#they're both very much in the Protect At All Costs camp

[amtrak12]

Looking back, my straight ships of my formative years can be divided into two categories:

I just want a girl to look at me like that

I just want to protect and love a girl like that

[glazelilyy]

genshin guys as types of dads

characters (separately!) - diluc ragnvindr, kaeya alberich, albedo, childe, zhongli, xiao

word count - 1222

genre - fluff, crack

format - headcanons

warnings - domestic life, parental content, children

a/n - im on the dad train here so im gonna keep it rolling with this LOL

content under the cut!

absolute worrywart dad

he packs the baby/kid bag himself

it's not that he doesn't trust his partner to do it, he's just overly meticulous about everything he's bringing (please remind him not to pack two first aid kits and three blankets in case his baby gets cold)

he'll start to worry if they've gone off too far from the winery or if they're out of his or his partner's sight for more than five minutes

also very protective

not to the point where it's overbearing but looking in on the outside it's extremely obvious that diluc would maul anyone that tries to harm his child

very gentle with his child

prefers to hold them on his hip—a classic of course

if his child has named all of their stuffed animals, you better bet he'd got their names, genders, ages, occupations, and personalities memorized

expect to walk in on tea parties and sparring sessions with wooden swords between him and his child on the daily (and yes, diluc will willingly—although begrudgingly—put on a tutu, fluffy boa and tiara for tea parties)

he spoils them a bit, actually a lot

if they want that toy that costs two million mora? it's theirs

but diluc is reasonable and will make sure that his child doesn't grow up to be demanding of everything they want

all in all, diluc is a bit of a worrywart protective dad, but he's also super soft for them he'd do absolutely anything and everything to support his child

fun dad fun dad fun dad-

no but seriously kaeya as a dad is full of new experiences every day

he'd take his children on adventures, whether it be a simple stroll through mondstat to greet the locals, or spontaneous camping trips near windrise, there's always never ending fun

adores having his children sit on his shoulders

"the view's better when you can see much more of it," is his usual reasoning

as fun as he is, kaeya is also great at supporting his children

who would've guessed that being a smooth talker came with its benefits?

he's able to sit and talk with his children instead of reprimanding them and the like

but then again, it's kaeya

expect him to pull lots of pranks, both on his partner and his cute kids

all in good fun though, if he does end up upsetting them you'd better believe he'd make it up to them as best he can

he'd love to stay up late and tell them creepy ghost stories and build pillow forts out of the cushions of couches and blankets

kaeya as a dad would be super fun! a little on the teasing side but he'd do his best to give his children the life that his own father never could

the calm dad

he's pretty good at this whole "taking care of a kid" thing (re: klee)

albedo's got a handle on how he works with his children pretty well

he's a tad stern, after all he'd hate for them to barge into his lab and accidentally hurt themselves

but then again with the proper lab attire, he'll let them sit by his side and watch as he runs alchemical tests (he absolutely adores the look of awe on his children's faces as they watch him work)

albedo will often explain lots of complicated scientific procedures to his kids in a manner that they can understand

he's also not afraid to be upfront with them, to a child it can come off quite blunt but the manner in which he talks and his phrasing assists in helping him convey what he wants to say

if his children are artistically inclined, he'd adore taking them to scenic areas like windrise or starsnatch cliff to sketch or paint

albedo as a dad is pretty chill and steady, he knows what he's doing

chaotic, sweet dad

kaeya may be the fun dad but childe takes it to a different level

he's a family man! he absolutely adores children and it's evident in how he behaves as a father

much like diluc there isn't anything he wouldn't do for them, besides let them see where he works of course

to them he's the best toyseller in snezhnaya (and he'll reinforce this idea by spoiling them rotten with the finest toys he can buy—after all the pockets of the fatui run deep)

he can and will let them stay up past their bedtime and slide them an extra cookie after dinner when his partner isn't looking

looooots of tickle and pillow fights

he'd enjoy teaching his kids to spar with wooden swords and practice weapons

and family ice fishing!! he'd make it a tradition to go ice fishing with his children and teach them all he knows

childe as a dad would be a bit of an enabler, but he just really really cares for his family and children and wants nothing but the absolute best for them

stern yet gentle dad

zhongli is refined and sophisticated

he expects a certain degree of composure and eloquence from his children

100% homeschools his kids, and they'd probably come out brighter than those in regular public school

he enjoys reading books to his kids, who curl up in his lap or on either side of his body on a couch with piqued interests and curious gazes as he turns the pages and reads aloud

he's not overly stern, but he has ground rules that are pretty basic: use manners, be polite, and adhere to bedtime, to name a few

zhongli refuses to spoil his children with elaborate gifts and toys

then again, zhongli is easily fascinated and forgets that his pockets aren't as deep as he remembers

so it isn't unusual for him to approach the counter of a store with an armful of children's books and toys in his hands every now and then and not have any mora to pay it (to which he usually replies, "please send the bill to wangsheng funeral parlor, they shall take care of this matter.")

overall, zhongli is a pretty stern dad but extremely soft for his children at the same time

protective dad!!

xiao would give life and limb for his children's smile (after all, a family is something he never thought he'd have)

much like diluc, he's kind of a worrywart

if harm were to come to his children, he'd never forgive himself

so he makes it his mission to guard them with his life

he's also the type to be a bit distant, but he makes sure his child knows he cares in his own way

from making them protective adeptal amulets out of leaves to letting them play with the wind currents he manifests, xiao shows his love and appreciation in his own way

it wouldn't be unusual to stumble in on xiao with flowers in his hair and the squishy little fingers of his child weaving them into his locks

he may show up sometimes with a chain of sweetflowers around his neck, and if asked where he received it from he'll possibly dodge the question entirely

he's a bit rough around the edges and will go absolutely feral if anyone tries to harm his children, but as a dad xiao is absolutely at the beck and call of his child and will do anything for their happiness

date published: june 22nd, 2021

[lonely-lost-soul]

Since I've Been Gone

Request: what if...Platonic fluff things with reader and bench trio?... Like they're all in a flower field chilling then Tommy is like, "You guys wanna make flower crowns?" And reader, ranboo, and tubbo just look at him like 👁👁 what, Turns out Tommy picked up flower crown making from his big brothers techno and Wilbur so now he does it when he's either bored or stressed. Anyways hope this inspires you <3 -🐱 Anon

(Platonic!Bench Trio x Gn!Reader)

The server had been through a lot, Tommy was just recently revived and was coming off of finding out his two best friends were married. The young boy had a white streak in his blonde hair and was still trying to adjust to the life he missed. Especially when it came to his longtime friend and roommate (y/n). Tommy had recently found out they were off living with Karl and Sapnap in the Kinoko Kingdom...the bitch. After Tommy had disappeared after he...died Karl had found them hiding out in his old library. You had scared the time-traveler half to death when he found you camping out in a corner of the room. However, after seeing as you had nothing, no weapons or armor he concluded you weren’t much of a threat, especially after you told him your sob story. You told him you lived with Tommy and you couldn’t go back there now that he was dead, Ranboo and Tubbo were off doing married things and you had felt so alone. Karl decided at that moment he would take you in, no matter what the cost. Sapnap had a bit more trouble adjusting to your presence, but as soon as he saw you had some fire within your belly he began to warm up to you. It only took a few days for Karl to practically adopt you and since he was engaged to Sapnap the fire demon was stuck with you for a child.

Not that he minded, you weren’t a loud kid, very pleasant to be around hell even his dad took a liking to you. Sapnap was baffled when Karl told him you had previously lived with Tommy, the most obnoxious child on the server. The two of you couldn’t be more different, and when Tommy was revived, he and Karl weren’t enthused. Karl was worried he’d lose you to the trouble maker and it was well known Tommy and Sapnap didn’t have the greatest history. Their worries were quelled the moment you introduced them as your dads to Tommy, Karl burst into tears and Sapnap put you in a headlock much to your protest. Tommy stood by awkwardly, he had missed a lot, he hated the fact that he felt like his friends were happier without him in their lives.

He was brought back to the present by the idle chatter of Tubbo and Ranboo by his side Tubbo was on Ranboo’s back declaring walking was way too much work for him. You snickered nudging Ranboo in the ribs, he let out a yelp and glared down at you halfheartedly. Tommy watched you turn towards him a smile on his features,

“What do you think Tommy?” He blinked a few times at you, not wanting to admit he wasn’t listening to the conversation next to him.

“I don’t fucking know,” He scoffed “This conversation is bullshit anyway who cares.” You had a smirk on your lips that he was all too familiar with, he narrowed his eyes at you.

“You weren’t listening were you?”

“Of course I was listening bitch!”

“Oh really? What did she ask then big man?” Tubbo mused resting his chin on his husband’s shoulder. Hair covering his vibrant, green eyes, horns peeking from beneath his shaggy hair. Tommy glared at his long time friend flipping him off eloquently,

“Probably something stupid and useless.”

“She asked if you knew where we were going,” Ranboo piped up with a casual hum, bouncing in his step. “Cause we’ve been walking for a while, I know Tubbo’s tired.”

“Yeah Tommy, I’m tired.”

“You’re not even walking!” You argued as Tubbo stuck his tongue out at you, lifting his hair from his eyes to wink at you. His one eye glowing with a yellow nuclear symbol, “Put that symbol away! You’re not cool.”

“Says the person who doesn’t own nukes,” He mused letting his hair fall back into place while grabbing onto Ranboo’s horns. “Or who doesn’t have any cool powers,”

“Ow! Low blow! Just cause Tommy and I are the only two humans in the group doesn’t mean you can pick on us! Right, Tommy!”

“Yeah! Exactly! Fuck you guys!” Tommy agreed linking your arms together, “Plus, I know exactly where we’re going. We’re almost there, Wilbur used to take me here all the time when I was little.” Tommy said almost in an afterthought, the kids around him grew quiet, each one knew Wilbur was a touchy subject for Tommy especially after his time in the afterlife. Yet, people seemed to forget that Wilbur wasn’t always crazy, wasn’t always a manipulator, once he was an older brother. Once he cared for Tommy and wanted to protect him from some of Phil’s neglect, protect him from Technoblade’s voices. Tommy wanted to remember that Wilbur, not the one stuck in purgatory who blew up the country they all fought so hard to retain. He felt your hand squeeze his arm,

“I’m excited to see where Wilbur decided to take you, hopefully, it’s not a fish pond.”

“Oh gross.” Ranboo groaned pinching the bridge of his nose as Tubbo laughed loudly from above him. Tommy made a disgusted face,

“Stop talking about all the fish who fucked my brother!”

“I didn’t you did.” You hummed skipping ahead of the group feet crunching on the leaves on the ground.

“YOU BASTARD!” Tommy shrieked running after you,

“Onward steed!” Tubbo pointed at his two friends who ran off, Ranboo grumbled but trotted after the duo.

It only took a few more arguments and a few more minutes of walking before the quartet came to the destination Tommy was eager to show them. You stopped on your heels jaw-dropping in awe,

“Holy shit…” You murmured, in front of all of you was a gorgeous field of flowers a giant dark oak tree sat in the middle. It was giant spanning up far into the sky but it created a nice shade to keep all of you cooled off. Tommy had a rare peaceful smile on his lips as he let the sun touch his face, he slid off his boots and ran into the field of flowers.

“Take your shoes off so you don’t crush them or I’ll crush you!” Tommy snickered falling back, letting the flowers tickle his cheeks. He opened his eyes just a crack to see you sliding off your boots and joining him in the field, you didn’t lay beside him instead he watched your form head to the tree. Meanwhile, Tubbo kicked off his boots, Ranboo wasn’t far behind his husband. Tubbo laughed running over and flopping next to Tommy, holding his arm close much to the blonde’s displeasure.

“Ranboo! Help me reach the taller branches!” You called to the tallest member of your friend group. He nodded walking over to you, grabbing your waist gently he lifted you into the air. You grabbed onto the nearest branch and hoisted yourself into the air, Ranboo was always shocked at your upper body strength, but then again you trained on your own for years. Ranboo hovered at the base of the tree nervously, both of his tails flicking side to side.

“Don’t climb too high!” He called watching you slip and cling onto the trunk to steady yourself. “(Y/n) CAREFUL!”

“I’m fine, mom!” You stuck your tongue out at him from above, “I’ve fallen out of taller trees!”

“If you get hurt Sapnap would literally burn me alive! So PLEASE try not to fall!”

“Boo calm down a little!” Tubbo snickered, “if they fall I’ll film it.”

“Tubbo has the right idea,” you agreed as Tommy laughed from beside Tubbo. Ranboo frowned ears twitching in distress, you only continued to climb higher to his dismay. Eventually, you came down falling elegantly into the arms of Ranboo who caught you easily. He was breathing heavily, recovering from the shock of your sudden drop. His long nails dug into your skin as he clutched onto you like a lifeline, “Ranboo let go!” You huffed trying to wiggle out of his tight grip.

“Absolutely not! Are you a lunatic!” His voice broke, “I could’ve missed! You could’ve broken an ankle!”

“But I didn’t,” You poked his nose with a teasing hum. Ranboo groaned louder placing his head in the crook of your neck, you snickered as he finally let you onto the ground. You walked over to Tommy and Tubbo and sat down next to them, you leaned against Tommy’s back who grunted in distaste. “Deal with it gremlin, be my backrest,”

“Fuck you bitch!” He snarled but didn’t move or push them off, you smiled teasingly winking in the direction of Tubbo. He snickered into his palm as Ranboo pulled Tubbo into his lap, and the young goat hybrid got comfortable. The four of you sat in peaceful silence, letting the sun beat down around you all. A nice breeze blew through the area causing the leaves of the nearby trees to shake, a few animals rustled around in the bushes.

“We should make flower crowns,” Tommy spoke up suddenly his nails digging into the dirt. You titled your head in confusion and Raboo looked equally as baffled, the only person who didn’t seem surprised was Tubbo.

“Sure man but you gotta collect the flowers,” Tubbo said tiredly Tommy clicked his tongue stubbornly.

“We’re surrounded by flowers you’re just lazy.”

“Yeah obviously.”

You gave Tubbo a look and sat up on your knees, “What do you need to get started?”

“Can you grab me some of those daisy’s, tulips, and some bluebells?” You nodded standing up and popping your knees before heading off in that direction. Meanwhile, Tommy grabbed some lilacs and began stringing those together, his tongue poked out from his bottom lip as he gave his full concentration to the task in front of him. Ranboo watched curiously ears flicking every time Tommy let out a mumble, you came back and dumped the flowers beside him. He grunted out thanks making the final knot in the crown, “Done!” He declared looking over at Ranboo, he flushed a little under Tommy’s gaze.

“Didn’t mean to stare.” Tommy huffed holding out the crown to the halfling, he pointed at himself and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“Take it. If you don’t want it I’ll just give it to (Y/n)-”

“I want it!” Ranboo reached out to snatch the crown from Tommy, he placed it gently on his head mindful of the horns. Tommy’s eyes widened and he flushed red, he quickly turned back to the pile of flowers. “Teach us how to make them,” Ranboo offered to try to ease the awkward tension. Tommy huffed but nodded, a smile spread across your lips,

“Teach us your ways oh wise one.” You teased picking up the daisy’s spinning the stem between your fingers.

“Yeah! I am wise! Call me master innit!”

“I’d rather choke,”

“Fuck you!”

You snicked as Tommy punched you hard in the shoulder, you doubled over falling into the flowers. Tommy growled pulling you up by the shirt, “Pay attention bitch! I’m only telling you this once!” Sitting back up you nodded and followed his instructions carefully, he ended up taking the daisies and you the tulips. Ranboo grabbed the bluebells reaching over Tubbo to follow Tommy’s instructions as well, by the end Tommy’s was pristine. The one you made was decent but Ranboo’s looked worse for wear considering he was trying to put it together with claws. He put the crown on top of a snoozing Tubbo, he was proud of his work nonetheless, his husband smiled tiredly nuzzling against his chest. You on the other hand placed the tulip crown you made atop of Tommy’s blonde hair, he flushed and rolled his eyes. He brushed his fingers over the daisies and placed them on top of your head, you looked up at the crown and smiled warmly.

“Thank’s Big T,” you hummed falling back into the flowers and Tommy joined you in laying down. Both your fingers interlocked and Ranboo shuffled to the ground as well, although he didn’t reach out to take Tommy’s hand, Tommy reached out to take Tubbo’s. The four of you stayed in that field until your walkie-talkie screeched cutting through the quiet atmosphere, it was the gruff voice of Sapnap’s. One of your fathers

“Earth to (Y/n), come in (y/n). Your dad wants you here for dinner, George is joining us tonight. I grilled!”

“Ugh. Buzzkill,” Tommy sneered kicking the dirt with his barefoot. You shushed him and pressed the button in to speak,

“Yeah papa, I’ll make my way back soon. Give papa a big kiss for me and if you see Quackirty tell him hello!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice. Karl come here honey~” You snickered as Tommy gagged, you heard your dad meow before your walkie cut off then and you sat up. You stretched your arms above your head and popped your arms into place, you kissed your teeth hopping to your feet.

“I gotta head back unless I want dad to beat my ass. Thank you for today boys and Tommy thank you for sharing your place with us. I’m glad we were trusted with this special secret.” You winked wiggling your toes in the long grass, “we should do this again yeah?”

“Yeah!” Ranboo agreed as Tubbo gave a sleepy thumbs up, your smile only widened. Tommy nodded giving a thumbs-up as well, he watched you head off to collect your boots and head back home. Head to a family, a family who cares about your wellbeing, or if you’re staying out too late. Hell, even who cared about who you were hanging out with, Tommy couldn’t help but wonder what that was like, he didn’t think he’d be very good at listening to any parental figures. He didn’t have that, he would never have that, he looked at your retreating figure, then back over at Tubbo and Ranboo. They both were half asleep and he couldn’t help but glance at the golden rings on each one of their fingers.

He missed so much since he’s been gone.

But maybe all wasn’t bad, he touched the tulips on his head, thinking for a moment.

Maybe he didn’t need a normal family with a mom and a dad, or two dads or moms, he had a family right here. He brought his hand to the scarf on his neck and squeezed it in his fist, who needed that shit when he had everyone he loved in this field with him today.

For once in his life, Tommy was happy.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

B2:S - Chapter 3

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be Lujanne, Callum, Rayla, Ezran, Bait, and Soren goodness!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

Lujanne having excellent fitness for all her walking around the Moon Nexus, and she's so energetic that Callum has trouble keeping up with her! She seems like those active grandmas who almost never stop moving, who have a lifelong supply of endless stamina. It makes me wonder if Lujanne will need that level of fitness for some upcoming conflict.

Callum feeling really hungry over not eating grubs and then still deciding he'd rather be hungry. It makes me wonder all over again how Lujanne got to the point where she eats grubs, considering that other Moonshadow elves we know of back in the Silvergrove don't. I still love my hc that the giant leech ate all of Lujanne's moonberry bushes and she's taking her revenge. Whatever's going on there, Callum is definitely not at that point yet.

When Lujanne asks Callum how he knows she's real, he thinks to himself that he'd put up with just about anything from someone who was going to teach him magic. That's a great parallel and foreshadowing for Viren's student/master relationship with Aaravos! And it's telling that neither student gets exactly what they hoped to get. Lujanne doesn't actively teach Callum any spells, because she believes he can't learn Moon magic at all. Aaravos does offer Viren power, but it takes him to some very dark places - literally and figuratively - and the cost is terribly high.

Callum sees a moon shape among the ruins, and Lujanne explains that the Moonhenge layout is an intricate rune that uses the structures themselves as part of its symbols and power. That's apparently a thing even with ordinary Moonshadow villages like Hollow Wood in the east, which is the coolest idea I've seen in a while: city planning as magic runes!

Yes, that's the same shape as the pendants Ethari made for himself and Runaan. Protection? Home? Feelsiness? A sense of safety and belongnig for all cycles and seasons?

Wonder what this Moonhenge rune stands for, then, and how much of this landscape is included in that rune. I bet it's more than we think!

But it makes sense now, how toppling the stone pillars would disable the spell the druids would cast to connect with the Moon Nexus lake. Breaking the infrastructure of the Moonhenge breaks the rune.

There's a physical sensation involved with the visuals that Historia Viventem brings up! When that one ghostly druid walked through Callum, he felt icy cold. Like in ghost stories. I really wonder about what exactly Historia Viventem is doing when it activates. It shows truth, "what really happened here?", so it must have some kind of time-related element, maybe tied to how the moon always repeats the same cycles or something. But it also seems to draw on the spirits of any living people involved in the flashback, because Callum could physically feel that wispy shape passing through him. So very interesting!

Orrr... is that all wrong, and there's something else at work with this spell than time? Maybe the world beyond life and death can act as an imprint of the things that have happened in the living world, and the spell that Lujanne (and later Callum) casts taps into that place, with perfect recall. I'm looking really hard at the sentence that says "dozens of translucent elf ghosts" and "phantom Moonhenge" and "lost in their own world" here.

Lujanne says more here than in the show about the world beyond life and death, being her mysterious Moonshadow-mage self. She says that "beyond" and "between" might both apply to where this other plane of existence is, and she doesn't much care which. With all the relativity swirling around this place, and not much in the way of empiricism, it's sounding like perhaps multiple conflicting ideas might actually coexist in such a place, allowing more ideas to fit there than we might normally believe is possible. Which is a fascinating bit of worldbuilding. Basically, every headcanon anyone has ever had about the Moon Nexus could all be true at the same time, for all we know.

Oh oh oh, Callum coming in soft with a secret wish! He takes one look at the Moonhenge and immediately thinks of finding a way to see his mom again! Poor boy, my heart! I'd say that could be another interesting parallel with Viren, but then, who wouldn't hold that sentiment?

Oh my, is this another breath of life into Ye Olde Ley Lines headcanon? Lujanne mentioning the Nexuses again, so soon after talking about the runic design of the entire Moonhenge, makes me wonder if the six nexuses are in fact giant runes. On Earth, the places where ley lines cross are called nexuses, and there are those who believe those points got marked with ancient structures, like Stonehenge and many many others. If Xadia were crossed with magical lines which naturally formed nexus points where they met, and if powerful magical runes were built across those entire areas, well. That would be cool beans, fams. Can I smack a map of Xadia and release a spell like Luz Noceda does? Because ngl that is my first instinct here.

Lujanne has got to be missing some grandkids to spoil, right? The way she's always whipping out cake and ice cream for Callum, and she's so grandma-ish about it. Headcanon about her being Runaan's mom aside, she is canonically lonely and she's very sweet to Allen and Ellis and I think she's missing whatever family she once had in the past. She may never get to have that family back, so she's finding a new one among the humans who live nearby, and I think that's sweet. Found family isn't just for the young.

But Ellis is straight up gonna be her fave, I bet, because she didn't turn up her nose at Lujanne's illusion food!

Ezran and Bait have a lot more to their relationship than was visible in the show, and I'm so excited by it! Ez can tell by looking at Bait's colors that he's not truly jealous of Zym, even if he's really grumpy about the dragonling taking up his favorite human's time.

And Ez thinking a lot about his dad and the things he's taught him. They're soft leadership material, and I love that so much! "Pick your battles" and the importance of encouragement. Ahh, my heart. Ezran, you're going to be such a good king.

But wait a second: both times that Bait gets extra grumpy in Zym's first training session, Ezran has just mentioned something about flying. Guys, I think Bait wishes he could fly, really badly. And that's his biggest problem with Zym, and with Ezran teaching Zym to fly, instead of Bait who doesn't have wings so. Bait is so old that his secrets have secrets, and I'm really curious how flying fits into them now!

Rayla, Dramatic Assassin: "I need to patrol for dark forces." That's what Lujanne called the source of the purple wisps that found them. I wonder if that's an official term all Moonshadows know, or if Rayla is just taking her cue from a veteran Moon mage. And I wonder how far Rayla is falling into the apparent pattern of "one mage, one assassin", since she does spend a lot of her time patrolling without being asked.

When Callum tells Lujanne that he was bad at prince stuff, and she asks if he didn't give up and got good at those things anyway, it's an opportunity for Callum to embrace subverting his parents' expectations in favor of seeking his own path, which is a primary theme of the show. But Lujanne is a couple generations older than Callum, at the very least, and I have to wonder what her upbringing was like. Is her version of success the one she took? Was she bad at magic once too, but she persisted? She is very soft and doesn't want to kill anyone.

Maybe Lujanne had dreams of doing something else with her life, but she felt she had to pursue the destiny that others handed to her, so she studied magic as hard as she could, and she did get good at it, but using it to defend Xadia from humans is not what she wanted to do with her life. Whether there's a parallel between her and Ethari on that point, there's one between Callum and Ethari, I think. How much of your life are you willing to let others direct for you?

LISTEN I WAS DYING AT THE EAR BREAD SCENE OKAY

This is my new favorite Soren and Claudia moment ever. Soren loves him his bread, okay. Even as earplugs for Claudia's sleep ocarina tune. The fact that it's "super effective" makes me think of a Pokemon defense. The fact that he learned it at camp, where he also learned about Moonshadow Madness, is hilarious. Later on, Corvus doesn't know Soren by name, but I still love the idea of Corvus being a kind of Strider-esque camp instructor, filling the ears of his young charges with all kinds of useful tactics like ear bread for magic spell songs (which actually seemed to work as intended), and warnings about the enemy elves' blood-themed tactics (which may or may not come back around in BH)

I thought they were gonna go in a kind of deep direction when Soren still wanted his ear bread back, but then he just. Eats them. Just noms them. I love this kid. Give Soren all the bread!

[jadelotusflower]

Robin Hood Rewatch: 2x08 Get Carter!

This is actually one of my favourite episodes of the season, partly because I really enjoy relationship angst, but mostly because we get multiple characters dealing with their trauma/grief. If we can't get these guys and gals into therapy, at least we get to see them talk (and hug) it out.

Also the best episode title they're had for a while - I have no doubt one of the writers is a fan, and Carter is so named only because they wanted to make this reference. The assassin seeking revenge for a dead brother is wholesale lifted from the plot of the film, and Joseph Kennedy almost has a passing resemblance to Michael Caine's look in that role.

"Get Carter - before Carter gets you!"

Carter is one of the only guest stars they actually will bring back later, and for good reason.

"Why don't you ever kiss my ring?" Vaisey, always making things creepy.

Marian is simmering with unrestrained anger, eager to get into the fight, while Robin is the one advocating for the watch and see approach, and it’s quite the role reversal.

The gang's reaction to her charging off is quite funny though, she knocks John over completely and Djaq throws her hands in the air.

Robin’s now getting a taste of what the rest of the gang have to put up with dealing with his recklessness.

Tying Marian up in the middle of a melee, however, is disgusting behaviour - while Marian was hot-headed throwing herself into the fight (nothing Robin hasn't done before himself), he knows that she can hold her own with a sword and doesn't need protecting. Tying her hands is the absolute worst thing he could have done, because how is she meant to defend herself? I can somewhat understand where Robin is coming from in this episode (even if he goes about it badly), but this is unjustifiable.

Clearly she gave that guard she clanked on the head amnesia, because he never reports back that Marian was fighting with the gang.

“I owe you my life”/“I won’t take it just yet.” Nice.

Scimitar is still missing in action.

Robin doesn’t want Marian to be seen in case she needs to return to the castle, when he’s spent the whole season urging for her to join the gang. I think he realises he made a mistake asking her to flee last episode without giving her time to deal with her grief, and wants to leave her options open. But telling her that she’s not ready to make the decision (about whatever she wants to go back), however correct, is patronising.

There's a fundamental conflict that Marian wants to be treated like a member of the gang, but doesn't want to cede to Robin's authority like the rest of the gang - in turn Robin expects her to follow his orders like the others, but isn't treating her like he would the others either - he would never tie them up to keep them out of a fight, and Marian has every right to pissed at him about it.

Djaq and Much having a little tête-à-tête about Carter - I just really enjoy that they’re often paired together in these gang scenes, they balance/play off each other so well. Just this pure platonic frazzled vs calm vibe.

Much just has this really great memory for faces - he was able to recognise fake Richard last season just from his profile despite wearing a helmet, and now he knows he remembers Carter's face from somewhere (or as it will turn out, Carter's brother).

Much really just does not let up, and I love that about him. "You'll be disappointed though, with uh, today's wound. I mean if you're planning to go back to the Holy Land and, uh, kill him." That not so subtle probing for information and Sam Troughton's delivery is always perfect.

"Wasn't me, was it?" Oh Much, so close.

“The crusty one” - lol

It's not explicit, but implied that Vaisey and Guy believe Edward was the one passing information to Robin, and Marian is cleared of any suspicion (paving the way for her return). Guess Guy never showed the Sheriff that hair dagger after all.

Vaisey is actually giving Guy some really good advice here, albeit laced with his usual cruelty and getting all up in Guy's personal space.

"Grow up Gisborne" - now I don't think it's deliberate on Vaisey's part to invoke a Marian parlance, seeing as she really only says this to Robin (and once to Much), but it's a nice little callback, however unintentional.

Marian asks for an apology (and deserves one), but Robin doubles down and doesn't come out of this exchange well.

Because his delivery is terrible, but he's otherwise quite correct - as skilled as Marian is, she’s used to relying on (and having to worry about) only herself and not work in a team, and look to a single point of command. But both of them have their backs up - they're two strong personalities and neither is going to give ground, reverting to the ideological clashes of season 1, except now in much closer quarters.

Robin's also not used to being challenged in this particular way, and in his frustration is reacting like a captain disciplining a soldier, not a lover helping their partner through their grief. I do wonder if the conversation would have gone differently if they'd been alone.

lol at the gang awkwardly standing around listening to Robin and Marian fight. Djaq trying to busy herself with her mortar and pestle as Robin and Marian argue around her.

A really great scene between Marian and John aka the camp dad. Marian really just needs someone to listen to her and appreciate what she's going through - Robin is too fixated on the dangerous way she's channeling her grief and not even trying to address the root cause. He trying to tell her what to do, not listen to what she actually needs.

On the other hand it's probably better coming from John, a neutral party without the emotional baggage she has with Robin.

Because Robin and Marian are really being driven by completely different motives - Marian by grief and therefore loss, and Robin by trauma and therefore fear. In her sorrow, Marian has lost all her fear of being discovered, in fact she wants to make it know she's with the gang, to finally be free to say which side she's on and fight openly, to make her father's death worthwhile, and can't understand why Robin is trying to stifle that.

"I thought you used to have your own men Little John?" So someone remembers Forrest and Hanton!

After Carter takes down the gang one by one, Robin takes down Carter in three seconds (including catching the long dagger Carter throws at him, and flinging it back) and it's lights out. Can you believe it's the first concussion of the season? (Notwithstanding the multiple head injuries Allan sustained last episode).

While Marian has been known to be punch-happy, the "he'll tell us more if he knows we're willing to hurt him" is just so (intentionally) out of character - it is however somewhat reminiscent of Robin in 1x08, wanting to get his punch and torture on with Guy. However rather than understanding where Marian is coming from, he pushes her away with the "go and cook something" jibe. This almost feels like he was going for familiar banter and miscued, but is also an asshole thing to say. When their positions were reversed in 1x08 Marian at least tried to reason with him - Robin is seems to be ill-equipped to do the same.

Allan just having a little snooze against the castle wall. He really seems defeated and depressed after last episode.

Marian's corset has a pouch to hold a dagger - or at least I hope there is because otherwise it's ouch time.

Leaving Marian at the camp is again a mistake on Robin's part - it excludes and isolates her from the gang, rather than trying to involve her so she can bond with them, engaging in their outreach to the peasants - who she helped as the Nightwatchman, but never really had the opportunity to come to know. It would remind her that they are not just fighting against the Sheriff but for the people, which in her frenzied grief she has perhaps lost sight of.

Instead, Robin's focus is on Carter, who he rather identifies with and so finds it easier to address his motives, and try and change them.

Carter is in many ways Robin’s dark mirror, what he could have become in the Holy Land if he chose a different path. It’s important that this happens right when Robin is backsliding - he’s trying to save his own soul as much as Carter’s.

Okay, let's talk about Marian’s forest gear - fashioned from the outfit she wore when she fled the castle the previous episode - but dear me it's awful. The grey culottes, rather than becoming trousers have now been turned into that corset, and her vest/skirt overlay have now become those trousers. Just baffling.

“I’m good with nuns” followed by Allan straight up knocking the Mother Superior over and stealing her ring is iconic.

Much gives Robin a sword to use going after Carter - still no scimitar.

I really love the confrontation/fight scene between Robin and Carter - it's very well choreographed and written, but we also see the best of Robin's character (after seeing some of the worst earlier).

Carter's brother is called Thomas - Allan's brother was called Tom. Lots of dead brothers in this show (including Djaq's).

The story of Carter's brother Thomas dying because he "stopped listening" and led a raid against orders is a little on the nose, but gives context to Robin’s fear for Marian’s safety in part triggered by his war trauma - someone charging in against orders and then dying in his arms.

But it shows Robin as a man who, even when Thomas' recklessness had cost not only his own life but others of Robin's men, was still moved to instruct the stretcher-bearers to make Thomas the hero, and himself the negligent captain, in order to comfort his family.

The fight is fairly even, and although Robin gets the upper hand in the end, it's only partly his skill - rather his true strength is in reaching the man inside the assassin, and then surrender and allow Carter to take his revenge if that's what he wants, and despite his fear, trust that there is good still in him, and that he can leave behind the life as a killer as Robin has done (tried to do).

This scene is the core of why I really love Robin as a character. He's riddled with PTSD and a reckless bravado, he's at time emotionally stunted with those he loves, makes terrible mistakes and often says the wrong thing, but he also has this great heart and compassion that allows him to reach people, to understand and help them, even at the risk of his own life. He's trying.

"He was a hero - just not on that day" is quite a poignant line.

Much and Djaq together again, just saying.

Robin finally finds out that Roger of Stoke was intercepted. I had assumed he'd figured that out once he knew Allan was a traitor but okay.

Poor Much crying out for Robin's attention - he's got his own trauma from the war and wants to talk about it, to commiserate with Robin about what they went though, but Robin can only cope by not talking about it, not even thinking about it.

Much makes a good point that Robin should have listened to him about recognising Carter, but it comes across as jealously over Marian and Robin misses just how deeply Much carries his hurt.

One of Robin's biggest flaws is that he's overwhelming in his affection, compassion, and understanding for strangers, but takes those he loves for granted - Carter's response to grief was the same as Marian's, but Robin listened to Carter, consoled and comforted him, while keeping Marian at arm's length. Perhaps because strangers don't ask for anything beyond that - it is the granting of kindness, but not the sharing of self. It's the latter Robin truly fears, but what Much and Marian deserve (although tbf Marian has problems with this as well).

“Either I’m part of your gang or I’m not” is a valid point, and Robin's still not happy even when she agrees to stay behind!

But she disobeys him, and saves his life. It's a rite of passage - almost all of the members of the gang have this.

Allan looking rather distressed as Guy is about the chop off Robin's head, and he makes a small movement just before the swing (as does Much).

Guy again pushing Marian past the point of discomfort - she left, wrote him a letter asking him to leave her alone, straight up told him to his face to leave her alone, and still he persists.

Her kissing Guy (to distract him from seeing Much and Will) is really the only time she sends mixed signals, but Guy's whole energy seems to be just to wear her down until she agrees to be with him and it's gross. It is however kind of amusing that he tries to be authoritative and forbid her from leaving, and she immediately walks away.

Robin and Marian are back in playful banter mode, although I wish there had been a deeper discussion (and that Robin had apologised in return). It doesn't quite feel like the conflict between them has been resolved, it really is just a "truce".

But I do like that it's Marian who reaches out to Robin at the end of this episode, because up until this point it's Robin who has been (somewhat) the one making overtures - asking her to join the gang, telling her he needs her, telling her he loves her, while Marian's been more reserved. This feels like her acknowledging that sometimes she needs to take the first step.

This was a long one - but as a I said, I really love this episode!

[broadwaytheanimatedseries]

Anyone want another halfblood au? No? Well too bad!

Roman and Remus Victor, sons of Nike:

As sons of the goddess of victory, they have always been very competitive with everyone and most of all with each other, but simply assumed it was because they're sibling and siblings fight a lot.

They are always on opposite teams in capture the flag, because they either get picked as captains or the captains know better than to try to put them on the same team.

They both really care about winning and are very sore losers, but they each have their own idea on what winning is.

Simply put, Roman believes your victory doesn't count if you played dirty to get it or hurt someone along the way when you could have avoided that.

But Remus believes that victory is the only thing that matters and that it only counts if youre willing to do anything to achieve it.

Virgil Blackstone, Son of Hecate:

When he started learning Latin for the aesthetic, he did not expect it to end with him accidentally raising the dead.

He loves his house and his half siblings and he loves practicing magic.

He decided to entirely embrace the Goth Witch Aesthetic™ and he looks amazing tbh.

Hates capture the flag but actually loves sparring as a form of stress relief. He just hates competition.

Thomas Sanders, Son of Apollo:

Is really good at the singing and healing, like amazing at it. He's just okay at archery though. Not much worse than any other Apollo child but also not much better.

Is a precious bean that must be protected at all costs. Mess with him and you'll have half the camp after you.

Is very capable of defending himself but is more likely to apologize to you if you step on him. However if you hurt his friends, its over for you bitches.

Remington Pax, Son of Hypnos:

Fucking lazy as fuck. Sleeps all day, hardly ever leaves his cabin. Astral projects in his sleep just so he wont have to actually talk to people.

Deep down super insecure about his abilities and whether he even belongs in this camp, but he deals with that by ignoring it and sleeping more. Please help him.

Ethan Conroy, son of Athena:

Suave, smooth talking bastard. Always has a plan. Good luck finding out what it is though.

Earned the nickname Deceit by hustling the shit out of everyone and pretty much always getting away with it.

Loves snakes and pretends to not be as afraid of spiders as the rest of his cabin mates but they terrify him.

Virgil knows this and adorns himself with spider web patterns and carries his pet tarantula around whenever he doesn't wanna deal with Deceit's crap.

Only has one gray eye because of his heterochromia.

Patton Fortier, son of Zeus:

Patton, reading up on his dad later the same day he was told he was the son of Zeus: please just one story where you're not an asshole cmon please ffs I'm begging.

He does find exactly one but it's not very comforting compared to everything else he's ever done. Whenever he hears about something bad Zeus has done hes just like "that's what I thought you'd say you dumb fucking dad!"

Loves that he can fly and sometimes uses his weather control ability to literally brighten up his friends' cloudy day. Sometimes his emotions get out of control and the weather around him changes accordingly.

Doesn't really like the lightning powers but uses them if he thinks it can help. They feel kinda weird, like no one should have the power to zap something with a bolt of electricity. Like maybe the fact that Zeus can do it whenever he wants to whoever he wants no matter where they are with absolutely no repercussions is part of why he's such a jerk.

Is too shy to say so but thinks the Gods should maybe be held accountable if they're gonna control the entire planet because there are innocent people getting fucked over because the gods are acting like bratty children.

Logan Roux, Son of Ares:

Thinks his siblings are annoyingly hot headed and thick skulled, and prefers the war strategy side of his father's namesake.

However he is still a child of Ares and he has some issues controlling his temper, which in turn makes everyone around him have the same problem because of his demigod aura of war.

When he really loses his cool he goes full rage mode and destroys everything in his path. This type of anger doesn't happen often because he tends to control and even repress his anger and only has really big outbursts very rarely. It's usually because someone was mean to Patton or Virgil.

Hangs out at the Athena cabin more than his own because Ares children are exhausting to deal with. However not all Athena children are a dream either. Ethan for example, annoys him to no end.

Is really fucking buff without really trying. He loves it even if he acts like he doesn't really care.

Tries to avoid strong emotions in general to try and contain his outbursts.

Emile Picani, Satyr:

Remy's childhood friend, has brought him to camp as soon as possible once his scent started manifesting.

His first official mission though, was Virgil. He got to experience accidental necromancy first hand and help the young demigod fight off a bunch of zombies so he could calm down and undo the spell.

On his next mission, Remy insisted to join and they helped Patton fight a monster. It's a good thing Remy was there because Patton had no intention of killing the monster. He couldn't bring himself to hurt a living being.

After that they get back to camp and introduce Patton to everyone and he immediately gets claimed and everyone is like "fuck!" and he's like what happened?

Emile sighs tiredly. "this is gonna be a long summer..."

[deltarune-au-domain]

I made some small references for all the current characters in Rulesrune! Yay! They took forever and probably around 20 to 30 minutes each.

The Contest

This is a personal contest I'm holding since I will be away at camp for a whole week and will literally have no contact with the outside world. None. So why not hold a contest?

What you'll be doing

Pretty much I want to see a swap AU of Rulesrune but find it to complicated myself. So I'm holding a contest to see who'll do it best.

Don't worry you will get something! There will be a prize for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners!

All you have to do is design what you think Rulesswap would look like! That's pretty much the minimum. You don't have to do all the characters but the more the better!

Prizes

1st place will get rights to the Ruleswap AU and two free drawing requests from me as well as a drawing of your version of the characters

2nd place will get two free drawing requests and a drawing of their version of the characters.

Lastly, 3rd place will get one free drawing request and a drawing of their version of the characters.

Starting to finish

The start is right now! And the finnish is the 3rd of August. To enter, just use #Rulesswap ! This content is also being held in both deltarune au aminos, deltarune amino, undertale and undertale au amino and lastly my DA.

Character information.

This is to help you a bit.

In this AU it is MANDATORY for a Darkner to wear gloves when in the presence of a Lightner because when a Lightner and a Darkner touch bad thing can happen. Usually, the Darkner absorbs the Lightner, merging the two and making it impossible to separate them without killing one or both. Once a Darkner has absorbed a Lightner (this is usually not by choice) they can absorb other Darkners as well except they have a say in the matter since they're now "evened out".

Lancer is a smol bean at first. Due to an unfortunate,unforgettable, and unforgivable incident with his father he has a clawed gash across his face. Due to this, he's now color blind. He tends to asks Ralsei and Rouxls Kaard if he'll ever see a rainbow again. Unfortunately, he probably wont. Now later on Lancer finds Susie injured and attempts to help her, not knowing the gloves rule. This, of course, results in them merging and he now sees Susie as his invisible friend. In battle he uses a boomerang and when knocked out an axe will spin above him. Thats just Susie being over protective.

Rouxls Kaard Was just as cheerful as all usual until the incident happened or what the dark world likes to call it "The fall of the spades". After Lancer had been injured, Rouxls took it appon himself to get even with the spade king and by even I mean strait up beat the guy to a bloody pulp and toss him off the side of the castle. Of course, this most definitely killed the king and the kingdom was not happy. Rouxls, knowing about the geat door, took Lancer and C.Round to the door to escape. The guards chased them and they barely made it in. From then on they lived with Ralsei. Things were fine at first until the merging happened. Lancer had gone off and Rouxls was worried where he had run off too. So he went to go look for Lancer, accidentally passing him and Susie. He then found Kris who was concerned or at least curious where their friend went. Rouxls, not able to turn down any child at this point, agreed to help Kris find their friend when they heard Lancer yell "Dad! I'm lost!" Rouxls, in a rush, grabbed Kris and ended up merging with them. Rouxls Kaard is now a very very silent person and seems to have some personal grudge against Ralsei now, as if he knows something that he didn't before. Rouxls with occasionally talk to his soul but its very rare for him to talk at all. Rouxls use to lance in his pare time so uh..thats kinda how he attacks I guess.

Ralsei is alot taller than usual. He's about 6 feet, maybe a little shorter. This makes him a bit intimidating but Lancer loves him as if he was his own dad. Ralsei is kinda quiet but will talk if someone talks to him first. He's pretty nice and tends to take care of things when Rouxls needs a break. After Rouxls and Lancer's merging with the Lightners him and Rouxls haven't gotten along. They tend to fight (usually not physically because Lancer would notice) fairly often and it causes alot of tension. Lancer thinks his dads get along great so they have to at least pretend to like each other when smol bean is around. Ralsei, though very polite, has someone wrong. Very wrong. Its hard to describe but lets just say hes not all that he seems. He's been caught by Rouxls trying to absorb C.Round and Lancer wich has increased the distrust. No one knows who Ralsei merged with but he hates talking about it and seems to have developed a fear of flowers. Mostly big ones. Ralsei, even though he has poor eyesight, thends to avoid wearing his glasses because when he dose he freaks out. Ralsei is fairly skilled in fire magic due to him practicing alot. He also has vines, though extremely rare. He usually avoids using them at all costs and when he dose its purely accidental.

Jevil oh Jevil. Just as crazy as ever, maybe even more. He's still imprisoned but this time he wants to make a deal with you. He wants your soul. Jevil says that he can literally give you the world if you give him your soul. He'll sing about it during his fight and increasingly get more frustrated when you refuse. This Jevil loves to sing so more often then not he'll sing what he has to say. At the end if his fight, no matter how you defeated him, he'll turn into a scythe. Usually Lancer and Rouxls Kaard leave since they find the dungeon creepy but Ralsei will stay behind and take Jevil for himself.

Seam is the courtyard magician to the new king. Who's the new King? you'll find out later. He's a fairly straightforward cat and prefers to keep his magic acts as a profession. He admits that he misses Jevil but is to scared to go and see him again. He's afraid Jevil will be mad for imprisoning him. This leads Seam to be a bit jumpy since he thinks Jevil might have it out for him.

RK's C.Round dosent have much to be said about them. They fallowed Rouxls Kaard and Lancer to the great door. They lived with them kinda like a pet, keeping Lancer company and out of trouble. They're a great guard dog.

Asgore? You may be a bit confused. Why is Asgore in all of this? He's not even in the picture! Well do I have a story for you. You see, in the light world AKA hometown Asriel has been deemed missing since he went off to collage. Its been 3 years longer than he said and everyone was worried. So when Asgore went missing things got hectic. Undyne started doing more patrols and a curfew was set. Now, where do you think the last place Asgore was seen at was? It was the school. Asgore was helping fix some things and went to put something in the closet when he somehow entered the Dark World. There are multiple entrances and he just so happened to appear by the castle. The other kings had yet to be freed and the kingdom was in disarray so Asgore, being the kind hearted soul he is decided that he would be the new king. It took some convincing and research (as much as there could be) but he finally did it and the people are fairly happy.

Dogtrio is a set of 3 C/K.Rounds that work together. C/K.Rounds are more powerful in numbers. The one with the heart on his crown is their leader. He usually commands and heals the other two during battle. Together, combined, they can summon D.O.G. The acronym is unknown.

Robbert, Bobbert, and Elli are best if friends and like to change anyone. More specifically, they want to take down RK for killing the spade king. Unfortunately, they're just 3 idiots in a trenchcoat. The only lethal one is Robbert but he's so busy trying to make sure his friends don't fall off a clif or miss fire their bubble rocket launcher that he can't actually kill you. Bobbert is bubbly and kind and honest doesn't know what he's doing. Elli is mute yet kind and heals the other two when they get hurt.

Susie was absorbed by Lancer and is now considered his guardian. She protects him when no one else is around and helps describe colors to him. She'd go ballistic if anything happened to him.

Kris is just...Kris? They don't have too much do them. They don't talk and kinda just float around RK, waiting for the chance to escape. But they can't. They never will. It's slowly making them violent. Watch out.

Clover is just normal clover. They still haven't found a boyfriend yet.

[morlock-holmes]

In other news I watched the Cowboy Planet episode of old Galactica and it turns out it's a perfectly solid little story that holds up just fine so now my whole world is all turned around and I don't know what to think.

I was expecting something that went full on Lost In Space style camp, with a Cylon in chaps and a ten gallon hat or something, but instead it was played pretty straight.

So, the Cowboy Planet episode, or, to give it its official title, "Oh God oh God every episode of this show costs so much money please write something that won't cost us any money" begins with one of our interchangeable hair-feathering protagonists on some sort of mission to lead Cylon scouts away from the main fleet. This apparently succeeds, but all of our man's fancy barrel rolls have drained his ship's fuel supply, and he's forced to make an emergency landing on an unknown planet.

Conveniently for both him and the budget, the planet is inhabited by a society of low-tech humans who have the technology and aesthetics of an old western town, such as might be found on any number of easily redressed Hollywood studio lots.

Anyway, Apollo (That's the specific hair-feathering white guy we're dealing with) has accidentally landed in the field of a widowed woman and her young son. After a bit of suspicion, he befriends them, and he and we learn a bit more about the place.

For example, we learn that jf you want to create a weird space animal, just dub Wookie noises over footage of a pony. Television magic!

We also learn that these people don't seem to have gunpowder; instead they use "pneumos" which fire projectiles with compressed air. Good enough to kill local varmints preying on your Ovines, not good enough to do any damage to "Red Eye", a murderous enforcer working for the local corrupt cattle Baron. This Baron has been taking money and Ovines from the locals in exchange for not telling Red Eye to murder them.

Red Eye, it turns out, is a Cylon, and in a nice bit of visual storytelling he's covered in dents from all the times the colonists have shot him with their bb guns.

I won't go into the whole plot, but all kinds of things happen: one of the locals wants Apollo to kill Red Eye with his fancy laser pistol, but Apollo doesn't want to because Red Eye might have backup, and the Cylons might react to an attack on him by bombing the colony into oblivion. On the other hand, if he waits too long, the locals might try to take things into their own hands and it could become a blood bath. Meanwhile, he has to figure out if he can get more fuel for his ship before the Galactica travels out of range of rendezvous, and while all this is happening he's becoming more and more of a father figure to the young kid, and he wants to protect the kid from Red Eye without teaching him the wrong lessons about violence and heroism.

There's some nitpicking that I could do about how it all comes together at the end, but that was all in all a fairly solid piece of TV sci-fi that I could easily see being an episode of original series Star Trek or Next Generation.

Although I do think having Kirk or Worf in the lead would have added a dash of charisma, the Galactica crew seems very bland. Everybody seems to be a stalwart and good hearted military man doing his best under the circumstances. In Star Trek or Star Wars part of the fun is seeing these people with very different personalities and experiences play off of each other; in Galactica I literally cannot tell Starbuck and Apollo apart, and the only reason I'm not getting both of them confused with Boomer is because Boomer's black.

So I watched the first episode and went, "Wow if every episode of this show is this bad no wonder they cancelled it" and then I watched the dumb cowboy episode and went "If they're all this good maybe this show is slightly underrated?"

So now I just don't know what to think.

Wow, you guys, wow, the original Battlestar Galactica suuuuuuucks.

I mean, don't get me wrong, it looks amazing; the Lucasarts model effects work looks great, outside of some little compositing issues, and the interior sets are pretty solid as well.

Honestly it doesn't just look impressive for the time, it looks impressive compared to maybe the next 20 years worth of sci-fi TV effects.

But good lord the writing so far eats.

See, the human fleet (Who the narrator, in a fit of pure 70s, explains may actually be the ancestors of the Mayans and the Toltecs) are about to go to a peace conference with the Cylons.

President Pope Jimmy Carter congratulates obvious traitorous dick Baltar for getting the Cylons to agree to a peace conference. But Captain Adama isn't so sure.

See, he explains that the Cylons are filled with unreasoning hatred for humanity because we love freedom and curiosity and niceness.

Yeah Adama, they hate us for our freedoms, you fucking dipshit.

Anyway that's followed by the show immediately blowing its load and dumping something like 20 minutes of footage of spaceships shooting at each other and it's just completely impossible for us to care because the only thing we know about the human characters is what cliche they fit into, and the only thing we know about the Cylons is goddamn nothing whatsoever.

It's 25 minutes before they even get any lines and those lines are:

Centurian: Should we keep murdering humans?

Leader: Yes.

And then back to more space footage.

You know, I realize that "Like Star Wars if it was really really 70s" sounds redundant, but that really describes this to a T.

Also to be honest I can't tell any of these muffiny-haired 70s guys apart.

You could cut something like 20, maybe even 30 minutes out of this pilot and you'd get something passable.

It's a fascinating contrast to another show I just started watching, Blake's 7, a show which has a budget of £3.59 but really cracking writing with a lot of twists and turns, and to me at least is much more compelling for it.