on the playing board.

[nathanlars-blog]

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